(Continued from page 270)

(6) Pointing next to the heavenly host, the Lord almost takes the words of Job (chap. 9 :9).He names special constellations, Pleiades and Orion, the groups making the Zodiac, and the Great Bear, ever pointing to the north. Commentators suggest varied meanings to these verses. Some think the allusion in the Pleiades is to a cluster of brilliant jewels :" Canst thou fasten the shining brooch on the bosom of the night ? "Others point out that Pleiades is the constellation that belongs to the Spring, as Orion to the Winter. To loose the bands of the latter would be to break up the Winter, as binding the sweet influences of the former would be to delay the Spring. Canst thou hinder the coming of Spring, or cause Winter to come to an end ? Canst thou change the ordered and onward march of the hosts of heaven, or cause the North to change its position? It has been pointed out that Kima, the Pleiades, means a "hinge," or pivot-that upon which all the heavenly bodies turn. Science points out that the whole visible universe is slowly, to our view, (yet with what inconceivable swiftness!) turning round an unknown center, apparently not far from the Kima, or hinge, of Pleiades. What if God were giving a hint to Job of this great center which held all things to itself ?-if He were seeking to show him the One who holds all things in His hand, and pointing him forward to that

"One far off divine event
To which the whole creation moves?"

One thing we do know, He, and He alone, can hold the stars in His hand, number and call them all by name, and bring them forth in due order, " for that He is strong in power, not one faileth " (Is. 40:26). The prophet reminds afflicted Israel that this One knows their affliction and their way. The greatest human power will grow weary, but " they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint" (Is. 40 :27-31).

As we gaze into those heavens, our feebleness might appal and overwhelm us. But when we ask, '' What is man ? " He shows us Him who was made "a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honor, and set above the works of His hands" (Ps. 8; Heb. 2). We see one like unto the Son of Man, yet the Ancient of Days. He it is who holds the seven stars in His right hand, yea, to whom all power in heaven and earth has been given. He can bind and loose. He can break the bonds of the long wintry night of sin, and bring on the eternal spring-time. Already we can hear His voice:"The winter is past, the rain is over and gone; the flowers appear on the earth; the time of singing is come " (Song 2:11, 12). He has not given to us to change the order of nature, or to ascend up into those heavens, but He teaches us to give the true answer to His questions, and that answer is, " We see Jesus."

" I know He liveth now
At God's right hand above,
I know the throne on which He sits,
I know His truth and love."

(7) Jehovah concludes this portion of His address with fresh questionings as to the clouds, storms, and rain. Can Job bring down rain, or speak to the lightning flash ? Has he that understanding heart that knows the reason for the clouds-whether of rain or of grief-that can bring the refreshing showers upon the dusty earth. What food for reverent meditation we have in all this. May the spirit of the Psalms, the 8th and the 19th, the 104th, and the " Hallelujah Chorus" of the closing psalms be upon us as we survey it all.

3. The Manifestation of His care over His creatures (chaps. 38 :39-39:30).

We have thus been brought face to face with our weakness and ignorance in view of the infinite wisdom and power of God. We come next to the display of .that as seen in His protecting and providing care over all His creatures. We pass, in this portion, from the glories of the Creator to look at the wisdom and goodness of the God of Providence. He has not only devised the wondrous plan of the universe, but has filled the earth with living creatures, who are dependent upon Him for life and all things. This portion may be divided into the following parts :

(1) The beasts of prey (chap. 38 :39-41).

(2) The wild goats and their young (chap. 39:1-4),

(3) The wild ass of the desert (vers. 5-8).

(4) The wild aurochs (vers. 9-12).

(5) The ostrich (vers. 13-18).

(6) The horse (vers. 19-25).

(7) The hawk and eagle (vers. 26-30).

The series opens with a declaration of God's provision for beasts and birds of prey, as seen in the lion and raven; next, the wild animals of the mountain and desert come under His all-wise care; then the control of those beasts confessedly beyond man's power in strength and swiftness ; closing with the control of the migratory instincts of the birds. It is significant that the series opens and closes with mention of beasts and birds of prey. They might seem to be worthless, if not positively injurious, and yet He cares for them with unerring wisdom. Shall He fail to watch over His child who knows and trusts Him ?

