Bible Commentaries
Job 15

Versículo 4

T� refrena la oraci�n ante Dios.

Los obst�culos para la oraci�n espiritual

Todos los motivos por los que se puede influir en el coraz�n del hombre se combinan para imponerle el gran deber de la oraci�n. �De d�nde, entonces, surge la indiferencia culpable hacia la oraci�n espiritual, tan frecuente entre nosotros? �Por qu� los hombres, cuya �nica esperanza depende de la compasi�n inmerecida de su Padre Celestial, cerrar�n, por as� decirlo, con su propia apat�a e incredulidad, la fuente inagotable de donde anhela fluir, y refrenar�n la oraci�n ante Dios? Examine algunos de los obst�culos m�s comunes para el consuelo y el �xito en el ejercicio de la oraci�n; e indague por qu� se deriva tan poco crecimiento en la gracia de este elemento esencial de la vida cristiana. La oraci�n est� restringida ante Dios.

I. Cuando se le acerque en un estado de coraz�n orgulloso y sin humildad. Tal fue el pecado de Job cuando el temanita lo reprendi�. �Puede tener una comuni�n sin restricciones con Dios alguien cuyo esp�ritu a�n no ha sido subyugado por el conocimiento de su pecado, la convicci�n de su peligro, la verg�enza de su ingratitud? Si la oraci�n es algo, es la expresi�n de alguien que se condena a s� mismo, al Ser por quien fue creado, el Juez por cuyo veredicto debe acatar, el Redentor por cuya misericordia puede ser salvo.

Si la oraci�n tiene requisitos especiales, la contrici�n debe ser su esencia misma. Sin un sentido apropiado del mal que predomina dentro de nosotros, no puede haber santa libertad en la oraci�n; ninguna aspiraci�n del alma hacia el cielo; ninguna expresi�n desenfrenada del grito del salmista: "�Oh Dios, hazme un coraz�n limpio!" Una mente deshonesta y una oraci�n desenfrenada son contradicciones palpables.

II. Cuando el suplicante es esclavizado por el amor y la complacencia de cualquier pecado. Agust�n relata de s� mismo que, aunque no se atrevi� a omitir el deber de la oraci�n, pero con sus labios implor� constantemente la liberaci�n del poder y el amor de sus pecados que lo acosan, se hab�an entrelazado tan fuertemente alrededor de su coraz�n, que cada petici�n iba acompa�ada de alguna aspiraci�n silenciosa del alma, por un poco m�s de retraso en medio de las fuentes imp�as de sus gratificaciones pasadas.

Juzgue, entonces, si Agust�n en este estado no refren� la oraci�n ante Dios. Los actos prohibidos, o la complacencia de los deseos m�s desdichados, anulan y obstaculizan la oraci�n del transgresor. Perm�tanme advertirles tambi�n contra la devoci�n por las b�squedas, los placeres y las atracciones del mundo. El esp�ritu as� enredado y atrapado, puede de hecho emprender el empleo; pero en lugar de estar ocupado por la majestad de Jehov�, el amor de Emanuel y el aspecto trascendental de las cosas eternas, revolotear� entre las vanidades pasajeras y perecederas en las que busca su bien mezquino y humillante.

�Puede aquel cuya atenci�n se limita principalmente a la adquisici�n del bien temporal, expandir su coraz�n en oraci�n por misericordias invisibles y espirituales? Dios viene a nosotros en Su Evangelio, exhibiendo por un lado Su grandeza y Su bondad, y por el otro, exponiendo la vacuidad del tiempo y el sentido.

III. Cuando rezamos sin fervor. �Cu�l es el objeto de la s�plica? �No es para que podamos compartir los privilegios de la familia del cielo? sirviendo a Dios con deleite y amor entre su pueblo de abajo; y llegar a ser apto para servirle d�a y noche en su templo celestial, entre los esp�ritus de los justos perfeccionados? �Son, entonces, misericordias que deben buscarse en el mero lenguaje de la oraci�n, inanimados por su esp�ritu y su fervor? La oraci�n que Dios escuchar� y bendecir�, exige un toque del esp�ritu manifestado por la mujer sirofenicia creyente. Si falta este fervor de oraci�n, la deficiencia se origina en un coraz�n malvado de incredulidad que se aparta del Dios vivo.

IV. Cuando descuidamos orar con frecuencia. Nuestros deseos se repiten continuamente; pero s�lo la plenitud de la misericordia infinita puede suplirlos. De hecho, somos tan absolutamente dependientes de las misericordias diarias de nuestro Dios, como lo eran los israelitas del man� que ca�a cada ma�ana alrededor de sus tiendas. La oraci�n constante, por lo tanto, debe ser necesaria. Hay una necesidad continua de oraci�n para crecer en la gracia.

V. Cuando consideramos la oraci�n m�s como un deber oneroso que como un privilegio deleitable. Se ha hecho una provisi�n maravillosa para calificar a criaturas culpables y contaminadas para acercarse al Dios de toda pureza y santidad. "Nosotros, que alg�n tiempo estuvimos lejos, somos hechos cercanos por la sangre de Cristo". "Por medio de �l tenemos acceso por un solo Esp�ritu al Padre". El cristiano se acerca con la ofrenda unida de oraci�n y acci�n de gracias.

Entonces, �no reprimimos la oraci�n cuando, en lugar de dirigirnos a ella con corazones alegres y santa valent�a, somos llevados de mala gana al deber y s�lo impulsados ??por las sombr�as exigencias de un esp�ritu de esclavitud? Hasta que conversar con Dios en la oraci�n sea la vida y el placer del alma, el b�lsamo que mejor alivia sus dolores, el consuelo que mejor habla la paz y el silencio de sus dolores, el cordial que reaviva su desfallecimiento afecto, no puede haber desamparo de coraz�n. en este gran deber.

Debemos abrir todo nuestro coraz�n a los ojos de su misericordia; cu�ntele de cada deseo; relata cada dolor; supl�quele que se compadezca de cada sufrimiento, y tenga la seguridad de que �l atender� cada necesidad.

VI. Cuando se limita a solicitudes de clemencia de menor inter�s y momento. Tenemos esp�ritus inmortales, nada menos que cuerpos perecederos. Somos probadores para el cielo. Tenemos almas pecadoras que deben ser perdonadas; tenemos mentes carnales, que deben ser renovadas. El esp�ritu es m�s valioso que el cuerpo; la eternidad m�s trascendental que el tiempo. Entonces, �no se restringe la oraci�n cuando, en lugar de emplearla para buscar las cosas que pertenecen a nuestra paz, deseamos el bien de este mundo con fervor absorbente; y la mejor parte, que no se puede quitar, d�bilmente, si es que lo hace? Toda misericordia, podemos estar seguros, espera las oraciones de un coraz�n abierto. ( RP Buddicom, MA )

Oraci�n de restricci�n

Esto es parte de la acusaci�n presentada por Elifaz contra Job. Me dirijo al verdadero pueblo de Dios, que comprende el arte sagrado de la oraci�n y prevalece en �l; pero quienes, para su propia tristeza y verg�enza, deben confesar que han reprimido la oraci�n. Con frecuencia restringimos la oraci�n en las pocas ocasiones que apartamos para la s�plica. Constantemente restringimos la oraci�n al no tener nuestro coraz�n en un estado adecuado cuando llegamos a su ejercicio.

Nos apresuramos a orar con demasiada frecuencia. Antes de la oraci�n, debemos meditar en Aquel a quien se va a dirigir; sobre el camino por el cual se ofrece mi oraci�n. �No debo, antes de la oraci�n, estar debidamente consciente de mis muchos pecados? Si a�adimos la meditaci�n sobre nuestras necesidades, �cu�nto mejor deber�amos orar! Qu� bien si, antes de la oraci�n, medit�ramos sobre el pasado con respecto a todas las misericordias que hemos tenido durante el d�a.

�Qu� valor nos dar�a eso para pedir m�s! Un hombre consciente de su propio error no puede negar que, en el deber de la oraci�n misma, con demasiada frecuencia nos sentimos angustiados en nuestras propias entra�as y reprimimos la oraci�n. Esto es cierto para la oraci�n como invocaci�n; como confesi�n; como petici�n; y como acci�n de gracias. Y por �ltimo, est� muy claro que, en muchas de nuestras acciones diarias, hacemos aquello que requiere una oraci�n contenida. ( CH Spurgeon. )

Sobre la formalidad y la negligencia en la oraci�n

Esta es una de las muchas censuras que le hicieron los amigos de Job. No pod�a ser condenado por el hecho sin estar condenado por el pecado. La oraci�n es un mandato muy positivo, como deber primordial de la religi�n; un deber estrictamente en s� mismo, como la manera adecuada de reconocer la supremac�a de Dios y nuestra dependencia. La oraci�n no puede ser descartada por ning�n principio que no reprima y condene todos los deseos religiosos fervientes.

