"Be ye angry and sin not; let not the sun go down upon your wrath:neither give place to the
devil" (Eph. 4:26,27).

I take this to be most important and holy instruction for our souls. There is a notion often that it
is wrong for a Christian ever to feel displeased or angry; this and other Scriptures show it may be
right. But we must take care what the source, as well as the character, of the anger is. If it is
merely about something that affects self, and it therefore takes the form of vindictiveness, this is
of course contrary to all that is of Christ.

We find that Christ (Mark 3) looked upon certain persons with anger, showing clearly He had the
strongest feeling about that which was contrary to God. It was not merely that He denounced the
thing, but he denounced the people who were guilty of it. I find the same analogy in the epistles.
We are told not only to cleave to that which is good, but to abhor that which is evil.

Man’s thought is that it is not for a Christian to judge and to be angry with what is wrong. The
word of God tells us there are certain things we ought to judge and others we ought not. I am not
to judge what is unseen; I am to judge positive, known evil. There we have plainly and clearly the
line drawn by God. If you speak strongly about the wrong of this thing or that, you will find that
men say that you are unloving. But this is not so; it is real love to denounce it, not to let it pass.
True love as to this consists in always having the feelings of God about what comes before us.
That is the one question. What God has fellowship with, we can have fellowship with; and what
God hates, we are not to love or allow.

But we must take care that we are in the intelligence of God’s mind. "Be ye angry and sin not."
There is the greatest possible danger of sinning if you are angry, and therefore this is added. The
simple emotion of anger toward one who has sinned may and ought to be a holy feeling; it is
provided it rests there. Thus it is felt in God’s presence. But how am I to know that I am not
sinning in my anger? "Let not the sun go down upon your wrath." If there is irritation kept up in
the spirit, impatience, dislike, or scorn betrayed, who cannot see that it is not of God? When the
sun goes down, it is a time either for your peaceful communion with God, or your indulgence or
resentment away from Him. Therefore it is added, "Neither give place to the devil." Where there
is the nursing of wrath or the keeping up of grievances in the mind, Satan easily comes in and is
not easily dislodged.

(From Lectures on the Epistle to the Ephesians.)

In Job we have a very rare specimen of a man. He was perfect, upright, God-fearing, and He
eschewed evil. But Job needed to be tested. There was a deep moral root in his heart which had
to be laid bare. There was self-righteousness which had to be brought to the surface and judged.
Indeed, we may discern this root in Job’s words quoted in chapter one:"It may be that my sons
have sinned." He does not seem to contemplate the possibility of sinning himself. A soul really
self-judged, thoroughly broken before God, truly sensible of its own state, tendencies, and
capabilities, would think of his own sins, and his own need of a burnt-offering.

Now, let the reader distinctly understand that Job was a real saint of God, a divinely quickened
soul, a possessor of divine and eternal life. But with all this, Job had never sounded the depths of
his own heart. He did not know himself. He had never really grasped the truth of his own utter
ruin and total depravity. He had never learned to say, "I know that in me (that is, in my flesh)
dwelleth no good thing" (Romans 7:18).

* * *

There is no more fruitful field of study than that which is opened before us in the history of God’s
dealing with souls. One grand object in those dealings is to produce real broken-ness and
humility_to strip us of all false righteousness, empty us of all self-confidence, and teach us to lean
wholly upon Christ. All have to pass through what may be called the process of stripping and
emptying. With some this process precedes, with others it follows, conversion or the new birth.
Many are brought to Christ through deep plowings and painful exercises of heart and
conscience_exercises extending over years, often over the whole lifetime. Others, on the
contrary, are brought with comparatively little exercise of soul. They lay hold speedily of the glad
tidings of forgiveness of sins through the atoning death of Christ, and are made happy at once. But
the stripping and emptying come afterward, and, in many cases, cause the soul to totter on its
foundation, and almost to doubt its conversion.

This is very painful, but very needful. The fact is, self must be learned and judged, sooner or
later. If it be not learned in communion with God, it must be learned by bitter experience in
failures and falls. "No flesh shall glory in His presence"; and we must all learn our utter
powerlessness, in every respect, in order that, we may taste the sweetness and comfort of the truth
that Christ is made of God unto us wisdom, righteousness, sanctification, and redemption. God
will have broken material.

