Verse-by-Verse Bible Commentary
Job 23:6

Clarke's Commentary

Verse Job 23:6. Will he plead against me — He would not exhibit his majesty and his sovereign authority to strike me dumb, or so overawe me that I could not speak in my own vindication.

No; but he would put strength in me. — On the contrary, he would treat me with tenderness, he would rectify my mistakes, he would show me what was in my favour, and would temper the rigid demands of justice by the mild interpretations of equity; and where law could not clear me, mercy would conduct all to the most favourable issue.

Bridgeway Bible Commentary

Job’s reply to Eliphaz (23:1-24:25)

Again Job says that he is not rebelling against God or running away from him as his friends claim. On the contrary he wants to meet God, so that he can present his case to him and listen to God’s answer (23:1-5). He is confident that God will declare him innocent of the charges people have made against him (6-7).
No matter where Job has searched for God, he has not found him. He cannot see God, but God can see him. God knows he is upright, and one day, when this time of testing has proved him true, God will announce his righteousness to others (8-12). But until that day arrives, Job must bear his suffering. Nothing will change God’s mind, and Job is terrified as he thinks of what God may yet require him to go through (13-17).
Job wishes there were set times when God the judge was available for the downtrodden to bring their complaints to him and obtain justice (24:1). The poor and helpless are oppressed by the rich and powerful. Driven from their homes they are forced to wander like animals in the wilderness, eating whatever food they can find and sleeping under trees and rocks (2-8). If caught they are forced to sell their children as slaves or become slaves themselves. Yet God ignores their cries for help (9-12). Meanwhile murderers, sex perverts and thieves, who rely on the cover of darkness to carry out their evil deeds, seem to escape unpunished (13-17).
The friends say that these wicked people will quickly be swept away in judgment (18-20), but from Job’s observations, God allows them to go on living in comfort and security. When they die, their deaths are no different from the deaths of others (21-24). Job challenges his friends to prove him wrong in what he says (25).

Coffman's Commentaries on the Bible

JOB’S EIGHTH SPEECH:
JOB’S YEARNING FOR ACCESS TO GOD;
OH THAT I KNEW WHERE I MIGHT FIND HIM!

“Then Job answered and said, Even today is my complaint rebellious: My stroke is heavier than my groaning. Oh that I knew where I might find him! That I might come even to his seat. I would set my cause in order before him, And fill my mouth with arguments. I would know the words which he would answer me, And understand what he would say unto me. Would he contend with me in the greatness of his power? Nay, but he would give heed unto me. There the upright might reason with him; So should I be delivered forever from my judge. Behold, I go forward, but he is not there; And backward, but I cannot perceive him; On the left hand, when he doth work, but I cannot behold him; He hideth himself on the right hand, that I cannot see him.”

This speech of Job is different from all the others in that it has no word at all directly addressed to his friends, being rather a monologue, or soliloquy, on the amazing riddle of God’s treatment of Job. This speech is recorded in two chapters; and Job 24 follows the same pattern, except that it embraces the riddle of God’s treatment of men generally.

In neither of these chapters did Job make any direct reference to what Eliphaz had said; but he did stress two main things, namely, (1) his innocence and integrity, and (2) his desire to commune with God which was prevented by his inability to find Him. These things, of course, were in refutation of what Eliphaz had said.

Job’s plight was pitiful; and the deep questionings of his soul evoke sympathy and concern in all who meditate upon them. The great fact here is that Job lived at a time long before the enlightenment that came with the Advent of Messiah. The Dayspring from On High had not yet illuminated the darkness that enveloped the pre-Christian world.

“Even today is my complaint rebellious” “Job’s friends considered his questionings regarding the government of the world, and his protestations of innocence as rebellion against God; and in these words, Job declares that he will continue to be a rebel in their eyes.”New Century Bible Commentary, p. 159. This passage positively does not mean that, “Job’s attitude has drifted into open rebellion.”The Interpreter’s Bible, Vol. III, p. 1079. Such an erroneous interpretation is flatly contradicted by what Job said in Job 23:10-11.

“Oh that I knew where I might find him” For Christians, the answer to this question is our Saviour. Jesus said, “He that hath seen me hath seen the Father” (John 14:9); but for Job there was a profound uncertainty and perplexity concerning the Father and his government of mankind.

Furthermore, we do not mean to infer that all of the doubts and uncertainties have been removed even for Christians. “We now see through a glass darkly” and we know “only in part.” (1 Corinthians 13:12). The mystery of God has not been finished yet (Revelation 10:7); and all of us should be careful to avoid the cocksure arrogant conceit of Eliphaz who pretended to know all the answers. We do not know all the answers; and it is imperative to remember that it is only the false teacher who pretends that he does.

The restlessness in Job’s heart as he sought to find a more perfect knowledge of God is a God-endowed element of human life. As Augustine stated it, “O God, our hearts were made for thee, and never shall they rest until they rest in Thee.”

That intense and perpetual yearning of the human heart after God is most beautifully expressed in these nine verses.

Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible

Will he plead against me with his great power? - “Will he make use of his mere power to overwhelm me and confound me? Will he take advantage of omnipotence to triumph over me, instead of argument and justice? No: he will not do it. The discussion would be fair. He would hear what I have to say, and would decide according to truth. Though he is Almighty, yet he would not take advantage of that to prostrate and confound me.” When Job Job 13:3 wished to carry the cause directly before God, he asked of Him two conditions only. One was, that he would take off his hand from him, or remove his afflictions for a time, that he might be able to manage his own cause; and the other was, that He would not take advantage of his power to overwhelm him in the debate, and prevent his making a fair statement of his case; see the notes at Job 13:20-21. He here expresses his firm conviction that his wish in this respect would be granted. He would listen, says he, to what; I have to say in my defense as if I were an equal.

