Holy Bible

Hear attentively the noise of His voice. Job 37:1-13 What is Elihu's message Samuel Cox, D. D. ? — What he really contributes to the main argument of the book is, that suffering may be medicinal, corrective, fructifying, as well as punitive. The friends had proceeded on the assumption, an assumption abundantly refuted by Job, that his calamities sprang, and only could spring from his transgressions. In their theology there was no room for any other conclusion. But, obviously, there is another interpretation of the function of adversity which needs to be discussed, if the discussion is to be complete; and this wider interpretation Elihu seeks to formulate. According to him, God may be moved to chastise men by love, as well as by anger; with a view to quicken their conscience, to instruct their thoughts, and give them a larger scope; in order to purge them, that they may bring forth more and better fruit; to rouse them from the lethargy into which, even when they are spiritually alive, they are apt to sink, and to save them from the corruption too often bred even by good customs, if these customs do not grow and change. His main contention has indeed, since his time, become the merest commonplace. But this pious commonplace was sufficiently new to Job and his friends to be startling. To them Elihu, when he contends that God often delivers the afflicted by and through their afflictions, must have seemed to be either uttering a dangerous heresy, or speaking as one who had received new light and inspiration from on high. ( Samuel Cox, D. D. ) The phenomena of nature Homilist. Elihu regarded nature — I. As the RESULT of the Divine AGENCY. He speaks of the thunder as the voice of God. "The sound that goeth out of His voice," "the voice of His Excellency." He speaks of the lightning as being directed under the whole heaven by Him, even unto the "ends of the earth." Modern science spreads out theoretic schemes between nature and God. It speaks of laws and forces. This was not the science of Elihu; he regarded man as being brought face to face with God in nature. II. As the REVEALER of the Divine CHARACTER. He recognised —(1) His majesty. "In the thunder."(2) His ubiquity. He saw Him everywhere, in the little as well as in the great.(3) His inscrutableness, — he could not follow Him in all His movements. III. As the INSTRUMENT of the Divine PURPOSE. "And it is turned round about by His counsels; that they may do whatsoever He commandeth them upon the face of the world in the earth. He causeth it to come, whether for correction, or for His land, or for mercy." ( Homilist. ) For He saith to the anew. The lessons of the snowflakes Wallace Thorp. I. WE LEARN THAT WHAT GOD GIVES IS PURE. The beautiful snow, in its purity, is a type of His gifts. To be pure is certainly a state to earnestly desire, and strenuously endeavour to attain. It requires the crucible of affliction and discipline to reach it, and God often, yea, indeed, constantly uses it. II. THAT WHAT GOD GIVES IS BEAUTIFUL. Nothing is so beautiful as a field of fresh-fallen snow. The snow grows more beautiful when you examine it closely. But think of the source from whence they come, and each little form will be to you a profitable teacher. God gave the snow, and it is thus beautiful; so beautiful are all His gifts. Beauty is a quality in objects not to be ignored. When God makes beauty, how infinitely superior it is in beauty to the beauty constructed by the hand of man. III. THAT WHAT GOD GIVES IS GOOD. Were it not for the kindly snow, in some countries, not one grain of wheat would live through the rigorous cold of the winter. But the very wheat is warmed into life by the protection of the snow. IV. THE SNOW TEACHES US TO BE IMPARTIAL. In this it accords with the Word of God. It bestows its benefits upon a community, it neglects none. V. WE LEARN A LESSON OF CAUTION. How easily soiled is the snow, because of its very whiteness and cleanness. Its susceptibility to soil and dirt is a constant pleading that one be careful not to soil it. The fairer, whiter, cleaner a thing is, the more easily is it soiled. VI. ONE MORE LESSON — THE EVANESCENCE OF ALL EARTHLY THINGS. The fields, now hidden from view by their snowy covering, will soon be seen again; and when the snow is gone, how brief will seem to have been the season of its sojourn! Out of this lesson comes another — the duty of readiness to meet the Bridegroom. ( Wallace Thorp. ) The snowstorm The Pulpit. I. THE SNOW IN ITS INTERESTING PHENOMENON. The snow falls in beautiful showers almost every year, and covers the face of nature. Multitudes admire its beauties, but few understand its singular formation, important uses, and varied design. These things ought not so to be. We should make ourselves acquainted with the works of God, especially such common gifts as the rain, and wind, and snow. This would lead our thoughts from nature to nature's God; and then His wisdom, and power, and goodness as seen therein would excite our admiration. The snow, this wonderful creature of God, has been thus described — "Snow is a moist vapour drawn up from the earth to, or near the middle region of the air, where it is condensed, or thickened into a cloud, and falls down again like carded wool, sometimes in greater and sometimes in lesser flakes. The snow and the rain are made of the same matter, and are produced in the same place, only they differ in their outward form, as is obvious to the eye, and in their season. Rain falls in the warmer seasons, the clouds being dissolved into rain by heat; snow falls in the sharper seasons, the clouds being thickened by the cold. The place where the snow is generated is in the air, from thence it receives a command to dispatch itself to the earth, and there to abide." Three things respecting the snow may just be noticed. 1. Its whiteness. The whiteness of snow, observe naturalists, is caused by the abundance of air and spirits that are in transparent bodies. "The whiteness of snow," says Sturm, "may be accounted for thus — it is extremely light, and thin, consequently full of pores, and these contain air. It is further composed of parts more or less thick and compact, and such a substance does not admit the sun's rays to pass, neither does it absorb them: on the contrary, it reflects them very powerfully, and thus gives it that white appearance which we see in it" ( Isaiah 1:18 ). 2. Form. "The little flakes," observes the pious author just named, "generally resemble hexagonal stars; sometimes, however, they have eight angles, and at others ten, and some of them are of quite an irregular shape. The best way of observing them is to receive the snow upon white paper, but hitherto little has been said of the cause of these different figures." 3. Abundance. "Hast thou," said God to Job, "entered into the treasures of snow?" II. THE SNOW IN ITS EFFICIENT SOURCE. The philosopher may explain its secondary, or instrumental causes, but the Christian recognises and acknowledges its first and original cause. Elihu, in the text, and in other parts of this chapter, traces, or notices, the thunder and the lightning, the snow and the rain, the whirlwind and the cold, the frost and the clouds, to their Divine source. "For He saith" ( i.e. , He commands) "to the snow, Be thou on the earth." The source from whence the snow proceeds, illustrates — 1. God's power. When the Almighty Maker wills a thing, He has only to speak, and it is done. 2. God's sovereignty. The sovereignty of God means His power and right of dominion over His creatures, to dispose and determine them as seemeth Him good. The snow affords an instance of the exercise of this attribute — on God's will depends the time, the quantity, and the place. 3. God's justice. The text itself refers to this very attribute. "For He causeth it to come, whether for correction, or for His land, or for mercy." And Elihu, in the end of the chapter, where he closes his conversation with Job, on the attributes of God, as seen in His works, gives prominence to His justice. "Touching the Almighty, we cannot find Him out: He is excellent in power, and in judgment, and in plenty of justice: men do therefore fear Him." And the Almighty Himself, in the next chapter, tells Job that He sometimes sends His snow and hail in justice, that sinners may be punished for their sins ( Job 38:22, 23 ). 4. God's goodness. 5. God's providence. III. THE SNOW IN ITS VARIED PURPOSES. "He causeth it," i.e. , "the cloud, with whatever is its burden, to unladen and disburden itself" — "for correction, or for His land, or for mercy." We must here observe — 1. The Lord sometimes sends the snow in the way of correction. The Hebrew is, for a rod — so we put it in the margin. Thunder and rain is the rod ( 1 Samuel 12:17-19 ). And who can tell but God may send His snow, and wind, and cold, to punish us for our unmindfulness of His mercies, and opposition to His laws? 2. The snow may be sent for the benefit of God's land. "For His land" (ver. 13). "The world is His, and the fulness thereof." The clouds, therefore, drop down their moisture for the benefit of God's land, that the beasts may have pasture; plants, nourishment; and that there may be provision for all God's offspring ( Psalm 104:10-14, 27, 28 ; Psalm 65:9-13 ). 3. The design of God in sending the snow may be merciful. IV. OUR DUTY AS IMPLIED IN ELIHU'S ADDRESS TO JOB. "Hearken unto this, O Job: stand still, and consider the wondrous works of God" (ver. 14). The works of God are wonderful — wonderful in their magnitude, variety, beauty, usefulness, and order — these are to be considered. Consider them, therefore; many see them, who never consider them. Consider them reverently. Patiently. Calmly. Closely. God's works will bear inspection. Frequently. Devoutly. Not merely that your minds may be informed, but your heart drawn out towards God, in pious affections. We learn from this subject — 1. The generality of men pay little attention to the wondrous works of God, that such indifference is very criminal, and that it is the duty of ministers to awaken the attention of their people to the subject. 