No doubt it may often happen, as in the case of Job and his friends, that old men give utterance to very foolish things. Gray hairs and wisdom do not always go together; and it not unfrequently happens that aged men, relying upon the mere fact of their years, a.s.sume a place for which they have no sort of power, either moral, intellectual, or spiritual. All this is perfectly true, and it has to be considered by those whom it may concern. But it leaves wholly untouched the fine moral sentiment contained in Elihu"s opening address: "I am young, and ye are very old; wherefore I was afraid, and durst not show you mine opinion." This is always right. It is always comely for a young man to be afraid to show his opinion. We may rest a.s.sured that a man who possesses inward moral power--who, as we say, _has it in him_--is never in haste to push himself forward; but yet, when he does come forward, he is sure to be heard with respect and attention. The union of modesty and moral power imparts an irresistible charm to the character; but the most splendid abilities are marred by a self-confident style.
"But," continues Elihu, "there is a spirit in man; and the inspiration of the Almighty giveth him understanding." This introduces another element altogether. The moment the Spirit of G.o.d enters the scene, it ceases to be a question of youth or old age, inasmuch as he can speak by old or young. "Not by might or by power; but by My Spirit, saith the Lord of hosts." This holds good always. It was true for the patriarchs; true for the prophets; true for apostles; true for us; true for all. It is not by human might or power, but by the eternal Spirit.
Here lay the deep secret of Elihu"s quiet power. He was filled with the Spirit, and hence we forget his youth, while hearkening to the words of spiritual weight and heavenly wisdom that proceed out of his mouth; and we are reminded of Him who spake as one having authority, and not as the scribes. There is a striking difference between a man who speaks as an oracle of G.o.d, and one who speaks in mere official routine--between one who speaks from the heart, by the Spirit"s holy unction, and one who speaks from the intellect by human authority. Who can duly estimate the difference between these two? None but those who possess and exercise the mind of Christ.
But let us proceed with Elihu"s address.
"Great men," he tells us, "are not always wise." How true! "Neither do the aged understand judgment. Therefore I said, Hearken to me; I also will show mine opinion. Behold, I waited for your words; I gave ear to your reasons, whilst ye searched out what to say. Yea, I attended unto you, and, behold, there was none of you that convinced Job, or that answered his words."
Let us specially note this. "There was none of you that convinced Job." This was clear enough. Job was just as far from being convinced at the close of the discussion as he was at the commencement. Indeed we may say that each fresh argument drawn from the treasury of experience, tradition, and legality only served to stir some fresh and deeper depth of Job"s unjudged, unsubdued, unmortified nature. This is a grand moral truth, ill.u.s.trated on every page of the book which lies open before us.
But how instructive the reason for all this! "Lest ye should say, We have found out wisdom; G.o.d thrusteth him down, not man." No flesh shall glory in the presence of G.o.d. It may boast itself outside. It may put forth its pretensions, and glory in its resources, and be proud of its undertakings, so long as G.o.d is not thought of. But only introduce Him, and all the vauntings, the boastings, the vain-gloryings, the lofty pretensions, and the self-complacency, and the self-conceit will be withered up in a moment.
Reader, let us remember this. "Boasting is excluded." Yes; all boasting--the boasting of Job, the boasting of his friends. If Job had succeeded in establishing his cause, he would have boasted. If, on the other hand, his friends had succeeded in silencing him, they might have boasted. But no; "G.o.d thrusteth him down, not man."
Thus it was; thus it is; and thus it must ever be. G.o.d knows how to humble the proud heart and subdue the stubborn will. It is utterly vain for any one to set himself up; for we may rest a.s.sured that every one who is set up must, sooner or later, be upset. The moral government of G.o.d has so ordered and enacted that all that is high and lifted up must come down. This is a salutary truth for us all; but especially for the young, the ardent, and the aspiring. The humble, retired, shady path is, unquestionably, the safest, the happiest, and the best. May we ever be found treading it, until we reach that bright and blessed scene where pride and ambition are unknown?
The effect of Elihu"s opening words upon Job"s three friends was most striking. "They were amazed; they answered no more; they left off speaking. When I had waited--for they spake not, but stood still, and answered no more--I said, I will answer also my part; I also will show mine opinion." And then, lest any should suppose that he was speaking his own words, he adds, "For I am full of matter; the spirit within me constraineth me." This is the true spring and power of all ministry, in all ages. It must be "the inspiration of the Almighty," or it is worth absolutely nothing.
