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 IOMILETICAL 
 
 COMMENTARY 
 
 ON 
 
 THE BOOK OF JOB 
 
 BY 
 
 THOMAS ROBINSON, D.D., 
 
 Author of 'S/tgyettive and Homiletic Commentary on the Epistle to the Roman*," 
 " T/tc Evangelists and the MisJina" fyc. 
 
 LONDON: 
 RICHARD I). DICKINSON, 
 
 FARRINGDON STREET. 
 
 1870.
 
 TO THE 
 
 MINISTERS OF EVERY DENOMINATION 
 
 WHO PREACH 
 
 JESUS CHRIST AND HIM CRUCIFIED ; 
 
 AND TO 
 HIS TRIED AND FAITHFUL FOLLOWERS OF EVERY NAME, 
 
 THIS VOLUME 
 
 IS KESPECTFULLY AND AFFECTIONATELY 
 INSCRIBED. 
 
 2000224
 
 PREFACE. 
 
 E following work \vas originally intended to form part of Dr. Van 
 Doren's "Suggestive and Homiletic Commentary on the Old and 
 New Testaments;" and consequently to be accompanied with critical notes 
 similar to those in the Author's Commentary on the Epistle to the 
 Romans, already published in connection with that series. That under- 
 taking, however, having been given up by Dr. Van Doren, it was 
 proposed to the writer by the Editors of the "Homiletical Commentary 
 on the Books of the Old and New Testaments " to reconstruct and adapt 
 his work, so that it might be admitted as part of their series. The 
 object of the Editors of the "Homiletical Commentary," however, was 
 rather to aid in the use of existing commentaries than to produce a new 
 one, intending their series to contain as little as possible of what might 
 be found in other expositions. The writer is deeply conscious of the 
 many imperfections adhering to his work; he has, however, made it his 
 endeavour, as far as he was able, to carry out the object of the Editors; 
 and, at the same time, to prepare an expository and homiletical work on 
 what is acknowledged to be one of the most difficult books of the Bible, 
 which may, by the Divine blessing, be useful both to ordinary readers of 
 the Word and to those who have to minister to others. 
 
 In the preparation of his work the Author has availed himself of all 
 the critical and practical aids within his reach, in order that it might 
 exhibit the results of the studies of the most eminent Biblical scholars 
 and expositors of the Word up to the present time. lie is sorry that,
 
 IV. 
 
 owing to the change of pLin, he is not able to present to the student 
 the views and opinions of others on the various loci difficiles of the book, 
 as he had done in his Commentary on the Eomans. If he has thus 
 appeared in any place to adopt sentiments which have been expressed by 
 living writers before him, without mentioning their names, he takes this 
 opportunity of expressing his obligations and of soliciting their kindly 
 condonance. In connection with the first two chapters, he was especially 
 pleased with remarks found in some papers of the "Homilist" on the Book 
 of Job, probably from the pen of the accomplished editor, Dr. Thomas. ; 
 Those who are best acquainted with the nature of the Book of Job, 
 as one of the most ancient books in the world, if not itself the most 
 ancient, and with the difficulties connected with the original language of 
 the composition, will be most disposed to make allowance for the imper- 
 fections discoverable in the present work. If he shall have succeeded in 
 any degree in aiding the readers of the Word in the spiritual understanding 
 of this frequently obscure, but most precious, portion of it, or in assisting 
 any in expounding it to others, the writer will have had his desire accom- 
 plished, and will ascribe all the praise to Him "of whom, and through 
 whom, and to whom are all things : to whom be glory for ever and 
 ever. Amen." 
 
 MOEPETIT, 
 
 June 19/7*, 187
 
 HOMILETIO COMMENTARY 
 
 ON 
 
 JOB. 
 
 1. The General Character of the Book. One of the grandest portions of 
 inspired Scripture. A heaven-replenished storehouse of comfort and instruction. The 
 Patriarchal Bible, and a precious monument of primitive theology. Is to the Old Testament 
 what the Epistle to the Romans is to the New. Job's history well known to early Christians 
 as au example of patience (Jam. v. 11). Understood by them typically and allegorically of 
 Christ. From the second century the book read in the churches in Passion Week. Stands 
 unique and independent among the books of the Bible. In its prose parts so simple and 
 easy that a child may understand it ; in its poetic portion, the deepest and obscurest book 
 in the Old Testament. Contains milk for babes and strong meat for those of full age. 
 Studded with passages of grandeur and beauty, tenderness and pathos, sublimity and terror. 
 Acknowledged to surpass in sublimity and majesty every other book in the world. In 
 recent times studied as a master-piece of poetry. A fountain from which some of the 
 greatest poets have drawn their inspirations. To suffering believers the sound of Faithful's 
 voice to Christian in the Valley of the Shadow of Death. 
 
 2. Author. Uncertain. Long believed by most to be Moses. Moses well acquainted 
 with Egypt ; " learned in all the wisdom of the Egyptians, and mighty in words and 
 deeds " (Acts vii. 22) ; capable of writing sublime poetry (as Ex. xv. ; Deut. xxxii. and 
 xxxiii.); himself trained in the school of affliction (Ileb. xi. 25); had opportunities in 
 Midian for obtaining the knowledge of the history and composing the poem. Parts of 
 the book probably in previous existence as traditional poetry, maxims, or sayings of earlier 
 sages (e.g. xii. 13 25 ; xv. 20 35). The human authorship uncertain, no doubt about 
 the Divine. The author of the greatest and sublimcst poem iu. the world unknown. 
 Little matter that our names are forgot fen, if our works lire. 
 
 II. Period of Composition. Opinions divided. Two periods principally assigned. 
 1. That of Moses (see above) ; 2. That of David and Solomon. Views of scholars and 
 ciitics now more generally in favour of the latter; (1) From, the style and character of 
 the composition; (2) The advanced state of art and civilization indicated; (3) The 
 occurrence of certain expressions ; (4) The prevalence of the idea of " Wisdom ; " 
 (5) The similarity of sentiment and language to those in Psalms and Proverbs, particularly 
 as regards the state of the dead ; e.y. in Psalm Ixxxviii. and Ixxxix. (the works of Heman. 
 and Ethan (1 Kings v. 11). 
 
 III. Character of the Book. A true history poetically treated. Proofs ; (1) Job 
 mentioned as a historical person with Noah and Daniel (Ezek. xiv. 1-1; James v. 11;) 
 (2) The localities real, and names of persons not significant, except that of Job himself; 
 (3) Extended fiction not according to the spirit of high antiquity, and especially to that 
 of the Bible. Probably the facts given substantially, though uot exactly, us they occurred. 
 The speeches not necessarily given verbatim.
 
 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 IV. Species of Composition. A drama, but only in a loose sense. A didactic 
 narrative, for the most part in a poetic and dramatic form. The discussion of a grave and 
 solemn question the body of the book. The controversy carried on in poetry, the introduction 
 and conclusion in prose. Poetry the earliest form of composition, as best retained in memory. 
 Sentiments and maxims preserved in the East in a terse, proverbial, and poetic form. The 
 book exhibits the chief characteristic of Hebrew poetry, viz. parallelism, or the slightly 
 varied repetition of the same sentiment in parallel clauses. Earliest examples of it in 
 Gen. iv. 23 ; Jude 14. Parallelism a key to the interpretation. The poetry of Job also 
 stropJiaic, arranged, though irregularly, in strophes or stanzas, each containing more or less 
 verses or connected parallel clauses. 
 
 V. Genuineness and Integrity of the Book. The whole now generally 
 admitted to be from cue and the same author. The three parts, introduction, controversy, 
 and conclusion intimately connected with and necessary to each other. The speeches of 
 Elihu necessary as a complement to the others, and as preparatory to the address of 
 Jehovah. Possibly, as in some other books of Scripture, a second inspired hand may have 
 completed the book as we now have it. A dislocation of some passages also possible ; the 
 instances noted in the commentary. 
 
 VI. Canonicity and Inspiration. Universally admitted. Its inspiration not 
 prejudiced by our ignorance of the human author. The book apparently known by Ezckiel 
 six hundred years before Christ (Ezek. xiv. 14). Translated into Greek, as part of the 
 Hebrew Scriptures, two hundred and seventy years before Christ. Included in the Scrip- 
 tures used and referred to by Jesus and the apostles as the inspired word of God. 
 Quoted twice by the apostle (Heb. xii. 5 ; 1 Cor. iii. 19) ; in the latter case with the usual 
 form of Scripture quotation, " It is written." Its morality and theology in harmony with 
 the other books _of Scripture. Completes the canon by presenting a view of the Patriarchal 
 Dispensation. In the development of the history of Redemption, stands midway between 
 the Fall and the Crucifixion. 
 
 VII. Subject of the Book. The trial of Job; its occasion, nature, endurance, 
 and issue. The trial of man as recovered by Divine grace from Adam's fall. Proof givtMi 
 against Satan that there is such a thing as disinterested piety in the world. To afford this 
 proof, Job visited with varied, intense, and accumulated suffering. Keen discussion 
 arising out of this between Job and his three friends, as to why he is thus treated. 
 The cause, . according to the friends, some secret sins on the part of Job ; according 
 to Job himself, God's mere arbitrary will. Another reason hinted at by one of the 
 three and maintained by a fifth speaker, the benevolent design of suffering though 
 induced by sin (ch. v. 17 ; xxxiii. 1930). The book, the story of an elect one in 
 early patriarchal days, taught by suffering to learn practically tlie life of faith. The 
 nest in which he thought to die, rifled of everything. Job righteous, but not yet prepared 
 for such a change. To be. made, by trial, a member of the pilgrim family. Job, like 
 Abraham, to be one of God's strangers in the world (Heb. xi. 33). Chastened to be made a 
 partaker of God's holiness (Heb. xii. 10). Made to have resurrection in his experience 
 as well as in his creed. 
 
 VIII. Design of the Book. Probably manifold. (1) To show the reality of 
 true religion, the nature and the power of faith. (2) To exhibit the blessedness of the 
 godly however assailed by affliction. (3) To show that true piety is wisdom, the only 
 way to man's real and highest welfare. (4) To display the Providence of God in its 
 inscrutablcness, justice, and mercy. (5) To show that in the case of the righteous, 
 " behind a frowning Providence " God " hides a smiling face." (6) To exhibit the 
 consistency between the truths of Revelation and the dealings of Providence. (7) To 
 afford an example o{ patience and trust in God under sorest trials, and so 'to minister
 
 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 comfort and hope to tried believers. (8) To exhibit a child of God set to learn through 
 trials the power of his. heavenly calling. (9) To illustrate the fact of human depravity even 
 in the best. (10) To teach the final conquest over Satan and the triumphs of righteousness 
 and peace in the earth. (11) To exhibit a picture of man's fall and his redemption through 
 faith in the Redeemer. (12) To present in Job a type of Christ, the righteous sufferer for man's 
 sake. The same type exhibited in many of the Psalms, as the twenty-second and sixty-ninth. 
 The sufferings of Christ and the glory that should follow, the central truth of Old Testament 
 Scriptures (1 Pet. i. 11). The testimony of Jesus the spirit of prophesy (Rev. xix. 10 ; 
 Luke xxiv. 27). This book, like the rest of the Old Testament, written that through 
 patience and comfort of the Scriptures we might have hope (Rom. xv. 4). Profitable, like 
 all inspired Scripture, for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, and for instruction in righ- 
 teousness (2 Tim. iii. 16). 
 
 IX. Divisions. Three general divisions with many subordinate ones ; viz., the intro- 
 duction or prologue (ch. i. ii.) ; the controversy , including Job's lamentation as the occasion 
 of it (iii-xlii., 6) ; the conclusion or epilogue (xlii. 7, &c.). Two parts in the controversy: 
 the Controversy proper between Job and his three friends ; and the Solution of it, in the 
 speeches of Elihu and the address of Jehovah. 
 
 X. Analysis of Contents. I. EIRST DIVISION: historical introduction (in prose) 
 (ch. i. ii.) (1) Job's character, prosperity, and walk (i. 1 5). (2) Jehovah's purpose to 
 prove Job by suffering (i.) through loss of property (i. 16 17; (ii.) loss of children (18; 
 19) ; (iii.) loss of health (ii. 18). (3) Job's perseverance in his piety (i. 2022 ; ii. 9, 10.) 
 (4) The visit of his friends as the preparation for the conflict (ii. 11 13). 
 
 II. SECOND DIVISION : The Controversy and its Solution (in poetry). (1) Job's de- 
 sponding lament, the immediate occasion of the controversy (ch. iii). (2) The controversy 
 proper, in three cycles or courses of dialogues. 
 
 First Course: Commencement of the controversy (iv. xiv.). 
 
 First Dialogue Eliphaz and Job (iv. vii.). (1) Eliphaz accuses Job and 
 exhorts him to repentance (iv., v). (2) Job justifies his lament and complains of 
 his friends (vi., vii). 
 
 Second Dialogue Bildadand Job (viii. x.). (1) Bildad reproves Job and reminds him 
 of the end of wickedness (viii.). (2) Job maintains his innocence and complains of God's 
 mysterious severity (ix., x.). 
 
 Third Dialogue Zophar and Job (xi. xiv). (1) Zophar severely charges Job and urges 
 him to repentance (xi). (2) Job attacks his friends as wanting in wisdom and justice, and 
 addresses himself to God, still maintaining his innocence, and complaining of the general lot of 
 humanity (xii. xiv.). 
 
 Second Course : Growth of the controversy (xv. xxi.). 
 
 First Dialogue Eliphaz and Job (xv. xvii). (1) Eliphaz reproves Job's obstinacy in 
 maintaining his innocence, and asserts God's righteous retribution on evil doers (xv.) 
 (2) Job bemoans his forlorn condition, but expresses the confident hope of a future acknow- 
 ledgment of his innocence (xvi., xvii.). 
 
 Second Dialogue Eildad and Job (xviii., xix.). (1) Bildad rebukes Job as an empty 
 boisterous talker, and reminds him of the fate of the ungodly (xviii.) (2) Job retorts on 
 his friends, bewails his sufferings, but expresses confidence in God as his Redeemer and 
 Avenger, and warns his friends of the consequence of their uncharitablencss (xix.). 
 
 Third Dialogue Zophar and Job (xx., xxi.). (1) Zophar maintains the short-lived 
 prosperity and bitter end of the ungodly (xxi.). (2) Job in reply asserts their frequent 
 prosperity and the afflictions of the godly (xxi.). 
 
 Third Course: Height of the controversy (xxii. xxvii.), 
 
 First Dialogue Eliphaz and Job (xxii. xxiv.). (1) Eliphaz openly accuses Job of 
 great sins and warns him to repent (xxii.). (2) Job expresses his wish that God would 
 
 3
 
 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 appear and decide the case Himself, but bemoans His withdrawal from him, recounting at the 
 same time similiar cases of apparent inequality of divine procedure (xxiii., xxiv.). 
 
 Second Dialogue Bildad and Job (xxv., xxvi.). (1) Bildad briefly declares God's 
 greatness and purity, and man's vileuess (xxv.). (2) Job ridicules Bildad's common-places, 
 and enlarges much more fully on God's sovereignty and power (xxvi.). 
 
 Job alone in the field (xxvii., xxviii.). (1) Solemnly re-asserts his innocence, and 
 declares his joy in God, with the certain miserable end of the ungodly (xxvii.). (2) Intimates 
 that the wisdom which can solve the problem is only found with and through means of true 
 piety (xxviii.). 
 
 The Solution of the controversy. 
 
 First Step in the Solution: Guilt cannot be the cause of those peculiar fnfferi,if/s. Job's 
 soliloquy (xxix. xxxi.). (1) Longing retrospect of former prosperity (xxix.). (2) Mournful 
 description of his present condition (xxx.). (3) Solemn protestation of his freedom from 
 open and secret sins (xxxi.). 
 
 Second Step : Afflictions of the righteous chastening andpurifyiity. Elihu's speech (xxxii. 
 xxxvii.). (1) His introduction by the poet, in prose (xxxii. 1 6). (2) His motive and 
 reasons for joining in the controversy (6 22). 
 
 His first speech (xxxiii.). (1) Invites Job's attention to himself as a mild judge of his 
 case (1 7). (2) Blames his confidence in his innocence (8 11). (3) Declares God's 
 gracious dealings with men to bring them to repentance (1230). 
 
 His second speech (xxxiv.). (1) Blames Job for doubting God's righteousness (1 9). 
 
 (2) Maintains that righteousness, as necessary to the government of the world (1030). 
 
 (3) Reproves Job's sin and folly in charging God with injustice, aad in calling on Him to 
 decide the controversy (31 37). 
 
 His third speech (xxxv.). Blames Job for thinking piety useless to its possessor (1 S). 
 Gives reason for the continuance of sufferings (9 ] 6). 
 
 His fourth speech (xxxvi. xxxvii.). (1) Defends the righteousness of God on the 
 ground of His benevolent object in afflicting (121), and of His wise and mighty opera- 
 tions in nature (2237; xxxvii. 113). (2) Shows the lessons from these operations 
 (1421). 
 
 Third Step in the Solution: None may dispute against God. Jehovah's speeches, with 
 Job's confession (xxxviii., xlii. 1 6). 
 
 Jehovah's appearance and challenge to Job (xxxviii. 13). 
 
 His first speech (xxxviii. xxxix.). (1) Challenges Job to answer various questions 
 relative to creation (1 15) ; to the visible universe and powers of nature (1027) ; to the 
 wind and starry heavens (2838) ; to the preservation and propagation of wild animals 
 (xxxix. 130). (2) Conclusion of speech, with Job's luimble reply (xl. 15). 
 
 Jehovah's second speech (xl. 6, &c., xli.). CO Reproves Job for doubting God's 
 righteousness (xl. 711). (2) Points to humbling proofs of his weakness in relation to 
 certain animals, as the Behemoth and Leviathan (xl. 15, c., xli.). 
 
 Job's humble confession of the divine power and his own guilt and follv 
 (xlii. 1 G). 
 
 III. THIRD DIVISION. Historical conclusion, in prose (xlii. 7 15). (1) Jehovah's 
 justification of Job before his friends (7 10). (2) Job's restoration to former honour and 
 dignity (11, 12). (3) The doubling of his estate and children (1217).
 
 HOMILETIC COMMENTARY: JOB. 
 
 CHAP. I. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 13. 
 FIRST PART OF PROSE INTRODUCTION TO THE BOOK OR POEM. 
 
 1. Job's personality (verse 1). "There 
 was a man," &c. 
 
 1. His actual existence. Job a historic, 
 not a fictitious character. Mentioned with 
 Noah and Daniel (Ez. xiv. 14). Lived in the 
 time of the patriarchs. Died about 200 years 
 old; Abraham, 175; his father Terah, 205. 
 No apparent allusion in the Book to the 
 Exodus or the Giving of the Law. Wor- 
 ship, manners, and customs, those of patri- 
 arc lial times. His existence a proof God never 
 left Himself without a witness. 
 
 2. His residence. "In the laud of Uz." 
 Uz, east or south-east of Palestine. Adja- 
 cent to the Edomites, who appear at one 
 time to have occupied it (Lam. iv. 21). 
 Probably in Arabia Descrlu, between Pales- 
 tine and the Euphrates. Uz the name of a 
 son of Aram the sou of Shem (Gen. x. 23) ; 
 of the firstborn of Nahor, Abraham's brother 
 (Gen. xxii. 21) ; and of the grandson of Seir 
 the Horite (Gen. xxxvi. 28). The country 
 named from one of these. Job's country, 
 like Abraham's, at that time tending to 
 idolatry (ch. xxxi. 26 28). Grace found 
 flourishing in the most unfavourable situa- 
 tions. Job, like Abraham and Daniel, found 
 " faithful among the faithless." To be godly 
 among the ungodly a high excellence and 
 honour. So Obadiah in Ahab's court and 
 the saints in Cesar's palace (1 Kings xviii. 
 12; Phil. iv. 22). 
 
 3. His name. " Whose name was Job." 
 Denotes "the persecuted," or "the peni- 
 tent." Names in the east often significant, 
 descriptive of character or histoi-y. Some- 
 times given from events connected with the 
 birth, as Jabez, Ichabod, &c. Sometimes 
 changed for another in after-life, as Jacob 
 for Israel, Jedidiah for Solomon. Benoni, 
 " son of my affliction," changed by Jacob to 
 Benjamin, "son of my right hand " (Gen. 
 xxxv. 18). Job thought by some to be the 
 same with Jobab (Gen. x. 29). "Job " also 
 the name of one of the sons of Issachar 
 (Gen. xlvi. 13). Job's name a memento of 
 the possible or actual reverse to his pros- 
 perity (ch. iii. 25, 26). His afflictions to be 
 remembered as waters that have passed 
 away (ch. xi. 16). Profitable, as well as 
 pleasant, to remember past troubles (Ps. xlii. 
 6,8). 
 
 II. His character. "That man was 
 
 perfect," &c. The question not so much 
 what a man DOES as what he is. Grace men- 
 tioned before greatness. A gracious character 
 and spiritual blessings a man's choicest pos- 
 sessions. 
 
 " Perfect." Implies : 1. Completeness. 
 Job complete in all the parts of his moral 
 character (Jam. i. 4). Like a human body 
 with no member or organ wanting or imper- 
 fect. A man's morality and religion to be 
 characterized by symmetry and thoroughness. 
 Attention not to be given to one class of 
 duties to the neglect of anotliet: Job con- 
 scientious in the discharge of all the duties 
 of life (Ps. cxix. 6). Kept, like Paul, a con- 
 science void of offence both towards God and 
 man (Acts xxiv. 16). Believers to be sancti- 
 fied wholly, throughout body, soul, and spirit 
 (1 Thess. v. 23.) Are actually sanctified 
 in every part, though every part not wholly 
 sanctijied. A perfect man, in the New Testa- 
 ment sense, an advanced, mature, and fully 
 instructed Christian (Phil. iii. 15 ; 1 Cor. ii 
 6; Eph. iv. 13; James iii. 2). 
 
 2. Sincerity. Job's perfection rather 
 that of purpose than performance. Aimed 
 constantly at perfection. Not sinless but 
 sincere. Without guile (John i. 57). 
 Without hypocrisy towards God or double- 
 dealing towards man. Sincerity the founda- 
 tion of a gracious character. Gives religion 
 all its worth and beauty. Godly sincerity 
 is Gospel perfection. Sincere and sound- 
 hearted believers in God's sight " perfect." 
 
 3 Blamelessness. The character of Ze- 
 chariah and Elizabeth (Luke i. 6). No 
 fault found in Daniel, even by his enemies 
 (Dan. vi. 4). Moral integrity is Bible per- 
 fection. Paul lived in all good conscience 
 (Acts xxiv. 2). Job blameless though not 
 sinless, lleproved by Jehovah (ch. xlii. 5, 6). 
 Noah said to be perfect (Gen. vi. 9). 
 God's testimony to Job's blamelessness (ch. ii. 
 3). His own (ch. xxxi throughout). 
 
 Christian Perfection* 
 
 A certain perfection belonging to saints 
 both in Old and New Testaments. Tha holiness 
 of believers ou.earth, partial and progressive. 
 Christ the only absolutely righteous and 
 perfect One. Believers perfect and complete 
 m Him, now representatively, hereafter per 
 sonally (Col. ii, 10). Have here a begun per- 
 fection in conformity to Christ's image (Rom. 
 
 5
 
 CHAP. I. 
 
 HOMILETIC COMMENTARY: JOB. 
 
 viii. 9. 29). That conformity to be in time 
 absolute and complete (2 Cor. iii. 18). Christ 
 made to those who are in Him both " wisdom" 
 and "sanctification" (1 Cor. i. 30). Believers 
 only made perfect in love (1 John iv. 18). 
 Job's case (ch. xxix 11, 16 ; xxxi. 16, 20). Love 
 the fulfilling of the law (Rom. xiii. 10). 
 Perfection required by God in all his children 
 (Matt. v. 48 ; Gen. xvii. 1 ; Jam. i. 4). To 
 be constantly pressed after by them (Phil. iii. 
 12, 14). Desire and endeavour after it a - 
 test of sincerity. Not usually to be attained 
 without afflictions (Heb. v. 8 ; xii. 10, 11). 
 The Captain of our salvation himself made 
 perfect through suffering (Heb. ii. 10). 
 Job perfect and upright before his trials, 
 humble and contrite after them (ch. xl. 4 ; 
 xlii. 6. 
 
 " Upright." Refers to heart and life. Or, 
 "perfect" internally, "upright" externally. 
 Job outwardly what he was inwardly, and vice 
 versa. Uprightness of life and conduct the 
 lest proof of inward sincerity. When the 
 heart is sincere towards God, the actions will 
 be just towards men. " Upright "= straight. 
 Job held the straight path of rectitude. 
 Sin's ways crooked. Joshua not to turn to 
 the right hand or to the left (Joshua i. 7). 
 Like Daniel, Job did what was right, regard- 
 less of consequences (Dan. vi. 10). " Perfect" 
 and " upright " connected also in the Psalms 
 (Psalm xxxvii. 37). The two complete the 
 moral character of a man of God. 
 
 " One that feared God." Another element 
 in his character, and accounting for the pre- 
 ceding. Religion, or the fear of God, the true 
 basis of morality. The first table of the law 
 the foundation of and preparation for the 
 second. A morality without religion is a body 
 without a soul. Job profoundly religious. 
 The horizon of his soul filled with God (ch. 
 xxix. 3, 4 ; xxxi. 23). Looked at all things in 
 then- relation to God and His will (ch. xxxi. 
 2, 14, 15, 28). Reverenced His majesty, re- 
 
 firded His authority, dreaded His wrath, 
 eared God, not the idols of his country- 
 men (ch. xxxi. 26, 27). So Cornelius (Acts 
 * *) Feared Him, not with a slavish but a 
 u tear a fear coupled with confidence and 
 love. The fear of the saints, rather the fear 
 of offending than the dread of suffering. 
 Be levers fear God for His goodness as 
 well as His greatness (Hos. iii. 5). Saints 
 tear God because He pardons, sinners be- 
 cause He pimishes (P S . cxxx. 4). Filial 
 fear the product of God's free grace re- 
 vealed m the Gospel (Jer. xxxii 39, 40; 
 Rom. vm. lo). The root of all true religion 
 Holiness perfected in it (2 Cor. vii. 1 For- 
 giveness through the blood of Jesus im- 
 parted with a view to it (Ps. cxxx. 4). That 
 fear required by God (Jer. v. 22). Due to 
 Hun (Ps. Ixxxix. 7). Casts out the fear of 
 
 man (Heb. xi. 27 ; Dan. iii. 16 18). The 
 fear of God the secret of true courage and 
 endurance. Fabius Maximus, a Roman 
 general, sought to impress his soldiers with 
 reverence for the gods as the best means 
 of confirming their valour [Plata rch~\. 
 
 "Eschewed evil." Heb., " Departed from 
 evil," from its practice and presence. Hurried 
 awa.y from it as from the presence of a monster. 
 Avoided it as offensive to God, and in itself 
 loathsome and abominable. SoMetinm i,iore 
 difficult to avoid^ evil than to practice good. 
 Evil often fashionable. Followed by the 
 multitude (Expd. xxiii. 2; Matt. vii. 13). To 
 depart from evil the effect and evidence of the 
 fear of God (Ps. iv. 4 ; Prov. viii. 13 ; xvi. 
 6). Exhibits the spirituality and strength 
 of holiness. The spirit active against evil 
 in order to depart from it. Believers while 
 on earth beset with temptations to evil. 
 Job eschewed all evil. Every appearance of 
 it to be abstained from (1 Thess. v. 22). 
 Evil to be departed from in its pleasing as 
 well as its repulsive forms. Not only evil 
 itself to be eschewed, but its occasions, 
 temptations, and incentives (Prov. iv. 14, 
 15; Malt. v. 29, 30). Job withdrew his 
 eyes from evil as well as his hands and feet 
 (ch. xxxi. 1). To depart from evil neces- 
 sary in order to persevere in good. Grace 
 received to be carefully guarded and pre- 
 served. Job's perfection not sinlessness, but 
 a constant striving against sin. 
 
 III. His prosperity. 
 
 In three particulars (verse 2). 
 
 1. His children. " There were born to 
 him." Children esteemed a great part of a 
 man's prosperity and happiness, especially in 
 O. T. times. Viewed as a mark of the 
 Divine favour and blessing (Ps. cxxvii. 3 5 ; 
 cxxviii. 3, 4). Mentioned first as the chief 
 part of Job's outward prosperity. His 
 happiness, however, not merely in having 
 children, but having them godly (verse 5). 
 " Born to him.'''' His children comforts and 
 blessings to him. Job eminent for holiness, 
 yet not a hermit or recluse. 
 
 "Seven sons and three daughters." In 
 number and sex the ideal of a perfect family. 
 Both numbers, as well as their sum, mystic 
 and symbolical. "Seven," indicative of per- 
 fection ; ^ten," of multitude. The more 
 children, if gracious, the greater blessing. 
 More sons than daughters, an enhancement 
 of his property. A large family no hindrance 
 to piety, uprightness, and charity (ch. xxix. 
 1117; xxxi. 1320, 32). So Enoch 
 walked with God 300 years, and begat sons 
 and daughters (Gen. v. 22). 
 
 2. His property. "His substance was 
 seven thousand sheep," &c. Job described 
 as an Arab prince, emir or sheikh. His
 
 HOMILETIC COMMENTARY: JOB. 
 
 CHAP. I. 
 
 possession in cattle, though not a wandering 
 Bedowin (ch. xxix. 7). No land or houses 
 mentioned, though living in or near a city. 
 Appears, like Isaac, to have cultivated laud 
 belonging to others (ch. xxxi. 39). Wealth, 
 in earliest times, reckoned not by extent of 
 land but number of cattle (Gen. xii. 61 ; 
 xxiv. 35 ; xxx. 43). Heavenly wisdom the 
 only real " substance " (ProT. viii. 21 ; xxiii. 
 5). Piety and clarity ordinarily the best way 
 of thriving even in this world. Prayer whets 
 the tools, oils the wheels, and brings a bless- 
 ing. Riches an evil only in their abuse. In 
 the hand a blessing, in the heart a curse. 
 Riches not bad, therefore given to the good; 
 not the best, therefore given also to the bad. 
 Taken from the good for trial, from the 
 bad for conviction or punishment. Not 
 money, bnt the loce of it, the root of all evil 
 (1 Tim. vi. 10). Job's grace seen in his 
 having riches without setting his heart on 
 them (ch. xxxi. 24, 25 ; Ps. Ixii. 10). One 
 of the few examples in which the camel gets 
 through the needle's eye (Matt. xix. 24). In 
 the N.T., the poor of this world often chosen 
 as heirs of the kingdom (Jam. ii. 5). The 
 Master himself without a place on which to 
 lay his head (Matt. viii. 20). "Enough for 
 the servant that he be as his Lord (Matt. x. 
 25). Job pious, and his piety acting as a 
 friend to his prosperity; prosperous, and his 
 prosperity giving a lustre to his piety 
 \Betuy.'] 
 
 " Household." Body of servants or slaves 
 required for cattle and agriculture. Job's 
 slaves or servants treated by him with 
 justice arid humanity (ch, xxxi. 13). Re- 
 
 garded by him as in God's sight. on the same 
 footing with himself (ch. xxxi. 14). Could all 
 bear honourable testimony to his conduct and 
 character (ch. xxxi. 31). Like Abraham, 
 doubtless, had them trained for God's service 
 as well as his own (Gen. xiv. 14). 
 
 3. His dignity. "So that " (or, "and ") " he 
 was the greatest," &c. A new feature in his 
 prosperity. Probably indicates his eminence 
 and rank as a prince or magistrate. Job not 
 only the richest but the most respected in 
 the land (Gen. xxiv. 35 ; xxvi. 13 ; Ecc. ii. 
 9). A man of great authority, not only from 
 his possessions but his character. His 
 greatness not only that of wealth, but of 
 intellectual and moral worth (ch. xxix. 11 
 16 ; xxxi. 16 20). Mentioned to show the 
 greatness of his fall and his grace in bearing 
 it. Job, like David and Daniel, an example 
 of grace coupled with earthly uobility. 
 Grace graces the highest position. Good- 
 ness, the fairest jewel in an earthly coronet. 
 Grace found in every station. Not many- 
 noble are called, yet always some (1 Cor. i. 
 26). Poor Lazarus reposes umch Abraham's 
 bosom. Goodness appears the more excel- 
 lent when associated with worldly greatness. 
 Has then most to overcome and can most 
 diifuse its influence. 
 
 " Men of the East." " The East " applied 
 to countries east of Palestine, as the north of 
 Arabia. Heb., "Sons of the East." Noted for 
 their riches, yet Job the richest of them all. 
 Easy with God to make his children the 
 greatest, yet in love often places them among 
 the least iu this world (1 Cor, i. 27, 28). 
 
 CHAPTER I. 4, 5. 
 
 SECOND PART OF PROSE INTRODUCTION. 
 
 I. Job's happiness in his children 
 
 (verse 4). 
 
 ." And his sons went," &c. Their feast- 
 ing the medium of social intercourse and 
 of maintaining friendly relations with each 
 other. Shows (1) the social habits of his 
 children ; (2) the love and harmony prevail- 
 ing among them. An exemplification of 
 Ps. cxxxiii. 1. Contrasted with the family 
 of Adam (Gen. iv. 8) ; of Abraham (Gen. 
 xxi. 9; of Isaac (Gen. xxvii. 41) ; of Jacob 
 (Gen. xxxvii. 4) ; of David (2 Sam. xiii, 28). 
 
 Festivity. 
 
 "Feasting" lawful, when (1) moderate; 
 (2) seasonable ; (3) in the fear of God ; (4) 
 with thankful acknowledgment of his good 
 ness; (5) without offence to others ; (6) with 
 c'hurit able remembrance of the poor and needy 
 
 (Luke xiv. 1214. Ecc. iii. 4), The general 
 rule of Christian feasting (1 Cor. x. 31). Its 
 limitation (Rom. xiv. 20, 21 ; 1 Cor. viii. 13; 
 x. 32, 33). Unseasonable times for feasting 
 (Amos vi. 4 6 ; Joel ii. 16 ; Is. xxii. 12, 13). 
 Christ's presence and miracle at Cana a 
 sanction to special seasons of temperate 
 festivity (John ii. 111). The creature 
 given not only for necessity but delight (Ps. 
 civ. 14, 15). 
 
 Job's sons feasted (1) in their own houses ; 
 indicating their wealth, order, and harmony ; 
 also, the maturity of their age. Enhances 
 the calamity of their death. (2) " Each on 
 his own day,' 1 i. e. his birthday, or the day 
 on which it was his turn to entertain the 
 rest. Birthdays in the East days of great 
 rejoicing (Gen. xl. 20 ; Matt. xiv. 6). (3.) 
 They sent and called for their " three sis-
 
 CHAP. I. 
 
 IIOMILETIC COMMENTARY: JOB. 
 
 ters," supposed, like women in the East, to 
 be living with their mother, in their own 
 tent or apartment (Gen. xxiv. 67 ; xxxi. 33, 
 34 ; Esther ii. 914 ). Beautiful picture of 
 fraternal harmony and affection. Proof of 
 how Job had trained up his family. 
 
 II. JoVs spiritual care over his 
 children (verse 5). 
 
 "And it was so, when," &c. At the con- 
 clusion of each feast Job offers special sacri- 
 fices for his children. Uncertain whether 
 his sons were present, though probable. 
 " He sent and sanctified them ; " (1) Doing 
 what is immediately after related ; or, (2) 
 Exhorting them to prepare themselves for 
 the approaching solemnity. In O. T lan- 
 guage, people often said to do that which 
 they enjoin to le done. The members of the 
 family usually present at the family sacrifice 
 (1 Sam. xx. 6, 29). Hence learn : 
 
 1. Christians to see that their families ob- 
 serve God's worship as well as themselces. 
 Family worship an institution of God. An 
 acknowledgment of God as the God of the 
 family and the author of family blessings: A 
 prayerless family an unblessed one. A family 
 without worship, a garden without a fence. 
 The presence of the children at daily family 
 worship calculated to produce (1) Reverential 
 fear and filial confidence towards God; (2) 
 Dutiful regard, submission, and obedience to- 
 wards their parents; (3) Harmony, affec- 
 tion, and sympathy towards each other. 
 
 2. Preparation necessary for solemn ser- 
 vices and approaches to God (Ex. xix. 10, 
 14; Ps. xxvi. 2). As men measure to God 
 in preparation, God measures to men in 
 blessing \Trupp]. God not to be wor- 
 shipped carelessly and slovenly, but in the 
 best manner possible (Ecc. v, ]). Jews 
 had their preparation and fore-preparation 
 for the Passover. Before Christ, such pre- 
 paration both moral and ceremonial (Gen. 
 xxxv. 2). After Christ, only moral (Ps. 
 xxvi. 2). 
 
 Job took measures to keep his child- 
 ren in a pure and pardoned state. Parents 
 cannot make their children spiritual wor- 
 shippers, but can bring them to spiritual 
 ordinances. Cannot give converting grace, 
 but can employ the means through which 
 God may impart it. 
 
 Job recognized and sought to discharge his 
 responsibilities as a father. Realized his 
 children's relation to God and eternity. 
 Hence more concerned that they should have 
 grace in their heart than gold in their house ; 
 should stand in the favour of God than en- 
 joy the smiles of the world; should be sancti- 
 fied for the next world than be accomplished 
 for this. Job's solicitude contrasted with 
 Eli's indifference (1 Sam. ii. 29). A parent's. 
 8 
 
 responsibility for his children does not cease 
 I'-ifh their childhood. Though no longer 
 sheltered by the parent's roof, they can and 
 ought to be sheltered by the parent 's prayers. 
 " Rose up early." His zeal and earnest- 
 ness. Impatient till God was reconciled to 
 his children. An early hour required by the 
 largeness of the work as well as the solemnity 
 of it. Sacrifices usually offered early in the 
 morning (Ex. xxxii. 6). Not safe to let sin 
 be unrepcnted of and usforaiveH. The Psalm- 
 ist's resolution (Ps. Ixiii. 1). Abraham's 
 practice (Gen. xxii. 3). That of Moses (Ex. 
 xxiv. -4; of Jesus Christ (Mark i. 35). Has 
 special promise attached to it (Prov. viii. 
 17). What our hands find to do, to be done 
 with our might (Ecc. ix. 10). Well to 
 begin, the day with prayer and application 
 of the Atonement. God, the author of every 
 day, ought to have the first hour of it. The 
 mind then freshest and freest from earthly 
 cares and distractions. Early worship taught 
 by the light of nature. Practised by the 
 heathen (1 Sam. v. 3, 4). 
 
 III. Job's faith in the Atonement. 
 
 " Offered burnt offerings," as the head of 
 the family. Patriarchal custom. So Abra- 
 ham (Gen. xii. 7, 8) ; Isaac (Gen. xxvi. 25) ; 
 Jacob (Gen. xxxiii. 20 ; xxxv. 6). The Law 
 with a priestly family not yet instituted. 
 
 Sacrifices. 
 
 The " burnt-offering " a victim slain and 
 burnt entire on the altar (Lev. i. 9.) 
 Under the law, might be either a bullock, 
 a lamb, a goat, or turtle doves (Lev. i. 2, 
 10, 14). Burnt-offerings the only sacrifices 
 mentioned in Patriarchal times. Sacrifices 
 offered from the earliest period. Found 
 in Adam's family (Gen. iv. 4). Probably- 
 prescribed by God himself on the day man 
 fell. The first sacrifices probably the beasts 
 with whose skins God provided coats for our 
 first parents (Gen. iii. 21). The first express 
 direction from God regarding sacrifice given 
 to Abraham (Gen. xv. 9.) Intended to keep 
 in view the promised Seed, to be bruised in 
 man's stead (Gen. iii. 15). Offered with 
 every special approach to God. No worship 
 without sacrifice. Without shedding of 
 blood no remission, and without remission 
 no acceptable approach to God. Sacrifices 
 told (1) Of guilt; (2) Of punishment; (3) 
 Of substitution. Sometimes Eucharistic, or 
 connected with thanksgiving. So Noah's 
 (Gen. viii. 20) Sometimes Federative, or 
 connected with a covenant (Ex. xxiv. 4 
 8). In Job's case, simply Expiatory, or 
 with a view to forgiveness of sin. Hence 
 his faith (Heb. ii. 4). Sacrifice, as a sub- 
 stitute for the offender, a natural instinct. 
 Hence, as well as from tradition, universal
 
 HOMILETW COMMENTARY: JOB. 
 
 CHAP. I. 
 
 in the heathen world. There, sometimes 
 human ones offered, as of more supposed 
 value than dumb animals. Impossible for 
 the blood of bulls and goats to take away 
 sin (Heb. x. 4). The insufficiency of all 
 such sacrifices deeply felt in the conscience 
 (Mic. vi. 6, 7). Evert/ blood;/ sacrifice a 
 finger pointing lo the only sufficient- one on 
 Calvary (John i. 29). Hence the cry 
 on the cross, " It is finished," and the 
 rent veil (John xix. 30 ; Matt, xxvii. 51.) 
 
 "Die man, or justice must, unless for him 
 Some other able and as willing, pay 
 The rigid satisfaction, death for death." 
 
 Milton. 
 
 " According to the number of them all." 
 A victim for each of the seven sons. Job 
 no niggard ia God's service. Children lo 
 be prayed for individually and specifically. 
 Each has his particular temper and circum- 
 stances, trials and temptations, sins and 
 wants. Christ's one offering sufficient fur all 
 and for all time (Ileb. x. 12 14). Particu- 
 lar application of the atonement to be made 
 by and for each. Each sinner needs a sub- 
 stitute for himself or a personal interest in 
 the great universal one. " He gave Himself 
 a ransom for all," to be followed by " He 
 gave Himself for me " (1 Tim. ii. 6 ; Gal. 
 ii. 20). 
 
 " For Job said," within himself or to 
 others. Special reason why Job now sacri- 
 ficed. Religious duties to be grounded on 
 intelligent reasons. God requires a reason- 
 able service (Rom. xii. 1. Not ignorance, 
 but intelligence, the mother of true devo- 
 tion. " Call him wise whose actions, words, 
 and steps are all a clear because to a clear 
 why " \Lavater\. 
 
 "It may be my sons have sinned," 
 during their festivities. A bloody sacrifice 
 rendered necessary by sin, which can only 
 be washed out by blood (Heb. ix. 22). 
 Sin such an outrage on God's universe 
 that only blood can atone for it \Talmage\. 
 "It may be." Suspicion of sin, much more 
 the consciousness of it, ought to send us at 
 once to Christ's blood. A blessing to have 
 a tender conscience. To be without 
 allowed, sin, the holiness of earth; to 
 be without sin at all, the holiness 
 of heaven. Sin easily committed in the 
 tumult and rush of pleasure. The time of 
 
 security the time for greatest apprehension. 
 Job's sons usually devout. Their sinning 
 now only a contingency ; but a very possible 
 one. Their danger that of (1) Vain 
 thoughts; (2) Excited feelings; (3) Un- 
 guarded words. Cause for Job's concern 
 (1) In the dopravity of the heart ; (2) In 
 the frailty and folly of youth ; (3) in the 
 temptations incident to a feast. Wine a 
 mocker ; sin easily committed under its in- 
 fluence (Prov. xx. 1 5 xxxiii. 2935). A 
 double guard needed in the social use of 
 it. " Cursed God in their hearts ; " re- 
 proached or renounced Him for the moment. 
 Same word usually rendered " bless." Some- 
 times also the opposite, as 1 Kings xxi; 
 10. Blessing in the East customary on part- 
 ing as well as meeting (Gen. xlvii. 7 10 ; 
 1 Kings viii. 66). Hence, or from a peculiar 
 Hebrew usage, the probable double meaning 
 of the word here as well as in chap. ii. 9. 
 Allowed sin a temporary renouncement of 
 God. Sin itself an element of separation 
 between God and the soul. Great danger 
 of such renouncement in festivity and worldly 
 pleasure. " In their hearts ; " (1) thinking 
 lightly of God's favour in comparison with 
 present enjoyment: the contrast of Psalm iv. 
 6, 7 ; (2) forgetting and not acknowledging 
 God as the author of all their mercies. 
 Heart or secret sins not to be lightly thought 
 o/'(Ps. xix. 12; 1 Cor. iv. 4). Such sins 
 are (1 ) Dangerous ; (2) Deserving condem- 
 nation; (3) Need atoning blood. The 
 morality of Job's children. Job apprehen- 
 sive only of heart sins. 
 
 IV. The habit and continuance of 
 Job's piety. 
 
 "Thus did Job continually." Marg. : 
 "All the days;" either, while the feast 
 lasted ; or rather, at the conclusion of 
 every such feast. Job's piety habitual and 
 constant. Mark of his sincerity. He who 
 serves God uprightly will serve Him con- 
 tinually \_M. Henry]. The same occasions 
 always liable to bring the same sins. Same 
 corrupt nature always present. Fresh sins 
 require fresh pardon. Renewed pardon re- 
 quires renewed application to the atoning 
 blood. The blood of Jesus a fountain ever 
 full and ever free. Prayer and care to 
 folloio the godly through life. Constant 
 washing of the feet needed (John xiii. 10). 
 
 CHAPTER I. 612 
 THIRD PART OF PROSE INTRODUCTION. 
 
 I. The celestial council (verse 6). 
 " There was a day." What God decrees in 
 eternity has its day of accomplishment in time. 
 " Everything has its hour " [Hebrew Proverb], 
 
 "The sons of God came." Representa- 
 tion of God's court and administration. So 
 1 Kings xxii. 19. The veil separating 
 the visible from the invisible drawn aside.
 
 CHAP. I. 
 
 HOJIILETIC COMMENTARY i JOB. 
 
 Reveals au assembly of God's angelic 
 ministers and Himself among them. All 
 Job's trials tie result of transactions in 
 Jieaten. The same true of the sufferings 
 and death of Job's great Antitype (Acts ii. 
 23 ; vi. 27, 28) ; and of the trials of the 
 least of His suffering members (Rom. 
 viii. 2830). 
 
 Angels. 
 
 "Sons of God," i.e., angels, celestial 
 spirits. So xxxviii. 7. All ministering spirits 
 employed in Jehovah's service (Ps. ciii. 21 ; 
 Heb. i. 14) Perhaps including the spirits of 
 departed believers (Rev. vii. 13 ; xxii. 8, 9; 
 Acts xii. 14, 15). "Sons of God," from 
 their nature; "angels," or messengers, 
 from their office. " Sons of God," by crea- 
 tion} "angels," by Divine appointment. 
 " Sous of God," as resembling God, (1) in 
 spirituality of substance ; (2) in intellec- 
 tual, moral, and physical qualities (Ps. ciii. 
 20). Of various ranks and orders, and invested 
 with various powers and charges (Rom. viii. 
 38 ; Eph. i. 21 ; Col. i. 10 ; 2 Peter iii. 22 ; 
 Rev. xiv. 18 ; xvi. 5 ; xix. 17)." Pre- 
 sent themselves before the Lord," as His 
 ministers or attendants (Prov. xxii. 29; 
 Zech. vi. 5 ; Luke i. 19). Ready to receive 
 and execute His orders and to render 
 their account. " Thousands at His bidding 
 speed, and post o'er land and ocean." As 
 e Goi-cr/>or, God takes cognizance of 
 all that is done in this and other worlds. 
 Miyhty spirits the ministers and execu- 
 tioners of His behests. Such employed iu 
 the destruction of the cities of the plain 
 (Gen. xix. 1, 12, 13) ; in the promulgation 
 of the law on Mount Sinai (Gal. iii. 19 ; 
 Acts vii. 53 5 Ps. Ixviii. 17) ; in the destruc- 
 tion of the Assyrian army and deliverance of 
 Jerusalem (Is. xxxvii. 36) ; in the restora- 
 tion of the Jewish church and state after the 
 captivity (Dan. 20, 21 ; Zech. i. 10, 11, 
 20, 21 ; vi. 1 o) ; in the establishment 
 and spread of the Gospel (Luke ii. 9 12 ; 
 John i. 51) ; in the destruction of the king- 
 dom of Antichrist (Rev. xix. 14); in the 
 transactions of the last day (Matt. xiii. 41, 
 49, 50) 5 in the service of individual be- 
 lievers (Heb. i. 14; Acts xii. 7) ; pre- 
 eminently in that of their incarnate Head 
 (Ps. xci. 11, 12 ; Matt. iv. 11). 
 
 "The LORD." Heb., "Jehovah." Always 
 with this meaning when printed in capitals. 
 Indicates (1) The self-existing, eternal, un- 
 changeable Being (Ex. iii. 14); (2) The faith- 
 ful fulfiller of covenant relations and engage- 
 ments. Not practically known to the patri- 
 archs before Moses by this name (Ex. vi. 3). 
 Appeared only at the Burning Bush as the 
 promise-fulfilling God. The name applied 
 to and appropriated by Jesus (Rom. xiii, 10 
 
 10 
 
 12 ; Rev. i. 8). Given specifically to the 
 One True God who adopted the descendants 
 of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob for His 
 people, when the world was apostatizing 
 into idolatry. The name never applied to a 
 false God or to any mere creature. Given 
 however to an angel who is called " the angel 
 of the Lord " or the " angel Jehovah," being 
 the second person in the Godhead; the Mes- 
 senger of the Covenant and Mediator between 
 God and men, who afterwards became incar- 
 nate. 
 
 II. Satan's Presence. 
 
 " And Satan came also among them." 
 
 Satan. 
 
 Here first introduced under this name. 
 Observe 
 
 1. His name. Denotes "the adversary." 
 The devil so called (1 Pet. v. S). The name 
 without the article applied to an adversary 
 in a court of justice (Ps. cix. 6). Other 
 names the Devil or Slanderer ; the Old 
 Serpent ; the Great Dragon; the Tempter ; 
 the Wicked One; Beelzebub; Apollyon; the 
 Prince and god of this world. 
 
 2. His personality. His personal exist- 
 ence is (1.) In accordance with reason. 
 
 (1) Existences may be above as well as below 
 man. (ii.) These existences may fall and be- 
 come unholy as truly as man. (iii.) Fallen intel- 
 ligent beings usually the tempters of others. 
 
 (2) Testified by the ichole of Scripture. The 
 truth regarding him gradually developed in 
 the Old Testament. Marked out as a ser- 
 pent in the temptation of our first parents. 
 Probably the lying spirit in the mouth of 
 the false prophets (1 Kings xxii. 21). The 
 name itself given, 1 Chron. xxi. 1 ; Zech. iii. 
 1. His personality pre-eminently taught by 
 the Lord Jesus Himself in the Gospels. 
 
 (3) Confirmed by universal belief. The belief 
 in the existence of such a spirit common to 
 all nations. 
 
 3. His nature and character. A created 
 spirit ; probably one of the highest. A son 
 of God by creation, like the other angels, and 
 originally holy ; but fell, apparently through 
 pride (1 Tim. iii. 6 ; Jude vi.). Has become 
 the tempter and accuser of men, especially 
 of the good (Rv. xii. 10). The most finished 
 specimen of unsanctified intelligence. His 
 nature, great intellect employed for selfish 
 and wicked purposes. Designated by Christ 
 a liar and a murderer (John viii. 44). Christ's 
 whole life a conflict with him, according to 
 the promise (Gen. iii. 15). The life of every 
 believer a similar conflict (Eph. vi. 11 17 ; 
 1 Pet. v. 8). Believers made the theatre of 
 Christ's continued victory over him. Already 
 overcome by Christ on their behalf (Col. ii. 
 15). To be bruised under their feet shortly
 
 I10MILETIC COMMENTARY: JOB. 
 
 CHAP. i. 
 
 (Rom. xvi. 20). Meantime to be steadfastly 
 resisted (1 Pet. v. 9). Times of signal vic- 
 tory over him indicated in Luke x. 18.; llev. 
 xii. 10. Seeks every advantage over us 
 (2 Cor. ii. 11). Transforms himself into an 
 angel of light (2 Cor. xi. 14). Is overcome 
 by the word of God and faith in the blood 
 of Christ (Rev. xii. 11). Law and justice, 
 through sin, on Satan's side .against man ; 
 (Heb. ii. 14) ; but through Christ's death, 
 once more on man's side against Satan (Is. 
 xlii. 21 ; li. 8 ; Rom. viii. 32 34). Believers 
 to reckon on his repeated and sometimes 
 sudden assaults. The more faithful and 
 walking in the light, the more exposed to 
 them. 
 
 4. His loorks. The agent in Adam's fall 
 (2 Cor. ii. 3) a wide-spread tradition. 
 Sought to overthrow Christ and to draw Him 
 into sin (Matt. iv). He blinds men's minds 
 against the light of the Gospel (2 Cor. iv. 4). 
 Seeks to catch away the seed of the word 
 from the hearts of the hearers (Matt. xiii. 
 19). Aims at beguiling men's minds from 
 the simplicity of Christ's doctrine (2 Cor. ii. 
 3). Affects men's bodies with diseases and 
 infirmities (Luke xiii. 16). Endeavours to 
 thwart the preachers of the Gospel (1 Thess. 
 ii. 18). Employs his messengers to buffet 
 Christ's servants (2 Cor. xii. 7). Probably 
 much of the nnsteadfastness and discomfort 
 of believers due to his agency \_Homilisf]. 
 In regard to Satan, the book of Job in close 
 analogy with the whole Bible. Job's happi- 
 ness the object of Ids envy, like that of 
 Adam in Eden. Lying spirits, as well as 
 ministering angels, sent forth from God's 
 presence (also in 1 Kings xxii. 19). The 
 thorn in the flesh from Satan, alike in the 
 case of Job and Paul. " Came also." Satan 
 not less than other spirits subject to God's 
 authority. Like them also employed in 
 executing the divine purposes. An intruder 
 into all sacred places (1 Kings xxii. 19, &c. ; 
 Luke, iv. 31). His punishment only gradually 
 inflicted. Still allowed to move at large. 
 "Among them." As Judas among the 
 Apostles. Still found in the assemblies of 
 God's children. No place on earth too holy 
 for his intrusion. Public ordinances special 
 occasions for the exertion of his power. 
 Present to distract the thoughts, defile the 
 imagination, and harden the heart. 
 
 III. Jehovah's challenge regarding 
 Job (verse 7). 
 
 " The Lord said unto Satan, whence comest 
 thou ?" The highest fallen spirit amenable 
 to Jehovah. No creature able to outgrow his 
 responsibility. That responsibility not dimi- 
 nished bv a course of sin. God's questions 
 not for information to the questioner but 
 conviction to the questioned. Similar ques- 
 
 tions to Adam (Gen. iii. 2) ; and to Cain (Gen. 
 iv. 9). The question intended to open the 
 way to Job's desired trial. At the same time 
 lays bare Satan's character and doings. The 
 most secret malice open, to the eye of Omnis- 
 cience. 
 
 "Erom going to and fro." Marks (1) 
 Satan's present circumstances . Allowed still 
 to roam at large, though ever in chains. 
 Only reserved to the judgment of eternal fire 
 (Jude vi. ; Matt. xxv. 52). (2) His terrible 
 activity. Satan no laggard. Ever on the wiag. 
 In constant quest of opportunities of mischief 
 (L Peter v. 8). A true Apollyou; assiduous 
 in his endeavours to destroy. (3) 'His home- 
 lessness and unrest. Like Cain, a vagabond 
 in the earth. Seeks rest and finds none 
 (Matt. xii. 45). No rest for a depraved spirit 
 (Is. Ivii. 20, 21). (4) His constant increase 
 of knowledge. Same word implies " Search " 
 (Num. xi. 8 ; 2 Sam. xxiv. 2). Satan ever 
 prying into the ways and circumstances of 
 men. Constantly increasing his knowledge 
 with a view to destroy. " In the earth." 
 This earth now the permitted sphere of his 
 activity. No place therefore secure from 
 his attacks. Good to remember we are in a 
 world where Satan is, and is ever active. 
 " Going up and down in it." Intensifies his 
 activity and restlessness. Satan's name 
 among the Arabs, El Harith, " The Active," 
 or "The Zealous." Seems to glory in his 
 work. Knows he has but a short time (Rev. 
 xii. 12). Goes up and down in the earth but 
 finds no home in it. Satan and all his children 
 homeless wanderers in the universe. His 
 answer in keeping with his character. Tells 
 only part of the truth. Says nothing of the 
 evil he does and seeks to do. Unable to 
 report any good deed, and unwilling to own 
 to any evil one. His work had been to draw 
 men away from their allegiance to God and 
 to destroy their souls. " Hast thou con- 
 sidered ? " &c. Satan questioned as no un- 
 concerned spectator. Allusion to his character 
 as a spy, enemy, and accuser of good men. 
 " My servant Job." God never ashamed to 
 own his faithful servants. An, interested spec- 
 tator of a good man's ways and actions. A 
 faithful servant of God the most consider- 
 able object in the world to God and angels. 
 " A servant of God " the most honourable and 
 distinguishing title. May be mean and con- 
 temptible without, but all glorious icithin 
 (Ps. xlv. 13). Job God's servant consciously 
 and by choice; Nabuchadnezzar God's ser- 
 vant unconsciously and by constraint (Jer. 
 xxv. 9). God's people proved by living as 
 His servants, not as their own masters. " My 
 servant Job," a stinging word to Satan. A 
 true saint is Satan's eye-sore. A good man 
 the special object of his attention and malice. 
 Job mentioned by name. Implies intimate
 
 C11AP. I. 
 
 H&MIIETIC COMMENTARY: JOB. 
 
 knowledge and special regard (Ex. xxxiii. 12 ; 
 Is. xlix. 1; Jer. xiii. 11; John x. 3). "That 
 there is," &c. God dwells on Job's character. 
 Delights in contemplating his saints (Zcph. 
 iii. 17. "None like him," in the degree of 
 his piety and fidelity. Degrees of excellence. 
 Job not only the greatest but the holiest. 
 Eniinence in goodness to be aimed tit. Paul 
 gloried in being "not a whit behind the very 
 chiefest Apostles" (2 Cor. xi. 5). His motto, 
 "Forward" (Phil. iii. 11 M). "On to 
 perfection" (Heb. vi. 1). God notices not 
 only a man's piety but the degree of it. Gives 
 to each his just meed of praise. "A perfect 
 and an upright man." Job's good character 
 endorsed by God. Good to have maifs testi- 
 mony in our favour, better still to have 
 God's. God more observant of the good than 
 the evil iii his people (Num. xxiii. 21). 
 
 IV. Satan's accusation ami proposal 
 
 (verse 9). 
 
 "Doth Job serve God for nought ?" Satan 
 true to his name, the Devil, or Slanderer. 
 Accuser of the brethren (Rev. xii. 10). A 
 good mads praise the reproach and torment of 
 the bad. Satan exalts a man's piety to make 
 him proud, denies it to make him sad. Cannot 
 deny Job's religion, but challenges tkegrowd 
 and reality of it. A mark of Satan's children 
 to be a detractor of true godliness. Satan's 
 method to begin by questioning. Insinuates, 
 then directly charges. Always a liar. In 
 Eden, called evil good, now calls good evil. 
 Satan's insinuation the immediate occasion of 
 Job's trial. "For nought." Either (1) With- 
 out sufficient cause (John xv. 25) ; or, (2) 
 Without regard to his own interest (Gen. xx 
 15). Job's religion charged with mercenary 
 motives his piety mere selfishness. Bad 
 men judge of others by themselves. With 
 carnal men piety is policy. A truth at the 
 bottom of Satan's insinuation, though false 
 in regard to Job. Everything lies in the 
 motive. A selfish piety no piety. Common 
 with Satan's children to call God's saints 
 hypocrites. An evil conscience makes men 
 suspicious of others' sincerity, Satan's charge 
 against Job implicitly one against God him- 
 self and the plan of Redemption. If Job's 
 religion is hollow, all religion is, and Redemp- 
 tion is a failure. Satan's words true as a 
 fact, though false as motive. No man serves 
 God for nought. Godliness profitable unto 
 all things (1 Tim. iv. 8 ; vi. G). In keeping 
 God's commandments is great reward (Ps. 
 xix. 11). God himself the exceeding great 
 reward of His servants (Gen. xv. 1). True 
 godliness consistent with "respect to the 
 recompense of the reward" (Heb. xi. 26). 
 Past and present mercies also not excluded 
 from the motives to godliness (Rom. xii. 1). 
 Yet true religion more (\\vngratitudeforpast 
 12 
 
 or regard to future good (Ps. cxix. 129, 140). 
 Satan well acquainted with mankind, but 
 ignorant of the nature of true grace. Not 
 only a deceicer but, like all unregenerate men, 
 deceived (Tit. iii. 3) " Hast thou not made 
 a hedge about him" (ver. 10). Satan speaks 
 (ruth when it serves his purpose. The saint's 
 happiness and enjoyment of the divine favour 
 the object of his hatred and envy. God's 
 protection of his servants a blessed truth. 
 (Ps. xci. ; cxxi.). His angels and still more 
 Himself the hedge of His people (Ps. xxxiv. 
 7; cxxi. 3; Zach. ii. 5). Either is Him- 
 self the hedge or makes one. Satan would 
 leap the hedge, but dare not, and cannot with- 
 out permission. " And about His house." 
 Not only the godly but theif belonging the 
 object of divine care. Horses and chariots 
 of fire around Elisha's residence (2 Kings 
 vi. 17). " On every side." Satan a wolf 
 prowling round the ibid and vexed to find no 
 means of entrance. " Hast blessed the work 
 of His hands." Satan well aware of the source 
 of Job's prosperity (Prov. x. 22). Satan no 
 atheist. Practical atheism makes men deny 
 what Satan admits. "The work of his hands," 
 his undertakings and engagements, as a 
 man, a master, and a magistrate. Job diligent 
 in business as well as fervent in spirit (Rom, 
 xii. 11. God's blesssing not with the idle but 
 icith the industrious. All toil bootless which is 
 unblest by God (Ps. cxxvi. 12). Peter toils all 
 night but catches nothing till Christ enters 
 the boat (Luke v. 5, C). "But put forth 
 thine hand now" (ver. 11). Satan's impu- 
 dence equal to his malice. Gives God the 
 lie and challenges Him to a trial. Asserts 
 Job's hypocrisy and offers to prove it. Adopts 
 the language of a suppliant. Satan prays, 
 but in malice. Eager to see Job a sufferer 
 and proved to be a hypocrite. Unable to 
 put forth his own hand without permission. 
 " Touch all that he hath," children and pos- 
 sessions. The touch intended to be a destruc- 
 tive one (Ps. cv. 15). Satan's mercies cruel. 
 Earthly possessions subject to God's disposal. 
 Prosperity vanishes at his touch, (Ps. civ. 32). 
 " He will curse thee," reproach or re- 
 nounce thee, as in ver. 5. The natural result, 
 on the principle of selfishness. Common with 
 unrenewed nature. Heathens in misfortune 
 vilify their gods. Pompey, after a defeat, said 
 there had been a mist on the eyes of Provi- 
 dence. Margin, " If he curse thee not." 
 Probably an oath or imprecation, but partly 
 suppressed. Profanity the devil's language ; 
 yet in God's presence keeps back from fear 
 what men fear not to utter. " To thy face," 
 boldly and openly. Job's fear for his sons 
 that they might have done it in their hearts. 
 Boldness and openness an aggravation of sin. 
 Charity thinketh no evil j malice thinks all 
 evil.
 
 HOJIILETIC COMMENTARY: JOB. 
 
 CHAP. I. 
 
 V. The Permission (ver. 12). 
 
 " Behold." Marks (1) the strangeness of 
 the thing ; (2) the impudence of the demand ; 
 (3) the purpose of God to make the whole 
 conspicuous. God's thoughts and ways 
 above man's. His judgments a great deep. 
 Makes the wrath of man and devil to praise 
 Him. Glory to God and blessing to man by the 
 permission now given to Satan. " All that he 
 hath is in thy power." Satan's prayer granted, 
 and himself to be the instrument. A double 
 gratification, but to issue in his own confu- 
 sion. Not always a mercy for a man to hare 
 /'/* praiji'i' answered (Ps. cvi. 15; Hos. xiii. 
 10, 11). Job now, like the disciples, to be 
 for a time in Satan's sieve (Luke xxii. 31). 
 To be cast into the furnace, not to be con- 
 sumed, but proved and purified. Not under- 
 stood at the time, though sometimes for a mo- 
 ment apprehended (xxiii. 10). His ignorance 
 of the fact the cause of his disquietude and 
 perplexity. Believers of leu ignorant of the 
 cause and object of their trial* (John xiii. 7). 
 God's heart always towards his people even 
 
 when his hand seems against them. His 
 dearest saints sometimes apparently for a 
 time abandoned by Him (Ps. xxii. 1 ; 2 Chrou. 
 xxxii, 31). The most crushing trials neither 
 inconsistent with His grace in. us nor His 
 love to us. The cup drunk by the Head often 
 tasted by the members, though for a different 
 object (Matt. xx. 23 ; xxvi. 39). Satan God's 
 scullion for scouring the vessels of His 
 household [Trapji]. "On himself put not forth 
 thine hand." Satan a chained lion, and the 
 chain in our Father's hand. Belieeers tried 
 no farther than is necessary. " So Satan went 
 forth." Gladly and eagerly as a wolf with 
 permission to enter the fold. Thought every 
 hour two till he had sped his commission 
 \Trapp~\. His diligence in doing ecil to be 
 e i.i /dated by ^(S in doing good. "From tho 
 presence of the Lord," having been, like 
 Doeg, detained against his will (1 Sam. xxi. 
 7). God's presence no place for an unholy 
 nature. To " see God," the happiness only 
 of the "pure in heart" (Matt. v. 8; 1 John 
 iii. 1, 3 ; Rev. xxii. 4). 
 
 CHAPTER I. 1319. 
 FOURTH PART OF INTRODUCTION. INFLICTION OF THE TRIAL. 
 
 I. Occasion of the trial (verse 16). 
 
 "There was a day." Satan watches for 
 
 the time best suited for his designs. The 
 
 occasion chosen that the trial might fall the 
 
 more grievous (Is. xxi. 4). Diabolical 
 
 wisdom in doing mischief. Satan's terrible 
 
 malignity. "His sons and his daughters 
 
 were eating, and drinking wine." Tho 
 
 children's hilarity, to be an aggravation of 
 
 the father's calamity. The more unexpected 
 
 and unprepared for, the heavier Hie stroke. 
 
 Satan likes to make hid stroke tell. Turns 
 
 mirth into mourning. Job's children to die 
 
 when most likely to be pinning (ver. 5). 
 
 Satan's object to destroy both body and 
 
 soul at one, stroke. Satan as well as Job 
 
 knew the dangers incident to wine. Goifs 
 
 ] a. il 'j, ','.<' ii!.< iij'/i',t ri,,,i<' ?>/,/',/ nii-,1 aff most 
 
 secure (Luke xii. 19, 20; 1 Tlies. v. 2). 
 
 Good to rejoiee as though we rejoiced not 
 
 (1 Cor. vi'i. 30). The Saviours caution 
 
 (Luke xxi. 15, 4). Changes in circumstances 
 
 to be prepared for (Prov. xxvii. 1). A '!''.'/ 
 
 may hare a. fiir licg'iii,i'ii>'j tun! a fan I t>,nli,></. 
 
 ' iii the greatest calm provide for a storm' 
 
 [Qii.ee,> Elizabeth] " In their elder brother's 
 
 house." Hence no ordinary feast. The 
 
 cclebraiion of the chlcst son's birthday 
 
 chosen with characteristic malignity. 
 
 II. The trial itself in its four par- 
 ticulars. 
 
 1. Attack of the Sabeans on the oxen ami 
 asses (ver. 14, 15). "There came a messen- 
 ger," spared in Satan's malice to carry the 
 news. A "cruel messenger" to be sent to 
 Job, as if a " rebellious man " (Prov. xvii. 
 11). "The oxen." Satan begins with the 
 cattle. The trial must rise, in a climax. 
 "Were ploughing,"* preparing for the next 
 year's crop, thus also to be lost. '"Asses 
 feeding beside them," so arranged that both 
 might share the same fate. The picture of 
 security and repose heightens by contrast 
 the calamity of the attack." Sabeans." A 
 warlike marauding people in the north parts 
 of Arabia Dcserta. Those in South Arabia, 
 or Arabia Felix, vsi-hrm'*, not, mm-nntli;-* 
 (vi. 19 ; 1 Kings x. 1). Bedowecn incur- 
 sions able to reduce a rich man to poverty 
 in a few days. Sutan at no loss fur instru- 
 ments i iln //'> <"',-/. Possesses a mysterious 
 power to influence men's minds to evil. The 
 ungodly already prepared for that influence. 
 
 * OiiPiil-il plougliinjr, as in HIP soiilh <-f i 
 done by i,\fii. i'lun^li ol' \vinnl, i">M--i.-ti!i;i !' 
 two luiiiH.v, mill :i pole or IMm. l)r.tw:i li.V I ' 
 v!, I Mother, and gui.U-d l>v n ploughman using 
 
 "goad. 13
 
 CHA1'. t. 
 
 UOMILETW COMMENTARY: JOB. 
 
 tenijttalions suited to men's natural 
 inclination*. Bad men often used by God 
 for the trial and chastening of his children. 
 " Fell on them," rushed on them \vith a 
 view to spoil. An unprovoked attack. 
 Exceptions to the general rule in Prov. xvi. 7. 
 " Slain the servants." Preparation for death 
 to be taken into daily duties. Blessed to be 
 ready when the Master calls. Sudden death 
 then sudden glory. " I only am escaped," 
 by God's special Providence and Satan's 
 malice. Some escape from danger as 
 "brands plucked out of the burning". 
 (Amos iv. 11). 
 
 2. Destruction of the sheep by lightning 
 (vcr. 16). "While he was yet speaking.'' 
 Fiendish rapidity of Satan's work. Aims at 
 stunning and overwhelming the sufferer. 
 Trials often like rapidly succeeding billows. 
 Deep calleth unto deep (Ps. Ixii. 7). Troubles 
 seldom single. "Welcome misfortune, if 
 you come alone" [Basque Proverb}. "Fire 
 of God/' Marg., "a great fire," (like 
 Ps. civ. 16). "Hot thunderbolts" (Ps. 
 Ixxviii. 48). Rapid lightnings, apparently 
 sent by God though really by Satan. A cut 
 in the words put into the mouth of the 
 shepherds. Act of an angry God. The 
 object to represent God as cruel and unjust, 
 and so bring Job to curse Him. A limited 
 mysterious power given to Satan over the 
 elements of nature (Eph. ii. 2). "From 
 heaven." From the upper regions of the 
 air, but apparently from God. The air or 
 lower heavens the place of Satan's special 
 presence and operations (Luke x. 8 ; Eph. 
 ii. 2; vi. 12). " Sheep." The greatest 
 part of Job's wealth (ver. 3.) Most fre- 
 quently used in sacrifice. Smitten, though 
 sanctified by frequent offerings. God's ways 
 often dark and mysterious. 
 
 3. Capture of the ccmels (verse 17). 
 "Chaldscans," Eel. " Chasdim." The name 
 related to that of Chesed, Abraham's nephew 
 (Gen. xxii. 22). Two such peoples men- 
 tioned in Genesis : (1) The old Semitic 
 Chaldseaus of the mountains; in the north 
 of Assyria and Mesopotamia (Gen. x. 22 ; 
 xi. 28,31); Abraham himself of these (Gen. 
 xi. 2S). (2) The later Chaldseans of 
 Mesopotamia, ' descended from Nahor, 
 Abraham's brother (Gen. xxii. 2-2). Called 
 by Jeremiah an "ancient nation" (Jer. v. 15). 
 A fierce and warlike people (Heb. i. 16, 11). 
 First subdued by the Assyrians. In time 
 overcame their masters, and formed the 
 Chaldsean or Babylonian Empire under 
 N'abopolassar, a viceroy in Babylon, about 
 600 B.C. Their empire overthrown by Cyrus, 
 who took Babylon, 585 B.C. In Job's time 
 a body of hardy mountaineers. Always 
 strong enough to make such a raid. More 
 fierce and powerful than the Sabeans. 
 14 
 
 Strokes increase in severity. Satan inflames 
 Ids instruments with his own murderous 
 passions. " Three bands." To attack in 
 various directions and let nothing escape. 
 (So Gen. xiv. 15). Three bands under so 
 many captains, Satan really commander-in- 
 chief. " Fell upon the camels." Mary. 
 "rushed." Made a raid upon them, as 
 1 Sam. xxiii. 27; xxx. 14. Arabs sometimes 
 make a raid twenty or thirty days' march 
 from their tents. "Carried them away." 
 Three thousand camels no slight loss. Satan 
 goes the full length of his cord. More 
 grevious to be stripped of riches than to 
 be always poor. 
 
 4. Loss of all his children (verses 18, 19). 
 " While he was yet speaking." Satan never 
 at rest till he has done all the mischief he 
 is permitted. Good to be always ready for 
 another and a worse encounter. Seneca says, 
 ' Caesar sometimes put up his sword, but 
 never put it off.' " Thy sous." The trial 
 reaches its climax. His sous the object of 
 his greatest solicitude. The subjects of 
 so many prayers might have been expected 
 to be spared, or at least some of them. 
 The mystevy increases. "Were eating and 
 drinking." When Job feared most they 
 might be sinning (verse 5). Possible to 
 be taken from the festive board to the Jiulij- 
 ment-seat. Festivity unsafe without God 
 and His blessing in it. Well to be prepared 
 to pass from earthly joys to hcaccnly'ones. 
 " Behold." Marks the greatness of the 
 calamity. Seven sons and three daughters, 
 the whole of Job's children, all arrived 
 at maturity, all prosperous and happy, 
 cut off at one stroke, suddenly and un- 
 expectedly, amid the hilarity of a feast ! 
 "A great wind." A tornado, cyclone, or 
 whirlwind. Common in the East. Mysterious 
 power of Satan to excite the atmosphere 
 into a storm 'Prince of the power of the 
 air.' Wind in God's hand, but now for 
 His own purpose, partially and for a time, 
 transferred to Satan's " (Prov. xxx. 4). 
 "From the wilderness." Whence the 
 fiercest winds came (Jer. iv. 11; xiii. 24). 
 From the south part of the great North 
 Arabian Desert (Is. xxi. 1 ; Hos. xiii. 15). 
 " Smote the four corners of the house." 
 At once or successively; coming with force 
 and steady aim as under Satan's direction. 
 All the app'earauce of the work of an angry 
 God." And it fell." The object for which 
 Satan raised the storm. Such catastrophes 
 not uncommon in the East . Houses of com- 
 paratively frail construction (Matt. vii. 27). 
 Well-known violence of tornadoes. One in 
 England, in 1S11, tore up plantations and 
 levelled houses with the ground, carried 
 large trees, torn up by the roots, to the 
 distance of twenty or thirty yards; lifted
 
 HOMILETIC COMMENTARY: JOB. 
 
 CHAP. I. 
 
 cows from one field to another ; and carried 
 haystacks to a considerable distance. Camels 
 sometimes lifted off their legs by Eastern 
 whirlwinds. God able to make our plagues 
 wonderful (Deut. xxviii. 59). "Upon the 
 young men." Mentioned as more likely to 
 overwhelm the father ; sisters included. 
 " And they are dead." Crushing tidings 
 for a father's ears. All dead, dead all at 
 once, dead prematurely, dead by a sudden, 
 unusual, and miserable death, dead as if by 
 the hand of God Himself, as Bildad regarded 
 
 them, dead at the time that Job had r,v- 
 of their comfort under his other calamities. 
 Job reduced, in one short day, from being 
 one of the happiest of fathers to a state of 
 childlessness and misery. Our heaviest trials 
 often through our sweetest comforts. The 
 sharpest thorns on the same tree with the 
 loveliest flowers. The beauty of all earthly 
 blessings quickly blasted (Is. Ix. 6, 8). Too 
 much not to be expected from God, nor too 
 little from the creature. 
 
 CHAPTEE I. 2022. 
 FIFTH PART OF INTRODUCTION THE RESULT OF SATAN'S ATTEMPTS. 
 
 I. Job's grief (ver. 20). "Then Job 
 arose." Probably found by the tidings in the 
 usual posture of Orientals. Aroused from 
 wonted calmness. His nature now stirred 
 to its depths. Deeply moved, but not pros- 
 trated\>y his calamities. " Rent his mantle," 
 or robe ; long outer garment worn by men of 
 rank (1 Sam. xv. 27 ; xviii. 4), and by priests 
 (1 Sam. xxviii. 14 ; Ex. xxviii. 13) ; still worn 
 by wealthy Arabs. Rent it in token of sorrow 
 and humiliation (Gen. xxxvii. 34). Job 
 neither too insensible to feel grief, nor too 
 proud to acknowledge it. Piety not stoicism ; 
 sharpens rather than blunts sensibility. As 
 little virtue in not feeling sorrow as in being 
 ocercovie by it. Not to feel is to be either 
 more or less than a man. Jesus wept. Insen- 
 sibility under chastening reproved as a sin 
 (Jer. v. 3 ; Hosea vii. 9). When God afflicts 
 us we should afflict ourselves (Jer. xxxi. 18). 
 Grace teaches us, not to be without sorrow, 
 but to moderate it, and to connect with it 
 penitence and submission, faith and hope (2 
 Cor. vii. 11 ; 1 Thess. iv. 13). "Shaved his 
 head." Another token of mourning (Ezra ix. 
 3; Is. xv. 2; xxii. 12; Jer. vii. 29; xli. 5). 
 Forbidden by the law only in certain cases 
 and in certain forms (Lev. xix. 27; xxxi. 5 ; 
 Dcut. xiv. 1). Nature demands some external 
 sign of grief, and religion does not forbid it. 
 " Tell down upon the ground." (1) In grief; 
 so Joshua (Josh. vii. 6) ; (2) In humiliation; 
 (3) In adoration. Trouble a blessing ^chen it 
 
 to self-abasement before God. Satan 
 expected to see Job standing on his feet and 
 cursing the author of his troubles. 
 
 II. His piety (ver. 20, 21). "And wor- 
 shipped." Praised God and acknowleged 
 his sovereignty. Bowed submissivly to Uis 
 Avill and dispensations. Instead of cursing 
 God Job adores His justice, goodness, and 
 holiness. Afflictions draw a godly man nearer 
 to God instead of driving him from IH,;i. A 
 sign of a gracious state to DC wortlupping 
 when God is chastising. The best way to 
 
 bear and be benefited by trials is to take them 
 to God. That trouble cannot but be blest which 
 brings us to our knees. Faith calms the 
 crushed spirit by conducting it to a God in 
 Christ. "And said." Job opens his mouth, 
 but not as Satan expected. Serious and 
 suitable considerations to be employed under 
 trouble. Truths suggested by religion to 
 quiet the spirit and preserve it in patience, 
 " Naked came I forth," &c. Job's first con- 
 sideration. Nothing originally ours. Man 
 by ntftnre destitute even of clothes for his 
 body. The truth in the text the apostle's 
 argument for contentment (1 Tim. vi. 7). 
 " Naked shall I return thither." Second 
 consideration. Earth not our home. We 
 return to our parent dust. Reference to 
 Gen. iii. 3 9. These words probably copied 
 or referred to in Ecc. v. 14, and xii. 7. Our 
 condition, in this world of less consequence as 
 ice are so soon to leave it. Third considera- 
 tion. We must leave the world naked as 
 we entered it (1 Tim. vi. 7). Death strips 
 Dives of his fine linen and Lazarus of his 
 filthy rags. Grace the only riches we can 
 carry out of the world with vs. To be 
 stripped of earthly possessions only a question 
 of time. "Thither," unto my mother's 
 womb, used figuratively for the earth. So 
 the "lower parts of the earth" used for the 
 womb(Ps. cxxxix. 15). The same term some- 
 times used both literally and figuratively in 
 the same sentence. So Matt. viii. 2-2. 
 "The Lord gave." The language of truth 
 and piety. Contrasted with that of pride 
 and atheism, "My own hand hath gotten 
 me this wealth" (Deut. viii. 17). Heathens 
 by the light of nature called God the " Giver 
 of good things." Power to get wealth the 
 gift of God (Deut. viii. 18; Prov. x. 88). 
 " Gave," and therefore has the right to with- 
 draw at hie pleasure. What we possess ice 
 hold only as stewards of another's goods 
 (Luke xvi. 112; 1 Peter iv. 10.) "The 
 
 1 .r\\-<\ liafli tnl-oii OMrn\r " Hnrl's llJinf] III fllir 
 
 Lord hath taken awav. 
 
 God's hand in our 
 15
 
 HOMILETIC COMMENTARY: JOB. 
 
 CHAP. I 
 
 losses as well as our gains. Divine philo- 
 sophy. So Joseph Geu. xlv. 5 8 ; David, 
 Ps. xxxix. 9 ; Eli, 1 Sam. iii. 18. " The 
 Lord,'' not the Sabeans and Chaldseaus, 
 (lie lightning or the whirlwinds. The philo- 
 sophy that rests on second causes or natural 
 I cues a philosophy falsely so called. Satan 
 only the author of Job's calamities as lie 
 received permission from God. The arrows 
 God's, -whoever shoots them. Evil as well as 
 good from God cither directly or permis- 
 sively (Is. xlv. 7 ; Amos iii. 6). Man's and 
 Satan's sin overruled by God for good ; not 
 therefore the less sinful (Acts ii. 23). God's 
 hand in trouble seen by the eye of faith, an 
 alleviation ; otherwise an aggravation. 
 
 III. The Ylctory. 
 
 1 . Posit it e side. Jolt blesses God instead 
 of cursing Him (ver. 21). " Blessed be the 
 Name of the Lord." The word chosen with 
 reference to Satan's charge. The same word 
 used, but in its opposite and proper sense. 
 Satan thus entirely defeated. Every word of 
 Job gives the lie to his slander. Power of 
 grace that teaches us to bless God in troubles 
 and adversities (2 Sam. xv. 26). No ground, 
 even in the worst times, to murmur against 
 God, much to bless Him. Such grounds are: 
 (1 ) Often greater love and richer blessing 
 when He takes away than when He gives. 
 Oar greatest trials and losses often our richest 
 wrcicx. "For all I bless Thee, most for the 
 severe " \_Yoitng~]. 2. In the greatest suf- 
 ferings and losses the believer's main interests 
 are secure. The pieces of silver may be 
 lost, the casket of jewels remains safe. (3.) 
 The sufferings of believers are seeds to bear 
 precious fruit both here and hereafter (Rom. 
 viii. 24; Heb. xii. 10, 11). Believers there- 
 fore strengthened " unto all patience and 
 long sufferings with joyfulnesa* (Col. i. 11). 
 Tn/e Christian piety the pnr&xt hrroix,i>. 
 Widely different from stoical insensibility and 
 pride. Believers tcf.cp, but bless Cud through 
 their tears. Job's blessing God must have 
 sent an echo through the heaven of heavens. 
 Unprecedented trials, heightened by the con- 
 trast of unprecedented prosperity, meet not 
 merely with submission, -but with blessing 
 on the Author of both. To bless God in 
 prosperity is only natural; to bless Him 
 in adversity and trouble is music that 
 fills heaven and earth with gladness. 
 Job's calamities appeared only to argue God 
 against him. Mighty faith that blesses God 
 while smiting pur comforts to the ground. 
 The grace enjoined on N. T. believers, exem- 
 plified, in tin's 0. T. saint (1 Thess. v. 18). 
 To bless God in our com forts the way to have 
 
 them increased ; to bless Him in our afflic" 
 tions the way to have them removed [Augus- 
 tine], A thankful and pious spirit the true 
 philosopher's stone turns all things into 
 gold. Faith gilds our crosses and sees a silrer 
 lining in the darkest cloud. Matter for praise 
 under the most trying dispensations: (1) 
 The past enjoyment of undeserved mercies 
 so long continued; (2) The present enjoyment 
 of some mercies however few ; (3) The pos- 
 session of God Himself as in Christ our God 
 and portion ; (4) The assurance that the hea- 
 viest trials work together for our good ; (5) 
 The hope of a better and enduring inheritance 
 reserved for us in heaven. "The name of the 
 Lord," the Lord Himself as revealed to us 
 in the Word. Here "Jehovah," the ever- 
 living faithful covenant God of His people. 
 The name here thrice repeated. Perhaps not 
 without a mystery, like Num. vii. 24 27, 
 compared with Matt, xxviii. 19; 2 Cor. xiii. 
 14 ; 1 John v. 7. The name fondly dwelt upon 
 by the afflicted patriarch. The name of the Lord 
 the tried believer's sweetest consolation and 
 strongest support. A strong tower into which 
 the righteous runs and is safe (Prov. xviii. 10.) 
 2. Negative side of victory. In all 
 these trials Job kept from sinning (vcr. 22.) 
 " Sinned not," as Satan desired and declared 
 he would. Glorious triumph of grace to keep 
 from sinning in such circumstances. Sinned 
 not, either by impatience or passion. Refer- 
 ence to the case in hand. Grace given to 
 keep' us from sin, not absolutely, but relatively 
 and comparatively. Sin more or less in all a 
 believer's actions, though all his actions not 
 sinful. Scripture written that the believer 
 sin not (1 John ii. 1). Looking to ChrM, 
 Peter walked on the Avater ; looking to the 
 wind, he began to sink in it (Matt. xiv. 28 
 ol ). The flesh or old nature in a believer mm/, 
 sin; the spirit or new nature in him cannnt. 
 (1 John iii. 9). A constant struggle between 
 the spirit and the flesh (Gal. v. 17). A 
 believer's duty and privilege to walk in the 
 spirit, and so be kept from fulfilling the 
 desire of the flesh (Gal. v. 16). I feel 
 and grifcc, but by the grace of God I fret at 
 nothing \John Weslcij~\. "Nor charged God 
 foolishly." (1) Imputed no folly, injustice, 
 or impropriety to God ; (2) Vented no foolish 
 and impious murmurs against Him. Ascribed 
 nothing to God unworthy of His justice, 
 goodness, and wisdom. Entertained no dis- 
 honourable though f, uttered no murmitrinr/ 
 word against Him. Impiety the greatest folly. 
 To murmur against God's dealings is as foolish 
 as it is wicked. To misconstrue God's charac- 
 ter and conduct, the great sin to be guarded 
 against under heary (rials.
 
 HOMILETIC COMMENTARY: JOB. 
 
 CHAP. II. 
 
 CHAPTEE II. 16. 
 
 SIXTH PART OF INTRODUCTION. PREPARATION FOR JOB'S 
 FURTHER TRIAL. 
 
 I. Second Celestial Council (verse 1). 
 "Again there was a day," some time after 
 the events already related. Not said how 
 long. Heavenly things represented under 
 the figure of earthly ones, in condescension 
 to our capacity. In heaven no succession of 
 day and night (Rev. xxi. 25). "The sous of 
 God came," &c. Same scene represented as 
 before. God's providence continually exercised, 
 and extending to all times and events. His 
 angelic ministers continually serving Him in 
 their respective spheres ( Rev. xxii. 3). " His 
 state is kingly ; thousands at his bidding 
 speed," &c. Good to remember " They also 
 serve who only stand and wait." Angels in- 
 tensely interested in the salvation of men, and 
 employed in helping to promote it (Acts viii. 
 26 ; x. 3). " Satan also came." Summoned, 
 or expecting a fresh permission. Like Saul 
 of Tarsus, " breathing out threatening and 
 slaughter," and eager to get out a fresh com- 
 mission of destruction (Acts ix. 1). "To 
 present himself before the Lord," having 
 previously received a commission. This, 
 therefore, omitted in the former account. 
 Men, angels, and devils, amenable to God. 
 
 II. God's testimony to Job's stead- 
 
 fastness (verse 2). " From whence comest 
 thou ? " Happy for us that God's eye is 
 continually on Satan's movements (Luke 
 xxii. 31, 32). " Prom going to and fro." 
 Active and restless as ever. Says nothing 
 of the harm he has done. An evil doer seldom 
 has the courage to speak the whole truth (2 
 Kings v. 25). "Walking up and down in 
 it." God says the same thing of him, but 
 tells us how (1 Peter v. 8). As Job still re- 
 tained his integrity, so Satan his assiduity. 
 Believers neither to be ignorant of his de- 
 vices, nor forgetful of his zeal. (Verse 3). 
 "Hast thou considered my servant Job?" 
 Job still God's servant. God's estimate of 
 His people not diminished by their sufferings. 
 Precious testimony to the poor persecuted 
 church at Smyrna (Rev. ii. 9) ." Still hold- 
 eth fast his integrity." Perfect and upright 
 as before. " Still," notwithstanding these 
 severe and accumulated trials. " Holdeth 
 fast," implying exertion. Hard to hold out 
 in such a storm. Satan's efforts to rob Job 
 of his integrity, Job's to retain it. Whatever 
 a godly man loses he will keep his integrity. 
 " If you love my soul away with it/' said a 
 2 
 
 martyr at the stake, when tempted with a 
 pardon to recant. Two things never to be 
 let go Christ's righteousness, and a good con- 
 science. The Epistle to the Hebrews written 
 to strengthen tried believers to hold fast 
 their profession (Heb. iii. 14 ; iv. ] 4 ; x. 23, 
 35, 39). God a concerned and compassionate 
 observer of his people's conduct under trials 
 (Jer. xxxi. 18 ; Hos. xiv. 8). Commends their 
 conduct in them, without at once delivering 
 ihemfrom them. What is well done is sure, 
 sooner or later, to receive His approving 
 testimony. God neither conceals our graces 
 nor our improvement of them. To continue 
 good while suffering evil, the crown of goodness. 
 A good man persevering in evil times an 
 object of Divine admiration \_Seneca~]. God's 
 further commendation of Job now enlarged. 
 Grace grows in conflict. " Although thou 
 movedst me against him." Implies success- 
 ful urgency (So 1 Kings xxi. 25). Spoken 
 after the manner of men. Satan an excellent 
 orator if he but have an audience [Trapp], 
 "Thou movedst me." Go^ "afnicteth not 
 willingly " (Lam. iii. 33). Satan an earnest 
 pleader against the saints : Christ as earnest 
 for them (John xvii. 11, 15, 17). Satan's 
 malice and calumny the occasion of Job's 
 sufferings, and so of his subsequent glory. 
 God's secret purpose to exhibit the reality 
 and preciousness of His servant's faith. All 
 questioning of the efficacy of Christ's re- 
 demption and the power of Divine grace, to 
 be for ever silenced. Not only events them- 
 selves purposed by God, but the way and occa- 
 sion of their occurrence. " To destroy him," 
 Marg., " to swallow him up." Satan's cruel 
 intention. Satan's object in trial is to destroy ; 
 God's, to prove and purify. God's sympathy 
 with His suffering people. What Satan called 
 a touch, God calls destruction. Awful judg- 
 ment to be left in the hands of the roaring lion 
 (1 Peter v.S). " Without cause." (1.) With- 
 out any special sin of his to merit it. This testi- 
 mony to be remembered throughout the book. 
 Believed and maintained by Job; denied 
 by his three friends. The cause of his 
 perplexity and distraction aggravated by 
 their opposition. Tried believers often 
 ignorant of God's thoughts concerning them, 
 and of the causa and object of their trial.- 
 (2.) Without ground or necessity for it. 
 Satan's charge proved by the result to be 
 unfounded. 
 
 17
 
 CHAP. II. 
 
 HOMILETIC COMMENTARY: JOB. 
 
 III. Satan's farther accusation (verse 
 4). " Satan answered the Lord." Satanic 
 impudence. Though defeated, he has still 
 an answer for God. Boldness acquired by a 
 course of iniquity. A whore's forehead (Jer. 
 iii. 3). " Skin for skin." A proverbial ex- 
 pression. A mere question of barter. Job 
 has yet a whole skin. He will part with 
 anything to save his life. Will give up what 
 he has, to save himself. " We must give up 
 our beards to save our heads" [Turkish Pro- 
 verb']. "All that a man hath he will give for 
 his life." Not only his property and children, 
 but probably his religion too. The test not 
 yet sufficiently severe. The screw needs only 
 to be driven a little farther. Satan argues 
 still on the principles of man's selfishness. 
 His words too often verified in fallen hu- 
 manity. Peruvians sacrificed their firstborn 
 to redeem their own life when the priest pro- 
 nounced them mortally sick. Cranmer, in a 
 moment of weakness, at first recanted in order 
 to escape martyrdom. Abraham, when left 
 to himself to save his life, gave up Sarah, 
 and instigated her to tell a lie (Gen. xii. 12, 
 13). Yet the statement a libel upon the race. 
 Satan true to his character. Self-preservation 
 a powerful instinct,^ but not supreme. With a 
 good man, subordinate to the principles of 
 morality and religion. Yields to faith, hope, 
 and charity. Paul counted not his life dear 
 to him that he might finish his course and 
 ministry with joy (Acts xx. 24). Daniel, 
 Stephen, and all "the noble army of martyrs" 
 give Satan the lie. Men and women have 
 died, " refusing to accept deliverance, to ob- 
 tain a better resurrection" (Heb. xi. 35). 
 " Welcome, death ! " said Hugh WKail, on 
 the martyr's scaffold. "Welcome, if need 
 be, the axe or the gibbet ; but evil befall the 
 tongue that dares to make me so infamous a 
 proposal," said Kossuth, in reply to the Sul- 
 tan's proposal to save his life by renouncing 
 Christianity. " Touch his bone and his 
 flesh" (verse 5). Strike home at his person. 
 Person nearer than property or children. 
 
 Intensest pain and suffering intended. The 
 iron to enter the soul. Satan's cruelty. A 
 merciless tormentor (Matt, xviii. 34). Un- 
 wearied in his efforts to destroy Always 
 needful to prepare for new assaults. Satan 
 acquainted with the tendency of great bodily 
 suffering. Pain, a powerful means of disquiet- 
 ing and weakening the mind. Without disor- 
 dering its faculties, able to exhaust its ener- 
 gies and sink it into despondency. A 
 piercing shaft in Satan's quiver. A thorn in 
 the flesh Paul's great temptation (2 Cor. 
 xii. 7, 9). Men " blasphemed God because 
 of the pain" (Rev. xvi. 9). This Satan's 
 expectation in regard to Job. "He will curse 
 thee," &c. Same assertion as before. Satan 
 unwilling to yield. Men, lost to all right 
 principle themselves, have no faith in the virtue 
 of others. 
 
 IV. The renewed permission (verse 6). 
 "He is in thine hand." Before, only his 
 property and children ; now, himself. Saints, 
 for trial, mysteriously given for a time into 
 Satan's hand. The persecuted church at 
 Smyrna (Rev. ii. 10). Unknown to us how 
 far bodily affliction may be from Satan's hand 
 (Luke xiii. 16). Though God lengthens 
 Satan's chain, he never loosens it. The saints 
 never in Satan's hand without Christ being 
 with them (Dan. iii. 25 ; Ps. xxiii. 4 ; xci. 
 15 ; Is.xliii. 2). " But save his life." Satan's 
 permission in regard to the saints always 
 limited. He might scratch with his paw, 
 but not fasten his fang [Troop], Job's life 
 to be endangered, but not destroyed. Life 
 and death in God's hand, not Satan's. A 
 mercy to have life spared (Jer. xxxix. 18). 
 Precious blessings still for Job to experience, 
 and important work still for him to do. A 
 man immortal till his work is done. The 
 limit set in Job's case, not prescribed in 
 Christ's. Christ, as the Shepherd, smitten 
 to death in the room of the sheep (Zech. 
 xiii. 7j John x. 11). 
 
 CHAPTER II. 710. 
 
 SEVENTH PART OF INTRODUCTION; JOB'S FURTHER TRIAL. 
 
 I. Satan's use of God's permission 
 
 (verse 7). 
 
 _ " So went Satan forth." Glad in obtaining 
 his wish, like Saul on his way to Damascus. 
 Resolved to use his liberty to the utmost. 
 Gets lu's will, but with limitation (Luke xxii. 
 31, 32). "From the presence of the Lord." 
 Like Cain (Gen. 4 16). His object not to 
 serve God, but torture man. "Smote Job." 
 18 ' 
 
 Implies suddenness and vehemence. The 
 hand heavy, though unseen. So Herod 
 smitten by the angel (Acts xii. 23). Such 
 smiting often ascribed to God, whoever the 
 instrument (Deut. xxviii. 35). Satanic in- 
 genuity in smiting the body yet preserving 
 life and mental faculties. Piety and patience 
 v.nder one trial, no security against another 
 ami a heavier. Heavy burdens laid on strong
 
 HOMILETIC COMMENTARY: JOB. 
 
 CHAP. ii. 
 
 shoulders. God knows the metal He gives 
 Satan to ring [Trapp]. Our comfort is, that 
 He lays no trial on His children beyond what 
 He enables them to bear (1 Cor. x. 13). 
 
 II. Job's Disease. 
 
 " Sore boils." Heb., a bad, malignant 
 ulcer, or inflammatory ulceration. Worst 
 kind of leprosy. Inflicted on the Egyptians 
 and threatened to -the Israelites (Deut. xxviii. 
 27). Prevalent both in Arabia and Egypt. 
 Made the sufferer loathsome to himself and 
 his nearest relations (ch. xix. 13, 19). 
 Appeared to make him out as an object of 
 the Divine displeasure ; as Miriam, Gehazi, 
 and King Azariah. In an advanced stage, 
 fingers, toes, and hands, gradually fall off 
 (ch. xxx. 17, 30). Attended with great 
 attenuation and debility of body (xvi. 8 ; xix. 
 20 ; xxx. 18). Restless nights and terrifying 
 dreams (xxx. 17; vii. 13,14-). Anxiety of mind 
 and loathing of life (vii. 15). Foul breath 
 and difficult respiration (vii. 4 ; xiii. 1 5 ; xxx. 
 17). The skin itchy, of great tenseness, full 
 of cracks and rents, and covered with hard 
 or festering ulcers, and with black scales 
 (ii. 8; xix. 20; xxx. 18; vii. 5; xxx. 30). 
 The feet and legs swollen to an enormous 
 size ; hence the disease also called Elephan- 
 tiasis. The mouth swollen and the coun- 
 .tenance distorted, giving the patient a lion- 
 like appearance ; hence another name to the 
 disease, Leonliasis. Contagious through the 
 mere breath. Often hereditary. As a rule, in- 
 curable. In any case, one of the most pro- 
 traded as well as dreadful diseases. " From 
 the crown," &c. So in Deut. xxviii. 35. The 
 body one continued sore. Job escaped with 
 the skin of his teeth sores everywhere else 
 (xix. 20). The tongue left free for an obvious 
 reason. Satan's mercies cruel. "Rare spec- 
 tacle for angels; the holiest man on earth the 
 most afflicted. Astounding sight for men ; 
 ihe richest and greatest man in the land made 
 at once the most loathsome and miserable. 
 Impossible to say to what extent God may allow 
 his dearest children to be afflicted. After Job, 
 no saint need be staggered at his suffering. 
 Yet all Job's sufferings under Divine inspec- 
 tion and admeasurement (Is. xxvii. 8). 
 A circumstance marking the extremity of 
 Job's affliction (verse 8). "And he took him 
 a potsherd." As near at hand. Arab jars 
 thin and frail, and easily broken sometimes 
 by merely putting them down on the floor. 
 Hence fragments of broken jars found every- 
 where (Is. xxx. 14). A potsherd used by 
 Job instead of a napkin. Possibly, however, 
 an instrument still used in the East for similar 
 purposes. Required to remove the purulent 
 matter from his sores, and perhaps to allay 
 their irritation. His hands and fingers them- 
 selves affected, or the foulness of his sores 
 23 
 
 forbidding the touch. Without friend, phy 
 sician, or relative to attend to his disease. 
 In the case of Lazarus, dogs supplied the 
 place of the potsherd (Luke xvi. 20 21). 
 God's dearest saints often reduced to the greatest 
 extremities. " Sat down among the ashes." 
 In token of mourning (xlii. 6; Jon. iii. 6; 
 Matt. xi. 21) ; and of abasement (Jer. yi. 26 ; 
 Is. xlvii. 3; Iviii. 5 ', Ezek. xxvii. 30). 
 The ash-heap probably outside the city. 
 Dung- hills still similarly used in the East. 
 One part of the leper's affliction, that he was 
 to be removed from society (Lev. xiii. 46 ; 
 Num. xii. 1415 ; 2 Kings xv. 5). 
 
 1. Increased affliction calls for increased 
 humiliation. 
 
 2. Self-abasement the 'certain way to Divine 
 exaltation (Jam. iv. 9 10). 
 
 III. Job's trial from his wife (verse 9). 
 
 " Then said his wife." Amazed at her hus- 
 band's sufferings and piety. Herself already 
 tempted and overcome. Spared by Satan to ant 
 him inhisattempts uponher husband. Another 
 of his cruel mercies. She who should have 
 been a comforter now becomes a tormentor. 
 Her former piety now staggered at her hus- 
 band's trials. Weak professors readily 
 offended. The case of Adam and Eve ex- 
 pected to be repeated. Satan wise in select- 
 ing his instruments. 
 
 1. Those who fall themselves usually em- 
 ployed in tempting others. 
 
 2. Strongest temptations and keenest trials 
 often from nearest friends. 
 
 " Dost thou still retain thine integrity ? " 
 Already affirmed by God (verse 3). What is 
 highly esteemed by God often reproached by 
 man, and vice versa (Luke xvi. 15). Job, in 
 his wife's eyes, " perversely righteous and 
 absurdly good " [Sir R. Blackmore"]. Per- 
 severance in piety under heavy crosses a mystery 
 to the world." Curse God and die." Three 
 horrid temptations infidelity, blasphemy, and 
 despair. Same word used as in i. 11 ; but 
 properly denoting "to bless." Perhaps a 
 Bitter taunt, referring to i. 21 " Go on with 
 your fine religion ! " Probably " Renounce 
 God, who treats you so vilely." Includes 
 the idea of uttered reproach and blasphemy 
 (1 Kings xxi. 10). Job urged by his wife to 
 fulfil Satan's grand desire. 
 
 1. Satan's great work to set men against 
 their Maker and His service. 
 
 2. His fiercest temptations often reserved for 
 the time of greatest affliction. 
 
 3. Satan tempts men to put the tcorst con- 
 struction on God's dealings, ami prompts to the 
 icorst means of relief . Points Job to the gulf 
 of Atheism as the only refuge \J)amdson\. 
 
 4. The holiest saints liable to the most horrid 
 and blasphemous temptations. 
 
 5. The flesh in ourselves and others ahcays 
 
 19
 
 CHAP. II. 
 
 IIOXILETIC COMMENTARY: JOB. 
 
 an antagonist to faith and holiness (Matt, 
 xvi. 22-23). 
 
 " And die." As the end of all your trouble. 
 So Satan tempted Saul, Ahithopel, and Judas 
 Iscariot. No suggestion so horrid but Satan 
 way inject it into a believing mind. Job after- 
 wards still pressed with the same temptation 
 to suicide (vii. 15). One of Satan's lies, that 
 death ends all. His object to make men die 
 in an act of sin, without time or opportunity 
 for repentance. His friendliest proposals tend 
 to damnation, and destruction. Would make 
 men imitators of his blasphemy and partakers 
 of his despair. 
 
 IV. Job's continued patience and piety 
 
 (verse 10). "But he said unto her." Did 
 not curse God, and then use Adam's excuse 
 (Gen. iii. 12). " Thou speakest," &c. Re- 
 proves with mingled gentleness and firmness. 
 So Christ reproved Peter (Mat. xvi. 23). 
 Dishonour done to God to be at once discounte- 
 nanced and reproved (Lev. xix. 17; Prov. 
 xxvii. 5; xxix. 15). "As one." A gentle 
 form of reproof. Husbands to love their 
 wives, and not be bitter against them (Col. 
 iii. 19). No fierce or furious language here. 
 Her present speech not like her usual self. 
 Speaks out of her ordinary character. 
 
 1. Believers liable to be drawn into sin. 
 
 2. Love to be mingled with, and to mode- 
 rate, reproof (Eph. iv. 15). 
 
 3. Reproof to be respectful, especially tohen 
 addressed to relatives and seniors (1 Tim. v. 1). 
 
 "As one of the foolish women speaketh." 
 " Foolish," in the Old Testament, used for 
 "sinful or ungodly." The language of 
 Job's wife, that of foolish, profane, wicked 
 women. 
 
 1. The fart of a fool to deny God and re- 
 proach His Providence (Ps. xiv. ]). 
 
 2. Folly to judge of a man's condition from 
 God's outward dealings with him. 
 
 3. Unworthy thoughts of God the mark 
 of a carnal, foolish spirit. 
 
 4. Sin not only vile but foolish, as truly 
 opposed to man's interests as to God's honour. 
 
 5. Impatience and passion under trouble the 
 greatest foolishness. Hard, and therefore 
 senseless, to kick against the pricks (Acts 
 ix. 5). Idolaters wont to reproach their 
 gods in misfortune. 
 
 " What ! shall we receive," &c. ? What 
 is sinful is to be put down, not with rage but 
 with reason. Satan's horrid and blasphemous 
 temptations not to be listened to for a 
 moment. Sharp reproof consistent with love and 
 sometimes required by it (Tit. i. 13). He who 
 knows not how to be angry knows not how 
 to love [Augusline,'\" Shall we receive good 
 
 at the hand of God ?" Present miseries not 
 to obliterate past mercies. The greatest 
 sufferer already the recipient of unnumbered 
 benefits. God's mercies " new every morn- 
 ing." To sinners all is mercy on this side 
 of hell. Mercy written on every sunbeam 
 that gilds and gladdens the earth. "And 
 shall we not receive evil also ?" " Evil " 
 put for affliction and adversity. All com- 
 forts and no crosses, unreasonable to expect 
 and undesirable to receive. Evil as well as 
 good to be not only expected, but thankfully 
 accepted. The question points to the manner 
 of receiving, as well as the matter received. 
 Both equally dispensed by God, therefore 
 both to be reverentially accepted by us. 
 Both worthy of God to dispense, and bene- 
 ficial for us to receive. The part of faith and 
 love, to accept troubles as from a Father's 
 hand. The true spirit of adoption, to kiss 
 the rod and the hand that holds it. 
 Thankfully to accept of good is merely 
 human, thankfully to accept of evil is Divine. 
 Iii every thing to give thanks, God's will in 
 Christ concerning us (1 Thess. v. 13). Job 
 here greater than his miseries. More than 
 a conqueror. One of heaven's as well as 
 earth's heroes. "In all this," his increased 
 calamities as well as his wife's taunts and 
 temptations. Job now lying under a quater- 
 nion of troubles adversity, bereavement, 
 disease, and reproach. More, however, 
 yet remained for Satan to inflict and 
 for Job to suffer. Continuance of suffering 
 often much more trying than suffering itself. 
 Inward affliction to be added to the out- 
 ward. Much more trying. The spirit 
 of a man will sustain his infirmity, but a 
 wounded spirit who can bear ? (Prov. 
 xviii. 14). A hint, perhaps, here given 
 of further trial, with a less gratifying 
 result. " Sinned not with his lips." 
 Vented no reflection on God's character 
 and procedure. The greatest temptation 
 in such circumstances to sin with the 
 lips. . The thing Satan desired, endeavoured 
 after, and waited for. The temptation to 
 murmur present, but resisted and rep reused. 
 Job still by grace a conqueror over corrupt 
 nature. Not always thus walking on the 
 swelling waters of innate corruption. Man's 
 weakness to be exhibited, even in a state of 
 grace. Hitherto Job shown to be the " per- 
 fect man" God declared him to be (Jam. iii. 
 2). The Old Testament ideal of a perfect 
 man and a suffering saint An illustrious 
 type of Christ in His suffering and patience 
 (Is. liii. 7; 1 Pet. ii. 23). _ The type after- 
 wards fails, that in all tilings Christ may 
 have the pre-eminence (Col. i. 18). 
 
 20
 
 H03IILETIC COMMENTARY: JOS. 
 
 CHAP. II. 
 
 CHAPTEE II. 1113. 
 
 CONCLUDING PART OF PROSE INTRODUCTION. VISIT OF JOB'S FRIENDS. 
 
 I. The Friends. (Verse 11.) "Now when 
 Job's three friends heard." Rather, " three 
 friends of Job." Probably friends most 
 intimate with him, and from whom he had 
 most to expect (ch vi. 14, 15). Perhaps 
 connected with him by kindred as well as 
 acquaintance and religion. Worshippers of 
 the true God. Eminent in their day and 
 country for wisdom and piety. Their 
 religious views those of the age. Regarded 
 retribution as very much a thing of this life. 
 Hence their unfavourable view of Job's 
 character from his condition. Much older 
 than Job. Intending comfort, they become 
 under Satan's influence, and from their 
 narrow mistaken views, his severest trial. 
 Instead of soothing they add to his grief, 
 by uncharitable suspicions, false reasonings, 
 unseasonable admonitions, and bitter re- 
 proofs. Good easily perverted to evil by Satan's 
 malice. Satan used Job's wife to jeer him out 
 of his religion, and his friends to dispute 
 him out of it [Caryl.'] "Came," probably, 
 when his. disease was now considerably ad- 
 vanced (vii. 4). Affliction should draw us 
 to our friends, not drive us from them. 
 Adversity one of the best tests of friendship 
 (Prov. xvii. 17). Good manners to be an 
 unbidden guest in the house of mourning. 
 [Caryl]. True friendship shewn in self-denying 
 effort. 
 
 "Eliphaz." An old Edomite name. A 
 district also so called (Gen. xxxvi. 11, 15). 
 Denotes "my God is strength." Indicates 
 his parent's piety. "Temanite." .From the 
 stock he sprung from, or the place (Temau) 
 where he lived. Temanites celebrated for 
 their wisdom (Jer. xlix. 7; Obad. viii. 9). 
 " Shuhite." Of Shuah, in the east part of 
 North Arabia. Shuah one of the settlements 
 of the sons of Keturah (Gen xxv. 2). 
 "Naamathite." From Naamah, probably a 
 district in Syria. The town in Judah so 
 named (Jud. xv. 41), too far distant. 
 
 II. Object of the Friends' visit. " Had 
 
 made an appointment together." Probably 
 living not far apart from each other. Good 
 to unite together in works of charity and 
 mercy (Mark ii. 3). "To mourn with him." 
 Sympathy in sorrow an instinct of humanity 
 and a Christian duty (Rom. xii. 15). Ex- 
 ample of Jesus (John ii. 33, 34). Job's 
 own character (ch. xxx. 25). Tears shed 
 icith our own, often the most soothing balm in 
 sorrow. A world of meaning in the child's 
 
 words,- "I only cried with her." "And 
 to comfort him." The motive good, though 
 the execution faulty. A friend in trouble 
 one of our choicest blessings. A brother 
 born for adversity. Comfort of mourners 
 one of the objects of the Lord's ministry 
 (Is. Ixi. 2). See His mode of dispensing 
 it, Is. xlii. 3 ; Matt. xi. 2830. To com- 
 fort in trouble one of the leading parts of 
 Christian, duty (1 Thess. v. 18 ; vi. 11 ; 
 Jam. i. 27; Matt. xxv. 36). Job's own 
 character and practice (ch. xxix. 25). 
 Verse 12, " Lifted up their eyes afar off." 
 Where yet they might easily have recognised 
 him. So the father of the prodigal (Luke 
 xv. 20). Job apparently now in the open 
 air, and, as a leper, outside the city. " Knew 
 him not." So altered by his disease, his 
 sorrow, and his place among the ashes. 
 Marks the depth of his calamity. Unrecog- 
 nizable by his friends. When men know us 
 least, is the time that God knows m best. 
 (Ps. xxxi. 7.) 
 
 III. Their Sympathy. Verse 12. "They 
 lifted up their voice and wept." Marks their 
 deep sympathy and their friend's deep sorrow. 
 In the east, full vent usually given to grief 
 (Gen. xxvii. 38; xxix. 11; Jud. ii. 4; Ruth 
 i. 9; 1 Sam. xxiv. 16). "Sprinkled dust 
 upon their heads towards heaven." Cast- 
 ing it into the air, so as to fall down on their 
 heads (Acts xxii. 23). Token of grief, 
 astonishment, and humiliation towards God 
 under a great sorrow (Josh. vii. 6; Neh. 
 ix. 1 ; Sam. iv. 10). Their feeling? con- 
 sternation and sorrow at the sight of so 
 sad a change. " Sat down with him upon 
 the ground" (verse 13). Another token of 
 sympathetic grief (2 Sam. xii. 16 ; Is. iii. 26 ; 
 Lam. ii. 10; Ezra ix. 3). True sympathy 
 to sit clown on the ground with one so loath- 
 some in himself, and apparently an object 
 of the Divine displeasure. " Seven days." 
 Usual time of mourning for the dead (Gen. 
 1. 10; 1 Sam. xxxi. 13). Job's children 
 dead, and himself virtually so. So in time 
 of great affliction (Ezek. iii. 15). Depth of 
 Job's calamity marked by that of his friends' 
 sympathy. " None spake a word unto him." 
 True sympathy expressed by silence as well 
 as tears. Silence usual and becoming in 
 presence of deep distress (Lam. ii. 10). "A 
 reverence due to such prodigious woe " 
 [Sir R. Black-more"]. Unseasonable words 
 an aggravation of the sufferer's grief. The 
 
 21
 
 CHAP. in. 
 
 HOMILETIC COMMENTARY: JOS. 
 
 friends confounded at Job's calamity and 
 unable to speak to it. Ignorant as to the 
 cause, and apprehensive of Divine displeasure. 
 Prudence and skill required in administer- 
 ing consolation. " For they saw." His 
 affliction apparently much greater than they 
 had anticipated. The heart aifected by the 
 eye. Good to place ourselves in the presence 
 of sorrow (Ecc. vii. 2). " That his grief was 
 very great." The stroke as heavy as it was 
 possible for Satan to inflict, and the grief 
 proportionate. No sin for our feelings to 
 keep pace icith God's dealings. 
 
 Lessons from Job's grief and the occasion 
 of it : 
 
 1. God's dearest children and most faithful 
 servants may be the subjects of deepest 
 suffering. 
 
 2. No part of piety to render the sou 
 insensible to calamity. 
 
 3. The sudden removal of all earthly com- 
 forts possible, and to be prepared for. 
 
 4. Much of the sufferings of God's ser- 
 vants the probable result of Satan's malice. 
 
 5. Patience and submission to God's will 
 consistent with the deepest grief. 
 
 Job in his deep distress a type of the 
 "Man of Sorrows." His soul "exceeding 
 sorrowful, even unto death." In an agony, 
 prayed the more earnestly that the cup 
 might, if possible, pass from Him, yet meekly 
 submitted. His bloody sweat, the result 
 of a frame like our own convulsed by 
 inward distress (Matt. xxvi. 37, 39; Luke 
 xxii. 44). 
 
 CHAPTER III, 
 COMMENCEMENT OF FIRST GREAT DIVISION OF THE POEM. 
 
 Job's bitter complaint and outburst of despondency the more immediate occasion of the Con- 
 troversy between him and his friends. 
 
 I. Job breaks the prolonged silence 
 
 (verses 1, 2). 
 
 "After this," viz.: the visit of his 
 friends and the seven days' silence. "Job 
 opened Ids mouth." Denoting (1) freeness 
 of speech (Ezek. xvi. 62 ; xxix. 4); (2) earnest- 
 ness in speaking (Prov. xxxi. 5, 6 ; Is. lii. 7); 
 (3) deliberate and grave utterance (Ps. Ixxviii. 
 2 ; Prov. iii. 6). Orientals speak seldom, and 
 then gravely and sententiously. Job long 
 silent from his extraordinary calamity. Pro- 
 found grief shuts the mouth (Ps. Ixxvii. 4). 
 Pent up anguish now finds a vent. His 
 sufferings probably increasing, and his feelings 
 now irrepressible. Patient till God's anger 
 seems to sink into his soul [Chrysostom~]. 
 Satan, to exasperate his feelings and depress 
 his spirits, now acts on his mind and imagina- 
 tion, both directly and through his disease. 
 The moment now arrived that Satan had been 
 waiting for. Usually great danger in giving 
 tent to pent up feedings. A double prayerful 
 watch then needed notto sinwith one's tongue 
 (Ps. xxxix. i; cxli. 3). Danger of speaking 
 rather from heat of passion than light of wis- 
 dom. Better for Job had he kept his mouth 
 close still [Trapp], " Either say nothing or 
 what is better than nothing" {Greek Proverb']. 
 When God's hand is on our back, our hand 
 should be on our mouth [Brookes]. The ma- 
 turity of grace proved by the management of the 
 tongue (Jam. iii. 2). "Job spake and said." 
 Every expression in Job's speeches not to be 
 vindicated. The rashness of his language 
 
 22 
 
 acknowledged by himself (ch. vi. 3). Job in 
 the end not only hushed but humbled for 
 what he had said (ch. xl. 5). In judging of his 
 language however we are to remember : 
 
 1. The extremity of his sufferings and the 
 depth.of his distress. His language extrava- 
 gant but natural. Stunned by his calamities. 
 Great sufferings naturally generate great pas- 
 sions. Job's sufferings to be viewed in con- 
 nection with (1) His high unblemished cha- 
 racter; (2) His previous long continued pros- 
 perity ; (3) The prevalent ideas as to Divine 
 retribution. 
 
 "2. The time of his sujfering also a time of 
 spiritual darkness. Satan's permission ex- 
 tended to the mind as well as the body. 
 Mental confusion often the result of Satan's 
 buffetings. Times of outward trouble often 
 those also of inward conflict. 
 
 3. The period at which Job lived. Twilight 
 as compared with that of the Gospel. Topics 
 of consolation limited. No suffering Fore- 
 runner and Example to contemplate. Pros- 
 pects dim as regarded the future world. No 
 Scriptures with examples written for patience 
 and comfort. 
 
 4. The usually depressing nature of Job's 
 disease. 
 
 5. The fact that the holiest saint is nothing 
 except as strengthened and upheld l>y Li-cine 
 grace. 
 
 6. Even in Job's complaint, no reproach is 
 uttered against either the Author or instru- 
 ments of his trouble.
 
 HOMILEIIC COMMENTARY: JOB. 
 
 CHA.P. III. 
 
 II. Job curses the day of his birth 
 
 (verses 1 3, &c.). 
 
 "Cursed his day." Vilified, reproached, 
 and execrated the day of his birth. A different 
 word from that in i. 5, 11 ; ii. 5, 9 ; but the 
 proper Hebrew word for cursing. Wished it 
 to be branded as an evil, doleful, unhappy day. 
 Similar language used by Jeremiah under less 
 trying circumstances (Jer. xx. 1418). The 
 words mark : 
 
 1. Satan's defeat. Job curses his day ; 
 Satan expected him to curse his God. Under 
 law, Satan conquers: under grace, suffers 
 defeat. 
 
 2. Job's fall. The language a contrast with 
 i. 21 ; ii. 10. A secret and indirect reflection 
 on Divine Providence. Job hitherto " a per- 
 fect man ; " is he so now ? (Jam. iii. 2). An 
 end seen to all human perfection (Ps. cxix. 
 96). A believer's fall consistent with final 
 conquest (Mic. vii. 8). Faith and patience 
 may both suffer eclipse without perishing 
 (Luke xxii. 32). A sheep m&yfall into the 
 mire, while a swine wallows in it \Brookes~\. 
 Satan's sieve brings out the saint's chaff. The 
 Scripture verified (Eccles. vii. 20; 1 Kings 
 viii. 46 ; Prov. xx. 9 ; Jam. iii. 2). The man 
 Christ Jesus the only Righteous One (1 Jolm 
 ii. 2). Tempted in all points, yet without 
 sin (Heb. iv. 15). The greatest sufferer, yet 
 His only cry : " My God, my God, why hast 
 Thou forsaken me" (Matt, xxvii. 46). En- 
 dured anguish and temptation without abate- 
 ment of love or trace of impatience. Thought 
 also of the day of His birth, but with thank- 
 fulness and praise (Ps. xxii. 9, 10). 
 
 3. The presence of the flesh in, believers. In 
 ch. i. 21 and ii. 10, the Spirit spoke in Job ; 
 in iii. 3, &c., i\\Qjtesh. The flesh in Job cursed 
 the day of his birth; the spirit in David 
 blessed God for the same thing (Ps. cxxxix. 
 14 17). The believer is like liebekah wilh 
 two nations in her womb (Gen. xxv. 23). These 
 in perpetual conflict with each other (Gal. v. 
 17; Rom. vii. 25). Hence "out of the same 
 mouth proceedcth blessing and cursing" (Jam. 
 iii. 10). 
 
 4. The folly and wickedness of sin. Foolish 
 to curse a day at all ; wicked to curse one's 
 birthday. E^ry clay is God's creature ; our 
 birthday, His creature to us hi- good. Under 
 a dispensation of mercy, every man's birth- 
 day either a blessing, or may be such. Present 
 nisery not to obliterate the remembrance of past 
 mercy. The very thing which Job had formerly 
 reproved in his wife (ch. ii. 10). 
 
 5. The passionate vehemence of Job's grief. 
 Seen in the language and figures he employs. 
 Verse 5. " Let darkness and the shadow of 
 death stain it." Take away its beauty and 
 make it abominable ; or rather, as the margin : 
 " Claim it for its own ; " take it back and keep 
 entire possession of it. Allusion to primeval 
 
 chaotic darkness (Gen. i. 2). " Let a cloud 
 dwell upon it; "or, "let a mass of clouds 
 pitch their tent over it." The utterance of a 
 deeply moved and excited spirit. Words 
 similar in sense heaped together to intensify 
 the idea. The eloquence of grief. "Let the 
 blackness of the day terrify it." Let what- 
 ever tends to obscure the day, as eclipses, 
 storms, clouds, hot winds, &c., make it dis- 
 mal and frightful. The day on which Christ 
 suffered, thus " terrified," not by a natural but 
 a supernatural darkness. " Surely nature is 
 expiring, or the God of nature is suffering," 
 said on that solemn occasion by a heathen 
 philosopher. Verse 6. " Let it not come into 
 the number of the months ; " let it disappear 
 from the calendar ; be made to drop out of 
 memory and existence. Verse 7. " Let that 
 night be solitary," ungladdeued by a single 
 birth, and destitute of all social converse and 
 festivity. Returns to the night of his concep- 
 tion. Sublime accumulation of poetic figures 
 and tragic expressions. " Let no joyful 
 noise be heard therein;" no song or sound 
 of mirth ; no voice of natal or of nuptial 
 joy. Let it be devoted to the wail of 
 sorrow, or to deep perpetual silence. 
 Verse 8. " Let them curse it that curse 
 the day," either hired mourners, astrologers, 
 or unhappy desperate persons ; those accus- 
 tomed to execrate daylight, the day of some 
 special calamity, the day of their own birth, 
 or that of some friend's death. All such to 
 be employed in execrating the day of Job's 
 birth. " Who are ready to raise up their 
 mourning;" or rather, as in the margin, 
 "to raise up a Leviathan," the crocodile 
 or other monster (Is. xxvii. 1). Same per- 
 sons described. Probable reference to some 
 popular superstition, or practice in lamenta- 
 tion and execration. Job wishes his birth- 
 day to be execrated by such persons in the 
 strongest and most energetic language. 
 Verse 9. " Neither let it see the dawning 
 of the day." The Hebrew full of poetic 
 beauty, <c Let it not see ihe eyelids of the 
 morning." No cheerful rays of morning 
 light glancing forth from the rising sun, to 
 succeed that baleful night. Picture of 
 eternal darkness. Ileacen a nighties* day, 
 hell a day less a if/ fit \Trapp}. 
 
 III. Job wishes lie had never been, 
 or had died when lie began to live 
 (verse 11). 
 
 " Why died I not from the womb?" In 
 the impetuosity and perplexity of his spirit, 
 puts it in the form of a question. Questions 
 often asked by a troubled spirit in petulance 
 and rebellion. These questions among the 
 tilings confessed by Job with humiliation and 
 repentance (ch. xlii. 6). " God's judgments a 
 great deep ; and he who asks why, will be 
 
 23
 
 CHAP. in. 
 
 HOUILETIC COMMENTARY: JOB. 
 
 driven out on this deep, for there is no chart 
 to guide us " \_Beecher]. That our times are 
 in God's haud quieted David's spirit, but 
 failed to quiet Job's (Ps. xxxi. 15). Ob- 
 serve : 
 
 1. Times may come when the sweetest truths 
 fail to comfort a child of God. Unbelief aud 
 
 passion shut out the light and refuse to be 
 comforted. 
 
 2. Job's language the common lament of 
 fallen and suffering humanity. Heathen 
 
 philosophy concluded that, in the view of 
 the troubles of life, the best thing is not to 
 be born at all ; the next best is, to get out 
 of the world as soon as possible. 
 
 3. Job's question unanswerable but for the 
 lirth in Bethlehem. Better not to have been 
 born at all, if not born again. With a 
 Saviour provided and offered, our birth either 
 a blessing, or might be. Under an economy 
 of grace, life spared in mercy (Lam. iii. 22 ; 
 2 Pet. iii. 15). 
 
 4. A solemn question for each, Why did I 
 not die from the womb ? Life invested with 
 the most solemn responsibilities. A solemn 
 thing to die, perhaps more so to live. Im- 
 portant and mysterious purposes connected 
 with each one's life. The babe in the 
 mother's arms may prove a Moses, a David, 
 or a Paul. " What will ever come of it ?" 
 said one to Franklin in reference to the first 
 discovered balloon. " What will ever come 
 of that ?" replied Franklin, pointing to a baby 
 in its cradle. Job ignorant, when he asked 
 the question, that his name should become 
 a synonym for suffering patience. 
 
 IV. Job describes the grave and state 
 of the dead (verses 1319). 
 
 The description grand, tragic, and poetical. 
 Given according to outward appearance and 
 in relation to earthly experience. 
 
 Death and the Grave. 
 
 1. Death a state of quiet sleep (verse 13). 
 A sleep as regards the animal frame. Gives 
 the grave an attractiveness in a world of 
 tumult and sorrow. Death a boon in such a 
 world. The churchyard a hallowed resting 
 place, where "The rude forefathers of the 
 hamlet sleep." Only sin disturbs this 
 beautiful idea. Sin plants thorns and deadly 
 nightshade among roses and evergreens. 
 Jesus takes away the sting of death, and makes 
 the grate a bed of rest. The death of a 
 believer pre-eminently a sleep (1 Cor. xv. 51 ; 
 1 Thess. iv. 14 ; v. 10). Tne sleep in Jesus 
 followed by a blessed awaking (1 Thess. v. 
 16). 
 
 2. The grate a place of general rendezvous 
 (verses 14, 16, 19). " The small and great," 
 infants that never saw the light, with kings 
 
 24 
 
 and their counsellors of state, all gather in 
 the common ante-room of the grave, waiting 
 the resurrection summons. In the great 
 cemetery of Cairo,the magnificent mausoleums 
 of the caliphs are mingled with the humble 
 graves of the poor. Common receptacle for 
 "the wise and foolish, cowards, and the 
 brave." 
 
 3. A place of absolute equality (verse 19). 
 " The small and great are there ;" or, " are 
 there the same." On the same level, and 
 in the same condition. The bones of the 
 prince undistinguished in the charnel-house 
 from those of the peasant. "Dust to dust" 
 pronounced over the coffin of the monarch 
 as well as that of the pauper. The burial 
 place of Alexander the Great shown in an 
 obscure corner in Alexandria. The only 
 distinction in the next world determined ly 
 off character and conduct in this. 
 
 4. A place where the wicked cease from 
 their oppression (verses 17, 18). The grave 
 an effectual check to the wrongs of the 
 tyrant, the slave-owner, and the perse- 
 cutor. Herod smitten in the midst of 
 his murders and eaten up of worms (Acts 
 xii. 23). 
 
 5. A place of rest for the suffering ami 
 weary (verses 17 19). "The prisoners 
 rest together;" hearing no more "the cruel 
 v<jice nor sounding rod." Prisoners in the 
 gold mines of Egypt, like slaves in more 
 recent times, were driven to their work by 
 the lash, their taskmasters being barbarian 
 soldiers, who spoke a foreign language. 
 "The servant is free from his master." 
 Slavery viewed as, in most cases, worse 
 than death. To make the repose of the grave 
 real and complete was the mission of Jesus, 
 (Matt. xi. 28). The true rest in death taught 
 in Heb. iv. 9; Rev. xiv. 13. The grave a 
 sweet resting place only to those who have 
 found rest in Christ. To believers, a place 
 of rest (1) From the cares and troubles of 
 life; (2) From the oppression of man and 
 the bufferings of Satan ; (3) From the burden 
 of a carnal and sinful nature ; (4) From the 
 conflict with sin and the flesh; (5) From 
 painful labours in the service of Christ and 
 humanity. Do your tcork, and God icill send 
 you. to rest in good time [Trapp~\. 
 
 6. A place exhibiting the vanity of earthly 
 glory and riches (verse 14). Kings and coun- 
 sellors of the earth among the tenants of the 
 tomb (Is. xiy. 6; Ez xxxii. 21, &c.). "Earth's 
 proudest triumphs end in ' Here he lies.' " 
 "This" (a shroud fastened and carried at the 
 top of a lance by his own command), " this 
 is all that remains to Saladin the Great of all 
 his glory." " Conquer the whole earth, aud 
 in a few days such a spot as this (six feet of 
 earth) will be all you have " [Constantine the 
 Great to a miter]. " All tlie glory of Napoleon
 
 HOMILETIC COMMENTARY: JOB. 
 
 CHAP. III. 
 
 dwindled down to a pair of military boots, 
 which lie insisted on having on when dying. 
 Death and corruption mock " the pride of 
 heraldry and the pomp of power." The 
 bodies of Egyptian kings and statesmen 
 embalmed and preserved for thousands of 
 years. Wealth and art may preserve the 
 body' s form, but neither its life nor beauty. 
 " Which built desolate places for them- 
 selves." Only that. Their gain and glory 
 for which they laboured, only a desolation. 
 Palaces to become ruins, pyramids and 
 mausoleums to be rifled of their contSnts. 
 The ruins of Caesar's Golden Palace at Rome 
 now partly covered with a peasant's garden ; 
 those of Cleopatra's palace at Alexandria 
 scarcely distinguishable. The great pyra- 
 mid at Ghizeh still standing, but shorn of its 
 original beauty. The marble casing stripped 
 from its sides to adorn a neighbouring city. 
 Its granite sarcophagus, once containing the 
 dust of Cheops, its royal founder, long empty. 
 In the second pyramid, the body of its 
 founder, Cephren, discovered a few years ago 
 and brought to England. The Egyptian 
 tombs themselves usually built in or near a 
 desert. These tombs generally built on a 
 scale of great extent and magnificence. 
 Often hewn out of the solid rock and highly 
 decorated. The rock-hewn tombs at Thebes 
 about two miles in extent. Of the pyramids 
 at Ghizeh, the largest occupies an area of 
 13 acres; the second 11. The whole one 
 solid mass of masonry, with a small chamber 
 or two in the centre. The height of the 
 Great Pyramid, 479 feet, or 119 higher than 
 St. Paul's Church in London. These pyra- 
 mids built by the kings themselves, and for 
 themselves. Begun at their accession, en- 
 larged each successsive year of their reign, 
 and closed, as if for ever, at their death. 
 More care bestowed by the Egyptians on 
 their tombs than on their dwellings. In 
 Persia, royal sepulchres, apart from others, 
 cut out high up in the face of steep cliffs. 
 Shebna's vanity (Is. xxii. 16). Some take 
 more care about their sepulchres than their 
 souls [Caryt]. A heathen poet says : "Light 
 is the loss of a sepulchre ;" but who can 
 calculate the loss of a soul? (Matt. xvi. 26). 
 (Verse 15). " With princes that had gold." 
 Had gold. Their riches a thing of the past. 
 Their gold unable to bribe away death. 
 " Who filled their houses with silver," 
 which should rather have filled the hungry. 
 Gold and silver often preserved to be a 
 witness against its possessor. Treasure 
 heaped together for the last days (Jam. v. 3). 
 Perhaps ordered by the possessors to be de- 
 posited with them in their tombs, also called 
 their houses (Is. xxii. 16 ; xiv. 18, 19). Its 
 presence there a bitter mockery, its former 
 possessor able neither to use nor recognize it. 
 
 IV. Job complains that life is con- 
 tinued to the suffering and sorrowing 
 
 (verse 20.) 
 
 " Wherefore is light given to them that 
 are in misery ? " &c. A tacit reflection on 
 his Maker's goodness, justice, and wisdom. 
 Another of those things that Job repented 
 of "in dust and ashes," (v. 26). 
 
 Life 
 
 Wisely and graciously continued even to 
 sufferers. 
 
 1. If unprepared for death, the sufferer is 
 spared in mercy for such, preparation. Death 
 to the unprepared the harbinger of death 
 eternal. An infinitely greater evil to be cut 
 off in sin than to be spared in suffering. The 
 life of nature mercifully continued, that the 
 life of grace may be obtained here, and the 
 life of glory hereafter. 
 
 2. If prepared, the sufferer's life is con- 
 tinued for various wise and gracious pur- 
 
 (1 . ) For proof and trial of his state. Suf- 
 fering a touchstone of sincerity. Affliction 
 the fire that tries the moral metal of the sold. 
 God uses not scales to weigh our graces, but 
 a touchstone to try them \Erookes\. 
 
 (2.) For further sanctification. Afflictions 
 God's goldsmiths. The rising waves lifted 
 the ark nearer heaven. Affliction the Chris- 
 tian man's divinity. Deepens repentance 
 for sin, the cause of all suffering. Promotes 
 the exercise of Christian graces, especially 
 meekness, patience, and submission. Even 
 Christ learned obedience by the things which 
 He suffered. Trials develope and strengthen 
 Christian character. Each succeeding wave 
 hardens the oyster-shell that encloses the 
 pearl. 
 
 (3.) For enhancement of future glory and 
 happiness. As we suffer with Christ we 
 shall be glorified with him. Labour makes 
 rest sweeter and the crown brighter. 
 
 (4.) For the benefit and edification of 
 others. Suffering meekly borne by a believer 
 exhibits the sustaining power of grace and so 
 encourages others. The believer's lamp often 
 trimmed afresh at a fellow-christian's sickbed. 
 Christian animated to persevere through the 
 Valley of the Shadow of Death by the sound 
 of Faithful's voice before him. Four hundred 
 persons converted to Christ by witnessing 
 Csecilia's demeanour under suffering. 
 
 (5.) For the glory of Him who is both the 
 Author and Finisher of faith. Affliction 
 meekly endured exhibits the faithfulness and 
 love of God, and so leads both ourselves and 
 others to praise Him (Is. xxiv. 15 ; 1 Pet. 
 i. 7). Suffering a blessing to society, and 
 one of its regenerating forces. Tends to 
 humble pride and check evil-doers. Exhibits 
 
 25
 
 CHIP. III. 
 
 HOMILETJC COMMENTARY: JOB. 
 
 the evil of sin, the vanity of the world, and 
 the certainty of death. Affords room for 
 the exercise of sympathy, compassion, and 
 benevolence. Gives scope to self-sacrifice, 
 the noblest form of humanity. 
 
 V. Job expresses his longing for 
 death (verse 21). 
 
 "Which long for death, &c." Said to 
 be especially true of those who laboured in 
 the gold mines of Egypt. A peculiar feature 
 of Job's disease. Probably suicide the tempta- 
 tion presented to him by Satan through his 
 wife. Suicide Satan's recipe for the ills of 
 i/y. Job longs for death but is kept 
 by grace from doing anything to procure it. 
 
 Death. 
 
 Our time in God's hand, not our own. 
 He is ill fitted to die who is unwilling to lite. 
 Physical death only a blessing to him who 
 has been delivered from spiritual death, and 
 so secured against death eternal. Death a 
 monster only to be safely encountered when 
 deprived of his sting. His terrors only 
 quenched in the blood of Christ. Death 
 only to be desired (1.) When our work is 
 done ; (2.) When .God pleases to call us ; 
 (3.) That we may be freed from sin ; (4.) That 
 we may be with Christ (Phil. i. 23). To 
 Lear life's burden well is belter than to be 
 delivered from it. Grace makes a man willing 
 to lice, amidst life's greatest privations 
 and sufferings; willing to die, amidst its 
 greatest enjoyments and comforts. " And it 
 cometh not.' The extreme of misery to 
 desire death and not be able to find it (Rev. 
 ix. 6). The misery of the damned. Yvv//m 
 existence the crown of hell's torments. Salted 
 with fire (Mark, ix. 49). The first death 
 drives the soul out of the body ; the misery of 
 the second death is, that it keeps the soul 
 in it. 
 
 VI. Job plaintively dwells on his sad 
 
 condition (verse 23). 
 
 Describes himself as " A man whose way- 
 is hid, and whom God hath hedged in,'' 
 visited with troubles which he cannot under- 
 stand, and from which he sees no way of 
 escape. The soul in darkness misreads all 
 God's dealiiif/s, an 'I only looks on the dark 
 side. Satan had said of Job what Job here 
 says of himself, but with greater truth. 
 Satan truly but enviously viewed God as 
 hedging Job round wifa protection and bless- 
 ing ; Job views God as unkindly hedging him 
 round with darkae** cn'l /rouble. Job ascribes 
 to God what was really done by Satan with 
 God's permission, or by God only at Satan's 
 instigation. The memory of past good too 
 26 
 
 often obliterated by the experience of present 
 evil. Represents his present calamities as 
 the realisation of his worst fears (verse 25). 
 " The thing which I greatly feared is come 
 upon me." A tender conscience fears reverses 
 in the height of prosperity, and in conse- 
 quence of it. A fall after great felicity an 
 instinct of human nature. Paulus Eruilius, 
 a Roman general, on the death of his two 
 sons immediately after an unusually splendid 
 triumph, said : " I have always had a dread 
 of fortune; and because in the course of 
 this *war she prospered every measure of 
 mine, the rather did I expect that some 
 tempest would follow so favourable a gale." 
 A wise man feareth, but a fool rageth and 
 is confident " (Prov. xiv. 16). 
 
 Fear of the Future. 
 
 Apprehension of future evil right and pro- 
 fitable 
 
 (1.) When it preserves from carnal and 
 careless security (Ps. xxx. G, 7) ; (2.) When 
 it incites to the use of right means to 
 prevent it (Pror. xiv. 16) ; (3.) When it 
 leads us to prepare for it by seeking 
 strength to endure it ; (4.) When it arises 
 from the conviction of the uncertainty of 
 earthly good (Prov. xxvii. 24) ; (5.) When 
 it produces earnestness in securing a better 
 and enduring portion (Matt. vi. 20) ; (G.) 
 When it leads to fidelity in the improvement 
 of present benefits. 
 
 Such apprehension wrong and hurtful ; 
 
 (1.) When arising from undue anxiety 
 about the continuance of present mercies; 
 (2.) When attended with anxiety and dis- 
 trust about the future (Phil. iv. G); (3.) 
 When preventing the thankful enjoyment of 
 present blessings (Eccl. ii. 23, 24) ; (4.) 
 When leading to undue means to preserve 
 them. 
 
 Apprehension and freedom from security no 
 prevention of the evil (verse 26). " Yet 
 trouble came." Learn (1) Prayer and 
 piety are HO security against trouble. God 
 has not promised to preserve his people from 
 trouble, but to support them in it; (2) No 
 human caution or foresight is able to secure 
 men against calamity. The race not to the 
 swift nor the battle to the strong. (3) To 
 sit loose to earthly comforts is the best way to 
 retain them, or to bear their removal. To 
 God's people no trouble comes unsent, or 
 without a blessing in its besom. Trouble in 
 the believer's inventory (1 Cor. iii. 21, 22). 
 Among the " all things " that work together 
 for his good (Rom. viii. 28). Unable to sepa- 
 rate him from Christ's love (Rom. viii. 39). 
 The storm makes the traveller wrap himself 
 more closely in his mantle.
 
 HOMILETIC COMMENTARY: JOB. 
 
 CIIA?. IV. 
 
 Trouble and its Uses to the Believer. 
 
 To believers trouble is, 
 
 1. Purifying. Affliction is God's furnace 
 for purging away our dross ; his thorn for 
 piercing through our pride. The Jews clung 
 to idols till they were carried captive _ to 
 Babylon. The three captives lost nothing 
 in the furnace but their bonds. 
 
 2. Preservative. Often preserves from 
 greater evils. Augustine missed his way, 
 and so escaped intended mischief. The 
 Christian's armour rusts in time of peace. 
 Salt brine preserves from putrefaction. 
 
 3. Fructifying. Affliction makes both fra- 
 grant and fruitful. God's rod, like Aaron's 
 buds, blossoms, and bears almonds. Flowers 
 smell sweetest after a shower. Vines said 
 to bear the better for bleeding. Believers 
 often most internally fruitful when most 
 externally afflicted. Manasseh's chain more 
 profitable to him than his crown. Many 
 trees grow better in the shade than the 
 sunshine. 
 
 4. Teaching* Trouble teaches by expe- 
 rience. God's rod a speaking one. At 
 eventide light. Stars shine when the sun 
 
 foes down. Some scriptures not understood 
 y Luther till he was in affliction. God's 
 house of correction His school of instruction. 
 
 5. Brings consolation. Suffering times 
 often the believer's singing times. Songs in 
 the night. As our tribulations in Christ, so 
 our consolations. Every stone thrown at 
 Stephen drove him nearer to Christ. Ja- 
 cob's most blessed sleep when he had only 
 stones for his pillow. Paul's sweetest 
 epistles written when a prisoner at Rome. 
 The most of Heaven seen by John when a 
 lonely exile at Patmos. The darker the cloud 
 the brighter the rainbow. God's presence 
 changes the furnace of trial into a fire of joy. 
 God's rod, like Jonathan's staff, brings honey 
 on its point. 
 
 6. Conforms us to Christ. God had one 
 son without sin, but none without suffering. 
 All His members to be conformed to His 
 suffering image, though some resemble Him 
 more than others \_Ritthcrford~\. 
 
 7. Is the way to the Kingdom. Affliction 
 only a dark passage to our Father's house, 
 a dark lane to a royal palace. The short 
 storm that ends in an everlasting calm 
 [Brookes], 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 COMMENCEMENT OF THE CONTROVERSY BETWEEN JOB AND HIS 
 
 THREE FRIENDS. 
 
 First Course of the Speeches. First Dialogue, Eliphaz and Job. 
 
 First Speech of Eliphaz. 
 
 Eliphaz censures Job for his impatience, 
 (Did flints at sin as the cause of his suffering. 
 Verse 1. " Then Eliphaz the Temanite," &c. 
 First of the three in age and experience. 
 The mildest of Job's accusers, and superior 
 to the rest in discernment and delicacy. His 
 tone friendly and modest, but pours vinegar 
 rather than oil on Job's wounds. A wise 
 man of the class of Solomon, Heman, and 
 Ethan (1 Kings, iv. 30, 31). Maintains that 
 no innocent person is ever left to perish 
 (verse 7). His statements sound in themselves, 
 but false in their application. His speech 
 the product of a genuine, pious, wise man 
 of the east. Characterized by the legality 
 and narrowness of the age in which he lived. 
 Sadly wanting in sympathy and heart. 
 Eliphaz immensely Job's inferior in intelli- 
 gence, though his superior in age. 
 
 I. Introduction (verse 2). 
 " If we assay," &c. Begins with gentle- 
 ness and courtesy. Reproof to be given, not 
 
 only with love in the heart, but tenderness on 
 the tongue. The razor cuts cleanest when 
 whetted with oil. Tenderness especially due 
 to sufferers. "Wilt thou be grieved," or 
 " take it ill ? " As difficult to bear reproof 
 in trouble as it is to give it. Patiently to 
 bear reproof, the sign of an honest, if not a, 
 gracious heart (Prov. xvi. 32). Next to 
 the not deserving of a reproof is the well 
 taking of it [Bishop Hall], No little grace 
 required to say "Let the righteous smite 
 me, it shall be a kindness " (Ps. cxli. 5). 
 " But who can withhold himself," &c. The 
 reason of his speaking. Compelled by con- 
 science. Good to speak and act only from 
 conviction of duty. Care to be taken, how- 
 ever, that that conviction be an enlightened 
 one. Compulsion from our own spirit not 
 to be mistaken for impulsion from God's. 
 Better not to speak at all than not to speak 
 to the ptirpose. 
 
 II. The Reproof. Contains 1. A testi- 
 mony to JoVs past character and conduct, 
 (v. 3, 4). "Thou hast instructed many," &c.
 
 CHAP. IV. 
 
 HOHILETIG COMMENTARY: JOB. 
 
 Job's conduct to others in similar circumstan- 
 ces to his own. "Instructed," " strength- 
 ened," "upheld." Noble testimony (l.)To 
 his sympathy and warmth of heart ; (2.) To 
 his toisaom and intelligence "hast instruct- 
 ed " ; (3.) To his zeal and self-denying activity 
 on behalf of others "instructed many'''; 
 (4.) To his expsrience in the things of God, 
 fitting him for a spiritual comforter. Job's 
 character not merely one of uprightness and 
 integrity, but of kindness and benevolence. 
 Eliphaz endorses the testimony a "perfect'* 
 as well as an " upright " man. Does this, 
 however, less to praise his past, than to cen- 
 sure his present conduct. Confirms Job's 
 own testimony of himself (xxix. 13, &c. ; 
 xxx. 25). Job the opposite of a selfish 
 character. Improved his prosperity and 
 influence for the comfort and benefit of 
 others. A true priest and minister to the 
 neighbourhood in which he lived. Not.only 
 prayed and sacrificed/or others, but imparted 
 instruction and consolation to them. Not 
 only feared God himself, but sought to lead 
 others to do the same. Sought to stimulate 
 to duty and to strengthen under trial. Per- 
 formed for those in trouble the part of 
 Jonathan to David (1 Sam. xxiii. 16). His 
 conduct enjoined as a New Testament duty 
 (Is. xxxv. 3 ; Heb. xii. 12). Practised by 
 Christians as U New Testament grace (Rom. 
 xv. 14; 1 Cor. xvi. 15 ; Heb. vi. 10; 1 Thess. 
 v. 11). The work and ministry of Christ 
 himself, Job's antitype (Is. xlii. 3 ; Ixi. 1-3). 
 Instruction placed first, as the means and 
 foundation of the rest. The word of truth 
 the medium to be employed in healing sick 
 and wounded spirits (Ps. cvii. 20). 
 
 Christian Ministry 
 
 Especially one of instruction and consola- 
 tion (Is. xl. 12). Eequires an enlightened 
 mind, a tender heart, and a gracious tongue. 
 Abundant room for such a ministry in a sin- 
 ning and suffering world. Dark minds, weak 
 hands, and tottering knees to be met with 
 everywhere. The feeble, the falling, and 
 the fallen, the church has with it always. 
 The whole creation travailing together in 
 pain ; and believers, with the first fruits of 
 the Spirit, groaning within themselves (Rom. 
 vk'i. 22, 23). Cases especially requiring 
 such a ministry : 1. Affliction, personal or 
 domestic; 2. Bereavement; 3. Temporal 
 losses and misfortunes ; 4. Persecution and 
 cruel treatment from others; 5. Spiritual 
 darkness and temptation ; 6. Sorrow and 
 contrition for sin ; 7 '. Infirmities of age and 
 approaching dissolution. " Till tears are 
 wiped away, and hearts cease to ache, and 
 sin no longer desolates, every believer has a 
 mission in this world " \Eeecher\ Grounds 
 of consolation and support in the character 
 28 
 
 and truth of God (1 Sam. xxiii. 16. The 
 Old and New Testaments the storehouse of 
 Divine consolations (Rom. xv. 4). Lamen- 
 tations iii., Romans viii., and Hebrews xii. 
 especially rich in such topics. The believer 
 and well-instructed scribe to be always 
 ready to draw out of this treasury (Matt. 
 xiii. 52). Topics of consolation in time of 
 trouble and affliction: (1.) The character 
 of God, as compassionate and faithful ; (2.) 
 The hand of God in all our afflictions; 
 (3.) God's gracious purposes in sending trou- 
 ble ; (4.) The shortness and lightness of afflic- 
 tion as compared with the " eternal weight 
 of glory" for which it is preparatory; (5.) 
 The promises of pardon, grace, guidance, 
 provision, and protection to the end; (6.) 
 Christ Himself as our Redeemer, in whom 
 we have all things ; (7.) His example as a 
 sufferer ; (8.) His sympathy in our affliction. 
 2. The censure. " JBut now," &c. To com- 
 mend with a " but " is a wound rather than 
 a consolation [Trapp]. Christ's reproofs, 
 however, sometimes given with such a " but " 
 (Rev. ii. 14). "Now it is come upon thee," 
 viz., trouble. Storms prove the ship's 
 seaworthiness. "And thou faintest." Same 
 word as in verse 2, rendered " grieved." 
 An unfeeling reproach. Eliphaz a sorry 
 imitator of what he had just commended in 
 Job. Forgets the unprecedented character 
 of Job's sufferings. Charges him with being 
 either a pretender to the virtue he had not, 
 or a neglector of what he had. Job's anti- 
 type similarly taunted, "He saved others," 
 &c. (Matt, xxvii. 42). Yet suggests an 
 important truth both for Christians and minis- 
 ters. 
 
 Ministerial Consistency. 
 
 Heed to be taken not to preach to others 
 without practising ourselves. The people's 
 ears not to be holier than the preacher's 
 heart. Jewish Rabbies condemned for 
 teaching others whilst not teaching them- 
 selves (Rom. ii. 21). Self application of en- 
 forced truth the preacher's duty as well as the 
 people's. The exhortation of the lips to be 
 seconded by the testimony of the life. Present 
 doings not to sh&me former sayings \Trapp\. 
 One said of Erasmus, "There is more of 
 Christ's soldier in his book than in his bosom.'''' 
 The easiest thing to give good counsel, the 
 hardest to act on it. Self application of 
 Divine truth man's duty, but God's gift. 
 Sustaining grace needed by the strongest as 
 well as the weakest. The saddest fall, that 
 " when a standard bearer fainteth " (Is. xvi. 
 18). To "faint" in the day of adversity 
 proves our strength is small (Prov. xxiv. 10). 
 The believer's duty to do each day's work with 
 Christian diligence, and to bear each day's
 
 HOMILETIG COMMENTARY: JOB. 
 
 C1IA.P. IV. 
 
 cross with Christian patience. The charge of 
 Eliphaz though not the kindest, yet true. 
 Job had both "fainted," and was "troubled," 
 or confounded. The language of chap. iii. 
 a sad contrast to that of chap. i. and ii. 
 The shield of faith vilely cast away. How 
 is the mighty fallen ! Faith and patience in 
 the greatest saints subject to eclipse. Job 
 had with Peter walked on the water ; but 
 now, with Peter, begins to sink in it. In- 
 constancy written on all creature-excellence. 
 Only One able to say " I change not," (Mai. 
 iii. 6). David's mountain stands strong till 
 God hides His face, and he is troubled (Ps. 
 xxx. 7). Job to learn that his own strength 
 is weakness, and that his righteousness is of 
 God and not of himself. The strong man 
 must glory only in the Lord (ch. xxix. 20 ; 
 Jer. ix. 23, 24). Job, like Paul, to be shorn 
 of his strength, that the power of Christ 
 may rest upon him (2 Cor. xii. 9). Only he 
 who waits on the Lord renews his strength, 
 so as to walk without fainting (Is. xl. 31). 
 In spite of dashing waves the limpet 
 clings to the rock through its own emptiness. 
 (Verse 6). "Is not this thy fear," &c. 
 Apparently a cruel charge of hypocrisy. 
 Probably, however, not so decided and di- 
 rect as appecirs in our version. Perhaps 
 more correctly read : " Is not thy fear [of 
 God] thy coniidence, and thy hope, the up- 
 rightness of thy ways ?" That is, " Should 
 it not be so ?'' Doctrine : A man's religion 
 ought to give him confidence in time of trouble. 
 Like his former statement, the question of 
 Eliphaz a testimony to Job's piety. An en- 
 dorsement of ch. i. 1. Job admitted to 
 have been distinguished for his fear of God 
 and integrity of lite. The only question now, 
 " Is it real ?" Eliphaz begins to suspect it. 
 The " fear of God " another word for reli- 
 gion. That fear, when genuine, coupled with 
 "uprightness" of life. True religion ever 
 accompanied with its twin-sister, morality. 
 True piety ought to give "confidence" in 
 regard to the present, and " hope " in regard 
 to the future. The words of Eliphaz a great 
 truth falsely applied. The 46th Psalm an 
 exemplification of that truth. Habakkuk's 
 Song another (Hab. iii. 17, 18). For this 
 result, however, the fear of God to be coupled 
 with 
 
 Faith in God. 
 
 Job's fear of God unshaken, but l\isfai(/t 
 in God beclouded. A past religious and 
 moral life in itself not sufficient to stay the 
 mind in trouble. The peace of God that 
 keeps the heart and mind, the result si faith 
 inJesiis Christ (Phil. iv. 7). Not a blameless 
 or God-fearing life, but a mind stayed on 
 God and trusting in Him, keeps the soul in 
 perfect peace (Is. xxvi. 3). Such a trust, 
 
 however, the usual outcome and accompani- 
 ment of such a life. Faith in God, and the 
 fear of God make the soul triumph in every 
 trouble. " Let us sing the 46th Psalm, and 
 let them do their worst " [Luther, when threa- 
 tened by enemies}. " My father is at the. 
 helm," enough to quiet the soul in every 
 storm. " He has nothing to fear who has 
 Csesar for his friend " (Seneca}. For Csesar, 
 substitute Christ. The privilege of believers, 
 eagle-like, to hold on their career through 
 storms and tempests. " The righteous is as 
 bold as a lion," i. e., with faith in exercise. 
 Job's faith, like that of the disciples, tested 
 in a storm and found defective (Mark iv. 
 40). Sometimes, however, breaks through 
 the cloud, and triumphs over all opposition 
 (xxiii. 10 ; xvi. 19 ; xix. 2527 ; xiii. 15). 
 There are times when the believer's faith is 
 scarcely able to keep head above water. 
 
 III. Exhortation, with veiled Reproof 
 
 (verse 7). 
 
 " Remember, I pray thee," &c. Skilfully 
 ambiguous. May serve either for convic- 
 tion or consolation. Hisiory a useful teacher, 
 but requires intelligence to read its lessons. 
 The part of true wisdom to mark, record, 
 and improve God's dealings in Providence 
 (Ps. cvii. 43). His works made to be re- 
 membered (Ps. cxi. 4). Asaph's and David's 
 conduct in times of trouble (Ps. Ixxvii. 11, 
 12; cxliii. 5). "Whoever perished being' 
 innocent ?" Literally : " Who is that inno- 
 cent person who hath perished ?" Asks for 
 any such known example. Eternity not in 
 view. " Perished " by some signal judgment. 
 "Cut off" by some sudden catastrophe. 
 Reference to Job's own case. Job not yet 
 " cut off;" hence consolation in the question. 
 The innocent "cast down but not destroyed." 
 Paul's experience (2 Cor. iv. 9 ; vi. 9). 
 David's (Ps. Ixxi. 20). Job all but " cut 
 off;" hence the question for conviction. 
 Can Job be an innocent person ? No such 
 person has ever perished. No example, ac 
 cording to Eliphaz, of a godly man cut off 
 by any signal judgment or overwhelming 
 catastrophe. The opposite side maintained 
 by Job. The godly fall with the ungodly 
 (ch ix. 22, 23). Same truth taught, Ecc. 
 ix. 2, 3 ; Ez. XXL. 3. The godly often suffer 
 while the wicked prosper (xii. 5, 6 ; xxi. 7 ; 
 Ps. Ixxiii. 3, 12). The first recorded death 
 of a believer a violent and bloody one. Saints 
 at times " killed all the day long," and their 
 "blood shed like water" (Ps. xliv. 22; 
 Ixxix. 3). Paul glories in the long martyr- 
 roll of the Old Testament, as the church has 
 since done in that of the New (fleb. xi. 
 35-37). Thousands of the faithful "cutoff" 
 in the persecution of Antiochus Epiphaucs
 
 CHAP. iv. 
 
 HOMILETIC COMMENTARY: JOB. 
 
 (Dan. xi. 33). Still, Job's case an unusual 
 one, and not belonging to any of these classes. 
 His crushing calamities apparently direct 
 from the hand of God. Everything seemed 
 to proclaim him an object of the Divine 
 anger. " God smites, hence there is guilt," 
 an instinct of humanity (Acts, xxviii, 3, 4). 
 Hence the suspicion of his friends, and Job's 
 own perplexity (ch. xiii. 24 ; xvi. 9 14 ; xix. 
 10, 11). Faith has often a Jiard battle to 
 fir/ht against appearances and carnal reasoning. 
 Job's friends instead of aiding his buffeted 
 and sometimes staggering faith, help his un- 
 belief. Their object, to make him out, and 
 bring him to acknowledge himself to be, 
 other than he had appeared. The experience 
 of Job a foreshadowing of that of Jesus (Is. 
 liii. 3, 4 ; Matt, xxvii. 43, 46). 
 
 V. Eliphaz adduces his own observa- 
 tion for Job's conviction (verse 8). 
 
 " Even as' I have seen." Useful for the 
 preacher to substantiate his arguments and 
 appeals by facts of his own observation. 
 
 Sin and its Consequences. 
 
 1. Sin. " They that plough iniquity," 
 practise wrong, especially in relation to others. 
 A cruel thrust at Job, as if this had been his 
 character, and that for which he was now 
 suffering. " Plough " iniquity practise it 
 carefully, industriously, painfully, perse- 
 'veringly, and with expectation of profit 
 
 (Prov. xxii. 8 ; Hos. viii. 7 ; vi. 13. Sinners 
 sore labourers (Prov. xvi. 17 ; Is. lix. 5 ; 
 Jer. ix. 5). Satan the worst master ; keeps 
 his servants at hard work icith miserable 
 wages. " And sow wickedness," or " mis- 
 chief ; " continue to prosecute wicked and 
 oppressive schemes. The character of tyrants 
 to oppress others with the view of enriching 
 themselves. Sin gradual and progressive. 
 One sin prepares the way for another. Plough - 
 ing prepares for sowing. The sinner urged 
 on to persevere in sin. One sin to be fol- 
 lowed by another, in order to gain the result, 
 as ploughing by sowing. "Evil men and 
 seducers wax worse and worse " (2 Tim. 
 iii. 13). S'm is never at a stay ; if ice do not 
 retreat from it, ice advance in it [Barrov\. 
 
 2. Its consequences. "Reap the same ;" (1.) 
 The profit of their sin. (2.) The punishment of 
 it. Retribution corresponding with the sin, 
 constantly recognised in the Bible (Is. xxxiii. 
 1; Rev. xiii. 10 ; Matt. vii. 2; Jam. ii. 13). 
 Exemplified in Adonibezek (Jud. i. 7) ; and in 
 the persecutors of the church (Rev. xvi. 6). 
 The Egyptians, who drowned Israel's infants 
 in the Nile, are themselves drowned in the 
 Red Sea. Countries distinguished for per- 
 secution, as Spain with its Inquisition, and 
 Prance with its Bartholomew Massacre, dis- 
 
 30 
 
 tinguished also for the horrors of bloody 
 revolutions and civil wars. Charles IX. of 
 France, who ordered the Massacre of 1575, 
 expired in a bloody sweatj exclaiming, " What 
 blood! What murders! What shall I 
 do ? I am lost for ever." Under God's 
 government, sin followed by suffering as a 
 body by its shadow (Num. xxxii. 23). Men 
 constantly sowing either to the flesh or the 
 spirit (Gal. vi. 7, 8). The crop according 
 to the seed. 
 
 (Ver. 9). The fate of the prosperous wicked. 
 Cruelly held forth by Eliphaz as if to terrify 
 Job and identify his case with theirs. The 
 case of Job and his children terribly resem- 
 bling it. Truth misapplied assumes the nature 
 and produces the effect of error. " By the 
 blast (or breath) of God they perish." A 
 mere breath of God sufficient for the destruc- 
 tion of the ungodly. "Thou didst blow with 
 thy wind," sung over the ruin of Pharaoh's 
 host and of the Spanish Armada. The whirl- 
 wind that overthrows the dwelling and wrecks 
 the ship, bid the breath of the Almighty. The 
 wicked driven away by God's breath as so 
 much dust or chaff before the wind (Ps. i. 4). 
 The breath that made the world can as easily 
 destroy it (Ps. xxxiii. 6). " By the breath 
 of his nostrils are they consumed," like vege- 
 tation scorched and burnt up by the hot \vind 
 of the desert (Jer. iv. 11; Ez. xvii. 10; 
 Hos. xiii. 15). The life of the ungodly is 
 (1.) Laborious and painful in its efforts ; (2.) 
 Often prosperous for a time in its results ; 
 3.) Miserable in its end. " Consumed,'' by 
 Divine judgments in this life, or by the 
 experience of His wrath in the life to come. 
 The former mainly intended by Eliphaz, with- 
 out exclusion of the latter. True, as to 
 what frequently happens. Examples, the 
 Antediluvians, and the Cities of the Plain. 
 Its universality implied by Eliphaz, but 
 denied by Job (ch. xxi. 7 14; xii. 6). Sen- 
 tence against an evil work not always speedily 
 executed (Ecc. viii. 11). Some wicked 
 men punished here, to save God's providence; 
 only some to save his patience and promise 
 of future judgment \_Augustine~]. The pre- 
 servation of the ungodly only a reserva- 
 tion. God's forbearance no acquitance. 
 Divine justice slow but sure. Has leaden 
 heels but iron hands. The longer in draw- 
 ing the arrow, the deeper the wound. 
 [Brookes."} 
 
 (Verse 10). Same truth poetically set forth 
 under another figure. " The roaring of the 
 lion and the voice of the fierce lion," supply 
 " is silenced." The threatening of the rich 
 oppressor and the terror inspired by it come to 
 an end. "Lions " used in Scripture as the 
 symbol of cruel and rapacious men (Ps. Ivii. 
 4 ; Jer. 1. 17 ; Zeph. iii. 3). The figure 
 common in Arab poetry for the rich and
 
 HOMILETIC 
 
 JOB. 
 
 CHAP. IV. 
 
 powerful. Furnished by the deserts of 
 Arabia in which Eliphaz lived. The refer- 
 ence cruelly intended by him to Job and his 
 three sons. " The teeth of the young lions 
 are broken." The means of wicked men's 
 doing mischief and practising oppression rilti- 
 mately taken from them. The teeth of the 
 tyrant and persecutor sooner or later broken. 
 Examples : Belshazzar (Dan. v. 22, 30) ; 
 Herod (Acts xii. 23) ; Nero (2 Tim. iv. 17). 
 Heartless allusion to the condition of Job 
 and his family. (Terse 11). "The old lion 
 perisheth." Various aspects, and perhaps 
 species, of the lion indicated. Usual with 
 Arab poets to express the same thing by 
 several synonymous terms ; each, however, 
 with a variety of idea. Various forms and 
 degrees of wickedness, and various classes 
 of persecutors and oppressors ; as lions 
 differ in ferocity, age, and strength. Com- 
 mon with Scripture to represent moral 
 character under the figure of various aiiimals : 
 cruelty by the lion and bear; rapacity by 
 the wolf and the leopard ; subtlety by the 
 fox and the serpent ; uncleanness by the 
 swine and the dog ; innocence by the dove ; 
 meekness by the lamb ; industry by the ant. 
 Some animals with natures and habits for 
 imitation, others the reverse. Tlie inferior 
 creatures, in the variety of their natures and 
 habits, the divinely-constituted symbols of the 
 various characters and dispositions of men. 
 The natural world a Divine mirror of the 
 moral and spiritual. 
 
 VI. The vision (verse 12). 
 
 " Now a thing was secretly brought to 
 me," &c. The vision related by Eliphaz : 
 (1.) To gain authority to his own reasoning 
 and doctrine ; (2.) To reprove Job's mur- 
 muring, and sinful "reflection on the Divine 
 procedure; (3.) To humble his apparent 
 self-righteousness, and convince him he was 
 a sinner. The doctrine of the vision true 
 but misapplied by the narrator. Visions 
 frequently afforded in patriarchal times in the 
 absence of a written revelation (ch. xxxiii. 
 15, 16). One of the "divers manners" 
 (Heb. i. 1). Such communications given 
 " secretly," in the absence of other parties, 
 (Dan. x. 7, 8). Eliphaz probably awake 
 and revolving past midnight visions, " in 
 thoughts," &c. The description allowed to 
 excelall others of a similar kind in sublimity 
 and horror. Sublime without being obscure, 
 circumstantial without being mean [Kitto], 
 "Wonderful grouping of impressive ideas. 
 Midnight solitude deep silence approach 
 of the spectre its gliding and flitting motion 
 its shadowy, unrecognisable form its final 
 stationary attitude the voice the awful 
 silence broken by the solemn question of the 
 spirit the chill horror of the spectator 
 
 trembling in all his limbs the hair of his 
 body standing up from fear. Much more 
 connected with the earth than is ordinarily 
 visible. Man surrounded with a countless 
 invisible population of intelligent creatures. 
 "Myriads of spiritual beings walk the 
 earth " \_Miltoti\. Man an object of intense 
 interest both to good and bad spirits. 
 Communication with the spirit world at 
 present confined within narrow limits ; partly 
 through our physical nature, still more 
 through our fallen condition. Man in his 
 present state naturally alarmed at spiritual 
 and supernatural appearances (Dan. x. 7, 8). 
 Special strength required to endure such 
 appearances and receive such communica- 
 tions (Dan. x. 1719). Flesh -and blood 
 unable to inherit the kingdom of God 
 (1 Cor. xv. 50). Man's natural body to be 
 changed into a spiritual one to hold fellow- 
 ship with the spirit world (1 Cor. xv. 44). 
 "Mine ear received a little thereof;" 
 Heb., " a whisper." The amount received, 
 only a whisper as compared with a full out- 
 spoken speech. All we know of God, a 
 mere whisper in comparison with mighty 
 thunder (ch. xxvi. 14). Little of Divine 
 truth communicated compared with what is 
 to be known (1 Cor. xiii. 9). The greatest 
 part of what we know, the least part of what 
 we know not. Things heard by Paul in 
 Paradise unlawful or impossible to be uttered 
 (2 Cor. xii. 4). Truth communicated only 
 as we are able to receive it (Mark, iv. 33 ; 
 John xvi. 12). "Even in the Scripture, I 
 am ignorant of much more than I know" 
 [Augustine']. (Verse 16). " There was 
 silence and I heard a voice ; " or, " Silence, 
 and a voice I heard," i.e. a still small voice, 
 as 1 Kings xix. 12. Deep silence the result 
 of the spectre's appearance, and the prepara- 
 tion for its communication. Silence within the 
 hearer's soul as well as in the world without. 
 Enjoined in the Divine presence and in re- 
 ceiving Divine communications (Hab. ii. 20). 
 Silence in heaven before the sounding of the 
 seven trumpets (Rev. yiii. 1). The " foot " 
 to be "kept," and silent attention to be 
 maintained in the house of God (Eccles. v. 
 1, 2). Preparation of heart necessary for 
 receiving Divine truth (Ps. Ixxxv. 8 ; 1 Sam. 
 iii. 9). Silence from (1.) The voice of 
 pride and self conceit ; (2.) The opinions 
 and wisdom of the flesh ; (3.) The desires 
 and cravings of corrupt nature ; (4.) The 
 impatient clamourings of self will. 
 
 The Spectre's Communication. 
 
 (Verse 17). "Shall mortalman be more just 
 than God," or, " be just before God ? " The 
 object of the commurAcation on the part of 
 the spirit, (1.) To silence man's murmurinrjs 
 
 31
 
 CHAP. IV. 
 
 HOMILETIC COMMENTARY: JOB. 
 
 against the Divine procedure, as if man were 
 more just than God (ch. iii. 10 23 ; xxxv. 2; 
 xl. 8). To murmur under trouble is to reflect 
 on the Divine wisdom and goodness, and to 
 make ourselces more righteous than God. In 
 the. view of Eliphaz, this the sin into which 
 Job had fallen. The sin to which great and 
 accumulated suffering especially exposes our 
 fallen nature. That into which Asaph had 
 nearly fallen (Ps. Ixxiii. 2). God as righteous 
 when he afflicts a good man as when he punishes 
 a bad one. Jeremiah's Divine philosophy, 
 " Wherefore doth a living man complain ? " 
 (Lam. iii. 39). It is "of God's mercies" 
 that a saint as well as a sinner is " not con- 
 sumed " (Lam. iii. 22). One single sin, seen 
 in its real character, enough to shut the mouth 
 of every complainer. Just views of the charac- 
 ter of God aud of the nature of sin calculated 
 to silence murmurs under heaviest troubles. 
 (2.) To /tumble man's pride, and to prove every 
 man in God's sight a sinner. The object of 
 the first three chapters of the Epistle to the 
 Romans. The lesson Job was intended to 
 learn, and did learn (ch. xlii. 5). Taught 
 Isaiah by the vision of the Divine glory in 
 the Temple (Is. vi. 1, &c.) ; and Peter by the 
 miraculous draught of fishes (Luke v. 8). 
 The object of the Gospel to teach how a man 
 may be just before God. The law-fulfilling 
 and justice-satisfying work of Christ, God's 
 way of making a man righteous before Him. 
 God justifies only " the mi godly that believe 
 in Jesus " (Rom. iv. 40 ; Lukexviii. 10, 54). 
 The reason obvious (Rom. iii. 10, 23). To 
 become righteous, a man must take the place 
 of a sinner, his real character. The sinner 
 becomes righteous before God in accepting 
 the righteousness of another. RIGHTEOUS IN 
 CHRIST, our peace in life, our joy in death, 
 and our passport into the New Jerusalem 
 (Jer. xxiii. 5, 6; Is. xlv. 24 ; 1 Cor. i. 30; 
 2 Cor. v. 21). Job a "perfect man" ac- 
 cording to law ; but in order to evangelical 
 perfection, his comeliness, like Daniel's, to 
 be "turned into corruption" in him (Dan. 
 x. 8). The saint's highest attainment to know 
 himself a poor sinner, and Christ a rich Saviour. 
 "la poor sinner am, but Jesus died for me," 
 (Wesley's deathbed testimony). The believer's 
 perfection, thoroughly to know his absolute imper- 
 fection. Education, example, correction, and 
 punishment, may do much fora man. but cannot 
 make him a poor sinner \_Krummachcr]. " A 
 sinner is a sacred thing; the Holy Ghost has 
 made him so " [Ilarf]. 
 
 Verse 18. "Behold." Always indicating 
 something important, and calling for special 
 attention. Uncertain whether, in what 
 follows, the spirit or Eliphaz himself is 
 the speaker. The object, to humble man, 
 and more especially Job, as in nature and cha- 
 racter so much inferior to the angels. The 
 32 
 
 constant aim of Job's "friends," to bring him 
 down from his excellency (Ps. Ixii. 4). " He 
 put no trust in his servants." Angels God's 
 servants by way of eminence (Ps. ciii. 20 
 21; civ. 4). the highest honour of a creature 
 is to be a servant of his Creator. God's service 
 not only our freedom, but our glory. God's 
 dominion over all created intelligences. The 
 Seraphim his servants. Man as well as angel 
 must serve; but he may choose his master. 
 
 " Thou canst not choose but serve ; man's lot 
 
 is servitude. 
 But thou hast thus much choice a bad lord 
 
 or a good." 
 
 God puts no trust in the angels, as being : 
 1. Mutable aud unstable. Many of them 
 fell ; others might, but for sustaining grace. 
 God alone unchangeable (Mai. iii. 6 ; Jam. i. 
 17). Angels secure, like men, only by a Divine 
 act of election (i. Tim. v. 21). "2. Imperfect 
 and liable to err. Fallibility and imper- 
 fection stamped on all creature-excellence. 
 God only wise (Rom. xvi 27) ; only holy 
 (Rev. xv. 4) ; only true (John xvii 3). 
 Infallibility a Divine attribute, claimed by, the 
 Pope while arrogating to himself, as the pre- 
 tended head of the Church, the promise of the 
 Holy Ghost made by Christ to His Apostles. 
 " His angels He charged with folly ; " (1) 
 allowed; (2) marked; (3) visited, sin in them. 
 " Angels," so called from their office as God's 
 messengers or agents. " Sons of God," from 
 their nature (see ch. i. 6). Probable allusion 
 in the text to the fall of some of them (Jude 
 i. 6) ; " kept not their first estate, but 
 left their own habitation" (2 Peter ii. 4). 
 Rebellion against God the height of folly in 
 man or angel. Sinning angels dealt with ac- 
 cording to their folly (Jude vi. ; 2 Pet. ii. 4). 
 The fall of angels as possible and as likely as 
 the fall of men. Their fall a mystery, but 
 clearly revealed. Man's fall connected with 
 that of angels which preceded it. Fallen in- 
 telligences, human or angelic, naturally the 
 tempters of others. The angel's fall a lesson 
 of humility to man (verse 19), " How much 
 less," i.e. can He trust men ; or, " how much 
 more " must He charge men with folly. The 
 fallibility and imperfection of men argued from 
 that of angels. Job pronounced and esteemed 
 a " perfect man." His spirit and conduct 
 under his trials at first in accordance with this 
 character. Conscious himself of his spotless 
 life (ch. xxix., xxxi). Too ready to glory in 
 it (xxxi 35 37). Appeared to maintain it 
 in a way unbecoming in one who was a sinner 
 (xxxiii. 9 ; ix. 17 j x. 7). Needed to be 
 taught more deeply the imperfection of his 
 perfection. His perfection not even that of 
 an imperfect angel, but of a man. The object 
 of the Book of Job, as of God's dealings in 
 general, to hide pride from man (xxxiii. 17).
 
 HOMILETIC COMMENTARY: JOB. 
 
 CHAP. IV. 
 
 The dust the place of the highest and theholiest 
 before his maker. 
 
 Poetical and affecting description of 
 Man's Condition and Circumstances. 
 
 1. As inhabiting a frail and humble body 
 (Verse 19). " Who dwell in houses of clay." 
 Oriental houses of the poorer classes usually 
 of clay or mud dried in the sun. These 
 naturally of the frailest and humblest cha- 
 racter. Contrasted with the houses of the 
 great, usually of hewn stone. Man's fleshly 
 body so spoken of (2 Cor. v. 1). Adam 
 red earth. Hence used as the name of 
 the race (Gen. ii. 15). Flesh a sign and 
 cause of weakness (Is. xxid. 3 ; Gen. vi. 3 ; 
 Ps. Ixxviii. 39). Contrasted with the angels, 
 who are spirits, and therefore strong (Is. 
 xxxi. 3 ; Ps. ciii. 20). Man's present body 
 as "natural," contrasted with his resurrec- 
 tion body as "spiritual" (1 Cor. xiii. 42 
 14; 2 Cor. v. 1). 
 
 2. Formed out of the (/round and returning 
 to it. " Whose foundation is in the dust." 
 The elements of man's body those of the 
 ground on which lie treads. Man frequently 
 reminded of his origin to keep him humble. 
 His lowly origin an enhancement of redeem- 
 ing love; God's Sou took not on Him (or, 
 " took not hold of ") the nature of angels, 
 but that of Abraham (Heb. ii. 16). Man in 
 his creation made loicer than the angels ; in 
 his regeneration, higher (Ps. viii. 4, &c. ; 
 Rom. viii. 10, 17). His return to dust 
 natural, but not necessary. The Divine 
 sentence on Adam's transgression (Gen. iii. 
 19; Ps. xciii. 3; Eccles. xii. 7). Hitherto, 
 but two authentic exceptions (Gen. v. 24 ; 
 2 Kings ii. 11. "'Dust to dust ' concludes 
 earth's noblest song." 
 
 3. Weak ami easily destroyed. " Crushed 
 before the moth." Crushed to death as 
 easily as a moth is crushed between the 
 fingers ; or, crushed " in presence of a moth," 
 which can prove his death. Man's body so 
 frail that the slightest accident can termi- 
 nate his existence. Pope Adrian actually 
 choked by a gnat. A dish of lampreys the 
 death of an English king. Man's continued 
 existence the result of Divine preservation 
 (cli. xix. 12). "Strange that a harp of 
 thousand strings," &c. 
 
 4. Constantly liable to death, and on the 
 n-ay to it (verse 20). "They are destroyed 
 from morning to evening." Liable every 
 moment to accident, disease and death. A 
 continual tendency to dissolution. The 
 seeds of disease and death inherent in man's 
 frame. Death the immediate consequence 
 of the fall (Gen. ii. 17). Man's life itself is 
 death in constant development. " The mo- 
 ment we begin to live," &c. Man crushed 
 
 "between morning and evening." An in- 
 sect life. Man an ephemeral ; his life a day. 
 
 5. Cut off in death from the visible world 
 without ability to return to ~it. "They 
 perish for ever." Man's death a finality. 
 Only one life. Appointed once to die (Heb. 
 ix. 27). " The bourne from whence no tra- 
 veller returns." Man as water spilt upon 
 the ground, not to be taken up again (2 
 Sam. xiv. 14). Art can embalm and pre- 
 serve the body, but not put life into it. 
 Galvanism can move the limbs, but not re- 
 store the life. Resurrection here out of 
 view. The text speaks of what is apparent, 
 natural, and ordinary. Resurrection the result 
 of a new dispensation and a second Adam. 
 Jesus Christ the resurrection and the life. 
 Christ the first fruits (1 Cor. xv. 20, 23). 
 Specimens of bodily resurrection already 
 afforded: (1) In Christ himself; (2) In 
 those restored to life by Himself and by others 
 through His power ; (3) In those who rose 
 and left their graves after His resurrection 
 (Matt, xxvii. 52, 63). The resurrection of 
 all believers at His second coming (1 Cor. 
 xv. 23; 1 Thess. iv. 1517). To be fol- 
 lowed by a general resurrection (Rev. xx. 5; 
 John v. 23, 29). A new earth the habita- 
 tion of risen saints (2 Peter iii. 13). 
 
 6. Unnoticed in death by higher orders of 
 beings. " "Without any regarding it '" i. e., 
 as to any appearance of it. No attempt 
 made by angelic beings to prevent it. No 
 expression heard of sorrow or concern on 
 account of it. Man dies in silence from the 
 other world as if unnoticed and disregarded. 
 This, however, only in appearance (see 
 Luke xvi. 22; Ps. Ixxii. 14; cxvi. 15). 
 
 7. Stripped of all the excellence possessed 
 on earth (verse 21). "Doth not their ex- 
 cellence which was in them go away ?" Not 
 only the best and most excellent thing which 
 was with them, as riches, dignity, power, 
 &c , but which was in them, as beauty 
 and strength of body, powers and endow- 
 ments of mind (Ps. xlix. 14, 17 ; Eccles. ix. 
 10). True, however, only in appearance, 
 and in regard to the body. The spirit returns 
 to God who gave it (Ecc. xii. 7). All ex- 
 cellence departs from the body, but not from 
 the man. Excellencies of the spirit develope 
 and bloom in a higher sphere. A holy 
 character immortal, and survives the tomb. 
 Grace the only glory that a man can carry 
 with him into the spirit- world. 
 
 8. Dying without attaining to wisdom. 
 "They die, even without wisdom." Man 
 attains in this life to comparatively little 
 knowledge in natural things, and to still less 
 in spiritual ones (1 Cor. xiii. 9 13). Sir 
 Isaac Newton's death- bed estimate of his 
 attainments in science, a little child gather- 
 ing pebbles on the sea-shore, with the ocean 
 
 33
 
 UOUILETTC COMMENTARY: JOB. 
 
 of unexplored knowledge before him. . " The 
 greatest part of what I know is the least 
 part of what I know not " [Augustine]. 
 Most die without true and saving wisdom 
 
 (Matt. vii. U; 2 Tim. iii. 15). Man's wis- 
 dom in life is rightly to prepare for death 
 (Ps. xc. 12; Deut. xxxii. 29). 
 
 CHAPTEE .V. 
 
 THE FIRST SPEECH OF ELIPHAZ. CONTINUED. . 
 
 I. Application of the Vision (verse 1). 
 "Call now, if there be any that will 
 answer thee ; and to which of the saints 
 ('holy ones' probably angels, as xv. 15; 
 Dan. 'viii. 13) wilt thou turn?" Job to 
 expect no countenance to his language either 
 from holy men or angels. 
 
 Learn : 
 
 1. Tain for a sinner to appeal against 
 God either to saints or angels. Every angel 
 in heaven will take God's part against the 
 complaining sinner. Angels already taught 
 the wickedness and woe of rebellion against 
 God. Angels themselves charged with folly ; 
 how then dare man open his mouth ? The 
 cry of a poor sinner heard in heaven, but not 
 thai of an unhti'iyJjled self-righteous co/nplainer. 
 That cry heard when directed to God, not to 
 angels. 
 
 2. No ground in the text for the doctrine 
 of angelic intercession or prayer to df parted 
 saints. God the hearer of prayer ; to ////// 
 all flesh are to come (Ps. Ixv. 1). To pray 
 to others in trouble or difficulty, an insult to 
 God, as if either unable or unwilling to 
 answer (2 Kings i. 3). An angel presents 
 the prayers of saints to God, but he the 
 " Angel of the Covenant '' (Rev. viii. 3, 4 ; 
 Mai. iii. 1; Zee. iii. 1 8). The only prayer 
 in the Bible addressed to a departed saint, 
 that of the rich man in hell, and then not 
 heard (Luke xvi. 24, 27). To intercede for 
 others the part of saints on earth. To apply 
 for that intercession a privilege and duty 
 (ch. xlii. 8 ; Jain. v. 15, 18 ; 1 John v. 1C). 
 Angels ministering attendants on believers, 
 not interceding priests for them (Heb. i. 14). 
 One Mediator between God and men (1 Tim. 
 ii. 5). One Advocate with the Fnlher 
 (1 John ii. 1). One Priest in heaven who 
 makes intercession for us (Rom. viii. 34; 
 Heb. vii. 25 ; ix. 21). Men to come to God 
 by Him (Heb. vii. 25; John xiv. 6). Angels 
 employed by God for the benefit of his 
 children (Ps. xxxiv. 7 ; xci. 11 ; Heb. i. 14). 
 Prayer for that ministry to be addressed, 
 not to the Mrami*, but to the Master who 
 sends them (Maft. xxvi. 53). 
 
 3. Axffds and ekpartt fa "turned 
 to," not for help and protection, Int for exam- 
 ple (Ps. ciii. 20 ; Malt. vi. 10). Angels our 
 example : (1) In obedience , (2) In sub- 
 mission; (3) In humility; (4) Iu reverence. 
 
 34 
 
 The prayer oftener uttered than realized, 
 "Thy will be done on earth," &c. God's 
 will done in heaven : (1) By each of its 
 inhabitants ; (2) Without intermission, or 
 deviation ; (3) With promptitude and cheer- 
 fulness; (4) Without murmuring or ques- 
 tioning. Earth converted into heaven when 
 this prayer is fulfilled. A consummation to 
 be expected -.(I) From the prayer itself; 
 (2) From express promises to that effect 
 (2 Peter iii. 13 ; Is. xi. 9 ; Zeph. iii. 9). 
 
 II. The folly and effects of fretting 
 against God (verse 2). 
 
 "For wrath (passion, and displeasure 
 against God for his dealings in Providence) 
 killeth the foolish man, and envy (margin, 
 'indignation') slayeth the silly one." 
 Probably one of the traditional sayings of 
 the wise in common use among the sages of 
 Arabia. A specimen of the proverbial poetry 
 of the ancients, and a good example of 
 Hebrew parallelism. "Poems instead of 
 written laws," one of the Bedouin's boasts. 
 These maxims or wise sayings freely applied 
 by Job's "comforters" against him. The 
 present, like others, an important truth. 
 The sentiment extended in the 37th Psalm. 
 An unfeeling application intended by Eliphaz 
 to the case of Job. 
 
 Learn : 
 
 1. // is the part Oiily of fools to fret against 
 God and his procedure. To complain against 
 God and His dealings as absurd as it is 
 wicked. The extreme of folly for a creature 
 of yesterday to find fault with or sit in judg- 
 ment on the doings of the Eternal Creator. 
 Rather may a child three years old censure 
 the architect's plan of a palace, or an ignorant 
 boor cavil at the complications of a steam- 
 engine. 
 
 (2.) Fretting df/ftinst God'.? dealings brings 
 its own punishment. The compiainer against 
 God's Providence is his own executioner. 
 The man that frets in trouble is like the 
 bird which is said to eat its own bowels. 
 " Envy," or impatient fretfulness, is " rotten- 
 ness to the bones " (Prov. xiv. 30). Fret- 
 ting and passionate complaining "kills," as 
 (1.) It robs of peace, which is the spirit's life ; 
 (2.) Affects the health, and hastens death ; 
 (3.) Injures the life and prosperity of the 
 soul ; (4.) Brings greater chastening and
 
 HOMILETIC COMMENTARY: JOB. 
 
 CHAP. V. 
 
 punishment from God. No greater antago- 
 nist to health than a fretful spirit ; no greater 
 help to it than a contented and submissive 
 one. Passion and impatience in trouble more 
 hurtful and crushing than the trouble itself. 
 True wisdom, as well as piety, under trial is, 
 to commit our way to God and rest -in his 
 wisdom and goodness (Ps. xxxvii. 5 7). 
 
 III. Testimony from personal obser- 
 vation as to the prosperous wicked 
 
 (verse 3 5). 
 
 " I have seen the foolish (ungodly) taking 
 root," &c. The object of Eliphaz to confirm 
 the former statement (ch. iv. 7 9). Un- 
 feeling allusion to the case of Job. Crush- 
 ing language to come from the lips of a pro- 
 fessed friend and comforter. The tongue 
 that uttered it as truly guided by Satan as 
 that of Job's wife. Even Peter, DV his car- 
 nal though friendly counsel, could earn the 
 title of "Satan" (Matt. xvi. 22, 23). The 
 truth of a statement no justification of its 
 cruel and uncharitable application. From 
 the statement of Eliphaz, still more or less 
 realized, we learn concerning 
 
 Providence, 
 
 1. That the ungodly frequently prosper in 
 this life. (Verse 3.) "I have seen the foolish 
 taking root," not only prospering, but appa- 
 rently firm in his prosperity. Same senti- 
 ment and figure (Ps. xxxvii. 35; Jer. xii. 
 2). The prosperity of the wicked often a 
 mystery and stumbling-block to the righteous 
 (ch. xii. G ; xxi. 7 5 Ps. Ixxiii. 3 12 ; Jer. 
 xii. 1). The lot of the righteous and the 
 wicked in this life often a contrast to each 
 other, but a contrast the reverse of what 
 might at first sight be expected (Luke xvi. 
 25). Wise reasons with God for allowing 
 the ungodly to prosper. (1.) It exercises 
 the faith and patience of the godly ; (2.) 
 Teaches the great inferiority of earthly to 
 heavenly blessings ; (3.) Confirms the truth 
 of a judgment to come. Insolvable mystery 
 but for a future state, which clears up all 
 (Luke xvi. 25 ; Jam. v. 1 7). The godly 
 loo much beloved to receive their portion in 
 this life. The good things of this world 
 only the bones cast to the dogs [Rutherford'}. 
 
 2. That the prosperity of the ungodly is 
 followed by a speedy and certain, if not a 
 sudden, fall. "Suddenly I cursed his habi- 
 tation," soon had unexpected occasion to 
 mark it as accursed of God and doomed 
 to destruction. The prosperity of the un- 
 godly as insecure and temporary as it appears 
 fair and promising. " Thou didst set them 
 on slippery places." The fall often in this 
 life. Examples : Nebuchadnezzar, Haman, 
 Napoleon. Yet not always (Ps. xvii. 14 ; 
 
 33 . 
 
 Ixxiii. 4; Luke xii. 16 20; xvi. 19, 22,25). 
 Nor even generally; maintained by Job 
 against his three friends (ch. xxi. 7 13 ; 
 xii. 6). If not sooner, the fall certain in 
 death (Luke xvi. 23, 25 ; xii. 20). 
 
 3 . That the ch ildren of the ungodly of ten par- 
 ticipate in their fall. (Verse 4). "His child- 
 ren are far from safety, and they are crushed 
 iu the gate," ruined by a judicial sentence, 
 or dying by the judgment of God (2 Kings, 
 vii. 20). Veiled allusion to Job's children. 
 Children often involved in the effects of their 
 parents' sin (Lev. xxvi. 39 ; Is. xiv. 20, 21). 
 A penalty embodied in the Decalogue (Exod. 
 xx. 5). Repeated in the solemn declaration 
 of Jehovah's name and character (Exod. 
 xxxiv. 7). God's face set not only against 
 the ungodly themselves, but against their 
 family (Lev. xx. 5). Examples : Israel in 
 the Wilderness (Num. xiv. 33) ; Achan (Josh, 
 vii. 24) ; Ahab (1 Kings, xxi. 29) ; Gehazi 
 (2 Kings, v. 27). So general as to have be- 
 come a. proverb in Israel (Jer. xxxi. 29 ; 
 Ezek. xviii. 2). The children of the ungodly 
 often inherit the father's punishment while 
 imitating his sin (Is. Ixv. 7). By repentance, 
 the children escape many, if not all, the 
 effects of their parents' conduct (Ezek. xviii. 
 14 17). No small part of a father's punish- 
 ment, that his sin causes his children to suffer 
 both with him and after him. A diseased 
 constitution and a degraded position among 
 the least of these effects. Vicious habits and 
 propensities often the sad inheritance bequeathed 
 by ungodly parents to their children. A 
 powerful motive to such parents to repent. 
 
 4. That the wealth of the ungodly often be- 
 comes the prey of the rapacious and covetous. 
 (Verse 5). "Whose harvest (literally; or, 
 ' what he has gathered,' i.e., by a course of 
 iniquity) the hungry eateth up, and taketh 
 even out of the thorns (though guarded ever 
 so carefully, as by a thick thorn-hedge) ; and 
 the robber (as the Sabeans and Chaldeans, or 
 ' the thirsty ') swalloweth up their substance." 
 Another cruel thrust at Job (ch. i. 15, 17). 
 Crops in Syria and Arabia seldom safe from 
 plundering Bedouin. Backslidden Israel 
 obliged to hide away their grain from the 
 Midianites (Jud. vi. 11). Earthlv treasures 
 such as thieves can break through and steal 
 (Matt. vi. 19). A. frail tenure that by 
 which the ungodly hold their wealth. They 
 often taken suddenly from it or it from them 
 (Luke xii. 20). A canker in an ungodly 
 man's gold and silver (Jam. v. 2). Some- 
 times, however, unintentionally laid up for 
 the righteous to inherit (ch. xxvii. 17). 
 Happy they on whose treasure no robber can 
 lay his hand (Matt. vi. 20). With Christ 
 we have " durable riches," and an inheritance 
 laid up for us in heaven (Prov. viii. 18,- 
 1 Pet. i. 14). 
 
 35
 
 C1IAP. V. 
 
 1I01LILETIC COMMENTARY: JOB. 
 
 IV. Poetical aphorisms as to the 
 origin and extent of trouble (verse 67). 
 
 "Although (or 'for'), &c." Perhaps 
 another example of the traditional sayings 
 of the East. A commonplace, intended 
 partly for Job's reproof and partly for his 
 comfort. Declares the origin, universality, 
 and unavoidableness of trouble. Foolish to 
 complain so bitterly of what is unavoidable 
 and as universal as the race. A consolation 
 to know that our sufferings are only such as 
 are common to man (1 Cor x. 13). Suffer- 
 ing saints reminded that the same afflictions 
 are accomplished in their brethren that are 
 in the world (1 Peter v. 9). Both the re- 
 proof and the consolation inapplicable to 
 Job's case, which was both unprecedented and 
 unparalleled. Implied on the part of Eliphaz 
 a want of sympathy and appreciation of the 
 depth of Job's trouble. Hence felt by Job 
 to be only an exasperation of his grief (ch. 
 vi. 2-7). 
 
 The passage suggests concerning 
 Trouble. 
 
 1. Us origin. Negatively. (Verse 6). 
 tc Not from the dust " or " ground." (1 .) Xot 
 from mere chance, as a weed springing up 
 from the soil ; nor (2) From anything merely 
 external ; not from the ground but from our- 
 selves. Positively. (Verse 7). " Born unto 
 trouble." Trouble is (1.) From a necessity 
 and law imposed on our existence in this 
 world; (2.) From sin, which is the ground 
 of that necessity. The origin of suffering is 
 in man himself as a child of fall" n Adam. 
 All suffering the consequence of sin. Man 
 is " born to trouble," simply because he is 
 " born in sin \" (Ps. li. 5). Sin and suffer- 
 ing linked by bonds of adamant. In the 
 government of a good and righteous God, 
 suffering could exist only, (1.) As a legal 
 necessity in consequence of disobedience to 
 His laws ; or (2.) As a moral necessity for 
 the discipline of His erring children. All 
 suffering in the world the consequence of 
 the first transgression (Rom. v. 12) ; 
 
 1 Of one man's disobedience, and the fruit 
 Of that forbidden tree, whose mortal taste 
 Brought death into the world and all our 
 woe." 
 
 2. Its universality. "Man is born unto 
 trouble." (Ye; s 7). Suffering co-extensive 
 with the race. An inmate of the palace as 
 truly as of the prison. 'Tears moisten the 
 pillow of down as well as the pallet of straw. 
 One of the Hebrew terms for "man" is 
 enosh, or " the miserable." Trouble makes 
 the world akin. Suffering universal, because 
 sin is so. Follows sin as its shadow. Its 
 
 36 
 
 universality ought to render us (1.) Patient 
 under our own trouble ; (2.) Sympathizing 
 with that of others. (i.) Terrible ecil of sin 
 that has filled a world with suffering, (ii.) 
 Heaven all the more desirable as entirely free 
 from it. (iii.) Precious grace that concerts 
 it into a blessing. 
 
 3. Its certainty. "As the sparks fly 
 upward." This by a law of nature. Suffer- 
 ing in like manner a law of our being. In- 
 separable from our existence in the present 
 life. The hand that made us has, since the 
 entrance of sin, made us sufferers. Man 
 born to trouble as truly as he is born to live. 
 Tears track man' s pathway from the cradle to 
 the grave. No wealth can purchase, no power 
 effect, immunity from the common lot. Only 
 through the incarnation and suffering of God's 
 own Son, our suffering not necessarily eternal. 
 "The wages of sin is death, the gift of 
 'God eternal life, through Jesus Christ our 
 Lord" (Rom. vi. 23). 
 
 V. The counsel of Eliphaz (verse 8 16. 
 
 " I would seek unto God (El, the mighty 
 One), and unto God (Elohim, plural, denot- 
 ing totality of Divine perfections, or perhaps 
 plurality of Divine persons), would I com- 
 mit my cause," &c. This to the end of the 
 chapter the best part of Eliphaz's speech. 
 Comes down from the place of a reprover to 
 that of a friendly adviser. His counsel 
 characterized by wisdom, if not by warmth. 
 Its only fault that it implies an uncharitable 
 and unjust reflection, as if Job was a prayer- 
 less man (Seech, xvi. 20; x. 2 ; xii. 4; xiii. 
 20 ; xiv. 6). At times, however, from dark- 
 ness and confusion, Job, like other believers, 
 hardly able to pray (xxiii. 3, -i, 15). Our 
 great comfort in trouble that we can address 
 ourselces to God in it. God to be sought 
 unto in trouble, (1.) For counsel and direc- 
 tion z'/z it ; (2.) For comfort and support under 
 it ; (3.) For grace so to bear it as to glorify 
 God by it ; (4.) For deliverance in His own 
 time and way out of\i ; (5.) For the spiritual 
 benefit and improvement intended through 
 it. True piety, and wisdom to commit our 
 cause into God's hands (Ps. xxxvii. 5). The 
 very hairs of our head all numbered by Him 
 (Matt. x. 30). Makes all things work to- 
 gether for good to them that love Him (Rom. 
 viii. 28). To seek unto God in trouble an 
 instinct of nature. Practised even by the 
 heathen according to their knowledge (Jonah 
 i. 5). In ordinary circumstances the Athe- 
 nians sacrificed to the gods of the Pantheon, 
 but in time of calamity prayed to the Un- 
 known God (Acts xvii. 23). The attributes 
 of God svch as to render Him the proper object 
 of prayer and trust in time of trouble. These 
 attributes described by Eliphaz as exhibited 
 in His works.
 
 HOMILETIC COMMENTARY: JOB. 
 
 C1IAP. V. 
 
 Attributes of Gort. 
 
 1. His Al mightiness. (Verse 9). "Who 
 doeth great things and unsearchable," &c. 
 A God almighty to help and deliver, our great 
 comfort in trouble (Ps. xlvi. 1 ; Ixii. 8; Ixv. 5). 
 Nothing impossible with God. His almighti- 
 ness seen in His works of creation, provi- 
 dence, and grace. His works in creation 
 "marvellous" and "unsearchable," both for 
 greatness and minuteness, number and 
 complexity. His works in providence "un- 
 searchable," (1) In the end designed in 
 them ; (2) In the manner of its accomplish- 
 ment. " Deep in unfathomable mines," &c. 
 More now seen in the works of creation than 
 could even be imagined]**, the days of Eliphaz. 
 TJie discoveries of the last three centuries 
 give an emphasis to his words undreamt of 
 at that period. Many of the numerous 
 nebula or dusky spots observed throughout 
 the heavens, already resolved by the telescope 
 into innumerable stars, each itself a sun. 
 Reason to conclude the same of the rest, 
 though from their distance as yet unresolved. 
 Millions of suns, probably with systems like 
 our own, found to compose the Milky Way 
 of which our solar system is a part. The 
 microscope, on the other hand, reveals 
 animalcida so minute that a thousand 
 millions of them together do not exceed in 
 size a grain of sand ; yet each having perfect 
 and distinct formations and all the functions 
 essential to life. Such a view of God's 
 almiffhtiness calculated not only to deepen our 
 reverence, but to increase our trust. 
 
 2. His goodness andbenecolence (Verse 10, 
 ]]). "Who giveth rain," &c. Rain a 
 striking display of God's goodness as well as 
 of his power and wisdom. One of his most 
 common but precious gifts (Ps. Ixv. 9, 10 ; 
 Jer. xiv. 22 ; Amos iv. 7 ; Zee. x. 1 ; Acts 
 xiv. 17). One of the most beautiful as well 
 as beneficent operations in nature. The 
 evaporation of moisture, its suspension in 
 clouds, its condensation and descent, carried 
 on by the operation of natural laws of which 
 God is the author and director. The changes 
 of temperature on which this operation 
 depends, all in His hands, and "unsearchable" 
 to us. Every drop of rain, comes to us as a 
 witness-bearer of the Dioine benevolence (Ps. 
 Ixviii. 9, 10). " To set up on high those that 
 be low," &c. The change on the part of 
 thousands from wretchedness and despon- 
 dency to gladness and rejoicing, often, espe- 
 cially in the East, the result of an abundant 
 rain. In this, as in other respects, the natural 
 a beautiful and instructive figure of the spiritual 
 (Is. xliv. 35 ; Iv. 1013 ; Deut. xxxii. 2). 
 
 3. His wisdom (Verse 12 14). "Hedis- 
 appointeth the desires of the crafty," &c. 
 His wisdom displayed iu overmatching the 
 
 crafty and disappointing their schemes. 
 (Verse 13.) " He taketli the wise in their 
 own craftiness." Quoted by the apostle in 
 1 Cor. iii. 19, to show that "the wisdom of 
 men is foolishness with God." The deepest 
 devices of carnal men in God's view only 
 short-sighted contrivances of little children. 
 Their " best laid schemes " often suddenly 
 overturned by the slightest incident. Hu- 
 man " enterprises," most carefully prepared 
 and likely to succeed, often made to collapse 
 like houses of cards. The splendid Armada, 
 designed by Spain for the overthrow of the 
 Reformation in England, dissipated and 
 destroyed by unfavourable weather. Of the 
 three attempts of the French to effect a 
 landing in Ireland, the first and second failed 
 through the adverse elements, and the third 
 by the influence of the change in Buonaparte's 
 counsels. Hainan's well laid scheme to crush 
 Mordecai and the Jews ends in his own dis- 
 
 g'ace and ruin. At David's prayer and for 
 avid's deliverance, Ahithophel's sagacious 
 counsel is turned into foolishness (2 Sam. 
 xv. 31: xvi. 20 23; xvii. 114). The 
 Birs Nimroud, on the plains of Babylon, a 
 standing example of the "counsel of fro- 
 ward" Babel-builders "carried headlong." 
 Our affairs safe in the hands of One with 
 whom the wisdom of men is only foolishness. 
 
 4. His compassion (verses 14,15). "But 
 he saveth the poor from the sword," &c. (or, 
 "He saveth the oppressed from their mouth, 
 the poor from the hand,' 1 &c.) From their 
 " mouth," open to devour, and from their 
 "hand" lifted up to slay them. Examples : 
 The enslaved Israelites delivered from the 
 hand of Pharaoh and the Egyptians (Ex. xviii. 
 20) ; Peter from the hand of Herod and the 
 expectation of the Jews (Acts xii. ] 1) ; Paul 
 from the mouth of the lion Nero (2 Tim. iv. 
 17). God's goodness exercised towards men 
 in general ; His compassion towards the needy 
 and oppressed. The helpless and afflicted es- 
 
 fecially the objects of His regard (Ps. Ixxii. 
 2, 13; ciii. (5). An additional reason for 
 Job's seeking unto God and committing his 
 cause into His hands. The results on others 
 from God's compassion exercised in the de- 
 liverance of the afflicted. (Verse 16). (1.) 
 " The poor have hope." Job in his affliction 
 encouraged to hope in God from his dealings 
 with others in a similar condition. The use 
 to be made of all God's gracious interposi- 
 tions on behalf of those in trouble (Ps. xxii. 
 4, 5 ; xxxiv. 6, 8, 11; xl. 1 3). Hope in 
 God the object of the Scriptures and the exam- 
 ples of delivering mercy recorded in them 
 (Rom. xv. iv). Encouragement to hope, the 
 actual result of God's dealings with Job 
 (Jam. v. 1]). (2.) "Iniquity stoppeth her 
 mouth" (found also in Ps. cvii. 42). Perse- 
 cution and oppression often struck dumb, 
 
 37
 
 CHAP. V. 
 
 SOMILSflC COMMENTARY. JOB. 
 
 (1) by God's manifest deliverance of the 
 poor that trusted in Him ; (2) by His judg- 
 ments on the wicked executed along with 
 that deliverance (Ex. xiv. 25). God's works 
 will put the ungodly to silence when His 
 words do not. The time of the final deliver- 
 ance of the godly that of the shame and con- 
 fusion of the wicked (Dan. xii. 2). 
 
 TI. The plea of Elipliaz for Job's 
 
 repentance (verses 17 18). 
 
 Holds out the benevolent object and happy 
 effects of affliction. Job thus addressed as 
 one needing repentance and now under the 
 Divine correction. The statement true and 
 applicable to Job's case, but not as Eliphaz 
 supposed. Job's affliction not strictly a cor- 
 rection for sin, but to be employed as such 
 for his spiritual benefit. His " captivity" to 
 be "turned," and that upon his repentance. 
 His repentance, however, not as Eliphaz 
 thought, for sins of life, but for that of 
 cacilli/ig at the Divine procedure. The whole 
 passage a fine specimen of ancient Shemitic 
 poetry. Probably more of the wisdom of 
 the ancients handed down in verse from the 
 earliest times. Contains a highly coloured 
 description of the happiness of the godly in 
 the present- life. Generally true, according 
 to the Old Testament platform. In harmony 
 with other Old Testament promises, especially 
 in the Psalms and Proverbs. New Testament 
 promises rather of inward peace with outward 
 trouble ; all our need supplied, and all things 
 working together for our good (John xiv. 27 ; 
 xvi. 33; Phil. iv. 19; Rom. via. 23). The 
 error of Eliphaz hi making earthly prosperity 
 the uniform reward of godliness. That error 
 seen and opposed by Job. Some of the pro- 
 mises held out by Eliphaz felt by Job to 
 be a cruel mockery and an aggravation of his 
 grief. These promises however afterwards 
 fully realised in his experience (ch. xlii.) 
 " Behold," &c. Calls Job's special attention 
 to what he is now to advance. The thing 
 stated strange in itself and not readily be- 
 lieved. " Happy is the man whom God cor- 
 recteth." Same sentiment in nearly the same 
 words (Ps. xciv. 12). Two modes of correc- 
 tion employed by God (1) By His Word and 
 Spirit ; (2) By His work in Providence. The 
 latter here intended " Correcteth," or " re- 
 bukes," viz., with the "rod of affliction" 
 (Sam. iii. 1 ; Ps. xxxix. 10 11). The text 
 contains : (1.) A truth stated ; (2.) A lesson 
 drawn from it. The truth : Blessedness found 
 in Divine correction. The lesson: That cor- 
 rection therefore not to be despised. 
 
 Divine Correction. 
 
 1. Its blessedness. Seen (1) In its ori- 
 gin. Its origin Divine lore (Prov. iii. 12 ; 
 Heb. xii. G ; Rev. iii. 19). Correction the 
 
 38 
 
 part, not of &' judge but of a father (Heb. xii. 
 7 9). A mercy to be corrected when we 
 might have been destroyed (Sain. iii. 22). 
 Sad token for a man when God will 
 not spend a rod upon him [Brookes], 
 
 (2) In its object. Our spiritual benefit 
 (Heb. xii. 11); Repentance (Rev. iii. 19); 
 Removal of sin (Is. xxvii. 9) ; Participation 
 in God's holiness (Heb. xii. 10). Affliction 
 is God's medicine to heal, and His furnace to 
 purify His children. (3) In its actual result. 
 Affliction in itself a fruit of sin, but in God's 
 hand a means of good. When God corrects 
 His children, He (i.) Supports them in the 
 affliction; (ii.) Purifies them by it; (iii.) 
 Delivers them out of it. " None more un- 
 happy than he who never felt adversity" 
 [Seneca]. 
 
 2. Its improvement. Here negatively ex- 
 pressed. "Despise not thou," &c. So 
 Prov. iii. 11 ; Heb. xii. 5. God's correc- 
 tions are not to be (i.) Refused as some- 
 thing nauseous; nor, (ii.) Rejected as some- 
 thing hurtful; nor, (iii.) Slif/hted as some- 
 thing useless. The exhortation implies the 
 opposite duty. God's corrections are on the 
 contrary to be (1) Highly prized; (2) 
 Carefully improved. Prized, as (i.) From 
 a Father's hand; (ii.) Sent in love ; (iii.) 
 Designed for our highest good. Affliction 
 to be improved (1) By consideration of its 
 object ; (2) By examination into its cause ; 
 
 (3) By end-eacour after its fruit (Lam. iii. 
 39 42). Trials only profitable when ice are 
 rifjhtly exercised under them (Heb. xii. 11). 
 To be benefited by God's rod, it is necessary 
 to be taught out of God's Word (Ps. xciv. 12). 
 The correction that of " the Almighty," 
 or All-sufficient. Indicates 1. His benevo- 
 lence in the correction ; the " Almighty " 
 under no obligation to sinning creatures. 
 2. His ability (1) To sustain us under it; 
 (2) To sanctify us by it ; (3) To deliver us 
 out of it. God's corrections are sores which 
 He himself will heal again. 
 
 Verse 18. "He maketh sore and bindeth 
 up." Same truth (1 Sain. ii. 6 ; Hos. vi. 1). 
 All pains and griefs from God. True even 
 in Job's case, though not as Eliphaz sup- 
 posed. This thought an aggravation to Job's 
 distress. "Maketh sore," as a surgeon 
 amputating a limb or cutting out a gangrene. 
 The pain no further inflicted-thau is neces- 
 sary (Lam. iii. 33). "And bindeth up," 
 as a wound or amputated limb (Ps. cxlvii. 
 3). God himself the Physician of souls 
 (Ps. ciii. 3). Jehovah Rophi (Ex. xv. 26). 
 The office assumed and executed by the 
 incarnate Son (Luke iv. 18, 23 ; Matt. ix. 
 12). The bandages employed the doctrines, 
 promises, and consolations of the Gospel 
 (Ps. cvii. 20). "He woundeth," as with a 
 surgeon's knife or lancet. God wounds to
 
 HOMILETIC COMMENTARY.- JOB. 
 
 CHAP. V. 
 
 heal. His wounds faithful, as those of a 
 friend (Prov. xxvii. 6 ; Ps. cxli. 5). Judicial 
 wounds reserved for the head of obstinate 
 transgressors (Ps. Ixviii. 21). "And his 
 hands make whole'.' literally, "sew up," 
 viz., the wound. His own hands; implying 
 (1) Readiness ; (2) Tenderness ; (3) Skill ; 
 .(4) Success in the operation. Learn (i.) 
 T/iofe wounds well and lovingly sewed up that 
 are sewed up by the hands of the Almighty. 
 (ii.) We may well endure wounds that are to 
 be sewed up by such a Physician. 
 
 VII. Motive to repeutauce drawn 
 from the promises (Verse 19, &c.). 
 
 These promises held out on the supposition 
 of repentance and prayer. Most of God's 
 promises both to saints and princes condi- 
 tional. The blessings here enumerated both 
 of a negative and positive nature, Most of 
 them, according to the Old Testament dis- 
 pensation, pertaining to the present life. 
 
 The Promises. 
 
 1. Negatively. Safely and deliverance in 
 times of trouble. " In six troubles He shall 
 deliver thee." "Six;" a definite number 
 for an indefinite : many and manifold troubles " 
 (Prov. vi. 16 ; 1 Pet. i. 6). " Many are the 
 afflictions of the righteous" (Ps. xxxiv. 19). 
 " One woe past, another woe cometh." 
 "Lord, how are mine enemies increased" 
 (Ps. iii. 1). Deliverance promised not in one 
 or two troubles, but in all, however many 
 (Ps. xxxiv. 19). Every new trouble needs 
 Divine support and deliverance. " lit " six 
 troubles, viz. the troubles you yourself 
 are in; or, the dangers and calamities pre- 
 vailing around you. "-A thousand shall fall 
 at thy side," &c. (Ps. xci. 7). The promise 
 is either (1) to be kept horn falling into the 
 trouble; or, (2) to be preserved from injury by 
 it ; or (3) to be in due time taken out of it. 
 Preservation in trouble, support tinder it, and 
 deliverance out of it, all in the believer's 
 charter. The cross not immediately taken 
 from the shoulder, but strength given to bear 
 it. The time and mode of deliverance best 
 reserved in God's own hands. Deliverance 
 from troubles either temporary and partial, or 
 final and complete. Only the former usually 
 experienced in this life. Here, trouble 
 succeeds trouble as wave succeeds wave. 
 One past, we are to prepare for another. 
 Final and complete deliverance only at death. 
 Death strikes off every link of the believer's 
 chain, except the last one, which is itself. 
 That link, which binds the body to the grave, 
 struck off at the Lord's appearing (1 Cor. 
 xv. 52, 57). "Yea, in seven;" however 
 accumulated in number and excessive in 
 severity. "Seven" the number of fulness. 
 Not one, uor many, but " all thy waves and 
 
 thy billows," &c. (Is. xlii. 7). The furnace 
 heated " seven times " more than usual for 
 the three young captives (Dan. iii. 19). 
 " There shall no evil touch thee " so as 
 really to injure or destroy (Ps. xci. 7, 10). 
 The lions in the den lie harmless at Daniel's 
 feet. The fire leaves the captive's hair un- 
 singed, while it consumes their bonds (Dan. 
 iii. 25). Even physical evil not -always a 
 real evil. Rutherford, in his exile, dates his 
 letters from his "palace at Aberdeen." Such 
 evils often the prevention of greater ones, and 
 the means of obtaining blessings. Bernard 
 Gilpin breaks his leg by an accident, and 
 escapes the fires of Smithfield. " Children, 
 we should have been undone, had we not 
 been undone," said Thcaiistocles, when an 
 exile at the Persian Court. Joseph's confine- 
 ment in prison his stepping-stone to the 
 throne of Egypt. Kinds of deliverance pro- 
 mised. (1) From famine (verse 20). " In fa- 
 mine," ( arising from failure in the crops ) 
 "He shall redeem thee from death." Be- 
 lievers may suffer in famine, but, as a rule, 
 not die from it. The righteous not even 
 then forsaken, nor lu's seed begging bread 
 (Ps. xxxvii. 25). (2) From calumny (verse 
 21). "Thou shalt be hid from the scourge 
 of the tongue " so as not to be hurt by 
 calumny and false accusation. The tongue 
 often a more mischievous instrument than 
 the sword. Slander the choice weapon of 
 the ungodly against the faithful (Jer. xviii. 
 18). Times of spies and informers, when no 
 godly man appears safe. Yet God has a 
 pavilion- to hide His people from the strife of 
 tongues (Ps. xxxi. 20). Jeremiah, Daniel, 
 and the three captives assailed by the tongue, 
 but delivered. Stephen, like his Master, 
 falls by it, but only the sooner to gain his 
 crown. Paul smitten^ with it, but the sooner 
 obtains his desire of being with Christ. God 
 cither gives to His people what He promises, 
 or something better. (3) From foreign 
 invasion. " Neither shalt thou be afraid 
 (i. e., have any cause to be afraid) of 
 destruction ( desolation from an invading 
 enemy) when it cometh," or is coining, 
 either upon others or near thyself. The 
 believer not taken out of the evil, but 
 kept above it. Preserved from real evil in 
 it, and from fear regarding it. Faith grasp- 
 ing the promises lifts the soul above fear. The 
 name of the Lord a strong tower, &c. " Fear 
 not, thou earnest Cresar ;" for Csesar substi- 
 tute Christ. No cause for fear, therefore no 
 place to be given to it. God a wall of fire 
 round about his people (Zee. ii. 5). Makes a 
 dense mist or wreath of snow such a wall 
 at his pleasure. "The providence of God 
 is my inheritance" inscribed on an old 
 house in Chester, the only one in the 
 street untouched by the plague. (Verse 
 
 39
 
 CHAP. V. 
 
 HOMILETIC COMMENTARY! JOB, 
 
 22.) " At destruction " ( the desolation 
 as already come) "and famine" ( scarcity 
 of food as its attendant ) "thou slialt 
 laugh." The promise rises in a climax, 
 safety fearlessness triumph. Faith 
 enables believers to laugh when others weep. 
 A holy laughter put by God Himself into the 
 mouths of His servants (ch. viii. 21 ; Ps. 
 cxxvi. 2). Believers laugh in times of cala- 
 mity, not from tea at of sensibility, but from 
 warrant of safety. The godly can laugh from 
 satisfaction as to themselves, while they weep in 
 sympathy for others. To laugh at destruction 
 without faith, is either stoicism or cruelty; to 
 laugh from faith, the highest piety. Abra- 
 ham laughed piously from faith ; Sarah 
 laughed sinfully from the want of it. Faith 
 and fidelity gice songs in the darkest night of 
 adversity . God's sweetest consolations often 
 reserved for the time of sorest tribulations. 
 (4). From wild beasts. " Neither shalt 
 thou be afraid of the beasts of the earth " 
 ravaging a country wasted by an invading 
 foe. The incursions of wild beasts often 
 spoken of as a Divine judgment (Deut. xxxii. 
 24 ; 1 Kings xvii. 25 ; Ezek. v. 17, xiv. 21). 
 Then a much greater terror in the East than 
 now. Term probably included reptiles (Gen. 
 iii. 1). Similar promise of Divine protection 
 against them (Ps. xci. 13). Daniel's God 
 able to shut the lions' mouths. Paul shakes 
 off the viper that fastened on his hand and 
 feels no harm (Acts xxviii. 1, &c.) Yet 
 Polycarp and thousands more found their 
 martyr's crown in the jaws of wild beasts. 
 (5) From being hurt either by the animate 
 or inanimate creation. (Verse 23.) "Thou 
 shalt be in league with the stones of the 
 field, and the beasts of the field shall be at 
 peace with thee." The covenant made with 
 believers includes the beasts of the field as 
 their friends and allies (Hos. ii. 18). Nan 
 in rebellion against His Maker has all creation 
 at enmity with him. Reconciliation with God 
 through Christ restores man to friendship 
 with the creatures. Dominion over the lower 
 animals lost in Adam but regained in Christ 
 (Ps. viii. 6 ; Heb. ii. 8). Neither stones can 
 hurt nor beasts devour against God's will. 
 Stones and beasts not only not hurtful, but 
 made profitable. The lions that refused to 
 touch Daniel devoured his enemies. The 
 .stones of the field afforded Jacob the pillow 
 on which he slept his sweetest sleep. 
 
 2. Point of transition to positive blessings. 
 These such as are held most valuable among 
 men. Promised to Israel while faithful to 
 God. Not all of them promised to believers, 
 with the world in its present condition and 
 Satan as its prince. To be enjoyed in that 
 better state, when the earth shall be full of 
 the knowledge of the Lord (Is. Ixv. 17 
 25 ; Rom. viii. 19-22; 2 Pet. iii. 13). A 
 40 
 
 foreshadowing of that state in Job's condi- 
 tion after his restoration (ch. xlii. 10 17.) 
 (1) Domestic peace and felicity (Verse 24). 
 " Thou slialt know," &c., i.e., by a Divine 
 assurance and a happy experience. To dis- 
 cern a mercy- is itself a new mercy in its losom 
 [Brookes']. "Thy tabernacle shall be in 
 peace," or, " be peace," so thoroughly per- 
 vaded by it. In safety from others; in 
 harmony with itself; and enjoying a general 
 prosperity. " A peaceable habitation, a sure 
 dwelling, and a quiet resting place," among 
 promised blessings (Is. xxxii. 18). The 
 voice of rejoicing and salvation in the taber- 
 nacles of the righteous (Ps. ii. 8, 15). 
 God's presence the only sure foundation oj 
 family peace. That peace consistent with 
 trial, sickness, and death in the dwelling 
 1 Pet. i. G). (2) Safely and prosperity in our 
 secular calling. " Thou shalt visit thy habita- 
 tion, (or perhaps/ thy fold,' ) and shalt not 
 sin;" (or, 'shalt not miss any of thy pro- 
 perty;' or, 'not be disappointed in thy 
 hope,' Margin, " Shalt not err"). " Shalt 
 visit thy habitation," after the day's journey or 
 toil;" or, "slialt visit thy fold or pasture," 
 as one looking to the state of his flocks and 
 herds (Prov. xxvii. 23). A great mercy to 
 have a habitation to visit ; a still greater one 
 to be made to visit it without sin. Domestic 
 peace a precious blessing ; domestic purify a 
 still more precious one, and essential to it. 
 Better to be kept from sinning in our habitation 
 than from suffering in it. God's blessing on 
 our family and affairs connected with diligence 
 in attending to them. Great mercy to find 
 our dwelling preserved from flames within 
 and foes without. The contrary on one occa- 
 sion one of David's great trials (1 Sam. xxx. 
 1 5). Promises not falsified by trials that 
 seem to run counter to them. (3) A numerous 
 and happy offspring. (Verse 25). " Thy seed 
 shall be great," &c. A numerous and power- 
 ful family accounted, especially in the East, 
 one of the greatest blessings. The Bible ex- 
 presses the feelings of humanity in reference 
 to children, "Happy is the man that hath 
 his quiver full of them" (Ps. cxxvii. 5). One 
 of the most frequently promised earthly bless- 
 ings in the Old Testament. The promise 
 supposes godliness in the parents, and, as 
 its consequence, also in the children (Ps. 
 cxxviii. 1, 4). In the New Testament, the 
 promise not so much of a great as of a gracious 
 offspring (Is. xliv. 3 5). Contrary to his 
 expectation, the text realized in Job's case, 
 notwithstanding his bereavement (ch. xlii. 
 13). (4) A ripe old age with a peaceful death 
 and burial. (Verse 25). "Thou shalt come to 
 thy grave in a full age," &c. " Shalt come." 
 indicating (1) Willingness to die; (2) A quiet 
 passage. "To thy grave," buried in the 
 sepulchres of thy fathers. A peaceful grave
 
 HOWIJSHC COMMENTARY: JOB. 
 