No; but he would put strength in me - The word “strength” is not improperly supplied by our translators. It means that he would enable him to make a fair presentation of his cause. So far from taking advantage of his mere “power” to crush him, and thus obtain an ascendency in the argument, he would rather “strengthen” him, that he might be able to make his case as strong as possible. He would rather aid him, though presenting his own cause in the controversy, than seek to weaken his arguments, or so to awe him by his dread majesty as to prevent his making the case as strong as it might be. This indicates remarkable confidence in God.

Smith's Bible Commentary

Chapter 23

And so Job answers him and he says, Every day is my complaint bitter: my stroke is heavier than my groaning ( Job 23:1-2 ).

Really, what's happened to me is even worse than I'm complaining. I'm not even really complaining a full measure for what I'm really feeling.

But oh that I knew where I might find him! that I might come even to his throne! ( Job 23:3 )

You tell me to find God and be at peace, but if I only knew where I could find Him.

Deep within the heart of every man there is a desire for God. There is a search for God. There is a quest for God. Dr. Henry Drummond in his book, Natural and Supernatural, said, "There is a within the very protoplasm of man those little tentacles that are reaching up for Father God."

"Oh, that I knew where I might find Him" is the cry on so many hearts. People who are seeking and searching for God. But so many times in our search for God, we're searching in the wrong places. Even as Job here in verse Job 23:8-9 says,

I go before me, I go forward, he's not there; backward, I cannot perceive him: On the left hand, where he's working, I cannot behold him: he hides himself on the right hand, that I cannot see him ( Job 23:8-9 ):

"Oh, that I wish I could find God." He says in verse Job 23:6 , "He wouldn't plead against me like you guys are. He would help me; He would strengthen me if I could just find him, I know that. But I look all around, I go forward, I go backward, go to the right and the left. I know He's there but I can't see Him. I can't see Him. I don't behold Him. I can't find God."

He's looking in the material things. Seeking to find God in a material form. You will never discover God or find God in the material forms. "God is a Spirit. They that worship Him must worship Him in spirit and in truth" ( John 4:24 ). And God is seeking such to worship Him.

Eliphaz earlier had said to Job, "Who by searching can find out God to perfection?" ( Job 11:7 ) You can't. God does not exist at the end of an intellectual quest. It is interesting that so many people seek to apprehend God intellectually and it becomes a real stumbling block. But if you had to be some intellectual genius in order to find God, look at how many of us poor people would be eliminated. But because God loves all men, even a child can discover Him. While these brilliant professors and intellects go on saying, "Well, I'm an agnostic," a little child walks in the consciousness of God, singing of Him, talking of Him. "And out of the mouth of babes and sucklings God has perfected praise" ( Matthew 21:16 ) "As Jesus took a child and set him in the midst of them and said, 'Unless you become as a little child, you can't enter the kingdom of heaven'" ( Matthew 18:2-3 ). You see, that's a put down to our intellects. We like to think that through our intellect we can solve all problems; we can't. The enigma of God can never be solved through the intellect of man. God is discovered in the heart of a child, in the area of faith, but it's spiritual dimension. You've got to leave the material and take the step of faith into the spiritual dimension to really apprehend God. And in the understanding of God, your intellect has very little value, because God wants all men to understand Him. So He puts it down to our level where we can understand and know Him and walk with Him. How beautiful it is. So Job's cry, "Oh, that I knew where I might find Him, but I look all around." Job, look up. Look up.

Why is it that we're always looking around for God rather than looking up for God? It's because man has always sought to bring God down to his own level. They call, or they have what they call the anthropomorphic concept of God. That is, viewing God as a man. And this is extremely common because most of the time a man's god is really a projection of himself.

Now you didn't know that you are as much in love with yourself as you really are. You hear a person say, "Oh, I hate myself." That's never true. They're just trying to draw attention to themselves. "I'm so terrible. I'm so awful." They just want you to say, "Oh, no you're not. You're wonderful." But we are very, very much in love with ourselves. You've heard the saying that the longer people live together, the more they look alike. You know what the psychologist's answer to that is? Actually, you're so much in love with yourself that when you are picking a mate that you usually find someone who looks like you and you marry them. And that's why the saying, "Oh, they've been living together so long, they even look alike." Well, you know, you just had foresight back a ways and you picked someone that looked like you.

If we would take a wide-angle photo of the congregation here tonight as you're sitting here and we'd have the thing blown up and put on the screen up here, who's the first one you would look for? Now, man then projects himself to immensity. "This is what I would be if I were God. This is what I would do if I were God. This is where I would live if I were God. This is how I would respond if I were God." And so his god becomes a projection of himself. He projects himself to sort of immensity and then he worships that. A projection of himself.

I oftentimes have people say, "I don't know why God allowed this to happen to me." What they are saying is, "If I were God, I surely wouldn't have made this mistake. If I were running things, I could have done it much wiser than that. I would have had a better plan. If only I were governing the universe, what a different world this would be." Well, that has to be the height of something.

"Oh, that I knew where I might find Him." Not in the intellect, not through the intellectual quest, not through the enlargement of yourself. God is found in Jesus Christ. "He that hath seen Me," Jesus said, "hath seen the Father" ( John 14:9 ). "I am the way, the truth and the life, no man comes to the Father but by Me" ( John 14:6 ). "Oh that I knew where I might find Him." Jesus said, "Come unto Me." And those who do have found God. From the little children to the college professor, we all have to come the same way. Setting aside our own intellectual genius and kneeling at the cross and saying, "Oh Lord, be merciful to me, a sinner." And I find God.

Now Job, after speaking, "I cannot find Him." Here Job is capable of coming out with those classic statements. In the midst of his depression and agony and all, he just comes out with these jewels and then he jumps right back into the pit. It's like he comes out on the mountain for a moment and just bursts forth in glory and then jumps right back down in the hole. And so all of a sudden he comes out of the mountain and he said,

But he knoweth the way that I take ( Job 23:10 ):

I can't find Him, I can't see Him, but He knows the way that I take.

and when he hath tried me, I shall come forth as gold ( Job 23:10 ).

