NINETEENTH SERVICE 1. INVOCATION WILL praise thee, O God, with my whole heart; I will be glad and rejoice in thee. For thou art good and thy mercies are from everlasting. Grant me a spirit of true devotion; that my service of prayer and thanksgiving may be acceptable in thy sight; for the Redeemer's sake. Amen. 2. HYMN: "I am thine, O Lord; I have heard thy voice." 3. SCRIPTURE LESSON Genesis 28:1-18. 4. PRAYER In thee, O God, do I put my trust. My sins are ever before me; bow down thine ear and deliver me speedily. Be thou for an house of defense to save me. I make my plea under the cross of Christ who died for me. The chastisement of my peace was upon him and with his stripes I am healed. Wherefore I call upon my soul to bless thy holy name. Give me, in full measure, the joy of salva tion; the joy that expresses itself not only in praise but in right living and faithful service. Lord, what wilt thou have me to do? Direct me to the place where thou wouldst have me spend and be spent for thee. Equip me for service and make me willing to do thy holy will. If I am to suffer, help me to suffer as for thee. Give me the patience of faith. Help me to live not for myself alone but for all about me. Let my light so shine that others, seeing my good works, may glorify thee. Bless thy Church to-day. Give to all preachers the baptism of the Spirit, and to all hearers the hearing ear and the understanding heart. Go out thyself to-day, O conquering Lord, and bring in many prisoners of hope. And to Father, Son and Holy Ghost shall be everlasting praise. Amen. 5. HYMN: "Depth of mercy, can there be." 6. OFFERING 7. SERMON The Happy End of God's Correction "Then the Lord answered Job out of the whirlwind and said." (Job 38: 1.) A special interest attaches to the Book of Job because it is, in all probability, the oldest literary work in the world. It is a dramatic poem, its object being indicated in its ancient title, "The Happy End of God's Correction." The Dramatis Personæ are as follows: I. Job, the central figure of the poem: an Arab sheikh, dwelling in the land of Uz. In his happy home are a loving wife and ten children. The inventory of his wealth is given thus: Seven thousand sheep, three thousand camels, five hundred yoke of oxen, five hundred she-asses, and "a very great household" of servants and retainers. This was an extraordinary fortune, in the Orient, even for those days. He was in possession also of perfect physical health; a blessing which no man appreciates until he has lost it. And, better than all else, Job was an upright man; as it is written: "He feared God and eschewed evil.” II. Satan, the accuser: a shadowy figure, but none the less real. He is represented as appearing in the divine presence to offer a railing accusation against Job. "Doth he fear God for naught?" he insinuatingly asks. "Is his piety disinterested? By no means! Thou hast put a hedge about him, so that he cannot be tried. Let me but go within that hedge and lay my hand upon him and his possessions; and, behold, he will curse thee!" He is permitted, accordingly, to tempt Job. A light is here thrown on the rationale of trial. No attainment of character is possible without trial; but no trial is possible except as God permits it. Our Lord himself was "driven forth by the Spirit" into the wilderness to be tempted of the Devil; and the servant is not greater than his Lord. "Blessed is the man that endureth temptation, for when he is tried he shall receive the crown of life!" The first of Job's trials was poverty. In a hostile foray all his property was lost. But he was not "ruined." He sat amid the ashes of his prosperity, saying: "The Lord gave and the Lord hath taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord!" Then came bereavement. A messenger announced that his children had been swept away by a sudden calamity. In the morning he had parted with them at the door, wishing them God-speed; at the evening he lamented their taking-off. And still, in a calm spirit of resignation, he said, "Blessed be the name of the Lord!" His health was next assailed. A painful and loathsome form of leprosy was laid upon him; so that, "taking a potsherd to scrape himself withal," he sat apart as an unclean man. His wife, heartbroken by his repeated troubles, bade him, “Curse God and die," to whom he patiently replied, "What, shall we receive good at the hand of God, and shall we not receive evil?" And then the worst of misfortunes befell him in the loss of his good name. It began to be whispered about among his friends and neighbors that Job was no better than he ought to be. "He must indeed be a great sinner, else how could so many and grave adversities come upon him?" III. A group of Comforters: namely, Bildad, Eliphaz and Zophar. As old friends, they came to pay him a visit of condolence. Lifting up their eyes afar off, they knew him not, so greatly was he changed. They rent their mantles and sprinkled dust upon their heads. For awhile they sat with him in silence; and when at length they broke the silence, it was to accuse him of the sins which were so clearly avenging themselves upon him. Miserable comforters were they all! The view they advanced is not an uncommon one; namely, that suffering is in the nature of strict requital; an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth and burning for burning; all sin receiving its own punishment here and now. IV. Elihu: a young man, who modestly waits while his elders, at great length, air their false philosophy. "I am young," he begins, "and ye are very old, wherefore I was afraid and durst not show you mine opinion." He reproves the three comforters for the severity of their judgment and insists that much of human suffering is not penal or retributive, but disciplinary. His view is practically that which was later advanced by Augustine on this wise: "If no sin were punished in this present time, men would not be |