h& ! " the fiercenet111 of its lust for b&ttle, advancing without a fear 1Jo meet an armed hOl't, d&11hing in among the glanoing spears, and shll.king from it.a Bidea the rattling quiver. 2. The Divine meaning. It is easy enough to find sermon\o useB fol' this piece of brilliant word-painting about the war-horse, e.s e.g. t.o derive from it lesaons ~r oou111,ge in confronting difficulties, and enthusiasm in defying opposition; but· the fil'l!t question needing a11swer is-For what specific object is it here introduced? &nd this wu obdously to impress the mind of Job with a sense of his (and also mnn's) weakness in comparison with God. Whence had such a noble creature as this war- horse sprung? Job had not produced its resistless strength, its heroio beauty, its visible terror, its indomitable courage, its fierce enthusiasm? Nay, ,vhat could Job or any other man do ns against such a powerful animal? Well, if Job cannot contend with the wal'-horse, bow nnreasonable it must be to suppose that he can strive with h.im whose handiwork the war,..borse is! VI. THE HAWK. (Ver. 26.) 1. Iu power ~I fligl1t. The name netz denotes" the soaring one," the high-flyer, and" includes, besides the hawk proper, nll raptoriel birds" (Cox), "which, even including the shortest-winged, have great powers of flight, are remarkably enterprising, live to a great age, are migratory, or followers upon birds of passage" (Kitto's • Cyclopedia,' art." Netz"). "The rapidity with whioh the hawk and many other birds fly i1! probably not less than at the rate of a hundred and fifty miles • an hour" (Robinson). 'l'he adaptation of a bird's wing for flying is a singular instance of the Creator's skill. 2. Iu instinct of migra,tion. Moved by a secret impulse, not received from or understood by man, the hawk stretches her wing, and seeks a sunny clime at every approach of winter. This also a striking evidence of creative intelli- gence. VII. TJIE EAGLE. (Vers. 27-30.) 1. Its lofty flight. The king of birds, which closes the Divine picture-gallery of animals, as the king of quadrupeds opened it, "soareth aloft," its great strength of body and breadth of wing giving it power to sustain itself at a high elevation in the air. 2. Its inaccessible eyri~. Mounting upwards," she buildeth her nest in the height, upon the crag or tooth of the rock" and fa.stn886, and there, by reason of its remoteness, "she dwelleth and abideth" securely. 3. Ju keen vision. From the cliff's edge she can scan the depths below, looking far· a.cross the plain in search of food for herself and young ones (cf. eh. xxviii. 7, 21). 4. Its Banguinarg a,ppetite. ., Her young ones also suck up blood ; and where the slain are, there is ehe." In the East eagles follow armies in order to feed upon the corpses of the slain (cf. Matt. Ixiv. 28). Learn: 1. That he can best describe the creatures who knows all about them, because he made them. 2. That everv creature on the fac.e of the earth has its peculiar nature, instincts, habitat, by Divine appointment. 3. That wherever God assigns dwelling to a creature, there also he provides means of subsistence. 4. That a large portion of the world's beauty consistAI in the variety of animal life which it ■upports. 6. That the study of zoology is fitted to convey important lessons con- cerning the power, wisdom, goodneBB, and sovereignty of God.
HOMILIES BY VARIOUS AUTHORS. Vers. 1-30.-.7?ie creatures Mt dependent upon man. We truly know that of man it is written, " Thou hast put all things under his feet; " and "We see not yet all things put under him." The creatures over whom dominion was given to man are not wholly submissive. And man must learn his littleness in presence of the great creatures of God whom he fails to subdue. " 'l'he wild goats" and "the binds" and .. the wild 888," "the unicorn," even "the ostrich," "the horse" a11d the birds of the air, "the hawk " and "the eagle," are all alike independent of man. '!'hey have neither their beauty nor their strength, their flight nor their instinct, from him. With all his knowledge, his skill, his inventiveness, bis cunning, still the creaturea are independent of him, though he ia not independent of them. '!'hey can do without him, hut not he without them. It is another step in the course of the humiliation through which Lhe Lord is leading Job. Man may sling with the stone, or shoot with the arrow, or entrap with Lis skill, or train and conquer by his superior wisdom, yei OH, XXXIX, 1~80,] THE BOOK OF JOB. 637