The Pulpit Commentary — Job — Section 513

to whiob he hai listened had painfully convinced. him it was, not necessarily B cbarnc- t.eristic of 11.ge Rt &ll. This witness is true. IC juvenile witlings aJ)ound ~mong a.II rnnks and cllll!ses of society, there is unfortunately no lack of aged dullards. Partly through lack of ea.pa.city, partly from defective education, pa~tly from long-continued negligence, many oorne to old age without acquiring wisdom (eh. iv. 21), and·, s<1metimes withou\ posseBsing common sense. It is not, therefore, wrong for young meu of piety and culture t-0 offer to instruct these persons in Divine truth or secular information; oi..\y even to such as these it becomes young men to manifest the courtesy and deference that are al ways due to age. 3. That in particul,a,r the old mm before him had not displayed a high d.egree of wisdom. He ba.d hearkened to their "understandings," i.e. their expla- uat.ions of the subject-matter in dispute, and bad carefully examined the replies with which they bad endeavoured to convince and silence Job; but in-no single instance had they fairly combated his position. It was not reasonable to say, "Lo I we, have found out wisdom," and here it is: " G-0d thrusteth him down, not man," so that from this his punishment we infer his guilt (ver. 13); beoause that was exactly the .point at issue throughout the entire coarse of the discussion. Nor, again, was it reasonable to assert that their d<>!!ma was the absolute wisdom, though Job was of so obstinate ,a temper that only God could convince him, since obviously man could not. That, again, was to beg the question entirely; aud, in default of argument, to abuse the plaiuti1fls attorney. Job's words must be fairly a.n!i honestly controverted. But these old preachers did not understand the business. A well-k_nown interpretation of, ver. 13 makes Elihu say that only God could overthrow Job, while he really means that only such uncommon genius as he (Elibu) possessed could vanquish a disputan~ so obstinate as Job (Umbreit); bot this is putting the worst con.struction possible on.language which may legitimat.ely signify that in Elihu's-judgment Job's position could not be turned by merely human wisdom, but demanded the light of inspiration such as he was about io shed upon the theme. 4. That the contribution he proposed to offer was entirely fresh and original,. The position he intended to occupy was not one against which Job had already directed his attacks; nor had the arguments be designed to use in con.. fut&tion of the patriarch occurred to any of the friends. The niiw, thoughts Elihu proposed to introduce into the discussion related chiefly to the discipli_11ary character of affliction; and it is doubtful if such a view af life's tribulations could have occurred to any one apart from Divine revelation. The interpretation .which understan~ Elihu to say that, inasmuch as he had not been personally interested in the debate whic)l Job and the friends had conducted, he was able both to deliver an impartial verdict on the point at issue, and to preserve a mare equal temper than they, the friends; had been able to do, though perhaps admissible, is not so forcible or apt. 6. That the strengt'4 ef his convictions VJO'IJ,ld no longer admit of kill keeping Bi~ ·so powerfully had the truth seized upon him, and so long had he endeavoured to restrain it, that now his soul (literally," his belly," as the seat of spiritual emotions) seemed like a wine-ski11 on the eve of bursting through the fermentation of the liquor it contained (vers. 17-19). So e"ery Heaven-born idea, to whomsoever it is first communicated, irresistibly Rtrives after utterance. For a season the living thought may be kept in abeyance, carefully secluded from the world at large, but ultimately there comes a moment when it asserts its Heaven-granted supremacy over the mind of the man that bas received it, and, refusing t-0 be longer ooncealed, eventually drives tbat mind to speak forth the God- imparted message. So the Word of the Lord was in .Jeremiah's heart ae a burning- fire shut up in hi.6 bones (Jer. XL 9). So SS. Peter and John told the Sanhedrin they could not but speak the things which they had seen and heard (Acts iv.·20).. So St. Paul felt that necessity was laid upon him to preach the gospel (1 Cor. iL 16). So Ma.hornet proclaimed to the rude Arab tribes of a later day the sublime discovery of the unity of God; end Luther could not keep back the trl!th which God's Spirit had flashed into his soul on Pilaie's Staircase, that "the jW!t shall live by faith." So ·when God gives to any man-prophet, poet, preacher, writer, inventor, discoverer, or man of genius geoerally, a new idea, it renders him uncomfortable until it has been liberated; brought to the birth, as it were, and sent forth to wander :through the world on its. ~e11ven.- designed mission. If the .p011Sessor of such an idea would have.ell.'!e and .comfort in his soul, be must give it voio6. As Elibu says, he must speak in .order to be refreshed. Ill. TBE .cHARACTEB OF BIS FOBTRCOlllING UTTEllAIIICE. : . The two .clo11ing, verses are  .OB. XXXll, 1-22.] THE BOOK OF ,,OB. 627