Job 30:23

“I know that you will bring me down to death, and to the house appointed for all living!”

We cannot certainly know the ultimate intentions of Providence from anything we either see or feel. A man to whom God has given a robust constitution, cannot therefore be sure that he shall attain to old age; nor can a man that is bowed down with complicated diseases, be certain that his health shall not be restored. Presumption too often attends to the former state, and despair attends to the latter; as appears in the instance of Job.

In his prosperity he said, “I shall die in my nest!” without living to experience any material trials; and in his adversity he felt confident that God, whom now he thought was his enemy, was bringing him down to the grave; and that his present troubles would terminate in death.

In both of these opinions he was mistaken; he did experience very heavy afflictions; and those were followed by brighter days of happiness than ever he had before known. But though he erred as to the expectations he had formed respecting the time and manner of his death, his general assertion was founded in truth, and conveys to us a most instructive lesson. Let us consider,

I. The truth affirmed.

Nothing can be more certain than that we shall all die.

The grave is “the house appointed for all living.” Adam was doomed to it for his transgression, Genesis 2:17; Genesis 3:19, and all his posterity have been involved in his sentence, Romans 5:12. It is not in the power of wisdom, or strength, or riches, to avert the stroke of death, Psalm 49:10, 11. All, whatever be their rank or condition, must pay the debt of nature, Ecclesiastes 8:8. Whether we have lived in a palace or a cottage, the grave is the house in which we must all abide at last. The righteous are, in this respect, on a par with the wicked, Romans 8:10. Zechariah 1:5. The moment that God says to any, “Your soul is required of you!” “his body must return to its native dust, and his spirit must return unto Him who gave it, Ecclesiastes 12:7.”

The certainty of death is a truth universally acknowledged.

Every one “knows” that he himself must die. We look back to the antediluvian world; and though we find that they lived eight or nine hundred years, they all died at last. Since that time, successive generations have come and passed away. Our own near ancestors are removed, and “their places know them no more.” There are few among us who have not, within a very few years, lost some friend or relative. And we all feel, that if we have not any grave illness at present, we are at least liable to those diseases and decays which are daily weakening the strongest constitutions, and executing the Divine appointments in bringing us to the grave.

The time of our death, as we observed before, is known to none; but the certainty of death is not for one moment doubted by any! “For the living know that they will die!” Ecclesiastes 9:5.

As this subject is so plain, we hasten to,

II. The improvement we should make of the certainty of death.

1. The certainty of death should moderate our regards to the things of this world.

Were our present possessions to abide with us forever, there were some reason for our eagerness respecting them; but, as they are so soon to be removed from us, or we from them, it is folly to let them occupy so large a portion of our affections.

We are not greatly elated with the comforts of an inn, where we are to stop but an hour; nor are we greatly depressed with any lack of comforts which we may find there; the thought of our stay there being so short, renders us comparatively indifferent to our present accommodations.

Thus the thought, that “the Lord is at hand,” should cause us to make “our moderation known unto all men, Philippians 4:5.” This is elsewhere enforced by the Apostle in relation to everything, whether pleasant or painful. All is but a pageant passing by; and whether the spectacle is mournful or joyous, it is scarcely sooner arrived that it vanishes from before our eyes, 1 Corinthians 7:29-31. Our joys and our sorrows will both appear light and momentary, when viewed in reference to the transitoriness of what is visible, and the endless duration of the things invisible! 2 Corinthians 4:17-18.

2. The certainty of death should make us diligent in preparing for the eternal world.

The time allotted us here, is given on purpose that we may prepare for another and a better state. If the present hour is not seized—then all opportunity of securing happiness in another world will be lost! Should not this thought stimulate us to activity in the concerns of our souls? Solomon was clearly of this opinion, Ecclesiastes 9:10; and so must every one, who reflects a moment on the comparative importance of time and eternity.

If we could return to earth after having once departed; or begin in the invisible world the work which we have neglected here—then we might have some excuse. But to know that death and the grave are ready to swallow us up, and yet to trifle with the interests of the soul, which, if neglected now, are gone forever—this, I say, is a madness, which credulity itself could never imagine to exist, if its existence were not daily and hourly before our eyes!

The prayer of Moses is that which reason dictates, and which God approves, “So teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom, Psalm 90:12.”

ADDRESS.

1. To those who understand the certainty of death, and take it to heart.

Happy they whose minds are by meditation and prayer rendered familiar with death; and who know that while the grave is the receptacle of their bodies, they have for their souls a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens! Happy they who in the view of this are cleaving unto Christ with full purpose of heart. O that we all might be like-minded, living in a habitual dependence upon Christ, and in a zealous performance of his will! Then may we look forward to our dissolution with joy, accounting death our gain! Philippians 1:21, and placing it among our choicest treasures! 1 Corinthians 3:22.

2. To those who understand the certainty of death, and disregard it.

This, alas! forms the greater part of every congregation; insomuch that those who live consistent with this truth are gazed at “as signs and as wonders” in the world. But how foolish will this supineness appear in a little time? We do not positively say, that you will look with regret on your present conduct on your death-bed; for many die as stupid, as ignorant, and as hardened as they lived. But we are well assured, that you will have far other thoughts of your conduct as soon as you come into the presence of your Judge! Let me then entreat you to “redeem the present time,” and to “work while it is day; for the night comes wherein no man can work.”

Charles Simeon

Job 29:11-16

“Whoever heard me spoke well of me, and those who saw me commended me, because I rescued the poor who cried for help, and the fatherless who had none to assist him. The man who was dying blessed me; I made the widow’s heart sing. I put on righteousness as my clothing; justice was my robe and my turban. I was eyes to the blind and feet to the lame. I was a father to the needy; I took up the case of the stranger.”

To boast of one’s own goodness is a sure mark of vanity and folly! It is a mark of vanity, because it betrays an undue desire of man’s applause! It is a mark of folly, because it defeats its own end, and injures the reputation which it is intended to exalt.

Nevertheless there are occasions on which we may, without any impropriety, declare facts, notwithstanding the mention of them does tend to proclaim our own praise. If, for instance, we have been calumniated, we may vindicate ourselves; and, if false charges have been adduced against us, we may refute them, by a candid and explicit statement of the truth.

It was in this way that Job was led to speak of himself as he does in the passage before us. His friends had not only concluded from his extraordinary sufferings that he must have been peculiarly wicked, but they had undertaken even to specify crimes of which he had been guilty, and for which this afflictive dispensation had been sent, Job 22:5-10. It was in answer to these unfounded charges that he delivered, what appears like an eulogy upon himself, but what was indeed nothing more than an appeal to facts for the establishment of his own innocence.

To us it is a singular benefit that such a statement was ever made; because it shows us, not only what our character ought to be, but what has actually been attained.

In order to make a suitable improvement of the passage, we propose to show:

I. The excellence of this character.

From the particulars which are here enumerated we may distinctly notice:

1. Job’s character itself.

The first thing that attracts our notice is, Job’s diffusive benevolence. Misery, wherever it could be found, was the object of his tender compassion and assiduous regard; and the greater that misery was, the more imperious did he consider his call to relieve it. Were they poor, or blind, or lame, or widows, or fatherless, or friendless—he felt as a father towards them, and labored to supply their every need. In the exercise of that benevolence he showed the most active zeal. He did not stay until his interposition was sought for; but went to the most frequented parts of the city, and “prepared his seat in the street, verse 7,” in order that all might have me the readiest access to him, and be encouraged to spread their needs before him. Cases of considerable difficulty often occurred; but he spared no pains to inform himself of whatever might throw light upon the question, and to search to the bottom the truth or falsehood of every assertion, the force or nullity of every claim. No labor was accounted great, when it might tend to the relief of trouble or the confirmation of right.

To this he added unblemished integrity. Nothing could for a moment bias his judgment, or induce him to swerve from the path of equity. It sometimes happened that he had to deal with powerful oppressors; but he was unawed by power, as well as unmoved by wealth; yes, the more power he found on the side of injustice, the more determinately he set himself to reduce it within its proper bounds, “he broke the jaws of the wicked, and plucked the spoil out of his teeth;” and the effecting of this he accounted more honorable than any ornaments, either of magisterial robes, or of an imperial diadem, verse 14.

2. The excellence of Job’s character .

See what was thought of it by all who beheld it in Job, “When the ear heard me, then it blessed me; and when the eye saw me, it gave witness to me.” And we ask: Where is the man in the whole universe that must not admire it? What part of it is there that is not worthy of our imitation? That such a character will not be censured, we by no means affirm; but no man will censure benevolence, or zeal, or integrity, as such; they must first put a wrong construction upon it, before they will venture to utter one word against it.

From viewing this character in itself, let us contemplate it in its aspect on society. What incalculable good must not arise from it!

See but a single magistrate possessed of wisdom, of integrity, of power; see him laying out all his time, his strength, his influence in the composing of differences and in the relieving of every species of distress; see him doing this with unselfish zeal and unwearied diligence; will not such a one be esteemed as the “father of the poor?” and will he not “make many a widow’s heart to sing for joy?”

See a minister of such a description, devoting himself with equal zeal to the administering of temporal comforts to the poor, and adding a similar attention to their spiritual necessities. To how many will he be made a source of good, becoming “eyes to the blind, and feet to the lame!” Surely in many instances “the blessing of him who was ready to perish” will come on such a minister, and the eyes and ears of multitudes will bear witness to him.

