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Job Chapter
Thirty-four
Job 34
Chapter Contents
Elihu accuses Job of charging God with injustice. (1-9)
God cannot be unjust. (10-15) God's power and providence. (16-30) Elihu
reproves Job. (31-37)
Commentary on Job 34:1-9
(Read Job 34:1-9)
Elihu calls upon those present to decide with him upon
Job's words. The plainest Christian, whose mind is enlightened, whose heart is
sanctified by the Spirit of God, and who is versed in the Scriptures, can say
how far matters, words, or actions, agree with true religion, better than any
that lean to their own understandings. Job had spoken as if he meant wholly to
justify himself. He that say, I have cleansed my hands in vain, does not only
offend against God's children, Psalm 73:13-15, but gratifies his enemies, and
says as they say.
Commentary on Job 34:10-15
(Read Job 34:10-15)
Elihu had showed Job, that God meant him no hurt by
afflicting him, but intended his spiritual benefit. Here he shows, that God did
him no wrong by afflicting him. If the former did not satisfy him, this ought
to silence him. God cannot do wickedness, nor the Almighty commit wrong. If
services now go unrewarded, and sins now go unpunished, yet there is a day
coming, when God will fully render to every man according to his works.
Further, though the believer's final condemnation is done away through the
Saviour's ransom, yet he has merited worse than any outward afflictions; so
that no wrong is done to him, however he may be tried.
Commentary on Job 34:16-30
(Read Job 34:16-30)
Elihu appeals directly to Job himself. Could he suppose
that God was like those earthly princes, who hate right, who are unfit to rule,
and prove the scourges of mankind? It is daring presumption to condemn God's
proceedings, as Job had done by his discontents. Elihu suggests divers
considerations to Job, to produce in him high thoughts of God, and so to persuade
him to submit. Job had often wished to plead his cause before God. Elihu asks,
To what purpose? All is well that God does, and will be found so. What can make
those uneasy, whose souls dwell at ease in God? The smiles of all the world
cannot quiet those on whom God frowns.
Commentary on Job 34:31-37
(Read Job 34:31-37)
When we reprove for what is amiss, we must direct to what
is good. Job's friends would have had him own himself a wicked man. Let will
only oblige him to own that he spoke unadvisedly with his lips. Let us, in
giving reproof, not make a matter worse than it is. Elihu directs Job to humble
himself before God for his sins, and to accept the punishment. Also to pray to
God to discover his sins to him. A good man is willing to know the worst of
himself; particularly, under affliction, he desires to be told wherefore God
contends with him. It is not enough to be sorry for our sins, but we must go
and sin no more. And if we are affectionate children, we shall love to speak
with our Father, and to tell him all our mind. Elihu reasons with Job
concerning his discontent under affliction. We are ready to think every thing
that concerns us should be just as we would have it; but it is not reasonable
to expect this. Elihu asks whether there was not sin and folly in what Job
said. God is righteous in all his ways, and holy in all his works, Psalm 145:17. The believer saith, Let my
Saviour, my wise and loving Lord, choose every thing for me. I am sure that
will be wisest, and the best for his glory and my good.
── Matthew Henry《Concise Commentary on Job》
Job 34
Verse 2
[2] Hear
my words, O ye wise men; and give ear unto me, ye that have knowledge.
Ear-The ear, is put for the mind to which
things are conveyed by it.
Verse 4
[4] Let us choose to us judgment: let us know among ourselves what is good.
Let us —
Not contend for victory, but for truth and equity.
Know —
Let us shew one another who hath the best cause.
Verse 5
[5] For
Job hath said, I am righteous: and God hath taken away my judgment.
Said — I
am so far righteous, that I have not deserved, such hard usage from God.
Had taken — So
Job had said, chap. 27:2, he denies me that which is just and equal,
to give me a fair hearing.
Verse 6
[6] Should
I lie against my right? my wound is incurable without transgression.
Should I lie — So
Job had said in effect, chap. 27:4,5,6, should I falsely accuse myself of sins
of which I am not guilty? Without transgression - Without any such crying, sin,
as might reasonably bring down such terrible judgments upon my head.
Verse 7
[7] What man is like Job, who drinketh up scorning like water?
Like water —
Abundantly and greedily: who doth so break forth into scornful expressions, not
only against his friends, but in some sort against God himself.
Verse 8
[8]
Which goeth in company with the workers of iniquity, and walketh with wicked
men.
Who goeth —
Although I dare not say, that he is a wicked man, yet in this matter he speaks
and acts like one of them.
Verse 9
[9] For
he hath said, It profiteth a man nothing that he should delight himself with
God.
He said —
Not in express terms, but by consequence; because he said that good men were no
less, nay, sometimes more miserable here than the wicked.
Verse 12
[12] Yea,
surely God will not do wickedly, neither will the Almighty pervert judgment.
Pervert — As
Job hath affirmed.
Verse 13
[13] Who
hath given him a charge over the earth? or who hath disposed the whole world?
Who —
Who or where is his superior that made the world, and, then delivered the
government of it to God? God himself is the sole creator, the absolute Lord of
all, and therefore cannot do unjustly: because the creator and Lord of the
world must needs have all possible perfections in himself, and amongst others,
perfect justice.
Disposed —
Or, committed, to him, to be governed by him, in the name, of his Lord, to whom
he must give an account.
Verse 15
[15] All
flesh shall perish together, and man shall turn again unto dust.
All —
The design of this and the foregoing verse is the same with that of verse 13, namely, to declare God's absolute and
uncontrollable sovereignty over all men.
Verse 17
[17]
Shall even he that hateth right govern and wilt thou condemn him that is most
just?
Shall he —
That is unrighteous.
Govern —
Elihu's argument is the same with that of Abraham, Genesis 18:25, and that of St. Paul, Romans 3:5,6. If God be unrighteous, how shall
he judge or govern the world? And the argument is undeniable: if God were unjust,
there would be nothing but injustice and confusion in the world, whereas we see
there is a great deal of justice administered in the world, and all this must
proceed from him who is the fountain of all justice, and rule, and authority.
And he that makes men just, shall he be unjust? Most just - God, who hath given
so many clear and unquestionable evidences of his justice, in giving just and
holy laws, in encouraging and rewarding righteous persons in this life, and
inflicting dreadful judgments upon tyrants and oppressors.
Verse 18
[18] Is
it fit to say to a king, Thou art wicked? and to princes, Ye are ungodly?
Wicked —
Though a king may be wicked, yet his subjects neither may nor dare call him so.
Verse 21
[21] For
his eyes are upon the ways of man, and he seeth all his goings.
For —
God doth not destroy either prince or people unjustly, no nor out of his mere
pleasure, but for their sins, which he sees exactly, although they use all
possible arts to hide them.
Verse 26
[26] He
striketh them as wicked men in the open sight of others;
As — Because they are
wicked men.
In the open light — In
publick view for their greater shame, and for the greater glory of his justice.
Verse 28
[28] So
that they cause the cry of the poor to come unto him, and he heareth the cry of
the afflicted.
Cry of the poor —
Their case is bad, who have the prayers and tears of the poor against them: for
these will draw down vengeance sooner or later, on the heads of their
oppressors.
Verse 29
[29] When
he giveth quietness, who then can make trouble? and when he hideth his face,
who then can behold him? whether it be done against a nation, or against a man
only:
Whether —
God can carry on his work either of mercy or justice, as irresistible upon an
whole nation as upon one particular person.
Verse 30
[30] That
the hypocrite reign not, lest the people be ensnared.
Reign not —
May not continue his tyranny, lest the people be ensnared, lest the people
should be longer kept in the the snares of oppression; God doth this to free
poor oppressed people from the snares which ungodly men lay for them.
Verse 32
[32] That
which I see not teach thou me: if I have done iniquity, I will do no more.
That —
The secret sins which I cannot discover, manifest thou to me.
Verse 33
[33]
Should it be according to thy mind? he will recompense it, whether thou refuse,
or whether thou choose; and not I: therefore speak what thou knowest.
Should it be —
Doth God need thy advice how to govern the world, and whom, and when to reward
or punish? Refuse - To submit as is expressed, verse 32.
Therefore — If
thou canst say any thing for thyself, I am ready to hear thy defence.
Verse 34
[34] Let
men of understanding tell me, and let a wise man hearken unto me.
Let — I
am content that any wise man should judge of my words, and let such consider
what I say.
Verse 36
[36] My
desire is that Job may be tried unto the end because of his answers for wicked
men.
End —
Throughly and exactly, 'till the cause be brought to an issue.
Wicked men — On
their behalf; he hath put arguments into their mouths against God and his
providence.
Verse 37
[37] For
he addeth rebellion unto his sin, he clappeth his hands among us, and
multiplieth his words against God.
Addeth — He
sinned before, by impatience under his afflictions, now he is grown obstinate,
and instead of humbling himself for his sins, justifies himself, and accuses
the blessed God.
Clapped —
Insulting and triumphing.
Against God — In
effect, though not directly.
── John Wesley《Explanatory Notes on Job》
34 Chapter 34
Verses 1-37
Verses 6-9
What man is like Job?
