If a man die, shall he live again? The true answer to this solemn question is the only sufficient response to the sad wail of the previous verses. "There is hope of a tree, if it be cut down, that it will sprout again,... but man dieth, and wasteth away." The answer cometh from afar. It is difficult to determine the measure of light that Job had on the question of the future life. Read in the light of our New Testament teaching, some of his phrases are full of hope; but we may have put the hope there. Generally it is the language of inquiry, and often of inquiry unsatisfied. Sometimes faith bursts through all doubt and gloom, and the confidence of a strong and assured hope takes the place of tremulous fear. Still the question rings in every breast; still the longing for a fuller life in which the ideals of the present may be reached prevails; still men go to the side of the dark river and look into the gloom, and hoping and half fearing ask, "If a man die, shall he live again?" The only satisfactory answer to this comes to us from the lips of the Redeemer, and that is wholly and entirely satisfactory. We mark -
I. THE EAGER, UNSATISFIED CRY OF MEN APART FROM DIVINE REVELATION.
II. THE PARTIAL UNFOLDING OF THE TRUTH IN THE EARLIER REVELATIONS.
III. THE PERFECT AND UNEQUIVOCAL REVELATION MADE BY JESUS CHRIST Of this last we may notice.
1. Christ's teachings all proceed on the assumption that there is a future life.
2. His teachings are constantly supported by an appeal to the future conditions of reward and punishment.
3. Very much of his teaching would be unmeaning and inexplicable in the absence of such future.
4. But he crowns all his teaching by himself becoming the Disputant, and affirming and demonstrating the future life. "But that the dead are raised, even Moses showed in the place concerning the bush, when he calleth the Lord the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, anti the God of Jacob. Now he is not the God of the dead, but of the living; for all live to him."
5. He crowns all by the raising of the dead to life, and by the example of his own triumph over death. But Job had not this consolation, and he still abides in gloom, as must all who have not the perfect revelation of God. - R.G.
For Thou numberest my steps.
Some people think this idea is oppressive. They shrink from it. It contracts their being, and depresses their energy. You have seen a ripe apple that has been kept in the storeroom all the winter until all its juices have evaporated, and its skin becomes dry and wrinkled, and it has shrunk in size to a fourth of what it was. Take that withered, wizened apple, and place it under the bell glass of an air pump, and as you withdraw the air that presses on it from the outside, the air within itself causes it to expand, smooths out its wrinkles, and makes it once more the plump, fresh apple it was when newly plucked. A similar effect, they suppose, would be produced upon their being were the oppressive compassing by God removed. They would move more easily under their own indulgent eye than they could under the strict eye of God's righteousness. But this is a vain expectation. A heavier burden would press upon them than the compassing of their path by God. The apple swells mechanically only with its own internal gas, and not with the fresh juices of life. It is empty and without substance. And so is the life from which the conscious pressure of God upon it is removed. To be without God in the world is to be without hope. There may be the appearance of living, but the soul is dead.
