Moreover Job continued his parable. Job 27:1-10 Points in Job's parable Homilist. I. A SOLEMN ASSEVERATION. "As God liveth." The words imply a belief — 1. In the reality of the Divine existence. Whilst some deny this fact, the bulk of the race practically ignore it. 2. In the awfulness of the Divine existence. There is a sublime awfulness in the words, "As God liveth." 3. In the severity of the Divine existence. "Who hath taken away my judgment, and the Almighty who hath vexed my soul." As nature has winter as well as summer, so God has a severe as well as a benign aspect. 4. In the nearness of the Divine existence. "The spirit of God is in my nostrils. His breath is my life." II. A NOBLE DETERMINATION. "My lips shall not speak wickedness, nor my tongue utter deceit. God forbid that I should justify you: till I die I will not remove mine integrity from me; my righteousness I hold fast, and will not let it go; my heart shall not reproach me so long as I live." What does he determine? 1. Never to swerve from rectitude. "Till I die I will not remove mine integrity from me; my righteousness I hold fast, and will not let it go." Whatever happens to me, I will not play the false, I will not be insincere. No one can rob me of my integrity. 2. Never to vindicate wickedness. Job has so many times alluded to the prosperity of the wicked that he is apprehensive he may be suspected of envying their lot, and wishing to be in their place. Great is the tendency of some men to vindicate wickedness in connection with wealth and worldly power. III. A WEIGHTY REFLECTION. "What is the hope of the hypocrite, though he hath gained, when God taketh away his soul? Will God hear his cry when trouble cometh upon him"? The writer reflects here upon the wicked men of wealth, and he concludes — 1. That in death they will have no hope. 2. That in trouble they will have no answer to their prayers or delight in God. Conclusion —(1) The greatest reality outside of us. What is that? God. All else is shadow.(2) The greatest worth inside of us. What is that? Virtue, or what is here called "integrity," "righteousness." ( Homilist. ) The Almighty hath vexed my soul. Job 27:2 A vexed soul comforted The word "who" was put into this verse by the translators, but it is not wanted; it is better as I have read it to you, "The Almighty hath vexed my soul." The marginal reading is perhaps a more exact translation of the original: "The Almighty hath embittered my soul." From this we learn that a good man may have his soul vexed; he may not be able to preserve the serenity of his mind. There is a needs be, sometimes, that we should be "in heaviness through manifold temptations." Even to rivers there are rapids and cataracts, and so, methinks, in the most smoothly flowing life, there surely must be breaks of distraction and of distress. At any rate, it was so with Job. It is also clear, from our text, that a good man may trace the vexation of his soul distinctly to God. It was not merely that Job's former troubles had come from God, for he had borne up under them; when all he had was gone, he had still blessed the name of the Lord with holy serenity. But God had permitted these three eminent and distinguished men, mighty in speech, to come about him, to rub salt into his wounds, and so to increase his agony. Advancing a step further, we notice that, in all this, Job did not rebel against God, or speak a word against Him. He swore by that very God who had vexed his soul. See how it stands here: "As God liveth, who hath taken away my judgment, and the Almighty, who hath vexed my soul." He stood fast to it that this God was the true God, he called Him good, he believed Him to be almighty; it never occurred to Job to bring a railing accusation against God, or to start aside from his allegiance to Him. Now go another step, and notice that this embittering of Job's soul was intended for his good. The patriarch was to have his wealth doubled, and he therefore needed double grace that he might be able to bear the burden. When that end was accomplished, all the bitterness was turned into sweetness. I. First, I shall speak upon A PERSONAL FACT. Many a person has to say, "The Almighty hath embittered my soul." 1. This happened to you, perhaps, through a series of very remarkable troubles. 2. It may be, however, that you have not had a succession of troubles, but you have had one trial constantly gnawing at your heart. 3. I hope that it has become saddened through a sense of sin. 4. It may be that this is not exactly your case, but you are restless and weary. 5. Beside all this, there is an undefined dread upon you. "The Almighty hath embittered my soul." II. From this personal fact of which I have spoken I want to draw AN INSTRUCTIVE ARGUMENT, which has two edges. 1. If the Almighty — note that word "Almighty" — has vexed your soul as much as He has, how much more is He able to vex it! Now turn the argument the other way. 2. If it be the Almighty who has troubled us, surely He can also comfort us. He that is strong to sink is also strong to save. III. Here is A HEALTHFUL INQUIRY for everyone whose soul has been vexed by God. 1. The inquiry is, first, is not God just in vexing my soul? Listen. Some of you have long vexed Him; you have grieved His Holy Spirit for years. Well, if you vex God's people, you must not be surprised if He vexes you. 2. Another point of inquiry is this: What can be God's design in vexing your soul? Surely He has a kind design in it all. God is never anything but good. Rest assured that He takes no delight in your miseries. You forgot Him when everything went merry as a marriage peal. It may be, too, that He is sending this trial to let you know that He thinks of you. 3. May it not be also for another reason — that He may wean you entirely from the world? He is making you loathe it. I think I hear someone say, "As the Almighty hath vexed my soul, what had I better do?" Do? Go home, and shut to your door, and have an hour alone with yourself and God. That hour alone with God may be the crisis of your whole life; do try it! "And when I am alone with God, what had I better do?" Well, first, tell Him all your grief. Then tell Him all your sin. Hide nothing from Him; lay it all, naked and bare, before Him. Then ask Him to blot it all out, once for all, for Jesus Christ's sake. ( C. H. Spurgeon . ) Till I die I will not remove mine integrity from me. Job 27:3-6 Moral courage D. P. Faure. It is the aim of all men to secure happiness. As to the course they think best adapted to secure this they differ most widely, and as to what constitutes real happiness the most different opinions are entertained, yet the desire for that which each considers to be happiness is universal. Physical courage is common enough all over the world, but moral courage is a rare phenomenon. Before the fear of being thought foolish, our moral courage relaxes and melts away as snow before the sun. If you make a stand for a principle, society regards you as some abnormal specimen of humanity. They are not the greatest martyrs who die a martyr's death, but they who have the moral courage to live a martyr's life for conscience and for duty. But the lack of moral courage is visible everywhere about us. It infests and poisons every trade and every profession; and moral cowardice abounds in the very last place where it should be met with — the Church. Whether deficiency in moral courage is with us a national failing or not, is difficult to determine. Undeniably there is a grievous want of it around us. Hardly anyone will go out of his way in the interest of abstract truth, or cry down and fight a wrong by which