I please Almighty God to bless us together this evening as we meditate in His Holy Word. Let's turn to the book of Job and the fifth chapter and we'll read verse 7. The book of Job, the fifth chapter and reading verse 7.

Yet man is born unto trouble. as the sparks fly upward.

I'm sure we all know that Job was a child of God. Job was one who the Lord acknowledged as being upright and good and yet the Lord allowed Satan to come and test his religion to a great depth. And he spoke himself and then three friends of his came and gave their views and then after that Elihu gave his view. and then the Lord himself spoke to Job. And it wasn't until the Lord himself spoke to Job that it had a real effect. And we shouldn't be therefore surprised if the words of mere man don't seem to have the effect that we think they should. But we should recognise that when God speaks, It is done. It is an effectual word. It is a gracious word.

And as we come to this fifth chapter, which follows on, of course, from the fourth. And in the fourth, we have the beginning of Eliphaz's statement. And he says, if we say to commune with thee, this is to Job, will thou be grieved? But who can withhold himself from speaking? Behold, thou hast instructed many, and thou hast strengthened the weak hands by words of upholding him that was falling, and thou hast strengthened the feeble knees. So that's a good testimony, isn't it, of a life as for Job. But now it has come upon thee, and thou faintest, it toucheth thee, and thou art troubled. Is not this thy fear, thy confidence, thy hope, and the uprightness of thy ways? Remember, I pray thee, whoever perished being innocent, or where were the righteous cut off?

Well, we won't continue with Eliphaz's statement to Job but we just get a little glimpse there of Eliphaz acknowledging how Job had been blessed and how God had been with him and now a very different scene has come into his life.

Well then we come down to the chapter that we read together and again Eliphaz continues and says, Call now if there be any that will answer thee. And to which of the saints wilt thou turn? For wrath killeth the foolish man, and envy slayeth the silly one. I've seen the foolish taking root, but suddenly I cursed his habitation. His children are far from safety, and they are crushed in the gate. Neither is there any to deliver them. whose harvest the hungry eateth up, and taketh it even out of the thorns, and the robber swalloweth up their substance.

And then he says, although affliction cometh not forth of the dust, neither doth trouble spring out of the ground. And then we come down to the seventh verse.

Yet man is born unto trouble, as the sparks fly upward.

Job is a very instructive book and I expect probably Job is one of the books that is least read and people don't understand why it's written but what it does it sets forth the spiritual experience of a child of God and it gives us therefore this insight into the reality of true religion and we should not assume or consider that we should escape such a situation because here was Job none more righteous than him and yet God allowed these things to come on him where he lost his goods and his family and himself was afflicted God is dealing with him to bring him right down. And he brings him to this condition and says, yet man is born unto trouble as the sparks fly upward. And we shouldn't think, therefore, that somehow or other we are excluded. It doesn't refer to us. We do tend to think that sometimes as we look at the case of God's people recorded in the Word of God. And we think, well, that was all right for so and so. I'm not in that path and I'm not walking in that path. But the work of the Holy Spirit is very simple. It's to make us conformable unto his image. And that takes a lot because by nature we're far off.

What a blessing it is then when the Holy Spirit comes into our lives and corrects us, and instructs us, and directs us in the words we say, in our actions we take, the thoughts we have. It's a great blessing to be under the wonderful influence of the great Spirit of God.

Well, here we have then, yet man is born into trouble as the sparks fly upward. And I expect that all of us tend to think, well that probably will skirt round us and then when we come into these situations sometimes we're a bit surprised but the Lord knows the cause of these things and why these things come into our lives and that's why we have many encouraging scriptures to help us and to strengthen us And the book of Psalms is very wonderful. It gives us so many examples of God's goodness and mercy toward us. And just to mention a few for our encouragement. And we read in the 46th Psalm, and this is what it starts with, God is our refuge. and strength, a very present help in trouble.