Deep down underneath there is a strong faith that is keeping this man. Now he's having great difficulties because he can't understand his problem, but down underneath the faith is routed. The guy is unshakable, because down deep, deep, deep inside there are certain basic things: I know that God knows the way that I take, and when He has tried me I am going to come forth like gold. God has a purpose. I'm going to come out of it. I'm going to come out of it purified.

Perhaps Peter was thinking of Job when he wrote, "Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trials which are to try you as though some strange thing has happened unto you" ( 1 Peter 4:12 ). Knowing that the trial of your faith is more precious than gold though it perisheth when it is tried in the fire" ( 1 Peter 1:7 ). Peter speaks of the refining process of God whereby the impurities are removed. And so Job is looking at all of this as really just a work of the removal of the impurities and, "When I come forth, I'm going to be like gold. I'm going to be refined by this process of God in my life."

My foot hath held his steps, his way have I kept, and have not declined. Neither have I gone back from the commandment of his lips; I have esteemed the words of his mouth more than my necessary food ( Job 23:11-12 ).

Now this is interesting because it indicates that, number one, way back at this time there was the written Word of God. Even in the time of Job who was perhaps a contemporary to Moses or lived earlier maybe. But even at that time, they had words that were esteemed to be the Word of God. "I esteemed His Word more than my necessary food."

How much value do you put on the Word of God? You see, there is the natural man, there is the spiritual man. Those that are born again are both, and that's where the rub comes in. The spirit is lusting against the flesh, the flesh against the spirit; these two are contrary. A warfare going on. Now, I see to it that my natural man is fed regularly and fed well. Now, I will admit that I do put some junk in him, but basically I seek to watch my diet. And that is not diet in the sense...that is, the food that I eat. I don't limit it, but I just watch. I like the whole grain breads. I like a balanced meal, things of this nature. I want to make sure that I put the proper fuel in this system so that it'll keep running well.

Now, though I am extremely careful of how I feed my natural man, it's amazing how careless I am in feeding the spiritual man. And it's amazing how much junk food people cram down the spiritual man. Diets that really cannot be healthy, but bring spiritual anemia. But not Job. He said, "I consider Thy Word more than my necessary food." It's more important for me to feed on the Word of God than it is to feed on steak and potatoes. It would be important if each of us had that same attitude towards the spiritual food in the spiritual man, that we would be interested in feeding the spiritual man. Now there is only one thing that really feeds the spiritual man, and that is this Word of God. This is food to the spiritual man. You need to feed on it. And Job said, "I've esteemed Your Word more than my necessary food." But now he jumps back down into his despair.

But he is in one mind, who can turn him? what his soul desires, that he does. For he performs the thing that is appointed for me: and many such things are with him. Therefore am I troubled at his presence: when I consider these things, I am afraid of him. For God has made my heart soft, and the Almighty troubles me: Because I was not cut off before the darkness, neither hath he covered the darkness from my face ( Job 23:13-17 ). "

Dr. Constable's Expository Notes

Job’s longing 23:1-7

Job admitted that he had rebelled against God to the extent that he had complained about his condition (Job 23:2 a). "His hand" (Job 23:2 b) is "My hand" in the Hebrew text. Job had not given up his desire to present his case before God before he died (cf. Job 9:14-16).

"It is obvious that Job rests his hope for a favorable decision on the Judge’s just character." [Note: Hartley, p. 339.]

Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible

Will he plead against me with [his] great power?.... God will not plead against his people at all, but for them: much less will he plead against them with his great strength, use all his power to run them down, crush, and oppress them; for he is a great God, and of great power, he is mighty in strength, and there is no contending with him, or answering of him, Job 9:3; nor will he deal with them according to the strict rigour of his justice, nor stir up all his wrath, nor contend for ever with them in such a way; for then the spirits would fail before him, and the souls that he has made; whatever he does with others, making known his power on the vessels of wrath, he will never act after this manner with the vessels of mercy:

no, but he would put [strength] in me: to pray unto him, and prevail with him to lay hold on him, and not let him go without the blessing, as Jacob did, Hosea 12:3; or to stand before him, and plead his own cause with him, in such a strong and powerful manner as to bear down all the accusations and charges brought against him: or "he will set [his heart] upon me" d; deal mildly and gently, kindly and graciously, and not with his great strength and strict justice; or "will not put [sins] upon me", as Jarchi, or lay charges to him, however guilty of them, as his friends did, or impute such to him he never committed: God is so far from doing this to his people, that he does not impute their sins to them they have committed, but to his son, much less will he lay upon them more than is right, Job 34:23. Some take the sense of the words to be this, in answer to the above question, "will he plead against me with his great power?" let him do it, "only let him not set upon me" e, in an hostile way, and then I do not decline entering the debate with him; which expresses great boldness and confidence, and even too much, and must be reckoned among the unbecoming expressions Job was afterwards convinced of; but this he utters in his passion, in order the more clearly to show, and the more strongly to assert, his innocence.

d ישם בי "ipse apponeret ad me animum", Junius Tremellius so Piscator, Cocceius, & Aben Ezra. e Schultens.

Henry's Complete Commentary on the Bible

      1 Then Job answered and said,   2 Even to day is my complaint bitter: my stroke is heavier than my groaning.   3 Oh that I knew where I might find him! that I might come even to his seat!   4 I would order my cause before him, and fill my mouth with arguments.   5 I would know the words which he would answer me, and understand what he would say unto me.   6 Will he plead against me with his great power? No; but he would put strength in me.   7 There the righteous might dispute with him; so should I be delivered for ever from my judge.