�No ser�a absurdo complacer estos deseos, si es absurdo expresarlos? Y peor que absurdo, porque �qu� son menos que impulsos para controlar las determinaciones y la conducta divinas? Porque estos deseos ascender�n absolutamente hacia �l. Una vez m�s, el gran objetivo es aumentar estos deseos. Entonces aqu� tambi�n hay evidencia a favor de la oraci�n. Porque debe operar para hacerlos m�s fuertes, m�s v�vidos, m�s solemnes, m�s prolongados y m�s definidos en cuanto a sus objetos.

Convertirlos en expresiones para Dios concentrar� el alma en ellos y en estos objetos. En cuanto a la objeci�n de que no podemos alterar las determinaciones divinas; Bien puede suponerse que es de acuerdo con las determinaciones divinas que no se dar�n cosas buenas a aquellos que no las soliciten; que habr� esta expresi�n de dependencia y reconocimiento de la supremac�a Divina.

Ahora veamos la manera en que los hombres se benefician de esta circunstancia sumamente sublime en su condici�n. Naturalmente, podr�amos haber esperado un predominio universal de un esp�ritu devocional. �Pobre de m�! hay millones de la parte civilizada de la humanidad que no practica ning�n culto, ni oraci�n en absoluto, de ninguna manera; est�n completamente "sin Dios en el mundo". Decir de alguien as�, "T� refrena la oraci�n", es pronunciar sobre �l una acusaci�n terrible, es predecir un destino terrible.

Sin embargo, deseamos hacer algunas observaciones admonitorias sobre la gran deficiencia de la oraci�n en aquellos que sienten su importancia y no son del todo ajenos a su genuino ejercicio. �Cu�nto de este ejercicio, en su calidad genuina, ha habido en el curso de nuestra vida habitualmente? �Existe una reticencia muy frecuente, o incluso predominante, a ello, de modo que el sentimiento principal al respecto no sea m�s que un inquietante sentido del deber y de culpa por la negligencia? �sta era una seria causa de alarma, para que no todo estuviera mal por dentro.

�Se deja en el transcurso de nuestros d�as a la incertidumbre de si se atender� o no al ejercicio? �Existe la costumbre de dejar venir primero para ser atendido por cualquier cosa inferior que se ofrezca? Cuando este gran deber se deja a un lado por tiempo indefinido, la disposici�n disminuye a cada paso, y quiz�s tambi�n la conciencia. O, en el intervalo apropiado para este ejercicio, un hombre puede aplazarlo hasta muy cerca de lo que sabe que debe ser el final del tiempo permitido.

Una vez m�s, una situaci�n inconveniente para el ejercicio devocional a menudo ser� uno de los verdaderos males de la vida. A veces, el ejercicio se hace muy breve debido a una falta de inter�s real e incondicional. O la oraci�n se retrasa por un sentimiento de culpa reciente. La carga en el texto recae sobre el estado de sentimiento que se olvida de reconocer el valor de la oraci�n como instrumento en las transacciones de la vida. Y recae, tambi�n, en la indulgencia de preocupaciones, ansiedades y dolores, con poco recurso a este gran expediente. ( John Foster. )

Oraci�n de restricci�n

I. El empleo, cuya importancia se asume. El empleo de la oraci�n. El fin y el objeto de toda oraci�n es Dios. Dios, que es el �nico verdadero objeto de la oraci�n, la ha convertido en un deber positivo y universal. La obligaci�n no puede sino inferirse razonable y propiamente de las relaciones que se revelan como esencialmente existentes entre el hombre y Dios.

II. La naturaleza del h�bito, cuya indulgencia se carga. En lugar de someterse y obedecer absolutamente los mandatos que Dios le ha impuesto, es culpable de reprimirse e impedir el ejercicio de la s�plica. Algunas de las formas en las que los hombres son culpables de restringir la oraci�n ante Dios.

1. Refrena la oraci�n a quien la omite por completo.

2. Qui�n participa pero rara vez.

3. Quien excluye de sus s�plicas los asuntos que son propiamente objeto de oraci�n.

4. Que no aprecia el esp�ritu de importunidad en la oraci�n.

III. Los males, cuya imposici�n est� amenazada.

1. La oraci�n restrictiva impide la comunicaci�n de bendiciones espirituales.

2. Expone positivamente a la ira judicial de Dios. ( James Parsons. )

Oraci�n de restricci�n

Este texto nos ayuda a se�alar la causa de muchas cosas que andan mal en todos nosotros. Aqu� est� lo que est� mal: "T� refrena la oraci�n delante de Dios". Si est� restringiendo la oraci�n, es decir, descuidando la oraci�n, arrincon�ndola y haci�ndola dar paso a todo lo dem�s, ofreci�ndola formalmente y sin coraz�n, y sin verdadera seriedad y prop�sito, orando como si estuviera seguro de que su la oraci�n no servir� de nada, entonces no es de extra�ar si est�s desanimado y ansioso; y si la gracia languidece y muere en ti, y t� creces, a pesar de toda tu profesi�n religiosa, tan mundana como el m�s mundano de los hombres y mujeres que te rodean.

No puede haber ninguna duda de que el descuido de la oraci�n es un pecado tristemente com�n. Es igualmente una locura extraordinaria. Hay personas que restringen la oraci�n, que no oran en absoluto, porque creen que la oraci�n no les servir� de nada, que la oraci�n no sirve de nada. Pero creemos en la oraci�n. Creemos en el deber de la misma; creemos en la eficacia de la misma. No es por ninguna opini�n err�nea expresada que los cristianos profesantes restrinjan la oraci�n.

Es por descuido; falta de inter�s en �l; vaga aversi�n a la comuni�n cercana con Dios; falta de fe vital, la fe tanto del coraz�n como de la cabeza. Eso es lo que est� mal; falta de sentido de la realidad de la oraci�n; no me gusta ir y estar cara a cara a solas con Dios. Es precisamente cuando nos sentimos menos inclinados a orar, cuando debemos orar con m�s fervor. Ten por seguro que en la ra�z de todos nuestros fracasos, nuestros errores, nuestras locuras, nuestras palabras apresuradas, nuestras malas acciones, nuestra fe d�bil, nuestra fr�a devoci�n, nuestra gracia menguante, est� el descuido de la oraci�n.

Si nuestras oraciones fueran reales; si fueran cordiales, humildes y frecuentes, entonces c�mo el mal que hay en nosotros se hundir�a avergonzado; entonces, �c�mo crecer�a y florecer�a todo lo santo y feliz en nosotros! ( AKH Boyd, DD )

Reprimiendo la oraci�n ante Dios

When the fear of God is cast off, the first and fundamental principle of personal religion is removed; and when prayer before God is restrained, it is an evidence that this first and fundamental principle is either wanting altogether, or for a time suspended in its exercise. To �cast off fear� is to live �without God in the world�; and to restrain prayer before God is a sure indication that this godless, graceless life, is already begun in the soul, and will speedily manifest itself in the character and conduct.

I. What is prayer before God?

1. It has God for its object. To each of the persons of the Godhead prayer may and should be made. To pray unto any of the host of heaven, or any mere creature whatever, is both a senseless and a sinful exercise. Because none of them can hear or answer our prayers. They know not the heart. They cannot be everywhere present. They cannot answer. To pray to any creature is sinful, because giving to the creature the glory which belongs exclusively to the Creator. To hear, accept, and answer prayer, is the peculiar prerogative of the only �living and true God.� By this He is distinguished from the �gods many and lords many� of the heathen.

2. It has Christ for its only medium. �In whom we have boldness, and access with confidence, by the faith of Him.� He is our friend at the court of heaven.

3. It has the Bible for its rule and reason. For its rule to direct us. It is the reason for enforcing prayer.

4. It has the heart for its seat. It does not consist in eloquence, in fluency of speech, in animal excitement, in bodily attitudes, or in outward forms. Words may be necessary to prayer, even in secret, for we think in words; but words are not of the nature and essence of prayer. There may be prayer without utterance or expression; but there can be no prayer without the outgoing of the heart, and the offering up of the desires unto God.

II. What is it to restrain prayer before God? This fault does not apply to the prayerless. They who never pray to God at all, cannot be charged with restraining prayer before Him.

1. Prayer may be restrained as to times. Most people pray to God sometimes. It is a great privilege that we may pray to God at all times. The pressure of business and the want of time, form the usual excuse for infrequency in prayer. But is it not a duty to redeem time for this very purpose?

2. As to persons. For whom ought we to pray? Some are as selfish in their prayers as they are bigoted in their creed, and niggardly in their purse. Paul says, �I exhort, therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men.�

3. As to formal prayer. The attitude of prayer is assumed, the language of prayer is employed, and the forms of prayer are observed; but the spirit of prayer, which gives it life and energy and efficacy, is wanting. Now look at prayer in its power. Three attributes are requisite to make prayer of much avail with God; faith, importunity, and perseverance.

