PUBLIC-DOMAIN CHRISTIAN BOOK
The Pulpit Commentary — Job
George Rawlinson [1812-1902] · 615,689 words · 663 reading sections
The Pulpit Commentary — Job — Section 121
like 11eed11 that grow and lieu fruit, like loaves of bread to feed the hungry, and etreama of living w11t.er flowing by the dusty highway, from which all thirsty souls mav drink. Thus they 11re more th11n mere eounds. They are expressions of thought. Goo·•s words come with power. All right words are forcible. But ther…
849 wordsSECTION 122The Pulpit Commentary — Job — Section 122
are no good to him." It has been concluded e. time soften and break up; an nicer i■ from this thnt some considerable time had then form€-d, and e. discharge follow" of a. elnpsod since Job was stricken by hie dis- virnlentand loathsome character. Pres~ntly ease. Dut he ie perhaps looking to the the discharge stops; the…
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mnl'I'. The Egyptian belief was that the "wee.risome nights" (-rer. 6), Job would soul u,ould ultimRtely r,,turn to the body ente,taiu a hope of a few hours' rest and from whirh death sepe.rntcd it, and roin- trsnquillity, as, weal'ied and exhausted, he habit it. But this belief wu <'ertainly not sought hie oouch, a…
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ln fact, so conoem hlmeelf, and a little re- Or cim I mo.ke compenHtion in the fnture ? fleotion is enough to show us tho.t the op- Neither seems to Job to be possible. 0 thou posite view, instead of exalting, ro11,lly de- Presener of men; rather, tho•~ Ob,erner of gmdee God. To bring conscious, sentient men. A continu…
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only determined the bounds of onr habitn.tion (Acts xvii. 26), but the number of our lnontbs (eh. xiv. 5), re~aining in his own hand our times (Ps. mi. 15), n.nd meaeurlng out our days (Ps. xxx1x. -1.). (2) That the nllotterl space of human life is in every Instance designed to be II season of service, not of en.so,…
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hope of o.ny to euccecd them-i.e. of any days of happiness on earth-an affecting emblem of the vanity and shortness of life. 11. A PITIFUL SUPPLIOATION FROM HUMAN RORROW, 1. The Being addressed. "Oh, remember I" Though not named, God ie meant. It is well, though not always necessary, to invoke God by name in our pr…
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1 O,r. iii. 8), they whom he h&s hired should be f&itbful in thl rendering or service to him (Rom. xii. 11; Eph. vi. 6, 7). 8. Since the natural life of tnan, even when taken at i1s best est&te, i~ &I together nnity (Ps. xxxix. 5, 11), it ie the part of wisdom. to aspire after t.hat life which will never disappoint …
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ob11ias, so, eays the p11tri11rch, with grim irony," thou settest a. watch on me." ,Joh Wll8 right in still recognizing God's he.nd in his afflictions. WhatP,ver be the sec0n,[ causes, the First Cause in all calamity that befalls a sain,t, as indeed in everything that happen~, is God (eh, ii. 10; faa. xiv. 7; Amos iii.…
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Ver. 16.-" I would not live alway." I. THE CRY OF BITTER DISAPPOINTMENT. Exemplified in the case or Elijah (1 Kings iiL 4) and of Jonah (iv. 3). II. TrrE WAIL OF GB.EAT SOB.Bow. Illustrated by the experience of Job. III. THE VOICE OF BEMOBSEFUL DESPAIB. As with Ahithophel (2 Sam. x:vii. 23) and Judas (Matt. xnii. 5).…
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it nffords a. fearfully vivid representation of the misery of the lost (Rev. vi. 16, l 7). 2, A ],fan-shooter. "Why hast thou set •me as a mark against thee?" i.e. a>t a target to shoot at (cf. oh. vi. 4). Another outrageous impeachment of the Deity, implying that God, in afflicting Job, had been guilty of: (I) Maui…
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it.i;elf (,1u. iv. 8); (4) he does not uk with sincere faith, but ataggerl! at ,he promiae through unbelief-evrr an insuperable barrier to forgiven81!8 (Jas. i. 6); and sometlmen (6), though be asks, God may have re11BOns for delay in granting the soul's request, 118 e.g. t~ test t-b~ soul's sin~erity ~r el\rnestn,e…
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of Heaven to suffering mortals. It is "the aeason of e.11 natures," e.e She.ke&peu.ro beautifully says. It ia the preservation of sanity. Connected with this, the le880n f)f moderate ea:t1rtion Is one needed by many in these busy, striving days; and no less the fault of over-anxiety, and the duty of ca.➔ting care upon …