The same is equally true of all that are in private life, according to the extent of their sphere and the steadiness of their exertions. And if once such were to become the general character of society, it would go far to banish evil, moral as well as temporal, from the world.

The excellence of this character being established, we will proceed to mark,

II. The importance of cultivating this character in ourselves, and of encouraging it in others.

1. Of cultivating this character in ourselves.

Were there nothing more than the acquiring of such intrinsic worth, and the being so assimilated to Jesus, “who went about doing good,” it would be most desirable that we should be imitators of this holy man.

But a resemblance to Jesus is not merely desirable; it is necessary; for by our conformity to Jesus’ character we must judge of our state before God; and by it we shall be judged in the last day.

The highest attainments, whether of knowledge or of faith, are nothing in God’s estimation, without an active, constant, self-denying exercise of love! 1 Corinthians 13:1-3. This is the test by which we are to try our religion. We are told expressly, “that pure and undefiled religion is, to visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, James 1:27;” and that by “bearing one another’s burdens we fulfill the law of Christ, Galatians 6:2.” Without this, our faith is no better than the faith of devils, James 2:14-19, and all our professions of love to God are mere hypocrisy.

God himself repeatedly appeals to us on this very subject, as though he were willing to abide by the testimony of our own consciences, 1 John 3:17; 1 John 4:20. To have any just evidence therefore that we belong to Christ, we must tread in the steps of holy Job. This is the rule prescribed by that loving and beloved disciple John, “My little children, let us love, not in word and in tongue, but in deed and in truth; for hereby we know that we are of the truth; and shall assure our hearts before him, 1 John 3:18-19.” These are “the things that accompany salvation, Hebrews 6:9-10;” and by abounding in them we shall obtain a full assurance of hope, Hebrews 6:11, and an abundant entrance into the kingdom of our Lord, 2 Peter 1:7; 2 Peter 1:10-11.

But these habits are also necessary, because by our proficiency in them we shall be judged in the last day. Who can read the account of the day of judgment as given us by Christ himself, and not wish that he had cultivated more the dispositions of Job? Who that lives for himself, does not see cause to tremble? Let us deeply consider and diligently weigh the declarations of Christ himself, Matthew 25:31-46, and we shall need no further arguments to prove the importance of cultivating love.

2. Of encouraging this character in others.

It is thought by many, that it is better to distribute their alms themselves, than to do good through the medium of others. We grant that all may find proper objects of charity within their own immediate neighborhood; and that, if every one would exert himself within his own circle, there would be little comparative need of people to dispense our alms for us. But we know that some lack time, some inclination, some ability—to seek out the poor, and to impart to them spiritual instruction with temporal relief. Though therefore we certainly admit that it is well to reserve a portion of our alms for our own personal distribution—yet we cannot but say that it is of peculiar importance to encourage the activity of others; for by that, more extensive good is done, more grace is called forth into exercise, and more honor is brought to religion.

More extensive good is done. Numberless are the cases wherein the poor require more assistance than it would be possible for an individual to afford them. It is on this account that hospitals and other public charities have been so universally established. For the same reason a society for relieving the poor must be of the greatest utility, because that can be done out of a public fund which cannot be done out of a private purse. Moreover, where people who have some degree of leisure and ability devote themselves to the various offices of charity—it must be supposed that they will acquire a greater fitness for the work, and consequently will perform it to more advantage. Besides, many, however fit for the work, and well disposed towards it, have not time to spare; and consequently much good must be left undone, if those who have time are not encouraged and enabled to improve it in this way.

More grace also is called forth into exercise. We will suppose that in either case the same degree of grace is exercised both by the donor and the receiver of the alms; still the employing of the services of others has greatly the advantage; because it calls forth their graces, and strengthens in them a habit of benevolence. Methinks it is like the training of soldiers for war; which gives them a martial spirit, and renders them more efficient in their work. Many there are, possessed of wisdom and piety, who yet, on account of the narrowness of their own circumstances, are unable to visit the poor; because they cannot show their sympathy in such a way as to render it acceptable to the poor themselves. But, if they are employed as the dispensers of the charity of others, they have scope for all the finer feelings of their souls, and are enabled to “rejoice with those who rejoice, as well as to weep with those who weep.”

We may add further, that more honor also is brought to the gospel. It is said by the enemies of the Gospel, that the doctrine of salvation by faith alone leads to a neglect and contempt of good works. But, with Job, we will appeal to facts. Who are they that most abound in good works; those who talk about them, and profess to make them the ground of their hopes? Or those who build all their hopes of salvation on Christ alone? Among which of these two classes shall we find those who, not having funds of their own, are willing to become the almoners of others, that they may exert themselves with more effect in every office of love both to the bodies and the souls of men? The matter is too notorious to admit a doubt. And does not this tend to the honor of religion? and do not they consult the interests of religion, who encourage such societies? Yes; and our answer to all who decry our faith is, “Outdo us in good works!”

Charles Simeon

Job 29:2-3

“Oh, that I were as in months past, as in the days when God watched over me; when His lamp shone upon my head, and when by His light I walked through darkness.”

To take a retrospect of our past lives is always profitable; but it is frequently attended with much pain. The man that has lived without God in the world, how can he look back upon the days that are past, without feeling the deepest anguish of mind? Nor is a review of former days less distressing to one who from a life of spiritual peace and joy, has fallen into a state of darkness and of spiritual declension.

The change which Job had experienced, was both outward, in all that related to the body; and inward, in what related to his soul. The circumstances attendant on that change were so peculiar, that they are but little applicable to the church at large. Just so, the design of God in them was also very peculiar; it being not so much to punish the sin which yet remained in his servant, as to display, confirm, and augment the grace that had been imparted to him. Into these peculiarities we shall not enter; because, though they might instruct and amuse our minds, they would not come home to men’s bosoms, or lead us sufficiently to a contemplation of ourselves. Job’s temporal calamities we shall altogether overlook; and his spiritual troubles we shall notice only in a general view, as affording occasion for us to take a review of our past lives, and to see whether we have not reason for a similar complaint, “O that I were as in months past!”

There had been a time when, as Job says, “the candle of God had shined upon his head, so that by the light of it he had been enabled to walk through darkness,” and when “God himself was with him,” and “the secret of God was upon his tabernacle.”

So it may have been with us; and yet a most painful reverse have taken place. And so important do I conceive this subject to be, that I shall endeavor to cast upon it what light I can in the compass of one short discourse.

A person anxious to know the state of his soul before God, would be ready to ask: What are the usual causes and precursors of spiritual declension? Whereby shall I ascertain whether it has taken place in me? And how, if such a change has taken place, shall I regain my former happy condition? To answer these questions, I will proceed, in a brief and partial manner—to point out the sources, the evidences, and the remedies of spiritual declension.

I. The sources of spiritual declension.

It is obvious that, were we to attempt a full discussion of the subject, a whole volume would scarcely suffice for the consideration of it. We must therefore of necessity confine ourselves to a few leading topics, leaving a multitude of others, of nearly equal importance, untouched.

1. The first source of spiritual declension is a remissness in secret devotional duties.

The duties of the closet, such as reading, and meditation, and prayer, are indispensably necessary to the welfare of the soul. As well might we hope that our bodies should retain their vigor without food and exercise, as that our souls should flourish without communion with God. The vegetable creation will not thrive without light; nor will the seed of divine grace, which has been sown in our hearts, grow without the light of God’s countenance.

But divine grace will not return if it is unsought, like the light of day; it must be sought, and sought with care too, or else it will be withheld, and the soul will be left to languish in darkness and distress. And in this respect is that word of our Savior verified, “To him who has, shall be given, and he shall have abundance; but from him who has not, even what he has shall be taken away, Matthew 13:12.”

2. The second source of spiritual declension is an indulgence of some secret lust.

Sin, of whatever kind it is, is “a worm at the root,” which will soon make the fairest gourd in the universe to wither. It matters not what the sin is—it may be pride, or envy, or malice, or revenge, or lust, or covetousness, or discontent, or sloth, or unbelief, or vain conceit, or any other sin. Every man has some “sin which more easily besets him;” and that, whatever it may be, will grieve the Spirit of God, and provoke God to hide his face from us!

“Sin of any kind will separate between him and us,” and deprive us of all his gracious communications, “If I regard iniquity in my heart,” says David, “the Lord will not hear me.” And our blessed Lord tells us, that “a right hand, or a right eye,” not sacrificed and abandoned—will plunge us, both body and soul, “into Hell-fire! Mark 9:43-48.” It is no wonder then, that any man declines in spiritual health, while some unsubdued sin lurks within him, and, “like a canker, eats up” all his strength! 2 Timothy 2:17.

3. The third source of spiritual declension is an undue and unnecessary entangling of ourselves in worldly affairs.

All have of necessity some worldly engagements, which it is their bounden duty diligently to perform. And many have a very great portion of their time necessarily occupied with worldly pursuits; nor are they at liberty to withdraw from a post which, though painful and difficult, God has evidently assigned them.

But when we needlessly multiply our temporal concerns, we must expect to suffer loss in those which are spiritual. Our Savior, in the parable of the sower, tells us, that the cause of vast multitudes not bringing forth fruit to perfection is that “the cares of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, choke the word that has been sown in their hearts, and render it unfruitful.”