he does not suffer directly and personally. ( D. P. Faure. ) Holding fast integrity T. Somerville, D. D. We cannot command the smiles of fortune or the friendship of men. But in defiance of every external event we may, with Job, "hold fast our integrity, and not let it go so long as we live." To explain and recommend this excellent disposition I illustrate its influence upon taste, sentiments, and conduct, and the happy effects which result from it. 1. In opposition to prejudice and bigotry, it implies a prevailing love of truth. To rise entirely above the influence of prejudice is not allotted to human nature, in our present state of ignorance and imperfection. Integrity cannot secure the mind entirely from prejudices, but it will diminish their number and force, and dispose the man who is under its influence to renounce them when they are discovered. It redounds to the credit of a man's understanding to have made choice of sound principles upon first deliberation. But it is no less an evidence of a manly and independent mind to relinquish the opinions it has already espoused, when they stand in opposition to the unchangeable laws of truth and righteousness. 2. In opposition to show and affectation, integrity consists in adhering to nature and simplicity. The manners of every individual must, in some degree, be formed upon the examples and fashions of the surrounding multitude. But this may be truly asserted, a man of integrity will not be the first to invent or imitate any custom that departs from simplicity and nature, and consists only in ceremony and false refinement. Through his predilection for simplicity, his religion will have nothing of affectation, but will be sincere and substantial. He does not assume the profession of it with any selfish end. He is but little solicitous about the praise of men. His attention is principally directed to the culture of inward piety and goodness. 3. Integrity implies a love of justice in opposition to fraud and dishonest dealing. The character I am describing, is superior to the influence of mercenary, grovelling motives. The man of deep-rooted integrity, by the irresistible and pleasing impulse of his heart, is at all times preserved from the most distant approach to fraud and dishonesty. 4. In opposition to disguise and hypocrisy, the character under review is open, bold, and pleased to be seen in its true colours. The consciousness of personal guilt engenders a suspicion of others, and makes the men who are tainted with it study the natural accomplishments of concealment and dissimulation.(1) Integrity is the surest road to truth. A man of integrity not only looks up through a clear medium to the bright rays of the divinity, but also in his own nature and temper he perceives genuine, though faint and imperfect, lineaments of the image of God.(2) The disposition of integrity has a powerful influence in nourishing and confirming all the graces of the Christian character. Sincerity and uprightness of conduct are the best security for the performance of every social duty.(3) The virtue of integrity, from the intercourse which it establishes between God and the soul, and its moral influence extending to every branch of character, does, in a peculiar manner, inspire a man with a good conscience and an unshaken trust in the protection of heaven. ( T. Somerville, D. D. ) Uprightness in life and death W. R. Clarke, M. A. "Till I die." This thought pervades a large portion of this book. Sometimes as a welcome thought, "I would not live always." At others, as a thing which is inevitable. "When a few years are come, then I shall go the way whence I shall not return." To a Christian, death is a widely different thing from what it was to Job. Christ has abolished death. His disciples can say to death, "Where is thy sting?" Job resolves that his retrospect from his deathbed shall not reproach him with insincerity, unfaithfulness, falseness to his convictions. I. ALL MEN WILL WISH TO DIE IN LOVE AND CHARITY WITH THEIR NEIGHBOURS. 1. When we are angry — perhaps vindictive — the reason is as much from the consideration of the future as out of resentment for the past. 2. Few men would speak words of anger — especially of resentful anger — if they thought they were last words. 3. It is a natural impulse, when bidding farewell to the world, to ask for pardon, and to grant it. All this is admirable and excellent. But — II. IT IS EQUALLY DESIRABLE THAT MEN SHOULD BE TRUE AND JUST AND UPRIGHT IN BOTH LIFE AND DEATH. 1. Love without righteousness is no true love — does not really bless. 2. But difficulties in the way of strict fidelity.(1) Seems to be inconsistent with love and kindness. An error, but a very natural one. Hence we keep back words which honesty to our convictions would bid us speak.(2) Is an apparent assumption of superiority from which we shrink.(3) Is a kind of challenge to others to scrutinise our own conduct. For these and other reasons men are often silent when they ought to speak; sometimes say smooth things when they ought to be stern. 3. No one can doubt, however, that a real friend is one who is perfectly sincere.(1) In dealing with our faults, as well as(2) In acknowledging our good qualities. III. AN IMPORTANT CAUTION. ( W. R. Clarke, M. A. ) Peace of conscience Pawlet St. John, A. M. In these words we cannot but observe what a mighty satisfaction the good man takes in the peace of his conscience, and the performance of his duty, and the steadiness of his resolution, never to be frightened out of it by any temptation or discouragement whatsoever. In the want of all the good things he had formerly abounded with, it was Job's comfort to remember that he had enjoyed them innocently, and employed them faithfully. It was not for any notorious provocation of his God, or injury to his neighbour, that they were come upon him. He had confidence in his integrity, and boldly durst look up to God Himself, and maintain his ways before Him. Show the wisdom of this resolution, of holding fast our integrity; and never letting it go upon any prospect or temptation whatsoever. The tracks and footsteps of our duty are all along as plain and as legible as we can wish; and if we will but follow them, will lead us on as strait and as direct a path as we can go. So that the very windings and turnings through which unfaithfulness wanders, are enough to convince us that it mistakes its course, and instead of carrying us, as it pretends, a shorter way, is losing sight apace of happiness, and insensibly making on to misery. The first step of these men proceeds upon mistake. They falsely divide their duty from their interest, the two things in the world of all others most strictly inseparable. Every man is so far happy as he is virtuous, and miserable as he is vicious. Upon this foundation it is that the happiness of God Himself is conceived to stand. Had the devil himself but "held fast his integrity," he had been happy still; nor can he ever destroy the happiness of man, but by persuading him to that by which he lost his own. God has given us a more secure possession of our integrity than of any one thing in the world besides that we can call our own. The wisdom of holding it fast, and never letting it go, will appear from the following considerations. 