1,282 wordsSECTION 133The Pulpit Commentary — Job — Section 133
Vers. l-6.-17ie days of the hireling. Job speaks from the depth of suffering, and as yet he has no clear light upon the Divine purpose concerning him. God, who is his true Refuge, appears to be his Enemy; and he likens his miserable days to those of_ the oppressed slave. This he urges as a justification of the longi…
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ju.-lgment, but its uttennORt eompla.int, gollded on by the eeverltl111 of acute Buffering. " 1 will not refrain my mouth." JY, THI: ORY OF DBIIPAIR SPRINGS FROM, AND AT THE SAMB TIHl!I PROMOTES, ERRONEOUI! vni:ws OF LIFE AND ITS 1ssUEs. Job is so far led astray that he ohooees "strangling and death rather the.a life.…
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Ver. 6.-The weaver's shuttle. This is one of the many emblems of the brevity o~ life which carry a certain subtle euggestiveness of deeper meaniogs in spite of thf minimizing pessimism that seems to be their sole prompting cause. The shuttle flie swiftly across the web. What does this fact suggest? I. THE MELANCHOLY B…
1,218 wordsSECTION 136The Pulpit Commentary — Job — Section 136
Ver. 14.-Bcared with dreams. This eeems to be on& of the symptom, or Job's terrible diseMe, elephantiasis, Sleep even does not give him rest from his sufferings. 'rhe bodily torments of the day only give phLce to horrible dreams aod a'arming vi:-noos at night, I. DREAM-TlllRRORS ARE REAL IN EXPERIF:NOE. Look at the…
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Ver. 2L-Limits to forgi,'Ue'11£Ss. If he has done wrong, and deserves to.suffer,.yet Job wonders why God does not pardon him.·. ls his Master e.ltogebher implacable? Will be exact the lastfa.rtbing? Taking Job's question ina wider.sense, we,may•ask..:.;. Why is not God's forgiveness unlimited and immediate? . J:•,-,, …
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EXPOSITION. lutely; Eliph,.z had only hinted at it (eh. CHAPTER VIII. v. 4). Both presume to know what could Ver. 1.-Then answered :Bilde.d the Bhu- be known only to the Searcher of hearts. hite, and said. Bilde.d the Shuhite has the And he he.ve ce.st them awe.y for their trans- second place in the passage where Jo…
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wherein thou, a righteous me.n N: h!IJ)OtMri, six, eevrn, 0entllr iae (Gen. xi. 10-17), whl0h clwelle,t. enablad them to ·give their attention to Ver. 7.-Though thy beginning WU IIDl&ll i everything in its tum, and to exhaust all mther, toere fmall. Bilde.d does not refer the experiences that human life has to offer…
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Thoy spring up in npp11rent Btrength nnd this case we have to regard tho rnpirlly luely foroo; they flourish for a brief epnce; growing pl&nt e.e having its roots wmppe,1! thon, untouched by m1m's hnnd, they sud- about the perenni&l spring, which w"s " denly fatlo, fall, aml dieappee.r, before the not uncommon, a.nd •l…
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HOMILETICS. Vera. 1-7.-Bildad to Job: 1. .A bundl,e of mistaka. I. UNJUSTIFIABLE BEBUKB. "Then answered ·m1dad the Shuhite, and said." Even if on Job's part wholly deserved the admonition of Bildad was in itself worthy of censure, as being: 1. Impatient. "How long wilt thou speak these things?" It is due to every m…
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things, and bad men with evil things, upon the earth and in time. He contended that God could by no possible consideration be induced to depart from a.dministerina mundane affairs on this plain and simple principle. Accordingly, he argued that, if men sinned, God was shut up by the aforesaid principle to punish them in…
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Yers. 5, 6.-Tk picture ofa good man's home. I. A PRAYING HOME. Where by both parents and children private and family devotion is observed. . II. A PIOUS ROHE. Where such devotion is the outcome and expression of inward spiritual life. III. A PEACEFUL ROHE. Where the inmates enjoy the blessed calm of forgiveness,: …
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II. TnE TEAOIIING. 1. The proverb of the papyrus. (1) The imago. A papyrus plnnt (Oypcrus papyrus, L.) n. 'gome, so named from absorbrng water, or a reed, an achu, liko the Nilo gmss in Egypt (Gen. xii. 2), springing up suddenly, not upon dry ground, but on river-banks, in mnrshcs, upon the margin of canals, wherever t…