 CHAP. VI. 
 
 and decent burial held, especially in the East, 
 a matter of great importance. The want of 
 it threatened as a Divine judgment (Dcut. 
 xxviii. 26 ; Jer. xxii. 18, 19; xxxvi.38). Graves 
 in the East usually hewn out in the rock or 
 dug deep in the sand. Bodies otherwise fre- 
 quently exposed to birds and beasts of prey. 
 The promise generally fulfilled. But the 
 godless rich man died and was buried ; while 
 nothing is said of the burial of Lazarus. 
 The promise of a ripe old age especially an 
 Old Testament one. Made first to Abraham 
 (Gen. xv. 15). Made generally to the godly 
 (Ps. xci. 16). The desire to live to a good 
 old age an instinct of human nature. Pre- 
 mature death often threatened to the ungodly. 
 Length of days in wisdom's right- hand 
 (Prov. iii. 16). The general result of a holy, 
 peaceful, and temperate life. A course of 
 piety iu e\'ery respect favourable to it. Long 
 life connected both in the Old and New 
 Testament with obedience to the fifth com- 
 mandment (Ex. xx. 12 ; Eph. v. 1 3). A 
 blaming to lice ichile we can live to purpose. 
 Life to be measured, not so much by its days 
 as by its doings. More important to live 
 well than to live long. Inward development 
 not necessarily the work of years. The pro- 
 mise rather of ripeness for death than continu- 
 ance of life. The faithful believer is satisfied 
 tcilh life whenever called to quit it. Ripening 
 for death the result of Divine grace, and 
 found at all ages. 
 
 VIII. Application of the foregoing 
 
 (verse 27). 
 
 1. Affirmation of its truth with the grounds 
 of it. "Lo this so it is." Good to speak 
 with full conviction of the truth of what we 
 advance. Personal conviction, however, not 
 necessarily the proof of truth. Conviction 
 may be more or less enlightened. Inspired 
 utterances always true. " We have searched 
 
 it." Eliphaz the spokesman of the rest. 
 Their discourses probably the result of pre- 
 vious conference. Their minds already made 
 up on the subject of the Divine procedure in 
 reference to the righteous and the wicked. 
 The statements of Eliphaz the result of study 
 and examination. The objects of his search 
 were (1) The actual experience of men, -or 
 God's visible dealings in Providence ; (2) The 
 traditional maxims of wise men before him. 
 The examination, having little of revealed 
 truth, both partial and limited. The period of 
 Eliphaz the early twilight of the world. All 
 statements in respect to moral and religious 
 truth to be the result of careful examination, 
 according to the means within our reach. 
 
 2. Exhortation to personal self-application 
 of the truth delivered. "Know thou it." 
 Truth heard, to become nutter of personal 
 experience. In order to this, it is to be 
 (1) Examined; (2) Pondered ; (3) Received. 
 The conduct of the Berscans (Acts xvii. 11). 
 The tone of Eliphaz that of a monitor and 
 teacher, as much older than Job (ch. xv. 10; 
 xxxii. 6, 7; xlii. 16). "For thy good." 
 The hearer's good to be the speaker's aim 
 (Eph. iv. 29). His duty to apply truth heard 
 for his own advantage. The aim of Eliphaz, 
 Job's repentance and consequent restoration 
 to Divine favour. His motive good, but 
 founded on a mistaken and uncharitable 
 view of Job's character and the cause of his 
 sufferings. Eliphaz, viewed as an example 
 to preachers (1) Sincere ; (2) Earnest ; 
 (3) Courteous; (4) Employs variety of ar- 
 guments and illustrations ; (5) Adduces 
 authorities; (6) Appeals to Divine revela- 
 tion. Fails (1) In sympathy and warmth 
 of feeling ; (2) In comprehensiveness of 
 view; (3) In adaptation of his authorities 
 to the case in hand ; (4) In charitable judg- 
 ment ; (5) In appreciation of the case of his 
 hearer. 
 
 CHAPTEE YI, 
 
 JOffS REPLY TO ELIPHAZ. 
 
 I. Justifies his complaint (verse 2). 
 
 "O that my grief were thoroughly weighed," 
 &c. Job's case neither apprehended nor 
 appreciated by his friends. Desires fervently 
 that his suffering and his complaining were 
 weighed against each other; or that his 
 calamity and the grief occasioned by it were 
 thoroughly considered. The weight of it 
 beyond that of the "sand" of the sea, too 
 numerous to be counted and too heavy to be 
 weighed. The greatness of it beyond his 
 ability to express, being also the cause why 
 
 he had expressed himself so vehemently and 
 inconsiderately; "therefore my words are 
 swallowed up," or, " were rash " or " vehe- 
 ment." Job's outward trials accumulated 
 and intense beyond all precedent. These at 
 first endured with extraordinary meekness 
 and patience. Now, through the nature of 
 his disease and Satan operating on his mind 
 in consequence of it, all viewed on the dark 
 side. Our sufferings very much as we are 
 made to view them. The bitterest part of 
 Job's sufferings now probably internal ones 5 
 
 41
 
 CHAP VI. 
 
 HOM1LETIC COMMENTARY: JOB. 
 
 his external trials being viewed as sent from 
 God, not in love but in unaccountable anger. 
 Describes these sufferings (verse 4) according 
 to bis views and feelings : (1.) As "arrows :" 
 Sharp and penetrating ; coming swiftly, sud- 
 denly, and with great force ; not one but 
 many, coming in quick succession. (2.) 
 "Arrows of the Ahriyhty" Shot by Him as 
 at an enemy, or as a mere butt for His 
 archery. The Almighty's arrows must be 
 especially sharp and deadly. That they were 
 the Almighty's arrows the bitterest circum- 
 stance connected with them. (3.) "Poi- 
 soned arrows." Hence especially deadly, and 
 discharged by a deadly foe. Indicates the 
 intensely painful character of his sufferings; 
 poisoned arrows inflicting especially painful 
 and inflammatory wounds. (4.) These arrows 
 not only discharged against him, but abiding 
 " within " him, or being " with " him. His 
 distress uninterniitting. (5.) The effect of 
 the arrows, their poison "drinking up his 
 spirit " exhausting his vital energy ; or, his 
 spirit drinking up their deadly poison. 
 
 The Arrows of the Almighty. 
 
 No power of man or angel able to with- 
 stand these arrows. No shield but the shield 
 of faith able to receive them. No hand but 
 the pierced hand of Jesus able to extract 
 them. No balm but the blood of the Cross 
 able to heal their burning wounds. One of 
 these arrows able to bring down the stoutest 
 adversary. " Galilsean, thou hast con- 
 quered," said by one of the most deter- 
 mined enemies of Christ, Julian the Apostate 
 Emperor, while dying on the battle-field. 
 Job's miseries scarcely half-told in the pre- 
 ceding history. His outward calamities rather 
 the occasion than the cause of his intensest 
 suffering. A believer's inward trouble in 
 time of trial sometimes greater than the 
 outward trouble which occasioned it. His 
 greatest distress often from a cause entirely 
 different from the outward trial. Heavy 
 outward trouble often light in comparison 
 with inward distress from spiritual and un- 
 seen causes. The rankling arrows of the 
 Almighty much more dreadful than either the 
 loss of property and children, or bodily 
 affliction. A terrible aggravation of Job's 
 outward trouble. Apprehended wrath on 
 the part of God th^e greatest of all troubles 
 to a believer. The essence of the Redeemer's 
 suffering, as of that of the patriarch's, 
 "My God, my God," &c. The awful expe- 
 rience of the lost. No greater hell than 
 these arrows, " sharp in the hearts of the 
 King's enemies" (Ps. xlv. 5). Fully dis- 
 charged against the Son of God while standing 
 as the Sinner's Substitute. That Substitute 
 accepted becomes Himself the Sinner's 
 
 42 
 
 Shield; The arrows felt in the conviction of 
 sin (Acts ii. 37). Bringing the sinner to 
 the feet of the Saviour they become arrows 
 of mercy. The arrows extracted and the 
 wounds healed bv simple trust in Jesus and 
 His blood. Discharged against the believer 
 rather in his own apprehension than in reality. 
 The apprehension intended as a discipline and 
 trial of faith (Is. liv. 8 ; Ivii. 17, 18). The 
 experience removed when the object has been 
 served (Jer. xxxi. 18 20). Satan, working 
 on our anbetief in time of trouble, able to 
 make his own darts to be mistaken for the 
 arrows of the Almighty. The Almighty's 
 arrows now in the Saviour's hand (Ps. xlv. 5 ; 
 Rev. vi. 2). 
 
 Job's condition sufficient to account for his 
 complaint. Even beasts do not utter their 
 cries when they have food. (Verse 5) " Doth 
 the wild ass bray ? " &c. The ass found in 
 a wild state, large, fleet, and strong, in 
 Arabia and west of the Euphrates. A hint 
 at the want of sympathy on the part of his 
 friends. It is easy to be quiet when suffering 
 nothing. True sympathy makes us suffer in 
 the distress of another (1 Cor. xii. 26). 
 Natural to feel and utter complaint under 
 severe suffering. Men cannot eat insipid 
 and tasteless food without mixing salt with it. 
 (Verse 6) "Can that which is unsavoury?" 
 &c. Salt so important with the Arabs as 
 to be used as a synonym for food, their diet 
 being chiefly vegetable. Mentions, as an 
 example of the insipid, the " white of an 
 egg," or perhaps the herb "purslain" pro- 
 verbial among the Arabs for its insipidity. 
 Perhaps Job quotes a proverb in common 
 use. Indicates not only the naturalness of 
 complaint, but the need of sympathy and 
 encouragement in time of trouble. Insipid 
 things need salt to make them palatable. 
 Speech to be with grace seasoned with salt 
 for the benefit of others (Col. iv. 6). " A word 
 spoken in season, how good is it." "Heavi- 
 ness in the heart of man maketh it stoop, 
 but a good word maketh it glad " (Prov. xii. 
 25). The true humanity of Jesus seen in His 
 craving for human sympathy in His distress 
 (Matt. xxvi. 37 40) . A bitter aggravation 
 of trouble when " lover and friend are put 
 far from us " (Ps. Ixxxviii. 18). The deepest 
 poverty is to be without a friend to sympathize 
 with us in our sorrow. Job reasserts his sad 
 condition. (Verse 6) " The things which 
 my soul refused to touch," &c. Sad reverse 
 when what we could not even touch before 
 is now our daily but sorrowful and nauseous 
 food. Job's loathsome ulcers now as his 
 daily bread. Similar sentiment (Ps. cii. 9 ; 
 xlii. 3; Ixxx. 5). Learn: (1) Painful re- 
 verses to be prepared for. (2) ^Moderation 
 and humility our duty in prosperity. Some- 
 times but a short step from affluence to
 
 UOMILETIC COMMENTARY: JOB, 
 
 CHAP. VI. 
 
 destitution (Prov. xxiii. 5 ; 1 Tim. vi. 17). 
 The beauty of health speedily exchanged for 
 the loathsomeness of disease. A single day 
 may put Dives in the place of Lazarus, or a 
 worse. (3) The uncertainty of earthly posses- 
 sions and enjoyments to be improved to the 
 securing of heavenly ones. Grace teaches the 
 rich man to rejoice in that he is made low 
 (Jam. i. 10). 
 
 II. Repeats and justifies his desire 
 for death (verse 8, &c.). 
 
 " that I might have my request," &c. 
 His request a release from present suffer- 
 ings by death. Asked also as a favour from 
 God By Elijah under the juniper tree, and 
 by Jonah at Nineveh (1 Kings xix. 4 ; Jon. 
 iv. 3, 8). God the arbiter of life and death. 
 Job leaves his time in God's hand (ch. xiv. 
 14). Satan and Job's wife would have had 
 him taking the matter into his own. Ancient 
 heathens believed they had a right to end 
 their life when they pleased. Desire for 
 death a natural feeling under deep and pro- 
 tracted distress. Often, however, rather 
 from the impatience of the flesh than the 
 aspiration of the spirit. Only men's way- 
 wardness and hardness of heart once awakened 
 something of the feeling in Jesus (Matt. 
 xvii. 17). Paul's desire to depart was to be 
 with Christ (Phil. i. 23). Desire for death 
 no proof of fitness for it. The choice be- 
 tween life and death best referred to God 
 Himself. F 'reparation for death implies some 
 ability to f/lorify God in life. Soon enough 
 to rest when our work is done. A favour 
 to " cease at once to work and live." Job's 
 request not granted. Some prayers better 
 refused than answered. A sick child may be 
 spared to die a felon's death. 
 
 The reason of Job's desire for death: 
 
 (1) The comfort in the prospect of a speedy 
 release from his extreme distress. (Verse 10) 
 " Then should I yet have eomfort (or, this 
 should be my comfort) ; yea, I would harden 
 myself in sorrow : let Him not spare " (or, 
 I would leap for joy in my unsparing sorrow) . 
 
 (2) The consciousness of having been God's 
 faithful servant : " For I have not concealed 
 (or denied) the words of the Holy One." 
 Implies (i.) Fearlessness in confessing the 
 truth ; (ii.) Faithfulness in communicating 
 it.. The sin of the heathen that of '' holding 
 or keeping down the truth in unrighteous- 
 ness." Truth inwardly believed is to be 
 outwardly professed (Horn. x. 10). God 
 honoured and the world benefited by a bold 
 and consistent profession of the truth. The 
 practice of God's faithful servants in every 
 age (Ps. Ixxi. 17; cxix. 46). Examples: 
 Enoch, "Noah, Abraham, Daniel. Truth 
 received in order to be communicated (2 Cor. 
 iv. 6; Phil. ii. 15, 16). The language of 
 
 Job used by David and his great Antitype 
 (Ps. xl. 9, 10). The testimony of a good 
 and enlightened conscience a precious com- 
 fort in the midst of suffering and in the 
 prospect of death (2 Cor. i. 12 ; 2 Tim. iv. 
 8). The testimony of Job's conscience, 
 that he had neither by fearfulness nor faith- 
 lessness concealed 
 
 The Words of the Holy One. 
 
 These words found in the shape of (1) 
 Doctrines; (2)Promises; (3) Commands. They 
 were God's words, as (1) Communicated by 
 Him to Adam and others, and handed down 
 to their posterity ; (2) Revealed to Job him- 
 self. " God at sundry times and in divers 
 manners spake to the fathers " (Heb. i. 1). 
 The Church of God in possession of such 
 words from the beginning. Faint echoes 
 and distorted forms of these words found 
 everywhere among the heathen. Prominent 
 among these was the proto-evangel of Gen. 
 iii. 15. These words the precious treasure 
 of the children of God in every age. A light 
 to their feet and a comfort to their heart. 
 Employed by Job in instructing, sustaining, 
 and comforting others (ch. iv. 3, 4). God 
 known in Job's time as "the Holy One." 
 So called, Is. xl. 25; Hos.xi. 9; Heb. iii. 3. 
 His name Holy (Is. Ivii. 15). God alone 
 holy (Rev. xv. 4). Peculiarly and essentially 
 holy (1 Sam. ii. 2). Thrice holy (Is. vi. 3 ; 
 Rev. iv. 8). Contrasted with the gods of 
 the heathen. These acknowledged By their 
 very worshippers to be impure and unworthy 
 of imitation. The Greeks and Romans 
 justified their own impurity by that of their 
 gods. People naturally resemble the deities 
 they worship. Solemn obligation resting on 
 the worshippers of the true God to be holy 
 (Lev. xi. 44; 1 Pet. i. 16). His children 
 made partakers of his holiness (Heb. xii. 10 ; 
 2 Pet. i. 4). 
 
 Job justifies his desire for deatJi on the 
 (/round of his grievous affliction. His strength 
 unable to hold out under such accumulated 
 evils (verse 11). " What is my strength," ( 
 or power of endurance )"that I should 
 hope,"( indulge the slow protracted hope of 
 recovery and the enjoyment of those tem- 
 poral blessings held out by Eliphaz ) ? " And 
 what is mine end"( the end of these miseries) 
 " that I should prolong my life ? "( or con- 
 tinue to exercise patience). The language 
 of the flesh. Spoken according to sense. 
 Justified by appearance and carnal reasoning. 
 Despondency and impatience natural in the 
 absence of faith. Faith battles with appear- 
 ances and triumphs over them (Ps. xlii. 11 5 
 Mic. vii. 7, 8; Hab. iii. 17,18). No time 
 long to faith. Abraham's faith held out 
 twenty-five years for the promised birth, till
 
 CHAP. VI. 
 
 HOMILETIC COMMENTARY: JOB. 
 
 his own and his wife's body were as good as 
 dead. Faith the mother of patience. Looks 
 not at the weakness of the creature, but the 
 power of the Creator. Difficulties and ap- 
 parent impossibilities the true matter for 
 faith. " Laughs at impossibilities," because 
 leaning on Omnipotence. Faith often to seek 
 in a storm. " Every man is a believer in a 
 fair day " [Rutherford]. No express pro- 
 mise of recovery and restoration given to 
 Job. The fact of God's omnipotence, and 
 the truth that He is the hearer of prayer, 
 that He interposes sooner or later in his ser- 
 vants' behalf, and that He does all things 
 well, enough for faith to rest upon in time 
 of trouble. Faith at times triumphant in 
 Job, though not with reference to any tem- 
 poral deliverance (ch. xix. 25, &c.; xxiii. 10). 
 Verse 12. " Is my strength the strength of 
 stones, or is my flesh of brass ?" the symbol 
 of hardness and durability. The nature of 
 unbelief to dwell in personal weakness. 
 Faith looks not on human weakness but on 
 Divine strength. Hence makes its possessor 
 strong in his weakness. Through faith, be- 
 lievers "out of weakness were made strong" 
 (Heb. xi. 34). Faith enabled Paul rather to 
 glory in his infirmities, and to say : " "When I 
 am weak, then am I strong " (2 Cor. xii. 
 9,10). 
 
 Job justifies hits despondency on the ground 
 of Ids thorough and apparently hopeless pros- 
 t ration (verse 13). " Is not my help in 
 me ? And is wisdom driven quite from me ?" 
 (Rather, Is it not the fact that no help for 
 me is in myself, and that recovery (or health) 
 is quite fled from me ?). Expresses his real 
 case as viewed by the eye of sense. Abra- 
 ham's faith, however, did not stagger even 
 when the child of promise was to be offered 
 on the altar. Our weakness and helplessness 
 the proper theatre for. the display of God's 
 power and Christ's grace. Divine strength 
 magnifies itself in realized weakness (2 Cor. 
 xii. 9). A higher experience than that at- 
 tained by Job reserved for God's children in 
 the Gospel age (Heb, xi. 40 ; Matt. xi. 11). 
 The feeble to be then like David ; and the 
 House of David as God (Zee. xii. 8 ; Is. 
 xxx. 26). 
 
 III. Complains of his friends' want 
 of sympathy (verses 14 21). 
 
 Kindness to the afflicted 
 
 1. Job states a moral truth (verse 14). 
 " To him that is afflicted," &c. 
 
 Compassionate kindness to the suffering a 
 dictate of humanity, and one of the first 
 principles of religion (Jam. i. 27 ; Matt. ix. 
 13). The good Samaritan Christ's chosen 
 example for His disciples, and His own com- 
 mentary oil the second table of the law. 
 
 44 
 
 Mercy accompanied with truth the essence 
 of moral perfection, and the true spirit of 
 Christianity (Ps. Ixxxv. 10 ; Ixxxix. 14). 
 Pity to be shown to the afflicted (1) In 
 words of sympathy and kindness ; (2) In 
 practical assistance, as far as in our power ; 
 (3) In refraining from what may unneces- 
 sarily wound the feelings ; (4) In commend- 
 ing the sufferer's case to God (Ps. cxli. 5 ; 
 Jam. y. 15, 10). This to be done for any in 
 affliction, especially for a friend (Luke x 
 2937 ; Prov. xvii. 17). 
 
 2. Applies this truth to the case of his 
 friends. "13ut he forsaketh the fear," &c., 
 viz., Eliphaz and the others, in their want 
 of kindness and sympathy towards Job. 
 Want of love to our neighbour proves icant of 
 love to God. Love to our neighbour enjoined 
 by Divine authority as the second part of the 
 law. The want of it, therefore, an evidence 
 of the want of fear us well as lose towards God. 
 Pity is love to our neighbour in affliction. 
 Our neighbour has always a claim on our 
 love, and in affliction on our pity. That pity 
 engendered by the fear of God, as (1) Our 
 neighbour is God's own offspring; (2) Our 
 suffering neighbour is the object of His 
 special regard. Pity required by God to- 
 wards a suffering neighbour as He has had 
 pity on ourselves (Matt, xviii. 33 35). 
 Mercy and compassion His own character, 
 to be imitated by all His children (Luke vi. 
 36). The fear of God therefore the guarantee 
 of right feelings towards man. The guardian 
 of ail the social and relative duties. Love 
 to God unable to dwell in the same heart 
 with indifference to man. Selfishness in- 
 compatible with the fear of God. After 
 God's example, kindness and pity to be 
 shown to the afflicted, whatever his character 
 and religion. Illustrated by the parable of 
 the Good Samaritan, and the legend of Abra- 
 ham and the Idolater. As a motive to shew 
 kindness to the poor and the afflicted, God 
 has identified their cases with His own 
 (Prov. xiv. 31; xix. 17). Pity due to an 
 afflicted fellow-creature, still more to an 
 afflicted friend. Duties and obligations en- 
 hanced according to relationship (Mai. i. G ; 
 Prov. xvii. 17 ; xviii. 24). 
 
 The disappointincj conduct of the friends 
 touchingly set forth by a continued isiinile 
 (verse 15, &c.). "My brethren have dealt 
 deceitfully as a brook," (or wady a nar- 
 row valley or bed of a stream between two 
 rocky hills, filled with water in winter but 
 usually dried up in summer) " as the stream 
 of brooks they (or, which) pass away," viz. 
 in the heat of summer. Three points in the 
 comparison : (1) The former profession of 
 friendship, resembling the noisy, rushing 
 wady-stream, full of water through the 
 melted ice, and snow, and rains of winter,
 
 HOMILETIC COMMENTARY: JOB. 
 
 CHAP. VI. 
 
 when less required. (Verse 16). (2) The 
 failure in real kindness and sympathy when 
 needed, like the drying up of the brook 
 through the summer heat, and the entire 
 disappearance of the waters, having vanished 
 into vapour or been lost in the sands of the 
 desert. (Verse 17, 18). (3) The bitter dis- 
 appointment, like that of the caravans of 
 Tema or Ishmaelites, and the trading com- 
 panies of Sheba or Arabia Felix, when, 
 contrary to their expectation, they find the 
 stream dried up, and are unable to obtain a 
 supply of water (verse 19, 20). Observe 
 
 (1) The right of the afflicted to expect kind- 
 ness and sympathy, especially from their friends. 
 
 (2) Care to be taken to make a visit of condo- 
 le/ice to correspond with its profession. (3) A 
 great part of friendship, to be true in time of 
 trouble. Affection not to be cooled by afilic- 
 tion. A brother born for adversity. False 
 friends like vermin that abandon a sinking 
 vessel, or swallows that depart at the approach 
 of winter. True friends like ivy that adheres 
 to the tree in its decay. Genuine friendship, 
 like the light of phosphorus, brightest in the 
 dark. (4) Our views of a friend's character not 
 to be lightly changed, least of all by his circum- 
 stances. Ba&'e even to suspect a friend. Love 
 " hopeth all things " and " thinketh no evil." 
 
 The ground of his complaint (verse 21). 
 " For now ye are nothing," are to me like 
 the vanished wady-stream, as though you 
 had never been. Friends by profession to 
 prove themselves worthy of the name. Base 
 to profess friendship and to be destitute of 
 its feelings, or to withhold its offices. Love 
 to be not in word and in tongue, but in deed 
 and in truth (1 John iii. 18). " Ye have seen 
 my casting down," (my prostration and 
 calamity) " and are afraid." Their feelings 
 read in their faces. Only one had spoken 
 with his lips, all with their looks. Their 
 fear as if a pious dread at the signal display 
 of Divine judgment, and horror at the dis- 
 covery of secret wickedness. Afraid (1) 
 Of being found sympathizing with a guilty 
 man ; (2) Of being involved in the same 
 calamity ; (3) Of being called upon to re- 
 lieve or defend the sufferer. Base to with- 
 hold sympathy and kindness from regard to 
 our own comfort, credit, or convenience. 
 
 IV. Remonstrates with his friends on 
 
 the baseness of their conduct (verses 22 
 
 24). 
 
 1. He had asJced no favour at their hands 
 (verses 22, 23). "Did I say (or, is it be- 
 cause I said) Bring unto me (for my re- 
 lief) ; or Give a reward for me of your 
 substance (to repair my losses or obtain 
 the favour of the judge) ; or, Deliver me 
 from the enemy's hand? Or, redeem me 
 from the hand of the mighty ?" (who have 
 
 robbed me of my property, or are now adding 
 to my affliction). The right of the afflicted 
 and suffering to receive not only sympathy 
 but practical help. Afforded by Abraham to 
 his captive nephew (Gen. xiv. 14). This a 
 noble mind recoils from asking, though 
 thankful in receiving. The favour Job re- 
 fused to ask, afterwards liberally accorded 
 (cli. xlii. 11). Sometimes the only service we 
 can render is a cordial sympathy. 
 
 2. They had not attempted to show him his 
 sin (verse 24). "Teach me and I will 
 hold my tongue; and cause me to under- 
 stand wherein I have erred." Mark of an 
 honest and ingenuous mind to be willing to 
 be convinced of error or wrong-doing. A 
 prejudice or superstition simply to infer 
 sinning from suffering. Absurd to exhort 
 to repentance without attempting to convince 
 of sin. Job's friends unable to point out any 
 fault in his former life, except by inference. 
 The language of his Antitype partially his 
 " Which of you convinceth me of sin ?" 
 (John viii. 46). All sin an erring or straying 
 from the path of rectitude and the will of 
 God. Found in all, Job not excepted; his 
 friends only challenged to point out any 
 breach of morality or religion as the cause of 
 his peculiar suffering. To point out sin when 
 we see it, is a duty we owe to our neighbour. 
 Faithful and wise reproof required by the 
 law of love (Lev. xix.. 17). Job's sense of 
 the value of such reproof (verse 25). 
 
 Right Words. 
 
 "How forcible are right words!" (Heb. 
 "words of uprightness"). 
 
 1. The form of such words (1) Argument; 
 (2) Reproof; (3) Instruction; (4) Admoni- 
 tion ; (5) Persuasion. 
 
 2, The character of the words "right." 
 (1) Right and true in themselves unmixed 
 with error and falsehood " sound speech 
 that cannot be condemned" (Tit. ii. 8). In 
 speaking to others we are to beware of daub- 
 ing with untempercd mortar (Ezek. xiii. 10) ; 
 or of corrupting the Word of God (2 Cor. ii. 
 17). To speak forth only " the words of truth 
 and soberness " (Acts xxvi. 25) ; "acceptable 
 words," but also " words of truth " (Eccles. 
 xii. 10). Arguments to be sound, premises 
 true, and conclusions just. Our statements 
 to be according to the law and the testimony 
 (Is. viii. 20). (2) The whole truth, so far as 
 necessary, in connection with the subject. No- 
 thing profitable to be kept back, either from 
 fear or favour. No mere one-sided view of 
 the truth to be given. Teachers not to be 
 partial in the law (Mai. ii. 9). Truth to be 
 exhibited in all its parts, and in their due 
 propositions. The word of truth to be rightly 
 divided (2 Tim. ii. 15). The mercy of God 
 not to be enlarged upon to the ignoring of 
 
 45
 
 CHAP. VI. 
 
 HOMILST2C COMMENTARY: JOB. 
 
 His justice, nor the converse. The promises 
 not to be without the precepts, nor the 
 precepts without the promises. Faith not 
 to be urged without works as its fruits, 
 nor works without faith as their founda- 
 tion. Not morality without religion, nor 
 religion without morality. Not the la\v 
 without the Gospel, nor the Gospel without 
 the law. Words, to be right words, must 
 be evangelical words "the truth as it is 
 in Jesus." Pardon not to be held out 
 apart from Christ's blood which procures it. 
 Holiness not to be urged apart from Christ's 
 indwelling spirit as its author. (3) Correct 
 in their application. Truth may be so applied 
 as to become practical error. The fault in 
 Job's friends. Pillows not to be sewed to 
 all armholes ; and those not to be made sad, 
 even with truth, whom the Lord does not 
 make sad (Ezek. xiii. 18 22). Meat to be 
 given in season as each requires and is able 
 to bear it. Milk to babes, strong meat to 
 those of mature age. Some to be sharply 
 reproved. The bruised reed to be bound 
 up with tender hand. Not only truth to be 
 preached, but seasonable truth " the present 
 truth," (Pet. i. 12). Sound doctrine not to 
 be so preached as to become a soporific. 
 The words of the wise to be as goads, there- 
 fore to be wisely directed. " A word spoken 
 in season, how good is it ?" (4) Spoken in 
 uprightness and sincerity : Without fear or 
 favour. Without prejudice or passion. 
 Without self-seeking or time-serving. With 
 simplicity and godly sincerity. As in the 
 sigbt of God and in the view of eternity. 
 The speaker to be, and therefore to appear, 
 in earnest. Truth not to be spoken as if it 
 were fiction, as if not believed by the speaker 
 himself. To be spoken in love, in tender- 
 ness, sympathy, and concern for the hearer's 
 welfare. The speaker's spirit to preach as 
 well as his speech, his manner as well as 
 his matter. The words of truth on the 
 speaker's lips not to be falsified by the man- 
 ner in which they are spoken, or by the in- 
 consistency of his life. 
 
 3. The efficacy of such words. "Forcible," 
 powerful, efficacious. (1.) In enlightening 
 she understanding, discovering truth, and 
 to producing /&#. " So spake that a great 
 multitude believed." (Acts xiv. 1). A well- 
 constructed argument having truth for its 
 basis, irresistible \A. Clarke']. In aioakening 
 the conscience, convincing of sin, and so pro- 
 ducing repentance. So Peter's words at 
 Pentecost, and Paul's before Felix (Acts 
 ii. 37; xxiv. 25). (3.) In moving the affec- 
 tions and will, and so restraining from sin, 
 and persuading to duly. So with the 
 awakened at Pentecost (Acts ii. 41). The 
 Ephesians burned their ungodly books (Acts 
 xix. 19). Herod heard John gladly and did 
 
 46 
 
 many things (Mark vi. 20). (4.) In comfort- 
 ing the afflicted, sustaining the weak, and 
 succouring the tempted. " Heaviness in the 
 heart of man maketh it stoop a good word 
 maketh it glad" (Prov. xii. 25). The effect 
 of Job's own words iu his former condition 
 (chap. iv. 3, 4). 
 
 V. Complains of his friends' reproof 
 .iiid their conduct towards him (verses 
 25-27). 
 
 1. Their argument and reproof had been 
 pointless and profitless (verse 25). " What 
 doth your arguing reprove ? (or, " what con- 
 viction is there in the reproof you have ad- 
 ministered ?") Eliphaz, their chief speaker, 
 had (1) shewn no sin on the part of Job as 
 meriting his severe treatment; (2) Ex- 
 horted to repentance without showing the 
 grounds for its necessity. In discoursing to 
 others we are to have a clear aim and definite 
 pin-pose. That aim to be a right one and im- 
 portant in the circumstances. Our purpose to 
 be prosecuted in a loise and suitable manner, 
 The preacher not to speak " as uncertainly," 
 nor to preach " as one that beateth the air." 
 
 2. Their reproof v; as directed only against 
 words uttered in deep distress and great dis- 
 quietude of spirit (verse 26). " Do ye imagine 
 to reprove words, and the speeches of one 
 that is desperate, which are as wind ?" (or, 
 " and to scrutinize, sift, or ' air ' the^peeches 
 of one that is desperate ?") The fault of 
 Job's friends that they had attacked the 
 words of his complaint instead of showing 
 the evil of his life. As a rule, by our words 
 we shall be justified or condemned (Matt, 
 xii. 37). The reason, "out of the abundance 
 of the heart the mouth speaketh." Ordi- 
 narily, a man is as his speech. Allowance, 
 however, to be made for words uttered under 
 deep distress, and in exceptionally trying 
 circumstances. A high offence in God'8 
 sight to make a man an offender for a word 
 (Is. xxix. 21). Observe (1.) Rash words, 
 especially under provocation, an" easily beset- 
 ting sin" (Heb. xii. 1). Great temptation 
 to such words under excited feeling. The 
 heart to be kept with all diligence, especially 
 in time of trouble (Prpv. iv. 23). The 
 mouth to be kept as with a bridle when 
 God's hand is heavy on us (Ps. xxxix. 1 
 10). (2.) The case of a believer may appear 
 "desperate" to himself and others, when it 
 appears the very opposite to God. A child 
 of God often writes bitter things against 
 himself when his Father does not. A tried 
 believer apt to judge of his case from feeling 
 and appearance. The flesh a blind judge as 
 to a man's real case and character. That 
 case can never be desperate which is linked 
 to the Almighty's throne. " Thou hast no- 
 thing to fear who hast Caesar for thy friend." 
 A man's case cannot be desperate who has ,
 
 HOMILETIC COMMENTARY: JOB. 
 
 CHAP. VII. 
 
 (i) a place in the Almighty's heart; (ii) his 
 hand in His heavenly Father's; (iii) an in- 
 terest in the everlasting covenant (2 Sam. ii. 
 3,5). 
 
 Job strongly inveighs against his friend 's 
 conduct (verse 27). " Yea, ye overwhelm 
 (margin, ' cause [a net or noose] to fall 
 upon') the fatherless, and ye dig a pit for 
 your friend" (seeking to catch him in un- 
 garded words, and to make him out to be a 
 hypocrite and transgressor). Rightly or 
 wrongly, Job construes his friends' language 
 and looks into malice. Their conduct harsh 
 and unfeeling, but according to Job, diabo- 
 lical. Strong language and exaggerated views 
 of the conduct of others towards ourselves, 
 a natural result of deep trouble and ex- 
 cited feeling. Men capable, however, of the 
 conduct here ascribed by Job to his friends. 
 Joseph's brethren an example. The words 
 strictly true of the enemies of Jesus, their 
 truest and best friend. The conduct of Job's 
 friends all the guiltier as being (1) Under 
 colour of friendship ; (2) Under profession 
 of piety ; (3) With considerable knowledge 
 of Divine truth. Cruellest feelings sometimes 
 covered with the garb of greatest sanctity. 
 Example : Torquemada and the Spanish In- 
 quisitors. Important prayer "Search me, 
 O God, and know my heart " &c. (Ps. cxxxix. 
 
 VI. Job's challenge to his friends 
 
 (verses 2830). 
 
 1. Appeal of conscious integrity (verse 28). 
 " Now, therefore, be cftitent, look upon 
 me : for it is evident unto you (margin, ' it 
 is before your face ') if I lie " (or, " shall I 
 lie to y"Mr face ?") Observe : (1) Conscious 
 innocence not only alloics but solicits examina- 
 tion. A good conscience enables a man to 
 live in a glass-house. So Jesus " Which 
 of you convinceth me of sin " (John viii. 46). 
 A mark of grace to come to the light that 
 our deeds maybe made manifest (John iii. 21). 
 Paul prays for believers that they may be 
 " sincere, able, in heart and life, to bear 
 the scrutiny of daylight (Phil. i. 10). A 
 child of God is careful to be truthful both in 
 lip and life. A Christian is one who is more 
 concerned to be than to appear such. (2) 
 Truth and sincerity read in the countenance. 
 
 The face the dial-plate of the soul. An up- 
 right heart makes an open countenance (verse 
 29). " Return, I pray you, let it not be ini- 
 quity (or, ' let there no injustice ' no 
 unjust or partial judgment) ; yea, return 
 again, my righteousness is in it" (margin, 
 " in this matter " I shall be found inno- 
 cent in the trial). Truth and innocence court 
 investigation. The consciously upright desire 
 only impartial and unprejudiced trial. The 
 language of Jesus, and of those wrapped in 
 His righteousness " Who is he that con- 
 demneth " (Isa. 1. 9 ; Rom. viii. 3234). 
 The believer a paradox " Black but comely" 
 black in himself, comely in Christ; guilty 
 and yet righteous guilty in his own person, 
 righteous in his righteous Head (2 Cor. v. 
 21). Renounces all righteousness but Christ's 
 in the sight of God, yet careful to maintain a 
 spotless character in the sight of men. 
 
 2. The ground of Job's appeal his ability 
 to distinguish and judge of moral conduct 
 (verse 30). " Is there iniquity (literally, or, 
 a depraved taste) in my tongue ? Cannot my 
 taste (margin, ' palate ') discern perverse 
 things ? " (am I not able to distinguish 
 between right and wrong?) No small ex- 
 cellence to possess a correct moral judgment . 
 Moral sense obscured and weakened by the 
 fall and by a course of sin. The moral 
 judgment becomes depraved by sin as the 
 taste by disease. The character of the un- 
 godly to call evil good, and good evil. The 
 mature Christian, one who has his senses 
 exercised to discern both good and evil 
 (Heb. v. 14). A fruit of renewing grace to 
 know and approve " the good, the perfect, 
 and the acceptable " (Rom. xii. 2). "Judg- 
 ment " to " approve things that are excel- 
 lent," or to " distinguish between things 
 that differ," a gift of grace (Phil. i. 9, 10). 
 A part of spiritual wisdom to understand 
 what the will of the Lord is, and the oppo- 
 site (Eph. v. 17). Grace indicated not only 
 by a tender , but an enlightened conscience. 
 The ungodly know not what at they stumble. 
 " They know not what they do." In mur- 
 dering Christ's followers, men were to think 
 they were doing God service (John xvi. 2). 
 Paul's former case (Acts xxvi. 9 11). Im- 
 portant prayer "Cause me to know the 
 way wherein I should walk" (Ps. cxliii. 8). 
 
 CHAPTEE VII. 
 
 CONTINUATION OF JOB'S SPEECH. 
 
 Job ceases to altercate with Eliphaz and to defend himself. Eesumes his complaints, and 
 ends by addressing himself to God. 
 
 I. Complains of the general lot of 
 humanity (verse 1). 
 
 " Is there not an appointed time (margin, 
 a warfare,' or war-service) to man (pro- 
 
 perly, to wretched man, Heb., 'Enosh,' man 
 viewed as fallen, and therefore miserable) 
 upon earth ? Are not his days also as the 
 days of an hireling ? " Wishes to show
 
 CHAP. VII. 
 
 HOMILETIC COMMENTARY: JOB. 
 
 (1) His desire for death excusable ; (2) 
 Suffering not peculiar to the bad. Suggests 
 instructive views of 
 
 1 1 11 ma n Life. 
 
 1. As an appointed period. War-service, 
 and the time of a hired labourer's employ- 
 ment, limited. The term used also to express 
 the time of a Levite's service at the taber- 
 nacle, namely, twenty years (Numb. iv. 23). 
 Doctrine : The bounds of man's life ap- 
 pointed (ch. xiv. 5). Our days measured out 
 by Him who created us (Psa. xxxix. 4). Our 
 times in His hand (Psa. xxxi. 15). Not 
 without respect to the means necessary for 
 life's continuance. God's predestination 
 neither interferes with the human will nor 
 the operation of second causes, but embraces 
 both. The means taken into view along with 
 the appointment of the end. The crop not 
 appointed without the ploughing and sowing. 
 If the passengers' lives are to oe preserved, 
 the sailors are to do their duty (Acts xxvii. 
 2281). The elect saved, but not without 
 regeneration, repentance, and faith. If a 
 man is to reach his "threescore years and 
 ten," he is not to shorten them by neglect, 
 intemperance, or crime. The wicked often 
 do not " live out half their days," the days 
 they might and sJto/'Id have lived. Disease 
 as mucii appointed as the death it occasions. 
 Lessons : Life an appointed period. Hence 
 (1.) Bear meekly its trials ; they are but for 
 a limited time ; (2.) Wait patiently for if* 
 termination : it will come in God's time. 
 Neither greatly desire nor hasten it ; (3.) 
 Carefully improve its continuance. Much to 
 be done, and but a short time to do it in 
 (Eccles. ix. 30). 
 
 2. As a war-service. Such a period not 
 one of ease, enjoyment, or indulgence ; but 
 of hardship, privation, unrest. Job's reason 
 for desiring its termination. Life a war- 
 service (1) As a time of trouble and suffer- 
 ing. Man born to trouble (ch. v. 7) ; (2) 
 As a time of conflict. Sin and Satan our great 
 enemies ; (3) As a time of service. Man 
 bound to serve God as his rightful sovereign. 
 Lessons : (1) Be patient of kardxhip, and 
 prepared for trial and suffering/. Man's, and 
 especially a Christian's, is a soldier's life. 
 "Endure hardness " (2 Tim. ii. 3). Tedious 
 marches, camp discomforts, field duties. (2) 
 Be careful to be on the right *ide. We must 
 serve ; but it may be either under Christ's 
 banner or the devil's. (3) Be faithful, obe- 
 dient, and active ; faithful to your King, 
 obedient to your Captain, active in discharge 
 of your duty. (4) Be hopeful, courageous, 
 and enduring. With Christ as our captain 
 victory is certain ; and, after short and 
 faithful service, comes long and honourable 
 reward (2 Tim. iv. 7, 8). 
 
 48 
 
 3. As the term of a hired servant. We 
 may have a hireling's^o-^, without a hireling's 
 spirit. Salvation by grace not inconsistent 
 with " respect to the recompense of reward." 
 Each believer has his work in the vineyard, 
 and each receives " his penny." A hired 
 labourer has (1) Painful and self-denying 
 labour to undergo ; (2) A short and limited 
 time to do it in ; (3) Due wages to receive 
 when it is done. Life such a service. Man 
 must serve either God or Satan, righteous- 
 ness or sin (Rom. vi. 16 22). Each thought, 
 word, and action, a service to one or other of 
 these two masters. Hence (1) "Choose 
 the best master. God's service is (i.) Honour- 
 able; (ii.) Pleasant; (iii.) Satisfying to the 
 conscience. Has along with it (a) Kind 
 treatment ; (b) Comfortable provision ; (c) 
 Liberal remuneration. (2) .Be diligent in 
 doing the Master's work and watchful in 
 looking for the Master's coming (Mark xiii. 
 3137.) 
 
 II. Renews his complaint and de- 
 scribes his sad condition. Mention of the 
 "hireling" in verse 1 suggests to him (lie 
 comparison of himself to a slave or a day- 
 labourer who longs for the evening rest 
 (verse 2). "As the servant (or slave) ear- 
 nestly desireth (margin 'gapeth' or pants 
 after) the shadow [of evening], and as" "a 
 hireling (hired servant, as distinguished from 
 a slave) looketh for the reward (or finishing) 
 of his work, so," &c. 
 
 Describes his afflicted condition in three 
 particulars : 
 
 1. Comfortless days and painful nights 
 (verse 3). "So am 1 made to possess (Heb. 
 1 to inherit ') months of vanity (without 
 comfort or relief to myself, and without profit 
 either to myself, or others), and wearisome 
 nights (lleb. ( nights of labour or trouble') 
 are appointed (Heb. ' numbered ') to me." 
 Such days and nights the result (J) Of his 
 disease; (2) Of his bereavement; (3) Of 
 spiritual darkness. Says not days, but 
 " months " of vanity, each day appearing a 
 month. So Jonah speaks of his three days 
 in the fish's belly as an eternity, "for 
 ever" (Jon. ii. 6). "A man in great 
 misery may so far lose his measure as to 
 think a minute an hour" \_Locke~\. Oil 
 the other hand, as grief retard*, so joy 
 hastens time. The bliss of heaven makes 
 " eternity seem as a day." Job's troubles, 
 however, may now have probably lasted some 
 months. These painful days and nights 
 spoken of as an inheritance. A bitter irony, 
 yet true. Trouble handed down to us with 
 sin as its consequence. "A sad inheritance 
 of woe." Adheres to us as our ancestral 
 possession. " Made to possess " them, as 
 against his will. " The creature made sub-
 
 HOMILETW COMMENTARY: JOE. 
 
 CIIAP. VII. 
 
 jcct to vanity, not willingly " (Rom. viii. 20). 
 Blessed contrast to this inheritance is that 
 found in Christ (Rom. viii. 17 ; Heb. 
 ix. 15; 1 Pet. i. 4). Yet months 
 of suffering not necessarily "months of 
 vanity." These, to a child of God, among 
 the all things working together for his good 
 (Rom. viii. 24). Times of affliction arc made 
 times of profit, to ourselccs, through spiritual 
 teaching and Divine communion ; to others, 
 by the example afforded of patience and 
 Divine support. 
 
 " In all my list of blessings infinite 
 Stands this the foremost, that my heart has 
 bled." 
 
 2. Rest lessness of mind and body (verse 
 4). " When I lie down, I say, when shall I 
 arise, and the night be gone ? (or, ' but the 
 night is extended;' margin, 'and the evening 
 be measured ? ') And 1 am full of tossings," 
 &c, The distressing nights dwelt upon 
 rather than the days. Long, weary, sleep- 
 less nights among the most painful circum- 
 stances connected with sickness or sorrow. 
 Such nights contrasted with the refreshing 
 rest of the worn-out slave and weary labourer. 
 These wearisome and restless nights, how- 
 ever, counted out by God to his people, 
 (verse 3). Not one too many, or more than 
 He will over-rule for our good. God an 
 accurate dispenser of His people 's sufferings 
 and sorrow (Is. xxvii. 8). Connected with 
 the long sleepless nights are the " tossings 
 to and fro upon the bed." " We change 
 the place, but keep the pain." The nocturnal 
 tossings in mind often more painful than 
 those of the body (Ps. Ixxvii. 2 9 ; Is. 
 xxxviii. 13). Sleep God's gift to his beloved 
 (Ps. cxxvii. 2). Its absence in sickness or 
 trouble itself no small affliction. 
 
 ; " Nature's soft nurse, how have I frighted 
 
 thee, 
 That thou no more wilt weigh my eyelids 
 
 down ? " 
 
 3. Loathsomeness of lody (verse 5). 
 "My flesh is clothed with worms and clods 
 of dust (literally, or in appearance) ; my 
 skin is broken and become loathsome;" 
 (or, breaks [in ulcers] and dissolves [in 
 matter]). Corruption breeding worms, ul- 
 cerous running sores, and rough ashy scales 
 covering the body, prominent features in 
 Job's disease. The Elephantiasis a species 
 of leprosy (Lev. xii.. 9 17). Renders the 
 patient loathsome to look at, and forbids 
 contact or near approach. Similar revolting 
 picture probably presented in Lazarus (Luke 
 xvi. 20), and in Herod (Acts xii. 23). Some- 
 thing like it complained of by David (Ps. 
 xxxviii. 3, 5, 7, 11), and by Heman (Ps. 
 Ixxxviii. 8, 18). A sad aggravation of our 
 
 41 
 
 affliction when it renders us loathsome to 
 our friends. 
 
 Lessons from Job's Disease. 
 
 (1) Terrible power of Satan. Satan the im- 
 mediate author of Job's disease. (2) Dreadful 
 effects of sin. But for sin there had been no 
 disease. Sin turns our comeliness into cor- 
 ruption, and covers a formerly fair and 
 healthy body with foul putridity and worm- 
 breeding sores. (3) Character of our mortal 
 lody. Soon reduced to loathsome putre- 
 faction even while alive. " Our vile body," 
 the " body of our humiliation " (Phil. iii. 
 21). (4) The saint as liable to the most 
 loathsome diseases as the sinner. Witness 
 Job and Lazarus. (5.) The love of Christ in 
 assuming a lody with such liabilities. Made 
 "in the likeness of sinful flesh" (Rom. viii. 2). 
 " Took our infirmities and bare our sick- 
 nesses " (Matt. viii. 17, quoted from Is. 
 liii. 4). From the same prophecy, the 
 Messiah said by the Jews to have his place 
 among the lepers. (6.) Preciousncss of a, 
 glorious resurrection. Our vile body changed 
 and fashioned like to Christ's glorious body 
 (Phil. Hi'. 21.) (7.) Affecting picture of the 
 loathsomeness of sin. Leprosy the most 
 loathsome of all bodily diseases. Sin sym- 
 bolized by it as the most loathsome 
 thing in the universe. The only 
 truly loathsome thing in the eyes of God 
 and holy beings. Makes the soul infinitely 
 more loathsome than Job's disease did his 
 body. The godless rich man loathsome with 
 his plump, well-fed, and richly-clad body ; 
 godly Lazarus beautiful and comely in his 
 sores. 
 
 4. The prematnreness of his anticipated 
 death (verse 6). "My days are swifter 
 than a weaver's shuttle (or, ' come more 
 quickly to an end than the weaving of a 
 web'), and are spent without hope," (viz., of 
 extension or relief; or, 'are finished for 
 want of thread ') so Is. xxxviii. 12. Job 
 anticipated death as the certain and not dis- 
 tant result of his affliction (ch. ix. 25, 26 ; 
 xvii. 11). Himself, as life was then, still 
 comparatively young. Probably not more 
 than seventy, only a third of the age then 
 usually attained and actually attained by 
 himself (ch. xlii. 10). A premature 
 death, especially in Old Testament times, 
 viewed as a grievous calamity (Is. vi. 5 ; 
 xxx. 9 ; Is. xxxviii. 10 19. The language 
 suggestive in regard to 
 
 Time. 
 
 1. Its rapid flight and short duration. Set 
 forth in Scripture under various comparisons : 
 a flower, a vapour, a dream, a watch of 
 the nighf, a tale that has been told, & 
 
 49
 
 CHAP. VII. 
 
 HOMILETIC COMMENTARY: JOB. 
 
 Here, either a toeaver's s/utttlenassh u 
 to and fro, or a wel, speedily and perhaps 
 suddenly finished from want of ihread. Time 
 represented by the ancients with wings, as 
 not running but flying. Jacob speaks of his 
 days as few at the age of 130. The longest 
 life only a speck in comparison with eternity. 
 A northern winter's day, when the sun has 
 scarcely risen before it sets again. The sun 
 of many sets while it is yet noon. Job, like 
 most others, had counted on a long life (ch. 
 xxix. 18). Now the grave seems to open 
 its mouth for him (ch. xvii. 1). " Though 
 death be before the old man's face, it may 
 be behind the young man's back " [Seneca.] 
 Hence the vanity of earthly pleasures a/id 
 enjoyments. Like Jonah's gourd, these spring 
 up in a night and perish in a night. But 
 " for a season," and that a very short one. 
 Earthly pleasures are, according to one who 
 deeply plunged into them, 
 
 " Like the snow-falls in the river, 
 A moment white, then melt for ever ; 
 Or like the rainbow's lovely form, 
 Evanishing amid the storm." 
 
 2. The value of time. Time the short seed- 
 time for eternity. Bound up with eternal 
 destinies. Its value seldom realised. No 
 note taken of it but as the clock tells of its 
 departure. Men speak of killing time. To 
 destroy time is " suicide, where more than 
 blood is spilt." Greater folly to throw away 
 hours than empires. The value of time rea- 
 lised on a dying bed. " Millions of money 
 for an inch of time " \0jieen Elizabeth on 
 her deathbed]. Time ceases at death, and 
 gives place to eternity. " No clock strikes 
 in hell, to say, Thank God, another hour is 
 past. One gigantic clock there, without a 
 dial-plate ; its pendulum eternally vibrating, 
 Ever, Never ; Damnation ever, Redemption 
 never " [Krummacher]. 
 
 3. The danger of delay in securing the soul's 
 salvation. Madness to put off till to-morrow 
 what ought to be done to-day. "Serious 
 things to-morrow" cost both Caesar and 
 Archias their life. Procrastination the death 
 of souls. Men " resolve and re-resolve, and 
 die the same." Augustine was kept seven 
 years from closing with Christ by the temp- 
 tation, Time enough yet. When Hannibal 
 could have taken Rome, he would not, and 
 when he would, lie could not. "What thy 
 hand findeth to do, do it with thy might." 
 The soul's salvation the one thing needful. 
 Sad to be sowing our seed when we should 
 be reaping our harvest [Brooks], Caesar 
 Borgia on his deathbed said : While I lived, 
 I provided for everything but death, and 
 now death comes and I am unprovided for 
 it. A promise made to late repentance, but 
 no promise of late repentance. 
 50 
 
 "Alas, that men should lightly spend 
 In godless mirth or prayerless toil unblest, 
 Their brief inestimable day of proof, 
 Till the last golden sands run out." 
 
 IV. Job turiis imploringly to God 
 
 (verse 7). 
 
 " remember," &c. Better in trouble to 
 cry to God than to complain to man. God 
 sometimes appears to His suffering people to 
 forget them and their case (Ps. xiii. 1 ; xliv. 
 24; Is. xlix. 14). The contrary affirmed by 
 God for their comfort (Is. xlix. 15). Job 
 pleads for mitigation of His sufferings on the 
 ground (1) Of the frail and fleeting nature 
 of his earthly life. " My life is wind " a 
 breath or puff of air ; a " cloud" or smoke ; 
 unsubstantial and evanescent (Ps. Ixxviii. 
 39 ; (2) Its speedy termination (verse 8). 
 " Thine eyes are upon me, and I am not." 
 Speaks of himself as already dead, or soon to 
 be, a living corpse, (a) Life terminated by 
 a look from the Almighty. His glance our 
 death. So those sent to apprehend Jesus 
 fell backward to the ground at his mere 
 look ; (U) Life, compared with God's eternity, 
 only a moment the glance or twinkling of 
 an eye. (3) The impossibility of its recall 
 (verse 9, 10). " He that goeth down to the 
 grave shall come up no more." The emitted 
 breath, the cloud or smoke disappearing 
 from the sky, never more to be recalled. 
 Death, " the bourne from which no traveller 
 returns." Only one life on earth. A few 
 special exceptions to prove the rule. Men 
 die but once. Solemn responsibility connected 
 with our one life. No second to correct the 
 errors, undo the mischief, or make up for the 
 negligence, of the first. An egress from the 
 grave in reserve for each, but no return to a 
 mortal life. A resurrection to come, both of 
 the just and the unjust. That resurrection, 
 however, not in the course of nature, but by 
 the special command and power of God 
 (John v. 28 ; 1 Thess. iv. 16). Christ Him- 
 self the Resurrection and the Life. Resur- 
 rection committed to His hands (John xi. 25 ; 
 vi. 54). Resurrection not unknown to the 
 patriarchs, but seldom referred to by Job. 
 Enoch's translation a testimony to the early 
 ages of the existence of the body in an invi- 
 sible state. His prophecy a distinct revela- 
 tion of resurrection (Jude 14, 15). God's 
 relation to the godly dead as their God, a 
 guarantee both of the separate existence of 
 their spirits and the future resurrection of 
 their bodies (Matt, xxii. 31, 32). The doc- 
 trine of the resurrection, as well as of the 
 state after death, one of gradual development. 
 Job's age the twilight of revelation. 
 
 V. Job's resolution to give way to 
 complaint. Occasioned by the considera- 
 tion of his misery in the world, and his
 
 HOMILETIC COMMENTARY: JOB. 
 
 CHAP. VII. 
 
 anticipated speedy, untimely, and irrevocable 
 departure out of it (verse 11). "There- 
 fore I will not refrain my mouth," &c. Falls 
 again into his former temptation. His spirit 
 like a surging sea, quiet for a little, then 
 heaving again its angry billows. His present 
 resolution the worst thing he could do. 
 Tended to a continually increasing strife 
 with God. Satan doubtless now rejoiced in 
 his apparent advantage. So far his scheme 
 likely to succeed. Probably thought the 
 next thing would be that Job would " curse 
 God to his face." Job preserved from this 
 only by imparted and indwelling grace. 
 Perilous to advance so near the brink of the 
 precipice. Dangerous to indulge in bitter 
 language in reference to our lot. Safest 
 when God's hand is on our back, to keep our 
 hand on our mouth. David's resolution in 
 similar circumstances much wiser than Job's 
 (Ps. xxxix. 1). Free utterance to excited 
 feelings only adds fuel to the fire. Grace 
 shutting the lips raises up a barrier to the 
 tempest of the spirit. Passion acquires 
 strength by indulgence and free expression. 
 " Anguish of spirit " a very unsafe guide to 
 speech. Only turbid streams likely to flow 
 from a turbid fountain. 
 
 The result of Job's resolution, petulant 
 and unbecoming expostulation with God. (Verse 
 12). "Am I a sea (or a desolating inunda- 
 tion, as of the Nile), or a whale (or sea- 
 monster, as the crocodile), that Thou settest 
 a watch over me (to restrain me by these 
 terrible sufferings from doing injury) ?" 
 Very erroneous thoughts often suggested in 
 trouble as to God's motive in sending it. 
 We may sympathize with Job's sufferings 
 without imitating his language. His lan- 
 guage, however, indicates (1) A believer 
 readily ascribing all in his lot to God ; (2) A 
 soul moving always in the Divine presence ; 
 (3) The frequent and familiar intercourse of 
 a child of God with his Heavenly Father. 
 
 VI. Enlarges farther on his affliction 
 
 (verses 13, 14). 
 
 1. His distressing nights (verse 13). 
 "When I say, My bed shall ease my complaint, 
 thenthouscarest me with dreams andterrifiest 
 me with visions '' (images presented to the 
 imagination while half-sleeping, half-waking). 
 These probably a natural symptom of Job's 
 disease. A grievous aggravation of the 
 affliction. Night, the period of rest to others, 
 made more distressing than the day. The 
 blessing of "tired Nature's sweet restorer, 
 balmy sleep," seldom duly appreciated and 
 acknowledged. Our minds accessible to Satan 
 as well as God and good angels during sleep. 
 Dreams either natural or supernatural ; as 
 supernatural, cither diabolical or Divine. 
 Job, in ignorance, ascribes to God what 
 
 4-2 
 
 was properly due to Satan. Satan cruelly 
 skilful in adopting suitable means to accom- 
 plish his purpose. His object to exhaust 
 the energies of Job's body and spirit, and 
 by representing God as his enemy, to bring 
 him to despair and to curse or renounce Him. 
 For this, he employs a filthy disease and 
 frightful dreams, and tempts him to believe 
 them both from God. Satan a merciless 
 tormentor. Possesses a terrible power of 
 inflicting pain. Job's case a picture of the 
 misery of falling into Satan's hands. Still 
 more fearful to fall into the hands of the 
 living God (Heb. x. 31). God able to make 
 every organ of the body and every faculty 
 of the mind the seat of intolerable suf- 
 fering. Earnest desire for death the effect 
 of these sufferings on the mind of Job 
 (verse 15). "So that my soul chooseth 
 strangling and death rather than life" 
 (margin, " than my bones," all that is left 
 of me). The " soiil," or mere fleshly nature, 
 may choose death as a release from suffer- 
 ing ; the " spirit " or renewed nature says 
 " Not my will but thine be done ;" "All the 
 days of my appointed time will I wait," &c. 
 (ch. xiv. 14). Grace the truest heroism. 
 Brave in the battle-field, a man may yet fly 
 in the battle of life. Suicide at best but 
 moral coieardice. To be only accounted for 
 by the absence or the eclipse of faith. Faith 
 in God alone gives true courage. The 
 strongest mind weak when left to itself 
 under depressing thoughts or a disturbed 
 brain. "Do thyself no harm," a timely 
 voice to harassed and despairing souls. 
 
 2. The extremely reduced state of his body 
 and the certainty of a speedy death (verse 
 16). " I loathe it (i.e., my life ; or, ' I am 
 wasting away'); I would not (or, 'I shall 
 not') live always (i.e., I shall soon die at 
 any rate) ; let me alone (leave me to die, or 
 cease to harass me with bodily and mental 
 suffering), for my days are vanity " [and will 
 soon come to an end"). Job's spirit tossed 
 between two desires either an immediate 
 death as a release from his continued misery, 
 or a relief from suffering for the few days 
 that remained to him. The troubled and 
 agitated spirit seldom long in one stay. 
 
 VII. Man's insignificance nrged by 
 Job as a plea for deliverance or relief 
 
 (verse 17). 
 
 "What is man (Heb., 'wretched man,' 
 enosh} that thou," &c. Same question asked 
 by David from an entirely different conside- 
 ration (Ps. viii. 4). The same truth often 
 viewed in different aspects and with different 
 feelings by different persons, and by the same 
 person at different times. The truth, dark 
 to one or at one time, is bright to another or 
 to the same person at another time. Truth, 
 
 51
 
 CHAP. VII. 
 
 HOMILSTJC COMMENTARY: JOB. 
 
 like (he cloud that followed Israel, presents 
 both a dark aid* and a bright one. Happy, 
 like Israel, to be on the bright side. God's 
 great attention to man produced in David 
 admiration and praise ; in Job displeasure 
 and complaint. To the Psalmist God appears 
 amiable as a Father delighting in blessing 
 His children; to the Patriarch, stern as a 
 judge, constantly examining into men's 
 actions. Faith's office is to view the truth 
 as it is, apart from personal feeling. Fccli/ty, 
 in Job, asks with petulance " Why doth lie 
 visit men every morning ?" Faith, in Jere- 
 miah, exclaims with thankfulness, amid the 
 desolations of a sacked and burned city 
 "His mercies are new every morning" (Sam. 
 iii. 23). God's morning visitation a mercy, 
 and should (1) Impart comfort; (2) Awaken 
 praise. Opens our eyes to the grateful light 
 of day, the beauties of nature, and the faces 
 of relatives and friends. Imparts to us 
 health of body, soundness of mind, comfort 
 of spirit. Continues to us day after day 
 food, raiment, home, society of friends. In- 
 vites us every morning afresh to communion 
 with Himself as our Father in Christ. 
 Important and suggestive question, 
 
 What is Man 2 
 
 At once the least and the greatest of God's 
 creatures. Lower than the angels in crea- 
 ture-position, immensely higher in Redemp- 
 tion-privilege. Lives one life on earth 
 consisting of a few months or years ; a second 
 in another sphere, which shall last for ever. 
 Has a body that allies him to the ground on 
 which he walks ; and a spirit that connects 
 him to the God that made him. A reed, 
 but a reed that thinks [Pascal^. A worm, 
 but a worm capable of measuring the dis- 
 tances of the stars and of grasping the 
 universe. Made in 1 lie image of his Creator 
 as to moral nature, intelligence, immortality, 
 and dominion. Through disobedience and 
 rebellion, reduced below the level of the 
 brutes. Mercifully provided with deliverance 
 from his fallen condition through the substi- 
 tuted obedience and death of his incarnate 
 Creator. Man " magnified " by God, 
 
 1. In Creation; his place above all the 
 creatures around him, and second only to 
 that of the angels that surround the Eternal's 
 throne. 
 
 2. In Providence ; the attention originally 
 paid to his comfort, and the care continually 
 exercised over him. 
 
 3. In Ef.demption ; the highest possible 
 proof of Divine regard afforded in the life, 
 sufferings, and death of God's own Son for 
 his deliverance and happiness. 
 
 4. In his Glorification ; united to the Son 
 of God and made like Him in spirit, soul, 
 
 52 
 
 and body, exalted as His spouse to sit with 
 Him on His throne, and with Him to judge 
 angels. 
 
 5. In the Assumption of his nature by the 
 Son of God. Christ the man, the second 
 Adam and Head of the race. In Christ 
 man's nature taken into mysterious, intimate, 
 and indissoluble union with the Divine. 
 Man exalted in Christ to the throne of the 
 
 VIII. Conclusion of Job's speech 
 
 (verses 19 21). Contains 
 
 1. A peevish prayer (verse 19) " How 
 long wilt thou not depart (Hcb., 'look 
 away ') from me ? nor let me alone that I 
 may swallow down my spittle" (even for the 
 shortest period) ? Prayers in time of trial 
 are sometimes (1) Ignorant; (2) Injurious: 
 (3) Requiring repentance. The flesh inca- 
 pable of judging aright of God and His 
 dealings. God viewed by Job as an adver- 
 sary intent only on overthrowing him. Yet 
 His removal, or the withdrawing of lib eyes 
 from us, our certain ruin. The same spirit 
 moved the Gadarenes to beseech Christ to 
 depart out of their coasts. Prayer often 
 unanswered in compassion to the offerer. 
 Grace needed to know what to pray for 
 (Luke xi. 1). The Holy Spirit's office (Rom. 
 viii. 26). 
 
 2. A partial confession (verse 20). " I 
 have sinned; what shall 1 do (or, 'What 
 have I ^thereby] done') unto thee?" A 
 confession, but neither frank nor free. Made 
 rather hypothetically, " granting I have 
 sinned," or, " If I have." Job's conscience 
 not yet sufficiently enlightened nor his soul 
 sufficiently subdued to make the Publican's 
 confession. The confession rather extorted 
 by the fact of suffering than the conscious- 
 ness of sin. Job free from life sins ; heart 
 sins not yet sufficiently discovered to him. 
 This discovery and his consequent humble 
 confession not made till Jehovah has revealed 
 Himself (ch. xl. 4 ; xlii. 5, 6). Compare 
 Is. vi. 5 ; Luke v. 8. In order to be accept- 
 able, 
 
 Confession of Sin 
 
 must be (1) Free ; spontaneous, uncon- 
 strained; not extorted by suffering, or 
 merely in order to deliverance from it, as in 
 the case of Pharaoh (Ex. ix. 27 ; x. 1C) ; 
 (2.) Frank ; open and sincere ; without 
 guile or desire of concealment (Ps. xxxii. 
 25); (3.) Full; thorough and without re- 
 servation (Josh. vii. 19 21) ; (4.) Parti- 
 cular ; not merely of sin in general, or as 
 common to the race ; " I have sinned and 
 done this evil in thy sight" (Ps. li. 4; (5.) 
 Serious and heartfelt ; with sense of the 
 heinousness and demerit of the sin confessed
 
 HOMILETIC COMMENTARY: JOB. 
 
 CFA.P. vir. 
 
 (Ps. li. 3 ; Luke xviii. 13). In true con- 
 fession the heart is both affected icith the 
 sin, and engaged against it. Confession of 
 sin needful in the holiest saint. Sin cleaves 
 to the believer as ivy to the wall. The 
 strongest believer not above the act ings of sin, 
 the weakest not under the power of it. The 
 more we realize God's spotlessness, the more we 
 discern our own spots. Sweet to confess sin 
 in sight of the laver of a Saviour's blood. 
 Confession of sin with the lips enhances the 
 prcciousness of Christ in the heart. Concealed 
 sin grows (1) In strength; (2) In guilt ; 
 (3) In terror (Ps. xxxii. 3, 4). Job's confes- 
 sion, such as it was, one rather of the mere 
 fact of sin. Acknowledges no ecil connected 
 with it, or demerit attached to it. Its hci- 
 nousuess and malignity as against God, yet 
 to be discovered. " What have I done unto 
 thee ? " The idea : What wrong have I 
 done thee by my sin, that thou shouldst 
 thus treat rne as thine enemy ? Siii to be 
 viewed as an injury, iiot merely to our 
 neighbour or ourselves, but more especially 
 against God. 
 
 Sin 
 
 Is injury done to God, as 
 
 (1.) It robs Him of the honour due to Him 
 (Mai. i. 6). Man's sin may not take from 
 God's happiness, but it takes from God's 
 honour. Every sin strikes as truly at God's 
 honour as at our peace. (2.) It tramples 
 underfoot His authority. Says with Pharaoh : 
 " Who is the Lord that I should obey His 
 voice?" (Ex. v. 2). (3.) It breaks His laws. 
 (4.) It disturbs the harmony and happiness 
 of His universe. (5.) It introduces disorder 
 into His goccrnment, and, if not arrested and 
 punished, would bring it to an end. ((5.) It 
 iiiti'i-rupts and would terminate His enjoyment 
 of His own works (Gen. i. 31 ; Ps. civ. 24). 
 (7.) It obliterates His image in His intelligent 
 creatures, and substitutes that of His adver- 
 sary. Treasonably dl'aces His image and 
 superscription from His own coin. 
 
 Job, in his confession, petulantly addresses 
 God as the watcher and observer of His 
 creatures "Oh, thou preserver of men." 
 Same word denotes " guardian " and " ob- 
 server" (chap, xxvii. 18). Latter sense here 
 favoured by the context (so chap. xiv. 16). 
 God viewed as if carefully marking men's 
 faults in order to punish them. Only per- 
 verted a/id dishonouring views of God taken 
 //// tliejlexh, especially wider trouble. Satan's 
 aim to foster such views in Job in order to 
 gain his object. Job's complaint in keeping 
 with this view. " Why hast Thou set me as 
 a mark against Thee ?" (to shoot at, or make 
 an attack upon). The supposed result of 
 God's close inspection of his conduct, and 
 as in revenge for the injury done to 
 
 him. Already viewed himself as shot at 
 by the Almighty's arrows (chapter vi 4). 
 Speaks according to sense and appearance. 
 God's choicest saints often appear to be the 
 butt of his sharpest arrows. The effect and 
 meaning of these arrows ; " So that I am a 
 burden to myself" or, "and I am become 
 a burden to thee" (both readings found, 
 the latter probably the true one). The 
 sinner, a burden to God through his sift, 
 and a burden to himself through his suffer- 
 ing. When sin makes a man a burden to 
 God, he is likely to become a burden to him- 
 self. A sinner left to himself the greatest 
 burden that can be laid upon him. Suffer- 
 ing often a heavy burden ; sin a thousand 
 times more so. " I had rather go into hell 
 without sin, than into heaven with it " 
 \Luthe)-\. Cain said, my punishment is great er 
 than I can bear : the same word generally 
 rendered " iniquity," as in verse 20. Judas 
 thought to throw oil the burden by hanging 
 himself, but only made it faster and 
 heavier. Sin makes men a burden to the 
 Creator as well as to themselves. God wearied 
 with men's iniquities (Is. xliii. 24). 
 Pressed under them as a cart full of sheaves 
 (Am. ii. 13). That Job was a burden to 
 himself vr&s his own feeling ; that he was a 
 burden to God, was Satan's suggestion. 
 
 3. A passionate question and a plaintive 
 appeal (verse 20). "And why dost thou 
 not pardon (Ileb. ' take away ' or remit, as 
 a deot) my transgression, and take away 
 (Ileb. 'cause to pass away ' as a cloud) mine 
 iniquity?" "Transgression" and "iniquity" 
 embrace all kinds of sin, those of commission 
 and omission, presumption and ignorance, 
 life and heart. The question not that of a 
 humble penitent asking forgiveness. Job yet 
 to be made a poor sinner. Pardon of sin a 
 favour, not an obligation, or matter of course. 
 
 Pardon of Sin. 
 
 Often, as here, desired rather as the re- 
 moval of suffering than of guilt. Only not 
 bestowed, because the sinner is tiot prepared to 
 receive it. Pride, impenitence, and unbelief 
 shut out forgiveness as the window-shutters 
 exclude the sun. Pardon only vouchsafed 
 (1) When sin is realised and sincerely con- 
 fessed (1 John i. 9 ; Ps. xxxii. 5 ; Ps. xxviii. 
 13) ; (2) When its demerit and hell-deserv- 
 ingness is acknowledged (Ps. li. 4, 11) ; (3) 
 When deliverance is desired from its prac- 
 tice and power as well as from its punish- 
 ment (Ps. li. 10); (4) When pardon is 
 humbly sought as a matter of pure mercy 
 (Ps. li. 1 ; Luke xviii. 13) ; (5) When it is 
 accepted as only bestowed in virtue of the 
 suffering and death of God'sSon as the sinner's 
 
 53
 
 CHAP. vra. 
 
 HOMILBTIO COMMENTARY: JOB. 
 
 Substitute (Heb. ix. 15, 22, 28 ; 1 John i. 
 7, 9 ; ii. 1, 2 ; Rom. iii. 2426). 
 
 The reason of Job's passiowte question the 
 prospect of a speedy death. " For now shall 
 I sleep in the dust." Idea : I shall soon 
 die, and Thou must either pardon and heal 
 me speedily or not at all. Death to the 
 believer a sleep. The thought of it not un- 
 pleasant to Job. A blessed awaking the 
 hope of the Church (Ps. xvii. 15 ; Is. xxvi. 
 19 ; Dan. xii. 2 ; 1 Thess. iv. 14] 6). Job's 
 hope (ch. xiv. 1215 ; xix. 2527). He 
 can calmly lay his head in the dust, whose 
 heart is already in heaven. Job believes in a 
 lime of Divine relenting towards him. " Thou 
 
 shalt seek me in the morning ('. e., diligently), 
 but I shall not be" (thy desire to do me 
 good will be too late). The picture that of 
 a father relenting- towards a suffering child. 
 Exhibited also in Jer. xxxi. 1820; liv. 
 6 10. God's love to His people unchanging 
 and everlasting (Jer. xxxi. 3 ; John xiii. 1). 
 His dealings with them may change, but not 
 his delight in them. The believer, however 
 tried, still unwilling to quit his hold of God's 
 fatherly relationship. Faith says, " Though 
 His hand be against me, His heart is still 
 towards me." Job's comfort too at times 
 (ch. xiii. 15, 16} xiv. 15; xix. 2527; 
 xx iii. 10). 
 
 CHAPTEE VIII. 
 
 BILDAD'S FIRST SPEECH. 
 
 Bildad less courteous and considerate of 
 Job's feelings than even Eliphaz. Com- 
 mences with an unfeeling reflection on his 
 speech. Pursues the same line of argument 
 and address as his predecessor (1) God is 
 righteous punishing the bad, and rewarding 
 tftose who seek and serve Him ; (2) Job ex- 
 horted to prove the latter by sincere repen- 
 tance and prayer ; (3) The prosperity of the 
 wicked short-lived, and sure to end in ruin : 
 the end of the righteous certain joy and 
 triumph. 
 
 I. Bildad's Introduction (verse 2). 
 
 A harsh censure on Job's speech (1) For 
 its length. "How long wilt thou speak," 
 &c. Had listened to Job with impatience. 
 Due to every man to hear him patiently, 
 especially a man in affliction; (2) For its 
 matter. "How long wilt thou speak these 
 things?" Uttered with contempt these 
 worthless and wicked sentiments ; (3) For its 
 vehemence. "And the words of thy mouth 
 be like a strong wind" recklessly bearing 
 down all before thee, human and Divine. 
 Intensely unfeeling thus to attack the words 
 of a man in such deep distress. Faultiness 
 in another's speech no excuse for unfeeling- 
 ness in our own. Job's speech not more 
 destitute of sobriety than Bildad's is of sym- 
 pathy. Difficult even under the Gospel to 
 have our "speech always with grace, seasoned 
 with salt." Christians so to speak as to 
 ''minister grace to the hearer," and bring 
 glory to God. Bildad's censure not without 
 use to preachers. Suggests care as to (1) 
 The length ; (2) The matter ; (3) The manner 
 of their discourses. Preachers to avoid (1) 
 Prolixity ; (2) "Unsound or unprofitable 
 matter; (3) A vehement and boisterous 
 delivery. 
 54 
 
 II. Bildad strongly asserts the Divine 
 righteousness (verse 3). 
 
 " Doth God pervert judgment ? or doth 
 the Almighty pervert justice?" This 
 apparently implied in Job's complaints. God 
 essentially righteous. Incapable of injustice 
 towards His creatures. As " the Almighty," 
 He is beyond any temptation to act unjustly. 
 The Judge of all the earth cannot but do 
 right (Gen. xviii. 25). Severe complaints 
 like Job's, a reflection on God's justice. 
 God is righteous 
 
 1. In punishing sin. The reference in 
 Bildad's mind both to Job's affliction and his 
 children's death. Cruelly treats the latter 
 as a probable, if not certain, instance of 
 Divine justice (verse 4). "If (or, 'since') 
 thy children have sinned against Him, and 
 He have cast them away for (margin, 'in the 
 hand of) their transgression," making their 
 sin in immoderate feasting to be its own 
 punishment, &c. An erroneous as well as 
 unfeeling application of the general truth. 
 (1) Job's children had sinned, but not above 
 all men that dwelt in the land of Uz ; (2) 
 Their sin was not the occasion of their 
 death. No injustice on God's part, however, 
 either to Job or his children, in allowing the 
 calamity. Sufficient sin in each to merit 
 more than any earthly affliction (Lam. iii. 39). 
 Death, in the case of believers' children, 
 their removal to a better state. To the 
 parents, overruled for their elevation to a 
 higher spiritual life. Bildad's error in re- 
 garding earth as the sphere of God's retribu- 
 tive justice. General tendency to view 
 calamity as the righteous punishment of 
 sinful conduct. The tower in Siloam. The 
 error reproved by Jesus (Luke xiii. 1 5). 
 The unjust reserved to the day of judgment 
 to be punished (2 Peter ii. 9). The present
 
 HOMILETIC COMMENTARY: JOB. 
 
 CHAP. VIII. 
 
 life rather the time of forbearance and 
 mercy (2 Peter iii. 9, 15). Many apparent 
 anomalies in the Divine procedure. Examples: 
 Abel's murder, and Cain's long and pros- 
 perous life. A future state necessary to 
 clear up these anomalies, and fully display 
 the righteousness of God. 
 
 2. In rewarding those who seek and serve 
 Him (verse 5). "If thou" (emphatic, 
 thou who art still spared) "wouldst seek 
 unto God betimes (repair to Him earnestly 
 and at once), and make, &c., if thou wert 
 pure [in thy heart and motive] and upright 
 fin thy profession and practice while so 
 doing] ; surely now [even in thy extreme 
 misery] He would awake for thee " (and 
 come quickly to thy help). The error and 
 sting in all this, the supposition that Job 
 had been a wicked man and a hypocrite. 
 The sentiment in itself true and profitable. 
 
 (1) God the only help and refuge in trouble 
 (Ps. xlvi. 1.) (2) The duty and interest of 
 all in trouble to betake themselves to Him. 
 (3) This to be attended to "betimes," at once, 
 and with all earnestness. (4) Supplication 
 to be made to Him for pardon, deliverance, 
 and grace (Lam. iii. 41). (5) This to be done 
 in sincerity and uprightness, with a renounc- 
 ing of all sin (Ps. Ixvi .18). (6) The result a 
 certain and speedy interposition in our behalf. 
 
 A twofold promise held out : 1. A peace- 
 ful and prosperous habitation; 2. A large 
 increase in worldly possessions (verse 7). 
 " He would make the habitation of thy righte- 
 ousness prosperous," (or, " would restore thy 
 then righteous habitation, and endow it with 
 perfect felicity "). Temporal blessing pro- 
 mised as the expression 01 the Divine favour. 
 An insinuation that Job's dwelling had not 
 formerly been a righteous one. Two great 
 mercies indicated in this promise. (1) A 
 pious home ; a home where (i.) God is daily 
 and duly acknowledged and worshipped; 
 (ii.) The members of the family live in love 
 towards each other ; (iii.) All the duties of 
 morality and religion are carefully attended 
 to. Such a dwelling contrasted with the 
 "tents of wickedness" (Ps. Ixxxiv. 11). 
 
 (2) A peaceful and prosperous home ; where 
 (i.) The inmates are at peace with God and 
 with one another ; (ii.) God prospers their 
 honest endeavours to obtain a competent 
 livelihood; (iii.) They are preserved from 
 domestic troubles ; (iv.) All the inmates are 
 the pardoned and accepted children of God. 
 A pious home usually a peaceful and pros- 
 perous one. There God commands his 
 blessing (Ps. cxxxiii. 3). The ark brought 
 a blessing with it into Obedcdom's house 
 (2 Sam. vi. 10, 11). The voice of rejoicing 
 and salvation in the tabernacles of the righte- 
 ous (Ps. cxviii. 15). A peaceful habitation 
 a new covenant blessing (Is. xxxii. 18). 
 
 The dove of Divine peace hovers over the 
 altar of domestic worship. 
 
 III. Bildtid refers Job to the Fathers 
 
 for instruction (verse 8). 
 
 " Enquire, I pray thee, of the former age, 
 and prepare thyself to the search of their 
 fathers," to the examination of the records 
 of those still further distant, as Noah, Shem, 
 &c. The reason given : " For we (the 
 present generation as compared with the 
 past, or viewed as single individuals) are but 
 of yesterday and know nothing" ( have 
 comparatively little knowledge and expe- 
 rience of God's dealings with men); "because 
 our days upon earth (as mere individuals, or 
 as compared with those of our acestors), are 
 a shadow. Shall they not teach thee and 
 tell thee [how God acts towards men in this 
 world], and utter words out of their heart," 
 well-pondered sayings as the result of their 
 careful observation and reflection? Know- 
 ledge in the earlier period of the world 
 rather the results of observation. These 
 embodied in poetical and proverbial sayings. 
 Such sayings existed either as written 
 records or as traditional poetry. Especially 
 valued by the Arabs, and still esteemed by 
 them as the strongest testimonies. Mostly, 
 however, the productions only of human 
 wisdom, and to be distinguished from Divine 
 revelation. Amongst them were the utter- 
 ances of inspired men, as that of Enoch 
 (Jude 14.). 
 
 Tradition. 
 
 Such traditions to be received with de- 
 ference and respect, but not as of binding 
 authority. Their authority that of the argu- 
 ments which support them. Men always 
 fallible, except as inspired by God to deliver 
 truth. The fathers of the race and the 
 fathers of the Church in the same category. 
 Their wisdom and experience neither to be 
 disregarded nor implicitly received. In- 
 creased light obtained with the advance of 
 ages and the increase of experience. The 
 wisdom and experience of each generation 
 to be valued as a contribution to that of its 
 successors. Opinion in good men is but 
 knowledge in the making [MiUon\. It is 
 only the weak who, at each epoch, believe 
 mankind to have arrived at the culminating 
 point of their progressive march [Humboldf]. 
 The famous test of ecclesiastical tradition a 
 safe one, if it could be found, what has 
 been taught by all, taught always, and taught 
 everywhere. The longevity of the earlier 
 ages favourable for wider observation. In 
 the time of Job, human life reduced to about 
 200 years. Noah lived to be 950 ; Arphaxad, 
 his grandson, only 438; Peleg, the great - 
 
 55
 
 CHAP. VIII. 
 
 HOMILETIG COMMENTARY: JOB. 
 
 grandson of Arphaxad, 239 ; Serug, Pelog's 
 grandson, probably about the time of Job, 
 2-30 ; Terah, Serug's grandson and the father 
 of Abraham, 205. The change apparent and 
 striking to those living at the time. Hence 
 Bildad's acknowledgment 
 
 Human Life a Shadow. 
 
 Time measured at that time by the shadow 
 projected by the index of a dial, a spear 
 stuck in the ground, &c. Man's life but a 
 solar day, as the shadow fleeting along the 
 dial-plate. Life mercifully reduced in con- 
 sequence of sin. A long, vigorous life-time 
 more favourable to the development of human 
 depravity. " The heart never grows better 
 by age : I fear, worse, always harder " 
 [Lord Chesterfield}. Great longevity only 
 gives occasion to the godly for David's 
 lament (Ps. cxx. 5, 6). The present extent 
 of human life long enough for a child of God 
 to be kept from home (2 Cor. v. G, 8). 
 Life, as a "shadow" calls for (1) Diligence 
 in the improvement of it. Momentous issues 
 Jiang on the fleeting shadow. Eternal inte- 
 rests demand despatch. (2) A loose hold of 
 things of time. Like life itself, "all here is 
 shadow, all beyond is substance." Foolish 
 to set the heart on a shadow. " He builds 
 too low who builds beneath the skies." 
 (3) A proper estimate to be made of the 
 troubles and joys, the possessions and pursuits, 
 of the present life. (4-) Earnestness in securing 
 a solid and lasting happiness beyond the 
 grave. 
 
 IV. Quotation from the- ancients 
 
 (verses 11 ]9). Exhibits: 
 
 1. The temporary prosperity of the ungodly. 
 Compared (1) To the paper-reed of Egypt, 
 and the flag of the marsh or grass of the 
 meadow (verse 11). "Can the rush (or 
 'papyrus') grow up without mire? Can 
 the flag ('marsh-plant,' or 'grass of the 
 meadow,' same word wrongly translated 
 'meadow' in Gen. xli. 2.) grow without 
 water? " The papyrus of the Nile formerly 
 used in the manufacture of garments, shoes, 
 baskets, boats, and paper, whence our Eng- 
 lish word. The papyrus probably employed 
 by the Jews of Alexandria for writing on 
 while translating the Old Testament into 
 Greek, having used this very word in the 
 place of our "rush." Now only found in 
 marshes of the White Nile in Nubia, and in 
 one or two spots in Palestine. Such plants 
 capable of receiving a large supply of water 
 which they require for their nourishment. 
 Grow tall and luxuriant while the water is 
 supplied ; but speedily die when that supply 
 is withdrawn. Picture of worldly men who 
 have no living principle of enduring pros- 
 
 56 
 
 perity within themselves, either in the love 
 of God in them, or the blessing of God on 
 them. Their prosperity only from favourable 
 circumstances, which may at any time come 
 to an end. Contrast Haman with Joseph, 
 both attaining to the highest prosperity. 
 (2) To a spider's iceb, constructed with the 
 greatest care, and expected to prove a lasting 
 support to its' possessor, but which the 
 slightest accident may disturb and destroy 
 (verse 14). " Whose trust (his riches, &c., 
 in which lie trusts) shall be a spider's web " 
 as unsubstantial and as certain speedily to 
 perish. " The spider's most attenuated thread 
 is cord, is cable," compared to such pros- 
 perity and trust. (3) To a luxuriant garden- 
 tree, growing near a fountain and striking its 
 numerous roots into the rocky bed on which 
 it stands, open to the sun, and with every 
 advantage of soil and situation (verse 16, 
 17). "He is green (or moist) before the 
 sun (enjoying the warm and genial influence 
 of its rays), and his branch shooteth forth in 
 his garden : his roots are wrapped about the 
 heap (or fountain), and seetli the place of 
 stones " (enjoys the benefit of rocky strata 
 for its support). A still more striking pic- 
 ture of the prosperous ungodly than the tall 
 and luxuriant marsh-plant. Compare Ps. 
 xxxvii. 35. 
 
 2. The certain and speedy termination of 
 that prosperity. (1) The papyrus or marsh- 
 plant suddenly withers from want of the re- 
 quired supply of water (versel2). "Whilst it 
 is yet in its greenness (promising longcontiuu- 
 ance), and not cut down ( without any hand 
 applied to pluck or cut it down), it withereth 
 before any other herb" (suddenly decays 
 without giving notice of the approaching 
 change, while other plants less dependent 
 on a large supply of moisture continue to 
 live). Soon ripe, soon rotten. The pros- 
 perity of the ungodly a Jonah's gourd. (2) 
 The spider's web, on which he depends for his 
 support, speedily perishes by accident or the 
 broom (verse 15). "He (the spider, or the un- 
 godly whom he represents) shall lean on 
 his house (on his web, or the riches, family, 
 &c., of the worldly figured by it), but it 
 shall not stand ; he shall hold it fast (or, lay 
 hold of it for its preservation, or rather 
 for his own support), but it shall not endure." 
 "Time destroys the well-built house as well 
 as the spider's web " [Arab Proverb"]. The 
 prosperity and bliss of the worldly man 
 perishes like that flimsy web. It is well if, 
 like that web also, it does not bury its 
 possessor in its ruins. (3) The luxuriant 
 tree, spreading abroad its roots and branches, 
 is suddenly struck by lightning or whirl- 
 wind, and at once becomes a leafless skeleton, 
 or is laid prostrate on its native soil (verse 
 18). " If he destroy him (or, ' if he [or it]
 
 HOMILETIC COMMENTARY: JOB. 
 
 CHAP. viii. 
 
 be destroyed ' Ileb. ' swallowed up ') from 
 his place, then it shall deny him, saying : I 
 have not seen thee " the place where it 
 stood is forgotten. The application given 
 by the Psalmist : " He (the wicked) passed 
 away, and lo, he was not ; yea, I sought 
 him, but he could not be found" (Ps. xxxvii. 
 36). History full of such instances. Hainan, 
 instead of parading on the monarch's horse, 
 is left hanging on a felon's gallows. When 
 the Messeuians saw the renowned Philo- 
 poemon stripped and dragged along with his 
 hands ignomimously bound behind his back, 
 " they wept, and contemned all human 
 greatness as a faithless support, as vanity 
 and nothing " [Plutarch]. The Emperor 
 Vitellius was driven through the streets of 
 Rome naked, and then thrown into the 
 Tiber. 
 
 " mighty Caesar ! dost thou lie so low ! 
 Are all thy conquests, glories, triumphs, 
 
 spoils, 
 Shrunk to this little measure ? " 
 
 3. The application (verse 13). "So are 
 the paths of all that forget God; and the 
 hypocrite's hope shall perish." 
 
 Forgetfulness of God. 
 
 Those " who forget God " placed in the 
 same class with the "hypocrite," or rather 
 the " profane," or " wicked." Enough to 
 characterize a man as wicked, that he " for- 
 gets God " (So Ps. ix. 17 ; x. 22). To 
 forget God is (1) Not to think of Him ; 
 (2) Not to thank Him; (3) Not to serte 
 and obey Him. It is to forget (1) His 
 presence; (2) His Providence; (3) His pre- 
 cepts. Eorgetfulness of another implies 
 (1) Want of love ; (2) Want of respect. 
 Men feel wounded on being forgotten by 
 those whom they love, and on whose love 
 they have a claim. Observe 
 
 1. Forget fulness of God is the root and 
 essence of all sin. It is to ignore, and, as far 
 as we are able, to annihilate, Him from His 
 own universe. It is to treat Him as though 
 there were no such Being. The fool hath 
 said in his heart, " No God" (Ps. xiv. 1). To 
 "remember" God equivalent to loving and 
 serving Him (Eccles. xii. 1 ; Is. Ixiv. 5). 
 
 2. To forget God is to forget Him re ho pos- 
 sesses all claims to our remembrance ; (1) 
 Erom M'hat He is in Himself; (2) From 
 what He is and has been to us. God is (1) 
 The Being who is the Source and Centre of 
 all possible excellence and loveliness ; (2) 
 Our Creator and Eather ; (3) Our Preserver 
 from moment to moment; (4) Our Provider ; 
 (5) Our Protector ; (6) Our Deliverer from 
 trouble and danger; (7) Our Benefactor and 
 best Eriend; (8) In. Christ our Redeemer 
 
 and Saviour from sin and all its direful con- 
 sequences. 
 
 3. Li forgetting God we gice our thoughts 
 and Iiearts to the world, which has no attrac- 
 tion but what it derives from Him, and which 
 can neither satisfy nor sate us. To forget 
 God, therefore, is both ingratitude, robbery, 
 and idolatry. It is to rob Him of His honour 
 as well as ourselves of peace. 
 
 4. To remember God is to elevate, ennoble, 
 and purify ourselves. 
 
 V. Conclusion of Bildad's Speech 
 
 (verse 20 22). Perhaps another of the 
 sayings of the ancients. Same general sub- 
 ject God's dealings with the righteous and 
 the wicked. Intended, like parts of the 
 speech of Eliphaz, either for consolation or 
 conviction, or perhaps both. Contains 
 
 ]. Comfort for the godly under trial (verse 
 20). "Behold, God will not cast away a 
 perfect man " (see chap. i. 1). Hence, com- 
 fort for Job, if such. This, however, still to 
 be prated. A righteous man may be cast 
 down, but not cast away (Ps. xciv. 11 ; 2 Cor. 
 iv. 9). Hence the difficulty to Job's friends 
 in judging of his character. Eor the present, 
 to all appearance, he was cast away. Him- 
 self, his family, and his fortunes, apparently 
 a total wreck. The question therefore 
 natural Has Job been what he appeared ? 
 Or lias he at length in his prosperity turned 
 his back upon God ? The Divine rule " If 
 thou forsake Him, He will cast thee off for 
 ever" (1 Chron. xxviii. 9). Job himself 
 conscious this was not his case : but this 
 uncertain to the others. A truly good man 
 proved to be such by continuing good. Care 
 to be taken not only to begin, but to perse- 
 vere in well-doing. Not to prove a castaway, 
 Paul kept his body under (I Cor. ix. 27). 
 (verse 21). "Till (or, 'while' connecting 
 with verse 22) he shall fill thy mouth with 
 laughing, and thy lips with rejoicing " 
 (margin, " shouting for joy.") " Till," &c., 
 implies continuance in well- doing and well- 
 suffering. In due time we reap, if we faiut 
 not. Sowing in tears, we reap in joy. The 
 " shouting " of victory crowns the well- 
 fought battle. That "shouting" one (1) 
 of joy. "The ransomed of the Lord re- 
 turn, and come to Zion with songs and 
 everlasting joy on their heads" (Isa. xxxv. 
 10). (2) Of praise. " Salvation to our God 
 that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the 
 Lamb " (Rev. vii. 10). " Not unto us, O 
 Lord, not unto us, but to thy name, give 
 glory" (Ps. cxv. 1). 
 
 2. Warning to the ungodly (verse 20). 
 " Neither will he help the evil-doers." 
 Mart/in, "take the ungodly by the hand," or, 
 "take hold of their hand," i.e., with the 
 view of helping and countenancing them. 
 
 57
 
 CHAP. ix. 
 
 COMMENT AST* JOB. 
 
 An unkind cut for poor Job, who seemed far 
 enough from Divine help. S6 little can man 
 know either love or hatred from that which 
 s before him (Eccles. ix. 1). Now men see 
 not the bright light which is in the clouds 
 (ch. xxxvii. 21). "Judge not the Lord by 
 feeble sense." A solemn truth in the words 
 of Bildad. The help which the ungodly re- 
 ceive is not God's help. Divine help the 
 privilege of the godly (Ps. Ixiii. 7 ; Acts xxvi. 
 22). To enjoy God's help we must employ 
 ourselves in God's service (verse 2 2). "They 
 that hate thee shall be clothed with shame 
 (as Ps. xxxv. 26; cix. 29 ; cxxxii. 18). The 
 ungodly, however prosperous for a time, con- 
 demned to shame. Shame the natural fruit 
 
 of sin (Rom. vi. 21). Shame and contempt 
 the characteristic and doom of the risen un- 
 godly (Dan. xii. 2). " Shame " experienced 
 (1) That they madly threw away their 
 souls for the pleasures of sin; (2) That 
 those whom they hated and despised they 
 now see crowned with joy and \ictory ; (3) 
 That they so basely fought against the God 
 that made them. "Ami the dwelling-place 
 (Heb. 'tent,' as Ps. Ixxxiv. 11) of the wicked 
 shall come to nought," as a tent when 
 struck leaves no trace of it behind. The 
 "tent" of the ungodly may be a rich pavi- 
 lion, but its doom is written. Sin brings 
 families as well as individuals to certain ruin. 
 
 CHAPTEE IX. 
 
 JOffS REPLY TO BILDAD. 
 
 Strongly affirms the truth of Bildad's 
 speech as to God's justice (verse 1). De- 
 clares the impossibility of fallen man estab- 
 lishing his righteousness with God. The 
 same already acknowledged in reference to 
 himself (ch. vii. 20, 21). Only maintains, as 
 before, his freedom from such sins as to 
 make him specially obnoxious to God's judg- 
 ments. Enlarges on the majesty, power and 
 sovereignty of God, as exhibited in His works 
 of creation and providence. Again complains 
 of his severe and unmerited sufferings, and 
 his inability to plead Jris own cause with 
 God. 
 
 I. Acknowledgement of man's sinful- 
 ness ami guilt in the sight of God (verse 
 2). " But (or, 'and ') how should a man (a 
 fallen, mortal man, 'enosh') be just with 
 God ? if he will contend with him, he cannot 
 answer him one of a thousand" [of the 
 charges to be brought against him]. The 
 language suggests the ' 
 
 "\Viiy of a Sinner's acceptance with God. 
 
 1. Man's state and necessity as a sinner 
 the foundation of the Gospel. Man is a sinner, 
 unable to justify himself before God. The 
 Gospel reveals a Saviour, and shows how man 
 can obtain the justification he needs. In 
 the Gospel is revealed " the righteousness of 
 God " a righteousness provided by God for 
 man's justification; or, God's righteous way 
 of justifying a sinner; viz., by the obedience 
 and death of His own Son as the sinner's 
 substitute (Rom. i. 17). To show this 
 necessity of man and the provision made in 
 the Gospel to meet it, Paul's object in the 
 Epistle to the Romans. 
 58 
 
 2. The necessity acknowledged by Job ; the 
 provision unnoticed by him as not beari/iy on 
 the present controversy, and as not yet clearly 
 known. The way of forgiveness through 
 vicarious suffering understood, as constantly 
 exhibited in the sacrifices. That of a sinner 
 standing accepted and righteous before God 
 through the active and passive obedience of 
 another uot yet fully revealed. The "righte- 
 ousness of God " better known in the time 
 of David " I will make mention of thy 
 righteousness, even of thine only" (Ps. Ixxi. 
 16). Still more clearly revealed by Isaiah 
 " Surely shall one say, In the Lord have I 
 righteousness and strength ; in him shall all 
 the seed of Israel be Justified and shall glory" 
 (Is. xlv. 24, 25). The light still advancing 
 in the time of Jeremiah, a century later : "I 
 will raise unto David a righteous branch 
 and this is his name whereby he shall be 
 called, the Lord our Righteousness " (Jer. 
 xxiii. 5, 6). Clearer still in the time of 
 Daniel : " "We do not present our supplica- 
 tions before thee for our righteousnesses, 
 but for thy great mercies " " for the Lord's 
 (Adonai's) sake ; " " Seventy weeks are de- 
 termined to make reconciliation for iniquity 
 and to bring in everlasting righteousness;" 
 " Messiah sliall be cut off, but not for him- 
 self" (Dan. ix. 17,18,24, 26). 
 
 3. That provision "witnessed to by the law 
 and the prophets" but only " now," in the 
 Gospel dispensation, "manifested" (Rom. iii. 
 21). Described as "the righteousness of 
 God without the law, which is by faith in 
 Jesus Christ, unto all, and upon all them 
 that believe " (verse 22). The same ground 
 and necessity of it alleged as confessed by 
 Job : " For all have sinned and come 
 short of the glory of God" (verse 23).
 
 HOMILETIC COMMENTARY: JOB. 
 
 CHAP, IX. 
 
 The "righteousness of God" to show that 
 God is "just, and the justifier of him that 
 believeth in Jesus," declared " at this time " 
 iu the " remission (or passing over) of sins 
 that were past" (in previous generations) 
 (verse 26). 
 
 4. "HOW CAN A MAN BE JUST WITH 
 
 GOD ? " the great question for humanity. 
 The great concern for a dying hour, there- 
 fore the great concern now. How we stand 
 with men a trifle in comparison. Without 
 the Gospel, man's views regarding it false, 
 and his efforts vain. Men look for it (1) 
 From their own virtues ; (2) From the 
 efficacy of sacrifices, ceremonies, and 
 penances ; (3) From the merits and inter- 
 cession of others. But men's greatest 
 virtues still leave them sinners. No efficacy 
 in the temporary sufferings of man or beast 
 to atone for sin. No sinner can have merit 
 or power with God to procure his neighbour's 
 acceptance any more than his own. " The 
 sufficiency of my merit is to know that my 
 merit is insufficient " \^Augustine\. 
 
 5. God's way of acceptance every way suited 
 to meet the case. Salvation and acceptance 
 through a substitute according to reason 
 and analogy. Common among men to 
 allow the merit of one to avail on 
 behalf of another. The eye of Zaleucus 
 admitted as sufficient satisfaction to justice 
 for that of his son. The uplifted stump of 
 ^Eschylus, in testimony of his services to his 
 country, allowed to prevail for his brother's 
 acquittal. One permitted to take another's 
 place iu serving his country in time of war. 
 Elements m the substitution of Christ : (1) 
 The Divine law receives its perfect fulfilment 
 and righteous penalty for man's transgression 
 in man's nature ; (2) The man Christ con- 
 stituted by God a second Adam and head of 
 the race ; (3) As man fell by the disobedience 
 of one, the first Adam, he rises by the obe- 
 dience of one, the second Adam ; (4) The 
 dignity of the Substitute, as the Son of God, 
 sufficient to impart to His merits all necessary 
 efficacy; (5) His Divine nature and super- 
 natural birth exempted Him from sin and the 
 liability of the race; (6) Christ, with a 
 human mother and a Divine Father, placed 
 both within the race and outside of it, as 
 necessary for substitution. 
 
 6. Righteous in the righteousness of another, 
 the only way left for a sinner's acceptance 
 with God. RIGHTEOUS IN CHRIST, the Gospel 
 plan and the believer's glory. Sufficient for 
 the acceptance and justification of the entire 
 race. A man who is now not just and 
 accepted before God is so only from (1) 
 Ignorance of God's plan of making a sinner 
 righteous ; (2) Unwillingness to accept of it ; 
 (3; Inability to trust in it ; or (4) Indifference 
 in regard to his salvation. 
 
 II. The folly of contending against 
 God (verse 4). " 
 
 "He is wise in heart and mighty in 
 strength ; who hath hardened himself against 
 Him and prospered ? " Men harden them- 
 selves against God (1) While resisting His 
 authority and disobeying his commands ; 
 (2) Rebelling and murmuring against His 
 dealings in Providence ; (3) Refusing the 
 offers of His mercy in the Gospel. Man pos- 
 sessed of the fearful power of hardening him- 
 self against God. The folly of such conten- 
 tion seen 
 
 1. From the attributes of God. God " wise 
 in heart and mighty in strength." " Wise " 
 to convict the offender and know how to 
 deal with him ; "Mighty" to arrest him and 
 inflict the merited punishment. "Wise" to 
 know and choose what is best to do; 
 " Mighty " to accomplish it. Strength may 
 prevail against wisdom, and wisdom against 
 strength ; but who can prevail against both 
 combined ? Almighty strength safe in the 
 hands of infinite loisdom. Strength without 
 wisdom makes a tyrant ; strength with wis- 
 dom, a God. In Christ the wisdom and 
 strength of God are both employed on our be- 
 half. To His wisdom and power, as well as 
 to His love, is due the plan of man's salva- 
 tion (Eph. iii. 10; i. 19, 20). Christ both 
 " the power of God and the wisdom of God " 
 (1 Cor. i. 24). 
 
 2. From the facts of history. "Who hath 
 hardened himself against Him and pros- 
 pered ? " The sinning angels, Pharaoh, 
 Sennacherib's army, the infidel leaders in 
 the first French Revolution, referred' to for 
 an answer. For a creature to oppose God 
 is for briars and thorns to do battle against 
 fire. Success certain in falling in with 
 God's plan and procedure ; certain ruin in 
 opposing it. Prosperity for a time some- 
 times the apparent result of opposing God. 
 That prosperity generally only the precursor 
 of ultimate ruin. Pharaoh never appeared 
 nearer his object than when he met with 
 destruction. 
 
 Magnificent description of the 
 
 Power and Majesty of God, 
 
 As exhibited in the works of creation and 
 providence (verses 510). The description 
 unequalled for poetic grandeur. Its ele- 
 ments 
 
 1. The sudden overthrow of mountains 
 (verse 5). "Which removeth the moun- 
 tains, and they know not (or, before ever 
 they are aware), and overthroweth them in 
 his anger" (as in righteous judgment for 
 the sins of the people). " To remove moun- 
 tains," synonymous with an impossibility. 
 Nothing impossible with God. Hannibal
 
 CHAP. IX. 
 
 HOMILETIC COMMENTARY: JOB. 
 
 celebrated for making a passage over the 
 mountains; God removes them out of the 
 way. Through the secret operation of natural 
 causes, as in earthquakes and otherwise, 
 mountains sometimes split, and portions torn 
 away from the rest, with destruction of 
 human life. All nature under God's control, 
 and employed by Him in mercy or iu judg- 
 ment. 
 
 2 . Trembling of the earth's foundations, and 
 disappearance of portions of Us surface. 
 (verse G). " Which shaketh the earth out 
 of her place, and the pillars thereof (or, its 
 foundations, the earth represented as a 
 fabric or building) tremble." Nothing appa- 
 rently more firm in its place than the earth ; 
 yet islands and other large portions of it 
 frequently made to disappear, through sub- 
 terraneous agencies in earthquakes, subsi- 
 dences, and submersions, what was once laud 
 now becoming sea. Earthquakes and all 
 apparently natural convulsions and changes 
 entirely under God's control. 
 
 3. The sun withholding its I/cams in obedience 
 to His command (verse 7). "Which com- 
 mandeth the sun and it riseth not," sends 
 not forth its rays ; as in eclipses, dense fogs, 
 the darkness frequently accompanying earth- 
 quakes, or when clouds and tempests darken 
 the sky. The Divine command as powerful 
 as at the beginning (Gen. i. 3). Joshua's 
 command but an echo of his Master's (Josh. 
 x. 12). 
 
 4. The starry sky sealed tip as a folded scroll. 
 " And scalcth up the stars." The starry 
 heavens God's volume nightly spread open 
 before us (Ps. xix. 1). Its characters some- 
 times entirely hidden by clouds, fogs, or 
 tempests, as in Acts xxvii. 20. The noc- 
 turnal sky usually clear in the East, and the 
 stars peculiarly brilliant. Hence the pbscu- 
 rat ion of it much more striking than with us. 
 The clouds God's seal, not to be broken by 
 any earthly power. The scroll to be one 
 day folded up (Is. xxxiv."4; 2 Pet. iii. 10; 
 Rev. vi. 14). 
 
 5. The firmament spread out as a canopy, 
 and the clouds made Ilia chariot (verse 8). 
 " Which alone (by His unaided power, the 
 one only Creator and Preserver of all) 
 spreadeth out (or boweth) the heavens." 
 Spread out the firmament at the beginning, 
 still keeps it spread, and spreads it out afresh 
 every morning as a curtain (Ps. civ. 2; 
 Is. xl. 22). Employs the clouds as His 
 chariot, bowing the heavens beneath Him, 
 and putting darkness under His feet 
 (Ps. xviii. 9; cxliv. 5). Probably a 
 further description of a tempest. The verse 
 a miniature of the scene so sublimely de- 
 scribed in Ps. xviii. 7 15. 
 
 0. The towering billows made a pathway for 
 His feet. "And treadeth on the waves 
 60 
 
 (marffin, ' heights ') of the sea." Sublimely 
 expresses His control over the mountain 
 billows of the ocean, treading on them as a 
 Conquerer and Ruler, restraining their fury, 
 and keeping them from returning and again 
 deluging the earth. So Christ visibly 
 walked on -the stormy lake of Galilee (Matt, 
 xiv-. 26). Comfort for the tempest-tossed 
 mariner, to remember that the God who is 
 love both walks on the wings of the wind 
 and the waves of the sea. A man walking 
 on the waves, the Egyptian hieroglyphic for 
 
 impossibility. "With God all things are 
 possible." 
 
 7. The constellations of heaven, as His 
 creali'.rex, rising and setting at His will 
 verse 9). " Which maketh Arcturus (or the 
 Great Bear), Orion, and the Pleiades (or 
 Seven Stars), and the chambers of the 
 south " (or the Constellations in the South- 
 ern Hemisphere, appearing to the Arabs 
 only in summer). Preserves them in their 
 original places, marshals them as His hosts, 
 sustains and directs their apparent motions 
 through all the successive seasons of the 
 year. 
 
 8. His acts wonderful, innumerable, and 
 unsearchable (verse 10). " Which doeth 
 great things past finding out ; yea, and 
 wonders without number." Iii creation, 
 His works wondrous and unsearchable, both 
 in their multitude and magnitude, their com- 
 plexity and minuteness. A drop of water 
 and a dusky spot hardly visible on the face 
 of the sky, each reveals such wonders ; the 
 one, millions of perfectly-formed living 
 creatures ; the other millions of worlds, each 
 world a sun. In Providence and the 
 government of the universe, His works 
 equally great and marvellous, innumerable 
 and beyond our power of investigation. 
 " His thoughts a great deep." "Deep in 
 unfathomable mines," &c. 
 
 Lessons from this description : 
 
 1. Ruinous to resist a Being of such 
 power and majesty. 
 
 2. Blessed to have such a Being for our 
 friend ; miserable fo have Him for a foe. 
 
 3. Our duty and happiness to trust Him 
 in the most trying and apparently hopeless 
 situations. 
 
 4. His appointment and dispensations to 
 be meekly submitted to. 
 
 5. A Being of such perfections to be re- 
 verenced, adored, and obeyed. 
 
 III. God's Perfections and Dealings 
 viewed by Job in relation to Himself. 
 
 1. Job declares God's incompre/tensiblcness 
 in His dealings with him (verse 11). "Lo, 
 he goeth by me (is near me, in Hie dealings 
 of his Providence), and I see him not ; he 
 passeth on also (from one stroke to
 
 HOMILETIC COMMENTARY: JOB. 
 
 CHAP. IX. 
 
 arjother, or 'passeth through like a whirl- 
 wind,'' Is. xxi. 1), but I perceive him not" 
 (do not apprehend either His meaning or 
 His love). A great part of Job's trial, that 
 while God was so painfully visiting him lie 
 was entirely in the dark as to His meaning. 
 Contrasted with his experience in former 
 trials (chap. xxix. 3). Observe (1) A 
 child of God sometimes entirely in the dark 
 as to the meaning of God's dealings with Him. 
 Perplexity and bewilderment as to the cause 
 of our trials on God's side, sometimes no 
 small part of them. One of the greatest 
 trials of a believer to be under trouble, and 
 not to apprehend God's love in it. (2) 
 God's iiicomprehensibleness an exercise for 
 faith. His children to trust Him in the 
 dark. God most glorified by such confiding 
 faith. Abraham an example (Rom. iv. 
 1921 ; Heb. xi. 8, 1719). (3) Incom- 
 prchcnsibleness a feature in God's character 
 and conduct. His ways in the sea, 
 and His footsteps not known (Ps. Ixxvii 
 19). His ways past finding (Rom. xi. 
 33). The glory of God is to conceal a thing 
 (Ps. xxv. 2). God's dealings incomprehen- 
 sible to us (i.) as to their reasons ; (ii.) as 
 to their ends. " What I do thou knowest 
 not now " (John xiii. 7). Part of the dark- 
 ness, of sin that God is near and yet not 
 perceived. His close and constant nearness a 
 matter for praise and adoration (Ps. cxxxix. 
 5). Analogy between God's dealings in 
 nature and in Providence. The operations 
 and effects obvious, the agent Himself un- 
 seen. The operation of natural causes 
 manifest; the moving power behind and 
 under these entirely hidden (Acts xvii. 22). 
 2. Job acknowledges God's sovereignty and 
 irresistible power (verse 12). "Behold, he 
 taketh away, who can hinder him ? (margin 
 ' turn him away '). Who will say unto him, 
 'What doest thou?" : Observe (1) God 
 takes away as He pleases. Already acknow- 
 ledged by Job in his calamities (ch. i. 21 ; 
 ii. 10). Good to recognize God's hand in 
 our losses. No evil but from God, either 
 directly or indirectly (Is. xlv. 7; Amos iii. 6). 
 Satan rather than God, the immediate author 
 of Job's calamities. Yet Satan's action is 
 not without God's permission. Safari only 
 God's instrument in accomplishing His pur- 
 pose of trying His people. (2) When God 
 takes away, none can hinder Him. God 
 possesses not only the right but the might to 
 do as He pleases. Our comfort to know 
 that both are exercised in wisdom, goodness, 
 and holiness. Good to remember that when 
 God takes away, that (i.) He only takes 
 aw&yHisown; (ii.) He takes away for our 
 good. Job a greater gainer by It in losses than 
 he had ever been by his gains. To say to 
 God, What doest Thou ? is as ignorant as it 
 
 is wicked. What God does, He does because 
 it is best. God gives no reason to impeni- 
 tent sinners cither as to what He docs or 
 why He does it. A child of God would not 
 hinder Him even if he could. (3) Opposition 
 to God and His will as useless as it is wicked 
 (verse 13). " If God will not withdraw his 
 anger (or simply, ' God will not withdraw,' 
 &c.), the proud helpers do stoop under 
 Him." God's anger not to be turned away 
 by man's opposition, but by repentance, 
 submission, and faith (Ps. ii. 10 12). 
 His "auger" put for the rod which is the 
 expression of it. All creature help against 
 God and His chastisements utterly vain. 
 Israel's sin, that when under the rod they 
 went to Egypt for help (Is. xxx. 2; 
 xxxi. 1). Egypt in their pride, ready to 
 render that help (Is. xxx. 4). Both 
 helpers and helped obliged in the end to 
 stoop under the rod (Is. xxxi, 3). Not 
 uncommon for the ungodly to agree to 
 mutual help in resisting God and His pur- 
 poses (Ps. ii. 1 3; Ixxxiii. 5 8; Acts 
 xxi. 28 ; xxiii. 12). Such confederacies fre- 
 quent in the time of the Reformation. 
 Combinations against the Protestant religion 
 combinations against God and his truth. 
 Pride the characteristic of such confedera- 
 cies (Ex. v. 2; xv. 9). Their end seen in 
 the overthrow of sinning angels and the 
 destruction of Pharaoh's host (Jude 6 ; Ex. - 
 xv. 9). The final destruction of anti-chris- 
 tian combinations yet to be exhibited (Rev. 
 xvii. 1214 ; xix. 1121). The essence of 
 pride to oppose oneself to God's purposes. 
 (4) Good to take warning from others not to fall 
 into their sin (verse 15). " How much less 
 shall I answer him [in his charges against 
 me], and choose out my words to reason 
 with him " [as defendant in my cause]. 
 Humility learned by consideration of God's 
 mightiness. If the proudest opposers of 
 God and His purposes must stoop, how then 
 shall I dispute with Him ? (5) Silence and 
 submission under God's rebuke our interest as 
 well as our duty (verse 15). " Whom, though 
 I were righteous, yet would I not answer [at 
 his bar], but I would make supplication to 
 my judge" (or to him debating with 
 me). Man's wisdom not to dispute 
 ^cUh God, but to submit to Him. God 
 ever ready to hear the sinner when he 
 supplicates, but never when he disputes. 
 Howerer blameless his conduct, or good his 
 conscience, fallen man still a sinner before 
 God. " FOUND WANTING," written on man's 
 best performances. God better acquainted 
 with our character and conduct than we are 
 ourselves (1 Cor. iv. 4 ; 1 John iii. 20). Con- 
 stant reason for humiliation and faith (Ps. 
 xix. 12 ; cxxxix. 23, 24). (6) 'The tried soul 
 ready to full back into despondency and^ un~
 
 CHAP. IX. 
 
 HOMILETIC COMMENTARY: JOB. 
 
 belief (verse 16). "If I had (or have) called 
 [on Him to answer my complaints], and 
 lie had (or hath) answered me [by conde- 
 scending to take the place of a aefendant], 
 yet would (or will) I not believe that he 
 had (or hath) hearkened to my voice." 
 Unbelief made the continuance of Job's suf- 
 ferings an argument that God had not heark 
 ened to his prayer. The part of the flesh, 
 to reason from the dealings of God's hand 
 to the purposes of God's heart. Prayer often 
 heard before tfie proof of it is apparent. Faith 
 required to believe this (Mark xi. 24). Un- 
 belief mast see the answer before it believes 
 in it ; faith believes in it before seeing it. 
 Prayer ; like seed, which for a time lies buried 
 in the earth. God's time for answering 
 prayer reserved in His own hand. Prayer 
 attended to, and prayer answered, two different 
 things. The former usually followed sooner 
 or later by the latter. Receiving an answer 
 to be distinguished from the actual en- 
 joying of it (Mark xi. 24). Faith believes 
 that it receives the blessing asked before 
 it sees it : the seeing comes in God's time. 
 (7) Unbelief eyes outward dealings (verse 
 17, 18). " For he breaketh me with a tern- 
 pest (or, ' crusheth me as in a whirlwind '), 
 he multiplieth my wounds without cause. 
 He will not suffer me to take my breath 
 (enjoy the least respite or relief), but 
 filleth me with bitterness." The ground of 
 Job's despondency and unbelief. Continued 
 suffering forbids him to believe God regards 
 His prayers. Hard to believe in God's love 
 when so terribly crushed with successive strokes 
 of His Providence. A tragic but true de- 
 scription of Job's sufferings. " Broken " 
 crushed, or "bruised," as in Gen. iii. 15. 
 " With a tempest," or " in a whirlwind " 
 suddenly violently irresistibly, like one 
 continually lifted up and then clashed down 
 again forcibly to the ground. This as 
 suffered "without cause" known to himself, 
 only all the more painful. His suffering 
 " without cause," God's own account of the 
 matter (ch. ii. 3). The thing denied by the 
 friends, but persistently maintained by Job, 
 while yet acknowledging himself a sinner 
 before God. Job ignorant of God's purpose 
 in the affliction. What was really done by 
 Satan, Job in his ignorance ascribes to God. 
 Ignorant of Satan's malice, he can only think 
 of God's arbitrariness. Satan having de- 
 stroyed Job's children by one " whirlwind," 
 thinks to destroy Job himself by another of 
 a different nature. Sufferings long continued 
 and without intermission terribly exhausting 
 and crushing to the human spirit. The 
 "bitterness" of Job's outward sufferings 
 only the counterpart of the bitterness in his 
 soul. Heroic faith to believe in God's gracious 
 regard in such terribly distressing circum- 
 62 
 
 stances. Such experience and faith that of 
 Jesus Himself (Matt. xxyi. 38; xxvii. 46). 
 Job's faith also at times triumphant (ch. xix. 
 25 ; xxiii. 10). 
 
 IV. Job's mental agitation in respect 
 to his case (verses 19 21). 
 
 1 . His inability to plead with God (verse 
 19). " If I speak of strength ( if the ques- 
 tion be one of strength), lo ! he is strong 
 (or, ' a strong One is here' ; or, 'the strong 
 One saith, here am I ') ; and if of judgment 
 (if the question be of one of right), who 
 shall set roe a time to plead" (or, 'who 
 shall bring him [or us] into court ' [that as 
 umpire, we may debate the case before him]. 
 Though conscious of innocence, Job feels 
 there is no possibility of pleading his case 
 against God. As regards power, God is the 
 Mighty One, with whom no creature may 
 contend. He is sovereign and supreme, so 
 that there can be no umpire to summon both 
 parties to trial. No creature therefore may 
 dispute with God. Happily, no creature 
 needs. Every one's case left safe in His hands. 
 Only agitation and unrest till this is done. 
 Job atl ast, after all his tumults and tossings, 
 is brought to this, and then has peace. The 
 lesson for Job and all tried ones, not to dis- 
 pute with God, but to leave the case confidingly 
 in His hands, assured that the Judge of all the 
 earth will do right. The lesson that of the 
 37th Psalm. " Commit thy way unto the 
 Lord ; trust also in Him, and he shall bring 
 it to pass. And he shall bring forth thy 
 righteousness as the light, and thy judgment 
 as the noonday" (Ps. xxxvii. 5, 6). 
 
 2. His certainty of condemnation not with- 
 standing^ His conscious integrity (verse 20). 
 " If I justify myself (or, ' although I be 
 righteous '), mine own mouth shall condemn 
 me ( by its very utterances will shew me 
 guilty), if I say, I am perfect (or, ' although 
 lam upright'), it shall also prove me per- 
 verse " (or, ' He, i.e. God, shall declare me 
 guilty'). A great imikfelt, though unwil- 
 lingly acknowledged by the " perfect " man. 
 However upright and consciously innocent, a 
 
 fallen man must yet stand condemned before 
 his Maker. To exhibit this, one of the great 
 objects of the book of Job. Fallen man, at 
 his best estate, a sinner, and so guilty before 
 God. The Apostle's declaration, as shewing 
 the necessity for the Gospel scheme (Rom. 
 iii. 23). No flesh living capable of being 
 justified in God's sight (Ps. cxl. 3). "No 
 just man on earth that doeth good and 
 sinueth not " (Eccles. vii. 20). To be justi- 
 fied before God on the ground of his own 
 merits, a man must be absolutely sinless 
 (Gal. iii. 10 ; Jam. ii. 10). Such a person no- 
 where to be found (1 John i. 8). The 
 nwuth that pleads "Not guilty" before God
 
 HOMILETIC COMMENTARY: JOB. 
 
 CHAP. IX 
 
 condemns itself. Its very language proves the 
 man a sinner by convicting him (1) Of pride ; 
 (2) Of rebelliousness ; (3) Of falsehood. 
 Self -righteousness in a sinner sufficient to 
 condemn him. The object of the law not to 
 justify but to silence (Rom. iii. 19). A man's 
 salvation and peace is found (1) in acknow- 
 ledging guilt and taking the place of a lost 
 sinner oefore God ; (2) In casting himself en- 
 tirely on His mercy as flowing through a 
 Saviour's atoning blood (Rom. in. 24). 
 
 3. His resolution to maintain his integrity 
 at all costs (verse 21). "Though I were 
 perfect, yet would I not know my soul (or, 
 I am blameless and sincere, I care not for 
 myself); I would despise (or, I 'despise') my 
 life." As an honest man, conscious of sin- 
 cerity and uprightness, Job refuses to confess 
 himself a hypocrite and secret transgressor, 
 in order to obtain the restoration to tem- 
 poral prosperity held out by his friends. A 
 contest maintained by Job with his friends 
 as well as with God. As against God, he 
 was wrong ; as against men, he was right. 
 Before God, he must and does acknowledge 
 himself a sinner ; before men, he maintains 
 his integrity. In asserting himself " per- 
 fect " (blameless, sincere, upright), he only 
 does what God had done for him (chap. i. 8 ; 
 ii. 3). A man may boldly maintain his in- 
 tegrity before his fellow men, while he humbly 
 abases himself as a sinner before God. In the 
 sight of God, Paul bows as " the chief of 
 sinners " (1 Tim. i. 15) ; before a human 
 tribunal, he declares " I have lived in all 
 good conscience before God until this day " 
 (Acts xxiii. 1). 
 
 V. Perplexed thoughts as to the 
 Divine procedure in the present world 
 
 (verses 2224). 
 
 1. Its indiscriminaleness (verse 22). " This 
 is one thing (or, ' it is all one ') ; therefore 
 I said it, he destroyeth the perfect (the 
 blameless or upright) and the wicked." Both 
 classes treated, as a rule, without discrimina- 
 tion in the present life. Maintained by 
 Job (1) As against the friend's. Calamities 
 not confined to the wicked ; (2) As against 
 God Himself. No special regard had to 
 those who serve Him. Such indiscriminate 
 procedure maintained in the Book of Eccle- 
 siastes (chap. ix. 2, 3). One of the fads 
 in the Divine government observed by 
 thoughtful and good men. Both classes 
 suffer alike, as in war, famine, pestilence, 
 earthquake, tempests, &c. Both share 
 equally in the ills and calamities of life. A 
 mystery and a stumblingblock. To be re- 
 garded (1) As an argument for a future 
 state. The difference between the righteous 
 and the wicked reserved for a future day 
 (Mai. iii. 18). (2) As trial for faith in the 
 
 Divine character. Hence the murmurings 
 of unbelieving professors (Mai. iii. 13, 15). 
 
 2. Its apparent indifference to the sufferings 
 of the godly (verse 23). " If the scourge 
 slay suddenly (or, indiscriminately), he will 
 laugh (or, it laugheth) at the trial of the 
 innocent." The supposed case already 
 asserted (verse 22). Job's own case before 
 his view. Providence often has the appear- 
 ance of cruel indifference to the sufferings of 
 the innocent. The feelings of God's heart 
 not to be judged by the dealings of His hand. 
 Divine "love and hatred" not known by 
 any mere outward dispensation (Eccles. ix. 
 1). The godly sometimes "accounted as 
 sheep for the slaughter" (Ps. xliv. 22). 
 The Divine sympathy for the suffering 
 exhibited in the character of Jesus. For a 
 time Jesus Himself also sometimes appeared 
 indifferent to suffering (Matt. xv. 23 26 ; 
 Mark iv. 38; John xi. 6). The Divine 
 dealings in the present life are (1) Proba- 
 tive ; (2) Disciplinary. The trial of the 
 righteous found at last unto praise, and 
 honour, and glory (1 Pet. i. 7). Precious 
 metal proved as well as purified by the fire. 
 The scourge that destroys the guilty only 
 tries the good (So Ps. xi. 5 ; vii. 11). 
 
 3. Its apparently unjust partiality (verse 
 24). "The earth is given into the hand of 
 the wicked ; he covereth the faces of the 
 judges thereof." Two anomalies (1) The 
 wicked are exalted to power, while godly 
 men are depressed ; (2) Tyrants are allowed 
 to reign while rightful rulers are treated 
 with ignominy and put to death (Est. vii. 
 8. Same sentiment (Ps. xii. 8). The un- 
 godly styled "the man of the earth" (Ps. 
 x. 18). Satan himself the "prince of this 
 world." He and his host the "rulers of the 
 darkness of this world." Godly men in 
 Christ earth's proper judges and rulers 
 (1 Cor. vi. 2, 3; Rev. i. 5). Such often 
 treated in the providence of God as male- 
 factors. Job himself an example (ch. xxix. 
 737, 25 ; xxx. 1023). God the author 
 of civil government. The earth with its 
 various states and governments in His 
 hand. Given over by Him to others accord- 
 ing to His will. Often in judgment to bad 
 men (Dan. iv. 17). By Him kings reign. He 
 putteth down one and setteth up another (Ps. 
 Ixxv. 7; Dan. ii. 21). Ruleth in the king- 
 dom of men, and appointeth over it whomso- 
 ever he will (Dan. iv. 17, 25 ; v. 21). Does 
 this in His invisible and mysterious provi- 
 dence, without infringement on man's free 
 will or the operation of second causes. This 
 fact one of the elements in the doctrine of 
 " wisdom," exhibited in this and other in- 
 spired books of the same period. 
 
 4. The mysterious certainly connected with 
 it. " If not ( if the case be not so), where 
 
 63
 
 CHAP. IX. 
 
 HOMILETIC COMMENTARY: JOB. 
 
 and \vho is he [who does these things] ? " 
 Or, " if the case be not thus [viz., tlmt God 
 does these things], who is it [that does 
 them]?" The facts undeniable; who but 
 One can be the author of them? Acknow- 
 ledged mystery in these anomalies in the 
 government of a righteous God. Yet none 
 but God can be the author of them. Earth 
 necessarily under a Supreme Ruler. That 
 Ruler necessarily righteous. The doctrine 
 of two co-ordinate principles not to be 
 admitted. God the author both of good and 
 evil light and darkness (Is. xlv. 7). The 
 existence and prevalence of evil in the world, 
 including the elevation of wicked rulers, one 
 of the mysteries in Divine Providence. God 
 the author of evil (1) By permission ; (2) 
 By predestination ; (3) By Providence. 
 Satan the author of evil (1) Actually; (2) 
 Subordinate!? ; (3) Instrument ally. Evil 
 under the Divine government permitted for 
 wise and benevolent purposes. His wisdom 
 and benevolence seen (1) In restraining the 
 evil ; (2) In overruling it for good ; (3) In 
 employing it for the exhibition of His own 
 perfections (Ps. Ixxvi. 10). God displays 
 His glory, while " from seeming evil still 
 educing good." Tyrants and evil rulers God's 
 scourge to a guilty land. The terrible and 
 destructive thunderstorm the purifier of the 
 atmosphere. The rainbow the offspring of 
 the dark cloud behind it. The grandest 
 scenery the product of earth's terrible con- 
 vulsions. The stars shine out most brilliantly 
 from the blackest sky. Deep shadows give 
 effect to the picture an occasional discord 
 to the music. Old and fractured instruments 
 often yield the sweetest tones. "Wicked 
 hands the agencies in man's redemption 
 (Acts ii. 23). 
 
 VI. Reflections on his oirn pitiful 
 condition (verses 25 35). 
 
 1. The rapid termination of his prosperity 
 and his life (verse 25). "Now my days are 
 (or, have been) swifter than a post (or, 
 runner, a state-courier carrying letters or 
 despatcheSjSometimestravellingahundredand 
 fifty miles in less than twenty-four hours ; 
 dromedaries, able to outrun the fleetest 
 horses, also employed (Esther viii. 14) ; they 
 flee (or, have fled) away; they see (or, have 
 seen) no good." Job had not reached the 
 meridian of life. Lived after his troubles a 
 hundred and forty years. His present age 
 
 Spbably not more than the half of that, 
 is death, which appeared at hand, therefore 
 sadly premature. His past prosperity ac- 
 cordingly short-lived. In the presence of 
 his now accumulated miseries, his days ap- 
 pear to have witnessed no happiness. Pre- 
 sent misery apt to make v.s overlook past 
 mercy. Two more comparisons to represent 
 04 
 
 the swiftness with which his life had sped 
 to its close (1) A reed-skiff or canoe, 
 formed of the papyrus of the Nile, remark- 
 able for its lightness and swiftness (verse 
 26). "They are (or have) passed away as 
 the swift ships " (margin, "ships of desire," 
 or, "ships of Ebch;" more probably "ships 
 of papyrus," like Is. xviii. 2.) (2) An eagle, 
 swiftest of birds, eagerly pouncing down on 
 its prey. "As the eagle hasteth," &c. A 
 frequent comparison. (Sec Deut. xxviii. 49 ; 
 Jer. iy. 13 ; Sam. iv. 19.) 
 
 Human Life a Voyage. 
 
 Each individual's life fitly compared to a 
 swift sailing vessel speeding onwards on her 
 voyage. 1. Constant and rapid progress. 
 No stoppage till we reach the place of des- 
 tination. 2. The precise length of the voyage 
 various in each case. 3. The length of the 
 voyage and the time of its terminationprcrAously 
 unknown. 4. The voyage a most important 
 one to each. All others comparatively insig- 
 nificant. Its issue an eternity of happiness 
 or woe. 5. The freight an immortal spirit 
 with boundless capacities. 6. The place of 
 destination one or other of only two, widely 
 remote from each other in character and 
 situation a paradise of bliss and a home of 
 glory, or a region of darkness and despair. 
 7. Each vessel under the direction of an in- 
 visible poicer that presides at the helm. 
 The helmsman in each case, either the Prince 
 of Life, or the Prince of Darkness. The 
 object of the former is to steer the vessel to 
 glory ; that of the latter to wreck it on the 
 shores of death. The first human vessel 
 launched with the former at the helm. Man 
 listening to the flattering proposals of the 
 latter accepted him for his pilot. Since then 
 human life has been started under the 
 influence of the Prince of Darkness, the 
 "god of this world." The choice made by 
 Adam of a pilot, confirmed by his offspring 
 who are born in his likeness. Man might 
 have been hopelessly left to his miserable and 
 ungrateful choice. Mercy, however, places 
 again within his reach a change of pilots. 
 The Prince of Life, having atoned for man's 
 rebellion, offers again to take charge of the 
 vessel. Conscious of their sin and misery, 
 many thankfully accept His offer and safely 
 reach the port of peace. Others, rejecting 
 it, are wrecked on the rocks of eternal ruin. 
 Two important, questions (1) Whither am 
 I bound ? For heaven or for hell ? (2) Who 
 is my pilot ? Christ or the Wicked One ? 
 
 2. The inability of his efforts to overcome 
 his heaviness (verses 27, 28). "If I say, I 
 will forget my complaint (lay aside my 
 lamentation) ; I will leave off my heaviness 
 and comfort myself (or, I will put away my
 
 IIOMILETIC COMMENTARY: JOB. 
 
 CHAP. 
 
 sorrowful countenance and brighten up), I 
 am afraid of all my sorrow ( I shudder at 
 my accumulated griefs). I know that thou 
 wilt not hold (or, treat me as) innocent" 
 (whatever I may be or may deem myself). 
 A painful struggle between the enlightened 
 spirit, and the flesh aided by the depressing 
 nature of disease and the buffetings of the 
 invisible adversary. Similar struggle in 
 David " Why art thou cast down ? " &c. 
 (Ps. xlii. 5,11; xliii. 5). The believer of ten, 
 conscious that he ought to rejoice when un- 
 ite/iff forbids him. Much more under the 
 New than the Old Testament to make a child 
 of God " lay aside his sorrowful counte- 
 nance and brighten up." To "rejoice in the 
 Lord" in the midst of trials, made much 
 ejisier now than in the days of Job. The 
 aim of Jesus to give his people ground to 
 "rejoice in tribulation," (John xiv. 27; 
 xv. 11; xvi. 33). Enjoined on them (Phil, 
 iv. 1). Their actual experience (Rom. v. 3 ; 
 IPet. i. 6). Job kept from "brightening up" 
 by the thought that, though conscious of 
 innocence, God would still hold and treat him 
 as guilty. The believer able now to rejoice 
 in the thought that, though conscious of guilt, 
 God for Clirist's sake will hold and treat 
 him as innocent, making him accepted in the 
 beloved." 
 
 3. His despair of being able to obtain 
 acquittance with God (verse 29). "If I be 
 wicked (or simply, ' lam,' or 'shall be wicked;' 
 i.e., must be held and treated as such), why 
 then labour I in vain " [to maintain a good 
 conscience or attempt to prove my innocence]? 
 A hard and unbelieving thought of God, 
 suggested by his own carnal nature, and by 
 the enemy who sought to bring him to curse 
 his Maker as arbitrary, tyrannical, and un- 
 just. Satan's old trade (Gen. iii. 1, 4, 5). 
 The bitter and ungenerous thought too 
 fondly dwelt upon by Job. Perhaps some 
 secret consciousness of inward corruption, 
 and of the truth as regarded himself (verse 
 30). "If I wash myself with snow-water 
 (the purest to be got), and make my hands 
 never so clean (or, ' cleanse my hands with 
 lye' used with oil instead of soap), yetshalt 
 thou plunge me in the ditch (or pit), and 
 mine own clothes shall abhor inc " {margin, 
 "make me to be abhorred"). The idea: All 
 my attempts to make my heart and life pure 
 will with Thee be utterly vain, Thou wilt 
 still regard me as impure and abominable. 
 The thought probably suggested by (1) 
 his conscious endeavours to maintain purity 
 of heart and life ; (2) his treatment at God's 
 hands being such as apparently to indicate the 
 Divine condemnation. Should have been 
 awakened by (1) Conscious corruption; (2) 
 Apprehension of the Divine purity. So 
 Isaiah (Is. vi. 5). So Job himself after- 
 
 5 
 
 wards (ch. xl. 4; xlii. 5, G). The language 
 probably now dictated by peevishness and 
 bitterness. Yet true, though in a different 
 sense from that intended. All man's 
 attempts to justify and purify himself before 
 God in vain. He still remains wicked, 
 guilty, and abominable in the sight of a 
 holy God. Man, as a fallen child of Adam, 
 in his very nature corrupt and opposed to 
 God. All self-attempts leave his nature un- 
 changed and polluting all his actions. Such 
 attempts themselves only the offspring of 
 pride and self- righteousness, therefore abomi- 
 nable. Humility and love the only things 
 in a creature acceptable to God. Man's 
 self-attempts leave him destitute of both. 
 Guilt not to be effaced but by an atonement, 
 or satisfaction to Divine justice. The waters 
 of the ocean unable to wash out a single 
 blood-spot of guilt. Only Almighty power 
 able to remove the leopard's spots or whiten 
 the Ethiopian's skin. In Christ provision 
 made both for the removal of guilt and im- 
 purity. His blood removes the one, His 
 Spirit's grace the other. Erom His pierced 
 side came forth both " blood and water " 
 (John xix. 34 ; John v. 6, 8). The true 
 posture of each fallen child of man in Luke 
 xviii. 13. The prayer (Ps. li. 7). The 
 invitation (Is. i. 18. The promise (Ez. 
 xxxvi. 25). The acceptance (1 John i. 7. 
 The thanksgiving (Rev. i. 5). A gracious 
 plunging of the self-purified into the ditch, 
 m the Divinely awakened consciousness of 
 guilt and corruption. Saul carefully washed 
 at Jerusalem ; blessedly plunged in the 
 ditch at Damascus (Acts ix. 9 11 ; xxvi. 
 4,5). 
 
 4. Jolt's inability to plead his cause before 
 God (verse 32). " For he is not a man as 
 I am, that I shoidd answer him [as defendant 
 at the bar], and that we should come to- 
 gether in judgment " [to plead our respective 
 causes]. Job thinks he has a case against 
 God, as God appears to have one against 
 him. Wishes he could have them tried, but 
 feels that the distance between him and God 
 precludes the thought (verse 33). " Neither 
 is there any davsmau betwixt us (margin, 
 "one that should argue ;" or, "an umpire;" 
 properly, an arbitrator with authority to 
 restrain each party, and to bind them to his 
 decision) that might lay his hand [authorita- 
 tively] upon us both." Hence the supposed 
 impossibility of an equal contest. What 
 Job desiderated has, in a much better sense, 
 been provided for sinful man. A daysman, 
 or Mediator, has been found in the person 
 of Jesus Christ the fellow both of God and 
 man (Zech. xiii. 7). Not to afford man an 
 opportunity of vainly pleading his innocence 
 against God, but of humbly acknowledging 
 Ins guilt and obtaining mercy (1 John '21; 
 
 CO
 
 ciur. x. 
 
 HOMILETTC COMMENTARY: JOE, 
 
 1 Tim. ii. 5, 6). Job imagines he could make 
 good his case but for the Divine power and 
 majesty that overawe him (verse 31). '' Let 
 him take his rod away from me ( his power, 
 and perhaps the effect of it, his affliction), 
 and let not his fear (or terrible majesty) 
 rrify me. Then, would I speak and not 
 ar him : but it is not so with me " (margin 
 but I am not so with myself ;" or, " for I 
 am not so in mind," as to fear him in the 
 controversy from any consciousness of guilt). 
 The fear of the Divine majesty the common 
 feeling of humanity. Even the seraphim 
 cover their faces with their wings before 
 God. The doors of the temple and the 
 foundations of Sinai shook at His presence. 
 
 "A fearful thing to fall into the hands of 
 the living God." The "rod" of God seen 
 removed in the person and work of Him who 
 was " meek and lowly in heart," and who 
 " suffered for our sins, the Just one in the room 
 of the unjust." The rays of Divine majesty 
 softened in the God-man, Christ Jesus. The 
 Father seen in him who was the " man of 
 sorrows" (John xiv. 9). Jesus the way to 
 the Father. Through Him we enter with 
 boldness into the holiest of all (John xiv. 6 ; 
 Heb. x. 1922). Christ the true Jacob's 
 ladder. The foot on the earth, and the top 
 reaching to heaven (John i. 51 : Gen. xxviii. 
 12). 
 
 CHAPTEE X. 
 JOB'S REPLY TO BILDAD CONTINUED. 
 
 His speech takes the form rather of an 
 expostulation with God in regard to his 
 afflictions. The vehemence of his spirit 
 reaches its height in this chapter. Does not 
 renounce God, but takes great liberty in 
 addressing Him. The liberty, however, 
 rather that of a child with a father whose 
 clouded and averted face he can neither un- 
 derstand nor endure. 
 
 I. His impatience of life, and his 
 resolution to giye free rent to his 
 complaints (verse 1). 
 
 " My soul is weary of (or, ' loathes,' or 
 'bursts in') my life; I will leave my com- 
 plaint upon myself (I will give loose reins to 
 my complaint) : I will speak," &c. The 
 language of a deeply distressed and even 
 desperate man. Contrasted with Ps. xxxix. 
 1, and Lam. iii. 39 ; and especially with 
 New Testament experience (Phil. iv. 5 7 ; 
 Rom. v. 3 ; 1 Pet. i. 68). In Job's words 
 we have (1) An unhappy state of mind 
 allowed " My soul is weary of my life." So 
 Rebekah (Gen. xxvii. 46) ; Elijah (1 Kings 
 xix. 4); and Jonah (iv. 38). Believers in 
 trouble are to possess their souls in patience. 
 A mind stayed on God is kept " in perfect 
 peace." (2) An unwise resolution formed 
 "I will leave my complaint upon myself, 
 &c." Safer and wiser to check than to indulge 
 complaints regarding God's dealings with 
 us. The impatience of the flesh makes men 
 sit under Elijah's juniper tree a>id Jonah's 
 gourd. Yet a troubled soul, familiar with 
 God, pours out its complaints into His ear 
 without sin (Ps. xln. 611). Life in itself a 
 mercy ; yet sometimes would be little better 
 than hell but for the hopes of heaven [Trapp]. 
 
 66 
 
 II. His desire not to be treated as 
 guilty, without knowing the grounds 
 of it (verse 2). 
 
 "I will say unto God." Implies (]) 
 Deep distress, extorting the language. (2} 
 A childlike confidence and freedom towards 
 God. (3) Peevishness and want of reverence. 
 "Do not condemn me" (or, treat me as a 
 guilty person). A father's displeasure is a 
 generous child's greatest grief. A single sin 
 sufficient to make us guilty before God 
 (James ii. 10; Gal. iii. 10). Only one way 
 for a sinner to be freed from condemnation 
 (Horn. viii. 1, 34). Christ the Righteous 
 suffers in the place of the condemned sinner 
 (2 Cor. 9, 21). A believer, however, still 
 sometimes either really or apparently under 
 God's displeasure (Isa. liv. 7 9 : Ivii. 17 
 18). " Snow me wherefore thou contendest 
 with me." Job's trial, that God seemed to 
 have a controversy with him while he was 
 ignorant of the cause. A spiritually en- 
 lightened man apprehends God has a con- 
 troversy with him when there is none ; an 
 v.nrcnewed man does not believe in it when 
 it actually exists. With different classes 
 and individuals God may have various 
 
 1. With nations and unconverted men. The 
 grounds (1) Rebellion against his autho- 
 rity ; (2) Uuthankfulness for His mercies \ 
 (3) Apostacy from His religion ; (4) Perse- 
 cution of His cause and people ; (5) Con- 
 tempt of His ordinances; (6) Rejection of 
 His Son. 
 
 2. With churches and individual Christians. 
 The grounds may be (1) Departure from
 
 HOMILETIC COMMENTARY: JOB. 
 
 CHAP. X. 
 
 first loyc (Rev. ii. 4, 5) ; (2) Formality and 
 hypocrisy (Rev. iii. 1) ; (3) Pride and self- 
 satisfaction (Rev. iii. 17) ; (4) Lukewarm- 
 ness (Rev. iii. 15, 16) ; (5) Unfaithfulness 
 and unfruitfulness (John xv. 2) ; (6) Cove- 
 tousness and wordly-mindedness (Is. Ivii. 17). 
 f roubles laid on believers may be (1) On 
 account of past or present sin; (2) For trial 
 and manifestation of grace ; (3) For purifi- 
 cation and spiritual growth ; (4) For exhibi- 
 tion of Divine support. 
 
 III. Appeal to CJod against His pre- 
 sent treatment (verses 312). 
 The grounds of this appeal : 
 
 1. Its inconsistency with God's nature and 
 honour (verse 3). " Is it good unto thee that 
 thou sliouldst oppress, that thou shouldst 
 despise the work of thine hands, and shine 
 upon the counsel of the wicked ? " Three 
 things apparently involved in Job's afflic- 
 tions : (!) Oppression on the part of God ; 
 (2) Contempt of His own works ; (3) Coun- 
 tenance given to the sentiments and practice 
 of ungodly men who deny His providence 
 if not His very existence, and maintain the 
 uselessness of religion. In Job's case 
 there appeared no ground for such severe 
 treatment. Though God's own creature, lie 
 seemed to be treated as unworthy of regard. 
 As a religious man, his great afflictions might 
 give occasion to the ungodly to harden them- 
 selves in their irreligion. All this is incon- 
 sistent with God's nature and honour. God's 
 nature is love. A God of truth and without 
 iniquity. Afflicts none willingly. Despises 
 not any. Ungodliness His abomination. 
 Observe : (]) God's procedure sometimes 
 apparently at variance with His nature and 
 character. (2) That inconsistency only in 
 appearance. God cannot act but in accord- 
 ance with His nature, which is love and 
 light, goodness, purity, and justice. (3) 
 God's glory and honour involved in His deal- 
 ings with His creatures, and especially with 
 His servants. (4) God? s nature and character 
 a rock for our feet under the most trying dis- 
 pensations. 
 
 2. God's Omniscience (verse 4). "Hast 
 thou eyes of flesh? or seest thou as man 
 seeth ? " (Verse 7) " Thou knowest that I 
 am not wicked." Conscious of innocence 
 we can appeal to Divine omniscience for a 
 favourable verdict. Man looks on the out- 
 ward appearance ; God's eyes penetrate the 
 heart (I Sam. xvi. 7). Man deceived by 
 appearances. Sees imperfectly into character 
 and conduct. Requires lengthened observa- 
 tion to arrive at the truth. Often swayed 
 by passion and partiality. God takes all 
 into one view at once (Acts xv. IS). His 
 eyes a ilame of fire (Rev. i. 14). His ser- 
 vants' character and conduct often misjudged 
 
 52 
 
 by men. Perfectly known to God. Job's 
 comfort (ch. xvi. 19; xxiii. 10). His trial 
 that his friends read his character in his 
 sufferings. His Antitype similarly misjudged 
 (Is. liii. 4 ; John vii. 23). God's knowledge 
 of Job's innocence already shewn in the his- 
 tory. Job's oion knowledge of it as yet only 
 from his own consciousness. This conscious- 
 ness his confidence towards God. " If our 
 hearts condemn us not," &c. (1 John iii. 21). 
 Job a sinner, but not a "wicked" sinner. 
 Sinned not deliberately and from choice. Not 
 guilty of hypocrisy and secret sin. Not to 
 love sin or allow ourselves in it, is with God 
 not to sin at all (1 John iii. 6, 8, 9). 
 
 3. God's eternity (verse 5). " Are thy 
 days as the days of man ? Are thy years as 
 man's days ? " [God's eternity marked by 
 "years" in contrast with man's days.] 
 (Verse 6). "That thou iuquirest after mine 
 iniquity, and searchest after my sin." Short- 
 lived man requires haste to investigate and 
 punish crime. His few years afford him but , 
 few opportunities of fully ascertaining charac- 
 ter. The judge may die or the criminal 
 escape. God's eternity excludes all need of 
 haste, and secures all opportunity for know- 
 ledge. No need with God of torture to 
 elicit confession. The severity, rapid succes- 
 sion, and long continuance of Job's afflictions, 
 apparently inconsistent with this. 
 
 4. His omnipotence (verse 7). "Thou 
 knowest (or, ' Although thou knowest ' 
 margin, ' It is upon thy knowledge ') that I 
 am not wicked, and there is (or, ' and that 
 there is ') none that can deliver out of thine 
 hand." No fear of a rescue on behalf of 
 God's prisoners. Hence no need of vehe- 
 ment urgency in inflicting punishment. 
 Solemn truth for the impenitent. "How 
 shall we escape," &c ? (Heb. ii. 3). " Con- 
 sider this, all ye that forget God," &c. (Ps. 
 1. 22). Precious comfort for Christ's sheep. 
 None able to pluck them out of his hand 
 (John x. 29, 30). 
 
 5. His relation, to man as his Creator 
 (verse 8). "Thine hands have made me 
 (or, ' elaborated me,' margin, ' took pains with 
 me'), and fashioned ( exquisitely moulded 
 and adorned) me together round about 
 ( every part of me) ; yet thou dost destroy 
 me." Powerful plea. Workmen respect their 
 own work. The more pains bestowed, the 
 more regard will be shown. The heavens the 
 work of God's fingers ; man the work of his 
 " hands." Man the most exquisite piece of 
 Divine workmanship even in his body, still 
 more in his soul, most of all in the union of 
 both. The "human face Divine" an example 
 of this exquisite moulding and adorning. 
 The head apparently designed by nature as 
 the cupola to the most glorious of her works 
 [Addison], Galen, the physician, converted 
 
 67
 
 CHAP. X. 
 
 IIOUILETIC COJDIEXTMtr: JOB. 
 
 to the belief of a Divine Creator by the 
 wisdom displayed in the structure of the 
 human frame. Man God's glory as His work 
 in creation ; still more as his work in redemp- 
 tion (Is. xxix. 23 ; xlv. 1] ; Ix. 21). 
 
 G. Hans frailty and mortality (verse 9). 
 " llemember, I beseech thee, that thou hast 
 made me as the clay; and wilt thou (or, thou 
 .wilt) briug me unto dust again ?" Reference 
 to the Creation, and to the sentence pro- 
 nounced on man at the Fall. Similar terms 
 to those in Gen. ii. 7, and iii. 19. Written 
 documents or traditionary records of the 
 events probably then in existence, and after- 
 wards employed by Moses. Man's frail and 
 shortlived existence used by Job as a plea 
 for milder treatment. Similar plea in Ps. 
 Ixxxix. 47. An availing one with God (Ps. 
 ciii. 14; Gen. vi. 3). God's nature compas- 
 sion. Our frailty pleads with God for for- 
 bearance, with man himself for earnestness 
 (Eccles. ix. 10). 
 
 7. God's kindness already manifested. (I) 
 In our conception (verse 10). " Hast thou 
 not poured me out as milk, and curdled me 
 like cheese ? " God the careful and benefi- 
 cent Agent in our conception (Ps. cxxxix. 
 15, 16; Eccles. xi. 5). The process of nature 
 in the womb His own, as instituted, sustained 
 and controlled by Him. Milk coagulated 
 into cheese an image of the formation of the 
 embryo of the future man. (2) In OUR growth 
 of the foetus (verse 11). " Thou hast clothed 
 me- with skin and flesh, and fenced me with 
 bones and sinews." The development of the 
 embryo another of God's mysterious and 
 beneficent operations. The order in the 
 text that of Nature, first the skin, then the 
 flesh, lastly the harder parts gradually 
 added, Among other important purposes, 
 "bones and sinews" serve for protection to 
 the more vital parts. (3) In the bostowment 
 of life (verse 12) . "Thou has granted me life." 
 Life imparted to the embryo in the womb 
 as a gift of God. Nat ural life a precious gift ; 
 how much more spiritual and eternal ! That 
 life also originally imparted to man, but lost 
 in Adam (Rom. v. 17 ; 1 Cor. xv. 21). 
 Restored in Christ who is the Life (John 
 xiv. 6 ; xi. 25 ; 1 Cor. xv. 21 ; Rom. 
 v. 17, 21; 1 John v. 11, 12. (4) In the 
 facoui' and leindnets accompanying life. " Life 
 and favour." The kindness of God visible 
 in every stage of our natural life. Con- 
 spicuous in infancy. " Cast upon him from 
 the womb." Kindly watched over in a long- 
 continued period of helplessness. Beneficent 
 provision made in parental affection. Each in- 
 dividual the recipient of ten thousand mercies 
 every day he lives. Divine goodness smiles 
 on us in every sunbeam, and fans in 
 every breeze. (5) In the continued preser- 
 of life. " And thy visitation (provi- 
 68 
 
 dential care) hath preserved my spirit." 
 Natural life preserved by a careful and 
 watchful Providence. The hand that _ put 
 the heart in motion sustains its pulsations. 
 Provides the means neccsary for life's sup- 
 port. The petition answered even before 
 it is offered "Give us this day our daily 
 bread." Protects life and organs from con- 
 stantly surrounding dangers. An unseen 
 hand averts a thousand accidents each day 
 we live. The mind preserved from derange- 
 ment, and disease as well as the body. The 
 same Divine care that protected the brain, 
 the seat of life and thought, by a strong, 
 spherical, bony skull, still continued in pre- 
 serving the spirit. Sleep, as needful for the 
 mind as the body, the daily gift of a bene- 
 ficent Providence. An object of so much 
 regard not likely to be soon despised or 
 lightly cast away. Neither natural nor be- 
 coming for so much kindness to terminate 
 in cruelty. 
 
 IV. Complaints against God and His 
 procedure (verses 13 IS). 
 
 1. That his sufferings were in God's secret 
 purpose amidst, all His past kindness (verse 1 3) . 
 " And these things hast thou hid in thine 
 heart; I know that this is with thee." The com- 
 fort of believers that all events in our lot are 
 part of God's secret counsel (Ps. cxxxix. 16 ; 
 Eccles. iii. 14). A truth of natural religion 
 that what God does in time He purposed in 
 eternity (Acts xv. 18). Necessary and desi- 
 rable in a Being infinite, eternal, and un- 
 changeable ; omnipresent, omniscient, and 
 almighty ; holy, \vise, and good. Job's pre- 
 determined afflictions in his view an apparent 
 contradiction to God's former kindness. 
 Life seemed given only to make him miser- 
 able. Such ungenerous thoughts his own 
 infirmity. God neither fickle nor cruel. All 
 things made, according to His purpose, to 
 work together for good to them that love 
 Him (Rom. viii. 28). Predestined sufferings 
 no contradiction to experienced kindness. 
 Joseph's imprisonment under a false abomi- 
 nable charge was in God's secret counsel while 
 delivering him from the pit mid placing him 
 in Potiphar's palace. Observe (1) The na- 
 ture ofthejlesh is to put a wrong construction 
 upon God's dealings. (2) The object of Satan 
 is to misrepresent God, as arbitrary, cruel and 
 tyrannical. (3) Hard thoughts of God a 
 special temptation in time of trouble. 
 
 2. Complains of God's excessive strictness 
 in marking and punishi/ig offences (verse 14). 
 " If I sin (rather, ' have sinned '), then Thou 
 markest (or hast marked) me, and Thou wilt 
 not acquit me from mine iniquity." This 
 perhaps the secret counsel complained of in 
 preceding verse. In ignorance Job views his 
 afflictions as the effect of God's strictness iu
 
 HOMILETIC 
 
 iF: JOB. 
 
 marking his sin. As yet no frank and 
 humble confession. Observe (1) Sin often 
 brought to mind in time of affliction. (2) As 
 a fact, the sins of God's children often visited 
 when those of others are not so. (3) T/te 
 views of the flesh in regard to God always 
 perverted. According to the flesh, God is 
 either (1) Indifferent to men's conduct; 
 soft and indulgent to their sins; or (2) 
 Stern and inexorable ; strict in marking 
 and punishing every offence. (4-) In a 
 believer, the flesh speaks at one time, and the 
 spirit at another. Job's present language 
 uttered under the influence of the flesh and 
 the promptings of Satan. Yet, in itself, in a 
 certain sense true, as (1) l\Icn's sins are ob- 
 served and marked by God. Men judged at 
 last "out of those things which are written 
 in the books." For every idle word account 
 to be given in the day of judgment. Men 
 receive according to the things done in the 
 body good or bad. The secrets of men to 
 be one day judged by Jesus Christ (Rom. 
 ii. 16). Every evil work and secret thing to 
 be brought into judgment. (2) The guilty 
 by no means acquitted by God. Yet sin is 
 forgiven and the guilty are pardoned. The 
 gracious provision of the scheme of Redemp- 
 tion. Through the substitution and satisfac- 
 tion of Christ, God can punish and, yet pardon. 
 God a just God and yet a Saviour ; just and 
 the justifier of the ungodly that believe in 
 Jesus, Millions of sins forgiven, yet not one 
 unpunished. The iniquities of men laid on 
 the one righteous man, Christ Jesus. The 
 Just One " bruised and put to grief " as a 
 sacrifice for the sins of the unjust. The 
 guiltless takes the place of the guilty, and 
 the guilty that of the guiltless (2 Cor. v. 21). 
 The blood of Jesus able to cleanse from all 
 sin, because 1he blood of God's Son (1 John 
 i. 7). Every sin marked against the sinner 
 answered and atoned for by the Surety. The 
 only thing now required for the sinner's 
 pardon is his humble and hearty acceptance 
 of the Substitute. God is satisfied with the 
 Surety. It only remains that the sinner be 
 so too. Confessing his guilt and accepting 
 the Substitute, he is at once forgiven (1 John 
 i. 9, 12). Observe (1) The peculiarity of 
 the Gospel age is that its provision is revealed 
 with a clearness and fulness before unknown. 
 (2) The Gospel a blessed contradiction to the 
 latter part of Job's present utterance. The 
 Laio declares, God cannot and will not acquit 
 the guilty ; the Gospel points to Calvary and 
 says, the guiltless One became the guilty 
 and suffered the penalty. (3) The sinner who 
 refuses the Surety retains his guilt, and suffers 
 himself the punishment of it. 
 
 3. Complains of being treated as he is 
 though a righteous man (verse 15). " If I be 
 wicked ( sin deliberately ; or, ' be 
 woe unto me : if I be righteous, yet wil 
 
 (or may I) not lift up my head." A dictate 
 of natural religion that the guilty trans- 
 gressor must be .punished. "Thhmaiiisa 
 murderer whom vengeance suffcreth not to 
 live" (Acts xxviii. 4). Also the teaching of 
 nature that the just man may lift up his head 
 with confidence and joy. "Be just, and 
 fear not." None, however, in himself, able 
 to do this before God. The most upright 
 still guilty in God's sight. Standing righteous 
 in Christ, a man lifts up his head before God. 
 Job nimble at present to do this (1) As 
 not realizing his standing in the Surety; (2) 
 Keeping his eyes on his affliction ; (.4) His 
 sufferings, according to the popular view, 
 seemed to proclaim him a guilty man. " I 
 am full (or, ' being full ') of confusion (re- 
 proach or ignominy) ; therefore see thon 
 (or, ' seeing as I do ') mine affliction." 
 Job's other trials greatly aggravated by 
 reproaches from his friends. Confusion, 
 perplexity and shame, natural results of his 
 affliction, especially in the time In which lie 
 lived. A natural tendency to judge of a 
 man from his circumstances. An aggrava- 
 tion to a good man's sufferings, that himself 
 and religion are misjudged from them. 
 Hence Paul's anxiety in regard to his suffer- 
 ings as an apostle (Eph. iii. 13; 2 Tim. 
 i. 8). Himself not ashamed of them (2 Tim. 
 i. 12). 
 
 4. Complains that his sufferings only in- 
 creased in number and intensity. Three 
 trying circumstances in Job's afflictions. (1) 
 Their continual increase from the commence- 
 ment (verse 16). "For it incrcaseth" (rears 
 itself up like a swelling wave 5 or, " should 
 it [my head] lift itself up"). Terrible climax 
 in Job's sufferings. Commenced with loss of 
 oxen and asses, and increased to extreme 
 bodily affliction, inward darkness, and appre- 
 hension of Divine wrath. Probably his 
 disease itself increased in violence as it con- 
 tinued. (2) Their intensity. " Thou huntest 
 me as a fierce lion ; and again thou showest 
 thyself marvellous upon me ?" God's pur- 
 pose seemed to be to hunt him down as a 
 dangerous animal ; or as if He Himself were 
 a fierce lion intent on tearing him to pieces, 
 as Is. xxxviii. 13 ; Hos. v. 14, xiii. 7 ; Ps. 
 1. 22. His 'afflictions appeared like a display 
 of what God could inflict. His plagues 
 made wonderful (Deut. xxviii. 59). (3) 
 Their variety and constant change (verse 17). 
 "Thou rene west thy witnesses (or, c weapons;' 
 margin, 'plagues') against me; and in- 
 creasest thine indignation upon me ; changes 
 and war (or, ' successions and a host,' i.e., 
 one host scuceeding another) are against me." 
 God appeared to be employing all his weapons 
 against him, each attack a fresh " witness " 
 produced to confront and confound him as a 
 guilty man. One troop of troubles seemed 
 only to succeed another, equally bent on his 
 
 Dt/
 
 CHAP. X. 
 
 IIOMILETIC COMMENTARY: JOB. 
 
 destruction. Observe (1.) A child of God 
 views all his troubles as from the Divine hand. 
 (2.) This often an exaggeration rather than an 
 alleviation of them. (3.) A fearful thing to 
 fall into the hands of the living God. (-i.) 
 Blessed to have God for a friend, terrible to 
 have him for an enemy. (5.) Believers not to 
 be staggered at the heaviest troubles succeeding 
 each other. (6.) No troubles to a believer but 
 what a Father's love permits and a Father's 
 hand metes out. 
 
 V. A piteous lament (verses 18 22) 
 embraces 
 
 (1) A regret that he had ever been born, 
 or permitted to lice (verses 18, 19). " Where- 
 fore then hast Thou brought me out of 
 the womb ? O that I had given up the 
 ghost, and no eye had seen me ! 1 should 
 have been as though I had not been ; I should 
 have been carried from the womb to the 
 grave." The feeling and thoughts of his 
 first outburst return upon him (ch. iii. 1 
 10). An advance in the complaint ; his 
 birth directly ascribed to God, and charged 
 upon him as an evil. The idea of God ex- 
 tracting the infant from the womb familiar 
 in the Psalms, as Ps. xxii. 9 ; Ixxi. 6.' 
 With David a matter of praise; with Job 
 one of regret. Unbelief and passion cast re- 
 proach on the Author both of our being and onr 
 well-being. Job has long ago regretted the 
 blindness and haste which dictated the^e 
 irreverent and ungrateful words. 
 
 2. An impassioned request for a short relief 
 from suffering, on the grounds of his speedy 
 departure (verse 20). "Are not my days 
 few ? Cease then, and let me alone ; that 
 I may take comfort (brighten up, as ch. ix. 
 27) a little before I go." Same sentiment 
 in the conclusion of his reply to Eliphaz 
 (ch. vii. 19, 21). Observe (1) A saint, though 
 sad and sinning, cannot be restrained from 
 praying. The flesh only lifts up its voice 
 when that of the spirit is silent. The boon 
 of a short relief testifies the depth of Job's 
 distress. (2) Brief respite in suffering a 
 mercy to the sufferer. Enables him (i.) 
 To rally his strength; (ii.) To collect his 
 thoughts; (iii.) To recover calmness; (iv.) 
 To prepare himself for further suffering. (3) 
 Terrible doom of the lost, which admits of no 
 such respite (Luke xvi. 24; Mark ix. 44; 
 .Rev. xiv. 10, 11. 
 
 ' 3. Gloomy description of the 
 
 State of the Dead 
 
 as viewed by Old Testament saints (verses 21, 
 22). 
 
 1. A place of perpetual exile (verses 21). 
 " I go whence I shall not return ; a land," 
 &c. Viewed as a laud or country ; its in- 
 
 70 
 
 habitants the shades or spirits 'of deceased 
 men. Hence the sublime description in Is. 
 xiv. 9, 10; Ez. xxxii. 21. A land from 
 which is no return to the present world. 
 
 2. A place without attraction. Return 
 from it to the present world desirable, but 
 not practicable. Much inferior to the pre- 
 sent life for enjoyment. Banishment to it 
 an evil. Hence Hezekiah's sorrow and 
 regret at the prospect of having so soon to 
 enter it (Is. xxxviii. 3 18). 
 
 3. A place of confusion and disorder (verse 
 22). "Without any order." (1) No dis- 
 tinction of classes, as on earth. [Hence 
 David's prayer, Ps. xxvi. 9.] A place of 
 indiscriminate gathering (1 Sam. xxviii. 19). 
 (2) No pleasing vicissitude of day and night, 
 summer and winter. (3) No beauty or 
 orderly arrangement. Chaotic confusion, as 
 on the earth before the six day's creation 
 (Gen. i. 2). (4) No exercise of religious 
 worship. No praise or thanksgiving. This 
 part of the prospect especially deplored by 
 the godly (Ps. vi. 5 ; xxx. 9 ; Ixxxviii. 10 
 12 ; cxv. 17; Is. xxxviii. 18). 
 
 4. A place of darkness and gloom (verse 
 21). " The land of darkness and the shadow 
 of death," &c. A funeral pall of midnight 
 darkness ever resting on it. Any light that 
 penetrates it only darkness, " The light is 
 as darkness." The view probably borrowed 
 from the places of Oriental sepulture, sub- 
 terranean grottoes. The darkness of these 
 sepulchral chambers transferred to the spirit- 
 world. The experience of the disembodied 
 spirit supposed to bear affinity to the circum- 
 stances of the body. The Sun of righteous- 
 ness had not yet irradiated the world beyond 
 the grave. The Forerunner in human nature 
 had not yet entered within the veil. A bliss- 
 ful Paradise, as a home for the disembodied 
 just, not yet known. The doctrine of a 
 happy intermediate state reserved for the 
 teaching of Him who is the Way, the Truth, 
 and the Life. Perhaps the enjoyment of it 
 reserved for the time when He Himself 
 should return to glory, having finished the 
 work of our Redemption (Luke xxiii. 43). 
 It was left for Jesus to dispel the darkness 
 that brooded over the spirit-world, and show 
 beyond the grave the hills of celestial bliss. 
 Life and immortality brought to light by 
 Jesus Christ through the Gospel (2 Tim. i. 
 10). Jesus carriea light into the darksome 
 grave and world beyond (1) By His teach- 
 ings (Luke xvi. 22; xxiii. 43; John xiv. 2). 
 (2) By His death, resurrection, and ascension 
 into heaven. By His lying in the grave He 
 has left there a perpetual light for the com- 
 fort of all His dying people [Caryl]. Blessed 
 contrast between the prospect of death to 
 believers noic, and that to those of Old Testa- 
 ment times. The kingdom of heaven with all
 
 IIOMILETIC COMMENTARY: JOB. 
 
 CHAP. XI. 
 
 its glory and beauty, its joy and song, its 
 inhabitants and employments, opened to be- 
 lievers by tlie death and resurrection of 
 Jesus. Instead of the dreary and confused 
 abode of half-conscious spirits, the world 
 beyond is now the believer's bright and 
 bappy home in his Father's house. Jesus 
 
 has taught believers joyously to sing on the 
 bed of death, as well as amid the enjoyments 
 of life : " Yonder's my house and portion 
 fair," &c. Hence a threefold duty lying on 
 New Testament believers : (1) Thankful- 
 ness ; (2) Joyfulness ; (3) Heaveuly-miuded- 
 ness. 
 
 CHAPTEE XI. 
 
 FIRST SPEECH OF ZOPIIAR. 
 
 Zbphar follows in the same train with his 
 companions. Misled by the same false prin- 
 ciple great sufferings prove great sins 
 he acts the part, not of a comforter, but of a 
 reprover and an exhorter. 
 
 I. His reason for speaking (verses 2 
 -4). 
 
 " Should not the multitude of words be 
 answered ?" &c. His reason involves Job's 
 censure. Bitterly reproves him (1) As a 
 mere talker (verse 2). "Should a man full 
 of talk, be justified?" (2) As a vain and 
 lyincj boaster (verse 3). " Should thy lies make 
 men hold their peace ?" (3) As a proud 
 despiser of others ; " When thoumockest, shall 
 no man make thec ashamed ? " (4) As a self- 
 righteous pretender to perfection, both in his 
 principle and his practice (verse 4). "For 
 thou hast said, my doctrine (speech, teach- 
 ing, principles) is pure, and I am clean in 
 thine eyes." Observe (1) Even, good men 
 can speak and act toioards others like the 
 carnal and unconverted. (2) Religious pro- 
 fessors very often misunderstand and misjudge 
 God's tried people. (3) Believers' greatest 
 trials sometimes from their own brethren in 
 the faith. Christ a merciful as well as faith- 
 ful High Priest, touched with the feeling of 
 our infirmities (Heb. ii. 17, 18 ; iv. 15). 
 
 II. Zophar desiderates Divine teach- 
 ing for Job's conviction (verse 5). 
 
 " But oh that God would speak, and open 
 his lips against thee ! " God speaks with a 
 strong hand (Is. viii. 11}. " None teacheth 
 like Him." Such teaching needed alike by 
 saint and sinner. Necessary (1) for con- 
 viction ; (2) for consolation. Divine teaching 
 imparts (1) the knowledge of ourselves ; 
 (2) the knowledge of God. God opens his 
 lips (1) " against " the sinner, for his con- 
 viction ; (2) for him, for his consolation. 
 " Spake in time past to the fathers in divers 
 manners." Speaks now (1) In His Word ; 
 (2) By His Spirit. The Spirit's office to 
 convince the world of sin, righteousness, and 
 judgment (John xvi. 8). The Word of God 
 sharper than any two-edged sword a dis- 
 
 cerner of the thoughts and intents of the 
 heart. Its office to pierce, to the dividing 
 asunder of soul and spirit, joints and marrow 
 (Heb. iv. 12). Two tilings desired as the re- 
 sult of Divine teaching in Job's case ; both 
 important for shutting the mouths of com- 
 plainers against God : 
 
 1. The discovery of God's transcendent and 
 unsearchable wisdom, (verse 6). " That he 
 would shew thee the secrets (hidden depths) 
 of wisdom, that they are double to that which 
 is " (or, "for they are manifold," or "there are 
 doublings," complications or intricacies 
 "in his understanding"). All complaints 
 against the Divine procedure and our own lot 
 proceed from ignorance of God's designs. 
 " What I do thou knowest not now." God's 
 judgments a great deep. His way in the 
 sea. " Depth of riches," both in " the 
 wisdom and knowledge of God." His ways 
 past finding out, yet all just and true. God 
 not to be traced but trusted. " Judge not 
 the Lord by feeble sense," &c. 
 
 2. The discovery of Job's own sinfulness as 
 much greater than his sufferings. " Know there- 
 fore that God exacteth of thee less than thine 
 iniquity deserveth " (or " consigns to oblivion 
 in thy favour," or " remits to thee [a part] 
 of thy iniquity," or " punishment "). True, 
 even in Job's case, on the supposition that his 
 sufferings were the punishment of his sins. 
 Any affliction in this life only a part of what 
 all sin deserves. The rich man in torments 
 probably no worse than his neighbours (Luke 
 xvi. 19 23). His sin not even mentioned by 
 the Saviour. Probably only morldliness and 
 self-ind^tlgence, with its natural consequence, 
 heedlessness of the wants and woes of others. 
 His belly and the world his God. To offend 
 in one point of God's law makes a man 
 guilty of all. Sin, knowingly committed, 
 nothing less than rebellion against God; 
 causeless anger and hatred against another, 
 equivalent in God's sight to murder. Equally 
 subjects a man to the penalty of hell-fire 
 (Matt. v. 22; 1 John iii. 15). Covetous- 
 ness a species of idolatry (Eph. v. 5 ; Col. 
 iii. 5). Earth a place of mercy and for- 
 bearance. The full punishment of sin re- 
 served for another state. 
 
 71
 
 CJ1AP. XI. 
 
 HOMILETIC COMMENTARY: JOB. 
 
 III. Zophar chides Job's presump- 
 tion, and enlarges on the unsearchable- 
 ness of the Almighty (verses 79). 
 
 " Canst thou by searching find out God" (or, 
 "wilt thou find out the search," or "deep 
 wisdom" of God?) Canst thou find out 
 the Almighty unto perfection (or "wilt thou 
 find out perfectly," or " penetrate to the 
 perfection of the Almighty ?") It is as high 
 as heaven (margin, " the heights of heaven") ; 
 what canst thou do [in attaining to it, viz., 
 the deep wisdom or perfection of the Al- 
 mighty] ; deeper than hell (Sheol, or 
 Hades, the invisible spirit-world, supposed 
 to be in the lower parts of the earth), what 
 canst thou know ? (or how wilt thou under- 
 stand it ? ) The measure thereof is longer 
 than the earth and broader than the sea." 
 Poetical description of the Divine wisdom 
 and knowledge, and in general of 
 
 The Unsearchableiiess of God. 
 
 God unsearchable to finite creatures 
 
 1. In His Person. His Nature or Essence 
 beyond creature ken. As easy for an in- 
 sect to comprehend man's nature as for man 
 to comprehend his Creator's. The more the 
 Grecian sage studied the question, what is 
 God ? the more he felt himself lost in it. 
 Hence the altar of Athens with the inscrip- 
 lion: To the Unknown God. In God is both 
 "that which may be known," and which 
 may not be known (Rom. i. 19). That He 
 is, and what He is, may be known ; how He 
 is, and hoiofar He is, is beyond a creature's 
 capacity to know. God capable of being 
 apprehended, but not of being comprehended. 
 A little child may apprehend God ; a seraph 
 cannot comprehend Him. God is incompre- 
 hensible in His mode of being as the One 
 God; still more as the Three in One. To 
 know that God is and what He is, necessary 
 for an intelligent creature's happiness \ to 
 know how He is, were it possible, could only 
 gratify his curiosity. God only known as He 
 is pleased to reveal Himself. Reveals Him- 
 self (1) In His works ; (2) In the human con- 
 sciousness ; (3) In His word ; (4) Most of all 
 in His Son Jesus Christ. Christ the image 
 of the invisible , God ; He that hath seen 
 Him hath seen the Father (Col. i. 15 ; John 
 xiv. 9). The incarnation, life, and death of 
 Jesus Christ, the final, full and authentic 
 exhibition of the Divine character and per- 
 fections. Eternal life, to know the only 
 true God and Jesus Christ whom He hath 
 sent (John xvii. 3). 
 
 2. His Perfections. God's Perfections or 
 Attributes are (1) Natural or essential, as 
 His Omniscience and Omnipotence; (2) 
 Moral, as His justice- and goodness. God 
 unsearchable in both kinds. The universe a 
 
 72 
 
 theatre for the display of His perfections. A 
 God everywhere present, and everywhere 
 working, sustaining the vibrations of an 
 animalcule and the revolutions of a planet ;. 
 watching over a sparrow, and giving orders 
 to an archangel ; aud doing all in infinite 
 wisdom, and justice, and goodness, may well 
 be unsearchable. 
 
 3. In His Purposes. The history of the 
 world and of the universe, as well as of 
 each individual, the evolution of these pur- 
 poses (Acts xv. 18 ; ii. 23). His purposes 
 unsearchable (Rom. xi. 33 ; Ps. xcii. 5). 
 " Deep in unfathomable mines," &c. 
 
 4. In His Performances. God unsearch- 
 able in His works of creation. Examples : 
 The contents of a drop of stagnant water, as 
 examined with a microscope ; the starry 
 heavens, as seen through Lord Rosse's tele- 
 scope. Modern astronomy gives a meaning 
 to the "heights of heaven" undreamt of in 
 the days of Zophar. Geology, on the other 
 hand, reveals displays of Divine power and 
 wisdom in extinct worlds or creations far 
 beneath our feet. 
 
 5. In His Procedure. God's dealings in 
 providence both in regard to angels and men, 
 the human race and the individuals com- 
 posing it, unsearchable. Evil permitted in 
 His own universe. The incarnation and 
 death of His own Son an atonement for it. 
 Man the object of that merciful provision ; 
 sinning angels excluded from its benefit. 
 
 Lessons from the unscarchableness of 
 God: 
 
 1. Modesty and humility in judging of 
 God's person or perfections, His works or 
 His ways. 
 
 2. Submission to His will, and acquiescence 
 in His providence. 
 
 3. Implicit trust in His wisdom and good- 
 ness. 
 
 4. Reverential, loving, and admiring 
 adoration. The result of the contemplation 
 of God's works and ways in the apostle 
 (Rom. xi. 33 36), and in the glorified in 
 heaven (Rev. xv. 3, 4). 
 
 IV. Adduces God's resistless power 
 and all- seeing eye as arguments to 
 move Job to repentance (verse 10 12). 
 
 1. His Almighty power (verse 10). "If 
 He cut off " (margin, " make a change," as 
 He has done in Job and his family ; or, " if 
 He seize " as a criminal, as He has done in 
 Job's case), and shut up (as in prison ; or, 
 "deliver over," i.e., to an officer for trial), 
 or gather together (an assembly or court to 
 try the criminal) who can hinder him ? 
 (margin, " turn him away.") Awful picture 
 of a sinner arrested by Divine justice; A 
 sinner in the hands of an angry God ! Escape 
 or rescue equally impossible. The only hope
 
 I10MILETIC COMMENTARY: JOB. 
 
 CHAP. XI 
 
 of safety for a sinner lies in submission. Same 
 sentiment uttered by Job himself (eh. ix. 
 4, 12, 13). Argument used by God (Ps. 1. 
 22); by Jesus (Matt. v. 25, 26); by the 
 Apostle (Heb. ii. 3 ; x. 3] ). 
 
 2. His Omniscience (ver. 12). "For He 
 knoweth vain men; He seeth wickedness 
 also ; will He not then consider it ?" 
 Another weighty argument for a sinner's re- 
 pentance. To elude God's eye as impossible 
 as to escape from His hand. " No darkness 
 or shadow of death where the workers of 
 iniquity may hide themselves." " All things 
 naked and open to the eyes of Him with 
 whom we have to do." Farther considera- 
 tions, however, necessary to bring a sinner 
 to repentance. Felix " trembled," and said 
 to the preacher: "Go thy way for this time." 
 Only the apprehension of the mercy of God 
 in Christ able to soften and subdue the 
 sinner's heart. As addressed to Job, 
 these arguments were (1) Inapplicable; 
 Job not the sinner Zophar supposed. 
 (2) Useless ; Job probably more keenly sen- 
 sible of these truths than Zophar himself. 
 Arguments, in order to move and benefit, 
 need to be not only sound and solemn, but 
 suitable and seasonable. One important part 
 of a preacher's duty to consider the character 
 and condition of those whom he addresses. 
 Zophar's application of the foregoing arguments 
 (verse 12). "For vain man would be 
 wise (or ' but let a vain, or empty, hollow- 
 headed man become wise ') though man be 
 bom as the wild ass's colt," (or, " and let the 
 wild ass's colt be born a man "). The latter 
 part of the verse, as thus read, an Arab 
 proverb. "Wild ass," used by the Arabs as 
 a term of reproach. Probably the whole 
 a proverbial maxim of the ancients. Appa- 
 rently an exhortation rather than a statement. 
 Contains truth in reference to man in general. 
 
 1. Man left to himself, ever since the fall, 
 is "vain." Empty of real goodness and 
 sound spiritual understanding. "There is 
 none that understandeth ; there is none that 
 doeth good." Even the sages of antiquity 
 " professing themselves wise became fools 
 (Rom. i. 22). 
 
 2. Man is now by nature froward and self- 
 willed "as a wild ass's colt.' 1 Like that 
 animal, man's disposition is to be free and 
 uncontrolled. The child, like the man, 
 wishes to be its own master. " Our lips are 
 pur own. Who is lord over us ? " " Who 
 is the Lord, that I should serve Him ? " 
 "Let us break their bonds asunder, and 
 cast away their cords from us." Frowardness, 
 self-will, and intractableness, God's frequent 
 complaints against Israel. "All day long 
 have I stretched out my hand towards a 
 disobedient and gainsaying people." " The 
 heart of man fully set in them to do evil." 
 
 " Madness in men's hearts while they live." 
 The constant tendency of man's fallen nature 
 to break loose from the restraints of Divine 
 authority. Apart from grace, man, after 
 his hardness and impenitent heart, treasures 
 up wrath against the day of wrath (Rom. 
 ii. 5). 
 
 3. A change of character and disposition 
 necessary in order to man's well-being either here 
 or hereafter. The vain man must become wise. 
 The wild ass's colt froward, self-willed, 
 independent must become a man, thought- 
 ful, submissive, obedient. The second part 
 of Christ's call in the Gospel: "Take my 
 yoke upon you, and learn of me, for I am 
 meek and lowly in heart ; and ye shall find 
 rest to your souls " (Matt. xi. 29). 
 
 4. Such a change nothing less than a new 
 birth. The wild ass's colt must be " born " 
 in order to become a man. A new birth 
 necessary to froward, self-willed, independent 
 man, in order to his entering the kingdom of 
 God, whether on earth or in heaven. The 
 teaching of Jesus (John iii. 7). The promise 
 (Ez. xxxvi. 26). The prayer (Ps. Ii. 10). 
 The experience of it (Tit. iii. 5). The ex- 
 hortation, as addressed to Job, was (1) 
 Inapplicable. Job neither a fool nor, except 
 perhaps in his trouble, especially when wor- 
 ried by his friends, a wild ass's colt. (2). 
 Uncharitable, becauseinappropriate. "Charity 
 thinketh no evil ; hopcth all things." (3). 
 Rude. No part of wisdom in a preacher or 
 monitor to apply harsh terms and ill names, 
 even indirectly. " Be courteous." Hearers 
 neither to be flattered on the one hand nor 
 libelled on the other. (4). Unfeeling. No 
 consideration made of Job's intense sufferings 
 and accumulated trials. Zophar pours 
 vinegar instead of oil on Job's wounded 
 spirit. Sympathy in a preacher necessary to 
 success. Want of sympathy argues want 
 of sense. 
 
 V. Persuasion to repentance, on the 
 ground of personal advantage (verse 13, 
 -20). 
 
 The whole passage a noble strain of 
 moral Oriental poetry. Perhaps quoted from 
 the ancients by Zopliar, from its supposed 
 applicability to Job's case. Exhibits the 
 views prevalent at the period. The teaching 
 that of the Old Testament or pre-Evangeliccol 
 platform. Holds forth more especially the 
 promise of earthly comfort and prosperity as 
 the result of repentance and piety. Similar 
 sejitiments expressed by Eliphaz (ch. v. 8, 
 17_26); and by Bildad (ch. viii. 57). 
 Frequent in the Psalms and Proverbs ; as 
 Psalms i., xxxvii. andcxxviii.; Prov. iii., iv., 
 and viii. In order to personal profit, the 
 passage to be read in the light of New 
 Testament truth. The lamp of the New 
 
 73
 
 CHAP. XI. 
 
 HOMILET1C COMMENTARY: JOB. 
 
 Testament to be carried with its in exploring 
 ike dark chambers of the Old. In the New 
 Testament, the promises of future good arc 
 mainly connected with the Lord's second 
 appearing (Acts iii. 19 21 ; 1 Thess. i. 9, 
 ]0; Tit. ii. 11 33). The posture of New 
 Testament believers that of " strangers and 
 pilgrims on the earth;" the object of their 
 desires and affections, the "tilings that are 
 above ; " their spirit, contentment with 
 " such things as they have" (Heb. xiii. 5, 14 ; 
 1 Pet. ii. 11; Col. iii. 1, 2 ; 2 Tim. vi. 8). 
 The passage contains 
 
 1. The terms proposed, or the duty recom- 
 mended (verse 13, 14). The condition a true 
 turning to God. Three steps indicated 
 
 (1). A preparation or right disposition of 
 the heart (verse 13). " If thou prepare (or 
 set right) thine heart." Always represented 
 as the first step in seeking God (1 Sam. vii. 
 3 ; 2 Cor. xix. 3 ; xxx. 19 ; Ezra, vii. 10 ; 
 Ps. Ixxviii. 8, 37). Implies () Serious 
 consideration; (b) Firm purpose; (c) Suitable 
 frame and disposition ; (d) Removal of secret 
 sin. The heart naturally biassed, and needs 
 to be made straight \ unstable, and needs to 
 be made steadfast. Sincerity and earnestness 
 essential in seeking God. 
 
 (2). Earnest prayer. " If thou stretch 
 forth thine hands towards Him." A common 
 sttifude in Old Testament devotion (Ps. 
 fxxxvi. 9; cxliii. 6; Is. i. ]5). Examples: 
 Moses (Ex. ix. 33) ; Ezra (ix. 5) ; Solomon 
 (1 Kings viii. 22). Includes (a) Confession 
 of sin ; (i) Supplication for mercy. 
 
 (3). Amendment of life (verse 14). " If 
 iniquity be in thine hand, put it far away, 
 and let not wickedness dwell in thy taber- 
 nacles " (or tents, Arab chiefs required 
 more than one for their household ; wicked- 
 ness not to be allowed in any of them. 
 Several copies and ancient versions, however, 
 read the word in the singular). Sin to be put 
 away both from our persons and our pre- 
 mises. " Iniquity," injustice or wrong- 
 doing not to remain in our hand ; " wicked- 
 ness," any kind of open sin not to remain 
 in our house. Zacchseus an example of the first 
 (Luke xix. 8) ; David of the second (Ps. ci. 
 7). A man is greatly responsible for what is 
 done in his household. Domestic, as well as 
 personal sins, to be looked after and put away. 
 The commendation of Abraham (Gen. xviii. 
 19) ; The neglect of Eli (1 Sam. ii.12, 17 ; iii. 
 11, 14); The resolution of David (Ps. ci. 2, 
 7). Observe (1) A striking gradation in the 
 putting away of sin ; from the heart, from 
 the hand, from the house. (2) True religion 
 begins with the heart, and ends with the life. 
 (3) Sin not only to be put away, but " far 
 away." Present impressions not to be trusted. 
 All occasions and temptations to relapses to 
 be avoided. 
 
 74 
 
 2. The promises annexed (verse 15 19). 
 The promises suppose pardon and acceptance 
 of the penitent, with his consciousness of it. 
 This promised in the Old as well as in the 
 New Testament, upon sincere confession and 
 repentance, with faith in the Sacrifice (See 
 Ps. xxxii. 1, 5 ; Prov. xxviii. 13 ; Is. i. 17; 
 Iv. 6, 7.) The promises here are 
 
 1. A cheerful confidence before God and 
 men (verse 15). "Thou shalt lift up thy face 
 without spot ; yea, thou shalt be steadfast, 
 and shalt not fear." Sense of pardon gives 
 serenity of aspect. A purged conscience 
 makes an uplifted countenance. " Without 
 spot," either of guilt or its consequences. 
 A face unabashed by guilt or shame, un- 
 sullied by grief or tears. Spots on the con- 
 science transfer themselves to the counte- 
 nance. Spots of guilt removed by the sprinkled 
 blood ; spots o% grief by the consciousness of 
 it. Conscious guilt makes the countenance 
 to fall; sense of pardon and acceptance lifts 
 it up (Gen. iv. 5, 6 ; Luke xviii. 13 ; 1 John 
 iii. 21.) The face sooner and better lifted up 
 by pardon than by prosperity. 
 
 2. Deliverance from present suffering (verse 
 16). " Thou shalt forget thy misery and 
 remember it as waters that pass (or, have 
 passed) away." Inward, if not outward 
 misery, removed by sense of pardoning 
 mercy (Ps. xxxii. 1, 5 ; Ii. 8 14). Inward 
 suffering sooner or later the fruit of sin. 
 The remembrance of previous sorrow swal- 
 lowed up by present joy. Trouble forgotten 
 through long continued triumph. Remem- 
 brance of grief often only an enhancement of 
 joy. No trace left of the winter-torrent that 
 has passed away. " Your joy no man taketh 
 from you." The desolating flood that has 
 disappeared only remembered with thankful 
 joy. So the pardoned soul has still in re- 
 membrance, " the wormwood and the gall." 
 
 3. Abiding peace and joy (verse 17). 
 "Thine age shall be clearer than the noonday 
 (or, "a period, or happy age, shall arise to 
 thee, brighter than, &c.") ; and thou (or it) 
 shalt shine forth, thou (or it) shalt be as the 
 morning" (or, "now thou art in darkness, 
 but then thou shalt be as the morning"). 
 Light out of darkness, the experience of a 
 penitent and pardoned soul (Hos. vi. 3). 
 The light and joy of acceptance like "the 
 noonday " for brightness ; like "the morning" 
 for increase. "The path of the just," the 
 justified and sanctified in Christ, a light 
 increasing in brightness " unto the perfect 
 day " (Prov. iv. 18). The believer's joy not 
 diminished by manifold trials (1 Peter, i. 6). 
 Like oil poured on water, comes always to 
 the surface. At times unspeakable ana full 
 of glory (1 Peter i. 8). 
 
 4. Safety and security (verse 18, 19). 
 " Thou shalt be secure, because there is hope ;
 
 HOMILSTIC COMMENTARY: JOB. 
 
 CHAP. XII. 
 
 yea, thou shalt dig about thee (making 
 preparation, according to patriarchal custom, 
 for a new abode ; or, ' now thou art ashamed 
 but then, &c.'), and thou shalt take thy 
 rest in safety ; also, thou shalt lie down (as 
 a shepherd with his flock), and none shall 
 make thee afraid." Hope in God's mercy 
 through Christ, the only foundation of real 
 security. Divine protection one of the 
 sweetest of new covenant blessings. Christ's 
 sheep safe in His hands and in those of His 
 Father (John x. 28, 30). " Kept by the 
 power of God through faith unto salvation." 
 Preservation of the soul an Old as well as 
 New Testament promise (Ps. cxxi. 7). 
 Oriental tents and travellers exposed to 
 danger from robbers, wild beasts, and reptiles ; 
 believers' souls exposed to no less peril (2 
 Col. ii. 8, IS ; 1 Peter v. 8 ; 2 Cor. xi. 3). 
 
 5. Influence among men (verse 19). 
 "Many shall make suit to thee." The 
 mark of a great, if not a good man. " Many 
 entreat the favour of the prince " (Prov. 
 xix. C). The same promised to the Church 
 or Bride of Christ (Ps. xlv. 12). So 
 Abimelech made suit to Abraham, entreat- 
 ing his favour and alliance (Gen. xxvi. 20 
 29. Pardoned people are praying people; 
 and praying people are Israels, princes that 
 have power both with God and men (Gen. 
 xxxii. 28). God's presence with a believer 
 the ground of true greatness. He that has 
 power with God likely to have influence 
 among men. " We will go with you for we 
 have heard that God is with you (Zech. viii. 
 23). Believers are kings and priests to 
 God. Their duty so to walk as to gain 
 respect to their profession. An ill sign 
 with a professor when nobody seeks the 
 favour of his prayers. A believer's privilege 
 so to carry Cnrist about with him that men 
 shall feel his influence, as those who sought 
 only to be in Peter's shadow. The true 
 character of a pardoned and accepted person 
 
 is to have so much of Christ's loving spirit 
 as to carry with him a constant benefaction. 
 Made sweet and gracious by God's favour 
 on them, and His spirit in them, believers 
 carry with them the unconscious influence of 
 a sweet and gracious atmosphere. A 
 pardoned man, walking with Christ and 
 imbibing His spirit, as sure to be perceived 
 as a bag that carries sweet perfume. The 
 privilege and duty of believers to exhale 
 so much of Christ's loving nature as, like 
 modest and half-hidden violets, to attract 
 others to them by their fragrance. This, as 
 well as the other promises, realised in Job's 
 after experience, but not in the way 
 imagined by Zophar (ch. xlii. 7 9). 
 
 VI. The contrasted case of the nn- 
 godly (verse 20) Includes (1) "Anxiety 
 and disappointment. "The eyes of the 
 wicked shall fail," anxiously looking in 
 vain for the possession of good and de- 
 liverance from evil. A time when it is 
 too late to knock even at mercy's door. 
 "They shall seek me early, b"ut they 
 shall not find me (Prov. i. 28. (2) Per- 
 plexity and hopelessness. "They shall not 
 escape." (Ileb. " Bcfuge has perished from 
 them"). Calamity, sooner or later, overtakes 
 the Christless and impenitent, from which 
 escape is impossible. " Because I called and 
 ye refused, I also will laugh at your 
 calamity" (Prov. i. 24 26). "How shall we 
 escape if we neglect so great salvation ? " 
 (Heb. ii. 3; x. 26, 27). (3) Ruin and 
 despair. " Their hope shall be as the giving 
 up of the ghost" {margin, "as a puff of 
 breath"). The hope of the impenitent and 
 Christless proves as vain and unsubstantial 
 as a puff of breath. Their expectation 
 terminates with their life. Having chosen 
 death rather than life, they obtain their 
 choice. " All they that Late me love death." 
 (Prov. viii. 36.) ' 
 
 CHAPTEE XII. 
 
 JOB'S REPLY TO ZOPHAR. 
 
 I. Defends himself against the charge 
 of ignorance implied in Zophar's speech 
 
 (verse 2, 3). 
 
 His defence is : . 
 
 1. Ironical (verse 2). "No doubt but ye 
 are the people ; and wisdom shall die with 
 you;" the wisdom of mankind is collected 
 in your person, and when you die wisdom 
 must perish at the same time. Times when 
 it may be proper to use the language of 
 irony and sarcasm. Its proper use to put 
 error and pretension to shame. So Elijah 
 
 to the worshippers of Baal : " Cry aloud for 
 he is a God ;" and Paul to the Corinthians : 
 "Ye are rich; ye have reigned as kings 
 without us" (1 Cor. iv. 8). Assumption on 
 the part of preachers and monitors sure to 
 render their words powerless and themselves 
 ridiculous. 
 
 2. Serious (verse 3). " But I have under- 
 standing as well as you : I am not inferior 
 to you." Times when modesty docs not 
 forbid a man to speak in his own commenda- 
 tion,. Allowable when for our own defence, 
 
 75
 
 CHAP. XII. 
 
 HOMILETIC COMMENTARY: JOB. 
 
 or for the interests of truth. Paul com- 
 pelled by his detractors to this " foolishness 
 of boasting" (2 Cor. xii. 11). A man's duty 
 to know himself ; and especially to know 
 whether he has " understanding " to " know 
 the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom 
 He has sent, which is life eternal" (2 Cor. 
 xiii. 5 ; 1 John v. 20; John xvii. 3). 
 
 3. Contemptuous. " Yea, who knoweth not 
 such things as these " (margin, " with whom 
 arc not such things as these ? " ). Conceit 
 and pretension to be taken down. Zophar's 
 vaunted wisdom was after all (1) Common- 
 place. His speech mostly such moral and 
 religious sentiments as were found in every- 
 body's mouth. (2) Borrowed ; second-hand 
 maxims handed down from the fathers. 
 Preachers to be careful (1) Not to deal in 
 mere commonplace sentiments, or to ring 
 changes on a few universally admitted truths. 
 Hearers to be taught something which they 
 do not already know. The instructed scribe 
 to " bring out of his treasure things new and 
 old." Necessary to present new truths, or 
 old ones in a new, clearer, or more impres- 
 sive light. (2) Not to parade before others 
 what is not really their own, without acknow- 
 ledging it. Talse prophets reproved for 
 stealing God's words, "every one from his 
 neighbour," and passing them off as if de- 
 -livered to themselves (Jer. xxiii. 30). 
 
 II. Complains of his being treated 
 with scorn in consequence of affliction 
 
 (verse 4). 
 
 "I am as one (or, 'I am one who is') 
 mocked of his neighbour, who calleth upon 
 God and he heareth him (or, ' that he may 
 answer him ;' or, ' and let him answer him ;' 
 possibly the taunt of his enemies, as Ps. xxii. 
 8 ; Matthew xxvii. 43) ; the just upright man 
 is laughed to scorn." This treatment, accord- 
 ing to the ordinary way of the world (ver. 5). 
 " He that is ready to slip with his feet is a 
 lamp despised (or a torch thrown away as 
 useless) in the thought of him that is at 
 case " (or, " contempt adheres to calamity in 
 the mind of the prosperous and secure, ready 
 for those who slip with their feet" who are 
 tottering, or already fallen into adversity and 
 trouble). Probably one of proverbial maxims 
 referred to in verse 4, quoted by Job on his 
 side of the question, and as descriptive of his 
 own case. 
 
 1. He was mocked. No small aggrava- 
 tion of his affliction (ch. xvi. 10, 20 ; xvii. 
 2, 6 ; xxi. 3 ; xxx. 1, 9, 10). The experience 
 of David (Ps. xxii. 7 ; xxxv. 16 ; Ixix. 11, 
 12 ; and of David's Lord (Matt. xxvi. 67, 
 68 ; xxvii. 27 31; Luke, xxiii. 35). Mockery 
 worse to bear than open violence. The 
 bitterness of this treatment enhanced by the 
 previous experience of honour and respect 
 76 
 
 (ch. xxix. 7 25). Believers not to be stag- 
 gered at " cruel mockings," either from the 
 world or nominal professors. Such mockery 
 the expression of inward contempt, " in the 
 thought of him," &c. The followers of a 
 despised Christ to expect no better treatment 
 than their Master (Is. liii. 3 ; John xiii. 16). 
 
 2. Was mocked in consequence of his 
 affliction (verse 5). An aggravation of the 
 treatment. Affliction painful enough in 
 itself, and demanding sympathy. Hard to 
 endure, and cruel to inflict, mockery and 
 contempt on account of it. This experience 
 of Job also that of David, and of the great 
 Antitype of both. Christ was mocked by 
 men when bruised by God. 
 
 3. Job thus mocked notwithstanding his 
 uprightness and piety. (1.) His uprightness, 
 " the just upright man." The testimony 
 already given him by God (ch. i. 8 ; ii. 3). 
 (2.) His piety. Manifested in his prayer- 
 fulness, "who calleth upon God," &c. Ex- 
 emplified in his conduct in reference to his 
 children (ch. i. 5). His practice still in his 
 affliction (ch. xvi. 20). Made at last an 
 intercessor for his friends (ch. xii. 8, 10). A 
 man of piety necessarily a man of prayer. 
 Affliction draws a good man nearer to God, 
 sends a bad one farther from Him. Terrible 
 aggravation of the sin when the mocked 
 sufferer is an upright child of God. The 
 tremendous guilt of the Jews in relation to 
 Jesus. Job's prayers ordinarily heard and 
 answered, though apparently not so now. So 
 with Jesus in his last suffering (Ps. xxii. 
 2 ; Luke xxii, 42, compared with John xi. 
 42). Prayer, offered believingly in the name 
 of Christ, heard and answered, though in 
 God's own time and way. God's answer to 
 believers' prayers his testimony to the 
 acceptance of their persons. 
 
 4. Job was mocked by those who were at 
 ease themselves (verse 5). Another aggra- 
 vation of the sin as well as of the suffering 
 occasioned by it. To be "at ease," a 
 common description of the ungodly. Too 
 often applicable even to the professors of 
 religion (Amos vi. 1). Job's complaint that 
 of Christ's suffering church (Ps. cxxiii. 3. 4). 
 Suffering in ourselves the parent of sympathy 
 for others. 
 
 III. Re-asserts the prosperity of 
 
 the ungodly (verse 6). 
 
 "The tabernacles of robbers prosper ; yea, 
 they that provoke God are secure; into 
 whose hand God bringeth abundantly" (or, 
 " to whom God bringeth with his hand," or, 
 "to him -who carrieth God in his hand"). 
 Repeats more fully what he had asserted 
 (ch. ix. 24). Perhaps quotes another maxim 
 of the ancients. Observe 
 
 1. The characters spoken of , (1) "Rob-
 
 IIOMILETIC COMMENTARY: JOB. 
 
 CHAP. XII. 
 
 bers." Reference to the ungodly who put 
 might for right. The earth, previous to the 
 flood, filled with violence by such. The 
 giants in those days, mighty men of renown 
 (Gen. yi. 1). The flood the consequence of 
 their violence and its prosperity. A similar 
 state of things not long after that event. 
 Nimrod, " a mighty hunter before the Lord." 
 Hence the war of the kings (Gen. xiv). The 
 Sabcans and Chaldeans (ch. 15 17) other 
 specimens of these "robbers." Lust for 
 property, power and pleasure, the natural 
 tendency of fallen men. Hence wars and 
 fightings (Jam. iv. 1, 2). Tyrants, despots, 
 and great conquerors, often only robbers on 
 a large scale. Unlawful gains, oppression of 
 the poor, and mercantile dishonesty, other 
 forms of "robbery" (Jer. xxii. 13; Heb. ii. 
 12). (2) They "provoke God to anger." 
 The effect of all ungodliness. God angry 
 with the wicked every day. The wrath of 
 God revealed from heaven against all ungod- 
 liness and righteousness of men (Rom. i. 18). 
 God's anger especially provoked by cruelty 
 and wrong. The whole life of the ungodly 
 a continued provocation of God. Wealth 
 treasured up against the day of wrath (Rom. 
 ii. 5). Patience no proof of the want of pro- 
 vocations. 
 
 2. What is asserted of them. They 
 " prosper." The prosperity of the ungodly 
 more fully enlarged upon (ch. xxi. 7 13). 
 The stumbling-block of Asaph (Ps. Ixxiii. 2, 
 12) ; the perplexity of Jeremiah (Jer. xii. 1). 
 (1) Their dwellings are in outward peace and 
 prosperity. Their " tabernacles " prosper. 
 A cluster of tents required to form an Oriental 
 chieftain's household. The families of the 
 ungodly appear to prosper (ch. xxi. 8, 9, 11). 
 1ml of children, and leaving the rest of their 
 substance to their babes (Ps. xvii. 14). Their 
 homes appear likely to stand for many gene- 
 rations. Their lands called by their own names 
 (Ps. xlix. 11). (2) They enjoy abundance 
 of earthly^ comforts. Their abundance brought 
 to them in the providence of God, though 
 idolatrously ascribed to their own hand 
 (Deut. viii. 17; Heb. i. 11). Observe 
 (i.) Good fortune no proof of Divine favour. 
 tlives had his good things in this life, Lazarus 
 his evil things, (ii.) Earthly goods as well 
 as trials at the Divine disposal. These 
 often mysteriously, always wisely, distributed. 
 As compared with spiritual blessings, rather 
 the husks that the swine eat, or the bones 
 thrown to the dogs. Ordinarily given as 
 incitements to repentance, gratitude, and 
 love. When lusted after, often given iu 
 judgment rather than in mercy. The desire 
 granted, while leanness is sent into the soul 
 (Ps. cvi. 15). 
 
 IV. An Appeal to the irrational 
 creation (verse 710). 
 
 "Ask now the beasts, and they shall 
 teach thee, &c. Who knoweth not in all 
 these (or, ' which among all these knoweth 
 not ') that the hand of the Lord hath wrought 
 this ? " (that God here alone in the dialogues 
 spoken of as " the Lord " is both Creator 
 and Governor of all things). Perhaps a third 
 proverbial maxim quoted by Job. Observe : 
 
 1. All animate and inanimate nature man's 
 teachers. 
 
 The Book of Nature. 
 
 Its lessons manifold both as to faith and 
 practice. Job, in the end, referred to its 
 teachings by God himself. Heaven and earth 
 an open Bible, speaking both from God and 
 o/"Him. The nocturnal sky a wide unfolded 
 scroll, with every star a character. David's 
 delight to spell in it the glory and perfections 
 of God (Ps. xix. 1, 2). Every rising sun 
 proclaims anew His goodness and faithfulness 
 (Sam. iii. 23). Solomon sent his readers to 
 the ants for a lesson of industry. Jesus 
 directs His disciples to the birds and the 
 flowers to learn implicit confidence in the 
 care of their heavenly Father. The book of 
 nature distinctly enough written, and the 
 voices of creation sufficiently audible and clear. 
 But sin has dimmed our spiritual vision, 
 dulled our hearing, and made us slow to 
 learn either about God or ourselves. 
 
 2. The existence of an all-pervading, all-sus- 
 taining, and all'Controlling 
 
 Providence 
 
 Insisted on by Zophar as if Job had been 
 ignorant of it. Declared by the dust on a 
 butterfly's wing as well as by the lustre of 
 the Dogstar. Proclaimed by the motion of 
 an insect as it dances in the sun-beams, as 
 well as by the rising and setting of sun, moon, 
 and planets. The hand that upholds the 
 sun in the heavens guides the sparrow in its 
 fall to the ground. " Not a fly but has 
 had infinite wisdom concerned, not only in its 
 structure, but in its destination." \Young~} 
 Nature's works designed to lead up to nature's 
 God. " In his hand is the soul of every 
 living thing, and the breath (or spirit) of all 
 mankind" (verse 10). All life in and from 
 God. First created, and then supported 
 and preserved by Him. "In Him we live," 
 &c., not only by Him but in Him. The life 
 of men, animals and plants, no longer con- 
 tinued than He pleases. The laws of exist- 
 ence established by Him, and still under His 
 control. The spirit or thinking part of man 
 as well as the soul or feeling part of animals, 
 equally proceeding from and dependent upon 
 Him. The highest creature no more able to 
 prolong his existence a moment beyond His 
 
 77
 
 CHAP. XII. 
 
 UOMILETIC COMMENTARY: JOB. 
 
 will.lliau to create a universe. The power 
 of a man to think, as well as the sense to 
 feel, and the muscles to act, alike from Him. 
 A glance of His eye able to reduce creation 
 to its original nothingness. All events 
 under His control. Moral evil permitted, 
 penal evil inflicted by Him. The twin 
 truths of creation and providence everywhere 
 taught by external nature. The truth that 
 nature fails to teach, that which man most 
 needs to learn. For man to learn the way 
 of pardon and reconciliation with God, the 
 volume of nature required to be supple- 
 mented by that of revelation. 
 
 V. The right and duty of exercising 
 private judgment (verse 11). 
 
 "Doth not the ear try words, and the 
 mouth taste his meat ? " (or, " as the 
 mouth tastes its food"). The office of the 
 ear to try or judge of the statements 
 submitted to it. The ear put for the 
 judgment or reason which acts through it. 
 Moral and religious truths at that time 
 conveyed through the ear rather than the 
 eye. Books or writings rarely, if ever, found 
 among the people. Men's duty to examine 
 and judge of what they hear. Applicable to 
 the quotations already, or yet to be, made 
 from the ancients by Job and his friends, as 
 well as to the sentiments uttered by them- 
 selves. Job bespeaks candour and attention 
 to his speeches, and resolves to judge for 
 himself as to what is advanced by his friends. 
 Observe, in reference to 
 
 Private judgment, 
 
 1. Man possesses a faculty by which to 
 judge of moral and religious statements. 
 Such a faculty distinguishes man from the 
 brutes, and allies him to angels. The faculty 
 of reason or judgment originally given and 
 still continued to men, though weakened and 
 depraved by sin. Appealed to by God in 
 His messages to men (Isaiah v. 3); by 
 Christ (Luke xii. 57) ; by His apostles (1 
 Cor. x. 15 ; xi. 13 14). Lies at the founda- 
 tion of all efforts to instruct, enlighten, and 
 persuade others in reference to religious 
 subjects. Implies the possession and the 
 apprehension of a standard of right and 
 wrong. Its highest office to judge of moral 
 and religious statements by that standard. 
 A standard of moral judgment implanted in 
 man's nature at his creation, but now much 
 effaced. Renewed in the moral law and in 
 the Scriptures in general. The object of the 
 Bible and of the Holy Spirit to exhibit that 
 standard, and to lead men to judge, conclude, 
 and act according to it. 
 
 2. Ma/is duty to exercise that faculty in 
 regard to all statements o'j moral and reli- 
 
 gious subjects. Appeal to the law and the 
 testimony in reference to what man teaches, 
 enjoined by God Himself (Is. viii. 20). Men 
 commanded to cease to hear the instruction 
 that causeth to err from the words of know- 
 ledge (Prov. xix. 27). The apostolic injunc- 
 tion" Prove all things, hold fast that which 
 is good." " Believe not every spirit, but try 
 the spirits, whether they be of God " (1 Thes. 
 v. 21; 1 John'iv. 1). The part of the 
 " simple " to " believe every word." The 
 Beraeans commended for searching the Scrip- 
 tures daily to see whether the things spoken 
 by the apostles were according to them (Acts 
 xvii. 11). Superstition and priestcraft deny 
 to men the right of private judgment, and 
 forbid the ear to do its office. To believe 
 only because the Church or our forefathers 
 have done so, is for the ear no longer to " try 
 words." Man responsible to God for the 
 right exercise of the judgment He has given 
 him. When God speaks, the office of the 
 judgment is to discover that He has done so, 
 to ascertain what He has spoken, and then, un- 
 questioningly, to accept it. God's announce- 
 ments often above reason, never contrary to 
 it. The judgment to be exercised on moral 
 and religious subjects with (1) Seriousness 
 and attention ; (2) Candour and patience ; 
 (3) Modesty and humility ; (4) Impartiality 
 and absence of prejudice; (5) Prayer for 
 Divine enlightenment. 
 
 3. Human authority on religions subjects to be 
 respected, lut not regarded as paramount 
 (verses 12, 13). "With the ancient is 
 wisdom, and in length of days is under- 
 standing. With Him (i.e. God) is wisdom 
 and strength, he hath counsel and under- 
 standing," wisdom in both its forms, specu- 
 lative and practical ; or, wisdom to direct 
 and strength to accomplish. The latter 
 verse probably the commencement of another 
 quotation. Job's object in it (1) To vindi- 
 cate his knowledge of God as not inferior to 
 that of his friends ; (2) To show that the 
 wisdom of God infinitely surpasses that of 
 the wisest of men. Human wisdom ac- 
 quired by study, observation and experience, 
 by the long-continued exercise of the 
 judgment referred to in verse 11. By 
 reason of use men have their senses ex- 
 ercised to discern good and evil, and so 
 become men of full age in understanding, 
 instead of children (Heb. v. 13, 14 ; 1 Cor. 
 xiv. 20). That wisdom always imperfect 
 and fallible. God the only infallible teacher. 
 Wisdom, in men, as something communica- 
 ted ; with God, as something eternally and 
 essentially abiding. In man as a stream, 
 limited and uncertain ; with God, as a 
 perennial fountain. An appeal, therefore, 
 to be made from man's teaching to God's. 
 Divine teaching to be implicitly submitted
 
 IIOMILETIC COMMENTARY: JOB. 
 
 CHAP. xii. 
 
 to and confided in, as that of infinite 
 wisdom. 
 
 VI. Spirited description of God's 
 providence in the world (verse 14 25. 
 
 Probably a quotation of ancient poetry, or 
 the production of the poet put into Job's 
 mouth. Properly commences with verse 13. 
 A magnificent ode or hymn on the Divine 
 perfections and procedure in the world. 
 The similarity in language and sentiment to 
 parts of 107th Psalm remarkable. Celebrates 
 especially the various 
 
 Acts of Divine Providence. 
 
 Exhibits its operations on a grand and ex- 
 tensive scale. Represents God as ruling 
 over nations as weil as individuals. His 
 Providence viewed more in its solemn and 
 judicial aspects. 
 
 1 In acts of destruction (verse H). 
 " He breaketh down, and (or ' so 
 that') it cannot be built again." The 
 part of the Divine Ruler is to pull down as 
 well as to build up to kill as well as to make 
 alive (Is. xlv. 7 ; Am. iii. 6 ; Deut. xxxii. 39). 
 Breaks down houses, cities, individuals, 
 families, nations the earth itself. Seen in 
 the Flood, the Cities of the Plain, perhaps 
 the Tower of Babel. Breaks down cities, 
 buildings, &c., by earthquakes, inundations, 
 volcanoes, lightnings, tempests, &c ; nations 
 and kingdoms by invasions, wars, civil dis- 
 cord, foolish counsels, &c ; individuals by 
 diseases and misfortunes. Breaks down in 
 various ways human schemes and enter- 
 prises (Gen. xi. 38 ; 2 Chr. xx, 36, 37). 
 Reference to one form of destruction in 
 verse 15. "He withholdeth the waters and 
 they dry up ; also he sendeth them out and 
 they overturn the earth." Exemplified in 
 the Deluge. The windows of heaven then 
 opened, and the fountains of the great deep 
 broken up (Gen. vii. 11). Inundations 
 frequent in Arabia and Egypt. 
 
 2. In laying restraints on, individuals. 
 " He shutteth up a man (Heb. ' over a man ') 
 and there is no opening." Reference to 
 underground prisons (Jer. xxxvii. 38). 
 God in His providence shuts up individuals 
 as prisoners by affliction and misfortune 
 (Job himself an example); by delivering them 
 up into the hand of enemies ; by bringing 
 them into difficulties and straits ; by inward 
 darkness and distress ; by insanity, as in the 
 case of Nebuchadnezzar. When God shuts 
 up, none but Himself can open (Is. xxii. 22). 
 
 3. In overruling both men's misery and 
 mischief (verse 10). "The deceived aud 
 the deceiver arc His." The deceiver can 
 only act, and the deceived suffer, by His 
 permission. The deceiver His, to restrain 
 
 his deception and employ it for His own 
 wise purposes. The deceived His, to deliver 
 him from the deception, or to correct or 
 punish him by it. The deceiver God s in- 
 strument in trying the good and punishing 
 the bad. Satan the deceiver of the nations 
 (Rev. xx. 3). Lying spirits in the mouth 
 of false prophets, God's instruments in 
 punishing A.hab and his people (1 Kings 
 xxii. 20). False Christs and false prophets 
 to deceive many, but not the elect (Matt. 
 xxiv. 11 2i). Antichrist's advent to be 
 with all deceivableness of unrighteousness 
 in those that receive not the love of the 
 truth (2 Thess. ii. 11). 
 
 4. In punishing nations and their rulers 
 (verse 17). "He leadeth councillors away 
 spoiled (stripped as captives taken in war, 
 or deprived of their dignity, or as persons 
 bereft of judgment), and maketh the judges 
 fools ;" ( so infatuates them, that they shall 
 give wrong judgment, and so bring the 
 nation into trouble). So God threatened to 
 take away from Judah the judge, and the 
 prudent, and the councillor, and to. give 
 children to be their princes, and to cause 
 babes to rule over them (Is. iii. 2 4). No 
 greater woe to a land than when God in 
 judgment gives it up to unwise rulers and 
 statesmen (Ecc. x. 16). Verse 18. "He 
 looseth the bond of kings (dissolves their 
 authority, as in the case of Rehoboam and 
 the Ten Tribes), and girdeth their loins with 
 a girdle" (perhaps a cord or rope, as 
 indicative of servitude). No uncommon 
 thing for despotic rulers to be dethroned by 
 their oppressed and discontented subjects, 
 and instead of the insignia of royalty to 
 have to wear the habit of a prisoner or an 
 exile (Jer. Iii. 8 11, 31 33). Numerous 
 examples in Europe within the last century. 
 (Verse 24, 25). "He taketh away the 
 heart (or understanding) of the chief of the 
 people of the earth (or the land), and 
 causeth them to wander in a wilderness 
 where there is no way, &c." Easy with 
 God in judgment on themselves or the 
 nation, to leave rulers and statesmen in such 
 perplexity as not to know what to do, and to 
 abandon them to foolish and ruinous counsels. 
 So Rehoboam adopted the unwise counsel 
 given him by his youthful advisers. The 
 result of such judicial infatuation seen in 
 foolish and hurtful wars, in the adoption of 
 unwise public measures, in the enactment 
 of intolerant, partial, and unjust laws, and 
 in a short-sighted reactionary policy after 
 one of enlightened progress. 
 
 5. In humbling the brave, the (/if ted, and 
 the ffrfiat (verse 19). "He Icadct'h princes 
 (or priests probably civil rulers, viceroys, 
 or ministers of state) away spoiled, and 
 overthroweth the mighty " (warriors mighty 
 
 79
 
 CHAP. XIII. 
 
 HOMILETIC COMMENTARY: JOS. 
 
 in battle). No king saved by the multitude 
 of a host. The battle is the Lord's, who 
 gives the victory to whom He will. Threat- 
 ened to take from Judah the mighty man 
 and the man of war. At times turned the 
 edge of Israel's sword, so that they could 
 not stand in the battle (Ps. Ixxxix. 43). 
 Armies and their generals often overthrown 
 when calculating on certain victory. God 
 sometimes overthrows the mighty by allowing 
 them to overthrow themselves through foolish 
 and ambitious counsels. (Verse 20.) "He 
 removeth away the speech of the trusty (the 
 eloquence of the patriotic orator), and 
 taketh away the understanding of the aged " 
 (the prudence and wisdom of the experienced 
 senator). So God threatened to take away 
 from Judah "the eloquent orator, the 
 ancient and the honourable man" (Is. iii. 
 2, 3). May remove such by disease or 
 death without supplying their places, 
 by withholding the desire to serve their 
 country with their gifts, or by withdrawing 
 the gifts themselves. Persuasive elo- 
 quence and penetrating judgment not in 
 men's own keeping. The influence of 
 wise and confidential advisers sometimes 
 destroyed to serve God's own purposes 
 (2 Sam. xv. 31 ; xvii. 14, 23). Verse 21. 
 "He poureth contempt upon princes, and 
 weakeneth the strength of the mighty." 
 Numerous examples furnished by France 
 and other European countries during the 
 last hundred years. 
 
 6. In disclosing hidden wickedness (verse 
 22). " He discovereth deep things out of 
 darkness, and bringeth out to light the 
 shadow of death." (1) Wicked and deep- 
 laid schemes. Examples : the diabolical 
 contrivance of Ilaman for the destruction of 
 the Jews (Book of Esther) ; the Gunpowder 
 Plot for the overthrow of the Protestant 
 religion in England. (2) Secret crimes long 
 hidden from men. Examples: Joseph's 
 brethren, Achan, David. The verse in this 
 sense quoted by the Apostle, 1 Cor. iv. 5. 
 
 7. In the increase and decay of nations 
 (verse 23). " He increaseth the nations and 
 destroyeth them; He enlargeth the nations 
 and straiteneth them again." A nation 
 sometimes made to rise within a short time 
 to great power and influence. Examples : 
 Rome ; Israel under David and Solomon ; 
 and in more modern times, England, 
 America, and Prussia. Examples of the 
 decay of nations : Israel, after the death of 
 Solomon; Rome, after the prevalence of 
 luxury, pride and cruelty ; Spain, after its 
 persecution of the truth and exclusion of an 
 open Bible. Changes in the condition of 
 nations perhaps as early as the times of Job 
 (Gen. xiv.). Egypt, a powerful monarchy 
 at a very early period, ultimately for its 
 idolatry, "the basest of kingdoms." The seven 
 nations of Canaan extirpated for their 
 wickedness and lust. Only a short period 
 occupied by the rise and fall of each of the 
 first three universal empires. 
 
 CHAPTEE XIII. 
 
 JOB'S REPLY TO ZOPHAR CONTINUED. 
 
 I. Job re-asserts his knowledge of 
 the Divine procedure as not inferior to 
 that of his friends (verse 1, 2). 
 
 " Lo, mine eye," &c. Right in certain cir- 
 cumstances to maintain one's own knowledge, 
 but without vain glory (2 Cor. xi. 6 ; Eph. 
 iii. 4). Three things suggested in the words 
 of Job as necessary to the 
 
 Acquisition of knowledge. 
 
 1. Observation. "Mine eye hath seen 
 all this." Important to make a right use of 
 one's eyes. God's works both of creation 
 and providence to be carefully observed. To 
 observe God's works and ways is both a part 
 of wisdom and the means of increasing it 
 (Ps. cvii. 43). A mark of the ungodly and a 
 cause of their destruction, not to regard the 
 works of the Lord nor the operation of His 
 hand (Ps. xxviii. 5 ; Is. v. 12). Often the 
 best knowlege that which is obtained by 
 ca reful personal observation. "Come and 
 
 80 
 
 see," a common phrase in the Jewish 
 schools, and frequently repeated in the New 
 Testament (John i. ; Rev. vi). Better to 
 see for ourselves than to hear from others. 
 The eyes, as well as the ears, are the pur- 
 veyors for the mind. 
 
