Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Job 29:2
Oh that I were as [in] months past, as [in] the days [when] God preserved me;
2. Job begins with a pathetic expression of regret as he remembers happier times. His former happiness was due to God’s preserving or watching over him, and the loss of it was due to God’s forsaking him.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Oh that I were – Hebrew Who will give? a common mode of expressing a wish; compare Job 6:8; Job 11:5; Job 13:5; Job 23:3.
As in months past – O that I could recall my former prosperity, and be as was when I enjoyed the protection and favor of God. Probably one object of this wish was that his friends might see from what a state of honor and happiness he had been brought down. They complained of him as impatient. He may have designed to show them that his lamentations were not unreasonable, when it was borne in mind from what a state of prosperity he had been taken, and to what a condition of wo he had been brought. He, therefore, goes into this extended description of his former happiness, and dwells particularly upon the good which he was enabled then to do, and the respect which was shown him as a public benefactor. A passage strikingly similar to this occurs in Virgil, Aeneid viii. 560:
O mihi praeteritos referat si Jupiter annos!
Quails eram, cum primam aciem Praeneste sub ipsa
Stravi, scutorumque incendi victor acervos.
O would kind heaven my strength and youth recall,
Such as I was beneath Praenestes wall;
There where I made the foremost foes retire,
And set whole heaps of conquered shields on fire!
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Job 29:2
Oh, that I were as in months past.
The fluctuations of a religious life
I. Their prevalence. Ebbs and tides of feeling are common to all life, good or bad. Religious moods are as frequent, as uncertain, and as unmanageable as any other moods, and under given conditions are absolutely beyond our control. To force ourselves up into a high state of spiritual feeling is a matter we cant always do. Important occasions do not always find us with the necessary power, however we may have laboured for it. There is spring and summer, autumn and winter, in nature; in fact, everything in nature suggests that we must have our pauses and rests, that it is impossible to continue in one strain of thought or action without cessation or change. Beware of passing sweeping condemnations on yourself, or on others, in moments of spiritual dearth.
II. The general causes of religious fluctuation.
1. Take the constitutional.
(1) To begin with the physical. Any defect in the vital digestive organs will change the whole course of a mans religious life. His variations, unaccountable tossings and reelings and fitfulnesses, are in very many cases the result entirely of some physical infirmity.
(2) Or it may be mental. It is wonderful how our emotions and susceptibilities are bound up with our intellectual nature. It is the brain, the bodily organism, that gives identity, distinction, character to all our life. In one sense the material is simply an instrument of the spiritual nature; but in another, and a very important sense, it is the ruling and dominating element, as far as our emotions, feelings, and experience are concerned–the spiritual taking all its complexion from the material. The wavering that may be seen in one, when another is prompt to act, is just because the intellect very frequently keeps the will in restraint. Some people act on impulse, not on reason, on probabilities that a sound and vigorous mind would not dare to trust.
(3) But again, our experience varies a good deal from another point of constitutional infirmity, and that is the moral point of view. One of the great mysteries of life is the inequalities of moral perceptions that are found in the world, irrespective of the grace of God. One mans natural tendencies all lie towards sin; and right feeling and right doing is a perpetual conflict. No wonder if he is often overwhelmed with despair.
2. Providential, i.e. causes beyond our own control, not set in motion by our wish or desire, or by our negligence–and of all the heroes mentioned in the Bible, none suffered more in this respect than Job. When Providence inflicts wounds, sends you sorrow, dont dream your heaviness of soul is an indication of a faithless heart. God is testing, sifting you. Have faith; all is well; grace is not yielding to sin. When it must be winter in your soul dont you try to make it summer. Whom the Lord loveth He, etc.
3. Characteristic. And–
(1) amongst these is an inordinate expectation of assistance from others, which in some people amounts to nothing more nor less than a radical misconception of what religion really is. If life is to be great, noble, blessed, it must grow out of sacred independence. Religious feeling, growth, power, are not developed by the caresses and fondnesses of our friends. Your own resources are better than all other resources put together, of whatever kind or nature. Until you can get the nature of the sturdy oak, that welcomes alike the cold of winter and the piercing heat of summer, you will be in a fluctuating condition all the days of your life. Like a weather glass, as far as spiritual things are concerned.
(2) A characteristic cause of our rising and falling religious life is this, depending too much upon the efficacy of spasmodic effort.
4. The vital or radical causes, which, after all, are the real causes. They are
(1) The attempt to be religious without the religious principle; the attempt to lead a new life without a new nature, very much prevailing now, but with very fatal consequences. Lives these full of secret sin.
(2) Is the case where there has been a genuine conversion, but where the fire has burnt out, and there is nothing left but the form of godliness, and not the power.
(3) Is the case where there is a real connection with the life of God, but so feeble and fitful, that the believer is tossed about by every wind and doctrine.
