contours and forms standing out sharply; and they stand as a garment, all the prairies, hills, valleys, trees, and all other objects being set forth in all the various forms and colors of a beautiful garment. V. 15. And from the wicked their light is withholden, the darkness which they love and which they need for their sinful pursuits, and the high arm shall be broken, the uplifted arm of violence sinking down as the light of day comes. These are some of the facts of creation which set forth the almighty majesty of God, which no man is able adequately to explain.

GOD'S MAJESTY IN THE FORCES OF NATURE. V. 16. Hast thou entered into the springs of the sea, the great fountains of the deep, Gen. 7, 11? Or hast thou walked in the search of the depth, to examine the ocean's bottom and discover its secrets? V. 17. Have the gates of death been opened unto thee, so that Job was familiar with the realm of the dead? Or hast thou seen the doors of the shadow of death, so that he could examine them and bring back the knowledge which is beyond death? V. 18. Hast thou perceived the breadth of the earth, observing and examining it to its very limits? Declare if thou knowest it all; for God knows all this, and he who would criticize God should have the same understanding. V. 19. Where is the way where light dwelleth? Could Job explain the phenomenon of light and tell where it originally came from? And as for darkness, where is the place thereof, v. 20. that thou shouldest take it to the bound thereof, tracing both light and darkness to the place where they originated, and that thou shouldest know the paths to the house thereof? In spite of the most careful investigations the secrets connected with light and darkness have not been revealed. V. 21. Knowest thou it because thou wast then born? Was Job present at the creation of light, so that he understood all its secrets, or because the number of thy days is great? In a sharply ironical veil the Lord reminds Job of the fact that he is not eternal and therefore could not possess the information to which reference is here made. V. 22. Hast thou entered into the treasures of the snow? Did Job have access to the immense storehouses from which it came in such immeasurable quantities? Or hast thou seen the treasures of the hail, v. 23. which I have reserved against the time of trouble, for seasons of distress upon mankind, against the day of battle and war? For both snow and hail sometimes serve the purposes of the divine government in the world. V. 24. By what way is the light parted, that is, what road leads there, which scattereth the east wind upon the earth? Both the light and the east wind defy the calculation of men in the swiftness of their changes and in many other points connected with their phenomena.

V. 25. Who hath divided a watercourse for the overflowing of waters, conducting the rain-torrents through the thick masses of cloud to such portions of the earth as the Lord intended to moisten, or a way for the lightning of thunder, v. 26. to cause it to rain on the earth where no man is, in uninhabited regions, where human beings have no interests; on the wilderness, wherein there is no man, none to be personally interested, God's providence alone having such a wide range of vision; v. 27. to satisfy the desolate and waste ground, the wilderness being thought of as a parched wanderer, and to cause the bud of the tender herb to spring forth? Not only in inhabited districts of the world does God exhibit His providential care, but also in such about which the average person never or rarely thinks: so much greater is He than mere man.

GOD'S MAJESTY IN THE WONDERS ABOVE THE EARTH.-V. 28. Hath the rain a father, as it drops down from the clouds of the sky? Or who hath begotten the drops of dew, which assemble from the vapor of the atmosphere above, and are therefore also brought into direct relation to God? V. 29. Out of whose womb came the ice? A mother is assumed here because ice is associated with the earth. And the hoary frost of heaven, who hath gendered it? V. 30. The waters are hid as with a stone, drawing themselves together in a rigid mass as the frost takes hold of them, and the face of the deep is frozen, hanging together in a solid mass. V. 31. Canst thou bind the sweet influences of Pleiades, the band of that constellation of springtime, in the larger constellation of Taurus, or loose the bands of Orion, the cords which hold this constellation to its place in the heavens, causing the stars to fall to the ground? V. 32. Canst thou bring forth Mazzaroth, a very bright constellation, in his season? Or canst thou guide Arcturus, the Great Bear of the northern sky, with his sons? V. 33. Knowest thou the ordinances of heaven, the laws which guide the stars in their courses? Canst thou set the dominion thereof in the earth? Did Job possess the authority and power to regulate the influence of the heavens and their stars upon earthly destinies? V.34. Canst thou lift up thy voice to the clouds, in commanding them to yield their moisture, that abundance of waters may cover thee? V. 35. Canst thou send lightnings that they may go, at the command of Job, and say unto thee, Here we are, namely, at his disposal, ready to do his bidding? V. 36. Who hath put wisdom in the inward parts, teaching the dark clouds how to perform their work in the world? Or who hath given understanding to the heart, to the creatures of the atmosphere, so that the clouds know their arrangement in the various circum

stances? V. 37. Who an number the clouds in wisdom, appointing to them their number and extent? Or who can stay the bottles of heaven, who tilts them, who pours out their liquid contents, v. 38. when the dust groweth into hardness, becoming a firm mass as the rain-water molds its particles to

gether, and the clods cleave fast together, caking into a hard mass? In all these things God is supreme, all the forces of the atmosphere and of the sky being subject to Him, by whose laws they are guided. The insignificance of man stands out all the more strongly by contrast.

