The Pulpit Commentary — Job — Section 622

is he miserably impotent in their presence. And most certainly thoy derive neither their life nor any of their powers from him. Shall vain· man, then, contend with the Oreator of all? Shall he whose are all things find him to wh,,m none belong entering the lists with him? Shall be contend ? Ahall be instruct? shall he reprove? and nnRwer? Nay, verily. His plaoe is the dust, and to the duet God will bumble him; nnd in doing so, he brings man into the presence of hie many and beautiful and powerful creatures, nnd shows him how independent they are of him. Thie ie the tenohing of the entire ohapter. Humility, therefore, is due-- I. BKOAUSE MAN OANNOT OREATE ANY ONE OF THEM. II. BEOAUSE THEY ARE INDEPENDENT OP MAN FOB THEIR OONTINUANCE AND SUS- TENANCE, Ill. BEOAUSE IN MANY OF THEIR POWERS THEY EXOEED THE MIGHT OF MAN, who cannot give them their speed, their strength, or their great beauty. How little is man amidst the wonders of the Divine hands! and how truly wise ie he who, in presence of the divinely wrought creatures, bows down confessing, "How wonderlul are all thy works, 0 Lord I "-R. G. Vers. 5-8.-The wild ass. The special characteristic of the wild e.ss is said to be untractabi\ity. While no animal is more tame than the poor, ill-treated donkey of the London street, no animal is more essentially untamable than the Syrian ass of the desert. It is so.id that though one of these creatures had been captured when young and kept for three years in confinement, it remained "as untracta.ble as when it was first caught, biting and kicking furiously at every one who approached it." It is the type of the untamable. I. Gon RULES OVER THE WILDEST OBEATUREB. When we look at the wild ass we see a creature that is quite beyond the range of man's dominion. The "lord of creation" bas no authority here. His dominion ceases at the border of the wilderness. His will is scorned by the free animals of the desert. Yet they are under the rule of God, who has implanted in them their instincts; they live only according to the laws of the nature that he has ma.de. Men break from God's laws in self-will and thus they fall into sin. Untractable as the wild ass is to man, it is absolutely obedient to the will of God, like the sea that obeys the laws of waves and tides. II. GoD IS THE AUTHOR OF LIBERTY. The very wildness of the creature is a. gift of God. He has given it its high spirits, its fleet running, its love of the wilderness. God does not keep his creatures like cowed and tamed beasts in a. menagerie. He gives them a wide field, and he permits them to enjoy a large freedom. To beings of a spiritual nature he also gives liberty, and that of a higher order. Men are set free from external constraints. God treats us not as slaves, but as chilt.!ren. Further, God gives the highest liberty-liberty of soul. He sets men free from the chains of ignorance and the crushing burden of sin. In his glorious grace he deals most liberally with his children. Not like the despot who fears a whisper of the word" liberty," God grieves over the self-made slavery of souls, and sends his gospel for the very purpose of giving "liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound" (Isa. lxi. 1). Surely liberty is a prize to be eagerly sought and jealously guarded in govern- ment, in thought, and in spiritual life. Dryden writes- " The love of liberty with· life is given, And life itself th' inferior gift of Heaven." III. GoD INTENDS UB TO UBE OUR LIBERTY IN OBEDIENCE. We must combine the two previous thoughts to see how the wild ass is provided for by God. It follows the laws of its nature, and so obeys God absolutely, albeit unconsciously, while it enjoys the largest liberty. Thus it cannot be said to abuse its liberty, but only to use it. Roam- ing over the desert on its swift feet, it espies the green oasis and revels in the fresh pasturage. God expects us to use our liberty in obedience to his will. He does not pour food into our mouths; we must seek it. He does not force his grace upon us; we have to follow the method he has laid down, and turu to him in faith. But :n doing this we are to use the utmost freedom of thought, and to be absolutely independent of the constraints of man on our religion, while we ask for help to be free from the bondage of evil, in obedience to the will of God.-W. F. A. 638 THE BOOK OF JOB. [oe:. x:u:rx. 1-80,