III. What are the consequences of restraining prayer before God? These are just like the spirit and habit from which they flow,&mdashevil, only evil, and that continually, to individuals, to families, and to communities, civil and sacred. The evils may be comprised and expressed in two particulars,&mdashthe prevention of Divinely promised blessings, and exposure to Divine judgments. Let these considerations be&mdash

(1) A warning to the prayerless, and

(2) A monitor to the prayerful. (George Robson.)

�You don�t pray�

This instructive anecdote relating to President Finney is characteristic:&mdashA brother who had fallen into darkness and discouragement, was staying at the same house with Dr. Finney over night. He was lamenting his condition, and Dr. F., after listening to his narrative, turned to him with his peculiar earnest look, and with a voice that sent a thrill through his soul, said,� You don�t pray! that is what�s the matter with you.

Pray&mdashpray four times as much as ever you did in your life, and you will come out.� He immediately went down to the parlour, and taking the Bible he made a serious business of it, stirring up his soul to seek God as did Daniel, and thus he spent the night. It was not in vain. As the morning dawned he felt the light of the Sun of Righteousness shine upon his soul. His captivity was broken; and ever since he has felt that the greatest difficulty in the way of men being emancipated from their bondage is that they �don�t pray.

� The bonds cannot be broken by finite strength. We must take our case to Him who is mighty to save. Our eyes are blinded to Christ the Deliverer. He came to preach deliverance to the captive, to break the power of habit; and herein is the rising of a great hope for us. (Christian Age.)

Prayer the barometer of the spiritual state

Among the wonders which science has achieved, it has succeeded in bringing things which are invisible, and impalpable to our sense, within the reach of our most accurate observations. Thus the barometer makes us acquainted with the actual state of the atmosphere. It takes cognisance of the slightest variation, and every change is pointed out by its elevation or depression, so that we are accurately acquainted with the actual state of the air, and at any given time.

In like manner the Christian has within him an index by which he may take cognisance and by which he may measure the elevation and degrees of his spirituality&mdashit is the spirit of inward devotion. However difficult it may seem to be to pronounce on the invisibilities of our spirituality, yet there is a barometer to determine the elevation or depression of the spiritual principle. It marks the changes of the soul in its aspect towards God.

As the spirit of prayer mounts up, there is true spiritual elevation, and as it is restrained, and falls low, there is a depression of the spiritual principle within us. As is the spirit of devotion and communion such is the man. (H. G. Salter.)

Restrained prayer of no effect

In vain do we charge the gun, if we intend not to let it off. Meditation filleth the heart with heavenly matter, but prayer gives the discharge, and pours it forth upon God, whereby He is overcome to give the Christian his desired relief and succour. The promise is the bill or bond, wherein God makes Himself a debtor to the creature. Now, though it is some comfort to a poor man that hath no money at present to buy bread with, when he reads his bills and bonds, to see that he hath a great sum owing him; yet this will not supply his present wants and buy him bread.

No, it is putting his bond in suit must do this. By meditating on the promise thou comest to see there is support in, and deliverance out of, affliction engaged for; but none will come till thou commencest thy suit, and by prayer of faith callest in the debt. God expects to hear from you before you can expect to hear from Him. If thou �restrainest prayer,� it is no wonder the mercy promised is retained.

Meditation is like the lawyer�s studying the case in order to his pleading it at the bar. When, therefore, thou hast viewed the promise, and affected thy heart with the riches of it, then fly thee to the throne of grace and spread it before the Lord. (W. Gurnall.)

Versículo 10

The grey-headed and very aged men.

Grey-headed and aged men

I. Old age presents social contrasts. Some are rich and some are poor. Some have all their wants anticipated and supplied; others are beset with difficulties, which seem to thicken with advancing years.

II. Old age presents physical contrasts. There is an old man, fresh and ruddy, renewing his youth like the eagle. There is another who answers to Solomon�s melancholy description. The cause of this diversity may frequently be found in the past life. �The sins of youth bite sore in age.�

III. Old age presents intellectual contrasts. In most cases age brings its mental as well as its bodily infirmities. The imagination grows dull, the understanding loses its vigour, the power of originating and sustaining thought fails. There is no intellectual sympathy with living thought, nor power of appreciating it. There are instances of intellectual power remaining unimpaired to the last, so that the latest efforts of their possessors have been among their best.

Plato continued writing until he was over eighty. Dryden produced his noblest poem when he was near seventy. We generally speak of old age as pregnant with experience; but �great men are not always wise, neither do the aged understand judgment.� Some old people are as foolish as if they had walked through the world with their eyes and ears shut. There are contrasts of temper as well as of intellect. Old age is often fretful. It would seem as if infancy had come again, with all its peevishness, and none of its charms.

IV. Old age presents spiritual contrasts. The hoary head is sometimes a crown of glory. But there are old sinners as well as old saints. Some men are a terrible curse to society. And a sinful old age is often a miserable old age. This is especially the case where the besetting sin is covetousness. One lesson for all. If you live to be old, your old age will be very much what you are pleased to make it. Your moral and spiritual character rests with yourselves. (William Walters.)

The old faith and the new experience

The Catholic doctrine has not yet been struck out that will fuse in one commanding law the immemorial convictions of the race and the widening visions of the living soul. The agitation of the Church today is caused by the presence within her of Eliphaz and Job&mdashEliphaz standing for the fathers and their faith, Job passing through a fever crisis of experience and finding no remedy in the old interpretations.

The Church is apt to say, Here is moral disease, sin; we have nothing for that but rebuke and aversion. Is it wonderful that the tried life, conscious of integrity, rises in indignant revolt? The taunt of sin, scepticism, rationalism, or self-will is too ready a weapon, a sword worn always by the side or carried in the hand. (R. A. Watson.)

The aged that linger in the world

A veces, el sol parece colgar durante media hora en el horizonte, solo para mostrar lo glorioso que puede ser. Se acab� el d�a, se acab� el fervor del resplandor, y el sol cuelga dorado, no m�s rojo que el oro, en el oeste, haciendo que todo parezca indescriptiblemente hermoso con su rico resplandor, que arroja por todos lados. As� que Dios parece dejar que algunas personas, cuando hayan cumplido con su deber en este mundo, cuelguen en el oeste para que los hombres las miren y vean lo hermosas que son. Ahora hay algunos colgando en el oeste. ( HW Beecher. )

Versículo 11

�Son peque�os contigo los consuelos de Dios?

Perdiendo los consuelos divinos

Algunos toman las palabras como un reproche a Job, mostr�ndole la irracionalidad de la impaciencia o el desaliento, cu�n triste fue su caso, mientras ten�an los consuelos de Dios a los que recurrir. Tambi�n pueden tomarse como una reprimenda a Job por las quejas que hab�a expresado bajo sus sufrimientos; como si no hubiera estado debidamente atento a los divinos consuelos. Incluso los siervos de Dios, bajo las aflicciones, pueden perder el sentido de los consuelos divinos y comportarse como si fueran peque�os para ellos.

I. Los consuelos de los que se habla aqu�. Se dice que la consolaci�n es de Dios, ya que �l es el padre y la fuente de ella. Todo verdadero consuelo es de �l y proviene de �l.

1. A modo de eminencia. No hay comodidades como las de Dios.

2. Mediante disposici�n soberana. En y solo de �l se puede tener consuelo. Como nadie puede consolar como �l, nadie sin �l o en oposici�n a �l. Cristo, que es llamado el consuelo de Israel, sali� del Padre.

3. Note la abundancia y variedad de los consuelos de Dios. �l es el Dios de todo consuelo.

4. Los consuelos de Dios implican su poder y eficacia. Ning�n problema o angustia puede ser demasiado grande para que los consuelos divinos se sobrepasen.

II. �Cu�ndo se puede decir que estos consuelos son peque�os?

1. Cuando los siervos de Dios est�n listos para desmayar bajo su aflicci�n.

2. Cuando se impacientan bajo la aflicci�n, si no se liberan r�pidamente o tan pronto como lo desean o esperan.

3. Cuando recurren a cualquier otro m�todo para aliviar y librarse de la angustia, que el que Dios ha designado, de esperar en �l y mirarlo.

4. Cuando est�n llenos de pensamientos inquietantes y ansiosos, �qu� ser� de nosotros si nuestras aflicciones contin�an por mucho m�s tiempo?

III. Los siervos de Dios est�n sujetos a tales quejas y aflicciones. Esto procede

1. De la aflicci�n y el peso de la aflicci�n misma, especialmente de algunos tipos de ella, bajo la cual no es f�cil sobrellevarnos o comportarnos como deber�amos.

