The Indiana State sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis) 1868-1895, 1893-04-12
THE SUNDAY SCHOOL.
LESSON III, SECOND QUARTER, INTER-
NATIONAL SERIES, APRIL t6.

Text OF the Lesson, Job xiii. 1-1O-1Iem-
DRY Verses. s-IO-Golden Text, John xiii,
= Commentary by the Rev. ID. nj.
stearns.
la Then Job answered and said. Even
today is my complaint bitter; my stroke is
heavier than my groaning." This is the be-
ginning of Jobs reply to the third address
of Eliphaz. Each of the three-Eliphaz,
Bildad and Zophar-had spoken twice, and
Job had replied TO each in turn. This is the
beginning of the third round In an inter
esting and instructive little pamphlet en-
titled Job and His Friends" by c. II. NJ,
the author thinks that these three stand
for experience, tradition and legality-all
well meaning, but unwise in their dealings
with Job. The difficulties on each side are
summed mp in chapter xxi, 1-3 They
condemned Job instead Of leading him to
condemn himself, and he justified himself
rather than God AS to the beginning of
this reply of job we may often feel that we,
too, have great cause Of complaint, as did
Israel under their discomforts but it is
written, when the people complained, it
displeased the Lord" Mum xi, H.
g. "Oh, that knew where might find
Him; that might come even to His seatp'
Eliphaz had said, "Acquaint now myself
with Him and be at peace" xxi, 2D. Job
replies that his longing is to do So Accord
ing TO the testimony of God Himself, Job
was perfect and upright man, fearing God
and eschewinz evil q, s; ii, 81, the word
perfect" meaning In this case simple or
sincere. Before his friends came, even I'M
der overwhelming atfliction, he was patient
and did not sin nor charge God foolishly Il,
%; il, 10), because he felt himself face to
fnra til - NI,t HDI 1
with him But these men seem to have
come between him and God, and he, in re-
plying TO them and dealing with them.
loses sight of God and gropes in the dark
ness of his own wisdom. :
4. II would order my cause before Him
and fill my mouth with arguments" So it
seemed TO job in his blindness, but it is
evident that he lacks the broken and con-
trite spirit which only is acceptable TO God.
In the story of the two men who went ND
to the temple to pray luke xviii, l0-I4) it
was the man who would not lift up so much
IA his eyes unto heaven, but smote upon
his breast, saying God he merciful to me- a
sinner" who went down to his house iusti
fed rather than the other who thanked God
that he was better than other men 1t is
only when our mouths are stopped as TO our
own righteousness that We can enjoy the
Tree luStlncatlon or the grace or God
through His righteousness from. iii, 49,
5. Il would know the words which he
would answer me and understand what be
would say unto me-" He cannot under
stand these friends, and il is very clear that
they do not understand him, but he thinks
he could understand God, and he would like
to know what God would say to him No
doubt there are many who think they can
sympathize with Job in his being so mis-
understood. Well there is great comfort
in looking unto Him who knew us thor
oughly from the beginning aud can never
find out anything new about US. He never
can or will misunderstood as 20 Lord,
thou hast searched me and known me"
FPS cXxxix, -.
6. viii He plead against me with His
great power? No, but He would put
strength in me-" A very Satle thing will
often bring the soul into such place that
everything viii look distorted as when one
sees things in fog or with blurred vision
Our eyes need constant amounting with
heavenly eye salve (I3ev. iii, lSl that we may
see clearly. The Holy Spirit can do this,
and inasmuch as we have Him in sense
that job had him not we are more guilty
than job if we allow our vision to become
So dim. God pleads not against the sinner
sought Adam and Eve and redeemed them
and restored them to a measure of fellow
ship with promise of future glory is ever
the same and is pleading with the sinner
to come to Him, however sinful he may be,
and with the erring to return to Him. how
ever far of he may have wandered. See
Isa l. IS; ", 6. Z; Jer. iii, 12l4; Hos xiv, 1, >.
Z. "There the righteous m ght dispute
with Him; so should l be delivered forever
from my Judge" Perhaps we cannot tell
Just what was in the mind OF job when he
uttered these words, but this we do know
that there is only one righteous person
whose righteousness can stand before God,
and He also has been ordained to be the
Judge of quick and dead Oh Cor. v, 81; Acts
xvii,3il However sinful we may be, if only
we come with true penitence to Him who
came into the world to save sinners, He will
not only not cast us out John vi, 80, but
He will become our righteousness, wisdom,
sanctitication and redemption and we shall
have great cause TO glory in Him q Cor i,
30, BIZ The Judge being our friend, our Re
deemer, our substitute, who died in our
stead, what holiness we may have in the
day of judgment q John iv lO.
s. Behold. go forward, but He is not
there, and backward, but / cannot perceive
Song of Songs who, because she had been
self occupied and had not promptly needed
the voice of her beloved, is compelled 10
seek Him very earnestly before she found
Him again. She says, II sought Him, but
could not find Him; called Him, but He
gave me no answer" Song V, o. Many a
Christian is walking in darkness, out of
fellowship with God. because of some thing
or person which has been allowed TO come
nearer 10 them than the Lord Himself. He
Is not far off, nor hard 20 find, when we seek
Him with the whole heart rom. Y, g o; Jer
xxx. 49, aud if we would walk continually
with Him, esteeming His fellowship more
than ali else. we would never walk in dark
ness.
g. ION the left hand, where He doth
work, but / cannot behold Him He hideth
Himself on the right hand that cannot
see Him" The remarks on the last verse
are also applicable here and yet there is
another side of the truth. We may walk
with Him in peace and quietness and yet
not know why He dOeth this or that. He
may say to us as to Peter, "What do thou
knOwest not now, but thOu shalt know here
after" And 1t will always he true until
''the morning that we know only in part
but then shall we know even also we are
known Il Cor xiii, 9, ~.
10 But He knoweth the way that |
take" Here is our comfort, He knoweth."
Jeremiah's comfort was Thou, o Lord,
knowest me" der. xii, -. The Lord Jesus
taught IA to find comfort in these words,
'Your Heavenly Father knoweth" (lath.