Holy Bible

Oh, that I were as in months past. Job 29:2 The fluctuations of a religious life T. E. Westerdale. I. THEIR PREVALENCE. Ebbs and tides of feeling are common to all life, good or bad. Religious moods are as frequent, as uncertain, and as unmanageable as any other moods, and under given conditions are absolutely beyond our control. To force ourselves up into a high state of spiritual feeling is a matter we can't always do. Important occasions do not always find us with the necessary power, however we may have laboured for it. There is spring and summer, autumn and winter, in nature; in fact, everything in nature suggests that we must have our pauses and rests, that it is impossible to continue in one strain of thought or action without cessation or change. Beware of passing sweeping condemnations on yourself, or on others, in moments of spiritual dearth. II. THE GENERAL CAUSES OF RELIGIOUS FLUCTUATION. 1. Take the constitutional.(1) To begin with the physical. Any defect in the vital digestive organs will change the whole course of a man's religious life. His variations, unaccountable tossings and reelings and fitfulnesses, are in very many cases the result entirely of some physical infirmity.(2) Or it may be mental. It is wonderful how our emotions and susceptibilities are bound up with our intellectual nature. It is the brain, the bodily organism, that gives identity, distinction, character to all our life. In one sense the material is simply an instrument of the spiritual nature; but in another, and a very important sense, it is the ruling and dominating element, as far as our emotions, feelings, and experience are concerned — the spiritual taking all its complexion from the material. The wavering that may be seen in one, when another is prompt to act, is just because the intellect very frequently keeps the will in restraint. Some people act on impulse, not on reason, on probabilities that a sound and vigorous mind would not dare to trust.(3) But again, our experience varies a good deal from another point of constitutional infirmity, and that is the moral point of view. One of the great mysteries of life is the inequalities of moral perceptions that are found in the world, irrespective of the grace of God. One man's natural tendencies all lie towards sin; and right feeling and right doing is a perpetual conflict. No wonder if he is often overwhelmed with despair. 2. Providential, i.e. causes beyond our own control, not set in motion by our wish or desire, or by our negligence — and of all the heroes mentioned in the Bible, none suffered more in this respect than Job. When Providence inflicts wounds, sends you sorrow, don't dream your heaviness of soul is an indication of a faithless heart. God is testing, sifting you. Have faith; all is well; grace is not yielding to sin. When it must be winter in your soul don't you try to make it summer. "Whom the Lord loveth He," etc. 3. Characteristic. And —(1) amongst these is an inordinate expectation of assistance from others, which in some people amounts to nothing more nor less than a radical misconception of what religion really is. If life is to be great, noble, blessed, it must grow out of sacred independence. Religious feeling, growth, power, are not developed by the caresses and fondnesses of our friends. Your own resources are better than all other resources put together, of whatever kind or nature. Until you can get the nature of the sturdy oak, that welcomes alike the cold of winter and the piercing heat of summer, you will be in a fluctuating condition all the days of your life. Like a weather glass, as far as spiritual things are concerned.(2) A characteristic cause of our rising and falling religious life is this, depending too much upon the efficacy of spasmodic effort. 4. The vital or radical causes, which, after all, are the real causes. They are(1) The attempt to be religious without the religious principle; the attempt to lead a new life without a new nature, very much prevailing now, but with very fatal consequences. Lives these full of secret sin.(2) Is the case where there has been a genuine conversion, but where the fire has burnt out, and there is nothing left but the form of godliness, and not the power.(3) Is the case where there is a real connection with the life of God, but so feeble and fitful, that the believer is tossed about by every wind and doctrine. III. THE REMEDY for this inconstancy, this fluctuation. 1. Give yourself up to a very frequent and searching self-examination before God. 2. You must be more faithful in the details of your religious life. Little things grow to big things. 3. You must be more constant in your attendance upon the means of grace, more particularly the special ordinances of God's house; but — 4. High and supreme above every other precaution and remedy, you must ever keep your heart open to the light of heaven and the grace of God; and then, whatever may be your hindrances, your drawbacks, your constitutional infirmity, or your spiritual afflictions, they shall all yield to the strength of your faith in God. ( T. E. Westerdale. ) Spiritual fluctuation Francis F. West. There is no sadder or more depressing condition than that in which we look back regretfully to better days and happier hours. This undertone of lamenting sorrow makes the cry of Job pathetic. He had seen better days. Because he measured God's favour by the amount of worldly prosperity given him, he concluded God, measurably at least, had forsaken him. It was a mistaken standard by which to judge God, still it was his standard. We are interested in the experience of Job so far as it is an illustration of spiritual experience. Our spiritual or religious life, like our physical, is subject to fluctuations. There are causes and remedies for such a fluctuating spiritual condition. I. INQUIRE UNTO THE CAUSES. 1. Physical causes. It is hard to tell how many of our spiritual fluctuations are due to our bodies. The mind and the soul have controlling power over the body; but it is just as true that the body rules them. The body is the channel of our noblest emotions and our deepest sorrows. Since the body has its effect upon the spirit, it is to be religiously guarded and cared for. 2. The mind. Its varying moods affect every other portion of our lives. Its powers, distorted by sin, carry us hither and thither. It is true religion appeals to and reaches the mind as well as the heart, the reason as well as the emotions; but the wilful wanderings and ever-restless questionings of the mind too often lead it from safe moorings. The thoughts we entertain; the kind of reading we select; the habits of judgment we cultivate — all have their effect upon our hearts. 3. Providential causes. Circumstances in which we are placed, and over which we have no control, seem to change often our entire outlook. It was so with Job. It is comparatively easy to be spiritually-minded as long as all goes well, but trouble often turns the poor weak heart from its refuge, and makes the sky look dark. 4. People too often live on too low a spiritual plane. We do not live up near enough to God. There is communion and fellowship with God that is neglected and forsaken. Men live on a plane constantly growing lower, and then wonder why their faith is not as clear, their hearts are not as warm, and their spirits as glowing as in former days: why heaven seems further away the nearer they come to eternity. They imagine God has changed, while the change is all in them. Spiritual lowlands will be sure to tell on spiritual life. II. INFERENCES IN CONNECTION WITH THIS SUBJECT. 1. Let no Christian conclude that because he has been subject to such changes, therefore he has lost religion and lost favour with God. This was one of Job's troubles. Religion is something deeper than our feelings, and far more comprehensive. It finds its basis not in our varying moods nor changing emotions, but in the unchanging Word and provisions of God. 2. There must be a higher standard of life than mere feeling. If emotions were the gauge of our religious life, we could never be quite sure of our spiritual standing. There were times of depression and exaltation on the human side of the life of the Saviour. All through His chequered experience the one great principle of action was that He might do the will of God. The highest standard put before us is not our fluctuating emotions, but our earnest doing God's will. III. REMEDIES FOR THIS SPIRITUAL FLUCTUATION. 1. Frequent strict self-examination. 2. Close attention paid to the details of life. 3. Practical activity. God wants us to work and do for Him whether we feel like doing so or not. 4. Let the windows of the soul be kept constantly open toward heaven. The Saviour did that. All availing strength comes from above. ( Francis F. West. ) Painful retrospects John Love. Humanity is a brotherhood, and the language of Job finds response in many a pious heart. I. DECLENSION IS THE FIRST THOUGHT SUGGESTED BY THESE WORDS. This may have been scarcely perceptible, for as spiritual life is developed not by violent moods, not by spasmodic impulses, but gradually; as its influx is like the inflowing of the tides, so spiritual declension is gradual — it does not register itself, it is comparatively unconscious. Still, there are specific causes out of which it is produced. 1. Religious speculation. It will not do to tamper with compass or chart. What shall prevent a vessel from drifting out of its course if the needle has been made to deflect from its true position? Bible truths should be held inviolable — not that there should be unreasoning and blind acceptance of religious beliefs, but there are certain truths commended to us which are beyond controversy. 