For we desire not the knowledge of Thy ways.-
How then comfort ye me with vanity

Seeing in your answers there remaineth only falsehood?"

The friends have nothing further to offer. They seem to lose confidence in their own doctrine; though they do not confess it. They are much less confident in their assertions. Job is settled in his refusal of their theory of Providence, but has none of his own to offer. The more he reflects on the facts the more he is perplexed. He never doubts that God is the Supreme Ruler, holy and just and kind, but he cannot understand why he permits such anomalies in his government of the world.

He turns from the discussion of the problem, and reflects on the practical aspects of the case. In the chapters XXVI-XXVIII, we have the finest meditation on the ways of God that has ever been put in words. He contemplates his marvelous works of creation and providence.

"He stretched out the north over empty space,

And hangeth the earth upon nothing

He bindeth up the waters in his thick cloud;

And the cloud is not rent under them.—
The pillars of heaven tremble

And are astonished at his rebuke.

By his Spirit the heavens are garnished,
And He hath pierced the fleeing serpent.
Lo, these are but the outskirts of his ways,
And we hear but a small whisper of Him!

The thunder of His power who can understand?"

In the midst of this great universe how is man to find his way?

"Where shall wisdom be found?

And where is the place of understanding?

God only understandeth the way thereof,
And He knoweth the place thereof.-
And unto man he said,

Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom

And to depart from evil is understanding."

Such is the culmination of his thought. The only practical conclusion that can be drawn from reflection on the facts of life is this, God is sovereign, absolute, infinite and unsearchable. Man's only wisdom is submission and obedience. He must accept things as they are, he can neither judge nor alter them. And Job comforts himself in the assurance that his own conscience does not condemn him and therefore somehow, sometime, God will make all right.

At this point a new thought is introduced. It is put in the mouth of Elihu, who is represented as a young man, a mere bystander, not a party of either part, but one who has heard all that Job and his friends have said, and finds both these positions utterly unsatisfactory. He reviews the case, and makes the excellent observation that affliction may not be for punishment, but for education, for the devolpment and restraint of a man.

"For God speaketh once,

Yea twice, yet man regardeth it not,
In a dream, in a vision of the night,
When deep sleep falleth upon men,
In slumberings upon the bed;
Then He openeth the ears of men,
And sealeth their instruction,

That he may withdraw man from his purpose,

And hide pride from man."

Not only by such revelations does God reveal wisdom to men and strive to turn him to higher things, but by pain and affliction he accomplishes his discipline and education in virtue.

"He is chastened also with pain upon his bed,

And the multitude of his bones with strong pain;-
Lo, all these things worketh God

Often times with man

To bring back his soul from the pit,

To be enlightened with the light of the living."

This view is put forward by the author of the book, appar ently, to indicate its value and appropriateness; but it is then passed by without further discussion; thus indicating that, though it is a true and important doctrine, it does not solve the problem, or explain the mystery of providence. The question still remains why are the righteous afflicted and the wicked granted prosperity? No answer has been given that seems adequate or satisfactory.

Job has cried to God with an earnest and pitiful cry. He had called on Him to speak in his behalf, to vindicate him from the wicked accusations of his friends, or else himself accuse him, that he might know his fault. It was a cry from the depths. The cry of one ready to perish; sometimes it seems to overstep the bounds of reverence and become a demand. He almost claims it as his right that God should explain his treatment of him, or at the very least give him a hearing and let him plead his cause before him.

"Behold now, I have ordered my cause;

I know that I am righteous;

Then call thou and I will answer;

Or let me speak, and answer thou me."

But there is no response to this appeal, and the resources of reflection and speculation are exhausted, leaving all in darkness. Philosophy has failed to answer.

The next act in the drama is the climax of it all. It opens

with the dramatic announcement, "Then the Lord answered Job out of the whirlwind," and we exclaim, Ah, now we will have the whole mystery revealed, the problem solved, and our questionings answered.

But, to our surprise, we find nothing of the kind. Not a word of explanation, not a hint as to the reasons why Job suffered. The subject of the discourse put in the mouth of Jehovah is the power and wisdom and goodness of God, as shown in his works of creation and providence. He answered "out of the whirlwind"-out of the forces and operations of nature. These speak with a thousand tongues and tell of his wisdom and might.

"In reason's ear they all rejoice,
And utter forth a glorious voice;
Forever singing as they shine,

The hand that made us is divine."

The answer to Job's cry is simply an appeal to facts,-things done and being done throughout the boundless realms of this great world; facts open and patent to all observers.

These facts are brought forward with wonderful poetic beauty. From a purely literary point of view, there is no grander poetry in human language than the chapters which celebrate the glories of the cosmic universe. For example, take this creation hymn:

"Where wast thou when I laid the foundations of the earth? Declare, if thou hast understanding.

Who determined the measures thereof, if thou knoweth,
Or who stretched the line upon it?

Whereupon are the foundations thereof fastened?

Or who laid the corner stone thereof;

When the morning stars sang together,

And all the sons of God shouted for joy?

Or who shut up the sea with doors,

When it brake forth, as if it issued out of the womb; When I made the cloud the garment thereof,

And thick darkness a swaddling band for it,

And prescribed for it my decree,

And set bars and doors,

And said, hitherto shalt thou come but no further; And here shall thy proud waves be stayed."

Or the hymn of nature:

"Where is the way to the dwelling of light?
And as for darkness, where is the place thereof?-
By what way is the light parted,

Or the east wind scattered upon the earth?
Who hath cleft a channel for the water flood,
Or a way for the lightning of the thunder,

To cause it to rain upon a land where no man is;
On the wilderness, wherein there is no man;
To satisfy the waste and desolate ground;

And to cause the tender grass to spring forth?—
Canst thou bind the cluster of the Pleiades,

Or loose the bands of Orion?

Canst thou lead forth the Mazzaroth in their season?
Or canst thou guide the Bear with her train?—
Who hath put wisdom in the dark clouds?
Or who hath given understanding to the meteor?-
Wilt thou hunt the prey for the lioness?
Or satisfy the appetite of the young lions,
When they couch in their dens,

And abide in the covert to lie in wait?
Who provideth for the raven his food,
When his young ones cry up unto God,
And wander for lack of meat?"