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Job Chapter
Twenty-nine
Job 29
Chapter Contents
Job's former comforts. (1-6) The honour paid to Job
His
usefulness. (7-17) His prospect of prosperity. (18-25)
Commentary on Job 29:1-6
(Read Job 29:1-6)
Job proceeds to contrast his former prosperity with his
present misery
through God's withdrawing from him. A gracious soul delights in
God's smiles
not in the smiles of this world. Four things were then very
pleasant to holy Job. 1. The confidence he had in the Divine protection. 2. The
enjoyment he had of the Divine favour. 3. The communion he had with the Divine
word. 4. The assurance he had of the Divine presence. God's presence with a man
in his house
though it be but a cottage
makes it a castle and a palace. Then
also he had comfort in his family. Riches and flourishing families
like a
candle
may be soon extinguished. But when the mind is enlightened by the Holy
Spirit
when a man walks in the light of God's countenance
every outward
comfort is doubled
every trouble is diminished
and he may pass cheerfully by
this light through life and through death. Yet the sensible comfort of this
state is often withdrawn for a season; and commonly this arises from sinful
neglect
and grieving the Holy Spirit: sometimes it may be a trial of a man's
faith and grace. But it is needful to examine ourselves
to seek for the cause
of such a change by fervent prayer
and to increase our watchfulness.
Commentary on Job 29:7-17
(Read Job 29:7-17)
All sorts of people paid respect to Job
not only for the
dignity of his rank
but for his personal merit
his prudence
integrity
and
good management. Happy the men who are blessed with such gifts as these! They
have great opportunities of honouring God and doing good
but have great need
to watch against pride. Happy the people who are blessed with such men! it is a
token for good to them. Here we see what Job valued himself by
in the day of
his prosperity. It was by his usefulness. He valued himself by the check he
gave to the violence of proud and evil men. Good magistrates must thus be a
restraint to evil-doers
and protect the innocent; in order to this
they
should arm themselves with zeal and resolution. Such men are public blessings
and resemble Him who rescues poor sinners from Satan. How many who were ready
to perish
now are blessing Him! But who can show forth His praises? May we
trust in His mercy
and seek to imitate His truth
justice
and love.
Commentary on Job 29:18-25
(Read Job 29:18-25)
Being thus honoured and useful
Job had hoped to die in
peace and honour
in a good old age. If such an expectation arise from lively
faith in the providence and promise of God
it is well; but if from conceit of
our own wisdom
and dependence on changeable
earthly things
it is ill
grounded
and turns to sin. Every one that has the spirit of wisdom
has not
the spirit of government; but Job had both. Yet he had the tenderness of a
comforter. This he thought upon with pleasure
when he was himself a mourner.
Our Lord Jesus is a King who hates iniquity
and upon whom the blessing of a
world ready to perish comes. To Him let us give ear.
── Matthew Henry《Concise Commentary on Job》
Job 29
Verse 2
[2] Oh
that I were as in months past
as in the days when God preserved me;
Preserved —
From all those miseries which now I feel.
Verse 3
[3] When his candle shined upon my head
and when by his light I walked
through darkness;
Darkness — I
passed safely through many difficulties
and dangers
and common calamities.
Verse 7
[7] When
I went out to the gate through the city
when I prepared my seat in the street!
Seat —
When I caused the seat of justice to be set for me. By this
and several other
expressions
it appears that Job was a magistrate.
Street — In
that open place
near the gate
where the people assembled for the
administration of justice.
Verse 10
[10] The
nobles held their peace
and their tongue cleaved to the roof of their mouth.
Cleaved — It
lay as still as if he had done so.
Verse 11
[11] When the ear heard me
then it blessed me; and when the eye saw me
it
gave witness to me:
Witness —
Gave testimony to my pious
and just
and blameless conversation.
Verse 14
[14] I
put on righteousness
and it clothed me: my judgment was as a robe and a
diadem.
Put on
… —
Perhaps he did not wear these: but his steady justice was to him instead of all
those ornaments.
Verse 18
[18] Then
I said
I shall die in my nest
and I shall multiply my days as the sand.
Multiply —
See how apt even good men are
to set death at a distance from them!
Verse 20
[20] My
glory was fresh in me
and my bow was renewed in my hand.
Glory — My
reputation was growing every day.
Bow — My
strength which is signified by a bow
Genesis 49:24; 1 Samuel 2:4
because in ancient times the bow
and arrows were the principal instruments of war.
Verse 22
[22]
After my words they spake not again; and my speech dropped upon them.
Dropped — As
the rain
which when it comes down gently upon the earth
is most acceptable
and beneficial to it.
Verse 24
[24] If I
laughed on them
they believed it not; and the light of my countenance they
cast not down.
Laughed —
Carried myself so familiarly with them
that they could scarce believe their
eyes and ears.
Cast not down —
They were cautious not to give me any occasion to change my countenance towards
them.
Verse 25
[25] I
chose out their way
and sat chief
and dwelt as a king in the army
as one
that comforteth the mourners.
I chose —
They sought to me for advice in all difficult cases
and I directed them what
methods they should take.
Sat — As
a prince or judge
while they stood waiting for my counsel.
A king —
Whose presence puts life
and courage
into the whole army.
As one — As
I was ready to comfort any afflicted persons
so my consolations were always
welcome to them.
── John Wesley《Explanatory Notes on Job》
29 Chapter 29
Verses 1-25
Verse 2
Oh
that I were as in months past.
The fluctuations of a religious life
I. Their
prevalence. Ebbs and tides of feeling are common to all life
good or bad.
Religious moods are as frequent
as uncertain
and as unmanageable as any other
moods
and under given conditions are absolutely beyond our control. To force
ourselves up into a high state of spiritual feeling is a matter we can’t always
do. Important occasions do not always find us with the necessary power
however
we may have laboured for it. There is spring and summer
autumn and winter
in
nature; in fact
everything in nature suggests that we must have our pauses and
rests
that it is impossible to continue in one strain of thought or action
without cessation or change. Beware of passing sweeping condemnations on
yourself
or on others
in moments of spiritual dearth.
II. The general
causes of religious fluctuation.
1. Take the constitutional.
2. Providential
i.e. causes beyond our own control
not set
in motion by our wish or desire
or by our negligence--and of all the heroes
mentioned in the Bible
none suffered more in this respect than Job. When
Providence inflicts wounds
sends you sorrow
don’t dream your heaviness of
soul is an indication of a faithless heart. God is testing
sifting you. Have
faith; all is well; grace is not yielding to sin. When it must be winter in
your soul don’t you try to make it summer. “Whom the Lord loveth He
” etc.
3. Characteristic. And--
4. The vital or radical causes
which
after all
are the real
causes. They are
III. The remedy for
this inconstancy
this fluctuation.
1. Give yourself up to a very frequent and searching self-examination
before God.
2. You must be more faithful in the details of your religious life.
Little things grow to big things.
3. You must be more constant in your attendance upon the means of
grace
more particularly the special ordinances of God’s house; but--
4. High and supreme above every other precaution and remedy
you must
ever keep your heart open to the light of heaven and the grace of God; and
then
whatever may be your hindrances
your drawbacks
your constitutional
infirmity
or your spiritual afflictions
they shall all yield to the strength
of your faith in God. (T. E. Westerdale.)
Spiritual fluctuation
There is no sadder or more depressing condition than that in which
we look back regretfully to better days and happier hours. This undertone of
lamenting sorrow makes the cry of Job pathetic. He had seen better days.
Because he measured God’s favour by the amount of worldly prosperity given him
he concluded God
measurably at least
had forsaken him. It was a mistaken
standard by which to judge God
still it was his standard. We are interested in
the experience of Job so far as it is an illustration of spiritual experience.