Well, Job was in trouble and it took a long time for Job to come round to acknowledge his position and his situation. He listened to his three friends, he listened to Elihu, it didn't really have any effect upon him. but the great blessing was when God spoke. And what a mercy, my friends, if in your life and my life, we might find God in our lives, bringing us into times of need, and yet it doesn't really affect us. We don't really seem to be affected by it.

Well, as the Lord spoke to Job, we have an account towards the end of Job, In the 42nd chapter we hear what the Lord says. And we're told, moreover the Lord answered Job and said, Shall he that contendeth with the Almighty instruct him? He that reproveth God, let him answer it. That's God speaking to Job. Job then answers the Lord and said, Behold, I am vile. What shall I answer thee? I will lay my hand upon my mouth. Once have I spoken, but I will not answer. Yea, twice, but I will proceed no further.

What do we see there? We see humble submission to God's servant Job. He realised he'd said and spoken things that were not God honouring. He was trying to justify himself and how often we try, don't we, and justify ourselves. But it's a great wonder when the Lord deals with us like he did with Job, in love to his soul, and brought him to this confession to say, I am vile. What shall I answer thee? I will lay my hand upon my mouth." You just stop saying things which were not God-honouring. We need to analyse, don't we, sometimes, what we're saying. Are we saying things which are God-honouring? Do they bring glory to God? Or is the intention to bring glory to ourselves?

Well, here we have the confession of God's servant Job. What a blessing it is to have an account like that. And then as the Lord continues to speak to Job, and we come down to the 42nd chapter, that's the last chapter in the book of Job, and we're told, then Job answered the Lord and said, I know that thou canst do everything and that no thought can be withholden from thee. Who is he that hideth counsel without knowledge? Therefore have I uttered that I understood not. We have to note that sometimes we do utter things. We're foolish, we don't really understand. But I understood not things too wonderful for me which I knew not.

Here I beseech thee, and I will speak. I will demand of thee and declare thou unto me. I have heard of thee by the hearing of the ear, but now mine eye seeth thee. And this brought him right down to rock bottom in his own estimation.

Wherefore I abhor myself and repent in dust and ashes. It took a long time to get there. Sometimes it takes us a long time to get there. But what a mercy when God does deal with us as sons and daughters of the Most High God and brings us to that place of confession.

Here was Job. There wasn't a large audience. He was in the presence of God. speaking to him. And we're then told, And it was so that after the Lord had spoken these words unto Job, the Lord said to Eliphaz the Timanite, My wrath is kindled against thee and against thy two friends, for ye have not spoken of me, the things that is right. as my servant Job hath.

You see the Lord was speaking now and speaking against Eliphaz, but then as we come right down to the end we're turned to these great words, and the Lord turned the captivity of Job. Turned the captivity. Do you know when that was? When he prayed for his friends. Those friends who'd been critical of him didn't hold it against them, he prayed for them. And also then the Lord came and gave Job twice as much as he had before.

Well, what a wonderful favour, what a wonderful example for you and me it is to have this account of the life of Job. And yet here were these true words of Eliphaz as he spoke and told him, man is born unto trouble as the sparks fly upward. Yes, we should expect that. And the Lord Jesus told us, isn't it, at the end of that sermon to his disciples, and he said, it is through much tribulation that you and I shall enter the kingdom.

You see, we're not promised a wonderfully smooth passage on this earth. It is through much tribulation. And what does that do? It makes us pray to God. We can explain our case to God because He knows what He's doing with us. He knows why he's dealing with us. And as I've already said, to make us more conformable unto his image.

I do quote sometimes, I'm sure as you know, those wonderful words in the Philippians that the Apostle Paul desired when he comes and says, he came right down to towards the end of this chapter and desires that the Lord indeed will bless him and favour him in a wonderful way. And he comes and says, finally, my brethren, rejoice in the Lord. Well, that's a good start, isn't it? Good start for you and me.

Finally, to rejoice in the Lord, to write the same things to you, to me indeed is not grievous, But for you it is safe. And then he goes on to explain the situation. And he comes and says, but what things were gained to me, those I counted loss for Christ. His great desire was to know Christ. The great desire was to grow in knowledge of Christ. And he comes and says, yea, doubtless. There's no question about it. Doubtless. And I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered loss of all things and do countenance but done that I may win Christ and be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law.

