• Oould gre&t men thunder As Jove himself does, Jove would ne'er he quiet., For every pelting, petty officer Would use his heaven fol" thunder I" (' 'Mee.sure for Measure,' net ii. ec. 2.) But the tbunderholte of the sky, the electric currents of the air, the innumerable forces of the gl?be, &rt' 11,ll obedient to the word of comm_and which G~ gives (cf. Matt, viii. 9), III. 'l RE WORLD OF IN'l'ELLIGKNCE. Descending yet a third step, Jehovah reaches the realm of men. Interro!!'.atiug Job, be: 1. Males a fmnk ,·ecognition. Mau is possessed of wisdom in the inward pints, and retains understanding in his heart; i.e. he has a certain power of inquiring into the names and causes of terrestrial phenomena, God delights to e.cknowl<'dge the essential dignity of mau, even though sin bas largely defaced bis beauty and impaired his powers. Alan's intelligence is a noble gift which man should not despise, but cultivate with assiduity. 2. .Asks an important queslion, Whence did man receive his wisdom? Was it from himself? Did it spring up within bis bea1-t as a. spontaneous growth or development? Or was the doctrine of Elihu (eh. xx:xii. 8) oorrect that it is the Spirit of the Almighty which gives man under- standing? Many modern scientists would affirm the former, which shows that they &till require to ponder Jehovah's question to the patriarch. IV. 'l.'HE WORLD OF ANUULS. Leaving man, the last stage is arrived at in the domain of the lower creatures, in which Job is invited to behold an evidence of the power, wisdom, and goodness of God. 1. Of God's power. Had the problem been proposed to Job to provide food for the lioness and her whelps, Jehovah asks him if he oould have done it: "Wilt thou hunt the prey for the lioness? or fill .the appetite of the young lions?" (ver. 39). No; Job could not have so much as approache4 these ferocioUB creatures without trembling; but God did it every day, silently, regularly, effectively, by the operation of a c!ivint:ly implanted instinct which impelled every pu-ticular creature to seek and find its own particular fvod. That God was able thus to move even the most untamahle of beasts was sufficient demonstration of the com- pleteness of that control which he wielded over the entire animal creation. 2, Of God's wisdom. There are few more striking illustrations of the wisdom of God than thoee afforded by the instincts of the lower creatures, and in part.i.cule.r by that which guides them to the special food which each requires, to the place where it is to ~ found, and the manner in which it is to be appropriated. What this mysterious force is w.hicl:!. controls every sentient creature neither science nor philo!IOphy can explain. Resem~ .bling intelligence, it yet differs from intelligence by obvious characteristics.. 3. Of God', good-. Mani.rested. in catering for any of his. creat~es, it. is conspicuously seen in providing food for. the unclean raven and her hateful brood. It is even rev~led by thOl!6 predatory instincts which lead the stronger animals to prey upon the weaker, thus serving among other purposes to limit the increase of the inferior orders of existence, and even shadowing forth to ma.n truths of a lofty spiritual significance, had he only the opened eye to understand them. Learn: L That there is no part of God's universe over which his sway is not aovereign and complete. 2. That man may admire God's great power and wisdom, but be can neither equal the one nor improve the other. 3. '!'hat man is even depend- ent upon God for the capacity to understand and appreciate the Divine wisdom and power. 4. 'l'hat nothing exists in God's world that does not serve some divinely ordained purpose. 5. That God's goodness extends to the meanest and mo3t repulsive of creatlll'88. 6. That that God wlio is kind to lionesses and ravens will not likely be forgetful of his own children. 7. That men should imitate their Maker in being kind to the lower animals.
HOMILIES BY VARIOUS AUTHORS. Ver.1-ch. slii. 6.-The diacoursu of Jehovah. At length,in answer to the repeated appeals of Job, the Almighty appears, not to erush and overwhelm, ae fear had often 1111.ggeitted, but to reuon with his servant; to appeal to his spiritual intelligence, rather than to lllllite him. into lower prostration by some thunderbolt of rebuke, "Oome now, OH. XXXVIU, 1-41,] THE BOOK OF ,TOB. 823