1. In parting with our integrity, we let go that, without which prosperity itself can never make us happy. There is not a greater mistake than the common notion of the happiness of the wicked in this life. How many false exceptions against Providence, and discouragements from virtue, has it sometimes started in the best of men! Even in the seeming equality of His distributions to the wicked and the good, God has made a very sensible distinction, and done abundantly enough to justify the conduct of His providence and the wisdom of our integrity. God punishes the wicked with those very blessings He admits him to partake of. "Envy not the glory of the sinner, for thou knowest not what shall be his end." Nay, thou knowest not so much as how it fares at present with him. 2. Because we let go that which being once gone, affliction needs must render us insupportably miserable. Nothing is more certain in the life of a man than a share in the troubles that inseparably accompany it. Yet how few make any provision for what nobody can avoid. So long as the world runs smoothly on their side, on they travel, thoughtless and secure, never considering that though it is fair and sunshine now, the weather soon may change, and a storm they little dream of may break suddenly upon them. The wise man, who builds upon the sure foundations of his own integrity, stands unshaken and secure. Afflictions may dash and spend themselves upon him, but his hope and confidence "may not be removed, but standeth fast forever." The spirit of a man will go a long way towards sustaining his infirmities. 3. He that lets go his integrity, parts with that which alone can avail him in the day of judgment. Whatever hopes a man may have of carrying on an interest in this world, by acting contrary to his duty, no man was ever weak enough to imagine it could be of any service to him in another. How bold and fearless will they who have kept their integrity stand before the dread tribunal, secure of being justified in their trial, and clear when they are judged. ( Pawlet St. John, A. M. ) Holding fast our righteousness G. Hunsworth, M. A. Job had lost almost everything else, but he still held fast his righteousness. His wealth and his honour, his flocks and his herds, his sons and his daughters, his health and his home, had all been lost, but still he retained his integrity. I. RIGHTEOUSNESS IS A MAN'S TRUE TREASURE, AND HE SHOULD HOLD IT FAST AT ANY COST, AND NEVER LET IT GO. It is not the wealth which a man has, or the honour and greatness which he attains, or the success which he wins in business and professional life, which makes him truly rich, but the holy and Christlike character which he builds up. It is to the upright that there ariseth light in the darkness; it is those that have clean hands and a pure heart and that have not lifted up their soul unto vanity, that shall receive the blessing of the Lord. The promises of God and the blessings of His salvation are all attached to character, and not to the accident of birth or training, of position or wealth, so that character is the thing of value in the judgment of God. Nay, all other kinds of wealth will be left behind, and will find no place in the eternal world. For, as St. Paul reminds us, "We brought nothing into the world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out." The gateway of death is so strait that before we can pass through we must be stripped of everything except our character. II. But while righteousness is a man's true treasure, THIS TREASURE IS OFTEN ASSAILED AND PUT IN JEOPARDY. 1. The manifold trials of life make it difficult to hold fast one's righteousness. 2. Then, further, not only suffering but perplexity and doubt make it hard to hold fast our righteousness. These were the chief cause of difficulty in the case of Job. There are some who today find it hard to believe in God and freedom and immortality, and if these things be denied where is there any basis for righteousness of life? 3. Then, again, we must remember that there are manifold forms of temptation which assail men in their business and their pleasure, in their hours of leisure and their hours of toil, in the home and in the office, on Sundays and on weekdays. III. But now let me remind you in closing that A MAN CAN HOLD FAST HIS RIGHTEOUSNESS, however fiercely it may be assailed. We have heard so much in recent years of heredity and environment and solidarity that we are in danger of overlooking the power and prerogative of the individual will. We can abhor that which is evil and cleave to that which is good. We can resist the devil that he may flee from us; we can draw near to God that He may draw nigh unto us. ( G. Hunsworth, M. A. ) My heart shall not reproach me so long as I live Of an unreproaching heart J. Orr, D. D. I. THE STATE OF MIND OR HEART WHICH IS NECESSARY TO PREVENT OUR BEING REPROACHED BY OURSELVES. As men are endowed with a sense of moral good and evil, of merit and demerit in their own affections and actions, they are by nature a law to themselves, and have the rule of right, and the standard of worth and excellence, engraved on their minds. They approve or condemn themselves according as they find their affections and actions to agree with the law of their nature. What are the worthy, amiable, and becoming affections, the prevalence of which constitutes that good state of heart which frees us from inward anguish and remorse, and all the pains of self-condemnation, and which gives us the delight, joy, and assurance which flow from the approbation of our consciences? They are such as these, — reverence, love, gratitude, dependence, submission, and resignation, with respect to the great Author and Governor of all things. Probity, truth, justice, meekness, and kindness toward men; a love of the public, and a regard to the common interest of the world; a moderation of our lower desires and passions; and a cultivation of the higher faculties. These dispositions have an intrinsic excellence and loveliness in them. As these virtues and dispositions prevail in very different degrees in the hearts of men, so the pleasure, satisfaction, and peace which they find in their reflections upon their inward frame, are likewise very different and unequal. Where the motions of the soul towards virtue are all free and lively, intense and vigorous, and withal uniform, permanent, and fixed, the man enjoys the most perfect satisfaction and peace. II. THE GREAT IMPORTANCE OF KEEPING OUR HEARTS ALWAYS IN THIS STATE. As the power of moral discernment, or our natural conscience of good and evil, is the principle of virtue, and the guide of life in us, so it is likewise the great cause and spring of our happiness. Integrity, or a sincerely and uniformly good frame of heart, must certainly be allowed to be the most felicitating, or the most replete with true happiness. This consciousness gives us a sense of our possessing an intrinsic solid dignity and merit, and being in a state the most becoming and honourable to rational agents. The pleasures derived from this source are permanent, and do not depend on any uncertain, external objects. A man who is calm and serene within, will be but little moved with those evils which are incident to everyone in the course of this frail, uncertain life. And these inward pleasures are also the life of all our other enjoyments. III. RULES FOR ATTAINING THIS STATE OF HEART. 1. Consider the several pursuits and actions in which we allow ourselves, whether they are really such as our consciences approve. 2. Frequently review and examine the state of our minds, that we may find out our defects, and know what progress we are making. 3. We should correct our errors, and make up our defects, as far as we can, by sincere repentance. And we should derive new strength to ourselves by the exercise of a serious and humble devotion.Reflections — 1. See the inestimable value of integrity of heart, and the testimony of a good conscience. 