A man who “loads his feet with thick clay,” or allows a long garment to impede the motion of his feet, does not wonder that he makes an inadequate progress in a race. Just so, it can be little wondered at if a person, encumbered, unnecessarily or beyond a due proportion, with the cares or pleasures or entertainments of this life, declines in the ways of God.

Supposing a spiritual declension to have taken place in us, what may we expect to be:

II. The evidences of spiritual declension.

Spiritual decay will surely discover itself in every exercise of the soul, even as bodily weakness does in every function of the body. But, to instance it in two or three particulars. We may be sure that a declension has taken place:

1. We are in spiritual decline, if we have suffered loss in the spirituality of our minds and desires.

In a soul that is in full health, there is a tendency upwards, not unlike that of a vessel or balloon, filled with light and buoyant air. It is fastened, as it were, by cords to the earth; but it discovers its proper tendency by repeated and continued efforts to ascend; and, as different cords are loosened, its efforts are more and more visible; and, when the last cord is cut asunder, it mounts to the heavens, as the regions it most desires.

Just so, the soul in proportion as it is “filled with the Spirit,” aspires heavenward. But, if the vessel before referred to loses its buoyant powers, it ceases its flight, and descends upon the earth; and from the effect, no one is at a loss to infer the cause.

I will grant, that a pressure of worldly engagements may operate unfavorably in appearance, while there is no cause for self-condemnation in reality. The way to form an accurate judgment is, not so much to inquire: Whether the flights of the soul heavenward are less frequent than they were under different circumstances? But: What the tendencies of the soul are, when it is left at liberty to pursue the course it most desires? And, if in these seasons it evinces a heaviness and an indisposition to ascend, then may it be clearly seen, that the soul has suffered loss; and in proportion as it ceases to abide in God by faith and love—God will cease to dwell in it by the vital energies of his Spirit; and then “its root will soon be as rottenness; and its blossom will go up as dust! Isaiah 5:24.”

2. We are in spiritual decline, if we have suffered loss in the tenderness of our conscience.

The effect of grace is:

to make the conscience as tender as the apple (pupil) of the eye;

to make us dread sin,

to make us flee temptation, and

to make us use all possible means for the preserving of the soul pure before God.

In one who is walking close with God, even a speck of sin in the spiritual eye will not be allowed to willingly retain the place it has invaded; but will be wept out with tears of penitence and shame! But, if the conscience has lost its sensibility, so that it can now endure without emotion a feeling which would once have filled it with the acutest anguish—then what shall we say? Can that soul be in a flourishing condition?

We must distinguish surely between an over-scrupulous and a tender conscience; for increasing spiritual light may have lessened its scrupulosity about indifferent matters, while yet its tenderness is undiminished in reference to every acknowledged duty. But, if the smaller commissions of sin or neglects of duty pass with less grief and indignation against them than formerly, the authority of God is weakened in the soul, the hatred of sin diminished; and, if a remedy is not speedily applied, “the last state of that soul will be worse than its beginning!”

3. We are in spiritual decline, if we have suffered loss in the vigor of our exertions for God.

A man that is right with God will always be saying, “What shall I render unto the Lord for all the benefits that he has done unto me?” No labor will be grudged, no sacrifice will be accounted too great—if only God may be glorified in him. But if the self-denial which once appeared unworthy of a thought is now become a burden, and the efforts which once we made in the service of our God are now relaxed—then we obviously have declined in real piety. Were we right, we should never think we had attained anything as long as anything was left to be attained, or done anything as long as anything was left to be done; but, forgetting what was behind, we would reach forward to that which was before; and our grief would be, that we could not do a thousand times more for Him who has done and suffered so much for us. If we are faint and weary in well-doing, then it is plain and indisputable that our spiritual health has declined.

Such backslidings however are not incurable, if only we apply, according to God’s prescription:

III. The remedies for spiritual declension.

1. We may regain our former state by a renewed and more solemn repentance.

This is the remedy prescribed by our Lord himself to the angel of the Church of Ephesus, when it “had left his first love.” “Remember from whence you have fallen, and repent, and do your first works! Revelation 2:4-5.”

Just so, we must look back and search out the occasions of our departure from God; we must then examine the instances wherein our departure has appeared. For those we must abase ourselves before God in dust and ashes; and we must again and again apply to the blood of sprinkling for the remission of them. We must then return to those better ways which we have forsaken, and resolutely give up ourselves with all our powers to the service of our God.

If our grief was deep at our first turning unto God, it ought to be tenfold deeper now, in proportion as our guilt by reason of our backslidings from God is aggravated beyond that which we contracted by our rebellions in the days of our ignorance. We should add fasting also to prayer. If, as our Lord says, “The days come when the Bridegroom shall be taken away from them; and then shall they fast;” how much more ought we to fast, when by our own unfaithfulness we have driven the Bridegroom from us!

We need only mark the neglect into which this duty of sincere repentance has fallen, in order to see how low the standard of religion is, which is current in the world. But, if we would recover the peace and purity that we have lost, we must return unto God with the deepest contrition, and wash from our guilt in the fountain opened for sin and for impurity.

2. We may regain our former state by getting a sense of redeeming love into the soul.

Without this, repentance will be of little avail. Repentance will prepare the soul; but it is a sight of Christ alone that will perfect it. Repentance will cast us down; but love to Christ will raise us up. There is nothing that will effectually constrain the soul, but a sense of the love of Christ shed abroad in the heart. That regained, all else will be easy. And that is to be regained, not by slavish exertions, but by the simple exercise of faith.

As in the first instance we come to him, not seeking to heal ourselves first, and then applying to him as the Physician, but by a simple dependence on his sin-atoning death and righteousness; so we must do at all times and under all circumstances, trusting in him only as “our Righteousness and strength.” This reliance on his promises will alone cleanse us; and this view of his glory will alone change us into his image from glory to glory by the Spirit of our God.

3. We may regain our former state by keeping the nearness of eternity in view.

This also is prescribed by our blessed Lord, as the means of augmented watchfulness, and of a more entire preparation for death and judgment. We know not at what hour our Lord will come. For anything that we know to the contrary, this very night our souls may be required of us! Now, if we bore this in mind, should we rest in a cold or lukewarm state? Should we not endeavor to have our loins girded and our lamps trimmed, and ourselves as those who wait for the coming of their Lord? Could we but, like the Apostle, learn to “die daily,” we should make no account either of labors or of sufferings, “if by any means we might attain unto the resurrection of the dead! Philippians 3:10-11.”

ADDRESS.

1. Those who are conscious that they are in a state of spiritual declension.

Truly, brethren, it is a painful thing to look back upon times and seasons, when, in comparison with the present, you had the enjoyment of God in your souls. What self-reproach do you feel in the retrospect, and what misgivings in the prospect of the eternity that awaits you! We are told that people in your situation have “a certain fearful looking-for of judgment, Hebrews 10:26-27.”

Be thankful, however, that it is not yet too late to regain your former peace; yes, you may have it yet increased and multiplied a hundred-fold. God has indeed said, that “the backslider in heart shall be filled with his own ways, Proverbs 14:14;” but he has also said, “Return unto me, you backsliding children; and I will heal your backslidings, and love you freely; and my anger shall be turned away from you! Jeremiah 3:22. Hosea 14:1-2; Hosea 14:4.” Return then in dependence on his promised mercy; then shall it be with you as in the months that are past; yes, and your last days shall be your best.

2. Those who are making progress in the divine life.

Thrice happy souls! “To you to live is Christ; and to die it shall be gain!” How sweet is it to have the testimony of our conscience that we are living near to God, and walking daily in the light of his countenance! This is the way to be truly happy. This is the way to secure peace in a dying hour. “Mark the perfect man, and behold the upright; for the end of that man is peace!” Go on then; but not in your own strength, nor with unhallowed confidence. “Let him who thinks he stands, take heed lest he fall.” Yet let not this consideration fill you with slavish fear, but only make you watchful and dependent on God. God is able to keep you; and he will keep the feet of his saints; and, if only you commit your way entirely to him—then he will “preserve you blameless unto his heavenly kingdom.”

“Now unto Him who is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy, to the only wise God our Savior, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and ever! Amen Jude verse 24, 25.”

Charles Simeon

Job 27:6

“My conscience shall not reproach me as long as I live.”

Job had been represented by God as a perfect and upright man; and the severe trials he was called to endure served only to prove the truth of that assertion. True it is that he was occasionally driven by the unkindness of his friends and the depth of his sufferings to speak without due reverence for the Supreme Being; but never were the predictions of Satan, or the accusations of his own friends, verified respecting him. His whole life had been a continued course of piety and virtue; and he determined, through grace, that nothing should divert him from it. Being conscious that he had maintained his integrity hitherto before God, he would not allow his uncharitable friends to rob him of the comfort which that consciousness afforded him in this hour of trial, “he held fast his righteousness, and would not let it go.” And being determined to preserve the same blessed course even to the end, he said, “My conscience shall not reproach me so long as I live.”