(1) To what distraction would man be brought if he had for a single day to provide food for even-one class of these creatures. Only of God can it be said, "These wait all upon Thee, that Thou may-est give them their meat in due season." "The young lions roar after their prey, and seek their meat from God." "That Thou givest them they gather :Thou openest thy hand, they are filled with good " (Ps. 104 :21, 27, 28). God not only tolerates, but cares for these creatures which prey upon others. They are part of His wise plan-once put under the hand of man and subject to him, but now turned against him as enemies. Thus Satan, whose assaults Job was feeling, was only the creature of God's will, working even by his enmity the purposes of God. If Job is ignorant of his devices, God is not, and will bring good out of all his ravening and roaring.

So also the ravens cry, the young and helpless ones, yet God feedeth them. These feeders upon carrion may seem worse than useless to man, but God takes care of them. In each case here it is the young of animals that are the objects of His care. They are perfectly helpless, with nothing but their cry to attract attention; God does not turn a deaf ear even to the croak of a raven. " Consider the ravens :for they neither sow nor reap ; which neither have storehouse nor barn; and God feedeth them ; how much more are ye better than the fowls?" (Luke 12:24).

(2) What does Job know of the habits of the wild animals inhabiting the inaccessible mountains ? "The high hills are a refuge for the goats" (Ps. 104:18). He might know in general the period of gestation of these elusive creatures, but does he know and watch over each parent animal, guard its life, safely bringing it through its time of peril ? How amazing and uniform it all is, how utterly beyond man's knowledge or power. And these young, for a brief time sustained by their parent, then going off by themselves-who watches over them ?

If God cares for these "rock-climbers," shall He not watch the steps of His timid people who are seeking to climb over the rugged rocks of adversity? Will He not be with them in the birth-throes of fearful experiences, and give them a happy issue out of all their troubles ?

(3) Passing from the mountain to the plain, Jehovah points out the solitary denizen of those waste places, the wild ass. He is different entirely from the wild goats in ways and in habit, but one thing he has in common with them, he is absolutely dependent upon his Creator. What control has Job over a creature like this, who knows no bonds, serves no master ? As he thinks of their freedom,
Job might sigh beneath his burdens. God is able to loosen his bonds. Let him not doubt, but wait on God.

(4) Still dwelling upon wild creatures, God asks if Job can control and cause to serve him the great aurochs, or the wild antelope of the plains. Will he plough and bear the burdens of domestic labor like the ox ? That wild, untamed nature yields but to One. Can Job doubt that He will control all things, even the wild powers of evil, and make them the obedient servants of His will ? Thus God will bring into captivity the wild and wandering thoughts of His poor servant, and bring a bountiful harvest of blessing through his bitter experiences.

(5) All things, be they never so wild and apparently senseless, are His creatures, not forgotten by Him. Here is another one, the ostrich of the desert, whose wings vibrate as she races with the speed of the wind. There is, according to scholars, no mention of the peacock here. The general thought of verse 13 is thus :the ostrich does not use its wings and feathers to protect and care for its young, but careless and neglectful of its eggs and its brood, flees from the real or fancied enemy. Here is a creature whom God Himself apparently has deprived of the ordinary maternal instincts. Yet some One – Who?-cares for the helpless brood.* *We scarcely need mention the unbelief which says that the writer is mistaken in this description of the ostrich. Even so excellent an author as Dr. Wood falls here into this gross evil, of unintentionally saying that God made a mistake in His description of the ostrich !-that its eggs are left upon the sand to deceive prowlers who are seeking the nest, or that they are for the food of the newly-hatched birds ! We prefer to take our natural history, as all else, from the Divine Author. There can be no doubt that all that is here said of this wild bird of the desert is absolutely true, and according to all right interpretation of its action.*

(6) By a natural transition from the swiftness of the ostrich, Jehovah passes to that embodiment of swiftness, strength and grace, the horse, and more particularly the war-horse. Job is asked if he has given strength to the horse, and combined it with the grace and beauty expressed by his flowing mane. His prancing is as agile as the grasshopper, his neighing and shrill snorting striking terror to the heart. What more majestic and withal so terrifying as the pawing rage of the battle-horse, eager for the fray? Nothing can turn him from his onward dash to meet the charging hosts. The arms and accouterments of his rider clash against his sides as he rushes over the ground, "swallowing it " in his headlong speed. The noise of battle is music to him; he scents the battle from afar, the shouts of the captains and the clash of arms. Here is a beast, not exactly wild, but endued with all the strength and swiftness of the wildest. What part has Job had in devising and creating so remarkable a creature?

