XXVIII. (1) SURELY THERE IS A VEIN FOR THE SILVER. — In this chapter Job draws out a magnificent contrast between human skill and ingenuity and Divine wisdom. The difficulty to the ordinary reader is in not perceiving that the person spoken of in Job 28:3 is _man,_ and not God. Man possesses and ex... [ Continue Reading ]
HE SETTETH AN END TO DARKNESS. — May be read thus, _Man setteth an end to darkness, and searcheth out to the furthest bound the stones of darkness and the shadow of death._... [ Continue Reading ]
_(_4_)_ THE FLOOD BREAKETH OUT... is very uncertain. We may render, _Man breaketh open a shaft where none sojourneth; they are forgotten where none passeth by: i.e.,_ the labourers in these deserted places, they hang afar from the haunts of men, they flit to and fro. Or it may be, _The flood breaket... [ Continue Reading ]
AS FOR THE EARTH... — While the ploughman and the reaper till and gather the fruits of the earth on its surface, the miner far below maintains perpetual fires, as also does the volcanic mountain, with its fields and vineyards luxuriant and fertile on its sides.... [ Continue Reading ]
THE STONES OF IT ARE THE PLACE OF SAPPHIRES. — So ingenious is man that he discovereth a place of which the stones are sapphires and the very dust gold, and a path that no bird of prey knoweth, and which the falcon’s eye hath not seen.... [ Continue Reading ]
HE PUTTETH FORTH HIS HAND UPON THE ROCK. — The process described is that of tunnelling and excavating, and that of making canals and lining them with stone; and in the course of such works many precious things would be discovered. The canals and cisterns were made so accurately that they retained th... [ Continue Reading ]
BUT WHERE SHALL WISDOM BE FOUND? — With magnificent effect comes in this question, after the gigantic achievements of man just recounted; notwithstanding his industry, science, and skill, he is altogether ignorant of true wisdom. Neither his knowledge nor his wealth can make him master of that; nor... [ Continue Reading ]
THE EXCHANGE OF it. — Or, according to some, _the attraction of it._ The remainder of this chapter calls for little remark: its unrivalled sublimity is patent, and comment is superfluous. There is a general resemblance between this chapter and Proverbs 8, and both seem to imply a knowledge of the Mo... [ Continue Reading ]
DESTRUCTION AND DEATH SAY. — That destruction and death should have heard the fame of wisdom is natural, as it consists in departing from the evil which leads to their abode.... [ Continue Reading ]
GOD UNDERSTANDETH THE WAY THEREOF. — God is the author of wisdom, and His fear is the beginning thereof; so with His infinite knowledge of the universe He cannot but be cognisant of the place and way thereof. It is to be observed that while the foundation of wisdom is said to be coeval with that of... [ Continue Reading ]
The terms employed with reference to the Lord’s knowledge of wisdom are remarkable. They are: (1) seeing, or intuition; (2) declaring or numbering, ratiocination; (3) preparing or establishing, determination; (4) searching out, or investigation. Each of these actions implies the operation of mind, a... [ Continue Reading ]
AND UNTO MAN HE SAID. — No one can for a moment suppose that this is an historical statement, or is to be treated as being one; but it is nevertheless profoundly and universally true. It is the wisdom of man as man to fear the Lord and to depart from evil; and this is God’s primary revelation to man... [ Continue Reading ]