      Job is confident that he has wrong done him by his friends, and therefore, ill as he is, he will not give up the cause, nor let them have the last word. Here,

      I. He justifies his own resentments of his trouble (Job 23:2; Job 23:2): Even to day, I own, my complaint is bitter; for the affliction, the cause of the complaint, is so. There are wormwood and gall in the affliction and misery; my soul has them still in remembrance and is embittered by them, Lamentations 3:19; Lamentations 3:20. Even to day is my complaint counted rebellion (so some read it); his friends construed the innocent expressions of his grief into reflections upon God and his providence, and called them rebellion. "But," says he, "I do not complain more than there is cause; for my stroke is heavier than my groaning. Even today, after all you have said to convince and comfort me, still the pains of my body and the wounds of my spirit are such that I have reason enough for my complaints, if they were more bitter than they are." We wrong God if our groaning be heavier than our stroke, like froward children, who, when they cry for nothing, have justly something given them to cry for; but we do not wrong ourselves though our stroke be heavier than our groaning, for little said is soon amended.

      II. He appeals from the censures of his friends to the just judgment of God; and this he thought was an evidence for him that he was not a hypocrite, for then he durst not have made such an appeal as this. St Paul comforted himself in this, that he that judged him was the Lord, and therefore he valued not man's judgment (1 Corinthians 4:3; 1 Corinthians 4:4), but he was willing to wait till the appointed day of decision came; whereas Job is impatient, and passionately wishes to have the judgment-day anticipated, and to have his cause tried quickly, as it were, by a special commission. The apostle found it necessary to press it much upon suffering Christians patiently to expect the Judge's coming, James 5:7-9.

      1. He is so sure of the equity of God's tribunal that he longs to appear before it (Job 23:3; Job 23:3): O that I knew where I might find him! This may properly express the pious breathings of a soul convinced that it has by sin lost God and is undone for ever if it recover not its interest in his favour. "O that I knew how I might recover his favour! How I might come into his covenant and communion with him!" Micah 6:6; Micah 6:7. It is the cry of a poor deserted soul. "Saw you him whom my soul loveth? O that I knew where I might find him! O that he who has laid open the way to himself would direct me into it and lead me in it!" But Job here seems to complain too boldly that his friends wronged him and he knew not which way to apply himself to God to have justice done him, else he would go even to his seat, to demand it. A patient waiting for death and judgment is our wisdom and duty, and, if we duly consider things, that cannot be without a holy fear and trembling; but a passionate wishing for death or judgment, without any such fear and trembling, is our sin and folly, and ill becomes us. Do we know what death and judgment are, and are we so very ready for them, that we need not time to get readier? Woe to those that thus, in a heat, desire the day of the Lord,Amos 5:18.

      2. He is so sure of the goodness of his own cause that he longs to be opening it at God's bar (Job 23:4; Job 23:4): "I would order my cause before him, and set it in a true light. I would produce the evidences of my sincerity in a proper method, and would fill my mouth with arguments to prove it." We may apply this to the duty of prayer, in which we have boldness to enter into the holiest and to come even to the footstool of the throne of grace. We have not only liberty of access, but liberty of speech. We have leave, (1.) To be particular in our requests, to order our cause before God, to speak the whole matter, to lay before him all our grievances, in what method we think most proper; we durst not be so free with earthly princes as a humble holy soul may be with God. (2.) To be importunate in our requests. We are allowed, not only to pray, but to plead, not only to ask, but to argue; nay, to fill our mouths with arguments, not to move God (he is perfectly apprized of the merits of the cause without our showing), but to move ourselves, to excite our fervency and encourage our faith in prayer.

      3. He is so sure of a sentence in favour of him that he even longed to hear it (Job 23:5; Job 23:5): "I would know the words which he would answer me," that is, "I would gladly hear what God will say to this matter in dispute between you and me, and will entirely acquiesce in his judgment." This becomes us, in all controversies; let the word of God determine them; let us know what he answers, and understand what he says. Job knew well enough what his friends would answer him; they would condemn him, and run him down. "But" (says he) "I would fain know what God would answer me; for I am sure his judgment is according to truth, which theirs is not. I cannot understand them; they talk so little to the purpose. But what he says I should understand and therefore be fully satisfied in."

      III. He comforts himself with the hope that God would deal favourably with him in this matter, Job 23:6; Job 23:7. Note, It is of great use to us, in every thing wherein we have to do with God, to keep up good thoughts of him. He believes, 1. That God would not overpower him, that he would not deal with him either by absolute sovereignty or in strict justice, not with a high hand, nor with a strong hand: Will he plead against me with his great power? No. Job's friends pleaded against him with all the power they had; but will God do so? No; his power is all just and holy, whatever men's is. Against those that are obstinate in their unbelief and impenitency God will plead with his great power; their destruction will come from the glory of his power. But with his own people, that love him and trust in him, he will deal in tender compassion. 2. That, on the contrary, he would empower him to plead his own cause before God: "He would put strength in me, to support me and bear me up, in maintaining my integrity." Note, The same power that is engaged against proud sinners is engaged for humble saints, who prevail with God by strength derived from him, as Jacob did, Hosea 12:3. See Psalms 68:35. 3. That the issue would certainly be comfortable, Job 23:7; Job 23:7. There, in the court of heaven, when the final sentence is to be given, the righteous might dispute with him and come off in his righteousness. Now, even the upright are often chastened of the Lord, and they cannot dispute against it; integrity itself is no fence either against calamity or calumny; but in that day they shall not be condemned with the world, though God may afflict by prerogative. Then you shall discern between the righteous and the wicked (Malachi 3:18), so vast will be the difference between them in their everlasting state; whereas now we can scarcely distinguish them, so little is the difference between them as to their outward condition, for all things come alike to all. Then, when the final doom is given, "I shall be delivered for ever from my Judge," that is, "I shall be saved from the unjust censures of my friends and from that divine sentence which is now so much a terror to me." Those that are delivered up to God as their owner and ruler shall be for ever delivered from him as their judge and avenger; and there is no flying from his justice but by flying to his mercy.