Continuation of God's Discourse. GOD'S POWER IN THE ANIMAL KINGDOM. V. 39. Wilt thou hunt the prey for the lion, or the lioness, or fill the appetite of the young lions, appeasing their constant craving for food, v. 40. when they crouch in their dens, in the thickets where they have their lairs, and abide in the covert to lie in wait, always on the lookout for possible prey? V. 41. Who provideth for the raven his food when his young ones cry unto God? They wander for lack of meat, their voracious appetite never being satisfied. Cp. Ps. 147, 9; 146, 15. 16. God performs as a matter of course what all men could never hope and undertake to do, this providential care placing Him far above all creatures. V. 1. Knowest thou the time when the wild goats of the rock bring forth, their homes being on the rocks near the summits of the mountains? Or canst thou mark when the hinds do calve, noting the travail of the many countless animals scattered in the wilderness? V. 2. Canst thou number the months that they fulfil, namely, in bearing their young? Or knowest thou the time when they bring forth? The external knowledge concerning these facts Job may have possessed, but he had no idea of the providential care which was needed in bringing these animals safely through the dangerous period until the young were born. V. 3. They bow themselves, cp. 1 Sam. 4, 19, they bring forth their young ones, they cast out their sorrows, shaking off the pains of birth with its fruit, all under the influence of God's providential care. V. 4. Their young ones are in good liking, in fine condition from the start, they grow up with corn, out in the desert; they go forth, reaching maturity and independence in just a short while, and return not unto them, they are soon able to dispense with the care of their parents, all this under the direction of God. V. 5. Who hath sent out the wild ass free? whose wildness is proverbial. Or who hath loosed the bands of the wild ass, literally, "of the fleeing one," of the fugitive? The very fact that the wild ass scorns all human control and nurture makes him a good example in this connection, where the power and wisdom of God is emphasized. V. 6. Whose house I have

made the wilderness, and the barren land, the desert, the salt-steppe, his dwellings; for it was there that he preferred to live, satisfied with the food offered by the saline plants of the alkali wastes. V. 7. He scorneth the multitude of the city, mocking at the clamor of the city, neither regardeth he the crying of the driver, paying no attention to the shouts which the domesticated ass and the mule must obey. V. 8. The range of the mountains is his pasture, whatever food his search brings to his attention, and he searcheth after every green thing, all his wants being provided for in this manner by the Creator. V. 9. Will the unicorn, probably the oryx, a wild and powerful species of antelope found in the desert at that time, be willing to serve thee or abide by thy crib, readily domesticated? V. 10. Canst thou bind the unicorn with his band in the furrow, compelling him to draw a furrow with the plow while being led or guided with a cord? Or will he harrow the valleys after thee, in the regular labor of preparing the soil for sowing? V. 11. Wilt thou trust him, readily depending upon him, because his strength is great? That very fact would cause men to mistrust the untamed animal. Or wilt thou leave thy labor to him, trusting him to bring home the product of the soil, as a tame ox would? V. 12. Wilt thou believe him, again depending upon him, that he will bring home thy seed, the harvested grain, and gather it into thy barn? All this, again, is beyond the control of man, but a small matter in the hand of God. V. 13. Gavest thou the goodly wings unto the peacocks? literally, "The wing of the female ostrich claps joyously," in time with her piercing cries, or wings and feathers unto the ostrich, literally, "Is it the pinion and feather of the stork," a quiet and tame bird? The ostrich is as a representative of all that is wild and untamable among the birds. V. 14. Which, or, No, on the contrary, far from being good and quiet, she leaveth her eggs in the earth, the reference being to the habit of the wild ostrich of abandoning her nest at the approach of danger and remaining away for a long time, and warmeth them in dust, trusting to the warm sand to keep the eggs from chilling; v. 15. and forgetteth that the foot

