111 And Zophar the Naamathite answereth and saith:— 2 Is a multitude of words not answered? And is a man of lips justified? 3 Thy devices make men keep silent, Thou scornest, and none is causing blushing! 4 And thou sayest, 'Pure 'is' my discourse, And clean I have been in Thine eyes.' 5 And yet, O that God had spoken! And doth open His lips with thee. 6 And declare to thee secrets of wisdom, For counsel hath foldings. And know thou that God forgetteth for thee, 'Some' of thine iniquity.
7 By searching dost thou find out God? Unto perfection find out the Mighty One? 8 Heights of the heavens!—what dost thou? Deeper than Sheol!—what knowest thou? 9 Longer than earth 'is' its measure, And broader than the sea. 10 If He pass on, and shut up, and assemble, Who then dost reverse it? 11 For he hath known men of vanity, And He seeth iniquity, And one doth not consider 'it'! 12 And empty man is bold, And the colt of a wild ass man is born.
13 If thou—thou hast prepared thy heart, And hast spread out unto Him thy hands, 14 If iniquity 'is' in thy hand, put it far off, And let not perverseness dwell in thy tents. 15 For then thou liftest up thy face from blemish, And thou hast been firm, and fearest not. 16 For thou dost forget misery, As waters passed away thou rememberest. 17 And above the noon doth age rise, Thou fliest—as the morning thou art. 18 And thou hast trusted because their is hope, And searched—in confidence thou liest down, 19 And thou hast rested, And none is causing trembling, And many have entreated thy face; 20 And the eyes of the wicked are consumed, And refuge hath perished from them, And their hope 'is' a breathing out of soul!
121 And Job answereth and saith:— 2 Truly—ye 'are' the people, And with you doth wisdom die. 3 I also have a heart like you, I am not fallen more than you, And with whom is there not like these? 4 A laughter to his friend I am: 'He calleth to God, and He answereth him,' A laughter 'is' the perfect righteous one. 5 A torch—despised in the thoughts of the secure Is prepared for those sliding with the feet.
6 At peace are the tents of spoilers, And those provoking God have confidence, He into whose hand God hath brought. 7 And yet, ask, I pray thee, 'One of' the beasts, and it doth shew thee, And a fowl of the heavens, And it doth declare to thee. 8 Or talk to the earth, and it sheweth thee, And fishes of the sea recount to thee: 9 'Who hath not known in all these, That the hand of Jehovah hath done this? 10 In whose hand 'is' the breath of every living thing, And the spirit of all flesh of man.' 11 Doth not the ear try words? And the palate taste food for itself?
12 With the very aged 'is' wisdom, And 'with' length of days understanding. 13 With Him 'are' wisdom and might, To him 'are' counsel and understanding. 14 Lo, He breaketh down, and it is not built up, He shutteth against a man, And it is not opened. 15 Lo, He keepeth in the waters, and they are dried up, And he sendeth them forth, And they overturn the land. 16 With Him 'are' strength and wisdom, His the deceived and deceiver. 17 Causing counsellors to go away a spoil, And judges He maketh foolish. 18 The bands of kings He hath opened, And He bindeth a girdle on their loins. 19 Causing ministers to go away a spoil And strong ones He overthroweth. 20 Turning aside the lip of the stedfast, And the reason of the aged He taketh away. 21 Pouring contempt upon princes, And the girdle of the mighty He made feeble. 22 Removing deep things out of darkness, And He bringeth out to light death-shade. 23 Magnifying the nations, and He destroyeth them, Spreading out the nations, and He quieteth them. 24 Turning aside the heart Of the heads of the people of the land, And he causeth them to wander In vacancy—no way! 25 They feel darkness, and not light, He causeth them to wander as a drunkard.
131 Lo, all—hath mine eye seen, Heard hath mine ear, and it attendeth to it. 2 According to your knowledge I have known—also I. I am not fallen more than you. 3 Yet I for the Mighty One do speak, And to argue for God I delight. 4 And yet, ye 'are' forgers of falsehood, Physicians of nought—all of you, 5 O that ye would keep perfectly silent, And it would be to you for wisdom. 6 Hear, I pray you, my argument, And to the pleadings of my lips attend, 7 For God do ye speak perverseness? And for Him do ye speak deceit? 8 His face do ye accept, if for God ye strive? 9 Is 'it' good that He doth search you, If, as one mocketh at a man, ye mock at Him? 10 He doth surely reprove you, if in secret ye accept faces. 11 Doth not His excellency terrify you? And His dread fall upon you? 12 Your remembrances 'are' similes of ashes, For high places of clay your heights.
