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Job Chapter
Twenty-two
Job 22
Chapter Contents
Eliphaz shows that a man's goodness profits not God.
(1-4) Job accused of oppression. (5-14) The world before the flood. (15-20)
Eliphaz exhorts Job to repentance. (21-30)
Commentary on Job 22:1-4
(Read Job 22:1-4)
Eliphaz considers that, because Job complained so much of
his afflictions, he thought God was unjust in afflicting him; but Job was far
from thinking so. What Eliphaz says, is unjustly applied to Job, but it is very
true, that when God does us good it is not because he is indebted to us. Man's piety
is no profit to God, no gain. The gains of religion to men are infinitely
greater than the losses of it. God is a Sovereign, who gives no account of his
conduct; but he is perfectly wise, just, faithful, good, and merciful. He
approves the likeness of his own holiness, and delights in the fruits of his
Spirit; he accepts the thankful services of the humble believer, while he
rejects the proud claim of the self-confident.
Commentary on Job 22:5-14
(Read Job 22:5-14)
Eliphaz brought heavy charges against Job, without reason
for his accusations, except that Job was visited as he supposed God always
visited every wicked man. He charges him with oppression, and that he did harm
with his wealth and power in the time of his prosperity.
Commentary on Job 22:15-20
(Read Job 22:15-20)
Eliphaz would have Job mark the old way that wicked men
have trodden, and see what the end of their way was. It is good for us to mark
it, that we may not walk therein. But if others are consumed, and we are not,
instead of blaming them, and lifting up ourselves, as Eliphaz does here, we
ought to be thankful to God, and take it for a warning.
Commentary on Job 22:21-30
(Read Job 22:21-30)
The answer of Eliphaz wrongly implied that Job had
hitherto not known God, and that prosperity in this life would follow his
sincere conversion. The counsel Eliphaz here gives is good, though, as to Job,
it was built upon a false supposition that he was a stranger and enemy to God.
Let us beware of slandering our brethren; and if it be our lot to suffer in
this manner, let us remember how Job was treated; yea, how Jesus was reviled,
that we may be patient. Let us examine whether there may not be some colour for
the slander, and walk watchfully, so as to be clear of all appearances of evil.
── Matthew Henry《Concise Commentary on Job》
Job 22
Verse 2
[2] Can
a man be profitable unto God, as he that is wise may be profitable unto
himself?
Can, … —
Why dost thou insist so much upon thy own righteousness, as if thou didst
oblige God by it.
Verse 3
[3] Is it any pleasure to the Almighty, that thou art righteous? or is it gain
to him, that thou makest thy ways perfect?
Is it —
Such a pleasure as he needs for his own ease and contentment. Nay, God needs
not us, or our services. We are undone, forever undone without him: but he is
happy, forever happy without us.
Verse 4
[4] Will
he reprove thee for fear of thee? will he enter with thee into judgment?
Reprove —
Punish thee. Because he is afraid, lest if he should let thee alone, thou
wouldst grow too great and powerful for him: surely no. As thy righteousness
cannot profit him, so thy wickedness can do him no hurt.
Verse 5
[5] Is
not thy wickedness great? and thine iniquities infinite?
Evil — Is
not thy evil, thy affliction, are not thy calamities procured by, and
proportionable to thy sins.
Verse 6
[6] For thou hast taken a pledge from thy brother for nought, and stripped the
naked of their clothing.
Surely — He
speaks thus by way of strong presumption, when I consider thy unusual
calamities, I conclude thou art guilty of all, or some of these crimes.
Brother — Of
thy neighbour.
Nought —
Without sufficient and justifiable cause.
Stripped — By
taking their garment for a pledge, or by robbing them of their rights, all
other injuries being comprehended under this.
Verse 8
[8] But
as for the mighty man, he had the earth; and the honourable man dwelt in it.
Dwelt —
Either by thy sentence or permission, he had a peaceable and sure possession of
it, whether he had right to it, or no.
Verse 9
[9] Thou
hast sent widows away empty, and the arms of the fatherless have been broken.
Arms —
Their supports, and rights.
Verse 11
[11] Or
darkness, that thou canst not see; and abundance of waters cover thee.
Or — Either thou art
troubled with fear of further evils or with the gross darkness of thy present
state of misery.
Waters —
Variety of sore afflictions, which are frequently compared to water.
Verse 12
[12] Is
not God in the height of heaven? and behold the height of the stars, how high
they are!
Heaven —
And from that high tower looketh down upon men, to behold, and govern, and
recompense all their actions, whether good or bad.
How high —
Yet God is far higher than they, and from thence can easily see all things.
Verse 14
[14]
Thick clouds are a covering to him, that he seeth not; and he walketh in the
circuit of heaven.
Walketh —
His delight is in heaven, which is worthy of his care, but he will not burden
himself with the care of earth: which was the opinion of many Heathen
philosophers, and, as they fancied, was Job's opinion also.
Verse 15
[15] Hast
thou marked the old way which wicked men have trodden?
Old way —
Heb. the way of antiquity, of men living in ancient times, their end or
success.
Verse 16
[16]
Which were cut down out of time, whose foundation was overflown with a flood:
Out of —
Before their time.
A flood —
Who, together with their foundation, the earth and all their supports and
enjoyments in it, were destroyed by the general deluge.
Verse 17
[17]
Which said unto God, Depart from us: and what can the Almighty do for them?
Who — He
repeats Job's words, chap. 21:14,15, but to a contrary purpose. Job alleged
them to shew that they prospered notwithstanding their wickedness; and Eliphaz
produces them to shew that they were cut off for it.
Verse 18
[18] Yet
he filled their houses with good things: but the counsel of the wicked is far
from me.
Yet —
Yet it is true, that for a time God did prosper them, but at last, cut them off
in a tremendous manner, But - He repeals Job's words, chap. 21:16, not without reflection: thou didst say
so, but against thy own principle, that God carries himself indifferently
towards good and bad; but I who have observed God's terrible judgments upon
wicked men, have much more reason to abhor their counsels.
Verse 20
[20]
Whereas our substance is not cut down, but the remnant of them the fire
consumeth.
Because —
Because when wicked men are destroyed, they are preserved. He should have said
their substance; but he changes the person, and saith, our substance; either as
including himself in the member of righteous persons, and thereby intimating
that he pleaded the common cause of all such, while Job pleaded the cause of
the wicked, or because he would hereby thankfully acknowledge some eminent and
particular preservation given to him amongst other righteous men.
Remnant —
All that was left undestroyed in the general calamity.
Fire —
Sodom and Gomorrah. As if he had said, thou mayest find here and there an
instance, of a wicked man dying in peace. But what is that to the two great
instances of the final perdition of ungodly men, the drowning the whole world,
and the burning of Sodom and Gomorrah.
Verse 21
[21]
Acquaint now thyself with him, and be at peace: thereby good shall come unto
thee.
Him —
With God, renew thy acquaintance with God by prayer, and repentance for all thy
sins, and true humiliation under his hand, and hearty compliance with all his
commands, and diligent care to serve and enjoy him. It is our honour, that we
are made capable of this acquaintance, our misery that by sin we have lost it;
our privilege, that through Christ we may return to it; and our unspeakable
advantage, to renew and cultivate it.
And be at peace — At
peace with God, and at peace with thyself, not fretful or uneasy.
Good shall come unto thee — All the good thou canst desire, temporal, spiritual, eternal.
Verse 22
[22]
Receive, I pray thee, the law from his mouth, and lay up his words in thine
heart.
Receive —
Take the rule whereby thou governest thy thoughts, and words, and whole life,
not from thy own imaginations or passions, but from God, from his law, which is
written in thy own mind, and from the doctrines and instructions of the holy
men of God. And do not only hear them with thine ears, but let them sink into
thy heart.
Verse 23
[23] If
thou return to the Almighty, thou shalt be built up, thou shalt put away
iniquity far from thy tabernacles.
If — The Hebrew phrase is
emphatical, and implies a thorough turning from sin, to God, so as to love him,
and cleave to him, and sincerely devote a man's self to his fear and service.
Built —
God will repair thy ruins, and give thee more children, and bless thee with
prosperity.
Thou shalt — It
is either, 1. a spiritual promise, if thou dost sincerely repent, God will give
the grace effectually to reform thyself and family: or, 2. a temporal promise,
thou shalt put away iniquity, or the punishment of thy sins; as iniquity is
very often used: far from thy tabernacles; from all thy dwellings, and tents,
and possessions.
Verse 26
[26] For
then shalt thou have thy delight in the Almighty, and shalt lift up thy face
unto God.
Lift up —
Look up to him, with chearfulness and confidence.
Verse 27
[27] Thou
shalt make thy prayer unto him, and he shall hear thee, and thou shalt pay thy
vows.
Make —
The word is, thou shalt multiply thy prayer. Under all thy burdens, in all thy
wants, cares and fears, thou shalt send to heaven for wisdom, strength and
comfort.
Pay —
Thou shalt obtain those blessings for which thou didst make vows to God, and
therefore, according to thy obligation, shalt pay thy vows to him.
Verse 28
[28] Thou
shalt also decree a thing, and it shall be established unto thee: and the light
shall shine upon thy ways.
Established —
Thy purposes shalt not be disappointed, but ratified by God. And in all thy
counsels, and actions, God shall give thee the light of his direction and
governance, and of comfort and success.
Verse 29
[29] When
men are cast down, then thou shalt say, There is lifting up; and he shall save
the humble person.
Cast down —
All round about thee, in a time of general calamity.
There is —
God will deliver thee.
He — God.
Verse 30
[30] He
shall deliver the island of the innocent: and it is delivered by the pureness
of thine hands.
He, … —
God will have so great a respect to thy innocency, that for thy sake he will
deliver those that belong to thee, or live with thee, or near thee, thought in
themselves they be ripe for destruction.
Their hands — By
thy prayers proceeding from a pure heart and conscience. So Eliphaz and his two
friends, who in this matter were not innocent, were delivered by the pureness
of Job's hands, chap. 42:8.
── John Wesley《Explanatory Notes on Job》
22 Chapter 22
Verses 1-30
Verses 1-4
Can a man be profitable unto God?
The third speech of Eliphaz
Two general truths.
I. That the great
God is perfectly independent of man’s character, whether right or wrong. “Can a
man be profitable unto God, as he that is wise may be profitable unto himself?
Is it any pleasure to the Almighty, that thou art righteous? or is it gain to
Him, that thou makest thy ways perfect?”
1. He is so independent of it that He is not affected by it. No
hellish crimes can lessen His felicity; no heavenly virtue can heighten His
blessedness. He is infinitely more independent of all the virtues in heaven
than the orb of day is independent of a candle’s feeble rays, more independent
of all the crimes of hell than noontide brightness is of a mere whiff of smoke.
He is not worshipped with men’s hands as though He needed anything. This fact
should impress us--
2. He is so independent of it that He will not condescend to explain
His treatment of it. “Will He reprove thee for fear of thee? Will He enter with
thee into judgment?” One great cause of Job’s murmuring was that God had sent
punishment upon him without any explanation. For this Eliphaz here reproves
him, and virtually says, “Is it not in the highest degree absurd to expect that
the Maker should be willing to explain His doings to the creatures He has
made?”
II. Man’s character
is of the utmost importance to himself. “He that is wise may be profitable unto
himself.” Eliphaz means to say that the wise and pious man is profitable to
himself. To the man himself, character is everything. The wealth of Croesus,
the strength of Samson, the wisdom of Solomon, and the dominion of Caesar are
nothing to a man in comparison to his character. His character is the fruit of
his existence, the organ of his power, the law of his destiny. It is the only
property he carries with him beyond the grave. (Homilist.)
