The Pulpit Commentary — Job — Section 431

e.aeeveratlon (vere, 5, 6), declaring (1) thRt he could not justify hie friends, i.e. aumit the truth of their contention with regard to himself without profanity; (2) that he would continue to assert hie innocence while he lived; (3) that his righteousness he would on no account let go; nnrl (4) thnt his heart should not reproach him even one of his days. Bo Pnul protested to the Sanhedrin that he hnd lived in all good conscience before God up till then (Acts xxiii. 1), and, writing to the Corinthians (2 Cor. i. 12), rejoiced in the testimony of his conscience that in simplicity and godly sincerity he had had his conversation in the world. The words, "not with fleshly wisdom, but by the grace of God," exhibit the difference between St. Paul's assertion of his personal integrity and Job's. IV. A WICKED IMPDEOATIO!I', 1. The persons upon WM'TTI, ie is pronounced. Job's "enemy;" not the ungodly in generRI, but the men who rose up against him to impeach his integrity (ver. 7). While it is well-nigh certain that a good man will have enemies (Matt. x. 22; John xv. 19), who hate him because they first dislike his principl~s (1 Pet, iii. 16 ! iv. 4), it is a splendid testimony to a good man's character when he has no enemies except the ungodly. The mere fact, however, that his integrity is challenged by another ie no proof that that other is either wicked in him- self or hostilely disposed toward him. Though keenly resenting, therefore, the unjust imputations of his friends, it was wrong in Job to denounce them, as they had denounced him, as inherently ungodly. 2. The malediction of which it consists. Nothing is really gained by endeavourmg to soften down Job's language into a prediction. Supposing him to merely signify that the man who spoke against him was a wicked person who would eventually meet the wicked person's recompense, he asserts it with a degree of confidence which was not warranted by the facts of the case, and which painfully suggests that the wish was father to the thought. The Ja.nguas;e of Job towards Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar finds an echo in the terrific outburst of David against his adversaries in the imprecatory psalms (lxiL 22-28; cix. 6-15; cxl. 8-11), which, in so far as it was directed against individuals, we aro not required to regard as entirely free from blame. v. A SELF-EXALTING OOMPABIBON, In order further to set forth his integrity, Job tacitly contrasts his own case with that of the hypocrite, indirectly exhibiting himself as possessed of: 1. A beteer hope. However prosperous the wicked man may be in life, however successful in heaping up wealth, when he comes to die he has no hope whatever to snsta.in him (cf. eh. viii.13; xx. 5, homiletics), no expectation of acceptance with God; while he, Job, though standing on the verge of the grave, has. Worldly success cannot provide, and will not suffice as a substitute for, hope in death. Accumulated wealth prevents not death's approach, If God does not cut off a man's gains before death, he will certanly cut off a wicked man's soul at death. It is a poor bargain to gain the world which one mnst soon leave, and lose the soul which one cannot regain throughout eternity (Matt. xvi. 26). 2. A better privilege. When trouble comes upon the wicked man so severely as to make him cry unto the Lord, the Lord turns a deaf ear to his entreaty (Prov. i. 28). But the good man, i.e. Job, can r11Ckon that his prayer will find an entrance into God's ear (Ps. xxx:iv. 17; l. 15; cvii. 13 ; c:xlv. 18, 19); the good man's supplication being breathed forth in penitence, humility, and faith, the outcry of the hypocrite being merely an exclamation of alarm. 3. A better spin·e. The imperilled hypocrite may cry to God when the fear of death is on him, or when trouble crushes him; hut he has no true delight in fellowship with God. The good man derives his principal felicity from such communion with Heaven (Isa.. !viii. 14; 1 John i. 3), as Eliphaz had already admitted (eh. xxii. 15); and such a good man Job distinctly claims to be. Delight in God expresses itself in happy meditation on and cheerf.tl obedience to God's Law (Ps. cxix. 16, 35, 47, 70); it is an indispensable condition of receiving answers to prayers (Ps. xxxvii. 4). 4. A better practice. The devotion of the hypocrite is only exceptional, whereas Job's was habitual (ver.10). An occasional prayer is no true mark of piety. The child of God should be instant in prayer (Rom. xii, 12), and should pray without ceasing (Eph. vi. 18; Phil. iv. 6; 1 Thess. v. 17). Christ's disciples should pray always, and not faint (Luke xviii. 1). Learn : 1. That the most eminent saints are not beyond the danger of falling into grievous sins. 2. That good men, while conscious of their integrity, should guard against self-exaltation on that account. 3. That piety as little as impiety stands ill ffl THE BOOK OF JOB. [oB, XXVII, 1-:l8.