He that speaks flattery to his friends, even the eyes of his children shall fail.
All Commentaries on Job 17:5 Go To Job 17
Gregory The Dialogist
AD 604
“Set me free and put me beside you, and let the hand of anyone fight against me,” for Christ did not sin, either in thought or deed. He was made to “abide in bitterness” by his passion. He was “set free” by resurrection. He was “put beside” the Father by his ascension, in that having gone up into heaven he sits on the right hand of God. And because, after the glory of his ascension, Judea was stirred up in persecuting his disciples, it is rightly said here, “Let the hand of anyone fight against me.” For the madness of the persecutors did then rage on Christ’s members, and the flame of cruelty blazed out against the life of the faithful. But where should the wicked go, or what should they do, while he whom they persecuted on earth is now seated in heaven? Concerning whom it is yet further added, “You have removed their heart far from discipline. Therefore they shall not be exalted.” If they had been acquainted with the keeping of discipline, and had not ever despised the precepts of our Redeemer, the mere mortal condition of their flesh by itself would have excited them to the love of immortal life. For this reason even the fact that we are subject to corruption in this life is due to our need for learning discipline.… Therefore, insofar as the heart is under discipline, it seeks after the things above; it is not enthralled with transitory good things. But of those whose heart is not under discipline, it is rightly said, “Therefore they shall not be exalted,” for even while they are freed to pursue the lowest enjoyments, they are ever longing for the good things of the earth.