The independence of God
The question, “Can a man be profitable unto God?” requires, in
order to its thorough discussion, that it be resolved into two,--Can anything
which a man does be injurious to God? Can anything which a man does be
advantageous to God? When human actions are considered in reference to the
Almighty, their consequences it appears can in no degree extend themselves to
one infinitely removed from all that is created. Not, indeed, that we must so
represent the independence of God, as that it involves indifference to men, or
totally disregards their actions. Scriptures declare that God is dishonoured by
our sinfulness, and glorified by our obedience. But we glorify Him without
actually rendering Him any service, and we dishonour Him without doing Him any
actual injury.
I. Thy
impossibility that men should be profitable unto God. Think of the greatness of
God, how inaccessible He is, how immeasurably removed from all created being.
Thinking of this, you can scarcely indulge the idea, that the services of any
creature, however exalted and endowed, can be necessary to God. If you examine
with the least attention, you must see that, supposing God injured by our sin,
or advantaged by our righteousness, is the equivalent to supposing our
instrumentality necessary in order to the accomplishment of His purposes.
II. The inferences
which follow from this truth. Note the perfect disinterestedness of God in
sending His own Son to die for the rebellious. It cannot be that God redeemed
us because He required our services. The only account which can be given of the
amazing interposition is, that God loves us; and even this evades, rather than
obviates, the difficulty. Remember that, though you can do nothing for God, He
is ready in Christ to do everything for you. (Henry Melvill, B. D.)
The doctrine of merit
It is a matter of no small moment for a man to be rightly informed
upon what terms and conditions he is to transact with God, and God with him, in
the great business of his salvation. St. Paul tells us that eternal life is the
“gift of God.” Salvation proceeds wholly upon free gift, though damnation upon
strict desert. Such is the extreme folly, or rather sottishness, of man’s
corrupt nature, that this does by no means satisfy him. When he comes to deal
with God about spirituals, he appears and acts, not as a supplicant, but as a
merchant; not as one who comes to be relieved, but to traffic. This great
self-delusion, so prevalent upon most minds, is the thing here encountered in
the text; which is a declaration of the impossibility of man’s being profitable
to God, or of his meriting of God, according to the true, proper, and strict
sense of merit. Merit is a right to receive some good upon the score of some
good done, together with an equivalence or parity of worth between the good to
be received and the good done.
I. It is implied
that men are naturally very prone to entertain as opinion or persuasion, that
they are able to merit of God, or be profitable to Him. The truth of this will
appear from two considerations.
1. It is natural for men to place too high a value both upon
themselves and their own performances. That this is so is evident from
universal experience. Every man will be sure to set his own price upon what be
is, and what he does, whether the world will come up to it or no; as it seldom
does.
2. The natural aptness of men to form and measure their apprehensions
of the supreme Lord of all things, by what they apprehend and observe of the
princes and potentates of this world, with reference to such as are under their
dominion. This is certainly a very prevailing fallacy, and steals too easily
upon men’s minds, as being founded in the unhappy predominance of sense over
reason, No marvel then, if they blunder in their notions about God, a Being so
vastly above the apprehensions of sense. From misapplied premises, the low,
gross, undistinguishing reason of the generality of mankind, presently infers
that the creature may, on some accounts, be as beneficial to his Creator as a
subject may be to his prince. Men are naturally very prone to persuade
themselves that they are able to merit of God, or be profitable to Him.
II. Such a
persuasion is utterly false and absurd, for it is impossible for men to merit
of God. Show the several ingredients of merit, and the conditions necessary to
render an action meritorious.
1. That an action be not due; that is to say, it must not be such as
a man stands obliged to the doing of, but such as he is free either to do or
not to do, without being chargeable with any sinful omission in case he does
not. But all that any man alive is capable of doing, is but an indispensable
homage to God, and not a free oblation; and that also such an homage as makes
his obligation to what he does much earlier than his doing of it, will appear
both from the law of nature, and that of God’s positive command.
2. It should really add to and better the state of the person of whom
it is to merit. The reason of which is because all merit consists properly in a
right to receive some benefit, or the account of some benefit first done.
3. That there be an equal proportion of value between the action and
the reward. This is evident from the foundation already laid by us; to wit,
that the nature of merit consists properly in exchange; and that, we know, must
proceed according to a parity of worth on both sides, commutation being most
properly between things equivalent. Can we, who live by sense, and act by
sense, do anything worthy of those joys which not only exceed our senses, but
also transcend our intellectuals?
4. He who does a work whereby he would merit of another, does it
solely by his own strength, and not by the strength or power of him from whom
he is to merit.
III. This persuasion
is the source and foundation of two of the greatest corruptions of religion
that have infested the Christian Church. These are pelagianism and popery.
Pelagianism is resolvable into this one point, that a man contributes something
of his own, which he had not from God, towards his own salvation.
IV. Remove an
objection naturally apt to issue from the foregoing particulars. Can there be a
greater discouragement than this doctrine to men in their Christian course?
Answer--
1. It ought not to be any discouragement to a beggar to continue
asking an alms, and in doing all that he can to obtain it, though he knows he
can do nothing to claim it.
2. I deny that our disavowing this doctrine of merit, cuts us off
from all plea to a recompense for our Christian obedience from the hands of
God. It cuts us off from all plea on the score of strict justice. But God’s
justice is not the only thing that can oblige Him in His transactings with men.
His veracity and His promise also oblige Him. (Robert South, D. D.)
Does religion enrich God
These withering questions were addressed to a humiliated man, with
the object of crushing him more completely. Eliphaz was, of course, right in
defending the justice of the Divine government. But was the argument he
used--that man’s religion is a matter of indifference to God--a sound one?
I. Upon the
surface, the questions admit of no answer but a negative. “Can a man be
profitable unto God, as he that is wise may be profitable unto himself?” We
cannot conceive of the Deity as other than perfect, self-contained and
self-sufficient. His power is omnipotent, and His years eternal. What can man
do to enhance such adorable perfections? Will the light of a candle add to the
glory of the sunshine at midday? Will a single drop of water perceptibly
increase the volume of the ocean? Our Christian activities do not enrich God,
as the work of shop assistants enriches their employers. Nor do our religious
offerings add to His wealth. All is already His, and of His own do we give Him.
The gain is on our side; not God’s. We profit by our holiness of character, our
Christian zeal, and our religious offerings. Nothing can be more sublimely
ludicrous than the patronage which some men accord religion. They give to
religious objects in the spirit of monarchs dispensing alms to the needy. They
graciously allow their names to be printed as patrons of religious
institutions.
II. Yet, looking at
his words again, we feel that they must not be allowed to pass without
qualification or amendment. They are true to a certain extent, and in that
limited degree may be usefully employed. Eliphaz in his laudable attempt to
exalt God above the deities of the heathen, who according to the conceptions of
their worshippers were enriched or impoverished by their piety or the lack of
it, elevated Him to a pinnacle of remoteness and indifference which He does not
occupy. In his extremely proper endeavour to magnify God he belittled man,
which is both unnecessary and wrong. Is it the case that religion is merely an
insurance? Is godliness nothing more than prudence? Do our saintliest serve God
only for what they can get? Well, religion is less attractive than it seemed if
the struggles that won our admiration and the sacrifices that moved us to tears
were only prompted by self-interest. It is an insufficient explanation. Again,
is it true, as Eliphaz insinuates, that human righteousness gives no pleasure
to God? It is a crushing suggestion. The Eternal is high above you and cares
nothing for your little concerns, even for your small virtues and petty
victories over sin! It is a crushing suggestion. And surely it is a fallacious
one. We may take the good He has given us or we may leave it, He does not care!
His eternal calm is unruffled, His ineffable completeness unbroken, by the
fortunes of mortal men! “Can a man be profitable unto God? No, he that is wise
is profitable unto himself. Is it any pleasure to the Almighty that thou art
righteous? or is it gain to Him that thou makest thy ways perfect?” Oh, it is a
repellent picture. We are prepared to hear that there is a fallacy in it.
III. Its effect is
to demoralise and debauch man. And it really does not magnify God. While
professing to exalt Him, it lowers Him. Is God too great to notice man? That is
not real greatness which can only condescend to notice great affairs. The
answer to it lies in the book which records it. We see the Almighty
contemplating with satisfaction the uprightness of a man. We see Him defending
that uprightness against the malicious insinuations of His own enemy and man’s,
Satan. A better reply still is furnished by the teaching of Jesus. He revealed
God. He was God. And in beautiful similitudes He spoke of the Divine concern
for the soul of man and the Divine joy in its salvation. God, if we may
reverently say so, has given His case away by the revelation of His fatherhood.
We cannot argue upon the ground of majesty, but on this level we are at home.
We know how a father hungers for the love of his child. So we can please God:
we can wound Him. For love craves a return, and love lies bleeding from
indifference. Jesus, yearning over Jerusalem, is the answer in the affirmative
to the questions of Eliphaz. But the supreme answer lies not in the teaching of
Jesus, convincing though that is, but in Jesus Himself. That answer is final.
Is the moral condition of man of no concern to God? Then come with me to Bethlehem,
to a stable behind the village inn. Is the soul of man uncared for by God? Then
come with me to Calvary. Do you see that Man dying, amid throes of unutterable
agony, on a cross of wood? (B. J. Gibbon.)
Verse 3
Is it any pleasure to the Almighty that thou art righteous?
God’s pleasure in man’s righteousness
To this Eliphaz we cannot take kindly. There is so much in him
that reminds us of the Pharisee of our Lord’s day. With all his
conscientiousness--and it is remarkable what sins against God and our brother
are committed under the garb of conscientiousness--he seems to be one of those
who “speak wickedly for God.” Looking at the argument of the Temanite in this
chapter, it is, at best, a piece of sophistry. The words of the text seem
humble words, so calculated to move us in the direction of self-repression; but
we are not required to build humility upon a lie.
1. This verse is but an expansion of the thought contained in the
previous verse, which reads thus, “Can a man be profitable unto God, as he that
is wise may be profitable unto himself?” The force of this comparison tends to
disarm criticism, for the least taught among Christian people can never think
they are doing God the service they are rendering themselves. In those cases in
which men think they are in some way doing God a splendid service, their
presumption is its own condemnation. But such a thought does not enter
Christian believing minds. What are they to say to the challenge of the next
verse? Is there not something true within us that rises up against its
merciless and terrible conclusion? A man may be far from as profitable to God
as unto himself. He must feel that all the weight of obligation is on his side,
since God alone is the source of all his goodness and power; and yet he may, I
think he must, if he have a spark of the Divine life and light in him, resist
so fearful and disheartening a conclusion as that God has no pleasure in his
rectitude, and that he is all loss and no gain to God.
2. Consider what of truth we can find in these words.
3. We need to feel that all the weight of obligations is on our side.
When we think of the Divine pleasure and gain, we cannot but think how
beneficent that pleasure is. We cannot serve God without a recompense. Yet
there are many who shrink from God, as though He were the receiver, instead of
the Giver, of all good. They start back from duty as though it would be fatal
to their joy. Nothing He commands but for your good. Nothing He orders but for
your eternal delight. (G. J. Proctor.)
Verses 5-14
Is not thy wickedness great?
