Divine security against, nnd Divine contempt for, the sinner. 2. Unaesi.,ted by hi., fellow-creatwres. "To which of the holy ones," saints or more proba:Oly angels, " wilt thou turn?" i.e. in order to procure help in thine outrageous suit against the Almighty. Eliphaz o.ssumee that wicked men aod fallen aogels could not, while with equal con- fideoco he asserts that good men and holy aogels would not, assist a fool in o.ny such presumptuous enterprise. 'l'he language graphically portrays the sinner's impotence against God (Isa. xxvii. 4). III. THE FOOL'S MISERY. 1. Consumed with chagrin. "Wrath killeth the foolish man." The terµi. "wrath" includes in its signification inward vexation at one•~ own wretched lot. It is the opposite of that calm, quiescent, submissive meeknesA which~ good man strives to evioce in adversity, and which was exemplified by David (Ps. ll:Xix. 9), St. Paul (2 Cor. vi. 9, 10), and Job (eh. i. 21). 2. F.aten up of envy. "E~vy slayeth the silly one." Fretfulness as regards one's own particular condition is commonly associated with envy at the good (real or supposed) of others. As only a sincerely good man can heartily rejoice in the prosperity of his neighbour, so is it only a bad man, a moral weakliog, who allows himself to be irritated thereby. David (Ps. _xxxvii. 1), Asaph (Ps. lxxiii. 2), and St. Paul (Rom. xiii. 13; Gal. v. 21), warn against this supreme manifestation of folly. 3. Devoured by rage. "Wrath [passion] killeth the foolish man." '.l'he prominent idea in the term " wrath " is that of indigna- tion age.inst the Arbiter of human destiny. It is the object of Eliphaz to depict at once the supreme unhappiness of the fool as the victim of his own evil passioos, and the appa.l\ing destiny of the fool which ·is that of a. moral suicide; his destruction, when it comes, being not so much inflicted by the stroke of God's hand as wrought out by the inward violence of his own sinful lusts-a melancholy illustration of the auto- nemesis of sin. IV. THE FOOL'S. OVERTHROW. 1. Unexpected. Destruction springs upon the poor fool when least a.nticipated, when, having struck down his roots and sent forth his _branches, he appears to be flourishing like a green bay tree (Ps. xx.xvii. 35), and to ha.ve attained to a position _of conspicuous prosperity, of great power, and absolute security (1 Sam. xxv. 37; Luke xii. 20; Acts xii. 23). 2. Sudden. In an instant the scene changes, and the fair tree of his prosperity stands scorched and blasted, leafless and bare. "Suddenly I cursed his habitation;" i.e. I beheld it cursed. This has sometimes been true, as Asaph testifies (Ps. Ix.xiii. 20), and as facts witness (Nebuchad- nezzar, Haman, Herod, the two Napoleons), though not alwa.ys (Ps. xvii. 14; Ix.xiii. 4). 3, Visible. The approach of the fool's fall, seldom apprehended by himself, is commonly foreseen by others. "Suddenly I cursed his habitation;" meaning that the moment Eliphaz beheld the foolish one taking root, he pronounced his homestead cursed ; he could anticipate nothing for him but a speedy and swift engulfment in dark mis- fortune. So in the moral, no less tha.n in the materia.l, world, "comiog events cast their shadows before." 4. Complete. The fool's overthrow extends to: (1) His family. "His children are far from safety." Reduced to straitened circumstaoces in conse- quence of their father's ruin, they mutually "crush each other in the gate;" i.e. con- sume each other in vexatious litigation, thus sharing in the punishment, while they follow in the steps, of their wicked parent. Nor does their misery excite the sympathy, or provoke the friendly interference, of onlookers. "Neither is there any to deliver." If it is prudent not to meddle wiLh the strife of others (Prov. xxvi. 17), it is slill doubtful if i(OOd men should be indifferent to the ca.lamities of others, even though they are wicked (Prov. xxiv. 11). (2) His possessions. '!'he famished thief, prowling about the fool's farmyard, picks up wha.tever he can lay hands on, and, emboldened by the desolation he beholds, carries off the well-stacked grain. '!'hough no man's property can be said to enjoy an absolute immunity from thievish depredations (Matt. vi. 19), yet it is certain tha.t wicked men's treasures are peculiarly liable to decay ( J,ls. v. 3). Only the good man's treasures in the heavens are periunnently safe. 'l'hen" the robber 1:1walloweth up [literally, 'the sno.re gapeth for'] his substance;" i.e. wicked schemers lie in wait to pounce upon his property, concerting measures to carry off wbi.t little ha,..i been left by the huncrry thieves. When thief robs thief, then the Jevil gets his own. "When the soul of the wicked desireth evil, then his neighbour fiudeth no favour in his eyes" (Prov. xxi. 10). 6. R_ighteous. The calamity _which overtakes. the foo\ is not nu o.ccidout or unfortunate m1sch{lnce, ne,t the prodnct1on of earth and its physical. 90 THE BOOK OF JOB. [oJJ. T. 1-27.
constitution (ver. 6), but the inevitable result of a )Bw under which rnBn e.s a moul being, has been placed, viz. that if he sin, be she.II auffsr as certainly as th; sparke fly npward. Learn : 1. There is no appeal for man &g&inst the judgments of a holy God. 2. ~hen God forsakes a sinner, all the ~ints on e~rth_ (as well as angels in heaven) forsake him too. 3. The greatest enemy a smner has 1s himself. 4. Rage against God's judg- ments is more dangerous to a soul than are the judgments themselves. 6. Neither per- manence nor prosperity is II certtl.in mark of goodness, since foolish men may take root. 6. The prosperity of fools is a great trial to RRints. 7. 'l'he curse of the Lord is in the habitation of the wicked. 8. Outward good things are no mark of the Divine favour. 9. When fathers eat sour grapes, the children's teeth are set on edge. 10. Men frequently fail to enjoy that upon which they have bestowed much labour. 11. God often uses the wicked to punish the wicked in this life. 12. Man's sufferings do not spring from his surroundings, but from himself. 13. The suffering condition of man is incontestable evidence of a fall.