&rt 1111 father j i.e. I do not murmur; I might seem that to one in Bheol there could aooept my lot; I am ready to lie down with be no hope. Bui Job is too oonsoious of his corruption, and embrace it, and call it "my own ignorance to dogrnatize on suoh a sub- father," and heoocforth remain with it. The ject. What dOOII he kuow of Sheol P How iden that the sonl is 11till with the bodv in oe.n he be sure that it is " God's last word the gl'llve, more or less olosely 1Lttnohed to to men " ? There me.y be hope even to it, and eeoaible of ita condition and ohaoges, "the spirits which a.re in prison." Job's was widely prevalent in the ancient world. question ie, therefore, not to be ta.ken o.s ouo Where bodies were simply buried, the hor- of a.b!!Olute incredulity, but o.s one of per- rible ima!!'inRtion of " close association with plexed doubt. Is there hope for me anv- corruptior, n,,tumll~· and nlmnst neoosse.rily wbere ? If so, where ? A■ for my hope, who intruded it,;l'!f, Rn,I led to snob retl.eotions shall see it 1 ,.e. what eye oa.n penetrate the 86 those of Job in this verse. It we.s parUy darkness of the future, and solve the riddle to g,•t rid of this terrible nightmare that for me? • the E.:yptians were 110 oo.reful to embalm Ver. 16.-They shall go down to the bars the bodies of their de.ad, end that the BRby- of the pit, when our rest together is in the loniaos deposited them in baked olny coffins, dUBt, There is great difficulty in determin- whi(\h they filled with hooey (Herod., i. ing the subject to the verb "go down," 198) ; while others still more effectually pre- which is the third person plnro.l feminine, veu ted the process of corruption by crema- whereas the only plural substantive at o.11 tion. The modern revival of cremation is neo.r-the word translated "bars "-is mas• remo.rkable as iodico.ting a peculiar form of culine. Some suppose Job's l1opea to be e.ta,·i.sm or recurrence toa.ncient types. For meant, "hope " in the preceding verse many o.ges e.fter the coming of Christ, men having the force of any number of "hopes" 80 separated between the soul a.od the body (so the Revised Version). Others disregard e.fter death tho.t the corruption of the grave the grammatical difficulty of the plural had no horror for them. Now materialistic feminine verb, and, making " bars " the idea.,; havi; so far reourred, that many of nominative, translate, "The be.re of Sheol tl1ose wbo believe the soul to live on a.ft.er shall go down," i.e. "be broken down, perish;" death a.re doubtful whether it may not still or interrogatively, "Shall the bars of Sheol be attached to the hody more or less, and, go down ? " This rendering is thought to dreading contact wilh the corruption, of the be "in harmony with the whole under• latter, fall be.ck npou the old remedy. To cw:rent of thought in the ohapter : " but it the worm, Thou art my mother, a.nd my has not approved itself to many commen- mater. .A..n expUDsion of the idea cont.ained tators. The present commeutator · must .in the previous clause. acknowledge that he is unable to o.tta.ch any Yer. 15.-.6..Dd where is now my hope 1 satisfactory meaning to the words of the (comp. eh. xiv. 18-15). At fi.l'l!t sight it Hebrew text.
HOMILETICS. Vere. 1-16.-Job to Goo: 3. The requiem of a dying man. L ANTICIPATING BIB Dd.l{EDIATE DISBOLUTION. With three pathetic sighs the patriarch bemoans his dying condition. 1. The total collapse of his vital powers. Indicated by the shortness and offensiveness of his breath, announcing tbe approach of suffocation and decay. "My breath is corrupt." And to this at last must all come. The most vigorous physical health, a.s well a.s the feeblest, contains within it germs of putridity. Essentially, not- withstanding all its strength and beauty, the corporeal frame is "this corruptible." 'l'herefore, "Thus saith the Lord .•. let not the mighty man glory in his might" (Jer. ix.. 23). 2. The speedy termination of his life. 'l'he complete extinction of the already feebly burning taper of his terrestrial existence was at hand. " My days are extinct." Life is fittingly compared to a candle (ch.xxi.17; Prov.xxiv.20; cf. 'Macbeth,' ect v. sc. 5), in respect of its definite extent, the rapidity with which it burns, the facility with which it can be extinguished, and the certainty that it shall at last burn out. 3. The actooJ opening of his grave. Contemplated as having already taken place. "The graves are ready for me." Job's wasted skeleton made it all too evident that he was prepared for them, and could with propriety exclaim, as afterwards tl.e aged Gaunt-- "Gaunt am I for the grave, gaunt as a grave, Whose hollow womb inherits nought but bones." It ill well betime11 to contemplate the narrow house appointed for all the living; to Ott. x♦ n. 1-16.J THE BOOK OF JOB.