Our paper for October may have seemed to some a digression from the main line of this series of articles. But we trust the digression may not have been in vain; and although there was not much about Job and his friends, there was, we fondly hope, something for the heart and conscience of both the writer and the reader. If such was the case, we shall be better prepared to understand and appreciate the powerful ministry of Elihu, to which we shall now turn our attention, in dependence upon divine guidance.
The reader cannot fail to notice the double bearing of this remarkable ministry—its bearing upon our patriarch, and its bearing upon his friends. This is only what we might expect. Elihu, as we have already remarked, had patiently listened to the arguments on both sides. He had, as we say, heard both parties out. He had allowed them to exhaust themselves—to say all they had to say, “Elihu had waited till Job had spoken, because they were elder than he.” This was in lovely moral order. It was, most surely, the way of the Spirit of God. Modesty, in a young man, is most graceful. Would there were more of it in our midst! Nothing is more attractive, in the young, than a quiet, retiring spirit. When real worth lies concealed beneath a modest and humble exterior, it is sure to draw the heart with irresistible power. But, on the other hand, nothing is more repulsive than the bold self-confidence—the pushing forwardness, and self-conceit of many of the young men of the present day. All such persons would do well to study the opening words of Elihu, and to imitate his example.
“And Elihu, the son of Barachel the Buzite, answered and said, I am young, and ye are very old: wherefore I was afraid, and durst not show you mine opinion. I said, Days should speak, and multitude of years should teach wisdom.” This is the natural order. We expect hoary heads to contain wisdom; and hence, it is but right and comely for young men to be swift to hear, slow to speak, in the presence of their elders. We may set it down as an almost fixed principle that a forward young man is not led by the Spirit of God—that he has never measured himself in the divine presence—that he has never been thoroughly broken down before God.
No doubt, it may often happen, as in the case of Job and his friends, that old men give utterance to very foolish things. Gray hairs and wisdom do not always go together; and it not infrequently happens that aged men, relying upon the mere fact of their years, assume a place for which they have no sort of power, either moral, intellectual, or spiritual. All this is perfectly true, and it has to be considered by those whom it may concern. But it leaves wholly untouched the fine moral sentiment contained in Elihu’s opening address, “I am young, and ye are very old; wherefore, I was afraid, and durst not show you mine opinion.” This is always right. It is always comely for a young man to be afraid to show his opinion. We may rest assured that a man who possesses inward moral power—who, as we say, has it in him—is never in haste to push himself forward; but yet when he does come forward, he is sure to be heard with respect and attention. The union of modesty and moral power imparts an irresistible charm to the character; but the most splendid abilities are marred by a self-confident style.
“But,” continues Elihu, “ there is a spirit in man; and the inspiration of the Almighty giveth him understanding.” This introduces another element altogether. The moment the Spirit of God enters the scene, it ceases to be a question of youth or old age, inasmuch as He can speak by old or young. “Not by might or by power; but by my Spirit, saith the Lord of hosts.” This holds good always. It was true for the patriarchs; true for the prophets; true for apostles; true for us; true for all. It is not by human might or power, but by the eternal Spirit.
Here lay the deep secret of Elihu’s quiet power. He was filled with the Spirit, and hence we forget his youth, while hearkening to the words of spiritual weight and heavenly wisdom that proceed out of his mouth; and we are reminded of Him who spake as one having authority, and not as the scribes. There is a striking difference between a man who speaks as an oracle of God, and one who speaks in mere official routine—between one who speaks from the heart, by the Spirit’s holy unction, and one who speaks from the intellect, by human authority. Who can duly estimate the difference between these two? None but those who possess and exercise the mind of Christ.
But let us proceed with Elihu’s address. “Great men,” he tells us, “ are not always wise”—how true! “Neither do the aged understand judgment. Therefore I said, Hearken to me; I also will show mine opinion. Behold, I waited for your words; I gave ear to your reasons, whilst ye searched out what to say. Yea, I attended unto you, and, behold, there was none of you that convinced Job, or that answered his words.”
Let us specially note this. “There was none of you that convinced Job.” This was clear enough. Job was just as far from being convinced at the close of the discussion as he was at the commencement. Indeed, we may say that each fresh argument drawn from the treasury of experience, tradition, and legality, only served to stir some fresh and deeper depth of Job’s unjudged, unsubdued, unmortified, nature. This is a grand moral truth illustrated on every page of the book which lies open before us.
But how instructive the reason for all this! “Lest ye should say, We have found out wisdom; God thrusteth him down, not man.” No flesh shall glory in the presence of God. It may boast itself outside. It may put forth its pretensions, and glory in its resources, and be proud of its undertakings, so long as God is not thought of. But only introduce Him, and all the vauntings, the boastings, the vain gloryings, the lofty pretensions, the self-complacency, and the self-conceit will be withered up in a moment.
Reader, let us remember this. “Boasting is excluded.” Yes; all boasting—the boasting of Job, the boasting of his friends. If Job had succeeded in establishing his cause, he would have boasted. If, on the other hand, his friends had succeeded in silencing him, they might have boasted. But no; “God thrusteth him down, not man.” Thus it was. Thus it is; and thus it must ever be. God knows how to humble the proud heart, and subdue the stubborn will. It is utterly vain for anyone to set himself up; for we may rest assured, that everyone who is set up must, sooner or later, be up-set. The moral government of God has so ordered and enacted that all that is high and lifted up must come down. This is a salutary truth for us all; but especially for the young, the ardent, and the aspiring. It is well to keep in the shade, for there it is we most enjoy the sunshine. This may seem a paradox; but, to faith, it is plain. The humble, retired, shady path is, unquestionably, the safest, the happiest, and the best. May we ever be found treading it until we reach that bright and blessed scene where pride and ambition are unknown!