Elihu’s estimate of Job
It was natural that, with all his reverence for Job, Elihu should
be offended by the heat and passion of his words, by the absence of moderation
and self-restraint, and tell him that “this strained passion did him wrong.” No
doubt it is easier for a friend on the bank to maintain his composure, than it
is for the man who has been swept away by the stream of calamity, and is doing
instant battle with its fierce currents and driving waves. Job is not to be
overmuch blamed if, under the stress of calamity, and stung by the baseless
calumnies of the friends, he now and then lost composure, and grew immoderate
both in his resentments and his retorts. Remembering the keen agony he had to
endure, we may well pardon an offence for which it is so easy to account; we
may cheerfully admit, as Jehovah Himself admitted, that in the main he spoke of
God aright; we may even admire the constancy and patience with which, on the
whole, he met the provocations and insults of the friends; and yet we cannot
but feel that he often pushed his inferences against the Divine justice and
providence much too far: as, indeed, he himself confessed that he had, when at
last he saw Jehovah face to face, and carried his just resentment against the
friends to excess. There are points in the progress of the story where he seems
to revel in his sense of wrong, and to lash out wildly against both God and
man. With fine moral tact, Elihu had detected this fault in his tone and
bearing, and had discovered whither it was leading him. (Samuel Cox, D. D.)
Verses 10-12
Neither will the Almighty pervert Justice.
On the justice of God
These words are a description of the justice and righteousness of
the supreme Governor of all things; introduced with an affectionate appeal to
the common reason of mankind for the truth of the assertion, and closed with an
eloquent repetition of the assurance of its certainty. There are, and must be,
difficulties in the administration of providence; but these difficulties affect
only such as are careless in matters of religion, and they can never make
reasonable and considerate persons, men of attention and understanding, to
doubt concerning the righteousness of the Divine government.
I. God is, and
cannot but be, just in all His actions. There being necessarily in nature a
difference of things, which is what we call natural good and evil, and a
variety in the dispositions and qualifications of persons, which is what we
call moral good and evil, from the due or undue adjustment of these natural
qualities of things to the moral qualifications of persons, arise unavoidably
the notions of right and wrong. Now, the will of every intelligent agent being
always directed by some motive, it is plain Chat the natural motive of action, where
nothing irregular interposes, can be no other than this right or reason of
things. Whenever this right and reason are not made the rule of action, it can
only be, either because the agent is ignorant of what is right, or wants
ability to pursue it, or else is knowingly and willingly diverted from it, by
the hope of some good, or fear of some evil. But none of these causes of
injustice can possibly have any place in God. His actions must necessarily be
directed by right, and reason, and justice only. It is sometimes argued that
the actions of God must needs be just, for whatever He does is just, because He
does it. But this argument is not proving, but supposing the thing in question.
It has been unworthily used, as if, because whatever God does is certainly
just, therefore whatsoever unjust and unreasonable things men, in their systems
of Divinity ascribe to Him, were made just and reasonable by supposing God to
be the author of them. Or that, God being all-powerful, therefore whatever is
ascribed to Him, though in itself it may seem unjust, and would be unjust among
men, yet by supreme power is made just and right. Upon this kind of reasoning
is built the doctrine of absolute reprobation, and some other the like
opinions. But this is speaking deceitfully for God. In Scripture, God
perpetually appeals to the common reason and natural judgment of mankind for
the equity Of His dealings with them.
II. Wherein the
nature of God’s justice consists. Justice is of two sorts. There is a justice
which consists in a distribution of equality; and there is a justice which
consists in a distribution of equity. Of this latter sort is the justice of
God. In the matter of punishment, His justice requires that it should always be
apportioned with the most strict exactness, to the degree or demerit of the
crime. The particulars wherein this justice consists are--
1. An impartiality with regard to persons.
2. An equity of distribution with regard to things; that is, the
observing an exact proportion in the several particular degrees of reward and
punishment, as Well as an impartiality and determining what persons shall be in
general rewarded or punished.
III. Objections
arising from particular cases against the general doctrine of the Divine
justice.
1. From the unequal distributions of providence in the present life.
This is answered by the belief of a future state, wherein, by the exactness and
precise equity of the final determinations of the great day, shall be
abundantly made up all the little inequalities of this short life. There are
also many special reasons of these seeming inequalities. God frequently
afflicts the righteous, for the trial and improvement of their virtue, for the
exercise of their patience, or the correction of their faults. On the other
hand, God frequently, for no less wise reasons, defers the punishing of the
wicked. Besides these, there are also particular difficulties arising from
singular inequalities, even with regard to spiritual advantages.
The uses of this discourse are--
1. Let us acknowledge and submit to the Divine justice, and show
forth our due sense and fear of it in the course of our lives.
2. A right notion of the justice of God is matter of comfort to good
men.
3. The justice of God is a matter of terror to all wicked and
unrighteous men, how great and powerful soever they may be.
4. From a consideration of the justice of God arises a true notion of
the heinousness of sin.
5. If God, who is all-powerful and supreme, yet always confines
Himself to what is just, how dare mortal men insult and tyrannise over each
other, and think themselves by power and force discharged from all obligations
of equity towards their fellow creatures? (S. Clarke, D. D.)
The perdition of the unconverted, not attributable to God
I. God cannot wish
that any human mind should continue unconverted. It would be strange indeed if
He did. It is blasphemy to think that God should wish any creature to commit
sin. The holy God cannot wish any human mind either to begin to be unholy, or
to continue to be unholy.
II. God cannot wish
that any human being should perish. God has declared that they shall. It is
inevitable in order to the ends of justice, and the maintenance of His moral
government. But, then, He does not desire this issue. To say He did would be to
say that God is malevolent. He cannot take any pleasure in suffering.
III. God has not
decreed that any single mind should continue unconverted and should perish.
There is no such decree. If there were, it would be substantially the same with
the last, only that it would be underhand and clandestine. It would be charging
God, not only with sin, but with cowardice and hypocrisy.
IV. God never acts
with the view that any should continue unconverted and should perish. God never
operates upon the mind with this view. He never interposes difficulties in the
way of its conversion, and with a view to its perdition. God does wish that
every human mind should be converted and saved.
1. Prove this from God’s words.
2. The actions of God will be found in harmony with His word.
3. Prove this from the death Of Christ.
4. This doctrine is deducible from the entire plan of salvation. (John
Young, M. A.)
Verse 13
Who hath disposed the whole world.
The disposer of the world
It becomes us to entertain proper apprehensions of “Him with whom
we have to do.”
I. God’s
all-disposing agency.
1. God is the disposer of the whole world of nature. What man can
produce, man can comprehend. All human workmanship is limited and finite, and
capable of improvement. It is otherwise with the works of God. Here nothing is
superfluous, nothing wanting, nothing by alteration can be improved. What
arrangement there is in all those numerous and immense worlds which God hath
created! If we are struck with a single instance of God’s arrangement in the
world of nature, how much more should we be impressed with the whole if we were
in a proper state of mind, and if God were in all our thoughts.
2. He is the disposer of the whole world of grace. The apostle speaks
not only of grace, but of the purpose of grace. There was nothing left
unappointed or unarranged. The scheme stretches from eternity to eternity, and
in every part of it we see God abounding in all wisdom and prudence.
3. He is the disposer of the whole world of providence; and while He
seems to be doing nothing, He is doing “all things according to the counsel of
His own will.” We have many specimens of God’s providence in the Scriptures of
truth. Providence has been at work in your history.
II. Practical
reflections. Four ways in which the doctrine of the all-disposing energy of God
may be improved.
1. In the way of conviction.
2. In the way of adoration.
3. In the way of consolation.
4. Let this subject check our presumption. (William Jay.)
Verses 16-30
If now thou hast understanding, hear this.
Elihu’s remonstrance
I. Founded on the
supremacy of God. Where there is absolute supremacy, there can be no injustice.
There are some who speak of the absolute law of right as something outside the
Almighty, independent of Him, and to which He is accountable. What the Supreme
wills, is right, and right because He wills it.
II. On the
impartiality of the Eternal. God is no respecter of persons. This is a fact
proclaimed over and over again in the Bible, and which all nature and history
demonstrate. The thought of God’s impartiality serves two purposes.
1. To alarm the influentially wicked.
2. To encourage the godly poor.
III. On the
omniscience of the Eternal. “There is no darkness nor shadow of death where the
workers of iniquity may hide themselves.”
1. Wicked men perform their deeds in darkness.
2. However deep the darkness, God’s eye is on them.
IV. On the power of
the Eternal. What a description of power we have here. Are not these views of
God sufficient to hush every murmuring thought, to subdue every rebellious
will, and to bring every heart into a loving agreement with His plans? (Homilist.)
Verse 20
And the mighty shall be taken away without hand.
God’s sovereignty viewed in relation to the death of His people
The text is part of the argument employed by Elihu to establish
the principle of the Divine equity in the government of the universe. He
insinuates that the suffering patriarch had at least implied certain
reflections on the character of the Deity, and he remonstrates with him to show
that the governor of the universe could not be unjust.
I. The sovereignty
and impartiality of God. Sovereignty in the highest and most proper sense
belongs exclusively to Jehovah. No bounds are set to His influence, and no
department is free from His control. The originating cause of death is not
Divine sovereignty, but our sin. In salvation we see God’s sovereignty as the
originating cause; but in death man’s guilt. Though death has not originated in
sovereignty, yet all the circumstances of death are controlled by it. Death
stands as a willing messenger at the footstool of Omnipotence.