 2. Attention to the instruction of others. 
 " Mine ear hath heard." Moral and religious 
 instruction at that time mostly oral. Con- 
 sisted mainly in the recitation of proverbial 
 maxims or truths delivered in short sentences. 
 Such frequently quoted by Job and his 
 friends. Reference made here to such. 
 Each individual's own personal observation 
 necessarily limited. The testimony of others 
 required to supplement our own observation. 
 The privilege and duty of one to avail him- 
 self of the testimony and conclusions of 
 another. Since the invention of printing, 
 the extension of education, the employment 
 of steam, and the removal of the taxes on 
 knowledge, the testimony and instruction of 
 others now addressed nearly as much to the
 
 HOMILETIC COMMENTARY: JOB. 
 
 C1IAI'. XIII. 
 
 eye as to the ear. Heading now greatly 
 takes the pluce of hearing, as the means of 
 obtaining knowledge. 
 
 3. Reflection. "Hath understood (or 
 considered) it." Eeflection an appropriating 
 and assimilating process. Turns to account 
 what is observed, read, or heard. Beading 
 and hearing are with a view to reflection, as 
 food is taken into the mouth only with a 
 view to its being digested in the stomach. 
 Food only serves the purpose of nutrition 
 when properly masticated and digested. The 
 eye and the ear collect the materials for the 
 mind to work upon. Reading, as Bacon says, 
 makes a full man; but reflection makes an 
 intelligent, a growing, and a sure man. The 
 want of consideration the characteristic of 
 the way-side hearers. The reason of the 
 \Vord of God, when heard, not entering the 
 heart, and so of its being caught away by the 
 enemy (Matt. xiii. 19). 
 
 II. His desire and resolution to 
 address himself to God (verse 3). 
 
 " Surely, (or ' however ') I would (or will) 
 speak to the Almighty ; and I desire to 
 reason (or debate the case) with God." 
 Observe 
 
 1 . Great comfort to a believer in being able 
 to lake his case to God. Many things may 
 be poured into God's car which may not be 
 uttered to man's. Our comfort that in every 
 controversy an appeal may be made from 
 man to God. The heart in trouble cased by 
 pouring itself out to our 'Father in heaven. 
 The best way to dispose of difficulties and 
 perplexities is to take them at once to God. 
 Better to take our case to God than to man, 
 as (1) He is better acquainted with it, and 
 can make no mistake about it ; (2) Will give 
 a more just decision, being neither in- 
 fluenced by passion nor prejudice ; (3) Will 
 shew more tenderness and sympathy in 
 dealing with it. 
 
 2. God's great condescension in allowing a 
 creature to reason with Him. His desire tha.t 
 we should do so (Is. i. 18 ; xli. 21 ; xliii. 20). 
 Our privilege to plead with Him, not lo 
 justify ourselres as righteous, but to be justified 
 by Him as sinners. In the Gospel, God per- 
 mits us to plead with Him for justification 
 and acceptance on the ground of a better 
 righteousness than our own. His invitation 
 (Is. i. 18) ; David's resolution (Ps. Ixxi. 16) ; 
 Paul's triumph (Rom. viii. 33, 34). 
 
 III. Vehement retort from his friends 
 
 (verse 4). 
 
 "But ye are forgers of lies (or/ stitchers 
 up of falsehood,' 'disappointing surgeons/ 
 or 'trainers of false arguments/), ye are 
 all physicians of no value " (or, ' of nothing- 
 ness/ or 'idol physicians/ as Zcch. xi. 
 
 a 
 
 17). They had come professedly to bind up 
 their friend's wounds, and heal his diseased 
 mind. In doing this they had only employed 
 false and futile arguments. Had applied 
 useless remedies, and misapplied good ones. 
 Had set out on the false principle that great 
 sufferings prove great sins, and that temporal 
 prosperity must always accompany true 
 piety. Had therefore concluded that Job 
 must be both a transgressor and a hypocrite. 
 Had consequently employed arguments to 
 bring him to humiliation, repentance, and 
 prayer. Among other arguments, had held 
 out to him the promise of deliverance from 
 trouble and restoration to prosperity. 
 Observe 
 
 1. Much wisdom required in ministering 
 to a mind diseased. Care to be taken to 
 employ only solid considerations and sound 
 arguments. Only truth will satisfy and 
 heal a troubled spirit. Preachers to beware 
 of "daubing with untcmpered mortar." 
 
 2. Scripture truth, rightly applied, the only 
 medicine for sin-sick souls. Scripture written 
 that through patience and comfort from it 
 we might have hope (Rom. xv. 4). Paul's 
 direction to Christian mourners : " Comfort 
 one another with these words," the truths 
 he had just stated (1 Thess. iv. 18). 
 
 3. The honour and corresponding responsi- 
 bility of being made a physician of souls. 
 Requires (1) Study and knowledge of 
 cases ; (2) Knowledge of the requisite 
 remedies ; (3) Skill in applying them ; 
 (4) Sympathy with the sufferer. Christ 
 the Great Physician of souls, and an 
 example to all others. The best thing the 
 preacher can do is to direct the Christian 
 mourner and the sin-sick soul to Him 
 (1 Cor. ii. 2). 
 
 VI. Keen remonstrance and reproof 
 
 (verses 5 13). , 
 
 1. Begs his friends only to refrain from 
 speaking altogether (verse 5). " that ye 
 would altogether hold your peace ! and it 
 should be your wisdom." Verse 13. "Hold 
 your peace, and let me alone." Applica- 
 tion of the maxim in Prov. xvii. 28. Silence 
 may not only give the appearance of wisdom, 
 but is often wisdom itself. The part of a 
 wise man either not to speak, or to speak to 
 the purpose. Our speech to be " with grace, 
 seasoned with salt." 
 
 2. Bespeaks their attention to his reasoning 
 and reproof (verse 6). " Hear now my 
 reasoning, and hearken to the pleadings 
 of my lips." A duty owed to a brother 
 both to prove and reprove to prove error 
 and reprove sin in him (Lev. xix. 17; 
 Prov. ix. 8). 
 
 3. Shews their sin in acting as they had 
 done. Their sin (1) In dimmbli/u/ and 
 
 81
 
 CHAP. XIII. 
 
 HOMILETIC COMMENTARY: JOB. 
 
 using false arguments, while pretending to 
 defend God and His procedure (verse 7). 
 " Will ye speak wickedly for God ? and 
 talk deceitfully for him" (speaking dif- 
 ferently from what their consciences believed, 
 in order to please God and uphold his cause). 
 To make God appear just in afflicting Job, 
 they, contrary to their convictions, wished to 
 make him out a guilty transgressor. Observe 
 (i.) God needs no false doctrine or unsound 
 reasoning to defend Him or His doings, (ii.) 
 God's cause needs no sinful compromises or 
 questionable measures to uphold it. Neither 
 the wrath nor the wrong-doing of man 
 " worketh the righteousness of God." (2) 
 In giving partial judgment for God, and 
 presuming to make themselces His patrons, as 
 if he needed either their favour or defence 
 (verse 8). " Will ye accept his person ? 
 will ye contend for God ?" Good men to be 
 God's witnesses, but not His patrons or 
 advocates. A sin in His sight to judge, not 
 according to the merits of the case, but the 
 quality of the parties. Partiality in reference 
 to .men an injustice, in reference to God an 
 insult. God's cause to be defended not with 
 favour and partiality, but with truth and 
 justice. Favour and acceptance of persons 
 in judgment so obnoxious to God that He 
 accounts it a siii, even when in reference 
 to Himself. Only a blind, false, and super- 
 stitious regard to religion defends it 
 with anything but truth and honesty. 
 3. In condemning what they secretly be- 
 lieved to be right, or maintaining with (heir 
 lips what they did not believe in their hearts 
 (verse 9). " Is it good (or will it be for 
 your advantage) that he search you out 
 (examine and expose your secret motives ?) 
 Or as one man mocketh another, do ye so 
 so mock him ? He will surely reprove you, 
 if you do secretly accept persons. Shall not 
 His excellency make you afraid (of acting 
 thus hypocritically), and His dread fall 
 upon you ?" (or, ' is it not His majesty 
 that makes you afraid [of speaking according 
 to your convictions] and does not the dread 
 of DUB overwhelm you ? ' [so as to act hypo- 
 critically in the matter]. Their condemnation 
 of Job not from conviction of his guilt but 
 from fear of God's displeasure, and the 
 desire to appear on His side. Observe (i.) 
 All dissimulation hateful to the God of truth. 
 Believers so to act as willing to bear the 
 scrutiny of Him whose eyes are as a flame of 
 fire, (ii.) Fearful mockery of God to cloak 
 our want of charity to man with a pretended 
 zeal for God. (iii.) Necessary in maintaining 
 the cause of religion, to examine our motir.cs 
 and the means we employ in doinr/ so. A good 
 cause may be defended from evil motives, and 
 B bad cause may be upheld under the appear- 
 
 c e of piety, A sin to act from slavish 
 
 82 
 
 fear of the Almighty, rather than from 
 conviction and a regard to truth. 
 
 4. Declares the icorlhlessncss of hi* f si rials' 
 authorities and maxims with reference to the 
 case in hand (verse 12). "Your remem- 
 brances are like ashes (or, ' your memorial 
 sayings are proverbs of ashes,' worthless, 
 a>..d easily scattered by the wind) ; your bodies 
 to bodies of clay " (or, " your towers, 
 or defences," i.e., your arguments and 
 maxims are "towers of mud," as opposed 
 to those of stone, without strength or solidity, 
 and easily thrown down). Probably a pro- 
 verbial phrase for weak and worthless argu- 
 ments. The reference to the quotations 
 from the ancients in his friends' speeches. 
 These called " remembrances," or " memorial 
 sayings," as intended to be carried in the 
 memory, and so kept ready for use. Parti- 
 cularly numerous among the Arabs, and 
 taking the place of laws. Abundant in the 
 speeches of Job and his friends, especially of 
 the latter. Great part of Oriental wisdom 
 and learning consisted in the knowledge and 
 ready recitation of these traditional maxims. 
 Their value to be decided on their respective 
 merits. Not to be regarded as in themselves 
 inspired productions. Probably neither their 
 authors nor reciters inspired men. As 
 mucli wisdom required in the application as 
 in the composition of them. " A parable in 
 the mouth of fools " proverbially worthless 
 and injurious (Prov. xxvi. 7, 9). In the case 
 of Job's friends the fault chiefly in the appli- 
 cation. The maxims themselves generally 
 good, according to the views prevalent at the 
 period. Care to be taken by preachers and 
 others (1) That quotations, especially those 
 from Scrip fare, are correctly applied; (2) 
 That the arguments they employ are solid ones 
 not " defences of mud." 
 
 V. His Ecsolution to plead his cause 
 with God at whatever risk (verse 13). 
 
 "Let me alone, that I (or I myself) may 
 speak (viz. to God), and let come on me what 
 will." (A r erse 14). "Wherefore do I (or, 
 ' come what may,' repeated from previous 
 verse, ' I will) take my flesh in my teeth, and 
 put my life in mine hand." A prover- 
 bial expression for " expose myself," viz., 
 to the threatened peril of suffering for pre- 
 sumption in pleading his cause with God. 
 The attempt considered by his friends as 
 most daring and perilous. Faith and a 
 good conscience are courageous, even in 
 reference to God Himself (1 John, iii. 21). 
 The righteous are bold as a lion (Prov. xxviii. 
 ]). "Virtue is bold, and goodness never 
 fearful." Job's case with God that of 
 Esther with the king : " I will go, and if I 
 perish I perish " (Esth. iv. 16). Abraham's 
 case in pleading for Sodom ; " I have taken
 
 IIOMILETIC COMMENTARY: JOti. 
 
 CHAP, xnr. 
 
 upon me to speak unto the Lord, who am 
 but dust aud ashes (Gen. xviii. 27. 
 Neceiity and love make mot courageous. 
 Verse 15. "Though he slay me, yet will I 
 trust in Him (or, ' behold, he will slay me,' or 
 ' let Him slay me, I will not expect' [anything 
 else] the Hebrew words for ' not ' and 
 ' in him,' the same in sound) ; but I will 
 maintain (or, ' only I will prove and argue') 
 my ways before Him." The antithesis 
 between the third and the first and second 
 clauses, rather than between the second and 
 the first. Observe 
 
 1 . The boldness of Job's faith and con- 
 scious integrity hese rises to its highest pitch. 
 Though with only death before him as the 
 result, he will still maintain his integrity, 
 even at the tribunal of the Almighty. 
 
 THE HEAT AND TURNING POINT OF THE 
 CONFLICT ' BETWEEN GOD AND SATAN IN 
 
 THESE WORDS. Satan's charge, Job will 
 give up all, even his religion, to save his 
 life. Thus it will be shown that God 
 has not a sincere disinterested servant 
 in the world; that all religion is mere 
 selfishness and time-serving policy. God 
 will thus be stripped of His honour in 
 the universe. For Job to have given up 
 his integrity and acknowledged he was 
 not the man he had appeared, would 
 have given the victory into Satan's hand. 
 Job would have been condemned out of his 
 own mouth. Fear would have made him 
 a liar, and to save his life he would have 
 thrown away his religion. This the aim of 
 Satan, and the tendency of all the arguments 
 of his friends, cunningly suggested by him- 
 self. JOB PREFERS TO DIE, and Satan is 
 defeated. Glorious triumph of faith and 
 a good conscience ! Many a believer, like 
 Job, the battle-field between. God and Satan. 
 As he maintains faith and a good con- 
 science, God is honoured and Satan put to 
 shame. 
 
 2. Job persuaded that though his daring 
 might end in death, it would ultimately prove 
 his deliverance (verse 16). "He also (or, 
 'even this ') shall be my salvation; for an 
 hypocrite [as Job's friends charged him with 
 being] shall not come before him." The 
 fact of his appealing to God in the face of 
 such peril, a proof of his innocence. "The 
 foolish shall not stand in His presence " 
 (Ps. v. 5). The righteous Judge would 
 acquit him of the charges of his friends, and 
 of any sin as the cause of his suffering. 
 Even should death ensue, a deliverance 
 awaited him beyond death. His inno- 
 cence would be vindicated, which with 
 him was salvation. The day would come 
 when this would be done before an assem- 
 bled universe (ch. xix. 25). The belie cer's case 
 always safe in God's hands (2 Tim, L 10.), 
 
 62 
 
 VI. Job requests his friends' attention 
 to Ids pleading, aud predicts his success 
 
 (verse 17). 
 
 "Hear diligently my speech, and my 
 declaration [in reference to my innocence] 
 with your ears. Behold now, I have ordered 
 my cause ( have already set in order my 
 pleading as a general draws up his forces 
 for battle) ; I know that I shall be justified " 
 ( shall gain the cause and be pronounced 
 righteous by my Judge). Job actually justi- 
 fied by God as he expected, though not till 
 he had humbled himself and repented in 
 dust and ashes (ch. xlii. 6). Observe (1) 
 The boldness and assurance of a good con- 
 science before a righteous tribunal. (2) 
 Job's language that of Christ himself, and of 
 the believer trusting as a sinner in Christ's 
 merits (Is. 1. 79; Horn. viii. 3234). 
 Job, in the circumstances, rightly trusted to 
 his innocence and integrity as the ground 
 of his justification by God. Men, as sinners, 
 have not to plead their own righteousness 
 as the ground of their acceptance, but that 
 of the Surety provided for them by God 
 Himself. "Who is he that condemneth ? It 
 is Christ that died, yea rather that is risen 
 again." Christ's name and title, The Lord 
 cur righteousness (Jer. xxiii. -6). This also 
 the righteousness of Job, viewed as in 
 common with others a sinner before God 
 (ch. xl. 4; xlii. 6). Job upright in his life 
 as a true servant of God, and so justified by 
 his own righteousness before- men; Job a 
 sinner in himself in the eye of the Divine 
 law, and so justified by the righteousness 
 of his Surety before God. 
 
 VII. Introduction to the pleading 
 
 (verses 1922). 
 
 1. Challenges any opponent in the con- 
 troversy (verse 19). "Who is he that will 
 plead with me ?" Defies any to shew that 
 lie is guilty of any crime deserving such 
 unusual treatment. Similar challenge by 
 God's righteous Servant (Is. 1. 8) ; and by 
 the Apostle in reference to believers (Rom. 
 viii. 32). 
 
 2. Expresses his intense desire to plead his 
 cause before God, whatever the result. " For 
 now if 1 hold my tongue, I shall give up the 
 ghost " (or, " for now [if he can make good 
 his cause against me and prove me guilty] 
 I will hold my tongue and die "). 
 
 3. Begs only to be freed from restraint in 
 plefidiiiff (verse 20). "Only do not two 
 things unto me, then will I not hide my- 
 self from thce." These two things speci- 
 fied (1) The removal or lightening of his 
 present suffering; "Withdraw thine hand 
 far from me" (verse 21). (2) The with- 
 holding the overwhelming terror of his 
 majesty; "and let not thy dread make me 
 
 83
 
 CHAP. XIII. 
 
 II01IILETIC COMMENTARY: JOB. 
 
 afraid." Tlic result of this request being 
 granted, "Then call thou (as plaintiff in the 
 case), and I will answer (as defendant) ; or 
 let me speak (as plaintiff), and answer thou 
 me [the complaints that I have to make]." 
 llis wish either that God would accuse and 
 give him an opportunity of answering for 
 himself; or allow him to present his com- 
 plaint as suffering without any known cause. 
 No small presumption in the eyes of the 
 friends for Job to wish either of these. 
 The language only to be excused in the 
 peculiar circumstances of the case. No 
 sinner's part either to complain against. 
 God, or to answer His charges. Ultimately 
 Job is taught to give up the place both of 
 plaintiff and defendant. Observe 
 
 1. Job's difficulties in pleading his cause 
 were God's hand upon him, and God's dread 
 over him. God's hand easily made too 
 heavy for any creature to bear. If so heavy 
 on a saint, what must it be on a sinner ? 
 "If these things are done in the green tree, 
 what shall be done in the dry ?" If God's 
 dread be overwhelming to a saint in a world 
 of mercy, what will it be to the sinner in a 
 world of doom? Good so to realise God's 
 terror now, as to escape it hereafter. 
 
 2. The difficulties removed, Job would 
 plead with God and not hide himself fro m 
 Rim. Natural for fallen men to seek to 
 hide themselves from God. Adam's first act 
 after the Fall was to sew fig-leaves together 
 to hide his oicn nakedness; his second, to 
 hide himself from God among the trees. 
 Peter's language to Christ the natural ex- 
 pression of conscious guilt in presence of 
 Divine majesty : Depart from me, for I am 
 a sinful man, Lord. Christ the true 
 hiding-place of a sinner provided by God 
 himself. Hidden by faith in the clefts of 
 that Hock, the sinner can behold the majesty 
 of God without dread. 
 
 VIII. Job pleads with God (verses 
 2328). 
 
 1. Asks to be shewn his sins which are the 
 cause of his suffering (verse 23). "How 
 many are mine iniquities and my sins ? Make 
 me to know my transgression and my sin. 
 Wherefore hidest thou thy face," &c. This 
 not a confession of sin, but a desire to have 
 it shown. Asked more in the spirit of self- 
 justification than of humility. Job un- 
 conscious of such sin as to merit such 
 suffering, yet willing to know it. First, 
 as to the mum her of his sins, then ' any 
 particular transgression that has entailed 
 such chastisement. Three different kinds of 
 offences indicated (1) Iniquities, or perverse 
 deviations from the Divine law ; (2) Sins, or 
 failures in duty ; (3) Transgression, or the 
 most heinous kind of sin, involving rebellion 
 
 84 
 
 and wilful breach of the law of God. 
 Though not the cause of his sufferings, yet 
 Job's offences immensely more numerous 
 than he was aware of. Like Paul, had lived 
 in all good conscience ; yet secret unknown 
 sins might still exist. David's acknowledge- 
 ment " Innumerable evils liave compassed 
 me about mine iniquities are more than the 
 hairs of my. head" (Ps. xl. 12). God's testi- 
 mony in regard to fallen man before the 
 Flood, " Every imagination of the thought 
 of his heart is only evil continually ;" after 
 the Flood, "The imagination of man's heart 
 is evil from his youth " (Gen. vi. 5 ; viii. 21). 
 Man's natural heart a poisonous upas tree 
 and a corrupt spring. The fruit necessarily 
 partakes of the nature of the tree ; the 
 streams, of that of the spring. Sin, in con- 
 sequence of its effects on the soul, usually not 
 known. Like the fish that discolours the 
 water by its own secretion, and so escapes 
 its pursuer. Important prayer (Ps. xix. 12 ; 
 xxvi. 2 ; cxxxix. 23). Job ultimately made to 
 know his transgression and his sin (eh. xlii. 
 G). The discovery of the Dirine glory is at 
 the same lime a discovery of our oicndn. The 
 result of Job's trouble, as of all sanctified 
 affliction. Knowledge of sin necessary to 
 the knowledge of salvation. " The whole 
 have no need of the physician." Sense of sin 
 needful to sense of the blood that was shed 
 for its remission. 
 
 2. Pleads his present condition. (1) As 
 forsaken by God. " Wherefore hidest thou 
 thy face, and boldest me for thine enemy ? " 
 (verse 21). This the most painful element 
 in his sufferings. So with David (Ps. xiii. 
 1 ; xxii. 1), and with David's Lord (Matt. 
 xxvii. 48). Implies previous enjoyment of 
 llis presence and favour (ch. xxix. 3 5). 
 Only those who have known the sweetness 
 of God's fellowship can realise the great- 
 ness of its loss. Intolerable to a child of 
 God to be regarded and treated as an enemy. 
 (2) As feeble and afflicted. "Wilt thou. 
 break a leaf driven to and fro ? and wilt 
 thou pursue the dry stubble ':" Touching 
 images of frailty arid prostration a leaf 
 driven to and fro by the wind, and dry 
 stubble, worthless and ready to take fire. 
 Seemed unbecoming the Divine majesty to 
 pursue so feeble a creature with so much 
 severity. Job's sufferings already of some 
 continuance. Had consisted in successive 
 blows, increasing in severity, without mitiga- 
 gation or suspension. To the eye of sense 
 God's dealings often unnatural and unlike 
 Himself. Hereafter seen to be all holy, and 
 wise, and good, infinitely becoming His 
 Divine Majesty and character. Winter with 
 its gloom, as necessary and as much a part 
 of nature's economy, as sumvncr with its 
 glow. "God is His own interpreter," &c.
 
 HOHILETIC COMMENTARY: JOS. 
 
 CHAP. XIV. 
 
 Contrast with Job's pleading what the 
 Saviour actually docs (Ps. xlii. 3). 
 
 3. Complains of the Divine treatment 
 (verses 26 29). (1) That God visited upon 
 Itini the sins of his youth. " Thou writest bitter 
 things against me ( decreest bitter suffer- 
 ings for me as the punishment of my offences), 
 and makest me to possess (Ileb, ' inherit ') 
 the iniquities of my youth ( to suffer the 
 punishment of sins long passed, committed in 
 the season of thoughtlessness,and then passed 
 over)." Job entirely in the dark in regard to 
 God's present dealings and the cause of his 
 sufferings. God's part in them was to prove 
 Job to be his faithful servant, in opposition 
 to Satan's allegations. Believers unable to 
 judge correctly of God's dealings from 
 appearances. " Blind unbelief is sure to 
 err," &c. Satan's object to get Job and 
 every child of God to think as hardly of God 
 as possible. God might visit the sins of 
 youth on our riper years. Such sins de- 
 serving punishment, and requiring to be 
 repented of in order to be forgiven. David 
 remembered them, and besought God not to 
 do so (Ps. xxv. 7). "Foolishness bound 
 up in the heart of a child." The thoughts 
 of man's heart evil from his youth. The 
 natural effects of youthful sins sometimes 
 experienced in maturcr years. Job, con- 
 scious at least of youthful sins, sup- 
 poses he must now be suffering the punish- 
 ment of them. Yet Job's youth eminently 
 virtuous and pious (ch. xxxi 1, 18). The 
 sins of youth as well as of manhood atoned 
 for by a Saviour's blood (Is. liii. 6). The 
 bitterness of sin's punishment experienced 
 by the Divine Surety on the cross (Matt, 
 xxvii. 2i). (2) That he was treated igno- 
 minioitsly as the vilest criminal (ver. 27). 
 " Thou puttest my feet also in the stocks." 
 These a kind of clo^, or fetter. Often a 
 public, always a painful and ignominious 
 punishment, and the severest restraint on 
 personal liberty. Inflicted on Jeremiah in 
 the gate, or most public place of the city 
 
 (Jer. xx. 2) ; and on Paul and Silas in the 
 dungeon at Phillippi (Acts xvi. 24). Job's 
 case appeared to him to resemble this. 
 " And lopkest narrowly into all my paths" 
 either with the view of punishing, or of 
 preventing escape. Job appeared to be 
 watched as by a spy, or guarded as by a 
 sentinel. Similar thought, ch. vii. 12, 20. 
 His temptation common to believers. 
 "Judge not the Lord by feeble sense." 
 God's true character and dealings described 
 by the prophet (Mic. vii. 18, 19). "Thou 
 settest a print upon the heels of my feet" 
 either (a] as tracking his stejjs with a view 
 to punishment ; or (I) as marking him as a 
 criminal or runaway slave with branded feet ; 
 or (c) as hemming in his path and forbidding 
 escape. The flesh mistakes friends for foes. 
 In the battle of Alma men fighting in the dark 
 fired on their own countrymen. Satan's doings 
 often mistaken for God's, and God mistaken 
 for a foe. (3) That his lot was to pine away 
 and perish (verse 28). "And he as a rotten 
 thing consumeth (or, 'and the same,' viz., 
 the same unhappy culprit, meaning himself 
 a poetical and tragical change of the person, 
 as better indicating his sense of his vile con- 
 dition), as a garment that is moth-eaten.'" 
 The humbling comparison of himself to 
 worm-eaten wood, or to moth-eaten clothes, 
 suggested by his bodily condition. The 
 latter a common poetical figure for gradual 
 but sure destruction. Applied to the body 
 under disease (Ps. xxxix. 11) ; to men in 
 general (Is. 1. 9). The present verse 
 closely connected with the following chapter, 
 and forming a point of transition to it. 
 Job's condition as frail and dying a plea with 
 God for pity and forbearance. The plea 
 remembered in regard to Israel (Ps. Ixxviii. 
 39) ; in regard to men in general (Ps. ciii. 
 13, 14; Is. Ivii. 16). God's mercy pities 
 men's persons while his justice punishes 
 their sins. Hence the gracious provision 
 of a Substitute (Is. liii. 6). 
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 CONTINUATION OF JOB'S PLEADING- WITH GOD. 
 
 I. Pleads the common infirmity of 
 human nature (verse 1 4). 
 
 Man, from the very nature of his birth, 
 frail and mortal, suffering and sinful. " Born 
 of a woman." Allusion to the sentence pro- 
 nounced on Eve after the fall (Gen. iii. 16), 
 " I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy 
 conception; in sorrow shalt thou bring forth 
 children." Like parent, like child. Such a 
 birth a plea with the Almighty for lenience 
 
 and forbearance. Three evils resulting to 
 humanity from that birth 
 
 I. Mortality. "Of few days." Man ever 
 since the fall has been short-lived. Jacob's 
 testimony at the age of a hundred and thirty 
 " Few and evil have the days of the years 
 of my life been" (Gen. xlyii. 9). The longest 
 life short (1) In comparison with eternity ; 
 (2) As compared with what it would have 
 been but for the fall. Man's death the result 
 
 85
 
 CHAP. XIV. 
 
 UOMILE'IW COMMENTARY: JOS 
 
 of sin. Probably the tree of life in the 
 garden of Eden "a symbol of man's immor- 
 tality, and a means of effecting it. Death 
 among the lower animals no argument against 
 the doctrine that man's death is the wages 
 of sin. As easy for God to make man's 
 body immortal as to make it at all. If man 
 reaching the age of Adam and Methuselah 
 was short-lived, what is he now ? Sad in- 
 sanity, for the sake of this short span, to 
 throw away a blissful eternity ! 
 
 2. Suffering. "Full of trouble." Man's 
 life on earth not merely sprinkled with 
 with trouble, but saturated with it. The 
 first scene disclosed by Scripture after the 
 Fall is, Adam and Eve weeping tears of 
 anguish over a son slaughtered by the hand 
 of his brother. A representative event. 
 Man's history, even under an economy of 
 mercy and the operation of grace, a record 
 of blood and tears. "Few and evil," the 
 description of most men's lives. The 
 " trouble " both inward and outward. Dis- 
 quietude and unrest the natural man's daily 
 experience. No peace to the wicked. Man's 
 soul a sea continually agitated by the winds 
 of passion. The name of external troubles 
 "Legion." Bodily diseases a part of that 
 death which is the wages of sin. Death 
 itself a prominent element in the troubles of 
 life. Life clouded by the fear and apprehen- 
 sion of it, in respect either to ourselves or 
 our friends. Deep trouble through its inroads 
 into the domestic or social circle. Man's in- 
 humanity, unkindness, and wrong to his 
 fellow-man. Reverses of fortune, poverty, 
 want. Not least, the trouble superinduced 
 by our own conduct. Suffering produced 
 by sin as heat by fire. Trouble as man's 
 lot on earth a fact of universal experi- 
 ence. " The world is an abode which if it 
 make thee smile to-day, will make thee weep 
 to-morrow" [Hariri, an Arabian poet], 
 
 Man's frailty and mortality set forth under 
 two impressive figures: 
 
 1. AJlower (verse 2). "He cometh forth 
 as a llower and is cut down." Man com- 
 pared to a flower (1) From its origin, the 
 earth; (2) Its beauty; (3) Its delicate texture 
 and construction, contrasted with the fruit; (4) 
 Its frailty ; (5) Its end. If allowed to grow, 
 soon fades and falls off, but liable also to 
 many casualties, from the hand of men, the 
 tooth of animals, the nipping frost, the 
 mower's scythe. Man the goodliest llower 
 framed by his Maker's hand. " Godlike, 
 erect, with native honour clad." His good- 
 liness as the flower of the field. Like the 
 blossom, which opens, expands, reaches its 
 perfection, fades, and then falls to its native 
 earth. More frequently is prematurely " cut 
 down." His life exposed to a thousand 
 casualties* The flower however falls off only 
 
 80 
 
 to make way for the fruit. If prepared by 
 grace, man dies only to ripen in a happier 
 sphere. 
 
 2. A shadow. "He flceth also as a sha- 
 dow and continueth not." Time early mea- 
 sured by the shadow of a dial or a spear 
 stuck in the ground. The shadow on the 
 dial-plate never stands still. Glides on from 
 hour to hour, from morning to noon, and 
 from noon to night. The motion impercep- 
 tible, but constant and progressive. Neither 
 stands still nor goes back. Only terminated 
 by the setting of the sun or an unexpected 
 cloud. So man's passage from the cradle 
 to the grave. Hastens to the evening of 
 death, which however often arrives unex- 
 pectedly bolbre it is noon. The primaeval 
 sentence in continual execution, " Dust 
 thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return." 
 The shadow an appropriate emblem also of 
 the pleasures and pursuits of time, as empty 
 and unsubstantial. Lessons : (1) To form 
 atrue estimate of the enjoyments and interests 
 of time and eternity. (2) To improve our 
 fleeting stay in this world to the preparation 
 for a better. (3) To make a diligent use of 
 present moments which alone arc ours. (4) 
 To stand always prepared for life's unex- 
 pected termination. 
 
 Human frailty employed by Job as a pica 
 for leniency and forbearance (verse 3). "And 
 dost thou open thine eyes upon ( pay rigid 
 attention to) such an one ( one so frail, 
 miserable, and short-lived) ? and bringest me 
 (or him) into judgment with thee " ( accu- 
 sing and contending with him for his faults 
 against thee) ? The plea acknowledged by 
 God (Ps. Ixxviii. 39; ciii. 14; Is. Ivii. 16; 
 Gen. vi. 3). God however has opened His 
 eyes on frail and suffering man, but differ- 
 ently from what Job intended. Has opened 
 them in love and pity, so as to provide 
 deliverance from man's wretched condition. 
 So in regard to typical Israel (Exod. iii. 7, 8). 
 God's eyes opened graciously on every hum- 
 ble and" contrite soul (Is. Ixvi. 2). On his 
 covenant people, to watch over, defend, and 
 bless them (Zech. xii. 4). 
 
 3. Depravity, the third evil resulting to 
 man from his birth (verse 4). "Who can 
 bring a clean thing out of an unclean ? Not 
 one." From sinful parents can come only a 
 sinful offspring. The plant must be according 
 to the seed the fruit according to the tree. 
 God created Adam in His own likeness ; 
 Adam, after the Fall, begat children, not 
 in God's likeness, but his own (Gen. v. 3). 
 Men now shapen in iniquity and conceived 
 in sin (Ps. li. 5). " In Adam all die," 
 spiritually as well as physically and legally 
 (I Cor. xv. 22). The corruption of human 
 nature in its root acknowledged by the 
 heathen. " Nobody is born without vices,"
 
 HOMILETIC COMMENTARY: JOB. 
 
 CHAP. XIV. 
 
 the saying of a heathen poet. Man found 
 everywhere and in all circumstances, corrupt 
 and depraved. Savage and civilized partake 
 of the same general character. Only to be 
 accounted for by a common depraved nature. 
 Children exhibit the same depravity as their 
 parents. Deceit, envy, coveting, and self- 
 will, common in early childhood. No out- 
 ward restraint or appliances abje to remove 
 or overcome this innate depravity. No clean 
 or holy thing ever brought forth out of man's 
 sinful nature. " Out of the heart proceed evil 
 thoughts," &c. "A corrupt tree cannot 
 bring forth good fruit." Grapes not gathered 
 from thorns. What is holy may proceed 
 from a sinful man, but not from a sinful 
 nature .^ _God does not produce the fruits of 
 the Spirit from man's old sinful nature, but 
 irom a new one imparted. Two distinct and 
 opposite natures, the old man and the new, 
 in a child of God, each producing its own 
 proper fruits. The presence of the new 
 makes the man a saint; that of the old a 
 sinner. The believer is holy, and produces 
 holy fruits in virtue of his new and holy 
 nature ; he is still sinful, and produces sinful 
 fruits in virtue of his old and sinful one. 
 Hence the Saviour's teaching: "Ye must 
 be born again." The old nature crucified 
 in a believer and destined to die ; the new 
 nature victorious even now, and ultimately 
 alone in the field. 
 
 II. Pleads for removal or relaxation 
 
 of his sufferings (verse 5 12). 
 
 His prayer, and the grounds of it. 
 
 1. His prayer (verse 6). " Turn from him " 
 (or, " look away from him," i.e., from Job him- 
 self), that he may rest (obtain relief from 
 suffering, or rest in death), till he accomplish as 
 an hireling his day" (or, ' that he may enjoy,' 
 as far as a hireling may do so, ' his appointed 
 period ' of labour, viz., the present life, or fijid 
 the rest of evening after his toil, viz., in 
 death). Human life already spoken of as 
 " the days of a hireling " (ch. vii. 1) ; (1) As 
 a certain definite period ; (2) As a period of 
 toil and endurance. Job's day now felt to 
 be especially oppressive. The burden and 
 heat of the day for day-labourers in the 
 East, especially severe (Matt. xx. 12). The 
 rest of evening greatly longed for (ch. vii. 2). 
 Job fluctuates between desire for alleviation 
 of the burden, and for rest in the grave. So 
 also in ch. vi. 8, 9 ; vii. 19 ; x. 20. Times 
 in a believer's experience when life seems 
 especially burdensome. The feeling of David 
 (Ps. Iv. 6) ; of Elijah (1 Kings, xix. 4) ; of 
 Jonah (Jon. iv. 3, 8) ; of Jeremiah (Jer. ix. 2 ; 
 xii. 5). Once the feeling of Jesus (Matt. xvii. 
 17). Christ at such times, as "a river of 
 waters in a dry place, and the shadow of a 
 great rock in. a weary land," Believers not 
 
 tempted above what they are enabled to 
 bear. In the day of the rough wind, the 
 east wind stayed. Strength made equal to 
 our day. " My grace is sufficient for thce." 
 2. Grounds of the prayer (verse v. 7 12). 
 (1) The time of our stay on earth fixed by 
 God himself (verse 5). " Seeing his days arc 
 determined, the number of his months arc 
 with thee, thou hast appointed his bounds 
 that he cannot pass." Job troubled with no 
 doubts on the subject of 
 
 Predestination. 
 
 That God appointed the bounds of man's 
 life as certain with Job as that He made 
 him at all. This belief held firmly by the 
 Arabians to the present day. The doctrine 
 of the Bible. Our time in God's hand. 
 Man unable to add a cubit to his stature,- an 
 hour to hid age. Consistent with the opera- 
 tion of second causes and natural laws. 
 Means appointed along with the end. " Man's 
 life no more governed by the Stoics blind 
 fate than by the Epicurean's blind fortune " 
 [M. Henry}. The fact pleaded by Job as a 
 ground for the mitigation of his sufferings. 
 The few short years allotted on earth may 
 be graciously spared such excessive, accumu- 
 lated, and continued affliction. It is still 
 with God to say both how long and how 
 severe our sufferings on earth shall be. Pre- 
 destination perfectly consistent with 
 
 Prayer. 
 
 The Almighty not, like the God of the 
 Stoics, bound by fate. May not change His 
 ptirpose,\)\\i may alter His procedure. Changes 
 in His outward procedure already in His secret 
 purpose. The thread of man's life in God's 
 hands, to lengthen or shorten it according to 
 circumstances already foreseen. Hence full 
 scope for the exercise of prayer. Prayer and 
 its answers no interference with God's pur- 
 poses. Not only what God does, but how He 
 does it, already predetermined. Believing 
 prayer one of the means appointed with the 
 end. God builds up Zion at the "set time' 
 to favour her, because He regards "the 
 prayer of the destitute" (Ps. cii. 1317). 
 The duty and prevalence of prayer a fact as 
 well of experience as of revelation. Prayer 
 and its efficacy an instinct of human nature. 
 One of the great moral laws under which 
 God has placed His intelligent creatures. 
 Man's inability to reconcile it with his philo- 
 sophy no argument against it. Man must 
 pray ; and Qod is the hearer of prayer. 
 
 (2.) Our departure from thin world final and 
 irrevocable. Man's case at death is (i.) 
 contrasted with that of a felled tree (verse 7). 
 'Tor there is hope of a tree, if it be cut 
 
 87
 
 CHAP. XIV. 
 
 IIOMTLKTIC COMMENTARY: JOB. 
 
 clown, that it will sprout again, anil that the 
 tender branch (or shoot) thereof will not 
 cease ; though the root thereof wax old in 
 the earth, and the stock thereof die (to all 
 appearance) in the ground ; yet through the 
 scent of water ( its gentle contact, like an 
 exhalation or an odour,) it will bud and bring 
 forth boughs (Heb. ' a crop ' of shoots) like 
 a plant (or, 'as if it had been planted.') 
 But man (even in his best estate Heb. 'the 
 strong man') dieth and wasteth away (or, 
 ' is prostrated and gone ' loses all inward 
 power of recovery or revival) ; yea, man 
 (Heb. man as sprung from the earth, 'Adim ') 
 giveth up the ghost and where is he?" (i.e., 
 is no more to be seen a Biblical and Arab 
 phrase). (ii.) Compared to water disappearing 
 by evaporation, absorption, or otherwise 
 (verse 11). "As the waters fail from the 
 sea (or lake, the term applied to any con- 
 siderable collection of water, Jer. li. 36 ; Is. 
 xix. 5) ; and the flood (or winter-torrent) de- 
 cayeth and drieth up (in summer) ; so man 
 lieth down (in the grave) and riseth not ; till 
 the heavens be no more they shall not awake, 
 nor be raised out of their sleep." Man at 
 death disappears for ever as a resident of 
 this present world. No return to a mortal 
 life. " The bourne whence no traveller re- 
 turns." That needs to be well done that can 
 be done only once. (See also ch. vii. 9, 10). 
 
 The question asked (verse !-!) " If a man 
 shall die, shall he live again?" capable of 
 a double answer. In regard to the present 
 world, or the world in its present .state, No ; 
 in regard to a future resurrection, Yes. The 
 fact of such resurrection, however, probably 
 not, at least distinctly, in Job's mind. 
 The doctrine of the 
 
 Resurrection 
 
 One of gradual development. Death viewed 
 by most nations of antiquity as a " perpe- 
 tual sleep." Revelation assures us of an 
 awaking out of it (Dan. xii. 2 ; 1 Thess. 
 iv. 14 17). That awaking at the Lord's 
 appearing, when " the heavens shall pass 
 away with a great noise" (2 Pet. iii. 7, 10, 
 11). New heavens and a new earth the pro- 
 mised abode of resurrection saints (2 Pet. 
 iii. 13; Rev. xxi. 1). Resurrection only to 
 follow the sin-atoning and death-destroying 
 death on the cross. Hence the slight 
 knowledge of it by Old Testament saints. 
 The knowledge of it to be only according to 
 the knowledge of that which was the founda- 
 tion of it. Life and immortality brought to 
 light by Christ Himself (2 Tim. i. ]0). As 
 in Adam all die, so only in Christ shall all 
 be made alive. Christ rose as the first-fruits 
 of them that slept. Christ the first-fruits ; 
 afterwards they that are Christ's at His 
 88 
 
 coming (] Cor. xv. 2023). Only faint ami 
 occasional glimpses of the resurrection ob- 
 tained by Old Testament believers. David's 
 hope expressed prophetically of the Messiah's 
 resurrection, rather than personally of his 
 own (Ps. xvi. 8; Acts ii. 2531). The 
 Lord's second appearing, and His people's 
 resurrection as bound up with it, the bkssed 
 hope of New Testament believers. Vague 
 and dim apprehension now exchanged for 
 glorious certainty (2 Cor. v. 1 ; Phil. iii. 21). 
 
 State after death. 
 
 The question " Where is he ? (verse 10), 
 solemn and important in relation to the man, 
 viewed as possessing an immortal spirit. 
 Only two states after death. Lazarus is 
 carried into Abraham's bosom. The rich 
 man lifts up his eyes in hell, being in tor- 
 ments. " The wicked is driven away in his 
 wickedness." Where? Judas went to his 
 own place. "The righteous hath hope in 
 his death." The penitent thief was in 
 Paradise, while his lifeless body was cast into 
 a pit. Where was his companion who died 
 in his sins ? Psalm ix. 17 gives the solemn 
 answer. " Without holiness no man shall 
 see the Lord." 
 
 III. Job desires a temporary con- 
 cealment in the grave (verse 13). 
 
 " O that thou wouldst hide me in the 
 grave until thy wrath be past ( the present 
 affliction viewed as a token of that wrath) ; 
 that thou wouldst appoint me a set time and 
 remember me." Has doubts as to the 
 possibility of this wish being accomplished. 
 " If a man die, shall he live again ? " (verse 
 14). Returns to his wish and states what 
 would be the result of its being granted. 
 " All the days of my appointed time (or war- 
 fai, as ch. vii. 1) will (or would) I wait till 
 my change (dismission or renovation) come. 
 Thou shalt (or shouldst) call and I will (or 
 would) answer ; thou wilt (or wouldst) have 
 a desire to the work of thine hands." A 
 confused wish of Job's troubled spirit. 
 Apparently inconsistent with his previous 
 statements about man's irrevocable depar- 
 ture out of this world. Prayer, especially 
 in deep affliction, often without much reflec- 
 tion. Even believers sometimes know not 
 what they ask. Yet a great truth in his 
 words, though but dimly apprehended by 
 himself. Truths often uttered through the 
 presence of the Spirit, when but imperfectly 
 understood by the speaker (1 Pet. i. 12). 
 
 " To the imagination may be given 
 The type and shadow of an awful truth." 
 
 Much more when the human spirit is in 
 intimate communion with the divine. God's
 
 110M1LETW COMMENTARY : JOB. 
 
 CUAP. XIV 
 
 saints actually hidden for a time in the grave 
 and the spirit-world. The words of the 
 prophet (Is. xxvi. 20), almost an echo of 
 the patriarch's. A set time actually af pointed 
 to God's people for their recall from the 
 grave. God remembers them there as he 
 did Noah in the Ark (Gen. viii. 1). Their 
 death precious in his sight. Their names 
 engraven on the palms of his hands. Ziou's 
 wall's, though lying in ruins, continually 
 before him (Is. xlix. 16). Living saints at the 
 Lord's appearing not caught up till dead 
 ones have been raised (1 Thess. iv. 15 17). 
 The righteous, previous to the last and great 
 tribulation, mostly taken away from the evil 
 to come. Hidden in their chambers for a 
 little moment till the indignation be overpast 
 (Is. xxvi. 20). Observe 
 
 1. Job's faith and patience (verse 14). 
 " All the days of my appointed time will I 
 wait till my change come, faith foresees the 
 change for the better, and patience waits for 
 it. Three " changes " in a believer's expe- 
 rience (1) When he is born again, and 
 passes from spiritual death to life. (2) 
 When he falls asleep in Jesus and enters 
 the heavenly rest. (3) When he rises from 
 the (/race to be made in body and spirit en- 
 tirely like Christ, and to be ever with the 
 Lord. Probably the third of these vaguely 
 and dimly indicated in Job's words. For 
 this, as well as the change for the better at 
 death, were his wish to be granted, he would 
 patiently wait. Deliverance decreed for 
 God's people from all trouble and from death 
 itself. The time of that deliverance in God's 
 hands. To be patiently waited for. Patient 
 waiting the posture of believers in this 
 world (Rom. viii. 23 25 ; 1 Thess. i. 10 ; 
 Heb. x. 36). The vision is for an appointed 
 time. The promise, Behold I come quickly. 
 Blessed is he that waiteth. The change 
 at a believer's death M r orth patient wait- 
 ing for; much more the change at the 
 Lord's appearing. At death we are un- 
 clothed, at the resurrection clothed upon (2 
 Cor. v. 2). 
 
 2. Job's joyous anticipation, should his 
 wish be granted (verse 15). "Thou shalt 
 call." No awaking from the sleep of death 
 but at the Divine call. "Awake and sing, 
 ye that dwell in dust " (Is. xxvi. 19). Tor 
 the call, see also John v. 28 ; 1 Cor. xv. 52; 
 1 Thess. iv. 1417. The call of the 
 Bridegroom (Cant. ii. 10 13). A ready 
 response given by believers to the call. " And 
 I will answer." The language of conscience 
 innocence in the case of Job ; of conscious 
 acceptance " in the Beloved " in the case of 
 every believer. The reason of that Divine 
 call " Thou wilt have a desire to the work 
 of thine hands." Believers especially the 
 work of God's hands (1) In creation. Man's 
 
 body a masterpiece of Divine skill directed 
 by Divine benevolence. 
 
 " In their looks Divine 
 The image of their glorious Maker shone ; 
 Truth, wisdom, sanctitucle severe and pure." 
 
 (2) In regeneration and sanctijication. Be- 
 lievers God's workmanship created in Christ 
 Jesus (Eph. ii. 10). The expression frequent 
 in Isaiah as applied to God's people (Is. 
 xxix. 23 ; xlv. 11 ; Ix. 21; Ixi. 3). Believers 
 a more costly work than all creation besides. 
 Required the incarnation, suffering, and 
 death of the Creator. The heavens tlie work 
 of God's fingers, believers the work of God's 
 hands (Ps. viii. 3). To this work of His 
 hands God has a special desire. That desire 
 one of (1) Pity and benevolence ; (2) 
 Yearning affection; (3) Complacency and 
 delight. The Father's desire is to them as 
 His children ; the Son's, as His Bride and 
 the purchase of His blood ; the Spirit's as 
 His especial work. Faith unable, in the 
 darkest time, to give up the idea of God's 
 loving fatherhood. Looks through the 
 gloomy passage of the grave, and sees more 
 or less clearly a light shining at the farther 
 end. 
 
 IV. Complains again of God's present 
 
 severity (verse 16, 17). 
 
 " For (or, ' but ') now thou numberest my 
 steps (taking strict account of all my actions) ; 
 dost thou not Watch over my sin (in order 
 to punish it) ? My transgression is sealed 
 up in a bag (as if so much treasure, that 
 none may be lost or left unpunished, or as 
 so much evidence preserved against me) ; 
 and thou sewest up mine iniquity " (in order 
 carefully to keep it for future punishment). 
 A constant recurrence of God's present 
 apparent severity. Remembered now, cither 
 as the reason for Job's wish for concealment 
 in the grave (verse 13), or as the contrast 
 of its fulfilment (' lut now ' &c.). Hard to 
 get over present grievances. All Job's suffer- 
 ings viewed as the result of God's resolution 
 to punish his every failure. Observe 
 (1) " Faith and unbelief view God's character 
 and dealings in an opposite light; (2) A time 
 of darkness and trouble unfavourable for a 
 right judgment. Job's present view of God's 
 character and dealings entirely a mistaken 
 one. His character is " Slow to anger ;" 
 " Ready to forgive;" " Delighting in mercy." 
 Sin, however, in order to its being forgiven, 
 thus dealt with in the case of the Surety. 
 The iniquities of all the redeemed laid upon 
 Him. Strict account taken of sin by God 
 in dealing with the Sin-bearer. No sin 
 pardoned in the sinner without being 
 punished in the Substitute. God just while 
 justifying the ungodly. Job's view true in
 
 CHAP. XIV. 
 
 HOMILETIC COMMENTARY: JOB. 
 
 a dispensation of simple law. Not true in 
 a dispensation of mercy and under the 
 covenant of grace. Sad to live under a dis- 
 pensation oi' mercy and not to avail oneself 
 of its benefits. The worst of all cases, to 
 have the guilt of a rejected Saviour added to 
 all other transgressions. 
 
 Y. Again beyyails man's mortality 
 
 and wretchedness (verse 1822). 
 
 First by comparison with the mutability 
 everywhere visible in Nature. (1) The 
 mountain and the rock, that seem the firmest 
 of all earthly objects. These, or at least 
 portions of them, torn away from the rest by 
 earthquakes or other agencies, fall and then 
 lie mouldering and crumbling on the ground 
 (verse 18). " And surely (or ' but ') the 
 mountain falling comctli to nought, and the 
 rock is removed," &c. (2) Stones, the 
 hardest of earthly materials, arc worn away 
 by the slow continual action of water (verse 
 19). "The waters wear the stones." (3) The 
 very soil forming the loose surface of the 
 earth, with the trees, grain, &c., that grow 
 in it, is washed away by floods. " Thou 
 washest away the things that grow out of, 
 the dust of the earth " (or, " the floods sweep 
 away the dust," &c). 
 
 Man, a partaker of the general corrupti- 
 bility and decay. " And (or, ' so ') thou 
 destroyest the hope of man " ( ' wretched' 
 man's hope and expectation of prolonging 
 his life on the earth)- Human mortality in 
 in keeping with the decay of all visible 
 nature. Man ordinarily thinks of death as 
 at a distance from him. "All men think all 
 men mortal but themselves." The hope of 
 evading the last enemy vain. The sentence 
 has gone forth, Dust thou art, &c. (verse 
 20). "Thou prevailest for ever against 
 him ( ' always,' or, ' to complete victory '), 
 and he passeth," (or, " he is gone," departs 
 of this world). Man properly uses his 
 endeavour to prolong his life. Battles 
 against the sentence, " unto dust shalt thou 
 return." In vain. The victory always with 
 God who executes his own sentence. Three 
 stages in this victory (1) Disease. "Thou 
 changest his countenance." Sickness alters 
 the state of our frame, and the aspect of our 
 face. Instead of the glow and plumpness of 
 health comes the paleness and emaciation of 
 disease. Job himself at the time an example 
 of his own words. (2) Death. " Thou 
 s^ndest him away." Death is God's dis- 
 mission. " Return ye children of men." 
 The world " a stage where every man must 
 play his. part." The time for his exit in 
 God's hand. (3) The disembodied state \\\ the 
 
 World of Spirits. 
 
 Represented by Job 
 90 
 
 1. As a state of ignorance of what takes 
 place on earth, especially as regards suroioing 
 relatives (verse 21). "His sons come to 
 honour, and he kuowcth it not ; and they are 
 brought low, but he perceiveth it not of 
 them." Parents naturally very deeply in- 
 terested in the prosperity or adversity of 
 their children, lu the spirit-world, ignorant 
 of and unaffected by either. Absolute se- 
 paration from all the living and the creatures 
 of the present world. This however not ne- 
 cessarily to be regarded as a divine declara- 
 tion of the real state of the case. Rather 
 the utterance (a) Of Job's own melancholy 
 spirit at the time ; (b) Of the views generally 
 entertained on the subject at that early 
 period. The knowledge possessed by the 
 departed in reference to survivors still a 
 mystery. Among "the spirits of the just," 
 probably more of such knowledge than we 
 are aware of. Joy among the angels of God 
 over one repenting sinner. Naturally also 
 among departed saints. Hence, still more, 
 over a repenting relative. Such knowledge 
 an obvious increase to their joy and praise. 
 Angels constant attendants on believers in 
 life, and their escort to paradise at death. 
 Departed saints therefore probably made 
 acquainted by angels, if not more directly, 
 with the circumstances of converted relatives 
 on earth. The mere worldly prosperity or 
 adversity of surviving relatives, however, 
 even if known, probably, as such, a matter 
 of the utmost insignificance to departed 
 saints. 
 
 2. As a state of suffering and grief (verse 
 22). " But his flesh upon him shall have pain, 
 and his soul within him shall mourn" (or, 
 " only his flesh shall have pain on account of 
 himself, and his soul on account of himself 
 shall mourn"). The dead man represented 
 as occupied with his own concerns, not those 
 of his surviving friends. His state not one 
 of pleasure but of pain ; his experience not 
 one of joy but of grief. Spoken of man in 
 general without reference to distinction of 
 character. Also spoken according to the 
 view then entertained of the state of de- 
 parted spirits. That state one of anything 
 but comfort or joy (see ch. x. 21, 22). Thu 
 " flesh " and " soul " here viewed as making 
 up the man, who is regarded as still conscious 
 in the spirit-world. That consciousness, 
 however, one only of discomfort. Hence, 
 the desire for life so prevalent in Old Testa- 
 ment times. Almost any kind of life re- 
 garded as preferable to an abode in the world 
 of spirits. Such views natural, apart from 
 revelation. Even still the views of many 
 living under the Gospel but ignorant of its 
 truths. The experience of the body trans- 
 ferred to the departed spirit, as if partaking 
 of it. The thing dreaded iix death "To lie
 
 HOMILETIC COMMENTARY: JOB. 
 
 ciur. xv. 
 
 in cold abstraction and to rot." Views of 
 the spirit- world entirely changed since the 
 Advent of Him who is both the Life and the 
 Light. Life and immortality brought by 
 Him to light through the Gospel. The 
 kingdom of heaven opened to all believers. 
 The spirit-world now their Father's house 
 the better country Paradise the rest from 
 labour the Mount Zion the place of Divine 
 worship and communion the heavenly Jeru- 
 salem the general assembly and church of 
 the iirst-born the innumerable company of 
 angels the presence of Jesus, the Elder 
 Brother and Mediator of the New Covenant. 
 The views of Job more correctly applicable 
 in reference to the unsaved dead. The rich 
 man in hell (or Hades) lifted up his eyes, 
 being in torment. Compared with the con- 
 
 dition of an unsaved soul in the M-orld of 
 
 spirits 
 
 "The weariest and most loathed worldly life 
 That ache, age, penury and imprisonment 
 Can lay on Nature, is a paradise." 
 
 Lessons : 
 
 1. The comparative insignificance of worldly 
 prosperity or adversity in view of the eternal 
 world. 
 
 2. The infinite importance of securing a 
 place of happiness beyond the grave (1) For 
 ourselves ; (2) For our children and friends. 
 
 3. The value of the Gospel, and the duty 
 of making ourselves acquainted with its 
 precious contents. 
 
 4. The paramount necessity of a personal 
 interest in Him who is the Way, the Truth, 
 and the Life. 
 
 CHAPTEE XV. 
 
 SECOND COURSE OF DIALOGUES. SECOND SPEECH OF ELIPHAZ. 
 
 Eliphaz less gentle and courteous than in 
 his former speech. Probably irritated at his 
 little success with Job, who rejected his 
 friend's counsel and still maintained his own 
 uprightness. The hostility of the friends 
 more pronounced as the dialogue proceeds. 
 
 I. Eliphaz sharply reproves Job's 
 
 speeches (verses 2 13). 
 Censures 
 
 1. Their emptiness and vehemence (verse 2). 
 "Should a wise man (He/)., 'the wise man') 
 utter vain knowledge (fleb., answer [with] 
 knowledge of wind, or windy sentiments), 
 and fill his belly (his mind or heart, John vii. 
 38) with the East wind," cherishing and 
 tittering opinions which are not only empty 
 as the wind, but injurious to himself and 
 others ; like the parching, vehement east wind, 
 scorching and drying up all vegetation. Such 
 language as Job had employed, unbecoming, 
 in the opinion of Eliphaz, the wise man that 
 he had passed for. Job celebrated in his own 
 country for wisdom as well as piety (ch. xxix. 
 8, 9, 2 1 23). " Should the wise man," &c., 
 probably a taunt. Men with a character 
 for wisdom to be careful to speak and act 
 consistently with it. A little folly in such 
 men like the dead fly in the apothecary's 
 perfume (Ecc. x. 1). 
 
 2. Their verbiage and unprofitableness (verse 
 3). " Should he reason with unprofitable 
 talk, or with speeches," &c., as if Job's 
 speeches were mere talk. A charge as un- 
 generous and unfeeling as it was untruthful 
 and unjust. Job no mere talker, though his 
 words not always wise. A Christian's speech 
 to be with grace seasoned with salt, aud good 
 
 to the use of edifying. The abundant talk 
 of the lips tendeth to penury. In the mul- 
 titude of words there wantcth not sin. Un- 
 profitable talk the mark of an unrcgenerate 
 heart. 
 
 3. Their impiety and hurtful influence 
 (verse 4) "Yea thou casteth off fear (or, 
 makest void the fear [of God as of no value], 
 aud restrainest ( lessenest or discourages!) 
 prayer before God [as of no use] 1 '. Job's 
 language viewed either as indicating want, 
 of reverence and piety in himself, or rather 
 as tending to discourage it in others. The 
 danger implied in Asaph's hasty conclu- 
 sion : " Verily I have cleansed my heart in 
 vain" (Ps. Ixxiii. 13) ; or, in the language of 
 the fool's heart: "There is no God" (Ps. xiv. 
 1). Observe (1.) The interests of religion 
 greatly in the keeping of its professors ; (2.) 
 A believer in trouble to be careful so to speak 
 as to bear a good testimony to religion before 
 the world. 
 
 4. Their wickedness and deceit (verse 5). 
 "Thy mouth uttereth thine iniquity (or, 
 ' thine iniquity teacheth thy mouth,' viz. to 
 utter such wickedness), and thou choosest 
 the tongue of the crafty." Job's language 
 viewed as the studied contrivance of a 
 wicked heart. Out of the abundance of the 
 heart the mouth speaketh. As a man is, so 
 is his speech. "When the heart restrains 
 prayer the mouth puts forth peevishness. 
 What piety appeared in Job's speeches un- 
 charitably viewed by Eliphaz as only cm- 
 ployed with the intent to deceive. l!is 
 tongue that of the crafty, who " by good 
 words and fair speeches deceive the hearts of 
 the simple" (Horn, xvi. 18). No new thing 
 
 91
 
 CHAP. XV. 
 
 HOMILETIC COMMENTARY: JOB. 
 
 for an upright man to be charged with 
 hypocrisy. God's testimony regarding Job 
 the opposite to that of Eliphaz. Observe 
 (1.) A small matter for men to speak ill 
 if God speaks well of -us ; (2.) Our speech 
 and conversation to be with " simplicity and 
 r/nrJlv si/iceri/y, not with fleshly wisdom, 
 but V the grace of God" (2 Cor. i. 12). 
 
 The charge of Eliphaz untrue in both its 
 senses. Job spoke rashly, but neither cast 
 off the fear of God nor restrained prayer. 
 His words not always wise, but neither tended 
 to destroy religion nor discourage devotion. 
 A godly man may sin against the command- 
 ments ; it, is the part of a wicked man to sin 
 away the commandments themselves. The 
 casting off of God's fear the cause of all evil. 
 "When the fear of God goes out, the practice 
 of sin comes in. The fear of God the be- 
 ginning of wisdom ; the casting of it off, the 
 abandonment to all wickedness. The fear of 
 God the sum of all godliness ; the casting of it 
 off, the sum of all sinfulness. Sad not to 
 possess the fear of God ; still worse to cast 
 it off. To be without it ourselves is bad ; 
 to destroy it in others still worse. The 
 deepest brand of guilt on a man's brow is, 
 not only to sin himself, but, like Jeroboam, 
 to make others to sin also (1 Kings xiv. 16 ; 
 xv. 30, 34; xvi. 2, 19, 26). Job's sin that 
 he seemed more to complain against God 
 than to pray to Him. Sad at any time to 
 restrain prayer, still more in the time of 
 affliction (Ps. 1. 15 ; Is. xxvi. 16). Prayer a 
 principal part of God's worship and of man's 
 religion. A prayerless life the mark of a 
 graceless heart. Prayer is restrained either 
 (1) From distaste for it ; or (2) From 
 disbelief in its efficacy ; or (3) From disdain 
 and self-sufficiency. To restrain prayer to 
 God is to be a god to ourselves. Believing 
 prayer opens the door of mercy and the 
 windows of blessing ; to restrain prayer is to 
 shut both against us. 
 
 5. Job's speeches reproved also for their 
 arrogance and pride (verse 7). " Art thou 
 the first man that was born, or wast thou 
 made before the hills ? Hast thou heard the 
 secret (or, ' hast thou been a listener in the 
 privy council') of God, and dost thou restrain 
 wisdom to thyself? What kuowest thou 
 that we know not? What understandest 
 thou which is not in us. With us are both 
 the greyheaded and very aged men, much 
 elder than thy father. Are the consolations 
 of God small with thee (or, 'too small for 
 thce,' or, 'of little account with thee')? Is 
 there any secret thing with thee (or, 'and 
 the word which dealeth gently with thee ;' 
 or, ' and our mild addresses to thee') ?" 
 Job's ridicule of his friends' monopoly of 
 wisdom retorted by Eliphaz upon himself. 
 Grievous words stir up anger. Job had 
 
 92 
 
 ridiculed his friends as if they were the 
 whole race ; is now ridiculed himself as if 
 he were the first man that had been born. 
 Wisdom rightly supposed to have been much 
 greater in Adam than in his children, as 
 made after the image of God himself. Simi- 
 lar language to that addressed here in ridicule 
 to Job divinely applied to Christ as the 
 wisdom of God (Prov. viii. 2226). Hills 
 spoken of as the firmest, and therefore sup- 
 posed to be the most ancient, of earthly 
 things. Said to be everlasting (Gen. xlix. 
 26; Heb. iii. 6). Eliphaz views his own 
 and his friends' discourses as " the consola- 
 tions of God," and angrily asks Job if these 
 were too small for him, or if he held them of 
 small account. Their discourses and con- 
 solations, however, rather adapted for an im- 
 penitent sinner than a tried suffering saint. 
 Hence Job's low esteem of them (eh. xiii. 4, 
 12). Preachers and others to take care I hat 
 what they present to mourners are in reality 
 
 The Consolations of God. 
 
 God the God of all comfort. Comfort clh 
 those that arc cast down (2 Cor. i. 3, 
 vii. 6). Comforts tenderly as a mother, 
 effectually as a Creator, (Is. Ixvi. 13, Ixv. 
 18). Able to make either anything or 
 nothing a comfort to us. Can multiply 
 comforts as fast as the world multiplies 
 crosses. His consolations viewed either as 
 spoken to us or wrought in us. Are either 
 good things done fur its or promised to us. 
 God comforts (1) By His spirit ; (2) By 
 His word; (3) By His providence. His 
 consolations include (1) His purposes in 
 trouble ; (2) His promises of support and 
 deliverance; (3) The benefits resulting from 
 it ; (4) The example of the saints and 
 especially of the Son of God; (5) The 
 fellowship of believers, and especially of 
 Christ (Dan. iii. 25); (6) God Himself as our 
 shield here and our portion hereafter; (7) 
 His love as the origin of our trouble ; (8) 
 The glories of eternity as infinitely com- 
 pensating for the troubles of time. Trouble 
 itself a consolation to a child of God as the 
 testimony of his Father's love. God's rod, 
 like Jonathan's, brings honey on its point. 
 "Thy rod and thy staff comfort me" (Ps. xxiii. 
 4). Observe (1.) The consolations of God are 
 not small. Are able to meet every case. Strong 
 consolation (Heb. vi. 18). Exceeding great 
 and precious promises (2 Pet. i. 4). The 
 Scriptures written that through patience and 
 comfort we might have hope. The plaster 
 of God's Word able to cover the largest sore 
 of a sin-stricken soul. God has great con- 
 solations for great sorrows. His consolations 
 like Himself. Christ Himself the consola- 
 tion of Israel. The Holy Ghost the com-
 
 UOMILETIG COMMENTARY: JOB. 
 
 CHAP. XV. 
 
 Ibrtcr. The consolations of God arc (i.) True 
 and solid; (ii.) Holy and satisfying ; (iii.) Ade- 
 quate and suitable ; (iv.) Lasting and durable. 
 (2) The consolations of God are not to be ac- 
 counted small. No small sin to slight God's 
 consolations, as either insufficient or unsuit- 
 able to our case. These, on the contrary, to 
 be highly valued (i.) On account of their 
 origin the love of God ; (ii.) Their costliness 
 the purchase of a Saviour's blood ; (iii.) Their 
 efficacy as able to meet our case ; (iv.) Their 
 frccncss on God's part and their undeserved- 
 ness on ours. 
 
 6. Job's speeches reproved also for their 
 passion and rebelliousness (verse 12). "Why 
 doth thine heart carry thee away, and what 
 do thine eyes wink at (as indicating passion, 
 pride, and evil purpose) ? That thou turnest 
 thy spirit against God, and lettest such 
 words go out of thy mouth." Unfeeling 
 and exaggerated questions. Neither Job's 
 spirit nor his words to be always vindicated, 
 but undeserving of such severe reproof. 
 Reproof, when unjust and excessive, becomes 
 cruelty instead of kindness. Tenderness a 
 duty in dealing with a sinner, still more with 
 a saint, and most of all with a sufferer. The 
 language, and perhaps the looks of Job, at 
 times indicative of unholy passion. The 
 flesh even in a believer weak. The heat of 
 the temper apt to carry away into hastiness 
 of the tongue. Job at times too bold with 
 God ; yet his boldness that of a child, not that 
 of an enemy. The spirit of an impenitent 
 sinner is turned against God in trouble, that 
 of a believer is turned towards Him. The 
 latter the attitude of Job's spirit in his 
 affliction (ch. xvi. 20). 
 
 II. Eliphaz insists on man's de- 
 pravity (verse 14). 
 
 " What is man (wretched fallen man, 
 Ile/j., ' Enosh'), that he should be clean? 
 and he which is born of a woman, that he 
 should be righteous? Behold, he putteth no 
 trust in his saints (or angels, lleb. ' holy 
 ones') ; yea, the heavens (literally, or their 
 inhabitants) are not clean in his sight. 
 How much more abominable and filthy is 
 man (or, ' how much less [shall] abominable 
 and filthy man [be clean in his sight] ') which 
 drinkcth iniquity like water ?" A clear and 
 strong declaration of man's deep and uni- 
 versal depravity. The object to prove Job 
 a sinner, and convict him of arrogance in 
 maintaining his uprightness. The argument 
 is (1) Unsound. The premises true but 
 the conclusion false. Man universally de- 
 praved, but Job not therefore a bad man or 
 a hypocrite ; otherwise Satan's allegation 
 just, no such thing as genuine religion in 
 the world. Grace and holiness in the indi- 
 vidual consistent with depravity in the race. 
 
 The object of redemption to renew fallen man 
 to purity. Comparatively blameless morals 
 and upright principles found even among 
 the heathen. Examples ; Socrates, Aristides 
 the Just, Cyrus the Great. (2) Useless. 
 Man's depravity admitted and maintained by 
 Job as well as Eliphaz (ch. xiv. 4). Not 
 absolute but relative purity claimed by Job. 
 All but useless for a preacher to labour to 
 prove what all his hearers fully admit. The 
 passage valuable as a testimony to 
 
 The Depravity of Human Nature. 
 
 1. Declared in the name given to man here 
 and elsewhere .in the Hebrew Scriptures, 
 " E/ws/i," miserable and desperately dis- 
 eased. Man's very nature morally diseased. In- 
 ward renovation necessary in order to purity 
 and holiness. To cleanse and renew man's 
 corrupt nature, the work of the Holy Spirit 
 through the instrumentality of Gospel truth. 
 " Now ye are clean through the word which 
 I have spoken to you." The promise in the 
 New Covenant: "I will sprinkle clean 
 water upon you and ye shall be clean" 
 (Ez. xxxvi. 25). David's prayer : " Create 
 in me a clean heart." The object of Christ's 
 death, to sanctify and cleanse the Church 
 as with the washing of water by the word 
 (Eph. v. 26). His prayer to the Father : 
 " Sanctify them through thy truth ; thy 
 word is truth" (John xvii. 17). The 
 believer in one sense " clean every whit " 
 (John xiii. 10). Apart from grace none 
 clean in God's sight. Sin stains man's 
 best performances. His righteousnesses 
 filthy rags (Is. Ixiv. G). Man only clean and 
 holy as a member of Christ the Holy One, 
 and in virtue of a new nature implanted in 
 him by the Holy Ghost. At death, the last 
 remains of the believer's sinful nature for 
 ever gone. The leprous house taken down 
 and rebuilt entirely free from the vile infec- 
 tion. 
 
 2. Man's depravity the result of his lirlh. 
 Born naturally of a fallen woman, man's 
 nature necessarily depraved. A clean thing 
 not to be produced in the mere course of 
 nature from an unclean (ch. xiv. 4). Man 
 now shapen in iniquity in the womb, and 
 conceived by his mother in sin (Ps. Ii. 5). 
 Like mother, like child. One glorious and 
 necessary exception. Christ " born of a 
 woman," yet righteous and clean from His 
 birth. The reason : " His conception by the 
 immediate agency of the Holy Ghost (Luke 
 i. 35). Man's Saviour must be Himself a 
 man, yet absolutely clean from his birth. 
 To be a man he must be "born of a woman ; " 
 to be clean his conception must be the imme- 
 diate production of Divine power. No ne- 
 cessity for the figment of the immaculate 
 
 93
 
 CJiAT. XV. 
 
 110MILETIC COMMENTARY. JOB. 
 
 conception of the Saviour's mother. Mary 
 a holy woman, not by nature but by grace. 
 Her song that of a saved sinner (Luke 
 i. 47). 
 
 3. Man's character given in three particulars 
 (1) Abominable. Something to be loathed. 
 Sin the abominable tiling that God hates. 
 Makes every creature abominable in whom 
 it prevails. Man, as depraved, cast out like 
 Israel at his very birth, to the loathing of 
 his person (Ezek. xvi, 5). No education, 
 refinement, or accomplishment able to 
 make an unrenewed man anything less 
 than abominable in the sight of God. 
 (2) FiltJ/y, the iilthiness rather to the 
 smell than the taste. The noisomeness of a 
 corpse or of a sewer. The sourness of a 
 fermenting mass. Sin is death and moral 
 putrefaction. Makes a man in whom it 
 reigns a living corpse. Not all the perfumes 
 of Arabia able to sweeten an uurcnewed 
 soul. (3) Drinking iniquity like water, (i.) 
 Man loves and delights in sin. (ii.) Thirsts 
 for it and pursues it eagerly, (iii.) Expects 
 and endeavours to satisfy himself by its 
 commission. (iv.) Commits it as a thing 
 necessary to his existence ; can no more live 
 without it than an ox can live without 
 drinking water, (v.) Practises it habitually, 
 as a horse must daily drink water, (vi.) 
 Finds pleasure in its commission, but nothing 
 that permanently satisfies him ; thirsts again, 
 (vii.) Commits it abundantly, not sipping 
 but drinking it. (viii.) Goes to it naturally, 
 as an animal goes naturally to drink water ; 
 sin natural to a depraved heart, (ix.) Com- 
 mits it easily and without effort ; sins on 
 easy terms and small consideration ; water a 
 common drink. Observe, however, a con- 
 trast as well as a resemblance in the case : 
 (i.) Water a creature of God ; sin a thing of 
 the devil, (ii.) Water designed by God for 
 the use of man and beast ; sin strictly for- 
 bidden by Him. (iii.) Water necessary for 
 man's existence ; sin not only not necessary, 
 but ruinous, (iv.) Water beneficial to the 
 drinker of it ; sin only hurtful and destruc- 
 tive. 
 
 III. Eliphaz proposes to convict Job 
 from the Fathers (verse 17) &c. 
 
 "I will shew thcc, hear me; and that 
 which I have seen ( personally observed as 
 well as heard from others) I will declare ; 
 which wise men have told from their fathers, 
 and have not hid it. Unto whom alone the 
 earth (or land) was given (for their residence 
 and government, in opposition to Job's 
 statement in ch. ix, 24,) and no stranger 
 passed among them " (or, " came among 
 t hem," as a resident or invader). Traditional 
 maxims of the ancients avowedly introduced 
 by Eliphaz, as had already been "done by Job 
 
 94 
 
 and the other speakers. These ancients the 
 fathers of " wise men," who had handed 
 down their moral savings to their posterity. 
 To this posterity belonged Eliphaz himself. 
 Like Job, a contemporary of Serug and 
 Reu, the son and grandson of Peleg, in 
 whose clays the earth was divided after the 
 dispersion (Gen. x. 25). The ancients or 
 fathers, therefore, probably Noah and his 
 son Shcm, or Noah's ancestors back to 
 Adam. The "wise men," those to whom the 
 land of Arabia was given as their residence, 
 viz., the sons of Joktan, the younger son of 
 Eber (Shem's grandson), andPeleg's brother, 
 by whom Arabia was first populated (Gen. 
 x. 25 30). One of these sons of Joktan 
 named Jobab, supposed by some to be the 
 same with Job. The boast of Eliphaz that 
 amoue these "wise men " or sons of Joktan, 
 "no stranger" or foreigner had ever been 
 allowed to corrupt their religion and morals. 
 The glory of the Arabs is their language, 
 their sword, and their pure blood. The true 
 religion often corrupted by the mixture of 
 foreign nations. . Israel forbidden to make 
 alliances with the nations around them lest 
 they should "learn their ways.'' The saying 
 of a heathen poet endorsed by Revelation, 
 "Evilcommunications corrupt goodmanners." 
 Arabia famed for its wise men. These handed 
 down to posterity the moral and religious 
 truth received in like manner from their 
 fathers. The true religion propagated by 
 parents and others carefully instructing the 
 rising generation in its truths. The obvious 
 and sacred duty of all who possess it (Ps. 
 xlviii. 13 ; Ixxviii. 3, 4). 
 
 IV. Quotation from the Fathers in 
 reference to the experience of the un- 
 godly (verses 20 35). 
 
 Noble specimen of Oriental poetry. Sublime 
 and tragical, and among the most ancient in 
 the world. A description of unprincipled men 
 whose only aim is the acquisition of wealth 
 and power, stopping at no means to obtain 
 it, and then abusing it to the oppression 
 of their fellow-men. Applicable in every 
 period of the world, but more particularly in 
 its earlier ages, when, as before the flood, 
 " the earth was filled with violence." The 
 characters especially such as the "mighty 
 men which were of old, men of renown" 
 (Gen. vi. 4, 1113). Men of the class of 
 Cain, Nimrod and Pharaoh impious and 
 daring towards God, cruel and unjust towards 
 their fellow-men. The application wrong- 
 fully intended for Job, in order to bring him 
 to conviction and repentance. The only 
 ground for the application in his circum- 
 stances, none whatever in his character and 
 conduct. Job, once rich and prosperous, 
 was now in great misery through successive
 
 HOMILETW COMMENTARY: JOU. 
 
 CJIAP. XV 
 
 blows of Divine providence. This sufficient 
 ground with Eliphaz for its application. The 
 doctrine intended by Eliphaz to be conveyed 
 by it, as to the constant and exclusive attend- 
 ance of misery upon wickedness in this world, 
 repeatedly denied by Job (ch. xii. G ; xxi. 
 7),&c. ' 
 
 The description contains : 
 
 1. The character of the persons intended. 
 All sin deserving of punishment, but some 
 sins more heinous in God's sight than others. 
 The persons intended are described as 
 (1.) Wicked (verse 20). Men lawless and 
 unprincipled, of wicked hearts and wicked 
 lives. Ay men sinners, but by God's 
 Providence and His renewing or restrain- 
 ing grace, all not wicked sinners. (2.) 
 Violent oppressors (verse 20). The dis- 
 tinctive character of these wicked men. 
 Their wickedness manifested in their violent 
 conduct and oppression of their fcllow-mcn. 
 Their object, power and wealth ; their means 
 of obtaining them, violence and wrong. 
 Great warriors and conquerors. Ambitious 
 chiefs and tyrants. Robbers on a large as 
 well as a small scale. Particularly described 
 by Zophar (ch. xx. 19). The character 
 which Eliphaz afterwards directly ascribes to 
 Job (ch. xxii. 6, 7, 9). A common character 
 in those early ages, and in the barbarous 
 and uncivilised state of a community. (3.) 
 Darin ff and impious (verse 25). "For he 
 stretcheth out his hand against God and 
 strengthened himself (or, { plays the hero ') 
 against the Almighty ; he runneth upon him 
 (viz., upon God, rushes on Him with swiftness 
 and fury, as Dan. viii. 6), even on his neck 
 (like a fierce combatant, eager to grapple 
 witli his antagonist in close quarters; or, 
 'with his neck,' like a furious bull whose 
 strength is in his neck and shoulders), upon 
 (or with) the thick bosses of his bucklers" 
 (like a band attacking with joined shields). 
 The language of Pharaoh (Ex. v. 2) ; of 
 Sennacherib (Is. xxxvi. 20) ; of the crucifiers 
 of Christ (Acts iv. 2527 ; Ps. ii. 1). Similar 
 defiance of the Almighty exhibited by the 
 Dragon and his angels (Rev. xii. 7). The 
 character of obstinate and impenitent trans- 
 gressors in general. Men " fight against God" 
 while (i.) Persevering in a course of sin; 
 (ii.) Opposing God's cause or Gospel, His 
 Church, or any of His people (Acts v. 39) ; 
 (iii.) Contending for an object in opposition 
 to His will, and by means which He forbids. 
 Fearful stage in sin when men act as cham- 
 pions of hell against the God of heaven. 
 (4.) Profligate and profane (verse 34). 
 " Hypocrites," or rather, profane and pro- 
 fligate men. Men who neither " fear God 
 nor regard men." No reference intended by 
 the term in the Old Testament to religious pro- 
 fession. (5.) Covetous and unjust (verse 34). 
 
 Men given to "bribery." As rulers and judges, 
 accepting gifts as the bribe for a favour- 
 able though unjust sentence. Men who 
 wronged others by perverting justice in 
 order to enrich themselves. Accepted gifls 
 for the perpetration of wicked deeds. 
 (6.) Plotters of mischief (verse 35). "They 
 conceive mischief and bring forth vanity " 
 (Margin, "iniquity"). The same character 
 described, Ps. xxxvi. 4 ; Prov. iv. 10. 
 Sins against our neighbour chiefly intended. 
 Those who do not fear God readily plot against 
 men. (7.) Cunning and deceitful (verse 35). 
 "Their belly (mind or heart, but with re- 
 ference to conception) prepareth (contrives 
 or matures) deceit" (for others in order to 
 their own gain, for themselves in their dis- 
 appointment of it). Evil ends often attain- 
 able only by deceit. So Satan and our first 
 parents ; Hainan and the Jews ; Jezebel and 
 Naboth's vineyard. 
 
 2. The temporary prosperity of the persons 
 intended (verse 27). "Because he covereth 
 (or, ' though he have covered ') his face with 
 fatness (sec Ps. Ixxiii. 7), and maketh collops 
 of fat on his flanks " (or, " hath made fat oil 
 his loins"). Good living his object. His 
 god his belly (Luke xvi. 19). "And lie in- 
 habiteth desolate cities (or, 'and though he 
 inhabited cities destroyed by him ' and taken 
 into his own possession, conduct ascribed to 
 Crassus the Roman general), and in houses 
 which no man inhabiteth (emptied of their 
 proper inhabitants), which are ready to be- 
 come heaps " (or, " are doomed to ruins ") 
 reminding Job of his own calamity in the 
 case of his children (ch. i. 19). Temporary 
 success in sin to be followed by ultimate 
 ruin. The wicked raised for a deeper fall. 
 Iniquity often like a tree full of blossom, to 
 be blighted by the frost or blasted by the 
 lightning. Prosperous villainy one of the 
 mysteries of Divine providence. 
 
 3. Their subsequent misery. Suffering cor- 
 responding with sin. This objected to by 
 Job as to its universal occurrence in this life. 
 The passage describes (1.) The inward ex- 
 perience of the wicked in this life (verse 20, 
 &c.). " The wicked man travaileth with pain 
 (or, 'is inwardly tormented') all his days 
 (lives a life of anxiety and fear) ; and the 
 number of years hidden to the oppressor " 
 (or, "and the number of years," or " the few 
 years [which] are laid up for" him). The 
 whole life of the oppressor comes to be full 
 of anxiety and alarm under the goad of mi 
 evil conscience. Sin, like a corpse or a. 
 putrid ulcer, breeds worms. "A dreadful 
 sound (Ilcli. ' a voice of alarms,' not one 
 terror but many) is in his ears; in prosper! I y, 
 the destroyer (God's avenging justice, ur 
 some hand of violence as the executioner of 
 it) shall come upon him" (what actually takes 
 
 95
 
 CIIA1'. XV. 
 
 1IOMILET1C COMMENTARY: JOB. 
 
 place, or what the voice of conscience in- 
 wardly threatens him with). The Avenging 
 Paries of the heathen expressive of facts in 
 the experience of the daring transgressor. 
 The suddenness of the destruction intended, 
 or the presence of these voices of terror in 
 the midst of outward quiet and prosperity. 
 The unexpectedness of calamity a serious 
 aggravation of it. " When they shall say, 
 Peace and safety," &c. (Verse 22). "He 
 bclicveth not that he shall return out of 
 darkness (that he shall ever escape out of 
 the misery that threatens or has already 
 overtaken him, the language sadly sugges- 
 tive of Job's own case) ; and he is waited 
 for of the sword " (actually or in his own 
 apprehension). Besides present evils he 
 anticipates future ones. The sword of 
 Damocles hangs over his head at his most 
 sumptuous feasts. His terrified imagination 
 sees a dagger wherever he turns. Only a 
 violent and bloody death is before his eyes. 
 " Every one that findeth me shall slay me." 
 Despair of good the greatest evil. A wicked 
 man has neither ground nor heart to believe 
 [Caryl]. Faith a shield against the fiery 
 darts of the devil ; unbelief a shield against 
 the tender mercies of God. Faith makes 
 evil good; unbelief makes good evil. (Verse 
 23). " lie wandereth abroad for bread, say- 
 ing, Where is it ? " He becomes like Cain, 
 " a fugitive and a vagabond on the earth." 
 Job's fall from affluence to poverty might 
 seem to afford an example. The bread he 
 has taken from others now fails himself. The 
 wicked wander for bread when they are rich 
 as well as when they are poor. The godly 
 are content in every condition. "He knowet h 
 that the day of darkness is near at hand," 
 has the inward conviction that a time of 
 poverty and calamity will soon overtake him. 
 Terrible certainty of a guilty conscience. 
 The Furies brandish in his face their 
 threatening whip. Conscience holds up the 
 sentence of condemnation before his eyes. 
 The experience which impelled Judas to the 
 fatal tree. The certain apprehension of future 
 and speedy perdition one principal cause of 
 suicide. Such terrors aided, if not generated, 
 by the Tempter, who now becomes the Tor- 
 mentor. The Gospel of the grace of God, 
 free and immediate forgiveness through the 
 blood of the cross to the chief of sinners, the 
 blessed and only remedy in such a case. The 
 oil of pardoning mercy alone able to smooth 
 that surging sea. Jesus the only Physician 
 that can minister to that mind diseased. 
 " Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and thou 
 shalt be saved," has already in multitudes 
 "c'eansed the bosom of that perilous grief 
 which weighs upon the heart," and changed 
 black despair into bright and joyous hope. 
 "Fear uot,ouly believe," (Verse 24). "Trou- 
 
 ble and anguish ( multiplied and intensified 
 distress, or, outward trouble and inward 
 anguish) shall make him afraid." Again too 
 much resemblance to Job's case (ch. vi. d<). 
 Worse to fear evil than to feel it. " They 
 shall prevail against him" (or "hem him in"). 
 Shall break his spirit or end his life. Shall 
 scare him not only out of his comfort but 
 out of his senses [Caryl]. " As a king (or 
 general) ready to the battle." Trouble and 
 anguish personified as a general in the midst 
 of Iris troops, surrounding the enemy, rushing 
 on to the attack and overpowering him. The 
 evil-doer powerless to resist this attack of 
 outward trouble and inward anguish. Trou- 
 bles too great to bear, too thick to escape 
 from. " My punishment is greater than I 
 can boar." " The spirit of a man may sus- 
 tain his infirmity, but a wounded spirit who 
 can bear ? " Such an experience often the 
 result of long-rejected calls to repentance 
 and offers of mercy (Prov. i. 2-1 30). 
 
 (2) The outward visitation of the wicked. 
 (Verse 29). " He shall not be rich (or continue 
 so, shall not enjoy his ill-gotten wealth, which 
 shall 'flow away on the day of wrath'), 
 neither shall his substance continue, neither 
 shall he prolong the perfection there of 
 (or ' extend his possessions, flocks, &c.') 
 upon the earth" (or in the land). Ap- 
 parently another side-glance at Job's losses. 
 Ill-gotten goods never lasting. Sinners 
 earn wages to put them into a bag with 
 holes. Earthly joys, like children's toys, 
 easily broken and soon forgotten. (Verse 
 30). " He shall not depart out of darkness" 
 shall not escape out of the trouble and 
 misery that shall overtake him. Endless 
 misery the just wages of unceasing sin. 
 "The flame ( lightning or the hot wind of 
 the desert, emblems of the wrath of God) 
 shall dry up his branches ( his prosperity, 
 more especially his children; another sad 
 cut for Job, ch. i. 16, 19) ; and by the 
 breath of his mouth ( the anger of God, com- 
 pared to a scorching or a scattering wind) 
 shall he go away" (retreat as a worsted 
 combatant, or be whirled away as chaff 
 or stubble, Ps. i. 4). God's mere breath 
 able to sweep away the sinner. Indicates also 
 the suddenness of the destruction. (Verse 
 32). "It (ciz. his death) shall be accom- 
 plished (or, ' the recompense shall be fully 
 paid';' or, 'he shall be cut off') before his 
 time, and his branch shall not be green" 
 ( his children shall not survive or prosper, or 
 his prosperity shall not continue). The 
 prosperous wicked compared, as in verse 
 30, to a flourishing tree. So ch. viii. 16, 
 17 ; Ps. xxxvii. 35. (Verse 33). " He (the 
 sinner under the figure of a tree, or God in 
 his mysterious judgments) shall shake off 
 his unripe grape as the vine, and shall cast
 
 IIOMILETIC COMMENTARY: JOB. 
 
 CHAP. XVI 
 
 off his flower as the olive" (when smitten by 
 the frost or a pestilential wind). His pros- 
 perity brought to a sudden and premature end. 
 (Verse 34). " For the congregation of hy- 
 pocrites ( the wicked themselves and their 
 families along with them) shall be desolate." 
 Neither numbers nor combinations able to 
 secure the ungodly against God's judgments. 
 " Though hand join in hand &c." Wealth 
 gathered by man's unrighteousness often 
 scattered by God's wrath. " And fire shall 
 consume the tabernacles of bribery" ( the 
 dwellings of corrupt and covetous judges). 
 Divine judgments shall overthrow their 
 families, if not their very dwellings, as in the 
 mind of Eliphaz they had done in the case 
 of Job's children (ch. i. 19). A literal ex- 
 emplification in the case of the Cities of the 
 Plain. Job cruelly made to see, as in a mirror, 
 his own calamities, and, to intensify their 
 bitterness, to see them as a judgment of God. 
 An apparent learning parenthetically in- 
 troduced in the description by way of per- 
 sonal application (verse 31). " Let not him 
 that is deceived trust in vanity ( in his riches, 
 or in the iniquity which has procured them ; 
 or, let not mm [any man] trust in the 
 vanity by which he has been deceived) : for 
 vanity (probably used in another sense) shall 
 be his recompense." A caution of general 
 use, but especially intended for poor Job. 
 The warning suggests the following lessons : 
 (1) All earthly possessions vanity, as un- 
 able to satisfy the soul, and sure to dis- 
 appoint those who trust in them for happiness. 
 The creature is vanity, both in its possession 
 and its promises. Promises (i.) Satisfac- 
 tion; (h.) Protection; (iii.) Continuance. 
 Most vain to those who trust in it. (2) 
 Those possessions especially vain which 
 have been dishonestly or violently obtained. 
 " The getting of treasures by a lying tongue 
 is a vanity tossed to and fro of them that 
 seek death" (Prov. xxi. 6). (3) The cha- 
 racter of the ungodly to trust in vanity, in 
 earthly possessions and pleasures which can- 
 
 not satisfy, and in sinful courses which only 
 end in misery and ruin (Is. Iii. 2.) Men 
 must trust in something, either God or 
 vanity. (&) The property of sin to deceive 
 (Rom. vii. 11). The deceitfuluess of sin 
 (Heb. iii. 13). Deceivableness of un- 
 righteousness (2 Th. ii. 10). Sin deceives, 
 as it promises (i) Pleasure; (ii.) Profit; 
 (iii.) Impunity. Sin promises all pleasure, 
 and in the end robs of all peace. (5) Men 
 apt still to trust in that by which they have 
 been already deceived (Prov. xxiii. 35). 
 (6) All unrenewed men deceived (Tit. iii. 
 3). He feedeth on ashes ; a deceived heart 
 hath turned him aside (Is. xliv. 20). Satan 
 the deceiver of the nations (Rev. xx. 38). 
 Men by nature, since the admission of Satan's 
 first great deception, call evil good, and good 
 evil ; put darkness for light, and light for 
 darkness ; put bitter for sweet, and sweet 
 for bitter (is. v. 20). (7) The recompense 
 of trusting in vanity is vanity emptiness, 
 dissatisfaction, disappointment. In indulg- 
 ing in sin and sinful pleasures men embrace 
 a cloud. Like the apples of Sodom, dust in 
 the hand that grasps them instead of fruit. 
 Beautiful soap-bubbles. Vanity pursued 
 ends in vanity experienced. (8) Sin in itself 
 the recompense of sin. Vanity another name 
 for sin. No greater punishment than to be 
 given up to one's own lusts and passions 
 (Rom. i. 26, 28). The commission of one 
 sin often punished by being left to the com- 
 mission 01 another. Great part of the misery 
 of the lost the abandonment to the power of 
 sinful lusts, without any means for their 
 gratification. Their fire of sinful passions 
 unquenchable, with no object any longer to 
 act upon. To sow to the flesh is to reap 
 corruption. He that is filthy shall, after 
 death, be filthy still. Sowing the wind, men 
 reap the wirlwind ; wind, but more boisterous 
 and destructive. Sin a serpent, which, sleep- 
 ing for a time, awakes only to sting and 
 torment the soul that harboured it. 
 
 CHAPTEE XVI. 
 
 JOB'S SECOND REPLY TO ELIPHAZ. 
 
 I. Complains of the want of sym- 
 pathy on the part of his friends (verses 
 25). 
 
 1. They gave him only verses from the ancients 
 about the punishment of the icicked and the 
 prosperity of the righteous, such as he was 
 already familiar with. (Verse 2). " I have 
 heard many such things." In this, and the 
 manner in which they did it, they showed 
 themselves " miserable " (margin, " trouble- 
 some") comforters; (Hch. "comforters of 
 
 7 
 
 trouble or mischief"). Professing to come as 
 comforters, they had turned out tormentors. 
 Professed comfort may be only an exaspera- 
 tion of sorrow. No small sin to "talk to 
 the grief of those whom God has wounded." 
 In speaking to tried ones, we need a tender 
 heart and a gentle tongue. Easy to irritate 
 the wound instead of healing it. Words 
 may either 
 
 " Scorch like drops of burning gall, 
 Or soothe like honey-dew." 
 
 97
 
 CHAP. XVI. 
 
 IIOVILETIC COMMENTARY: JOB. 
 
 Deep distress and despondency not to be 
 cured by moral and religious aphorisms. " To 
 preach of patience is often the very means 
 of stirring up all impatience" [Maurice]. 
 The tongue of the vise nowhere more needed 
 than in the hoiise of sorrow. The two re- 
 quisites for a "comforter "found inSolomon's 
 virtuous woman : "She openeth her mouth 
 with wisdom, and in her tongue is the law 
 of kindness " (Prov. xxxi 26). 
 
 Men are " miserable comforters "(1) 
 "When they comfort others with error and 
 falsehood as with erroneous views of God, 
 of His dealings, or of themselves ; "daubing 
 with untempered mortar ; " healing the hurt 
 of the mourner "slightly, saying peace, peace, 
 when there is no peace ; " (2) When they 
 direct to improper means for relief as drown- 
 ing the remembrance of the trouble in the 
 pleasures and pursuits of the world ; (3) 
 When they seek merely to divert the 
 mourner's mind from the trouble, or per- 
 suade him to put away and forget his 
 sorrow ; (4) When they fail to point him to 
 the true source of comfort Christ as a 
 Saviour and sympathizing Friend the truths 
 of the Gospel and of the Word of God. 
 " The waters of Lethe will not change the 
 nature of sorrow, but the blood of Christ 
 will." 
 
 To be a true " comforter " we require 
 (1) To be able to sympathize with the 
 troubled ; (2) To understand, generally, the 
 meaning and use of trouble. Trouble a part 
 of our education for heaven, as well as for 
 the right performance of our duties on earth, 
 to be accepted as a message from above an 
 angel of mercy sent by the God who is love ; 
 
 (3) To be acquainted ourselves with the 
 truth with which we are to comfort others, 
 and to have experienced in some degree 
 the power of it on our own hearts; 
 
 (4) To possess the spirit and imitate the 
 conduct of Him whose mission on earth was 
 to " comfort them that mourn ; " (5) To 
 speak truthfully and suitably to the case, 
 while we present such views of God and His 
 dealings as are iitted to impart light and 
 comfort to the sad and sorrowing. 
 
 2. JoV s friends spoke as not realizing his 
 sorrow. They treated him either with un- 
 feeling reproofs, or sometimes with fine 
 speeches (verse 3). " Shall vain words (Ileb. 
 ' words of wind,' airy, empty speeches) 
 have an end ? " The friends had all followed 
 in the same unprofitable strain. Job returns 
 the reproach of Eliphaz (ch. xv. 2). Too 
 much of the spirit of angry retort in these 
 discussions. The time and country of the 
 speakers, however, to be remembered. The 
 Gospel of Jesus teaches us to give the " soft 
 answer that turneth away wrath." " Or 
 what emboldeneth (or eiciteth) thee that 
 
 thou answerest ? " No ground or need for 
 continuing such speeches. Eliphaz had 
 spoken as a man under excitement. The 
 style and spirit of his second speech consi- 
 derably different from that of his first. 
 Especially important for a comforter and in- 
 structor of others to exercise patience, and not 
 to lose his temper. No small part of wisdom 
 to know how we "ought to answer every 
 man." " Every man shall kiss his lips that 
 giveth a right answer" (Prov. xxiv. 20). 
 Job's friends found it easy to repeat common- 
 places, and shake their head. (Verse 4). "I 
 also could speak as you do : if (or ' wouldthat ') 
 your soul were in rny soul's stead, I could 
 heap up words ( string sentences and verses 
 together) against you, and shake mine head 
 at you " ( either in condolence or solemn 
 admonition). Easy for the whole to advise 
 tbe sick. The great want in Job's friends a 
 genuine sympathy. After the first oriental 
 outburst of grief at their friend's calamity, 
 all was cold, heartless, and even cruel. 
 Selfishness the common sin of our fallen 
 nature 
 
 " The proud, the cold, untroubled heart of 
 stone, 
 
 That never mused on sorrow but its own." 
 In Job's friends this coldness aggravated, if 
 not generated, by false religious views and 
 misinterpretations of Divine Providence. 
 True religion softens the heart, and inclines 
 it to kindness and compassion. ' A false re- 
 ligion generally the parent of cruelty. 
 
 Job expresses what his own conduct would 
 be were they in his situation (verse 5). "I 
 would strengthen vou with my mouth, and 
 the moving (or condolence) of my lips should 
 assuage your grief" ( or perhaps, ironically, 
 C I could strengthen you with my mouth' and 
 give you lip-consolation as you give me, 
 instead of the "hearty counsel" of a friend, 
 Prov. xxvii. 9). Job's actual practice de- 
 scribed. Acknowledged by Eliphaz himself 
 to have been a comforter of many (ch. iv. 
 3, 4). His own testimony as to his manner 
 of life in the time of his prosperity (ch. xxix. 
 25 j xxxi. 18). His friends had dealt in 
 words which had no weight or force (ch. vi. 
 25), and which only tended to exasperate 
 his sorrow. His words, had their places been 
 changed, would have strengthened and re- 
 lieved them. Three objects to be aimed at 
 in comforting those m trouble (1) To 
 strengthen them to bear their trouble ; (2) 
 To lighten their grief; (3) To lead them to 
 the right improvement of their trial. The 
 last, the object more especially aimed at by 
 Elilm (ch. xxx. 1530). 
 
 II. Renews his sorrowful complaint 
 
 regarding his condition (verse 6 16). 
 His sorrow neither mitigated by speech
 
 HOMILETIC COMMENTARY: JOB. 
 
 CHAP. XVI. 
 
 nor silence (verse 6). " Though I speak my 
 grief is not assuaged ; and though I forbear, 
 what am I eased ? " Natural for grief to 
 find relief in words. The troubled spirit also 
 often calmed by silent meditation. Job ex- 
 perienced neither. No relief found in the 
 assertion of his innocence or utterance of his 
 sorrow. He had spoken to God, to his friends, 
 to himself, yet his grief remained. Had sat 
 at first in silence many days, and had spent 
 many silent hours since then. Still no ease 
 to his trouble. A bad case that yields to no 
 kind of treatment. 
 
 He ascribes his troubles to God (verse 7). 
 " But now he hath made me weary " ( quite 
 exhausted me, or laden me with trouble). 
 Job's troubles accumulated and now of some 
 continuance, with as yet no relief. The visit 
 of his friends, instead of a balm, had proved 
 a bitterness. All ascribed by Job to God. 
 Good to eye God's hand in our troubles, 
 whoever and whatever may be the instrument 
 of it. No trial but of His sending. When 
 Satan was labouring to " destroy " Job, it 
 was only by God's permission and authority 
 (ch. ii. 3). The part of a sanctified nature, 
 to see God in every event of our lot, whether 
 prosperous or adverse. So David "Thou 
 didst it " (Ps. xxxix. 9). " Let him curse, 
 for the Lord hath bidden him " (2 Sam. xvi. 
 11). 
 
 He turns from man and addresses his com- 
 plaint to God Himself. " Thou hast." One 
 word spoken to God in our trouble better 
 than a hundred to man. The invitation (Ps. 
 vi. 15). The resolution (Ps. xlii. 8, 9). 
 Tragic and touching description of Job's 
 sorrows. Embraces 
 
 1. The loss of his fand\y and alienation of 
 his friends (verse 7). "Thou hast made de- 
 solate all my company " ( overwhelmed in 
 calamity all my family, and struck with 
 astonishment all my friends). Difficult to 
 forbear recurring to grievous visitations and 
 present troubles. All Job's children removed 
 by one fell swoop. His property gone. Him- 
 self a mass of loathsome ulcers. His wife 
 and friends paralysed and alienated by his 
 calamities. His very servants standing aloof 
 from him (ch. xix. 13 19). A grievous 
 aggravation of affliction when friends are 
 alienated and stand a distance from us (Ps. 
 xxxi. 11 ; xxxviii. 1 ; Ixxxviii. 18). The ex- 
 perience of the Man of Sorrows foreshadowed 
 in Job's (Matt. xxvi. 31, 34, 56). 
 
 2. Ills wasted appearance construed by 
 his friends into a token of guilt (verse 8). 
 " Thou hast filled me with wrinkles (or ' laid 
 fast hold of me,' as a person arrested by the 
 hand of justice), which [in the opinion of my 
 friends] is a witness against me [that I am a 
 guilty man] ; and my leanness ( or ' liars,' 
 or, 'my lie') rising up in me Vioo -" iK 
 
 7-2 
 
 witness to my face." A marred and meagre 
 visage may testify to our grief, but not to 
 our guilt. Christ's visage marred more 
 than any man's, and his form more than the 
 sons of men (Is. lii. 14). Otcr guilt, not His 
 own, and our sorrows carried by Him as our 
 Surety, marred His visage and" robbed His 
 form of comeliness and beauty (Is. liii. 2, 4). 
 3. The apprehension of Divine anger in His 
 troubles (verse 20). " He teareth me in his 
 wrath who hateth me (Heb., ' his wrath hath 
 torn and violently opposed me') ; he gnasheth 
 upon me with his teeth : mine enemy 
 sharpeneth his eyes upon me " (or, ' as my 
 enemy he glares upon me with his eyes/ 
 looks on me with fierce, sparkling eyes, like 
 an enraged lion, ready to pounce upon his 
 prey.) The perverted view of God which 
 Satan presents, and the flesh is ready to take 
 under severe and protracted trouble. Sad 
 that our best Friend should be viewed as a 
 relentless foe, that the God who is love, 
 should be converted into a furious wild 
 beast or a wrathful demon. Such a view 
 on the part of Job Satan's especial object 
 at present. His aim to bring him to curse 
 God to His face. Satan but showed himself 
 to Job, and sought to pass himself off for 
 God. The bitterest ingredient in a believer's 
 trials, when not love but anger is appre- 
 hended in them. To see love in a cross 
 takes out all bitterness ; to see wrath, adds 
 poison to the dart. David's prayer " Re- 
 buke me, [but] not in thine anger, chasten 
 me, [but] not in thy hot displeasure" 
 (Ps. vi. 1). 
 
 4. The bitter hostility of his friends (verse 
 10). " They have gaped upon me with their 
 mouth; they have smitten me upon the 
 cheek reproachfully; they have gathered 
 themselves together against me " (as con- 
 spirators, to effect my ruin ; or, " they have 
 attacked me with combined forces"). Terribly 
 bitter cup when both God and man especially 
 our friends and professedly good men seem 
 to be turned against us. " The cup given to 
 Jesus as our Surety. The words of the first 
 clause of the verse those of the Psalm which 
 describes His experience on the cross 
 (Ps. xxii. 13). His cheek literally smitten, 
 according to the prophecy (Mic. v. 1; 
 Matt. xxvi. 67; xxvii. 30; John xix. 3). 
 Jews and Gentiles, rulers and people, were 
 gathered together against Him (Acts iv. 27 ; 
 (Ps. ii. 12). Man's combined opposition, 
 joined to a frowning providence, no proof 
 either of guilt or Divine displeasure. David's 
 prayer: "Let them curse, but bless thou" 
 (Ps. cix. 28). 
 
 5. His apparent abandonment by God 
 into the hands of icickcd men (verse 11). 
 " God hath delivered me to the ungodly 
 (Heb., 'to an evil one'), and turned me 
 
 99
 
 ciur. xvi. 
 
 II03IILETIC COMMENTARY: JOS. 
 
 over (or, ' thrown me down headlong ') into 
 the hands of the wicked." His case, iu his 
 own view, like that of a criminal delivered 
 over to the executioners of justice ; or one 
 cast into a gulf or dungeon, as the punish- 
 ment of his crime. His friends appeared 
 to him in the character, and as acting towards 
 him the part, of wicked men. Job delivered 
 by God into the hands of an "evil one " in 
 a way that he was not then aware of. Pos- 
 sibly, however, some glimmering of the 
 truth as to the immediate agent in his 
 affliction. The doctrine of evil spirits, and 
 of one prominent among -them as their 
 leader, not likely to have been unknown in 
 Job's time. The tradition of man's temp- 
 tation and fall widely spread and preserved 
 in the line of Shorn. No uncommon thing 
 for a child of God to be for wise purposes 
 left for a time in the hands of bad men and 
 bad angels. Divine abandonment the bit- 
 terest ingredient in the Saviour's cup. The 
 only thing that extorted a wail of sorrow 
 from His lips (Matt, xxvii. 4G). To be left 
 in the hands of the wicked was itself a 
 grievous affliction. " The tender mercies of 
 the wicked are cruel." To appear to be 
 abandoned by God at the same time a 
 fearful aggravation. The Surety actually 
 delivered into the hands of Satan to be 
 tempted, and of wicked men to be put to 
 death (Matt. iv. 1 ; Acts ii. 23). 
 
 6. The sad and sudden, reverse in his ex- 
 perience (verse 32). "I was at ease ( in 
 tranquillity and prosperity), but he hath 
 broken me asunder (or, in pieces, thoroughly 
 crushed and smashed me as an earthen 
 vessel) ; he hath also taken me by my neck 
 [as a wild beast does his prey] and shaken 
 me to pieces ( or, dashed me as on the 
 ground, or against a rock), and set me up 
 for his mark " ( to shoot his arrows at, as 
 Saracenic conquerors sometimes did with 
 their captives, and as his own soldiers did 
 with Sebastian, the martyr of Gaul). Great 
 and sudden reverses among the sorest earthly 
 trials. The remembrance of previous comfort 
 and prosperity an embittering of present 
 calamity and suffering. Once none more 
 happy and prosperous than Job ; now none 
 more afflicted and wretched. No greater 
 contrast between past and present ex- 
 perience since Adam and Eve were driven 
 out of Paradise. Labours for words to 
 express the grievousness of the latter. 
 Employs words of double form and inten- 
 sified meaning. "Broken me asunder," 
 "shaken me to pieces/'' No mere hurt, but 
 utter destruction, like that of a glass or an 
 earthen vessel dashed to the ground, and 
 smashed into a thousand pieces, no more to 
 be united. Children gone ; property lost ; 
 wife alienated ; body covered from head to 
 
 100 
 
 foot with the most grievous and loathsome 
 disease that ever afflicted fallen humanity ; 
 mind harassed, depressed, distracted; sleep 
 taken away ; what sleep obtained made more 
 wretched than the absence of it by horri- 
 fying dreams ; his sincerity a'.id piety more 
 than suspected by his friends, in consequence 
 of his sufferings; and his bruised spirit 
 worried and irritated by their flippant and 
 worldly arguments, to convince him that he 
 must not be the man he had been taken to 
 be, and that to be delivered from his troubles 
 he must repent and seek God. And of all 
 these overwhelming reverses, God Himself, 
 whom he had diligently and faithfully served, 
 the Author ! High and important object 
 that for which God could do such violence to 
 His nature in thus dealing with a faithful 
 servant ! Transccndently glorious end in 
 view, when He still more terribly bruised 
 His faithful and well-beloved Son ! 
 
 7. A tragically sublime enlargement on his 
 treatment at the Divine hand (verse 13). 
 "His archers (or 'his mighty ones,' perhaps 
 ' his darts' the many calamities with which 
 God had visited and was still visiting him) 
 compass me round about : he cleaveth my 
 reins asunder ( attacks me in the most vital 
 parts, and inflicts on me deadly wounds), and 
 doth not spare : he poureth out my gall 
 upon the ground " ( His strokes of thcmost 
 fatal kind, leaving no hope of life). No pity 
 shewn in dealing with His servant, but ail 
 kinds of severity inflicted. Sometimes God 
 appears to lay aside His attribute of mercy, 
 even in dealing with His own. So in visiting 
 Jerusalem for her sins : " Thou hast not 
 pitied" (Lam.iii. 43). Thus God "spared not 
 his own Son." (Verse 14). "He breaketh 
 me with breach upon breach;" is continually 
 dealing new blows, like a storming party 
 attacking the walls of a fortress is always 
 inflicting new griefs. So David's complaint : 
 "Deep calleth unto deep ; all thy waves and 
 thy billows have gone over me," one after 
 another in rapid succession " (Ps. Ixii. 7). 
 One severe trial often found almost sufficient 
 to crush us. Ordinarily, " in the day of the 
 rough wind," He " stayeth the east wind." 
 Rarely, as with Job, are heavy strokes re- 
 peated, successive, and accumulated. Sue!), 
 however, the experience of Jesus in the last 
 hours of His earthly life. From the traitor's 
 kiss to His dying cry upon the cross, "bruised 
 and put to grief" by God, devils, and men ; 
 smitten in soul and body with one wound 
 after another, till at last reproach broke His 
 heart, and He was brought to the dust of 
 death. And all this, while standing in your 
 place, reader, and mine. " He runneth 
 upon me like a giant," or, "as a warrior," 
 sword in hand, with strength and fury. Ap- 
 palling climax ! Terrible experience for a
 
 IIOMILETIC COMMENTARY: 
 
 CHAP. XVI. 
 
 child of God. Awful situation of an im- 
 penitent and Christless soul. " A fearful 
 thing to fall into the hands of the living 
 God." If these things be done in the green 
 tree, what shall be done in the dry ? 
 
 8. The effect of this severity on the part of 
 God (verse 15). "I have sewed sackcloth 
 upon my skin." Sackcloth, a garment of 
 coarse cloth worn by mourners and penitents. 
 Probably assumed by Job after the death of 
 his children, and continued ever since. Worn 
 next to the person, and now adhering to his 
 skin through the purulent matter issuing 
 from his ulcers. God's providence able very 
 soon to change our silk into sackcloth. 
 "And defiled (or thrust) my horn in the 
 dust," like a noble animal spent with fatigue 
 or overpowered in conflict. Job now literally 
 in the dust. His place still among the 
 ashes. His condition one of the deepest 
 misery. His experience that of sorrow and 
 humiliation. The horn an emblem of 
 strength aud dignity. Job, as a prince or 
 emir, naturally speaks of his "horn." Easy 
 with God to bring the loftiest horn to the 
 dust. Witness Hainan, Nebuchadnezzar, 
 \Volscy, Masauiello, the fisherman-saviour 
 of Naples. Soon " high ambition lowly laid." 
 (Verse 16). " My face is foul (or red) with 
 weeping." Job no stoic. His eye poured 
 out tears to God (verse 20). Manly to weep 
 from a sufficient cause. Jesus wept. It is 
 only sin which makes men callous and 
 insensible. True religion neither makes men 
 stones nor stoics. " Scorn the proud man 
 that is ashamed to weep." " And on mine 
 eyelids is the shadow of death." A speedy 
 dissolution anticipated as the result of his 
 calamities and disease. The dimness of 
 death already appearing to him to settle on 
 his eyes. Now viewed himself as a dying 
 man (ch. xvii. 1.) Figuratively also, deep 
 and continued sorrow clouded his eyes as 
 with the dimness of death. The effect of 
 grief and tears on the sight frequently com- 
 plained of in the Psalms (Ps. vi. 7 ; xxxi. 9 ; 
 xxxviii. 10. See, also, Sam. v. 17). Faustus, 
 son of Vortigern, said to have wept himself 
 blind for the abominations of his parents. 
 
 III. Re-asserts his innocence .and 
 integrity (verse 17). 
 
 " Not for any injustice (or, ' although/ 
 or, connecting with what follows, ' because 
 there is not any violence') in mine hands; 
 also my prayer is pure." Maintains that his 
 sufferings were neither on account of wrong 
 done to his neighbour or hypocrisy towards 
 God. The two charges alleged or insinuated 
 against him by his friends. The gist of 
 their speeches to shew that he must have 
 made himself rich by oppression, or had 
 abused his riches to the injury of his neigh- 
 
 bour, and that the justice of God now over- 
 took him for his crimes. This conduct to- 
 wards man necessarily implied that his pro- 
 fession of religion towards God had been 
 false and hollow. Job maintains, like Paul, 
 that he had exercised himself in having a 
 conscience void of offence both towards God 
 and towards man. " Prayer " here put for 
 religion or religious duties in general his 
 duty towards God. A great part of religion 
 consists in prayer or in communion with the 
 Father of our spirits. Divine worship an ap- 
 proach of the soul to the mercy-seat. Job 
 a man of prayer, contrary to the allegation 
 of his friends (ch. xv. 4). A praycrless 
 man is a man without religion and without 
 God. Job speaks of 
 
 Prayer 
 
 as a matter of course, as a thing natural for 
 a man. As natural for a man to pray as for 
 an infant to utter cries to its mother. The 
 natural instinct of a babe towards its 
 earthly parent a picture of that in a human 
 soul towards its heavenly one. Because 
 natural, prayer is universal. Prayer to 
 Deity in some form or other the language 
 of man wherever found. The most degraded 
 still sometimes prays, and pays respect to 
 prayer when offered by another. Prayer 
 a thing of the spirit, unconfmed to time, or 
 place, or form. In prayer, however, as in 
 other things, the spirit seeks outward ex- 
 pression in the lips, and the posture of the 
 body, as bended knees, uplifted hands, &c. 
 Prayer either public, solemn, formal, or pri- 
 vate, in the family, the closet, everywhere. 
 " I will that men pray everywhere." Nehe- 
 miah prayed in the glittering banquet-hall 
 while presenting, according to his otlice, the 
 wine-cup to his royal master. Especial 
 prominence given in the Bible to united 
 prayer (Matt, xviii. 19 ; Acts xii. 5, 12). 
 Prayer to be made for others as well as for 
 ourselves. Jobanintercessor(ch.i.5; xlii.10). 
 Patterns for prayergiven everywhere through- 
 out the Scriptures. Especially found in 
 " the Lord's Prayer." The first part of this 
 Divine form of devotion consists in three 
 petitions for God himself for God's glory, 
 His kingdom, and His pleasure ; the second 
 part, in the remaining four, for ourselves and 
 our neighbour. Of these four, the first is for 
 temporal benefits ; the second and third for 
 spiritual ones ; and the fourth and last, for 
 both combined. 
 
 Job declares that his prayer was "pure" 
 Prayer "pure' 5 when offered with a sincere 
 heart and pure conscience. More particu- 
 larly 
 
 1. When not in hypocrisy or "out of 
 feigned lips" , when with the heart and not
 
 CHAP. XVI 
 
 HOMILETIC COMMENTARY: JOJJ. 
 
 merely the lip or outward posture (Is. xxix. 
 13 ; Matt. xv. 8). 
 
 2. When not accompanied icith the practice 
 of sin. The sacrifice of the wicked an 
 abomination to the Lord (Prov. xv. 8 ; li. 
 27 ; xxviii. 9) " If I regard iniquity in my 
 heart the Lord will not hear me" (Ps. Ixvi. 
 17). Men to lift up " holy hands." 
 
 3. When for right objects &n&f/-om rig ht 
 motives. " Ye ask and receive not, because 
 ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon 
 your lusts" (James iv. 3). 
 
 4. When addressed to the only true God 
 (Ps. Ixv. 2). 
 
 5. When presented in a way according to 
 His own will, not through images or pictures, 
 or with superstitious and humanly devised 
 practices (Col. ii. xviii. 22). 
 
 0. When offered with right disposition 
 and feelings, with benevolence and forgive- 
 ness of injuries. " Lifting up holy hands, 
 without wrath " (1 Tim. ii. 8). " When ye 
 stand praying, forgive " (Mark xi. 25). 
 
 7. When made with humility through the 
 one Mediator, and with faith in His atotting 
 sacrifice. " To this man will I look who is 
 poor and of a contrite spirit " (Is. Ixvi. 2). 
 "There is one God and one Mediator be- 
 tween God and men, the man Christ Jesus." 
 " No man cometh to the Father but by me " 
 (1 Tim. ii. 5 ; John xiv. 6). Boldness 
 given to enter into the holiest of all by the 
 blood of Jesus (Heb. x. 19). 
 
 IV. Apostrophizes the earth in an 
 impassioned prayer that his innocence 
 may he made manifest (verse 18). 
 
 "0 earth, cover not thou my blood, and 
 let my cry have no place" (of concealment, 
 or hindrance in its access to God'). Perhaps 
 connected with the preceding : " Because I 
 am innocent, let this be the case.'" Job, as 
 an undeserving sufferer, regards himself as 
 one whose blood is innocently shed. Pro- 
 bable reference to Abel's murder (Gen. 
 iv. 10, 11). The narrative or document 
 containing it well known to Job. The 
 shedder of Job's blood either the imme- 
 diate agent in his sufferings, or his friends 
 who so cruelly persecuted him. Murder 
 easily and often committed without actual 
 shedding of blood. Parents often murdered 
 by the unkiudness of their children, and 
 wives by the harsh treatment of their 
 husbands. Words and looks kill as well as 
 blows. Blood shed inwardly as well as 
 outwardly, shed where no eye sees it but 
 God's. 
 
 Job's prayer heard. His innocence and 
 his friends' unkindness at length revealed. 
 No innocent blood always covered. " Murder 
 will out " and be revenged. The blood of the 
 slaughtered Huguenots visited on Charles IX., 
 
 102 
 
 who died in a bloody sweat, crying : "What 
 blood ! what blocd !" and still visited in 
 the wars and revolutions of France. A day 
 coming when the earth shall " disclose her 
 blood," the blood innocently shed on it 
 and kept by it against a future day, and 
 shall "no more cover her slain" (Is. xxvi. 21). 
 Earth covers innocent blood till God uncovers 
 and revenges it. Arabs say the dew never 
 rests on a spot that has been wet with it. 
 The innocent blood of the crucified One still 
 speaks in heaven. Led to the sacking and 
 burning of Jerusalem, with the slaughter and 
 dispersion of its people. Is still visited on 
 the outcast impenitent shedders of it. 
 Speaks pardon and peace to all who, as 
 guilty, take refuge in it as their only atone- 
 ment and hope. 
 
 The " cry " of the helpless and oppressed 
 never unheard. No place on earth able to 
 hide it from God. Enters from the most 
 humble and wretched hovel into the ears of 
 the Lord of Sabaoth (James v. 4). 
 
 V. Job's consolation (verse 19, 20). 
 
 1. In God's consciousness of his innocence 
 Averse 19). "Also now ( besides the testimony 
 of my own consciousness; or, 'even now/ 
 in the midst of these calamities and suffer- 
 ings), behold ( strange as vou may deem 
 my assertion) my witness ( he who can and 
 will bear testimony to my innocence) is in 
 heaven, and my record ( the eye-witness of 
 my upright life) is on high." Job's integrity 
 already testified to by God in a way he was 
 
 ^not aware of. The comfort of the righteous 
 'under oppression, that God is witness not 
 only of their suffering, but of their integrity. 
 God's great all-seeing eye the terror of the 
 sinner, the comfort of the saint. The Eye- 
 Witness in heaven will one day speak out on 
 earth (Matt. xxv. 31 45). A grievous trial 
 for a good man to lie under suspicion of 
 hypocrisv, especially with good men. His 
 comfort in the record on nigh, the Eye- 
 Witness unseen, but seeing all. 
 
 2. In his constant tearful waiting upon 
 God (verse 20). " My friends scorn me 
 (Hcb., 'my mockers are my friends'), but 
 mine eye poureth out tears unto God." One 
 of Job's great trials, that those who should 
 have befriended and comforted him only 
 mocked him, by dealing in wordy harangues 
 and persuasions to repent in order to de- 
 liverance from his overwhelming troubles. 
 His comfort in being able to turn from them 
 to God. W r liile his ear was stunned with 
 their unfeeling reflections, his eye was 
 pouring out tears to Him in whom- "the 
 fatherless findeth mercy." A relief in trouble 
 to be able to weep, much more in being able 
 to weep to God. Tears wept to God do not 
 scald, but cool. The misery of the world,
 
 IIOMILETIC COMMENTARY: JOB. 
 
 CIIA?. xvir. 
 
 that they cither dp not weep in trouble, or 
 do not weep to Him who is able both to pity 
 and help them. Every tear wept to God put 
 into His bottle. God's lachrymatory con- 
 stantly filling with the tears of the sorrow- 
 ful wept into His bosom. A day coming 
 when each tear treasured up in it will 
 sparkle as a gem in the mourner's crown. 
 Prayers and tears the weapons of the saints. 
 While the eye pours out tears to God, God 
 pours in comfort and strength unto the soul. 
 With God the eye pleads as effectually as the 
 lips. The tearful eye an eloquent pleader 
 when the tongue is unable to utter a word. 
 Tears wept to God have a voice that He who 
 sees them well understands. Those blessed 
 troubles that open the sluices for tears to be 
 poured out to God. Believers weep with 
 their face to God, the world with their back 
 to Him. Precious grace that enables a man 
 to take his griefs and weep out his tears to 
 God. The trouble that drives unbelievers 
 farther from God is only driving a believer 
 nearer to Him ; as the wind that drives one 
 mariner farther from home is wafting another 
 nearer to it. The magnet, amid all the com- 
 motions of the earth, and sea, and sky, still 
 keeps pointing to the north. 
 
 VI. His longing desire to have his 
 case tried before God (verse 21). 
 
 " O that one might plead for a man with 
 God, as a man pleadeth for his neighbour " 
 (or, ' that a man might plead/ or simply as 
 expressing the subject of his prayer, 'that 
 a man, viz., himself, might plead with God 
 as a sou of man with his neighbour'). Job's 
 constant desire, from a consciousness of his 
 integrity, to plead his cause with God 
 (ch. ix.,19, 3235). His aim not to establish 
 his sinlessness, but his sincerity. His desire 
 not to plead with God in reference to his 
 personal acceptance with Him, but in refer- 
 ence to the particular matter and cause of 
 his present sufferings. It is our happiness 
 that we have not to plead our case with God 
 as righteous persons, but as sinners. Even 
 Job unable to answer God for one of a 
 thousand charges he could bring against 
 him (ch. ix., 3). It is the comfort of the 
 Gospel (1) That a sinner does not need to 
 plead with God in order to establish his 
 righteousness ; God justifies the ungodly 
 who believe in His Son ; (2) That receiving 
 Christ as a Saviour we have one who con- 
 
 stantly pleads for us. In Christ we have an 
 Advocate who is God Himself while our 
 Brother, the Man who is Jehovah's Fellow 
 (Zech. xiii. 7.) Our God-man Advocate 
 pleads not our innocence, but His obedience 
 unto death, as the ground of our justifica- 
 tion. Exhibits before the Divine tribunal 
 not our tears, but His own Hood. Mentions 
 in the plea not our works, but our faith in 
 Himself. 
 
 The reason for Job's earnest desire (verse 
 22). " When a few years are come (or ' for 
 the years numbered to me,' or, ' my few years 
 have come,' i.e., to an end,), then shall I go 
 whence I shall not return." The apprehension 
 of approaching death now always present 
 with Job. His great desire that his cause 
 might be tried and his innocence declared 
 before he left this world. Elsewhere he 
 comforts himself with the assurance that 
 even if death should intervene, God would 
 vindicate Ids character and manifest his in- 
 nocence (ch. xix., 25 27). Natural to 
 desire to see it done while living. Sad for a 
 good man to die with a cloud of suspicion 
 resting on his character. Things which each 
 ought to be earnest and diligent to have done 
 before we go " whence we shall not return." 
 
 (1) Our own acceptance with God made sure. 
 
 (2) The salvation of our children secured. 
 
 (3) Our family and affairs rightly ordered. 
 
 (4) Peace and reconciliation sought with all 
 men. (5) Duties towards our family, friends, 
 and neighbours discharged. "Whatsoever 
 thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might" 
 (Eccles. ix. 10). 
 
 Solemn enquiry : " When a few years are 
 come," where shall I be, and what shall be 
 my place and experience ? Like Job, I shall 
 be done with a present world. Its joys and 
 sorrows, its cares and anxieties, will have 
 ceased with me for ever. Shall I be enjoying 
 a better state ? Have I a house not made 
 with hands, eternal in the heavens ? Have I 
 an interest in Christ, so as to be able to 
 say : " To me to live is Christ, and to die 
 is gain?" Do I know that God is the 
 strength of my heart now, and that He shall 
 be my portion for ever ? That He will guide 
 me with His counsel while here, and after- 
 wards receive me to glory ? While my body 
 is mouldering in the grave, shall my spirit be 
 mingling in the songs of saints and sera- 
 phim before the throne ? Am I already 
 washed m the blood of the Lamb P 
 
 CHAPTEE XVII. 
 
 CONTINUATION OF JOB'S EEPLY T0~ ELIPHAZ. 
 
 I. Bemoans his dying condition 
 
 (verse 1). 
 
 " My breath is corrupt (or, ' my spirit or 
 
 vital energy is destroyed '), my days are ex- 
 tinct (or, extinguished, as a lamp or taper 
 whose flame is expiring), the graves are 
 
 103
 
 CHAP. XVII. 
 
 HOMILETIC COMMENTARY: JOB. 
 
 ready for me " (or, the place of graves, or 
 chambers of the tomb, are destined for me, 
 Heb., 'are for me,' or, 'are mine'). Job 
 takes a calm but gloomy view of his con- 
 dition. Now views himself always as a 
 dying man. Speaks the language of deep 
 despondency. Vital powers exhausted. 
 Energy of spirit broken. The lamp of 
 life all but extinguished. His only ex- 
 pected home the grave. This mentioned 
 now (1) As his reason for desiring to liavc 
 his case speedily tried and his character 
 vindicated; (2) In opposition to the flat- 
 tering prospect held out by his friends as 
 the result, of his repentance. Observe 
 
 1. Good for us frequently to take a calm 
 view of our condition as mortal and dying 
 men. Philip of Macedon kept a person for 
 the sole purpose of daily reminding him of 
 his mortality. Sad to be surprised by the 
 summons of death, like the rich fool (Luke 
 xii. 20). A good man, able, like Job, to chant 
 his own dirge, both in the midst of life's joys 
 and sorrows. 
 
 2. True in reference to each what Job says 
 of himself 
 
 "The grayes are ready for ine." 
 
 (1) Death is appointed to us. The lot of 
 
 all but those who shall be living at the Lord's 
 
 appearing. The sentence of death entailed 
 
 on Adam's offspring as well as himself 
 
 (Rom. v. 12). Death an enemy which all 
 
 have to meet. No discharge in that war. 
 
 The grave the home appointed for all living. 
 
 Death a visitor whom no wealth can bribe, 
 
 no power resist, no artifice elude. (2) Death 
 
 is near to us. " But a step between me and 
 
 death." Death or the Lord's appearing not 
 
 far from each of us. The grave probably 
 
 much nearer both to reader and writer than 
 
 to Job, when uttering these words. Job after 
 
 this lived a hundred and forty years. Our 
 
 entire life probably not more than half this 
 
 amount. " Where is to-morrow ? In 
 
 another world. For numbers this is 
 
 certain." Death probably much nearer to us 
 
 than we think. L ses tor be made of this fact : 
 
 (i.) To make careful preparation for death. 
 
 While the body enters the grave the spirit 
 
 enters the invisible and eternal world. 
 
 Prepare to meet thy God. (ii.). To make 
 
 right use of time while it lasts. Much to 
 
 be done, and but a short time to do it in 
 
 (Eccles. ix. 10). (iii.). To sit loose to the 
 
 things of a present world. The world to be 
 
 used, but not abused or used eagerly as if 
 
 our all (1 Cor. vii. 29). -"Why ail this 
 
 toil for triumphs of an hour?" (iv.). To 
 
 examine faithfully our views and prospects 
 
 in regard to the grave. How do I regard 
 
 it ? With comfort or with dread ? Is the 
 
 104 
 
 prospect of it a gloomy or a pleasant one r 
 To the believer to die is gain, because to de- 
 part is to be with Christ. To Him, the 
 grave is only "a dark lattice letting iu 
 eternal day," the avenue 
 
 " To festive bowers, 
 Where nectars sparkle, angels minister, 
 And more than angels share." 
 
 Am I prepared for my final resting-place? 
 Are my accounts made straight with God ? 
 Am I at peace with my Maker ? Are my 
 sins cancelled with the blood of Jesus ? 
 
 II. Job complains of the conduct of 
 his friends (verse 2). 
 
 "Are there not mockers (or mockings) 
 witli me? Doth not mine eye continue 
 {Heb., remain all night) in their provoca- 
 tion ? " Cutting words and cruel reproaches 
 not easily banished. What the eye sees 
 and the ear hears by day, the thoughts 
 dwell upon by night. Such, with Job, the 
 unkind looks and bitter words of those who 
 should now have been his comfort. These 
 things now his "sorrowful meat" (ch. vi. 7). 
 The conduct of his friends one great part of 
 his affliction. " Man is to man the sorest, 
 surest ill." Instead of sympathy to soothe his 
 sufferings, Job had only scorn to aggravate 
 them. Such painful experience, especially 
 from friends, happily the lot of few suf- 
 ferers. Yet that of the Man of sorrows 
 standing in our room. Complained of by Him 
 as one of his keenest trials (Ps. xxii. 7 ; 
 Matt, xxvii. 39). "The contradiction of 
 sinners against himself" mentioned as the 
 burden of his sufferings (Heb. xii. 4). His 
 heart broken by reproach (Ps. Ixix. 20). In 
 proportion to the sweetness of true friend- 
 ship and sympathy in sorrow, is the bitter- 
 ness of the want, and especially the opposite, 
 of it. Friendship the "wine of life;" un- 
 kind reproaches from professed friends, 
 especially in trouble, distilled wormwood. 
 
 III. Earnestly beseeches God to 
 grant a speedy trial of his case 
 (verse 3). 
 
 " Lay down now (or, ' give a pledge, I 
 pray thee ' ; put me in a surety with thee 
 (or, ' give,' or, ' be surety to me [in this 
 controversy of mine] with thee,' that thou 
 wilt afford me a trial and act as a party) ; 
 who is he that will strike hands with me? " 
 (or, ' who else is there that will,' &c., that 
 is able to enter into the controversy? or, who 
 is there, when such a pledge is given me by 
 Tliec, that will enter into the controversy 
 with me ? I will challenge anyone to prove 
 me a wicked dissembler). Always the great 
 burden of Job's desire to have his case 
 fairly Iried. The result and evidence of his
 
 HONILETIC COMMENTARY: JOB. 
 
 CHAP. XVII. 
 
 conscious integrity. The most painful 
 part of his suffering, that he was treated as a 
 wicked man, and, in consequence of that 
 treatment, was regarded as such by his 
 friends. A good man's name more precious 
 to him than life. The cutting taunt of 
 David's enemies, and those of David's anti- 
 type in trouble, where is now thy God ? (Ps. 
 xlii. 10; Matt, xlvii. 4143). Christ 
 esteemed by His enemies, " stricken, 
 smitten by God, and afflicted," as a man 
 under God's displeasure, and suffering for 
 his sins (Is. liii. 4). For the consolation 
 of anxious souls, God has given what Job 
 desired, His promise and His oath (Heb. 
 vi. 17, 18). These given, not that they shall 
 have their case tried, but that, on accepting 
 Christ as their substitute and righteousness, 
 they shall be accepted as righteous with 
 God, just as they are. God Himself a surety 
 to such that no evil shall befal them (Ps. 
 cxix 122). David's comfort that God had 
 made with him an everlasting covenant (2 
 Sam. xxiii. 5). Christ provided by God as 
 the surety of that covenant (Heb. vii. 22). 
 The Divine pledge that on receiving Him, 
 no good thing shall be wit.held from us 
 (Rom. viii. 32). The reason for Job's 
 request (ver. 4) "For thou hast hid their 
 heart from understanding (withheld from his 
 friends the wisdom and intelligence necessary 
 to qualify them for giving a right judgment 
 in his case, or to make them successful 
 parties in the controversy) ; therefore shalt 
 thou not exalt them " (as righteous judges, 
 or as those who have had the better in the 
 case). A two-fold ground of Job's request 
 for a fair trial of his case by God Himself 
 (1) The incapacity of his friends to judge in 
 the matter; (2) His consciousness of 
 his innocence, and that in the con- 
 troversy he will gain the cause. 
 Job called to wage a double controversy 
 (1) As against God, in His appearing to 
 afflict him as a wicked man ; (2) As against 
 his friends, in their charging him with being 
 such. 
 
 Observe 
 
 1. The highest "understanding" to 
 judge correctly between right and wrong in 
 principle and conduct, and rightly to inter- 
 pret God's dealings and dispensations with 
 men. No understanding as to moral and 
 spiritual subjects, but as the gift of God. 
 With God either to give or withhold this 
 understanding (Matt. xi. 25). A measure 
 of it given to all men (John i. 9). That 
 measure capable of being increased or di- 
 minished. The increase or diminution ac- 
 cording to the improvement made of it, 
 and the means employed for increasing it. 
 " To him that hath," &c. " He that 
 walketh with wise men shall be wise." 
 
 The want of a clear and correct moral 
 judgment the consequence of sin. A 
 dim perception and uusouiid judgment in 
 moral and spiritual things one of the na- 
 tural, as well as judicial, effects of trans- 
 gression. The most upright, not the most 
 learned, the most capable of forming a cor- 
 rect judgment on great moral questions. 
 The secret of the Lord is with them that 
 fear kirn. " A good understanding have all 
 they that keep thy testimonies." 
 
 2. The true "exaltation" that which 
 comes from God (Ps. Ixxvi. 5 7 ; Dan. iv. 
 37). The possession and exercise of a 
 sound moral judgment the ground of exalta- 
 tion with God as of commendation with 
 men (Prov. xii. 8). Prejudice and par- 
 tiality in judging of an individual's state 
 and character a serious ground of Divine 
 displeasure. Harsh and uncharitable judg- 
 ment of and conduct towards a faithful 
 and suffering servant of His the object of 
 His disapprobation. Hence (1) The fre- 
 quent denunciations in the Psalms in re- 
 ference to David's enemies and persecutors ; 
 
 (2) The fearful judgments made to follow 
 the Jewish nation for their treatment of 
 God's righteous servant, their own Messiah. 
 Job's friends not only not "exalted" by 
 God, but deeply humbled and abased by 
 Him in the end (ch. xlii. 7, 8). The enemies 
 and persecutors of Christ and His cause 
 ultimately clothed with shame (Ps. cxxxii). 
 A bad cause only for a time apparently tri- 
 umphant. " Magna est ver it as," &c. 
 
 IV. A denunciation against trea- 
 cherous and unfaithful friends (verse 5). 
 
 " He that speaketh flattery to his 
 friends (or the man who betrays his friends 
 to [become a] spoil or prey; who deserts 
 and betrays Ids friends from selfish con- 
 siderations) the eyes of his children shall 
 fail;" his sin is so grievous in the 
 sight of God that it shall be visited not 
 only on himself, but on his children. The 
 treacherous and unfaithful conduct of Job's 
 friends already the subject of his sorrowful 
 complaint (ch. vi. 1527). Observe (1) 
 Treachery and unfaithfulness on the part of 
 professed friends one of the most cutting 
 trials with men, and the most condemning 
 sins with God. These concentrated 
 in the conduct of Judas Iscariot. The 
 frequent complaint of David, and the 
 painful experience of David's antitype (Ps. 
 xl. 9, Iv. 12 5 John xiii. 18). (.2) Some sins 
 more heinous in themselves and more disas- 
 trous in their consequences than others. 
 
 (3) Silt in many cases entails its consequences 
 on a man's children as well as on himself. 
 Gehazi's sin followed by the infliction of 
 Kaaman's leprosy on himself and his poa- 
 
 105
 
 CHAP. XVII. 
 
 IIOMILETIC COMMENTARY: JOB. 
 
 terity for ever. On the other hand, the 
 virtuous conduct of parents entails a bless- 
 ing on their offsprings. So the faith of 
 Abraham, the zeal of Phinehas, the piety 
 of Obed-Edom. In the text, Job retorts 
 upon his friends their cruel allusion to his 
 children's calamity (ch. v. 4 ; viiii. 4 ; xv. 
 30). Not only speaks according to the Old 
 Testament platform, but announces a 
 general law in God's moral government. 
 The consequences of parents' sins upon 
 their children often natural and in the ordi- 
 nary course of Divine Providence. ; at the 
 same time judicial, whatever may be the 
 instrumentality or natural causes. 
 
 V. Returns to his own distressed 
 condition. 
 
 His sufferings the cause of the suspicion 
 resting upon his character. Mentions 
 
 1. The contempt to which his circum- 
 stances exposed him (verse 6). " He (i.e. 
 God frequently spoken of without being 
 named) hath made me also a by-word (or 
 proverb) of the people ; and aforetime I 
 was as a tabret " (or, " and I am become an 
 object to spit before," or, " to spit at in the 
 face"). Distressing contrast. Formerly 
 the object of universal reverence and re- 
 spect ; now of public contempt and insult 
 (ch. xxx. 10). To spit at or in the presence 
 of another still a common mode of showing 
 contempt among the Arabs. Mahommedaus 
 often thus exhibit their contempt of Chris- 
 tians. Trouble greatly aggravated by con- 
 trast with former prosperity. Contempt a 
 bitter ingredient in a noble-minded man's 
 cup of sorrow. A frequent subject of com- 
 plaint in the Psalms (Ps. xxii. 6, 7 ; xxxv. 
 15, ]G; Ixix. 7, 11, 12, 19; cxxiii. 3, 4). 
 The experience of the Man of Sorrows 
 (Matt, xxvii. 28, 29, 4144; Is. liii. 3). 
 Jesus, like Job, spit upon by the rabble (Is. 
 1. 6; Matt. xxvi. 67 ; xxvii. 30). 
 
 2. The effect of grief upon his physical 
 frame (verse 7). "Mine eye also is dim by 
 reason of sorrow, and all my members (or 
 features) are as a shadow." The eye 
 dimmed by weeping and nervous exhaustion. 
 The emaciation consequent on protracted 
 sorrow still more common. Grief preys on 
 the whole frame. Digestive organs retarded 
 in their operation ; nutrition at a stand. 
 Job's case (ch. xix. 20); David's com- 
 plaint (Ps. xxii. 17). So the prophet repre- 
 senting the Jewish Church in its trouble 
 (Ps. cii. 5; Sain. iv. 8). Job's trouble now 
 of some continuance. The change in his 
 appearance already such as to render him 
 scarcely recognizable by his friends (ch. ii. 
 12). The Man of Sorrows, when little above 
 thirty, spoken of as " not yet fifty years old " 
 (Jolin viii. 57). Job already a "by -word," 
 
 106 
 
 or proverb, of suffering or sorrow. Pro- 
 bably regarded as an example of the justice 
 of God overtaking a secret transgressor, and 
 of the sudden overthrow of those who have 
 made themselves rich. Similar experience 
 of David as a type of the Messiah (Ps. Ixix. 
 11). Job now for thousands of years a 
 proverb of patience. His tears already 
 gems. " Our sorrow the inverted image of 
 our nobleness ; perhaps, also, the measure 
 of our sympathy " [Carlyle]. In Job three 
 superlatives combined nobleness of mind 
 and character ; trouble, with grief as its 
 natural effect ; patience, at least for a time, 
 in enduring it. 
 
 VI. The contemplated effect of his 
 sufferings on others. 
 
 This twofold 
 
 1. The encouragement of suffering inno- 
 cence (ver. 8). " Upright men shall be 
 astonished at this [so aggravated is suffering 
 in an innocent man, who yet maintains 
 his integrity under it] ; and the innocent 
 [encouraged by my example] shall stir 
 up himself against the hypocrite (or 
 ungodly man)." Probably contemplates 
 the effect, not merely of his suffering, 
 but of the future public vindication 
 of his character, at times confidently an- 
 ticipated (ch. xix. 25 29 ; xxiii. 10). 
 Hence, another reason for wishing a speedy 
 decision of his case. Job's experience an 
 encouragement to all suffering believers 
 (1) Not to be surprised if overtaken by 
 signal affliction. God's dealings with His 
 people often dark and mysterious. Suffer- 
 ing saints Asaph's perplexity (Ps. Ixxiii. 
 10 15). (2) Not to wonder if subjected 
 to misapprehension and suspicion even with 
 good men. Job's antitype also an object of 
 astonishment on account of unparalleled 
 sufferings borne with unparalleled patience 
 (Is. lii. 11 ; liii. 7) The support given to 
 believers under suffering often, an astonish- 
 ment to themselves, as well as admiration to 
 others. Astonishing trials bring astonishing 
 consolations and deliverances. The antici- 
 pated result of Job's sufferings realized as 
 long as there shall be suffering believers in 
 the world. The encouragement of such 
 one great object of the book. Job read by 
 the early Church every year in Passion- 
 week. The subject of frequent meditation 
 with the Man of Sorrows Job's great anti- 
 type. One means of building up his man- 
 hood and preparing him for patient suffer- 
 ing. Job the example of suffering patience 
 especially for the Old Testament Church, 
 as Jesus is for the New (Heb. xii. 2, 3. 
 As the result of Job's sufferings, the pious 
 should "stir up himself" against the profane, 
 however prosperous in this world ; not
 
 UOMILETIC COMMENTARY: JOB. 
 
 CHAP. XVII. 
 
 against their persons, but their principles 
 and practice. Saints to love the sinner but 
 to hate and oppose his sin. Observe (1) 
 The duty of believers to stir themselves up 
 (Is. Ixiv. 7). Godliness requires energy and 
 zeal for its maintenance and practice. This 
 especially in times of persecution, of gene- 
 ral backsliding and apostacy, or of prevailing 
 lukewarmuess and worldliness. No small 
 matter to hold on against prosperous ungod- 
 liness. (2) The effect of 'God 's providential 
 dealings with His church and people often 
 very different from what is and might be ex- 
 pected. God makes both the wrath of man 
 and the sufferings of the saints even their 
 sins to praise Him. The blood of the 
 martyrs the seed of the Church. Hopeful's 
 conversion due to Faithful's martyrdom. 
 (3) A mark of sincerity to take part with 
 suffering piety. The case of Nicodemus 
 and Joseph of Arimathea. Believers at 
 Rome waxed confident through Paul's bonds 
 (Phil. i. 14). 
 
 2. Encouragement to perseverance in Godli- 
 ness (verse 9). "The righteous also shall 
 hold (or take firm hold) on his way, and he 
 that is of clean hands shall be stronger and 
 stronger." The example of perseverance in 
 one an important means of promoting it in 
 others. God's wisdom and kindness in pro- 
 viding such an example as Job at so early a 
 period of the world. Men more influenced 
 by example than abstract reasoning or simple 
 
 Erecept. The value of biography. Hence the 
 irge proportion of the Bible occupied with 
 the life and history of individuals. Patient 
 suffering a powerful sermon. 
 
 Perseverance in Holiness 
 
 The great duty of believers. Not without 
 strenuous effort. Much to discourage and 
 oppose. The current of the world and the 
 flesh to swim against. Principalities and 
 powers to .be resisted. Many adversaries. 
 The epistle to the Hebrews written to 
 strengthen believers to hold on their way. 
 Perseverance the test of sincerity (1 John, 
 ii. 19). " The path of the just as the shining 
 light, shining more and more unto the perfect 
 day." Promised to believers (Phil. i. 6). 
 The source of it, the power of God ; the 
 means, faith (1 Pet. i. 5). God's printing 
 done with fast colours. God able to keep 
 His people, and as willing as He is able. 
 Christ both the Author and Finisher of our 
 faith. Believers not of them that draw back 
 unto perdition (Heb. x. 39 ; xii. 2). 
 
 The godly, from Job's sufferings, not only 
 to hold on their way, but to become "stronger 
 and stronger " (Heb., " add strength "). 
 Not only perseverance the duty and mark of 
 believers, but 
 
 Growth. 
 
 Growth in holiness God's will" Grow 
 in grace." Provision made for it "He 
 giveth more grace." The object of Christ's 
 advent that we " might have life, and have it 
 more abundantly." Believers to be adding 
 "add to your faith virtue or courage, 
 &c." " From strength to strength." Must 
 either advance or retrograde. The cha- 
 racter of those who grow " He that is of 
 clean hands." Clean hands the index and 
 result of a clean heart. Hands only clean 
 when washed by faith in. the blood of cleans- 
 ing. Growth necessary. New strength for 
 new and sorer trials, new and harder duties, 
 new and severer battles. Means of growth 
 (1) Waiting on the Lord in prayer and 
 otherwise (Is. xl. 30, 31). (2) Converse 
 with the word of God, the food of the soul 
 (1 Pet. ii. 2). (3) Faith in Christ as our 
 strength and. life (Heb. xii. 2). (4) Fellow- 
 ship with God's faithful servants, and 
 especially Christ himself (Prov. xiii. 20). 
 
 (5) Contemplation of Christ's glory. His 
 character, and His cross (2 Cor. iii. 18). 
 
 (6) Exercise and improvement of the grace 
 already given "To him that hath, &c. J> 
 
 (7) Discipline of Divine providence. Strength 
 of religious principle heightened by suffering 
 and trial. Tried grace is growing grace. The 
 more Israel were afflicted hi Egypt, "the 
 more they grew." 
 
 VII. Job's dismission of his Mends 
 
 (verse 10). 
 
 " But as for you all (contrasting them with 
 the upright innocent persons just mentioned), 
 do ye return and come now (return again, 
 i.e., to the discussion spoken ironically; 
 or, return and depart, i.e., to your own 
 home)." The reason of this dismission of 
 them twofold : 
 
 1. The want of wisdom they had manifested. 
 " For I do not find one wise man among 
 you." Want of capacity shown for the office 
 they had undertaken. Had all proved them- 
 selves " miserable comforters," " physicians 
 of no value." Had either applied bad reme- 
 dies or misapplied good ones. Observe (1) 
 Men to hold an office no longer than they ex- 
 hibit capacity for it. Preachers listened to 
 only as long as they are able to produce 
 " words of truth and soberness." (2) Great 
 pretension to wisdom often only covers the want 
 of it. Shallow streams make greatest sound. 
 (3) Wisdom required in ministering to minds 
 diseased. " He that winnetli souls," and he 
 that rightly comforts mourners, " is wise." 
 A "wise man," one who can " show out of 
 a good conversation (or life) his works with 
 meekness of wisdom " (James iii. 13). Two 
 kinds of wisdom : one, " earthly, sensual, 
 
 107
 
 CIIAP. XVII. 
 
 HOMILETIC COMMENTARY: JOB. 
 
 devilish ; " the other " from above, pure, 
 peaceable, gentle, full of mercy and good 
 fruits." True wisdom is to know the truth 
 and do it. To choose right ends, and seek 
 them by right means. The wise man one 
 who (i.) Has understanding of God's cha- 
 racter and ways, and is able to interpret them 
 to others; (ii.) "knows both time and judg- 
 ment ;" " has understanding of the times;" 
 and knows what both himself arid others 
 ought to do, and does it ; (iii.) Faithfully and 
 intelligently aims at the best interests of 
 himself and his fellow men. True wisdom 
 the gift of God, and to be asked in believing 
 prayer (James i., 5, 0,17; iii. 17). Christ 
 made wisdom to those who are in Him 
 (1 Cor. i. 30). 
 
 2. The certainty and nearness of his own 
 death which contradicted their promises of 
 future prosperity (verse 2). "My days 
 (perhaps his happy ones) arc past, my pur- 
 poses are broken off, even the thoughts 
 (margin 'possessions') of my 'heart' (the 
 purposes and hopes which he had fondly 
 cherished, probably, according to Job's 
 character, having reference more to the wel- 
 fare of others than himself; these all dashed 
 to the ground by his calamities and approach- 
 ing death). Observe (1) The part of a good 
 man to form plans of usefulness for his fellow 
 man ; (2) Necessary not to defer the execution 
 of such plans. Sickness, trouble, and death 
 may intervene to prevent their accomplish- 
 ment. " Whatsoever thy hand findeth to 
 do, do it with thy might." (Eccles. ix. 10). 
 Hence the folly and unreasonableness of 
 the friends' counsel and promises. Their 
 attempt that of those who (verse 12) " change 
 (or make) the night into day " (talking of 
 future prosperity in such dark and hopeless 
 circumstances) ; the light is short because of 
 darkness (or, they make "the light near in 
 the very presence of darkness," talk of 
 light when there is only darkness and 
 death ; the same idea repeated according to 
 Hebrew parallelism). Like that in the Pro- 
 verbs, under another figure, "As vinegar 
 upon nitre, so is he that singeth songs to a 
 heavy heart" (Prov. xxv. 20). Words in 
 order to be useful must be spoken in season. 
 
 Re-asserts the certainty and nearness of 
 his end, to show the vanity of his friends' 
 counsel (verse 13). "If I wait (indulge, 
 hope, or expection), the grave is mine house 
 (the only home I can look for, instead of the 
 pleasant and prosperous habitation you 
 hold out to me) ; " I have made my 
 bed in darkness " (have already taken pos- 
 session of the tomb as my abode, by spreading 
 my couch in its darkness). (Verse 14) "I 
 have said to corruption (or ' the pit/ i.e., of 
 the grave), Thou art my father (as being 
 now oethrothed to death, and so made a 
 108 
 
 member of his family), and to the worm 
 (that preys upon the lifeless corpse an idea 
 frequent in Arab poetry), Thou art my 
 mol her and sister " (as already allied to the se- 
 pulchral household). (Verse 15). And where 
 is u.ow (or where is then) my hope (the 
 hope you counsel me to entertain) ; as for 
 my hope, who shall see it ? " (such a hope 
 would be soon quenched in death without any 
 seeing its realization). (Verse 16) "They 
 (or it, viz., my hope) shall go down to the 
 bars of the pit (to the gates or chambers of 
 the grave), when our rest together is in the 
 dust " (or, " it [or we] shall lie down together 
 in the dust," my hopes should be buried with 
 myself in the grave). Observe . 
 
 "l. The grace viewed by a believer with 
 calmness and with comfort. To such, a home 
 or resting place, where " the wicked cease 
 from troubling and the weary are at rest." 
 To a believer, death is "of all pain the 
 period, not of joy." 
 
 " Death is the privilege of human nature, 
 And life without it were not worth the 
 taking." 
 
 Relationship with the grave (i.)of snendearing 
 kind. In a sense, our father, mother, and 
 sister. Contains the dust of some of our 
 dearest friends. A husband or a*wife, a 
 parent or a child ; these give the grave a 
 m regard to it. Contains the bodies of a 
 home-like aspect, and inspire a home-feeling 
 believer's brethren and sisters, while heaven 
 contains their spirits, (ii.) Of a humbling kind. 
 Man himself a worm, sprung from the same 
 ground. Worms the companions and sharers 
 of his final resting place. Worms his future 
 guests who shall feed upon himself. 
 
 2. Man's duly to guard against delusion 
 in the matter of his hope. Good to ask with 
 Job 
 
 What is my hope < 
 
 The hope of many, only such as to be 
 buried with them in the same grave. Such 
 the case if our hope is only of an earthly 
 nature, or resting on a false foundation. 
 
 ' ' Who builds en less than an immortal base, 
 Fond as he seems, condemns his joys to 
 death." 
 
 Our hope may be either a cable or a cobweb ; 
 may either rest on solid rock or yielding 
 sand. The believer's hope is (i.) " a good 
 hope," as having (a) a good object the 
 heavenly inheritance; (b) a good foundation, 
 Christ himself and his finished work, (ii.) 
 A " lively hope," as one that shall survive the 
 grave. Having Christ "as our hope," we 
 plant our foot on the grave and sing our 
 psean over it : O grave where is thy victory ? 
 O death where is thy sting ?
 
 110MILETIC COMMENTARY: JOB. 
 
 CliAP. XVIII. 
 
 CIIAPTEE XVIII. 
 
 BILDdUS SECOND SPEECH. 
 
 Bildad tlic bitterest and most hostile of 
 the three friends. No speech as yet BO in- 
 solent and provoking. Full of (icry scathing 
 (Icaiiuciatioii against the wicked intend- 
 ing, of course, its application to Job, 
 without even the exhortation or promise to 
 repentance. 
 
 T. His introduction. Contains only 
 angry and vehement reproof, Reproves 
 Job 
 
 1. For his loquacity and captiousness 
 (verse 2). "How long will it be ere ye 
 make an end of words (or how long will ye 
 lay snares for words ?) mark (Ileb. ' under- 
 stand,' i.e., consider, viz., our arguments ; 
 perhaps, 'be temperate,' or ' speak clearly'), 
 and afterwards we will speak" (or, "that 
 afterwards we may speak"). Bildad's lan- 
 guage and tone not only passionate but con- 
 temptuous. "How long will ye" &c., in- 
 stead of " thou." A great part of wisdom is 
 to govern one's temper. " A fool's wrath is 
 presently known ; but a wise man keepeth 
 it in till afterwards." " Better is he that 
 rulcth his spirit than he that taketh a city." 
 Yet a wise man, from the weakness of human 
 nature, may allow himself to be surprised 
 into angry and contemptuous words. True 
 wisdom characterized by meekness and 
 gentleness "meekness of wisdom." The 
 tongue and temper never more in need of a 
 bridle than in a controversy. Easy to lose a 
 religions spirit in a religious dispute. Christ, 
 incarnate wisdom, a model in controversy 
 calm, patient, loving ; always " meek and 
 lowly;" reviled, without reviling again. 
 Bildad impatient of Job's reproof nnd de- 
 preciatory remarks in reference to lu's and 
 his friends' speeches. Represents Job as 
 only catching at words ; as like those Jews 
 who "lay in wait for Jesus, seeking to catch 
 something out of His mouth, and to entangle 
 Him in His talk." Observe (1) Passion is 
 seldom truthful. (2) Loss of temper generally 
 prows weakness in argument. Consciousness 
 of truth gives calmness in dispute. To bully 
 an opponent is to confess yourself beaten. 
 (3) Patience and courtesy always due to an 
 adversary. 
 
 2. For his pride and contempt (verse 3). 
 " Wherefore are we counted as beasts 
 (ignorant and brutish), and reputed vile in 
 your sight ?" Too much ground given in 
 Job's language for Bildad's reproof. His 
 spirit broken by trouble, and exasperated by 
 
 their unfeeling, unjust, and deceitful con- 
 duct, Job had treated his friends \\ilhtoo 
 much severity and contempt. Bildad par- 
 ticularly stung by Job's contemptuous lan- 
 guage in ch. xvii. 4, 10. Observe (1) 
 " Grievous words " to fie avoided, as always 
 stirring up anger. In controversy, hard 
 things apt to be said, and to be made harder 
 than they are. (2) Man's moral as well as 
 physical 'goodliness as the flower of the field.' 
 Job not always able to answer with the 
 "meekness of wisdom," as in ch. ii. 10. 
 
 3. For his passion (verse 4). "Hetearcth 
 himself (or, ' he that tcareth himself,' or, 
 ' thou that tearest thyself ') in his anger." 
 Job represented as a raging maniac. Pro- 
 bably too much foundation for the remark. 
 Anger, according to a heathen sage, a short 
 madness. Job's appearance and demeanour 
 probably that of a man not only deeply dis- 
 tressed but greatly excited. "Oppression 
 maketh a wise man mad." Arabs usually 
 grave, solemn, unperturbed ; yet capable of 
 great excitement. Held highly discreditable 
 for a good man to allow himself to be in a 
 passion. Passion always injurious to the 
 subject of it, both spiritually and physically. 
 " He teareth himself in his anger ; " Heb., 
 "he teareth his soul" Wrathful disposi- 
 tions, says a Greek poet, are justly most 
 painful to the parties themselves. " Wrath 
 killeth the foolish man" (ch. v. 2). 
 
 4. For his self-conceit. " Shall the earth be 
 forsaken for thee ? and shall the rock be re- 
 moved out of his place ?" More bitter 
 words. Cruel and unfeeling as addressed to 
 a crushed and afflicted man. Proverbial ex- 
 pressions with the Arabs in reproving pride 
 and arrogance. Reference to Job's wish for 
 a trial of his case by God, and his complaint 
 of undue severity. Seemed as if he expected 
 some special dispensation in his favour. The 
 government of the world not to be abandoned 
 lor the sake of any individual's concerns. 
 The Almighty not to go out of the way of 
 his usual procedure to meet any man's wishes. 
 The course of nature and the principles of 
 the Divine government not to be arrested for 
 any one's special accommodation. For any 
 to think so implies vain conceit of his own 
 importance. Yet Job's wish and complaint 
 excusable. His circumstances peculiar. His 
 treatment not in accordance with Gcd's 
 ordinary procedure, and with the conscious- 
 ness of his own character. Bildad's ques- 
 
 tions founded in ignorance. 
 
 Unnecessary 
 109
 
 CHAP. XVIII. 
 
 1IOMILET1C COMMENTARY: JOB. 
 
 for God to neglect the government of the 
 universe, or contravene the course of nature, 
 in order to attend to the concerns of an in- 
 dividual. Such attention a part of tbat 
 government. The fall of a sparrow, as well 
 as of an cmpire,includcd in God's providence. 
 Numbers the hairs of our head equally with 
 Ihe stars of the firmanent. Man, in igno- 
 rance or forgetfulness, transfers his own weak- 
 ness and limitation to God's Almightiness 
 and infinity. The Divine government based 
 on unchanging principles. Judgment and 
 justice the habitation of God's throne. 
 Impossible and unnecessary to depart from 
 these principles to meet any particular case. 
 " God is a rock His work is perfect ; a God 
 of truth and without iniquity." God Him- 
 self, and the principles of His government, an 
 immovable rock. His own unchangeable- 
 ness,and that of His " immortal government," 
 the foundation of His people's confidence. 
 
 II. Body of the Speech. Describes the 
 experience and fate of the wicked (verse 
 520). 
 
 A favourite subject with these wise men 
 in their dealing with Job. The object to 
 terrify him into a penitent acknowledgment 
 of guilt arid supplication for forgiveness. 
 The description meant to depict Job's cir- 
 cumstances, and so to suggest, if not prove, 
 his guilt. This and those similar ones in 
 ch. viii. 1122, and ch. xv. 20 25, probably 
 recitations from the ancients, or the produc- 
 tions of the inspired poet, the author of the 
 book. Extemporary versification, however, a 
 highly valued accomplishment among Arab 
 poets and philosophers. The object of Satan 
 in these horrifying descriptions to irritate 
 Job to cast off his religion in despair, as of 
 no use to, him. The class described that 
 of hardened transgressors, secret or open, 
 who had enriched themselves by oppression 
 or abused their power to the injury of others 
 men who neither feared God nor regarded 
 men. Job notoriously the reverse. Hence the 
 mystery. The solution, according to the 
 friends, in the secret iniquity of his heart 
 and life. Job himself, conscious of his in- 
 tegrity, perplexed and distressed, and long- 
 ing for a Divine explanation which should 
 vindicate his character. Hence his occa- 
 sional excitement and apparently extrava- 
 gant language. Had to light against ap- 
 pearances, manifest facts, and popular belief, 
 or to confess himself a bad man. His out- 
 ward and inward experience seldom, if ever, 
 found except in notorious transgressors. 
 Probably more frequent then than now. 
 The following a highly-wrought picture, full 
 of tragically sublime poetry. One image of 
 horror followed by another still more terrific. 
 The description that of a guilty man chased 
 110 
 
 by the avenging justice of God the Furies 
 of the Greeks. The elements in the descrip- 
 tion 
 
 1. Great reverse in circumstances (verse 5). 
 " Yea (notwithstanding your complaint ; or 
 'also,' take another description of the fale 
 of the ungodly), the light of the wicked shall 
 be put out, and the spark (or flame) of his 
 fire shall not shine." Perhaps more than a 
 mere figure for the extinction of his pros- 
 perity and affluence. Probable allusion to 
 the practice of rich Arabs kindling, towards 
 evening, a fire in the neighbourhood of their 
 dwelling, to invite and direct travellers to 
 their hospitality. Such fires the glory of a 
 wealthy Arab. Mark of the deepest adver- 
 sity when no longer sustained. A frequent 
 allusion in Arab poetry 
 
 " Now by deepest want opprest ; 
 Though once my hospitable light 
 Was blest by travellers at night." 
 Hariri, 
 
 Job's fires of hospitality also now extin- 
 guished. (Verse 6). "The light shall be dark 
 in his tabernacle, and his candle (or lamp) 
 shall be put out with him " (or "over him ;" 
 Arab houses and tents always having a 
 lamp burning during the night, that of the 
 principal apartment hanging from the ceiling 
 or from the centre of the tent ; hence the 
 lamp a figure for prosperity and happiness, 
 its extinction indicating utter desolation). 
 Death and misfortune darken the dwelling. 
 Job's present bitter experience. The expe- 
 rience of most at times. Only Jehovah him- 
 self an " an everlasting light." Is so to His 
 people, even in the midst of trouble. "When 
 I sit in darkness the Lord shall be a light 
 unto me" (Mic. vii. 8). 
 
 2. Removal of power and dignity (verse 7). 
 "The steps of His strength (his steps formerly 
 strong, as of a man in full health, prosperity, 
 and power) shall be straitened" (confined as 
 of a man in chains or imprisonment, or suf- 
 fering from personal affliction). Image 
 taken from a noble lion caught in the toils, 
 and now lying prostrate. Picture of the 
 contrast between Job's former and present 
 condition. For his former " steps " see ch. 
 xxix. 6, 7. Now lying on an ash-heap. 
 Steps of strength soon changed into the 
 feebleness of disease. Plans the most likely 
 to succeed often, in Divine providence, im- 
 peded and rendered abortive. The misfor- 
 tune of the wicked referred to their own sin 
 as the cause. " His own counsel shall cabt 
 him down." The lion caught in the loil 
 when wandering about for prey. The 
 wicked "snared in the work of their own 
 hands." Pharaoh's counsel against Israel 
 his own destruction. Cruel thrust at Job as 
 a secret transgressor now caught in the 
 midst of his ill-gotten gains.
 
 110MILETIC COMMENTARY: JOB. 
 
 CHAP, xviu 
 
 3. Sudden and accumulated calamity (verse 
 8). " He is cast into a not by his own feet. 
 (entangled with his feet in a net) ; he walkcth 
 upon a snare (walks unconsciously into a pit 
 fall). The gin (or trap) shall take him by 
 the heel, and the robber shall prevail against 
 him (or, ' the snare lays hold upon him,' so 
 that he is unable to escape) . The snare (or 
 cord) is laid (or hidden) in the ground for 
 him, and a trap for him in the way." Image 
 of a wild beast caught by the various strata- 
 gems of the hunter. Men's calamities, 
 especially those of the impenitent trans- 
 gressor, often sudden. " As the fishes that 
 are taken in an evil net, and as the birds 
 that are caught in the snare, so are the sons 
 of men snared in an evil time when it falleth 
 suddenly upon them (Eccles. ix. 12 ; see 
 also Luke xxi. 34 35, and Thess. v. 3). 
 The worst troubles those which come un- 
 foreseen. Job's actual circumstances. Over- 
 taken by_ sudden calamities in the very hey- 
 day of his prosperity. Variety of expression 
 in the text to indicate the certainity and 
 terriblcness of .the doom. " He who fleeth 
 from the noise of the fear shall fall into the 
 pit, and he that cometh up out of the midst 
 of the pit shall be taken in the snare " (Is. 
 xxiv. 17, 18). 
 
 5. Imcard terrors (verse 11). "Terrors 
 shall make him afraid on every side, and 
 shall drive him to his feet." The terrors of 
 an awakened and alarmed conscience among 
 the consequences of persistent sin. Such 
 terrors known in every land as overtaking 
 the secret or notorious transgressors. " Who 
 intent on evil ways will be able to defend 
 his mind against the darts of conscience ? " 
 [Soptoelet], God's scourge in the sinner's 
 own bosom. No rest or peace under its 
 lashes. Attempts made to escape these 
 " terrors," but in vain. All flight ineffectual 
 except flight through the cross. The terrors 
 of conscience only quenched in the atoning 
 blood of Christ. Job distressed at present 
 by the " terrors of God," but not those of an 
 evil conscience (ch. vi. 4). 
 
 G. Dreadful disease (verse 12, 13). "His 
 strength shall be hunger-bitten (famished ; 
 or, 'his disease shall be voracious'), and de- 
 struction shall be ready at his side (or, ' pre- 
 pared for his side,' or body, ready to de- 
 vour him). It shall devour the strength of 
 his skin (the firm members of his body); even 
 the first-born of death (one of the most 
 dreadful of mortal diseases) shall devour his 
 strength" (or, "prey upon his powerful 
 limbs.") Disease, with its feebleness and 
 emaciation, personified as the executioner of 
 Divine vengeance the hungry hound of 
 justice. Disease the result of sin; and often 
 inflicted as a chastisement on the good and 
 a punishment on the bud. Herod, the per- 
 
 secutor, seized and devoured by one of these 
 clogs of vengeance in the midst of his pride 
 and splendour (Acts xii. 21 23). Job's 
 terrible disease also, a "first-born of 
 death," to all appearance, and in the thought 
 of his three friends, preying on him as a 
 guilty transgressor. No creature, animate 
 or inanimate, but may be made the instru- 
 ment of Divine justice in punishing obstinate 
 and impenitent offenders. Creatures, ani- 
 mal or vegetable, invisible to the naked eye, 
 often the cause of most dreadful diseases. 
 Cholera and the plague among the "first-born 
 of death." 
 
 7. Utter want and desolation (verse 14, 
 15). "His confidence (whatever he trusted 
 in wealth, power, family) shall be rooted 
 out of his tabernacle (utterly, violently, and 
 for ever removed, as a tree torn up by the 
 roots), and it shall bring him to the king of 
 terrors (or, ' terrors like a king shall urge 
 him forward'). It (the terror or desola- 
 tion) shall dwell in his tabernacle, because 
 it is none of his; brimstone shall be scat- 
 tered upon his habitation" (as that of a 
 man lying under Divine wrath, or as a place 
 doomed to a perpetual curse; made, like the 
 Cities of the Plain, a monument of Divine 
 vengeance). " The rich man's wealth is 
 his strong city, and as an high wall in his 
 own conceit (Prov. xviii. 11). This im- 
 
 Slied to have been Job's case. Expressly 
 enied, however, by him (ch. xxxi. 24). 
 Such confidence to be rooted out, as his 
 now appeared to be. Chaldeans, Sabeans, 
 and the fire of God had left only a single 
 servant to carry the tale. Terror and deso- 
 lation, like a victorious and relentless 
 general, had marched him out of his strong 
 city, to sit like a captive among the ashes. 
 Observe (1) " Ptiches profit not in the day 
 of wrath." A man's house is his castle, but 
 is unable to hold out against the judgments 
 of God. Chaldeans and Sabcans only God's 
 instruments in stripping a man of his ill- 
 gotten wealth, and sending him out of a dwell- 
 ing to which he has no just right. (2) Alas for 
 him of whom it is to be said: " Lo, this is the 
 man that made not God his strength, but 
 trusted in the abundance of his riches " 
 (Ps. Hi. 7). The lightning that strikes 
 down his cattle as truly God's messenger 
 as the brimstone that was scattered on 
 the houses of Sodom and Gomorrha. 
 (2. ) Death emphatically a " king of terrors " 
 to the impenitent. The terrors of death only to 
 be dissipated by faith in Him who " through 
 death destroyed him that had the power of 
 death, that is the devil; and delivered them, 
 who through fear of death, were all their 
 lifetime subject to bondage" (lleb. ii. 14, 1 o). 
 
 8. Ruin of family and estate (verse 10 
 19). " His roots shall be dried up beneath 
 
 m
 
 CHAP. XVIII. 
 
 HOMILETIG COMMENTARY: JOB. 
 
 (as under the influence of a mighty curse), 
 and above his branch shall be cut off." His 
 property and family alike annihilated by 
 divine judgments. The narrative in Chap, i., 
 a mournful commentary on this verse. Job's 
 case apparently the doom of the wicked; 
 destroyed "root and branch " (Mai. iv. 1). 
 " He shall be driven from light into dark- 
 ness (violently driven away out of life and 
 luxury into death and despair), and chased 
 out of the world (as a malefactor not fit to 
 live). He shall neither have son nor nephew 
 (or progeny) among his people, nor any 
 remaining in his dwellings (either as relations 
 to inherit his estate, or dependents who had 
 been supported by his bounty). His remem- 
 brance shall perish from the earth (or the 
 land), and he shall have no name in the 
 street " (in the places of concourse in the 
 city, or in the fields among shepherds and 
 husbandmen). The great desire among the 
 godless rich to make themselves a name, and 
 perpetuate their memory and their family in 
 the world. "They call their lands after 
 their own names" (Ps. xlix. 1]). But 
 "the memory of the wicked shall rot." 
 Only the righteous are worthy to be, and 
 shall be, " held in everlasting remembrance." 
 Job formerly the greatest man in the East, 
 and his praise in everybody's mouth. Now 
 likely soon* to be forgotten, and his name 
 never to be mentioned but with a shudder. 
 So his friends thought. But Job was not a 
 wicked man, and a different fate awaited 
 him. His patience and piety have diffused 
 a fragrance throughout the world. His 
 name one of the brightest constellations in 
 the firmament of Holy Scripture. 
 
 9. An astonishment and horror to content- 
 pories and posterity (verse 20). "They that 
 come after him (succeeding generations, or 
 'those in western regions') shall be astonished 
 at his day (his history, and the awful fate 
 ihat overtook him), as they that went before 
 (his contempories, or 'those in eastern 
 regions '), were affrighted." Men in opposite 
 quarters of the world, and even future 
 generations should be struck with horror at 
 his secret or open wickedness, and the 
 terrible doom that followed it. Sufficiently 
 harrowing to poor Job, who might see his 
 present experience pourtrayed in the de- 
 scription. His calamities already a cause 
 of astonishment and horror, as they have 
 been in all ages (1) For their terribleness 
 and extent ; (2) Their unlikeliness to happen 
 to such a man ; (3) Their suddenness ; (4) 
 The rapidity with which they followed each 
 other ; (5) Their singularity and unusual- 
 ness ; (6) Their contrast with his former 
 prosperity; (7) The mark they bore of the 
 Divine anger, notwithstanding his pious and 
 upright character. Job already a byword 
 by his own confession. Awful prospect of 
 ' 112 
 
 what would be the case hereafter, unless 
 God vindicated his character in time. Op- 
 pression in all this description sufficient to 
 drive a wise man mad. Observe (i.) Satan 
 terribly skilful in the means ho employs to 
 allure, a man to his ruin, or goad him to 
 despair, (ii.) Blessed proof of the reality 
 of religion, that Job, notwithstanding all 
 this, still held fast his integrity, (iii.) God's 
 thoughts in regard to his people not as 
 man's thoughts. Job's sufferings have 
 thrown around his name a halo of imperish- 
 able glory, while man thought they would 
 only surround it with horror. 
 
 III. Conclusion of the speech. 
 
 Bildad clenches the terrible description 
 with an emphatic application, by which Job 
 was to appropriate it to himself, or at least 
 to take warning from it. " Surely such arc 
 the dwellings of the wicked, and this is the 
 place of him that knoweth not God." This 
 with Job's desolate dwelling before his eyes ! 
 Not always true, however, in this life. Bad 
 men not always haunted with terrors and 
 tracked with misfortunes in this \vorld. All 
 the worse, however, if the vengeance is 
 deferred to another. Awful picture pre- 
 sented in this description, of the experience 
 awaiting the impenitent transgressor in a 
 future state. The New Testament, as well 
 as the Old, declares that "God is not 
 mocked ; for whatsoever a man soweth, 
 that shall he also reap." Righteous 
 vengeance to overtake all that " know not 
 God, and obey not the Gospel of his Son 
 Jesus Christ." To sin wilfully after receiv- 
 ing the knowledge of the truth is to bring 
 down a fiery indignation which shall devour 
 the adversaries. 
 
 Bildad's vehemence, however, overshot it- 
 self. His closing sentence such as unin- 
 tentionally to bring consolation rather than 
 despair. Conscience could whisper, Thou 
 art not the man. Job neither wicked nor 
 one who knew not God. This certain to 
 himself, though perhaps more than doubtful 
 to his vehement assailant. Observe: (1) 
 Certainty as to our character and standing 
 needful to bear up against Satan's terrible 
 blasts. The scathing storm of Bildad's 
 fiery denunciations keenly felt, but Job 
 conscious he was a child and servant of God. 
 (2) Blessed to be able, amidst Satanic buffet- 
 ings, still to diny to God as a Father. (3) 
 The believer safe even in the pelting of the 
 most pitiless storm. The righteous in Christ 
 is an ' everlasting foundation,' which floods 
 of temptations and hellish assaults are un- 
 able to sweep away. The name of the Lord 
 is a strong tower ; the righteous runneth 
 into it, and is safe. That name blessedly 
 known to Job (ch. xix. 25). Is it so to the 
 reader ?
 
 IIOMILETIC COMMENTARY: JOB. 
 
 CHAP. XIX. 
 
 CHAPTER XIX. 
 
 JOJfS REPLY. BILDAD'S SECOND SPEECH. 
 
 This chapter the crowning part of the 
 controversy. Both in form and in fact the 
 centre of the whole book. Like the eighth 
 chapter of the Epistle to the Komans, the 
 jewel in the ring. Job's faith soars like an 
 eagle through clouds and tempests into the 
 open heaven, and gazes for a few moments 
 on the sun. The culmination of all 
 the preceding conflict. What follows of a 
 considerably different character. Job after- 
 wards descends again into the arena, but 
 much more tranquilliscd in spirit. 
 
 1. His complaint of his friends' con- 
 tinued reproaches and unkind treat- 
 ment. 
 
 Their treatment of him was 1. Distres- 
 sing (verse 2). How long will ye vex my soul, 
 and break me in pieces (' bruise or pound me as 
 in a mortar ') with words (unkind and re- 
 proachful words, or with speeches and recita- 
 tions which contain only words instead of 
 arguments) ?" The bruising of Job's sorrow- 
 ful spirit the natural effect of his friends' 
 speeches ; especially of their long-drawn and 
 highly-coloured quotations about the fate of 
 the wicked. Job put down in them for a 
 wicked man, suffering the righteous conse- 
 quence of his sins, and threatened with still 
 more dreadful ones. Bruised in soul by his 
 friends' words, as in body by Satan's blows. 
 His internal afflictions thus made to rival 
 his external ones. More grievously robbed 
 by his friends than by either Chaldeans or 
 Sabeans. Worse to be robbed of our peace 
 and good name than of our property. " Who 
 steals my purse steals trash." The experience 
 of David, or Avhoever wrote Psalm cxix : 
 " Bands of the wicked robbed me " (Ps. 
 cxix. (il). lleproach the bitterest of Christ's 
 sufferings, next to the hiding of His Father's 
 face (Ps. Ixix. 20). Job's affliction reaches 
 its height in this chapter, as also his faith 
 and his consolation. Observe (1.) Truth 
 misapplied as mischecious as error. (2.) A 
 sin not to soothe affliction ; a still greater 
 one to aggravate it. A high offence in God's 
 sight to " talk to the grief of those whom 
 God lias wounded" (Ps. Ixix. 26). The 
 part of the wicked to "help forward the 
 affliction" of God's suffering people (Zecli. 
 i. 15). 
 
 2. Persistent (verse 3). "These ten 
 (many) times have ye reproached me." 
 Each of the three friends had now attacked 
 him, and two of them a second timo. Their 
 
 8 
 
 speeches all partaking of the same reproach- 
 ful character Their harshness and vehe- 
 mence only increased as they advanced. The 
 complaint of David as typical of the Messiah, 
 " Rep roach hath broken mine heart" (Ps. Ixix. 
 20). 
 
 3. Shameless. "Ye are not ashamed." 
 A sin to act harshly to any ; a shame to act 
 harshly to the afflicted ; still more shameful 
 when the afflicted one is a friend. An ag- 
 gravation of any sin when it is committed 
 without shame. 
 
 4. Their treatment was cruel. " Ye make 
 yourselves strange to me," margin, 
 " harden yourselves against me " ; or, " treat 
 me cruelly; " or, "stun me " [with your re- 
 proaches]. Unfeeling conduct towards a 
 friend held base even among the heathen. 
 The light of nature teaches that " he who 
 hath friends, must show himself friendly." 
 The effect of false religious views to render 
 men cruel and unfeeling towards others. 
 Kcligious persecutions especially malignant. 
 True religion a religion of gentleness and 
 love. The more of it, the more gentle and 
 loving. The more of a false religion, the 
 more cruel and unfeeling. Herod put one 
 or two of Christ's disciples to death because 
 it pleased the Jews : Saul, with more re- 
 ligion, kept " breathing out threatenings and 
 slaughter against them" (Acts xii. 1 3; 
 ix. 1). 
 
 II. He wards off their reproaches. 
 
 Does so with three considerations 
 
 1. That he suffers, alone, the effect of his 
 error, if he has committed any (verse 4). 
 "And be it indeed that I have erred ('gone 
 astray ' from God and His command- 
 ments), mine error (in the consequences of 
 it) remaineth with myself." Sufficient to a 
 man to suffer the effect of his error, without 
 his having to bear the additional pain of 
 reproach. The reproach of friends often 
 harder to bear than the violence of 
 enemies. 
 
 2. That his offence, if committed, was an un- 
 conscious one. " Mine error." Marked dif- 
 ference made in the law between sins com- 
 mitted presumptuously or deliberately and 
 those committed in error or ignorance. 
 Job's among the latter. Such found in the 
 best, " Who can understand his errors ? " 
 Yet even then calling for humiliation, and 
 requiring the blood of atonement. One ob- 
 ject of ailliction to bring sins of ignorance to 
 
 113
 
 CHAP. XIX. 
 
 HOMILETIC COMMENTARY: JOB. 
 
 our consciousness in order to their confes- 
 sion. Many, perhaps most, of our sins, like 
 letters, written with invisible ink, requiring 
 the fire to bring them to view ; or, like the 
 characters traced with phosphorous, only 
 made visible in the dark chamber of trouble. 
 Cleansing to be sought "from secret faults" 
 (Ps. xix. 12). 
 
 3. That his afflictions were from the hand of 
 God (verse 5). "If, indeed, ye will magnify 
 yourselves against me, and plead against me, 
 my reproach (make my calamities which 
 you reproach me with an argument to prove 
 my guilt; or, prove to me my reproach, 
 that I am guilty and suffer deservedly), 
 know now (on the contrary, or, as a thing 
 I fully admit, but which ought to move your 
 pity), that God hath overthrown me (hath 
 thrust me down and brought me low, doing 
 it of His own free will and pleasure, with- 
 out reference to any guilt of mine as the 
 cause), and hath compassed me with His 
 net," (as a hunter the animal that he 
 wishes to take). Bildad had said the wicked 
 are entangled in a net : Job admits he was 
 taken in a net ; but that net was God's. 
 Observe: (1.) A Godly man sees and ac- 
 knowledges God in his troubles, as well as in his 
 triumphs. In the friend's view, as well as 
 Job's, his afflictions from God ; the difference, 
 that in theirs, they were retributive ; in his, 
 arbitrary and mysterious. This pleaded by Job 
 as a reason for their pity and more gentle 
 treatment. Enough for God to lay on His 
 hand, without man adding his also. (2.) 
 That our afflictions are from God may be 
 either an alleviation or an aggravation. An 
 alleviation, when there is faith in His 
 Fatherly love ; an aggravation, when there 
 is only apprehension of His wrath. The 
 hand of a loving Father seen in our trouble 
 takes away its sting ; the apprehension 
 of His anger exasperates the wound. 
 (3.) Sin, and not suffering, in itself a 
 "reproach." Suffering no reproach, but as 
 the effect of sin. " Sin, a reproach to any 
 people." 
 
 4, That he can obtain no redress from God 
 (verse 7). "Behold, I cry out of wrong 
 (of violence done to me in these afflictions 
 sent without any guiltiness as the cause), 
 but I am not heard : I cry aloud (from in- 
 tensity of suffering and earnestness to be 
 heard), but there is no judgment " (no impar- 
 tial trial afforded of my case, and no redress 
 of my wrongs). One of the hardest things 
 spoken by Job in regard to God. Seemed 
 to charge God foolishly. Even Moses, the 
 meekest man on earth, "spake unadvisedly 
 with his lips." One of the sayings for which 
 Job was at last reproved by" God, and for 
 which he humbled himself in dust and ashes. 
 Yet the language in a sense true, though 
 
 114 
 
 both rash and irreverent. According to 
 God's own testimony. Job was "destroyed 
 without cause " (ch. ii. 3). Job correct as 
 to the fact itself ; not correct as to the con- 
 duct he ascribes to God in the matter. God 
 might have, as He actually had, the holiest, 
 kindest, wisest, best reasons for treating, 
 or allowing others to treat, him as He did. 
 But to ascribe wrong or violence to his 
 Creator was only the suggestion of his ad- 
 versary, and enough to bring Job, as it did 
 afterwards bring him, to the dust. Job's 
 language sinfully presents God in the view 
 of the unjust judge in the parable. Observe 
 (1.) God's outward dealings not always 
 the criterion of His character or His heart. 
 Seems at times to wink at the sins of His 
 enemies and to disregard the cry of His 
 friends. May, however, bear long with His 
 people, but in the end will avenge tJiem. 
 Their part to believe this, and still to cry 
 and wait on (Luke xviii. 1 S). (2.) God's 
 silence to His people's cry one of their greatest 
 trials. Experienced by L)avid and by David's 
 Antitype (Ps. xxii. 1, 2). 
 
 III. Enlarges on God's severe treat- 
 ment of him (verse 8 19). Specifies 
 
 1. His bringing him into inextricable straits 
 (verse 8). "He hath fenced up my way 
 that I cannot pass, and lie hath set darkness 
 in my paths." Describes his troubles (1) 
 Externally; as of the nature of an impassable 
 fence. By tlie character of his disease, ex- 
 cluded from society and confined to his ash- 
 heap. His disease an incurable one. All 
 his troubles apparently irremediable. (2) 
 Internally ; his mind full of darkness and 
 confusion. Saw no way of escape. Acknow- 
 ledges that "the steps of his strength " were 
 " straitened," but straitened by God, for 
 what cause he knew not. Observe One 
 usual way in which God afflicts and tries His 
 people is to bring them into straits, out of 
 which they can find no escape. Hedges up 
 their way that they cannot find their paths 
 (Hos. ii. 6; Lam. iii. 7; Ps. Ixxxviii. 8). 
 Thus shuts them up to Himself (i.) to 
 humble submission to Him ; (ii.) to entire 
 dependence upon Him. 
 
 2. His so deeply humbling and aliasing him 
 (verse 9). " He has stripped me of my glory, 
 and taken the crown from my head." Similar 
 complaint in ch. xvi. 15. The change in his 
 circumstances here ascribed directly to God. 
 The Chaldeans and Sabeans, the fire and the 
 whirlwind, and finally, the loathsome leprosy 
 itself, only God's instruments. Observe 
 (1) The part of faith and piety, to view all 
 our adversities, whatever the instruments, as 
 coming from God himself (Ps. Ixvi. 11, 12; 
 Ixxi. 20). (2) All earthly "glory" snch as a 
 man can be stripped of by Divine Providence,
 
 HOMILETIC COMMENTARY: JOB. 
 
 CHAP. XIX, 
 
 children, friends, wealth, fame, influence, rank. 
 That only the true "glory" of which a man 
 cannot be stripped, even by death itself. God 
 himself the believer's unfading glory (Isaiah 
 xl. 19). (3) The brightest earthly crown such 
 as may, like Job's, be suddenly laid in the dust. 
 The poorest believer the heir of " a crown 
 that fadeth not away" (1 Pet. v. 4). A 
 man's crown, whatever is his ornament and 
 honour. Eor Job's earthly crown, read ch. 
 xxix. 
 
 3. His utterly extirpating him and blighting 
 his hopes (verse 10). " He hath destroyed 
 me ('plucked me up') on every side, and I 
 am gone ; and mine hope he hath removed 
 like a tree." The figure that of a tree 
 thoroughly torn up by the roots. Job's case, 
 both in regard to person and progeny, pro- 
 perty and position. All his expectation of 
 comfort, prosperity, and usefulness hopelessly 
 blasted. For his hope, see chap. xxix. 18. 
 The frustration of his hopes, a part of his 
 trial (chap. xiv. 19 ; xvii. 11). Hard to give 
 up our hopes and see our expectations 
 blasted. All earthly hopes liable to dis- 
 appointment. Job's previous condition and 
 character such as might warrant such hopes, 
 if any could. 
 
 4. His treating him as an enemy (verse 11). 
 " He hath also kindled his wrath against me, 
 and he counteth me unto him as one of his 
 enemies." Job had lived, like Abraham, as 
 the " friend of God ; " had experienced his 
 friendship and familiarity (chap. xxix. 4, 5) ; 
 
 "had, like Enoch, "walked with God," and 
 sought to please Him (chap. vi. 10). In- 
 tensely trying to oe now treated by Him as 
 an enemy (chap. xiii. 24). Yet God's secret 
 testimony of him : " My servant Job." The 
 same borne openly at the close of the trial. 
 Observe (1) Love and hatred, on the part of 
 God, and His estimate of individuals, not known 
 from His dealings with men in this world 
 (Eccles. ix. 1). (2) Apprehended wrath on the 
 part of God, the believer's greatest trial. 
 
 5. His appearing to employ His creatures 
 for his destruction (verse 12). "His troops 
 (His creatures whom He employs as a general 
 does his troops) come together (as if sum- 
 moned from different quarters to the siege), 
 and raise up their way against me, and en- 
 camp round about my tabernacle." The 
 fSabeans and Chaldeans, lightning and whirl- 
 wind, hostile friends and neighbours, good 
 and bad angels, all viewed as God's armies, 
 employed by Him for his destruction. All 
 nature, animate and inanimate, rational and 
 irrational, visible and invisible, capable of 
 being employed as His forces, either for mercy 
 or judgment. The Roman troops besieging 
 Jerusalem spoken of as God's armies (Matt, 
 xxii. 7). So the swarms of locusts devastat- 
 ing Judeea (Joel ii. 25). Creation but "a 
 
 8-2 
 
 reservoir of means" made ready for the 
 Creator's use. Man being in rebellion against 
 God, 
 
 " 1 he very elements, though each be meant 
 The minister of man to serve his wants, 
 Conspire against him." 
 
 Holy angels especially God's troops (Ps. 
 ciii. 21). These pitch their tent around 
 God's servants for their protection (Ps. xxxiv. 
 7; xci. 10, 11). Appeared now to do so 
 around Job's tabernacle for his destruction. 
 " Blind unbelief is sure to err," &c. Job's 
 affliction now apparently chronic. The minis- 
 ters of destruction had not only raised up 
 their way, as troops advancing to the siege, 
 but had sat down around the beleaguered 
 fortress. 
 
 6. His- alienating from him his friends, 
 domestics, and others (verses 13 15). "He 
 hath put my brethren far from me, and mine 
 acquaintance are verily estranged from me. 
 My kinsfolk have failed (ceased from their 
 kind offices as such), and my familiar friends 
 have forgotten me. They that dwell in my 
 house (servants and dependents, or strangers 
 partaking, according to Arab custom, of his 
 hospitality and protection, ch. xxxi. 17, 18), 
 and my maids (from whose sex more tender- 
 ness and respect might have been expected) 
 count me for a stranger. I am an alien in 
 their sight," instead of being regarded as 
 the master in my own dwelling. A painful 
 aggravation of adversity and affliction when 
 relations are more kirt than kind. Job en- 
 larges on this distressing change in his 
 domestic and social relations (verse 16). "I 
 called my servant and he gave me no answer 
 (thus treating me not only with disrespect 
 but contempt) : I entreated him (instead of 
 commanding him, as a master) with my 
 mouth " (with my own mouth instead of 
 another's, or with a loud call instead of a 
 mere whisper ; or rather, instead of summon- 
 ing him with my hands, servants in the East 
 being summoned, not by the voice, but by 
 clapping the hands). A still greater trial, 
 however, than this humiliation in his own 
 house, was his (verse 17). "My breath (or 
 my spirit) is strange (odious and disgusting) 
 to my wife (causing her to withdraw ^from all 
 nearness to me and intercourse with me), 
 though I entreated for the children's sake 
 of mine own body" (or, 'and I stink in the 
 nostrils of the children of my womb ; i.e. of 
 the womb that bare me, viz. my own brothers 
 and sisters; or the children of my own body 
 either grandchildren, or the children of 
 concubines; or, 'my prayer is loathsome 
 to the children,' &c.). The contemptuous 
 treatment extended beyond his own house 
 (verse 18). "Yea, young children (possibly 
 those of his slaves or domestics, or according 
 
 115
 
 ciiAr. xix. 
 
 110MILETIC COMMENTARY: JOB. 
 
 to margin, ' the wicked,' the idle rabble, 
 drawn from curiosity to such a spectacle of 
 misfortune and disease) despise me; I arose 
 (or ' I rise ' or ' stand up ' to speak, treating 
 them with courtesy and respect, or command- 
 ing them away), and they spake against me." 
 Sad contrast with his former treatment 
 (chap. xxix. 810, 2123). One of the 
 greatest indignities in the East to be treated 
 by young persons and inferiors with dis- 
 respect. Deference to seniors and superiors 
 a prominent feature in Oriental manners. 
 Verse 19. "All my inward friends (Ileb.'lhe 
 men of my secret,' my most intimate and 
 confidential friends) abhorred me ; and they 
 whom I loved are turned against me." Job's 
 treatment by his three friends a specimen of 
 this part of his affliction, and probably now 
 alluded to. Their feeling, instead of sym- 
 pathy, one of abhorrence. Their abhorrence 
 from (1) His loathsome disease ; (2) The 
 appearance of his being treated as a wicked 
 man and a hypocrite, whom Divine justice 
 was only now overtaking and bringing his 
 secret wickedness to light. A duty suggested 
 by the light of Nature to withdraw from 
 such. This treatment one of Job's keenest 
 sufferings. The bitter complaint of David 
 and of David's Antitype, Messiah. (Ps. xli. 
 9 ; Iv. 13, 14, 20). This treatment, like his 
 other trials, ascribed by the patriarch to God. 
 So with David " Lover and friend hast thou 
 put far from me " (Ps. xxxviii. 1 1 ; xxxi. 11; 
 Ixix. 8). "The Lord hath said unto him, 
 Curse David" (2 Sam. xvi. 10). Observe 
 
 1. The sinful and undutiful conduct of 
 men to be ascribed to God only as secretly 
 permitted, and for wise and holy ends pro- 
 videntially appointed, but neither as com- 
 manded nor instigated by Him. So Joseph's 
 treatment by his brethren, and the Crucifixion 
 of Jesus by the Jews. 
 
 2. The bonds of affection and friendship 
 in God's hands. These He has but to loose 
 and friends turn foes. The social as well as 
 physical system under His control, and de- 
 pendent on His will. 
 
 3. Satan a willing and powerful agent in 
 producing evil as soon as he obtains permis- 
 sion. His part that of the tale-bearer, to 
 " separate chief friends," and " sow discord 
 among brethren." His name Diabolus, or 
 Devil, " the slanderer," indicative of his 
 character and employment. 
 
 4. Evil latent in every heart, and only re- 
 quiring the removal of restraints in order to 
 its breaking forth. These restraints in God's 
 hand,, who makes the wrath of man to 
 praise Him, while the " remainder " of that 
 wrath He restrains (Ps. Ixxvi. 10). 
 
 5. Civil and domestic concord, and the 
 dutiful conduct of subjects and inferiors, 
 due to God's overruling Providence. The 
 
 116 
 
 sins of rulers and heads of families often 
 punished by the removal of Providential 
 restraints, and the abandonment of the 
 heart of subjects and children to its own 
 corruption. Hence insubordination, aliena- 
 tion, disobedience, discord. On the other 
 hand, " when a man's ways please the Lord, 
 he maketh even his enemies to be at peace 
 with him " (Prov. xvi. 7). 
 
 6. Job, in these verses, a manifest type of 
 God's Righteous Servant, the Messiah, in His 
 last sufferings. (Read Matthew xxvi. and 
 xxvii.) 
 
 IT. Touching appeal to his friends 
 
 (verses 2022). 
 
 1. Describes his reduced condition (verse 
 20). "My bone cleaveth to my skin and to 
 my flesh (or ' as to my flesh,' his flesh gone, 
 and his bones adhering to and appearing 
 through his skin) ; and I am escaped with 
 the skin of my teeth " (with only the skin 
 about the teeth and gums left free from 
 ulcers, proverbial expression denoting ex- 
 treme emaciation and peril of life). Satan 
 goes the utmost length of his permission 
 (eh. ii. 6). Job's emaciation already alluded 
 to (ch. xvi. 8). The result partly of his 
 disease, partly of his continued grief. Man's 
 beauty soon made to consume away under 
 God's rebukes (Ps. xxxix. 11). 
 
 2. Entreats the pity of his friends (verse 
 21). " Have pity upon me, have pity upon 
 me, O ye my friends ; for the hand of God 
 hath touched me." Job's spirit calmer and 
 more humble. The heart a flinty rock that 
 could resist his appeal. Yet resisted by his 
 friends. Left to himself man has " no flesh 
 in his obdurate heart." Pity no less his 
 duty, and the want of it his sin (ch. vi. 14). 
 Job's appeals for pity on the ground (1) 
 Of their relation to him as his "friends." 
 Natural for a man in trouble to cast himself 
 on the sympathy of his friends. Even an 
 enemy will pity in deep distress. A brother 
 born for adversity. Men bearing the name 
 and profession of friends to be careful to 
 act as such (Prov. xviii. 24). Jesus the 
 "Friend of sinners" (Matt. xi. 19) ; a Friend 
 that sticketh closer than a brother (Prov. 
 xviii. 24). Appropriated by believers as 
 their Friend (Cant. v. 16). Touched with 
 the feeling of our infirmities (Heb. iv. 15). 
 Precious privilege to possess a trite and 
 tried friend. Such to be grappled to our 
 soul " with hooks of steel. 1 ' 
 
 " Poor is the friendless master of a world ; 
 A world in purchase for a friend is gain." 
 
 (2) On the ground of his great affliction. 
 " The hand of God hath touched me." When 
 God smites, man should pity, not reproach. 
 The heavier the blow, the more tender the
 
 EOM1LETIC COMMENTARY: JOB. 
 
 CIIAP. XIX. 
 
 sympathy. Observe All Job's afflictions but 
 the touch of God's hand. That touch all that 
 Satan craved. Able in a moment to turn 
 our joy into sorrow, our comeliness into cor- 
 ruption. Can in a few days strip us of our 
 property, bereave us of our children, alienate 
 our friends, deprive us of our health, and 
 render us an object of loathing to all who 
 see us. "A fearful thing to fall into the 
 hands of the living God." 
 
 3. Deprecates their severity (verse 22). 
 " Why do ye persecute me as God (adding 
 your groundless severity to His), and are not 
 satisfied with my flesh" (which you see mangled 
 and consumed, but will add your reproaches 
 and thus lacerate my spirit as well). Ap- 
 peals to conscience and humanity as well as 
 to friendship and pity. God's apparent se- 
 verity towards any of His creatures no reason 
 for man's severity to his suffering fellow- 
 creature. In all circumstances God makes 
 humanity man's duty. "To love mercy" 
 one of the three grand requirements on the 
 part of man (Micah vi. 8). Mercy "twice 
 blessed." Neither man's sins nor God's 
 strokes intended to turn the " milk of human 
 kindness " into gall. The more God wounds 
 in His Providence, the more man's duty to 
 heal with his pity, his prayers, and if need 
 be, his purse. Christ's parable of the Good 
 Samaritan to be the Christian's practice as 
 it was His own. 
 
 V. An impassioned wish (verses 23, 24). 
 " that my words were now written ! Oh 
 that they were printed in a book (or public 
 register) ! That they were graven with an 
 iron pen and lead in the rock for ever!" 
 Observe 
 
 1. Reference made to the various modes 
 of writing then practiced (1) On linen or 
 papyrus ; (2) On leaden tablets ; (3) On rocks 
 or stone pillars, the characters formed with 
 an iron graver and filled up with lead for 
 greater preservation and distinctness. Papy- 
 rus rolls still exist from the remotest age of 
 the Pharaohs. Such mode of writing com- 
 mon in the age of Cheops, the founder of the 
 Great Pyramid, 2000 years before Christ. 
 Montfaucon, in 1699, purchased a book in 
 Home entirely of lead. Wady Mokatteb, 
 along the route of the Israelites in the Desert, 
 full of inscriptions cut in the rocks. At 
 Hisn Ghorab, on the shores of South Arabia, 
 on a high rock terrace, is a large inscription 
 of ten lines in Himyaritic characters, the 
 letters four inches long by one-third of an 
 inch broad, and one-tenth deep, cut in 
 notches, and having apparently been " graven 
 with an iron pen." The inscription is made 
 on a very light grey or lead-coloured stone, a 
 vein of the quarry coming out on the face of 
 the cliff. It is as follows : " We believed in 
 
 the miracle- mystery, and in the resurrection- 
 mystery, and in the nostril-mystery." The 
 name of Aws at the foot of the inscription 
 indicates it to be a relic of the long-lost 
 tribe of Ad, the son of Aws or Uz, the son 
 of Aram and grandson of Shem, and connects 
 it closely with the country in which Job 
 lived. (Sermons in Stones), 
 
 2. Reference to writing as already well 
 known. Practised long anterior to the time 
 of Moses. Originally in hieroglyphics ; then 
 in letters formed from these. Three kinds 
 of writing practised among the ancient 
 Egyptians the hieroglyphic, the hieratic 
 (used by the priests), and the demotic, used 
 by the people. Printing originally by car- 
 ving in stone. Printing by blocks long 
 practised in China. Printing by types only 
 invented in 1440 A.D. ; the art begun at 
 Haarlem, in Holland, and perfected at 
 Mainz, in Germany. The first printed book, 
 with a date, a Psalter printed by John 
 Faust in 1457. The first printed Bible 
 with a date, produced by the same person, 
 in 1460. 
 
 3. Job's spirit elevated to a high pitch of 
 sublimity and faith. Looks into the future 
 with calmness and triumph. His language 
 that of conscious integrity, and of certainty 
 as to his ultimate vindication. Desires the 
 perpetuation of his words to all generations. 
 His words either those in which he had 
 already declared his innocence, or those in 
 which he was about to declare the certainty 
 of his faith in his Divine Redeemer and 
 Vindicator. Wished to tell out his confi- 
 dence and confession of Him, without the 
 fear of having a single word to efface. 
 
 4. Job's wish fulfilled to an extent un- 
 dreamt of at the time. His words written 
 in the imperishable records of Holy Scrip- 
 ture. Printed by the British and Foreign 
 Bible Society fifty millions of times in more 
 than a hundred languages, and spread over 
 all the earth, during the last seventy years. 
 The last language in which they have been 
 printed, viz., in this present year 1875, by the 
 Pilgrim-Mission Printing Press at St. Cliris- 
 chona, near Bale, is the Amharic, the modern 
 Ethiopic or Abyssinian, nearly related to the 
 language which Job spoke. The Himyaritic, 
 already mentioned, is closely allied to the 
 Ethiopic and Hebrew ; and the Amharic has 
 chiefly helped to interpret it. May contain 
 the remains of the language of the earlier 
 races of Arabia, as the Adites and Amalekites, 
 and is considered a form of Arabic which 
 preceded the Ishmaelitic, the Kufic, and of 
 course the ordinary Arabic of the Koran. 
 Hmyar, from whom it has its name, was a 
 grandson of Kahtan or Joktan, the brother 
 of Peleg; and from him were all the princes 
 descended who reigned in Yemen or Arabia 
 
 117
 
 CHAP. XIX. 
 
 HOMILSTIC COMMENTARY: JOB. 
 
 Felix, till the time of Mahomed. His father 
 Yarab is said to have been the inventor of 
 the Arabic language and the progenitor of 
 all the Arabs of Yemen. Abyssinia, whose 
 language is the Amharic, is called by the 
 natives Habesh.or ' mixture,' from the united 
 descendants of Shern and Ham \vlio peopled 
 it, Ham having probably fled at once from 
 his father's presence across the Desert into 
 Egypt, his posterity multiplying in the valley 
 of the Kile and in Abyssinia. 
 
 All our words graven as in a rock for 
 ever as a testimony either for us or against 
 us. By our words, as well as by our deeds, 
 we shall be justified or condemned at the 
 final assize (Matt. xii. 36, 37 ; Jude 15). 
 
 VI. Job's triumphant testimouy ami 
 joyful assurance (verses 2527). " Tor I 
 know (Reb. ' And,' ' even, or also, I know/) 
 that my Redeemer liveth (or, ' is living,' or 
 'is the living One '), and that He shall stand 
 at the latter day upon the earth (or, that He 
 at last', hereafter, or as the last One, shall 
 arise upon the dust or earth, or 'shalt stand 
 over the dust,' viz., my dust, or the dust of 
 the grave, or mankind) ; and though after 
 my skin worms destroy this body (or, 'and 
 after my skin shall be mangled thus : 
 or, 'even this,' pointing to it), yet in 
 my flesh (Heb. ' out of my flesh,' i.e., 
 as my habitation or point of vision, or, 
 ' without my flesh,' i.e., in a disembodied 
 state) shall I see God ; whom I (emphatic, 
 'Even I myself shall see for myself to my 
 advantage, on my side, or as my own), and 
 mine eyes shall behold and not another (or, 
 ' not estranged ' as he now appears to be) ; 
 though my reins be consumed within me " 
 (Heb. "my reins, without 'though' are 
 consumed in my bosom," viz., either from 
 disease, or, as margin, with desire for that 
 day). One of the most remarkable and 
 magnificent passages in the Bible. Observe 
 (1) the solemnity with which in the pre- 
 vious verses it has been introduced; (2) The 
 place which it holds in the Book as the 
 climax in Job's speeches. Job's faith here 
 rises to its loftiest triumph. The words 
 uttered when, to outward sense, all was 
 cheerless despair. A glorious example of 
 Christian faith. Job's faith " the substance 
 of (or what gives reality to) things hoped 
 for, the evidence (or certain conviction) of 
 things not seen" (Heb. xi. 1). Believes 
 what it sees not. Hopes even against hope, 
 or contrary to all appearances against it. 
 His faith and hope the cordial in his trouble. 
 All calumny and suffering easily borne in 
 the certain possession of a personal Redeemer 
 and the assured hope of a blessed deliver- 
 ance. The passage early incorporated in the 
 Church's burial service, as the expression of 
 
 118 
 
 her faith and hope of a glorious resurrection. 
 The opening words 
 
 " I know that my Redeemer liveth," 
 
 Among the most memorable sayings of 
 Scripture. Worthy to be written in gems 
 and gold. Perhaps more familiar to Chris- 
 tians than any other text either in the Old 
 or New Testament. Repeated over the 
 open sepulchre for hundreds of years, pro- 
 claiming death a conquered foe, and the grave 
 rifled of its spoils. A cheering and joyous 
 light to millions in the dark valley of trouble 
 and of death itself. Job amply compensated 
 for all his suffering in being made thereby 
 the author of these blessed and imperishable 
 words. Consider under the passage 
 
 1. The assured knowledge which Job asserts: 
 " I know." The language of absolute cer- 
 tainty. The thing no mere guess, or con- 
 jecture, or vague hope. No hesitation or 
 doubt about the matter. Known by Job as 
 certainly as that the sun was shining in the 
 heavens. His faith neither to be shaken by 
 his terrible losses, nor his wife's reproaches, 
 nor his friends 1 suspicious and accusations. 
 Like the life-boat, which buried for a few 
 moments in the surging billows, comes again 
 to the surface. Christian faith is certain 
 knowledge (Heb. ii. 1). 
 
 Job glories in his knowledge. / know. 
 The "I" emphatic. /, who am so reduced 
 in body and in circumstances, so despised, 
 so wretched, so loathsome. I, who am 
 standing on the very brink of the grave. 7 
 know, whatever you may do, and whatever 
 your unfavourable opinion concerning me. I 
 know it, as my unspeakable comfort and my 
 glorious privilege. The believer's knowledge 
 of Christ somethi/iff to glory in. " I know 
 whom I have believed." 
 
 The grounds and sources of this assurance. 
 Both internal and external. Internally (1) 
 Divine enlightenment. All true and saving 
 knowledge of God as our Redeemer the re- 
 sult of Divine teaching (Is. liv. 13). "No 
 man knoweth the Son but the Father ; neither 
 knoweth any man the Father, save the Son, 
 and he to whomsoever the Son will reveal 
 him." " Blessed art thou, Simon Bar- 
 jonas ; for flesh and blood hath not revealed 
 this [knowledge of me] unto thee, but my 
 Father who is in heaven." " It pleased God 
 to reveal his Sou in me." " We know that 
 the Son of God is come, and hath given us 
 an understanding, that we may know him 
 that is true" (Matt. xi. 27 ; xvi. 17; Gal. i. 
 15, 16; 1 John iv. 20). (2) Previous per- 
 sonal acquaintance with God, experience of 
 His grace, and habitual walking with Him 
 (Hos. vi. 3). Externally: (1) The original 
 promise in Eden. That promise one of a
 
 HOMILETIC COMMENTARY; JOB. 
 
 CHAP. XIX. 
 
 Redeemer who should avenge on the serpent, 
 the devil, the injuries he had inflicted on the 
 human race, to be claimed therefore by Job 
 as his Redeemer. This promise the germ of 
 all redemption acts and offices performed 
 by Jehovah towards mankind. Handed down 
 from father to sou and extended through the 
 world. Found in various tribes and nations 
 in a distorted form. Preserved pure in the 
 line of Sliem. The Fall through the Serpent 
 represented on the temple of Osiris at 
 Phyle, in Upper Egypt. The resurrection 
 exhibited on the tomb of Mycerinus in one 
 of the Pyramids four thousand years ago. 
 (2) Enoch's prophecy, preserved by tradition 
 and quoted by Jude in. his epistle (verses 14, 
 15). (3) Enoch's translation to heaven be- 
 fore the Flood. (4) The preservation of 
 Noah and his family in the Ark. (5) The 
 continually offered sacrifices, which told of a 
 Redeemer who by death should destroy him 
 that had the power of death (Heb. ii. 14). 
 Observe (1) Job's certainty as to a living 
 Redeemer in that early age more than 2000 
 years before his appearance on the earth, a 
 solemn witness against all unbelief in our 
 own, nearly 2000 years after it. (2) Job's 
 happiness and comfort in the knowledge of 
 a personal Redeemer before he came, rather 
 to be exceeded by our own so long after he has 
 done so. (3) The sweetest and surest know- 
 ledge of God as in Christ our own gracious 
 Redeemer obtained in the time of trouble 
 and affliction. At eventide light. 
 
 2. The contents of Job's knowledge, or the 
 thing asserted to be known. Has reference 
 
 (] ). To God. " I know that my Redeemer 
 liveth," &c. Regarding God, he knew 
 
 (i.) That He was his Redeemer. The name 
 (Heb. Goel), applied (a) To the kinsman, 
 whose duty under the law, was, as next-of- 
 kin, to redeem a captive or enslaved rela- 
 tive ; to buy back his sold or forfeited in- 
 heritance; to marry his childless widow if 
 unmarried himself; and to avenge his innocent 
 blood. The institution recognised and esta- 
 blished in the Mosaic law, but doubtless in 
 existence long before. Still existing more or 
 less in the East. Like others under the law, 
 typical of the Messiah and His redemption- 
 work. The name applied (6) To God as 
 the Redeemer and Deliverer of His people, 
 especially of Israel from Egyptian bondage 
 and Babylonian captivity. Peculiarly applied 
 (c) To God the Son, who, as the promised 
 Deliverer of the human race, should become 
 incarnate as the woman's seed, and through 
 His own death bruise the Serpent's head. 
 The name not expressly applied to Him in 
 the New Testament, but the thing every 
 where. (See Rom. iii. 24 ; Eph. i. 7 ; Gal. 
 iii. 13 ; iv. 5 ; Titus ii. 14 ; Heb. ix. 12 ; 
 Rev. v. 9). The name proper to a kinsman. 
 
 Under the law, only such had the right to 
 redeem. Pointed to the fact that He who 
 was to be man's Redeemer was to be also 
 his Brother. The human kinsmanship of the 
 Divine Kedeemcr, a subject of express pro- 
 phecy : " Awake, O sword, against my 
 shepherd, against the man that is my fellow " 
 (Zech. xiii. 7). Such kinmanship ascribed to 
 Him by the Apostle as necessary for His 
 undertaking. "Forasmuch as the children 
 were partakers of flesh and blood, he like- 
 wise himself also took part of the same, that 
 through death he might destroy him that 
 had the power of death, and deliver them," 
 &c. (Heb. ii. 14). God the Son the Author 
 of all redeeming acts towards Israel. (Ps. 
 Ixviii. 17, 18, compared with Eph. iv. 8 10). 
 
 God the Son regarded by Job more or 
 less distinctly as his Redeemer, in (a) 
 Delivering him from troubles (so Jacob, 
 Gen. xlviii. 16); () Vindicating his cha- 
 racter and avenging his wrongs ; (c) Deliver- 
 ing him from death and the grave ; (d) 
 Delivering him from the hand of the great 
 adversary, the devil. His words uttered 
 under a deep sense of his wants and neces- 
 sities. His spirit at the time more than 
 ordinarily elevated and illuminated. His 
 language, perhaps, primarily referring to the 
 divine vindication of his character, but ex- 
 tending much beyond it. Appears to triumph 
 over death and the grave, of which he had 
 the nearest prospect. The language only 
 understood in its fullest sense in New Testa- 
 ment times. Words uttered by the prophets 
 with a meaning not fully apprehended at the 
 time by themselves (1 Pet. i. 1012). Re- 
 demption the term most generally employed 
 in the New Testament to designate the 
 Saviour's work. Viewed as redemption from 
 the curse or condemning sentence of the 
 Divine law (Gal. iii. 13) ; the power of Satan, 
 who had acquired a right over us through 
 that sentence (Heb. ii. 14) ; death and hell, 
 as the punishment awarded by the Divine 
 law to transgression (Cor. xv. 56, 57) ; and 
 very specially from sin itself (Tit. ii. 14 ; 1 
 Pet, i. 18, 19 ; Eph. v, 2527 ; Matt. i. 21). 
 Israel's national and external redemption 
 typical of that of mankind as sinners, by Jesus 
 Christ. The great redemption by the Son 
 of God effected (1) By purchase ; (2) By 
 power. The price of human redemption the 
 blood of Christ, His substituted suffering 
 and death. The power employed in it that 
 of the Holy Ghost, sent in virtue of the price 
 paid upon the Cross. His power required 
 (1) In quickening the soul to a new spiritual 
 life ; (2) Preserving and perfecting it in the 
 image of God. 
 
 Job declares his personal interest in the 
 Redeemer : " My Redeemer." The language 
 (1) Of appropriation ; (2) Of faith ; (3) 
 
 llo
 
 CHAP. XIX. 
 
 HOMILETIC COMMENTARY: JOB. 
 
 Of choice ; (4) Of love ; (5) Of knowledge 
 and past experience ; (6) Of satisfaction. 
 Something to say the Redeemer ; more to 
 say our Redeemer ; most and best to say 
 my Redeemer. Devils able to say the first ; 
 unsaved men the second ; only saved believers 
 the last. 'My' the word that links the lost 
 sinner to the dying Saviour. I may well re- 
 joice that Christ is a Redeemer ; immensely 
 more that He is my Redeemer. This little 
 word, like the honey on the point of Jona- 
 than's staff, enlightens the eyes and puts 
 strength into the soul. Inexpressibly more 
 sweetness andsatisfaclion in two such words 
 as "My God," &c., than in all the pleasures 
 of the world since its creation [John Brown 
 of Haddinytoti]. His last words were : "My 
 Christ." My does not engross the Redeemer, 
 but claims its share in Him with others. 
 Faith's first act is to believe Christ to be a 
 Redeemer; the second to take Him as my 
 Redeemer The privilege as well as duty of 
 each human soul thus to appropriate Christ 
 as his Redeemer. The world's as well as 
 Israel's sin and condemnation not to do so. 
 " He came unto His own, and His own re- 
 ceived Him not ; but to as many as received 
 Him, to them gave He power to become the 
 sons of God" (John i. 11, 12). 
 
 (ii.). Job asserts that this, his Redeemer, was 
 lining, or " the living One." " My Redeemer 
 lireili." The Redeemer thus viewed as (a) 
 Personally living. (b~) Continuing to exist be- 
 yond the bounds of time. Able, therefore, to 
 redeem him from death and the grave. Lived 
 to vindicate His character after his body 
 had mingled with the dust. Able to save to 
 the uttermost, or to the end. (c) The Mighty 
 One. Life the expression of strength and 
 power. " Mine enemies are lively, and they 
 are strong" Job's Redeemer and our's 
 possessed of all power in heaven and earth. 
 " Has power over all flesh to give eternal life 
 to as many as the Father hath given Him " 
 (John xvii. 3). (d) The Author and Giver of 
 life. Having life in Himself and able to 
 communicate it to others. The living and 
 life-giving Redeemer set over against Job's 
 state as dying, or virtually dead. The epithet 
 one proper to God. Called "the living 
 God ;" He that "liveth for ever and ever." 
 Appropriated by Christ : " I am He that 
 liveth and was "dead, and am alive for ever- 
 more." Christ the Resurrection and the 
 Life. The Way, the Truth, and Life. The 
 true God and eternal life (Rev. i. 18 ; John 
 ii. 25 ; xiv. 16 ; 1 John v. 20). A living and 
 life-giving Redeemer our comfort in a dying 
 body in a dying world, and with the remains 
 of death in our soul. Christ, as our Redeemer, 
 lives (a) To plead our cause in heaven (Heb. 
 vii. 25) ; (Ii) To send down supplies of needed 
 grace (2 Cor. xii. 9) ; (c) To prepare a 
 
 120 
 
 place for us in Paradise (John xiv. 2) ; ((I) 
 To attend to all our concerns (Ileb. iv. 1-1 
 16); (e) To overcome all our enemies; (/) 
 To deliver us out of all our troubles ; (j/) To 
 give victory over temptation and sin- ; (A) To 
 make us partakers of his life ; (/) To receive 
 us to Himself; (J) To come again in glory. 
 Christ as an ever-living Redeemer, the 
 hope and trust of the believer. That our 
 Redeemer lives, an antidote against the fear 
 of man, of troubles, of death, of judg- 
 ment (Isa. Ii. 12, 13; xliii. 2, 3; Rev. i. 
 17, 18). Our case safe in the hands of a 
 living Redeemer. Enough for a dying saint 
 that his Redeemer lives. One at least 
 whom death cannot remove from us. His 
 life a pledge of Ilis people's (John xiv. 
 
 19 ):.. , 
 
 (iii.) That He should "stand (or rise up) 
 
 at the last day (o,- 'as the last one') upon 
 (or ocer) the earlh." Job elevaled by the 
 Holy Spirit to the place and office of a pro- 
 phet. The book a part of those Scriptures 
 which " testify " of Christ, and out of which 
 Christ expounded to the disciples the tilings 
 concerning Himself. The testimony of Jesus 
 is the spirit of prophecy. The prophets 
 testiiicd beforehand the sufferings of Christ, 
 and the glory that should follow (1 Pet. i. 
 11). The testimony of Moses and the pro- 
 phets that Christ should suffer, and should 
 be the iirst that should rise from the dead 
 (Acts xxvi. 22, 23). Job's present language a 
 prophecy, as well as the expression of his i':iil Ii 
 and assurance. Declares (1) That God as 
 his Redeemer ico/'.hl one day appear on behalf 
 of his suffering scrrant. " Standing " or 
 "rising up " the Scripture expression for a 
 a Divine appearance as the deliverer and 
 avenger of His people (Ps. vii. 6; x. 12; 
 xii. 5 ; Isa. xxxiii. 10). (2) That he icould 
 appear on or over the earth. Appears to be 
 a double prophecy, viz., of the Redeemer's in- 
 carnation and His coming to judgment. These 
 often united in the prophets, being, as here, 
 viewed together as one event. The first 
 necessary to the second, the second the com- 
 pliment of the first. His coming to suffer 
 necessary in order to His coming to reign. 
 His second coming completes what His first 
 began. Christ called by the apostle, speak- 
 ing of the resurrection of the dead, the last 
 Adam, or second Man, as apparently here, 
 the last or latter One (1 Cor. xv. 21, 22, 
 45, 47). The first Adam brought man's body 
 to the dust ; and second comes to raise it 
 from it. Observe (1) Faith comforts by 
 turning the sufferer's eve from God's present 
 dealings with him to Ids future ones. (2) 
 The consolation of the Church is (i.) That 
 Christ has suffered for our sins, the Just 
 One in the room of the unjust ; (ii.) That 
 he has risen as the first-fruits cf them that
 
 IIOMILETIG COMMENTARY: JOB. 
 
 CHAP. XIX 
 
 slept ; (iii.) That to them that look for Him 
 He will appear the second time without sin 
 unto salvation ; (iv.) That them that sleep 
 in Jesus God will bring with Him (1 Pet. 
 iii. 18; 1 Cor. xv. 20, 23; lleb. ix. 28; 
 1 Thess. iv. 1-1). The knowledge asserted 
 by Job has reference also 
 
 (2) To himself (verse 27). "And though 
 after my skin, &c., yet in my flesh shall I 
 see God ; whom I shall see for myself," &c. 
 The centre of his faith and hope, not only 
 that his Redeemer lives, and should one 
 day appear, but that as the result of it he 
 should 
 
 See God. 
 
 Two ways of seeing God (i.) Mentally and 
 spiritually ; (ii.) Physically and corporeally. 
 God seen (i.) In His character and works ; 
 (ii.) In His person. The former only our 
 privilege here, while in the body ; the latter, 
 hereafter, out of the body and after the 
 resurrection. God seen in His Person in 
 His Son Jesus Christ. "He that hath seen 
 Me hath seen the Father." In Christ is seen 
 " all the fulness of the Godhead bodily." 
 Isaiah, in vision, beheld the Lord (Jehovah) 
 sitting on His throne in the temple (Is. vi. 
 1). He beheld the " glory " of Christ (John 
 xii. 41). As distinct from the glorified 
 Redeemer, at the right hand of the Father, 
 Stephen beheld "the glory of God" (Acts 
 vii. 55). In heaven the angels always behold 
 "the face" of the Father (Matt, xviii. 10). 
 The vision of God, anticipated by Job, gene- 
 rally understood to be a corporeal one in 
 His restored body. Appears to emphasize it 
 in this view " Whom mine eyes shall be- 
 hold." Christ, at His second appearing, the 
 object of bodily vision. " Every eye shall 
 see him, and they also that pierced him." 
 