III. The remedy for this inconstancy, this fluctuation.
1. Give yourself up to a very frequent and searching self-examination before God.
2. You must be more faithful in the details of your religious life. Little things grow to big things.
3. You must be more constant in your attendance upon the means of grace, more particularly the special ordinances of Gods house; but–
4. High and supreme above every other precaution and remedy, you must ever keep your heart open to the light of heaven and the grace of God; and then, whatever may be your hindrances, your drawbacks, your constitutional infirmity, or your spiritual afflictions, they shall all yield to the strength of your faith in God. (T. E. Westerdale.)
Spiritual fluctuation
There is no sadder or more depressing condition than that in which we look back regretfully to better days and happier hours. This undertone of lamenting sorrow makes the cry of Job pathetic. He had seen better days. Because he measured Gods favour by the amount of worldly prosperity given him, he concluded God, measurably at least, had forsaken him. It was a mistaken standard by which to judge God, still it was his standard. We are interested in the experience of Job so far as it is an illustration of spiritual experience. Our spiritual or religious life, like our physical, is subject to fluctuations. There are causes and remedies for such a fluctuating spiritual condition.
I. Inquire unto the causes.
1. Physical causes. It is hard to tell how many of our spiritual fluctuations are due to our bodies. The mind and the soul have controlling power over the body; but it is just as true that the body rules them. The body is the channel of our noblest emotions and our deepest sorrows. Since the body has its effect upon the spirit, it is to be religiously guarded and cared for.
2. The mind. Its varying moods affect every other portion of our lives. Its powers, distorted by sin, carry us hither and thither. It is true religion appeals to and reaches the mind as well as the heart, the reason as well as the emotions; but the wilful wanderings and ever-restless questionings of the mind too often lead it from safe moorings. The thoughts we entertain; the kind of reading we select; the habits of judgment we cultivate–all have their effect upon our hearts.
3. Providential causes. Circumstances in which we are placed, and over which we have no control, seem to change often our entire outlook. It was so with Job. It is comparatively easy to be spiritually-minded as long as all goes well, but trouble often turns the poor weak heart from its refuge, and makes the sky look dark.
4. People too often live on too low a spiritual plane. We do not live up near enough to God. There is communion and fellowship with God that is neglected and forsaken. Men live on a plane constantly growing lower, and then wonder why their faith is not as clear, their hearts are not as warm, and their spirits as glowing as in former days: why heaven seems further away the nearer they come to eternity. They imagine God has changed, while the change is all in them. Spiritual lowlands will be sure to tell on spiritual life.
II. Inferences in connection with this subject.
1. Let no Christian conclude that because he has been subject to such changes, therefore he has lost religion and lost favour with God. This was one of Jobs troubles. Religion is something deeper than our feelings, and far more comprehensive. It finds its basis not in our varying moods nor changing emotions, but in the unchanging Word and provisions of God.
2. There must be a higher standard of life than mere feeling. If emotions were the gauge of our religious life, we could never be quite sure of our spiritual standing. There were times of depression and exaltation on the human side of the life of the Saviour. All through His chequered experience the one great principle of action was that He might do the will of God. The highest standard put before us is not our fluctuating emotions, but our earnest doing Gods will.
III. Remedies for this spiritual fluctuation.
1. Frequent strict self-examination.
2. Close attention paid to the details of life.
3. Practical activity. God wants us to work and do for Him whether we feel like doing so or not.
4. Let the windows of the soul be kept constantly open toward heaven. The Saviour did that. All availing strength comes from above. (Francis F. West.)
Painful retrospects
Humanity is a brotherhood, and the language of Job finds response in many a pious heart.
I. Declension is the first thought suggested by these words. This may have been scarcely perceptible, for as spiritual life is developed not by violent moods, not by spasmodic impulses, but gradually; as its influx is like the inflowing of the tides, so spiritual declension is gradual–it does not register itself, it is comparatively unconscious. Still, there are specific causes out of which it is produced.
1. Religious speculation. It will not do to tamper with compass or chart. What shall prevent a vessel from drifting out of its course if the needle has been made to deflect from its true position? Bible truths should be held inviolable–not that there should be unreasoning and blind acceptance of religious beliefs, but there are certain truths commended to us which are beyond controversy.
2. The cares of the world. These are fruitful causes of spiritual declension. It was no wonder that Peter would fain remain on Tabors summit with Christ. Under a tropical sun, nursed by the balmy air, rich and luscious fruits easily ripen; so, near the Throne, in moments akin to the hour of transfiguration, Christian graces rapidly develop; but the hourly contact with the busy world, its anxieties and distractions, are apt to be prejudicial to piety and to warp the Christian character.
3. Neglect of the means of grace. These are commended, not arbitrarily. They are the laws of the spiritual life–essential conditions of growth.
II. Solicitude is a hopeful indication. It is a sign of spiritual life. The Church at Laodicea was charged with indifferentism. I would ye were either cold or hot.
