PUBLIC-DOMAIN CHRISTIAN BOOK
The Pulpit Commentary — Job
George Rawlinson [1812-1902] · 615,689 words · 663 reading sections
The Pulpit Commentary — Job — Section 421
"He eh'etohee out the heaven without pillan !Ml the tent of the e11rth, ... What doth tho nir be!\r? it bearnth nothing, and 11olhing on nothing, and absolutely nothing." And an Arab poet, "He has made the heaven out or smoke." And in the Komn "It is Allah who has built hlgh the heaven, without supporting it on visib…
828 wordsSECTION 422The Pulpit Commentary — Job — Section 422
1 C0r. xiii. 9-12). But, again, the eense of whi\t le unknown ehould le&d ua to hold the more firmly to that which is known, especially through the gospel or his grace and love. There he speaks to us from out the vastness and splendour or the creation with II voice that we can understand, that tonchos the heart-" My ch…
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I. Parts of the Divine ways are revealed IN THE VISIBLE 0BEATION. His wonderful worke. II. IN me WAYB TO THE omLDBEN OF MEN. In the working of that providence tha, ever guards the interests of the human life. III. IN THE REVELATIONS OF HOLY SoRIPTURE, Here light falls especially (1) on the Divine Name; (2) on the mys…
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Ver. 6.-God'8 tJisioo of death. Bildad h&11 j~t spoken of the exalted dominion of God that reaches to heavenly heigbta, overawing the very moon 11.nd et&rs. Job now repli88, turning his eyes downward, and noticing how the dim underworld is all open to the inspection of God. • " • •• •• · .- L THE DEAD ABE NOT 11EYO…
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III. OLOUDB ILLUBTBATl'l THE MUTUAL IIINIRTRIEB OF NA.TORE. Drawn up from the sea In invisible vapour, driven over the land by strong winda, condensed against the mountains or in cool currents of the upper air, descending in gentle rain over fields and gnrdens, over woods and hills and plains, trickling through the soi…
965 wordsSECTION 426The Pulpit Commentary — Job — Section 426
CHAPTER XXVII. parable, &1ld aa.id. The word translated "parable" (~!le) is only used previously in Vere. 1-23.-This chapter dividPs itself Numb. xxiii and xxiv. It is thought to into three distinct portions. In the first, •• comprehend ell discourses in which the which extend6 to the end of ver. 6, Job is results …
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breathed Into man's nostrils, whereby he what will he have to look fonnml toin the end beoe.me a Jiving soul (Gen. ii. 7), is still, when Ood taketh a.way (i.e. removoth fro~ Job so.ye, wiLhin him, and mnkes him co.pable earth) his soul l Job evidently regards tho of judging nnd deolaring who.t is right. soul tho.t …
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or eh. nviii.,- reintroduciing Job and mak- hae been BO long and so frequentlf made, ing him once more the interlocntor. That manife~penly eet forth in the eight of this ■bonld have happened by accident is men-that Job cannot believe that thoee inoonoeivable. Ta ,ea.-• .-uX'lv or/ mLvu IYVV• whom he addre11eee are i…
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ahall p11t it on. The raiment thus accumu- is not," generally suppose that be opene hi& lnted she.II pass from the wioked into the eyes only to find himself in the bands of l.utnde of the just, who o.t his deo.th shnll murderers. enter upon his inheritance (ob. xx. 18, 20, Ver. 20.-Terrors take hold on him a, 28). And …
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2. By whom uttered, Job, a man who had not only been f8ahioned by the ha.nda of Shaddai (eh. x. 8, 9), but depended for life every moment on the breath of Eloah In hie nostrils (ver. 3), 11nd therefore should have pBUsed ere he called Into question the conduct of a Being who oould any instant cause him to return to …
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e.aeeveratlon (vere, 5, 6), declaring (1) thRt he could not justify hie friends, i.e. aumit the truth of their contention with regard to himself without profanity; (2) that he would continue to assert hie innocence while he lived; (3) that his righteousness he would on no account let go; nnrl (4) thnt his heart shou…
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need of o&ths to support it. 4:. That good men should never renounce their integrity while they live, however they m11,y sometimes forbear from asserting It. 6. That however much 11. wicked man ml\y gRin on earth, he losas RU 11t death. 6, That that hope only ie good which extends 'beyond the grave. 7. That God delight…
