111 Then Zophar the Naamathite answered , 2 "Shall a multitude of words go unanswered , And a talkative man be acquitted ? 3 "Shall your boasts silence men ? And shall you scoff and none rebuke ? 4 "For you have said , 'My teaching is pure , And I am innocent in your eyes .' 5 "But would e that God might speak , And open His lips against you, 6 And show you the secrets of wisdom ! For sound wisdom has two sides . Know then that God forgets a part of your iniquity .
7 " Can you discover the depths of God ? Can you discover the limits of the Almighty ? 8 "They are high as the heavens , what can you do ? Deeper than Sheol , what can you know ? 9 "Its measure is longer than the earth And broader than the sea . 10 "If He passes by or shuts up, Or calls an assembly , who can restrain Him? 11 "For He knows false men , And He sees iniquity without investigating . 12 " An idiot e will become intelligent When the foal of a wild donkey is born a man .
13 " If you would direct your heart right And spread out your hand to Him, 14 If iniquity is in your hand , put it far away , And do not let wickedness dwell in your tents ; 15 "Then , indeed , you could lift up your face without moral defect , And you would be steadfast and not fear . 16 "For you would forget your trouble , As waters that have passed by, you would remember it. 17 "Your life would be brighter than noonday ; Darkness would be like the morning . 18 "Then you would trust , because there is hope ; And you would look around and rest securely . 19 "You would lie down and none would disturb you, And many would entreat your favor . 20 "But the eyes of the wicked will fail , And there will be no escape for them; And their hope is to breathe their last ."
121 Then Job responded e , 2 "Truly then you are the people , And with you wisdom will die ! 3 "But I have intelligence as well as you; I am not inferior to you. And who does not know such things as these ? 4 "I am a joke to my friends , The one who called on God and He answered him; The just and blameless man is a joke . 5 "He who is at ease holds calamity in contempt , As prepared for those whose feet slip .
6 "The tents of the destroyers prosper , And those who provoke God are secure , Whom God brings into their power . 7 "But now ask the beasts , and let them teach you; And the birds of the heavens , and let them tell you. 8 "Or speak to the earth , and let it teach you; And let the fish of the sea declare to you. 9 "Who among all these does not know That the hand of the Lord has done this , 10 In whose hand is the life of every living thing , And the breath of all mankind e ? 11 "Does not the ear test words , As the palate tastes its food ?
12 "Wisdom is with aged men , With long life is understanding . 13 "With Him are wisdom and might ; To Him belong counsel and understanding . 14 "Behold , He tears down , and it cannot be rebuilt ; He imprisons a man , and there can be no release . 15 "Behold , He restrains the waters , and they dry up; And He sends them out, and they inundate the earth . 16 "With Him are strength and sound wisdom , The misled and the misleader belong to Him. 17 "He makes counselors walk barefoot And makes fools of judges . 18 "He loosens the bond of kings And binds their loins with a girdle . 19 "He makes priests walk barefoot And overthrows the secure ones . 20 "He deprives the trusted ones of speech And takes away the discernment of the elders . 21 "He pours contempt on nobles And loosens the belt of the strong . 22 "He reveals mysteries from the darkness And brings the deep darkness into light . 23 "He makes the nations great , then destroys them; He enlarges the nations , then leads them away. 24 "He deprives of intelligence the chiefs of the earth's people And makes them wander in a pathless e waste . 25 "They grope in darkness with no light , And He makes them stagger like a drunken man .
131 " Behold , my eye has seen all this, My ear has heard and understood it. 2 " What you know I also know ; I am not inferior to you. 3 "But I would speak to the Almighty , And I desire to argue with God . 4 "But you smear with lies ; You are all worthless physicians . 5 "O that you would be completely silent , And that it would become your wisdom ! 6 "Please hear my argument And listen to the contentions of my lips . 7 "Will you speak what is unjust for God , And speak what is deceitful for Him? 8 "Will you show partiality e for Him? Will you contend for God ? 9 "Will it be well when He examines you? Or will you deceive Him as one deceives a man ? 10 "He will surely reprove you If you secretly show partiality e . 11 "Will not His majesty terrify you, And the dread of Him fall on you? 12 "Your memorable sayings are proverbs of ashes , Your defenses are defenses of clay .
13 " Be silent before me so that I may speak ; Then let come on me what may. 14 "Why e should I take my flesh in my teeth And put my life in my hands ? 15 " Though He slay me, I will hope in Him. Nevertheless I will argue my ways before e Him. 16 "This also will be my salvation , For a godless man may not come before His presence . 17 "Listen carefully to my speech , And let my declaration fill your ears . 18 "Behold now , I have prepared my case ; I know that I will be vindicated . 19 " Who will contend with me? For then I would be silent and die . 20 "Only two things do not do to me, Then I will not hide from Your face : 21 Remove Your hand from me, And let not the dread of You terrify me. 22 "Then call , and I will answer ; Or let me speak , then reply to me.