Spurgeon's Verse Expositions of the Bible

The Question of Fear and the Answer of Faith

August 31, 1856 by C. H. SPURGEON (1834-1892)

"Will he plead against me with his great power? No; but he would put strength in me." Job 23:6 .

I shall not to-night consider the connexion of these words, or what was particularly intended by Job. I shall use them in, perhaps, another sense from that which he intended. No doubt Job meant to say, that if God would allow him to argue his case before him, it was his firm belief that God, so far from taking advantage of his superior strength in the controversy, would even strengthen him, that the controversy might be fair, and that the judgment might be unbiased. "He would not plead against me with his great strength; no, but he would put strength in me." We shall use the text, however, to-night, in another sense.

It is one of the sure marks of a lost and ruined state when we are careless and indifferent concerning God. One of the peculiar marks of those who are dead in sin is this: they are the wicked who forget God. God is not in all their thoughts; "The fool hath said in his heart, there is no God." The sinful man is ever anxious to keep out of his mind the very thought of the being, the existence, or the character of God; and so long as man is unregenerate, there will be nothing more abhorrent to his taste, or his feelings, than anything which deals with the Divine Being. God perhaps, as Creator, he may consider; but the God of the Bible, the infinite Jehovah, judging righteously among the sons of men condemning and acquitting that God he has no taste for, he is not in all his thoughts, nor does he regard him. And mark you, it is a blessed sign of the work of grace in the heart, when man begins to consider God. He is not far from God's heart who hath meditations of God in his own heart. If we desire to seek after God, to know him, to understand him, and to be at peace with him, it is a sign that God has dealings with our soul, for otherwise we should still have hated his name and abhorred his character.

There are two things in my text, both of which have relation to the Divine Being. The first is, the question of fear : "Will he plead against me with his great power?" and the second is, the answer of faith : "No, but he will put strength in me." The fearful and the prayerful, who are afraid of sin and fear God, together with those who are faithful and believe in God, are in a hopeful state; and hence, both the question of the one, and the answer of the other, have reference to the great Jehovah, our God, who is for ever to be adored.

I. We shall consider, in the first place, to-night THE INQUIRY OF FEAR: "Will he plead against me with his great power?" I shall consider this as a question asked by the convinced sinner. He is seeking salvation, but, when he is bidden to come before his God and find mercy, he is compelled by his intense anxiety to make the trembling inquiry, "Will he plead against me with his great power?"

1. And, first, I gather from this question the fact that a truly penitent sinner has a right idea of many of God's attributes . He does not understand them all, for instance, he does not yet know God's great mercy; he does not yet understand his unbounded compassion; but so far as his knowledge of God extends, he has an extremely correct view of him. To him the everlasting Jehovah appears GREAT in every attribute, and action, and supremely GREAT in his Majesty. The poor worldling knows there is a God; but he is to him a little God. As for the justice of God, the mere worldly man scarcely ever thinks of it. He considers that there is a God, but he regards him as a Being who has little enough respect for justice. Not so, however, the sinner. When God has once convinced him of his sin, he sees God as a great God, a God of great justice, and of great power. Whoever can misunderstand God's great justice or God's great power, a convinced sinner never will. Ask him what he thinks of God's justice, and he will tell you it like the great mountains; it is high, he cannot attain unto it. "Ah," saith he, "God's justice is very mighty; it must smite me. He must hurl an avalanche of woe upon my devoted head. Justice demands that he should punish me. I am so great a sinner that I cannot suppose he would ever pass by my transgression, my iniquity, and my sin." It is all in vain for you to tell such a man that God is little in his justice; he replies, "No," most solemnly, "No," and you can most plainly read his earnestness in his visage, when he replies, "No." He replies, "I feel that God is just; I am even now consumed by his anger; by his wrath am I troubled." "Tell me God is not just," says he; "I know he is; I feel that within an hour or two hell must swallow me up, unless Divine mercy delivers me. Unless Christ shall wash me in his blood, I feel I can never hope to stand among the ransomed." He has not that strange idea of God's justice that some of you have. You think sin is a trifle! You suppose that one brief prayer will wipe it all away. You dream that by attendance at your churches and at your chapels, you will wash away your sins. You suppose that God, for some reason or other, will very easily forgive your sin. But you have no right idea of God's justice. You have not learned that God never does forgive until he has first punished, and that if he does forgive any one, it is because he has punished Christ first in the stead of that person. But he never forgives without first exacting the punishment. That would be an infringement on his justice; and shall not the Judge of all the earth do right? You have, many of you, lax enough ideas of the justice of the Divine Being; but not so the sinner who is laboring under a knowledge of sin.

An awakened soul feels that God is greatly powerful . Tell him that God is but a weak God, and he will answer you; and shall I tell you what illustrations he will give you, to prove that God is great in power. He will say, "Oh, sir, God is great in power as well in justice; look up yonder: can you not see in the dark past, when rebel angels sinned against God, they were so mighty that each one of them might have devastated Eden and shaken the earth. But God, with ease, hurled Satan and the revels angels out of heaven, and drove them down to hell." "Sir," saith the sinner, "is he not mighty?" And then he will go on to tell you how God unbound the swaddling bands of the great ocean, that it might leap upon the earth; and how he bade it swallow up the whole of mortal race, save those who were hidden in the ark. And the sinner says, with his eyes well nigh starting from their sockets, "Sir, does not this prove that he is great in power, and will by no means acquit the wicked?" And then he proceeds, "Look again at the Red Sea; mark how Pharaoh was enticed into its depths, and how the parted sea, that stood aloof for awhile to give the Israelites an easy passage, embraced with eager joy, locked the adverse host within their arms, and swallowed them up quick;" and as he thinks he sees the Red Sea rolling o'er the slain, he exclaims, "Sir, God is great in power; I feel he must be, when I think of what he has done." And as if he had not finished his oration, and would let us know the whole of the greatness of God's power, he continues his narration of the deeds of vengeance. "O sir, remember, he must be great in power, for I know that he hath digged a hell, which is deep and large, without bottom. He hath made a Tophet the pile thereof is fire and much wood, and the breath of the Lord, like a stream of brimstone, shall kindle it." "Yes, beyond a doubt," groans the trembling soul, "he must be great in power. I feel he is, and I feel more than that; I feel that justice has provoked God's arm of power to smite me , and unless I am covered in that righteousness of Christ, I shall ere long be dashed to pieces, and utterly devoured by the fury of his wrath." The sinner, as far as the harsher attributes of God's nature are concerned, when he is under conviction, has a very fair and a just idea of the Divine Being, though, as I have remarked before, not yet understanding the mercy and the infinite compassion of God towards his covenant people, he has too harsh a view of God, dwelling only upon the darker side, and not upon those attributes which shed a more cheering light upon the darkness of our misery. That is the first truth which I gleam from the text.