The charge against Job
I. Wrong in
relation to man. In regard to the charge which he here brings against Job, it
is worthy of note that whilst most expositors regard Eliphaz as speaking in his
own name, others, amongst whom Dr. Bernard, regard him as indicating merely the
charges which the Almighty might bring against him. What is the charge that he
brings? It is Job’s flagrant inhumanity.
1. He was rapacious.
2. He was inhospitable.
3. He was tyrannical.
II. Wrong in
relation to God. “Is not God in the height of heaven? And behold the height of
the stars, how high they are! And thou sayest, How doth God know? Can He judge
through the thick cloud? Thick clouds are a covering to Him, that He seeth not;
and He walketh in the circuit of heaven.” His charge here against Job in
relation to God, is a denial of the Divine inspection and superintendence of
individual man. This error, which he falsely charges on Job, was the leading
error of the old Epicureans, and the leading error of deists in all ages. If
all men felt God to be in conscious contact with them, idolatry, immorality,
dormancy of soul, could not exist. Many causes have been assigned for man’s
tendency to regard God as remote, such as--
1. That in natural religion the ill-treatment of our fellow men is
regarded as a great crime. There is no reason to believe that Eliphaz had any
revelation from God but that which nature supplies; and yet in his language to
Job he expresses in a strong and unmistakable manner his conviction, that to
be, not only cruel, but even inhospitable to our fellow men is wicked. The
obligation to be socially sympathetic, loving, and kind, the God of love has
written on the human soul.
2. That men often denounce evils in others of which they themselves
are guilty. Strong as was the implied denunciation of Eliphaz against
unkindness in Job, was he not himself unkind in tantalising him now when he was
overwhelmed with suffering, by charges that were utterly false? (Homilist.)
Our sins infinite in number and enormity
Eliphaz was led to ask this question by a suspicion that Job was a
hypocrite. He was sure that Job was a wicked man, so he endeavoured to convince
him that this was his character. The text is a proper question to be proposed
to all who are ignorant of themselves. We must show the meanings which attach
to the terms sin and wickedness in the Word of God. By wicked men the
Scriptures mean all who are not righteous; and by sin a violation of the Divine
law, which requires us to love God with all our hearts, and our neighbour as
ourselves. This law branches out into various and numerous precepts,
prescribing, with great minuteness, our duties towards all the beings with whom
we are connected, and the dispositions which are to be exercised in every
situation and relation of life; and the violation and disregard of any of these
precepts is a sin. When we do not perfectly obey all God’s commands, in
feeling, thought, word, or action, we sin.
1. The sin of our hearts, or of our disposition and feelings. The
sins of this class alone are innumerable. Yet most men think nothing of them,
if they do not gain expression in overt acts. But what the law of God and the
Gospel of Christ principally require is right feelings and dispositions. What
they chiefly forbid and condemn is feelings and dispositions that are wrong.
If, then, we wish to know the number of our sins, we must look first and
chiefly at the feelings and dispositions of our hearts. Then we shall soon be
convinced that our sins are numberless.
2. The sinfulness of our thoughts. These are the offspring of the
mind, as feelings are the offspring of the heart. Men’s characters are
determined by their thoughts and purposes. If vain, foolish thoughts are
sinful, who can enumerate his sins?
3. The sins of the tongue. Out of the abundance of the heart the
mouth speaketh. If sin prevails in the heart, it will flow out through the
lips. Of every idle word man shall give account. Every idle word then is a sin.
Idle words are all that are unnecessary, and which do not tend to produce good
effects. How innumerable then are the sins of the tongue.
4. Our sinful actions. Sins of omission and commission. If men’s
thoughts, words, and feelings are numberless, so are their sins.
5. Our sins are infinite not only in number, but also in criminality.
Every sin is, in fact, infinitely evil, and deserving of infinite punishment.
Inferences--
1. If our sins are thus infinite in number and criminality, then, of
course, they deserve an infinite or everlasting punishment.
2. God is perfectly right in inflicting an infinite punishment upon
stoners.
3. If it is just to inflict infinite punishment upon impenitent
sinners, God is bound by the strongest obligations to inflict it.
4. Hence we see why the atonement made by Christ was necessary. (E.
Payson, D. D.)
Verse 12-13
Is not God in the height of heaven?
God brought near
Is there anything that can make God a present God? Bring Him from
the height of heaven beyond the stars into conscious contact with the
experience of daily life? There is. What? Philosophic reasoning. Correct
reasoning on the subject must indeed convince man that if there be a God, He
must be everywhere, and, therefore, ever at hand. But men may reach this
conclusion, and yet practically regard their God as distant. Will natural
science do it? True natural science must connect God with everything. Will
scriptural theology do it? (Homilist.)
Verses 15-20
Hast thou marked the old way which wicked men have trodden?
The way of the wicked described
It is commonly remarked, how little advantage mankind make of each
other’s experience. This is surely a striking proof of the folly and
presumption of our nature. Eliphaz here is reasoning on the principle stated.
Though he misapplied the admonition conveyed in his question, the admonition
itself is important, for without marking this way of the wicked, how shall we
have knowledge of it; and without knowing it, how shall we avoid it?
I. Some
particulars concerning the way of the wicked.
1. The sameness, or oneness, of the way. There are, indeed, many
different kinds of sin in which the wicked are living. But they are all turning
their backs on the same objects; they are all proceeding in the same direction;
they are all tending to the same end.
2. This way is the old way. Eliphaz so called it in the time of Job.
It is a way as old as the fall of man.
3. It is a trodden way. This word gives the idea of a way which has
been much used and frequented; a beaten road, in which many passengers are
always to be found.
II. A more exact
description of the way itself. By the wicked, in the Bible, are meant all who
are devoid of an inward principle of godliness; who, whatever their lives and
characters in the sight and judgment of the world may be, are yet in the sight
of God without any practical fear and love of Him in their hearts. The way of
the wicked is the way of practical ungodliness. Here men are all guilty. They
forget God, and walk after the course of this world.
III. The end to
which the way of wicked men leads. Our Saviour says, “It leadeth to
destruction.” The end resembles that of the sinners in the days of Noah and
Lot. Learn, that you may not be an open sinner, and yet you may be walking in
the way of the wicked, as you live a mere sensual, worldly life, without any
habitual regard to the will and glory of God. (E. Cooper.)
The history of wickedness
1. It is a history of ancient date. It is an old way--the “track of
old.”
2. It is a history of terrible calamities. “Which were cut down out
of time,” etc. There are personal, social, material calamities.
3. It is a history of practical atheism.
4. It is a history liable to misinterpretation. Men make
misapplication of the history of wickedness--
Yet this history has lessons of great significance.
The way which wicked men have trodden
I. The way itself.
Eliphaz calla it an “old way.” It is almost as old as the human race, or as the
world which they inhabit. In the account of the conduct of the first sinner, we
see selfishness, or Eve’s preference of herself to God. We see also pride,
which produced discontent. We see sensuality, or a disposition to be governed
and guided by her senses, and to seek their gratification in an unlawful
manner. We see unbelief, a distrust of God’s Word, and a consequent belief of
the tempter’s suggestions. She could believe the tempter’s falsehood. From the
conduct of Adam and Eve at the close of the day, we may obtain further
acquaintance with the way in which sinners walk. They exhibited sullen hardness
of heart, impenitence, and despair of forgiveness. They expressed no sorrow,
nor penitence, nothing like brokenness of heart. They made no confession of
sin; they uttered no cries for mercy; they expressed no wish to be restored to
the favour of their offended Judge. They displayed a self-justifying temper.
They showed a disposition to reflect” upon God as the cause of their
disobedience. In a manner precisely similar have sinners ever since acted.
II. Its termination.
It leads to destruction. That it does so, we might infer from what has taken
place in the world. Application--
1. Whether some of you are not walking in this way?
2. Should any of you be convinced that you are in this dangerous way,
permit me to urge you to forsake it without delay. (E. Payson, D. D.)
The old way of the wicked
“Hast thou marked the old way?” Antiquity is no guarantee for
truth. It was the old way, but it was the wrong way. It was an old way, but
they who ran in it perished in it just as surely as if it had been a new way of
sinning entirely of their own invention: antiquity will be no consolation to
those who perish by following evil precedents.
I. The way. First,
what it was. There is no doubt that Eliphaz is here alluding to those who sinned
before the flood. He is looking to what were ancient days to him.
1. Now this way, in the first place, was a way of rebellion against
God.
2. In the next place, the old way was a way of selfishness.
3. The old way was a way of pride. Our mother Eve rebelled against
God because she thought she knew better than God did.
4. The old way which wicked men have trodden is a way of
self-righteousness. If Abel kneels by the altar, Cain will kneel by the altar
also. Beware, I entreat you, for this is the old way of the Pharisee when he
thanked God that he was not as other men.
5. The old way which wicked men have trodden was, in the next place,
a way of unbelief. Noah was sent to tell those ancient sinners that the world
would be destroyed by a flood. They thought him an old dotard, and mocked him
to scorn.
6. The old way which wicked men have trodden is a way of worldliness
and carelessness and procrastination. What did those men before the flood? They
married and were given in marriage till the flood came and swept them all away.
Eliphaz says, “Hast thou marked the way?”
I want you to stop a little while, and look at that road again,
and mark it anew.
1. The first thing I observe as I look into it is, that it is a very
broad way.
2. Observe that it is a very popular road. The way downward to
destruction is a very fashionable one, and it always will be.
3. It is a very easy way, too. You need not trouble yourself about
finding the entrance into it, you can find it in the dark.
4. This old way, if you look at it, is the way in which all men
naturally run. For all that, it is a most unsatisfactory road.
5. One thing more, across it here and there Divine mercy has set
bars. The angel of mercy stands before you now, and bids you tarry. Why will ye
die?
II. The end: “Which
were cut down out of time, whose foundation was overflown with a flood.” The
end of these travellers was not according to their unbelief, but according to
the despised truth. They would not believe Noah, but the flood came. Remember
this, then, unbelief will not, laugh as it may, remove one jot of the penalty.
The flood, like the destroying fire which will come upon ungodly men, was total
in its destructiveness. It did not sweep away some of them, but all, and the
punishments of God will not be to a few rebels, but to all. It will find out
the rich in their palaces, as well as the poor in their hovels. Moreover, it
was a final overthrow. The text gives us two pictures, and these two may
suffice to bring out the meaning of Eliphaz. First, he says, they were “cut
down out of time.” The representation here is that of a tree with abundant
foliage and wide-spreading boughs, to which the woodman comes. Such is the
sinner in his prosperity, spreading himself like a green bay tree; birds of
song are amongst his branches, and his fruit is fair to look upon; but the axe
of death is near, and where the tree falleth there it must forever lie; fixed
is its everlasting state. The other picture of the text is that of a building
which is utterly swept away. Here I would have you notice that Eliphaz does not
say that the flood came and swept away the building of the wicked, but swept
away their very foundations. If in the next world the sinner only lost his
wealth or his health, or his outward comforts of this life, it would be subject
for serious reflection; but when it comes to this, that he loses his soul, his
very self; then it becomes a thing to consider with all one’s reason, and with
something more of the enlightenment which God’s Spirit can add to our reason.
Oh that we would but be wise and think of this:
III. The warning:
“Am I or am I not treading in that broad way?” “Ah!” saith one, “I do not
know.” I will help thee to answer it. Are you travelling in the narrow way in
which believers in Christ are walking? “I cannot say that,” say you. Well,
then, I can tell you without hesitation that you are treading in the broad way,
for there are but two ways. As for you who confessedly are in the old way,
would you turn, would you leave it? Then the turning point is at yonder cross,
where Jesus hangs a bleeding sacrifice for the sons of men. (C. H. Spurgeon.)