III. The desire may be fulfilled. (John Love.)
Jobs regret and our own
I. Let us begin by saying that regrets such as those expressed in the text are and ought to be very bitter. If it be the loss of spiritual things that we regret, then may we say from the bottom of our hearts, Oh, that I were as in months past. It is a great thing for a man to be near to God; it is a very choice privilege to be admitted into the inner circle of communion, and to become Gods familiar friend. Great as the privilege is, so great is the loss of it. No darkness is so dark as that which falls on eyes accustomed to the light. The man who has never enjoyed communion with God knows nothing of what it must be to lose it. The mercies which Job deplored in our text are no little ones.
1. First, he complains that he had lost the consciousness of Divine preservation. He says, Oh, that I were as in months past, as in the days when God preserved me. There are days with Christians when they can see Gods hand all around them, checking them in the first approaches of sin, and setting a hedge about all their ways.
2. Job had also lost Divine consolation, for he looks back with lamentation to the time when Gods candle shone upon his head, when the sun of Gods love was, as it were, in the zenith, and cast no shadow; when he rejoiced without ceasing, and triumphed from morning to night in the God of his salvation. The joy of the Lord is our strength. Moreover, Job deplored the loss of Divine illumination. By His light, he says, I walked through darkness, that is to say, perplexity ceased to be perplexity; God shed such a light upon the mysteries of Providence, that where others missed their path, Job, made wise by heaven, could find it. There have been times when, to our patient faith, all things have been plain.
3. Moreover, Job had lost Divine communion; so it seems, for he mourned the days of his youth, when the secret of God was upon his tabernacle. Who shall tell to another what the secret of God is?
II. But, secondly, let me remind you that these regrets are not inevitable; that is to say, it is not absolutely necessary that a Christian man should ever feel them, or be compelled to express them. It has grown to be a tradition among us, that every Christian must backslide in a measure, and that growth in grace cannot be unbrokenly sustained. There is no inherent necessity in the Divine life itself compelling it to decline, for is it not written, It shall be in him a well of water, springing up unto everlasting life? And there is no period of our life in which it is necessary for us to go back. Assuredly, old age offers no excuse for decline: they shall still bring forth fruit in old age; they shall be fat and flourishing; to show that the Lord is upright.
III. But now I am compelled to say that the regrets expressed in our text are exceedingly common and it is only here and there that we meet with a believer who has not had cause to use them. It ought not to be so, but it is so. The commonness of this lamentation may be somewhat accounted for by the universal tendency to undervalue the present and exaggerate the excellence of the past. Then, again, regrets may in some cases arise from a holy jealousy. The Christian, in whatever state he is, feels his own imperfection much, and laments his conscious shortcomings. And, let me add, that very often these regrets of ours about the past are not wise. It is impossible to draw a fair comparison between the various stages of Christian experience, so as to give a judicious preference to one above another. Consider, as in a parable, the seasons of the year. There are many persons who, in the midst of the beauties of spring, say, Ah, but how fitful is the weather! These March winds and April showers come and go by such fits and starts, that nothing is to be depended upon. Give me the safer glories of summer. Yet, when they feel the heat of summer, and wipe the sweat from their brows, they say, After all, with all the full-blow of beauty around us, we admire more the freshness, verdure, and vivacity of spring. The snowdrop and the crocus, coming forth as the advance guard of the army of flowers, have a superior claim about them. Now, it is idle to compare spring with summer; they differ, and have each its beauties. Be thankful each of you for what you have, for by the grace of God you are what you are. After making all these deductions, however, I cannot conceive that they altogether account for the prevalence of these regrets; I am afraid the fact arises from the sad truth that many of us have actually deteriorated in grace, have decayed in spirit, and degenerated in heart.
IV. Since these regrets are exceedingly common, it is to be feared that in some cases they are very sadly needful. Are there not signs of declension, that some of us might, with but a very slight examination, discover in ourselves? Is not brotherly love, in many Christians, very questionable?
V. But I must pass on to observe that these regrets by themselves are useless. It is unprofitable to read these words of Job, and say, Just so, that is how I feel, and then continue in the same way. If a man has neglected his business, and so has lost his trade, it may mark a turn in his affairs when he says, I wish I had been more industrious; but if he abides in the same sloth as before, of what use is his regret? If he doth not seek to be restored, he is adding to all his former sins this of lying before God, in uttering regrets that he does not feel in his soul.
VI. These regrets, when they are necessary, are very humbling. During the time we have been going back we ought to have gone forward. What enjoyments we have lost by our wanderings! What progress we have missed. Alas, how much the Church has lost through us! for if the Christian becomes poor in grace, he lessens the Churchs wealth of grace. VII. These regrets, then, are humbling, and they may be made very profitable in many other ways. First, they show us what human nature is. Learn again to prize what spiritual blessings yet remain. This should teach us to live by faith, since our best attainments fail us.
VIII. These regrets ought not to be continual: they ought to be removed. Go back to where you started. Do not stay discussing whether you are a Christian or not. Go to Christ as a poor, guilty sinner. (C. H. Spurgeon.)
