knew that Job wholly repudiated. Yee, shall make suit unto thee. On the contra.ry &lion she.It dig about thee, Bo Scholtens, thy a.id shall be invoked, thy interferen~ who understtLnde it to menn thtLt Job ehe.11 on their behalf prayed for, by many. dig a moo.t o.rouad hls habito.tion, to mBke Ver. 20.-Had Zophar ended with ver. 19 himself perfectly secure. The verb has, Job might possibly have taken some comfort however, two other meBnings-" to inves- from his speech, holding oat, as it did, a. tigo.to" or "eeBroh out," and "to blush;" hope of restoration to God's favour and a end it is taken here in ea.oh of these mean- return to happiness. But, a.s if to accentuRt.e ings by some oritios. Our Revisers truns- the unfavourable view which he takes of lnte, "Yea, thou shBlt search about thee;" Job's conduct Rnd chara.oter, he will not and so Oanoa Cook nnd Professor Stanley en<l with worrle of good omen, but appends Leathes. Roseamiiller, on the other hand, a. passage which has a. ring of malice, and Professor Loe render the words by menace, and con<lemnation. :But the eyes "Though thou shouldst blush," or "be of the wicked shall fail ; or, waste away, ashamed." It is difficult to decirlo between grow weary, i.e., of looking for a. help that such high e.uthorities; but the fact that does not come, a.nd a deliverer who does not Job uses the verb in the sense of " see.rch," make hie appearance. And they shall not "look after," in eh. xxxix. 29, and doeA not escape ; Iitern II _v, their refuge iJi peri,hed elsewhere use it in either of the other senses, from them. And their hope shall be a.s the ebould incline ue to accept the rendoriag of giving up of the ghost; rather, shall be the Hevised Version. And thou ehalt take the giving up of th~ ghost. They shall thy rest in safety; or, securely; i.e. with a. have no other hope but death-a manifest 110nso of being in perfect seonrity. a.liusion to Job's repeated <leclarations that Ver. 19.-Also thou she.It lie down, e.nd he looks for death, longs for it, an<l hf13 no none shall make thee afraid ; i.e. there expeclation of any other deliverance (see shall be no more re.ids on the pa.rt of eh. iii. 21, 22; vi. 7, 8; vii. 15; L 1, 18, Sabeans ( eh. i. 15) or Cbaldeans (eh. i. 17) etc.). Such, says Zophar, is a.lways the to affright and injure thee. Yea, many final condition of the wicked.
HOMILETICS. Vera. 1-6.-Zophar to Job: 1. The opinions of a dogmatise. I. ZoPHA.R's OPINIONS CONOEBNING JoB. A severe but wholly unfounded indictment. 1. Lo'i'Uacity. Job's previous orations, so full of lofty sentiment and fervent emotion, he characterizes as,-~• a multitude of words," and Job himself as "a man full of talk [literally, 'a man- of lips']." Prolixity in speech, though not a violation of God's Law, is certainly a breach of good taste. Words should never be employed except to represent thoughts, and should always be carefully selected and skilfnlly compacted.. If brevity be the soul or wit, it is also the heart of wisdom. Mere talkativeness is a fool's gift (Eccles. v. 3), and a frequent occasion of sin (Prov. x. 19). On the other hand," even a fool, when he holdeth his peace, is counted wise·; and he that shutteth his lips is esteemed a man of understanding" (Prov. xvii. 28). A wise man, also, is never so much in danger of being mistaken for a fool as when he forgets to put a bridle on bis tongue. God's people should be" swift to hear, slow to speak." 2. Boasting. Job's vehement language Zophar describes as "big talk "-the noisy declamation of a loud-mouthed controversialist, who talks his opponents down by sheer force of clamour, foolishly supposing he has thereby overcome them in argument. Words of truth and soberness should be used by all (Acts xxvi. 25). Religious men especially should be careful, particularly in the hearing of weak brethren, of extravagant assertions as to either their own piety or their thoughts about God. Job's asseverations came near over- stepping the limits of a just moderation ; yet they appeared worse than they were because of Zophar's failure to understand them] or sympathize with their speaker. 3. Mockery.·· Job's sentiments Zophar pronounced to be wholly of an infidel tendency. But what Job scoffed at was only the representation or the Divine character and government which had been given by Elipbaz and Bildad. It may argue audacity a.nd self-conceit to arraign the popular dogmas of the d,\y; but one may do so, it is hoped, without being justly chargeable with impiety and unbelief. 4. Hypocrisy. Job's steadfast assertion of personal integrity seemed to Zophar mere religious pretence. But if a man, who is at heart insincere, may yet be esteemed righteous by bis fellows (Matt. vi. 1-6), it is not impossible that one, who seems a hypocrite in man's eyes, may in God's liight be "perfect and entire." 196 THE BOOK OF JOB. [cB,D.1--.