Verse 21
Acquaint now thyself with Him, and be at peace.
Acquaintance with God
I. What it is, or
implies.
1. The knowledge of God’s character and attributes. All true religion
rests upon correct views of God’s character. Many persons assume that they
naturally know God; but they do not feel the necessity of going to Scripture to
learn the character of God. The mistake arises in part from not distinguishing
carefully between the existence and the character of God. You must try your
notions of God’s character and attributes by Scripture, and see whether they
will stand the test.
2. But a man’s knowledge may be nothing more than an intellectual
knowledge, whilst his heart may be alienated from Him. He may feel no delight
in God’s character, and pay no heartfelt obedience to His will.
3. In real acquaintance with God, there is communion. This means
participation in something (1 Corinthians 10:16). Communion also
means intercourse, converse (Psalms 4:4). It is a wonderful thought,
but it is true, that there can be, and is, communion between the eternal God
and the believer’s spirit. You see some things which are implied in
acquaintance with God, or knowledge of God’s character and attributes as
revealed in Scripture, reconciliation of heart to Him, and communion with Him.
The first requires the exercise of the understanding; the second, the surrender
of the will; the third, purity of heart. What blessing is equal to this of
acquaintance with God!
II. The results.
“And be at peace.” With reference to Job. “Be happy again.” Eliphaz urges Job
to acquaint himself with God, so that peace and joy may be restored again to
his heart. To how many hearts may such words come home! Eliphaz speaks of other
results. “Thereby good shall come to thee.” How much there is in that word
“good!” No doubt Eliphaz thought of temporal blessings. Look at the blessings
of the Christian. Sins blotted out; heart renewed; bondage changed into
liberty; the power of sin broken; besetting infirmities overcome; his life made
a blessing to others; death robbed of its sting. (George Wagner.)
Acquaintance with God
“Acquaint.” This is a very forceful word; it comes from an old
Saxon root, from which we get the word “ken”--to know. The word “cunning” comes
from the same root--cunnan, to know. Get to know God--to understand Him. One
rendering of the text is, “Acquiesce in God”; another is, “Join yourself to
God.” In the French Bible you will find that the translation is, “Attach
yourself to God,” which is pretty nearly the same thing. Join yourself to Him;
attach yourself to Him. Fall in, it seems to say, with His ways, and with His
methods. (W. Williams.)
Acquaintance with God
I. Explain the
nature of acquaintance with God.
1. It includes knowledge.
2. It includes friendship.
3. It includes communion.
4. It includes confidence.
II. Illustrate the
benefits that result from it.
1. Peace--with God and in our own heart.
2. Good--temporal and spiritual.
3. Now--now or never. (G. Brooks.)
Acquaintance with God
I. Its nature. Men
are not acquainted with God. They like not to retain God in their thoughts. Lay
aside your enmity and your dread, and come and learn something of His mercy and
loving kindness. Acquaint yourselves with--
1. His infinite holiness.
2. His perfect justice.
3. His boundless mercy.
4. His everlasting purposes.
II. Its benefits.
1. Peace. There is no true peace except from the knowledge of God.
2. Present and future good. Religion’s ways are ways of pleasantness,
and all her paths are peace. Apply--
Devout attendance at the Supper of our Lord. Intercourse with the
Lord’s people. Perusal of good and devotional books. Ask continually for the
gift of the Holy Spirit. (C. Clayton, M. A.)
The blessedness of acquaintance with God
I. The exhortation
contained in the text. Naturally, we are ignorant of God; we are not at peace
with God, but at enmity against Him. To acquaint ourselves with God, we must
make ourselves acquainted with the revelation which God has made us respecting
Himself and His will. We must make a heartfelt and experimental knowledge of
Him the object of our unceasing pursuit. We must seek to be at peace with Him,
by laying down our rebellion, asking pardon, and imploring the renewing and
sanctifying influences of His Holy Spirit.
II. The promise
with which this exhortation is enforced. “Good shall come unto thee.”
1. Thou shalt have that pardon and reconciliation which thou seekest.
2. Every temporal blessing which is really “good” for you shall be
secured to you.
3. You shall be satisfied that God hears your prayers, and that His
blessing rests upon your undertakings.
4. Your case shall serve as an encouragement to others to proceed in
those steps which you have found to lead to such inestimable blessings.
5. Your example, and conduct, and prayers will have a tendency to do
“good” to your country, and to bring down God’s blessing upon that.
6. The eternal good shall “come to them”--that complete deliverance
from all evil, and that complete enjoyment of all “good,” which will be their
portion forever. (John Natt, B. D.)
Acquaintance with God the best foundation for peace
I. The way of
becoming acquainted with God. There are two kinds of knowledge--speculative and
practical, or experimental--resting upon personal acquaintance. Of these two,
the experimental is the only solid and satisfactory knowledge; and is as much
superior to the ideal as the substance is to the shadow, as the sun in the
firmament to a sun painted upon canvas, and as a living man to his picture. The
reason of which is that ideal knowledge is not the perception of the things
themselves present, but only the forming in our minds the images and pictures
of things absent; whereas experimental knowledge is the real perception of the
things themselves, present and acting upon us, and communicating themselves and
their properties to us. The ideal knowledge which we have of God should excite
us to endeavour after the experimental. A penitent sinner, who is sensible of
God’s mercy in the forgiveness of his sins, who experiences the Divine favour
in speaking peace to his soul, has a much better knowledge of the mercy, power,
and goodness of God, than all the ideas of these attributes could give him as
long as the world lasts. No ideal knowledge can give us either virtue or happiness.
There are four ways of becoming acquainted with any person.
1. If he has written anything, to acquaint ourselves therewith. They
are generally the truest and liveliest image of the mind.
2. If he be a great person, to get some opportunity of coming into
his presence, and to do this as frequently and constantly as we may be
permitted.
3. Readily to embrace all opportunities that are offered to us of
eating at his table.
4. Living in the house, and conversing with him continually.
II. The advantages
and happy effects of this acquaintance with God. These are the greatest and
noblest human nature is capable of enjoying--peace and tranquillity of mind;
happiness by the exercising and perfecting the noblest faculties of the soul,
the understanding, and the will. The supreme happiness must consist in
contemplating and possessing, in loving and enjoying the supreme Perfection,
who is Beauty and Love itself, and “whom truly, to know is eternal life.” All
happiness, consists in loving and possessing the object of our love. (V.
Nalson.)
Acquaintance with God
The three friends of the patriarch Job often reasoned rightly, but
on wrong principles and false assumptions. The best thing which natural
religion can effect is the putting awful distances between man and God, the
representing Deity as so sublimely inaccessible that the creature can only bow
reverently down and adore from afar, with trembling of spirit, the mysterious
Being who is the arbiter of his destinies. And it is not the province of
revealed religion to take off anything from the mysteries of Godhead, nor to
diminish that unmeasured separation which reason tells us must stretch between
the infinite and the finite. Without bringing God down to our level, revelation
shows man that he may be lifted up into communion with God Himself. Our text
prescribes what we are bound to call familiarity with God. But the better I am
acquainted with God, the more shall I find to wonder at. The precept, “Acquaint
thyself with God,” would never have found a place amongst the dictates of
natural religion. It is not the mere acknowledgment of the existence of God
which will cause peace in the human soul. On the contrary, it may be given as a
self-evident truth, that until Christ, and the scheme of redemption, through
His precious death, are brought under review, the more God reveals Himself, the
more will man be disturbed and distressed. Where our acquaintance with God is
acquaintance with God in Christ, the closer the “acquaintance,” the greater
will be our peace. (Henry Melvill, B. D.)
A Divine acquaintance
Two things no one will challenge.
1. That most men like to improve their acquaintance, to get familiar
with such as show a higher social position, with a similar moral preference and
taste to their own.
2. Any such acquaintance, to whom a man may “look up,” will be no
small factor in giving shape and maturity to his character. The text
indicates--
I. A distance, a
variance of feeling, between heaven and earth. Here nonacquaintance is enmity.
Man now is like to the disobedient child, Sin is nothing if it is not a
perverted, a wronged, and a wronging relationship--a change on the one side
from the natural to the unnatural. There is wrong relationship between heaven
and earth. Sin is not only cruel in putting man at a hateful variance with his
Divine Father, but it is murderously fatal. It has more than pain, there is
peril of perdition.
II. Heaven desires
the present and peaceful settlement of the difference.
1. Any estrangement between two who should be friends will always
bring the most pain to the one who has the finest and most susceptible nature.
2. The initiative in seeking this readjustment has been taken by
heaven. At the Cross He halts for audience and restoration. This He makes the
one point for all negotiations--a witness of His love, and a challenge for
others’ love and service.
III. This
settlement, when effected, will certainly bring to man the highest blessedness.
“Thereby good shall come unto thee.” Everywhere, with a fever of greed, men are
seeking “good.” Sin pardoned is the true good.
IV. The attainment
of this state demands the heartiest efforts of all men. Surely the dignity of
this state makes a claim upon men. To be “at peace with God” will be the
noblest, the safest, and the happiest of states. (Edwin D. Green.)
Acquaintance with God
I. Why we should
acquaint ourselves with God. The fact is that our very salvation depends upon
our knowledge of God and of our Saviour Jesus Christ.
1. That a better acquaintance with God will develop a more intense
love for Him. We find a friend, and the more we study his traits of character
and learn the true principles of his friendship, the more intense will become
our love for him.
2. A closer acquaintance with God will develop in us a deeper work of
grace. Grace and the knowledge of God are always associated in the Bible (Ephesians 4:15; 1 Peter 2:2; 2 Peter 3:18).
3. In a closer acquaintance with God, our thoughts, and our words,
and our very habits of life become assimilated unto the Divine Mind and ways.
4. With our acquaintance with God grows our delight in His service (Psalms 1:1-2; Psalms 119:35; Psalms 119:47; Psalms 119:92).
II. How shall we
secure this acquaintance with God?
1. Through His Word.
2. We get acquainted with God by living much with Him in prayer.
3. By persistently submitting our wills to His will. Our friends
delight to confer and counsel with us so long as they feel that we are putting
their counsels to practical use.
4. We get better acquainted with God by carefully noting our
experiences in life.
III. What must be
the consequences of such an acquaintance with God? Such an acquaintance must
result--
1. In a fixedness of purpose.
2. Proficiency in His service.
3. Constant peace and joy. (J. C. Jacoby.)
The peace of knowing God
The study of God’s nature in the page of revelation is oftentimes
abused, so as to give a man not peace, but trouble. But we should be aware that
this is not the necessary fruit, nay, that it never need be the consequence at
all, of meditation on Gospel truth. Acquaint thyself with God. Thou knowest Him
not aright by nature; thou art in need of diligent study, constant prayer,
frequent meditation. Thy notions of God are far from being what they ought to
be. Take pains to know Him as He is. To know that God made us, and at the same time
to feel that we therefore owe to Him our own existence, this is to acquaint
ourselves with God. To know of the gift of God’s Son as a Saviour from sin, and
to know of the Holy Spirit, the Comforter and Sanctifier, this is to acquaint
ourselves with God. Then thou shalt be at peace with God and with thyself. And
“good shall come unto thee.” Both now and hereafter. (C. Girdlestone, M. A.)