Of all the blessings that man can enjoy in this life, there is none greater than the testimony of a good conscience; without it, not all the world can make us happy; and with it, we find support under all the calamities that can come upon us. Let us then consider,

I. The proper office of conscience.

While we acknowledge that there are no innate ideas which obtain universally among the children of men, we affirm that there is in every man an innate capacity to judge of, yes, and an innate power that will sit in judgment upon his actions, and will pronounce a sentence of condemnation or acquittal upon him, according as he obeys or violates the law, by which he conceives himself bound to regulate his life. To this effect Paul, speaking of the Gentiles, says, that they, not having the written law, are a law unto themselves; and that their conscience accuses or excuses them, according as they conduct themselves in reference to that law, Romans 2:15.

From hence we see that the office of conscience is two-fold:

1. The first the office of conscience is to judge of what is past.

God, who will pass judgment upon all men at the last day, has appointed conscience to be, as it were, his viceregent in the hearts of men, and to testify to them beforehand what sentence they are to expect at his tribunal; nor is it of actions only that conscience is constituted a judge, but of dispositions, of motives, and of all the most secret workings of the heart. If evil is committed by us in act, word, or thought—it is to condemn us, even though the whole world should resound with our praise. On the other hand, conscience is to bear testimony in our favor, and to acquit us, if we are innocent, even though men and devils should combine to load us with reproach.

The office of conscience, as an accuser, is strikingly exhibited in those who brought to our Lord the woman caught in adultery; when he bade the person who was without sin among them to cast the first stone at her, they all went out successively “from the eldest to the last,” every one of them standing condemned in his own mind! John 8:7-9. We are not necessarily to conclude that they had all been guilty of the same particular sin; but that every one of them had some grievous sin brought to his remembrance, by which he was convinced that he himself was not a fit person to use severity towards her. Our Lord did not lay any specific sin to their charge; nor were the spectators able to accuse them; but conscience did its office; and they were unable to withstand its potent sway.

Many glorious instances also are recorded of the power of conscience to support the mind under the severest trials. The very instance of Job which we are now considering, evinces this; and the solemn appeals which David, and Paul, and others, have made to God himself respecting their integrity—prove, beyond a doubt, that the testimony of a good conscience will enable a man to rejoice, though suffering under the foulest aspersions and the most unfounded accusations! 2 Samuel 23:21-25. 2 Corinthians 1:12; 2 Corinthians 1:17-18; 2 Corinthians 1:23; Acts 23:1; Romans 9:1-2.

2. The second office of conscience is to direct in what is to come.

Every man is bound to be regulated by his own conscience. We may sin indeed, and sin grievously, while following the dictates of our conscience; but our sin will not consist in doing what we think to be right; but in not taking care to have our conscience better informed. Even supposing any line of conduct to be right in itself, we ought not to do it, unless we believe it to be right; for “whatever is not of faith is sin, Romans 14:23.” We ought to be “thoroughly persuaded in our own minds, Romans 14:5.” If we doubt respecting the proper line of duty, we should wait, and inquire, and pray, until we see our way clear; especially if the doubt has respect to the morality of the action, Romans 14:22. There may be doubts about some particular circumstances which can never be fully resolved; and in them we must follow the line which expediency prescribes; but where duty can by any means be ascertained, then we should exert ourselves to the uttermost to learn the will of God, and then follow the path which we apprehend he will most approve.

But, that we may mark more distinctly the office of conscience in relation to this point, we shall proceed to notice,

II. Our duty with respect to conscience.

While conscience is given to us to preserve us from all moral evil, we are bound on our part to preserve it in a lively and vigorous state.

1. It is our duty to consult the records of conscience.

Unobserved by us, conscience notices from time to time the quality of our actions, and frequently assigns to them a very different character from that which a common observer would imagine them to bear. But if we forbear to consult its records, they become gradually fainter, until they are almost wholly effaced. Scarcely an hour, and certainly not a day, should ever pass, without our retiring, as it were, to converse with our conscience.

Conscience, what have you recorded concerning me this day?

Conscience, what is your testimony respecting my morning prayers at the throne of grace?

Were my prayers such as became a poor sinful creature, redeemed by the blood of God’s only dear Son, and altogether dependent on the operations of his grace?

Were my prayers full of gratitude for mercies received, of contrition for sins committed, and of affiance in him as a promise-keeping God?

Conscience, what of my tempers throughout the day?

Conscience, what of the improvement of my time for God?

Conscience, what of my zeal for his honor?

Conscience, what of my labors for the eternal welfare of my fellow-creatures?

Thus, as the Apostle says, “We should examine ourselves,” and “test our own selves;” nay more, we should beg of God to search and test, not our ways only, but our inmost thoughts and desires—so that we may have a fuller knowledge of ourselves, and keep a conscience void of offence both towards God and man.

2. It is our duty to revere the testimony of conscience.

If we disregard the voice of conscience, we may soon silence it altogether, yes, we may even “sear it” as with a hot iron, so as to make it “past feeling! 1 Timothy 4:2.” We must remember whose voice it is, even the voice of God himself, speaking in our hearts. Were God to speak by an audible voice from Heaven, we would hear and tremble; the fear of his Majesty would alarm us. But his Majesty is the same, whether he speaks in thunders and in earthquakes, or in a still small voice; and he should be listened to with the same reverence in the one case, as in the other. It is his testimony respecting us; and agreeably to that we should estimate both our character and our prospects. “If our heart condemns us, God is greater than our hearts, and knows all things; but, if our heart does not condemn us, then have we confidence towards God, 1 John 3:20-21.”

3. It is our duty to obey the dictates of conscience.

Nothing can justify a violation of the commands of conscience. Whatever conscience prescribes, we should do it without hesitation and without delay! Nothing should intimidate us, nothing deter us; we should not count our lives dear in comparison with its testimony in our favor. Like the Hebrew youths, we should be resolute, though threatened with all the sufferings that tyrannic cruelty can inflict.

Here it may be useful to observe, that the first testimony of conscience is generally the most just, and most to be depended on. We may by reasonings bewilder conscience, so that it shall not know what testimony to give; or we may by leaning to the side of our passions or our interests, bias it to give a directly contrary testimony to that which it first suggested. It is therefore of peculiar importance to bear in mind our first impressions; for though they may not be always right, and may be corrected by the acquisition of further light and knowledge—yet they may be always considered as more pure and unadulterated, and therefore as deserving of more peculiar attention.

4. It is our duty to get conscience enlightened and rectified by the study of Scripture.

This, though mentioned last, must be attended to in the first place. If we navigate the seas with a compass, we must take care that that compass be true to the pole, and not be under any undue influence to impede its motions. If it is drawn aside by a magnet, it will, instead of assisting us in our voyage, infallibly drive us on rocks and quicksands. Thus Paul could say, that he had lived “in all good conscience” from his youth up; but, being blinded by his prejudices, and “thinking he ought to do many things contrary to the name of Jesus,” he was for a long time a most determined enemy of Christ and his Church. Afterwards, when he was enlightened and renewed by the Spirit of God, he changed his course, and became as zealous for Christ as ever he had been against him.

No pains therefore should be esteemed too great for the acquiring of divine knowledge; we should study the Holy Scriptures with all diligence; we should cry mightily to God for the influences of his Spirit to guide us into all truth; and we should keep our minds open to conviction upon all points that will admit of doubt. Especially we should entreat of God to give us a single eye; for, “if our eye is single—then our whole body will be full of light; but if our eye is evil—then our whole body will be full of darkness; and, if the light that is in us is darkness—then how great is that darkness!”

We cannot better improve this subject than by suggesting to you some beneficial cautions.

1. Guard against an evil and guilty conscience.

Many continue all their days impenitent, while yet they know that they are guilty before God; O let none of you rest satisfied with such a state as this. If sin is not repented of, and washed away in the blood of Jesus Christ, it will abide upon your souls to all eternity!

Will any of you continue in a state of guilt and condemnation, when God is ready to wash you in “the fountain that was opened for sin and for impurity! Compare Zechariah 12:1 with John 5:2-9.” Know assuredly that “the blood of Jesus Christ will cleanse from all sin, 1 John 1:7;” and that, being once cleansed in it, you shall “have no more conscience of sin,” so as to be under any distressing apprehensions on account of it, Hebrews 10:2; since, while it “purges you from an evil conscience, it will stimulate you to serve the living God, Hebrews 9:9; Hebrews 9:14.”

2. Guard against a partial and deluded conscience.

It is surprising how partial the consciences of many are. They can see no evil at all in some things which suit their inclination, while they are shocked at the very mention of other things which are in themselves altogether indifferent, “they strain at a gnat, and swallow a camel!” The Pharisees would not for the world eat with unwashed hands; but they would devour widows’ houses without a moment’s hesitation; they would bribe a man to betray his Lord; but, on the restoration of the money, they would on no account put it into the treasury, because it was the price of blood.

Thus it is at this day with people of every description. We should be glad if we could say that all religious professors were exempted from the charge; but there are many even of them who would account it a heinous crime to deviate from the rules of their own sect or party, who yet will violate both truth and honesty in their dealings with the world. Such people will say, “My conscience shall not reproach me as long as I live;” but we hope that their consciences will reproach them before it is too late; for, if they continue to harbor any one allowed sin, whether in act or in heart, they are no better than self-deceiving hypocrites; and their religion will be found vain at last! James 1:27.”