23 " How many are my iniquities and sins ? Make known to me my rebellion and my sin . 24 "Why do You hide Your face And consider me Your enemy ? 25 "Will You cause a driven leaf to tremble ? Or will You pursue the dry chaff ? 26 "For You write bitter things against me And make me to inherit the iniquities of my youth . 27 "You put my feet in the stocks And watch all my paths ; You set a limit for the soles of my feet , 28 While I am decaying like a rotten thing , Like a garment that is moth-eaten e .
91 Now Saul , still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord , went to the high priest , 2 and asked for letters from him to the synagogues at Damascus , so that if he found any belonging to the Way , both men and women , he might bring them bound to Jerusalem . 3 As he was traveling , it happened that he was approaching Damascus , and suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him; 4 and he fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to him, "Saul , Saul , why are you persecuting Me?" 5 And he said , "Who are You, Lord ?" And He said, "I am Jesus whom you are persecuting , 6 but get up and enter the city , and it will be told you what e you must do ." 7 The men who traveled with him stood speechless , hearing the voice but seeing no one . 8 Saul got up from the ground , and though his eyes were open , he could see nothing ; and leading him by the hand , they brought him into Damascus . 9 And he was three days without sight , and neither ate nor drank .
10 Now there was a disciple at Damascus named Ananias ; and the Lord said to him in a vision , "Ananias ." And he said , "Here I am, Lord ." 11 And the Lord said to him, "Get up and go to the street called Straight , and inquire at the house of Judas for a man from Tarsus named Saul , for he is praying , 12 and he has seen in a vision a man named Ananias come in and lay his hands on him, so that he might regain his sight ." 13 But Ananias answered , "Lord , I have heard from many about this man , how much harm he did to Your saints at Jerusalem ; 14 and here he has authority from the chief priests to bind all who call on Your name ." 15 But the Lord said to him, "Go , for he is a chosen instrument of Mine , to bear My name before the Gentiles and kings and the sons of Israel ; 16 for I will show him how much he must suffer for My name's sake ." 17 So Ananias departed and entered the house , and after laying his hands on him said , " Brother Saul , the Lord Jesus , who appeared to you on the road by which you were coming , has sent me so that you may regain your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit ." 18 And immediately there fell from his eyes something like scales , and he regained his sight , and he got up and was baptized ; 19 and he took food and was strengthened . Now for several days he was with the disciples who were at Damascus ,
20 and immediately he began to proclaim Jesus in the synagogues , saying , "He is the Son of God ." 21 All those hearing him continued to be amazed , and were saying , "Is this not he who in Jerusalem destroyed those who called on this name , and who had come here for the purpose of bringing them bound before the chief priests ?"
(Read Acts 9:1-9)
So ill informed was Saul, that he thought he ought to do all he could against the name of Christ, and that he did God service thereby; he seemed to breathe in this as in his element. Let us not despair of renewing grace for the conversion of the greatest sinners, nor let such despair of the pardoning mercy of God for the greatest sin. It is a signal token of Divine favour, if God, by the inward working of his grace, or the outward events of his providence, stops us from prosecuting or executing sinful purposes. Saul saw that Just One, 14; 26:13. How near to us is the unseen world! It is but for God to draw aside the veil, and objects are presented to the view, compared with which, whatever is most admired on earth is mean and contemptible. Saul submitted without reserve, desirous to know what the Lord Jesus would have him to do. Christ's discoveries of himself to poor souls are humbling; they lay them very low, in mean thoughts of themselves. For three days Saul took no food, and it pleased God to leave him for that time without relief. His sins were now set in order before him; he was in the dark concerning his own spiritual state, and wounded in spirit for sin. When a sinner is brought to a proper sense of his own state and conduct, he will cast himself wholly on the mercy of the Saviour, asking what he would have him to do. God will direct the humbled sinner, and though he does not often bring transgressors to joy and peace in believing, without sorrows and distress of conscience, under which the soul is deeply engaged as to eternal things, yet happy are those who sow in tears, for they shall reap in joy.
(Read Acts 9:10-22)
A good work was begun in Saul, when he was brought to Christ's feet with those words, Lord, what wilt thou have me to do? And never did Christ leave any who were brought to that. Behold, the proud Pharisee, the unmerciful oppressor, the daring blasphemer, prayeth! And thus it is even now, and with the proud infidel, or the abandoned sinner. What happy tidings are these to all who understand the nature and power of prayer, of such prayer as the humbled sinner presents for the blessings of free salvation! Now he began to pray after another manner than he had done; before, he said his prayers, now, he prayed them. Regenerating grace sets people on praying; you may as well find a living man without breath, as a living Christian without prayer. Yet even eminent disciples, like Ananias, sometimes stagger at the commands of the Lord. But it is the Lord's glory to surpass our scanty expectations, and show that those are vessels of his mercy whom we are apt to consider as objects of his vengeance. The teaching of the Holy Spirit takes away the scales of ignorance and pride from the understanding; then the sinner becomes a new creature, and endeavours to recommend the anointed Saviour, the Son of God, to his former companions.
