He dwells on a cliff and lodges there; his stronghold is on a rocky crag. Sermons
I. NATURE'S INDEPENDENCE OF MAN. This is the leading lesson of the whole chapter, impressed upon us by means of a series of most graphic illustrations; and it reaches its climax at the concluding paragraph, in which the high-flying birds of prey, the hawk and the eagle, are described. These above all other creatures are independent of man. Denizens of the air, they soar far above his reach. No human hand could give that might of pinion, that keenness of vision, that rush of life, which we see in the two birds - the one the terror of all small creatures, the other the dangerous foe of the young of larger animals. But nature throughout is quite beyond the skill and power of man. By the intelligence God has given us we may employ many of the great natural forces, and subdue fierce and powerful animals. But this is a small thing compared with the thought that planned and the energy that wrought in the making of those creatures. Surpassing us in many enviable qualities, the kings of the wilderness teach us our littleness in the presence of the wonderful Creator. II. THE TRIUMPH OF MOVEMENT. Birds illustrate this most conspicuously. Cleaving the air with swift, strong strokes, rising and falling at will, floating like atmospheric fishes, darting hither and thither with the speed of an express train, birds are the very opposite of creatures that spend a merely vegetative existence. Their lively energy is seen in dazzling movements. Now, the movements of nature are typical of those that take place in spiritual regions. Stagnation is death. It is not enough to have been set right once for all. The bird will droop and fail if it is always moping on the perch. Souls must be in movement, seeking fresh enterprises, pressing on to new fields of service, or at least diligently pursuing the line of duty. Souls want wings. We can only live our fullest life when we rise. It is not easy to soar into the higher regions. The hawk mounts in a spiral. We cannot reach the altitude of spiritual experience at a bound; and we too may have to work our way up laboriously. But rise we must, if we would not fail in our Christian calling. III. THE VICTORY OF VISION. The eyes of the hawk and the eagle are proverbial for strength and keenness. These birds can see their prey from afar. They would perish if they were blind, nay, even if they became dim-sighted. Souls must have eyes, strung to gaze at the light, keen to detect what is valuable. We blunder through the world in spiritual blindness, seeing neither the glory of God nor the best blessings he has given us. With clipped wings and hooded eyes, how can we enter into the large heritage that God has provided for us? Our souls need a purging of their vision from the sin that blinds and maims. Then regenerated by the Spirit of God, they have before them a glory of sight and life that leave the struggling attempts of hawk and eagle far beneath. - W.F.A.
Doth the eagle mount up at thy command? Many years had a noble eagle been confined in such a manner that no one had seen it even attempt to raise a wing. It had been cherished and fed that it might be exhibited to visitors and friends. Perfectly subdued, unconscious now of its native power, it remained inactive, and apparently contented, oblivious of the heights it once could soar. But its owner was about to leave for a far country, never to return. He could not take the eagle with him. "I will do," said he, "one act of kindness before I go, which shall be remembered long after me." He unloosed the chain from the captive. His neighbours and children looked on with regret that they should see the eagle no more. A moment, and it would be gone forever! But no. The bird walked the usual round, which had been the length of his chain, looked tamely about, unconscious that he was free, and at length perched himself at his usual height. The gazers looked on in wonder and in pity. Brief, however, was their pity. The slow rustling of a wing was heard. It was projected from the body, then folded. Anon it moved again. At last, stretched to its full expansion, it quivered a moment in the air, then folded softly against its resting place. Now slowly and cautiously the eagle expanded the other, and stood at last upon his perch with both wings spread, looking earnestly in the blue sky above. One effort to mount, then another. The wings have found their lost skill and strength. Upward, slowly, still upward — higher and speedier he mounts his way. The eye follows him in vain. Lost to sight, far above tide mountain top he is bathing his cramped wings in misty clouds, and revels in his liberty. Hast thou, O child of God, been pinioned long to the cares and toils of earth, so that thy wings of faith and love have lost all power to rise? Long bound to earth, its hopes and visions, thou canst not shake thy wings at once. The heart tries to mount in prayer, but it tries in vain. Scenes of earth are floating still before the vision, and sounds of earth ring in the ears. But cease not thy efforts. Expand thy soul once more, if only for a little. Raise the wing of thought first — still more, raise it higher yet.