2. De la debilidad e imperfecci�n de la gracia, y la fuerza de los restos de corrupci�n. Sus pensamientos se concentran en lo que sufren y parecen estar totalmente absortos en ello. En medio de tanta confusi�n y aflicci�n, si piensan en Dios, lo aprehenden como si se hubiera apartado de ellos o se hubiera vuelto contra ellos. Y como su vida est� ligada a su amor, la aprensi�n de su disgusto les hiere en el coraz�n.

IV. La pecaminosidad de no atender a los consuelos de Dios, o de no tomarlos a la ligera.

1. Los consuelos de Dios son grandes en s� mismos; por eso es una gran afrenta para �l que sean peque�os con nosotros. Los consuelos en Dios, de �l y con �l, son grandes. No hay caso en el que un santo pueda necesitar consuelo, pero se le anima a buscarlo en alguna u otra de las perfecciones de Dios. �l es un Dios de sabidur�a infinita, poder omnipotente, bondad infinita y misericordia, presente en todas partes, y esto para su pueblo en forma de gracia; e inmutable en su naturaleza y perfecciones. Los consuelos de Dios est�n en Su Hijo, y por Su Esp�ritu y en Su Palabra.

2. La afrenta de despreciarlos puede agravarse por la indignidad de la persona por quien son despreciados.

3. Y agravado a�n m�s por las obligaciones que Su pueblo tiene para con �l, por lo que �l ha hecho por ellos y les ha otorgado. Un siervo de Dios tiene m�s motivos de consuelo y deleite en �l que motivo de tristeza, a causa de lo que sufre. Solicitud&mdash

(1) � Qu� maravilla es que haya tales consuelos de Dios!

(2) Tenga cuidado con la culpa de tratar tales consuelos como peque�os.

(3) Deje que Dios tenga la gloria de cualquier consuelo que haya recibido de �l.

(4) En todas tus angustias, toma conciencia de acudir a tu Padre que est� en los cielos, como padre y fuente de consuelo.

(5) Espere el consuelo en el tiempo de Dios y presuma de no recetarle; pero sigue orando y mirando hacia arriba. ( D. Wilcox. )

Los consuelos de Dios

I. Mire brevemente los consuelos de Dios. El verdadero consuelo, de todo tipo y grado, proviene de Dios.

1. Hay providencias consoladoras. Hay una providencia especial que atiende a los santos.

2. Las promesas est�n llenas de consuelo. Estos despliegan los prop�sitos de la gracia de Dios y se interponen entre el decreto y la ejecuci�n.

3. Hay muchos consuelos experimentales que disfrutan los verdaderos creyentes.

II. �Cu�ndo se puede decir que debemos tomar a la ligera estos consuelos y considerarlos peque�os?

1. Cuando subestimamos las bendiciones de la salvaci�n, colocando las gratificaciones carnales al mismo nivel que ellas, o no d�ndoles preferencia.

2. Estos consuelos son peque�os para nosotros cuando somos perezosos y negligentes al buscarlos.

3. Cuando no estimamos tanto las bendiciones del Evangelio como para encontrar satisfacci�n en ellas, en ausencia de todo bien creado, se puede decir que las consideramos peque�as.

III. La irracionalidad y pecaminosidad de tratar con descuido los consuelos del Evangelio.

1. Estos consuelos no son peque�os en s� mismos y, por lo tanto, no debemos despreciarlos. Ellos sientan las bases para la paz y el consuelo bajo las mayores aflicciones.

2. Hacerlos a la ligera es la forma de privarse de ellos, total o parcialmente.

3. Es despreciar a su Autor. Mejora&mdash

(1) A los que persiguen ansiosamente las riquezas, los honores y los placeres de la vida presente en el descuido de sus almas.

(2) A los insatisfechos con los nombramientos de la Providencia.

(3) Que todos aquellos que, como Ana, son de esp�ritu apesadumbrado, se esfuercen por recordar sus misericordias anteriores, como un ant�doto para el desaliento actual. ( B. Beddome, MA )

Los consuelos de Dios

I. La sustancia y el car�cter de las consolaciones de Dios. En su esencia, son verdaderos, s�lidos, fuertes, eternos y est�n enamorados. El car�cter de estos consuelos alcanza un nivel tan alto como su sustancia. Los consuelos, para ser efectivos, deben ser apropiados y adecuados. Para nosotros este personaje es reflexivo, contemplativo, comparativo y prospectivo.

II. El m�todo y la manera de transmitir los consuelos de Dios. Dios usa el m�todo de una providencia dominante; de la revelaci�n divina; del Esp�ritu que permanece. El ministerio de la consolaci�n necesita peculiarmente un coraz�n tierno, una mente iluminada, una mano amable y una lengua amable. Siempre hay necesidad de un ministerio as� en un mundo como el nuestro. La manera de Dios es considerada, concesiva y concluyente.

III. El esp�ritu de acogida que se da a los consuelos de Dios. Deben ser recibidos con esp�ritu de fe. El esp�ritu de alegr�a ser� el fruto de esta fe sumisa. El esp�ritu de oraci�n descubrir� que "la calamidad no es m�s que la gracia velada de Dios". ( WA Bevan. )

Los consuelos de Dios

1. Dios es el consolador del hombre por el mismo hecho de su existencia. Hay una clase de pasajes en la Biblia que parecen descansar la paz del alma humana en el mero hecho de la existencia de la vida m�s amplia de Dios. Es porque Dios es el que invita al hombre a estar en paz. Compadezco al hombre que nunca ha estado en su mejor estado de �nimo sentido su vida consolada y reconfortada en su peque�ez por las vidas m�s grandes que pod�a mirar, y sabe que ellos tambi�n eran hombres, viviendo en la misma humanidad que �l, solo viviendo en ella. mucho m�s en gran medida.

Porque gran parte de nuestra necesidad de consuelo proviene precisamente de esta manera, de la peque�ez de nuestra vida, su mezquindad y cansancio que se transfiere insensiblemente a toda la vida, y nos hace esc�pticos sobre cualquier cosa grande o por la que valga la pena vivir en la vida; y es nuestro rescate de esta duda debilitante que es la bendici�n que cae sobre nosotros cuando, dejando atr�s nuestra propia insignificancia, dejamos que nuestro coraz�n descanse con consuelo en el mero hecho de que hay hombres de vida grande, amplia, generosa y saludable. A los hombres les gusta lo m�s grande que conocemos. No son las personas m�s activas a las que m�s les debemos.

2. Luego est� la simpat�a de este mismo Dios. Se nos da a conocer, no solo que �l es, sino que �l se preocupa por nosotros. No meramente Su vida, sino Su amor, se convierte en un hecho. La verdadera raz�n por la que el que sufre se regocija en la simpat�a de Dios es que, por medio del amor, se le da a conocer completamente esa naturaleza querida y perfecta por la que ha luchado antes. El amor es el medio de traducci�n.

A trav�s de la simpat�a de Dios, conoce a Dios de manera m�s intensa y cercana, por lo que todos los consuelos del ser de Dios se han vuelto m�s reales para �l. �C�mo aprendemos de tal simpat�a de Dios? �C�mo podemos realmente llegar a creer que �l conoce nuestros problemas individuales y se lamenta por ellos con nosotros? M�s que de cualquier argumento abstracto o cient�fico sobre la universalidad de las grandes leyes, creo que es la grandeza del mundo, los millones y millones de almas necesitadas, lo que hace que sea dif�cil para los hombres creer en el cuidado discriminatorio y el amor personal de Dios. para cada. En tal perplejidad, �qu� haremos?

(1) D� juego libre y atrevido a los instintos del coraz�n que creen que el Creador debe cuidar de las criaturas que ha creado, y que el �nico cuidado realmente efectivo debe ser el que lleve a cada uno de ellos a Su amor.

2. Abra el coraz�n a esa misma convicci�n, que ha quedado profundamente impresa en el coraz�n de multitudes de hombres en todas partes.

3. Obtenga el gran esp�ritu de la Biblia. Posea su idea de que no hay una vida que el Dador de vida pierda jam�s fuera de Su vista; no uno que peca para que �l lo deseche.

3. Dios tiene grandes verdades que trae a los corazones que desea consolar. Les da sus grandes verdades de consuelo. �Cu�les son esas verdades? Educaci�n, espiritualidad e inmortalidad: estos parecen ser la suma de todos ellos.

