He hath stripped me of my glory
The metaphor of a traveller may be still continued, who falling among thieves is stripped of his clothes, to which the allusion may be: Job was not stripped of his glory in a spiritual sense, not of the glorious robe of Christ's righteousness, nor of the graces of the Spirit, which makes saints all glorious within; but in a civil sense, and is to be understood not merely of his rich apparel, or of his robe, which he might wear as a civil magistrate, as an ensign of honour, and which made him look glorious; but either of his wealth, riches, and substance, which are a man's glory, and which he too often and too much glories in, though Job might not; see ( Psalms 49:16 ) ( Genesis 31:1 ) ; or of his children, ( Hosea 9:11 ) ( Esther 5:11 ) ; and indeed of everything that made him look magnificent among men; as an abundance of this world's good, a numerous family, fine clothes, sumptuous living, and a stately palace; all which Job might have had, but was now stripped of all by one means or another; and whoever were the instruments, he ascribes it all to God, as being according to his sovereign will and pleasure; and these things are very properly and significantly expressed by clothes a man is stripped of, because they are outward things, as garments are, adorn and make externally glorious, as they do, and of which a man may be as soon and as easily deprived as to be stripped of his clothes by one or more of superior power to him:
and taken the crown [from] my head:
meaning much the same as before, either his wealth and riches, which are the crown of a wise man, ( Proverbs 14:24 ) ; or his children, which are the crown of old then, ( Proverbs 17:6 ) ; or everything that gave him honour, reputation, and esteem with men; all was taken away from him, and his honour laid in the dust. Some from hence have wrongly concluded that Job was a king, and wore a royal diadem, of which he was now deprived, mistaking him for Jobab, a king of Edom, ( Genesis 36:33 ) ; but he had and wore a better diadem, and which he did not lose, but held fast, even his righteousness, justice, and integrity, ( Job 29:14 ) ; and much less could the crown of life, righteousness, and glory, to which he was entitled, be taken from him.