(7.) IT SILENCED CONTROVERSY AND GENERATED REPENTANCE. "Moreover the Lord answered Job, and said," &c.-CHAP. xl. 1–14. EXEGETICAL REMARKS. Vers. 1, 2.-" Moreover the Lord answered Job, and said, Shall he that contendeth with the Almighty instruct Him? he that reproveth God, let him answer it." Again, "out of the whirlwind," if not objectively, yet subjectively in Job's consciousness, Jehovah speaks, and His words thunder with apparent satiric reproof. "Will now the censurer contend with the Almighty? let the instructor of Eloah answer it."-Delitzsch. The first verses of this chapter (1-5) merely clench the appeal of the previous chapter to the ignorance of man in respect to the laws of the physical and animal world, as preventing him from being fit to "instruct" and to reprove God in His dealing with the higher world of humanity. Job acknowledges the appeal, and is silenced. Then follows a second appeal to the power of God, as a needful instrument of His moral government. Till man can wield the power, can he determine its right use? (6-14). To this appeal is appended a remarkable description of two types of brute force, the behemoth and leviathan, as laughing to scorn the powers of man (ch. xl. 15-24; and xli.). Job's answer is contained in xlii. (1-6). — Canon Barry. Vers. 3, 4.- "Then Job answered the Lord, and said, Behold, I am vile; what shall I answer Thee? I will lay mine hand upon my mouth." As if Job had said, I am so im- Ver. 5.- "Once have I spoken; but I will not answer: yea, twice; but I will proceed no further." This means, I have spoken several times concerning Thee, but I cannot speak to Thee, and I will speak no more. Vers. 6, 7.- "Then answered the Lord unto Job out of the whirlwind, and said, Gird up thy loins now like a man: I will demand of thee, and declare thou unto Me." Here is another terrible appeal in the form of a challenge. The meaning is, "Rouse all thy energy, gather up all thy force and answer Me. I will ask thee questions and demand an answer." Ver. 8.-" Wilt thou also disannul My judgment? wilt thou condemn Me, that thou mayest be righteous ?" "Wilt thou altogether annul My right? condemn Me that thou mayest be righteous?"-Delitzsch. Ver. 9.-" Hast thou an arm like God? or canst thou thunder with a voice like Him?" "Arm," symbol that is proud, and bring him low; and tread down the wicked in their place." "Behold all pride and bring it low, and cast down the evil-doers in their place." Ver. 13. "Hide them in the dust together; and bind their faces in secret." Crush them and bury them in secrecy. Ver. 14.-" Then will I also confess unto thee that thine own right hand can save thee." If thou canst do all this, it will prove that thou art able to contend with Me, able to criticize My procedure in the government of the universe. It HOMILETICS.In these fourteen verses we have one of the most powerful reproofs ever addressed to mortal man. was addressed by the Almighty to Job, in circumstances the most stirring, and in language the most impressive. This Divine reproof had a power which did two things— I. SILENCED CONTROVERSY. What could Job or any man say to these words? It did this— First: By appealing to the ignorance of man. "Shall he that contendeth with the Almighty instruct Him?" Who can "instruct" Omniscience? (1) It is to the last degree impossible. Were all created intelligences in the universe to unite in order to increase the intelligence of God, or to give Him one single idea, the attempt would be as futile as if one sought to brighten the orb of day by setting a match in flames. "Who being His counsellor hath taught Him?" (2) Were it possible, it would be to the last degree inexpedient. Were the Eternal to be in any measure influenced by the thoughts and wishes of His creatures, would not the order of the universe be disturbed; ay, destroyed? It is a blessing to the universe that the Eternal carries out His own ideas about the creation, and the ideas of no one else; therefore all controversy in relation to Him should be hushed. "Who art thou, O man, that repliest against God?" "Be still, and know that I am God." Infinitely more absurd is it for the highest created minds "Gird to criticize the Almighty than for insects to hiss against the thunders that shake the globe. It did thisSecondly By appealing to the weakness of man. up thy loins now like a man. Hast thou an arm like God? Cast abroad the rage of thy wrath," &c. Could any language be more suited to overwhelm man with his utter impotency than this? What are we in His presence? “I will demand of thee, and declare thou unto Me." What is thy power to Mine? "Hast thou an arm like God?" What is thy voice to Mine? Canst thou speak in a voice of thunder? What is thy greatness to Mine? "Deck thyself now with majesty," &c. What is thy wrath to Mine? "Cast abroad the rage of thy wrath." What art thou in My presence? The only effective way of hushing the murmurings of men in relation to the Divine procedure, is by producing an impression of the infinite disparity between man and his Maker. Thirdly By appealing to the superior power of some brutes. Behold now behemoth," &c. This may mean, not only, What art thou to Me? but, What art thou to some of the beasts of the field? Behold now behemoth." Study this huge creature, and thou wilt find in many respects thou art inferior to him. Therefore be humble, and cease to contend with Me. "All nations to Him are nothing, and less than nothing, and counted less than a drop in a