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People
JobPlaces
UzTopics
Count, Numbered, Numberest, Observe, Overlooked, Sin, Steps, Track, Wait, Watch, WouldestOutline
1. Job entreats God for favor, by the shortness of life, and certainty of death7. He waits for his change16. By sin the creature is subject to corruptionDictionary of Bible Themes
Job 14:1-22 8615 prayer, doubts
Job 14:16-17
6206 offence
Library
February 18 Evening
Adam . . . begat a son in his own likeness.--GEN. 5:3. Who can bring a clean thing out of an unclean?--Behold, I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me. Dead in trespasses and sins; . . . by nature the children of wrath, even as others.--I am carnal, sold under sin. That which I do I allow not; for what I would, that do I not; but what I hate, that do I. I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing. By one man sin entered into the world, . . . by one man's …
Anonymous—Daily Light on the Daily PathNovember 22 Evening
There is a hope of a tree, if it be cut down, that it will sprout again, and that the tender branch thereof will not cease.--JOB 14:7. A bruised reed shall he not break.--He restoreth my soul. Godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation not to be repented of: but the sorrow of the world worketh death.--No chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless, afterward it yieldeth the peaceful fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby. Before I was afflicted …
Anonymous—Daily Light on the Daily Path
October 19 Evening
Consolation in Christ, . . . comfort of love, . . . fellowship of the Spirit.--PHI. 2:1. Man that is born of a woman is of few days, and full of trouble. He cometh forth like a flower, and is cut down; he fleeth also as a shadow, and continueth not.--My flesh and my heart faileth: but God is the strength of my heart, and my portion for ever. The Father . . . shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever: the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name.--Blessed be God, …
Anonymous—Daily Light on the Daily Path
Job's Question, Jesus' Answer
'If a man die, shall he live again?'--JOB xiv. 14. '... I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in Me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: 26. And whosoever liveth and believeth in Me shall never die.'--JOHN xi. 25, 26. Job's question waited long for an answer. Weary centuries rolled away; but at last the doubting, almost despairing, cry put into the mouth of the man of sorrows of the Old Testament is answered by the Man of Sorrows of the New. The answer in words is this second …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture
An Unanswerable Question.
"Who can bring a clean thing out of an unclean? Not one."--JOB xiv. 4. This is one of those simple questions which, by their very simplicity and directness, set us thinking about the importance of our personal life. "Who can bring a clean thing out of an unclean?" But all our common life is somehow the outcome of our separate individual lives--of your life and mine. Therefore how important it is in the common interest that each of us should look above all things to his own life and its character, …
John Percival—Sermons at Rugby
A Voice from the Hartley Colliery
This text is appropriate to the occasion, but God alone knoweth how applicable the discourse may be to some here present; yes, to young hearts little dreaming that there is but a step between them and death; to aged persons, who as yet have not set their house in order, but who must do it, for they shall die and not live. We will take the question of the text, and answer it upon Scriptural grounds. "If a man die, shall he live again?" NO!--YES! I. We answer the question first with a "No." He shall …
Charles Haddon Spurgeon—Spurgeon's Sermons Volume 8: 1863
The Voice of Job.
O that thou wouldest hide me in the grave, that thou wouldest keep me secret, until thy wrath be past, that thou wouldest appoint me a set time, and remember me! If a man die, shall he live again? all the days of my appointed time will I wait, till my change come. Thou shalt call, and I will answer thee: thou wilt have a desire to the work of thine hands.'--Job xiv. 13-15. The book of Job seems to me the most daring of poems: from a position of the most vantageless realism, it assaults the very …
George MacDonald—Unspoken Sermons
Meditations for the Evening.
At evening, when thou preparest thyself to take thy rest, meditate on these few points:-- 1. That seeing thy days are numbered (Psal. xc.; Job xiv. 5), there is one more of thy number spent, and thou art now the nearer to thy end by a day. 2. Sit down a while before thou goest to bed, and consider with thyself what memorable thing thou hast seen, heard, or read that day, more than thou sawest, heardst, or knewest before, and make the best use of them; but especially call to mind what sin thou hast …
Lewis Bayly—The Practice of Piety
My God! I Know that I must Die.
"Mein Gott! ich weiss wohl dass lch sterbe." Job 14:11,12. [13]B. Schmolk. transl., Sarah Findlater, 1854 My God! I know that I must die-- My mortal life is passing hence On earth I neither hope nor try To find a lasting residence. Then teach me by Thy heavenly grace, With joy and peace my death to face. My God! I know not when I die, What is the moment or the hour-- How soon the clay may broken lie, How quickly pass away the flower; Then may Thy child prepared be Through time to meet Eternity. …
Jane Borthwick—Hymns from the Land of Luther
Life, Death, and Judgment. --Job xiv. 1-3. 11-13.
