Job — Chapter 5

Voca ergo si est qui tibi

On "Call now; is there any that will answer thee? And to which of the saints wilt thou turn?" Corderius sees in this verse a strong argument for the invocation of saints. Eliphaz, though not a canonical writer, represents a custom already ancient and divinely inspired: the invocation of holy angels and saints for intercession and assistance. Corderius opposes the Protestant denial of saint-invocation with Bellarmine's argument (Tome II): this text proves that the practice of invoking the holy angels was already established and customary in the time of Job, not a human invention but divinely instilled from the beginning. He cites Dionysius the Areopagite (Celestial Hierarchy, ch. 4): angels are first illuminated by God and through them divine revelations are transmitted to us; the holy law was given through angels; they led the patriarchs, revealed sacred orders, explained mysteries. Thus it is supremely fitting and ancient to invoke these great patrons in our afflictions. Corderius is careful to note the distinction between the canonicity of the book and the authority of the speaker: Eliphaz is not a canonical author, but the sacred canonical author reports his words, and the ancient practice they describe has divine sanction.

Vere stultum interficit iracundia

On anger and envy as destructive forces: "For vexation kills the fool, and jealousy slays the simple." Corderius develops a moral psychology of anger (iracundia) and envy (zelotypia). Anger: the disordered passion of the irascible appetite, which overwhelms reason and drives the soul to destructive acts. He cites Aristotle (Ethics IV.5) on the various forms of anger (irritability, bitterness, harshness) and their remedies. On "the fool is killed by anger" — Corderius notes that the most frequent cause of mortal sin is uncontrolled anger: it blinds reason, suspends good judgment, and leads to words and acts that destroy the soul's relationship with God and neighbor. Envy: the sorrow at another's good, perceived as diminishing one's own. He cites Gregory (Moral. V.45-46): envy is the daughter of pride; it arises from the disordered comparison of self with others. Both anger and envy are called "stulti" (foolish) because they substitute emotion for reason, short-term passion for long-term wisdom.

Quamobrem ego deprecabor Dominum

On Eliphaz's exhortation to prayer and trust in God's providence: "But I would seek unto God, and unto God would I commit my cause, who doth great things and unsearchable, marvellous things without number." Corderius develops this as a profound statement on divine Providence. God gives rain upon the face of the earth (v. 10), sets on high those who are low and those who mourn are lifted to safety (v. 11), dissipates the devices of the crafty (v. 12), catches the wise in their own craftiness (v. 13) — this last is cited by Paul in 1 Cor. 3:19. Corderius notes Paul's use of Eliphaz here definitively shows that the friends, though their application to Job was wrong, spoke many genuine theological truths. On v. 17: "Blessed is the man whom God corrects; therefore do not despise the chastening of the Almighty" — Corderius builds a full theology of divine correction: God chastises those he loves (Heb. 12:6); the discipline of the Lord purifies and perfects; trial is a mark of divine favor, not abandonment. He who is not chastised is not a son (cf. Heb. 12:8). The afflictions of Job are thus themselves a form of divine blessing.

Beatus homo qui corripitur a Deo

On the blessedness of divine chastisement and the promises to those who return to God: "He wounds and heals; he strikes, and his hands will make you whole" (v. 18). Corderius develops this at length: God's wounds are medicinal, his blows curative. He compares God's dealing with the soul to the physician who must sometimes cut and cauterize to heal. Gregory (Moral. VI.4): "those who are chastised in this life are not destroyed in the next." On vv. 19-26: the sevenfold promise — deliverance from six troubles and from the seventh (probably a Semitic idiom for "any and all troubles") — famine, war, slander, fear, devastation, wild beasts, and the peace of the tent, fruitful descendants, a ripe death like grain harvested in season. Corderius notes these temporal promises under the old dispensation prefigure the spiritual and eternal blessings of the new. On "thou shalt know that thy tabernacle is in peace" (v. 24) — the peace of the tabernacle is interior peace, the pax conscientiae which no external affliction can permanently disturb in the truly righteous soul.

Beatus homo qui corripitur a Deo

On the blessedness of divine correction and temporal restoration: "Blessed is the one whom God reproves; therefore despise not the discipline of the Almighty. For he wounds, but he binds up; he shatters, but his hands heal." Corderius develops the theology of medicinal divine punishment at length, comparing God to a physician who must sometimes cut deeply to heal. He cites Gregory (Moral. VI.4-5), Chrysostom, and Bernard. On the sevenfold promise (vv. 19-22): Corderius notes the sacred number seven indicates completeness — all possible afflictions will be overcome for the just man who submits to God. On v. 23: "For you shall be in league with the stones of the field, and the beasts of the field shall be at peace with you" — Corderius reads this as anticipating the restored dominion of the just over creation: the harmony disrupted by original sin is re-established in the soul that lives in right relationship with God. On v. 26: "You shall come to your grave in ripe old age, like a sheaf gathered up in its season" — death is not defeat but harvest; the just man's life, like ripe grain, is gathered at the proper moment by divine providence.