The Pulpit Commentary — Job — Section 161

renot upon one another. 4. Numerous, He doeth '' wond BrR without n·amber." The exquisite variety and the apparently limitless number of God's works are impressive testimonies to the infinite power and matchless wisdom of the Creator. Learn: 1. There is no God like unto the God of the Chrislian (Exod. xv. 11 ; Dcut. xxxiii. 26). 2. Nothing can transcend the power of God (Gen. xviii. 14; Jer. xxxii. 17). 3. God is infinitely worthy of the reverence, confidence, affection, and obedience of his intelligent creatures (Ps. lxxxix. 7; Rev. iv. 11). 4. It cannot but be dangerous to resist God's will (Nah. i. 6; Is;i.. xl. 24; Heb. xii. 29). 6. "If God be for us, who oan be against us ? " (Ps. xxvii. l; Rom. viii. 31). Vere. 11-20.-Job to Bi1dad: 3. Creator and creatwre in wnflict. I. THE DIVINE ASSAILANT. 1. His mysterioUB movements. "Lo I he goeth by me, and I see him not: he passeth on also, but I perceive him not" (ver. 11). The language, recalling F:liphaz's description of the shadowy spectre (eh. iv.15), recognizes: (1) The personality of God. The Divine Being is not an impalpable abstraction or a dead unintelligent force, but a living, thinking, self-conscious Intelligence. Such a Deity is as much e. neces8ity of reason as a postulate of revelation. (2) The activity of God. Not confounding the Creator and the creature as modem pantheism does, but ever maintaining a separation between the almighty Artificer of the universe and his works, biblical theology (both Hebrew and Christian) is also careful to avoid the error of deism, which, while believing in a Deity, removes him to a distance from his creation, setting him apart in cold, chilling isolation, amid the radiant splendours of a metaphysical perfection, and in }>1'rticular interjecting between him and the realm of this sublunary sphere a gulf impassable by either him or man. Contrary to this, scriptural theism conceives God as an omnipotent, omniscient, and omnipresent Intelligence, continually superintending the universe he bas made, as being ever present and ever active in all parts an<l places of his dominion (Ps. cxxx. 1-10; Jer. x.xiii. 23, 24; Eph. i. 23; John v. 17). (3) The nearness of God. In a sense that is very real, God is never far from any one of us (Acts xvii. 27). Behind the veil which hides the unseen Eternities from mortal vision he continually sits, beholding all that transpires on earth; seeing all thinc;s and all persons, but ever remaining himself unseen. The besetting God of the Hebrew psalmiet(Ps. cxxxix. 6) is the Uod of all men. Were the veil to be uplifted, it would a;t once ,be see.n that God is always at haud. Sometimes it is lifted; as e.g. to Abraham (Gen. xv. 1), to Hagar (Gen. xvi. 13), to Jacob (Gen. x.xviii. 13). And sometimes i~ i.s lifted to the soul when it remains closed to the bodily eye. God's nearness to man received its highest e.n.d truest expression when the Eternal Word became incarnate and dwelt among us. (4) The invisibility of God. Absolutely, i.e. in his uncreated essence, the supreme Deity must always remain invisible to and incomprehensible by man (eh. xxiii. 8; John i 18; vi. 46; 1 Tim. vi. 16; 1 John iv. 12), if not also by all finite beings (eh. :xi. 7; xxxvii. 23; Isa. xiv. 15). Relatively, he may be said to be visible when the spirit can recognize the working of his almighty finger, anc. invisible when that working or the reason of it is hid. Job complains that, while he can distinctly apprehend God to be passing by him in the events of providence and the phenomena of his individual experience, he is quite unable to discern God him;,ett·, i.e. to understand either the mode or tho purpose of his mysterious movements (cf. eh. x.i. 7-9; xxxvii. 5, 23; Ps. lxxvii. 19; Nah. i. 3; Matt. xi. 25). 2. Bis resistless power. (1) Invincible. "Behold, he taiu,th away (or,• he assails'], who can binder him [or, 'who shall repel Wm']?" (ver. 12). Impossible for the human soul not to feel overpowered with e.. sense of weakness 11nd utter defencelessness when God, by the hand of providence, or by the inward stroke of his Spirit, collides with it. It is, however, some mitigation to the soul'~ distress, when it is able to recognize that the band which strikes it is really God's (1 Se.m. iii.18; Ps. xxxix. 