Comfort for the desponding
I. First, there is a complaint. How many a Christian looks on the past with pleasure, on the future with dread, and on the present with sorrow!
1. The first is the case of a man who has lost the brightness of his evidences.
2. Another phase of this great complaint, which it also very frequently assumes, is one under which we are lamenting–not so much because our evidences are withered, as because we do not enjoy a perpetual peace of mind as to other matters. Oh, says one, Oh, that I were as in months past! for then whatever troubles and trials came upon me were less than nothing.
3. Another individual, perhaps, is speaking thus concerning his enjoyment in the house of God and the means of grace. Oh, says one, in months past, when I went up to the house of God, how sweetly did I hear!
4. There are some of us who lament extremely that our conscience is not as tender as it used to be; and therefore doth our soul cry in bitterness, Oh, that I were as in months past! When first I knew the Lord, you say, I was almost afraid to put one foot before another, lest I should go astray.
5. There are some of us who have not as much zeal for the glory of God and the salvation of men as we used to have.
II. But now we are about to take these different characters, and tell you the cause and cure.
1. One of the causes of this mournful state of things is defect in prayer; and of course the cure lies somewhere next door to the cause. You do not pray as you once did. Nothing brings such leanness into a mans soul as want of prayer.
2. Perhaps, again, you are saying, Oh, that I were as in months past! not so much from your own fault as from the fault of your minister.
3. But there is a better reason still that will come more home to some of you. It is not so much the badness of the food, as the seldomness that you come to eat it.
4. But frequently this complaint arises from idolatry. Many have given their hearts to something else save God, and have set their affections upon the things of earth, instead of the things in heaven. We have perhaps become self-confident and self-righteous. If so, that is a reason why it is not with us as in months past. (C. H. Spurgeon.)
Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell
Verse 2. O that I were as in months past] Job seems here to make an apology for his complaints, by taking a view of his former prosperity, which was very great, but was now entirely at an end. He shows that it was not removed because of any bad use he had made of it; and describes how he behaved himself before God and man, and how much, for justice, benevolence, and mercy, he was esteemed and honoured by the wise and good.
Preserved me] Kept, guarded, and watched over me.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
To wit, from all those miseries which now I feel. This he desires, not only for his own ease and comfort, but also for the vindication of his reputation, and of the honour of religion, which suffered by his means: for as his calamities were the only ground of all their hard speeches and censures of him, as a man forsaken and hated by God; so he rightly judged that this ground being removed, and his posterity restored, his friends would take it for a token of Gods favour to him, and beget in them a milder and better opinion of him.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
2. preserved mefrom calamity.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
Oh that I were as [in] months past,…. Which is either an earnest wish for restoration to his former state of outward prosperity; which he might desire, not through impatience and discontent under his present circumstances, or from a carnal and worldly spirit; but either that the present reproach he lay under from his friends might be taken off, he observing that they accounted him a wicked man and an hypocrite, because of his afflictions; wherefore he judged, if these were removed, and he was in as prosperous a condition and in as good circumstances as before, they would entertain a different opinion of him; or, that his words might be better attended to, as they were by men, both young and old, and even princes and nobles before, it being a common case, that what a poor and distressed man says is not regarded; or that he might be in a capacity of doing good to the poor and fatherless, the widow and the oppressed, as he had formerly; or, this wish is only made to introduce the account of his former life, by which it would appear, that he was not the man his friends had represented him to be, from the favour he was in with God, and from the respect shown him by men, and the many good things done by him: but since, by various expressions, which before had dropped from his lips, it appears, that he had no hope nor expectation of ever being restored to his former outward happiness; this may be considered as a wish for the return of spiritual prosperity, wishing he was in as good frames of soul, and as much in the exercise of grace, and was as holy, as humble, as spiritual, and heavenly minded, as he was when he had so much of the world about him; and that he had but the like communion with God, and his gracious presence with him, as he had then. The state of the Lord’s people, God-ward, is always the same; his election of them stands sure; the covenant of grace with them is unalterable; their interest in a living Redeemer always continues; grace in them is a principle, permanent and perpetual; but there may be, and often is, an alteration in their frames, and in the exercise of their graces, and in the open regard of God unto them; their graces may be low in exercise; there may be a decay of the life and power of godliness; their frames may change, and the presence of God may be withdrawn from them, and they may have no view of interest in salvation, at least not have the joys of it; wherefore, when sensible of all this, may be desirous it might be with them as it was before; that God would turn them again, and cause his face to shine upon them, that they might be comfortable; the particulars of Job’s former case follow, which he desires a renewal of:
as [in] the days [when] God preserved me; either in a temporal sense; God having set an hedge of special providence about him, whereby he and his, his family and substance, were remarkably preserved; but now this was plucked up, and all were exposed to ravage and ruin; or in a spiritual sense, as he was both secretly and openly preserved, and as all the Lord’s people are, in Christ, and in his hands, and by his power, spirit, and grace: the Lord preserves their souls from the evil of their own hearts, sin that dwells in them, that it shall not have the dominion over them; from the evil that is in the world, that they shall not be overcome by it, and carried away with if; and from the temptations of Satan, so as not to be devoured and destroyed by him, and from a final and total falling away; he preserves them in his own ways, safe to his kingdom and glory; but sometimes all this does not appear so evident unto them, as it might not to Job at this time; who observed the workings of his corruption, and the breaking out of them, in passionate words, wishes, and curses, and the temptations of Satan, who was busy with him to go further lengths, even to blaspheme and curse God; so that he might fear that God his defence was departed from him, the return of which he was desirous of; see Isa 49:14.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
(2) Preserved.Or, watched over me. When does God not watch over us, if we only knew it?
