B.C. cir. 1520. a Ps. cxlvi. 3, 4. b Is. ii. 22. a during which the work of decay is proceeding. they.. it, the living are unaffected by the work of death around them. (21) doth.. away, their titles, wealth, etc., leave them. they.. wisdom, they pass away bef. they know much; many bef. v. 21. J. R. Boul- they become wise to salvation. lier, ii. 353. who will answer prayer if God does not ? CHAPTER THE FIFTH. 1, 2. (1) call.. thee, if God does not answer, who will? saints,a holy ones, angels. (2) wrath, i.e. of God; the more excited by an appeal to any but Him. envy, of any lot save one's own. foolish.. silly, foolish to think any can hear and xiv. 5: Ps. lxxxix. answer prayer but God; silly to imagine any lot is without trial; or any other really better for us than our own. a xv. 15; Zec. 5,7; Da. iv. 13. b"It may be inferred this pas, that the inocation of Paints or angels known, but Eliphaz distinctly affirms its inutility when a man is not reconciled was not un to God; and if be were, it would, of course, be needless." - Spk. Com. c Homiletic Com. v. 1. D. S. Deyling, Obs. i. 142. v. 2. Dr. J. Lambe, A Ser. 1695. Cyrus, the Persian king, was accustomed to say, that did men but know the cares he had to sustain, he thought no man would wish to wear his crown. d Clement. the end of the wicked is misery a Ps. lxix. 25; 1xxiii. 3, 17, 18. b Ex. xx. 5. c Pr. xxii. 20. d xxix. 7, xxxi. 21. e But see Land and Bk. 348. The folly and effects of fretting against God.-I. It is the part only of fools to fret against God and His procedure. II. Fretting against God's dealings brings its own punishment. 1. It robs of peace, which is the spirit's life; 2. Affects the health and hastens death; 3. Injures the life and property of the soul; 4. Brings greater chastening and punishment from God. Note-Passion and impatience in trouble are more hurtful and crushing than the trouble itself. Envy (v. 2).-There once sailed from the city of New Orleans, in America, a large and noble steam-vessel, freighted with cotton, and having many passengers on board. While the cargo was being embarked, a portion of it became slightly moistened by a shower of rain then falling. This circumstance, however, was not noticed, the cotton being closely packed, and the hatchways fastened down. During the first part of the voyage all went well, but in the middle of the Atlantic the ship's crew were suddenly alarmed by a fearful cry of fire, and in a few moments the noble vessel was enveloped in flames. The damp and closelypacked cotton had become heated, daily smouldering and getting in a more dangerous state, until at last it burst out into a broad sheet of flame, solely from the effects of spontaneous combustion. The passengers and crew were soon compelled to take to the boats; some were consumed or suffocated in the flames, and many more drowned in the sea. The heated cotton smouldering in the hold of this vessel aptly illustrates the condition of that man who harbours resentment and envy in his breast; it gradually stifles all the better feelings of his nature; obtains the complete mastery over his spirit,-then bursts forth into acts of violence, and leads him to the commission of deeds the very thought of which, at another time, would compel him to shudder and start with horror.d 3-5. (3) taking root, outwardly prospering. but.. habitation, a when it was seen that his prosperity was not founded on right and truth. (4) his.. safety, they are involved in their father's ruin. crushed, broken in pieces. gate,d in court of justice there held. Their quarrelsome, litigious spirit here suggested. neither.. them, they are not pitied nor aided. (5) harvest, substance. the.. up, there being none to take the part of the owner. taketh.. thorns, the hedge being broken through.e robber, Heb. snare; all. to crafty spoilers. The prosperity of the ungodly.-The ungodly frequently prosper B.O. cir. 1520. "It is one of the worst effects of prosperity to make a man a vortex instead of a fountain, 80 that, instead of throwing out, he learns only to draw in.". Beecher. "Everything in the world may be endured except only a suecession of prosperous days." The more the diamond is cut, the more it sparkles; the heavier the cross is, the heavier is the saint's in this life. God may have wise reasons for permitting them to prosper. 