 The prospect re-asserted and dwelt upon 
 from its sweetness and certainty. I shall 
 see God see Him for myself mine eyes 
 shall behold Him. Contrasted with his pre- 
 sent experience, unable to perceive God. 
 God hiding Himself from him, his greatest 
 trial (ch. xiii. 24; ix. 11; xxiii. 8, 9). 
 Observe (i.) The vision of God the blessed- 
 ness of the glorified (Ps. xvii. 15 ; Matt. v. 8 ; 
 1 John iii. 2 ; Rev. xxii. 4). Implies (1) 
 A much higher and clearer knowledge of 
 God (1. Cor. xiii. 912). (2) Ervjoyment 
 of immediate and uninterrupted fellowship 
 with Him. (3) More blissful consciousness of 
 His favour and love. (4) Fuller under- 
 standing of His providential dealings here. 
 (ii.) The nature of faith to believe that 
 though God now hides His face, yet we shall 
 again behold it (Micah vii. 8 ; Hab. iii. 17 
 19). Faitli trusts in the dark and hopes 
 for what it sees not. (iii.) Joyful anticipa- 
 tion of seeing God the peculiar privilege of a 
 
 believer. Implies (1) A conscious state 
 of peace and reconciliation with God. (2) 
 A renewed nature, capable of delighting in 
 God and in His fellowship. (3) Purity of 
 heart, and conscious integrity of character. 
 Only the pure in heart capable of seeing 
 God (Matt. v. 8). Evil cannot dwell with 
 Him. A hypocrite shall not come before 
 Him. To see God's face, coupled with serving 
 Him, the blessedness of the glorified (Rev. 
 xxii. 4). The sight of God and the Lamb at 
 His second appearing, the world's greatest 
 dread (Rev. vi. 15 17). The comfort of 
 believers that when God shall appear, it will 
 be "for them," as their Friend and Re- 
 deemer, for their full and everlasting salva- 
 tion (Heb. ix. 28). 
 
 The appearing of his Redeemer, and the 
 future sight of God as his friend, the ob- 
 ject of Job's intense longing. "My reins 
 are consumed in my bosom " with desire 
 for that day (margin). Contrasted with the 
 object of desire held forth by his three 
 friends health and prosperity in this life. 
 The salvation of God, perfected at the 
 Saviour's second appearing, the Church's 
 desire both in the Old and New Testament. 
 Jacob's experience : " I have waited for thy 
 salvation, O Lord." David's : " My flesh 
 shall rest in hope, for thou wilt not leave my 
 soul in hell" (wilt not leave me in the grave). 
 " I shall be satisfied when I awake in thy 
 likeness." Isaiah, and the Church in his 
 day: "With my soul have I desired thee in 
 the night; " the answer : " Thy dead men shall 
 live, together with my dead body shall they 
 arise. Awake and sing ye that dwell in dust ; 
 for thy dew is as the dew of herbs, and the 
 earth shall cast out the dead " (Is. xxvi 9, 
 19). The last words of the spouse in the 
 Song : " Make haste, my beloved, and be 
 like a roe or a young hart upon the mountain 
 of spices." Christ's glorious appearing the 
 blessed hope and desire of the early Chris- 
 tians, exposed as they were to death and all 
 kinds of suffering for the truth's sake. " The 
 Spirit and the Bride said, Come the Spirit 
 in the Bride'' (Rev. xxii. 17 ; Rom. viii. 23). 
 In reply to the promise : " Behold, I come 
 quickly;" the Church's last recorded prayer 
 is : " Even so, come, Lord Jesus." The cry 
 of the souls under the altar : " How long, O 
 Lord, wilt thou not avenge our blood on the 
 earth." 
 
 The Lord's second appearing, and the 
 resurrection consequent on it, to be desired 
 and longed for, as (1) The time of full re- 
 demption and salvation in body and soul to 
 believers themselves ; (.2) The same to their 
 brethren in Christ, whether living or long 
 departed; (3) The time of deliverance to 
 the whole creation from the bondage of cor- 
 ruption entailed upon them by man's sin; 
 
 121
 
 CHAP. XIX. 
 
 HOMILBTIC COMMENTARY: JOJi. 
 
 (4) The time when Christ shall be manifested 
 in glory, and the kingdom of God shall fully 
 come ; (5) The period for the creation of 
 the new heavens and the new earth, wherein 
 dwelleth righteousness (Rom. viii. 19 23 ; 
 1 Thess. iv."lfi, 17; 2 Thcss. i. 10; 2 Tim. 
 iv. 1 ; 2 Pet. iii. 12, 13). 
 
 " He whose car the winds are, and the clouds 
 The dust that waits upon his sultry march, 
 When sin hath moved him, and his wrath is 
 
 hot, 
 
 Shall visit earth in mercy ; shall descend 
 Propitious in his chariot paved with love ; 
 And what his storms have blasted and de- 
 faced 
 
 For man's revolt, shall with a smile repair. 
 Come then, and. added to thy many crowns, 
 Receive yet one, the crown of all the earth, 
 Thou who alone art worthy !" 
 
 VII. Addresses remonstrance .and 
 warning to his friends (verse 28, 29). 
 
 ]. The Remonstrance (verse 28). "But 
 ye should say (or, ' because ye say' ) why per- 
 secute we him ? (or, ' how shall \\& persecute 
 him,') seeing the root of the matter is found 
 in me," (margin " and what root of matter 
 is found in me ? " or, " and how shall we 
 find a ground of accusation" \Hel. 'the root 
 of a word or thing'] against him?) The 
 great offence of Job s friends their persecu- 
 tion of a suffering brother. Their desire and 
 aim to prove him a wicked man and deserving 
 Ilie calamities sent upon him. Sought there- 
 fore to find ground of accusation against 
 him. Hence Job's name : "the persecuted 
 one." In this, as in other things, a type of 
 Christ. Job's friends the representatives of 
 the Scribes and Pharisees, priests and elders 
 of the Jews (Matt. xii. 13 5 Luke zi. 54; 
 John viii. 6). 
 
 Persecution 
 
 Bequeathed to all Christ's members (John 
 xv. 20; 2 Tim. iii. 12). Its endurance by 
 the Church a characteristic of the reign of 
 Antichrist (Rev. xi. 25; xii. 1117). 
 Satan the great persecutor. Persecution in 
 accordance with the original promise of a 
 Saviour (Gen. iii. 15). May be either bloody 
 or unbloody from the openly profane or 
 the professedly godly. Petty persecution 
 in the family or the workshop often as trying 
 as that of the dungeon and the scaffold. 
 Almost one continued persecution of the 
 Church from Jews and Pagans during the 
 first three hundred years of its existence. 
 The Church nursed in blood. That blood 
 made the means of its increase. Like Israel 
 in Egypt (Ex. i. 12). Ten great persecu- 
 tions enumerated before the establishment 
 of Christianity as the religion of the Roman 
 
 122 
 
 Empire. Persecution frequently that of one 
 part of the professing Church by another. 
 The dominant section often a persecutor of 
 the rest. The spirit and ground of persecu- 
 tion (1) Enmity to the truth ; (2) Desire 
 for supremacy ; (3) Intolerance of opposi- 
 tion ; (4) Blind and misguided zeal (Gal. iv. 
 29; 3 John ix. 10; John xvi. 2, 3). Baby- 
 lon the great, the mother of harlots, the 
 mystical seven-hilled city, drunk with the 
 blood of the saints (Rev. xvii. 6). Note 
 in Rhemish Testament on this passage (Rev. 
 xvii. G), " Their blood," viz., that of here- 
 tics, " is not called the blood of saints, no 
 more than the blood of thieves, mankillers, 
 and other malefactors ; for the shedding of 
 which by order of justice, no commonwealth 
 shall answer." More blood shed in Chris- 
 tian persecutions than in Pagan ones. A 
 long blood-stained history of Inquisitions, 
 Crusades, Massacres, and Star-chambers. Be- 
 tween the twelfth and eighteenth centuries, 
 about a million of non-conforming Albigeuses 
 and Waldenses put to de;ith by armies sent for 
 that purpose with the Pope's blessing and 
 the promise of eternal salvation. Nearly 
 a million more suffered death on the same 
 grounds, within fifty years after the institu- 
 tion of the order of the Jesuits in 1540. In 
 the Netherlands, the Duke of Alva boasted 
 that thirty-six thousand heretics had been 
 put to death by the common executioner. 
 Within thirty days from the Massacre of St. 
 Bartholomew's cfay (1572), thirty thousand 
 at least calculated to have been butchered in 
 Paris and throughout France. Public thanks 
 ordered by the Pope to be given in one of 
 the churches at Rome, and a medal to be 
 struck for its commemoration. 
 
 2. The threatening (verse 29). "Be ye 
 afraid of the sword ; for wrath (such as you 
 manifest against me) briugeth the punish- 
 ments of the sword (or, 'is one of the iniqui- 
 ties [deserving and meeting with the punish- 
 ment] of the sword '), that ye may know that 
 there is a judgment." The sword the symbol 
 of justice, here the justice of God (Rom.xiii. 
 4; Deut. xxiii. 41). An invisible avenger 
 takes the part of the persecuted and oppres- 
 sed. Persecutors especially threatened in 
 the New Testament. Christ's second ap- 
 pearing especially terrible to such as smite 
 their fellow servants (Matt. xxiv. 49). A 
 righteous thing with God to recompense 
 tribulation to them that trouble His people 
 (2 Thess. i. 610). The iudgments of the 
 last days especially inflicted on the persecu- 
 tors ot the saints (Rev. xviii. G, 24). Ob- 
 serve : (1) Persecution a hard and terrible 
 enterprise. Pagan persecutors noted as 
 having generally died by horrible deaths. 
 Charles IX., who authorized the Parisian 
 massacre of 1572, died in despair in a bloody
 
 HOMILETIC COMMENTARY: JOB. 
 
 CHAP. XX. 
 
 sweat. Christ's words to Saul addressed to 
 all persecutors : " It is hard for thee to kick 
 against the pricks." (2) The part of charity 
 and piety to seek to turn persecutors from 
 their sin, and so avert their doom. (3) 
 Anger against the servants of God, though 
 shewn only in words, viewed by God as a sin 
 equivalent to murder. The sin of Job's 
 friends. Hence to be atoned for by sacrifice 
 at the close of the controversy. (4) Men 
 not secured from Divine judgment by a reli- 
 gious profession. (5) The treatment given to 
 Christs's servants and brethren one great cri- 
 terion ly which men uill hereafter be judged 
 (Matt. xxv. 3446). (6) The comfort of 
 God's people that they can appeal from man's 
 judgment to God's. (7) A day coming when 
 
 men's character and doings will be clearly 
 revealed (Mai. iii. 18). Men to be " brought 
 out in their blacks and whites " [S. Ruther- 
 ford]. (8) A day of judgment terribly cer- 
 tain, (i.) From the testimony of Scripture. 
 The first recorded inspired declaration such 
 a testimony (Jude xiv. 15). Enoch's pro- 
 phecy doubtless known to Job. Such testi- 
 mony greatly accumulated since then (Eccles. 
 ii. 9 ; xii. 14 ; Matt. xii. 36 ; Acts ii. 30, 
 31 ; Rom. ii. 16 ; xiv. 10, 12 ; 1 Cor. iv. 5 ; 
 2 Cor. v. 10. (ii.) From the universal voice 
 of conscience, (iii.) From God's providential 
 dealings in the world. Sin punished here 
 so far as to shew that God marks and pun- 
 ishes it ; left unpunished, so far as to shew 
 that " there is a judgment " to come. 
 
 CHAPTER XX. 
 
 ZOPHAR'S SECOND SPEECH. 
 
 Produces nothing new ; much more out- 
 spoken than before. Enlarges on the 
 miseries overtaking the wicked, insinuating 
 that Job was such. His argument, like in 
 condition, like in character. 
 
 I. The introduction to the speech. 
 
 His reason for speaking again, viz., Job's 
 charges of cruelty and unkindness, and his 
 denunciation of Divine wrath against them 
 on account of it (verse 2). "Therefore 
 (because of thy charges and denunciations), 
 do my thoughts (cogitations as to what I 
 ought to do) cause me to answer, and for 
 this I make haste (margin, 'my haste' [or 
 earnestness] is in me). I have heard the 
 check pf my reproach (reproof that is a 
 reproach to me), and the spirit of my 
 understanding (my spirit which has intelli- 
 gence regarding the subject in question) 
 causeth me to answer." Observe 
 
 1 . The part of a wise man not to speak 
 without sufficient reason. Zophar had a rea- 
 son for speaking, but not a correct one. 
 Job's charges and denunciations were true 
 and just. 
 
 2. Pride ill brooks reproof. Men seldom 
 willing to take the reproach which they give 
 to others. "Judge not, that ye be not 
 judged." 
 
 3. Right to think well before uttering otte's 
 sentiments on more serious subjects. JBetter 
 that our thoughts cause us to answer than 
 our feelings. 
 
 4. Insensibility no part of piety. Zophar 
 felt as well as thought. Spoke from ardour 
 as well as reflection. Good to be zealously 
 affected in a good thing. What is not spoken 
 earnestly may as well remain unspoken. 
 
 5. Earnestness to be grounded on just con- 
 siderations. Thought to lead, feeling to 
 
 follow. " While I was musing the fire 
 burned." Zophar's feeling called "haste." 
 Often too much haste both in our feeling 
 and our words. With less haste in Zophar's 
 spirit, there had been more humanity in his 
 speech. "He that hasteth with his feet 
 sinneth." Not less he that hasteth with 
 his tongue. "Be not rash with thy mouth." 
 " Slow to speak, swift to hear." What is 
 spoken in haste, frequently not according to 
 truth. Hasty words make matter for repent- 
 ance. Hastily spoken not always hastily 
 forgotten. Hasty words often make deep 
 wounds. " The hasty to speak the slowest 
 to learn" (Prov. xxix. 20). 
 
 6. A spirit of intelligence to be prized and 
 cultivated. Natural understanding the gift 
 of God, but may either be fed or famished. 
 The best way to a good understanding is a 
 good life. "An honest man has half as much 
 more brains as he needs." "A good 
 understanding have all they that keep His 
 commandments." Christ made "wisdom" 
 to those who are in Him, as well as righte- 
 ousness and sanctification (1 Cor. i. 30). 
 Wisdom given to believing prayer (James 
 i. 5, 6). To have a good understanding one 
 needs to keep both eyes and ears open. A 
 spirit of intelligence necessary to a good 
 answer. A light needful for entering a dark 
 chamber. Safe not to speak on a subject till 
 you are conscious of understanding it. 
 
 II. The speech itself. 
 
 The gist of it Job must be a wicked man. 
 The reasoning Wicked men are miserable, 
 either now or afterwards ; Job is very miser- 
 able ; therefore Job is a wicked man. The 
 question : Are only wicked men miserable in 
 this life ? Job maintains that the wicked 
 are not always nor alone miserable; that 
 
 128
 
 CUAP. XX. 
 
 EOMILETIC COMMENTARY: JOB. 
 
 " time and chance come alike to all." 
 Zophar's second speecb another example of 
 lofty Oriental poetry. Contains solemn and 
 weighty truths, quoted and verified to this 
 day. His opening statement such (verse 5). 
 " The triumphing (or song) of the wicked is 
 short (Heb., from near; like water taken from 
 the surface instead of a deep well, therefore 
 ending quickly and abruptly) ; the joy of the 
 hypocrite (or profane) is but for a moment." 
 The allusion to Job's case too obvious. The 
 statement true, but not always in the sense 
 of Zophar. The joy of the wicked short- 
 lived. May last through life, but not beyond 
 it. The pleasure of sin but for a season. 
 The joy of the ungodly short, as (1) It has 
 no solid foundation built only on earthly 
 things that perish with the using; (2) Is 
 based upon a falsehood, viz., that sin and the 
 creature are able to give happiness ; (3) 
 Can only exist in the present life. Creature- 
 enjoyment no longer-lived than the creature 
 itself. Sin in its own nature opposed to 
 lasting enjoyment. Divine justice engaged 
 to terminate it in this life. Sin a tree with 
 branches enough, but no root ; with plenty 
 of blossom, but no fruit. Observe 1. The 
 longest life but "for a moment" (1) In com- 
 parison with eternity ; (2) In the view of the 
 individual himself towards its close. Sad, 
 for the pleasure of a moment to throw away 
 the joys of an endless life. 2. The joy of the 
 hypocrite or profane " but for a moment" 
 (1) As confined to this life; (2) In com- 
 parison with the joy of the righteous, which 
 is lasting. The joy of a false religion, or of 
 a mere external profession and shallow ex- 
 perience of the true, a lamp that goes out 
 from want of oil. Zophar refers to all past 
 history for confirmation (verse 4). " Kuow- 
 est thou not this of old," &c. The history 
 of the past most useful when serving as a 
 guide to the present. History full of ex- 
 amples of the 
 
 Short-lived prosperity of sin. 
 
 The memory of the Flood and its terrible 
 lessons still fresh in the days of Zophar. 
 The truth solemn and salutary, but Zophar's 
 application of it cruel and unjust. His 
 statements, too, require a wider field of 
 vision than the present world. 
 
 1. The prosperous ungodly sooner or later 
 overthrown with contempt and infamy (verse 
 6). "Though his excellency (loftiness or 
 exaltation) mount up to the heavens, and 
 his head reach unto the clouds (though he 
 attain the highest pitch of earthly prosperity 
 and grandeur), yet he shall jierish for ever 
 like his own dung (cast away with contempt 
 and abhorrence ; or, according to some, ' in 
 the midst of his splendour'); they that have 
 124 
 
 seen him (beholding with admiration -his 
 prosperity) shall say, ' Where is he ? ' Ob- 
 vious allusion to Job's former dignity arid 
 prosperity. Prosperous wickedness is (1) 
 One of the mysteries of Providence ; (2) Or.e 
 of the trials of good men; (3) One of the 
 proofs of a future judgment. The perplexity 
 of Asaph till he "went into Ihe sanctuary of 
 God," and understood the end (Ps. Ixxiii. 17). 
 No man to be called happy till the end of his 
 life, a maxim of the ancient heathen. Re- 
 velation adds, Nor till after the end of it. 
 Christ lifts the curtain and shows what is 
 beyond. Humbling contrast with former 
 haughtiness and magnificence implied in 
 Zophar's simile (so Ps. Ixxxiii. 10). Con- 
 tempt and infamy attach to wickedness, 
 however prosperous. A day coming when 
 God's despisers shall be an abhorring to all 
 flesh (Is. Ixvi. 2-i). 
 
 2. The prosperous ungodly vanish from 
 sight and memory (verse 8). "He shall fly 
 away as a dream, and shall not be found ; 
 yea, he shall be chased away as a vision of 
 the night. The eye also which saw him 
 (looked on him with admiration) shall see 
 him no more, &c." The life of the ungodly 
 especially a dream, as (1) Without solidity 
 and reality ; (2) As quickly terminating ; 
 (3) As soon forgotten. No trace left that 
 mpn care to cherish. No pleasing and pro- 
 fitable " footprints on the sands of time.' 
 Good men only the truly "great" who 
 " remind us we can make our lives sublime." 
 " The memory of the wicked shall rot." 
 Associated with nothing excellent, noble, or 
 benevolent. The presence of bad great men 
 on earth a nightmare, which men would fain 
 " chase away " and then forget. Sean espe- 
 cially in the case of tyrants, ambitious and 
 unprincipled rulers, men climbing to power 
 by forbidden ways and employing it for evil 
 ends. 
 
 3. Their children affected by their sin 
 (verse 10). "His children shall seek to 
 please the poor (to propitiate the poor, whom 
 their father oppressed or defrauded; or, 
 shall be so reduced as to court the favour 
 even of the poor ; margin, ' the poor shall 
 oppress his children' ; Cmerdale 'his child- 
 ren shall go a begging ') ; and his hand (or, 
 " their hands") shall restore their goods" 
 (the goods of which their father had plun- 
 dered them). Observe (1) An inheri- 
 tance of trouble bequeathed by the ungodly to 
 their offspring. In the Providence of God, 
 the effects of a man's oppression made to 
 extend to his children. The child often 
 reaps wh.-it the father sows, good or bad. 
 (2) Ill-gotten wealth, sooner or later, proves 
 ill-gotten woe. Restitution of unjust gains 
 follows either in a man's own life-time or his 
 children's. Made voluntarily, the curse is
 
 HOMILETIC COMMENTARY: JOS. 
 
 CHAP. xx. 
 
 averted both from himself and them. 
 Zaccheus the publican (Luke xix. 1, &c). 
 The reference here to the rich man's child- 
 ren cruel towards Job, still mourning the 
 loss of his seven sons and three daughters. 
 
 4. Effects of their sin entailed on their own 
 person (verse 11). "His bones are full of 
 the sins of his youth (or of his secret sins, 
 or of youthful vigour), which shall lie down 
 with him in the dust." Apparent allusion 
 to Job's diseased body. Observe (1) 
 Bodily disease often the result of by -gone 
 excesses. Age often made to inherit/ the 
 sins of youth (eh. xiii. 26). Hence David's 
 prayer (Ps. xxv. 7). Seeds of disease sown 
 in sinful indulgences. The drunkard carries 
 the effects of his cups to the grave. Secret 
 sins often followed by open sufferings. A 
 cruel insinuation on the part of Zophar that 
 this was Job's case. (2) The sinner often 
 smitten with disease and death in the midst 
 of prosperity and apparent strength. Herod 
 at Cesarea (Acts xii. 2123). (3) Sad 
 when a man's sins lie down with him in the 
 dust. Certain, if not prevented by repent- 
 ance, faith, and forgiveness. To lie down 
 with him in the dust is to continue his com- 
 panions for ever (Rev. xxii. 11). Separation 
 from our sins either now or never. 
 
 5. Terrible misery after temporary enjoy- 
 ment (verse 12 14). " Though wickedness 
 (especially in the acquisition and enjoyment 
 of ill-gotten wealth), be sweet in his mouth; 
 though he hide it under his tongue (either 
 for secrecy or continued enjoyment) ; though 
 he spare it and forsake it not ; but keep it 
 still within his mouth : yet his meat in his 
 bowels is turned ; it is the gall of asps (the 
 most deadly poison) within him." Sin sweet 
 to the unreuewed heart. Stolen waters 
 sweet. Such sweetness short-lived. Honey 
 in the mouth becomes gall in the bowels. 
 Sin in itself a deadly poison. Death itself, 
 and death its wages. David's sweet sin 
 with Bathsheba broke his bones. The 
 blood of Urijah brought blood into his house. 
 The effect of sinful enjoyment is to " mourn 
 at the last" (Prov. v. 1114). Poison no 
 less deadly became sweet to the taste. The 
 sweetest things often the sourest after- 
 wards. 
 
 G. Forced surrender of acquired wealth 
 (verse 15). "He hath swallowed down 
 .riches, and he shall vomit them up again; 
 God shall cast them out of his belly." 
 Apparently Job's case. Riches eagerly 
 pursued, abundantly obtained, and fondly 
 enjoyed, to be sooner or later unwillingly 
 surrendered. The worldling and his wealth 
 part company, if not before, yet on a dying 
 bed. The glutton compelled to vomit up 
 his dainty morsels. " Thou fool, this night 
 thy soul shall be required of thcc." The 
 
 sumptuous table then gladly exchanged for 
 a drop of water. The worldling unable to 
 keep his wealth a moment beyond God's 
 pleasure. A thousand means at His disposal 
 
 of making him quit his grasp on this side of 
 i. The failure of a bank, the fall of a 
 
 death. 
 
 mercantile house, the explosion of some 
 promising speculation, sufficient for the 
 purpose. "But even now worth this, and 
 now worth nothing ! " 
 
 7. Dsath in, some distressing form and 
 circumstances (verse 16). "He shall suck 
 the poison of asps (the most deadly one) ; 
 the viper's tongue (put out when about to 
 bite), shall slay him." All animate and in- 
 animate nature only instruments for the 
 execution of God's purposes, whether of 
 judgment or of mercy. The effect of the 
 intoxicating cup, that at last it bites like a 
 serpent aud stings like an adder (Prov. xxiii. 
 32). To suck the pleasures of sin now is 
 to suck the poison of asps hereafter. The 
 Bible draws aside the veil and reveals man's 
 tempter become his tormenter (Luke xvi. 
 1926). 
 
 8. Bitter disappointment and exclusion 
 from future happiness (verse 17). " He 
 
 shall not see the rivers, the floods, the 
 brooks of honey and butter." A blessedness 
 even in this life, of which the worldling 
 deprives himself. Still more in the life to 
 come. The river of life, the wine of the 
 kingdom, the fruits of paradise, the joys at 
 God's right hand, the pleasures for ever- 
 more, all forfeited for the momentary plea- 
 sures of sin. To the cry at the closed gates : 
 "Lord, Lord, open unto us," the only re- 
 sponse : "Depart from me, I never know you." 
 
 9. No real enjoyment of his riches even 
 here (verse 18). "That which he laboured 
 for shall he restore, and shall not swallow it 
 down (or enjoy it) ; according to his sub- 
 stance shall the restitution be, and he shall 
 not rejoice therein." Riches gathered often 
 become riches scattered. To obtain wealth 
 one thing, to enjoy it another. Great gains 
 not always great gain. Man yets, God gioes. 
 Ill-gotten, ill-gone, \_Latin Proverb], Wealth 
 often the parent of woe. A canker in a 
 sinner's gold (James v. 3). Wages earned 
 without God only put into a bag with holes. 
 The world a lie, especially to those who 
 trust in it. Money outside the heart a 
 blessing, inside of it a curse. 
 
 10. A troubled conscience (verses 19, 20). 
 " Because he hath oppressed and hath for- 
 saken the poor ; because he hath violently 
 taken away an house which he builded not 
 (obtaining it by fraud instead of honest in- 
 dustry) ; surely he shall not feel quietness 
 in his belly (his mind or conscience), he 
 shall not save of that which he desired " (or, 
 shall not, escape with his coveted but ill- 
 
 125
 
 CHAP. XX. 
 
 HOJIILETIC COMMENTARY: JOB. 
 
 gotten wealth). Another cruel and unjust 
 allusion to Job. The charge of oppression 
 afterwards directly made by Eliphaz (ch. xxii. 
 5 9). Taken generally, the statement true. 
 Ill-gained wealth, like the hoarded manna, 
 breeds worms; the worm of an accusing 
 conscience. The rust of dishonest gain eats 
 into the flesh like fire (James v. 3). A 
 house built by oppression gives a voice to 
 its stones and timber (Hab. ii. 9 11). A 
 quiet conscience better than a well-filled 
 coffer. Naboth's coveted vineyard a curse 
 both to Ahab and his wife (1 Kings xxi. 
 119). 
 
 11. Loss of property and of children 
 (verse 21). There shall none of his meat 
 be left (margin, "there shall none be left 
 for his meat ") ; therefore shall no man look 
 for his goods." A cutting sentence for im- 
 poverished and bereaved Job. Job's full 
 house now an empty one. His goods gone, 
 and none to inherit the miserable remnant. 
 The richest man in Uz now penniless. The 
 man with ten adult children now without even 
 one. Able lately to leave an ample inherit- 
 ance to his children, now without either 
 estate or sons to inherit it. One of the 
 world's vanities the desire to enrich one's 
 heirs. God and man often robbed while 
 living to leave larger sums when dead. A 
 worldly man's great affliction to lose the 
 heir of his, hoarded wealth. The rich 
 worldling often compelled to leave his riches 
 to those for whom he cares not, and who 
 care not for him. 
 
 12. Perplexity and troulle in the midst of 
 his riches (verse 22). " In the fulness of 
 his sufficiency he shall be in straits : every 
 hand cf the wicked (or of the mischievous ; 
 every kind of mischief; or every blow that 
 comes upon the wretched) shall come upon 
 him." A sad and cutting remembrancer to 
 Job of his various calamities and the quarter 
 from which some of them had come. God, 
 in His providence, visits the prosperous 
 wicked with sudden and unexpected mani- 
 festations of His anger (verse 23) ""When 
 he is about to till his belly (or, ' there shall 
 be wherewith to fill his belly ') God shall 
 cast the fury of His wrath upon him, and 
 shall rain it upon him (as literally on Sodom 
 and Gomorrha ; also implying the vehemence 
 and abundance of the judgments) while he 
 is eating" (in the midst of his enjoyment; 
 or, "as his food"). A bitter sarcasm. 
 The worldling sits down to his sumptuous 
 table, but the wrath of God shall be his 
 dish. Vengeance shall be his viand. He 
 shall be fed with fury for his food. Case of 
 the rich fool (Luke xii. 16 20). Experi- 
 enced by Israel in the wilderness (Num. xi. 
 33; Ps. Ixxviii. 30,31. Appeared to have 
 been realised in Job. Overtaken by apparent 
 
 126 
 
 judgments iu the midst of his prosperity. 
 Eire rained on his cattle as on the cities of 
 the Plain (ch. i. 16; Gen. xix. 24). Fiery 
 rain instead of refreshing showers an awful 
 sign of judgment (Ps. 1. 3). 
 
 13. Inability to effect escape (verse 24). 
 "He shall flee from the iron weapon (the 
 weapon employed iu close combat, visible 
 judgments), aud the bow (discharging its 
 arrows from a distance, invisible judgments) 
 of steel (Heb. of brass ; therefore with all the 
 more force) shall strike him through." 
 Seeking to escape from one evil he falls into 
 another. Fleeing from the pit he falls into 
 the snare. God at no loss for means to 
 punish the ungodly. Vain attempt to es- 
 cape when God purposes to destroy. The 
 only place of refuge for a sinner the wounds 
 of Jesus opened to satisfy justice for his 
 sins. Submission to God and faith in His 
 Son the only but certain safety for the 
 guilty. 
 
 14. Rapid and effectual execution of God's 
 purposes of vengeance (verse 25). " It is 
 drawn (viz., the arrow or the sword with 
 which to punish the ungodly), and cometh 
 out of the body (having passed through it) ; 
 yea, the glittering sword (of Divine ven- 
 geance, Deut. xxxii. 41; Ez. xxi. 9, ]0) 
 cometh out of his gall (or gall-bladder, 
 having thus inflicted a deadly wound) : ter- 
 rors are upon him" (the terror of death 
 which now stares him in the face, and the 
 terrors of judgment immediately to follow). 
 The language rapid, elliptical, and in the 
 past and present tense, to indicate the sud- 
 denness and certainty of the blow. A fear- 
 ful thing to fall into the hands of the living 
 God. How shall we escape if we neglect 
 the great salvation ? (Verse 16. " All 
 darkness (all kinds of calamity, or accumu- 
 lated misery) shall be hid in his secret 
 places," (hid amongst his choicest treasures, 
 or secretly laid up for him iu places where 
 he expected safety). Observe (1) God's 
 judgments find the sinner in his most secret 
 and secure retreat. " When they shall say, 
 peace and safety, then sudden destruction 
 cometh upon them." (2) Amonff a sinner's 
 most valuable possessions lies a hidden curse. 
 " A fire not blown (requiring no blowing, or 
 not kindled by man, viz., the ' fire of God ' 
 or lightning, as ch. i. 16) shall consume 
 him." Terrible word for poor .Job, who had 
 seen his sheep and the shepherds consumed 
 in this very way. A similar judgment on 
 the household of Korah, &c. (Num. xvi. 35). 
 " It shall go ill with him that is left (or, ' it 
 shall consume ' what is left) in his taber- 
 nacle." Words cruelly telling in the case 
 of Job. The fire of God had left but one 
 shepherd to tell the tale of the disaster. 
 Stroke after stroke had fallen on bis property
 
 HOMILETIC COMMENTARY: JOB. 
 
 CHAP. XXI. 
 
 and household, till all were consumed 
 but his wife and three servants. Job, if 
 any, seemed marked out by Divine judg- 
 ments as a secret and guilty transgressor. 
 Terrible trial for faith. " Who may stand in 
 thy sight when once thou art angry ? " 
 (Ps. kxvi. 7). 
 
 15. Secret sins discovered (verse 27). "The 
 heavens shall reveal his iniquity; and the 
 earth shall rise up against him." Apparently 
 verified in Job's case. The lightning from 
 heaven, and the Chaldean and Sabean ma- 
 rauders, with the whirlwind of the desert, 
 from the earth, seemed to proclaim him a 
 wicked man, whom vengeance was at length, 
 overtaking (Acts xxviii. 4). Observe (1) 
 Animate and inanimate creation made at God's 
 pleasure to conspire against his enemies. (2) 
 Iniquity, however secretly committed, sooner or 
 later revealed. No darkness or shadow of 
 death where the workers of iniquity may 
 hide either themselves or their sins. Secret 
 iniquity not only open to God's view, but 
 one day to be so to that of the universe. 
 Hypocrisy only now "the only evil that 
 walks invisible, except to God alone." No 
 cloak of religion able to hide sin from God, 
 or by-and-by, from our neighbour either. 
 Terrible exposure awaiting secret evil-doers. 
 (3) Our sins either to be found out now by 
 ourselves and brought to the throne of (/race 
 to be pardoned, or to be found out hereafter 
 by God, and brought to the throne of judgment 
 to be punished. 
 
 16. Destruction of all belongings in a day 
 of wrath (verse 28). " The increase (pro- 
 geny, or natural products) of his house shall 
 depart, and his goods shall flow away (be 
 swept away as by a torrent, suddenly and 
 irrecoverably) in the day of his wrath." Sad 
 verification of this apparently afforded in the 
 case of Job. The whole progeny of his house, 
 with all his goods, swept away as by an in- 
 undation. A day of wrath now surely over- 
 taking this prince of Uz. Difficult for him 
 and his friends to believe otherwise. To the 
 latter the thing was clear. To Job it seemed 
 so ; but if actual wrath, it was undeserved. 
 Job's error in sometimes inclining to the 
 latter alternative. His apparent " day of 
 
 wrath " was, in reality, a day of love. 
 Observe (1) The province of faith to believe 
 against all appearances. " Behind a frown- 
 ing providence," &c. (2) Easy with God to 
 sweep away all the increase of a man's house. 
 (3) A day of wrath coming, in which all earthly 
 possessions will flow away. "The earth and 
 the works therein shall be burned up" (2 Pet. 
 iii. 10). 
 
 III. The summing- np (verse 29). 
 
 "This is the portion of a wicked man 
 from God, and the heritage appointed unto 
 him by God" (Heb., the heritage of the 
 decree of the Mighty One ; decreed by Him 
 who is Almighty, therefore irresistible). 
 Similar language in Ps. xi. 6. The conclu- 
 sion apparently unavoidable in relation to 
 Job. The portion of a wicked man mani- 
 festly meted out to him. If Job is not sucli 
 a man, all our notions of the Divine govern- 
 ment in this world are upset the rock is 
 "removed out of his place." Strong faith 
 and a sound conscience required by Job to 
 believe that God would yet clear his character. 
 The statement of Zophar both true and 
 untrue. Viewed in relation to this life, not 
 always true. Viewed in relation to the next, 
 far short of the fact. A more terrible portion 
 awaits the impenitent in another world. The 
 harrowing things mentioned by Zophar only 
 a foreshadowing and prelude to the sinner's 
 future doom. Wrath rarely exhibited in this 
 world, because reserved for the next. Days 
 of wrath here sent as specimens and warnings 
 of that which is to come. 
 
 "That day of wrath, that dreadful day, 
 When heaven and earth shall pass away. 
 What power shall be the sinner's stay ? 
 How shall ye meet that dreadful day ? 
 Jesus, be Thou my spirit's stay, 
 Though heaven and earth shall pass away." 
 
 Observe (1) A sinner's portion not what he 
 wishes, but what God appoints. (2) His por- 
 tion a heritage (i.) As contrasted with his 
 earthly possessions and enjoyments ; (ii.) As 
 certain to find him as its heir ; (3) Solemn 
 contrast between this portion and that of the 
 believer in Jesus (Ps. xvi. 56 ; 1 Pet. i. 3). 
 
 CHAPTER XXI. 
 
 JOB'S REPLY TO ZOPHAR S SECOND SPEECH. 
 
 The ungodly, instead of experiencing the 
 miseries indicated by Zophar, often, perhaps 
 generally, enjoy continued ease and pros- 
 perity in this life. 
 
 I. Introduction (verse 2 6). 
 
 1. Bespeaks earnest attention (verse 2). 
 
 "Hear diligently my speech." Men of wis- 
 dom and experience, especially pious sufferers, 
 worthy to be seriously listened to. Solemn 
 and weighty truths to be heard with corre- 
 sponding attention. Heb., "Hear, hear.' 
 Serious matters call for double or diligent 
 hearing. Deep attention to be given to 
 
 127
 
 C1IAP. XXI. 
 
 HOMILETIC COMMENTARY: JOB. 
 
 truths concerning God's mysterious provi- 
 dence, still more to those regarding a provided 
 Saviour and the great salvation (Heb. ii. 1). 
 An aggravated sin when God stretches out 
 His hand and no man regards it (Prov. i. 
 21). 
 
 A reason given for such attention : " And 
 let this be (or, 'and this shall be') your con- 
 solations." Allusion to Zophar's boasted conso- 
 lations (ch.xv. 11). Sometimes mourners more 
 relieved by our listening to their sentiments 
 than by uttering our own. Better to be 
 silent in the presence of the afflicted than 
 to dispute or censure. Consolation due to 
 sufferers from their friends. A brother born 
 for adversity. Professed comforters may 
 become real tormentors. 
 
 2. Solicits patience (verse 3). " Suffer me 
 that I may speak." Patience especially due 
 to sufferers. Persons who speak much 
 themselves generally most impatient of 
 others. The Scripture rule " Swift to hear, 
 slow to speak." " And after that I have 
 spoken, mock on." A troubled spirit often 
 eased by utterance. Sad when those who 
 ought to be comforters in our affliction be- 
 come mockers (ch. xvii. 2). One of Job's 
 greatest trials to be mocked by his friends 
 (ch. xii. 4). As much patience required to 
 endure mockings as scourgings (Heb. xi. 
 36). 
 
 3. Justifies his displeasure (verse 4). " As 
 for me, is my complaint to man ? And if it 
 were so, why should not my spirit be trou- 
 bled r " (margin, " shortened ; " same word 
 rendered " discouraged," Num. xxi. 5 ; 
 "grieved," Jud. x. 16 ; "vexed," Jud. xvi. 
 16 ; "straitened," Mic. ii. 7 ; "hasty," Prov. 
 xiv. 29 ; " anguish," Expd. vi. 9). Sorrow 
 contracts the heart as joy enlarges it (Ps. 
 cxix. 32). The flesh is soon angry, while 
 grace is long suffering. Job complains not 
 to man, but to God, as the author of his 
 troubles. His complaint both of God and 
 to God; the former the complaint of the 
 
 flesh, the latter that of the spirit. Grace 
 teaches to look away from instruments and 
 second causes to God Himself. So David 
 (2 Sam. xvi. 10). 
 
 Job justifies his displeasure on the ground 
 that God dealt so hardly with him. His 
 language too much that of the prophet at 
 Nineveh and Elijah under the juniper-tree. 
 The flesh always and in all alike. Thinks that 
 under severe trouble we " do well to be 
 angry." Grace enables us to kiss the rod 
 that smites us, and to say, "Abba, Father; 
 not my will, but Thine be done." Jesus 
 rather than Job pur pattern in affliction. Our 
 privilege in Christ to be strengthened with 
 all might, according to God's glorious power, 
 unto all patience and long-suffering with 
 jovfulncss (Col. i. 11). 
 
 '128 
 
 4. Invites solemn attention to the astounding 
 fact of suffering saints and prosperous sinners 
 (verse 5). " Mark me and be astonished, 
 and lay your hand upon your mouth " [in 
 silent awe and wonder]. God's dealings in 
 Providence to be regarded with reverence 
 and awe. Habakkuk's experience (Hab. iii. 
 16) ; David's (Ps. cxix. 120). The sufferings 
 of saints and prosperity of sinners a subject 
 mysterious and inscrutable till read in the 
 light of inspired Scripture (Ps. xiii. 17). 
 Anomalies in God's government awaiting the 
 explanations of eternity. 
 
 Expresses his own feelings in reference to 
 this mysterious fact and its influence upon 
 himself (verse 6). " Even when I remember 
 I am afraid, and trembling taketh hold on 
 my flesh." Our own experience, as well as 
 that of others, often to be remembered with 
 trembling (Lam. iii. 19, 20). The part of 
 grace not only to tremble at God's word, 
 but God's works (Is. Ixvi. 2). The speaker 
 to be duly affected himself by the truths he 
 addresses to others. Must weep himself if 
 he would have his hearers weep. 
 
 II. Problem proposed. Commences 
 with a question implying an undoubted fact 
 (verse 7). 
 
 " Wherefore do the wicked live (or, en- 
 joy life), become old, yea mighty iii power " 
 (or wealth). Three facts implied regarding 
 the ungodly in this life : 1. They "live ; " 
 are permitted to continue in life and to enjoy 
 it. 2. In many instances "become old;" 
 ordinarily viewed as an elemoiit of pros- 
 perity and a mark of Divine favour. The 
 hoary head not always found in the way of 
 righteousness. 3. "Become mighty in 
 power" and substance ; enjoy great worldly 
 
 Erosperity (Ps. Ixxiii. 12). Such facts 
 ardiy to be expected under the government 
 of a righteous God. The perplexity and 
 almost despair of Asaph (Ps. Ixxiii. 2 13). 
 The 73rd Psalm a commentary on this 
 chapter of Job. Such facts suggest inquiry 
 as to the cause. Scripture furnishes the 
 reply. (See Rom. ii. 4; 1 Tim. i. 16; 
 Ps. Ixxiii. 18 ; Ecc. viii. 1113 ; Luke ii. 
 35, &c.; Ps. xvi. 4; Rom. ix. 22). The 
 present not the only state of man's existence. 
 This life a state of probation and discipline, 
 not of retribution. The present a time of 
 forbearance and mercy; God waiting for the 
 sinner's repentance in order to be gracious to 
 him. God's goodness intended to lead to 
 repentance. The ungodly spared in order 
 to have time for repentance; "the long- 
 suffering of God is salvation ; " not willing 
 that any should perish (2 Peter iii. 9 15). 
 Their prosperity an exercise for the faith of 
 the godly. A standing evidence of a time 
 of fu ture retribution. A monument to the
 
 I10.UILETIC COMMENTARY: JOB. 
 
 CHAP. XXI. 
 
 glory of the Divine patience and long-suffer- 
 ing. Renders the impenitence of men inex- 
 cusable and justifies all their future pun- 
 ishment. Demonstrates the inferiority of 
 earthly to heavenly blessings. 
 
 III. Description of the prosperity of 
 the ungodly (verses 8 13). 
 
 1. In relation to their children (verse 8). 
 "Their seed is established in their sight with 
 them, and their offspring before their eyes." 
 Their children obtain a firm and prosperous 
 position in the world, and that while they 
 themselves still live to see and enjoy it. Im- 
 portant elements in a man's earthly felicity : 
 (1) To have a numerous offspring ; (2) 
 To see his children prosperous and established 
 in the world ; (3) To have them continuing 
 to live with or near him ; (4) To live to see 
 and rejoice in their earthly prosperity and 
 happiness. Some of these elements formerly 
 enjoyed by Job, though no longer so. The 
 happiness ot the ungodly, in relation to their 
 children, again touched upon under another 
 aspect in verse 11. "They send forth their 
 little ones (out of doors, under a guardian 
 or guide), and their children dance " (frisk 
 sportively as lambs in the pasture). Pleasing 
 picture of domestic happiness and prosperity. 
 The children viewed as still young and under 
 their parents' guardianship. Healthy, happy, 
 frolicking children a pleasant spectacle, 
 especially to parents' eyes. A large in- 
 gredient in the cup of earthly bliss. Homes 
 lighted up with children's innocent hilarities 
 the gift of a gracious God. 
 
 2. Domestic security and freedom from 
 affliction and trouble (verse 9). " Their 
 houses are safe from fear (of any hostile 
 attack or elemental violence), neither is the 
 rod of God upon them." The contrast to 
 the case of Job and his children. Sous ex- 
 perience chastisement from which slaves are 
 exempt. .Freedom from afflictions and trials 
 no mark of a child of God. The ungodly 
 "have no changes, therefore they fear not 
 God" (Ps. Iv. 19). Ill sign for a man when 
 God will not spend a rod upon him [Brookes}. 
 
 3. Success in business and freedom from 
 worldly losses (verse 30). "Their bull gen- 
 dereth and faileth not; their cow calveth 
 and casteth not her calf" (by an untimely 
 birth). Matters in which human skill and 
 industry seem to have but little to do. As 
 if a blessing rested on all the work of their 
 hands, and on all their belongings. Their 
 very cattle prosperous and fruitful. People 
 in everything fortunate, and, as the world 
 say, lucky. 
 
 4. Enjoyment of music and festivity (verse 
 12). " They take (or ' lift up ' [their voice] 
 to) the timbrel and liarp, and rejoice at (or, 
 trip merrily to) the sound of the organ " (or 
 
 pipe musical instruments of greatest anti- 
 quity [Gen. iv. 21; xxxi. 271; the "organ" 
 with us a comparatively modern invention). 
 The life of the persons in question one, to a 
 large extent, of festivity and enjoyment. 
 Their dwellings abundantly enlivened with 
 the sound of music, vocal and instrumental. 
 The ungodly no strangers to the hilarity of 
 music and dancing. " The harp and viol, 
 the tabret and pipe, are in their feasts, while 
 they regard not the work of the Lord" (Is. 
 v. 12). "They chant to the sound of the 
 viol and invent to themselves instruments of 
 music like David, but are not grieved for 
 the affliction of Joseph " (Amos vi. 5, 6). 
 Musical instruments an invention of the 
 descendants of Cain (Gen. iv. 21). Yet 
 
 Music 
 
 one of God's choicest earthly blessings. Its 
 influence beneficial on the individual and the 
 household. Its effects on man's nature 
 manifold and important. Rests fatigue. 
 Relieves pain. Subdues passion. Soothes 
 suffering. Mitigates sorrow. Allays ner- 
 vous irritation. Resists melancholy. Saul's 
 evil spirit yielded to the sweet sounds of 
 David's harp (1 Sam. xvi. 23). Inspires 
 courage and inspirits the brave. The rousing 
 strains of Highland bagpipes helped to win 
 the day at Waterloo. Music powerful in 
 the conflict of life. A means of moral cul- 
 ture. Assists devotion. Calms and elevates 
 the mind for the communication and recep- 
 tion of Divine truth. The prophet calls 
 first for the aid of a minstrel (2 Kings iii. 
 15). Music a Divine art and heavenly em- 
 ployment. Heaven filled with music. Some- 
 thing of divinity in music more than the ear 
 discovers [Sir T. Browne~\. The beneficial 
 effect of soft and sweet sounds, especially 
 of sacred music, upon the sick, an acknow- 
 ledged fact. Music " whispered to the 
 weary spirit" sometimes the only sound to 
 be endured by the sick and sorrowful. 
 Music to be consecrated to the glory of its 
 Divine Author. " A table without music little 
 better than a manger" [Epictetus]. Espe- 
 cially true of the song of praise and thanks- 
 giving. Music, like other Divine gifts, often 
 desecrated to the service of the god of this 
 world. The Enemy's object to make a sinful 
 and worldly life as agreeable as possible. 
 Helps men to forget death and a judgment 
 to come in the sweet sounds of earthly 
 music. Nero played on his harp while 
 gazing on Rome in flames, the probable 
 effect of his own wickedness. 
 
 5. AJOI/OHS life and an easy and painless 
 death. Verse 13. " They spend their days 
 in wealth (prosperity or pleasure), arid in a 
 moment go down to the grave" (without 
 
 129
 
 CHAP. XXI. 
 
 HOMILETIC COMMENTARY: JOB. 
 
 His penitent and praying children ; God, 
 apart from Christ, a consuming fire to 
 devour His impenitent and prayerless adver- 
 saries. A sinner's blessedness to meet with 
 God as, in Christ, reconciled and reconciling 
 the World to Himself. 
 
 Y. Job's protest against a life of 
 prosperous ungodliness (verse 16). "Lo, 
 their good is not in their hand : the counsel 
 of the wicked is far from me." Observe 
 1. Worldly prosperity and earthly ble&xittgs 
 not less a good because abused a good, though 
 not the chief good. The part of sin (1) 
 to pervert what is good in itself into an evil ; 
 (-2) To make a temporal good the chief good 
 instead of an eternal one. 2. The good 
 enjoyed by the ungodly neither a tatiifyiag 
 nor a lasting one; "their good is not in their 
 hand," a thing neither to be grasped nor 
 retained. Mighty difference between ihc 
 good of the believer and the worldling. The 
 one substance, the other shadow; the one 
 lasting and eternal, the other momentary 
 and perishing. The ungodly unable to 
 retain their prosperity and happiness a 
 moment beyond God's pleasure. A thousand 
 accidents able to rob them of it at any mo- 
 ment. No real good in their hand, and still 
 less in their hope. 3. Care to be taken not 
 to be influenced by the prosperity of the god- 
 less and worldly. (1) By consideration of 
 the truth and reality of their case ; their 
 prosperity only temporary, and their happi- 
 ness unreal ; " their good not in their hand ; " 
 (2) By steadfast repudiation of their princi- 
 ples and life. " The counsel of the wicked is 
 iar from me." Consider, in regard to 
 
 The counsel of the wicked, 
 
 First : what it is. The principles upon which 
 they act and by which their life is governed. 
 These are (1) To make the enjoyment of 
 the present life their chief good, their first 
 if not their only aim take care for this life, 
 and let the next take care of itself. (2) To 
 gain that enjoyment in any way they can 
 with safety : if honestly, well ; if not, in 
 any way you can. (3) To depend on their 
 own endeavours for what they desire, instead 
 of God : " Mine own hand hath gotten me 
 this wealth." (4) To ignore God and eternity, 
 heaven and hell, either as having no existence 
 or no relation to themselves. The worldling's 
 creed no reality but what is visible or cog- 
 nizable by themselves. The seen and sensible 
 only substance, all else shadow and moon- 
 shine. (5) To despise the provision of a 
 Saviour. Not this nan, but Barabbas ; (6) 
 To care for one's self and immediate connec- 
 tions, and leave others to do the same. At- 
 tend to number one. 
 130* 
 
 Second : Job's conduct in regard to this 
 counsel. "The counsel of the wicked is far 
 from me." The principles and practice of 
 the ungodly, not only to be put away, but 
 far away from us. Safest to si and at the 
 greatest distance from sin. Joseph kept far 
 i'rom it, and had God's blessing in the 
 dungeon. David went near it and got broken 
 bones. Sin an infectious plague ; therefore 
 not to be approached. The surest way not 
 to walk in the counsel of the wicked is to 
 keep far from it. " Enter not into the path 
 of the wicked ; avoid it, pass not by it, turn 
 from it and pass away." Occasions of sin to 
 be avoided as well as sin itself. The harlot's 
 door to be avoided. He who carries gun- 
 powder must keep far away from sparks. 
 God only keeps from acts of sin those who 
 keep from occasions of it. Look not intently 
 on what you may not love entirely. (Brookes.} 
 The counsel of the wicked to be put far from 
 us (1) In our judgment. To be viewed in 
 its real character. Condemned and repudiated 
 as what it really is wicked, abominable, 
 destructive. (2) In our will and purpose. 
 Our language to be, what have I to do with 
 idols ? (Hos. xiv. 8). To choose with Mary 
 the good part. To say with David : " Depart 
 from me, ye evil-doers ; for I will keep the 
 commandments of my God." " I have sworn, 
 and I will perform it, that I will keep thy 
 righteous judgments " (Ps. cxix. 100, 115). 
 So Daniel " purposed in his heart that he 
 would not defile himself withthc king's meat" 
 (Dan. i. 8). (3) In our practice. Purpose 
 to become practice. The man only blessed 
 who " walketh not in the counsel of the un- 
 godly " (Ps. i. 1). Our life to be governed 
 by opposite principles. 
 
 Third : icliy is the counsel of the ungodly 
 to be put far from us ? From its character 
 and issues. The principles of the ungodly 
 and worldly are (1) Foolish and unreasonble. 
 Only the fool says in his heart, no God. 
 Absurd only to believe what we see. Mad- 
 ness to prefer the enjoyment of a day to 
 that of a life-time ; the enjoyment of a short 
 life-time to that of an endless eternity. The 
 part of a fool to make careful provision for 
 the body and neglect the soul which shall 
 eternally survive it. (2) Wicked. Intensely 
 wicked to ignore and repudiate the God that 
 made, preserves, and every moment sustains 
 us ; a God possessed of every excellence 
 the Author of our Being and our Well-being. 
 (3) Destructive. Certain and endless ruin 
 the result of a sinful and worldly life, of 
 despising God and rejecting His Son, Jesus 
 Christ. " All they that hate me love death." 
 What is sown here is reaped hereafter ( Gal. 
 vi. 7, 8 ; Ps. xvi. 4 ; Ii. 1. 11 j Rom. iii. 16; 
 vi. 21, 23 ; John viii. 21, 24). 
 
 Fourth ; Hoif is the counsel of the wicked
 
 HOMIZETIC COMMENTARY: JOS. 
 
 CHAP. XXl. 
 
 to be put far away from us ? Not easily. 
 The counsel of the wicked is (1) Natural 
 to a depraved heart. The carnal mind 
 enmity against God. To follow the counsel 
 of the wicked is to swim with the stream. 
 
 (2) Popular. The way of the multitude. 
 To put it far away is to be singular. Not 
 always easy to come out and be separate. 
 
 (3) Pleasing to the flesh. Sin wears a ser- 
 pent's skin. The forbidden fruit pleasing to 
 the eye, and sweet to the taste. The princi- 
 ples and practice of the wicked and worldly 
 only to be put far away from us (1) JBy 
 a change of heart. A corrupt tree only 
 brings i'orth evil fruit. " Out of the heart 
 proceed evil thoughts," &c. " Ye must be 
 born agaiu." Except a man be born of water 
 and of the Spirit, he cannot see the king- 
 dom of God. (2) By acceptance of the offered 
 Saviour and reliance on Ilia (/race. In look- 
 ing to Him who died for our sin we are 
 delivered from its power, and receive 
 strength to overcome it. The cross of 
 Christ our only deliverance from the counsel 
 of the ungodly (Gal. vi. 14). (3) By the due 
 me of means, (i.) Prayer. Spiritual strength 
 given to waiting upon God and in answer to 
 prayer (Is. xl. 22 31 ; Ezek. xxxvi. 25-^- 
 27, 37). (ii.) Reading and meditation in 
 the Scriptures (Ps. xvii. 4; cxix. 11; John 
 xv. 3 ; xviii. 1 7). (iii.) Contemplation of 
 the Saviour's character and cross (2 Cor. iii. 
 18 ; Gal. vi. 14). (iv.) Consideration of the 
 character and consequences of sin. 
 
 Job's practical renunciation of the counsel 
 of the ungodly already a fact. Resolution 
 is to become reality. The future to be 
 translated into the present, "Let it be" 
 to become " it is." 
 
 VI. The final misery of the ungodly, 
 notwithstanding- present prosperity 
 
 (verse 17). " How oft is the candle of the 
 wicked put out." May be read either as a 
 question implying the rarity of the case, or 
 as an exclamation implying its frequency. 
 The " candle," or prosperity, of the wicked, 
 extinguished by death, though frequently 
 before it. Job's main assertion, that the 
 wicked often live, become old, and die in 
 prosperity and ease. Yet their end destruc- 
 tion not the less. Asaph stumbled at the 
 prosperity of the wicked till he went into 
 the sanctuary and understood their end 
 (Ps. Ixxiii. 17)." How oft cometh their 
 destruction upon them." Not always, nor 
 even usually, visited with signal judgment 
 and a miserable death. Occasional cases as 
 warnings, and as indications of a future 
 judgment. Examples: the Deluge; destruc- 
 tion of Sodom and Gomorrha ; Ham an ; Saul, 
 Herod. " God distributeth sorrows in His 
 auger. Observe 1. Continuance of outward 
 92 
 
 prosperity consistent with secret wrath. The 
 abuse of Divine gifts the greatest provoca- 
 tion of Divine anger. God's wrath certain 
 against ungodliness, however long its mani- 
 festation may be withheld. God angry with 
 the wicked every day. Wrath treasured up 
 against the day of wrath. (2) The sorrows 
 of the ungodly of fen sent in anger ; those of 
 the godly always in love. Those the most 
 terrible sorrows that are distributed in God's 
 anger. (3) Sorrows distributed by God as 
 well as mercies. All sorrows distributed by 
 a Divine hand ; only, some distributed in 
 anger, others in love. Trouble not from the 
 dust. Wisely meted out, whether in mercy 
 or in judgment. The cup mingled and 
 measured, and sooner or later put into the 
 hand of each. The cup of sorrow held out 
 to a believer by a Father's hand, to be ex- 
 changed ere long for the cup of joy. To be 
 put at last into the hand of the ungodly (Is. 
 li. 22 23 ; Luke xvi. 25). (4) Terrible end 
 of the wicked after a life of prosperity and 
 pleasure (verse 18). " They are as stubble 
 before the wind, and as chaff that the storm 
 carrieth away, (niargin, " stealeth away," 
 rapidly and unexpectedly as a thief in the 
 night, Matt. xxiv. 43 ; 1 Thess. v. 2 ; 
 2 Peter iii. 10; Rev. xvi. 15). Frequent 
 comparison of the ungodly to the fragments 
 of straw and the chaff separated from the 
 wheat on the open threshing-floor, exposed 
 to Ihe wind on a lofty situation, and thus 
 carried violently, suddenly, and rapidly 
 away by it, while the wheat is left for the 
 garner (Ps. i. 4; Is. xxix. 5; Hos. xiii. 3). 
 Indicates (1) God's long-continued but 
 exhausted patience ; (2) The worthlessness 
 of the ungodly ; (3) Their final separation 
 from the godly ; (4) Their utter and 
 irremediable destruction. 
 
 VII. A sinful life often punished in its 
 consequences on the sinner's children 
 
 (verse 19). " God layeth up his iniquity (or 
 the punishment of it) for his children ; he 
 rewardeth him and he shall know (or feel) it. 
 His eyes shall see his destruction (implying 
 more than mere destruction itself; he shall 
 have full and bitter experience of it; or shall 
 see it approaching and yet be unable to 
 escape from it), and he shall drink of the 
 wrath of the Almighty [as before he drank 
 iniquity, which is the cause of it]. For what 
 pleasure hath he in his house after him, when 
 the number of his months is cut off in the 
 midst?" Perhaps an objection to his state- 
 ment here anticipated and answered. If God 
 does not punish the ungodly man in this life, 
 yet, say the three friends, He punishes him in 
 liis children after him. But, replies Job, the 
 punishment ought to be inflicted on himself; 
 and he, not his children, ought, according to 
 
 13J
 
 CHAP. XXI. 
 
 HOMILETIC COMMENTARY: JOB. 
 
 your principles, to feel it. His eyes ought 
 to see his own destruction. For what has 
 he to do with his family after him when he 
 his dead? Observe (1) An undeniable truth 
 that a inarfs sins often entail their conse- 
 quences on his children. Embodied in the 
 second commandment (Ex. xx. 5). Temporal 
 consequences often entailed apart from sins 
 in the children. The parents' sins frequently 
 inherited by the children, and their conse- 
 quences along with them. A man in some 
 degree punished in the person of his children. 
 His children closely bound up with him as 
 part of himself. A natural desire that it 
 should be well with them after his death. 
 His children's suffering after his death an 
 aggravation of his own. (2) Sin, hoirecer, 
 mainly punished, in the person himself who 
 commits it. Hence, that punishment not 
 always inflicted in this life, as Zophar and 
 his i'riends maintained. No less certainly 
 however in the next, as maintained by Job. 
 
 VIII. Assertion of God's infinite 
 wisdom and knowledge (verse 22). (: Shall 
 any teach God knowledge ? Seeing he 
 judgeth those that are high." God, unable 
 to receive any accession to His wisdom or 
 knowledge from the most intelligent of His 
 creatures. The highest intelligences undsr 
 His government, and control. God uni- 
 versally acknowledged as the Judge and 
 Ruler of heaven and earth (Gen. xviii. 25). 
 Angels, devils, and men of every rank, under 
 His sway and jurisdiction. Hell and destruc- 
 tion naked and open before Him. The heart s 
 and counsels of men and angels exposed to 
 His view. The expulsion of fallen angels an 
 example of His judging "those that are high." 
 The judge of angels not to be directed by 
 puny men (Rom. xi. 34; 1 Cor.'ii. 10). He 
 who judges angels needs no instruction how 
 to deal with men. Hence (1) The case of 
 each safe in his hands ; (2) No room for 
 questioning or cavilling on the part, of any 
 of His creatures in reference to His provi- 
 dential dealings with them. 
 
 IX. Sovereignty and iBBerntahleaess 
 of Divine Providence. Men variously 
 dealt with both in life and death without 
 apparent reference to character and desert, 
 (verse 23). " One dieth in his full strength 
 [with unimpaired health and vigour], being 
 wholly at ease and quiet [in the hey-day of 
 prosperity]. His breasts (marr/ia, 'milk 
 pails ') are full of milk (or, his vessels, intes- 
 tines, or sides are full of fat), and his bones 
 are moistened with marrow. And another 
 dieth in the bitterness. of his soul (with an 
 experience the opposite of the former, grief 
 and pain pursuing him to the end), and never 
 eateth with pleasure" (or, "never enjoys 
 
 132 
 
 pleasure," a sufferer during his whole life) 
 Varieties everywhere in men's experience, 
 both in life and in death. These varieties 
 often and generally due rather to the 
 sovereignty of the Divine Disposer than to 
 the character and merits of individuals. 
 Love and hatred not to be discovered by the 
 external events in our lot. One event to all 
 (Ecc. ix. 2). Death equally the end of 
 all (verse 25). " They shall lie down alike 
 in the dust, and the worms shall cover them," 
 Lessons from this unversality of death : 
 (1) Contentment with one's lot. External 
 differences only for a short period of this pre- 
 sent life. These assigned now in infinite 
 wisdom, and all forgotten in the grave. (2) 
 Humility. The dust our final resting-place. 
 Worms by-and-by our principal covering ; 
 (3) Xecessifi/ of immediate jjrfj/aralion, and 
 constant readiness for death. Nothing more 
 certain than death, and more uncertain than 
 the time and circumstances. The grave a 
 resting-place for the body ; the soul, immortal 
 and immaterial, has its dwelling elsewhere. 
 Its place in the spirit-world according to its 
 character and deeds in this. After death the 
 judgment (Matt. xxv. 31 iO ; Rom. ii. 6 
 10). In the eternal world the rich and poor 
 often change places. Lazarus comforted, 
 Dives tormented (Luke xvi. 25). 
 
 X. Job's remonstrance with his 
 friends on their erroneous and nn- 
 charitable views (verses 27 30). 
 
 1. Kf /loses t/ifii' xprff't r or/if a lion x ret/a rd- 
 i nij hi 1,1 (verse 2?). "iiehold I know your 
 thoughts, and the devises which ye wrong- 
 fully imagine against me. For ye say [within 
 yourselves], where is the house of the prince 
 (the rich or munificent chief alluding to 
 Job himself, whose house was now desolate, 
 and that of his eldest son in ruins) ? and 
 where are the dwelling-places of the wicked!*'' 
 (1,111 i-f/in, "the tent of the tabernacles;" Ifel., 
 (he tent of the dwelling-places; either that 
 of the rich chief in the midst, of those of his 
 household and clan, [chap. xxv. 29] or his 
 house as divided into various apartments). 
 The secret surmise of Job's friends that the 
 desolation of his own house, and that of 
 his son, was a Divine retribution. From this 
 desolation they injuriously conclude they 
 had been wicked men. The errors of the 
 Jews in Christ's day, in reference to the 
 slaughtered Galila?ans and the disaster in 
 Siloam (Luke xiii. 1 5.) That of the 
 JUiletians, in regard to Paul and the viper 
 which fastened on his hand (Acts xxviii. ]). 
 
 2. 'll-l'i'i-s tli fill I 'i tin 1 fi'x/iinony of 1,1 en i,J 
 trarfl /mil o/wrca/ion (.verse 29). "Have 
 ye not asked them that go by the way ? 
 and do ye not know their tokens ': '' 
 (or, " acknowledge their testimonies," the
 
 HOMILETIC COMMENTARY: JOJS. 
 
 C1IAF. XXI. 
 
 examples met with iu their travels, and 
 related by them to others, or their written 
 communications, which are proofs of what I 
 now advance). In the early ages of the 
 world, and still to a great extent in the 
 East, most of the information as to events 
 in other lands obtained by travellers. That 
 information, however, probably to some 
 extent committed early to letters, here 
 called " tokens," signs or marks (Gen. iv. 
 15). Moses directed by God to write the 
 song he delivered before his death, as well 
 as the law of commandments (Deut. xxxi. 19 
 2 1). Letters among the earliest inventions. 
 Probably at first hieroglyphics, or figures 
 of animate or inanimate objects. (See ch. xix. 
 23, 24). 
 
 3. Testimony of travellers in relation to 
 the wicked (verse 30). "That the wicked 
 is reserved to the day of destruction 
 (spared often and long in this world, even 
 in the midst of calamities that overtake 
 others, though sure to be punished in the 
 next, if not ultimately in this, as in the 
 case of Pharaoh) ? they shall be brought 
 forth to the day of wrath" (or, "they are 
 led [as in a pompous procession] to the day 
 of wrath," which sooner or later overtakes 
 them ; or, " they are led [in safety] in the day 
 of wrath" which comes upon the community ; 
 margin, the day of icraihs great or accu- 
 mulated wrath, as Rev. vi. ]7). Job's first 
 position God destroys, by external calami- 
 ties, the righteous and the wicked indis- 
 criminately (ch. ix. 22, 23). His second- 
 The wicked are often spared in the midst of 
 such calamities, spared in ease and pros- 
 perity, and spared long. Rests his asser- 
 tions on facts. These facts not invalidated by 
 occasional examples of the contrary. These 
 in perfect harmony with, and even when 
 rightly viewed, a confirmation of, a future 
 retribution. Every clay of wrath in this 
 world points its finger to a still greater one 
 in the next. 
 
 XI. Returns to the prosperity and 
 power of the wicked as following them 
 even to the grave. 
 
 The ungodly often so powerful as to escape 
 all reproof and punishment for their crimes in 
 this world (verse 31). " Who shall declare 
 his way to his face? and who shall repay 
 him what he hath done ? " None bold enough 
 for the one, or powerful enough for the other. 
 The case of John the Baptist in relation to 
 Herod the Tetrarch, a rare one, especially 
 in those early times. Verse 32. " Yet 
 shall he (or 'even this man 5 ) be brought 
 (conveyed in pomp and honour) to the grave. 
 (Margin, ' graves,' the place of graves ; or 
 f.he sepulchral grot, with its various apart- 
 nents and numerous niches for the dead j 
 
 or an eminent and magnificent grave a large 
 and splendid mausoleum, perhaps a pyramid) ; 
 and shall remain in the tomb," (Margin, 
 " shall watch in the heap ; " shall appear 
 still to live at his tomb, as embalmed and 
 preserved from corruption, or as represented 
 by his statue or other memorial ; or " watch 
 shall be kept [by others] at his tomb," to 
 preserve it and do him honour). Honour 
 not only attends him in life, but follows him 
 to the tomb both in and after his death. 
 So " the rich man died and was buried," i.e. 
 had a large and splendid funeral ; nothing 
 said of the burial of Lazarus (Luke xvi. 22). 
 The pompous funeral of the wicked also a 
 noticeable object in the days of the royal 
 preacher (Ecc. viit. 10). Verse 33. "The 
 clods of the valley shall be sweet unto him." 
 Buried, like great men, at the foot of a 
 mountain where the winter stream keeps 
 moist the sods that cover him. He has a 
 pleasant resting-place for his remains, and 
 the sod lies softly upon him. Apparently 
 as enviable in his death as he had been in his 
 life. Himself still supposed to enjoy in the 
 spirit-world the honour done to his earthly 
 remains, and the agreeable circumstances 
 which attend them. Pleasing delusion of 
 the imagination ! The experience of the 
 rich man in hell (Hades or the spirit-world) 
 the opposite of that suggested by his costly 
 funeral and beautifully adorned grave. "And 
 every man shall draw after him as there are 
 innumerable before him." His death no 
 solitary case. Death the common lot of 
 fallen humanity, without respect to character 
 or conduct. The wicked abundantly ac- 
 companied in the spirit-world. Company 
 however no alleviation. The second desire 
 of the rich man in Hades, that his five 
 brethren might not come also to that place 
 of torment (Luke xvi. 28). The presence 
 of others rather an aggravation than a 
 relief. 
 
 XII. Conclusion (verse 34). The friend's 
 consolation vain because grounded on false 
 principles. "How then comfort ye me in 
 vain, seeing that in your answers there re- 
 maineth falsehood" (Margin, "transgres- 
 sions," opposition to the truth, or, malice 
 and evil intent). Consolation, to be of any 
 value, to be grounded on right principles. 
 Must be (1) True, in i\\e matter; accord- 
 ing to the Word of God, the only infallible 
 standard. (2) Suitable in its application; 
 adapted to the circumstances of the case, 
 and of the individual addressed. Truth mis- 
 applied becomes error. (3) Loving, in its 
 manner truth spoken in love. Truth, 
 spoken harshly and uncharitably, irritates 
 rather than heals the wounded spirit. "False- 
 hood " the answers and arguments of Job's 
 
 133
 
 C1IA1'. XXII. 
 
 HOMILETIC COMMENTARY: JOB. 
 
 friends, inasmuch as they maintained (1) 
 That God acts, in His government of the 
 world, in a way which He does not ; uniformly 
 visiting the sins of the ungodly upon them 
 in the present life, and rewarding the godly 
 with worldly prosperity and ease. (2) That, 
 according to these principles, those who are 
 great sufferers must be great sinners. (3) 
 That the only way to be delivered from such 
 suffering, and to enjoy such prosperity, is 
 
 by acknowledgment of sin and a turning 
 from it to God, to be with that view imme- 
 diately made by the sufferer, and therefore 
 by Job himself. Malice or evil intent in 
 their answers ; their aim being to make Job 
 a grievous transgressor in the sight of God, 
 and one who was suffering justly the punish- 
 ment of his sins the "devices thef wrong- 
 fully imagined against him " (ch. xxi.). Their 
 offence not only against truth but charity. 
 
 CHAPTEE XXII. 
 THIRD SPEECH OF ELIPHAZ THE TEMANITE. 
 
 Remonstrates with Job on his self-righte- 
 ousness, and plainly charges him with griev- 
 ous transgressions as the cause of his present 
 sufferings ; concludes with promises of pros- 
 perity and blessing on his repentance. 
 
 I. Reproves his apparent pride and 
 self- righteousness (verse 2 4) God laid 
 under no obligation by his piety. " Can a 
 man be profitable unto God as lie that is 
 wise is profitable to himself ? (or, when he by 
 acting wisely profits himself; Margin, 'if he 
 may be profitable, does his good success 
 depend on himself? ') Is it any pleasure to 
 the Almighty that thou act righteous ? or 
 is it gain to Him that thou niakcst thy ways 
 perfect ? Will he reprove thee for fear 
 of thee (lest He suffer injury and loss by 
 thy conduct)? Will He enter with thee 
 into judgment (to recover His right as an 
 injured person) ? " Observe 
 
 1. God under no obligation to I real men 
 li'.'ticr than lie docs. God no man's debtor. 
 A secret feeling at the bottom of men's com- 
 plaint against His providential dealings, as if 
 they were wronged by Him and had a right 
 to expect better treatment. On the con- 
 trary, all treated infinitely better than they 
 deserve. All good in men is from God, not 
 themselves. Men come infinitely short of 
 rendering to God what He has a right to as 
 their Creator, Preserver, and constant Bene- 
 factor. 
 
 2. God's glory and Jtc/ppincss independent 
 of man's conduct. God no loser by men's 
 want of religion, nor gainer by their practice 
 of it (Ps. xvi. 2). God reproves men not 
 from fear of them, but from lore to them 
 (Rev. iii. 19). Men never too bad for Him 
 to love them, nor too great for Him to fear 
 them. God neither rebukes the good from 
 unkindness, nor the great from fear. Still 
 true (1) That men may, through grace, pro- 
 mote God's glory and advance His kingdom 
 in the world ; (2) That He has pleasure in 
 holy men and in their holv lives (Ps. cxlvii. 
 1 1 ; Prov. xi. 20) ; (3) That men have it 
 
 J34 
 
 in their power to render to God His rightful 
 claim, or to rob Him of what is His (Mai. 
 iii. 8). This the grievous sin not only of 
 the Jews, but of men in general (Matt. xxi. 
 34,41). 
 
 3. True wisdom always profitable to. the 
 possessor of it. That wisdom the fear of 
 God and a life of godliness. Wisdom the 
 knowledge, choice, and pursuit of the best 
 end by the best means. Here equivalent to 
 being "righteous," or "making one's ways 
 perfect " or upright. Profitable in regard 
 both to body and soul, time and eternity. 
 Godliness with contentment great gain (1 
 Tim. vi. 0). The gains of religion infinitely 
 greater than its losses. Wisdom's ways 
 pleasantness and peace. Length of days 
 in her right hand, in her left riches and 
 honour. Godliness profitableness unto all 
 things (1 Tim. iv. 8). Iso good which is 
 not gained by it ; nothing lost by it which 
 we arc not the better by losing. 
 
 II. Charges Job with multiplied and 
 grievous transgressions (verse 5 9). 
 
 1 . In r/enerfil terms (verse 5). " Is not 
 thy wickedness great and thine iniquities 
 infinite ? " True, more or less, of all men, 
 Job included. Not however in the sense 
 of Eliphaz. According to Eliphaz, Job's 
 wickedness great in comparison with that 
 of other men, and with his own. The thought 
 that of the Pharisee in the temple. Great 
 and multiplied transgressions humbly ac- 
 knowledged by the best (Ps. xxv. 11 ; 
 xl. 12; Ezra ix. 61). The certain result of 
 a fallen and corrupt nature (Matt. xv. 1 ( J; 
 Gen. vi. 5 ; viii. 21). Corrupt streams 
 constantly flow from a corrupt spring. Yet 
 along with this, in Job and in all good men, 
 a nature opposed to evil. Hence (1) the 
 evil resisted, held in check, weakened, and 
 more or less overcome ; (2) Good, though 
 imperfectly, yet with more or less uniformity 
 performed. Truly good men, in virtue of 
 a two-fold nature, both saints and sinners. 
 The former icith their will, the latter against
 
 1IOMILETIC COMMENTARY: JOB. 
 
 C11AP. XXII. 
 
 it. Good men do good, but not all they 
 would, or any as they would. Do evil, but 
 not all they otherwise would, nor would they 
 do any (Gal. v. 17). Observe (i.) All 
 wickedness great , as committed (a) Against 
 a great God ; (b) Against great obligations 
 to the contrary; (c) With comparatively 
 little inducement to commit it; (d) With 
 great evil as the result both to ourselves and 
 others, (ii.) The wickedness of some greater 
 than that of others; as committed (a) With 
 greater boldness; (b) Under great obligations 
 to the contrary ; (c) With greater know- 
 ledge and means of resistance ; (d) With 
 less temptation to the commission of it. 
 (iii.) Men' 's iniquities infinite as () Against 
 an infinite God ; (b] Against infinite obliga- 
 tions to the contrary ; (c} Numberless ; (d) 
 Incessant during life ; (e) But for Divine 
 grace, continuing to be committed through- 
 out eternity ; (/) Attended with infinitely 
 disastrous results. Sins committed against 
 infinite majesty and goodness have in them 
 an infinite malignity and greatness. 
 
 2. Charges him with specific crimes (verse 
 6 9.) (1) Cruelty and wrong (verse 6). 
 " Thou hast taken a pledge from the poor for 
 nought," unjustly, when nothing, or next 
 to nothing, was due; taking, his garment 
 from him for that purpose without restoring 
 it to him by sunset, as afterwards required 
 by the law (Ex. xxii. 26 27), and as was 
 always the part of a right-minded man, the 
 poor man's garment by day being also his 
 covering by night. Somciimes the bed 
 itself taken as a pledge by rapacious and un- 
 feeling creditors (Prov. xxii. 27). The sin 
 of not restoring the pledge spoken of as not 
 uncommon among the Jews in the days of 
 the prophets (Ezek. xviii. 12; Amos. i. 8). 
 This alleged sin of Job's marked by Eliphaz 
 as particularly heinous from its being com- 
 mitted against a "brother." The "brother" 
 not necessarily a relative, or even a country- 
 man. All men brethren. All wrong done to 
 our fellowmen done to our " brother." 
 " Sirs, ye are brethren," a powerful reason 
 for not wronging one another (Acts. vii. 26 ; 
 Exod. ii. 11), &c. The charge enlarged 
 upon. "Thou hast stripped the naked 
 (the poor and poorly clad) of their clothing," 
 the large upper garment, or Arab hyke, 
 worn as a garment by day and serving as a 
 covering to sleep in at night. Among the 
 articles taken and kept by rapacious and 
 hard-hearted creditors. This charge the very 
 opposite of Job's character (ch. xxix. 12 
 17; xxxi. 19, 20). (-2) Want of kindness 
 and ' charity to the poor and needy (verse 
 7.) " Thou hast not given water to the 
 weary to drink, and thou hast witholden 
 bread from the hungry." Acts of kindness 
 and hospitality particularly required in the 
 
 East, and especially at that early period: 
 no inns for travellers ; people often poor ; 
 travelling generally performed on foot; 
 climate hot and creating thirst; water 
 often scarce and always precious ; in- 
 habitants often plundered by marauders, 
 and forced to wander from house and home 
 by invaders. Hence duties of hospitality 
 held peculiarly sacred among Orientals, 
 especially in Arabia (Gen. xviii. 4. 5 ; xix. 2; 
 xxi. Ii, 15; xxviii. 11; Ex. ii. 15). Foun- 
 tains even in cities often bequeathed by 
 wealthy Arabs for the free use of the poor, 
 as well as money to provide persons to dis- 
 pense it gratuitously in the streets. Job's 
 actual conduct the reverse of that here 
 ascribed to him (ch. xxxi. 17, 32). (3) 
 Partiality to the rich (verse 8). "But as 
 for the mighty man, he had the earth (or 
 land), and the honourable man dwelt in it." 
 Reference probably intended to Job's judicial 
 conduct as an Arab chief, emir, or prince. 
 The charge that of neglecting and wronging 
 the poor, while the rich and mighty were 
 favoured. The former expelled from their 
 homes and inheritances to make room for 
 the latter. Violence and wron on the 
 part of the great connived at. Partiality 
 to the rich a grievous offence in the sight of 
 God (Prov. xxviii. 21). Especially on the 
 part of judges and magistrates (Lev. xix. 15). 
 Condemned as existing in early Christian 
 churches (James ii. 1 9). To feast the 
 rich and neglect to feed the poor, the oppo- 
 site of Christ's rule (Luke xiv. 12 14). 
 The peculiar temptation of the rich. (4^ 
 Neglect and oppression of the icidow and 
 fatherless (verse 9). "Thou hast sent the 
 widows away empty, and the arms of the 
 fatherless have been broken," their support 
 and means of subsistence taken from them, 
 either by Job himself, or by others with his 
 connivance. His alleged conduct either as 
 that of a rich and powerful man in private 
 life, or of a judge and magistrate, such as 
 Job actually was (ch. xxix. 7 17. The 
 conduct here ascribed to him that of the 
 unjust judge in the Parable (Luke xviii. 2 
 5). The opposite of Job's real conduct (ch. 
 xxi. 1217; xxxi. 17,18, 21). The offence 
 laid to his charge one of the most aggravated. 
 Neglect of the cause of an injured person a 
 grievous offence on the part of the judge or 
 magistrate ; still more so when the cause is 
 ( hat of those who are bereft of their natural 
 defenders and unable to defend themselves. 
 To injure any a sin in the sight of God; 
 an aggravated sin to injure the widow and 
 the fatherless. Widows and fatherless children 
 entitled to pity ; still more to justice. Not 
 to assist such, a sin; a still greater one to 
 injure them. The widow and fatherless 
 especially cared for by God (Ps. Ixviii. 5). 
 
 135
 
 CHAP. XXII. 
 
 IIOMILETIC COMMENTARY: JOB. 
 
 The same required by Him of others, both 
 under the law (Exod. xxii. 22) and under 
 the Gospel (James, i. 27). 
 
 These charges exhibit (1) The wrong 
 done to Job by his friends; (2) The trial 
 thus endured by himself. The open expres- 
 sion of what had been their secret thoughts 
 from the first of their visit (ch. xxi. '27). 
 False charges both a grievous wrong against 
 men and a heinous sin against God. An 
 aggravation when, as in this case, laid against 
 a srood man and a friend. 
 
 The multiplicity and magnitude of Job's 
 offences only inferred by Eliphaz from his 
 extraordinary sufferings. His false and un- 
 charitable charges the result of a false philo- 
 sophy and mistaken views of the Divine 
 foveruir.ent. Errors in religion no less con- 
 emnable in themselves or injurious in their 
 consequences from being sincerely held and 
 earnestly defended. Christ's followers often 
 put to cruel deaths under the impression of 
 doing God service (John xvi. 2). No new 
 thing for God's faithful servants to have 
 things laid to their charge, of which they not 
 only are innocent, but which they utterly 
 abhor. Innocence itself no security against 
 false and abominable charges. Christ put 
 to death under a charge of blasphemy. 
 Stigmatized as a drunkard and a glutton, a 
 deceiver of the people and exciter of sedi- 
 tion. 
 
 III. Imputes Job's calamities directly 
 
 to his sins (verse 9). "Therefore snares are 
 round about thee, and sudden fear troubleth 
 thee ; or darkness that thou canst not see 
 [any way of escape] and abundance of waters 
 ( overwhelming troubles) cover thee." 
 Refers (1) To his sudden and multiplied 
 calamities ; (2) To his inward darkness and 
 distress ; (3) To his perplexity and confu- 
 sion of mind, both as to the cause of his 
 troubles and any way of escape out of them. 
 Fear and consternation the natural result of 
 great, unlocked for, and successive calami- 
 ties. Job's present experience. His case an 
 apparent contravention of the promise: "He 
 shall not be afraid of evil tidings (Ps. cxii. 
 7). Calmness and fearlessness in reference 
 to calamity and trouble the believer's duty 
 and privilege (Phil. iv. 67). Christ in the 
 midst of the storm : "It is I, be not afraid." 
 Job's great troubles, according to Eliphaz, 
 due to great sins. No sins likely to be more 
 severely visited than those falsely charged 
 upon him unmercifulness to and oppression 
 of the poor and needy. He shall have judg- 
 ment without mercy that hath shewed no 
 Tnercy (James ii. 13). No louder cry tlian 
 that of wrong done to the widow, the father- 
 less, and the poor (James v. 41 
 136 
 
 IV. Charges Job with iiifldel princi- 
 ples (verses 11 14). "Is not God in the 
 height of heaven ? And behold the height 
 of the stars how high they are !" As spoken 
 by Eliphaz himself, expresses the Divine 
 supremacy over all even the highest created 
 beings and the ability of God to take full 
 cognizance of t he affairs of men. As possibly 
 ascribed by him to Job expressed the sup- 
 posed distance of God from this lower world, 
 and the consequent unlikelihood of his taking 
 any notice of human affairs. "And ('yet' 
 or ' therefore ') thou saycst [in effect, if not 
 in so many words]. How (Margin, what) 
 doth God know ? Can he judge ( rule in 
 the affairs of men) through the thick cloud ? 
 Thick clouds are a covering to him that He 
 seeth not ; and He walketh in the circuit of 
 heaven." The sentiment here falsely ascribed 
 to Job that of a heart blinded by sin and 
 alienated from God, God too far off and too 
 much occupied with higher things than to 
 care for or take cognizance of human affairs 
 (Ps. x. 11 ; Ixxiii. 11). Finite man thinks 
 of God as finite and imperfect like himself. 
 Perhaps in this case the wish the father to 
 the thought. The fool hath said in his heart, 
 "There is no God " to take cognizance 
 of earthly things (Ps. xiv. 1). God's omni- 
 presence and omniscience little realized be- 
 cause little loved. Hence (1) Indulgence 
 in a course of sin and oppression such as is 
 here falsely ascribed to Job ; (2) Murmuring 
 under trouble and oppression as if God took 
 no heed either of man's doings or sufferings. 
 Even a child of God, under deep and accu- 
 mulated afflictions, tempted with such unbe- 
 lieving and God-dishonouring thoughts. 
 Faith in God's omnipresence, omniscience, 
 and all-superintending Providence, our com- 
 fort in trouble and our guard in temptation. 
 The worst sentiments often falsely ascribed 
 to the children of God. "Blessed are ye 
 when man shall say all manner of evil against 
 you for my sake " (Matt. v. 11). 
 
 The immense height or distance of the 
 stars impressive even to ordinary observers. 
 That distance, however, probably much 
 greater than could be dreamt of in the days 
 of Eliphaz. The nearest fixed star thousands 
 of millions of miles distant. Millions of 
 stars thousands of times more distant still. 
 The Milky Way, "powdered with stars," an 
 immense cluster of stars too distant to be 
 distinguished as such by the naked eye. 
 Stars so distant that their light travelling at 
 the same rate as that of the sun only reaches 
 us so as to render them visible after thou- 
 sands of years. A false and foolish conclu- 
 sion that because God is present with and 
 governs those distant worlds or suns, he 
 cannot be supposed to superintend or care 
 for the affairs of this minor planet. Go'. 1 .
 
 UOUILETIC COMMENTARY: JOB. 
 
 CIIAP. XXII. 
 
 necessarily equally present in, and equally 
 cognisant of, every part of his boundless 
 dominions. The most distant and the most 
 minute of His creatures equally and at once 
 observed by His eye and supported by His 
 hand. The same omniscience that numbers 
 the stars numbers also the hairs of our head. 
 Divinely enlightened reason sees everywhere 
 
 " The unambiguous footsteps of the (!od 
 Who gives its lustre to an insect's wing. 
 And wheels His throne upon the rolling 
 worlds." 
 
 Universal government no burden to an 
 infinite God. An animalcule shares His at- 
 tention with a sun, a worm with a seraph. 
 God higher than the highest star, yet nearer 
 to both reader and writer than his nearest 
 friend. Hence : 
 
 1. God infinitely glorious and worthy of 
 all adoration. "The heavens declare the 
 glory of God" (Ps. xix. 1). 
 
 2. Submission to God in all circumstances 
 the creature's duty. 
 
 3. Trust in God, under the severest trials, 
 the believer's privilege. 
 
 4. Awful infidelity of the heart to ignore 
 God and expel Him from His own world. 
 
 5. Dreadful nature of sin that despises 
 and rebels against a God at once so infinitely 
 great and good. 
 
 V. Adduces as a warning to Job the 
 example of the antediluvian world 
 (verse 15 20). "Hast thou marked the 
 old way which wicked men have trodden ? 
 Which were cut down out of time (or pre- 
 maturely), whose foundation was overflown 
 with a flood (Margin, ' a flood was poured 
 upon their foundations; 'or, 'a river poured 
 forth was their foundation,' i.e., their dwel- 
 ling which seemed most secure, or all they 
 trusted in) ; which said unto God, Depart 
 from us, and what can the Almighty do for 
 them (or, ' for us,' or ' to us ') ? " Yet he 
 filled their houses with good things: but, Hie 
 counsel of the wicked is far from me (either 
 the protest of Eliphaz himself against the 
 principles and practice of those antediluvian 
 sinners, and others like them, or perhaps the 
 words of Job repeated in irony). The 
 righteous see it (viz., the destruction of the 
 ungodly) and are glad, and the innocent 
 laugh them to scorn (Ps.lii. 6; Iviii. 10, 11). 
 Whereas our substance is not cut down (or, 
 'verily our adversary is destroyed') ; but (or 
 'and') the remnant of them (Margin, ' their 
 excellency ') the fire devoureth." Possible 
 allusion to the destruction of the cities of 
 the Plain, with a cruel side-glance at Job's 
 own losses and the occasion of one of them. 
 Observe : 
 
 1. Some dealt with by God in judgment 
 for the warning of others (2 Pet. ii. G). 
 
 2. Sin an "old way," older than the world 
 itself, trodden by the angels that fell, and 
 then by the world before the Flood (Gen. 
 vi. 5.) 
 
 3. A course of sin sooner or later ends in 
 suffering. Sin, though an old and well- 
 trodden way, as dangerous and disastrous 
 as ever (Rom. vi. 23). 
 
 4. The conduct of sinners and its fatal 
 consequences to be carefully "marked" and 
 avoided. 
 
 5. The firmest earthly possession easily 
 swept away by the judgments of God; 
 "whose foundation," &c. 
 
 6. Dislike of God the essence of sin and 
 the root of a sinful life; ' Which said unto 
 God, Depart from us." 
 
 7. God and sin unable to dwell together 
 at peace in the same heart. 
 
 8. The unrenewed heart unable to get 
 God far enough ; the renewed one unable to 
 get Him near enough. 
 
 9. The baseness and blindness of sin. 
 Like the man who turns his best friend and 
 benefactor out of doors. 
 
 10. The ungodly often the most prosperous 
 in this world. " He filled their houses," &c. 
 
 11. The part of the impenitent to despise 
 God's goodness as well as defy His power 
 (Rom. ii. 4). 
 
 12. God's multiplied favours a fearful 
 aggravation of a sinful life. " Yet He filled 
 tlieir houses," &c. Sad when a house full 
 of good things is not accompanied with a 
 heart full of grace. 
 
 13. A constant protest to be entered 
 against an ungodly life, however prosperous. 
 The " counsel of the wicked," however fair 
 and flattering, to be kept far from us. 
 
 14. Prosperous wickedness and suffering 
 piety only for a time. A day cometh when 
 the tables will be turned. " Blessed are ye 
 that weep now, for yc shall laugh; woe unto 
 you that laugh now, for yc shall mourn and 
 weep " (Luke vi. 21 25). Abraham's 
 " Son, remember " (Luke xvi. 25). 
 
 15. The righteous glad, not at the sinner's 
 calamity itself, but at the holiness and justice 
 of God appearing in it. The Creator's cha- 
 racter dearer to holy men and angels than 
 the creature's comfort. 
 
 16. Proud and presumptuous sinners at 
 at last put to shame (Dan. xii. 2). 
 
 17. Happy when we can truly rank our- 
 selves with the godly. " Whereas our sub- 
 stance," &c., i.e. that of the righteous ; or, 
 "Truly our adversary," &c. God's saints 
 regard His adversaries as their own. 
 
 VI. Exhorts to repentance and piety 
 
 (verse 2123). 
 
 1. Exhortation to submission and reconcilia- 
 tion with God (verse 21). "Acquaint now 
 
 137
 
 cir.u'. xxii. 
 
 HOMILET1C COMMENTARY: JOB. 
 
 thyself (or, 'Submit thyself, and cultivate 
 friendship and fellowship') with Him, and 
 be at peace ; thereby good shall conic unto 
 thee" (or, "thine increase shall be good"). 
 Precious exhortation, but unjustly addressed 
 to Job, as if still estranged from God. Con- 
 tains : 
 
 First, the Exhortation proper. Two parts. 
 Part First. 
 
 " Acquaint thyself with God." 
 
 Acquaintance or friendship with God our 
 first duty and highest interest. Implies 
 (1) Knowledge of God. Knowledge necessary 
 to acquaintanceship. To have friendship 
 with God we must know Him, as far as He 
 is pleased to reveal Himself, and as far as 
 creatures can know Him, in His nature, His 
 attributes and His relations. God to be 
 known as a Spirit, and as a Unity in Three 
 Persons, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. To 
 be known as infinite, eternal, and unchang- 
 ing ; as omnipresent, omniscient, and omni- 
 potent; as holy, just, wise, and good. To be 
 known as our Creator, Preserver, Governor, 
 and through the incarnation, obedience, and 
 death of His Sou, our Redeemer. To be 
 known in part from His works, but most 
 from His Word. Only, rightly and savingly 
 known through the inward illumination and 
 revelation of His Holy Spirit. To be known 
 as revealed in His Son Jesus Christ (John 
 xiv. 9). Power given to Christ by the Father 
 to communicate the saving knowledge of 
 Himself to men (Matt. xi. 27 ; John xvii. 2, 
 3). The Sou's mission to reveal the Father 
 (John i. 18). Knowledge of God to be 
 obtained (i.) Through attention to and faith 
 in the Worn that reveals Him. The Scriptures 
 testify of Christ ; therefore to be searched 
 (John v. 39). (ii.) Through earnest prayer 
 for Divine illumination and teaching (Prov. 
 ii. 3 5). Wisdom, including the true know- 
 ledge of God, given by God Himself in 
 answer to believing prayer (James i. 4). 
 (iii.) Through application to and accepter/ice 
 of Christ as a Saviour. One part of His 
 work as a Saviour, to teach, enlighten, and 
 communicate the saving knowledge of God 
 (Matt. ii. 2729 ; John xvii. 2, 3). Christ 
 Himself made wisdom to those who receive 
 and trust in Him (1 Cor. i. 30). (2) Sub- 
 mission to God. Submission to God the first 
 duty of a creature. Necessary to acquaint- 
 ance and friendly intercourse with God. 
 God's gracious regard directed to the humble 
 and submissive (Isa. Ixvi. 2). Submission 
 the first lesson in the school of Christ, and 
 the first step to the enjoyment of the "Divine 
 favour and friendship (Matt. xi. 27 29). 
 (3) Reconciliation with God. Man, through 
 sin, in a state of enmity with God. As a 
 
 138 
 
 transgressor of His law, is under condemna- 
 tion. Sin to be forgiven, and man reconciled 
 to God before any enjoyment of acquaintance- 
 ship or friendly intercourse. Reconciliation 
 with God the object of the Son's incarnation 
 and vicarious death. Sin a separating element 
 between God and His creatures. The sword 
 of justice between God and the sinner. To 
 be sheathed before any friendly fellowship 
 can exist. Only sheathed when satisfaction 
 has been made to law and justice for trans- 
 gression. To be first stained with the blood 
 of a substitute. Hence the oblation of 
 sacrifices. Christ the only true Sacrifice and 
 Substitute. Men reconciled to God by His 
 blood (Eph. ii. 13 16 ; Col. i. 21,22; Rom. 
 v. 10). (4) Conformity to God's will and 
 character. Agreement in spirit and principles 
 necessary to friendship and fellowship (Amos 
 iii. 3). Conformity to God's will and ways a 
 creature's highest duty and interest. With- 
 out it man's spirit a troubled sea that cannot 
 rest. (5) Friendly walk and fellowship with 
 God. The end of all the preceding. The 
 highest happiness of a creature. Our privi- 
 lege in this life, our blessedness in the next 
 (Rev. iii. 4). The testimony borne to Enoch 
 and Noah before the Flood : they " walked 
 with God." The third duty required of man 
 (Mic. vi. 8). Abraham the friend of God. 
 God's friendship and fellowship man's highest 
 happiness in Paradise (Gen. ii. 8). Lost by 
 the Fall, but restored in Christ (John xiv. 23). 
 The secret of happiness in a suffering world 
 and of contentment in every lot. He cannot 
 be unhappy who has the Almighty for his 
 friend. Observe (i.) Our honour to le /[/</" 
 capable of acquaintance and felloicship with 
 God. Heaven, its endless enjoyment ; hell, 
 its irrecoverable loss, (ii.) Ecer increasing 
 acquaintance with God, in and through Jesus 
 Christ, our precious privilege. 
 Second part of exhortation : 
 
 "Be at peace." 
 
 Peace the sweetest word in any language. 
 Includes all good. God's best gift. God 
 the God of peace. True peace the "peace 
 of God." Peace on earth the object and 
 result of the Saviour's incarnation (Luke ii. 
 14). Peace the purchase of His blood. Christ 
 Himself our peace. His title ' the Prince of 
 Peace.' Peace His legacy and gift to His 
 followers. Imparts His own peace (John 
 xiv. 27). Gives it not in word as a mere 
 salutation, but in reality and experience. 
 Peace either external or internal. The former 
 precious ; the latter still more so. In this 
 world, the believers enjoy the latter without 
 the former (John xvi. 33). In the next, they 
 enjoy both. Acquaintance with God Hie 
 only way to peace. The world without peace
 
 I10MILETIC COMMENTARY: JOB. 
 
 C1IAP. XXII. 
 
 because without God. Sometimes an external 
 peace enjoyed without the internal. True 
 peace only to be found in Him who is our 
 peace. No peace without pardon, no pardon 
 without Christ. Peace with God before peace 
 in ourselves. Peace offered by God through 
 the death of His Son. The Gospel an am- 
 bassage of peace from the King of kings. 
 God in Christ reconciling the world to Him- 
 self, and now beseeching men to be reconciled 
 to Him (2 Cor. v. 1921). Peace with God 
 the immediate result of crediting the mes- 
 sage and accepting the offer (Rom. v. 1). 
 Followed by internal peace (Phil. iv. 6, 7). 
 Preserved by trust in Christ, and obedience 
 as its fruit. Christ trusted in, as our Surety 
 and Substitute, our peace as sinners ; Christ 
 followed as our Master and Pattern, our 
 peace as saints. 
 
 Second. The Promise attached to the 
 exhortation proper : " Thereby good shall 
 come unto thee." Peace with God brings 
 every blessing in its train (Rom. v. 1), &c. 
 No good withheld "from them that walk 
 uprightly," as His reconciled and obedient 
 children (Ps. Ixxxiv. 11). All things made 
 to work together for good to them that love 
 God (Rom. viii. 28). Afflictions and trials 
 converted into blessings (Heb. xii. 11). To 
 the submissive and believing, good comes in 
 this life ; still more in the life to come, 
 Present good to believers only a foretaste of 
 the future. Suffering with Christ here, 
 glorified with Him hereafter. Death sepa- 
 rates them from all evil, and introduces them 
 into all good. Peace on earth crowned with 
 glory in heaven. 
 
 2. Exhortation to a cordial acceptance of 
 and, attention to Divine teaching and admonition 
 (verse 22). " Receive, I pray thee, the law at 
 His mouth, and lay uplliswords in thineheart." 
 The enjoyment of peace to be followed by a 
 life of purity. Friendship with God in- 
 separable from obedience to Him. Christ's 
 yoke accepted with rest imparted (Matt. xi. 
 28, 29). The rest continued as the yoke is 
 carried. Mary afc peace sits down at the 
 Master's feet and hears His words. God a 
 King as well as a Father and Friend. Christ 
 a Master as well as a Saviour. With Christ, 
 the law given as a directory of conduct, not 
 as a covenant of life. At first given with 
 " Do this and live ;" now given with, 
 "Live and do this." Our happiness, that 
 the law is to be received at the hands of 
 Him who has Himself fulfilled its commands 
 and endured its curse as our Surety. The 
 same pierced hands that purchased peace 
 for our enjoyment, presents the law for our 
 obedience. The peace of the Gospel pre- 
 served by obedience to the law. 
 
 The law from God's "mouth," spoken and 
 given by Himself. At first given to man at his 
 
 creation; afterwards on various occasions, 
 and in different ways. God spake to the 
 fathers at sundry times and in divers manners 
 (Heb. i. 1). The "law" here probably 
 equivalent to " His words" in the next clause. 
 The directory not only of our conduct but of 
 our faith. Taken in a general sense as includ- 
 ing both law and Gospel, precept and promise. 
 God's Law, not our own will or reason, 
 or the maxims and customs of the world 
 to be the guide of our practice and opinions. 
 God's law to be "received," (1) By 
 reverent attention ; (2) Thankful receptance ; 
 (3) Cordial faith; (4) Cheerful obedience; 
 (5) Humble submission. To be not merely 
 read but "received." God's law one of His 
 most precious gifts (Hos. viii. 12 ; Ps. exlvi. 
 19, 20). His law, properly so called, as much 
 a gift as his Gospel. 
 
 God's "words" to be "laid up in our 
 heart," for remembrance, meditation, and 
 use. To be laid up as our most precious 
 treasure. To be laid up, not in our chest or 
 our chamber, but in our heart. To be hidden 
 in the heart that we may not sin (Ps. cxix. 
 11). So treasured by Christ, and ready for 
 use in the hour of temptation (Ps. xl. 8 ; 
 Matt. iv. 4). To be laid up in the heart, 
 (1) By deep attention; (2) Frequent 
 reading or hearing; (3) Serious reflection. 
 Not only to be learned but "laid up." The 
 mark of a loving child to prize, ponder, and 
 preserve the words of an absent parent. 
 God's words laid up/br us in the Scripture, 
 and to be laid up by us in our heart. Worthy 
 to be so laid up as our choicest treasure 
 (Ps. xix. 10). God's words both words of 
 promise and precept, wooing, and warning. 
 Given both for direction and comfort. 
 Found both in the Old and New Testaments. 
 
 VII. Holds forth various promises 
 with conditions (verse 23 30). 
 
 "If thou return to the Almighty, thou 
 shalt be built up (more especially in a family, 
 with a new and numerous race of children) ; 
 thou shalt (rather, 'if thou shalt') put away 
 iniquity (or wrong doing) far from thy 
 tabernacles (plural, Job addressed as a 
 chief or emir) ; then shalt thou lay up gold 
 as the dust (or, as Margin, 'and lay the 
 precious metals on the dust,' as things of 
 no value and only to be trodden on), and the 
 gold of Ophir (a place in Arabia distinguished 
 for its gold) as (or 'on') the stones of the 
 brooks; then shall the Almighty be thy 
 defence (Margin, 'thy gold'), and Ihou 
 shalt have plenty of silver (or, ; and [he 
 shall be] treasures of silver unto thee'). 
 For (or c yea,' a still greater blessing) 
 thou shalt iiave thy delight in the Almighty, 
 and shall lift up thy face unto God. Thou 
 shalt make thv prayer unto him (as incense), 
 
 139
 
 CHAP. XXII. 
 
 HOMILETIC COMMENTARY: JOB. 
 
 and he shall hear thec, and thou shalt per- 
 form thy vows [on thy prayer being answered]. 
 Thou shalt also decree (or purpose) a thing 
 and it shall be established unto thee, and 
 the light [of prosperity and the Divine 
 blessing] shall shine upon thy ways. When 
 men are cast down (or 'shall cast [thee] 
 down' ; or, ' shall humble themselves'), 
 then thou shalt say [in confident assurance], 
 there is (or ' shall be') lifting up ; and he 
 shall save the humble person. He (i.e. 
 God) shall deliver the island (or 'the country' 
 or ' dwelling ') of the innocent (or, ' He 
 shall deliver him that is not innocent', viz., 
 at thy intercession), and it is delivered (or, 
 ' he shall be delivered') by the purcness of 
 thy hands." Three conditions 
 
 1. Returning to God. "If thou return to 
 the Almighty, return home to Him as a 
 prodigal to his father, so as again to be 
 united to him and to the family, return to 
 Him in submission, obedience and love. Job 
 unjustly regarded as having forsaken God 
 and cast off his fear (ch. xv. 4.) Always 
 true that the first step to a sinner's happiness 
 is returning to God : " I will arise and go to 
 my Father." All we like sheep have gone 
 astray. God's constant call to the uncon- 
 verted : Turn ye, turn ye ; for why will ye 
 die ? " To the Almighty." " To" emphatic, 
 even or quite to Him ; not only in good in- 
 clinations and beginnings, but fully and 
 thoroughly. " He arose and -went to His 
 Tather." Not enough to turn from sin., but 
 to return to God (Jer. iv. 1; Hos. vii. 16). 
 Christ the way back to the Father (John xiv. 
 G). Returning to God a necessary condition 
 of God returning to us (Mai. iii. 7). Im- 
 portant prayer (Jer. xxxi. 18). 
 
 2. Putting iniquity far from us and from 
 our dwelling. " Thou shalt put iniquity far 
 from thy tabernacles." No true returning 
 to God without turning from sin. God and 
 sin at opposite poles; the face to the one, 
 the back to the other. No friendship with 
 God without a falling out with sin. Sin 
 the abominable thing which God hates (Jer. 
 xliv. 4). To be put away not only from 
 ourselves but from our dwelling. A man 
 responsible for what is done in his house. 
 David's resolution (Ps. ci. 3 7). Joshua's 
 (Josh. xxiv. 15). Much of a man's sin com- 
 mitted in his own house. A man to purify 
 nis house as well as his heart. Job's piety 
 seen in his care about his children's conduct 
 as well as his own (ch. i. 6). Iniquity not 
 only to be put away but far away (ch. xxi. 
 16). Sin represented here as " iniquity." 
 Sin many-sided. Here especially its rela- 
 tion to our neighbour. Injustice, oppression, 
 wrong, retention of dishonest gain, incon- 
 sistent with the enjoyment of the Divine 
 favour and blessing. 
 
 140 
 
 3. Ceasing to love ami trust in riches. 
 " Lay gold on the dust," (Maryin}. The heart 
 to be withdrawn from covetousness. Love 
 to the world incompatible with love to God. 
 Trust in riches, heart idolatry. No man 
 able to serve two masters. God not to be 
 served with a divided heart (Hos. x. 2). 
 Trust in riches the worship of Mammon. 
 Solemnly repudiated by Job (ch. xxxi. 
 24, 25). 
 
 Promises. 
 
 1. Upbuilding (verse 23). "Thou shalt 
 built up." God, who pulls down, able also to 
 build up. Allusion to Job's calamities, both 
 as to fortune and family. Building up both 
 external and internal. Here probably rather 
 the former; temporal prosperity, and more 
 especially in relation to offspring. Upbuild- 
 ing in spiritual blessing, and soul-prosperity 
 the New Testament promise (Acts ix. 31). 
 Implies growth in grace, comfort, spiritual 
 strength. Upbuilding in Christ (Col. ii. 7) ; 
 in faith (Jade 20) ; in love (Eph. iv. 16). 
 Spiritual growth dependant on consistent 
 walk (Is. Iviii. 912). 
 
 2. Enjoyment of God an our portion and 
 defence (verse 25). " The Almighty shall be 
 thy defence " (or treasure). The believer's 
 place of defence is the munition of rocks. 
 Underneath arc the everlasting arms. God 
 Himself the portion of His people (Deut. 
 xxii. 9; Ps. xvi. 5). He is safe who has 
 the Almighty for his defence, and rich who 
 has God for his treasure. 
 
 " Give what Thou canst, without Thee we 
 
 are poor ; 
 
 And with Thee rich, take what Thou wilt 
 away." 
 
 3. Delight in God (verse 26). "Thou 
 shalt have thy delight in the Almighty." 
 God the fountain of joy and ocean of delights, 
 more than enough in Him to fill all hearts 
 with pleasure. God a sun to gladden, while 
 a shield to guard. Giving up the unsatis- 
 fying short-lived pleasures of sin, we receive 
 those which are perfect and enduring. Only 
 a penitennt and renewed heart capable of 
 delighting in the Almighty. The pure in 
 heart see God (Matt. v. S). 
 
 i. Access to, and confidence in, God as a 
 reconciled Father (verse 26). "Thou shalt 
 lift up thy face unto God." Implies con- 
 scious acceptance, delight, and confidence. 
 The experience of one conscious of forgive- 
 ness and acceptance "in the Beloved." The 
 face " lifted up " in prayer and communion 
 with God. The spirit of adoption, crying, 
 Abba, Father. Boldness of access to a 
 father the privilege of a child. The be- 
 liever's privilege in relation to God (Eph. 
 iii. 12). Enjoyed in Christ. Boldness to 
 enter into the holiest of all by the blood of
 
 HOMILET1C COMMENTARY: JOB. 
 
 (JHAI-. XXIII 
 
 Jesus (Ileb. x. 19). Believers to come 
 boldly to the throne of grace, having Jesus 
 there, as their High Priest (Heb. iv. 16). 
 Confidence towards God connected with 
 consciousness of obeying Him (1 John iii. 
 21, 22). Abiding in Christ now gives con- 
 fidence before Him at His appearing here- 
 after (1 John ii. 28). A loving heart gives 
 boldness in the dav of judgment (1 John 
 iv. 18). 
 
 5. The, spirit of prayer and acceptance of 
 onr petitions (verse 27). "Thou shalt make 
 thy prayer to him, and he shall hear thee." 
 Ability to pray, and to pray with acceptance, 
 the gift of God. Children, not slaves, free 
 to bring their requests to the master. The 
 spirit of prayer connected with a state of 
 acceptance. Answers to prayer given to 
 believers along with the spirit of prayer 
 (1 Johnv. 14 10). Answers to prayer the 
 privilege of the upright (Ps. Ixvi. 18 ; xv. 8). 
 The Lord fulfils the desire of them that fear 
 Him (Ps. cx.lv. G). Prayer as incense, from 
 the Saviour's merits and the Spirit's grace 
 (Ps. cxli. 2 ; Rev. viii. 3, 4). Answered 
 for the sake of the Elder Brother (John 
 xvi. 23). God never weary of blessing His 
 people, because never weary of loving His 
 Son. Universal promise made to prayer 
 offered bclievingly in the Saviour's name 
 (John xv, 7 ; 1 John v. 15 ; Mark xi. 24). 
 
 G. The r/rnce of thanksqinii// with answers 
 to prayer (verse 27). " And thou shalt per- 
 form thy vows." Grace to render thanks 
 for mercies received no less a mercy than, 
 the mercies themselves. Thanksgiving both 
 our duty and our privilege. When God 
 graciously fulfils our prayers we ought 
 faithfully to fulfil our vows. Thanksgiving 
 for answers to prayer and performance of 
 vows practised by the heathen themselves 
 (Jonah i. 1G). 
 
 7. Success in, undertaking* (verse 28). 
 " Thou shalt also decree a thin", and it shall be 
 established unto thee, and the light shall shine 
 upon thy ways." Prosperity and success in 
 pur undertakings dependent upon God (Rom. 
 i. 8). Promised to the confiding and con- 
 
 sistent believer (2 Chron. xx. 20 ; Ps. i. 3 ; 
 xxxvii. 5). Promised to Joshua (Josh i. 8). 
 Afforded to Joseph (Gen. xxxix. 3, 23) ; and 
 to Daniel (Dan. vi. 28). The prayer of 
 Abraham's servant (Gen. xxiv. 12) ; and of 
 Nehemiali (Neh. i. 11). 
 
 8. Comfort, hope, and deliverance in time 
 of trouble and depression (verse 29). " When 
 men are cast down (or, ' when they shall cast 
 thee down,' or, 'when thou art depressed ') 
 then thon shalt say [to thyself, or to others], 
 there is (or, ' shall be ') lifting up ; and he 
 shall save the humble person." Comfort and 
 confidence of help and deliverance in time 
 of common as well as personal danger and 
 depression, with encouragement to others. 
 Realized by Paul in the ship (Acts xxvii. 
 21 25. The Lord a light to His people in 
 time of darkness (Micah vii. 8). Confidence, 
 joy, and hope, in seasons of trouble and 
 adversity, the fruit of faith and obedience 
 (Hab. iii. 17 19). Job's own experience 
 at times (ch. xxiii. 10). 
 
 8. Usefulness to others (verse 30). "He 
 shall deliver the island (country or dwelling) 
 of the innocent (or, " shall deliver Him that 
 is not innocent, i.e., that is guilty); and it 
 (or he) is delivered by the pureness of thy 
 hands." God honours His faithful and con- 
 fiding people by not only blessing themselves, 
 but making them blessings to others. So 
 Abraham, Joseph, Daniel, Paul. Not only 
 makes them grow themselves, but brings 
 others to sit under their shadow (Hosea xiv. 
 6, 7). Saves them, and gives them to share 
 with Himself the joy of saving others (James 
 v. 23; Jude23; ITim.iv. 16). The accepted 
 and faithful believer's prayers made effica- 
 cious even for the ungoldly (1 John v. 16). 
 So Abraham's would have been in the care 
 of Sodom (Gen. xviii. 24). A community, 
 company, or family, often saved for the sake 
 of the godly in it (Acts xxvii. 24). Pureness 
 of hands, both in practice and prayer, neces- 
 sary to real usefulness to others. The pro- 
 mises in the text realized in Job's case in a 
 way not anticipated by Eliphaz (clu xlii. 
 7 9). A praying man a public good. 
 
 CHAPTER XXIII. 
 
 JOffS THIRD REPLY TO ELIPHAZ, 
 
 Ceases directly to address his friends. His 
 present speech rather a soliloquy. Takes no 
 notice of the charges laid against him by 
 Eliphaz. Laments the want of access to 
 God in order to plead his cause before Him. 
 Expresses his consciousness of integrity and 
 obedience to the Divine will, as well as his 
 solemn awe at the absolute sovereignly of 
 
 God, and the mysterious character of His 
 dealings with him. 
 
 I. Complains of the continuance of 
 his troubles and the view still taken 
 of his conduct under it (verse 2). "Even 
 to-day [after all I have already suffered] i? 
 my complaint bitter (or, ' even to-dav [after 
 
 '141
 
 cu.vr. 
 
 UOMILETIC COMMENTARY: JOB. 
 
 all I have asserted of my innocence] is my 
 speech [regarded as] rebellion') ; my stroke 
 is heavier than my groaning " (or, is [viewed 
 as] heavy on account of my groaning). Ex- 
 presses either his own sorrowful experience, 
 or the views of his friends regarding it. His 
 troubles now of some weeks, or perhaps 
 months, continuance. No relief as yet either 
 to his mental distress or physical disease. 
 Observe 
 
 1. Protrac ted trouble worst fo enJ/irc. The 
 spirit worn, out and exhausted by continued 
 suffering. David's complaint "Day and 
 night thy hand was heavy upon me" (Fs. 
 iii. 24). The misery of the lost that time 
 brings no change. Eternity the only lane that 
 has no turning. As the tree falls, so it lies. 
 
 2. An aggravation of trouble when com- 
 plaint is construed into rebellion. Job's 
 complaint perhaps not always entirely free 
 from it. His spirit not always what it 
 was in ch. i. and ii. To complain under such 
 sufferings only human. Bitterness of com- 
 plaint not always rebelliousness of spirit. 
 Bitter complaint consistent with meekness 
 and submission. A bitter cry heard on the 
 cross from the lips of the only spotless 
 sufl'ercr (Matt, xxvii. 46). Job alone con- 
 scious of the depth of his distress. The 
 heart knoweth its own bitterness. 
 
 3. Grace forbids not to groan under 
 trouble, but puts a bridle upon the lips. 
 Job's groanings frequent but restrained. He 
 is a conqueror, not who never groans under 
 protracted trouble, but who holds out 
 patiently to the end. Terrible conflict some- 
 times to be maintained (1) Against suffer- 
 ing ; (2) Against sin ; (3) Against suffering 
 and. sinning at the same time. 
 
 II. Longs for free access .to God 
 
 ("verse 3). " O that I knew where I might 
 lind him, that I might come even to his 
 seat. I would order my cause before him, 
 I would fill my mouth with arguments [in 
 proving myself an innocent sufferer] ; I 
 would know [without fear of the result] the 
 words which he would answer me, and un- 
 derstand what lie would say unto me" [in 
 answer to my arguments, and in reference 
 to my character and the cause of my suffer- 
 ing]. Perhaps his answer to the exhortation 
 of Eliphaz (ch. xxii. 21). God so familiar 
 to Job's thoughts as to be spoken of without 
 being named. His life, like Enoch's, a 
 walking with God. Observe 
 
 1. No uncommon t hi/iff for one who walks 
 with God to be at times without free access 
 to Him. God, for wise purposes, hides Him- 
 self at times even from His own (Jcr. xiv. 8). 
 No finding God but as He reveals Himself. 
 "Want of access in time of trouble a special 
 trial of faith and patience. 
 
 142 
 
 2. Access to God the priciler/e of believers. 
 A time for finding God (Ps. xxxii. 6 ; Is. 
 Iv. G). The contrary implied (Prov. i. 24 
 29). God found nowhere but in Christ. 
 Christ the way to the Father (John xiv. 6). 
 Free access to God for sinners through Him 
 and His shed blood (Heb. iv. 15, 10; x. 
 19 22. The Holy Spirit given to believers 
 in order to their free access and approach to 
 God through Christ (Eph. ii. 18). The 
 spirit of grace and of supplication (Zech. x. 
 12) ; of adoption, crying: Abba Father (Gal. 
 iv. G). Helps infirmities of the saints, 
 making inward intercession for them witli 
 groanings which cannot be uttered (Rom. 
 viii. 2ftj. 
 
 3. God aof always found, immediately (Prov. 
 viii. 31, 35 ; Luke xviii. 17). Yet always 
 found where there is earnestness, humility, 
 and faith in seeking Him (Is. xiv. 9 ; Jer. 
 xxix. 13). In the time of Job, the way to 
 God through Christ still comparatively ob- 
 scure, and the Holy Spirit, as the Spirit of 
 supplication and adoption, still comparatively 
 withheld. God found the sooner the more 
 we are humbled under a sense of sin and uu- 
 worthiness. Job's desire still rather to have 
 access to God as a righteous man, in order to 
 have his innocence nilirmcd, than as a sinner 
 to have his sins forgiven. God reveals Him- 
 self to the humble and contrite, not the self- 
 righteous (Is, Ixvi. 2 ; Luke xviii. 10 14). 
 
 Job still persuaded of God's favourable 
 regard (verse G). " Will he plead against 
 me (overawe me or put me down) with his 
 great, power [as unable to prevail by words] ? 
 No, but he would put strength in me " 
 (enabling me to plead my cause successfully; 
 or, " he would give heed to me," affording a 
 cracious and impartial hearing to my case). 
 God the opposite of the Unjust Judge in the 
 Parable. Not only hearkens to our pleading 
 but gives strength to plead. So the Divine 
 angel wrestling with Jacob at Penuel (Gen. 
 xxxii. 2430). 
 
 His confidence as to the result (verse 7). 
 " There (in such a case on being admitted 
 to His tribunal) the righteous might dispute 
 with him (the innocent man referring to 
 himself might freely plead his cause) ; so 
 should I be delivered for ever (come off vic- 
 torious) from my judge." (1) God's throne 
 at once one of justice and grace. (2) The 
 comfort of true and tried believers that they 
 shall obtain a favourable verdict jro/n Ood. 
 Believers have (i.) The testimony of a good 
 conscience; (ii.) The consciousness of a 
 personal interest in Christ as their Surety 
 and Advocate with the Father (1 John iii. 
 21 ; ii. 1 ). The believer not absolutely right e- 
 ous in himself, but in Christ the Righteous 
 One his Head and Representative (Rom. v. 
 14 5 2 Cor. v. 21). The confidence of Mes-
 
 HOMILETIC COMMENTARY: JOB. 
 
 CHAP, xxiir. 
 
 siah. as God's righteous servant transferred 
 to His believing members (Is. 1. 5 9; Rom. 
 viii. 32 34). (3) A small matter that, man 
 condemns if God approves (1 Cor. iv. 3). 
 
 III. Laments his inability to flnd 
 God as he desired (verse 8). "Behold, I 
 go forward (or, 'to the east') but he is not 
 there; and backward (or, 'to the west'), but 
 1 cannot perceive him ; on the left hand (or, 
 on the north) where he doth work (Ihe 
 north being the more populous part of the 
 world, the region of stars and constellations 
 and the birthplace of storms and tempests), 
 but I cannot behold him ; he hideth himself 
 on the right hand (or, on the south, where 
 all is solitude and waste), but 1 cannot see 
 him." Observe 
 
 1. A believer, while in darkness and trouble, 
 makes continual attempts to find God (Song 
 iii. 2). Nothing satisiies a living soul but 
 God Himself (Ps. IxiiL 1, 2). 
 
 2. God found anyrchere with humility, 
 earnestness, and faith ; without them, nowhere. 
 Tound neither in solitude nor society unless 
 He graciously reveals Himself in Christ 
 through the Spirit. God's absolute presence 
 everywhere; His gracious manifested presence 
 only as He is pleased to afford it. The 
 latter promised to faithful believers (John 
 xiv. 21 23). God's dealings with men in 
 Providence with a view to their seeking Him, 
 feeling after Him, and finding Him (Acts 
 xvii. 26,27). 
 
 3. God often graciously near us when v:e 
 are without sense or consciousness of His pre- 
 sence. Job's case now like that of Hagar in 
 the Wilderness (Gen. xvi. 13 ; xxi. ID). 
 
 4. Prayer answered at the best time and in, 
 the best way. Job's desire ultimately granted 
 after Elihu's speech had prepard him for it. 
 Then no longer has a case to plead, but con- 
 scious of personal unworthiness and the 
 Divine perfection, is able to leave it entirely 
 in the Lord's hands. Our own spirit gene- 
 rally the greatest hindrance to our prayers 
 being answered. 
 
 5. God's manifested and enjoyed presence 
 the greatest happiness. Happy when every- 
 thing in nature, sunrise and sunset, storm 
 and calm, "prompts with remembrance of a 
 present God." 
 
 " His presence who made all so fail', per- 
 ceived, 
 
 Makes all still fairer." 
 
 IV. Comforts himself with the thought 
 of the Divine omniscience and the assu- 
 rance of ultimate triumph (verse 10). 
 " But he kuoweth the way that I take 
 
 (MiTfji/i : ' that is with me,' all my expe- 
 rience and conduct in this affliction, as well 
 as all my previous course of life) 5 when he 
 
 hath tried me [sufficiently by these troubles; 
 or, simply, 'he hath tried me, viz., by these 
 present sufferings], 1 shall come forth, out 
 of this furnace of affliction, or out of this 
 probation to which I am now subjected] as 
 gold " [comes out of the fire that tries and 
 purifies it, refined from the dross of remaining 
 corruption, and freed from all charges and 
 suspicions as to my character and conduct]. 
 Observe 
 
 1. The mark of an upright believer to re* 
 'ioice that God is acquainted with all his ways. 
 
 2. A believer's comfort under affliction and 
 reproach, to know that God is perfectly ac- 
 quainted both with his character and experience. 
 If in trouble we cannot see God, it should be 
 our comfort that God sees us, and knows all 
 about us. Hagar's happy discovery in the 
 wilderness: "Thou God seest me" (Gen. 
 xvi. 13). 
 
 3. Our great comfort, when reproached by 
 men, to Icnoio that our conduct is approved by 
 God. Our main concern, therefore, ought to 
 be to obtain that approval, " Let them 
 curse, but bless Thou" (Ps. cxix. 28). 
 
 4-. God tries and proves all his children 
 (Ps. xi. 5 ; Jer. xx. 12). The desire of a 
 sound believer to be tried by God (Ps. xvii. 
 3 ; xxvi. 2 ; cxxxix. 23). A believer's trials 
 and afflictions often only the divinely intended 
 means of proving his principles and faith (1 
 Pet. i. 7 ; James i. 12 ; Dent, viii. 2). 
 
 5. The result of a true believer's trials 
 certain. This result threefold: (1) The 
 justification of his faith ; (2) The confir- 
 mation of his hope ; (3) The purification of 
 his love (Horn. v. 4, &c. ; Is. xxvii. 9; lieb. 
 xii. 10, 11 ; Dan. xii. 10). 
 
 G. Genuine believers like r/old. (1) Precious 
 (Lam. iv. 2 ; Is. xliii. 4) ; (2) Rare (Matt, 
 vii. 14 ; Luke xii. 32) ; (3) Usually found 
 mixed with earth and dross (Is. i. 25) ; (4) 
 Subjected to the fire of purification (Zech. 
 xiii. 9) ; 1 Pet. i. 7 ; (5) Able to endure the 
 fire (1 Cor. iii. 12; (6) Ultimately made 
 perfectly pure (Is. i. 25). 
 
 V. Declares the ground of his as- 
 surance (verse 11, 12). That ground the 
 consciousness of his character and conduct 
 (1 John iii. 21). Job conscious of 
 
 1. Persevering obedience to God's will 
 (verse 11). "My foot hath held his steps 
 (followed faithfully and perseveringly the 
 steps he prescribed to me, and which were 
 pleasing in his sight) ; his ways have I 
 kept, and not declined : neither have I gone 
 back from the commandments of his lips." 
 God's steps not only prescribed by Him, but 
 trodden by Himself. " Be ye followers of 
 God, as dear children." " Be ye holy, for I 
 arn holy." "Be merciful, as your heavenK 
 Father is merciful" (Eph. v. 1 ; 1 Pet. i. 10 . 
 
 1 A " 
 
 14b
 
 CHAP. XXIII. 
 
 HOUILETIC COUMEXT.-1RY: JOS. 
 
 Luke vi. 36). Especially trodden by God 
 manifest in the flesh (Jolm xiii. 15 ; Eph. 
 v. 2 ; Phil. ii. 5 ; 1 Pet. ii. 21 ; 1 John ii. 6). 
 Those steps marked in the Scriptures (1 
 Thess. iv. 2). Observe (1) The proof of 
 sincerity not merely to put our feet in God's 
 steps, but to kesp them there ; not only to 
 enter upon God's way, but not to decline or 
 turn aside from it. (2) God's way to be kept, 
 not our own; (3) Many temptations to decline 
 from God's way. These are (i.) From the 
 world; (ii.) From our own heart. Some- 
 times the frowns of the world, sometimes 
 its smiles, prove temptations. Hence Agur's 
 prayer (Prov. xxx. 8, 9). (4) Possible for a 
 man to keep God's way, and not decline from 
 it. True generally, though not absolutely. 
 "Not a just man on earth that doeth good 
 and sinneth not." " If we say we have no 
 sin we deceive ourselves " (Prov. vii. 20 ; 
 1 John i. 8). In a general sense, possible 
 with Paul to live in ali good conscience before 
 God (Acts xxiii. 1). So David, as typical 
 of Christ (Ps. xviii. 2123); Hezekiah 
 (-2 Kings xviii. G ; xx. 3) ; Josiah (2 Kings 
 xxii. 2 ; xxiii. 25) ; the writer of Psahn 
 cxix. (Daniel?) (Ps. cxix. 22, 31, 51, 55, 
 56). God's Word given and to be attended 
 to for this purpose (Josh. i. 7, 8 ; Ps. cxix. 
 11). Requires (i.) Reflection (Prov. iv. 
 26; Ps. cxix. 59; (ii.) Resolution (Ps. cxix. 
 106) ; (iii.) Courage ; (iv.) Watchfulness ; 
 (v.) Dependence on Divine strength; (vi.) 
 Prayer. (5) Job in the Old, an example to 
 believers in the Keio Testament dispensation. 
 Much more liglit and grace vouchsafed in 
 the latter than in the former. The Gospel 
 dispensation especially the dispensation of 
 the Spirit (2 Cor. iii. 811). Hence a still 
 higher and holier life to be expected. Be- 
 lievers to be " filled with the Spirit" (Eph. 
 v. 18). 
 
 2. Hiqh esteem for the words of God (verse 
 12). "I have esteemed (Hebrew, 'hidden, 
 or treasured up') the words of His mouth 
 more than my necessary food" (Margiii: 
 "My appointed portion;" or, "than my 
 own purpose," when these have come in 
 collision). Words from God's mouth known 
 in all ages. God, at sundry times and in 
 divers manners, spake in time past to the 
 fathers (Heb. i. 1). The words of God's 
 mouth treasured up in the Scriptures of 
 truth (Dent. xxxi. 19, 22, 24 ; Is. xxx. 8 ; 
 llab. ii. 2). Spoken and preserved as the 
 rule of faitli and practice. To be (1) Highly 
 esteemed as our most precious treasure ; (2) 
 Chosen and adopted as the only rule of our 
 i'fiith and practice; (3) Carefully treasured 
 up in memory and heart ; (4) Held fast and 
 persevered in. 
 
 Reasons for highly esteeming God's Word. 
 (1) Its source, God Himself; (2) \tenatitre 
 14.4 
 
 and character (i.) Pure ; (ii.) True ; (iii.) 
 Efficacious. (3) Its tendency and end. The 
 Word of God is (i.) A means of convincing 
 of sin and error (Ps. xix. 11 ; Heb. iv. 12) ; 
 (ii.) A means of conversion (Ps. xix. 7) ; 
 (iii.) The Holy Spirit's instrument in regene- 
 ration (James i. 18); 1 Pet. i. 23); (iv.) 
 Means of spiritual enlightenment (Ps. xix. 
 8 ; cxix. 130) ; (v.) Directory as to duty and 
 the way of salvation (2 Tim. iii. 16; John 
 v. 39) ; (vi.) Means of spiritual comfort, 
 refreshment, and delight (Ps. cxix. 50, 54, 
 111; xix. 8, 10; Jer. xv. 16 ; (vii.) Means 
 of sanctification (Jolm xv. 3; xvii. 17; 2 
 Cor. iii. i8) ; (viii.) Means of spiritual fruit- 
 fulness (John xv. 7, S); (ix.) Means of per- 
 fecting Christian character (2 Tim. iii. 17) ; 
 (x.) Means of preparing for usefulness (2 
 Tim. iii. 17). 
 
 Eddences of highly esteeming God's Word 
 (i.) When it is attentively read or heard 
 (Prov. viii. 34 ; Jolm v. 39 ; (ii.) When 
 seriously and frequently pondered (Luke ii. 
 19) ; (iii.) When carefully treasured up in 
 the memory (Ps. cxix. 11) ; (iv.) When 
 preferred to earthly comforts, possessions, 
 liberty, even life itself; (v.) When our own 
 views, purposes, and practices are given up 
 because in opposition to its teachings ; (vi.) 
 When suffering and loss are preferred to the 
 violation of its precepts. 
 
 Examples of such esteem : David (Ps. 
 xix. 10; cxix. 97); Jeremiah (xv. 16); 
 Daniel (Dan. vi. 5, 10) ; Mary (Luke x. 
 39 42). "I had rather be without meat, 
 drink, light, everything than Matt xi. 28." 
 Selneccer. " I would not for all the world 
 that John xvii. 24 had been left out of the 
 Bible." Baxter. " My soul hath found in- 
 expressibly more sweetness and satisfaction 
 in a single line of the Bible, than in all the 
 pleasures found in the things of the world, 
 since the creation, could equal." John 
 Brown of ITctdfli/if/lon. " I would not live 
 in Paradise without the Word, and could live 
 in hell wllh it. Luther. 
 
 God's Word to be esteemed more than 
 our " necessary food," His AVord the food 
 of the soul, and necessary unto health and 
 vigour (1 Pet. ii. 2). The spiritual part of 
 our nature of greater consequence than the 
 material. Man's life not sustained by bread 
 alone, but by every word of God (Matt. v. 
 4 ; Deut. viii. 3). God's favour better than 
 life. Spiritual refreshment sweeter and more 
 valuable than corporeal. Better for the soul 
 to be satisfied from God's AA r ord than for the 
 body to be satisfied from the best spread 
 table. "The flesh profiteth nothing; the 
 words that I speak unto you, they are spirit 
 and they are life" (John vi. 63). Man's soul 
 can no more dispense with spiritual than the 
 body with material food. A famine of the
 
 HOMILETIC COMMENTARY: JOB. 
 
 CHAP. XXIII. 
 
 Word of God a much greater calamity than 
 a famine of bread (Am. viii. 11). 
 
 VI. Ilecals with awe the nnchange- 
 ableness and absolute sovereignty of 
 
 God (verse 13). "But he is of one mind 
 (or, 'truly He is one,' the only Supreme 
 Ruler and Potentate ; or, ' He is one and the 
 same ' [in purpose], i.e. unchangeable ; or, 
 when lie is [set] on any one [object or pur- 
 pose]) who can turn Him ? and what his 
 soul desireth, even that he, doeth. And he 
 performeth the thing that is appointed for 
 me; and many such things (either such 
 sovereign and mysterious purposes and pro- 
 ceedings in relation to His creatures, or such 
 severe dealings in relation to Job himself), 
 are with Him. Therefore am I troubled at 
 His presence [in my thoughts, or at His 
 dealings with me] ; when I consider [His 
 majesty, power, and sovereignty], I am afraid 
 of Him." Observe 
 
 1. God the only Potentate or supreme Ruler 
 of the universe (1 Tim. vi. 15). Uules and 
 works according tq His will. None able to 
 influence, restrain, check, or counteract His 
 procedure. 
 
 2. God unchangeable in His purposes. Ever 
 like Himself. The same yesterday, to-day, 
 and for ever. Free from the inconstancy 
 and variableness adhering to creatures. The 
 Father of lights, without variableness or sha- 
 dow of turning (James i. 17). Is of one 
 mind, character, and purpose. Hence our 
 safety and comfort. "I am the Lord; I 
 change not, therefore ye sons of Jacob are 
 not consumed" (Mai. iii. 6). God neither 
 fickle in Himself, nor capable of being in- 
 fluenced by persons or events so as to change 
 His purpose. The history of the universe 
 eternally planned and mapped out by His 
 infinite mind, in full harmony with the 
 freedom of the creature's will and the opera- 
 tion of second causes, which are included in 
 it. Eternity, with all its actualities and 
 possibilities, every moment open to His all- 
 seeing view. His being one eternal NOW. 
 Unnecessary and impossible for a Being, 
 omniscient and omnipotent, all-holy, all wise, 
 and all-good, to change His purpose. Such 
 change at any time only apparent. Ascribed 
 to Him in condescension to our capacity. A 
 change in His external procedure no change 
 in His eternal plan. 
 
 3. God irresistible in His purposes. "I 
 will work, and who shall let it " (Is. xliii. 
 13). God as irresistible in His power as 
 lie is immutable in His purpose. No- 
 thing too hard for the Lord. For creatures 
 to resist His will is for thorns and briars 
 to oppose a consuming fire. God as able 
 to execute, as lie is wise to construct, 
 His plan. The creature's safety, happiness, 
 
 10 
 
 and success, in falling in with the Creator's 
 will. 
 
 G. God's purpose* cxtendto all His creatttres. 
 No creature so insignificant but has his lot 
 " appointed " for him. Nothing in the uni- 
 verse left to chance. The fall of a sparrow 
 under His goverance as truly as the wreck 
 of a world. Nothing either too minute or 
 too vast for an infinite mind to direct or an 
 almighty hand to control. Creatures and 
 events linked with each other in His purpose 
 throughout the universe, the chain extending 
 from one eternity to another. The combina- 
 tion of a thousand events necessary to raise 
 Joseph to his designed elevation, in order, 
 among many other things, "to save much 
 people alive " (Gen. 1. 20). 
 
 5. God's Being, Purposes, and Providence 
 such as to beget deep reverential awe. Too 
 deep and mysterious for man's faculties to 
 fathom or comprehend. The constant near- 
 ness of such a Being to us, our intimate 
 relation to, and absolute dependence upon, 
 Him, overwhelming. Our comfort that He 
 is at once infinitely wise and holy, and just 
 and good. The interests of all His creatures 
 safe in His hands. Only disobedience and 
 rebellion can interfere with the creature's 
 happiness. God revealed in the Gospel in 
 the most amiable possible light as love itself, 
 and as giving the most unequivocal evidence 
 of His character as such, in assuming our 
 nature, obeying His own law, and enduring 
 the utmost penalty of our disobedience, in 
 order to our eternal redemption (1 John iii. 
 16; iv. 810). 
 
 6. Fear the natural effect of thoughts oj 
 God viewed apart from Christ and His work 
 of redemption. Man inwardly and secretly 
 conscious of sin and alienation from God. 
 Fear, Peter's first feeling on the apprehension 
 of Christ's Divine character, " Depart from 
 me ; for I am a sinful man, Lord " (Luke 
 v. 8). 
 
 VII. Returns to his own particular 
 case (verse 16). "For God maketh my 
 heart soft [with fear and dismay (Josh. ii. 
 11)], and the Almighty troubleth (or 'con- 
 foundeth ') me [by His mysterious and ap- 
 parently cruel procedure] : because I was 
 not cut off [by death] before the darkness 
 [of these calamities came], neither hath he 
 covered the darkness (Heb. 'thick dark- 
 ness ' of such accumulated trouble) from 
 mv eyes" [by hiding me in the tomb]. 
 Observe 
 
 1. God able by His providence to make 
 the stoutest heart soft with fear. Able also 
 by His grace to make the hardest heart 
 soft with penitence and love. Often makes 
 the softness of fear from the iron rod of the 
 law a precursor and preparative to the soft- 
 
 145
 
 CHAP. XXIV, 
 
 HOMILETIC COMMKM'Altl: JfHi. 
 
 ness of love from the golden sceptre of the 
 Gospel. 
 
 2. God able to (rouble and confound the 
 icisest and most darinr/ by His mysterious and 
 righteous dealings (Exod. xiv. 2i ; viii. 19). 
 
 3. God's dealings with ourselccs often 
 such as we are umihlc to comprehend. 
 
 4. A wi/slefy that a benevolent and Al- 
 mighty Being brings men into the world 
 who are destined to suffer. But (1) No 
 suffering which is not in some way the con- 
 sequence of sinning. (2) All things made 
 by God for Himself and for His own glory. 
 In a way unknown to us, every creature 
 made to contribute to the end of its crea- 
 tion. Perhaps God's highest glory here- 
 after from those who suffer most here. 
 God's grace often greatly glorified by 
 patient suffering even in this life. A 
 patient, submissive, and thankful sufferer 
 
 here probably one of the brightest jewels 
 iu the cabinet of God hereafter. (3) 
 Suffering the appointed path to glory (Acts 
 xiv. 22 ; Rom. viii. 17). Probably the 
 greatest sufferer in time the loudest singer 
 in eternity. The crown of thorns prepara- 
 tory to the crown of glory. As with the 
 Head, so with the members (Luke xxiv. 26; 
 Rom. viii. 17). (4) The sufferings of one 
 made to contribute to the benefit of another. 
 Paul's testimony in reference to himself, ap- 
 plicable to believers in general (Col. i. 24). 
 The members thus made to share with the 
 Head. Probably the happiness, moral ex- 
 cellence, and mutual love of redeemed men 
 greatly increased by such a Divine arrange- 
 ment. (5) The wisdom and the love of God 
 in bringing Job into the world where he had 
 so much to suffer, long ago made manifest 
 both to himself and others. 
 
 CHAPTER XXIV. 
 
 CONTINUATION OF JOB'S REPLY TO ELIP11AZ. 
 
 Prosecutes his own view of the Divine 
 government. Enlarges on the crimes of one 
 part of men and the sufferings of another 
 as the consequences of them, to shew that 
 judgment is not executed on the ungodly 
 in this world, and that men often suffer 
 without anything in their own conduct to 
 deserve it. The ungodly, however, not left 
 unpunished ; and their prosperity and power 
 only for a time. 
 
 It Proposes a question for solid ion 
 in reference to the Divine government 
 
 (verse 1). "Why, seeing f imes are not hidden 
 from the Almighty, do they that know him 
 not see his days?" Or, "Why are not 
 [stated] times [of judgment] laid up (or 
 keptl by the Almighty, and [why do] they 
 that know Him not see His days" [of inflict- 
 ing punishment on the ungodly F] The 
 question takes the fact for granted and 
 asks the reason of it . The fact supposed 
 
 1. That stated lii.n'x of judgment, or J)icine 
 <'>>/'i'/-d((ys, for try ing men's actions are mani- 
 festly not held. Men not brought before a 
 Divine tribunal in this life. The great 
 assizes yet to come. Such a day appointed 
 (Acts xvii. 31 ; x. 42; Horn. ii. 10 ; xiv. 10; 
 Rev. xx. 12). Men only registered now for 
 judgment and public trial on that clay. 
 Sins in this life apparently winked at by God 
 (Ps. 1. 21). Sentence against, an evil work 
 not speedily executed. The fact sometimes 
 staggering to the godly, especially in earlier 
 times. Remains as a trial for faith and 
 patience. Abused by the ungodly to im- 
 penitence and licentiousness. 
 
 346 
 
 2. Times for the visible infliction of punish- 
 r,ini oil ////! wicked not seen b;j the godly 
 in. tlii* life. For the most part sin suffered 
 by God to pass with impunity as to this 
 world. The fact noted by Job (ch. xxi 7); 
 by Asaph (Ps. Ixxiii. 5) ; by David (Ps. 1. 21) ; 
 by Solomon (Ecc. viii. 11); by Jeremiah 
 (Jer. xii. 1) ; by Habakkuk, (Hab. i. 15, 16). 
 Visible judgments rare. Such examples the 
 deluge j destruction of Sodom, &c. ; Herod's 
 death (Acts xii. 23). According to the 
 views of Eliphaz and his two friends, such 
 cases should have been of frequent occur- 
 rence. 
 
 Prom the text observe 
 
 1. Times, in (lie sense of even Is, not hidden. 
 from Hi" At, iiiij I/I i/. All actions, bad and 
 good, naked and open before Him. Sin, 
 though not )i/n/isher1, not the less perreiced. 
 " Thou God seest me," a truth botli for the 
 godly and the ungodly. 
 
 :2, Times for the accomplishment of /'/'tare 
 meals not, hidden, from God. The future as 
 truly as the present under His perfect in- 
 spection. The times and seasons reserved 
 in His own power (Acts i. 15). Though 
 unknown to us, not the less certain to Him 
 (Acts xv. IS.) 
 
 3. Sufficient to describe the go'lly as " those 
 that know God." Such knowledge one of* 
 (1) Certainty (1 John iv. 16) ; (2) Divine 
 communication (John xvii. 2, 3); (Matt. xi. 
 27); (3) Experience (I Pet. ii. 3); (4) 
 Regard and love, as Ps. i. 6 ; (5) Acquaint- 
 ance and fellowship (Job xxir. 21 ; Gen. v., 
 2 I, vi. 9). As the result of such knowledge 
 the righteous trust in God as a Father (Ps.
 
 1IOMILRTIC COMMENTARY: JOB. 
 
 CHAP. XXIV. 
 
 ix. 10). Not to know God the characteristic 
 of the ungodly (1 Thess. iv. 5 ; 2 Thess. i. 
 8). Godly men the friends of God. 
 Abraham's title of nobility shared by each 
 of them. (Compare James ii. 3 ; Is. xli. 8, 
 with Luke xii. 4; John xv. 14, 15). 
 
 4. God's friends made acquainted with His 
 purposes and procedure in the world (Gen. 
 xvii. 17; Ps. xxv. 4; Am. iii. 7; John xv. 
 ] 5). The characteristic of the ungodly, that 
 they " regard not the works of the Lord nor 
 consider the operation of Ilis hands" (Ps. 
 xxviii. 5 ; Is. v. 12). Wisdom given to the 
 children of God to discern and know the 
 times (Luke xii. 56; 1 Thess. v. 1 4; 
 Horn. xiii. 11). Times and seasons, how- 
 ever, while still future, reserved in the 
 Lord's own knowledge, except in so far as 
 He is pleased to communicate them (Acts i. 
 7 ; Matt. xxiv. 36 ; Rev. i. 1). 
 
 II. Describes the conduct of various 
 classes of men in relation to their 
 fellows, with its consequences (verses 
 2-8). 
 
 First: Their conduct (verses 2 4). 
 
 1. Fraud, theft, and violence (verse 2). 
 Exhibited in 
 
 (1.) Removing "landmarks." Placing 
 farther back the stones erected to dis- 
 tinguish their own fields from their neigh- 
 bour's, common in Eastern and other 
 countries where hedges are not frequent; 
 and doing this for the purposes of fraudu- 
 lently enlarging their own estate at the 
 expense of their neighbour's. Expressly 
 forbidden in the law of Moses (Deut. xix. 
 14). Persons guilty of it pronounced ac- 
 cursed (Deut. xxvii. 14). Found in the 
 days of Hosea (Hos. v. 10). 
 
 (2.) Stealing sheep and feeding them, as if 
 their own (verse 2). "They violently take 
 away (or steal) flocks and feed thereof 
 (marf/i/t, 'feed them')." Job's own ex- 
 perience in reference to his oxen, asses, and 
 camels (ch. i. 14, 15, 17). Pasturing the 
 stolen sheep an aggravation of the crime. 
 Indicated boldness and perseverance in sin. 
 The practice common among the Bedouins. 
 Marks an uncivilized state of society. 
 Practised even in Scotland in the last 
 century in regard to larger cattle. Observe 
 (i.) The character of sin to sear and deaden 
 the conscience ; (ii.) The ungodly often 
 apparently permitted to enjoy the fruit of 
 their sin. 
 
 2. Cnielh/ and hardlieartfldaess (verse 3). 
 (1.) In reference to i\\c fatherless. "They 
 
 drive away the ass of the fatherless" (in 
 order to appropriate it to themselves, pro- 
 bably on some pretended claim, perhaps, as 
 in the next clause, as a pledge or pawn for 
 some loan or debt). The one ass of the 
 102 
 
 fatherless his means of subsistence. The 
 fatherless not only poor, but without any to 
 defend them from such oppression. An 
 ass still the means of subsistence to fatherless 
 and poor children in the East, being used 
 both for riding and carrying burdens. 
 
 (2) In reference to the widow. "Take 
 the widow's ox for a pledge," taking it in 
 pawn for the loan of a trifling sum, and 
 keeping it in their possession. An aggravated 
 cruelty, the ox being the only means of 
 her subsistence by ploughing her little plot 
 of ground and yielding her milk. The 
 widow herself an object of sympathy, her 
 poverty having necessitated her to ask a loan 
 or incur a debt with her hard-hearted neigh- 
 bour. The sin expressly forbidden by the 
 law (Ex. xxii. 26, 27; Deut. xxiv. 0, 10. 
 " No flesh in man's obdurate heart." 
 
 3. Insolence and oppression of the poor 
 (verse 4). " They turn the needy out of the 
 way," acting towards them with overbear- 
 ing violence ; compelling them by their 
 cruelty and oppression to abandon the high- 
 ways and frequented parts of the country, 
 ana thus preventing them from following 
 their ordinary pursuits ; perhaps removing 
 them in order to take possession of their 
 little fields ; or forbidding them the highway 
 for their ox or their ass. The "clearances" 
 of modern times. A sin not to aid the 
 poor; still more to expel them from the 
 neighbourhood as burdens and nuisances. 
 The poor never to cease out of the land 
 (Deut. xv. It). Left as objects for the exer- 
 cise of kindness and benevolence (Matt. xxvi. 
 11. To oppress the poor is to reproach their 
 Maker. 
 
 Second : The consequence of this oppres- 
 sion (verse 4). "The poor of the earth (or 
 land) hide themselves together;" disappearing 
 as unable to endure the oppression or resist 
 their oppressors. "When the wicked rise 
 [in power], men hide themselves" (Prov. 
 xxviii. 20). Forced by oppression into 
 solitudes where they congregate and enjoy 
 comparative safety. The godly under perse- 
 cution thus often made to wander in deserts 
 and mountains, and in dens and caves of the 
 earth (lleb. xi. 38). The case of Elijah and 
 other servants of God in the days of Ahab 
 and Jc/ebcl (1 Kings xvii., 3, xviii. 13). 
 The pilgrim fathers of England and the 
 Huguenots of France. Bedouins and others 
 iu the East often obliged to seek refuge in 
 the desert from the oppressions of tyrannical 
 governors. Their life in such circumstances 
 made one of privation and suffering (verse 
 5). "Behold, as wild asses in the desert 
 [instead of their own fields as formerly], go 
 they forth to their work, rising betimes 
 [before the excessive heat] for a prey (or 
 to obtain food) ; the wilderness yicldeth food 
 
 147
 
 CHAP. XXIV. 
 
 TIOMILETIC COMMENTARY: JOS. 
 
 [a scanty and miserable subsistence] for 
 them and for their children" (whole families 
 being thus driven fortli from their homes 
 and from society). The wild ass a " solitary, 
 timorous animal, whose only defence is its 
 heels." The reference here rather to their 
 solitude and fear than to savage wildness. 
 A barbarous and uncivilized state, however, 
 the likely consequence of the treatment they 
 receive (Gen. xvi. 12, xxi. 20). (Verse C). 
 They reap every one [by himself] his com 
 (margin, " mingled corn or dredge," a 
 mixture of grain ordinarily used as fodder 
 for cattle, and so generally translated, as in 
 Is. xxx. 24, in the field (or perhaps, 'they 
 reap [as hired or forced labourers] every 
 one in a field which is not his own') ; and 
 they gather the vintage of the wicked (lo 
 obtain as hirelings a subsistence for their 
 families; the proprietors of the vineyards 
 characterized as wicked from their cruelty 
 and oppression of the poor, but in time of 
 vintage, glad to obtain their aid in gathering 
 the grapes; or possibly obliged to render 
 forced labour so common in the east). They 
 cause the naked (the poor and poorly clad) 
 to lodge (or 'pass the night') without 
 clothing [having taken to pledge their upper 
 garment, usually serving also as a covering 
 by night] (Deut. xxiv. 13), that they have 
 no covering in the cold (the nights in eastern 
 countries being often as cold as the days are 
 hot) (Gen. xxxi 40). They are wet (or 
 drenched) with the showers (or heavy 
 driving rains) of the mountains (where, as 
 travellers often experience, such storms of 
 wind and rain are common), and embrace 
 the rock (clinging to some cave or hollow 
 i'n its side) for want of a shelter." 
 
 The picture presented in the eighth verse 
 suggests 
 
 The True Rock and its Shelter. 
 
 1. As sinners men are ly nature in tlie 
 condition of the persons here referred to, ex- 
 posed to a storm. That storm God's righte- 
 ous anger on account of sin. The "wrath 
 of God revealed from heaven against all un- 
 godliness and unrighteousness of men (Rom. 
 i. 18; Col. iii. 6). "Wrath to come" 
 awaiting the unsaved sinner. The day of 
 judgment the great day of Divine wrath 
 the wrath of the Lamb (Rev. vi. 16, 17). 
 That wrath compared to a storm. " On the 
 wicked God shall rain snares (Margin, 
 ' burning coals '), fire and brimstone, and 
 an horrible tempest" (Ps. xi. 6). Xo 
 storm on earth ever equal to it. (i.) Other 
 storms affect only the body, this the soul ; 
 (ii.) Others endure but for a short time, 
 this for ever ; (iii.) Others may have peace 
 within : this fills with anguish and despair. 
 
 148 
 
 Felt at times in the sinner's conscience even 
 in this life. Even then intolerable. Escape 
 from it in this life possible. Hereafter rocks 
 and mountains invoked in vain for shelter. 
 Exposure to the storm wherever sin is still 
 unpardoned. Though now unfelt, yet even 
 ready to burst upon the Christless soul. 
 The case of men universally. Men by nature 
 children of wrath, even as others (Eph. 
 ii. 3.). 
 
 2. Men in themseltes are without a 
 shelter. Have no means of averting or 
 screening themselves from deserved wrath. 
 Wealth unable to purchase a shelter from it. 
 Power unable to command one. Science 
 unable to contrive one. Good works unable 
 to merit one. Our own works like Adam 
 and Eve's fig-leaved aprons. Monarch and 
 mendicant equally powerless to screen them- 
 selves from this storm. No shelter without 
 satisfaction to the demands of a righteous 
 law. The required shelter to be strong 
 enough to resist the brunt of the storm. 
 Able to stand between the sinner and the 
 storm that must otherwise beat on his de- 
 fenceless head. 
 
 3. Such a shelter provided in Christ. Christ, 
 given by God the Father for that purpose, 
 came into the world to save sinners from the 
 storm. Promised as an hiding-place from 
 the wind and a covert from the tempest (Is. 
 xxxii. 2). Fitted to be such a shelter. God 
 and man in one person. God manifest in 
 the flesh. As man, Christ has done and 
 suffered in our stead what the law of God 
 demands in the way of obedience and penalty. 
 As God in our nature, He is able to stand 
 as a substitute for us, and to give infinite 
 value to His obedience and suffering in our 
 stead. Provided for us in pure love on the 
 part of God (John iii. 10). God's will that 
 all should flee to and find shelter in this 
 rock. Christ as a rock (1.) Affords perfect 
 safety to the sov.l that ti-itxfa in Him. A 
 rock is strong, firm, impenetrable. None 
 ever trusted in Him and perished ; (2) Neter 
 changes. A rock the most abiding and un- 
 changing object in nature. Christ the Rock 
 of Ages the everlasting Rock. The same 
 yesterday, to-day, and for ever. (3) Is 
 sufficient to receive and shelter all icho betake 
 themseltes to Him. Rocky caverns in Judaea, 
 as the cave of Adullam, large enough to con- 
 tain thousands of men. Room in Christ for 
 millions at once. Millions sheltered in this 
 Rock already, and yet there is room. (4) 
 Is comfortable and well replenished. Caverns 
 sometimes found already furnished with 
 necessary articles left there by previous occu- 
 pants; the contrary, however, being generally 
 the case. In Christ, all things provided 
 needful for comfort and well-being, both here 
 and hereafter. Christ made of God to those
 
 HOMILET1C COMMENTARY: JOB. 
 
 CHAP. XXIV. 
 
 who are in Him, both wisdom, and righteous- 
 ness, and sanctification, and redemption 
 (1 Cor. .i. 30). The world, life, death, all 
 things, ours when we are Christ's. All 
 fulness in Him, out of which we may re- 
 ceive even grace upon grace. All our needs 
 supplied. In the world tribulation, but in 
 Him peace. Grace found in Him sufficient 
 for daily duty, daily temptation, daily trial. 
 (5) Is accessible to all. Stands open and 
 free. Its entrance obstructed by no for- 
 midable barrier. No steep and rugged 
 height to climb in order to reach it. Ac- 
 cessible even to a child. Entered not by 
 toil or merit, but by faith, believing God's 
 testimony true concerning it, and so trusting 
 in it. Over its portal stand the words: 
 Believe in the Lora Jesus Christ and thou 
 shalt be saved. (6) All are welcome to its 
 shelter. Entrance without money and with- 
 out price. No qualification required but 
 sense of need, desire for shelter, and belief in 
 its sufficiency. "A guilty, helpless sinner 
 desiring shelter," a sufficient passport. All 
 classes without distinction invited to enter 
 and be safe. 
 
 4. This Rock is to be " embraced" A 
 rock of no use for shelter but as it is fled to, 
 entered, and clung to. Christ is for personal 
 acceptance, appropriation, and trust. The 
 ark, when made, to be entered by Noah and 
 his family. Not enough to hear of the 
 rock, look at it, understand about it, or be 
 near it. Must be entered and "embraced." 
 " Found in Christ " gives safety, not found 
 near Him. No time to be lost in entering 
 this Hock. Too late when the storm descends. 
 " Behold, now is the accepted time! behold 
 now is the day of salvation ! " 
 
 Important question. Where am I? In 
 the Hock ? or still exposed to the storm ? 
 If the former, then "let the inhabitant of 
 the Rock sing," and praise aloud the God of 
 his salvation (Is. xlii. 11). If the latter is 
 still the case, the call is, Come in now. The 
 door still open. Still room. Delay not. 
 Why remain outside exposed to the storm ? 
 Death hastens. The door will soon be shut. 
 Entrance may within another hour be im- 
 possible. Then no shelter from the storm 
 for evermore. " To-day if ye will hear his 
 voice, harden not your heart." 
 
 III. Proceeds further to describe the 
 cruelty and oppression of the ungodly 
 rich, and their apparent impunity (verse 
 9). " They pluck the fatherless from the 
 breast (infants whose fathers arc already 
 dead, and whom these men snatch from the 
 widowed mother's breast to make their own, 
 as pledges or in, payment of some real or 
 pretended debt), and take a pledge of the 
 poor (either the poor man himself to be their 
 
 bondslave till the debt is paid, as Lev. xxv. 
 39 ; Matt, xviii. 25 ; or his garment, as 
 ch. xxii. 6). They cause him (the poor 
 whose garment they have taken in pawn) 
 to go naked, without clothing, and they take 
 away the sheaf from the hungry (the hand- 
 ful of corn they have plucked to satisfy 
 their hunger, or the gleanings of the harvest 
 field, which were usually regarded, and were 
 afterwards by the law of Moses expressly 
 appointed, as the perquisite of the poor, Lev. 
 xix 9); which make oil within their walls 
 (for the benefit of these rich oppressors ; or 
 ' who toil at noontide in their vineyards ' 
 as hired, or rather as forced, labourers), and 
 tread their wine-presses and suifer thirst " 
 (not being permitted to allay their thirst 
 with the juice of the grapes they were labori- 
 ously expressing.) 
 
 " Slaves in the midst of nature's bounty curst, 
 And in the loaden vineyard suffer thirst." 
 Addison's Letters from Italy. 
 
 Cruelty and oppression not confined to 
 the country (verse 12). "Men (or 'the 
 dying') groan [under injuries and oppres- 
 sions] from the city [where justice is wont 
 to be exercised, and where fear might be 
 supposed to restrain evil-doers), and the 
 soul of the wounded [not only having their 
 spirits but their very life crushed out of 
 them by oppression] crieth out [to God and 
 men for help, or to God for vengeance] : yet 
 God layeth not folly to them" (apparently 
 lays it not to their charge, or appears to give 
 no heed to it ; or, " does nothing absurd " or 
 unbecoming His Divine character in per- 
 mitting such things ; or, according to another 
 way of reading the word here rendered 
 " folly," " pays no attention to their 
 prayer," viz., that of these suffering and 
 oppressed ones). The frequent complaint 
 in the Psalms that the wicked oppress the 
 godly poor with impunity, while God ap- 
 pears to take no notice either of the crimes 
 of the one party or the sufferings of the 
 other (Ps. x. 114 ; xxxv. 17 ; xlii. 9 ; xliv. 
 23, 24). Observe 
 
 1 . Crimes comm if fed and cruelly perpetrated 
 while God keeps silence (Ps. 1. 21). Sentence 
 against an evil work not often speedily exe- 
 cuted (Ecc. viii. 11). Yet forbearance no 
 acquitancc. 
 
 2. The effect of sin to harden the heart and 
 rlca den the feelings of humanity. 
 
 3. Lore of power or gain stops at no crime 
 or cruel/.!/ to attain its object. 
 
 4. Sin assimilates men to Satan, the 
 " murderer from the beginning." 
 
 5. Great sufferings often superinduced by 
 olhi'r men's sins (verse 12). 
 
 (i. The cry of oppressed ones terrible for th(. 
 oppressor (James v. 4). 
 
 149
 
 CHAP. xxiv. 
 
 HOMIIETIC COMMENTARY: JOB. 
 
 7. City as well us country the theatre of 
 the oppressions of some and the sufferings 
 of others (verse 12). Solemn warning in 
 Ihis verse for such cities as London. 
 Eternity alone will reveal how many lives 
 have been crushed out of men and women 
 by oppressive labour and scanty remunera- 
 tion. 
 
 IV. Describes other classes of wicked 
 men, tho^e who practise sin in secrecy anil 
 wider the corcr of darkness (verse 13). 
 " They (or ' these,' as distinguished from the 
 former) are of those that rebel against the 
 light (hating and shunning it as unfavourable 
 to their wicked deeds, John iii. 19, 20) ; 
 they know not the ways thereof, nor abide 
 in the paths thereof" (prefer darkness to 
 light, and night to day, for the perpetration 
 of their crimes). The first of these classes, 
 the Murderer (verse 14). "The murderer 
 rising with the light (at earliest dawn) 
 killelh the poor and needy [as unable to 
 resist him and his demands], and in the 
 night is as a thief" (or, "acts the thief"). 
 In the East, murders are committed at early 
 dawn, the most favourable part of the day 
 both for travelling and work, while thieves 
 or housebreakers practise their crimes during 
 the night. The second class, the Adulterer 
 (verse 15). "The eye also of the adulterer 
 waiteth for the twilight (the evening or 
 night, as more favourable for his purpose, 
 Prov. vii. 9, saying, No eye shall see me, 
 and disguiseth (muffles up or puts a mask 
 on) his face. In the dark they (the two 
 classes already mentioned, or perhaps a third, 
 Burglars or Housebreakers) dig through 
 houses (insinuating themselves, like the 
 adulterer, or literally, digging an entrance 
 for themselves, like the housebreaker, 
 through the mud walls of the houses) which 
 they had marked for themselves (or 'having 
 shut themselves up') iu the daytime; they 
 know not the light ( hate and shun it). For 
 the morning is to them even as the shadow 
 of death (as hateful and as feared, as dis- 
 covering and detecting their evil deeds (Epli. 
 v. 13) ; or, the shadow of death is to them 
 as morning, darkness is as desirable and 
 delightful to them as morning is to others) ; 
 if one know them (or discover them, or 
 'when one can recognize, people,' i.e., in 
 the light of the morning), they are in the 
 terrors of the shadows of death" (or, "it is 
 the terrors of, &c., to them" ; or, "the terrors, 
 &c., are upon them.") Observe 
 
 1. The character of sin, that lores the 
 darkness for its commission. A reptile that 
 loves the darkness of eaves and dungeons. 
 A work of darkness, to be practised only 
 out of observation, and in the ignorance of 
 God and truth. A testimonv to the value 
 
 150 
 
 and excellence of godliness, that it does not 
 fear the light (John iii. 21 >. 
 
 2. Sin opposed to the lir/hf of truth ax veil 
 as to the light of day. Hence hatred to the 
 truth, which both exposes and opposes sin. 
 The great condemnation, to have the light 
 and yet hate and avoid it (John iii. 20). The 
 sin of Christless persons iu a Christian land, 
 neighbourhood, or family. 
 
 3. A socereif/n authority in light to keep 
 men from ceil deeds. 
 
 4. The present in many places a time of 
 light; hence corresponding responsibility. 
 
 5. Murder a common crime where not re- 
 .\f;-iiinrd by feat (verso l-i). " Feet swift to 
 shed blood," part of the inspired description 
 of fallen humanity (Horn. iii. 15). 
 
 6. Sin aggravated when committed with 
 purpose and deliberation (verse 1 5). 
 
 7. The ungodly, when not committing iniquity, 
 often plotting it. 
 
 8. Sin committed in forgetfalness of God. 
 " No eye seeth me." 
 
 9. The wicked, often tortured between lust 
 and fear. Baging lust before commission; 
 deadly fear of detection in and after it. 
 
 10. Pleasures of sin dearly bought. The 
 terrors of the shadow of death sooner or 
 later the consequence of it. The ways of 
 transgressors hard. 
 
 Y. Describes the experience of the 
 wicked (verse 18). "He is swift as the 
 waters (or, ' light on the face of the waters ;' 
 carried away by Divine vengeance as the 
 foam or other light substance on the surface of 
 the stream ; or, gradually and quietly, though 
 swiftly, borne along to the grave where he 
 finally disappears); their portion (or estate) is 
 cursed ( ultimately abandoned to desolation) 
 in the earth (or land) : he beholdeth not the 
 way of the -vineyards ( is cut off ultimately 
 from his former haunts, pleasures, and pur- 
 suits, 'from the cheerful ways of men'). 
 Drought and heat [in summer] consume the 
 snow waters ( gradually dry up the torrents 
 and mountain streams formed by the melted 
 snow (ch. vi. 15, 18) ; so doth the grave 
 ( death and the invisible world, which sooner 
 or later swallow up and cause to disappear 
 from the earth) those that have sinned [in 
 the gross and open way already, and yet to 
 be, described]. The womb (even the mother 
 that bare him) shall forget him (so worth- 
 less his character, and utterly aban- 
 doned by, and cut off from, friends and 
 relatives) : the worm shall feed sweetly upon 
 him (or 'shall be s<veet to him,' his only 
 companion now, ch. xxi. 33) ; he shall be no 
 more remembered [having done nothing to 
 cause his memory to be cherished, but the 
 contrary (Prov. x. 7)] : and wickedness (or 
 the wicked man) shall be broken as a tu-e' 1
 
 IIOMllETIC COMMENTARY: JOS. 
 
 CHAP. xxiv. 
 
 [useless and already decayed]. Observe 
 
 1. The charade? of the selfish and ungodly t 
 however rich, a worthless one. The sinner in 
 liis best and most prosperous state light as 
 foam on the surface of the stream. 
 
 2. All the sinner's earthly enjoyment* 
 speedily brought to an end. Slowly or 
 suddenly, the grave terminates his pleasures 
 and pursuits (verse 19). The pleasures of 
 sin but for a season. 
 
 3. The fjrare only formidable to those who 
 have led a sinful life, and die 'without renewal 
 of heart and removal of guilt. 
 
 4. Jlumbting contrast between the grave 
 and its wormy inhabitants, and the sinful 
 indulgences and worldly pomp of a godless and 
 prosperous Ufa. The rich man in the Gospel 
 lifts up his eyes in hell, and craves, not for 
 deliverance, but a drop of water to cool his 
 burning tongue. 
 
 5. Hiii soon covers men's names with oblivion, 
 and makes even tlicir nearest relations to for- 
 f/et them (verse 20). "The righteous is held 
 in everlasting remembrance, but the, memory 
 of the wicked shall rot" (Prov. x. 7). 
 
 VI. Eel urns to the character and 
 ways of the ungodly as meriting the 
 punishment already mentioned (verses 
 21 24). "He evil entreatcth the barren 
 that beareth not (thus adding affliction to 
 the afflicted, barrenness being held a reproach 
 and at the same time leaving the widow 
 without natural defenders), and doeth not 
 good to the widow (not only withholding the 
 sympathy and succour which her circum- 
 stances claim, but acting towards her in a 
 way the very reverse). He draweth also the 
 mighty with his power (attaching him to his 
 interests for the purpose of oppressing others); 
 he riscth up (for the purpose of completing 
 his wicked designs ; or, he rises to power), 
 and no man is sure of life (so formidable his 
 power and so regardless of right). Though 
 it be given him to be in safety (by God him- 
 self, who bears long with him instead of 
 punishing him at once in the midst of his 
 wickedness), whereon he rcstctli (living at 
 ease and in security in consequence of this 
 forbearance) ; yet his (viz., God's) eyes are 
 upon their ways (though now keeping silence 
 and apparently winking at his evil deeds). 
 They are exalted for a, little while but are 
 gone (Heb. and Marg. ' and are not,' are no 
 more, but disappear from the stage), and 
 (are) brought low (by death which termi- 
 nates at once their power and their pride) ; 
 they are taken out of the way as all others 
 (even the meanest whom they have oppressed), 
 and cut off as the tops of the ears of corn." 
 Observe 
 
 1. Injury done to a fellow creature a sin 
 marked by God; that sin aggravated when the 
 
 injury is done io one already in any way 
 aJJJided (verse 21). The afflicted, destitute 
 and reproached, have already claims on our 
 sympathy and succour. 
 
 2. A tin in the sir/lit of God, not only to 
 it/jure the afflicted and destitute, but ecen to 
 withhold our sympatliy and aid. Not to do 
 the good in our power, a sin as well as to do 
 evil (Pror. iii. 27; xxiv. 11, 32). Neglect 
 of the fifth commandment a sin as truly as 
 the transgression of the sixth. Sins of omis- 
 sion discover the character and bring con- 
 demnation as truly as those of commission. 
 The sins produced at last day for judgment, 
 especially the latter (Matt. xxv. 42 -45.) 
 Pure and aneftled religion before God, to 
 visit the fatherless and widows in their 
 affliction (James i. 27). 
 
 o. / high aggravation of sin when we not 
 only do icronc/ ourselves, but endeavour by our 
 influence to (Iff/iff others into the same practice 
 (verse 22). Ahab specially branded in the 
 Bible as not only having sinned himself, but 
 also "made Israel to sin." The character of 
 (he ungodly not only to sin themselves but to 
 draw others into participation in their sin 
 (Pror. i. 1014). 
 
 4. An aggravated sin to abiite God's 
 goodness and forbearance to the 'practice of 
 evil (verse 23). God's goodness intended, 
 on the contrary, to lead to repentance 
 (Horn. ii. 4). Sin persevered in on the 
 calculation that " to-morrow shall be as 
 this day and much more abundant" (Is. 
 Ivi. 12). 
 
 5. Sin, though passed occr for the present, 
 yet marked for future visitation, if not pre- 
 vented by timely repentance (verse 23). Sen- 
 tence against an evil work not speedily 
 executed. The sinner allowed to do evil a 
 hundred times (Ex. viii. 11, 12). Yet God's 
 eyes are upon men's ways. 
 
 6. The power and pride of the ungodly but 
 of short continuance (verse 24). 
 
 7. Sinners often cut off" when their prosperity 
 has reached Us highest pitch, like the " tops of 
 tlie ears of corn." 
 
 8. Men spared to ripen either for mercy or 
 judgment. 
 
 VII. Challenges contradiction or re- 
 futation (verse 25). "If it be not so now 
 [that the case is as I represented it], who- 
 will make me a liar (or prove me in error), 
 and make my speech nothing worth ? " Job's 
 position that of Asaph (Ps. Ixxiii.), that the 
 ungodly often live long and prosper in this 
 woVld, and are without any "bands in their 
 death," though ultimately brought to judg- 
 ment. His position assailed by his friends 
 as derogatory to God's righteousness as the 
 Governor of the world, and as savouring of 
 infidclitv. In Job's view, his position un- 
 
 151
 
 CHAP. XXV. 
 
 IIOMILET1C COMMENTARY: JOB. 
 
 affected by their speeches and arguments. 
 Observe : 
 
 1. Our duty to see (hat the views ice hold in 
 regard to God and His moral government rest 
 on solid f) rounds. 
 
 2. Oar duty in regard, to subjects upon 
 
 which there is room for doubt, to be open to 
 conviction ami argument on the opposite side. 
 3. Our views on all religious subjects to 6e 
 brought to the touchstone of reason and Scrip- 
 ture. Truth able to bear testing. 
 
 CHAPTER XXV. 
 THIRD SPEECH OF BILDAD THE SHUHTTE. 
 
 His speech either a very abortive oue, or 
 it includes, as some think, the following 
 chapter from the fifth verse to the end, the 
 lirst four verses of that chapter probably 
 belonging to the next one, but, by the mis- 
 take of transcribers, placed at the beginning 
 of this. 
 
 The object of the speech to show Job's 
 presumption in thinking himself righteous 
 before God, and in wishing to debate his 
 cause with Him as an innocent sufferer. 
 
 With this view he sets forth the character 
 and attributes of God. Appears to charge 
 Job, though only by implication, with re- 
 bellion against the Divine Majesty, and to 
 wish to overwhelm him with a view of the 
 Divine power and holiness. 
 
 The speech true in its statements, just in 
 its sentiments, sublime in its poetry. The 
 argument employed in it solid, and similar 
 to that ultimately used by Jehovah Himself 
 to silence Job. The speech wanting in 
 appropriateness to the case in hand, and in 
 sympathy with the party addressed. 
 
 I. Bildad briefly descants on tho 
 attributes of God. 
 
 1. Ilis sovereignty (verse 2). " Dominion 
 and fear are with him." God not named. 
 With Him whom Ihou challengest. Him 
 emphatic. With Him and no other. God 
 "the great and only Potentate." The 
 Supreme lluler in heaven, earth, and hell. 
 Therefore not to be resisted with impunity. 
 As the supreme universal Ruler, God must 
 be righteous in all His works. Therefore 
 wicked, as well as ruinous, to oppose Him. 
 God's attribute of sovereignty frequently in- 
 sisted on in the Scriptures. Examples : 
 Ps. ciii. 19; Is. xlv. 9; Dan. iv. 25, 34, 35. 
 Pitted (1) To silence nmrmurings under 
 affliction and trial. (2) To pacify and rest 
 1 he soul under dark dispensations and myste- 
 rious providences. "Shall not the judge of 
 all the earth do right?" (3) To comfort 
 the heart depressed by a view of abounding 
 sin and misery, and of the apparent triumph 
 of iniquity in the world. God, as Sovereign 
 Ruler, able to make the wrath of man to 
 praise Him, and to restrain the remainder of 
 that wrath. Suffering onlv the discipline 
 152 
 
 employed, or the punishment inflicted, by 
 the Supreme Governor. Hell his prison- 
 house for rebellious and impenitent subjects. 
 His sovereignty consistent with the permis- 
 sion of rebellion and evil in His dominions. 
 Will one day bring all things into full sub- 
 jection. 
 
 2. Terrible majesty. " Dominion mdfea,' 
 are with him." " With God is terrible 
 majesty" (ch. xxxvii. 22). God's majesty 
 fitted to awaken fear. All the earth to stand 
 in awe of Him. " Who shall not fear Thee?" 
 the song in heaven (Rev. xv. 4). " God 
 greatly to be feared even in the assembly of 
 his saints " (Ps. Ixxxix. 7). Seraphim cover 
 their faces with their wings before Him (Is. 
 vi. 2). The posts of the temple-doors and 
 the granite mass of Sinai shook at His pre- 
 sence (Is. vi. 4; Ps. Ixviii. 8). John, in 
 Patmos, from fear fell at His feet as dead 
 (Rev. i. 17). Sin especially makes men 
 afraid of God. " Depart from me, for I am 
 a sinful man, O Lord " (Luke v. 8). As a 
 consequence of God's sovereignty and Divine 
 majesty, He preserves harmony among the 
 highest classes of His creatures. "He makel h 
 peace in His high places." (1) Among 
 the anf/els, His higher intelligent creatures 
 (Ps. ciii. 20). God's will done perfectly in 
 heaven. No rebellious thought, word, or 
 action found there. All loving, reverential 
 submission to, and acquiescence in, the Divine 
 will. Rebellion once permitted to enter, but 
 immediately subdued and expelled for ever. 
 Heaven a place of peace and harmony, order 
 and tranquillity, safety and felicity. No hostile 
 attempts suffered to be made upon its in- 
 habitants from without ; no disturbance or dis- 
 quiet to arise within. (2) Among i\\e heavenly 
 bodies. These preserved by the Supreme 
 Ruler in their respective orbits. No collision 
 or injurious disturbance, permitted from each 
 other. "Music of the spheres," an idea as 
 true as it is beautiful. Inferences: (1) Ij 
 peace prevails in His high places, it should 
 aho do so in, His lower ones the earth and 
 its inhabitants. Monstrous for man to be in 
 rebellion against His Creator. (2) If God 
 makes peace in His high places, He will also 
 make it in His lower ones. God's will to be 
 done on earth as it is in heaven. To make
 
 IIOMILETIC COMMENTARY: JOB. 
 
 CHAP. XXV. 
 
 peace on earth, the object of His Son's 
 mission into the world. "Oil earth peace" 
 (Luke ii. 14). (3) God the great peace- 
 maker. His nature peace. True peace the 
 peace of God. All true peace from Him. 
 The God of peace. The author not of con- 
 fusion, but of peace, order, and concord 
 (1 Cor. xiv. 33). (4).A'0 rebellion which God 
 is not able to quell. The continuance of re- 
 bellion on earth not the result of God's 
 weakness or indifference, but of His patience, 
 compassion, and wisdom. The long-suffering 
 of God is salvation. Not willing that any 
 should perish, but that all should come to 
 repentance (2 Pet. iii. 9,15). He who makes 
 peace in His places, is able to make it also 
 in His lower ones. (5) God's rule an efficient 
 one. He not only wishes, but makes peace. 
 Our great comfort. Man's efforts to make 
 'peace in the world, in a country, in a family, 
 in himself, ineffectual. God able to subdue 
 all things to Himself, and so to make peace. 
 He maketh wars to cease unto the ends 
 of the earth (Ps. xlvi. 9). Shall scpak peace 
 to the heathen (Zecli. ix. 10). Commands 
 peace to raging winds and threatening waves. 
 Speaks peace to the troubled soul : "Be of 
 good comfort; thy sins arc forgiven thec: 
 go iii peace." 
 
 3. His poire,- ami greatness (ver. 3). "Is 
 there any number of his armies ? " These 
 armies are (1) Angels (Ps. ciii. 21). These 
 innumerable (Ps. Ixviii. 17; liev. v. 11; 
 Dan. vii. 10). Angels of light doubtless 
 much more numerous than those of darkness. 
 Yet of these a legion, or some thousands, 
 found in one single person (Mark v. 9, 13). 
 Milton rightly sings 
 
 "Millions of spiritual creatures walk the 
 
 earth 
 
 Unseen, both when we wake and when 
 we sleep." 
 
 The inhabitants of this earth probably only 
 as a drop in the ocean compared with the 
 " innumerable company of angels." (2) 
 Heavenly bodies (Is. xl 20). These to us 
 literally innumerable. Vastly more nume- 
 rous than could be dreamt of by Bildad 
 at that time. Only a very lew of these 
 visible to the naked eye. An immense 
 multitude of dense clusters of stars appa- 
 rently scattered throughout all space. These 
 clusters like so many vast armies. The whole 
 aggregate of these starry worlds a mighty 
 host drawn up in endless battalions, probably 
 only visible at once to the eye of the 
 Almighty. Our Galaxy, or Milky Way, one 
 of those immense clusters of stars or suns, 
 with nearly thirty times as many towards the 
 centre as near the extremities, being rather 
 a succession of irregular masses, more or less 
 connected by isthmuses or bridges of orbs, 
 
 stretching from the one to the other, in any 
 one of which the number of stars is p;ist 
 reckoning. Yet this immense cluster, or com- 
 bination of clusters, with its stars scattered 
 by millions like glittering dust, is only one 
 of these numerous " armies " that compose 
 the celestial host. Upwards of two thou- 
 sand of these nebulous clusters discovered 
 in the northern, and more than one thousand 
 in the southern heavens, which, by powerful 
 telescopes, have been resolved into innumer- 
 able stars. (3) All creatures employed in 
 serving God and ministering to His will. So 
 locusts, &c., spoken of as Jehovah's " great 
 army " (Joel ii. 25). The army of the Medes 
 and Persians His weapons against Babylon 
 (Is. xiii. 5; Jer. 1. 14). " Fire and hail, snow 
 and vapour, stormy wind fulfilling his word," 
 included am OUST his armies (Ps. cxlviii. 8 ; 
 Job xxxviii. 22, 23). All nature His ser- 
 vants when " the Lord of hosts mustereth his 
 host of the battle " (Is. xiii. 4). 
 
 " What is creation less 
 Than a capacious reservoir of means 
 Formed for His use, and ready at His 
 will?" 
 
 4. II is goodness and beneficence. "On 
 whom doth not his light arise." His light is : 
 
 (1) Literally and physically the light of 
 the sun. in the heavens. "His going forth is 
 from the end of the earth, and his circuit 
 unto the ends of it : nothing hid from the 
 heat thereof " (Ps. xix. 6). "He maketh 
 his sun to shine on the evil and on the good." 
 All lands, classes, characters, individuals, 
 partakers of the precious benefit. Its prc- 
 ciousness only fully realized by those who 
 have long felt its want surrounded by 
 "clouds instead, and ever-during dark."- 
 
 (2) Figuratively, Ills favour and providential 
 ffoodness. This universal. " The Lord is good 
 to all, and His tender mercies are over all 
 His works." " He is kind unto the unthank- 
 ful and to the evil " (Luke vi. 35). " The 
 Lord loveth the stranger in giving him food 
 and raiment " (Deut. x. 18). He sendeth 
 rain both on the just and on the unjust. 
 "Givcth rain from heaven, and fruitful 
 seasons, filling our hearts with food and 
 gladness " (Acts xvi. 17). God the Father 
 of lights, from whom cometh down every 
 good gift and every perfect gift (James 
 i. 17).' (3). " The light of truth, and saving 
 knowledge" (2 Cor. iv. 16). That light 
 designed for all men. Christ the Light and 
 the Saviour of the world. The true Light 
 which lightcth every man that cometh into 
 the world (John i. 9). A light to lighten 
 the Gentiles. His birth glad tidings of great 
 joy, which should.bc to all people. His com- 
 mission to His disciples, Go ye unto all the 
 world, and preach the Gospel to every crea- 
 
 153
 
 HOMILETIC COMMENTARY: JOB. 
 
 CHAP. XXV. 
 
 ture. Li Paul's time that Gospel had 
 already come into all the known world (Col. 
 i. 6). Christ lifted up to draw all men unto 
 Him. The duty of the Church everywhere 
 to hold forth this light (Phil. ii. 15, 16). 
 Though the light may arise on all, men may 
 wilfully shut it out, or not care to come forth 
 and enjoy it. Unbelief closes the shutters 
 against the light of life. Men may love 
 darkness rather than light, their deeds being 
 evil. No argument against the unversality 
 of light that some men arc blind, or shut, up 
 in prison, or refuse to enjoy its beams. The 
 condemnation of many that light is come 
 into the world (John iii. 19). 
 
 5. His purity and holiness. Verse 5. 
 "Behold, even to the moon, and it shincth 
 not ; yea, the stars arc not pure in his sight." 
 The moon and stars probably visible at the 
 time, the dialogue being held in the soft 
 moonlight of a tranquil evening in Arabia. 
 Moon and stars apparently the fairest and 
 purest objects in the visible creation. Yet 
 even these impure in the view of and in com- 
 parison with God. The moon loses its 
 brightness when seen beside Him, as the 
 stars pale before the rising sun. All, even 
 the purest creatures, impure in comparison 
 idth God. Seraphim cover their faces and 
 their feet with their wings while standing 
 before Him. Their adoring exclamation 
 one to another : " Holy, holy, holy, is the 
 Lord of Hosts" (Is. vi. 23. The song 
 of gloritied Saints : " Who shall not fear Thee, 
 
 Lord? for thou only are holy" (Rev. xv. 
 4). Isaiah, in the view of Jehovah's glory 
 in the temple, exclaims : " Woe is me ! for 
 
 1 am undone ; for I am a man of unclean 
 lips, and dwell among a people of unclean 
 lips" (Is. vi. 5). Imperfection and varia- 
 bleness inherent in every creature. Spots 
 on the sun and dark shadows on the surface 
 of the moon. Absolute purity and perfection 
 alone in God. The slightest shade of evil 
 or imperfection infinitely removed from His 
 spotlessly holy nature. All sin His perfect 
 and unchangeable abhorrence. The lustre 
 of stars and the holiness of angels only a faint 
 reflection from His own. 
 
 II. Bildad's inference (verse 4 G). 
 
 1. From God's perfections in themselves. 
 Verse 4. " How then can man (Hebrew, 
 'weak, miserable man,' enosli) be justified 
 (Ileli., 'just' or righteous) with God? Or 
 How can he be clean that is born of a 
 woman?" If God be such, how can man 
 be righteous "with Him?" (1) In com- 
 parison with Him; (2) In His sight; (3) In 
 controversy with Him as a party ; (4) Before 
 His tribunal as a judge. 
 
 Bildad's inference intended to have 
 pccinl reference to Job. Founded on man's 
 
 154 
 
 character as a creature, poor, weak, 
 miserable, liable to suffering, disease, and, 
 death. The reference rather to his physical 
 than to his moral character. The latter 
 however bound up with the former. Both 
 the result of the Fall in Eden. Bildad in- 
 fers man's impurity from his physical in- 
 firmity as a creature. Man in his best estate 
 necessarily impure in comparison with God. 
 His moral impurity, however, not from his 
 being a creature, but a fallen creature. " God 
 made man upright." Adam created in God's 
 image and after God's likeness. As he left 
 His Creator's hands, pronounced by Him- 
 self " very good/' A suffering and a sinful 
 state the twin effect of the first disobedience. 
 "By one man sin entered the world, and 
 death by sin." " By one man's disobedience 
 many were made sinners " (Rom. v. 12, 19). 
 Only by the grace of God and the obedience 
 of a second Adam can man now be righteous. 
 The righteousness in which a man can now 
 stand that of one who is both God and 
 man, one " born of a woman " like other 
 men, and yet, unlike other men, begotten 
 by the Father, and conceived in a virgin's 
 womb by the power of the Holy Ghost. The 
 man Christ, Jesus the speciiiie./i, of a rir/htcoiis 
 man without sin. All believers viewed as 
 righteous in Him. Made also partakers of 
 His holy nature and character. The Gospel 
 of the Grace of God gives the only answer 
 to Bildad's question, How can man be just 
 with God? The answer, By union with the 
 God-man Christ Jesus, effected through faith 
 in him by the operation of the Holy Ghost. 
 A man is now righteous with God, legally, 
 through the imputation of Christ's righteous- 
 ness to him ; pure in God's sight, morally, 
 t hrough the regenerating power of the Holy 
 Ghost in him. Viewed in Christ, God sees 
 " no iniquity in Jacob." Washed by faith in 
 the blood of the Lamb we are made "whiter 
 than the snow." " Thou art all fair, my love; 
 there is no spot in thee (Cant. iv. 7). Man, 
 as " born of a woman," is unclean ; as born 
 again of God, is or shall be pure as God is 
 pure (1 John iii. 2, 3). 
 
 2. From the impurity in God's sight lielong- 
 if/ to the purest creatures. Verse 6 " How 
 much less [pure in his sight is] man that is a 
 worm (or maggot, the product of putridity), 
 and the son of man who is a [crawling] 
 worm (kindred terms used to denote the 
 lowest state of degradation as well as weak- 
 ness and defilement)." If the purest creatures 
 are not clean in God's sight, how then can 
 man be so? Man made lower than the 
 angels (Ps. viii. 5). A worm (1) In his 
 place as a creature. (2) In his character as 
 a sinner. 
 
 Bildad's second question also answered by 
 the Gospel. Man, though a worm, can be clean
 
 HOMILET1C COMMENTARY: JOB. 
 
 CHAP. XXVI 
 
 in God's sight. Christ, tlie Holy One of 
 God, a worm, as a partaker of our weak 
 humanity. Believers made one with Him 
 are partakers of His pure and holy nature. 
 The Son of God became a worm wiih man, to 
 make worms sous of God with Himself. Every 
 believer now possessed of a higher and holier 
 
 nature than that of angels the nature of the 
 Son of God (Gal. ii. 20; Eph. v. 30; 2 Pet. 
 i. 4). The word of Clirist, received by faith, 
 the instrument in producing this purity 
 (John xv. 3 ; xvii. 17 ; Eph. v. 26 ; 1 Pet. 
 i. 22). 
 
 CHAPTEE XXVI. 
 JOB'S REPLY TO BILDAD. 
 
 Job, more alive to Bildad's want of sym- 
 pathy than to the excellence of his sentiments 
 iu regard to the Divine perfections, speaks 
 somewhat petulantly, certainly with irony 
 and sarcasm. Job not yet humbled. He 
 hears of God " by the hearing of the ear," 
 but as yet his eye does not see him (ch. 
 xlii. 5). Mere verbal representations, even 
 of the truth, not sufficient to humble and 
 pacify the soul. God must reveal Himself. 
 
 Uncertain whether the larger portion of 
 this chapter, viz., from verse 5 to the end, 
 docs not properly belong to the preceding 
 one as part of Bildad's speech. Viewed as 
 belonging to Job, its object would be to 
 show that Job could as easily, and more 
 comprehensively, descant on the Divine per- 
 fections as Bildad himself. The sentiments 
 contained in the portion not affected by the 
 question as to the speaker. 
 
 I. Job's ironical ami indignant re- 
 flection on Bildad's speech (verses 2 4). 
 
 1. Its icant of sympathy and succour. Verse 
 2 " How hast thou helped him that is 
 without power ! How savest thou the arm 
 that hath no strength ! " Means himself, 
 either seriously, as really without power and 
 strength ; or ironically, being so in the esteem 
 of Bildad and his friends. Bildad's speech 
 contained nothing calculated to support Job 
 in his deep prostration. Its object rather 
 to convict him of pride and self-righteousness, 
 and to overwhelm him with a view of the 
 Divine perfections. Job needed sympathy 
 and support, and found none. So with his 
 great antitype (Matt. xxvi. 40). Observe 
 (1) Our duty to succour by our words those 
 who are in trouble and distress, and to support 
 those who are weak and ready to fall. "Words 
 sometimes more effectual than deeds in help- 
 ing those who are " without strength." Job's 
 own practice in his better days (ch. iv. 3, 4). 
 All the more painfully sensible of the want 
 of it in his friends. (2) Ministers and preachers 
 to be careful in their ministrations and ad- 
 dresses to come up to their profession. One 
 great part of a minister's duty to support 
 the weak, comfort the feeble-minded, and 
 strengthen the tempted (Acts xx. 35 ; 1 
 
 Thcss. ii. 7; v. 14; Heb. xii. 12). Peter 
 required, when converted after his fall, to 
 strengthen his brethren (Luke xxii. 32). The 
 duty best discharged by those who have 
 realized their own weakness and need of 
 support. According to Luther, temptation 
 one of the three things that make a preacher. 
 Christ Himself able to succour them that are 
 tempted, having been tempted Himself. 
 
 2. Its want of suitable counsel. Verse 3 
 "Ilowhath thou counselled him that hath 
 no wisdom ! " Still refers to himself. Ad- 
 dressed by Bildad as if ignorant of the Divine 
 perfections. Bildad's speech as void of 
 counsel as of sympathy. Counsel never 
 more needed than when in spiritual darkness 
 and affliction. One of the blessings of true 
 friendship. " Ointment and perfume rejoice 
 the heart ; so doth the sweetness of a man's 
 friend by hearty counsel" (Prov. xxvii. 9). 
 One of the offices of Jesus, as the Saviour 
 of men and Head of His Church, to give 
 counsel. Therefore possessed of " the spirit 
 of counsel and might" (Isa. xi. 2). One of 
 His titles, "The Counsellor" (Isa. ix. 6). 
 One of the believer's privileges to enjoy sucli 
 counsel (Ps. xvi. 7). Observe (1) T/iepart of 
 minuter s, preachers, and Christians inyenerai,, 
 to counsel erring, perplexed, and troubled 
 souls, (i.) Men out of Christ constantly in 
 need of right and loving counsel. Christ 
 counsels such lo buy of Him gold tried in 
 the fire, &c. (Rev. iii. 17, 18). Preachers 
 and believers to do the same, (ii.) Anxious 
 souls in need of sound counsel. The quest-ion 
 to be wisely answered : " Sirs, what must I do 
 to be saved ? Men and brethren, what shall 
 we do ? " (iii.) Believers themselves often in 
 circumstances requiring judicious spiritual 
 counsel. (2) Ministers and others to seek 
 to be well qualified to give true spiritual 
 counsel both to perplexed believers and to 
 anxious inquirers. The tongue of the 
 spiritually -learned needed " to speak a word 
 in season to him that is weary " (Isa. 1. 4). 
 
 3. Its dffectiveness in regard lo the mailer 
 in hand. " How hast thou plentifully de- 
 clared the thing as it is " (" the real truth," 
 or " sound wisdom," as ch. xi. (i ; Prov. vhi. 
 14). Bildr.d had d< claird the truth, but not 
 
 155
 
 CHAP. XXYI. 
 
 HOMILETIC COMMENTARY: JOB. 
 
 the whole truth, nor yet, in Job's view at 
 least, the seasonable truth. Job did not re- 
 quire to be instructed by Bildad about the 
 Divine perfections. It was one tiling for 
 these to be set forth by Bildad, and another 
 for them to be exhibited by God Himself, as 
 was afterwards done. Observe (1) Not 
 only is truth to be spoken in addressing 
 men on Divine things, out the whole truth, 
 and especially seasonable truth. (2) "Words 
 and high-sounding descriptions, however 
 true, not suited to carry conviction to the 
 hearts of hearers. General declamations 
 about the Divine perfections not such as to 
 meet the case either of the careless or the 
 concerned. (3) Preachers to be careful to 
 give just representations of Dicine things, ami 
 such as are adapted to meet the case of the 
 hearers. The pulpit not the place to indulge 
 one's taste for elegant composition, learned 
 research, metaphysical subtleties, or poetic 
 description. Pompous common-places and 
 nights of rhetoric only famish the hearers, 
 and render the preacher himself ridiculous. 
 A Nero fiddled while Home was burning. 
 Paul an example to preachers : would rather 
 speak five words in the Church that he might 
 teach others also, "than ten thousand words 
 in an unknown tongue" (1 Cor. xiv. 19). 
 
 4. Its conceit. Verse 4. " To whom hast 
 thou uttered words? (verses or set phrases)." 
 Bildad's speech ridiculed by Job as rather 
 mere words or set phrases ; light-sounding 
 diction, rather than plain homely truth suited 
 to the occasion. Probably more of the tra- 
 ditional poetry of the country, which he 
 pompously repeats to a man crushed under 
 ;i weight of sorrow. Had treated Job as an 
 ignorant and godless man. Had set him- 
 self forth as his teacher in regard to the 
 Divine character and works. Had spoken 
 as immensely Job's superior both in piety 
 and knowledge. Conceit one of the most 
 repulsive and contemptible things in a preacher. 
 Modesty in regard to himself, and due respect 
 for his hearears, to be exhibited by every 
 teacher of Divine truth. Paul's example : 
 " I speak as unto wise men ; judge ye what 
 I say." "I am persuaded of you, my 
 brethren, that ye are filled with all know- 
 ledge, able also to admonish one another; 
 nevertheless I have written to you in some 
 sort, as putting you in mind " (1 Cor. x. 15 ; 
 Horn. xv. 14, 15). Peter's " I put you in 
 remembrance of these things, though ye 
 know them, and be established in the pre- 
 sent truth. I slir up your pure minds by 
 way of remembrance (-2 Pet. i. 12, li. J). 
 
 5. Ifs icant of originality and divine 
 vnction. " Whose spirit (breath, or in- 
 spiration) came from thee." Job ridicules 
 Bildad's spcecli ;ts either an echo of those of 
 his brothers, or a string of trite maxims of 
 
 156 
 
 the sages ; at the most, the effusion of his 
 own spirit, not that of the spirit of God. 
 Says nothing against the sentiments them- 
 selves. However uttered by Bildad, they 
 are recorded by the Spirit of God for our 
 instruction. Observe (1) Preachers to 
 beware of giving other men's productions as 
 their own. If other men's sermons are 
 read or repeated, it should be acknowledged. 
 (2) Preachers not to be mere imitators or 
 retailers of other men's sentiments. (3) A 
 preacher to speak from his own heart, if he 
 would reach the hearts of his hearers. 
 (4) Preachers to give to their hearers not 
 merely the effusion of their own spirit, but 
 what they have received from the Spirit of 
 God. Five plain words uttered from the 
 heart by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit 
 worth more than five thousand of the most 
 polished sentences, whether borrowed from 
 others or the product of our own talent and 
 study. The preacher who would win souls 
 or edify believers, while not neglecting 
 study and preparation, to be mainly con- 
 cerned to receive his messages from God in 
 answer to prayer, and to have the Spirit of 
 God in the delivery of them. Two things 
 to be sought by every preacher a Divine 
 unction in his discourses, and a Divine 
 energy with them. 
 
 Stray hints for preachers : 
 
 He who desires, according to Paul, to be 
 apt to teach, must first himself be taught of 
 God. E?a-;/i it*. 
 
 Those are the best preachers to the 
 common people who teach, with the sim- 
 plicity of a child. Luther. 
 
 Let your discourses be neither absolutely 
 without ornament, nor indecently clothed 
 with it. Avyusline. 
 
 It requires all our learning to make things 
 plain. Archbishop Usher. 
 
 Preachers are to feed the people, not with 
 gay tulips and useless daffodils, but with the 
 bread of life, and medicinal plants springing 
 from the margin of the fountain of salvation. 
 Jeremy Taylor. 
 
 Very fine, sir very fine ; but people can't 
 live upon flowers. Robert Hall. 
 
 I had rather be fully understood by ten, 
 than be admired by ten thousand. Dr. John. 
 Edwards. 
 
 Aim at pricking the heart, not at stroking 
 the skin. Jerome. 
 
 Here lies the secret [of the actor's greater 
 power in moving an audience than the 
 preacher's] : you deliver your truths as if 
 1 hey were fictions ; we deliver our fictions 
 as if they were truths. Garrick. 
 
 The prayer of an old writer : " Lord, let 
 me never be guilty, by painting the windows, 
 of hindering the light of thy glorious Gospel 
 from shining powerfully into men's hearts."
 
 IIOMILETIC COMMENTARY: JOB. 
 
 CHAP. xxvi. 
 
 Leigh Richmond's dying message to his 
 son : " Tell him, his father learnt his most 
 valuable lessons for the ministry, and his 
 most useful experience, in the poor man's 
 cottage." 
 
 "I'll preach as though I ne'er shall preach 
 
 again, 
 And as a dying man to dying men." 
 
 Hit-hard Baxter. 
 
 II. Descants more largely on the 
 Divine perfections and works both in 
 creation and providence (verse 5 13). 
 
 1. His sovereignty over the dead and Hie 
 invisible world. Verse 5 "Dead things are 
 formed from under the waters, and the 
 inhabitants thereof" (or, ' the dead groan from 
 beneath the waters, and the inhabitants 
 thereof '). Bildad had represented God as 
 exercising sovereign dominion in his high 
 places (verse xxv. 2). Here Job (if not 
 Bildad himself) apparently shows that sove- 
 reignty extending to the lower world or 
 place of the dead. The "dead," or shades 
 of the departed, perhaps more especially the 
 wicked dead, and in particular the giants or 
 mighty ones before the flood (Gen. vi. 4). 
 These represented as groaning or trembling 
 from beneath, under the mighty hand of God 
 upon them. The "waters" probably the 
 "deep" or abyss (Luke viii. 31; Rom. 
 x. 7), supposed by Jewish rabbis to be lower 
 than the earth; the place of the dead (Rom. 
 x. 7), and the prepared abode of the fallen 
 angels from which they recoil with horror 
 (Luke viii. 31). Perhaps the "fountains of 
 the great deep," broken up at the time of the 
 Deluge (Gen. viii. 11), and the "water under 
 the earth." (Exod. xx. 4). Possibly what 
 shall afterwards constitute the "lake that 
 burneth with fire and brimstone" (Rev. xx. 
 10, 14,15; xxi. 8). 
 
 The language of the text according to the 
 Old Testament view of the state of the 
 dead in general. According to it the 
 spirits of the departed still in conscious 
 existence. That existence, however, one 
 rather of pain and privation than of enjoy- 
 ment. The place of the disembodied spirits 
 represented as one of darkness (chap. x. 21, 
 22); Ps. Ixxxviii. 12), and of pain (ch. xiv. 
 22). Hence the great shrinking from 
 death on the part of Old Testament saints 
 (Ps. xxx. 8, 9; Ixxxviii. 912; Isa. 
 xxxviii. 1012, 17, 18). Yet Enoch and 
 Elijah both taken to be with God. Abraham 
 and Moses in a state of blessedness (Luke 
 ix. 30, 31 ; xvi. 23). Lazarus comforted in 
 the world of spirits, \vhilc Dives was tor- 
 mented (Luke xvi. 25). The doctrine of the 
 state of the dead only gradually developed. 
 
 Its full exhibition reserved for the advent of 
 the Messiah (2 Tim. i. 10). Possibly a 
 change made in the state of departed saints 
 after his resurrection (Matt, xxvii. 52, 53). 
 Perhaps, in more senses than one, Christ, 
 after overcoming " the sharpness of death, 
 opened the kingdom of heaven to all be- 
 lievers." (1) A separate state of conscious 
 existence after death not only the doctrine 
 of the Bible, but the general sense of man- 
 kind. Consistent with reason. Mind not 
 necessarily dependent on matter or any 
 material organization. (2) The state of the 
 departed ungodly one of pain and trembling 
 " wailing and gnashing of teeth." The con- 
 sciousness of God's power exercised in the in- 
 visible world only an increase to their suffering. 
 2. God's perfect cognizance of the invisible 
 world. (Verse 6) "Hell is naked before 
 him, and destruction hath no covering." 
 "Hell" (Hebrew, "Sheol;" Greek, "Hades") 
 used in Scripture to denote (1) The grave, 
 or receptacle for the dead body. (2) The 
 invisible world, or place of departed spirits 
 in general, without respect to character or 
 experience. The latter supposed by the 
 Jews to be a vast cavern far in the iuterior 
 of the earth. Probably the prison men- 
 tioned by Peter as enclosing the spirits of the 
 disobedient Antediluvians (1 Peter iii. 
 19, 20). May include both prison and 
 paradise. The place into which the disem- 
 bodied spirit of the Saviour went, in order 
 to satisfy the law of death as other men. 
 Yet his spirit on the same day in Paradise 
 (Luke xxiii. 43). The clause in the so- 
 called Apostles' Creed, ' e he descended into 
 hell," not found in the early Roman or 
 Oriental creeds. First used as a part of the 
 Creed by the Church of Aquileia, not quite 
 400 years after Christ. See Pearson on the 
 Creed, Art. v. "Destruction" (Hebrew, 
 " Abaddon," the name given to the Angel of 
 the Bottomless Pit (Rev. ix. 11), like "hell," 
 the place of the dead or of departed spirits, 
 its inhabitants being " lost " to human view ; 
 perhaps more especially the place of lost 
 men and angels. " Hell" and " destruction," 
 as synonymous terms denoting the invisible 
 world or place of the dead, found together 
 also in Prov. xv. 11; xxvii. 20; perhaps 
 another hint as to the period of the com- 
 position of the book. " Hell " and " death " 
 mentioned together in Rev. i. 18 ; xx. 13, 14. 
 Their keys hi the hand of Jesus as Lord of 
 the invisible world (Rev. i. 18.) (1) Be- 
 lievers need have no fear in entering the 
 invisible world. Christ their Saviour and 
 Elder Brother has been there before 1 hem, 
 and now holds the keys. (2) The grave 
 with its countless dust, as well as the 
 invisible world with its innumerable in- 
 habitants, all open to the view of the 
 
 157
 
 CHAP. XXVI. 
 
 HOMILETIC COMMENTARY: JOB. 
 
 Almighty. The dust of His saints precious 
 in his sight and caunot be lost (Ps. cxvi. 15). 
 (3) The most secret depths of earth and sea, 
 with their countless objects and inhabitants, 
 open to the same omniscient eye. Not an 
 animalcule or infusiorium, thousands of 
 which are contained in a single drop of 
 water, but is the object of His inspection 
 and care. (4) "Hell and destruction are 
 before the Lord ; how much more the hearts 
 of the children of men." There is no darkness 
 or shadow of death where the workers of 
 iniquity may hide themselves" (Prov. xv. 
 11 ; Job xxxiv. 22). 
 
 3. His power and wisdom in the works of 
 Creation and Providence (verses 7 13). (1) 
 In giving the earth and heavenly bodies their 
 present situation, and suspending them in 
 empty space. Verse 7 " He stretcheth (or 
 stretched) out [as a canopy] the north (or 
 northern celestial hemisphere, the only part 
 visible to Job and his friends, and here put 
 for the heavens in general) over the empty 
 place, and haugeth (or hung) the earth upon 
 nothing." The former clause according to 
 appearance, and the old opinion that the 
 heavens formed an immense arch, or vault, 
 stretching over the earth. The latter 
 philosophically true, and a remarkable an- 
 ticipation of the Newtonian theory of 
 gravitation. The earth and planets sus- 
 pended in empty space, and preserved in their 
 orbit by the operation of two opposite forces, 
 one (the centripetal) which attracts them to 
 the sun, or centre of the system, the other 
 (the centrifugal} which, in consequence of the 
 rotatory motion given them, keeps them 
 moving on in a circle or ellipse round the sun, 
 instead of being drawn absolutely to it. The 
 spherical form of the eartli thus also indi- 
 cated. "Earth self-balanced on her centre 
 hung." (2) Li forming the clouds and pre- 
 sertiiirj the tea fen/ par fides collected in tht'ni. 
 Verse S " He bindeth up the waters (or 
 watery vapours) in his thick clouds, and the 
 cloud is not rent imder them." Probably an 
 allusion to the second day's work of creation 
 the formation of the lirmamcnt. or atmo- 
 sphere, for the separation of the waters 
 beneath from those above, and collecting 1 lie 
 latter in clouds, and preserving them in their 
 place. An obvious manifestation of Divine 
 wisdom, power, and goodness. The provision 
 made for the earth's fertility. Kcscrvoirs of 
 water kept far above the earth in clouds by 
 the operation of natural laws. These clouds 
 so constituted that, notwithstanding the 
 quantity of water contained in them, they do 
 not burst and discharge their contents in one 
 vast destructive deluge. Their contents 
 made on the contrary to fall in such gentle 
 and temporary showers as to meet the earth's 
 requirements. Such discharge made to result 
 158 
 
 from a change in the temperature, or the 
 influence of electricity. The clouds on one 
 special occasion " rent under " their con- 
 tents, when the " windows of heaven were 
 opened " to deluge a disobedient world. A 
 partial " rending " in extraordinarily heavy 
 and deluging rains. (3) In so collecting 
 dense clouds as to darken the sky with them. 
 Verse 9 " He holdeth back the face of his 
 throne, and spreadeth his cloud upon it." 
 The sky, or heaven, viewed as God's throne 
 (Matt. v. 3-1; Isa. Ixvi. 1). Concealed by 
 Him from time to time by a curtain of dark 
 clouds. These clouds of His own formation, 
 from the watery particles exhaled by the 
 sun's heat from the eartli and sea, and 
 directed by currents of air into one locality. 
 Clouds serve various and important pur- 
 poses : (i.) Tn irrigating the ground, (ii.) In 
 moderating the heat, (iii.) In beautifying 
 the sky. The beauty of the sky, especially 
 at sunset, thus made to vie with that of the 
 earth. Observe God himself invisible, 
 though His agency is everywhere seen and felt. 
 His throne still there, though He spread a 
 cloud over it. God to be trusted and to be 
 believed in when we cannot see Him. (4) In 
 appointing the alternation of light and dark- 
 ness, cud the vicissitude of day and rdght. 
 Verse 10 " He hath compassed the waters 
 with bounds, until the day and night come 
 to an end" (or, "He hath drawn a circular 
 boundary upon the waters with exact pro- 
 portion of light and darkness ; " or, " even to 
 the limit of light witli darkness," i. e., where 
 Ihe light ceases and darkness begins; 
 Margin, " until the end of light with dark- 
 ness"). Apparent allusion to the first day's 
 work at Ihe creation the dividing the light 
 from the darkness, and appointing the 
 alternation of day and night (Gen. i. 3 5). 
 The "bound"'' here mentioned probably the 
 horizon. The earth popularly supposed to 
 be a plane bounded by the "waters" of the 
 ocean on which the vault of heaven appears 
 to rest and to form a circular boundary, 
 the place where light ends, and darkness 
 commences. The sun supposed to move 
 from the eastern to the western boundary, 
 where it disappears till the following 
 morning. The description in the text, like 
 others in the Bible, given popularly, accord- 
 ing to appearance. The earth's diurnal rota- 
 tion on its axis not then generally known. 
 No object of the Bible to teach the i'acts that 
 progressive science was in due time to dis- 
 cover. The language of the Bible popular, 
 not scientific or philosophical. The horizon 
 an apparent boundary between light and 
 darkness. That boundary a part of God's 
 work in creation and providence. Science 
 only informs us how. 
 
 The alternation of light and darkness, day
 
 &OMILBTIC COMMENTARY: JOB. 
 
 CHAP. XXVI. 
 
 and night, one of the most conspicuous and 
 beneficial arrangements of the Divine Creator. 
 Among its benefits are (i.) An agreeable 
 variety instead of the uniform sameness even 
 of constant day. "The sweet approach of 
 even and mom," the joyous thrill of sunrise, 
 and the gorgeous beauty of sunset, due to 
 this alternation. (ii.) Suitable seasons 
 afforded for the varied requirements of men 
 and other animals. Night and darkness suit- 
 able to man for rest, as daytime and light 
 are for labour. The darkness of night neces- 
 sary for predaceous animals obtaining their 
 food, (iii.) Evening valuable as tranquilliz- 
 ing the mind, inviting to sober meditation 
 and reflection, and affording opportunity for 
 domestic and social enjoyment. Eventide 
 the season chosen by Isaac for meditation in 
 the fields (Gen. xxiv. 63). 
 
 " Eve following eve, 
 
 Dear tranquil time, when the sweet sense of 
 home 
 
 Is sweetest ! Moments for their own sake 
 hail'd ! " 
 
 (iv.) The earth kept cool and moistened with 
 dew through the same wise and beneficent 
 provision, (v.) Plants and animals mutu- 
 ally benefited by the interchange of light 
 and darkness. " In the various processes of 
 combustion, and bythe respiration of animals, 
 a large amount of the oxygen of the atmo- 
 sphere, or its vital part, is withdrawn, and, 
 united with carbon, is returned as carbonic 
 acid an ingredient deleterious to animal 
 life. But this deteriorating process is 
 counteracted, at least to a certain extent, by 
 the vegetable tribes. The same luminous 
 influence which serves to generate chromule 
 (the green matter in plants), likewise aids 
 the plant in decomposing the carbonic acid 
 which has been absorbed ; appropriating the 
 carbon to the construction of the ligneous 
 tissue, and returning the pure oxygen to the 
 atmosphere, it fits it again for the purposes 
 of respiration. Animals may therefore be 
 viewed as preparing food for plants by the 
 air which they vitiate 5 while plants, on the 
 other hand, by their action under the in- 
 fluence of light, appropriate to themselves 
 nourishment, and restore the air to its normal 
 state " Professor Fleminrfs Temperature 
 of the Seasons. (6) The starry sky, with 
 its entrancing beauty and elevating lessons, 
 thus alone irade visible. To the alternation 
 of light and darkness day and night we owe 
 the poet's magnificent description of Even- 
 ing : 
 
 "Now came still evening on, and twilight 
 gray 
 
 Had in her sober livery all tilings clad. 
 
 Silence was pleased. Now glow'd the l)r- 
 inament 
 
 With living sapphires : Hesperus, that led 
 
 The starry host, rode brightest, 'till the 
 
 moon, 
 
 Rising in clouded majesty, at length 
 Apparent queen, unveil'd her peerless light, 
 And o'er the dark her silver mantle threw." 
 
 God to be adored as the author of this 
 beneficent interchange of light and darkness. 
 " Thou makest the outgoings of the morning 
 and the evening to rejoice." " The day is 
 thine ; the night also is thine : thou hast 
 prepared the Tight and the sun." " Thou 
 makest darkness, and it is night, wherein all 
 the beasts of the forest do creep forth " 
 (Ps. Ixv. 8 ; Ixxiv. 16 ; civ. 20). (5) In. 
 exciting storms and disturbances in the earth 
 and air. Verse 11 " The pillars of heaven 
 tremble, and are astonished at his reproof." 
 The visible heavens viewed as a magnificent 
 edifice supported on columns. These imagi- 
 nary pillars personified, and poetically re- 
 presented as in some tremendous commotion 
 of the earth or elements standing aghast at 
 the apparent reproof of their Creator. That 
 reproof supposed to be directed cither against 
 themselves or mankind. So the sea said to 
 be dried up at His rebuke (Ps. cvi. 9; 
 Nalmm i. 4). The raging wind and waves 
 literally rebuked by the Saviour, and hushed 
 into a calm (Matt. viii. 26). Storms and 
 earthquakes among the most striking inci- 
 dents in nature. Especially awful and 
 sublime in hot climates and mountainous 
 regions. Naturally strike t he mind as indica 
 tions or suggestions of Divine displeasure. 
 Strictly due to the Divine will, and, though 
 effected through the agency of natural laws, 
 a part of His providential government. Serve 
 various and important purposes (i.) Morally : 
 as (a) Reminding us of the existence, at- 
 tributes, and agency of a Divine Ruler and 
 Judge. Few persons fail, during a tremendous 
 thunderstorm, to think of a Supreme Being. 
 (Ij) Tending to produce elevating and re- 
 verential thoughts of God. One of the 
 sublimest descriptions of a thunderstorm, 
 with its effects both physically and morally, 
 found in Ps. xxix. 3 10. (c) Suggesting 
 the instability of earthly things and the 
 danger to which human life is exposed, with 
 the importance of securing the favour of 
 God and the assurance of a better world. 
 (d) Tending to elevate the mind and 
 strengthen the character by bringing it in 
 contact with the sublime and terrible in 
 Nature. (ii.) Physically : as (a) Purifying 
 the atmosphere. (4) Tending to the greater 
 irrigation of the earth, (c) Aiding in tho 
 processes of vegetation. (6) Li ///.< power 
 over the ocean in cxrit!,/;/ a/tfl ,s///////y !/.t 
 wares. Verse 12 "He dividcth (or cleave) h) 
 the sea with his power ; and by his under- 
 standing he smitefh through the prowl '' (or 
 "stillcth its pride" Hebrew, "llaliab"). 
 
 159
 
 uur. xxvi. 
 
 I10MILETIC COMMENTARY: JOB. 
 
 The sea, so uncontrollable by man, entirely 
 subject to the will and power of God. Already 
 literally divided, so as to form a pathway in 
 the midst of its waters (Exod. xiv. 21, 22 ; 
 Is. li. 10 15). Ordinarily divided and cleft 
 by storms and tempests. By the same 
 Divine power, its towering billows and 
 yawning chasms made to disappear, and the 
 storm changed into a calm (Ps. Ixv. 7 ; 
 cvii. 29). Done by Christ (Matt. viii. 2G). 
 Observe Power more conspicuous in ex- 
 citing the storm at sea; anaenfandioff, in 
 quelling it. The latter frequently in answer 
 to prayer (Ps. cvii. 28, 29 ; Matt. viii. 25, 
 20). Prayer in such circumstances the voice 
 of nature (Jonah i. 5, 6). (7) In niakinr/ the 
 fh/ bright and serene by day and studdniy it 
 with sfars by night. Verse 13 "By his 
 spirit (or ' breath,' his power or command ; 
 or perhaps the Third Person in the Godhead, 
 also engaged in creation, Gen. i. 2) he hath 
 garnished the heavens (or, ' the heavens are 
 Brightness or beauty,' i.e. bright, and beau- 
 tiful) ; and his hand hath formed (possibly 
 'wounded,' or 'slain') the crooked (gliding or 
 darting) serpent " (perhaps the Zodiac, with 
 its twelve, signs or constellations, anciently 
 represented as a serpent -with its tail in its 
 mouth ; or, more probably, a northern con- 
 stellation, called Draco, or the Dragon, the 
 description being taken from the living ser- 
 pent). Apparent allusion to the fourth 
 clay's work in creation (Gen. i. 14 16). The 
 bright clear heaven lighted up with sunshine, 
 a beautiful object, especially as succeeding a 
 storm or the darkness of night. Still more 
 beautiful is the nocturnal sky, spangled with 
 stars. Affords an impressive exhibition of 
 Divine power (Is. xl. 16). The stars count- 
 less in number. In themselves, probably so 
 many suns and centres of systems like our 
 own. Those forming any of the constellations 
 millions of miles apart from each other. A 
 nebula or white fleecy speck in the belt of 
 Orion, resolved by the telescope into a mass 
 of stars at incalculable distances from us 
 and from each other. Stars early grouped, 
 for convenience, into imaginary figures of 
 men, animals, &c. 
 
 Some terms and ideas in the preceding 
 verse also brought together in Is. li. 9 ; 
 xxvii. 1 ; Ps. Ixxxix. 10. Hahab here ren- 
 dered "proud," or "pride;" used also as a 
 proper name for Egypt, while Pharaoh is 
 symbolized by the dragon or leviathan the 
 crocodile of the Kile. Operations in Hie 
 natural world analogous to those in tin- 
 social and moral. The natural world itself 
 a mirror of the spiritual. The lowering 
 billows of the ocean a picture of the swelling 
 pride of God's enemies, as exemplified in 
 Egypt and her hosts at the time of the 
 c>:r<>,;s (Ps. xv. 7). Monsters of the land 
 
 IGO 
 
 and sea symbolical of cruel and injurious 
 men, as well as of Satan and his infernal 
 legions. The power that quells the one 
 employed in subduing the other. A reference 
 in the text supposed by some to the exodus, 
 and also to Gen. iii. 15. 
 
 III. Reflection on the greatness of 
 the Almighty's works. Verse 14 "Lo, 
 these are parts (outlines or extremities) of 
 his ways ; but how little a portion (or, 
 ' what a mere whisper ') is heard of him 
 (or of what is 'in Him' His being and 
 perfections); but the thunder (or full 
 manifestation) of his power who can under- 
 stand?" The stupendous works and opera- 
 tions of His hands which are visible to us 
 only a small part the mere outline or 
 extremities of the whole. "What we see and 
 hear of in relation to God and His works, as 
 compared with the fulness of His power, 
 only a mere whisper in comparison with the 
 mighty thunder. Observe 
 
 1. Much more to be known of God and His 
 ?/',//.? than is possible for us to know i 
 present state. Yet all His visible ordinary 
 operations would be regarded as miracles, if 
 not seen daily. 
 
 2. A sound and deep theology grounded on 
 this Terse. Man's knowledge confined to 
 parts only of God's ways. The extremities 
 or forthgoings of His administration on 
 earth only visible. The springs, principles, 
 and anterior steps above and out of man's 
 sight. Dr. Chalmers. The humbling ac- 
 knowledgment of those who have penetrated 
 farthest into the mysteries of nature. " The 
 phenomena of matter and force lie within our 
 intellectual range. . . . But behind and 
 above, and around all, the real mystery of 
 1 lie universe remains unsolved." Professor 
 T i/ a dull, lecture to Wwkini/ Men at the 
 Dundee British Association Muffin//, Sept., 
 
 1MJ7- "Alike iu the external and the 
 internal worlds, the man of science sees 
 himself in the midst of perpetual changes, 
 of which he can discover neither the begin- 
 ning nor the end. In all directions his 
 investigations eventually bring him face to 
 face with an insoluble enigma; and he ever 
 more clearly perceives it to be an insoluble 
 enigma. Herbert ,*y/wrr'.v f'i rut Principles. 
 "All our science is but an investigation of 
 the mode in which the Creator acts; its 
 highest laws are but expressions of the mode 
 in which he manifests His agency to us. 
 And when the physiologist is inclined to 
 dwell unduly upon his capacity for pene- 
 trating the secrets of nature, it may be 
 salutary for him to reflect that, even should 
 he succeed iu placing his department of 
 study on a level with those physical sciences 
 iu which the most complete knowledge of
 
 HOMILETIC COMMENTARY: JOB. 
 
 CHAP. xxvii. 
 
 causation (using that term in the sense of 
 'unconditional sequence') has been ac- 
 quired, and iii which the highest generaliza- 
 tions have been attained, he is still as far as 
 ever from being able to comprehend that 
 power which is the efficient cause alike of the 
 simplest and most minute, and of the most 
 complicated and most majestic, in the 
 universe," W. B. Carpenter, General and 
 Comparative Physiology. 
 
 3. A glorious increase of knowledge awail- 
 iiir/ the believer in another world. There we 
 shall know even as we are known (1 Cor. xiii. 
 12). From this ever-enlarging enlightenment 
 the proud unbeliever, however scientific 
 and philosophical now unhappily, cuts him- 
 self off. To him the future will be a world 
 of darkness, not of light. 
 
 4. Exertions qfDioiite power yet, to be dis- 
 played even in connection with this earth far 
 b/'yond what has been already witnessed. "What 
 the Bible declares, observation confirms, sound 
 reason assents to, and what every genuine 
 Christian cordially believes, of a resurrection 
 of the dead, is only an example of such power 
 (Matt. xxii. 26 ; Eph. i. 19, 20). Resurrec- 
 tion a miracle ; but even such a miracle only 
 something of "the thunder of His power." 
 Why thought incredible with a Being who is 
 Almighty (Acts xxvi. 8) ? 
 
 5. The lower exertions of God's power in the 
 universe beyond man's comprehension ; hoio 
 much the higher ? In the presence of Divine 
 declarations, the part of sound philosophy, 
 as well of true piety, is to believe and 
 adore. 
 
 CHAPTER XXVH. 
 JOB'S REPLY TO THE FRIENDS IN GENERAL. 
 
