Ii secondary way are Job in his fidelity, and every mirtyr ancl hero and Ohrist,.like man.-W. F. A. Vere. 7, 8.-Job's leproay. St1t11n hae now obtaine<l permission to go a step further, and lay his hand on the person of God's servant. He uses the new privilege with skilful ingenuHy, selecting the most horrible and loathsome disease, and smiting ,Joh with tho worRt form of leprosy-elephantiasis. I. TllE MISERY OF 'l'BE INFLICTION. 1. It touches the man himself. Hithe~to the blows have fallen on his outer world, though, indeed, they have come very near to him in striking his children. Still, he ha.~ not felt them directly. Satan has drawn a marked line between these external troubles and personal troubles (vers. 4, 5). Now he crosses the line. Every man must feel what touches himself, though some may be too callous, too unimaginative, or too unsympathetic fully to appreciate what is outside them. No man can feel his ,brother's toothache as acutely as he feels his own. 2. It lay.~ hold of .his body. Bodily pain is not the worst form of suffering. A broken heart is infinitely more pitiable than a broken skin. Still, bodily pain has this about it, that it cannot be denied or eluded. It is a very tangible and unquestionable fact. 3. It is loathsome and _disgusting. Elephantiasis makes its victim an object of repulsion, hideous to behold, _shunned by all his fellows. Job had been a prince among men, living in universal respect. He now comes down, not only to poverty, but also to a condition of visible :degradation and disgust. To the man of sensitive feelings shame is worse than pain. 4. It is hopeless. Elephantiasis was thought to be incurable. Job took no medical remedies. He Qnly retired to his ash-heap, seeking temporary alleviations. The worst agony -can be endured with some patience if· there is a prospect of cure; but even a milder complaint becomes .intolerable if there is no hope of escave. r II. THE BEHAVIOUR OF THE SUFFERER. The most significant thing about the narra- tive here is that.so little is said, about the behaviour of Job. As yet we have no word irom him under his fearful malady. The silence is eloquent. 1. Great m_fering Htiftes thought. This is a merciful provision of Providence. We could not beitr both to feel acutely and to think profoundly at the sa.me time. There is a sort of mentaLanociyne in fearful bodily pain. Its paroxysms act as an anresthetic to the finer feelings of the soul. When the worst of the bodily pain is over the mind recovers itself; but at first it is stunned and crushed into numbness. 2. True fortitude accepts alleviations of suffering. Job does wha.t little he can to relieve the intolerable torments of his disease. He has no idea of attitudinizfog as o. martyr. Small sufferers may t:i;.y to make the most of their pains, foolishly nursing them, and obviously playing for pity. This is ,not the case with the great tragic heroes. The depth of their sufferings are known only to God. , 3. Bitter distress seelcs solitude. Job retired to the ashes. His complaint made this action necessary; his mood must also have welcomed the retirement. In _bitter distress the soul would be alone--yet not alone, for God is present as truly among ,the ashes as in the gorgeous temple.-W. F. A.
Ver. 9.-Husband and wife. I. TBE WIFE'S TEMPTATION. 1. Its source. Job is now tempted by his own wife--by her who is nearest to him, and who should be almost bis second self. Chrysostom asks, "Why did the devil leave him his wife?" and replies, "Because be thought her a good scourge by which to plague him more acutely than by any other means." Certainly the temptation which comes through one whom we love is the most powerful. Christ met the tempter in a favourite disciple. It is the duty of love not simply to sympathize, but also to give good counsel; it is its error only to show sympathy by aggravating the evil tendencies of a trouble. 2. Its excuse. Men have been too hard on Job's wife for this one foolish saying of hers, forgetting how huge was her affliction. Indeed, a great injustice bas been done her, and while sympathy and admiration havo bcon lavished on the husband, the partner in distress bas scarcely received a glance of pity. But his troubles were her troubles. She had been in o.ffiuence, the ho.ppy mother of a happy family. Now she is plunged into poverty o.nd misery, bereft of her cbildreu, with her once honoured husband in disease and corruption. Is it wonderful that she should utter one hasty, impatient word? 3. Its point. We cannot say that Job's wife urged him to curse God; for abe may have meant," renounce God." At all events, let him give up the struggle and 48 THE BOOK OF JOB. [C!JJ, n. 1-18.
oommit suicide. It ie the Stoic's advice. Othere sinoe have advised euthanaeia in unbearable sufferings. It needed a brave he&rt to resist such an appeal. Only thoee who have been plunged into the lowest depth know the fearful inducement to despair of life and go-- "Anywhere, anywhere, out of the world,• II. THE HU!!BAND's REPLY. 1. Its reprim4,nd. Job quietly tells his wife that she ie talking like one of the foolish or ungodly women. (1) '!'here is patience in this reprimand; be does not angrily repudiate her hasty advice. (2) It is discriminating. Job sees at on()(' the derect. His wife has forsaken her higher plane of living and fallen down to convention.al ideas of the world. There was this excuse for her, howev~r, that her conduct was not v.-1 thout precedent, though the precedent was not worthy to be followed, (.1) It is generous. Job delicately hints that her words are unworthy of her. He implies that she is not herself one of the foolish women. Often the best and most cffoctive reprimand is an appeal to a person's self-respect. 2. Its resignation. (1) It recognizes God as the Source of all thin_gs. Job does not seem to be aware the.t Satan has a hand in bis calamities. He attributes them wholly to God. Thus he fails to see one side of the dread mystery of iniquity. Yet there was truth in what he said. Nothing happens but by God's permission. (2) It admits the justice of God's dealing. How fair is Job! And bow unfair are many men in accepting boundless mercies without a thought of gratitude, and then shrieking with rage at the :first twinge of adversity I If we struck the balance between our blessings and our troubles, should we not :find the former vastly outweighing the latter? And if we accept the blessings from God, should we not be prepared to take the reverse of them also? 3. lts self-restraint. " In all this did not Job sin with bis lips." It is uncharitable of the Tnrgum to add, ·cc But in his thoughts be already cherished sinful words." If thoughts of rebellion were begin- ning to rise-and Job was but mortal-the brave man silenced them. It is much to learn bow to "be stilL"-W. F. A.