1. It exercises the faith and patience of the godly; f Rutherford. 2. Teaches the great inferiority of earthly to heavenly blessings; 3. Confirms the truth of a judgment to come. Note:-The godly are too much loved to receive their portion in this life. The good things of this life are only the bones cast to dogs. Half-starved Arabs.-This is a manifest allusion to the halfstarved Arabs of the desert, who were always ready for plunder, as their descendants are to this day. Such starvelings are thus described by Volney :-"These men are smaller, leaner, and blacker than any of the Bedouins yet known; their wasted legs had only tendons without calves; their belly was glued to their back. In general, the Bedouins are small, lean and swarthy,more so, however, in the bosom of the desert than on the borders of the cultivated country. They are ordinarily about five feet two inches high. They seldom have more than about six ounces of food for the whole day. Six or seven dates, soaked in melted butter, a little milk or curd, serve a man for twenty-four hours; and he seems happy when he can add a small portion of coarse Goethe. flour or little ball of rice. Their camels, also, which are their chief support, are remarkably meagre, living on the meanest and most scanty provision. Nature has given it a small head, without ears, at the end of a long neck, without flesh she has taken from its legs and thighs every muscle not immediately requisite for motion: and, in short, has bestowed on its withered body only the vessels and tendons necessary to connect its frame together: crown." she has furnished it with a strong jaw, that it may grind the hardest aliments: and, lest it should consume too much, she 9 Burder. has straightened its stomach, and obliged it to chew the cud.", 6, 7. (6) affliction.. dust," is not accidental, but fruit of man is born wickedness. (7) sparks, lit. children of flame, or sons of the coal. Trouble.-I. Its origin. 1. It is from a necessity and law imposed on our existence in this world; 2. From sin, which is the ground of that necessity. In the government of a good and righteous God suffering could exist only-1. As a legal necessity in consequence of disobedience to His laws; or, 2. As a moral necessity for the discipline of His erring children. II. Its universality. Tears moisten the pillow of down as well as the pallet of straw. This ought to render us-1. Patient under our own trouble; 2. Sympathising with that of others. III. Its certainty. 1. The hand that made us has, since the entrance of sin, made us sufferers; 2. Only through the incarnation and suffering of the Son of Man, our sufferings are not eternal. Sons of the burning coal (v. 7).-Hebrew, "Sons of the burning coal." The word son, among the Hindoos, is applied to man, and all kinds of animal life. Men of ignoble parentage are called sons of the koddekal, i.e. the mechanics. When animals, reptiles, or insects are troublesome, they are called passasinudia-maggal, sons of the devil; or vease-maggal, sons of the prostitute, or of the treacherous ones. See the ploughman at his occupation; should the bullocks prove restive, he immediately vociferates the epithets alluded to. Listen to the almost breathless cowherd, who is running after some of his refractory kine to bring them.7. T. Dorringto the fold, and he abuses them in the most coarse and indelicate 1: W. B. Kirwan, language. The man also who for the first time discovers the 379. to trouble a Ge. iii. 17-19. "Eliphaz leaves Job to make the this, and other application of sayings of his. to himself." Wordsworth. Hom. Com. vv. 6, 7. Dr. J. Collinge's Provi dence, 503; Sir M. Hale's Wks. ii. vi. 227, f.; A. 514. ".6. Dr. Gibbons, 1.249. 349; J. Brougham, ton, Fam. Dev. 15. f Hom. Com. The Apostle, speaking of persecuted saints, saith, 'They took joyfully the spoiling of their goods, knowing that they have in heaven a better and an enduring substance.' And thus David (as once his Jonathan) tastes honey from the top of the rod: "Thy rod and Thy staff, they comfort me; not only God's staff to support him, but even His rod to chastise and correct him, were sweet and comfortable to him."