2. The cares of the world. These are fruitful causes of spiritual declension. It was no wonder that Peter would fain remain on Tabor's summit with Christ. Under a tropical sun, nursed by the balmy air, rich and luscious fruits easily ripen; so, near the Throne, in moments akin to the hour of transfiguration, Christian graces rapidly develop; but the hourly contact with the busy world, its anxieties and distractions, are apt to be prejudicial to piety and to warp the Christian character. 3. Neglect of the means of grace. These are commended, not arbitrarily. They are the laws of the spiritual life — essential conditions of growth. II. SOLICITUDE IS A HOPEFUL INDICATION. It is a sign of spiritual life. The Church at Laodicea was charged with indifferentism. "I would ye were either cold or hot." III. THE DESIRE MAY BE FULFILLED. ( John Love. ) Job's regret and our own I. Let us begin by saying that regrets such as those expressed in the text are and ought to be very BITTER. If it be the loss of spiritual things that we regret, then may we say from the bottom of our hearts, "Oh, that I were as in months past." It is a great thing for a man to be near to God; it is a very choice privilege to be admitted into the inner circle of communion, and to become God's familiar friend. Great as the privilege is, so great is the loss of it. No darkness is so dark as that which falls on eyes accustomed to the light. The man who has never enjoyed communion with God knows nothing of what it must be to lose it. The mercies which Job deplored in our text are no little ones. 1. First, he complains that he had lost the consciousness of Divine preservation. He says, "Oh, that I were as in months past, as in the days when God preserved me." There are days with Christians when they can see God's hand all around them, checking them in the first approaches of sin, and setting a hedge about all their ways. 2. Job had also lost Divine consolation, for he looks back with lamentation to the time when God's candle shone upon his head, when the sun of God's love was, as it were, in the zenith, and cast no shadow; when he rejoiced without ceasing, and triumphed from morning to night in the God of his salvation. "The joy of the Lord is our strength." Moreover, Job deplored the loss of Divine illumination. "By His light," he says, "I walked through darkness," that is to say, perplexity ceased to be perplexity; God shed such a light upon the mysteries of Providence, that where others missed their path, Job, made wise by heaven, could find it. There have been times when, to our patient faith, all things have been plain. 3. Moreover, Job had lost Divine communion; so it seems, for he mourned the days of his youth, when the secret of God was upon his tabernacle. Who shall tell to another what the secret of God is? II. But, secondly, let me remind you that these regrets are NOT INEVITABLE; that is to say, it is not absolutely necessary that a Christian man should ever feel them, or be compelled to express them. It has grown to be a tradition among us, that every Christian must backslide in a measure, and that growth in grace cannot be unbrokenly sustained. There is no inherent necessity in the Divine life itself compelling it to decline, for is it not written, "It shall be in him a well of water, springing up unto everlasting life"? And there is no period of our life in which it is necessary for us to go back. Assuredly, old age offers no excuse for decline: "they shall still bring forth fruit in old age; they shall be fat and flourishing; to show that the Lord is upright." III. But now I am compelled to say that the regrets expressed in our text are exceedingly COMMON and it is only here and there that we meet with a believer who has not had cause to use them. It ought not to be so, but it is so. The commonness of this lamentation may be somewhat accounted for by the universal tendency to undervalue the present and exaggerate the excellence of the past. Then, again, regrets may in some cases arise from a holy jealousy. The Christian, in whatever state he is, feels his own imperfection much, and laments his conscious shortcomings. And, let me add, that very often these regrets of ours about the past are not wise. It is impossible to draw a fair comparison between the various stages of Christian experience, so as to give a judicious preference to one above another. Consider, as in a parable, the seasons of the year. There are many persons who, in the midst of the beauties of spring, say, "Ah, but how fitful is the weather! These March winds and April showers come and go by such fits and starts, that nothing is to be depended upon. Give me the safer glories of summer." Yet, when they feel the heat of summer, and wipe the sweat from their brows, they say, "After all, with all the full-blow of beauty around us, we admire more the freshness, verdure, and vivacity of spring. The snowdrop and the crocus, coming forth as the advance guard of the army of flowers, have a superior claim about them." Now, it is idle to compare spring with summer; they differ, and have each its beauties. Be thankful each of you for what you have, for by the grace of God you are what you are. After making all these deductions, however, I cannot conceive that they altogether account for the prevalence of these regrets; I am afraid the fact arises from the sad truth that many of us have actually deteriorated in grace, have decayed in spirit, and degenerated in heart. IV. Since these regrets are exceedingly common, it is to be feared that in some cases they are very sadly NEEDFUL. Are there not signs of declension, that some of us might, with but a very slight examination, discover in ourselves? Is not brotherly love, in many Christians, very questionable? V. But I must pass on to observe that these regrets BY THEMSELVES ARE USELESS. It is unprofitable to read these words of Job, and say, "Just so, that is how I feel," and then continue in the same way. If a man has neglected his business, and so has lost his trade, it may mark a turn in his affairs when he says, "I wish I had been more industrious"; but if he abides in the same sloth as before, of what use is his regret? If he doth not seek to be restored, he is adding to all his former sins this of lying before God, in uttering regrets that he does not feel in his soul. VI. These regrets, when they are necessary, are very HUMBLING. During the time we have been going back we ought to have gone forward. What enjoyments we have lost by our wanderings! What progress we have missed. Alas, how much the Church has lost through us! for if the Christian becomes poor in grace, he lessens the Church's wealth of grace. VII. These regrets, then, are humbling, and they may be made very PROFITABLE in many other ways. First, they show us what human nature is. Learn again to prize what spiritual blessings yet remain. This should teach us to live by faith, since our best attainments fail us. VIII. These regrets OUGHT NOT TO BE CONTINUAL: they ought to be removed. Go back to where you started. Do not stay discussing whether you are a Christian or not. Go to Christ as a poor, guilty sinner. ( C. H. Spurgeon . ) Comfort for the desponding I. First, there is a COMPLAINT. How many a Christian looks on the past with pleasure, on the future with dread, and on the present with sorrow! 1. The first is the case of a man who has lost the brightness of his evidences. 2. Another phase of this great complaint, which it also very frequently assumes, is one under which we are lamenting — not so much because our evidences are withered, as because we do not enjoy a perpetual peace of mind as to other matters. "Oh," says one, "Oh, that I were as in months past! for then whatever troubles and trials came upon me were less than nothing." 3. Another individual, perhaps, is speaking thus concerning his enjoyment in the house of God and the means of grace. "Oh," says one, "in months past, when I went up to the house of God, how sweetly did I hear!" 4. There are some of us who lament extremely that our conscience is not as tender as it used to be; and therefore doth our soul cry in bitterness," Oh, that I were as in months past!" "When first I knew the Lord," you say, "I was almost afraid to put one foot before another, lest I should go astray." 5. There are some of us who have not as much zeal for the glory of God and the salvation of men as we used to have. II. But now we are about to take these different characters, and tell you the CAUSE AND CURE. 1. One of the causes of this mournful state of things is defect in prayer; and of course the cure lies somewhere next door to the cause. You do not pray as you once did. Nothing brings such leanness into a man's soul as want of prayer. 2. Perhaps, again, you are saying, "Oh, that I were as in months past!" not so much from your own fault as from the fault of your minister. 