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-or like the snowfall in the river, A moment white-then melts for ever." (Bama.) ID, Tm: MORAL, 1. A gene1'a! principk. God will neither reject a righteous nor Msi~t a wicked man (ver. 20). A good man may be cast down, but he cannot ba cnst off (Ps. xciv. 14; 2 Cof. iv. 9). The character (1 Sam. xii. 22 • u. 29 • …
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HOMILIES BY VARIOUS AUTHORS. VerB. 1-22.-" Bhal,l not the Judge of all . . . do right," The supposed attack of J6b, by implication, upon the justice of God gives an opening for renewed admoni- tions and rebukes on the part of his friends. Bildad now comes forward and delivers a discourse full of noble faith, however i…
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Ilcre Bildad passes into citation of some old sayings, which condense tho truths of life. (1) The p11pyrus and the grass of the Nile (vers. 11, 12 ). Thoy cannot live without their proper element and nutrimrnt of water; they quickly wither in its 11bsence, .So must it be with m11n where he is devoid of Divine gr11ce (v…
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Bildad refers his suffering friend, to find there evidences of the security of the perrect man and the worthlessness of the expectation of the hypocrite. With bcn.utiful fiau- rativeness he illustmtes these truths, and only errs in the covert implication that° in hypocrisy is to be found the cause of Job's present suff…
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'Ver. 1.-Bildad tM pedant. Job's second friend appears ae a pedant, quoting the authority of antiquity, and relying on the tradition of the ancients. His character is not extinct, and the mischil'f of his blunders is with us to-day. I. THE POWER OF THE PEDANT. This man bases .his influence on certain good qualities. 1…
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Ver. 7.-A small beginning and a great increase. With irritating admonitions- most galling in the cruel insinuation that Job's children had died on account of their eins-Bildad presumes to assure Job that if only he is pure God will be just, and will awake to deliver him, so that, though he has a small beginning, his en…
1,166 wordsSECTION 151The Pulpit Commentary — Job — Section 151
Vers. 11, 12.-Tlu rush and tlu papyN/,8. From history Bildad turr.ll to nature, or rather to a traditional saying about nature-to an old proverb; poesillly it has been suggested from Egyptian lore. I. THE PLANTS SPRING FROM: WATER. Both of these plants grow in marshes or pools, and by the banks of rivers and canal!.'.…
1,192 wordsSECTION 152The Pulpit Commentary — Job — Section 152
EXPOSITION. that is not puffed up with pride or utterly CHAPTER IX. insensate and sunk in o.po.thy. Vers. 1-SS.-Job, in answer to Bildad, Ver. 3.-If he will contend with him; admits the troth of his arguments, but rather, if he should de,ire. to contend with him; ie. if, notwithstanding bis knowledge cleclincs to…
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• xiv. 4, 6; Matt xxiv. 7. Josephus epeake spe?ie.l evidenr,e of biB omnipotenr,e (see, of one which desolated Jndma m the reign l,es"les the passe.ges above quoted, I,n. xiii. of Herod the Greo.t, e.nd destroyed ten 5; xliv. 24; xlv. 12; Ii. 13; Jer. x. 12). It thous11,nd people (' Ant. Jud.,' xv. 5. § 2). e.dde to…
1,021 wordsSECTION 154The Pulpit Commentary — Job — Section 154
Yer, 10.-Wbioh doeth great thinga put and of Apophie, the great serpent, con- finding out; yea, and wondera without num- tinually represented BB ~ierced by Horue ber. An almost exact repetition of the words (Rawhnson's 'Herodotus, vol. ii. p. 257; of Eliphaz in oh. v. 9. The ropetition may • Hi~tory of Ancient Egypt…
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allow mo boldly to stand up behre him and would I not know my 1oul: I would despi1e frooly to oh11llenge hie doings. Buoh con- my life. The original is very elliptical deeconeion on hie p1ut, euoh an abnegation e.nd very obscure. The words nm, I perfect of hie eupremo.oy, ie inconoeivn.ble, e.ncl I - I know not myse…
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the full expansion of Job's argument. But intended. They oonei.sted of a framework it is e. fearful utt.enMJoe. (Prof0880r Lee's of wood, which we.a covered with skins, and attempt to explain the whole pnsse.ge differ- than ooat.ed with bitumen, and resembled ently is 11C11.rooly e. successful one.) the Welsh "oorao…
