Now let's open our Bibles to
Job chapter 16. Job chapter 16. I've entitled
this message, Job Surrounded. Job Surrounded. This is Job's
second answer to a man named Eliphaz. Eliphaz the Temanite. who had sought to instruct and
correct Job in his sin, showing him a way of blessing that in
reality is no way of blessing at all. And so, Job, as he has
already done the first time, he answers this man and his other
friends the second time. And in his answer, he sets forth
several things that I believe are comforting to the people
of God, things that make us think, things we can learn from. And
when I was reading through this, it just struck me how Job, I'm
sure he feels like a man who is drowning, but he also sees
that his only hope is Christ, his only hope is the grace of
God. And so we first see Job surrounded by miserable comforters. Sometimes I feel that way, sometimes
you feel that way. Can anybody offer comfort to
a suffering sinner? To one of the people of God?
And then secondly, we see Job surrounded by the wicked. And
then thirdly, and here's the comfort that comes from this
and is for us, we see Job surrounded by the grace of God. That's where
we all need to be. So let's look at this passage.
Job surrounded first by miserable comforters. We've used that phrase
to describe these three men several times. This is where it comes
from. Look at verse 1. Then Job answered. And he said,
I have heard many such things. Miserable comforters. That word
might be in your concordance as troublesome. Miserable, troublesome
comforters are you all. And what this represents, these
miserable comforters, I'll tell you exactly what they sort of
represent. They represent false religion.
They represent attempts to comfort suffering sinners without Christ,
without the grace of God. Attempts to comfort without Christ
are empty attempts, vain attempts, even miserable. They're not even
innocuous. They're miserable. They're troublesome.
That's what this word means. Miserable means trouble. It means
labor. You're laborious to me. It means pain. You're a painful
comforter. Sorrow. Grief. There's a couple
of times in the Old Testament where the same word that's translated
miserable is translated iniquity. That's what it is. It's iniquity.
even wickedness, the same word in certain context, it can be
used that way. But the point being is that instead
of relieving Job, instead of helping Job, instead of sharing
and even trying to remove his burden under the suffering that
he was going through, these men by their advice and their instruction
and their observations They actually laid heavy weights and heavy
pressures upon Job that he couldn't bear. And here's the irony of
it, neither could they bear them. Neither could they bear them.
You see, they thought they were seeking Job's recovery, but they
weren't. Look over in Galatians chapter
6 with me. You know, in Galatians chapter
6, it speaks of recovery. And he's speaking of a brother
here or a sister in Christ who falls under some sin. Now, we're always sinners. Don't
get the wrong impression of this. It's not that, well, I'm at ease
when I don't sin and I'm miserable when I do sin. We're always sinners,
sinners saved by the grace of God. But here he's talking about
something that's different. He's talking about something
that's scandalous, something that brings discomfort and embarrassment,
even scandal upon the gospel. And he says in verse 1, listen,
he says, brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, and it's
hard for us to imagine that sometimes because don't we always feel
like we're overtaken in faults? But he's talking about something
specific here. He's talking about one who needs
to be recovered. That's what he's talking about.
One who needs to be brought to, as Paul wrote to the Corinthians,
godly sorrow over sin unto repentance. And he says when that happens,
he says, you which are spiritual, the issue there is maturity and
obedience. He says, restore such an one
in the spirit of meekness. Now what is that spirit of meekness?
Now listen to it. Considering thyself, lest thou
also be tested, tempted. You ever heard somebody say,
well I would never do that. You better consider yourself,
lest you be put in the same situation, given the same evil opportunity. No, do you not know yourself? Do I not know myself? And that's
what he's saying. He says in verse 2, bear ye one
another's burdens. You see, that's not what Eliphaz
and Bildad and Zophar are doing for Job. They're not bearing
his burden. They're putting more of a burden on him. They're putting
more weight on him by their legalistic religion. He says, bear ye one
another's burdens and so fulfill the law of Christ. You know what
that is? That's love. We love each other in spite of
our faults, in spite of our shortcomings. And then he says in verse 3,
For if a man think himself to be something, when he's nothing,
he deceiveth himself. You think you're not capable
of the same things? You think you're not capable
of being overtaken in a fault? You say you'd never do that?
