_Then Job answered and said._ COMPLAINTS AND CONFIDENCES I. Job bitterly complaining. 1. He complains of the conduct of his friends, and especially their want of sympathy. (1) They exasperated him with their words. (2) With their persistent hostility. (3) With their callousness. (4) With thei... [ Continue Reading ]
_Know new that God has overthrown me._ THE DIFFICULTIES OF UNBELIEF One thing is to be noticed, with both Job and his friends the existence of God is a part of the problem, not to be discharged from it even hypothetically. The misfortunes of the good, the prosperity of the wicked, the inequalities... [ Continue Reading ]
_My kinsfolk have failed._ FICKLENESS OF FRIENDS What is sweeter than a well-tuned lute, and what is more delightful than a faithful friend, who can cheer us in sorrow with wise and affectionate discourse? Nothing, however, is sooner untuned than a lute, and nothing is more fickle than a friend. T... [ Continue Reading ]
_And I am escaped with the skin of my teeth._ A NARROW ESCAPE Job had it hard. What with boils, and bereavements, and bankruptcy, and a foolish wife, he wished he was dead. His flesh was gone, and his bones were dry. His teeth wasted away until nothing but the enamel seemed left. He cries out, “I a... [ Continue Reading ]
_Have pity upon me, for the hand of God hath touched me._ CHRIST’S PASSION Apt illustration of a more perfect sufferer--one more holy than Job, and one involved in deeper sorrow. I. In many respects there is an analogy between the sufferers. 1. Christ was an innocent and benevolent sufferer. 2.... [ Continue Reading ]
_Oh that my words were now written! _ JOB LONGING FOR A PERMANENT MEMORIAL Job’s wish has been gratified; his memorial has found inscription on a tablet compared with which the granite rock is rubbish, and lead a withered leaf. It has found entry in the “Word of God, which liveth and endureth for... [ Continue Reading ]
_For I know that my Redeemer liveth._ OF THE RESURRECTION (ON EASTER DAY) This text is a prophecy and prediction of our Saviour Christ’s glorious resurrection. A sacred truth, requiring not only the assent, but the devotion and adoration of our faith. Here Job foresees and foretells the resurrecti... [ Continue Reading ]
_But ye should say, Why persecute we him?_ TOLERATION OF INTOLERANCE One of the hardest things in this world is, for the tolerant to have to tolerate intolerance, for the liberal to have to endure illiberality, for the charitable to have to put up with bigotry. We can conceive of an intolerant pers... [ Continue Reading ]