36:5-14 Elihu here shows that God acts as righteous Governor. He is always ready to defend those that are injured. If our eye is ever toward God in duty, his eye will be ever upon us in mercy, and, when we are at the lowest, will not overlook us. God intends, when he afflicts us, to discover past sins to us, and to bring them to our remembrance. Also, to dispose our hearts to be taught: affliction makes people willing to learn, through the grace of God working with and by it. And further, to deter us from sinning for the future. It is a command, to have no more to do with sin. If we faithfully serve God, we have the promise of the life that now is, and the comforts of it, as far as is for God's glory and our good: and who would desire them any further? We have the possession of inward pleasures, the great peace which those have that love God's law. If the affliction fail in its work, let men expect the furnace to be heated till they are consumed. Those that die without knowledge, die without grace, and are undone for ever. See the nature of hypocrisy; it lies in the heart: that is for the world and the flesh, while perhaps the outside seems to be for God and religion. Whether sinners die in youth, or live long to heap up wrath, their case is dreadful. The souls of the wicked live after death, but it is in everlasting misery.

Verse 13. - But the hypocrites in heart heap up wrath. In his vindication of God's justice, Elihu here passes from the case of the righteous (ver. 7) to that of the "hypocrites," or rather the ungodly. They, he says, "heap up wrath," i.e. "treasure up to themselves wrath against the day of wrath" (Romans 2:5), continually intensify God's anger against them, and, as it were, lay in a store of it, which will one day be outpoured upon them. They cry not when he bindeth them. They do not cry to him, they do not deprecate his anger, when they first find themselves bound with the "cords of affliction" (ver. 8), but allow his wrath to increase and accumulate.

But the hypocrites in heart heap up wrath,.... Or "and the hypocrites" (s); for these are the same with the disobedient in Job 36:12; who seem to be righteous, but are not; pretend to what they have not; have a double heart, Psalm 12:2, or say one thing with their mouth, and mean another thing in their hearts; or with their mouths draw nigh to God, but their hearts are far from him, Matthew 15:8; and so hypocrites, at least outwardly righteous before men, but inwardly full of wickedness, as the Pharisees were, whom our Lord often calls hypocrites, Matthew 15:7, these "put" or add wrath, as Aben Ezra interprets it; they increase the wrath of God; or, as we express it, heap up wrath; or, to use the apostle's phrase, treasure up wrath against the day of wrath: though some understand it of the wrath of the hypocrites against God for afflicting them; so Jarchi. When afflictions come upon them, they reproach and blaspheme; they are angry with God and are wrathful, and quarrel at his dealings with them: "they put the nose" (t); so it may be literally rendered; they erect that against God, and point it at him in a proud, haughty, wrathful, and contumacious manner;

they cry not when he bindeth them; in fetters and cords of affliction, Job 36:8; or when he corrects them, as Mr. Broughton rightly as to the sense renders it: they pray not, as Ben Gersom interprets it; whereas sanctified afflictions bring good men to the throne of grace, who have been too long absent from it: but these men cry not unto God for grace and mercy, help, assistance, and deliverance; they cry out against God, but not unto him.

(s) "et hypocritae", Montanus; "et loripedes", Schultens. (t) "ponent nasum", Montanus; "ponunt nasum". Schultens.

13-15. Same sentiment as Job 36:11, 12, expanded.

hypocrites—or, the ungodly [Maurer]; but "hypocrites" is perhaps a distinct class from the openly wicked (Job 36:12).

heap up wrath—of God against themselves (Ro 2:5). Umbreit translates, "nourish their wrath against God," instead of "crying" unto Him. This suits well the parallelism and the Hebrew. But the English Version gives a good parallelism, "hypocrites" answering to "cry not" (Job 27:8, 10); "heap up wrath" against themselves, to "He bindeth them" with fetters of affliction (Job 36:8).

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