may crush them, or that the wild beast may break them, stamping them to pieces by walking over the nest. V. 16. She is hardened against her young ones, apparently dealing harshly with them, as though they were not hers; her labor is in vain without fear, it does not seem to bother the ostrich that her labor in laying the eggs is vain when they are crushed in this manner, v. 17. because God hath deprived her of wisdom, neither hath He imparted to her understanding, the stupidity of the ostrich being proverbial in Arabia. V. 18. What time she lifteth up herself on high, lifting herself to her full height with a lashing movement, she scorneth the horse and his rider, mocking them by the swiftness of her flight. The Lord now turns to the description of the war-horse, highly prized and praised in Arabia since ancient times. V. 19. Hast thou given the horse strength, namely, his warlike strength? Hast thou clothed his neck with thunder, literally, “with fluttering hair," with a waving mane? V. 20. Canst thou make him afraid as a grasshopper, rather, make him leap or gallop like the locust? The glory of his nostrils is terrible; when he snorts, it strikes terror to the heart. V. 21. He paweth in the valley, while the soldiers are scouting and making preparations for a battle, he is impatient for the fray, and rejoiceth in his strength; he goeth on to meet the armed men, ready to meet even a host in armor. V. 22. He mocketh at fear and is not affrighted, the excitement of the battle rather taking hold of him, neither turneth he back from the sword. V. 23. The quiver, namely, that of the horseman seated upon him, rattleth against him, the glittering spear and the shield, all sounds which would terrorize a timid animal. V. 24. He swalloweth the

ground with fierceness and rage, as he rushes over it in full gallop; neither believeth he that it is the sound of the trumpet, he does not stand still, he cannot contain himself when the trumpet sounds, he must get into the fray. V. 25. He saith among the trumpets, Ha, ha! neighing with joyful eagerness for the battle; and he smelleth the battle afar off, the thunder of the captains, and the shouting, the battle-cries of the soldiers engaged in battle. Of all the poetic descriptions of the war-horse in the entire ancient literature, this, aside from the fact of its divine inspiration, is the oldest and most beautiful. V. 26. Doth the hawk fly by thy wisdom, flying up to great heights as a result of Job's understanding, and stretch her wings toward the south, in the annual migration, to this day one of the secrets of bird-life? V. 27. Doth the eagle mount up, soaring in stately flight, at thy command and make her nest on high? Was all this a result of Job's power and authority? V. 28. She dwelleth and abideth on the rock, that being the place where she locates her aerie, from which she has a wide outlook over the country, upon the crag of the rock, and the strong place, a mighty castle and watchtower. V. 29. From thence she seeketh her prey, piercing the atmosphere far and wide with her sharp vision, and her eyes behold afar off. V. 30. Her young ones also, as true birds of prey, suck up blood; and where the slain are, there is she, the vulture being here included in the genus eagle. All these considerations, the mere recital of which had the effect of rendering Job speechless with awe, showed that God's majesty is infinitely exalted above man's criticism, that man simply cannot undertake to measure God according to the rules and ideas of mortal men.

Job's Confession and God's Second Address. JOB RETRACTS HIS CHARGES. — V. 1. Moreover, since Job was still silent, the Lord answered Job and said, v. 2. Shall he that contendeth with the Almighty instruct Him, continue his critical attitude after all that had now been laid before him? He that reproveth God, let him answer it, giving the proper replies and explanations of all the marvels set forth. Job had censured: let him now make good his charges. V. 3. Then Job answered the Lord and said, v. 4. Behold, I am vile, too base to offer a solution of the problems presented; what shall I answer Thee? He was unable to present so much as another argument. I will lay mine hand upon my mouth, closing it tightly, imposing absolute silence upon himself. V. 5. Once have I spoken, in making his challenge against

God; but I will not answer, not making another attempt to censure the Lord; yea, twice, referring to his repeated charges; but I will proceed no further. He retracted his former statements, he no longer dared to criticize God, since the Lord's miraculous wisdom and providential care was too evident to permit of his further opposition.