4. El hombre quiere sentir a Dios haciendo algo en su vida, mostrando su simpat�a por alg�n acto fuerte. Y entonces ora para que Dios lo ayude, para que haga algo positivo por �l. Todo lo que hay de consolador en Dios - ser, simpat�a, verdad, poder - Cristo lo ha puesto en la claridad y el esplendor de Su vida. Si quieres consuelo debes acudir a �l. ( Phillips Brooks. )

Los consuelos de Dios

I. A veces el cristiano carece de consuelo por la misma debilidad e imperfecci�n de su naturaleza. As� como la santidad perfecta asegurar�a por s� misma la dicha perfecta, existe una conexi�n necesaria entre la debilidad moral y el goce transitorio e incompleto. Nada podr�a mostrar m�s claramente que nuestra naturaleza es ca�da y corrupta que el simple pero sorprendente hecho de que incluso cuando el amor divino hab�a provisto un Mediador entre Dios y el hombre, el Esp�ritu Santo debe venir al mundo, no solo para aplicar el remedio, sino para hacernos sentir nuestra necesidad.

II. Otra raz�n por la que incluso las personas cristianas a veces est�n deprimidas y abatidas es la separaci�n del compa�erismo piadoso. Como el ung�ento y el perfume alegran el coraz�n, as� el hombre se alegra por el consejo sabio y oportuno. Incluso San Pablo, h�roe como era, tuvo sus per�odos de tristeza, mientras segu�a su camino cansado, separados de la simpat�a cristiana; pero cuando vio a los hermanos, agradeci� a Dios y se anim� ( Hechos 28:15 ).

III. Neglect of the Divinely appointed means or comfort is another very common reason why Christians enjoy so little of it. God will console us in His own way: in devout meditation, in secret prayer, in public worship, in the diligent study of His Holy Word, and in the humble and frequent reception of �the most comfortable sacrament of the body and blood of Christ.� When providentially hindered from sharing in the public means of grace, the good Lord will make all due allowance for us. He will be with us in this trouble, and we shall see His power and glory, as we have seen Him in the sanctuary.

IV. Once more, �the consolations� of God�s people are sometimes �small,� because they live in wilful neglect of His Holy Spirit. �Are the consolations of God small with thee?� If so, is it not your own fault? The discovery of the source of the evil is a most important step towards its correction and cure. (John N. Norton, D. D.)

Strength impaired

I. The consolations of God are small with thee. You have not that satisfactory conviction of things unseen, which once you enjoyed. The light of heaven does not now shine in your hearts. Thou sittest in darkness. Thou hast just enough light to see how great is thy darkness. What is that thing with thee which causes this inward darkness?

II. This spiritual backsliding may have crept so secretly over thy soul, that you may not have perceived it until now. Inward darkness must be caused by sin. Sin that lies at the root of all declension from God, is neglect of private prayer, or giving way to some inward sin. The consolations of God will be small with us, unless we are constantly stirring up the gift of God which is in us.

III. What is the cure for this? First find out the cause, and this will point to the cure. (R. A. Suckling, M. A.)

Unhappy religion

That there cannot be an effect without a cause is as true in ethics as in physics, in the kingdom of grace as in the kingdom of nature. However complicated a web that system of facts, truths, doctrines, precepts, promises, duties, exercises, experiences, consciousnesses, which we designate religion, may appear in the estimation of some men, they whose spirit this system has searched through, find it to be a much simpler system than is commonly supposed, and that it is based, for the most part, upon uniform and ascertainable laws.

Though its details of operation upon the individual heart and life may vary,&mdashthough the path whereby men are led to know God, and to know themselves, by being led to see how thoroughly they are known to God, may not in all instances be the same,&mdashthere are certain plain rules which will be found applicable throughout the universe of souls. One of these is, that in the spiritual, as in the natural, life, there is no effect without its cause: that as health and disease have their causes in the natural life, so have prosperity and adversity in the spiritual: that the same laws which would explain the spiritual estate for better or for worse, of those around us, will, if fairly applied, explain ours.

As there is �the same God which worketh all in all,� His work where it is will assuredly exhibit some feature or other whereby it may be recognised as His. Of this truth Eliphaz seems to have been well persuaded. He beheld the afflictions of Job. He set them down for an effect; and was determined, if possible, to convict the patriarch of some moral obliquity as their cause. His mistake was in assuming that it was his mission to ascertain the cause in this particular case, and in believing that his sagacity had not failed in discovering precisely what it was.

There was a cause why Job was thus afflicted; but a cause which may have been, and was, so deeply hidden in the Divine bosom, as at this time to be as inexplicable to the patriarch himself as to his friends. All trouble doth not arise from sin. Much trouble is the consequence of sin; and all sin will, sooner or later, be the source of trouble. .. Eliphaz is here addressing his spiritual patient in a milder tone.

Here he hints that Job�s visitation may have been for some sin known only to himself. �Are the consolations of God small with thee?� he inquires: �is there any secret thing with thee?� All men are punished secretly for what they do openly; and some are punished openly for what they do secretly. Though the interpretations of the text did not apply to the case of the patriarch, they might have been, as they may be, applicable to the cases of others.

How is it that the �consolations of God are small� with any of us? How is it that there is so little religious joy in the world? Mind is so constituted as to be affected by trifles. Little sufficeth to elevate many, and as little to depress. This easiness of being pleased is childhood�s happiest attribute. Surely there must be some cause for the cold, joyless, uncomfortable religion, which is so prevalent.

All deep thinkers are deep sufferers&mdashnot sufferers, perhaps, in body or estate, but in mind. They suffer because they think. The religious man is of necessity a thoughtful one. How is it that religious joy is so little known? There may be seasons when we cannot rejoice; yea, ought not. It may be necessary for us to be for a season in heaviness; to be deprived of the sensible comforts of faith, hope, and charity; being apt to undervalue them till they have fled.

We do not, however, look to such cases as these. We are thinking of cases where mourning, heaviness, bondage of spirit, mental gloom, spiritual depression, seem to be chronic complaints; when the soul seldom or never rejoiceth. There is a constraint, a distrust, a timidity, a suspicion, in our piety. We are afraid, we know not of what. We are ready to say, �Let us be miserable, that we may be religious.� Ask then, �Is there any secret thing with us,� that will help to explain this enigma of a joyless Christianity? What is possible in this case?

1. Is there any moral obliquity with thee? We do not ask, Have you done wrong; or do you do wrong; but do we cherish any wrongdoing; are we in love with any? Is there any base passion or propensity we will not part with? St. Augustine says, �It is not the act but the habit that justifieth a name,� i.e., he is not a sinner who committeth a sin, but who liveth in the commission of it. Is there then any sin indulged or persisted in?

2. Is there aught that is evil in the state of thy affections? Most of us have some pretence to seriousness.

3. Is there any secret misgiving with thee as to the certainty of Divine truth? Did you ever have a doubt if the religion of Christ were true? Did you ever mistrust your persuasions? One doubt does not make an infidel. The habit of doubting may. They who have ended in disbelieving began by doubting, i.e., by giving place to doubt: by making that scruple their own which was at first their enemy�s.

4. Is there any secret fear of ourselves? Are we in doubt of our own state before God? Are we afraid to trust our principles? If there be none of these �secret� things, what is to hinder the joys of religion from flooding our souls, or the consolations of God from being great with us? It is related of Dr. Francis Xavier that �he was so cheerful as to be accused of being gay.� Why should not we be thus cheerful, gladsome, satisfied? (Alfred Bowen Evans.)

The consolations of God and secret things

This is a beautiful expression, �the consolations of God.� Poor, indeed, are the world�s best consolations. But He who has made us does not wish us to rest in these, but gives Himself to us as the consolation. The Gospel is the grand scheme whereby God becomes ours, and we are His; whereby the consolations of God become the consolations of man. If, then, a Christian is a tried man, he ought to be a joyful man&mdasha man abounding in consolation.

I. Some marks of the state of mind in which the consolations of God are small.

1. It is the one great privilege of the true Christian, to know that his sins are forgiven. It is God�s gracious will, not only that we should be reconciled to Himself through faith in Christ, but that we should be conscious of our reconciliation. It is just the want of this which we take to be the first mark of all those Christians whose consolations are small. It is possible to live in practical forgetfulness that our sins have been forgiven, and this forgetfulness is always a sign of lukewarmness, and of a very low state of Christian feeling and conduct.

2. Again, Jesus is very near His people, according to His own gracious promise. What singleness of aim in life, what encouragement in duty, what steadfastness in conflict, and what hopefulness in work, this consciousness of the presence of Christ would give us. But, alas! is it not just in this that we grievously fail? How many are the hours of our life&mdashhow many are the duties which we perform&mdashhow many are the works in which we engage, without thinking of our Saviour�s presence and nearness! This may be taken as a second mark. If we live as though Christ were not near, our consolations cannot abound.

3. Not only are great things now given to the true Christian, but still greater things are promised. How pleasant should heaven be to our thoughts. But here also we fail. As our thoughts of heaven, so will our consolation be, little of one, little of the other.