2. Special and particular providences demand special and particular attention. "Hearken unto this." 3. The perfect ease with which God can punish the wicked, and hurl them to destruction. 4. The present time affords a fine opportunity for the exercise of Christian benevolence. 5. The precious privileges of those who are interested in the favour of God. ( The Pulpit. ) The snow and its lessons R. Brewin. I. We may learn from the snow THAT IT IS POSSIBLE TO DO A GREAT DEAL OF GOOD WITHOUT MAKING VERY MUCH NOISE. The snow is a great blessing. The Psalmist says, "He giveth snow like wool" ( Psalm 147:16 ). Wool, as we know, is very warm. Winter garments are made of wool, and so we keep out the cold. The snow is God's winter garment for the earth. It covers up the tender roots and plants with its thick clothing, and protects them from the cutting frosts which would otherwise destroy them. Then the snow is useful for the watering of the earth ( Isaiah 55:10, 11 ). When we look upon the beauty of spring, and the many glories of the summer, we must not forget the part which the snow took in producing these things. And yet, while the snow is so useful to the earth, how silently it does its work ( Matthew 6:2 ). II. TAKE CARE WHAT FOOTPRINTS YOU LEAVE BEHIND YOU. The fresh snow is a very faithful record of our footsteps. It is in a more serious sense that we also leave our footprints behind us as we walk down the lane of life. I do not mean upon the snow, but upon the memories and characters of those who have known us. III. Another lesson the snow has taught us is THE POWER OF LITTLE THINGS. A snowflake is a little thing, but many snowflakes make "a white world." Success in life consists very much in a constant attention to little things. We cannot always find opportunities of doing great deeds. IV. The last of our lessons is that GOD LOVES HOLINESS. Nothing is whiter than the snow. No sin can enter heaven. ( R. Brewin. ) Suggestions of the snow Henry Ward Beecher. The Old Testament far more than the New employs the phenomena of nature to symbolise truth. The birth of snow, far up upon soft clouds, or yet more tenuous ether, gives rise to pleasant suggestions of the ways of God in nature. To a child, snow descending is like feathers, as if the great globe were a bird coming to its moulting and shedding all its old plumes. Or, if snow be likened to flowers, then the raindrops in the upper air are buds, and snow is the blossoming or budding raindrops. Or, if the poet renders his thought, the snow is the great husbandman, and plants the moisture borrowed from lake and sea, and in due time shakes down upon the earth the plumy grains that have been reared in the heaven above. Or yet again, as an emblem, Quarles might have noticed the rare beauty of the snow. Each flake of snow is more exquisite in structure than anything mortal hands can make. Why should not the raindrops come pelting down rounded like shot — as they do in summer? The earth, then, it might be thought, had all the beauty of form and flower that it needed; but in winter, cold and barren, the sky is the gelid garden and sends down exquisite bloom, fairer than the lily of the valley. Not only is each flake beautiful, but so are all its weird and witching ways. If undisturbed the snow falls with wondrous levity, as if in a dream or reverie; as if it hardly knew the way, and wavered in the search of the road. It touches the ground with airy grace, as if like a sky bird it touched the bough or the twig only to fly again. But when once embodied, it hangs upon bush and tree, ruffling the black branch with lace, or cushioning the evergreen branch with the rarest and daintiest white velvet. Or, when winds drive it or send it in swirls around and above all obstructions, drifting it into banks with rim and curvature, like which no pencil or tool can match, it still, out of all its agitation, works lines of grace and beauty that have been the admiration of the world from the beginning. This child of the storm is itself beautiful, and the artist of beauty. Consider the weakness and the power of the snow. Can anything be gentler and more powerless? It comes not as a ball from the rifle, or an arrow from the bow, or a swooping hawk descending from the sky for its prey. A child's hand catches and subdues it; and ere he can see it, it is gone. A baby can master that which masters mankind. Boys gather it, and it is submissive; it resists nothing. All things seem stronger than the snow new born. Yet, one night's weaving, and it covers the earth through wide latitudes and longitudes with a garment that all the looms of the earth could not have furnished. One day more and it sinks fences underneath it, obliterates all roads, and levels the whole land as spade and plough, and ten thousand times ten thousand engineers and workmen could not do it. It lays its hand upon the roaring engine, blocks its wheels and stops its motion. It stands before the harbour, and lets down a white darkness which baffles the pilot and checks the home-returning ship. It takes the hills and mountains, and gathering its army until the day comes, without sound of drum or trumpet, it charges down; and who can withstand its coming in battle array? What power is thus in the hosts of weakness! So the thoughts of good men, small, silent, gathering slowly, at length are masters of time and of the ages. If such be the power of God's weakness, what must be the Almightiness of God, the thunder of His power? Consider, also, that the descending snow has relations not alone thus to fancy, but is a worker too. We send abroad to the islands of South America, and to the coast quays, to bring hither the stimulant that shall kindle new life in the wasted soils and bring forth new harvests. Yet from the unsullied air the snow brings down fertility in the endless wastes that are going on, — exhaled gases, from towns and from cities, multiplied forms that are vandals, wanderers in the sky. Caught in the meshes of the snow, the ammoniacal gases and various others are brought down by it and laid upon the soil; and it has become a proverb that the snow, fresh and new-fallen, is the poor man's manure. It gathers again, then, the waste material of the earth, whose levity carries it above, and lays with equal distribution over all the lands that which brings back to them their needed fertility. ( Henry Ward Beecher. ) Winter Henry Allon, D. D. What are its mute lessons to us? 1. Winter presents us with a special study, of the richness, wisdom, and greatness of the Divine order of the world. The religion of winter worship is preeminently the religion of the supernatural — the religion of Christ. It is the impulse of a religious spirit to recognise the beauty, the wisdom, the grandeur of these manifestations of the Creator. Power, beauty, and goodness are revealed. 2. Winter may be made the text of an important social study. It has potent influences upon character, and upon the duties and sympathies of life. What a lesson it is in the distribution of God's gifts. Everywhere nature — God's order — rebukes selfishness. Winter is potent as a social civiliser. Home is fully realised only in winter climes. Winter appeals to human charities and sympathies. 3. Winter is a fine moral study, full of spiritual lessons and analogies, such as Christ would have elicited. It is something that there is a break upon mere acquisition — a season when accumulation is arrested, when even God does not seem to be lavishing gifts. Winter brings a due recognition of the beauty and glory of the earth that God has made, its wondrous forms and forces. It brings a sense of obligation to the marvellous providence of the earth's economy — the relation of seed time to sowing, of winter to summer; and all the while the uniform wants of life supplied, one season providing for another which produces no supplies. How transient all earthly conditions and forms of beauty and strength! How unresting, how unhasting the law of change. The supreme analogy of winter is death. To this winter of human life we all must come. ( Henry Allon, D. D. ) Lessons of the snow J. B. Whitford. I. CONSIDER ITS BEAUTY. Its shape and colour have always charmed the naturalists and the poets. Its beauty is its own, unique, artistic, Divine. This beauty suggests a higher beauty, as articulated in thought, in character, and life. The beauty of any life consists in that circlet of excellences called the fruit of the Spirit. That life is beautiful whose touch is healing, whose words are comforting, and whose influence is ennobling. Delicacy and sweetness belong to the highest music. The purer the soul, the more of delicacy and sweetness will be in it. A beautiful life carries the Christ heart. Not only is each snow crystal a thing of beauty, but its ways are ways of pleasantness. How graceful the curves and beautiful the lines of falling snowflakes! How gently they touch the earth! With feathery softness they weave about the trees and bushes the rarest lace. work, defying all the looms of the modern world. The snow is an artist unequalled in all the world. Its ways are full of grace and beauty. And beauty in the soul expresses itself in comely ways and winsome deeds. Spirituality will not only transfigure the countenance, but clothe the hands and feet with tenderness and grace. II. CONSIDER THE PURITY OF THE SNOW. It is clean, white, and bright. But when it comes