Our spiritual or religious life
like our physical
is subject to fluctuations.
There are causes and remedies for such a fluctuating spiritual condition.
I. Inquire unto
the causes.
1. Physical causes. It is hard to tell how many of our spiritual
fluctuations are due to our bodies. The mind and the soul have controlling
power over the body; but it is just as true that the body rules them. The body
is the channel of our noblest emotions and our deepest sorrows. Since the body
has its effect upon the spirit
it is to be religiously guarded and cared for.
2. The mind. Its varying moods affect every other portion of our
lives. Its powers
distorted by sin
carry us hither and thither. It is true
religion appeals to and reaches the mind as well as the heart
the reason as
well as the emotions; but the wilful wanderings and ever-restless questionings
of the mind too often lead it from safe moorings. The thoughts we entertain;
the kind of reading we select; the habits of judgment we cultivate--all have
their effect upon our hearts.
3. Providential causes. Circumstances in which we are placed
and over
which we have no control
seem to change often our entire outlook. It was so
with Job. It is comparatively easy to be spiritually-minded as long as all goes
well
but trouble often turns the poor weak heart from its refuge
and makes
the sky look dark.
4. People too often live on too low a spiritual plane. We do not live
up near enough to God. There is communion and fellowship with God that is
neglected and forsaken. Men live on a plane constantly growing lower
and then
wonder why their faith is not as clear
their hearts are not as warm
and their
spirits as glowing as in former days: why heaven seems further away the nearer
they come to eternity. They imagine God has changed
while the change is all in
them. Spiritual lowlands will be sure to tell on spiritual life.
II. Inferences in
connection with this subject.
1. Let no Christian conclude that because he has been subject to such
changes
therefore he has lost religion and lost favour with God. This was one
of Job’s troubles. Religion is something deeper than our feelings
and far more
comprehensive. It finds its basis not in our varying moods nor changing
emotions
but in the unchanging Word and provisions of God.
2. There must be a higher standard of life than mere feeling. If
emotions were the gauge of our religious life
we could never be quite sure of
our spiritual standing. There were times of depression and exaltation on the
human side of the life of the Saviour. All through His chequered experience the
one great principle of action was that He might do the will of God. The highest
standard put before us is not our fluctuating emotions
but our earnest doing
God’s will.
III. Remedies for
this spiritual fluctuation.
1. Frequent strict self-examination.
2. Close attention paid to the details of life.
3. Practical activity. God wants us to work and do for Him whether we
feel like doing so or not.
4. Let the windows of the soul be kept constantly open toward heaven.
The Saviour did that. All availing strength comes from above. (Francis F.
West.)
Painful retrospects
Humanity is a brotherhood
and the language of Job finds response
in many a pious heart.
I. Declension is
the first thought suggested by these words. This may have been scarcely
perceptible
for as spiritual life is developed not by violent moods
not by
spasmodic impulses
but gradually; as its influx is like the inflowing of the
tides
so spiritual declension is gradual--it does not register itself
it is
comparatively unconscious. Still
there are specific causes out of which it is
produced.
1. Religious speculation. It will not do to tamper with compass or
chart. What shall prevent a vessel from drifting out of its course if the
needle has been made to deflect from its true position? Bible truths should be
held inviolable--not that there should be unreasoning and blind acceptance of
religious beliefs
but there are certain truths commended to us which are
beyond controversy.
2. The cares of the world. These are fruitful causes of spiritual
declension. It was no wonder that Peter would fain remain on Tabor’s summit
with Christ. Under a tropical sun
nursed by the balmy air
rich and luscious
fruits easily ripen; so
near the Throne
in moments akin to the hour of
transfiguration
Christian graces rapidly develop; but the hourly contact with the
busy world
its anxieties and distractions
are apt to be prejudicial to piety
and to warp the Christian character.
3. Neglect of the means of grace. These are commended
not
arbitrarily. They are the laws of the spiritual life--essential conditions of
growth.
II. Solicitude is a
hopeful indication. It is a sign of spiritual life. The Church at Laodicea was
charged with indifferentism. “I would ye were either cold or hot.”
III. The desire may
be fulfilled. (John Love.)
Job’s regret and our own
I. Let us begin by
saying that regrets such as those expressed in the text are and ought to be
very bitter. If it be the loss of spiritual things that we regret
then may we
say from the bottom of our hearts
“Oh
that I were as in months past.” It is a
great thing for a man to be near to God; it is a very choice privilege to be
admitted into the inner circle of communion
and to become God’s familiar
friend. Great as the privilege is
so great is the loss of it. No darkness is
so dark as that which falls on eyes accustomed to the light. The man who has
never enjoyed communion with God knows nothing of what it must be to lose it.
The mercies which Job deplored in our text are no little ones.
1. First
he complains that he had lost the consciousness of Divine
preservation. He says
“Oh
that I were as in months past
as in the days when
God preserved me.” There are days with Christians when they can see God’s hand
all around them
checking them in the first approaches of sin
and setting a
hedge about all their ways.
2. Job had also lost Divine consolation
for he looks back with
lamentation to the time when God’s candle shone upon his head
when the sun of
God’s love was
as it were
in the zenith
and cast no shadow; when he rejoiced
without ceasing
and triumphed from morning to night in the God of his
salvation. “The joy of the Lord is our strength.” Moreover
Job deplored the
loss of Divine illumination. “By His light
” he says
“I walked through
darkness
” that is to say
perplexity ceased to be perplexity; God shed such a
light upon the mysteries of Providence
that where others missed their path
Job
made wise by heaven
could find it. There have been times when
to our
patient faith
all things have been plain.
3. Moreover
Job had lost Divine communion; so it seems
for he
mourned the days of his youth
when the secret of God was upon his tabernacle.
Who shall tell to another what the secret of God is?
II. But
secondly
let me remind you that these regrets are not inevitable; that is to say
it is
not absolutely necessary that a Christian man should ever feel them
or be
compelled to express them. It has grown to be a tradition among us
that every
Christian must backslide in a measure
and that growth in grace cannot be
unbrokenly sustained. There is no inherent necessity in the Divine life itself
compelling it to decline
for is it not written
“It shall be in him a well of
water
springing up unto everlasting life”? And there is no period of our life
in which it is necessary for us to go back. Assuredly
old age offers no excuse
for decline: “they shall still bring forth fruit in old age; they shall be fat
and flourishing; to show that the Lord is upright.”
III. But now I am
compelled to say that the regrets expressed in our text are exceedingly common
and it is only here and there that we meet with a believer who has not had
cause to use them. It ought not to be so
but it is so. The commonness of this
lamentation may be somewhat accounted for by the universal tendency to
undervalue the present and exaggerate the excellence of the past. Then
again
regrets may in some cases arise from a holy jealousy. The Christian
in
whatever state he is
feels his own imperfection much
and laments his
conscious shortcomings. And
let me add
that very often these regrets of ours
about the past are not wise. It is impossible to draw a fair comparison between
the various stages of Christian experience
so as to give a judicious
preference to one above another. Consider
as in a parable
the seasons of the
year. There are many persons who
in the midst of the beauties of spring
say
“Ah
but how fitful is the weather! These March winds and April showers come
and go by such fits and starts
that nothing is to be depended upon. Give me
the safer glories of summer.” Yet
when they feel the heat of summer
and wipe
the sweat from their brows
they say
“After all
with all the full-blow of
beauty around us
we admire more the freshness
verdure
and vivacity of
spring. The snowdrop and the crocus
coming forth as the advance guard of the
army of flowers
have a superior claim about them.” Now
it is idle to compare
spring with summer; they differ
and have each its beauties. Be thankful each
of you for what you have
for by the grace of God you are what you are. After
making all these deductions
however
I cannot conceive that they altogether
account for the prevalence of these regrets; I am afraid the fact arises from
the sad truth that many of us have actually deteriorated in grace
have decayed
in spirit
and degenerated in heart.