3. Guard against an over-confident and unfeeling conscience.

Though a over-scrupulous conscience is an evil to be lamented—yet a tender conscience is above all things to be desired; it should be kept tender, even as the apple of our eye. The smallest deviation from our duty, either to God or man, ought to pain us in our inmost souls. How lovely was the spirit of David, when his heart smote him for cutting off the skirt of Saul’s garment, when, in the judgment of the world at large, he would have been justified in putting his malignant and implacable enemy to death.

Thus should it be with us; if only a thought of our heart is in any respect contrary to God’s mind and will, we should be humbled in the dust; and our incessant labor should be, “to stand perfect and complete in all the will of God;” or, in other words, to be “holy as God is holy,” and “perfect even as our Father who is in Heaven is perfect.”

Charles Simeon

Job 24:13

“There are those who rebel against the light, who do not know its ways or stay in its paths.”

We cannot understand any part of the Book of Job aright, unless we continually keep in mind the subject in dispute between Job and his friends; they laboring incessantly to convince him, that the judgments with which he was visited were marks of God’s indignation against him, on account of some secret wickedness he had practiced; and he endeavoring to prove to them, that God’s dealings with men in this world were no proper tests of their character; since even the most abandoned of mankind, in many instances, prospered in this world, and passed through life without any visible marks of God’s displeasure. Among people of this character, he mentions “those who rebel against the light;” who form, indeed, a very large portion of the community in every age and in every country under Heaven.

We shall find it profitable to inquire:

I. Who they are that are liable to this charge.

The expression, “rebelling against the light,” may be taken both in a literal and a figurative sense. Accordingly, we must comprehend under this description:

1. Those who rebel against the light of day.

This, in fact, is the primary import of the expression in my text; for Job himself goes on to illustrate his meaning by the conduct of murderers and adulterers, both of whom shun the light of day, which would expose them to observation, and affect the darkness of night, as more favorable to their pursuits. “There are those who rebel against the light, who do not know its ways or stay in its paths. When daylight is gone, the murderer rises up and kills the poor and needy; in the night he steals forth like a thief. The eye of the adulterer watches for dusk; he thinks, ‘No eye will see me,’ and he keeps his face concealed. In the dark, men break into houses, but by day they shut themselves in; they want nothing to do with the light! Job 24:13-16.”

Hence such people are called “children of the night and of darkness,” in opposition to the godly, who are termed “children of the light and of the day, 1 Thessalonians 5:5-7;” the one choosing the night as the season for their wicked transactions, and the other the day for their labors which affect the light.

The truth is, that God has given the light of day on purpose that his people may be enabled to serve and honor him in their different vocations; but the people here spoken of discard the light, denying to it their acknowledgment of its superiority, and giving a decided preference to darkness, which alone is suited to such a wicked conduct as they pursue. This is “rebellion against the light,” inasmuch as it is a withholding from it those services which the Creator himself has assigned it, and which its peculiar properties demand.

“This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but men loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that his deeds will be exposed! John 3:19-20.”

2. Those who rebel against the light of conscience.

Conscience is God’s viceregent in the soul of man, and under its direction and government all without exception, are placed. The heathen, who have no written law to regulate their conduct, and are therefore “a law unto themselves,” are under the control of this faculty; which either “accuses or excuses them,” according as they conduct themselves in accordance with the law of their minds, or as they oppose and violate its dictates, Romans 2:14-15. Whoever disobeys the motions of conscience is altogether “inexcusable” before God! Romans 1:20-21.

True indeed, many, while following their conscience, sin grievously against God, as Paul did, when he persecuted the followers of Christ. But his sin consisted, not in following the dictates of his conscience, but in not having his conscience better informed. The obeying of the voice of conscience, so long as it is not seared by continual sin, is always right; and to rebel against it is always wrong! And who is there that has not transgressed in this way? Who is there that, having known what was evil, has not committed it; and, having known what was good, has not neglected to perform it? James tells us plainly, that to rebel thus against the light is sin! “To him who knows to do good, and does it not, to him it is sin! James 14:17.”

3. Those who rebel against the light of revelation.

God has given us “his Word to be a light to our feet, and a lantern to our paths;” and he requires that we obey it without reserve. But where does God’s Word have its legitimate authority over us? Where does God’s Word reign with unrestricted sway? Alas! Among most professing Christians, its influence is very limited; any worldly interest, any carnal gratification, is quite sufficient to overpower it. Not even the Gospel itself, with all the wonders of redeeming love, can operate so as to subject men to its dominion.

See, I beg you, and consider: Who in practice, regards God’s Word as their sole rule of life and conduct? Who yields himself to the Gospel, so as to have his soul “cast into it as into a mold,” and so as to be “formed by it into the image of God?” Look around the world, and see how few are really in subjection to God’s Word. Even where the Gospel is preached in its utmost simplicity, the great mass of those who hear it “rebel against the light,” and “walk on still in darkness.”

But, not to speak of others, let us consider,

II. How far we ourselves are implicated in it.

In order to bring it home to ourselves, let us call to mind particularly:

1. Our indulgence of secret sins!

Let us look at those who are yet in a state of childhood, and see what frequent deviations from truth and honesty are to be found among them; insomuch, that it is almost a miracle if a single individual is found who cannot call to mind some violations of his duty in these respects.

Let us trace our lives up to manhood, and see what each successive year has brought forth; in how many instances we have harbored thoughts which we could not have dared to express in words! Yes, and uttered in words, to a fellow-creature, what we should not have dared to utter in the hearing of a man of God. Yes, perhaps I may say, have carried also into effect, when, if a pious friend had been present, it would have been impossible for us to have acted as we did.

As for God’s presence, we thought nothing of it. It was sufficient for us that we were not seen by man. If we have had reason to fear that our sin was discovered by others, we would have been filled with shame and sorrow. But, if we have eluded human observation, we have thought little of the eye of God! In a word, to a sense of our own honor and credit in the world we have been all alive; but, to the approbation of God we have been totally indifferent!

In speaking on this subject, I may fitly mention the artifices of trade and commerce, which, in fact, constitute the great art of rising in the world, and without which it is scarcely possible for a man to gain a livelihood. Yet, all these arts of adulteration and deceit are practiced in secret, without any regard to God or conscience! I wish all of you, brethren, from the oldest to the youngest, in whatever rank you move, and whatever office in life you fill, to examine whether the sins incident to your age and station are not indulged by you, so far as the habits of the world will sanction them, without any fear of God! Truly, there is not one among us, who, if he will allow conscience to speak the truth, must not acknowledge, that he has “rebelled against the light” in instances without number; yes, and it is to be feared, in instances too which he could not endure to have published to the world at large!

2. Our neglect of acknowledged duties.

Who that has ever heard the Gospel, does not know the two great leading requirements of it; namely, “repentance towards God, and faith in our Lord Jesus Christ?” Yet, who complies with them?

Who calls God’s ways to remembrance, and mourns over all the evils of his former life, and humbles himself before God in dust and ashes?

Who goes to God from day to day, imploring mercy at his hands in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, and wrestling with him, as it were, in prayer, until he obtains an answer of peace?

Who “lives altogether by faith in the Lord Jesus,” “receiving out of his fullness those supplies of grace and strength which are necessary for him, and goes forth in dependence upon Christ to glorify his God in all holy obedience?

Alas! alas! we acknowledge readily enough what the light of the Gospel requires; but we “rebel against it.” And this, as our Lord says, is the very point which so greatly offends our God! “This is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men love darkness rather than light, because their deeds are evil! John 3:19.”

In fact, it is this which renders men so averse to be told in private what they are accustomed to hear in public, “for everyone that does evil hates the light, neither comes to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved; whereas, he who does truth comes to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God, John 3:20-21.” Let us, then, only look at the daily habit of our minds, in relation to these things, and we shall see how deeply we all, without exception, are implicated in the guilt which is imputed to those who rebel against the light.

Behold, then:

1. How amazing has been the forbearance of God towards us!

God has seen all our wickedness, however secret, whether it has been in a way of commission, or of omission. “The darkness has been no darkness with him; but the night and the day to him are both alike.” How astonishing then it is that he has borne with us, and not taken us away in the midst of our sins! How astonishing God’s patience, if I may so say, that He might have cut us off in our rebellion, and made us eternal monuments of his righteous wrath! How astonishing too, that when he has seen the whole world, and all the iniquity that has been perpetrated in it, he has borne with us so long, and not consumed us utterly, as Sodom and Gomorrah!

Let us, then, acknowledge “this patience of God to be salvation, 2 Peter 3:15;” and let it convince us that he is “not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance and live! 2 Peter 3:9.”

2. What a mercy it is that gospel light is yet continued to us!

From many churches, God has removed the lampstand when those who enjoyed the light persisted in rebellion against it. But we, brethren, have the light continued to us:

the light of day; being preserved in life, when so many others have been taken away long before they attained to our age;

the light of conscience, too, which so many others have been left to “sear as with a hot iron;”

and the light of Scripture, which yet sounds in our ears, and invites us to accept of mercy through the Redeemer’s blood.

O brethren! How little a while you will have the light with you, God alone knows. “But while you have the light, walk in the light, that you may be the children of light, John 12:35-36.” Beg of God that the Word you hear may “not be a savor of death to your death and condemnation, but a savor of life to your eternal life and happiness!”

3. How thankful should we be if conscience has in any measure its proper influence upon us!

Does conscience smite you, brethren? Be not in haste to close the wound! Yes, beg of God that it may never be healed, but by the blood of Jesus Christ. Conviction is the very first work of the Spirit of God; and the deeper that is, the richer will be your consolations!