 Job now alone in the field. Zophar, who 
 should have followed Bildad, and to whom Job 
 had given opportunity to speak, has appa- 
 rently nothing to say. Job, therefore, after 
 a pause, resumes his discourse, but in a 
 different tone. Speaks more calmly, and 
 even more solemnly. Declares, even with an 
 appeal to the Almighty, that, notwithstand- 
 ing all he still suffers at the hand of God, 
 and however God seems to treat him as a 
 guilty person, he is resolved, as a sincere and 
 upright man, to maintain the integrity of his 
 past life, and not, for the sake of bettering 
 ins condition, as his friends would persuade 
 him, admit hypocritically the justice of their 
 reasoning and of their charges against him. 
 Declares His utter abhorrence of all ungod- 
 liness, oppression, and hypocrisy, and main- 
 tains, along with the friends, that however 
 wickedness may appear for a time to prosper, 
 it is certain, sooner or later, to end in misery 
 and ruin. 
 
 Job represented (verse 1) as again "taking 
 up his parable," or " proverb " a weighty, 
 sententious discourse or saying, sucli as 
 uttered by sages and prophets (Numb, xxiii. 
 7 ; xxiv. 315 ; Ps. xlix. 4 ; Ixxviii. 2 ; 
 Prov. i. 16; xxvi. 7). In the New Testa- 
 ment used in the sense of extended simili- 
 tude. The latter part of the chapter, from 
 verse 11 to the end, from its connection and 
 position, one of the most perplexing portions 
 of the book. 
 
 I. Job's resolution to maiutnin liis 
 innocence. Verse 26. "As God livcth, 
 who hath taken away my judgment (has for 
 some mysterious purpose, dealt with me con- 
 trary to the justice of my cause and the 
 
 uprightness of my character, and who still 
 refrains from declaring my innocence, or 
 affording me an opportunity of pleading 
 my cause before Him), and the Almighty 
 who hatli vexed (or ' embittered ') my soul 
 (with such severe afflictions) ; all the while 
 my breath is in me, and the Spirit of God is 
 in my nostrils (so long as I have life continued 
 to me; apparent allusion to Gen. ii. 7), my 
 lips shall not speak wickedness nor my 
 tongue utter deceit (in falsely and contrary 
 to my conscience admitting myself to have 
 been a secret and guilty transgressor). God 
 forbid that I should justify you (in your 
 erroneous reasoning, and your consequent 
 charges against me, by acknowledging my- 
 self a wicked man) ; my heart shall not 
 reproach me, so long as I live " (or, " dot h 
 not and shall not reproach me for any of my 
 days," as having at any time lived in the 
 practice of secret ungodliness, or for now 
 denying the truth concerning myself). 
 
 Job now speaks as victor in the contro- 
 versy. More solemnly than ever declares 
 his purpose to maintain his innocence, not- 
 withstanding his present treatment. Gives 
 his asseveration the form of an oath " As 
 God liveth." Here, therefore, the controversy 
 proper between him and his three friends 
 takes end. Lairfid in certain circumstances 
 to appeal to God for the truth of what we 
 affirm, and (o confirm a holy righteous rcsolti' 
 lion by a solemn oath. So Luther, at the 
 Diet of Worms : " Here I stand ; I can do 
 nothing else ; so God help me." " An oath 
 for confirmation is an end of all strife." 
 
 Job an illustrious example of a man suffer- 
 ing innocently, yet resolutely refusing to 
 utter a single word contrary to his con- 
 
 161
 
 CHAP. XXVII. 
 
 110MILETIC COMMENTARY: JOti. 
 
 science. Tims confirms the testimony given 
 of liim by God Himself. Satan thus de- 
 feated and shown to be a lying slanderer in 
 asserting that, if only sufiiciently afflicted, 
 Job would renounce his religion would 
 " curse God to his face." Job thus eminently 
 belonging to "the noble army of martyrs." 
 Would rather still underlie the false accu- 
 sations of his friends, and suffer as an 
 apparently wicked man Ilic severities of his 
 present distressing condition, than speak 
 or act contrary to the dictates of his con- 
 science, or deny what he knew to be true. 
 Observe 
 
 1. A truly good man will be driven by no 
 sufferings, threatened or endured, absolutely 
 to renounce his religion. Through the 
 weakness of the flesh, extreme torture may 
 force out a recantation, which by the strength 
 of grace will speedily be withdrawn. Cranmcr 
 an example holding over the flames the 
 hand that signed the recantation, and ex- 
 claiming: "That unworthy hand !" "Tor- 
 ture me if you will; but whatever the weak- 
 ness of my nature may force me in my 
 suffering to confess contrary to the truth of 
 Christ, I will recall as soon as the torture is 
 withdrawn." An Early Female Marty? to tier 
 Persecutors. The spirit of the martyrs ex- 
 pressed in the language of the three godly 
 youths in Babylon (Dan. iii. 10 18). 
 
 2. The part of true piety to wait God's 
 own time for declaring our innocence, and 
 to take np hasty measures for clearing our 
 character or avoiding suffering and re- 
 proach. " Fret not thyself in any wise to 
 do evil. Commit thy way to the Lord; 
 trust also in him, and he shall bring it to 
 pass ; and he shall bring forth thy righteous- 
 ness as the light, and thy judgment as the 
 noon-day " (1's. xxxvii. 5 8). 
 
 3. Lawful in ec-rtaii circumstances strongly 
 to declare the sincerity of our character and 
 the integrity of our life. So Paul before the 
 Sanhedrim: "Men and brethren, I have lived 
 in all good conscience before God until this 
 day" (Acts xxiii. 1). Our own uprightness 
 to be maintained on such occasions, as due 
 (l)To God. (2) To onr neighbour. (3) To 
 ourselves. Our own righteousness of life 
 valuable (1) As a fruit of Divine grace and 
 the work of God's Spirit in our hearts. (2) 
 As the evidence of our reconciliation and 
 sonship to God. (3) As an example to our 
 fellow-men. Worthless ns the ground of our 
 justification before God. A twofold righte- 
 ousness belonging to the believer an im- 
 puted, and an inherent or personal one. The 
 latter to be maintained for our justification 
 before men ; the former for our justification 
 before God ; riz., the righteousness of the man 
 Christ Jesus, our Head and Representative, 
 "the Lord our righteousness" (Is. xlv. 24, 
 
 162 
 
 25; Jer. xxiii. G; Acts xiii. 39; Bom. iii. 
 2024). Imputed righteousness to be held 
 fast by a steadfast faith; personal righteous- 
 ness by holy resolution, dependence on 
 Divine grace, and, if need be, a fearless 
 declaration. 
 
 4. Believers so to live that their hearts 
 may not condemn them. " If our hearts 
 condemn us not, then have we confidence 
 toward God" (1 John iii. 21). 
 
 5. Job in his suffering from false charges, 
 and in 1he maintenance of his integrity 
 under them, a type of the Messiah (Isa liii. 
 8; Acts viii. 33 ; Isa, 1. 59). 
 
 II. Declares liis abhorrence of an- 
 godliness, ami his assurance of being 
 one day justified. Verse 7. "Let mine 
 enemy be as the wicked (or ' mine enemy 
 shall be c.'), and he that riseth up against 
 me as the unrighteous." May be viewed 
 either as in the form of a wish or of a 
 declaration. As the former strongly ex- 
 presses his abhorrence of ungodliness. A 
 godless character the worst thing he could 
 wish to his enemy. Thus a form of the 
 assertion of his integrity, without imply- 
 ing any evil wish against his enemies. As 
 the latter expresses the conviction that, 
 the day would come when those who now 
 opposed him would appear to lie the guilty 
 party. This conviction ultimately realized, 
 ch. xlii. 7, S. Observe 
 
 1. Abhorrence of ungodliness to be deeply 
 cherished, and on all due occasions to be 
 boldly declared. 
 
 2. Sin to be regarded and avoided as 
 the greatest evil, both to ourselves and 
 others. 
 
 3. Certain that God's faithful servants 
 will not always underlie false charges (Isa. 
 Ixvi. 5 ; Kev. iii. 9). A day at hand when 
 " all shall be brought out in their blacks 
 ai:d whites." S. liuJlirrfui-d. 
 
 !. A good man to be careful that his 
 enemies are only the ungodly. A faithful 
 follower of Jesus likely, sooner or later, to 
 have the ungodly for his enemies and calum- 
 niators. A woe pronounced on the disciples 
 when all men shall speak well of them; a 
 blessing, when men shall revile them, and 
 speak all manner of evil against them, falsely, 
 for their Master's sake. Christ Himself 
 hated by the world, because He testified of it 
 that its deeds are evil. His followers to 
 imitate His example and partake of His ex- 
 perience (John vii. 7; xv. 18 21; Matt. x. 
 24, 25). 
 
 III. rf (wives his reasons for his abhor- 
 rence of ungodliness and hypocrisy, as 
 well as a proof that his was not such 
 a character (verses 810 Tour things
 
 HOMILETIO COMMENTARY: JOS. 
 
 CHAP. XXVII. 
 
 not found in a hypocrite or godless person, 
 but which Job possessed (1) A good hope. 
 (2) A hearing with God. (3) A holy joy in 
 God Himself. (4) A heart always to pray. 
 
 1. The hope of the ungodly, however pros- 
 perous in this world, doomed to disappoint- 
 ment. Verse 8. "For what is the hope of the 
 hypocrite (or godless person), though he 
 have gained (or, 'when God cuts him off,' 
 as in ch. vi. 9; Is. xxxviii. 12), when God 
 takes away (or draws forth) his soul?" 
 The hope of the prosperous hypocrite 
 doomed to perish. Riches profit not in the 
 day of wrath. The sinner may live to do 
 evil " a hundred times," but must, if impeni- 
 tent, perish in the end. The rich fool in 
 the Gospel cut off in the midst of his pros- 
 perity, and in the height of his hope. Dives 
 taken from his sumptuous table, to cry in 
 hell for a drop of water to cool his tongue. 
 The Saviour's problem for a worldly man, 
 What shall a man be profited if he shall gain 
 the whole world and lose his own soul? 
 (Matt. xvi. 26). Solon's maxim not far from 
 the truth, Call no man happy till his death. 
 Observe (1) Our course of life to be con- 
 stantly viewed in the light of eternity and a 
 dying bed. 
 
 " Thrones will then be toys, 
 
 And earth and skies seem dust upon the 
 
 scales." 
 
 (2) A man is happy according to his cha- 
 racter rather than his condition. (3) The 
 text an emphatic testimony to a ftihire life. 
 But for this, the case of the prosperous 
 wicked might have the best of it. If in 
 this life only we have hope in Christ, then 
 are we of all men most miserable (1 Cor. xv. 
 19). (4) A prosperous life often suddenly 
 cut short by the stroke of death. Life in 
 God's hands. The thread cut off at His 
 pleasure. (5) The soul of the ungodly man 
 forced to quit the body ; that of the godly 
 gladly departs from it. The wicked is driven 
 away in his death. Body and soul must 
 part, ; the question is, how ? (6) That hope 
 only worth having that looks beyond the 
 r/rave. " He builds too low that builds 
 beneath the skies." (7) The gain of the 
 world a poor compensation for the loss of the 
 soul. (8) Awful condition for a man to be 
 suddenly called into eternity in the midst of 
 his earthly enjoyments, and unprepared. 
 
 "How shocking must thy summons be, O 
 
 death, 
 
 To him who is at ease in his possessions ! 
 Yv'ho, counting on long years of pleasure 
 
 here, 
 Is quite unfumish'cl for that world to 
 
 come." 
 
 (9) Gold able to procure entrance anywhere 
 but into the kingdom of God. (10) True 
 wisdom to ask, What is my hope in the event 
 112 
 
 of a sudden death ? Header, what is yours? 
 Only faith in Christ's blood and righteous- 
 ness, confirmed by a life of love toM'ards God 
 and men, the only sure foundation of a good 
 hope. Christ our hope. Such hope the 
 anchor of the soul amid the storms of life 
 and " the swellings of Jordan." 
 
 2. The prayer of the ungodly unheard in 
 the time of trouble. Verse 9 " Will God 
 hear his cry, when trouble cometh upon 
 him ? " Two questions implied (1) Will the 
 imgodly pray in time of trouble ? (2) Will 
 God hear him if he does ? A heart to pray 
 not always found in time of trouble. The 
 spirit to pray a gift from God. A prayerlesx 
 life often followed I;/ a prayerless deafh. 
 Prayer, even if offered, in time of trouble not 
 always heard (Prov. i. 24 28; Is. i. 15). 
 Acceptable prayer implies both repentance 
 and faith. Both wanting in the prayer of 
 the ungodly and the hypocrite. An accept- 
 able time when God may be found and prayer 
 heard; and the contrary. A time when 
 knocking at mercy's gate will be followed by 
 no opening (Matt. xxv. 11, 12). He who 
 will not pray when he might, perhaps cannot 
 pray when he would, or is unheard when he 
 does. To shut the door of our heart in 
 God's face, is the way to have the door of 
 his heaven shut in ours. Observe (1) A 
 time of trouble sure sooner or later to come 
 upon each one. (2) To pray in the time of 
 trouble the language of nature. So the heathen 
 sailors in the ship with Jonah (Jon. i. 5, G). 
 In ordinary circumstances the Athenians 
 prayed to their false deities, but in public 
 distress to "the unknown God" (3) The 
 ungodly either not able to pray in time of 
 trouble, or not heard if they do. (4) The 
 mark of a, hypocrite to pray only when trouble 
 conies upon him. 
 
 3. The unfjodly has no delight in God. 
 (Verse 10)' "Will he delight himself in the 
 Almighty?" The ungodly would have God's 
 gifts, but not Himself ; the godly would rather 
 have God than His gifts. A mark of grace 
 to delight oneself in God. An unholy heart 
 unable to delight in a holy God. 
 
 Delight in God. 
 
 (1) A leading part in true piety. God 
 desires not that we serve Him as a slave, but 
 that we delight in Him as a child. 
 
 (2) God Himself the chief good- to an 
 intelligent creature. Everything in Him for 
 such a creature to delight in. The source 
 and centre of all good. "Of all Thy gifts 
 Thyself the crown." All the beauty, love- 
 liness, and sweetness in the creature, in 
 comparison with what is in God, only a drop 
 compared with the ocean. Not to delight in 
 God is cither not to know Him or to be 
 
 163
 
 CHAP. XXVlI. 
 
 COMMENTARY: JOB. 
 
 under the power of a nature that hates Him. 
 They that know Him not only trust but 
 delight in Him. The greatest misery, as 
 well as sin, of an intelligent creature, not to 
 delight in God. Not to delight in God is 
 either to be ignorant of Him, or to declare 
 that we see nothing in Him to delight in. If 
 God, only as God, is such as to be supremely 
 delighted in by unfalleu intelligent creatures, 
 much more is He, as a God in Christ, to be 
 delighted in by fallen ones. 
 
 (3) God the delight of hear en. Hence no 
 unregeuerate or unholy person able to enter, 
 or find enjoyment there if he could. To de- 
 light in God hereafter, we must first learn to 
 delight in Him here. 
 
 (4) Delight in the creature only right when. 
 we first delight supremely in God. Delight 
 in the creature instead of God, not only 
 idolatry but insult. 
 
 (5) A sinner s greatest delight often his 
 greatest sin. The greater the delight in the 
 creature to the rejection of God, the deeper 
 the idolatry and the fouler the insult. 
 
 (6) A man's character proclaimed by ichat 
 he delights i/i. The sow delights in the mire, 
 the crow in carrion, the cock in the dunghill, 
 and the worm in corruption. The delight of 
 the holy, in God ; that of the unholy, in the 
 creature. Important question What do 
 I delight in ? God, or the creature ? 
 
 (7) Delight in God not affected by outward 
 circumstances. Often highest when outward 
 circumstances are lowest. 
 
 (8) The mark of a godly man, that, when in 
 deepest affliction, he can delight himself in 
 God. Job's case. Here apparently ap- 
 pealed to by Him as a proof of the sincerity 
 of his piety. 
 
 4. The prayers of the ungodly arc only 
 casual and temporary. " "Will he always call 
 upon God ? " 
 
 Persevering Prayer. 
 
 1. The ungodly man prays in sickness and 
 trouble, but not in health and prosperity. 
 Fitful prayers like smoke driven aside by the 
 wind and never reaching the clouds. An- 
 swers to prayer often withheld to prove its 
 faith and sincerity. Some pray only in the 
 sunshine, others only in the storm ; the 
 believer prays always. 
 
 2. The ungodly man's prayers not per- 
 severed in. Prayer, wanting the wings of 
 faith, soon tires and comes to the ground. 
 Prayer proves its sincerity by its continuance. 
 Fallen nature prays ; but only grace prays 
 always. The hypocrite and unbeliever draws 
 in his hand if not immediately filled. Many 
 lose their prayers by not drawing the bow 
 sufficiently for the discharge of the arrow. 
 Successful prayer a bolt shot up into 
 
 164 
 
 heaven. The believer stands knocking at 
 God's door, and waiting His own time of 
 opening. Christ taught His disciples always 
 to pray, and not "to faint" (Luke xviii. 1). 
 Answers only promised to persevering 
 prayer. He who prays successfully finds 
 enjoyment in the exercise which brings 
 him back to it. A man's religion which 
 is only by fits and starts wants the stamp 
 of divinity. Prayer, without perseverance, 
 not current at the gate of heaven. 
 
 Job able to stand both tests. Prayed 
 both in prosperity and adversity, and -per- 
 severed in his prayers. 
 
 IV. Declares his faith in the recti- 
 tude of the Divine government. 
 
 1 . Speak as one conscious of greater illu- 
 mination than hi* pretentious friends. Verse 
 11. "I will teach you by the hand of God 
 (or, concerning God's dealings with me n ; 
 and what is with the almighty (His purposes 
 and procedure in regard to evil doers) 1 will 
 not conceal." Observe Light given in 
 order to be communicated. A good man con- 
 stituted by God himself a teacher of others. 
 Made a light in the world to hold forth the 
 word of life (Phil. ii. 15, 10). Truth not to 
 be concealed from selfish love of ease or 
 slavish fear of consequences. 
 
 2. Yet appeals to their own observation, 
 and professes only to communicate facts 
 with which they themselves were already 
 acquainted. Verse 12. "Behold, all jc 
 yourselves have seen it." His friends had 
 already referred to the facts, but failed to 
 make a right application of them. Their 
 error not in respect to the facts, but the use 
 of them ; not in asserting that hypocrites 
 and oppressors sooner or later sutler the 
 punishment of their sins, but that Job, who 
 was now suffering appareutly at the hand of 
 God, must be one of them. Job asserts the 
 fact, but denies the inference. Maintains 
 that all oppressors and bad men, sooner 
 or later, sutler ; but denies (1) That there- 
 fore all oppressors and bad men suffer in 
 this life. (2) That all that suffer are op- 
 pressors and bad men. Observe (1) 
 Hearers themselves to be often appealed to 
 
 fur flic, truth of what is asserted. Appeals 
 to the hearers' own observation and experi- 
 ence often the most convincing argument. 
 Hearers frequently do not so much require 
 the knowledge of truths or facts, as the right 
 use and application of them. (2) The deal- 
 ings of Divine Providence open to men's 
 view, and calling for observation and reflec- 
 tion. 
 
 3. Hence reproves them for their tain and 
 itscless arguments. " Why then are ye thus 
 altogether vain r* " (or " babble forth sucli 
 vanities"?) Their vanity (1) In address-
 
 HOMILETIC COMMENTARY: JOS. 
 
 CHAP, xxvii. 
 
 ing Job as if ignorant of, or absolutely 
 denying, the facts they so much insisted on 
 in regard to the fate of the ungodly. (2) 
 In erroneously arguing from those facts that 
 Job, who suffered so much, must be a bad 
 man. That Job could maintain the facts 
 as decidedly as themselves, a proof (1) 
 That he was not the wicked man they had 
 represented him to be. (2) That he needed 
 not their instruction on the subject. (3) 
 That they had only been vainly insisting on 
 things which he himself admitted. (4) That 
 they had been one-sided in their views and re- 
 presentations. They had, therefore, poured 
 forth their eloquence, whether original or 
 second-hand, only " as one that beateth the 
 air." (i) Preachers to see that in their 
 discourses they are aiming at a right object, 
 and employing right arguments in support 
 of it. (2) Preachers not to dwell on known 
 and admitted truths without shewing the 
 right use and application of them. Not 
 enough to repeat that all who believe and 
 come to Christ will be saved, but to en- 
 deavour to shew what it is to believe and 
 come to Him, and hoio people may do so. 
 Not sufficient to insist that Christ died for 
 sinners, but to show how a man obtains a 
 saving interest in His death. 
 
 V. Describes the lot of oppressors and 
 of the prosperous ungodly. Verse 13. 
 "This is the portion of wicked men with 
 God, and the heritage of oppressors which 
 they shall receive of the Almighty." Seems 
 to take up the language of Zopliar (ch. xx. 
 29). Observe (1) Faith and piety look 
 1o the end. (2) Each man's destiny faith- 
 fully meted out by the Almighty according 
 to his character and conduct. (3). The main 
 question for a man what shall I receive 
 at the hands of the. Almighty ? Man kills the 
 body ; but the soul still in God's hands. 
 
 The lot of the ungodly described iu refer- 
 ence to 
 
 1. Their children. Versel4. "If his child- 
 ren be multiplied (or become great a mark 
 of propriety), it is for the sword (or they are 
 doomed to the sword shall fall in the siege 
 or battle as threatened, Hos. ix. 13), and 
 his offspring shall not be satisfied with 
 bread." Misery often entailed on children 
 by their parents' sin, an acknowledged fact. 
 " The seed of evil doers shall never be re- 
 nowned" a standing maxim. Children 
 usually serve themselves heirs of their parents' 
 sufferings by practising their parents' sins. 
 Effects of the sins of parents often in this 
 world more visible in the children than in 
 themselves. Pi'oof of a judgment to come 
 and a future life. Effects from parents' sins, 
 suffered by children in this life, may be over- 
 ruled by a gracious Providence for their 
 
 benefit in the next. Contrast the text with 
 what is stated of the children of the godly 
 (Ps. xxxvii. 25, 26). Job's children neither 
 perished by the sword nor suffered want of 
 bread. Verse 15. "Those that remain of 
 him (escaping the sword) shall be buried iu 
 death (immediately on their death as in a time 
 of pestilence, or buried by the pestilence as 
 the cause of their death) ; and his (or their) 
 widows shall not weep " (as iu an ordinary 
 case of burial, the want of such funeral 
 lamentation being with Orientals a grievous 
 misfortune " the burial of an ass," Jer. 
 xxii. 18, 19). 
 
 2. Their possessions. Verse 16. "Though 
 he heap up silver as the dust, and prepare 
 raiment (another form of Oriental riches) as 
 the clay; He may prepare it, but the just 
 shall put it on, and the innocent shall divide 
 the silver." The answer to the question put 
 to the rich fool : " Then whose shall those 
 things be which thou hast provided ? " 
 (Luke xii. 20). The sinner's wages earned 
 to be put into a bag with holes. Himself 
 often snatched away by death when expect- 
 ing to enjoy his acquired possessions. In 
 the Providence of God a good man often 
 made to reap the benefit of a bad man's 
 gains. Insecurity and transitoriness the 
 characteristics of the prosperous sinner's 
 earthly goods. Verse ]8. " He buildeth his 
 house as the moth (which is easily shaken 
 out of the garment where it has made its 
 nest, and which often devours its own 
 house), and as a booth (or hut) which the 
 keeper [of a vineyard] maketh " (intended 
 only to last for the season, and to be taken 
 down as soon the fruit is gathered). 
 
 3. His person. He is often (1) Carried 
 off by a sudden and unexpected death. Verse 
 19. "The rich man shall lie down [at 
 night on his bed of rest], but he shall not 
 be gathered (or, according to another read- 
 ing, ' he shall not do so any more,' he lies 
 down for the last time) ; he openeth his eyes 
 (or, as quickly as ' one opens one's eyes ' 
 in the twinkling of an eye) and he is not " 
 (is no more in this world, having been 
 carried often by a sudden death during the 
 night). Exemplified in the rich fool of the 
 Gospel, and perhaps forming the foundation 
 of the Saviour's illustration: "This night 
 thy soul shall be required of thee " (Luke 
 xii. 20). (2) Seized wii/t sudden fear of 
 approaching judgment. Verse 20. " Terrors 
 take hold on him as waters (suddenly over- 
 whelming him like a mountain-torrent rush- 
 ing down with widespread ruin) ; a tempest 
 stealoth him away in the night (some judg- 
 ment carrying him away like a sudden tor- 
 nado, never dreaming of such an event). The 
 east wind (the most vehement and destructive 
 in Oriental countries) carrieth him away, and 
 
 165
 
 CHAP. XXVIII. 
 
 UOMILETIC COMMENTARY: JOB. 
 
 lie departcth (no more to be seen), and as a 
 storm hurleth him out of his place (his fancied 
 paradise, where lie expected to remain, and 
 long enjoy his accumulated wealth. (3) 
 Visited 'with calamity from which he is unable 
 to escape. Verse 22. "Eor God shall cast 
 [His judgments] upon him, and not spare; 
 lie would fain flee out, of His hand." Un- 
 sparing sin prepares for unsparing judgment. 
 Escape often sought only when too lute. "The 
 prudent foreseeth the evil and hideth him- 
 self; the foolish passeth on and is punished." 
 "A fearful thing to fall into the hands of the 
 living God." (4) Made the object of execration 
 and abhorrence to his fellow-men. Verse 23.- 
 " Men shall clap their hands at him (in 
 abhorrence of his character and joy at his 
 fall), and shall hiss him out of his place " 
 (as au object of execration and a nuisance 
 
 to society). The most prosperous. evil-doer 
 made one day " an abhorrence to all flesh." 
 Some to leave their graves unto everlasting 
 life ; some " to shame and everlasting con- 
 tempt "(Dan. xii. 2; Isa.lxvi. 24). Observe 
 ri.) Power of faith and a good conscience 
 to enable a man, while deeply suffering both 
 outwardly and inwardly, calmly to contem- 
 plate and boldly to declare the consequences 
 of a life of sin. (ii.) A godly man, however 
 tried and afflicted, takes the part of God 
 against evil-doers, however prosperous in this 
 world, (iii.) Terrible consequences, sooner 
 or later, to a life of worldlincss and ungodli- 
 ness, (iv.) The tinsel of worldly prosperity 
 to be one day stripped off from the godless 
 possessor of it. (v.) Awful madness to 
 peril the destinies of eternity for the mo- 
 mentary pleasures of time. 
 
 CHAPTER XXVIII. 
 JOB'S DESCANT ON TRUE WISDOM. 
 
 The place occupied by this chapter one 
 peculiar to itself. Its connection with the 
 preceding or succeeding portions of the book 
 by no means obvious. Appears scarcely to 
 form a part of the dialogue. Seems, as it 
 stands before us, to have been delivered by 
 Job during a lull in the controversy. Forms 
 a poetical descant on the praises of true 
 wisdom. Job left alone in the field, and 
 now in a much calmer mood, in circum- 
 stances to enter on such a subject. Perhaps 
 led to it by wh'at he had stated in the pre- 
 ceding chapter in regard to the wicked, as 
 well as by his own affliction and the inability 
 of his friends and himself to account for it. 
 Strongly expresses his approbation of true 
 piety, and so affirms his own character. 
 Himself an exemplification of his own 
 definition of true wisdom. That definition 
 the characlcr secretly given him by God, 
 and which Job was resolved at all hazards to 
 hold fast. The section thus appears to be 
 introduced by the author to give prominence 
 to Job's real character. Probably indicates 
 the author's design in the book to give an 
 exhibition of the nature of true wisdom. 
 Has a special importance in connecting the 
 book with other parts of Scripture, especially 
 with the writings of David and Solomon, 
 and i he wise men of that period (1 Kings iv. 
 30, 31), and, in the New Testament, with 
 those especially of Paul and James (1 Cor. 
 xiii. ; James i. 3). Its similarity to passages 
 in the Proverbs at once obvious, especially to 
 chapters i., iii , viii. The last verse of the 
 spcuon, which gives the key of the whole, 
 almost an echo of Ps. cxi. 10; Prov. i. 7; 
 and Prov. ix. 10. Perhaps an indication thus 
 all'onlod of the period of the composition of 
 
 ICG 
 
 the book, as one when the attention of 
 thoughtful pious men was especially directed 
 to the subject of true wisdom. The section 
 exhibits (1) The inability of man, by his 
 own unaided powers, cither to discover or 
 acquire true wisdom. (2) The supreme 
 excellence of that wisdom. (3) Its origin 
 and discovery with God Himself, the Creator 
 of all things. (4) Its nature, as consisting 
 of true piety the fear of God and the con- 
 sequent departing from all evil. 
 
 This chapter, the oldest and finest piece of 
 natural history in the world (Adam Clarke}. 
 Indicates Job to have lived in a period of 
 considerable advancement in civilization. 
 Barnes. 
 
 True Wisdom. 
 
 I. Man unable, by his own unaided 
 powers, either to discover or acquire it. 
 
 Wisdom not to be discovered or obtained 
 like metals or gems. These hid in the 
 bowels of the earth, but discovered and 
 obtained by human art and industry. 
 (Verse 1) "Surely (or, 'for indeed' 
 the speaker being about to show the rarity 
 and excellence of true wisdom as contrasted 
 with what he had said of the prosperous 
 ungodly) there is a vein (or ' outlet,' Margin, 
 ' mine ') for the silver, and p, place for gold 
 where they fine it " (or, " which they smelt," 
 to render it fit for the purposes of life). 
 Gold formerly found in Arabia. Abundant 
 in Judaea in the time of Solomon (1 Kings x. 
 12, 14, 15). The art of extracting and 
 refining it learned at an early period of the 
 world. Mortals soon became metallaries. 
 Trapp. The discovery and earliest manu-
 
 JIOMILETIC COMMENTARY: JOB. 
 
 CHAP. XXVIII. 
 
 facture of metals apparently ascribed to the 
 descendants of Cain (Gcu. iv. 22). The 
 search for gold and silver poetically ascribed 
 by Milton to the suggestion of Mammon, a 
 fallen angel whose name denotes " riches : " 
 " By him first 
 
 Men also, and by his suggestion taught, 
 
 Kansack'd the centre, and with impious 
 hands 
 
 Rifled the bowels of their mother earth, 
 
 For treasures better hid." 
 
 According to Pliny, gold first found by 
 Cadmus, the Phoenician. According to 
 Herodotus, first coined into money by the 
 Syrians. Verse 2. " Iron is takea out of the 
 earth, and brass (or ' copper ') is molten 
 out of [and so separated from] the stone. 
 He (tlie miner or metallurgist, in searching 
 for and producing these metals from the 
 earth) setteth an end to darkness [by sinking 
 shafts, and, with the aid of torches, exploring 
 mines], and searcheth out all perfection (or, 
 'searcheth out with the utmost thorough- 
 ness ') the stones of darkness (lying hid 
 beneath the earth's surface), and the shadow 
 of death" (or places of deepest darkness). 
 Tubal-Cain, probably identical with theVulcan 
 of Greek and Roman mythology, represented 
 by Moses as the first artificer in brass and 
 iron (Gen. iv. 22). The Chalybes, or Cyclops, 
 said by Pliny to be the discoverers and 
 earliest workers of these metals. Brass and 
 iron said by Moses to be found in the rocky 
 mountains of Palestine (Deut. viii. 9). Iron 
 appointed by Lycurgus to be used by the 
 Spartans for money instead of gold, to pre- 
 vent its accumulation. Verse 4. "The flood 
 breaketh out from the inhabitant (or, 'he' 
 [the miner] openeth a channel or shaft away 
 from the habitations of men, or, 'from the 
 foot of the mountain') ; even the waters 
 forgotten of the foot (or, ' the men for- 
 Igotten of the foot,' i.e., descending to 
 places in the mine untrodden by human 
 or any other feet, nothing in the 
 Hebrew text either for waters or men) : 
 they are dried up, they arc gone away from 
 men (or. ' they [the miners] are suspended,' 
 viz., by ropes from the mouth of the mine ; 
 'they swing away from men' [who remain 
 above on the surface]). As for the earth, 
 out of it cometh bread (or bread-corn), and 
 under it (or ' underneath,' or 'its lower 
 parts ') is turned up as it were fire (com- 
 bustible materials, as sulphur, bitumen, 
 naphtha, coal (Gen. xiv. 10) ; or perhaps 
 precious stones glowing like fire (Ezek. 
 xxviii. M<). Note Underground warmth, 
 boiling springs, and red-hot mud, are be- 
 lieved to prove that fire still exists within 
 the globe.-~"The stones of it are the place (or 
 bed) of sapphires, and it hath [belonging to 
 it] the dust of gold" ('clods or lumps of 
 
 gold' Marr/in, 'gold ore'). There is (or 
 'it is/ vis. the mine) a patli which no fowl 
 [however keen-sighted] knoweth, and which 
 the vulture's eye hath not seen. The lion's 
 whelps (or, 'the proud wild beasts,' in their 
 search for prey) have not trodden it, nor the 
 fierce lion passed by it " [being deep below 
 the surface of the earth]. Yet even there 
 man's skill and enterprise find a way. Verse 
 0. " He [the miner] puttcth forth his hand 
 upon the rock (Ucb., 'the flinty rode,' viz. 
 with a view to its excavation) ; he overturneth 
 the mountains by the roots [by means of 
 wedges and hammers, acid liquids, or, as in 
 more modern times, by gunpowder over- 
 coming every obstacle that stands in his 
 way]. Hecutteth out rivers (or 'channels') 
 among the rocks [in searching for the pre- 
 cious metals or still more precious gems] ; 
 and his eye [with the aid of torches] seeth 
 every precious thing [whether metal or gem, 
 contained in those dark recesses]. He 
 bindeth the floods from overflowing (stops 
 or dams up the water to prevent them from 
 trickling and overflowing the mine) ; and the 
 thing that is hid (the metals or gems he is 
 in quest of) briugeth he forth to light." 
 Observe 
 
 1. The remarkable provision of Dicine 
 ffoodness and wisdom in making the earth 
 itself a storehouse of substances that should 
 contribute so largely to the comfort, gratifica- 
 tion, and improvement of the human race. Eor 
 example, iron and coal, not to speak of gold, 
 silver, and precious stones. Beds of coal, 
 many feet thick, and extending over an area 
 of many hundreds of miles, stored up far 
 below the earth's surface. These beds the 
 remains of ancient forests, and the result of 
 changes on what was the earth's surface 
 many thousand years ago. Iron, so import- 
 ant for man's use and progress in the arts of 
 civilized life, largely embedded in rocks, 
 slowly formed thousands of years before 
 man was upon the earth, Remarkable, too, 
 that as these beds of iron-stone required fire 
 both for the extraction and working of the 
 mef al, they arc generally found in close proxi- 
 mity to beds of coal, as well as to sulphur 
 which facilitates its production. 
 
 2. Man's art and industry necessary to the 
 acquisition and use of those materials which 
 God has stored -up in the earth for his benefit. 
 Man intended for work, and so to be a kind 
 of fellow-worker with his Creator. The 
 materials provided for him by God, but, in 
 order to his enjoyment and use of them, 
 requiring to be discovered, obtained, and 
 elaborated by himself through the intellect 
 with which God has endowed him. Man not 
 only to exercise his art and industry on the 
 productions of the earth's surface in order 
 to obtain his daily food, but also on what lies 
 
 167
 
 CHAP. XXVIII. 
 
 UOMILETIC COMMENTARY: JOB. 
 
 beneath it for the purposes of civilized life. 
 In the one case, as well as the other, man 
 must eat his bread in the sweat of his brow. 
 
 3. Remarkable adaptation between the pro- 
 ductions and contents of the earth, and the 
 faculties given to man for their discovery and 
 use. Faculties bestowed on man to fit him 
 for subduing the earth and turning its trea- 
 sures to his advantage. The art and industry 
 of the miner and metallurgist from the same 
 Creator as the minerals on which he works. 
 The ant operates on his little hill ; the bee 
 on its comb ; the beaver on his dam ; man 
 on the earth itself, with all that it contains. 
 " His God doth instruct him to discretion, 
 and doth teach him" (Isaiah xxviii. 26). 
 Human intelligence and skill a faint reflection 
 of that wisdom with which God made the 
 world, and part of that Divine image in 
 which man was created. "This also cometh 
 forth from the Lord of hosts, who is won- 
 derful in counsel and excellent in working " 
 (Isaiah xxviii. 29). 
 
 4. Man's industry in searching for the 
 precious metals an example of the earnestness 
 and perseverance with which he should seek for 
 the Letter and more enduring riches. Trea- 
 sures exist for man, compared with which all 
 earthly possessions are but as the dust of the 
 balance. Heavenly wisdom, in which are 
 durable riches and unending happiness, to 
 be sought for as silver, and to be searched 
 for as for hid treasures (Prov. ii. 4-). The 
 earnestness of the miner, with much less toil, 
 under the direction afforded by the Gospel, 
 sufficient to put a man in speedy possession 
 of gold which no thief can steal, and of which 
 not even death itself can deprive him. 
 Eternal riches close at hand wherever the 
 Gospel is revealed, and awaiting only the 
 humble and earnest seeker (Rev. iii. IS ; 
 Matt. xiii. 44). 
 
 II. The supreme value and excel- 
 lence of true wisdom. Verses 12 19. 
 "But where shall wisdom be found? and 
 where is the place of understanding' [where 
 it may be found like gold and silver] ? Man 
 knoweth not the price thereof, neither is it 
 found in the land of the living (not only not to 
 be discovered by the highest human intellect, 
 but not to be purchased with anything on 
 earth). The depth (or abyss waters under the 
 earth perhaps the ocean with its ' deep un- 
 fathomed caves ') saith, It is not in me ; and 
 the sea (waters on the earth's surface) saith, 
 It is not with me (nothing in eithei one or 
 the other able either to discover it to man 
 or afford him a price to buy it with). Note 
 The ocean's bed covered forlundreds of miles 
 with beautiful seaweeds, and with submarine 
 forests and jungles thronged with living 
 beings. "It cannot be gotten for gold (the 
 168 
 
 most precious and pure, 1 Kings vi. 20, 21) : 
 neither shall silver be weighed (as in ancient 
 times, Gen. xxiii. 1G) for the price thereof. 
 It cannot be valued with the gold of Ophir 
 (stamped gold, or the golden wedge or ingot 
 from the place most distinguished for its 
 production), with the precious onyx, or the 
 sapphire. The gold and the crystal (or 
 vases of crystal and gold) cannot equal it ; 
 and the exchange (or barter of it, according 
 to the ancient mode of traffic) shall not be 
 for jewels of fine gold (vessels or ornaments 
 of pure and massive go'd, such as have been 
 recently discovered in the coffin of an Egyp- 
 tian princess living in the time of Joseph, 
 nearly lour thousand years ago). No men- 
 tion shall be made of coral (some costly gem 
 or natural production long uncertain what), 
 or of pearls (always held in highest esteem 
 among men, Matt. xiii. 45, 46) ; for the price of 
 wisdom is above rubies. The topaz of Ethiopia 
 shall not equal it ; neither shall it be valued 
 with pure gold." Gold so abundant in Job's 
 time and country, and so variously employed, 
 that five kinds or forms of it are mentioned 
 in these few verses. 
 
 Similar language to that of the text in 
 reference to the excellence and preciousness 
 of true wisdom, found in Prov. iii. 13 15 ; 
 iv. 7 ; viii. 10, 11, 18, 19. That exhibited 
 in various particulars by Solomon in the 
 Book of Proverbs, which is only asserted by 
 the author of Job. (Compare Prov. iii. 16 
 18 ; iv. 59 ; viii. 20, 21, 35). The supe- 
 riority of Divine wisdom or true piety over 
 all earthly treasures evinced 
 
 1. In its intrinsic excellence. Other trea- 
 sures only material, and of the earth ; this 
 spiritual a thing of the soul as much 
 excelling material treasures as spirit excels 
 matter, and as moral and spiritual beauty 
 excels material. Gems and gold adorn the 
 body, wisdom and piety the soul. Those 
 beautiful and attractive to the eye of sense ; 
 these to the spiritual eye, both of God, 
 angels, and holy men. True wisdom, or the 
 fear of God, assimilates us to God Himself, 
 the source and model of wisdom, "the only 
 wise God." That which mainly constitutes 
 the Divine image in us (Prov. iii. 19, 20 ; 
 viii. 2231 ; Col. iii. 10). Allies us to all 
 holy beings, the unfallen intelligences of 
 heaven. Is to man what creative and pro- 
 vidential wisdom is to God. Prepares us 
 for correct, satisfying, and ever-increasing 
 knowledge of God and of His ways and 
 works. Purifies the heart, sanctifies the 
 will, and enlightens the understanding. 
 
 2. In its ability to afford true and solid 
 happiness. Other treasures only gratify the 
 senses, or furnish the means of gratifying 
 them. This gives peace and satisfaction to 
 the soul. Other things unable to repel
 
 1IOMILET1C COMMENTARY: JOB. 
 
 ciur. xxvin. 
 
 sickness and trouble, or to give solace 
 under them. This acts like oil on the 
 troubled waters. Divine wisdom like the 
 voice of Jesus to the winds and waves : 
 Peace be still. Her ways pleasantness and 
 her paths peace. Delivers from the disturb- 
 ing and destructive tyranny of the passions. 
 Secures enjoyment of the Divine favour, 
 which is life. Wisdom is a tree of life 
 to every one who lays hold of her. Gives 
 health to the soul, and even contributes to 
 that of the body. Profitable to all things, 
 having the promise both of the life that now 
 is, and of that which is to come. 
 
 3. In its endless durability. All earthly 
 treasures perishable. Gold and gems soon 
 cease to delight. At most only follow us to 
 the grave. Unable, except as rightly used, 
 to further our interests or promote our 
 happiness in another world. Wisdom or 
 true piety not only accompanies its possessor 
 to the grave, but beyond it. The greatest 
 of the noble triad faith, hope, and charity. 
 Faith ultimately changed into sight, and 
 hope into enjoyment ; charity or love, 
 another name for wisdom, lives on and never 
 dies. A cut rather than a comfort in the 
 words of Abraham and Dives "Son, re- 
 member that thou in thy lifetime receivedst 
 thy good things." Sad when our good things 
 must end with our life. The excellence of 
 heavenly wisdom that it not only gives solid 
 peace here, but prepares us for eternal joy 
 hereafter. Wisdom not only accompanies 
 her children through the chilly waves of 
 death, but takes them by the hand on the 
 other side, and introduces them into the 
 presence of God and the Lamb, who is 
 wisdom itself. True wisdom, like its Author 
 and Archetype, everlasting. 
 
 III. God Himself the author and 
 revealer of true wisdom (verses 20 
 28). " Whence then cometh wisdom ? and 
 where is the place of understanding? 
 Seeing it is hid from the eyes of all living 
 (or of every beast or animal), and kept close 
 from the fowls of the air (referring to verses 
 7 and 8). Destruction and death (the 
 regions of the dead or under-world, or those 
 inhabiting it) say, We have heard the fame 
 thereof with our ears " (only heard of it, as 
 neither possessing it themselves nor able to 
 communicate it to others, but as if approach- 
 ing nearer to the knowledge of it, men often 
 having their eyes opened only when it is too 
 late, and regretting the loss of past oppor- 
 tunities for obtaining the knowledge and 
 possession of true wisdom, Prov. v. 11 14). 
 Observe (1) That of winch earlier genera- 
 tions only heard the report, now clearly revealed. 
 (2) Sad to be only hearing the fame of a 
 good thing which can make us happy, and to 
 
 be unable to obtain it. The case of the lost 
 in another world; happily not the case of 
 those in this. The rich man in hell "saw 
 Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom," 
 but was unable to reach him. Verse 23. 
 " God understandeth the way thereof (how it 
 is to be obtained), and He knoweth the place 
 thereof (where it is to be found and in what 
 it consists). For He looketh to the ends of 
 the earth, and seeth under the whole heaven " 
 (penetrating the universe with one glance of 
 His omniscient eye; therefore able to in- 
 struct man as to true wisdom, what is his 
 highest interest, and the way to secure it). 
 God, however, not only omniscient and sur- 
 veying all things, but the all-wise creator and 
 disposer of universal nature, and as such the 
 fountain and model of wisdom to His intel- 
 ligent creatures. For the same thought see 
 Prov. iii. 1320; viii. 1129. Divine 
 wisdom displayed in establishing the universe 
 with all its mysterious laws and forces, 
 assigning to each department of nature its 
 bounds and operations. Verse 25. " To 
 make (while making or about to make) the 
 weight for the winds (giving due weight to 
 the atmospheric air when at rest fifteen 
 pounds of it pressing on every square inch 
 of the earth's surface as well as proper 
 momentum to it when in motion in the form 
 of wind, through the earth's motion on its 
 axis, and more especially through the rare- 
 faction of some parts of it by the sun's heat, 
 and the rushing in of colder parts to take 
 their place ; so as to be not only not hurtful 
 and destructive to the earth's inhabitants, but 
 in many respects highly beneficial to them) ; 
 and He weigheth the waters by measure" 
 (having at creation assigned their respec- 
 tive quantities to land and water, so that 
 there should be sufficient of the latter for 
 the irrigation of the former, as also to the 
 waters on the earth, and those suspended 
 in the atmosphere, whether as clouds or 
 invisible vapour). Observe (1) All things 
 in nature arranged in exact measure and pro- 
 portion, of which chemistry affords an 
 interesting example. (2) As winds and 
 waters, so also trials and afflictions are 
 measured (Isa. xxvii. 8). Verse 20. " When 
 he made a decree for the rain (constituting 
 those natural laws by which it should be 
 formed from the vapour exhaled from land 
 and sea, and should descend in showers 
 according to the earth's requirements), and 
 a way for the lightning of the thunder (or 
 the lightning which precedes the thunder ; 
 how it should be produced as the electric 
 flash which proceeds from the clouds, when, 
 to restore the equilibrium, the superabun- 
 dant electricity discharges itself in passing 
 from one cloud to another, causing the 
 thunder to follow it. as the report of a gun 
 
 169
 
 CHAP. XXVIII. 
 
 HOMILETIC COMMENTARY: JOB. 
 
 follows the flash, by the particles of the rent 
 atmosphere suddenly striking together again 
 electricity, of which that flash is the 
 expression, being one of the most mysterious 
 forces in nature). Then (even when at the 
 creation He prescribed the laws by which 
 external nature was to be governed) did he 
 sec it (contemplate this wisdom in its 
 excellence and suitability for man's welfare 
 and happiness), and declare it (Maryi/i, 
 ' number it,' as carefully considering its 
 nature and results, take an exact survey of 
 it, noting it as it were in a book for future 
 communication) ; he prepared it (set it 
 before him for contemplation, o*r established 
 it as what should constitute man's true 
 wisdom), yea, and searched it out (examined 
 it fully in all its properties and bearings, 
 actions ascribed to God in condescension to 
 our capacity, in order to indicate the 
 excellence and importance of the thing 
 spoken of). And unto man [as that work of 
 His hands in whom the image of His own 
 essential wisdom was to be reflected] he said 
 [on the day of his creation, either speaking 
 by an external voice or writing it internally 
 on his conscience, in order that he might 
 know wherein his true interest lay, and what 
 was the true wisdom for him as a moral and 
 intelligent creature], Behold, the fear of the 
 Lord [not the proud self-sufficient scrutiny, 
 or even the mere intellectual study, of the 
 Divine operations, whether in creation or 
 providence], that is wisdom [the wisdom for 
 him, as a finite but moral and intelligent 
 creature] ; and to depart from evil [not the 
 knowledge or examination of my secret pur- 
 poses in dealing thus or thus with any of my 
 creatures] is understanding" [that fear of the 
 Lord and departing from evil being at the 
 same time the best way by which he will 
 come to know and understand why I act as 
 I do in my providential dispensations]. This 
 emphatic, cardinal, and ever -outstanding 
 statement introduced with a "Behold," as 
 indicating (1) The importance of it. (2) 
 The unlikeness of it to what proud man 
 might himself have conceived. (3) The 
 backwardness of man to believe, learn, and 
 embrace it. Observe 
 
 1. All nature under laws prescribed by God 
 Himself. Nature itself God's work. The 
 universe, with all its laws, only the material 
 expression of His being and attributes. 
 Every part formed and placed by Him in 
 exact fitness to each other, and to the whole. 
 Those laws established by Him at the first 
 in infinite wisdom, and preserved in their 
 operation according to His own will and for 
 His own purposes. God's kingdom a king- 
 dom of settled law ; not of chance or caprice. 
 Hence the comfort and confidence of His 
 intelligent creatures. Men not afflicted 
 
 170 
 
 capriciously, but in wisdom. The execution as 
 well as constitution of natural laws with God 
 Himself, who may suspend or contravene 
 them for His own purposes as tie pleases. 
 
 2. Man enabled to penetrate far info the 
 secrets of nature and t lie facts of the u/iicene, 
 but -unable of himself to discover true icisd'jin. 
 The greatest philosophers of antiquity in the 
 durk in regard to it. Professing themselves 
 wise, they became fools. Man, like the mole, 
 does all his works underground (EpipAattitu). 
 Homer called all-wise, and said to know all 
 things human. Aristotle, for his soaring 
 wisdom, called an eagle fallen from the 
 clouds. Yet the greatest of Grecian sages 
 professed they wanted other lights, and took 
 it for granted the time would come when 
 God would impart a further revelation of His 
 will to mankind. 
 
 " The first and wisest of them all (Socrates) 
 
 profess'd 
 
 To know this only, that he nothing knew ; 
 The next (Plato) to fabling fell and smooth 
 
 conceits ; 
 A third sort (Pyrrho) doubted all things, 
 
 though plain sense ; 
 
 Others (Aristotle) in virtue placed felicity, 
 But virtue joined with riches and long life ; 
 In corporal pleasures he (Epicurus), and 
 
 careless ease ; 
 
 The .Stoic last, in philosophic pride, 
 By him called virtue ; and his virtuous 
 
 man, 
 
 Wise, perfect in himself, and all possessing, 
 Equal to God, oft shames not to prefer, 
 As fearing God nor man." 
 
 Paradise Regained, Book iv. 
 
 Jerome said to have known all that was 
 knowable, yet one of the most devoted 
 students of revelation. The greatest phi- 
 losophers in our own or any other country, 
 as Newton, Faraday, and Brewster, have 
 loved to sit with the humility of a child at 
 the feet of Jesus, to learn wisdom out of the 
 Scriptures of truth. 
 
 3. God alone able to inform man as to his 
 trite interests. One of the great problems 
 among the sages of antiquity, wherein lies 
 man's chief good. A question naturally 
 occurring to thinking men. God answers it 
 for man : " He hath shewed thee, O man, 
 what is good" (Micah vi. 8). As great 
 diversity of opinion among ancient sages 
 about wisdom as about the chief good. With 
 those of Chaideoa, it was the study of the 
 starry firmament and its interpretation as 
 declarative of the events of Providence; 
 with those of Arabia, that of the designs of 
 God in His dealings with men and the whole 
 system of the Divine government; with 
 those of Egypt, the origin of the universe ; 
 with those of Greece and Rome, the nature 
 of the Deity, with the problems of their own
 
 IIOMILETIC COMMENTARY: JOB. 
 
 CHAP. XXVIII. 
 
 existence and of the universe around them. 
 Such speculations, apart from revealed 
 truth, represented by Milton as the employ- 
 ment, perhaps in part the punishment, of 
 some of the fallen angels. 
 
 " Others apart sat on a hill retired. 
 
 In thoughts more elevate, and reason'd 
 high 
 
 Of Providence, foreknowledge, will, and 
 fate ; 
 
 Fix'd late, free-will, foreknowledge abso- 
 lute ; 
 
 And found no end, in wandering mazes 
 lost. 
 
 Of good and evil much they argued then, 
 
 Of happiness and final misery, 
 
 Passion and apathy, and glory and shame ; 
 
 Vain wisdom all, and false philosophy." 
 
 In opposition to all this, God Himself de- 
 clares what is the true wisdom for man, 
 the fear of the Lord, and as its consequence, 
 to depart from evil. This prescribed by 
 God to man in the exercise of His own in- 
 finite wisdom as Creator and Governor of 
 the universe. Made the law for man by 
 Him who gave laws to universal nature, and 
 at the time that He did so. A wisdom 
 that is " earthly, sensual, devilish." True 
 wisdom from above, the gift of " the Father 
 of lights." ''The law (or revealed will) 
 of the Lord maketli wise the simple." 
 The Scriptures able to make men " wise unto 
 salvation." The Gospel of Christ "the 
 hidden wisdom." Christ Himself the "wis- 
 dom of God " and the " light of the world." 
 Whoever follows Him " shall not walk in 
 darkness, but shall have the light of life." 
 Christ the teacher come from God. Anoints 
 with eye-salve the eyes of the spiritually 
 blind, "that they may see." Gives "the 
 unction of the Holy One," that we know all 
 things. Nature, in all its departments, tells 
 of a God, but not how to obtain His favour 
 and forgiveness. Christ reveals both in His 
 AVord. Himself, as the Son of God, eternal 
 wisdom ; as the Sou of Man, incarnate wis- 
 dom; and "of God is made wisdom" to all 
 who are " in Him " (1 Cor. i. 24, 30 ; Prov. 
 viii. 12-36). 
 
 IV. The nature of true wisdom. 
 
 Verse 28. "The fear of the Lord, that is 
 wisdom ; and to depart from evil is under- 
 standing." The gold and the silver, the 
 sapphire and the ruby, have their place in 
 the bowels of the earth* Wisdom has its 
 place ill the "fear of the Lord" and the 
 " departing from evil." The one the root, 
 the other the stem and the branches. The 
 former the spring, the latter the streams 
 issuing from it. 
 
 1. The "fear of the Lord " (Ileb. 'Adonni,' 
 cieuoiing 'lord' or 'governor/ usually 
 
 applied to the Messiah, and by the Jews sub- 
 stituted for Jehovah) the first fart of true 
 wisdom. That fear not a slavish, but a 
 lilial one. A reverential feeling and conduct 
 as much allied to love as fear. The fear 
 rather of a child in regard to a beloved 
 parent, than of a slave in regard to a dreaded 
 master. When genuine, always combined, 
 if not identical, with love. Love as directed 
 to a superior, especially to the Supreme 
 Being. A feeling and deportment due from 
 an intelligent creature to his Creator 
 being at once of unbounded goodness, in- 
 finite excellence, supreme majesty, and 
 almighty power. A fear that shudders at 
 offending, not so much from the dread of 
 punishment as from an inward consciousness 
 of, and love to, what is right. A principle 
 originally implanted in man as the law of his 
 being. Obedience to it his wisdom and 
 interest. The violation of it his ruin. 
 Actually violated and cast off at the Fall. 
 Now universally violated by fallen humanity. 
 . Its violation the cause of all the misery in 
 the world. Its observance the harmony of 
 the soul, the harmony of man with man, and 
 the harmony of man with his Maker. May 
 be re-implanted in man's breast. Its re-im- 
 planting the object of the Saviour's mission, 
 and the effect of the Holy Spirit's grace in 
 the soul (Jer. xxxii. 40). 
 
 2. To " depart from ecil " the, second part 
 of true wisdom. Moral evil, or sin, that 
 abominable thing which the Lord hates 
 (Jer. xliv. 4). To be departed from (1) 
 As contrary to the nature and will of our 
 Creator. (2) As opposed to our own interest 
 and happiness. All sin the opposite of 
 God's character which is goodness, purity, 
 and holiness. Moral evil the necessary 
 source of all physical and social evil. The 
 fear of the Lord necessarily evinced by, and 
 conducting to, a departure from evil. The 
 two combined constitute the perfect man. 
 Job's own character (ch. i. ], 8). Evil to 
 be departed from (] ) Earnestly. (2) En- 
 tirely. (3) Perseveringly. (4) At all 
 hazards. Moral evil both internal and ex- 
 ternal both in heart and life. Both to be 
 equally departed from. Departure from evil 
 necessarily connected with the practice of 
 good. The only way for a fallen man to 
 depart from evil is by the implantation of a 
 new nature through the operation of God's 
 Spirit in the heart. Hence the promise (Jer. 
 xxiv. 7; xxxii. 39; Ezck. xi. 19; xxxvi. 
 20, 27). 
 
 3. The fear of God or true religion the 
 wisdom of man. Wisdom the choice of the 
 best end, and employment of the best means 
 for attaining it. True religion both aims at, 
 and secures glory to God and our own lu-st 
 interests. Seeks and secures the chief rml 
 
 171
 
 ciur. 
 
 I10MILETIC COMMENTARY: JOB. 
 
 fur which man was made to glorify God 
 aiid enjoy Him for ever. The only means of 
 man's happiness, either here or hereafter. 
 Godliness favourable both to his physical 
 and spiritual, temporal and eternal, welfare. 
 Has the promise both of the life that now 
 is, and of that which is to come. The way 
 to make the best of both worlds. Gives 
 much in the hand, more in the hope. Is in 
 harmony witli man's moral nature given him 
 by his Creator. The foundation of personal 
 and domestic, social and civil, peace. Pits 
 for the enjoyment of the Divine fellowship 
 man's highest happiness. Smooths the 
 pillow of death. Prepares for a happy 
 eternity beyond the grave. Preserves 
 him from many troubles, and enables him 
 calmly to meet and patiently to endure those 
 that are unavoidable. Allies him with the 
 noblest and choicest of God's intelligent 
 creatures. Opens to him an ever-brightening 
 path of excellence and delight. Renders him a 
 blessing to others and a fellow-worker with 
 God. 
 
 4. Lay testimonies from Statesmen, Philo- 
 sophers, and Poets, to the calue of true religion 
 in promoting men's best interests. 
 
 "That siimmum bo/nun which is only able 
 to muke thee happy, as well as in thy death 
 as in thy life ; I mean the true knowledge 
 and worship of thy Creator and Redeemer, 
 without which all other tilings are vain and 
 miserable." Lord Burleiyh to his Son. 
 
 " I have lived to see live sovereigns, and 
 have been privy councillor to four of them ; 
 I have seen the most remarkable things in 
 foreign parts, and have been present at most 
 state transactions for the last thirty years ; 
 and I have learned, after so many years' 
 experience, that seriousness is the greatest 
 wisdom, temperance the best physic, and a 
 good conscience the best estate." Sir John 
 Mason : died 1566. 
 
 " Love my memory, cherish my friends, 
 but, above all, govern your will and affections 
 by the will and Word of your Creator ; in 
 me beholding the end of this world with all 
 her vanities." Sir Philip Sidney to his 
 Brother, 1586. 
 
 "Love God, and begin betimes. In Him 
 you shall find everlasting and endless com- 
 lort ; when you have travelled and wearied 
 yourself with all sorts of worldly cogitations, 
 you shall sit down by sorrow in the end." 
 Sir Walter Raleigh to his Wife, before his 
 execution, 1618. 
 
 " Living in an age of extraordinary events 
 and revolutions, I have learned from thence 
 this truth, which I desire might thus be 
 communicated to posterity : that all is vanity 
 which is not honest, and that there is no 
 solid wisdom but in real piety." John 
 Ecclyn Epitaph by Himself, 1706. 
 172 
 
 " Depend upon this truth, that every man 
 is the worse looked upon, and the less trusted, 
 for being thought to have no religion, in 
 spite of all the pompous, specious epithets 
 he may assume, of esprits forts, free-thinker, 
 or moral philosopher ; and a wise atheist, if 
 such thing there is, would, for his own in- 
 terest and character in this world, pretend 
 to some religion." Lord Chesterfield Letters 
 to his Son. 
 
 " Philosophy may infuse stubbornness, but 
 religion only can give patience." Dr. S. 
 Johnson. 
 
 " Hold fast, therefore, by this sheet anchor 
 of happiness, religion. You will often want 
 it in the times of most danger the storms 
 and tempests of life. Cherish true religion 
 as preciously as you would fly with abhorrence 
 and contempt from superstition and enthu- 
 siasm. The first is the perfection and glory 
 of human nature ; the two last the deprava- 
 tion and disgrace of it. Remember, the 
 essence of religion is a heart void of offence 
 towards God and man; not subtle, speculative 
 opinions, but an active vital principle of 
 faith." Lord Chatham Letters tohisNepliew. 
 " To religion, then, we must hold in every 
 circumstance of life for our truest comforts ; 
 for, if we are already happy, it is a pleasure 
 to think that we can make that happiness 
 unending ; and if we are miserable, it is very 
 consoling to think there is a place of rest. 
 Thus, to the fortunate, religion holds out a 
 continuance of bliss; to the wretched, a 
 change from pain." Olirer Goldsmith. 
 
 " We know, and, what is better, we feel 
 inwardly, that religion is the basis of civil 
 society, and the source of all good and of all 
 comfort." Edmund Burke, on the French 
 Revolution. 
 
 "With all my follies of youth, and, I fear, 
 a few vices of manhood, still I congratulate 
 myself as having had, in early days, religion 
 strongly impressed on my mind. ... I look 
 on the man who is firmly persuaded of 
 infinite wisdom and goodness, superintending 
 and directing every circumstance that can 
 happen in his lot, I felicitate such a man as 
 having a solid foundation for his mutual en- 
 joyment, a firm prop and sure stay in the 
 hour of difficulty, trouble, and distress ; and 
 a never-failing anchor of hope when he looks 
 beyond the grave." Robert Burns. 
 
 " Where there is most love of God, there 
 will be the truest and most enlarged philan- 
 thropy. No other foundation is secure. 
 There is no other means whereby nations can 
 be reformed, than that by which alone indivi- 
 duals can be regenerated. . . . While men 
 are subject to disease, infirmity, affliction, 
 and death, the good never will exist without 
 the hopes of religion; the wicked never 
 without its fears." Southey.
 
 110M1LET1C COMMENTARY: JOS. 
 
 CHAP. XXIX. 
 
 " I envy no quality of the mind or intellect 
 in others ; not genius, wit, or fancy. But if 
 I could choose what would be most delight- 
 ful, and I believe most useful to me, I should 
 prefer a firm religious belief to every other 
 blessing. For it makes life a discipline of 
 goodness, creates new hopes when all earthly 
 
 hopes vanish, and throws over the decay and 
 the destruction of existence, the most gor- 
 geous of all rights; awakens life even in 
 death ; and from corruption and decay calls 
 up beauty and divinity ; makes an instrument 
 of torture and of shame the ladder of ascent 
 to paradise." Sir Humphrey Davy. 
 
 CHAPTER XXIX. 
 
 JOB'S RETROSPECT. 
 
 Takes a calm retrospective view of his 
 past experience and life. Thus disproves 
 the suspicions and accusations of his friends, 
 and shows that his complaints were suffici- 
 ently well-grounded. The character secretly 
 given him by God thus affirmed out of his 
 own mouth. Docs this not from a feeling 
 of vanity and pride, but, like Paul, as conir 
 polled to it, for self-vindication. Probably 
 resumes his speech (verse 1, " continued his 
 parable") after pausing for a reply which 
 was not forthcoming. 
 
 Commences in a tone of lamentation as 
 he looks back upon his former happiness and 
 prosperity, now apparently for ever fled. 
 Verse 2." that I were," &c. Natural 
 to look back with regret from a state of pro- 
 tracted suffering and depression to one of 
 happiness and comfort, and to long, how- 
 ever vainly, for its return. The believer, in 
 a state of spiritual darkness under the loss 
 of God's sensible presence, often unable to 
 refrain from similar language. " How sweet, 
 the hours I once enjoyed." &c. Better and 
 safer to lour/ for the return of spiritual than 
 of temporal prosperity and comfort. 
 
 I. Job's past happiness (verses 2 11). 
 Embraced 
 
 1. His enjoyment of the Divine favour and 
 fellowship. Verse 2 4. " O that I were 
 as in months past, as in the days when God 
 preserved me ! when His candle (or lamp 
 symbol of favour and blessing, chap, xviii. G; 
 Psa. xviii. 28 ; cxxxii. 17) shiued upon (or 
 over) my head (the lamp in Arab tents and dwel- 
 lings being usually suspended from the top or 
 ceiling, and kept burning all night), and when 
 by his light I walked through darkness" 
 (by his protection and guidance escaping 
 dangers, and overcoming difficulties and 
 trials like the caravans travelling through 
 the desert by night with lights burning in 
 their front). Note Alia believer's present 
 comfort, and blessing only candle-Unlit com- 
 pared icith the future. " As I was in the 
 days of my youth (or full prosperity ; lleh., 
 ' My autumn,' the time of ripe fruits ; the 
 reference to his circumstances rather than to 
 his age), when the secret (or intimate friend- 
 
 ship) of God was upon (or in) my tabernacle ; 
 when the Almighty was yet with me " (pre- 
 sent with me, or on my side ; or, " when 
 my vigour, 1 ' &c., the clause in this case 
 belonging rather to the next head). 
 Observe (1) No blessing so great or enjoy- 
 ment so srceet, as that of communion with God 
 and the friendship of our Maker. These 
 placed by Job at the head of his list of 
 mercies and the retrospect of his happiness. 
 The madness of the world seen in neglecting 
 and despising this. True wisdom in making 
 the enjoyment of it our first concern. Its 
 re-enjoyment by man the object of Christ's 
 mission into the world. (2). The favour oj 
 God the fountain of all real blessing and true 
 happiness. " The blessing of the Lord 
 maketh rich," &c. (3) Intimate fellowship 
 and personal friendship with God to be enjoyed 
 in this life. Abraham the friend of God. 
 " Shall 1 hide from Abraham that thing 
 which I do ?" (Gen. xviii. 17). Henceforth 
 I call you not servants but friends ; for all 
 things that I have heard of my Father, I 
 have made known unto you" (John xv. 15). 
 " The Lord God will do nothing ; but he 
 revealeth his secret unto his servants the 
 prophets" (Amos iii. 7). "The secret of 
 the Lord is with them that fear him, and 
 he will show them his covenant" (Psa. xxv. 
 14, Prov. iii. 32). (4) God's presence and 
 favour sweeten every blessing. 
 
 " Happy who walks with Him ! Whom 
 
 what he finds 
 
 Of flavour or of scent in fruit or flower, 
 Or what he views of beautiful or grand 
 In nature, from the broad majestic oak 
 To the green blade that twinkles in the 
 
 sun, 
 Prompts with remembrance of a present 
 
 God. 
 His presence who made all so fair, pcr- 
 
 ceiv'd, 
 Makes all still fairer. As with Him no 
 
 scene 
 Is dreary, so with Him all seasons please." 
 
 2. His enjoyment of outward mercies (verses 
 5 11). These were (1) Domestic comfort. 
 Verse 5. " When my children (perhaps 
 including servants) were about me." Job's 
 
 173
 
 cri.\r. xxix. 
 
 1IOMILETIC 
 
 : JOli. 
 
 children now dead, and his servants partly 
 killed (ch. i. 15, 17), and partly fleeing from 
 him in his affliction (chap. xix. 15, 1G). 
 Job's home once a snug and well-feathered 
 nest, with an abundant brood of happy young 
 ones in it (verse 18). Mentions his family 
 before his fortune. A happy home a greater 
 treasure than a wide domain. A healthy 
 and happy family one of the greatest of 
 earthly comforts. A home, when what it 
 ought to be the swcet.ncr of life. Mercifully 
 preserved to man after the Fall. Domestic 
 happiness impaired by sin. Restored by 
 grace, llealized in the enjoyment of God's 
 favour and blessing in Christ (Psa. cxvii. 
 15). Job's home a happy one, because a 
 holy one (chap. i. 5). "Blest, that home 
 where God is felt." (2) Outward prosperity. 
 Verses 0, 19, 20. " When I washed my 
 steps with butter (cream, or thick milk), 
 and the rock poured me out rivers of oil " 
 (Heb. "poured out, c., with me," i.e., along- 
 side of me, wherever I went like the rock 
 that followed Israel with its refreshing stream 
 all through the desert). Abundance of 
 milk and oil Oriental emblems of plenty 
 (Dcut. xxxii. 13, 11). Canaan a land 
 flowing with milk and honey. Rocky 
 land, as in Arabia and Syria, most favour- 
 able for the cultivation of the olive. Oil 
 a great part of Oriental produce. Verse 19 
 " My root was spread out by the waters 
 (imbibing their moisture, as Psalm i. 3) and 
 the dew (abundant in the East, and com- 
 pensating for the scarcity of rain) lay all 
 night upon my branch (or crops, thus 
 nourished both above and beneath the soil). 
 My glory (reputation for wisdom, piety and 
 justice; or simply, my prosperous estate) 
 was ne in me (JTeb., ' with me,' always 
 new, like a flourishing evergreen), and "hiy 
 bow was renewed in my hand" (my strength 
 always renewing itself after exhaustion, and 
 acquiring fresh vigour (Is. xl. 31), as a bow, 
 after shooting its arrow, returns to its former 
 position and strength). Observe (1) 
 Job's riches ascribed by him to God's blessing. 
 The lamp of God's favour was over his head 
 before the rocks poured out oil at his feet. 
 " The blessing of the Lord, it maketh rich." 
 " The Lord givcth thce power to get wealth/' 
 (2) Riches a blessing when ffom God, ?///// 
 God, and to God. " When rich I enjoyed God 
 iu all ; now when poor, I enjoy all in God." 
 3. Public honour I respect. Verses 7 11, 
 21 25 " When 1 went out (from his 
 residence which was probably in the country) 
 to the gate through the city (or ' up to the 
 city/' Oriental cities being usually on an 
 eminence, and the city-gate the place of 
 justice, deliberation ana business, Ruth 
 iv. 12; Prov. xxxi. 23); when I prepared 
 my seat (sending his servant before with his 
 "174 
 
 cushion, according to Oriental manners, to 
 spread it for him) in the street (or broad 
 open space in front of the gate, used botli 
 for court and market, such as is found in the 
 remains of Persepolis and Nineveh, and still 
 exists in eastern cities) . The young men (in 
 the forum or market -place) saw me and hid 
 themselves (from modesty and reverence 
 retiring back out of immediate sight) ; the 
 aged men (the elders of the city composing 
 the court or senate Ruth iv. 2 ; Prov. 
 xxxi 23) arose and stood up (from respect, 
 as to one of superior wisdom and standing). 
 The princes (sheikhs, or chiefs of their 
 tribes) refrained talking, and laid their hand 
 on their mouth (h token of silence and 
 expression of the greatest deference). The 
 nobles (men of wealth and position in the 
 country) held their peace, and their tongue 
 cleaved to the roof of their mouth. When 
 the ear heard me [while addressing the 
 assembly], then it blessed me (pronounced 
 him blessed for the wisdom, justice, and 
 benevolence that shone in his speech) ; when 
 the eye saw me, it gave witness to me [as 
 the friend and benefactor of my country and 
 my race]. Verse 21 "Unto me men gave 
 ear (listening to my opinion or counsel) and 
 waited; and kept silence at my counsel 
 (having nothing either to add, correct, or 
 gainsay). After my words they spake not 
 again (not even replying, much less con- 
 tradicting, satisfied with the wisdom of what 
 had been advanced) ; and my speech dropped 
 upon them (as the dew, easy-flowing, 
 pleasant and beneficial, Dcut. xxxii. 2). 
 And they waited for me as [the parched 
 earth waits] for the rain ; and they opened 
 their mouth wide as [the earth does] for the 
 latter rain" (the rain in those eastern 
 countries falling at two seasons in the year ; 
 the former rain in September or October, the 
 latter rain in February or March). Note 
 Salutary instruction frequently represented 
 in Scripture and Oriental poetry under the 
 figure of rain and dew. Copious rain or 
 dew the Egyptian hieroglyphic for learning 
 and instruction. Ver. 2-i "If I laughed 
 (or smiled) on them (relaxing my gravity, 
 and showing a token of pleasure or recogni- 
 tion), they believed it not (as too great an 
 honour; or, 'did not thereby become bold 
 and familiar'); and the light (smile or 
 serenity) of my countenance they cast not 
 down (grieving or displeasing him by their 
 nndutiful or disrespectful behaviour). I 
 chose out their way (as their counsellor and 
 guide ; or, ' [If] I joined their society '), and 
 sat chief (occupied the first place, and 
 presided in all their public deliberations), 
 and dwelt [in my settled residence] as a king 
 (or, 'a very king') in the army (or 'troop,' 
 in whom his presence inspires life and
 
 UOMILKHC COMMENTARY: JOB. 
 
 ciiAr. xxix. 
 
 courage, and to whom his word is law), as 
 one that comfort oth the mourners" [who 
 hang upon his lips, and drink in his every 
 word]. Observe (1) Goodness often the 
 shortest as well as the safest icaj/ to greatness. 
 God's standing promise, " Them that 
 honour me 1 will honour" (1 Sam. ii. 30). 
 In wisdom's left hand only her Iffl hand 
 are riches and honour. (2) A good man sure, 
 sooner or later, to gain the esteem and con- 
 fidence of hi* fellows. A wise head, a warm 
 heart, and a willing hand likely to secure 
 love and respect. Christ's promise, "lie 
 that believeth on me, out of him shall How 
 rivers of living water " (John vii. 37). Job, 
 from his piety, benevolence, and whdom, 
 both the darling and the oracle of his 
 country. (3) A man's noblest ambition 
 (i.) To excel others in virtue, piety, and 
 benevolence, (ii.) To act as the counsellor 
 and guide of his fellows, (iii.) To comfort 
 the mourners while commanding the mul- 
 titude. 
 
 II. Job's character (verses 11 17). 
 His reputation not without just grounds. 
 The fruit not of his riches or power, but of 
 his benevolent and upright character. 
 
 1. His benevolence and compassion as a 
 prirate individual. Verses 11, 13, 15,16. 
 " Because I delivered the poor that cried 
 [under suffering or oppression], and the 
 fatherless, and him that had none to help 
 him. The blessing of him that was ready to 
 perish [from want or oppression] came 
 upon me [as his deliverer], and I caused 
 the -widow's heart to sing for joy (by 
 comforting, relieving, or delivering her). 
 I was eyes to the blind (as an instructor, 
 counsellor, and guide to the ignorant, inex- 
 perienced, and erring), and feet was I to the 
 lame (doing for the weak, infirm, and help- 
 less, what they were unable to do for them- 
 selves). I was a father to the poor (coun- 
 selling, defending, and providing for them) ; 
 and the cause which 1 knew not (or, ' the 
 cause of those I knew not,' i.e., of the 
 stranger), I searched out (or into, in order 
 to his relief and defence doing this as well 
 in the capacity of a private individual as of 
 a magistrate or judge). Observe (1) Job's 
 religion not on:: of mere contemplation, still 
 less one of mere profession or outward ob- 
 .servance. His the "pure and undefiled 
 'religion before God the leather to visit the 
 fatherless and the widows in their affliction, 
 and to keep himself unspotted from the 
 world " (James ii. 27). (2) Job's character 
 ah exemplification of "the wisdom that is 
 from above iirst pure, then peaceable, 
 gentle, full of mercy and of good fruits." 
 (,3) In Job, the fear of God evinced by 
 active love to man. To be so always. 
 
 " First daughter to the love of God 
 Is charity to man.'' 
 
 " He that loveth not his brother whom he 
 hath seen, how can he love God whom he 
 hath not seen ? " (1 John iv. 20). (4) The 
 nature of that love which the law requires, 
 and which verifies a man's religion. A love 
 not in word or in tongue, but in deed and in 
 truth (1 John iii. 18). True charity is kind 
 and seeketh not her own (1 Cor. xiii. 4, 5). 
 (5) Job's faith, like Abraham's, made per- 
 fect by his works (James ii. 22). (G) 
 Wealth and high position no hindrance, to 
 the exercise of compassion and benevolence. 
 Should rather be a help to it. 
 
 2. His faithfulness and justice as a magis- 
 trate. Verses 13, 14. "The cause which 
 I knew not I searched out (careful (1) that 
 before giving sentence, he thoroughly under- 
 stood the case ; (2) That none, even the 
 stranger, should have his case neglected). 
 I put on righteousness (practising it in his 
 daily conduct, and especially as a magistrate 
 and judge), and it clothed me (or, ' put on 
 me,' wholly filled me, made me righteous, 
 both without and within). My judgment 
 (or upright dealing) was [to me] as a robe 
 and a diadem " (or turban, worn as a head- 
 dress by kings and nobles, Is. Ixii. 3 ; by 
 the high priest, Zech. iii. 5 ; and even by 
 Jewish ladies of fashion in the days of Isaiah, 
 Is. iii. 20; the flowing robe and turban 
 still the prominent articles of a wealthy 
 Arab's dress). Job's character as a magis- 
 trate the opposite of that ascribed to him by 
 Eliphaz (chap. xxii. 5 9). Job not less 
 just than generous. Observe (1) Justice 
 and benevolence the brightest ornament 
 either of public or private life. Wisdom an 
 ornament of grace and a crown of glory to 
 all her possessors. Knowledge is a youth's 
 diadem Arab Proverb. (2) Uprightness of 
 character and life to be worn as our dress ; 
 cleaving to us and accompanying us at all 
 times and in all places. To be our habit in 
 both senses of the word. Patent to the 
 eyes of the world like our outer garments. 
 (3) Upright conduct to be regarded as out 
 honour. To be neither ostentatiously 
 paraded nor pusillanimously ashamed of. (4) 
 A better righteousness than our own given 
 us in Christ as our ground of confidence be- 
 fore God (Rom. iv. 2 G ; Gal. vi. 11 ; Phil, 
 iii. 79). 
 
 3. ///* boldness in opposing tlie wicked and 
 oppressive. Verse 17. Perhaps also be- 
 longing to his character as a magistrate. " I 
 broke the jaws (or jaw-teeth) of the wicked 
 (especially the rich and powerful oppressor, 
 often represented as a beast of prey, chap, 
 iv. 10), and plucked the spoil out of his 
 teeth." The opposite of the unjust judge 
 in the Gospel (Luke xviii. 3, 4). Observe
 
 ciur. xxix. 
 
 IIOMILETIC COMMENTARY: JOB. 
 
 (1) A truly good man a comfort to the 
 oppressed and a terror to the oppressor. 
 "They that forsake the law praise the 
 wicked, but such as keep the law contend 
 with him" (Prov. xxviii. 4). (2) A good 
 man not deterred from duty by the fear of 
 consequences. Job did good and exe- 
 cuted justice at the risk i. Of being un- 
 popular with the great, ii. Of incurring 
 personal danger, iii. Of much trouble to 
 himself. 
 
 III. Job's anticipation. Verse IS. 
 Perhaps continued to the end of the chapter. 
 "Then I said [within myself, while reflect- 
 ing upon my prosperity and character], I 
 shall die in my nest (in comfort and security, 
 neither by a violent nor untimely, but a 
 natural and peaceful death) ; I shall multi- 
 ply my days as the sand " (or, according to 
 another reading, " as the Phoenix " a fabu- 
 lous bird, said to spring from a nest of 
 myrrh made by the parent bird before his 
 death, living to the age of a thousand years, 
 and coming from Arabia to Egypt once in 
 live hundred years, and then burning his 
 father, a hieroglyphical mode with the 
 Egyptians of representing a particular chro- 
 nological era or cycle). Natural in Job's 
 circumstances to cherish bright anticipations 
 of the future. The tendency of continued 
 prosperity and honour to beguile into false 
 security and confidence. David's error 
 (Ps. xxx. 0, 7). Job's anticipations to be 
 soon apparently blasted. Yet in the end 
 abundantly realized (chap. xlii. 16). Ob- 
 serve 
 
 1. A 0od old age. and a comfortable death 
 in the bosom of one's family and home, 
 among the appointments of a favouring 
 Providence. The opposite threatened as a 
 punishment (Is. xxii. 17, 18 ; Jcr. xxii. IS, 
 19). These, however, not proofs of pardon- 
 ing mercy, nor necessarily belonging to the 
 children of God. Ishmacl, out of the cove- 
 nant, dies in the midst of all his brethren; 
 Moses, in it, dies alone on a solitary moun- 
 tain (Gen. xxv. IS ; Dent, xxxii. 49, 50). 
 Bi j st to have the circumstances of our death as 
 well as of our life chosen forusby our heavenly 
 Eather. The everlasting covenant of God's 
 grace in Christ the softest and safest nest in 
 which either to live or die (2 Sam. xxiii. 5). 
 (2) To multiply our days a blessing; to 
 make right use of them a greater. ])ays 
 often multiplied only to multiply shame and 
 sorrow (Is. li. 11). The longest life, if ill- 
 spcnt, is short ; the shortest, if well-spent, 
 is long. Life not to be measured by the 
 number of its days, but by the character of 
 its deeds. (3) Job's anticipation, a long 
 life and a comfortable death ; that of the be- 
 liever under the Gospel dispensation, an 
 
 176 
 
 eternal blessedness reserved for him in 
 heaven (2 Cor. iv. IS). 
 
 IV. Lessons suggested by the retro- 
 spect as a whole. 
 
 1. Ecidence of the statement that " the fear 
 of the Lord is icisdom." Job's piety the 
 fountain both of his happiness and honour. 
 None ever exhibited more of the former or 
 enjoyed more of the latter. His life and ex- 
 perience a verification of the truth that 
 " length of days is in wisdom's right hand, 
 and in her left hand riches and honour" 
 (Prov. iii. 10). 
 
 2. Proof that true piety toward* God As- 
 accompanied with the purest morality and love 
 to men. Job as much distinguished for the 
 one as the other. The fear and love of God the 
 only and sure guarantee of faithfulness and 
 love to men. True piety the natural foun- 
 tain both of a pure morality and a disin- 
 terested benevolence. Integrity of life and 
 love to our neighbour only branches of_that 
 tree whose root is the love of God. Love 
 to God the first table of the Decalogue ; love 
 to man the second. The two twin sisters of 
 the same parent, the nature and image of 
 God who is love. He who loves and fears 
 God cannot be regardless of God's will or 
 God's offspring. 
 
 3. Aii example afforded of what grace can 
 effect iii- rrxtoriiig and rcncfiiif/ fa Hen 1m- 
 nt unity. Job a specimen of the power of 
 that grace of God which teaches us to " deny 
 ungodliness, and worldly lusts, and to live 
 soberly, righteously, and godly in this pre- 
 sent world." His virtues not the product 
 of fallen nature but of renewing grace. 
 Though in the older dispensation and before 
 the full effusion of the Holy Spirit, his cha- 
 racter and life the fruits of that Spirit, 
 viz., love, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentle- 
 ness, goodness, faith (Gal. v. I/). Exhibits 
 the features of the new man created in the 
 believer by the Holy Ghost after the image 
 of God. The object and effect of Divine 
 grace to produce the lineaments of Christ, 
 the perfect man in the renewed soul. The 
 polluted but believing Corinthians not only 
 justified but washed and sanctified (1 Cor, 
 vi. 11). The converted cannibals of Fiji 
 risk health and life to communicate 
 their blessings to the cannibals of New 
 Guinea. 
 
 4. A pattern fur Christians loth in public 
 and private life. Job's daily life a scatter- 
 ing of seeds of kindness. Might have sat for 
 the picture of the Good Samaritan. Job's 
 goodness, if not his greatness, within every- 
 one's reach. The poor always with us. No 
 large estate required in order to be " eyes 
 to the blind, feet to the lame, and a father 
 to the poor." A kind word or a trifling gift
 
 BOMILJSTIC COMMENTARY: JOB. 
 
 CHAP. XXX. 
 
 often able to make the widow's heart sing 
 for joy. More grace provided and attain- 
 able for the exercise of Job's virtues in the 
 Christian dispensation than in that under 
 which the patriarch himself lived. The 
 follower of Jesus both required and enabled 
 to practise every virtue and every praise 
 that adorned Job's character (Phil. 'iv. 8). 
 
 5. The retrospect of a holy and useful life 
 a source of pure and elevated comfort in sick- 
 ness and adcersiti/. Job's comfort in his 
 afflictions not in looking back on his wealth 
 and honours, but on the way he employed 
 them. The seeds of scattered kindness in 
 the time of health and prosperity often bear 
 their fruit in this Hie in the season of 
 trouble and adversity. Friends made of the 
 " Mammon of unrighteousness," both for 
 time and eternity (Luke xvi. 9). A man 
 may be richer in the retrospect of the man- 
 ner in which he spent his money than others 
 who selfishly hoard it are in its continued 
 possession. 
 
 6. Example of the uncertainty of earthly 
 comforts and riches. None ever enjoyed 
 more of these than Job, and none ever more 
 thoroughly stripped of them. The comfort- 
 able nest in which he hoped to end his days 
 now rifled and torn in pieces, and himself 
 sitting, a loathsome leper, on an ash-heap. 
 Boast not thyself of to-morrow. Madness 
 to pursue a fleeting and neglect an enduring 
 substance. Means and opportunities of 
 doing good to be faithfully employed while 
 they last. Riches not for ever, nor the 
 crown to all generations. 
 
 7. The experience of believers in respect to 
 the sensible enjoyment of the Divine presence 
 and fellowship liable to fluctuation. Not 
 only Job's outward and temporal but his in- 
 ward and spiritual comfort now in an eclipse. 
 The sin of God's countenance may for wise 
 reasons be hidden behind a cloud. No proof 
 of God's anger that His favour is not sensibly 
 enjoyed. The shining of the sun to be be- 
 lieved, though not seen. Tim path of a be- 
 liever through the world like that of the 
 
 moon among sailing clouds. Darkness and 
 light the experience of a believer till he 
 reaches the land where there is no more 
 night. 
 
 8. An exemplification of the requirements of 
 the moral law in respect to our neighbour. 
 Love to man, verified in continual acts of 
 varied benevolence, the characteristic of 
 Job's life. Such love the requirement of the 
 second part of the Decalogue. Job's life 
 and character no more than is required by 
 the law of God from each individual accord- 
 ing to his means and opportunities. Every 
 shortcoming of it, sin. Hence the universal 
 character of men as transgressors of the Di- 
 vine law (Rom. iii. 23). Job himself, with 
 all his integrity and benevolence, still a sin- 
 ner as coming short of that law. Every 
 mouth stopped, and the whole world guilty 
 before God (Rom. iii. 19). An example of 
 perfect obedience to the law of love found 
 only in one of Adam's children. 
 
 9. Job exhibited in this chapter as a tt/pe 
 of Jesus Christ the Righteous. The picture 
 Job draws of himself only fully and perfectly 
 realized in him who " did no sin," and who 
 " went about, doing good " (Is. xi. 1 5 ; 
 Ixi. 1 3). Christ, the second Adam, the 
 only perfect man. His life, even more than 
 Job's, an exhibition of the beauty and excel- 
 lence of the moral law, as well as a fulfil- 
 ment of it. Christ fitted, therefore, to be 
 our representative and head in a new cove- 
 nant (Rom. v. 12 19). His perfect fulfil- 
 ment of the law, for our sakes (1) As a 
 pattern for our imitation. (2) As a proof 
 that He was what He professed to be the 
 Son of God and Saviour of men. (3) To 
 give value to His death as a sacrifice and 
 satisfaction for sin, Himself being without 
 spot, and a sweet savour to God. (4) As a 
 substitution for the perfect obedience re- 
 quired of each individual. (5) As the image 
 and character to be reproduced in all who 
 are united to Him by faith, as the members 
 of that family of which He is the head and 
 representative. 
 
 CHAPTER XXX. 
 
 THE CONTRAST. J OF S SOLILOQUY, CONTINUED. 
 
 With his former state of happiness and 
 honour Job now contrasts his present misery 
 and degradation. His object as well to show 
 the grounds he has for complaint as to ease 
 his burdened spirit. Probably now sitting 
 in the open air, near his own residence, out- 
 side the city. Still among the ashes, and 
 Covered from head to foot with the worst 
 form of leprosy. Abandoned by his wife 
 and domestics, and viewed by his pious 
 12 
 
 visitors as suffering the penalty of past 
 transgressions perhaps secretly committed, 
 he is at the same time frequently surrounded 
 by a rude rabble, especially of younger per- 
 sons, who now, like the young men who 
 mocked Elisha, deride him for his former 
 piety and present affliction ; perhaps taking 
 a spiteful revenge for his former reproofs. 
 These persons, whose character and condition, 
 as well as that of their fathers, Job describes, 
 
 177
 
 CHAP. XXX. 
 
 1IOMILETIC COMMENTARY: JOS. 
 
 probably the remains of the Horites who had 
 been conquered and dispossessed by the 
 Idumdans, to whom Job's ancestors be- 
 longed, and who had now for some time been 
 in possession of the country (Gen. xiv. 6 ; 
 xxxvi. 20, 21 ; Deut. ii. 12, 22). Some of 
 those Horites had probably been enslaved by 
 their conquerors, while others, to preserve 
 their liberty, had fled into the desert and 
 taken refuge among the mountains. ^ 
 
 I. Job describes the class of persons 
 by whom he was now treated with 
 scorn and insult (verses 1 8). These 
 were 
 
 1. Younger than himself. Verse 1. 
 " But now they that are younger than I 
 have me in derision." Derision a bitter 
 aggravation of affliction. Christ's experience 
 (Matt, xxvii. 2731 ; Luke xxiii. 3437). 
 Such treatment from juniors an aggravation 
 of the trial. Seniors habitually treated 
 with respect, and veneration paid to age 
 among the orientals, especially in Arabia. 
 Another aggravation in Job's case that he 
 had formerly been treated with defer- 
 ence, not only by the youth but even by 
 aged men, himself being still comparatively 
 young (chap. xxix. 8). A sign of great cor- 
 ruption in morals when seniors are treated 
 with disrespect, still more with derision 
 especially when these are in affliction and 
 distress. Sad state of society when the 
 youth are rude and insolent, and particu- 
 larly towards those who suffer, whether from 
 age, poverty, or affliction. David's prayer 
 (Ps. cxliv. 11, 12). 
 
 2. Base-born. " Whose fathers I would 
 have disdained to set with (in the same em- 
 ployment ; or 'to set over,' as keepers ; or 
 ' to rank in equality with ') the dogs of my 
 flock." A large number of dogs required 
 for Job's seven thousand sheep. Dogs 
 anciently employed, as now, both for watch- 
 ing flocks and dwellings (Is. Ivi. 10). Job's 
 language in reference to these men probably 
 from their character and conduct rather 
 than their condition. Observe (1) Sad 
 when men, made in the image of God and 
 capable of engaging along with angels in the 
 highest and most honourable services, are 
 inferior in usefulness and condition to the 
 dogs that guard a flock of sheep, and from 
 want of principle unfit to be entrusted even 
 with such an employment. Dogs in the 
 east esteemed unclean and treated with 
 little consideration (Ps. lix. 14, 15). (2) 
 The character of sin to degrade men beneath 
 the brutes. Verse 8." They were the 
 children of fools (or c worthless, wicked men ' 
 both by birth and imitation) ; yea, child- 
 ren of base men" (Heb., "of men without 
 a name " with no reputation except a bad 
 
 178 
 
 one men of low birth and still lower cha- 
 racter). Parentage of great account in the 
 east. Felt to be a disgrace, as well as a 
 loss, to be bom of base and wicked 
 parents. Children unable to help their 
 birth; yet often "like father like child.". 
 Persons supposed to bear the character as 
 well as the features of their parents. The 
 education and moral training of the children 
 of bad or base men usually neglected. Such 
 children grow up in a morally poisonous 
 atmosphere. The taint of the parent usually 
 attaches more or less to the children. A 
 man's parentage and education often indi- 
 cated by his character and conduct. Children 
 often inherit both the parents' vices and 
 their consequences. To exult over the 
 wretched sufficient evidence of a base ex-' 
 traction. An aggravation of Job's trial and 
 degradation, to be "held in derision" by 
 youths of such low and base parentage. The 
 contempt of the vile a bitter trial to an 
 ingenuous spirit. David's experience (Ps. 
 xxxv. 15). Verified in that of Christ 
 (Matt, xxvii. 2731). The class of per- 
 sons here described such as, from their cha- 
 racter, were unable to obtain any respectable 
 however humble employment. Job's 
 example in regard to them to be imitated. 
 Important for masters and heads of families 
 to look well to the character of those whom 
 they employ, even in the humblest situations. 
 David's resolution (Ps. ci. 6, 7). 
 
 3. Feeble and useless. Verse 2. "Yea 
 whereto might the strength of their hands 
 profit me, in whom old age was perished ? " 
 (or, "in whom the vigour of manhood was 
 lost;" or, "in whom there was no expecta- 
 tion of their ever reaching old age," whether 
 from their vices or their mode of life, 
 neither having strength to work themselves 
 nor wisdom to direct others). Job's reason 
 for treating them as he did; in this case 
 the clause applied rather to the fathers than 
 to the sons. Observe (1) No uncommon 
 thing for vices, as well as inadequate means 
 of lite, to enfeeble the frame and induce pre- 
 mature old age and death. Races by such 
 means often stunted in stature as well as 
 enfeebled in mind, and often die out. Often 
 the case with the aborigines of lands taken 
 into possession by a foreign race. Well if 
 the vices, as in the case of the North 
 American Indians and others, have not been 
 imported by the foreigners themselves. (2) 
 True religion favourable to physical as well 
 as spiritual growth and development. Mus- 
 cularity the natural outcome of a healthy 
 Christianity. God's truth and service 
 beneficial to man in all his aspects. (3) 
 Godliness no less profitable to races than to 
 individuals. Humanity itself either dete- 
 riorated by vices and their consequences, or
 
 HOMIIETIC COMMENTARY: JOB. 
 
 CHAP. xxx. 
 
 elevated by religion and morality. (4) Phy- 
 sical vigour and longevity among the features 
 of the millennial period and the reign of 
 righteousness upon earth. " The child shall 
 die an hundred years old, and the sinner, 
 being an hundred years old, shall be accursed. 
 As the days of a tree shall be the days of my 
 people, and mine elect shall long enjoy the 
 work of their hands " (Isa. Ixv. 20 22). 
 
 4. Wretched- and famished. Verse 3. 
 " For want and famine they were solitary 
 (or, ' afflicted,' ' desolate/ as in Isa. xlix. 
 21 ; or, in ' extreme want and hunger ') ; 
 fleeing into the wilderness (as unfit for 
 civilized life, or as loving the solitude and 
 independence of the desert, or finally from a 
 sense of guilt and shame as evil-doers ; or, 
 ' gnawing ' and feeding on the wilderness), 
 in former time desolate and waste (or, ' the 
 night or darkness of the solitary waste ') ; 
 who cut up mallows (or purslain, a species of 
 halimus ; a saltish plant growing in deserts, 
 beside hedges, and by the sea-shore, and 
 used as food by the poor) by the bushes, and 
 juniper roots (or, ' roots of the broom,' a 
 plant abundant in the sandy plains of 
 Arabia) for their food " (or ' to warm them- 
 selves,' the stems of the juniper or broom 
 being used for fuel, as the berries and roots 
 were for food). These men probably worse 
 off for food than were Job's dogs. No fault 
 however of Job's. Some prefer the most 
 wretched fare to following an honest calling. 
 One of the effects of sin, somewhere, that 
 men are in any degree destitute of the proper 
 means of life. Abundant provision originally 
 made by the Creator for man's comfortable 
 subsistence (Gen. i. 29). Man, continuing 
 in obedience, would have eaten of the good, 
 not only of Paradise, but of every land. The 
 finest of the wheat and honey out of the 
 rock the promised portion of obedient Israel 
 (Ps. Ixxxi. 16). The earth in consequence 
 of man's sin, made to yield him thorns and 
 thistles (Gen. v. 18). Vice and indolence in 
 some, with tyranny and oppression in others, 
 still continue want and misery in the world. 
 Among the blessings of the better time 
 coming under the Prince of Peace, is, that 
 " the earth shall yield her increase," and men 
 "shall eat and be satisfied" (Ps. Ixvii. 6, 
 22, 20 ; Isa. Ixv. 21, 22). 
 
 5. Excluded from civilized society. Verse 5. 
 " They were driven from among men, to 
 dwell in the cliffs (or 'clefts,' perhaps 
 rather 'the horrid gloom') of the valleys 
 (ravines or torrent-beds), in caves of the 
 earth and in the rocks. Among the bushes 
 they brayed (like wild asses, for thirst or 
 hunger; or 'groaned' from want and 
 misery) : under the nettles (or brambles) 
 they were gathered together " (they huddled 
 together ; or " stretched themselves, " as all 
 122 
 
 the resting-place they had). To dwell in 
 valleys in the East a mark of vileness. The 
 rocks of stony Arabia abundant in caves. 
 The text descriptive both of the country and 
 the manners of the inhabitants. A people 
 in that region anciently known as Troglo- 
 dytes, or dwellers in caves. Such places 
 the usual resort of some at least of the 
 inhabitants of a subjugated mountainous 
 country, as well as of the lowest and 
 most lawless among the people. The 
 fastnesses of the mountains in Wales the last 
 resource of the ancient Britons. Dens and 
 caves the refuge of the persecuted wor- 
 shippers of Jehovah in the days of Ahab 
 and at other times (1 Kings xvii. 4 ; Heb. 
 xi. 38). The retreat of the Christians of 
 Madagascar. The parties mentioned in the 
 text expelled from the cities and inhabited 
 parts of the country on account of their 
 vicious conduct and disreputable character. 
 Evil-doers in a state to be improved or ex- 
 pelled. The diseased limb, however, only 
 to be cut off when all means of cure have 
 failed. Time not to be lost in purging either 
 Church or State of corrupt and incorrigible 
 members. " One sinner destroyed much 
 good." "Evil communications," &c. David's 
 resolution as king of Israel and type of 
 Messiah : " I will early cut off all evil-doers 
 from the city of the Lord" (Psa. ci. 8). 
 
 G. Depraved in character and conduct. 
 Verse 5. "They cried after them as after 
 a thief " (in the way of threatening, or in. 
 order to their apprehension, or to warn 
 others of their character). Verse 8.. "They 
 were viler than the earth " (or, " they were 
 whipped out of the land," viz., for their 
 evil deeds) perhaps one of the results of 
 Job's careful administration of justice, for 
 which the wretched vagabonds, or their 
 sons, now make retaliation on the humbled 
 magistrate (Prov. xx. 8, 20). 
 
 The section brings us face to face with a 
 portion of the lowest stratum of humanity 
 and the dregs of society. Such found in 
 most countries, Britain not excepted. The 
 result not merely of vice and indolence in 
 themselves and their fathers, perhaps for 
 generations, but also probably of oppression 
 and neglect on the part of their superiors. 
 Their existence in a country often, under 
 Divine Providence, a retribution. Probably 
 due to Christianity that the description in 
 the text was not verified in the British 
 refugees among the mountains of Wales, and 
 even in the Saxons after the Norman posses- 
 sion. The waifs and roughs, thieves and 
 city Arabs, in the slums of London, perhaps 
 as much the result of harsh treatment and 
 neglect as of personal depravity. Church 
 and State in general only now beginning to 
 wake up to a sense of duty in regard to 'this 
 
 179
 
 CHAP. xxx. 
 
 HOMILETW COMMENTARY: JOti. 
 
 class of society, when the case has become 
 next to unmanageable. The great problem 
 of the present day What is to be done for 
 the reclamation and elevation of the sunken 
 masses ? Much capable of being done botli 
 by Church and State, under the impulse of 
 loving hearts and the direction of enlightened 
 heads. The Gospel of the grace of God, 
 suitably presented and lovingly applied, the 
 Divinely-appointed, and therefore the most 
 efficient, means of restoring fallen humanity. 
 Embraces in the contemplated objects of its 
 operation the lowest grades of society in 
 every land. The commission of its Divine 
 Author : " Go ye into all the \vorld, and 
 preach the Gospel to every creature." 
 Possesses in itself, and along with its 
 faithful ministration, a power sufficient to 
 elevate the lowest and reclaim the most 
 utterly lost of the human family. "The power 
 of God unto salvation to every one that 
 believeth." "Mighty through God to the 
 pulling down of the strongholds " of igno- 
 rance and vice. Has already proved itself 
 adequate to this end. Has achieved its 
 triumphs both among the profligates of 
 Corinth, and the Becliuauas of Caffraria. 
 The glory of Christianity, t hat its greatest, 
 and perhaps most numerous, trophies have 
 been from among the lowest classes of society. 
 " Not many wise men after the flesh, not many 
 mighty, not many noble are called ; but God 
 hath chosen the foolish things of the world 
 to confound the wise ; and God hath chosen 
 the weak tilings of the world to confound 
 the things which are mighty: and base things 
 of the world, and things which are despised 
 hath God chosen, yea and things which are 
 not, to bring to nought things which are " 
 (1 Cor. i. 20 28). 
 
 Christianity suited to all classes and con- 
 ditions of men. Views all men as brethren. 
 Teaches the unity of the race. "God hath 
 made of one blood all nations of men" (Acts 
 xvii. 20). The Gospel an enemy to caste of 
 every description. All nations and all classes 
 represented by it as equally the purchase of 
 the same precious blood of the Son of God 
 (1 Tim. ii. G). The countless multitude of 
 the redeemed before the throne gathered out 
 of every nation, and kindred, and people, 
 and tongue (Rev. vii. 9). One of the pre- 
 cepts of Christianity, "Honour all men" 
 (1 Pet. ii. 17. " Fraternity," and " equality," 
 as well as " liberty," emblazoned on the 
 Gospel banner. Corresponding responsi- 
 bility involved in regard to its possessors. 
 Only a Cain asks : " Am I my brother's 
 keeper." 
 
 Solemn inquiry for every possessor and 
 professor of the Gospel : Am I faithfully 
 attempting to perform my part, however 
 humble, in raising up the sunken, masses of 
 
 180 
 
 my brethren at home and abroad, by com- 
 municating to them that Gospel which has 
 already done so much for many and for me ? 
 Am I, like the Master I profess to follow, 
 while contemplating, whether with the eye of 
 the body or of the mind, the multitudes 
 that are as sheep without a shepherd, "moved 
 with compassion towards them," and so 
 moved as, like Him also, to reach forth a 
 helping hand? or, Am I still verily guilty 
 concerning my brother ? 
 
 II. The treatment received from 
 these persons (verses 9 14). Enlarged 
 on by Job, as indicating how deeply he felt 
 it. Particulars specified. 
 
 1. His sufferings and afflictions Made the 
 subject of their coarse jest* and ribald mirth. 
 Verse 9. "And now I am their song 
 (accompanied with a musical instrument) : 
 yea, I am their byword " (or jest, probably 
 both from his former piety and present, 
 sufferings; perhaps, also, as the ricli man 
 brought low, the proud Emir humbled, and 
 the secret oppressor punished). Similar 
 treatment experienced by David, and by 
 David's Lord and antitype (Psa. xxxv. 15 ; 
 Ixix 12). Christ, in His deepest affliction, 
 taunted with His former trust in God and 
 charity to men, while now neither delivered 
 by God nor able to deliver Hin^elf (Matt. 
 xxvii. 43 ; Luke xxiii. 35). The prophet 
 Jeremiah in his humiliation also the song 
 of his ungodly countrymen (Lam. iii. 14, 63). 
 In Job's case this treatment from the rabble 
 less to be wondered at after the conduct of 
 his pious friends. Note The lower classes 
 of the Arabs addicted to scurrility and abuse. 
 Indulge freely in the streets and bazaars in 
 satirical and abusive songs upon their rulers 
 and superiors. Clever in extemporising 
 verses, which they usually accompany witli 
 the music of a drum, tambourine, or lute. 
 
 2. Shunned with abhorrence. Verse 10 
 "They abhor me; they flee far from me." 
 Their abhorrence of him from (1) His 
 loathsome disease. (2) His lying apparently 
 under the Divine malediction. (3) His sup- 
 posed wickedness and oppression as the 
 cause of it. His miserable disease, instead 
 of evoking sympathy, caused him only to be 
 avoided as a pestilence or a sight too loath- 
 some and shocking to be looked upon. 
 
 3. Treated tcith insult and contempt. "They 
 spare not (either as doing it abundantly and 
 repeatedly, or as casting off all restraint) to 
 spit in my face " (or, in my presence). Note : 
 Orientals seldom spit but for the purpose of 
 insult, and much more frequently spit on ftic 
 ground before the party they wish to insult 
 than on his face or person, though both are 
 done. To spit out before another an expres- 
 sion of the greatest contempt (Deut. xxv. 9).
 
 HOMILETIC COMMENTARY; JOB. 
 
 CHAP. XXX. 
 
 Frequently done by Mohammedans in re- 
 spect to Christians, whom they regard as 
 infidels and dogs. So great the affront in 
 the East, that when done even by a father 
 in regard to his daughter, the shame of the 
 thing required her to shut herself up in her 
 tent or apartment for a whole week (Num. 
 xii. 14). Sad contrast in Job's case with 
 his former honour (chap. xxix. 8 31). This 
 deep insult put more than once upon the 
 Son of God while standing as our substitute. 
 Predicted (Isa. 1. 6). Realized (Matt. xxvi. 
 67; xxvii. 30). 
 
 4. All restraint in regard to him cast off by 
 the rabble around him, in consequence of his 
 affliction. Verse 11. "Because he (the 
 Almighty) hath loosed my cord (dissolved 
 my strength and authority; or, according to 
 another reading, ' his cord,' giving loose 
 reins to his anger), and afflicted (or humbled) 
 me, they have also let loose the bridle before 
 me" (have cast off all restraint in my 
 presence, and treat me with unbridled 
 insolence). All Job's afflictions ascribed by 
 him to God as their first Author. His cord 
 now loosed by Him, a sad contrast to his 
 fond anticipation (chap, xxxix. 8 11). 
 Observe The wicked sometimes allowed to 
 say and do ichatecer their -pleasure may 
 suggest or their malice invent. This now 
 done by Job's enemies (1) As if it were a 
 merit to treat with insult one who appeared 
 the object of Divine execration. (2) From 
 the absence either of power in himself or 
 inclination in others to restrain them. The 
 same experienced by the Saviour from the 
 soldiers, servants, and others, when in the 
 hands of his enemies (Mark xiv. 05 ; xv. 
 1620). 
 
 5. Violently pushed by rude youths, who 
 employed CKcry method to annoy and distress 
 him. Verse 12. "Upon my right hand ( the 
 place of accusers ; also where he should 
 otherwise have been most able to defend 
 himself, thus chosen for greater insult and 
 contempt) rise the youth (Hebrew, ' brood,' 
 so called in disdain) ; they push away my 
 feet (probably stretched out as he sat or lay 
 among the ashes), and raise up against me 
 the ways of their destruction" (or, "their 
 destructive ways," the ways by which they 
 may attack and destroy me, like the raised 
 ways or banks of a besieging army, 2 Kings 
 xix. 32). A wicked and mischievous band 
 of city youths, like those who mocked Elisha 
 at Jericho, now surround and assault him on 
 set purpose to annoy and do him injury, as 
 an army employing every means they can 
 contrive to overthrow the beleaguered for- 
 tress. A picture of deeper degradation and 
 misery hardly conceivable ; all the darker 
 from the contrast afforded by the previous 
 chapter. Yet, even this only a shadow of 
 
 the outrages endured by the King of kin^s 
 when "made a curse for us" (Matt. xxvi. 
 3, 4, to the end of that and the t'ollowiiiw 
 chapter). 
 
 6. His sufferings increased by the rabble, 
 who seemed to take pleasure in adding to his 
 affliction, and completing his overthrow. Verse 
 13. " They mar (cut up) my path (annoying 
 me whenever I attempt to walk, and preT- 
 venting all escape or access to me from 
 without), they set forward my calamity [as 
 if it afforded them profit as well as pleasure], 
 they have no helper" (persons of the lowest 
 and most worthless character). So Christ in 
 His last sufferings reviled by the thieves 
 that were crucified with Him (Matt, xxvii. 
 44). Observe A mark of deepest de- 
 pravity to take pleasure in another's 
 calamity, and to add affliction to those 
 already afflicted. Edom and other nations 
 severely threatened for similar conduct in 
 regard to humbled Israel (Ob. x. 15 ; Zech. 
 i. 15). The experience also of David and 
 David's son (Ps. Ixix. 26). 
 
 7. ///* utter ruin eagerly sought by the 
 rabble multitude about him. Verse 14. - 
 " They came (or come) upon me as a wide 
 breaking-in of waters (or, 'as by a wide 
 breach ' the figure of a siege still con- 
 tinued) ; in the (or, like a) desolation (or, 
 ' under the crash or ruin,' as of the falling 
 walls and buildings of the breached fortress ; 
 or, ' with a tumult,' or ' shout ' of triumph) 
 they rolled (or roll) themselves upon me " 
 (as a storming party entering the breach). 
 Implies (1) The number of those seeking 
 to distress and overthrow him. (2) Their 
 eagerness in their wickedness. (3) Their 
 actual mischief. 
 
 The section affords an affecting view of 
 the depths of Job's aggravated and accumu- 
 lated sufferings. As if the sudden and pe- 
 culiarly melancholy death of his whole ten 
 children; the loss of his entire property; his 
 personal suffering from a most loathsome 
 and distressing disease ; his being made the 
 object of aversion by his wife and domestics, 
 and of suspicion and reproach by his friends 
 as if all this had not been enough, he is 
 subjected to the coarsest treatment and most 
 unfeeling mockery from a low rabble, who 
 take a fiendish pleasure in insulting him and 
 adding to his affliction. Observe 
 
 1. Impossible to say to what suffering a 
 child of God may be subjected in this world. 
 Sometimes all the powers of wickedness in 
 earth and hell apparently let loose against 
 him, while at the same time suffering under 
 distressing dispensations of Divine Provi- 
 dence. No trial so sharp but a godly man 
 may meet with it. If Satan has one dart in 
 his quiver more fiery than another, he may 
 shoot it at him. In respect to outward 
 
 181
 
 CHAP. XXX. 
 
 EOMILETIC COMMENTARY: JOB. 
 
 trials and sufferings, but for the inward 
 comfort aiid future hope afforded them, be- 
 lievers, sometimes, of all men the most 
 miserable (1 Cor. xv. 19). Tribulation and 
 persecution promised by the Master. This, 
 at times, abundantly and amazingly realized. 
 Witness the sufferings of the martyrs of 
 Lyons, Smyrna, and elsewhere, in the second 
 century. " Tortures by racks, by pincers, by 
 faggots, by the tossings of wild beasts, by 
 being seated in burning [iron] chairs, that 
 the fumes of their roasting flesh might come 
 up about them, amid scoffs and jeers from 
 the rabble, when a word of retraction would 
 have saved them." See Dickinsons Theo- 
 logical Quarterly, July, 1875, p. 380. 
 
 2. Nothing strange for a child of God to 
 fall from esteem into contempt a/id disgrace 
 (Matt. v. 11). Hatred and reproach their 
 promised fare. Mockery not the least pain- 
 ful and effective species of persecution 
 (Heb. x. 32, 33 ; Gen. xxi. 9 compared with 
 Gal. iv. 29). 
 
 3. The depravity of the human heart, which 
 is capable of conduct such as is ascribed to 
 Job's rabble persecutors. "Murder," in its 
 worst form, proceeding out of it (Matt. xv. 
 19). Capable of inflicting deliberate injury 
 on those already deeply afflicted and suffer- 
 ing, from the mere gratification of a fiendish 
 pleasure in witnessing it, or from a dia- 
 bolical hatred of moral excellence in the 
 sufferer. 
 
 4. The intense malevolence and cruelty of 
 Satan, the author of these aggravated suffer- 
 ings on the part of Job, and the instigator of 
 those wretched creatures whom he found or 
 made his ready tools, in rendering his suffer- 
 ing as bitter as it could possibly be. Nothing 
 wanting on Satan's part if men are not as 
 wretched and miserable as himself. 
 
 5. The mutability of outward happiness and 
 popular favour. None ever enjoyed both in 
 a higher degree than Job, and none ever, 
 for a time, so entirely stripped of them. The 
 fickleness of "fortune " and popular applause 
 proverbial. The " Hosauna " of to-day the 
 "crucify Him" of to-morrow. To-day a 
 silken couch to-morrow a scaffold. To-day 
 Paul is ready to be worshipped as a divinity ; 
 to-morrow he is dragged out of the city and 
 all but stoned to death. The believer's 
 comfort (1) That all these vicissitudes are 
 URder his Heavenly Father's appointment. 
 (2) That his real happiness is elsewhere and 
 far above the reach of change. 
 
 G. The love of Christ in submitting, for our 
 sake, to svjferinys and indignities which are 
 only foreshadowed in those of the Patriarch. 
 In the last eighteen hours of His life on 
 earth all the bitter ingredients indicated in 
 this chapter were infused into the cup of 
 suffering appointed for Him as our substitute 
 
 182 " 
 
 to drink. " He was made a curse for us," 
 and therefore abandoned to every species of 
 human endurance. The Gospel narrative 
 presents us with a scene of suffering which 
 only finds anything approaching a parallel 
 to it in the case of the Patriarch, as ex- 
 hibited in this and preceding chapters. 
 
 III. Reverts to his personal affliction, 
 more especially as from the hand of 
 
 God (verses 15 18). Laments. 
 
 1. The sad reverse in his condition. 
 "Verse 15. "Terrors are turned upon me 
 (or, ' things are changed ' tables are turned 
 with me ; or, 'lam overthrown,' like a stormed 
 fortress ; or, ' trouble,' carrying con- 
 sternation with it, like the terror in a city 
 taken by storm, ' pursues me ' ) ; they (the 
 terrors or calamities) pursue (likethe besiegers 
 when entering the breach they have made in 
 the walls; or, 'tbou pursust') my soul 
 (Heb., 'my nobility' or princely state 
 perhaps a term for the soul from its 
 nobler nature) as the wind [pursues and 
 drives along the chaff i. e. vehemently and 
 irresistibly]; my welfare (all the happiness 
 and comfort of my life) passeth away as a 
 cloud " [which leaves no trace of its former 
 presence and can no more be recalled]. 
 Observe : (1). Sad reverses from a happy 
 and prosperous condition among the most 
 painful of human trials. (2) Soul terrors the 
 greatest troubles. These not unknown to 
 a child of God(Ps. Ixxxviii. 15, 16). Amaze- 
 ment and consternation among the ingre- 
 dients of Christ's cup (Mark xiv. 33, 34). 
 
 2. His inward grief, expressing itself in 
 continual groans and lamentations. Verse 
 16. "And now my soul is poured out upon 
 me (or, 'within me,' as if dissolved in grief ; 
 Heb., 'pours itself out,' i.e., in tears and 
 groans) ; the days of affliction have taken 
 hold (or fast hold) of me " (like armed men 
 entering a besieged city denoting the 
 violence of his troubles ; "days of affliction," 
 as indicating its continuance and the sad 
 contrast with his former happy experience). 
 Observe Days of affliction, sooner or later, 
 and of longer or shorter continuance, to take 
 hold of each (Eccles xi. 8). Happy then to 
 have one with us who " in all our afflictions 
 is afflicted" (Is. Ixiii. 9). His promise (Is. 
 xliii. 2). Christ's presence with us in the 
 furnace quenches the violence of the fire 
 (Dan.iii. 25; Heb.xi. 34). 
 
 3. His bodily sufferings. Verse 17. "My 
 bones are pierced in me (Heb., ' from off me ') 
 in the night season (or , ' night picrceth my 
 bones from off me,' i.e. with acute pains, 
 usually most severe in the night) ; and my 
 sinews (or ' my gnawing pains ') take (or find) 
 no rest." Acute and gnawing pains added to 
 all Job's other afflictions. Satan accom-
 
 UOMILETIC COMMENTARY: JOB. 
 
 CHAP. xxx. 
 
 plishes his wish and goes the full length of his 
 permission, "Touch his flesh and his bones." 
 The bones sensible of the most acute and 
 severe pain. The affliction carried into his 
 very bones. Severe suffering usually ex- 
 pressed by reference to the bones (Ps. li. 8; 
 Is. xxxviii. 13). An aggravation of pain and 
 suffering when endured in the night while 
 others enjoy rest, and when one's own ex- 
 hausted nature requires repose. Night also 
 the season in which sorrow sinks deepest. 
 
 4. The pollution of his garments and the 
 changed appearance of his skin in conse- 
 quence of his disease. Verse 18. "By the 
 great force of my disease is my garment 
 (either literally, in consequence of the puru- 
 lent discharge from his sores ; or figuratively, 
 his skin so changed in its appearance that he 
 could scarcely be recognized) : it bindeth me 
 as the collar of my coat " (vest, tunic, or inner 
 garment his loose outer garment being now 
 so stiff with gore and matter as to sit as close 
 to his person as his tunic ; or, ' it the 
 disease bindeth me about like my vest ; ' 
 sitting as closely, constantly, and completely 
 upon me as my tunic). A sore aggravation of 
 disease (1) When it pollutes our garments 
 and disfigures our persons (2) "When it ap- 
 pears likely to yield neither to time nor 
 treatment. 
 
 5. Degradation coupled with extreme de- 
 lility. Verse 19. " He (God, or, ' it,' the 
 disease) hath cast me into the mire (as a 
 wrestler seizing his antagonist by the throat 
 and throwing liim to the ground ; or, hath 
 rendered me filthy and abominable as one 
 east into the mire), and I am become like 
 dust and ashes " (as low and mean, as weak 
 and powerless, as the ashes on which I sit ; 
 or, I am reduced to dust and ashes, deprived 
 of vital energy, and more like a corpse than 
 ,a living man ; his disease such as to give 
 ihis body the appearance of clods and ashes, 
 from its dried scabs and filthy ulcers). 
 Observe Piety enables us to keep an eye 
 upon God as the supreme and sovereign 
 Author of all our troubles. In one sense 
 our troubles as truly from God, as in another 
 from Satan, the world, or ourselves. God 
 the ultimate Author, whoever or whatever 
 may be the immediate instrument or occasion. 
 No trouble but by His purpose and per- 
 mission. Satan and the world only God's 
 
 i hand in afflicting and chastening His children. 
 'Satan's demand in regard to Job: "Put 
 forth thy hand upon him ; " God's answer, 
 " He is in thine hand." Paul's thorn in 
 the flesh from Satan, yet given by God 
 (2 Cor. xii. 7). Better to think of God the 
 first cause in our trouble, than of man or 
 any other second cause. " I was dumb, I 
 opened not my mouth ; because Thou didst 
 it " (Ps. xxxix. ( J). 
 
 IV. Directs his complaint against 
 God Himself (verses 2022). 
 
 1. As disregarding his prayer in his afflic- 
 tion. Verse 20. " I cry unto thee, and thou 
 dost not hear (or hearken, so as to help and 
 deliver) me ; I stand up (in frequent and 
 earnest supplication ; or, I stand, continue 
 waiting and expecting an answer), and thou 
 regardest me not" (or "thou considerest 
 me " [and my case], but dost not answer or 
 afford relief). Observe (1) Crying to God 
 a familiar exercise with Job. Good for us 
 to have the path to the mercy-seat a well- 
 trodden one. (2) Job not only frayed in his 
 affliction, but continued to do so. Unlike 
 the hypocrite (chap, xxvii. 10). (3) Stand- 
 ing a usual and Scriptnral posture iu prayer 
 (Gen. xviii. 22 ; Jer. xv. 1 ; Matt. vi. 5 ; 
 Luke xviii. 11 13). The early Christians 
 usually knelt in prayer on every day of the 
 week, except the Lord's-day, when they 
 stood, as a posture more befitting a day of 
 joy and triumph. (4) Sometimes one of the 
 most painful trials to an afflicted child </f 
 God, to pray, and continue praying, without 
 any apparent attention to his prayer on the 
 part of God. The trial of David and of 
 David's Lord in his deepest affliction (Psa. 
 xxii. 1, 2; Matt, xxvii. 46). (5) God's 
 regard to our prayer not to be judged by 
 immediate appearances. 
 
 Answers to Prayer. 
 
 Believing prayer heard, though followed 
 by no immediate or direct answer. Prayer 
 offered through the Holy Spirit's assistance 
 never unheard or unanswered. Answers to 
 prayer not restricted to time or form. 
 Sometimes, the thing itself not granted, but 
 something better in its stead. So with 
 Paul (2 Cor. xii. 8, 9). With Christ (Luke 
 xxii. 42, 43). Sometimes petitions for tem- 
 poral benefits not granted, that those for 
 spiritual and better ones may be so. The 
 withholding an answer sometimes a greater 
 blessing than the answer itself. God not a 
 mere force, but an intelligence acting 
 according to infinite wisdom and judgment 
 in the bestowment of His mercies. ' The 
 absurdity of Tyndall's famous ' prayer-test ' 
 was, that it regarded God as simply a force 
 in nature, and proposed to experiment with 
 
 it to see just what it would do 
 
 The impossibility of knowing the motives 
 which actuate God must for ever render the 
 expectation of receiving an invariable answer 
 to any prayer absurd in the extreme. The 
 very fact that our prayers are sometimes 
 answered and sometimes denied, and that 
 the answers when granted are sometimes 
 modified and often delayed, is itself proof 
 that we are dealing with a great intelligence, 
 
 183
 
 CHAP. XXX. 
 
 JOS. 
 
 whose acts are governed only by his own 
 will and purposes." Ret. Jacob Todd,M.A., 
 in Dickinson's Theological Quarterly, July, 
 1875, p. 369. True and acceptable prayer 
 carries in it submission to the Divine will. A 
 part of every such prayer, understood if not 
 expressed, Not my will, but thine be done. 
 Christ our exemplar in prayer (Luke xxii. 24). 
 Himself the example of His own teaching 
 (Matt. vi. 10). Believing prayer like seed, 
 whose temporary disappearance in the earth 
 is necessary to its production of fruit. All 
 the tears of God's people put into His bottle, 
 and all their prayers recorded in His book 
 (Ps. Ivi. 8). All Job's prayers at length 
 abundantly answered, even in this life. 
 Perhaps the most of believers' prayers only 
 to be answered after they have ceased both 
 to pray and live. Better, in trouble, to pray 
 for patience to endure it, and grace to 
 improve it, than for deliverance out of it. 
 
 2. As acting towards him with apparent 
 cruelly and hostility. Verse 21. "Thou art. 
 become cruel to me (Hebrew, 'Art turned 
 into a cruel one unto me') ; with thy strong 
 hand thou opposest thyself against me," (or, 
 ' earnest on a bitter hostility against me ;' or 
 ' liest in wait for me'). One of the severest 
 things Job ever uttered in regard to God, 
 indicating the bitterness of his grief at being 
 thus treated by Him as an enemy. Observe 
 (1) The flesh has never, any more than Satan, 
 anything good to say of God. (2) The fesh 
 makes the most grievous mistakes in its 
 jutlf/Hients of God and of Dicine things. Says 
 of God what is exactly true of the devil, and 
 the very opposite of what is true of God. 
 God is love, and Satan the impersonation of 
 vruelty. His name Satan denotes " an ad- 
 cersary," and is closely allied to the word Job 
 employs in speaking of God. Satan the 
 opposer of every man's happiness, and 
 especially the adversary of believers (1 Peter 
 v.8). (3) God may, for wise purposes, in a little 
 wrath hide his face from his children " for 
 a moment," and in apparent wrath may 
 " smite them," though really in love (Isa. liv. 
 8; Ivii. 17; Rev. iii. 19), Even this not 
 the case at present in regard to Job. While 
 Satan was bruising, God was praising him. 
 (4) Job's experience in the text, without the 
 sin, realized by his great Antitype when 
 littering the cry, My God, my God, why 
 hast thou forsaken me (Matt, xxvii. 46). For 
 our sakcs, that satisfaction might be made 
 for man's sins, God obliged to assume the 
 aspect of " a cruel one " to His own beloved 
 Son. The bitterest element of the cup given 
 him, as our surety, to drink. 
 
 3. An sporting with Ids sufferings, and 
 
 fjicing him up to destruction. Verse 22. 
 
 " Thou liftest me up to the wind (like the grain 
 
 thrown up from the threshing-floor by the 
 
 184 
 
 winnowing shovel against the wind) thou 
 causest me to ride (tossest me up and down, 
 or earnest me away) upon it " (as the chaff 
 of the threshing-floor when separated from 
 the wheat, or as. any light substance made 
 the sport of the wind and carried away by 
 it). Observe (1) Job, under the misleading 
 suggestions of the flesh, views God as 
 sporting with his sufferings, while, in reality, 
 glorying in him before principalities and 
 powers as his faithful servant, who had not 
 his like upon earth. (2) What Job here 
 ignorantly and unbelievingly ascribes to God, 
 very like what Satan desired to do with the 
 disciples of Jesus in the night of their 
 Master's betrayal (Luke xxii. 31, 32). The 
 thing Satan was actually doing now with 
 Job. 
 
 4. As filling him with terror and making 
 an utter end of him. " Thou dissolvcst my 
 substance " (or, my health and soundness, as 
 well from terror as disease ; or " Thou dis- 
 solvcst me, Thou terril'est me;" or, according 
 to another reading, " Thou dissolvest me in 
 the tempest's crash"). A tragic picture of 
 inward as well as outward distress. Vague 
 terror and deep depression of spirits among 
 the effects of Job's peculiar disease. Trouble 
 of soul the soul of all trouble. Terrible ex- 
 perience, when in affliction and trouble God 
 is viewed as dealing with us in anger. Some- 
 times the temporary experience of a believer. 
 Sure to be the unending experience of every 
 impenitent unbeliever. God's terrors able 
 to dissolve the firmest substance, and 
 to terrify the stoutest heart. "A fearful 
 thing to fall into the hands of the living 
 God." 
 
 Y. Reflects upon the future (verses 23, 
 24). 
 
 1. Anticipates death as the result of Jus 
 present svj/'cri/iys. Verse 23. "For I know 
 that thou wilt bring me to death, and to the 
 house appointed for all living " (the grave, 
 or the earth, according to Gen. iii. 19 ; the 
 book of Genesis, in some form or other, most 
 probably in Job's hands). Job's language 
 that of dejection and despondency, not with- 
 out an alloy of petulance. Faith again at the 
 ebb. Despondency one of the effects of his 
 disease. Sense and sight said : " He will 
 slay me this disease must be fatal ; " only 
 faith could say: " I shall not die but live." 
 Observe (1) The flesh ever apt to draw 
 hasty and wrong conclusions from God's 
 dealings in Providence. (2) God acknow- 
 legcd by Job as the dispenser of all His 
 .lifliclions, and as the disposer of all events. 
 None go down to the grave till God brings 
 them there, though some are brought before 
 their time. The ke.ys of death and the 
 eternal world in Christ's hands.
 
 HOMILETIC COMMENTARY: JOB. 
 
 CHAP. XXX. 
 
 The grave the house appointed for 
 all living 1 . 
 
 Declares the general law relating to hu- 
 manity. Only two known exceptions. More 
 to be made at the Lord's second advent. 
 Believers then changed without tasting of 
 death (1 Cor. xv. 51, 52 ; 1 Thess. iv. 15 
 17). Till Christ shall come, the grave the 
 appointed receptacle for humanity. Job mis- 
 taken as to the time and occasion of his 
 death ; no mistake as to the fact of it. 
 Every disease, if not strictly "unto death," 
 yet brings us nearer to it. In regard 
 to the issue of our trouble, God often 
 better than our fears. Paul's case (2 Cor. 
 i. 8 10). God as able to bring up from 
 the grave as to bring down to it. The times 
 of each in His hand. Useful in affliction to 
 remember our mortality, and to regard death 
 as the possible, if not the certain, result of 
 it. From the universality of the grave as 
 " the house appointed for all living," we 
 learn (1) A lesson of humility. Pride ill 
 becoming in any creature, preposterous in 
 those who in a few years at most will have 
 only a dark chamber in the earth of a few 
 cubic feet for their dwelling, with the worms 
 as their nearest companions, and actually 
 making a banquet of their ilesh. Such a 
 dwelling awaiting the prince equally with 
 the peasant. (2) Earnestness in attending to 
 present and important ditty, more especially in 
 seeking the eternal welfare of ourselves and 
 others connected with us. Opportunity for 
 attending to the concerns of eternity con- 
 fined to this life. The exhortation of Divine 
 wisdom "Whatsoever thy hand fiudeth to 
 do, do it with thy might ; for there is no 
 work, &c., in the grave, whither thou goest " 
 (Eccles. ix. 10). " The night cometh when 
 no man can work." (3) The evil of sin. 
 The grave not originally "the house appointed 
 for all living." Death to mankind the result 
 of transgression. " In the day that thou 
 eatest thereof thou shalt surely die." " By 
 one man siu entered the world, and death 
 by sin." "The wages of sin is death." No 
 grave but sin has dug it. Terrible evil 
 which has filled the world with sepulchres 
 and dead men's bones. Sad to be in love with 
 that which has provedthe murdereroftherace. 
 So great an evil must require a correspond- 
 ing means for its expiation and removal. 
 (4) The inflexible character of the Dicine law. 
 The sentence against transgressors of that 
 law fulfilled, though a whole race must be 
 reduced to death. Adequate satisfaction to 
 be made to it before the grave can close its 
 mouth or yield up its dead to an eternal life. 
 That satisfaction, through Divine compas- 
 sion, already made. "By man came death; 
 
 by man came also the resurrection from the 
 dead." "The wages of sin is death ; but 
 the gift of God is eternal life, through Jesus 
 Christ our Lord." " I am the resurrection 
 and the life ; he that believeth in me, though 
 he were dead, yet shall he live ; and whoso- 
 ever liveth and believeth in me shall never 
 die." "He suffered for our sins, the just One 
 in the room of the unjust." "All we like 
 sheep have gone astray ; and the Lord hath 
 laid upon him the iniquity of us all. He 
 was wounded for our transgressions. By 
 His stripes we arc healed. For the trans- 
 gression of My people was he stricken. He 
 hath made his soul an offering for sin. He 
 bare the sin of many " (1 Cor. xv. 21 ; 
 Horn. vi. 23 ; John xi. 25 ; Is. liii. 512). 
 (5) True wisdom to seek a better than an 
 earthly portion. The 'house appointed for 
 all living ' the end of all mere earthly enjoy- 
 ments and possessions. Sad to spend our 
 time only in the pursuit of such, and to be 
 found at last with nothing we can carry with 
 us beyond it. (6) The grace the vestibule to 
 two other houses, both eternal in their dura- 
 tion, but immensely different in their character. 
 The one of these a home of light and beauty, 
 peace and purity, life and health, joy and 
 song, where death is unknown and no tear 
 is shed. The other one of darkness and de- 
 spair, 'weeping, wailing, and gnashing of 
 teeth.' Solemn and important question for 
 each which of these shall be my home ? 
 "Except a man be born again, he cannot 
 see the kingdom of God." " Without holi- 
 ness no man shall see the Lord." 
 
 2. Despairs of help being afforded in 
 answer to his prayers, and looks only for re- 
 lief in the grace. Verse 24. " Howbeit (or 
 surely) he will not stretch out his hand (in the 
 way of help and deliverance) to the grave 
 (now when I am already on the verge of it ; 
 or, 'surely prayer avails nothing when he 
 stretches forth his hand,' viz., to smite or to 
 slay) ; though they (or men) cry in his de- 
 struction" (the destruction sent by him 
 while he is visiting with destruction). The 
 verse, however, may also be read as express- 
 ing the assurance of rest in the grave : 
 " llowbeit he will not stretch out his 
 [afflicting] hand to the grave (so as to 
 afflict in or beyond it) ; in the destruction 
 He sends there is deliverance." Or even 
 as justifying prayer in such circumstances 
 as this : " llowbeit, do not men [still] stretch 
 out the hand [imploring help] in ruin, and 
 utter a cry on account of it in the destruc- 
 tion which is sent by Him ? " Observe (1) 
 The language of unbelief, "There is no hope." 
 The Ilesh, even in a believer, ever ready in 
 protracted trial and disappointed hope, to 
 say, with Ahab : "Why should I wait any 
 longer ? " (2; Faith in a believer lias its 
 
 185
 
 CHAP. XXX. 
 
 HOMILETIC COMMENTARY: JOS 
 
 elbs and flows. Low water with Abraham's 
 faith when he spoke to God of Eliezer of 
 Damascus being his heir, and when he 
 prayed that Ishmael might live before him, 
 as if he were to have no other sou. Mounts 
 and triumphs when he goes forth at God's 
 command to offer up to God the heir of 
 promise, believing that He was able even to 
 raise him from the dead. Faith in its ebb 
 Avith David when he said : " I shall one day 
 fall by the hand of Saul." At its flow, 
 when he wrote in the 118th Psalm: " I 
 shall not die but live, and declare the works 
 of the Lord." Faith high in Elijah when he 
 sent for Ahab and told him to gather to- 
 gether all the prophets of Baal ; low, when 
 he fled from the face of Jezebel and sat 
 down under the juniper tree, with the prayer 
 " Take away my life, for I am no better 
 than my fathers." Hard to believe when all 
 appearances are, and continue to be, clean 
 contrary to our prayers. The part of faith 
 to hope against hope, having to do with a 
 God to whom all things are possible, and 
 who adopts as his title " Thou that nearest 
 prayer " (Ps. Ixv. 2). (3) Sweet consolation 
 to a suffering child to know that he has at 
 least rest and deliverance in the grave. 
 "Blessed are the dead that die in the Lord, 
 for they do rest from their labours " (Rev. 
 xiv. 13). Man cannot lay on his afflicting 
 hand in the grave, and God will not. A be- 
 liever's faith may not be able to see deliver- 
 ance on this side of death, but clearly sees 
 it "on the other. (4) A believer prays, 
 although answers are withheld and there 
 appears little prospect of any. Prayer a 
 necessity of his nature. A latent faith 
 always in the renewed heart that God is 
 gracious, and that He is the hearer and 
 answerer of prayer. 
 
 VI. Expresses his disappointment and 
 the grounds of it (verses 25, 26). 
 
 1. The (/rounds of his disappointment. 
 Verse 25. " Did not I weep for him that 
 was in trouble ? Was not my soul grieved 
 for the poor ? " His sympathy deep and 
 real. Conscience bore its testimony to the 
 sincerity of his charity. Could appeal to 
 those around him for the general and genuine 
 character of his compassion. The question 
 affirmed by the admission of Eliphaz (chap, 
 iii. 3, 4). Having shown sympathy and 
 compassion to others when in trouble, he 
 calculated on experiencing the same himself 
 when in similar circumstances. The same 
 thought expressed by the Psalmist, speaking 
 as the type of Messiali (Ps. xxxv. 13, 14). 
 A natural as well as Scriptural law " With 
 the same measure that ye mete withal, it 
 shall be measured to you again (Luke vi. 
 38). True in respect to God. though some- 
 
 186 
 
 times for a time apparently otherwise. One 
 of the laws of His kingdom," Blessed are 
 the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy" 
 (Matt. v. 7). Generally, though not always, 
 true in relation to men. Job and Job's 
 Antitype remarkable examples of the con- 
 trary. In Christ's case, unbounded com- 
 passion and tenderest sympathy repaid with 
 cruelty and insult. An aggravation of 
 trouble when sympathy and compassion are 
 withheld where there is a just right to expect 
 them. Mark of monstrous depravity when 
 the sympathizing and compassionate are 
 treated with unkindness and cruelty. 
 
 Job, according to the text, a beautiful 
 example of Christian sympathy. The ex- 
 emplification of the precept : " Weep with 
 them that weep" (Rom. xii. 15). Re- 
 markable manifestation of the grace of the 
 Spirit in patriarchal times. May well put 
 many liviug under the Christian dispensation 
 to the blush. The great want in the Church 
 of Christ, the Master's sympathy and com- 
 passion for the poor and afflicted. Yet the 
 glory of Christianity and the evidence of its 
 Divine character, that such a spirit has been 
 so largely produced under it. Among its 
 characteristic precepts are : " Be pitiful ; " 
 " Put on bowels of mercies" (1 Peter iii. 8 ; 
 Col. iii. 12). Christ's compassionate spirit, in 
 a greater or less degree, infused into all His 
 members. The privilege as well as duty of 
 believers, to be filled and pervaded with it 
 (Eph. v. 18). Provision made for this in 
 the present dispensation by the full be- 
 stowment of the Holy Spirit. Such sym- 
 pathy and compassion the necessary qualifi- 
 cation for Christian usefulness. 
 
 2. The disappointment itself. Verse 2G. 
 " When I looked for good, then evil came 
 unto me ; and when I waited for (or 
 expected) light (happiness and joy), there 
 came darkness" (trouble and distress). 
 Natural to expect happiness as the result of 
 piety. Godliness has the "promise of the life 
 that now is as well as of that which is to 
 come" (1 Tim. iv. 8). Wisdom's ways 
 pleasantness, and all her paths peace. 
 Experienced as a matter of fact. The expe- 
 rience of Job himself previous to his 
 calamities, and again after they were past. 
 Promises of temporal happiness and comfort 
 to be understood with an exception of need- 
 ful trials. Fear of future trials not foreign 
 to Job in the time of his prosperity (chap. iii. 
 25, 26 ; i. 5 ; ii. 10). Observe (1) . Trials 
 as well as comforts necessary in a state of 
 discipline. Darkness as well as light needful 
 in the spiritual as in the natural world. 
 (2) A believer's expectation, if good, always 
 realized, though not always in this life or in 
 the things of it. His trials and disappoint- 
 ments blessings as well as his comforts.
 
 IIOMILETIC COMMENTARY: JOB. 
 
 CHAP. XXX. 
 
 Til. Enlarges on his troubles (verses 
 27-31). 
 
 1. Incessant inward as well as outward 
 affliction. Verse 27. "My bowels boiled 
 (with inward distress, as Lam. i. 20, or as 
 the physical effect of his disease), and rested 
 not (continued to do so without inter- 
 mission, night and day) ; the days of afflic- 
 tion prevented me " (met me or came upon 
 me suddenly and unexpectedly an aggrava- 
 tion of the trouble). 
 
 2. Continued grief. Verse 28. " I went 
 (moved about) mourning (or black, in 
 person or attire) without the sun." Not as 
 the effect of exposure to the heat ; or, in 
 gloomy solitary places; or, in a state of 
 dejection and sorrow. Reference perhaps to 
 his experience previous to his disease, which 
 probably kept him confined to his dwelling 
 or the vicinity of it ; enough in the loss of 
 his ten children to occasion it. 
 
 3. Public and unrestrained complaint. 
 Verse 28. "I stood up [through deep 
 earnestness and anguish], and I cried (as 
 the expression of deep and uncontrollable 
 grief, or as imploring relief and aid) in the 
 congregation" (assembled for public busi- 
 ness or Divine worship). Here also probable 
 reference to the period in which he was still 
 able to mingle with others and to appear in 
 the public assemblies, and hence previous to 
 his being smitten with his leprosy. Lepers 
 excluded from society (Lev. v. 2, 3). Miriam, 
 under the same disease, shut out from the 
 camp seven days (Numb. xii. 15). King 
 Azariah, when a leper, obliged to dwell in a 
 " several," or separate house, and " cut off 
 from the house of the Lord " (2 Chron xxvi. 
 20, 21. Usual for Orientals to give vent to 
 their feelings in public. 
 
 4. Solitary moaning. Verse 29. "I am 
 a brother (by close resemblance) to dragons 
 (or jackals, which roam in solitary places and 
 utter doleful and hideous cries, especially in 
 the night), and a companion to owls " (or 
 ostriches, also remarkable for their loud 
 nocturnal cries (Mic. i. 8). 
 
 5. The disfigurement of his person, and 
 internal physical suffering. Verse 30. " My 
 skin is black upon me (or, becomes black 
 [and falls] from off me, among the effects of 
 his disease, hence called the black leprosy : 
 the skin, however, also blackened by grief, 
 Psa. cxix. 83 ; Jer. viii. 21 ; Lam. v. 16) ; 
 and my bones are burned witli heat" (as the 
 result of internal inflammation, or expressive 
 of inward distress, Psa. cii. 3). 
 
 C. His whole experience one of sorrow and 
 lamentation. Verse 31. " My harp also is 
 turned to mourning, and my organ (or pipe) 
 into the voice of them that weep" (as at 
 funerals the early practice of funereal 
 
 wailing still continued in the East). The 
 harp, and organ or pipe, instruments of 
 music earliest in use. Mentioned Gen. iv. 39. 
 Indicative of the period in which the 
 patriarch lived. Especially employed on 
 joyful occasions. The language descriptive 
 of a melancholy change from a joyous to a 
 sorrowful experience. The sudden transi- 
 tion from previous joy an aggravation of 
 present sorrow. Observe (1) Job's pre- 
 vious life one rather of gaiety than gloom. 
 True piety the sister of innocent pleasure. 
 Wisdom's ways those of pleasantness. The 
 voice of rejoicing and salvation heard in the 
 tabernacles of the righteous. (2) The holiest 
 heart and the happiest home liable to be 
 overtaken by sudden and overwhelming 
 sorrow. The major key often exchanged for 
 the minor, and the song of gladness for the 
 wail of grief. His Father's "house" the 
 only place where the believer's sun never 
 goes down, and his moon never withdraws 
 itself. Heaven the only land where the 
 harp and the organ are always in use, and 
 the garments are always white. 
 
 Job held up in these tragic verses as an 
 affecting picture of human distress. The 
 inquiry suggested why such grief and 
 trouble under the administration of a bene- 
 volent Creator ? Why its existence at all ? 
 Why in connection with comparative inno- 
 cence ? Why in the experience of a child 
 of God ? (1) The existence of suffering 
 easily accounted for on the ground that sin 
 is in the world. Sorrow and suffering the 
 shadow cast by sin. Sin and suffering in- 
 separably linked. Absence of sorrow impos- 
 sible in a world of sin. Suffering to be viewed 
 either (i.) As the necessary and inevitable 
 accompaniment of sin, as pain accompanies 
 inflamation; or (ii.) as the infliction of a 
 penalty, as punishment follows transgression 
 in the state ; or (iii.) as a kind and salutary 
 discipline, like that employed by a father 
 with his children. No absolutely innocent 
 person in the world. The comparatively 
 innocent necessarily suffer along with the 
 guilty. Often suffer in consequence of the 
 sin and suffering of others. (2) Suffering 
 in a child of God part of the treatment ne- 
 cessary for his perfection and preparation 
 for his eternal inheritance. A need-be for 
 his heaviness through manifold tempta- 
 tions. Gold necessarily tried and purified 
 in the fire. The believer's troubles necessary 
 for the exercise and development of the 
 graces of the Spirit. Made to conduce to 
 the glory of God and the benefit of others. 
 God sometimes glorified more in His patient 
 than in His prosperous children. Suffering 
 a theatre for the display both of the excel- 
 lence and reality of true religion. Often 
 the very result of the character and condition 
 
 187
 
 CHAP. xxxi. 
 
 HOMILETIC COMMENTARY: JOB. 
 
 of a child of God. Such the special object 
 of Satan's temptations and the world's per- 
 secution. By his renewed nature, made 
 more sensible of the evil of sin within him- 
 self, and more deeply affected with the 
 sufferings and sins of others. The glory and 
 privilege of a child of God to be made a par- 
 
 taker of the afflictions of Christ, and for the 
 same object (Col. i. 24). (3) Suffering and 
 sorrow to be expected in the world as long 
 as Satan is permitted to go up and down in 
 it (chap. i. 7). This not always to be the 
 case (Rev. xx. 1 13). 
 
 CHAPTER XXXI. 
 
 JOB'S SELF-VINDICATION. HIS SOLILOQUY CONTINUED. 
 
 Concludes his speeches by asolemn, particu- 
 lar, and extended declaration of the purity 
 and uprightness of his life. Especial 
 reference to his private, as before to his 
 public, conduct. Intended to silence his 
 accusers and justify his complaints. Affords 
 a picture of an outwardly and blameless 
 character. A specimen, presented in beauti- 
 ful language, of a pure morality accom- 
 panied with, and based upon, an ardent 
 piety and genuine religion. Job asserts 
 
 I. His chastity. Verse 1. "I made a 
 covenant with (or laid asolemn charge upon) 
 mine eyes : why (or how) then should I 
 look (or that I would not look) upon a maid" 
 [to lust after her, as Matt. v. 28]. Speaks 
 especially as a married man, and with refer- 
 ence to the sin of adultery. Already begin- 
 ning to prevail in that early period, par- 
 ticularly with the rich and powerful. Hence 
 Abraham's apprehension and temptation 
 (Gen. xii. 11 15) ; and Isaac's, (Geu. xxvi. 
 710). Observe 
 
 1. The text the language of holy resolu- 
 tion. The soul to act as lord of the body. 
 The body with its members, organs, and 
 senses, to be kept in subjection (1 Cor. ix. 
 27). The avenues to temptation to be 
 guarded. The eye the inlet of lust. Occa- 
 sions ami temptations to sin to Le guarded 
 cyainst as well as sin, itself. The neglect of 
 J ob's resolution the occasion of David's fall 
 and broken bones (2 Sam. xi. 2 4 ; Ps. li. 
 8). The Saviour's rule "If thine eye 
 offend thee" prove a constant or frequent 
 occasion of sin by awaking lust "pluck it 
 out " remove the occasion of sin at what- 
 ever cost (Matt. v. 28). Eve's looking on 
 the forbidden fruit the occasion of her own 
 fall and the ruin of millions of her offspring. 
 Lot's wife looking back on Sodom the cause 
 of her petrifaction into a pillar of salt. 
 Dinah's idle curiosity in visiting a heathen 
 city to see its women, the loss of her own 
 chastity. Achan's looking on the golden 
 wedge and Babylonish garments the loss of 
 his life (Josh. vii. 21). Samson's sleep on 
 Delilah's lap the loss of his locks (Judges 
 xvi. 1 )) " Look not on the wine when it is 
 188 
 
 red" (Prov. xxiii. 31). David's (or 
 Daniel's?) prayer: "Turn away mine eyes 
 from beholding vanity" (Ps. cxix. 37). 
 Christian and Faithful in Vanity Fair re- 
 fused even to look upon its wares. The 
 contrast of the text in 2 Peter ii. 14, 
 " Having eyes full of adultery." 
 
 2. Job's reasons for his resolution. (1) 
 ///* preference for a belter portion. Verse 2. 
 "For what portion of God is there [in 
 such a case] from above? and what in- 
 heritance from the Almighty on high?." 
 Job taught to distinguish between present 
 pleasure and future bliss, and between the 
 mere gratification of lust and the enjoyment 
 of true happiness. No gratification of the 
 senses to be compared to the enjoyment of 
 God's favour. A man must either forego 
 the pleasures of sin or the joys of heaven. 
 Nothing unclean admitted within the New 
 Jerusalem. The gratification of sinful pas- 
 sion incompatible with the enjoyment of 
 God's presence. Observe (i.) In order 
 to the resisting of temptation and avoid- 
 in;/ af sin, important to " IIUKC respect to 
 the recompense of reward" (II cb. xi. 26). 
 Thus Moses chose rather to suffer affliction 
 with the people of God, than to enjoy 
 the pleasures of sin, which are but for a 
 season (Hcb. xi. 25). Having this respect, 
 Mary chose the good part, and turned her 
 back on the world ; not having it, the rich 
 voung man chose the world, and turned his 
 back upon Christ, (ii.) Necessary to choose 
 Ichcccn the enjoyment of sin and the 
 enjoyment of God, and between a por- 
 tion in this world and one in the next. 
 The whole tenour of a man's life here, and 
 the whole eternity of his experience here- 
 after, determined by the choice he makes 
 between the two. (iii.) God not only Hie 
 Bestower of a believer's portion, but the 
 portion itself (Ps. xvi. 5). Such portion to 
 be desired in preference to all earthly and 
 sensuous enjoyment, as First: More excel- 
 lent in itself, and more becoming man's 
 better nature as a moral and intellectual 
 being. Second: More satisfying to such a 
 being, and to one made capable, as man is, 
 of enjoying his Maker's friendship. Thiid :
 
 HOffllETW COMMENTARY: JOB. 
 
 CHAP. XXXI. 
 
 More enduring, the one terminating at the 
 farthest with death, the other extending 
 throughout eternity. Fourth : Attended with 
 no remorse. Fifth: Followed by no penalty. 
 (2) His dread of the consequences of sin. 
 Verse 3 " Is not destruction to the 
 wicked ? and a strange punishment (a 
 terrible calamity or 'alienation' viz., 
 from God and all good) to the workers of 
 iniquity:"' Reference to the "terrors of 
 the Lord" important in persuading our- 
 selves, as well as others, to the avoidance of 
 sin (2 Cor. v. 11). Christ's argument, 
 " What shall a man be profited, if lie should 
 gain the whole world and lose his own soul? " 
 Better to enter into life with one eye or 
 one foot, than having two eyes or two feet to 
 be cast into hell. Better lose everything 
 than lose heaven. Every loss light compared 
 with the loss of the soul. Observe (i.) 
 Destruction certain to the wicked and im- 
 penitent. The wicked turned into hell, and 
 all the nations that forget God (Psa. ix. 17). 
 (ii) No earthly calamity equal to that which 
 must one day overtake the uncjodly. The 
 destruction of the Old World by water, and 
 that of Sodom and Gomorrha by fire, only a 
 foreshadowing of the destruction of the 
 impenitent at the final judgment. Incon- 
 ceivable terrors involved in the sentence : 
 "Depart from me, ye cursed, into ever- 
 lasting fire, prepared for the devil and his 
 angels." (Matt. xxv. 41). " Everlasting 
 destruction from the presence of the Lord, 
 and from the glory of his power (2 Thess. i. 
 9). Such destruction the righteous penalty 
 oi' wilful transgression of the Divine law, 
 rebellion against the Divine government, 
 and refusal of the Divine mercy. Natural 
 that whatsoever a man sowcth that he should 
 also reap. Destruction and misery the flower 
 and fruit of sin. Sin is misery in the seed; 
 misery is only sin in the bloom. (3) The 
 recollections of God's constant inspection. 
 (Verse 4.) " Doth not he see my ways, 
 and count all my steps ? " (or actions, every 
 separate act or passage in my course on 
 earth) Omniscience a necessary attribute 
 of godhead. An open eye the Egyptian 
 hieroglyphic for deity. " Thou God seest 
 me," the guardian of Job's life. Not easy 
 to sin under the gaze of the broad eye of 
 the Almighty. Eew so hardy as to break the 
 Queen's commands with the Queen herself 
 looking on. The practice of sin the result of 
 forgetfulncss of God. The language of the 
 heart if not of the lips of the ungodly, No 
 eve shall see me (ch. xxiv. 15). To walk 
 before God the easy and natural way to be 
 perfect and upright (Gen. xvii. 1). 
 
 II. His honesty, uprightness, ami 
 freedom from covetousuess (verses 5 8), 
 
 "If I have walked with vanity (lived in 
 the practice of falsehood and hypocrisy), or 
 if my food hath hasted to deceit (to the 
 commission of a fraud) ; let me be weighed 
 (Heb., ' let him or any one weigh me ' ) in 
 an even balance (Heb. ' in the balances of 
 righteousness,') that God may know my 
 integrity (should there be any doubt in the 
 matter, which however is impossible). If 
 my step hath turned out of the way (the 
 straight way, or way of truth and upright- 
 ness, the only way that men should walk 
 in), and mine heart walked after mine eyes 
 (gone out in covetous desire after the posses- 
 sion of what I have seen, as Ahab's heart 
 went after Naboth's vineyard, the eye 
 being the inlet of covetousness as well as of 
 lust), and if any blot (or stain of wrong- 
 doing, unjust gain, or bribe for the perver- 
 sion of justice) hath cleaved to my hands 
 (in the transaction of any business with my 
 fellow-men, or in the discharge of my duty 
 as a magistrate and a judge) ; then let me 
 sow, and let another eat ; yea, let my off- 
 spring (or my produce) be rooted out." The 
 language 
 
 1. Of conscious innocence and integrity. 
 Job able unhesitatingly to appeal to his 
 neighbours and to God Himself in the declara- 
 tion of his honesty and uprightness both in 
 private and public life. So Samuel at Gilgal 
 (1 Samuel xii. 3 ; and Paul at Miletus (Acts. 
 xx. 1820, 33 35). Job's character 
 as here given by himself only that already 
 given him by God. 
 
 2. Of, in some degree at least, self-ignorance 
 and pride. Job apparently still too confident 
 in his own righteousness. Though upright 
 in his external dealings, and blameless in 
 the eyes of men, yet, weighed "in the 
 balances of righteousness," even Job found 
 wanting (Rom. iii. 9, 10, 19, 23). Much 
 self-knowledge yet to be gained by him. Job 
 yet to take the place of the publican " God 
 be merciful to me a sinner" (chap. xl. 4$ 
 xlii. 5, 0). 
 
 3. Of sincerity. A mark of uprightness, 
 when we are not only willing but wishful, if 
 we have done wrong, to suffer for it. 
 David's case (Ps. vii. 3 5. Paul's Acts 
 xxv. 11). 
 
 Job's imprecation suggests that, in the 
 providence of God, punishment in this world 
 is often according to the nature of the sin. 
 Cruelty and wrong done to others often 
 punished by the same being experienced by 
 ourselves. Injustice in our gains punished 
 by a blight on our substance. Same prin- 
 ciple acknowledged in the next sin specified. 
 
 III. His freedom from adulterous 
 desires and practices. Verses 912. 
 "If mine heart hath been deceived by 
 
 122
 
 CHAP. XXXI. 
 
 IIOMILETIC COMMENTARY: JOS. 
 
 (or enticed towards) a woman (especially 
 one married temptation from a maid spoken 
 of already, verse 1) ; or if I have laid wait 
 at my neighbour's door (watching the oppor- 
 tunity of his absence) ; then let my wife 
 (my own wife) grind (become an abject 
 slave ; Exod. xi. 5 ; Is. xlvii. 2 ; and concu- 
 bine) to another, and let others bow down 
 upon her." 
 
 Adultery apparently prevalent in the time 
 of Job and the writer of the book (chap, 
 xxiv. 15). Job declares his freedom from 
 the sin as an exceptional thing among the 
 great men of his time and country. A sin to 
 which his riches and power afforded, as in 
 David's case, a strong temptation. Not un- 
 common in patriarchal times for the great 
 to take another man's wife, though at the 
 expense of her husband's life. Hence Abra- 
 ham's and Isaac's fear for their wives' 
 chastity and their own lives the one in 
 Egypt, and both in Gerar (Gen. xii. 12 ; 
 xx. 2 ; xxvi. 7). One of the ten command- 
 ments in the Decalogue expressly directed 
 against this sin. Its commission punished 
 with death (Lev. xx. 10; Deut. xxii. 22). 
 The sin apparently prevalent in the time of 
 David and Solomon (Ps. 1. 18 ; Prov. vi. 
 24- 29 ; vii. 5 9; and of the later prophets, 
 Jer. v. 8 ; ix. 2 ; Ezek. xviii. 6). Common 
 among the Jews in tbe time of the Saviour 
 (John viii. 3 9). The Pharisees and Rabbis 
 themselves said to have been notoriously 
 guilty of it (Horn. ii. 22). The destruction 
 of Jerusalem and the Great Captivity under 
 the Romans ascribed by the Talmud to its 
 prevalence for forty years previous to that 
 event. 
 
 Job's reasons for abstaining ffom this sin, 
 Verse 11. 
 
 1. The heinousness of the crime itself: 
 " For this is an heinous crime." Sin to be 
 avoided on account of its heinousness and 
 malignity, apart from its consequences 
 (Jer. xliv. 4). Adultery the most heinous 
 form of covctousness and theft. The most 
 aggravated wrong that can be done to 
 another. Inflicts the deepest wound and in 
 the tenderest part. Robs him of honour 
 and home. Covers his family with shame. 
 Defilement of a man's wife worse to endure 
 than her death. Adultery a species of 
 murder. The ruin of the injured man's 
 peace, and often leading to bloodshed and 
 death. 
 
 2. Us consequences. These were (]) 
 Civil and judicial. " It is an iniquity to be 
 punished by the judges " probably authori- 
 tative umpires or arbitrators in the case of 
 airy serious charge between man and man, 
 with power to inflict appropriate penalty 
 usually the elders of the people (Deut. xxi. 
 2 ; Josh. xx. 4). Adultery a capital crime, 
 
 190 
 
 not only among the Jews but other nations 
 of antiquity. The magistrate appointed by 
 God to be a terror to evil doers (Rom. xiii. 
 1 4). Some sins only cognizable by God; 
 others punishable by man. A special 
 heinousness in a crime punishable by the 
 civil magistrate. (2) Natural and provi- 
 dential. "Por it is a fire that consumeth 
 unto destruction, and would root out all 
 mine increase." Sin in general, and sins 
 like adultery in particular, a "fire taken 
 into the bosom" (Prov. vi. 27). Its 
 tendency to destroy comfort, health, reputa- 
 tion, family, estate ; and ultimately the soul 
 itself in endless perdition. One single act 
 brought constant trouble into David's house 
 and lasting sorrow into his heart. Sin de- 
 structive in its own nature ; and some sins 
 naturally more destructive than others. 
 Many, if not all, sins carry with them their 
 own punishment. 
 
 The imprecation in the text strongly 
 declarative of Job's innocence. The evil 
 imprecated, the very last a man would wish 
 to himself. The penalty invoked in accord- 
 ance with the nature of the offence. "Ey 
 what a man sins by that is he punished." 
 Jewish Proverb. David's adultery with 
 Bathsheba is punished with incest between 
 his son and daughter, and the defilement of 
 his concubines by his own son. His murder 
 of Uriah is punished by the murder of his 
 incestuous sou by the hand of his own 
 brother (2 Sam. xiii. 16). 
 
 IV. His justice and humanity to his 
 servants or slaves. Verse 13. "If I did 
 
 despise the cause (or rights) of my man- 
 servant, or of my maidservant (my bondman 
 or my bondwoman, my male or female slave), 
 when they contended (had any controversy) 
 with me." In the East, masters viewed as 
 having absolute right over their servants or 
 slaves. These considered a portion of the 
 master's property. Were not permitted to 
 appear in a court of justice against him. 
 Might therefore be the object of any op- 
 pression without human redress. Job's 
 conduct towards his slaves the opposite of 
 that of an oppressor. Probably exceptional, 
 and just such as became a professed servant 
 of the true God. His slaves treated by him, 
 in the case of any complaint, as having rights 
 equal with his own. 
 
 The grounds of this treatment of his slaves 
 or servants : 
 
 1. The consideration that for his conduct 
 toward* them he teas amenable to God. 
 Verse 14. "What then should I do when 
 God riseth up? (to examine into my conduct, 
 or to execute judgment on me as a trans- 
 gressor, or finally, to plead the cause of the 
 oppressed slave), and when he visiteth (for
 
 tlOVILETIC COMMENTARY: JOS. 
 
 CHAP. XXXI. 
 
 the examination of conduct or the punish- 
 ment of offences) what should I answer him" 
 (for such conduct, so as to escape His anger) ? 
 Observe (1) The fear of God an effectual 
 restraint on Job and all good men. Joseph's 
 case: "How shall I do this great wicked- 
 ness, and sin against God ? " The principle 
 of Nehemiah's upright and disinterested 
 conduct (Neh. v. 15). (2) A day coming in 
 which God makes inquisition into the conduct 
 both of masters and servants, rulers and 
 ruled. The highest as well as the lowest 
 amenable to His tribunal. (3) God viewed 
 by the natural conscience as a righteous and 
 impartial judge. (4) Justice even in respect 
 to the most outcast, a duty written on the con- 
 science of mankind. (5) Men helpless against 
 God's determination to punish the transgressor. 
 The most powerful tyrant feebler than the 
 puniest insect before Him. 
 
 2. As having the same Creator, and mode 
 of creation. Verse 15. "Did not he that 
 made me in the womb make him ? " Master 
 and servant the similar work of the same 
 Creator, and therefore both equally valued 
 and cared for by Him, and to be treated on 
 equal terms by each other. 
 
 3. As having the same nature. " Did not 
 one fashion us in the womb " (or, " did not 
 He fashionus in one and the same womb one 
 by similarity, not numerically). Both formed 
 in the same manner and possessed of the 
 same human nature. A woman's womb the 
 origin of both (Mai. ii. 10). The funda- 
 mental equality of mankind thus strongly 
 asserted. The sentiment confirmed by the 
 Apostle " God hath made of one blood all 
 nations of men," &c. (Acts xvii. 26). The 
 Negro and the Papuan with the same 
 essential features of humanity as the 
 European. The slave possessed of the same 
 faculties and powers, both moral and intel- 
 [loctual, as his master. The points in which 
 men naturally differ from each other small 
 and few compared with those in which all 
 are alike. Men in a proper sense brethren, 
 of whatever nation or class in society. 
 The language of Job strikes at the root of 
 slavery as justified by inferiority of race. 
 Equality between master and servant, in the 
 eyes of God, the teaching of the New Testa- 
 ment. Slavery not expressly forbidden, but 
 principles inculcated which necessarily lead 
 ,to its overthrow as Christianity advances. 
 'The views expressed by Job, in respect to 
 man, of an advanced character for that period 
 of the world. Only even now becoming 
 universally acknowledged and acted upon by 
 the Christian Church. Sentiments and 
 practice of an opposite kind till very lately 
 prevalent in a large portion of the Christian 
 world. Even Christians justified the poet's 
 satire 
 
 " Man finds his fellow guilty of a skin 
 Not coloured like his own ; and having 
 
 power 
 To enforce the wrong, for such a worthy 
 
 cause 
 Dooms and devotes him as his lawful 
 
 prey." 
 
 V. His benevolence and kindness to 
 the poor. Verses 16, 17. " If I have with- 
 held the poor from their desire (their due 
 wages, or rather the perquisites for which 
 they looked as something belonging to them), 
 or have caused the eyes of the widow to 
 fail [by long withholding from her the 
 expected help or redress] ; or have eaten 
 my morsel (or bread) alone, and the father- 
 less have not eaten thereof." Claims of the 
 poor constantly recognized in the law of 
 Moses. Perquisites appointed for them in 
 the harvest and in the vintage (Lev. xix. 9 ; 
 xxiii. 22) ; in every seventh year (Exod. xxiii. 
 11) ; and in every third year's tithes (Dent, 
 xiv. 28, 29). Kindness and readiness to help 
 the poor strictly enjoined (Deut. xv. 7 11). 
 Their wages to be promptly paid them 
 (Lev. xix. 13). Observe Help as well as 
 justice to the poor to be not only rendered, 
 but rendered promptly. He gives twice who 
 gives at once. Latin Proverb. Job's con- 
 duct the opposite of that of the unjust judge 
 in the parable (Luke xviii. 2, &c.). Pro- 
 vision made by the Mosaic law for the 
 widow in common with the poor in general. 
 Their perquisites the same (Deut. xix. 21). 
 Her raiment not to be taken to pledge 
 (Deut. xxiv. 17). Herself not to be 
 harrassed or afflicted (Exod. xxii. 22). A 
 curse pronounced on those who should 
 wrong her or " pervert her judgment " 
 (Deut. xxvii. 19). Job, probably long^ before 
 the law was given, careful to afford the poor 
 and the widow their just rights, and to fulfil 
 their reasonable expectations. The law 
 from Sinai a Divine sanction to duties 
 already performed by many without it, 
 through the law written on the conscience, 
 and the principle of grace infused by the 
 Holy Spirit. Kindness to and care of the 
 fatherless also strictly enjoined by the Divine 
 law. These objects of sympathy and com- 
 passion usually joined witn the poor and the 
 widow. Job's table open to the poor and 
 needy. Common in the East to admit poor 
 persons and strangers to their table or to 
 send them portions from it. Hospitality a 
 cardinal virtue among the Arabs. To be 
 cultivated as a Christian grace (Rom. xii. 13 ; 
 Heb. xiii. 2). Enjoined as a Christian duty 
 (Luke xiv. 13). "Ready to distribute," a 
 New Testament precept (1 Tim. vi. 18). 
 The section suggestive of the duty of 
 
 191
 
 CHAP. xxxi. 
 
 80MILETIC COMMENTARY: JOB. 
 
 Kindness to the poor. 
 
 Reasons arid motives for its exercise 
 
 1. The desire to relieve suffering and 
 extend happiness. 
 
 2. The claim the poor have upon us as 
 fellow - creatures and partakers of our 
 common humanity. A Divine principle that 
 where there is lack on the part of any 
 member of the great family, it should be 
 supplied out of the abundance of others 
 (2 Cor. viii. 13 15). All living creatures, 
 according to their nature, claim our help in 
 suffering circumstances. Still more those of 
 our own flesh. Kindness and benevolence 
 to the poor and destitute allied to justice. 
 Love a debt we owe to all our brethren. 
 Kindness to the poor only one form of that 
 love (Rom. xiii. 810). 
 
 3. The principle that we should do to 
 others as we would that they should do to 
 us in similar circumstances (Lukevi. 31). 
 
 4. The will and authority of our common 
 Maker and Parent. 
 
 5. The example of the heavenly Father 
 (Luke vi. 35, 30). 
 
 6. The special example of Christ, who 
 "for our sakesbecame poor that we through his 
 poverty might become rich" (2 Cor. viii. 9). 
 His life a going about doing good. 
 
 7. The manner in which God has iden- 
 tified the cause of the poor witli His own, 
 and in which Christ has done that of His 
 disciples (Prov. xix. 17 ; Matt. xxv. 
 40, 45). _ 
 
 8. Active kindness to the poor a fruit of 
 the Spirit, and an instinct of the new nature 
 created in a believer after the image of God, 
 (Gal. v. 22; Col. iii. 1012). 
 
 Lower and less worthy considerations 
 
 1. The pleasure in the exercise of the 
 benevolent affections, in relieving the suffer- 
 ings and contributing to the happiness of 
 others. The luxury of doing good. 
 
 2. The remembrance of our own liability 
 to poverty and suffering, and our possible 
 need of the help and sympathy of others. 
 
 3. The reward in an approving conscience 
 and the " blessing of those who were ready 
 to perish" (chap. xxix. 13.) 
 
 The exercise of kindness and benevolence 
 marred by the introduction of selfish 
 elements. 
 
 Kindness to the poor and needy to be 
 
 1. Free and spontaneous. 
 
 2. Disinterested and pure from selfish 
 motives,. 
 
 3. Sincere and undissembled. 
 
 4. Prompt and seasonable. 
 
 5. Unwearied and persevering. 
 
 6. Self-denying as i'ar as is necessary. 
 
 7. Impartial and general. 
 192 
 
 8. Up to our ability and opportunity. 
 
 9. Judicious and discriminating. Help 
 given to the poor, without judgment and 
 discretion, may be more injurious than 
 beneficial. Our charity, like God's, to 
 be directed by " wisdom and prudence " 
 (Eph. i. 8). Relief not only to be given, 
 but given to the proper objects and in the 
 proper/oral. 
 
 10. Hearty and cheerful. Kind deeds to 
 be accompanied with kind words and kind 
 looks (Rom. xii. 8). The manner of the 
 deed often as important as the deed itself. 
 
 Job's reason for his assertion, with 
 stronger affirmation of it. Verse 1 8. " For 
 from my youth, he (the fatherless) was 
 brought up with me as with a father, and I 
 have guided (helped or comforted) her (the 
 widow) from my mother's womb " (a strong 
 hyperbole, meaning, "from my earliest 
 years"). To assert more strongly his 
 benevolence, he assigns a reason for it, and 
 adds something in regard to its exercise. 
 "With him the practice was nothing new. 
 Benevolence was his natural disposition. 
 Speaks of it as something born with him. 
 Kindness to the widow and fatherless had 
 been practised by him from his earliest 
 years. Had grown with him into a habit or 
 second nature. Much of this habit probably 
 due to the character, and care of his parents. 
 Neither the name of his father nor mother 
 mentioned; but their eulogy unintentionally 
 written in these words. His home a pious 
 one, and his up-bringing according to god- 
 liness. Care early bestowed by his parents 
 on his moral training. Observe, in respect 
 to- 
 Early moral training 
 
 1. Some born with dispositions naturally 
 more benerolent than others. Such a disposi- 
 tion a favour from tho Author of our being. 
 Responsibility connected with its cultivation 
 and exercise. Natural disposition to bene- 
 volence not necessarily followed by the wise, 
 persevering, and self-denying practice of it. 
 In Job's case, the disposition fostered by 
 his parents, and improved by himself through 
 the constant exercise of kindness to the 
 poor and needy. All probably bom with 
 more or less of such a disposition to begin 
 with. A fragment of the Divine image im- 
 parted in creation. The least of it capable 
 of increase through cultivation and practice. 
 Its introduction in early life possible, and to 
 be expected under the Christian economy and 
 the dispensation of the Spirit. The natural 
 disposition of children often an inheritance 
 from their parents. 
 
 2. Children capable of beinc/ trained to the 
 exercise of the benevolent affections. To be
 
 HOMIIET1C COMMENTARY: JOB. 
 
 CHAP. XXXI. 
 
 trained to " minister " and to show kindness 
 to the poor and suffering, one of the most 
 important parts of a child's education. Such 
 education more especially devolving upon 
 the parents, and particularly the mother. 
 Under the parents' careful and constant 
 attention, habits of good-doing capable of 
 being formed in early life. 
 
 3. Eai-ly habits of benevolence, among the 
 principal means of forming the character in 
 after yean. A child trained to such habits 
 may become, in a greater or less degree, a 
 Howard or an Elizabeth Fry. A Nero only 
 the development of a child allowed to take 
 pleasure in torturing a bird, or sticking a pin 
 through a fly. The child the father to the man. 
 
 Job resumes the declaration of his humanity 
 and benevolence, and asserts it in respect to 
 clothing as well as feeding the poor. Verses 
 19, 20. " If I have seen any perish for 
 want of clothing, or any poor without 
 covering (by night or by day) ; if his loins 
 have not blessed me (in gratitude for 
 my clothing them), and if he were not 
 warmed with the fleece of my sheep " 
 (or lambs, woven into cloth to serve him. 
 for a garment by day and a coverlet by 
 night). Clothing the poor a needful 
 form of benevolence in Arabia as well as 
 in Britain. The cold of winter at times 
 severe, all the more sensible after the ex- 
 treme heat of summer. The nights often 
 as cold as the days are hot. Clothing especially 
 manufactured from the wool of sheep; a 
 coarser kind from the hair of the camels. 
 The earliest kind of clothing the skins of 
 animals (Gen. iii. 21). The next step a 
 garment made of the wool woven into cloth, 
 bheep chiefly valuable in the East on this 
 account. The wool not only a beneficent 
 provision for the animal itself, but for man 
 who was to be its keeper. One of the 
 sons of Adam, and the first martyr, a keeper 
 of sheep (Gen. iv. 2). 
 
 Clothing the poor repeatedly mentioned 
 in Scripture as one of the duties of charity. 
 One of the forms of loving service rehearsed 
 by Christ from the judgment-seat, as having 
 been performed by the righteous on Himself 
 in the person of His followers. (Matt. xxv. 
 36). The duty enjoined by the Baptist as a 
 proof of true repentance "He that hath 
 two coats let him give to him that hath none." 
 The name of Dorcas now a household word, 
 from her kindness in clothing the poor. 
 Perhaps as many perish for want of cloth- 
 ing as for want of bread. To be feared 
 that garments lie in the chest, or hang in 
 the \vardrobe, which ought to clothe the 
 "loins "of the poor. "The boards of my 
 floor can well want carpets while so many 
 of the poor around me want clothes to their 
 backs" (Fenelon). 
 13 
 
 Declares, further, his humanity negatively. 
 Had never used intimidation or violence in 
 regard to the fatherless, nor used his influ- 
 ence in court to their disadvantage. Verse 
 21. " If I have lifted up my hand against 
 the fatherless (either to threaten or oppress 
 him, to ' smite with the fist of wicked- 
 ness,' Is. Iviii. 4), when I saw my help (or 
 advantage, or those who were ready to sup- 
 port me) in the gate " (or court of justice, 
 where a controversy was pending between 
 us). Observe : 
 
 1. Humanity exercised as well in what 
 we refrain from doing as in what we do. 
 
 2. A strong temptation to the rich and 
 powerful to take advantage of their position 
 in a dispute with the poor. Cases of com- 
 plaint against injury usually decided in the 
 east by the opinion of the judge or Kadi, or 
 by the voice of the majority of elders. A 
 man of power and influence easily able to 
 carry a case in his favour against the weak 
 and defenceless. Such cases of complaint 
 probably not infrequent where one man 
 possessed such numerous flocks and herds, 
 and carried on so extensive a husbandry. 
 The greatest man in the land of Uz might 
 easily have used his power and influence in 
 such a case, but had ever refrained from 
 doing so. 
 
 3. As much principle often required to 
 abstain from taking advantage of our posi- 
 tion and influence in a dispute with others, 
 as to bestow a positive benefit. Jezebel's 
 wickedness displayed in her counting upon 
 her power with the elders and nobles in the 
 court to obtain the vineyard of Naboth 
 (1 Kings xxi. 713). 
 
 Closes the declaration of his humanity to 
 the poor with an imprecation in case of guilt. 
 Verse 22. " Then let mine arm (the upper 
 arm, from the elbow upwards) fall from the 
 shoulder blade, and mine arm (the fore-arm, 
 between the wrist and the elbow) be broken 
 from the bone " (or upper arm to which it 
 is attached). Reference to the whole of the 
 preceding declaration in regard to his hu- 
 manity to the poor, but more especially to 
 the last-mentioned particular" If I have 
 lifted," &c. The punishment imprecated 
 always corresponding with the offence sup- 
 posed to have been committed. On the 
 same principle, Cranmer held his right hand 
 over the burning pile to be first consumed, 
 as the member which had signed the recan- 
 tation made against, his conscience and 
 against the truth. The penalty conceived 
 justly to fall especially on the member or 
 organ which was more especially concerned 
 in the offence, Men convicted of theft 
 among the Copts not unfrequently found 
 with their hands cut off. 
 
 Adds a reason for his declared conduct. 
 
 193
 
 CHAP. XXXI. 
 
 SOXILBTIC COMMENTARY: JOB. 
 
 Verse 23. " For destruction from God was 
 a terror unto me, and by reason of his 
 highness, I could not endure" (either to 
 commit the sin or meet His wrath). Simi- 
 lar sentiment expressed in verses 3 and 14. 
 The reason given with reference to all the 
 particulars of his conduct just mentioned, 
 but more especially to the last. Observe 
 The fear of God a good man's preservative 
 against sin. Seen in the case of Joseph and 
 Nehemiah as well as of Job. The considera- 
 tion of God's displeasure against the sin- 
 ner and the punishment threatened against 
 the sin, one motive for resisting temptation 
 and practising good, though not the highest. 
 Bather the last source of defence against 
 temptation when others fail. Better to 
 abstain from sin and practice good, from 
 hatred to sin itself and from love to God 
 and good-doing, than from fear of His 
 wrath. In Gospel exhortations to resist 
 temptation and to do good, appeals rather 
 made to the believer's gratitude for mercies 
 received, to his position and privileges in 
 Christ, and to the example of his Divine 
 Master and Father, than to his fears of pun- 
 ishment and the Divine anger. Fear a right 
 and important motive, but rather for the 
 servant than the child. " Ye have not re- 
 ceived the spirit of bondage again to fear, 
 but ye have received the spirit of adoption, 
 whereby we cry: Abba, Father" (Rom. 
 viii. ]5). Yet a loving and right-minded 
 child will fear to offend a father, even more 
 than a servant fears to offend a master. Love 
 a more powerful principle than fear; yet 
 fear may be called in to help when love is 
 not sufficiently strong in itself. 
 
 V. Declares Iris freedom from idolatry 
 both in its spiritual and external form, 
 both secret and open, in heart and in 
 life (verses 24 28). Specifies the two 
 leading forms of idolatry Mammonism and 
 Sabseism the trust in and love of riches, 
 and the worship of idols in the ordinary 
 sense of the word ; here that of the sun and 
 moon. The one the idolatry of the heart, 
 the other that of the outward act. Job 
 clears himself from both. 
 
 1. From Mammonism, or the trust in and 
 love of riches. Verses 24, 25. " If I have 
 made gold my hope, or have said to the fine 
 gold, thou art my confidence ; if I rejoiced 
 because my wealth was great, and because 
 mine hand had gotten much." (Note 
 Ihe language of idolatry, "Mine hand had 
 gotten," instead of "the Lord had given" 
 the language of a servant of God). Job 
 abjures as forms of 
 
 Heart-idolatry, 
 
 1. Trust in riches. Riches naturally and 
 194 
 
 easily trusted in by an nnrenewed heart. 
 Money a defence (Eccles. vii. 12). Answer- 
 eth all things (Eccles. x. 19). Trust apt to 
 be placed in riches for happiness in general. 
 More particularly (1) For acquisition of 
 the means of life and sources of enjoyment. 
 (2) For defence against suffering and the 
 assaults of others. (3) For power and po- 
 sition in the world. Trust in money a com- 
 mon form of idolatry. " Soul, thou hast 
 much goods laid up for many years; take 
 thine ease," &c. Trust in Himself required 
 by God from His intelligent creatures. That 
 trust transferred to any other person or 
 thing, in God's sight idolatry. Trust in 
 riches contrasted in the Scriptures with trust 
 in God (Fs. lii. 7; 1 Tim. vi. 17). The 
 former characteristic of the ungodly ; the 
 latter, of the righteous. Believers cautioned 
 not to trust in uncertain riches, but in the 
 living God (1 Tim. vi. 17). Trust in riches 
 incompatible with entrance into the king- 
 dom of God (Mark x. 24). The rich man 
 not to glory in his riches, but in the Lord 
 (Jer. ix. 23, 24; 1 Cor i. 31). God and 
 not riches to be trusted in for our daily 
 bread. Hence the petition : " Give us this 
 day," &c. Man's life not in the abundance 
 of the things he possesses. Liveth not by 
 bread alone, but by every word of God 
 (Matt. iv. 4). Riches not given to be trusted 
 in, but to be employed by us as stewards, 
 in the service of the Master and for the 
 benefit of others as well as ourselves, in 
 obedience to His will and in dependence on 
 His blessing. 
 
 To trust in riches instead of God not only 
 wicked but foolish, as (1) Riches are un- 
 certain, and may soon and suddenly cease to 
 be ours. (2) They are unable to render us 
 either safe or happy even while we possess 
 them. (3) They fail to meet the most im- 
 portant exigences of our nature as moral 
 and responsible creatures. (4) They are 
 unable to accompany us into another world. 
 
 The possession of riches to be distin- 
 guished from trust in them. Money well 
 employed, a blessing ; when allowed to usurp 
 the place of God as our trust and confi- 
 dence, a curse. The young man in the 
 Gospel an example of trust in riches, not- 
 withstanding a great appearance of piety 
 and morality. Unable to give them up to 
 follow Christ, because looking to them to 
 make him happy rather than to God. A. 
 test as to whether we rre trusting in riches 
 Am I ready cheerfully to give them up at 
 God's will and for God's service ? And, 
 What proportion of my substance do I give 
 for the extension of His kingdom, and the 
 promotion of His cause in the world ? 
 
 2. Love of riches. Job neither trusted in 
 his wealth nor rejoiced in it. Riches a good,
 
 IIOMILETW COMMENTARY: JOB. 
 
 CHAP. xxxi. 
 
 but not the chief good. If riches increase, 
 1he heart, not therefore to be set upon them 
 (Ps. Ixii. 10). Observe (1) Not money, hut 
 the love of it, the root of all evil (1 Tim. 
 vi. 10). A lawful, as well as an unlawful, 
 rejoicing in our possessions (Deut. xii. 7 ; 
 Eccles. ii. 7 ; iv. 26). Lawfully rejoiced in, 
 when viewed not as what our own hand has 
 gotten, but as what God has given ; and not 
 as given for our own exclusive enjoyment, 
 but also for the benefit of others and the 
 Master's service. Riches loved and idolized 
 (i.) When their acquisition and enjoyment 
 afford us more pleasure and delight than 
 the possession and enjoyment of God. (ii.) 
 When we are more concerned about the 
 acquisition and increase of them than about 
 the enjoyment of God's favour and the 
 advancement of His cause, (iii.) When we 
 find it difficult to give up any consi- 
 derable portion of them at God's will and 
 for the promotion of His glory in the world. 
 
 (2) The love of money incompatible with the 
 love of God (Matt, vi. 24 ; 1 John ii. 15). 
 Hence covetousness, or the love of riches, 
 idolatry (Col. iii. 5 ; Eph. v. 5). Supreme 
 love to God as the All -good, required 
 of His intelligent creatures, as truly as 
 as undivided trust in Him as the Almighty. 
 
 (3) Love of riches distinct from a proper 
 appreciation of them. Riches as merely 
 possessed by us, a blessing ; & curse, when 
 they possess us. As a mere possession, 
 they are worthless; as a means of doing 
 good and glorifying God, invaluable. 
 
 Job's wealth not taken from him either 
 for his trust in it or his fondness of it, any 
 more than for his unlawful acquisition of it, 
 or any evil use which he made of it. 
 
 Job taught by the Holy Spirit as well as 
 by the light of nature, to view heart-idolatry, 
 or the worship of riches, as heinous in God's 
 sight as outward idolatry, or the worship 
 of sun and moon. The view confirmed in 
 the New Testament (Eph. v. 5). 
 
 2. Job equally abjures the second form of 
 idolatry, the worship of fictitious divinities, 
 or of idols in the ordinary sense of the word, 
 here, that of the heavenly bodies, especially 
 the sun and moon. Verses 26, 27. " If I 
 beheld the sun (Heb. 'light,' a poetic name 
 for the sun, which from its luminous atmo- 
 sphere has been constituted a fountain of 
 light to the earth and other planets), when 
 it sliined [in ils glorious effulgence], or the 
 moon walking in brightness (advancing like 
 an orb of burnished silver in her course 
 through the heavens) ; and my heart (the 
 seat of the affections, and required in wor- 
 ship) hath been secretly [while I have out- 
 wardly been a worshipper of the only true 
 God, and because afraid of the consequences 
 132 
 
 of open idolatry,] enticed [by their appear- 
 ance of majesty, glory, and beauty, and by 
 the false views already beginning to be 
 entertained regarding their divinity], or my 
 mouth hath kissed my hand" [in token of my 
 adoration of these luminaries (1 Kings xix. 
 5 ; Hos. xiii. 2)] ; (Heb., " My hand hath 
 kissed my mouth" the heart leading in 
 the sin, and the hand following ; inward 
 affections being manifested by outward 
 actions). The idolatry here indicated known 
 as Sabatism, from the Hebrew word Salia, 
 " a host," denoting the worship of the " host 
 of heaven," or the heavenly bodies (Deut. 
 xvii. 3 ; 2 Chron. xxxiii. 3). Originally the 
 worship of " light " or fire, and afterwards 
 connected with that of the sun, moon, and 
 stars, as its great reservoirs and sources as well 
 as symbols. The heavenly bodies, especially 
 the sun and moon, among the earliest 
 objects of idolatrous worship. This form 
 of idolatry especially prevalent in Chaldsea, 
 where probably it had its origin. Babylon 
 called the mother of harlots. The worship 
 of the sun and moon an early form of Arabian 
 idolatry. The moon the great divinity of 
 the ancient Arabians. Still an object of great 
 veneration with Mahommedans. Hence the 
 symbol of the Crescent. The Caaba at Mecca 
 originally a temple dedicated to the moon. 
 Abraham's relatives and neighbours in Chal- 
 dsea addicted to this form of idolatry. His 
 place of residence "Ur of the Chaldees," 
 probably so called from Ur, " fire ; " or from 
 Or, " light." At Mugheir, believed by some 
 to be its modern representative, the ruins 
 have been discovered of a temple dedicated 
 to the moon, and resembling that of the 
 sun at Babylon. 
 
 These luminaries worshipped originally as 
 representatives of deity, then as deities 
 themselves. Viewed as the great prolific 
 powers in the universe, and the bestowers 
 of all earthly blessings. 
 
 The worship of the sun and moon ulti- 
 mately that of almost the whole known 
 world. Prevalent among our own ancestors. 
 The names of the first and second days of 
 the week, monuments of its existence among 
 the Anglo-Saxons. Temples of Apollo or 
 the sun. and of Diana or the moon, formerly 
 stood in London, the one on the site of 
 Westminster Abbey, the other on that of 
 St. Paul's Cathedra!.' 
 
 The object of Jehovah in making Israel 
 his s'ect nation to preserve them from the 
 practice of this idolatry, and thus to have 
 witnesses for Himself and His truth in the 
 world (Deut. iv. 19). The practice of it in 
 Israel's degeneracy the cause of their cap- 
 tivity in Babylon (Ezek. viii. 16; 2 Kings 
 xxiii. 5, 11). Observe (1) Fallen humanity 
 prone to put the creature in the place of flic 
 
 195
 
 CHAP. XXXt. 
 
 IIOMILETIC COMMENTARY: JOB. 
 
 Creator. Early lost the true idea and know- 
 ledge of God through departure from and 
 alienation to Him. " Did not like to retain 
 God in their knowledge " (Rom. i. 28). 
 Hence objects remarkable either for majesty, 
 beauty or utility, worshipped in His stead. 
 The source and essence of idolatry (Rom. i. 
 25). (2) Difficult for fallen human nature to 
 me the creature without abusiugit. Objects 
 of nature to be viewed, not with idolatrous 
 fondness or admiration of the creature, but 
 with admiration, love, and praise to the 
 Creator. Nature to lead up to nature's 
 God, not away from Him. Indication of 
 idolatry in man, when 
 
 " The landscape has his praise, but not its 
 Author." 
 
 (31 A mark of advanced enlightenment, that 
 Job mentions with the same breath, trust in 
 and love of riches, with the worship of the 
 heavenly bodies, as equally idolatrous and 
 offensive in the sight of God. (4) In Job's 
 time the knowledge and worship of the true 
 God greatly on the decrease ; yet His faith- 
 ful worshippers still to be found. " Left 
 not himself without witness" (Actsxiv. 17). 
 Job's reason for abstaining from idolatry 
 either in its spiritual or external forms. 
 Verse 28. "This also were an iniquity to 
 be punished by the judge (or, ' a judicial in- 
 iquity ; ' idolatry still in Job's days con- 
 sidered a punishable crime ; afterwards, by 
 the law of Moses, to be punished with death, 
 Deut. xvii. 2 7) ; for I should have de- 
 nied (' lied to ' or against) the God that is 
 above " (in place, power, dignity, and excel- 
 lence). Observe 
 
 1 . The heinousness of a sin to be a principal 
 reason for its acoidance. 
 
 2. That heinou.mess to be especially seen in 
 its relation to God. 
 
 3. Trust in and love of riches, as well as the 
 external worship of a created object or image, 
 a denial of the true God. All idolatry a de- 
 nial of God. (1) In the boundless excel- 
 lence of His being. (2) In the spirituality 
 of His nature. (3) In His infinity and 
 omnipresence. (4) In His moral as well as 
 natural perfections. (5) In His sufficiency 
 for our happiness and safety. (6) In His 
 sole right to the trust, love, and worship of 
 His intelligent creatures. 
 
 4. God not only denied by our words, but by 
 our works. 
 
 5 . All trust in and worship of the creature, 
 a lie against God. A lie in the right hand of 
 every idol-worshipper, whether of man, money, 
 or of the sun and moon (Is. xliv. 20). 
 
 VI. Denies all vindictiveness in refer- 
 ence to enemies. Verses 29, 30. " If I 
 
 rejoiced at the destruction of him that hated 
 196 
 
 me, or lifted up myself (in exultation or in- 
 sult) when evil found him ; neither have I 
 suffered my mouth to sin by wishing a curse 
 to his soul " (or, by asking for his life, i.e., 
 the removal of it in an imprecation). 
 Observe 
 
 1. Ecen a good man not without enemies. 
 Hatred from the world promised by Christ 
 to His disciples (Matt. x. 22). A blessing 
 pronounced on those who, for His sake, ex- 
 perience it (Luke vi. 22). A woe on those 
 of whom all men speak well (Luke vi. 26). 
 Hatred from the world a consequence of not 
 being of it (John xv. 19). Christ Himself 
 the great object of the world's hatred 
 ( John xv. 18). The ground of that hatred 
 his testimony against its works (Johnvii. 7). 
 Those spared the world's hatred who par- 
 take of its character (John vii. 7). " They 
 that forsake the law, praise the wicked ; but 
 suck as keep the law, contend with him" 
 (Prov. xxviii. 4). Hence the enmity of the 
 wicked against the good. This enmity ex- 
 perienced by Job. 
 
 2. A good man known by Ids conduct 
 towards his enemies. The mark of an uii- 
 regenerate heart to cherish ill-will against 
 an enemy or to take plea-ure in his misfor- 
 tune. Hatred of a foe the prompting of 
 fallen nature and the spirit of heathenism. 
 " Revenge is sweet," the language of the 
 Great Murderer. To rejoice in the fall of an 
 enemy, the sin of the Edomites in relation 
 to Israel and the cause of their punishment 
 (Obadiali 12, 13). The sin forbidden in 
 Prov. xxiv. 17. The contrary disposition 
 enjoined both in the Old and New Testa- 
 ments (Prov. xxv. 21 ; Rom. xii. 20). 
 Christ's command to his followers, not only 
 not to rejoice in the evil that overtakes an 
 enemy, but to pray for and promote his wel- 
 fare (Matt. iv. 44). Noble minds rejoice 
 in the opportunity of befriending a foe. 
 Instances recorded even of the heathen re- 
 turning kindness for insult. Pericles having 
 been followed to his door by one who had been 
 railing against him, offered him his servant 
 to light him home. Augustus invited to 
 supper the poet Catullus after he had been 
 railing against him. Nothing more com- 
 mon among men than viudictiveness, and 
 nothing more contemptible. Our best re- 
 venae on an enemy is to forgive him and treat 
 him kindly. To wish evil to him who hates 
 us makes us as bad, or worse, than himself. 
 The New Testament rule in such cases, 
 " Overcome evil with good" (Rom. xii. 21). 
 In accordance with His own precept, Christ 
 prayed for his murderers (Luke xxiii. 34). 
 Commissioned His heralds of mercy to begin 
 with those who had clamoured for His blood 
 (Luke xxiv. 47). His spirit and conduct 
 imitated by His followers. The first Christian
 
 HOMILETIC COMMENTARY: JOB. 
 
 CHAP. XXXI. 
 
 martyr died with a prayer on his lips for 
 those who were stoning him to death (Acts 
 vii. 60). Job's religion afterwards embodied 
 in the Gospel. Though living in the patri- 
 archal age, Job exemplified the spirit of 
 Christianity-. The new commandment only 
 a new edition of the old. An advance 
 however in the moral teaching of the New 
 Testament as compared wit h that of the Old. 
 Job instructed not to hate an enemy ; the 
 Christian taught to love him. Christianity 
 teaches not only not to wish a curse to an 
 enemy, but to pray for a blessing to him. 
 
 3. The teaching of God's Spirit and the 
 character of God's children always essentially 
 the same. That teaching and character a 
 transcript of His own nature. God's example 
 that of forgiveness and kindness to enemies. 
 The carnal mind enmity to God. Mankind 
 enemies to God in their mind by wicked 
 works (Rom. viii. 7 ; Col. i. 21). 
 
 4. Special guard to be placed upon the 
 mouth. A sinful thought or feeling not to 
 be allowed utterance. To be ^pressed 
 instead of being expressed. An aggravation 
 of sin in the heart to give it expression 
 with the lips. Bodily organs not to be 
 employed as the instruments of sin. 
 
 VII. Job declares his humanity as a 
 householder (verses 31, 32). 
 
 1. In his kindness to his domestics and 
 inmates. Verse 31 "If the men of my 
 tabernacle (those residing under his roof, 
 whether as domestics, retainers, or other 
 inmates.) said not, Oh, that we had of his 
 flesh ! we cannot be satisfied " (or, " Who 
 is there that was was not satisfied with his 
 flesh?" i.e., with his hospitality, 1 Sam. 
 xxv. 11 ; or, -according to some ancient 
 versions, " If they said, Who will pive us of 
 his flesh, that we may be satisfied," as com- 
 plaining of not having sufficient food, or 
 longing for the better supplies on his own 
 table). Job able to appeal to his own 
 domestics and the inmates of his dwell- 
 ing for evidence of his humanity, more 
 especially of his bounty to them and his 
 liberality to others. No niggard in his 
 own house. Treated his servants not only 
 with justice, but kindness. Gave them not, 
 only food, but of the best kind, and plenty of 
 it. Made them sharers of the best that was 
 on his own table. Had no feast but they 
 partook of it. Observe (1) A good man 
 will be kind and liberal to his domestics (Col. 
 iv. 1). (2) Well when, as masters, we can appeal 
 to our servants for our character, and wlien 
 they e.an bear an honest testimony in our 
 favour. Servants and inmates of our house, 
 likely to be the best judges of our character 
 and conduct. (3) Good to make our house a 
 
 home for others as well as ourselves. A 
 Christian duty to " bring the poor that are 
 cast out to our house" (Lsa. Iviii. 7). "I 
 was a stranger and ye took me in " (Matt. 
 xxv. 35). Job's house never without 
 the objects of his charity. The widow and 
 the fatherless, the stranger and the destitute, 
 frequent guests at his table. Note Cus- 
 tomary for wealthy Arabs to slaughter sheep 
 or camels for the supply of their household. 
 " Broad dishes " the glory of an Arab chief, 
 as necessary for the entertainment of his 
 guests. 
 
 2. In his hospitality to travellers. Verse 32 
 " The stranger did not lodge in the street 
 (for want of a house to receive him, it being 
 difficult to obtain accommodation in Oriental 
 towns and villages then, as it is still, except 
 with the sheikh or a Christian) ; but I 
 opened my doors to the traveller" (or, 
 as margin, "to the way," as if to in- 
 vite and welcome the traveller passing bv). 
 Pleasing picture of Oriental manners, corre- 
 sponding with those of patriarchal times 
 (Gen. xviii. 1 4; xix. 1, &c.). Job an 
 example of the New Testament precept 
 " Use hospitality without grudging" (1 Peter 
 iv. 9). " Given to hospitality," more than 
 merely " showing " it (Rom. xii. 13). "Be 
 not forgetful to entertain strangers," not 
 merely your relatives or acquaintances 
 (Heb. xiii. 2). 
 
 VIII. Clears himself from secret and 
 concealed transgressions. Verses 33, 34-. 
 " If I covered my transgressions as Adam 
 (in allusion to Gen. iii. 8 ; or, ' like men,' 
 as Hos. vi. 7 as men are wont to do after 
 the example of their first father), by hiding 
 mine iniquity in my bosom (from impeni- 
 tence or hypocrisy, or both) : Did I fear a 
 great multitude (or, 'because I feared,' 
 &c. ; or as an imprecation ' Then let me 
 fear,' &c.), or did the contempt of families 
 (or tribes) terrify me (so as to conceal my 
 sin or neglect my duty to the stranger ; or, 
 'because the contempt, &c., terrified me ; ' 
 or, ' let the contempt, &c., terrify or crush 
 me '), that I kept silence [instead of ac- 
 knowledging my transgression, or opening my 
 mouth in behalf of the oppressed stranger, 
 like Lot, Gen. xix. 6 8, or the old man of 
 Gibeah, Judges xix. 22 2-i], and went not out 
 of the door ? '* (for fear of detection, or to 
 avoid the danger and self-denial connected 
 with my duty to the stranger ; or, as con- 
 tinuing the imprecation, "let me be silent," 
 &o.). Observe 
 
 1 . The best not free from transgressions, 
 both agaiiist God and men. Job a perfect 
 man, yet acknowledges transgressions. "Not 
 a just man on earth that doeth good and 
 sinneth not " ^Ecclcs. vii. 20). 
 
 197
 
 CHAP. XXXI. 
 
 HOMHEflC COMMENTARY: JOB. 
 
 2. Natural to men to conceal their trans- 
 gressions. Adam's conduct imitated by all 
 his children ^en. iii. 8).- 
 
 3. Men with much outward morality and 
 religion may still be guilty of secret sins. 
 The case with the Scribes and Pharisees in 
 the days of the Saviour. Job more tliau 
 suspected of it by his friends. Hence his 
 concern now to clear himself of such 
 hypocrisy. 
 
 4. The fear of man often more powerful 
 in leading men to conceal their guilt, than 
 the fear of God in leading them to confess 
 it. The ungodly more afraid of man's shame 
 than of God's wrath. 
 
 5. Just that secret crimes should be 
 followed by popular contempt and ignominy 
 as their penalty. A day coming when secret 
 transgressors, who have successfully covered 
 their crimes in this life, will awake to 
 " shame and everlasting contempt " in the 
 next (Daniel xii. 3). 
 
 6. A good man has no need either to fear 
 the populace or shun the public eye. A 
 good conscience a man's best armour. " Be 
 just arid fear not." 
 
 7- A good man more afraid of God's dis- 
 pleasure than of man's contempt. The sin 
 of men, that they are more afraid of man and 
 the "multitude" than of their Maker. 
 " Who art thou, that thou shouldst be 
 afraid of a man that shall die, and of the 
 Son of man that shall be made as grass, 
 and forgettest the Lord thy Maker?" 
 (Is. li. 12, 13). "Fear not them which 
 kill the body, but are not able to kill the 
 soul " (Matt. x. 23). 
 
 8. The part of an honest and sincere heart, 
 to confess transgressions both before God, 
 and, when necessary, before man. A Chris- 
 tian's first duty, to confess his transgressions 
 to God ; his next, to confess them to man 
 if he has injured or offended him. " Confess 
 your faults one to another," a New Testa- 
 ment precept (James v. 16). Confession to 
 God necessary to forgivenessy/w/z God (Prov. 
 xxviii. 13 ; 1 John i. 8, 9 ; Ps. xxxii. 3 5). 
 Frank confession a mark of true repentance. 
 Examples : Zaccheus (Luke xix. S) ; the 
 penitent thief (Luke xxiii. 41) ; the converts 
 of Ephesus (Acts xix. 18, 19). 
 
 9. A good man not deterred from duty, 
 either by the fear of numbers or the con- 
 tempt of neighbours. Example : Lot in 
 Sodom (Gen. xix). Milton's famous picture 
 of the Seraph Abdiel 
 
 <: Faithful found 
 
 Among the faithless, faithful only he ; 
 Among innumerable ialse, unmov'd, 
 Unshaken, unseduced, untmified. 
 198 
 
 His loyalty he kept, his love, his zeal ; 
 
 Nor number, nor example, with him 
 wrought 
 
 To swerve from truth, or change his con- 
 stant mind, 
 
 Though single." 
 
 VIII. Job's final desire and chal- 
 lenge. Verses 35 37. -"0 that one would 
 hear me ! (or ' O that I had one to hear 
 me !' an impartial judge or umpire in the 
 controversy between the Almighty and 
 himself, so that his case might be fairly 
 tried and decided upon). Behold, my desire 
 is that the Almighty would answer me (or, 
 ' here is my mark ' or signature, i.e., to 
 the declaration he made of his innocence 
 ' let the Almighty answer me,' and prove 
 me guilty if He can) ; and that my adver- 
 sary had written a book (or, ' and let mine 
 adversary write a book ' or bill of indict- 
 ment against me, as in courts of law ; or, 
 'and [O that I had] the book [or indict- 
 ment which] mine adversary has written 
 against me !) Surely I would take it upon 
 my shoulder (as a thing of which I was not 
 ashamed, but which I was willing that every 
 one should see and know), and bind it as a 
 crown to me (as a thing in which I rather 
 gloried as my honour and ornament, being 
 persuaded that all the charges contained in 
 it would be found to be groundless). 1 
 would declare unto him (viz., the umpire or 
 judge) the number of my steps (all t he- 
 various passages of my life) ; as a prince 
 (with the boldness and confidence of an 
 innocent man assured of coming off vic- 
 torious, instead of the faltering step and 
 downcast look of a culprit) would I go near 
 unto him" (instead of avoiding him like 
 Adam in the garden, as conscious of guilt). 
 
 This lofty passage is, perhaps, the 
 strongest declaration of his innocence that 
 Job had yet made, probably intended as the 
 finale of his pleadings, and the climax of his 
 protestations. The three following verses, 
 with the exception of the last clause, pro- 
 bably standing originally somewhere before 
 the present passage ; or, what is less 
 likely, as a still farther vindication of his 
 character. 
 
 The passage stands as a proof of his 
 conscious integrity. Expresses his con- 
 tinued desire to have a fair and impartial 
 hearing of his case, with the conviction that 
 he would be declared free from the sins 
 which were either openly or by implication 
 charged upon him, and from any such 
 transgressions as to merit his present 
 sufferings. The adversary with whom he 
 wishes to contest the matter, mainly God 
 himself \vlio seemed to treat him as a guilty 
 person. His three friends also his adver-
 
 tiOMILETIC COMMENTARY: JOS. 
 
 CHAP. XXXI. 
 
 saries, but only as takiiig up the view of his 
 character which God himself seemed to take 
 from the way iu which He was now dealing 
 with him. God seemed to have charges 
 against him of which he was entirely 
 unconscious. His friends declared that 
 such charges must exist. Job denied there 
 there was any ground for them. Hence his 
 great desire that the matter may be fairly 
 examined into and decided. 
 
 This desire of Job, now soon about to be 
 granted, and that in his favour. Not how- 
 ever to be done till he has been taught 
 some necessary and important lessons. 
 Though having the truth on his side in the 
 controversy, liis spirit and language not 
 always what they ought to have been. His 
 error in declaring his innocence in too de- 
 cided a manner, and in carrying his declara- 
 tion almost, if not altogether, to the point 
 of self-confident glorying and self-righteous 
 pride. At times not only bitter in his 
 spirit and language towards his three 
 friends, but petulant and irreverent towards 
 God. The present winding up of his 
 speeches sounded like a declaration that fie 
 was righteous, whatever God might be in 
 the matter; in other words, that he was 
 more righteous than God. Too much over- 
 looked the fact (1) That he, in common with 
 all mankind, was guilty before God, and had 
 given sufficient occasion to be visited with 
 stripes even more severe than those from 
 which he was now suffering ; (2) That God 
 is infinitely holy, just, and good, and would 
 do nothing with any of His creatures but 
 what was perfectly right; (3) That God 
 might have wise objects in view in dealing 
 with him as He did, which, though now 
 hidden from him, He in His own time 
 would show as, for example, his own purifi- 
 cation, God employing his sufferings as the 
 goldsmith does the furnace for purifying 
 the gold ; (4) That God, as Creator, has the 
 right to do with His creatures as He pleases 
 without doing anything either unjust or 
 unkind, and that it is the creature's part to 
 be passive and submissive in His hand 
 Job's actual conduct at the beginning of his 
 trials. 
 
 The steps between this last speech of 
 Job's and the declaration of his integrity on 
 the part of the Almighty, occupied in 
 correcting these errors, and iu bringing 
 him to a juster view of himself, and to a 
 better state of mind in regard to God. 
 Observe : 
 
 1. No fiesli allowed to glory id God's 
 presence (1 Cor. i., 29). One of the great 
 objects of the Bible to teach men this truth. 
 The proper place for fallen man before God, 
 even at Lis best, is the dust. Tendency to 
 pride in the best. Imperfection stamped 
 
 on all human excellence. Like Moses, Job 
 speaks unadvisedly witli his lips. Utters 
 what is rash before God, which he after- 
 wards repents in dust and ashes. Not yet 
 the perfect man who " offendeth not in 
 word " (James iii. 2). 
 
 2. Only one ^cay of going near to God as 
 our judge with boldness and confidence. Not 
 that of Job, as in ourselves righteous and 
 innocent ; but as sinners, accepting of and 
 trusting in the blood and righteousness of 
 Jesus Christ as the only ground of our 
 acceptance before God (Heb. x. 22.) " Surely 
 shall one say, in the Lord have I righteous- 
 ness. In him shall all the seed of Israel be 
 justified and shall glory" (Is. xlv. 24, 25). 
 
 IX. Job flually clears himself of 
 injustice iu his business transactions 
 with his fellow-men. (Verses 3840). 
 " If my laud (probably the land which, like 
 Isaac, he rented and cultivated for his own 
 use) cry against me (as dishonestly acquired 
 or oppressively cultivated, like Abel's inno- 
 cent blood shed by his brother's hand (Gen. 
 iv. 10), or that the furrows likewise thereof 
 complain (Hebrew, 'weep together,' as in 
 sympathy with one another, and with the 
 owners whom I have wronged by occupying 
 their land without paying duly for its use, 
 or with the labourers whom I have oppressed 
 by employing them without a fair remunera- 
 tion for their work; a beautiful and bold 
 personification to increase the effect) : if 1 
 have eaten the fruits thereof without money 
 (in payment either to the proprietor for the 
 occupancy of his land, or to the labourer for 
 his work in cultivating it), or have caused 
 the owners .thereof to lose their lives (either 
 directly by violent means in order to obtain 
 their property, or indirectly by withholding 
 the just payment for its occupancy) : let 
 thistles (or thorns) grow instead of wheat, 
 and 'cockle (or noxious weeds) instead of 
 barley." Observe 
 
 1. One of the most testing points in 
 reference to a man's character, how he carries 
 on his business and conducts his transactions 
 with his fellow-men. Constant temptation 
 to over-reach and take advantage. Ten- 
 dency in fallen human nature both to with- 
 hold from others their just due, and to exact 
 more than our own. The business principles 
 of the world often the reverse of those ol 
 the Bible. That of "Buy cheap and sell 
 dear," liable to be carried out to the extent 
 of fraud and extortion. Christianity and 
 sound morality teach us to give every man a 
 fair price for his labour or his goods, and to 
 ask no more than a fair price for our own. 
 The maxim, "Business is business," sinful 
 if understood as meaning that business is 
 
 199
 
 CHAP. XXXI. 
 
 HOMILETIC COMMENTARY: JOB, 
 
 exempted from the same rules of morality 
 as are applied to other branches of con- 
 duct. Defectioeness in commercial morality 
 one of the sins of the day In the race for 
 riches, men tempted, even in a Christian land, 
 to commit the sins which Job here solemnly 
 abjures receiving labour, goods, or money, 
 without giving a just equivalent. The temp- 
 tation not always resisted to sell articles 
 that are something different from what they 
 are represented to be. The severe reproof 
 of the Almighty, directed in the Bible against 
 those who oppress the hireling of their 
 wages (Mai. iii. 5 ; James v. 4). A woe pro- 
 nounced on him " who buildeth his house by 
 unrighteousness and his chambers by wrong ; 
 that useth his neighbour's service without 
 wages, and giveth him not for his work," 
 (Jcr. xxii. 13). 
 
 2. Ecen professedly religious men tempted to 
 follow the world in untruthful and unfair modes 
 of conducting business. The practice of over- 
 reaching and extortion apparently prevalent 
 in Job's time and country. Extortion on the 
 part of rulers, proprietors, and dealers in the 
 .East, notorious. The practice of a Turk 
 or Arab in demanding an exorbitant price 
 for his goods, as common as that of the 
 governor or employer in giving the merest 
 pittance for the labourer's work. Extortion 
 and excess among the prevailing sins of the 
 Pharisees in the days of the Saviour (Matt, 
 xxiii. 25). Job careful to resist the tempta- 
 tion to a common sin. Renounced filthy gain. 
 No canker in his gold and silver. No rust 
 on his money to witness against him either 
 here or hereafter, and to eat his flesh as it 
 were fire (James v. 3). Had neither sought 
 to buy cheaper nor sell dearer than justice 
 and humanity demanded, 
 
 3. Dishonesty found on the side of buyers 
 as well as of sellers. (1). In not paying 
 duly for goods delivered; (2). In depre- 
 ciating and cheapening down an article, in 
 order to get a bargain, or to obtain it at a 
 price below its value. " It is naught, it 
 is naught, saith the buyer ; but when he is 
 gone his way, then he boasteth " (Prov. 
 XX, 14). 
 
 4. The mark of a true servant of God, to be 
 "faithful in that which is least." 
 
 5. The part of a follower of Christ, to com- 
 mend his Matter's religion by exhibiting a 
 sterling morality in his daily life. " What 
 soever things are true, honest, just, lovely, 
 and of good report," &c. (Phil iv. 8). 
 
 6. Murder committed in more ways than 
 one. Indirect as well as direct murder. The 
 life-blood of the poor may be drained 
 
 by oppressive work and inadequate remu- 
 neration. Hearts broken by fraud and op- 
 pression in cioil, as well as by inhumanity 
 and cruelty in domestic life. 
 
 7. Wrong done to another often recom- 
 pensed by loss incurred by ourselves. A curse 
 imprecated by Job on his land as the right e- 
 ous penalty of wrong, if done by him either 
 in acquiring or cultivating it. Another ex- 
 ample of the maxim : As the sin, so the 
 punishment. Job probably reminded of the 
 curse pronounced on the ground, first for 
 Adam's sin and then for Cain's (Gen. iii. 17, 
 18 ; iv, 11, 12). Suggests another evidence 
 that Job was well acquainted with Genesis. 
 
 " The words of Job are ended." Probably 
 followed the final protestation of iiis innocence 
 in verse 37. Job's "words" spoken partly by 
 the flesh and partly by the spirit. Were partly 
 those of an enlightened and sanctified be- 
 liever, and partly those of a yet uuhumbled 
 sinner. Were at last partly commended and 
 partly reproved by the Almighty. Have been 
 recorded for our instruction and comfort, 
 but not all of them for our imitation. Be- 
 gan with justifying and speaking well of 
 God; ended by speaking well of himself. 
 Contain some of the most elevated senti- 
 ments and glorious truths ever conceived by 
 human mind or uttered by human lips. 
 Viewed in connection with his extraordinary 
 sufferings, and the circumstances in which 
 they were uttered, they exhibit a marvel of 
 Divine grace, in enabling I he sufferer to pos- 
 sess his soul in patience, and " to glorify God 
 in the fires," Afford the picture of a man 
 as perfect as fallen nature admitted of in 
 the ages previous to the advent of Christ 
 and the dispensation of the Spirit. Observe 
 Words ended in their utterance not ended in 
 tJieir effect. By these words of Job, he " be- 
 ing dead yet speaketh." The effect of words, 
 for good or evil, often experienced for gene- 
 rations and centuries after they have been 
 spoken or written. 
 
 " Nothing is lost: the drop of dew, 
 
 That trembles on the leaf or flower, 
 Is but exhaled to fall anew, 
 
 In summer's thunder shower; 
 Perchance to shine within the bow, 
 
 That fronts the sun at fall of day ; 
 Perchance to sparkle in the flow 
 
 Of fountains far away. 
 So with our words ; or harsh or kind, 
 
 Utter'd, they are not all forgot ; 
 But leave some trace upon the mind, 
 
 Pass on, yet perish not." 
 
 /. Critchley Prince, 
 
 200
 
 HOMILETIC COMMENTARY: JOB 
 
 CHAP. XXXII 
 
 CHAPTER XXXH. 
 
 INTRODUCTION AND SPEECH OF ELIHU. 
 
 The place of Elihu, introduced in this 
 chapter, that of an umpire stepping forward 
 of his own accord, under the promptings of 
 zeal and conscious knowledge, to decide the 
 controversy between Job and his three friends 
 on the one hand, and between Job and the 
 Almighty on the other. His speeches con- 
 tribute to the solution, as showing reasons 
 why Job might be afflicted as he was, with- 
 out being wiiat his friends suspected him to 
 be a secretly bad man, and also as pointing 
 out wherein he erred namely, in his too 
 strongly justifying himself, aad almost cen- 
 suring the Almighty. His speeches pre- 
 paratory to the appearance and address of 
 Jehovah, who follows up what Elihu had 
 begun. Elihu in relation to the Almighty, 
 like John the Baptist in relation to Christ. 
 Observe (1) An honour to be, like Elihu, 
 a peacemaker, in seeking to eompo.se disputes 
 between brethren, and to remove a believer's 
 controversy with God. (2) A high privi- 
 lege to be, like Elihu also, a forerunner in 
 preparing the way for God himself. Pre- 
 cious to be sent, like the seventy disciples, 
 to preach in places where Christ himself is 
 to come (Luke i. 1). 
 
 I. The occasion of Elihu 's introduction. 
 
 Verse 1. " So these three men ceased to an- 
 swer Job, because he was righteous in his 
 own eyes." 
 
 The great object of these friends, to make 
 Job out to be a secret transgressor, and so 
 deserving the sufferings inflicted on him. 
 This view of his case required by their false 
 theology in respet to the Divine govern- 
 ment God viewed by them as necessarily 
 punishing sin and rewarding virtue in this 
 life. Failing to convince Job that he was a 
 had man, and guilty of such sins as had justly 
 drawn upon him God's severe judgments, 
 they " ceased to answer Job." Their argu- 
 ments only in the direction of showing that 
 bad men suffer in this life the consequences 
 of their deeds, however secretly committed, 
 and that good men are invariably prosperous 
 and happy, even in this world. They had 
 employed the last arrow in their quiver 
 without makiug any impression, and now 
 desist. 
 
 Their final charge against Job, " He was 
 righteous in his own eyes," partly false and 
 partly true. False, as Job acknowledged 
 himself a sinner (ch. vii, 20, 21 ; ix. 2, 3). 
 True, but both in a right and wrong sense. 
 
 1. In a right sense. In the ordinary use 
 of the term, Job a "righteous" man. This 
 the Divine testimony given of him. The 
 testimony also of his own conscience. His 
 own heart " condemned him not." Conscious 
 of having served God sincerely, earnestly, and 
 
 Eerseveringly. Like Paul, could testify that 
 e had " lived in all good conscience unto 
 this day." Had exercised himself in having 
 " a conscience void of offence both towards 
 God and towards men." With this con- 
 sciousness, Job necessarily and justly " righ- 
 teous in his own eyes." Could not truthfully 
 deny it, or honestly confess the contrary. 
 So far Job simply believed and maintained 
 he was righteous, because he was so. As a 
 matter of fact, Job's sins not the cause of 
 his sufferings (ch. ii. 3). 
 
 2. In a wrong sense. (1) As insisting too 
 strongly on his own righteousness. (2) In 
 ignoring or regarding too slightly the sins 
 that actually adhered to him. (3) In being 
 top prone to charge God with cruelty and 
 injustice in dealing with him as He did. (4) 
 In being much more careful to justify him- 
 self than his Maker. His eye so entirely on 
 his own integrity and uprightness as to over- 
 look and forget his short-comings and offences 
 against the Divine law. Kighteous before 
 men, he failed to see and acknowledge him- 
 self, as he ought, guilty before God. Job 
 still very much in the condition of Paul before 
 his journey to Damascus "alive without the 
 law" (Rom. vii. 9). The commandment was 
 yet to " come," in order to his dying in his 
 own eyes as a sinner, and having his mouth, 
 stopped as guilty before God (Horn iii. 19). 
 Job yet to learn and realize more deeply than 
 he had yet done, that in God's sight no man 
 living can be justified (Ps. cxliii. 2). This 
 change in his views and experience soon 
 about to take place. What the three friends 
 failed in. doing, God Himself was about to ac- 
 complish, first and in part through the instru- 
 mentality of Elihu ; afterwards and more 
 especially, by the manifestation of Himself 
 (ch. xlii. 5, 6). Observe (1) Possible to 
 /tare a conscience void nf offence toward.? God 
 and men, and yet to require to be humbled as 
 a sinner before God. (2) One of the objects 
 of the law of God, to strip men of self-righteous- 
 ness. By the law is the knowledge of sin 
 (Rom. iii., 20: vii. 7). (3) The f/reat aim in 
 the Holy Spirit's mission into the world, to 
 convince men of sin and of a belter ric/hteous- 
 ness than their own, in order to their accep- 
 
 201
 
 CHAP. XXXIl. 
 
 nOMILETIC COMMENTARY: JOB. 
 
 lance with God (John xvi. 7, 10). What 
 was to be done in Job's case by the appear- 
 ance of God Himself and the ministry of 
 Elihu, 110 \v done by the inward operation of 
 the Holy Ghost and the ministry of the word. 
 (4). Self -righteousness the great enemy to our 
 peace, as well as to our acceptance before God 
 through the righteousness wrought out for vs 
 b;i the Son of God in our nature (Rom. x., 34 ; 
 Phil, iii., 4, 9). 
 
 II. Elilm's Personality (verse 26). 
 
 1. His NAME "Elilm." Denotes "my 
 God is he, "or, " my God is Jehovah." Given 
 at his birth, implies piety on the part of his 
 parents. His name a profession of the faith 
 of his parents, and probably intended to be 
 that of his own. Eliliu constantly reminded 
 of the true God by his very name. Probably 
 given him to serve as a guard against advanc- 
 ing idolatry. That object gained. Much in a 
 name. More meaning in names given to indi- 
 viduals, and more importance attached to 
 them, in early times and in the East, than 
 now and with ourselves. Scripture names 
 generally significant. Observe (1) Wise 
 in parents to impress Divine truth by 
 every suitable means on the minds of their 
 children from their earliest days, and to 
 keep God before them as they grow up. (2) 
 Not enough to know that Jehovah is the 
 true God, but that He is our God. God is 
 to be appropriated as our own God in 
 Christ. "My God," the language of faith 
 and love, " O God thou art my God " (Ps. 
 Ixiii. 1). The first confession of Christ after 
 his resurrection : "My Lord and my God" 
 (John xx. 28). Such appropriation of God 
 and self-consecration to Him, the will of God 
 concerning us (Jer. iii. 4, 19, 22). In the 
 covenant of grace, of God gives Himself over 
 to the believing sinner as his God in Christ 
 (Jer. xxxi., 33 ; Heb. viii. 10). 
 
 2. His PARENTAGE. " Son of Barachel." 
 Elihu the only individual in the poem whose 
 parentage is recorded. Possibly in order to 
 distinguish him from others of the same 
 name, or because his father was a well-known 
 and distinguished man in the country. Pos- 
 sibly because Elihu was yet a young man, 
 and required thus to be distinguished. The 
 addition of the father's name^ the ordinary 
 way of naming men in the East, except 
 when the party was advanced in years, or 'a 
 person of great distinction. The name of 
 Elihu's father significant as well as his own. 
 Denotes " the blessing of God," or " God 
 hath blessed." God's goodness and blessing 
 probably recognized by his parents in the 
 gift of a sou. Well to mark God's hand in 
 in our ordinary mercies. Piety not only in 
 Elihu's parents but his grand-parents." A 
 precious blessing to have a pious ancestry. 
 
 The pricilege of all in Christ to be a 
 "Barachel." God "hath blessed us with all 
 spiritual blessings in Christ Jesus" (Eph. i. 3). 
 Barachel, having realized the blessing ex- 
 pressed in his name, the more anxious that 
 his son should do the same, and should be 
 able to say : " The Lord is my God." Hence 
 called him Elihu. Parents enjoying the 
 blessing of a covenant-God themselves, 
 likely to be made a blessing to their chil- 
 dren. Elihu the worthy son of a worthy father. 
 " Grace does not run in the blood, but often 
 runs in the line." P. Henry, Elihu 
 distinguished for his piety and wisdom even 
 while a young man. Reflected honour on the 
 father whose name was connected with his 
 own. Only truly pious children a real 
 credit and honour to their parents. "My 
 son, if thy heart be wise, my heart shall 
 rejoice, even mine " (Prov. xxiii. 15). 
 
 3. His COUNTRY. " The Buzite." Buz 
 the second son of Nahor, Abraham's brother 
 (Gen. xxii. 21). A city of this name in 
 Arabia Deserta, mentioned in connection 
 with Dedan in Idumsea (Jer. xxv. 13). The 
 name of the city and the country around 
 probably derived from Buz, Nahor's sou. 
 Buz himself a Syrian. Probably some of his 
 descendants emigrated south-westwards into 
 Idumsea or Arabia. Buz a brother of Uz, 
 from whom the country of Job probably took 
 its name. Job and Elihu thus perhaps not 
 very distantly connected. The Syrians in 
 general already tinged more or less with 
 idolatry. Hence the command to Abraham 
 to leave his country and his kindred. Idols 
 or images, probably kept as household gods, 
 found in the family of Laban, Nahor's 
 grandson (Gen. xxxi. 19). Strange gods 
 worshipped by Terah the father of Abraham 
 and Nahor (Josh. xxiv. 2, 15). Barachel 
 probably an exception. Hence the piety 
 and wisdom of his son. Due to sovereign 
 grace, that generally some are " among the 
 i'aithless, faithful found." Saints in Nero's 
 household. 
 