II. Some reasons for this state.

1. Some besetting sin. �Is there any secret thing with thee?� Many things may be given up, but if only one wrong thought or feeling be retained&mdashone bad habit spared&mdashthe injury it will do is incalculable. There is something, it seems a little thing, which we spare. The temper is not always controlled; the tongue is not always bridled; unforgiving feelings are not earnestly uprooted at once. Whatever our besetting sin be, if yielded to but a little, it will darken the heart. It will hinder communion with God.

2. Another secret thing is want of faith. Some look too much into their own hearts, too little to Christ. They know but little of the unsearchable riches which are laid up in Him for our daily use and consolation; hence their hands often hang down, and their knees are feeble. They make little progress.

3. Another secret thing is spiritual sloth. There are many who are very active in body and mind, who, nevertheless, are spiritually very slothful. They are slothful in prayer, and in reading the Bible. Every Christian should seek to attain a fresh and lively spirit, a readiness for communion with God, and for every good work. A spirit of sloth and self-indulgence eats as a canker into the spiritual life, and reduces our consolation to the smallest possible degree. If this �secret thing� is allowed in our hearts, it is no wonder that our consolations are small.

4. One more secret thing is, guilt upon the conscience. It is essential to a close walk with God, never to allow the guilt of sin to rankle in the conscience, for this is always followed by estrangement of heart from God. Any delay in confessing sin, and casting it upon Jesus, is injurious, and tends to hinder communion with God. The consolations of the Spirit are suspended, and the heart sinks into a low state.

Such are some of the secret things which hinder the consolations of God. May God enable us by His grace to guard against them, that our consolations may abound, and our joy may be full. (George Wagner.)

Why is there no more enjoyment of religion

The consolations of God are not small in themselves: �her ways are ways of pleasantness, and all her paths are peace.� They are not small in their design and intended benefit: �light is sown for the righteous and gladness for the upright in heart�&mdashsown as seed that it may bring forth a harvest of joy to the soul. To the experience of the faithful Christian they are not small, for in every age not a few have been able, with the Psalmist, from their own experience to say, �In the multitude of my thoughts within me Thy comforts delight my soul.

� And yet, alas! it is but too true that many a Christian knows the full value of this joy rather from the want of it than from its possession, having at some time had the taste which leads him to ask, �Where is the blessedness that once I knew?� rather than now having the clear and steady and habitual enjoyment of God and His service, which is the true sunshine and health of the soul. And if we do not find full enjoyment in religion we must look for the reasons in ourselves.

I. The absence of bodily health. An imperfect, morbid, or deranged state of health impairs our happiness from every source. So intimate is the connection between the soul and body that a weak or depressed state of the former not unfrequently arises from the latter, so that even the faithful Christian may not, at times, find enjoyment in religion because he does not find enjoyment in anything&mdashbecause the same cloud comes over, at the same time, both his temporal and his spiritual horizon.

In such cases the absence of enjoyment is not justly a matter of self-condemnation, and the evil is not a thing to be repented of but regretted, and the remedy is to be sought not in greater fidelity in duty, but rather from the skill of the physician. It is said of the eminent and eminently spiritual Archibald Alexander, that when once asked �if he always enjoyed the full assurance of faith,� he replied, �Well&mdashyes&mdashalmost always, unless the east wind is blowing.

� And an eminent divine of wide experience as a pastor has said, that �of twenty persons of hopeful piety who came to him in religious despondency, eighteen had more need of the physician than of the Divine.� And more than two hundred years ago, good old Richard Baxter preached and published, in his practical and sharply logical way, on �the cure of melancholy and overmuch sorrow by faith and physic,� laying greatest stress on the �physic�; and though his medical prescriptions might excite the smile of the modern physician, yet the treatise, as a whole, is worthy of a place among our religious classics.

The truth is, there are not a few troubles that cannot be cured by the Bible and hymn book or by mere spiritual counsel, that may be cured by rest, and exercise, and diet, and the fresh air of heaven. Another reason why many do not find enjoyment in religion is&mdash

II. That they seek it for its own sake, and as in itself an end, rather than as only an incidental result of fidelity in duty. There are not a few who, either thoughtlessly or selfishly, seek for happiness in religion when they should be seeking only for duty&mdashspiritual epicures, aiming at their own comfort when they should be seeking, as the great thing, to be holy and useful. They forget that they were not brought into the family of Christ merely to enjoy themselves, but to obey and serve Him, and that His direction is not, �Seek first your own comfort and enjoyment in My service,� but, �Seek first My kingdom and its righteousness,� in your own hearts, and in the hearts and lives of others, and then your joy, with all other needed things, shall be added thereto.

They forget that happiness, when sought directly and for its own sake, in any sphere, flies from us; but that when we are occupied With the means to it, then it comes of itself, and that in religion the means to it is fidelity in duty. Another reason why some do not find more enjoyment in religion is&mdash

III. That they do not practically regard the common occupations of life as a means of grace. They regard the Sabbath and its services and private devotion as intended to draw them nearer to God, and to aid them to enjoyment in religion, and believe that if not misimproved they will actually do it. But the common occupations and employments of life they practically regard as antagonistic to these ends and tending in the opposite direction.

The former they seem to think are a stream bearing them on to God; the latter a stream bearing them away from Him. The Sabbath they practically regard as the antidote to the week, and the week to be counterbalanced by the Sabbath&mdashthe piety gained on the Sabbath to be used up and exhausted in the week, and the week in turn to be furnished afresh from the Sabbath. Such, however, is not the teaching of the Bible, though it is, alas! too much the practical belief of multitudes who ought to know better, and who to know better need only to think as to what God has taught.

For it is impossible that He should command two things that cross and are inconsistent with each other; and having bidden us to be diligent in business and at the same time fervent in spirit&mdashin the sweat of our brow to earn our bread, and yet to pray without ceasing, it cannot be that He would not have both tend to the same end. The arrangements of His providence, as well as the teachings of His Word, show that the means of grace are not to be limited to the forms of public and private worship, and that the Sabbath is not the only day that God claims, while six days are to be given up to worldliness of thought and aim and spirit.

Our trade or profession or calling, the right ordering of our property or farm or merchandise, our family and household cares, each may be a means of access to God and of aiding us to enjoy Him, just as truly the gate of heaven to the soul as the sanctuary itself. The labourer toiling at his task, the mother diligently training up her children or taking the oversight of her household, the merchant in his counting house, the professional man in his office, or the servant in his daily duties, each may not only find a sphere for the exercise and growth of his graces&mdashfor patience, and gentleness, and contentment, and charity, and self-denial, but through these for that joy in God which every good and faithful servant of Christ should expect and may find. Another reason why some find so little enjoyment of religion is&mdash

IV. From the want of symmetry and proportion in their Christian character. In the human body the full enjoyment of health is never known except where the various parts are proportioned and sound in themselves, and their various functions are rightfully performed. Let a limb be out of joint, or a bone broken, or a vital part diseased, or a nerve in a disordered state, and the whole system will measurably suffer, and the fun and childlike and buoyant feeling of perfect health can never be known.

There may be, and there is life, and there may not be positive and greatly painful sickness, but the process or progress of living is not of itself a joy as it is to those in absolutely perfect health. And so it is with the religious life&mdashwith the spiritual vitality&mdashwith the enjoyment or want of enjoyment in religion. The disproportion of Christian character, the want of symmetry in the Christian graces, the undue development or prominence of some one virtue or class of virtues, with the corresponding depression of their opposites, this, to the soul, is like the disordered nerve, or broken bone, or chronic inflammation to the body.

It is only when the true symmetry of Christian character is kept up, when the active and passive virtues are equally cherished, when piety toward God is proportioned to benevolence to man, when principle keeps pace with emotion, and hope with fear, and reverence with love, and knowledge with faith, and trust with obedience, and self-control within with active performance without, and devotion and action go hand in hand&mdashonly thus, when every chord of the soul is perfect and in tune, that the full harmony of the strain tells of that joy in the spirit of which it is at the same time the offspring and evidence.

A disproportioned Christian character necessarily loses much of the joy of religion, just as the instrument out of tune makes discordant music, or the body in sickness feels not the full joy of health. Still another reason why some find so little enjoyment in religion is&mdash

V. Because they have not clear views of the gospel ground of reliance for the Christian&mdashof the full and strong and broad foundation it lays for hope, and thus, of course, for joy. It is hard for a sinner, even though he is a penitent and forgiven sinner, to realise the glorious fulness of the grace that is in Christ Jesus. Too often for our hope, and thus for our joy, we are prone to look to Christ as one who is to work with us to make up our deficiencies, rather than as one who is a complete and perfect and all-sufficient Saviour, Himself doing the entire work, and bestowing freely, on us its full benefit and blessing.