Life, Death, and Judgment.--Job xiv. 1-3. 11-13. Few, few and evil are thy days, Man, of a woman born; Peril and trouble haunt thy ways; Forth, like a flower at morn, The tender infant springs to light, Youth blossoms to the breeze, Age, withering age, is cropt ere night; Man like a shadow flees. And dost thou look on such an one? Will God to judgment call A worm, for what a worm hath done Against the Lord of all? As fail the waters from the deep, As summer-brooks run dry, Man lieth down in dreamless …
James Montgomery—Sacred Poems and Hymns
Whether one Can be Happy in this Life?
Objection 1: It would seem that Happiness can be had in this life. For it is written (Ps. 118:1): "Blessed are the undefiled in the way, who walk in the law of the Lord." But this happens in this life. Therefore one can be happy in this life. Objection 2: Further, imperfect participation in the Sovereign Good does not destroy the nature of Happiness, otherwise one would not be happier than another. But men can participate in the Sovereign Good in this life, by knowing and loving God, albeit imperfectly. …
Saint Thomas Aquinas—Summa Theologica
Whether There is to be a Resurrection of the Body?
Objection 1: It would seem that there is not to be a resurrection of the body: for it is written (Job 14:12): "Man, when he is fallen asleep, shall not rise again till the heavens be broken." But the heavens shall never be broken, since the earth, to which seemingly this is still less applicable, "standeth for ever" (Eccles. 1:4). Therefore the man that is dead shall never rise again. Objection 2: Further, Our Lord proves the resurrection by quoting the words: "I am the God of Abraham, and the God …
Saint Thomas Aquinas—Summa Theologica
Whether the Time of Our Resurrection Should be Delayed Till the End of the World?
Objection 1: It would seem that the time of the resurrection ought not to be delayed till the end of the world, so that all may rise together. For there is more conformity between head and members than between one member and another, as there is more between cause and effect than between one effect and another. Now Christ, Who is our Head, did not delay His resurrection until the end of the world, so as to rise again together with all men. Therefore there is no need for the resurrection of the early …
Saint Thomas Aquinas—Summa Theologica
Whether the Resurrection Will Take Place at Night-Time?
Objection 1: It would seem that the resurrection will not be at night-time. For the resurrection will not be "till the heavens be broken" (Job 14:12). Now when the heavenly movement ceases, which is signified by its breaking, there will be no time, neither night nor day. Therefore the resurrection will not be at night-time. Objection 2: Further, the end of a thing ought to be most perfect. Now the end of time will be then: wherefore it is said (Apoc. 10:6) that "time shall be no longer." Therefore …
Saint Thomas Aquinas—Summa Theologica
Whether Separated Souls Know that Takes Place on Earth?
Objection 1: It would seem that separated souls know what takes place on earth; for otherwise they would have no care for it, as they have, according to what Dives said (Lk. 16:27,28), "I have five brethren . . . he may testify unto them, lest they also come into the place of torments." Therefore separated souls know what passes on earth. Objection 2: Further, the dead often appear to the living, asleep or awake, and tell them of what takes place there; as Samuel appeared to Saul (1 Kings 28:11). …
Saint Thomas Aquinas—Summa Theologica
Whether a Man May Merit for Himself the First Grace?
Objection 1: It would seem that a man may merit for himself the first grace, because, as Augustine says (Ep. clxxxvi), "faith merits justification." Now a man is justified by the first grace. Therefore a man may merit the first grace. Objection 2: Further, God gives grace only to the worthy. Now, no one is said to be worthy of some good, unless he has merited it condignly. Therefore we may merit the first grace condignly. Objection 3: Further, with men we may merit a gift already received. Thus if …
Saint Thomas Aquinas—Summa Theologica
Whether Christ's Body Rose Again Entire?
Objection 1: It would seem that Christ's body did not rise entire. For flesh and blood belong to the integrity of the body: whereas Christ seems not to have had both, for it is written (1 Cor. 15:50): "Flesh and blood can not possess the kingdom of God." But Christ rose in the glory of the kingdom of God. Therefore it seems that He did not have flesh and blood. Objection 2: Further, blood is one of the four humors. Consequently, if Christ had blood, with equal reason He also had the other humors, …
Saint Thomas Aquinas—Summa Theologica
Whether the Saints have Knowledge of Our Prayers?