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
First division JOB’S RETROSPECTIVE VIEW OF LONG CONTINUED PROSPERITY, A PROSPERITY ARISING FROM COMMUNION WITH GOD AND WELL DOING TO MEN, chap. 29.
First strophe The most endearing fellowship with God was crowned with the unstinted bounty of Providence, and with the profound esteem and affection of Job’s fellow-men, Job 29:2-10.
2. When God preserved me In all Job’s thoughts God is foremost. Five times in these few verses (2-5) does Job, in diversified expression, refer to the presence and fellowship of God as his highest blessing, and the fountain of all good. As the lifting up of the heave-offering pointed to God in the heavens, so should all human undertakings begin with him.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
DISCOURSE: 478
SPIRITUAL DECLENSION CONSIDERED
Job 29:2. O that I were as in months past!
TO take a retrospect of our past lives is always profitable: but it is not unfrequently attended with much pain. The man that has lived as without God in the world, how can he look back upon the days that are past, without feeling the deepest anguish of mind? Nor is a review of former days less distressing to one who from a life of spiritual peace and joy has fallen into a state of darkness and of spiritual death.
The change which Job had experienced, was both outward, in all that related to the body, and inward, in what related to his soul. The circumstances attendant on that change were so peculiar, that they are but little applicable to the Church at large: and the design of God in them was also very peculiar; it being not so much to punish the sin which yet remained in his servant, as to display, confirm, and augment the grace that had been imparted to him Into these peculiarities we shall not enter; because, though they might instruct and amuse our minds, they would not come home to mens business and bosoms, or lead us sufficiently to a contemplation of ourselves. His temporal calamities we shall altogether overlook: and his spiritual troubles we shall notice only in a general view, as affording occasion for us to take a review of our past lives, and to see whether we have not reason for a similar complaint, O that I were as in months past! There had been a time when, as Job says, the candle of God had shined upon his head, so that by the light of it he had been enabled to walk through darkness, and when God himself was with him, and the secret of God was upon his tabernacle. So it may have been with us; and yet a most painful reverse have taken place. And so important do I conceive this subject to be, that I shall endeavour to cast upon it what light I can in the compass of one short discourse. A person anxious to know the state of his soul before God, would be ready to ask, What are the usual causes and precursors of spiritual declension? Whereby shall I ascertain whether it has taken place in me? and how, if such a change has taken place, shall I regain my former happy condition? To answer these questions, I will proceed, in a brief and partial manner, to point out the sources, the evidences, and the remedies of spiritual declension.
I.
The sources of it
It is obvious that, were we to attempt a full discussion of the subject, a whole volume would scarcely suffice for the consideration of it. We must therefore of necessity confine ourselves to a few leading topics, leaving a multitude of others, of nearly equal importance, untouched.
Amongst the sources which I will specify, the first is,
1.
A remissness in secret duties
[The duties of the closet, such as reading, and meditation, and prayer, are indispensably necessary to the welfare of the soul. As well might we hope that our bodies should retain their vigour without food and exercise, as that our souls should flourish without communion with God. The vegetable creation will not thrive without light; nor will the seed of Divine grace, which has been sown in our hearts, grow without the light of Gods countenance. But this returns not unsought, like the light of day: it must be sought, and sought with care too, or else it will be withheld, and the soul will be left to languish in darkness and distress. And in this respect is that word of our Saviour verified; To him that hath, shall be given, and he shall have abundance: but from him that hath not, shall be taken away even that which he hath [Note: Mat 13:12.].]
2.
An indulgence of some secret lust
[Sin, of whatever kind it be, is a worm at the root, which will soon make the fairest gourd in the universe to wither. It matters not what the sin be: it may be pride, or envy, or malice, or revenge, or lust, or covetousness, or discontent, or sloth, or unbelief, or vain conceit, or any other; every man has some sin which more easily besets him: and that, whatever it may be, will grieve the Spirit of God, and provoke God to hide his face from us. Sin of any kind will separate between him and us, and deprive us of all his gracious communications: If I regard iniquity in my heart, says David, the Lord will not hear me. And our blessed Lord tells us, that a right hand, or a right eye, not sacrificed and abandoned, will plunge us, both body and soul, into hell-fire [Note: Mar 9:43-48.]. No wonder then that any man declines in spiritual health, whilst some unsubdued sin lurks within him, and, like a canker, eats up all his strength [Note: 2Ti 2:17.].]