�The labour of a lifetime,� says Dr. Chalmers, �seeking to establish a merit of our own, will but widen our distance from peace,� and so from joy; �and nothing will send this blessed visitant to our bosoms but a firm and simple reliance on the declarations of the Gospel.� As God spared not His own but has freely given Him up for us all, surely with Him He will freely give us all things. Still another reason why many do not more enjoy religion is&mdash

VI. That they are not active in doing good. They look on religion rather as a profession than as a progress, as something they received in conversion, and which is to bear them safely on to heaven, rather than as a spirit to be cherished, and a character to be improved&mdasha principle of duty and effort to be carried out in doing good in imitation of Christ. No truth is more plainly stated by inspiration, or more fully sustained by experience, than that it is more blessed to give than to receive.

As to do good with wealth or influence is the way to enjoy wealth or influence, so to do good as a Christian is the way to find enjoyment as a Christian. �Assurance,� says President Edwards, �is not to be obtained so much by self-examination as by action�; and the assertion is equally true of the joy that flows from assurance, and is increased by every effort to do good to others. Doubt and depression often come from inactivity.

John, active and earnest in the desert, needs no proof that the Messiah has come, but when shut up in prison, inactive and depressed, he seems to have become morbid and doubtful, and sends to inquire if Jesus is indeed the Christ. When Dr. Marshman was a young man and at home, he often had doubts and fears as to his spiritual state, but when after thirty years� missionary work in India, William Jay said to him, �Well, Doctor, how now about your doubts and fears?� his reply was, �I have had no time for them; I have been too busy preaching Christ to the heathen.

� And Howard, the philanthropist, tells us that his rule for shaking off trouble of any kind was, �Set about doing good; put on your hat and go and visit the sick and poor in your neighbourhood; inquire as to their wants and minister to them; seek out the desolate and oppressed, and tell them of the consolations of religion. I have often tried it,� he adds, �and have always found it the best medicine for a heavy heart.

� This is the true spirit of benevolence, which is always the spirit of enjoyment. This will leave no time for doubt and despondency, and will call forth those sympathies of our nature which are the sure sources of happiness, giving us that evidence of piety which is found in doing good, and which cannot but minister to our joy. One more, and a general reason why many do not find the full enjoyment of religion, may be found&mdash

VII. In neglect and unfaithfulness as to duty. It is that in some form our iniquity separates between us and God, and shuts out the light of His countenance from us&mdashthat our sins, either positive or negative, either of commission or omission, hide His face from the soul. One, it may be, is lukewarm and vacillating and changeable, having too little religion to enjoy God, and too much to find enjoyment in the world.

With another the private indulgence of some desire, or the pursuit of some object inconsistent with the known will of God, is like the worm to the gourd of the prophet, a cause not visible, but real, ,withering the refreshing shade over his head by secretly gnawing at the root. Or the source of the evil may be not only the sin committed, but the duty neglected. (Tryon Edwards, D. D.)

Small consolations

Stars not valued in daytime but at night. So with friends in adversity. Many kinds of friends. Some real but unsafe. Some wanting in tenderness. Thus with Job�s three friends. Turn from Job to ourselves. If I ask, Are you all free from trouble? none say �Yes,� absolutely. Seneca said, �The happiest man in the world is the man who thinks himself so.� As to true happiness, the Christian is the only really happy man, but even he has his bitterness.

I. We need consolation.

1. If we look at our dwelling place. Our dwelling is the world. God made it. Well, what He made cannot create sorrow. No. Change, sin entered. �In the world ye shall have tribulation.�

2. If we look at our afflictions, personal, domestic. Dark dispensations of providence, death.

3. If we look at our enemies. Life a warfare. Satan �goeth about.�

4. If we look at our experience. So changeable. We are now on the mountain, next week in the valley. Need not be so.

II. That consolation may be obtained from God. All earthly sources fall.

1. In His name. Ideas of God overwhelming. There is His justice, etc. These not His name but His attributes. What is His name? �I am that I am,� unchangeable. �The Lord, the Lord God merciful and gracious,� etc.

2. In His nature. His love infinite. Unbounded gift of His Son.

3. In His relationship. Creator, Preserver, Redeemer. He is our Father.

4. Promises. �As thy day,� etc. How variable it is! As thy day, etc.

III. That if small consolations, there are reasons for it. Reason not with God. What makes them small?

1. State of health.

2. Neglect of means.

3. Depending on other sources.

4. Neglecting Christ as the meritorious cause, and the Spirit as the instrumental cause of peace. (Homiletic Magazine.)

Consolation abundant but unrealised

We have heard of persons in Australia who walked habitually over nuggets of gold. We have heard of a bridge being built with what seemed common stones, but it contained masses of golden ore. Men do not know their wealth. Is it not a pity that you should be poor in comfort, and yet have all this gold of consolation at your feet? (C. H. Spurgeon.)

Insidious influences destroying spiritual joy

In the Harlem district of New York came the report of a disease-smitten residence, the occupants of which gave symptoms of arsenical poisoning. At first it was supposed that someone living in the house was secretly administering the poison to the other inmates through their food. But chemical tests of various dishes at various times, even examination of the drinking water, elicited nothing wrong. Once or twice a domestic was arrested on suspicion, but almost as soon released.

The trouble grew more alarming, and with the growing alarm grew the mystery. At last a prominent chemist of the city, who had been quietly studying the newspaper and other accounts given, called at the house, and requested permission to personally inspect it. This was readily granted. Almost the first thing he did upon gaining entrance was to carefully examine, not the sanitary appointments, which were known to be correct, but the paper on the walls.

He minutely examined all the paper on every wall in the place, and upon leaving without disclosing his suspicions, took with him several sections of the wallpaper in the bedrooms and dining room. These he subjected to a careful examination in his laboratory, with the result, as he had suspected, that every sample of wallpaper contained large quantities of pure arsenic, used in the production of the various colours.

This poison was particularly plentiful in the composition of the pink papers, one Sample of which had enough arsenic on a square foot of it to destroy the life of an adult. The discovery caused at the time much excitement, and many persons tore down their wallpapers, some without cause, and substituted other styles of decoration. So is it often that the soul�s life is threatened and dangerously affected by some secret, hidden, mysterious cause as insidious, yet all-pervading and powerful, as the filling of the Harlem lot or the arsenically prepared colours in the wallpaper. �Is there any secret thing with thee?� is in such a case a timely question, which may find a saving answer. (G. V. Reichel.)

Concerning the consolations of God

These are the words of Eliphaz, one of those three friends of Job who blundered dreadfully over his case. Their words are not to be despised; for they were men in the front rank for knowledge and experience. If we are indeed believers in the Gospel, and are living near to God, our consolation should be exceeding great. Passing through a troubled world, we have need of consolations; but these are abundantly provided.

I. Our first question follows the interpretation given by most authorities: �Do you regard the consolations of God as small?� �Are the consolations of God too small for thee?�

1. I would ask you, first, Do you think religion makes men unhappy? Have you poisoned your mind with that invention of the enemy? Have you made yourself believe that godliness consists in morbid self-condemnation, despondency, apprehension, and dread?

2. Is not your verdict different from that of those who have tried godliness for themselves? Do you not know that many, for the joy they have found in the love of Christ, have renounced all sinful pleasures, and utterly despised them? Have you not also remarked, in many afflicted Christians, a peace which you yourself do not know? Have you not observed their patience under adversity?

3. Will you follow me a while as I ask you, Upon consideration, will you not amend your judgment? Do you think that the All-sufficient cannot provide consolation equal to the affliction? See again these consolations of God deal with the source of sorrow. Whence came the curse, but from the sin of man? Jesus has come to save His people from their sins. Comfort which left us under the power of evil would be dangerous comfort; but comfort which takes away both the guilt and the power of sin is glorious indeed.

Remember, too, that the consolations of God reveal to us a reason for the sorrow when it is allowed to remain. There is a needs-be that we are in heaviness. Another reflection sweetly cheers the heart of the tried one during his tribulation, namely, that he has a comrade in it. We are not passing through the waters alone. If the Son of God be with us, surely there is an end of every sort of fear.

Besides, �the consolations of God� lie also in the direction of compensations. You have the rod; yes, but this is the small drawback to heavenly sonship, if drawback indeed it be. Would you not far rather be of the seed of the woman, and have your heel bruised? Besides, there is the consolation that you are on your journey home, and that every moment you are coming closer to the eternal rest.

II. Have these consolations been small in their effect upon you? Have these consolations, though great in themselves, been small in their influence upon you?

1. I will begin my examination by putting to one disciple this question: Have you never very much rejoiced in God? Have you always possessed a little, but a very little, joy? Why is this? Whence comes it? Is it ignorance? Do you not know enough of the great doctrines of the Gospel, and of the vast privileges of the redeemed? Is it listlessness? Have you never felt desirous to know the best of the Christian life? But it may be, that you once did joy and rejoice?