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righteousneee to be filthy rage, and tbne, as ea.lied a" da.ysman," since he appoints tha it were, replunge him in the miro ancl cloy day on which the e.rbitra.tion is to corn<: oil'. from whioh be bad sought to freo himself, The LXX. renders by µ,<1'[-r71,, "medial or." and hold him forth o. more loatheome wretch Tho.…
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III. AN EXTRAORDINARY SUPPOSITION. "If he will contend with him;" i.e. if tho indindual arraigned by Dil'ine providence ~hould propose to impeach the Divine equity, aud even undertake to demonstrate his own innocence; or, AB others interpret tho pro- nouns, if God should be willing to enter into controversy with him…
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nnture which occurred at the Flood, or to those usually 1111soci.a.ted with _earthqu11.ke 8 , the language suggests the absoluteneBB of God's control over nature, and rn particular: (1) 1'he greatness or his power, which, being able to nproot and overthrow mighty hilld through its resietleee force, mnst be competent to…
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alniigbt:r power. The modern ecientist imagines, when he has predicted the advent and meaeured the velocity of a tempest, he hn.s effectually disposed of the Hebrew poet's notion of supernn.turnlism in connect.ion with the marvels of the sky. But the laws by which storm-clouds are l,uilt up and let down, swept along…
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renot upon one another. 4. Numerous, He doeth '' wond BrR without n·amber." The exquisite variety and the apparently limitless number of God's works are impressive testimonies to the infinite power and matchless wisdom of the Creator. Learn: 1. There is no God like unto the God of the Chrislian (Exod. xv. 11 ; Dcut. x…
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God haB no need to be o.rraid of any inveBtigation into his conduct, and just 118 little to npprehend that puny mrm oould outwit his infinite wisdom or overreach his almighty power. 4. DeBpairing of Divine acceptance. So hopeless does the contest seem to Job between a poor suffering creature like himself and a Being of…
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1:hcy were a, nearly e.s po98ible •the opposite. All experience showed: (1) 'l'he.t God frequently confounded the righteous and the wicked in one indiscriminate overthrow. "This is one thing [literally, 'it is all one'], therefore I 11&.id [or, • will say'] lt, he destroycth I.be perfoct and the wicked" (ver. 22). A…
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shudder (ver. 28). Nothing is more certain than that the burden of sorrow cannot he removed hy simple resolution. No man can really brighten up in the midst of afflicti 0 n unless he caste his burden on the Lord. But to the doing of tbi8 in Job's case them seemed an Insuperable barrier, viz. : (2) The unchangeable d…
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Vers. 2-20.-God viewed as ab3olute and arbitrary Power. I. THE RELPLESSNEBB OF l!AN IN PRESENCE OF ms OMNIPOTENCI!:. (Vers. 1-3.) What avails right on one's side against him who has all heaven's a.rtillery at his command? "It is idle to argull with the Master of thirty legions." Out of a thousand questions with which…
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Vere. 21-24.-Rebellion of the con~cienu again,t this picture of terror. A reaction comes; for the clear testimony of consciousness may he obscured for a time, but cannot be denied. In that clear consciousness, it seems that Job will turn against the injustice (as he thinks) of God, and boldly denounce it. I. A OOOD CO…
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, ers. 15, 16.-The true attitude of the a:Dlicted. Job makes a suitable reflection on the almightiness of Jehovah, seen in his control over the visible world. The lofty and deep-sealed mountains, the very types of might and stability, he "removeth" with• out their knowing, and "overturneth in his wrath." He" shaketh…
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were bis Advenwy, and it Beemed hopeless to attempt to set himself right with One whose power was so vBBtly greater than his own. ,ve have not Job's peculiar difficul, tief; in regard to Divine providence. Yet to us the problem of justification is not less serious because we have been m11de to see the moral difficul…
