“And the Lord turned the captivity of Job, when he prayed for his friends”
-Job 42:10
The Lord turned the captivity of Job.” So, [...]
“Then Job answered the Lord and said, Behold, I am vile.”-Job 40:3-4.
Surely, if any man had a right to say, I am not vile, it was Job; for,
according to the testimony of God himself, he was “a perfect and an upright
man, one that feared God and eschewed evil.” Yet we find even this eminent
saint, when [...]
“Who hath divided a watercourse for the overflowing of waters, or a way for the lightning of thunder; to cause it to rain on the earth, where no man is; on the wilderness, wherein there is no man; to satisfy the desolate and waste ground; and to cause the bud of the tender herb to [...]
Continue reading about Rain and Grace — A Parallel, Job 38:25–27
“But none saith, Where is God my Maker, who giveth songs in the night; who teacheth us more than the beasts of the earth, and maketh us wiser than the fowls of heaven?”-Job 35:10. 11.
Elihu perceived the great ones of the earth oppressing the needy, and he traced their domineering tyranny to their forgetfulness of [...]
Continue reading about Questions Which Ought to be Asked, Job 35:10-11
“No one says, ‘Where is God my Maker, who gives songs in the night.” [Job 35:10]
Elihu was a wise man, very wise, though not as wise as Jehovah, who finds order in confusion; therefore Elihu, being very puzzled at seeing the afflictions of Job, studied him to find the cause of it, and he [...]
“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.”—Job 34:33.
Dear friends, it is never wise to dispute with God. Let a man strive with his fellow, but not with his Maker. If we must discuss any point, let [...]
“Surely it is meet to be said unto God, I have borne chastisement, I will not offend any more:
that which I see not teach thou me: if I have done iniquity, I will do no more.”—Job. 34:31, 32.
Even when addressing our fellow-men there should be a fitness about our speech; therefore Solomon represents the preacher [...]
Continue reading about For the Sick and Afflicted, Job. 34:31, 32
“Then he is gracious unto him, and saith, Deliver him from going down to the pit: I have found a ransom.”—Job 33:24.
Let never be forgotten that, in all that God does, he acts from good reasons. You observe that the text, speaking of the sick man, represents God as saying, “Deliver him from going down [...]
“For God speaketh once, yea twice, yet man perceiveth it not. In a dream, in a vision of the night, when deep sleep falleth upon men, in slumberings upon the bed; then he openeth the ears of men, and sealeth their instruction, that he may withdraw man from his purpose, and bide pride from man. [...]
“Did not I weep for him that was in trouble? was not my soul grieved for the poor?”—Job 30:25.
In endeavoring to justify the ways of God, Job’s three friends came to the harsh conclusion that he would not have been so severely afflicted if he had not been a very great sinner. Among other accusations [...]
“For I know that thou wilt bring me to death, and to the house appointed for all living.”–Job 30:23
Job suffered from a terrible sickness, which filled him with pain both day and night. It is supposed that, in addition to his grievous eruptions upon the skin, he endured great difficulty in breathing. He says [...]
“My glory was fresh in me, and my bow was renewed in my hand.” –Job 29: 20.
“I shall be anointed with fresh oil.” –Psalm 92: 10.
The first text tells us of the renown of Job, and of the way in which the providence of God continued to maintain the glory of his estate, his bodily [...]
“Oh that I were as in months past, as in the days when God preserved me when his candle shined upon my head, and when by his light I walked through darkness; as I was in the days of my youth, when the secret of God was upon my tabernacle.”—Job 29:2-4.
If Job here refers to [...]
“Oh that I were as in months past.”—Job 29:2.
For the most part the gracious Shepherd leads his people beside the still waters, and makes them to lie down in green pastures; but at times they wander through a wilderness, where there is no water, and they find no city to dwell in. Hungry and thirsty, [...]
“Will he always call upon God?” [Job 27:10]
Concerning these words, I would observe,
1. Who it is that is here spoken of, viz. the hypocrite; as you may see, If you take the two preceding verses with the verse of the text. “For what is the hope of the hypocrite, though he hath gained, when God [...]
Continue reading about Hypocrites Deficient in the Duty of Prayer, Job 27:10
“Will he always call upon God?”—Job 27:10.
When Job resumes his address in this chapter, he appeals to God in a very solemn matter as to the truth of all that he had spoken. No less vehemently does he assert his innocence of any signal crime, or his consciousness of any secret guile, which could account [...]
Continue reading about The Touchstone of Godly Sincerity, Job 27:10
“The Almighty hath vexed my soul.” — Job 27:2.
The word “who” was put into this verse by the translators, but it is not wanted; it is better as I have read it to you, “The Almighty hath vexed my soul.” The marginal reading is perhaps a more exact translation of the original: “The Almighty hath [...]
“But he is in one minds, and who can turn him? and what his soul desireth, even that he doeth.—Job 23:13.
It is very advantageous to the Christian mind frequently to consider the deep and unsearchable attributes of God. The beneficial effect is palpable in two ways, exerting a sacred influence both on the judgment and [...]
Continue reading about The Infallibility of God’s Purpose, Job 23:13
“My foot hath held his steps, his way have I kept, and not declined. Neither have I gone back from the commandment of his lips;
I have esteemed the words of his mouth more than my necessary food.” –Job 23:11, 12.
Thus Job speaks of himself, not by way of vaunting, but by way of vindication. Eliphaz [...]
Continue reading about The Fair Portrait of a Saint, Job 23:11, 12
“But he knoweth the way that I take: when he hath tried me, I shall come forth as gold.”—Job 23:10.
On several Sabbath mornings of late I have earnestly handled spiritual subjects which I trust may have been for the edification of the people of God; but it will not do to continue in that line. [...]