May it please almighty God to
bless our souls this evening as we meditate in his word. Let
us turn to the book of Job chapter seven and we'll read verse 16. The book of Job chapter seven
and reading verse 16. I loathe it I would not live all way, let
me alone, for my days are vanity. These are some of the words that
Job responded to in life as his first words to Job. and we see how Job was in a very
sad state really, in a very solemn state, but we can understand
something of his condition when we think of what the Lord described
Job as and what happened to him. We can go back to the first chapter
and in the sixth verse we're told, now there was a day when
the sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord, and
Satan came also among them. Let's not think that that scene
has changed. Satan is always keen to come
amongst the brethren. The Lord said unto Satan, Whence
comest thou? Then Satan answered the Lord
and said, From going to and fro in the earth, and from walking
up and down in it. And the Lord said unto Satan,
Hast thou considered my servant Job? There is none like him in
the earth, a perfect and upright man, one that feareth God, and
escheweth evil. Then Satan answered the Lord
and said, Doth Job fear God? For naught? Hast thou not made
an hedge about him, and about his house, and about all that
he hath on every side? Thou hast blessed the work of
his hands, and his substance is increased in the land. But
put forth thine hand now, and touch all that he hath, and he
will curse thee to thy face. Well, the Lord allowed Satan
then to come upon Job. And indeed, Job lost his children,
he lost his herds, he lost his cattle, He lost his servants,
he was greatly afflicted. And we're told, then Job arose
and rent his mantle and shaved his head and fell down upon the
ground and worshipped, said, naked came I out of my mother's
womb. Naked shall I return never. The
Lord gave and the Lord hath taken away. Blessed be the name of
the Lord. all this Job sinned not, nor
charged God foolishly." Well that wasn't the end of the situation
because again Satan came to present himself. The Lord again asked
Satan, for whence comest thou? And he said, from going to and
fro in the earth and from walking up and down it And again, the
Lord said, hast thou considered my servant Job? There is none
like him in the earth, a perfect and upright man, one that feareth
God and escheweth evil. And still he holdeth fast his
integrity, although thou movest me against him to destroy him
without cause. And again, Satan said, skin for
skin, Yea, all this man hath when he give for his life, but
put forth thine hand now, and touch his bones and his flesh,
and he will curse thee to thy face. And so the Lord permitted
that to occur. And Joe was then greatly afflicted. And we're told what happened. And he was smitten with boils
from the sole of his foot unto his crown. He took a potsherd
to scrape himself withal, and he sat down among the ashes."
So we can understand, can we not, therefore, something of
why, as we read these two chapters, six and seven, something of Job's
condition and his situation. There he was having lost virtually
everything, and not only physically, but also his body affected dramatically. So Job was in a very sad state. We read together the sixth and
seventh chapter, and we've had there Job's position, how he
was, and how he could not find any comfort anyway. Even if he
lay down, he couldn't find comfort. And if he got up, he couldn't
find comfort. And so we find these things and we come down
to perhaps verse 14 in this seventh chapter, then now scares me with
dreams and terrifies me through visions. Well, we can perhaps
hardly think of anything worse all his body affected, loss of
all things, and now here he is, even when he sleeps, having these
terrible dreams. And so he now comes and says,
so that my soul chooseth strangling and death rather than life. He comes and then we come to
the 16th verse, I loathe it, I would not live always, Let
me alone, for my days are vanity. Well, there's the condition of
Job. And I'm sure the Lord in his
sovereign will and purpose records such a condition for us today
so that we realise that really we couldn't have a worse condition
than God's servant Job. The Lord brought all these things
upon him and we see then the natural reaction of Job. As we follow through this book
of Job we will find that there are many occasions where Job
speaks good things and many occasions when he speaks bad things and
likewise his three friends. They come and they speak some
good things, but many bad things, because they judge by the appearance. And how foolish we are if we
judge by the appearance. You see, God was dealing with
his servant Joe, and his three friends couldn't understand,
couldn't really appreciate, and therefore they came to often
wrong judgments. And these accounts are really
given to us today to instruct us in our lives to not to jump
to a wrong conclusion by an outward appearance, because the Lord
knows what he's doing and how he's dealing with his people. And we can come to a conclusion
which may be far from the mark. And we have to come really right
through the free friends and all their speeches until we come
to Elihu, who was a younger man who waited his opportunity to
speak. And he spoke some good words
of instruction to Job. Job didn't really respond to
that. And then of course, after that, the Lord spoke. And when
the Lord spoke, And he told Job really of his greatness, that
means the Lord's greatness. And Job then, as it were, came
to his senses and he realised how small and sinful and insignificant
he was. And he says, therefore I bore
myself and repent in dust and ashes. Well, the Lord brought
Job right down to that condition. So when he was then, as it were,
face to face with Almighty God, he couldn't then justify himself. He tried to justify himself to
his three friends. When he came to God, he was not
able to do that. Well, and as you may well remember,
of course, after that, the Lord greatly blessed the end of Job,
so that his end was far greater than that which occurred, which
existed in the beginning of this book of Job, that we're able
to read and recognize. So it is an account which is
worth reading. The book of Job is worth reading.