IV. Since these
regrets are exceedingly common
it is to be feared that in some cases they are
very sadly needful. Are there not signs of declension
that some of us might
with but a very slight examination
discover in ourselves? Is not brotherly
love
in many Christians
very questionable?
V. But I must pass
on to observe that these regrets by themselves are useless. It is unprofitable
to read these words of Job
and say
“Just so
that is how I feel
” and then
continue in the same way. If a man has neglected his business
and so has lost
his trade
it may mark a turn in his affairs when he says
“I wish I had been
more industrious”; but if he abides in the same sloth as before
of what use is
his regret? If he doth not seek to be restored
he is adding to all his former
sins this of lying before God
in uttering regrets that he does not feel in his
soul.
VI. These regrets
when they are necessary
are very humbling. During the time we have been going
back we ought to have gone forward. What enjoyments we have lost by our
wanderings! What progress we have missed. Alas
how much the Church has lost
through us! for if the Christian becomes poor in grace
he lessens the Church’s
wealth of grace. VII. These regrets
then
are humbling
and they may be made very
profitable in many other ways. First
they show us what human nature is. Learn
again to prize what spiritual blessings yet remain. This should teach us to
live by faith
since our best attainments fail us.
VIII. These regrets
ought not to be continual: they ought to be removed. Go back to where you
started. Do not stay discussing whether you are a Christian or not. Go to
Christ as a poor
guilty sinner. (C. H. Spurgeon.)
Comfort for the desponding
I. First
there is
a complaint. How many a Christian looks on the past with pleasure
on the
future with dread
and on the present with sorrow!
1. The first is the case of a man who has lost the brightness of his
evidences.
2. Another phase of this great complaint
which it also very
frequently assumes
is one under which we are lamenting--not so much because
our evidences are withered
as because we do not enjoy a perpetual peace of
mind as to other matters. “Oh
” says one
“Oh
that I were as in months past!
for then whatever troubles and trials came upon me were less than nothing.”
3. Another individual
perhaps
is speaking thus concerning his
enjoyment in the house of God and the means of grace. “Oh
” says one
“in
months past
when I went up to the house of God
how sweetly did I hear!”
4. There are some of us who lament extremely that our conscience is
not as tender as it used to be; and therefore doth our soul cry in bitterness
”
Oh
that I were as in months past!” “When first I knew the Lord
” you say
“I
was almost afraid to put one foot before another
lest I should go astray.”
5. There are some of us who have not as much zeal for the glory of
God and the salvation of men as we used to have.
II. But now we are
about to take these different characters
and tell you the cause and cure.
1. One of the causes of this mournful state of things is defect in
prayer; and of course the cure lies somewhere next door to the cause. You do
not pray as you once did. Nothing brings such leanness into a man’s soul as
want of prayer.
2. Perhaps
again
you are saying
“Oh
that I were as in months
past!” not so much from your own fault as from the fault of your minister.
3. But there is a better reason still that will come more home to
some of you. It is not so much the badness of the food
as the seldomness that
you come to eat it.
4. But frequently this complaint arises from idolatry. Many have
given their hearts to something else save God
and have set their affections
upon the things of earth
instead of the things in heaven. We have perhaps
become self-confident and self-righteous. If so
that is a reason why it is not
with us as in months past. (C. H. Spurgeon.)
Verse 12
Because I delivered the poor that cried.
The use and application of wealth and authority
These words naturally lead us to reflect on the noble use and
improvement this venerable person made of his former prosperity; to consider
our own duty as represented to us in his example; and the proper objects of our
compassion.
I. The proper use
and application of wealth and authority. The distinctions which arise from
power and subjection
from riches and poverty
from ease and affliction
appear
so unequally and irregularly divided among men
and with so little regard to
moral reasons
that by some superficial observers they have been formed into an
objection against the wisdom and justice of God. But they execute a wise and
regular scheme of providence; are necessary to preserve the order and economy
of human society
and unite and endear mankind to one another. Wealth and
authority must be acknowledged to distinguish us only as superior servants
appointed by our common Master
to do justice in the family and give everyone
their meat in due season. We are not to imagine these favours are indulged us
merely for our own sakes
to enable us to live in splendour and ease. The poor
have a right and property in the abundance of those who are better supplied.
Neither is any man farther justified in engrossing and hoarding up the common bounties
of heaven
than may consist with this claim. These pleas of natural reason and
justice religion has enforced with the authority of a positive command. With
regard to the object
we are to observe
that both the obligations of the duty
and the measures prescribed to it
are under some limitations; for though our
benevolence is required to be universal
yet our abilities are confined to a
much narrower compass
and therefore oblige us to choice and distinction in the
external applications of our charity. The motives that should prevail with us
to comply with these great obligations
laid on us by justice and our religion
are that inward joy and complacency which flow back upon the soul from acts of
mercy and liberality; and above all
those inestimable rewards which the Gospel
has taught us to expect from these duties; pardon of sin here
and the eternal
treasures of heaven hereafter.
II. The words allow
us to take some inferior views into the account. While we are employed in the
exercise of beneficence and charity
we appear in the venerable character of
substitutes of God
commissioned by Him to reach down and distribute His
blessings among our fellow subjects. On the returns of gratitude from the
objects of our charity
and from the world who are witnesses of it
we are
permitted to reflect with pleasure as a present encouragement designed by God
to excite and reward our virtue. The other motive here proposed for our
encouragement
the blessings of those whom we relieve
is in its nature
properly religious; derives all its force from a conviction of our dependence
on Providence
and the efficacy of human prayers. (J. Rogers
D. D.)
Eyes to the blind
That is not egotism. It is not the utterance of a puffed-up
spirit. Egotism is too frequently the child of the shallows. Rarely
if ever
does it issue out of a deep and troubled heart. Egotism flourishes best where
profound sorrow is least known. And here is a man who is overwhelmed with
sorrow. Death has darkened every window in his home
and he is burdened with
the weight of an almost intolerable grief. This is no place in which to find
light
egotistical speech. Whatever words this man may speak will be crushed
out of him by the very burden of his grief. It is a man going into his
yesterdays to find some solace for the sorrow of today. He is calling upon
memory to provide a little heart’s ease for his present bitter distress. Thrice
happy the man who can call such memories to help him in the hour of his
distress! “The poor that cried
” and “the fatherless
” and “those ready to
perish
” and the “widow” and the “lame” and the “blind” still make their
appeals in the land
and it is true today as ever that the only Christian
response is the one that was made by the patriarch Job. I have noticed that
controversy about the distressed and the unfortunate is often regarded as a
substitute for their relief. Abstract discussions often result in misty
speculations which only obscure one’s personal duty. It is often the case that
controversy abounds where sympathy should reign. Again and again we find this
illustrated in the experiences of our Lord. You find controversialists
discussing the abstract question why such and such a man was born blind
while
the blind man himself was soliciting practical aid. I believe that there is a
vast amount of suffering and distress which might be effectually checked by
some rearrangement of our social and economic conditions. I do not think that
in these matters legislation is altogether impotent. At any rate
we can see to
it that legislation puts a premium upon virtue
and not upon vice. But when
legislation has done its utmost
misfortune will still be with us. In the
presence of these things
surrounded by them on every side
what is the
Christian attitude? The attitude of the patriarch Job. Christianity is a gospel
of compassion and practical help
and to be devoid of these things is to be
altogether an alien from the commonwealth of Israel. This is not new. The
youngest child in this assembly could tell us that Christianity without helpfulness
is a great absurdity. But while we all know these things
the danger is that we
have got the right ideas without the correspondingly right feelings. It is so
easy to be orthodox in mind but heterodox in heart; to have Christian ideas
but non-Christian feelings. Our Christianity may be intelligent but not
sympathetic. What we want is the orthodox feeling united to the orthodox
thought. How is this to be attained? I do not think we shall ever have a really
deep feeling for our fellow sufferers until we have deeply suffered too. You
begin to pray for the sailors when your own boy is on the deep. When you have a
crippled child what a heart you have for the maimed! It sometimes seems as
though God cannot draw us together in common feeling without taking us through
a common sorrow. There is nothing so welds hearts together. I know of nothing
more pathetic in the life of Browning than the reconciliation of himself and
the great actor Macready. They had been close and intimate friends
but for
some trifle or other they quarrelled
and each went his own way
and for years
their helpful intercourse was broken. Then came a great trouble. About the same
time they lost their wives
and a little while after
as each was walking out
in his loneliness in a quiet way in a London suburb
they suddenly met face to
face
and Browning
with a great burst of emotion
seized his old friend’s
hand
and said
“Oh
Macready”; and Macready
with an aching heart
replied
“Oh
Browning.” That was all they could say to each other
and in the fires of
a great and common grief the two severed lives were welded again. But if we
have not been deepened by suffering
we can do something to deepen ourselves.
