The Pulpit Commentary — Job — Section 556

HOMILIES BY VARIOUS AUTHORS. Vel'8. 1-16.-Elihu's third spe1Xh: tM profit of godl~s. I. FoLLY OP TJIB Ol'I'.KJOJ,; THAT THERE IS NO PROFIT IN GODLINE~S •. (Vers, 1--8..) (!. good man, saye Elihu, would not speak as Job ha.s dtme, questioning whether godliness is more pro- :fimblc than ein. But what is the refutation of this dangeroos notion? 'l.'he .speaker p,,ints to the blessed Mlf-sufficiency of God, the exalted One in the heavens. In ·this light man must appear alone as one who draws advantage from his righteousneSB (comp. eh. vii. 20; xxii. 2, sqq.). Our evil deeds cannot injure God, neither. can our good deeds add to his blessedness. '1'0 expect a return or recompense from God for obedience, RS if we had given him a pleas11re or oonferred on him an ,adva.utage is according to Elihu, a sign that we have altogether forgotten the .distance between ~ur: selves and him, and the true relation in which we stand to him. A modem philo- sopher, indeed, says, using a bold expression, " Pot God in you~ debt I" But this means only--Conform to God's laws, a.nd expect that God will be true to those rela- tions express~ by bis laws. The 1;0isery of Job is that. be cannot, for the present, see that God 1s true to those relations. He has sown nghteousness, but not, as it seems, reaped mercy. He is half in the right, and so is his present instructor. It remains for these two halves of truth to be united into a whole. Meanwhile. Elib.u points to a great canon of conduct, a great motive of right. Piety is always .beneficial, ungodliness always hnrtful to our fellow-men, in a sense in which.this, of course, cannot be said of God. And this should sustain us in suffering: the thought of the example we may be permitted to set, the light that may shine out of our darkness, the image of tbose who may be deterred from evil or allured to good by what they see in us. If. REASONS FOR UNANSWERED l'D.AYEns. (V ers. 9-16.) 1. Want of true reverence for God. (Vers. 9-14.) The cry of the oppressed goes up to heaven, and. it-is long before an answer comes. Help is delayed or denied. Why? In most cases it is pro- bably the fault of the sufferer himself. There is something defective·in the substance or iu the spirit of his prayers. He doe.snot cry," Where is the Almighty, my. Creator?" (ver. 10). This is the complaint which Jehovah makes by the mouth of Jeremiah (ii. 6, 8). There is no injustice 1n him; but there is inconsistency in men. They,do not trust him. They ungratefully forget his past providences. They.disobey bis laws, they meddle with forbidden things. There are conditions, moral conditions, under which a.lone it is possible for men to be heard, delivered, blessed. "Have I been.a wilderness io Israel?" .Behind these figures lies the truth that Divine blessing is con- ditioned by our own moral state and endeavour. Those grand relations.of mercy in which God st.a.nda to men-their Deliverer, the Giver of songs in the night oLna.tnral distreis and emergency, the Instructor of their spirits in that life above that· of th13 brutes who" lead a blind life within the brain "---ean only be realized by the faithful and the true. To know God as our Saviour, we must humbly and constantly trust him; to know him as our Teacher and Guide, we must diligently follow. him. Pride, vain or evil desires in the heart, these, then, are the .only permanent causes of unanswered 11rayers. .And how much less are advantage and deliverance possible for Job; if he reproaches God with ioiquity in being unwilling to regard his cause; if he waits as if that cause were not already laid before God (ver. 14) I For he knows all; and we must C0'1111f11,it our way to him, in the assurance that he :will in due time .bring it to pass. 2. Presumpt'IJ,()fl,6 language agaimt God. (Vere. 15, 16.) Though such folly Lns hitherto pBSSed unpunished, it does not follow that God. has not observed it. Accordiug to Job's way of thinking, Elihu says, in effect, this would follow. But he -a,ill soon see the contrary. 'l'he pam;age is instructive as giving us se(lrching admo- nition on the subject of unanswered prayer, unrelieved distress. It is. a time for heart- searching. The fault cannot be with God; if fault there be, .it, lies• at our door. The Word comes with po"-·er in such momtents, "Cleanse your hands, ye sinners I Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you." Read Isa. i. But to the true and con- trite heart, mercy and deliverance may be delayed, never denied. And. the leas(ln, then, i.1,-Be i,atitnt, wa.it., and hope.-J. on. uxv. 1-16,] THE BOOK OF JOB. 671