We repeat, this is the only true source of ministry, at all times and in all places. And in saying this, we do not forget that a mighty change took place when our Lord Christ ascended to heaven and took His seat at the right hand of G.o.d, in virtue of accomplished redemption.
To this glorious truth we have often referred the readers of our magazine, _Things New and Old_; and hence shall not now permit ourselves to dwell upon it. We merely touch upon it in this place, lest the reader might imagine that, when we speak of the true source of ministry in all ages, we were forgetting what is marked and distinctive in the Church of G.o.d now, in consequence of the death and resurrection of Christ, the presence and indwelling of the Holy Ghost, in the individual believer, and in the Church, which is the body of Christ on earth. Far from it. Thanks and praise be to G.o.d! we have too deep a sense of the value, importance, and practical weight of that grand and glorious truth ever to lose sight of it for a moment.
Indeed, it is just this deep sense, together with the remembrance of Satan"s ceaseless effort to ignore the truth of the presence of the Holy Ghost in the Church, that leads us to pen this cautionary paragraph.
Still, Elihu"s principle must ever hold good. If any man is to speak with power and practical effect, he must be able, in some measure, to say, "I am full of matter; the spirit within me constraineth me.[9]
Behold, my belly is as wine which hath no vent; it is ready to burst like new bottles. I will speak, that I may be refreshed: I will open my lips and answer." Thus it must ever be, in measure at least, with all who will speak with real power and effect to the hearts and consciences of their fellows. We are forcibly reminded, by Elihu"s glowing words, of that memorable pa.s.sage in the seventh of John, "He that believeth on Me, as the Scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water." True it is that Elihu knew not the glorious truth set forth in these words of our Lord, inasmuch as they were not made good till fifteen centuries after his time. But then he knew the principle--he possessed the germ of what was afterward to come out in full blow and rich mellow fruit. He knew that a man, if he is to speak with point, pungency, and power, must speak by the inspiration of the Almighty. He had listened till he was tired to men talking a quant.i.ty of powerless matter--saying some truisms--drawing from their own experience, or from the musty stores of human tradition. He was well-nigh wearied out with all this, and he rises, in the mighty energy of the Spirit, to address his hearers as one fitted to speak like an oracle of G.o.d.
[9] Let the reader distinctly understand that Elihu, in the above quotation, speaks, not of the indwelling of the Holy Ghost, as believers now know it. This was wholly unknown to saints in Old-Testament times, and was the direct result of accomplished redemption--the special fruit of the glorification of Christ at the right hand of the Majesty in the heavens. This important truth has been repeatedly referred to and dwelt upon at other times, and hence we shall not go into it now; but we would request the reader to turn to Jno. vii. 39 and xvi. 7, and meditate upon the doctrine there taught, apart from all preconceived thoughts of his own, and irrespective of all the opinions of men. From these scriptures, he will see distinctly that the Holy Ghost did not and could not come until Jesus was glorified. This is not a mere speculation--a human theory--the dogma of a certain school. It is a grand foundation-truth of Christianity, to be reverently received, tenaciously held, and faithfully confessed by every true Christian. May all the Lord"s people be led to see and believe it!
Here lies the deep and blessed secret of ministerial power and success. "If any man speak," says Peter, "let him speak as the oracles of G.o.d." It is not, be it carefully observed, merely speaking according to Scripture--an all-important and essential matter, most surely. It is more. A man may rise and address his fellows for an hour, and, from beginning to end of his discourse, he may not utter so much as a single unscriptural sentence; and all the while, he may not have been G.o.d"s oracle at the time,--he may not have been G.o.d"s mouthpiece, or the present exponent of His mind to the souls before him.