It's not an easy book to read, and some things are not very
clear, but nonetheless God can give clarity of mind and understanding. But we should realize and recognize
that throughout it all, God's will and purpose is being worked
out. It was worked out in the case
of Job and it will be worked out still today in our lives.
No doubt not in the same situation, the same way that Job was, but
nonetheless, God's hand will be upon us. The Lord will deal
with us graciously and lovingly if we are indeed his children. And so we can understand as we
read in the 16th verse, I loathe it. Yes, Job was in a sad condition
physically and mentally, therefore he said, I loathe it. And then
he says, I would not live always. Well, we can view that really
from two perspectives. We can view it because of all
the difficulties that he faced and the uncomfortableness of
his body, and therefore he desired that his life might not be spared. And on the other hand, you read
through this book of Job you will find there are some wonderful
words in it to encourage us to believe that he would not live
always because he had that great desire and that great view of
his God and his Saviour. Especially as we think of the
19th chapter 25th verse where we read and he says for I know
that my Redeemer liveth. That was a great revelation to
God's servant Job and it will be a great revelation to us today. We by faith are also able to
say I know that my Redeemer liveth and that he shall stand at the
latter day upon the earth. that is still to come. Joe was
able to voice these words many many years ago and that is still
of course to come and therefore he says in these words, true
as they were, I would not live always because he was able to
look ahead to that glorious time of the Saints in glory which
so far exceeded all the things of this vain world. Now Job suffered,
Job suffered greatly, but we can think that he looked ahead,
we think that he can look to that glorious prospect of being
in glory with a Saviour. And so these words indeed were
true, I would not live always. You know that's good for us today,
if in our little lives The Holy Spirit has worked to show to
us what is the vanity of the things of this life. That's what
the God's servant comes down to. He says, for my days are
vanity. They're just like wind. There's no substance in them.
They're passing away. And that, of course, very rapidly.
Our life is passing away. very rapidly. And those of us
who are older can look back and recognize how quickly our life
has passed, how quickly our life is passing. Therefore it won't
be long before this word indeed is so true. As the God's servant says, We
will not live always. See, the natural mind, the devil
says, you needn't worry about this, you needn't worry about
that. You can put things off to another day. The devil is,
of course, a deceiver, as he always has been, as he always
will be, and therefore he tries to deceive us so that we concentrate
rather on the things of time than on the things of eternity. Wouldn't it be a great mercy
then if the Lord gives us that grace to be able to say, I will
not live always because of the good prospect that is before
us. Because the glory of heaven is
so superior to anything that this world can give to us. You know, everything that you
and I have and possess and receive, you see, there's always some
emptiness in it. There's never a fullness. But
there is a fullness that resides in Jesus, our head, whichever
abides to answer our need. And that fullness brings with
it and eternal peace. The things of this life may bring,
as it were, temporary peace, but it will soon pass away. The
devil will soon cause other things to arise which destroys that
peace, and so we'll be clambering after something else. But it
would be a wonderful blessing if we are found then looking
ahead. to that glorious time when we
shall be indeed with Christ, which is far better. As I'm sure some of you remember,
we've spoken recently in that first chapter in the epistle
of Paul to the Philippians, where the apostle gives that great
and glorious testimony. And he says, for I am in a strait
betwixt two, having a desire to depart and to be with Christ,
which is far better. Not just a little bit better,
but far better. And why is it far better? Well,
first of all, we shall be with the Saviour to praise Him for
all that He's done. Secondly, we shall have no sin. The sins which do so easily beset
us, we'll all be behind us and we shall be in that place of
perfect peace and joy and harmony, nothing to distract us, nothing
to cast us down. It's something that is virtually
impossible for us to really fully understand and what a good thing
it is if from time to time The Holy Spirit may give us a touch
just to realize the wonderful blessings the Lord has prepared
for his people. Now, Job was brought into this
time of trial. Job was brought into this time
of much affliction. You may say, well, we have the
evidence and we have the testimony. of God's servant Job, which is
a good thing. So it is. But you know, we have
a far greater testimony in the Word of God, and a far greater
blessing. I expect you can appreciate who
the example is. That of course is the example
of the Lord Jesus Christ. What he endured on our behalf,
Job endured it, but you see the Savior endured it on behalf of
all his church. And as we read the 53rd chapter
in Isaiah, which is always a good exercise and a good thing to
do, because it directs us through the sufferings of Christ and
the situation and the wonder of it. And so we are told We
should grow up before him as a tender plant and as a root
out of a dry ground. He has no form or comeliness.
