October 18

Job i. — 1. There was a man in the land of Uz, whose name was Job; and that man was perfect and upright, and one that feared God, and eschewed evil.

2. And there were born unto him seven sons and three daughters. 3. His substance also was seven thousand sheep, and three thousand camels, and five hundred yoke of oxen, and five hundred she-asses, and a very great household; so that this man was the greatest of all the men of the east. 4. And his sons went and feasted in their houses, every one his day; and sent and called for their three sisters to eat and to drink with them. 5. And it was so, when the days of their feasting were gone about, that Job sent and sanctified them, and rose up early in the morning, and offered burnt-off-rings according to the number of them all; for Job said, It may be that my sons have sinned, and cursed God in their hearts. Thus did Job continually. 13. And there was a day when his sons and his daughters were eating and drinking wine in their eldest brother's house: 14. And there came a messenger unto Job, and said, The oxen were ploughing, and the asses feeding beside them; 15. And the Sabeans fell upon them, and took them away; yea, they have slain the servants with

The Book of Job is among the oldest books in the world; and for this reason alone it would be of great value and interest for its pictures of primitive society in Arabia, and as a repository of early thought upon nature and the problems of life. The venerable patriarch, with his vast possessions, his large family, his numerous retinue, yet living in a grand simplicity, and more honored for his virtue than his wealth; the protector of the poor, the friend of the widow and the fatherless, the judge of the city, "unto whom men gave car, and waited, and kept silence at his counsel," — such a picture is unsurpassed by Homer for vivid beauty. Upon the charge of Satan, that Job served God for the sake of temporal rewards, the patriarch was visited by a succession of disasters that must have uprooted any mere worldly confidence. But he bore this sudden and terrible calamity with mock and uncomplaining

APPROPRIATE HYMNS.]

Lord, make us to know our end, and the measure of our days, what it is, that we may know how frail we are. Verily every man, at his best state, is altogether vanity. Yet, Lord, thou wilt not cast off forever: thou dost not afflict willingly nor grieve the children of men. We bless thee that thou hast spared us the punishment that we deserve for our sins; and we beseech thee, for Christ's sake, to forgive and save us.

We awake this morning to the light of thy love, to the sense of thy gracious protection, and the joy of thy presence; and we would bring to thee our

the edge of the sword; and I only am escaped alone to tell thee. 16. While he was yet speaking, there came also another, and said, The fire of God is fallen from heaven, and hath burned up the sheep and the servants, and consumed them; and I only am escaped alone to tell thee. 17. While he was yet speaking, there came also another, and said, The Chaldeans made out three bands, and fell upon the camels, and have carried them away, yea, and slain the servants with the edge of the sword; and I only am escaped alone to tell thee. 18. While he was yet speaking, there came also another, and said, Thy sons and thy daughters were eating and drinking wine in their eldest brother's house: 19. And, behold, there came a great wind from the wilderness, and smote the four corners of the house, and it fell upon the young men, and they are dead; and I only am escaped alone to tell thee. 20. Then Job arose, and rent his mantle, and shaved his head, and fell down upon the ground, and worshipped. 21. And said, Naked came I out of my mother's womb, and naked shall I return thither. The Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away: blessed be the name of the Lord. 22. In all this Job sinned not, nor charged God foolishly.

submission and devotion. Bereft of property, family, home, he was now subjected to a painful and loathsome disease which caused men to shun him. To aggravate his trials, three friends came, not to condok with him nor to succor him, but to accuse him of secret impiety, because he was visited with such judgments. This led to a long discussion of the method of God's dealings with men, in which Job vindicated the providence of God, and asserted his own integrity and his faith in immortality. But though men could not justly accuse him, yet, when he contemplated the majesty and glory of God in his works, and the holiness of God's character, he abhorred himself, and repented in dust and ashes. Then the Lord remembered him in mercy, and "blessed the latter end of Job more than his beginning."

Prayer.

[Nos. 26, 27, 108.

sacrifice of praise and thanksgiving. Oh! keep us this day from sin; bless us in our home, in our labors, in our studies; bless all our friends with both temporal and spiritual good; and remember all men in mercy. We beseech thee, O Lord! deliver us from evil; but, if calamity and sorrow shall overtake us, may we call to remembrance the patience of thy servant Job, and, in humble faith, await the end of the Lord. Perfect in us all thy good pleasure; and bring us at length to the inheritance of thy saints in joy and glory everlasting, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.