3.
An undue and unnecessary entangling of ourselves in the affairs of this life
[All have of necessity some worldly engagements, which it is their bounden duty diligently to perform. And many have a very great portion of their time necessarily occupied with worldly pursuits: nor are they at liberty to withdraw from a post which, though painful and difficult, God has evidently assigned them. But when we needlessly multiply our temporal concerns, we must expect to suffer loss in those which are spiritual. Our Saviour, in the parable of the sower, tells us, that the cause of vast multitudes not bringing forth fruit to perfection is, that the cares of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, choke the word that has been sown in their hearts, and render it unfruitful. A man who loads his feet with thick clay, or suffers a long garment to impede the motion of his feet, does not wonder that he makes an inadequate progress in a race: and as little can it be wondered at, if a person, encumbered, unnecessarily or beyond a due proportion, with the cares or pleasures of this life, make not his profiting to appear in the ways of God.]
Supposing a spiritual declension to have taken place in us, what may we expect to be,
II.
The evidences of it
Spiritual decay will doubtless discover itself in every exercise of the soul, even as bodily weakness does in every function of the body. But, to instance it in two or three particulars. We may be sure that a declension has taken place, if we have suffered loss,
1.
In the spirituality of our minds
[In a soul that is in full health, there is a tendency upwards, not unlike that of a vessel or balloon, filled with light and buoyant air: it is fastened, as it were, by cords to the earth; but it discovers its proper tendency by repeated and continued efforts to ascend: and, as different cords are loosened, its efforts are more and more visible: and, when the last cord is cut asunder, it mounts to the heavens, as the regions it most affects. Thus the soul, in proportion as it is filled with the Spirit, aspires heavenward. But, if the vessel before referred to lose its buoyant powers, it ceases its arial flight, and descends upon the earth: and from the effect no one is at a loss to infer the cause.
I will grant, that a pressure of worldly engagements may operate unfavourably in appearance, whilst there is no cause for self-condemnation in reality. The way to form an accurate judgment is, not so much to inquire, Whether the flights of the soul heavenward are less frequent than they were under different circumstances? as, What the tendencies of the soul are, when it is left at liberty to pursue the course it most affects? And, if in these seasons it evinces a heaviness and an indisposition to ascend, then may it be clearly seen, that the soul has suffered loss; and in proportion as it ceases to dwell in God by faith and love, God will cease to dwell in it by the vital energies of his Spirit: and then its root will soon be as rottenness; and its blossom will go up as dust [Note: Isa 5:24.].
2.
In the tenderness of our conscience
[The effect of grace in to make the conscience tender as the apple of the eye; to make us dread sin, and flee temptation, and use all possible means for the preserving of the soul pure before God. In one who is walking close with God, even a mote will not be suffered willingly to retain the place it has invaded; but will be wept out with tears of penitence and shame. But, if the conscience have lost its sensibility, so that it can now endure without emotion a fecling which would once have filled it with the acutest anguish, what shall we say? Can that soul be in a flourishing condition?
We must distinguish doubtless between a scrupulous and a tender conscience: for increasing light may have lessened its scrupulosity about indifferent matters, whilst yet its tenderness is undiminished in reference to every acknowledged duty. But, if the smaller commissions of sin or neglects of duty pass with less grief and indignation against them than formerly, the authority of God is weakened in the soul, the hatred of sin diminished; and, if a remedy be not speedily applied, the last state of that soul will be worse than its beginning.]
3.
In the vigour of our exertions for God
[A man that is right with God will always be saying, What shall I render unto the Lord for all the benefits that he hath done unto me? No labour will be grudged, no sacrifice accounted great, if only God may be glorified in him. But if the self-denial which once appeared unworthy of a thought is now become a burthen, and the efforts which once we made in the service of our God are now relaxed, we obviously have declined in real piety. Were we right, we should never think we had attained any thing as long as any thing was left to be attained, or done any thing as long as any thing was left to be done: but, forgetting what was behind, we should reach forward to that which was before: and our grief would be, that we could not do a thousand times more for Him who has done and suffered so much for us. If we are faint and weary in well-doing, it is plain and indisputable that our spiritual health has declined.]
Such backslidings however are not incurable, if only we apply, according to Gods prescription,
III.
The remedies of it
We may regain our former state,
1.