This is peculiarly solemn, and demands the grave consideration of all who are called to open their lips in the midst of G.o.d"s people. It is one thing to utter a certain amount of true sentiment, and quite another to be the living channel of communication between the very heart of G.o.d and the souls of G.o.d"s people. It is this latter, and this alone, that const.i.tutes true ministry. A man who speaks as an oracle of G.o.d will bring the conscience of the hearer so into the very light of the divine presence that every chamber of the heart is laid open, and every moral spring touched. This is true ministry. All else is powerless, valueless, fruitless. Nothing is more deplorable and humiliating than to listen to a man who is evidently drawing from his own poor and scanty resources, or trafficking in second-hand truth--in borrowed thoughts. Better far for such to be silent--better for their hearers, better for themselves. Nor this only. We may often hear a man giving forth to his fellows that on which his own mind has been dwelling in private with much interest and profit. He may utter truth, and important truth; but it is not _the_ truth for the souls of the people--_the_ truth for the moment. He has spoken according to Scripture so far as his matter is concerned, but he has not spoken as an oracle of G.o.d.
Thus, then, may all learn a valuable lesson from Elihu; and, most surely, it is a needed lesson. Some may feel disposed to say it is a difficult lesson--a hard saying. But no; if we only live in the Lord"s presence, in the abiding sense of our own nothingness and of His all-sufficiency, we shall know the precious secret of all effective ministry; we shall know how to lean upon G.o.d alone, and thus be independent of men, in the right sense; we shall be able to enter into the meaning and force of Elihu"s further words, "Let me not, I pray you, accept any man"s person; neither let me give flattering t.i.tles unto man. For I know not to give flattering t.i.tles; in so doing, my Maker would soon take me away." (Job x.x.xii. 21, 22.)
In studying the ministry of Elihu, we find in it two grand elements, namely, "grace and truth." Both these were essential in dealing with Job; and, consequently, we find both coming out with extraordinary power. He tells Job and his friends very distinctly that he knows not how to give flattering t.i.tles unto man. Here the voice of "truth"
falls with great clearness on the ear. Truth puts every one in his right place; and, just because it does so, it cannot bestow t.i.tles of flattery upon a poor guilty mortal, however much that mortal might be gratified by them. Man must be brought to know himself, to see his true condition, to confess what he really is. This was precisely what Job needed. He did not know himself, and his friends could not give him that knowledge. He needed to be led down into the depths; but his friends could not conduct him thither. He needed self-judgment; but his friends were wholly unable to produce it.
But Elihu begins by telling Job the truth. He introduces G.o.d into the scene in His true character. This was just what the three friends had failed to do. No doubt they had referred to G.o.d; but their references were cloudy, distorted, and false. This is plain from chap. xlii. 7, 8, where we are told that "the Lord said to Eliphaz the Temanite, My wrath is kindled against thee, and against thy two friends; for _ye have not spoken of Me the thing_ that is right, as My servant Job hath. Therefore take unto you now seven bullocks and seven rams, and go to my servant Job, and offer up for yourselves a burnt-offering; and my servant Job shall pray for you, for him will I accept: lest I deal with you after your folly, in that ye have not spoken of Me the thing which is right, like My servant Job."[10] They had utterly failed to bring G.o.d before the soul of their friend, and there they failed in producing the needed self-judgment.
[10] The reader will bear in mind that the above words were spoken after Job"s repentance. It is of the very last importance to see this.
Not so Elihu. He pursues a totally different line of things. He brings the light of "truth" to bear upon Job"s conscience; and at the same time he administers the precious balm of "grace" to his heart. Let us quote his further sayings, "Wherefore, Job, I pray thee, hear my speeches, and hearken to all my words. Behold, now I have opened my mouth, my tongue hath spoken in my mouth. My words shall be of the uprightness of my heart, and my lips shall utter knowledge clearly.
The Spirit of G.o.d hath made me, and the breath of the Almighty hath given me life. If thou canst answer me, set thy words in order before me, stand up. Behold, I am according to thy wish in G.o.d"s stead: I am also formed out of clay. Behold, my terror shall not make thee afraid, neither shall my hand be heavy upon thee."
In these accents, the ministry of "grace" unfolds itself, sweetly and powerfully, to the heart of Job. Of this most excellent ingredient there was a total absence in the ministry of the three friends. They showed themselves only too ready to bear down upon Job with "a heavy hand." They were stern judges, severe censors, false interpreters.