Well, you think you're something, but in reality you're nothing.
you deceive yourself he says but verse four but let every
man prove his own work as test and then shall he have rejoicing
in himself alone and not in another and what for every man shall
bear his own burden what he's talking about there is your rejoicing
won't come by comparing yourself with the fall and shortcomings
and faults of another See, that's how a lot of people rejoice in
their own salvation. It's like the Pharisee outside
the temple. Remember what he said? I thank God I'm not an
extortioner. His rejoicing came from the fact
that he didn't think that he was capable of being an extortioner
or an idolater. Well, if that's your rejoicing,
you're just deceiving yourself. The only rejoicing that we have
that's worth anything is our rejoicing in Christ. Look back
at Job 16. See, by suggesting that Job's
afflictions were for some enormous sin that he had committed, or
even some secret sin, and saying that Job was a hypocrite, and
that unless he repented and reformed, he couldn't expect peace and
blessing. By doing that, what were these men? They were miserable
comforters. It's like when people under a
sense of guilt and sin, they become distressed about salvation. And we do. The last thing we
need is a legal religionist, a legal preacher, a miserable
comforter who sends us to a conviction and a condemnation and a cursing
from the law for relief. That's what this man's doing
for Job. to their duties of obedience
for peace and pardon and acceptance with God, who in reality, they
count the grace of God as being worthless. As old Eliphaz said
before, he told Job, you remember back here in Job chapter 15,
he says, your way of thinking, Job, that doesn't promote worship,
that doesn't promote obedience, that doesn't promote prayer,
it's worthless. You see, they decry the grace of God. in man's
salvation. And what do they do? They cry
up the works and the will of men. That's right. Think positive. Pull yourself
up by your bootstraps. Get busy. They lay aside the
person of Christ. They lay aside His blood and
His righteousness. And the Bible says that Christ
is the consolation of Israel. He's the comfort of Israel. Think
about it. What are we to do for one another
in these times of distress? Even in times of recovery, we're
to comfort one another. We're not to condone sin or excuse
it, but we're to comfort one another. Like the prophet said,
prophet Isaiah in Isaiah 40, Comfort ye, comfort ye my people,
saith your God. Speak ye comfortably to Jerusalem. That's the people of God in Christ. Cry unto her that her warfare
is accomplished. What warfare? Her warfare against
sin, against Satan, against the curse of the law. It's accomplished.
Who did that? Christ did on the cross. And
that her iniquity is pardoned, for she hath received of the
Lord's hand double for all her sins. She's received a full pardon
for all her sins. She's received from God a righteousness
everlasting that cannot change. That's the consolation of Israel.
Brother Bill read that passage in 2 Corinthians 1. Look at this.
This will help you too. He calls God the God of all comfort
in verse 3. God's not here to beat down His
children. Now He chastises His children,
but He does that as their Father, their loving Father. He's not
here to beat us down, to rub salt in the wound, or to make
us do penance in that sense. He's the God of all comfort.
Look at verse 4 of 2 Corinthians 1. Who comforted us in all our
troubles, all our tribulations. Job's in trouble. Paul's talking
about it here personally, from personal experience. And he does
that, look, here's why he does it. That we may be able to comfort
them which are in any trouble. Are you in trouble? I don't want
to be a miserable comforter from this pulpit to you. I want to
be one who comforts you with the comforts of God's grace.
And he says, by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of
God. How does God comfort his people?
What does he do? He drives us to Christ. For in
Him, all the promises of God are yea, and in Him, Amen. And
look at verse 5. Now he says, For as the sufferings
of Christ abound in us. Now you know what that means,
the sufferings of Christ abounding in us? It's when we suffer for
righteousness sake. Now remember this, Job is suffering
for righteousness sake. He is. That's what this whole
thing is about. What did Satan do when he challenged
God in the case of Job? He challenged the grace of God.
He challenged Christ. He challenged the gospel. This
is not a man who serves you because he loves you. He serves you because
of what he can get out of you. He's a mercenary. You stop the
blessings, he'll start the cursing. That's what Satan said, remember?