- - Bp. Hopkins. g J. Montgomery. white ants destroying his property bawls out with all his might, 8-11. (8) I, emphatic. "I however." seek," in humble prayer, not sinfully complain. (9) unsearchable,' whose purpose in affliction needs searching out, and must be beneficent. marvellous, and dif., in relation to results, fr. what might be expected. (10) rain not liked, sometimes, by the thoughtless. (11) set.. low, this the end of God's care and dealings. Comfort in trouble.-Our great comfort in trouble is that we can address God in it. He should be sought unto in trouble-1. For counsel and direction in it; 2. For comfort and support under it; 3. For grace so to bear it as to glorify God by it; 4. For deliverance in His own time and way out of it; 5. For the spiritual benefit and improvement intended through it. Note(1) It is true wisdom and piety to commit our cause into God's hands. Note-(2) The attributes of God are such as to render Him the proper object of prayer and trust in the time of trouble/ Purification of affliction. He that from dross would win the precious ore, Who from the crucible come forth so pure That He whose eyes of flame look through the whole, Nor with an evanescent glimpse alone, As in that mirror the refiner's face; But, stampt with heaven's broad signet, there be shown And round that seal of love this motto be, b 12-14. (12) he.. crafty,a true in principle, but not applicable to Job. enterprise, that wh. seems dictated by practical sagacity. (13) taketh.. craftiness, Providence is against an overreaching worldly policy. counsel.. headlong, "hurried on by seeming success.' " (14) they.. daytime, etc.. bewildered by the failure of their plans; and things turning out so dif. fr. their expectations. The Divine attributes.-I. His almightiness (v. 9). His works of providence unsearchable. 1. In the end designed in them; 2. In the manner of its accomplishment. II. His goodness and benevolence (v. 10). III. His wisdom (vv. 12—14). IV. His compassion (vv. 14, 15). Comfort in times of trouble. Hast thou gone sadly thro' a dreary night, No guide, no star, to cheer thee through the plain- Wait, and thy soul shall see, when most folorn, Rise a new morn. Hast thou beneath another's stern control Bent thy sad soul, And wasted sacred hopes and precious tears? For thou canst gain, even from the bitterest part, Has fate o'erwhelmed thee with some sudden blow? But know, when storms are past, the heavens appear And hope, when furthest from their shining rays, Hast thou found nought within thy troubled life Hast thou found all he promised thee deceit, Endure, and there shall dawn within thy breast b 15, 16. (15) saveth.. sword,a in the worst times those who trust in Him are safe, even though poor and without human friends. mouth, their words may be as sharp swords. (16) so..hope, without wh. they would be poor indeed; hope is wealth. and mouth, a false, treacherous, slanderous mouth. The compassion of God.-This, as suggested by the passage, is of two parts. I. Goodness exercised towards men in general. II. His compassion towards the poor (v. 16). Such have encouragement to hope-1. From the actual results of God's dealings with them; 2. Persecution and oppression often struck dumb-(a) By God's manifest deliverance of the poor that trusted in Him; (b) By His judgments on the wicked executed along with that deliverance (Ex. xiv. 25). God's works will put the ungodly to silence when His words do not. True compassion (v. 16).—A violent Welsh squire, having taken offence at a poor curate who employed his leisure hours in mending clocks and watches, applied to the Bishop of St. Asaph, with a formal complaint against him of impiously carrying on a trade, contrary to the statute. His lordship, having heard the complaint, told the squire he might depend upon the strictest justice being done in the case; accordingly the mechanicdivine was sent for a few days after, when the bishop asked him how he dared disgrace his diocese by becoming a mender of clocks and watches. The curate, with all humility, answered, To satisfy the wants of a wife and ten children." "That won't do with me," rejoined the prelate; "I will inflict such a punishment upon you, as will make you leave off your pitiful trade, I promise you; " and immediately calling in his secretary, ordered him to make out a presentation for the astonished curate to a living of at least one hundred and fifty pounds per annum. 