THE LORD REBUKES JOB'S PRESUMPTION. V. 6. Then answered the Lord unto Job out of the whirlwind, in order to lead him to a still higher stage of humiliation, so that he would willingly bow under the chastening hand of God, and said, v. 7. Gird up thy loins now like a man, again making ready for a sharp encounter; I will demand of thee, asking some further explanations, and declare thou unto Me. Cp. chap. 38, 3. V. 8. Wilt thou also disannul My judgment, altogether

abolishing and setting aside God's right? Wilt thou condemn Me, boldly stating that God was unjust, that thou mayest be righteous? For that is what Job's contentions really had been equivalent to. V. 9. Hast thou an arm like God, possessing almighty power? Or canst thou thunder with a voice like Him? this being an evidence of divine omnipotence and government in nature. V. 10. Deck thyself now with majesty and excellency, Job should put on these attributes of divine greatness and authority, if he made such claims; and array thyself with glory and beauty, with all the proofs of the Creator's majesty. V. 11. Cast abroad the rage of thy wrath, letting it break forth and overflow in a flood, as the almighty Lord is able to do; and behold every one that is proud, and abase him, displaying such authority to punish as God exercises continually. V. 12. Look on every one that is proud and bring him low, as God can by a mere angry glance destroy the wicked; and tread down the wicked in their place, overthrowing them and annihilating their power. V. 13. Hide them in the dust together, so that the earth covers their graves; and bind their faces in secret, in the darkness and secrecy of death's realm, with the voice of their presumption and pride forever stilled. V. 14. Then will I also confess unto thee, joining in Job's praise of himself, that thine own right hand can save thee, bringing him help and salvation, this idea being implied in Job's charges, together with this, that he would vigorously administer true justice. The Lord's questions are full of majestic irony, in order to bring Job to the full realization of his untenable position.

JOB'S WEAKNESS CONTRASTED WITH THE STRENGTH EVEN OF THE HIPPOPOTAMUS.-V. 15. Behold now behemoth, a monster beast, the water-ox, or hippopotamus, which is made with thee, created by the hand of God like the human beings and living with them on the earth; he eateth grass as an ox, the tender plants, the reeds of the Nile, after the manner of domesticated cattle. V. 16. Lo, now, his strength is in his loins, and his force is in the navel of his belly, in the sinews and muscles of his abdomen. V. 17. He moveth

his tail like a cedar, bending it like a cedarbough, with great firmness and elasticity; the sinews of his stones, rather, of his thighs, are wrapped together, firmly knit or twisted, like the tendrils of the vine or like a strong rope. V. 18. His bones are as strong pieces of brass, tubes or channels of strength; his bones are like bars of iron, tenacious as wrought iron. V. 19. He is the chief of the ways of God, the firstling of God's almighty power, among the mightiest of His creatures; He that made him can make his sword to approach unto him, literally, his Maker furnished to him his sword, the sharp teeth with which he cuts down his food and which he uses in his own defense. V. 20. Surely the mountains bring him forth food, being obliged to provide food for him, if need be, where all the beasts of the field play, unhurt by him, since he is not a beast of prey, but a herbivorous animal. V. 21. He lieth under the shady trees, the lotus-bushes of the lowlands of Egypt and the eastern Mediterranean countries, in the covert of the reed and fens; for the lowlands near the river are his habitat. V. 22. The shady trees, the lotus-bushes, cover him with their shadow; the willows of the brook compass him about, there are his favorite haunting-places. V. 23. Behold, he drinketh up a river and hasteth not, rather, the river becomes violent, turbulent with a quick rise, but he is not startled; he trusteth that he can draw up Jordan into his mouth, he is unconcerned even if a river with the swiftly rushing course of Jordan overflows its banks, swelling up to its mouth during the spring freshets. V. 24. He taketh it with his eyes; his nose pierceth through snares. The Hebrew rather seems a challenging question: Will any one take him before his eyes, with open force, or pierce through his nose with cords? The answer is implied: No man will dare to undertake such a dangerous attack; the only way of taking the hippopotamus being by guile, in pitfalls. This picture was painted before Job's eyes in order to make him realize his own insignificance, because one of his own fellow-creatures, entirely in the power of God's providence, was mightier than he himself. What little cause, then, did he have for arrogance and conceit!

Further Reproof of Job.

JOB'S WEAKNESS WHEN COMPARED WITH THE STRENGTH OF THE CROCODILE. - V. 1. Canst thou draw out leviathan, the great and fierce crocodile of Egypt and other Mediterranean countries, with an hook, or purse-net, or his tongue with a cord which thou lettest down? Rather, "Into the line dost thou press down his tongue," namely, when he has

taken the bait and the drawing of the line pushes aside his tongue. V. 2. Canst thou put an hook, a ring made of plaited rushes, such as were drawn through the gills of captured fishes to prevent their escaping, into his nose, or bore his jaw through with a thorn, with an iron hook or ring, in order to tame him? V. 3. Will he, in order to regain his freedom, make many supplications unto thee? Will

