Ver. 6.-God'8 tJisioo of death. Bildad h&11 j~t spoken of the exalted dominion of God that reaches to heavenly heigbta, overawing the very moon 11.nd et&rs. Job now repli88, turning his eyes downward, and noticing how the dim underworld is all open to the inspection of God. • " • •• •• · .- L THE DEAD ABE NOT 11EYOND TRE WBION OF Got>. • He live■. fa light, and 'thet lie in diu-knem,; yet he sell!! them. There i■ no eBOAping from his pNH18nce. "I£ L make my bed in H&des, behold, tbou &rt there " (l>s. cu::rix. 8). 1. -Then ., no el,ud.ing hie ~vstion. A man c&nnot flee from God by dying. Indeed, is not suicide rightly rcganied as rnehing into the pr88ence of God? No darkness hide!! from God, .for day antl night are 11.like with him, and no ehange of sphere removes from the reaah.of ·him who rules through all the epheres. 2. Tlten i.s oo loss of hia notice. No one can be benoath the attention of God-too low, too degraded, in too dark and desolate.a region t.J be seen by him. Perhaps this was Job's thought. He was longing for God to come and vindicate his cause; hut he cou Id not bnt &dmit that death might come first, for bis disease was ma.king fearful inroads on his oonstitntion. Still, he would not lose the chance of meeting God. If not on earth, then it should be after death. God will follow hi6 children wherever they go in the next world, as he follows them in this world. II. Gon's Vll'ION OF THE DEAD IS OF GREAT OONSEQUENCE TO THEM. If Hades and destruction have no covering before God, this means very much to Ha.des and destruc- tion. It cannot be the same thing whether we are looked upon by God,or. not. Surely it mean1S much to know that the abode of death is not deserted by God. God cannot look down into this dark region as a mere spectator. He is- everywhere a Life, a Power, an Authority. Therefore we must conclude tha.t the rule of God extends over the unseen world. Cert.ain important consequences flow from this truth'. 1. Justi~ will be done tbtt!re. God will not allow injustice to go on for ever. The process of rectmcation is slow; but God is infinitely patient, and he has eternity before him. 'l'he • unpunished sinner will meot his dreadful.'deserts in the next world; and the ill-uaed and misunderstood good man will be vindicated there. 2. Li,fe will be given there. God cannot look on tbe dead and leave them in their natural darkness. His gaze quickens. If he visits the realm of the dead he will bring ·about a resurrection. •The dead are not Clll6t out, forgotten, left to fade and melt out of all being. God touches them, and they awake, like the frost-bound earth at the touch of spring. 3. Mercy w{ll ea;tend to them. How and to what extent this may be received by the dead is a mystery concerning which we have little or no light. But we know that" the mercy of the Lord endureth for ever." We know that God is changelesa. His love is unfailing. He must ever desire the recovery of his children. Yet dogmatic universalism is as false to human nature as it is to the warnings of Scripture. For men may harden themselves against the mercy of God ; if they do so on earth, how can we say that they will not do BO after death ?-W. F. A.
Ver. 8.-0Zoudi;. As we prooeed throngh the _P!)8m we cunot but be struck with the wonderful wealth of its nature-imagery, which continues to open out with ever- increasing luxuriance till it reaches its fulnese in the burst of 11plendour that accom- panies the final theophany. Each aspect of nature touched by the poet bas its· apeeia.l lessons. Now Le calls us to look at the gorgeous pageantry of the clouds. Here truths of Divine order and government are displayed before our eyes. L CLOUDS A.RE OF DIVINE ORIGIII. God bindeth up the waters; the thick clouds are bis. Whenever we touch nature we should move with reverence, for we are in the temple of God. Whether we understand the clouds, whether we can see the wisdom by which they are shaped and led out over the heavens or not, at 1east we must diecuBS them with the humility that becomea a consideration of the works of the infinitely Wise and the perfectly Good. II. CLOUDS A.BE BENEFICIAL TO THE WORLD. In Southern countries they .aro greatly valued both for their shade and for the much-needed showers they bring to the parched land. The arrangement by which they float overhead, and then descend on broad areas in finely distributed drops of water, makes man's most advanced system or il'l'igation look ohildieh and clumsy. Great masses of water are stored aloft and driven tl,rougb the air, and made to descend so tha.t every minute plant is watered, and not a blade of grass ill crv.ahed. Here is the perfection of the~ of distributio_n. TlIE :BOOK OF JOB.