66 17, 18. (17) happy, fortunate. correcteth," instead of letting him alone. therefore.. Lord, try rather to learn the lesson. (18) for.. sore, as the first effect of chastisement on the heart and mind. and.. up,' He does not leave the sore to heal of itself. he.. hands, the same hands hold the rod and the ointment. B.C.cir. 1520. Ho. vi. 1; Ps. cxlvii. 3. c Dr. Ryland. .v. 17. J. Penn, i. 77; B. Hill, i. 49. "I fear God, and next to God, I chiefly fear him who fears Him not."-Saadi. "O there is nought on earth known but God and Our own souls."-Bailey. worth being "Perfumes, the The benefits of affliction.-I. Men in times of prosperity are apt to indulge erroneous notions, and neglect important truths. II. God often employs afflictions to correct our mistaken ideas, and rectify our foolish propensities. III. When these ends are answered, He who has been most severely chastened may well think himself most happy. The wrath of God.-Delivered He was, not to despair, for that was impossible; nor to the torments of hell, which could never seize on His innocent soul: but to the wrath of God, which withered His heart like grass, "burnt up His bones like a hearth," and "brought Him even to the dust of death." Look now upon His countenance--it is pale and wan; upon His heart-it is melted like wax; upon His tongue-it cleaveth to the roof of His mouth. What talk we of death? The wrath of God is truly the terriblest thing in this world-the sting of sin, which is the sting of death. Alas! to us, God's wrath doth not appear in its full horror; for if it did, we should sooner die than offend Him. Some do but think of it; few think of it as they should; and they that are most apprehensive look upon it as at a distance, as that which may be turned away; and so, not fearing God's wrath, "treasure up wrath against the day of wrath." To us, when we take it at the nearest and have the fullest sight of it, it appeareth but as the cloud did to Elijah's servant, "like a man's hand;" but to Christ "the heavens were black with clouds and wind," and it showered down upon Him as in a tempest of fire and brimstone. We have not His eyes, and therefore not His apprehension. We see not so much deformity in sin as He did, and not so much terror in the wrath of God.... God in His approaches of justice, when He cometh towards the sinner to correct him, may seem to go, like the consuls of Rome, with His rods and His axes carried before but not to Him. Many sinners have felt His rods: and His rod is comfort; grumble."-Gur-His frown, favour; His anger, love; and His blow, a benefit. But Christ was struck as it were with His axe. Others have trembled under His wrath, but Christ was even consumed by the stroke of His hand.d more they're chafed, the more they render their pleasant scents; expresseth virtue fully, whether true or else adulterate."--Webster. and so affliction "When afflicted, love can allow thee to groan, nall. d A. Farindon. God is a great deliverer 19-21. (19) six.. seven, etc.,a God is never tired with helping His people, or wearied by their prayers; of course, six and seven are not to be taken literally. (20) famine, one of a Ps. xci. 5-7, four great troubles here specified; war, slander, ruin, are the others. (21) hid.. tongue, etc., what scourge is greater? xxxiii. 18, 19; Ge. xlv. 7; 1 Ki. xvii. 6, 15, 16; Le. xxvi. 6; Ez. xxxiv. 25; Is. lxv. 25, xxxv. 9; Da. vi. 22. b Ps. xxxi. 20. By examining the tongue of a Homiletic hints on vv. 19-21.-Deliverance promised not in one or two troubles, but in all. Every new trouble needs Divine support and guidance. Preservation in trouble, support under it, and deliverance out of it, all in the believer's charter. The time and mode of deliverance best reserved in God's own hands. Here trouble succeeds trouble, as wave succeeds wave. One past, we are to prepare for another. God either gives His people what He promised or something better.-The security of God's people.This text has reference to the promises. We shall endeavourI. To explain them. 1. They are great and comprehensive; 2. They must be understood with limitations and restrictions. II. To confirm them. The whole Scriptures bear testimony to mind."-Justin. the truth of them. Search-1. The law; 2. The prophets; 3. The New Testament. Convinced of the truth of these promises, mellows we are now only concerned-III. To improve them. They teach patient, physicians find out the diseases of the body, and philosophers the diseases of the A tart temper never |