What's he challenging there? Job's strength? No. If he is,
he's won. You realize if Satan challenged
me in my strength, he's won? Paul said, when I'm weak, I'm
strong, because I realize I have no strength. My strength is Christ.
So what's Satan challenging there? He's challenging the power and
the grace and the goodness of God. And Job is suffering for
righteousness sake. So he says, for as the sufferings
of Christ abound in us, the sufferings of Christ are abounding in Job.
And you're going to see something here in this chapter 16 that'll
really help you on that. But look at 2 Corinthians 1,
5. He says, so our consolation, our comfort also aboundeth how? Look at it. By Christ. He's my comfort. He's my consolation. He's my peace. I stand before
God in Him. And look at verse 6. He says,
and whether we be afflicted, it's for your consolation. Paul's
talking about his own affliction. Now Job is being afflicted. And I want you to notice something.
It's for our consolation. So that we might understand the
ways of God and His grace and His mercy in the lives of His
people. He doesn't always afflict His
people in every day, every hour. But there is affliction. And
He says in verse 6, whether we be afflicted, it's for your consolation
and salvation. Now Paul's talking about preaching
the gospel. Going out and suffering persecution for that. He says,
which is effectual in the enduring of the same sufferings which
we also suffer, or whether we be comforted, it is for your
consolation and salvation. Our comfort is Christ. Verse
7, our hope of you is steadfast, knowing that as you are partakers
of the sufferings, that is, you're in fellowship with us in the
sufferings, for righteousness sake, so shall you also be of
consolation. We're in fellowship with the
consolation, with the comfort. You see, Job's three friends
were not partakers of the same suffering or the same consolation. And they show it by what they
say. The gospel they preach is a false
gospel. Verse 8 of 2 Corinthians 1, For
we would not, brethren, have you ignorant of our trouble which
came to us in Asia, that we were pressed out of measure above
strength in other words paul saying it's more than we could
endure and he says above strength in so much that we despaired
even of life we thought we thought we were going to die how many
times have joe thought that how many times has joe desired that
to die and he says in verse nine but we had the sentence of death
in ourselves that we should not look here's the reason that we
should not trust in ourselves but in god which raiseth the
dead." What did Job say? Back there in verse 14 of chapter
14. He said, if a man dies, shall
he live again? All the days of my appointed
time will I wait till my change come. He's trusting in God who
raises the dead. Over in Job 19, he's going to
say, I know my Redeemer liveth and shall stand in the latter
day. And I'll stand in Him. miserable
comforters. The only comfort we have is the
gospel of God's grace in Christ. How God saves sinners like us. How God keeps and preserves and
blesses sinners like us through the Lord Jesus Christ. Look back
at Job 16. But Job's surrounded by miserable
comforters. Look at verse 3. He says, shall
vain, that's empty words, have an end? When's it going to stop,
he says, or what emboldeneth thee that thou answerest? In other words, the Eliphaz and
Bildad and Zophar, they speak forcibly. They speak boldly.