They could fix their cold, gray eye upon the wounds of their poor afflicted friend, and wonder how they came there. They looked on the crumbling ruins of his house, and drew the harsh inference that the ruin was but the result of his bad behavior. They beheld his fallen fortunes, and, with unmitigated severity, concluded that those fortunes had fallen because of his faults. They had proved themselves to be entirely one-sided judges. They had wholly misunderstood the dealings of G.o.d. They had never seized the full moral force of that one weighty sentence, "_G.o.d trieth the righteous_." In a word, they were utterly astray. Their standpoint was false, and hence their whole range of vision was defective. There was neither "grace" nor "truth"
in their ministry, and therefore they failed to convince Job. They condemned him without convincing him, whereas they ought to have convinced him and made him condemn himself.
Here it is that Elihu stands out in vivid contrast. He tells Job the truth; but he lays no heavy hand upon him. Elihu has learnt the mighty mysterious power of "the still small voice"--the soul-subduing, heart-melting virtue of grace. Job had given utterance to a quant.i.ty of false notions about himself, and those notions had sprouted from a root to which the sharp ax of "truth" had to be applied. "Surely,"
says Elihu, "thou hast spoken in my hearing, and I have heard the voice of thy words, saying, "I am clean without transgression, I am innocent; neither is there iniquity in me.""
What words for any poor sinful mortal to utter! Surely, though "the true light" in which we may walk had not shone on the soul of this patriarch, we may well marvel at such language. And yet, mark what follows. Although he was so clean, so innocent, so free from iniquity, he nevertheless says of G.o.d, that "He findeth occasions, he counteth me for His enemy. He putteth my feet in the stocks, He marketh all my paths." Here is a palpable discrepancy. How could a holy, just, and righteous Being count a pure and innocent man His enemy? Impossible.
Either Job was self-deceived, or G.o.d was unrighteous; and Elihu, as the minister of truth, is not long in p.r.o.nouncing a judgment, and telling us which is which. "Behold, in this thou art not just: I will answer thee, that G.o.d is greater than man." What a simple truth! And yet how little understood! If G.o.d is greater than man, then obviously He, and not man, must be the judge of what is right. This, the infidel heart refuses; and hence the constant tendency to sit in judgment upon the works and ways and word of G.o.d--upon G.o.d Himself. Man, in his impious and infidel folly, undertakes to p.r.o.nounce judgment upon what is and what is not worthy of G.o.d; to decide upon what G.o.d ought and what He ought not to say and to do. He proves himself utterly ignorant of that most simple, obvious necessary truth, that "G.o.d is greater than man."
Now, it is when the heart bows under the weight of this great moral truth, that we are in a fit att.i.tude to understand to object of G.o.d"s dealings with us. a.s.suredly He must have the upper hand. "Why dost thou strive against Him? for He giveth not account of any of His matters. For G.o.d speaketh once, yea, twice, yet man perceiveth it not.
In a dream, in a vision of the night, when deep sleep falleth upon men, in slumberings upon the bed; then He openeth the ears of men, and sealeth their instruction, _that He may withdraw man from his purpose, and hide pride from man_. _He keepeth back_ his soul from the pit, and his life from perishing by the sword."
The real secret of all Job"s false reasoning is to be found in the fact that he did not understand the character of G.o.d, or the object of all His dealings. He did not see that G.o.d was trying him, that He was behind the scenes and using various agents for the accomplishment of His wise and gracious ends. Even Satan himself was a mere instrument in the hand of G.o.d; nor could he move the breadth of a hair beyond the divinely prescribed limit; and moreover, when he had executed his appointed business, he was dismissed, and we hear no more about him.
G.o.d was dealing with Job. He was trying him in order that He might instruct him, withdraw him from his purpose, and hide pride from him.
Had Job seized this grand point, it would have saved him a world of strife and contention. Instead of getting angry with people and things, with individuals and influences, he would have judged himself and bowed low before the Lord in meekness and brokenness and true contrition.
This is immensely important for us all. We are all of us p.r.o.ne to forget the weighty fact that "G.o.d trieth the righteous." "He withdraweth not His eyes from them." We are in His hands, and under His eye continually. We are the objects of His deep, tender, and unchanging love; but we are also the subjects of His wise moral government. His dealings with us are varied. They are sometimes preventive; sometimes corrective; always instructive. We may be bent on some course of our own, the end of which would be moral ruin. He intervenes and withdraws us from our purpose. He dashes into fragments our air-built castles, dissipates our golden dreams, and interrupts many a darling scheme on which our hearts were bent, and which would have proved to be certain destruction. "Lo, all these things worketh G.o.d oftentimes with man, to bring back his soul from the pit, _to be enlightened with the light of the living_."
