Vers. 11, 12.-Tlu rush and tlu papyN/,8. From history Bildad turr.ll to nature, or rather to a traditional saying about nature-to an old proverb; poesillly it has been suggested from Egyptian lore. I. THE PLANTS SPRING FROM: WATER. Both of these plants grow in marshes or pools, and by the banks of rivers and canal!.'. They both need an abundance of water. Man can only live when nourished by the goodness of God. The Christian can only grow to maturity when planted by the unfailing streams of the river of life. II. THE PLANTS FLOURISH LUXURIA.NTJ,Y. Thie is one of the characteristics of rncculent plants in moist soil. 'l'hey grow rapidly and flourish greatly. Bo, ae tho &0°dness of God is no mere sprinkling of refreshment, but a great river with abundance OH. VIII. 1-22.] THE BOOK OF JOJ3. 153
Jf we.tar, they who llvo upon it will not be in a meagre e.nd atunted state, but will lllJlke gree.t progress e.nd wi II grow in grace. III. Tum FL0URIBHINIJ CONDITION 011' THE PLAN'J I! IS PROOF OF THE PREBl!:NO\', 01" N"0UTIISHING STREAMS. They me.y be so abundant and so rank in their growth as to hide the we.ter from which they spring; but their very splendour of health and ilevelopment is a. certain sign tha.t they e.re surrounded by plenteous streams. We lmow the.t their roots must be in the water because their stems and upper growth are so ~een e.nd vigorous. So the existence of prosperity is a sign of Divine goodness. We cannot go so fe.r as Bildad, e.nd take it !I.ii a proof of God's approval, for God is grncio11~ to be.d men; but it is a proof of God's kindness. The spiritual flourishing of Christian people is a. certain sign that they are drinking of the living waters. They may be reserved, e.nd may not reveal to us the springs from which they draw, hiding the roots lf their spiritual life. Still by their fruits shall we know them, and learn that they 111ust be in vital relations with the Divine source of all spiritual experience. IV. THE PLANTS FLOURISH FOB USEFUL END. The reed referred to by Bildad is an ~dible plant; and the papyrus is the material from which paper was anciently made. rhe prosperity which God gives to man is a talent to be used in the service of life. Spiritual growth should lead to spiritual productiveness. We receive grace from God in order that we may minister to the work of God. V. WHEN THE WATER DRIES UP THE PLANTS WITHER. These plants are not like the thorns of the desert, which can endure a terrible drought without sufferiog seriously. rhey are distinctly denizens of watery places, and without water they must perish. Man's prosperity must cease when God ceases to bless him. He may ignore the Divine 1ource of his good things, but he must fail if that source is stopped. The Christian 111ore especially will suffer in his better life if he is deprived of the streams of grace. He is like the tree planted by the rivers of water. He in particular needs streams of ~ace if he is to flourish. He cannot thrive on his own goodly proportions. The most 1dvanced Christian must go back and even utterly perish if he loses the constant rupply of grace. We must be in Christ to live the Christian life.-W. F . .A.
Ver. 14.-The spider's web. Bildad compares the hope of the impious to a spider's web, or rather, recalling sayings of antiquity, he quotes an old proverb to that effect. Let us consider the wisdom of this ancient saying by noting characteristics of the spider's web. I. IT IB QUICKLY WOVEN. It is one of the most rapidly made fabrics in nature. It puts Jonah's gourd to the shame. Some men are very hasty in forming foolish hopes. With them the wish is father to the thought. They jump to conclusions that are favourable to themselves. But the sanguine temperament is no guarantee for permanent security. Because we believe readily, we do not believe the more safely. II. IT IS DELICATE AND BEAUTIFUL TO LOOK AT. We cannot but admire the spider's web on a bright September morning, when it is spangled with dewdrops. Its very delicacy of structure adds to the beauty of it. There is nothing coarse about it. Some people have a religion that is refined and delicate and beautiful. They despise the vulgar ideas of other people. Their spider's web is much more suitable to their superfine culture than the coarse hemp ropes of the religion of less cultivated people. III. IT IS USEFUL FOR ITS NATURAL END. We have no right to complain that the spider's web does not sustain our weight when we lean ·1pon it. It was not spun for such e. purpose. But yet it serves its own proper end. It is e.n excellent ladJer for its maker, and a perfect trap for his victims. Some of those grounds of hope to which foolish people trust are not utterly false and useless. For example, rustheticism taken for a religion is as a spider's web. Yet it is useful as a form of culture. Iutcllectualism is like auother spider's web. While the superfine thinker is spinning his fancil'ul threads of thought, he is doing little for the business of life. Yet whe.t he does may be good and true in itself, if only he would keep it in its right place. IV. IT 18 EXCESSIVELY FRAGILE. It is just the type of fragility. Therefore all its good points are useless when a man thinks of trusting his weight to it. You but mock the drowniug man if you toss him tho spider's web. He must grasp a substantial rope if he is to be saved. Now, Bildad rightly compa1es the hope of the impious to this wob. It is fragile in tho extreme. 1. It has no sub1 tanr~. The man trusts (1) to his 154 THE BOOK OF JOB.
c,wn wisdom, which is folly in the eyes of God; (2) to his goodne88, whioh under God's searching glance is full of sin ; (3) to bi8 prosperity, which cannot endure when the favour of God is withdrawn; (4) to God's goodness, which indeed is a rock of refuge, only it is out of the reach of the impious, who only clutch at a shadow of it in their own fancy. 2. It is beavily tried. Here is a question of. life and death. A man bas to seek a security for his own soul and bis eternal interests. '1.'he spider's web may stand slight tests, but not the strain those awful requirements put upon it. lEstbetics intellectualism, and all other human ideas fail here. We want a strong means oC deliverance. 'l'be gospel shows us that this is to be had in Christ for those who repent and mist him.-W. F. A.