They speak confidently, the things they're saying. Bold, forcible,
grievous words, but without foundation. They spoke with confidence. They
spoke even with self-righteousness. Because everything that they
say implies, Job, be like us, be obedient, and then God will
bless you. That's self-righteousness. Listen,
there is a boldness of God's grace, but it's not like these
three miserable comforters are trying to bring Job to. The boldness
of God's grace is the boldness that we have in Christ and Him
crucified. God forbid that I should glory
both, save in the cross. of our Lord Jesus Christ. Our
rejoicing, our confidence is in Christ. But now their boldness
was self-righteousness. It was religious pride. Look
at verse 4. He says, I also could speak as
you do. If your soul were in my soul's
stead, I could heap up words against you and shake mine head
at you. Job said, if you were walking
in my shoes, I could do the same thing to you. I could easily,
just as easily, bear down on you I could condemn you, I could
judge you, I could do all those things, but now look at what
Job said, verse 5. He says, but I would strengthen
you with my mouth, and the moving of my lips would assuage your
grief, get rid of your grief, relieve you of your grief. Now
you think about that. What do you think Job's saying
there? You think he's saying, now you
fellas, you're miserable comforters, but I'm better than you. Listen to me. Job, he's not saying
I'm better than you here. What he's simply doing, he's
saying, if I were to speak to you, I would speak to you from
the vantage point of God's grace and God's mercy. From the standpoint
of God's grace in Christ. You know something? To be able
to comfort one another in grace is a rare jewel. It's a gift
from God. speaking a word in season. But
you know something? This was Job's way, and it's
the way of God's people. And I know we struggle sometimes
even in that way, but we do. Even Eliphaz himself, look back
at Job chapter 4. Look back here with me. Even
Eliphaz, the one that he's talking to, he admitted that Job spoke
in these kinds of context of the grace of God. Look at Job
4 and look at verse 3. Here's Eliphaz. And he's talking
about Job, and he says in verse 3, Behold, thou hast instructed
many, and thou hast strengthened the weak hands. Thy words have
upholden him that was falling, and thou hast strengthened the
feeble knees. Job was a counselor. Job was
a comforter. And even the life has amidst
that. You've helped a lot of people, Job. You spoke to them
of the gospel of God's grace. You've spoken to them of Christ,
and how God forgives sin through the blood of His Son, who's promised
to come, and how righteousness is to be found in Him. You've
done that. And Job says, well, over here
in chapter 16, he says, if you fellows were in my state, I wouldn't
talk to you as miserable comforters. I wouldn't beat you down. I'd
speak to you in words of mercy. in words of grace I'd seek to
relieve you of your burden and to bear that burden and I hope
and pray that God will give each and every one of us that gift
as he gives us the gift of faith well here's the second thing
look at verse six here's Job surrounded by wicked people and
in these words I want you to notice a couple things first
of all many times Job himself personally speaks out of his
ignorance, speaks out of his grief, out of his suffering. You ever done that? I have. He's
lost sight of the love of God. He really has. It's kind of like
David. David lost the joy of his salvation. You remember he said that in
Psalm 51. But, this will come alive to you as it did for me. if you'll look at it as Job suffering
for righteousness sake and Job standing as a type of the Lord
Jesus Christ in his suffering and I want to read it that way
Christ the suffering servant the suffering substitute now
Job himself personally he's not suffering as a substitute no
sinner can do that No sinner can substitute for another sinner.
That's why Christ could not have been a sinner or even made a
sinner. No sinner can substitute for
another sinner. If you have a substitute who
gets anything done for you by way of salvation and blessing,
he must be a lamb without blemish and without spot. That's what
Christ was and is. But Job typifies Christ who suffered
under the burden and under the pain of our sins imputed and
charged to him. Let's read it. Look at verse
6. He says, Though I speak, my grief is not assuaged. My grief
is not removed. And though I forbear, what am
I eased? He says. But now he hath made
me weary. Thou hast made desolate all my
company. Speaking of his suffrage, there's
no relief in sight for him. And when I read that, I thought
about our Savior on the cross who bore our griefs. That's what's
happening to Job here. He's not eased here. He's not
under any comfort here in his sufferings. He's under the burden. He's under the hard effects of
God's chastisement and it's being operated through Satan. And I
want you to think about our Lord who was bruised, the scripture
says, for our iniquities, not under the operation of Satan,
but under the operation of his father, for it pleased the Lord
to bruise him. For he was doing it as a substitute.
He suffered under the burden of our sins charged to Him as
one who was not at ease, as one by whose stripes we're healed,
by one by whose chastisement our peace comes. Look on at verse
8, he says, and thou hast filled me with wrinkles. In other words,
what he's expressing there is the anguish of pain that comes
from grimacing. And he says, which is a witness
against me. In other words, I can't put on
airs here. In other words, if I tried to tell you that everything's
peachy and everything's fine and everything's going well,
that would testify against me. The grimace on my face, the wrinkles
on my brow. He said, and my leanness rising
up in me beareth witness to my face. He says in verse 9, he
says, he teareth me in his wrath. who hated me this is joe talking
personally now now we know that god doesn't hate joe joe god's
love for his covenant elect chosen people all who come to faith
in christ has always been eternal has always been everlasting in
christ never been hatred it's never diminished jeremiah recognize
it Love with an everlasting love. It's love in Christ. It's an
unearned love. It's an unconditional love towards
us. It's never a love that we deserve.