By a renewed and more solemn repentance
[This is the remedy prescribed by our Lord himself to the angel of the Church of Ephesus, when he had left his first love: Remember from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do thy first works [Note: Rev 2:4-5.]. We must look back and search out the occasions of our departure, from God: we must then examine the instances wherein our departure has appeared. For those we must abase ourselves before God in dust and ashes: and we must again and again apply to the blood of sprinkling for the remission of them. Not content with this, we must return to those better ways which we have forsaken, and resolutely give up ourselves with all our powers to the service of our God. If our grief was deep at our first turning unto God, it ought to be tenfold deeper now, in proportion as our guilt by reason of our backslidings from God is aggravated beyond that which we contracted by our rebellions in the days of our ignorance. We should add fasting also to prayer. If, as our Lord says, The days come when the Bridegroom shall be taken away from them; and then shall they fast; how much more ought we to fast, when by our own unfaithfulness we have driven the Bridegroom from us! We need only mark the neglect into which this duty has fallen, in order to see how low the standard of religion is, which is current in the world. But, if we would recover the peace and purity that we have lost, we must return unto God with the deepest contrition, and wash us from our guilt in the fountain opened for sin and for uncleanness.]
2.
By getting a sense of redeeming love into the soul
[Without this, repentance will be of little avail. That will prepare the soul; but it is a sight of Christ only that will perfect it. That casts down; but this will raise us up. There is nothing that will effectually constrain the soul, but a sense of the love of Christ shed abroad in the heart. That regained, all else will be easy. And that is to be regained, not by slavish exertions, but by the simple exercise of faith. As in the first instance we come to him, not seeking to heal ourselves first, and then applying to him as the Physician, but by a simple dependence on his blood and righteousness; so we must do at all times and under all circumstances, trusting in him only as our Righteousness and strength. This reliance on his promises will alone cleanse us; and this view of his glory will alone change us into his image from glory to glory by the Spirit of our God.]
3.
By keeping the nearness of eternity in view
[This also is prescribed by our blessed Lord, as the means of augmented watchfulness, and of a more entire preparation for death and judgment. We know not at what hour our Lord will come. For aught that we know to the contrary, this very night our souls may be required of us. Now, if we bore this in mind, should we rest in a cold or lukewarm state? Should we not endeavour to have our loins girded and our lamps trimmed, and ourselves as those who wait for the coming of their Lord? Could we but, like the Apostle, learn to die daily, we should make no account either of labours or of sufferings, if by any means we might attain unto the resurrection of the dead [Note: Php 3:10-11.].]
Address
1.
Those who are conscious that they have occasion for this heart-rending complaint
[Truly, Brethren, it is a painful thing to look back upon times and seasons, when, in comparison with the present, you had the enjoyment of God in your souls. What self-reproach do you feel in the retrospect, and what misgivings in the prospect of the eternity that awaits you! We are told that persons in your situation have a certain fearful looking-for of judgment [Note: Heb 10:26-27.]. Be thankful, however, that it is not yet too late to regain your former peace; yea, you may have it yet increased and multiplied an hundred-fold. God has indeed said, that the backslider in heart shall be filled with his own ways [Note: Pro 14:14.]: but he has also said, Return unto me, ye backsliding children; and I will heal your backslidings, and love you freely; and mine anger shall be turned away from you. [Note: Jer 3:22. Hos 14:1-2; Hos 14:4.] Return then in dependence on his promised mercy: then shall it be with you as in the months that are past; yea, and your last days shall be your best.]
2.
Those who are making a progress in the divine life
[Thrice happy souls! To you to live is Christ; and to die it shall be gain. How sweet is it to have the testimony of our conscience that we are living nigh to God, and walking daily in the light of his countenance! This is the way to be truly happy. This is the way to secure peace in a dying hour. Mark the perfect man, and behold the upright; for the end of that man is peace. Go on then; but not in your own strength, nor with unhallowed confidence. Let him that thinketh he standeth, take heed lest he fall. Yet let not this consideration fill you with slavish fear, but only make you watchful and dependent on God. God is able to keep you; and he will keep the feet of his saints; and, if only you commit your way entirely to him, he will preserve you blameless unto his heavenly kingdom.
Now unto Him that is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy, to the only wise God our Saviour, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and ever. Amen [Note: Jude, ver. 24, 25.].]
Fuente: Charles Simeon’s Horae Homileticae (Old and New Testaments)
Job 29:2 Oh that I were as [in] months past, as [in] the days [when] God preserved me;
Ver. 2. Oh that I were as in months past ] O mihi praeteritos, &c. Though Job desireth not so much to be young again (which to be Chiron and Cato are said seriously to have refused, Secundum menses antiquitatis vel anteaetatis ) as to prosper again; for this is what we all covet; but we shrink in the shoulder when called to carry the cross. To show his earnest desire, he redoubled his wish, as in the days, &c., and God answered him to the full, by redoubling upon him his former prosperity; not for days and months, but for various years together; and by giving him again all things richly to enjoy. So liberal is the Lord to his, that he many times giveth them more than heart can wish.
