Ver. 28.-Ths kff.ow'ledge of sin. L MA.mi: ME TO KNOW THE REALITY OP BIN, in C118e I should de.ny it and be deceived. • • II. MAKE 1[11: TO E:Now '1'BE POWBB OF BIN, lest, being taken 'unawares; I should become its sl&ve. • Ill. M AXE ME TO KNOW THE HEINOUSNESS OF BIN, lest, making lighf of it, I sbouJ.~ be led to glory in my shame. . ' • . . •• ' '. • IV. MA:o: 11E TO KNOW THE GUILT oP BIN, lest, being indilferent to its dangeri 1 should fail to seek e.scape. • : '• V. MAKE ME TO KNOW THE PA.BDON.lllLENEBS OF SIN, lest, doubtjng of God's mercy, I should sink into despair. • • :. - • .
HOMILIES BY VARIOUS AUTHORS. Ven;. 1-22.-Man's imjUldice and the justice of God. Job proceeds to turn .the tables upon these self-com.p111.Cent friends, who are so disposed to moralize and find illwitrations of their conceptiom of the Divine righteousness at his expense. His frientls, however, really do him a service; not, indeed, by manifesting the sympathy he craves, but by throwing him upon his own resources-still better, by throwing him upon his God. The tonic of <>pposition is sometimes far more needed in mental suffering than is the soothing draught of sympathy. The former braces, the latter enervates. It appears to be so now with Job. He rouses the. forces of his soul, as the palm tree stirs up its vital energies beneath the weight attached to its branches; and he rushes upon the last cast. He will throw him.self, regardless of consequences, upon the pity and just.ice of the Etemal.-J. Vere. 1-12.-0orrection of thefriends. I. TBANBITION IN JoB'e ADDBEBB. (Vera. 1-3.) He paUBel! for a moment before entering on a new course of thought. He asserts that his experience has not been without froit. The eye, the ear, the mouth (eh. xii. 11), are the physical symbols of living and actual experience. So St. John: " That which we havll heard, . . . ,een with our eyes, • . . looked upon, and our hands have har,dled" (l John L 1). And in nopa.rticular is their knowledge, in virtue of which they presume to take so high ground, superior to his own. II. RESOLVE. "To speak to the .Almighty, to reason with God." It is a 1Kild, yet a tntly f'INlll'ffiti.al, and a ~ resol.-e. It reminds 118 of Abraham pliie.ding fpr the cities of Ula plaiD.. It is founded OD the firm apprehension of the moral attributes of on. xm. 1-28.] THE BOOK OF JOB. 235
God, whioh he 01mnot deny wit.bout denying himself. On this ground we me.y llVen venture safely. Boldly wo may come to the throne of grace, and beseech God not to forsake the eternal throne of hie holiness. III. REJEOTION OF TBE INTERFERF.NCE OF BIB FRIENDS. (Vere. 4-6.) No sooner ls the resolve taken to appeal to God than new strength comes to the heart. Job rises above the cloud of mieconstrnction that has gathered about him, like the tall cliff towering above the clouds, and looks down with scorn on these "forgers of lies," these "worthless phyeioians." It is his turn to be the instructor, and theirs to hold their peace. IV. DENUNOUTION. (Vera. 7-9.) He proceeds severely to expose their errors, e.nd to lay bare the root from which they proceP,d, 1. They seek to honour God at the expense of truth, which is a corrupt zeal ; for the (:foci of truth can only be honoured by truth in words and deeds. 2. '!'hey aro moved by the instinct of flattery, and thus become partial, one-sided advocates for God. Bnt God is not exalted by depressing man, nor honoured by injustice done to his creatures. 3. Their accusations of otherH show ignorance of themselves. And how would it be if scrutiny were now to be me.de into their Jives? and would they dare to cast the load of guilt on the unhappy in his awful presence? They are reflections like these which are needed to check the uncharitable thought and bridle the censorious tongue. V. MENAOE. (Vere. 10-12.) These grave faults cannot be committed with impunity. God would punish them for their partiality. His majesty, on his appear- ance, will confound them. They will be treated as sinners, and all their memoranda, their fine sayings, which they have got by heart rather than derived from deep experience (ver. 12), will be scattered like dust and fall to the ground like crumbling structures of clay. "For every idle word that men shall speak, they ~ball be brought unto judgment." Thus Job shakes himself free from his shallow counsellors before turning solemnly to God. ,· LESSONS. 1. In casting responsibility on others we may be incurring greater respon- sihility ourselves. 2. We should hesitate to apply truth to others before we have first applied it to ourselves. 3. Self-knowledge fits us for the office of counsel; blindness t6 self exposes us to rebuke and judgment.......:..J. Vera. 13-22.-Job's appeal •to God. I. DREAD OF THE RESULT oF THE APPEAL COM.ES' UPON BIS MIND AT THE VERY MOMENT OF EXECUTING ms RESOLVE. (Vers. 13-16.) So with Moses (Exod. xxxiii. 20), with Manoah and his wife (Judg. xiii. 22); so with .Abraham pleading for the cities of the pie.in (Gen. xviii. 23, et seq.). It is the consciousness of weakness in the presence of omnipotence, of sinfulness in the presence of perfect holiness, which checks the spirit on the threshold of the unseen world and the unseen Presence. Over the door of an Eastern temple (as Spenser tells the story) there was an inscription, "Be bold," and over a second door repeated, "Be bold;" and again, "Be bold, and evermore be bold ; " bnt last of all over the inner door was written, " Be not too bold." So fear and reverence chasten the confidence with which the believing child of God, in the full confidence of right, draws near to him. II. 'l'ERROR LAID ABIDE. (V_.rs. 16, 16.) 'l'here is solace to Job in the thought that be shall be able to speak forth his most sacred convictions before he dies (ver. 15). But there is another and a nobler train of thought suggested here. His innocence will ·at last lead to his deliverance; for no unholy man dares appear before God; but he is not conscious of an unholy mind. Compare the noble fifteenth psalm. III. DEMAND FOR A HEARING FROM HIS ADVERSARIES. (Vers. 17-19.) In this faief challenge we see all the features of the demeanour of a sincere and upright soul in the hour of trial. 1. Undaunted courage. 2. Presentiment of victory. 3. Readi- ness for.all opponentK and for all consequences. These are the arms which innocence furnishes, and in which the weakest and most defenceless may be arrayed as in a panoply. IV. PRELIMINARY REQUESTS. (Vers. 20-22.) Before proceeding with his appeal, Job makes two requests: (1) that his pains may be assuaged; (2) that he may not be terrified by the sudden visitation of God (comp. eh. ix. 34). These he asks as the guarantees of the freedom of his speech. There is something deeply pathetic in this vacillation between confidence and fear-the confidence derived from the sense of 236 'l'HE BOOK OF JOB. [!lit, XIII, 1-28,