 4, His KINDRED. "Of the kindred (or 
 clan) of Ram." Ram probably the same as 
 Aram (1 Chron. xxix. 10, with Matt. i. 3, 4). 
 Ram or Aram a son of Shem, and the 
 father or brother of Uz (Gen. x. 23; 1 
 Chron. i. 17). Another, the son of Kemuel 
 the son of Nahor, and the brother of Buz 
 and Uz (Gen. xxii. 21). A third and later 
 Ram or Aram, the father of Amminadab 
 and grandfather of Nahshoii, the prince of 
 the children of Judahat thetimeof the Exodus 
 (1 Chrou.ii. 910; Num. i. 7, 2, 3). From 
 Ram or Aram, Syria had its name, Meso- 
 potamia, the country between the rivers 
 namely, the Tigris and the Euphrates, also 
 hence called Padan-Aram, or the Plain of 
 Aram. Hence tho Syriac and Chaldaic
 
 BOMILSTIC COMMENTARY: JOB. 
 
 CHAP, xxxir 
 
 language called the Aramaic, traces of which 
 appear in the Book of Job, but more 
 especially in the speeches of Elihu. This 
 particularity in the description of Elihu 
 significant, as (1) An evidence of the 
 historic truth of the poem; (2) Indicative 
 of the important place he occupies in the 
 controversy, and the part he contributed to 
 its solution; (3) Expressive of the honour 
 put upon Elihu himself as the most en- 
 lightened of the speakers. "Them that 
 honour me I will honour." 
 
 5. His AGE. " Young." Probably even 
 younger than Job. A remarkable peculiarity 
 in his case. The other speakers elderly, 
 and even aged men (verse G). Unusual 
 in Arabia and the East for young men to 
 take part in a religious controversy. Ob- 
 serve Grace and wisdom not confined to 
 ar/e. John the most beloved and devoted 
 of the Apostles, believed to have been the 
 youngest, Paul, when chosen to be the 
 Apostle of the Gentiles, a young man. 
 Timothy, his friend and deputy while but a 
 youth. Jesus among the doctors in the 
 temple at the age of twelve. Daniel, Shad- 
 rach, Meshach and Abednego, distinguished 
 for piety and wisdom at an early age. 
 
 III. Elihu's Character. To be gathered 
 from the history and from his own speeches. 
 
 1. Ardent and zealous. Hence his anger 
 both against Job and his three friends (verse 
 2), and his eager endeavour to correct their 
 mistakes. Full of matter, and eager to 
 deliver himself of it (verses 18, 19). 
 
 2. Modest. Conscious of his youth, he 
 waits till all the other speakers had nothing 
 more to say (verses 4, 11). Hesitating and 
 afraid to deliver his opinion (verse 6). Spoke 
 at length, only because inwardly constrained 
 to do so, and conscious of having something 
 to say on the subject (verse 18). Ascribes 
 what knowledge and understanding he had 
 to the Spirit of God (verse 8). The appear- 
 ance of inflation in his language probably 
 due to Oriental poetry, and to the apologetic 
 style which he assumes in introducing him- 
 self. 
 
 3. Enlightened. Indicated in his speeches. 
 Answered neither by Job nor his friends. 
 The only speaker not censured by the 
 Almighty. Jehovah's address to Job a con- 
 tinuation of his own. 
 
 4. Candid and impartial. Neither justi- 
 fies Job, though desirous of doing so ; nor 
 yet, like the three friends, suspects and con- 
 demns him as necessarily a wicked man. 
 Speaks his mind, without either fear or 
 favour, as amenable to his Maker (verses 21, 
 22). Reproves Job, without, like the others, 
 losing his temper. 
 
 Elihu may be viewed (1) As, in charac- 
 
 ter, name, and the attitude he assumes in the 
 controversy, a type of Christ in relation to 
 the Pharisees and doctors of the law, as well 
 as in his office of mediator and revealer of the 
 Father; (2) As, in his character and speeches, 
 an example to pastors and preachers of the 
 Gospel. 
 
 IV. His motives and reasons for 
 entering into the controversy. 
 
 1 . His displeasure with Job and hh three 
 friends. Verses 2, 3. "Then was kindled 
 the wrath of Elihu (Oriental expression for 
 strong disapprobation and displeasure); 
 against Job was his wrath kindled, because 
 he justified himself rather than God (or, 
 "made himself more righteous than God)! 
 Also against his three friends was his wrath 
 kindled, because they had no answer [to 
 Job which was solid and satisfactory], and 
 yet had condemned Job " (as a hypocrite and 
 secret transgressor). Elihu, angry with Job 
 for his offence against God ; with his friends 
 for their offence against Job. 
 
 Observe anger, not always sinful. "Ee 
 ye angry, and sin not" (Eph. iv. 2f5.) 
 Anger may be either holy or unholy. 
 Shewn by God Himself. God "angry witli 
 the wicked every day." Felt and exhibited 
 by Christ. "Looked round about" upon 
 his Pharisaic adversaries and opposers " with 
 anger " (Murk iii. 5). Auger a principle 
 or passion implanted in our nature for wise 
 and holy objects. Only right when (1) 
 Directed against a ptoper object. This 
 not always the case with creature anger. (2) 
 Excited ly a just or sufficient cause. Human 
 anger often excited by a bad cause, still 
 more frequently by an insufficient one. 
 Jonah first angry at Nineveh's repentance, 
 and then at the loss of his gourd. (3) 
 Held under dm control. Uncontrolled anger 
 a sinful passion a sin itself, and leading 
 to many others. (4) Accompanied with 
 love. Jesus wept over the objects of His 
 anger (Lukexix. 41). 5. Not long continued. 
 " Let not the sun go down upon your 
 wrath" (Eph. iv. 26). Anger may enter 
 the breast of a wise man, but rests only in 
 the bosom of fools (Eccles vii. 9). Anger 
 in fallen creatures apt to be sinful. Hence 
 spoken of as a work of the flesh (Gal. v. 25). 
 Believers exhorted to put it away (Eph. iv. 
 31). Anger in fallen men like gunpowder in 
 the hands of children useful but aangerous 
 Often sinful even in good men. Excluded 
 Moses, though the meekest man on earth, 
 from the promised land (Num. xx. 10, 12). 
 Anger safest where directed against the sin 
 rather than the sinner. Causeless anger 
 murder in the heart, and often leading to 
 murder in the act. Excessive auger a specie*
 
 CHAP. XXXII. 
 
 IIOXILETIC COVMEXTARY: JOB. 
 
 of madness. The New Testament rule 
 "Slow to speak, slow to wrath." "Not 
 soon angry," a precept necessary both for 
 ministers and people. One feature of charity 
 or love that it is " not easily provoked 
 (1 Cor. xiii. 5). 
 
 2. The inability of the three friends to 
 ansicer Job. Verse 3" They had found no 
 answer." Verse 10 Therefore I said, hearken 
 unto me; I also will shew mine opinion. 
 Behold, I waited for your words ; I gave ear 
 to your reasons (your arguments, or your 
 views ; Margin, ' your understandings '), 
 whilst (or till) ye searched out what to say. 
 Yea, I attended unto you (or ' to your testi- 
 monies'), and behold, there was none of you 
 that convinced Job (refuted or convicted 
 him of error), or that answered his words " 
 (solidly, suitably, and satisfactorily). Verse 15 
 " They (i.e., "Job's friends, the words ad- 
 dressed to Job, or to others present at the 
 controversy as by-standers), were amazed 
 (' struck down,' either by Job's arguments, 
 his confidence in God, or his obstinacy in 
 maintaining his innocence), they left off 
 speaking. When I had waited (or simply, 
 ' I waited ' spoken after an interval of 
 silencfi, leaving room for remark), for (or 
 but) they spake not, but stood still (per- 
 severed in their silence, or stood as dumb), 
 and answered no more ; I said, 1 will also 
 [though so much younger] answer my part 
 (will contribute my part to the controversy) ; 
 1 also will show my opinion." Becoming in 
 juniors to be silent in a discussion, till others, 
 older and likely to be better informed on the 
 subject, have said what they are able to say 
 upon it. Modesty an ornament to all, but 
 especially to youth. " Slow to speak," in 
 most cases a safe rule. Jesus among the 
 doctors, first hard, then asked questions, 
 and then gave answers. 
 
 3. The general bestowment of understanding 
 by the Creator on mankind. Verse 7. " I said, 
 days (men of advanced age) should speak, 
 and the multitude of years should teach wis- 
 dom (understanding as to God's dealings and 
 man's duty). But there is a spirit in man 
 (mankind in general, without beins: confined 
 to age), and the inspiration of the Almighty 
 giveth them understanding. Great men 
 (great either in age or position) are not 
 always wise ; neither do the aged (neces- 
 sarily or exclusively) understand judgment 
 (what is right either in doctrine or duty). 
 Therefore T said, Hearken to me ; I also 
 will shew mine opinion." Observe : (1) To 
 speak on great and important subjects con- 
 nected with Divine truth, the especial right 
 and duty of men of age and experience. 
 Growth in wisdom naturally expected to ac- 
 company growth in years. (2) Wisdom not 
 the monopoly of any age or class. (3). Intel- 
 204 
 
 ligence the gift of God. Christ the light 
 that lighteth every man that cometh into the 
 world (John i. 9). (4) A preacher to speak 
 in dependence on, and as the result of, Divine 
 enlightenment. " If any speak, let him speak 
 as the oracles of God." The manifestation 
 of the Spirit given to every [believing] man 
 to profit [others] withal (1 Cor. xii., 7 ; 1 Pet. 
 4, 11. Three things necessary for every 
 preacher of Divine truth (1) A message 
 given him by the Spirit. (2) The unction 
 of the Spirit in delivering it. (3) The 
 power of the Spirit to accompany it in the 
 hearts of the hearers. 
 
 4. His conviction, in opposition to the self- 
 conceit of the three friends, that the subject 
 under discussion was capable of receiving a 
 more satisfactory treatment. Versel3 " Lest 
 ye should say (or ' do not say'), We have 
 found out wisdom ; God casteth him down, 
 and not man" (his afflictions are to be viewed 
 as coming iu righteous judgment from ihe 
 hand of God, and not from man ; or, " God 
 must confute or overcome him and not man.") 
 Either the language of the friends, as if they 
 had said all that could be advanced on the 
 subject, Job being now incorrigible to all 
 but God himself; or the language of Elihu, 
 as indicating that what he was about to ad- 
 vance was not the mere argument of man, 
 but the teaching of God himself, by whose 
 inspiration he was about to speak. " We 
 have found out wisdom," generally the lan- 
 guage of ignorance and pride, as if we our- 
 selves had seen the whole truth in relation 
 to a subject, and nothing more could be said 
 about it. The language of many of the 
 philosophers or wise men of antiquity. " Pro- 
 i'essing themselves to be wise." The name 
 " philosopher," however, denoting a loter oj 
 wisdom, chosen in modesty by Pythagoras 
 its inventor, to indicate, in opposition to many 
 who called themselves "wise men,"that wis- 
 dom was not yet found out, and that all that 
 men could pretend to, was to be lovers or 
 seekers of it ; while both Socrates and Plato 
 acknowledged the necessity of a Divine reve- 
 lation, and anticipated the bestowmen-t of it 
 at some future period. " We have found out 
 wisdom," still the language of a ' vain philo- 
 sophy,' and of ' science falsely so called/ The 
 boast of some modern as well as of 
 ancient schools. Especially made at present 
 in reference to the origin of man and of the 
 universe. 'Natural Selection' to take the pfoce 
 of a personal and intelligent Creator. The 
 Bible account of creation to be set aside, 
 according to some, for the teachings or 
 guessings of science, which yet is obliged to 
 confess that it neither does nor can know 
 anything certain on the subject. "I say," 
 says one of those who think they have 
 'found out wisdom' on this subject, " that
 
 HONILETIC COMMENTARY; JOB. 
 
 CHAP. XXXII. 
 
 natural knowledge, seeking to satisfy na- 
 tural wants, has found the ideas which 
 alone can satisfy spiritual cravings." On 
 a subject, in regard to which science pro- 
 fesses it has and can have no evidence 
 \ and can give no certain account, on which its 
 teachings are far from being in harmony wiih 
 each -of her, and one connected with matters 
 of infinite and eternal importance, it 
 would seewi not a little wiser to accept the 
 professed and sufficiently -accredited Divine 
 testimony, however it is to be intrepreted, 
 which has been preserved and handed down 
 to us through nearly four thousand years ; 
 whicli has been received as such by Jesus 
 Christ and His Apostles, and by the best men 
 in every age, both before and since, who 
 have had the opportunity of doing so ; and is 
 infinitely more calculated to meet the wants 
 and circumstances of humanity, than the 
 theory or guesses which some professors of 
 science would give us in its stead. 
 
 5. His having hitherto stood aloof from the 
 controversy, and having arguments to produce 
 which had not yet been advanced. Verse 14. 
 " Now he (Job) hath not directed his words 
 against me : neither will I answer 
 him with your speeches " (either as to the 
 matter or manner of them). Elihu pro- 
 poses (1) To bring new matter to bear on 
 the subject under discussion, viz., God's 
 providential dealings wiih men; (2) To 
 speak in a calmer and more dispassionate 
 tone than the three friends, as not having 
 had anything irritating addressed to him by 
 Job. The argument of tin; friends, that 
 Job's sufferings proved him to be a trans- 
 gressor. Elihu's object to show that 
 afflictions and trials are often of a disciplinary 
 character. Necessary in a discussion (1) 
 To be able to say something new; (2) To 
 keep one's temper. 
 
 6. His deep interest in tine subject, his con- 
 sciousness of having much to say upon it, and 
 his earned desire to deliver it. Verse 18. 
 " for I am full of matter : the spirit within 
 me (Heb. 'of my belly' or heart) con- 
 straineth (or straiteneth) me. Behold, my 
 belly (or heart, as John vii. 38) is as wine 
 which hath no vent (or outlet for the escape 
 of the gas generated in the course of fermen- 
 tation) ; it is ready to burst like new bottles 
 (or, like skin-bottles containing new wine 
 undergoing fermentation; old skins being 
 more liable to burst than new ones, Matt. 
 ix. 17, 18). I will speak that 1 may be 
 refreshed (relieved of the inward pressure to 
 deliver what I have to say on the subject) ; 
 I will open my lips and answer." In the 
 East, a young man only justified in speak- 
 ing in the presence of seniors, when he has 
 much to say on the subject under dis- 
 cussion. Observe The duty of Christians 
 
 in general, and of preachers in particular : 
 
 (1) To be deeply interested in subjects per- 
 taining to the Divine glory and the welfare 
 of men. Well to be " zealously affected 
 always in a good thing " (Gal. iv. 18). (2) 
 To sympathize with the sufferings of a fel- 
 low-creature, and to seek iu every way we 
 can to alleviate them. (31 To obtain correct 
 views as to the cause of afflictions, and the 
 best way to improve them. (4) To com- 
 municate for the comfort and benefit of 
 others what we ourselves have been taught 
 in regard to Divine things. That preacher 
 likely to profit who feels that he has some- 
 thing important to say, and is inwardly con- 
 strained to say it. Desirable for a preacher 
 to have the prophet's experience, God's 
 Word as a burning fire shut up in his bones 
 (Jer. xx. 9). "We cannot but speak the 
 things which we have seen and heard " (Acts 
 iv. 20). Paul pressed in the spirit at Co- 
 rinth, and so testified to the Jews that Jesus 
 was the Christ (Acts xviii. 5). Preachers 
 needed who are ready to burst with the good 
 news they have to communicate to their 
 hearers concerning the great salvation of 
 God. Such the preachers of the Gospel 
 who at first turned the world up-side-down, 
 and would do so again if found in any con- 
 siderable number. 
 
 V. Elihu's resolution to be plain and 
 impartial in his discourse, and his 
 reason for it. Verses 21, 22. " Let me 
 
 not, I pray you, accept any man's person 
 (shew partiality to any on the ground 
 either of age or reputation), neither let me 
 give nattering titles unto man (employing 
 titles of honour and compliment, or speak- 
 ing blandly and flatteringly, instead of 
 plainly and honestly, and calling things by 
 their right names). For I know not 
 (am neither able nor willing) to give flatter- 
 ing titles ; in so doing my Maker would soon 
 take me away" (by some signal manifesta- 
 tion of His displeasure ; or simply, " my 
 Maker will soon take me away," t. ., by 
 death : I shall soon appear in His presence 
 and render an account of what ana how I 
 have spoken). The Orientals remarkable 
 for their employment of flattering titles in 
 addressing others. Observe (1) Plain- 
 ness of speech in a preacher not incompatible 
 with courtesy. Paul an example of both. 
 
 (2) The preac/ier neither to be influenced by 
 fear nor favour in delivering his message or 
 performing his office. His business not to 
 please but persuade men, or to please only 
 in so far as it may tend to their edification, 
 and with that object (Rom. xv. 2 ; 1 Cor. 
 x. 33, ix. 22). His duty to declare the whole 
 counsel of God ; to speak necessary truth, 
 however unpalatable ; to deliver his message 
 
 205
 
 CHAP. XXXIII. 
 
 ITOMTLETIC COMMENTARY: JOS. 
 
 faithfully, whether men will hear or whether 
 they will forbear. (3) Important recollec- 
 tion for a preacher-. "My Maker will soon, 
 take me away." Good to speak " as a dying 
 man to dying men." (4) The remembrance 
 of Christ's presence as a hearer the best safe- 
 guard to the faithfulness of the preacher, and 
 the best means of deliverance from the fear 
 of man. Fear or flattery of man on the part 
 of a preacher, an insult to his Master. 
 Foolish as well as base to court the page's 
 favour instead of the sovereign's. " That 
 
 man preaches before me as if he had the Al- 
 mighty standing at his elbow" James the 
 First, of one of his Court Preachers. Latimer's 
 introduction to his sermon before Henry the 
 Eighth : " Remember, Hugh Latimer, that 
 thou speakest before the king, and, therefore, 
 take good heed to what thou sayest in pre- 
 sence of his majesty ; but remember also, 
 Hugh Latimer, that thou speakest before the 
 King of Kings, whose servant thou art, and 
 who shall one day call thee to account." 
 
 CHAPTEE XXXIII. 
 
 ELIHU'S FIRST SPEECH. 
 
 Elihu addresses himself to Job on the sub- 
 ject of God's afflictive dispensations. Afflic- 
 tions often disciplinary chastisements. 
 
 I. He bespeaks Job's careful attention 
 to all that he has to advance. 
 
 Verse 1. "Wherefore, Job, I pray thee, 
 hear my speeches and hearken to all my words." 
 Elihu speaks as one that had much to say. His 
 speech, or perhaps rather speeches, much the 
 longest of any in the controversy. Probably two 
 speeches, separated by a pause or interval of 
 silence (ch. xxxv. 1 ; xxxvi. 1). His state- 
 ment " I am full of matter," confirmed by 
 the fact. His speeches, in this respect, per- 
 haps in accordance with his age. Youthful 
 speakers often wordy. The work of time 
 and experience to learn to prune down our 
 discourses and avoid multiplying words Elihu 
 makes good his promise not to give flattering 
 titles. Addresses Job by his plain name. A 
 king of Spain complained that he lacked one 
 who would speak plainly and faithfully to 
 him without flattery and partiality. Elihu 
 speaks with courtesy and respect as well as 
 earnestness, "I pray thee." " Be courteous," 
 a New Testament precept, to be especially 
 remembered by all who endeavour to per- 
 suade others. Paul, an example of courtesy 
 to his hearers. Often, like Elihu, employs the 
 language of entreaty (Rom. xii. 1; Eph. iii. 
 4). A duty to give serious attention to all 
 that an earnest and enlightened preacher has 
 to say; still more that the inspired Word 
 itself teaches (Dent. v. 27 ; Acts x. 35). 
 Men not to listen to only as much as pleases 
 them, or accords with their own views. 
 
 Elihu bespeaks attention on the ground 
 
 1. Of his own earnestness, and purpose to 
 enter fully and intelli/jently into the subject. 
 Verse 2 "Behold, now I have opened my 
 mouth ; my tongue hath spoken (or speaketh) 
 in my mouth," (margin, in or with " my 
 palate;" the palate, or roof of the mouth. 
 
 206 
 
 used in articulate speech ; perhaps referring 
 to the distinctness with which it was his pur- 
 pose to speak on the subject in hand). The 
 expression : " I have opened my mouth," an 
 Oriental one, indicating (1) The setting of 
 oneself to deliver a weighty and important 
 discourse. Said of Jesus (Matt. v. 2). (.2) Ful- 
 ness of matter and readiness of utterance, 
 as if the words were waiting for egress, and 
 flowed forth spontaneously. Paul's request 
 for the Church's prayers, that " utterance" 
 (freeness of speech) might be given him, 
 that he might "open his mouth boldly, as he 
 ought to speak" (Eph. vi. 19; Col. iv. 3). 
 
 2. Of his sincerity in, what he says, as well 
 as the clearness with which he icill speak. 
 Verse 3. " My words shall be of (or from) 
 the uprightness (or sincerity) of my heart; 
 and my lips shall utter knowledge clearly," 
 (or "they,'' i. e., his words, " shall utter the 
 sentiments of my lips purely" sincerely, 
 clearly, and correctly). Elihu, anxious to 
 appear to Job and the rest (1) As unpreju- 
 diced and sincere points in which the three 
 friends had appeared to him to fail. Their 
 views one-sided, and their minds prejudiced 
 against Job on account of his extraordinary 
 afflictions. Not always easy, though in the 
 highest degree important, for a speaker to 
 divest himself of prejudice, partiality and 
 passion, and to be pure and sincere in his 
 motives. Truth to be spoken without gall 
 or guile. " Speaking the truth (literally, 
 'truthiug it') in love." Truth often dis- 
 torted through passion and prejudice. (2) 
 As expressing his views simply and distinctly. 
 Using plain language, and uttering exactly 
 what he thinks, without fear or favour, mis- 
 tiness or circumlocution. Plainness, sim- 
 plicity and directness, important in every 
 teacher of Divine truth. " All our learning 
 necessary to make things plain." Arch- 
 bishop Ussher. Paul again an example to 
 preachers, " We use great plainness of 
 speech" (2 Cor. iii. 12). The vision to be
 
 SOMILST1C COMMENTARY: JOTt. 
 
 CHAP. XXXIII. 
 
 made " plain, that lie may run [at once for 
 escape] that readeth it," (Hab.^ii. 2). (3) 
 As uttering what is true and correct on the 
 subject, " Shall utter knowledge" not fancies 
 but facts, not mere opinions but truth. 
 What Elihu promised he appears to have 
 performed. No fault found at last by the 
 Almighty with any of his utterances, as in 
 the case of the three friends. A religious 
 teacher to employ the greatest possible care, 
 both by prayer and study, to have his dis- 
 courses and instructions strictly in accordance 
 with revealed truth and the circumstances of 
 the case. "If any speak, let him speak as 
 the oracles of God" (1 Peter, iv. 11). Care to 
 be taken that the Word of God be not cor- 
 rupted or adulterated (2 Cor. ii. 17). 
 Preachers to utter not merely what they have 
 heard or read, but what they " know" (John 
 iii. 11 ; Acts iv. 20). 
 
 3. Of his equality with Job as a creature 
 of God. Verses 4 7. "The Spirit of 
 God (either the Divine power, corresponding 
 with ' breath ' in the next clause ; or, the 
 Divine person so spoken of throughout the 
 Scriptures) hath made me [in connection with 
 thyself], and the breath of the Almighty 
 hath given me life (as to Adam and all his 
 children, Gen. ii. 7). If thou canst answer 
 me, set thy words in order (produce and ex- 
 hibit thy arguments) before me ; stand up 
 [as an opponent against what I have to 
 say]. Behold, I am according to thy wish 
 (or, 'mouth,' referring to Job's words, 
 chap. ix. 34, 35 ; xiii. 21, &c. ; or simply, 
 'like thee') in God's stead (or, 'for God",' 
 i.e., to plead in his name; or, 'in relation 
 to God,' i.e., as his creature) ; I also am 
 formed out of the clay. Behold, my terror 
 (or overpowering majesty) shall not make 
 thee afraid ; neither shall my hand (or power 
 as of a superior being) be heavy upon thee." 
 Elihu, conscious of having no advantage over 
 Job from his position, wishes him to listen 
 at ease, and to answer with freedom. Those 
 engaged in a discussion, to be able to speak 
 on equal grounds and without fear from the 
 authority and power of each other. "He 
 must be confessed the better scholar who 
 has thirty legions at his command," 
 Phanorinm the philosopher, in reference to 
 Adrian the Emperor. Observe: (1) A 
 sign of weakness in dealing with an op- 
 ponent, to take undue advantage either of 
 learning or position. (2) The wisdom and 
 kinduess of God, first in revealing Himself 
 by one who became a partaker of our own 
 nature, and then of employing not angels but 
 men in the ministry of reconciliation. Elihu 
 possibly designed by the Holy Ghost to be a 
 representative and type both of Christ and His 
 Apostles, as well as of all faithful preachers 
 of the Gospel. (3) The record of man's 
 
 creation as found in the Bible, well known 
 in the; days of the writer of the Book. (4) 
 The Holy Ghost probably known as a dis- 
 tinct person. Personality apparently here 
 ascribed to Him. So in Gen. i. 2. Probably 
 also in Gen. vi. 3. The breath or wind a 
 Scriptural symbol of the Spirit, as proceeding 
 from God, and mighty in His operation (Ez. 
 xxxvii. 9 14 ; John iii. 8 ; Acts ii. 24). 
 A plurity of persons recognized in the one 
 Divine Creator (Gen. i. 26 ; so Job xxxv. 
 10" my Maker," Hebrew, " my makers ; " 
 so Isaiah liv. 5). (5) The specialty in 
 man's creation here referred to, such as to 
 render him an intelligent being, capable of 
 reasoning and uttering important truth. 
 
 II. States his complaint against Job 
 
 (verses 8 11). His complaint not against 
 Job's former life, but his present language. 
 Verse 8. " Surely thou hast spoken in mine 
 hearing, and I have heard the voice of thy 
 words." Elihu, till now, only an attentive 
 listener. The best listener fikely to be not 
 the worst speaker. " Swift to hear, slow to 
 speak." Reference made by Elihu to such 
 passages as chap. ix. 17, 30 ; x. 7, &c. The 
 grounds of his complaint in reference to Job's 
 language 
 
 1. His maintaining his sinlessness. Verse 
 9. "Saying, surely I am clean, without 
 transgression ; I am innocent ; neither is 
 there iniquity in me." Given as the sub- 
 stance of Job's statements, rather than his 
 exact language. Perhaps a mistaken or ex- 
 aggerated representation of it. Yet ac- 
 cording to the impression made by Job's 
 speeches on the mind of a bystander. His 
 expressions often rash, unguarded, and ex- 
 treme. At times seemed to say all that is 
 here imputed to him, although not intending 
 it in the sense in which Elihu understood it. 
 His intention probably only to maintain that 
 he was not conscious of living in the known 
 breach of any of God's laws, as he was sus- 
 pected of doing, and that he was free from 
 any such crime as to deserve, above others, 
 the awful calamities with which he had been. 
 visited. Observe (1) Easy, under strong 
 feeling, to utter unguarded language, capable 
 of being misunderstood. (2) Our duty to 
 put the most charitable construction on the 
 words of a good man, uttered at a time of 
 suffering and excitement. (3) Job's error, 
 that he maintained too vehemently his own 
 innocence, and was more careful to vindicate 
 himself than justify God. Personal depravity 
 and imperfection the lesson he had yet to 
 learn. 
 
 2. His charging God. Verses 10, 11. 
 Job seemed to charge God (1) With 
 fckleness and nnkindness. Verse 10. "Be- 
 hold, he findeth occasions (quarrels or 
 
 207
 
 CHAP. XXXIII. 
 
 HOMILJSTIC COMMENTARY: JOB. 
 
 breaches of friendship, Num. xix. 34) 
 against me ; he counteth me for his enemy." 
 Reference to Job's language in such places 
 as chap. ix. 17 ; xiii. 24 ; xvi. 9 ; xix. 11 ; 
 xxxi. 21. God's former friendship and re- 
 gard viewed by Job as now changed without 
 cause into enmity. A grievous mistake 
 and reflection on the Divine character. God's 
 love unchangeable (Jer. xiii. 3 ; John xiii 1). 
 His face may change, but not His heart (Is. 
 liv, 7 10). God may seem to count a man 
 His enemy, whom He really regards as His 
 friend. Love and hatred on the part of God 
 not to be always gathered from His external 
 dealings. Often the greatest love where 
 there appears the greatest want of it. " You 
 only have I known ; therefore," &c. On the 
 other hand, often the greatest anger where 
 there appears none. Observe The pride of 
 the natural heart leading to vehement vindi- 
 cation of ourselves, may easily, in the dark- 
 ness and confusion of our spirit under 
 trouble, lead also to language reflecting on 
 our Maker and His procedure. (2) With 
 treating Him, unjustly as a criminal. Verse 
 11. " He putteth my feet in the stocks " (or 
 clog, either as a punishment or a means of 
 preventing escape). Job's actual language 
 (chap. xiii. 27). The child sometimes placed 
 under temporary confinement while the ser- 
 vant or slave goes at large. (3) With acting 
 towards Him with undue severity and strict- 
 ness. Verse 11. " He marketh all my 
 paths " (as if watching for the least offence, 
 in order to punish it). So Job seemed to 
 say (chap. xiii. 17 ; xiv. 16; xxxi. 4). The 
 flesh in a tried believer, constantly liable to 
 mistakes iu regard to God and His dealings. 
 God, for Christ's sake, forgets, instead of 
 marking, the offences of those who take hold 
 of His covenant (Jer. xxxi. 34 ; Heb. viii. 
 12; x. 17). Casts them behind His back, 
 and into the depths of the sea (Is. xxxviii. 
 17; Mic. vii. 19). Forgets the evil deeds 
 of His faithful though imperfect servants, but 
 remembers their good ones (Matt. xxv. 35 
 40; Heb. vi. 10). Treasures up their tears, 
 but blots out their transgressions (Ps. Ivi. 8 j 
 Is. 43 25). 
 
 III. Condemns Job for such senti- 
 ments. Verse 12. " Behold, in this thou 
 art not just." Job neither (1) Correct in 
 judging according to the facts of the case ; 
 nor (2) Just in his views regarding God. A 
 man may be ordinarily just towards nis fellow- 
 men when he is very unjust towards God. 
 Improper sentiments in regard to God and His 
 dealings are injustice towards our Maker. 
 This injustice charged upon Job rather than 
 any iniquity in his past life. Elihu gives his 
 reasons for condemning Job for his language. 
 " I will answer thee." Our speech to be with 
 
 208 
 
 grace, seasoned with salt [or wisdom], that 
 we may know how we ought to answer every 
 man (Col. iv. 6.) "Every one shall kiss 
 his lips who giveth a right answer." Elihu's 
 main reasons for man's silent submission and 
 acquiescence in all the Divine procedure 
 
 i. God's greatness in comparison with man. 
 Verse 12. "God is greater than man." God 
 greater than man in wisdom, power, and 
 justice. Greater than man as his Maker, 
 Ruler, and Judge. The natural inference- 
 from this man, CYCII the greatest and best, 
 is not to strive with God. " Why dost thou 
 strive against Him ?" quarrelling with and 
 disputing against His procedure (Is. xlv. 9). 
 God's greatness above man sufficient to ex- 
 clude all murmurs and complaints, as (1) 
 God is not to be required to give an account of 
 his procedure to any of his creatures. Verse 
 13. " For (or because) he giveth not account 
 of any of his matters " (or dealings). The 
 reason why Job should have refrained front 
 the sentiments he had uttered in regard to> 
 God, and why neither he nor any one ought 
 to " strive against Him." God a sovereign 
 who acts according to His own will, though 
 never but in infinite wisdom, rectitude, and 
 holiness. Monstrous presumption to think 
 that the Creator is to be called to His crea- 
 ture's bar to answer for what He does(Ps. cxv. 
 3 ; Dan. iv. 35). God too great to stoop to- 
 defend His procedure against the cavils of 
 rebellious worms. This the scope of Jehovah's 
 own answer to Job afterwards. (2) 6od is 
 not to be comprehended by His short-sighted 
 creatures. Folly and presumption for man to 
 think he ia able to comprehend God's dealings, 
 except as He is pleased to reveal and explain 
 them. Hence the weakness and wickedness 
 of censuring them. 
 
 " As if upon a full-proportioned dome, 
 On swelling columns heaved, the pride of 
 
 art! 
 
 A critic fly, whose feeble ray scarce spread* 
 An inch around, with blind presumption 
 
 boJd 
 Should dare to tax the structure of the 
 
 whole." 
 
 2. God employs sufficient means for man' 
 instruction, which are yet unheeded. Verse 
 14. " For God speaketh (in order to man's 
 instruction and direction) once, yea, twice, 
 yet man perceiveth (or regardeth) it not." 
 Man does not perish from want of means 
 on God's part for his preservation, but from 
 inattention to them on his own. Not left 
 without sufficient light for his guidance, were 
 the light improved. God unwearied in His 
 instructions to men. Means employed apart 
 from a written revelation of His will. Some 
 of these specified. Verse 15. " In a dream 
 (as in the earlier periods of the world), in a
 
 HOMILETIC COMMENTARY: JOB. 
 
 CHAV. XXXII. 
 
 vision of the night, when deep sleep falleth 
 upon men, in slumberings upon the bed (a 
 state between sleeping and waking); then He 
 openeth the ears of men (communicates His 
 will), and sealeth their instruction (impres- 
 sing it upon their hearts as with a seal, or 
 secretly conveying their instruction as in a 
 sealed document), that he may withdraw 
 man from his purpose (or intended work, as 
 Abimelech, Gen. xx. 6 ; Laban, Gen. xxxi. 
 24; Balaam, Num. xxii. 12, 20, 31), and 
 hide pride from man (by keeping him back 
 from it)." "He [by these means when meekly 
 and attentively received] keepeth back his 
 soul from the pit (grave or corruption, 
 emblem of future punishment), and his life 
 from perishing by the sword [of Divine judg- 
 ment]." Thus God employs sufficient means 
 of instruction to supply man's necessity though 
 not to gratify his curiosity. Means still 
 more abundantly employed in connection 
 with inspired prophecy and a written revela- 
 tion (Ps. cxlvii. 19, 20 ; Is. xxviii. 13 ;' Heb. 
 i. 1). These means often unheeded by man 
 (l)Through indifferenceaud sloth; (2)Through 
 worldliness and love of sin. A sufficient 
 reason why Job and other sufferers should 
 refrain from murmurs and complaints. Man 
 is in a state of disobedience. God, in the 
 exercise of mercy and compassion, employs 
 means for his recovery, but often, through 
 man's waywardness, without effect. No just 
 cause for striving against Him. God only 
 kind to man, till compelled to be severe. At 
 first uses gentle means for his restoration. 
 Only from necessity employs more painful 
 ones, and still from kindness to man. Acts 
 towards men riot merely as a governor but 
 as a father. His eye constantly upon them 
 for their good. His object in his admoni- 
 tions to men 
 
 First : To " withdraw man from his pur- 
 pose " or work. Sin properly man's work. 
 " The thoughts of the imaginations of man's 
 heart only evil from his youth " (Gen. vi. 5 ; 
 viii. 21). God made man upright, but he hath 
 sought out many inventions (Eccles. vii. 29.) 
 Man's purposes and doings often such as if 
 carried out would be ruinous both to them- 
 selves and others. Men kept back by God 
 from many sins which they would otherwise 
 commit. 
 
 Second: To "hide pride from man." Pride 
 fallen man's besetting sin. Exemplified in 
 the building of the Tower of Babel (Gen. xi. 
 4) ; in Pharaoh, " Who is the Lord ?" &c. ; 
 in Sennacherib, " By the strength of my 
 hand I have done it " (Is. x. 13) ; in Nebu- 
 chadnezzar," Is not this great Babylon 
 which I have built ? " in Herod, eaten up 
 of worms, " because he gave not God the 
 glory " (Acts xii. 23) ; even in good Heze- 
 kiah, " his heart was lifted up " (2 Car. 
 14 
 
 xxxii. 25). Pride at once the subtlest and 
 most hateful of sins. Robs God of His glory 
 and man of his peace. Founded on a lie, that 
 we are something when we are nothing. 
 Loathsome in a creature hitherto unfallen, 
 monstrous in one already fallen. Insinuates 
 itself into man's best actions and holiest 
 feelings. Often the "fly in the pot of oint- 
 ment." Can array itself in the garb of humility. 
 " Lowliness " often made " young ambition's 
 ladder." Possible to be proud of one's 
 humility. Such a thing as spiritual pride. 
 The sin of the Pharisee. The most loath- 
 some of all the forms of pride. Doubtful if 
 there can be such a thing as a "just pride." 
 To be elated with pride the next step to 
 falling into the " condemnation of the devil" 
 (1 Tim. iii. 6). " Pride goeth before destruc- 
 tion, and a haughty spirit before a fall." 
 God's aim to keep Israel back from pride 
 (Deut. viii. 1118). The sin that banished 
 the angels from heaven and our parents from 
 paradise. 
 
 " Cromwell, I charge thee, fling away ambi- 
 tion. 
 
 By that sin fell the angels : how can man 
 then, 
 
 The image of his Maker, hope to win by 
 it?" 
 
 God hides pride from men (1) By show- 
 ing the hatefulness of it ; (2) By discovering 
 the consequences of it ; (3) By removin? the 
 occasions of and temptations to it. Afflictions 
 and trials often sent to keep men humble, 
 and mercies withheld or removed which mi?ht 
 prove the occasion of pride. True humility 
 a fruit of the Spirit and a feature of the new 
 man in Christ. To be learned at the feet of 
 Jesus and in the shadow of His cross. Christ 
 the only example of perfect humility (Matt. 
 xi. 29 ; Phil. ii. 58.) 
 
 Third : To save men from the consequences 
 of transgression, to " keep back their soul 
 from the pit." Sin's consequences, the pit 
 of the grave, and that of which it is the em- 
 blem, the "bottomless pit"(Rev.ix.l). Death, 
 in its full extent, the wages of sin (Rom. vi. 
 23 ; Gen. ii. 17 ; James i. 15). Some sins 
 lead directly to temporal death ; all sin to 
 death eternal. Man composed of body and 
 soul. The penalty of sin extends to both. 
 The soul that sinneth it shall die. A first 
 and second death (Rev. ii. 11). The former 
 the shadow, the latter the substance. The 
 first death, man's separation from the light 
 of this world 5 the second, his separation 
 for ever from the light and glory and blessed 
 ness of the next. The first, to a believer in 
 Christ, bereft of its sting and converted into a 
 blessing ; the second, only remediless unmiti- 
 gated woe. The latter a" necessity as well as 
 righteous sentence. Sin its own misery and 
 
 209
 
 CHA?. ixxn. 
 
 HONILVTIC COMMENTARY: JOB. 
 
 punishment. No peace possible to the wicked. 
 Without holiness no man see the Lord. 
 God's great object to save men from eternal 
 death, and from sin which is its cause. 
 Hence the giving up of His own Son as 
 man's substitute. " Die man or justice must, 
 unless," &c. Christ made " sin for us, that 
 we might be made the righteousness of God 
 in him." "By his knowledge shall my 
 righteous servant justify many, for he shall 
 bear their iniquities " (Is. lui. 11 ; 2 Cor. 
 v. 21). 
 
 Perhaps another reason for man's acquies- 
 cence in God's procedure intimated in verse 
 14-. " God speaketh (decreeth or purposeth) 
 once, yea, twice, yet man perceiveth it not " 
 (or, " but twice, or a second time, He God 
 Himself does not consider it, so as to alter 
 or improve it.) God's purposes founded on 
 infinite wisdom and holiness, and therefore 
 unchangeable. 
 
 IY. Passes to personal affliction as a 
 means employed for man's benefit. Verse 
 19 22. "He (man in general, or the man 
 whose spiritual benefit God is aiming at) is 
 chastened also with pain upon his bed, and 
 the multitude of his bones with strong pain 
 (or, ' and with incessant racking of his bones ' 
 Ps. xxxviii. 3 ; Is. xxxviii. 13) ; so that his 
 life (or appetite) abhorreth bread, and his 
 soul dainty meat (Heb., 'meat of desire,' 
 or meat otherwise desirable). His flesh is 
 consumed (or pines) away, that it cannot be 
 seen, and his bones that were not seen stick 
 out (or, ^his bones are wasted away [so 
 that] they are not seen'), yea, his soul 
 draweth near to the grave, and his life to 
 the destroyers " (the bands or pains of death 
 as Acts ii. 24 ; " things causing death," as 
 the Latin Vulgate-, or simply, death itself, 
 Hades or the invisible world, as the Septiia- 
 gint or Greek version ; or perhaps the angel 
 of death " him that hath the power of death" 
 (Heb. ii. 14). Observe 
 
 1. Affliction, the result of sin. Affliction 
 in general the consequence of the first trans- 
 gression. Individual cases of affliction often 
 the chastening for some particular offence. 
 Thus the leprosy of Miriam, Gehazi, and 
 King Azariah ; the plague in Israel's camp 
 in the Wilderness ; the emerods of the Ash- 
 dodites; the disease of Herod. Diseases 
 threatened to Israel as the consequence of 
 disobedience (Lev. xxvi. 16 ; Deut. xxviii. 60) 
 Sickness and disease also the disciplinary 
 consequence of sin in the New Testament. 
 Distinctly stated in 1 Cor. xi. 30; implied in 
 James v. 15. 
 
 2. Affliction of the body one of God's re- 
 medial measures for the welfare of the soul. 
 Diseases His servants. His to bring down 
 to the grave. Diseases His rebuke for 
 
 210 
 
 iniquity. In His hand as the Creator and 
 Ruler of the universe. Employed by Him as 
 a father, under a dispensation of mercy, for 
 the benefit of His children. A testimony that 
 God is gracious and has purposes of mercy 
 in reference to man. " Whom the Lord 
 loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son 
 whom he receiveth." "He that spareth the 
 rod hateth the child" (Prov. xiii. 24). Afflic- 
 tion no less employed by God as a fatherly 
 chastisement because coming through 
 secondary or natural causes. The causes 
 themselves in His hand as well as the effects 
 they are to produce. A part of His provi- 
 dential plan and government of the world He 
 has made and cares for. His to bring the 
 causes of disease to bear on the individual 
 and in such a way as to produce the end. 
 The Shuuamite's child goes out to the 
 reapers, and returns home with a sunstroke 
 fanddies. Of God's ordering that the child was 
 there, and that the sunstroke should happen 
 and produce the effect which it did, while 
 other children escaped. Diseases induced 
 in a thousand ways, when apparently, but for 
 the most trifling circumstance, they might 
 have been avoided. The effect of a cause 
 in producing disease dependent upon various 
 circumstances, the same cause often operating 
 differently indifferent cases. The circumstance 
 determining the effect, in God's hands. This 
 no reason why care is not to be exercised in 
 order to avoid disease and prolong health in 
 ourselves and others. Sucli care enjoined as 
 a duty. " Do thyself no harm." " Thou 
 sh alt not kill." 
 
 3. Afflictions thus often made blessings. But 
 for a dispensation of mercy through the pro- 
 vision of a Saviour, disease only a penalty and 
 part of the curse entailed by transgression. 
 " In the day thou eatest thereof thou shalt 
 surely die." In the economy of grace, the 
 very curse converted into a means of bless- 
 ing. Blessing connected in the Bible with 
 chastening (Ps. xciv. 10; Job v. 17). Cor- 
 rections of instruction the way of life (Prov. 
 vi. 23). Designed in mercy, not to ruin but 
 to restore. " Mercy, when an affliction is a 
 correction, not an execution. Brooks. Afflic- 
 tion, as a correction, designed (1) To arrest 
 the sinner in his sinful career ; (2) To sub- 
 due pride; (3) To lead to thought ; The 
 prodigal "came to himself," and said, &c. ; (4) 
 To exhibit the emptiness and unsatisfying 
 nature of a present world ; (5) To bring to 
 view death, judgment and eternity ; (6) To 
 bring sin to remembrance as the cause of suffer- 
 ing, "Father, I have sinned" fyc.; (7) Toffice 
 us to realize God as our Governor and Judge, 
 on whom we are dependant and to whom we 
 are amenable as His creatures ; (8) Thus to 
 bring to repentance. 
 
 Chastening the theology of Christians.
 
 HOMILETIC COMMENTARY: JOS. 
 
 CEA.P. XXXII. 
 
 Luther. The workshop of the virtues. Am- 
 brose. The treasury of all blessings. Bren- 
 tius. King Alfred prayed that God would 
 frequently send him sickness. Man often like 
 the top that moves only when it is whipped. 
 Brooks. David's experience, that of most : 
 "Before I was afflicted I went astray; but 
 now I have learned to keep thy law." Afflic- 
 tion a bitter but salutary drug in the hands 
 of a heavenly father. The digging about the 
 tree to render it fruitful instead of cutting it 
 down. Manasseh's iron chain better to him 
 than his golden crown. 
 
 V. Describes the means and result of 
 sanctified affliction. Verse 2328." If 
 there be a messenger with him (either 
 divine, angelical, or human ; here probably 
 the last, as Haggai i. 13 ; Mai. ii. 7 ; Eccles. 
 v. 6 ; Rev. i. 20 ; same word usually rendered 
 angel, and applied both to Christ and His 
 ministers; here, one sent or employed by 
 God for the patient's spiritual benefit); an 
 interpreter (one able to explain the meaning 
 of the affliction and the way of improving it, 
 probably a human spiritual teacher or en- 
 lightened friend, without excluding either 
 the Great Teacher, the Messenger of the 
 covenant, who alone teaches to profit, or 
 the Holy Spirit employed by Him and the 
 Father, whose office it is to ' reprove [or con- 
 vince] the world of sin, righteousness, and 
 judgment '), one among a thousand (of rare 
 intelligence, fidelity, and skill, Ecc. vii. 28) ; 
 to shew unto man (here the afflicted person) 
 his uprightness (either (1) what he should 
 have done, but which he has failed to do ; or 
 (2) his duty in his present circumstances; 
 or rather (3) what may now restore him to 
 a state of uprightness and acceptance with 
 God, viz., repentance and faith in Him in 
 whom, as our propitiation and substitute, we 
 have righteousness and strength, Is. xlv. 24. 
 Then (when these means have been employed 
 and have operated successfully on the sick 
 man's mind and heart in bringing him to 
 humiliation, repentance, and faith) He is 
 gracious (or favourable) unto him (has mercy 
 upon him so as to pardon his sin and pro- 
 bably deliver him from his affliction, James 
 v. 15, 16), and saith (decrees or commands 
 perhaps to an angel who may have the power 
 given him to remove the disease, as John v. 
 4, or to Satan, who had the power of death 
 committed to him, Heb. ii. 14) : Deliver 
 from going down to the pit (in the first 
 instance, the grave, but probably including 
 the idea of the bottomless pit (Rev. ix, 1), of 
 which it was the symbol) ; I have found 
 (provided or accepted) a ransom (what makes 
 satisfaction for his sin, so that I can righte- 
 ously forgive and restore him, the great 
 atonement, now laid hold of by the sick man 
 
 in repentance and faith). His flesh (as one 
 of the results of his repentance and faith) 
 shall be fresher, or more tender, than a 
 child's (as in the case of Naaman when 
 healed of his leprosy, 2 Kings v. 14). He 
 shall return to the days of his youth (as 
 Ps. ciii. 5). He shall (as a second result of 
 his repentance and faith, and the fruit of 
 his sanctified affliction) pray unto God, and 
 He will be favourable unto him ( shall have 
 both access to and acceptance witli God) ; he 
 shall see His face with joy (rejoice in the 
 Divine favour and fellowship a third and 
 still more blessed result) : for (in confirma- 
 tion of these statements as to the results of 
 sanctified affliction) He will render unto man 
 His righteousness (will deal faithfully with 
 him according to his conduct ; in this case 
 according to his repentance and faith; or, 
 will restore to the sick man, on his repent- 
 ance and faith, the righteousness which he 
 lost by the Fall, but which is recovered in 
 Jesus Christ the Second Adam, and given 
 to the penitent believer). He looketh upon 
 men (as the Omniscient Father and Ruler, 
 as Ps. xiv. 2), and if any say (or as margin \ 
 " He [the sick man, as a further result and 
 evidence of sanctified affliction] shall look 
 upon men and say " [in confession and thanks- 
 giving]; or, perhaps rather: "he shall sing 
 [in praise of God, who has been so gracious 
 to him] among or before men, and say ") : I 
 have sinned and perverted that which was 
 right (transgressed God's righteous laws), 
 and it profited me not (or, ' and He has not 
 requited me according to my deserts') ; He 
 will deliver his soul (or as margin, ' He hath 
 delivered my soul ') from going into the pit, 
 and his life (margin, ' my life ') shall see the 
 light" [both of this world and the next]. 
 The passage indicates, in regard to 
 
 Sanctified Affliction, 
 
 First, the MEANS through which it is 
 effected, viz. : spiritual teaching. Verse 23. 
 " If there be a messenger with him," &c. 
 Spiritual teaching always necessary to the 
 improvement of affliction. Ordinarily through 
 a human teacher ; always through a Divine 
 one (Ps. xciv. 10). Something necessary to 
 be shown to the patient. "To show unto 
 man,"&c. Observe 
 
 1. Affliction in itself not a blessing. The 
 blessing dependant on other things connected 
 with it. Depends on the manner in which it 
 works and in which the patient is inwardly 
 exercised by it. " Worketh the peaceable 
 fruits of righteousness in them that are 
 exercised thereby" (Heb. xii. 11). Spiritual 
 teaching necessary in order to this. " Blessed 
 is the man whom Thou chastenest, Lord; 
 and teachest him out of Thy law" (Ps. xciv <
 
 CHAP. XXXII. 
 
 HOMILETIC COMMSNTART: JOS. 
 
 10). Affliction may either soften or harden; 
 as fire softens wax aud hardens clay. 
 
 2. The exhibition of Divine truth to the 
 patient necessary to the improvement of his 
 affliction. Not only prayer to be made for 
 him and with him, hut suitable truth to be 
 presented to him. Implied in the term "in- 
 terpreter." His office to " show " to the sick 
 man. The spiritual teacher at least as neces- 
 sary to the patient as the physician. Truth 
 to be exhibited for his mind, as well as 
 medicine for his body. 
 
 3. The spiritual teaching -usually through 
 human instrumentality. The Divine Teacher 
 absolutely necessary ; a human teacher usually 
 the instrument. The New Testament rule 
 (James v. 14). " Is any sick among you ? 
 Let him call for the elders of the Church," 
 who are required to be "apt to teach," 
 and of whom at least some labour " in the 
 word and doctrine " (1 Tim. iii. 2 ; v. 17). 
 Therefore not only to pray with the sick 
 man, but to instruct him. 
 
 4. Great skill and fidelity required on the 
 part of ministers and others in healing the 
 sick. " One among a thousand." Easier to 
 preach to a thousand hearers than to minister 
 wisely and faithfully to one sick-bed. Study 
 and prayer necessary for the bed-room as 
 well as the pulpit. 
 
 5. The part of the visitor of the sick to 
 "show" to the patient " his uprightness" the 
 personal righteousness in which he has failed, 
 the imputed righteousness which he may yet 
 obtain, and which he is now to seek, receive, 
 and rejoice in, and the present duty required 
 of him, viz., humiliation, repentance, and 
 faith in the provided sacrifice. Hence the 
 visitor's need of knowledge both of the law 
 and of the Gospel ; of sin and the way of 
 salvation from it. By the law is the know- 
 ledge of sin ; by the Gospel the knowledge 
 of salvation. The visitor to be able to point 
 the patient to the Saviour as God's way of 
 righteousness for the sinner "the end of 
 the law for righteousness to every one that 
 believeth" (Rom. x. 4), "and made righte- 
 ousness to all who are in him " (1 Cor. i. 30). 
 
 Second, the RESULTS of sanctified affliction, 
 or of repentance and faith on the part of the 
 patient. Verse 24. " Then," &c. There- 
 suits varied and precious. Chiefly spiritual, 
 in the patient's mind andsoa/; partly and 
 frequently also in his body. 
 
 1. Experience of the Divine mercy and for- 
 giveness. " Then he is gracious unto him." 
 God, as a righteous and holy God, able only 
 to exercise forgiving grace and mercy in 
 certain circumstances and on certain con- 
 ditions. " Then He is gracious to him," 
 when these things have taken place. The 
 gracious inclination and purpose already 
 there ; the outlet or manifestation of it pre- 
 212 
 
 vented till the patient's repentance and faith. 
 Mercy provides the means for its own out- 
 flow to sinners. Repentance and faith 
 necessary to the experience of pardoning 
 mercy ; but even these of mercy's own pro- 
 viding (Acts iii. 19 ; v. 31). 
 
 2. Deliverance. "Deliver from going 
 down to the pit." This deliverance probably 
 twofold the one a picture of the other. 
 (1) Deliverance from temporal or physical 
 death, which seemed impending. (2) More 
 especially, deliverance from eternal death, 
 the object of the chastening. The death, 
 which is the consequence and wages of sin, 
 now averted in the patient's repentance and 
 faith. Hence the ground of this deliverance 
 " I have found a ransom." In regard to 
 the 
 
 Ransom. 
 
 Observe 
 
 1. The meaning and application of the 
 term. In Hebrew, literally a covering. 
 Hence something to cover transgression ; a 
 ground of pardon (Ps. xxxii. 1). An atone- 
 ment, or what satisfies justice, and makes it 
 righteous to forgive transgressors. The 
 name given to the mercy-seat or lid of the 
 ark in the Holy of Holies; called also in the 
 New Testament the Propitiation, from the 
 atonement made on it by the sprinkled blood 
 of the sacrifices (Lev. xvi. 14). Hence also, 
 anything done, suffered, or paid as an atone- 
 ment or ground of deliverance. Thus the 
 intercession of Moses for Israel (Exod. xxxii. 
 20) ; and the censer taken into the camp by 
 the zeal of Phinehas (Numb. xxv. 13). The 
 price paid for the redemption of a captive. 
 Egypt given for Israel's ransom (Isa.xliii. 3). 
 The ransom, in reference to men, whatever 
 God may please in His wisdom and good- 
 ness to appoint. Appointed according to 
 the nature of the case and the deliverance 
 afforded. Repentance and amendment on 
 the part of a nation, made a ground of for- 
 giveness and deliverance from threatened 
 punishment. Thus Nineveh saved from 
 predicted destruction. The existence of one 
 truly righteous man in Jerusalem, in the days 
 of Jeremiah, a ground of forgiveness to the 
 whole city (Jer. v. 1). So the existence of 
 ten righteous men in Sodom. Ahab's hu- 
 miliation the ground of the deliverance of 
 himself and the kingdom from threatened 
 punishment during his own life-time (1 
 Kings xxi. 29). Confession of sin, with the 
 prayer of faith on the part of the sick, made 
 in the New Testament the more immediate 
 ground of forgiveness, and consequent resto- 
 ration to health (James v. 15, 16). Christ's 
 death the only ransom -price of a sinner's 
 deliverance from eternal death (Matt. xx. 
 28).
 
 HOMILETIC COMMENTARY: JOB. 
 
 CHAP. XXXIII. 
 
 2. The actual ransom in the text. As the 
 ground of the sick man's deliverance from 
 eternal death, the ransom that provided by 
 God Himself for the purpose the death of 
 His own Son as a substitute for sinners to be 
 exhibited in our time (1 Tim. ii. 6). That 
 death typified and held forth as the ransom 
 for sinners and the ground of their forgive- 
 ness and deliverance from death eternal, in 
 the sacrifices slain and offered up in the 
 patriarchal and Levitical age (Lev. xvii. 11). 
 That death a full satisfaction to Divine justice 
 for the sins of the world (1 John ii. 2). 
 Through it, God able to be just while justify- 
 ing the ungodly who believe in it (Rom. iii. 
 25, 26). Without shedding of blood no 
 remission (Heb. ix. 22). The significance of 
 sacrifices as typifying this ground of forgive- 
 ness understood by Job (chap. i. 5 ; xlii. 8). 
 
 3. This ransom "found" or provided by 
 God Himself. " God so loved the world that 
 He gave his only-begotten Son " (John iii. 
 16 ; Rom. viii. 32). The ransom found in 
 His own bosom (John i. 18). The deliver- 
 ance of tiie sick man the result of this 
 ransom appropriated by and applied to him 
 on his repentance and faith. That repent- 
 ance and faith the ground or occasion of his 
 deliverance from temporal death; the Lamb 
 " slain from the foundation of the world," 
 the ground of his deliverance from death 
 eternal (] Peter i. 20). Impossible for any 
 but God to provide such a ransom. Man 
 unable to provide a ransom for his brother 
 even from death temporal (Ps. xlix. 7 9). 
 Christ slain as the Ransom, the power and 
 the wisdom of God (1 Cor. i. 23, 24). 
 The words in the text the language of joy, 
 " I have found," &c. God " delighteth in 
 mercy." Hence rejoices in finding a righte- 
 ous way for its exercise. The father rejoices 
 over the return of his prodigal or long-lost 
 child, and the means of securing it. Similar 
 language employed in reference to David as 
 the type of Messiah (Ps. Ixxxix. 19, 20). 
 
 3. Restoration to health, among the results 
 of sanctified affliction. Verse 25. "His 
 flesh shall be fresher," &c. This probably 
 included in the command: "Deliver from 
 going down to the pit." The power to 
 deliver from temporal death and to restore 
 from the brink of the grave, in the hand of 
 the Almighty. The command needs only to 
 be given or power put forth. The Divine 
 command as effectual in restoring to life and 
 health as at the creation in producing light : 
 "Let there be light, and there was light." 
 The centurion's faith in regard to Jesus as 
 the Son of God : " Speak the word only and 
 my servant shall be healed." Diseases God's 
 servants, to come and go at His bidding. The 
 leper's faith : " Lord, if thou wilt, thou canst 
 
 make me clean." All nature, visible and in- 
 visible, under the Divine control. The com- 
 mand or will of Jehovah obeyed through all 
 the material universe. " He spake and it 
 was done." Recovery from sickness dependant 
 not on the skill of the physician, but on 
 the will of the Almighty. Till God says : 
 " Deliver from going down," &c., all remedies 
 fruitless. When He speaks the word, the 
 simplest becomes effectual. A plaster of figs 
 laid on Hezekiah's boil at the prophet's pre- 
 scription, the means, at God's will, of saving 
 the king's life (Is. xxxviii. 21). The power of 
 
 Healing the Sick, 
 
 claimed by God in regard to Israel (Exod. 
 xv. 26 ; xxiii. 25 ; Deut. vii. 15). Ascribed 
 to Him in regard to men in general (Ps. ciii. 
 3 ; cvii. 20). Exercised by Christ as a proof 
 of His Divinity and Divine mission as the 
 Messiah (Luke vii. 2022). The same 
 power communicated by Him to the Appstle 
 as credentials of their Divine commission 
 and of the truth of their doctrine (Mark iii. 
 15). The power communicated also to the 
 seventy (Luke x. 9); and promised to 
 believers in general (Mark xvi. 18). Con- 
 tinued in the New Testament Church as one 
 of the "spiritual gifts" (1 Cor. xii. 9, 28). 
 Exercised through the elders of the Church 
 in connection with the prayer of faith and 
 anointing with oil (James v. 14 16). Heal- 
 ing still imparted in the Church in answer to 
 believing prayer. The institution at Man- 
 nedorf, in Switzerland, an evidence. The 
 healing in the text in connection with repent- 
 ance and the forgiveness of sins. The affliction 
 sent on account of sin and with a view to the 
 individual's repentance and salvation, most 
 likely to be removed when, and only when, 
 the end has been secured. Repentance and 
 faith, followed by forgiveness and peace with 
 God, even on natural grounds among the 
 most likely means of restoration to health. 
 Sin being the cause of sickness, natural that 
 the removal of the cause should be followed 
 by the removal of the effect. Thus forgive- 
 ness of sin followed by restoration to health 
 (James v., 15, 16 ; Matt, ix., 2-6 ; Ps. ciii., 
 3). Hezekiah restored to health when God 
 cast all his sins behind his back (Is. xxviii., 
 
 17). 
 
 4. Access to God and acceptance with Him 
 in prayer, a FOURTH result of sanctified 
 affliction. Verse 26." He shall pray unto 
 God, and he will be favourable unto him." 
 
 Prayer 
 
 the natural and necessary consequence of a 
 graciously awakened conscience, of subniis- 
 tion to God, of repentance, and of faith in 
 
 213
 
 CHAP. XXXIII. 
 
 HOMILETIC COMMENTARY: JOS. 
 
 the Divine mercy. The testimony concern- 
 ing penitent Saul in Damascus : " Behold he 
 prayeth." The prayer of the awakened and 
 penitent sick man at least as much for for- 
 giveness of sin as for restoration to health. 
 With sanctified affliction, prayer becomes his 
 " vital breath." The penitent and believing 
 unable to live without prayer. Prayer the 
 happy privilege of the child of God. A 
 precious mercy in itself, as well as the means 
 of obtaining more. Accepted prayer the 
 result of the Spirit of adoption, crying 
 " Abba Father," and of the Spirit of grace and 
 supplication making intercession within us 
 (Rom. viii. 15, 26 ; Zech. xii. 10). A heart 
 to pray not always present with the need of 
 prayer. Prayer, though made, not always 
 accepted (Prov. i. 28; Is. i. 15). In sanc- 
 tified affliction, prayer not only made but 
 accepted : " He will be favourable unto him." 
 Prayer only accepted when offered in peni- 
 tence and faith. Believing prayer the channel 
 for the best of all favours. The key that 
 opens the cabinet of God and unlocks the 
 treasures of heaven. God's favour, the foun- 
 tain of all blessing, experienced through 
 believing prayer. The Divine invitation: 
 Seek ye my face. His face, or favour, not 
 sought in vain (Ps. xxviii. 8 ; xxiv. 6 ; Is. 
 xlv. 19). A mercy to be able to pray ; a still 
 greater one to have our prayer answered. A 
 praying heart both preceded and followed by 
 Divine mercy. 
 
 5. Reconciliation with and joy in God. 
 "He shall see his face with joy." So the 
 penitent prodigal in respect to his father 
 (Luke xiy. 22 24). Reconciliation with 
 God the sinner's greatest blessing. The ob- 
 ject aimed at by God in the gift and sacrifice 
 of His Son (2 Cor. v. 18, 19 ; Acts x. 36 ; 
 Eph. ii. 16; Col. i. 2022). Aimed at in 
 his chastenings (Hos. ii. 6, 7, 11 20). Re- 
 conciliation with and joy in God the fruit of 
 faith in Jesus Christ (Rom. v. 1, 11). The 
 spiritual healing of the penitent patient 
 (Matt. v. 8). A foretaste of heaven thus 
 enjoyed as the result of sanctified affliction 
 (Rev. xxii., 4; Ps. xvii., 15). The sight of 
 God's reconciled face here is heaven before 
 coming to \i-Chrysostom. No joy like that 
 of seeing the reconciled face of God in Jesus 
 Christ. 
 
 6. Confession of sin, and praise to God for 
 pardoning and restoring mercy, a SIXTH re- 
 sult of sanctified affliction. Verse 27. "He 
 lopketh upon men, and if any say, &c. ; he 
 will deliver his soul," &c. Probably better 
 according to the Margin : " He (i.e., the sick 
 man now restored) shall look upon men and 
 say, &c. ; he (God) hath delivered my soul," 
 &c. (1) Confession of sin: "I have sinned." 
 A result and evidence of sanctified affliction. 
 The language of the penitent prodigal (Luke 
 
 214 
 
 xv. 21). Confession of sin made in respect 
 to (i.) Its iniquity and turpitude : " I have 
 perverted that which was right." Observe 
 (a) God's will concerning us and his law 
 given to us, only what is right. (6) All sin a 
 perverting of what is riff At. Sin an opposition 
 to God's holy will and righteous law. (ii.) 
 Its hurtful consequences : " And it profited 
 me not ; " or, " he hath not rewarded me ac- 
 cordingly." No profit in sin. Its promises 
 delusions. Its pleasures but for a season. No 
 profit in gaining the world and losing the soul. 
 Not only no profit in sin, but absolute loss. Its 
 fruit shame, its end death (Rom. vi. 21). An 
 ill exchance for the path of obedience (Hos. 
 ii. 7). The righteous desert of sin eternal 
 death (Rom. vi. 23). Sin an ill paymaster 
 that sends all his servants away weeping. 
 Trapp. Observe (i.) Confession of sin 
 an evidence of genuine repentance. Such con- 
 fession made not feignedly, as by Saul (1 
 Sam. xv. 24) ; nor forcedly, as by Pharaoh 
 (Exod. x. 16), andbyAchan (Josh. vii. 20); 
 nor despairingly, as by Judas Iscariot (Matt, 
 xxvii. 4) ; but sincerely, freely, and hopefully, 
 as by David (Ps. Ii. 3, 4, 1214. (ii.) 
 Confession of sin an accompaniment of pardon- 
 ing mercy. Preceding it (Ps. xxxii. 5 ; 1 
 John i. 9 ; Prov. xxviii. 13). Following it 
 (Ezek. xvi. 63). (2) Praise for pardoning 
 and restoring mercy. Margin : " He shall 
 look on men and say," &c., or, " He shall sing 
 among men," &c. Examples: Hezekiah 
 (Is. xxxviii. 19, 20) ; David (Ps. xxx. 1 
 12). Praise, God's due for mercies received 
 (Ps. 1. 23 ; cxvi. 12, 13). Mercies doubly 
 sweet when accompanied with a grateful 
 heart and thanksgiving to their gracious 
 Author. 
 
 VI. Re-asserts these gracious deal- 
 ings of Divine Providence. Verses 29, 
 30. " Lo (the fact worthy of careful notice, 
 both from its truth and preciousness), all 
 these things worketh God oftentimes with 
 man, to bring back his soul from the pit 
 (the grave, and that state in eternity of 
 which it is the symbol), to be enlightened 
 with the light of the living" (made glad 
 with the joy of those who are truly and 
 spiritually alive). The "things" referred to, 
 God's chastening men for sin by bringing 
 them to the verge of the grave, and then 
 restoring and blessing them upon repent- 
 ance. Observe 
 
 1. The frequency of such dispensations, 
 " Oftentimes." Not always. All not visited 
 alike with chastening and affliction. God 
 sovereign in his dealings. But often. Mul- 
 titudes thus graciously visited. God merci- 
 ful and gracious. Intent on man's welfare. 
 Chastenings a greater proof of his love than 
 the want of them (Rev. iii. 19). An ill sign
 
 HOM1LET1C COMMENTARY: JOB. 
 
 CHAP. XXXIV. 
 
 for a man when God will not spend a rod 
 upon him. Brooks. 
 
 2. The object of them, " To bring back 
 his soul," &c. God's object in chastening 
 men, their present and eternal welfare. " He 
 [chastens] for our profit, that we may be 
 partakers 1 of his holiness" (Heb. xii. 6, 11). 
 This is all the fruit to take away his sin 
 (Is. xxvii. 9). Man by nature in a state of 
 darkness and of deatli. God's object in 
 affliction to deliver him out of it. Brings his 
 body to the verge of the grave to save his soul 
 from going to a deeper pit. Danger of tem- 
 poral death made a means of deliverance from 
 death spiritual and eternal. The true peni- 
 tent, one who was dead, but is alive again 
 (Luke xv. 32). Life only in the favour and 
 image of God. Heaven rather than earth 
 the place of the living (Matt. xx. 32). 
 
 VII. Invites Job to reply, and urges 
 attention to his further remarks. 
 
 Verses 31 33. "Mark well, Job; 
 hearken unto me : hold thy peace and I 
 will speak. Tf thou hast anything to say, 
 answer me: speak, for I desire to justify 
 thee (or 'thy justification' or 'righteous- 
 ness '). If not, hearken unto me : nold thy 
 
 peace, and I shall teach thee wisdom.' 
 Observe 
 
 1. Opportunity to be given to reply or 
 object to our statements. The benefit of 
 inquiry or after-meetings in connection with 
 special or missionary services. 
 
 2. In the absence of objection or reply, 
 respectful attention the more to be expected. 
 
 3. Hearers to be convinced that we speak 
 from a simple desire for their own benefit. 
 The desire of the preacher of the Gospel, the 
 justification of the hearers through their 
 acceptance of Jesus as the Lord their Righte- 
 ousness (Jer. xxiii. 6). Christ the way of a 
 sinner's justification. The way provided by 
 God, and the only way. " The end of the 
 law for righteousness to every one that be- 
 lieveth" (Rom. x. 4). 
 
 4. The hearer's character and case to be 
 viewed in the most favourable light that truth 
 admits of. The contrary the case with Job's 
 three friends. Hence Job's irritation rather 
 than conviction. Elihu takes up a contrary 
 position, and Job is silent. 
 
 5. True "wisdom," to understand the cha- 
 racter and dealings of God, and to act in 
 humble submission to Him under those dealings. 
 This wisdom taught by Elihu, and ultimately 
 learned by the patriarch. 
 
 CHAPTER XXXIV. 
 
 ELIHITS SECOND SPEECH. 
 
 Probably after waiting for a reply from 
 Job, and none being forthcoming, Elihu 
 resumes. Verse 1. "Furthermore Elihu 
 answered (took up speech), and said." Job's 
 silence probably indicative of the effect pro- 
 duced by Elihu's first speech. Elihu now 
 addresses himself partly to the three friends 
 and others present, and partly to Job himself. 
 The first part of his speech addressed to the 
 former. In the preceding chapter, Elihu 
 vindicates God's goodness; in this, His 
 justice. 
 
 1. His introduction. Verse 24. 
 
 1. Bespeaks tJwir careful attention, and 
 appeals to their sound judgment. Verse 2. 
 " Hear my words, O ye wise men (the three 
 friends, and perhaps others), and give car 
 unto me, ye that have knowledge." Observe 
 (1) Wisdom and knowledge required to 
 judge correctly of statements made respect- 
 ing things pertaining to God and His moral 
 government. (2) The part of a wise man to 
 give earnest attention to what is advanced 
 on such subjects. (3) A wise speaker willing 
 
 to be corrected by men of judgment and 
 understanding. 
 
 2. Invites an impartial examination of hit 
 statements. Verse 3. " For the ear trieth 
 words, as the mouth tasteth meat." Observe 
 (1) Man is furnishsd by his Creator with 
 means for testing statements on moral andreli- 
 r/ious truth, as well for trying the food which 
 he is to eat. (2) Private judgment in reference 
 to such subjects man's duty as well as hit 
 right. His duty carefully and impartially 
 to examine, and so either to adopt or reject. 
 The Beraans commended, because they not 
 only " received the word with all readiness of 
 mind," but "searched the Scriptures daily 
 whether these things were so " (Acts xvii. 
 11). The New Testament rule "Prove 
 all things ; hold fast that which is good." 
 " Believe not every spirit ; but try the spirits 
 whether they be of God." " Why even of 
 yourselves judge ye not what is right P" 
 " Judge ye what I say." (1 Thess. v. 21 ; 
 1 John iv. 1 ; Luke xii. 57 ; 1 Cor. x. 15). 
 The Old Testament rule : " Cease, my son, 
 to hear the instruction that causeth to err 
 from the words of knowledge :" "To the 
 
 215
 
 CHAP. XXXIV. 
 
 HOMLETIC COMMENTARY: JOB. 
 
 law and to the testimony ; if they speak not 
 according to this word, it is because there is 
 no light in them" (Prov. xix. 27; Isaiah 
 viii. 20). 
 
 3. Exhorts to a faithful treatment of the 
 subject in hand. Verse 4. " Let us choose 
 to us judgment (let us examine among our- 
 selves, and choose as our conclusion what is 
 the right view of the case) : let us know 
 among ourselves (learn, and so acknowledge 
 and adopt) what is good" (right and true 
 on the subject in hand). Like that of the 
 Saviour : " Judge not according to appear- 
 ance, but judge righteous judgment" (John 
 vii. 21). And that of the Apostle: "Be 
 transformed by the renewing of your mind, 
 that ye may prove what is the good and 
 acceptable and perfect, even the will of 
 God" (Rom. xii. 2). Observe (1) The 
 part of a wise man to contend, not for 
 victory, but for truth; (2) What is right 
 and true alone is good. A false view and a 
 wrong course never, in the end, a profitable 
 one. 
 
 II. Elihu's charge against Job. Verses 
 5 9. "For Job hath said," &c. Job's 
 language, rather than his life, the subject of 
 Elihu's censure. The friends had, by infer- 
 ence, condemned Job's life previous to his 
 affliction; Elihu condemns, as a matter of 
 fact, his language under it. His general 
 charge against Job, that he seemed to accuse 
 God of acting unjustly towards him. More 
 especially 
 
 1. That he justified himself as righteous. 
 Verse 5. " For Job hath said : ' I am 
 righteous,' ' without transgression,' " i.e., 
 such as to merit such treatment. Reference 
 to such parts of Job's speeches as chap. ix. 
 17; xiii. 18; xvi. 17. Job maintained his 
 innocence in opposition to what his friends 
 suspected and believed, and to what his 
 present calamities seemed to indicate. This, 
 even in Elihu's judgment, improperly main- 
 tained by Job, as reflecting on his Maker's 
 character and government. Job's language, 
 though relatively true, yet too strong and 
 unqualified, and apparently uttered in a self- 
 righteous spirit. Declarations of personal 
 righteousness like those of Job, unbecoming 
 in a sinner. Lawful for a man boldly to 
 declare his righteousness only as he is 
 righteous in Christ. " Surely shall one say : 
 In the Lord have I righteousness : in Him 
 shall all the seed of Israel be justified, and 
 shall glory" (Is. xlv. 25). 
 
 2. That he charged God with injustice and 
 tcroii^ in the way He treated him. (Verse 6) 
 "God hath taken away my judgment (de- 
 prived me of my righteousness in treating 
 nie as a guilty person ; or, has put aside my 
 righteous cause); my wound is incurable 
 
 1(3 
 
 (or grievous) without transgression" [on 
 my part to deserve it]. Job's actual 
 language (ch. xxvii. 2). Observe (1) 
 Complaint against God's dealings an implied 
 challenge of His justice. (2) God's right- 
 eousness to be acknowledged in all the circum- 
 stances of our lot. The proper language of 
 a sufferer : " The Lord is righteous : " " He 
 hath not dealt with us after our sins (2 
 Chron. xii. 6 ; Jer. xii. 1 ; Ps. ciii. 10). 
 
 3. That he had used contemptuous language 
 in regard to God. Verse 7. " What man is 
 like Job (or, ' what man is there like Job,' 
 a man having so high a character for 
 piety), who drinketh up scorning like 
 water ? " Reference to Job's daring and 
 irreverent language, in which he challenged 
 God to a controversy on his case, and ap- 
 peared to make his own righteousness less 
 questionable than God's in the matter. Such 
 language used by Job frequently, and with 
 apparent eagerness and pleasure, like a thirsty 
 animal taking a large draught of water. 
 Same metaphor employed by Eliphaz in 
 reference to mankind, and with respect to 
 sin in general (ch. xv. 16). Job's language 
 unusual in any, but especially in a person 
 of his character. Observe (1) Perse- 
 verance and pleasure in doing or saying what 
 is wrong a serious aggravation, of the sin; 
 (2) A grief and offence to the godly when a 
 pious man is found speaking or acting in a 
 way unlike himself. Thus Abraham in Egypt ; 
 David in the matter of Uriah ; Peter in the 
 high priest's palace. David's prayer always 
 necessary : " Keep back thy servant," &c. ; 
 " Set a watch before my mouth," &c. (Ps. 
 xix. 1214 ; cxli. 3). 
 
 4. That he appeared to adopt the language 
 and sentiments of the ungodly. Verse 8. 
 " Which goeth in company with the workers 
 of iniquity, and walketh with wicked men," 
 namely, in using such language and 
 adopting such sentiments. Observe (1) 
 The part of the ungodly to entertain unjust 
 thoughts of God, and to speak irreverently in 
 regard both to Himself and His dealings. 
 
 (2) A godly man to be careful not to coun- 
 tenance the ungodly in their views and 
 language, either by what he says or does. 
 
 (3) The views and language of the ungodly 
 in reference to God and His dealings to be 
 carefully avoided, as well as their company. 
 
 (4) A man appears to be the companion oj 
 those whose language, views, and practicet 
 he adopts. The proper language of a godly 
 man : " I am a companion of all them that fear 
 thee" (Ps. cxix. 63). His prayer : "Gather 
 not my soul with sinners " (Ps. xxvi. 9). 
 
 5. That he seemed to deny that there 
 was any benefit in true religion, (ver. 9). 
 "For he hath said, It profiteth a man 
 nothing that he should delight himself in
 
 HOMILETIC COMMENTARY: JOB. 
 
 CHAP, xxxnr. 
 
 God." True piety also characterised, 
 though by a different Hebrew word, in cli. 
 xxvii. 10, as a delighting in God. The 
 expression in the text indicates (1) To 
 have friendly and familiar intercourse with 
 God ; (2) To have pleasure in such inter- 
 course ; (3) To make it one's care to please 
 God ; (4) To be satisfied with Him as one's 
 portion. The character of the godly to 
 walk with God, and have delight in such 
 walk (Gen. v. 2224). Observe True 
 religion a delighting oneself in God (ch. xxvii. 
 10). 
 
 Delight in God 
 
 Is (1) Characteristic of the godly, and that 
 which distinguishes them from the world. 
 (2) Enjoined as a duty (Ps. xxxvii. 5 ; Phil, 
 iii. 1 ; iv. 4). Gladness required in serving 
 him (Deut. xii. 12, 18; xxviii. 47; Ps. 
 c. 2 ; Is. Ixiv. 5). (3) Promised as a reward 
 of piety, especially in regard to the Sabbath 
 (Job xxii. 26 ; Is. Iviii. 14). Implies 
 
 1. The excellence and loveliness in God. 
 God worthy to be delighted in (1) In Him- 
 self and His perfections; (2) In what He has 
 become to us in and through Jesus Christ. 
 
 2. The inwardness and spirituality of true 
 religion. True religion a thing of the heart ; 
 the seat of delight. Not a thing si form or 
 ceremony ; or of bodily service; or of mere 
 morality or outward obedience. A thing of 
 delight, because a thing of love. 
 
 3. The happiness and pleasantness of true 
 piety. Not only causes delight, but is itself 
 a delighting. Wisdom's ways pleasantness and 
 peace. Delight and pleasure a necessary 
 accompaniment of true religion. God the 
 object of true religion, not as a Being merely 
 to be feared or served, but delighted in. 
 God sufficient in Himself to fill every intelli- 
 gent creature with joy. His favour life ; His 
 loving kindness better than life. Believers 
 though not seeing Christ, yet believing and 
 so loving Him, rejoice in Him with joy un- 
 speakable and full of glory (1 Peter i. 8). 
 
 Delight in God shewn ; 
 
 1. By holding fellowship with Him. We 
 cultivate the society of those we delight in. 
 Hence true religion a " walking with God," 
 (Micah vi. 8 ; Gen. v. 22 ; vi. 9). 
 
 2. By obeying His will and seeking to please 
 Him. Impossible willingly to disobey or 
 grieve the person we delight in. To "walk 
 with God," and to " please God," spoken of in 
 Scripture as one and the same thing (Gen. 
 v. 22, 54, compared with Heb. xi. 5). 
 
 3. By ceasing to love and delight in the 
 world. Impossible to love and please two 
 masters of opposite characters. The love of 
 the world incompatible with the love of God 
 (Matt. vi. 24; 1 John ii. 14, 15). The 
 
 world a crucified thing where Christ is 
 delighted in (Gal. vi. 14). 
 
 4. By attending upon His ordinances. His 
 ordinances the means of fellowship with 
 God, and helps to the enjoyment of Him. 
 His banqueting house, where His banner 
 over us is love (Cant. ii. 4). The sanctuary 
 and the Sabbath a delight when God Him- 
 self is so (Ps. xxvi. 8 ; 1*iii T 1, 2 ; Ixxx. 1, 
 10 ; Is. Iviii. 13). 
 
 5. By cheerfully acquiescing in His appoint- 
 ments. Delight in a person leads to delight, 
 and at least to a cheerful acquiescence, in 
 what he says and does. Strictly true in re- 
 gard to God, all whose sayings and doings 
 are known and believed to be right. 
 
 The profitableness of true religion, or "de- 
 lighting oneself with God," apparently de- 
 nied in some of Job's expressions, as ch. ix. 
 22, 23 ; xxi. 7 15. The reference, how- 
 ever, only to this life and the outward dis- 
 pensations of Divine Providence. The lan- 
 guage ascribed by Elihu to Job never really 
 used by him. His employment of it Satan's 
 great object. At times strongly tempted to 
 it. Suggested by his wife. Asaph tempted 
 in like circumstances to employ it (Ps. Ixxiii. 
 12 14). The language of unbelief (Mai. 
 iii. 14). Godliness profitable to all things. 
 Has the promise of both worlds (1 Tim. ii 
 8 ; vi. 6). 
 
 III. Elihu's defence of God against 
 Job's cavils and complaints. (Verses 
 1030). First addresses himself to the 
 three friends and those present at the debate. 
 Verse 10. "Therefore hearken unto me, 
 ye men of understanding." Afterwards 
 addresses his discourse to Job himself. 
 Verse 16. " If now thou hast understand- 
 ing, hear this ; hearken to the voice of my 
 words." Elihu's self-imposed task, "to 
 justify the ways of God to man." Intelli- 
 gence hi the hearers required to judge of 
 statements made on such a subject. Efihu's 
 arguments are 
 
 1. Iniquity and injustice incompatible 
 with the Divine nature. Verses 10 12. 
 "Far be it from God (as a thing 
 profane to think of) that He should do 
 wickedness, and from the Almighty that He 
 should commit iniquity. For, the work of a 
 man (or the reward of his work) shall He 
 render unto him, and cause every one to 
 find according to his ways. Yea, surely 
 God will not do wickedly, neither will the 
 Almighty prevent judgment" ("act un- 
 righteously," or " pass an unrighteous sen- 
 tence"). Injustice not merely denied of 
 God, but denied as a thing not for a moment 
 to be thought as a thing utterly incongruous 
 with His nature as God, and not possible to 
 be found in Him. The idea of iniquity 
 
 217
 
 CHAP. XXXIV 
 
 HOMILETIC COMMENTARY: JOB. 
 
 incompatible with the idea of God. God's 
 ways to be believed to be just and right, 
 simply because they are His, and because 
 they cannot be otherwise. The thought of 
 injustice and wrong in God to be repelled 
 with loathing and execration, as profane and 
 abominable. Observe (1) Some things to 
 be not simply denied, but execrated; as 
 injustice in God. Others to be not so 
 much argued, as simply but strongly as- 
 serted; as that God is just (Rom. iii. 
 4, 5). (2) A man finds according to his 
 ways either in this life or the next. Every 
 work brought into judgment (Ecc. xi. 9 ; 
 xii. U; 2 Cor. v. 10; Rev. xx. 12). Sen- 
 tence against an evil work only not speedily 
 executed (Ecc. viii. 11). Sin sometimes 
 punished in this life in the natural course of 
 things which God has established. Some- 
 times punished by special and unexpected 
 acts of His Providence, as in the case of 
 Herod (Acts xii. 23). The impenitent 
 sinner escaping punishment all through life 
 is overtaken at last, and finds "according to 
 his ways." The rich man dies and is buried, 
 prosperous and luxurious to the last : but 
 "in hell he lifted up his eyes, being in tor- 
 ments " (Luke xvi. 23). 
 
 2. Injustice incompatible with God's abso- 
 lute supremacy and independence as the 
 Creator and Governor of the Universe. Verse 
 13. "Who hath given him a charge over 
 the earth (or, committed the earth to his 
 charge, as a superior commits a charge to a 
 subordinate) ? or who hath disposed the 
 whole world ?" ( placed the universe in the 
 state in which we find it). Observe (1) 
 As Creator, Proprietor, and Supreme Ruler 
 of the Universe, God can be under no 
 temptation to injustice. To be unjust would 
 be to wrong Himself. (2) God accountable 
 to no superior. That the world exists at all, 
 and is ruled by Him, is not from necessity 
 imposed upon him, but from the benevolence 
 of His own nature. God therefore to be 
 called to account for his doings by none of 
 His creatures. 
 
 3. Han dependent on God's mere goodness 
 for life and all he enjoys. Verses 14, 15 " If 
 He set His heart upon man (or, 'against 
 man,' to deal strictly with him according to 
 his deserts ; or, ' if He directed His attention 
 only to Himself); if He gather (or 'He 
 would gather') unto Himself [as its author, 
 (Ecc. xii. 7)] his spirit and iis breath [which 
 He first breathed into man's nostrils to 
 make him a living soul, Gen. ii. 7] ; all 
 flesh shall (or should) perish together (as at 
 the general deluge, Gen. vi. 3, 17), and man 
 shall (or should) turn again unto dust" [ac- 
 cording to the original sentence pronounced 
 on man after the Fall, Gen. iii. 19]. Observe 
 (1) Man's life and breath entirely in the 
 
 218 
 
 hands of God. Given by God at first, and 
 only continued at His pleasure. In Him we 
 live, and move, and have our being (Acts 
 xvii. 28). (2) A sinner's continuance in life 
 the fruit and evidence of Divine goodness. His 
 life forfeited to justice as a transgressor of 
 the Divine law (Gen. ii. 17 ; Rom. vi. 23). 
 
 (3) Injustice or wrong, therefore, on the 
 part of God to His creatures, entirely out 
 of the question. Hence (4) murmuring and 
 complaining against God to be for ever 
 silenced : " Wherefore doth a living man 
 complain" (Lam. iii. 39). 
 
 4. Injustice on the part of God incompatible 
 tcith His being the Ruler of the Universe. 
 Verses 17, 19" Shall even he that hateth 
 right govern ? (Heb., ' bind,' as with au- 
 thority and law ; or ' bind up,' as a wound 
 or fracture, a ruler being properly a 'healer,' 
 Is. iii. 7). And wilt thou condemn him that 
 is most just (or, 'him that is at once just 
 and mighty?') Is it fit to say to a king 
 (even an earthly sovereign), thou art wicked 
 (Heb. ' Belial,' wickedness), and to princes, 
 ye are ungodly? How much less to Him 
 that accepteth not the persons of princes, 
 nor regardeth the rich more than the poor ? 
 for they all are the work of His hands." Ob- 
 serve (1) The mere fact of God being the 
 Supreme Ruler of the Universe a sufficient 
 proof of His justice. Justice implied in the 
 rule even of an earthly sovereign. An un- 
 just ruler to be regarded as a monster an 
 exception to the ordinary course of things, 
 and soon therefore coming to an end. The 
 exercise of justice necessary to, and there- 
 fore supposed in, the continuance of govern- 
 ment. " He that ruleth over men must be 
 just" (2 Sam. xxiii. 3). Abraham's plea: 
 " Shall not the Judge of all the earth do 
 right?" (Gen. xvii. 25). God just, because 
 mighty. (2) Rulers under the most solemn 
 obligation to be just. If the charge of ini- 
 quity is not to be made by the subject, it 
 is not to be incurred by the sovereign. (3) 
 Riders to be not only just, but beneficent. A 
 ruler to be a healer. The State more or less 
 sick and wounded by sin and its consequen- 
 ces (Is. i. 5, C; Jer. viii. 22). The part of 
 a ruler to heal and bind it up by just laws, 
 wholesome authority, wise institutions, and 
 godly example. The ruler a healer only as 
 he rules "in the fear of God" (2 Sam. xxiii. 
 3). Examples : Hezekiah ; Josiah ; Alfred. 
 
 (4) Reverence due to rulers and those in au- 
 thority. Rulers not to be reviled by their 
 subjects (Exod. xxii. 28). God's vicegerents 
 and representatives, and therefore called by 
 his name (Ex. xxii. 2 ; Ps. Ixxxii. 1, 6). (5) 
 God impartial in His government. As His 
 creatures, all on an equal footing in His 
 sight. Differences among men disregarded 
 by God. No difference of treatment either
 
 HOMILHTIC COMMENTARY: JOB. 
 
 CHAP. XXXIV. 
 
 from fear or favour. Hence (i.) warning to 
 the sick; (ii.) comfort to the poor; (iii.) 
 example to rulers and magistrates. 
 
 5. Judgments inflicted on sinners, espe- 
 cially on powerful oppressors. Verses 20 28. 
 " In a moment (suddenly and speedily) shall 
 they die (or, ' they i.e., the ungodly espe- 
 cially the rich and powerful die,' viz., under 
 the infliction of Divine judgments), and the 
 people (as distinguished from the princes) 
 shall be troubled (or 'are troubled,' viz., 
 by the judgments inflicted) at midnight (un- 
 expectedly and in a time of quiet and security, 
 as 1 Thess. v. 2), and pass away (as at the 
 Deluge, and the destruction of the Cities of 
 the Plain, or as by earthquakes, &c.) : and 
 the mighty shall be (or are) taken away with- 
 out hand [of man, or any human agency or 
 violence]. Eor His eyes are upon the ways 
 of man (both rulers and ruled), and He seeth 
 all his doings. There is no darkness nor 
 shadow of death where the workers of ini- 
 quity may hide themselves [from His eye, or 
 elude His vengeance]. For He will not lay 
 upon man more than is right, that he should 
 enter into judgment with God (giving him 
 occasion to complain of being punished be- 
 yond his deserts ; or, ' He does not direct 
 His attention long to a man for him to go 
 to God in judgment/ as if needing long in- 
 vestigation into his case in dealing judicially 
 with nim). He shall break (or he breaks) in 
 pieces (by His judgments) mighty men with- 
 out number (or without enquiry), and set 
 others in their stea,d (putting down one and 
 setting up another, as Ps. Ixxv. 7). There- 
 fore (or, for) he knoweth their works, and he 
 oyerturueth them in the night (or 'in a 
 night;' or 'he turneth night upon them,' 
 i.e. the night of calamity and death, as in 
 the case of Belshazzar, Dan. v. 30 ; and of 
 Herod, Acts, xii 23; so that they are de- 
 stroyed. He striketh them (by His judg- 
 ments) aswickedmen ( as otherwickedmen; 
 or, 'because they are wicked men') in the 
 open sight of others. Because they turned 
 back from Him (or, from following after 
 Him, viz., by adhering to His service and 
 obeying His commands), and would not con- 
 sider [seriously and attentively] any of His 
 ways [whether in Providence or precept, so 
 as to 'stand in awe and sin not']: so that 
 they cause [by their oppression] the cry of 
 of the poor to come unto Him, and (or, so 
 that) He heareth the cry of the afflicted." 
 Observe (1) Judgments manifestly itijlicted 
 on tyrants and oppressors, a proof of the jus- 
 tice of the Divine government. " The Lord is 
 known by the judgment which He executeth" 
 (Ps. ix. 16). History full of such judgments. 
 (2) The ungodly often, overtaken and cut off 
 by Divine judgments unexpectedly. This still 
 to be the case (1 Thess. v. 3). (3) Impos- 
 
 sible for the wicked, either by power or 
 prudence, to escape God's righteous judg- 
 ments. God omniscient as well as omnipo- 
 tent. His eye as penetrating as His arm is 
 powerful. (4) Ungodly men and oppressors 
 often visited with signal and manifest judgments, 
 as a warning to others and a testimony to the 
 justice of the Divine government. " So that 
 a man shall say : Verily there is a reward to 
 the righteous j verily there is a God that 
 judgeth in the earth" (Ps. Iviii. 11). Open 
 sinners often made open sufferers. (5) Per- 
 severance in His service, and consideration of 
 His word and works, required by God of His 
 intelligent creatures, whether rulers or ruled. 
 The want of it regarded by Him as a grievous 
 sin. (6) Disobedience and neglect in regard 
 to God, as well as oppression and cruelty in 
 regard to man, the frequent ground of suffering 
 in this life, and, if unrepented of, the certain 
 catise of misery in the next. 
 
 6. The dependence of all upon God for 
 quietness and comfort. Verse 29. " When 
 He giveth quietness (or forgives), who then 
 can make trouble (or condemn) ? and when 
 He hideth His face (as in displeasure, or as 
 withdrawing His help and favour ; or ' When 
 He hideth the face,' i.e., condemns, or treats 
 as a condemned criminal), who then can 
 behold Him (enjoy His favour, or reverse the 
 sentence of death)? Whether it be done 
 against (or towards) a nation, or against a 
 man only ? " Observe (1) God the Sovereign 
 Dispenser of quiet and comfort to individuals. 
 His to forgive or to condemn. His sentence 
 irreversible. Hence the prophet's challenge 
 in the person of the Messiah (Ps. 1. 7 9), 
 and the apostle's triumph in the name of 
 believers (Rom. viii. 31 34). The part of 
 God to give peace (Ps. Ixxxv. 8 ; Is. xlv. 7 ; 
 Ivii. 19). Able to make even a man's enemies 
 to be at peace with him (Prov. xvi. 7). Speaks 
 peace and gives rest to an awakened sinner's 
 conscience. To do this, the object of (i.) The 
 atoning death of Jesus, (ii.) His resurrection, 
 as declarative of the Divine acceptance and 
 efficacy of His death, (iii.) His ascension 
 into heaven and session at God's right hand 
 as the Advocate of believing sinners, (iv.) 
 The mission of the Holy Ghost as the Com- 
 forter and Witness-bearer of the Saviour's 
 work (Rom. viii. 34 ; xy. 16). Quiet and rest 
 to the troubled conscience the object of the 
 Saviour's mission (Is. Ixi. 1 3 ; Luke ii. 
 ] 0). His invitation and promise (Matt. xi. 
 28). Peace and rest the fruit of faith in 
 Him (Is. xxvi. 3 ; Rom. v. 1; xv. 13 ; Hcb. 
 iv. 3). (2) God the Dispenser of rest and 
 quietness to nations and Churches. To nations 
 (1 Chron. xxii. 9, 18}. To Churches (Acts 
 ix. 31). Nations and men equally in God's 
 power (Is. xl. 1517). His to make wars 
 to cease to the ends of the earth (Ps. xlvi. 
 
 219
 
 CHAP. XXXIV, 
 
 HOMILETIC COMMENTARY: JOB. 
 
 9) ; to make peace in our borders (Ps. cxlvii. 
 14); or in righteous judgment, to stir up 
 one nation against another (Is. xiii. 17). 
 (3) None able to frustate God's work and 
 purpose, whether of mercy or of judgment 
 (Is. xxvii. 3, 4 ; xliii. 14). 
 
 7. The Divine benevolence in the judgments 
 inflicted on oppressors. Verse 30. "That 
 the hypocrite (or profligate) reign not, lest 
 the people be ensnared" (or, "That there be 
 no ensnarings or offences to the people"). 
 Observe (1) Kings and rulers subject to 
 God's ordination (Rom. xiii. 1). His to say 
 who shall and who shall not reign. His pre- 
 rogative to put down one and set up another 
 (Ps. Ixxv. 6, 7). Examples : David set up 
 instead of Saul (2 Sam. vi. 21) ; Jeroboam 
 as ruler of the ten tribes instead of "Rehoboam 
 (2 Chron. xi. 4). (2) A grievous evil to a 
 people when a "profane, wicked prince " rules 
 over them (Ps. xii. 8). (3) God's benevolence 
 seen in His cutting short the reign of profane 
 rulers (Ez. xxi. 25). Men usually not suf- 
 fered long to continue in the power which 
 they abuse. The reason, God is careful of 
 the welfare of mankind. (4) A people apt 
 to imitate the example of their rulers. An 
 ungodly king a snare to his subjects. A 
 dissolute prince makes a dissolute people. 
 Example : The reign of the second Charles. 
 (5) God's benevolence, as seen in the judgments 
 He inflicts on tyrants and oppressors, an evi- 
 dence of the justice of His government. A 
 benevolent Being cannot be unjust. 
 
 IV. Man's duty under the Divine 
 chastisements. Verses 31, 32. " Surely 
 it is meet to be said unto God, I have borne 
 chastisement, I will not offend any more : 
 that which I see not, teach thou me : if I 
 have done iniquity, I will do no more." 
 Elihu performs to Job the part of the mes- 
 senger and interpreter he himself describes 
 (chap, xxxiii. 23). Teaches what is man's 
 
 Duty under Chastisement. 
 
 1. To turn to God. Verse 31. "It is 
 meet to be said unto God." The afflicted to 
 direct himself to God, who is dealing with 
 him, and against whom he has sinned. God's 
 object in chastisement to bring the individual 
 to Himself. Thus the prodigal, in his distress, 
 returned to his father. God's call under 
 chastisement : " Return unto the Lord thy 
 God " (Hos. xiv. 1). His complaint against 
 Israel, that they returned, but not to Him 
 (Hos. vii. 16, 10). God both speaks to us 
 in chastening, and wishes to be spoken to : 
 "It is meet to be said unto God :" "Take 
 with you words, and turn to the Lord " (Hos. 
 xiv. 2). No benefit from affliction till we 
 speak to God in it. 
 220 
 
 2. To acknowledge and accept the chastise- 
 ment: "I have borne chastisement." God's 
 will that His chastening should be accepted 
 and acknowledged. The condition on which 
 He promised returning mercy to Israel (Lev. 
 xxvi. 41, 42). The language of penitent 
 Israel : "Thou hast chastised me, and I was 
 chastised " (Jer. xxxi. 18). The mark of a 
 humbled heart, to accept or submit to 
 chastisement (Lev. xxvi. 4]). Divine chas- 
 tening neither to be despised nor despaired 
 under (Heb. xii. 5). The prophet our 
 example under chastisement "I will bear 
 the indignation of the Lord, because I have 
 sinned against Him" (Mic. vii. 9). Divine 
 chastisement to be borne (1) submissively j 
 (2) Patiently; (3) Humbly; (4) Lovingly; 
 (5) Thankfully. The chastisement of a be- 
 liever not that by a master, but by a father. 
 To be borne not as a slave, but as a child. 
 The lesson Job now needed especially to be 
 taught. 
 
 3. To confess our sin. " I have done 
 iniquity." God's aim in chastisement to 
 bring us to confession of sin. "Only acknow- 
 ledge thine iniquity " (Jer. hi. 13). Forgive- 
 ness and mercy promised only upon confes- 
 sion (1 John i. 9 $ Prov. xxviii. 13). 
 
 4. To resolve upon amendment. "I will 
 not offend any more. If I have done 
 iniquity, I will do no more." The language 
 put into the mouth of penitent Israel : 
 "What have I to do any more with idols? 
 Neither will we say any more to the work of 
 our hands : Ye are our gods " (Hos. xiv. 8, 
 3). Mercy promised to those who confess 
 and forsake their sins (Prov. xxviii. 13). To 
 abandon what we confess, the only proof of 
 sincerity. The offence to be avoided may be 
 either one of omission or of commission ; may 
 be either in spirit or demeanour, in heart or 
 in life. God jealous over His people's inward 
 affection as well as their outward conduct : 
 "I have somewhat against thee, because 
 thou hast left thy first love. Remember, 
 therefore, from whence thou mi fatten, and 
 repent, and do the first works ; or else," &c. 
 (Rev. ii. 4, 5). 
 
 5. To pray for Divine teaching. Verse 
 32. " What I see not, teach thou me." A 
 mark of humility and sanctified affliction 
 when we seek and ask for Divine teaching. 
 That teaching needed and desired (1) In 
 regard to sin. Sin the cause of suffering, 
 and occasion for chastisement. To be seen 
 and known in order to be confessed, for- 
 saken, and forgiven. To be shown both as 
 to its nature and its prevalence in ourselves. 
 But little of sin seen by us in comparison 
 with the sad reality. Much both of the 
 malignity and demerit of sin at first un- 
 known to us. Much sin unseen by us 
 as existing in ourselves, both in heart and
 
 HOMILETIC COMMENTARY: JOS. 
 
 CHAP. 
 
 in life. " Who can understand his errors ? " 
 " Cleanse thou me from secret faults " (Ps. 
 xix. 12). David's prayer (Ps. cxxxix. 23, 
 24). The mark of sincerity to desire to 
 know our sin, instead of cloaking or palli- 
 ating it. (2) In regard to duty. The penitent 
 onlypartially acquainted with his duty. His 
 desire to know the Lord's will in order to do 
 it (Ps. Ixxxvi. 11). The penitent's inquiry 
 that of Saul on the way to Damascus, 
 " Lord what wilt thou have me do ?" (Acts 
 z.6). 
 
 V. Elihu's reproof of Job (verses 33, 35). 
 The reproof directed 
 
 1. Against his murmuring and discontent. 
 Verse 33. "Should it be according to thy 
 mind ? he will recompense it, whether thou 
 refuse or whether thou choose, and not I ? 
 (or, ' According to thy mind, shall lie recom- 
 pense it, i.e., thy conduct, because thou 
 refusest and thou choosest, and not I ?' the 
 words supposed to be uttered by God him- 
 self ) : therefore speak what thou knowest " 
 (i.e., as to how God shall treat thee spoken 
 in irony). In Elihu's judgment Job's spirit 
 and language under his afflictions open to 
 severe censure (1) On account of its rebel- 
 liousness. As if not God but Job himself were 
 to rule in the matter of his treatment and 
 appointment of his lot. The part of rebellion 
 to wish to take the mode and measure of 
 our chastisement out of God's hand into our 
 own. This rebellion implied in all mur- 
 muring and discontent under trials. The 
 language of piety and duty : " Not my will, 
 but thine, be done:" "The cup that my 
 Father hath given me, shall I not drink 
 it?" (Luke xxii. 42; John xviii.) (2) On 
 account of its pride. The highest pride to 
 think to arrogate to ourselves the dis- 
 tribution of rewards and punishments, or 
 to prescribe how God shall deal with us. 
 Murmuring and discontent imply the sup- 
 posed possession of a wisdom superior to our 
 Maker's. 
 
 2. Against his ignorance. Verses 34, 35. 
 " Let men of understanding tell me, and 
 let a wise man hearken unto me (implying 
 that Job had not spoken as such). Job 
 hath spoken without knowledge, and his 
 words were without wisdom." Observe 
 (1) To cavil with our Maker's treatment of 
 us, indicative of ignorance both in regard to 
 God and ourselves. Job's want of know- 
 ledge and wisdom indicated in (i.) Erro- 
 neously judging of God's dealings with him; 
 (ii.) Sitting in judgment on those dealings at 
 all; (iii.) Wishing to enter into controversy 
 with God on the justice of them; (iv.) 
 Charging God with undue severity in them. 
 Thereproof given by Elihu seconded after- 
 wards by the Almighty himself. Job's 
 
 ignorance and want of understanding in 
 what he had spoken afterwards acknow- 
 ledged and repented of. (2) Humbling to 
 subject ourselves to the reproof which we 
 have administered to others. Job now re- 
 proved for what he had at first reproved his 
 wife. (3) God's dealings with us not accord- 
 ing to our ignorance, but His wisdom. (4) 
 The disposal of our lot best left in God's 
 own hands. 
 
 VI. Elihu's desire in regard to Job. 
 
 Verses 36, 37. "My desire is," &c 
 
 1. The desire itself. Verse 36. "That 
 Job may be tried unto the end" (fully, or 
 more literally, "unto victory," until the 
 end has been served in Job's humiliation and 
 confession ; the wish granted (ch. xli. 4, 5 ; 
 xlii. 26.) Observe (1) Elihu's earnestness 
 and zeal indicated in the wish with which he 
 concludes his final speech. A speaker should 
 exhibit warmth as well as wisdom. People 
 more likely to be persuaded when logic is 
 accompanied with feeling. A preacher's 
 light rather to resemble that of the sun than 
 the moon. (2.) Elihu's wish apparently ex- 
 hibits more zeal for the truth than sympathy 
 with the tried. Wishes Job's trial still 
 further to be continued. Apparently incon- 
 sistent with his former profession. The 
 wish, however, both wise and benevolent, 
 though apparently harsh. The best wish 
 for the afflicted is that the affliction may 
 produce the effects intended by it, the 
 spiritual benefit of the sufferer. Better the 
 continuance of a trial than its premature 
 removal. To have affliction removed before 
 the heart is humbled, a curse rather than a 
 blessing. 
 
 2. The ground of the desire. Verses 36, 37. 
 These are (1) His apparently ungodly 
 sentiments. "Because or his answers for 
 (among, with, or like) wicked men." Some 
 of Job's utterances apparently in favour of 
 ungodliness, and only found in the lips of 
 ungodly men. Sad when a godly man ap- 
 pears, even for a short time, to pass over to 
 the side of the wicked, either in the senti- 
 ments he utters or the conduct he exhibits. 
 An aggravation in the open sin of the godly 
 that it associates them for the time with the 
 workers of iniquity (Ps. cxli. 4). Care 
 needed under temptation, lest we utter what 
 may appear to favour ungodliness, and afford 
 an excuse to the ungodly. Job's " answers " 
 afterwards recalled and deeply repented of. 
 (2) His obstinacy and rebellion. " He 
 addeth (or will add) rebellion to his sin." 
 A distinction between sin and rebellion. So 
 between the sin of ignorance and the pre- 
 sumptuous sin. The latter much more 
 heinous. "Sin" committed through the 
 
 221
 
 CHAP. XXXV. 
 
 HOMILETIC COMMENTARY: JOB. 
 
 infirmity of our nature ; " rebellion," 
 through the perversity of our choice. Be- 
 lievers sin ; unbelievers add rebellion to 
 their sin. Noah and Abraham, David and 
 Peter, sinned ; Pharaoh and Saul, Judas and 
 Herod, rebelled in their sin. Sin greatly 
 aggravated by rebellion and stubbornness in 
 it. In Job's case, rebellion only at times 
 approached. Was Satan's desire, and would 
 probably have been his victory. Elihu's 
 wish to prevent this result. Rebellion far 
 from Job's heart and intention. The lips 
 may sometimes utter what the heart abhors. 
 (3) His pride and contempt. " He clappeth 
 (or will clap) his hands among us." The 
 token of triumph and contempt. Job vic- 
 torious in the contest, but, in Elihu's judg- 
 ment, had carried himself unbecomingly in 
 his victory. Though victorious in the argu- 
 ment, not yet humbled in his spirit. Had 
 not yet recanted his bold and irreverent 
 language, and seemed still to glory in his 
 innocence. Carried himself as victor not 
 only over men, but God himself. Elihu's 
 desire to correct this unseemly spirit. (4) 
 
 The impiety of his language. " He multi- 
 plieth (or will multiply) his words against 
 God." Job's language had at times ap- 
 peared to assume this character. Irreverent 
 and rebellious language a heinous sin. God's 
 complaint against Israel in the days of 
 Malachi : " Your words have been stout 
 against me" (Mai. iii. 13). Words ordi- 
 narily the index of the heart (Matt. xii. 34). 
 The characteristic of the ungodly to speak 
 against God. The sin as early as the days 
 of Enoch, before the flood (Jude 14). That 
 for which Christ will execute judgment on 
 the wicked at His second appearing (Jude 
 15). For every idle word that men speak 
 they shall give account at the day of judg- 
 ment; still more for every rebellious one 
 (Matt. xii. 37). The confession of Isaiah 
 that of every child of God (Is. vi. 5). The 
 character of men universally. The believer's 
 lips touched with the live coal from off the 
 altar, and their iniquity taken away (Is. vi. 
 7). A " pure language" (or lip) one of the 
 gifts of grace (Zeph. iii. 9). 
 
 CHAPTEE XXXV. 
 
 ELIHU'S THIRD SPEECH. 
 
 After a second pause, and no reply, Elihu 
 again resumes. Renews his reproof of Job, 
 and attempts to answer some of his cavils. 
 Verse 1. " Elihu spake moreover," &c. 
 
 I. Reproves Job for his improper 
 language. Verses 2, 3. " Thinkest thou 
 this to be right (or, ' Dost thou reckon this 
 for judgment ') that thou saidst," &c. Pro- 
 bably a sarcastic allusion to Job's vehement 
 complaints about the want of "judgment." 
 Care necessary that we do not ourselves 
 offend in, that for which we are forward to 
 blame others. " Judge not that ye be not 
 judged." Job's language rather than his 
 life still the subject of Elihu's reproof." 
 Job reproved 
 
 1. For maintaining his righteoiisness to be 
 greater than God's. Verse 2. " My righ- 
 teousness is more than God's," allusion to 
 such passages as ch. ix. 30 35 ; x. 15. The 
 supposed meaning rather than the exact 
 words of Job's speeches. Job had main- 
 tained that his life had been pure and righ- 
 teous, and that he was, notwithstanding, 
 treated by the Almighty as wicked. The 
 natural inference from the complaint Job 
 thinks himself more righteous than God. 
 Job, judging from present appearances, often 
 tempted to believe this. The same con- 
 clusion only avoided bv the three friends by 
 
 222 
 
 their falsely maintaining that Job must be a 
 hypocrite and bad man. The error of both par- 
 ties, that of judging of God's justice from His 
 present dealings. Neither of them fully aware 
 that God, for special reasons, may allow 
 a godly man to be very severely tried. Their 
 error that of the period in which they lived. 
 A future judgment not yet fully revealed. 
 The pious inclined to expect rewards and 
 punishments in the present life. The pecu- 
 liarity of Abraham's faith that he acted 
 as one " that looked for a better country, 
 that is, an heavenly ;" content meanwhile to 
 live as " a stranger and pilgrim on the earth" 
 (Heb. xi. 13 16). Hence Abraham, not 
 Job, the " father of the faithful." The na- 
 ture of faith to give substance and reality to 
 things hoped for, and the certainty of con- 
 viction as regards things not seen (Heb. 
 xi. 1). Observe (1) In judging in regard 
 to God and His dealings, apart from faith, 
 men certain to fall into error. Job's error 
 and consequent irreverent language, the 
 result of defective faith. (2) Inferences 
 from our language often such as ^ce ourselves 
 should be shocked at. Probably Job himself 
 would have recoiled from the language here 
 ascribed to him, (3) A good man respon- 
 sible not only for his words, but from the in- 
 ference that may justly be drawn from them. 
 2. For appearing to maintain that piety was
 
 HOMJLETIC COMMENTARY: JOB. 
 
 CHA?. XXXV. 
 
 profitless to Us possessor. Verse 3. "For 
 thou saidst, what advantage will it be unto 
 thee (viz., that thy life has been righteous 
 and pure) ? and what profit shall I have if 
 I be cleansed from my sin (or as margin, 
 * more than by my sin ') ?" Another in- 
 ference from Job's actual language, closely 
 connected with the former one. Job main- 
 tained that his life had been pure, and that, 
 notwithstanding, he was a most grievous 
 sufferer. Inference : Job maintains that 
 piety brings no profit. True, if such suf- 
 ferings continued through life, and there 
 were no hereafter. Job's real assertion, how- 
 ever that in the present life, piety did no 
 save its possessor from suffering. " If the 
 scourge stay suddenly, He mocketh at the 
 trial of the innocent " (ch. ix. 23). Satan's 
 challenge that Job only served God for pre- 
 sent advantage, and that when this was with- 
 drawn, he would cast off his religion. His 
 great object to accomplish this. The temp- 
 tation from Job's wife. Against this, Job 
 maintained that he was a righteous man, 
 although he suffered so unusually, and that he 
 would hold fast his religious character and 
 conduct at all hazards (ch. xiii. 15). Ob- 
 serve The sentiments ascribed to Job, the 
 language of unbelief. Entertained by the un- 
 believing Jews in the days of Malachi (Mai. 
 iii. 14). Even the godly tempted at times 
 to employ such language (Ps. Ixxiii. 13). 
 The opposite of the truth. Godliness profit- 
 able unto all things (1 Tim. iv. 8). Yet the 
 godly often called to suffer severely in the 
 present life. " Through much tribulation 
 we must enter the kingdom" (Acts xiv. 22 ; 
 Rev. vii. 14; 2 Tim. iii. 1112). 
 
 II. Elihu answers Job's cavils. Verse 4, 
 &c. " I will answer thee and thy companions 
 with thee," either the three friends and 
 others present, some of whom perhaps ap- 
 peared inclined to coincide with Job ; or 
 more generally, all those who entertained 
 sentiments similar to those he had expressed 
 like ch. xxxiv. 8. Observe (1) The duty 
 of the godly to be ready to answer for God 
 and to correct the errors of brethren. " Every 
 one shall kiss his lips that giveth a right 
 answer" (Prov. xxiv. 26). Believers to know 
 how they " ought to answer every man" 
 (Col. iv. 6). (2) Believers to be careful 
 with whom they associate, and whose senti- 
 ments they espouse. Two considerations 
 employed by Elihu to silence Job's cavils : 
 
 1. God's infinite superiority to, and abso- 
 lute independence of, His creatures. Verses 5 
 8. "Look unto the heavens and see ; and 
 behold the clouds which are higher than 
 thou (hence, God who dwells above them 
 not only incomprehensible to His creatures, 
 lut independent of and unaffected by them). 
 
 If thou sinnest, what doest thou against 
 him? if thy transgressions be multiplied, 
 what doest thou unto him ? Thy wickedness 
 may hurt (or affect) a man as thou art ; and 
 thy righteousness may profit (or affect) the 
 son of man" (mankind, thyself or others like 
 thee, but not God). Observe (1) Men apt 
 to think they lay God under an obligation 
 by their piety or morality. God's happiness 
 not capable of being increased or diminished 
 by His creatures doings (Ps. xvi. 2; Jer. vii. 
 19). His creatures unable to give Him what 
 is not already His own (1 Chron. xxiii. 14 ; 
 Rom. ii. 35, 36). No good either possessed 
 or practised by man but is received from God 
 Himself. (2.) Man apt to forget the distance 
 between the creature and the Creator. Infinite 
 condescension on the part of God to regard 
 man as He does. David's language that of 
 wisdom and piety : " Lord, what is man that 
 thou art mindful of him ?" (Ps. xviii. 4 ; cxliv. 
 3.) Self-humiliation in God to behold the 
 things that are in heaven and on the earth 
 (Ps. cxiii. 6). Condescension and love on 
 His part, that He receives glory from, and 
 has pleasure in, those that fear and love, 
 serve and trust in Him (Ps. 1. 25 ; cxlvii. 11). 
 (3.) Man himself affected for weal or woe 
 by his own conduct (Is. iii. 9, 11 ; Prov. viii. 
 36 ; ix. 12). Reaps what he sows now, 
 either here or hereafter (Gal. vi. 79.) Life 
 and death, happiness and misery, the respective 
 fruits of righteousness and sin (Prov. ii. 19) 
 (4.) A man's conduct not only productive of 
 weal and woe to himself biit also to those 
 around him. In the constitution of the world, 
 one creature made to depend upon, and be 
 affected for good or evil by, another. Each 
 made either a blessing or a curse to his 
 neighbour. One man's sin likely to be 
 another's misery as well as his own. The 
 piety of one the profit of another as well as 
 of himself. A godly man a blessing to the 
 neighbourhood; an ungodly one its bane. 
 Both a conscious and an unconscious in- 
 fluence exercised by each on those around 
 him, either for good or evil. Unconscious 
 often more effective than conscious influence. 
 Each responsible to God for both. A man 
 with a loving and Christlike spirit a perpetual 
 benefaction. Suchaspiritperceivedmsociety 
 as the perfume carried about on one's person. 
 All men like boys writing with invisible 
 ink. An impression left upon thousands by 
 our spirit, words, and conduct, to be only 
 known and seen hereafter. //. W. Beecher. 
 (5.) The sky over our head fitted to 
 correct man's low and erroneous conceptions 
 of the Divine Being. Profitable to "look unto 
 the heavens," and to study the lessons 
 taught by, the starry firmament. The noc- 
 turnal sky " Nature's system of Divinity." 
 God's ever open Bible 
 
 223
 
 CHAP. XXXV. 
 
 HOMILETIC COMMENTARY: JOB. 
 
 "His universal temple, hung 
 With lustres, with innumerable lights, 
 That shed religion on the soul, at once 
 The temple and the preacher. 
 His love lets down these silver chains of light 
 fo draw up men's ambition to Himself, 
 And bind his chaste affections to His throne. 
 One sun by day, by night ten thousand shine, 
 And light us deep into the Deity." 
 
 2. The cause of men's continued misery 
 and God's apparent disregard, to be found 
 not in God but in themselves. Verses 8, 13. 
 " By reason of the multitude of oppression, 
 they make the oppressed to cry (or simply, 
 ' men cry ') ; they cry out by reason of the 
 arm of the mighty (the violence of tyrants and 
 the ungodly rich). But none saith (under 
 his trouble, in a grateful remembrance of 
 past mercies and prayerful dependence for 
 present aid), where is God my Maker (Heb., 
 ' my makers,' as Is. liv. 5 ; Ecc. xii. 1 ; 
 probably with allusion to Gen. i. 26 in- 
 dicating the plurality of Divine persons and 
 the fulness of Divine perfections in the one 
 God), who giveth songs in the night ? who 
 teacheth us more than (or 'above') the 
 beasts of the earth, and maketh us wiser 
 than the fowls of heaven. There (in their 
 afflicted and oppressed condition) they cry, 
 but none giveth answer, because of the pride 
 of evil men (who cause them by their cruelty 
 and violence to cry out under their affliction). 
 Surely God will not hear vanity (vain prayers 
 that are destitute of faith or piety, and only 
 extorted by suffering) ; neither will the 
 Almighty regard it" (viz., so long as they 
 remain impenitent). From the whole passage, 
 Observe (1) Men often made to suffer 
 grievously from the oppression and tyranny of 
 others. Witness the Israelites in Egypt 
 (Ex. i. 2). Possible allusion made by Elihu 
 to the case of Job himself. (2) Men's cries 
 under oppression and trouble not always 
 followed with Divine deliverance. " They cry, 
 but none giveth answer." (3) The reason of 
 such unanswered cries not in God, but in the 
 sufferers themselves. Elihu indicates some 
 
 Reasons for continued suffering. 
 
 1. Men do not pray to God in their afflic- 
 tion. They "cry" and "cry out," but do 
 not pray. Men's cries in trouble often not 
 to God but against Him. Sufferers often 
 cry to men, and cry out of men, without 
 praying to God. All cries not prayer. Cries 
 in suffering only heard and answered when 
 they are cries to God. 
 
 2. Prayer made in trouble not answered, 
 because not right prayers. " God will not 
 hear vanity." God hears only the prayer of 
 piety or of penitence the prayer of His 
 servants or of those who desire to become 
 such. No promise to impenitent prayers. 
 
 224 
 
 " God heareth not sinners," continuing such 
 (John ix. 31). "If I regard iniquity in my 
 heart, the Lord will not hear me " (Ps. Ixvi. 
 18). "When ye make many prayers, I will 
 not hear; your hands are full of blood " (Is. 
 i. 15). " He that turneth away his ear from 
 hearing the law, even his prayer shall be 
 abomination" (Prov. xxviii. 9; i. 28 30). 
 "Ye ask and receive not, because ye ask 
 amiss, that ye may consume it upon your 
 lusts" (James iv. 3). Penitence and purity 
 necessary to prevailing prayer. " I will that 
 men pray everywhere, lifting up holy hands 
 without wrath and doubting" (1 Tim. ii. 8). 
 The prayer of the upright is God's delight 
 (Prov. xv. 8). The sacrifices of God are a 
 broken spirit (Ps. li. 17). Men may kneel 
 upon their beds without being humbled in 
 their hearts (Hos. vii. 14). Prayer is vanity 
 when (1) Without sincerity ; (2) Without 
 repentance ; (3) Without faith. Prayer 
 without faith is like faith without works, 
 dead, being alone (James ii. 17). Earnest 
 and believing prayer either receives the thing 
 asked or something better. 
 
 3. Deliverance not experienced, on account 
 of forgetfulness of God. Verse 10." None 
 saith, where is God my Maker?" Men 
 suffering at the hand of others apt to think 
 more of the creature than the Creator (Is. 
 li. 12, 13). God not acknowledged by the 
 unregenerate either in their mercies or their 
 afflictions. God's object in afflicting men, 
 to bring them to Himself. The prayer of 
 the sufferer unanswered till the object is 
 secured, or answered in wrath (Ps. civ. 15). 
 Affliction blessed when men turn to God and 
 inquire after Him. Men, since the fall, 
 naturally forgetful of God. Forgetfulness of 
 God the sin that fills hell with inhabitants 
 (Ps. ix. 17). Men under suffering apt to 
 inquire after men's help rather than God's. 
 Asa, in his affliction, sought not unto the Lord, 
 but unto physicians (2 Chron. xvi. 12). 
 Righteous that God should disregard men 
 who willingly forget Him. Seriously to in- 
 quire after God the first step in true repent- 
 ance. Observe God to be remembered in 
 affliction as our " Maker." Our Maker, who 
 is also our Redeemer, has the best right to 
 our remembrance. To turn to Him who 
 made us, our first duty in affliction. He who 
 made us cannot but be able to help and 
 deliver us. Our wisdom, when suffering at 
 the hands of men, to turn from the creature 
 to the Creator. Sin to be acknowledged in 
 not having served and followed our Maker. 
 In consequence of the Fall, God to be in- 
 quired and sought after as one who is lost. 
 Affliction naturally finds men "without God in 
 the world" (Eph. ii. 12). God however to be 
 found. Not far from every one of us. Savingly 
 found in Christ (John xiv. 6 2 Cor. Y. 17).
 
 HOMILETIG COMMENTARY: JOB. 
 
 xxxv. 
 
 4. Deliverance not vouchsafed on account of 
 ingratitude for past mercies. " Who giveth 
 songs in. the night." Past songs not to be 
 forgotten in present sufferings. A thankful 
 remembrance of past mercies the best way 
 to obtain present deliverances. Remem- 
 brance of past triumphs a precious help 
 under present troubles. "Because Thou 
 hast been my help," &c. (Ps. Ixiii. 7). The 
 recollection of God's past kindness David's 
 sweetest comfort in his most crushing trial 
 (Ps. xlii. 6). Eorgetfulness of Divine mer- 
 cies one of our greatest sins (Is. i. 2, 3). 
 The natural heart forgetful of God's benefits 
 as well as His being. The part of grace to 
 resist this tendency (Ps. ciii. 2). 
 
 Two reasons on the part of God why He 
 should be remembered and sought to under 
 affliction aud suffering : 
 
 First reason : He gives 
 
 Songs iii the Night. 
 
 Observe 
 
 1. What He gives. "Songs." God the 
 giver of songs. Songs the expression (1) 
 Of joy and gladness ; (2) Of praise and thanks- 
 giving. God happy Himself, and delights in 
 making His creatures happy. According to 
 His nature to give songs rather than sorrows. 
 To give joy, His delight ; to cause sorrow, 
 His strange act. God is love; and the 
 nature of love to give songs. The songs 
 that God gives are (1) The sweetest ; (2) 
 The holiest ; (3) The most lasting. Satan also 
 gives songs, short songs the prelude to 
 lasting sorrows. The world gives songs 
 songs often sung to a heavy heart. All songs 
 but those that God gives to be one day 
 turned into bowlings (Amos viii. 3). The 
 instrument gives forth its sweetest music 
 under the hands of Him that made it. 
 
 2. When He gives songs. " In the night." 
 First : In the natural night (Ps. xlii. 8). 
 Night the time of reflection and meditation. 
 Satan makes men howl upon their beds ; 
 God makes them sing upon them (Hos. vii. 
 14; Ps. cxlix. 5). God gives songs when 
 there is nothing else to give them in the 
 night. Paul and Silas sang praises at mid- 
 night (Acts xvi. 25). Musing on our bed 
 the fire burns, and we rise at midnight to 
 give thanks (Ps. xxxix. 3; cxix. 02). 
 Second: In the niglit of trouble (chap, xxxvi. 
 20). God gives songs in the night (1) Of 
 personal affliction; (2) Of temporal adver- 
 sity ; (3) Of painful bereavement ; (4) Of 
 persecution from the world ; (5) Of spiritual 
 darkness and desertion; (G) Of death and 
 its solemn approaches (Hab. iii. 17, 18 ; 
 Acts xvi. 25 ; Hos. ii. 14, 15 ; Ps. xxiii. 4). 
 No niglit of trouble too dark for God to give 
 songs iu it. Jesus sung a hymn with His 
 
 15 
 
 disciples in the darkest night of His earthly 
 life. John sung songs of joy and praise as 
 an exile in Patmos, and Paul and Silas as 
 prisoners in Philippi. God gives songs to 
 His people when it is night to others as 
 well as themselves. Israel had light in their 
 dwellings when all Egypt was covered with 
 darkness. 
 
 3. How God gives songs in the niglit. (1) 
 By bringing into trouble ; (2) By comforting 
 under it ; (3) By delivering out of it (Hos. 
 ii. 14 ; Ps. xxiii. 4). The songs God gives, 
 generally " songs of deliverance " (Ps/xxxii. 
 7). God puts songs into the mouth by 
 putting gladness into the heart (Ps. iv. 7). 
 Puts a new song into our mouth by scttins 
 our feet upon a rock (Ps. xl. 2, 3). God 
 gives songs in the night by sending and 
 showing us a Saviour (Luke ii. 8). The 
 office of Jesus to give "the oil of joy for 
 mourning, and the garment of praise for 
 the spirit of heaviness " (Is. Ixi. 3). 
 
 Second reason : He " teacheth us more 
 than the beasts," &c. (1) His special regard 
 to His intelligent creatures, a reason for 
 their seeking to Him in time of trouble. 
 God cares for the lower animals, how much 
 more for man ? Man made rational and in- 
 telligent after his Maker's likeness. (2) 
 The faculties with which God has endowed 
 man, a reason why he should seek Him in 
 trouble. Reason given to enable us to know 
 God, and to understand that He is the 
 helper and deliverer of all who truly seek 
 Him. To be in trouble without inquiring 
 after God, more the part of a beast than a 
 man. Beasts cry in their sufferings, but 
 unable to think of God in them. Sin detrudes 
 men below the brute creation. Beasts howl 
 but cannot pray : men can pray but do not. 
 Faculties given to beasts to apprehend the 
 creature : to man to apprehend the Creator. 
 A beast able to know the will of his master; 
 a man to know the will of his God. Under- 
 standing given to the beasts to enable them 
 to attend to their bodily wants and those of 
 their offspring ; a higher understanding given 
 to man to enable him to attend also to his 
 spiritual wants and those of others. Beasts 
 endowed with sufficient intelligence for the 
 preservation of themselves aud others in the 
 present life; man endowed with an intelli- 
 gence to enable him to secure happiness for 
 himself and others in the life to come. The 
 understanding or instinct of the lower 
 annimals ever the same ; the understanding 
 of man capable of continual increase. 
 
 III. Elihii exhorts Job to palionoo 
 and hope. Verse 14. "Although (or Vvni 
 when') thou saycst thou shalt not seo Him 
 (enjoy His returning favour ; or, 'thou dost 
 not see Him,' i.e., understand His procedure), 
 
 225
 
 CHAP. xxxv. 
 
 IIOMILETIQ COMMENTARY: JOS. 
 
 yet judgment is before Him (He ever acts 
 according to judgment; or, 'the case is 
 before Him ' under His consideration) ; 
 therefore trust thou in Him." 
 
 Notice 
 
 1. A temptation or complaint supposed. 
 (1) A temptation to despondency. "Thou 
 sayst thou shalt not see him." Job at times 
 hard pressed with it (chap. xvii. 15). Yet 
 enabled to overcome it (chap. xix. 26, 27). 
 The part of believers to resist temptation 
 (Ps. xlii. 5 11). To a believer the sun is 
 only hidden by a cloud, not set. The hiding 
 of God's face no proof that He neglects our 
 cause. Is glorified when He is trusted in 
 the dark (Heb. iii. 17, 18). Or (2) A com- 
 plaint of darkness. " Thou sayest thou dost 
 not see him." Job's trial that he was unable 
 to comprehend God's dealings (chap. ix. 11). 
 God's dealings with His people often dark, 
 mysterious, and incomprehensible. Christ's 
 words to Peter spoken for the consolation of 
 tried believers through all time, "What I 
 do, thou kuowest not now ; but thou shalt 
 know hereafter " (John xiii. 7). 
 
 2. A truth stated. "Judgment is before 
 him." God's dealings may be dark, but are 
 never doubtful. While clouds of darkness 
 arc round about Him, justice and judgment 
 are the basis of His throne (Ps. xcvii. 2; 
 Ixxxix. 14). Purposes of wisdom and goodness 
 in every event, though unknown to us. A God 
 of truth and without iniquity. The cause of 
 the poor and afflicted believer never really, 
 though sometimes apparently, overlooked. 
 " I have seen. 1 have seen, the affliction of 
 my people in Egypt, and I am come down to 
 deliver them." Joseph's case in the pit and 
 then in the prison. Jacob's in Canaan : 
 "All these things are against me." Job's 
 case at present. Believers made to pass 
 through fire and water, but arc brought out 
 into a wealthy place (Ps. Ixvi. 12). 
 
 3. An exhortation addressed. " Trust thou 
 in him." 
 
 Trust in God. 
 
 The believer's grand recipe in darkness and 
 trouble. Implies (1) Faith; (2) Hope; 
 (3) Patience. Faith in God's promise and 
 perfections ; hope of His deliverance ; pa- 
 tience to wait His time for it. God delivers 
 His people, but in His own time and way. 
 Tarry thou the Lord's leisure. The vision 
 
 is for an appointed time ; though it tarry, 
 wait for it (Ps. xxxvii. 734 ; Hab. ii. 3) 
 Sinners not immediately punished, nor saints 
 immediately delivered. Trust in God founded 
 in the knowledge of Him. They that know 
 Thy name will put their trust in Thee (Ps. 
 ix. 10). 'God to be trusted in, not an idol 
 226 
 
 bearing His name ; God as revealed in His 
 Word, not as formed by our own imagination. 
 To be trusted in as a God of justice as well 
 as mercy. True trust in God founded on 
 the atonement of His Son. God in Christ 
 the revealed object of a sinner's trust. Christ 
 the only way to the Father. Trust in God 
 implies trust in (1) His goodness; (2) His 
 wisdom ; (3) His faithfulness ; (4) His jus- 
 tice ; (5) His power. God in Christ to be 
 trusted in by the sinner for pardon ; by the 
 saint for purity. To be trusted in by believers 
 (1) In deepest darkness : (2) Under 
 greatest discouragements ; (3) In danger and 
 difficulty; (4) In the absence of all help 
 from ourselves and others ; (5) In the face 
 of all appearances. Trust, the grace that 
 brings the greatest glory to God and the 
 greatest comfort to ourselves (Isa. xii. 2 ; 
 llom. iv. 20). 
 
 IV. Elihu reproves Job's obstinacy. 
 
 Verses 15, 16. " But now because it is not 
 so, he hath visited in his anger (or, ' because 
 it is not so [that] his auger has visited,' viz., 
 Job, for his irreverent and unbecoming 
 speeches), yet he knoweth it not in great 
 extremity (or, ' and He [viz., God] hath not 
 taken severe cognizance of his transgression'); 
 therefore doth Job open his mouth in vain 
 (in vain and foolish complaints against God, 
 without cither reason or success) ; he multi- 
 plieth words without knowledge " [either of 
 God or himself]. One of the most obscure 
 passages in the book. Elihu's object to re- 
 prove Job either (1) Because, while God was 
 chastising, Job was still sinning by his rebel- 
 lious murmurs ; or (2) Because while God 
 was forbearing to punish Job's irreverent 
 speeches, Job still continued to indulge in 
 them. Observe (1) An evil case (i.) when 
 God chastises, and we are either blind to the 
 chastening or harden ourselves under it; (ii.) 
 when God's forbearance is abused to a con- 
 tinuance in sin. (2) A child of God not 
 always like himself in temptation and trial. 
 Asaph's confession : " So foolish was I, and 
 ignorant ; I was as a beast before thee " (Ps. 
 Ixxiii. 22). A believer never entirely free from 
 his old carnal nature in this life. Innate 
 corruption liable at times to break out with 
 great violence. God's forbearance required 
 as well in the case of a saint as of a sinner. 
 David's prayer needful for every child of 
 God : "Keep back Thy servant from presump- 
 tuous sins " (Ps. xix. 13). A strict watch re- 
 quired to be kept over heart and lips in time 
 of temptation and trouble. A tendency in 
 the best to impatience under intense and 
 protracted suffering. New Testament grace 
 required in order to fulfil the New Testament 
 precept: "Rejoice evermore; in everything 
 give thanks " (1 Thess. v. 16, 17). The be-
 
 HOMILETIC COMMENTARY: JOB 
 
 CHAP. XXXVI. 
 
 iever's privilege as well as duty to " glory 
 i n tribulation " (Rom. v. 3). Not too much, 
 under the New Testament supplies of the 
 Spirit, to be "strengthened with all might, 
 
 according to His glorious power, unto all 
 patience and long suffering with josfulness " 
 (Col. i. 11). 
 
 CHAPTER XXXVI. 
 ELIHV'S FOURTH SPEECH 
 
 No reply being made to Elilm's preceding 
 address, he resumes. Verse 1. " Elihu also 
 preceded and said." His object to bring Job 
 to a more becoming state of mind in reference 
 to God's dealings with him. Aims, like Job's 
 three friends, at showing that God is not to 
 be charged with injustice by any of his crea- 
 tures. 
 
 I. His introduction (verses 24). 
 
 1. Bespeaks Job's farther patience and at- 
 tention. Verse 2. " Suffer (wait for, or bear 
 with) me a little, and I will show thee that 
 I have yet to speak in God's behalf" (or, 
 "that there are yet arguments for God"). 
 Elihu makes good his own statement: "lam 
 full of matter." "The words of a man's 
 mouth are as deep waters ; and the well- 
 spring of wisdom as a flowing brook." 
 " Counsel in the heart of man is like deep 
 water, but a man of understanding will draw 
 it out" (Prov. xviii. 4; xx. 5). The promise 
 to believers in New Testament times : " Out 
 of them shall flow rivers of living water" 
 (John vii. 37). On the day of Pentecost, 
 believers, filled with the Holy Ghost, spake 
 with other tongues as the Spirit gave them 
 utterance (Acts ii. 4). Observe (1) Patient 
 attention to spiritual teaching not always 
 easy to the flesh. (2) Wise in a public 
 teacher to draw as little as possible on the 
 patience of his hearers. Brevity, as far as 
 consistent with faithfulness to the truth and 
 the hearer's interests, to be constantly aimed 
 at. The matter spoken to be carefully ar- 
 ranged, and the words employed to be few 
 and well chosen. Prolixity, digression, and 
 repetition to be avoided. (3) Elilm's wisdom 
 in making breaks in his discourse, and in 
 pausing at times for a reply. His speeches 
 four or five instead of one. (4) Well to 
 be ready to speak for God, in the presence 
 either of friends or foes. Elilm's task to 
 speak as an advocate for God against Job, 
 who had appeared to take the place of an 
 accuser. The part of wisdom to know how 
 to speak for God, and to give a suitable 
 answer to men's cavils and complaints. 
 
 2. Promises a thorough and satisfactory 
 treatment of tlie subject In hand. Verse 3. 
 " I will fetch my knowledge from afar " (from 
 Hie widely-extended departments of God's 
 
 15-2 
 
 works ; from principles long and everywhere 
 acknowledged ; from deep thought and mature 
 consideration). Elilm's knowledge like Solo- 
 mon's " deep waters." Preachers to ponder 
 and study well the subjects on which they are 
 to speak. Dr. Guthrie commenced his pre- 
 parations for the Sabbath on the preceding 
 Monday, and thus kept his discourses ' sim- 
 mering ' in his mind all the week. Sermons 
 to carry evidence of close thought and 
 thorough acquaintance with the subjects 
 treated. To be confirmed by solid arguments 
 and commended by apt illustrations. The 
 subject and aim of Elilm's discourse: "I 
 will ascribe righteousness to my Maker." 
 His subject the justice of God's dealings in 
 Providence ; his aim to exhibit and defend 
 that justice. His arguments for God espe- 
 cially in relation to His righteousness as the 
 Governor of the Universe. Job had ap- 
 parently questioned that righteousness (cli. 
 xxvii. 2 ; xxxiv. 5 12). Wise in preachers 
 to have a distinct subject and a clear aim in 
 their discourses. 
 
 3. Assures Job of the sincerity as well as 
 correctness of his sentiments. Verse 4. " For 
 truly my words shall not be false (either 
 subjectively, as spoken against my conscience 
 to serve some by-end or selfish purpose a 
 sin of which Job had accused his three 
 friends ; nor objectively, as being untrue in 
 themselves in relation to the subject treated, 
 as if vindicating God's ways by unsound 
 arguments). He that is perfect in know- 
 ledge (or, one sincere in Jus opinions and 
 mature in his knowledge of the subject in 
 hand no novice or tyro, albeit 1 young in 
 years) is with thee." Observe (1) A reli- 
 gious teacher to be true both in himself and 
 in his teaching. Truth to be spoken, and to 
 be spoken as truth, and not as fiction. The 
 speaker to be true both in the manner and 
 matter of his discourse. The truth to be 
 spoken in truthfulness. What we speak to 
 be truth, and to be believed and accepted by 
 ourselves as such. "We speak," said the 
 Model Teacher, "what we do know, and tes- 
 tify what we have seen." (2) A preacher 
 to be sound in his knowledge and in the use 
 lie makes of it. Timothy exhort cd to " study 
 to show himself a workman I hat necdcth not 
 to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of 
 truth;" Titus, to use "sound speech that 
 
 227
 
 CHAP. XXXVI. 
 
 HOMILETIC COMMENTARY: JOB. 
 
 cannot be condemned " (2 Tim. ii. 15 ; Tit. 
 ii. 8). The means of attaining this : " Give 
 attendance to reading ; meditate upon these 
 things; give thyself wholly to them; take 
 heed unto thyself aud unto the doctrine " 
 (1 Tim. iv. 13, 15, 16). Teachers of others 
 to be not babes but men of full age in 
 understanding, whatever they may be in 
 years (Heb. v. 12 14). The Scriptures 
 given " that the man of God may be perfect, 
 thoroughly furnished unto every good work " 
 (2 Tim. ii'i. 17). 
 
 III. Elihu's defence of God (verses 
 5 15). "Behold," &c. "What is about to 
 be spoken is (1) Worthy of all attention ; 
 (2) Patent to everyone, and not for a moment 
 to be questioned. Elihu grounds his de- 
 fence 
 
 1. On God's attributes. Verse 5. "God is 
 mighty, and despiseth not any ; he is mighty 
 in strength and wisdom." Adduces (1) 
 His power. " God is mighty." Omnipotent 
 and able to accomplish all His pleasure 
 throughout the universe. Hence under no 
 temptation to be unrighteous. Injustice 
 allied to weakness. The mighty scorn to be 
 unjust. (2) His kindness. " He despiseth 
 not any." In opposition to Job's insinua- 
 tion (chap. x. 3; xix. 7; xxiii. 13). Though 
 mighty, He scorns not the meanest. Though 
 high, He hath respect to the lowly. Slights 
 no creature's cause or interests. The con- 
 trast of earth's mighty ones. No creature 
 too minute or insignificant in God's eyes for 
 His care and attention. A sparrow not for- 
 gotten before Him. His power no impedi- 
 ment to His providence. His greatness 
 enables Him to pay attention to the tiniest 
 insect as well as to the mightiest angel. To 
 Omnipotence and Omniscience an atom an 
 object of attention as well as a sun. God 
 the universal Parent. All creatures, great 
 and small, His own. All created by Him 
 aud for Him. All dependent on Him for life 
 and all things. The universe a proof that 
 He is mighty, yet " despiseth not any." The 
 animalcule, invisible to the naked eye, a 
 testimony to His condescension and care, as 
 well as to His power and wisdom. The 
 animating reflection of Mungo Park from the 
 appearance of a small moss in the solitary 
 African desert : " Can that Being, thought 
 I, who planted, watered, and brought to 
 perfection in this obscure part of the world, 
 a thing which appears of so small importance, 
 look with unconcern upon the situation and 
 sufferings of creatures formed after His own 
 image ? Surely not." The attribute in the 
 text appropriated by Jesus in reference to 
 sinners applying to Him for salvation. 
 "Him that cometh unto me, I will in no 
 wise cast out " (John vi. 37). His own incar- 
 228 
 
 nation and death on man's behalf the most 
 illustrious confirmation of the text (Ps. viii. 
 4; Heb. ii. 6, &c.). (3) His wisdor,i. "He 
 is mighty in strength and wisdom" (Heb., 
 "in strength of heart," perhaps including 
 generosity and kindness, as parallel to the 
 preceding clause). God's omniscience as 
 real as His omnipotence. His wisdom equal 
 to His power. In God infinite power di- 
 rected by infinite wisdom and employed by 
 infinite goodness. Scripture reveals God's 
 heart as well as His arm. Hence God a 
 Father and a Friend, instead of a tyrant and 
 a terror to His creatures. The object of 
 love and trust as well as of reverence and 
 fear. The tiniest creature the monument of 
 His skill. All nature a testimony to His 
 heart as well as to His hand. 
 
 2. On God's dealings in Providence (verse 
 6). His dealings (1) In respect to the 
 ungodly. "He preserveth not the life of the 
 wicked," i.e., always. Suffers, or causes 
 them, if continuing wicked, sooner or later, 
 to perish. Usually, however, not till after 
 long patience. Examples: Pharaoh; Sodom 
 and Gomorrha ; the antediluvian world. 
 The ungodly preserved for a time by 
 God (i.) For His own purposes (Rom. 
 ix. 17) ; (ii). To afford space for repent- 
 ance (Rom. ii. 4; 2 Pet. iii. 9 15). 
 (2) In respect to the poor: "But giveth 
 right to the poor," the oppressed and 
 afflicted; not without respect to their spirit 
 as well as their circumstances. Maintains 
 their cause against oppressors, and sooner or 
 later, in one way or other, delivers them. 
 Example: Israelites in Egypt. Same truth 
 in similar language (Ps. cxl. 12, and else- 
 where in the Psalms). Applied by Jesus to 
 His suffering Church (Luke xviii. 8). Main- 
 tained by Elihu against Job's complaints 
 and frequent appearances. Might often 
 suffered to take the place of right. Yet 
 " there is a God that judgeth in the earth." 
 The language of Elihu both a rebuke and an 
 encouragement to Job. If poor, he should 
 sooner or later have right given him, not- 
 withstanding his complaint (chap, xxvii. 2). 
 Observe God's people "poor "in this world, 
 both in respect to their spirit and their posi- 
 tion. Their posture one of patience and 
 hope. Their cause, however, maintained by 
 God. " A righteous thing with God to re- 
 compense tribulation to them that trouble 
 you, and to you who are troubled, rest with 
 us, when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed 
 from heaven" (2 Thes. i. 6, 7). Then, if not 
 sooner, right given to the poor. (3) In 
 respect to the righteous. First, in exercising 
 continual care over them. Verse 7. " He 
 withdrawethnot Hiseyes from the righteous," 
 however they may seem at times to be over- 
 looked and forsaken by Him. The case of
 
 HOMILETIC COMMENTARY: JOS. 
 
 CHAP. XXXVI 
 
 Noah already a well-known example. Joseph 
 in Egypt an example of a later period. 
 Righteous Abel died indeed by his brother's 
 hand, but his blood not forgotten by Jehovah 
 (Gen. iv. 10). The eyes of the Lord are 
 upon the righteous (Ps. xxxiv. 15). The 
 comfort of God's people in all circumstances. 
 At times almost forgotten and questioned by 
 the afflicted and tempted patriarch. " Thou 
 God seest me," a well of refreshment for 
 tried believers. Second ; in exalting them. 
 " But with kings are they on the throne ; 
 yea, he doth establish them (or, " yea, kings 
 on the throne, He doth even make them sit") 
 for ever, and they are exalted." Even on earth 
 the righteous often exalted, out of great 
 affliction, to dignity and honour. Joseph 
 and David examples. So far from neglecting 
 the godly, God sooner or later exalts them, 
 sometimes to an earthly throne, always to a 
 heavenly one (1 Sam. ii. 3 ; Ps. cxiii. 8). 
 " Out of prison he cometh to reign " (Ecc. 
 iv. 14). Every believer made a king as well 
 as a priest (1 Pet. ii. 9 ; Rev. i. 6 ; v. 10). 
 Their kingdom an everlasting one (Dan. vii. 
 18). God's providence and care extended over 
 godly rulers. His eyes not withdrawn from 
 kings on the throne. Earthly rulers from 
 God Himself. " He putteth down one and 
 setteth up another." " By Me kings reign " 
 (Prov. viii. 15, 16; Rom. xiii. 1 ; Ps. Ixxv. 
 7). Human rule an evidence and conse- 
 quence of the Divine. Perhaps a direct allu- 
 sion in the text to Job himself. Third; In 
 correcting them. Verses 8 12 "And if 
 they be bound in fetters, and be holden in 
 cords of affliction, then He sheweth them 
 their work, and their transgressions that they 
 have exceeded (or, 'wherein they have acted 
 proudly ') He openeth also their ear to dis- 
 cipline (or, ' correction ' so as to hear the 
 lesson which that discipline is intended to 
 teach them), and commandeth that they re- 
 turn from iniquity. If they obey [the voice 
 of the rod] and serve Him, they shall spend 
 their days in prosperity and their years in 
 pleasures (or ' delights '). But if they obey 
 not, they shall perish by the sword [of Divine 
 judgment]. They shall die without know- 
 ledge" (in their folly, or " before they are 
 aware," i.e., suddenly). Observe from the 
 whole passage, in regard to 
 
 Divine Chastisements, 
 
 1. Eeen the righteous may require correc- 
 tion. True both'in Old and New Testament 
 times (1 Cor. xi. 30 ; Rev. iii. 19). In Elihu's 
 judgment, Job's case at present. Though 
 the godly may not live in sin, they may fall 
 into it,' and for a time continue in it. 
 Examples : Noah ; Abraham ; David ; Peter. 
 Even? sin lias its root in a believer's heart. 
 
 "Foolishness bound up in the heart of a 
 child, but the rod of correction driveth it 
 out" (Prov. xxii. 15). 
 
 2. The righteous not left to remain in their 
 sin. Correction employed to raise them out 
 of it (Prov. xxii. 15). "As many as I love 
 I rebuke and chasten ; be zealous therefore 
 and repent " (Rev. iii. 12). " For this cause 
 (viz., sin in reference to the Lord's Supper) 
 many are weak and sickly among you, and 
 many sleep" are dead (1 Cor. ii. 30). 
 " When we are judged, we are chastened of 
 the Lord, that we should not be condemned 
 with the world" (verse 32). In Elihu's 
 view, Job not proved to be a wicked man by 
 his suffering, but a righteous one who has 
 sinned, and whom God in His love is chas- 
 tening. 
 
 3. The object of chastisement to bring sin 
 to our remembrance in order to repentance. 
 "He sheweth them their work and their 
 transgressions." God's rod a speaking one 
 (Mic. vi. 9). " Art thou come to call my 
 sin to remembrance ?" the question of the 
 widow of Zarephath to Elijah on the death 
 of her son. 
 
 4. Chastening, when improved, followed 
 by a life of enjoyment God's rod, like 
 Jonathan's, brings honey on the point of it. 
 A rich blessing attendant on sanctified afflic- 
 tion (Ps. xciv. 10). Believers allured into the 
 wilderness, that the Lord " may speak com- 
 fortably" to them (Heb., "to their heart"). 
 Their vineyards given them from thence, and 
 the valley of Achor made a door of hope 
 (Hos. ii. 14, 15). 
 
 5. Chastisements, not improved, followed 
 by still severer ones. "If they obey not, 
 they shall perish by the sword." Divine 
 chastening neither to be despised nor faulted 
 under (Heb. xii. 5). 
 
 III. Elihn administers reproof to Job 
 
 (verses 1317). 
 
 1. By adducing the case of the ungodly. Ver. 
 13. "But the hypocrite (or ungodly) in 
 heart (whatever they may appear in their 
 outward life or in the eyes of their fellow- 
 men,) heap up wrath (increasing the Divine 
 displeasure against them by their continuance 
 in sin, and their impenitent stubborness 
 under affliction anothersolemnwordforJob); 
 they cry not (to God, as sinners for pardon- 
 ing mercy) when He bindeth them (with the 
 cords of affliction). They die in youth (that is, 
 prematurely), and their life is (or ' becomes 
 extinct ') among the unclean " (Margin, 
 " Sodomites," persons who by prostituting 
 their bodies abridge their lives; with possible: 
 allusion to the men of Sodom, or more likely, 
 to those who prostituted themselves in heathen 
 temples in the service of their abominable 
 
 '229
 
 CHAP. XXXVI. 
 
 HOMILETIC COMMENTARY: JOB. 
 
 deities). Observe (1) A fearful case when 
 (i mail, is "a hypocrite in heart" Christ's 
 most solemn woes pronounced on hypocrites. 
 Sad to be an open sinner ; still more to be 
 a secret one. Necessary to look to our out- 
 ward life ; still more to look to our heart 
 (Ps. cxxxix. 23, 24). (2) Tlie wrath of God 
 the reward of sin, whether open or secret. 
 God angry with, the wicked every day (Ps. 
 vii. 11). The wrath of God revealed from 
 heavenagaiustalluugodliness and unrighteous- 
 ness of men (Rom. i. 18). (3) That wrath 
 capable of being removed by repentance and 
 faith, or increased by impenitennce and tin- 
 belief. " He that beiieveth in the Son hath 
 everlasting life; and he that beiieveth not 
 the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of 
 God abideth on him" (John iii. 36). Wrath 
 treasured up to themselves by the impenitent 
 against the day of wrath (Rom. ii. 5). (4) 
 The mark of a hard and impenitent heart 
 when, prayer is not made to God in affliction. 
 (5) Sin the cause of an unhappy life, and 
 often of a premature death (Ps. Iv. 23 ; 1 
 Cor. xi. 30). (6) Awful to live among sin- 
 ners ; still more awful to die among them. 
 
 2. By showing God 's conduct towards the 
 humble and afflicted. Verse 15. "He de- 
 livereth the poor in His affliction, and openeth 
 their cars in oppression," to receive instruc- 
 tion. A reminder to Job of what had been 
 his duty and what might have been his ex- 
 perience. Observe (1) Affliction of carious 
 kinds, whether from men or otherwise, allowed 
 by God for wise purposes. (2) One of these 
 purposes is to receive instruction. Divine 
 chastening connected with Divine teaching 
 (Ps. xciv. 10). " Hear ye the rod" (Micah 
 vi. 2). (3) Accepted cftastiseinent usually 
 followed by imparted deliverance (Lev. xxvi. 
 41, 42). Deliverance may be either (i.) 
 By removing the affliction ; (ii.) By re- 
 moving the afflicted to a better world ; or 
 (iii.) By filling his soul with comfort and 
 raising him above his affliction. 
 
 3. By applying the whole to Job's own, 
 case. Verses 16, 1 7. " Even so would He 
 Lave removed thee out of the strait into a 
 broad place where there is no straituess (or, 
 'out of the wide mouth of distress which 
 lias no bottom ') ; and that which should be 
 set on thy table should be full of fatness. 
 But thou hast fulfilled the judgment of the 
 v.icked (approving their way, imitating their 
 example, and incurring their punishment) : 
 judgment and justice take hold on thee " (or, 
 "will hold their place," causing thee still 
 to suffer in consequence of thy rebellious 
 speeches, instead of being delivered, as thou 
 wouldst have been, hadst thou meekly sub- 
 mitted to the Divine chastening and justified 
 God in thy affliction.) Job's sin, in Eliliu's 
 judgment, that like Israel, instead of meekly 
 
 230 
 
 accepting the Divine chastisement, he chafed 
 and kicked against it "like a bullock un- 
 accustomed to the yoke" (Jer. xxxi. 18). 
 Observe (1) The way to have chastisement 
 re/,io ced is meekly and patiently to submit to 
 it, and to seek it.? iniproceiiieut (Lam. iii. 25 
 32, 3941 ; Mic. vii. 9). (2) An easy thing 
 wilh God to remoce us out of the deepest 'Its- 
 tress and to briiiy m into enlargement and 
 comfort. The experience of the Israelites a 
 common one with God's children (Ps. Ixvi. 
 1012). (3) A well-supplied table a gift 
 of God's providence to His obedient children. 
 God able to give richly all things to enjoy. 
 Promises that our bread shall be given 
 us, and our water shall be sure. Teaches 
 his children both how to abound and 
 how to suffer need. Prepares a table 
 for them in the presence of their enemies, 
 and makes their cup to run over (Ps. 
 xxiii. 5). (4) If God's people sin with 
 the ungodly, they must expect to suffer wifh 
 tliem. God's dealings characterized by "judg- 
 ment and justice," as well with saints as 
 with sinners. Sin shown to be abominable 
 and malignant wherever it is found. Sons 
 not exempt from stripes (Ps. Ixxxix. 32). 
 
 IV. Eliliu's warning. Verses 1821. 
 " Because (or since) there is wrath [on 
 the part of God], beware lest He take thee 
 away with His stroke (or chastisement) : then 
 a great ransom cannot deliver thee. Will 
 He esteem thy riches ? No, not gold, nor all 
 the forces (or exertions) of strength." Ob- 
 serve (1) Appearance of wrath on the part 
 of God not necessarily wrath. Job's afflic- 
 tions not the effect of wrath. Elihu, in this 
 respect, almost as much in the dark as Job's 
 three friends. Love and hatred ou the part 
 of God not known by present treatment 
 (Eccles. ix. 1). Yet (2) Suffering often an 
 indication of displeasure. "For the iniquitv 
 of his covetousness was I wroth, and 
 smote him." " In a little wrath I hid 
 my face from thee for a moment" (Is. 
 liv. S; Ivii. 17). (3) Believers and others, 
 uiider chasteniny, to beware of further 
 provoking God's displeasure by obstinacy a/id 
 rebellion. (4) Chastisement, not improved, 
 may end in death (1 Cor. ii. 30). (5) 3"o 
 human power or worldly riches able to divert 
 the Dicine displeasure. All Herod's wealth 
 unable to save him from the worms that ate 
 him up (Acts xii. 23). (6) The language of 
 Elihu to be taken as in general a 
 
 Warning to Sinners. 
 
 1. Their DANGER. " There is wrath." God 
 angry with the wicked every day. The 
 wrath of God revealed from heaven against 
 all sin. Must exist till siu is atoned for, re-
 
 HOMILETIC COMMENTARY: JOB. 
 
 Cii'AP. XXXVI. 
 
 pented of, and forgiven. Sin draws to itself 
 the lightning of Divine wrath. That wrath 
 displayed in the expulsion of the angels from 
 heaven, of man from paradise, and of the 
 Jews from their own land. Exhibited in the 
 destruction of the Old World by water, and 
 of the Cities of the Plain by tire. Most of 
 all seen in the suffering and death of the 
 Son of God standing as the sinner's Surety. 
 God's wrath must consume either the sinner 
 himself or his substitute. The meaning of 
 sacrifices. Christ the thunder-rod that drew 
 down that wrath on Himself in order to 
 draw it off from man. God's wrath is (1) 
 Righteous the just reward of sin; (2) Holy 
 infinitely removed from sinful passion; 
 
 (3) Intolerable as the wrath of man's 
 Creator and Judge ; (4) Unabatable and 
 icnremocable by creature power. That wrath 
 all the more dreadful to the impenitent and 
 unbelieving as the " Wrath of the Lamb " 
 (Rev. vi. 16). 
 
 2. T/ieirvuTf. " Beware, lest He take thee 
 away with His stroke." Implies (1) An 
 awaking to consciousness and consideration of 
 one's peril. " Stop, poor sinner, stop and 
 think ! " (2) A haltiiiff in one's present 
 course. Illustrations: The prodigal at the 
 swine-trough ; the penitent thief. (3) Ear- 
 nest inquiry as to the way of deliverance. 
 Illustrations : The converted murderers of 
 Jesus on the day of Pentecost Men and 
 brethren, what must we do ? Saul of Tarsus 
 Lord, what wilt thou have me to do ? 
 The Philippian jailer Sirs, what must I do 
 to be saved ? No safety but in the Lord's 
 own way. Any other ends only in death. 
 
 (4) Immediate obedience to Dicine direction. 
 That direction Believe on the Lord Jesus 
 Christ. Behold the Lamb of God. Come 
 unto Me and I will give you rest. No safety 
 for a sinner but at the cross where the wrath 
 alighted and was extinguished. Dangerous 
 to delay in obeying the direction. Lot not 
 to tarry in all the plain. No safety till in- 
 side of Zoar. An hour after God shut Noah 
 and his family in the ark, too late for refuge. 
 A step outside the City of Refuge, and the 
 manslayer might perish. The three thousand 
 at Pentecost gladly received the Word and 
 were baptized. The jailer believed and was 
 saved before daybreak. " Behold, now is the 
 accepted time ; behold, now is the day of 
 salvation ! " " To-day, if ye will hear His 
 voice, harden not your heart." 
 
 3. Their DOOM:, if neglecting it : "Then a 
 great ransom cannot deliver thee." No 
 chance of deliverance after death to the 
 unsaved sinner. A "great ransom" already 
 provided. Nothing less than the blood of 
 God's own Sou made flesh. Able to satisfy 
 Divine justice for the sins of a world. 
 Delivers every sinner who trusts in it. De- 
 
 livered the thief upon the cross, Saul the 
 persecutor, and Christ's own murderers. A 
 cloud of witnesses, both in heaven and on 
 earth, to the value of the ransom. Available, 
 however, only on this side of death. After 
 death the judgment. An impassable gulf 
 fixed between heaven and hell. Purgatory 
 a priestly fiction. Rejectors of Christ's 
 proffer here, punished with everlasting de- 
 struction from His presence hereafter. The 
 hand that shut Noah in the ark shut all the 
 world out. The blood of Jesus pleads for 
 pardon to all who trust in it, punishment 
 on all who trample on it (Heb. ix. 13, 1-i; 
 x. 2629). A day when even the blood of 
 God's Sou cannot save a soul. Much less 
 anything else. How shall we escape if we 
 neglect so great salvation ? 
 
 Y. Elilm's admonition. Verses 20, 21. 
 " Desire not the night (of death, probable 
 allusion to Job's wish, chap. vii. 15), when 
 people are cut off in their place (or, go up 
 [as chaff in a whirlwind] 'to their place'). 
 Take heed, regard not iniquity; for this 
 hast thou chosen rather than affliction " (or, 
 "meek submission; 5 ' or, "in consequence 
 of affliction"). Job's temptation twofold : 
 (1) To desire death rather than continuance 
 in his present affliction; (2) To sin or cast 
 off religion in consequence of it. The latter 
 especially Satan's aim. Observe 
 
 1. No sin to which a believer may not be 
 tempted. " Scarcely a temptation except 
 that of covetousness, which Luther did not 
 experience." Spurt/eon. The Head tempted 
 to the grossest of all sins, the worship of the 
 devil for worldly gain and worldly glory ; 
 no marvel if the members should be so too. 
 No attainment in grace sufficient, to exempt 
 a believer from temptation. Christ taken to 
 the Holy City to be tempted, and there placed 
 on ^pinnacle of the temple. Temple-pinnacles, 
 places for the most terrible temptations. The 
 measure of grace shown not in being free 
 from temptations, but in overcoming tlu-m. 
 Gold, not pinchbeck, submitted to the 
 crucible. 
 
 2. Temptations only sinful when succumbed 
 to. Job sorely tempted to curse God, yet 
 only blessed Him. Tempted to renounce 
 religion, yet only clung to ii the closer. 
 Not temptation, but sinning in it, hurts the 
 soul. 
 
 3. Common to be tempted to sin in order to 
 escape sufferimj. Christ tempted to distrust 
 God and work a miracle, to escape the pn-s 
 of hunger. Daniel tempted to abstain IV. m 
 prayer, 'to escape the lion's den. The thrri: 
 captive youths tempted to worship the golden 
 imruje, to escape the fiery furnace. Peter 
 tempted to deny his Muster, to < 
 
 fate. Cranmer tempted to recant, to rsfMpc 
 
 231
 
 CHAP. XXXVI. 
 
 HOMILETIC COMMENTARY: JOB. 
 
 the fires of martyrdom. Believers tempted 
 to choose sin rather than suffering, yet, 
 through grace, prefer suffering to sinning. 
 Peter repented of his sin, and met a martyr's 
 death. Cranmer recanted his recantation, 
 and embraced the flames. 
 
 VI. Elihn directs attention to the 
 Divine perfections (verses 22, 23). 
 "Behold," &c. "With a view to bring Job 
 to submission, he exhibits 
 
 1. The power of God. Verse 22. "God 
 exalteth (i.e., men ; or simply, ' is exalted') 
 by His power." God exalted in Himself, 
 and exalts the lowly. None so reduced but 
 Divine power can restore him. Exalted 
 Joseph from a dungeon to the throne of 
 Egypt. God's power employed as well in 
 exalting the humble as in abasing the proud. 
 
 2. Hit condescension. " Who teacheth 
 like 1 J m '? " (or, who is like Him as a teacher, 
 ruler, or master ?) God's power makes Him 
 a ruler ; His condescension, a teacher of 
 His creatures (Ps. xciv. 10). Observe in 
 reference to 
 
 Dhiiie Teaching : 
 
 ]. I/* excellence. As a Teacher, God is (1) 
 Perfectly acquainted with the subjects which 
 He teaches, and which we require to be 
 taught. (2) Understands the capacity and 
 capabilities of the taught. (31 Knows the 
 lest and most effectual way of teaching them. 
 (4) Able by His power to give effect to His 
 instructions. Instructs with a strong hand 
 (Is. viii. 11). (5) Has patience with the 
 dulncss of His scholars. (C) Carries them 
 to the highest degree of knowledge. Makes 
 them ultimately to know even as they are 
 known (1 Cor. xiii. 12). (7) Exalts them 
 by His teaching to His own moral excellence. 
 Conformity to His own image the end of 
 His teaching. The effect of human teaching 
 often to make men proud. Knowledge 
 puffeth up. God's teaching humlles while it 
 exalts. Human teaching often leaves men 
 depraved and immoral. Attainments in 
 ktiowhvlge not always attainments in virtue. 
 Divine teaching purifies the heart, while it 
 enlightens the mind. God teaches men in 
 order to savethem. 2. The necessity r of Divine 
 teaching. As fallen men, need Divine teach- 
 ing to restore them. "Alienated from the 
 life of God through the ignorance that is in 
 ihcm" (Eph. iv. 18). Men need teaching 
 that gives life as well as light. One of 
 Christ's offices as Redeemer, tliat of Prophet 
 or Teacher. Is made "wisdom" tons as well 
 as "righteousness," c. 3. The means of 
 Divine teaching: God teaches (1) By His 
 Word; (2) By His works ; (3) Ey His 
 Providential dealings ; (4) By His Spirit. 
 His teaching connected with His chastening 
 
 (Ps. xciv. 10). 4. The subjects of Divine 
 teaching God teaches us to know (1) 
 Ourselves, both as creatures and as sinners. 
 The celebrated maxim : " Know thyself," 
 only truly learned under Divine teaching. 
 (2) Our \luty, both to God, our neighbour, 
 and ourselves. (3) Our happiness wherein 
 it, consists, and how it is secured. (4) 
 Virtue or holiness its nature, excellence, 
 and means of attainment. (5) Sin its 
 nature, malignity, and consequences. (6) 
 Salvation, or the way of deliverance from sin 
 and its effects. (7) God Himself, in His 
 being, His perfections, and the relations He 
 sustains to mankind. (8) Jesus Christ, in 
 His person, His offices, and His work as our 
 Redeemer (John xvii. 2, 3). 
 
 3. His supremacy and independence. 
 Verse 23. "Who hath enjoined Him His 
 way ? " (has charged Him how He is to act, 
 and may call Him to account for His con- 
 duct). Deity admits of no superior or 
 director. From the Creator's tribunal no 
 appeal to a higher court. 
 
 4. His justice and holiness. "Who 
 can (will or dare to) say to him, Thou hast 
 wrought iniquity ? " Connected with pre- 
 ceding clause. (1) There is none to charge 
 God with a dereliction of duty. (2) There 
 can be no ground for such a charge. Ini- 
 quity possibly found in human rulers ; none 
 in the Supreme. The creature's interests 
 safe in the hands of the Creator. Iniquity 
 in God the ruin of the universe. The blas- 
 phemous presumption supposed in the text, 
 implied in all quarrelling with God's provi- 
 dence. The sin to which Job had been 
 chit fly tempted. The temptation to which 
 men under severe trials are especially ex- 
 posed. 
 
 VII. Job's duty in reference to the 
 Creator and His works. Verse 24. "Re- 
 member that thou magnify his work (both 
 his actual working and the products of it), 
 which men behold (or ' praise '). Every 
 man may see it ; men may behold it afar 
 off" (so glorious and conspicuous is it). 
 Observe (1) Trouble apt to shut ov.t God 
 and His work from OUT thoughts. The ten- 
 dency of suffering and trial to draw our 
 attention more to ourselves than our Maker. 
 In dwelling .on our own griefs, we are apt to 
 forget His glory. (2) Our duty, as intelligent 
 creatures, to observe and maynify God 's work. 
 God's works made to be remembered (Ps. 
 cxi. 4). (3) Iran's distinction, as a creature, 
 that he is capable of admiring and praising 
 God's work. Other creatures only capable 
 of rendering unconscious praise. The lower 
 animals made to rejoice in the effects of God's 
 work ; man to praise and magnify the work
 
 HOMILETIC COMMENTARY: JOB. 
 
 CHA.P. XXXVI 
 
 itself. Man alone of terrestrial creatures 
 capable of perceiving the wisdom, power, 
 and goodness in the Creator's work. Hence 
 (i) his greater capacity for happiness ; (ii) 
 his responsibility. (4) God's work such as 
 to demand the praise and admiration of in- 
 telligent creatures. His work honourable 
 and glorious (Ps. cxi. 3). His works the 
 reflection of Himself and the exponents of His 
 perfections. The heavens declare His glory. 
 All His works praise Him. Infinite wisdom, 
 power, and goodness impressed on the work 
 of His hands. His attributes displayed as 
 well in His work of Providence as of crea- 
 tion. (5) God's loork admired and praised 
 by men, especially the good, in all ayes. 
 "The works of the Lord are great, sought 
 out of all them that have pleasure therein " 
 (Ps. cxi. 2). Some of the earliest poetry 
 hymns in praise of God's work. (6) God's 
 work everywhere visible and conspicuous. 
 " Every man may see it ; man may behold it 
 afar off." God never without a witness to 
 Himself from His works, giving rain from 
 heaven and fruitful seasons (Acts xiv. 17). 
 His work threefold 
 
 1. Creation. In creation, God calls into 
 existence and gives shape and character to 
 what thus exists. Creation itself a fact of 
 reason and revelation. Everything must 
 have a cause, and marks of design prove a 
 designer. The process of creation briefly 
 indicated in the beginning of the Book of 
 Genesis. The Scriptures "by far the most 
 ancient and the only thoroughly trustworthy 
 record" of the work of creation. Other 
 accounts preserved in various heathen coun- 
 tries, doubtless, in their origin related to the 
 Hebrew one. Nearly all commence, like 
 that of Genesis, with a primitive chaos of 
 matter, empty and dark, on which the 
 Creator acted. Science able to say nothing 
 as to the one first cause. Its instruments 
 inadequate to discern the spiritual cause, as- 
 serted by the Bible to be behind all natural 
 phenomena. Knows, and can know of 
 itself, nothing of the origin of the world, 
 cither in regard to the matter composing it 
 or the forces operating in it. The language 
 in Genesis that of accommodation. Every 
 creation-act accomplished by a word of com- 
 mand, as the fullest representation of the 
 kind of power exerted. The work, both as to 
 matter and form, simply a will on the part of 
 the Creator. Materials for later stages in 
 creation ready at hand in the results of the 
 earlier. At each stage a special fiat, con- 
 sistent with a gradual development, and new 
 Divine impulse. A perfect universe not 
 created at once, but slowly built up step by 
 step. Warrington's Week of Creation. What 
 appear^ at first as the results of one period 
 of creation, actually that of many. The rocks 
 
 disclose a series of creations previous to that 
 of man, separated from each other by thou- 
 sands of years. The rocks themselves, to a 
 large extent, the result of those previous 
 creations. Limestone rocks almost entirely 
 composed of the remains of shell fish. The 
 products and proof of God's creation-work 
 everywhere before us. Embrace both the 
 visible and the invisible, the material and 
 the spiritual. Man both spiritual and mate- 
 riala microcosm or universe in himself. 
 God's works of creation claim our admiration 
 both for their magnitude and minuteness; 
 their multiplicity and variety ; their perfec- 
 tion and beauty ; their complexity and order ; 
 their extent and mutual adaptation. 
 
 2. Providence. Consists in the preserv- 
 ing and governing the creatures made, and 
 conducting them to the end for which they 
 were created. The creatures dependent on 
 God for their preservation as well as their 
 creation. In Him we live and move, as well 
 as have our being. The end of creation the 
 Creator's own glory. His work of Provi- 
 dence the steps by which that end is secured. 
 Its operation discovered in what at first sight 
 appears to have been the work of creation. 
 The creatures whose remains lie imbedded in 
 the rocks, and to a considerable extent com- 
 pose them, the ancient objects of God's pro- 
 vidence. The formation of the rocks them- 
 selves due to the same providence, acting 
 for millions of years previous to man's ap- 
 pearance on the earth. Provision made by 
 God's providence, in those distant ages, for 
 man's future residence and comfort, as well 
 in the coal-beds prepared for his fuel by the 
 growth of primeval forests, as in the rocks 
 which should furnish the soil he was to cul- 
 tivate, and the material with which he was 
 to build his dwelling. God's work of pro- 
 vidence extends to the lowest as well as the 
 highest of His creatures. The fall of a spar- 
 row under His direction as well as the revo- 
 lution of a world. The animalcule, invisible 
 to the naked eye, cared for by it as well as 
 the sun with its diameter of a million miles. 
 That work embraces the rise and fall of em- 
 pires, the progress and decay of states, and 
 the affairs of the humblest individuals that 
 compose them. All history but the exponent 
 of Divine providence. Its operations con- 
 tinually before our eyes, and often such as 
 to arrest the attention even of the thought- 
 less. Visible in the miseries and calamities, 
 as well as in the blessings and deliverances 
 experienced among men. Under Divine pro- 
 vidence, virtue in general, and in the end, 
 rewarded, though frequently permitted, for 
 a time, to be tried and purified by suffering 
 the case exhibited in this book. Vice in 
 general, and in the end, punished, though 
 often allowed, for a time, to prosper and
 
 CHAP. XXXVI. 
 
 HOMILETIC COMMENTARY: JOB. 
 
 triumph. Many things in God's work of 
 providence, as in that of creation, mysterious 
 to us in our present imperfect condition. 
 Among these the permission of evil. His 
 providence seen, not only in permitting it, 
 but in overruling it for His own glory 
 "from seeming evil still educing good." 
 
 3. Redemption. Properly a special part 
 of God's work of providence. Its most 
 glorious part, and that to which both crea- 
 tion and providence are subservient. Re- 
 demption the deliverance and restoration of 
 fallen men by the incarnation and life, the 
 suffering and death, the resurrection and as- 
 cension of the Son of God, as well as by the 
 mission and operation of the Holy Ghost. 
 The work in which God has chosen, most of 
 all, to exhibit His perfections. "To the in- 
 tent that now unto the principalities and 
 powers in heavenly places, might be made 
 known by the Church, the manifold wisdom 
 of God" (Eph. iii. 10, 11). God's work of 
 Redemptionestablished uponman's fall, which 
 it includes as its foundation. Embraces tne 
 call of Abraham, and the selection of a part 
 of his posterity to be, for a time, the 
 special field of its development, preparatory 
 to the extension of its blessings to all the 
 nations of the earth. Included, as a farther 
 preparation, the union of the nations in suc- 
 cessive universal empires, culminating in the 
 Roman, in which the work was to receive its 
 principal development. Embraced the mis- 
 sion of the Apostles for the proclamation of 
 the Redemption among all nations, and the 
 establishment of the New Testament for its 
 experience and further exhibition. Included 
 the destruction of Jerusalem and the dis- 
 persion of the Jews, thus terminating a re- 
 ligion of symbols after it had served its pur- 
 pose, and affording a standing evidence to 
 the truth of the Scriptures which announce 
 and unfold the Redemption. Comprehends 
 the spread of the Gospel and the conversion 
 of the nations to Christianity, with all the 
 events, movements, and arrangements of 
 Divine providence conducing to it ; as the 
 general diffusion of the Greek language as 
 the channel for the early promulgation of 
 the Gospel ; the free communication among 
 the nations, through the extension of the 
 Roman empire and its universal net-work of 
 roads ; the breaking up of the Roman Empire, 
 and the settlement of the Northern nations 
 in the provinces of Southern Europe; the 
 persecutions of the Church, and the disper- 
 sion of its members and teachers ; the pre- 
 servation of a faithful remnant in the midst 
 of corruption and apostasy in the Church 
 itself; the Reformation, and the various 
 steps conducting to it, as the revival of 
 learning, the invention of printing, and the 
 general aspiration after liberty : the discovery 
 
 234 
 
 of America, and the planting, in its northern 
 portion, of a nation of Protestants who should 
 occupy it with the Gospel, and disseminate 
 it iu its purity and power in other lauds ; the 
 increasing power and influence of Protestant 
 nations, as England and Prussia, and the 
 decay of Popish ones, as Spain and Portugal ; 
 the discovery of the maritime passage to 
 India, and the subsequent transfer of its 
 numerous millions from the sway of a Popish 
 to that of a Protestant nation ; the defeated 
 attempts of Mahommedanism to overspread 
 Europe, and of Popery to crush Protestantism 
 in England and the Netherlands ; the French 
 Revolution, which aroused botli the Church 
 and the world, preparing the one to communi- 
 cate and the other to receive the Gospel ; the 
 almost simultaneous formation of societies 
 for the spread of the Gospel in foreign lands, 
 as the Bible, Tract, and Missionary Societies 
 of Great Britain ; the overthrow of the Pope's 
 temporal sway by the Italian people, and the 
 crippling of the power of France which had 
 been its chief support. The work of redemp- 
 tion the sum of all God's dealings iu provi- 
 dence. All past history but the unravelling 
 of God's eternal plan concerning our race, 
 and the working out of that redemption pro- 
 vided for it. Redemption both the key and 
 the keystone of history. Runs through its 
 entire course, like the scarlet cord said to 
 run through all the cables of the Royal Navy. 
 Finds its realization in the conversion of 
 every believer's soul. 
 
 Till. Returns to the perfections of 
 God as exhibited in the operations of 
 nature, especially in the production of 
 rain and the phenomena of a thunder- 
 storm. Verses 2G 33. " Behold, God is 
 great, and we know Him not (or, ' and we 
 know not' how great He is), neither can 
 the number of His years be searched out 
 (is from everlasting, and therefore incompre- 
 hensible to us). For he maketh small the 
 drops of rain (or, ' draweth up [by evapora- 
 tion] the watery particles' from land and 
 sea to be formed into rain) : they pour down 
 rain according to the vapour thereof (or, 
 ' according to His vapour ' the quantity of 
 vapour thus collected by Him ; or, ' they 
 fine [or filter] the rain from His vapour ; or, 
 ' instead of His mist,' alluding to Gen. ii. 5, 
 G), which the clouds do drop and distil (in- 
 stead of pouring them down in destructive 
 and overwhelming floods) upon man abun- 
 dantly. Also, can any understand (or, does 
 any consider) the spreadiugs of the clouds 
 (either as to mode or measure), or the noise 
 of His tabernacle (the thunder-crash that 
 proceeds from the clouds, which form His 
 pavilion, Ps. xviii. 11 j? Behold, He 
 spreadeth His light (or lightning) upon it
 
 IIOMILETIC COMMENTARY: JOB. 
 
 CHAP, xxxvir. 
 
 (or, ' over Himself',' Ps. civ. 2), and covereth 
 the bottom (Klurff., 'the roots') of the sea 
 (namely, with the light or lightning which 
 penetrates the ocean's depths, or with the 
 dense cloud spread over its surface ; or, ' he 
 covereth Himself with the bottom of the sea, 
 i.e., with the waters exhaled from it, and 
 formed into clouds). For by them (the 
 clouds, or these operations in the atmosphere) 
 judgeth He the people (either in the bestow- 
 inent of benefits or the infliction of chastise- 
 ment) ; He giveth meat in abundance (by 
 imparting fertility to the earth). With 
 clouds He covereth the light (or the sun, the 
 great reservoir and source of light to the 
 earth, its opaque body being surrounded with 
 a luminous atmosphere ; or, ' He covereth 
 both His hands with lightning ') ; and com- 
 mandeth it not to shine by the cloud that 
 cometh betwixt (or, ' commandeth concern- 
 ing it the lightning in its striking,' or as 
 to where it shall strike). The noise thereof 
 sheweth concerning it (or, 'His thunder 
 declares concerning Him, His presence, 
 power, and majesty), the cattle also concern- 
 ing the vapour " (or concerning Him as He 
 ascends [in the storm] ; or, " a magazine of 
 wrath against iniquity ") . 
 
 The whole paragraph sublime, but, on that 
 account, obscure and difficult. Contains a 
 highly poetical description of a gathering 
 thunder-storm, probably the storm-cloud out 
 of which the Almighty was about to speak, 
 and which was already making its appearance 
 and giving forth its pealing thunder. From 
 the whole, observe 
 
 1. God in Himself infinitely above our 
 comprehension, but discernable in His works 
 of creation and providence. 
 
 2. Elihu's first illustration of God's power 
 and wisdom drawn from meteorology. God 
 seen in objects and operations the most minute 
 as well as the most majestic. The phenome- 
 non of rain one of the most interesting 
 evidences of His being and perfections. The 
 atmosphere the Divine laboratory for the ir- 
 rigation and fructifying of the earth. To fill 
 the cloudy reservoirs with water exhaled 
 from the land and sea, and then to form the 
 contents into rain, and send it down in re- 
 freshing and fertilizing showers, aprocessas 
 interesting and wonderful as it is beneficial 
 
 and little regarded. The whole operation 
 carried on by the Divine Ruler according to 
 laws of His own establishment. The process 
 no less His own, and no less requiring His 
 hand and direction, that it is carried on ac- 
 cording to established laws. 
 
 3. The formation and descent of rain 
 generally understood by the scientific, though 
 much of the process still remains a mys- 
 tery. "Can any understand [fully] the spread- 
 ings of the clouds ?" The operation intended, 
 like all other works of God in nature, to en- 
 gage the attention and employ the study 
 of His intelligent creatures. Engaged the 
 thoughts of devout men in Job's day, when 
 natural processes were much less understood 
 than at present. Not considered, because 
 so common. " Doth any consider the spread- 
 ings of the clouds ?" 
 
 4. All nature a magazine of means pre- 
 pared by the Almighty, to be employed by 
 Him, either in judgment or in mercy. His 
 goodness exhibited in the copious or softly 
 falling shower; his terrible majesty and awful 
 displeasure against sin, in the forked light- 
 ning and crashing thunder. Even the irra- 
 tional creatures gladdened by the one, but 
 alarmed and terrified by the other. All the 
 elements of nature under the Almighty's con- 
 trol. The lightning-flash or thunderbolt has 
 its commission from the Creator. " He com- 
 mandeth concerning it where it shall strike." 
 Alexis, the friend of Luther, is struck dead 
 by a flash of lightning, while Luther himself, 
 close by his side, remains unhurt. 
 
 5. The voice of Nature as well as of Re- 
 velation, that the Almighty is present in the 
 thunder-storm. " The noise thereof showeth 
 concerning him." God no less in the thun- 
 der because its reverberation is according to 
 natural and tolerably understood laws. The 
 report of a musket no less dependent on the 
 hand that draws the trigger, that it is pro- 
 duced by the same laws. Every reason why 
 the thunder-cloud should be designed and 
 employed by its Divine Author, among other 
 purposes, as his celestial artillery against His 
 impenitent and rebellious adversaries (ch. 
 xxviii. 22, 23). 
 
 6. Unspeakably blessed to have the Al- 
 mighty for our Father and friend ; terrible 
 beyond conception, to have Him for our foe. 
 
 CHAPTER XXXVH. 
 
 ELIHU'S FOURTH SPEECH CONTINUED, 
 
 Elihu continues ins discourse, apparently 
 in the midst of loud thunder-claps, suddenly 
 issuing from the storm-cloud out of which the 
 Almighty was about to speak, and which had 
 
 already been seen gathering. The scene sub- 
 lime and terrific. Elihu sensibly affected by 
 it. (Verse 1)" At this (the Ihunder he had 
 just spoken of, ch. 30, 33), and which was 
 
 i35
 
 CHAP. XXXVII. 
 
 HOMILETIC COMMENTARY: JOB. 
 
 now lieard) my heart trembleth (beats with 
 awe) and is moved (or leaps) out of his place." 
 Awe, a natural eft'ect of loud reverberating 
 thunder, even when its cause is better un- 
 derstood than it was in the days of Elihu. 
 Pealing thunder intended as a display of God's 
 solemn majesty as Ruler and Judge of man- 
 kind. Hence, accompanied the giving of the 
 law on Mount Sinai (Exod. xix. 19). Only 
 a consciousness of having the Almighty for 
 our father and friend through Jesus Christ, 
 can or ought to give assurance and compo- 
 sure amid the cracking thunder and flashing 
 of the storm. 
 
 I. Elihu calls Job's attention to the 
 thunder- storin. Verses 2 5. " Hear at- 
 tentively the noise of His voice (in the thun- 
 der), and the sound that goeth out of His 
 mouth. He directeth it (the thunder, or the 
 flash that precedes it) under the whole heaven 
 (or, ' under the whole heaven is its darting), 
 and His lightning unto the ends of the earth. 
 After it (i.e., the flash) a voice gocth ; He 
 thundereth with the voice of His excellency, 
 and He will not stay (or delay) them (the 
 lightning, or other accompaniments of the 
 thunder) when his voice is heard (or, " one 
 cannot track them, though His voice hath 
 been lieard"). God thundereth marvellously 
 with his voice ; great things doeth He which 
 we cannot comprehend." The magnificence 
 and terror of a thunder-storm similarly de- 
 scribed by the Psalmist : " The voice of the 
 Lord is upon, the waters," &c. (Ps. xxix. 3, 
 10). Also, but with less sublimity, by the 
 Poet of the Seasons : 
 
 ' ' Tis listening fear, and dumb amazement all, 
 When to the startled eye, the sudden flame 
 Appears far South, eruptive through the 
 
 cloud ; 
 
 And following slower, in explosion vast, 
 The thunder raises his tremendous voice. 
 At first heard solemn, o'er the verge of 
 
 Heaven, 
 
 The tempest growls ; but as it nearer comes, 
 And rolls its awful burden on the world, 
 The lightnings flash a larger curve, and more 
 The noise astounds : till overhead a sheet 
 Of lurid flame discloses wide ; then shuts 
 And opens wider ; shuts, and opens still 
 Expansive, wrapping ether in a blaze. 
 Follows the loosened aggravated roar, 
 Enlarging, deepening, mingling; peal on 
 
 peal 
 Crush'd horrible, convulsing heaven and 
 
 earth." 
 
 Observe 
 
 1. The terrors of a thunder-storm to le 
 viewed as manifestations of the Almighty. 
 The thunder, however caused, truth and 
 piety regard as "the noise of His voice." 
 'God thundereth marvellously." The teach- 
 ing of universal consciousness as well as of the 
 
 236 
 
 Bible. No reason why the Almighty should not 
 have witnesses, in His own universe, to His 
 terribleness as well as to His tenderness. 
 God no less in the thunder-storm, because 
 we are allowed to understand a little of the 
 way in which, and the laws by which, He 
 is pleased, ordinarily, to produce it. 
 
 2. Those sublimities in "nature to le atten- 
 tively regarded by us. " Hear attentively the 
 noise of His voice." The thunder-peal to be 
 listened to as proclaiming (1) The presence 
 of God in the Universe ; (2) His power and 
 majesty; (3) The terribleness of His displea- 
 sure; (4) The vengeance awaiting the im- 
 penitent. Fitted and intended, among other 
 things, to arouse the sinner to a sense of his 
 guilt and danger. God's voice calling him to 
 secure, in time, a place of refuge for his soul 
 in Christ " the covert from the tempest " 
 (Is. xxxii. 2). "This voice came for your 
 sakes" (John xii. 30). 
 
 3. The elements of nature all under God's 
 control. " He directeth it under the whole 
 heaven." 
 
 4. The omnipresence of God suggested by 
 the velocity and reach of the lightning-flash. 
 " His lightning [is] to the ends of the earth." 
 The passage of the electric fluid over thou- 
 sands of miles instantaneous. Hence its won- 
 derful and now extensive employment in 
 telegraphy. 
 
 5. God's operations in the atmosphere, as 
 elsewhere, marvellous, and even still full of 
 mystery. " God thundereth marvellously : 
 great things doeth He which AVC cannot 
 comprehend." The thunder marvellous 
 (1) In its production; (2) In its terrible- 
 ness; (3) In its effects. The nature of that 
 which produces the thunder, and to which 
 we give the name " electricity," still a mys- 
 tery. Philosophers uncertain as to whether 
 it is a fluid or a force, matter or a mere 
 affection in matter. The latter now regarded 
 as the more probable opinion, though for 
 convenience, electricity is still spoken of as 
 a fluid. Like heat, it appears to pervade all 
 material substances, existing in each in a 
 certain ordinary proportion, then impercep- 
 tible to the senses. Bodies capable of being 
 overcharged with it, or made to have more 
 than their ordinary proportion, and then of 
 discharging the excess into some neighbour- 
 ing body, so as thus to regain their usual 
 condition. Its discharge or passage from 
 one body to another, accompanied with a 
 shock and a spark, or flash of light. The 
 shock produced by electricity, artificially col- 
 lected, able to throw down the strongest 
 ox ; and the heat produced by the spark or 
 flash, able to melt the hardest metals. 
 Lightning, the flash accompanying the pas- 
 sage of the fluid from a surcharged cloud 
 either to another cloud or to the ground, its
 
 HOMILETIC COMMENTARY: JOB. 
 
 CHAT. XXXVII. 
 
 general reservoir. The excess of electricity 
 collected in a cloud during the heat of Sum- 
 mer, sometimes immense. Hence the terrible 
 effects often attending its discharge. Thunder 
 the sound produced by the explosion. Such 
 explosions ordinarily made to serve a bene- 
 ficent purpose, by restoring the air to a 
 healthy condition. Capable, however, un- 
 der the Divine direction, of serving other 
 ends. All nature but the Almighty's in- 
 strument 
 
 "A capacious reservoir of means, 
 Framed for His use and ready at His will.'' 
 
 Man acquainted, in some measure, with 
 what are the forces operating in natural 
 phenomenon, and what are the effects they 
 produce ; but the nature of the forces them- 
 selves a mystery. How they come to exist, 
 and how they act and produce their effects, a 
 greater mystery still. 
 
 II. Describes other Divine operations 
 in nature. Verses 6 13. "For He saith 
 to the snow, be (or fall) thou on the earth ; 
 likewise to the small rain, and to the great 
 rain of His strength (Marg., 'and to the 
 shower of rain, and to the showers of rain of 
 His strength ;' or, ' to the heavy shower of 
 rain, and to the heavy shower of His violent 
 rains ') . He sealeth up (by these vehement rains 
 or by the cold of winter about to be described) 
 the hand of every man (stopping his labour 
 in the field (Ps. xx. 4) ; or 'He putteth His 
 seal on the hand of every man,' as a door or 
 bag is sealed so as not to be opened but by 
 the authority of Him who sealed it) ; that all 
 men may know His work (or agency; or, 
 ' that all men whom he hath made may 
 know' that is, the effect of His power as 
 operating in nature, and their dependence 
 upon Him). Then (at the time of these 
 rains and cold of winter) the beasts go into 
 dens and remain in their places. Out of the 
 South cometh the whirlwind (from the sandy 
 desert of Arabia, such as overthrew the house 
 of Job's eldest son, ch. i. 19 ; Zech. ix. 14; 
 Is. xxi. 1) ; and cold out of the north (or 
 " from the scatterers ;' Mary., ' the scatter- 
 ing wind,' the north wind, which disperses 
 the clouds and driveth away rain, Prov. xxv. 
 23). By the breath of God is frost given 
 (or, 'ice congealeth'), and the breadth of 
 the waters is *" straitened (or, 'the expanded 
 waters are made solid,' namely, by being 
 congealed). Also by watering (or ' in irri- 
 gating,' i.e., the earth), He wearieth the 
 thick cloud (by causing it to move from place 
 to place ; or "'He burdeneth ' it, i.e., with 
 moisture; or, 'He presseth it,' in order to 
 yield ifs contents, like a water-skin, which 
 is pressed in order to empty it ; otherwise, 
 'the brightness dispelleth the thick cloud'): 
 
 He scattereth His bright cloud (Mary, "the 
 cloud of His light," the cloud on which He 
 causes the light of His sun to shine ; or, 
 'His light [or sun] scattereth the cloud' 
 cumulous or stack clouds being usually dis- 
 persed at noon; otherwise, 'the cloud of 
 His lightning' that from which the lightning 
 issues). And it is turned round about by 
 His counsel (or, 'it moves round in cir- 
 cuits by His guidance' literally, 'by His 
 steerings'): that they may do whatsoever 
 He commandeth them upon the face of the 
 world in the earth (over the whole habitable 
 giobe). He causeth it (*'.<?., the cloud with its 
 watery contents) to come (Heb., 'to find,' 
 i.e., its place or object), whether for correc- 
 tion, or for His land, or for mercy" (or, 
 " whether it be for a rod or tribe, or for His 
 land or earth, viz., to fructify it, verily [itis] 
 for mercy ; " or, " whether for correction to 
 His land, or for mercy"). The last yerse,as the 
 text stands at present, obscure in Hie con- 
 nection of its different clauses, while the 
 general sense is sufficiently obvious. On the 
 whole section, observe 
 
 1. All nature, with its various operations 
 and phenomena, under God's direction and 
 subject to His will. (1) Snow. " He saith 
 to the snow, be thou, and snow and vapour 
 as well as stormy wind fulfil His word (Ps. 
 cxlviii. 1). "He giveth snow like wool" 
 (Ps. cxlvii. 16). Snow and hail reserved 
 by Him against the time of trouble (ch. xxviii. 
 22, 23). The snow no less the Almighty's ser- 
 vant, because we happen to know that when 
 the condensed moisture in the atmosphere is 
 congealed by the temperature being reduced 
 below the freezing point, its particles descend 
 in the form of snow. Serves a beneficial pur- 
 pose in regard to the earth, in contributing 
 to its irrigation, and especially in keeping it 
 at a moderate degree of cold, and so protect- 
 ing the germs of vegetation from the effects 
 of frost. Made to serve other purposes of a 
 providential, and sometimes of a judicial 
 nature. Snow remarkable for tbe beautiful 
 and variously-shaped crystals of which it is 
 composed. (2) Rain" Likewise to the 
 small rain," &c. The rain-cloud parts with 
 its contents only when God commands it, and 
 as He commands, whether in the soft gentle 
 shower or in the drenching down- pour that 
 floods the fields and obstructs the labours of 
 the husbandman. Every cloud does not 
 necessarily descend in rain. If the cloud 
 happens to be made warmer, cither by 
 the sun or by a current of dry warm 
 air mixing with it, Hie watery particles 
 are again dissolved into invisible vapour. 
 Although we can explain the circumstan- 
 ces under which clouds air formed, 'there 
 
 is a difficulty in aadentMcfaf h<>\v tin; 
 minute particles of water, of vtieki 
 
 887
 
 CHAP. XXXVII. 
 
 IIOMILETIC COMMENTARY: JOS. 
 
 are composed, are upheld so long in the air 
 as we often see them, without any tendency, 
 apparently, to descend. It is only, as would 
 appear, when some unknown cause brings 
 several of the particles together, so as to form 
 drops of some size, that they begin to fall ; 
 and then, in their descent, they meet more 
 and more particles, and thus become larger 
 as they approach the ground. Chambers In- 
 troduction to the Sciences. (3) Heat and 
 Cold. " Out of the south cometh the whirl- 
 wind, and cold out of the North." The 
 waters poetically said to be congealed by the 
 breath of His mouth. Heat and cold con- 
 tinued to the earth according to His promise 
 made after the flood. Their degree in any 
 particular part of the earth's surface depen- 
 dent on the situation of that part in relation 
 to the sun, so as to receive its rays more or 
 less directly or obliquely. The cold most in- 
 tense and continued at the poles, as from the 
 obliquity of the earth's axis they receive so 
 little of the solar rays. The heat greatest 
 about the equator, for the opposite reason. 
 The air there, becoming rarefied by the heat, 
 nscends, from its greater lightness, to occupy 
 higher regions, while the cold air from about 
 the poles rushes in to fill its place. Inter- 
 mediate places rendered colder oy the cold air 
 thus passing over them. Frost and ice no less 
 from God, that we know that when the heat 
 of the atmospheric air falls below a certain 
 point, hence called the f feezing point, water 
 begins to freeze and is changed into ice. (4) 
 Clouds. Here said to be "turned round, or 
 in circuits, by His counsels," or literally, His 
 steerings.' God the almighty and omniscient 
 pilot of the universe, whose hand is ever on 
 the helm, and who steers those mighty ves- 
 sels with their watery contents, according 
 to His will. Every motion of the clouds 
 directed by Him and made to serve the pur- 
 pose which He designs. Each little speck of 
 light fleecy cloud, as well as the huge heavy - 
 Icaden stack, observed by His omniscient 
 eye, and guided by His almighty hand. The 
 clouds among the most important ministers 
 of Divine providence in nature. No less so 
 because we know that they are formed by a 
 portion of air, saturated with vapour, having 
 its temperature by any cause reduced, and 
 so having its invisible changed into visible 
 vapour. 
 
 2. The purposes for which God employs the 
 agencies of nature such as to serve His moral 
 gocernment of the world. "Whether for 
 correction," &c. These purposes always 
 beneficent, or " for mercy." in the end, but 
 sometimes in the way of correction, or a 
 "rod." God's procedure towards mankind 
 both judgment and mercy. Judgment His 
 strange act; mercy His 'delight. "Mercy 
 re : oiceth against judgment" (James ii. 13). 
 
 238 
 
 Yet judgment and correction necessary in a 
 world of sin. The clouds ordinarily discharge 
 their contents for the irrigation of the earth ; 
 but occasionally also for the destruction of 
 person and property, man and beast. The 
 ancient deluge,aud inundations not unfrequent 
 in our own time, examples of what ordinarily 
 serves a beneficent purpose being employed 
 also in a way entailing serious suffering and 
 loss. Such corrections necessary and im- 
 portant (1) As a testimony to Divine 
 justice ; (2) As proofs of the power of God 
 to punish transgression ; (3) As warnings 
 against a course of sin. Punishment and its 
 instruments no less necessary and proper in 
 the Divine than in a human government. 
 Yet, even in such cases, mercy remembered 
 in wrath, and good to mankind educed. As in 
 earthly governments, the inflicting of punish- 
 ment one means of promoting the general 
 good. Yet, in the Divine administration 
 such corrections not always indicative of 
 special demerit on the part of the sufferer. 
 Sent for the trial and purification of the 
 good, as well as for the chastisement and 
 punishment of the bad. 
 
 III. Elihu calls Job's special atten- 
 tion to the works of God as seen in 
 creation and providence. Verse 14. 
 " Hearken unto this, Job ; stand still and 
 consider the wondrous works of God." The 
 object of this summons, Job's humiliation and 
 the silencing of his murmurs against God's 
 procedure, from the consideration both of his 
 ignorance and impotence. Verses 15 18. 
 "Dost thou know when God disposed 
 them (or ' put His hand to them ; ' or, ' gave 
 command concerning them,' in allusion to 
 Gen. i. 3, &c. ; or, ' imposed laws upon them,' 
 in order to their preservation and the accom- 
 plishment of the end for which He created 
 them), and caused the light of His cloud 
 (the light that should illuminate His cloud, 
 referring to the original command : ' Let 
 there be light ; ' or, ' made the lightning of 
 His cloud to shine,' as it was probably now- 
 flashing from the storm-cloud in their view). 
 Dost thou know the balancings of the clouds 
 (the manner in which they are poised and 
 suspended in the air probably another 
 allusion to the creation, in reference to the 
 waters above and below the firmament, Gen. 
 i. /"i, the wondrous works of Him Who is 
 peiiect in knowledge ? How thy garments 
 are warm (felt to be too warm by the greatly 
 increased temperature of summer), when He 
 quieteth the earth by the south wind (tran- 
 quillizing the atmosphere, and causing the 
 piercing north winds to cease) ? Hast thou 
 with Him (as His associate and companion 
 in the work of creation like the Divine 
 Person designated Wisdom in Prov. viii.
 
 HOMILETIC COMMENTARY: JOB. 
 
 C1IAP. XXXV11. 
 
 22 31) spread out the sky (or firmament, 
 Gen. i. 7) which is strong (as supporting in 
 it the heavenly bodies) and as a molten look- 
 ing-glass" (or mirror those in the East 
 being usually of polished metal, either brass 
 or steel the sky at different times resembling 
 the one or the other, as the yellow or blue 
 predominates). Observe 
 
 1. Serious attention to be given to the works 
 of God around us. " Hearken unto this, 
 Job," &c. Those works in themselves mar- 
 vellous displays of power and wisdom. Every 
 department of creation teems with evidences 
 of Divine skill and Almighty power. The 
 works of God in nature, both on the earth 
 and above it, a study as interesting as it is 
 profitable. Such study, according to oppor- 
 tunities afforded, a duty we owe to God as 
 well as to ourselves. 
 
 2. Much in the commonest phenomena of 
 nature ice are unable even still to understand. 
 Among these is heat. " Knowest thou how 
 thy garments are warm when He quieteth 
 the earth by the south wind?" Heat both a 
 sensation and the cause producing it. As a 
 cause of the sensation, its exact nature not 
 known. Like electricity, pervades all the 
 material world ; but whether a thin and 
 subtle fluid, or only a property or affection 
 of matter motion of some kind among the 
 component atoms of bodies, philosophers 
 not agreed, though now generally inclining 
 to the latter opinion. Mystery still con- 
 nected with its operation as well as its 
 nature. Sometimes a great deal of it enters 
 a body and disappears, or produces no ap- 
 parent effect, the body feeling no hotter to 
 the touch, nor shown to be any hotter by the 
 thermometer. Thus a great deal of heat re- 
 quired to melt a piece of ice, yet the water 
 from, the ice feels as cold as the ice itself 
 land affects the thermometer in the same way, 
 the heat not having warmed the ice, but only 
 changed it into a liquid state. The alternation 
 of heat and cold, summer and winter, now 
 known to be occasioned 'by a remarkable pro- 
 vision on the part of the Creator the obli- 
 quity of the earth's axis in its revolution 
 round the sun, that axis being twenty-three 
 and a half degrees out of the perpendicular. 
 
 3. Creation intended as a school for man's 
 instruction. "Stand still and consider the 
 .wondrous works of God." Some of man's 
 'most useful lessons to be learned in the 
 
 school of nature. These lessons both in re- 
 ference to God and ourselves. God's great- 
 ness and our o wn littleness never more rea- 
 lized than in the intelligent contemplation of 
 the arrangements in nature in relation to the 
 earth, and of the mechanism of the heavens, 
 of which the earth forms a part. Of God's 
 \vork in creation we understand but little : 
 still less of His secret purposes and provi- 
 
 dential procedure ; least of all, of Himself. 
 The origin of the universe, except as God 
 reveals it, entirely hidden from our know- 
 ledge. Science, of itself, able to teach 
 nothing as to the fact of creation, or of the first 
 great cause, except that there is one an 
 intelligence infinite in power and wisdom. 
 The distance of the time when God first "dis- 
 posed," or put His Almighty hand to the 
 work, far beyond man's conception, millions 
 of years being revealed in the earth's strata 
 as antecedent to man's existence. 
 
 IV. Elihu ironically reproves Job's 
 Presumption. Verse 19. "Teach us what 
 we shall say unto Him (as you are so much 
 wiser than we are, and are able to enter into 
 controversy with the Almighty) ; for we [for 
 our part] cannot order speech (so as to argue 
 with Him) by reason of darkness (in our- 
 selves generally, and in relation to God's 
 purposes and procedure in particular). Shall 
 it be told Him that I speak ( be declared as 
 by a messenger sent to Him that I will speaK. 
 and debate the matter with Him)? if a 
 man speak (attempt so to debate with the 
 Almighty), surely he shall be swallowed up 
 (confounded and'overwhelmed by the Divine 
 Majesty). And now (at the very time Elihu 
 was speaking either the storm-cloud then 
 hiding the sun from view, and obscuring the 
 sky, or a rising wind having cleared away the 
 clouds and revealed the sun in his effulgence ; 
 or speaking figuratively now in this present 
 life, or in this present time of trouble in 
 which Job then was,) men see not the bright 
 light (or the sun shining brightly) which is 
 in the clouds (or, men cannot look upon the 
 light, or the sun, as it shines brightly in 
 the sky) ; but the wind passeth and cleanseth 
 them " (i.e., the clouds, thus revealing the 
 sun which before had been hidden by them ; 
 or, " after the wind has passed and cleansed 
 it," i.e., the sky). Observe 
 
 1. Man's duty to cherish becoming views 
 of his creatitre-unworthintss, and to cultivate 
 reverence in speaking of and to the Almighty. 
 " Be not rash with thy mouth, and let not 
 thine heart be hasty to utter anything before 
 God; for God is in heaven, and thou upon 
 earth; therefore let thy words be few" 
 (Eccl. v. 4). The Lord's Prayer an example 
 of the mode in which to address the Almighty. 
 Teaches us to go to God as our Father, yet 
 with deep reverence and humility. Contains 
 only seven petitions, the three first having 
 relation to God Himself, and each of them, 
 wit h one exception, expressed in about halt 
 a dozen words. In the New Testament, God 
 especially revealed as our Father through 
 Christ; while through Him, as our Advocate 
 with and our way to the Father, we enjoy the 
 privilege of a free access to and filial fellow- 
 
 4.O J
 
 CHAP. XXXVII. 
 
 HOMJLETIC COMMENTARY: JOB. 
 
 ship with God not generally known to the 
 patriarchs and Old Testament saints (Eph. 
 iii. 12; Heb. iv. 16; xi. 40). 
 
 2. External nature to be viewed as a symbol 
 of spiritual and Divine things. (1) In refer- 
 ence to God Himself. The brightness of 
 the unclouded sun apparently intended by 
 Elihu to be viewed as a symbol of the ma- 
 jesty and glory of God. God's dwelling in 
 that light "which no man can approach to 
 (1 Tim. vi. 16). If men are unable to con- 
 template the material sun without being 
 blinded by its dazzling effulgence, how much 
 less the glory of the Almighty Himself! 
 Yet our happiness to see God in a manner 
 even here, and more fully hereafter. Tor 
 this end God reveals Himself in Christ. The 
 splendour of the Divine glory softened in 
 the Son of God by the veil of humanity. 
 Christ's name, " Emmanuel God with us." 
 In Christ, who is also our Brother, we see 
 the Father (John xiv. 9). His glory beheld 
 even here, as that of the only begotten of 
 the Father (John i. 14). Purity of heart, 
 given us in Christ, necessary in order to see 
 God (Matt. v. 8 ; 1 Cor. i. 2). (2) In refer- 
 ence to our oicn experience. Elihu's 
 language in verse 21 suggestive of the 
 
 Life of Faith. 
 
 1. TJie believer's experience on earth often 
 resembling a clouded ski/. " Now men see not 
 the bright light." The face of the sun often 
 hidden by a thick cloud. Times when even 
 believers cannot see the light of God's 
 countenance, and when His dealings with 
 them are dark and mysterious. At best, 
 while here, we know but in part, and see 
 through a glass darkly. God's face often 
 apparently hidden from believers in time of 
 trouble. " In a little wratli I hid my face 
 from thce for a moment " (Is. liv. S). 
 David's complaint : " Why hidest Thou Thy- 
 self iii times of trouble " (Ps. x. 1). Job's 
 case at present. A dark and cloudy day 
 with Abraham on his way to Mount Moriah 5 
 with Jacob, on the apparent loss of his three 
 sons ; with Joseph in the prison ; with 
 Moses in Midiau; with David at Ziklag; 
 with Jeremiah in the dungeon ; with Jesus 
 on the cross. Believers, as well as men in 
 general, find themselves while on earth 
 hedged in by mystery on every side. Clouds 
 and darkness contingent to us as creatures 
 still more as sinful ones. " What I do thou 
 knowest not now." 
 
 2. To tlie believer tliere is bright light be- 
 hind the clone!.?. "Now men see not the 
 bright light which is in the clouds." The 
 bright light there, though men see it not. 
 The sun still in the heavens, though a cloud 
 
 240 
 
 hide him from our view. Whatever clouds 
 hide God from his sight or rest upon hi* 
 path, a threefold light still shining to the 
 believer. (1) God's unchanging lote in 
 Christ (Jer. xxxi. 3 ; John xiii. 1 ; Rom. 
 viii. 38, 39) ; (2) God's everlasting covenant 
 made with him in Christ, ordered in all 
 things and sure (2 Sam. xxiii. 5 ; Is. liv. 10, 
 Iv. 3) ; (3) God's gracious purpose in Christ, 
 to save him, and to make all things work 
 together for his good (Rom. viii. 28 32 ; 
 Eph. i. 3 14). The wheels of Divine Pro- 
 vidence ever going straightforward to a be- 
 liever's full salvation, however things may at 
 times appear to himself. " Behind a frowning 
 Providence He hides a smiling face," one 
 of the truths intended to be taught by this 
 very book. 
 
 3. The time comes when the clouds are 
 chased away. "The wind passeth and 
 cleanseth them." The light of God's coun- 
 tenance not always to be hidden to the be- 
 liever. Cloud and mystery not always to 
 rest upon his path. David's comfort in a 
 time of darkness : " I shall yet praise Him 
 for the help of His countenance ; '' " the 
 Lord will command His loving-kindness in 
 the daytime " (Ps. xlii. 5, S). Micah's confi- 
 dence : " When I fall, I shall arise ; when I 
 sit in darkness, the Lord shall be a light 
 unto me " (Mic. vii. 8). He will not always 
 chide. "For a small moment have I for- 
 saken thee; but with great mercies will I 
 gather thee" (Is. liv. 7). "I will see you 
 again, and your heart shall rejoice." "What 
 I do, thou knowest not now, but thou shalt 
 know hereafter" (John xiii. 7; xvi. 22). 
 The cloud passed away from Abraham on 
 Mount Moriah, and he rejoiced in the re- 
 newed assurance of God's gracious purposes 
 concerning his seed; from Joseph, and he 
 saw himself next to Pharaoh on the throne 
 of Egypt, preserving much people, and 
 among them his own father and brothers, 
 alive ; from Moses, and he found himself at 
 the head of all Israel, leading them out of 
 Egypt, and worshipping with them at the 
 mount where God had appeared to him ; 
 from David, and he saw himself occupying 
 the throne of Saul and made a blessing to 
 the people. So the cloud ultimately passed 
 away from Job, and he saw himself richer 
 than ever, not only in possessions, but in 
 the affection of his friends and esteem of all 
 his neighbours. A day coming which shall 
 clear away all obscurity, and solve every 
 enigma both in the Book of Revelation and 
 Providence. Hence the lesson (1) of hu- 
 mility and modesty in judging both of God's 
 word and works ; (2) of patience and resig- 
 1o the Divine will: (3) of faith, so as 
 to walk in comfort and hope even in the 
 darkest dispensations.
 
 HOMILET1C COMMENTARY: JOB. 
 
 CHAP. XXXVII. 
 
 V. Winding up of Elihn's speech. 
 
 Verses 22 24. "Fair weather (Mary.: 
 ' gold ; ' i.e. golden splendour or effulgence 
 a bright or golden sky) cometh out of the 
 north (or from the north wind which dis- 
 perses the clouds, Prov. xxv. 23) ; with God 
 is terrible majesty (of which that visible 
 splendour is but a shadow). Touching the 
 Almighty, we cannot find Him out (neither 
 in His being nor His procedure) ; He is ex- 
 cellent in power and in judgment, and in 
 plenty of justice (whatever men may at any 
 time think of His dealings) : He will not afflict 
 (or ( oppress,' though Job was ready at times 
 to think so in reference to himself, or ' He 
 will not answer ' or ' give account ' of His 
 procedure to any of His creatures). Men 
 do therefore fear Him (or ' let men therefore 
 fear Him ' the conclusion of the whole 
 matter, Eccl. xii. 13) ; he respecteth (or 
 ' feareth ') not any that are wise of heart " (as 
 Job thinks himself to be; or "let each," or 
 " shall not each " of the wise-hearted fear 
 Him; otherwise, "none of the wise-hearted 
 seeth or comprehendeth Him "). Observe 
 
 1. The end of all true teackina, as of all 
 revelation, that men may fear God. Elihu 
 concludes his speeches as the Royal Preacher 
 his discourses : " Let us hear the conclusion 
 of the whole matter, Fear God and keep 
 His commandments, for this is the whole 
 duty of man " (Eccl. xii. 13). All consi- 
 deration of God and His works, whether of 
 creation or Providence, to conduct to the 
 same conclusion. Everything in God and 
 His works fitted to lead men to fear Him. 
 That fear a holy reverence, the fear of a 
 loving child in reference to a worthy father ; 
 not that of a trembling slave in reference to 
 a severe master. God's being and perfec- 
 tions, His wisdom, power, holiness, justice, 
 goodness, and truth, such as to render Him 
 the object at once of fear and love. A 
 loving fear required by God from His intel- 
 ligent creatures. The rational creature's 
 wnole duty summed up in such fear._ For- 
 giving mercy intended to produce it (Ps. 
 cxxx. 4). Such fear not the growth of fallen 
 nature, but the production of Divine grace 
 (Jer. xxxii. 39, 40). The object of Christ's 
 redemption to deliver us from slavish fear 
 and implant the filial (Luke i. 7-1 ; Rom. viii. 
 15 ; 1 John iv. 18 ; 1 Peter i. 1720). 
 
 2. God too glorious to be contemplated by 
 fallen, and too great to be comprehended, by 
 Unite, man. A' terrible majesty with God, 
 only pictured by the dazzling brightness of 
 the unclouded sun. Scraphims veil their 
 faces with their wings as they stand before 
 Him. Fallen men conscious of being unable 
 
 to look on Him and live (Gen. xxxii. 30) ; 
 Judges xiii. 22). Declared by God Himself 
 (Ex. xxxiii. 20). Hence Peter's exclama- 
 tion on beholding the traces of Christ's 
 divinity (Luke v. 8). In Christ, however, 
 God contemplated even by sinful men. 
 Heaven in beholding the glory of God. 
 Stephen's vision. Christ's prayer for His 
 people. The glorified see God's face (Rev. 
 xxii. 4). God not more to be comprehended 
 than contemplated. His thoughts a great 
 deep. Only the smallest portion of His 
 works at all understood by men. The 
 greatest among scientific men compared him- 
 self to a child gathering bubbles on the sea- 
 shore, while the ocean of knowledge lay 
 unexplored before him. The attempt to com- 
 prehend God compared by Augustine to that 
 of a child scooping a hole in the sand, and 
 attempting with its tiny shell to empty the 
 sea into it. God to be apprehended for our 
 own comfort and His glory by the humblest 
 peasant that sits at the feet of Jesus, who 
 reveals the Father; not to be comprehended 
 by the highest seraph that folds his wings 
 before the throne. Heaven filled with adoring 
 wonder (Rev. xv. 3, 4). 
 
 3. The interests of His creatures safe in the 
 hands of the Almighty. " He is excellent in 
 power, and in judgment, and in plenty of 
 justice." In God is power to execute all 
 His will, and defend all who trust in Him ; 
 judgment and justice, to make only a right 
 use of that power. Justice His nature, and 
 judgment His administration. " He will not 
 afflict." In another sense He afflicts, but 
 even then not willingly (Lam. iii. 33). He 
 afflicts as a chastening ; does not afflict as an 
 oppression. "To crush under His feet all 
 the prisoners of the earth, the Lord ap- 
 proveth not" (Lam. iii. 34). God n,;iy 
 punish but not oppress. Has no pleasure in 
 the sinner's death. Judgment His strange 
 act, mercy His delight. Binds up the bruised 
 reed instead of breaking it (Is. xlii. 3). 
 
 4. Comfort to Job and ecery tried lelirrr,- 
 in Elihn's last words : " He will not afflict," 
 or oppress. How much less any of His own 
 children ! " Fair weather cometh out of the 
 north." The tempest may howl, and the 
 clouds lower, and the thunders roll; but 
 after the storm comes a calm and serene 
 sky. The wind shall chase away the clouds 
 albeit a north wind with its piercing cold. 
 Troubles are to a believer but a passing 
 storm. Weeping may endure for a night } 
 joy cometh in the morning. We sow in 
 tears ; but in a little while we shall reap 
 with joy. 
 
 241
 
 CHAP. XXXVIII. 
 
 HOMILETIC COMMENTARY: JOB. 
 
 CHAPTEE XXXVIII. 
 
 JEHOVAH'S ADDRESS TO JOB. 
 
 Elilra had now said all he intended. 
 Possibly interrupted by the storm which had 
 been gathering during his speech. Out of 
 the storm-cloud, from which already issued 
 thunders and lightnings, the Almighty was 
 now to speak. The grandeur and sublimity 
 of the scene not to be surpassed. Its only 
 counterpart at the giving of the law on 
 Mount Sinai (Exod. xix. 38). 
 
 I. The announcement of the Al- 
 mighty's speech. Verse 1. "Then the 
 Lord answered Job out of the whirlwind" 
 (or storm-cloud). Observe 
 
 1. The Speaker. "The Lord" Jehovah. 
 A name (1) Mysterious; expressive of the 
 mysterious attributes of Godhead eternity, 
 self-existence, unchangeableness, self-de- 
 pendence He Who was, is, and is to be. 
 Equivalent to that given by God Himself afc 
 the burning bush : "I am," or "I am that 
 I am." (2) Graemes ; a covenant name. 
 Assumed by God in relation to Israel as His 
 chosen and covenant people " Jehovah, the 
 God of Israel." Indicates unchangeable 
 faithfulness in the performance of His pro- 
 mises and covenant obligations. Especially 
 revealed to Moses at the bush as expressive 
 of the relationship to be established between 
 God and Israel from that period. The pro- 
 nunciation of the name lost to the Jews, 
 together with their covenant relationship to 
 the Almighty. Now known by them only 
 as the name of four letters. "Adonai" 
 Lord or Master substituted for it. The 
 name as given in the text, probably indicative 
 of the Israelitish authorship of the book, as 
 well as in some degree of the period of its 
 composition. The name applied in the Bible 
 to three distinct persons in the Godhead 
 the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. 
 Here the Son intended as " The Word," or 
 He by Whom the Godhead speaks and re- 
 vrals Himself to man (John i. 1). Unspeak- 
 able condescension on the part of Jehovah 
 to address Himself to fallen man in any 
 other way than one of judgment. 
 
 2. The speech. "Answered." God's ad- 
 dress to Job an "answer." Mercy implied 
 in God's speaking to man at all. "God, 
 \vhi) at sundry times and in divers manners 
 tliake in time past to the fathers," &c. 
 (Hob. i. 1). Might have treated men as the 
 fallen angels with eternal silence. One of 
 the greatest trials and griefs to the godly 
 when God appears to be " silent to them " 
 
 242 
 
 (Ps. xxviii. 1). Saul's great misery that 
 God answered him no more (1 Sam. 
 xxviii. 15). Especial mercy when God 
 answers men. Implies felt need and desire 
 on man's part sense of darkness, perplexity, 
 want. God still answers men by His 
 written word, His Spirit, the lips of His 
 servants, His providence. Especial mercy 
 when God answers men. Job's three friends, 
 and then Elihu, had answered Job, but with- 
 out effect. The answer from God Himself 
 needed. "None teacheth like Him." "lam 
 the Lord that teacheth thcc to profit." He 
 speaks and instructs " with a strong hand " 
 (Is. viii. 11). His word with power. The 
 proper posture of men in relation to God 
 that of Samuel: "Speak, Lord, for thy 
 servant heareth ; " or that of David : " I 
 will hear what God the Lord will speak" 
 (1 Sam. iii. 10; Ps. Ixxxv. 8). God's 
 answer to Job given according to his desire, 
 yet not such as he expected. Intended not 
 to vindicate Himself or His procedure, but 
 to instruct and humble Job. Given to con- 
 vince him of the sinfulness of his complaints 
 and questionings, by showing him his own 
 ignorance and littleness in contrast with 
 Jehovah's omniscience and almightiness. 
 Designed to show him his inability even to 
 judrie of His Maker's procedure, from his 
 inability to explain the commonest opera- 
 tions in nature. The answer a prosecution 
 of the argument of Elihu. Job apparently 
 silenced, but not convinced, by Elihu's 
 speeches. The address unequalled for 
 majesty of sentiment and sublimity of lan- 
 guage by any uninspired production either 
 of ancient or modern times. The speech a 
 daring flight for a poet, but sustained because 
 inspired. The book of Job the sublimest 
 poem in the world. " One of the grandest 
 things ever written with pen nothing 
 written, I think, in the Bible or out of it, of 
 equal literary merit." Carh/le. This speech 
 the sublimest part of the book. 
 
 3. The party addressed. "Job." Others 
 present ; possibly, however, without hearing, 
 or at least understanding, what was spoken. 
 Saul's companions on the way to Damascus 
 saw the light, but "heard not the voice of 
 Him that spake to him" (Acts xxii. 9). 
 Yet, they " heard a voice, but saw no man" 
 hearing it without understanding its utter- 
 ance (Acts ix. 7). A Divine voice, like 
 thunder, spoke to Jesus in tiie presence of 
 the people, understood by Him, but not by
 
 HOMILETIC COMMENTARY: JOB. 
 
 CHAP. XXXVIII. 
 
 them (John xii. 28, 29). Observe (1) 
 Divine sovereignty. The three friends in 
 greater error than Job, yet Job only answered. 
 Yet (2) sovereignty exercised in justice and 
 goodness. Job alone desired an answer from 
 God, and alone believed that such would be 
 given. (3) Divine mercy and kindness in 
 answering Job. His spirit at times all but, 
 if not actually, rebellious, and his language 
 
 Setulant and irreverent such as called for 
 eep repentance. God does not turn away 
 from His sincere, though sinning, scrranfs. 
 (4) God's faithfulness to His people. His 
 answer a sharp reproof to Job. " As many 
 as I love, I rebuke and chasten." God loves 
 His people too well to suffer sin upon lhc;n. 
 Saints often dealt with in an apparently 
 rougher manner than even sinners. (5) The 
 particularity of God's dealing with men. 
 Job singled out in this address, as if the only 
 person present. So always when God speaks 
 effectually. " Thou art the man." " Zac- 
 chseus, make haste and come down." The 
 Good Shepherd " calleth His own sheep by 
 their name." 
 