And when we shall see him, there is no beauty that we should desire
him." Well, Job was afflicted in his body. You see, the Savior
was also afflicted in his body to a great extent. an extent far more than you and
I can really ever appreciate. And yet you see the Lord suffered
so willingly and we're told His visage was more mild than any
man. That's the Saviour. And so naturally
there was no beauty in Him that we should desire Him. Surely
that means that takes us away as it were from the outward form,
to realise the great and wonderful work that the Saviour did on
our behalf. We are told He was despised and
rejected of men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief, and
we hid, as it were, our faces from Him. He was despised and
we esteemed Him not. Well, as we Think of Job, perhaps
you think, well, how terrible that would have been. My friends,
the Saviour endured a far greater affliction than Job. And then we have this statement,
and we, you and I, esteemed him not. We did not esteem the Saviour
until he poured forth his grace into our hearts. And then by
faith, we viewed him suffering on our behalf. And then we see
the wonder and glory of that suffering. Surely he has borne
our griefs and carried our sorrows. Yet we did esteem him stricken,
smitten of God and afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions. It's very easy, is it not, to
pass over sin. Discount it and think lightly
of it. And indeed, until the Holy Spirit
touches our heart, it won't really have any effect. What a mercy
when the Holy Spirit touches our heart. We realise what it
costs the Saviour. He was wounded for our transgressions.
He was bruised for our iniquities. The chastisement of our peace
was upon him. And with his stripes, we are
healed. You know, it's hard for us to
appreciate how the Lord was beaten in that judgment hall with many
stripes, many stripes which we should have had placed upon us.
But if they had been placed upon us, they would have not satisfied
the holy law of God, which is just and righteous. And then
he goes on to say, all we like sheep have gone astray. We have
turned everyone to his own way. The Lord has laid upon him the
iniquity of us all. And it's good to think on these
things that we turn to our own way. The Word of God sets before
us His way. The Word of God sets before us
the right way. And yet how easily we follow
our way. How often we fail to hear His
glorious words, to take up our cross, daily to follow him, not
counting the cost. The Saviour never counted the
cost, did he? And yet, you see, he willingly
suffered. He willingly suffered. Well,
says Job, I would not live away. What a mercy, therefore, to look
beyond the afflictions of this life. The Saviour was oppressed. But he never complained, did
he? The Saviour never complained. Job complained. You read the
account of Job. Job complained. But the Saviour
never complained. He bore all incarnate God could
bear. As the hymn writer said, with
strength enough, and none to spare. He was oppressed and he
was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth. He is brought
as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers
is done, so he opened not his mouth." It's a wonderful example,
isn't it? It's a wonderful testimony for
us today, as you and I walk on this earth, to not be found complaining. It's very easy to complain and
to cry at how hard my lot. Well, let us compare it. Compare
it with Job. Compare it with the Saviour.
Compare how Job reacted. Compare how the Saviour reacted. And then we're told he was taken
from prison and from judgment. And who shall declare his generation?
For he was cut off out of the land of the living. Job was not. Job lived a long, long life.