And as the Word of God tells us, our righteousness is as filthy rags. It will never get us to heaven. We can never depend on our righteousness. We need Christ's righteousness, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God, by faith.

Now the Apostle Paul was a man who'd been wonderfully blessed with a personal revelation of the Saviour and union with him and yet you see he comes and says that I may know him and the power of his resurrection you see that's risen power and the fellowship of his sufferings and that's union with Christ in his sufferings, to enter into that union and the fellowship of his sufferings be made conformable unto his image.

And therefore, perhaps as we consider ourselves and consider this word, yet man is born under trouble as the sparks fly upward. If it works for our good, we will be thankful for it. and it brings into our heart and our lives a desire like this, it'll prove to be a wonderful blessing that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection. That was His great desire, wasn't it? And the fellowship, union with Christ, of His sufferings be made conformable unto His death, if by any means I might attain unto the resurrection of the dead. He realised how important it was to be right with Christ.

And so it is for all of us today, how relevant it is that we might attain unto the resurrection of the dead, not as though I had already attained, and we know the Apostle had been greatly blessed, either were already perfect, but I follow after if that I may apprehend that for which also I am apprehended of Christ Jesus. Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended, but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forth unto those things which are before.

He wanted a living religion. He wanted continual union with Christ. He wanted the blessings of God which could only be received from the Lord himself. And so he tells us this great truth and he says, I pressed toward the mark, pressed toward the mark. Yes, he had much opposition. Just like Eliphaz told Job, yet man is born unto trouble as the sparks fly upward. It's not an easy journey. Christian journey, it's not easy. I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. That prize to receive, wonderful, it's a race which the Lord Jesus has run for us.

And so he says, let us therefore, as many as be perfect, be thus minded. And if in anything ye be otherwise minded, God shall reveal even this unto you. Nevertheless, whereunto we have already attained Let us walk by the same rule, let us mind the same thing. Brethren, be followers together of me and mark them which walk so as ye have us for an example.

Well, it's a great testimony of the Apostle, a great desire he had to be Christ-like and to enjoy fellowship with the Lord Jesus Christ. And that should be our principal desire, our principal concern as we journey on through life. The devil will wave many other things before our eyes and endeavour to turn us away from those things which really are the chief and wonderful blessings as by God's grace we grow in that knowledge that experience, that testament, growing grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ.

And that's not just mere words, and it can be just mere words. And we have to be careful it's not just phraseology which we're familiar with. And we utter such words which don't emanate from our heart, they emanate from our head. What a blessing, therefore, if God is dealing with us in love to our souls and instructing us and encouraging us. Well, it's a great favour to be found like that.

And just to carry on one or two other references that we read in the Word of God in the 71st Psalm, we have this wonderful statement. the psalmist says in the third verse be thou my strong habitation in our times of trouble in our times of difficulty to have this living desire be thou my strong habitation we have a strong enemy the devil who endeavours to turn us away from the things of God who tries to give us words to speak to Produce pride, oh my friends how wonderful, to be humbled under the mighty hand of God.

Be thou my strong habitation, whereunto I may continually resort. In every time of need, in every little difficulty, in every large difficulty, we can come to our God, who is ever attentive, to hear our pleas, to hear our cries. Be thou, he says, my strong habitation, whereunto I may continually resort. Thou hast given commandment to save me, for thou art my rock and my fortress.

Well is God to you and me that today? Is he our rock? Is it a fortress? Whereunto we can continually resort and he goes on deliver me oh my god out of the hand of the wicked out of the hand of the unrighteous and cruel man for thou art my hope oh lord god thou are my trust from my youth well today is that true Is God, the Lord God, is he our hope? Is he our trust? And do we have a confidence that as we come to our God in prayer, we come in faith believing that great God does hear and answer prayer? And just because we don't receive answers when we think we should, we need patience to wait for his time and to wait for his appearing.

so that he will do that for you and me. That will be a true and a great blessing. And the psalmist tells us, for thou art my hope, O Lord God, and thou art my trust from my youth. That's a great blessing. If he's been your trust and my trust from when we were young, by thee have I been holden up from the womb. Thou art he that took me out of my mother's bowels, My praise shall be continually of thee.