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shall clap lte bands at him, and whistle at him in derision, the image must be inter- preted to mean that the storm-chased sinner will be beheld with malignant joy and withering BCOm; tbo.t, in fact, men will clap their hands with infinite delight over his tragic fate, and hunt his guilty spirit from the world with exr…
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or dogged egotism and etupi<l obstinacy irnit11tes that of conscious right: "I will never give in!" But tbe one is tbe m11rk of folly and weakness, the other is the evidence of vitality and strength. He will not part with the B<'nse of his integrity; it la as the jewel for which be has sold everything, which represe…
914 wordsSECTION 435The Pulpit Commentary — Job — Section 435
Immense wealth and profuse display follows (ver. 16)-his silver being heaped up like duet, and fine rniment being as common as dirt. Yet there is no more real substcmtiality in all this than In the frail cocoon of the moth, or the hut which the watchman puts up in the vineyard or orchard (Isa. i. 8). The striking story…
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the right; and the pre~enoe of the wrong becomes the watohword for an uprlalng of the whole strength against the UBurper. - Il. RESOLUTION, BY ITS DECI8IONB, PREVENTS THE MIND FBOM Tlll!I lN.nratOUil EFFEOTII OF ~AOILLATION. '!'be mind is kept braced up to its duty. Its judgments are formed. beforehand. It ha.• not to…
833 wordsSECTION 437The Pulpit Commentary — Job — Section 437
Vere. 13-23,'-Tll, rew/U'd <If 1'nl(fuity. Job's eye had been oJlffl) t.o behold the ways of God with men.' 'He b&d seen the effects of righteous living &nd of wickedness, His own aufferlng, coupled with hie consciousness of integrity, would quicken his inquiries r.nd hie ohl!orviitlons on the rel&tive reimlts of these…
882 wordsSECTION 438The Pulpit Commentary — Job — Section 438
oannot but admire the manline11e of Job. It wae diflioult fo1 him not to bo cowed before the array of advol'IIO influenOOB brought to bear upon him. His sickness of body, hie mental distress and perplexity, and the unanimous opinion of hie frienda, might well have deprived him of all courage. Yet he holds up his head a…
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tend to aubjeotive feelings rather than to worship-the contemplation and the service of God. Now, the chief end of revelation is to make God known to u&,and the higheat occupation for our minds is to rise to the thought of God. The character of God should mo.ke thiB clear to us. 1. His greatnus. Knowledge should seek a…
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Ver. 17 .-The wicJced 'IIJorki,ng far the g«Jd. This is not intentional. But it is a fact of observation and experience. Let us consider first the fact, and then how it is brought about. I. TRAT TRE WORK OF THE WIOXED IB FOil THE ADVANTAGE OF THE GOOD. First there is the negative side of the truth. Bad people do no…
1,154 wordsSECTION 441The Pulpit Commentary — Job — Section 441
EXPOSITION, OHAPTER XXVIII. conclnsion that God is inoomprehenaible by man and illllcrutable ; and that it is only Vere. 1-28.-The connection of this given to man to know him sufficiently for ohapter with the preceding is somewhat his praotice.l guidanoe. To impress this on obsoure. Probably we are to regard Job as …
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selves ln the ehe.fte and e.dits of miners. to oontrol and atop than even BUbterre.nean Nor the 11.eroe lion paaaed by it; rather, springs or rivers, And the thing th11t is paaeed therebu (see the Revised Version). hid bringeth he forth to light. Thie is the Ver. 0.-He pntteth forth hi■ hand upon fine.I result of mini…
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whetber Job doea not u1e the two words 88 thinking of aome f!Oblet or otnl\ment In ■ ynony1n11. whiah oryat11,l and gold were oombined to- Ver. 18.-Kan Jmoweth not the prioe gether. Ornaments of thie -kind have been th81"80f. 'l'be real ,vn]ne of wit>dom oannot found in Phamicia (' Hiat. of Phmnioin,' be et>limat,ed…
1,005 wordsSECTION 444The Pulpit Commentary — Job — Section 444
oonoMl'e of it, because its natl11'e transcends 'IIJinb. Gud by his wi'ldom gives to winde him. And kept olo■e from the fowl• of the their exactly lltting degreo of force and air (comp. ver, 7). 'fhe sight of birds is violence, so the.t they perform the work in far keener th,m that of mau; l,ut evou birds the world whi…