2. See how groundless those fears and perplexities are, which so often disturb the minds of sincere persons. 3. See the presumption of those sinners who speak peace to themselves, when there is no foundation laid for peace to them, in the temper and disposition of their hearts. ( J. Orr, D. D. ) For what is the hope of the hypocrite? Job 27:8 The character and hope of the hypocrite D. Rees. I. THE CHARACTER OF THE HYPOCRITE. By a hypocrite we understand not a self-deceiver, but a deceiver of others. To himself his real character is known, as it is also to God, the Judge of all; but it is hid from his fellow men, who are deceived by his plausible profession and fair speeches. The word implies that, like an ancient stage player, he acts under a mask, and personates a character which does not properly belong to him. The mask he wears is a form of godliness, and the part he acts is that of a religious man. His religion is only a counterfeit. 1. The hypocrite is a person whose outward conduct, upon the whole, is irreproachable in the sight of men. 2. His true character is far from coming up to the requirements of the Gospel. He is one whose heart is not right with God. His heart is unchanged, unrenewed, unsanctified, destitute of faith and humility, and without the love and fear of God. 3. The hypocrite does all his works to be seen of men. It is not God that he seeks to please. Self is the idol which he worships, and to which his incense is burned. 4. The hypocrite is partial and formal in his obedience. His obedience has respect only to some of the Commandments. The principle by which he is actuated is earthly and grovelling, leading him to seek only to have glory of men. Such a man has no portion in the life to come; he has no treasure in heaven. II. THE NATURE OF HIS HOPE. Job takes for granted that the hypocrite may gain by his profession. He may, in many respects, succeed in obtaining the object of his wishes or the reward he covets. But what is his hope when God taketh away his soul? Consider — 1. The foundation on which his hope rests. 2. The author of his hope. Not God, but Satan. 3. The effects it produces.Then let us examine ourselves by this test. There are some who do not go so far even as the hypocrite. Even he pays some deference to religion. What character do we bear? Let us beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy. Avoid hypocrisy and cultivate sincerity. Be Christians, not merely in name, but in reality. Build your hope on Christ alone, counting Him to be your greatest gain. ( D. Rees. ) A warning to hypocrites James Bennett, D. D. I. THE FEARFUL NATURE OF RELIGIOUS HYPOCRISY. With all His mildness, gentleness, and compassion, we yet find Christ thundering against the hypocrite. There is a class of men who make a profession of religion which they know to be false. These are the persons whom the Redeemer denounces. A religious profession is undoubtedly an excellence, but this is the honest avowal of the religion that is already in the heart; taking care, that as the hypocrite hides his sins under a cloak, we should not hide our religion under a cloak, but should honestly avow that Saviour whom we profess to believe on in secret. Now that which is uttered and avowed before nil the world, because we have it in secret, is surely a different affair from a mere profession that is allied to an attempt to impose upon men, and setting the omniscience of God at defiance. II. VAIN ARE ALL WARNINGS GIVEN TO HYPOCRITES, BECAUSE HYPOCRISY HARDENS THE HEART. See the case of Judas. We ought to be made of glass, that every man may see what is our real character. We are more transparent than crystal before the eyes of the eternal God. The sin of false profession infatuates the mind, hardens the heart, and keeps a man always forming such false reasonings and conclusions that they lead at last to the most manifest overwhelming of him with his own crimes and with God's judgment. III. HOW VAIN ARE ALL THE THINGS ON WHICH THE HYPOCRITE PLACES HIS HOPE WHEN GOD ARISES TO JUDGMENT. A man may accustom himself to falsehood until he makes lies his refuge, and can scarcely distinguish between the most gross imposition upon himself and sincere safe dealing. When men accustom themselves to a system of deceit, they get perfectly bewildered and know not that which a child would have known and expected. IV. A LIFE OF HYPOCRISY IS LIKELY TO END IN A DEATH OF IMPENITENCE. The sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination; the prayer only of the upright is God's delight. We dare not think that a man, after living a life of hypocrisy, need only utter a few prayers and all is safe and well. True prayer is alone the prayer of true penitence. ( James Bennett, D. D. ) The hypocrite's hope D. Wilcox. The teaching of the text may be summed up in this plain proposition — the hypocrite's hope. How happy soever he may seem from it for a while, will leave him miserable when God shall take away his soul. I. TO WHOM THE CHARACTER OF A HYPOCRITE BELONGS. The word suggests, "one who acts in a play," representing another person rather than his own. Transferred to religion, it is used to denote such as have put on a form of godliness, and would pass for saints, but are not in reality what they seem. The Hebrew word comes from one that signifies a cloud, as their wickedness is covered; or as they are painted over with another colour, hiding their natural one, that it may not be known. Thus an hypocrite is a real enemy to God, outwardly acting as one of His children. Open his character. 1. An hypocrite is one that pretends to have entirely devoted himself to God, when he has not, but divided his heart between God and the world; and so God has no interest in him at all. It is the whole heart God calls for, and He will have nothing less. 2. He is one that professes a regard to the will of God, as the reason, and to the glory of God as the end, of what he does in religion; when, in the meantime, he acts from other springs, and for lower and selfish ends. 3. He is one that takes more pains to appear outwardly religious than to be really so, between God and his own soul. A true Christian is as solicitous about his heart as about his life. But this is not the hypocrite's concern. If he has a fair outside, he is little careful how matters stand within. 4. He is one that, in religious duties, puts God off with bodily service, whilst the heart is unengaged and left out. 5. He is partial and uneven in his obedience to God, and in his walk with Him. II. SUCH MAY HAVE A HOPE WHICH THEY MAINTAIN AS LONG AS THEY LIVE. It is strange that in souls so unsafe this hope should be so tong kept up. It is owing to such things as these — 1. To wretched ignorance of themselves, through neglecting to look into their own hearts. 2. To their not attending to the extent and spirituality of the law, as to what it requires of them, and how far they come short of obedience to it. 3. To the favourable apprehensions others may have of them. 4. To comparing themselves with open sinners, or more loose professors. 5. To the length they may go as to the attainment of what looks like grace. III. WHAT HYPOCRITES MAY BE SAID FOR A WHILE TO GAIN. It is supposed that some advantage they aim at, and may also reach. 1. By the part they act, they may gain more of the world. 2. They may gain the esteem and applause of men, and have the reputation of being eminently holy and religious. 3. They may gain a sort of peace in their own minds. 