And when you have obtained peace with God, still let conscience sit enthroned in your soul, to regulate your every act, and every word, and every thought, according to the mind and will of God as revealed in His Word. Entreat of God to make your conscience as tender as the apple of your eye. And, if but a speck of sin ever enters your eye—then let it never rest there, but weep it out with tears of penitential sorrow, and have the guilt of it also washed away in the blood of Christ!

In a word, endeavor to “walk in the light, as God is in the light; and then shall God and you have fellowship one with the other; and the blood of Jesus Christ, his Son, shall cleanse you from all sin! 1 John 1:7.”

Charles Simeon

Job 23:12

“I have treasured the words of His mouth more than my necessary food!”

Whence arose this remarkable assertion? Was it a spontaneous and uncalled-for effusion of self-applause? Or was it drawn forth by the circumstances in which this holy man was placed? If we look back to the preceding chapter, we find that Eliphaz had given him this counsel, “Acquaint yourself with God, and be at peace; thereby good shall come unto you. Receive, I beg you, the law from his mouth, and lay up his Words in your heart, Job 22:21-22.” In answer to this, Job replies, “O that I knew where I might find him! that I might come even to his seat! Behold, I go forward, but he is not there; and backward, but I cannot perceive him; on the left hand, where he works, but I cannot behold him; he hides himself on the right hand, that I cannot see him.…My foot has held his steps; his way have I kept, and not declined; neither have I gone back from the commandment of his lips; I have treasured the words of his mouth more than my necessary food! verse 3, 8-12.”

I will call your attention to these latter words:

I. As an honor to Job.

What sacred writings Job possessed, I know not; but certainly he had some, either written or traditionary; and to these he had respect, “treasuring them more than his necessary food.”

Job’s desire after the Word of God was more ardent than for his necessary food.

A man may feel no great appetite for dainties; but for his necessary food he cannot but feel a most intense desire. Hunger and thirst will in time so oppress a man, that he will gladly part with all that he possesses in the world to satisfy their pressing demands.

In the famine that was in Egypt, the whole people of the country sold their lands, yes, their very bodies, to Pharaoh, for a supply of necessary food, Genesis 47:19. Yes, on some occasions, women have eaten their own children, to satisfy the calls of nature. Yet was Job’s desire after the words of God more urgent than any pressure of the natural appetite for bodily food!

Job’s delight in the Word of God was more satisfying than his necessary food.

The sacred records are represented to us as “a feast of fat things, of fat things full of marrow, of wines on the lees well refined, Isaiah 25:6.” Yet this, methinks, conveys but a very inadequate idea of the delight which the promises of God afford to a weary heavy-laden soul. Doubtless to one nearly famished with hunger and thirst, the necessary food, however common it may be, is exceeding sweet—but not so sweet as God’s Words were to Job; so much more exquisite was the satisfaction which they afforded to his soul than any of which his bodily frame was capable.

Job’s refreshment from the Word of God was more abiding than his necessary food.

Elijah, after a hearty meal, “went in the strength of his food forty days and forty nights, 1 Kings 19:5-8.” And Jonathan, after a day’s extreme fatigue, did but taste a little honey, and his strength was renovated in a very extraordinary degree, 1 Samuel 14:29-30. But the strength which God’s blessed Word imparted to Job was visible in every part of his life. Truly “it enlightened his eyes,” insomuch that his discernment of God’s truth was incomparably clearer than that of any of his friends who came to instruct and comfort him; for God himself says of them, that “they had not spoken of him the thing that was right, as his servant Job had, Job 42:7.”

And, as God’s blessed Word informed his understanding, so it strengthened him to bear his trials with a degree of confidence and composure never surpassed by mortal man. In immediate connection with my text, he says, “God knows the way that I take; when he has tried me, I shall come forth as gold! Job 23:10.” And James represents him, in this respect, as the most perfect pattern to the Church in all ages, “You have heard of the patience of Job, James 5:11.”

I may add further, his love to the Word of God was that to which we must trace the whole of that obedience which he so feelingly describes, “My foot has held his steps; his ways have I kept, and not declined; neither have I gone back from the commandments of his lips; I have treasured the words of his mouth more than my necessary food! Job 23:11-12.”

Let me yet further pursue this subject,

II. As a reproach to us.

How much fuller a revelation of God’s mind do we possess!

Doubtless Job’s views, both of himself as a sinner, and of Christ as a Savior, were, in many respects, clear and just, Job 9:20-21; Job 19:25-27.

But how incomparably richer is that discovery of God’s revealed will, which is transmitted to us in the writings of the Old and New Testament! In His Word, God conceals nothing from us which it would be for our advantage to know. All the eternal counsels of God, as displayed in the covenant of grace, are exhibited to our view, together with all the wonders of redeeming love. How highly, then, should God’s Word be esteemed by us!

If Job felt such regard for the partial revelations given to him—then what should we feel towards this complete system of divine truth which we are privileged to enjoy?

But how low is the esteem in which God’s Word is held by many of us!

Not only is “our necessary food” preferred before it, but every base indulgence! The gratifications of sense which are most sinful, and the acquisition of objects which are most worthless, have a greater preponderance in our minds than “the glorious Gospel of the blessed God.”

Let us only look back, and see how faint have been our desires after divine knowledge, and how feeble our endeavors to obtain it. In truth, every vain book has been preferred before the sacred volume! With almost everyone among us, the perusal of a novel or a newspaper would be resorted to, at any time, to occupy a leisure hour, rather than God’s blessed Word.

To what is our ignorance of heavenly subjects to be ascribed, but to this? And to what else must our disobedience to God’s commandments be traced? We do not treasure God’s Word, and therefore we do not study it. We do not explore its contents, and therefore we neither know it nor obey it. Though it ought to be our meditation and delight all the day, Psalm 1:2; Jeremiah 15:16, with many the sacred volume is scarcely ever read at all; and with those who do occasionally take it into their hands, it is read only in a superficial manner, and without that veneration and love which it deserves. I say, then, that Job may well rise up in judgment against us, to condemn us for our grievous neglect of that sacred volume, which even “the angels in Heaven desire to look into! 1 Peter 1:12.”

APPLICATION.

Redeem, then, the time which you have lost, for the attainment of divine knowledge.

Were the salvation of your soul out of the question, God’s blessed Word deserves more attention than any other book; for there is no other book whose contents are so profitable, so instructive, so edifying in every view. But, when the salvation of your soul depends on your obedience to it, what shall I say? Methinks, you should be studying it day and night, in order to obtain all its offered benefits, and to comply with all its most reasonable demands.

In public, when it is opened to you in the ministration of the Gospel, “receive it, not as the word of man, but as the word of the living God.”

In your secret chamber study the Word, as it were, upon your knees; and implore from God the teaching of his Holy Spirit, in order that you may be able to comprehend its glorious contents. In a word, treasure the revelation of God as Job treasured it; and then, like Job, shall you have a record on high, that you pleased God, and that you were accepted by him.

Charles Simeon

Job 23:10

“He knows the way that I take; when he has tried me, I shall come forth as gold!”

The superior happiness of the godly above that of the ungodly is not so manifest in a season of prosperity, as under circumstances of deep affliction. The world can rejoice in their portion as long as their pleasures are uninterrupted by bitter reflections or painful dispensations; but in trouble they have no refuge.

The righteous, on the contrary, have less of thoughtless gaiety; but in time of trouble they find abundant consolations. No man was ever beset with a greater complication of trials than Job; all of which were beyond measure heightened by the uncharitable censures of his friends; but still he found an inward support by reflecting upon:

I. His conscious integrity.

It is characteristic of God’s children, that they are all upright before God.

As there is a very considerable difference in the attainments of different men with respect to bodily strength and intellectual powers, notwithstanding all possess the same members and enjoy the same faculties—so is there with respect to piety also, notwithstanding all are upright in heart. From the very instant that a person is converted to God, he must of necessity hate sin, and long after a conformity to God’s image. He cannot continue to practice sin, 1 John 3:9. He must be, according to the measure of grace given him, “an Israelite indeed, and without allowed deceit.”

Nor does humility require us to confess ourselves as hypocrites (willful hypocrites, I mean) when God has quickened us by his Spirit; for it is not humility, but ingratitude and falsehood, to deny the work which God has wrought in us. Many of God’s most eminent saints have spoken of their own integrity and rejoiced in it, and even pleaded it before God, Psalm 17:2. 2 Kings 20:3. And we also, by “proving every one of us our own work, may have rejoicing in ourselves, and not in another, Galatians 6:4.”

A consciousness of their own integrity is a rich source of consolation to them in a trying hour.

There are times and seasons when almost all the other springs of comfort seem dried up; sometimes it may be painful even to reflect upon God, Psalm 77:3. Job acknowledges in the context, that God’s “presence was a trouble to him;” but knowing that God was acquainted with his heart, he could yet appeal to him respecting his own integrity; and from this source he derived a pleasing satisfaction, an encouraging hope. Paul, under a daily and hourly expectation of martyrdom, experienced much joy in the same thought, 2 Corinthians 1:8-12. Just so, we find it a great consolation to us, under any trials we may be called to endure.