(Preacher's Lantern.) (A. T. Pierson.). Moreover, the Lord answered Job, and said. Its language has reached, at times, the "high-water mark" of poetry and beauty. Nothing can exceed its dignity, its force, its majesty, the freshness and vigour of some of its pictures of nature and of life. But what shall we say next? It is no answer, we may say, to Job's agonised pleadings. It is no answer to the riddle and problem which the experience and history of human life suggests, even to ourselves. Quite true. There is no direct answer at all. Even those partial answers, partial yet instructive, which have been touched on from time to time by speaker after speaker, are not glanced at or included in these final words. It is as though the voice of God did not deign to repeat that He works "on the side of righteousness." He only hints at it. Job is not even told the purpose of the fiery trial through which he himself has passed, of those in other worlds than his own who have watched his pangs. No! God reveals to him His glory, makes him feel where he had, gone wrong, how presumptuous he had been. That is all. He does not say, "All this has been a trial of thy righteousness: thou hast been fighting a battle against Satan for Me, and hast received many sore wounds." Nothing is said of the truth, already mooted and enforced in this Book, that suffering does its perfect work when it purifies and elevates the human soul, and draws it nearer to the God who sends or permits the suffering. Nor is any light thrown on that faint and feeble glimmer of a hope not yet fully born into the world, of a life beyond the grave; of a life where there shall be no more sorrow or sighing, where Job and his lost sons and daughters shall be reunited. The thoughts that we should have looked for, perhaps longed for, are not here. Those who tell us that the one great lesson of the whole book is to hold up the patriarch Job as the pattern of mere submission, mere resignation — those who search in it for a full Thodice, a final vindication, that is, and explanation of God's mode of governing the world — those, lastly, who find ill it a revelation of the sure and certain hope of a blessed immortality, can scarcely have studied either Job's language or the chapters before us today. One thought, and one only, is brought into the foreground. The world is full of mysteries, strange, unapproachable mysteries, that you cannot read. Trust, trust in the power, and in the wisdom, and in the goodness of Him, the Almighty One, who rules it. "Turn from the insoluble problems of your own destiny," the voice says to Job, and says to us. "Good men have said their best, wise men have said their wisest. Man is still left to bear the discipline of some questions too hard for him to answer. We cannot solve them. We must rest, if we are to rest at all, in the belief that He whom we believe to be our Father in heaven, whom we believe to have been revealed in His Son, is good, and wise, and merciful; that one day, not here, the riddle will be solved; that behind the veil which you cannot pierce, lies the solution in the hand of God."(Dean Bradley.) Homilist. I. A DIVINE REPROOF THAT WAS EFFECTUAL.1. Observe the reproof. "Shall he that contendeth with the Almighty instruct Him?"(1) What is thy intellect to His? The glimmering of a glow worm to the brilliancy of a million suns.(2) What is thy sphere of observation to Mine? Thou art a mere speck in space. I have immensity under My eye.(3) What is thy experience to Mine? Thou art the mere creature of a day, observing and thinking for a few hours. I am from everlasting to everlasting. 2. Observe the effect. What was the effect of this appeal? Here it is. "Then Job answered the Lord, and said, Behold, I am vile; what shall I answer Thee?" etc.(1) A sense of moral unworthiness. "I am vile."(2) A resolution to retract. "I will proceed no further." He regrets the past, and resolves to improve in the future. This is what every sinner should do, what every sinner must do, in order to rise into purity, freedom, and blessedness. II. A DIVINE COMPARISON THAT WAS SILENCING. 1. It is a comparison between himself and the Great Creator. "Gird up thy loins now like a man: I will demand of thee, and declare thou unto Me." What is thy power to Mine? "Hast thou an arm like God?" What is thy voice to Mine? Canst thou speak in a voice of thunder? What is thy greatness to Mine? "Deck thyself with majesty," etc. What is thy wrath to Mine? "Cast abroad the rage of thy wrath." What art thou in My presence? The only effective way of hushing the murmurings of men in relation to the Divine procedure, is an impression of the infinite disparity between man and his Maker. 2. It is a comparison between himself and the brute creation. "Behold now behemoth." Study this huge creature, and thou wilt find in many respects thou art inferior to him. Therefore be humble, and cease to contend with Me. (Homilist.) People JobPlaces UzTopics Abideth, Cliff, Crag, Dwelleth, Dwelling, Dwells, Fastness, Fortress, Home, Inaccessible, Inhabit, Inhabiteth, Lodges, Lodgeth, Makes, Maketh, Mountain-top, Point, Rock, Rocky, Stays, Strong, Stronghold, Tooth, YeaOutline 1. Of the wild goats and hinds5. Of the wild donkey 9. The unicorn 13. The peacock, stork, and ostrich 19. The horse 26. The hawk 27. The eagle Dictionary of Bible Themes Job 39:1-30Library Whether Daring is a Sin?Objection 1: It seems that daring is not a sin. For it is written (Job 39:21) concerning the horse, by which according to Gregory (Moral. xxxi) the godly preacher is denoted, that "he goeth forth boldly to meet armed men [*Vulg.: 'he pranceth boldly, he goeth forth to meet armed men']." But no vice redounds to a man's praise. Therefore it is not a sin to be daring. Objection 2: Further, according to the Philosopher (Ethic. vi, 9), "one should take counsel in thought, and do quickly what has been … Saint Thomas Aquinas—Summa Theologica Whether the Religious Life of those who Live in Community is More Perfect than that of those who Lead a Solitary Life? Whether the Mode and Order of the Temptation were Becoming? Prov. 22:06 the Duties of Parents Whether Contention is a Mortal Sin? On the Animals Jesus' Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem. 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