Acquaintance with God
Peace--where does it dwell? There is peace in nature. But is there
peace with man? Why has man no peace? Sin is the destroyer of your peace and
mine. As sin is alienation from God, the recovery of that peace is only to be
sought in deliverance from sin, and in a return to the knowledge and love of
Him.
I. In what sense
are we to acquaint ourselves with God? To what kind of knowledge does the text
refer? Is it required for our peace that we should know Him “as He is”? Shall
we strain our puny minds to span the countless ages of the eternity of the
past? Surely eternity, self-existence, omnipotence, infinite and essential
wisdom, holiness and love, these are depths which even angels can only “desire
to look into.” Is it then to know Him in His counsels and ways--to understand
His dealings in providence and grace? No. How often have His people to trust and
not to trace! How seldom does He vouchsafe to show to them the thing that He
does! How then shall man acquaint himself with God? “This is life eternal, that
they might know Thee, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom Thou hast
sent.” To know God as a reconciled Father in Christ, is saving, sanctifying,
comforting, peace-speaking knowledge of God to your souls and mine. It is a
knowledge which changes, warms, strengthens and cheers the heart.
II. By nature we
are not thus acquainted with him. We are not talking of an intellectual, but,
if I may say so, of a moral, a spiritual, knowledge. Sin must ever involve
ignorance of God. The unrenewed heart cannot have the rich, experimental
knowledge of the true child of God. Examine well, then, the character of your
acquaintance with God, your religious knowledge.
III. The manner in
which the more spiritual acquaintance is to be gained. Turn to the Bible. See
in Jesus of Nazareth, “God with us.”
IV. The happy
result promised as attendant upon this acquaintance with God. “We have peace
with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.” (John C. Miller, M. A.)
Peace and good by acquaintance with God
These are the words of a heathen thinker. The words are true in
substance. They are wise, far-sighted words. This sage made a grand mistake in
the application of this truth to his friend Job.
1. Is there such a thing among men as “peace”--a deep and true
peace--without any acquaintance with God? Suppose the case of one possessing
high intelligence allied with all the ordinary virtues of human life, but who
lacks entirely any personal faith in God as a Person. It is useless to approach
such men with arguments for the existence of God, or in favour of any of His
attributes. For they are in a state which no abstract argument can well reach.
We may take them on the side of the text, and ask, “How about peace?” Is his
whole nature at peace? He says, “Yes; I have no fear, no trouble, except that
which comes by ignorance or inattention to law. Life is not long. I shall soon
be in the dust, and that will be an end of me. If we are to live again, we
shall be prepared for it when it comes: why should we trouble about the matter
now?” Is this answer true? I say it is not. If it be true, then it comes to
this, that one man is essentially different from another man. Not merely
circumstantially, but in very nature. Any peace a man may have may be calmness,
indifference, but cannot be the same thing as comes into a soul, and flows
through it, and down into its far depths, as the result of acquaintance with
God. Suppose the case of those who have no doubt of the existence of God, but
cannot be said, in any true sense, to be acquainted with Him. Are any such at
peace? Again the answer is “No.” Indeed, such imperfect and partial knowledge
of God is practically more disturbing and alarming than complete scepticism.
Once allow His existence, and it is impossible ever to put that existence
anywhere but in the primary place. If God exists, clearly our relations to Him,
and His relations to us, are of first importance. Suppose one convinced of the
Divine existence, and yet destitute of any true idea of the Divine character,
what is the result? It may be this or that, according to temperament, or
circumstances, but it never is “peace.” It may be a silent distrust, or a
habitual alienation, or a more active antipathy, or an undefined dread, or an
awful, but most uncheerful and uncomfortable sense of solemnity, or a settled
despondency, or the falling shadow of a black despair; but it never is “peace.”
Those who are imperfectly acquainted with God look at some of the attributes
separately, but never at the centre and essence of the character, where all the
attributes meet. They never see that “God is love.” The text literally means,
“dwell with God.” Dwell with Him in the same tent or home. To come to God in
Christ is to come home: to enter the tent of the Divine presence.
2. “Thereby good shall come to thee.” Good of every kind, and
especially of the best kind. In fact, the state itself is the good begun. By
far the greatest good that can be done to a man is the making of himself good.
This is done by bringing him into intimate acquaintance and reconciliation and
friendship with God. No man is good who avoids the society of God. The
reconciled soul is the receptive soul, receptive of God, and of His truth and
love. This “good” that comes is, in fact, nothing less than all the benefits
and blessings of the Gospel. (A. Raleigh, D. D.)
Acquaintance with God
I. All counsels
that a man may give, or his fellow receive, there is none so important as that
of cultivating acquaintance with God. Acquaintance signifies more than a bare
knowledge. Acquaintance with God is included in three particulars.
1. In a spiritual knowledge of the being of God.
2. In a union of will, and a union of way, with that of God.
3. In a perpetual communion with God.
II. Of all times,
seasons, and opportunities, there is no time like the present to cultivate
acquaintance with God. Consider--
1. That this matter is important.
2. That there is no time like the present time.
3. That the future is quite uncertain.
4. That the longer a man lives in sin, the farther he goes from God.
III. Of all the
benefits which man receives, or God bestows, there are none like those
blessings that follow acquaintance with God. “Good shall thereby come unto
thee.”
1. All the good in nature.
2. All good in grace.
3. All the good in glory. How miserable must be the state of that man
who has no acquaintance with God. (T. Jones.)
On acquaintance with God
I. The proper
methods of acquainting our own selves with God.
1. The first step is to acquire a competent knowledge of His nature,
His attributes, and His will. We need not commend an inquiry into the
metaphysical essence of the Supreme Being. But a competent knowledge of the
moral nature of the Deity is both possible and necessary to us. In nature, and
in the Scriptures, God’s infinite wisdom and almighty power, His perfect purity
and holiness, His justice and faithfulness, His goodness and mercy, His general
and particular providence, His determined resolution finally to punish
incorrigible wickedness, and to award sincere though imperfect obedience, are
set forth with such plainness that the most moderate understanding may gain all
requisite intelligence concerning His Divine nature and attributes. God’s will,
and all that He requires from us, is laid down with equal plainness.
2. A sincere repentance of our past transgressions. This is a
necessary consequence of the former step toward an acquaintance with God. The
result of our inquiries will be, that He is a Being of the most perfect purity
and holiness. All unreasonable and vicious conduct must be offensive in His
sight. While we continue in impenitence, we have the greatest reason to be
overwhelmed with terror and dismay. But the repentance must be sincere and
universal, extending to all the particulars of our duty and God’s commands.
II. When we have
acquired an acquaintance with God, we must be careful to preserve and improve
it, by frequent prayer and devotion. Prayer and religious meditation is the
proper food of our souls. This maintains that communion with God without which
whatsoever is good in us will quickly languish and decay. (R. Richmond, LL.
D.)
The advice of Eliphaz
This is all the three friends could, in substance, say. It is
difficult to read the exhortation of another man. We are, indeed, apt to put
into all reading our own tone, and thereby sometimes we may do grievous
injustice to the authors or speakers whom we seek to interpret. One canon of
good reading, however, may surely be this, that when a man so seer-like, so
prophet-like as Eliphaz, concluded his controversy with Job, observing the
suffering and the sorrow of the patriarch, he would be sure to drop his voice
into the music of consolation, and would endeavour, whilst speaking words of
apparently legal and mechanical preciseness, to utter them with the tone of the
heart, as if in the very sorrow was hidden a gracious Gospel, and as if duty
might, by some subtle power, be turned into the most precious of delight. All
hortatory words may be spoken with too much voice, with too strong a tone, so
as to throw them out of proportion in relation to the hearer, whose sorrow
already fills his ears with muffled noises. Let us imagine Eliphaz--eldest of
the counsellors, most gracious of the speakers--laying his hand, as it were,
gently upon the smitten patriarch, and approaching his ear with all the
reverence of affectionate confidence, and giving him these parting
instructions. Then the exhortation becomes music. The preacher does not thunder
his appeal, but utters it persuasively, so that the heart alone may hear it,
and the soul be melted by the plea. May it not be so with us also? We do not
need the strong exhortation, but we do need the consolatory appeal and stimulus.
You may frighten a man by calling out very loudly when he is within one inch of
a brink; the nearer the man is to the precipice, the more subdued, the less
startling, should be your appeal: you might whisper to him as if nothing were
the matter; you might rather lure his attention than loudly and roughly excite
it; and then when you get firm hold of him bring him away to the headland as
urgently and strongly as you can. May it not be that some hearts may be so far
gone that one rude tone from the preacher would break up what little hope
remains? Should we not rather sometimes sit down quite closely to one another
and say, softly, “Acquaint now thyself with Him, and be at peace”? think of
what all thy life comes to, poor soul, and see if even now, just at the very
last, the flickering lamp cannot be revived, and made strong and bright: come,
let us pray. Never regard the Gospel as having come roughly, violently, but as
always coming like the dawn, like the dew, like music from afar, which, having
travelled from eternity, stops to accommodate itself to the limitations of
time. Still the exhortation has the strength within it. Speak it as you may, it
is the strongest exhortation that can be addressed to human attention. When the
tone is softened it is not that the law has given up the pursuit of the soul,
has ceased to press its infinite claims upon the trespasser. Do not mistake the
persuasion of the Gospel for the weaknesses of the preacher, and do not regard
the errors of the preacher as implying in any degree defect on the part of his
message. Eliphaz tells Job what he must do; let us read his bill of directions.
“Acquaint now thyself with Him.” Here is a call to mental action. Job is
invited to bethink himself. He is exhorted to put himself at the right point of
view. Instead of dealing with social questions and personal details, the seer
invites the smitten patriarch to betake himself to the sanctuary and to work
out the whole solution in the fear and love of God. There are amongst ourselves
questions that are supreme and questions that are inferior. Who would care for
the inferior if he could solve the supreme, and fill himself with all the
mystery of Deity? What are all our inventions, arts, sciences, and cleverest
tricks, and boldest adventures into the region of darkness, compared with the
possibility of knowing human thought--the power of removing the veil that
separates man from man, and looking into the arcana of another soul? But this
is kept back from us. We are permitted to dig foundations, to build towers and
temples; we are permitted to span rivers with bridges, and bore our way through
rocky hills; but we cannot tell what the least little child is thinking about.
All other learning would be contemptible in comparison with an attainment so
vast and useful. This is the explanation of men spending their days over
crucibles, in hidden places, in darkened dungeons, seeking in the crucible for
the particular Something that would dissolve everything that was hard, and
reveal everything that was dark. This is the meaning of the quest in which men
have been engaged for the Sangreal, the philosopher’s stone--that marvellous
and unnamable something which, if a man had, he would open every kingdom and be
at home in every province of the universe. You cannot kill that mysterious
ambition of the human heart. It will come up in some form. It is the secret of
progress. All this leads to the uppermost thought, namely, that if a man could
acquaint himself with God, live with God, would not that be the very highest attainment
of all? If he could enter the tabernacles of the Most High, and survey the
universe from the altar where burns the Shechinah, what would all other
attainments and acquisitions amount to? Yet this is the thing to be aimed
at--grow in grace; grow in all life; for it means, in its fruition,
acquaintance with God, identification with God, absorption in God, living,
moving, having the being in God; taking God’s view of everything; made radiant
with God’s wisdom, and calm with God’s peace. Assuming that to be a
possibility, how all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory thereof, fade
away into the dim distance! How grandly some of the old seers now and again
touched the vital point; and how the ages have thrilled with their touch,
knowing that at last they had left detail and cloud and mystification, and
touched the very pulse of things. Here stands the great truth, the eternal
verity: until we have acquainted ourselves with God, by means prescribed in
God’s own Book, our knowledge is ignorance, and our mental acquisitions are but
so many proofs of our mental incapacity. Eliphaz therefore lifts up the whole
discussion to a new level. He will not point to this wound or that, to the
sore, boil, or blain, to the withering skin, to the patriarch’s pitiful physical
condition; he begins now to touch the great mystery of things--namely, that God
is in all the cloud of” affliction, in all the wilderness of poverty, and that
to know His purpose is to live in His tranquillity. (Joseph Parker, D. D.)