1. God determines the hour of dissolution. The casualties which we
sometimes speak of are casualties to us, but not to God. They are necessary
parts of the general system which His wisdom regulates and His power controls.
There is no confusion in what God does or permits to be done.
2. God determines or controls the instruments by which life shall be
ended. Whether by long, lingering sickness, or by a sudden stroke. There are
only two cases of (apparent) exemption--Enoch and Elijah.
3. God is uninfluenced by the consideration of merely present
consequences. They are all foreseen by Him. Death is a penalty that must be
universally rendered. While administering equitable government, that which is particular
must not be permitted to impede the universal good.
II. The weakness
and dependence of man. The contrast is tremendous between the feebleness of the
creature and the majesty of the Creator. “Man dieth and wasteth away.” “He
cometh forth like a flower and is cut down.” We ask the question, “Where is
he?” Nature gives no answer. Philosophy gives no answer. Only revelation can.
It flings its light upon the future, and as in one word utters “eternity!” (George
Wilkins.)
Verse 29
When He giveth quietness, who then can make trouble?
Christian quietness
It is no small blessing to enjoy quietness in a world like this.
I. This quietness.
It is not a freedom from outward afflictions. We often notice, that so far are
Christians from being exempted from sufferings, that it is just the most
advanced Christians who are the most deeply tried. It is not a callous
indifference to our own sufferings or the sufferings of others. It is not
hardness or selfishness. By purifying the heart, and destroying its natural and
miserable selfishness, Christianity renders the affections far more strong and
enduring. Nor is this quietness a freedom from conflict. Indeed, only the true
Christian knows what this conflict between the flesh and the spirit is.
Everyone who reaches heaven in safety is, and must be, a conqueror. Yet there
is a quietness of spirit which the Christian enjoys. A calmness of spirit which
arises from faith and confidence in Jesus Christ, in His perfect atonement, His
finished work, His precious blood, His living person. This quietness is
something unworldly, something that comes from above, and so it is a state of
mind which endures. Notice whence and how it comes. “When He giveth quietness.”
It is a gift--a free gift of God. The channel is Jesus Christ. Real peace, real
quietness of spirit, can only come to sinners as we are through a mediator. We
lack quietness of spirit when we do not depend fully and simply upon Christ. But
it is not always at the commencement of the Christian course that God gives
“quietness.” Sometimes it is bestowed nearer its close. It is the result of a
holy walk with God, with increasing acquaintance with Him.
II. The seasons
when God giveth quietness. We need not speak of seasons of outward prosperity.
Then it is, and only then, that the world enjoys its worldly quietness. But
that quietness, what an empty thing it is! The quietness which God gives, He
bestows in largest measure in seasons of trouble. It is just when outward
comforts fail, when the world looks very dark, it is then that inward
consolations abound, and the believer’s cup runs over . . . ”Who then can make
trouble?” It is a bold challenge! Bold, whether addressed to Satan, the world,
or our own hearts, all of which are so mighty to make trouble. The true
Christian can meet even death with quietness of spirit. (George Wagner.)
God-given quietness
In our inmost being there is a yearning for what Elihu here calls
quietness, for what Paul elsewhere describes as the peace that passeth
understanding, for what Jesus promised to the weary and heavy-laden--rest. We
are tired of the weary struggle in our own hearts, the internal to-and-fro
conflict between good impulses and bad. Notice some of the ways in which “God
giveth quietness” to the soul.
I. By pacifying
the conscience. Conscious innocence makes the best pillow. Blessed are all
those who know something of the quietness that God gives when He pacifies the
conscience!
II. By working in
the heart a contented disposition. Discontent is one of the greatest enemies to
our peace of mind. It is the murderer of men’s happiness. We stretch forth
empty hands from the attained to the unattained. It is the old story: the
apprentice longs to be a journeyman, and the journeyman pants to be a foreman,
and the foreman groans to be a master, and the master pines till he is able to
build a snug villa and retire from business. But God gives quietness, and then
we drop anchor, never to voyage any more upon the sea of unsatisfied desire.
Who now can make trouble?
III. By delivering
us from all anxiety about the future. It is not everyone who can contemplate
the future with composure. To many it is a shapeless terror. Who will venture
to open its seven-sealed book, who brave enough to read its contents? The
future! No man can look fearlessly upon it, except the Christian. Come what
will, he is prepared for all that shall befall him between this hour and the
grave.
IV. By imparting a
sense of security in view of the final change. (S. L. Wilson, M. A.)
Christian calmness
I. What is the
nature of the quietness here spoken of? When God enables a man to rest
peacefully, tranquilly, without let or hindrance, without anything to molest,
or harm, or disturb, or terrify him, “who can make trouble?”
1. External quietness, as when God interposes in the defence of His
people. Here is the Christian’s comfort, that no harm can happen to him without
God’s permission. He is safe beyond the reach of danger. But we cannot be
certain at any time that it is God’s pleasure wholly to deliver us. He may let
the evil come. He may keep us in suspense.
2. There is another way. God may supply us with inward peace--such
peace as shall set us free from anxious fears as to trials that may be coming
upon us, or shall hear us up, and sustain us, in the midst of trials which have
come. Often the trials which we dread do not come; and often, when they do
come, they prove less than we had imagined. God gives quietness in such cases
by enabling us to look up to Him as our Father, our reconciled Father, in
Christ Jesus, and so to feel assured that we are the objects of His fatherly
care.
II. The author of
this blessed peace--God. We are perfectly secure from all molestation, and all
danger, because He that keepeth us is the eternal, unchangeable, almighty,
ever-present God.
III. In what way is
this quietness to be attained?
1. The first step towards it is to make sure that we are in a state
of reconciliation with God; and this is to be attained by earnestly and heartily
returning to Him through our Lord Jesus Christ.
2. The second step is to live closely to God--to walk before Him in
all holy obedience, serving Him faithfully, unreservedly, diligently. We may
rest assured that real, solid, well-grounded peace is to be enjoyed by none but
those who do thus serve Him.
3. We must learn to cast all our care on God in the full assurance
that He careth for us. We must look off from ourselves. We must walk by faith,
not by sight.
4. We should acquire the habit of carrying our cares, and anxieties,
and sorrows to God, and spreading them before Him in prayer. It is true that He
knows them all without our telling Him; but He would have us tell Him
notwithstanding. Prayer is His own appointed ordinance. (C. A. Heurtley, B.
D.)
Peace
Wherever innocence is found, there perfect peace reigns. Man, as
the subject of sin, carries on war against universal being--himself not
excepted.
I. Peace has no
necessary residence anywhere but in the bosom of Jehovah. He is called, “the
God of peace.” Then--
1. Peace must be universally the gift of God. Finite being has no
peace to confer on another; it must emanate ceaselessly from the bosom of
Deity.
2. Peace is likewise the purchase of Deity. One who is God must bear
the consequences of our sins, or His peace can never reach us.
3. It is the gift and creation of the Divine Spirit. Learn, then, to
estimate the value of true religion.
II. Why, then, does
God hide His face from His child?
1. To lead man into intimate acquaintance with Himself.
2. To humble His family.
3. To teach them to prize communion with Himself above everything.
4. That He may try if anything can make them happy in His absence.
5. To chastise His children for their transgression. (W. Howel.)
The need or justifying the providence of God
I. The doctrine on
the subject. God is the supreme and only disposer of all human affairs. This
doctrine is not laid down formally, but taken for granted. It forms the ground
of Elihu’s appeal. Many will not admit that God interferes in the affairs of
this or that particular person. But this objection to the doctrine of
particular providence proceeds, not from doubt about the doctrine, but from
dislike to it. In the government of the world, God not only rules, but
overrules. God, in the government of the world, feels toward it, not merely the
interest of a creator and contriver of means to an end, but the far more tender
and compassionate regard of a Redeemer.
II. The duties
which arose out of the doctrine.
1. The Christian duty of faithful dependence on God.
2. The Christian duty of reverential fear of Him. (F. C. Clark, B.
A.)
God the Giver of quietness
1. Because all things are in subjection to His disposing. As, for
example, men’s purposes and counsels, they are all guided by Him.
2. When God will give quietness, none shall be able to make trouble,
because that trouble which is at any time made, it is in reference to God
Himself, and for the avenging of His quarrel upon people. The second reference
of this verse is as they respect, not a kingdom, but a particular person. When
God will give a man quietness, none can trouble him; when God will hide His
face from him, none can uphold him. When God gives inward peace, a man shall
suffer no great inconvenience from outward trouble. Trouble is not so much from
the condition, as the affection; it is not so much from the state, as from the
mind. Where a man has peace and quietness of conscience, he is so far forth
provided against all trouble and disturbance whatsoever. He which has peace and
atonement with God, has that within him which swallows all outward sadness and
trouble whatsoever. He which has peace with God, there is nothing which is able
to trouble him, because that which is the main ground, and occasion, and
foundation of trouble is removed, and taken away from him. Where God gives this
quietness and peace, there is also an intimation and assurance of all those
evils and outward calamities, as working and making for our good. Where there
is peace with God, there is also an intimation of safeguard and protection for
time to come. There is also the sweet and comfortable expectation of a blessed
and happy condition, which a man shall partake of in another world. (T.
