Behold, God is great, and we know him not,

Neither can the number of his years be searched out.] For he draweth up the drops of water:

They distil the rain of his vapour;

Which the clouds pour down,

And drop upon man abundantly.

Who can understand the spreadings of the clouds,
Or the crashings of his covert?

Behold, he spreadeth his light around him,

And covereth the tops of the mountains. (?)

He veileth his hands with his light;

And sendeth it forth against its mark. (?)

His roaring telleth tidings of him;

He maketh his anger to glow against iniquity. (?)

Yea, at this my heart trembleth,

And leapeth up out of its place.

Hear, oh hear, the noise of his voice,

And the muttering that goeth out of his mouth.
He sendeth it forth through the whole heaven,
And his lightnings unto the ends of the earth.
God thundereth marvellously with his voice;
Great things doeth he, which we cannot comprehend.
For he sayeth to the snow, 'Moisten the earth';
And he causeth the rain to fall.

He sealeth up the hand of every man;
That all men may know his work. (?)
Then the beasts go into dens,

And remain in their lairs.

Out of his chamber cometh the whirlwind:
And cold out of his garners.

By the breath of God ice is given :

And the breath of the waters is straitened.

He ladeth the thick cloud with moisture,
The clouds scatter his lightning;

It moveth round about,

And turneth around by his guidance;

That they may accomplish whatsoever he commandeth them, Upon the face of his earth. (?)

Hearken unto this, O Job:

Stand still, and consider the wondrous works of God.

[Dost thou know how God layeth his command upon them, And causeth the light of his cloud to shine? (?) Dost thou know the spreadings of the clouds,

The wondrous works of him who is perfect in knowledge?] Thou whose garments are warm,

When the earth is still because of the south wind, (?) Canst thou with him spread out the skies,

Firm as a molten mirror?

Teach us what we shall say unto him;

For we cannot order our speech by reason of darkness. Shall it be told him that I would speak?

Or shall a man say that he would be swallowed up? (?) And now we see not the light, because it is hidden in the clouds,

But a wind hath passed over and cleared them. (?)

Golden brightness cometh out of the north:

With God is terrible majesty.

The Almighty! we cannot find him out: great is he in power, And abundant in judgement and justice. (?)

Men must therefore fear him:

He respecteth not any that deem themselves wise of heart.

$34. The Theophany: God's speech.-We now come to the speech of the Almighty, the last act of the drama. I have already indicated the tenor and purpose of the divine speech, how it gives no definite solution of the problem, but only suggests that as God is the wise ruler of nature, so is he also the wise ruler of man. As his spirit is immanent in nature, so is it also immanent in man and human society. As he is concerned with and interested in nature, so is he also interested in and concerned with man. Yet even as his rule in nature is full of mystery, so is his rule of man. But even as we believe in his wisdom as the Lord of nature, so may we believe in it as the Lord of man. And if he be wise' in rule, then is he also good. To the Hebrew, as to the Greek, true wisdom implied goodness. A full understanding is possible for us neither in the one sphere nor in the other.

In the survey of creation's marvels, earth and sea and sky come first, then, in no very connected or clearly observed order, light and darkness, snow and hail, rain and lightning, frost and ice, clouds and stars. Then, as Professor Davidson puts it, 'the manifoldness of the divine mind' is set forth 'as displayed in the world of animal life.'

GOD INTERROGATES JOB

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The last paragraph of God's speech is obscure. If Job is more righteous than God, he must be more competent to govern the world. Let Job, then, exercise God's ruling functions by humiliating the wicked. Does this ironical invitation merely mean : God's wise omnipotence in his rule of man can be as little questioned or understood as his wise omnipotence in his rule of nature? But why is special mention made of the punishment of the wicked? Does this conceivably imply: Were you omnipotent, you would presumably show your justice by the immediate annihilation of the wicked. But not on such crude principles do I, God, rule the world.' (So Duhm). In his brief reply Job admits that in his cavillings and criticisms he had entered on a subject beyond the limits of human understanding. He retracts his daring complaints and submits in chastened resignation to the will of God. Note that God has held out no hope to him of recovery or restoration even if he does submit. It will be also observed that God does not for a moment hint that Job's sufferings were 'deserved,' nor does Job pass beyond the attitude of resignation. We end, as we began, with a problem, each aspect of which is equally important and equally true. Job's sufferings were undeserved: God is always just.