But Job found a yet further consolation in reflecting upon:

II. The expected outcome of his trials.

Though Job was presently in as hot a furnace as he could possibly endure—he yet believed that he was put into it by a skillful Refiner, for the purifying of his soul from dross.

Those who are truly godly, learn to view the hand of God both in their comforts and their troubles. They know that affliction does not come by chance, but from the hand of Him who directs everything with consummate wisdom.

The ungodly look no further than to second causes; and therefore yield to murmuring and impatience whenever they receive harm from the hand of their fellow-creatures. But the godly are persuaded that their portion, whatever it is, is mixed for them by God himself, and that it is intended “to purge away their iniquity,” that they may be partakers of his holiness, Psalm 39:9. Isaiah 27:9. Hebrews 12:10. This was evidently the view which Job had of troubles, notwithstanding they sprang from such various sources. “And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose!” Romans 8:28

An expectation of the benefits of affliction, reconciled Job to the means used for his good.

No one can love trouble on its own account; since it is “never joyous, but grievous.” But holiness is the highest wish of the godly soul; it is regarded as a pearl that cannot be purchased at too high a price. Trials, however painful, are welcomed, if they may but be the means of promoting this blessed end. Many have even dreaded the removal of them, lest with them they should lose also the benefits flowing from them.

If we could have viewed the afflictions of Job in their true light, we should have preferred his condition when upon the dunghill far before that of his censorious friends. He was enabled to look forward to the end; and the outcome fully justified his expectations.

Address,

1. Those who are in the furnace of affliction.

Look above all second causes, and see God appointing the nature, measure, and duration of all your trials! “He brings the third part through the fire;” and appoints tribulation as your way to the kingdom. Let him accomplish his own will in his own way; and “what you know not now, you shall know hereafter.”

2. Those who have been delivered from their troubles.

When you were bowed down under the load of your afflictions, you probably thought how differently you would live if God should hear your prayers, and deliver you. Now then remember the vows that are upon you, Psalm 66:10-15; Psalm 116:1-14. Do not provoke him to visit you with yet heavier afflictions. As clouds succeed the rain, so do troubles come in succession while we are in this valley of tears. Endeavor then so to improve the past, that future troubles may find you better prepared for their reception, and every dispensation fit you for your eternal rest.

3. Those who have never yet experienced any particular trials.

A little outward religion will satisfy you in a state of ease and prosperity. But that will not be found sufficient in a time of trouble. The fire will try what your attainments are. Now therefore be in earnest about the work of salvation, that when affliction comes, it may be mitigated by the consolations of an upright mind, and not be aggravated by the accusations of a guilty conscience.

Charles Simeon

Job 22:21

“Now acquaint yourself with Him, and be at peace.”

In estimating the characters and conduct of men, we must make great allowance for their prejudices and mistakes.

Unless we take into our consideration the erroneous idea which Job’s friends had conceived respecting the dealings of Providence with men, we shall be ready to view them in a most unfavorable light. Even with this allowance we scarcely know how to account for the extreme uncharitableness of Eliphaz. He is not content with accusing Job of secret sins that could be known to God alone, but he brings plain and positive charges against him of open visible crimes, no one of which could with even a shadow of truth be imputed to him. We regret to see such inconsistency in a man, whom yet we are constrained to consider as pious; and we turn from this painful view of him, to notice the excellent advice, which, though still under a mistaken apprehension of Job’s character, he gave him.

To a person under any circumstances, an acquaintance with God is most desirable, but more especially under such a dark and afflictive dispensation as that which Job at this time experienced. That we may invite you all to seek it, we propose to show,

I. Wherein a genuine acquaintance with God consists.

There is a knowledge of God which may be obtained from the works of creation; but this must of necessity be extremely partial and defective. They display his wisdom, and power, and goodness; but they exhibit no traces of that perfection which we so greatly need to be acquainted with, namely, his mercy in pardoning sin. It is from Scripture revelation alone that we can learn his true character as “a just God and a Savior;” and for a discovery of him in that endearing new, we must look at him as exhibited to us in the Gospel of his Son.

It is only in the face of Jesus Christ that all of God’s glory shines, 2 Corinthians 4:6.

It is only in the cross of Christ that all of God’s perfections are made to unite and harmonize. It is there alone that we can see “mercy and truth met together, and righteousness and peace kissing each other.” This then it is which constitutes a true knowledge of God; it is an acquaintance with the great work of redemption; a view of “God in Christ Jesus reconciling sinners unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them”.

II. What is that measure of acquaintance with God which we as sinners are privileged to enjoy.

It is not a mere speculative knowledge of these things, but an actual experiencing of them in our own souls; it is not “a hearing of God with our ears, but a seeing of him with our eyes,” as Job speaks; I mean, with the eye of faith, which is privileged to “behold Him who is invisible, Hebrews 11:27.” By faith “we have a fellowship,” yes a most intimate and endearing fellowship, “with the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ.” God will come and manifest himself to us, as our God, our Father, and our Friend, Genesis 5:21. “By his Spirit he will enable us to cry, Abba, Father!” “He will dwell in us, and walk with us;” Christ will live in us, even as his heavenly Father lived in him; insomuch that “he himself will be our life, John 6:56-57 with Colossians 3:4.” What nearer intimacy can be conceived? Yet this it is our privilege to enjoy; this union with him, this committing of our souls to him, this receiving of all needful communications out of his fullness, this living entirely by faith in him as our Savior and our God. This, I say, is that measure of acquaintance with him which we ought to seek, and may actually possess, Galatians 2:20.

III. The benefits resulting from genuine acquaintance with God.

Who can ever fully declare what is implied in peace with God? Truly it is “a peace that passes all understanding.” But there is peculiar emphasis in the word “Now,” “Now acquaint yourself with Him, and be at peace.” What was the estimate which Eliphaz had formed of Job’s character? He viewed Job as the vilest hypocrite upon earth, and considered him as punished by God with most signal vengeance; yet he said to him, “Now acquaint,” now, notwithstanding all your vileness; now, in the midst of all these judgments—even now acquaint yourself with God; and “so shall good come unto you.”

This was indeed a just view of God, though an erroneous view of the poor afflicted saint. This is the view we should ever have of God in Christ Jesus; we should see him ready to bestow his richest mercies even on the chief of sinners, and as determined “never to cast out any who come unto him.” Be it known then, that, if only we will acquaint ourselves with God as he is revealed to us in the Gospel of his Son, there is not a good which God himself can bestow, which he will not richly grant to us. Nor is there a condition, either of sin or suffering, in which that acquaintance with him shall not be effectual for the restoration of our souls to peace. Were we the vilest of the human race, our iniquities would be blotted out; and were we in a condition a thousand times more deplorable than that of Job, it should turn all our sorrows into joy! Song of Solomon 2:3.

ADDRESS.

Now acquaint yourselves with God:

1. You who are in a state of sin.

Seek him in reading, meditation, prayer, etc.

2. You who are in a state of suffering.

Doubt not his willingness or sufficiency.

Charles Simeon

Job 21:14-15

“Yet they say to God:

Leave us alone!

We have no desire to know your ways.

Who is the Almighty, that we should serve him?

What would we gain by praying to him?”

As in the speeches of Job’s different friends, so in his answers to them, we must ever bear in mind the ground of their controversy. This, as we have often mentioned before, was a persuasion on their part that God in his providence would mark the characters of men by his dealings towards them; and that signal judgments of any kind were sufficient, without any other evidence whatever, to prove the pre-eminent wickedness of the person on whom they were inflicted. The different speakers indeed all wander occasionally from the point, and launch out into other topics; but all intended to keep this point in view, and to make it the ultimate object of their discourse.

The friends of Job had maintained their side of the question with great confidence, and had driven him more immediately to vindicate himself in opposition to the implied charge contained in their arguments; but here Job speaks less of himself, and directs his answer more clearly to the general question. He shows that multitudes of those who prospered in the world were altogether addicted to impiety; yes, that their very prosperity was made by them an occasion of more determined hostility to God, and yet God continued to prosper them both in life and in death, so far, at least, as to exempt them from any remarkable judgments either in the one or the other.

The impiety of these people, as described in our text, must not be interpreted literally, as if the words here used were uttered with their lips; they must be understood as marking rather the language only of their hearts and lives; and in this view they will be found to designate with equal truth the dispositions and habits of ungodly men in all ages.

In evincing this, we shall:

I. Confirm the assertion in our text.

The assertion itself is most humiliating, seeing that it lays to the charge of unconverted men these two enormous crimes:

first, that they cast off all regard for God;

next, that they vindicate their conduct as reasonable and proper.

1. Now that this is a just description of unregenerate men, we appeal to observation.

What is the conduct of the generality, when the light of divine truth is set before them? Do they not shut their eyes against it? Even the public exhibition of it they do not like; but if a pious minister or friend speaks personally to them in secret, they rather resent it as an insult, than accept it with gratitude. And by the aversion to holy things which they manifest, they, in effect, say to God, “Leave us alone! We have no desire to know your ways.”

If an attention to heavenly things is urged from a regard to duty and self-interest, the generality will deny that a life of godliness is either necessary or profitable. They conceive, that their time and talents are altogether their own, to be employed according to their own will and pleasure; and that all serious piety, and a life of communion with God—are sources rather of pain and melancholy, than of peace and happiness.