3. But there is a better reason still that will come more home to some of you. It is not so much the badness of the food, as the seldomness that you come to eat it. 4. But frequently this complaint arises from idolatry. Many have given their hearts to something else save God, and have set their affections upon the things of earth, instead of the things in heaven. We have perhaps become self-confident and self-righteous. If so, that is a reason why it is not with us as in months past. ( C. H. Spurgeon . ) Because I delivered the poor that cried. Job 29:12 The use and application of wealth and authority J. Rogers, D. D. These words naturally lead us to reflect on the noble use and improvement this venerable person made of his former prosperity; to consider our own duty as represented to us in his example; and the proper objects of our compassion. I. The PROPER USE AND APPLICATION OF WEALTH AND AUTHORITY. The distinctions which arise from power and subjection, from riches and poverty, from ease and affliction, appear so unequally and irregularly divided among men, and with so little regard to moral reasons, that by some superficial observers they have been formed into an objection against the wisdom and justice of God. But they execute a wise and regular scheme of providence; are necessary to preserve the order and economy of human society, and unite and endear mankind to one another. Wealth and authority must be acknowledged to distinguish us only as superior servants, appointed by our common Master, to do justice in the family and give everyone their meat in due season. We are not to imagine these favours are indulged us merely for our own sakes, to enable us to live in splendour and ease. The poor have a right and property in the abundance of those who are better supplied. Neither is any man farther justified in engrossing and hoarding up the common bounties of heaven, than may consist with this claim. These pleas of natural reason and justice religion has enforced with the authority of a positive command. With regard to the object, we are to observe, that both the obligations of the duty, and the measures prescribed to it, are under some limitations; for though our benevolence is required to be universal, yet our abilities are confined to a much narrower compass, and therefore oblige us to choice and distinction in the external applications of our charity. The motives that should prevail with us to comply with these great obligations, laid on us by justice and our religion, are that inward joy and complacency which flow back upon the soul from acts of mercy and liberality; and above all, those inestimable rewards which the Gospel has taught us to expect from these duties; pardon of sin here, and the eternal treasures of heaven hereafter. II. THE WORDS ALLOW US TO TAKE SOME INFERIOR VIEWS INTO THE ACCOUNT. While we are employed in the exercise of beneficence and charity, we appear in the venerable character of substitutes of God, commissioned by Him to reach down and distribute His blessings among our fellow subjects. On the returns of gratitude from the objects of our charity, and from the world who are witnesses of it, we are permitted to reflect with pleasure as a present encouragement designed by God to excite and reward our virtue. The other motive here proposed for our encouragement, the blessings of those whom we relieve, is in its nature properly religious; derives all its force from a conviction of our dependence on Providence, and the efficacy of human prayers. ( J. Rogers, D. D. ) Eyes to the blind J. H. Jowett, M. A. That is not egotism. It is not the utterance of a puffed-up spirit. Egotism is too frequently the child of the shallows. Rarely, if ever, does it issue out of a deep and troubled heart. Egotism flourishes best where profound sorrow is least known. And here is a man who is overwhelmed with sorrow. Death has darkened every window in his home, and he is burdened with the weight of an almost intolerable grief. This is no place in which to find light, egotistical speech. Whatever words this man may speak will be crushed out of him by the very burden of his grief. It is a man going into his yesterdays to find some solace for the sorrow of today. He is calling upon memory to provide a little heart's ease for his present bitter distress. Thrice happy the man who can call such memories to help him in the hour of his distress! "The poor that cried," and "the fatherless," and "those ready to perish," and the "widow" and the "lame" and the "blind" still make their appeals in the land, and it is true today as ever that the only Christian response is the one that was made by the patriarch Job. I have noticed that controversy about the distressed and the unfortunate is often regarded as a substitute for their relief. Abstract discussions often result in misty speculations which only obscure one's personal duty. It is often the case that controversy abounds where sympathy should reign. Again and again we find this illustrated in the experiences of our Lord. You find controversialists discussing the abstract question why such and such a man was born blind, while the blind man himself was soliciting practical aid. I believe that there is a vast amount of suffering and distress which might be effectually checked by some rearrangement of our social and economic conditions. I do not think that in these matters legislation is altogether impotent. At any rate, we can see to it that legislation puts a premium upon virtue, and not upon vice. But when legislation has done its utmost, misfortune will still be with us. In the presence of these things, surrounded by them on every side, what is the Christian attitude? The attitude of the patriarch Job. Christianity is a gospel of compassion and practical help, and to be devoid of these things is to be altogether an alien from the commonwealth of Israel. This is not new. The youngest child in this assembly could tell us that Christianity without helpfulness is a great absurdity. But while we all know these things, the danger is that we have got the right ideas without the correspondingly right feelings. It is so easy to be orthodox in mind but heterodox in heart; to have Christian ideas, but non-Christian feelings. Our Christianity may be intelligent but not sympathetic. What we want is the orthodox feeling united to the orthodox thought. How is this to be attained? I do not think we shall ever have a really deep feeling for our fellow sufferers until we have deeply suffered too. You begin to pray for the sailors when your own boy is on the deep. When you have a crippled child what a heart you have for the maimed! It sometimes seems as though God cannot draw us together in common feeling without taking us through a common sorrow. There is nothing so welds hearts together. I know of nothing more pathetic in the life of Browning than the reconciliation of himself and the great actor Macready. They had been close and intimate friends, but for some trifle or other they quarrelled, and each went his own way, and for years their helpful intercourse was broken. Then came a great trouble. About the same time they lost their wives, and a little while after, as each was walking out in his loneliness in a quiet way in a London suburb, they suddenly met face to face, and Browning, with a great burst of emotion, seized his old friend's hand, and said, "Oh, Macready"; and Macready, with an aching heart, replied, "Oh, Browning." That was all they could say to each other, and in the fires of a great and common grief the two severed lives were welded again. But if we have not been deepened by suffering, we can do something to deepen ourselves. Let us get face to face with realities. First of all we can remember the old trite commonplace that "truth is stranger than fiction." We can find more pitiful things to weep over in any one street in this city than in all the works of fiction which may issue from the press in the course of the year. I don't know what Christ will have to say to people who weep over their novels, but who never weep over the great cities as He did because of their distresses and their woes. ( J. H. Jowett, M. A. ) Sympathy should be practical An Italian coastguard officer reported a shipwreck to his Government in these words: "We saw the wreck, and we attempted to give every assistance possible through the speaking trumpet. We shouted ourselves quite hoarse, and notwithstanding which next morning twenty corpses were washed ashore." A well-known Scotch professor used to tell this story, and add: "Too much of our benevolence is of the speaking trumpet variety, and even this we boast about. The Samaritan of the New Testament represents the benevolence of which the world stands in greatest need." Piety and riches Thomas Colclough. I. THE TEXT SHOWS THE NATURE OF A TRULY RIGHTEOUS AND POWERFUL CHARACTER, AIDED BY GREAT SECULAR POSSESSIONS. Job was very rich; he was also very pious 1. His impartial justice. 2. His broad charity. 3. His timely assistance of the needy. 4. His exemplary leadership.In all these we see a truly powerful and noble character. Piety, charity, justice, grandly blended and exemplified. We see at least" that there is no incompatibility between a holy character and vast secular wealth. II. THE TEXT SHOWS THAT THE MOST PERFECT PIETY IS NO SECURITY AGAINST THE LOSS OF GREAT SECULAR ABUNDANCE. Wealth may go, but piety shall remain. III. THE TEXT SHOWS THAT THE RICH PIOUS MAN, BEING IN DANGER OF LOSING HIS WEALTH, SHOULD, WHILE HE POSSESSES IT, USE IT WISELY. This should inspire us — 1. To promptitude and liberality in our gifts; and 2. To a right discretion of the objects we support. It would be difficult to estimate such a life as is here set forth. A rich good man abounds with resources of good in every direction of God's glory and the welfare of man. And if so be that the wealth be taken from us, we never lose our piety, which is the far greater possession. ( Thomas Colclough. ) The blessing of him that was ready to perish. Job 29:13 The blessedness of doing good Sketches of Four Hundred Sermons. I. JOB HAD THE BLESSING OF THOSE READY TO PERISH. 1. A man may be ready to perish through adverse circumstances. 2. Or by some imminent danger and peril to which he is exposed. 3. In such cases men of pure benevolence interpose to save the poor unhappy wretch who is ready to perish. 4. How many in the moral world are ready to perish by their sins and iniquities. The blessing of him who is ready to perish comes on the man who relieves the needy, rescues them that are exposed to danger, and who converteth a sinner from the error of his ways. II. JOB HAD CAUSED THE WIDOW'S HEART TO SING FOR JOY. 1. Widows are placed in very distressing circumstances. 