Verse 27. - And my heart hath been secretly enticed, or my mouth hath kissed my hand. The sin of the heart is placed first, as the fens et origo mali the spiritual root of the matter. On this naturally follows the outward act which, in the case of idolatry, was commonly the act exactly expressed by the word "adore" - the movement of the hand to the mouth in token of reverence and honour (see Pliny, 'Hist. Nat.,' 28:2, "Inter adorandum dexteram ad osculum referimus, et totum corpus circumagimus;" and Minucius Felix, Octav., 2, Caecilius, simulacro Serapidis denotato, ut vulgus superstitiosum solet, manum ori admovens osculum labiis pressit").
31:24-32 Job protests, 1. That he never set his heart upon the wealth of this world. How few prosperous professors can appeal to the Lord, that they have not rejoiced because their gains were great! Through the determination to be rich, numbers ruin their souls, or pierce themselves with many sorrows. 2. He never was guilty of idolatry. The source of idolatry is in the heart, and it corrupts men, and provokes God to send judgments upon a nation. 3. He neither desired nor delighted in the hurt of the worst enemy he had. If others bear malice to us, that will not justify us in bearing malice to them. 4. He had never been unkind to strangers. Hospitality is a Christian duty, 1Pe 4:9.
And mine heart hath been secretly enticed,.... Drawn away by beholding the magnitude of these bodies, the swiftness of their motion, their glorious appearance, and great usefulness to mankind, to entertain a thought of their being deities; and privately to worship them, in secret acts of devotion, as by an honourable esteem of them as such, reverence and affection for them, trust and confidence in them; for, as there is a secret worshipping of the true God, so there is a secret idolatry, idolatry in the heart, and setting up of idols there, as well as worshipping them in dark places, in chambers of imagery, as the Jews did, Ezekiel 8:12;
or my mouth hath kissed my hand; idols used to be kissed by their votaries, in token of their veneration of them, and as expressive of their worship of them; so Baal and Jeroboam's calves were kissed by the worshippers of them, 1 Kings 19:18. Kissing is used to signify the religious veneration, homage, and worship of a divine Person, the Son of God, Psalm 2:12; and such deities especially that were out of the reach of their worshippers, as the sun, moon, and stars were, they used to put their hands to their mouths, and kiss them, in token of their worship; just as persons now, at a distance from each other, pay their civil respects to one another: instances of religious adoration of idols performed in this manner; see Gill on Hosea 13:2. Job denies that he had been guilty of such idolatry, either secretly or openly.
or my mouth hath kissed my hand; idols used to be kissed by their votaries, in token of their veneration of them, and as expressive of their worship of them; so Baal and Jeroboam's calves were kissed by the worshippers of them, 1 Kings 19:18. Kissing is used to signify the religious veneration, homage, and worship of a divine Person, the Son of God, Psalm 2:12; and such deities especially that were out of the reach of their worshippers, as the sun, moon, and stars were, they used to put their hands to their mouths, and kiss them, in token of their worship; just as persons now, at a distance from each other, pay their civil respects to one another: instances of religious adoration of idols performed in this manner; see Gill on Hosea 13:2. Job denies that he had been guilty of such idolatry, either secretly or openly.