Objection 1: It would seem that the saints have no knowledge of our prayers. For a gloss on Is. 62:16, "Thou art our father and Abraham hath not known us, and Israel hath been ignorant of us," says that "the dead saints know not what the living, even their own children, are doing." This is taken from Augustine (De Cura pro Mort. xiii), where he quotes the aforesaid authority, and the following are his words: "If such great men as the patriarchs knew not what was happening to the people begotten of …
Saint Thomas Aquinas—Summa Theologica
Whether the Damned See the Glory of the Blessed?
Objection 1: It would seem that the damned do not see the glory of the blessed. For they are more distant from the glory of the blessed than from the happenings of this world. But they do not see what happens in regard to us: hence Gregory commenting on Job 14:21, "Whether his children come to honor," etc. says (Moral. xii): "Even as those who still live know not in what place are the souls of the dead; so the dead who have lived in the body know not the things which regard the life of those who …
Saint Thomas Aquinas—Summa Theologica
Moral Depravity.
VIII. Let us consider the proper method of accounting for the universal and total moral depravity of the unregenerate moral agents of our race. In the discussion of this subject, I will-- 1. Endeavor to show how it is not to be accounted for. In examining this part of the subject, it is necessary to have distinctly in view that which constitutes moral depravity. All the error that has existed upon this subject, has been founded in false assumptions in regard to the nature or essence of moral depravity. …
Charles Grandison Finney—Systematic Theology
Through the Fall and Revolt of Adam, the Whole Human Race Made Accursed and Degenerate. Of Original Sin.
1. The knowledge of ourselves most necessary. To use it properly we must be divested of pride, and clothed with true humility, which will dispose us to consider our fall, and embrace the mercy of God in Christ. 2. Though there is plausibility in the sentiment which stimulates us to self-admiration, the only sound sentiment is that which inclines us to true humbleness of mind. Pretexts for pride. The miserable vanity of sinful man. 3. Different views taken by carnal wisdom and by conscience, which …
John Calvin—The Institutes of the Christian Religion
Original Sin. Rom. 5:12, Etc. ; Psa. 51:5; Job 14:04
Original sin. Rom. 5:12, etc.; Psa. 51:5; Job 14:4. Backward with humble shame we look On our original; How is our nature dashed and broke In our first father's fall! To all that's good averse and blind, But prone to all that's ill What dreadful darkness veils our mind! How obstinate our will! [Conceived in sin, O wretched state! Before we draw our breath The first young pulse begins to beat Iniquity and death. How strong in our degen'rate blood The old corruption reigns, And, mingling with the …
Isaac Watts—The Psalms and Hymns of Isaac Watts
One Thing is Needful;
or, SERIOUS MEDITATIONS UPON THE FOUR LAST THINGS: DEATH, JUDGMENT, HEAVEN, AND HELL UNTO WHICH IS ADDED EBAL AND GERIZZIM, OR THE BLESSING AND THE CURSE, by John Bunyan. London: Printed for Nath. Ponder, at the Peacock in the Poultry, 1688.[1] ADVERTISEMENT BY THE EDITOR. According to Charles Doe, in that curious sheet called The Struggler for the Preservation of Mr. John Bunyan's Labours, these poems were published about the year 1664, while the author was suffering imprisonment for conscience …
John Bunyan—The Works of John Bunyan Volumes 1-3
A Wise Desire
I remember once going to a chapel where this happened to be the text, and the good man who occupied the pulpit was more than a little of an Arminian. Therefore, when he commenced, he said, "This passage refers entirely to our temporal inheritance. It has nothing whatever to do with our everlasting destiny: for," said he, "We do not want Christ to choose for us in the matter of heaven or hell. It is so plain and easy that every man who has a grain of common sense will choose heaven; and any person …
Charles Haddon Spurgeon—Spurgeon's Sermons Volume 1: 1855
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