The Pulpit Commentary — Job — Section 248

of God, he ie cBlled to eh1ue a larger life than thi\t of the natural world. The Chriatirin who is out down as a frail flower on earth will yet bloom as an immortal flower in Paradiee.-W. F. A. Ver. 4:.-" .A clean thing out of an unclean." Job seems to mean that man cannot trnnsoend hie origin. He comes from the frail, imperfect, human stock; how, then, can he be expected to manifest the traits of perfection and immutability? Job's question and the difficulty it contains may be applied in various ways. I. EVOLUTION. We are not now concerned with the scientific aspect of the question of evolution. That must be determined by the men of science. But there is a religious aspect of it that calls for attention, because some are dismayed as though evolution had banished God from his universe. Now, if this idea of the worlrl. is set forth as a substitute for the theological conception of creation and providence, it is removed from its rightful sphere and ma.de to trespass on a foreign domain, where it oannot justify the claims of its supporters. There it is confronted by Job's question, "Who can bring a clean thing out of an unclean?" Evolution signifiea a. certain kind of progress. But the cause must be equal to the effect. It is contrary to the very law of causation that dead matter should produce life, and that the merely animal should produce the spiritual human being. For every elevation and addition a corresponding cause is needed. If the unclean ape were the ancestor of a saint, some- thing must have been added that was not in the ape. Whence was this? It must have had a cause. Thus we may see that evolution requires the idea of the Divine, not only at the primal creation, but throughout the process. II. HEREDITY. Men inherit their parents' characters. The ma.n who is not the heir of any estate is yet perforce an heir of the most real kind of property. Now, the past of our race is.stained with sin, steeped in iniquity. It is not to be supposed that the succeeding generations will be spotless. Moral guilt cannot be charged till the individual soul bas chosen evil, and consented to sin in its own freedom. But the degradation of evil tendencies is in us from our birth. Men are shapen in iniquity and conceived in sin (Ps. Ii. 5). ·111. REDEMPTION. This is offered by God. It cannot come from man. No sinful man could redeem his brethren. To do this would be to bring the clean ont of the unclean. We must have a sinless Redeemer. Moreover, as sin has lowered the whole of life, there is need of a perfect Man to raise the type of the race. Even this would not be enough, for the great work is not to set an example, but to transform the world. None but God who created it can do this. Thus we need what we have in Christ- a sinless, perfect Man, who is also the only begotten Son of God. IV. REGENERATION. 1. In the individual man. He must first be regenerated. All prior attempts at goodness fail. Really clean words cannot come out of a. foul heart. Clean deeds must spring from .a clean soul. All the corrupt man's conduct is besmirched with the filth of his own inner life. He must be pure in heart in order to live a truly pure life. The sinner must have a new heart before he can live a new life. 2. In Ohristian work. He who would lead others from sin must first forsake sin himself. The reformer must be a reformed man. The missionary must be a Christian. To do good we must first be good.-W. F. A. Ver. 6.-The day's work. Job prays that at least God will turn aside from vexing his short-lived creature, and let him finish his day's work. Then he will be no more. This is a prayer of despair, and it springs from a one-sided view of life and providence. Yet it. has its significance for us. I. MAN xs Goo's SERVANT. He is more than the hireling, for whom a hard master cares nothing so long as he can exact the full tale of work. Still, he is the servant. We are not our own masters, and we are not put into tbe world to do our own will. Our business is to serve. 1. To work. To live for a purpose. Idleness is sin. The man who needs not work to earn his bread should still work to serve his Master. 2. To obey. Our business is just to do God's will in God's way. It is not for us to choose· our duty is to follow the Master's orders. II. MAN BAB AN ALLOTTED TASK. Each man has his own life-work. Some may be slow in discovering their peculiar vocation. With many this may not be at all .JOB. I  258 THE BOOK OF JOB. [OH. XIV, 1-22,