411 Wilt thou draw out the leviathan with the hook, and press down his tongue with a cord? 2 Wilt thou put a rush-rope into his nose, and pierce his jaw with a spike? 3 Will he make many supplications unto thee? or will he speak softly unto thee? 4 Will he make a covenant with thee? wilt thou take him as a bondman for ever? 5 Wilt thou play with him as with a bird, and wilt thou bind him for thy maidens? 6 Shall partners make traffic of him, will they divide him among merchants? 7 Wilt thou fill his skin with darts, and his head with fish-spears? 8 Lay thy hand upon him; remember the battle,—do no more! 9 Lo, hope as to him is belied: is not one cast down even at the sight of him? 10 None is so bold as to stir him up; and who is he that will stand before me?
11 Who hath first given to me, that I should repay [him]? [Whatsoever is] under the whole heaven is mine. 12 I will not be silent as to his parts, the story of his power, and the beauty of his structure. 13 Who can uncover the surface of his garment? who can come within his double jaws? 14 Who can open the doors of his face? Round about his teeth is terror. 15 The rows of his shields are a pride, shut up together [as with] a close seal. 16 One is so near to another that no air can come between them; 17 They are joined each to its fellow; they stick together, and cannot be sundered. 18 His sneezings flash light, and his eyes are like the eyelids of the morning. 19 Out of his mouth go forth flames; sparks of fire leap out: 20 Out of his nostrils goeth smoke, as out of a boiling pot and cauldron. 21 His breath kindleth coals, and a flame goeth out of his mouth. 22 In his neck lodgeth strength, and terror danceth before him. 23 The flakes of his flesh are joined together: they are fused upon him, they cannot be moved. 24 His heart is firm as a stone, yea, firm as the nether [millstone]. 25 When he raiseth himself up, the mighty are afraid: they are beside themselves with consternation. 26 If any reach him with a sword, it cannot hold; neither spear, nor dart, nor harpoon. 27 He esteemeth iron as straw, bronze as rotten wood. 28 The arrow will not make him flee; slingstones are turned with him into stubble. 29 Clubs are counted as stubble; he laugheth at the shaking of a javelin. 30 His under parts are sharp potsherds: he spreadeth a threshing-sledge upon the mire. 31 He maketh the deep to boil like a pot; he maketh the sea like a pot of ointment; 32 He maketh the path to shine after him: one would think the deep to be hoary. 33 Upon earth there is not his like, who is made without fear. 34 He beholdeth all high things; he is king over all the proud beasts.
421 And Job answered Jehovah and said, 2 I know that thou canst do everything, and that thou canst be hindered in no thought of thine. 3 Who is he that obscureth counsel without knowledge? therefore have I uttered what I did not understand; things too wonderful for me, which I knew not. 4 Hear, I beseech thee, and I will speak: I will demand of thee, and inform me. 5 I had heard of thee by the hearing of the ear, but now mine eye seeth thee: 6 Wherefore I abhor [myself], and repent in dust and ashes.
7 And it came to pass after Jehovah had spoken these words to Job, that Jehovah said to Eliphaz the Temanite, Mine anger is kindled against thee, and against thy two friends; for ye have not spoken rightly of me, like my servant Job. 8 And now, take for yourselves seven bullocks and seven rams, and go to my servant Job, and offer up for yourselves a burnt-offering; and my servant Job shall pray for you, for him will I accept: lest I deal with you [after your] folly, for ye have not spoken of me rightly, like my servant Job. 9 Then Eliphaz the Temanite, and Bildad the Shuhite, and Zophar the Naamathite, went and did according as Jehovah had said unto them; and Jehovah accepted Job.
10 And Jehovah turned the captivity of Job, when he had prayed for his friends; and Jehovah gave Job twice as much as he had before. 11 And all his brethren, and all his sisters, and all they that had been of his acquaintance before, came to him, and they ate bread with him in his house, and they condoled with him, and comforted him concerning all the evil that Jehovah had brought upon him; and every one gave him a piece of money, and every one a golden ring. 12 And Jehovah blessed the latter end of Job more than his beginning; and he had fourteen thousand sheep, and six thousand camels, and a thousand yoke of oxen, and a thousand she-asses. 13 And he had seven sons and three daughters. 14 And he called the name of the first, Jemimah; and the name of the second, Keziah; and the name of the third, Keren-happuch. 15 And in all the land were no women found [so] fair as the daughters of Job; and their father gave them inheritance among their brethren. 16 And Job lived after this a hundred and forty years, and saw his sons, and his sons' sons, four generations. 17 And Job died, old and full of days.