Let us get face to face with realities. First of all we can remember the old trite
commonplace that “truth is stranger than fiction.” We can find more pitiful
things to weep over in any one street in this city than in all the works of
fiction which may issue from the press in the course of the year. I don’t know
what Christ will have to say to people who weep over their novels
but who
never weep over the great cities as He did because of their distresses and
their woes. (J. H. Jowett
M. A.)
Sympathy should be practical
An Italian coastguard officer reported a shipwreck to his Government
in these words: “We saw the wreck
and we attempted to give every assistance
possible through the speaking trumpet. We shouted ourselves quite hoarse
and
notwithstanding which next morning twenty corpses were washed ashore.” A
well-known Scotch professor used to tell this story
and add: “Too much of our
benevolence is of the speaking trumpet variety
and even this we boast about.
The Samaritan of the New Testament represents the benevolence of which the
world stands in greatest need.”
Piety and riches
I. The text shows
the nature of a truly righteous and powerful character
aided by great secular
possessions. Job was very rich; he was also very pious
1. His impartial justice.
2. His broad charity.
3. His timely assistance of the needy.
4. His exemplary leadership.
In all these we see a truly powerful and noble character. Piety
charity
justice
grandly blended and exemplified. We see at least” that there
is no incompatibility between a holy character and vast secular wealth.
II. The text shows
that the most perfect piety is no security against the loss of great secular
abundance. Wealth may go
but piety shall remain.
III. The text shows
that the rich pious man
being in danger of losing his wealth
should
while he
possesses it
use it wisely. This should inspire us--
1. To promptitude and liberality in our gifts; and
2. To a right discretion of the objects we support. It would be
difficult to estimate such a life as is here set forth. A rich good man abounds
with resources of good in every direction of God’s glory and the welfare of
man. And if so be that the wealth be taken from us
we never lose our piety
which is the far greater possession. (Thomas Colclough.)
Verse 13
The blessing of him that was ready to perish.
The blessedness of doing good
I. Job had the
blessing of those ready to perish.
1. A man may be ready to perish through adverse circumstances.
2. Or by some imminent danger and peril to which he is exposed.
3. In such cases men of pure benevolence interpose to save the poor
unhappy wretch who is ready to perish.
4. How many in the moral world are ready to perish by their sins and
iniquities. The blessing of him who is ready to perish comes on the man who
relieves the needy
rescues them that are exposed to danger
and who converteth
a sinner from the error of his ways.
II. Job had caused
the widow’s heart to sing for joy.
1. Widows are placed in very distressing circumstances.
2. Often she has a large family left to her care.
3. The world is ever ready to take advantage of a desolate widow.
4. Job was kind to widows in the days of his prosperity. His conduct
was generous and noble
and worthy of a great and good man. Let us imitate the
example of Job. Inferences--
Rescue the perishing
I. An urgent
necessity. “Ready to perish.” Oh that we all might go to the help of the poor
who are ready to perish in the midst of the ocean of drunkenness
misery
and
wretchedness. There is a want of sympathy. We find it in all classes. Men are
perishing about us for want of the power of the Gospel.
II. An assured
recompense. There is a sure recompense
if you will do God’s bidding. Be an
enthusiast. Seek out the perishing people
and risk yourselves in the service
of the Lord Jesus Christ.
III. A personal
enjoyment. There has been One who
in order to save you
gave Himself. Let your
blessing come upon Him as you stand in faith at the foot of the Cross. This
personal enjoyment can only come to us when we are true Christians. (William
Birch.)
Verses 14-17
I put on righteousness.
Ad magistratum
When others do us open wrong
it is not vanity
but
charity
to do ourselves open right. And whatsoever appearance of folly or vain
boasting there is in so doing
they are chargeable with all that compel us
thereunto
and not we. It was neither pride nor passion in Job
but such a
compulsion as this
that made him so often proclaim his own righteousness. It
seemeth Job was a good man
as well as a great; and being good
he was by so
much the better
by how much he was the greater. The grieved spirit of Job
uttered these words for his own justification; but the blessed Spirit of God
hath since written them for our instruction; to teach us
from Job’s example
how to use that measure of greatness and power which He hath given us
be it
more
or be it less
to His glory and the common good. We have to learn the
principal duties which concern those that live in any degree of efficiency or
authority. Those duties are four.
I. A care
and
love
and zeal of justice. This is the chief business of the magistrate. “I put
on righteousness
and it clothed me.” The metaphor of clothing is much used in
the Scriptures in this notion as it is applied to the soul
and things
appertaining to the soul. We clothe ourselves either for necessity
to cover
our nakedness; for security or defence against enemies; or for state and
solemnity
for distinction of offices and degrees. Job’s words intimate the
great love he had unto justice
and the great delight he took therein. And it
is the master duty of the magistrate to do justice
and to delight in it. He
must make it his chief business
and yet count it his lightsome recreation.
Magistrates may learn from the examples of Job
of Solomon
and of Jesus Christ
Himself. Justice is a thing in itself most excellent; from it there redoundeth
much glory to God; to ourselves so much comfort
and to others so much benefit.
II. Compassion to
the poor and distressed. Men’s necessities are many
and of great variety; but
most of them spring from one of these two defects
ignorance
or want of skill;
and impotence
or want of power: here signified by blindness and lameness. A
magistrate can be “eyes to the blind
” by giving sound and honest counsel to
the simple. He can be “feet to the lame
” by giving countenance and assistance
in just and honest causes; and “father to the poor
” by giving convenient
safety and protection to those in distress. The preeminence of magistrates
consisteth in their ability to do good and help the distressed
more than
others. As they receive power from God
so they receive honours and service and
tributes from their people for the maintenance of that power. God hath
imprinted in the natural conscience of every man notions of fear
and honour
and reverence
and obedience
and subjection
and contribution
and other
duties to be performed towards kings
magistrates
and other superiors. Mercy
and justice must go together
and help to temper the one the other. The
magistrate must be a father to the poor
to protect him from injuries
and to
relieve his necessities
but not to maintain him in idleness. He must make
provision to set him on work; and give him sharp correction should he grow
idle
dissolute
or stubborn.
III. Pains and
patience in examination of causes. “The cause which I knew not
I searched
out.” In the administration of justice the magistrate must make no difference
between rich and poor
far or near
friend or foe. The special duty imposed on
magistrates is diligence
and patience
and care to hear
and examine
and
inquire into the truth of things
and into the equity of men’s causes. Truth
often lieth
as it were
in the bottom of a pit
and has to be found and
brought to light. Innocency itself is often laden with false accusations.
