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vere sicknesses and infirmities were consequences of crimes. Tlie solution of the problem regarding the suf- ferings of the righteous rests on two positions :
(1.) Their NeciiiAity. — Even the comparatively right- eous are not without sin, which can be eradicated only by afhictions, and he who patiently endures them will attain a clearer insight into the otherwise obscure ways of God. The trials of the pious issue at once from God's justice and love. To him who entertains a proper sense of the sinfulness of man, no calamity appears so great as not to be deserved as a punishment, or useful as a cor- rective.
(2.) The Compensation.'^ aitiiiilinii //k-w.— Calamity, as the veiled grace of God, is \\\\\\ the i)ious never expe- rienced alone, but manitu.st pmufs of divine favor accom- pany or follow it. Though sunk in niiserj^, they still are happier than the wicked, and when it has attained its object it is terminated by the Lord. The consola- tions offered in the Old Testament are, agreeably to the weaker judgment of its professors, derived chiefly from external circumstances, while in the New Testament they are mainly spiritual, the eye being, moreover, di- rected beyond the limits of this world.
It is this purely correct solution of the problem which occurs in the book of Job. It is not set forth, however, in any one set of speeches, but is rather to be gathered from the concunxnt drift of the entire discussion. Eor,
[1.] The solution cannot be looked for in JoVs speech- es, for God proves himself gracious towards him only after he has been corrected and humbled himself. Al- though the author of the book does not say (i, 22 ; ii, 10 ; comp. xlii, 7) that Job had charged God foolishly, and sinned with his lips, yet the sentiment calling for correction in his speeches is clearly pointed out to be that " he was righteous in his own eyes, and justified himself rather than God" (xxxii, 1, 2). The entire pu- rity of his character did not prevent his falling into misconceptions and even contradictions on this impor- tant topic, which the discussion onlj' tended the more to peri^lex. Job continues to be embarrassed for the solu- tion, and he is only certain of this, that the explanation of his friends cannot be satisfactory. Job erred chiefly in not acknowledging his need of chastisement ; not- withstanding his integrity and sincere piety, this pre- vented him from apprehending the object of the calam- ity inflicted on him, led him to consider God's dispen- sations as arbitrary, and made him despair of the return of better days. The greatness of his sufferings was in some measure the cause of his misconception, by excit- ing his feeUngs, and preventing him from calmly con- sidering his case. He was in the state of a man tempt- ed, and deserving God's indulgence. He had received considerable provocation from his friends, and often en- deavored to soften his harsh assertions, which, particu- larly in ch. xxvii, leads him into such contradictions as must have occurred in the life of the tempted ; he is loud in acknowledging the wisdom of God (ch. xxviii), and raises himself at times to cheering hopes (comp. ch. xix). But this can only excuse, not justifj-^ him, and therefore it is in the highest degree honorable to him that he remains silent when, in Elihu's speeches, the correct solution of the question is suggested, and that he ultimately acknowledges his fmidamental error of doing justice to himself only.
[2.] The solution of the question mooted cannot be contamed in the s])eeches of Job's friends. Their de- meanor is reproved by God, and represented as a real sin, so much so, indeed, that to obtain pardon for them Job was directed to offer a propitiatorj' sacrifice. Their error proceeded from a crude notion of sin in its exter- nal appearance ; and, inferring its existence from calam- ity, the}' were thus led to condemn the afflicted Job as guilty of heinous crimes (ch. xxxii). The moral use of sufferings was unknown to them, which evidently proved that they themselves were not yet purged and cleared from guilt. If they had been sensible of the nature of man, if they had understood themselves, they would, on
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seeing the misery of Job, have exclaimed, " God be mercifiU to us sinners !" There is, indeed, an important correct iirinciplc in their speeches, whose centre it forms, so much so that they mostly err only in the application of the general truth. It consists in the perception of the invariable connection between sin and miserj^, which is inilelibly ingrafted on the heart of man, and to which manv ancient authors allude. The problem of the book is then solved by properly uniting the correct positions of the speeches' both of Job and his friends, by main- taining his innocence as to any moral obliqiuty (al- though cherishing a view whicli must have resulted in sf)iritual pride, had not the Lord thus mercifully exposed its character before it ripened into guilt), and at the same time avoiding the idea that misfortune is neces- sarily a punitive infliction (being only a curse when it follows the violation of the physical laws of the Creator, and even then capable of being overruled for the wel- fare of his saints), thus tracing the errors of both par- ties to a common source, the want of a sound insight into the nature of sin. Job considers himself righteous, and not deserving of such inflictions, because he was not conscious of having committed any crime ; and his friends fancy they must assume that he was highly criminal, in order to justify his miserj\