he speak soft words unto thee, pleading for the master's favor with flatteries, as a domesticated animal might? V. 4. Will he make a covenant with thee, an agreement to submit himself? Wilt thou take him for a servant forever, making him a slave? V.5. Wilt thou play with him as with a bird, as one coddles and teases a pet canary? Or wilt thou bind him for thy maidens, making him a pet of the female house-slaves? The answer is implied in every case: No; for he is utterly untamable. V. 6. Shall the companions make a banquet of him? That is, Do the members of the fishermen's guild make him an object of trade and barter? Shall they part him among the merchants? Can they divide him among the Canaanites? Can they handle him that easily? V. 7. Canst thou fill his skin with barbed irons, in trying to kill him with a spear or dart? or his head with fish-spears, in hunting him with a harpoon? V. 8. Lay thine hand upon him; remember the battle, do no more, that is, if one should have the foolhardiness to attempt a fight with a fierce crocodile, he would never try it again, the remembrance of that one attempt would last forever. V. 9. Behold, the hope of him is in vain, namely, the hope of the man who would risk an encounter with such a monster. Shall not one be cast down even at the sight of him? The very sight of the fierce amphibian fills the heart of the beholder with terror. V. 10. None is so fierce, rash or foolhardy, that dare stir him up, although, after all, he is a mere animal. Who, then, is able to stand before Me? Who will dare to appear before the Lord as His adversary? V. 11. Who hath prevented Me, having given something to God in the first place, having become His creditor, that I should repay him? Who among all men has the right to claim anything at the hand of God? Whatsoever is under the whole heaven is Mine; therefore He owes nothing to any creature. To these facts the Lord adds an impressive description of the crocodile's structure and mode of living. V. 12. I will not conceal his parts, He feels constrained to mention also his members, nor his power, nor his comely proportion, his gracefulness in spite of his great size. V. 13. Who can discover the face of his garment, the scaly coat of mail on his back? This is so firmly connected with his body that no man can take it off. Or who can come to him with his double bridle? Who would venture to enter into the open jaws of the crocodile, as he stretches his mouth with its double row of sharp teeth? V. 14. Who can open the doors of his face, the mighty, slashing jaws? His teeth are terrible round about, their terror being all the greater since his sixty-six teeth are not covered by the lips. V. 15. His scales are his pride, the bony shields of his

back, divided by furrows, shut up together as with a close seal, fitted together with the exactness of a seal pressed down on paper or parchment. V. 16. One is so near to another that no air can come between them. V. 17. They are joined one to another, they stick together that they cannot be sundered, they form a perfect and impenetrable shield. V. 18. By his neesings, when he blows out his breath, together with water and slime, through his nostrils, a light doth shine, it seems like a flash of light, and his eyes are like the eyelids of the morning, of the dawn, when the first red glow appears in the east. V. 19. Out of his mouth go burning lamps, streams of water shining like torches, and sparks of fire leap out. V. 20. Out of his nostrils goeth smoke, as out of a seething pot or cauldron, as when a kettle is heated over a strongly smoking fire of reeds, all this describing the snorting and fretting of the crocodile when angry. V. 21. His breath kindleth coals, and a flame goeth out of his mouth, this being a highly poetic description of the crocodile's fiery breath, of the steaming of his nostrils. V. 22. In his neck remaineth strength, dwelling there, making its permanent home there, and sorrow is turned into joy before him, before his advance terror and despair leap with fearful strides, this showing the effect of his appearance upon men and beasts. V. 23. The flakes of his flesh are joined together, his very flanks and dewlaps make no impression of looseness or flabbiness; they are firm in themselves; they cannot be moved, being fixed upon him in rows of smaller scales, solid as a shield. V. 24. His heart is as firm as a stone, molded into a solid piece, yea, as hard as a piece of the nether millstone, which was always particularly hard, in order to bear the movement of the grinding. V. 25. When he raiseth up himself, with all this fierceness of his heart, the mighty are afraid; by reason of breakings they purify themselves, that is, they are so overcome with astonishment and terror that they miss their aim. V. 26. The sword of him that layeth at him, in an effort to wound or kill him, cannot hold, it glances off without effect; the spear, the dart, nor the habergeon, no matter what weapon or missile is used. V. 27. He esteemeth iron as straw, for it has no effect on his mailed hide, and brass as rotten wood, since it bends and breaks on the shield of his back. V. 28. The arrow, literally, "the son of the quiver," cannot make him flee; slingstones are turned with him into stubble, utterly powerless to harm him. V. 29. Darts are counted as stubble, large clubs considered as so much chaff; he laugheth at the shaking of a spear, mocking at all human weapons. V. 30. Sharp stones are under him,