lie rurloly a<ldreAAeA Job 1111,. a man run of talk." Ho ha11 been trrltatt.d by the,. mult\tndo of wnrcla" that Job h11A poured forth. The very volume of the patri&rch'11 diBOO,irR11 provokus the mnn of the world to mnlce a roply. I. 'l'ma ovmmrr,ow 011' ll'Jllmt,mo ll'll'l'IJA Vlll'IT JIii A MUJ,T?TUDP: OJ' WORDII. Bpoech iK not nil 011lo11l11tod and purpo11oful. Bomotime1 it iK aimleee aod recklees. ft ie not l\lw11y11 c\lrootod to tho end of tolling some fnct or :influencing 10mo per11on. It m11y bo .lust tho lrropre11elhle outoomo of omotlon. 'fhe rr.011t t1LCiturn become ol<,'111ont whon ln II pneslon, Jllxoltemont neod11 n 1111foty-valvo. 'l'ho 11wollon river m11Ht h11vo a vont or It will ovorllow Its hankA. 'J'ho hottest word11 do not alwaye lm\<I to tho rnoHt violent aotlone i but tho firo that b11rne uncler unnntuml restmlnte Is likely to h11r~t forth at length in tho moHt foarrul conflagration. Let IJH be patient with the hMty, paeelonoto words of eoule thnt are deeply moved, not weighing them nicely, nor tro1111urlng thorn up for future 1LCcuentlon. II. PABBI0NATm WORDB CANNOT DID UNDIIRIITOOD BY T1TII UlllR'lllPATIJll:TI0. Zophnr 111 voxcd at Job'a eloquonoo. One reason le that ho cannot underat1111,l it. Th" man of the worlcl ie alwoye nngry with what ho oannot comprehend. It annoy11 him to think thnt thoro may be more thlop;a In heaven and earth th11n Bre dreamed of in hiK philosophy. 'fho highest 'l',ootry le to him but " multitude of words. He is wenric,I with ''l'he FaUry Quooue i 'Paradiso Lost' la tediou11 to him. Drown Ing he regBrd~ nH a juggler with language, Evon in Boripturo the deepe1t uttornncos of p~almiRt and r.ropbot aro but ompty words. Ohriet spoke In brief aenton tio1.u1 utterances, graphic 1f onlgmatio; yot oven Ohrlst's discoureoa ii.re but clea<l words to those who will not lond a eympatbotio oar. We always mlsjudge our Cellow-men when wo do not eymp11.- thli10 with thom i then tho deepest utterances oC their bonrte ere but "eound ancl fury signifying nothing," A Pilato could nevor understand the prayers of GethRom,me. Ill. A MULTITUDID OIi' WOBDB PltOVOXIIB llEPLY, Zophar is rouacd to answer Job with moro o.sperity than he would have shown If tho patriarch ba,I maint11ined the dlgnlliocl silonoo with whioh ho hnd reoolved his frionde. This ill unre11110DBble, unkind, wrong i still it le only whl\t must ho expected under tho circumatancea. Tbo world wlll not be reasonable or kind In Its treatment of us. 'l'hereforo it may be well for ua to bo on our p;uard against noisy opposition beyond what ls inevitl\blo. Self-restraint is o gra.oo whloh brings lts own reward. 'fhe abandon of p888ion i~ certaill to lead to voxatlon of spirit. IV. Tnm PATil'lN0m OI' GoD ENDUBIDB A MUJ,TITUDE 0I' wonoe. Ho doea not he11r UH for our muoh speaking, 'l'horo iH no virtue in long prayers ~Mntt. vi. 7). But dcup fooling will find expression In uncoaalng prayer. 'l'hen our I! 1,ther listens with moro pntienco than our friends show to ue. Job h11d good reason to be th1mkful that ho oould malto bis oomplnints to Heaven. God wos moro pationt than Zophar. He i11 evor roady to listen to the orles of his ohlltlren.-W. F. A. Ver, 6.-" Oh tliat God would spealo I" Zcphar'11 wish la moat ungenerous. Feeling hie own inability to give a complete roply to tho oomplainte of Job, ho ox prL•sHes 11 doelro thnt God may lntorpoeu nnd give the requisite ana1Ver. He re111ly ,,·imte God to como as hie a<lvoonto nnd spoak on tho side of conventional orthodoxy. Dut though ho la now moved by I\D unolmritoble thought, tbo desire that be is led to express is significant of a common need of mankind, Both Job and his &cOUIIOr■ look for a Di vino Interposition, and long for o oloa.r uttorance of God's mind. I. 1'1' IB NA'l'URAL 'I'O DESilllD A DlVINl!I vo1om. 'l'bi■ desire springs out of our apiritunl lnatineta, We cannot ahnlte it off. H Id almost univeraally Celt amon(I: all rnccs of moo, and It becomes only dooper and moro urgent with the progre11s of 11pir11un.l culture. The animals betray no 11igne of any suoh wish. We a.lone feel 1\8 orphans, WI oxile11 from homo i we alone orave a volee from heaven. This la but natural. The child longs to hear from hie father. The perplexed looks for a guide, tho sorrowful for a oomforterl. the wronged for an advocate. Will God come and 10lve the great riddle of exletenoe 'f II. l'I' IB UNBBAIIONABLB TO BD'IIOT TO HIIAn Goo's VOI0.11 WITH TUI!! OOTWABD UL By our materialism we pervert the natural instinct that cries out for God. We live eo much In the body that we oome to overvalue the experience of our een888. lt seems to ua that we should be better eatlslled If we could be.lr God'■ voice sounding like the 20G THE OOOK OF JOB. [oe. xi. 1-20,
voice of our hum&n friend. We forget that the senses may be subject to illu1ion. If we heard a voice as from heaven we could not be sure that it came from God. More- oYer, it is not well that God should cut the knot and explain every mystery at once, We are not yet ready to receive all truth. It is good for our discipline that our patience should be tried, and that we should walk by faith. Ill. GoD RAS sroKEN. We listen for the thunder and ignore the still, small voice, But God is ever speaking to us in his Spirit through our consciences. He has given more ~xplici~ revelations of h~s tmth _through the ins~irati?n of pro:phe~ and apostles. The c1rculation of the Il1ble 1s the going forth of God's voice. Christ 1s the incarnate 'Word or God. What Zophar wished for has in a measure appeared in Christ. The old cra,·ing for a Di,ine oracle is met in the best way by the advent of our Lord as "the truth" (John xiv. 6). IV. GoD WILL SPEAK MORE FULLY AT THE END OF THE DAYS. God appeared at the end of_ Job's t;ials. .A. grand theophany in final judgn?ent is promised ~s (Zech. xiv. 4). Even m the light of the gospel many problems are still obscure. Chnst did not bring the answer to every question when be appeared on earth. He brou"ht sufficient light for saving knowledge, but he left us to walk by faith. 'I'hus we ~ay still crave the complete revelation, ~hen God .5hall SJ?C&k once more, vindicating the right and clearing the mystery of providence. Meanwhile, the nearer we walk to Christ the more of his voice can we hear, nnd the less perplexed shall we be; for he who follows Christ will not walk in darkness (John xii. 35).-W. F. A.