Will ye accept his person?
&c.] Accepting persons ought not to be done in judgment by
earthly judges; which is done when they give a cause to one
through favour and affection to his person, because rich, or
their friend, and against another, because otherwise; and
something like this Job intimates his friends did in the present
case; they only considered what God was, holy, just, wise, and
good in all he did, and so far they were right, and too much
respect cannot be given him; but the fault was, that they only
attended to this, and did not look into the cause of Job itself,
but wholly neglected it, and gave it against him, he being poor,
abject, and miserable, on the above consideration of the
perfections of God; which looked like what is called among men
acceptation, or respect of persons:
will ye contend for God?
it is right to contend for God, for the being of God against
atheists, for the perfections of God, his sovereignty, his
omniscience, omnipresence against those that deny them, for his
truths and doctrines, word, worship, and ordinances, against the
corrupters of them; but then he and those are not to be contended
for in a foolish and imprudent manner, or with a zeal, not
according to knowledge, much less with an hypocritical one, as
was Jehu's, ( 2
Kings 10:28-31 ) ; God needs no such advocates, he can plead
his own cause, or make use of persons that can do it in a better
manner, and to better purpose.