XLVIII A VISION OF THE NIGHT Job iv. 12-21. OW a thing was secretly brought to me, And mine ear received a little thereof. night, When deep sleep falleth on men, It stood still, but I could not discern the form thereof: An image was before mine eyes, There was silence, and I heard a voice, saying, Shall mortal man be more just than God? Shall a man be more pure than his maker? Behold, he put no trust in his servants; And his angels he charged with folly: How much less in them that dwell in houses of clay, Whose foundation is in the dust, Which are crushed before the moth ? They are destroyed from morning to evening: They perish for ever without any regarding it. Doth not their excellency which is in them go away? They die, even without wisdom. XLIX THE BLESSED LIFE Job v. 6-26. LTHOUGH affliction cometh not forth of the dust, Neither doth trouble spring out of the ground; Yet man is born unto trouble, As the sparks fly upward. I would seek unto God, And unto God would I commit my cause: Who giveth rain upon the earth, That those which mourn may be exalted to safety. So that their hands cannot perform their enterprise. He taketh the wise in their own craftiness: And the counsel of the froward is carried headlong. They meet with darkness in the daytime, And grope in the noonday as in the night. But he saveth the poor from the sword, from their mouth, And from the hand of the mighty. So the poor hath hope, And iniquity stoppeth her mouth. Behold, happy is the man whom God correcteth : Therefore despise not thou the chastening of the Almighty: For he maketh sore, and bindeth up: He woundeth, and his hands make whole. He shall deliver thee in six troubles: Yea, in seven there shall no evil touch thee. Thou shalt be hid from the scourge of the tongue : Neither shalt thou be afraid of destruction when it cometh. At destruction and famine thou shalt laugh: Neither shalt thou be afraid of the beasts of the earth. For thou shalt be in league with the stones of the field: And the beasts of the field shall be at peace with thee. And thou shalt know that thy tabernacle shall be in peace; And thou shalt visit thy habitation, and shalt not sin. Thou shalt know also that thy seed shall be great, And as an hireling looketh for the reward of his work: So am I made to possess months of vanity, And wearisome nights are appointed to me. When I lie down, I say, When shall I arise, and the night be gone? And I am full of tossings to and fro unto the dawning of the day. My flesh is clothed with worms and clods of dust; My days are swifter than a weaver's shuttle, O remember that my life is wind: The eye of him that hath seen me shall see me no more: Thine eyes are upon me, and I am not. As the cloud is consumed and vanisheth away: no more. He shall return no more to his house, Neither shall his place know him any more. That thou settest a watch over me? I loathe it; I would not live alway: What is man, that thou shouldest magnify him? How long wilt thou not depart from me, Nor let me alone till I swallow down my spittle? I have sinned; what shall I do unto thee, O thou preserver of men? Why hast thou set me as a mark against thee, And why dost thou not pardon my transgression, and take away mine iniquity? For now shall I sleep in the dust; And thou shalt seek me in the morning, but I shall not be. know? LI VAIN WISDOM Job xi. 7-12. JANST thou by searching find out God? Canst thou find out the Almighty unto perfection? It is as high as heaven; what canst thou do? Deeper than hell; what canst thou The measure thereof is longer than the earth, If he cut off, and shut up, Or gather together, then who can hinder him? He seeth wickedness also; will he not then con sider it? For vain man would be wise, Though man be born like a wild ass's colt. |