Horton, D. D.)
Christian calmness
I. The nature and
character of the blessing here spoken of. It is quietness, calmness, repose,
and may consist of--
1. External peace. This is when God interposes on behalf of His
people. “He maketh even his enemies to be at peace with him.” Still, We cannot
reckon on this kind of peace.
2. Internal peace. This is of a different nature to external peace,
and every Christian can and ought to enjoy it. It is independent of all the
vicissitudes of life, of all the trials of time.
II. The method of
its attainment. The quietness of our text is one of the growths of Christian
character. There are two particulars which bring it about:--
1. Reconciliation with God. There can be no peace where there are
alienation and enmity.
2. Holiness of conversation. There can be no peace where there is
indulged sin.
3. Assurance of confidence. “Casting all your cares on Him, for He
careth for you.” (J. J. S. Bird.)
The quiet mind
To serve God in a world which is in rebellion against Him is alike
our duty and high privilege. Christ bade us, “take no thought”--i.e., be
not anxious and disquieted, suffer not your mind to be distracted, drawn
different ways, by cares as to this want and that; learn to trust, to serve God
with a quiet mind. How can we obtain and secure this spirit? If we are really
serving the Lord, how can we do it as here asked for, with a quiet mind? The
ever-restless, ever-changing sea is but too true an image of the heart. In
order to be real, lasting, and effectual, there must be the true basis for it,
the pardon and cleansing away of sin; there must be the purging of the
conscience from dead works to serve the living God. True service must be based
upon the sense of pardon and reconciliation. In no other way can the motive be
supplied which alone can produce the result. In addition to the pardon which
God offers, and as a result of its being received by us, and assured to us,
there is the peace, that we may serve Him with a quiet mind. There must be the
true basis, but there must also be this result aimed at, and carried out. It
is, indeed, a consequence of pardon, but it must not be taken for granted that
it is enjoyed, that the service is necessarily yielded, and the quietness of
mind maintained. This privilege is provided by God, but the degree in which it
is used is found to vary greatly in the case of different Christians. There are
so many causes of trouble and unrest--doubts and difficulties in connection
with God’s word; personal and family trials--in the discharge of the duties to
which God’s providence calls us, and in employing for Him the talents He has given,
we may at times be perplexed. There may seem a clashing of duties, and this may
disquiet us in our service; but He does not require of us more than we can do.
How often the fears which have disturbed the quietness of God’s children have
been groundless. (J. H. Holford, M. A.)
God-all in all
I. First, then,
the eye of faith beholds the all-sufficiency of Jehovah, and our entire
dependence upon Him, as she marks His effectual working. “When He giveth
quietness, who then can make trouble? This unanswerable question may be
illustrated by the Lord’s works in nature. The world was once a tumultuous
chaos: fire and wind and vapour strove with one another. Who was there that
could bring that heaving, foaming, boiling, raging mass into quietude and
order? Only let the great Preserver of men relax the command of quiet, and
there are fierce forces in the interior of the earth sufficient to bring it
back to its primeval chaos in an hour; but while His fiat is for peace, we fear
no crash of matter and no wreck of worlds. Seed time and harvest, summer and
winter, cold and heat, do not cease. Passing on to the age of man, we see the
Lord in the day of His wrath pulling up the sluices of the great deep, and at
the same moment bidding the clouds of heaven discharge themselves, so that the
whole world became once again a colossal ruin. The covenant bow was seen in the
cloud, the token that the Lord had given quietness to the earth, and that none
again should be able to disturb her. Further down in history the Red Sea asks of
us the same question, “When He giveth quietness, who then can make trouble?”
Glancing far on in history, and passing by a thousand cases which are all to
the point, we only mention one more, namely, that of Sennacherib and his host.
God put a hook into the enemy’s nose, and thrust a bridle between his jaws, and
sent him back with shame to the place from whence he came. “When He giveth
quietness, who then can make trouble?”
1. We shall reflect upon this truth as it applies, first, to God’s
people. If your gracious Lord shall give you quietness of mind, who then can
cause you trouble? We have found it sweet to be afflicted when we have enjoyed
the presence of God in it, so that we have counted it all joy when we have
fallen into divers temptations; because, in our hour of extremity and peril,
the Saviour has been unspeakably the more precious. When the Lord giveth
quietness, slander cannot give us trouble. Ay, and at such times you may add to
outward troubles and to the slanders of the wicked man, all the temptations of
the devil; but if the Lord giveth quietness, though there were as many devils
to attack us as there are stones in the pavement of the streets of London, we
would walk over all their heads in unabated confidence. Even inbred sin, which
is the worst of ills, will cause the Christian no trouble when the light of
Jehovah’s countenance is clearly seen.
2. I thank God that my text is equally true of the seeking sinner. If
the Lord shall be pleased to give thee, poor troubled heart, quietness this day
in Christ, none can make trouble in thy soul. What a mercy it is for you that
God can give you peace and quietness! “Ah,” say you, “but there is His law,
that dreadful law of ten commands; I have broken that a thousand times.” But if
the Saviour lead thee to the cross, He will show thee that He fulfilled the law
on thy behalf; that thou art not thyself under the law any longer, but under
grace. “Yes, yes,” say you, “well, I thank God for that, but my conscience, my
conscience will never let me be in quietness.” Oh! but my Master knows how to
talk with thy conscience. He can say to it, “I have blotted out, as a thick
cloud, thy transgressions, and, as a cloud, thy sins.” And let me say, dear
friend, if the Lord gives you quietness while the law and conscience will be at
peace with you, so will that Book of God be. Some of you, whenever you turn the
Bible over, can find nothing but threatenings in it. Oh! but if you can only
come to Jesus and rest in Him, then the page shall glisten with blessings, and
glow with benedictions.
3. Now this text, which thus belongs to the saint and to the seeking
sinner, I think is equally true, on the larger scale, to the Christian Church.
I, shall leave this first point when I have briefly drawn three lessons from
it. “When the Lord giveth quietness, who then can make trouble?” The first
lesson is, those who have peace should this morning adore and bless God for it.
Secondly, be hopeful, ye who are seeking peace, whether for others or for
yourselves. Lastly, give up all other peace but that which the Lord giveth to
every believer. If you have a quietness which God has not created, implore the
Lord to break it.
II. The
all-sufficiency of God is seen, secondly, in His sovereign withdrawals. God
does sometimes hide His face from His people, and then, as His saints well
know, nothing can enable them to behold Him or to be happy.
III. This is true of
a nation as well as of any one Church and of any one man. (C. H. Spurgeon.)
Verse 31-32
I have borne chastisement.
The nature and necessity of holy resolution
There are two essential parts of a true repentance. A humble
acknowledgment and confession of our sins to God. A firm purpose and resolution
of amendment, and forsaking of sin for the future.
I. Show what
resolution is in general. It is a fixed determination of the will about
anything. It supposes--
1. A precedent deliberation of the mind about the thing to be
resolved on. Peremptorily to determine and resolve upon anything before
deliberation is not properly resolution, but precipitancy and rashness.
2. Resolution supposes some judgment passed upon a thing after
deliberation. This judgment of the necessity and fitness of the thing is not
the resolution of the will but of the understanding. To be convinced that a
thing is fit and necessary to be done, and to be resolved to set upon the doing
of it, are two very different things. An act of the judgment must go before the
resolution of the will.
3. If the matter be of considerable consequence, resolution supposeth
some motion of the affections; which is a kind of bias upon the will.
Deliberation and judgment, they direct a man what to do or to leave undone; the
affections excite and quicken a man to take some resolution in the matter.
II. What is the
special object or matter of this resolution. What it is that a man when he
repents resolves upon. It is to leave his sin and return to God and his duty.
He that truly repents, is resolved to break off his sinful course, and to
abandon those lusts and vices which he was formerly addicted to, and lived in.
The true penitent does not stay in the negative part of religion, he is
resolved to be as diligent to perform the duties of religion as he was before
negligent of them.
III. What is implied
in a sincere resolution of leaving our sins and returning to God. Three things.
1. It must be universal, in respect of the whole man, and with regard
to all our actions.
2. A sincere resolution implies a resolution of the means as well as
of the end.
3. It implies the present time, and that we are resolved speedily and
without delay to put the resolution into practice. There is this reason why
thou shouldst immediately put this resolution in practice, and not delay it for
a moment. Thou mayest at present do it much more certainly, and much more
easily. Thou art surer of the present time than thou canst be of the future:
and the longer thou continuest in sin, thy resolution against it will grow
weaker, and the habit of sin continually stronger. Sin was never mortified by
age.
IV. In this
resolution of amendment, the very essence and formal nature of repentance doth
consist. A man may do many reasonable actions without an explicit resolution.
But not matters of difficulty. There is no change of a man’s life can be
imagined, wherein a man offers greater violence to inveterate habits, and to
the strong propensions of his present temper, than in this of repentance. So
that among all the actions of a man’s life, there is none that doth more
necessarily require an express purpose than repentance does.
V. Some
considerations to convince men of the necessity and fitness of this resolution
and of keeping steadfast to it.