in contact with soot, its purity is defiled and its comeliness destroyed. What a pitiable sight is a soul defiled by the soot of sin! Snow undefiled is bewitchingly beautiful, but when tainted it is repulsive. The sight of doves and snow made David yearn for a pure heart. III. CONSIDER THE VARIETY OF THE SNOWFLAKES. The snowflake has been examined by the microscope, and its revelations disclosed. Revelations of crowns studded with brilliants, of stars with expanding rays, of bridges with their abutments, and temples with their aisles and columns. "Scientific men have observed no less than a thousand different forms and shapes in snow crystals. While they shoot out stars like chiselled diamonds, they reveal endless variety. O what a God is ours! Everywhere in nature we see diversity. We stand amazed before the various types of mind. When we say the snow crystal is a picture of God's thought, we also are forced to believe it is expressed in a thousand different ways. IV. CONSIDER THE USEFULNESS OF THE SNOW. It is a stimulant and fertiliser. Exhausted soils are enlivened and strengthened by the snow. Gases are captured by it, and they descend in showers to enrich and beautify the fields. Utility is a widespread law. Waste material is caught up and made to serve another purpose. See how the snow covers with its woollen mantle uncomely objects, and simultaneously protects those hidden potencies which under the vernal equinox unfold into bud and leaf, blossom, fruit. Beneath that white shroud the forces of spring are allying and marshalling, like soldiers on the field. Snow is a source of irrigation. In countries of great elevation, where the rains are only periodical, the inhabitants depend wholly on the snow to enrich and fertilise their fields. Viewing human life in the light of a Divine philosophy, we are forced to the conclusion that the winter of our trials is essential to soul-fruitage. Lowell saw in the first fall of snow the picture of a great sorrow, but a sorrow sweetened by the elements of hope. Reposing in the thought of a universal Father, and having assurances that winter will give place to spring and the melodies of birds, let us see in our trials and afflictions the means ordained for our entrance into glory. In Haydn's Creation the opening passage abounds in dissonances, a fit representation of chaos; but they soon give way to harmonies, choral and symphonic, that fill the soul with dreams of immeasurable glory and unearthly peace. And as in music, so in life, discords will end in harmonies, and sweet strains fill earth and sky. Death may seem to silence the harp of life, yet it is only as a pause in music that is preparatory to richer, sweeter, and fuller tones. ( J. B. Whitford. ) He sealeth up the hand of every man. Job 37:7 God known by the sealing up of man's hand A. L. Simpson, D. D. The primary reference to this statement is to the season of winter. Then the earth is hard With frost, and perhaps covered with snow. This brings to man a diminution of power. Scope for his usual activity is cut off. Not only does the labour of the husbandman in great measure cease, but other forms of outdoor labour as well, the necessary materials being no longer plastic in the workman's hand. The hand of man is so effectually sealed that, for a time, numerous industries fail. While this is the primary reference of the statement, it may be much more widely applied. On every side God sets a limit to man. In relation to everything he comes to a point where he finds his hand "sealed up." This, no doubt, is a necessity of his limited nature. 1. God sealeth up man's hand in the realm of nature, that we may know His work in the supply of our necessary food. For that we are dependent on the earth, and the elements: and we can do many things towards extracting from them the food which we need. We can plough, and sow, and harrow, and weed. But in this case man comes to a point where God sealeth up his hand. There is another class of operations which is equally necessary to secure the desired result. There must be apportionment of moisture and sunshine; and there may be mildew and blight. But as regards all this, man is utterly helpless. We have no power over the clouds and sunshine. All that kind of operation belongs entirely to God. This is a special reason for adoration and gratitude when the work is completed, seeing it is so peculiarly and manifestly the work of God. If the harvest were, from first to last, our own work, how proud should we be! how self-sufficient and how forgetful of God! 2. God sealeth up the hand of man by events in Providence, that all men may know His work as the Ruler of the world. Providence is just God's work in this sense. It sets Him before us as the righteous Governor of the universe. Men can do many things, but they cannot do everything. This comes very much from the concealments of Providence. There is a thick veil spread over the doings of God in order that men may fear before Him. This applies to nations as well as to individuals. Both the one and the other must move very much in the dark as regards circumstances and results, but not as regards principles. For principles are immutable, and God intends us to act from these. How often does God actually arrest courses of human action by sudden combinations in providence which make them impossible — as in the confusion of tongues at Babel. 3. God sealeth up man's hand by affliction, that men may know His work in their individual life. Affliction is no doubt a part of providence, but it is an isolated part. It is individual in its action, and it enforces the knowledge of God's work in the personal sphere. This it does by sealing up the hand. Then we feel how little we had in our own power even when we were at our best, and how completely we were at the mercy of a higher. And we see also how well things can go on without us. 4. God seals up the hand of every man when, by His Spirit, He convinces him of sin, that all may know His work in the matter of the soul's salvation. Here we are in the region of conscience. Practical lesson. We must accept our weakness, and all the limitations of our present condition, if we are ever to know God's work. ( A. L. Simpson, D. D. ) Hearken unto this, O Job: stand still, and consider the wondrous works of God. Job 37:14 God's wondrous working James Smith, MA. The teaching of Scripture, both in the Old Testament and in the New, impresses upon us a recognition of the most intimate connection between God and all the forces and events of nature and providence. The thunder is His voice, the clouds are the dust of His feet. I. HOW IS IT DONE? By what means is it brought about? Let us take the wind and the clouds to illustrate this question. "The wind bloweth where it listeth: thou hearest the sound thereof; but canst not tell whence it cometh and whither it goeth." We can exercise no control over it; it seems to be under no control. But closer examination throws doubt upon the opinion that wind and cloud movements are mere chance work. Some winds are found to be very fixed in their season, their direction, and their force. To find out how the clouds are formed, and the winds rise and fall, is the work of science. Law and order must prevail wherever science can work. But suppose that, one by one, natural phenomena have been traced to their proximate causes throughout the whole domain of nature and natural law, and science brings us its final results, we have no reason, with the Scriptures in our hands, and their truths hid in our hearts, to receive those results with any other feeling than rejoicing. We know from Scripture that God is not a God of confusion ( 1 Corinthians 14:33 ). But we must not allow ourselves to be imposed upon by the use of ambiguous terms. Suppose we could trace up the existing universe to its primeval germ or germs; we are no nearer the discovery of the origin of things. The laws of nature, proximate causes, or whatever other phrase may be preferred, are not forces, much less are they powers; they are merely the modes in which the force or the power operates. Underneath and beyond all these laws, or modes, or sequences, there is a mysterious power which science cannot catch, which it knows to exist, but which has ever evaded its search. Tyndall is right, because strictly scientific, when he says that natural phenomena are, one by one, being associated with their proximate causes; but he may be wrong when he adds that the idea of personal volition mixing itself in the economy of nature is retreating more and more, because here he ventures beyond his sphere, and makes science speak as if it had something to say on a question concerning which he himself allows that it ought not to venture an opinion. For what if this mysterious Power at the back of things should itself be a Person whose volition is the most potent factor of all? Professor Darwin says: "As man can produce, and certainly has produced, a great result by his methodical and conscious means of selection, what may not Nature effect?" We reply: Infinitely more, provided Nature possesses infinite wisdom and power to adopt the methods and to make the selections, along with the personal volition which originates them all. But this "Nature" is none other than the God of the Bible, who created the heavens and the earth, and who made man in His own image. II. BY WHOM IS IT DONE? By what agent is it brought about? The world by its wisdom has never known God. God reveals Himself. While science searches all His workings, it finds everywhere the "hiding of His power," but Himself it cannot find. God can be known only by those who hear His own voice making Himself known. By faith we understand the worlds were framed by the word of God. By faith also we know that