thBt when we he.ve e.rgued or eoothed ourselves Into e. comforte.ble &ssure.noo the.ta.II is well, the.t very nssuranoo is regarded as a proof of the fe.ct on which it is supposed to be grounded. But this may be 11 pure he.llucination. It is possible to be justified before God e.nd yet to be tormented with needless fears ol' condemnation, and it is equally possible to be still under condemnation while we fancy ourselves in a. state of justification. IV. SELF·JUBTil'lCATION MUST FAIL. We cannot get outside ourselves or transcend our own experience. No lever by which a ma.n can lift himself ha.sever been invented. We may make a fair show in the flesh, but we cannot change our own hearts. We have sinned ngninst God; it is useless for us merely to forgive ourselves; we need God's pardon. If sin were not real, we might find a. defence which would clea.r our reputa- tion. But it is roal, most terribly a.nd unquestionably rea.l, Thie fact makes self- justification impossible. v. OuR OWN CONDUCT DEMONSTRA<rES THE DELUSION OF SELF-JUSTIFICATION. Job seems to think he is so hardly dealt with, and God so much greater than he is, that whatever he says in self-justification will be turned against him. That is a mistake, for God is just a.nd merciful. But in a deeper sense God's words a.re true. We ma.y sa.y we are just, but our deeds belie our words. Nay, our very mouth, tha.t proclaims our justice, denies it; for our words a.re often sinful, ungenerous when they are not untrue. VI. THE FAILURE OF SELF-JUSTIFICATION SHOULD DRIVE us TO GoD's JUSTIFICATION IN CHRIST. We need not despair like Job, for we have a. gospel to the unlighteous. Christ has brought a perfect justification, in pardon and renewal, for all who own their sin a.nd trlll:it his grace.-W. F. A. Ver. 22.-The injustice of equality. Job complains that the same doom is meted out to the perfect a.nd the wicked; this seems to be unjust. Our modem complaints are of the injustice of the terrible inequalities of life. But Job's position suggests to us that justice is not simple equality. Equal dealing may he unjust dealing. To be fair to all, we must not treat all alike. Yet the injustice of equality is apparently a common thing in the experience of life, and even in the dispensations of Providence. Thus special providence seems to be lost, a.nd one broad, rough treatment appears to serve for the greatest variety of people. I. IT WOULD BK UNJUST TO TREAT ALL ALIKE. 'l'his much may be conceded if we think of the whole of life, not of external experience alone, nor only of this temporal and limited sphere of existence. To look for absolute equality is to ignore variations of requirements and distinctions of character. But if this be so, what are we to under- stand by the apparent disregard of those differences? The world is governed by general laws. Events have widespread influences. Ca.la.mities come in a swelling tide, not in a meandering stream, and when they sweep over the land, weeds and fruitful plants suffer from the ea.me devastation. II. NEVERTHELESS, Gon IS NOT THUS UNJUST. Job is mistaken. 1. We on!y sea lhe outside of life. The events which are common to all alike are external. They a.re visible objects of superficial observation, But these events do not constitute tho whole of experience. The blow that breaks stone only toughens iron. 'l'he calamity that is a crushing judgment to one rna.n is a. healing tonic to another. Wheu a. flood sweeps over a district it leaves behind very different effects ; for while it only brings ruin to houses, it brings fertility to fields. So the trouble is only equal externally. If only we could follow it into the experience of different men, we should discover tha.t the inequality has ceased, and that a different effect is produced according to character and condition. While it is a curse to one life, it is a blessing to another. 2. We only see the present ea;perience. Now, and on earth, there seems to be 11 rough, indiscriminate treat- ment of men. Here the injustice of equality is too often seen. But we must wa.it for the end. In Job's case the end brought about a complete reversal of the whole cour11e of events. Now God ma.kes his sun to shine and his rain to fall on good and bad alike -favouring equally, as he sometimes chastises equally. But this equality will not continue after dea.th. Whea.t a.nd ta.res ~row together, but only until the harvest. There will he a grea.t inequality of treatment, when the one is gathered into the barns, and the other is burned. Surely men should learn to hear the common troubles of life patiently, if they know tha.t be]'ond them all there is more than compensa.lion; 17'4 THE OOOK OF JOB.
there is fruitful increase, with riohe11t blellllings, for the true servants of Goe, who endure pat.iently.-W. F. A.