Peace through the knowledge of God
Here, if our received version is correct, Eliphaz hits upon one of
the profoundest thoughts in religion, the significance and value of which each
new step in the revelation of God to men has more and more disclosed. The
principle is, that a more true and full knowledge of God is the cure for every
phase of human unrest. Spiritual disquiet lies outside of God. He who does not
know God as He is at all, lies open to every incursion of religious
disquietude; whether through superstitious fear, or through conscience, or
through doubt, or through passion, or through discontent, or through any other
of the numberless and sometimes nameless alleys by which disturbance is forever
assailing the souls of men. On the other hand, the more truly and the more
fully anyone knows by acquaintance the personal God, the more is he rid of
sources of inward dispeace.
1. Of what sort must our knowledge of God be? It is possible to know
as a friend by personal intercourse, one whom we are by no means able fully to
understand. A little child knows his father; but he does not comprehend, or
embrace in his knowledge, the fulness of that father’s capacities. It is not
through the intellect alone, or best, that the Infinite God is knowable by any
creature. It is through the personal affections, through conscience, and
through the spiritual faculty of faith. There are three stages to be observed
in a man’s knowledge of God.
2. Show, by two or three instances, how God’s growing revelation of
Himself to man has been followed in experience by a corresponding increase of
peace in their souls. Take, for illustration, two items from the Old Testament
manifestation of Jehovah to the Hebrew people, and two from the better
revelation in His Son, which, as Christians, we enjoy.
The highest knowledge and the greatest good
Ignorance of God is the secret of all opposition to God. It
is impossible for any man to know God message to those who are ignorant of His
name. Do not misjudge His character any longer. Do not blaspheme the name that
you would bless, if you did but understand the God that it represents.
I. An exposition
of the text. There are two or three translations of this sentence: “Acquaint
now thyself with Him,” or “Acquiesce in Him”--surrender that will of yours. The
first step to salvation is an absolute surrender of the will. Another rendering
is, “Join yourself to God.” The French translation has it: “Attach yourself to
God.” Fall in with His ways, and with His methods. This is particularly
practical advice to us as Christian workers. But there is a special force in
the Saxon word “acquaint,” from which we get the word ken, to know. Get
to know God--to understand Him. Know Him intellectually, for this is the
pioneer of all other blessings. We can only become acquainted with God as He
reveals Himself. Become acquainted with Him morally. Yield your hearts to Him.
Know Him socially by walking with Him. Know God the Son, as well as God the
Father. Your acquaintance with Him must begin at the Cross. And know God the
Holy Spirit, as a Sanctifier, Comforter, Teacher, yea, as an abiding, tender
Guide, and as a Power to help us in our Christian work.
II. Enforce this
exhortation. The text speaks to us individually. And it must be acquaintance
with Him--with Himself.
III. The promise of
the text. The first good is, “Thou shalt be established”; the second, “Evil
shall be removed from thy dwelling”; the third is, delight in God, and an
uplifted face. (W. Williams.)
Acquaintance with God
I. An acquaintance
with God, the best support under afflictions. The exceeding corruption and
folly of man is in nothing more manifest than in his averseness to entertain
any friendship or familiarity with God. In all cases where the body is affected
with pain or sickness, we are forward enough to look out for remedies. Yet
notwithstanding that, we find and feel our souls disordered and restless,
tossed and disquieted by various passions, and notwithstanding that we are
assured from other men’s experience, and from our own inward convictions, that
the only way of regulating these disorders is to call off our minds from too
close an attention to the things of sense, and to employ them often in a sweet
intercourse with our Maker, the Author of our being, and Fountain of all our
ease and happiness; yet we are strangely backward to lay hold of this safe,
this only, method of cure; we go on still nourishing the distemper under which
we groan, and choose rather to feel the pain than to apply the remedy.
I. What this
Scripture phrase implies. Wherein does the duty consist? We are prone by nature
to engage ourselves in too close and strict an acquaintance with the things of
this world, which immediately and strongly strike our senses. To check and
correct this ill-tendency, it is requisite that we should “acquaint ourselves
with God,” that we should frequently disengage our hearts from earthly
pursuits, and fix them on Divine things. This is only general; it may be useful
to mention some particulars wherein it chiefly consists. In order to begin and
improve human friendships, five things are principally requisite--knowledge,
access, a similitude of manners, an entire confidence and love; and by these
also the Divine friendship, of which we are treating, must be cemented and
upheld.
II. This is the
only way to a perfect tranquillity and rest of mind. “And be at peace.” Honour,
profit, and pleasure, are the three great idols to which the men of this world
bow, and one or all of these are generally aimed at in every friendship they
make; and yet, though nothing can be more honourable, profitable, or pleasing
to us, than an acquaintance with God, we stand off from it, and will not be
tempted even by these motives, though appearing to us with the utmost
advantage, to embrace it. Can anything improve, and purify, and exalt our natures
more than such a conversation as this, wherein our spirits, mounting on the
wings of contemplation, faith, and love, ascend up to the first principle and
cause of all things, see, admire, and taste His surpassing excellence, and feel
the quickening power and influence of it? In what conversation can we spend our
thoughts and time more profitably than in this?
III. The most proper
season for such a religious exercise of our thoughts is when any sore trouble
or calamity overtakes us. “Now,” when the wise Disposer of all things hath
thought fit to pour out afflictions upon thee. At such times our soul is most
tender and susceptible of religious impressions, most apt to seek God, to
delight in approaching Him, and conversing with Him. The kind and chief design
of God, in all His severest dispensations, is to melt and soften our hearts to
such a degree as He finds necessary in order to the good purposes of His grace.
We are, by nature, indigent creatures, incapable of ourselves to content and
satisfy ourselves; and therefore are ever looking abroad for somewhat to supply
our defects and complete our happiness. How can the pious sons and daughters of
affliction better employ themselves than in looking up to Him that hath bruised
them, and possessing their souls in patience? Let us, throughout the whole
course of our lives, take care to make the thoughts of God so present,
familiar, and comfortable to us here, that we may not be afraid of appearing
face to face before Him hereafter. (F. Atterbury, D. D.)
The true source of peace of mind
Of all earthly comfort, the firmest basis and the principal
constituent is peace of mind. Without this, neither power, nor riches, nor even
life itself, can yield any substantial or lasting satisfaction. If our peace of
mind be destroyed, all pleasure is destroyed with it. No sufficient remedy was
discovered by the efforts of unassisted reason: we may therefore inquire what
aid can be derived from Divine revelation.
1. To acquaint ourselves with God, in the sense in which our Scriptures
teach, and require the acquaintance, we shall soon perceive to be no difficult
task, if we engage in it with zeal and diligence, and take those Scriptures for
our instructor and guide. Of the Supreme Being we certainly have not the
faculties to comprehend the “Eternal power and Godhead.” The misfortune is, we
attach ourselves so entirely to the business and the pleasures of our present
state, that we are unwilling to turn our thoughts to the greater and better
objects of our care. Hence negligence produces many of the effects and
mischiefs of ignorance. We must not only make God the subject of inquiry and
speculation; we must seriously reflect on the relation in which we stand to
this Creator and Ruler of the world, and what His providence is doing every
day. In the Bible such laws are prescribed for our conduct, as, if duly
observed, would render human life a constant scene of virtue, piety, and peace.
More than half our sufferings are the effect of our own misconduct. From the
Bible we learn that our present state is the time and place of trial for our
faith and conduct. When this life has come to an end, then each will be
adjudged to an eternal allotment of happiness or misery, proportioned to his
vice or virtue, to his piety or his profaneness. Even this is not the whole of
our information and advantages. We are offered, upon our repentance and
amendment, the pardon of our sins of error and infirmity, through the merits
and mediation of a Redeemer.
2. Of this acquaintance with our God, the declared intention, and the
promised effect, are to be at peace--at peace in our own minds. The
perplexities of life can only be satisfactorily explained, and the afflictions
of life patiently endured, by acquainting ourselves with God, and obtaining
this acquaintance by the assistance of his own revelation. It is universally
allowed that the human mind is never fully satisfied with what human life can
bestow upon us. In the midst even of riches, authority, and honours, some want
is still felt, something new is still sought, something better is still
desired. Even when we know that we have offended God by the transgression of
His laws, when our conscience afflicts us with the sense of guilt and the
apprehension of its punishment--under these unhappy circumstances, and most
especially under these, to acquaint ourselves with God is the only expedient
for us to be at peace. It is, indeed, in the hour of calamity, under the
pressure of affliction, that this acquaintance with our God is most necessary,
and will most avail us. It is when accident or sickness or poverty has deprived
us of worldly comfort or of worldly hope, it is then our trust in Providence,
and that only, will support our sinking spirits, speak peace to our minds, and
teach us that patient submission which must be at once our duty and
consolation. It was under such circumstances that Eliphaz gave to Job the
advice of the text. (W. Barrow, LL. D.)
God is worthy of confidence
Man became alienated from God by the apostasy, and consequently
miserable; and peace was to be found again only by reconciliation with Him.
There are two great difficulties in the minds of men. The one is, they have no
just views of the character and government of God; and the second is, if His
true character is made known to them, they have no pleasure in it, no
confidence in it. Both these difficulties must be removed before man can be
reconciled to his Maker. No small part of the difficulty will be removed if we
can show him that the character of God is such as to deserve his confidence.
I. The liability
to error on our part in judging of the character and government of God. The
great evil in this world is a want of confidence in God--a want of confidence
producing the same disasters there which it does in a commercial community and
in the relations of domestic life. The great thing needful to make this a happy
world is to restore confidence in the Creator--confidence, the great restorer
of happiness everywhere. Now, man can never be reconciled to God unless this
confidence shall be restored. In disputes between you and your neighbour, the
great thing for you to do is to restore to his mind just confidence in
yourself--to explain matters. This is what is to be done in religion. It is to
convince men that God is worthy of confidence. Why should a man wish to cherish
any hard thoughts of God without the shadow of reason? In our estimate of God,
are we in no danger of being influenced by improper feelings? See four sources
of danger on this point.
1. We are in danger of being governed in our views of God by mere
feeling, rather than by sober judgment and calm investigation.
2. We are often in circumstances where we are in danger of cherishing
hard thoughts of God. They may make us feel that His government is severe and
arbitrary.
3. We always regard ourselves as the aggrieved and injured party. We
do not allow ourselves to suppose it possible that God should be right and we
be wrong.
4. Back of all this is the fact that We are not pleased with the
character of God when it is understood. By nature we have no pleasure in God.
All the views of the Divine character which are formed under influences like
these are likely to be wrong.
