The Pulpit Commentary — Job — Section 219

If they do not do good, the harm that they oeedinga? Is not your real motive to ourry mn'\' do is ince.lcule.ble. ravour with him beoaUBe he is BO gree.t o.na "\' er. 6.--Hear now my rea■oning. As his powerful ? " Or a■ on'e man mooket.l:i lil1other, friends have not kept silenoe, but bave11poken, do ye eo mook him t You mlly impose on Job <'l&iJns a right to be beard in bis turn. a man by l!O acting, but you will not impose If ii be tbongbt that be is Mmewhe.t im• on God. pntient, it must be remembered that his Ver. 10.--He will surely reprove yon, it opponenha are three to one, all eager to ye do secretly aeoept persons, E'l'en though catch him in a fault, and not very mild in it is his own pereon which you nccept, hia their reprim&nde. And hearken to the own cause that you unduly favour, be, as pleadings of my lips. Job's "pleadings" the God of truth, and Maintainer of right, 11re e.ddres~c>d, not to his friends, but to will assuredly reprove and oondemn you. God. and &re contained in vers. H--28 of Ver. 11.-Shall not bis exoellenoy make thP present, and the whole of the sucoeeding yon .afraid 1 and hie dread fall upon yon 1 cbaptc>r. Will not the ¥ery exoellenoy o.nd perfection Yer. 7.--Will ye spsa.k wickedly for God! of God cause you nil the more to fear, since We e.re not to suppose that Job's friends they will be arrayed age.inst you? God, consciously used unsound nnd untrue argu- who is of purer eyes than to behold iniquity, ments in their dispute.tions with him on who is no respecter of persons,. and ho.tee God's bchu.lf. On the contrary, they are to those who -are respeoters of persons, will by be regarded as oonvinoed of the truth of bis very purity and truth be offended at yonr their own reasonings--e.s brought up in the oonduct, and induced to punish it. firm belief, that temporal prosperity or Ver. 12.--Yonr remembranoee are like wretchedness we.s dealt out by God, im- unto ashes. The "remembro.noee "· intended mediately, by his own will, to his enbjects are probably the wise saws, embodiments of (l.(lCOrding to their behaviour. Holding this, the ancient wisdom, on wb1ch Job's adver- they naturally thought tha.t Job, being BO sari('s ha.ve relied in their disputations with greatly afflicted, mug! be a great sinner, and, him (eh. iv. 7, 8; viii. 8-11, etc.). These as they could not very plausibly allege any Job declares to be mere dust and o.sbes--uee- open sins against him, tbey BD.W in bis snf- less, worthless, such as the first breath of a.ir feringi; a judgment on him for secret sins. will blow uway. Your bodies to bodies of "His cho,,en friends," e.s Mr. Froude says, olay ; rather, 11our mounds, or your defences " wise,-good., pions men, as wisdom a.nd piety (see the Revised Version); These defences, were then, without one glimpse of the true Job says--i.e. the arguments by which his ea.use of his sufferings, ea w in them a judg- opponents support their views-are no better ment of this character. He became to them than "defences of clay "--ee.sy to batter an illustration, and even (such are the pare.- down and destroy. The ancient defences of logisms of men of this description) a proof a town were usually either of stone, as at of their theory that 'the prosperity of the Khorsabad (' Ancient Monarchies,' vol. i. wicked is but for a wbile; ' and instead of pp. 278, 279), or of crude brick faced wjth the comfort and help that they might have burnt brick, as at Babylon and elsewhere, brought him, aud which in the end they But Job seems to be speaking of something were made t.o bring him, he is to them no more primitive thau either of these-mere more tban a text for the enunciation of earthworks, like the Roman aggera, hastily ml.emu falaehood" (' Short Studies,' vol. i. thrown up and easy to level with the ground. p. 300), i.e. of statements which were fa.lee, Ver. 13.-Hold your peace, let me alone, tbougi, solemnly believed by them to be that I may spee.k; liternlly, be silent from true. And talk deceitfully for him. " De- me that I may speak; but our version gives aeitfull _:v," because untruly, yet so plausilily the true meaning. Job repeats the entreaty ' as to he likelv to deceive others. with which he had begun (vets. 5, 6). And Ver. 8.--Will ye accept bis petSon 1 will • let come on me what will. Job is prepared ye contend for God 1 Job intendi! t.o accuse to face the worst, He feels, as he expresses hi.13 opponents of leaning unduly to God's it below (ver. 19), that, if he holds his side, and bdng prepared to justify him in tongue, he must die, He must speak, and tJ1e teeth of reason aud justice. Thie is like speak he will. After that, let God do ae he the coudnct of a judge who should allow may please-he will accept his punishment, hiil deciilion to be biassed by favour towards if God thinks fit to punish him. one or the other party in a suit. Ver. 9.-Is it good that he should search Vera. H--28.--The appee.l is now to God: you out 1 "Are rnur motives in thus act- but Job prefaces it by excusing bill boldnel!I ing," Job asks hi.13. opponents, "BO pnre that (vers. 14--19). they will stand tLe severity of God's judg- ment when he turns hie scrutiny upon yon, Ver. 14.-Wherefore do I take my 11.esh ia and see.rches out the grollllds of your pro- my teeth t An obscure phrase, to be ex•  Oll, XIII. 1-28.] THE BOOK OF JOB. 227