by some understood to contain an additional Ieason for Elihu's, i.nterposition, viz. that oontioued silence would evince such a mean and cowardly deference to merely human 1LUthority1 that he could not hope to escape punishment for it at the hands of God (' Speaker's Commentflry ;,' Cox); but it seems preferable to view them a<1 eettina forth first the principles he intended to observe in his ptoposed inforlocution, and, sec~)ndly, the reasons ,or nrguments on which those principles were based (Delitzsch, Carey, Fry, etc.). 1. T!te princ'iples he intended to observe, These were: (1) The strictest impar- tiality as betw,een man and man: "Let me not, I pray thee, accept any man's person" \, (ver. 21). 'l'he acceptance of persons, or the favouring of the great at the expense of r the small, of the rich at the expense of the poor, of the powerfu.l at the expense of the 1 weak, results either. from moral cowardice, intellectual va.nity, or personal dishonesty. ' Condemned in the Word of Goel (Prov. xviii. 5), it is specially unbecoming in the 'followers of Christ (Jas. ii. 1). Charged by Job against the friends (eh. xiii. 8), it was a sin which Elihu felt it incumbent upon him to avoid. (2) The directest honesty as rega.rds the individual hiinself. "Neither let me give flattering titles to any man." Unlike his Oriental countrymen, Elihu w-0uld be guilty of no adulation or com- pliment to any man; but with simplicity and godly sincerity would deliver the senti- ments with .which ·he had. been charged. . So Elijah preached to Ahab (1 Kings xviii. .J.8), and the Baptist to Herod (Matt. xiv. 4). So did St. Paul preach the goapel at Corinth (2 Cur. i. 12), Thessaloniaa (1 Thess. ii. 4), Athens (Acts xvii. 22), and elsewhere. So preached Luther to the princes of Germany, Latimer to Henry VIII. of England, and J ob:n Knox to Mary Queen of Scots. 2. The reai;ons he alleged for his intended behaviour. - These were extremely creditable to himself. (1) He had not learnt the art of flattery. He possessed a soul too large, honest, and independent to reside in a <::ourtier's bosom. Adulation was abhorrent to his nature. Such souls are scarce. Yet there is no better. mark of true spi°ritual nobility than an incapacity to either give or receive the honeyed words and fawning courtesies of flattery. (2) He would certainly b,ll punished if he did commit the wickedness alluded to-punished, according to the interpretation of the last clause (Carey, Fry), with the richly merited contempt of God: "How little would my Maker esteem me! "-according to another rendering (Delitzsch, Cook, Cox),. with some signal m?,nifes.tation of his displeasure, as. e.g. by sudden dea.th. Learn : 1. There is a time to speak and a time to keep silence, even in regard to the most sacred,matters. 2. It is a high proof of wisdom to be able to recognize whence all wisdom comes. 3. It is proper to sift.the opinions and doctrines of even the oldest and wisest of men,; -to prove all things, and hold fast that which is good. 4. It would largely contribute to the world's happiness if those who undertook ta teach others never spoke until they were impelled by the force of in war,\ conviction. 5.. The men who move the world are those whose souls are illumined anJ. inflamed by the light and , fire of great ideas. 6., One, of the greatest pleasures a human soul can enjoy on earth ' is that,of propounding and diffusing new and lofty thoughts. 7. Sincerity of mind and heart is an1indispensable qua.lifiaation far the teacher whom God employs. 8. Want of fidelity to the truth and to those who hear is one of the greatest crimes a preacher can commit. 9. God despises and will punish tho.se who yield to fear or favour. 10. God can easily remove those wha are unfaithful to the trust they have received.
HOMILIES BY VARIOUS AUTHORS. Ver, 1-ch. xxxvii. 24.-Elihu and his discourse. In the person of the young Elihu a. new speaker comes forward, who mediates between Job and his friends. Calmer and juster in thought than either, he takes up the word when "wit and reason" on both sides are at an end; he shows the weakness of the friends, but at the same time reproaches Job with hio past wild speeches, and refutes certain of his errors. Thus he prepares the way for the appearance of Jehovah himself. In eh. x.xxii. and xxxiii., after a long introduction, he advances an argument for the truth that ma.n may not esteem himself pure and just in the presence of God.-J.
Ver. 1-oh. xxxiii. 7.-.&ppearance of Elihu: the motives of his address. I. His CHARACTER INDICATED. (Vers. 1~6.) In a few touches the temper and spirit of this 628 THE BOOK OF JOB. [OH, XXXII. 1--29.,