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thBt when we he.ve e.rgued or eoothed ourselves Into e. comforte.ble &ssure.noo the.ta.II is well, the.t very nssuranoo is regarded as a proof of the fe.ct on which it is supposed to be grounded. But this may be 11 pure he.llucination. It is possible to be justified before God e.nd yet to be tormented with needless fea…
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Vers. 26, 26.-Tlu, IJ'IIJi,/t days. Job compares his days to what is swiftest-on earth, the ninning messengl'r; in the sea, the boat of reeds; in the air, the eagle darting down on its prey. We must not look for a difference in the suggestiveness of these several illustrations. Gat-hered from every re~on of existenc…
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I matter of fact, he. was. mistaken. His accuser was not his Judge. Satan was his accuser, and God was.the great and just Umpire of the contest. Still, men ha.ve ever I felt the need of one·who should come between them and God, and assist them in coming to a right understanding with God. The feeling has arisen in par…
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EXPOSITION. CHAPTER X. Ver. S.-Is it good nnta thee that thou ahouldest oppreas1 Job ossumes that he is Ven. 1-22.-Having answered Bildad, oppressed. He has no conception that his Job proooods to poor out the bitt.erness of sufferings are a purification (John xv. 2), his soul in a pathetic, oomplaint, which he int…
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every comer or hill life, antl hunted out all Isa. nix. 16; xxx. 14; xiv. 9; lxiv. 8; hie sine and shortcomings, to have been Jer. xviii. 6; Rom. ix. 21-23, ete.). And able to bring together ngainst him a total wilt thou bring me into du1t a.gain l After commeneura.tc, or oven approximately com- having fashioned me ont…
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from mine iniquit)'. Thie record of my going from bad t.o WOl'l!e, BO that every d11y otren<'eB thou still ht\St agninst me, and I a new oolamity seemed to befall him. And cannot <'lrp<'Ot thRt thou wilt acquit mo of inoreaBB■t thine indipation upon me ; i.e. theru. Without someone to atonef.>r them, "mnkest it more…
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HOMILETICS. Vers. 1-7.-Job to God: the progress of the third controvtrrsy: 1. The pathetic wail of a crushed heart. I. SOBBING IN THE EAR OF Gon. 1. The moan of a desponding heart. "My soul is weary of [literally, 'loathes'] my life" (ver. 1). That which ha.d rendered existence a disgust to Job was partly his intense …
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justifies, them be al~o glorifies (Rom. viii. 30). "The gifts and calling of God are without repentance" (Rom. xi. 29). There is no condemnation to them who 11re in Chrisl Jesus (Rom. viii. 1).. God may eom_etimes hid~-~is face from a saint (Isa. Ii\', 8), but be never finally turns his back upon bun (Heb. XIII. 5),…
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perfectly lntelliglble to Job on the hypothesis that God, like eom'l petty tyrant, bad resorted to the thumbscrews of affliction to extort confession from II prisoner whom he knew to be innocent, eimply because he had the power so to do. But Ruch a suppnsition was, of course, untenable. Therefore Job felt hemmed in on …
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Deity e.nd Scripture's explicit teAcbings as to the import of predostinntion. God never plots 11gainst either saint or sinner; but he never fails to plan for both-in which there should be comfort for the one (Rom. viii. 21!), and e. ce.utio-a for the other (Prov. X'\". 3, 11; Ps. xxxiii. 15). 2. The fourfold net. Jo…
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curse. Job's ingrntttude was all the more reprehensible that in hi11 case life had been crowned with mercies-with great material wealth, with true domestic enjoyment, with immense social influence, with rich spiritual grace, with palpable Divine favour. II. A SINFUL REGRET INnULGJl:D. That he had not been carried fr…
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HOMILIES BY VARIOUS AUTHORS. Vars. 1-22.-.Appeal to the justice, knowledge, and goodness of God. In hie extremity of maddening pain and in his contempt of life, Job resolves to give full way once more to words (ver. 1). And as they pour forth in full flood from the bottom of his bee.rt, we perceive that he has in r…
690 wordsSource & rights
Public domain historical Pulpit Commentary. Source page identifies the volume as Public Domain; text extracted from its historical PDF.
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Historical Christian writing; not Scripture.