1,095 wordsSECTION 445The Pulpit Commentary — Job — Section 445
HOMILETICS. Vel'I!. 1-28.-Joo's first prm,b7e: 3. .A discow·se ttpon frtle wisdom. L Tnua WISDOM UNDISOOVERABLE BY HUMAN GENIUS. Among the stupendous efforts of human industry and skill with which Job was acquaint.ed, nothing was better fitted to impress tbe mind with a Bense of man's illimitable daring, resistless …
805 wordsSECTION 446The Pulpit Commentary — Job — Section 446
tioncd alrendy, but for the sake of continuity may be here repeated, (1) Sinking 11 shaft (ver. 4), down which he descends by a rope. (2) Exploring the interior of the earth's orust (ver. 6), turning it up 118 it were by fire, (3) Blasting and clea.ring away the rock that contains no ore (ver. 9), lnying hie hand upon …
858 wordsSECTION 447The Pulpit Commentary — Job — Section 447
.Man is absolutely y,omrless to spee.k 1L profit.able word upon •the subject, "seeing it le bid from the eye5 of l\ll living" (Yer. 21). So the Divine plan of redemption ie one wbloh it nenr would h11.ve entered into the mind of man to col'loelve (i Cor. Ii. 8 9), And hence bame.n schemes of ea;lvAtion have ever pro…
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in sin is e. moral cpntradiction. The eoul tbo.t reveres God's majesty and trembles at GoLl'e power, much more that arlmires God's character and loves God's Person, will of necc&sity find its highest happiness in respecting God's Word and doing God's will. Hence a prompt, earnest, cleci~ive, compltte, and final separat…
845 wordsSECTION 449The Pulpit Commentary — Job — Section 449
:a::xxiii. 4. 2_1): Above, upon t~e b1~g~t el\rth, the ~read-corn. Is gro'Wing, whlle below men are. st1rr1ng1 e.nd rummagmg m 1te _bowels, using sometimes the disturbing and destrnctne force of fire (ver. 5). Precious stones 1\9 well as met:1.ls, s11.pphires at well as golden ore, foll a prize to the diligent miner…
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"pnrtnkere of lhc Divine na.ture" In reHection from him, union with him, and enjoy- ment of him (2 Pet. i. 4). 3. Wisdom is the nature of God (Prov. viii. 25, B'l'J.), uncrcnted, ossential; with us it is nn acquisition, a derivntion. 4. True wisdom for us depends on the llviag, moral communion of the heart wit.h God. W…
1,197 wordsSECTION 451The Pulpit Commentary — Job — Section 451
Ver. 28.-71ie true wisdom. Wisdom-the "principal thing "-wisdom that " cannot be gotten for gold," or valued with " the precious onyx, or the sapphire," which ·fl the topaz of Ethiopia. shall not equal "-wisdom "belongeth unto God," and must be tauiz;bt w; by him, for we a.re ignorant. Wisdom consists in "the fear o…
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what vnst stores of metal lie under the surface of the ground. The great treasury has scarcely been toucheu; ages upon ages will not suffice to ransack its stores. When we leo.rn about Australia., Asia Minor, South America, etc., we discover that there is still boundless wealth-under the soil, Thus God has made ample p…
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healthy and fruitrul, 1md the old-rashioned duty OAn never be lesilened by 1my changd of oiroumstanoea. If men shrink from work they proclaim that their better nature la conquered in them. It will be a bad dRy for England when her old spirit of enterprise ia given up. In the Ohristian life there is a call for the mi…
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011uees-by the Vlllue set on things on account of their utility and 11Ur11eUvene88 11 nd by the difficulty of acquiring them, Both thege elements enter into the high price of wisdom. I. WIBDOH 18 VALUABI,E ON AOOOUNT OP' ITS UTILITY AND ATTRAOTIVENEBS. People will not give u. high price for what is not valued highly. …
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Ver. 28.-The revelation of wisdom. Man has searched for wisdom, but in vaiii: Then God, who has access to it, has revealed it to him, and has shown that-it consists in the fear of the Lord and in dep...rture from evil The existence of a Divine revelation is here distinctly affirmed. God speaks through nature, Script…
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OHAI'TER XXIX. he ie said to put their canclles out (eh. xviii. 6; xxi. 17). And when by his light I Vere. 1-25.-From these 'deep musings walked through darkness. The light or upon tho nature of true wisdom, e.nd the God's countenance shining about a man's contra.et between the ingenuity e.nd clever- path enables him…