4. They may hereupon gain a smooth passage through the world, and an easy going out of it. 5. They may have a pompous funeral, and be well spoken of when they are dead. IV. THE VANITY AND EMPTINESS OF THE HYPOCRITE'S HOPE AND GAIN, AND THE CERTAINTY AND DREADFULNESS OF HIS MISERY WHEN GOD TAKETH AWAY HIS SOUL. 1. What is the hope of the hypocrite? A hope without ground, without fruit; and a hope that will not hold before the Judge. 2. What is the gain of the hypocrite? It is unsuitable to his soul, his better part. It is bounded within this present life, and can accompany him no further. Then take up with no hope but such as will stand you in stead when God shall take away your soul. (1) Not the hope that is built upon a mere profession, how specious soever. (2) Not a hope that is built upon excellent gifts and attainments. (3) Not a hope that is built upon external reformation. (4) Not a hope that is built upon the good opinion of others. (5) Not a hope that is built upon what we enjoy or suffer as to the present world. (6) Not a hope that is built upon Church privileges; but a hope that has the mercy of God in Christ for its ground, and the promise of God for its warrant. ( D. Wilcox. ) The hypocrite's hope T. Hannam. I. TO WHOM THE CHARACTER IN THE TEXT APPLIES. To all those who, in the concerns of religion, act a different part to what they really are. Particularly it applies — 1. To those who pretend entire devotedness to God, while their hearts are divided ( Psalm 12:2 ). 2. Who profess a regard to the will of God as the reason, and His glory as the end, of what they do in religion; while, at the same time, they act from other springs, and for lower and selfish ends ( Matthew 6:1 ). 3. Who are more careful to appear outwardly religious, than to be really so between God and their own souls ( Matthew 23:27, 28 ). 4. Who put God off with bodily service, while the heart is not engaged in it ( Isaiah 29:13 ; John 4:24 ). 5. Who are partial in their obedience to God, while the real Christian says Psalm 119:128 . II. THE HOPE AND THE GAIN OF SUCH A CHARACTER. 1. Their hope relates to a future state of blessedness. 2. It is groundless, without a solid foundation ( Colossians 1:27 ). 3. It is fruitless. See the Christian's hope, 1 John 3

Benson Commentary Job 27:1 Moreover Job continued his parable, and said, Job 27:1-4 . Job continued his parable — His grave and weighty discourse. As God liveth — He confirms the truth of his expressions by an oath, because he found them very backward to believe what he professed. Who hath taken away my judgment — Who, though he knows my integrity, yet does not plead my cause against my friends. All the while my breath is in me — Which is the constant companion and certain sign of life; or my soul or life is in me; and Spirit of God — Or rather, the breath of God; is in my nostrils — I protest, that as long as I have breath in my body, and he shall enable me to speak a word; my lips shall not speak wickedness, &c. — My tongue shall be the faithful interpreter of my heart, and I will never speak otherwise than I think. Job 27:2 As God liveth, who hath taken away my judgment; and the Almighty, who hath vexed my soul; Job 27:3 All the while my breath is in me, and the spirit of God is in my nostrils; Job 27:4 My lips shall not speak wickedness, nor my tongue utter deceit. Job 27:5 God forbid that I should justify you: till I die I will not remove mine integrity from me. Job 27:5-6 . God forbid that I should justify you — In your opinion concerning me, and censure of me; till I die, &c. — Never hope that I will yield to your judgment, which I know to be false: no, I abhor the thought of it, and will sooner die than confess the guilt which you charge upon me. My righteousness I hold fast — You shall never extort that from me, but I will resolutely maintain my uprightness, and not be persuaded by any reason to desert its defence. My heart shall not reproach me, &c. — With betraying my own cause and innocence; my conscience doth not hitherto accuse me, and it shall not upbraid me hereafter. Job 27:6 My righteousness I hold fast, and will not let it go: my heart shall not reproach me so long as I live. Job 27:7 Let mine enemy be as the wicked, and he that riseth up against me as the unrighteous. Job 27:7 . Let mine enemy be as the wicked — I am so far from loving and practising wickedness, whereof you accuse me, that I abhor the thoughts of it; and if I might and should wish to be revenged of mine enemy, I could wish him no greater mischief than to be a wicked man. This does not imply that we may lawfully wish any man to be wicked, or that any man who is not wicked should be treated as wicked; but we ought all rather to choose to be in the condition of a beggar, an outlaw, a galley-slave, any thing rather than in the condition of the wicked, though in ever so much outward pomp and prosperity. Job 27:8 For what is the hope of the hypocrite, though he hath gained, when God taketh away his soul? Job 27:8 . What is the hope of the hypocrite, though he hath gained? — There is no reason why I should envy or desire the portion of wicked men: although they ofttimes prosper in the world, and seem to be great gainers; yet death, which hasteneth to all men, and to me especially, will show that they are far greater losers, and die in a most wretched and desperate condition, having no hope either of continuing in this life, which they chiefly desire, or of enjoying a better life, which they never regarded. But I have a firm and well-grounded hope, not of that temporal restitution which you promise, but of a blessed immortality after death; and therefore I am not a hopeless hypocrite, as you think me to be. When God taketh away his soul — When, much against his will, and by an act of violence, (as the word ???? , jeshel, here used, signifies,) God, as the Judge, takes his soul out of his body, that it may be tried and determined to its everlasting state. What will his hope be then? It will be vanity and a lie; it will stand him in no stead. The wealth of this world, which he hoped in, he must leave behind him, and the happiness of the other world, which he hoped for, he will certainly fall short of; his hopes, therefore, will disappoint and make him ashamed. Job 27:9 Will God hear his cry when trouble cometh upon him? Job 27:9 . Will God hear his cry when trouble cometh? — When any calamity comes upon him; or, when his conscience accuses him, and his guilt flies in his face? Will God pay any regard to the cries of one who regarded him so little? Job 27:10 Will he delight himself in the Almighty? will he always call upon God? Job 27:10 . Will he delight himself in the Almighty? — When he has nothing else to delight in? No: his delight is in the things of the world, which now sink under him. Will he always call upon God? — Will he have the confidence to pray to God, and expect any comfort from him? Nay, will he not rather despond in such a case, and cease to call upon him? Certainly those who do not delight in God will not long call upon him. Job 27:11 I will teach you by the hand of God: that which is with the Almighty will I not conceal. Job 27:11 . I will teach you by the hand of God — That is, by God’s help and inspiration; or, by such arguments as are irresistible. The words, however, may be rendered, concerning the hand of God; that is, concerning his counsel and providence in governing the world, or the manner of his dealing with men, and especially with wicked men, of whom he discourses, Job 27:13 , &c., showing how far the hand of God is either for them, upon, or against them. That which is with the Almighty — That is, in his counsel, and how he executes his secret purposes concerning them; I will not conceal — I will declare the truth of God, and the doctrine that he hath taught his church about these