1. This resolution of repentance is nothing but what, under the influence
of God’s grace and Holy Spirit, is in your power. It is a power which every man
is naturally invested withal, to consider, and judge, and choose. As to
spiritual things, every man hath this power radically. He hath the faculties of
understanding and will, but these are hindered in their exercise, and strongly
biassed a contrary way, by the power of evil inclinations and habits; so that,
as to the exercise of this power, and the effect of it on spiritual things, men
are in a sort as much disabled as if they were destitute of it. When we
persuade men to repent, and change their lives, and resolve upon a better
course, we do not exhort them to anything that is absolutely out of their
power, but to what they may do, though not of themselves, yet by the grace of
God.
2. Consider what it is that you are to resolve upon; to leave your
sins, and to return to God and goodness. Consider what sin is. Consider what it
is to return to God and duty.
3. How unreasonable it is to be unresolved in a ease of so great moment
and concernment. There is no greater argument of a man’s weakness, than
irresolution in matters of mighty consequence.
4. How much resolution would tend to the settling of our minds, and
making our lives comfortable.
VI. Directions
concerning the managing and maintaining of this holy and necessary resolution.
1. What an argument it is of vanity and inconstancy, to change this
resolution, whilst the reason of it stands good, and is not changed.
2. If we be not constant in our resolution, all we have done is lost.
3. We shall by inconstancy render our condition much worse.
Application--
For the sick and afflicted
I. But first let
us commune together upon the text in its more natural application as addressed
to the afflicted.
1. The first lesson is, it is meet for them to accept the affliction
which the Lord sends, and to say unto God, “I have borne chastisement.” We
notice that the word “chastisement” is not actually in the Hebrew, though the
Hebrew could not be well interpreted without supplying the word. It might
exactly and literally be translated “I bear,” or “I have borne.” It is the
softened heart saying to God, “I bear whatever Thou wilt put upon me; I have
borne it, I still bear it, and I will bear it, whatever Thou mayest ordain it
to be. I submit myself entirely to Thee, and accept the load with which Thou
art pleased to weight me.” A constant submission to the Divine will should be
the very atmosphere in which a Christian lives. We must not be content with
bearing what the Lord sends, with the coolness which says, “It must be, and
therefore I must put up with it.” Such forced submission is far below a
Christian grace, for many a heathen has attained it. Neither, on the other hand
are we to receive affliction with a rebellious spirit. Neither, as believers in
God, are we to despair under trouble, for that is not bearing the cross, but
lying down under it. The Christian, then is not to treat the cross which. God
puts upon him in any such way as I have described, but he is to accept it
humbly, looking up to God, and saying, “Much worse than this I might reckon to
receive even as Thy child; for the discipline of Thine house requireth the rod,
and well might I expect to be chastened every morning.” We should receive
chastisement with meek submission. The gold is not to rebel against the
goldsmith, but should at once yield to be placed in the crucible and thrust
into the fire. We should accept chastisement cheerfully. The next duty is to
forsake the sin which may have occasioned the chastisement. “It is meet to be
said unto God, I have borne chastisement; I will not offend any more.” There is
a connection between sin and suffering. There are afflictions which come from
God, not on account of past sin, but to prevent sin in the future. The third
lesson in the text to the afflicted clearly teaches them that it is their duty
and privilege to ask for more light. The text says, “That which I see not,
teach Thou me. If I have done iniquity, I will do no more.” Do you see the
drift of this? It is the child of God awakened to look after the sin which the
chastisement indicates; and since he cannot see all the evil that may be in
himself, he turns to his God with this prayer, “What I see not, teach Thou me.”
It may be that, in looking over your past life and searching through your
heart, you do not see your sin, for perhaps it is where you do not suspect. You
have been looking in another quarter. Perhaps your sin is hidden away under
something very dear to you. Jacob made a great search for the images--the
teraphs which Laban worshipped. He could not find them. No; he did not like to
disturb Rachel, and Laban did not like to disturb her either--a favourite wife
and daughter must not be inconvenienced. She may sit still on the camel’s
furniture, but she hides the images there. Even thus you do not like to search
in a certain quarter of your nature. This is the right way in which to treat
our chastisements: “If I have done iniquity, I will do no more. That which I
see not, teach Thou me.”
II. And now, I am
going to use the text for those of us who may not have been afflicted. What
does the text say to us if we are not afflicted? Does it not say this--“If the
afflicted man is to say ‘I bear,’ and to take up his yoke cheerfully, how
cheerfully ought you and I to take up the daily yoke of our Christian labour”?
“Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might.” We have yet another
remark for those that are strong. Should not the favours of God lead us to
search out our sins? Do you not think that while enjoying God’s mercy we should
be anxious to be searched by the light of the love of God? Should we not wish
to use the light of the Divine countenance that we may discover all our sin and
overcome it?
III. The last remark
I have to make is to the unconverted. Perhaps there are some here who are not
the people of God, and yet they are very happy and prosperous. Take us at our
worst--when we are most sick, most desponding, most tried, most penitent before
God, we would not exchange with you at your best. Would we change with you, for
all your mirth and sinful hilarity? (C. H. Spurgeon.)
I will mot offend any
more.
Reformation under correction
Resolution to reform should be upon the heart of all them that
smart under the rod of the Lord.
I. What kind of
reformation it is that we should resolve upon under the rod of the Lord.
1. In the work of reformation under the rod, we must have reference
to Him that useth the rod, go to God, and set ourselves to amend what is amiss,
as under the eye of God.
2. You must be sure to have your work guided by God Himself.
3. You must be careful to reform in one particular, as well as
another; you must go through-stitch with this business. He hath not reformed in
anything aright that doth not reform in everything blameworthy.
4. You must not only reform in what you yourselves do, or may
understand to be amiss, but you must take direction to know what is
blameworthy; be eager and earnest to understand wherein you do amiss.
5. A Christian under the rod should be so wrought upon with a
resolution to reform, that he should, by solemn covenant, bind himself to God
for the future.
6. Christians under the rod must severally and personally, and not
only jointly and in company and assemblies, reform what is amiss, according to
the afore-mentioned rules. Christians should not look on this reforming as a
task necessary, and a duty commanded; they should regard it as an employment
comely and lovely.
II. What arguments
may prevail with christians thus to reform under the rod?
1. Some in relation to God.
2. In relation to ourselves.
III. What course we
should take to be wrought upon to attain unto this frame of spirit.
1. Thoroughly, from Scripture light, inform ourselves concerning the
sinfulness and the ugliness of the course whereof you must reform.
2. You must be deeply humbled for whatever it is that under the rod
you do discover to be out of order, both in your heart, mind, and actions. Thus
go to God, pray unto God, wait upon God, and expect deliverances from Him. (William
Fenner.)
The improvement of affliction
I. A humble
confession of God’s justice in afflicting. “I have borne chastisement,” i.e.
I have suffered justly; nay, I have been punished less than mine iniquities
deserve. The afflictions of believers are chastisements from God. Particular
afflictions are not indeed always sent on account of particular sins, but there
is enough of sin in the best of men to justify the severest sufferings with
which they may be visited in a present world.
II. A prayer for
Divine teaching. “That which I see not, teach Thou me.” A prayer necessary for
all; but peculiarly seasonable in the time of affliction, since one of the
principal ends for which affliction is sent is the discovery of sin, and one of
the chief benefits derived from it is the knowledge of ourselves.
1. This prayer may have a reference to the rule and measure of our
conduct, the holy law of God. Consider what low, imperfect ideas the generality
of mankind entertain of the law of God: and what a poor measure of outward
conformity to its precepts appears to satisfy many.
2. This prayer may have reference to the application of this rule to
our own characters and conduct, whereby we become acquainted with our own sins
in particular.
III. A pious
resolution, founded on the foregoing confession and prayer. “If I have done
iniquity, I will do no more.” This implies a total renunciation of all sin, and
a full and fixed purpose of new and better obedience. Wherever the grace of God
is known in truth, there is an absolute renunciation of all sin, and an entire
surrender of ourselves to the service of God. (D. Black.)
That which I see not,
teach Thou me.--
Holy desire of instruction
The desire of knowledge is universal among men. It is a second
nature. It becomes natural from the course of their education, however limited
that education may be. There is in every mind a thirst for information and
intelligence. Human means of knowledge, however, are soon exhausted. Religious
truths are of the deepest interest to the mind of every thoughtful man, but of
these he could naturally know nothing. Even when the deep things of God are
revealed, they are beyond the comprehension of human reason. The faculties of
man were darkened by the fall, and his affections estranged from heaven and
heavenly things. It was for the offended Jehovah to open his eyes and pour upon
them the light of a newborn day. This is the working of the mighty scheme of
redemption, to give man somewhat of the knowledge which he had lost; to reveal
the God of truth within him, and to fill his soul with a desire and love of the
truth. Such is the prophetic description of the Gospel day. “All thy children
shall be taught of the Lord.” It is for this that the regenerating spirit is
breathed into them. There is nothing more remarkable in the natural man than
his spirit of self-sufficiency; and this continues to show itself more or less
even after he has been brought into fellowship with a holy God, even through
the whole of his Christian trial. They who are resting content with their
present attainments and observances, show themselves to be strangers to the
nature of Divine truth; to the meaning and purpose of that revelation with
which they are favoured by their merciful God. There is much to be learned
continually from the dealings of God with us, day by day, from His spiritual
and providential dealing. (J. Slade, M. A.)