We read a statement like that and we quickly pass over it and yet how relevant it is. As we examine ourselves, he says, my praise shall be continually of thee. Do we do that? Are we continually praising our God? When was the last time you and I praised God for His goodness and praised God for His mercy and praised God for His favour toward us? Well, it would be a blessing if we understand what the psalmist says here. My praise shall be continually of Thee. Not just an odd time in the week, but ever desiring to praise God. Oh, what a blessing it is.

He tells us, I am a wonder unto many, but thou art my strong refuge. Let my mouth be filled with thy praise and with thy honour all the day. Cast me not off in the time of old age. Forsake me not when my strength faileth.

You understand perhaps what The psalmist is speaking here. It may be that we're fearful and that we may fall off and that God may cast us off because of the evil of our hearts and the things that we say and the things that we do. What a mercy if God is kind and gracious.

For mine enemies speak against me and they that lay wait for my soul will take counsel together saying, God hath forsaken him, persecute and take him, but there is none to deliver him. O God, be not far from me.

Well, as we're walking this path, as the Church of God do walk this path, we are born unto trouble. As the sparks fly upward, they demonstrate The fires are light and the fires are working and it's evident by the sparks that fly up. We don't always know which direction sparks fly in a fire. We don't always know how God will deal with us and bring us, as it were, to our senses and show us how evil we've been.

Poor old Job had to walk that path, didn't he? As the Lord showed him. what he really was. Oh, he soon lost his confidence in himself. He came down and said, behold, I am vile. That's low, isn't it? It's not very high, is it? And yet, you see, it was of God's mercy that he was not consumed.

And it's exactly the same, my friends, for you and me today. to realise it's because of the God's mercy we indeed are not consumed. Well, we have many words of encouragement to direct us. The Lord Jesus sets before us so many gracious words and if you think of that time when he spoke to his disciples in that upper room from the 14th of John when he commenced by saying Let not your heart be troubled.

Perhaps sometimes we are troubled. We look at ourselves and we recognise what a poor Christian we are. We're troubled. And yet the Lord comes and says, let not your heart be troubled. Ye believe in God, believe also in me. What does that mean? It really means casting all our care upon him, praying that he will guide and direct us and he will give us those good words and those right words to speak, that he would direct us in our words, he would direct us in our conversation therefore and in the way that we walk and be gracious to us left to ourselves, we will fall so easily.

Yes, we'll rely on our own ability, on our own skill. Sometimes we think we're pretty smart of the things that we've said. And yet, you see, it's not at all. We have to ask ourselves, and it's good to ask ourselves, were such things God-honouring? That's the test, isn't it? were those things that we've said, were they God-honouring? Well, if we can say, well, I believe they were, you can praise God and thank Him for it. But we may have to agree and concur that in actual fact they weren't. And that we were really trying to say those things which perhaps elevated ourselves. So people might think, well, there's a very gracious man with good foresight.

We need to be dependent upon what God says and what God does and how God leads and directs us. Because as Eliphaz says, yet man is born in the trouble as the sparks fly upward. But he doesn't leave it there. He goes on and he says, I would seek unto God, and unto God would I commit my cause. It's much better to commit our way unto God and let God deal with the situation than trying to deal with it ourselves, because we're so easily left to our own spirit, which doesn't bring honour and glory to God. and it really only brings the Lord's anger on us.

We should desire to recognise God's wonderful favour and God's truth, to realise therefore that we are born in this world, it is a world of trouble, there is much tribulation, and we shouldn't think that somehow we're going to escape that. It's a lot of all of God's people. to walk this path.