matters. Job 27:12 Behold, all ye yourselves have seen it ; why then are ye thus altogether vain? Job 27:12 . Ye yourselves have seen it — I speak no false or strange things: but what is known and confirmed by your own experience, and that of others. Why then are ye thus altogether vain? — In maintaining such a foolish and false opinion against your own knowledge and experience? Why do you so obstinately defend your opinion, and not comply with mine, for the truth of which I appeal to your own consciences? Job 27:13 This is the portion of a wicked man with God, and the heritage of oppressors, which they shall receive of the Almighty. Job 27:13 . This is the portion of a wicked man — Namely, that which is mentioned in the following verses; with God — Either laid up with God, namely, in his counsel and appointment; or, which he shall have from God, as the next words explain it; and the heritage of oppressors — Who are mighty, fierce, terrible, and mischievous, as the word ?????? , gnaritzim, implies; whom, therefore, men cannot destroy, but God will. Job 27:14 If his children be multiplied, it is for the sword: and his offspring shall not be satisfied with bread. Job 27:14-15 . It is for the sword — That they may be cut off by the sword, either of war or of justice: and his offspring, &c. — Shall be starved, or shall want necessaries. Those that remain of him — Who survive that sword and famine; shall be buried in death — “Shall be reduced to so great a degree of misery,” says Schultens, “that where they die, there they shall rot, and no person shall bury them: they shall have death itself, (so he renders the text,) for their sepulchre.” It is put in antithesis, or by way of contrast to the monuments of the rich. And his widows — For they had many wives; shall not weep — Because they, as well as other persons, groaned under his tyranny, and, therefore, rejoice in their deliverance from it. Job 27:15 Those that remain of him shall be buried in death: and his widows shall not weep. Job 27:16 Though he heap up silver as the dust, and prepare raiment as the clay; Job 27:16-18 . Prepare raiment as the clay — In great abundance. But the just shall put it on — Either because it shall be given to him by the magistrate, to recompense him for those injuries which he had received from the oppressor; or because the right of it is, in some other way, transferred upon him by divine providence. He buildeth his house as a moth — Which settleth itself in a garment, but is quickly and unexpectedly dispossessed of its dwelling, and crushed to death. And as a booth, &c. — Which the keeper of a garden or vineyard suddenly rears up in fruit-time, and as quickly pulls down again. Job 27:17 He may prepare it , but the just shall put it on, and the innocent shall divide the silver. Job 27:18 He buildeth his house as a moth, and as a booth that the keeper maketh. Job 27:19 The rich man shall lie down, but he shall not be gathered: he openeth his eyes, and he is not. Job 27:19 . The rich man shall lie down — In death; but he shall not be gathered — Namely, in burial, as this word ??? Š, jeaseph, is often used. Instead of that honourable interment with his fathers, which he expected, his carcass shall lie like dung upon the earth. He openeth, or, one openeth his eyes, and he is not — That is, while a man can open his eyes, in a moment, or in the twinkling of an eye, he is as if he had never been; he is dead and gone, and his family and name are extinct with him. Job 27:20 Terrors take hold on him as waters, a tempest stealeth him away in the night. Job 27:20 . Terrors take hold on him — From the sense of approaching death or judgment. As waters — As violently and irresistibly as a river breaking its banks, or a deluge of waters bears down all before it. A tempest stealeth, &c. — God’s wrath cometh upon him like a tempest, and withal unexpectedly like a thief in the night. Job 27:21 The east wind carrieth him away, and he departeth: and as a storm hurleth him out of his place. Job 27:21-22 . The east wind — Some terrible judgment, fitly compared to the east wind, which, in those parts, was most vehement, furious, pestilential, and destructive; carrieth him away — Out of his place, as it follows; out of his stately mansion, where he expected to dwell for ever; whence he shall be carried, either by an enemy or by death. For God shall cast upon him — His darts or plagues, one after another and not spare — That is, shall show no pity or mercy to him when he crieth to him for it. As there is no Hebrew for God, we may attribute this power to the storm occasioned by the east wind. For, if the tempest, Job 27:20 , steals him away, according to the same kind of phraseology, the storm may be said to cast itself upon him, and not spare. He would fain flee out of his hand — That is, God’s hand, or from the power and violence of the storm. He earnestly desires and endeavours, by all possible ways, to escape the judgments of God, but in vain. Those that will not be persuaded to flee to the arms of divine grace, which are now stretched out to receive them, will not be able to flee from the arms of divine wrath, which will shortly be stretched out to destroy them. Job 27:22 For God shall cast upon him, and not spare: he would fain flee out of his hand. Job 27:23 Men shall clap their hands at him, and shall hiss him out of his place. Job 27:23 . Men — Who shall see and observe these things; shall clap their hands at him — In token of their joy, at the removal of such a public pest and tyrant; and by way of astonishment, as also in contempt and scorn; all which this action signifies in Scripture. And shall hiss him out of his place — In token of detestation and derision. Benson Commentary on the Old and New Testaments Text Courtesy of BibleSupport.com . Used by Permission.

Expositor's Bible Commentary Job 27:1 Moreover Job continued his parable, and said, XXII. THE OUTSKIRTS OF HIS WAYS Job 26:1-14 ; Job 27:1-23 Job SPEAKS BEGINNING his reply Job is full of scorn and sarcasm. "How hast thou helped one without power! How hast thou saved the strengthless arm! How hast thou counselled one void of knowledge, And plentifully declared the thing that is known!" Well indeed hast thou spoken, O man of singular intelligence. I am very weak, my arm is powerless. What reassurance, what generous help thou hast provided! I, doubtless, know nothing, and thou hast showered illumination on my darkness.-His irony is bitter. Bildad appears almost contemptible. "To whom hast thou uttered words?" Is it thy mission to instruct me? "And whose spirit came forth from thee?" Dost thou claim Divine inspiration? Job is rancorous; and we are scarcely intended by the writer to justify him. Yet it is galling indeed to hear that calm repetition of the most ordinary ideas when the controversy has been carried into the deep waters of thought. Job desired bread and is offered a stone. But since Bildad has chosen to descant upon the greatness and imperial power of God, the subject shall be continued. He shall be taken into the abyss beneath, where faith recognises the Divine presence, and to the heights above that he may learn how little of the dominion of God lies within the range of a mind like his, or indeed of mortal sense. First there is a vivid glance at that mysterious underworld where the shades or spirits of the departed survive in a dim vague existence. "The shades are shaken Beneath the waters and their inhabitants. Sheol is naked before Him, And Abaddon hath no covering." Bildad has spoken of the lofty place where God makes peace. But that same God has the sovereignty also of the nether world. Under