It's never a love that we earn. So it doesn't change. It's an
everlasting love. But Job himself has lost sight
of it. But let me give you this to think
about. And think about this too. In God's wisdom, He chastises. And he sends trials to his people. But those are never expressions
of hatred. We won't turn there, but read
Hebrews chapter 12 on your own sometime. What are those chastisements? Well, what did the writer there
write? He said, what son, the son of
his father's love, is not chastised by his father? Those are expressions
of love. You say, well, they don't feel
like expressions of love. Well, when you punish your children
or correct your children, I guarantee you that that doesn't feel like
you love them, to them. But you do, don't you? You do. And that's the way it is with
us. But though we deserve God's wrath, we're not appointed to
God's wrath. We're not vessels of wrath, we're
vessels of mercy. That's what the scripture calls
us. Because God has from the beginning chosen us in Christ
Jesus and we're delivered from the wrath of God by Christ. But now Job's lost sight of that
here. And he even thinks, well does God hate me? Have you ever
thought that? Going through a trial, a severe
trial? Have you ever lost sight of it? We do. Look at verse 9,
he says, he gnasheth upon me with his teeth. My enemy sharpeneth
his eyes upon me. He's even seeing God as an enemy.
Now God is not his enemy. But this is a sinful man. A sinner
saved by the grace of God. Groping in the dark. But I want
you to think about this. Job here is a type of Christ.
You know, we are never recipients of the wrath of God. Now I want
you to think about that. We who are saved by the grace
of God have never been nor will we ever be recipients of the
wrath of God. Not even when we were enemies
of God. What is the wrath of God? You
know what the wrath of God is? I guess the best way that I can
say it and describe it is eternal separation from God. That's the
wrath of God. The Bible says in Romans chapter
5 that God loved us and sent His Son to die for us even when
we were what? Enemies. God loved me long before
I ever knew His love for me or even loved Him. But I want you
to see something. There is one who stood in the
place of the election of grace, who stood in our place and did
receive upon Himself the full measure of God's wrath for us,
including eternal separation from God. Now, I know people
say, well, how can you say it was eternal? Because it was just
on those three days on the cross. And my answer to them is this,
I don't know. But I want to tell you this much.
What Christ suffered on that cross as the substitute for His
people was the full equivalent of an eternal separation from
God. How can that be? I don't know.
I know this. He suffered there as God-man. God and man in one person. And
He did it for our sins. And he could say, look at verse
6 again of Job 16. He could say, though I speak,
my grief is not assuaged. God the Father didn't let up
on him. He bore our griefs in full. They were not assuaged. He says, though I forbear, what
am I eased? He had no ease on that cross. Verse 7, but now he hath made
me weary. Oh, could you imagine the weariness
of his human body going through what he'd gone through, not just
on the cross, but in the days leading up to it. Having been
beaten with the cat of nine tails, having the crown of thorns, having
to suffer all that he suffered. Thou hast made desolate all my
company. In other words, there was nobody
to help him. In verse 8, Thou hast filled me with wrinkles,
which is a witness against me, and my leanness rising up in
me beareth witness to my face. He teareth me in his wrath. He suffered under the wrath of
his father for our sins. And he says, which hated me.
