Ve!'I, ~6.= 7'le erring eC>Yl mid it, God.. Job replies to •the inti'ueive oeheurea of laie friende with the indignation of outrBged privacy. Granted that .he h118 errod, &11 hie friende Aesume, thBt is hie own bll6iness, not thein--tit is a malter,botween himself and God only; they have no occasion to meddle ill it. L THERE IB A PRIVACY IN RELIGION. &toh soul has to d,al with God alone. Although we may help one another by sympathy, and although our internal religion mu,-1- ~how itl!elf in exoornal conduct, still the roots and inner ~prings of religion are not for public investigation. The breach of !l'eserve on the deepest mattel"l! of the soul is like an offenoe against decency. The language of love is sacred, and is ree.erved for the mrs of one only. \'vhen love has been wounded by wrong, the error is still a private concern, and one which strangers have no right to interfere with. No doubt there ,are ways in whioh our deepest ~periences m:i.y be made serviceable to others. We ought to confess our faith, for the honout of Christ and for the encouragement of others. Too often a false shame keeps Christians hack in this respect. We ought also to con- fess our faullls one t.o another. Bat these faults are deeds in which we have.injured one another. No one has a right to expose the secret sins of his brother, or to pry into the inner conflicts of bis soul. The religion that is turned inside out in the light of da~· fades or coarsens. The roots -that ace dragged from their secret dwelling-plac11 and exposed to the sun, wither and perish. '1':lile spiritual experience that is handled by the multitude loses ill! finer character~ if not its very life. ,We cannot help our brother by destroying his delicacy of feeling. Even if we think: him too•l'eserved, though it might be well for him to be more communicative, we,cannot bejlistified-in tearing down the veil which he has ch08tll2 -tic> wea.r•. •. . . , ,I , : II. 'l'HERE MUST BE THE UT.lll[OSTOPBiNNESS wrra·Gon lN:llELlDIDN. Hefe:the reserve -se&. Here the. :most r.etiriDg sonl mllBt be completely fra.nk... God claims •0ur confidence. To attempt to hide anything from God is foolish, for he knows :all our .most secret thoughts. But we need to go further, -aod make out confessions consciously and willingly. The reasons for reserve among men do not apply to. our relations with God. As God knows all, so he rightly understands everything. He ;will DJi-ver- mis- jndge us. Moreover, his Jove secures his perfect sympathy with us•. Man's·:prying curiosity subjects the quivering nerves of its victim to a process. ot vivisectic;in; but God's searching gaze of ·love a.nd sympathy heals and eaves.· It ,is necessary; that we should receive this willingly if we.are to profit by it. A foolish.:shyness of God leaves w; without the cheering of his presence. It is always a._bad:thing when.'one has to say, • a son -exclaimed of his lately deceased father whom .everybody was praising, "It may be all true; but I cannot say, as I never knew him." : It is .not o_ur Father's fault if we do not know him. He rewards confidence with an-exchange of confidence.. :Now, our first and most necessary -duty is to filn:;i: IU:iide all reserve: before God', to own· that "we have erred a.nd strayed from. his ways like lost sheep/' to ·confess ourselves utterly helpless and worthless, &nd, trasting our emptioess·_to him, to be ready to welcome the tulness which he &l ways .bestows on his trusting ,ch.ildren.-W. F. A.
Ver. 7.-The crw '1161,heard. LIT lllAY BE BEALLY UNHEARD. That is to say, while,of .course God knows everything, he may not r.espond, may not heed. Why? . 1. Became tM cry .ii Mt addresstltl, f;o tbe.. true God. .The.heathen priests on Mount .Carmel screamed, "0 Baal, hear us! " from morning till evening. , ..!'-But there was .no -v.ofoe, nor any that answered" (1 Kings xvili. 26). Men have their false gods now, i.e. their false ideas of God. A god.· who ~ores sin, a god who is only amiable compliance, is not the true .God. One. ;v:u .addr.eB&es such a god will. .not be heard, 2. BecaU88 the cry is not true, It is a formal petition, not a heartfelt .prayer. The words may be loud, but the soul is silent. Christ says, "When ye pray, use not.:vain repetitions, as the heathen <lo: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speakmg" (Matt. vi. 7). a. B ~ Ille cry ia Mt t,v,sif_uJ. We may cry to God in wila despair; the prayer may be wnuig out o! a,n agony of tb.e .sonl; it- may .be jW1t the expression of a natural instinct; bu.t it may eaz,ry with it no real OODfid.e.b.ce in God. : The Divine response iB acoording to our faitJi, ....-4. BecafN5e t/lA cry ia not accompanied by penitence. If we hold to our sin we cannot be saved from. our trouble. While we excuse ourselves before God we make his ear deaf to our call. Nothing so effectually seals the gates of prayer as &T;l i.QipeniteGt heart. 6. B ~ the.pi.ly IO'U!}ht from God, is. not !f,iv$ to 11 'r·BE BOOJt OF JOB; 335