IV. Stoutness and
courage in execution of justice. “I brake the jaws of the wicked.” Job alludes
to savage beasts
beasts of prey; types of the greedy and violent ones of the
world. For breaking the jaws of the wicked there is required a stout heart and
an undaunted courage. This is necessary for the magistrate’s work and for the
maintenance of his dignity. Inferences--
1. Of direction; for the choice and appointment of magistrates
according to the above four properties.
2. Of reproof; for a just rebuke of such magistrates as fail in any
of these four duties.
3. Of exhortation; to those who are
or shall be magistrates
to
carry themselves therein according to these four rules. (Bishop Sanderson.)
Sermon on the election of a Lord Mayor
Job’s reflections on the flourishing estate he had once enjoyed
did at the same time afflict and encourage him.
I. What a public
blessing a good magistrate is: a blessing as extensive as the community to
which he belongs; a blessing which includes all other blessings whatsoever that
relate to this life. The benefits of a just and good government to those who
are so happy as to be under it
like health to vigorous bodies
or fruitful
seasons in temperate climes
are such common and familiar blessings that they
are seldom either valued or relished as they ought to be.
II. The outward
marks of distinction and splendour which are allotted to the magistrate. Of
these the robe and diadem
mentioned by Job
are illustrations. It was intended
thus--
1. To excite the magistrate to a due degree of vigilance and concern
for the public good. The magistrate was made great
to inspire him with
resolutions of living suitably to his high profession and calling.
2. To secure the magistrate’s person
in which the public
tranquillity and safety are always involved.
3. To ensure that the magistrate is had in due estimation and
reverence by all those who are subject to him. It is in the civil government
as in the offices of religion; which
were they stript of all the external
decencies of worship
would not make a due impression on the minds of those who
assist at them. The solemnities that encompass the magistrate
add dignity to
all his actions
and weight to all his words and opinions.
4. To aid the magistrate to reverence himself. He who esteems and
reverences himself will not fail to take the truest methods towards procuring
esteem and reverence from others.
III. The duties of
the magistrate. The chief honour of the magistrate consists in maintaining the
dignity of his character by suitable actions
and in discharging the high trust
that is reposed in him
with integrity
wisdom
and courage. Reputation is the
great engine by which those who are possessed of power must make that power
serviceable to the ends and uses of government. The rods and axes of princes
and their deputies may awe many into obedience; but the fame of their goodness
and justice
and other virtues will work on more; will make men not only obedient
but willing to obey. An established character spreads the influence of such as
move in a high sphere
on all around and beneath them. The actions of men in
high stations are all conspicuous
and liable to be scanned and sifted. They
cannot hide themselves from the eyes of the world as private men can. Great
places are never well filled but by great minds; and it is as natural to a
great mind to seek honour by a due discharge of a high trust
as it is to
little men to make less advantages of it. A good magistrate must be endued with
a public spirit
and be free from all narrow and selfish views. He must
impartially distribute justice
without respect of persons
interests
or
opinions. Courtesy and condescension is another happy quality of a magistrate. Bounty
also
and a generous contempt of that in which too many men place their
happiness
must come in to heighten his character. Of all good qualities
that
which recommends and adorns the magistrate most
is his care of religion;
which
as it is the most valuable thing in the world
so it gives the truest
value to them
who promote the esteem and practice of it
by their example
authority
influence
and encouragement. (F. Atterbury
D. D.)
Verse 15
I was eyes to the blind.
Self-multiplication
Are not my eyes my own? No
nothing is your own; and until you get
that truth driven into your very soul you cannot be a Christian. May not a man
do what he will with his own? Yes
when he gets it. Your hand is not your own
so what about the little thing that is in it? The greater includes the less.
Not a hair upon your head is your own
not a breath in your body is your own;
the blood of Christ bought you every whir and every fibre
or He bought none of
you. If a man has vision he holds that vision for the sake of him who has none.
That is the New Testament law of property. Every man who has need of your help
you can make part of yourself
and by a transmigration of souls
which has
nothing to do with the old fables of metempsychosis
you can take other men
into you
put yourselves into other men
and live the public life
the life
philanthropic
without many people knowing much about it. Does he give nothing
who is eyes to the blind
who reads the small print for those whose eyes are
dim? They say
we can make out these large letters
but what is all this small
writing? Is it nothing to read the Bible to a person whose eyes are failing and
who cannot any longer see the sweet revelation of God in dim type? Is it
nothing to sit for an hour beside some poor solitary soul on a Sunday evening
and read to that soul words from heaven? Does he who does this do nothing
because his name does not appear in this list or in that? The difficulty which
all men have to contend with is that they cannot get away from their own little
narrow conceptions of what things are. If you do not do exactly as I do and
when I do it
then the enemy suggests to me that you are doing nothing
whereas
you may be doing ten thousand times more than it ever entered into my
imagination to conceive it possible for a man to do. Thus--There are some
persons who cannot get away from the idea that unless a ministry be associated
with thousands upon thousands of conversions it is doing nothing. Blessed be
God
they are not judges
they are only critics. Does he do nothing who
stimulates the whole humanity that is in a man? Does he do nothing who makes
the coward say
“God help me to be brave
and when the enemy comes in again I will
stand up against him with full-toned strength”? Do not attempt to write another
man’s subscription list for him. Every man shall give account of himself to
God. Enough! God is love. There are others who cannot get away from the idea
that unless you have endless organisations
a whole tumult of mechanisms
you
are doing nothing. Does the blind man play no part in all this wondrous drama
of love? Why
the blind man should never forget who it was that led him across
the thoroughfare. Even a blind man is not exempted from gratitude; even the man
who has been helped ought to remember the man who assisted him; even God sits
that He may receive our tributes of thankfulness
--need of them He has none
but He knows it is good for us to cleanse our selfishness by allowing to be
poured through it our streams of gratitude. Have you recognised all the men who
were eyes to you? I fear not. Who was eyes to you in business
when you were a
young man
and could see very little? Who was that strong man with the piercing
eyes that saw miles beyond the line where your vision failed
and who said to
you
Thus and thus lie the horizon of destiny and the sphere of commercial
possibility? You profited by that man’s eyes and that man’s guidance: what have
you done for him? Are you aware that some of his children are in difficulties?
Do you know that his widow would be almost happy if she had but one pound a
week more than she has? Do you know that that man
then so good and strong
has
not a gravestone to mark where his bones lie? You might put up one and write
upon it
“He helped me
he was eyes to me; but for that man whose body lies
here I should have died in the nighttime without ever having seen the light”;
and that Bible passage men might read
and reading might begin to feel
and
feeling might begin to pray
and praying might begin to help other young men.
Who was it that counselled you when you were in difficulty? But what money
value attaches to good counsel? Who cares to pay for ideas? Pay for bricks and
stones
iron pillars and gaslight and painted glass
but never
saith the
miser
pay for soul
mind
blood
the fury of high inspiration. Many men do not
see the blind
or they would help them. Shall I tell you why many men do not
see the blind? The answer is
because they do not look for them; and it is
amazing how much you can miss if you never look for it. There are souls that
are telling this lie to themselves
namely
Now
if only I had the opportunity
I could do a good deal
but people that need this sort of help never seem to
come in my way: no doubt there are many deserving cases in the world if one
only knew them. How dare you go to rest in darkness after telling that
falsehood? Out upon such hypocrisy! This I am prepared to say
that some of us
have larger opportunities of seeing than other men have. That is of necessity
true: but the other men ought to say to those who have the larger outlook
Spend this money for me; I would give it with my own hand if I knew the eases
but you have larger opportunities of seeing them: spend two hundred pounds a
year for me. Think of a man having his ten thousand
fifteen
twenty thousand a
year
and never making any man who has large vision of society his treasurer or
his trustee. Let us remember that there is other blindness than that of the
body. Here is the larger field
here is scope for genius and sympathy and
prayerfulness and love. “I was eyes to the blind”--the ignorant; I taught them
their letters
I gave them the key of knowledge
I showed them how to read a
little for themselves
and then I gave them a book or two; and now they are
reading and mentally growing; they are thinking deeply upon practical
questions
and are themselves teaching other people to read. “I was eyes to the
blind”--to those who were labouring in the darkness of superstition
thinking
of omens
and being frightened by suggestions of spectral presences; not the
great spirituality which fills the universe with the Holy Ghost
but afraid of
witch and demon and imp and fairy: for them I purged the air
I made them feel
that the air was a great wind of health from heaven
meant to rejuvenate men
to make men young and cheerful
glad with a solemn merriment; and now they ate
telling other people that God is light
God is love
and that they who fear the
God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ have nothing else to fear
for they
stand in the light of love. (Joseph Parker
D. D.)
“Eyes to the blind”
I. The peculiarly
dependent condition of the blind.
