The Pulpit Commentary — Job — Section 105

THE LTFE oF NA1'URE. The l'IOphistry of s~lled naturalism tells us that we Oll.n, Dnt it is dereptive, christening bestiality with the name of natul'e. The nature to be imitated is Vi'ordsworth's nature, not z,,]a's. But Wordsworth's nature is the type and prophecy of the spiritual that is higher than nature. Merely to follow natural imrnlsc•s is to hecome swinish, not human, partly bec.'\use the lower impulses of nature are the most Yiolent, and partly because we have aggravated those impulses by sin. I\'. SuDM[RSION TO Goo MAKES NATURE IN LEAGUE WITH us. God is the Master of natllre. and as we learn to do G,-,d's will, nature, which also ultimately does his will turns to aid us. Physically, the forces of nature work for those who obey the laws or God in nnture, and it is to he noted that to obey those laws is a T"ery different thincr fro111 heing a slaYe to natural impulses; e.g. the laws of health do not e.gree with th~ ind11lgenre ofappetite. Spiritually, our obedient submission to God compels the ad.verso forces of natnre to work for our -good as instruments of discipline. This was·not suffi- ciently clel\r to Eliphaz, who made too much of temporal prosperity, and thought that to be the invariabl,i lot of the good man. But the Book of Job reveals it. 'l'hus nature ministers to man when man serves God.-W. F. A. Ver. 26.-Gotl's harvest home. We have here a characteristic Old Testament picture of the completed life of the aged ~ervant of God. He is rewarded for his fidelity, not merely by hirving nature as a min-ister of his prosperity during his active days, but by hadng his time prolonged to a ripe old age, and his whole career rounded and finished so that at last he is taken up like a shock of corn to God's harvest home. I. LET us OONSIDEB THE IDEA OF A COMPLETE LIFE. 1. The truth of the Old Testa- ment idea. The Jews were no pegsimists. They were far from the sickly Buddhist dream of Nirvana. With them life was sweet, and long life a blessing, Was not this a true and healthy conception ? Life is a gift of God; it is a source of great natural joy ; it is a prt!cious talent, offering rich opportunities for service. It is good to live. Though it may please God to pluck the bud before it has opened, or to remove the blossom before it has matured the fruit, we should feel that there is a great blessing in his :;;paring a life for full, ripe fruit-bearing. 2. The supplement of New Testamerit revelati(J'fl,. 'l'he gospel has enlarged the scope and value of life. It has shown us that no human life can be complete in a brief earthly existence. It has promised life eternal for the ful- ncss of being and of service. Now we can see that life is good and blessed indeed. II. LET us OBSERVE THE BLESSEDNESS OF A. RIPE LIFE. Old age is compared to a shock of corn. We have" first the blade, then the ear,·then the full corn in the ear." This full corn ripens into the gold of harvest. In the perfect old age we see the ~ril come to maturity. it has attained all that it can attain. 'l'he discipline of life is for the maturing of souls. Old men should be richer in grace than youn11; meri, and a certain mellowness should mark the character of the aged Christian. Unfortunately, this is not always seen. Sometimes the beauty and enthusiasm of youth give place to a chill and narrow formalism. Instead of ripening, the soul withers. Instead of rioh juices, it has the vinegar of cynicism. This is distinctly wrong. It points to a life's mistake and failure. But the possibility of so unfortunate an issue bids us all be on our guard against it. It warns us to avoid the danger, und it urges us to use the grace of God so that we may ripen and grow mellow. Ill. LET US ANTICIPATE THE BABVEBT INGATJIEii.ING OF A COMPLETE AND RIPE LIFE, The shock of corn is gathered in. This is necessary to ·preserve it; for if it were left on the field it would rot in the dank autumn. An earthly immortality would be no blessing. But God ca.lls his aged servants out of the world in which their service is complete and which ca.n no longer minister to their further ripening. Yet the ingathering is not the e[Jd. The wheat is not heaped up to be burnt, but -stored in the granary for food and for seed. God gathers his servants home in safety, sheltered from all storms and frosts of winter. Then the true purpose of their lives begins to be seen. All the rest was but the preparation for the harvest; and the harvest itself was only underta.k~ in view of future usefulness. The old man has not finished his life when he lays down his grey head to die. Then he ls about to begin to live ; then the largest fruitfulness of his soul'• experience is about to be utilized. The harvest joy is the joy of the future. Souls are gathered home to God that they may minister tu life and blessedness in ages yet unsee11,-W. F. A. • • ou. vr. 1-80.] THE BOOK OF JOB. 103