Anf-03 vi.vii.xiv Pg 4
Job. See Job i. and ii.
—whom neither the driving away of his cattle nor those riches of his in sheep, nor the sweeping away of his children in one swoop of ruin, nor, finally, the agony of his own body in (one universal) wound, estranged from the patience and the faith which he had plighted to the Lord; whom the devil smote with all his might in vain. For by all his pains he was not drawn away from his reverence for God; but he has been set up as an example and testimony to us, for the thorough accomplishment of patience as well in spirit as in flesh, as well in mind as in body; in order that we succumb neither to damages of our worldly goods, nor to losses of those who are dearest, nor even to bodily afflictions. What a bier9171 9171 “Feretrum”—for carrying trophies in a triumph, the bodies of the dead, and their effigies, etc.
for the devil did God erect in the person of that hero! What a banner did He rear over the enemy of His glory, when, at every bitter message, that man uttered nothing out of his mouth but thanks to God, while he denounced his wife, now quite wearied with ills, and urging him to resort to crooked remedies! How did God smile,9172 9172
Anf-03 vi.iii.xx Pg 4
Perhaps Tertullian is referring to Prov. xxviii. 13. If we confess now, we shall be forgiven, and not put to shame at the judgment day.
for we do at the same time both make satisfaction8746 8746 See de Orat. c. xxiii. ad fin., and the note there.
for our former sins, by mortification of our flesh and spirit, and lay beforehand the foundation of defences against the temptations which will closely follow. “Watch and pray,” saith (the Lord), “lest ye fall into temptation.”8747 8747
Treasury of Scriptural Knowledge, Chapter 18
VERSE (15) - Ge 4:9; 12:13 Job 2:10 Pr 28:13 Joh 18:17,25-27 Eph 4:23 Col 3:9