the bed of the ocean and those subterranean waters that flow beneath the solid ground where, in the impenetrable darkness, poor shadows of their former selves, those who lived once on earth congregate age after age-there the power of the Almighty is revealed. He does not always exert His will in order to create tranquillity. Down in Sheol the refaim are agitated. And nothing is hid from His eye. Abaddon, the devouring abyss, is naked before Him. Let us distinguish here between the imagery and the underlying thought, the inspired vision of the writer and the form in which Job is made to present it. These notions about Sheol as a dark cavern below earth and ocean to which the spirits of the dead are supposed to descend are the common beliefs of the age. They represent opinion, not reality. But there is a new flash of inspiration in the thought that God reigns over the abode of the dead, that even if men escape punishment here, the judgments of the Almighty may reach them there. This is the writer’s prophetic insight into fact: and he properly assigns the thought to his hero who, already almost at the point of death, has been straining as it were to see what lies beyond the gloomy gate. The poetry is infused with the spirit of inquiry into God’s government of the present and the future. Set beside other passages both in the Old and New Testaments this is found continuous with higher revelations, even with the testimony of Christ when He says that God is Lord not of the dead but of the living. From Sheol, the underworld, Job points to the northern heavens ablaze with stars. God, he says, stretches that wonderful dome over empty space-the immovable polar star probably appearing to mark the point of suspension. The earth, again, hangs in space on nothing, even this solid earth on which men live and build their cities. The writer is of course ignorant of what modern science teaches, but he has caught the fact which no modern knowledge can deprive of its marvellous character. Then the gathering in immense volumes of watery vapour, how strange is that, the filmy clouds holding rains that deluge a continent, yet not rent asunder. One who is wonderful in counsel must indeed have ordered this universe; but His throne, the radiant seat of His everlasting dominion, He shutteth in with clouds; it is never seen. A bound He hath set on the face of the waters, On the confines of light and darkness. The pillars of heaven tremble And are astonished at His rebuke. He stilleth the sea with His power; And by His understanding He smites through Rahab; By His breath the heavens are made bright; His hand pierceth the fleeing serpent. Lo, these are the outskirts of His ways, And what a whisper is that which we hear of Him! But the thunder of His powers who can apprehend? At the confines of light and darkness God sets a boundary, the visible horizon, the ocean being supposed to girdle the earth on every side. The pillars of heaven are the mountains, which might be seen in various directions apparently supporting the sky. With awe men looked upon them, with greater awe felt them sometimes shaken by mysterious throbs as if at God’s rebuke. From these the poet passes to the sea, the great storm waves that roll upon the shore. God smites through Rahab, subdues the fierce sea-represented as a raging monster. Here, as in the succeeding verse where the fleeing serpent is spoken of, reference is made to nature myths current in the East. The old ideas of heathen imagination are used simply in a poetical way. Job does not believe in a dragon of the sea, but it suits him to speak of the stormy ocean current under this figure so as to give vividness to his picture of Divine power. God quells the wild waves; His breath as a soft wind clears away the storm clouds and the blue sky is seen again. The hand of God pierces the fleeing serpent, the long track of angry clouds borne swiftly across the face of the heavens. The closing words of the chapter are a testimony to the Divine greatness, negative in form yet in effect more eloquent than all the rest. It is but the outskirts of the ways of God we see, a whisper of Him we hear. The full thunder falls not on our ears. He who sits on the throne which is forever shrouded in clouds and darkness is the Creator of the visible universe but always separate from it. He reveals Himself in what we see and hear, yet the glory, the majesty remain concealed. The sun is not God, nor the storm, nor the clear shining after rain. The writer is still true to the principle of never making nature equal to God. Even where the religion is in form a nature religion, separateness is fully maintained. The phenomena of the universe are but faint adumbrations of the Divine life. Bildad may come short of the full clearness of belief, but Job has it. The great circle of existence the eye is able to include is but the skirt of that garment by which the Almighty is seen. The question may be asked, What place has this poetical tribute to the majesty of God in the argument of the book? Viewed simply as an effort to outdo and correct the utterance of Bildad the speech is not fully explained. We ask further what is meant to be in Job’s mind at this particular point in the discussion; whether he is secretly complaining that power and dominion so wide are not manifested in executing justice on earth, or, on the other hand, comforting himself with the thought that judgment will yet return to righteousness and the Most High be proved the All-just? The inquiry has special importance because, looking forward in the book, we find that when the voice of God is heard from the storm it proclaims His matchless power and incomparable wisdom. At present it must suffice to say that Job is now made to come very near his final discovery that complete reliance upon Eloah is not Simply the fate but the privilege of man. Fully to understand Divine providence is impossible, but it can be seen that One who is supreme in power and infinite in wisdom, responsible always to Himself for the exercise of His power, should have the complete confidence of His creatures. Of this truth Job lays hold; by strenuous thought he has forced his way almost through the tangled forest, and he is a type of man at his best on the natural plane. The world waited for the clear light which solves the difficulties of faith. While once and again a flash came before Christ, He brought the abiding revelation, the dayspring from on high which giveth light to them that sit in darkness and the shadow of death, According to his manner Job turns now from a subject which may be described as speculative to his own position and experience. The earlier part of chapter 27 is an earnest declaration in the strain he has always maintained. As vehemently as ever he renews his claim to integrity, emphasising it with a solemn adjuration. As God liveth who hath taken away my right, And the Almighty who hath embittered my soul; (For still my life is whole in me, And the breath of the High God in my nostrils), My lips do not speak iniquity, Nor does my tongue utter deceit. Far be it from me to justify you; Till I die I will not remove my integrity from me. My righteousness I hold fast, and let it not go; My heart reproacheth not any of my days. This is in the old tone of confident self defence. God has taken away his right, denied him the outward signs of innocence, the opportunity of pleading his cause. Yet, as a believer, he swears by the life of God that he is a true man, a righteous man. Whatever betides he will not fall from that conviction and claim. And let no one say that pain has impaired his reason, that now, if never