the worlds are upheld and balanced by the same Power which made them. The laws of nature are the methods by which the God of creation and providence disposes and balances the things which He has made. It is strange that the How should be confounded with the Who, or that the reign of law should be imagined to set aside the necessity, and render doubtful the existence, of a lawgiver. A watch is made, so also is a tree. The method of making does not in either case supersede the necessity of a maker. The laws of painting do not produce a picture of a tree without the hand and skill and volition of a painter tracing every detail. When we listen to the winds, or look upwards to the clouds, or, standing upon the shore, look out upon the stormy ocean, there may be in these no articulate voice to direct us to the character and name of that power which made and moves them. But surely the Maker and the Mover of winds and clouds and storms is not so weak and helpless but that He may speak for Himself, and make Himself understood by intelligent creatures. It is true, and must in the very nature of the case remain ever true, that to the mere scientific explorer God remains unknown, "declining all intellectual manipulation." When now we search the Scriptures as those who desire to hear God's own voice, to listen to His own explanation of how the world was fashioned, and how it is upheld, we find, it may be, many things hard to be understood; but we find also the constant declaration of the Divine omnipresence, as superintending, directing, and actively working, according to His own eternal purpose, whatsoever comes to pass. The relation of God's providential power to His creative power is a matter rather of profitless speculation than of practical importance. Jonathan Edwards suggests, as an illustration, the forming and sustaining of an image in a mirror. The first rays of light from the object falling on the mirror form the image, and there is a constant and unbroken stream of rays which sustain it. The forming and sustaining powers are substantially one. The relation likewise of God's free and universal agency in providence toward other free agencies and secondary causes, raises many interesting questions, which, however, are also of little profit. Sufficient unto us are the facts that God is not, and cannot be, the author of sin; that no violence is offered to the will of the creatures; that the liberty or contingency of second causes is not taken away, but rather established, inasmuch as the same providence which causeth all things to come to pass, ordereth them to fall out according to the nature of second causes. And again, the relation of God's general to His particular providence, the adjustment of events to the whole, and at the same time to each and every one of its minutest parts, suggests many problems which it is hard, perhaps impossible, to solve. Sufficient for us is the assurance that, however complicated the task may seem to us, with God all things are possible. And the God to whom all this power and wisdom belong, is revealed to us in the person of Jesus, who is the effulgence of His glory, and the very image of His substance, who says to us: "He that hath seen We hath seen the Father." In the earthly life of Jesus, as recorded in the Gospels, the man of science will f

Benson Commentary Job 37:1 At this also my heart trembleth, and is moved out of his place. Job 37:1 . At this also my heart trembleth — These are a few of the works of God; and though there be innumerable more, yet this one single effect of his power strikes terror into me, and makes my heart tremble, as if it would leap out of my body and leave me dead. Elihu continues here his speech, which he had begun before, concerning the incomprehensible works of God; and limits himself chiefly, as he had in the foregoing chapter, to the wonders God doeth in the clouds. To which, at last, he subjoins the amazing extent and brightness of the sky; in which the sun shines with a lustre which we are not able to behold. And thence concludes, that the splendour of the Divine Majesty is infinitely more dazzling, and that we must not pretend to give an account of his counsels. Job 37:2 Hear attentively the noise of his voice, and the sound that goeth out of his mouth. Job 37:2 . Hear attentively the noise of his voice — Or, as ???? ??? , berogez kolo, may properly be rendered, his voice with trembling. The thunder is called God’s voice, because by it God speaks to the children of men to fear before him: and the sound that goeth out of his mouth — That is produced by his word or command. Poole, Henry, and divers other commentators, have thought it probable that, at this time, while Elihu was speaking, it thundered greatly, and that the tempest was begun wherewith God ushered in his speech, as it follows, Job 38:1 . And this, they suppose, might occasion Elihu’s return to that subject, of which he had discoursed before. Bishop Patrick thus paraphrases this verse: “Hearken, I beseech you, seriously to the horrible noise which comes out of some of those clouds, and it will astonish you also. The smallest murmurs of it are so dreadful, that it may be fitly styled the voice of God calling men to stand in awe of him.” Job 37:3 He directeth it under the whole heaven, and his lightning unto the ends of the earth. Job 37:3-5 . He directeth it — Namely, his voice, his thunder; under the whole heaven — It is heard far and near, for he darts it through the whole region of the air: and his lightning, &c. — Preceded by terrible, and often most destructive flashes of lightning, which shoot from one end of heaven to the other. After it a voice roareth — After the lightning follow awful claps of thunder, more tremendous than the roarings of a lion; and he will not stay them — They grow louder and louder, till they conclude in a violent tempest of rain or hail. God thundereth marvellously — With a wonderful and terrible noise, and so as to produce, by the accompanying lightning, many wonderful effects, as the breaking down of great and strong trees, or buildings, and the killing of men and beasts in an instantaneous and awful manner. Great things doeth he — Even in the course of nature, and in the visible parts of the creation. Which we cannot comprehend — Which all men see, but of which few or none can give the true and satisfactory reasons. And therefore it is not strange if the secret and deep counsels of divine providence be out of our reach. And it would argue great pride and arrogancy in us if we should take upon us to censure them, because we do not understand them. Job 37:4 After it a voice roareth: he thundereth with the voice of his excellency; and he will not stay them when his voice is heard. Job 37:5 God thundereth marvellously with his voice; great things doeth he, which we cannot comprehend. Job 37:6 For he saith to the snow, Be thou on the earth; likewise to the small rain, and to the great rain of his strength. Job 37:6-8 . He saith to the snow, Be thou on the earth — By his powerful will the snow is formed in the air, and falls upon the earth where and when he sees fit. And the great rain of his strength — Those storms of rain which come with great force and irresistible violence. He sealeth up the hand of every man — By these great snows and rains he drives men out of the fields, and seals or binds up their hands from their work, confining them to, and, in a manner, shutting them up in their houses. Or, ??? , bejad, by his hand, or power, (that is, by those powerful works of his hands here mentioned,) he sealeth, or shutteth up, or keepeth close, every man, namely, in his house, as the wild beasts in their dens, Job 37:8 . That all men may know his work — That men, being hindered from their own ordinary labour, and perfectly at leisure, may apply themselves to a serious consideration of these and other great and glorious works of God. Then — In great rains or deep snows; the beasts go into dens — For shelter and comfort, and are compelled to continue therein. Job 37:7 He sealeth up the hand of every man; that all men may know his work. Job 37:8 Then the beasts go into dens, and remain in their places. Job 37:9 Out of the south cometh the whirlwind: and cold out of the north. Job 37:9-10 . Out of the south — Hebrew, ?? ???? , min ha-chered: ?? ??????? : de promptuariis, out of the store-houses, LXX.; ab interioribus, from the inner chambers, Vulgate Latin. The same with the chambers of the south, Job 9:9 . Or the southern part of the world, so called, because in a great part it was unknown to those of the northern hemisphere, in which Job and his friends lived. Cometh the whirlwind — Violent and stormy winds; which, in those parts, most frequently came out of the south, whence they are called whirlwinds of the south, Zechariah 9:14 ; Isaiah 21:1 . And cold out of the north — That is, cold and freezing winds, which generally come from that quarter. “From one quarter of the heavens blow turbulent winds; and, from the opposite quarter, those cold blasts, which clear and purify the air again.” By the breath of God frost is given, &c. — “By the like sharp blasts God sends the frost; and binds up the waters so fast that they cannot flow.” — Bishop Patrick. Or, as the latter clause, ???? ??? ????? , verechab maim be-mutzak, may be rendered, He swelleth the waters by the thaw. Job 37:10 By the breath of God frost is given: and the breadth of the waters is straitened. Job 37:11 Also by watering he wearieth the thick cloud: he scattereth his bright cloud: Job 37:11-12 . Also by watering — The earth; by causing the clouds first to receive, and then to convey to distant parts, and afterward to pour forth, abundance of water; he wearieth the thick clouds — Alluding to men’s being wearied