The herald., 1897-03-29

has not only been proclaimed by WORD
of mouth, 1t has been lived in the heart OF
life by the experience of the prophets.
1t was not what Job said, 1t was what
he lived, that revealed the truth he had
for the world.
someone has said that Job discovered
the infinite, and was the first TO see
the bearing of infinity on righteousness.
he turned the thought of men from the
humanized God, the localized divinity
of the Hebrew that shut itself up WIN
clouds and darkness on lone noun
tain top, or that was penned In a mar
row room of the temple to the innnite
Spirit that the heaven of heavens couid
not contain.
ITO understand the moral heroism or
Job and his greatness we must know
something of the circumstances anu
the ideas in the midst OF which ne was
placed. Job had lost his children He
had lost his fiocks. He had lost an
for whom he had lived, and he had Dolls
and-friends.' 1t is one of the evidences
of his nobility that he could stand the
throbbing of his boils better than he
could the theology of his friends. Jon
cries, Have pity on me, Otmy 1rlenos.
The hand of God hath touched me. Ana
Zophar comforts him with the cheer-
ing assertion that such is the portion OF
the wicked man. Terrors come upon
him. ana Ine NNNiNNN' -
the Mighty One Trained to beleVe
that righteousness was source OF rev.
enue and that unrighteousness was an
invitation to disaster, these friends
looked upon Jobs suffering and set MN
down as a monster of wickedness. Inc
only proof that Job had of his integrity
was himself. And he bowed before ms
Maker and believed in him because ne
dared to believe in that self against hail
and fire and death and the words of men
and the fear of their prim little dogma.
god. My righteousness hold fast and
will not let it go'-is the parable OF
every hero; wonderful now, but more
wonderful then, when Job won the
mighty fight alone and went before us
all down through sorrow to the heart
of God
"The point of divergence between Job
and his friends was their different ways
of looking at things. Job was poet
philosopher. They were spiritual Job-
bers and spectators in the divine bles-
sings The dove-tailing of rewards into
one little existence-the whole creation
a body-servant for worthy Jew-Joo
had the sublime humor of every greater
poet. and the little god who does little
things for little men to gain little
faith for little time, puttering with
their egotism to win their souls, van
ished The egotism which is the relig-
ion of the little man when he succeeds,
the infidelity of the little man when he
fails, the T which is the essence OF
blasphemy alike of creeds and curses
and prayers and sneers, met its sublime
eternal triumphant rebuke in JOB
Though living under false astronomy
ne had Just that quality OF selfiessness
in his worship that would have made
him surmise that the universe was not
made to revolve around the earth as
center. or especially arranged to fur
nish heat and starlight to the land or
Uz. With the star measurements 10
measure himself and suggest the I'M
measurable God, Job did not expect the
universe to be preoccupied with his es-
tate. and he performed his duty without
requiring 1t.
Job was the first to give God room
enough to work In and time enough, ana
to emancipate the idea from pettiness
and localization. He did not believe that
the axis of the universe was pivoted
in his own door yard, and he declared
that the Infinite God has larger occu-
patton than to run errands at the nod
and beck of the saints Job had gotten
out of the narrow confines of a cheap
and commercial theology, and had found
a universe with an Infinite God at the
heart of it, He was the first to contend
against that self-centered theology ana
belittling view of God ana MS WORK tnal
has struck it's strangling root through
all the centuries. He had ceased to at
tempt to fit the universe and God into
his own plans and whims and peevish
wants, and had nobly and divlnely tried
to fit himself and all he had into the
sweep of Gods moral purposes.
'The discoverer of a lost Creator
Job was the first pure, disinterested
worshiper that God ever had. No lon
ger a divine convenience, promise-di-
vinity, the Creator was rediscovered-
drawn out from the tiny nook of faith
that the desires of men had made for
him, into his own house. He shall be
remembered as the redeemer of sorrow,
one who could sing with cross; one
who lifted duty above reward. and de-
graded sin below punishment, because
he discovered the infinity of God, be-
cause he lost himself in' the Wilderness
OF his ways"