Surely it is meet to be
said unto God.
The second speech of Elihu
I. A good counsel.
Elihu recommends Job to do two things.
1. To resolve on an improved life. This includes--
2. To submit to the eternal will. God’s mind is the standard--all
knowing, all loving, all righteous, immutable . . . Should the method of
redemption be according to thy mind? Two facts convince us that the human mind
is utterly incompetent to form a scheme for spiritual restoration. The mistakes
it has made on the subject in interpreting Scripture. And the mistakes it has
made on the subject in interpreting Christianity.
II. A bad example.
Four things (verses 34-37) exhibit Elihu in no very virtuous or amiable light.
1. There is vanity.
2. Arrogance.
3. Heartlessness.
4. Calumny.
In these things Elihu is a
warning to young advocates of religious opinions. (Homilist.)
Verse 33
Should it be according to
thy mind?
Conceit rebuked
The verse is written in
language of the most ancient kind, which is but little understood. Moreover, it
is extremely pithy and sententious, and hence it is obscure. The sense given in
our version is, however, that which sums up the other translations, and we
prefer to adhere to it.
I. Do men really
think that things should be according to their mind?
1. Concerning God. Their ideas of Him are according to what they
think He should be; but could He be God at all if He were such as the human
mind would have Him to be?
2. Concerning Providence on a large scale, would men rewrite history?
Do they imagine that their arrangements would be an improvement upon infinite
wisdom? In their own case they would arrange all matters selfishly. Should it
be so?
3. Concerning the Gospel, its doctrines, its precepts, its results,
should men have their own way? Should the atonement be left out, or the
statement of it be modified to suit them?
4. Concerning the Church. Should they be head and lord? Should their
liberal ideas erase inspiration? Should Baptism and the Lord’s Supper be
distorted to gratify them? Should taste override Divine commands? Should the
ministry exist only for their special consolation, and be moulded at their
bidding?
II. What leads them
to think so?
1. Self-importance and selfishness.
2. Self-conceit and pride.
3. A murmuring spirit which must needs grumble at everything.
4. Want of faith in Christ leading to a doubt of the power of His
Gospel.
5. Want of love to God, souring the mind and leading it to kick at a
thing simply because the Lord prescribes it.
III. What a mercy
that things are not according to their mind!
1. God’s glory would be obscured.
2. Many would suffer to enable one man to play the dictator.
3. We should, any one of us, have an awful responsibility resting
upon us if our own mind had the regulation of affairs.
4. Our temptations would be increased. We should be proud if we
succeeded, and despairing if we met with failure.
5. Our desires would become more greedy.
6. Our sins would he uncorrected; for we should never allow a rod or
a rebuke to come at us.
7. There would be universal strife; for every man would want to rule
and command (James 4:5).
If it ought to be
according to your mind, why not according to mine?
IV. Let us check
the spirit which suggests such conceit.
1. It is impracticable; for things can never be, as so many different
minds would have them.
2. It is unreasonable; for things ought not so to be.
3. It is unchristian; for even Christ Jesus pleased not Himself, but
cried, “Not as I will” (Matthew 26:39).
4. It is atheistic; for it dethrones God to set up puny man. Pray God
to bring your mind to His will. Cultivate admiration for the arrangements of
the Divine mind. Above all, accept the Gospel as it is, and accept it now. (C.
H. Spurgeon.)
A word to the
God-criticising man
I. Should the
arrangements of life be according to thy mind? Those who are constantly
murmuring under the dispensations of Providence should remember--
1. The circumscribed sphere of their observation.
2. The limitation of human faculties.
3. The brevity of man’s mortal existence.
4. The narrowness of human sympathies.
II. Should the
method of redemption be according to thy mind? There are many who raise
objections to Christianity. Many who imagine that they could have constructed a
better system of spiritual redemption. Two facts convince us that the human
mind is utterly incompetent to form a scheme for spiritual restoration.
1. The mistakes it has made on the subject in interpreting nature.
2. The mistakes it has made on the subject in interpreting
Christianity. The perverters of the Gospel plan of salvation may be divided
into two grand classes.
The condemnation of
self-will
The speaker is Elihu. The
meaning of the question is obvious. “Shall the Supreme Being do nothing without
thy consent? Should He ask counsel of thee?” Job would instantly have answered,
“No.”
I. To have things
according to our mind is a very common wish. Man is naturally self-willed. The
disposition appears very early in our children. All sin is a contention against
the will of God. It began in Paradise. Enter the world of grace. Behold the
revelation which God has given us. One deems it unnecessary; for a second it is
too simple; for a third it is too mysterious. We seek to be justified by our
own works, while the Gospel assures us we must be justified by the faith of
Christ. The same is seen in the world of providence. Who is content with such
things as he has? Who does not covet what is denied him? Who does not long to
be at his own disposal? But is not this disposition crushed in conversion?
Alas, too much of self-will remains even in the choicest saints. We are far
from saying that they would have nothing done according to God’s mind, but they
are often solicitous to have too many things done according to their own.
II. The desire is
unreasonable. For we are wholly unqualified to govern; while God is in every
way adequate to the work in which He is engaged. Nothing can be more absurd
than to labour to displease Him, and substitute ourselves as the creators of
destiny, the regulators of events. Have you not often found yourselves mistaken
where you thought yourselves most sure? Have you not frequently erred in
judging yourselves, and generally erred in judging others? And hove can we
decide on the means which the Supreme Being employs, while we are ignorant of
the reasons which move Him, and the plan which He holds in view?
III. The desire is
criminal. The sources are bad.
1. It argues ingratitude. It is infinite condescension in God to be
“mindful of us.” For all this He surely deserves our thankful acknowledgments,
and we insult Him with murmuring complaints.
2. It springs from discontent. It shows that we are dissatisfied with
His dealings, for if we were not dissatisfied why do we desire a change?
3. It betrays earthly-mindedness. The soul feels it when “cleaving to
the dust.” According to our attachments will be, all through life, our
afflictions and our perplexities. More attached are we to our fleshy interests
than to our spiritual concerns.
4. It is the produce of impatience. This will suffer no delay, and
bear no denial.
5. It is the offspring of pride and independence. It is a
presumptuous invasion of the authority and prerogative of God. Your place is
the footstool, not the throne. Maintain your distance here, and do not encroach
on the Divine rights.
IV. The desire is
dangerous. If it were accomplished, all parties would suffer,--God, our fellow
creatures, and ourselves. In a word, you would be too ignorant to choose well.
In order to determine what will promote our happiness, it is necessary for us
to know the things themselves from among which we are to make our choice. Nor
is it less needful to understand ourselves, For a man must be adapted to his
condition, or he will never be happy in it. Here another difficulty occurs. It
is impossible for us to judge of ourselves in untried circumstances and
connections. We are not only liable to err on the side of our hopes, but also
of our fears.
V. The desire is
impracticable.
1. The desires of mankind are often opposite to each other; hence
they cannot all be accomplished.
2. The plan of Divine government is already fixed. Learn--
God’s providence
“God’s work of providence
is His most holy, wise, and powerful, preserving and governing all His
creatures and all their actions.” The truth is, we must either bring God into
all, or keep God out of all. To Him, and to His presiding providence, all must
be attributed--all or nothing. If the great events of life are brought about by
the hand of God, so also must the little; for, in the web of human destiny, the
two are inseparably interwoven. There are some who reject this view of God’s
providence. It is not consistent with their notions of the dignity and
greatness of God, to think of Him as taking notice of our race in its
feebleness and insignificance. What is the reply? We argue too much from
ourselves up to the Almighty. We know only a few things: we know nothing
thoroughly. It is only the outside of things we see. It is one of the sad
entails of scientific exploration, that we have got, in these latter days, into
a labyrinthine maze of second causes The belief in Providence is too happy to
be parted with. God is watching all our fortune, guarding all our welfare,
guiding all our way. The mysterious and fearful dispensations of His providence
may seem inscrutable and past finding out. Alas! we are all very apt to believe
in Providence when we get our own way, but when things go awry, we think, if
there is a God, He is in heaven, and not on the earth. (A. B. Jack, D. D.)
God judges better than man
When we consider that
there is a God of infinite perfection at the head of the universe, extending
His providence to every event, and making it the expression of His will, it
seems to be the plainest of all truths that such creatures as we are, ought to
be cheerfully subject to His disposal. Time was when submission to God on the
part of man was not deemed grievous. Then the will of man and the will of his
God were one. But man would be wiser than his Maker, and vainly imagined that,
in consulting his own will, higher satisfaction was to be found than in
according with the holy will of a perfect God: in the same path of miserable
adventure have gone, ever since, his blind and unhappy offspring. To develop
this form of human selfishness, and to show how unbecoming it is in such a
creature as man, let us consider it--
I. As highly
presumptuous. Look at the lesson of experience. In all their estimates men are
not merely liable to mistakes, but they constantly fall into them. The very
events to which men are chiefly indebted for their happiness are not of their
own contriving. It is the testimony of experience, that we neither understand
well how to choose events, nor how to control them. The presumption is still
more strikingly apparent if we reflect on our own incompetence to govern. Can
we even look through time? Can we cast an eye over immensity and through
eternity? The presumption is still more striking when we reflect on our
inability by comparison or contrast. What is man, and what is God?