The Lord Jesus was cut off. In the prime of his life, 33
years, he lived that perfect, sinatonic life. Then you see
he was cut off. Cut off for our eternal benefit. What a saviour. The transgressions of my people
was he stricken, your transgressions and my transgressions, without
the life and death of the Saviour. There would be no hope for us.
And we would never have been able to say, I would not live
always, because there would be no blessing of eternal life. He was taken from prison and
from judgment. And who shall declare his generation? It was an eternal generation. What a wonderful generation it
was. It was cut off as the land of the living. For the transgression
of my people was he stricken, and he made his grave with the
wicked. There he was, you see, between those two thieves, as
An evildoer is a word God uses, a word manifacture. He was numbered
with them. Yes, he wasn't numbered as a
righteous man. He was numbered as an unrighteous
man. And we, of course, are unrighteous
men and women. But you see, he bore that punishment
in our stead. And so he made his grave with
a wicked and with a rich in his death, because he had done no
violence. Neither was any deceit in his
mouth. Perfect life. No evil thought. Perfect mind. Did everything
in accordance with his divine father's eternal will. And so The prophet goes on to
say, yet it pleased the Lord to bruise him on our behalf. He has put him to grief, when
thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin. He shall see his seed,
he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the Lord shall
prosper in his hand. He shall see of the travail of
his soul and shall be satisfied." A wonderful thought, isn't it? It's beyond our natural understanding
to think that the Saviour walked this way, saw the travail of
his soul and was satisfied because of it. By his knowledge shall
my righteous servant justify many, for he shall bear their
iniquities. Well, what a blessing tonight.
If you and I have a right understanding that the blessed Saviour bore
our iniquities. What a mercy, what a favour,
what a wonderful blessing to think that we have such a great
and glorious Saviour. Well, we come back to Job in
his condition, so different, wasn't it? So different to the
Saviour's, and yet you see a man who feared God, a man who was
upright, a man who the Lord himself acknowledged, and yet you see
still a sinner. Well, what was the purpose really
of this in Job's life? Well, We read down in this chapter,
in this seventh chapter, and we come to this confession. It's wonderful to realize this. Just don't forget what Job was
spoken of by the Lord, how righteous he was. And then he comes down,
and this is what he says in the 20th verse of the seventh chapter.
I have sinned. What shall I do unto thee, O
thou preserver of men? Why hast thou set me as a mark
against thee, so that I am a burden to myself? Well, that was that
great blessed confession of sin. He was a righteous man, and yet
the Lord still brought him back to this position, to this scene,
to confess his sin. We should never think that you
and I have got past confessing our sins because we continue
to sin. We continue to sin because sin
is in us through that original sin of Adam and Eve in the Garden
of Eden. That's passed upon us. It's part
of our nature. What a blessing to know, though,
that as the Holy Spirit reveals that to us, we don't stand in
our own righteousness. We depend upon what Jesus has
done. He paid the price. He paid the
punishment due to us. I have sinned. Well, We have
to continue to say that, don't we? Every day I have sinned. What a mercy it is to know that
we have a God who pardons. And the God's servant, Job, goes
on to say, why does thou not pardon my transgression and take
away my iniquity? For now shall I sleep in the
dust and thou shalt seek me in the morning. But I shall not
be. Well, that's what Job thought. But of course, the Lord did pardon
Job. And my friends, the Lord does
pardon us. Perhaps sometimes we may feel that we've gone out
of reach of God's pardon. We may perhaps feel we've sinned
against light and knowledge. But you see, we have a God who
is merciful. We have a God who is full of
compassion. What a wonderful Blessing it
is. You know, the servant of God
Solomon. It was a blessed character. And
although he was left to sin most gravely, and yet you see in his
life, as we read the book of Ecclesiastes, when he endeavored
to find happiness in this life without success. And what a good
lesson it is for us to realize that You and I will never find
true happiness in this life. When we read about Solomon endeavouring
to find happiness, this is what he says in the second chapter,
the 17th verse. Therefore I hated life, because
the work that is wrought under the sun is grievous unto me. for all his vanity and vexation
of spirit. He found, he proved, there was
no perfection in this natural life. Now everything he turned
his hand to, he found there was vanity and vexation of spirit. Well, the blessing is when the
Lord shows this to us, We may strive after this, we may strive
after that, and yet we prove in everything there is vanity
and vexation of the spirit. And if the Holy Spirit shows
us that, it's a great blessing because it will direct us then
beyond the things of time to come to this word and be able
to plead it and to acknowledge it before our God. I would not
live always in this poor sinful world. Matters not how much we
have. Matters not how much we possess.