2. The second truth which I gather from this question, "Will he plead against me with his great power?" is this: that the trembling sinner feels that every attribute of God is against him as a sinner . "Oh!" he will say, "I look to God , and I can see nothing in him but a consuming fire. I look to his justice , and I see it, with sword unsheathed, ready to smite me low. I look to his power , and I behold it, like a mighty mountain, tottering to its fall, to crush me. I look to his immutability , and methinks I see stern justice written on its brow, and I hear it cry, 'Sinner, I will not save, I will condemn thee.' I look to his faithfulness , and I mark that all his threatenings are as much 'yea and amen' as his promises. I look to his love , but even his love frowns, and accuses me, saying, 'thou hast slighted me.' I look to his mercy , but even his mercy launches out the thunderbolt, with accusing voice, reminding me of my former hardness of heart, and harshly chiding me thus, 'Go thou to justice, and glean what thou canst there. I, even I, am against thee, for thou hast made me wroth!'"

Oh! trembling penitent, where art thou to-night? Somewhere here, I know thou art. Would to God there were many like thee! I know thou wilt agree with me in this statement, for thou hast a dread apprehension that every attribute of the Divine Being's character is armed with fire and sword to destroy thee. Thou seest all his attributes like heavy pieces of ordnance, all pointed at thee and ready to be discharged. Oh that thou mayest find a refuge in Christ! And oh! ye who never were convinced of sin, let me for one moment lay judgment to the line and righteousness to the plummet. Know ye this perhaps ye laugh at it that all God's attributes are against you, if you are not in Christ! If you are not sheltered beneath the wings of Jesus, there is not one single glorious name of God, nor one celestial attribute, which does not curse you. What wouldst thou think, if at thy door to-night there should be planted great pieces of heavy cannon, all loaded, to be discharged against thee? But dost thou know, that where thou sittest to-night there are worse than heavy cannons to be discharged at thee? Yes, I see them, I see them! There is God's justice, and there is the angel of vengeance, standing with the match, ready to bid it hurl vengeance at thee. There is his power; there is his bare arm, ready to break thy bones, and crush thee into powder. There is his love, all blazing, turned to hate because thou hast rejected it; and there is his mercy, clad with mail, going forth like a warrior to overthrow thee. What sayest thou, O sinner, to-night? Against thee all God's attributes are pointed. He hath bent his bow and made it ready. The sword of the Lord has been bathed in heaven; it is bright and sharp; it is furbished. How wilt thou escape, when a mighty arm shall bring it down upon thee? or how wilt thou flee, when he shall draw his bow and shoot his arrows at thee, and make thee a mark for all the arrows of his vengeance? Beware, beware, ye that forget God, lest he tear you in pieces, and there be none to deliver! For tear you in pieces, he will yet, unless you shelter in the Rock of Ages, and wash yourselves in the stream of his wondrous blood. Fly to him, then, ye chief of sinners, fly. But if ye will not, now ye this, God is against you! He will plead against thee with his great power, unless thou hast our all-glorious Jesus to be thine advocate.

3. And just one more hint here. The sinner, when he is labouring on account of guilt, feels that God would be just if he were to " plead against him with his great power ?" "Oh," saith he, "If I go to God in prayer, perhaps instead of hearing me he will crush me as I would a moth." What, soul, would he be just if he did that? "Ay," saith the sinner, "just, supremely just. Perhaps I shall have stripped myself of all my ornaments, and like a naked one have flown to him; perhaps then he will lash me harder than before, and I shall feel it all the worse for this my nakedness." And will he be just, should the flagellation of his vengeance fall upon thy shoulders? "Yes," he saith, "infallibly just." And should he smite thee to the lowest hell, would he be just? "Yes," saith the penitent, "just, infinitely just. I should have no word to say against him. I should feel that I deserved it all. My only question is, not whether he would be just to do it, but will he do it?" "Will he plead against me with his great power?" This is the question of fear. Some here, perhaps, are asking that question.

Now let them hear the reply of faith; God give them a good deliverance!

II. THE REPLY OF FAITH IS, "No." O sinner, hear that word, "No;" there are sonnets condensed into it. "Will he plead against me with his great power?" "No, no," say the saints in heaven; "no," say the faithful on earth; "no," say the promises; "no," unanimously exclaim the oracles of Scripture; no, most emphatically no, he will not plead against you with his great power, but he will put strength into you.

1. And here we make a similar remark to that with which we commenced the former part of the sermon, namely, this: the fearful soul has a very right view of God in many respects, but the faithful soul has a right view of God in all respects . He that hath faith in God knows more of God better than any man. Why, if I believe God, I can see all his attributes vindicated. I can see the wrath of justice expiated by yonder bleeding sufferer on the accursed tree. I can see his mercy and his justice joining hands with his wrath. I can see his power now turned on my behalf, and no longer against me. I can see his faithfulness become the guardian of my soul instead of the slaughterer of my hopes. I can see all his attributes standing, each of them conjoined, each of them glorious, each of them lovely, and all united in the work of man's salvation. He that feareth God, knows half of God; he that believeth God, knoweth all of God that he can know; and the more he believeth God, the more he understandeth God, the more he comprehendeth his glory, his character, his nature, and his attributes.