* * *

One special want of the present moment is brokenness of spirit. Nine-tenths of our trouble and
difficulty may be traced to this want. It is marvelous how well we get on from day to day_in the
family, in the assembly, at work, in our entire practical life_when self is subdued and mortified.
A thousand things which otherwise would prove more than a match for our hearts are esteemed
as nothing when our souls are in a truly contrite state. We are enabled to bear reproach and insult,
to overlook slights and affronts, to give up our crotchets and prejudices, to yield to others where

weighty principle is not involved, to be ready to every good work, and to exhibit a genial large-
heartedness in all our dealings, all of which so greatly tend to adorn the doctrine of God our
Saviour. How often, alas! it is otherwise with us. We exhibit a stiff, unyielding temper; we stand
up for our rights; we maintain our interests; we look after our own things; we contend for our own
notions. All this proves very clearly that self is not habitually measured and judged in the presence
of God.

* * *

We are disposed to marvel as the eye scans the record of the remarkable discussion between Job
and his friends. We are amazed to find close to a hundred references to Job himself in chapters
29-31 alone. In short, it is all "1" from beginning to end.

But let us look to ourselves. Let us judge our own hearts in their deeper workings. Let us review
our ways in the light of the divine presence. Let us bring all our work and service and have it
weighed in the holy balances of the sanctuary of God. Then shall we discover how much of hateful
self is insinuated, like a dark, defiling tissue, into the whole web of our Christian life and service.
How, for example, does it come to pass that we are so ready to mount the high horse when self
is touched, even in the most remote degree? Why are we so impatient of reproof, be it clothed in
language ever so refined and gentle? Why so ready to take offense at the slightest disparagement
of self? And, further, why is it that we find our sympathies, our regards, our favoritism, going
out with special energy to those who think well of us, who value our ministry, who agree with our
opinions?

Do not all these things tell a tale? Do they not prove to us that, before we condemn the egotism
of Job, we should seek to get rid of a vast amount of our own?

On the other hand, when we feel called upon to approach another in the attitude and tone of’
reproof, with what rudeness, coarseness, and harshness we discharge the necessary work! How
little softness of tone or delicacy of touch! How little of the tender and the soothing! How little
of the "excellent oil"! How little of the broken heart and weeping eye! What little ability to bring
our erring brother down into the dust! Why is this? Simply because we are not habitually in the
dust ourselves. If, on the one hand, we fail quite as much as Job in the matter of egotism and self-
vindication, so on the other, we prove ourselves fully as incompetent as Job’s friends to produce
self-judgment in our brother.

* * *

The real secret of all Job’s false reasoning is to be found in the fact that he did not understand the
character of God, or the object of all His dealings. He did not see that God was trying him, that
He was behind the scenes and using various agents for the accomplishment of His wise and
gracious ends. God was dealing with Job. He was trying him in order that He might instruct him,
withdraw him from his purpose, and hide pride from him (Job 33:16,17).

This is immensely important for us all. We are all of us prone to forget the weighty fact that "God

trieth the righteous." We are in His hands, and under His eye continually. We
are the objects of His deep, tender, and unchanging love; but we are also the subjects of His wise
moral government. His dealings with us are varied. They are sometimes preventive; sometimes
corrective; always instructive.

* * *

"Then Job answered the Lord, and said, I know that thou canst do every thing, and that no thought
can be withholden from thee. Who is he that hideth counsel without knowledge? Therefore have
I uttered that I understood not; things too wonderful for me, which I knew not. Hear, I beseech
thee, and I will speak:I will demand of thee, and declare thou unto me. I have heard of thee by
the hearing of the ear:but now mine eye seeth thee" (Job 42:1-5).