II. The real
difficulties of the case. Such as a man might find who would wish to see such
evidence as would enable him to put unwavering confidence in God. There are
many things which such a man cannot understand. Such as, that sin should have
been allowed to come into the system formed by a holy God. That misery should
come into the universe, and that death, with many forms of woe, has been
commissioned to cut down one whole race. That the immortal mind should be
allowed to jeopard its infinite welfare. That any should suffer forever. That
since God can save men, and will save a part, He has not purposed to save all.
These, and kindred difficulties, meet the mind when we think on this great
subject. They are real, not imaginary difficulties.
III. The evidences
that he is worthy of confidence. They are, God Himself as revealed; and the
government of God as--
1. One of law.
2. Stable and firm.
3. The arrangements of this government tend to promote the welfare of
His subjects.
4. They provide for the evils that arise from the violation of law.
5. In the plan of recovery none are excluded.
6. Those who know God’s character best are found to repose most
confidence in Him. (A. Barnes, D. D.)
How good comes to man
These are strange words to be addressed to a man renowned for
piety and integrity! Job and the Almighty were by no means strangers to each
other. How comes it, then, that Eliphaz says to Job, “Acquaint now thyself with
Him”? God appears to have given him over to Satan for the time being, because
that evil spirit had alleged that the piety of Job was maintained only for
selfish ends. Dr. Stanley Leathes says: “It may be presumed that Satan
challenged the Almighty in the case of Job, and that the Almighty accepted his
challenge. It must, however, be carefully noted that the reader only, and not
the several characters in this discussion, is supposed to be acquainted with
this fact: for had it appeared openly at any point of the argument, there would
at once have been an end to the discussion, The several speakers were shooting
arrows in the dark; the reader only occupies a vantage-ground, in the light
afforded by a knowledge of the secret.”
I. The fact of
estrangement.
1. The witness of conscience. That there is more unrest in the world
than there is of peace and contentment, few would deny. What is the cause of
the dissatisfaction? The popular replies are, “We work at such high pressure.
There is so much competition in commercial life that daily toil becomes a daily
struggle. There is too much worry, and too little recreation”; etc., etc. But
are these replies satisfactory? As a matter of experience, does recreation make
for contentment? Do our worries cease as our possessions increase? One thing we
know, that humanity is adrift from its God. Unacquaintance with Him explains
much of the joylessness and impotence in human life today.
2. The witness of the world. To the questions, “Why should there be
so much mutual suspicion in men’s hearts? Why so much strife?” The world itself
bears witness that it has turned away from its Creator and its King.
3. The witness of God Himself. If God calls, there is a need for the
call; and He, with lament and sorrow, says to the children of men, “Turn ye,
turn ye, for why will ye die?”
II. The
estrangement may end. “Acquaint now thyself with Him.” But what things are
necessary to a reconciliation that shall be both just and abiding? There are
two ways in which sin may be dealt with. First, to condone it; secondly, to
forgive it. The Almighty, being a God of Justice, cannot do the former. We see
then that--
III. The
estrangement may end now. “Acquaint now thyself with Him.” But on certain
conditions. And they are--
1. Repentance.
2. The forsaking of sin. (F. Burnett.)
How good comes to man
I. The results of
this acquaintanceship, or the effects of reconciliation,--“be at peace; thereby
good shall come unto thee.” What is this good which is as the gateway of peace?
Is it a gift or an experience? How does it come? Am I but the passive object of
the Divine pity? Have I to stand and wait, or to strive and obtain? The
enriching of my life with good is God’s work; it is also my work. There is a
human power in the Divine life. I must arise and return to the Father, ere He
can receive me.
II. The possession
of good is seen in contentment of mind. Discontent is more common than
contentment. Is there no such thing as a righteous and justifiable ambition?
Our text says that by making the acquaintance of God, we become the possessors
of good. Material good or spiritual good? Both. The God who graciously invites
my friendship, and offers His, is interested in my whole being. With the
Bible--the story of man and his God--before us, and the testimony of men around
us, we may reply that man, in making the acquaintance of God, is not a loser,
but a gainer. Acquaintance with God has opened unto him the gates of peace and
prosperity.
III. The possession
of good is seen in an abundance of spiritual life. This life, that is life
indeed, includes--
1. Sonship.
2. Joint-heirship with Christ.
3. Daily power for daily need. (F. Burnett.)
Verse 22
And lay up His words in thine heart.
Meditation
What is meditation? It is thinking steadily, continuously,
repeatedly, on a subject. Surely we can find time to think in this steady way,
of your business, your family, your politics, your amusements even? Is it so
impossible, then, to think thus of your God? How can you expect to grow in the
knowledge of God if you never think of Him? It wants no learning, no singular
vigour or acuteness, to think Christian thoughts; but it does want a Christian
inclination: and if you have not that, do not blame the subject, but blame
yourself. You may be sure that no man is better than he means to be. It is the
seeker who finds. Idleness about one’s soul often goes side by side with
industry in our affairs, and the same person who is careful and troubled about
many lesser things, will be seen neglecting the one thing needful. In the way
of meditation, we set up defences of piety, taking home common rules, and
building them into our secret resolves. God blesses these exercises of
meditation, that they may lead us on in goodness, so that what, we find true in
thinking, we should make come true in acting. The rule runs, “In meditation
strive for graces, not for gifts”; that is, do not aim at impressions and
emotions only, but try to become a better person, and more Christian in life.
Warnings--
1. Every light throws a shadow; every virtue is haunted by a
counterfeit. Meditation should never lead the fancy into false familiarity with
heaven. The good man is, in a humble way, a friend of God, and a child of God,
but a child still in minority.
2. Turn the matter of salvation, as the saying is, “with a daily and
nightly hand.” Thoughts come to us first as strangers; if received, they return
as guests; if well entertained, they stay as members of the family, and end as
part of our life and self. So bad thoughts grow into oppressors, and good ones
into echoes and reflections of heaven. (T. F. Crosse, D. C. L.)
Verses 23-30
If thou return to the Almighty.
Spiritual Reformation
I. The nature of a
true spiritual reformation is here set forth.
1. Reconciliation to God. Men in their unregenerate state are out of
sympathy with their Maker. There is an estrangement of soul.
2. Practical regard to the Divine precepts. “Receive, I pray thee,
the law from His mouth, and lay up His words in thine heart.” Put thy being
under the reign of heavenly laws.
3. Renunciation of all iniquity. “Thou shalt put away iniquity far
from thy tabernacles.” There is no reformation where sin is cherished, or where
it is allowed to linger.
4. Estimating the best things as worthless in comparison with God.
“Then shalt thou lay up gold as dust, and the gold of Ophir as the stones of the
brook. Yea, the Almighty shall be thy defence, and thou shalt have plenty of
silver.”
II. The advantages
of a true spiritual reformation, as here set forth. Eliphaz says that if Job
would only act out his counsel he should, enjoy signal advantages. “Thereby
good shall come unto thee.” What is the good” he refers to? He specifies
several things.
1. Restoration of lost blessings. “Thou shalt be built up.” All thy
losses shall be repaired, and the breaches in thy fortune healed. How much Job
had lost!
2. Delight in God. Job had been complaining of the Almighty; and his
face was cast down in sadness.
3. Answer to prayer. Prayer is always answered where it leads to a
submission to the Divine will; and true prayer always leads to this.
4. Realisation of purposes. Thou shalt form a plan or purpose, and it
shall not be frustrated.
5. rower of usefulness. When men are cast down, thou shalt say,
“Cheer up.” (Homilist.)
Standing right with God
“Thou shalt have plenty of silver.” But, first, the religion such
a motive would produce would be worth little. Religion is not, in its nature,
external. And the desire of the silver could only bring to an external
conformity to the Divine commands. And, second, the motive cannot be urged. The
statement of Eliphaz was grounded in a mistaken view of Divine Providence. Gold
and silver are given and withheld as the sovereign Lord sees fit; and their
distribution follows not the rules of holy obedience.
I. The hortatory
portions or the text.
1. The belief of Eliphaz was, that Job was a great sinner; and he
therefore urges the necessity of returning to God. He was mistaken in his
particular views of Job.
2. Returning to God, we shall “acquaint ourselves with Him, and be at
peace.” The expression implies knowledge and intimacy.
3. Thus standing right with God, a two-fold duty devolves on us.
II. Blessings shall
come from this better than gold and silver.
1. “Good shall come unto thee.” God’s favour, the light of His
countenance,--all that makes the true eternal good of the soul.
2. “The Almighty shall be thy defence”: against all real danger. A
complete oversight and protection shall be granted thee.
3. “Thou shalt delight in the Almighty”: in the thought of what He is
in Himself, and to thee; and in His consciously possessed favour.
4. Thou “shalt lift up thy face unto God.” Thou shalt not now be
ashamed. Thou shalt have a holy, humble, but firm and joyful confidence. Sin
makes the man afraid.
5. “Thou shalt make thy prayer unto Him, and He will hear thee.”
There is permission to enjoy this highest privilege. Pray,--be heard.
6. Thy path shall be truly happy. “The light shall shine on thy
ways.” Even providential obscurity shall make spiritual light more visible. (G.
Cubitt.)
Returning to God by conviction and progress
In the return of a human soul to God there is decision arising
from conviction,--a conviction forced upon the conscience, and will, and
reason, and feelings of the heart and mind, from the unanswerable compulsory
power of circumstances. With regard to religious conviction as a necessary step
to our returning to the Almighty, we may steel our minds against it from many
causes; one, say, from the formal custom of hearing sermons. For blended with
this kind of hearing may be a self-comparison with the religious teacher
himself, and the self-satisfaction which may arise from this comparison. There
may stand in the way of this conviction the strong bias of early impressions,
of local customs, and of deeply-rooted habits of thought and conception. We may
look at religious duties through not only very limited mediums, and therefore
partial, but through certain party-coloured ones, and so mistake the broad
expansive and glorious character of God’s truth by the disfiguring and
narrowing influence of bigotry, intolerance, and prejudice. When a man,
however, steadily and fixedly sets the eye of his faith upon the Almighty, as
the all-absorbing and exclusive end of his religious convictions and decisions,
he returns to Him in the spirit of the prodigal. He returns to God with a
humble heart, a humble faith, and a humble prayer. As a result of the return of
the soul to the Almighty, it shall “be built up.” This points to a progress of
religious life and experience. There is a power exerted, on man’s behalf above
and independently of himself. It is “Thou shalt be built up,” not “Thou shalt
build thyself up.” The spirit of man assuming the form of a building, in a
moral and religious sense, becomes so after the manner of all other structures.
It has its foundations in Christ; its gradual rise in the piling up, so to
speak, of one virtue upon another, as stone upon stone. But as the earthly
building is dependent upon the genius of the architect, so is the spiritual
building dependent upon the wisdom and power of the Almighty. We may go where
the castle or palace or temple once stood in noble splendour, in proud dignity,
and in great strength, but now a crumbling ruin with wails gray with age,
battered by the hand of time, or made spectral-like by fire, axe, and sword.
But its remaining walls and columns and arches may be restored, strengthened,
replenished, and built up again. So with the human soul, its original beauty
and grandeur might be defaced by sin, and all its former promises of endurance
might be broken by disobedience; but by the grace and mercy of God it may be
built up once more. (W. D. Horwood.)
Verses 26-29
For then shalt thou have thy delight in the Almighty.
An outline of the devout life
These words can be raised to a higher level than that on which
Eliphaz placed them, and regarded as describing the sweet and wonderful
prerogatives of the devout life. So understood they may rebuke, and stimulate,
and encourage us to make our lives conform to the ideal here.