2. The next thing is, that the believer when he is brought into peace with God does not tremble at the thought of God's power . He does not ask, "Will he plead against me with his great power?" But he says, "No, that very power, once my terror, and fear, is now my refuge and my hope, for he shall put that very power in me. I rejoice that God is Almighty, for he will lend me his omnipotence 'he will put strength into me.'" Now, here is a great thought; if I had power to handle it, it would give me opportunity indeed to preach to you. But I cannot reach the heights of eloquence, I shall therefore simply exhibit the thought for a moment to you. The very power which would have damned my soul, saves my soul. The very power that would have crushed me, God puts into me, that the work of salvation may be accomplished. No, he will not use it to crush me, but he will put that very strength into me. Dost see there the Mighty One upon his throne? Dread Sovereign, I see thine awful arm. What, wilt thou crush the sinner? Wilt thou utterly destroy him with thy strength? "No," saith he, "Come hither, child." And if you go to his Almighty throne, "There," saith he "that self-same arm which made thee quake, see there, I give it to thee. Go out and live. I have made thee mighty as I am, to do my works; I will put strength into thee. The same strength which would have broken thee to pieces on the wheel shall now be put into thee, that thou mayest do mighty works."

Now, I will show you how this great strength displays itself. Sometimes it goes out in prayer. Did you ever hear a man pray in whom God had put strength? You have heard some of us poor puny souls pray, I dare say; but have you ever heard a man pray that God had made into a giant? Oh, if you have, you will say it is a mighty thing to hear such a man in supplication. I have seen him now and then slip in his wrestling; but, like a giant, he has recovered his footing, and seemed like Jacob, to hurl the angel to the ground. I have marked the many lay hold upon the throne of mercy, and declare, "Lord, I will never let go, except thou bless me." I have seen him, when heaven's gates have been apparently barred, go up to them, and say, "Ye gates, open wide in Jesus' name;" and I have seen the gates fly open before him, as if the man were God himself; for he is armed with God Almighty's strength. I have seen that man, in prayer, discover some great mountain in his hills and made them like chaff, by the immensity of his might. Some of you think I am talking enthusiasm; but such cases have been, and are now. Oh! to have heard Luther pray! Luther, you know, when Melancthon was dying, went to his death-bed, and said, "Melancthon, you shall not die!" "Oh," said Melancthon, "I must die! It is a world of toil and trouble," "Melancthon," said he, "I have need of thee, and God's cause has need of thee, and as my name is Luther, thou shalt not die!" The physician said he would. Well, down went Luther on his knees, and began to tug at death. Old death struggled mightily for Melancthon, and he had got him well nigh on his shoulders. "Drop him," said Luther, "drop him, I want him." "No," said death, "he is my prey, I will take him!" "Down with him," said Luther, "down with him, death, or I will wrestle with thee!" And he seemed to take hold of the grim monster, and hurl him to the ground; and he came off victorious, like an Orpheus, with his wife, up from the very shades of death; he had delivered Melancthon from death by prayer! "Oh," say you, "that is an extraordinary case." No, beloved, not one-half so extraordinary as you dream. I have men and women here who have done the same in other cases; that have asked a thing of God, and have had it; that have been to the throne, and showed a promise, and said they would not come away without its fulfilment, and have come back fro God's throne conquerors of the Almighty; for prayer moves the arm that moves the world. "Prayer is the sinew of God," said one, "it moves his arm;" and so it is. Verily, in prayer, with the strength of the faithful heart, there is a beautiful fulfilment of the text, "He will put strength in me."

A second illustration. Not only in prayer, but in duty , the man who has great faith in God, and whom God has girded with strength, how gigantic does he become! Have you never read of those great heroes who put to flight whole armies, and scattered kings like the snow on Salmon? Have you never read of those men that were fearless of foes, and stalked onward before all their opposers, as if they would as soon die as live? I read, this day, of a case in the old kirk of Scotland, before that King James who wished to force the black prelacy upon them. Andrew Melville and some of his associates were deputed to wait upon the king, and as they were going with a scroll ready written, they were warned to take care and return, for their lives were at stake. They paused a moment, and Andrew said, "I am not afraid, thank God, nor feeble-spirited in the cause and message of Christ; come what pleases God to send, our commission shall be executed." At these words the deputation took courage, and went forward. On reaching the palace, and having obtained an audience, they found his majesty attended by Lennox and Arran, and several other lords, all of whom were English. They presented their remonstrance. Arran lifted it from the table, and glancing over it, he then turned to the ministers, and furiously demanded, "Who dares sign these treasonable articles?" "WE DARE." said Andrew Melville, "and will render our lives in the cause." Having thus spoken, he came forward to the table, took the pen, subscribed his name, and was followed by his brethren. Arran and Lennox were confounded; the king looked on in silence, and the nobles in surprise. Thus did our good forefathers appear before kings, and yet were not ashamed. "The proud had them greatly in derision, yet they declined not from the law of God." Having thus discharged their duty, after a brief conference, the ministers were permitted to depart in peace. The king trembled more at them than if a whole army had been at his gates; and why was this? It was because God had put his own strength into them, to make them masters of their duty. And you have some such in your midst now. Despised they may be; but God has made them like the lion-like men of David, who would go down into the pit in the depth of winter, and take the lion by the throat and slay him. We have some in our churches but a remnant, I admit who are not afraid to serve their God, like Abdiel, "faithful amongst the faithless found." We have some who are superior to the customs of the age, and scorn to bow at mammon's knee, who will not use the trimming language of too many modern ministers, but stand out for God's gospel, and the pure white banner of Christ, unstained and unsullied by the doctrines of men. Then are they mighty! Why they are mighty is, because God has put strength in them.