Now what is God's hatred? It's his just wrath against sin. Christ suffered at the son of
his love. suffered under the hatred of
his father, the just wrath of his father for our sins. Can
you explain that to me? You can't. But I know this. He
said, my God, my God, why ask thou what? Forsaken me. He says, he gnasheth upon me
with his teeth. My enemy sharpened his eyes on
me. Look at verse 10. He said, Job
says this now, he says, they have gaped upon me with their
mouth, they have smitten me upon the cheek reproachfully, they
have gathered themselves together against me. That happened to
Job. You know, there are things about
Job that were not told in full, what he went through in his hometown,
but he was derided. Everybody that held Job in respect
and high regard now gnashed upon him. now accused him. They now told jokes about him. He was derided. They all gathered
together against him. Well, Job is a type of Christ
there too. Because that's what happened
to our Savior in Acts chapter 4 and verse 26. It says here,
the kings of the earth stood up and the rulers were gathered
together against the Lord and against His Christ. All the world,
all the fallen, depraved, evil, unbelieving, wicked world gathered
together against Christ. All the fallen humanity was represented
right there in those who stood against Him. The Jews, the Gentiles,
the kings, the princes, all of them. Look at verse 11. He says
in verse 11, Job says, God hath delivered me to the ungodly and
turned me over into the hands of the wicked. You know, in Acts
chapter 2 that's spoken of our Savior, Peter preaching at Pentecost,
he says, he speaks of Christ in verse 23 of Acts chapter 2,
he says, Him being delivered by the determinate counsel and
foreknowledge of God. It was God who delivered him.
He says, you have taken and by wicked hands have crucified and
slain. Think about it. Job felt that
way. And it was true of him. He was
being delivered by his miserable, comforting friends unto the wicked
in that sense. And in there, he's a type of
our Savior again. Look at verse 12 of Job 16. He
said, I was at ease, but he hath broken me asunder. He hath also
taken me by my neck, and shaken me to pieces, and set me up for
His mark." You know, Job, when all this first started, remember
the description of Job. He was the greatest man in the
East. You know what? That's not just
exaggeration. That's the Word of God. Job was
really the greatest man in the East. and he was the richest
man he was the wisest man in other words he started out so
high but now where does he live on the dung heap of the land
of us how low and God had marked him out for that have you considered
my servant Job he said when satan came into his challenge marked
him out pointed him out In other words, when Satan came with his
challenge, he wasn't trying to hide Job behind his skirt. Well,
don't mention Job. He'll want to go after it. No.
He said, have you considered my servant Job? In that, Job
is a type of Christ. Think about Christ. The second
person of the triune Godhead. Rich in the glory of Godhead. and yet it's said in second corinthians
chapter eight in verse nine he made himself poor for us you
don't think about the contrast in christ earthly like this obeyed
born in a manger uh... grew up in in nazareth uh... very very uh... uh... town that was looked down upon
uh... a carpenter's son he was really
in poverty and he's the very one who stood on nothing and
spoke to nothing and created everything that we have somebody said one time he said
even the very cross that he was crucified on he's the one who
created the tree grew out of the ground the ore that was made
for the nails all of that he created the very breath that
sinners breathed out in opposition and hatred of Him, He's the one
who gave them that breath. He left His home in glory, the
song says, and became a nothing for us. He thought it not robbery
to be equal with God because He is God, and yet He came and
made Himself in the form of a servant. And you think about most of us,
By nature, it offends us to be servants. He made Himself of
no reputation. And He was marked out by the
Father for this. From everlasting, He was set
up to be the surety of His people in the everlasting covenant of
grace and delivered into the hands of the wicked. Verse 13,
look at this. He says, His archer's compass
surround me round about. That's where I got the title
for this message, Job Surrounded. He cleaveth my reins asunder,
and doth not spare. He poureth out my gall upon the
ground. Oh, how that speaks of our Savior. Verse 14, He breaketh me with
breach upon breach. He runneth upon me like a giant.
He was a man of sorrows acquainted with grief, and He died. He died the death of a malefactor
on the cross of Calvary to put away our sins. And Job is sitting
here on the dung heap of us, and he's surrounded by the wicked. He's a man of God, he's a man
of grace, and he's surrounded by the wicked. And what's he
doing? He's suffering for righteousness
sake. And he's identifying with our
Savior. And look here, he's a type of
our Savior. Well, lastly, Job is surrounded
by the grace of God in Christ. Now here is the real comfort.
Oh, there's a lot of comfort, I believe, in Job being a type
of Christ, pointing us to our Savior. But this is where it
comes. Look at it in verse 17 here. Or verse 14. He says, He breaketh me with
breach upon breach. He runneth upon me like a giant.