2. Often she has a large family left to her care. 3. The world is ever ready to take advantage of a desolate widow. 4. Job was kind to widows in the days of his prosperity. His conduct was generous and noble, and worthy of a great and good man. Let us imitate the example of Job. Inferences — (1) Acts of benevolence are good proofs of a renewed heart. (2) Those who are kind to others will be abundantly repaid. (3) In the day of judgment works of mercy will be brought forward as evidences of piety. ( Sketches of Four Hundred Sermons. ) Rescue the perishing William Birch. I. AN URGENT NECESSITY. "Ready to perish." Oh that we all might go to the help of the poor, who are ready to perish in the midst of the ocean of drunkenness, misery, and wretchedness. There is a want of sympathy. We find it in all classes. Men are perishing about us for want of the power of the Gospel. II. AN ASSURED RECOMPENSE. There is a sure recompense, if you will do God's bidding. Be an enthusiast. Seek out the perishing people, and risk yourselves in the service of the Lord Jesus Christ. III. A PERSONAL ENJOYMENT. There has been One who, in order to save you, gave Himself. Let your blessing come upon Him as you stand in faith at the foot of the Cross. This personal enjoyment can only come to us when we are true Christians. ( William Birch. ) I put on righteousness. Job 29:14-17 Ad magistratum Bishop Sanderson. When others do us open wrong, it is not vanity, but charity, to do ourselves open right. And whatsoever appearance of folly or vain boasting there is in so doing, they are chargeable with all that compel us thereunto, and not we. It was neither pride nor passion in Job, but such a compulsion as this, that made him so often proclaim his own righteousness. It seemeth Job was a good man, as well as a great; and being good, he was by so much the better, by how much he was the greater. The grieved spirit of Job uttered these words for his own justification; but the blessed Spirit of God hath since written them for our instruction; to teach us, from Job's example, how to use that measure of greatness and power which He hath given us, be it more, or be it less, to His glory and the common good. We have to learn the principal duties which concern those that live in any degree of efficiency or authority. Those duties are four. I. A CARE, AND LOVE, AND ZEAL OF JUSTICE. This is the chief business of the magistrate. "I put on righteousness, and it clothed me." The metaphor of clothing is much used in the Scriptures in this notion as it is applied to the soul, and things appertaining to the soul. We clothe ourselves either for necessity, to cover our nakedness; for security or defence against enemies; or for state and solemnity, for distinction of offices and degrees. Job's words intimate the great love he had unto justice, and the great delight he took therein. And it is the master duty of the magistrate to do justice, and to delight in it. He must make it his chief business, and yet count it his lightsome recreation. Magistrates may learn from the examples of Job, of Solomon, and of Jesus Christ Himself. Justice is a thing in itself most excellent; from it there redoundeth much glory to God; to ourselves so much comfort, and to others

Benson Commentary Job 29:1 Moreover Job continued his parable, and said, Job 29:1 . Job now goes on to finish his defence, and in order to it he first sets forth his condition in the time of his prosperity, against which he places, by way of contrast, his present unhappy situation, describing both with great beauty and elegance. He then proceeds to purge himself of the several crimes laid to his charge, imprecating on himself the divine vengeance, in various manners, in case he were guilty, and at last concludes that this was his plea, on this he would rest his defence: he was desirous it might be recorded, and prays that his cause might be brought to a decision, declaring he was under no manner of apprehensions of the consequences. Job 29:2 Oh that I were as in months past, as in the days when God preserved me; Job 29:2-3 . O that I were as in months past — O that God would re- establish me in that happy condition wherein I was some time ago; in the days when God preserved me — From all those miseries which now I feel, and when I seemed to be a principal part of his care! You would then pay a greater regard to my words than you do now in my adversity. When his candle shined upon my head — When his favour and blessing attended me, to comfort and direct me. And when by his light I walked through darkness — Passed through many difficulties, dangers, and common calamities which befell others who lived near me, and overcame those troubles which happened to myself. Job 29:3 When his candle shined upon my head, and when by his light I walked through darkness; Job 29:4 As I was in the days of my youth, when the secret of God was upon my tabernacle; Job 29:4 . As I was in the days of my youth — In my former and flourishing days; when the secret of God was upon my tabernacle — When there was a secret blessing of God upon me and my family, succeeding us in all our affairs; and when God conversed freely with me, as one bosom friend with another; when I knew his mind, and was not in uncertainty respecting it, as I have been of late. It may be proper, however, to observe, that the word ??? , sod, here translated the secret, signifies not only secret counsels, in which sense it is used Amos 3:7 , but also the assembly where such consultations are held, in which latter sense it is used much more frequently, as Psalm 89:8 ; Psalm 111:1 ; Jeremiah 6:11 . And in this sense Sol. Jarchi understands it here. Thus interpreted, the meaning of the clause is, when the society of God, a company of devout persons, assembled in my tabernacle, namely, for divine worship, and other purposes of religion. In these meetings, no doubt, Job presided, and in them he took a great deal of pleasure, and it was no little grief to him to have them intermitted, and the persons that composed them scattered. Job 29:5 When the Almighty was yet with me, when my children were about me; Job 29:5-6 . When the Almighty was yet with me — On my side; whereas now he is against me, and hath forsaken me. When my children were about me — Or, servants, for the word ???? , nagnarai, signifies both. When the members of my family were wont to be present to join and assist in our religious services, and we had communion with God and with each other. When I washed my steps with butter — When I had all temporal blessings as well as spiritual, and abounded with all sorts of good things, which is often signified by this or such like phrases. When I had such numerous herds of cattle, and consequently such plenty of butter, that if I had so pleased I might have washed my feet with it. And the rock poured me out rivers of oil — When not only fruitful fields, but even barren and rocky places, (such as the part of Arabia where Job lived,) yielded me olive-trees and oil in great plenty: see Deuteronomy 32:13 . Job 29:6 When I washed my steps with butter, and the rock poured me out rivers of oil; Job 29:7 When I went out to the gate through the city, when I prepared my seat in the street! Job 29:7 . When I went out to the gate — When I went from my dwelling to the gate of the city, the place of judicature, which, as has often been observed, was in the gates. When I prepared my seat in the streets — When I caused the seat of justice to be set for me in that open place, as ????? , barechob, signifies, near the gate, where the people assembled for the administration of justice. By this, and several other expressions, it appears that Job was a magistrate or judge in his country. Job 29:8 The young men saw me, and hid themselves: and the aged arose, and stood up. Job 29:8-10 . The young men saw me and hid themselves — Out of reverence to my person and dignity, or out of a consciousness of their guilt and folly, which they supposed I might understand either by information from others, or discover by their countenances, and for which they knew I would reprove them, and bring them to shame or other punishment. And the aged arose and stood up — While I either passed by them, or was present with them: so great was the veneration which they had for me, although you treat me with such contempt and scorn. The princes refrained talking — A general silence immediately ensued when I appeared, the great men themselves, who were high in office, breaking off their discourses, and not taking the liberty to speak a word till I had first given my opinion, which they readily approved of, and to which they fully assented. The nobles held their peace — Those who were distinguished by their birth and quality, and were superior to others in honour and dignity, could not have heard me with greater attention and stillness, if they had quite lost their voices, or their tongues had been tied to the roof of their mouths. Job 29:9 The princes refrained talking, and laid their hand on their mouth. Job 29:10 The nobles held their peace, and their tongue cleaved to the roof of their mouth. Job 29:11 When the ear heard me , then it blessed me; and when the eye saw me , it gave witness to me: Job 29:11-12 . When the ear heard me, then it blessed me — Prayed to God to bless me, and pronounced a blessing upon me, because of the integrity, justice, and wisdom which were observed in all my discourses and actions, and of the satisfaction which I gave to all; as well as on account of the relief which I afforded to the oppressed, by my equitable decrees in all causes which were brought before me. When the eye saw me it gave