with carrying burdens, travelling, and labour. By filling and burdening them with much water, and making them go long journeys to water remote countries, and, at last, to spend and empty themselves there, he, as it were, wearies and fatigues them. He scattereth his bright cloud — As for the white and lightsome clouds, he scattereth and dissolveth them by the wind or sun. But here also the Hebrew will easily admit a different translation. If we consider ??? , beri, here rendered by watering, as being one word, derived from barah, signifying serenity, the meaning is, Fair weather also disperseth the cloud; his sun scattereth the cloud abroad. It is turned round about — The cloud, now mentioned, is carried about to this or that place; by his counsels — Not by chance, (though nothing seems more casual than the motions of the clouds,) but by his order and governance. That they way do whatsoever he commandeth them — Either be dispersed and pass away without effect, to the disappointment of the husbandman’s hopes, or be dissolved in sweet and fertilizing showers. Job 37:12 And it is turned round about by his counsels: that they may do whatsoever he commandeth them upon the face of the world in the earth. Job 37:13 He causeth it to come, whether for correction, or for his land, or for mercy. Job 37:13 . Whether for correction — Hebrew, ?? ?????? , im leshebet, whether for a rod, to scourge or correct men by immoderate showers. The word, however, also means, a tribe, for a certain portion of land, which God intends particularly to favour or punish, in that way. Or for his land — Hebrew, ????? le-artzo, for his earth; the whole earth, which is said to be the Lord’s, Psalm 24:1 ; Psalm 50:12 ; and so this may denote a general judgment by excessive rains inflicted upon the whole earth, and all its inhabitants, namely, the universal deluge, which came, in a great measure, out of the clouds, and was, in a manner, then fresh in the memories of men. And thus these first two members of the sentence speak of correction, and the last of relief and comfort. Or for mercy — For the benefit of mankind, by cooling and cleansing the air, and refreshing and improving all the fruits of the earth. “It seems not improbable to me,” says Bishop Sherlock, “that these reflections arose from the methods made use of by providence (not worn out of memory in the time of the writer of this book) in punishing the old world, in consequence of the curse laid upon the ground. Such methods they are by which the ground may, at any time, be cursed, and the toil and labour of men increased to what degree God thinks fit.” Job 37:14 Hearken unto this, O Job: stand still, and consider the wondrous works of God. Job 37:14-15 . Hearken unto this, O Job, &c. — Listen diligently unto these things; do not dispute any more with God, but silently consider these his wonderful works, and think, if there be so much matter of wonder in the most obvious works of God, how wonderful must his secret counsels be. Dost thou know when God disposed them? — The things before mentioned, the clouds, rain, snow, and other meteors? Did God acquaint thee with his counsels in the producing and ordering of them? And caused the light of his cloud to shine — Probably the rainbow, seated in a cloud, which may well be called God’s cloud, because therein God puts his bow, Genesis 9:13 . Job 37:15 Dost thou know when God disposed them, and caused the light of his cloud to shine? Job 37:16 Dost thou know the balancings of the clouds, the wondrous works of him which is perfect in knowledge? Job 37:16-17 . Dost thou know the balancings of the clouds? — How God doth, as it were, weigh the clouds in balances; so that, although they are full of water, and heavy, yet they are by his power suspended in the thin air, and kept from falling down upon us in spouts and floods, as sometimes they have done, and generally would do, if not governed by a higher Providence. The works of him who is perfect in knowledge — These are effects and evidences of his infinite power and knowledge. How thy garments are warm — How and why thy garments keep thee warm; or whence it comes, that the air grows mild when the south wind blows. Job 37:17 How thy garments are warm, when he quieteth the earth by the south wind ? Job 37:18 Hast thou with him spread out the sky, which is strong, and as a molten looking glass? Job 37:18-19 . Hast thou, with him, spread out the sky — Wast thou his assistant in spreading out the sky, like a canopy, over the earth? Which is strong — Which, though it be very thin and transparent, yet is also firm, and compact, and steadfast. As a molten looking-glass — Made of brass and steel, as the manner then was. Smooth and polished, without the least flaw. In this, as in a glass, we may behold the glory of God, and the wisdom of his handiwork. Teach us — If thou canst; what we shall say unto him — Of these his wonderful works, or of his divine counsels and ways. For we cannot order our speech — We know neither with what words or matter, nor in what manner, to maintain discourse with him, or plead against him. By reason of darkness — Both because of the darkness of the matter, God’s counsels and ways being a great depth, and far out of our reach; and because of the darkness, or blindness, of our minds. Job 37:19 Teach us what we shall say unto him; for we cannot order our speech by reason of darkness. Job 37:20 Shall it be told him that I speak? if a man speak, surely he shall be swallowed up. Job 37:20 . Shall it be told him that I speak? — Does he need to be informed of any thing? Is any thing that I have said of him worth his hearing? Will any one report it to him? Will any man dare to approach him? But the Hebrew, ???? , adabber, should rather be rendered, I should, or I will, speak. Shall I send, or who dare carry, a challenge from me to God, or a message that I am ready and desirous to debate with him concerning his proceedings? This, indeed, thou hast done, in effect, but far be such presumption from me. If a man speak — If a man should be so bold and venturous as to enter the lists with God, surely he shall be swallowed up — With the sense of his infinite majesty and spotless purity. Job 37:21 And now men see not the bright light which is in the clouds: but the wind passeth, and cleanseth them. Job 37:21 . And now — Or, for now, as the particle ? , vau, is often rendered; the following words containing a reason of those which precede; men see not the bright light, &c. — Men are not able to look upon the brightness of the sun when it shines in the heavens, after the winds have swept away the clouds which before obscured the clear sky. And therefore it is not strange if we cannot see God, or discern his counsels and ways. Job 37:22 Fair weather cometh out of the north: with God is terrible majesty. Job 37:22-24 . Fair weather cometh out of the north — From the northern winds, which scatter the clouds and clear the sky. Elihu concludes with some short, but great sayings, concerning the glory of God. He speaks abruptly and in haste, because, it should seem, he perceived God was approaching, and presumed he was about to take the work into his own hands. With God is terrible majesty — Those glorious works of his, which I have described, are testimonies of that great and terrible majesty which is in him; which should cause us to fear and adore him, and not to behave ourselves so irreverently and insolently toward him as Job hath done. We cannot find high out — Namely, to perfection, as it is expressed Job 11:7 . We cannot comprehend him; his power, wisdom, justice, and his counsels proceeding from them, are past our finding out. He is excellent in power — Therefore as he doth not need any unrighteous action to advance himself, so he cannot do any, because all such things are acts and evidences of weakness. And in judgment — In the just administration of judgment, he never did nor can exercise that power unjustly, as Job seemed to insinuate. And in plenty of justice — In great and perfect justice, such as no man can justly reproach. He will not afflict — Namely, without just cause, or above measure. He doth not afflict willingly, or from his heart, Lamentations 3:33 . He takes no pleasure in doing it. It is his work, indeed, but a strange work, as Isaiah elegantly terms it, Job 28:21 . Men do therefore fear him — Hebrew, ??? , lachen, for this cause, namely, because of God’s infinite and excellent perfections, and especially those mentioned in the foregoing verse, men do, or should, fear, or reverence him, and humbly submit to him, and not presume to quarrel or dispute with him. He respecteth not — Hebrew, ?? ???? , lo jireh, he doth not, or will not, behold, namely, with respect or approbation; any that are wise of heart — That is, such as are wise in their own eyes, that lean to their own understanding, and despise other men in comparison of themselves, and reject their counsels; or, that are so puffed up with the opinion of their own wisdom, that they dare contend with their Maker, and presume to censure his counsels and actions: which he hereby intimates to be Job’s fault, and to be the true reason why God did not respect nor regard him, nor his prayers and tears, as Job complained. And so this is also a tacit advice and exhortation to Job to be humble and little in his own eyes, if ever he expected any favour from God. Thus Elihu, having set forth God’s omnipotence in the strongest colours he was able, concludes with an observation very applicable to the subject of dispute before them. “As this speaker,” says Dr. Dodd, “performs the part of a moderator, he seems to have observed the errors on both sides, and to have hit upon the point where the controversy ought to rest, namely, the unsearchable depth of the divine