 4. The place. " Out of the whirlwind." 
 The tempest raised for this special purpose. 
 Perhaps an ordinary storm-cloud now pro- 
 duced in the providence of God to be em- 
 ployed as His pavilion whence to issue this 
 address. Natural for a storm to be chosen 
 for such a purpose. Perhaps a similar storm 
 employed in the giving of the law (Exod. 
 xix IS]. All nature under God's control, 
 and ready at His call. The lightnings His 
 servants, saying : Here we are (verse 35). 
 A storm the symbol of judgment and the 
 expression of power. The descent of the 
 Spirit at Pentecost like the sound of " a 
 rushing mighty wind" (Acts ii. 2). Divine 
 interposition on behalf of David and David's 
 Lord represented as connected with a storm 
 of wind and hail, thundering and lightning 
 (Ps. xviii. 9 M). Clouds, lire, and tempest 
 accompany the Judge's descent at the last 
 day (Ps. 1. 3 ; Dan. vii. 10 ; 2 Thess. i. 8; 
 llev. i. 7). The whirlwind, or storm-cloud, 
 now employed as expressive of (1) The 
 majesty of the Speaker; (2) The weightiness 
 of the matter ; (3) The power of the 
 Almighty to accomplish His purposes, 
 whether of mercy or judgment; (Ji The 
 terribleness of His displeasure. Intended 
 
 (1) To awaken more solemn attention; 
 
 (2) To convey a deeper impression of the 
 power and majesty of God ; (3) To contribute to 
 the object of the speech, Job's conviction and 
 humiliation. Suitable as (1) Accompany- 
 ing a Divine reproof ;' 2) On an occasion in 
 which the power, justice, and providence of 
 God had appeared to be called in question. 
 The present case compared and contrasted 
 with God's voice to Elijah in the wilderness 
 
 162 
 
 a wind, earthquake, and fire, yet the Lord 
 in none of them, but in " a still, small voice " 
 which followed (1 Kings xix. 11, 12). 
 Observe (1) All nature used as God's 
 instruments. The storm-cloud employed as 
 His pavilion, and the whirlwind as His car 
 (Ps. xviii. 10, 11). (2) Terrible to have such 
 a Being for our enemy ; blessed to have Him 
 for our friend. " A fearful tiling to fall into 
 the hands of the living God " (Heb. x. 31). 
 (3) God occasionally speaks to His people out 
 of a storm. Storms in the experience of 
 believers ; but the Lord is in the storm, and 
 speaks out of it. An ancient version of the 
 text reads : " The Lord answered Job out 
 of the whirlwind of grief." A Father's voice 
 in every tempest of trouble that overtakes a 
 believer. The voice, as in Job's case, may 
 be one of reproof, but is, at the same time, 
 one of love. " It is I ; be not afraid." " 1 
 will allure her into the wilderness, and I will 
 speak comfortably unto her " (Marg. : " to 
 her heart "). What appears only to betoken 
 wrath, and to threaten destruction, made to 
 believers to be a channel of mercy. In Job's 
 case the storm-cloud prepared the way for 
 the sunshine that followed. Blessed for 
 God to speak to us, though out of a whirl- 
 wind. A storm of any kind a blessing, if 
 God speaks to us out of it. If God only 
 speak to us, we may well leave the mode of 
 His doing so to Himself. The same loving 
 Father and faithful covenant-God, whether 
 He speak in a whirlwind, an earthquake, a 
 tire, or a " still, small voice." 
 
 II. The Reproof. Verse 2." Who is 
 this that darkeneth counsel by words with- 
 out knowledge ? " The question expressive 
 of wonder and reprehension. " Who is 
 this?" Who so bold, foolish, and pre 
 sumptuous? The wisest and best incom- 
 petent to sit in judgment on the Divine 
 procedure. The ground of God's reproof 
 "that darkens 'counsel by words without 
 knowledge." Job not reproved for his pre- 
 vious life, but his present language. His 
 language blamed not for its impiety, but its 
 presumption and ignorance. Job "darkened 
 counsel" (1) By casting reflections on (lie 
 Divine procedure, and so obscuring its 
 brightness; (2) Making that whicli is 
 mysterious to us still darker by cavils and 
 short-sightrd reasonings. Great force in 
 the expression. Man, by his carnal reason- 
 ing, and still more by his complaining, 
 instead of clearing up what is dark in the 
 Divine procedure, only makes it darker. 
 Observe 
 
 1. All God's ways are coi, 
 "Counsel is mine and sound wisdom." 
 Nothing in God's dealings but what is the 
 result of an infinite wisdom and eternal
 
 CHAP. XXXVIII. 
 
 flOMILETIC COMMENTARY: JOB. 
 
 forethought. "Known unto God are all 
 His works from the beginning of the world." 
 Everything both actual and possible taken 
 into view by Him at one glance. His per- 
 fections enable Him not only to know, but to 
 choose and accomplish, what is best. No- 
 thing unforeseen or unprovided for. A spar- 
 row's fall not without God. His purposes 
 called His " counsel," because the result of 
 wisdom and forethought (Ps. xxxiii. 1 1 ; 
 Prov. xix. 21 ; Ts. xxviii. 29 ; Acts ii. 23). 
 God's grace in Christ abundant towards us, 
 but "in all wisdom and prudence " (Eph. i. 
 8). Every event in Providence and every 
 trouble in a believer's experience, the filling 
 up of a wise and well-calculated plan, with- 
 out any prejudice to man's freedom or lessen- 
 ing of his responsibility. 
 
 2. Man, by reasoning about, and cavilling 
 aaainst, God's dealings, only darkens the subject. 
 Our duty in reference to God's procedure 
 not to reason and question, but to submit 
 and adore. The more that man, in his own 
 carnal wisdom, reasons about God and His 
 providence, the greater His perplexity and 
 confusion. To teach man's duty in reference 
 to the Divine procedure, the object of the 
 Almighty's present address. Its meaning, 
 "Be still, and know that I am God" (Ps. 
 Ixvi. 10). 
 
 3. Human reasonings in regard to God- 
 ami his dealings, apart from revelation, only 
 " words without knowledge." Such reasonings 
 the mere thoughts and prattle of children 
 in regard to the administration of a kingdom. 
 God and His ways known only as He is pleased 
 to reveal them. "What I do, thou knowcst 
 not now ; but thou shalt know hereafter." 
 Our knowledge, while on earth, at best but 
 " inpart" fragmentary and piecemeal. God's 
 providential dealings seen hereafter as a 
 transparent sea of glass (Rev. xv. 2). 
 
 4. All cadis and complaints ar/ainst God's 
 dealings in providence only the result of 
 
 'ignorance "words without knowledge." 
 
 III. The Challenge, Verse 3. "Gird 
 up now thy loins like a man (a valiant man, 
 ready to enter on a contest, as Job had wished 
 to do with the Almighty (ch. xiii. 22), 
 spoken in irony and humbling reproof) ; for 
 I will demand of thee, and answer thou me." 
 Job's desire now granted, but not in the way 
 he expected. God ''"calls" (eh. xiii. 22), but 
 not to enter into a suit with Job in regard to 
 his past life. The questions put, not as to 
 what he has done, but what he knows and 
 is able to do. The object of them to shew 
 his folly and presumption in questioning lu's 
 Maker's dealings. His knowledge shown to 
 be ignorance, and his power perfect weak- 
 ness. These contrasted with the wisdom 
 and power of God, as seen (1) In His work 
 
 244 
 
 of creation ; (2) In His work of providence. 
 A series of questions proposed which follow 
 each other like claps of thunder in the ear of 
 the silenced patriarch. The challenge in- 
 tended to show Job his utter incapacity to 
 sit in judgment on God's procedure, and his 
 arrogance in arraigning it. Job reminded 
 by it that he is but of yesterday and knows 
 nothing, and that he is unable to put a 
 linger to the commonest processes of nature, 
 cither in the inanimate or animate world ; 
 while all has been seen, planned, and executed 
 ages before he was born, and is continually, 
 every moment, and in all places, executed still 
 by Him who is both Creator and Governor of 
 the universe. The questions such as to teach 
 us true Christian wisdom silence and sub- 
 mission in the presence of God 's most myste- 
 rious and painful providences. Observe 
 
 1. Man's proper character and behaviour in 
 relation to God's procedure, ratlier that of a 
 child than of a " man'' The things of God 
 hidden from the wise and prudent, but 
 "revealed unto babes." Our duty and in- 
 terest in relation to God's dealings, to be- 
 have ourselves like " a weaned child " (Ps. 
 cxxxi. 2). "In malice be ye children, but 
 in understanding be ve men" (1 Cor. xiv. 
 20). 
 
 2. In the presence of God, man's posture 
 to be rather that of a child than of a "man.'' 
 In relation to our duty as Christians in the 
 world, we are to "quit ourselves like men 
 and be strong," but in the presence of God 
 to take the place of children. When 
 Jeremiah took the place of a child, God 
 made him " an iron pillar and a brazen wall 
 against the whole land" (Jer. i. 6, 18). The 
 " worm Jacob" taken by God and employed as 
 a "new sharp thrashing instrument having 
 teeth, to thrash the nations " (Is. xli. 15). 
 
 3. Man's duty to "f/ird up his loins" in 
 order to rcork for God, not to debate t>:/th 
 Him. The mightiest but a sorry match 
 for his Maker. " Let the potsherd strive with 
 the potsherds of the earth; but woe unto 
 him that striveth with his Maker" (Is. xlv. 
 9). "Who will set the thorns and briars 
 against me in battle." Man's glory and 
 honour, to contend for God ; his disgrace 
 and ruin, to contend with Him. 
 
 IV. The Qupstionnisr. Verses 441). 
 Embraces a wide field both in nature and 
 Providence. As suitable and appropriate to 
 humble man's pride in the present age of 
 advanced science, as in the days of the patri- 
 arch. The questions have relation to 
 
 1. Job's antiquity and God's creation of 
 the world. Verses 3 7. "Where wast 
 thou when I laid the foundations of the 
 earth ? declare, if (or ' since ' ironically) 
 thou hast understanding. Who hath laid
 
 HOMILETIC COMMENTARY: JOB 
 
 CHAP. XXXVIII. 
 
 the measures (assigned the dimensions and 
 proportions) thereof, if (or since) tliou 
 kuowest ? or who hath stretched the line 
 upon it (the measuring line, in order to 
 regulate its form and dimensions for beauty 
 and use) ? Whereupon are the foundations 
 thereof fastened (' its bases sunk ') ? or 
 who laid the corner-stone thereof (render- 
 ing the fabric so firm as not to fall to pieces) ; 
 When the morning stars (angels, figura- 
 tively so called from their splendour and 
 early place in creation ; or perhaps, literal 
 stars, by personification) sang together (like 
 the Priests and Levites at the foundation and 
 finishing of the second Temple (Ezra iii. 
 10, 11 ; Zech. iv. 7), and all the sons of God 
 (angels, so called from their Divine origin 
 and resemblance) shouted for joy?" (partici- 
 pating with their Maker's joy in the perfection 
 of the work and the prospects connected with 
 it (Exod. xxxi. 17; Ps.civ. 31; Prov.viii.31). 
 Observe (1) Man incapacitated from his 
 very creatwrehood, and especially his compara- 
 tively recent creation, for forming a judgment, 
 apart from revelation, concerning God's pur- 
 poses and procedure. The plan of the world's 
 government formed in connection with the 
 creation of it. To form an unaided judgment 
 of the former, man should have been present 
 at the latter. (2) Beery thing connected with 
 the 
 
 Formation of the Earth, 
 
 indicative of infinite wisdom and power, lut 
 lying beyond m an 's present knoidedge. Science 
 confessedly ignorant of such a thing as crea- 
 tion, and of the origin of the universe. The 
 rocks probably intended here as the " founda- 
 tions " of the earth. These ascertained to 
 descend several miles below the surface. The 
 earth's crust known to the depth of eight or 
 ten miles. Supposed, from calculation, to 
 extend nearly twenty miles lower. The globe 
 itself believed to have been at the beginning 
 a mass of metal resembling quicksilver, and 
 to have been launched into space in a state 
 of extreme heat being first, by a natural 
 process, covered with rust and then with 
 water. The first really solid ground believed 
 to have been granite a hard, fire-baked 
 substance, prepared in the interior furnace of 
 the globe for the pavement of the water- 
 covered earth, and pressed, while in a soft 
 state, by some enormous weight occasioned 
 by the hot and burning metals that rested 
 over it. Its hard stony masses afterwards, 
 by some mighty agency, forced up to the 
 surface ; some portions being left under the 
 waters, while others were driven up through 
 them, and formed mountains and hills. The 
 granite subsequently covered by various 
 earths placed on it by the Creator, so as to 
 
 form the earth's crust. The granite itself 
 formed out of eight of the sixty materials 
 found in the crust of the globe, these form- 
 ing three distinct bodies (quartz, mica, and 
 feldspar), each so constituted as to answer 
 the purposes for which it was required, viz. 
 to form by its union with the other sub- 
 stances a solid pavement, suitable to go 
 round the globe. Streams of electricity 
 supposed to have accompanied the mighty 
 forces that lifted the granite, in mountain 
 piles, up through the waters, causing it to 
 crack and rend into four-sided blocks. The 
 granite thus uplifted at various periods of 
 the world's existence, and made the great 
 storehouse whence mud, sand, and fragments 
 have been supplied for the building up of 
 the greater number of our rocks ; its blocks 
 grinding one against another, and its moun- 
 tain surfaces being broken and crumbled into 
 dust by the united action of frost, wind, 
 and rain. The particles rolling down the 
 rocky steeps, and tailing into innumerable rills 
 trickling down the mountain's side, believed 
 to have been washed by them into the val- 
 leys below, to meet the river-floods; where 
 they were ground and smoothed, through 
 constant friction, into masses of sand, mud, 
 and rubble, swept into the ocean, and driven 
 still onwards by tides and currents, till they 
 gradually sank down and formed flat beds or 
 strata. Some of these strata thousands of 
 feet in depth. Hardened into rock by the 
 pressure of new beds over them, by the 
 effects of heat, and by dissolved iron or lime 
 percolating in water through the masses. 
 Some of the loosened particles of gratiite 
 falling into the surrounding waters, believed 
 to have been spread in beds over the hot ocean 
 floors, or piled up in hollow places between 
 the sea-mountains; and having been there 
 baked by the hot granite, to have formed 
 what are called crystalline rocks of gneiss 
 and mica slate, sometimes two miles in 
 depth; while clay slate, several hundred 
 feet in thickness, was further made from the 
 same materials, and divided into its thin 
 plates by the electric fluid having been sent 
 through the mass of the slate mud. The 
 earth thus said in Scripture to have been 
 " founded upon the seas and established upon 
 the floods" (Ps. xxiv. 2) ; an ocean of water 
 having been the original covering of the 
 globe, before the rocks were heaved up 
 through its waters. In another sense, the 
 earth without foundations, being hung "upon 
 nothing " (ch. xxvi. 7), and kept in its place 
 while moving round the sun, by the two 
 opposite centripetal and centrifugal forces. 
 
 (3) The formation of the ?ar(fi and its pre- 
 paration as a habitation for man, expfcialli 
 when viewed in connection with its future
 
 CHAP, xxxvnr. 
 
 HOMILETIC COMMENTARY: JOB. 
 
 history, a work of such glory and excellence a 
 to call forth the joyful songs of angelic specta- 
 tors. The earth itself, before sin defaced it, 
 and as it appeared 011 the day on which God 
 rested from His work, a scene of matchless 
 beauty. That must have been beautiful, and 
 worthy of the songs of angels, which the 
 Divine Creator himself pronounced " very 
 good." From that earth, as probably in some 
 degree made known at the time of its forma- 
 tion, angels themselves were to derive a large 
 accession both totheir knowledge and their joy 
 (Eph.iii. 10 ; 1 Pet. i. 12 ; Luke ii. 1011; 
 Rev. v. 12). (-1) Angels of inconceivable 
 antiquity. Millions of ages since the founda- 
 tions of the earth were laid in its granite 
 rocks. Angels apparently spectators during 
 the laying of those foundations as well as 
 through the whole process of the earth's for- 
 mation. Hence probably called "morning 
 stars." God's elder children. Full of know- 
 ledge as the elder-born of creation. Happy 
 they are who made to resemble them in cha- 
 racter and to spend eternity in their society ! 
 (5) That in God's works of 'creation on earth 
 sufficient to occupy the songs of the highest 
 created Intelligence*. How glorious thenthpsc 
 works, and how worthy of our contemplation 
 and praise ! A lesson here intended for Job. 
 The angels' joyful adoration exhibited for his 
 and our imitation. God's works, whether of 
 creation or providence, to be commended, 
 not complained against nor cavilled at. A 
 privilege to be the inhabitants of a world 
 whose formation awakened the joyful songs 
 of angels. If angels rejoiced and sung on 
 account of its formation, how much more 
 may we, if savingly interested in the redemp- 
 1 ion-work of Him by whom and for whom all 
 t hiiigs were made, and who, to save us, took 
 our nature and became our elder Brother ! 
 
 2. The sea and its barriers of sand and 
 rock. Verse 8 11. " Or who shut up the 
 sea (probably the waters that covered the 
 earth at the beginning of the Mosaic crea- 
 tion, Gen. i. 2) with doors, when it brake 
 forth (perhaps from an underground abyss), 
 as if it had issued out of the womb ? When 
 I made the cloud the garment thereof (per- 
 haps the darkness or thick vapour that was 
 ' upon the face of the deep,' Gen. i. 2), and 
 thick darkness a swaddling band for it (the 
 waters viewed as a new-born infant) ; and 
 brake up for it my decreed place (or, ' ap- 
 pointed my decree over it 3 ), and set bars and 
 doors (in the sand and rocks, while preparing 
 the sea and dry land, Gen. i. 9) ; and said": 
 Hitherto shalt thou come, but no farther ; 
 and here shall thy proud waves be stayed." 
 
 The operations here referred to, in accord- 
 ance with the account of the creation given 
 in the book of Genesis. Darkness and dense 
 vapour enveloping the globe and its watery 
 246 
 
 surface, the natural effect of the earth's in- 
 ternal heat acting upon the waters that 
 covered it. According to geologists, the 
 fiercest heat of the glowing globe probably 
 checked from ascending into the air through 
 the rusty covering spread over it ; the change 
 in temperature thus causing the steaming 
 vapours in the atmosphere to fali down upon 
 that covering in the shape of water, and so 
 to surround the whole of the globe with one 
 general primeval ocean. The '-'doors," or 
 sandy and rocky barriers of the ocean after- 
 wards formed, the result of upheavals and 
 subsidencies at subsequent and different 
 periods. The whole process the work of a 
 wisdom and power surpassing our conception, 
 and one far beyond the knowledge and com- 
 prehension of men. Observe 
 
 The restraint imposed -upon the rolling and 
 'lashing waves of ocean Ly a barrier of sand 
 ft, id rocks, the emblem of the restraint pi't 
 t>pon the pride and rebellion of intelligent 
 creatures. Fallen angels restrained within 
 the bounds assigned them by the Almighty. 
 ' Reserved in everlasting chains under dark- 
 ness unto the judgment of the great day 
 (Jude 8). Their liberty to tempt and do 
 mischief only such as He is pleased to allow. 
 Such restraining power frequently exhibited 
 by the Saviour when on earth. In their 
 endeavours to crush the Church, allowed to 
 proceed so far and no farther. So with 
 wicked men and the Church's human adver- 
 saries. Herod "stretched forth bis hand to 
 vex certain of the Church." Had already 
 slain one apostle and was intent on the mur- 
 der of another, when he is smitten by an 
 invisible hand and miserably dies (Acts xii. 
 1, &c.). The reformation under Luther took 
 place immediately after the Pope and his 
 adherents, at the Laterau Council in 151-1, 
 rejoiced that not a single voice was raised 
 against his authority throughout the whole 
 world. The power of the Moslems arrested 
 at Tours by Charles Martel in 1492, when 
 it threatened to subdue the whole of Europe, 
 as it had already done a large portion of it. 
 The Invincible Armada, by which Philip II. of 
 Spain expected to crush the Reformation in 
 England, with its troops drawn from all 
 quarters, after three years of preparation, 
 carrying, as it did, the inst rumcnts of tor- 
 ture by which the heretics of England were 
 to pay the price of their desertion from 
 Rome, was destroyed almost without hand 
 when on the very eve of accomplishing its 
 purpose. Dcusjlatit, et dissipantur. " God 
 blew and they are scattered." "Hitherto 
 shalt thou come, but no farther, and here 
 shall thy proud waves be stayed." The 
 " gates of hell " may send forth its raging 
 legions against the Church of Christ, but 
 " shall not prevail against it." The interests
 
 HOMILETIC COMMENTARY.- JOS. 
 
 CHAP, xxrviii. 
 
 of the Church as a whole, and of every 
 believer composing it, safe in the hands o'f 
 such a God and Saviour. 
 
 3. T/ie vicissitude of 'day and night. Verses 12 
 15. "Hastthou commanded the morning 
 (to succeed the night) since thy days (since 
 thou wast born, or, because thou liast seen 
 many days) ; and caused the day-spring to 
 know his place (the exact time through- 
 out the year when it should arise) ; that 
 it might take hold of the ends of the earth 
 (spreading its light from one end of the 
 earth to the other from the eastern to the 
 western horizon), that the wicked might 
 be shaken out of it (as no longer able to 
 pursue their deeds of darkness after the 
 morning light has risen) ? It (the earth) is 
 turned as clay to the seal (Heb., ' as clay of 
 the seal/ as the clay under the impression 
 of the seal, exhibiting forms and appear- 
 ances which were not visible upon it before); 
 and they (the objects on the earth's surface) 
 stand [forth] as a garment (a beautiful, 
 parti-coloured, and variously-figured robe 
 clothing the earth, which during the night 
 was entirely unseen). And from the wicked 
 their light is withholdeu (these being, as 
 the result of their evil deeds, deprived of the 
 light either by imprisonment or death), and 
 the high arm (their mighty power, or the 
 arm uplifted for deeds of violence,) shall be 
 (or is) broken " (in consequence of the light 
 exposing their deeds and leading to their 
 detection and punishment, and from courts 
 of justice being in those countries usually 
 held in the morning). Observe (1) One 
 of the most striking examples of Divine wisdom, 
 power, and goodness, afforded in the succes- 
 sion of day and night. The result of the 
 earth's daily rotation on its axis in its annual 
 revolution round the sun, and the inclination 
 of that axis from the perpendicular. The 
 return of light every morning a mercy de- 
 manding devout thankfulness, and calling for 
 adoring consideration of the Divine wisdom 
 and goodness ; all the more as this has been 
 going on. ever since the creation of the 
 world. (2) Man's feebleness exhibited in 
 connection with the return of each morning's 
 light. Man unable to promote or hinder, 
 hasten or retard, its return by a single 
 moment. (3) Among other beneficial objects 
 accomplished by the return of morning light, 
 is its subserviency to God's moral government 
 of the world, in checking the commission of 
 evil deeds which can only be perpetrated 
 under the cover of night, and in leading to 
 their detection and punishment. (4) As every 
 morning throughout the year exhibits afresh 
 to man's view the earth arrayed in its beau- 
 tiful garments, our duty is thankfully to recog- 
 nize the goodness of God in an arrangement 
 
 which conduces so much to our comfort and 
 enjoyment, as well as to our convenience. 
 
 4. The depths of the \ocean. Verse 10. 
 ' Hast thou entered into the springs of the 
 sea (the ' fountains of the great deep,' Gen. 
 vii. 11; or 'the entangled thickets' or 
 jungle in the ocean beds)? or hast thou 
 walked (as on dry land) in the search of the 
 depth ? " (penetrated and examined the 
 depths of the ocean or its caverned recesses). 
 Three facts connected with the ocean-depths 
 exhibiting God's greatness and man's little- 
 ness. (1) Tlie unexplored vegetation /mind in 
 the bottom of sea. The bed of the ocean in 
 many localities luxuriantly clothed with 
 marine vegetation, to the extent of many 
 hundred miles. These submarine forests 
 and jungles thronged with living beings, 
 while no eye of man rests on their hidden 
 beauties. (2) The great depth of water in 
 some parts of the ocean. Probable that, con- 
 sidering the greater extent of the ocean 
 than of the land, the bed of the former de- 
 scends to a depth considerably exceeding 
 the highest mountains of the latter. I the 
 North Atlantic, no bottom found in 1849 
 with a line of 34,200 feet, nearly equal to 
 six and a half miles in length. In the South 
 Atlantic, the depth reached, in 1853, of eight 
 miles and three quarters. In these almost 
 unfathomable depths, not a plant that vege- 
 tates; nor a creature that finds a home in 
 those ocean-caves, but is open to God's 
 omniscient eye, and is the object of his provi- 
 dential care. (3) The existence of fountains 
 in the bottom of the sea. These fountains 
 emit their streams of fresh water into the 
 ocean from underground sources. In many 
 places the water of the sea is fresher at 
 great depths than at the surface, owing fo 
 the presence of such springs. A powerful 
 jet of fresh water found in the Gulf of 
 Spezzia, and others in the Persian Gulf and 
 in the Bay of Xagua, south-east of Cuba. 
 
 5. The earth's interior and the netherworld 
 of spirits. Verse 17. " Have the gates of 
 death been opened unto thee ? or hast thou 
 seen the doors of the shadow of death 'r " 
 Two ideas suggested in these interrogatories. 
 (1) The earth's interior hidden and //.' 
 
 to men. The place of departed spirits often 
 represented as in the interior ot the earth, 
 probably from the body being buried beneath 
 its surface (1 Sara, xxviii. 815). The 
 earth's interior entirely unknown to man. 
 Rocks of various kinds known to constitute 
 its crust to the depth of eight or ten mil<^. 
 This crust supposed to extend perhaps fimvu 
 miles further an extent, however, of which 
 nothing is known. The space beyond, pro- 
 bably an immense cavern of subterranean 
 fire, heating the lower parts of the crust, an I 
 occasioning hot springs and volcanoes, whicli 
 
 247
 
 CIIAP. xxxvm. 
 
 H03IILETIC COMMENTARY: JOB. 
 
 from time to time force up flames, lava, and 
 red-hot mud. (2) The world of spirits 
 unknown and impenetrated by men while in 
 the body. Of that world nothing is certainly 
 known except as revealed in the Word of 
 God. Man unable to penetrate its hidden 
 regions except by bursting the bars of his 
 corporeal enclosure. Views of the abode 
 of happy spirits sometimes vouchsafed to 
 favoured men on earth, probably while in an 
 ecstatic state (2 Cor. xii. 24; Rev. iv. 
 1 11 ; vii. 9 17). Persons miraculously 
 restored to life unable to report their obser- 
 vation and experience in the spirit-world. 
 Glimpses of heaven occasionally afforded to 
 to believers, especially when already arrived 
 at its confines. Human power or science 
 unable to draw aside the veil that conceals 
 the world of spirits from our view. Mysteries 
 connected with the state of the dead not 
 revealed. One thing certain ; a heaven of 
 joy or a hell of woe awaits men after death, 
 according as their character prepares them for 
 one or the other. Fallen angels " reserved in 
 chains under darkness to the judgment of the 
 great day," with temporary liberty allowed, 
 in the mean time to perhaps a part (Jude 6 ; 
 Luke viii. 1831). 
 
 G. The earth's extent. Verse 18. "Hast 
 thou perceived (as in one glance) the breadth 
 of the earth? declare if (or since) thou 
 knowest it all." The language adapted to 
 the ideas then prevalent in regard to the 
 earth. Its form and extent equally unknown 
 in the days of the patriarch. The earth 
 then thought to be a vast plain with inequali- 
 ties on its surface, stretching to an unknown 
 extent, and bounded on all sides by the 
 ocean. More recent observation and study 
 have ascertained, with sufficient accuracy, 
 both the figure and the dimensions of the 
 earth. In consequence however of its 
 spherical figure, man's eye able to rest at 
 any moment on but a small portion of its 
 surface. The Eye of Omniscience every 
 moment equally on every part of that sur- 
 face, as well as on its secret depths. 
 
 7. The origin and diffusion of light. Verses 
 19 21, 24. "Where is the way [to] where 
 [the] light dwelleth? and as for darkness 
 (viewed as a substance, rather than as the 
 absence of light), where is the place thereof 
 (from whence it comes, or where it exactly 
 begins) ? that thou shouldst take it to (o'r 
 ' seize it at ') the bound thereof (where it 
 begins and terminates), and that thou 
 shouldst know the paths to the house 
 i hereof ? Knowest thou (or ' thou knowest ') 
 it, because thou wast then born ? or because 
 the number of thy days is great? By what 
 way is the light parted (diffusing itself over 
 the earth every morning), which scattereth 
 the east wind upon the earth ? " (the solar 
 248 
 
 heat causing the air to ascend while colder 
 air rushes in to lill its place, thus causing the 
 wind, especially the trade winds, which blow 
 for months from east to west; or, "which 
 the east wind scatters upon the earth," the 
 light rising in the east). 
 
 Light 
 
 naturally an object of special attention to 
 early sages. Its emanation from the sun 
 and other heavenly bodies obvious. The 
 subject, however, still a mysterious one. 
 According to Genesis, light created before 
 either sun or moon. These bodies merely 
 reservoirs or reflectors of light. The ques- 
 tion still arose : What is light, and what is 
 its origin ? Philosophers still uncertain as 
 to its nature. Doubtful whether an ex- 
 tremely thin and subtle fluid substance, or 
 merely an agitation or undulation of the 
 ether, producing its effects in a similar way 
 to that in which sound is produced ; the un- 
 dulations in the one case striking the ear 
 and in the other the eye, and so producing 
 the sensation of sound or light respectively. 
 The former, till lately, generally believed ; 
 the latter now the prevailing theory. Light 
 now viewed by men of science as radiant 
 force. Uncertain whether, by the creation of 
 light at the beginning, we are to understand 
 the creation of the actual force itself, or that 
 of the particular condition or medium of 
 radiation, technically known as ether, sup- 
 posed to permeate space and substance. 
 The latter thought more probable. Of the 
 source of light, the account in Genesis says 
 nothing. Its existence or appearance fol- 
 lowed the command: "Let there be light." 
 That it came from an external source, pre- 
 vious to the sun's formation or appearance, 
 seems evident from the alternation of light 
 and darkness during the intervening days. 
 Light ascertained, from the testimony of the 
 rocks, to have operated on the earth ages 
 before man's residence on it. The sun the 
 centre of light, only as endued with a lumi- 
 nous atmosphere which envelopes its opaque 
 body, but through which portions of that 
 body are distinctly visible. The manner in 
 which the light is " parted," or separated 
 from its great solar centre, as much a mystery 
 now as in the days of the patriarch. Known 
 to occupy a certain time in reaching the 
 earth. Its rate of travel ascertained to be 
 about thirteen millions of miles in a minute, 
 and the period required in reaching the earth, 
 about eight minutes. Some of the laws 
 according to which light operates, in recent 
 times satisfactorily ascertained. Known to 
 be composed of different coloured rajs red, 
 yellow, and blue ; their composition afford- 
 ing the white light, and their " parting " or
 
 HOMILETIC COMMENTARY: JOB. 
 
 CHA.P. XXXVIII. 
 
 separation, and partial blending, giving the 
 various colours presented by different objects. 
 Exhibited in their pure and blended form in 
 the rainbow ; the raindrops separating the 
 rays and refracting them at different angles 
 after the manner of a prism, and so pro- 
 ducing the three primary and four secondary 
 colours. The light emanating from the fixed 
 stars generally like that of our own sun, 
 but in some cases coloured ; different stars 
 appearing to be different colours. 
 
 The question in regard to the abode of the 
 light, perhaps referring rather to the sun 
 itself, frequently called " the light," as being 
 the centre and source of it to the earth. 
 Represented as coming forth as a bridegroom 
 " from his chamber " (Ps. xix. 4). The 
 question : Where is that chamber ? The 
 earth's annual revolution round the sun and 
 daily rotation on its own axis, not then 
 known. The sun supposed to move from 
 east to west, as it appears to do. But 
 whence he rose, and where he remained 
 after setting, a mystery. The Ptolemaic 
 theory of the earth being the centre of the 
 system, and the sun, &c., moving round it, 
 finally succeeded by the Copernican or New- 
 tonian, which places the sun in the centre, 
 at the distance of ninety-five millions of 
 miles from the earth. The sun appears to 
 rise in the east and move towards the west, 
 from the earth moving on its axis from west 
 to east. The opposite hemispheres of the 
 globe naturally illuminated and in darkness 
 alternately once in twenty-four hours, the 
 period of one rotation on its axis. 
 
 8. The snow and hail. Verses 22, 23. 
 "Hast thou entered into the treasures 
 of the snow? or hast thou seen the 
 treasures of the hail, which I have re- 
 served against the time of trouble, against 
 the day of battle and of war?" Snow 
 and hail known to be the effects of cold in the 
 higher regions of the atmosphere; the former 
 being condensed vapour congealed before 
 it is formed into drops, and the latter the 
 drops themselves congealed in their descent 
 to the earth. Usually brought by cold winds 
 from the north; their treasures therefore, 
 to those living north of the equator, appa- 
 rently in the northern regions. These 
 regions probably unknown in the days of Job. 
 The treasures of the snow and hail, however, 
 rather in the higher parts of the atmosphere, 
 where man has not been able to penetrate. 
 Spoken of as "treasures" from their vast 
 abundance, and as being apparently stored 
 up in the clouds. Snow and hail among the 
 Creator's instruments in His government of 
 the world, employed often in a way of 
 judgment. Hail especially an instrument 
 of destruction to the crops of the field. Em- 
 ployed as one of the plagues on Egypt 
 
 (Exod. ix, 14) ; and as the means of discom- 
 fiting the combined forces of the Canaanites 
 (Josh. x. 11). To be, perhaps, still more 
 grievously employed among the judgments to 
 be inflicted on the kingdom of Antichrist, 
 forming part of the seventh and last vial 
 (Rev. xvi. 21). The sufferings and destruc- 
 tion of Napoleon's Grand Army, in 1812, 
 mainly due to the snow and cold of a Russian 
 winter. Snow and hail among the Almighty's 
 reserved treasures for the discomfiture of His 
 and His Churches' adversaries, to be probably 
 employed in the "battle of that great day of 
 God Almighty, in the place called in the 
 Hebrew tongue Armageddon " (Rev. xvi. 14 
 -16). 
 
 9. Rain. Verse 2528, 34, 37, 38. 
 " Who hath divided a water-course (conduit 
 or channel) for the overflowing (inundation 
 or pouring forth) of waters [in the form of 
 rain], or a way for the lightning (or flash) 
 of thunder (the usual precursor of rain in the 
 east, ch. 28, 26 : Zech. x. 1): to cause it to 
 rain on the earth where no man is [to care 
 either for the ground or the beasts that live 
 upon it] ; on the wilderness, where there 
 is no man [but only the inferior animals to 
 be provided for] ; to satisfy the desolate and 
 waste ground ; and to cause the bud of the 
 tender herb to spring? Hath the rain a 
 father ? Canst thou lift up thy voice to the 
 clouds, [commanding] that abundance of 
 waters may cover thee ? Who can number 
 the clouds in wisdom (or ' muster ' them as an 
 army for the purpose for which he requires 
 them (2 Kings xxv. 29)? Who can stay 
 (or 'lay,' so as to empty) the bottles of 
 heaven (the clouds, resembling in their 
 form and use the dark-coloured water-skins 
 employed in the East), when the dust 
 groweth into hardness (is fused into a solid 
 mass), and the clouds cleave fast together 
 (thus forming soil for cultivation, instead of 
 mere dust, the effect of continued drought)?" 
 Still points to the mysteries of meteorology, 
 even yet but imperfectly understood, but 
 evincing a wisdom and a power altogether 
 Divine. 
 
 Four circumstances connected with rain 
 here alluded to as exhibiting God's great- 
 ness and man's littleness. (1.) That the rain 
 does not descend in one mass of water from 
 the clouds, but in innumerable channels 
 or tiny rills. Who makes these channels ? 
 what has man to do with the forming of 
 them ? Man, as in Egypt, makes channels 
 for conveying the water from the well to 
 irrigate his garden or his field ; but who 
 makes those channels that convey the water 
 down from the clouds ? (2) The mysterious 
 production of the ruin, by the conversion of 
 invisible into visible vapour, and its condensa- 
 tion into drops, which increase in size as they 
 
 249
 
 . xxxvn f. 
 
 UOMTLETW COMMENTARY: JOS. 
 
 fall to the ground. This atmospheric pro- 
 cess unknown in the days of Job, and still a 
 mystery of Divine power and wisdom. 
 "Hath the rain a father?" (3) The pre- 
 p.'iration for the ruin by the lightning or 
 electric fash, dissolving the rain-cloud by 
 reducing its temperature, or otherwise. Drops 
 of water known to result from the combina- 
 tion of the two gases of which water is 
 composed, through the introduction of an 
 electric spark. But what power is it which 
 so manages that mysterious element or 
 force called electricity, as to produce the 
 copious and fertilizing showers? "Who 
 hath made a way for the lightning ? " 
 
 (4) That the wilderness receives a supply of 
 rain as well as inhabited places. Proof of its 
 abundance and the riches of Divine goodness. 
 No stinting with God, neither from want of 
 ability nor willingness to bestow. Enough 
 and to spare with Him. Even the beasts 
 in the solitary waste provided for. His also 
 to make even the solitary place to be glad 
 for His people, and to cause the desert to 
 rejoice and blossom as the rose (Is. xxxv. 1). 
 Divine power and goodness able to turn the 
 wilderness into a fruitful field as seen in the 
 oases in African deserts (Is. xxxii. 15). 
 
 (5) That the clouds are so managed as to be 
 made the means, by their filling and emptying, 
 like so many huge icater-skins, of irrigating 
 the earth and ministering to man's necessities. 
 "Who so musters those clouds, like a general 
 his forces, taking account of their number, 
 size, &c., as to have them ready for bis 
 service, and to bring them together when- 
 ever he pleases to employ them ? Who dis- 
 poses and empties those bottles of heaven ? 
 
 10. The dew. Verse 18. "Who hath 
 begotten the drops of dew ?" Another of 
 the mysteries of nature. Dew long sup- 
 posed to fall on the ground during the 
 night. But whence its fall ? There is no 
 cloud. No one ever saw it fall. The pro- 
 cess better understood in modern times. 
 The dew rather a formation or deposit than 
 a descent. The moisture iu the saturated 
 air, in consequence of the greatly reduced 
 temperature during the night and its con- 
 tact with the cooler ground, condenses on 
 certain substances and forms drops, like 
 those which stand on the wall of a room, 
 when the air, which has been saturated with 
 moisture, is suddenly cooled by the reduc- 
 tion of the temperature. Usually falls, or is 
 deposited, in clear cold nights after a warm 
 day. Hence found with us especially in 
 autumn. Most copious in warm climates, 
 where the days arc hot and the nights often 
 cold. In eastern countries, as in Judaea, the 
 want of rain often compensated by the 
 abundant dew, in cooling and moistening the 
 ground, and in refreshing and promotm* 
 
 250 
 
 vegetation. Hence the frequent allusion to 
 it and to its beneficial effects found in the 
 Scriptures (Gen. xxvii. 23 ; Deut. xxxiii. 
 13,38; Ps.cxxxii.3; Prov.xix.12; Is.xviii. 4). 
 Frequently employed for comparison and 
 metaphor. The Word of God compared to 
 it from its influence on the soul (Deut. 
 xxxii. 2). The people of God compared to 
 it from their influence on the world (Mic. v. 
 7). God Himself compared to it in relation 
 to his people (Hos. xiv. 5). The converts 
 of Christ compared to it both from their 
 number and beauty, especially as seen in 
 the morning of the resurrection after the 
 night of the tomb (Ps. ex. 3). 
 
 11. The ice and hoar-frost. Verses 29, 30. 
 "Out of whose womb came the ice? and 
 the hoary frost of heaven, who hath en- 
 gendered it ? The waters (in consequence 
 of the cold) are hid as with a stone (or, 
 'being made as a stone'), and the face 
 of the deep (any collection of water) is 
 frozen" ('held bound' or 'holds itself to- 
 gether,' i. e. is congealed). Ice known to 
 be water rendered solid by the loss of its 
 natural heat, which keeps its particles sepa- 
 rate and so preserves it in a liquid state, 
 but which the water gives out to the atmos- 
 phere in contact with it in consequence of 
 the great reduction of its temperature. 
 Hoar-frost simply the dew frozen before it 
 has been formed into drops. The tempera- 
 ture of the atmosphere that to which these 
 and almost all the phenomena of meteorology 
 are due. This again due to the radiant 
 force, or light, as including heat, imparted 
 by the sun to the earth, and then again dis- 
 persed into space. Heat an element or force 
 pervading all bodies, and keeping their par- 
 ticles at a certain degree of expansion. 
 Suddenly withdrawn from nature, the globe 
 would shrink into a much smaller compass ; 
 what is now in a gaseous state would become 
 liquid; the liquid would become solid; and 
 all vegetable and animal life on the earth's 
 surface would instantly perish. On the 
 other hand, an opposite result would ensue 
 from a much increased degree of heat. 
 Solids would become liquid or be consumed, 
 while liquids would be converted into vapour. 
 The wisdom, power, and goodness of God 
 seen in so tempering the heat given forth 
 from the sun, that both the atmosphere and 
 the earth are in their present ordinary con- 
 dition. Times indicated by the rocks when 
 a different state of things existed. A time 
 indicated in the Scriptures of truth, when 
 it will be otherwise again (2 Pet. iii. 10, 12). 
 12. The heavenly bodies. Verse 31 33. 
 "Canst thou bind (restrain, or perhaps 
 unite) the sweet influences (or delights, or 
 according to another reading, ' bonds ') of 
 Pleiades (Marg., 'Chimah, or the Seven
 
 HOMILETIC COMMENTARY: JOE. 
 
 CHAP. XXXVIII. 
 
 Stars'), or loose the bands of Orion? 
 (Marff,, 'Chesil,' or the Fool or, Impious 
 one; a magnificent constellation appearing 
 in winter, and therefore connected with 
 stormy weather, hence probably the Hebrew 
 name. Orion a warrior in Greek mythology ; 
 the name given from the supposed resem- 
 blance of the constellation to a giant or hero ; 
 the 'bands' of Orion either the rigours of 
 winter, which bind up vegetation, or the 
 invisible tie which connects the numerous 
 stars that compose it, the telescope re- 
 vealing myriads more than are visible 
 to the naked eye, particularly in the 
 nebula seen in the belt of the figure). 
 Canst thou bring forth Mazzaroth (Mary., 
 ' the [twelve] signs of the Zodiac,' appearing 
 successively through the twelve months of 
 the year), in his season? or, canst thou guide 
 Arcturus with his sous ? (probably the con- 
 stellation known as the Great Bear, or the 
 Plough ; the Hebrew and Arabic name Aish 
 denoting the Bier, the four stars in the body 
 of the Bear forming the Bier itself, and the 
 three in the tail, its ' sous ' or attendant 
 mourners : the constellation appropriately 
 said to be 'guided,' not brought forth, 
 being visible all through the year, and ap- 
 pearing continually to move round the centre 
 which we call the North Pole). Knowest 
 thou the ordinances of heaven (or laws of 
 the heavens) ? Canst thou set the dominion 
 (or influence) thereof in the earth ? " 
 
 The attention of eastern sages directed at 
 an early period to the stars, their time of 
 appearing, and their supposed influence on 
 the earth. Their successive appearance 
 indicative of the seasons of the year and the 
 time suitable for agricultural and other 
 pursuits. Stars early grouped into figures 
 or constellations, to which names were given 
 from their supposed resemblance to terres- 
 trial objects. Twelve of these appeared to rise 
 or come into view successively in the course 
 of the year, thus marking the twelve months. 
 Their names, the Ram, the Bull, &c. These 
 twelve groups or constellations, called the 
 twelve signs of the Zodiac, probably what is 
 here meant by Mazzaroth. The name perhaps 
 identical with one denoting "abodes," as 
 indicating the different stages of the sun in 
 his apparent annual course. Said to be 
 "brought forth," because apparently so ; their 
 appearance being probably due to the earth's 
 progress round the sun. Natural things 
 spoken of in the Bible rather as they appear 
 to be, than as they are in reality. 
 
 The Pleiades or Seven Stars, a group^ or 
 cluster of stars in the constellation or Sign 
 of the Bull. Their Hebrew name Chimah, 
 denoting a heap or cluster, probably given 
 from their appearance. Appears about the 
 middle of April. Hence associated with the 
 
 season of spring, whence its Latin name 
 Vergihge. The name in the text its Greek 
 one, from a word denoting to "sail"; as 
 indicating the time when navigation miHit 
 be safely commenced. The "sweet influ- 
 ences," or delights, ascribed, according to the 
 present text, to the Pleiades, as marking the 
 arrival of Spring. The genial change in the 
 weather accompanying the appearance of 
 this constellation, hailed as not merely 
 necessary to vegetation and the sustenance 
 of man and beast, but as also contributing in 
 a high degree to man's comfort and enjoy- 
 ment. The season of 
 
 Spring 
 
 loved and celebrated in all ages, as the 
 season (1) Of returning brightness and 
 sunshine, after the clouds and gloom of 
 winter. (2) Of warmth and comfort, after 
 the cold and tempests of preceding months. 
 (3) Of revived life, botli in the vegetable 
 and animal creation the natural world ap- 
 pearing to burst fortli as from a state of 
 death. (4) Of freshness and beauty, as seen 
 everywhere in the verdure of the fields, the 
 foliage of the woods, and the flowers of the 
 garden and the meadow. (5) Of joyomness 
 and gaiety, exhibited in the melody of birds 
 and hum of insects that fills the air, the 
 flitting butterfly and the sportive -fish. (6) 
 Of love, as seen especially in the birds that 
 now pair and build their nests, and warble 
 their affection to one another. All nature 
 appears to rejoice and put on festal altire, 
 and man participates largely in the " sweet 
 influences " of Spring. 
 
 "Now that the winter's gone, the earth hath 
 
 lost 
 Her snow-white robes ; and now no more the 
 
 frost 
 
 Candies the grass, or calls an icy cream 
 Upon the silver lake or crystal stream ; 
 But the warm air thaws the benumbed earth, 
 And makes it tender; gives a second birth 
 To the dead swallow ; wakes in hollow tree 
 The drowsy cuckoo and the humble bee. 
 Now do a choir of chirping minstrels bring 
 In triumph to the world the youthful spring 
 The valleys, hills, and woods in ricb array 
 Welcome the coming of tbe long'd-for May. 
 Now all things smile." 
 
 Spring fitted and intended (1) To awaken, 
 gratitude to its Divine and bountiful Author, 
 who gives us again to rejoice in "the sweet 
 influences of the Pleiades." Then, if ever, K, 
 is to be said : " All thy works shall praise 
 Thee, O Lord; and thy saints shall bless 
 Thee" fPs. cxlv. 10). (2) To serve as an 
 emblem of the spiritual spring (\.} When the 
 tout is renewed and qvickened to spiritual life 
 
 251
 
 CHAP. XXXVIII, 
 
 BOMILETIC COMMENTARY: JOB. 
 
 by the Holy Ghost, and Jesus arises on it as 
 " the Sun of righteousness with healing in 
 His wings." Man's natural state, in conse- 
 quence of the Fall, one of winter and spiritual 
 death. Christ came into the world and 
 comes into the soul as the reviving Sun, to 
 impart life, and fruitt'ulness, and joy. The 
 Spirit, the Lord and Giver of life, em- 
 ployed by Him to breathe upon the soul and 
 renew its life, (ii.) When the believer, under 
 the same Divine influence, is restored to 
 lirclincss and comfort, and to the "joys of 
 God's salvation," after a season of darkness, 
 deadness, and tempest, (iii.) When both 
 the Church, and the earth itself shall be re- 
 newed in life and beauty at the Lord's advent 
 and the resurrection of the just. A new 
 life then imparted to the believer's body 
 after the winter of the tomb, and a new 
 earth created out of the ashes of the present 
 one, wherein shall dwell righteousness (2 
 Pet. iii. 12, 13 ; Horn. viii. 2123). The 
 Bridegroom's call to the Church then fully 
 realized : " Lo, the winter is past ; the rain 
 is over and gone ; the flowers appear on the 
 earth ; and the time of singing is come, and 
 the voice of the turtle is heard in our laud : 
 Arise, my love, my fair one, and come away" 
 (Cant. ii. 1113). 
 
 The Pleiades, especially the brightest star 
 in the cluster, called Alcyone, recently as- 
 certained to be the centre or axle round 
 which the Solar System revolves, the sun 
 carrying with it the earth and other planets 
 with their satellites, and moving in the 
 direction of the constellation Hercules. The 
 number of stars seen in the cluster, with the 
 aid of a good telescope, nine or ten times as 
 many as those visible to the naked eye. The 
 distance of the group from the sun, thirty- 
 four millions of times greater than that of 
 the sun from the earth. The "influences" of 
 the Pleiades upon the earth, in so attracting 
 it with the whole Solar System as to carry it 
 round it at the rate, it is supposed, of four 
 hundred and twenty-two thousand miles a 
 day, in an orbit which it will require many 
 thousands of years to accomplish, probably 
 unspeakably greater than was dreamt of in 
 the days of Job. Yet perfectly known to 
 Him who asked the question : Canst thou 
 bind the sweet influences of the Pleiades ? 
 and who Himself communicated to the group 
 its mighty power of attraction. The Hebrew 
 name, interpreted by some as denoting a pivot 
 or hinge, in striking accordance with this 
 recent discovery of science." See an article 
 on tlie subject from Dr. McMillan in Dickinson's 
 Theological Quarterly for April, 1875. 
 
 The _ " ordinances of heaven," or laws 
 
 governing the motions and influences of the 
 
 heavenly bodies, much better understood 
 
 now than in the time of the patriarch. The 
 
 252 
 
 discovery of these laws one of the greatest 
 achievements of modern science, associated 
 with the names of Newton, Kepler, and 
 Laplace. The laws themselves of a different 
 nature from that contemplated by early 
 sages. The law of gravitation, by which 
 bodies and the particles which compose 
 them act upon each other according to 
 their bulk, with an attracting force which 
 increases as the squares of their distance 
 from each other decrease, found so far as 
 observation has been able to penetrate, to 
 operate through all space. This law, in con- 
 nection with another, that of the vis inertim 
 of bodies operating as a centrifugal force, or 
 the tendency of a body to move on in a 
 straight line when once put in motion that 
 by which the earth and other planets, with 
 their attendant moons, are preserved in their 
 orbits and carried round the sun. The same 
 law in operation among the fixed stars, some 
 of which are observed to revolve round each 
 other. Each star thus preserved in its own 
 place in the heavens. The same law that 
 which carries our solar system round its 
 centre in the Pleiades, and which probably 
 carries the Pleiades themselves round some 
 other centre hid far away in the unexplored 
 depths of our galaxy ; and, possibly, the 
 galaxy itself, with its countless millions of 
 worlds, ronnd some other centre, perhaps 
 the glorious throne of their Almighty Creator. 
 The conservation of force or the fact that 
 none of the natural forces heat, light, 
 electricity, mechanical motion, magnetism, 
 and chemism, is either created or anni- 
 hilated in any of the material processes of 
 the universe, but is only transformed either 
 taking the place of or giving place to an 
 equivalent amount of some other force pro- 
 nounced by the late Professor Faraday to be 
 "the highest law in physical science which 
 our faculties permit us to perceive." Yet, how 
 little it is that we know of the " ordinances of 
 heaven," or laws of the material universe, 
 we are reminded by the well-known language 
 of one of the greatest discoverers of those 
 laws. According to the authority just 
 quoted, the idea of gravity as varying 
 inversely as the square of the distance, 
 apparently in direct opposition to the prin- 
 ciple of the conservation of force ; involving, 
 as it appears to do, the creation and anni- 
 hilation of power to an enormous extent, 
 simply by the change of distance, a result 
 equal to the " highest acts our minds can 
 appreciate of infinite power upon matter." 
 Here science, notwithstanding her amazing 
 progress in unfolding the mysteries of the 
 universe, is at a stand. Besides her igno- 
 rance of the nature of the forces which she 
 has succeeded in discovering, she is unable 
 to explain the apparent opposition between
 
 ffOMILETTC COMMENTARY: JOS. 
 
 CHAP. XXXVIII. 
 
 the two highest physical laws with which 
 she is acquainted. These "ordinances of 
 heaven," as not only " known " but estab- 
 lished by the Almighty, singularly expressive 
 of the infinite power and glorious majesty of 
 " Him, with whom we have to do." 
 
 The "dominion" or influence of the 
 heavenly bodies upon the earth, also a sub- 
 ject transcending man's present knowledge. 
 The influence of the sun alone upon the 
 earth still full of mystery. Science teaches 
 us that on the light or radiant force (includ- 
 ing heat) imparted by the sun, depend well 
 nigh the whole of the phenomena of meteor- 
 ology ; being the cause not only of the tem- 
 perature of the earth, but of the moistness 
 of the atmosphere, of winds, of clouds, of 
 dew, of rain, of ocean-currents, and of 
 " every one of the elements which, variously 
 combined and conditioned by the earth's 
 external features, go to make up climate." 
 Warrinfftoti' s Week of Creation. Changes in 
 the condition of our own atmosphere, and 
 so of the weather, believed to be connected 
 with changes in the atmosphere of the sun. 
 The influence of the moon upon the earth, 
 especially upon its waters, well known. A 
 portion of heat discovered to reach us even 
 from the fixed stars. The chemical influ- 
 ence of the solar rays on bodies exposed to 
 the light also well known. The very exist- 
 ence of vegetation dependent on that ele- 
 ment or force in those rays called actinism 
 or chemism. Even metals and rocks unable 
 to be exposed to its influence without under- 
 going a change in consequence of it. The 
 "dominion" or influence of the heavenly 
 bodies, especially of the sun, doubtless 
 intimately connected with the physical forces 
 now known to man, and found to be so cor- 
 related as to be capable of producing and 
 being resolved or transformed into each 
 other. Man so far from "setting" that 
 " dominion " in the earth, that he even yet 
 very imperfectly understands it. 
 
 13. Lightning and meteors. Verses 35, 3G. 
 "Canst thoii send lightnings that they 
 may go and say unto thee : Here we are ? 
 Who hath put wisdom in the inward parts 
 (perhaps ' into the dark masses ' of cloud or 
 ' into the airy dartings ') ? or, who hath given 
 understanding to the heart (not here the word 
 always translated ' heart,' but one elsewhere 
 denoting a picture, image, or imagination, 
 as in Is. ii. 16 ; Lev. xxvi. 1 ;, Ps. Ixxiii. 7, 
 perhaps the forms of the clouds, or the shoot- 
 ing meteors) ? " Human powerlessness seen 
 in relation to the lightning. Man able to 
 draw down electricity from the thunder- 
 cloud, and by a suitable apparatus to obtain 
 vivid electric sparks and flashes from the 
 atmosphere. But his feebleness in the pre- 
 sence of this mysterious agent shown in the 
 
 fact that such attempts have been known to 
 be followed by instant death. Although un- 
 controllable by man, the lightningyet obedient 
 to the command of its Maker, its origin in 
 the electricity of which the earth is the 
 reservoir. The earth thus shown to contain 
 within it the elements of its own destruction, 
 which only await the bidding of their 
 Creator to do their work. 
 
 The allusions in the 36th verse uncer- 
 tain. The reference to celestial phenomena 
 favoured, if not rendered certain, by the con- 
 text. Clouds or meteors probably in view, 
 as objects far beyond man's control, but 
 serving the wise purposes of their Creator 
 as if themselves endowed with intelligence. 
 The first clause possibly a reference to the 
 Aurora Borealis, the well-known lights aris- 
 ing from electricity, and seen sometimes at 
 night shooting up in streams from the 
 northern part of the sky; their motions, 
 especially as seen in more northern latitudes, 
 sometimes amazingly quick and their forms 
 rapidly changing. The second clause of the 
 verse may be an allusion to the phenomenon 
 known as Meteoric Showers or Falling Stars. 
 These meteors usually visible in clear weather 
 about the middle of November. Myriads of 
 small stars appear to shoot out in all direc- 
 tions with the rapidity of lightning, and then 
 suddenly disappear. The nature and origin 
 of the phenomenon still undetermined. To 
 man the motions of these meteors appear in 
 the highest degree arbitrary. But even 
 these, like the lightning-flash, are under the 
 direction of infinite wisdom and in accord- 
 ance with the will of their Creator. " Not 
 an object in nature left to the reckless sway 
 of chance. All things adjusted with un- 
 erring wisdom, managed by infinite power, 
 and overruled for good with paternal care." 
 Duncan's Philosophy of the Seasons. 
 
 According to the English version, the 
 questioning in the 36th verse will relate to 
 
 14. Human reason and intelligence. "Who 
 hath put wisdom in the inward parts," &c. 
 " Wisdom " and " understanding " used to 
 denote reason and intelligence, or the first 
 of the three great classes of mental faculties 
 the intellect, the emotions, and the will ; 
 the intellect including both the cognitive or 
 knowing, and the reflective or reasoning 
 faculties. The "inward parts" and the 
 "heart" spoken of as the seat of these 
 faculties. The brain now more correctly 
 regarded as the seat and organ of the mind. 
 Three things suggested by the questions in 
 reference to the 
 
 1 1 ii in ;in Intellect. 
 
 (1) Reason and intelligence proper to man, 
 "Wisdom" found in mail's "inward parts,"
 
 CHAT 1 . XXXVIII. 
 
 HOMILETIC COMMENTARY: JOB. 
 
 and " understanding " in his "heart." Man 
 distinguished from the brute creation by the 
 possession of these faculties of the intellect. 
 Thus qualified to know, love, and intelligently 
 to servehis Creator, to contemplate the works 
 of God around him, to reason on subjects of 
 the most varied and highest import, and to 
 prepare for another and a better life. Only 
 so much " understanding " possessed by the 
 lower animals as to qualify them for the pre- 
 servation and enjoyment of the present life, 
 and for the propagation and preservation of 
 offspring, as well as to render them, in 
 various respects, serviceable to man. Reason 
 and intelligence in man not something 
 merely differing in degree from the instinct 
 of other animals, but differing from it in 
 kind. Intellect that which allies him both 
 to angels and to God Himself. Constitutes 
 a large portion of the image of his Creator 
 in which he was created. Existed in a much 
 higher degree before sin disordered and de- 
 praved his nature. Men now "alienated 
 from the life of God through the ignorance 
 that is in them, because of the blindness of 
 their heart" (Eph. iv. 18). The faculties 
 themselves, however, still in existence as 
 man enters the world. Their development 
 the work of time. That development affected 
 by circumstances, and the means employed 
 for it. Education the great means of de- 
 veloping the mental faculties. The intellect 
 of races and families progressive or retrograde 
 according to such development. The degree 
 of intellect different in different individuals, 
 constitutionally and from birth. This differ- 
 ence, doubtless, in some cases the result of 
 circumstances, but more generally from the 
 good pleasure of the Creator, who even in 
 this respect "divideth to every man severaDy 
 as He will " (1 Cor. xii. 11). The degree as 
 well as the development of intellect connected 
 with the condition, size, and configuration 
 of the brain, which forms its seat, and is the 
 organ through which it acts. (2) Reason 
 and intelligence imparted to man by the 
 Creator. Wisdom "put" into the inward 
 parts ; " ffiven " to the heart. The mind or 
 intellect entirely different and distinct from 
 the material organ through which it acts 
 and manifests itself. Reason and thought 
 not a mere force existing in and belonging to 
 the brain as a material substance. The brain 
 the seat and organ of thought, not its cause. 
 Mind not the production of other physical 
 forces, as heat is transformed into electricity; 
 but something superadded to the material 
 organization. Man's physical frame formed 
 out of the dust of the ground, after which 
 God " breathed into his nostrils the breath 
 of life, and man became a living soul " (Gen. 
 ii. 7). Man thus made to partake of an 
 intellectual as well as an immortal nature, 
 254 
 
 which rendered him what his Maker designed 
 him to be a reflection of His own image 
 (Gen. i. 26). The art, science, and skill of 
 man mediately or immediately the gifts of 
 God. The language of the prophet applicable 
 not merely to agriculture, but to all the arts 
 and manufactures, and to all the sciences 
 which elevate the human mind and distin- 
 guish the most enlightened of the human 
 species : " This also cometh from the Lord 
 of Hosts, who is wonderful in counsel and 
 excellent in working" (Isa. xxviii. 29). The 
 language of the Almighty concerning Bezaleel, 
 the son of TJri, true of any other similarly 
 eminent in any of the arts of civilized life : 
 "I have filled him with the Spirit of God 
 in wisdom, and in understanding, and 
 in knowledge, and in all manner of 
 workmanship, to devise cunning works," 
 &c. (Exod. xxxi. 3). "In the hearts of all 
 the wise-hearted I have put wisdom" 
 (verse 6). (3) The importation of reason 
 and intelligence to man a special exhibition 
 of Divine power and wisdom. " Who put 
 wisdom in the inward parts?" Thought, 
 and reason the highest manifestation of 
 power in a creature. Man thus placed far 
 above other creatures greatly his superior 
 in size and physical strength. Able thus to 
 fulfil his Maker's purpose concerning him 
 and the commission given him, to "subdue" 
 the earth and "have dominion" over all 
 other living creatures (Gen. i. 28). Made 
 by the possession of his mental faculties a 
 fellow-worker with God. Enabled, by work- 
 ing upon the materials placed at his hand, 
 to produce other works of power, both of a 
 material and an intellectual nature. Qualified 
 to invent and construct works which are 
 themselves the admiration of others and the 
 multiplication of power. A Watt and an 
 Arkwright enabled to produce machines by 
 which, with a little water and fuel, one man 
 is able to do the work of twenty or a hun- 
 dred, and the strength of draught-horses 
 can be entirely dispensed with. By a simple 
 apparatus, provided through the human in- 
 tellect, man is enabled to employ the lightning 
 to convey his messages, and to hold almost 
 immediate fellowship with distant countries 
 and continents. As a co-worker with his 
 Maker, he is enabled, by the faculties which 
 God has given him, to convert the wilderness 
 into a fruitful field, and to cause the desert 
 to "rejoice and blossom as the rose." If 
 God thus puts wisdom and understanding 
 into man, and endows him with so much 
 power, how great the wisdom and power of 
 the Creator Himself! 
 
 15. Ueasls and birds of prey. Verses 39 
 41 " Wilt thou hunt the prey for the lion 
 (or lioness), or fill the appetite of the young 
 lions, when they couch in their dens and
 
 HOMILETIC COMMENTARY: JOB. 
 
 CHAP. XXXIX. 
 
 abide in the covert to lie in wait ? Who 
 provideth for the raven his food ? when his 
 young ones cry unto God, they wander (or, 
 ' and wander,' or ' are famished ') for lack of 
 meat." Passes from inanimate to animated 
 nature. The present section properly be- 
 longing to the next chapter. Begins with 
 beasts of prey. Their food provided for them 
 by the Creator Himself, by bringing other 
 animals, which they are enabled to overcome 
 and feed upon, within their reach. Some 
 animals formed, by their physical structure, to 
 live upon others. Their character as carni- 
 vorous given them by God, who provides for 
 them the sustenance for which their bodily 
 organization is adapted. Even the fierce 
 lioness provided with her food by God. 
 Beasts of prey, with all their ferocity, only 
 a portion of the great family for which the 
 Creator daily provides. But how powerless 
 is man in their presence ! How unable to 
 provide for them ! Man, since the entrance 
 of sin into the world, obliged to employ his 
 intellect in destroying, instead of supporting, 
 such animals. 
 
 The " raven" probably mentioned in con- 
 trast with the lion. The largest of the 
 
 sparrow-order of birds. Feeds on carrion as 
 well as fruit and small animals, and is known 
 even to carry off poultry. An unclean bird, 
 and of little apparent significance ; yet the 
 raven cared for by the Creator equally with 
 the noble and majestic lord of the forest. 
 His Divine providence, directed even to the 
 young of the raven, when forsaken by the 
 parent bird, or early expelled by it from the 
 nest. Not a cry of these young ravens but 
 enters into the ears of the great and gra- 
 cious Creator (Ps. cxlvii. 9). Their cry 
 viewed as directed to Himself as their 
 parent and provider. God cares and pro- 
 vides for the meanest as well as the mightiest 
 of His creatures. A twofold lesson for man. 
 (1) To be kind to animals, and, when not 
 injurious or destructive, attentive to their 
 roants. (2) To trust in God while doing His 
 will. The lesson taught by Jesus to his 
 disciples : " Consider the ravens ; for they 
 neither sow nor reap ; which neither have 
 store-house nor barn : and God feedeth them : 
 how much are ye better than the fowls ? " 
 (Luke xii. 24-). "The young lions do lack and 
 suffer hunger ; but they that seek the Lord 
 shall not want any good thing" (Ps. xxxiv. 10). 
 
 CHAPTEE XXXIX. 
 
 JEHOVAH'S ADDRESS CONTINUED. 
 
 Continuation of the questioning. Job now 
 pointed to the animal creation ; the passage 
 from inanimate to animated nature having 
 been made at the 39th verse of the previous 
 chapter, instead of the beginning of this. 
 Specimens or representatives of the various 
 great classes of animals adduced first beasts, 
 then birds, then the inhabitants of the water, 
 or of both land and water. The animals 
 referred to mostly those of the wild class, 
 or in a wild state, rather than domestic or 
 domesticated ones. Exhibited for the most 
 part in then- native character as coming from 
 the hand of their Creator. The animals 
 selected distinguished for some special pro- 
 perty, habit, or instinct, as indicative of the 
 Creator's power in making, and His Providence 
 in caring for them. The object of the re- 
 ferences to reprove and humble Job, by 
 reminding him of the greatness, majesty, 
 sovereignty, power, wisdom, and goodness 
 of Him whose providential dealings he had 
 been tempted to arraign. Many things in 
 connection witli the lower animals mysterious 
 and incomprehensible to man ; why not in 
 connection with man himself? The mani- 
 festation of Divine power in the animal 
 
 creation, as well as of Divine wisdom and 
 goodness in providing for, sustaining, pre- 
 serving, and governing the various tribes of 
 living creatures, a sufficient argument to 
 silence all objections and murmurs as to the 
 justice of His providential dealings. 
 
 The appeal here made by Jehovah to animated 
 nature an indication of man's duty, s far as 
 he has opportunity, to observe and make him- 
 self acquainted with the structure ami habits 
 of the lower animals. The visible, and 
 especially the animal creation, moreover, to 
 be observed and studied as works of Gotl, 
 and as expressive of His attributes ami per- 
 fections, both as its Creator and Goccni': 
 'Man always and everywhere surrounded with 
 memorials and lessons of God's character 
 and providence. The works of nature, both 
 animate and inanimate^ intended by their 
 Creator to be so observed and studied l>v 
 men, that He may derive praise, and thry 
 both pleasure and profit. The language of 
 an eminent philosopher (Sedgwick)as true 
 of natural history as of the Newtonian phi- 
 losophy : "A study; affecting our moral 
 powers and capabilities ; teaches us to see 
 the finger of God in all things, animate and 
 
 255
 
 CHAP. XXXIX. 
 
 HOMILETIC COMMENTARY.- JOB. 
 
 inanimate, and gives us an exalted concep- 
 tion of His attributes, placiug before us the 
 clearest proofs of their reality ; and so pre- 
 pares, or ought to prepare, the mind for the 
 reception of that higher illumination which 
 brings the rebellious faculties into obedience ' 
 to the Divine will." Constant reference in 
 Scripture to the animal creation as illus- 
 trative of God's character and man's duty. 
 Nature, or creation God's own Book ever 
 open to our view. " Go to the ant, thou 
 sluggard;" "Consider the ravens ;" "Behold 
 the iilies of the field," recorded specimens 
 of Divine teaching. 
 
 The reference here made to the various 
 animals, such as to indicate the pleasure and 
 satisfaction ivith which the Almighty contem- 
 plates the visible works of His hand. In ac- 
 cordance with the Mosaic narrative, " God 
 saw everything that He had made, and 
 behold, it was very good" (Gen. i. 31). 
 "The Lord shall rejoice in His works" 
 (Ps. civ. 31). A sufficient reason why man 
 should rejoice in them. The better a man 
 is acquainted with God's works in general, 
 and with the animal creation in particular, 
 the greater the pleasure he will derive from 
 them. After the lion and the raven, Job is 
 pointed to 
 
 1. The Wild Goat or Ibex. Verse 1. 
 "Knowest thou the time when the wild 
 goats of the rock bring forth ?" The wild 
 goat, probably the animal known among 
 naturalists as the Ibex the Bedin of the 
 Arabs a bold and powerful animal, armed 
 with two huge sweeping horns, curving over 
 its back and often three feet long. Inhabits 
 the most elevated summits of the highest 
 mountain ranges in the whole eastern con- 
 tinent. Stands two feet six or eight inches 
 in height, and is extremely active and 
 vigorous. Vigilant and wary, it only de- 
 scends during the night to pasture in the 
 woods, repairing again at sunrise to the 
 bleak mountain summits. " Its chase very 
 arduous ; the animal leading its pursuer, 
 unless he can steal upon it unawares with 
 his rifle, a dangerous track over steep and 
 rugged mountain pinnacles, along the brink 
 of precipices, and over fearful chasms ; and 
 when at last, hard pressed, often turningupon 
 its foe with impetuous rapidity, and hurling 
 him down the steep rocks." Its favourite 
 haunts in Europe the Alps, the Apennines, 
 the Pyrenees, and the Tyrolese mountains. 
 Doubtful whether it or "the Pasencj of the 
 Caucasus and of Persia (the Capra Mgagro 
 of Cuvicr), is the original stock of our domestic 
 goat. The wild goat referred to as being so far 
 beyond man's power to manage it, or even 
 become familiarly acquainted with its habits. 
 The "knowledge" intended probably not 
 256 
 
 simply that of mere acquaintance, but of 
 care. " Knowest thou," &c., so as to attend 
 to, watch over, &c. Certain animals so con- 
 stituted that man may both become easily 
 and thoroughly acquainted with them and 
 their habits, and be able to attend to their 
 wants and aid them in their emergencies. 
 The case with others the reverse. The 
 shepherd knows the time when his ewes are 
 to lamb : but who knows " the time when 
 the wild goats of the rock bring forth?" 
 Hence, observe (1) Aproofof the Creator's 
 care over the animal creation. With no 
 human eye to observe the wild goats, and no 
 shepherd's hand to aid them, God's eye marks 
 and His hand helps them in their greatest 
 difficulties. (2) A lesson of humility and 
 modesty. Man ignorant of the time when 
 the wild goats of the rock bring forth ; how 
 then shall he be able to fathom the designs 
 and understand the reasons of God in His 
 providential dealings ? What presumption 
 for a creature of so limited knowledge, even 
 of the humbler works of God, to question 
 the wisdom and justice of His moral govern- 
 ment ! (3.) A comfort for God's tried people. 
 Even the wild goats of the rock have their 
 time of parturition assigned them by their 
 Creator. That time known, marked, and 
 attended to by Him. How much more 
 everything connected with His intelligent 
 offspring, and most of all with those who love 
 and fear Him ! If God so watches over and 
 cares for the wild goat, will He not much 
 more watch over and care for you ? 
 
 2. The Hind, or Female Stay or Antelope. 
 Verses 1 4. " Canst thou mark (or watch) 
 when the hinds do calve ? Canst thou 
 number the months that they fulfil (knowing 
 the period of their gestation, and waiting 
 like the shepherd in regard to his ewes, till 
 they bring forth their fawns) ? or knowest 
 thou the time when they bring forth ? They 
 bow themselves (or go down on their knees 
 in their labour), they bring forth their young 
 ones, they cast out their sorrows (put forth 
 their young which occasion their pains). 
 Their young ones are in good liking (sleek 
 and in good condition) ; they grow up with 
 corn (or, in the desert or open country); they 
 go forth (to obtain food for themselves), and 
 return not again unto them (viz., to the hinds, 
 their mothers)." The animal more especially 
 alluded to doubtless the gazelle, or Arabian 
 antelope. Formerly numerous in Syria and 
 Arabia. Seen in large herds, bounding over 
 the plain with amazing fleetness. Resemble 
 the stags in the lightness of their figure and 
 the swiftness of their course. In Africa, the 
 usual prey of the lion and the panther. 
 Remarkable for their timidity, as well as for 
 their elegance and beauty ; especially for the
 
 I10MTLETIC COMMENTARY: JOB. 
 
 CHAP. XXX IX- 
 
 soft expression of tbeir large, dark, lustrous 
 eyes. The hind or female referred to is, 
 like the ibex, an animal beyond human 
 care and attention, but observed and provided 
 for by its Creator. The providence of God 
 noted in not only delivering the mother in 
 her pangs, but in caring for her offspring. 
 Without either man or mother to attend to 
 its wants, the young fawn, under the care of 
 its Creator, grows up sleek and well-condi- 
 tioned. Observe (1.) The tenderness of the 
 Creator's care. Indicated by the special refer- 
 ence to the animal's labour the time of its 
 maternal " sorrows." Its labour said to be 
 naturally with difficulty and pain. The animal, 
 however, said to be taught by the instinct 
 given to it, to employ an herb called 
 Siselis in order to facilitate the birth. (2.) 
 Comfort to suffering believers. The Creator 
 not indifferent to the pangs of the hind. 
 Will He be indifferent to the sorrows and 
 pains of His intelligent creatures, made after 
 His own image, and especially of His own 
 redeemed and adopted children ? If He at- 
 tends to the labour of the irrational creatures, 
 and marks the time when it takes place, is 
 anything connected with His own children 
 beyond his observation and regard ? (3.) 
 Humbling, that while the Creator makes the 
 sufferings of such creatures the object of 
 his care, man should occasion them in the 
 prosecution of his sport. Touching picture, 
 drawn by the greatest of uninspired poets, 
 of a dying stag shot by the hunter : 
 " The wretched animal heav'd forth such 
 groans 
 
 That their discharge did stretch his leathern 
 coat 
 
 Almost to bursting; and the big round tears 
 
 Coursed one another down his innocent nose 
 
 In piteous chase." 
 
 3. The Wild Ass. Verses 5 8. "Who 
 hath sent out the wild ass free (unrestrained 
 to roam at large) ? or who hath loosed the 
 bands of the wild ass (a different name iu 
 the original text from the former ; that em- 
 ployed more in Palestine, this in Chaldea ; 
 both indicative of a rapid flight; the latter, 
 perhaps, also of the animal's noise in bray- 
 ing) ? Whose house I have made the 
 wilderness, and the barren land (Mara., 
 'salt places') his dwellings (or liaunts). 
 He scorneth the multitude (or din) of the 
 city, neither regardeth he the crying of the 
 driver (or officer compelling to public service 
 the animal enjoying his liberty in the 
 desert,, and defying all attempts to subdue 
 and domesticate him). The range of the 
 mountains is his pasture (or ' he searches or 
 roams the mountains as his pasture '), and 
 he searcheth out every green tiling (as rare 
 in the desert, his proper habitation)." The 
 wild ass, an animal met with in great uuin- 
 17 
 
 bers in Arabia Petraca. According to the 
 Arabs, perfectly untamable. In fleetness 
 equal to the gazelle ; to overtake it a feat 
 which only one or two of the most celebrated 
 mares have been known to accomplish. Its 
 food the saltest plants of the desert. In 
 the East, the symbol of uncontrolled free- 
 dom. Its name assumed by Persian kings. 
 The wild independence of Ishmael and his 
 descendants (the Bedouin Arabs) indicated 
 by the same figure : " He will be a wild 
 (Heb., wild ass) man" (Gen. xvi. 12). A 
 picture also of the wayward and self-willed 
 (ch xi. 12 ; Jer. ii. 2' ; Hos. viii. 9). The 
 wild ass here selected by the Almighty on 
 account of its natural freedom from restraint 
 and its wild enjoyment of its desert haunts. 
 Referred to in order to show (I) The Creator's 
 sovereignty, in not only making some species 
 of animals naturally wild and others tame, 
 but making a similar difference in the same 
 species. (2) The Almighty's power over 
 animated nature, (3) His universally extended 
 providence. The wild ass, though beyoud 
 man's power to overtake or capture, yet only 
 one of the innumerable objects of Jehovah's 
 care. Its freedom and wildness given by 
 Him. Its abode in the wilderness appointed 
 by Him. The salt plants of the desert given 
 by Him for its support. Hence observe 
 (1) Man himself entirely in the Al- 
 mighty's hands. (2) Jehovah's right to 
 dispose of His creatures as He sees good. 
 The potter has power over the clay to make 
 out of the same mass vessels of various 
 kinds and for various purposes (Jer. xviii. 6 ; 
 Horn. ix. 21.) (3) Man, unable to give law 
 to the wild ass, how much less to His 
 Maker? (Henry}. (4) God, who lias the 
 wild ass entirely under His control, can easily 
 subdue the wildest and most wayward human 
 spirit. (5) Variety a characteristic iu the 
 Creator's works. Wildness and independence 
 given by Him to the wild ass. The Al- 
 mighty tied to no uniform type. (6) Man's 
 true liberty, not that of the wild ass, an 
 unrestrained independence ; but to be under 
 willing, intelligent, and loving subjection to 
 his Maker's laws. The liberty of a^child of 
 God not to be " without law to God, but 
 under the law to Christ" (1 Cor. ix. 21). 
 The true liberty that with which Christ 
 makes his people free (Gal. v. 1). His 
 yoke easv, and his burden light (Matt. xi. 
 30). 
 
 4. The Unicorn. Verses 9 !->. ' Will the 
 unicorn be willing to serve thee, or abide by 
 thy crib (or, spend the night at thy stall, 
 like an ox or other domestic animal)? Canst 
 Iliou bind the unicorn with his hand in the 
 furrow (guide him with a rope or rein in 
 ploughing tby field)? or will be harrow the 
 valleys (or low grounds, especially suited fol
 
 CHAP. XXXIX. 
 
 TIOMILETIC COMMENTARY; JOB. 
 
 tillage) after thee (after thy direction and 
 following thy steps like the quiet, ox, the 
 husbandman going before the harrow, though 
 behind the plough) ? Wilt thou trust him 
 (have confidence in him as an animal helpful 
 in. the labour of the fields) because his 
 strength is great? or wilt thou leave thy 
 labour to him (thy grain, the fruit of thy 
 labour, to watch it by night while remain- 
 ing on the threshing floor) ? Wilt thou 
 believe him that he will bring home thy seed 
 (or grain, from the field after being reaped 
 or threshed, like an ox yoked in the waggon;, 
 and gather it into thy barn (or granary) ?" 
 
 The animal here intended apparently one 
 of the ox kind, probably the wild ox or oryx 
 (aurochs), the urm of the ancients, " gene- 
 rally but erroneously considered as the wild 
 stock of our horned cattle." A savage animal 
 that has now taken refuge in the great marshy 
 forests of Lithunia, the Krapacs, and the 
 Caucasus ; but which formerly inhabited all 
 the temperate parts of Europe. The largest 
 quadruped proper to Europe (Cutler). 
 The animal subdued with difficulty. Ex- 
 tremely powerful : hence the reference in 
 the text. Probably the "strong bulls of 
 Bashan" (Ps. xxii. 12). Once roamed freely 
 in the forests of Palestine. Large herds of 
 them still in the region beyond Jordan. Often 
 mentioned by Arabian poets. Its two horns 
 include a space of ten feet from tip to tip. 
 The animal thought, however, by some to be 
 a species of antelope with two horns, for- 
 merly abundant in Egypt and the south-west 
 of Asia; described by Aristotle as one- 
 horned, and appearing on the Egyptian 
 monuments sometimes with one and some- 
 times with two horns. By others, the uni- 
 corn, or reem, thought to be the rhinocerus, 
 one species of which the rhinoceros of 
 India has only one horn. This well-known 
 animal also one of enormous strength, being 
 scarcely less in size than the elephant. That, 
 of India, sluggish in his movements, and 
 wandering through his native plains with a 
 heavy step. At certain times very dan- 
 gerous, impetuously attacking every animal 
 that attracts his notice. The African rhiuo- 
 cerus has a double horn, the principal one 
 rising about nine or ten inches above the 
 nose, and inclining backwards ; the other 
 immediately behind it, a short thick one. 
 The Hebrew name (reem) generally trans- 
 lated in our English Bible the " unicorn," or 
 one-horned. The animal, however, appa- 
 rently spoken of us having t.\vo horr.s (Xum. 
 Jtxiii. S; Dent, xxxiii. 17; Ps. xxii. 21.) 
 Frequently mentioned in Scripture as dis>- 
 tinguished for its strength. The reem of 
 the Arabs an animal with two horns. The 
 name apparently significant of its loftiness 
 and power. The unicorn of heraldry long 
 258 
 
 thought a merely fabulous animal. Its exist- 
 ence, however, now contended for by some, 
 who allege ancient and modern eye-witnesses 
 of it. Its figure a head like a horse, cloven 
 feet, the tail of a boar, and one horn in the 
 forehead. The representation of such an 
 animal found among the ruins of Persepolis. 
 
 The animal referred to in the text as one 
 of huge strength, but beyond the power of 
 man to render it serviceable to him in the 
 works of the field. Fitted by its physical 
 structure and great strength, to be em- 
 ployed like the ox or ass in agricultural pur- 
 suits ; but, from its intractable disposition, 
 not to be subjugated by man for that pur- 
 pose. The reference intended by the Al- 
 mighty to remind Job of his own littleness 
 and the power of his Creator. Observe 
 (1) A lesson of humility and modesty for man. 
 If unable to bind and bring into his service 
 an animal like the reem, how should he be 
 able to contend with his Maker ? If unable 
 to rule a mere creature, how unfit to ques- 
 tion the dealings of his Creator ! (2) The 
 effect of sin. The animals originally designed 
 to serve man. Dominion over them given 
 him by the Creator (Gen. i. 26, 28 ; Ps. viii. 
 6). That dominion forfeited by the Fall. 
 (3) The Dicine sovereignty. Some animals 
 apparently such as by nature to be more 
 useful and serviceable to man than others. 
 God's reasons for endowing the animals with 
 their various properties unknown to us. 
 Mysteries in creation ; no wonder if we find 
 similar mysteries in providence. 
 
 5. The Ostrich. Verses 13 18. " Gavest 
 thou the goodly wings unto the peacocks ? 
 or wings and feathers unto the ostrich ? 
 O/tf/y., 'the feathers of the stork and 
 ostrich ? ' Or the whole verse may read 
 thus: 'The wing of the ostriches movetli 
 gaily : hut is it the wing and feathers of the 
 stork?" a bird remarkable for maternal 
 affection, of which the ostrich appears to be 
 so deficient). Which (or because, since) 
 she leaveth (or, deposits) her eggs in the 
 ground, and forgetteth that the foot may 
 crush them, or that the wild beast may 
 break them (in the exposed place where she 
 lays them). She is hardened (or acts hardly) 
 against her young ones, as though they were 
 not hers (or, ' for those which are not her 
 own') : her labour (in preparing her nest, and 
 sitting on her eggs) is in vain, without fear 
 (she being without solicitude for the preser- 
 vation of her young). Because God hath 
 deprived her (or, ' made her forgetful ') of 
 wisdom (the prudence necessary for pre- 
 serving her young), neither hath he im- 
 parted unto her understanding (such, or so 
 much as he has implanted in the animals iu 
 general, usually called instinct). What 
 time she lifteth up (or rouseth) herself on
 
 IIOMILETIC COMMENTARY: JOB. 
 
 CHAP. XXXIX 
 
 high (erecting her head and body as well as 
 her wings, the latter being used to aid her 
 in running rather than flying), she scorneth 
 the horse and his rider (when pursuing her 
 in the chase)." 
 
 The ostrich referred to as an animal 
 generally regarded as deficient in natural 
 1'orethought, especially in reference to the 
 perservation of her young (Lam. iv. 3), while 
 endowed with extraordinary speed, so as to 
 be able to secure her own safety by flight. 
 One of the two known species (the tfnttkw 
 rrt-.irliat) abounds in the sandy deserts of 
 Arabia and Africa. This the ostrich men- 
 tioned here and elsewhere in the Bible. 
 Attains the height of eight feet. So swift 
 that no animal is able to overtake it. The 
 wings white and black, not unlike those of 
 the stork; furnished with the well-known 
 loose and flexible, elegant and slender- 
 stemmed feathers ; and sufficiently long to 
 increase the animal's speed in running, 
 serving both for sail and oar. Being found 
 in hot countries, the ostrich is content to 
 lay its eggs, from thirty to fifty at a time, 
 each weighing nearly three pounds, about a 
 foot below the surface, in the sand. Outside 
 the tropics, however, she is said to brood 
 over her eggs with great care, and courage- 
 ously to defend her young. From the 
 animal's known neglect of her young in 
 Arabia, it is designated by the Arabs the 
 "impious bird/' as in contrast with the 
 stork, which is called the "pious" one. 
 Said to hatch her eggs only for a time, 
 and to leave them frequently during 
 the day at the least noise, going to a 
 great distance and sometimes never return- 
 ing to them. Plays and frisks about on all 
 occasions, " moving her wings gaily," and 
 would be always fanning and hiding herself 
 with them. Her eggs left exposed to the 
 'view of the traveller and the foot of the 
 wild beasts that frequent, the desert. Often 
 addled before she returns from her long 
 absence in scearch for food. Sometimes, 
 during her absence, found sitting on the 
 eggs of another bird. Its sense of taste so 
 obtuse that it swallows rags, leather. &C., 
 and even pebbles and pieces of metal. The 
 bird proverbially stupid. "More foolish 
 than an ostrich," an Arab proverb. Its 
 speed calculated by Dr. Livingstone to be 
 about twenty-six miles an hour. The stride 
 of one in the Sahara found to be from 
 twenty -two to twenty-eight feet. 
 
 The " peacock " probably not intended in 
 the verse. The word so rendered, quite dif- 
 ferent from that in 1 Kings x. 22. Literally, 
 denotes "singing ones," and probably given 
 to characterize the ostrich, oistinguished for 
 its cries. The peacock distinguished not so 
 much for the beauty of its icimjs as of its 
 172 
 
 tail, Originally brought from India. First 
 known in Palestine and Arabia in the time 
 of Solomon, who imported it into his king- 
 dom. Introduced into Europe by Alexander 
 the Great. Its magnificent plumage, most 
 splendid in a wild state, like the flowers 
 of the field, indicative of the Creator's 
 pleasure in the beautiful, and of the beauty 
 residing in Himself. In the peacock, the 
 beauty apparently not accompanied with 
 other excellencies. 
 
 From the whole section, observe (1) God's 
 providential care of Hix r,-,"af tires. Provides 
 for the young of the ostrich even when 1 he 
 care and affection of the parent fail. (2) Hits 
 xotereigtily iii the endowments of His creatures. 
 Instinctive care for the preservation of off- 
 spring strong in the animals in general ; 
 weak in the ostrich. " Wisdom and under- 
 standing "whether in the lower form as in 
 the brute creation, or in the higher, as in 
 man the gift of God. Its degrees in both 
 cases according to His own pleasure. The 
 ostrich endowed with remarkable speed, but 
 with little sense. The stork, with much 
 humbler plumage, yet gifted with much 
 greater natural affection. An example re- 
 lated of two which had built their nest on 
 the roof of a house in Delft, a town of Hol- 
 land, and which, when ihe house was ou lire, 
 first endeavoured to carry off all their young, 
 and when unable to do this, kept flapping 
 their wings over them as if to cool the air'; 
 and at last, as the flames drew nearer, sat 
 down over the nest to die with them. (3) 
 T/ie rtd-io/'x rmlowmfnls of animals designed 
 /'or t ,trw'.i i,i.if.rncliou. Intended to teach 
 man both concerning God and himself. 
 Some of those endowments designed for 
 man's imitation ; others the reverse. The 
 stork an example to parents in regard to their 
 children ; the ostrich a warning. Indifference 
 and neglect in regard to those committed to 
 our care monstrous even iu irrational crea- 
 tures: much more so in man. Like the 
 " labour " of the ostrich, that of parents and 
 teachers often "in vain," from the want of 
 " fear " and solicitude for the preservation of 
 those for whom they have laboured. " Tko*e 
 most likely to lose their labour who lutte least 
 fan- of losing it." While men sleep, the 
 enemy sows his tares, ouch solicitude 
 especially needful in the case of children 
 leaving the parental roof. Watchful care 
 al \\ay.s necessary to guard the young against 
 the influence of evil company, and the dangers 
 incident from an ungodly world. Prayrrl'ul 
 solicitude constantly required on behalf of 
 those for whose spiritual benefit we hare 
 laboured, and in whom have appeared the 
 beginnings of grace. Early grace watched 
 over by God, but not therefore the less to be 
 watched over by mail. 
 
 259
 
 CHAP. XXXIX. 
 
 HOMILETIC 
 
 : JOB. 
 
 6. The Horse. Verses 19 25. " Hast 
 thou given the horse strength (or courage, 
 or rather both combined) ? Hast thou 
 clothed his neck with thunder (with the 
 terror of his neighings ; or, ' with lofty 
 quivering mane ' the indistinctness of the 
 figure heightening its sublimity) ? Canst 
 thou make him afraid as a grasshopper (or, 
 ' bound like a locust ') ? The glory of his 
 nostrils (or neighings) is terrible (or, 'a 
 terror' more especially to the Hebrews, 
 little acquainted with war-horses, Jer. viii. 
 16). He paweth in the valley (or ' plain' 
 usually selected for the battle-field where 
 cavalry were to be employed) ; and rejoiceth 
 in his strength. He goeth on to meet the 
 armed men (or, ' boldly he advanced against 
 the weapons'). He mocketh at fear (what 
 would cause fear in others), and is not 
 affrighted (by all the terrors of the battle- 
 field) ; neither turneth he back from the 
 [face or presence of] of the sword. . The 
 quiver (or its contents, the arrows) rattleth 
 against (or upon) him : the glittering spear 
 and the shield (or, ' the flash of the spear 
 and the lance '). He swalloweth the ground 
 with fierceness and rage (in his impetuous 
 eagerness for the fight) : neither believeth 
 he that it is the sound of the trumpet (or, 
 ' standeth still when there is the sound of 
 the trumpet'). He saith among (or at the 
 blast of) the trumpets, Ha, ha: and he 
 smelleth the battle afar off the thunder of 
 the captains (animating the hosts to the 
 fight), and the shouting" (of the warriors). 
 
 The reference to the horse apparently 
 suggested by the mention made at the close 
 of the preceding paragraph, of "the horse 
 and his rider." The war-horse here especially 
 referred to. The description acknowledged 
 to be unequalled anywhere for sublimity. 
 Sufficient in itself to place the writer among 
 the first of poets. The war-horse referred 
 to as an example of courage and noble bear- 
 ing. The reference intended to impress Job 
 with the majesty of Him whose creature this 
 noble and courageous animal is. 
 
 The horse exhibited in the text as the 
 noblest specimen among inferior animals. 
 Those of Arabia and Egypt especially famous. 
 The horse believed to exist in Arabia, the 
 home of the patriarch, in a finer condition 
 than in any other country. Still the chief 
 treasure of the Bedawin Aral). Formerly 
 many of them in a wild stale iu the Arabian 
 deserts; only caught in pits, and then sub- 
 jugated through hunger and fatigue. Be- 
 lieved by tin: Arab* 10 be endowed with a 
 nature superior to that of oilier animals, and 
 to be next to man himself. At first employed 
 by fallen man chiefly in war, yoked to a 
 chariot in which the warrior stood. The 
 i-arlii-st mention of them in connection with 
 
 the exodus of the Israelites from Egypt 
 (Exod. xiv. 6 9). Probably employed in 
 Egypt and elsewhere on state occasions 
 (Gen. xli. 43). Used also early in the chase, 
 apparently intended in verse IS. Among 
 Egyptian monuments, only one of a horse and 
 its rider,and that comparatively recent . Horses 
 mentioned among the valuable possessions 
 of Solomon brought up by him from Egypt. 
 Among the ancient Assyrians used indiscrimi- 
 nately for war and hunting. Israel spoken 
 of by Jehovah as His " goodly horse in the 
 battle;" as endowed by Him with strength 
 and courage, and employed for the conquest 
 of heathen adversaries (Zech. x. 3). The 
 horse, as distinguished for its beauty as well 
 as its strength and courage, employed as a 
 simile for the Church of Christ under the 
 figure of a beautiful woman (Cant. i. 9). 
 Elsewhere noticed in Scripture for his 
 strength and eagerness for the battle (Ps. 
 cxlvii. 10 ; Jer. viii. 6). Yet a vain thing 
 for safety (Ps. xxxiii. 17). 
 
 From the description of the war-horse 
 observe (1) Tlie example of the Almighty in 
 contemplating and admiring the works of His 
 ha ltd. God represented as rejoicing in His 
 works, whether the feathers of the ostrich or 
 the spirit of the war-horse, the intelligence 
 of a seraph or the piety of a man. A refined 
 pleasure in contemplating and admiring the 
 works of God ; a Divine pleasure in contem- 
 plating them as such. God's example to be 
 imitated by His intelligent children. (2) 
 An example exhibited in the war-horse, of 
 courage and fearlessness in the discharge of 
 duty and in the sercice of our Divine Master 
 (See again Zech. x. 3 ; Cant. i. 9). The 
 courage and impetuosity of the war-horse 
 too often imitated in a contrary direction 
 (Jer. viii. 6). Man capable of being em- 
 ployed as Satan's war-horse as well as Jesus 
 Christ's. The latter his glory and felicity ; 
 the former his disgrace and ruin, (o) The 
 tear-horse, in some respects, a faiiit reflection 
 of his Maker's excellence. " Who would set 
 the briars and thorns against Me in battle ': " 
 (Is. xxvii. -i). All creature excellence 
 only a shadow of the infinite and uncreated 
 excellence of the Creator. All endowments 
 and excellencies found in the creature in- 
 tended to lead the thoughts to the Creator 
 as the source and sum of all excellence. (4-) 
 Mi/afni/ connected > r i/li all God's tcorkn. 
 Tne horse, the noblest of God's irrational 
 creatures, yet here admired by his Maker as 
 displaying his excellence in what cannot but 
 be regarded as, in many respects, Satan's 
 work. The battle-field, usually the theatre 
 of evil passions, and the delight of the enemy 
 of God and man. Sin, the origin of all strife 
 and warfare ; yet war ami battle not always 
 sinful. Sometimes man's duty, and com-
 
 HOMILETIC COMMENTARY: JOB. 
 
 CHAP. XXXI X. 
 
 manded by God. In some respects, the 
 battle is the Lord's. The Lord of hosts 
 mustereth the hosts for the battle. Nebu- 
 chadnezzar God's servaut in his war against 
 Tyre (Ezek. xxix. 17 20. War employed 
 by God as His own terrible instrument in 
 His government of the world. God's glory 
 in overruling man's sin and Satan's malice 
 to his own praise and the welfare of the 
 universe. Napoleon and his battles, God's 
 scourge for the benefit of Europe and the 
 world. Yet on the field of Waterloo, " those 
 terrible grey horses " a terror to him who 
 had been the terror of the nations. " I have 
 created the waster to destroy." A prospec- 
 tive use in many of God's creatures. The 
 creature '' made subject to vanity " through 
 Adam's fall. The time to come when the 
 creature, groaning and travailing in pain 
 until now through man's sin, " shall be de- 
 livered from the bondage of corruption into 
 the glorious liberty of the children of God " 
 (Rom. viii. 20 22). The day hastening on, 
 when the noble horse shall find other em- 
 ployment than rushing with its rider into the 
 din of the battle, and careering among gar- 
 ments rolled in blood. The promise in con- 
 nection with Christ's kingdom to be fulfilled : 
 " They shall beat their swords into plough- 
 shares, and their spears into pruning hooks ; 
 nation shall not lift up sword against nation, 
 neither shall they learn war any more." 
 " He inaketh wars to cease unto the end of 
 the earth ; he breaketh the bow, and cutteth 
 the spear in simder ; he burueth the chariot 
 in the fire." (Is. ii. 4; Ps. xlvi. 9). The 
 last inspired mention of the war-horse, and 
 perhaps the last use of him as such, made in 
 connection with " the battle of the great 
 day of God Almighty," in the place " called 
 in the Hebrew tongue Amageddon;" and 
 with the symbolical appearance of the Faith- 
 ful and True witness upon a white horse, 
 clothed in a vesture dipped in blood, in 
 righteousness judging and making war as 
 King of Kings and Lord of Lords, and fol- 
 lowed by the armies of heaven ; these also 
 " upon white horses, clothed in line linen, 
 white and clean" (Rev. xvi. 14 16 : xix. 
 1114,1821. 
 
 7. The Hatch. Verse 20. "Doth the 
 hawk fly by thy wisdom, and stretch her 
 wings towards the south?" The reference 
 to birds of prey and those feeding on carrion 
 probably suggested by the battle-field men- 
 tioned in the previous section. The hawk, or 
 falcon, selected as a specimen and represen- 
 tative of the feathered tribe, from the rapidity 
 of its flight, and perhaps also from its being 
 migratory in its habits. Birds of the 
 hawk order (accipitres), placed by naturalists 
 highest in the list, including not only hawks 
 and falcons, but eagles and vultures. Are 
 
 among birds what the lion and other car- 
 nivorous animals are among quadrupeds. 
 Known by their talons and hooked beaks, by 
 which they seize and devour other birds anil 
 even the weaker quadrupeds and reptiles. 
 Plumage dense and quills strong, giving them 
 great power on the wing, and enabling them 
 to pursue or pounce at once upon their prey. 
 Perhaps the name in the text one of a 
 generic kind, including all such birds of 
 prey. Falcons, with naturalists, the second 
 and by far the most numerous division of 
 those predaceous birds that pursue their 
 prey in the daytime. The greater number 
 prey on living animals. The falcon proper, 
 the most courageous bird in proportion to 
 its size. Two things in the text referred to 
 as indicative of the wisdom of God in rela- 
 tion to the hawk : 
 
 First : Its might" Doth the hawk fly by 
 thy wisdom?" The hawk mentioned by 
 Homer as the swiftest of birds. The rapidity 
 with which the hawk and many other birds 
 occasionally fly, probably not less than at the 
 rate of 150 miles an hour. A falcon escaping 
 from Fontainbleau, in France, found to have 
 reached Malta, 1350 miles distant, after 
 twenty-four hours. The common falcon for- 
 merly employed in hunting, chiefly from its 
 rapid flight. Builds her nest in the most ele- 
 vated and inaccessible cliffs, whence she darts 
 down with rapid wing upon her prey, descried 
 at a distance. An inhabitant of northern lati- 
 tudes, whence her flight towards the South. 
 
 Second : Its Migration. " Stretcheth her 
 wings towards the south," as if for a warmer 
 climate. Many animals, unfit to provide 
 against the vicissitude of the seasons by vary- 
 ing the quantity or colour of their dress, 
 enabled by the providence of God to protect 
 themselves by shifting their quarters, so as 
 to live throughout the whole year in a tem- 
 perature suited to their constitution, and at 
 the same time to obtain an abundant supply 
 of food. The migration of birds an object 
 of observation from an early period. " The 
 stork in the heavens knoweth her appointed 
 times ; and the turtle, and the crane, and the 
 swallow observe the time of their coming " 
 (Jer. viii. 7). Birds of passage not coulim-d 
 to any particular order or tribe ; nor distin- 
 guished by similarity in habits or kind of 
 food. Some birds stationary in one district, 
 migratory in another. 
 
 Observe (1) The wisdom of God i* 
 adapting birds for flight. The general form 
 of the body of birds, one best calculated for 
 gliding with the last resistance through the 
 air. Everything in its structure contrived 
 to give it lightness. The horny materials of 
 the feathers formed into hollow cylinders, 
 exceedingly strong when compared with their 
 weight. A similar shape given to the rylin- 
 
 261
 
 CHAP. XXXIX. 
 
 SOMILETIC COMMENTARY: JOB. 
 
 drical bones, which are fashioned into tubes, 
 with dense but thin sides ; most of the other 
 bones likewise made hollow, but containing 
 only air. The neck exceedingly long and 
 flexible, to enable the bird in flying exactly 
 to balance itself, by bringing the centre of 
 gravity precisely to the pi oper point. The 
 feather* of the bird a marvellous contrivance. 
 Made to consist of three parts the quill, 
 the shaft, and the vane. A mould made for 
 every feather, "in what may be called a 
 feather manufactory." This manufactory 
 not merely in action once during the life of 
 the bird, but at every time of moulting 
 generally once a year. The feather remark- 
 able for its strength as well as its lightness. 
 The vane of the feather so disposed that the 
 impulse of the air occurs first where the 
 feather does not yield. The wing adapted 
 for flight by its striking the air below it 
 with a certain force, and so causing a re- 
 action of the air upwards exactly equal to it, 
 the bird rising or sinking as the force of the 
 stroke is greater or less than its weight. 
 The wings also employed by the bird in steer- 
 ing its course, as the rower turns his boat by 
 using only his right or left oar. The tail 
 made to act as a supplementary organ for the 
 same purpose. The tail, however in addi- 
 tion to its serving as the rudder of a ship, by 
 expanding and offering a considerable sur- 
 face to the air, fulfils some of the offices of 
 a third wing, and serves also to poise the 
 body of the bird. (2) The wisdom anil good- 
 ness of God in the mif/ratiou of birds. An 
 admirable instance of the Croat or 'scare, that 
 birds arc endowed with an instinct which 
 enables them to know where and when to 
 direct their flight, so as to (hid a more genial 
 climate during the colder season in their 
 native home. (3) The hawk, as well as other 
 ,,i>t/rnf.ory birds, ancxample to me// in relation 
 to God their Saviour. " The stork, &c., 
 know the time of their coming : but my 
 people know not the judgment of the Lord '" 
 (Jer. viii. 7). Christ provided by the love 
 of God, as the sinner's shelter from the 
 certain storm of Divine wrath against sin. 
 Men invited to dwell in Him as ""in a peace- 
 able habitation, and in sure dwellings, and in 
 quiet resting-places; when it shall hail, 
 coming down on the forest" (Isa. xxxii. 
 -2, IS). The Saviour's complaint that sin- 
 ners " know not the time of their merciful 
 visitation." "0, Jerusalem! how often 
 u-ould I have gathered thy children toge- 
 ther, as a lien gathcreth her chickens under 
 her wings, but ye would not " (Luke xix. 
 il 11 ; Matt, xxiii. 37). 
 
 8. The Eagle. Verses 27 30. "Doth 
 Hie eagle mount up at thy command, and 
 make her nest on high. She dwelleth and 
 abideth oil the rock, upon the crag of the 
 
 rock, and the strong place (or mountain- 
 castle). From thence she seeketh her prey, 
 and her eyes behold afar off. Her young 
 ones suck up blood, and where the slain are, 
 there is she." The eagle a species of the 
 same order of birds as the hawk (arcipitres), 
 and belonging to the falcon genus. The 
 largest of the genus, and the most powerful 
 of all the birds of prey. Probably intended, 
 however, to include vultures as well, espe- 
 cially the bearded or eagle-vulture (Gypaetas), 
 which, rather than the eagle, feed on car- 
 rion. The bearded or eagle-vulture, though 
 differing both in head and body from the eagle, 
 yet resembling it in its robust form and 
 general habits, except that it feeds on dead 
 ilesh, which the eagle rarely does. Equals, 
 or exceeds, the largest eagle in size, and is 
 found throughout the great mountain chains 
 of the Old World. Apparently referred to 
 in Mic. i. 16 ; as its head and neck are 
 entirely destitute of feathers, which those of 
 the proper eagle are not. The eagle referred 
 to in the text on account of (1) Its lofty 
 flight. " Doth the eagle mount up," &c. 
 Its great bodily power and ample wing fit 
 the bird for a lofty and majestic flight. The 
 eagle-vulture about four feet from the beak 
 to the tip of the tail, and from nine to ten 
 feet in the extent of its wings. The pecu- 
 liarity of the eagle, to fly directly upward till 
 out of sight. Its night referred to by the 
 prophet : " They shall mount up with wings 
 as eagles " (Isa. xl. 31). Hence also said to 
 have an eye fitted to gaze upon the sun. 
 
 (2) Its inaccessible abode. " She maketh 
 her nest on high," &c. The eagle, and the 
 eagle-vulture, both select the most inacces- 
 sible pinnacles as the site of their eyrie. 
 
 (3) Its acute vision. " Her eyes behold 
 afar off." The sight of the eagle, as of birds 
 of prey in general, remarkably acute. Such 
 birds endowed with the power of pushing 
 out and drawing in the lenses of the eye, as 
 the object is more or less distant, so as to 
 discern from its lofty abode the prey far 
 beneath it, and to see it no less distinctly as 
 it descends. (4) Their appetite for flesh and 
 blood. "Her young ones also suck up 
 blood," &c. The greater number of the 
 
 falcon class of birds, to which the eagle 
 belongs, feed on living prey, while the eagle- 
 vulture, like birds of the vulture genus, also 
 feeds on carrion. Hence the battle-field the 
 great attraction for the latter. Eagles said 
 only to drink blood. The young ones trained 
 to this in the iicst, to which the parent-bird 
 brings the prey. 
 
 Observe from the section (1) The wisdoni 
 of the Creator in respect to birds and beasts 
 of prey. Exhibited (i.) in providing that 
 one class of animals prey upon another. 
 According to the present constitution of
 
 HOMILET1C COMMENTARY: JOB. 
 
 CHA.P. X 1 
 
 nature, no other system could long exist 
 except that which operated as a check on 
 animal production, and preserved a balance 
 of power between all creatures, (ii.) In 
 providing by means of such animals for the 
 removal of dead bodies left on the surface of 
 the earth. Vultures, and even eagles, 
 anioug birds and wolves, jackals, and 
 hysenas, among quadrupeds, employed by 
 the Creator as the earth's scavengers in 
 removing its offal, and especially the carcases 
 of animals, which would otherwise tend to 
 corrupt the air with pestilential exhalations, 
 and unfit parts of the earth for the abode of 
 the living. (2) The eac/le viewed as an 
 emblem. May be regarded as an emblem 
 (i.) Of God Himself, in His tender care 
 of and attention to the wants of His crea- 
 tures. "Her young ones suck up blood." 
 " As the eagle stirreth up her nest, fluttereth 
 over her young, spreadeth abroad her wings, 
 taketh them, beareth them in her wings; 
 so the Lord alone did lead him' (Deut. 
 xxxii. 11, 12). (ii.) Of believers, (a) In 
 their upward ascent. "They shall mount 
 up with wings as eagles." Believers' 
 journey a heavenward one. Believers not 
 to have their affection set on things on the 
 earth, but to " seek those things that are 
 above, where Christ sitteth " (Col. iii. 1, 2). 
 The unregenerate burrow in the earth, as 
 moles and worms ; believers mount upwards, 
 as with eagles' wings. The disposition to do 
 so, from, their new spiritual and Divine 
 
 nature ; their ability, imparted by the Holy 
 Spirit iu connection' with their waiting upon 
 God (Isa. xl. 31). (b) In their lofty and 
 safe abode. "They shall dwell on 'high; 
 their place of defence is the munitions of 
 rocks " (Isa. xxxiii. 16). Their dwelling in 
 God Himself, the Rock of Ages. Their 
 abode, the secret place of the Most High, 
 under the shadow of the Almighty. Jehovah 
 Himself their refuge and fortress. Their 
 safe shelter, the Rock that is higher than 
 they (Ps. xci. 1, 2, ; Ixi. 2, 3). (c) In their 
 spiritual vision. Believers enabled to " see 
 afaroff"(2 Pet.i.9). Once blind, butnowsee. 
 Their eyes anointed with Christ's eye-salve 
 (Rev. iii. 17). Believers behold, as iu a glass, 
 the glory of the Lord. Behold the glory of 
 Jesus, as that of the Only Begotten of the 
 Father (2 Cor. iii. 18; John i. 14). En- 
 dure, as seeing Him who is invisible. See 
 promised glory afar off. Look at the things 
 that are unseen and eternal (Heb. xi. 13, 27 ; 
 2 Cor. iv. 18). Behold, by the eye of faith, 
 the King in His beauty, and the laud that is 
 very far off (Isa. xxxiii. 17). (a") In their 
 feeding, by faith, on the flesh and blood of the 
 Lamb that was slain for them. "Whoso 
 eateth My flesh, and drinketh My blood, 
 hath eternal life ; he that eateth My flesh, 
 and drinketh My blood, dwelleth in Me, and 
 I in him. The bread that I will give is My 
 flesh, which I will give for the life of the 
 world" (John vi. 51, 54, 56). 
 
 CHAPTER XL. 
 
 JEHOFAH'S ADDRESS CONTINUED. 
 
 A pause in the Almighty's address ap- 
 parently indicated in the commencement of 
 the present chapter. The language in which 
 it is resumed, together with the reply of Job 
 immediately following, implies also a suspen- 
 sion of the argument, which seems only to be 
 taken up at the fifteenth verse when the 
 Almighty spoke a second time out of the 
 whirlwind. This is usually explained on the 
 ground that Job's conviction and repentance, 
 though expressed in verses 4 and 5 in reply 
 to the Almighty's appeal in verse 2, were not 
 yet sufficiently deep, and that the argument 
 and means of correction are on that account 
 resumed. It is conjectured, however, by 
 some that an accidental dislocation ot the 
 parts has taken place, and that the first four- 
 teen verses of the chapter originally followed 
 the description of Leviathan and the first six 
 verses of the succeeding chapter. In this 
 way the narrative is believed better to corre- 
 spond with the seventh verse of the forty- 
 
 second chapter, which seems to make the 
 Almighty the last speaker ; while the four- 
 teenth verse of the present chapter forms a 
 manifestly appropriate and impressive con- 
 clusion to the Divine address. Taking the 
 narrative, however, as it stands in the text, 
 we have 
 
 I. The application of the preceding 
 address. Verses 1, 2. "Moreover flic 
 Lord answered Job and said : Shall he that 
 contendeth with the Almighty instruct Him 
 (or ' will the corrector of the Almighty still 
 contend with Him?' Or, 'is the disputcr 
 with the Almighty yet instructed')? He 
 that reproveth God, let him answer it " (viz., 
 the questions just proposed). Observe 
 
 1. A sin. most o/cnsirc to God, to conleitn 
 with Him by disputing thr '''/;'/'.;/ <;>' //< 
 uucernment and tlie r*uo*bkiHt < 
 prooidential dispensations. Tins Job's sin. 
 The sin to which fallen human nature, even
 
 CHAP. XL. 
 
 HOM11ETIC COMMENTARY: JOB. 
 
 in believers, is always liable. The sin into 
 which Asaph felt himself falling (Ps. Ixxiii. 
 2 15). Conspicuously the sin of Jonah. 
 
 2. The contemplation of the grcatne.sx ami 
 sovereignty of God as Creator and Ruler of 
 the universe, fitted to silence all questioning 
 ami complainings iii regard to His providential, 
 procedure. This the object of the Almighty's 
 address, and of the reference made by Him 
 to His power, wisdom, and goodness as seen 
 in the creation, preservation, and government 
 of the earth, with all the tribes of its inhabi- 
 tants, as well as of the worlds above and 
 around us, and of all the various forces and 
 phenomena of nature. Such a Being can 
 require no instruction from any of His 
 creatures ; and for even the highest of them 
 to think to reprove Him for any of His 
 doings can only be the summit of presumption 
 and folly. All ground of complaining against 
 God on the part of His creatures removed by 
 His infinitely glorious perfections. Those 
 perfections sufficient foundation for our most 
 assured confidence in the Divine procedure. 
 A Being possessed of such perfections able 
 only to do what is wise, and just, and good. 
 Enough to hear in the darkest dispensations : 
 " Be still, and know that I am God " (Ps. 
 xlvi. 10). 
 
 II. Job's Confession. Verses 35. 
 " Then Job answered the Lord and said : 
 Behold, I am vile (mean and contemptible) : 
 what shall I answer Thee (either as to these 
 questions or Thy conduct and procedure) ? 
 I will lay mine hand upon my mouth (in 
 token of silence and conviction). Once have 
 I spoken, but I will not answer : yea twice, 
 but I will proceed no farther." In this con- 
 fession observe 
 
 1. The discovery. " I am vile." Abraham's 
 acknowledgment " Am but dust and ashes." 
 All flesh grass. Man a worm. His days on 
 earth as a shadow. But of yesterday, and 
 knowing nothing. Even the nations less 
 than nothing, and vanity. The question 
 appropriate and becoming : " What is man 
 that thou art mindful of him ? " Vile in his 
 origin, and creature-nature ; much viler still 
 in his character as a sinner. His proper 
 place therefore in the dust, with his hand 
 upon his mouth. Murmurings and complain- 
 ings against God's procedure monstrous in 
 any creature, but especially so in one so vile 
 as man. Note (1) God made man in his 
 own image, bill sin has made him vile. The 
 character of sin to debase ; that of righteous- 
 ness to exalt. Sin renders man rebellious 
 against his Creator, injurious to his neigh- 
 bour, brutish in himself. Sin, the abominaole 
 thing which God hates. (2) Repentance 
 ^unifies men's views of themselves as icell as 
 of God. Job's former language : " I am not 
 
 264 
 
 wicked." " I would go as a prince before 
 God ; " Now it is : " Behold, I am vile." 
 The language of Saul, the Pharisee : " God, 
 I thank thee that I am not as other men 
 are;" that of Paul, the penitent: ' : I am 
 the chief of sinners." (3) Job's discovery a 
 blessed one. The result of Divine teaching 
 and of God's revealing himself to the soul. 
 Isaiah's acknowledgment when he beheld 
 the glory of the Lord in the temple : " Woe 
 is me! for I am undone, because I am a 
 man of unclean lips." That of Peter on the 
 discovery of Christ's divinity in the fishing 
 boat : " Depart from me ; for I am a sinful 
 man, Lord." This discovery the first step 
 to Job's exaltation, and the exaltation of any 
 sinner. " He giveth grace to the lowly." 
 " He that humbleth himself shall be exalted." 
 Pride and self-righteousness the greatest 
 hindrances to a man's peace. 
 
 2. Job's silence. " What shall I answer 
 thee? I will lay mine hand upon my 
 mouth." No plea to offer (chap. xxi. 5 ; Jud. 
 xviii. 19). A Divinely taught self-knowledge 
 the effectual cure of a murmuring spirit. 
 God's government of his creatures of such a 
 character as to stop the mouth of every 
 objector. A day at hand when every mouth 
 will be shut, and all the world become guilty 
 before God. The immediate result of the 
 Spirit's work in conviction. Examples : The 
 thief upon the Cross ; Saul of Tarsus. 
 
 3. His resolution. " Once have I spoken, 
 but I will not answer," &c. The proof of 
 repentance to resolve not to repeat the 
 ofi'ence. " If I have offended, I will not 
 offend any more." " He that confesseth and 
 
 forsaketh his sin shall obtain mercy." " Go 
 and sin no more." Complete and uncon- 
 ditional surrender, the aim of the Holy Ghost 
 in the sinner's conviction. Note Job's sin 
 that of his lips, and especially in relation to 
 God. Sins of the lips to be repented of as 
 well as sins of the life. Unbecoming thoughts 
 and words in regard to God at least as 
 punishable as injustice towards our neigh- 
 bour. " Uprightings of judgment towards 
 God as much a duty as uprightness of con- 
 duct towards man."- Kitto. 
 
 III. The Almighty's Challenge. Verses 
 6 14. "Then answered the Lord unto 
 Job out of the whirlwind, and said : Gird up 
 thy loins now like a man (a hero or mighty 
 man, as thou imaginest thyself to be spoken 
 in irony) : I will demand of thee, and declare 
 thou unto me. Wilt thou also disannul my 
 judgment (judicial sentence, or justice in 
 governing the world) ? wilt thou condemn 
 me, that thou mayst be righteous (in order 
 to establish thy innocence which Job ap- 
 peared on the point of doing) ? Hast thou 
 an arm like God ? or canst thou thunder with
 
 HOMILETIC COMMENTARY: JOB. 
 
 CHAP. xt. 
 
 a voice like Him ? Deck thyself now with 
 majesty and excellency, and array thyself 
 [like a God] with glory and beauty. Cast 
 abroad (manifest on every side, or dart forth 
 as lightnings) the rage (or overflowings) of 
 of thy wrath [against the ungodly for their 
 destruction] : and behold [with a withering 
 glance] every one that is proud, and abase 
 him. Look [with omniscient eye from the 
 throne of the universe] on every one that is 
 proud, and bring him low (by the infliction of 
 condign punishment, and for the manifesta- 
 tion of thy power and justice) ; and tread 
 down the wicked in their place (on the spot, 
 however high in power and station). Hide 
 them in the dust [of the grave], and bind 
 their faces in secret (without public process, 
 or in the darkness of a prison, like so many 
 doomed malefactors Est., vii. 8). Then will 
 I also [as well as others] confess unto thee 
 [with praise], that thine own right hand can 
 save thee." 
 
 The Almighty's address from the storm- 
 cloud renewed, not to explain and remove 
 the mysteries in His providential dealings, 
 for which there will be time enough here- 
 after, but still to further convince Job of his 
 error in questioning the Divine justice, and 
 more fully to humble him, by the exhibition 
 of His own almightiness and man's little- 
 ness. From the challenge in the above 
 section, observe 
 
 1. The spirit and tendency of all murmur- 
 ings against God's dealings with us is to 
 "disannul" His decisions, and to maintain 
 our own righteousnes as deserving better 
 treatment. 
 
 2. Discontent and rebellion against the 
 Divine procedure is virtually to " contend " 
 with God, and enter the lists with the 
 Almighty. "Let the potsherds strive with 
 the potsherds of the earth; but woe unto 
 the man that striveth with his Maker." 
 A fearful thing to Tall into the hands of 
 the living God. " Who can abide when once 
 he is angry." The wrath of a king like the 
 roaring of a lion ; what then the wrath of a 
 God? The sinner must either submit by 
 grace or be subdued by judgment. " Kiss 
 the Son, lest he be angry, and ye perish from 
 the way." 
 
 i. Pride the object of God's special dis- 
 pleasure. The sin of fallen angels. 
 
 5. Every sinner "beheld" by the omnis- 
 cient eye of the Almighty. " No darkness 
 or shadow of death where the workers of 
 iniquity may hide themselves." 
 
 G. The proudest to be one day " brought 
 low." Proud sinners humbled either iu 
 mercy or judgment. Those happy who 
 willingly humble themselves before God, 
 before they arc unwillingly humbled iyHim. 
 
 7. Thorough humiliation and self-abasement 
 
 required, in order to the reception of full xal- 
 cation and spiritual comfort. Job for a time 
 only partially humbled. The ploughshare of 
 conviction to be driven deeper into his soul, 
 before the seed of Divine consolation is cast 
 into it. The knife to be still further applied, 
 before the wound is finally bound up. God's 
 kindness seen in thoroughly humbling the 
 saint as well as the sinner. A crowning 
 blessing, to be divested of the last remains 
 of pride and self- righteousness . God empties 
 in order to fill ; humbles in order to exalt. 
 
 8. The tendency of fallen humanity always 
 to save itself. The essence of all infidelity, 
 Pharisaism, and self-righteousness. The 
 spirit of Cain with his offering of first fruits, 
 in contrast with that of Abel with his bleed- 
 ing lamb. The Pharisee in the temple, with 
 his " God, I thank thee I am not as other 
 men ; " in contrast with the Publican and his 
 " God be merciful to me a sinner." Self- 
 salvation the aim of most of the religion in 
 the world, whether Pagan, Mahometan, 
 Jewish, or Christian. Much of the religion 
 of the cloister as well as of the synagogue. 
 Penances, prayers, almsgivings, and so-called 
 good works, often only so many different 
 forms of self-salvation. Self-salvation usually 
 the first attempt of an awakened sinner. 
 Salvation by self the great impediment to 
 salvation by Christ. 
 
 9. Attempts to save ourselves only cured by 
 the discovery of our own weakness. To save 
 ourselves implies a power nothing less than 
 Divine. To be our own Saviour we must 
 possess the attributes of Deity. The Saviour 
 of humanity, when fallen, must be God as 
 truly as the Creator of humanity itself. 
 "God our Saviour" two ideas necessarily 
 connected. Salvation includes (1) Satis- 
 faction to Divine justice for sin; (2) Re- 
 generation or the renewal of a sinful nature. 
 Satisfaction for sin, which deserves endless 
 death, only to be made by one possessing in- 
 finite dignity. .Regeneration, or the creation 
 of a new and holy nature in a fallen man, the 
 work of a Divine power. The power re- 
 quired to save ourselves, that which c:ui 
 punish sin anywhere and banish it from the 
 world. The sinner made to see his inability, 
 in order to abandon his attempts at self-salva- 
 tion, and to cast himself entirely on God 
 the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ. The 
 glory of the Gospel, that it reveals a Divine 
 power put forth for man's salvation ; and 
 actually put forth in the case of all who 
 believe it. Man's inability to save himself 
 the ground of Christ's redemption. To ex- 
 hibit that inability one of the objects of this 
 book. "God, and not man, the sinner's 
 Saviour the substance of all revelation." 
 Tow/mend. 
 
 IV. Description of Behemoth. Verses 
 
 265
 
 CHAP. XL. 
 
 HOMILWriC COMMENTARY: JOB. 
 
 15 24. "Behold now Behemoth, which 
 I made with thee (or in thy neighbourhood) ; 
 he eateth grass as an ox. Lo now, his 
 strength is in his loins, and his force is in 
 the navel (or muscles) of his belly. He 
 moveth (Mary., "setteth up ") his tail like 
 a cedar : the sinews of his stones (or thighs) 
 are wrapped together (or interlaced). His 
 bones are as strong pieces (or tubes) of brass 
 (or copper) ; his bones (a different word 
 from the preceding probably a Syriac or 
 Chaldaic one, and rather denoting the larger 
 bones his limbs) are like bars of iron. He 
 is [in bulk and strength] the chief of the 
 ways (or works) of God : he that made him 
 can make his sword to approach him (or, 
 ' hath given to him his sword ' the weapon 
 probably his hooked teeth or tusks, with 
 which he might defend himself and attack 
 others, but which he only uses in mowing 
 down the grass for his food). Surely the 
 mountains bring him forth food, where all 
 the beasts of the field play (the animal 
 harmless and herbivorous, notwithstanding 
 his sword). He lielh under the shady trees 
 (or lotuses), in the covert of the reed and 
 fens (or marshes abounding on the banks of 
 the Nile). The shady trees (or lotuses) 
 cover him with their shadow ; the willows of 
 the brook compass him about. Behold, he 
 drinketh up a river (or a 'river rages' or over- 
 flows its banks), and [he] hasteth not (to 
 escape from fear of the consequences) : he 
 trusteth that he can draw up Jordan witli 
 his mouth. He taketh it with his eyes ( or 
 ' will any take him before his eyes ? ' in- 
 stead of using stratagem) : his nose pierceth 
 through snares" (or, " will any pierce his 
 nose with hooks?" as 2 Kings xix. 28; 
 Ezekiel xxxviii. 4). 
 
 Uncertain what animal, if any one in par- 
 ticular, is intended by the description. The 
 name " Behemoth," as a Hebrew word, 
 simply denotes " beasts," or viewed as the 
 plural of majesty, " the beast." So rendered 
 in some of the ancient versions. The word, 
 however, thought by some to be rather the 
 Hebrew form of an Egyptian name for the 
 animal, viz., P-eJie-mot/i, or the water-ox. 
 The elephant generally understood by the 
 older commentators to be the animal in- 
 tended. Modern interpreters, however, 
 decidedly in favour of the hippopotamus, or 
 river-horse. The description believed to 
 agree better with the latter; while the 
 hippopotamus, being an inhabitant of the 
 Nile and its banks, was much more likely to 
 be familiary known to the patriarch and the 
 poet than the elephant. 
 
 Both the elephant and the hippopotamus 
 
 belong to the class of animals termed by 
 
 naturalists Pachydermata, or thick-skinned. 
 
 The elephant comprehends the largest of the 
 
 266 
 
 living terrestrial animals that suckle their 
 young. Its food is strictly vegetable. It is 
 of a mild disposition, and lives in herds, 
 which are conducted by old males. Those 
 of the present day clothed with a rough 
 skin, nearly destitute of hair. Are only 
 found in the torrid zone of the eastern con- 
 tinents ; the Indian elephant being found 
 from the Indus to the Eastern Ocean, 
 and in the large islands of the south 
 of India; and the African one, from Senegal 
 to the Cape of Good Hope. The African 
 elephant not now tamed, although the 
 Carthaginians appear to have employed it iu 
 the same way that the inhabitants of India 
 do theirs. The hippopotamus has a very 
 massive and naked body, with very short 
 legs, so that the belly reaches to the ground, 
 an enormous head, and a short tail. It lives 
 in rivers and their neighbourhood, feeding 
 on roots and other vegetable substances, and 
 exhibits much ferocity and stupidity. Now 
 confined to the rivers of the middle and 
 south of Africa. Cuucr. 
 
 The description apparently agreeing in 
 every particular neither with the elephant 
 nor the hippopotamus, the animal has been 
 conjectured by some to he a now extinct 
 genus ; and by others to be rather a poetical 
 personification of the great pachyderrnata 
 the idea of the hippopotamus being predomi- 
 nant. Extinct species of this class of animals 
 found in a fossil condition. The great mas- 
 todon the type of the elephant, though of a 
 different species the principal distinction 
 being in the shape and structure of the teeth ; 
 while the mastodon also possessed short tusks 
 in its lower, in addition to those in its upper, 
 jaw. This animal equalled the elephant in 
 size, but with still heavier proportions. Its re- 
 mains found in a wonderful state of preser- 
 vation both in America and the Eastern 
 Continent. The skeleton of one, almost 
 entire, found in the valley of the Missouri, 
 now to be seen in the British Museum. The 
 animal supposed to have been more an 
 aquatic, or swamp-hunting, quadruped than 
 the elephant. A mammoth a more recent 
 animal of the same class measuring from 
 the fore-part of the skull to the end of the 
 tail sixteen feet four inches, and twelve feet 
 in height, discovered in Siberia in 1801, 
 imbedded in ice, with its flesh, skin, and hair 
 as perfect as if recently dead. The remains 
 of another found, which is supposed to have 
 been twenty-five feet high and sixty feet in 
 length. Gigantic elephants, of nearly twice 
 the bulk of the largest elephant of Africa or 
 Ceylon, believed by Professor Owen, from 
 the abundance of their remains, to have 
 roamed in herds over the British Islands in 
 the period immediately before the creation 
 of man. The fossil remains of an animal
 
 HOMILETIC COMMENTARY-. JOB. 
 
 CHAP. XLI. 
 
 discovered in the gypsum quarries of Paris 
 and other parts of France, to which has been 
 given the name Paksotkerivm, or the ' ancient 
 beast,' and which seems to have combined the 
 characters of the rhinoceros, the hippopota- 
 mus, the horse, the pig, and the camel; while 
 its external appearance, as restored by Cuvier, 
 approaches more nearly to that of the tapir. 
 The animal supposed to have lived in marshy 
 ground, and to have fed on the roots and 
 stems of trees. 
 
 The Almighty's object in the description 
 of Behemoth, to present to Job, in this 
 gigantic and powerful animal, an evidence of 
 His Divine power; and at the same time 
 to teach him his own littleness, and the pre- 
 sumption of thinking to dispute with his 
 Maker, or of questioning the justice of His 
 procedure. The Creator, Preserver, and 
 Governor of such creatures must be one 
 who possesses sufficient power, wisdom, and 
 rectitude to govern the world. 
 
 Observe (1) Not merely do the heavens 
 and the firmament over our head declare the 
 glory of God, but every creature which His 
 hands have made. The huge mammoth 
 points to the irresistibleness of His power, 
 while the almost invisible animalcule tells of 
 the universality of His Providential carp. 
 (2) The largest, as well as the least, of His 
 creatures dependent on, and provided for 6//, 
 the Creator. "He givetli the beast his 
 food." How much more will He care and 
 provide for His own children made after 
 His image ! He Who constantly feeds the 
 gigantic monsters of the laud and sea can be 
 at no loss to supply the wants of His trusting 
 people. The happiness of believers that they 
 are able to testify with David: "He hath 
 made with me an everlasting covenant, 
 ordered in. all things and sure" (2 Sam. 
 xxiii. 5). 
 
 CHAPTER XLI. 
 
 JEHOVAH'S SECOND ADDRESS CONTINUED. 
 
 Nearly the whole of the chapter occupied 
 with the description of " Leviathan." The 
 section remarkable for its grandeur and sub- 
 limity. The idea of terribleness and power 
 conveyed in a variety of striking particulars. 
 The image of a formidable monster vividly 
 placed before our eyes. The details naturally 
 often obscure. The most extended descrip- 
 tion in the Almighty's address and in the 
 whole book. The object to exhibit the might 
 and majesty of the Creator. " Such a power 
 of description as to constitute in my mind an 
 evidence of its inspiration." Dr. Chalmers. 
 
 I. The description itself. May be 
 
 divided under various heads. 
 
 1. The creature's fierceness and indomit- 
 aUencss. Verses 1 10. " Canst thou draw 
 out leviathan with an hook ? or his tongue 
 with a cord which thou Icttcst down (or, 
 ' press down his tongue with a rein,' or per- 
 haps ' a fishing-line"') ? Canst thou put an 
 hook into his nose ? or bore his jaw through 
 with a thorn (i.e., an iron hook resembling 
 one so as to lead him about as thou wilt, 
 like other wild beasts, as Ezek. xxix 4 ; Is. 
 xxxvii. 29). Will he make many supplica- 
 tions unto thec [to spare him] ? Will he 
 speak soft words [of persuasion] unto thee ? 
 Will he make a covenant with thee ? Wilt 
 thou take him for a servant for ever ? Wilt 
 thou play with him as with a bird ? or wilt 
 thou bind him for thy maidens (as a play- 
 thing for thy little girls)? Shall the com- 
 
 panions (the partners employed in taking 
 him) make a banquet of (or on account of) 
 him (after taking and killing him, or, will 
 they ' make a bargain over him,' or ' dig pits 
 for him, in order to take him) ? Shall they 
 part him among the merchants (to be sold 
 like other animals) ? Canst thou fill his 
 skin with barbed irons ? or his head with fish 
 spears ? Lay thine hand upon him; remem- 
 ber the battle [which thou hast rashly entered 
 on], do no more ( do not, or thou wilt not, 
 repeat it). Behold, the hope of him (of 
 taking him, or overcoming him) is in vain 
 (will be disappointed). Shall not one be 
 cast down [with terror] even at the sight of 
 him. None is so fierce that dare stir him 
 up " (or awake him when sleeping). 
 
 2. His powerful structure and terrible as- 
 pect. Verses 12 24. " J will not conceal 
 his parts (or members), nor his power, nor 
 his comely proportions (or, 'the grace of his 
 array'). Who can discover the lace of his 
 garment (strip off his skin or the scales that 
 cover it) ? or who can come to him with his 
 double bridle (or, ' enter into the doubling 
 of his jaws,' or his double row of teeth) _? 
 Who cau open the doors of lu's face ? His 
 teeth are terrible r|jind about (or, 'the 
 circuits of his teeth arc a terror '). His 
 scales (Marff., 'the strong pieces of his 
 shields,' i.e., his strong shields or scales) are 
 his pride, shut up together as with a close 
 seal (or, 'as a close seal' a seal sticking 
 closelv to the material on which it ' 
 
 Jl'7
 
 CHAP. XLT. 
 
 HOMILETIC COMMENTARY: JOB. 
 
 pressed). One is so near to another that no 
 air can come between them ; they are joined 
 one to another ; they stick together that 
 they cannot be sundered. By his neesings 
 a light doth shine, and his eyes are like the 
 eyelids of the morning (as he lifts his head 
 above the water.) Out of his mouth go 
 burning lamps, and sparks of fire leap out 
 (expressive of his hot fiery breath). Out of 
 his nostrils goeth smoke, as out of a seeth 
 ing pot or caldron. His breath kindleth 
 coals (live burning coals), and a flame goeth 
 out of his mouth. In his neck reuiaineth 
 (lodgeth) strength, and sorrow is Burned 
 into joy before him (Mary., 'rejoiceth;' 
 or 'terror danceth before him' a bold 
 personification, indicating the terror and 
 dismay occasioned by his appearance). The 
 flakes (or pendulous parts) of his flesh are 
 joined together ; they are firm in themselves ; 
 they cannot be moved. His heart is as firm 
 as a stone ; yea, as hard as a piece of the 
 nether millstone (or 'as the lower mill- 
 stone ')." 
 
 3. His invincibleness and iiimlneraUeness. 
 Verses 25 29. "When he raiseth up him- 
 self (out of the water) the mighty are afraid ; 
 by reason of breakings (which he makes 
 while plunging in the water, or 'from the 
 destruction' which his appearance threatens, 
 or the ' terror ' which it causes) they purify 
 themselves (or lose their recollection are 
 bewildered). The sword of him that layeth 
 at him cannot hold (or stand) : the spear, 
 the dart, nor the habergeon (coat of mail, or 
 perhaps the javelin). He esteemeth iron as 
 straw, and brass (or the brazen weapon) as 
 rotten wood. The arrow cannot make him 
 flee; slingstoncs are turned with him into 
 stubble. Darts (or clubs) are counted as 
 stubble; he laugheth at the shaking of a 
 spear." 
 
 4. His habits, motion, and supremacy 
 uiiioiifj beasts. Verses 30 34. " Sharp 
 stones are under him (or, ' his lower parts 
 are sharp potsherds ' the scales on his belly 
 resembling such) ; he spreadeth sharp pointed 
 things tor, 'a threshing cart,' his sharp 
 spikes resembling the teeth of one) upon 
 the mire (i.e., when he moves upon his belly, 
 whether on the soft shore or on the bed of 
 the river. He maketh the deep (the water 
 in which he mostly lives whether sea, lake, 
 or river) to boil like a pot (from the agita- 
 tion which he causes) ; he maketh the sea 
 (or river, to which the term is also applied) 
 like a pot of ointment (seething on tne fire, 
 and emitting a smell which that of the 
 crocodile is said to resemble). He maketh 
 a path to shine after him (like the phos- 
 phorescent light sometimes produced by the 
 rapid motion of a ship) ; one would think 
 the deep to be hoary (from the white froth 
 
 268 
 
 and foam which the creature occasions by 
 his motions). Upon earth there is not his 
 like (or 'any dominion' to which he is 
 subject), Avho is made without fear [of any 
 assailant]. He beholdeth all high things 
 (looks down upon the loftiest creature with 
 disdain; or 'terrifies every boaster') ; he is 
 king (holds supremacy) over all the children 
 of pride" (or, 'ferocity' all proud fero- 
 cious animals, such as the lion and other 
 beasts of prey). 
 
 II. The creature described. Opinions 
 various. According to the Greek transla- 
 tion used by the Apostles, a dragon. With 
 some a sea-monster. By almost all the old 
 commentators, understood to be the whale, 
 as in Ps. civ. 26. Now generally believed 
 to be the crocodile. The name apparently 
 denoting the twisting QtJbltKty one, and so 
 applicable either to a serpent or a crocodile. 
 The description more suitable to the crocodile 
 than any other known living animal. The 
 crocodile also, as an inhabitant of the Nile, 
 likely to be known both to Job and the 
 writer of the book. The more likely to be 
 the crocodile as connected with Behemoth ; 
 if that creature be supposed to be the hip- 
 popotamus, also a native of that river. A 
 familiarity with Egypt and its productions 
 on the part of the writer, apparently indi- 
 cated by the poem. 
 
 The animal intended, however, conjectured 
 by some to be one of an extinct species of 
 the order of Saurians, the description corre- 
 sponding in all particulars neither to the 
 whale nor the crocodile. By others, the 
 description thought to be rather, like that 
 of Behemoth, a poetical generalization; in 
 this case, for all monsters of the whale, ser- 
 pent, or lizard tribes, the idea of the crocodile 
 being the predominant one. 
 
 The crocodile, an amphibious animal of 
 the order of Saurians, has a single range of 
 pointed teeth in each jaw. The tongue 
 fleshy, flat, and adhering close to the edges 
 of the jaws a circumstance which induced 
 the ancients to believe that the animal was 
 destitute of a tongue altogether. The back 
 and tail covered with very stout, large, 
 square scales or plates, so thick as easily to 
 repel a musket ball, those on the belly being 
 smooth and thin. The crocodile inhabits 
 rivers and lakes, and is extremely ferocious 
 and carnivorous. Found nearly twenty feet 
 long and five feet in circumference. 
 
 Another family of the same order is the 
 dragon (draco, Linnaus), supposed by some 
 to be the Leviathan, which is also mentioned 
 in Is. xxvii. as " the dragon that is in the sea." 
 The dragon of the naturalists distinguished 
 from all other animals of the order, by their 
 first six false ribs ; which, extending outwards
 
 110MILET1C COMMENTARY: JOB. 
 
 CHAr. XLl. 
 
 in a straight line, and supporting a produc- 
 tion of the skin, form a kind of wing, like 
 that of a bat, but not connected with the 
 four feet ; and having sufficient power to 
 enable them to leap from one branch to 
 another, but not to rise, like a bird, into the 
 air. They are completely covered with 
 scales. The tongue fleshy and somewhat 
 extensive ; while a long pointed dewlap 
 hangs under their throats. To this tribe of 
 Saurians probably belongs the long-extinct 
 reptile only found in a fossil state, and 
 known by the name of Pterodactyhts. This 
 animal of a bygone world had a short tail, 
 an extremely long neck, and a very large 
 head. The jaws armed with equal and 
 pointed teeth. The second toe of the fore 
 foot so elongated as to make the foot double 
 the length of the trunk, and probably serving 
 to support some membrane which enabled 
 the animal to fly. Enormous eyes enabled it 
 to see in the dark twilight, while its jaws 
 were furnished with sixty pointed teeth. 
 Some specimens must have had a spread of 
 wing exceeding sixteen feet. The Greek 
 term draco, or dragon, generally used to 
 designate a large serpent; while some 
 ancient Greek writers speak of flying 
 dragons. Some of them speak also of 
 dragons with a crest or beard; which can 
 only apply to the Iguanas, properly so called, 
 and belonging to the same family sis the 
 dragons. In these the head is covered with 
 plates, and the body and tail wit.li. scales ; 
 while along the entire length of the back is 
 a range of spines, or rather recurved, com- 
 pressed, and pointed scales ; and under the 
 throat is a pendant compressed dewlap, 
 whose edge is supported by a cart.ilaginious 
 process of the hyoid bone. Eacli jaw is sur- 
 rounded with a row of teeth, while two 
 small rows are on the posterior edge of 
 the palate. An iguana, common in South 
 America and the West Indies, measures 
 about five feet in length. To the same 
 family belongs the enormous fossil reptile 
 know"n as the Tf/uanodon, a monstrous lizard, 
 sixty or seventy feet long; its form resembling 
 the iguana of the West Indies, with the addi- 
 tion of a horn, situated like that of the 
 rhinoceros, and of about the same size. 
 
 Other monstrous animals, living at the 
 same period, and found as fossils, were 
 equally or even more terrific in appearance. 
 The Iiylosanrm, or forest-lizard, had a row 
 of scaly fringes on its back seventeen inches 
 long, which it had the poAver of erecting 
 when advancing to attack its enemy or to 
 seize its prey. The mtgafosatenu exhibited 
 the structure of the crocodile and monitor, 
 from forty to fifty feet in length. The plrxio- 
 taurut united to'the head of the lizard, the 
 teeth of the crocodile, a neck of enormous 
 
 length resembling the body of a serpent, 
 with a body and tail of the proportions of an 
 ordinary quadruped, and the paddles of a 
 whale. The ichthyosaurus, or fish-lizard, 
 was the ruling monster of the waters. In 
 some of these the eve must have been twelve 
 inches long and nine broad, protected by 
 scales. The jaws, armed with one hundred 
 and eighty conical teeth, were, in the larger 
 species, six feet long, the whole length of 
 the animal being thirty feet. 
 
 III. The Lessons from the Descrip- 
 tion. 
 
 1. The resistless power and universal 
 dominion of the Almighty. This, the lesson 
 mainly intended to be taught the patriarch 
 himself. Indicated expressly by the Al- 
 mighty in verses 10, 11 : " None is so fierce 
 that dare stir him up : who then is able to 
 stand before me ? Who hath prevented me 
 (in rendering any service, so as to lay me 
 under an obligation to him), that I should 
 repay him? (words referred to by the 
 Apostle in Rom. xi. 35). Whatsoever is 
 under the whole heaven is mine." The 
 inference obvious : If you are unable to 
 stand before or resist any of these monsters 
 of the land or sea, how can you stand before 
 me, from whom they all live, and move, and 
 have their being ? How vain to think to 
 lay Him under obligation to us, to whom all 
 creatures, from the least to the greatest, 
 belong as His own property, and on whom 
 they depend every moment for existence ! 
 Hence (1) Humility and submission to God, 
 with confidence in the justice of His govern- 
 ment and the wisdom of His protideiilial 
 dealings, man's duty in all circumstances. 
 The Creator, Possessor, and Ruler of uni- 
 versal nature may well be believed to be 
 infinite in His perfections, and trusted in as 
 righteous, wise, and good in all His pro- 
 cedure. (2) Terrible to hace Him for a foe 
 to whom the mightiest monsters of sea or land 
 belong, as only an insignificant portion of His 
 creatures. " A fearful thing to- fall into the 
 hands of the living God." Unspeakably 
 blessed to have Him for our friend. Our 
 highest wisdom to secure, without delay, a 
 personal interest in His favour and friend- 
 ship, through the redemption and mediation 
 of His Son Jesus Christ. 
 
 2. The iiiyxteriown sovereignly oj Go/I in I In- 
 formation of Jli~i cir/it/'.i-es. The same Divine 
 hand the former of the liarmli-s-s dove and 
 the terrible dragon. The Creator of the 
 lamb pleased also to produce the Leviathan. 
 The useful ox and the destructive crocodile 
 made to inhabit the same locality. \\ In 
 God should have formed creatures of such 
 terrible aspect and ferocious dispositions, 
 
 269
 
 CHAP. XLI. 
 
 HOHILETIC COMMENTARY: JOB. 
 
 clothed them with such impenetrable armour, 
 and furnished them with such destructive 
 weapons, among the secrets of His Divine 
 wisdom. All things made for Himself; even the 
 wicked for the day of evil. For His pleasure 
 all things arc, and were created. No crea- 
 ture but made to show forth, in some way or 
 other, the glory of His Divine perfections, 
 and to secure some purpose or other in 
 His all-comprehensive government. Variety 
 everywhere displayed in the works of the 
 Creator's hands. That variety directed by 
 infinite wisdom, goodness, and justice. 
 
 3. God's works of creation icoriliy of <iU 
 admiration. His works such as to bear to 
 be taken to pieces and viewed in detail. 
 The better known, the more admired. Ex- 
 hibited by God himself for our admiration. 
 " I will not conceal his parts." The crocodile, 
 or the dragon, as truly worthy of admiration 
 as the noble war-horse. Job pointed to the 
 Leviathan as an object of beauty and grace- 
 fulness as well strength and power. If God 
 sees beauty in the crocodile, what beauty 
 then in many of His other works ! Objects 
 in creation doubtless viewed otherwise by 
 God, angels, and unfallen men, than they 
 are by creatures in a state of rebellion 
 against their Creator, aud, therefore, with 
 their faculties impaired, and themselves at 
 enmity with the rest of creation. Tilings 
 viewed with terror by the consciously guilty 
 and condemned, which might otherwise have 
 only excited admiration. God's standard of 
 beauty the true one. What God views \vith 
 admiration and complacency certain to be 
 viewed by His children with the same feel- 
 ings, but for the effects of sin in their nul ure. 
 Those effects entirely removed in a better 
 state, when the universal song will be, 
 " Great and marvellous are Thy works, Lord 
 God Almighty ; just and true are all Thy 
 ways, thou Kingof saints" (Rev. xv. 3). In- 
 teresting to mark in the above section the 
 delighted contemplation by God on His own 
 works. "Stamps a warrant of sacredness on 
 our tasteful admiration of them." Dr. 
 Chalmers. 
 
 4. The fact and effects of the fall seen, in 
 virtu's relation to the creatures. Man origi- 
 nally made to have dominion over all the 
 terrestrial works of the Creator's hands. 
 Man fitted for such dominion, as created in 
 his Maker's image. That dominion an 
 obvious part of his natural right as a child 
 of God. His intellectual nature, placing 
 him so immensely above the brute creation, 
 such as to warrant the expectation of it. 
 That dominion enjoyed by Adam in a state 
 of innocence, when he gave names to all the 
 creatures. Naturally and justly forfeited, 
 however, and lost by man's rebellion against 
 his Creator. Rebellion justly followed by 
 
 270 
 
 attainder. Eights naturally forfeited by re- 
 bellion against an earthly sovereign. Hence, 
 but far sin, the crocodile and the tiger as 
 harmless to man, and as much under his 
 subjection, as the cow or the dog. The 
 dominion forfeited by the first Adam, re- 
 gained and restored by the second. Christ, 
 the Second Man, without sin, made liuler 
 over all the creatures as man's representa- 
 tive. Was in the wilderness forty days with 
 the wild beasts, as Adam was with them in 
 Paradise (Mark i. 13). The lions at the 
 feet of Daniel in the den, a specimen of what 
 may be "in the regeneration." All things 
 reconciled in Christ. The members made 
 partakers with the Head in the restored rule 
 of creation. In the kingdom of Messiah, a 
 state of things indicated which will probably 
 have its external and physical, as well as its 
 internal and spiritual, aspect: "The wolf 
 also shall dwell with the lamb, and the 
 leopard shall lie down with the kid, and the 
 calf, and the young lion, and the fatling 
 together, and a little child shall lead them ; 
 and the sucking child shall play on the hole 
 of the asp," &c. (Isa. xi. 69). 
 
 5. ,/,/ cMciii afforded of tlta r/rcitt (tdcer- 
 ftfin/ af mctii. That adversary named in 
 Scripture, " the Dragon, that Old Serpent, 
 which is the, Devil and Satan" (Rev. xx. 2). 
 Under the figure of Leviathan, " the dragon 
 that is in the sea," mention made by the 
 prophet (Isaiah xxvii. 1) oi' some powerful 
 adversary and oppressor of the Church 
 and people of God: whom the Lord, 
 when he conies "out of his place to 
 punish the inhabitants of the world 
 for their iniquity," will punish and slay 
 " with his sore and great and strong sword." 
 Perhaps some human oppressor of the 
 Church thus indicated, as Pharaoh, the 
 great enemy of Israel, is spoken of under 
 the same figure (Ps. Ixxiv. 13, 11 ; Is. li. 9). 
 The king of Egypt expressly called "the 
 great dragon that lieth in the midst of his 
 rivers " (Ezek. xxix. 3). These, however, 
 exhibited as types of the great oppressor of 
 man, called by Peter, " Your adversary, the 
 devil, [that] goeth about like a roaring lion, 
 seeking whom he may devour." The chosen 
 form of that adversary, in his first and suc- 
 cessful attempt npon the human race, that 
 of a serpent. The Leviathan, as some kind 
 of dragon, very generally understood by 
 early Christian writers as ullegorically repre- 
 senting the dragon and old serpent of the 
 Revelation. Parts of the description im- 
 pressively applicable to our great adversary, 
 and very frequently employed by evangelical 
 writers and preachers as illustrative of his 
 character. Leviathan may be viewed as an 
 emblem of Satan in respect to (1) His 
 loftiness and dignity as a creature, Satan a
 
 HOMILETIC COMMENTARY: JOB. 
 
 CHAP. XL1I. 
 
 fallen angel ; probably one of the highest, if 
 not the very highest of the heavenly 
 hierarchy. (2) His fierceness and cruelly. 
 Satan a murderer from the beginning, sparing 
 neither age, sex, nor condition. (8) Hit 
 power of inflicting mischief and working 
 destruction. One of Satan's names Apollyon 
 or Abaddon, viz., the Destroyer. (4) "The 
 difficulty of overcoming him. Satan not to 
 be overcome by any mere human effort. The 
 strong man armea who is only to be ever- 
 come by one stronger than he (Luke xi. 21). 
 (5) The unicersality of his sway. Satan the 
 god and prince of this world ; the spirit that 
 \vorketh in the children of disobedience ; the 
 ruler of the darkness of this world. Keeps 
 his palace (our fallen race), and has his goods 
 in peace until the stronger than he the 
 Lord Jesus Christ, the Mighty God, or God 
 the Champion (Is. ix. 9) comes upon 
 him, overcomes him, and " divideth the 
 spoils " (Luke xi. 21). " He is so 
 strong that if all of us should combine 
 against him, he would laugh at us, as Levia- 
 than 'laugheth at the shaking of a spear.' 
 . . . He is well armed at every point, 
 and he knows how to arm his slave, the 
 sinner, too; he will plate him from 
 head to foot with mail, and put weapons 
 into his hand against which the puny 
 might of Gospel ministers and human 
 
 conscience can never prevail. Prejudice, 
 ignorance, evil education all these are the 
 chain-armour with which Satan girds him- 
 self. A hard heart is the impenetrable 
 breastplate which this evil spirit wears; a 
 seared conscience becomes to him like 
 greaves of brass ; habitude in sin is a helmet 
 of iron. The demon who possesses men is 
 not to be wounded by our artillery." Metro- 
 politan Pulpit, Feb. 5, 1865. Bunyan's 
 description of Apollyon, partly taken "from 
 that of Leviathan in the text. " Now tlic 
 monster was hideous to behold: he was 
 clothed with scales like a fish (and they are 
 his pride) ; he had wings like a dragon, feet 
 like a bear, and out of his belly came fire 
 and smoke, and his mouth was as the mouth 
 of a lion." But one conqueror of the great 
 Leviathan the Lord Jesus Christ ; who took 
 our nature, " that through death he might 
 destroy him that had the power of death, 
 that is, the devil ; and deliver them who, 
 through fear of death, were all their lifetime 
 subject to bondage " (Heb. ii. 14, 15). But 
 one weapon by which he can be wounded, 
 " the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word 
 of God" (Eph. vi. 17). "I have written 
 unto young men, because ye are strong, and 
 the Word of God abideth in you, and ye 
 have overcome the wicked one " (1 John 
 ii. 14). 
 
 CHAPTER XLLT. 
 THIRD GREAT DIVISION OF THE POEM THE CONCLUSION. 
 
 The Almighty's address immediately fol- 
 lowed by the catastrophe of the poem, the 
 repentance of Job, and the consequent 
 change of his condition. What the three 
 friends, and Elihu himself, had failed to do, 
 Jehovah's voice at once accomplishes. 
 " Where the word of a king is, there is 
 power." No explanation given by the Al- 
 mighty of the mystery of Job's sufleriugs, 
 and those of other good men, or of the 
 prosperity of the ungodly in this world. By 
 the mere exhibition of the Divine perfec- 
 tions, objection is silenced and discontent 
 removed ; while the objector confesses his 
 error, and deeply humbles himself on account 
 of his presumtion and folly. 
 
 From verse seveu to the end, the narra- 
 tive is given in prose, in the same style as 
 the introduction in the fisst two chapters. 
 The chapter stands connected with the pre- 
 ceding parts of the book, as the capital of 
 the magnificent column of which the intro- 
 duction is the base. 
 
 1. Job's Repentance. Verses 1-6 all true relig 
 
 "Then Job answered the Lord," &c. "Re- 
 pentance the happy fruit of sanctified afflic- 
 tion (Isa. xxvii. 9). Job's repentance ex- 
 pressed in few words. God requires not 
 many words, but much faith. We have 
 
 1. A believing acknowledgment of God's 
 omnipotence. Verse 2." Tknow that Thou 
 canst do everything, and that no thought 
 can be withholden from Thee (Marg., ' no 
 thought of thine can be hindered ' ; or, ' no 
 purpose is too high for Thee' [to accom- 
 plish]." One of Job's errors, apparently,^ hat 
 he had, in his heart at least, doubted God's 
 omnipotence, as if He were unable cither to 
 punish the wicked as they deserved, or to 
 deliver His servants out of trouble, or keep 
 them from falling into it. Much of this 
 secret infidelity lurking in the natural heart. 
 Apparently easy and natural to believe that. 
 God is almighty and able to "do all th ; 
 Easy to profess it, but not so easy to act 
 always upon the belief, and to have our heart 
 and 'life powerfully influenced by it. The 
 belief of God's alm'ightiness at, the bottom of 
 all true religion. The faith that characterized
 
 CHAP. XLII. 
 
 ttOMILETIC COMMENTARY; JOB. 
 
 the wortliies of the Old Testament (Heb. xi). 
 Noah believed that God could destroy the 
 world by a flood, and preserve himself and 
 his family by the ark ; Abraham, that He 
 could give him a sou when Sarah was past 
 child-bearing, and that He could raise that 
 son from the dead ; Moses, that He could 
 open a way for Israel through the Red Sea ; 
 Joshua, that He could cause the walls of 
 Jericho to fall to the ground; Shadrach, Me- 
 shach, and Abednego, that He could deliver 
 them from the fiery furnace ; Mary, that, 
 without her knowing a man, God could, ac- 
 cording to His Word, make her the mother 
 of the promised Saviour. This faith directed, 
 in the New Testament, to Christ. "Lord, 
 if Thou wilt, Thou canst make me clean." 
 "Believe ye that I am able to do this?" 
 " If Thou canst do anything, have compas- 
 sion on us and help us. Jesus said unto 
 him : If thou canst believe; all tilings are 
 possible to him that believeth." The Roman 
 centurion commended for believing that 
 Jesus had but to speak the work, where He 
 was, and his servant should be healed. 
 When God speaks, faith 
 
 " Laughs at impossibilities, 
 
 And cries, It shall be done;" 
 Mighty works wrought by means of faitli in 
 God's almightiuess. The part of such faith 
 to "remove mountains." "Nothing shall 
 be impossible to you." The virtue of faith, 
 that it arms itself " with that omnipotence 
 it trusts." Faith honours God, and God 
 honours it (Rom. iv. 20, 21). Hence, 
 through faith, men " subdued kingdoms, 
 wrought righteousness, obtained promises, 
 stopped the mouths of lions, quenched the 
 violence of fire, escaped the edge of the 
 sword, out of Aveakness were made strong, 
 waxed valiant in fight, turned <o flight the 
 armies of the aliens" (Ueb. xi. 33, 31). 
 Peace and rest fulness of heart the fruit of 
 such faith. " Thou wilt keep him in perfect 
 peace whose mind is stayed on Thee, because 
 he trusteth in Thee" (Isa. xxvi. 3). The 
 character of unbelief and infidelity that it 
 doubts God's omnipotence. " If the Lord 
 should open windows in heaven might this 
 thing be." " AVhy should it be thought an 
 incredible thing, that God should raise the 
 dead?" 
 
 God's "thoughts" only known to us as they 
 arc revealed by Him. When known, faith 
 rests assured that they shall be accomplished ; 
 however unlikely and impossible they may 
 appear to carnal reason. His "thoughts'' 
 or purposes respect (I) Himself; (2) His 
 Son, Jesus Christ; (3) His Church as a 
 whole ; (4) Each individual member of that 
 Church ; (5) The creation at large (Rom. viii. 
 21). His thoughts those of an infinite and 
 eternal 1'eing. who sees the end from the 
 
 272 
 
 beginning ; of one perfect in knowledge' 
 wisdom, justice, goodness, and truth. His 
 thoughts the foundation of His procedure, 
 and the plan according to which He acts in 
 Providence. 
 
 The front of Job's offending in God's 
 sight, and that of which he has now so 
 deeply to repent, his unworthy thoughts of 
 God, and especially his unbelief in regard to 
 God's al mightiness. Observe (1) Grievous 
 sin often in the heart in reference to God, 
 when none may appear in the life in reference 
 to men. (2) The cause of litter repentance 
 to a child of God, to find that he has sinned 
 by indulging rtnworthy thoughts of 'his heavenly 
 Father. (3) Much of God's Word and 
 works intended to teach His children that He 
 is able to do all things. 
 
 God's right as well as might probably in- 
 cluded in Job's acknowledgment. A maxim 
 in law, that a man can only do what he has a 
 right to do. God not only can, but justly 
 i,wy, do whatever He pleases. Has a sove- 
 reign right over all His creatures. May 
 dispose of them and deal with them as He 
 pleases. Job tempted at times to question 
 this right, or, at least, to doubt whether it 
 was righteously exercised. His language at 
 the commencement of his trials not main- 
 tained to the close " The Lord gave, and 
 the Lord hath taken away ; blessed be the 
 name of the Lord." God's pleasure in re- 
 gard to His creatures, always and necessarily 
 only what is right. 
 
 2. Humble acceptance of Dicine reproof. 
 Verse 3. '-'Who is he that hideth (or 
 obscureth) counsel (or wisdom) without 
 knowledge (or which is beyond his know- 
 ledge) ?" Supply: Thou speakest justly; 
 I am that foolish and presumptuous person. 
 Reference to the Almighty's question in 
 chap, xxxviii. 2. Observe A truly penitent 
 heart humbly accepts of God's reproof. An 
 impenitent one rejects it and maintains its 
 own innocence. Israel's sin greatly aggra- 
 vated in God's sight by saying, when re- 
 proved by Him : " I am innocent " (Jer. ii. 
 35). The fifty-first Psalm David's penitent 
 acceptance of the Divine reproof. Adam's 
 impenitence seen in charging his sin upon 
 Eve, and Eve's in charging hers upon the 
 serpent. Saul, instead of accepting Samuel's 
 reproof, laid his sin upon the people (1 Sam. 
 xv. 1 2(5. To accept the punishment of 
 our iniquity a proof of a humbled heart 
 (Lev. xxvi. 41.) 
 
 3. Penitent ac/ci/o?cl''fft/,,/e//f of ignorant 
 and rash speaki/ir/. Verse 3. "Therefore 
 (this being true of me, I acknowledge that) 
 I uttered that I understood not ; things too 
 wonderful for me, which I knew not." 
 Observe : (1) Much of our discontent and 
 'niiiriiiui-iiif/ (if (lod's procedure^ the remit of
 
 HOMIIETIC COMMENTARY: JOB. 
 
 CHAP. XLII. 
 
 ignorance. Asapli's acknowledgment: "So 
 foolish was I, and ignorant; I was as 
 ;i beast before Thee " (Ps. Ixxiii. 21). (2) 
 Most of what we say of God, except as guided 
 by His Spirit, that which we do not under- 
 stand. Our words concerning God and His 
 dealings in Providence mostly only the 
 prattling of a child, without its innocence. 
 (3) God's purposes and ways in Providence, 
 " too wonderful " for us, in our present state, 
 to comprehend,. His thoughts "a great 
 deep." For that deep, human reason unable 
 to furnish a sounding-line. The part of piety 
 and faith to trust God without seeking to 
 trace Him ; and to be assured that He does 
 all things well, however much appearances 
 may appear to speak to the contrary. Even 
 God's dealings in reference to ourselves 
 often " too wonderful " for us ; much more 
 those dealings in reference to the world at 
 large. His operations in respect to outward 
 and common things often such as we know 
 not ; much more those in respect to the re- 
 newing of our nature and the salvation of 
 our soul. "As thou knowest not the way of 
 the Spirit (or of the wind, John iii. 8), nor 
 how the bones do grow in the womb of her 
 that is with child; even so thou knowest not 
 the work of God, who maketh all" (Eccles. 
 xi. 5). 
 
 4. His desire to take the place of a humble 
 inquirer and learner. Verse 4. " Hear, I 
 beseech Thee, and I will speak : I will de- 
 mand (or ask) of Thee, and declare (or tell) 
 Thou unto me " [things of which I am so 
 ignorant]. Observe (1) The mark of true 
 repentance to desire to know the Lord's will. 
 " Lord, what wilt Thou have me to do ? " 
 (2) Man's proper place, in relation to God 
 and His dealings, that of a learner and in- 
 quirer. (3) A humble, docile, and childlike 
 spirit, man's true nobility. The spirit and 
 ; posture of a child, that of the great philoso- 
 pher whose name has become inseparably 
 connected with the achievements of modern 
 science. (4). Knour/h in God and His ways 
 to give room for inquiry and learning through- 
 out eternity. Into the mystery of redemp- 
 tion with its glorious results, the angels 
 represented as desiring studiously to look. 
 (5) Wise to take all our difficulties, whether 
 in regard to Providence or grace, His work, 
 or His Word, to God Himself for their solu- 
 tion. God His own interpreter. Those the 
 most proficient in knowledge who go most 
 to God and His Word for instruction. 
 The disciples to be imitated who inquired 
 in private the meaning of the Master's 
 teaching in public. " What may this parable 
 mean ? " (6) Necessary to be inquirers and 
 learners ourselves in order to be teachers of 
 others. (7) In Dicine things especially, 
 nothing rightly known except as we are taught 
 18 
 
 it of God. Divine teaching the special 
 bestowment on God's elect, and the first 
 step in a man's salvation (John vi. 45). 
 That teaching imparted to the humble 
 (Matt. xi. 25 ; Isa. xxviii. 9 ; Ps. xxv. 9 ). 
 The privilege of a child of God through life 
 (Ps. xvi. 7 ; xxxii. 8). 
 
 5. His confession to a different kind of 
 knowledge of God from what he had before. 
 Verse 5. " I have heard of thee (or ' heard 
 thee') by the hearing of the ear; but now 
 mine eye seeth thee." A perception of 
 God's visible glory probably vouchsafed to 
 Job, as to Isaiah in the temple with similar 
 results (Is. vi. 1 5). An inward and 
 spiritual apprehension of the Divine perfec- 
 tions doubtless mainly intended. This the 
 object of the Almighty's address. Observe 
 (1) Knowledge of God and His Son different 
 in different persons, and in the same person nt 
 different periods. That difference twofold : 
 (i) In degree. Among believers, some arc 
 babes in knowledge, others full-grown men 
 (Heb. v. 13, 14.) All our knowledge here 
 comparatively that of a child (1 Cor. xiii. 9 
 11. Knowledge obtained by " seeing," 
 much more clear and satisfactory than that 
 by " hearing." Same contrast in chap. xxix. 
 11 ; Ps. xlviii. 8. Much of our knowledge 
 here obtained by hearing or report. Hence 
 rather faith than knowledge. Knowledge 
 hereafter rather from seeing than hearing. 
 "They shall see God." "Now we see 
 through a glass darkly, but then face to 
 face." " We shall be like Him, for we shall 
 see Him as He is." (ii.) In kind. This 
 difference probably, as well as the former, 
 indicated in the contrast. The difference 
 between a believer's knowledge of God and 
 that of an unbeliever, one of kind rather than 
 of degree. The believer sees with the eye 
 of faith what before he had only heard by 
 report. Knowledge of Divine things by 
 mere report rather that of a blind man in 
 relation to colours. A knowledge of Christ 
 after the flesh the utmost that a man in his 
 uurenewed state can attain to. This super- 
 seded in a believer by a spiritual divinely 
 given knowledge (2 Cor. y. 16 ; Gal. i. 15 ; 
 Matt. xvi. 17). The testimony of the men 
 of Sychar -. " Now we believe, not because 
 of thy saying ; for we have heard Him our- 
 selves, and know that this is indeed the 
 Christ, the Saviour of the world." Men- 
 traditional and educational knowledge of 
 Divine things to be distinguished from that 
 whicli is spiritual and saving. The dcfcc- 
 tiveness of the former as compared with the 
 latter exhibited in Job's case. The invita- 
 tion of the Gosnel : " Come and see." 
 "Taste and sec that the Lord is good." 
 The knowledge of the believer an experi- 
 mental one, not only a hearing, but a 
 
 273
 
 CUAP. XLII. 
 
 HOMILETIC COMMENTARY: JOB. 
 
 tasting of the salvation of God. "If so 
 be ye have tasted that the Lord is gra- 
 cious " (1 Peter ii. 3). (2) Much of God's 
 dealing with believers and others, with a 
 view to bring them to an experimental know- 
 ledr/e of Himself and His truth. This the 
 object of His dealings with Job. "Now 
 raiue eye seeth thee." God often pleased 
 to reveal Himself most in the rebukes of 
 His providence. "I will allure her into 
 the wilderness, and will speak comfortably 
 to her" (Mary., 'to her heart' in an effec- 
 tual way of instruction). Spiritual know- 
 ledge often one of the most blessed fruits 
 of sanctified affliction. Often more know- 
 ledge of Divine things gained iu one 
 month or one week on a sick bed than 
 in many years of previous experience. 
 Such teaching one of the ends of afflic- 
 tion. " Blessed is the man whom thou 
 choosest, O Lord, and tenchest him out of 
 thy law" (Ps. xciv, 10). (3) A good /,iaa's 
 /ciioKlcdfie of God and D'tri./? firings jirogres- 
 tice. The hearing of God to conduct to the 
 seeing of Him. The path of the just like 
 the shining light, shining more and more 
 unto the perfect day. Knowledge under 
 Divine teaching like the river in Ezekiel's 
 vision fir?t up 1o the ankles, then the 
 knees, then the loins, and at last a river to 
 swim in. Saving knowledge like the restored 
 sight of the blind man in the Gospel first 
 men seen as trees walking, then all things 
 seen clearly. The greatest increase of know- 
 ledge awaiting the believer in another world. 
 ''Now I know in part (in fragments or 
 piecemeal), but then shall I know even as 
 also I am known" (Cor. xiii. 12). (4) Da//- 
 f/er of stopping short of a spiritual and experi- 
 ' knowledge of God and Divine things. 
 Job's "now" to be desired, whatever it may 
 cost us. Paul's resolution " Henceforth 
 know we no man after the flesh; yea, though 
 we have known Christ after the flesh, yet 
 henceforth know we him [so] no more" 
 (2 Cor. v. 16). Professing Christians 
 especially counselled by Christ to come to 
 Him for the eye-salve of His Spirit, that 
 they may anoint their eyes and see (Rev. 
 iii. 7). 
 
 6. His self-abhorrence, as the result of his 
 perception of t lie Divine perfections. Verse 
 6". " Wherefore I abhor myself (or, ' I loath 
 [my conduct and language] ' )." Observe 
 (1) The result of the Divine manifestation 
 and address immediate. But little time 
 required for the Spirit's teaching. Nothing 
 unnatural in sudden conversion. Conviction 
 arid conversion the effect of the same teach- 
 ing as in the case of Job. Other examples 
 of the same suddenness : Isaiah in the 
 temple ; Zacclueus ; the penitent thief ; the 
 three thousand on the day of Pentecost ; 
 
 274, 
 
 Saul on the way to Damascus ; the Ethio- 
 pian eunuch; the jailor at Philippi, &c. 
 (2) Job's language the effect of the apprehen- 
 sion of the Divine character and perfections. 
 The natural effect of such apprehension is 
 the perception of the enormity of all sin, and 
 the discovery of our own depravity in par- 
 ticular more especially of our sinful 
 thoughts and words in respect to God 
 and His dealings with us. Similar effect, in 
 the case of Isaiah in the temple : " Woe is 
 me, for I am undone : because I am a man 
 of unclean lips, and I dwell among a people 
 of unclean lips : for mine eyes have seen the 
 King, the Lord of Hosts " (Isa. vi. 5). S; me 
 effect on Peter at the miraculous draught of 
 lishes : "Depart from me, for I am a sinful 
 man, Lord." That in ourselves and others 
 which needs only to be rightly known to be 
 abhorred. 
 
 " Vice is a monster of such hideous mien, 
 That, to be hated, needs but to be seen." 
 
 That is, to be seen as Job saw it, in the light 
 of God's character and perfections. All sin 
 in itself filthy and abominable. Probably 
 seen to be such even by the lost, " an abhor- 
 ring to all flesh." The right abhorrence of 
 sin and of ourselves, that accompanied with 
 true repentance. Judas abhorred himself, 
 and committed suicide. (3) Self-abkafftnce 
 a part of tn<e re pent an ce. The pardoned and 
 accepted penitent is ashamed and loathes 
 himself for his sins (Ezek. xvi. 60 63 ; 
 xxxvi. 25 32). Self-abhorrence a part of 
 the believers sweetest experience, and will 
 always accompany it. (4) Sin infinitely 
 loathsome, to a /to/// God. Sin seen by God 
 exactly as it is. If loathsome to Job, still 
 infected with it, how much more to his spot- 
 less Creator ! Hence (i.) The long-suffering 
 patience and forbearance of God, in bearing 
 with a world of sinners, (ii.) The riches of 
 His grace in providing for such loathsome 
 creatures a Saviour and a substitute in the 
 person of His own Son, and in taking them 
 again for His own children, (iii.) The mighti- 
 ness and preciousness of the Holy Spirit's 
 operation, that renews and sanctifies the 
 objects of the Divine abhorrence. (5) Not 
 the least favourable sign when we are most 
 loathsome in our own eyes. Cannot be worst 
 with us when we sec ourselves as God sees 
 us. We are often worst when we think 
 ourselves best. The Pharisee in the temple 
 contrasted with the Publican. "God be 
 merciful to me, a sinner," a better sign than 
 " God, I thank Thee that I am not as other 
 men are." Job most commended by God 
 when most loathed by himself. The be- 
 liever most beautiful in God's eyes when 
 blackest in his own (Cant. i. 5). (6) Self- 
 abhorrence a benefit to ourselves. Has the
 
 HOMILETIC COMMENTARY: JOB. 
 
 OHAP. XUT. 
 
 tendency (i.) To keep us from pride, (ii.) 
 To render us forbearing and compassionate 
 towards others, (iii.) To prepare us to act 
 as intercessors on behalf of fellow-sinners. 
 Job not directed to pray for his three friends 
 till he was brought to abhor himself. 
 
 7. His declaration of repentance and humilia- 
 tion. Verse 6. " I repent in dust and ashes" 
 that is, sitting in thema token of humilia- 
 tion and repentance (Job. iii. 6 ; Luke x. ] 3). 
 The catastrophe of the poem in these last 
 words of Job. Probably one of the secret 
 purposes of God in permitting the tempta- 
 tion and trials. Not intimated at the first ; 
 but "known unto God are all his works 
 from the beginning of the world." One of 
 God's objects in all the temptations and suf- 
 ferings of his children, their perfection. 
 That perfection connected with their self- 
 humiliation and repentance (E/ek. xvi. 61 
 63 ; xxxvi. 31). The aim of God in His 
 dealings with His people, to humble them in 
 order to their exaltation to empty in order 
 to fill them (Is. Ivii. 15 ; Ixvi. 2). Observe, 
 in regard to 
 
 Repentance 
 
 1. The Nature of it. A change of mind 
 of views, feelings, dispositions ; with a cor- 
 responding change of conduct. This change 
 mainly in relation to God: hence, "repentance 
 toward God." Job's repentance inward, but 
 manifesting itself outwardly, both in his words 
 and actions, negatively and positively. No 
 more murmuring and discontent with his lot. 
 Xo more unworthy thoughts of God. No 
 more bitterness against his three friends. 
 " Fruits meet for repentance." 
 
 2. The Author of it. God himself, through 
 the agency of the Holy Ghost. Repentance 
 directed to God is a repentance proceeding 
 from God. The exercise of it our own ; the 
 grace of it, God's. Every good and perfect 
 gift, and true repentance among them, from 
 the Father of lights. "Then hath God 
 granted unto the Gentiles repentance unto 
 life." " Peradventure God will give them 
 repentance to the acknowledging of the 
 truth." The Son of God the author of 
 saving repentance equally with the Father. 
 Christ " exalted by the Father's right hand 
 to be a Prince and a Saviour, to give repen- 
 tance unto Israel and the remission of their 
 sins." The Holy Ghost sent both by the 
 Father and the Son for this purpose. God 
 himself the Author of Job's repentance, 
 when the three friends and Elilui had la- 
 boured for it in vaiu. 
 
 3 The Means of it. The truth, as exhi- 
 bited by the Holy Ghost, The exhibition of 
 the truth regarding God and ourselves. The 
 prodigal "came to himself" had his eyes 
 
 opened to the truth as to his conduct and 
 condition, as well as to the character of his 
 father, and said : " I will arise and go to my 
 father." Job's repentance after the Divine 
 exhibition of the truth to him regarding God 
 and his own sin. The aim of the Almighty 
 in his prolonged address and the manifesta- 
 tion of Himself. "After that I was in- 
 structed, I smote upon my thigh" (Jer. xxxi. 
 19). Ministers and preachers directed "in 
 meekness to instruct those that oppose 
 themselves, peradventure God will give them 
 repentance to the acknowledging of the 
 truth/' Repentance and remission of skis 
 to be preached in Christ's name. The preach - 
 ing of Christ as the Father's gift of love to 
 sinners, and as the sinner's Substitute through 
 whom we arc invited back to God, one of 
 the most effectual means of producing " re- 
 pentance unto life." 
 
 4. The E/ccts of it. The reception of 
 blessing. Job prepared by his repentance 
 for the turning of his captivity, with all the 
 blessings that followed it. "Repentance 
 into life." Job further prepared for he- 
 coming a blessing to otliefs. Only directed 
 to intercede for his friends when he repented 
 himself. Deep personal repentance neces- 
 sary as a preparation for usefulness to 
 others. Christ's most useful and honoured 
 servants usually those who have been brought 
 through the deepest exercises of self- 
 humiliation and repentance ; witness Paul, 
 Luther, John Bunyan. Isaiah's self-abase- 
 ment and repentance in the temple prepara- 
 tory to his answering : " Here am I ; send 
 me." Peter's commission as a fisher of 
 men preceded by his exclamation : " Depart 
 from me ; for 1 am a sinful man, Lord." 
 
 II. The Divine Verdict. Verse 7. 
 "And it was so that after the Lord had 
 spoken these words unto Job, the Lord said 
 to Eliphaz, the Temanitc, My wrath is 
 kindled against thee and against thy two 
 friends; for ye have not spoken of me 
 (Hebrew, 'to me;' Creek Version, 'before 
 me,' the controversy viewed as carried on 
 in tlic presence of the Almighty as umpire, 
 as all controversies should) the thing that i 
 right (solid or true), as my servant Job hath " 
 (Greek version, ' against my servant Job '). 
 Eliphaz particularly named in the verdict as 
 having been the first and chief speaker, and 
 probablv the oldest and most distinguished 
 of the three friends. Perhaps the others 
 influenced by his sentiments and example. 
 Responsibility ,-,,,,,>', led with age, position, 
 and attainment.*, Job spoken of by the 
 Almighty as "my servant" in presence e 
 the three frimds, as before in the presence 
 'of Satan and the angels. Observe i 
 God's judgment of hit servants often ttry 
 
 275
 
 CHAP. XLII. 
 
 HOMILETIC COMMENTARY: JOB. 
 
 different from that of men, and even of their 
 fellow servants. (2) God never ashamed to 
 acknowledge his faithful servants. One of 
 the rewards of the faithful servant to be so 
 acknowledged at the last day (Matt. xxv. 
 21; Rev. iii. 5). (3) True godliness a thing 
 (hat stands thejire. Comes out as it went 
 in, only purer. (4) God often most pleased 
 with us when we are least pleased with OIT- 
 selces. Job now loathing himself, and sitting 
 in ashes. From the verdict itself observe 
 
 1. All disputes sooner or later settled by 
 God Himself. A reason for patience and 
 forbearance, meekness and moderation in 
 controversy. " Judge nothing before the 
 time, until the Lord come, who both will 
 bring to light the hidden things of darkness, 
 and will make manifest the counsels of the 
 heart " (1 Cor. iv. 5). One great lesson of 
 the book to teach us to wait patiently for 
 that day (James v. 7 11). The cause of 
 God's servants sooner or later righted by 
 God Himself. He who has a good and 
 righteous cause may afford to wait. 
 
 2. God's decision often rery different from 
 /nun '.v expectation. The decision apparently 
 expected by all but Job to be in favour of 
 the three friends. God's judgment entirely 
 the reverse. Job magnified and the friends 
 mortified. " Man looketh on the outward 
 appearance, but the Lord looketh on the 
 heart." " Not he that commendeth himself 
 is approved, but whom the Lord com- 
 inenaeth" (2 Cor. x. 18). Job's cause 
 essentially good, though marred by many 
 unbecoming utterances ; the friends' cause 
 essentially bad, though supported by many 
 precious and excellent truths. 
 
 3. God' smews in regard to indiriduah and 
 their conduct not to be readily ga the red from 
 appearances. The three friends seemed to 
 be enjoying God's favour, and only Job to 
 be lying under His displeasure. Exactly 
 the reverse of the reality. So with Jesus, 
 and the priests and rulers who condemned 
 him. " We esteemed him stricken, smitten 
 of God, and afflicted" (Is. liii. 4). Men 
 often stand differently in God's account 
 from what they do in their own and that, of 
 their fellow men. "A light thing to be 
 judged of you or of man's judgment " (1 Cor. 
 iv. 4). God often most angry when there is 
 least appearance of it. May be angry with 
 men for what they are most proud of them- 
 selves. 
 
 4. God sometimes displeased with otherwise 
 good men, and those bearing a high character 
 for pi ety and morality. Such apparently the 
 
 character of the three friends. What then 
 the case of men 1 ving in constant and open 
 rebellion against Him? "If the righteous 
 scarcjly be saved, where shall the ungodly 
 and the sinner ap pear ''. " (1 Pet. iv. IS). 
 27G 
 
 5. God angry with men on account, of 
 things not rightly and truly spoken. God's 
 displeasure as truly against sinful words as 
 sinful actions. " By thy words thou shalt 
 be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be 
 condemned" (Matt. xii. 37). The reason 
 " Out of the abundance of the heart the 
 mouth speaketh." Generally, as a man's 
 words are, so is he. 
 
 6. God jealous of his own glory and the 
 character of his servants. The things not 
 rightly and truly spoken by the three friends 
 were ( 1 ) In regard to God Himself. So Eng- 
 lish version. (2) In regard to His servant Job. 
 So Greek version. Their sin in regard to 
 Himself, that they gave an unjust view of 
 God as always visiting the ungodly in this 
 life with tokens of his displeasure, and that 
 the righteous are uniformly free from out- 
 ward strokes. Their sin against Job the 
 consequence of this in making Job out to 
 be a great, though perhaps secret, trans- 
 gressor. The character of God's servants 
 as dear to Him as His own. " He that 
 toucheth you, toucheth the apple of His 
 eye " (Zech. ii. 8). God requires that we 
 not only speak zealously for Him, but truth- 
 fully of Him. 
 
 7. God's anger against sins of omission as 
 well as sins (if commission. "Ye have not 
 spoken," &c. Not enough that we do not 
 speak stoutly and blasphemously against 
 Him. Do we speak truly and faithfully of 
 him ? 
 
 III. The Direction. Verses 8, 9. 
 "Therefore take unto you seven bullocks 
 and seven rams, and go to my servant Job, 
 and offer up for yourselves a burnt offering; 
 and my servant Job shall pray for you : for 
 him will I accept; lest I deal with you after 
 your folly (or ' impute folly to you, so as to 
 punish it), in that ye have not spoken of me 
 the thing which is right, like my servant Job. 
 So Eliphaz the Temanite, and Bildad the 
 Shuhite, and Zophar the Naamnthite, went 
 and did according as the Lord commanded 
 them : the Lord also accepted Job " [in his 
 intercession for his friends, according to 
 verse 8], The direction twofold, having 
 reference to both parties in the controversy ; 
 involving humiliation to the one, and giving 
 honour to the other. 
 
 1. In reference to the three friends. These 
 directed as penitents to seek pardon and 
 reconciliation with God through Job's media- 
 tion. Observe (1) God reprores only in 
 order to reconciliation (2) Pardon, and re- 
 conciliation with God possible under a dis- 
 pensation of mercy. Our happiness that 
 God's anger against us for sin may be 
 turned away. Unspeakably awful were that 
 anger to be everlasting. Yet this the case
 
 HOMILETIC COMMENTARY: JOB. 
 
 C1JA.P. XLII. 
 
 of all who continue impenitent, and who 
 reject the Saviour that God has provided 
 (John iii. 36). (3) God takes the first step 
 in the matter of a sinner's reconciliation, with 
 Him. Gives direction to Eliphaz about the 
 means of securing it. Our quarrels with 
 God begin on our part ; reconciliation on 
 His. " God was in Christ reconciling the 
 world unto himself. Now then we are am- 
 bassadors of Christ as though God did 
 beseech you by us " (2 Cor. v. 21). (4) 
 With God alone, not only to say whether 
 there should be reconciliation with Him on the 
 part of sinners, but hmo the reconciliation was 
 to be effected. "In vain they do worship 
 me, teaching for doctrines the command- 
 ments of men " (Matt. xv. 9). To be recon- 
 ciled with God we must comply with God's 
 prescription. 
 
 The friends directed to offer sacrifice. 
 Repentance implied ; yet the direction not 
 to repent as Job had done, but to take a 
 burnt-offering. No reconciliation between 
 God and man without sacrifice. No recon- 
 ciliation without forgiveness of sin, and no 
 forgiveness without satisfaction to justice, 
 and no satisfaction without sacrifice. Hence 
 all covenants made by God with men accom- 
 panied with sacrifices. Animal sacrifices 
 appointed before and under the Law of 
 Moses as the means of reconciliation with 
 God. These only types or figures, for the 
 time, of the true sacrifice, the woman's Seed ; 
 the bruising of whose heel by the Serpent 
 in his suffering and death was to take away 
 sin (Gen. iii. 15). Impossible that the blood 
 of bulls and goats should make satisfaction 
 for human transgression. Its object im- 
 pressively to teach that without shedding of 
 blood and the substitution of life for life, 
 there is no remission (Heb. ix. 18 23). 
 The promise of a Divine-human Saviour and 
 Substitute never to be lost sight of. Every 
 slaughtered victim but pointed to that 
 Substitute. Seven bullocks and seven rams 
 here prescribed ; to indicate (1) The heinous- 
 ness of sin which is to be atoned for; (2) 
 The sufficiency of the great Sacrifice provided 
 to take it away; (3) The insufficiency (>f 
 every other. The same number frequently 
 offered under the law (Lev. xxiii. 18). Ob- 
 serve AU sin to be at once confessed and 
 taken to the blood of Christ for its forgive- 
 ness. " If we confess our sin," &c. (1 John 
 i. 7, 9). The conscience kept clean and 
 peace maintained by constant confession to 
 God (not to a priest), and faith in the sacri- 
 fice offered on Calvary. The friends to go 
 to Job with their offering. Thus expressing 
 both their penitence and their faith. The 
 act humbling to themselves, but honouring 
 to Job. The first last, and the last first. 
 Job had humbled himself before God ; they 
 
 must humble themselves before him. Having 
 joined in accusing him, they must join in 
 seeking his mediation. Job alone to be re- 
 garded in the matter of acceptance; yet the 
 friends to " go " to him. So Christ alone 
 regarded as the ground of a sinner's accept- 
 ance with God, yet sinners to go to Him in 
 penitence and faith. "To him shall men 
 come ; in the Lord shall all the seed of Israel 
 be justified, and shall glory" (Is. xlv. 24, 
 25). Job apparently to officiate as priest 
 in presenting the friends' sacrifices to God. 
 This usually done, before the law, by the 
 head of the family or the eldest son ; under 
 the law, by Aaron and his sons after him, 
 as types for the time being of the great 
 Priest one not after the order of Aaron, 
 but of Melchizedec, who was at once both 
 priest and king ; and made a priest imme- 
 diately by God himself, without either pre- 
 decessor or successor in the office. Job here 
 exhibited as another type of the great Higli 
 Priest, through whom we draw nigh to 
 God. 
 
 2. In reference to Job. Job directed to 
 " pray" for the friends, and to mediate with 
 God on their behalf, with a view to their 
 pardon and acceptance. In a sinner's recon- 
 ciliation with God, sacrifice not to be with- 
 out prayers. As a priest, Job must pray as 
 well as offer the sacrifice for the friends. 
 So Christ, the true Priest of our profession, 
 offered in the midst of this sacrifice oii the 
 cross, the prayer : " Father forgive them ;" 
 and on the night immediately preceding it, 
 the prayer in the Upper Koom a specimen 
 of the intercession which He is ever making 
 for His people within the veil. In the prayer 
 as well as in the sacrifice offered up by Job, 
 the friends doubtless united. So we are ex- 
 horted, "having such an High priest who 
 is passed into the heavens," to "come boldly 
 to the throne of grace, that we may obtain 
 mercy, and find grace to help us in every 
 time of need" (Heb. iv. 18). God's pro- 
 mise in regard to Job " Him will I accept." 
 Him, not you. Him, and you in him, or 
 for his sake. So men accepted with God 
 not in themselves or on their own account, 
 but in Christ and on Christ's account. Be- 
 lievers made "accepted in the Beloved." 
 " The Lord is well pleased for His righteous- 
 ness sake." (Eph. i. 6; Is. xlii. 21). Ob- 
 serve _(l). Believers, being accepted in Cfu-isf, 
 not only find acceptance for themselves in their 
 prayers, but for others also. The honour put 
 upon Job, tliat put upon all Christ's mem 
 bers, who in Him are made "kings and 
 priests unto God." (2) Acceptance iri/lt 
 God the thing to be aimed at in all our 
 prayers and services. Duties not only to be 
 discharged and prayers offered, but their 
 acceptance to be sought and looked for. 
 
 277
 
 CHAP. XLIT. 
 
 HOMILETIC COMMENTARY: JOS. 
 
 (3) Acceptance certain, where there is obedi- 
 ence to God's comma iith und faith in His Son. 
 " Him mil I accept." Acceptance itself 
 certain the time and manner of its manifes- 
 tation with God Himself. Part of the 
 Spirit's work to testify it. Also made 
 known by its effects, and indicated in Pro- 
 vidence. God's promise sufficient, (4) The 
 person to be first accepted, then the prayer or 
 service. " Him," \\ispcrxon, " will 1 accept." 
 (5) God's method to accept and bless one man 
 for the sake of another. So in temporal 
 matters God blessed Laban for Jacob's 
 sake, and Potiphar for Joseph's sake (Gen. 
 x\\. -27 ; xxxix. 5). This principle at the 
 foundation of the Gospel and the scheme of 
 redemption. Sinners pardoned, accepted, 
 and blessed on Christ's account, the whole 
 plan of salvation. The Gospel thus found 
 in Job as elsewhere in the Old Testament. 
 The Scriptures testify of Christ. 
 
 Job honoured by being made a priest in 
 behoof of his friends, after his dwp ht'.niiliti- 
 tion, his *ecere *"fferiiii/, end their proud 
 contemptuous I rent meat <>f //in/. So with 
 Christ sufferings first, I lien "the glory 
 which should follow." So with Christ's 
 members " If we suffer with Him, we shall 
 also be glorified together." Job prepared, 
 by his previous suffering and humiliation, 
 for the honour now put upon him. Much 
 of the paiiifnl discipline of God's children 
 doubtless intended to qualify them for t lie 
 exercise of their priestly office. Believers 
 thus much more able to sympathize with 
 others. " A deep distress hath humanized 
 my soul." Wordsirnrfh. So Christ Himself 
 suffered, that He might be a merciful High 
 Priest. Prosperity, honour, and extensive 
 usefulness, only safe when preceded by 
 humiliation. Christ's most honoured ser- 
 vants usually those who have been most 
 humbled under the mighty hand of God. 
 " Before honour comcth humility." Job 
 thus honoured after his rejection by his 
 friends, a type of Christ exalted at God's 
 right hand, as "a Priest upon His throne,'' 
 after His rejection by the priests and rulers. 
 " The stone which the builders rejected is 
 become the head of the corner." 
 
 The honour put upon Job God's highest 
 testimony in favour of His servant. The 
 Divine testimony (1) To \mfaith ; (2) To 
 the sincerity of his repentance ; (8) To the 
 uprightness and excellence of his general 
 character. To be a priest and an intercessor 
 for others, implies (1) Deep consciousness 
 of the evil and demerit of sin which neces- 
 sitates such an arrangement ; (2) High re- 
 gard for the honour and interests of God, 
 and the claims of His justice and govern- 
 ment; (3) Tender compassion and love 
 i awards those for whom the duty is exer- 
 
 278 
 
 cised ; (4) A forgiving spirit towards those 
 who are enemies to ourselves. Believers 
 most Christlike when interceding for others. 
 To pray for ourselves is human ; to pray for 
 others Divine. Job's general character and 
 pcnver as a man of prayer and intercession 
 for others, indicated in the only other passage 
 in the Old Testament where his name occurs. 
 Mentioned as such in connection with Noah 
 and Daniel, in Ezekiel xiv. 14. The privilege 
 and duty of believers in the New Testament 
 to pray for others, and to mediate their re- 
 conciliation with God by publishing Christ 
 and persuading men to be reconciled to God 
 through Him (2 Cor. v. 19-21). Only 
 known in eternity how great the blessing 
 derived by the world and individual men 
 from the intercession of faithful and loving 
 believers. In answer to their prayers, sick- 
 ness removed and life spared ; prison doors 
 opened; nations preserved in tranquillity; 
 preachers of the Gospel aided and blessed in 
 their work ; sinners awakened and souls saved 
 (Gen. xx. 7, 17; James v. 14 16; Acts 
 xii. 47; 1 Tim. ii. 1, 2; Col. iv. 3, 4; 
 1 John v. 1416 ; James v. 1620). 
 
 Job's praying for his friends an evidence 
 (1) Of the heartiness of his forgiveness of 
 them ; (2) Of t he sincerity of his repentance. 
 His prayer the most effectual means of 
 opening their eyes and softening their heart. 
 Ministers often more useful by their prayers 
 than by their preaching, Saul probably im- 
 pressed more by Stephen's praying than by 
 Ilia disputing. 
 
 IV. Job's Deliverance. Verse 10. 
 
 " And the Lord turned the captivity of 
 Job, when (or while) he prayed for his 
 friends." Observe 
 
 1. The Author of the deliverance. "The 
 Lord turned," &c. Job's trouble began 
 from Satan's malice; his deliverance, from 
 Hod's mercy. No mischief done by the 
 serpent, but can be undone by the woman's 
 Seed. God able to deliver from Satan's 
 malice, but Satan not able to hinder God's 
 mercy. God Himself the deliverer both of 
 His Church collectively and of His people 
 individually. '' When the Lord turned again 
 the captivity of Zion," &c. (Ps. cxxvi. 1). 
 " I was delivered out of the mouth of the 
 lion : and the Lord shall deliver me from 
 every evil work " (2 Tim. iv. 17, 18). Sec 
 also 2 Cor. i. 10. 
 
 2. The Deliver n nee itself. "Turned the 
 captivity of Job." His trouble a captivity. 
 His outward condition resembling such. 
 Stripped of all his property ; separated from 
 his friends ; sitting on an ash-heap, as in the 
 mire of a dungeon; his body covered with 
 sores and filth. Strictly a captivity, as 
 being for the time delivered into Satan's
 
 HOMILET1C COMMENTARY: J01L 
 
 CHAP. XM1. 
 
 hands, who treated him with all the rigour 
 he was capable. Bodily affliction and outward 
 trouble perhaps more frequently from Satan 
 than we are aware. " Ought not this woman 
 whom Satan hath bound, lo, these eighteen 
 years," &c. (Luke xiii. 16). Job's captivity 
 an inward, as well as an outward one. Job, 
 in his affliction, held bound by his own spirit, 
 as well as the spirit of evil. To a child of 
 God, the most real and painful captivity to 
 be shut out from God's sensible favour and 
 fellowship, and to be shut up in spiritual 
 darkness and desertion. Job's captivity 
 turned, as being now released both from 
 Satan's hand and his multiplied sufferings, 
 whether external or internal. His disease 
 removed, according to Elihu's teaching 
 (ch. xxxiii. 24, 25). What His servants 
 say in words, God Himself confirms by 
 deeds. His disease probably removed as 
 quickly as it had been inflicted. Diseases 
 often instantaneously removed by the finger 
 of God. Examples: The leprosy of Miriam, 
 Gehazi, and the lepers in the Gospel. God's 
 plaistcr as broad as Satan's sore. Job now 
 also restored to the light of God's counte- 
 nance and the sensible enjoyment of His 
 favour and friendship. Also according to 
 Elihu's doctrine (ch. xxxiii. 20). These 
 deliverances and blessings followed by 
 others afterwards narrated : plenty instead 
 of poverty ; the affection of friends instead 
 of their alienation ; a numerous and happy 
 family instead of a desolate household. 
 
 The deliverance of Job a type (1) Of the 
 deliverance wrought by the Father for 
 Christ, in terminating His sufferings, raising 
 Him from the dead, and exalting Him to 
 His own right hand in glory. (2) Of the 
 deliverance of believers at death. Their 
 departure a release ; a harvest of joy after a 
 seed-time of tears ; a morning of gladness 
 after a night of weeping. (3) Of the 
 deliverance to be wrought for the Church 
 and for creation at large at the resurrection 
 of the just, the binding of Satan, the emanci- 
 pation of the creature from the bondage of 
 corruption, and the creation of the new 
 heavens and the new earth " wherein dwelleth 
 righteousness." 
 
 3. The Time of the deliverance. "When 
 he prayed for his friends." Observe (1) 
 We are often beat promotitic/ our own welfare 
 when praying for that of others. According 
 to the principles of the Divine government, 
 that we should be most blessed ourselves 
 when most solicitous about the happiness of 
 our fellow-men. " The liberal soul shall IK: 
 made fat." " He that watereth others shall 
 be watered himself." " There is that scat- 
 tereth and yet increaseth ; and there is that 
 withholdeth more than is meet, and it ten- 
 deth to poverty." Selfishness the greatest 
 
 hindrance to our happiness. The ocean re- 
 ceives the influx of rivers as it exhales its 
 waters into the air. The earth receives 
 rain as it gives its moisture to the plants that 
 grow on it. The clouds are replenished as 
 they distil their treasures on the earth. To 
 seek mercy and deliverance for others often 
 the shortest way of obtaining it ourselves. 
 (2) Job, in experiencing deliverance when 
 praying for his so-called friends (often to 
 him real enemies), typical of the Lord Jesus 
 Christ. His deliverance and exaltation im- 
 mediately subsequent to Hisprayer, " Father 
 forgive them, for they know not what 
 they do." 
 
 V. Job's increased possessions. Verses 
 10, 12. "Also the Lord gave Job twice 
 as much as he had before. So the Lord 
 blessed the latter end of Job more than his 
 beginning : for he had fourteen thousand 
 sheep, aud six thousand camels, and a 
 thousand yoke of oxen, and a thousand she- 
 asses." The "end of the Lord" now seen, 
 " that the Lord is very pitiful " (James 
 v. 11). God's thoughts towards his suf- 
 fering people, " thoughts of peace aad not 
 of evil, to give them an expected end" 
 (Jer. xxix. 11). Job seen to be right in 
 blessing God both while giving and taking 
 away. God takes away from His own only 
 in order to give more. Every apparent loss 
 to a believer a real gain. As easy with God 
 to give riches as to take them away. His 
 to give power to get wealth, by blessing 
 honest endeavours'. Made Jacob rich in 
 spite of all Laban's endeavours to prevent 
 it. Easy with God to restore what either 
 Satan or man may take frem us. Observe 
 (1) God takes care that none loses by servi,iy 
 Him. What is lost in God's service is made 
 up with more than compound interest (Matt, 
 xix. 29). God a liberal rewardcr. Gave 
 Job not only as much as he had lost, but its 
 double. Raised faithful Joseph from a dun- 
 geon to a palace ; and, from a slave, made 
 him prime-minister of Egypt. Valentinian 
 lost his tribuneship for Christ, and was ulti- 
 mately made Emperor. (2) The faithful be- 
 liecer's latter e/t/l ali<-i/* better than his 
 beguning . Bildad's words true of every 
 believer (chap. viii. 7). A good man's last 
 days and last comforts generally his best. At. 
 eventide light. The best wine reserved by 
 God for his obedient children to the h-i. 
 As yet unknown what Jin has prepared here- 
 after for them that love Him (1 Cor. ii. 9). 
 ()}) Cod able to do ninn- than m- d/her u*k <>,- 
 I hi ill,-. Job only asked to be shown why he 
 was so severely alllicted and wherein lie had 
 sinned. God removes the allliciion itself, 
 and makes him twice as rich as he was be- 
 fore. Job only thought to remain nrac;
 
 CHAP. XLlt. 
 
 HOMILETIC C011MENTA&Y: JOS. 
 
 repentance in dust and ashes. God not only 
 withdrew him from his ash-heap, but restored 
 him to more than his former dignity and 
 prosperity. (4) Believers often prepared for 
 greater blessing b>/ previous suffering and 
 humiliation. Prosperity more difficult to 
 bear than adversity, and requires preparation 
 for it. Job prepared for his great increase 
 of wealth by his previous troubles, and the 
 self-abasement which preceded it. Believers 
 prepared for being glorified with Christ by 
 being made first to suffer with Him. Com- 
 fort in the thought that present troubles may 
 be only the preparation for future triumphs. 
 (5) The history of the Church and the world, 
 as well as ofindividual believers, foreshadowed 
 in the experience of Job. The sufferings of 
 the Church and of believers in this present 
 time " not worthy to be compared with the 
 glory that shall be revealed." The creation 
 itself to be "delivered from the bondage 
 of corruption into the glorious liberty 
 of the children of God." The new earth 
 "wherein dwelleth righteousness," to ex- 
 perience a blessing, and yield an abund- 
 ance unknown since the entrance of sin 
 (Rom. viii. 1822; 2 Pet. iii. 13; Ps. 
 Ixvii. 47). 
 
 VI. The changed conduct of friends. 
 
 Verse 11. " Then came unto him all his 
 brethren, and all his sisters, and all they 
 that had been of his acquaintance before, 
 and did eat bread with him in his house : 
 and they bemoaned him, and comforted him 
 over all the evil that the Lord had brought 
 upon him ; every man also gave him a piece 
 of money (Greek version, ' an ewe-lamb ;' 
 Latin version, ~a sheep;' same word used 
 only in Gen. xxxiii. 19, and Josh. xxiv. 32), 
 and every one an ear-ring of gold.'' This 
 friendly conduct due to the favour of 
 God. Included in the turning of Job's cap- 
 tivity. " AVhen a man's ways please the 
 Lord, he maketh even his enemies to be at 
 peace with him," much more his friends. 
 Job's relations and acquaintances probably 
 now more influenced by God's hand on them, 
 than by the removal of His hand from him. 
 God's favour shown to Jacob in turning 
 Esau's heart towards him, and causing Jacob 
 to "see His face as the face of an angel." 
 God's hand formerly recognized by Job in 
 the alienation of some of his friends ; now 
 doubtless acknowledged by him in the affec- 
 tion of others. The hearts of men, whether 
 friends or enemies, " in the hand of the 
 Lord, who turaeth them whithersoever He 
 will." The former alienation of friends no 
 small ingredient in Job's cup of sorrow. 
 Their present affection no trifling element in 
 his restored happiness. Friendship the wine 
 of life. " Poor is the friendless master of a 
 280 
 
 world." Heaven itself sweetened by the 
 presence of loving friends. 
 
 They "did eat bread in his house." No 
 small joy to Job after his long isolation, 
 that, his leprosy being now removed, he 
 could have his friends partaking of a meal 
 with him in his own house. Type of Jesus 
 with His friends around Him at the marriage- 
 supper of the Lamb. So also, after His 
 resurrection, the scattered disciples gathered 
 again to Him, and " ate and drank with 
 Him " during the forty days of His sojourn 
 with them (Acts. x. 41). 
 
 The visit one of congratulation as well 
 as condolence. "They bemoaned him and 
 comforted him," &c. Talk of past griefs 
 an enhancement of present joy. Observe 
 (1) God gives not only compensation but con- 
 solation to His suffering children. " As one 
 whom his mother comt'orteth, so will I com- 
 fort you " (Isa. Ixvi. 13). God at no more 
 loss for instruments to comfort His children 
 than to correct them. (2) Consolations come 
 best in God's time. Satan's malice in keeping 
 back these friends before, now over-ruled for 
 the enhancement of Job's restored happiness. 
 (3) Patience to have her perfect work. " The 
 Lord, after ye have suffered awhile, make 
 you perfect, strengthen, stablish, settle you." 
 The consolation of these friends all the 
 sweeter, now that Job, after the dark night 
 is over, can rejoice in the sunshine of God's 
 favour. Yet Job still a mourner and needing 
 consolation. His hearth still desolate, with 
 neither son nor daughter at his board. No 
 absolute freedom from trouble till we reach 
 the land where the inhabitants shall no more 
 say, I am sick; and where all tears are 
 wiped away. 
 
 They comforted him " over all the Lord 
 had done unto him." God's hand in Job's 
 troubles acknowledged by the friends as well 
 as himself. Observe (1) God the Author 
 and Dispenser of our trials, whatever the 
 instruments. Safest and best in our trouble 
 to regard the first cause, rather than 
 secondary and subordinate ones. God to be 
 acknowledged in all events as ordering all 
 things by his His Providence, even to the 
 fall of a sparrow. Evil, as well as good, 
 from the Lord, however He may please to 
 send it. Acknowledged even by Satan 
 " Put forth thine hand now," &c. (2) Praise 
 due to God for His grace in sustaining under 
 past troubles, and His mercy in delivering out 
 of them. These, as well as sending the 
 troubles, among the things which the Lord 
 had done to Job. Such praise to mingle 
 with our consolations. So Jethro, after 
 coming out to meet Moses, praised God on 
 hearing of " all that the Lord had done unto 
 Pharaoh and to the Egyptians for Israel's 
 sake, and all the travail that had come upon
 
 IWMILETIC COMMENTARY; JOB. 
 
 CJIAI\ XLII. 
 
 them by the way, and how the Lord delivered 
 them" (Kxod. xviii. 8 11). A picture of 
 heaven and the enhancement of its joy. 
 
 The friends brought presents to Job, accord- 
 ing to the custom of the country. These 
 probably intended (1) To testify their 
 affection and esteem; (2) To contribute 
 to the restoration of his estate. The 
 sincerity of our friendship and affection 
 evinced by what it costs us. The extent of 
 our sympathy with the suffering measured 
 by what, according to our ability, we con- 
 tribute to their relief. 
 
 VII. Job's Second Family. Verses 13 
 15. " He had also seven sons and three 
 daughters. And he called the name of the 
 lirst. Jemima ; and the name of the second, 
 Kczia ; and the name of the third, Keren- 
 happuch. And in all the land were no 
 women found so fair as the daughters of 
 Job : and their father gave them inheritance 
 among their brethren." Children given to 
 Job to take the place of the former one, and 
 to sooth the sorrow for their removal. 
 Given in the same number and proportion 
 of sex. As easy with God to give children 
 as riches. Observe (1) God's compassion 
 and liberality toicards His children. Job to 
 have every loss made up to him, even to his 
 deceased children. God keeps account of 
 His servants' losses, in order to make them 
 up, either here or hereafter. (2) Pious 
 children not lost but gone before. The reason 
 why Job's cattle are doubled, but not his 
 children. The former strictly lost, but not 
 the latter. Those dying in the Lord not 
 lost, but hidden from our- view. Job's godly 
 children, buried under the ruins of their 
 dwelling, now only waiting to welcome him 
 to the Father's house. All to be received 
 again in body and spirit at the resurrection 
 of the just. His children, therefore, really 
 doubled, as well as his riches ten with 
 himself on earth, and ten with God in the 
 better country. Precious comfort to pious 
 parents in the death of their infant or 
 believing children. These only separated 
 from them for a time by a thin veil. The 
 star goes out of sight with us only to shine 
 in another hemisphere. Those not lost who 
 are sleeping in Abraham's bosom. Those 
 not to be considered as lost to us who are 
 found to Christ. Those hardly absent who 
 are in their Father's house. Such removals 
 sanctiiied to believing parents. Children 
 and friends departing in the Lord, only a 
 part of the "plenishing" of our future 
 home, making heaven more home-like. Help 
 to make up the " sublime attractions of the 
 grave." A purifying and elevating influence 
 in the thought, that while a- part of us is on 
 earth, another jiirt is glorified in heaven.. 
 
 The fact fitted to turn our natural sorrow 
 into a sacred joy. 
 
 ' Who could sink and settle to that point 
 Of selfishness so senseless who could be, 
 As long and pcrseveringly to mourn 
 For any object, of his love, removed 
 From this unstable wild, if he could fix 
 A satisfying view upon that state 
 Of pure, imperishable blessedness 
 Which reason promises, and Holy Writ 
 Ensures to all believers? " Wordsworth. 
 
 Job, as made the father of a new family after 
 his restoration, a type of Christ after His 
 resurrection and ascension receiving, as the 
 eternal Father, or Father of eternity, the 
 Gentiles as His children in the place of 
 the Jews, who had previously constituted 
 the covenant family, out who through un- 
 belief were now for a time cut off. " Benold, I 
 was left alone ; these, where had they been " 
 (Isa. xlix. 2023). " Instead of the fathers 
 shall be the children." 
 
 Job's second daughters distinguished for 
 the beauty of their persons. God not only 
 gave children, but well-favoured ones. Au 
 enhancement of the gift. God's gifts to his 
 tried people often come with a special mark 
 of their origin upon them. A beautiful 
 countenance pleasant to look upon. A re- 
 flection of the beauty which is in Him who 
 is the sum and source of all beauty. Beauty 
 vain as compared with grace, but in itself 
 no mean gift and a lit accompaniment to a 
 gracious spirit. A shadow or image of the 
 beauty of holiness. The sweetest counte- 
 nance, that which is lighted up by the inward 
 grace of the Spirit. The beauty of the out- 
 ward man made prominent in the Old Testa- 
 ment ; that of the inward man in the New. 
 New Testament females not praised for their 
 beauty, but for their love and good works 
 (Rom. xvi). Christ's second, or Gentile 
 family, given Him after his ascension, dis- 
 tinguished for their spiritual beauty. The 
 Holy Spirit only then given in his fulness. 
 The promise then fulfilled: "Thy people 
 shall be willing (liberal, princely, or free-will 
 offerings) in the day of thy power, in the 
 beauties of holiness " (Ps. ex. 3). 
 
 The names of Job s second daughters 
 recorded. A mark of honour. The names 
 of many of Christ's daughters recorded in 
 the New Testament; those of nil of them 
 in the Book of Life (Rom. xvi. 115; 
 Phil. iv. 3). The names of Job's daughters 
 significant, and probably given to indicate 
 at" once the beauty of their person, and the 
 sweetness of their disposition ; as well as to 
 commemorate the mercy of God in his own 
 deliverance. " Jemima " denotes "a dove," 
 ordovelikc; but may include in it the idea 
 of " day." " Kezia" is the Cassia, a fragrant 
 spice. " Kcrcn-happuch" is cither "the 
 
 281
 
 CHAP. XLII. 
 
 UOmiETlC COMMENTARY.' JOB. 
 
 Horn of Paint," or " the Inverted Horn ;" 
 according to the Greek version, the Horn of 
 Plenty. Thus perhaps Job praised the Uod of 
 his life for changing his night into day, giving 
 him the oil of joy tor mourning, and turning 
 again his captivity as the st reams in the south. 
 True piety will not forget God's benelits. 
 
 Job's estate divided among his daughters 
 as well as his sons. Indicative (1) Of his 
 riches; (2) Of the excellent character of his 
 daughters ; (3) Of the harmony and love 
 existing in his family. Job's second, no 
 less than his first children, distinguished for 
 their unity and mutual affection. Children 
 a blessing when love unites them to one 
 another, and to God as their common Father. 
 Believing women, as well as men, made heirs 
 of God and joint-heirs with Christ the Elder 
 Brother. In Christ, neither male nor female, 
 bond nor free (Gal. iii. 28 ; Col. iii. 11 ). 
 
 Job's Ag-e and Death. Verses 10, 17. 
 " After this lived Job an hundred and forty 
 years, and saw his sons and his son's sons, 
 even four generations. So Job died, being 
 old and full of days." Observe 
 
 1. His Ayr. His years thought to have 
 been doubled as well as his estate. In this 
 case, seventy years old at the time of his 
 trouble, and two hundred and ten at the 
 time of his death. Thus attained a greater 
 age than either Abraham or Isaac. Hence 
 earlier than either of them, though probably 
 during part of his life contemporary with 
 one, if not both. Corresponds with the in- 
 ternal evidence of the book. To be re- 
 membered in reading his speeches. His 
 troubles all the more keenly felt as occurring 
 before lie had reached, for that period of the 
 world, the meridian of life. His death not 
 until he had reached, even for that period, a 
 good old age. Length of days a part of 
 wisdom's wages (Prov. iii. 16). Job's short 
 season of trouble and adversity succeeded 
 by a long life of comfort and prosperity. 
 God a rich rewarder of hi* faithful wrrantx. 
 Joseph thirteen years a slave ; eighty a 
 prime-minister. Our light affliction, which 
 is but for a moment, worketh for us a far 
 more exceeding, even an eternal weight of 
 glory. Weeping endureth for a night, joy 
 cometh in the morning of a nightless day. 
 Short toil, long repose ; short conflict, end- 
 
 less triumph. A temporary cross, an eternal 
 crown. Every t ear of God's faithful servant s 
 a seed which shall one day produce a rich 
 harvest of ceaseless joy. 
 
 2. His ]],< ju'i-iciici'. Spared to see not only 
 his children, but his children's children, 
 " even to the fourth generation/'' The pro- 
 mise of the Old Testament 1 1's. exxviii. 6 ; 
 Prov. xvii. G). Mentioned as the happiness 
 of Joseph in Egypt (Gen. I. 2o). Job stiil 
 more abundantly compensated for the loss of 
 his former family. The words of Eliphnz 
 made good in his experience (chap. v. ~ ; 5). 
 Died, not only old, but " full of days.'" 
 Satisfied with the days given him, both as to 
 their number and character. Now as willing 
 to die as ever he had been wishful to live. 
 Ready now, like Simeon, to depart in peace, 
 his eyes having seen God's salvation. Had 
 experienced the goodness of the Lord in the 
 goodness of the living; and now, like Jacob, 
 waited for his salvation in a better world. 
 Had, like David, "served his generation by 
 the will of God ;" and now ready, like a tired 
 and happy child, to fall asleep. Comes to 
 his grave, as Eliphaz had said, "like a 
 shock of corn, fully ripe." The evening of 
 his days a tranquil sun-down. At eventide 
 light. Typical ot millennial blessedness in 
 the evening of the world. A numerous 
 family of the " Everlasting Eather," like the 
 drops of dew from the womb of the morning. 
 His children all in holy and happy fellow- 
 ship. No more falling out of the brethren 
 by t he way. No adversary nor evil oceurrcnt . 
 No Canaanite in the house of the Lord. 
 Satan bound, and no more allowed either to 
 deceive the nations or molest the Church. 
 
 3. Jfix JkaUi. "So Job died." Piety 
 no exemption from death. Till Christ Him- 
 self comes, the grave receives the members 
 as well as the Head. Death to Job no king 
 of terrors. The messenger from his Father's 
 house with a " Well done, good and faithful 
 servant ; enter into the joy of thy Lord." 
 The good fight fought, the weary warrior 
 only called off from the field. Had already 
 experienced great deliverances, but was now 
 to experience the greatest of all. A kin;; 
 and a priest on earth, Job died, like all 
 believers, to exercise his royal and priestly 
 office iii a laud never stained with tears, and 
 in a temple never deGled with sin. 
 
 282
 
 IIOMILKTIC 
 
 Jon. 
 
 NOTES. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 VERSE 5 : " Have sinned and cursed God in 
 their hearts" Various opinions as to the 
 meaning, in this passage, of the Hebrew 
 word here rendered " cursed." ! ^")? 
 (01 farcchoo)i\iz Piel (transitive or intensive) 
 form of the verb "=J^}^1 (Israeli) to kneel, 
 
 generally meaning to " bless ;" i.e., to cause 
 to kneel, such being the usual attitude in 
 receiving a blessing. The word, however, 
 is generally believed to have also the oppo- 
 site meaning of " cursing." So GESENIUS, 
 
 who compares it with the Arabic 
 
 (ibtarakd), and the Ethiopic, buraka, both 
 having the opposite meanings of blessing 
 and cursing. 1 Kings ^xi. 10, where the 
 same form of the verb occurs, is referred 
 to as a clear case in which it is used with 
 the meaning of cursing. The same word 
 which is twice employed by Satan (chap. 
 i. 11; and ii. 5), and once by Job's wife 
 (chap. ii. 9) ; where it is no doubt used in 
 the same sense as in the verse before us. 
 This use of the word in two opposite senses 
 variously accounted for. LEIGH, in his 
 "CriticaSacra,"connccts these opposite mean- 
 ings on the ground that the word expresses 
 what a man ardently wishes or calls for, 
 whether it may be good or evil, salvation or 
 perdition. CAREY," in his " Notes on Job," 
 connects them by observing that both bless- 
 ing and cursing are acts of religious worship 
 represented by " kneeling," tin; relation be- 
 tween them being like 'that of fmewrand 
 imprecor in Latin. Others account for this 
 use of the word on the principle of 
 Euphemism ; blasphemy having been so 
 abhorred by the ancients that they avoided 
 the very term, as the Latins used sacrum 
 for execranctum. So VATABLUS, URUSIUS, 
 and COCCEIUS. Perhaps a better way ot 
 accounting for these opposite meanings ot 
 the word, ia that adopted by CODURCUS, 
 who classes it with those verbs in which the 
 Piel form gives a prionlive meaning, and so 
 makes it convey an idea tho opposite of tint 
 originally implied in it. Thus NE>n (Mat a) 
 to " sin" has its Piel form, NB? (khillc), 
 to "put away sin," to expiate H or free 
 
 from it; Dify ('clsaii}, a "bone," gives a 
 
 verb in the picl form D'^V ('it*c/ii) to " break 
 the bones." WEMYSS explains this double 
 and opposite meaning on the ground of 
 irony or antiphrasis; "they may have 
 blessed God," i.e., "may have offended 
 Him"(!) The most satisfactory way for 
 the word being used in this sinister sense, 
 and one very generally adopted by modern 
 interpreters, is that of giving it the meaning 
 of " bidding farewell to," and so of "re- 
 nouncing ; " it being customary on parting 
 with a friend, to wish him farewell. So 
 valere in Latin and x a 'P llv m Greek are 
 known to be used (TERENCE, Andria iv. 
 14; EURIPIDES, Medea, 1044. This view 
 of "renouncing" is adopted by SCIIULTEXS, 
 J. H. MICIIAELIS, LOWTH, D& WETTE, &c. 
 HUFNAGEL renders the word "forgotten." 
 EwALDandlliRZEL: "forsaken." ZOCKLER, 
 in LANGK'S Bible-work, observes that it indi- 
 cates a hostile farewell. 
 
 Many, however, prefer to retain the 
 original meaning of blessing, but under 
 various aspects. AMBROSE, JEROME, AQUI- 
 NAS, MAYER : Have sinned, and blessed 
 God for their good cheer. COCCEIUS : Have 
 sinned, and blessed God for their success. 
 SAXCTIUS: Have sinned in the way they 
 blessed God ; viz., being pulfed up by their 
 riches and prosperity. BROUGHTON, CARYL, 
 and POOLE : Have blessed God too little, 
 or have lightly regarded Him ; tlius^ ap- 
 proaching to the sense of cursing. Some 
 supply a negative particle, or give a nega- 
 tive meaning to the copula (/we), as in Ps. 
 ix. 18; Prov. xvii. 20; " have sinned ami 
 not blessed God." So CALVIN, GOOD, and 
 feAXCTius. BOOTH ROYi) and YOUNG retain 
 the idea of blessing by giving the copula the 
 sense of "though;" " have sinned though 
 they blessed God" Others do the same by 
 
 rendering D"'"^ (elohim) not " God," but 
 
 " the gods ; " meaning the idols of the 
 heathens or angelic beings; "have sinned 
 and blessed the elohim or gods." So AI>\M 
 CLVKK.E, PARKIIUKST, and Dr. LICK, who 
 explains by : " Have inclined to idolatrous 
 practices," and refers to Isu. Ixvi. X, as 
 
 283
 
 NOTES. 
 
 J10MILETIC COMMENTARY: JOB. 
 
 giving the same expression. The word, 
 however, being without the article, would 
 seem to require to be rendered either " God " 
 or simply " god ; " and, as SCOTT the trans- 
 lator of Job has observed, no mention is 
 made in the book of any other god or gods 
 than the true one. 
 
 The ancient and later versions vary in 
 their way of rendering the word. The SEP- 
 TUAGIXT, according to the ordinary edition, 
 has : " Have thought evil against God," in 
 which it has been followed by the COPTIC ; 
 while the COMPLUTENSION has . " Have 
 blessed God." In the ITALA, or older Latin 
 version, it is : " Have cursed the Lord ; " 
 while the VULGATE has: "Have blessed 
 God." The SYKiAchas: "Have mocked." 
 The ARABIC: "Reproached." The CHAL- 
 DAIC : " Provoked to anger." COYEEDALE : 
 " Have been unthankful to God." LUTHER, 
 like the Vulgate : "Have blessed God." 
 MARTIN'S French version : " Have blas- 
 phemed God." DIODATI'S Italian : " Have 
 spoken evil of God." 
 
 Terse 11. "And he will curse thee to tin/ 
 
 face." (3Ia/\g:u: "If he curse thee not.") 
 
 ,The clause susceptible of a variety of 
 
 interpretations. The two particles at the 
 
 commencement N ' 2^ (I'M lo) " if not," 
 
 variously rendered and understood. By 
 most they are regarded as expressive of an 
 
 So VATABLUS, PISCATOR, HUFNAGEL, and 
 ZOCKLER, who makes the expression equiva- 
 lent to " verily." DATIIE supplies, " Let 
 me be accounted a liar," i.e., "jf he do not 
 curse thee," &c. SCIIULTENS thus views 
 
 the words as expressive of Satan's impu- 
 dence and contumacy. Others supply " see ;" 
 i.e.> " if he will not," &c. So CAREY. Some 
 who retain the sense of " blessing " in the 
 verb, render the particles, " if not ;" i.e., " if 
 thou do no smite him, then, no doubt, he 
 will bless thee to thy face, or in thy pre- 
 sense." So Dr. LEE, COLEMAN, YOUNG, 
 &c. SANCTIUS, following the Vulgate, 
 renders the verb in the past tense, as ex- 
 pressive of habit, " [See] if he hath not 
 [merely] blessed thee to thy face." i.e., 
 hypocritically. ADAM CLARKE : " He will 
 bless thee (or be pious) according to thy 
 appearances for him." GOOD and BOOTH- 
 ROYD interrogatively : " Will he still bless 
 thee ?" TOW^-SEND : " Then he will bless 
 thce in thy presence," as he has hitherto 
 done. Job thus to be proved a mercenary 
 worshipper according to either sense of the 
 verb : If thou smite him he will curse thee 
 to thy face ; if not, he will still bless thee, 
 but only to thy face. The same meaning of 
 " renouncing," however, probably attached to 
 ^\~$ (/jKrcrh) here as in ver. 5 ; only, as 
 
 has been remarked by KOYES and others, 
 the phrase is stronger here, as importing an 
 utter and public renunciation of religion as 
 a vain thing. So SCHULTENS, DATIIE, 
 
 UilBREIT, KoSENMrLLEK, SlICKEL, &C. 
 
