Behold, this [is] the joy of his way, and out of the earth shall others grow.
Ver. 19. Behold, this is the joy of his way] q.d. A goodly joy! sure the hypocrite's joy is but the hypocrisy of joy, a little counterfeit complexion, like a slight dash of rain, a handful of brushwood, or sear thorn under the pot, Ecclesiastes 7:6, or as weeds that grow on the top of the water, floating aloft, but touch not the bottom. Though it be an exulting joy (as the word signifieth), a leaping joy (such as is that of dogs leaping upon their masters returning home after a journey, Ut canes solent quando peregre advenienti domino adulantur), yet it is not lasting: it goes out as a snuff, or as a blazing star, or at best as the fire of thorns, Psalms 118:12. Yea, though for the time it hath been so great that if it had continued but a while it would have overwhelmed them, so that their spirits would have expired, as some apostates have professed; they have thought themselves in heaven sometimes, and have rejoiced accordingly, ουδεν δε π ροσποιητον υονιμον (Naz.).
And out of the earth shall others grow] Alii qui alieni erunt ab eo (Drus.). Others who had no relation to him shall succeed him, enjoy his estate, and eat the sweet of all his labours, Job 27:16-17 Ecclesiastes 2:18; Ecc 4:8 Proverbs 12:3, "A man shall not be established by wickedness: but the root of the righteous shall not be moved." See another sense of this, and the three foregoing verses, Job 8:18 .