22 And the crowd rose up too against them; and the praetors, having torn off their clothes, commanded to scourge [them]. 23 And having laid many stripes upon them they cast [them] into prison, charging the jailor to keep them safely; 24 who, having received such a charge, cast them into the inner prison, and secured their feet to the stocks.
25 And at midnight Paul and Silas, in praying, were praising God with singing, and the prisoners listened to them. 26 And suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison shook, and all the doors were immediately opened, and the bonds of all loosed. 27 And the jailor being awakened out of his sleep, and seeing the doors of the prison opened, having drawn a sword was going to kill himself, thinking the prisoners had fled. 28 But Paul called out with a loud voice, saying, Do thyself no harm, for we are all here. 29 And having asked for lights, he rushed in, and, trembling, fell down before Paul and Silas. 30 And leading them out said, Sirs, what must I do that I may be saved? 31 And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus and thou shalt be saved, thou and thy house. 32 And they spoke to him the word of the Lord, with all that were in his house. 33 And he took them the same hour of the night and washed [them] from their stripes; and was baptised, he and all his straightway. 34 And having brought them into his house he laid the table [for them], and rejoiced with all his house, having believed in God.
35 And when it was day, the praetors sent the lictors, saying, Let those men go. 36 And the jailor reported these words to Paul: The praetors have sent that ye may be let go. Now therefore go out and depart in peace. 37 But Paul said to them, Having beaten us publicly uncondemned, us who are Romans, they have cast us into prison, and now they thrust us out secretly? no, indeed, but let them come themselves and bring us out. 38 And the lictors reported these words to the praetors. And they were afraid when they heard they were Romans. 39 And they came and besought them, and having brought them out, asked them to go out of the city. 40 And having gone out of the prison, they came to Lydia; and having seen the brethren, they exhorted them and went away.
(Read Acts 16:16-24)
Satan, though the father of lies, will declare the most important truths, when he can thereby serve his purposes. But much mischief is done to the real servants of Christ, by unholy and false preachers of the gospel, who are confounded with them by careless observers. Those who do good by drawing men from sin, may expect to be reviled as troublers of the city. While they teach men to fear God, to believe in Christ, to forsake sin, and to live godly lives, they will be accused of teaching bad customs.
(Read Acts 16:25-34)
The consolations of God to his suffering servants are neither few nor small. How much more happy are true Christians than their prosperous enemies! As in the dark, so out of the depths, we may cry unto God. No place, no time is amiss for prayer, if the heart be lifted up to God. No trouble, however grievous, should hinder us from praise. Christianity proves itself to be of God, in that it obliges us to be just to our own lives. Paul cried aloud to make the jailer hear, and to make him heed, saying, Do thyself no harm. All the cautions of the word of God against sin, and all appearances of it, and approaches to it, have this tendency. Man, woman, do not ruin thyself; hurt not thyself, and then none else can hurt thee; do not sin, for nothing but that can hurt thee. Even as to the body, we are cautioned against the sins which do harm to that. Converting grace changes people's language of and to good people and good ministers. How serious the jailer's inquiry! His salvation becomes his great concern; that lies nearest his heart, which before was furthest from his thoughts. It is his own precious soul that he is concerned about. Those who are thoroughly convinced of sin, and truly concerned about their salvation, will give themselves up to Christ. Here is the sum of the whole gospel, the covenant of grace in a few words; Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house. The Lord so blessed the word, that the jailer was at once softened and humbled. He treated them with kindness and compassion, and, professing faith in Christ, was baptized in that name, with his family. The Spirit of grace worked such a strong faith in them, as did away further doubt; and Paul and Silas knew by the Spirit, that a work of God was wrought in them. When sinners are thus converted, they will love and honour those whom they before despised and hated, and will seek to lessen the suffering they before desired to increase. When the fruits of faith begin to appear, terrors will be followed by confidence and joy in God.
(Read Acts 16:35-40)
Paul, though willing to suffer for the cause of Christ, and without any desire to avenge himself, did not choose to depart under the charge of having deserved wrongful punishment, and therefore required to be dismissed in an honourable manner. It was not a mere point of honour that the apostle stood upon, but justice, and not to himself so much as to his cause. And when proper apology is made, Christians should never express personal anger, nor insist too strictly upon personal amends. The Lord will make them more than conquerors in every conflict; instead of being cast down by their sufferings, they will become comforters of their brethren.
