28. I sinned and perverted what is right, "But He hath not requitedit' to me:

"He hath redeemed my soul from going to the pit, "And my life hath seen the light ".'

A plain acknowledgment of sin; and that all the deliverance the sick man had experienced was of mercy and grace, through the redemption that God had appointed in the blood of the antitype of the victim slain. Therefore had he been saved from destruction, and again beheld the light-the light of that better life, but not for his own righteousness, or for the cleanness of his hands in the sight of God.

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29. Lo, all these things performeth El, Time after time with man ;

30. To bring back his soul from the pit,

To enlighten him with the light of the living.

All these things, the extraordinary dream and impression that visibly save men from impending harm-these extraordinary recoveries from deadly disease, by prayer and sacrifice; or rather the sending of such a disease, to bring a man to the acknowledgment of his sinfulness; and then to cause him 'to hear words whereby he may live,' and may have faith to partake of holy mysteries, by virtue of which he is not only recovered from his sickness, but receives the salvation of his soul in the rcmission of his sins, and is enlightened with the light of

"And there was no equivalent with me,

"I had nothing whereby I could satisfy the demand of justice." "And my life has appeared in light."

everlasting life, the light of life which they possess who are quickened in their 'living Redeemer.'

Elihu insists that all this was known as matter of fact: every now and then such things were being brought to pass among men.-"Time after time,” as the expression in the original is; "three times” -"three times over." A phrase that denotes, though not the perpetual occurrence of a thing, yet that it happens in our view not unfrequently, not once or twice, but oftener: with such frequency, at least, as ought to engage the attention of mankind, and convince them of a special distinguishing Providence; and that God, though he does not always show himself, is ever directing the affairs and concerns of men in this present life, with a special view to the good of his people, and manifestation of his own glory. And however the state of the church of God upon earth may, in some respects, be altered in these latter ages, and notwithstanding that caution of the prophetic scriptures, that particularly warns us of the power of Satan,' and of his lying wonders,' that are abroad in these latter days, capable of deceiving, if it were possible, the very elect;'-so that should a prophet or dreamer of dreams arise, and show a sign, and the sign come to pass, those who know the truth would not, and, for the love of it, could not, give it up; yet still, notwithstanding, the enlightened Christian will sometimes have occasion, in the course of his life, to observe the hand of God visibly put forth, so that men, if they were not hardened

in unbelief, could not but see it,-put forth in these very two things-in extraordinary warnings and impressions, that have been known to save men from temporal destruction;-and in some remarkable, well-authenticated conversions of sinners, which-beyond the ordinary operations of divine grace, where the revelation is to faith, without a sign to them that are without-have discovered the immediate hand of God, in a manner, too, that has not failed, for a time, to strike the most thoughtless and worldly-minded who were privy to the case. Nay, some may have to record, from their own knowledge, or from certain information, cases, in all their parts very similar to the sick penitent noted by Elihu. A sudden and extraordinary illness has brought to the door of death; the truths of religion have been brought, on that occasion, with an astonishing power to the soul: then, the visitation, as though it had accomplished its destined end, has been, in a very extraordinary manner, removed, and the restored convert has sung his song of everlasting joy in the house of the Lord all the days of his life. Some, from what they have seen and heard, will still say with Elihu-" All these things worketh God, time after time, towards man." But though the hand of the Lord is stretched out, the wicked will not see; and it may be, that the Spirit of God, by these very things, is "convincing the world of sin, because they believe not."

31. Attend then, Job, hearken unto me, Be silent, and I will speak:

32. If there is a reply, answer me,

Speak, I desire thy vindication:

33. If not; hearken thou unto me,

Be silent, that I may teach thee wisdom.

Elihu speaks in the confidence of his inspiration. Job has no reply. He is, perhaps, sensible that Elihu is sent to perform towards him the office of that 'messenger-interpreter,' which he had described -'to show unto him his right course.'

SECTION II.

Elihu's Second Address.

Chap. xxxiv. Ver. 1. So Elihu continued and said:

2. Hear, ye wise men, my words,

And listen, ye men of discernment, to me:

3. For, "the ear proveth words,

As the palate tasteth food."

These are Job's own words in his reply to Zophar. The powers of the human intellect are not superseded in receiving the instructions of revelation; but rectified and employed. "I speak," says St. Paul," as unto wise men, judge ye what I

4. Let us choose out for ourselves the right,

Let us approve between us what is good:

5. For Job has said, "I am righteous;"

And, "El has turned aside my right:

6. "In respect of right, I am dealt falsely with"; Severe is my wound without a transgression.'

a Mr. Good.

Chap. xii. 11.

say."

• Or, let us know,' decide,' or ' determine' among us.

d Mr. Good, from the Arabic, "he has reversed my lot, with

Job, in several passages, had boldly asserted this. He had maintained, indeed, in the first place, that adversity and prosperity, under the present dispensation of Providence, did not manifest the just judgment of God; and he had ventured to assert that his own case was a proof of it. He was suffering the punishment of an offender, but he was righteous. If God, therefore, was dealing with him. by the rule of equity,-which he insisted he was not, -his rightful portion had been prosperity, which had been taken from him. In regard of equity, his present state was the reverse of what it ought to have been. He had not, by any sins that he had committed, deserved the sad reverse which had happened to him. Job's conceit of his own righteousness had led him into his error. In order to maintain his righteousness, he had denied a righteous judgment of God over the concerns of men in this present life. But, according to the inspired Elihu, such a righteous judgment being unquestionable, what becomes of Job's presumptuous vindication of himself before God? He had, indeed, committed himself against the righteous Judge, and had condemned HIM, that he might justify himself: because, in reality, God was dealing with him in righteous judgment, or in the way of fatherly correction; yet how had Job multiplied words' to maintain his point! How boldly had he asserted,

out a trespass.", literally, my arrow:' I am struck with a weapon that has inflicted a grievous wound, and that without my having committed any fault.