Though these three men, Noah, Daniel, and Job, were in
it,
&c.] In the sinning land, and made intercession for it, that
the famine might be removed, and the inhabitants of it be saved
alive, this would not be granted; though they were men that found
favour in the sight of God, and were eminent for prayer, and
successful in it, and the means of saving many; as Noah his
family, by preparing an ark according to the will of God; and
Daniel was an instrument of saving the lives of his companions,
and of the wise men of Chaldea; and Job, by his prayer for his
friends, prevented the wrath of God, that was kindled against
them, coming upon them; and yet, if they had been upon the spot
at this time, their intercession for this people would have been
of no avail; the decree was gone forth, and was not to be called
in; it was unalterable, and God was inexorable: nor could it have
been depended upon, if this declaration had not been made, that
their prayers would have been effectual, had they been upon the
spot, and put them up for this nation; since it might be
observed, that the old world was not saved from a deluge in
Noah's time, only he and his family; nor were the people of the
Jews preserved from captivity in Daniel's time, nor even he
himself; nor were Job's children saved, though he was greatly
concerned for them: it may be observed from hence, that there was
such a man as Job, as well as Noah and Daniel; and that the
latter, though a young man, not above thirty years of age, at
this time, yet was become very famous, not only for his dignity
and grandeur in Babylon, but for his religion and piety; and is
placed between those two great men, Noah and Job; and being a
person now living, precludes any argument being formed by the
Papists, in favour of the intercession of departed saints; and
which would not be conclusive from such a supposition as here
made, had they been all such as had departed this life; see (
Jeremiah
15:1 ) ; the design of the whole is only to show that the
prayers of the best of men would not have prevailed with the Lord
to avert his judgments from a people that had so grievously
sinned against him: they should deliver [but] their own
souls by their righteousness, saith
the Lord;
as Noah was saved at the time of the flood; Daniel in the
captivity; and Job midst his great afflictions: this is to be
understood not of the eternal salvation of the souls of these
men, which is not, nor can it be, by works of righteousness done
by the best of men; by these men cannot be justified in the sight
of God, and so not saved; but of temporal salvation, of the
salvation of their souls or lives from temporal calamities.
Besides, these men had knowledge of another and better
righteousness than their own, and believed in it, and trusted to
it, even the righteousness of faith, the righteousness of Christ
received by faith Noah was both an heir and a preacher of the
righteousness which is by faith; and Daniel knew that it was one
branch of the Messiah's work to bring in everlasting
righteousness; and Job was fully persuaded that his Redeemer
lived, by whom he should be justified, ( Hebrews 11:7
) ( 2 Peter
2:5 ) ( Daniel 9:24 ) (
Job 19:25 ) (
Job 13:15
Job 13:16
Job 13:18 ) .