For he knows the ein better than we know it, and he iB in clo~e contact with our con- sciences. The swa.kenerl conscience perceives sin with B shock of horror, and it is the Spirit of God tha.t awnkens conscience. 2. He will at lase. Sin cannot remain hidden for ever. The secrets of nil hearte must be dragged to the light in God's great day or judgment. If we will not have our sin revealed to us now, it will be revealed to all then. 3. We should seelc a revelation. Thus we may anticipate and prevent the future revelation. For the sin that is repented of and forgiven will never be revived. Meanwhile the longer our sin is hidden the worse it is for us. It is a viper in the breast, poison in the blood, death in the heart. Sin itself, not its conseqnences, is our worst enemy. Therefore let us pray, not in the perplexity of Job's cruelly misjudged Hituation, but in the simple contrition of the psalmist, "Search me, 0 God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts: and see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting" (Ps. cxxxix. 23, 24).-W. F. A. Ver. 24.-The hiding ef God's/ace. I. THE SORROWFUL EXPERIENCE. The thought that God's face is hidden ie most distressing to Job. Let 118 see what he is thinking of, and why he is distressed. The unveiled countenance is a sign of favour; the veiled, or averted face, of displeasure. Therefore Job's word suggests an idea of God's with- drawal of favour. He explains himself by adding, "And boldest me for thine enemy." But Job means more than the withdrawal of manifested favours, as gifts of grace flowing from the bounty of God. God is more than his gifts. 'l'he light of God's countenance is better than the blessings of God's storehouse. The very smiting by God is itself a supreme source of life and gladness. As the plant blooms in the sun- shine and grows pale and sickly in the dark, so the soul blooms in the light of God's love and fades into desolation when that is hidden. To some, indeed, the hiding of God's face is no trouble. They cannot exclaim with delight, like Hagar, "Thou God seest me." Such words are to them only the expression of a great terror. But souls that know and love God bask in the sunshine of his presence. To lose the conscious- ness of God's loving presence is to such souls the desolation of a Siberian winter, the darkness of a storm-girt night. II. THE MYSTERIOUS 0AUSE. The cause is a mystery. We may see it afterwards, or in regard to the experience of others. But, while we are passing through the great darknes~, its meaning is hidden from us, and this is part of its deepest trouble. Even Christ, in the human limitations of his earthly sufferings, exclaimed, " My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?" (Matt. xxvii. 46); and there came no reply like that which followed immediately on other words of Christ addressed to his ~'ather in heaven (e.g. John xii. 21:1). Still some hints of the cause may sometimes be gathered up. If we are conscious of sin, this is sufficient. The only wonder is that God has not withdrawn his countenance before this. If we have lost our first love (Rev. ii. 4) and have wandered from God, we may well look back with regret to the happier pl.\st; but we can scarcely be surprised at our present depression. Then we can say with Cowper- " Where is the blessedness I knew When first I saw the Lord? Where is the soul-refreshing view Of Jesus and his Word? "What peaceful hours I once enjoyed I How sweet their memory still I But they have left an e.ching void The world can never fill." Possibly, like the author of the Olney Hymns, we may be suffering from morbid sub- jective feelings. It may be that God has not hidden his face, but that our eyes are dim with needless tears, so that we cannot see his gracious countenance. III. THE LIGHT BEHIND. God may be hiding his face, but he has not changed it. The sun has gone behind e. cloud, but it still shines. God has not turned his love into he.tred when we can no longer see his kind countenance. He loves us in the dark as much as in the light. He has not withdrawn his face in hiding it. The veil does not increase the dist&noe betweel\ 1.\8 al\d God ; it only prevents ua from se~ing him, though iTOJ, & 242 THE BOOK· OF JOB.
be ie really as near to ue 811 fffl!I'. Nay, he may be m011t near when. we can.not eee him. We are warmed and vitali,:ed by the sun even while it is hidden by the cloud. God d0e11 not ceue to bless us when we cease to perceive him. Yet the greatest blessing is with the unveiled countenance. That blesaing of the beati.fio vision is reaerved Cor the pure in heart (Matt. v. 8).-W. F. A.