HOMILIES BY VARIOUS AUTHORS. Ver. 1_4.-On considering the works of God. Elihu in his continued address would teach.Job to _hearken to the Lord rather than reply to him, to learn rather than teach, l!,nd more especially to consider his wonderful works. The greatness of the Divine works causeth Job's teacher's heart to tremble; so he would it were with Job, To the greatness of the Divine voice, to the wonder of the Divine works, he directs him. The works of God n:il!,y be considered- I. As A REVELATION OF THE DIVINE GREATNESS. This is one of the purposes in EHhu's mind. He would lead Job to" fear." It is only by a contemplation of the works.of God that we can rise as by successive steps to any adequate conception of the greatness of the Div1ne power or the grandeur of the Divine Name. They are beyond our comprehension, and so give us a notion of the infinite; they are multiplied, and great and wonderful. In them is hidden the parable of the Divine greatness. They may be considered- . II. As !,. REVELATION OF THE DIVINE GOODNESS. With great beauty the Divine goodness is traced in this book.· A goodness extended not only to man, but also to the beasts of the field, to the fish of the sea, to the bird of the air. It is from this contemplation that- man may return to himself, and learn that the goodness everywhere displayed around him may be truly at work within and for him, though its processes are not made kIIQwn. So the Divin_e works may be considered- III. •As A REVELATION OF THE HIDDEN PURPOSE OF Goo. In all the wonderful works around, much as men know, there is much that 1s hidden. Tu this Elihu calls Job's attention. "Dost thou know when God disposed them?" "Dost thou know the balancing of the clouds?" Dost thou know " the wondrous works of him that is perfect in knowledge"? IV. Hence is revealed (1) the ignorance of man; (2) bis littleness; (3) his consequent inability to contend with God. This is the process of Elihu's argument. "With God is terrible majesty." His work is deep. He is "the Almighty," whom we cannot find out. His purposes we cannot fathom. Therefore-so the argument terminates- therefore bow and wait and trust. God "is excellent in power, and in judgment and in justice." These he perverts not. Therefore may men reverence him with lowly fear and with silent mouth, and the wise will wait on him for the unfolding of his own wise ways.-R. G. •
Vers.1-5.-Tlie voice of the thunder. I. A VOICE OF TERROB. The deep roar, the wide volume of sound, the mystery and the majesty of the thunder, combine to make it strike us with awe. Thunder accompanied the giving of the Law on Mount Sinai (Exod. xix. 16). Men arc naturally alarmed at any voice from heaven. God sometimes speaks to us in thunderous notes, i.e. through great calamities. Then we tremble a.a before au irresistible majesty. . II. A VOICE OF NATURE.' The thunder is part of the economy of nature-as much a pa.rt of it e.s the whisper of the wind or the hum of the insect. It struck the ancient worl,l with the greater alarm because it was wholly inexplicable. Now that we know its connection with the electric currents of the atmosphere, we do not think of it as so fearful The artillery of the heavens is all obedient to fixed laws of nature. Yet it is not thu less fired by rhe hand of God, who is the Spirit of nature as well as its Maker. The reduction of the thunder to a place among natural phenomena suggests a lesson in faith. We may be reassured when we see that what looks lawless is part of the Divine order. We often alarm ourselves with needless fears; but all must be well when. God rules over all. 604 'J'HE BOOK OF JOB. [011, u:xvn. 1-24,