1. As to spiritual things
the blind are peculiarly dependent. In
spiritual things all men are dependent. Sometimes blindness is sent in
judgment. How many are the books which the blind do not possess. From how many
objects of sight the Scripture draws lessons of faith. These must be more
difficult to the blind than to others.
2. As to temporal things. So few professions and trades the blind can
follow.
II. The duty and
mode of becoming eyes to the blind. It is our duty to study the mind of God
towards the blind
and to pray
and to endeavour with His help
to be like-minded
according to our opportunity. As to mode
this will apply to individuals. All
should maintain the sincerest sympathy
all should be ready to give their
practical help; but different individuals may help in different ways. (John
Hambleton
M. A.)
Job’s social goodness
Job was evidently a common friend and benefactor
a lover of
mankind
one that cheerfully employed his time
his labour
and his substance
in promoting the welfare and happiness of others.
I. Job was eyes to
the blind.” This is commonly understood of intellectual blindness
of those
whose minds are darkened. Being eyes to them must consequently mean the
enlightening those dark minds by the beams of knowledge and instruction. This
figurative sense of the words need not exclude the literal one. The loss of
eyesight is so touching a calamity
so irksome and comfortless a state
as to
raise compassion in some breasts not apt to be much affected by other objects.
The rational powers of a man
which is the inward eyesight
may be blinded by sin
by ignorance
or by distraction.
II. Job was feet to
the lame. Soundness of body
and a hale constitution
with all the limbs
entire
and capable of exerting their respective functions
is all the
inheritance the great number of mankind is born into. Hard indeed is their lot
and very severe the dispensation under which they are fallen
who have neither
bread to eat
nor hands wherewith to work for it; who are sorely maimed and
crippled in their limbs
racked with tormenting pains
or wasted with lingering
diseases. For such
special hospitals are provided.
III. Job was a
father to the poor. He had too enlarged and generous a soul to let his bounty
flow merely in the channel of his family. He is in this a very noble pattern
for imitation. (Andrew Snape
D. D.)
Happy memories of past usefulness
The most beautiful invention of the poet Dante is not his picture
of Beatrice
nor of Francesca
but his description of the river Eunoe
in whose
waters having been immersed
one recalls at once all the good actions and
thoughts of his past life. Long before the time of Dante
the poets of the
heathen world had sung about a stream called Lethe
in which if one plunged he
forgot the sorrows of the past. The one was the outgrowth of heathen
the other
of Christian thought. The heathen could hope for nothing better than oblivion.
Complete forgetfulness was all the sinful heart dared hope for. But
Christianity not only points with hope to the future
but sanctifies the past.
It fills men’s lives with kindly deeds and blessed memories
never to be
forgotten. And in the eternal future
God’s children with memory quickened will
praise Him for the past. (D. Swing.)
Verse 16
I was a father to the poor.
A father to the poor
The text is part of Job’s noble vindication of himself from
a charge of hypocrisy and impiety. So far was Job from considering the poor as
made for him
so far from neglecting and oppressing them
that his wealth and
its attendant influence prompted him to become their advocate
to befriend the
friendless
and to attempt the relief of every species of human distress.
I. The paternal
character
as it respects the poor. It includes--
1. A real and an affectionate concern for the poor. So far was Job
from considering the poor as made for his aggrandisement
to do him homage
to
wait his nod
that he saw and respected himself in them; made their cause his
own
entered into their afflictions
and had a heart to feel for all their wants
and sorrows.
2. Well-digested schemes
and well-directed endeavours
to promote
under God
their temporal and eternal good. There can be no true charity
among
the affluent
without liberality. This fallen world opens a widely extended
field for the exercise of every compassionate and benevolent principle in the
heart. The paternal character has a relation to the bodies of the poor
as that
of a father to the bodies of his immediate offspring. More important are the
souls of the poor.
II. Recommend and urge
the paternal character
as it respects the poor. An argument might be brought
from the very constitution of human nature. A principle of self-love is common
to us all. The paternal character is more Divine
more Godlike
than anything
else within the reach and ability of man. It makes that very use of talents and
advantages which God designed. The character enters into the main and
substantial part of Christianity. Solid comfort and felicity will ever result
from it. (N. Hill.)
A father to the poor
Such a man is surely one of the most useful friends to virtue
to
religion
and to society. The two principal branches of paternal care are
provision and instruction. A serious and benevolent attention to the cause of
the poor is a necessary part of the character of everyone who acts upon
principle
either as a Christian or a man
of everyone who values either the
civil or religious constitution of this country. “The righteous considereth the
cause of the poor
” because he considereth them as partakers of the same
nature
and children of the same Father with himself. The righteous looks into
himself
and from thence learns to show compassion to others. His nature
prompts him to this benevolent office; his reason inculcates it; his conscience
approves it; his condition of life empowers him to fulfil it. What is led to by
the principles of reason and morality
is brought home to his bosom by the
declarations of the Gospel. The infirm
the industrious
and the lazy
make up
the great body of the poor. The infirm claim our pity to relieve our attention
to employ them; the lazy our resolution to them; the industrious force them to
labour. Difficulties occur in the modelling of all schemes for the provision of
the poor
from that discretionary power which must unavoidably be allowed in
the execution of them. Difficulty again arises from that prevalence of luxury
which we see tempts all persons to live above the rank which they hold in the
society. Instruction is the second part of a father’s care. The subject of
instruction for the poor is the Christian religion as established in this
kingdom. The principles of the Gospel cultivate the general interests of civil
society. (Archbishop Hay Drummond.)
On beneficence
1. By the exercise of compassion and kindness to our fellow creatures
we fulfil the intention of providence. The blessings of life are distributed in
very different proportions to different classes of men. The division of mankind
into rich and poor is not the effect of any particular political institution.
It is altogether unavoidable in the course of human affairs. All that society
has to do is to secure to the industrious the fruits of their virtuous labours.
This division of mankind into rich and poor ought not to be considered as a
subject of regret. There are many salutary effects which it seems well fitted
to produce. It furnishes an opportunity for the exercise of human virtue
in an
infinite variety of situations; it keeps alive the spirit of industry
by
holding out to the industrious the hope of rising to distinction; it improves
the human condition
by rendering the exertions of every individual
in his own
particular sphere
more conducive than they would otherwise be to the general
happiness of society. But
in this imperfect state
inequalities frequently
appear
which call for the interposition of the generous. Disasters sometimes
arise
which no prudence or industry can prevent. The pressure of bodily
distress often makes the hands of the diligent to hang down. Hence arises a new
relation; a relation between the fortunate and the miserable. Let both parties
be instructed in their duty. Whatever you possess
you owe to the bounty of
your Maker. You are the depositaries of His bounty
not absolute disposers. You
are not at liberty to squander His gifts
as your own caprice or passion may
dictate; but are required to fulfil the purpose of the Giver. In few situations
are men destitute of the means of contributing to the happiness of their fellow
creatures. God has not left the wretched without resource. He has ordained that
compassion should be the balm of misery. The selfish
indeed
seem to behold in
the whole world no being but themselves. For them alone the sun arises
the
dews descend
and the earth yields its increase. Such were the sentiments of
the hard-hearted Nabal.
