The Pulpit Commentary — Job — Section 629

here WllB a depth of eelf-abe.ecment to which only a God of lo'Ve and gi'flce could stoop I A prefigurement, may it not be said, of the ~tupendous condescension of the Ince.ruation, when God, not arrayed in majesty, but clothed in the lowly garb of humanity, stooped t-0 talk with sinful m&n, RB a man talketh with his friend I fi. Joe's BUBMIBBION TO JEHOVAH. 1. Aft acknow~ of iMigftvfca,ice, "Behold, I am vile;" literally, "1 am mean, small, of no account, A being to be deepiaed in compari~on with thee." It is not yet a sense of moral imperfection that fills the brP,Allt of Job, 81! aftel'Wll,rds, when the second Divine remonstrance ends (oh. xlil. 8), bnt ~imply a vivid realization of hie utter feebleness and contemptibleness before a God of ~uch incomparable majesty as Jehovah, of such far-reaching power and wide-ranging wisdom. Man never knows his real littleness until he understands the greatness of God. 2. A oonfessioo of ignorance. "What shall I answer thee?" Job meant that he felt utterly unable to reply to the arguments which God had adduced in support of his right to govern the world on principles of his own without ta.king Job or any other creature into his confidence. Bence the resolution, "I will lay my hand upon my mouth," was designed to intimate both his resolution to be silent and his inability to reply. The le~s men attempt t,o answer God the better. When God brings hie heavenly teachings home to the spirit, the proper attitude is silent admiration and 1ubmission. "Speak, Lord; for thy servant heareth.'" 3. Aft admission of error. "Once have I spoken; but I will not answer [literally, 'and I will not answer,' i.e. I will not reply again]; yea, twice; but [literally, •and') I will proceed no further." Whether Job intended t,o say that he had twice, or only once, answered God, he certainly meant that he bad spoken wrongly in his previous utterances. It was much that he had now arrived at a clear perception of his error. It was a good preparation for hie ultimate complete withdrawal from the false position which all throughout the con- troversy with God he bad maintained. 4. A profusion of amendment. He had done wrong in the past; he would do so no more-at least in this respect. This becomin,:: resolution was "a fruit meet for repentance," a promise of the final soul-surrender which WI!.!' drawing nigh. Learn: 1. That God deals with men on the principles of grace, even when they richly deserve to receive only justice. 2. That for a puny creature to find fault with God is an amazing act of presumption. 3. That the first sign of goodness in a human 1mul is a perception, however faint, of its own insignificance. 4. That they who have fallen into sin once should, like Job, endeavour t,o do so no more. "°ers. 6-14.-JehO!Jah to Job: the second afl8Wer: 1. A sublime challenge. I. A 1u:11110Ns ISSUED. 11 Gird up thy loins like a man : I will demand of thee, and declare thou unto me." Here again appears a series of gracious wonders. 1. That Jehovah ,lwuJ,d propose to continue further the iAStmction of his Bllf'Vant. But so God deals with all whom he undertakes to educate, teaching them with patience, perseverance, minuteness, giving them line npon line, and desisting not until their spiritual enlighten- ment is complete. 2. That JeluJvah tJwuJ,d adviae his servant of the searching charader of th£ ez,amination to which he was about to be l'IJ,'bjected. He had done so on the first occasion. But nfter Job's partial submission it might have been expected that the secor;d ordeal would be easier than the first. In order to prevent the rise of any such misunderstanding, Job is a second time advised that the forthcoming inter- ,·icw, like the first, will require on his part the most strenuous resolution and endeavour. God seldom takes his people unawares except with mercy. 3. That Jdwvah slwtild a second time inviu his servant to bewme his inatntctor. This is practi• cally what he does in giving Job another opportunity to reply to hie interrogations, But there is no limit t,o God's grace in stooping t,o help his creature man. II. A. QUBBTION ASKED. 11 Wilt thou also dise.nnul my judgment? wilt thou condemn me, that thou mayest be righteous?" Jehovah means by this t,o say that Job's conduct, ir,. maintaining as he had done hie own righteousnees, really involved two tremendous aasu.mptions. 1. That he (Job) coul,d govern the world better (Le. more jv,,t/,y) than God. Hence Jehovah inquires if Job proposed t,o diaannul the Divine judgment, and t&ke upon himself the task of administering mundane affairs. Even good men do not always understand how much is involved in the statements the_y rashly uU.. Nor can an7 interpreter IO clearly tell them as God. 2. That M (Job) on. XL, 1-24,] THE BOOK 01!' JOB. 845