witness to me — Gave testimony to my pious, and just, and blameless conversation. Because I delivered the poor — From his potent oppressor. Men did not honour me for my great wealth or power, but for my impartial justice and pity to the afflicted, and courage in maintaining their cause and right against their mighty adversaries. The fatherless, and him that had none to help him — None would own or help them, partly because they were poor, and unable to recompense them for it, and partly because their enemies were great, and likely to crush both them and their helpers; which made Job’s virtue more remarkable. Job 29:12 Because I delivered the poor that cried, and the fatherless, and him that had none to help him. Job 29:13 The blessing of him that was ready to perish came upon me: and I caused the widow's heart to sing for joy. Job 29:13 . The blessing of him that was ready to perish — Who was in danger of losing his life or estate, by the malice and tyranny of wicked men; came upon me — Both he, and others for his sake, blessed me, and begged that God would bless me. I caused the widow’s heart to sing for joy — For her great and unexpected deliverance. Widows are the common objects of injuries and oppressions, because they are generally unable to defend themselves from the violence of their oppressors, or to offend those who molest them. Job 29:14 I put on righteousness, and it clothed me: my judgment was as a robe and a diadem. Job 29:14 . I put on righteousness, and it clothed me — As a garment covers the whole body, and is worn continually all the day long, so I was constantly just in the whole course of my administrations, public and private; and I never put off this clothing, out of partiality to myself, or respect to the persons of others, as the manner of many judges is. My judgment was as a robe and diadem — My judgments, or decrees, were so equal and righteous, that they never brought shame and reproach upon me, but rather honour and reputation; and I looked upon them as a greater ornament than the purple robe or the diadem. Job 29:15 I was eyes to the blind, and feet was I to the lame. Job 29:15-16 . I was eyes to the blind — That is, instead of eyes, to instruct, direct, and assist such, as through ignorance or weakness were apt to mistake, and to be seduced or cheated by the craft and artifices of evil- minded men. And feet was I to the lame — That is, ready to help him who was unable to help himself. I was a father to the poor — For the poor I had such a tender affection, that I was as careful of their interest as if I had been their father, and was as ready to relieve them, and supply their wants, as if they had been my children. And the cause which I knew not I searched out — I was their advocate, as well as their judge, and never ceased considering their cause, when there was any obscurity in it, till I thoroughly understood it, that I might set it in a true light, cleared of all false colours, and do them justice. In all causes, especially in those which concerned the poor, I diligently inquired into the matters of fact, patiently and impartially heard both sides, laid all circumstances together, that might discover the truth and the merits of every cause; and then, and not till then, gave judgment upon it. Job 29:16 I was a father to the poor: and the cause which I knew not I searched out. Job 29:17 And I brake the jaws of the wicked, and plucked the spoil out of his teeth. Job 29:17 . I brake the jaws of the wicked — Hebrew, ?????? , methallegnoth, dentes molares vel maxillas cum dentibus, the grinders, or the jawbones with the teeth, the sharpest and strongest teeth in the jaw; that is, the power and violence wherewith they used to oppress others. It is a metaphor taken from wild beasts, which tear and crush their prey with their teeth. And plucked the spoil out of his teeth — Forced him to restore what he had violently taken away. Job 29:18 Then I said, I shall die in my nest, and I shall multiply my days as the sand. Job 29:18 . Then I said — That is, I persuaded my self, being thus strongly fortified with the consciousness of my own universal integrity, and with the singular favour of God and of all men; I shalt die in my nest — Not a violent or untimely, but a natural, peaceable, and seasonable death, sweetly expiring in my own bed and habitation, in the midst of my children and friends, leaving the precious perfume of a good name behind me, and a plentiful inheritance to all my posterity. And I shall multiply my days as the sand — He means, as the sand on the sea-shore: whereas, we should rather reckon our days by the sand in the hour-glass, which will be all run out in a little time. See how apt even good men are to set death at a distance from them! Job 29:19 My root was spread out by the waters, and the dew lay all night upon my branch. Job 29:19-20 . My root was spread out by the waters — I was like a tree, whose root, spreading out itself by the waters, receives continual moisture and nourishment from the earth, so that it is in no danger of withering; and, being deeply fixed in the ground, is kept firm, so that it is in no danger of being overturned. And the dew lay all night upon my branches — I was watered by the divine favour and influence from above, as well as nourished from the earth beneath, and consequently prospered in soul as well as body, and was enriched with spiritual as well as temporal blessings. Let none think to support their prosperity or comfort with what they draw from the earth, without that blessing which is derived from heaven. My glory was fresh in me — My reputation did not wither and decay, but continued to grow every day. Through the divine favour he persevered and increased in all holiness and usefulness; and those about him had continually something new to say in his praise, so that, instead of losing any part of the love and respect paid him by his friends and neighbours, his honour and credit increased day by day; and his bow was renewed in his hand — That is, his power to protect himself, and to annoy those that assailed him, so that he thought he had as little reason as any man to fear the insults and injuries of the Sabeans and Chaldeans, or any other hostile power. Job 29:20 My glory was fresh in me, and my bow was renewed in my hand. Job 29:21 Unto me men gave ear, and waited, and kept silence at my counsel. Job 29:21-23 . Unto me men gave ear — When I spake all men gave me the greatest attention, and my word was a law to them; and waited and kept silence, &c. — Expecting till I spake, and silently listening to my counsel, which they were confident would be wise, and just, and good, and preferring it to their own judgment. After my words they spake not again — Either to confute them as false, or to add any thing to them as being lame and imperfect. And my speech dropped upon them — Hebrew, ??? Š, tittop, distilled as the dew, as Ab. Ezra renders it, referring to Deuteronomy 32:2 , where Moses, writing in the same style, says, My doctrine shall drop as the rain, &c. As rain is most acceptable and beneficial to the earth, not when it comes down in great and violent storms, but when it descends in moderate and gentle showers; so my words sweetly distilled upon them, and sunk into their hearts. And they waited for me as for the rain — They expected my opinion and advice, with silent attention, and with the same eager desire wherewith the husbandman expects the showers after he has sown his seed. And they opened their mouth wide — They gaped, as it were, with desire for my words, as the dry and parched earth thirsts and opens its mouth to receive the rain after a long, droughty season. Among the Egyptians, the heavens pouring down rain or dew, was the hieroglyphic, or emblem, of learning and instruction. Job 29:22 After my words they spake not again; and my speech dropped upon them. Job 29:23 And they waited for me as for the rain; and they opened their mouth wide as for the latter rain. Job 29:24 If I laughed on them, they believed it not; and the light of my countenance they cast not down. Job 29:24 . If I laughed on them — That is, carried myself familiarly and pleasantly with them; they believed it not — It was so acceptable to them to see me well pleased with them, and cheerful among them, that they could scarcely believe their eyes and ears which testified that it was so. And the light of my countenance they cast not down — My familiarity with them did not produce presumption in them to say or do any thing that might grieve me, or make my countenance to fall. They were very cautious not to abuse my smiles, nor to give me any occasion to change my countenance or carriage toward them. Job 29:25 I chose out their way, and sat chief, and dwelt as a king in the army, as one that comforteth the mourners. Job 29:25 . I chose out their way — They sought to me for advice in all doubtful and difficult cases, and I directed them what methods they should take; and sat chief — As a prince or judge, while they stood waiting for my counsel: Hebrew, ???? , rosh, as their head, or ruler, and my word was as a law, or oracle to them. And dwelt as a king in the army — Whose presence puts life, and courage, and joy into the whole army. And no less acceptable was my presence to them. The word ???? , gedud, here rendered army, is generally translated troops, as Genesis 49:19 ; Psalm 18:30 . And Heath renders the last two clauses, “If I chose to travel with them, I had the most honourable place: I pitched my tent also as a king among the troop.” As one that comforteth the mourners — As I was able and ready to comfort any afflicted or sorrowful persons, so my consolations were always grateful and acceptable to them. Benson Commentary on the Old and New Testaments Text Courtesy of BibleSupport.com . 