Our only el\fety is in keeping close to Obrist, who is the Truth, and to Ohrut's Church which he bade us" hear" (Matt. xviii. 17).-W. F. A. ' Ver, 10.-71111 certain justice of God. Job appeared to have arraigned the Divine justice. Elihu emphatically asserts its absolute perfection. Whatever else we may fe.11 to see, one landmark must not be lost sight of. God is perfectly free from all evil. We may not understand his we.ye of action, but most assuredly he is acting justly. I. THE GROUNDS OF FAITH IN THE OERTAIN JUSTICE OF Goo. Why can we thus Jogmatically assert that God is perfectly just? Notice three grounds of assurance. 1. 71ie essential character qf God. We understand the very idea of God to involve justice. He would not be God if he ceased to be just. Now, his :1.bsolute justice is like his infinite power. There is no reason for limiting it. If either attribute exists at all, it is most natural to suppose that it exists in perfection. There is nothing to limit God. God is too great to be tempted to be unjust. 2. The revealed character of God. All through the Bible the justice of God is asserted l\nd reasserted. Those men who knew God best affirmed most clearly that he was just. 3. The tried character of God. We know God in life. We may not be always able to assure ourselves of the justice of what God does while he is doing it. Then it may look dark and dreadful. But how often have we found, on looking back on the most gloomy tracts of life, that the clouds have passed, and the justice of God has been made clear as the noonday I II. THE TRIAL OF FAITH IN THE CERTAIN JUSTICE OF Goo. To each individual man the fact of God's justice must be a matter to be taken on faith. That is to say, though there is good evidence for it, we cannot see how it obtains in our own personal circumstances. This is to be expected, however, and may be accounted for by various causes. 1. Partial views. We cannot see the whole pattern at which God is working. and therefore the crossing threads often 8eem to us confusing and wrongly placed. 2. Perverted ideas. We judge of God by our own standard. But that stand:i.rd may have been warped. Then what is straight in God looks crooked to us, simply because our rule is crooked. 3. Trial of faith. There is a reason in God's providential government why he should permit us to be in the dark as to the meaning and purpose of some of his actions. He wishes to lead us to trust him. If we could see all. faith would have no scope, no exercise, and therefore no development. It would perish for want of use. III. THE EXERCISE OF FAITH IN THE 0ERTAIN JUSTICE OF Goo. 1. In 011,r 01U/I lives. Here we are called upon to walk by faith. When the way is hard and painful, let us call to mind the truth that God is doing well with us, though we cannot see how. 2. In history. Nations are led by the King of kings. Through strange revolutions he is bringing about his righteous will. If we could believe this, we should view the dark and threatening aspect of the world without discna.y. 3. In nature. Here, too, God is acting for the good of the whole, and in justice to ea.eh. The fierce strife of nature looks cruel. But peace I God is just. 4. In redemption. Here God shows himself both a just God and a Saviour, upholding righteousness while he baa pity on sinners.- W. F. A. Ver. 29.-The peace of God. I. PE.ACE IS A BLESSING OF THE HIGHEST v A.LUE. There is a quietness of death; the defeated are stilled; lethargy and inertness are quiet. And there is no blessedness in these things. True peace is alive, watchful, full of power and faculty, yet calm. The peace which our souls crave is inward restfulness. This may be found with much external activity, with much life and thought within also, but without confusion or tumult. The activity is harmonious. It is possible for peace to coexist with many sorrows. Peace is deeper than pain. When it dwells within it gives a strength as well as a sense of satisfaction, so that suffering which otherwise would seem intolerable becomes quite bearable, though it can never cease to be distressful. The deepest desire is not for joy; it is for satisfaction of some hunger of the soul. There is an unrest that torments. Even appetite craves peace-not so much the enjoyment that accompanies its satisfaction, as that satisfaction itself, i.e. the ultimate peace. II. MAN FAILS TO FIND PEA.OE. Two opposite methoJs have been tried. 1. 'I'he satisfaction of desi~. Tll.is is the way of th41 voluptu11,ry; but it briugs I~ ao 562 THE BOOK OF JOB. [08. D.XIV, 1~7.
wes:inese and dl&gUet~ not pell.re. Many df!sirei! MDnot be 1111,tiefted, and the vain effcirt to give them their en,ls is a cause of inward tutnu\t. Even when onti de11i're Is satisfied another springi; up clamorous in its place. The capacity for desire Is immensurab!o' but the facilities for ~atisfllOtion are very limited. •Henoo an inevitablo,dlsappointnient.'. 2. The ~sppremon. of_ ·desire. This is the Mcetic method. It is fo911, disl\ppointhig in 110me re~pects, but 1t 1s only poss1hle for strong natures. Indeed, in its oompletene88 it i~ not possible for any. De8ites will arise uneought. But if· all desires aould. bo crushed, the result would be torpor, death. For we live by hope. •Therefore the peac,e of mere sappi-ession is but the peace of death, and no true peace. 111. Gon GIVES PEACE. The quietnes... of a strong nnd ha\ipy life is .from him and fr,,rn l!im alone. Yet it is not given as a direct boon irrespective of our condition. God g11·es peace through confidence. Christ said," Let not your hearts be troubled• believe in God, believe also in me." Therefore we must trust in order to be at rest'. Nevertheless, the ~ace is a Divine gift; it is more thati the natural consequence of tnistmg. Somethmg must be done to quell turbulent passions nnd to harmonize conflicting desires, and this is done by the influence of God's Spirit in the heart of man. IV. THE PEACE OF Gon Is SEOURE. "Who then can make trouble?" •'rhis is n solid peace. 1. Restilng on a good foundatwn. Earthly peace is liko an unstable equilibrium. It iooks fair and inviting, yet it is overturned by the first touch of opposition. But the peace of God is stable; we can. learn to put it to the test. It is not a mere mood of the soul, it is of a strong and vital character. 2. Protectedfi-om lll!lf"ious asll(J,tdts. When quietness .of soul is given by God, it is also guarded by him. He shelters his haven of refuge. By providential watchfulness he keeps off what will destroy peace; by inward grace he fortifies the soul against di~turbing' influences. All tJiis is experienced so long as the soul is trusting God, and therefore living in com- munion with him. "Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on thee."-W. F. A. •