2. Now that this is a just a description of unregenerate men, we appeal to experience.

What does every man’s own heart declare? Let us all look back and see, What has been our conduct in relation to this matter? Have we desired the knowledge of God’s ways, as we have of the ways that lead to worldly honor and self-interest? Have we not, on the contrary, when God, by his providence, his Word, his Spirit, has been knocking at the door of our hearts, said to him, “Depart from me; I have other occupations and interests to attend to; You must wait for a more convenient season?”

If pressed by the exhortations of a faithful friend or minister, have we not vindicated ourselves as acting a wise and rational part; and asserted, (by our conduct at least,) that such a devotedness to God as was required of us was neither necessary nor desirable?

Yes truly, we all have “hated the light, John 3:19-20,” have wished it to be withheld from us, Isaiah 30:10-11, have “rebelled against it,” when it has flashed conviction on our consciences, Job 24:13, and have determined to go on our own way, in spite of all God’s warnings and invitations, Jeremiah 6:16-17; Jeremiah 44:15-17. By this resistance to God we have in fact:

denied his authority over us, Exodus 5:2. Psalm 12:4. Jeremiah 2:31,

avowed ourselves his decided enemies, Romans 8:7,

and lived without him in the world! Ephesians 2:12.

Let us now proceed,

II. To suggest some reflections naturally arising from it.

1. How marvelous is the patience of God!

The conduct above described is not peculiar to men of an abandoned character; it is found in every man. There are indeed some people comparatively religious. Of these it may be said, that they pretend religion, and even glory in the distinction which they assume to themselves as people fearing God and working righteousness.

But, in truth, there are no people more decidedly hostile to the Gospel than those whom we now refer to. No man was ever more zealous for a certain kind of religion than Paul in his unconverted state; yet no man was ever a more bitter persecutor of the Church than he. And it is a fact, that, when the Jews at Antioch wished to expel Paul and Barnabas from their city, they could find no people that would enter more cordially into their views, or more vigorously execute their designs, than “the devout women, whom they stirred up” to endorse and aid their proceedings, Acts 13:50.

“God’s ways,” whether of acceptance with him, or of obedience to him, are displeasing and irksome to the natural man; the one being too humiliating for him, and the other too strict and self-denying. And the contempt that is universally poured on those who “walk as Christ walked,” is itself the most unequivocal proof of the universality of our departure from God, and our hatred of his ways!

How astonishing then is it, that God should bear with us a single hour! How astonishing then is it, that he does not now retaliate upon us, as he will do at the day of judgment, and say, “Depart from me, you who are cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels!” Let us then “account the patience of God to be salvation;” and “let his goodness and forbearance lead us to repentance.”

2. What glorious tidings does the Gospel bring to our ears!

It was for such people that the Lord Jesus Christ came into the world, and offered himself a sacrifice to the offended Majesty of Heaven, “While we were enemies, Christ died for us!” To such people also are we sent, to offer them a free and full salvation; the extent or long continuance of their rebellion, is no bar to the exercise of divine mercy towards them, “Whoever comes unto me,” says our Lord, “I will never cast him out.”

O you who are convinced of your past iniquities, and are sensible of your need of mercy, hear what Paul affirms, “It is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, even the chief!” Do not imagine that God is filled with resentment against you, as your earthly parents would have been, if you had so treated them; he is plenteous in mercy; and, if you will go to him, he will “give you his blessing liberally, without upbraiding.”

If it is thought, that divine justice will require the execution of vengeance on such sinners as we—then be it known, that his justice is satisfied by the atonement which Christ has offered; and that he can now be “just, and yet the justifier of all them that believe.”

3. What a blessed change takes place in the great work of conversion!

The inmost dispositions of the soul are changed by grace; so that he who recently said unto God, “Depart from me!” now desires his presence above all things, and pants after God as the deer after the water-brooks, and considers “his loving-kindness as better than life itself.” Now he “counts all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus his Lord.”

Nor is it the principles only of the Gospel that he loves, but the precepts also; and the way of God’s commandments is as much loved as the way of salvation through a crucified Redeemer. Now he feels that “he is not his own, but, having been bought with a price, is bound to glorify God with his body and his spirit which are God’s.”

Nor is it any longer a question with him, whether there is any profit in communion with God; he knows and feels that there is no employment under Heaven so profitable; and that, in fact, there is no profit in anything, not even in attending the ordinances or in reading the Word of God—unless a blessing is brought down upon the soul by fervent prayer.

Beloved, show the truth of your conversion by the change in your dispositions, your tempers, and your habits. If you are indeed brought forth into marvelous light—them “walk as children of the light and of the day.” And as some remains of your former corruption will yet be found in you, be daily putting off the old man, and be putting on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness!

Charles Simeon

Job 20:22

“In the midst of his plenty, distress will overtake him; the full force of misery will come upon him.”

Men universally, by nature, seek their happiness in earthly things. And though they meet with continual disappointment, they will persevere in the same unprofitable course, “spending their money for that which is not bread, and their labor for that which does not satisfy.”

The question, “Who will show us any good?” is asked by every man; but it is the godly man alone who answers it aright, “Lord, lift up the light of your countenance upon me!” The godly man attains the object of his pursuit; but the ungodly man finds, by bitter experience, that, whatever the measure of his success is in the attainment of earthly things, “In the midst of his plenty, distress will overtake him.”

From these words, I will take occasion to show what a poor wretched creature a mere worldly man is:

I. The worldly man as viewed in himself, is wretched.

It is here supposed, that he may not only possess a very large measure of earthly things, but may have a consciousness that his portion is, as it were, “shaken together, pressed down, and running over.” Yet, in the midst of his plenty:

1. Distress will overtake the worldly man as it respects his present enjoyments.

Earthly things, of whatever kind they are—pleasures, riches, or honors—are all, in their nature, empty and unsatisfying. In their use, they are transient and cloying. In their effects, they are productive of trouble and vexation. Our blessed Lord has told us, that “a man’s life does not consist in the abundance of the things that he possesses!” And Solomon, after trying all things to an extent that no other man ever did, has given us his testimony respecting them, that they are “all vanity and vexation of spirit!”

2. Distress will overtake the worldly man as it respects his future prospects.

Every man has a consciousness that there is a future state; and that earthly possessions, so far from advancing our preparation for it, tend rather to divert our attention from it, and to obstruct our progress in the heavenly life. It is no uncommon thing for a man, in the midst of all his earthly pleasures, to feel them embittered to him, by a consciousness that he is hastening to the eternal world, and is unprepared for it! In fact, though men may, for a season, shake off the thoughts of eternity, they cannot so divest themselves of it in a time of sickness, and in the approach of death, as not to feel exceedingly straitened in their spirit, and to acknowledge that they have been all their days following a phantom that has eluded their grasp and disappointed their expectations.

But, to see him in his true colors, look at:

II. The worldly man as viewed in contrast with a godly man, is wretched.

As an ungodly man may possess an abundance of earthly comforts—so may a godly man be reduced to great straits. We can scarcely conceive a more destitute condition than that of Lazarus, or that of those persecuted saints who “wandered about in sheep-skins and goat-skins, being destitute, afflicted, tormented, Hebrews 11:37-38.” Yet, as the worldling is in distress in the midst of his abundance, so the godly are in abundance in the midst of all their straits.

1. The godly enjoy much in possession.

The godly have peace with God; and that is more to them than ten thousand worlds. With this they are content and reconciled fully to their state, whatever that state may be. However great their distress may be, they are resigned to it as their father’s will, and they assure themselves that “all things shall work together for their good.” They know that “their affliction is but light and momentary, and that it is working out for them a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory!” Hence, so far from being dejected by their trials, they even “glory in them,” and find them a source of solid satisfaction, 2 Corinthians 12:10.

2. The godly enjoy much in future hope.

The godly are enabled to look up to Heaven, with an assurance, that, however destitute here, they have in that blessed world “an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled, and that never fades away.” They have already a foretaste of that bliss, in “a spirit of adoption,” and in the sealing of the Spirit, which is to them “a pledge” of what they are speedily to enjoy in all its fullness. How empty do all earthly things appear to him, while in such an elevated state as this! A king upon his throne, if not possessed of these spiritual treasures, is to him an object of pity rather than of admiration and envy; so infinitely is the worldly man below the child of God! The worldly man, in having all things, possesses nothing; but the saint, while “having nothing, in reality possesses all things! 2 Corinthians 6:10.”

APPLICATION.

1. Never seek happiness in a way of sin.

Sin may afford a present gratification; but, though it be as honey in the mouth, it will be bitter in the belly! So we are told in the preceding context, verse 12-14; and so it is found by every man.

2. Do not be too intent upon having the things of this world.

In earthly business, of whatever kind, we may be diligent. Yes, and great diligence will consist with great fervor of spirit, and spirituality of mind, Romans 12:11. But “our affections are not to be set on things below.” In Heaven alone is the treasure which we are to desire; and “where that is, our heart must be also.”

3. Seek your happiness in God alone.

There can be no disappointment in that which will make you rich in possession, and in reversion too; for if Christ be yours, “all other things must of necessity be yours also; whether Paul, or Apollos, or Cephas, or the world, or life, or death, or things present, or things to come. All are yours; and you are Christ’s, and Christ is God’s! 1 Corinthians 3:21-23.”

Charles Simeon