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Expositor's Bible Commentary Job 29:1 Moreover Job continued his parable, and said, XXIV. AS A PRINCE BEFORE THE KING Job 29:1-25 ; Job 30:1-31 ; Job 31:1-40 Job SPEAKS FROM the pain and desolation to which he has become inured as a pitiable second state of existence, Job looks back to the years of prosperity and health which in long succession he once enjoyed. This parable or review of the past ends his contention. Honour and blessedness are apparently denied him forever. With what has been he compares his present misery and proceeds to a bold and noble vindication of his character alike from secret and from flagrant sins. In the whole circle of Job’s lamentations this chant is perhaps the most affecting. The language is very beautiful, in the finest style of the poet, and the minor cadences of the music are such as many of us can sympathise with. When the years of youth go by and strength wanes, the Eden we once dwelt in seems passing fair. Of those beyond middle life there are few who do not set their early memories in sharp contrast to the ways they now travel, looking back to a happy valley and long bright summers that are left behind. And even in opening manhood and womanhood the troubles of life often fall, as we may think, prematurely, coming between the mind and the remembered joy of burdenless existence. How changed are they!-how changed am I! The early spring of life is gone, Gone is each youthful vanity, - But what with years, oh what is won? I know not-but while standing now Where opened first the heart of youth, I recollect how high would glow Its thoughts of Glory, Faith, and Truth- "How full it was of good and great, How true to heaven, how warm to men. Alas! I scarce forbear to hate The colder breast I bring again." First in the years past Job sees by the light of memory the blessedness he had when the Almighty was felt to be his preserver and his strength. Though now God appears to have become an enemy he will not deny that once he had a very different experience. Then nature was friendly, no harm came to him; he was not afraid of the pestilence that walketh in darkness nor the destruction that wasteth at noon day, for the Almighty was his refuge and fortress. To refuse this tribute of gratitude is far from the mind of Job, and the expression of it is a sign that now at length he is come to a better mind. He seems on the way fully to recover his trust. The elements of his former happiness are recounted in detail. God watched over him with constant care, the lamp of Divine love shone on high and lighted up the darkness, so that even in the night he could travel by a way he knew not and feel secure. Days of strength and pleasure were those when the secret of God, the sense of intimate fellowship with God, was on his tent, when his children were about him, that beautiful band of sons and daughters who were his pride. Then his steps were bathed in abundance, butter provided by innumerable kine, rivers of oil which seemed to flow from the rock, where terrace above terrace the olives grew luxuriantly and yielded their fruit without fail. Chiefly Job remembers with gratitude to God the esteem in which he was held by all about him. Nature was friendly and not less friendly were men. When he went into the city and took his seat in the "broad place" within the gate, he was acknowledged chief of the council and court of judgment. The young men withdrew and stood aside, yea the elders, already seated in the place of assembly, stood up to receive him as their superior in position and wisdom. Discussion was suspended that he might hear and decide. And the reasons for this respect are given. In the society thus with idyllic touches represented, two qualities were highly esteemed-regard for the poor and wisdom in counsel. Then, as now, the problem of poverty caused great concern to the elders of cities. Though the population of an Arabian town could not be great, there were many widows and fatherless children, families reduced to beggary by disease or the failure of their poor means of livelihood, blind and lame persons utterly dependent on charity, besides wandering strangers and the vagrants of the desert. By his princely munificence to these Job had earned the gratitude of the whole region. Need was met poverty relieved, justice done in every case. He recounts what he did, not in boastfulness, but as one who rejoiced in the ability God had given him to aid suffering fellow creatures. Those were indeed royal times for the generous-hearted man. Full of public spirit, his ear and hand always open, giving freely out of his abundance, he commended himself to the affectionate regard of the whole valley. The ready way of almsgiving was that alone by which relief was provided for the destitute, and Job was never appealed to in vain. "The ear that heard me blessed me, The eye that saw bare witness to me, Because I delivered the poor that cried, And the fatherless who had no helper. The blessing of him that was ready to die came upon me, And I caused the widow’s heart to sing with joy." So far Job rejoices in the recollection of what he had been able to do for the distressed and needy in those days when the lamp of God shone over him. He proceeds to speak of his service as magistrate or judge. "I put on righteousness and it indued itself with me, My justice was as a robe and a diadem; I was eyes to the blind And feet was I to the lame." With righteousness in his heart so that all he said and did revealed it and wearing judgment as a turban, he sat and administered justice among the people. Those who had lost their sight and were unable to find the men that had wronged them came to him and he was as eyes to them, following up every clue to the crime that had been committed. The lame who could not pursue their enemies appealed to him and he took up their cause. The poor, suffering under oppression, found him a protector, father. Yea, "the cause of him that I knew not I searched out." On behalf of total strangers as well as of neighbours he set in motion the machinery of justice. "And I brake the jaws of the wicked And plucked the spoil from his teeth." None were so formidable, so daring and lion-like, but he faced them, brought them to judgment, and compelled them to give up what they had taken by fraud and violence. In those days, Job confesses, he had the dream that as he was prosperous, powerful, helpful to others by the grace of God, so he would continue. Why should any trouble fall on one who used power conscientiously for his neighbours? Would not Eloah sustain the man who was as a god to others? "Then I said, I shall die in my nest, And I shall multiply my days as the Phoenix; My root shall spread out by the waters, And the dew shall be all night on my branch: My glory shall be fresh in me, And my bow shall be renewed in my hand." A fine touch of the dream life which ran on from year to year, bright and blessed as if it would flow forever. Death and disaster were far away. He would renew his life like the Phoenix, attain to the age of the antediluvian fathers, and have his glory or life strong in him for uncounted years. So illusion flattered him, the very image he uses pointing to the futility of the hope. The closing strophe of the chapter proceeds with even stronger touch and more abundant colour to represent his dignity. Men listened to him and waited. Like a refreshing rain upon thirsty ground-and how thirsty the desert could be!-his counsel fell on their ears. He smiled upon them when they had no confidence, laughed away their trouble, the light of his countenance never dimmed by their apprehensions. Even when all about him were in dismay his hearty hopeful outlook was unclouded. Trusting God, he knew his own strength and gave freely of it. "I chose out their way, and sat as a chief, And dwelt as a king in the crowd, As one that comforteth the mourners." Looked up to with this great esteem, acknowledged leader in virtue of his overflowing goodness and cheerfulness, he seemed to make sunshine for the whole community. Such was the past. All that had been is gone, apparently forever. How inexpressibly strange that power so splendid, mental, physical, and moral strength used in the service of less favoured men should be destroyed by Eloah! It is like blotting out the sun from heaven and leaving a world in darkness. And most strange of all is the way in which low men assist the ruin that has been wrought. The thirtieth chapter begins with this. Job is derided by the miserable and base whose fathers he would have disdained to set with the dogs of his flock. He paints these people, gaunt with hunger and vice, herding in the wilderness where alone they are suffered to exist, plucking mallows or salt wort among the bushes and digging up the roots of broom for food. Men hunted them into the desert, crying after them as thieves, and they dwelt in the clefts of the wadies, in caves and amongst rocks. Like wild asses they brayed in the scrub and flung themselves down among the nettles. Children they were of fools, base-born, men who had dishonoured their humanity and been whipped out of the land. Such are they whose song and by word Job is now become. These, even these abhor him and spit in his face. He makes the contrast deep and dreadful as to his own experience and the moral confusion that has followed Eloah’s strange work. For good there is evil, for light and order there is darkness. Does God desire this, ordain it? One is inclined to ask whether the abounding compassion and humaneness of the Book of Job fail at this point. These wretched creatures who make their lair like wild beasts among the nettles, outcasts, branded as thieves, a wandering