Here, then, was the turning point. All his previous statements as to God and His ways are now
pronounced to be "words without knowledge." What a confession! What a moment in man’s
history when he discovers that he has been all wrong! What a thorough break-down! What
profound humiliation! It reminds us of Jacob getting the hollow of his thigh touched, and thus
learning his utter weakness and nothingness. These are weighty moments in the history of souls_
great epochs, which leave an indelible impression on the whole moral being and character. To get
right thoughts about God is to begin to get right about everything. If I am wrong about God, I am
wrong about myself, wrong with my fellows, wrong about all.

Thus it was with Job. His new thoughts as to God were immediately connected with new thoughts
of himself; and hence we find that the elaborate self-vindication, the impassioned egotism, the
vehement self-congratulation, the lengthy arguments in self-defense_all is laid aside. All is
displaced by one short sentence of three words, "I am vile." And what is to be done with this vile
self? Talk about it? Set it up? Be occupied with it? Take counsel for it? Make provision for it? No.
"I abhor myself."

The two things must go together:"Mine eye seeth Thee," and "wherefore I abhor myself."

* * *

When Job got right as to God and himself, he soon got right as to his friends, for he learned to
pray for them. Yes, he could pray for the "miserable comforters," the "physicians of no value,"
the very men with whom he had so long, so stoutly, and so vehemently contended! "And the Lord
turned the captivity of Job, when he prayed for his friends."

This is morally beautiful. It is perfect. It is the rare and exquisite fruit of divine workmanship.
Nothing can be more touching than to see Job’s three friends exchanging their experience, their
tradition, and their legality for the precious "burnt-offering"; and to see our dear patriarch Job
exchanging his bitter invectives for the sweet prayer of love. In short, it is a most soul-subduing
scene altogether. The combatants are in the dust before God and in each other’s arms. The strife
is ended; the war of words is closed; and instead thereof, we have the tears of repentance, the
sweet odor of the burnt-offering, the embrace of love.

(From "Job and His Friends," in Miscellaneous Writings, Vol. 1.)

(Ed. note:The following is a transcription of an address given at Cedar Falls, Iowa, on August
27, 1972.)

Let us look first of all at the last chapter of the book of Job and the tenth verse:"And Jehovah
turned the captivity of Job when he had prayed for his friends" (JND). That seems to me to be
significant:The Lord did not turn the captivity of Job at the time Job repented of the wrong
thoughts that he had, when God showed him more clearly what he was. His captivity was turned
when he prayed for his friends.

I think this bears on the fellowship we have in Christ with one another. In James 5:16 we read:
"Confess your faults [offenses (JND)] one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be
healed." There has been a good deal of prayer at this conference asking the Lord for expressions
of unity; that God would in practice make us one, of one mind; that we would show forth the love
of Christ to one another. I think that the best way we can do this is to pray for one another.

Also, I believe that the first part of this verse pertains to our personal attempt to do away with
what is of the flesh when it says, "Confess your faults [offenses] one to another." We all have
faults. And we do not like to admit it, but our faults often offend and irritate each other. Our
response in the flesh to this is to gossip about each other, to criticize each other, and to accuse
each other.

Because of our pride, it is not easy to confess our faults to each other. It is our natural tendency
to hide our faults from each other; to pretend that we are better than we really are; to pretend that
we have more spiritual strength than we feel we really have; to pretend that the Lord is leading
us when in fact He may not be.

Among us it can be an "in" thing to be led of the Lord or to act spiritually. And I confess for
myself that there have been times when I have deceived others, letting them think that I was at
their spiritual state because that seemed to be what they expected of me. But what do we have
here? It says, "Confess your faults one to another."

No doubt if we follow this verse we will be greatly strengthened. We are, as we have also prayed,
very weak. We can see this feebleness moment by moment in our activities in fellowship with each
other. I think here not so much of faults that we can take offense at, but of little failings in the
conduct of our fellow believers that allow us to think less of them. Yet if our response to this is
a spiritual one, our first instinct will be to pray for them, not to belittle them.

Something else that has been very striking to me is simply that we are encouraged to pray. We
think of that verse which says that God will give us above all that we shall ask or think (Eph.
3:20). If this is so, why pray? If God already knows our needs, and if He already has made the
means of providing them, why do we then need to ask Him for things? There may be better
thoughts than this, but my judgment is simply that it keeps us in dependence on Him. We need
to be dependent on Him through prayer for everything that we need in our natural life; so also in

our fellowship, we need to be dependent on Him through prayer for every aspect of this
fellowship.