2. Well, then, is it of late that you have lost these splendid consolations, and come down to feel them small with you? Is it that you have more business, and have grown more worldly? Do you reply to me that you do use the means of grace?

3. Do the outward means fail to bring you the consolation they once did? Are you as much in prayer as ever? and is prayer less refreshing than it used to be? I may come near to your experience if I ask&mdash

4. Do you revive occasionally and then relapse?

5. Does the cause of your greater grief lie in a trial to which you do not fully submit?

6. It may be that while you are thus without the enjoyment of Divine consolation, Satan is tempting you to look to other things for comfort.

III. Since the consolations of God appear so small to you, have you anything better to put in their place? Perhaps this is what Eliphaz meant when he said, �Is there any secret thing with thee?� If God�s Gospel fails you, what will you do?

1. Have you found out a new religion with brighter hopes?

2. Are you hoping to find comfort in the world?

3. Or, do you conclude that you are strong-minded enough to bear all the difficulties and trials of life without consolation?

4. Do you say that what can�t be cured must be endured, and you will keep as you are? This is a poor resolve for a man to come to. If there is better to be had, why not seek it?

IV. If it be so, that you have hitherto found heavenly consolations to have small effect with you, and yet have nothing better to put in their place, is there not a cause for your failure? Will you not endeavour to find it out?

1. Is there not some sin indulged?

2. Next, may there not have been some duty neglected?

3. Again, may there not be some idol in your heart?

4. But, if you do not enjoy the consolations of God, do you not think it is because you do not think enough of God?

5. If any of you have not the joy of the Lord which you once possessed, is it not possible that when you used to have it you grew proud?

6. Have you begun to distrust? Do you really doubt your God? (C. H. Spurgeon.)

�God�s consolations�

It must be admitted that there is a tendency to forget, or at least to underestimate God�s consolations.

I. Now, first let me tell you what it is that prompts this enquiry.

1. You really must excuse me for asking you if the mercies of God seem trivial to you, for some of you look as if they were. If I judged by your countenance I should suppose that you had scarcely any of them, and that they were wonderfully paltry and powerless.

2. I ask the question of others, because I am bound to say they speak as if the consolations of God were small. You get into conversation with them for half an hour, and the season is none too long for them to recite the story of their griefs. Some go further than to omit the mention of their mercies; they complain against God, and murmur at their Master.

3. I ask the question of others, because I find that they act as if the consolations of God were small with them. Acts are the outcome of thoughts, the concrete forms of imaginings and emotions. Is not Jehovah enough for Israel? Does not His covenant stand, whatever else fails? Why dost thou draw the blinds, when the sun would fain shine right into thy soul, and make thee glad again?

4. There are others who pray as if the consolations of God were small with them. Some people�s prayers are nothing but a long and dismal list of wants, and woes, and weariness.

5. Some there are who sing as if the mercies of God were few, and scarcely worthy of their notice. Some do not sing at all.

II. I should like to recount the consolations of God. Here is Jesus. �Behold the Man.� �Thanks be unto God for His unspeakable gift.� Then we have His Spirit, the Comforter, a reservoir of consolations. In this blessed book are twenty thousand promises, �yea,� all in Christ Jesus, and in Him, �Amen.� Ours is the privilege of prayer. Amongst the other consolations do not forget the whispers of God�s love. They have been unmistakable. Thank God also for peace of mind and rest of conscience.

III. Shall I try next to describe the consolations of God?

1. They are Divine.

2. They are abounding, too.

3. His consolations are abiding.

4. And they are strong.

IV. What do you suppose are the results of a proper appreciation of God�s consolations.

1. If we appraise them at their real value we shall be forgetful of the past. Forgetting the things which are behind, we shall press forward to those that are before.

2. If you properly appreciate God�s consolations, you will be grateful for the present, you will raise a stone of help each day, and pour oil, the oil of gratitude upon it; you will be trustful for the future.

V. Let me mention some few aids to proper appreciation of God�s consolations. Will you remember what you used to be? Will you consider also what you must have come to, if God had not come to your rescue and relief? Consolation! How can it be small with me when it was condemnation that I deserved? Moreover, reflect what you still are. �Above all, recollect how great the condescension on God�s part to comfort and console.� (T. Spurgeon.)

Versículo 12

Why doth thine heart carry thee away?

Impulsiveness

Elihu means to say, Why dost thou allow thy feelings to carry thee beyond the boundaries of reason? The vast masses of mankind are the victims of ungoverned impulses. See this&mdash

1. In the formation of friendships. Such impulses often bring the sexes together in a fellowship which does but issue in mutual irritation and disappointment.

2. In the history of religion. The religion of the people is not unfrequently directed by ungoverned impulses, excited by the impassioned appeals of enthusiasts and fanatics.

3. In the current of politics. A few red-hot demagogues and effective stump orators will often turn the whole current of a nation�s politics. �Why doth thine heart carry thee away?� Why act from ungoverned impulse?

I. It is unnatural. Man�s constitution shows that he was made, not to act from blind instinct, but intelligent motive. And that these motives should be formed by an understanding duly enlightened with a knowledge of the fundamental principles of moral obligation. In fact his constitution shows&mdash

1. That all his passions should be governed by his intellect.

2. That his intellect should be governed by his conscience.

3. That his conscience should be governed by the revealed laws of heaven.

II. It is immoral Man is a responsible being, amenable to his Maker for all the operations of his existence, bound evermore to give an account of himself. When he acts from impulse, he acts as a brute, not as a man; and acting thus he sins against his Maker. That man is responsible is proved&mdash

1. By his own consciousness. He condemns himself when he does not act from the enlightened conviction of duty.

2. By the Word of God. Everywhere, by distinct statements as well as by implications, the Bible holds forth the doctrine of men�s responsibility.

III. It is ruinous. A man, or a community of men&mdashwhether the community be commercial, political, or religious&mdashwho act from ungoverned impulse, is like a vessel tossed on the ocean in a tempest without chart, compass, or pilot to direct it. (Homilist.)

Versículos 14-16

What is man that he should be clean?

Original sin

Of all the truths acknowledged and assumed in this ancient book, we find none more clearly or readily confessed than that of man�s original sin and native corruption. �What is man that he should be clean?� When a question is asked in argument and left unanswered, it is the strongest possible form of denial. It is more than saying no man is clean or righteous. It represents such a supposition as man�s priority or holiness to be preposterous and absurd.

Man, as man, and as born of woman by natural descent, is necessarily imperfect and impure. God is Himself the pure and perfect one, and nothing is pure or perfect but what is in God. All other purity and perfection is therefore comparative. Man may be pure and perfect as a man, while he is still very far from the purity and holiness of God. God has other and higher beings than man. Compare man with these.

By �saints� here are meant the holy angels. God is said not to put trust in them. Their perfection is derived and comparative, not absolute. Contemplate man as he actually is; take the positive side of the charge brought against him in the text. II he is not clean, and cannot be righteous in God�s sight, then what is he? �How much more abominable and filthy is man, which drinketh iniquity like water.

� It might be urged that this is the representation made of the case by an angry and unscrupulous disputant, only anxious to establish his own position. But does not Job himself allow much the same? Is he not brought to say, �Behold, I am vile.� �I abhor myself�? Such representations abound in Scripture. Away, then, with all human maxims and all worldly opinions, which only throw a false gloss over the heart, and conceal its hidden corruption without touching it. Let us always look at ourselves in the looking glass of God�s Word, and not in the deceitful mirror of our own judgment, or the flattering world�s opinion. (W. E. Light, M. A.)

Holiness imperfect in the best men

Archbishop Usher was once asked to write a treatise upon sanctification; this he promised to do, but six months rolled away and the good Archbishop had not written a sentence. He said to a friend, �I have not begun the treatise, yet I cannot confess to a breach of my promise, for to tell you the truth I have done my best to write upon the subject; but when I came to look into my own heart I saw so little of sanctification there, and found that so much which I could have written would have been merely by rote as a parrot might have talked, that I had not the face to write it.

� Yet if ever there was a man renowned for holiness it was Archbishop Usher; if ever there was a saintly man who seemed to be one of the seraphic spirits permitted to stray beyond the companionship of his kind among poor earthworms here, it was Usher, yet this is the confession he makes concerning himself. Where, then, shall we hide our diminished heads? (C. H. Spurgeon.)

Versículo 23

He wandereth abroad for bread, saying, Where is it?

The cry for bread

There are certain things which if men want they will have. I have heard say that in the old bread riots, when men were actually starving for bread, no word had such a terrible threatening and alarming power about it as the word �Bread,� when shouted by a starving crowd. I have read a description by one who once heard this cry. He said he had been startled at night by a cry of �Fire!� but when he heard the cry of �Bread! Bread!� from those who were hungry, it seemed to cut him like a sword. Whatever bread had been in his possession he must at once have handed it out. (C. H. Spurgeon.).