Then the Lord answered Job out of the tempest, and said, Who is this that darkeneth purpose

By words without knowledge?

Gird up now thy loins like a man;

I will demand of thee, answer thou me.

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

Who hath fixed the measures thereof, that thou shouldest know?

Or who hath stretched the line upon it? Whereupon were the foundations thereof sunk ;

Or who laid its corner stone;

When the morning stars sang together,

And the sons of God shouted for joy?

Who shut up the sea with doors,

When it broke forth, and issued out of the depths? When I made the cloud the garment thereof,

And thick darkness its swaddling-band,

And appointed for it a limit,

And set unto it bars and doors,

And said, 'Hitherto shalt thou come, but no further :
And here shall thy proud waves be stayed'?

Hast thou commanded the morning since thy days;
And caused the dayspring to know its place,
That it might take hold of the end of the earth,
And change it as clay for the seal?

Didst thou enter into the springs of the sea,

Or walk upon the bottom of the depth?
Have the gates of death been revealed unto thee,
Or hast thou seen the doors of darkness?
Hast thou looked over the breadth of the earth?
Declare if thou knowest it all.

What is the way to the abode of light?
And where is the place of darkness,
That thou canst take it to its territory,

And canst bring it on the path to its house?
Thou knowest it, for thou wast then born,
And the number of thy days is great!

Hast thou entered into the treasuries of the snow?
Or hast thou seen the treasuries of the hail,
Which I have reserved against the time of trouble,
Against the day of battle and war?

By what way is the wind parted,

And the east wind spread over the earth? Who hath cleft a channel for the rainstorm,

Or a way for the lightning of thunder;

To cause it to rain on the earth, where no man is,

On the wilderness, wherein there is no man;

To satisfy the desolate and waste ground,

And from the parched land to cause the tender herb to sprout?

Hath the rain a father,

Or who hath begotten the drops of dew?

Out of whose lap came the ice,

And the hoar frost of heaven, who hath gendered it?

The waters close together like a stone,

And the face of the deep hideth itself.

Dost thou bind the fetters of the Pleiades,
Or loose the bands of Orion?

THE LORD OF NATURE

Dost thou bring forth Mazzaroth in their season?
Or dost thou guide the Bear with his sons?
Knowest thou the ordinances of heaven?

Dost thou determine the rule thereof upon the earth?
Dost thou lift up thy voice to the clouds,

That abundance of waters may cover thee?
Dost thou send forth lightnings, that they go,
And say unto thee, Here we are’?
Who counteth the clouds in wisdom,

Or who emptieth the bottles of heaven, When the dust runneth into a molten mass, And the clods cleave fast together?

Dost thou hunt the booty for the lion,
Or fill 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 prey,
When his young ones cry unto God,
And he wandereth about for lack of food?

Who hath given to the wild ass his freedom,
Or who hath loosed his bands?

Whose house I have made the wilderness,
And the barren land his dwelling.

He scorneth the tumult of the city,

Neither hearkeneth he to the crying of the driver.

He spieth out the mountains as his pasture,

And he searcheth after every green thing.

Will the wild ox be willing to serve thee,

Or to sleep by thy crib?

Wilt thou bind him with harness ropes to the furrow,
Or will he harrow the valleys after thee?

Wilt thou trust him, because his strength is great,

Or wilt thou leave thy labour to him?

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Wilt thou have faith in him, that he will bring home thy seed,

And gather thy grain into the barn?

[The wing of the ostrich beateth joyously, Is it a kindly pinion and feather?