before, he is speaking deliriously. No: his life is whole in him; God-given life is his, and with the consciousness of it he speaks, not ignorant of what is a man’s duty, not with a lie in his right hand, but with absolute sincerity. He will not justify his accusers, for that would be to deny righteousness, the very rock which alone is firm beneath his feet. Knowing what is a man’s obligation to his fellow men and to God, he will repeat his self defence. He goes back upon his past, he reviews his days. Upon none of them can his conscience fix the accusation of deliberate baseness or rebellion against God. Having affirmed his sincerity Job proceeds to show what would be the result of deceit and hypocrisy at so solemn a crisis of his life. The underlying idea seems to be that of communion with the Most High, the spiritual fellowship necessary to man’s inner life. He could not speak falsely without separating himself from God and therefore from hope. As yet he is not rejected; the consciousness of truth remains with him, and through that he is in touch at least with Eloah. No voice from on high answers him; yet this Divine principle of life remains in his soul. Shall he renounce it? "Let mine enemy be as the wicked, And he that riseth against me as the unrighteous." If I have aught to do with a wicked man such as I am now to describe, one who would pretend to pure and godly life while he had behaved in impious defiance of righteousness, if I have to do with such a man, let it be as an enemy. "For what is the hope of the godless whom He cutteth off, When God taketh his soul? Will God hear his cry When trouble cometh upon him? Will he delight himself in the Almighty And call upon Eloah at all times?" The topic is access to God by prayer, that sense of security which depends on the Divine friendship. There comes one moment at least, there may be many, in which earthly possessions are seen to be worthless and the help of the Almighty is alone of any avail. In order to enjoy hope at such a time a man must habitually live with God in sincere obedience. The godless man previously described, the thief, the adulterer whose whole life is a cowardly lie, is cut off from the Almighty. He finds no resource in the Divine friendship. To call upon God always is no privilege of his; he has lost it by neglect and revolt. Job speaks of the case of such a man as in contrast to his own. Although his own prayers remain apparently unanswered he has a reserve of faith and hope. Before God he can still assure himself as the servant of His righteousness, in fellowship with Him who is eternally true. The address closes with these words of retrospection ( Job 27:11-12 ):- "I would teach you concerning the hand of God, That which is with Shaddai would I not conceal. Behold, all ye yourselves have seen it; Why then are ye become altogether vain?" At this point begins a passage which creates great difficulty. It is ascribed to Job, but is entirely out of harmony with all he has said. May we accept the conjecture that it is the missing third speech of Zophar, erroneously incorporated with the "parable" of Job? Do the contents warrant this departure from the received text? All along Job’s contention has been that though an evildoer could have no fellowship with God, no joy in God, yet such a man might succeed in his schemes, amass wealth, live in glory, go down to his grave in peace. Yea, he might be laid in a stately tomb and the very clods of the valley might be sweet to him. Job has not affirmed this to be always the history of one who defies the Divine law. But he has said that often it is; and the deep darkness in which he himself lies is not caused so much by his calamity and disease as by the doubt forced upon him whether the Most High does rule in steadfast justice on this earth. How comes it, he has cried again and again, that the wicked prosper and the good are often reduced to poverty and sorrow? Now does the passage from the twelfth verse onwards correspond with this strain of thought? It describes the fate of the wicked oppressor in strong language-defeat, desolation, terror, rejection by God, rejection by men. His children are multiplied only for the sword. Sons die and widows are left disconsolate. His treasures, his garments shall not be for his delight; the innocent shall enjoy his substance. His sudden death shall be in shame and agony, and men shall clap their hands at him and hiss him out of his place. Clearly, if Job is the speaker, he must be giving up all he has hitherto contended for, admitting that his friends have argued truly, that after all judgment does fall in this world upon arrogant men. The motive of the whole controversy would be lost if Job yielded this point. It is not as if the passage ran, This or that may take place, this or that may befall the evildoer. Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar never present more strongly their own view than that view is presented here. Nor can it be said that the writer may be preparing for the confession Job makes after the Almighty has spoken from the storm. When he gives way then, it is only to the extent of withdrawing his doubts of the wisdom and justice of the Divine rule. The suggestion that Job is here reciting the statements of his friends cannot be entertained. To read "Why are ye altogether vain, saying, This is the portion of the wicked man from God," is incompatible with the long and detailed account of the oppressor’s overthrow and punishment. There would be no point or force in mere recapitulation without the slightest irony or caricature. The passage is in grim earnest. On the other hand, to imagine that Job is modifying his former language is, as Dr. A.B. Davidson shows, equally out of the question. With his own sons and daughters lying in their graves, his own riches dispersed, would he be likely to say-"If his children be multiplied it is for the sword"? and "Though he heap up silver as the dust, And prepare raiment as the clay; He may prepare it, but the just shall put it on And the innocent shall divide the silver"? Against supposing this to be Zophar’s third speech the arguments drawn from the brevity of Bildad’s last utterance and the exhaustion of the subjects of debate have little weight, and there are distinct points of resemblance between the passage under consideration and Zophar’s former addresses. Assuming it to be his, it is seen to begin precisely where he left off; -only he adopts the distinction Job has pointed out and confines himself now to "oppressors." His last speech closed with the sentence: "This is the portion of a wicked man from God, and the heritage appointed unto him by God." He begins here ( Job 27:13 ): "This is the portion of a wicked man with God, and the heritage of oppressors which they receive from the Almighty." Again, without verbal identity, the expressions "God shall cast the fierceness of His wrath upon him," { Job 20:23 } and "God shall hurl upon him and not spare," { Job 27:21 } show the same style of representation, as also do the following: "Terrors are upon him His goods shall flow away in the day of his wrath," { Job 20:25 ; Job 20:28 } and "Terrors overtake him like waters". { Job 27:20 } Other similarities may be easily traced; and on the whole it seems by far the best explanation of an otherwise incomprehensible passage to suppose that here Zophar is holding doggedly to opinions which the other two friends have renounced. Job could not have spoken the passage, and there is no reason for considering it to be an interpolation by a later hand. The Expositor's Bible Text Courtesy of BibleSupport.com . Used by Permission.