Job concludes his defense by engaging in an examination of conscience to demonstrate that it was not sin that caused his current afflictions:
After Job had told of his former prosperity (c.29) and his subsequent adversity, (c. 30) he now shows his innocence so that one does not believe that he had fallen into adversities because of sins. He begins to show his innocence by his freedom from the sin of lust which involves most men. One easily slips into this sin, because unless someone avoids the beginnings, he can scarcely withdraw from the things which come after. The glance of the eyes in which one looks at a beautiful woman, especially a virgin is the first motion in this sin. Second, is the thought, third, the pleasure, fourth, the consent, and fifth, the deed. Job wanted to exclude the beginnings of this sin so that he would not get entangled in it, and so he says, “I made a covenant,” in my heart I confirmed it like treaties are confirmed, “with my eyes,” from whose sight the eager desire of women comes, to so abstain from looking at women, “to not think about a virgin,” that is, to not arrive at even the first interior stage, thought. For he saw that it was difficult if he fell into the first stage of thought to not totter into the others, namely, desire and consent.
Then he shows why he is so solicitous to avoid this sin. First, he assigns the reason on the grounds that man seems to go away from God especially in the sin of lust. For man approaches God by spiritual actions, which are especially impeded by venereal pleasures,3 and so he then says, “What part does God above have in me?” as if to say: God above has a part in me in proportion to the elevation of my mind to higher things; but if my mind is cast down by lust to carnal pleasure, God above will have no part in me. Even the lustful happen to think about God spiritually for a while, but soon by the desire of pleasure they are called back down below, and so God’s portion cannot be steadfast in them like an inheritance. So he then says, “and what inheritance,” the firm hold in me after I stripped down to lower things, “the Almighty on high” he also lives on high cannot have. So it is necessary that his inheritance be in those who seek sublime, spiritual things, but not in those who descend towards carnal things. Second, the reason why he shunned the sin of lust is the damage which it brings upon men, which is twofold. One is corporeal, when a man because of the sin of lust incurs danger to his person and property, and so he says, “Is it not damnation for the wicked?” as if to say: The evil man who is involved in this sin rushes to damnation. Another damage is the impediment to doing good works, and so he says, “and aversion for those doing evil,” for violent pleasure drags the soul more to itself. So men given to lust abandon good works, and even good talk. Third, he assigns the cause from the point of view of divine providence which looks attentively at all the deeds of men. Thus no one can be immune from punishment, and so he says, “Does he not consider my ways,” the progress of my works to reward them? Not only does he know the entire process, but also the stages of that process and so he says, “and does he not number all my steps?” because he examines everything with his judgment, even the smallest details which seem reprehensible in my acts, and so I will not pass unpunished for them.
Second, he cleanses himself from the sin of deceit, using in this and in all the following discussion an execratory oath in which a man binds himself to a punishment, so that if what he says is not true, he obliges himself to punishment. So he says, “If I walked,” if I acted “in vanity,” in some falsehood. For things are called vain which lack solidity. Solidity consists especially in truth. He shows how one goes about in vanity when he then says, “and my foot hastened to deception,” this refers to my affection and whatever other power of the soul is the principle of motion. He says clearly, “hastened to deception,” because man intends by some deceitful means to obtain quickly what he might have obtained with great difficulty by means of the truth. One can consider walking without deceit by inspecting the righteousness of justice from which the deceitful man turns aside, and so he says, “let him (God) weigh me a just balance,” to discern from his justice if I have proceeded in deceit. Since deceit consists especially in the intention of the heart, he alone can judge deceit to whom the intention of heart lies open, namely God. So he then says, “and let God know my simplicity,” which is the contrary of the duplicity of deceit. He says, “let God know,” not as though God is about to learn it as something new, but as if he makes it known to others as something new, or because he knows this from eternity in the reason of his justice.
Go here to read the rest. Job appeals to God to witness that what has happened to him is due to Job’s fault.