wisdom; with a persuasion that God, who is acknowledged on all hands to be infinitely powerful and just, will certainly find a way to clear up all the irregularities, as they now appear to us, in the methods of his providence, and bring this intricate and perplexed scene, at last, to a beautiful and regular close. The great fault of the speech seems to be this; that he bears too hard upon Job; and his reproofs, though there were some grounds for them, are nevertheless too harsh and severe. Nay, where he endeavours to repeat what Job had said, he gives it, for the most part, a wrong turn, or sets it in some very disadvantageous light. The silence of this good man, therefore, during this long speech of Elihu, may be considered as none of the least instances of his patience; but as he was convinced that one part of the charge brought against him was but too true, namely, that he had been now and then too hasty and intemperate in his expressions, he was resolved not to increase the fault by entering anew into the controversy; but by his silence and attention here, and suffering his passions to subside, he was the better prepared to receive the following speech from Jehovah with that profound humility, and that absolute submission, which became him.” Job 37:23 Touching the Almighty, we cannot find him out: he is excellent in power, and in judgment, and in plenty of justice: he will not afflict. Job 37:24 Men do therefore fear him: he respecteth not any that are wise of heart. Benson Commentary on the Old and New Testaments Text Courtesy of BibleSupport.com . Used by Permission.

Expositor's Bible Commentary Job 37:1 At this also my heart trembleth, and is moved out of his place. XXVI. THE DIVINE PREROGATIVE Job 35:1-16 ; Job 36:1-33 ; Job 37:1-24 AFTER a long digression Elihu returns to consider the statement ascribed to Job, "It profiteth a man nothing that he should delight himself with God." { Job 34:9 } This he laid hold of as meaning that the Almighty is unjust, and the accusation has been dealt with. Now he resumes the question of the profitableness of religion. "Thinkest thou this to be in thy right, And callest thou it ‘My just cause before God,’ That thou dost ask what advantage it is to thee, And ‘What profit have I more than if I had sinned’?" In one of his replies Job, speaking of the wicked, represented them as saying, "What is the Almighty that we should serve Him? and what profit should we have if we pray unto him?". { Job 21:15 } He added then, "The counsel of the wicked be far from me." Job is now declared to be of the same opinion as the wicked whom he condemned. The man who again and again appealed to God from the judgment of his friends, who found consolation in the thought that his witness was in heaven, who, when be was scorned, sought God in tears and hoped against hope for His redemption, is charged with holding, faith and religion of no advantage. Is it in misapprehension or with design the charge is made? Job did indeed occasionally seem to deny the profit of religion, but only when the false theology of his friends drove him to false judgment. His real conviction was right. Once Eliphaz pressed the same accusation and lost his way in trying to prove it. Elihu has no fresh evidence, and he too falls into error. He confounds the original charge against Job with another, and makes an offence of that which the whole scope of the poem and our sense of right completely justify. "Look unto the heavens and see, And regard the clouds which are higher than thou. If thou sinnest, what doest thou against Him? Or if thy transgressions be multiplied, what doest thou unto Him? If thou be righteous, what givest thou Him? Or what receiveth He at thy hands?" Elihu is actually proving, not that Job expects too little from religion and finds no profit in it, but that he expects too much. Anxious to convict, he will show that man has no right to make his faith depend on God’s care for his integrity. The prologue showed the Almighty pleased with His servant’s faithfulness. That, says Elihu, is a mistake. Consider the clouds and the heavens which are far above the world. Thou canst not touch them, affect them. The sun and moon and stars shine with undiminished brightness, however vile men may be. The clouds come and go quite independently of the crimes of men. God is above those clouds, above that firmament. Neither can the evil hands of men reach His throne, nor the righteousness of men enhance His glory. It is precisely what we heard from the lips of Eliphaz, { Job 22:2-4 } an argument which abuses man for the sake of exalting God. Elihu has no thought of the spiritual relationship between man and his Creator. He advances with perfect composure as a hard dogma what Job said in the bitterness of his soul. If, however, the question must still be answered, What good end is served by human virtue? the reply is, - "Thy wickedness may hurt a man as thou art; And thy righteousness may profit a son of man." God sustains the righteous and punishes the wicked, not for the sake of righteousness itself but purely for the sake of men. The law is that of expediency. Let not man dream of witnessing for God, or upholding any eternal principle dear to God. Let him confine religious fidelity and aspiration to their true sphere, the service of mankind. Regarding which doctrine we may simply say that, if religion is profitable in this way only, it may as well be frankly given up and the cult of happiness adopted for it everywhere. But Elihu is not true to his own dogma. The next passage, beginning with Job 35:9 , seems to be an indictment of those who in grievous trouble do not see and acknowledge the Divine blessings which are the compensations of their lot. Many in the world are sorely oppressed. Elihu has heard their piteous cries. But he has this charge against them, that they do not realise what it is to be subjects of the heavenly King. By reason of the multitude of oppressions men cry out, They cry for help by reason of the arm of the mighty; But none saith, Where is God my Maker, Who giveth songs in the night, Who teacheth us more than the beasts of the earth, And maketh us wiser than the fowls of heaven? There they cry because of the pride of evil men; But none giveth answer. These cries of the oppressed are complaints against pain, natural outbursts of feeling, like the moans of wounded animals. But those who are cruelly wronged may turn to God and endeavour to realise their position as intelligent creatures of His who should feel after Him and find Him. If they do so, then hope will mingle with their sorrow and light arise on their darkness. For in the deepest midnight God’s presence cheers the soul and tunes the voice to songs of praise. The intention is to show that when prayer seems of no avail and religion does not help, it is because there is no real faith, no right apprehension by men of their relation to God. Elihu, however, fails to see that if the righteousness of men is not important to God as righteousness, much less will He be interested in their grievances. The bond of union between the heavenly and the earthly is broken; and it cannot be restored by showing that the grief of men touches God more than their sin. Job’s distinction is that he clings to the ethical fellowship between a sincere man and his Maker and to the claim and the hope involved in that relationship. There we have the jewel in the lotus flower of this book, as in all true and noble literature. Elihu, like the rest, is far beneath Job. If he can be said to have a glimmering of the idea it is only that he may oppose it. This moral affinity with God as the principle of human life remains the secret of the inspired author; it lifts him above the finest minds of the Gentile world. The compiler of the Elihu portion, although he has the admirable sentiment that God giveth songs in the night, has missed the great and elevating truth which fills with prophetic force the original poem. From Job 35:14 onward to the close of the chapter the argument is turned directly against Job, but is so obscure that the meaning can only be conjectured. "Surely God will not hear vanity, Neither will the Almighty regard it." If any one cries out against suffering as an animal in pain might cry, that is vanity, not merely emptiness but impiety, and God will not hear nor regard such a cry. Elihu means that Job’s complaints were essentially of this nature. True, he had called on God; that cannot be denied. He had laid his case before the Judge and professed to expect vindication. But he was at fault in that very appeal, for it was still of suffering he complained, and he was still impious. "Even when thou sayest that thou seest Him not, That thy cause is before Him and thou waitest for Him; Even then because His anger visiteth not, And He doth not strictly regard transgression, Therefore doth Job open his mouth in vanity, He muitiplieth words without knowledge." The argument seems to be: God rules in absolute supremacy, and His will is not to be questioned; it may not be demanded of Him that He do this or that. What is a man that he, should dare to state any "righteous cause" of his before God and claim justification? Let Job understand that the Almighty has been showing leniency, holding back His hand. He might kill any man outright and there would be no appeal nor ground of complaint. It is because He does not strictly regard iniquity that Job is still alive. Therefore appeals and hopes are offensive to God. The insistence of this part of the book reaches a climax here and becomes repulsive. Elihu’s opinions oscillate we may say between Deism and Positivism, and on either side he is a special pleader. It is by the mercy of the Almighty all men live; yet the reasoning of Elihu