The Pulpit Commentary — Job — Section 573

warn, to hint of danger, to •• open the ear " to instructions that were thought unneces- sary in the days of perfect peace and self-complacency. And if the mind yields to this gracious leading, and bends itself to docility to this ne,w revelation of the holy will, all slmll yet be well. The sea•on of depression and disaster will be pas,ied through, and the sheep who have heard the Shepherd's voice will find themaelveR led once more into the green pastures of content (vers. 6--11). Bnt the God who is revealed to ue in this tender end gracious aspect in the course of experience, under the condition of obedience, becomes clothed in sternness and severity to those who resist. Those who vonture to wnr with law, to rebel against omnipotence and justice, can but meet an unhappy doom. In wondrous ways, unknown to man, God is able to bring men to their destined goal (vere, 12-14). The great lesson, then, is to betake one's self to self-examination (the opening of the ear) and to prayer when the visitants of God's chastening love are knocking at the door of our heart. The lesson is expresser! by pointing to the sad examples of unsubmissive, prayerless lives! These, like spots where the dew falls not, cannot thrive. Hearts, like bare rocks, that will not melt in the sun, cnllous, impenitent, heedless, perish for want of knowledge, of faith, of God; but those whose whole nature has been broken up and laid open by suffering are prepared to receive the seed of eternal wisdom which the Divine Husbandman seeks in such times to implant (ver. 15). 2. By reference to Job's vicissitudes. (Vers. 16-21.) In these versee, which are so obscure in meaning in our version, a deduction is made from the foregoi\ig principles in reference to the case of Job. In ver.16 tbe verb should be taken in the present, "God is leading," or "is for leading" him out of his present straitened and distressed condition; but what if the conditions of submission, penitence, and docility are wanting in Job? Assumiog that there is this want, solemn warnings are given-that he cannot, if in a state of sin, escape the judgment of God; that if he allows tne fire of suffering to madden him into impiety instead of purifying his spirit, he will find himself in an evil plight, for no cries nor efforts can avail to extricate him from the fangs of doom. Let not Job, then, says the speaker (,er. 20), perhaps pointing to the dark warning of the sky, long after the night ( of judgment); for whole peoples pass away, in that terrible darkness when the wrath of God is out poured! :And to conclude the warnings, let Job beware of the turning of the heart to vanity- the natural thoughtlessness of mankind in presence of the judgments of God. The application is unfair as regards Job; still, we are reminded indirectly that it is not sufficient to hold a true theory of God's moral government in general, without apply- ing it to the facts of our own lives, Men may harshly apply great principles to our character and condition in the world; this cannot absolve us from the duty of applying them truly and honestly for ourselves. III. THE RIGHTEOUSNESS OF GOD REVEALED IN NATURE. (Ver. 22-ch. xxxvii. 24.) 1. The wisdom and power of God as seen in nature's wonders. (Ver. 22-ch. xxxvii. 13.) Introd'IJ,Cti-On. (Vera, 22-25.) The sublime power of God fills every observer of Nature with awe. Who is a Ruler as he? Who can improve upon Nature? She is the great mechanist, artist, designer, executor. Man may produce new varieties of plants and, to some extent, of nnimals by the exercise of intelligence, but "o'er that art which men call nature is another art which nature makes." Art is the highest effort of human nature; and .what nature can he honour who honours not the human? If, then, you have a quarrel with God, what is this but to dispute the beauty a □ J the good of things, which all men delight to celebrate', on which no eyes are weary of looking with wonder? 2. Look, then, at the grand/J'/J,r of the phenomena of nature-- the rain, the clouds, the storms, (Ver. 26-ch. xuvii. 5.) Read the words of the description, compare them with your own feeliogs. In the very vagueness and vastness of nature there is a power to impress the imagination. This array of beauty and of grandeur is not only far beyond, but totally unlike, anything that mau can conceive or accomplish. No words can better set forth these profound and unutterable impressions than the words of great poets, " thrown out" as it were at a distant, illimitable object which cannot be defined. "God thunders with his voice wondrously, doth great things that we understand not:" this is the sum of all. The indefinite grandeur of images and sounds, which is so impressive in the highest poetry, represents the inartic·1late but overwhelming voice of nature which tells of the Being and the goodness of God. Aga,n, these effects point to causes; and the regularity of effecta  688 THE BOOK OF JOB. ,[clll. u:.xvt. 1--36.