When God preserved me
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
I. Note the frequency of “I” (self-occupation). In Job 29, the “I” of prosperity; in Job 30, the “I” of adversity; in Job 31, the “I” of self-righteousness. Contrast the “I” of Job 42:2-6, the “end”.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
as in months: Job 1:1-5, Job 7:3
God: Job 1:10, Psa 37:28, Jud 1:1
Reciprocal: Job 9:34 – let not Job 13:24 – hidest thou Psa 42:4 – When Psa 51:12 – Restore Lam 1:7 – remembered
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
THE PROVINCE OF FEELING IN RELIGIOUS EXPERIENCE
Oh that I were as in months past, as in the days when God preserved me.
Job 29:2
Job was, indeed, terribly afflicted. He had lost all his property, and been bereaved of all his children; his wife had tempted him to curse God, and his friends, who had come to sympathise with him, had remained to pronounce condemnation on him. Naturally enough, therefore, he had for the time being come to think that God had forsaken him. But, natural though it was, this opinion was not true. For God was as really with him then as ever He had been, and he himself was as good a man as ever he had been. Nay, more, he had as much of Gods grace as ever he had been favoured with, only that had gone meanwhile into another direction than the emotional.
I. First, then, note that feeling follows intelligent conviction and belief of the truth of something that immediately concerns us as individuals.It is not first the feeling and then the faith; but it is first intelligence, then faith, then direct and immediate personal interest in that which is believed, and then feeling. But if this be a correct analysis, you will see at a glance how far wrong those are who make the absence of feeling in them an excuse for not coming to Christ, as well as those who are constantly sighing and crying for more feeling of love to Christ as an evidence of the genuineness of their religion. Their error does not simply consist in putting too high a value upon feeling, but also in putting it into the wrong place.
Christian emotion is not to be sought directly as an end; but it will come through our understanding of, and belief in, those statements that are adapted and designed to produce it, each in its own order; first the intelligence, then the faith, then the feeling.
II. There can be no religion, in the Christian sense of that word, without feeling.That must be evident from the truth already established that feeling follows faith. For if there be no feeling there has been no faith, and where there is no faith there is no religion, for without faith it is impossible to please God. The emotional is just as truly a part of our nature as the intellectual or the moral, and as regeneration affects the whole nature, it must transfigure the emotional portion of it as really as the others. The new birth does not uproot or lop off any part of our humanity; it only takes the sin out of it all. It does not eradicate our feelings, but it Christianises them.
III. Feeling is not the whole of religion.That which the Holy Ghost produces in us through faith in Jesus Christ is a whole new nature, and that nature includes the intellectual, the moral, and the volitional, as well as the emotional. Religion is character, and emotion is only one element of character. The important question, therefore, is not, What or how does a man feel? but, What is he? As the man is, so are his feelings. The feeling stands midway between the thinking and the acting, passing the one on, as it were, to the other; but it cannot be made a substitute for either, and only in the combination of the three have we the genuine holy character which is the outcome of regeneration.
IV. The feeling which does not lead to action, but terminates simply and only on itself, is always dangerous.The feeling which does not spring from intelligent faith is fanaticism; on the other hand, that which does not lead to action is sentimentalism, and it is difficult to say which of the two is more pernicious. As Bishop Butler has put it in a very suggestive passage in his Analogy, From our very faculty of habits, passive impressions, by being repeated, grow weaker.
If emotion comes to be regarded as the whole of religion, and if it does not stimulate to holy activity, then by and by the emotion itself will disappear, and the heart will be hardened into utter impenetrability.
V. The feeling which leads to action is just for that reason less a matter of consciousness as feeling.It becomes transmuted into conduct; and just as steam makes less noise when it is driving machinery than when it is being blown off, so the oftener feeling is transmuted into action the less does one come to be aware of the feeling that is in the action. A man may be advancing in moral excellence by that very course which deadens his consciousness to his emotions.
Illustration
In this chapter we have Jobs description of the past. It is introduced by a sigh, Oh! that I were as in the months of old. That condition is described first in its relation to God. They were days of fellowship in which he was conscious of the Divine watchfulness and guidance. Then in one sentence which has in it the sob of a great heart agony, he remembers his children, My children were about me. He next refers to the abounding prosperity, and finally to the esteem in which he was held by all classes of men, even to the highest. The secret of that esteem is then declared to have been his attitude toward men. He was the friend of all such as were in need. Clothed in righteousness, and crowned with justice, he administered the affairs of men so as to punish the oppressor and relieve the oppressed. He then describes his consciousness in those days. It was that of a sense of safety and of strength.
Fuente: Church Pulpit Commentary
Job 29:2-3. O that I were as in months past O that God would re- establish me in that happy condition wherein I was some time ago; in the days when God preserved me From all those miseries which now I feel, and when I seemed to be a principal part of his care! You would then pay a greater regard to my words than you do now in my adversity. When his candle shined upon my head When his favour and blessing attended me, to comfort and direct me. And when by his light I walked through darkness Passed through many difficulties, dangers, and common calamities which befell others who lived near me, and overcame those troubles which happened to myself.