makes mercy so remote and arbitrary that prayer becomes an impertinence. No doubt there are some cries out of trouble which cannot find response. But he ought to maintain, on the other hand, that if sincere prayer is addressed to God by one in sore affliction desiring to know wherein he has sinned and imploring deliverance, that appeal shall be heard. This, however, is denied. For the purpose of convicting Job Elihu takes the singular position that though there is mercy with God man is neither to expect nor ask it, that to make any claim upon Divine grace is impious. And there is no promise that suffering will bring spiritual gain. God has a right to afflict His creatures, and what He does is to be endured without a murmur because it is less than He has the right to appoint. The doctrine is adamantine and at the same time rent asunder by the error which is common to all Job’s opponents. The soul of a man resolutely faithful like Job would turn away from it with righteous contempt and indignation. The light which Elihu professes to enjoy is a midnight of dogmatic darkness. Passing to chapter 36, we are still among vague surmisings which appear the more inconsequent that the speaker makes a large claim of knowledge. "Suffer me a little and I will show thee, For I have somewhat yet to say on God’s behalf. I will fetch my knowledge from afar, And will ascribe righteousness to my Maker. For truly my words are not false: One that is perfect in knowledge is with thee." Elihu is zealous for the honour of that great Being whom he adores because from Him he has received life and light and power. He is sure of what he says, and proceeds with a firm step. Preparation thus made, the vindication of God follows-a series of sayings which draw to something useful only when the doctrine becomes hopelessly inconsistent with what has already been laid down. Behold God is mighty and despiseth not any; He is mighty in strength of understanding. He preserveth not the life of the wicked, But giveth right to the poor. He withdraweth not His eyes from the righteous, But, with kings on the throne, He setteth them up forever, and they are exalted. And if they be bound in fetters, If they be held in cords of affliction, Then He showeth them their work And their transgressions, that they have acted proudly, He openeth their ear to discipline And commandeth that they return from iniquity. "God despiseth not any"-this appears to have something of the humane breath hitherto wanting in the discourses of Elihu. He does not mean, however, that the Almighty estimates every life without contempt, counting the feeblest and most sinful as His creatures; but that He passes over none in the administration of His justice. Illustrations of the doctrine as Elihu intends it to be received are supplied in the couplet, "He preserveth not the life of the wicked, but giveth right to the poor." The poor are helped, the wicked are given up to death. As for the righteous, two very different methods of dealing with them are described. For Elihu himself, and others favoured with prosperity, the law of the Divine order has been, "With kings on the throne God setteth them up forever." A personal consciousness of merit leading to honourable rank in the state seems at variance with the hard dogma of the evil desert of all men. But the rabbi has his own position to fortify. The alternative, however, could, not be kept out of sight, since the misery of exile was a vivid recollection, if not an actual experience, with many reputable men who were bound in fetters and held by cords of affliction. It is implied that, though of good character, these are not equal in righteousness to the favourites of kings. Some errors require correction; and these men are cast into trouble, that they may learn to renounce pride and turn from iniquity. Elihu preaches the benefits of chastening, and in touching on pride he comes near the case of Job. But the argument is rude and indiscriminative. To admit that a man is righteous and then speak of his transgressions and iniquity, must mean that he is really far beneath his reputation or the estimate he has formed of himself. It is difficult to see precisely what Elihu considers the proper frame of mind which God will reward. There must be humility, obedience, submission to discipline, renunciation of past errors. But we remember the doctrine that a man’s righteousness cannot profit God, can only profit his fellow men. Does Elihu, then, make submission to the powers that be almost the same thing as religion? His reference to high position beside the throne is to a certain extent suggestive of this. "If they obey and serve God, They shall spend their days in prosperity And their years in pleasures. But if they obey not They shall perish by the sword, And they shall die without knowledge." Elihu thinks over much of kings and exaltation beside them and of years of prosperity and pleasure, and his own view of human character and merit follows the judgment of those who have honours to bestow and love the servile pliant mind. In the dark hours of sorrow and pain, says Elihu, men have the choice to begin life anew in lowly obedience or else to harden their hearts against the providence of God. Instruction has been offered, and they must either embrace it or trample it under foot. And passing to the case of Job, who, it is plain, is afflicted because he needs chastisement, not having attained to Elihu’s perfectness in the art of life, the speaker cautiously offers a promise and gives an emphatic warning. He delivereth the afflicted by his affliction And openeth their ear in oppression. Yea, He would allure thee out of the mouth of thy distress Into a broad place where is no straitness; And that which is set on thy table shall be full of fatness. But if thou art full of the judgment of the wicked, Judgment and justice shall keep hold on thee. For beware lest wrath lead thee away to mockery, And let not the greatness of the ransom turn thee aside. Will thy riches suffice that are without stint? Or all the forces of thy strength? Choose not that night, When the peoples are cut off in their place: Take heed thou turn not to iniquity, For this thou hast chosen rather than affliction. A side reference here shows that the original writer dealing with his hero has been replaced by another who does not realise the circumstances of Job with the same dramatic skill. His appeal is forcible, however, in its place. There was danger that one long and grievously afflicted might be led away by wrath and turn to mockery or scornfulness, so forfeiting the possibility of redemption. Job might also say in bitterness of soul that he had paid a great price to God in losing all his riches. The warning has point, although Job never betrayed the least disposition to think the loss of property a ransom exacted of him by God. Elihu’s suggestion to this effect is by no means evangelical; it springs from a worldly conception of what is valuable to man and of great account with the Almighty. Observe, however, the reminiscences of national disaster. The picture of the night of a people’s calamity had force for Elihu’s generation, but here it is singularly inappropriate. Job’s night had come to himself alone. If his afflictions had been shared by others, a different complexion would have been given to them. The final thrust, that the sufferer had chosen iniquity rather than profitable chastisement, has no point whatsoever. The section closes with a strophe ( Job 36:22-25 ) which, calling for submission to the Divine ordinance and praise of the doings of the Almighty, forms a transition to the final theme of the address. Job 36:1-33 ; Job 37:1-24 Job 36:26-33 ; Job 37:1-24 There need be little hesitation in regarding this passage as an ode supplied to the second writer or simply quoted by him for the purpose of giving strength to his argument. Scarcely a single note in the portion of Elihu’s address already considered approaches the poetical art of this. The glory of God in His creation and His unsearchable wisdom are illustrated from the phenomena of the heavens without reference to the previous sections of the address. One who was more a poet than a reasoner might indeed halt and stumble as the speaker has done up to this point and find liberty when he reached a theme congenial to his mind. But there are points at which we seem to hear the voice of Elihu interrupting the flow of the ode as no poet would check his muse. At Job 37:14 the sentence is interjected, like an aside of the writer drawing attention to the words he is quoting, -"Hearken unto this, O Job; stand still and consider the wondrous works of God." Again ( Job 37:19-20 ), between the description of the burnished mirror of the sky and that of the clearness after the sweeping wind, without any reference to the train of thought, the ejaculation is introduced, -"Teach us what we shall say unto Him, for we cannot order our speech by reason of darkness. Shall it be told Him that I speak? If a man speak surely he shall be swallowed up." The final verses also seem to be in the manner of Elihu. But the ode as a whole, though it has the fault of endeavouring to forestall what is put into the mouth of the Almighty speaking from the storm, is one of the fine passages of the book. We pass from "cold, heavy, and pretentious" dogmatic discussions to free and striking pictures of nature, with the feeling that one is guiding us who can present in eloquent language the fruits of his study of the works of God. The descriptions have been noted for their felicity and power by such observers as Baron Humboldt and Mr. Ruskin. While the point of view is that invariably taken by Hebrew writers, the originality of the ode lies in fresh observation and record of