by hie prayers the beni110n of love. (4) Utterly; toe judgmentl of the Almighty oonsuming the tabernacles of bribery and their wicked inhabitants, who conceive mischief and bring forth vanity, and whose belly prepareth deceit (ver. 35). A description, again, which, though inapplicable to Job, for whom it was wrongfully meant, has sometimes been realized, ae in the case of the cities of the plain. Learn: 1. That the true Divider of countries to nations and of lands to inrlividuals ie God. A man can receive nothing except it be given him from above. 2. That if the intercourse of peoples and tribes with one another be productive of good, it is by no means unattended with danger. Sinful practices and opinions are more easily adopted than their opposites. 3. That the way of transgressors is commonly as hard to them- selves as to their victims. "Evil pursueth sinners." 4. That the fiercest enemy a soul has to encounter is an awakened conscience. It is hard to contend against a foe through whose face God looks. 5. That the biggest coward upon earth is a bragging tyrant who oppresses the weak. Man's moral strength rises in proportion to the meekness with which he can endure, not the cruelty with which he can inflict, wrong. 6. That the, man who :thinks to conquer God in battle is a fool The way to victory with God is by faith and prayer; humility and submission. 7. 'l'bat a fat body may become the· grave of a ,Jean soul. The man that would have a prosperous and luxuriant soul· must keep the body under. 8. That the best-deceived man on earth is he who trusts fa earthly vanities. Jf he who trusts in his own heart is a fool, what must he be who trusts in unsubstantial nothingness? 9. That wicked men's families are often mined by their parents. A father should lead his child to heaven by holy deeds, not point him the way to hell by transgression. 10, That the ultimate perdition of ungodly men is sure. C It is a fearful thing to fa.II into the hands of the living God." "
·HOMILIES BY VARIOUS AUTHORS. Vers. 1-19.-Perversity and impenitence rebuked. In the next six chapters the controversy between Job and his friends takes a new and embittered turn. They muster 'their forces to put down the daring speaker, who as they deem has challenged tbe justice of God. They seek to humiliate him as a la.te-born, ignorant, and passionate man, who has incurred fresh guilt by his impious questionings and blasphemies. Eliphaz gives a terrible representation of the general truth that the wicked man, living for himself alone, most ever be exposed to torment, and his property and condition inust ever be insecure, leaving Job to apply all this to himself. In the war of words the hope of reconciliation and mutual understanding is further and further banished. The present chapter (xv.) falls into two divisions: the first containing argument; the second the authoritative utterance of wisdom (vers. 2-19, 20-35). I. ARGUMENT: lNTRODUOTION. (V ers. 2-6.) Eliphaz, as the oldest and most experienced of the friends, seeks to abash and humiliate Job by raising doubts of his sense and wisdom. 1. .The characteristics of unwisdom are indulgence in windy words-in " words from the paunch," the seat of wild and ungovernable passion, as con- trasted with words that are uttered from the heart (eh. viii. 10), and are those of experience, sense, and truth; in words that are useless because there are no corre- sponding deeds. Here is a good test of the value of speech-Has it any tendency to bear fruit in deeds? can it be followed up and expressed in deeds or no? Those words are vain on which we dnre not set the stamp and seal of action. 2. Proofs of guilt. These wild speeches are not only idle, but worse, mischievous. The tongue is a powerful agent, either of good or evil. It builds up those who listen in faith and good- ness, oi' loosens the root of piety in the soul. Further, the tongue may be used as the weapon of the crafty-a disingenuous means of defence. And does not this show that Job is utterly corrupt; that, like an unprincipled scoundrel, he would attempt to clear himself by throwing blame on others ? II. HUMILIATING OENBIJREB. (Vera. 7-13.) 1. Ir<mical re1mke of his assumption. Is he the first-born mao -older than the hills? Does he stand at the head of man- kind and, therefore, know better than all his fellows? So Ezekiel satirizes the King of Tyre, "Thou sealest up the sum, full of wisdom, and perf~ct in beau~y " (xxviii. 12). The Hindus have a proverb used iD the same eense, "Yea, mdeed, he 1s the first man; 272 THE BOOK OF JOB. [Oil, xv. 1-86.
no wonder th11t he iR RO wise." The great Greek Rllgc, on the other hand, being decl11red the wi1!81!1t of men, interpreted the oracle 11s meaning that he alone of men knew tb11t he was ignorant. It is better to place •me's self on a level with the meanest and the most ignorant than t-0 assume superiority in matters about which all men may reasonably think themselves equally well informed. 2. Erxpostulation against a bittfl7' temper. It is a temper th11t will not soften at the word of comfort, as the rock will not melt in the sun. Eliphaz thinks that all his good instruction and consolation have been lavished in vain upon this obdurate heart. The "refusing t-0 be comforted," the obsti- nate nourishing of grief, is a temper that must be changed, otherwise the mental view cannot become clear and calm. Other signs of temper are pride; the heart carried away by its pae~ionate egotism; the gll'aming or rolling eyes (ver. 12), and the unbridled wild- ne~s of the tongue. These symptoms prove a disease, and that disease is self-will, III. Tm: RIGHT OF COMPLAINT AGAINST Gon DENIED. (Vars. 14-16.) Here the speaker repeats himself, for he has nothing more deeply impressed upon his own mind than the folly a.nd impatience of complaints from infirm man against the supreme arid all-holy One (comp. eh. iv. 17-v. 7). 1. The hereditary taint in man (ver. 14). 2. 'l'he relati,-e impurity of heavenly beings in the sight of God. 3. Man's choice of sin (this is especially emphatic here). All these considerations show the impiety of daring to question any action of God. Man has a thirst for sin (ver. 16): shall such a creature, from the edge of its muddy pool. lift itself presumingly against Heaven? w. DEIIAND FOB ATTENTION TO INSTRUCTION. (Vers. 17-19.) In this short preface the wisdom of the speaker is described as (1) derived from personal experience; (2) confirmed by ancient tradition; (3) as pure, unadulterated wisdom, coming from a time when foreign opinions a.nd foreign manners had not corrupted the simplicity of ancient truth.-J.