If the reader will turn for a moment to Hebrews xii. 3-12, he will find much precious instruction on the subject of G.o.d"s dealings with His people. We do not attempt to dwell upon it, but would merely remark that it presents three distinct ways in which we may meet the chastening of our Father"s hand. We may "_despise_" it, as though His hand and His voice were not in it; we may "_faint_" under it, as though it were intolerable, and not the precious fruit of His love; or, lastly, we may be "_exercised_ by it," and thus reap in due time, "the peaceable fruits of righteousness."
Now if our patriarch had only seized the great fact that G.o.d was dealing with him; that He was trying him for his ultimate good; that He was using circ.u.mstances, people, the Sabeans, Satan himself, as His instruments; that all his trials, his losses, his bereavements, his sufferings, were but G.o.d"s marvelous agency in bringing about His wise and gracious end; that He would a.s.suredly perfect that which concerned His dear and much-loved servant, because His mercy endureth forever; in a word, had Job only lost sight of all second causes, and fixed his thoughts upon the living G.o.d alone, and accepted all from His loving hand, he would have more speedily reached the divine solution of all his difficulties.
But it is precisely here that we are all apt to break down. We get occupied with men and things; we view them in reference to ourselves.
We do not walk with G.o.d through, or rather above, the circ.u.mstances; but on the contrary, we allow the circ.u.mstances to get power over us.
In place of keeping G.o.d between us and our circ.u.mstances, we permit these latter to get between us and G.o.d. Thus we lose the sense of His presence, the light of His countenance, the holy calmness of being in His loving hand, and under His fatherly eye. We become fretful, impatient, irritable, fault-finding. We get far away from G.o.d, out of communion, thoroughly astray, judging every one except ourselves, until at length G.o.d takes us in hand, and by His own direct and powerful ministry, brings us back to Himself in true brokenness of heart and humbleness of mind. This is "the end of the Lord."
We must, however, draw this paper to a close. Gladly would we expatiate further on Elihu"s remarkable ministry; with pleasure and profit could we quote his further appeals to Job"s heart and conscience, his pungent arguments, his pointed questions. But we must forbear, and leave the reader to go through the remaining chapters for himself. In so doing, we will find that when Elihu closes his ministry, G.o.d Himself begins to deal directly with the soul of His servant (chap. x.x.xviii.-xli.). He appeals to His works in creation as the display of a power and wisdom which ought a.s.suredly to make Job feel his own littleness. We do not attempt to cull pa.s.sages from one of the most magnificent and sublime sections of the inspired canon. It must be read as a whole. It needs no comment. The human finger could but tarnish its l.u.s.tre. Its plainness is only equaled by its moral grandeur. All we shall attempt to do is to call attention to the powerful effect produced upon the heart of Job by this the most marvelous ministry surely under which mortal man was ever called to sit--the immediate ministry of the living G.o.d Himself.
This effect was threefold. It had reference to G.o.d, to himself, and to his friends--the very points on which he was so entirely astray. As to G.o.d, Elihu had declared Job"s mistake in the following words: "Job hath spoken without knowledge, and his words were without wisdom. My desire is that Job may be tried unto the end, because of his answers for wicked men. For he addeth rebellion unto his sin; he clappeth his hands among us, and multiplieth his words against G.o.d.... Thinkest thou this to be right, that thou saidst, "My righteousness is more than G.o.d"s"?" But mark the change. Hearken to the breathings of a truly repentant spirit; the brief yet comprehensive statement of a corrected judgment. "Then Job answered the Lord, and said, "I know that Thou canst do every thing, and that no thought can be withholden from Thee. Who is he that hideth counsel without knowledge? therefore have I uttered that I understood not; things too wonderful for me, which I knew not. Hear, I beseech Thee, and I will speak. I will demand of thee, and declare thou unto Me. I have heard of Thee by the hearing of the ear, _but now mine eye seeth Thee_."" (Chap. xlii.