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fr~>~ timC' to time, t0 ncl M judge and ad- have I taken from his gang to employ him mm1strator. 'When l prepaNd my aeat in in foroed labour " (ibid., vol. xii. 63). Anil the 1treet. On Buch occasions n seat would the tatherle■s, a.nd him that bad none to be brought out and "proparod," where the help him (oompo.re w…
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mesengoa for them, going 011 their errands, my hand. My strength did not fo.il. When and the like. He wne ki11d nnd helpful to it seomecl on the point of failin:,;, it wail hie fellow-men, not only in grant, but nlso secretly anrl mysteriously" renewed." Some in little mnttere. commentators regard vers. 19 a.nd 20 a…
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HOMILE'l'IOS. Vere.. 1-25.-.Too's second para1,'le: 1. Regrelful, memories of bygone dciys. ·1. Due OF RELIGIOUS HAPPINESS. In tender elegiac strains Job resumes his '.tnnnoldruo of sorrow, caBting a pathetic glanoe upon "the times of yore," already ta.dcd in the far past and gone beyond recall; not the days of his yo…
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propbete generally were afterwards lnattucted libout the tnind of God (Amos iii. 7), ae "the secret or the Lord la with them that fear him" (Ps. xxv. 14; Prov. iii. 32), and RB on believers ia conferred an unction from the Holy One, e!labling them to know all thlnga (1 Jdhn ii. 20, 27; v. 20), but more particulaTly the…
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every sorrow, and a band for every need. Job's eympathies had inclined him to feel for the llefenoeless and the poor. And in this Job had shown himself to be a good man (Ps. xl. 1), and an eminent type of Christ (Ps. lxxii. 4; Matt. viii. 16, 17). Nay, Job had considered no oare or trouble too much to expend on beha…
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HOMILIES BY VARIOUS AUTHORS. Vers. 1-25.-Wisiful retrospect of past happy days. I. PICTURES OIi' MEMORY; HAPPINESS FOUNDED ON THE FRIENDSHIP OF Goo. ( Vers.1-10.) 1. Friendship with God the source of happiness. (Vers.1-5.) This is beautifully indicated in figurative expres- sions. He thinks of the days when God's ligh…
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the furlom and the wretohed was breathed forth on his beh&lf. He had clothod him• 11elf with rectitude (compare for this fi!!'nre, Isa.xi. 6; Ii, 9; lix. l'i; Pe. oxxxii. 9). U Wl\11 to him like a robe and a turban. Ho was e~ to the blind, and feet to the lame ; a father to the needy. He eearchcd out the cause of unkno…
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Vers. 1-25.-..4. mournful reflection upon a happy past. Job had lived in honour and great .respect. He was "the greatest of all the men of the East." The Divine testimony concerning him was," There is none like him in the earth." Job's was an enviable condition, and hie own words indicate how ~ensible he was of it. In …
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reflection takes the plRoo of hoodleee sotivity. Thns we consider Rnd Rpprecil\te with regret in the ]Rter ~·ears of life what we disregarded in the earlier times of poe- 11ession. 8. Memory throws a delusive g1,amotl/f' O'IJIII' tke past. The dietant hills aro beautiful; we see their purple shadows, we do not observe …
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·betUJvolence. "Job delivered the poor that cried," etc. HerCJ we.a more than princely generosity. It costs a man absolutely nothini to leave B big legacy to the poor, and it does not hurt him much to give freely during his lifetime out of hie superfluous cash. On the contrary, the money may be profitably laid out, …
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Ver. 14.-0fothed wit'h righf.eomness. I. RJGHTEOUBNEl!B OJ,OTHEII A MAN AB WITH 4 GARlltENT. 1. J"r ~ot•&l's. If e. me.n hlls but a good :Character, we can pe.rJoh much' olse iu bitn. He may be wee.k, fool~bh, un~ortun~te. ll'.e may'.be.ve failed i9,th~W:o~ld,,p.nd he.ve cC1me do1vn to poverty. ): et he 1s not m rl\…
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And eummer days, when we were youngi Sweet childish days, that were as long • As twenty clays are now." Perhaps there is no reason to shatter this delusion. Why should we spoil the sunshine of youth with the shadow of coming years? 'l'he worlct could not go oa without young enthusiasm, and hope is essential to young …
