Job 32:8 But there is a spirit in man: and the inspiration of the Almighty gives them understanding. Man has not only received understanding from the inspiration of the Almighty, but he knows that it is so; and he is prompted by nature to lift up his thoughts to the contemplation of that great Being who conferred upon him so high a preeminence. This principle it is which distinguishes us from the lower animals, even more than our reason or our moral perceptions. He alone of all creatures thinks it not presumption to address himself to the unknown God. Wherever man exists, therefore, you will find religion. By collecting together all the follies of superstition, it has been attempted to show that the religion of man is rather a proof of the weakness than of the loftiness of his nature. It must be owned that the vices and follies of man have shown themselves as frequently in the midst of his religious sentiments as in any other part of his character. Yet the perversions of religion ought never to be treated in a light and careless strain; they are rather objects of pity. But even these superstitions prove that man is by nature a religious being. Man is a spirit, clouded and obscured, struggling with darkness, and fettered by sin, yet aiming at lofty things, and striving to regain some glimpses of the Divine form, which was accustomed to walk with man while yet in the garden of primeval innocence. 1. Let students pursue their inquiries with a becoming reverence for the nature to which they belong. 2. Value Christianity which has brought immortality to light. (J. Morehead, M. A.) Parallel Verses KJV: But there is a spirit in man: and the inspiration of the Almighty giveth them understanding.WEB: But there is a spirit in man, and the breath of the Almighty gives them understanding. |
    |