1-9.)
Here, then, was the turning-point. All his previous statements as to G.o.d and His ways are now p.r.o.nounced to be "words without knowledge."
What a confession! What a moment in man"s history when he discovers that he has been all wrong! What a thorough break-down! What profound humiliation! It reminds us of Jacob getting the hollow of his thigh touched, and thus learning his utter weakness and nothingness. These are weighty moments in the history of souls--great epochs, which leave an indelible impress on the whole moral being and character. To get right thoughts about G.o.d is to begin to get right about every thing.
If I am wrong about G.o.d, I am wrong about myself, wrong about my fellows, wrong about all.
Thus it was with Job. His new thoughts as to G.o.d were immediately connected with new thoughts of himself; and hence we find that the elaborate self-vindication, the impa.s.sioned egotism, the vehement self-gratulation, the lengthened arguments in self-defense--all is laid aside; all is displaced by one short sentence of three words,--"_I am vile_." And what is to be done with this vile self?
Talk about it? Set it up? Be occupied with it? Take counsel for it?
Make provision for it? Nay, "_I abhor it_."
This is the true moral ground for every one of us. Job took a long time to reach it, and so do we. Many of us imagine that we have reached the end of self when we have given a nominal a.s.sent to the doctrine of human depravity, or judged some of those sprouts which have appeared above the surface of our practical life. But, alas! it is to be feared that very few of us indeed really know the full truth about ourselves. It is one thing to say, "_We_ are all vile," and quite another to feel, deep down in the heart, that "_I_ am vile."
This latter can only be known and habitually realized in the immediate presence of G.o.d. The two things must ever go together, "Mine eye seeth _Thee_," "Wherefore I abhor _myself_." It is as the light of what G.o.d is shines in upon what I am that I abhor myself. And then my self-abhorrence is a real thing. It is not in word, neither in tongue, but in deed and in truth. It will be seen in a life of self-abnegation, a humble spirit, a lowly mind, a gracious carriage in the midst of the scenes through which I am called to pa.s.s. It is of little use to profess very low thoughts of self while, at the same time, we are quick to resent any injury done to us,--any fancied insult, slight, or disparagement. The true secret of a broken and contrite heart is, to abide ever in the divine presence, and then we are able to carry ourselves right toward those with whom we have to do.
Thus we find that when Job got right as to G.o.d and himself, he soon got right as to his friends, for he learned to pray for them. Yes, he could pray for the "miserable comforters," the "physicians of no value," the very men with whom he had so long, so stoutly, and so vehemently contended! "And the Lord turned the captivity of Job when he prayed for his friends."
This is morally beautiful. It is perfect. It is the rare and exquisite fruit of divine workmanship. Nothing can be more touching than to see Job"s three friends exchanging their experience, their tradition, and their legality for the precious "burnt-offering;" and to see our dear patriarch exchanging his bitter invectives for the sweet prayer of charity. In short, it is a most soul-subduing scene altogether. The combatants are in the dust before G.o.d and in each other"s arms. The strife is ended; the war of words is closed; and instead thereof, we have the tears of repentance, the sweet odor of the burnt-offering, the embrace of love.
Happy scene! Precious fruit of divine ministry! What remains? What more is needed? What but that the hand of G.o.d should lay the top-stone on the beauteous structure? Nor is this lacking, for we read, "The Lord gave Job twice as much as he had before." But how? By what agency? Was it by his own independent industry and clever management?
No; all is changed. Job is on new moral ground. He has new thoughts of G.o.d, new thoughts of himself, new thoughts of his friends, new thoughts of his circ.u.mstances; all things are become new. "Then came there unto him all his brethren, and all his sisters, and all they that had been of his acquaintance before, and did eat bread with him in his house; and they bemoaned him, and comforted him over all the evil that the Lord had brought upon him; _every man also gave him a piece of money, and every one an earring of gold_. So the Lord blessed the latter end of Job more than his beginning.... After this lived Job a hundred and forty years, and saw his sons, and his sons" sons, even four generations. So Job died, being old and full of days."
What raised the wondrous thought?
Or who did it suggest?
"That we, the Church, to glory brought, Should WITH the Son be blest."
O G.o.d, the thought was Thine!