I. Life may be
full of delight and confidence in God. When we “delight” in a thing or person,
we recognise that thing or person as fitting into a cleft of our hearts, and
corresponding to some need of our natures. Without delight in God there is no
real religion. The bulk of men are so sunken and embruted in animal tastes, and
sensuous desires, and fleeting delights, that they have no care for the pure
and calm joys which come to those who live near God. Above these stand the men
whose religion is a matter of fear or of duty or of effort. And above them
stand the men who serve because they trust God, but whose religion is seeking
rather than finding, it is overshadowed by an unnatural and unwholesome gloom.
He is the truly devout man who not only knows God to be great and holy, but
feels Him to be sweet and sufficient; who not only fears, but loves. True
religion is delighting in God. The next words, “Thou shalt lift up thy face
unto God,” express frank confidence of approach to Him. The head hangs down in
the consciousness of demerit and sin. But it is possible for men to go into
God’s presence with a sense of peace, and to hold up their heads before their
judge. There is no confidence possible for us unless we apprehend by faith, and
thereon make our own the great work of Jesus Christ our Lord.
II. Such a life of
delighting in God will be blessed by the frankest intercourse with him. Three
stages of this blessed communion are possible. First a prayer, then the answer;
and then the rendered thank offering. And so, in swift alternation and
reciprocity, is carried on the commerce between heaven and earth, between man
and God. The desires rise to heaven, but heaven comes down to earth first.
Prayer is not the initial stage, but the second, in the process. God first
gives His promise, and the best prayer is the catching up of God’s promise, and
tossing it back again whence it came.
III. Such a life
will neither know failure nor darkness. To serve God and to fall into the line
of His purpose, and to determine nothing, nor absolutely want anything until we
are sure that it is His will,--that is the secret of never failing in what we
undertake.
IV. Such a life
will be always hopeful and finally crowned with deliverance. Even in so blessed
a life as has been described, times will come when the path plunges downward
into some valley of the shadow of death. But even then the traveller will bate
no jot of hope. The devout life is largely independent of circumstances, and is
upheld and calmed by quiet certainty, that the general trend of its path is
upward, which enables it to trudge hopefully down an occasional dip in the
road. And the end will vindicate such confidence. Continuous partial
deliverances lead on to, and bring about, final full salvation. (A. Maclaren,
D. D.)
Delight in the Almighty
I. First, here is
a desired position towards God. Many men forget God: He is no object of delight
to them. Great numbers of men go a stage further: they believe in God, they
cannot doubt that there is a Most High God who judgeth the children of men; but
their only thought towards Him is that of dread and dislike. I am grieved to
add that this principle even tinctures the thoughts of true friends of God: for
when they bow before God it is not only with the reverence of a loving child,
but with the terror of a slave; they are afraid of Him who should be their
exceeding joy. God is still to them exceeding terrible, so that they fear and
quake. Even though they are His children, they are not able to lift up their
faces unto their own Father. Let us meditate a while upon what is here meant by
delighting in the Almighty.
1. The man who experiences this delight is glad that there is a God.
We delight to see God in the shadow of every passing cloud, in the colouring of
every opening flower, in the glitter of every dewdrop, in the twinkling of
every star.
2. To go a step further, the delight of the believer in his God is a
delight in God as He really is; for there are in the world many false gods of
men’s own manufacture. Remember that your own thoughts of what God is are far
from being correct unless they are drawn from His own revelation. We would not
tone down a single attribute, we would not disturb the equilibrium of the
Divine perfections; but we delight in God in all those aspects of His character
which are mentioned in His Holy Word.
3. Further, he that delights in God delights not only in God as He
is, but in all that God does, and this is a higher attainment than some have
reached. “It is the Lord,” said one of old, “let Him do what seemeth Him good.”
4. Practically put, this delight in the Almighty shows itself in the
Christian when nothing else remains to him. If he be stripped of everything, he
cries, “The Lord is my portion.” You will see this delight in God exhibiting
itself in frequent meditations upon God “Delight thyself in the Lord.” This
will give you pleasure in the midst of pain. This will show itself in your
life, for it will be a pleasure to do anything to exalt the name of God. I call
your attention to the special name by which Eliphaz describes the ever-blessed
God: he says, “Delight thyself in the Almighty.” Is it not singular that he
should choose a term descriptive of omnipotence as the paramount cause of the
believer’s delight? God is love, and I can readily understand how one might
delight himself in God under that aspect; but the believer is taught to delight
himself in God as strong and mighty. What a mercy it is that there is a power
that makes for righteousness! Surely, when you see omnipotence linked with
righteousness and mercy, you will delight yourself in the Almighty. Think also
of the Lord’s almightiness in the matter of the keeping, preserving, defending,
and perfecting of all His people. Now, let us turn with intense satisfaction to
the other expression used by Eliphaz: “Thou shalt lift up thy face unto God.”
What does it mean? Does it not mean, first, joy in God? When a man hangs his
head down he is unhappy. Does it not signify, also, that this man is reconciled
to God, and clear before Him? How can he look up who is guilty? Does not our
text indicate fearlessness? Fear covers her face, and would fain hide herself
altogether, even though to accomplish concealment the rocks must fall upon her.
May it not also signify expectation? “I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills,
from whence cometh my help.” Strive after this sacred peace: delight in the
Almighty, and lift up your faces unto God.
II. When can we
realise this?
1. First, a man can realise all this when he knows that he is
reconciled to God.
2. Yet even this could not effect our delight in God unless there was
something else; so there must be, in the next place, a renewed nature. Our old
nature will never delight in God.
3. In addition to this, you will delight in God much more fully when
the Spirit beareth witness with your spirit that you are born of God. The
spirit of sonship is the spirit of delight in God.
We shall delight ourselves in God, and lift up our face when we do
as Eliphaz here tells us.
1. First, when we live in communion with Him.
2. Then, further, we must, if we are to know this delight, lay up
God’s words in our hearts (Job 22:22).
3. There must be added to this delight in the Word a constant
cleansing of the way.” If thou return to the Almighty, thou shalt be built up,
thou shalt put away iniquity far from thy tabernacles.” There must be
purification of life, or there cannot be fellowship with the Lord.
4. In addition to this, there must be a constant trust. “Yea, the
Almighty shall be thy defence, and thou shalt have plenty of silver” (Job 22:25). He who does not trust God
cannot delight in Him. You cannot lift up your face to Him while you think Him
untrue. A childlike confidence is essential to a holy joy.
5. Let us abide in continual prayer (Job 22:27). (C. H. Spurgeon.)
Verse 29
When men are cast down, then thou shalt say, There is lifting up;
and He shall save the humble person.
The humble soul the peculiar favourite of heaven
I. Some account of
lowliness and humility. Lowliness being a relative grace, we must consider it
in a threefold view.
1. With respect to ourselves. It implies low and underrating thoughts
of ourselves. It has in it even a self-abhorrence; but a singleness of heart in
the discharge of duty, without vainglory, or pharisaical ostentation.
2. With respect unto others. This has in it a preferring of others
above or before ourselves. A looking upon the gifts and graces of others
without a grudge. And an affable, courteous carriage toward all.
3. With reference to God. It implies high and admiring thoughts of
the majesty of God. When God discovers Himself, the man sinks into nothing in
his own esteem. A holy fear and dread of God always on his spirit, especially
in his immediate approaches unto the pretence of God, in the duties of worship.
An admiring of every expression of the! Divine bounty, and goodness toward men
in general, and toward himself in particular. A giving God the glory of all
that we are helped to do in His service. A silent resignation unto the will of
God, and an acquiescence in the disposals of His providence, let dispensations
be never so cross to the inclinations of flesh and blood. The very soul and
essence of Gospel humiliation lies in the soul’s renouncing of itself, going
out of itself, and going into and accepting the Lord Jesus Christ as its
everlasting all.
II. The humble soul
is the peculiar favourite of Heaven. This is evident if we consider--
1. That when the Son of God was here in our nature, He shewed a
particular regard unto such.
2. God has such respect unto the humble soul because it is a fruit of
His own Spirit inhabiting the soul.
3. This is a disposition that makes the soul like Christ, and the
liker that a person be to Christ, God loves Him aye the better.
III. Some marks by
which you may try whether you be among the humble and lowly.
1. The lowly soul is one that is many times ashamed to look up to
heaven under a sense of his own vileness and unworthiness. He is one that is
many times put to wonder that God hath not destroyed him.
2. He is one that is most abased under the receipt of the greatest
mercies and sweetest manifestations.
3. He is one that renounces the law as a covenant, and disclaims all
pretensions to righteousness from that airth.
4. He is one that has high, raised, and admiring thoughts of Christ,
and of His law-abiding righteousness. The humble soul is one that looks on sin
as the greatest burden: that values himself of least, when others value him
most; that is not puffed up with the falls of others: that is thankful for
little, and content and desirous to know God’s will, that he may do it.
IV. Some motives to
press and recommend this lowliness and humility of spirit. It assimilates the
soul to Christ. It is the distinguishing character of a Christian. Consider how
reasonable this lowliness and humility of soul is--whether we look to ourselves
in particular or the evils of the land or day wherein we live. (E. Erskine.)
The ministry of fellow helpfulness
Poverty, anxieties, pain, suffering, oppressions, errors, sins,
sadnesses, we move among these day by day. Be we high born or lowly, live we in
palace or hut, these experiences greet us, and make their appeal to us. What is
to be our bearing in relation to all this? How are We to conduct ourselves amid
such surroundings? There are two courses open to us--the selfish and the
sympathetic. We may shut ourselves up in a spirit of selfish isolation and say,
“Other people’s affairs are nothing to me.” We have the power so to choose and
act. Of course we take the consequences such conduct involves. That we cannot
escape. There is, however, the truer, manlier, Christlier course of brotherly
sympathy, kindly feeling, sympathetic helpfulness. Going among men cast down by
their surroundings and tendencies, their sins and their sorrows, we may say
even to those lowest down, “There is lifting up for you.” Such a bearing as
this is in keeping with all the noblest instincts of our nature. A selfish,
unsympathetic man is unnatural. He has got a twist. But we love the unselfish,
the sympathetic, the helpful. This spirit and bearing religion ever enforces
and promotes. It is a vital part of religion. A selfish Christian is a
contradiction. The godly man should be an embodied Gospel of hope wherever he
goes. The mission of the Lord Jesus lay along this line. He came to men as the
great hope bringer. He has made the world transcendently richer by the hope
inspirations that pervaded His teaching. Down through the ages, under the same
inspiration, Christly men have moved among their follows as hope bringers. (Ralph
M. Spoor.)
Delight in the Lord
These words describe the sacred pleasures of piety.
I. The sublimity
of its nature. The saints delight--
1. In the saving knowledge of God.
2. In the present enjoyment of God.
3. In the future anticipation of God.
II. The Divinity of
its origin. “In the Almighty.”
1. The Almighty is suited to our capacities.
2. The Almighty is adequate to our necessities.
3. The Almighty is durable as our existence.
III. The tendency of
its influence. “Thou shalt lift up thy face unto God.” The effects which
accompany spiritual joy, distinguish it from mere enthusiastic delusion, and
demonstrate both the genuineness and efficacy of experimental religion in them
that believe.
1. They exercise confidence in God.
2. They enjoy communion with God.
3. They maintain obedience to God. (Sketches of Four Hundred
Sermons.)
──《The Biblical Illustrator》