I have sewed sackcloth upon my skin and defiled my horn in the
dust. My face is foul with weeping,
and on my eyelids is the shadow of death." And then he says,
look here, verse 17, "...not for any injustice in my hands. Also, my prayer is pure." Now,
Job is praying here. That's kind of interesting because
Eliphaz said, well, Job, if I believed what you believe, I wouldn't
pray. Here's Job praying. It's what the grace of God does
for a sinner and it drives him to the Savior. And he says this,
he says, not for any injustice in me. And he says, my prayer
is pure. Now, how can Job make a statement
like that? Well, he's not claiming sinless
perfection in himself here. He's already said, I'm a sinner.
In fact, he told them, fellas, if what you're saying is true,
none of us would have any hope because there's none righteous,
no, not one. There's none that doeth good.
He's not saying there's no sin in him, in his heart, or that
his prayers were perfect. in themselves, sinless. What's
he doing here? He's simply defending himself
against the accusations of his friends. He's saying, I'm not
suffering for any specific sin. What is that? That's a statement
of his faith in Christ, his standing before God in Christ, not for
any injustice in my hands. And the purity of any sinner's
prayer is not the perfection of the prayer. But it's the perfection
of the mediator. Let me say that again. The purity
of any sinner's prayer is not the perfection of the prayer.
It's the perfection of the high priest. The perfection of the
mediator. The perfection of the advocate.
We come to God praying through our advocate. Who is he? Jesus
Christ the righteous. That's who he is. We pray through
His blood. He's our High Priest who gave
Himself for our sins. We pray because we're righteous
in Him. And this prayer springs from
a sincere and true heart purified by the grace of God in Christ,
sprinkled from an evil conscience and presented to God in Christ. And that's the purity of it. Christ Himself, He suffered not
for any injustice in His own hands, but for the sins of His
people imputed, charged to Him. He suffered the just for the
unjust. But listen to this, look at verse
18. He says, O earth, cover not thou my blood, and let not my
cry have no place, and let my cry have no place. He says, also
now behold my witnesses in heaven, and my record is on high. You know what he's saying there?
He's saying, don't hide anything. Earth, cover not thou my blood,
and let my cry have no place. Don't cover it up. Don't keep
it in secret. Don't go looking for some secret
sin. Listen, whatever you're looking for in me, Job is saying,
there's enough sin in me to sink a world to hell. So if that's
what you're looking for, then that's it. Don't go looking for
something specific for which to accuse me of. But here's what
he says, and this is the comfort of God's people. He says, My
record. Think about that. My witness
is in heaven. My record is in heaven. Now, my friends, what is your
record in heaven? What is my record in heaven?
Well, I'll tell you exactly what it is if you know Christ. If
you're resting in Him, and here it is, no charge. No charge against
you in heaven. We sometimes don't realize the
magnitude of knowing that God has justified us in Christ. What? How can that be? He's looked
at you. If you're in Christ, He's looked
at you and He says, not guilty. That's what He says. And He's
not acting. And He's not just being a fake
judge there. He says, not guilty. You know
why? Because in Christ, you're not guilty. He looks at you and
He says, righteous. You know why? Because you're
righteous in Him. That's no fake. That's no pretense. That's no as if. That's reality. We have an advocate in heaven. Jesus Christ. That's my record. That's what Job is saying. My
record is on high. Whatever you say about me, my
record is on high. Job is not saying that to excuse
or promote sin. He's just telling them the truth
of God's grace. And he says in verse 20, my friends
scorn me, they're my scorners, but mine I pour without tears
unto God. There's Job's comfort. There's
Job's hope. I cry out to God, a sinner seeking
mercy. He says, verse 21, oh that one
might plead for a man with God, or a man pleadeth for his neighbor,
or your concordance may have friend. You know who Jesus Christ
is? He's the friend of sinners. And
he pleads for a man with God. He pleads for his people. He's
our advocate. There's Job's hope. You see,
he's surrounded by miserable comforters. He's surrounded by
wicked people. But here's the comfort. He's
surrounded by the grace of God in Christ. And that's our hope. And he concludes this part of
his answer by saying this, he said, well, when a few years
are come, then I shall go the way whence I shall not return.
In other words, when I die, I won't need this world anymore. I won't
need you fellas anymore. I'll have it all in him. And
I'll be like him. All right.