The Pulpit Commentary — Job — Section 259

fhe things he regards 1111 constituting the rummum boftum of e:x:ist.enoe-waalth, pleABure, fame, power, e.nd 1mch like-seem to belong to a sphere that Is not much affected by prayer ; while, having never experienced any desire for those spiritual realities compre- hended in the gospel, blessing of IIAlvetion, viz. the pardon of sin, the renovation of the bee.rt, the Rpirit of adoption, and so on, he he.s ne.ver deemed it necessary to trouble the King of heaven with supplio&tions for their bestowal. But (1) the blessing& of the gospel are none the less indispensable for the soul'~ hAppiness that the soul does not realize its lack of them ; (2) the absence of any felt necessity for prayer is the best proof the &0ul ca.n desire tbe.t prayer is in reality its one thing needful; (3) the exercise of prayer will nol interfere with a just devotion to the ordinary businesses and duties of daily life; ( 4) not even the most material of earthly blessings belongs to a region that lies beyond t,be inflnence of prayer (Phil. iv. 6). IV. THE LACK OF ANSWERS TO PRAYERS. This is the reason of the faithless Christian. And it is undoubtedly hard for a soul to keep on praying when to all appearance the ear of God is deaf. But in such circumstances the petitioner should consider (1) whether a prayer might not be answered without the praying one being distinctly conscious of it 11.t the time ; (2) whether t.he prayer to which no answer is returned may not simply be delayed, and not denied; (3) whether, even on the hypothesis of its denial, it may not after all be for the best that the thing asked for should be withheld; (4) whether the indispensable conditions of true prayer, such as faith (Heh. xi. 6; Jas. i. 6), humility (Gen. :u::rii. 10), sincerity (Ps. !xvi. 18), etc., have been complied with. V. THE WA!."T OF .u,'V TRUE RELISH IN PRAYER. 'l'his is the re&Son of the spiritually declining saint. Now (1) it is certain that the exercise of prayer ooght to be delightful to the Christian, 11rayer being as much a natural function of the gracious soul as breathing is of the body. But (2) it is equally apparent that over spiritool, as well as physical functions times of 1,a,nguor steal, these being induced in the former mostly by a want of watchfulness against the encroachments of the world, or by a careless dalliance with sin, or by a growing spirit of formality. Hence (3) so far from being a reason for discontinuing devotion, the lack of spiritual relish should rather stir tl,e praying soul to greater earnestness and zeal. VI. THE INDULGENCE OF KNOWN srn. This is the reason of the conscious backslider. Nothing so effectually extinguishes the altar-fire of a spiritual devotion as the practice of secret sin. (1) It disqualifies for coming to the throne (Isa. i. 15); (2) it prevents God from listening to prayer (Ps. h:vi. 18); (3) it deadens the spiritual life from which prayer comes (Ps. xxxiL 3); (4) it represses all desire within the soul for converse with God ; and (5) it finally silence!! the voice of prayer altogether. Ver&. 17-35.-Eliphaz to Job: 2. More wisdom from the ancients. I. THE EXCEL• I.ENCE OF TBIB WIBDO'IL 1. 07,d,; i.e. derived from a remote antiquity. The tradi tionary lore about to be cited by Eliphaz had been manufactured by primeval sages, from whom it had been carefully transmitted to the "wise men" who bad told it to Eliphaz. The "fathers," "unto whom alone the earth was given," and "among whom no stranger passed," were either patriarchal descendants of Noah prior to the time of Peleg, when the earth was divided (Gen. L 25), or the early progenitors of the Arabian races. 2. Pure ; i.e. unmixed with foreign elements. Whether the ancients were pre-Pelegites or post-, the fact to which Eliphaz calls attention remains unaltered. "Purity of race Wal! from the earliest times considered by the sons of the East as the sign of highest nobility" (Delitzscb). That this isolation of the Arabian fathers would tend to pre- serve the current of primitive tradition pure and unalloyed, and might even favour the healthy development of independent views, "derived from their own experience and unGisturbed by foreign influence," can scarcely be questioned. It would seem also as if in the world's infancy other methods of conserving Divine truth were impracticable. At least Israel was separated from the other nations of the earth in order to serve as a depositary for the gospel promise in order to preserve it till the fulness of the times. Hence she was forbidden to make marriage or other alliances with the nations around for fear of learning their ways. But now the truth of God, under the Christian dispen- 1ation, has been revealed with such clearness and fulness of illumination, that it does not require to be hedged about by safeguards of race, nationality, etc.; though it is still true of Christian people that "evil communications corrupt good manners" (1 Cor. xv. DU, XV, 1-86,] THE BOOK OF JOB. 269