The horse, especially in the days of which our book speaks, and in the East, was chiefly used in war. God warned His people not to put their trust in this mighty agent of war :" The horse is a vain thing for safety." '' Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we will remember the name of the Lord our God " (Ps. 20 :7). It is He who " hath triumphed gloriously; the horse and his rider hath He thrown into the sea" (Ex. 15 :i). So infinitely exalted is Jehovah above all His creatures. Let Job remember how puny he too is, and humble himself before Him who is God over all. His deliverance must come, not from horses, but from the Lord on high.

(7) Returning in the cycle to the creatures that prey upon others, Jehovah asks if it is Job's wisdom that directs the hawk to take its southward journey as the winter approaches. What mysterious power, called instinct, is that which moves the birds to migrate to warmer climes ? If it is merely the lack of food, why do they fly when food is still in plenty, as the swallows ? and why in flocks ? and why to the South? "The stork in the heaven knoweth her appointed times; and the turtle and the crane and the swallow observe the time of their coming" (Jer. 8 :7).

The eagle-does it rise to giddy heights at man's command, and build its nest on some high crag from whence its eye takes in the far distant prey for its helpless young ? It follows that battle into which the horse has rushed, and " where the slain are, there is she." God uses these all to fulfil His will, and He sustains and cares for them. He will call them to one great feast at last, when the angel shall summon them :" Come and gather yourselves together unto the supper of the great God; that ye may eat the flesh of kings, and the flesh of captains, and the flesh of mighty men, and the flesh of horses and of them that sit on them, and the flesh of all men, both free and bond, both small and great" (Rev. 19:17, 18).

Let Job but learn his lesson, and he will be satisfied with good things; his youth will be renewed like the eagle, he will mount up with wings, never again to grow weary.

And so Jehovah descends to human level and points out these familiar objects in the scene about the suffering saint. Does he see that prowling lioness ? Who gives it food for its young ? Who hearkens to the hungry croak of the raven ? Who watches over the mother-gazelle ? Who controls the wild ass or the mighty aurochs ? Who preserves the brilliant but stupid ostrich, the prancing battle horse? Who guides the hawk in its homing flight, or the king of birds, the eagle, with its home on high? There is but one answer :

" He everywhere hath sway,

And all things serve His might:
His every act pure blessing is,
His path unsullied light."

"O Lord, how manifold are thy works! In wisdom hast Thou made them all:the earth is full of thy riches." " My meditation of Him shall be sweet; I will be glad in the Lord" (Ps. 104 :24, 34).

4.The effect upon Job. (chap. 40 :1-5.)

Thus Jehovah closes His first testing of Job. He has taken, as it were, the clay of Creation and put it upon the eyes of the poor sufferer, who had been blinded by his own griefs to all the power, wisdom and goodness of God. Will Job "go and wash in the pool of Siloam?" Will he bow to the testing of his Creator ?

"Shall he that contendeth with the Almighty instruct Him ? He that reproveth God, let him answer it." Here lies the root of Job's trouble:he had sat in judgment upon God ; he had accused the Omnipotent of evil ? God has drawn near, has made His presence felt, and lifted the veil from the face of Nature to reveal part of His character. What is the effect upon the proud man ?

" I am vile ; what shall I answer Thee?"

" I will lay my hand upon my mouth."

Many words had Job uttered :at the beginning of his sufferings, words of faith in God; even during his "crying in the night," many beautiful and noble thoughts had fallen from his lips, but no such words as these-music in the ear of God- confession, contrition, mute acknowledgment of the whole error of his thought.

Here practically closes the test of Job; and yet in faithfulness Jehovah will probe still further to the deepest recesses of his heart, and lay bare its potential evil. So we must listen further to what the
Lord has to speak. S. R.

(To be continued.)