The Pulpit Commentary — Job — Section 605

f ~ incognita ie the eountry beyond the tomb. Nor has man yet been able to explore the innermost recesses of the earth. Hie investigations e.nd resre.rchee have been con- fined to the earth's cruet, poseeesing e. thickness of only R few thousand feet. Whether the cent-ral substance of the globe is R solid m&l!II or a glowing fire is yet with phy~icisls a g~stio ~ata. 8. The ntent qf the earth. That the earth was in patriarche.l times popularly believed to be a plsi n is no proof tbe.t even then its spherlcity wae not gueSBed at, though perhaps not definitely e.ecertained by geogra,phers and utronomers (vids eh. xxvi. 7, homiletics). Still, with all the appliances of modern science for observing the transit of Yenus, upon which cslcnlations for the earth's dimensions depend, the most that can be thus obtained is only an approximation towards the truth--an approxima- tion no doubt sufficiently accurate for working purposes, but Rtill e.n approximation as distinguished from the absolute truth. ~- The origin of light and darkness. Among the discoveries of modern science few surpass in interest those relating to the composition and the laws of light. The prism by untwisting a solar beam, and the spectrum by analyzing its very substance, have widened man's knowledge in this dep1ntment of physics to an astonishing extent. Yet what light itself is, what a.re its physical ea.uses, and how it produces its particular effects, a.re still among the unascertained facts of nature. 5. The sources of snow tmd hau. Here again it is not the physical power or force which causes snow or hail which constitutes the mystery; but the fact that they seem to descend upon earth in inexhaustible supplies at the moments when they are most required, viz. when God has some time of trouble in store for man or some terrible judgmen t to inflict on earth. Scripture speaks of hail as having been employed by God for the destruction of his enemies (Exod. ix. 18; Josh. :x. 11; Isa. xxx. 10). 6. TM distribution of light and wind. Jehovah alludes to the laws in accordance with which the beams of light and the air-currents spread themselves across the surface of the globe, and exercise their respective influences upon the earth and its inhabitants. 7. The inner principles qf rain, dew, ice, and frost. The causes that immediately produce these phenomena were probably to a large extent unknown in the days of Job, though they are now understood by persons of a. moderate degree of culture. But it is the power behind the immediatcly operating material causes after which Jehovah inquires. II. THE MYSTERIES OF CREATION ABE UNDISCOVEB.ABLE BY MAN. 1. The oldest man was •riot present at their fO'l"ffUI,twn. "Knowest thou it [i.e. where the light dwelleth] because thou wast then bom? or because the number of thy months is great?" Jehovah means that neither Job nor any other human intelligence was cognizant by persona.I observation of the institution of this or any other of ;the above-named mysteries. The establishment of nature's laws took place before the birth or creation of man. Each individual as he opens his eyes upon the theatre of existence witnesses their operation. When they first began to operate no man we.s there. • 2. The wisest man d,oet; 'riot know them thrmi,gh intuition. "Hast thou perceived the breadth of the earth?" Has the knowledge of this or of any of these mysteries flashed in upon thee, or risen up within thee by a. kind of scientific intuition? The human understand- ing we believe to be sent into the world with a definite amount of mental furniture in the shape of mental and moral intuitions, which gradually assert their presence in and power over the soul; but among these innate ideas are not to be discovered solutions of the physical problems of the universe, 3. The mcst diligent man cannot reach them by personal investigation. "Hast thou come in thy wal.kings upon the fountains of the sea?" Ha,·e thy researches conducted thee to the secrets of creation? At the best man's knowledge of the material universe is comparatively superficial It is doubtful if his powers of investigation can conduct him to the first priaciples of natural pheno- mena; and, even if they were sufficient in themselves, the limited extent of time during which man can apply them to the task renders ultimate success well-nigh impossi Lie. Ill. Tw: MYSTERIES OF CREATION ARE ALL UNDEBSTOOD BY Goo. 1. They are all of his making. The sea with all its springs and caves is of his production. The dark underworld of 11pirits has been constructed by him. His was the voice that summoned the light into being. Snow, hail, wind, rain, frost, and dew, are each and all his cn:atu.res. 2. They Me aU of hi.a hiding. If man knows so much and no more a.bout natural phenomena, that is traceable solely to the Divine will. God could have endowed man with a deeper insight iot.o the final causes of things had he chosen. If, CII, XXXVIII, 1-41,] 'rHE BOOK OF ,JOr.. ()21