Ver. 7.-Satan's wanderings. Here Satan appears in a very prominent and privileged position. He is the accuser rather than the tempter. At all events, he has a range of influence which suggests most terrible possibilities. We must remember that we are perhaps reading a symbolical drama, and must not take every line of it with dry literal exactness, as necessarily descriptive of actual historical events. Nevertheless, it suggests truths of great and lasting importance. I. SATAN rs AT LARGE. He was at large in the days of Job, and he is so now. The days have not yet come when Satan is to be completely bound and made quite power- less for harm. We need therefore to be watching, for when we are most off our guard he is most likely to appear. II. SATAN re IN MOTION. "Going to and fro in the earth." He is not always tempting us. He left Christ "for a season" after the great forty days' temptation (Luke iv. 13). But if he leaves us for a time, it is to return again-no one can say how soon. One of his devices is to surprise us with novel temptations. III. SATAN rs WATCHFUL, His eye was on Job. He hnd found that perfect and upright man, studied him, and laid deep plans for attacking him. Sa.tan is indeed the old serpent, cunning and capable. There is no weak place in the armour that can possibly e~cape the vigilance of our horrible foe. JV, SATAJl' IS IIUl!JE0T TO (fo:p's JUJ>GMENT, He appears ill Job as privilege,! to 30 THB BOOK OF JOB.
present himself among the sons of God, The complete rebellion and utter fall of the prince of evil is not yet seen. But even where thnt is rt.'Cognized, ns in the New Testament, the Judge of all the earth must be able to call his tebellious creature to accouut. V. SATAN IS NOW RESTRICTED BY CHRIST'S VIOTORY. Re CQhnot range at Jo.rge BO freely as before. Jesus Christ lived on earth, wrestled with him, and flung the foul fiend to the earth. Our Lord has bound the strong man, and robbed hie house (Mark iii. 27). It is true that the bondage is not yet complete, But the powers of evil are crippled wherever the light of Christ shines. YI. SATAN'S RANGE DOES NOT EXTEND ABOVE THE EARTH. Re wanders to and fro-in the earth. A wide range, but limited. Here we are tempted by the spirit of evil. Hut no temptations can enter heaven. We have but to hold out fo.ithfully throuah our earthly pilgrimage, and there will be rest from the assaults of our great ene~y when we pass to the home of the victorious. Vil. SATAN'S RANGE SHOULD DE EQUALLED DY THAT OF THE l!ESSENGERB OF TBE GOSPEL. If he thus wanders, so should the Christian missionaries. Wherever the bite of the serpent is found, there should the healing balm be sent. Sin is world-wide, so a1-> are the grace and power of Christ.-W. F. A.
Ver. 9.-Disinterested piety. Satan's suggestion is obvious enough. Job is religious, but Job is prosperous. Cast down his prosperity, and his religion will come down to~ like a house of cards. L 'l'RUE RELIGION BRINGS GREAT BEW.ARDS. As a m11tter of fact, Job was making tbe best of both worlds. \Vhile he was fearing and serving God, God was blessing and smiling upon him. 1. Religion often brings earthly prosperity. It is frequently true that" honesty is the best policy." God sbows his love in very evident ways to many of his children, blessing them "in basket and store." When a good man is prosperous in business or home it is only right that he should acknowledge the kind hand fron:i which all his happiness comes. 2. Religion always brings heavenly prosperity. It must be well with the 1,oul that is tear to God. He who owns Christ does most certainly possess a pearl of great price. Even the poor man in his adversity is rich with spiritual treasure when be has the love of God iu his heart. ' II. 'l'HE RELIGION WHICH DEPENDS ON BEW.ARDS IB NOT TRUE. Job got much through his service of God, or rather along with that service; for all he had was of God's free grace, not of desert. But if he bad only been religious in the spirit of the hirl3- ling, working for pay, his religion would have been rank hypocrisy. This is true of future as well as earthly rewards. It applies not only to the tradesman who goes to church that he may please church-going customers; it is true also of one who is a slave to "other-worldliness," and who behaves like a fanatical Mohammedan when he rushes forward to certain death in battle, inspired by the expectation of flying immediately to a paradise of lwaris. Self-seeking in religion is always fatal. . It is natural to look forward to the rewards which God promises; but it is fatal to all de{ro- tion to make the pursuit of those rewards our chief motive, The true servant of God will say- " And I will ask for no reward, Except to serve thee still"
III. IT IS POSSIBLE TO RENDER DISINTERESTED SERVICE TO Gon. The accuser did not belie,·e this; he Epoke with Satanic cynicism. There are people who pride them- selves on being men of the world, and who deny that there is any such thii;ig as disin- terested generosity. Possibly the reason is that they judge all men by their own.low standard; or that they have not the eyes to see the best side of life. With all their boasted keenness of vision there is a whole realm of noble living which is entirely beyond their ken. The Satan-spirit can never understand the Christ-spirit. Now, the great problem of the Book of Job lies in this. That boo~ is to p~ove the falsity of Satan's base in.sinuation. It is to show to the astonished accuser that disinterested devotion is possible. It is to prove, in the extreme instance of Job, that a mar{may lose all the apparent rewards of religion, and yet not give up hie religion; _that he may suffer grievous adversity, and· yet not renounce his God, Job i_s 11, w.ag9itice.P~ ill_uatra- OU. I, 1-22.] THE BOOK OF JOB. .31
tion of this truth. But behind Job is God, and the real se11ret is thot God can and does Inspire disintere~ted devotion.-W. F. A.