heavenly truth. These sorrows are sent on the part of God with a gracious design, and afford the occasion of His revealing Himself to chastened souls with new fulness and power, in consequence of which they are brought nearer to Him than ever before, and their happiness and welfare are proportionally promoted. 66 Behold," says the Apostle James (v. 11) "we count them happy which endure. Ye have heard of the patience of Job, and have seen the end of the Lord; that the Lord is very pitiful, and of tender mercy." THE PLACE OF THE BOOK OF JOB IN THE SCHEME OF HOLY SCRIPTURE. WE have now made our way, as we have been able, through the book of Job. We have traced the sore temptation which it describes, from its beginning through its successive stages until its ultimate removal. We have seen the part taken by each of the actors in this spiritual strife, Satan, Job's wife, his friends, Elihu, and the Lord. We have observed Job's own demeanor through it all. And we have endeavored to read the lessons of this mysterious dispensation, as they are here suggested. Our task is not quite finished yet, however. If we would estimate this book aright, we must learn not only what it is, but to what it leads. Germs of truth are exhibited that were destined to be expanded subsequently. Lines of thought are started which, consistently followed out, conduct to far-reaching consequences. The sorrows of the man of Uz stand like the smitten rock of the desert at the head-waters of the stream of consolation. This precious tide flows on with ever-deepening current, gathering fresh tributaries as it flows, and bearing more abundant blessings on its bosom, until it issues in the boundless, unfathomable ocean of divine grace and love, within view of which we are brought in the gospel. No book of the Bible stands apart by itself, or can be fully understood if it is only studied separately and in its isolation. It is part of a gradually unfolded revelation. It belongs to a well-ordered system. It is a link in a chain. It is a member of an organism. It is what it is, not for itself alone; it has been shaped with reference to the position. that it is to occupy and the function it has to perform in the plan of the whole. The history of Job is one among a great body of signal facts illustrative of God's ways with |