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EXPOSITION. CHAPTER XXX. Ver. 2.-Yea, whereto might the strength of their hand& profit me 1 Men, who had no VerB. 1--31.-The contrast is now com- such strength in their han~s ae to yield an pleted. Having drawn the portrait of hi.m- employer auy profit-poor, weak oreatu.res, aelf RS he was, rich, honoured, blessed w…
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la reo.dily eaten by sheep, nnd the roots Scythio.n slaves rebelled and took up e.rme would, no donbt, yield some nourishment the Scythie.ns scourged them into rnbjectio~ (see Dr. OunninghBm Geikie's work, • The (Herod., iv. 3, 4). Holy Lo.nd and the Dible,' vol. i. p. 258). Ver. 9.-And now am I their aonJ, yea, I …
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Job eeema to paes here from bis human not forsake hitn nor cease to ce.11 upon httn pe!"llecut.nl'!! to his internal sufferings of (vers. 20-23). And I am b86ome like du•t mind an<l body. " Terrore" take hold upon and a1he1; i.~. unclean, itnpure 01fe11sive him. lie experiences in his sleep horrible t.o my fullow-tn…
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iii devoid of any expectation of recovery. he- had hopes that hia prayera wmJld be Deo.th tnust como upon him, he thinks, ere o.nswered, e.nd e. rest or pause, &n interval long; o.nd then God will bring him to the of repose, be granter! him (eh. ix. 34; x. 20), house "'ppointed tor o.11 living. 'fhis, &she but when his…
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not the young prinoee of the city (oh. nix. 8), by whom he had formerly been held in reverential regard, but " the young good-for-nothing vagabonds of a miserable cl&Bi of men" (Delitzsch) dwelling in the neighbourhood. Job's inferiors in point of years, they should have treated him with honour and respect (Lev. xix…
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of habitation, (Ver. 6,) Driven beyond the pale of civilized society, they were com- pelled "to dwell in the cliffs of the valleys," literally, "in the horror of ~lens," i.e. in dismal o.nd gloomy gorges, like the Horites (c,r cave-men) of Mount Seir (Geu. xiv. 6) betaking themselves for shelter to the caves of the ear…
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Vers. 16-31.--Job's seCM1d parable: 8. .A sorrowful st1,rvey of present miserJ,. I. JoB'IS BODil.T AFFLICTION. 1. Overpowering. It was no trifling ,aifmerit that, wrung from the heart of thie fallen great man the -exquisitely plaintive lament pf .the- presl!~t section. The malady which had struck its fangs into his …
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pre~ioue discourses (eh. iii. 24: vii. 3, 4, 13, 15; x. 20, etc.), it is here presented in a fresh eerles of images, Job describing his sinews ns taking no rest (ver. 17), literally "my gnawere,'1 mea1;1ing either his tormenting·pains (Gesenins), or the gnawing worm; formed in his ulcers (Delitzsch), "rest not," and sp…
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he will not avert. 6. That God f,(,ok no acoolfflt qf Job's phi1.atl.thropies. Job had wept for him that was in trouble or whose day was hard, and his Boul had been 1trieved for the needy (eh. xxix. 12, 13). Yet God was to all appearance indifferent. 'l'his, however, was only another mieconception on the pa.rt of _J…
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heartless oonduot upon the hero. Still, it ie ever true that we reap as we sow; but the Bower o.nd the reaper may be different persons. The cruel measure meted ont to the 110 unfortunates is now measured to the innocent Job. I\ is not in human nature to requite love with hatred or to give loathing in return for kindnes…
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hand for help amidst the ruin of his fall, &nd 11ends forth. hie cry 1\8 he passes into destruction? le not this a law for all living creatures (ver, 2'4)? J;)id. not Job show comp&Bllion in all the misfortunes of others, and has he not,}h~refore, a right to com- plain, and expect compassion in hie own (ver. 25),? .AU …
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. II. PnIDE PREPARES FOR CONTEMPT. 'l'here is e. note of pride in ver. 1, "Whose fathers I would have disdained to ha.ve set with the dogs of my flock." A relic of e.ristocr!l,tic hauteur creeps out in this utterance of the humiliated patriarch. If we treat II1en like dogs, we may expect that, when they get the chance …
1,138 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.