9). (2) Unchallengeable. "Who will say unto him, What doest thou?" (ver. 12). The sovereignty of God in removing, as well as in bestowing, creature comforts, such ns possessions, children, etc., is as plainly demon~ 11trated by experience ns emphatically asserted in Scripture; and should be as cheerfully admitted by all as it was by Job (eh. i. 21; ii.10) aud by Nebuchadnezzar (Dan. iv. 35). God's sovereignty, however, does not mean mere arbitrary and imperious behaviour. When God takes 11way (11s also when he gives), be not only does what he has a perfect right to do, but the reasons present to his mind fo1· doing it are such as cannot be  lG4 THE BOOK ~l JOB. [0B, IS. 1--36. --------------------------------- impeached. God's power always acts for the best, being allied with infir,ite wisdom; only God explains not hie motives to creatures; but saints a.re ever BRtisfied the.t he doeth e.ll tl1illf!S well (Ps. cxix. 65; Mark vii. 37; Rom. viii. 28). (3) Implacable. "Eloah rest.minet.h not his anger" (ver. 13); i.fl. ho never recalls it, never holds it in or turns it bnck unt-il it he.s acoomplisherl its purpose; but permits it, like a rising tide or sweeping hurricane, to carry all before it, eo that "the proud helpers" (litere.lly," the helpers of Rahab," i.e. "the helpers of pride," meaning probably either combinations of proud rebels, such as the antedilmrians, or," associates of the proud one," viz. the devil, or perhaps simply wicked men who, inspired by pride, think to interpose between the Almighty and the objects of his displeasure; such persons as e.re described in Ps. lxxiii. 6-~; but vide Exposition) "stoop under him." The mightiest combinations nnd confederacies of wicked men and devils are utterly helpless a.go.inst God (Ps. ii. 1--3; lxxxiii. 5, 8; Jude 6). Their source, pride (Ps. x. 2----4); their purpose, opposition to God (Ps. xii. 3, 4); their end, destruction (Ps. xviii. 27; Prov. xvii. 19; Isa.. ii. 11; :i..iii. 11). 3. His ttnanswerable charges. (1) Ber.ause of man's weakness. "How much less shall I answer him, and choose out my words to reason with him?" (ver.14). A blessed thought the.t man is permitted to reason with God (Isa, i. 16; xliii. 26), if not about his innocence, at least e.bout his pardon e.nd salvation. Persons who avail themselves of such permission should study to find appropriate language in which to state their case. Well-chosen words, if required in addressing man (Eccles. xii. 10), are much more indispensable in wrestling with God. Yet they who stand forth to plead· with God should be profoundly impressed with a sense of their own unworthiness and insufficiency (Gen. xxxii. 10; Isa. vi. 5), and should accordingly be clothed with humility (2 Sam. vii. 18). (2) Because or God's greatness.. "Whom, though I were righteous, I would not answer, but I would make supplication to my Judge" (ver. 15). A. glimpse into the better nature of Job. Though repudiating the calumnies of his friends, and sometimes defending his own innocence with language indicating an approach at least to self-righteous presumption, he here appears overpowered with such a seJlse of the Divine majesty as to lay him prostrate in silence and self-abasement before him. Note the solemn relation in which God stands to all men-the.t of Judge; the character which the best of men bear in his sight-unrighteous; the summons- which shall one day be addressed to all-to stand forth and answer for their sins; the attitude which all men should te.ke towards God in view of that event-the attitude of rupplication. . II. THE BUMAN COMPLAINANT. 1. Mutrosting the Divine condescension. Putting the case that he had summoned God into court, and that God had appeared, Job appears to conceive that a Being so infinitely exalted as he would not listen to the complaint of a frail mortal, or, if for a moment he did, would immediately break off in impatience and decline to listen further (ver. 16). A tote.I misrepresentation of the Divine eh.a.meter, contradicted alike by God's descriptions of himself (Isa. lvii. 15, 16; Ps. xci. 15), and by the saints' experience of his grace (P&. xu.iv. 6; xl. 17 ; lxxxvi. 13). 2. Impeaching the Divine goodneJJB. Describing the treatment he would meet at God's band8, Job insinuates that it would be the opposite of kind; that God would "bree.k him with a tempest," "multiply bis wounds without cause," "not suffer him to take his breath,"" fill him with bitterness" (vers. 17, 18). A.s a matter of fact, the words preseut a literal account of Job's sufferings, and the aspect in which they were beginning to look to hiruself. Conscious that his calamities were causeless so far e.s any wicked.nes1 on his part was concerned, which God also testified (eh. ii. 3), and unable to discern the secret purpose for which he was being subjected to such excruciating tortures, he can only fall back upon the hypothesis that God has turned to be his enemy. Faith would have kept hiw rigL t; but Job's faith, though not extinguished, was at this time suffering an eclipse. Sense and reason always misinterpret God. God never treats either saint or sinner as Job describes, aimlessly or maliciously, but always with tender love and for the loft-iest ends (Heh. xii. 6, 10). 3. uhallenging the Divine equity. Practically he represents God as s1,ifling the creature's attempt to maintain his integrity by overpowering him 'with the dazzling magnificence of his Godhead; by rushing as it were into the open court of justice, and shouting to the poor bewildered appellant, "ls it a question of stren11:th? Here am I. I~ 1t a matter of right? Who will challenge me? " (ver. 19). But this, again, was a di, torted view of the DiviDe character, on. 1t. 1-35.] THE BOOK OF JOB. 165