co':°ple~ly at an end (Eccles, ix. 6). He returns no more to his house (cb, vii, 10), neither is he more concerned wilh the fortunes of bis family (ver. 21). Bow far this correctly represents the Ha.dean world it is impossible to eay. That aieembodied spirits should retain the power of apprehending what transpires on earth is neither impossible nor inconceivable; and that they do may seem to derive countenance from Scripture (Luke xv. 7; xvi. 27; Heh. xii. 1). Still, it is doubtful if as many and potent a.gumentl! cannot be adduced against it; while it is certain that, even if departed soulB are cognizant of mundaue affii.irs, they will not be profoundly interested in such things as the temporal prosperity or adversity of their families, 2. An exclusive occupation with the interests of self. "But," or only," his flesh upon him," 01· on account of hirnsulf, "shall have pain, and his soul within him," or on account of itself, "shall mourn" (ver. 22). The dead man's body is regarded as a sentient creature suffering extreme physical tortures while underg;oiug the process of dissolution; tl.e dead man's soul is depicted as filled with inconsolable sorrow on account of its unhappy lot. Scarcely removed from the conceptions entertained by heathen writers, such a picture as Job here outlines of the realm of departed saints is only true of the impenitent who die unsaved, but is as widely astray as possible from the truth concerning the spirits of just men made perfect, who, if they are occupied exclusively with their own affairs, do not bemoan an undone eternity, but exult in an exceeding, even an eternal, weight of glory, and who, if they do grieve over their absent bodies, lament not the pains they are suffering, but long for their emancipation from the power of death-" waiting for the adoption, even the redemption of the body" (Rom. viii. 23). Learn : 1. To think of God's mercy as beyond disputation. 2. To contemplate death's approach as inevitable. 3. To reflect more upon the glory of heaven than upon the gloom of the grave. 4. To keep the soul as much as possible disengaged from the affairs of time. 5. To seek for ourselves and children that honour which cometh from above. 6. To realize that a saint leaves all pain and mourning behind him wh,m he enters the unseen world. 7. To thank God for all the light which has been shed around the grave and upon the future world by the gospel of Christ's resurrection.
Ver. 19.-Blighted hopes. L A COMMON EXPERIENCE. It is not more trne that man hopes, than it is Lhat he sooner or later becomes acquainted with disappointment. Young and old, rich anti poor, wise and unwise, have their unrealized expectations. II. A DIVINE A.R.B.ANGEMENT. Blighted hopes are no more accidents than are buds that never fulfil their promise. They_form part of the great world-plan which has been devised by Infin.ite Wisdom. • IIL A SALUTAllY DISOIPLTh"E. When God breaks a man's earthly ideas, it is that he may find nobler ones in heaven ; that, turning away his heart from mundane things, Le may seek those things which are above. LESSONS. 1. Thank God for earth's disappointments. 2, Seek to be possessed of that hope which fadeth not away.
HOMILIES BY VARIOUS AUTHORS. Vera. 1-12.-L &l/-defence before God: 2. Plaint of the weabuss antl vanity of ,nankfr.d. Job's troubles arc typical of the common doom of mankind-the "sub- jection to vanity." And again (comp. eh. iii. 7; vii. 1--5) he bursts forth into lamentation over the universal doom of sorrow. I. His N.ATURAL WEAKNESS. (Vers. 1-2.) His oriqin is in frailty; he is" born of woman." His couri;e is brief, and full of flnrest. He sees himself mirrored in all natural things that fleet and pass: (1) in the flower of the field, briefly blooming, doomed to the speedy scythe; (2) in the shadow, like that of a cloud, resting for a moment on the ground, then vanishing with its substance. "Man is a bubble," said the Greek proverb (roJJ.4>0>,.uf 6 lv8p.,,ros). He is like a morning mushroom, soon thrust- ing up ite head into the air, and as soon turning into dust and forg!tfulnese (Jeremy Taylor). Homer calls man a leaf; Pindar, the" dream of a shadow. II. HIS 11O11.A.L WEAKl!IEBS. (Vers. 3, 4.) On the natural frailty is found~ the mor&l. And this poor, weak being i1i made accountable, dragged before the tribunal OH, XIV, 1-22.] THE BOOK OF JOB. 253