The effect of Elihu’s opening words upon Job’s three friends was most striking. “They were amazed; they answered no more; they left off speaking. When I had waited—for they spake not, but stood still, and answered no more—I said, I will answer also my part; I also will show mine opinion.” And then, lest any should suppose that he was speaking his own words, he adds, “For I am full of matter; the spirit within me constraineth me.” This is the true spring and power of all ministry, in all ages. It must be “the inspiration of the Almighty” or it is worth absolutely nothing.
We repeat, this is the only true source of ministry, at all times and in all places. And, in saying this, we do not forget that a mighty change took place when our Lord Christ ascended to heaven and took His seat at the right hand of God, in virtue of accomplished redemption. To this glorious truth we have, over and over again, referred the readers of “Things New and Old;” and, hence, we shall not now permit ourselves to dwell upon it. We merely touch upon it in this place, lest the reader might imagine that, when we speak of the true source of ministry in all ages, we were forgetting what is marked and distinctive in the Church of God now in consequence of the death and resurrection of Christ, the presence and indwelling of the Holy Ghost in the individual believer, and in the Church which is the body of Christ, on earth. Far from it. Thanks and praise be to God, we have too deep a sense of the value, importance, and practical weight of that grand and glorious truth ever to lose sight of it for a moment. Indeed it is just this deep sense, together with the remembrance of Satan’s ceaseless effort to ignore the truth of the presence of the Holy Ghost in the Church, that leads us to pen this cautionary paragraph.
Still, Elihu’s principle must ever hold good. If any man is to speak with power and practical effect, he must be able, in some measure, to say, “I am full of matter; the spirit within me constraineth me. Behold, my belly is as wine
which hath no vent; it is ready to burst like new bottles. I will speak that I may be refreshed: I will open my lips and answer.” Thus it must ever be, in measure at least, with all who will speak, with real power and effect, to the hearts and consciences of their fellows. We are forcibly reminded, by Elihu’s glowing words, of that memorable passage in the seventh of John, “He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water.” True it is that Elihu knew not the glorious truth set forth in these words of our Lord, inasmuch as they were not made good till fifteen centuries after his time. But then he knew the principle—he possessed the germ of what was afterward to come out in full blow and rich mellow fruit. He knew that a man, if he is to speak with point, pungency, and power, must speak by the inspiration of the Almighty. He had listened till he was tired, to men talking a quantity of powerless matter-saying some truisms—drawing from their own experience, or from the musty stores of human tradition. He was well-nigh wearied out with all this, and he rises, in the mighty energy of the Spirit, to address his hearers as one fitted to speak like an oracle of God.
Here lies the deep and blessed secret of ministerial power and success. “If any man speak,” says Peter, “let him speak as the oracles of God.” It is not, be it carefully observed, merely speaking according to scripture—an all-important and essential matter, most surely. It is more. A man may rise and address his fellows for an hour, and, from beginning to end of his discourse, he may not utter so much as a single unscriptural sentence; and all the while, he may not have been God’s oracle at the time; he may not have been God’s mouthpiece or the present exponent of His mind to the souls before him.
This is peculiarly solemn, and demands the grave consideration of all who are called to open their lips in the midst of God’s people. It is one thing to utter a certain amount of true sentiment, and quite another to be the living channel of communication between the very heart of God and the souls of God’s people. It is this latter, and this alone, that constitutes true ministry. A man who speaks according to this most excellent principle will so affect the hearts and consciences of his hearers that each one will feel tempted to think that someone has been telling tales to the speaker, and revealing to him the very feelings of his own heart. In short, a man who speaks as an oracle of God will bring the conscience of the hearer so into the very light of the divine presence, that every chamber of the heart is laid open, and every moral spring touched. This is true ministry. All else is powerless, valueless, fruitless. Nothing is more deplorable and humiliating than to listen to a man who is evidently drawing from his own poor and scanty resources, or trafficking in second-hand truth, in borrowed thoughts. Better far for such to be silent—better for their hearers—better for themselves. Nor this only. We may often hear a man giving forth to his fellows that on which his own mind has been dwelling in private with much interest and profit. He may utter truth, and important truth; but it is not the truth for the souls of the people—the truth for the moment. He has spoken according to scripture, so far as his matter is concerned; but he has not spoken as an oracle of God.
Thus, then, may all learn a valuable lesson from Elihu; and, most surely, it is a needed lesson. Some may feel disposed to say it is a difficult lesson—a hard saying. But no; if we only live in the Lord’s presence, in the abiding sense of our own nothingness, and of His all-sufficiency, we shall know the precious secret of all effective ministry; we shall know how to lean upon God alone, and thus be independent of men, in the right sense; we shall be able to enter into the meaning and force of Elihu’s further words, “Let me not, I pray you, accept any man’s person; neither let me give flattering titles unto man. For I know not to give flattering titles; in so doing my maker would soon take me away.” Job 32:21, 2221Let me not, I pray you, accept any man's person, neither let me give flattering titles unto man. 22For I know not to give flattering titles; in so doing my maker would soon take me away. (Job 32:21‑22).
(To be concluded in our next, if the Lord will)