2. The exercise of our compassion and kindness to our brethren is one
of the best expressions of our piety to God. What shall we render to the Lord
for all His mercies? God is Himself exalted above the reach of our most perfect
services; our goodness doth not extend to Him. Our brethren are placed within
the reach of our beneficence
and our charity to them is piety to our Maker. No
fervours of religious affection will atone for the want of charity. Your alms
must ascend with your prayers as a memorial before God.
3. By the exercise of compassion and kindness to our fellow
creatures
we promote our own happiness. Benevolence is a source of pleasure.
Compare the benevolent with the selfish in every situation of life. Place them
in affluence
and observe how they differ. Place them in adversity
and see how
they differ. Let disease come to the man who has shown no compassion to his
brethren. How ill is he prepared for the evil day. Let sickness increase
let
death approach; where now is the joy of the selfish? (W. Moodie
D. D.)
Home and Sunday school
Here is a matchless picture of a great and beautiful human life in
that grand
calm
and stately patriarchal time
which presents a refreshing
contrast to these eager
rapid
rushing days
in which God has east our lot.
Each age has its own form of dignity and nobleness
and its own field of Divine
service. This grand old sheikh
who was the Christus consolator of his
people
was not even a member of the elect line. Job saw into the heart of the
great social question of all ages when he declared himself a father to the
poor. It is just the father’s wisdom
firmness
and tenderness which poverty
and ignorance need. It is just this which law cannot proffer to them. This
explains the reason why in all ages the true help of the poor comes from the
life-warm hand of the Christian Church. It is a large subject
and one full of
interest
the fatherly ministry of the Church to the poor and helpless. We
dwell on one feature only. The foremost duty of a father is the nurture and
culture of the children. Let us see how
when the father wholly or partially
fails
the Church steps forward with its Divinely helpful hand in his room.
Plato
in his conception of the ideal republic
makes the children the charge
of the State from the first. He makes their culture its most sacred duty
seeing that on their wisdom
industry
and moral habits so much of the health
and wealth of the community in successive generations inevitably depends. It is
practically impossible on any scheme of government to get a full representation
of the highest wisdom of the community in the governing powers; and the
training of all the children of the community in one type elaborated by human
wisdom
however
admirable
contradicts and does its best to frustrate the
benignant purpose of God in the varied natural endowments of mankind. He has
not made men in one type. Think of a Christian household of a lofty Christian
type
where the children are trained to a noble manhood and womanhood by parents
whom they both reverence and love; where the hand of authority is firm but
never capricious; where God’s statutes and judgments are maintained in absolute
supremacy; but where the children are never suffered to question for a moment
that the motive of their maintenance is love. And whence the children are sent
forth at length into the theatre of life with this deepest conviction in their
hearts--that the only life worth the living is a life of service and ministry
to mankind. Multiply such a home by all the homes of the community
and what a
millennium of peace
and joy
and wealth would they bring in. But look at it on
the other side. Think of thousands of homes
in which the children from the
very first grow up in an atmosphere which taints at the spring their physical
mental
and moral life; in which they never hear the name of God or of Christ
but in blasphemy. Multiply such homes by all the homes of the community
and
then measure the dire and deadly ruin in which they would plunge themselves and
the State at last. How does Christianity solve this question of the education
of the children of a generation
with due regard to freedom of individual
development on the one hand
and the need of bringing to bear on it the highest
wisdom on the other? The Gospel establishes on the firmest and most lasting
foundations the institution of the home. It deepens parental responsibility; it
enlarges parental functions; it enhances the estimate of the momentous issues
which are hanging on the due and Christian fulfilment of parental duty. The
home is the ultimate unit of society. God sets the parent the pattern; God
helps the parent in the task; God holds forth to the parent the prize. God
attends the progress of humanity with an institution in which His truth is enshrined
in which His Spirit dwells
and which is the living and ever-present organ of
His counsel and influence--the Christian Church. And here comes into the field
the Sunday School. It would be wrong to say that the parental institution
the
home
had failed; but a great mass of human parents are utterly unequal to the
task that is laid upon them. The Church steps in with her helping hand
and
sends forth from her bosom a great army of earnest
loving
and self-devoted
teachers
to be as fathers to the children whose souls are fatherless
and to
surround the shivering
homeless outcasts with the warm atmosphere of Christian
love. This word
“I was a father to the poor
” is the key to the teacher’s
position and work. Not to supersede the parent
but in every way to stimulate
and help him
are teachers sent forth by the Church and by the world. Three
things he must keep constantly in sight.
1. Instruction. To impart knowledge is his first and most important
work. The Christian teacher mostly confines himself to the highest knowledge.
2. The teacher is to be a shepherd
a pastor to the children. Sunday
school teaching is pastoral work.
3. The teacher should follow the children to their homes
and do what
he can to sweeten and purify the atmosphere of their lives. I honour the
Sabbath School because--
Verse 18
Then I said
I shall die in my nest.
The disappointments of life
If we examine the world
we shall everywhere discover variety
changeableness
and succession. Our bodies
our relations
our conditions and
circumstances are perpetually changing. But this diversity constitutes the
beauty and the glory of providence. It displays the Divine perfections
by
rendering their interposition necessary and obvious. It furnishes means by
which the dispositions of men are tried
and their characters formed. It lays
hold of their hope and fear
joy and sorrow; and exercises every principle of
their nature
in their education for eternity. Providence is God in motion; God
fulfilling
explaining
enforcing His own word.
I. In these words
we see something good. Even in his greatest prosperity
Job thought of dying.
Death is always an irksome consideration to the man of the world. He strives to
banish it from his thoughts. But the believer keeps up a familiar acquaintance
with it. It is far more difficult to maintain a right state of mind in pleasing
and prosperous circumstances
than in trying and distressing scenes.
II. We see
something desirable. Who does not wish to have his possessions and enjoyments
continued; to escape painful revolutions in his circumstances? We talk of the
benefit of affliction--but affliction
simply considered
is not eligible. We
decry the passions
--but we are required to regulate the passions
rather than
expel them. Temporal things are good in themselves and needful. Our error in
desiring them consists in two things.
1. In desiring them unconditionally. In praying for temporal
blessings
we are always to keep a reserve upon our wishes
including
submission to the will of God
and a reference to our real welfare.
2. When we desire them supremely. For whatever be their utility
they
are not to be compared with spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ.
Things are to be valued and pursued according to their importance.
III. We find
something very common. It is affluence and ease cherishing confidence and
presumption. It is a supposition that we shall have no changes because we feel
none. The consequence is natural
and it is easily explained. Present things
most powerfully impress the mind.
IV. Something very
false and vain. “Then I said
I shall die in my nest.” Oh
Job! “Boast not
thyself of tomorrow.” So ignorant are we of futurity
so erroneous are we in
our calculations; so liable are we to mortifying vicissitudes. Whatever engages
our affection may become a source of sorrow; whatever excites our hope may
prove the means of disappointment. Such is the hard condition upon which we
take all our earthly comforts. Are we secure from disappointment with regard to
life; or health; or children; or friendship; or property? Observe
however
that we do not recommend you to cherish everlasting apprehension and gloom. It
is displeasing to God when we pour the mercies He gives us to enjoy by
mistrust. We may avoid solicitude
and not be guilty of the worldly confidence
which we have condemned. It does require you--
1. To be moderate in your attachments
and sober in your
expectations. The way to escape disappointment is to keep your hopes humble.