bucket." Absolute submission to the Divine will, and not criticism of the Divine conduct, is alone rational and right. This Divine reproof had a power which II. GENERATED REPENTANCE. Job was not only struck into silence, but humbled into penitence. (1) He received an impression of his moral unworthiness. "I am vile; what shall I answer Thee? I will lay mine hand upon my mouth." This is the first feeling a man has when he is thoroughly convinced of sin, not merely my actions are vile, my thoughts vile, but I myself am vile. Abraham felt this when he said, "I am but dust and ashes;" Isaiah, when he said, "Woe is me," &c.; Peter, when he exclaimed, "Depart from me, for I am a sinful man." (2) He made a resolution to change his conduct. He would contend no more. "I will lay mine hand upon my mouth." And again," Once have I spoken; but I will not answer; I will proceed no further." Thus he loathes himself, he regrets the past, he resolves to improve in the future. This is what every sinner should do, and must do in order to rise into purity and blessedness. HOMILY No. LXXXVII. JEHOVAH'S ADDRESS. (Continued.) (8.) THE HUGE ANIMALS OF THE WORLD USED BY THE ALMIGHTY TO MAKE MORAL IMPRESSIONS ON HUMANITY. "Behold now behemoth, which I made with thee;" &c.-CHAP. xl. 15-24; xli. 1-34. "Behold now the behêmoth, which I have made with thee; he eateth grass like an ox. Behold, now, his strength is in his loins, and his force in the sinews of his belly. He bendeth his tail like a cedar branch, the sinews of his legs are firmly interwoven. His bones are like tubes of brass; his bones like bars of iron. He is the firstling of the ways of God; He, his Maker, reached to him his sword. For the mountains bring forth food for him, and all the beasts of the field play beside him. Under the lote trees he lieth down, in covert of reeds and marsh. Lote trees cover him as a shade; the willows of the brook encompass him. Behold, if the stream is strong, he doth not quake; he remaineth cheerful if a Jordan breaketh forth upon his mouth. Just catch him while he is looking, with snares let one pierce his nose! Dost thou draw the crocodile by a hoop-net, and dost thou trick his tongue into the line? Canst thou put a rush ring into his nose, and pierce his cheeks with a hook? Will he make many supplications to thee, or speak flatteries to thee?-Will he make a covenant with thee, to take him as a perpetual slave? Wilt thou play with him as a little bird, and bind him for thy maidens? Do fishermen trade with him, do they divide him among the Canaanites? Canst thou fill his skin with darts, and his head with fish spears? Only lay thy hand upon him, remember the battle; thou wilt not do it again." Vers. 1, 2.-" Canst thou draw out leviathan with an hook? or his tongue with a cord which thou lettest down? Canst thou put an hook into his nose? or bore his nose through with a thorn?" The description just given of the "behemoth" is not more graphic than this of "leviathan," which whether crocodile, dragon, whale, or some unknown monster of the deep, still existing, or extinct, matters not. The description here, which is minute and graphic, impresses us with its tremendous power. These two verses imply that this huge monster of the deep was beyond the power of man to seize and bring from the vast abyss. As the Authorized Version of this chapter is tolerably correct, with the exception of verse 25, which should be, "Before his rising up heroes are afraid, they miss their way from fear,"-and the description tolerably intelligible, it is unnecessary to comment on words and phrases. Are the "behemoth," and "leviathan," mentioned these verses, mere poetic creations, or have they an actual existence? In answer to this question three things should be remembered. (1) That no creatures have been discovered answering in all points to the de in scription here given. The elephant, the rhinoceros, the hippopotamus, and the extinct mammoth have been compared with them; but none of them agree on all points with the picture. (2) That although no creatures have been found answering to the description, it does not follow that such creatures did not exist and do not exist. Geology shows that monsters have been here that are now extinct; and the progress of science suggests that there may be millions of creatures, in the caverns of the earth and the depths of the sea, in unpenetrated, and perhaps impenetrable, regions of the earth, undiscovered. How little we know of the world we live in ! (3) That whether these creatures are a poetic creation or a material existence, it matters but little for the purpose of moral impression. The Infinite could create hundreds of creatures a thousand times larger. HOMILETICS. The description of the "behemoth" in the preceding chapter, and the "leviathan" here, suggests a few moral reflections. I. The PRODIGALITY OF CREATED MIGHT. With what amazing force are these creatures endowed! How huge their proportions! How exuberant their vital energy! Whence this prodigious force - force that seems to us redundant and unnecessary ? How infinite must be the resources of Him from Whom such creatures as these derive their enormous proportions and powers! We have here suggested II. The RESTRAINING POWER OF THE DIVINE GOVERNMENT. What keeps those creatures in check? What prevents them from breaking forth from their caverns, their jungles, their rivers, and their oceans, and devouring man and all minor existences? They are under the spell of the |