In this connection, let us look in Luke 12. In verse 22 we find that Christ has just finished telling
a parable about a very rich man who was concerned only with his material goods here on earth.
"And he said to his disciples, For this cause I say unto you, Be not careful for life, what ye shall
eat, nor for the body, what ye shall put on. The life is more than food, and the body than raiment.
Consider the ravens, that they sow not nor reap; which have neither storehouse nor granary; and
God feeds them. How much better are ye than the birds? But which of you by being careful can
add to his stature one cubit? If therefore ye cannot do even what is least, why are ye careful about
the rest?" (JND)

This, too, is very striking. It seems to be a great thing to add a cubit to our stature; it seems to be
a great thing to work miracles, because we do not have the power to do them. But we little realize
that neither do we have the power to feed ourselves or to clothe ourselves. We do not realize it
because God, in His love, has provided these things for us within easy grasp. Yet it is more of a
miracle that He provides these things than if He might cause us to grow in stature. That is why
it says here, "If ye cannot do even what is least, why are ye careful about the rest?"

If we can be thus dependent on God for even what we consider to be the smallest details of our
life, our daily food and clothing, surely we can also depend on Him for the smallest details of our
fellowship.

In connection with our dealing with the offenses of others, I think too of that verse in Titus 3:"A
man that is an heretic after the first and second admonition reject." The word that struck me here
is "admonition." It does not say "accusation"; it does not say "rebuke." It says "admonition." That
is a very gentle word for one that is a heretic.

Now why are we told to admonish him rather than to rebuke him? I believe it is because the Lord
knows us. He knows our nature and He knows that our response in the flesh to law is rebellion.
And he knows what our response to each other is when we try to lord it over each other. A word
is sufficient, as we have had in our Bible readings, "a word of wisdom" (1 Cor. 12:8). If the Lord
gives us a word of wisdom, and it is for correction, we can consider this to be an admonition.

Why is it not necessary to do more than admonish such a person? It is because God has that person
in His power. If that person is one of God’s own, ha is indwelt by the Holy Spirit, and God can
deal with that person in a far more effective way than we ever can. That is why it says in James
5:16, "Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed."

If you are offended by one of your brothers, I believe that your first duty is to pray for him. (The
next step, as given in Matt. 18:15, is to "go and tell him his fault"_Ed.) If you have offended one
of your brothers, your first duty is to confess it to him. This is very simple, yet how often do we
fail to carry it out.

What greater way is there to weld the fellowship together into one body than moment by moment

bearing the needs of our brethren before the Lord? And if there is any weakness or division among
us, I think we can lay it to the fact that we have not been following this verse (James 5:16).

"Finally, my brethren, rejoice in the Lord"(Phil. 3:1).

"Rejoice in the Lord alway:and again I say, Rejoice" (Phil. 4:4).

"Rejoice evermore" (1 Thess. 5:16).

"Giving thanks always for all things" (Eph. 5:20).

"Abounding therein with thanksgiving" (Col. 2:7).

"And be ye thankful" (Col. 3:15).

"Continue in prayer, and watch in the same with thanksgiving" (Col. 4:2).

"In every thing give thanks" (1 Thess. 5:18).

"I exhort therefore, that . . . giving of thanks be made for all men" (1 Tim. 2:1).

There are two things implied by the continual repetition in Scripture of the exhortations to rejoice
and give thanks. First, it is something which God obviously regards as important for His people.
Second, it is something which His people tend not to regard as important, and thus require
constant reminders as to its importance and necessity.

The words "rejoice" and "give thanks" are closely related words, coming from the same Greek
root. Both of these, in turn, are allied to the Greek word for "grace." Thus, we have expressed
in this group of words the action and attitude of the giver as well as the proper response on the
part of the recipient of the gift.