II. This desire, if
accomplished would be fatal to the highest and best interests. What would
become of the glory of God? The effects would not be less fatal to the
interests of any community. It would be equally fatal to the individual
interests of lash. And still more fatal to their spiritual interests. How
differently we should order events from the manner in which God orders them, if
things might be according to our mind.
III. This state of
mind is highly offensive to God. It betrays almost every evil temper and
disposition. It shows a sordid attachment to our own selfish interests. This
desire betrays also dissatisfaction with God. It bespeaks ingratitude to God.
It is in direct rebellion against God. To govern the world is the prerogative
of God. To wish to change the administration at all is an invasion of that
prerogative, and high treason against the King of kings. It is distrust of God.
Remarks--
1. Submission to the Divine will is necessary to secure the blessings
which we need.
2. Acquiescence in the Divine will is a duty which respects a/l
events.
3. Let this subject support us under the trials of this world, and
animate us in our way to a better. (N. W. Taylor, D. D.)
Presumption reproved
This was a very proper
question to be put to Job, whose danger was, to challenge and arraign the ways
of God. But the principle reproved in him is largely diffused among men. Our
proneness to oppose our judgments to the Divine determinations sometimes appears.
I. With respect to
the extent of the Divine law. We allow His right to govern. God claims to
govern the opinions of men; to regulate the will, by a wise adjustment of its
degrees of choice to the degrees of moral goodness.
II. With respect to
religion as a matter of experience. If it were “according to thy mind,” what
would be the system of experimental piety set before us?
III. With reference
to the method of our pardon as sinners. That beings who have so greatly
offended should ever stand upon being pardoned in a way prescribed by
themselves to their greatly-offended God, though a strange fact, is yet
established. And here man claims, proudly and petulantly claims, that it shall
be according to his mind.
IV. The principle
is illustrated in another, but not an uninstructive manner by that tendency
there is in us to wrestle with the appointments of God in the choice of our lot
and portion in life. Here, indeed, we not unfrequently think that it ought to
be according to our mind: and we as often find ourselves very painfully crossed
in our endeavours to make it so.
V. This principle
is apt to show itself, even in good men, in what we may call the circumstances
of their experience. Far better take religion as described in the Scriptures.
To take our providential lot, and extract good from it. And to leave the
process of our recovery from sin to holiness in the hands of God. (R.
Watson.)
The mind of God
The mind of man is not the
mind of God. Suppose man had the ordering of things, what an alteration would
he make in the Lord’s counsels and arrangements. Is the mind of the spiritual
man opposite to that of God? Through the abounding grace of his Redeemer it is
in great measure otherwise. But in him, yea, even in him, there is a frame of
mind, at times, which rises, or which strives to rise, against the mind of God.
There are certain dispensations of God’s providence which even he is often
under strong temptations to wish otherwise. When affliction comes upon him, he
sometimes thinks God’s hand presses too sore, and beyond what the case asks
for. Even the mind of the believer is not, in many points, conformed to the
mind of God. Consider a comparison of God and His creatures.
1. In point of rank and eminency.
2. In point of wisdom.
3. Think of the Lord’s graciousness and goodness.
The experience of all ages
is enough to teach us how ill it has been when things have been according to
men’s own minds, and how well it has been when they have submitted to the mind
of God. The Lord has sometimes let men have their own way; and sad has been the
consequence. A last reason why the believer ought not to desire that things
should be according to his mind, is that such was not the spirit of Christ his
Saviour. Even Christ pleased not Himself. And yet how much reason there is to fear
that this is the secret wish of too many of us. Else why so much of fretfulness
and discontent when things are not according to our mind? (A.
Roberts, M. A.)
Submission to the Divine
will
Man is so imperfect in his
views, so weak in his faith, so worldly in his spirit, and so selfish in his
actions, as to be incapable of wisely directing his own affairs; how much more
then is he incapable of suggesting anything to Him, who is “wonderful in
counsel and excellent in working!”
I. Explain the
nature of this submission. It is the yielding of the heart to God in all the
dispensations of His providence, and in the administration of His government.
It is a state entirely remote from apathy or stoicism. It cherishes, rather
than destroys, the best sensibilities of our nature. Some have distinguished
between submission and resignation. This state of mind is the subjection of our
reason to the supreme authority in reference to various truths which we cannot
comprehend. It is the surrender of the will to His gracious arrangements.
II. Urge the
importance of this subject. To submit ourselves unto God is a duty founded on
the most solid principles, and urged by the most cogent and feasible
considerations. Consider--
1. The state of man. As a creature, it is that of subjection to God,
and entire dependence upon Him. As a sinner, man has fallen into the lowest
degradation--abject poverty and complete vassalage.
2. The character of God. He has a right to dispense His favours as He
may please.
3. The nature of God’s moral government. The whole of the Divine
procedure to man is founded on the most sacred principles, the everlasting
principles of moral justice, the essential principles of moral goodness, and
the unalterable principles of moral rectitude. Can such a being do wrong?
4. The state of mind evinced in some of the most distinguished
characters. Example is of great consequence and of great influence. Take the
prophets, who have spoken in the name of the Lord, for an example of suffering
affliction, and patience--such as Aaron, Eli, Job, etc.
III. Illustrate the
advantages of this state of mind. Our duty and our happiness are closely
united; in keeping of God’s commands there is great reward.
1. Submission is the effect of Divine influence, and thus becomes an
evidence of grace.
2. It is the operation of sacred principle, and accordingly prepares
the mind for future trials. Religion does not exempt from suffering; but it
ensures adequate support.
3. It is a blessing of the New Covenant, and, as such, is an earnest
of heaven.
IV. Suggest motives
to its exercise.
1. Reflect much on your own moral guilt. Wherefore doth a living man
complain, a man for the punishment of his sins?
2. Contemplate the sufferings of Christ; these were numerous,
direful, overwhelming. He suffered in His person, in His circumstances, in His
character. He suffered in His soul. He suffered as a substitute.
3. Contrast present sufferings with future glories.
4. Consider the great inconsistency of the want of submission with
your own character as creatures, with your state as sinners, and with your
profession and prayers and obligations as Christians. (John Arundel.)
Whose way shall it be
The theology of Job’s
friends was, that success waits on a right character and sorrow attends a wrong
one. With this theology, if a man has sorrow, misfortune, and pain, it is
certain his character is amiss. Like many other of later times, they never once
thought of revising their theology when they found it did not fit the facts.
They take a short cut; they revise the facts. The fact is, that the good are
not free from suffering, and the bad are not given up to it. Becoming a
Christian does not exempt a person from trial, or give him what he wants. He
can have what he wants, if he wants what God wants him to have; He can have his
way if his way is God’s way. To become Christians is, in general, to give up
our plans to Him, our will to His. Religion is self-surrender. What is the
freedom of the will? Freedom is not an absolute but a relative term. There is
no such thing as unqualified freedom. Freedom of the will does not mean freedom
from all restraints; it does not mean licence; but freedom “from some
particular kind of restraint or inducement to which other beings are subject.”
Freedom is nor freedom from the influence of motives, but freedom to make
choice of motives. Man’s will is subject to motives. Here is what we mean when
we speak of forming a character, To form a character is to induce a probability
that a man under given conditions will act in a manner which can be foreseen.
Man can see where he is weak, and when he sees a motive coming to assail him
which he thinks too strong for him, he can interpose another to shut out the
first. The education of a man is for a man to come under the controlling
influence of certain motives; a right education is to come under the easy and
permanent control of the best motives. We see, then, that not the man most
obedient to determined motives is the slave, but he whose conduct can be the
least foreseen. The slave is one who is subject to the impulse of the moment,
given over to the whim and caprice of any passion that may strike him. The
strong man, the free man, the large, hopeful, intelligent, brave man, is he who
has made the most perfect surrender to the best motives. We have the paradox,
striking but true, that the man who possesses this freedom of will in its most
valuable form is the one whose will is the most nearly a slave to the best
motives, and who therefore obeys them easily and without rebellion. It comes to
this, that when we speak of religion as being self-surrender to God, we mean
that human freedom consists in the frank, conscious, total, irreversible, glad
surrender to Him in whom all the highest motives which actuate humanity reside,
and from whom they take their origin. The Lord Jesus represents this central
character to the world. This self-surrender to the will of God is wisdom. We
are starting out with the end in view to make something of ourselves which
shall stand the shock of death and the wear of eternity. Now it is wise to give
the conduct of this process into the hands of God. And for two very simple
reasons.
1. Because we do not know the elements which would work into the
character we desire. And,
2. We have not the power to combine them if we did. (Henry Elliot
Mort.)
Should it be according to
our mind
No one has all he
wishes. Many have a great deal in the life lot which they deprecate, object to,
resent, and strive against with all their might, albeit in vain. Much depends
on the “mind” a man has. How much “mind” has he to begin with? Of what nature
is it? How is it ordered and kept? If the temper is keen, and the will strong,
and the view of life and duty defined and decisive, then between the soul and
events there will be continual collision. Things will not take their right
shape;--all this will be, unless there shall come in, happily, the explanation
and corrective of a trustful faith, of true religion. The only answer we can
give to the question of the text is in the negative. It should not be according
to our mind.
