Ver. 8.-Seeking unto God. I. WHAT IT PBESUPPOSE3, 1. Belief in the existence of God (Heb. xi. 6). 2. Consciousness of need (Jas. i. 5). 3. Desire for Divine assist- ance (Ps. lxiii. 1). II. W;J.AT IT IMPLIES.. 1. A realization ofGod's nearness to the soul (Ps. c:tlv. 18). 2. A solicitation of God's help for the soul (Matt. vii. 7; Heb. iv. 16). 3. Au accepta- tion of God's provisions for the soul (Matt. v. 6). III. WHAT IT PRODUCES. 1. Inward composure (Isa. xxvi. 3). 2. Hopeful expecta- tion (Ps. xlii. 11). 3. Ultimate salvation (Ps. xxxvii. 6; Prov. xvi. 3 ; eh. :nii. 27). Learn: 1. The grace of God iu permitting men to seek him. 2. The wisdom of men in availing themselves of this permission.
Ver. 9.-Tlie great works of God. I. THE CREATION OF TUE UNIVERSE. A signal display of Divine power and wisdom. 11. THE GOVERNMENT OF THE WORLD. A striking evidence of the Divine omniscience e.nd omnipresence. III. THE REDEMPTION OF THE RACE, A sublime revelation of Divine grace and compassion. Ver. 10.-Rain. I. Goo's CREATURE. 1. Made by God (eh. xxviii. 26; :x.xxvm. 28; Jer. xiv. 22). 2. Sent by God (Ps. !xv, 10; lxviii. 9; Jer. v. 24). 3. Withheld by God (1 Kings xvii. 1; Amos iv. 7; Zech. xiv. 17). II. EAR'rtt's SERVANT. 1. Cleansing the atmosphere. 2. Fertilizing the BOil. a. J'illing the rivers. 4. Moderating the beat. 92 THE BOOK OF JOB. [CR, V, 1-21.
III. MAN'B TEACHER, 1. A symbol of truth (Dout. xxxii. 2 ; lea. Iv. 10). 2, An emblem of ii;race (Ps. lxviii. 9; H08. vi. 3; Ps. lxx1i. 6). 3. A picture of 1,,roeperity (eh. xxix. 23). _Learn: 1. To value t.he gift (1 Kings viii. 36). 2. To fear tbe Giver (Jer. v. 24) of nun.
Ver. 16.-17ie poor man's hope. I. GREAT IN ITS EXPECTA rroNB. Looking for salvRtion. II. Drnn IN ITS ORIGIN. Being implanted by God. III. Fmx IN ITS FOUNDATION. Resting, not upon his own piety or strength, but upon Gou'~ gracious interposition on his behalf. IY. PRESE1''T IN rrs ENJOYMENT. The poor bath hope ; it forms a principle withip them now. V. SusTAI!\,NG IN ITS OPERATION. Upholding in trouble. VI. CERT&IN IN ITS END. Arriving at ullimate fulfilment, Vers. 17-27.-Eliphaz to Job: 5. 17ie blusedness of chastening. I. CHABTENING- ITS NATU!lE. 1. Its subject. Man, as a fallen being; for, though affliction cannot !'!ways be connected with particular transgressions as their immediate punishment, it 1s still _true that man's sinfulness is the fundamental reason of his being subjected to correct10n. 2. Its Author. God. A thought full of comfort to the chastened; since G-od being just, their correction will never be allowed to exceed t!wr deserts ; being mi,rciful, it will never be administered with undue severity ; being wise, it will never be inflicted without an adequate design; and being powerful, it will never fail, where piously accepted, to accomplish its end. 3. Its instrument. Calamity, trouble, afflic- tion, such as Job had experienced, and such as men undergo on earth. 'l'hose who suffer may derive consolation from the thought that the rod which smites them is not in the devil's hand ( except by Divine permission) or in the hand of blind, unfeeling fate, but in the hand of a loving and sympathetic God. 4. Its purpose. Man's refor- mation. It is doubtful if any of the sufferings of this life are purely punitive and judicial, while there is reason to believe that all are corrective and remedial in their design. According to Eliphaz, they are meant to chastise man for hie iniquity, to bring him to repentance, and to reduce him to obedient submission under God (cf. eh. :uxiii. 17, 19; Pti. xciv. 12, 13; Prov. iii. 11; Heb. xii. 7-11). II. CHASTENING-ITS DCPBOVEMENT. 1. The wrong me of afftiction. To despise it. Men do Ro when they (1) turn from it with aversion, loathing it as a nauseating physic, and evincing repugnance to submit themselves to its infliction; (2) receive it with indignation, raging against God for smiting them, challenging his goodness, impeaching his integrity, and questioning his wisdom in so plunging them into tribu- lation; (3) bear it with impatience, murmuring against its painfulness, fretting over its continuance, and inordinately longing for its removal; (4) regard it with con- tempt, esteeming it as useless and unprofitable, and making no attempt to either find out or fall in with God's special purpose in their correction; and (5) issue from it in impenitence, with the heart no softer and the spirit no humbler than when it was cast into the furnace. Such failure to improve the Divine chastisement, while common in the case of wicked men, is also not impoSl'ible to good men. 2. The right use of afftiction. To receive it (1) with meek submission, recognizing our need of Divine chastisement in consequence of sin still remaining in us, if not in visitation for actual wickedness performed by us, and acknowledging the sovereignty and righteousness of God in la.ying on us such rebukes; (2) with patient endurance, remaining dumb and opening not our moutba, because God has done it (Pa. xxxix. 9), or, if we do speak, adopting tl.e language of Eli (1 Sam. iiL 18), of Job (eh. i 21), of St. Paul (Acts xxi.14), or of Christ (Matt. xxvi. 39); (3) with holy gratitude, remembering the graci,,us pur- pose God h8.6 inseparably connected with affliction (Rom. v. 3, 4; viii. 28; Heb. xii. 11), and the representa,tion he has given of affliction as a token of hie love (Rev. iii. 19; Heb. xii. 6); and (4) with intelligent co-operation, seeking, so far as in us lies, by self-examination, by repentance and faith, by laying a.side every known sin, and by vraying e.ge.inst all sin, to further God's gracious designs in our cor:ection. UL CB.ASTENING-ITB CONSOLATION. 1. Divine healing. (\) The wounds requiring (lR, V, 1.......c27.] THE BOOK OF JOB. 93