base-born race, are still men. Their fathers may have fallen into the vices of abject poverty. But why should Job say that he would have disdained to set them with the dogs of his flock? In a previous speech (chapter 24) he described victims of oppression who had no covering in the cold and were drenched with the rain of the mountains, clinging to the rock for shelter; and of them he spoke gently, sympathetically. But here he seems to go beyond compassion. Perhaps one might say the tone he takes now is pardonable, or almost pardonable, because these wretched beings, whom he may have treated kindly once, have seized the occasion of his misery and disease to insult him to his face. While the words appear hard, the uselessness of the pariah may be the mare point. Yet a little of the pride of birth clings to Job. In this respect he is not perfect; here his prosperous life needs a check. The Almighty must speak to him out of the tempest that he may feel himself and find "the blessedness of being little." These outcasts throw off all restraint and behave with disgraceful rudeness in his presence. Upon my right hand rise the low brood, They push away my feet, And cast up against me their ways of destruction; They mar my path, And force on my calamity- They who have no helper. They come in as through a wide breach, In the desolation they roll themselves upon me. The various images, of a besieging army, of those who wantonly break up paths made with difficulty, of a breach in the embankment of a river, are to show that Job is now accounted one of the meanest, whom any man may treat with in dignity. He was once the idol of the populace; "now none so poor to do him reverence." And this persecution by base men is only a sign of deeper abasement. As a horde of terrors sent by God he feels the reproaches and sorrows of his state. "Terrors are turned upon me; They chase away mine honour as the wind. And my welfare passeth as a cloud. And now my soul is poured out in me The days of affliction have taken hold upon me." Thought shifts naturally to the awful disease which has caused his body to swell and to become black as with dust and ashes. And this leads him to his final vehement complaint against Eloah. How can He so abase and destroy His servant? I cry unto Thee and Thou dost not hear me; I stand up, and Thou lookest at me. Thou art turned to be cruel unto me: With the might of Thine hand Thou persecutest me. Thou liftest me up to the wind, Thou causest me to ride on it; And Thou dissolvest me in the storm. For I know that Thou wilt bring me to death, And to the house appointed for all living. Yet in overthrow doth not one stretch out his hand? In destruction, doth he not because of this utter a cry? Standing up in his wretchedness he is fully visible to the Divine eye, still no prayer moves Eloah the terrible from His purpose. It seems to be finally appointed that in dishonour Job shall die. Yet, destined to this fate, his hope a mockery, shall he not stretch out his hand, cry aloud as life falls to the grave in ruin? How differently is God treating him from the way in which he treated those who were in trouble! He is asking in vain that pity which he himself had often shown. Why should this be? How can it be, and Eloah remain the Just and Living One? Pained without and within, unable to refrain from crying out when people gather about him, a brother to jackals whose howlings are heard all night, a companion to the grieving ostrich, his bones burned by raging fever, his harp turned to wailing and his lute into the voice of them that weep, he can scarce believe himself the same man that once walked in honour and gladness in the sight of earth and heaven. Thus the full measure of complaint is again poured out, unchecked by thought that dignity of life comes more with suffering patiently endured than with pleasure. Job does not know that out of trouble like his a man may rise more human, more noble, his harp furnished with new strings of deeper feeling, a finer light of sympathy shining in his soul. Consistently, throughout, the author keeps this thought in the background, showing hopeless sorrow, affliction, unrelieved by any sense of spiritual gain, pressing with heaviest and most weary weight upon a good man’s life. The only help Job has is the consciousness of virtue, and that does not check his complaint. The antinomies of life, the past as compared with the present, Divine favour exchanged for cruel persecution, well doing followed by most grievous pain and dishonour, are to stand at the last full in view. Then He who has justice in His keeping shall appear. God Himself shall declare and claim His supremacy and His design. This purpose of the author achieved, the last passage of Job’s address-chapter 31-rings bold and clear like the chant of a victor, not serene indeed in the presence of death, for this is not the Hebrew temper and cannot be ascribed by the writer to his hero, yet with firm ground beneath his feet, a clear conscience of truth lighting up his soul. The language is that of an innocent man before his accusers and his judge, yea of a prince in presence of the King. Out of the darkness into which he has been cast by false arguments and accusations, out of the trouble into which his own doubt has brought him, Job seems to rise with a new sense of moral strength and even of restored physical power. No more in reckless challenge of heaven and earth to do their worst, but with a fine strain of earnest desire to be clear with men and God, he takes up and denies one by one every possible charge of secret and open sin. Is the language he uses more emphatic than any man has a right to employ? If he speaks the truth, why should his words be thought too bold? The Almighty Judge desires no man falsely to accuse himself, will have no man leave an unfounded suspicion resting upon his character. It is not evangelical meekness to plead guilty to sins never committed. Job feels it part of his integrity to maintain his integrity; and here he vindicates himself not in general terms but in detail, with a decision which cannot be mistaken. Afterwards, when the Almighty has spoken, he acknowledges the ignorance and error which have entered into his judgment, making the confession we must all make even after years of faith. I. From the taint of lustful and base desire he first clears himself. He has been pure in life, innocent even of wandering looks which might have drawn him into uncleanness. He has made a covenant with his eyes and kept it. Sin of this kind, he knew, always brings retribution, and no indulgence of his ever caused sorrow and dishonour. Regarding the particular form of evil in question he asks:- "For what is the portion from God above, And the heritage of the Almighty from on high? Is it not calamity to the unrighteous And disaster to them that work iniquity?" Grouped along with this "lust of the flesh" is the "lust of the eyes," covetous desire. The itching palm to which money clings, false dealing for the sake of gain, crafty intrigues for the acquisition of a plot of ground or some animal-such things were far from him. He claims to be weighed in a strict balance, and pledges himself that as to this he will not be found wanting. So thoroughly is he occupied with this defence that he speaks as if still able to sow a crop and look for the harvest. He would expect to have the produce snatched from his hand if the vanity of greed and getting had led him astray. Returning then to the more offensive suspicion that he had laid wait treacherously at his neighbour’s door, he uses the most vigorous words to show at once his detestation of such offence and the result he believes it always to have. It is an enormity, a nefarious thing to be punished by the judges. More than that, it is a fire that consumes to Abaddon, wasting a man’s strength and substance so that they are swallowed as by the devouring abyss. As to this, Job’s reading of life is perfectly sound. Wherever society exists at all, custom and justice are made to bear as heavily as possible on those who invade the foundation of society and the rights of other men. Yet the keenness with which immorality of the particular kind is watched fans the flame of lust. Nature appears to be engaged against itself; it may be charged with the offence, it certainly joins in bringing the punishment. II. Another possible imputation was that as a master or employer he had been harsh to his underlings. Common enough it was for those in power to treat their dependants with cruelty. Servants were often slaves; their rights as men and women were denied. Regarding this, the words put into the mouth of Job are finely humane, even prophetic:- "If I despised the cause of my man-servant or maid When they contended with me What then shall I do when God riseth up? And when He visiteth what shall I answer Him? Did not He that made me in the womb make him? And did not One fashion us in the womb?" The rights of those who toiled for him were sacred, not as created by any human law which for so many hours’ service might compel so much stipulated hire, but as conferred by God. Job’s servants were men and women with an indefeasible claim to just and considerate treatment. It was accidental, so to speak, that Job was rich and they poor, that he was master and they under him. Their bodies were fashioned like his, their minds had the same capacity of thought, of emotion, of pleasure and pain. At this point there is no hardness of tone or pride of birth and place. These are well doing people to whom as head of the clan Job stands in place of a father. And his principle, to treat them as their inheritance of the same life from the same Creator gave them a right to be dealt with, is prophetic, setting forth