Ver, 4,-" The arrows of the .A.lmlghty." The first thought that occurs to ,Job when he attempts to describe hie trouble to hie misjudging friend ie that that trouble has been produced by ehafte from heaven. Here ie the exceeding bitterness of his grief. He regards hie calamities ae more than natural mischances; such a terrible conjunc- tion of disasters points to a superhuman source. Thus Job is BCOlll'ged by his faith. His theism adds an agony which the materialist would not feel. L THE TERROR OF THE ARROWS OF THE ALMIIJHTY, 1. They are impeUed by an ,rresistible power. They ore shot by "El Shaddai." God in his power is conceived of as the Source of the troubles. But none can resist the might of God. No wonder Job is prostrate in despair. It is useless for him to stand up against his adversary. The shield of faith may "quench all the fiery darts of the wicked" (Eph. vi. 16); but no shield can keep off the piercing arrows of the Almighty. If God is against UH, we are utterly undone. 2. They come from the Bowrce of light and blessing. God ha,[ been showering blessings on the head of the patriarch, who had. learnt to honour him ae his Benefactor. It was hard, indeed, to find his great Friend turned into a Foe. This fact made the wounds pain as with deadly venom. It is fearful to think that our Father in heaven is shooting wrath against his children. No arrows are so keen as the arrows of love. 3. They penetrate to the heart. Earthly calamities strike the outer life. We may have ramparts and bastions that keep them off from our true self. But God's arrows penetrate to the citadel of the soul. He reaches the heart whenever he smites. We can bear outside distresses so long as we keep up a stout heart; but the wounds of the inner man are deadly. II. TBE lfISAl'PREHENBION OF THE ARROWS OF THE ALMIGHTY. 1. The error of ascribing to God what he has not sent. Job thinks that Goci is his Adversary, but the prologue shows that the adversary is Satan. Of the Satanic ea.use of his trouble Job has not the least conception. He ascribes it all to God. Thus he is mistaken, unjust, and needlessly dismayed. If he had but known that he was suffering from the arrows of Satan, he would have been more courageous and hopeful. May we not be in error in ascribing to God what he never sends? The evil state of society causes many troubles to the poor, which God does not wish them to suffer from. We cannot charge him with the terrible wrongs of a corrupt civilization which darken the slums of great cities. Our worst woes come from the devil within-from our own heart of sin. 2. When God does smite, his purpose is good. Job was so far right that God had some hand in his sufferings, for God had permitted Satan to go to the great length in tor- menting Job that he had now reached. (1) There is a smiting to heal. Grievous chastisement is a discipline of love. We think that the arrow poisons us; what it really brings is a needed astringent. (2) There must be a smiting of judgment. God cannot suffer his rebellious creatures to sin with impunity. Though Job had not felt them, God has terrible arrows of judgment for the impenitent. It is well if we learn the lesson of the milder wounds of chastisement before those terrors burst over us.- W. F. A. Vere. 5, 6.-Satisfaction and discontent. Job proceeds to show the reasonableness of his grief, and with it the unreasonableness of his censor's accusations. Eliphaz had been wasting his eloquence on the assumption that Job's outburst of despairing grief was uncalled for; or, at all events, he had not appreciated the tremendous di:;tress of which it was the reAult. He regarded the effect as preposterous, because he had not seen the greatness of the cause. L 'l'HE SATISFIED ARE NOT DISCONTENTED. We have illustrations of this fact in nature. Among the wild animals (" the wild ass"), and also among the domesticated (" the ox"), we see that sufficiency produces content. If the wild ass brays, or if the ox lows, something is amiss. Supply them with oil they need, and they will be quiet and contented. If, therefore, Job is not at rest, something must be amiss with him. 1. The discontent of society makes it evident that some want is u.nsupplied. Men do not rebel for the sake of rebellion. Political and social upheavals have their sources in some disorganized condition of the body politic. If all were satisfied, quiet would reign universally. 2. The discontent of the soul proves that the soul is not satisfied. Man bas deeper needs than the animals. The wild ass and the tame ox can be 11atisfied, while man i, still possessed by a "Divine discontent." This very restlessness 118 THE BOOK OF JOB. (c,u. vt. 1-80.
is a 1,ign of his higher nature, His thirst reveals the depths from which it springs. Man is " Poor in abU'ndanoe, famiah'd al a feast " (Young,) b~C'ause « man shall not live by bread alone" (Matt. iv, 4). 11. THI!: m"BATISFIEB MUllT BE DISOONTENTED. This is tuore than the re,rerse s'ide of the previous statement. It carries with it the idea that the dissatisfaction cannot be stifled, must be met, if it is t-0 be set at rest. The truth is illustrated from natural things. Unsavoury food cannot be made savoury without the salt, the needed condiment, 'l'hat which is naturally tasteless, like the white of an egg, cannot be made to have <leli?ious flav"urs by any conjuring process, unless the thing itself is changed or receives 11dd1tions. So no jugglery will remove the dissatisfaction of society or of the soul. ·we cannot make the world at rest by wishing it to be peaceful, or by declaring it to be qmet. A theory of order is not order, nor is a doctrine of optimism a quietus fer the world's distresses. The bitter cry of the outcast will not be allayed because some philosophers believe themselves to be living in "the best of possible worlds." W-e do not make peace by calling, "Peace, peace! " when there is no peace. To preach to souls of rest and satisfaction is not to bestow those desired boons. It is as much a mockery to tell miserable men to be oontented without supplying their wants, as to tell the hungry and naked to be fed and clothed while we do nothing to furnish them with what they lack. Any lulling of discontent without curing its cause is false and unhealthy. It is like putting a weight on the safety-valve. It is no better than the morphia that allays the symptoms of the disease it cannot cure. The discontent should go on till it finds its remedy in a true satisfaction. 1. Christ gives this for society in the kingdom of heaven;· if we followed out his teaching in the world the wants of society would be satisfied. 2. He gives it for the soul in his body and blood, and the life eternal that comes from fellowship with him.-W. F. A.