1. Because our knowledge is so limited. Our judgment of things is
quite as imperfect as our knowledge of them.
2. We mistake the nature of what we do see. The forms of things are
not the things themselves.
3. If this were granted in one case, it must be granted in all.
4. The very thing we seek by self-will is not attained by it. No
self-willed man is happy. Not even when in a large measure he gets what he
seeks.
5. There is one moral Governor of this world, and only one, who
governs and keeps us all. His will is sufficiently made known to each to be to
him rule of practical, guidance in everything he has to do. The providence of
natural law contemplates and provides for only one plan of life for each--the
best. The failure of that must bring penalty, and, indeed, irretrievable
disaster. Well may it be according to the mind of God, and ill must it be with
any who still insist that it shall be according to their own. (Alex.
Raleigh, D. D.)
Justice requires
government by an unerring mind
Judgment must be shaped
according to knowledge, and where ignorance prevails, how can the judgment be
just? A railroad engineer was arrested and tried for manslaughter because his
train ran into another, passing half-way through one carriage before it
stopped. In the trial the defendant deposed that he was running on schedule
time, only fifteen miles an hour, and so was not responsible for the disaster.
The prosecution charged that he was running thirty miles an hour, and was,
therefore, entirely to blame. It was a question of the rate of speed, and an
accurate knowledge of this one fact was essential to a just decision. With
certain figures at his command, a professor in the Massachusetts Institute of
Technology carefully calculated the momentum of the moving train and the
inertia of the ill-fated carriage, and found that the result was in perfect
accord with the statement of the engineer. Had the rate of speed been thirty
miles an hour it was clearly shown that the increased momentum would have
forced his engine four times as far. And the engineer was at once set at
liberty. Now, without this knowledge of mathematics, who would presume to sit
in just judgment upon such a case? Shall men of less experience, and much more
limited understanding, affirm that justice must be according to their mind?
Before presuming thus much, it might be well to make at least one honest
attempt to answer the wonderful questions which the Lord asked Job out of the
whirlwind, and then confess that our knowledge is as the rivulet, our ignorance
as the sea. (R. Cox, D. D.)
Our own way preposterous
We are all very apt to
believe in Providence when we get our own way; but when things go awry, we
think, if there is a God, He is in heaven and not upon earth. The cricket, in
the spring, builds his house in the meadow, and chirps for joy because all is
going so well with him. But when he hears the sound of the plough a few furrows
off, and the thunder of the oxen’s tread, then his sky begins to darken, and
his young heart fails him. By and by the plough comes craunching along, turns
his dwelling bottom-side up, and as he goes rolling over and over, without a
house and without a home, “Oh,” he says, “the foundations of the world are
breaking up, and everything is hastening to destruction.” But the husbandman,
as he walks behind the plough, does he think the foundations of the world are
breaking up? No. He is thinking only of the harvest that is to follow in the
wake of the plough; and the cricket, if it will but wait, will see the
husbandman’s purpose, My hearers, we are all like crickets. When we get our own
way we are happy and contented. When we are subjected to disappointment we
become the victims of despair. (A. B. Jack.)
Our mind should be in
harmony with God’s mind
There is a way by which
you may get everything according to your own mind. Men have been labouring to
discover the philosopher’s stone--the secret by which they could transmute
iron, copper, tin, all their possessions into gold. Now, there is a way--and I
will show it in one word--there is a way by which we may get everything
according to our own mind. They tell me, if you take two instruments and tune
them into perfect harmony, and lay your finger on one and sound it, that the
other, though in a fainter tone, sends forth the same note, as though an
invisible musician stood by the harp and touched it with the light finger of a
spirit. Be that true or not, of all instruments, I know that if the Holy Spirit
tune your discordant soul into perfect harmony with God; I know that if there
be a holy harmony between heaven and earth, your mind and God, then you have
everything according to your own mind, because your mind is according to the
mind of God. (A. B. Jack.)
Pride catechised
I. To begin at the
beginning, here is, first, a question: “Should it be according to thy mind?”
You say that you are willing to find mercy, and that you are very teachable;
but you object to the plan of salvation as it is revealed in the Scriptures.
First, then, what is it to which you object? Do you object to the very basis of
the plan, namely, that God will forgive sin through the atoning sacrifice of
Jesus Christ, His Son? But, possibly, you do not object to the doctrine of
substitution, but your objection is to the way of salvation by faith. But if
you object to this doctrine, how would you like to have it altered? “Oh, well!
I would like to have some good feelings put in with faith.” And how, then,
would any man be saved? Can he command his own feelings? “Oh, but!” say some,
“we object to the requirements of the Gospel, especially to that verse where
Christ says, ‘Ye must be born again.’” Well, sirs, as you say that Christ’s
requirements are not according to your mind, what would you like them to be?
What sin is there, in the whole world, that would be put to death if men were
left to pick and choose the Agag which each one wished to save? “Should it be
according to thy mind?” No, certainly not; for, putting all reasons into one,
it is not the slightest use for you to make any objection to the Gospel, for
you will be lost if you do not accept it just as it is revealed in the
Scriptures. I have thus tried to mention a few of the objections which men make
to God’s plan of salvation. Now let me ask two or three questions. First,
should not God have His way? You know that when we give even a trifling
charity, we like to do it in our own way. O Lord, if Thou wilt but save me,
save me anyhow! Further, is not God’s way the best? The mind of God is so
infinitely great, and good, and wise, that it cannot be supposed that, even if
He left the plan of salvation to our option, we could choose anything half as
good as what He decrees and appoints. Suppose the plan of salvation should be
according to any human mind, whose mind is to decide what it shall be? Yours?
Nay, mine. And another says, “No, mine.”
II. Now, secondly,
here is a warning: “He will recompense it, whether thou refuse, or whether thou
choose.” By this I understand that, whatever our will may be, God will carry
out His own purpose. I would also remind you that, though you cavil at God’s
way of salvation, God will punish sin just the same. And further, though you
may object to God’s way of salvation, others will be saved by it. Christ did
not die in vain. Just once more, upon this point, let me say that God will
certainly magnify His own name, whoever may oppose Him,
III. This brings us
to the third part of our subject, on which I desire to say exactly what Elihu
said: “and not I.” We cannot be absolutely sure what these three words mean;
but if they mean what I think they do, they teach us a lesson, which I have
called a protest. Whenever you find anyone opposing God, say to yourself, “and
not I.” When there is any wrong thing being done, and it comes under your
notice, say, “and not I.” Take care that you go not with a multitude to do
evil. What Elihu did mean, I think, was this. Whoever opposes God should know
that he is not dealing with a man like himself. Elihu also means, I think, “I
will not be responsible for the man who refuses God’s Word. I will not stand in
his place, or take the blame which is due to him.” And, once more, Elihu means,
“If you refuse God’s Word, it is not I. I will not share in your rebellion
against Him.”
IV. Our last head
is, a challenge and an invitation. If there are any who refuse the Gospel of
our Lord Jesus Christ, for any reason known only to themselves, we venture to
ask them to say what it is: “Therefore speak what thou knowest.” It was not in
Elihu’s mind to tell Job to be silent, and never open his mouth again. Speech
is the glory of man, and freedom of speech, as far as concerns his fellow
creatures, is the right of every man. It is far better that, when there is a
difficulty or an objection, it should be fairly stated, than that it should lie
smothered up within the soul to breed untold mischief. Therefore, if thou hast
an objection to God’s Word, write it out, and look at it. But at the same time,
when thou art speaking, “speak what thou knowest.” Now, what dost thou really
know of God? Little enough do the most of us know; but, still, I think we know
enough to know that He is not the god of modern times whom some preach. It is
well for us to speak of God as we have found Him. He has dealt kindly and
graciously with us: “He lath not dealt with us after our sins; nor rewarded us
according to our iniquities”; else had we been cast away forever. (C. H.
Spurgeon.)
Verse 34
Let men of understanding tell me.
Abide by certitudes
It behoves us to beware of originality in matters of faith. The
old maxim that “What is true is not new, and what is new is not true,” is of no
little value. Parke Godwin used to say that he had heard a good deal of
“original investigation where the originality surpassed the investigation.” Dr.
C.F. Deans also remarked, “Believe your beliefs, and doubt your doubts; never
make the mistake of doubting your beliefs and believing your doubts.” Never be
reckless in abandoning, without sufficient cause, a faith long cherished by the
most devout souls of all ages. As Paley says, “We should never suffer what we
know to be disturbed by what we do not know.” And Butler well adds, “if a truth
be established, objections are nothing; the one is founded on our knowledge,
the other on our ignorance.” There is an Arab fable of a dervish who was told
that the “philosopher’s stone” lay in a certain river bed. He picked up pebble
after pebble only to throw it away; and actually picked up the treasure among
the rest, but he had formed such a habit of casting away that he threw the
philosopher’s stone away too, and never could recover it. (A. T. Pierson.)
──《The Biblical Illustrator》