The Progress., 1893-04-01
GODS CHASTENINGS.
LESSON II, SECOND QUARTER, INTER
NATIONAL SERIES, APRIL 9.

Text of the Lesson. Job v. 1T-s7-Tcm-
xii. 6-Commentary by tho Rev. ID. VI.
stsarns.
Three of Jobs friends-EIiphan. Bildad
and Zophar-having heard of the Affections
Of job, made an appointment to come and
mourn with him and comfort him. When
they saw him they knew him not because
he WAS so changed. They wept, and rent
their clothes, and sat with him upon the
ground seven days and seven nights with
ont speaking u word, for they saw that his
grief was very great Chapter ii, ll-l3).
Then job spoke and cursed his day, after
which Eliphaz was the first of the three to
speak, and this lesson is part of his speech
job had borne meckly and without COM
plant the loss of children and cattle and
even his bodily afllictiOn Chapters j. 90; H.
! 10), but these friends, with their false accu-
sNtions and insnuations, stirred all the old
man that was in him. These three con
demned job without cause, and yet their
words have much in them that is helpful
H. Behold, happy il the man whom God
| cOrrecteth; therefore deSpise not thou the
! chastening of the Almighty" This is
sound wisdom and very profitable if put in
practice. Blessed is the man that cndureth
trial! Count it all joy when ye fall into
divers trials. Whom the Lord loveth lie
chasteneth. II ye endure Christening. God
dealeth with you rs with sons (.Jas. j. II, =;
Heb. xii, O, y.
IS. For He maketh sore and bindeth
up; He woundcth and His hands make
Ill, ~ Il
kill and make alive; | wound and | heal;
neither is there any that can deliver out Of
my hand" Deut. xxxii. 3g). But though
He cause grief yet will He have compass
sion according to the multitude of his mer-
cies, for He doth not afflict willingly. nor
grieve the children of men Q.am. iii, 81,
33).
10. "IIe shall deliver thee IN six :~oubles;
yea. in seven there shall no evil touch
thee" Not even satan can touch n be
liever without permission, for he had to OBJ
tain permission to touch Job, and IL God
allows us to go to the furnace he knows
how to deliver So that Daniels friends
were right when they said, Our God,
whom we serve, is able to deliver us from
the burning fiery furnace, and He will de-
liver us out Of thine hand. O king DAN
evil befall thee" (Ps. xci, 1O), we must not
think to escape trouble, for just that is
promised us John xvi. 33), and possibly
imprisonment and death (Rev ii, 10; Math
K, 2s), but in the resurrection it shall he
seen that we have not been hurt, nor hair
of our heads pershed.
20. "In famine He shall redeem thee
from death and in war from the power of
the sword" The upright shall not be
ashamed in the evil time, and in the days
Of famine they shall be satisfied Ups
XXXvii, 1S 49, He who fed Elijah by the
brook and in the widows house during
the three years famine, who fed Israel for
forty years with bread from heaven, who
fed over 5000 with the lads few loaves and
fishes, is the same yesterday, today and for
ever. And as to the sword, think of DavId's
deliverance from the sword of Goliath and
his victory over him.
81. "Thou shalt be hid from the scourge
Of the tongue; neither shalt thou be afraid
of destruction when it cometh." The
tongue is often rs n sharp sword (Ps. lv,
81; lvii, A., but He will keep us secretly in
! a pavilion from the strife of tongues CPS
xxi, 20). Inasmuch as the angel of the
Lord encampeth round about us, the
tongue that would touch us must first
| touch Him. Not even a dog can move his
tongue against us without permission
(Ex. xi, y.
%. AT destruction and famine thou
shalt laugh; neither shalt thou be afraid
! of the beasts of the earth" One would
| almost think the speaker was describing
| the millennial times, when the wolf and
| the lamb shall feed together, and they
| shall not hurt nor destroy in all Gods holy
mountain lisa. lxv, 25) But with such
| records as that of David over the lion and
| the bear Daniel over the lions and Paul
over the poisonous reptile Il Sam. xvii, 80;
| Dan. vi, %; Acts xviii, 4, 81, we see what
may be even now as foreshadowings of
coming glory. Let us "have faith in
| God"
%. "For thou shalt be in league with the
stones of the field, and the beasts of the
| field shall be at peace with thee" David
| comes to mind again with his stones gath
cred from the brook, one of which, slung in
| the name of the Lord of Hosts, sank into
| the giants forehead q Sam. xvii, 49). And
the 200 left handed men who could sling
stones at hair and not miss (Judg. AK,
! l6) show how God can give control over
stones in that sense. AS to the beasts,
read Isa. XII, 60, and for another wonderful
story of the past see Kings xiii, 2S.
"A. And thou shalt know that thy tab
ernacle shall be in peace, and thou shalt
visit thy habitation and shalt not sin, /" or,
r. ", "shalt miss nothing" The work
of righteousness shall be peace, and the
effect Of righteousness quietness and as
surance forever. And my people shall
dwell in a peaceable habitation, and in
sure dwellings, and in quiet resting places"
lisa. xxi, II, ls). We may even dwell in
Jehovah Himself, for it is written, Lord,
thou hast been our dwelling place in all
generations" Ops. xc, u.
%. Thou shalt know also that thy seed
shall be great and thine offspring as the
grass of the earth" The promise to Abram
was that his seed should be as the stars Of
heaven and as the sand upon the seashore
(Gen. XII, IN. When Rebskah left her
homo 70 become the bride of Isaac they
prayed tha& she might become ths mother
Of thousasds of millions (Gsn. XIV, co.
Jesus hss saf6. ''fhers n no man sAAs hath
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