13 Keep silent from me, and I speak, And pass over me doth what? 14 Wherefore do I take my flesh in my teeth? And my soul put in my hand? 15 Lo, He doth slay me—I wait not! Only, my ways unto His face I argue. 16 Also—He 'is' to me for salvation, For the profane cometh not before Him. 17 Hear ye diligently my word, And my declaration with your ears. 18 Lo, I pray you, I have set in order the cause, I have known that I am righteous. 19 Who 'is' he that doth strive with me? For now I keep silent and gasp. 20 Only two things, O God, do with me: Then from Thy face I am not hidden. 21 Thy hand put far off from me, And Thy terror let not terrify me. 22 And call Thou, and I—I answer, Or—I speak, and answer Thou me.
23 How many iniquities and sins have I? My transgression and my sin let me know. 24 Why dost Thou hide Thy face? And reckonest me for an enemy to Thee? 25 A leaf driven away dost Thou terrify? And the dry stubble dost Thou pursue? 26 For Thou writest against me bitter things, And causest me to possess iniquities of my youth: 27 And puttest in the stocks my feet, And observest all my paths, On the roots of my feet Thou settest a print, 28 And he, as a rotten thing, weareth away, As a garment hath a moth consumed him.
91 And Saul, yet breathing of threatening and slaughter to the disciples of the Lord, having gone to the chief priest, 2 did ask from him letters to Damascus, unto the synagogues, that if he may find any being of the way, both men and women, he may bring them bound to Jerusalem. 3 And in the going, he came nigh to Damascus, and suddenly there shone round about him a light from the heaven, 4 and having fallen upon the earth, he heard a voice saying to him, 'Saul, Saul, why me dost thou persecute?' 5 And he said, 'Who art thou, Lord?' and the Lord said, 'I am Jesus whom thou dost persecute; hard for thee at the pricks to kick;' 6 trembling also, and astonished, he said, 'Lord, what dost thou wish me to do?' and the Lord 'said' unto him, 'Arise, and enter into the city, and it shall be told thee what it behoveth thee to do.' 7 And the men who are journeying with him stood speechless, hearing indeed the voice but seeing no one, 8 and Saul arose from the earth, and his eyes having been opened, he beheld no one, and leading him by the hand they brought him to Damascus, 9 and he was three days without seeing, and he did neither eat nor drink.
10 And there was a certain disciple in Damascus, by name Ananias, and the Lord said unto him in a vision, 'Ananias;' and he said, 'Behold me, Lord;' 11 and the Lord 'saith' unto him, 'Having risen, go on unto the street that is called Straight, and seek in the house of Judas, 'one' by name Saul of Tarsus, for, lo, he doth pray, 12 and he saw in a vision a man, by name Ananias, coming in, and putting a hand on him, that he may see again.' 13 And Ananias answered, 'Lord, I have heard from many about this man, how many evils he did to Thy saints in Jerusalem, 14 and here he hath authority from the chief priests, to bind all those calling on Thy name.' 15 And the Lord said unto him, 'Be going on, because a choice vessel to Me is this one, to bear My name before nations and kings—the sons also of Israel; 16 for I will shew him how many things it behoveth him for My name to suffer.' 17 And Ananias went away, and did enter into the house, and having put upon him 'his' hands, said, 'Saul, brother, the Lord hath sent me—Jesus who did appear to thee in the way in which thou wast coming—that thou mayest see again, and mayest be filled with the Holy Spirit.' 18 And immediately there fell from his eyes as it were scales, he saw again also presently, and having risen, was baptized, 19 and having received nourishment, was strengthened, and Saul was with the disciples in Damascus certain days,
20 and immediately in the synagogues he was preaching the Christ, that he is the Son of God. 21 And all those hearing were amazed, and said, 'Is not this he who laid waist in Jerusalem those calling on this name, and hither to this intent had come, that he might bring them bound to 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.