 BARTII, in his "Bible Manual," has: "He will 
 renounce or even blaspheme thee to thy 
 face." MERCER : "He will curse thee," i.e., 
 deny thy providence, and say it is vain to 
 serve thee. Similarly POOLE : "He will 
 reproach thy providence." It is well known 
 that the heathen frequently reproach their 
 gods in misfortune : " Deos cttqm astro, cruddia 
 tocat" 
 
 CHAPTER H. 
 
 VERSE 4. "Skin for skin ; yea, alt that a 
 man hath will he yii;c for his life." The ex- 
 pression " skin for skin " acknowledged to be 
 a proverbial one. Its precise meaning not so 
 obvious, though its general drift, as used by 
 the Evil One, is sufficiently apparent. The 
 Septuagint and Vulgate translate as we do ; 
 the one rendering the preposition by i''jrep, and 
 the other by pro. The Chaldaic has : " Mem- 
 ber for member." So BERNARD, who renders 
 the words: "Limb for limb." Martin's 
 French Version has: "Every one \vill give 
 skin for skin." Some, as PARKHURST and 
 WEMYSS, render the phrase : " Skin after 
 skin." Others, as PINEDA and TIKINUS: 
 ' Skin upon skin," i.e., all skins ; or, accord- 
 ing to POOLE, all outward things. YOUNG 
 284 
 
 translates : " A skin for a skin." The mean- 
 ings thus reducible to four -. 
 
 1. The skin of another for one's own skin. 
 So VATABLUS, TIRINUS, SEB. SCHMIDT, 
 MAIER. " Skin," in this view, is regarded 
 by some as equivalent to "body," as in 
 chap. xvi. 15; xviii. 13; xix. 26; like 
 Horace's " Pe lliculam curare jutjet." So 
 ROSENMOLLER and HUFNAGEL. By others 
 it is viewed as equivalent to "life : " what a 
 man holds as dear to him as his skin, i.e., 
 his life, he will give to .save his life. So 
 GESENIUS and HUPFELDT, after OEIGEN 
 who says : "A man will give a skin, which is 
 sol;! for money, to save his own skin, if., 
 his life." Others: Job will give the skin 
 of his cattle, even that of his children, to
 
 HOMILETW COMMENTARY: JOE. 
 
 SOTES. 
 
 save his own. So GREGORY, EFIIREM: SYRUS, 
 MERCER, PISCATOR, DRUSIUS, NOYES, &c. 
 Like that of Terence : " Proximns sum 
 egomct mi/ii." In this view, the proverb is 
 explained by uliat follows. 
 
 2. Like for like ; i.e., any one gives 
 that ; men part with anything for a full 
 equivalent. So CODURCUS, HIRZEL, COITANT: 
 Equivalent for equivalent. MAURER: Job 
 may well give up the rest to keep his life. 
 FAUSSET : One tiling for another. ETVALD : 
 All is subject to barter. UMBREIT : One 
 article is given for another; but life is 
 dearest to all : Job is satisfied so long as he 
 is not obliged to give up that. CODURCUS : 
 The origin of the proverb in the general 
 practice of barter, or in the use of animals 
 instead of men in sacrifice. POOLE : Skins 
 or spoils of beasts in early ages the most 
 valuable property men could acquire ; hence 
 became the chief representative of property. 
 GOOD and BOOTUROYD : "Skin "an equivalent 
 for riches, furniture, &c. PINEDA and SCIITJL- 
 TEXS : In the expression " skin for skin," 
 GOOD thinks the word issued in two different 
 senses, property is given for life. COBBIX 
 remarks that probably ransoms used also 
 to be paid in skins. CAREY sees in the 
 proverb a sort of rednclio ad absv.rdum: a 
 man will not part with his skin unless you 
 supply him with another ; on no terms will 
 he part with his life : hence Job, to save his 
 life, will part with his religion. 
 
 3. Limb for limb; or, one thing parted 
 with to save the rest : a less noble member 
 will be given up for a nobler one, as an arm 
 for a head. So MEXOCHIUS, MUNSTER, 
 A. CLARKE, &c. The view of some of the 
 fathers : a man will put up his hand to ward 
 off a blow from his eye. So GREGORY, OLYM- 
 PIODORUS. Dr. LEE: Men willingly give 
 up a worse thing for a better : hence, much 
 more will a man give up all he lias for his life. 
 COCCEIUS : Job can easily afford to part 
 with all while he keeps his life, his posses- 
 sions being as it were a skin or covering to 
 his person to protect and warm him : the one 
 of them the less valuable he easily lets 
 go to keep the other. So SCHLOTTMAKX, 
 DELITZSCH, and ZOCKLER in Lange, who 
 regards the life to be preserved as not so 
 much the animal or life-function, as the soul 
 which causes and conditions it. 
 
 4. Skin -upon skin. So Dr. TIIOMASS, in 
 The Homilist : " like sovereign after sove- 
 reign ; all the sovereigns a man has," &c. ; 
 " skin," equivalent to property ; life dearer 
 than all. Job willing to have skin upon skin 
 taken from him to save his life. SCHUI/TF.XS 
 remarks that the Arabs call possessions 
 the outer skin friends and relations flic 
 inner one. According to OLSIIAUSI:X, the 
 meaning is: So long as thou dost not touch 
 
 his person, he will not attack thee. COLE- 
 MAN thinks an allusion is made to the 
 terrific skin-disease with winch Satan pur- 
 posed to afflict Job. CONAKT regards the 
 rendering of the copula paw before "all" 
 by "yea," as embarrassing the sense, by 
 anticipating the reader's judgment of the 
 relation of the two clauses, and proposes to 
 read it as usual : "And all that a man hath/' 
 &e. UMUREIT, and after him FAUSSET, 
 would put "skin" and " life "ia the two 
 clauses in antithesis to each other, and render 
 the copula "but." So DE WETTE : People 
 give up other things ; but they take care of 
 their life the highest value put upon that. 
 According to BARNES, the idea is : If Job 
 was so afflicted as to have his life endangered, 
 he would give up his religion to save it. 
 
 VERSE 7- "Smote Job with sore boils" 
 The Septuagiut and Vulgate, followed by 
 MARTIN and DIODATI in their French and 
 Italian versions, render the words which 
 describe Job's disease, " a bad or malignant 
 
 ulcer." The word VH!# (sheklieen) which we 
 render " boils," derived from a root not used 
 in Hebrew, but appearing in the Arabic '_^> 
 (sakhana) to be hot, inflamed, fevered. Job's 
 disease, according to GESEXIUS, NOYES, and 
 others, a kind of black leprosy, formerly pre- 
 vailing iu Egypt (Deut. xxviii. 27) ; called 
 Elephantiasis, from the skin being covered 
 with black scales, and from the mouth, feet, 
 and legs swelling enormously, while the body 
 becomes emaciated. The disease uot attended 
 with great pain, but with much debility of 
 the system, uneasiness, and mental depres- 
 sion. Botli Pliny and Lucretius speak of 
 it as a disease peculiar to Egypt ; the former 
 calling it, " jEgypti jicculiare malitm." 
 PISCATOR and CASTALIO render the singular 
 noun collectively " ulcers ;" as our English 
 version, " boils." MORUS renders it : An 
 inflammation. VATABLUS : Pustules, boils 
 from heat, such as were inflicted on Egypt 
 (Exodus ix. 10), and threatened to Israel 
 (Deut. xxviii. 27). GRYX<EUS, after SCHUL- 
 CENS : An inflammation, of which the ulcers 
 were the effect. ADAM CLARKE queries 
 whether it was not the small-pox. Gpoo 
 makes it: Burning ulcerations, the barai 
 of the Arabs. WEMYSS : Foul ulcers. LEE: 
 A burning disease. FRY: A sore ulcer. 
 CAREY : A malignant ulceration, the dis- 
 ease nearly proving fatal in the case of 
 Hezckiah '(Isaiah xxxviii. 121) ; hi Job's 
 case, of a very virulent form. The 
 Homilist : One universal inflammation. 
 FAVSSET: A burning sore. CMXANT, after 
 EWALD, observes t hat the singular here has 
 the cflVct of a collective. So HEILIGSTI I>T : 
 Malignant ulcers. ZOCKLER, in Laiifje, 
 regarding it as the Elephantiasis, speaks ol it 
 
 285
 
 NOTES. 
 
 HOMILETIC COMMENTARY: JOB. 
 
 as the Arabian, or worst kind of leprosy; 
 called also lejirc t/odo.?a, or tuberculosu, from 
 the greatly swollen lumps, or boils, which 
 give to the extremities the appearance of nu 
 elephant's legs, whence its name. BARNKS, 
 after GOOD, calls it a universal ulcer, attended 
 with violent pain and constant restlessness; 
 named by the Arabs, gudham, and said to 
 
 produce a grim, distorted, lion-like set of 
 features, hence called Jjeoiitiasis. CHKYSOS- 
 TOM observes that it made Job like Lazarus, 
 but in a far worse condition. The Jewish 
 doctors say that the disease, in Job's case, 
 lasted a whole year; while SUIDAS we know 
 not on what grounds makes it to have con- 
 tinued seven. 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 VKRSE 5. " 1st the blackness of the day 
 terrify it." Margin, " J/it them terrify if us 
 those who hacc a bitter day" The expression 
 QV">"V"lp3 (chim rire-yom} gives rise to two 
 
 classes of interpretations, according as the 
 initial letter is regarded as a part of the 
 noun, or as a particle. In the former case, it 
 is best rendered " obscurations, or darken- 
 
 HERDER, viewing the expression figura- 
 tively : " Blackness of misfortune." UM> 
 BREIT understands by it : " Magical incanta- 
 tions which darken the day." GROTIUS and 
 CODURCUS reard the first noun as used for 
 
 ings of the day :" from ~^p (chnmar\ an 
 unused root, signifying " to be dark, or 
 blackened, as with heat." So GESEXIUS, 
 who thinks the reference is to eclipses, al- 
 ways regarded by the ancients as portending 
 calamities. The view also of BOCHART, 
 NOYES, FATJSSET, ZOCKLER, in " Lange," &c. 
 The first of the two nouns is thus regarded as 
 an augmentative ; the simple form N'TDD 
 
 (cliemira, from 1^3 chemar, " to be dark, or 
 
 sad "), being applied in Syriac (Matt. xvi. 3) 
 to a dark and lowering sky. So SCOTT, who 
 translates it "greatest sorrows," and in his 
 metrical version : " Boding signs from all the 
 quartered sphere." LEE classes it with a 
 sort of superlative in Arabic words signify- 
 ing colours, &c., formed by reduplicating the 
 last radical letter, and occasionally intro- 
 ducing a long vowel ; and so renders the 
 expression " blackest things of the day " 
 blackest terrors. Of the earlier interpreters, 
 JUSTUS and TREMELLIUS render the words : 
 " Darkness of the day." COCCEIUS : " Black- 
 nesses of the day," dark, hot, pestilential 
 Vapours. PAGNIXUS, YATABLUS, and PISCA- 
 TOR : " Heats, or vapours, of the day." The 
 Tigurine translators : " Most burning heats 
 of the dog-days." Bishop HALL : " A con- 
 tinued darkness." Among later expositors, 
 GOOD has: "Blasts of noontide "the 
 simoom, or hot wind of the desert. FRY : 
 " Black blasts of the day." BOOTHROYU : 
 "Thunder-clouds, blackening the day." 
 JEXOUR : " Black darkness by day." CAREY 
 and CONANT, after GESEMUS : " Darkenings 
 of the day." BERNARD : " Black vapours." 
 OLSHAUSEX, DILLIIAXX, and DELITZSCH : 
 "Darknesses of the sun." as from clouds. 
 286 
 
 (f.Iiinii'e) or chemarims, a name given 
 in the Old Testament to certain idolatrous 
 priests (Zeph. i. 4; Hos. x. 5 ; 2 Kings 
 xxiii. 5), and thus denoting "priests of the 
 day," astrologers, who distinguish the 
 character of days as lucky and unlucky, like 
 the Roman " prefect if tutoruM." 
 
 If the initial letter 3, however, be viewed 
 not as a part of the noun, but as a particle, 
 it may be regarded either as one of com- 
 parison, or of emphasis. In this case, the 
 noun ^.^P (merire) will be viewed as de- 
 
 rived from "0 (utarar} "to be bitter," as 
 in Deut. xxxii. 24. So the translators of the 
 ancient versions appear to have understood 
 the expression. The Septuagint has : " Let 
 the day be cursed ;" or, according to GRABE'S 
 emendation: "Let the day be troubled." 
 The VULGATE : "Let the day be involved in 
 bitterness." The TARGUM, SYRIAC, and 
 AQUILA : " As bitternesses of the day." So 
 MARTIN'S French : " As the day of those to 
 whom life is bitter." DIODATI'S Italian : 
 "The bitterest days." MERCER and MORUS, 
 like our marginal reading : " As those bitter 
 in days." MUNSTER, after the Syriac : 
 "The bitternesses of the day." SEB. 
 SCHMIDT: " A.S bitternesses of day," rather 
 to be so called than day itself. SCHULTEXS : 
 " As it were, the bitter things of the day," 
 viz., misfortunes. R.OSENMLLLER: "Ac- 
 cording to the bitternesses of the day " 
 calamities which render a day black and ill- 
 omened, as Amos viii. 10. ADAM CLARKE : 
 " The bitterness of a day." YOUXG : " As 
 the most bitter of days." LE CLERC derives 
 the word, as the Septuagint appears to have 
 done, fronOlN (afar) "to curse:" "as 
 those who curse the day." 
 
 VERSE 8. " Who are read// to raise vp fhfir 
 mounting;* Margin: "A Icciathau'' A
 
 HOMILETIC COMMENTARY: JOP>. 
 
 NOTES. 
 
 clause which has also two classes of interpre- 
 pretations, according as the noun IV T - - 
 
 (liri/attian) is regarded as derived from \ 
 (lacaJi) " to twist into folds," and so mean- 
 ing a serpent, or sea- monster, as in all the 
 
 ancient versions; or from H^ (layalt) "to 
 mourn," and so denoting lamentation, as in 
 our authorised version. Of the other two 
 
 words iuthe clause, EH'-CW^ (ha-'athidhim, 
 from "^^y ^alhadK), unused in Hebrew hut 
 
 found in Chaldaic; in the Pael form, ^tyl 
 (attedh) "to appoint or prepare," like the 
 Arabic j^ (all "da, Vth. conjugation, to he 
 skilled in an art), rather denotes, "those who 
 are skilled, or expert." So SCHULTENS, 
 GESENIUS, NOTES, and ZOCKLEH. The 
 SEPTUAGINT has : " He who is to rouse up," 
 &c. The VULGATE : " Those who are pre- 
 pared," &c. So the TARGUM, AQUILA, and 
 SYMMACHUS, as well as LUTHER, MARTIN, 
 
 and DIODATI. '^> ('ore-r), properly " to 
 raise up from sleep," as Ps. xliv. 23. So 
 DE WETTE : "To wake up." SCOTT, ob- 
 serving that the sign of, the infinitive is 
 omitted, views the expression as a peri- 
 phrasis for the future tense of the indicative, 
 according to the Syriac idiom. The same 
 appears to have been done by the translator 
 of the Septuagint. 
 Of those who regard the noun as derived 
 
 from n? (lucah = 
 
 "to twist," with 
 
 the final syllable ^ (/##)asthe terminative 
 form of the noun, are BOCHART, SCHULTENS, 
 DATHE, and GESEXIUS, who understands by 
 the word a serpent of the larger kind, espe- 
 jcially, as in chap. xli. 1, a crocodile. The 
 j SEPTUAGINT, followed by the COPTIC and 
 the ITALA, renders it, "the great whale." 
 The VULGATE leaves the word untranslated, 
 " Leviathan." According to NOTES, the 
 word is a common name to denote monstrous 
 animals of different kinds, here perhaps a 
 monstrous serpent. BARNES : Used here to 
 to represent the most fierce and powerful of 
 animals. ZOCKLEK : The great dragon the 
 .enemyof the sun and moon which,according 
 to an ancient superstition, seeks to cause 
 ; darkness by swallowing them up. Accord- 
 ing to GUOTIUS, CODUHCOS, and SEB. 
 SCHMIDT, the persons in the text are repre- 
 sented as skilled in stirring up monsters by 
 magic incantations. DODEKLEIS and UM- 
 fcHEiT understand, ''charming of serpents." 
 According to OSUSDUU, NOYEB, BARNES, 
 and others, the reference is to sorcerers, or 
 persons supposed to possess the jwver of 
 
 making any day fortunate or unfortunate, 
 or even to call forth terrific monsters from 
 the forest or the deep, in order to gratify their 
 own malice, or that of others, of whom 
 Balaam is viewed as an example. WEMYSS 
 has: "Skilled in conjuring up Leviathan." 
 Dr. CHALMERS understands : "Magicians and 
 conjurers who raise, or pretend to raise up. 
 infernal spirits by their spells. HIKZEL, 
 HAHN.andSciiLOiTMANN : the Constellation 
 called the Dragon, between the Great and the 
 Little Bear, or some other of the same name. 
 So MAURER, who refers to the words of 
 Horace as a parallel : " Qua: sidera excantata 
 voce Thessala Itinamque cfflo deripil." LEE, 
 understanding the whale, or some other 
 monster, translates : " Who are ready to stir 
 up a leviathan," which, he adds, none but 
 the most desperate would do. BERNARD: 
 " Ready to arouse the crocodile." COXAXT : 
 Skilled to rouse the Leviathan." HUFNAGEL 
 observes that the expression is probably em- 
 ployed to denote the undertaking of a most 
 perilous task. JENOUR renders it, " Prepared 
 to stir up the Leviathan to battle ; " i.e., 
 persons who hate life, and are prepared 
 to expose themselves to certain death. So 
 BOOTHROYD, who observes that in chap. xli. 
 8 10, to arouse Leviathan is represented as 
 inevitable destruction. Various other allu- 
 sions are conjectured to be made in the ex- 
 pression. Reference is supposed by some to 
 be made to the invocation of Typhon, the 
 author of destruction, whose symbol was the 
 crocodile, such as is found on a papyrus roll 
 from Thebes. So CAREY, who also thinks an 
 allusion may be made to an ancient custom 
 of the Egyptians in hunting the crocodile 
 on a particular day, and then, after killing 
 ir, throwing its dead body before the temple 
 of their god. FAUCETT thinks a reference 
 is made to those who claimed the power of 
 controlling or rousing up wild beasts at their 
 will. CALMET sees an allusion to the A tlantes, 
 a people of Ethiopia, who were ready to 
 kill and cat the crocodile. SIR G. WILKIN- 
 SON, quoted by Carey, refers to the Tinty- 
 rites, who were expert in catching and over- 
 coming the crocodile in the water. ADAM 
 CLARKE thinks that persons are meant who 
 are desperate enough to provoke the croco- 
 dile to tear them in pieces. M. HENRY 
 thinks allusion is made to fishers who, being 
 about to strike the whale or crocodile, curse 
 it with the bitterest curses they can invent, 
 in order to weaken its strength (!) Some of 
 the older interpreters, ns COCCEIUS, TIRISVS, 
 and CARTWRIGHT, thought the allusion also 
 to Ushers, but as cursing under the vexations 
 and disappointments of their calling. Hviciir- 
 BOX. of Edinburgh, regarded the allusion B> 
 made to mariners, who, ia a storm, curo the 
 dny they went to sen, and arc ready by their
 
 NOTES. 
 
 HOMILETIC COMMENTARY: JOB. 
 
 wishes to evoke the sea-monsters to swallow 
 them up. CHAPPELOW, followed by COBBIN, 
 thinks those persons meant whose business 
 it was to curse the days esteemed ominous 
 and inauspicious. SANCTIUS accounted for 
 the expression on the ground that in ex- 
 ecrations men commonly introduce ^things 
 that are most horrible, as the leviathan. 
 SCOTT, in his metrical translation, has : 
 "Rouse fierce Leviathan from his oozy bed ;" 
 and adds, that probably the crocodile is 
 meant, and that as it is natural to lament 
 those who so miserably perished with bitter 
 imprecations on the disastrous day, Job calls 
 for the assistance of such language. Another 
 construction of the words has been proposed, 
 and has been adopted by SCHULTENS, and 
 ROSENMULLER: "Let those who arc 
 skilled in that art, curse or brand it (his 
 birthday) as the day that rouses up Leviathan" 
 as the dire mother of direst evils. Simi- 
 larly COLEMAN : " as men promptly curse the 
 day that evokes the crocodile from the deep." 
 Leviathan was regarded by AMBROSE, and 
 the fathers in general, as another name for 
 Satan, whom Christ was to encounter and 
 overcome. GREGORY thought the persons 
 in the text to be those who fell by the devil's 
 deceit. GUALTHEK supposes them to bo 
 those who evoke Satan by incantations and 
 witchcrafts. OSIANUEK regards the word as 
 equivalent 1o 0^3*1 (/V/J///YZMW) the "spirits 
 
 of the dead" mentioned hi chap, xxvi, 5. (in 
 the E.V. "dead things") ; and considers it 
 here as denoting the Evil One, and spectres in 
 general. By most of the earlier interpreters, 
 who regarded the word as denoting some 
 monster, the wlutlf- was the creature under- 
 
 stood. So COCCEIUS, SCULTETUS, JUNIUS 
 
 and TIIEJIELLIUS, &c. 
 The sense of "lamentation," as in our 
 
 authorised version, from !T 
 (alaK) " to mourn," was generally preferred 
 by the earlier translators, as PISCATOR, 
 MERCER, PAGNINUS, Mouvs, MONTANUS, 
 and VATABLUS. MARTIN, in his French 
 version, has : " Who are ready to renew 
 their mourning." DIODATI, in his Italian : 
 " Always ready to make new lamentations." 
 FRY renders the passage : " who are 
 ready at raising their lamentations;" but 
 supposes that the word is derived from *fr (loo), 
 "U that; this syllable perhaps being 
 the commencement of the solemn dirges or 
 ululations of hired mourners, still common 
 in the East ; like the eXtXeXtXtXtw of lo in 
 Prometheus Yinctus, the ululu of the Irish, 
 and the V?V7) (nlulu) of the Arabians. Ac- 
 cording to TOWNSEND, the ideas of mourning 
 and Leviathan are combined, the mourning 
 mul that which was the cause of it; the 
 283 
 
 allusion being to the idolatrous persecuting 
 power that afflicted the Church of God be- 
 tween the commencement of the empire of 
 the first Ninus, or Nimrod, and the calling 
 of Abraham ; and to the too late repentance 
 of those who cursed the day when they 
 gave their assistance to the founding and 
 consolidating of that empire. 
 
 VERSE 14. " Which built desolate places for 
 
 themselces" ^jUn (halbonirii), " who built 
 up," not " who built again." So ZOCKLER, as 
 against CASTALIO, GOOD, and others. CAKEY : 
 " Who were building," i.e., when overtaken 
 
 by death. ^"^"^1 (kiarabkotl), plural 
 
 of 
 
 (khorbak) dryuess, desolation, 
 
 from ^"?Jf (kharcbh), to be dried up, de- 
 
 vastated ; waste places, ruins : " who built 
 ruins for themselves," i.e. splendid edifices, 
 as palaces or tombs, soon to become ruins or 
 great stone heaps. So GESENIUS, UJIBREIT, 
 WINER, NOYES, CONANT, ZOCKLER, and 
 most moderns. VULGATE: "Who build 
 solitudes for themselves." The SEPTUAGINT 
 appears strangely to have read the word as 
 
 the plural of ^"1?7 (kherebh), a sword. The 
 TARGUM, SYRIAC, and ARABIC, like the Vul- 
 gate, have : " Solitudes," or " desert places." 
 So MARTIN and DIODATI. LUTHER : " The 
 wilderness." PAGNINUS : " Solitary places." 
 DRUSIUS : " Destroyed places." CASTALIO : 
 " Ruins," fallen palaces or towers. MERCER 
 and VATABLUS, like the Vulgate : " Soli- 
 tudes." JUNIUS: "Splendid buildings in 
 desolate places, where nc one would have 
 expected such." JENOUR : " Waste places.' 
 BOOTHROYD : " Ruins of former cities.' 
 GOOD: "Ruined wastes." YOUNG: "Wastes. 5 
 LEE: "Places now desolate." PINEDA 
 followed by SCIIULTENS, DODERLEIN, CAKEY 
 and others, think the reference is to sepul- 
 chral monuments, as the pyramids. PAKK- 
 IIURST : " Dreary sepulchral mansions, where 
 the body is wasted, or consumed." SCOTT, 
 the translator, thinks that sepulchral 
 grottoes are meant, such as those at Thebes, 
 or the pyramids : "Whose burial mansions 
 load the desert plains." MICUAELIS regards 
 the words as equivalent to J"fi^n (khara- 
 
 motK), and translates it, " temples, shrines, 
 mausoleums." ZOCKLER observes that, though 
 iri-xpan (pi-chram, "the temple"), is the 
 name given to the pyramids, it is, perhaps, 
 
 not the same with -^"^17; and that if 
 mausoleums are intended, they are not 
 necessarily those of Egypt. HIRZEL, with 
 EWALD, DELITZSCH, STICKEL, &c., thinks 
 mausoleums or pyramids are to be under- 
 stood, and points to the ruins of Petra. 
 BARNES observes that some of the most
 
 HOMILETIG COMMENTARY: J0. 
 
 NOTES. 
 
 wonderful sepulchral monuments are found 
 in the land ot Edom to this day. TOWNS- 
 END thinks the reference may be to the 
 building of the Tower of Babel. The ex- 
 
 toJL 
 
 pression ''-^ (lamo), "for themselves," is 
 understood by some as meaning : " To make 
 their name immortal." So MERCER, VA- 
 TABLUS, DRUSJUS, ADAM CLARKE. CODUR- 
 cus : " In order to display their wealth and 
 power, enjoy retirement, or form new 
 
 colonies." GEYNCEUS: "To resist all- 
 destroying death." CAREY : " For their own 
 tombs.' COLEMAN: "As habitations for 
 themselves, either while living or dead." 
 NOYES thinks that the expression is so nearly 
 pleonastic that it may be omitted. BARNES 
 on the other hand, thinks it full of emphasis \ 
 the ruinous structure being made for them- 
 selves alone. UMBREIT sees in it Job's irony 
 breaking out from the black clouds of 
 melancholy. 
 
 CHAPTER XIX. 
 
 VERSE 23. " that my words were now 
 written!" The "words" understood as 
 either (1) Those now to be littered. So 
 JEROME, PISCATOR, CARYL, HENRY, &c. As 
 an everlasting monument of his faith in the 
 resurrection. MAYER. Such as would 
 come within the inscription on a rock ; 
 therefore, those contained in verses 25 27. 
 SCOTT. Or (2) Those ichich he had already 
 Tittered in defence of his innocence. So 
 MERCER, NOYES, &c. All the declarations 
 he had already made of his integrity, to- 
 gether with bis solemn appeals to God. 
 WEMYSS. EARTH, in his " Bible Manual," 
 combines both : " The words of his lamenta- 
 tion and sorrow misunderstood by his friends, 
 as well as those of his hope, which he was 
 now about to utter." GREGORY understood 
 not so much his "words," as his sufferings. 
 " Words " put for the things themselves. 
 POLYCHROMIUS. Instead of " written," 
 WEMYSS and KITTO would read "recorded." 
 CAREY : " Engraven." SCOTT says : " Writ- 
 ten, perhaps, on linen: painting on linen 
 very ancient among the Egyptians ; the use 
 of papyrus a later invention." 
 
 " that they were printed m a look ! " 
 ">2EQ (las&lpher) "in the, ora, book ;"">? 
 (slpher) from '?P (saphar) to shave, en- 
 
 grave, write. ''y (veyukhakoo] "and were 
 
 printed, or engraved;" Hophalform of 
 (khakalc) to cut, make an incision, engrave. 
 So GESENIUS. PISCATOR, however, thinks 
 that the verb ppH does not mean to " en- 
 grave," but to " delineate " or " paint," and 
 refers to Isaiah xxx. 8 ; xlix. 1C ; Ezek iv. 1. 
 MERCER observes that the order of the words 
 is inverted, and translates : " That they 
 might be engraven in a book." JUNIUS and 
 TRKMELTJUS : " Carved out." PAGNINUS : 
 " Written out." SCULTETUS thinks that the 
 first clause indicates simple writing; the 
 
 second, writing in an entire book, or among 
 histories or public records. So SCHULTENS 
 
 understands "^E?? : " in a public record, in 
 which more remarkable events were regis- 
 tered." J. H. MICIIAELIS translates : " Who 
 will put them into the book, that they may 
 be engraven ?" GRYNOEUS : " Engraven for 
 eternal remembrance in all time to come." 
 ADAM CLARKE : " Fairly traced out in a 
 book, formed either of the leaves of the 
 papyrus or on a sort of linen cloth." KITTO : 
 "Engraven on a tablet of wood, earthen- 
 ware, or bone." SCOTT observes that letters 
 were supposed by Sir Isaac Newton to have 
 been invented by the Edomites, from whom 
 Moses learned them when he fled into 
 Midian. NOYES renders the words : " O 
 that they were marked down in a scroll !" 
 CONANT : " In the book, where all might 
 read them," as indicated by the presence of 
 the article. CAREY thinks some particular 
 book intended, perhaps that part of the 
 Bible then extant, containing the records of 
 the Creation and the history of the Ante- 
 diluvian World. ZOCKLER, however, thinks 
 this unnecessary, and translates : " In a 
 book," any book, or skill prepared for 
 writing. 
 
 " That they were graven with an iron pen 
 and lead in the rock for ever!" P^rV 
 (yelchatsebhoon}, Niphal, or passive form of 
 ^'^ (khalsable), to cut, or cut out ; " were 
 cut." So GESENIUS and J. H. MICHAKUS. 
 KITTO : " Graven." WEMYSS : " Sculptured." 
 
 BOOTHROYD: "Cut deep." 
 from 
 
 (la-adk) 
 
 ('atllmh, to pass); "W W//), 
 primarily, a passage or progress ; 
 perpetuity. GROTIUS conjectures the r ad- 
 
 ing to have been (le'-edK) " for a testi- 
 mony," which agrees with the version of the
 
 NOTES. 
 
 HOMILETIC COMMENTARY: JOB. 
 
 Scptuagint. 
 
 (tie-ef), "with a pen;" 
 
 y (ct) being, according to Gesenius, a pen 
 for writing on stone or metal. "And with 
 lead," i.e., poured into the letters carved 
 with the iron pen for greater distinctness. 
 So JARCHI, PISCATOH, BOCHART, JUNIUS, 
 SCHULTENS, UMBREIT, and most of the 
 moderns. The TIGURINE version, however : 
 "In lead." So the VULGATE: "With a 
 plate of lead." LUTHER: "Upon lead." 
 A. CLARKE: "On leaden tablets." WEMYSS, 
 BOOTHROYD, andKiTio : "On rolls of lead." 
 TOWNSEND quotes PAUSANIAS, who says that 
 near Helicon he was shown some leaden 
 tablets, on which were engraven the works 
 of HESIOD. TIRINUS observes that writing 
 tablets among the ancients were made not 
 only with wax, but lead, as is seen in the 
 ancient tombs of Fabricius and Valesius, 
 near Naples. It is known that with the 
 Romans public acts were inscribed on leaden 
 plates, as well as brazen ones. PLINY 
 ("Nat. Hist., xiii. 11) says: "Formerly 
 people wrote on the leaves of the palm and 
 the inner bark of certain trees : afterwards, 
 public monuments were written on rolls of 
 lead ; and soon after, private ones on linen 
 and wax." SCULTETUS observes that for 
 security against fire, Job wishes the inscrip- 
 tion to be also in a rock. So MERCER, 
 PISCATOR, JUNIUS, and TREMELLIUS. 
 PAGNINUS and MONTANUS, however, trans- 
 late : "In stone." PINEDA: "On a pillar 
 of stone." CODURCUS and SCHULTENS 
 think the allusion is to sepulchral pillars, 
 with epitaphs inscribed on them. SEB. 
 SCHMIDT translates: "On tables of stone." 
 POCOCKE remarks that hieroglyphical cha- 
 racters are cut in the rock in the tombs of 
 the kings at Thebes. SCOTT observes, from 
 GREAVES, that an inscription of one line in 
 the same characters is 'found in the second 
 pyramid. LEE, after SCHULTENS and 
 HALES, notices that it was customary with 
 the ancient Arabs of Yemen to inscribe their 
 precepts of wisdom on the rocks, in order 
 TO preserve them. HUFNAGEL observes that 
 Orientals appear to have been accustomed 
 to make inscriptions on the rocks. NIEBUHK 
 saw such in his travels. Those high up on 
 the rocks, at the Nahr el Kelb, near Beyroot, 
 now pretty well known. A. CLARKE re- 
 marks that all the modes of writing then 
 in use arc apparently alluded to in this 
 passage. 
 
 VERSE 25. " For I know," &c. Various 
 opinions as to the nature and object of Job's 
 present declaration. It has been viewed (1) 
 us a confession of his faith, iu opposition to 
 the calumnies of bis friends. So DRUSIVS, 
 &c. More especially of his faith in the 
 promised Redeemer. go SC.HULTFNS, 
 
 290 
 
 MlCIIAEJJS, R.OSENMULLER, HALES, GOOD, 
 
 PYE SMITH, &c. Of his faith in a future 
 judgment for the vindication of his character. 
 So SCOTT. Of his faith and hope in refer- 
 ence to the resurrection of the body. So 
 CAREY, &c. Of his faith in the Redeemer, 
 and an assured expectation of a happy 
 resurrection. CARYL. M. HENRY calls it 
 "Job's creed or confession of his faith," 
 declaring that he sought a better country 
 (Heb. xi. 14), and appealing to the coining of 
 the Redeemer. A. CLARKE says : " Job 
 speaks prophetically ; pointing out the future 
 redemption of mankind by Jesus Christ, and 
 the general resurrection of the human race." 
 Dr. CHALMERS observes that " To the con- 
 solations of a good conscience, Job adds 
 those of a far-seeing faith." Others view it 
 as (2) the declaration of an expectation 
 which the close of the book shozcs to have been 
 fulfilled. So KITTO. An expression of the 
 conviction that he should himself see the 
 restoration of his honour and health; and 
 that, although reduced to a perfect skeleton, 
 he should be gladdened by an appearance of 
 God on his behalf, and not on that of the 
 others. So CHRYSOSTOM, JOHN of Damas- 
 cus, and some of the early Greek Fathers ; 
 also some of the Reformed, as MERCER, 
 GROIIUS, LE CLERC ; those on the Conti- 
 nent with rationalistic tendencies, as JUSTI, 
 KNOBEL, HIRZEL, SiiCKEL; supernaturalists, 
 as DATHE, DODERLEIN, BAUMGARTEN- 
 CRUSIUS, KNAPF, AUGUSTI, UMBREIT ; even 
 some of the directly orthodox, as v. HOFF- 
 MAN x and HAHN; and in our own country 
 WEMYSS, STUART, BARNES. Some regard 
 it as (3) the expression of his hope of seel, u/ 
 God in a spiritually glorified condition beyond 
 the grave. So EWALD, SCHLOTTMANX, 
 DELITZSCH, DILLMANN, ZOCKLER, DAVID- 
 SON in his Introduction ; and of Jewish 
 interpreters, ARXHEIM and LO\VENTHAL. 
 
 The force of the Copula at the beginning 
 of the sentence has been variously under- 
 stood. "For:" as in our English version. 
 So the VULGATE, DUTCH, GENEVA, COVER- 
 DALE, and SCHULTENS. " Since," or " be- 
 cause :" the older Hebrew interpreters. 
 "Indeed :" so the SYRIAC, ARABIC, 
 CASTALIO, PISCATOR, COCCEIUS, JUNIUS, 
 and TREMELLIUS. " But :" LUTHEK, DE 
 WETTE, EWALD, LEE, CONANT, &c. 
 DIODATI has : " Now." MERCER and 
 PAGNINUS : "Also." MONTANUS: "And 
 truly." SCULTETUS : " Yet" notwithstand- 
 ing my complaints. MENOCHIUS and 
 Dr.usius : " Yet," whatever you object to 
 me, and although you continue wicked. 
 DELITZSCH : " But yet," COLEMAX ; "Verily." 
 PIE SMII-II : "Surely." f RY : "That" 
 ZOCKLEB : "And."" PINEDA observes: 
 "The expression T40* (yntlku'tt) 'I know,'
 
 HOMILETIC COMMENTARY: JOB. 
 
 NOTES. 
 
 excludes all doubt, as in Gen. xlviii. 19." 
 SCULTETUS: "Implies the faith which is 
 both knowledge and trust." GRYNCEUS and 
 HmzEL: "The conviction that will not be 
 shaken by opponents." The "I," em- 
 phatic " I know, if you do not," So 
 FAUSSET, HIRZEL: "I, for my part," in 
 opposition to those who deny him. GRYNCEUS : 
 " I, in whom the arrows of God and man 
 are now sticking, as in a wicked person." 
 
 '' My Redeemer licetli." ** 
 
 (rjaal) to redeem, deliver; my Re- 
 deemer. So GESENIUS. COCCEIUS : From 
 
 v-^ (goal) to claim as one's own, as Ps. 
 cxix. 154; Isa. xl'tii. 1; Ruth iv. '6; Ps. 
 Ixxiv. 2 ; Isa. xlviii. 20 ; used also of things 
 sold and consecrated : hence to redeem ; 
 
 (ffel), a relative who can claim or 
 vindicate the honour, life, goods, &c., of 
 another as his own (Lev. xxv. 25 ; Ruth 
 iii. 13). SCULTETUS : Properly, a blood re- 
 lation, who claims or recovers the alienated 
 goods of a near relative, or himself from 
 slavery, or demands his blood, if slain at the 
 hands of the slayer (Num. xxxv. 12). 
 GROTIUS : A deliverer, in a general sense. 
 SCUULTENS and ROSENMULLER : An avenger. 
 GRYNIEUS and PYE SMITH : A deliverer or 
 avenger; here pointing to the Messiah. 
 UMBKEIT : A blood-avenger meaning God 
 who should appear as his avenger before his 
 death. LKE and HALES : An avenging Re- 
 deemer; viz. God, who should clear him of 
 all charges. TOWNSEND : His Redeemer, 
 
 (1) As the restorer of his temporal prosperity; 
 
 (2) The vindicator of his innocence; (3) The 
 redeemer of his soul from sin and death : 
 the several offices of the Goel united in the 
 person of Jesus Christ, who took our nature 
 
 and become our Kinsman. 7X13 (goel) 
 originally applied to a person whose duty it 
 was to maintain the rights, interests, and 
 reputation of a near relative, either by re- 
 purchasing his mortgaged inheritance, by 
 marrying his widow and saving his family 
 from extinction, by redeeming him from 
 servitude, or by avenging his blood ; applied 
 elsewhere to God as a Deliverer from any 
 kind of calamities. This believed, by some, 
 to be the application here, without any re- 
 ference to Christ. So MERCER, CALVIN, 
 GROTIUS, LE CLERC, PATRICK, WARBURTON, 
 HEATH, KENNICOTT, DATHE, DODERLEIN, 
 Dr. WETTE, BARNES, &c. GESENIUS : 
 
 (goali Mai), "my Redeemer 
 liveth,'' God Himself will deliver me from 
 
 these calamities. STICKEL observes 
 
 (goel) here used without O^'"! (haddam), 
 " of blood ; " hence employed in the more 
 general sen^e of a judicially Valid intercessor 
 and deliverer of life and property. So 
 OLSIIAUSEN and CONANT. Here a deliverer, 
 not an avenger of blood. On the other 
 hand, FAUSSET observes : Job uniformly 
 despairs of restoration and vindication in 
 this life (chap. xvii. 15, 16); therefore the 
 allusion here to a vindication in a future life. 
 According to MERCER, the Redeemer here 
 is God the Father. So called as delivering 
 the godly from their troubles. GROTIUS : 
 The view of the Jews and Socinians ; but 
 the office only appropriately ascribed to God 
 the Son, man's Kinsman ; and so always 
 understood elsewhere. Redemption peculiarly 
 ascribed to Christ. Job's Redeemer the 
 God-man, the " living one," yet standing on 
 the earth. SFEIFFER : The Incarnate Word. 
 PINEDA, TIRINUS, SCULTETUS, &c. : The 
 opinion of the fathers as well as of the earlier 
 and modern evangelical interpreters in 
 general. EPHREM SYRUS : A prediction of 
 the incarnate Emmanuel. MUNSTER : "Of 
 the Messiah, as the first-fruits of them that 
 slept." COCCEIUS : Christ is Redeemer, as 
 (1) Near of kin , (2) Redeeming by that 
 right; (3) Taking the prey from the unrigh- 
 teous possessor, and that without paying 
 him any price ; (4) Paying a price to the 
 true proprietor. All redemptions and de- 
 liverances of the Church ana people of God 
 ascribed to Christ, as Zech. ix. 11 ; Isa. 
 Ixiii. y ; Gen. xlviii. 1G. TOWNSEND ob- 
 serves : Job, in the age of error, may be 
 considered as the faithful witness in his day 
 to tho hope of the Messiah. BAKTLE, in his 
 "Bible Manual," remarks: Though having 
 no well-defined conception of the Messiah as 
 his Redeemer, Job yet expresses his expec- 
 tation that God would prove a Redeemer to 
 him, and the Vindicator of his innocence. 
 PINEDA : In the expression " My Re- 
 deemer," Job declares his singular love to 
 Christ, as in the expression "My brother" 
 (1 Kings xxx. 32). CARTWRIGHT : Job ap- 
 propriates Christ to himself, and calls Him 
 his own. 
 
 TJ (kluti) " liveth " or " living ; " always 
 lives, is immortal and eternal. So DRUSIUS 
 and MENOCHINS. CARTWRIGHT : " Liveth," 
 without distinction of time as past or future ; 
 God the Eternal I am : Christ, as God, lives 
 from eternity, while, as man, believes to 
 eternity: "Liveth," hath life in Himself 
 as the Prince of life; also denotes His 
 strength and power, as Ps. xxxviii. J9. 
 COCCEIUS : " Job opposes the Redeemer's 
 life to his own death : perhaps, also, nlludes 
 to the death of the Redeemer Himself" (Rev. 
 i. 18). SCULTFTUS: Although he shall die 
 
 291
 
 NOTES. 
 
 HOMILETIC COMMENTARY: JOB. 
 
 for me, yet is He the true and living God ; 
 the faith of the Old Testament saint is a 
 true and saving faith in Christ (Gen. xlviii. 
 16; Actsiv. 12; xv. 11). Juxius : "My 
 Redeemer liveth;" therefore, though men 
 may bury mv cause in oblivion, it remains 
 sate witli God. Others read : My Redeemer 
 is the Living One. So SCOTT, BYE SMITH, 
 Dr. HENOERSOX. HALES translates: My 
 Redeemer is living. Dr. THOMAS, in the 
 " Homilist " : My living Redeemer ; like 
 
 '[} '$ the livjng God, having life in Him- 
 
 self. " 
 
 " And that lie shall stand at the latter day 
 upon the earth" A clause very variously 
 
 interpreted and understood. "P^D^ (akharon) 
 
 from R (akhar, to remain, tarry, or be 
 behind ; here rendered " at the latter 
 day ; " properly " the last," but may be 
 
 used adverbially, with ? or < understood, as 
 in Isa. viii. 23 ; xxx. 8, &c. ; and then 
 meaning "at last." "At length he shall 
 stand (or appear) on the dust," i.e., on the 
 earth. So GESEXIUS, HEILIGSTEDT, 
 MAURER, NOYES. Or " Over the tomb," 
 as EWALT), ZOCKLER, and others. To 
 witness for him : DELITZSCH. To protect 
 him : FAUSSET. To deliver him : ZOCKLER. 
 Ancient translators seem to have read the 
 
 verb variously ; as OipK " I s ] ia ll rise." 
 So the VULGATE : " At the last day I shall 
 rise from the earth." " I? T " He shall raise 
 up." So the SEPTUAGIXT : " He shall raise 
 up my skin on the earth." E^P T "He shall 
 stand up or appear." So the SYRIAC and 
 ARABIC : " In the end he shall appear on 
 the earth." The TAKGUM: "And after- 
 wards his redemption shall rise upon the 
 earth." In this way THEODORET read the 
 word : " The last, one shall rise upon the 
 dust, or the tomb." So most of the transla- 
 tors at and since the Reformation. LUTHER, 
 however, following the Septuagint, has : 
 " He shall hereafter awaken me out of the 
 earth." But the Dutch and French 
 (MARTIN'S) versions: "He shall remain the 
 last on the earth." DIODATI'S Italian: 
 "At the last day he shall stand over the 
 dust." VATABLUS: "He shall stand over 
 the earth," i.e., in heaven. GROTIUS, CAS- 
 TALIO, LE CLERC : "At the last lie shall 
 stand over the dust," or earth. MERCER, 
 COCCEIUS, SCULTETUS : " Tho latter or last 
 One, he shall stand over the dust," i.e., on 
 the earth, as being to remain for ever. The 
 TIGURIXE : " In the last time he shall stand 
 over the dust," applying his power over it. 
 BROUGHTOX : " He shall rise upon the 
 
 dust," i.e., from death. Juxius " The latter 
 one or last man," &c., living again in the 
 resurrection and at the coming of Christ, 
 compared with the former or first man, as 
 in 1 Cor. xv. 42 ; perhaps Christ under-' 
 stood. MOXTAXUS: "The last one shall 
 rise again from the dead," alluding to 
 Christ, the first-fruits of them that slept ; 
 or, "He shall stand over the dust," .<?., 
 those lying in the dust. COCCEIUS : " The 
 last," as never leaving us, or as remaining 
 after all enemies are destroyed ; or, last in 
 life, alone immortal, ruling over death and 
 the dust ; or, as my deliverer, demanding 
 me from the dust, having abolished the claim 
 of death. SCULTETUS and GROTIUS : " Shall 
 stand over the dust," as conqueror, raising 
 it to life. CODURCUS : " The last shall stand 
 over the dust," at the last judgment the 
 Son of God and the f/oel of our race. 
 DRUSIUS and CARYL : "The last one," viz., 
 the Redeemer. So SCIIULTEXS : " The last 
 man" an epithet of Christ "He shall 
 stand over dust," the dust of the grave, to 
 claim this flesh from the spoiled prison of 
 death ; shall come as the avenger of a good 
 cause and of oppressed innocence, and will 
 put the crown of righteousness upon my 
 head. GRYKCEUS : " The last," for, "At the 
 last day." So WEJIYSS, GOOD, DATHE, 
 DODERLEIX : " At last he shall appear on the 
 earth." HALES: "At the last day he shall 
 stand over the dust," i.e., over mankind 
 shall rise in judgment. FRY: "At the end 
 he shall stand upon the earth." LEE : " In 
 the last age or hereafter" (the "last days" 
 of the prophets and apostles). Cox AST: 
 In after time. So NOYES, BARXES, HEX- 
 DERSOX. KITTO : " Hereafter or at last." 
 Many of the moderns, however, prefer the 
 
 other rendering of P, viz., "the last 
 one." So both the MICIIAELISES, STICKEL, 
 MAURER, HEILIGSIEPT, DE "WETTE, DE- 
 LITZSCII, SCOTT, PYE SMITH, Dr. ALEXAX- 
 I>ER, FAUSSET. ZOCKLER says: "As the 
 last one," surviving all, with special refer- 
 ence to Job himself. ROSEXMULLER: "He 
 shall stand to assist or avenge the dust, i.e., 
 
 the dead." HUFXAGEL, viewing "13V 
 
 ('aphat'} as from^jc "an enemy," has : "He 
 shall stand over or overcome my enemies." 
 A. CLARKE : He shall be manifest in the flesh, 
 and shall stand over them who sleep in the 
 dust, or who have been reduced to dust. 
 COXAXT: "He shall stand up," &c., as a 
 judge, and will decide the case in my favour, 
 as Ps. xii. 5 ; xliv. 20 ; or, " On the dust," 
 i.e., on the earth, including the sense of 
 cileness. NOYES : " Dust," probably em- 
 phatic, as coustrasted with heaven, the 
 residence of the Creator. DODERLEIX
 
 HOM1LETIC COMMENTARY: JOB. 
 
 x.n i .s 
 
 understands by " dust " the patriarch him- 
 self reduced to dust and ashes. So ZOCK- 
 LER: "The dust of my decayed body or of 
 my grave." KENNICOTT : " Over this'dust." 
 Dr. ALEXANDER : "By my dust." 
 
 The drift of this sublime declaration thus 
 variously understood. By most the sen- 
 tence is viewed as declarative of Job's as- 
 surance regarding the promised Redeemer 
 and future resurrection of the body. CAS- 
 TALTO : The reference is to the resurrection 
 of Christ, to be followed by that of all men. 
 The arguments in favour of this view, as 
 given by COCCEIUS, SCIIULTENS, and others : 
 (l)The sublime preface; (2) A final judg- 
 ment threatened by Job to his friends (verse 
 26) ; (3) His thoughts obviously lifted above 
 this world, and the tone of iiis discourse 
 now and henceforth more hopeful than be- 
 fore ; (4) All hope in this life already given 
 up (xvii. 5) ; (5) The opinion of the fathers, 
 as Jerome, Augustine, Cyprian, Gregory, 
 &c. ; (G) The interpretation of the Targu'm 
 and the Septuagint ; (7) The wish that this 
 testimony should be read after his death, 
 perhaps on a sepulchral pillar ; (8) The cer- 
 tainty expressed by him as resting on the 
 immovable foundation of faith, that his 
 Redeemer would come ; (9) The simplicity 
 of this interpretation; (10) Its agreement 
 with the argument and scope; (11) The 
 truth of the" thing itself; (12) The majesty 
 of the words; (13) The joyful hope ex- 
 hibited by the patriarch ; (14) The oneness 
 of the Spirit in patriarchs, apostles, and 
 all the faithful. TOWNSEND observes : These 
 words have always been interpreted by the 
 Church as expressive of the patriarch's faith 
 and hope in a spiritual Redeemer, who 
 should restore him after the deatli of his 
 body ; hence embodied by the Churches of 
 Rome and England in their offices for the 
 dead. LEE speaks of the passage as "a 
 recognition of the first promise made to Eve, 
 and therefore a prediction of the Messiah." 
 JEROME, in his Epistle to Pammachus, says : 
 " None speaks so plainly of the resurrection 
 after Christ, as Job does before Him." The 
 passage was also applied by some of the 
 Rabbis to the Messiah. Thus R. Hakkodesh : 
 "God shall be seen in our flesh; as Job 
 testifies. Out of my flesh I shall see God." 
 The reference to an existence beyond the 
 grave, apart from the resurrection of the 
 body, understood by some modern inter- 
 preters, asSciILOTTMANN,Z5CKLER, CONANT, 
 
 &c. 
 
 According to an opposite view, the refer- 
 ence is to a ftf/ui'dtice resurrection of Job, 
 and his restoration to a better condition in 
 this life. So GROTIUS, MERCER, CALVIN, 
 (who yet fluctuates between the two opinions,) 
 CHRYSOSTOM, AMBROSE, TiiEoriiYLACT, &c. 
 
 The argument in favour of this view, a? 
 given by MERCER, ROSENMULLER, B.VUXKS. 
 and others: (1) Its agreement with the 
 history ; (2) Its harmony with other passage? 
 of Scripture where a resurrection is spoken 
 of, as Ezekiel xxxvii. ; (3) The views of the 
 Hebrew writers, who, in searching for proof? 
 of the resurectiou, never mention this 
 passage ; (4) The doctrine of the resurrec- 
 tion not likely to be found in this place of 
 the Old Testament alone, nor in tlie Old 
 Testament at all; (5) Job's restoration to 
 prosperity and happiness solves the difficulty 
 of suffering innocence ; (6) The expectation 
 of restored health naturally kept by the poet 
 before Job's mind; (7) The assurance of 
 restoration natural to one conscious of suf- 
 fering innocently; (8) The language fairly 
 interpreted, not necessarily implying a refer- 
 ence to a future and literal resurrection ; 
 (9) Such a view inconsistent with the 
 argument, and with many other places in the 
 book; (10) The resurrection never referred 
 to as a topic of consolation either by Job or 
 his friends; (11) Such a view wholly in 
 advance of his age ; (12) All that the words 
 fairly convey met by the supposition that 
 they refer to the events at the end. STICKEL, 
 observes, that the decision of the mystery is 
 given in the Epilogue without the immor- 
 tality of the spirit being in the remotest 
 manner touched ; and adds, that Job's vindi- 
 cation required to be on the earth, and before 
 those who were acquainted with the matter, 
 or the inscription would be meaningless. 
 NOTES : The idea of the resurrection incon- 
 sistent with the general design, the course 
 of the argument, the connection of the dis- 
 course, and several express declarations, as 
 vii. 7, 8; x. 2022; xiv., passim. EWALD 
 however, on the contrary, asserts : That 
 through the certainty of that truth alone 
 could the contest be victoriously carried on ; 
 while the more respectable of the reformed 
 Biblical interpreters essentially agreed with 
 the Vulgate in understanding the passage of 
 a literal resurrection. So many Orientalists 
 and Hebraists, as SCIIULTENS, both the 
 
 MlCIIAELISES,WELTIIAUSEN,RoSEN3lULI,Elf, 
 
 GOOD, &c. CONANT observes, that the views 
 of early Christian fathers, who differed in 
 their interpretation of the passage, arc of 
 little account on either side, having been 
 based on the defective translations of the 
 Septuagint, the Itala, and the Vulgate. 
 " And tliouffk after my slci/i worm destroy 
 
 this body" (JW ISlM n "W] re.akl.af 
 V* ntickephoo :oth.) These words" variously 
 rendered and understood. ^SJjpO (niklc>: 
 phoo, from *)l?5 " to strike, or cut ; " Piel 
 from, to destroy ; or, according to some, IVoni 
 
 '
 
 NOTES. 
 
 110M1LETIC COMMENTARY: JOB. 
 
 ^W ^P^ " to surround." GESENIUS, in 
 1829, rendered the passage: "After they 
 have destroyed my skin (equivalent to, 
 'After my skin has been destroyed'), this 
 shall be," viz., that God shall appear. In 
 1S40, he preferred to render it : "After my 
 skin, which they shall have destroyed, this 
 shall be." The SEPTUAGINT has: "he shall 
 raise up my skin on the earth, which has 
 endured such things." The VULGATE, fol- 
 lowed by COYERDALE and LUTHER : " Again 
 I shall be surrounded with my skin." TAR- 
 GUM : " After my skin shall have been taken 
 away, or burnt up, this shall be," viz., that 
 my Redeemer shall remain the last. SYRIAC : 
 "After this has spread all over and around 
 my body." DIODATI: "However, af I er my 
 skin, this body be corroded." MARTIN : 
 " When, after my skin, this shall have been 
 devoured." DUTCH: "After my skin has 
 been eaten." TIGURINE : "After they (the 
 Trinity) have surrounded this with my skin." 
 CASTALIO : " After this (my body) shall be 
 surrrounded with my skin." MONTANUS 
 and PAGNINUS : "Alter they have bruised 
 this my skin." MUNSTER : "After [worms] 
 shall have gnawed this body." JUNIUS : 
 "After [worms] shall have pierced this, 
 
 when I wake up," reading ('oori) in- 
 
 stead of ~^y (rui). PISCATOR -. " Although 
 after my skin they (worms) pierce this," 
 supplying "^ (c/ii), or EN (/). MERCER : 
 "After my skin (corroded and consumed 
 with my whole body), they (the worms in my 
 ulcers, or my extreme pains) have shaken this 
 (viz., his body, not named, as so deformed, 
 but pointed to)." COCCEIUS: "After they 
 have stripped this that remains of my skin, 
 or this my skin, the whole of it, even to 
 this particle; or, after my skin has burst, 
 there shall be this, pointing to his body." 
 VATAELUS-. "After my skin (has been per- 
 forated,) pains have broken this [mass of 
 bones]." GROTIUS: "Although not. only my 
 skin, but also this (the fat that is under it), 
 disease has consumed." DE DIEU : "After 
 my skin has been consumed, they (my 
 redeemer) shall make this to follow," viz., 
 that I shall see God. SEB. SCHMIDT: 
 " After my skin has ceased to be," viz., after 
 my death. CALOVIUS, and GERHARD: 
 " After my being raised up, this (all I see 
 witli my bodily eyes) shall be destroyed." J. 
 H. MICHAELIS : " When, therefore, after my 
 skin, worms shall have despatched this." 
 LE CLEEC: "If after my skin they have 
 crushed this to pieces." HALES : " After 
 my skin has been mangled thus." SCHUL- 
 TENS : "After they (my pains and ulcers) 
 have bruised my skin in this manner." STOCK : 
 294, 
 
 "After they shall have swathed my skin, 
 even this." KENNKOTT: "After they (my 
 adversaries) have mangled me thus." J. D. 
 MICHAELIS, and SCOTT the translator: "My 
 skin, which is thus torn, shall become an- 
 other," i. e., shall be renewed. DODERLEIN : 
 " I shall cast away my skin," understanding 
 -inN for -inNN- ' WEMYSS: "Though 
 this skin of mine is thus corroded." GOOD : 
 " After the disease has destroyed my skin." 
 PYE SMITH: "Has cut down my skin." 
 ADAM CLARKE: "After my skin they 
 (diseases and afflictions) destroy this 
 [wretched composition of misery and cor- 
 ruption]." ROSENMULLER: "Yviicn after 
 my skin this [body] has been broken into 
 fragments." BOOTHROYD: "If after my 
 skin this [body] be destroyed." DE WETTE : 
 "After my skin, which "has been mangled, 
 even this here." So EWALD, HIRZEL, and 
 ZOCKLER. NOYES : " Though with my skin 
 this body be wasted away." DELITZSCH : 
 "After my skin, which is thus mangled." 
 CONANT, SCHLOTSMANN, and CAREY: "After 
 this my skin shall be destroyed." BARNES : 
 "Though after my skin the flesh be de- 
 stroyed ; " or, "after my skin has been pierced 
 through thus." FAUCETT : "Though after 
 my skin (is no more), this [body] is de- 
 stroyed," the body not deserving to be 
 named. FRY : " After I awake shall this be 
 brought to pass," reading, like Junius and 
 
 Calovius, .W instead of 
 
 " Yel in my flesh shall I see God" 
 (mMesari), literally, "from my flesh," 
 variously translated and understood. The 
 VULGATE has: "in my flesh." The TAR- 
 GUM : " Out of my body." MARTIN (French) : 
 " From my flesh." DIODATI (Italian) : 
 "With my' flesh." PAGNINUS, MONTANUS, 
 MERCER, "PISCATOR, JUNIUS and TREMEL- 
 LIUS: "Out of my flesh." CASTALIO: 
 " From my body." VATABLUS: "After my 
 flesh has been wasted," or, "After the 
 affliction endured in my flesh." So R. 
 N ACHMAXN. MERCER -. " Out of so great, 
 affliction of my flesh." COCCEIUS: "Out 
 of my flesh," not put off, but received. 
 CALVIN : " In my flesh," after I have 
 been restored to a new state, uncertain 
 what. So GRYNCEUS : "Out of my revivi- 
 fied flesh." BROUGHTON : " From my flesh, 
 I being raised and clothed Avith flesh." GUS- 
 SET : "Out of my flesh, as my abode. J. II. MI- 
 CHAELIS : " From out, of my flesh." KENNI- 
 COTT : " Even in my llcsh." ADAM CLARKE : 
 Either, " See Him in my renewed body," 
 or, " See Him as my kinsman in my flesh 
 and blood." FRY: "Of my flesh," i.e., of 
 my nature and kindred, as Gen. ii., 23. 
 LEE : " From or out of my flesh," i.e., while
 
 HOMILETIC COMMENTARY: JOS. 
 
 XOTKS. 
 
 still in it. KITTO : " In his flesli before he 
 died, or in his flesli restored to soundness." 
 BART ii (Bible Manual) : " When the flesh 
 is raised up " in the re-animated glorified 
 body. FAUSSET and ROSEN MULLER (Second 
 Edition) : " From my renewed body," as the 
 starting point of vision, as Cant. ii. 9, the 
 next clause proving bodily vision to be 
 meant. STICKEL : " Without my flesh," 
 as a mere skeleton ; Job now comes to the 
 point in which God, according to Satan's 
 desire, "touched his bone and his flesh ;" 
 with only his life spared. MAURER: "After 
 my flesli has been all wasted away, yet still 
 in the body." So CHRYSOSTOM, UMBREIT, 
 
 HlRZEL, llElLIGSTEDT, HAHN, NoYES. 
 
 BARNES : " let even without my flesh," 
 COLEMAN : " Apart from my flesh." EWALD: 
 "Without my flesh," i.e., as a glorified spirit. 
 So VAIHINGER, SCIILOTTMANN, DILLMANN, 
 DELITZSCII, ZOCKLER. 
 
 "I shall see God." According toPiscATOR, 
 CODURCUS, and others, Job foretells the incar- 
 nation of the Divine Word. MERCER: "I 
 shall contemplate him," discern His power, 
 providence, and goodness in preserving me." 
 GROTIUS : " Shall experience him propitious 
 to me." So HUFNAGEL and ROSENMULLER. 
 COCCEIUS : " Shall behold him in beatific 
 vision," as Ps. xvi. 11; xvii. 15; Matt. v. 
 8 : 1 John iii. 2. MENOCHIUS : Shall see 
 Christ with bodily eyes, but his Divine 
 Esssence with the eyes of the mind. SCHUL- 
 TENS : Shall then see God face to face, since 
 access to him is denied me in this life ; shall 
 see God in glory, not the God-man who is 
 the Gael. SEB. SCHMIDT: Shall see God 
 incarnate as the Messiah. DODERLEIN: 
 From my condition, I shall understand that 
 God wishes well to me and approves my 
 life. LE CLERC : The expectation fulfilled 
 when God spoke to him out of the whirl- 
 wind. STICKEL : Expresses the expectation 
 of a vindication of his innocence before his 
 death, though it should be only in the last 
 moments of his life. So HOFMANN. NOYES: 
 Shall see God interposing in my favour. 
 DELITZSCU : Shall see God spiritually after 
 death ; Job's hope, not that of a resurrec- 
 tion, but of a life beyond the grave, and so a 
 breaking through the idea of Hades. 
 EWALD : Refers to the immortality of Hie 
 soul in the spirit-world. Dr. THOMAS, in 
 the Homilist : Refers to bodily, not mental, 
 vision ; the resurrection of the dead found 
 taught here as resulting upon the advent 
 of the Messiah. So AUGUSTINE -. Job pro- 
 phesies of the resurrection ; " I shall be m 
 my flesh when T see God." So CLT.MKNS 
 ROMANUS, ORIGEN, CYRILL of JERUSALEM, 
 EPIIREM SYRUS, AMBROSE, EHPIIANIUS, 
 JEROME, LUTHKK, &c. 
 
 Verse 27. " Whom I shall see for m 
 
 ''See," repeated for emphasis: LEE. / 
 (//), literally " for me or myself," variously 
 understood. The SEPTUAGIXT renders the 
 passage : " Which tilings I know in myself." 
 VULGATE: "Whom I myself shall see." 
 MERCER: "Whom I shall discern to be for 
 me, by His kindness in preserving me." 
 SCULTETUS , " For me," i.e., for my good. 
 
 So MONTANUS, PlSCATOR, PAGNINUS, and 
 
 COCCEIUS. JUNIUS and TREMKLLIUS: "The 
 same that I shall see for me." CASTALIO: 
 " Whom I indeed myself shall see." VATA- 
 BLUS : " I shall enjoy the sight of Him to 
 my salvation." COCCEIUS : " Whom I shall 
 see, not angry but abounding in love, to my 
 life and joy, or as mine." MUNSTER : " On 
 my side." So KENNICOTT, HALES, SCOTT, 
 WEMYSS, BOOTH ROYD, CODURCUS : " Whom 
 I even contemplate as standing by me." 
 GROTIUS : " 1, 1 say, with these eyes shall 
 
 see him," V being emphatic. GRYNO>:US : 
 " Whom T shall see as favourable to me, or 
 as eternally mine." J. D. MICIIAELIS : 
 "For myself." So GOOD, BARNES, Dr. 
 ALEXANDER. Dr. CHALMERS: "For my- 
 self and my own comfort." Dr. THOMAS : 
 " In my proper personality." COLEMAN : 
 " As my own." NOYES : " As my friend." 
 KITTO : " Interposing on my behalf." 
 FAUSSET : " For my advantage." So HEILIG- 
 STEDT, MAURER, PYE SMITH. ZOCKLER: 
 " For my salvation." DELITZSCU : " Whom 
 I shall see, I, for my salvation." DE 
 WETTE: "Yea, I shall see Him myself." 
 CON ANT : " Whom I, for myself, shall see." 
 So SCIILOTTMANN. SCOTT: "Expresses 
 more explicitly and emphatically his faitli 
 that in a disembodied state he should see 
 God." CAREY: "Whom that I may see 
 as my own," the object of the desire in 
 the last clause. BARTII-. "Anticipates 
 partly his justification, and partly compensa- 
 tion 'for his sufferings." ADAM CLARKE : 
 "Speaks as having a personal interest ill 
 the resurrection as in the Redeemer." 
 "And my eyes shall Miold" The Sep- 
 
 tuagint translates ^1 ( ra0 o) as past: 
 
 "Which things mine eye hath seen." So 
 MONTANUS, CODUKCUS and COCCEITS: 
 " My eyes have seen." The latter explains 
 by saying: "The eyes of my mind have 
 seen and tasted beforehand in my heart 
 the vision of God by the illumination of 
 the Holy Spirit," Conimcus translates: 
 " I myself have seen with these eyes ; " and 
 adds, "applying to himself the resurrection 
 common to all the saints." MERCER renders 
 the verb as present : " Whom my rvrs see 
 not corporeally but spiritually : I con- 
 template His po'wcr willi the eyes of ^my
 
 NOTES. 
 
 H03IILETIC COMMENTARY : JOS. 
 
 mind." JUNTOS, followed by CARYL, lias : 
 " Whom I myself shall see with these eyes, 
 being restored, though now I be entirely 
 dissolved." MUNSTER has : " Inasmuch as 
 I myselt shall behold him." SCHULTENS 
 views the words as equivalent to " I be- 
 lieve the resurrection especially of myself." 
 ROSENMULLER : " I shall see with the eyes 
 of my renewed body." HUFNAGEL: "I 
 shall yet experience that God makes me 
 happy." Dr. THOMAS, in the Homilist, 
 
 observes that ^^^ (raah) implies bodily 
 vision. 
 
 " And not another." "1J (zar) from 
 "flT (zoor] to " turn aside ; " a stranger. 
 The word differently understood. GESENIUS 
 renders it here "an adversary." "So 
 PINEDA, BOLDUC, STICKEL, CAREY. MER- 
 CER, MONTANUS, and PAGNINUS : " A 
 stranger." So DE WETTE and MICHAELIS. 
 
 CONANT observes that 1J denotes only a 
 national enemy, and translates : " Another." 
 
 So SCHLOTTMANN. VATABLUS lias t 
 
 "Another," with "for me" understood. So 
 DRUSIUS, COCCEIUS, GROTIUS, MERCER-. 
 " I who know my pain and grief and not a 
 stranger." OSIANDER: "Not a hypocrite," 
 a stranger in faith and hope. SCULTETUS 
 and CODUBCTJS : " In this body and not 
 another," as Isa. xxvi. 39. HENRY: "He 
 and not another for him shall be seen ; " or, 
 "I and not another for me." CARYL: "I 
 myself, the very man who now speaks, and 
 not changed into another ; " intimating a 
 personal resurrection. So GREGORY and 
 BEZA. MAYER : " To show that as Christ 
 lives again after death, so shall all the faith- 
 ful, and that in the same bodies in which 
 they lived before." GRYNCEUS : " Not only 
 your eyes, who in this might think you had 
 a precedency over me." HALES: "Not 
 estranged from me." So KENNICOTT, DATHE, 
 UMISREIT, WEMYSS, SCOTT, PYE SMITH. 
 A. CLARKE : " Not a stranger, who has no 
 relation to human nature." BOOTUROYD : 
 " Not another's [eyes]." DELITZSCJI : " I 
 and not another person." 
 
 " Though r,n/ reins be cotmimed within me" 
 T?D? V?? "3 (caloo chilyothai lekheki) 
 literally : " My reins are consumed in my 
 bosom." So GESENIUS and others; under- 
 standing : " From desire and longing for this 
 consummation." The SEFTUAGINT has : 
 " All things have been fulfilled to me in my 
 bosom.]' VULGATE: "This my hope has 
 been laid up in my bosom." TAKGU M : " My 
 reins are consumed in my bosom." SYRIAC : 
 " My reins are consumed on account of my 
 cause." CovERDALE: "My reins are con- 
 sumed within me, when ye say," &c. GENEVA 
 version : " My strength has been consumed 
 
 296 
 
 and destroyed." VATABLUS: "My bowels 
 have failed from affliction." SCULTETUS : 
 " From sorrow and pain." LE CLERC : 
 " From indignation." MERCER : " My reins 
 
 have been consumed in my bosom " s i?D^ 
 (in my bosom) expressing the greatci 
 violence of his pain. PISCATOR and others 
 supply, as in our authorized version : " AL- 
 though." CODURCUS has : " My desires 
 have been fulfilled in my bosom." The 
 TIGURINE translators view the expression as 
 equivalent to : " Which alone is my desire." 
 Similarly, CARYL and HENRY : " I have 
 nothing more to desire." DE DIEU : " My 
 reins are consumed with desire in my bosom," 
 as Ps. Ixxxiv. 3. So SCULTETUS* : " I also 
 faint with desire of seeing him." COCCEIUS 
 and SCHULTENS: "With desire of seeing 
 him clearly and openly." Dutch annotators : 
 " With desire of obtaining so great a bless- 
 ing." SEE. SCHMIDT connects with what 
 follows : " Because ye say," &c. SCIIULTKNS 
 regards the words as part of the desired 
 inscription. J. II. MICHAELIS: "From 
 desire of him, or of it, my reins are consumed 
 in my bosom." So GREGORY : " I burn with 
 desire of enjoying that wished-for time." To 
 the same effect, J. D. MICHAELIS, DATHE, 
 
 ROSENSIULLER, D AVETTE, PATRICK, 
 
 WEMYSS, SCOTT, and ZOCKLER. A. CLARKE : 
 "My reins, i.e., my desires are spent;" 
 equivalent 1 o : "Though now apparently at 
 the point of death." KENNICCTT: "All this 
 have I made up in my own bosom." PYE 
 SMITH: "The thoughts of my bosom are 
 accomplished." BOOTHROYD : " Accom- 
 plished shall be the desires of my breast." 
 LEE: "When my reins," &c. ; connecting 
 with the preceding. HOMILIST : " Should 
 my reins have been consumed," &c. 
 
 VERSE 18. "Seeing the root of the mutter 
 is found in me." For ^ (bi) " in me," up- 
 wards of a hundred of MSS. have ^ (bo) 
 
 " in him." The expression 
 (shoresh dabhar), literally, "the root of a 
 word or matter," very variously understood. 
 The interpretations reduceable to four : (1) 
 A "round of accusation; (2) A ground of 
 dispute ; (3) The true faith ; (i) A holy life. 
 The first and second are the most probable, 
 and now generally adopted: "[HowJ shall we 
 find the root of the dispute or ground of accu- 
 sation in him ? " So GESENIUS, DELITSZCH, 
 NOYES, CAREY, ZOCKLER, and others, reading 
 
 NiZpp (nimtsa) as first person plural in Kal. 
 The SEPTUAGI^JT has: "And find the root 
 of the word in him." VULGATE and TARGUM: 
 " And let us find the root of a word against 
 them." LUTHER : " And find a matter 
 nsrainst him." COVERUALE: "We have
 
 HOMILET1C COMMENTARY: JOB. 
 
 RON I. 
 
 found an occasion against him." MARTIN 
 (French): "Since the foundation of my 
 words is found in me." DIODATI (Italian):' 
 " Since the root of the word is found in me.' 
 So MONTAGUS, MERCER, VATABLUS, PAGNI- 
 NUS, PISCATOR, JUNIUS, and TREMELLIUS. 
 COCCEIUS : " And the root of the matter has 
 been found in me," or is in me ; change of 
 person for " in him." Mercer understands 
 the expression as implying Job's innocence. 
 CoDUiicus: "And that the cause of the 
 quarrel is in me." So DE DIEU, POOLE, and 
 SCHULTENS. GRYNCEUS : " The cause," &c. 
 viz., that I' am a wicked man, and so deserv- 
 ing the calamities. HUFNAGEL : "Why 
 sought we the cause of his misfortune in 
 himself." AQUINAS, JEROME, BEDE, SANC- 
 TIUS, understand by " The root," &c., the 
 words which Job had spoken, or some other 
 charge which the friends brought against 
 him. According to TIRINUS : " An occasion 
 of calumniating him." OSIANDER : " Of 
 chiding him." The Dutch annotators regard 
 it as the affliction he endured, or the confes- 
 sion he had just made. COCCEIUS: "The 
 
 ground of speaking boldly." VATABLUS: 
 " Truth and innocence." PISCATOR : " Solid 
 arguments." GROTIUS : " A good founda- 
 tion." CODURCUS translates : "The root of 
 the question;" and understands it of the 
 faith and hope of the resurrection. Accord- 
 ing to the Assembly's Annotations: "The 
 root of the Divine Word, or promise of a 
 Redeemer." J. H. MICHAELIS and SEB. 
 SCHMIDT understand the expression as : " The 
 foundation of his faith." KENNICOTT and 
 SCOTT have : " The truth of the matter." 
 HALES, with the Dutch annotators : "The 
 strength of the argument." The TIGURINE : 
 "The foundation of the matter of salvation." 
 CARTWRIGIIT: "Integrity of heart; the 
 grace of God; true faith." So MAYER, 
 SIMON, J. D. MICHAELIS, BARNES, and 
 FAUSSET. LE CLERC : " The Word of God." 
 EARTH: "The assurance he lias just ex- 
 pressed." GOOD translates : " When the root 
 of the matter is disclosed in me." WEJIYSS: 
 " Since there is no ground of accusation in 
 me." FRY : " A ground of accusation is in- 
 vented against me." 
 
 CHAPTER XXXII. 
 
 VERSE 2. " Elite" i . my God is 
 He ;" or, according to some : " My God is 
 Jehovah." Yarious opinions concerning 
 him, both as to his personality, speeches, and 
 character. He has been considered by some 
 as Balaam, the son of Beor. So JEROME, 
 BEDE, LYRA, and some Rabbins. BEDE saw 
 in him a type of the enemies of the church. 
 Bishop WARBURTON thinks him to have been 
 Ezra, the scribe. Some, as COLEMAN, have 
 supposed him to be the Son of God a mani- 
 festation of the Second Person of the Trinity 
 in the form of a man ; a prclibation of His 
 incarnation; what Melchizcdech was to 
 Abraham. HODGE regards him as a repre- 
 sentative character of the Messiah. KITTO 
 makes him a comparatively obscure and un- 
 known person. According to KIEL and 
 others he was a fourth friend of Job. 
 ZOCKLER understands him to have been a 
 near kinsman of the Patriarch, and not be- 
 longing to the party of friends. According to 
 GREGORY: A mere braggadocio; full of 
 pride and vainglory ; had the knowledge of 
 God, and boasted of it not a little : from his 
 pride and self-conceit, a type of those who, 
 being left to themselves, become proud 
 of their knowledge. So CODUHCUS and 
 MICHAELIS regard him as "highly con- 
 ceited." STJUGELIUS sees in him an example 
 of an ambitious orator, full of ostentation 
 and audacity. So HERDER, UUBHEIT, HAHN, 
 
 DILLMANN. Professor TURNER speaks of 
 him as manifesting a degree of veneration for 
 Job and his friends, but speaking as an in- 
 flated youth, wishing to conceal his self- 
 sufficiency under an appearance of modesty. 
 According to VAIHINGER and others, he 
 attempts to give a solution of the problem, 
 but cannot. An entirely opposite view, how- 
 ever, is taken of him by AUGUSTIN, CIIKY- 
 SOSTOM, AQUINAS, BRENTIUS, CALVIN, 
 
 SCHULTENS, SCHLOTTMANN, ZoCKLER, and 
 
 most of the defenders of the authenticity of 
 the speeches ascribed to him. According to 
 COCCEIUS and others, he "excelled in modesty, 
 as in wisdom." CARPZOV: "Younger, but 
 not inferior to the others in piety." SCULTE- 
 TUS : " Rightly, but too severely blames Job's 
 speeches." SCOTT, the translator, observes 
 that the sacred writer bears witness to his 
 modesty, and that Job's attention evidences 
 the pertinence of his speeches; while his 
 plan for humbling Job was pursued and com- 
 pleted by the Almighty Himself. According 
 to HUFNAGKL, he defines the state of the 
 question; hits the true point of view in rela- 
 tion to Job's conduct more than his prede- 
 cessors, neither suspecting his piety, nor 
 charging him with vice, but objecting to In 
 impatience, and a finding fault with Divine 
 Providence: with much power of compre- 
 hension and real goodness of heart, lit- lia-. 
 however, too little experience. Kltt,wm>
 
 XOtES. 
 
 UOMILETIC COMMENTAHY: JOB. 
 
 defends him, observes that it was not neces- 
 sary to mention him in the preface; as 
 parties were only introduced when they 
 were to act or speak. According to 
 ZOCKLEH, lie is only introduced to point out 
 the sinfulness and perversity of Job's 
 speeches, and to humble his pride ; his part 
 
 in the poem no breach of the connection be- 
 tween Job's speeches and God's, and not 
 superfluous, though leaving the mystery un- 
 solved. Elihu the only one of the speakers 
 whose genealogy is given : hence, thought by 
 LiGiiTrooT and B.OSENMULLER to have been 
 the author of the book. 
 
 CHAPTER XXXIX. 
 
 VERSE 13. " Gavast tJiou Hie goodly icings 
 vnto l/ie peacock, or wings and feathers unto 
 the ostrich <"' (MARGIN : " The feathers of 
 the stork and ostrich.") The whole verse 
 very variously rendered. In the first mem- 
 ber, instead of "the peacock," the term 
 
 ^ tf '. (renanini) is more correctly translated 
 
 " ostriches," being derived from P"2 (ranati) 
 to " sing, or utter a shrill sound," and ap- 
 plied to the ostrich from its shrill nocturnal 
 cry. So BOCHART, SCHTJLTEXS, GESENIUS, 
 and others. Other reasons given for this 
 translation : (1) The authority of Jerome ; 
 
 (2) The resemblance in the meaning of Q^-P. 
 and D 11 ^ (ya'anini), the latter being 
 the ordinary name of the ostrich ; (3) The 
 alacrity of the ostrich depending all on its 
 wings ; (4) The ostrich otherwise not named. 
 The ostrich is literally the "crying bird;" 
 the Arabs being accustomed to name things 
 rather from their character. So HEISKE and 
 FAUSSET. The word in the text first 
 rendered " peacock," by POMARIUS, and then 
 hesitatingly adopted by PAGNINUS, MONTA- 
 NUS, VATABLUS, MERCER, &c., and all 
 
 modern versions : EOOTHROYD. 
 (ne'elasa/i) liere rendered " goodly," is rather 
 
 the Niphal of the verb thy ('alas} to " re- 
 
 joice, exult," as in chap xx. 18 ; or, according 
 to others, to make a vibrating noise. 
 GESEMUS renders the word : " Moveth joy- 
 fully." SCHULTENS : " Is full of exultation ; 
 is always moving." According to MERCER, 
 the word is rarely found in Scripture, but is 
 
 cognate with ('alats) or (*alaz) to 
 
 "exult, or triumph." DRUSIUS, COCCEIUS, 
 and SCULTETUS render the clause : " The 
 wing of the peacocks is joyful, or moves joy- 
 fully. "VATABLUS : " Is full of joy and 
 pleasure." MERCER: "Does the wing of 
 the peacock exult joyfully from thee ?" 
 PAGXIXUS : " The peacock exults in its 
 wings." GROTIUS : " Canst thou give the 
 exulting wings of the peacocks ?" MUXSTER: 
 298 
 
 "A wing to exult, or to be exulted in." 
 MOXTANUS : " The wing of the exulting 
 ones is joyful." DODERLEIX : " She is one 
 that exults with sounding wing" supply, 
 " does she fly by thy wisdom?" STICKEL: 
 "The ostrich rejoices with fluttering wings." 
 HUFXAGEL : " Joyfully move the sounding 
 feathers and wing." MICHAELIS : " To the 
 morning dawn the ostrich lifts its wings." 
 UMBREIT : " The wing of the ostrich [which] 
 lifts itself joyfully." HERDER: "A wing 
 with joyous cry is uplifted yonder." SCOTT 
 and BOOTIIROYD : " The wing of the ostrich 
 is triumphantly expanded." STOCK: "Is set 
 to flutter." GOOD and "WEMTSS : " The 
 wing of the ostrich tribe is for flapping." 
 PARKHUBST : " Quivers, or flutters up and 
 down." HOSEXMULLER : " Exults." COLE- 
 MAN : " Flaps exultingly." NOTES and 
 FAUSSET : " Moveth joyfully." LEE : " In 
 the exulting wing of the ostrich [wilt thou 
 put thy trust ?]" BARNES : " The wing of 
 the exulting fowls moves joyfully ;" not their 
 beauty, but their exulting, joyful, triumphant 
 appearance being the object of attraction. 
 FRY : " Is the flapped wing of the ostrich 
 from thee." CAREY : " The wing of the 
 ostrich thrilleth joyously." CONANT : ""Waves 
 exulting." DE WETTE: " Swings joyfully." 
 ZOCKLER : "Flaps joyfully." Of the ancient 
 and earlier versions, the SEPTUAGIXT has : 
 " The wing of the rejoicing ones ; " leaving 
 
 p/ untranslated. The VULGATE: "The 
 wing of the ostrich is extolled." SYRIAC : 
 " The wing of those that praise is lifted up." 
 ARABIC-. " The wing of praise." TARGUM : 
 " The wing of the wild cock, which sings 
 and exults." SYMMACIIUS : "The wing of 
 exultation grows around." AQUILA : " The 
 wing of the praising ones folds up." COVER- 
 DALE: "The ostrich, whose feathers are 
 fairer," &c. LUTHER; " The feathers of the 
 peacock are finer," c. MARTIN (French): 
 " Has thou given to the peacock that 
 plumage which is so brilliant." DIODATI 
 (Italian) : " The wings of the peacock, are 
 they beautiful by thy doing ? " 
 
 The rendering of the second member of
 
 HOMILETIC COMMENTARY: JOB. 
 
 NOTES. 
 
 the verse (HSil HTDQ iTDN DN ( im 
 ebhrah hasidhah ce-notsuli) equally various. 
 According to GESENIUS, ""^PN (ebhrali) 
 
 from tlie unused Hoot ~Q^ (abluir), 
 probably "to be strong, able to mount aloft ; " 
 a pinion or strong feather : distinguished 
 f rom ^33 (canaph) a wing, and $\ 
 (natsah*) a common feather. PISCATOR, and 
 some earlier interpreters, make the word, 
 which is elsewhere a " feather," to be here 
 an "ostrich." The SEPTUAGINT leaves the 
 words JTjO and nTOH untranslated. The 
 VULGATE has : " [ the wing of the ostrich is 
 extolled] like the wing of the heron and the 
 
 hawk;" reading PI2H as if Yr? or n ' SYIUAC 
 and ARABIC : "It flies, and conies, and builds 
 its nest." COPTIC : "If the stork and ostrich 
 could comprehend it;" which seems to be 
 as destitute of meaning as the Septuagint 
 itself. COVERDAI>E : " [Fairer] than the 
 wings of the sparrow-hawk." LUTHEK : 
 " Than the wings and feathers of the stork." 
 MARTIN (French) : "Or to the ostrich 
 [gavebt thou] the wings and the feathers ? " 
 DIODATI (Italian) : " Has the ostrich its 
 feathers and plumage from thee?" MERCER, 
 VATABLUS, and PAGNINUS: "Is the wing of 
 the stork and its feathers so ? " i.e., is it joy- 
 ful or a cause of pleasure ? or, has the stork 
 such a wing and plumage ? or, is it from 
 thee? MUNSTER : "Or hast thou given 
 wings and plumage to the stork?" SCULTETUS: 
 " Or the wing of the stork and ostrich ? " 
 GROTIUS, PISCATOR, JuNius,audTREMELLius: 
 "Or feathers to the stork and ostrich?" 
 COCCEITJS : " Or if you wish a larger wing, 
 that of the stork and ostrich." CASTALIO, 
 including the preceding member: "Which 
 are more noble, the wing of the ostrich, or 
 the feathers and plumage of the stork ? ' 
 So OSIANDER : "Are the wings of the 
 ostrich more elegant than the wing and 
 feather of the stork ? " TIGUIUNE version : 
 "The wing of the ostrich bears the palm, if 
 you compare with it the wing or feather of 
 the stork." BociiART: " [The wing of the 
 
 ostrich exults] ; verily the wing of the stork 
 and the feathers ; " i.e., which are verily a 
 wing and plumage as is in the stork ; or, 
 the wings, I say, of the stork ? 3 bein? under- 
 stood as in Genesis xix. 9 ; the ostrich being 
 not, so much a bird as a beast ; whence the 
 Arab proverb : "The ostrich is neither bird 
 nor camel ;" and if s name among the Persians, 
 the camel-bird, as resembling a camel in its 
 neck, height, and walk, and a bird in its bill 
 and feathers. SIMON : " Does it resemble 
 the tail and feathers of the stork ? " 
 SCHULTENS : "Is its wing and plumage an 
 affectionate one ? " with allusion to the stork. 
 HUPNAGEL and MICHAELIS : "The ostrich 
 flies like the stork and the hawk." 
 DODERLEIN : " With the feathers of the s>tork 
 and the hawk." STOCK: "Hath her affection 
 taken wings and flown away ? " PARKHURSIS 
 " But is it the wing of the stork and it : 
 plumage ? " STICKEL : " Is it the stork-like, 
 affectionate, pinions and feathers? " EWALD: 
 
 " Is it a pious pinion and plumage ? " EN 
 being interrogative. DE WETTE : " Is his 
 wing also affectionate, and his plumage?" 
 SCOTT . " Is it the pinion and feathers of the 
 stork ? " not like the stork, providing for 
 the security of its young. UMBREIT : ' Is it 
 not like the quill and feathers of the pious 
 bird the stork ? "is it like the pious bird ? 
 surely not. NOYES: " But is it with loving 
 pinion and feathers ? " CAKEY : " Is the 
 feather and plumage that of the stork ? " 
 BARNES: " Has it the wing and plumage of 
 the stork ? " flying without being endowed 
 with the wings of the stork, and contrasted 
 in its habits with those of that bird. BOOTII- 
 ROYD : " Her pinions and feathers as those 
 of the stork." COLEMAN : " Truly they have 
 goodly pinions and plumage." Fuv : " Or 
 is the swollen pinion and plumage from thcc?" 
 LEE : " Or are her choice feathers and head- 
 plumage from thee ? " GOOD and WEMYSS : 
 " But the wings of the stork and the falcon 
 arc for flight." HOSENMULLEK: "Truly its 
 wing and plumage is like that of the stork." 
 ZOCKLEU : " Though, is it a pious pinion and 
 plumage ? " 
 
 CHAPTER XL. 
 
 VERSE 15. "Behold now behemoth" Various 
 pinions as to what is meant by the term 
 ' hplipmntli ." Afirordiiir to GESENIUS, 
 
 HI11011S OS I/O lluu 13 JJIUUMU uj "'v " i . .. 
 
 behemoth." According to GESENIUS, large quadruped : the hippo* 
 ,*w* . . . ,,. i i-rnnm BoCHART : the river-horse or hi 
 
 is the plural of 
 
 (Mic muh, from the unused Hoot D?? 
 ~fV. in the Xlh conjugation, "to be dumb"), 
 
 a quadruped of the larger sort, living on the 
 land ; here the plural of majesty, denoting a 
 
 i; (ptamus. So 
 
 ^ v ^. Jppopotamus ; 
 
 like the Leviathan, an inhabitant of the Isile : 
 the termination ^ (ati) however, being, ac- 
 cording to Bochart, not the sign of I lie 
 
 299
 
 NOTES. 
 
 HOMILETIC COMMENTARY: JOB. 
 
 plural, but of Egyptian singular, the animal 
 being Egyptian. The SEPTUAGINT lias : 
 " Beasts." TARGUM : " Tlie animal." The 
 VULGATE, SYRIAC, and ARABIC, like the 
 English Version, leave the \vord uwtrans- 
 lated. MERCER, CASTALIO, and COCCEIUS, 
 like Gesenius, consider the plural to be used 
 on account of tiie great size of the animal. 
 GROTIUS thinks it equivalent to " the animal 
 of animals ; " i.e., the most excellent animal. 
 According to MAIMONIDES, the term in- 
 cludes all land animals of monstrous size. 
 So apparently the Septuagint. DR. LEE, in 
 like manner, renders it " the beasts." The 
 term, however, generally regarded as de- 
 noting a distinct species of animal, as (1) 
 distinct species are described in the former 
 chapter ; (2) It is here compared with other 
 species ; (3) The description is not suitable 
 to all beasts of the field. The animal in- 
 tended formerly regarded very generally as 
 the elephant. So most of the earlier inter- 
 preters, both Catholic and Reformed, and all 
 the Hebrew expositors. So the Geneva and 
 Dutch versions, and the Italian of Diodati. 
 According to MERCER : "Some animal larger 
 and more monstrous than the elephant. 
 Modern interpreters generally consider the 
 hippopotamus, or river-horse, as especially in- 
 tended. Bishop PATRICK says : " Not the 
 elephant, which never lies among the reeds, 
 but an animal of that region the hippopota- 
 mus. COXANT : " The river-ox, the appro- 
 
 priate name of the animal commonly known 
 as the hippopotamus, or river-horse, the word 
 being probably its Egyptian name. ROBIXSOX 
 and CALJIET derive the name from the Egyptian 
 "pe " (the definite article " the "), " ehe" an 
 ox, and " month" water ; the water or river- 
 ox, the name being modified like other foreign 
 words. According to KITTO, the word is the 
 plural of excellence ; denoting the chief and 
 most powerful of herbivorous animals known 
 to Job, and living in his neighbourhood. GOOD 
 thinks neither the elephant nor the hippo- 
 potamus exactly intended, but an animal 
 now extinct. So A. CLARKE. FAUSSET thinks 
 the description agrees parl.ly with the elephant 
 and partly with the hippopotamus, but 
 exactly in all the details with neither ; 
 and that it is rattier intended as a 
 practical personification of the great 
 Pachydermata or Herbivora, the idea 
 of the hippopotamus being predominant. 
 According to REISKE and BYTHNER, the 
 word indicates " beasts " in general ; the 
 peculiar name not being here given, as un- 
 necessary, from the description. COCCEIUS, 
 FRY and others, view the animal, called "the 
 beast " by way of eminence, as one and the 
 same with Leviathan. SAMUEL WESLEY 
 queries whether it is not the animal alluded 
 to by the Psalmist (Psalm Ixviii. 30): "Rebuke 
 the company of the spearman ; " Margin : 
 " The beasts of the reeds ; " BOOTHROYD ; 
 " The wild beasts of the reeds." 
 
 CHAPTER XLI. 
 
 VERSE 1. " Canst ihou draw out Leviathan 
 -with a hook." The term "Leviathan" 
 
 rendered here by the SEPTUAGINT, 
 SYRIAC, and ARABIC, " the dragon." The 
 VULGATE and TAIIGUJI leave it untranslated. 
 Almost all the earlier interpreters understood 
 the Whale to be the animal intended. 
 BEZA and DIODATUS among the first to in- 
 cline for the Crocodile. GROTIUS remarks : 
 " From terrestrial he passes to marine 
 animals." SANCTIUS is uncertain which 
 animal of the whale kind is meant ; and ob- 
 serves that the Halccna would not be un- 
 known to Job, as being found, according to 
 Pliny, in the Arabian Gulf. CODURCUS re- 
 marks that the whale is found in the Medi- 
 terranean Sea. According to DRUSIUS, some 
 large unknown fish akin to the dragon is 
 meant. SCHULTEXS, with the Hebrew in- 
 terpreters, thinks the animal to be a terres- 
 trial dragon. LEE : " A sea monster in 
 general ; though the description rather suits 
 800 
 
 the whale, and more particularly one of the 
 Dolphin tribe, the Delphimis Orcus Communis, 
 or common Grampus." KITTO : " A sea 
 monster: here the crocodile. FAUSSET: 
 " Literally, the twisted animal, gathering it- 
 self into folds : a poetic generalization for all 
 cetacea, serpentine, and saurian monsters, 
 especially the crocodile ; described after the 
 river horse, both being found in the Nile. 
 Bishop PATRICK observes that the whale is 
 not armed with scales, nor impenetrable, nor 
 creeping on the earth ; and that therefore the 
 crocodile is the animal intended. S. WES- 
 LEY remarks that the crocodile was probably 
 once in Palestine ; a town named Crocodilo- 
 polis, or the city of the Crocodile, having 
 stood in the neighbourhood of Mount Carmel. 
 A. CLAKKE thinks some extinct animal of the 
 waters is probably intended. DODERLEIN 
 thinks the word a general name of a very 
 large and cruel beast, the real name being 
 gathered from its attributes.
 
 HOMILETIC COMMENTARY: JOB. 
 
 NOTES. 
 
 CHAPTER LXII. 
 
 VERSE 11. "A piece of money." According 
 to Gesenius and others, Hp^yp (kesitah), 
 from the unused root ZO^p ^i (kasatci) 
 
 to " be just or true ;" whence j^ (Kisioou) 
 
 " balances ; " a certain weight of money, 
 equal to about four shekels (Gen. xlii. 35, 
 xxxiii. 19, compared with xxiii. 16). Accord- 
 ing to SCHULTEKS, a stater, or lump of gold 
 exactly weighed. SEPTUAGINT : " A lamb." 
 So ABULWALID and ABEX EZRA. VULGATE : 
 " A sheep." So SYRIAC, ARABIC, and COVER- 
 DALE. LUTHER: " A finegroschen." MAR- 
 TIN and DIODATI : " A piece of money." So 
 the early translators and expositors in general. 
 GROTIUS and MERCER, after the Rabbins: 
 " A coin with the figure of a sheep struck 
 upon it." SCOTT : " Some species of current 
 coin," from Gen. xxxiii. 19, compared with 
 Acts vii. 16. HUFXAGEL : " Apparently a 
 piece of silver, not a coin. NOTES : " Pro- 
 
 bably a lump of silver of a certain weight. 
 UMBREIT: "The metal weighed out, not 
 coined. MICHAKLIS -. " A weight which can- 
 not be defined." LEE : " Not a stamped coin 
 but a certain weight. CABEY : " A weight 
 in the form of a lamb, used for weighing 
 money ; " as seen on Egyptian monuments, 
 one being weighed against three rings. 
 TOWXSEND : " Something weighed ; each 
 piece weighing four shekels." KITTO : " Pro- 
 bably a present of silver, the value of a 
 lamb." BARTII: "A piece of money; a 
 weight of gold or silver : a com probably 
 with the figure of an annual upon it." FAUS- 
 SET : " The term used insteaa of a shekel : 
 a mark of antiquity. MAGEE and HORN : 
 ' Good reason to understand it as signifying 
 a lamb." WEMYSS : " A girdle." BOOTH- 
 KOYD : " Term derived from a Hebrew word 
 denoting ' to be pure,' hence ' pure metal,' 
 proved money." GRYX<EUS : " Symbol of 
 Job's tried fidelity." 
 
 301
 
 of 
 
 man 0r less $0imldieulto atd>. 
 
 Acceptance with God, the way of 
 
 1 . A necessity, arising out of man's state 
 
 as a sinner. 
 
 2. The necessity acknowledged by Job 
 
 without notice of the provision. 
 
 3. That provision witnessed to by the 
 
 Law and the Prophets, but only 
 manifested in the Gospel. 
 
 4. The way of acceptance with God the 
 
 great question for humanity. 
 
 5. God s way of acceptance with Himself 
 
 every way suited to meet the case. 
 
 6. Righteous, in the righteousness of 
 
 anolAer,the only way left for a 
 sinner's acceptance with God ... 58, 59 
 Acceptance with God, the want of 
 
 1 . From ignorance of God's plaa ; 
 
 2. From unwillingness to accept of it; 
 
 3. From inability to trust in it ; 
 
 4. From indifference to the matter ... 59 
 
 Acceptance with God, in our prayers 
 and services 
 
 1. Believers, being accepted in Christ, 
 
 find acceptance also in their prayers, 
 both for themselves and others. 
 
 2. Acceptance with God the thing to be 
 
 aimed at iu our prayers and services. 
 
 3. That acceptance certain, where there is 
 
 obedience to God's commands and 
 faith in His Son. 
 
 4. The person to be first accepted, then 
 
 the prayer or service. 
 
 5. God's method, to bless and accept one 
 
 man for the sake of another ... 277 
 
 Access to God 
 
 Our privilege in Christ 140, 142 
 
 Want of it 142 
 
 Acquaintance with God ; implies 
 
 1 . Knowledge of God : to be obtained 
 
 (1) Through attention to and faith in 
 
 the Word that reveals Him ; 
 
 (2) Earnest prayer for Divine illumina- 
 
 tion and teaching ; 
 
 (3) Application to and acceptance of 
 
 Christ as a Saviour and Teacher. 
 
 2. Submission to God. 
 
 3. Reconciliation with God. 
 
 4. Conformity to God's will and character. 
 
 5. Friendly walk and fellowship with God 138 
 
 Affliction; is 
 
 1. The result of sin ; 
 
 2. One of God's remedial measure*; 
 
 3. Thus often made a blessing 210 
 
 Affliction, as a correction, designed 
 
 1. To arrest the sinner in his career ; 
 
 2. To subdue pride ; 
 J. To lead to thought; 
 
 4. To exhibit the emptiness and unsatisfy- 
 
 ing nature of the present world ; 
 
 5. To bring death, judgment, and eternity 
 
 to view; 
 
 6. To bring sin to remembrance as the 
 
 cause of suffering ; 
 
 7. To give us to realise God as onr 
 
 Governor and Judge ; 
 
 8. To bring us thus to repentance ... 2 1C 
 
 Afllictiou, the benefit of 25 
 
 Affliction, sanctified 
 
 1. The MEANS of it: 
 
 (1) Affliction in itself not a blcsing. 
 
 (2) Exhibition of Divine truth ntccs- 
 
 sary to its improvement. 
 
 (3) Spiritual teaching usually through 
 
 human instrumentality. 
 
 (4) Hence skill and fidelity 'required in 
 
 dealing with the sick. 
 
 2. The RESULTS of it : 
 
 (1) Experience of Divine mercy and 
 
 forgiveness ; 
 
 (2) Deliverance (i.) possibly from 
 
 death temporal ; (ii.) certainly from 
 death eternal ; 
 
 (3) Possible restoration to health ; 
 
 (4) Aecess to God, and acceptance with 
 
 Him ; 
 
 (5) Reconciliation with God, and joy 
 
 in Him ; 
 
 (6) Praise to God for pardoning and 
 
 restoring mercy 211,211 
 
 Angels 
 
 Their names and designations; 
 1 heir resemblance to God ; 
 Their rank* and orders ; 
 Their offices and ministrations ... 10, 31 
 No trust put in them by their Creator, us 
 being 
 
 1. Mutable and unstable ; 
 
 2. Imperfect and liable to error. a - 
 
 Their Fall 32, Hi 
 
 Not to be prayed to or employed as iiiler- 
 
 cessors 81 
 
 To be imitated as our txamplet 
 
 1. Iu obedience to God ; 
 
 2. In submission to Him ; 
 
 3. In humility : 
 
 4. In reverence ... ... ... ^ 
 
 Angels under God's control 1' 
 
 Of inconceivable antiquity 2JO 
 
 Anger ; only not sinful 
 
 1 . When directed acainst a propor object ; 
 
 2. When excited by a just or snllinent 
 
 cause ;
 
 IIOMILETICAL INDEX. 
 
 3. When held under due control ; 
 
 4. When accompanied with love ; 
 
 5. When not long continued ... ... 132 
 
 Arrows of the Almighty : 
 
 Their nature and character ; 
 
 Irresistible but by faith ; 
 
 Incurable but by the blood of Jesus ; 
 
 When felt by the sinner ; 
 
 Wkat to the believer ; 
 
 In whose hands now lodged ... ... 42 
 
 Attributes of God 37, 59, 72, 115, 152 
 
 1. His Omnipotence ; 
 
 2. His Goodness ; 
 
 3. His Wisdom ; 
 
 4. His Compassion ; 
 
 5. His Power and Majesty .., ... 52 
 His Incomprehensibleness ... ... ... 61 
 
 His Sovereignty and Irresistibleness ... ib. 
 His IPlsdom and Benevolence ; seen 
 
 (1) lu restraining evil ; 
 
 (2) In overruling it for good ; 
 
 (3) In employing it for the exhibition 
 
 of His own Perfections... ... 64 
 
 His Attributes unsearchable ; whether 
 
 (1) Natural ; asHis omnipresence, om- 
 
 niscience, and omnipotence ; or, 
 
 (2) Moral ; as His justice and good- 
 
 ness ... ... ... ... 72 
 
 The Attributes of God, arguments for repent- 
 ance ; more especially 
 
 (1) His Almighty power ; 
 
 (2) His Omniscience ... ... ... 73 
 
 Adduced in defence of His dealings : es- 
 pecially 
 
 (1) His Power; 
 
 (2) His Goodness ; 
 
 (3) His Wisdom 228 
 
 B 
 
 Believers, as priests, and intercessors (see 
 
 Priests) 277 
 
 Their comfort in time of darkness... ... 143 
 
 Their life (see Life of Faith) 
 
 c 
 
 Chastisement (Divine); duty under 
 
 1. To turn to God ; 
 
 2. To acknowledge and accept the chas- 
 
 tisement ; 
 
 3. To confess our sin ; 
 
 4. To resolve upon amendment ; 
 
 5. To pray for Divine teaching ... ... 220 
 
 Chastisement to be borne 
 
 (1) Submissively; 
 
 (2) Patiently ; 
 
 (3) Humbly; 
 
 (4) Lovingly ; 
 
 (5) Thankfully _ ... 220 
 
 Chastisement observations in regard to it 
 
 1. Even the righteous may require correc- 
 
 tion ; 
 
 2. The godly not left to remain in their 
 
 sin; 
 
 8. The object of chastisement to bring sin 
 to remembrance in order to repent- 
 
 4. Chastisement, when improved, or other- 
 wise, followed by corresponding 
 results 229, 230 
 
 Choice to be made, of God and Heaven as 
 a portion, as 
 
 1. More excellent in itself, and more be- 
 
 coming man's better nature ; 
 
 2. More satisfying to a rational creature ; 
 
 3. More enduring ; 
 
 4 . Attended with no remorse ; 
 
 5. Followed by no penalty ... ... 188 
 
 Comfort, objects to be aimed at in 
 giving 
 
 1 . To strengthen the mourner to bear his 
 
 trouble ; 
 
 2. To lighten his grief ; 
 
 3. To lead him to the right use and im- 
 
 provement of his trial ... ... 98 
 
 (See Consolation.) 
 
 Comforters, (rue, require 
 
 1 . To be able to sympathize with those in 
 
 trouble ; 
 
 2. To understand, generally, the meaning 
 
 and use of trouble ; 
 
 3. Personal and experimental acquaintance 
 
 with the truth with which we are to 
 comfort others ; 
 
 4. To possess the spirit and imitate the 
 
 conduct of Christ, the great Com- 
 forter ; 
 
 5. To speak truthfully, and suitably to the 
 
 case 93 
 
 Comforters, " miserable," W r ho ? Those 
 who 
 
 1. Comfort with error and falsehood ; 
 
 2. Direct to improper means of relief: 
 
 3. Seek merely to divert the mourner's 
 
 mind from his trouble : 
 
 4. Fail to point to Christ, the true source 
 
 of comfort ... ... ... ... 98 
 
 Commercial Morality 
 
 1. One of the testing points in reference to 
 
 a man's character ; 
 
 2. Professedly religious men tempted to 
 
 transgress its rules ... ... ... 199 
 
 Confession of Sin ; to be 
 
 (1) Free; 
 
 (2) Frank; 
 
 (3) Full; 
 
 (4) Particular 5 
 
 (5) Serious and heartfelt ... ... 52 
 
 To be made in sight of the laver of a Sa- 
 viour's blood ... ... ... ... ib. 
 
 The benefit of it ib. 
 
 Injury from the want of it 
 Growth of sin 
 
 (1) In strength ; 
 
 (2) In guilt; 
 
 (3) In terror 56 
 
 Confession of sin, a result as well as means 
 
 of sanctified affliction, as 
 
 1. An evidence of genuine repentance ; 
 
 2. An accompaniment of pardoning mercy 214
 
 HOMILSTICAL INDEX. 
 
 in. 
 
 Confession to be made in regard to 
 
 1. The iniquity and turpitude of sin ; 
 
 2. Its disastrous consequences ... ... 214 
 
 Includes 
 
 (1) Discovery as to our character and 
 
 conduct ; 
 
 (2) Repentance of the sin confessed ; 
 
 (3) Resolution of amendment ... 2$4 
 
 Consolation in affliction, topics of 
 
 1. The character of God as compassionate 
 
 and faithful ; 
 
 2. The hand of God in all onr afflictions ; 
 
 3. His gracious purposes in trouble ; 
 
 4. The comparative shortness and lightness 
 
 of all earthly affliction ; 
 
 5 . The Divine promisesof needfulgrace, &c. ; 
 
 6. Christ as our Redeemer, in whom we 
 
 have everything ; 
 
 7. His example as a sufferer ; 
 
 8. His sympathy in our affliction ... 28 
 Consolation, requirements of ; must be 
 
 (1) True; 
 
 (2) Suitable; 
 
 (3) Loving 133 
 
 Consolation of the Church. What? 
 
 1. That Christ has suffered for our sins ; 
 
 2. That he has risen as the first-fruits of 
 
 them that slept ; 
 
 3. That he will appear the second time to 
 
 their salvation ; 
 
 4. That them that sleep in Jesus, God will 
 
 bring with Him ... 121 
 
 Consolations of God. What ? 
 
 1. His purposes in trouble ; 
 
 2. His promises of support and deliver- 
 
 ance ; 
 
 3. The benefits resulting from it ; 
 
 4. The examples of the saints, and especi- 
 
 ally of the Son of God ; 
 
 5. The fellowship of believers, and especially 
 
 of Christ ; 
 
 6. God Himself as our shield and portion ; 
 
 7. His love, as the origin of our trouble ; 
 
 8. The glories of eternity as infinitely com- 
 
 pensating for the griefs of time ... 92 
 Consolations of God, how conveyed 
 
 (1) By His Spirit ; 
 
 (2) By His Word; 
 
 (3) By His Providence ib. 
 
 Their character ; are 
 
 1. True and solid ; 
 
 2. Holy and satisfying ; 
 
 3. Suitable and adequate ; 
 
 4. Lasting and durable ... it. 
 
 To be highly valued, on account of 
 
 1. Their origin, the love of God ; 
 
 2. Their costliness, the purchase of a 
 
 Saviour's blood : 
 
 3. Their efficacy, us able to meet our case , 
 
 4. Their frecncss on God's part and nu- 
 
 deservcdness on ours ... ... 93 
 
 Controversy, God's grounds of 
 1 . With nations find unconverted men : 
 1) Rebellion against His authority; 
 (2) Unthankfulness for His mercies; 
 
 (3) Apostasy from His religion ; 
 
 (4) Persecution of His cause and 
 
 people ; 
 
 (5) Contempt of His ordinances ; 
 
 (6) Rejection of His SOD. 
 
 2. With Churches and individual 
 Christians : 
 
 (1) Departure from first love; 
 
 (2) Formality and hypocrisy ; 
 
 (3) Pride and self-satisfaction ; 
 
 (4) Lnkewarmness ; 
 
 (5) Unthankfulness ; 
 
 (6) Covetousness and worldly-minded- 
 
 ness ... (57 
 
 Correction, Divine: koto administered 
 
 1. By His Word; 
 
 2. By His work in providence. 
 Iti Blessedness -. seen 
 
 1. In its origin Divine love ; 
 
 2. In its object our spiritual benefit. 
 Its Improvement, how obtained 
 
 1 . By consideration of its object ; 
 
 2. By examination into its cause ; 
 
 3. By eudeavour after its fruit Z3 
 
 Correction of the Almighty, suggests 
 
 1 . His benevolence in sending the correc- 
 
 tion ; 
 
 2. His ability 
 
 (1) To sustain us under it; 
 
 (2) To sanctify us by it ; 
 
 (3) To deliver us out of it 38 
 
 Corrections on a large scale, necessary and 
 
 important, as 
 
 1 . A testimony to Divine justice ; 
 
 2. A proof of the power of God to punish 
 
 transgressors ; 
 
 3. A warning against a course of sin ... 238 
 
 Counsel of the Wicked, What? 130 
 
 1 . To make the enjoyment of the present 
 
 life the chief good ; 
 
 2. To gain that enjoyment in any way 
 
 they can with safety ; 
 
 3. To depend on their own endeavours for 
 
 what they desire ; 
 
 4. To ignore God and eternity, heaven 
 
 aud hell ; 
 
 5. To make light of the provision of a 
 
 Saviour ; 
 
 6. To care only for themselves and their 
 
 immediate connections. 
 Our duty in regard to it ; to put it far from 
 us 
 
 1. In our judgment ; 
 
 2. In onr will and purpose ; 
 
 3. In our practice. 
 
 Why to be thus put far from us. Because 
 
 1. Foolish and unreasonable ; 
 
 2. Wicked; 
 
 8. Destructive. 
 How to be put far from us 
 
 1. By a change of heart ; 
 
 2. Hy acceptance of the offered Saviour 
 
 and reliance on His grace ; 
 
 3. By the due nse of appointed means : 
 (1) Prayer;
 
 HOMILEl'ICAL IXDEX. 
 
 (2) Reading and meditation on the 
 Scriptures : 
 
 4. By contemplating the Saviour's charac- 
 
 ter end cross ; 
 
 5. By consideration of the nature and con- 
 
 sequences of sin ... 130 
 
 Creation, God's work of 322 
 
 Creation and Providence, viewed as display- 
 ing God's power and wisdom : 
 
 1. In giving the earth and heavenly 
 bodies their present situation, and sus- 
 pending them in empty space ; 
 
 2. In forming the clouds and preserving 
 the watery particles collected in them ; 
 these clouds serving 
 
 (1) To irrigate the ground ; 
 
 (2) To moderate the heat ; 
 
 (3) To beautify the sky. 
 
 3. In appointing the alternation of light 
 
 and darkness, and the viscissitnde of 
 day and night; affording 
 
 (1) An agreeable variety ; 
 
 (2) Suitable seasons for the require- 
 
 ments of man and beast : 
 
 (3) Means of cooling and moistening 
 
 the ground : 
 
 (4) An opportunity for the mutual 
 
 benefit of plants and auimals ; 
 
 (5) An exhibition of the starry sky with 
 
 its beauty and its lessons ; 
 
 4. In exciting storms and disturbances in 
 
 the earth and air ; these serving 
 
 (1) Important physical purposes, as 
 
 (i.) Purifying the atmosphere; (ii.) 
 Contributing to the greater irriga- 
 tion of the earth ; (iii.) Aiding in 
 the processes of vegetation. 
 
 (2) Valuable moral purposes, as (i.) 
 
 Reminding us of the existence, 
 attributes, and agency of a Divine 
 ruler and judge ; (ii.) Tending to 
 produce elevating and reverential 
 thoughts of God ; (iii.) Suggesting 
 the instability of earthly things, 
 and the importance of securing the 
 favour and friendship of God ; (iv.) 
 Tending to elevate the mind and 
 strengthen the character ; 
 
 5. In a^'tnting the ocean and again stilling 
 
 ivs waves ; 
 
 6. In making the sky bright and serene 
 
 by day, and studding it with stars at 
 night 158, 261 
 
 D 
 Day of Judgment 127 
 
 Death, The two kinds of 209 
 
 Death and I he grave 
 
 1. Death a state of qniet sleep ; 
 
 2 The grave a place of general rendezvous ; 
 
 3. A place of absolute equality 
 
 4. A place where the wicked cease from 
 
 troubling ; 
 
 a. A place of rest for the suffering and 
 weary ; 
 
 6. A place exhibiting the vanity of earthly 
 
 glory and riches ... 24 
 
 Deith, its universality (see Grave). 
 
 Death, its certainty aud nearness (see 
 
 Grave). 
 Death, in reference to the time of its arrival, 
 
 and the issues attending it 25 
 
 , Death, as an object of desire 26 
 
 Death, to the believer ... ... ... 104 
 
 j to the impenitent Ill 
 
 Deceivafolencss of sin, as promising 
 
 1 . Pleasure ; 
 
 2. Profit; 
 
 3. Impv.nity ,., ,,, 97 
 
 : Delight in God 
 
 1 . A mark of grace ; 
 
 2. Its reasonableness ; 
 
 3. Unaffected by outward circumstances 163 
 (See Joy in God).^ 
 
 Depravity of Human Nature SG, 93, ISO 
 
 Disease, Job's ; lessons from it 
 
 1. The power of Satan ; 
 
 2. The effects of sin ; 
 
 3. The character of our mortal body ; 
 
 4. Believers' liability to the most loath- 
 
 some diseases ; 
 
 5. The love of Christ in assuming a body 
 
 with such liabilities ; 
 
 6. The preciousness of a glorious resurrec- 
 
 tion ; 
 
 7. An affecting picture of the loathsome- 
 
 ness of sin ... 49 
 
 Dream, the life of the ungodly compared to a 124 
 
 E 
 
 Eagle, emblem of believers {see Eagle). 
 Earth, formation of the ... ... ... 245 
 
 Evil (moral); to be departed from, as 
 
 1. Contrary to the nature and will of our 
 
 Creator ; 
 
 2. Opposed to our own interest and hap- 
 
 piness. 
 How to be depart', d from 
 
 1. Earnestly ; 
 
 2. Entirely ; 
 
 3. Perseveriiiglv; 
 
 4. At all hazards ... _ 171 
 
 Evil (physical); its existence in the world, 
 
 how to be accounted for 
 
 1. From the existence of sin, as being 
 
 (1 ) Its necessary and inevitable accom- 
 
 paniment ; 
 
 (2) Its righteous penalty ; 
 
 (3) A kind and salutary discipline. 
 
 2. Suffering in a child of God part of the 
 
 treatment necessary for his perfec- 
 tion ; 
 
 3. Suffering and sorrow the consequences 
 
 of Satan's presence and agency in the 
 world ... ... ... 188 
 
 Faith in God 29, 53, 272 
 
 I'aith of a believer, subject to fluctuation ..; 185
 
 HOM1LETWAL INDEX. 
 
 T. 
 
 Faith, life of 
 
 240 
 
 Fear of God ... 6, 29, 92, 171, 194 
 
 Fear of God, the end of all true teaching ... 211 
 
 Fear of the Future 
 
 1 . Right and profitable, when 
 
 (1) Preserving from carnal security ; 
 
 (2) Inciting to the use of right means 
 
 for the avoidance of future evil ; 
 
 (3) Leading to prepare for it by seek- 
 
 ing strength to endure it; 
 
 (4) Arising from the conviction of the 
 
 uncertainty of earthly good ; 
 
 (5) Producing earnestness in securing 
 
 a better and enduring portion ; 
 
 (6) Leading to fidelity in the improve- 
 
 ment of present benefits ; 
 
 2. Wrong and hurtful, when 
 
 (1) Arising from undue anxiety about 
 
 the continuance ofpresent mercies; 
 
 (2) Attended with distrust about the 
 
 futnre ; 
 
 (3) Preventing the thankful enjoyment 
 
 of present blessings ; 
 
 (4) Leading to undue means to pre- 
 
 serve them 27 
 
 Festivity 
 
 When lawful ; 
 
 General rule regarding it; 
 
 Its limitations ; 
 
 When unseasonable ... 7 
 
 Fighting against God, seen 
 
 1. In persevering in a course of sin ; 
 
 2. In opposing God's cause or people; 
 
 3. In contending for an object in opposi- 
 
 tion to His will, or by means which 
 He forbids 95 
 
 Flesh, the ; its views of God and His 
 dealings ... ... ... 68, 69, 181 
 
 Forgetfulncss of God. What ? 
 
 1. Not to think of Him ; 
 
 2. Not to thank Him ; 
 
 3. Not to serve and obey Him. 
 Is to forget 
 
 1. His presence ; 
 
 2. His providence; 
 55. His precepts. 
 
 Its sinfulness, as being 
 
 1. The root and essence of all sin ; 
 
 2. Forgetfulness of Him who has all 
 
 claims on our remembrance 
 
 (1) From what He is in Himself; 
 
 (2) From what He is and has been to 
 
 us; 
 
 3. The transfer of our heart and affection 
 
 to the world 57 
 
 Forgetfulness of God, the reason why de- 
 liverance from trouble is not vouchsafed 
 
 224, 22j 
 
 Forgiveness of enemies 1'^ 
 
 Formation of the earth *>** 
 
 Fretting against God's dealings: 
 
 Its folly, sin, aud cons-, qucnccs ; " kill*, 
 as 
 
 1. Robbing us of peace ; 
 
 2. A fleeting the health ; 
 
 3. Injuring the soul; 
 
 4. Bringing greater chastisement 
 
 34 
 
 GOD 
 
 The Dispenser of quiet and comfort to indi- 
 viduals ; 
 
 The Giver of rest aud quietness to nations 
 and churches 219 
 
 God as a Teacher 
 
 1. Is perfectly acquainted with the subjects 
 
 which He teaches, and which we re- 
 quire to know ; 
 
 2. Understands the capacity and capabili- 
 
 ties of the taught ; 
 
 3. Knows the best and most effectual way 
 
 of teaching them ; 
 
 4. Is able by His power to give effect to 
 
 His instructions; 
 
 5. Has patience with the dulness of his 
 
 pupils : 
 
 6. Carries them to the highest degree of 
 
 knowledge ; 
 
 7. Exalts them to His own moral excellence 232 
 God, neither to be comprehended nor con- 
 templated 241 
 
 God, Attributes of. (See Attributes.) 
 Gold, believers compared to it, as 
 
 1. Precious ; 
 
 2. Rare; 
 
 3. Usually found mixed with earth and 
 
 dross ; 
 
 4. Subjected to the fire for purification ; 
 
 5. Able to endure the fire ; 
 
 6. Ultimately made perfectly pure ... 143 
 
 Grave, The ; a place of rest to believers, 
 from 
 
 1. The cares and troubles of life ; 
 
 2. The oppression of man and the buffet- 
 
 ing of Satan ; 
 
 3. The burden of a carnal and sinful 
 
 nature ; 
 
 4. The conflict with sin and the flesh; 
 
 5. Painful labours in the service of Christ 
 
 aud humanity 
 
 Grave, The, as "the house appointed for 
 all living ; " its lessons 
 
 1. Humility; 
 
 2. Earnestness in attending to present aud 
 
 important duty ; 
 
 3. The evil of sin ; 
 
 4. The inflexible character of the Divine 
 
 5. True wisdom to ssck a better than an 
 
 earthly portion 1S5 
 
 C rave; The, the vestibule of two other hoiue, 
 
 both eternal in their duration ... to. 
 Graves, " ready" for us ; as 
 
 1. Death is appointed to ui ; 
 
 2. Death is near to ut ; 
 Use to be made of thU fact 
 
 1 . To make careful preparation for dc 
 
 2. To make right UK of time while it lw>U;
 
 VI. 
 
 JKLM1LETICAL INDEX. 
 
 8. To sit loose to the things of a present 
 world ; 
 
 4. To examine faithfully what are our pros- 
 pects beyond the grave ... ... 104 
 
 Growth in holiness and grace; 
 
 Means of it 
 
 1. Waiting on God in prayer and other- 
 
 wise ; 
 
 2. Converse with the Word, the soul's 
 
 food ; 
 
 3. Faith in Christ as our strength and 
 
 life; 
 
 4. Fellowship with God's faithful people, 
 
 and especially with Christ Him- 
 self; 
 
 6. Exercise and improvement of the grace 
 
 already given ; 
 
 7. Discipline of Divine Providence ... 107 
 
 II 
 
 Hardening oneself against God. 
 
 What? 
 
 1. Resisting His authority and disobeying 
 
 His commands ; 
 
 2. Rebelling and murmuring against His 
 
 dealings in Providence ; 
 
 3. Refusing His ofl'eis of mercy in the 
 
 Gospel 
 ; seen 
 
 1. From the attributes of God ; 
 
 2. From the facts of history ... ... 59 
 
 Heaven, a place of peace and harmony ... 152 
 ] 1 ell, sense of the term in Scripture ... 157 
 
 Hell, the Descent into ... H, 
 
 Hell, as the invisible world or state of th'j 
 
 dead 
 
 1. Subject to God's sovereign dominion ; 
 
 2. Open to His perfect cognizance ; 
 
 3. Its keys in the hand of Jesus ... ib. 
 
 Hope, the Believer's ; is 
 
 1. A good hope ; as having 
 
 (1) A good object ; 
 
 (2) A good foundation ; 
 
 2. A lively hope ; as one surviving the 
 
 grave 108,163 
 
 Hope of the ungodly 163 
 
 Home 
 
 1. A pious one ; where 
 
 (1) God is daily and duly acknowledged 
 
 and worshipped ; 
 
 (2) The inmates live in love to each 
 
 other ; 
 
 (3) The duties of morality and religion 
 
 are carefully attended to. 
 
 2. ^peaceful and prosperous one; where 
 
 (1) The inmates are at peace with God 
 
 and with one another ; 
 
 (2) God prospers their honest endea- 
 
 vours to obtain a competent live- 
 lihood ; 
 
 (3) The family is preserved from great 
 
 domestic troubles : 
 
 (4) The inmates are the pardoned and 
 
 accepted children of God ... 53 
 
 Idolatry, its two leading forms ... 194 
 Idolatry, a denial of God ^ 
 
 1. In the boundless excellence of His 
 
 being ; 
 
 2. In the spirituality of His nature ; 
 
 3. In His infinity and omnipresence ; 
 
 4. In His moral, as well as natural, per- 
 
 fections ; 
 
 5. In His sufficiency for our happiness 
 
 and safety ; 
 
 6. In His sole right to the trust, love, and 
 
 worship of His intelligent creatures 196 
 Influence, conscious and unconscious ... 75, 223 
 Iniquities, our, " infinite ; " as 
 
 1. Committed against our infinite God ; 
 
 2. Committed against infinite obligations 
 
 to the contrary ; 
 
 3. Numberless; 
 
 4. Incessant during life ; 
 
 5. But for Divine grace continuing to be 
 
 committed throughout eternity ; 
 
 6. Attended with infinitely disastrous re- 
 
 sults; therefore requiring an infinite 
 expiation, or an atonement of infinite 
 
 value ... 135 
 
 Intercessory prayer ... ... 277, 279 
 
 Job, his disease ; lessons from it : 
 
 (See Disea'se). 
 II is deliverance 
 
 1. The author of it ; 
 
 2. The deliverance itself; 
 
 3. The time of it ; 
 
 4. Its typical significance, in reference to 
 
 (1) The deliverance wrought by the 
 
 Father for Christ ; 
 
 (2) That of believers at death ; 
 
 (3) That of the Church and creation 
 
 at large at the coming of Christ 278 
 
 Joy in God ; indicates 
 
 1. Friendly and familiar intercourse with 
 
 God; 
 
 2. Pleasure in such intercourse ; 
 
 3. The endeavour to please God ; 
 
 4. Satisfaction with God as our portion. 
 Such joy in God is 
 
 1. Characteristic of the godly, and that 
 
 which distinguishes them from the 
 world ; 
 
 2. Enjoined as a duty ; 
 
 3. Promised as a reward of piety, espe- 
 
 cially in regard to the Sabbath. 
 Implies 
 
 1. The excellency and loveliness in God ; 
 
 2. The inwardness and spirituality of true 
 
 religion ; 
 
 3. The pleasantness of true piety. 
 How shown : 
 
 1. By holding fellowship with Him ; 
 
 2. By obeying His will and seeking to 
 
 please Him ; 
 
 3. By ceasing to have our chief joy in the 
 
 world aud the things of it ;
 
 HOMILETICAL INDEX. 
 
 vii. 
 
 4. By attending on God's ordinances ; 
 
 5. By cheerfully acquiescing in His ap- 
 
 pointments ... 217 
 
 Joy of the wicked " short ;" as 
 
 1 . Having no solid foundation ; 
 
 2. Based upon a falsehood ; 
 
 3. Only existing in the present life; 
 
 4. As compared with the eternity beyond 1 24 
 
 Judgment, Day of; Its certainty 
 
 1. From the testimony of Scripture ; 
 
 2. From the universal voice of conscience ; 
 
 3. From God's Providential dealings in the 
 
 world 128 
 
 K 
 
 Kindness to the Poor : 
 
 I. MOTIVES for its exercise : 
 
 1. The desire to relieve suffering and ex- 
 
 tend happiness ; 
 
 2. The claims of the poor upon us as our 
 
 fellow creatures ; 
 
 3. The principle of doing to others as we 
 
 would they should do to us ; 
 
 4. The will and authority of our common 
 
 Father ; 
 
 5. The example of the heavenly Father 
 
 Himself ; 
 
 6. The special example of Christ ; 
 
 7. The cause of the poor identified by God 
 
 with His own ; 
 
 8. Active kindness to the poor a fruit of 
 
 the Spirit and an instinct of the new 
 nature ; 
 
 9. The pleasure in the exercise of the 
 
 benevolent affections ; 
 
 1 0. The reward of an approving conscience ; 
 
 11. The testimony of Christ at the Last 
 
 Day. 
 
 II. The CHARACTER of such kindness : to 
 
 be 
 L. Free and spontaneous ; 
 
 2. Disinterested ; 
 
 3. Sincere and undissembled ; 
 
 4. Prompt and seasonable ; 
 
 5. Unwearied and persevering ; 
 
 6. Self-denying; 
 
 7. Impartial ; 
 
 8. Up to our ability ; 
 
 9. Judicious and discriminating ; 
 
 10. Hearty and cheerful 192 
 
 Knowledge ; how acquired 
 
 1. By observation; 
 
 2. By attention to the instruction of others, 
 
 whether (1) oral ; or (2) written; 
 
 3. By reflection 80 
 
 Knowledge (Job's) of a Redeemer; 
 
 " I know," &c. 
 I. The knowledge itself: 
 
 1. Its certainty ; 
 
 2. Something to glory in; 
 
 3. Its grounds and sources 
 
 (1) Internal (i.) Divine enlighten- 
 ment ; (i>.) Previous personal ac- 
 quaintance and fellowship ; 
 
 (2) External (i.) The original pro- 
 mise io Eden; (ii.) Enoch's pro- 
 phecy ; (iii.) Enoch's translation ; 
 (iv.) The continually-offered sacri- 
 fices which pointed to a Redeemer. 
 II. The contents of the knowledge -. 
 
 1 . That God in Christ is a Redeemer ; 
 
 2. That He was His own Redeemer ; 
 
 3. That He was " living," or " the Living 
 
 One," as 
 
 (1) Personally living ; 
 
 (2) Having an endless existence ; 
 
 (3) The Mighty One ; 
 
 (4) The Author and Giver of Life ; 
 
 (5) Living for our salvation ; as 
 (i.) To plead our cause in heaven ; 
 (ii.) To send supplies of needed grace ; 
 (iii.) To prepare a place for u in 
 
 heaven ; 
 
 (iv.) To attend to all our concerns ; 
 (v.) To overcome all our enemies ; 
 (vi.) To deliver out of all troubles ; 
 (vii.) To give victory over temptation 
 
 and sin ; 
 (viii.) To make us partakers of His 
 
 life; 
 
 (ii.) To receive us to Himself; 
 (x.) To come again in glory ... 118 
 
 Knowledge of God ; what and how obtained 138 
 Knowledge of God, a believer t, one of 
 
 1. Certainty; 
 
 2. Divine communication ; 
 
 3. Experience; 
 
 4. Regard and love ; 
 
 5. Acquaintance and fellowship 146 
 
 Knowledge of God, different kinds and de- 
 grees of 273 
 
 Law of God ; to be received 
 
 1. With rtverent attention; 
 
 2. With thankfulness; 
 
 3. With cordial faith ; 
 
 4. With cheerful obedience ; 
 
 5. With humble submission 139 
 
 Leviathan ; an emblem of Satan, in 
 
 1. His loftiness and dignity as a creature ; 
 
 2. His fierceness and cruelty ; 
 
 3. His power of inflicting mischief and 
 
 working destruction ; 
 
 4. The dimculty of overcoming him ; 
 
 5. The extent of his sway 270 
 
 Life ; why continued to sufferers 
 
 1 . For preparation for death to those unpre- 
 
 pared for it ; 
 
 2. For wise and gracious purposes to those 
 
 who are prepared for it ; a* 
 
 (1) For proof and trial of their state; 
 
 (2) For further sanctification ; 
 
 (3) For enhancement of future glory 
 
 and happiness ; 
 
 (4) For the benefit and edification of 
 
 others ; -_ 
 
 (5) For the glory of God '
 
 Vlll. 
 
 110MILETICAL INDEX. 
 
 Life, Human: viewed as " an appointed 
 time " : hence 
 
 1. Its trials to be meekly borne ; 
 
 2. Its cud to be patiently waited for ; 
 
 3. Its continuance to be carefully improved 48 
 Life, a WARFARE : As 
 
 1. A time of trouble and suffering ; 
 
 2. A time of conflict ; 
 
 3. A time of service. 
 Hence the duty of being 
 
 (1) Patient of hardship, and prepared 
 
 for trial and suffering ; 
 
 (2) Careful to be on the right side ; 
 
 (3) Faithful, obedient, and active ; 
 
 (4) Hopeful, courageous, and enduring 48 
 Life, the term of a hired servant, as 
 
 having 
 
 1. Painful and self-denying labour to 
 
 undergo ; 
 
 2. A short and limited time to do it in ; 
 
 3. Due wages to receive when it is done. 
 Hence the duty 
 
 (1) Of choosing the best master; 
 
 (2) Of being diligent in that Master's 
 
 work, and watchful in looking for 
 His coming ... ... ... 48 
 
 Life, viewed as a shadow ; calls for 
 
 1. Diligence in the improvement of it; 
 
 2. A loose hold of the things of time ; 
 
 3. A proper estimate of its troubles and 
 
 joys, its possessions and pursuits ; 
 
 4. Earnestness in securing a solid and 
 
 lasting happiness beyond the grave 56 
 Life, viewed as a Voyage 
 
 1. Its constant and rapid progress ; 
 
 2. Variety in its length ; 
 
 3. Uncertainty of its continuance and 
 
 termination ; 
 
 4. The importance of the voyage to 
 
 each ; 
 
 5. The freight, an immortal spirit ; 
 
 G. Only one or other of two places of 
 
 destination ; 
 7. Each vessel under the direction of one 
 
 or other of two invisible conductors 64 
 Life, a period of probation and time of 
 opportunity ... ... ... ... 128 
 
 Life of believers 
 
 1. Often resembling a CLOUDED SKY; 
 
 2. A bright light behind the clouds 
 
 (1) God's unchanging love in Christ ; 
 
 (2) God's everlastiug covenant; 
 
 (3) God's gracious purpose ; 
 
 3. A time when the clouds are cleared 
 
 away ; hence the lesson of 
 
 (1) Humility and modesty in judging 
 
 both of God's Word and works ; 
 
 (2) Patience and Resignation to the 
 
 Divine will ; 
 
 (3) Faith, so as to walk in comfort and 
 
 hope even in the darkest dispen- 
 sations ... ... ... ... 240 
 
 Life of the ungodly, a dream ; as 
 
 1. Without solidity and reality; 
 
 2. Quickly terminating ; 
 
 3. Soon forgotteu , ,., . 121 
 
 Light, God's precious gift ; viewed 
 as 
 
 1. The light of the sun in the heavens; 
 
 2. Of God's favour and providential good- 
 
 ness ; 
 
 3. Of truth and saving knowledge ... 153 
 LOKD, the ; or JEHOVAH 10, 242 
 
 M 
 
 Mammonism (see Riches). 
 
 Man ; his condition and circumstances, 
 as 
 
 1. Inhabiting, a frail and humble body ; 
 
 2. Formed out of the ground, and return- 
 
 ing to it again ; 
 
 3. Weak and easily destroyed ; 
 
 4. Constantly liable to death ; 
 
 5. Cut off in death from the visible world, 
 
 without ability to return to it ; 
 G. Unnoticed in his death by higher 
 
 orders of beings ; 
 
 ? Stripped of all his earthly excellence ; 
 S. Dying without attaining to wisdom ... 33 
 Man ; his character and condition from his 
 binh 
 
 1. Mortal; 
 
 2. Suffering ; 
 
 3. Depraved 83 
 
 Man ; his character since the Fall 
 
 1. Vain; 
 
 2. Froward and self-willed, like a wild 
 
 ass's colt ; hence 
 
 3. Requiring a change of character and 
 
 disposition in order to his happiness ; 
 
 4. Such a change nothing less than a new 
 
 birth 73 
 
 Man compared to a. flower 
 
 1. From its origin, the earth ; 
 
 2. From its beauty 
 
 3. From its delicate texture and construc- 
 
 tion ; 
 
 4. From its frailty; 
 
 5. From its end ... 86 
 
 Man, compared to a shadow. Why ? 
 
 Lessons from the comparison 
 
 1. To form a true estimate of the things of 
 
 time ; 
 
 2. To improve our stay in this world by 
 
 preparing for a better; 
 
 3. To make a diligent use of present 
 
 moments ; 
 
 4. To stand ever prepared for life's unex- 
 
 pected termination ... ... ... 80 
 
 Man; the contrasts found in him ... ... 52 
 
 Mau, " magnified " by God 
 
 1. In his creation ; 
 
 2. In the Providence of God over him; 
 
 3. In his redemption ; 
 
 4. In his glorification iu heaven ; 
 
 5. Iu the assumption of our nature by the 
 
 Son of God 52 
 
 Man, a worm, indicative of 
 
 1. His place as a creature ; 
 
 2. His character as a sinner ... 154, 201 
 Man ; his superiority over the beasts ... 2^5
 
 KOMLLETICAL L\1)EX. 
 
 ix. 
 
 Mediator : Christ the only and sufficient 
 
 One 65 
 
 Ministers, to be 
 
 Comforters 28, 81 
 
 Counsellors ... ... ,., ... 155 
 
 Ministerial consistency ... ... ... 28 
 
 Ministering to mourners and sin-sick souls 
 its requirements 
 
 1. Study and knowledge of cases ; 
 
 2. Knowledge of requisite remedies ; 
 8. Skill iii applying them; 
 
 4. Sympathy with the sufferer ... ... 81 
 
 Ministry, Christian ; cases especially requir- 
 ing it 
 
 1. Affliction, personal or domestic ; 
 
 2. Bereavement ; 
 
 3. Temporal losses and misfortunes ; 
 
 4. Persecution and cruelty from others ; 
 
 5. Spiritual darkness and temptation ; 
 G. Sorrow and contrition for sin ; 
 
 7. Infirmities of age and approaching dis- 
 solution ... ... ... ... 28 
 
 Money ; apt to be trusted in 
 
 1. For acquiring the means of life, and 
 
 sources of enjoyment ; 
 
 2. For defence against sufferiag and the 
 
 hostility of others ; 
 
 3. For power and position in the world... 194 
 Money ; the love of it 
 
 1. A "root of all evil;" 
 
 2. Incompatible with the love of God ; 
 
 3. Distinct from a proper appreciation of 
 
 money itself ... ... ... 195 
 
 Moral Training, especially in respect to be- 
 aevolcnce ; grounds and reasons for it 
 
 1. Some born with dispositions more 
 
 benevolent than others ; 
 
 2. Children capable of being trained to the 
 
 exercise of the benevolent affections ; 
 
 3. Early habits of benevolence among the 
 
 principal means of forming the 
 
 future character ... ... ... 192 
 
 Morality, Commercial ... ... ... ] ( J9 
 
 Murder, different kinds of 200 
 
 N 
 
 Nature ; a symbol of spiritual and Divine 
 things 
 
 1. In reference to God. 
 
 2. In reference to human experience ... 210 
 
 
 
 Obedience, Persevering, to God's will 
 and word : 
 
 1. Such obedience the proof of sincerity ; 
 
 2. God's " way " to be followed rather than 
 
 our own ; 
 
 3. Many temptations to decline from it ; 
 
 4. Possible for a man to keep it : 
 
 (1) By reflection ; 
 
 (2) By resolution ; 
 
 (3) By courage ; 
 
 (4) By watchfulness ; 
 
 5) By dependence on Divine strength ; 
 .6) By prayer for Divine aid 144 
 
 Obedience of Christ ; its value 
 
 1 . As a pattern for our imitation ; 
 
 2. As a credential of His claims; 
 
 3. As giving value to His sacrificial death ; 
 
 4. As a substitution for our own ; 
 
 5. As the character to be reproduced in 
 
 His member* ... ... ... 177 
 
 Obstinate transgressors ... ... ... ( J5 
 
 Oppressors, the lot of K5 
 
 Pardon of Sin ; how dispensed 53, G9 
 Pardon of sin ; when vouchsafed 
 
 1. When sin is rea'ized and sincerely con- 
 
 fessed ; 
 
 2. When its demerit and hell-deserv ing- 
 
 ness is acknowledged ; 
 
 3. When deliverance is desired from its 
 
 practice and power as well as from 
 its punishment ; 
 
 4. When pardon is humbly accepted as a 
 
 matter of pure mercy ; 
 
 5. When accepted as bestowed oil the 
 
 ground of Christ's atonement ... 53 
 
 Peace; its nature and source 138 
 
 Peace, how communicated ... ... ... I'll* 
 
 Perfect man, a ... 5 
 
 Perfect man, Christ the only 177 
 
 Perfection, Christian 5, 32 
 
 Persecution ; its spirit and ground 
 
 1. Enmity to the truth ; 
 
 2. Desire for supremacy ; 
 
 3. Intolerance of opposition ; 
 
 4. Blind and misguided zeal 122 
 
 Its nature and results * 
 
 Persecutors ; their conversion to be sought 123 
 
 Perseverance in holiness 107 
 
 Physician, the Divine; characterized 
 by- 
 
 1. Readiness ; 
 
 2. Tenderness ; 
 
 3. Skill ; 
 
 4. Success in His operations 
 
 Pity ; to be shown to the afflicted 
 1. In words of sympathy and kindness ; 
 2- In practical aid ; 
 
 3. In tender regard for the sufferer's feel- 
 
 ings ; 
 
 4. In commending his case to God 
 Poor, kindness to the (tee Kindness). 
 
 41 
 
 Power and majesty of God; dis- 
 played in 
 
 1. The sudden overthrow of mountains ; 
 
 2. Earthquakes, landslips, &c. ; 
 
 3. Obscuration of the sun ; 
 
 4. Veiling the starry sky with clouds ; 
 
 5. The eitension of the firmament ; 
 
 6. Controlling the waves of the sea ; 
 
 7. Directing and preserving the apparent 
 
 motions of the stars and constellations 59 
 Prayer; its nature and necessity: is 
 I. Natural 1 ,
 
 UOMILETICAL INDEX. 
 
 2. Universal ; 
 
 3. A thing of the spirit; yet 
 
 4. Usually accompanied with some out- 
 
 ward expression ... ... ... 85 
 
 Prayer; wbv&pvrtf When 
 
 1. Not offered in hypocrisy; 
 
 2. Not accompanied with the practice of 
 
 sin; 
 
 3. Offered for right objects and from right 
 
 motives ; 
 
 4. Addressed to the only true God ; 
 
 5. Presented iu a way according to His 
 
 will; 
 
 6. Accompanied with right feelings and 
 
 dispositions ; 
 
 7. Made with humility ; 
 
 8. Offered through the One Mediator, and 
 
 with faith in His atoning sacrifice 101, 102 
 Prayer ; when vain ? When 
 
 1. Without sincerity ; 
 
 2. Without repentance ; 
 
 3. Without faith 224 
 
 Prayer, in time of trouble ; to be made for 
 
 1. Counsel and direction in it ; 
 
 2. Comfort and support under it ; 
 
 3. Deliverance in God's own time and way 
 
 out of it ; 
 
 4. The spiritual benefit and improvement 
 
 intended ly\i ... ... ... 36 
 
 Prayer ; why restrained ? From 
 
 1. Distaste for and dislike to it ; 
 
 2. Disbelief in its efficacy ; 
 
 3. Disdain and t elf-sufficiency ... ... 92 
 
 Prayer, the spirit of ... ... ... 141 
 
 Prayer, its necessity to a believer ... ... 186 
 
 Prayer, to be persevered in ... ... 164 
 
 Prayer, successful 164, 183, 224 
 
 Prayer, acceptance of, and answers to 
 
 141, 183, 214 
 
 Prayer for others 277, 279 
 
 Prayer of the ungodly and the hypocrite ... 
 
 163, 16* 
 Prayer, the privilege of ... ... ... 214 
 
 Prayer, the Lord's 101,239 
 
 Prayer, patterns for, in the Scriptures ... 101 
 PRKACHERS, hints to (See Preachers, in 
 
 General Index) 
 Pride 209 
 
 Priests and intercessors for others; 
 the privilege of believers to be such ; 
 requires 
 
 1. Deep consciousness of the evil and de- 
 
 merit of sin ; 
 
 2. High regard for the honour and interests 
 
 of God ; 
 
 3. Tender compassion for our fellow-men ; 
 
 4. A forgiving spirit towards enemies ... 278 
 Private judgment, the right and duty of (see 
 
 Right). 
 
 Promises, negative and positive ... 39 
 Promises of the New Testament as compared 
 
 with those of the Old 74 
 
 Promises, made to repentance : 
 
 1. Cheerful confidence before God and 
 men ; 
 
 2. Deliverance from present suffering ; 
 
 3. Abiding peace and joy ; 
 
 4. Safety and security ; 
 
 5. Influence for good among men ... 74 
 
 Prosperity of the ungodly 56, 77, 129 
 Its temporary nature ... ... ... 56 
 
 Prosperity of the wicked 
 
 1. One of the mysteries of Providence ; 
 
 2. One of the trials of good men ; 
 
 3. One of the proofs of a future judgment 
 
 121, 128 
 
 Providence, God's work of 24, 36, 233 
 
 Providence ; facts connected with it 
 
 1. The ungodly frequently prosper in this 
 
 life ; 
 
 2. Their prosperity followed by a speedy 
 
 and certain, if not a sudden, fall ; 
 
 3. Their children often sharers iu their 
 
 fall ; 
 
 4. Their wealth often the prey of the 
 
 rapacious and covetous ... ... 35 
 
 Providence, acts of 
 
 1. Causing destruction, as in the Deluge ; 
 
 2. Laying restraints on individuals ; 
 
 3. Overruling men's mischief and misery ; 
 
 4. Punishing nations and their rulers ; 
 
 5. Humbling the great ; 
 
 6. Disclosing hidden wickedness ; 
 
 7. Causing a nation's increase and decay 
 
 79, 80 
 
 Providence ; its sovereignty and inscrutable- 
 ness 132 
 
 Its irresistibleness . . . ... 145 
 
 Providential dealings 
 
 1. Probative ; 
 
 2. Disciplinary ... ... ... ... 63 
 
 Providential dealings, with respect 
 
 1 . To the ungodly ; 
 
 2. To the poor; 
 
 3. To the righteous 
 
 (1) In caring for them ; 
 
 (2) In exalting them ; 
 
 (3) In correcting them 228 
 
 Purposes of God ... ... 145 
 
 R 
 Ransom : 
 
 1. Meaning and application of the term ; 
 
 2. The actual ransom in Job ... 24, 33 
 
 3. The sinner's ransom found or provided 
 
 by God Himself 212 
 
 Reconciliation with God 
 
 1. God's reproof with a view to it ; 
 
 2. Possible under a dispensation of mercy ; 
 
 3. First step to it taken by God Himself; 
 
 4. With God to say, whether any and by 
 
 what means ... ... ... 276 
 
 Redeemer ; application of the term 
 
 1. To the nearest kinsman under the law ; 
 
 2. To God, as the Redeemer and Deliverer 
 
 of His people ; 
 
 3. To God the Son, as the Redeemer of the 
 
 Church and Saviour of the human 
 family , , 119
 
 HOMILETICAL INDEX. 
 
 XI. 
 
 Redeemer, My ; the language 
 
 1. Of appropriation ; 
 
 2. Of faith; 
 
 3. Of choice; 
 
 4. Of love; 
 
 5. Of knowledge and experience ; 
 
 6. Of satisfaction 120 
 
 Redemption of Christ; one from 
 
 1. The curse of a broken law; 
 
 2. The power of Satan ; 
 
 3. The punishment of sin ; 
 
 4. Sin itself; 
 
 Redemption of Christ ; effected 
 
 1. By purchase, through His blood; 
 
 2. By power, through His Spirit 
 
 (1) In quickening the soul to a new 
 
 and spiritual life ; 
 
 (2) In preserving and perfecting it in 
 
 the image of God 119 
 
 Redemption, God's work of, what it in- 
 
 eludes 234 
 
 Religion, true ; its excellence 171 
 
 Lay testimonies in favour of it ... ... 172 
 
 Repentance 
 
 1. Its nature ; 
 
 2. Its author ; 
 
 3. The means of its production ; 
 
 4. Its effects 275 
 
 Repentanae ; three steps in it 
 
 1. Preparation or right disposition of 
 
 heart ; implying : 
 
 (1) Serious consideration ; 
 
 (2) Firm purpose ; 
 
 (3) Suitable frame and disposition ; 
 
 (4) Removal of secret sin ; 
 
 2. Earnest prayer ; including 
 
 (1) Confession of sin ; 
 
 (2) Supplication for mercy ; 
 
 3. Amendment ; in respect to 
 
 (1) The heart; 
 
 (2) The hand ; 
 
 (3) The house 74 
 
 Repentance, a change of view in regard both 
 
 to God and ourselves ... ... ... 264 
 
 Repentance, Job's ; included 
 
 1. A believing acknowledgment of God's 
 
 omnipotence ; 
 
 2. A humble acceptance of Divine re- 
 
 proof ; 
 
 3. A penitent confession ; 
 
 4. A sincere desire to be taught of God 271 
 
 Best to the conscience ; the object 
 
 1. Of the Saviour's mission ; including 
 
 (1) His death; 
 
 (2) His resurrection ; 
 
 (3) His ascension into heaven ; 
 
 2. Of the mission of the Holy Ghost ; 
 
 3. Of the invitation and presence of Christ 219 
 
 Resurrection ; (the result of a New 
 
 Dispensation and a Second Adam ... 33 
 
 Resurrection, specimens of : 
 
 1. Christ Himself; 
 
 2. Those restored to life by His power ; 
 
 3. Those who rose at His resurrection ,.. 83 
 
 Resurrection not unknown to the patriarchs... 50 - 
 Resurrection, an example of the power of 
 G<1 ... ... ... ](5i 
 
 Resurrection, symbolized in spring... 2 >2 
 
 Returning to God ; promises annexed 
 
 to it: 
 
 1. Upbuilding; 
 
 2. Enjoyment of God as our Portion and 
 
 Defence ; 
 
 3. Delight in God ; 
 
 4. Access to aud confidence in God as a 
 
 reconciled Father ; 
 
 5. The spirit of prayer, and acceptance of 
 
 our petitions ; 
 
 6. The grace of thanksgiving ; 
 7- Success in our undertakings ; 
 
 8. Comfort, hope, and deliverance ; 
 
 9. Usefulness to others 140 
 
 Riches 7 
 
 Riches, trust in ; a common form of idolatry 194 
 Riches, trust in ; foolish as well as wicked ; 
 
 as 
 
 1. Riches are nncertain, and may soon and 
 
 suddenly cease to be ours ; 
 
 2. They are unable to render us either safe 
 
 or happy while we possess them j 
 
 3. They fail to meet the most important 
 
 exigences of our nature ; 
 
 4. They are unable to accompany us into 
 
 another world 194 
 
 Riches, loved and idolized ; When? 
 
 1. When their acquisition and enjoyment 
 
 afford more delight than God ; 
 
 2. When we are more concerned about 
 
 their acquisition and increase than 
 about God's favour ; 
 
 3. When we find it difficult to give them 
 
 up at God's will and for God's ser- 
 vice 194 
 
 Riches, vain, as 
 
 1. Unable to satisfy the soul ; 
 
 2. Sure to disappoint those who trtut in 
 
 them, whether for 
 
 (1) Satisfaction ; 
 
 (2) Protection ; or, 
 
 (3) Continuance 97 
 
 Right of Private Judgment 78, 215 
 
 1. Men possessed of a faculty by which to 
 
 judge of statements on moral and 
 religious subjects ; 
 
 2. Man's duty to exercise that faculty in 
 
 regard to such subject* ; 
 
 3. Human authority on religions subject* 
 
 to be respected, but not regarded a* 
 paramount ; 
 
 4. The right of private judgment to be 
 
 exercised in reference to moral and 
 religion* subject* 
 
 (1) With seriousness and attention; 
 
 (2) With candour and patience ; 
 
 (3) With modesty and humility ; 
 
 (4) With impartiality and without 
 
 prejudice ; 
 
 (5) With prayer for Divine enlighten- 
 
 ment .., ... '8
 
 Xll. 
 
 HOMILETICAL INDEX. 
 
 Rock, the, and its Shelter 
 
 1. As sinners men are by nature exposed 
 
 to a storm : this storm unequalled by 
 others, as 
 
 (1) Other storms affect only the body ; 
 
 this the soul ; 
 
 (2) Others endure but for a short time ; 
 
 this for ever ; 
 
 (3) Others may leave peace within ; 
 
 this fills with anguish and despair. 
 
 2. Men, in themselves, are without a 
 
 shelter. 
 
 3. Such a shelter provided in Christ ; 
 
 Christ as a Rock 
 
 (1) Affords perfect safety to the soul 
 that trusts in Him ; 
 
 (2) Never changes ; 
 
 (3) Is sufficient to receive and shelter 
 
 all who betake themselves to Him; 
 
 (4) Is comfortable and well-reple- 
 
 nished ; 
 
 (5) Is accessible to all ; 
 
 (6) Makes all welcome to its shelter. 
 
 4. This Rock to be "embraced " ... 148 
 
 Rulers 
 
 1. Their justice implied in their office ; 
 
 2. Under the most solemn obligations to 
 
 be just ; 
 
 3. To be not only just but beneficent ; 
 
 4. Reverence due to them from their 
 
 office ; 
 
 5. Subject to God's ordination ... 218, 220 
 
 S. 
 
 Sacrifices. What ? 
 What in patriarchal times, and under the 
 
 law ; 
 
 Their early origin ; 
 Their object and use ; 
 Their meaning ; 
 Different kinds of sacrifices ; 
 Their naturalness ; 
 Their universality ; 
 Their insufficiency ; 
 The Great Sacrifice 9, 277 
 
 Salvation ; including 
 
 1. Satisfaction to Divine justice for sin ; 
 
 2. Regeneration, or renewal of our nature 205 
 
 Satan 
 
 1. His name ; 
 
 2. His personality ; 
 
 3. His nature and character ; 
 
 4. His works ... ... ... ... 11 
 
 The accuser of the good ... ... ... 12 
 
 His lies 12, 20 
 
 I lis malignity and cruelty ... 18,19,20, 51 
 
 His mysterious power 15, 18 
 
 Under God's control, and employed for Hi* 
 
 purposes ... ... ... 18, 61 
 
 The sphere of his operation ... . . 14 
 
 His object 17, 19, 20 
 
 His power in regard to believers limited ... 18 
 His ingenuity in tempting and tormenting 
 
 18, 51 
 His suggestions ... ,.. ,.. ... 20 
 
 His defeat 23 
 
 His character as a deceiver 97 
 
 As a slanderer ... 116 
 
 As an adversary ... ... ... ... 184 
 
 Symbolized by Leviathan ... 270 
 
 Second Appearing, the Lord's ; to be 
 
 desired and longed for, as 
 
 1. The time of full redemption to be- 
 
 lievers ; 
 
 2. The same to all the brethren, living or 
 
 departed ; 
 
 3. The time of deliverance to the whole 
 
 creation ; 
 
 4. The time when Christ shall be mani- 
 
 fested in glory ; 
 
 5. The period for the creation of the new 
 
 heavens and the new earth... ... 121 
 
 See God, to 
 
 1. The blessedness of the glorified ; im- 
 
 plies 
 
 (1) A much higher and clearer know- 
 
 ledge of God ; 
 
 (2) Enjoyment of immediate and unin- 
 
 terrupted fellowship with Him ; 
 
 (3) More blessful consciousness of His 
 
 favour and love ; 
 
 (4) Fuller understanding of His present 
 
 providential dealings ; 
 
 2. The joyful anticipation of believers 
 
 here ; implies 
 
 (1) A conscious state of peace and re- 
 
 conciliation with God ; 
 
 (2) A renewed nature, capable of de- 
 
 lighting in God and His fellow- 
 ship ; 
 
 (3) Purity of heart and conscious in- 
 
 tegrity of character ... ... 121 
 
 Self- righteousness ... ... ... ... 02 
 
 Servants or slaves ; Job's humane treatment 
 of them, grounded on the considera- 
 tion 
 
 1. That he was amenable to God for his 
 
 treatment of them ; 
 
 2. That they had the same Creator and 
 
 mode of creation with himself; 
 
 3. That he and they possessed a common 
 
 nature 190, 191 
 
 Sick, healing of the ... ... ... 213 
 
 Sin and its consequences 30 
 
 Its deceivableness ... ... 97 
 
 Its own recompense ... ... ... ib- 
 
 Its short-lived prosperity 124 
 
 Sin, as injury against God 
 
 1. Robs Him of His honour; 
 
 2. Tramples upon His authority ; 
 
 3. Transgresses His laws ; 
 
 4. Disturbs His dominions ; 
 
 5. Brings disorder into His government ; 
 
 6. Interferes with His enjoyment of His 
 
 own works ; 
 
 7. Obliterates His image and substitutes 
 
 that of His adversary 53 
 
 Songs in the Night, given by God 
 I. The SONGS themselves :
 
 UOMILETICAL IXDEX. 
 
 XIII. 
 
 1. Of joy and gladness ; 
 
 '<J. Of praise and thanksgiving ; 
 
 Such songs 
 
 (1) The sweetest ; 
 
 (2) The holiest ; 
 
 (3) The most lasting. 
 
 II. The NIGHT, when given : 
 
 1. The natural night ; 
 
 2. The night of trouble : 
 
 (1) Of personal affliction ; 
 
 (2) Of temporal adversity ; 
 
 (3) Of painful bereavement ; 
 
 (4) Of persecution from the world; 
 
 (5) Of spiritual darkness and deser- 
 
 tion ; 
 
 (6) Of death and its solemn ap- 
 
 proaches. 
 III. How CHVKN by God : 
 
 1. By bringing into trouble ; 
 
 2. By comforting under it ; 
 
 3. By delivering out of it 225 
 
 Sovereignty, God's ; fitted 
 
 1. To silence mnrmurings under afflictions 
 
 and trials ; 
 
 2. To pacify and rest the soul under dark 
 
 dispensations and mysterious pro- 
 vidences ; 
 
 3. To comfort the heart in the view of 
 
 abounding sin and misery ... ... 159 
 
 Speech, a Christian's 91, 92 
 
 Spirit- World ; what to believers 
 under the Old and the New Testament 
 
 dispensations 70,90,91,157 
 
 Its Lessons 
 
 1. The comparative insignificance of 
 
 worldly prosperity or adversity ; 
 
 2. The importance of securing a place of 
 
 happiness in that world of spirits ; 
 
 3. The value of the Gospel that reveals its 
 
 character ; 
 
 4. The necessity of an interest in Him who 
 
 has the keys of it ... ... 91 
 
 The spirit-world, hidden from and impene- 
 trable to men while in the body 248 
 
 Spring ; the season of 
 
 1. Returning brightness and sunshine ; 
 
 2. Warmth and comfort ; 
 
 3. Revived life ; 
 
 4. Freshness and beauty ; 
 
 5. Joyousness and gaiety ; 
 G. Love. 
 
 Spring, fitted and intended 
 
 1. To awaken gratitude ; 
 
 2. To picture forth another Spring, viz. : 
 
 (1) When the soul is renewed and 
 
 quickened to spiritual life ; 
 
 (2) When the drooping believer is re- 
 
 stored to liveliness and comfort ; 
 
 (3) When both the Church and the 
 
 earth itself sball be renewed in 
 life and beauty at the Lord's 
 
 Second Advent 251 
 
 State of the Dead ; light regarding it 
 introduced by the Gospel 
 1. By Christ's teaching , 
 
 2. By his death, resurrection, and ascen- 
 sion into heaven ; 
 [lence the threefold duty of believers 
 
 1. Of thankfulness ; 
 
 2. Of joyfulness ; 
 
 3. Of heavenly-mindedness 70 
 
 States after Death, only two 88 
 
 Success in undertakings ... ... ... 141 
 
 Suffering, the benefit of, 23, 4'J 
 
 Suffering reconcilable with God's goodness : 
 
 as 
 
 1. No suffering but as the effect of sin ; 
 
 2. Suffering overruled for God's own 
 
 glory ; 
 
 3. Suffering made conducive to our own 
 
 happiness ; 
 
 4. The suffering of one made to contribute 
 
 to the benefit of another. 
 
 Teaching, Divine; required in afflic- 
 tion 
 
 1 . In regard to sin ; 
 
 2. In regard to duty 220 
 
 Divine Teaching : 
 
 I. Its EXCELLENCE (tee " God as a 
 Teacher ") ; 
 
 IT. Itg NECESSITY } 
 
 III. The MEANS by which it is carried on : 
 
 1. God's word ; 
 
 2. His works; 
 
 3. His Providential dealings ; 
 
 4. His Spirit ; 
 
 IV. The SUBJECTS embraced by it : 
 
 1. Ourselves; 
 
 2. Our doty ; 
 
 3. Our happiness, wlierein it consists and 
 
 how it is obtained ; 
 
 4. Virtue or holiness; 
 
 (1) Its nature ; 
 
 (2) Its excellence ; 
 
 (3) Its means of attainment ; 
 
 5. Sin, its nature, malignity, and conse- 
 
 quences ; 
 
 6. Salvation, or deliverance from sin and 
 
 its effects ; 
 
 7. God Himself, in His Being, Perfections, 
 
 and Relations to mankind ; 
 
 8. Jesus Christ, in His Person, Work, and 
 
 Offices as our Redeemer 232 
 
 Temptation 
 
 1. Believers liable to all kinds of it ; 
 
 2. Temptation only sinful when yielded to ; 
 
 3. Frequently presented in order to escape 
 
 suffering * 
 
 Thanksgiving, the grace of, 1 
 
 Time 
 
 1. Its rapid flight and short duration; 
 
 2. Its value ; 
 
 3. Danger of trifling with it w 
 
 Tradition * 
 
 Training, early l 
 
 Trials, result of, to a believer 
 
 1. Justification of his faith ; 
 
 2. Confirmation of his hope ; 
 
 3. Purification of his love '
 
 HOMILETICAL INDEX. 
 
 27 
 
 Trouble, various kinds of 86 
 
 Trouble, uses of, to a believer 
 
 1. Purifies him ; 
 
 2. Preserves him ; 
 
 3. Makes him fruitful ; 
 
 4. Teaches him ; 
 
 5. Brings him richer consolation; 
 
 6. Conforms him to Christ 
 Trouble 
 
 1. Its origin ; 
 
 2. Its universality ; 
 
 3. Its certainty ... ... ... ... 36 
 
 Trouble; our duty and comfort under it ... 55 
 God to be sought to in trouble 
 
 1. For counsel and direction in it ; 
 
 2. For comfort and support under it ; 
 
 3 . For grace to glorify God by it ; 
 
 4. For timely deliverance out of it ; 
 
 5. For benefit and improvement through it 36 
 
 Trouble, an inheritance ... 48 
 
 God the only help and refuge in it ... 55 
 
 Trouble, to a believer ; may be 
 
 1. On account of past or present sin ; 
 
 2. For trial and manifestation of grace ; 
 
 3. For purification and spiritual growth ; 
 
 4. For exhibition of Divine support ... 67 
 
 Trne Religion ; man's highest wisdom 1 7 1 
 Lay testimonies to its value and importance 172 
 
 Trust in God 
 
 1. Trust ; implies 
 
 (1) Faith ; 
 
 (2) Hope; 
 
 (3) Patience. 
 
 2. Trust in God ; is trust 
 
 (1) In His goodness; 
 
 (2) In His wisdom ; 
 
 (3) In His faithfulness; 
 
 (4) In His justice ; 
 
 (5) In His power. 
 Such trust to be exercised 
 
 1. In the deepest darkness ; 
 
 2. Under the greatest discouragements ; 
 
 3. In danger and difficulties ; 
 
 4. In the absence of all help from our- 
 
 selves and others ; 
 
 5. In spite of all appearances ... ... 194 
 
 U 
 
 Unchangeableness of God 145 
 
 Ungodly, the lot of ; in reference 
 
 1. To their children ; 
 
 2. To their possessions ; 
 
 3. To their persons 165 
 
 Unsearchableness of God 
 
 1. In His person ; 
 
 2. In His perfections ; 
 
 3. In His purposes ; 
 
 4. In His procedure. 
 
 Lessons from God's Unsearchableness 
 
 1. Modesty and humility in judging of 
 
 God's being and ways ; 
 
 2. Submission to His will ; 
 
 3. Trust in His wisdom and goodness ; 
 
 4. Loving and adoring reverence ... 72 
 
 w 
 
 Warning to Sinners 230 
 
 I. Their DANGER: "There is wrath;" 
 which is 
 
 1. Righteous; 
 
 2. Holy; 
 
 3. Intolerable ; 
 
 4. Irremovable by creature -power. 
 
 II. Their DUTY : " Beware : " implying 
 
 1. An awaking to consciousness and con- 
 
 sideration of the danger ; 
 
 2. A halting in our present course ; 
 
 3. Earnest inquiry as to the way ot 
 
 deliverance ; 
 
 4. Immediate obedience to Divine direc- 
 
 tion. 
 
 III. The DOOM of neglecting the duty: 
 
 "Lest He take thee away," &c.... ... 230 
 
 Water, a comparison and contrast ... ... 'Ji 
 
 Whirlwind, or Storm-cloud, spoken 
 from by Jehovah : expressive of 
 
 1. The majesty of the speaker ; 
 
 2. The weightiness of the matter ; 
 
 3. The power of the Almighty to accom- 
 
 plish His purposes ; 
 
 4. The terribleness of His displeasure. 
 Intended 
 
 1. To awaken more solemn attention ; 
 
 2. To convey a deeper impression ; 
 
 3. To produce deeper conviction and 
 
 humiliation... ... ... ... 2i3 
 
 Believers still occasionally addressed out of 
 a whirlwind ... ... ... ... ib. 
 
 Wicked, The 
 
 1 . Their character ; 
 
 2. Their temporary prosperity ; 
 
 3. Their subsequent misery 95,124, 151 
 Their experience and fate ... 110,131,151 
 
 Wickedness ; " great "- 
 
 1. ABSOLUTELY : as committed 
 
 (1) Against & great God; 
 
 (2) Against great obligations to the 
 
 contrary ; 
 
 (3) With comparatively little induce- 
 
 ment to commit it : 
 
 (4) With great evil to ourselves and 
 
 others as the result of it ; hence 
 
 (5) Requiring a great atonement to 
 
 expiate it. 
 
 2. COMPARATIVELY, on the part of some ; 
 
 as committed 
 With greater boldness ; 
 With greater obligations to the 
 contrary ; 
 
 (3) With greater knowledge and means 
 
 of resistance; 
 
 (4) With less temptation to the com- 
 
 mission of it ... ... ... 135 
 
 Wisdom, true ; Job's descant on it 
 
 1. Man's inability by his own unaided 
 
 powers either to discover or acquire 
 it; 
 
 2. Its supreme excellence ;
 
 HOMILETICAL INDEX. 
 
 4 
 
 222 
 
 3. Its origin and discovery with God 
 
 Himself; 
 
 4. Its nature the fear of God and de- 
 
 parture from evil 
 
 Wisdom, true ; its superiority over all earthly 
 treasures ; evinced by 
 
 1 . Its intrinsic excellence ; 
 
 2. Its ability to afford true and solid hap- 
 
 piness ; 
 
 3. Its endless durability ,. 168 
 
 Wise Man, the. Who? 
 
 1. That understands God's character and 
 
 ways, and is able to interpret them 
 to others ; 
 
 2. "Who knows what both himself and 
 
 others ought to do, and does it ; 
 
 3. Who faithfully and intelligently aims 
 
 at the best interests of himself and 
 his fellow-men 
 
 Words, our 
 
 Our responsibility for them 
 The index of the heart 
 
 Words, Right; "how forcible," &c. 
 
 I. Their FORM as " words : " 
 
 1. Argument; 
 
 2. Reproof; 
 
 3. Instruction ; 
 
 4. Admonition ; 
 
 5. Promise : 
 
 II. Their CHARACTER as "right" words 
 
 1. Right and true in themselves ; 
 
 2. The whole tvuth, so far as necessary in 
 
 connection with the subject ; 
 
 3. Correct in their application ; 
 
 4. Spoken in uprightness and sincerity : 
 
 III. Their EFFICACY or Forcibleness 
 
 1. In enlightening the understanding; 
 
 2. In awakening the conscience ; 
 
 3. In moving the affections and will; 
 
 4. In imparting comfort ... 45, 46 
 
 Words of God 
 
 I. To be laid up in our heart : 
 
 1. For what purposes 
 
 (1) For remembrance ; 
 
 (2) For meditation ; 
 
 (3) For use ; 
 
 2. By what means 
 
 (1) By deep attention ; 
 
 (2) By frequent reading or hearing; 
 
 (3) By serious reflection. 
 
 II. To be highly esteemed 
 
 1. Esteemed as our most precious trea- 
 
 sure ; 
 
 2. Chosen and adopted as our only rule 
 
 of faith and practice ; 
 
 8. Carefully treasured up in our me- 
 mory; 
 
 4. Held fast and persevered in ... 13U, 144 
 
 1. Doctrines ; 
 
 2. Promises ; 
 
 3. Covenants f 
 
 Word of God 
 
 I. REASONS for highly esteeming it : 
 
 1. Its source and ori ff in,God Himself; 
 
 2. Its nature and character, as 
 
 (1) Pure; 
 
 (2) True ; 
 
 (3) Efficacious; 
 
 3. Its tendency and end, as 
 
 (1) A means of convincing of sin and 
 
 error ; 
 
 (2) A means of conversion ; 
 
 (3) The Spirit's instrument in regenera- 
 
 tion ; 
 
 (4) The means of spiritual enlighten- 
 
 ment ; 
 
 (5) Our directory as to duty and the 
 
 way of salvation ; 
 
 (6) The means of spiritual comfort and 
 
 refreshment; 
 
 (7) The means of our sanctification ; 
 
 (8) The means of spiritual fruitful ness; 
 
 (9) The means of perfecting Christian 
 
 character ; 
 
 (10) The means of preparing the believer 
 for usefulness : 
 
 II. EVIDENCES of our highly esteeming it : 
 
 1. When it is attentively read or heard ; 
 
 2. When it is seriously and frequently 
 
 pondered ; 
 
 3. When it is carefully treasured up in 
 
 the memory ; 
 
 4. When it is preferred to earthly com- 
 
 forts and possessions ; 
 
 5. \\ben we make our own views, &c., to 
 
 yield to it ; 
 
 6. When suffering and loss are preferred 
 
 to the violation of its precepts ... 144 
 
 Work, God's : Threefold : 
 
 1. Creation ; 
 
 2. Providence; 
 
 3. Redemption 24, 36, 232 
 
 God's work : 
 
 1. Apt to be shut out from our thought* ; 
 
 2. Our duty as intelligent creatures to ob- 
 
 serve it ; 
 
 3. Our distinction as creatures to bccapable 
 
 of admiring and praising it ; 
 
 4. His work such as to demand our ad- 
 
 miration and praise ; 
 
 5. Admired and praised by good nun in 
 
 all ages ; 
 
 6. Everywhere visible and conspicuous 
 
 36, 232, 133 
 Worship of the heavenly bodies 195
 
 (Swwral 
 
 Mdiel 198 
 
 Abyssinia ... ... ... ... ... 1 1 7 
 
 Access to God, a result of sanctified afflictiou 213 
 
 Acquisition of knowledge ... ... ... 80 
 
 Actinism ... ... ... 253 
 
 Adam Ctarke, sayings of ... ... 46, 166 
 
 Addison, a snying of ... 67 
 
 Adrian Pop?, the death of ... ... 33 
 
 Adullam, Cave of 148 
 
 Adultery 190 
 
 Adversity, a test of friendship ... ... 21 
 
 Afflictions, value and improvement of ... 15 
 
 Albigenses, The ... ... ... ... 122 
 
 Alcyon, a star in the Pleiades ... ... 252 
 
 A// red the Great, anecdote of ... ... 211 
 
 Alexander the Great, his burial-place ... 24 
 
 Alexis, the friend of Luther ... ... 235 
 
 Alma, battle of 81 
 
 Ambition, quotation on ... ... ... 208 
 
 Ambrose, a saying of ... ... ... 211 
 
 America, discovery of ... ... ... 234 
 
 Amharic language, The ... ... ... 117 
 
 Angels 9, 10, 32 
 
 not to be prayed to, or employed as in- 
 tercessors .". ... 34, 132, 153 
 
 Anger 109 
 
 Anglo-Saxons, deities of ... ... ... 195 
 
 Animal Creation, The ; evidences of God's 
 
 attributes and perfections , . ... 255 
 
 Animals viewed as symbols,.. ... ... 31 
 
 their effect on the atmosphere 
 
 cared for by the Creator ... 
 
 designed for man's instruction 
 
 ... 159 
 ... 255 
 ... 259 
 37, 158 
 .. 255 
 
 Animalcnlse 
 
 Animated Nature, to be studied by man 
 Anomalies apparent in the Divine pro- 
 cedure ... ... ... ... ... 55 
 
 Anliochus Epiphanes. persecution under ... 29 
 
 Antelope, The 256 
 
 Apollo, temple of, in London ... ... 195 
 
 Apnllyon, Bunyan's description of... ... 271 
 
 Arab jars 19 
 
 proverbs ... ... 56, 73, 175, 259 
 
 hospitality 110, 115, 197 
 
 houses and tents ... ... 115, 173 
 
 garments ... ... ... ... 135 
 
 charity ... ... ... ... ib. 
 
 poems ... ... ... ... 34 
 
 poets 31 
 
 poetry ... ... 30 
 
 Arabs, their incursions ... ... ... 14 
 
 tlieir tokens of mourning ... ... 15 
 
 theintse of salt ... ... ... 42 
 
 their fondness for poetical and pro- 
 verbial maxims ... ... 55,82 
 
 tlieir belief in predestination ... 87 
 
 their national boast... ... ... 94 
 
 Arabs, their saying in regard to blood ... 102 
 
 their usual demeanour ... ... 109 
 
 their power of extempore versification 110 
 
 their respect for age ... ... 178 
 
 the addictedness of the lower classes 
 
 to abusive language ... ... 180 
 
 Arabia, famous for its wise men ... ... 94 
 
 Arabian Idolatry ... ... ... ... 195 
 
 /tram, 202 
 
 Ararmcan language 203 
 
 Archbishop Ussher, saying of ... 156, 206 
 Archlas, death of, ... ... ... ... 50 
 
 Arctiirus ... ... ... 60 
 
 Ari slides the Just ... ... ... ... 93 
 
 Aristotle ... 170 
 
 Arkwriqht ... ... ... ... ... 254 
 
 Annageddon, battle of, 249,261 
 
 Ass, in a wild state 42,148,257 
 
 Astronomy, teaching of, in regard to God... 72 
 Athenian* and the Unknown God ... ... 36 
 
 Atmosphere, the ... ... ... 169, 235 
 
 Avgustine, sayings of, ... 16, 20, 30, 31, 34 
 
 his admonition to preachers ... 156 
 
 incidents in his history... 27, 50 
 
 his comparison in reference to 
 
 God 241 
 
 Augustus, anecdote of the Emperor ... 190 
 Aurora Borealis ... ... ... ... 253 
 
 Avenging Furies ... ... ... ... 96 
 
 B 
 
 Babel-builders ... ... ... 
 
 liabi/lon, the parent of idolatry 
 Bacon, his famous saying in regard to read- 
 ing, &c. 
 
 Bnrachel, meaning of the name, ... 
 Barrow, Dr., saying of 
 Basque proverb, a ... 
 Battle of Armageddon ... ... 249, 
 
 Baxter, Richard, a saying of 
 
 Bear, the Great ..." 0, 
 
 Beasts, man's superiority to the 
 
 Beauty ... ... ... ... 
 
 Bechnanas ... 
 Bedin, the ... 
 Bedouins, boast of the 
 
 their character ... ... 35, 
 
 their independence ... 
 
 Beecher, Henri/ W., sayings of, ... 24, 28, 
 
 Behemoth, what ? 
 
 Benevolence, early habits of ... 
 Bible, its preciousness ... ... ... 
 
 the first printed ... 
 
 Society ... 
 
 Birds 
 
 Birds of passage ... ... ... 
 
 Sirs Nimroud ... ... ... 
 
 Bishop Hall, saying of ... ... 
 
 37 
 195 
 
 81 
 
 202 
 
 30 
 
 14 
 
 261 
 
 251 
 225 
 281 
 180 
 256 
 
 34 
 147 
 257 
 223 
 226 
 193 
 141 
 117 
 
 ib. 
 261 
 
 ib. 
 
 37 
 
 27
 
 GENERAL INDEX. 
 
 XVII. 
 
 Blood, innocent ... ... 102 
 
 Body, the human ... ... ... G7, 68 
 
 Book of Nature, its teachings 77 
 
 its deficiency ... ... 78 
 
 Bottles, skin 205 
 
 Brain, the ... ... ... ... .. 254 
 
 Brentius, saying of ... ... ... 211 
 
 Britons, ancient ... 179 
 
 Brookes, sayings of 22,23, 25 
 
 27, 30,38,40, 12'J, 211, 130 
 
 Broom, or juniper, roots of 179 
 
 Bulls of Bashan 258 
 
 Burial, want of 165 
 
 Burke, Edmund, his testimony in regard to 
 
 true religion ... 172 
 
 Sums, liobcrt, his lines in regard to worldly 
 
 pleasure ... ... ... 50 
 
 his testimony to true religion 172 
 
 Butter 174 
 
 Buz ... .. 202 
 
 Caaba, the ... 
 Cadmus, the Phenician 
 
 Cam, descendants of ... ... ... 
 
 Cairo, cemetery of ... ... ... 
 
 Canaan, the seven nations of 
 
 Cannibals of Fiji ............ 
 
 Capra sEyagra, the ...... 
 
 Caravans, Eastern ...... ... 45, 
 
 Carlyle, sayings of ......... 106, 
 
 Carpenter, Dr., quotation from 
 
 Caryl, Joseph, sayings of ... 2], 25, 70, 
 
 Cave of Adullam ... ... ...... 
 
 Caves, dwellers in ......... 
 
 -- the refuge of the persecuted 
 
 Caverns 
 
 Celestial Council, the ... ...... 
 
 Cemetery of Cairo, its teachings ...... 
 
 Centrifugal force ...... 
 
 Cephren, founder of the Second Pyramid ... 
 Ceesar ...... ......... 
 
 Caesar Borgia ... ... ... 
 
 (.(p.sar, Julius, death of 
 
 Caesar's Golden Palace at Rome ...... 
 
 Chaliicea ... ... ... ... ... 
 
 Chaldseans ... ... ... ... ... 
 
 Chalmers, Dr., quotation from ... ... 
 
 Chalybes, or Cyclops 
 
 Charles IX., of France, death of 30, 103, 
 Charles Mar lei 
 Chastity 
 
 Chemistry, an example of Divine wisdom... 
 Cheops, the founder of the Great Pyramid 
 
 25, 
 
 Chesid ... ... ... _ 
 
 Chester, inscription OH a house in ...... 
 
 Children ............. ; 
 
 - - often the inheritors of their 
 
 parents' sins and punishment 
 
 35, 124, 132, 
 
 , --- how regarded in the East 
 -- an clement of prosperity and 
 
 happiness 
 
 -- , their removal by death ...... 
 
 195 
 
 167 
 
 180 
 
 167 
 
 24 
 
 80 
 
 176 
 
 256 
 
 173 
 
 242 
 
 160 
 
 96 
 
 148 
 
 179 
 
 ib. 
 
 148 
 
 9 
 
 24 
 
 158 
 
 25 
 
 15 
 
 50 
 
 50 
 
 25 
 
 195 
 
 14 
 
 160 
 
 167 
 
 122 
 
 246 
 
 188 
 
 169 
 
 117 
 14 
 39 
 16 
 
 165 
 40 
 
 129 
 281 
 
 CHRIST, Hie Substitute 9,42, 
 
 the One Mediator ... 
 
 the Physician of Souls ... 65, 
 
 our Surety and Righteousness 
 
 the First-fruits of Resurrection ... 
 
 our Advocate 
 
 our Hope 
 
 our Friend 
 
 69 
 66 
 96 
 83 
 
 103 
 108 
 116 
 119, 120 
 
 our Redeemer 
 
 a Master .' 139 
 
 a Rock for Shelter 149 
 
 the Counsellor 155 
 
 our Head and Representative 162, 177 
 
 the Perfect Man 
 
 the Messenger of the Covenant 
 
 177 
 211 
 277 
 5 
 214 
 
 - the High Priest 
 
 Christian perfection 
 Chrysoslom, saying of 
 
 City Arabs . 179 
 
 Cities, warning for 150 
 
 in the East 174 
 
 gates of 4. 
 
 Cleopatra's Palace at Alexandria 25 
 
 Clothing, materials for 193 
 
 the poor ... ... ... ... U. 
 
 Clouds 60 
 
 their uses 158 
 
 mystery connected with them 
 
 235, 237, 238, 250 
 
 Coal, beds of 167, 233 
 
 Cold 238 
 
 Comfort of believers in times of darkness... 143 
 
 Copernican theory of Solar System ... 249 
 
 Conflict between God and Satan 83 
 
 Conscience... 47 
 
 terrors of ... Ill 
 
 Conscious innocence ... ... ... 47 
 
 Consistency, ministerial ... ... ... ' 
 
 Constanline, the Great, saying of 24 
 
 Constellations 60, 160, 257 
 
 Controversy I 1 
 
 Corinth, the profligates of 180 
 
 Council, the Celestial 
 
 Countenance, an index of the heart ' 
 
 Courage, true ... ... ... I 
 
 Courts, where held iu the East 174 
 
 Covetousness 189 
 
 Cowper, quotations from J15, 122, 130, 137, 
 
 140,143, 153, ] 73, J91, 196,23 
 
 Cranmer, Archbishop, anecdote of 162, 193, 231 
 
 Crassus, a Roman General ' 
 
 Creation, account of, in Genesis ( 
 
 Crescent, the 195 
 
 Crocodile, the 160,268 
 
 Cruelty 
 
 Crust, the earth's 245,24? 
 
 Cuvier, quotation from 2i 
 
 Cyclops Ml 
 
 Cyrus the Great ' 
 
 1) 
 
 Day of wrath 
 
 Day and night, vicissitude of, ... 158, 247 
 
 Daysman, a ] 
 
 Dead, state of the 7" 
 
 place of the 1"
 
 XV111. 
 
 GENERAL INDEX. 
 
 Death, the origin of ... 85,86 
 
 Deference to seniors and superiors in the 
 
 East 116 
 
 Delay, danger of ... ... ... ... 50 
 
 Deliverance from temporal evils ... ... 39 
 
 Dens, the refuge of the persecuted... ... 179 
 
 Depravity, human ... ... ...86,93,130 
 
 Depths of the ocean ... ... ... 246 
 
 Dew 250 
 
 in the East 174 
 
 comparisons to it in Scripture ... 250 
 
 Diana, temple of, at Westminster 195 
 
 Discovery of sin ... ... ... ... 84 
 
 Disease, Job's 19, 49 
 
 lessons from it ... ... 49 
 
 Diseases, often the result of sin ... ... 125 
 
 often instantaneously removed by 
 
 the finger of God ... ..". 278 
 
 Dissimulation ... ... ... 81, 82 
 
 Dogs in the East ... ... ... ... 178 
 
 Domestic blessings 40,173 
 
 Dorcas ... ... 193 
 
 Dragon, the constellation of the ... ... 160 
 
 Dragon or Leviathan ... ... 160, 268 
 
 Dreams, different kinds of, ... 51 
 
 Dregs of society, how to be treated ... 179 
 
 Duke of Alva ' 122 
 
 Duncan's Philosophy of the Seasons, quota- 
 tion from ... ... 253 
 
 E 
 
 Eagle, the 262 
 
 viewed as a symbol ... ... ... 263 
 
 Early devotion ... ... 8 
 
 training ... ... ... ... 192 
 
 Earth, formation of the 245 
 
 its crust 245,247 
 
 its interior ... ... ... ... 247 
 
 its extent ... ... ... ... 248 
 
 Earthquakes 60, 79 
 
 East, the 7 
 
 men of the ... ... ... ... ib. 
 
 Eastern manners 116,174,197 
 
 mirrors ... ... ... ... 239 
 
 produce ... ... ... ... 174 
 
 cities ... ... ... ... ib. 
 
 towns and villages ... ... 197 
 
 (See Oriental). 
 
 Education ... 254 
 
 Egypt SO 
 
 Egyptian kings and statesmen 25 
 
 tombs ib. 
 
 hieroglyphics ... 60,174,189 
 
 Electricity, a product of Divine wisdom ... 170 
 
 still a mystery ... 236, 250 
 
 Elephant, the 266 
 
 Elephantiasis 19, 49 
 
 Elihu; his place in the poem 201 
 
 his personality ... ... ... 202 
 
 - his character ... ... ... 203 
 
 his motives for speaking ... ... ib. 
 
 his resolution ... 205 
 
 viewed as a type of Christ and an 
 
 example to preachers ... ,.. 202 
 
 Eliphaz ; viewed as an example to preachers 41 
 
 Epictetus, saying of 129 
 
 Epicurus ... ... ... ... ... 170 
 
 Epiphanius, saying of ... ... ... ib. 
 
 Erasmus, saying of ... ... ... 156 
 
 a saying concerning him ... 28 
 
 Evening ... ... ... ... ... 159 
 
 Evelyn, John, his epitaph on himself ... 172 
 
 Example, influence of ... ... ... 107 
 
 Extempore versification, Arab ... 110, 180 
 
 Extortion, common in the East ... ... 200 
 
 F 
 
 Faith, its preciousness 16, 136 
 
 its nature ... ... ... ... 44 
 
 Job's 89 
 
 the Christian's ... ... ... 118 
 
 Falcon, the 261 
 
 Falling Stars 253 
 
 Family worship 8 
 
 Faraday, Professor, on natural laws ... 252 
 
 Faust, John 117 
 
 Fauslns, son of Vortigern ... 101 
 
 Fear of God ... 6,29,92, 171, 194 
 
 Feathers, structure of ... 261 
 
 Female martyr, saying of a 162 
 
 Fenelon, saying of 193 
 
 Festivity , 7, 129 
 
 Fire, subterranean ... ... ... ... 167 
 
 Fires of hospitality, Arab 110 
 
 Fleming, Professor, quotation from ... 159 
 
 Flesh, the ; its views of God ...68, 69, 184 
 
 Flesh aud spirit in believers 
 Flower, man compared to a ... 
 Force, Conservation of 
 Forces, centripetal and centrifugal .., 
 Fonntains bequeathed by rich Arabs 
 in the bottom of the sea 
 
 23 
 ... 86 
 ... 252 
 158, 252 
 ... 135 
 ... 246 
 30, 80, 102 
 
 France ... ... 
 
 Franklin, saying of ... ... 24 
 
 French, attempts of, against England ... 37 
 
 Revolution ' 234 
 
 Friends, Job's three 21 
 
 Friendship proved in adversity ... ... 21 
 
 the blessing of 21, 104, 116, 280 
 
 - true and false ... ... ... 45 
 
 G 
 
 Galaxy, the 252 
 
 (See Milky Way), 
 
 Galen, anecdote of ... ... ... 67 
 
 Garments, Arab ... ... ... ... 135 
 
 Garrick. saying of ... ... ... ... 156 
 
 Gates of Oriental cities ... ... ... 174 
 
 Gazelle, the 256 
 
 Geology, the teaching of ... ... ... 72 
 
 GJdzeh, the Great Pyramid of ... ... 25 
 
 Gilpin, Bernard., anecdote of ... ... 39 
 
 Goat, wild 256 
 
 Goel, redeemer, or near kinsman ... ... 119 
 
 Gold found in Arabia ... ... ... 166 
 
 abundant in Job's time ... ... 168 
 
 believers compared to it 1*3 
 
 Goldsmith, Oliver: his testimony to true 
 
 religion ... ... ... ... 172 
 
 Gospel, the ; as contrasted with the law ... 69 
 its restorative and elevating 
 
 power ... 180
 
 GENERAL INDEX. 
 
 xfc. 
 
 Gospel Age ... 
 
 Grace, the truest heroism 
 
 Grace and Nature 
 
 Grave, the ... 
 
 Graves in the East ... 
 
 Graves ready for us... 
 
 Graver, iron, used for rock-inscriptions , 
 
 Gravitation, law of 
 
 Theory of, anticipated... 
 
 Greek language, diffusion of 
 Gunpowder plot, discovery of 
 Guthrle, Dr., practice of, in regard to his 
 sermons 
 
 69 
 
 51 
 
 16 
 
 24 
 
 41 
 
 104 
 
 117 
 
 252 
 
 158 
 
 234 
 
 80 
 
 :327 
 
 H 
 
 Hades, or the spirit-world 
 
 Hail, its formation and use... , 
 
 Hall, Bishop, saying of 
 
 Hall, Robert, saying of ... 
 
 Hannibal ... ... >it g'g" 
 
 Hardened transgressors ... 
 
 Hariri, quotations from ... .'" 8*6' 
 
 Hart, quotation from 
 
 Hastiness in speech 
 
 Hawk, the ... ... 
 
 Healing the sick 
 
 Heat 238, 2391 
 
 Heathen philosophy, its views of life 
 
 Heathens, their conduct in misfortunes 12, 
 
 their views of God 
 
 their character ... ... 43 5 
 
 Heaven, a place of peace ' 
 
 Heavenly bodies 159' 
 
 Hell 
 
 Henry, Matthew, sayings of '.'.'. 9, 87, 
 
 Henry, Philip, saying of 
 
 Herbert, Spencer, quotation from ... 
 
 Hercules, Constellation of ' 
 
 Herod Agrippa, death of , 
 
 Heroic faith 
 
 Heroism, true ... ... ... 
 
 Hieroglyphic mode of writing ... 117, 
 Hieroglyphics, Egyptian ... 60, 174, 176, 
 Himyaritic characters 
 
 Hinds 
 
 Hints to Preachers (See Preachers) 
 
 Hippopotamus, the... ... 266 
 
 Him Ghorab 117 
 
 History, key to ... 234 
 
 Hmyar 117 
 
 Hoarfrost 250 
 
 HOLY GHOST, the " 207 
 
 Homer ... , ... 170 
 
 Hopeful and Faithful 107 
 
 Horites, the 178 
 
 Horse, the 260 
 
 Hospitality, Arab 110, 135, 191, 197 
 
 Housebreakers ... ... ... ... 153 
 
 Household, Job's ... ... ... ... 7 
 
 Hugh Latimer before Henry VIII. ... 206 
 
 HughMcKail 18 
 
 Huguenots 102, 147 
 
 Humanity to servants and strangers ... 197 
 Hiimboldl, saying of ... ... ... 55 
 
 Hylosaurus, the , 269 
 
 133 
 249 
 27 
 156 
 59 
 110 
 110 
 32 
 123 
 261 
 213 
 250 
 24 
 20 
 15 
 93 
 152 
 J53 
 157 
 257 
 202 
 160 
 252 
 24 
 62 
 51 
 133 
 189 
 117 
 256 
 
 I. 
 
 Ibex, the 
 
 Ice, formation of 
 
 Ichthyosaurus, the ... 
 
 Idolatry 
 
 Idols ... "| 
 
 Iguana, the .. 
 
 Iguanodon, the 
 
 Incomprehensibleness of God 
 
 Infidelity ... , M , 
 
 Influence, Christian 
 
 Inquiry meetings ... 
 
 Instinct 
 
 Intellect, human ... 
 
 Intelligence, spirit of 
 
 Inundations 
 
 Iron 
 
 Iron money 
 
 Irrigation, Egyptian 
 
 123. 
 
 James /., saying of ... 
 
 Jeremy Taylor, saying of ... 
 Jerome, his advice to preachers 
 
 Jesuits, as persecutors ... 
 
 Jews, their present state ... 
 Job, his personality 
 - his actual existence 
 
 256 
 250 
 269 
 194 
 20-2 
 269 
 269 
 
 61 
 136 
 223 
 215 
 254 
 253 
 253 
 
 79 
 167 
 169 
 219 
 
 one 
 156 
 156 
 122 
 102 
 5 
 
 ib. 
 
 ... . . 
 
 his residence ... ... ... . ib. 
 
 ... ... . ib. 
 
 5, 6, 23, 175, isS 20 
 
 ...... , (JO 
 
 ... ... c, 7 
 
 - his name 
 -- his character 
 
 - his prosperity 
 
 - his children 
 
 - his property 
 
 his household ............ 7 
 
 his dignity ............ id. 
 
 his happiness ia his children ...... id. 
 
 - his spiritual care of them ...... 8 
 
 - his faith in the atonement ...... ib. 
 
 -- his accumulated and aggravated calami- 
 
 ties 14, 15, 69, 100, 112116, 177183 
 
 - his disease ...... ... 19, 40 
 
 - his age at the time of it ...... 49 
 
 - bis early training ... ,,, ... 192 
 -- his speeches ............ 200 
 
 - his strong language ......... 20 
 
 his faith and patience ... ... 89 
 
 - his joyous anticipation ... ... ib. 
 
 -- his usefulness ............ 176 
 
 - his character as a magistrate ...... ib. 
 
 - an object of astonishment and horror 
 
 112, 180 
 
 - a specimen of the grace of God ... 176 
 
 - a pattern for Christians ... ... ib. 
 
 - an example of suffering patience ... 106 
 
 - his repentance ......... 271 
 
 - his deliverance ......... 278 
 
 - his restored prosperity ...... 279 
 
 - his second family ......... 281 
 
 - his age and death ......... 282 
 
 - a type of Christ 20, 22, 28, 43, 45, 87, 76, 
 
 83, 99, 100, 104, 105, 106, 113, 1 16, 128, 
 162, 177, 178, 180, 181, 187, 280, 281 
 lessons from his grief and the occasion 
 of it ,i ,i MI 18
 
 XX. 
 
 GENERAL INDEX. 
 
 Job, Book of ; its general character ... 1 
 
 its author ... ... ... ib. 
 
 period of its composition ... ib. 
 
 its historical nature ... ib. 
 
 species of composition ... 2 
 
 its genuineness and integrity ib. 
 
 its canonicity and inspiration ib. 
 
 its subject ... ... ... ib. 
 
 its design ... ... ... ib. 
 
 its divisions ... ... 3 
 
 its contents ... ... ib. 
 
 when read by early Church 1, 106 
 
 opinion of Carlyle regarding it 242 
 
 John Brown of Haddington, sayings of 120, 144 
 Johnson, Dr., his testimony to true religion 172 
 
 Joktan 94 
 
 Judge, Job as a ... ... 175 
 
 Julian the Apostate, anecdote of ... ... 42 
 
 K 
 King Alfred, anecdote of ... ... ... 211 
 
 James /., saying of ... 206 
 
 Kinsman, near ... ... ... ... 119 
 
 Kitto, quotations from ... ... 31, 265 
 
 Knowledge, how made ... 55 
 
 progress of ... ib. 
 
 acquisition of ... 80 
 
 Job's, of a Redeemer 118 
 
 Kossuth, saying of ... ... 18 
 
 Krummacher, savings of ... ... 82, 50 
 
 Lamp, in Arab dwellings 110,173 
 
 an emblem of prosperity ib. 
 
 Laud and water, proportion of ... ... 169 
 
 Landmarks in the East ... ... ... 147 
 
 Lateran Council ... 246 
 
 Latimer, Huyh, anecdote of ... ... 206 
 
 Lavattr, saying of ... ... ... ... 9 
 
 Law of Gravitation... ... ... ... 252 
 
 Laws of Nature 170,252 
 
 Lay testimonies to the value of true religion 172 
 Lead used in engraving on rocks ... ... 1]? 
 
 Leaden tablets used for writing on... ... ib. 
 
 Legh Richmond, dying message of ... ... 157 
 
 Leviathan, the 23, 160, 267, 268 
 
 Liberty, true ... ... ... ... 257 
 
 Life, its solemnity and importance.. 
 
 its length iu patriarchal times 
 
 compared to a shadow 
 
 to a voyage 
 
 to a llower... 
 
 Life of the believer 
 
 Light, its nature, &c. ... . 
 
 its moral importance 
 
 and darkness, alternation of 
 
 Lightning ... ... ... 
 
 Linen, used for writing on... 
 
 Lion, the ... 255 
 
 Lions, symbolical of oppressors ... ... 30 
 
 Lives of the patriarchs ... 55 
 
 Locke, John, saying of 48 
 
 Longevity 176, 170 
 
 LORD, the, or JEHOVAH 10,242 
 
 Lord's Prayer, the 101, 239 
 
 Lord Bvrleiyh, testimony of, to true religion 1 72 
 
 .. 24 
 .. 55 
 50, 86 
 .. 60 
 .. 86 
 .. 240 
 .. 248 
 .. 150 
 .. 158 
 
 169, 235, 236 
 117 
 
 Lord Chatham on true religion ... 
 Lord Chesterfield, sayings of ... 
 Lord Rosse, telescope of ... ... ... 7<J 
 
 Luther, sayings of ... 
 
 29, 53,144, 155, 156,161, 210 
 
 his temptations 231 
 
 anecdote of 235 
 
 Lycuryus ... ... ... ... ... 167 
 
 Lyons, Martyrs of 182 
 
 M 
 Madagascar, Christians of... ... 
 
 Magistrate, Job as a 
 
 Mahomedans, conduct of in regard to 
 
 Christians ... ... 
 
 * their veneration for the moon 
 
 Mallows 
 
 Mammon ... ... ... ... ,. ; 
 
 Mammoth ... ... ... ... ... 
 
 Man ... ... ... ... ... 
 
 ^ as a piece of Divine workmanship ... 
 his distinction as a creature ... 
 Mannedorf, Institution at ... 
 Mantle, or robe ... ... 
 
 Martyrs, sayings of 18, 
 
 their spirit ... 
 
 - their number ... ... ... 
 
 their sufferings in the second 
 
 century 
 
 Mary, the mother of Jesus... 
 
 Masanidlo ... ... ... ... 
 
 Massacre, the Bartholomew ... 30, 
 
 Masses, the, how to be elevated 
 Mastodon, the 
 Maurice, saying of... ... ... 
 
 Mausoleums 
 
 Mazzaroth ... ... ... ... 
 
 McKail, Hugh, saying of ... 
 Mediator, a... 
 
 Megalosauros, the ... 
 
 Mesopotamia ... ... ... ... 
 
 Messenger of the Covenant 
 
 Metals 
 
 Metallurgy... ... ... 
 
 Meteors ... 
 
 Meteoric Showers 
 
 Meteorology 235, 250, 
 
 Metropolitan Pulpit, quotation from 
 
 Microscope, revelations of the 
 
 Migration of birds 
 
 Milk 
 
 Milky Way, the 37,136,153, 
 
 Milton, quotations from 
 
 on substitution 
 
 on angels ... ... ... 10, 
 
 on serving God 
 
 on invisible spirits... ... 31, 
 
 on the fall... ... ,.. 
 
 on knowledge 
 
 on man's creation ... 
 
 on mammon ... .. 
 
 on heathen philosophy 
 
 on fallen angels 
 
 on the Seraph Abdicl 
 Mines ; how wrought in Job's day 
 Millers 
 
 179 
 175 
 
 106 
 195 
 179 
 167 
 266 
 
 52 
 
 67 
 254 
 213 
 
 15 
 162 
 
 it. 
 
 29 
 
 182 
 
 94 
 
 101 
 
 122 
 
 180 
 
 266 
 
 98 
 
 25 
 
 251 
 
 18 
 
 65 
 
 269 
 
 202 
 
 211 
 
 167 
 
 ib. 
 
 253 
 
 ib. 
 
 253 
 
 271 
 
 72 
 
 261 
 
 174 
 
 252 
 
 9 
 31 
 
 17 
 
 153 
 
 36 
 
 55 
 
 89 
 
 167 
 
 170 
 
 171 
 
 198 
 
 1C? 
 
 ili.
 
 GENERAL INDEX. 
 
 xxi. 
 
 Mirrors, Eastern ._ 239 
 
 Modesty, youthful \ 204 
 
 Mokattel, Wady " 117 
 
 Money "| 12 s 
 
 Moon, the, an object of worship 195 
 
 Moral sense... ... ... itt 47 jQS 
 
 Morals, heathen ' 93 
 
 Morning visitation, God's 52 
 
 Muglieir 195 
 
 Mungo Park, anecdote of 228 
 
 Murder ... ... >t 102 
 
 Murmuring, sinfulness of 32 
 
 Music ... ... >t 129 
 
 Musical instruments ;0. 
 
 Mutability of earthly enjoyments 182 
 
 N 
 
 Names in the East 
 
 how given 
 
 importance of ... 
 
 Napoleon ... ... ... 24, 
 
 Nations, their rise, increase and decny 
 Nature, book of, its teachings 
 
 animated, a study for man 
 
 Natural Laws, from and under God 
 
 Natural Selection ... 
 
 Nebulas 
 
 Nero, anecdote of... 
 
 Netherlands, persecutions in the ... 
 
 Nineveh ... ... ... ... 
 
 North American Indians ... 
 Northern nations, settlement of, in 
 South of Europe 
 
 
 
 Obstinate transgressors ... ... 
 
 Ocean, bed of .., , 
 
 depths of ... ... , 
 
 its unexplored vegetation 
 
 its great depth of water 
 
 its fountains ... ... .. 
 
 Offences, different kinds of ... ... .., 
 
 Oil 
 
 Old Testament, how to be read ... ... 
 
 Olive, cultivation of the ... ... ... 
 
 Oliver Goldsmith, testimony of, to true 
 
 religion ... ... 
 
 Oppression of the pool- 
 Ordinances of heaven, or laws of nature ... 
 
 Oriental, houses ... ... 
 
 postures of grief ... 
 
 sepulchres ... 
 
 poetry 73,91-, 
 
 wisdom and learning 
 
 Orientals, habit of, in regard to speech 
 
 Orion, constellation of 
 
 nebula in the belt of ... 160, 
 
 Oryx, the 
 
 Ostrich, the 258, 
 
 Ox, the wild 
 
 ... 5 
 
 5, 202 
 ... 202 
 
 239, 261 
 ... 80 
 ... 77 
 ... 255 
 ... 170 
 ... 204 
 37, 160 
 
 129, 156 
 ... 122 
 ... 174 
 ... 178 
 the 
 .. 234 
 
 95 
 168 
 246 
 
 ib. 
 
 ib. 
 
 ib. 
 
 84 
 174 
 
 73 
 174 
 
 172 
 
 147 
 
 252 
 
 14 
 
 15 
 
 70 
 
 203 
 
 82 
 
 22 
 
 60 
 
 251 
 
 258 
 
 259 
 
 258 
 
 Padan-aram ,., 
 
 Pain, influence of ... 
 Palirotherium, the ... 
 Papyrus, the ; how used 
 
 202 
 
 18 
 
 267 
 
 .,,117.50,04 
 
 Papyrus, its mode of growth 
 
 as a symbol 
 
 ships or boats of ... 
 
 Paradox, the believer's ... 
 Parallelism, Hebrew 
 
 Pardon of sin 
 
 Parents; their duty to their children ... 8 
 
 their sins visited on their off- 
 
 spring 351, 178 
 
 their responsibility 173 
 
 Parentage in the East ...178 
 
 blessing of a godly one 202 
 
 Park, Mungo, anecdote of .. 228 
 
 Pascal, saying of ... ... ... 5[ 
 
 Paseng, the .'.. .'.'.' 25C 
 
 Passion N)<J 
 
 Patience of Job 89 
 
 Paulus Emilius, saying of 2(5 
 
 Peacock, the 59 
 
 Perfection, Job's 5 
 
 Christian il>. 
 
 Pericles, anecdote of 1% 
 
 Persecution of the Jews 29 
 
 of the Christians 122 
 
 of the Protestants ib. 
 
 of the Albigenses and Waldenses id. 
 
 overruled for good 234 
 
 Persepolis 174 
 
 Perseverance in grace 107 
 
 Persia, royal sepulchres of 25 
 
 Persons in. the Godhead 207 
 
 Peruvians, conduct of, in regard to their 
 
 children 18 
 
 Phavorinus, saying of ... ... ... 207 
 
 Philip of Macedon, anecdote of 104 
 
 Philip Henry, saying of 202 
 
 Philoptemon ... ... ... ... 5? 
 
 Philosopher, origin of the name 201 
 
 Philosophers, vanity and conceit of ... i'j. 
 
 Philosophy, true and false IB 
 
 heathen ... ... ... 21 
 
 vain .. 204 
 
 of the Seasons ... 
 
 253 
 176 
 
 38 
 147 
 
 44 
 
 170 
 
 Pleiades, the 60,251, 252 
 
 Plesiosaurus, the ... ... ... ... 269 
 
 Phocnii. the 
 
 Physician, the Divine ... ... 
 
 Pilgrim Fathers, the ... ... 
 
 Pity, to be shown to the afflicted ... 
 Plants, their effect on the atmosphere 
 Plato 
 
 251 
 13 
 15 
 
 231 
 33 
 15 
 
 Plough, constellation of the 
 Ploughing in the East 
 Pompey, saying of ... 
 Pope, the ; his temporal power 
 Pope Adrian, death of 
 Posture, Oriental, in grief ... 
 Prayer ... 36, 43, 87, 88, 02, 101, 130, 164 
 Preachers, Hints for, 41. 54,73, 78, 81, 92, 
 98 107, 133. 155, 156, 1B4, 
 165, 204-207, 212, 221, 227, 276 
 Preacher), how made 
 
 . . . three thing* neceiiarjr for . . . '-' " * 
 
 Predestination 68, I 
 
 Preparation for death 
 
 Pria 8lw
 
 XX11. 
 
 GENERAL INDEX. 
 
 Prince, John Critchley, quotation from ... 200 
 
 Printing, its invention ... 234. 
 
 its history 117 
 
 Prisoners in the gold mines of Egypt ... 24 
 
 Procrastination, danger of ... ... ... 50 
 
 Promises of Old and New Testaments 38 41 
 
 different kinds of ... ... ... 39 
 
 conditions of ... ... ib. 
 
 Prosperity of the ungodly, symbols of the... 56 
 Prostitutes in heathen temples ... ... 229 
 
 Proverb, Basque ... ... ... ... LI 
 
 Turkish IS 
 
 Greek 22 
 
 Jewish 190 
 
 Proverbs, Arab 56,73,75,259 
 
 Latin ... 125, 191 
 
 Proverbial maxims ... ... ... ... 82 
 
 expressions of the Arabs ... 109 
 
 Providence of God 
 
 Its universality ... ... ... 1C, 137 
 
 Its ceaselessness . . . ... 17 
 
 Its effects 35 
 
 Its mysteriousness ... ... ... C3 
 
 Its unsearchableness ... ... 72, 77 
 
 Its acts ... ... ... ... ... 79 
 
 Pterodactyle, the 269 
 
 Ptolemaic" System, the 249 
 
 Punishment, corresponding with the sin, 189, 190 
 
 Pin-slain 42, 179 
 
 Pyramids 25, ]17 
 
 Pyrrko 170 
 
 Pythagoras 204 
 
 Q 
 
 Queen Elizabeth, sayings of 
 Quotation from Addison ... ... 
 
 Blair (The Grave) ... 
 
 ' Burns 
 
 Carpenter (Dr.) ... 
 
 Critchley Prince ... 
 
 Cuvier 
 
 Duncan on the Seasons 
 
 Fleming (Prof.) ... 
 
 . . Hariri 
 
 Herbert Spencer ... 
 
 Kitto 
 
 13, 50 
 ... 149 
 ... 163 
 ... 50 
 ... 161 
 ... 200 
 266 
 253 
 159 
 110 
 161 
 264 
 274 
 255 
 171 
 265 
 
 Pope ... ... 
 
 Sedgwick (Prof.) ... 
 
 Spurgeou, C. H. ... 
 
 Towusend ... ... 
 
 Tyndal (Prof.) 161 
 
 Warrington (Week of Crea 
 
 tion) 233 
 
 an early English poet on 
 
 Spring 251 
 
 Sir R. Blackmore ... 19, 21 
 
 Dr. Chalmers 160, 267, 270 
 
 Cowper, 115, 122, 130, 137, 
 
 140, 143, 153, 173, 191, 196, 237 
 
 Milton, 9, 10, 17, 31, 36, 89, 
 
 153, 159, 167, 170, 171, 198 
 
 Shakspeare, 49, 57, 91, 209, 257 
 
 Sophocles 109, 111 
 
 Thomson 208,236 
 
 _. Wordsworth 88, 159, 278, 281 
 
 Quotation from Young ,16, 49, 50, 56, 104, 
 
 108, 116, 163,224 
 
 Quotations from Scripture to be rightly ap- 
 plied 82 
 
 R 
 
 Races, detsrioration of 178 
 
 Rain 37, 169, 235, 237 
 
 its mysterious production and descent 
 
 249, 250 
 
 its time of falling in the East ... 174 
 
 Ram 202 
 
 Raven, the 255 
 
 Reading 81 
 
 Reason; proper to man ... ... ... 253 
 
 imparted by the Creator ... ... ib. 
 
 a special exhibition of Divine wis- 
 dom ... ib. 
 
 Redeemer ... 119 
 
 Redemption 119 
 
 God's work of 234 
 
 Iteem, the 258 
 
 Reflection 81 
 
 Reformation, the 234 
 
 Rending the Robe ... ... ... ... 15 
 
 Repentance, late ... ... ... ... 50 
 
 Job's 271 
 
 Reproof, how to be given ... ... ... 20 
 
 Resurrection, an example of Divine power ... 161 
 
 Retribution 30 
 
 Revenge ... ... ... ... ... 196 
 
 Revolution, the French 234 
 
 Rhemish Testament, note of ... ... 122 
 
 Rhinoceros, the 258 
 
 Riches 7 
 
 uncertain ... ... ... ... 15 
 
 ill-gotten 125 
 
 Richmond, Legh, dying message of... ... 157 
 
 Right Words 45 
 
 Roads, Roman ... ... ... ... 234 
 
 Robert Hall, saying of ... ... ... 156 
 
 Robert Burns, lines from ... ... ... 50 
 
 his testimony to true re- 
 ligion 172 
 
 Rocks, engraven ... ... 117 
 
 affording shelter ... ... ... 148 
 
 abounding in caves ... ... ... 179 
 
 Rocky land 174 
 
 Rolls, papyrus, used for writing on 117 
 
 Roman Empire ... ... 234 
 
 its breaking up ... ... ib. 
 
 Rome: its decay ... ... 80 
 
 Rutherford, Samuel, sayings of 27, 35, 44, 
 
 123, 162 
 anecdote of ... ... 39 
 
 S 
 
 Sabeans .., ... ... ... ... 13 
 
 Sabeism 193, 195 
 
 Sacrifices 8, 9, 277 
 
 Saladin the Great, anecdote of ... ... 24 
 
 Salt, how viewed by the Arabs ... ... 42 
 
 Satan ... ... ... ... ... 10 
 
 Saying of Lavater ... ... 9 
 
 - Talmage... ... ... ... 9 
 
 Queen Elizabeth ... 13, 5o
 
 GENERAL INDEX. 
 
 xxui. 
 
 Saying of Seneca ... 15,17,29,38, 50 
 
 Sea, formation of the 2*6 
 Sedgtcick, Professor, quotation from ... ;_'V"> 
 Self-abhorrence ... . . -'74 
 Self-perfection g5 
 Self-righteousness 62 
 
 Augustin, 16, 20, 30, 31, 33, 156, 241 
 Ambrose ... ... ... 211 
 Chrysostom 214 
 
 Trapp, 8, 17, 18, 19, 23, 54, 28, 214 
 Brentius 211 
 H. W. Beecher 24, 28, 228 
 
 ._...., Prnr.l-oo 99 91 9^ 9r, 1(t n f 
 
 Self-salvation 265 
 Selneccer, saying of . 144 
 Seneca, sayings of 15, 17, 29, 38, 50 
 Sepulchres, Oriental ... ... ... 70 
 attention paid to 25 
 Servant of God 10 
 
 40, 50,129, 211 
 Joseph Carvl ... 21,25,70, 96 
 
 Hugh McKail 18 
 
 honour of being one ... 32 
 Servitude, inseparable from man .'!2 
 Seven stars 6, 251 
 
 
 
 . S-im Thithrrfnrrl 7 3^ -41 1 PI 1 fi 
 
 Shakspeare, quotation from 49, 57, 91, 257 
 Shaving the head 15 
 
 Luther ... 29, 53, 144, 156, 210 
 
 Dr. Barrow 30 
 
 Sheikhs Arab 174 
 
 
 Ships, human life compared to 64 
 Signs of the zodiac 251 
 Silence, internal as well as external ... 31 
 Sin . ( J 80 
 
 Themistocles 33 
 
 
 John Locke ... ... 48 
 
 Cocsar Borgia ... ... 50 
 
 
 Ynnnrr ^O ^R 77 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Humboldt ... 55 
 
 
 \ nrc\ Phrc-trvfirlil nfi 179 
 
 
 Addison . . . . . .. 67 
 
 others ... . ... 105 
 
 Bacon . 81 
 
 Sinner, the, a burden ... ... ... 53 
 Sir Hump/trey Davy, his testimony in favour 
 of firm religious belief ... ... 173 
 Sir Isaac Newton, his estimate of his o\vu 
 
 Hariri 86 
 
 
 
 
 
 Sir John Mason, remarkable testimony of 172 
 Sir Philip Sidney, his advice to his brother ib. 
 Sir Thomas Brown, saying of 129 
 Sir Walter Raleiy/t, his testimony to true 
 r * !?' 
 
 11 Sir Thomas Brown ... ... 129 
 
 
 luchard Baxter... ... 144, Job 
 
 Erasmus ... ... ... Hi. 
 
 
 Slaves, how treated in the East 1' 
 
 
 
 Slavery 24, 191 
 
 
 Sleep ... 51, 68 
 
 Selaeccar 144 
 
 Snlnn 163 
 
 Smyrna, martyrs of IS- 
 Snow 237 
 
 
 
 Sir John Mason ib. 
 
 Societies, Bible, Tract, and Missionary 
 
 
 Sodomites ... .. *- ' 
 
 
 Solar System 2-W, ~ ; 
 Solemn inquiriea ... 103, 104, 149, 1! 
 Solon, saying of 
 
 
 Oliver Goldsmith **. 
 
 
 Sophocles, quotations from ... 100,1. 
 Soulhey, hi testimony to true religion ... 172 
 
 
 
 Fenelon ' .. ... 193 
 
 Spanish Armada 30, 37, 246 
 
 -Philip Henry 202 
 
 
 James the lirst ... ... ... 206 
 Phavorinus ,. 207 
 
 Spencer, Herbert, quotation from 1' 
 
 Mr. Spurgeon ... ... ... 2. 
 
 
 Dr. Kitto ... ... ... 264 
 
 
 Sayings, proverbial, among the Arabs ... 55 
 Science, its inability to explain the pheno- 
 mena of tfie universe 156 
 
 Spitting, among the Arabs 100,1! 
 
 .. fln emblem of the MMIiotMl J * 

 
 GENERAL INDEX. 
 
 Springs in the bottom of the ocean ... 247 
 
 $/>/irqeof>, C. II., quotation from ... ... 271 
 
 St. Paul's Cathedral 195 
 
 Stag, the 257 
 
 Stars, distance of ... 136,160 
 
 their order ... ... ... ... 152 
 
 their number ... ... ... ... 153 
 
 grouped into constellations ... 251,160 
 
 falling 253 
 
 Stoic- " 170 
 
 Stone-pillars, used for engraving on ... 117 
 
 Stork, the 259 
 
 Storms, uses of ... ... 159 
 
 Storm-cloud 235 
 
 Study of Nature 255 
 
 Substitute, the sinner's ... ... ... 42 
 
 Substitution 9, 69 
 
 Sufferings of martyrs ... ... ... 182 
 
 Suicide ... ... 51 
 
 Sun, the ; its place and distance 
 
 an early object of worship 
 
 Surety, Christ our ... 
 Sympathy, the duty and benefit of ... 
 necessary in a preacher... 
 
 21, 
 
 wanting in Job's friends 
 
 exemplified in Job himself 
 
 Syria ... ... 
 
 Syriac language ... ... ... ... ib. 
 
 System, Solar; theories of the 24$ 
 
 .. 249 
 .. 195 
 83, 90 
 42, 45 
 .. 73 
 .. 98 
 .. 186 
 .. 202 
 
 Talk, unprofitable 91 
 
 Talntaffe, saying of... ... ... ... 9 
 
 Taylor, Jeremy, saying of ... ... ... 156 
 
 Temperature of the seasons... ... ... 159 
 
 Temples, heathen, formerly in London ... 195 
 
 Ten persecutions, the ... ... 122 
 
 Testimonies, lay, to the value of true religion 172 
 
 Thanksgiving, matter for ... ... ... 16 
 
 Thebes, tombs of ... ... ... ... 25 
 
 Theft, how punished in Egypt 193 
 
 Tfiemistocles, saying of ... ... ... 39 
 
 Thomson, quotations from ... ... 208, 236 
 
 Thunder 235 
 
 Thunder-storm ... ... 236 
 
 Time 49 
 
 Titles, flattering, in the East 205 
 
 Tombs, Egyptian ... 25 
 
 Tornadoes ... ... ... 14 
 
 Torquemada ... ... ... 47 
 
 Towmend, Dr., quotations from ... ... 265 
 
 Tradition 55 
 
 Traditional maxims... ... ... 82 
 
 Trapp, sayings of ... 8, 17, 18, 19, 23, 24, 
 
 28, 106, 214 
 
 Troglodytes J79 
 
 Trouble" 27, 36, 48, 86 
 
 Tulal-Cain 167 
 
 Turban 175 
 
 Turkish proverb ... ... ... ... 18 
 
 Ti/ndall, Professor, quotation from ... 100 
 '- his prayer test 130, 183 
 
 U 
 
 Unbelief, the language of ... 184 
 
 Understanding, a Divine gift 105 
 
 to be prized and cultivated... 123 
 
 Ungodly, the 95 
 
 Unicorn, the 24? 
 
 Universe, the, its mystery involved by science 160 
 
 Unknown God, The"... * ... 36 
 
 Uprightness ... ... .., ... 6 
 
 Ur, of the Chaldees 195 
 
 Urns, the 258 
 
 Ussfier Archbishop, saying of ... 156, 206 
 
 Uz, land of ... ... ... ... ... 5 
 
 Valentinian, the Emperor, anecdote of 
 
 Vice ... ... ... 
 
 Vicissitude of day and night 
 of fortune ... ... 
 
 ... 279 
 
 ... 274 
 
 158, 247 
 
 ... 57 
 
 ,. 196 
 
 Vindictiveness ... ... ... 
 
 Vision of Eliphaz ... ... ... ... 31 
 
 Vitelliits, the Emperor, anecdote of ... 57 
 
 Vovage, life compared to a ... ... 64 
 
 Vulcan 167 
 
 Vulture 262 
 
 W 
 
 Wad,/ Molcalleb 
 
 Waifs 
 
 Waldenses, persecution of the ... ... 
 
 Wales, mountains of ... ... 
 
 War-horse, the 
 
 Warrinyton's Week of Creation, quotations 
 from ... ... ... ... 133, 
 
 Waterloo, battle of 129, 
 
 Wait 
 
 Week of Creation, Warrington's ... 233, 
 
 Weeping, not unmanly 
 
 relief in ... 
 
 different kinds of 
 
 Wesley, John, sayings of 16, 
 
 Westminster Abbey 
 
 Whirlwind 14, 
 
 Wife, Job's... 
 
 Wild ass, the 42,73,148, 
 
 term of reproach among the Arabs 
 
 Wild beasts, protection from 
 
 Wild goat, the 
 
 Wild ox, the ... 
 
 Wind 
 
 Wine 
 
 Wingofbirds 
 
 Wisdom, required to save souls and comfort 
 mourners 
 
 two kinds of 
 
 Wolsey, Cardinal 
 
 Women in the East 
 
 Words, lasting effect of ... ... 
 
 Words of God 
 
 Right 
 
 Wordsworth, quotations from, 88, 159, 278, 
 Worship, idolatrous 
 Writing', ancient modes of ... 
 
 117 
 179 
 122 
 179 
 260 
 
 252 
 261 
 254 
 252 
 J01 
 102 
 103 
 
 32 
 19:, 
 243 
 
 19 
 257 
 
 73 
 
 40 
 256 
 238 
 169 
 
 13 
 262 
 
 107 
 
 ib. 
 
 101 
 
 8 
 
 200 
 
 43 
 
 45 
 
 281 
 
 195 
 
 117 
 
 Yarab _ ... 118 
 
 Young, quotations from. 16, 49, 50, 50, 77, 
 
 104,108, 116,163, 224 
 Young men in the East 
 
 Youth, modesty of, among the Arabs 174, 205 
 modesty an ornament of ... 204 
 
 Z 
 Zodiac, signs of the 160