atmospheric phenomena, especially of the rain and snow, rolling clouds, thunderstorms and winds. The pictures do not seem to belong to the Arabian desert but to a fertile peopled region like Aram or the Chaldaean plain. Upon the fields and dwellings of men, not on wide expanses of barren sand, the rains and snows fall, and they seal up the hand of man. The lightning clouds cover the face of the "habitable world"; by them God judgeth the peoples. In the opening verses the theme of the ode is set forth-the greatness of God, the vast duration of His being, transcending human knowledge. "Behold God is great and we know Him not, The number of His years is unsearchable." To estimate His majesty or fathom the depths of His eternal will is far beyond us who are creatures of a day. Yet we may have some vision of His power. Look up when rain is falling, mark how the clouds that float above distil the drops of water and pour down great floods upon the earth. Mark also how the dark cloud spreading from the horizon obscures the blue expanse of the sky. We cannot understand; but we can realise to some extent the majesty of Him whose is the light and the darkness, who is heard in the thunder peal and seen in the forked lightning. "Can any understand the spreadings of the clouds, The crashings of His pavilion? Behold He spreadeth His light about Him; And covereth it with the depths of the sea. For by these judgeth He the peoples; He giveth meat in abundance." Translating from the Vulgate the two following verses, Mr. Ruskin gives the meaning, "He hath hidden the light in His hands and commanded it that it should return. He speaks of it to His friend; that it is His possession, and that he may ascend thereto." The rendering cannot be received, yet the comment may be cited. "These rain clouds are the robes of love of the Angel of the Sea. To these that name is chiefly given, the ‘spreadings of the clouds,’ from their extent, their gentleness, their fulness of rain." And this is "the meaning of those strange golden lights and purple flushes before the morning rain. The rain is sent to judge and feed us; but the light is the possession of the friends of God, that they may ascend thereto.-where the tabernacle veil will cross and part its rays no more." The real import does not reach this spiritual height. It is simply that the tremendous thunder brings to transgressors the terror of judgment, and the copious showers that follow water the parched earth for the sake of man. Of the justice and grace of God we are made aware when His angel spreads his wings over the world. In the darkened sky there is a crash as if the vast canopy of the firmament were torn asunder. And now a keen flash lights the gloom for a moment; anon it is swallowed up as if the inverted sea, poured in cataracts upon the flame, extinguished it. Men recognise the Divine indignation, and even the lower animals seem to be aware. "He covereth His hands with the lightning, He giveth it a charge against the adversary. Its thunder telleth concerning Him, Even the cattle concerning that which cometh up." Continued in the thirty-seventh chapter, the description appears to be from what is actually going on, a tremendous thunderstorm that shakes the earth. The sound comes, as it were, out of the mouth of God, reverberating from sky to earth and from earth to sky, and rolling away under the whole heaven. Again there are lightnings, and "He stayeth them not when His voice is heard." Swift ministers of judgment and death they are darted upon the world. We are asked to consider a fresh wonder, that of the snow which at certain times replaces the gentle or copious rain. The cold fierce showers of winter arrest the labour of man, and even the wild beasts seek their dens and abide in their lurking places. "The Angel of the Sea," says Mr. Ruskin, "has also another message, -in the ‘great rain of His strength,’ rain of trial, sweeping away ill-set foundations. Then his robe is not spread softly over the whole heaven as a veil, but sweeps back from his shoulders, ponderous, oblique, terrible-leaving his sword arm free." God is still directly at work. "Out of His chamber cometh the storm and cold out of the north." His breath gives the frost and straitens the breadth of waters. Towards Armenia, perhaps, the poet has seen the rivers and lakes frozen from bank to bank. Our science explains the result of diminished temperature; we know under what conditions hoar frost is deposited and how hail is formed. Yet all we can say is that thus and thus the forces act. Beyond that we remain like this writer, awed in presence of a heavenly will which determines the course and appoints the marvels of nature. "By the breath of God ice is given, And the breadth of the waters is straitened. Also He ladeth the thick cloud with moisture, He spreadeth His lightning cloud abroad; And it is turned about by His guidance, That it may do whatsoever He commandeth Upon the face of the whole earth." Here, again, moral purpose is found. The poet attributes to others his own susceptibility. Men see and learn and tremble. It is for correction, that the careless may be brought to think of God’s greatness, and the evildoers of His power, that sinners being made afraid may turn from their rebellion. Or, it is for His earth, that rain may beautify it and fill the rivers and springs at which the beasts of the valley drink. Or, yet again, the purpose is mercy. Even the tremendous thunderstorm may be fraught with mercy to men. From the burning heat, oppressive, intolerable, the rains that follow bring deliverance. Men are fainting for thirst, the fields are languishing. In compassion God sends His great cloud on its mission of life. More delicate, needing finer observation, are the next objects of study. "Dost thou know how God layeth His charge on them, And causeth the light of His cloud to shine? Dost thou know the balancings of the clouds, The wondrous works of Him who is perfect in known edge?" It is not clear whether the light of the cloud means the lightning again or the varied hues which make an Oriental sunset glorious in purple and gold. But the balancings of the clouds must be that singular power which the atmosphere has of sustaining vast quantities of watery vapour-either miles above the earth’s surface where the filmy cirrhus floats, dazzling white against the blue sky, or lower down where the rain cloud trails along the hill tops. Marvellous it is that, suspended thus in the air, immense volumes of water should be carried from the surface of the ocean to be discharged in fructifying rain. Then again:- "How are thy garments warm When the earth is still because of the south wind?" The sensation of dry hot clothing is said to be very notable in the season of the siroccos or south winds, also the extraordinary stillness of nature under the same oppressive influence. "There is no living thing abroad to make a noise. The air is too weak and languid to stir the pendant leaves even of the tall poplars." Finally the vast expanse of the sky, like a looking glass of burnished metal stretched far over sea and land, symbolises the immensity of Divine power. "Canst thou with Him spread out the sky Which is strong as a molten mirror? And now men see not the light which is bright in the skies: Yet the wind passeth and cleanseth them." It is always bright beyond. Clouds only hide the splendid sunshine for a time. A wind rises and sweeps away the vapours from the glorious dome of heaven. "Out of the north cometh golden splendour"-for it is the north wind that drives on the clouds which, as they fly southward, are gilded by the rays of the sun. But with God is a splendour greater far, that of terrible majesty. So the ode finishes abruptly, and Elihu states his own conclusion:- "The Almighty! we cannot find Him out; He is excellent in power. And in judgment and plenteous justice; He will not afflict. Men do therefore fear Him; He regardeth not any that are wise of heart." Is Job wise in his own conceit? Does he think he can challenge the Divine government and show how the affairs of the world might have been better ordered? Does he think that he is himself treated unjustly because loss and disease have been appointed to him? Right thoughts of God will check all such ignorant notions and bring him a penitent back to the throne of the Eternal. It is a good and wise deduction; but Elihu has not vindicated God by showing in harmony with the noblest and finest ideas of righteousness men have, God supremely righteous, and beyond the best and noblest mercy men love, God transcendently merciful and gracious. In effect his argument has been-The Almighty must be all righteous, and any one is impious who criticises life. The whole question between Job and the friends remains unsettled still. Elihu’s failure is significant. It is the failure of an attempt made, as we have seen, centuries after the Book of Job was written, to bring it into the line of current religious opinion. Our examination of the whole reveals the narrow foundation on which Hebrew orthodoxy was reared and explains the developments of a later time. Job may be said to have left no disciples in Israel. His brave personal hope and passionate desire for union with God seem to have been lost in the fervid national bigotry of post-exilic ages; and while they faded, the Pharisee and Sadducee of after days began to exist. They are both here in germ. Springing from one seed, they are alike in their ignorance of Divine justice; and we do not wonder that Christ, coming to fulfil and more than fulfil the hope of humanity, appeared to both the Pharisee and Sadducee of His time as an enemy of religion, of the country, and of God. The Expositor's Bible Text Courtesy of BibleSupport.com . Used by Permission.