Yet man is born unto trouble as the sparks fly upward. We know that sparks fly where there's a fire, don't we? And so it is in our little lives. Well, we need to come, we need to pray, unto our God that he will look upon us in good and that he will indeed be gracious to us in this situation and keep our soul. How important it is that God is gracious to us and keeps our soul and doesn't leave us to ourself. You know the 25th Psalm is a wonderful Psalm and as we come right down To the end, David says, oh, keep my soul. Keep my soul. And David did have difficulties in his life, didn't he? Many times. Oh, keep my soul and deliver me. I wonder whether that's a constant prayer that we have. Oh, keep my soul. and deliver me, let me not be ashamed, for I put my trust in Thee.' As David faced oppositions in many ways, and also we know that he offended God, he walked contrary to Him, and yet he came to this position, realising his situation, and therefore came and prayed, that thou wouldest keep my soul and deliver me. Let me not be ashamed, for I put my trust in thee.

If we put our trust in our God, we put our trust in our God really, and it demonstrates that we have a confidence in that God who's dealing with us in love to our souls. How often we seem to forget that. And sometimes, therefore, when we face these difficulties, we face these troubles, we ask ourselves the question, why has this come upon us? Well, the reason is, as the Apostle Paul said, to make us conformable unto his image, to bring us down in our own estimation and to raise Christ up in our view as the altogether lovely, the all-sufficient Saviour, the merciful God. What a wonderful God we have. What a compassionate God we have. And when you and I look back sometimes in our lives, and we need to, to realise the Lord hasn't dealt with us as we deserve. No, He's being compassionate and He's teaching us and He's blessing us. It's a very humbling experience and a very humbling God. We have to deal with Him. We should be very, very thankful.

You know, when the Apostle Paul again spoke to, or wrote rather, to the Corinthians, And it's good to realise these great and wonderful truths we have in the fourth chapter of the first book of the Corinthians. And he tells us the wonderful truth of his word, which we should enjoy. This is the second book. And this is what we read. Wherefore, I beseech you that ye would confirm your love towards him. For to this end, to this end, also did I write that I might know the proof of you, whether ye be obedient in all things. However, we're disobedient in all things.

And then the fourth chapter he tells us, we are troubled on every side. Sometimes it looks like that, doesn't it? We're troubled on every side, yet not distressed. We are perplexed, but not in despair. Persecuted, but not forsaken. Cast down, but not destroyed. And then he says, always bearing about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our body. For we which live are always delivered unto death for Jesus' sake. Let the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our mortal flesh. It is to exalt Christ. What a blessing it is to have that desire in our lives. The blessed, glorious Saviour might be lifted up and exalted as we receive that grace to walk in conformity with His will and His purpose for his honour and for his glory.

The problem is so often we're concerned about ourselves, our glory, and yet the truth is we should be much more concerned about the glory of God. Yes we're poor Christians really and we should be thankful therefore that we have accounts like this in Job where the Lord God dealt so kindly with Job and when you think of God's testimony for him and of him and yet the Lord saw fit to bring him through this great test of faith and it was a great test of faith. Sometimes Our faith is tested. We shouldn't be surprised. But what a good thing it is to have God who is kind and gracious and merciful so that by God's favour we grow in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. And what is it for? To prepare us for our eternal home.

My friends, here we have no continuing city, but we seek one to come. Have we the evidence that our God is dealing with us in love to our souls and preparing us for our eternal home. And therefore, we should not be surprised that we're born unto trouble as the sparks fly upward. It's all to make us conformable to His image.

It's good to meditate upon the life of Christ. It's good to meditate upon His image, what He endured, what opposition He faced, and then to compare it with our little lives. And we see by comparison how easy our life is. and yet how unworthy we are, really, of being a true follower of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ.

Well, may God be gracious to us and may he bless us and instruct us and keep us close to himself. Oh, my friends, what a blessing that is. The Apostle Peter tells us, kept by the power of God. You and I can't keep ourselves We can't keep our lips, we can't keep our thoughts, we can't keep our actions, but God can. And therefore, may we realise the depth and truth of that desire to be found kept by the power of God, through grace, unto salvation, ready to be revealed in the last time.

So, let us ponder these words. Yet man is born unto trouble, as the sparks fly upward. Amen.