We, as believers in Christ, have been brought into relationship with a bountiful Giver, who has
given, does presently give, and will continue throughout eternity to give to us "exceeding
abundantly above all that we ask or think" (Eph. 3:20). How much do we thank the Lord for His
grace, and rejoice in Him who is the perfect Giver?

The apostle Paul, in writing to the Philippian saints, comments on several different sources of joy
to him and to the Philippians (1:4,5; 1:18; 1:25,26; 2:2; 2:17,18; 2:28; and 4:10). But in Phil.
3:1 and 4:4 he speaks of a rejoicing which is independent of all circumstances and conditions:
"Rejoice in the Lord" This implies a spirit of peace and contentment, satisfaction and happiness
that our God is a giving God and that He is above and in complete control of every circumstance
that passes into our lives.

In the verses quoted at the beginning of this article, we note the insistence upon an attitude of
continual rejoicing and thanksgiving. "Rejoice evermore." "Giving thanks always for all things."
Now this is quite contrary to the way most of us have been brought up. We are conditioned to give

thanks for those things which make us happy, the things which benefit us, the good things that
happen to us. But Scripture tells us, "In every thing give thanks." Many objections or exceptions
might be made to this point. How can I be thankful for the death of my child, my broken leg, the
trouble my teenager has gotten into, the loss of my job, the terrible injustice that has been done
to me, the theft of my car? A number of reasons for giving thanks in all things come to our
attention as we search the Scriptures.

1. Trials and adversities, if responded to in the right way, work in us patience and dependence
upon the Lord. "My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations; knowing this,
that the trying of your faith worketh patience. But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may
be perfect and entire, wanting nothing" (James 1:2-4).

2. Trials and difficulties, along with all the circumstances of life which the Lord causes us to pass
through, are given with the view of our being sanctified wholly (1 Thess. 5:23) unto God and our
becoming more and more conformed to the image of His Son. "And we know that all things work
together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to His purpose. For
whom He did foreknow, He also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of His Son"
(Romans 8:28,29).

3. Adverse circumstances may often lead us into new spheres of service for the Lord_spheres
which we will recognize and in which we will be useful only if we respond to the trial with a
thankful spirit of dependence upon the God of all grace. Read Acts 16:22-34 about Paul and Silas
in prison at Philippi for a beautiful example of this.

4. Trials are often sent to us to help uncover to our blind hearts and hardened consciences some
sin that is in our lives. How good it is if the trial causes us to be cast upon the Lord and creates
in us an attitude of heart which He can deal with. And if the sin be uncovered and judged, what
blessing will follow! "My son, despise not thou the chastening of the Lord, nor faint when thou
art rebuked of Him:For whom the Lord loveth He chasteneth. . . . Now no chastening for the
present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous:nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit
of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby" (Heb. 12:5-11).

Therefore, rather than having a gloomy, depressed, despairing, unbelieving spirit concerning the
things which beset us, let us "rejoice in the Lord," "giving thanks always for all things." May we
become more in the habit of actually thanking the Lord for the adversities and difficulties which
come into our lives, having a spirit of peaceful confidence that all things are in His hands and that
"all things work together for good."

Now to some Christians, the "major" trials and tribulations of which we have been speaking pose
no great problem. Some of you may be quick to accept such trials as from the Lord and equally
quick to learn what He wants you to learn from the trial. But there is a different level of trials
which sometimes pose greater problems to the recipient than do the so-called "major" problems.
Such problems are the common irritations of life, the things that "don’t go our way." These are,
for example, the misplaced sweater, the spilled milk, the endless stream of telephone calls, the
unkind words, the flat tire, the keys locked in the car, the ants in the kitchen, the missed bus, the

colicky baby, the noisy neighbors, the burnt roast, the barking dogs, and so forth. How do we
respond to these things? Do we allow them to irritate us and make us impatient, angry, and
resentful? Or do we take them as from the Lord_take them peacefully and thankfully, being
assured that they are meant for our good?

May we thus learn to "count it all joy" when we experience various trials; may we be given the
ability to transform the irritations of life into sources of blessing and spiritual growth; may we take
heed to the commandment, "Rejoice in the Lord alway:and again I say, Rejoice."