The Newtown bee., 1895-02-08


 1895.
 Text, Job IA 10 ''Yea, man giveth up the ghost, and where is he?"
 "Oh that mine adversary had written a book!' That is another sentence from the Book of Job. You have often heard it quoted, You have seen it at times in the preface of books, written there in semi,jocular way, as if that were about the greatest misfortune you could wish your enemy, that he should write book. That certainly is wrestling pas sage from it's setting, destroying a noble thought for the sake of getting bright saying. "Oh that mine adversary had written a book !" That sentence ex- presses the deepest longing that ever thrilled human heart namely, it's yearn- ing for more light, light from above to shine in it's darkness of ignorance and mystery and doubt and gloom. It is the cry of child for father, the bleat of lost sheep for 8 faithful shepherd, the panting of deathless soul for it's God.
 Let us see how this is true. Job stood in the twilight shadows of history. The Book of Job is thought by many to be the oldest book in the divine library. The religion of Job was the ''religion of na- ture." He lived before there was any law, before there was any priest or prophet or vision or dream or any com munication between man and his Maker. The golden stairway, resting it's lowest step on earth and losing it's top in the heavens, up and and down which angels of mercy and comfort and peace were continually to be moving, bringing much needed knowledge and more-needed sym pathy to men,-this stairway of union had not yet been upreared. How do we know this? One answer is that in the entire book there is absolutely no ref erence to law or priest or prophet or dream or vision or any such thing.
 Job was devoutly pious man; but his piety was built upon the axiom, Be good and you will be happy" For a long time Job was good, and, therefore, as he thought, he was happy. But ad- versity came, and his axiom was blown to the winds. His property was all swept away, his children all killed, his body broken out with distressing sores. Everything that he formerly called his own was gone from him except his wife, and she was about the
 DIREsT MISFORTUNE OF ALL,
 for she plagued and tormented him be- cause of his distresses. Under these circumstances Job could not be happy, however good and virtuous he might be.
 When all these disasters came, Job was left in abject misery and complete doubt. He could not understand the why and whereforhs a great question mark arose on every hand. His three friends, if such we can call them, tried to have Job believe that these distresses came because of his sins; but he was too honest man thus to play at mock hu- mility. He maintained his integrity, would not let go his faith in God, and, in the noble enthusiasm of his unswerv- ing devotion. he cried: Though he slay me. yet will trust in him.'' At last, when in the depths of his embit- tered perplexity he felt hIs feet slipping from the rock, when by the taunts of his friends he had been goaded to the point of desperation, he cried: .sOh for Daysmanl Oh for divine disclosure of the unknown! Oh that this divine Ene- my who has suffered blow on blow to fall upon me had written book to re- veal his will and explain his waysl''
 The religion of nature, you see, breaks entirely dowl when sorrow strikes 1t; the barrier it presents is as thin as air. To question after question that arises amid life's perplexities and changeful circumstance it has no answer, 1t is as deaf as the Egyptian Sphinx and as