Evening capital. (Annapolis, Md.) 1884-1910, 1893-04-20

Text of the Lesson. Job xiii. I-Io-AIem-
ory Verses. s-Io-Golden Text. John xiii,
- Commentary by the Rev. ID. NJ.
stearns.
l, @ 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 bad 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
we'll meaning. but unwise In their dealings
with job The difficulties on each side are
summed up in chapter xxxii, Is They
condemned Job instead Of leading him 10
| condemn himself, and be 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, u
"Oh, that | knew where might find
Him. that might come even to His seatr
Eliphaz had said, "Acquaint now thyself
| with Him and be at peace" (xxii, 21( 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 eschewing evil 4, 8; ii, 81, the word
| perfect" meaning in this case simple or
sincere. Before his friends came, even un.
der overwhelming affiiction, he was patient
and did not sin nor charge God foolishly Ii,
%; II, 10y because be felt himself face to
face with Gpd and that God was dealing
| VITA him. But these men seem to have
come between him and God, and he, Ia re
| plying to them and dealing with them.
| loses sight of God and gropes in the dark
ness of his own wisdom
(. Il would order my cause before Him
apd fill my mouth with arguments" So il
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 up
to the temple to pray Muke xviii, 10-14 it
was the man who would not lift up so much
rs his eyes unto heaven, but smote upon
his breast, saying, God be 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 justification of the grace of God
through His righteousness (Rom iii, I9).
Il would know the words which he
would answer me and understand what he
would say unto me-" He cannot under.
stand these friends, and it Is very clear that
they do not understand him, but he thinks
he could understand God, and he would like
70 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 il great comfort
in looking unto Him who knew US thor
oughly from the beginning aud can never
lind out anything new about uA He never
can or will misunderstood us. 20 Lord
thou hast searched me and known me-
tFs cxxxix, u.
g. viii He plead against me with His
great poweri No, but He would put
strength in me-" A very little thing will
often bring che soul into such place that
everything will look distorted, as when one
sees things in fog or with blurred vision
Our eyes need constant amounting with
heavenly eye salve (Rev. iii, 49, that we may
see clearly The Holy Spirit can do this,
and inasmuch as We have Him in a sense
that job had him not we are more guilty
shan Job ii we allow our vision to become
so dim. God pleads not against the sinner.
but against sin, which He hates He who
sought Adam and Eve and redeemed them
and restored them to a measure of fellow
snip with promise Of future glory is ever
the same and is pleading With the siuner
to come to Him, however sinful he may be.
and with the erring to return to Him, how
ever Ear of he may have wandered. See
isa 1, IS, lv, q Jer. iii, 12-14; Hos. xiv, Ia
There the righteous might dispute
with Him; so should be delivered forever
from my Judge" Perhaps we cannot tell
| inst 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 QI Cor v, 81; Acts
xvii,3l). However sinful we may be, IL 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, 81, but
He will become our righteousness, wisdom,
sanctification and redemption, and we shall
have great cause to glory in Him q Cor. /.
| 30, BIZ The Judge being our friend, our Re
| 0eemer, our substitute, who died in our
stead. what boldness we may have in the
day Of judgment Il John iv, Ia.
3. Behold. | go forward, but He is not
| there, and backward, but I cannot perceive
Him." He reminds us of the bride in the
Song of Songs who, because she had been
self occupied and bad not promptly needed
the voice of her beloved, is compelled to
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, ont Of
| fellowship with God. because Of some thing
or person which has been allowed to come
nearer to them than the Lord Himself He
Is not far of, nor hard to find, when we seek
Him with the whole heart (Rom. K, 6, 9; Ter
xxx, ls), and If we would walk continually
with Him. esteeming His fellowship more
than all else. we would never walk in dark
ness.
o. "On the left baud, 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 as as to Peter. "What do thou
knowest not now, but thou shalt know here
after" And 1t will always be true until
"the morning" that we know only in part,
but then shall we know even as also we are
known q Cor. xiii. Q, 12l.
10 "But He knoweth the way that ]
take" Here is our comfort, He knoweth-"
| Jeremiah's comfort was, Thou, o Lord,
| kn0xwouf fTor Vii he ord Toerra