the duties of all who have power to those who toil for them. Men are often used like beasts of burden. No tyranny on earth is so hateful as many employers, driving on their huge concerns at the utmost speed, dare to exercise through representatives or underlings. The simple patriarchal life which brought employer and employed into direct personal relations knew little of the antagonism of class interests and the bitterness of feeling which often menaces revolution. None of this will cease till simplicity be resumed and the customs which keep men in touch with each other, even though they fail to acknowledge themselves members of the one family of God. When the servant who has done his best is, after years of exhausting labour, dismissed without a hearing by some subordinate set there to consider what are called the "interests" of the employer-is the latter free from blame? The question of Job, "What then shall I do when God riseth up, and when He visiteth what shall I answer Him?" strikes a note of equity and brotherliness many so-called Christians seem never to have heard. III. To the poor, the widow, the fatherless, the perishing, Job next refers. Beyond the circle of his own servants there were needy persons whom he had been charged with neglecting and even oppressing. He has already made ample defence under this head. If he has lifted his hand against the fatherless, having good reason to presume that the judges would be on his side-then may his shoulder fall from the shoulder blade and his arm from the collar bone. Calamity from God was a terror to Job, and recognising the glorious authority which enforces the law of brotherly help he could not have lived in proud enjoyment and selfish contempt. IV. Next he repudiates the idolatry of wealth and the sin of adoring the creature instead of the Creator. Rich as he was, he can affirm that he never thought too much of his wealth, nor secretly vaunted himself in what he had gathered. His fields brought forth plentifully, but he never said to his soul, Thou hast much goods laid up for many years, take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry. He was but a steward, holding all at the will of God. Not as if abundance of possessions could give him any real worth, but with constant gratitude to his Divine Friend, he used the world as not abusing it. And for his religion: true to those spiritual ideas which raised him far above superstition and idolatry, even when the rising sun seemed to claim homage as a fit emblem of the unseen Creator, or when the full moon shining in a clear sky seemed a very goddess of purity and peace, he had never, as others were wont to do, carried his hand to his lips. He had seen the worship of Baal and Ishtar, and there might have come to him, as to whole nations, the impulses of wonder, of delight, of religious reverence. But he can fearlessly say that he never yielded to the temptation to adore anything in heaven or earth. It would have been to deny Eloah the Supreme. Dr. Davidson reminds us here of a legend embodied in the Koran for the purpose of impressing the lesson that worship should be paid to the Lord of all creatures, "whose shall be the kingdom on the day whereon the trumpet shall be sounded." The Almighty says: "Thus did we show unto Abraham the kingdom of heaven and earth, that he might become of those who firmly believe. And when the night overshadowed him he saw a star, and he said, This is my Lord; but when it set he said, I like not those that set. And when he saw the moon rising he said, This is my Lord; but when he saw it set he said, Verily, if my Lord direct me not, I shall become one of the people who go astray. And when he saw the rising sun he said, This is my Lord; this is the greatest; but when it set he said, O my people, verily I am clear of that which ye associate with God; I direct my face unto Him who hath created the heavens and the earth." Thus from very early times to that of Mohammed monotheism was in conflict with the form of idolatry that naturally allured the inhabitants of Arabia. Job confesses the attraction, denies the sin. He speaks as if the laws of his people were strongly against sun worship, whatever might be done elsewhere. V. He proceeds to declare that he has never rejoiced over a fallen enemy nor sought the life of any one with a curse. He distinguishes himself very sharply from those who in the common Oriental way dealt curses without great provocation, and those even who kept them for deadly enemies. So far was this rancorous spirit from him that friends and enemies alike were welcome to his hospitality and help. Job 31:31 means that his servants could boast of being unable to find a single stranger who had not sat at his table. Their business was to furnish it every day with guests. Nor will Job allow that after the manner of men he skilfully covered transgressions. "If, guilty of some base thing, I concealed it, as men often do, because I was afraid of losing caste, afraid lest the great families would despise me" Such a thought or fear never presented itself to him. He could not thus have lived a double life. All had been above board, in the clear light of day, ruled by one law. In connection with this it is that he comes with princely appeal to the King. "Oh that I had one to hear me!- Behold my signature-let the Almighty answer me. And oh that I had my Opponent’s charge! Surely I would carry it on my shoulder, I would bind it unto me as a crown. I would declare unto Him the number of my steps, As a prince would I go near unto Him." The words are to be defended only on the ground that the Eloah to whom a challenge is here addressed is God misunderstood, God charged falsely with making unfounded accusations against His servant and punishing him as a criminal. The Almighty has not been doing so. The vicious reasoning of the friends, the mistaken creed of the age make it appear as if He had. Men say to Job, You suffer because God has found evil in you. He is requiting you according to your iniquity. They maintain that for no other reason could calamities have come upon him. So God is made to appear as the man’s adversary; and Job is forced to the demonstration that he has been unjustly condemned. "Behold my signature," he says: I state my innocence; I set to my mark; I stand by my claim: I can do nothing else. Let the Almighty prove me at fault. God, you say, has a book in which His charges against me are written out. I wish I had that book! I would fasten it upon my shoulder as a badge of honour; yea, I would wear it as a crown. I would show Eloah all I have done, every step I have taken through life by day and night. I would evade nothing. In the assurance of integrity I would go to the King; as a prince I would stand in His presence. There face to face with Him whom I know to be just and righteous I would justify myself as His servant, faithful in His house. Is it audacity, impiety? The writer of the book does not mean it to be so understood. There is not the slightest hint that he gives up his hero. Every claim made is true. Yet there is ignorance of God, and that ignorance puts Job in fault so far. He does not know God’s action though he knows his own. He ought to reason from the misunderstanding of himself and see that he may fail to understand Eloah. When he begins to see this he will believe that his sufferings have complete justification in the purpose of the Most High. The ignorance of Job represents the ignorance of the old world. Notwithstanding the tenor of his prologue the writer is without a theory of human affliction applicable to every case, or even to the experience of Job. He can only say and repeat, God is supremely wise and righteous, and for the glory of His wisdom and righteousness He ordains all that befalls men. The problem is not solved till we see Christ, the Captain of our salvation, made perfect by suffering, and know that our earthly affliction "which is for the moment worketh for us more and more exceedingly an eternal weight of glory." The last verses of the chapter may seem out of place. Job speaks as a landowner who has not encroached on the fields of others but honestly acquired his estate, and as a farmer who has tilled it well. This seems a trifling matter compared with others that have been considered. Yet, as a kind of afterthought, completing the review of his life, the detail is natural. "If my land cry out against me, And the furrows thereof weep together, If I have eaten the fruits thereof without money, Or have caused the owners to lose their life: Let thistles grow instead of wheat And cockle instead of barley. The words of Job are ended." A farmer of the right kind would have great shame if poor crops or wet furrows cried against him, or if he could otherwise be accused of treating the land ill. The touch is realistic and forcible. Still it is plain at the close that the character of Job is idealised. Much may he received as matter of veritable history; but on the whole the life is too fine, pure, saintly for even an extraordinary man. The picture is clearly typical. And it is so for the best reason. An actual life would not have set the problem fully in view. The writer’s aim is to rouse thought by throwing the contradictions of human experience so vividly upon a prepared canvas that all may see. Why do the righteous suffer? What does the Almighty mean? The urgent questions of the race are made as insistent as art and passion, ideal truth and sincerity, can make them. Job lying in the grime of misery, yet claiming his innocence as a prince before the Eternal King, demands on behalf of humanity the vindication of providence, the meaning of the world scheme. The Expositor's Bible Text Courtesy of BibleSupport.com . Used by Permission.