2. It calls upon you to seek a better ground of confidence
and to
make the Lord your trust.
3. It calls upon you to seek after a preparation for all the changing
scenes of life.
4. It calls upon you to look beyond this vain and mutable world to a
state of solid and unchangeable happiness. (William Jay.)
The disappointments of life
We have here the sadness and lamentation of a disappointed man.
Matters had turned out differently to his expectations. Many things conspired
against Job
and the providence of God doomed him to disappointment. In the
chapter before us
and in the next following
he speaks of the hopes that he
once had
and the frustration of these hopes for which he now mourned
as he
seated himself in the ashes
and clothed himself with sackcloth. Having regard
to Job’s position and circumstances
none could say that his expectations were
extravagant. But before old age came
he found himself with his nest torn to
pieces
his reputation shattered
his prosperity perished
his influence
destroyed
and foul disease threatening to sweep his body to an untimely grave.
As we pass from one stage of life to another
we have to confess that many of
our glowing expectations have turned out nothing but day dreams. Who has not
had to mourn for frustrated hopes? These disappointments in life befall us
under the providence of God; therefore we may be certain that they are meant
for our instruction and discipline
as a test of principle for the maturing of
our character and the promotion of our spiritual prosperity. These
disappointments come in two ways.
1. We strive for that which we are never able to secure.
2. Disappointment comes to men when they reach the point for which
they started
and then find it does not correspond with their expectations.
Illustrate by the race for riches
or the desire for power. In the region of
usefulness there is often disappointment. The same truth is illustrated in
personal character. One thing this disappointment does--it drives us nearer to
God. I can sometimes thank God for all the dark things in human life which
prevent my leaning on anything but the One above
who is perfect both in wisdom
and in love. (Charles Vince.)
Life; its hopes and disappointments
and their gracious design
(verses 18-20; 30:26
31). It would be impossible to find a more
admirable description of prosperity than that given in this chapter. Job fondly
anticipated that all this prosperity and power would be continued to him. How
different the result proved. Job’s experience has its counterpart in that of
the children of men in general; in some
of course
more than in others
yet
more or less in all. For some the disappointment of life is the disappointment
of non-attainment. This may be illustrated in Abraham. What is God’s loving design
in life’s disappointments? They form the medium whereby we reach higher
blessings than those we miss. How was Job recompensed? Not by material
blessings
which were but incidental. The true recompense lay in the purifying
and perfecting of his character and life; in the spiritual blessings he reaped
as the result of the discipline. So with ourselves. If rightly exercised by
life’s adverse influences
we may find gain in every loss. The disappointments
of life operate favourably by bringing us nearer to God. (S. D. Hillman.)
My root was spread out by
the waters.--
The commendable and censurable in character
I. Here is
something very good. In his greatest prosperity Job had thoughts of dying.
II. Here is
something very desirable. Job desired a continuation of his providential
mercies. The wrong in desiring worldly good is when we desire it
unconditionally and supremely.
III. Here is
something very common. Job in his affluence cherished confidence and
presumption.
IV. Here is
something very false. Job calculated on dying in his nest when the storm was
gathering round him. (Homilist.)
Verse 20
My glory was fresh in me
and my bow was renewed in my hand.
Freshness
The text tells us of the renown of Job
and of the way in which
the providence of God continued to maintain the glory of his estate
his bodily
health
and his prosperity
His glory was fresh in him. He did not achieve a
hasty fame
and then suddenly become forgotten. He did not blaze out like a
meteor
and then vanish into darkness. He says that his bow was renewed in his
hand: whereas usually the bow loses its force by use
and is less able to shoot
the arrow after a little while
and needs to lie still with a slack string
it
was by no means so with him. He could send one arrow
and then another
and
then another
and the bow seemed to gather strength by use. That is to say
he
never seemed to be worn out in mind or body. However
this did not last always
for Job in this chapter is telling us of something that used to be--something
that was--some-thing the loss of which he very sorrowfully deplored--“my glory
was fresh in me.” He found himself suddenly stripped of riches and of honour
and put last in the list instead of first. So far as glory was concerned
he
was forgotten as a dead man out of mind. This reads us a lesson that we put not
our trust in the stability of earthly things.
I. First
then
notice the excellency of freshness. “I shall be anointed with fresh oil” (Psalms 92:10). David had been anointed
while still a youth to be king over Israel. He was anointed yet again when he
came to the kingdom: that outward anointing with actual oil was the testimony
of God’s choice and the ensign of David’s authorisation
and oftentimes when
his throne seemed precarious God confirmed him in it
and subdued the people
under him. When his dominion waxed weak
God strengthened him and strengthened
his servants
and gave them great victories; so that as a king he was
frequently anointed with fresh oil. Freshness is a most delightful thing if you
see it in another. It is a charm in nature. How pleasant to go into the garden
and see the spring flowers just peeping up. How agreeable to mark the rills
with their fresh water leaping down the hills after showers of rain. But
spiritual freshness has a double charm. Sometimes we know what it is to have a
freshness of soul
which is the dew from the Lord.
1. How that freshness is seen in a man’s devotions. Oh
I have heard
some prayers that are really fusty. I have heard them before so often that I
dread the old familiar sounds. Some hackneyed expressions I recollect hearing
when I was a boy. But
on the other hand
you hear a man pray who does pray
whose soul is fully in communion with God
and what life and freshness is
there!
2. And so it is well to have a freshness about our feelings. I know
that we do not hope to be saved by our feelings; neither do we put feeling side
by side with faith; yet I should be very sorry to be trusting and yet never
feeling. Whether it be joy or sorrow
let it be living feeling
fresh from the
deep fountains of the heart. Whether it be exultation or depression
let it be
true and not superficial or simulated. I hate the excitement which needs to be
pumped up. God keep us from stale feelings
and give us freshness of emotion.
3. I believe that there is a very great beauty and excellence in
freshness of utterance. Do not hinder yourself from that.
4. There should be a freshness
dear friends
about our labour. We
ought to serve the Lord today with just as much novelty in it as there was ten
years ago.
II. Now I will
dwell upon the fear of losing it--the fear of its departure. I have heard some
express the thought that perhaps the things of God might lose their freshness
to us by our familiarity with them. I think that the very reverse will turn out
to be the case if the familiarity be that of a sanctified heart. Let me tell
you some points on which
I fear
we have good ground of alarm
for we do our
best to rob ourselves of all life and freshness. Christian people can lose the
freshness of their own selves by imitating one another. By adopting as our
model some one form of the Christian life other than that which is embodied in
the person of our Lord we shall soon manufacture a set of paste gems
but the
diamond flash and glory will be unknown. Another way of spoiling your freshness
is by repression. The feebler sort of Christians dare not say
feel
or do
until they have asked their leader’s leave. If we want to keep up our
freshness
however
the main thing is never to fall into neglect about our
souls. Do you know what state the man is generally in when you are charmed by
his freshness? Is he not in fine health? Let the fountain of the heart be
right
and then the freshness will speedily be seen. I have shogun you the
things by which a man may lose his freshness; avoid them carefully.
III. I close with
the third point
which is this precious word which gives us hope of its
renewal. Let us not think that we must grow stale
and heavenly things grow old
with us: For
first
our God in whom we trust renews the face of the year. He
is beginning His work again in the fair processes of nature. The dreary winter
has passed away. Put your trust
in God
who renews the face of the earth
and
look for His Spirit to revive you. Moreover
there is an excellent reason why
you may expect to have all your freshness coming back again: it is because
Christ dwells in you. Then there is the other grand doctrine of the indwelling
of the Holy Ghost. He dwells in you. (C. H. Spurgeon.)
──《The Biblical Illustrator》