You see, true happiness is only found in fellowship with the
Lord Jesus Christ. And as the Apostle Paul so ably
put it in that third chapter to the Philippians when he said,
fellowship with his sufferings, when his sufferings are outlined
in that 53rd of Isaiah, which we've just gone through. And
it will be a great blessing for us if the Holy Spirit brings
us into union with the Lord, union with the Lamb, from condemnation
free. And that union with the Lamb
is fellowship with his sufferings. It is a great blessing, therefore,
if the Holy Spirit is gracious and merciful and mindful of us. We refer this morning to the
account in the Hebrews where faith was given to God's servant
Noah. Well, faith was given to all
those worthies. in that 11th chapter. And my
friends, humbling as it is, faith is given to the whole Church
of God to believe the truth of the Bible. As the young people
considered on Friday, to be blessed with living faith, to believe
the Bible is true from Genesis to Revelation. We live in a world
of deceit. We live in the great deceiver,
the devil, but may our hope be in the things and the truth of
God. And in that 11th chapter, the
apostle says, verses 15 to 16, and we'll read this. And truly,
if they had been mindful of that country from whence they came
out, they might have had opportunity to have returned, but now, But
now, a change. But now, what a blessing for
us today to have a but now in our lives. But now, they desire
a better country. What is that better country?
He tells us that is an heavenly, and heavenly wherefore God is
not ashamed. to be called their God, for He
hath prepared for them a city." Well, my friends, if God is not
ashamed for us to call Him our God, are we ashamed of Him? Are we ashamed of Jesus, that
dear friend? On whom our hopes, can we say,
upon whom my hopes of heaven depend, because they do. Our hope cannot be anywhere else,
it can only be upon what the Lord Jesus Christ has done, and
the great cost of that hope was, of course, his death. And the kindness and the goodness
of our God toward us, in looking upon us, from eternity past,
right through our little life on this earth, and to bring us
at last home to glory. Well, it is a wonderful, and
it is a good prospect for the church of God. Well, Job's experience,
we read through this book of Job, and of course we haven't
done it tonight, but you can well do it to see how Job reacts
to the comments of his friends, which I've said before, some
good and some bad. But when he comes before God,
when he stands before God, when God speaks, he cannot plead anything
other than what Christ has done. He can't plead his own righteousness.
It has no value. My friends, our righteousness
has no value. And so what a great blessing
it will be if we are dependent tonight, not upon what we've
done, but upon the finished work of the Lord Jesus Christ. And to come and to stand at Calvary,
to come and view the suffering Saviour. There's no greater blessing
than to be found there and to meditate upon what Christ has
done for us, and to have some little understanding, and only
a little understanding, of the great cost of our salvation. But if we do, we only know it
will put everything in a right perspective. We'll then see how
unworthy we are of any notice, and I believe the effect will
be that we will fall down and worship almighty God, and be
able to come and say, worthy is the lamb that was slain. You
see, the song of the redeemed does not commence in heaven. The song of the redeemed commences
on this earth. And therefore how good it is
if you and I begin that heavenly song, worthy as the lamb that
was slain to redeem my soul, what a cost it was, nothing less
than this would do. And yet the Lord Jesus came so
willingly and endured the cross, endured all the humiliation and
indeed died for Job, it would seem, died for his friends. What
a mercy if he died for us. And so tonight, may we indeed
think of this word in a right aspect, not just wishing to get
rid of problems in this life. Many people think they can escape
this life by taking their own life. Well, of course, what they
fail to realise is that God is in charge of our life, and those
who take their own life commit murder. How solemn and tragic
it is to think that all those who walk that path will end in
eternal hell, no escape. So may we be given grace to endure
as Job was, endure unto the end, following our great and glorious
example of the Lord Jesus Christ, who did conquer, as the Word
of God tells us, and we are more than conquerors, through him
that loved us. Amen.