Still, some say, I have dealt with extraordinary cases. Come then, now we will have a home-case, one of your own sort, that will be like yourselves. Did you ever stand and take a view of heaven? Have you discerned the hills which lie between your soul and paradise? Have you counted the lions you have to fight, the giants to be slain, and the rivers to be crossed? Did you ever notice the many temptations with which you must be beset, the trials you have to endure, the difficulties you have to overcome, the dangers you have to avoid? Did you ever take a bird's-eye view of heaven, and all the dangers which are strewn thickly along the path thither? And didst thou ever ask thyself this question, "How shall I, a poor feeble worm, ever get there?" Didst thou ever say within thyself, "I am not a match for all my foes, how shall I arrive at paradise?" If thou hast ever asked this question, I will tell thee what is the only answer for it: thou must be girded with Almighty strength, or else thou wilt never gain the victory. Easy thy path may be, but it is too hard for thy infantile strength, without the Almighty power. Thy path may be one of little temptation, and of shallow trial; but thou wilt be drowned in the floods yet, unless Almighty power preserve thee. Mark me! however smooth thy way, there is nothing short of the bare arm of Deity that can land any one of you in heaven. We must have Divine strength, or else we shall never get there. And there is an illustration of these words: "No, but he will put his strength in me."

"And shall I hold on to the end?" says the believer. Yes, thou wilt, for God's strength is in thee. "Shall I be able to bear such-and-such a trial?" Yes, thou wilt. Cannot Omnipotence stem the torrent? And Omnipotence is in thee; for, like Ignatius of old, thou art a God-bearer; thou bearest God about with thee. Thy heart is a temple of the Holy Ghost, and thou shalt yet overcome. "But can I ever stand firm in such-and-such evil day?" Oh! yes you will, for he will put his strength in you. I was in company, some time ago, with some ministers; one of them observed, "Brother, if there were to be stakes in Smithfield again, I am afraid they would find very few to burn among us." "Well," I said, "I do not know anything about how you would burn; but this I know right well, that there never will be any lack of men who are ready to die for Christ." "Oh!" said he, "but they are not the right sort of men." "Well," said I, "but do you think they are the Lord's children?" "Yes, I believe they are, but they are not the right sort." "Ah!" said I, "but you would find them the right sort, if they came to the test every one of them; they have not got burning grace yet. What would be the use of it?" We do not want the grace till the stakes come; but we should have burning grace in burning moments. If now, to-night, a hundred of us were called to die for Christ, I believe there would not only be found a hundred, but five hundred, that would march to death, and sing all the way. Whenever I find faith, I believe that God will put strength into the man; and I never think anything to be impossible to a man with faith in God, while it is written, "He will put strength in me."

3. But now the last observation shall be, we shall all want this at the last; and it is a mercy for us that this is written, for never shall we require it, perhaps, more than then. O believer, dost thou think thou wilt be able to swim the Jordan with thine own sinews ? Caesar could not swim the Tiber, accoutered as he was; and dost thou hope to swim the Jordan with thy flesh about thee? No, thou wilt sink then, unless Jesus, as Aeneas did Anchises, from the flames of Rome, upon his shoulders, lift thee from Jordan, and carry thee across the stream, thou wilt never be able to walk across the river; thou wilt ne'er be able to face that tyrant and smile in his face, unless thou hast something more than mortal. Thou wilt need then to be belted about with the girdle of divinity, or else thy loins will be loosed, and thy strength will fail thee, when thou needst it most. Many a man has ventured to the Jordan in his own strength; but oh! how he has shrieked and howled, when the first wave has touched his feet! But never weakling went to death with God within him, but he found himself mightier than the grace. Go on, Christian, for this is thy promise. "He will put strength in me."

"Weak, though I am, yet through his might, I all things can perform."

Go on; dread not God's power, but rejoice at this, he will put his strength in you; he will not use his power to crush you.

Just one word, and then farewell. There is within reach of my voice, I am thoroughly convinced, one who is seeking Christ, whose only fear is this: "Sir, I would, but I cannot pray; I would, but I cannot believe; I would, but I cannot love; I would, but I cannot repent." Oh! hear this, soul: "He will put his strength in thee." Go home; and down on thy knees; if thou canst not pray, groan; if thou canst not groan, weep; if thou canst not weep, feel; if thou canst not feel, feel because thou canst not feel; for that is as far as many get. But stop there, mark you, stop there, and he will give you his blessing; do not get up till you have got the blessing. Go there in all thy weakness; if you do not feel it, say, "Lord, I do not feel as I ought to feel; but oh that I could! Lord, I cannot repent, as I would repent oh that thou wouldst help me!" "Oh! sir," you say, "but I could not go so far as that, for I don't think I have got a strong desire." Go and say, "Lord I would desire; help me to desire." And then sit down and think of your lost estate. Think of your ruin and the remedy, and muse on that; and mark thee, whilst thou art in the way, the Lord will meet with thee. Only believe this, that if thou triest Christ he will never let thee try in vain. Go and risk thy soul on Christ to-night, neck or nothing, sinner. Go now, break or make; go and say, "Lord, I know I must be damned if I have not Christ." Stay there, and say, "If I perish, I perish only here;" and I tell you, you will never perish. I am bondsman for God. This head to the block if your soul goes to hell, if you pray sincerely and trust Christ. This neck to the gallows, again I say, this neck to the rope and to the hangman's gallows, if Christ reject you after your have earnestly sought him. Only try that, I beseech thee, poor soul. "Oh," you say, "but I have not strength enough; I cannot do that." Well, poor soul, crawl to the mercy-seat, and there lie flat, just as you are. You know that misery often speaks when it utters not a word. The poor mendicant squats himself down in the street. He says nothing, There protrudes a ragged knee, and there is a wounded hand. He says nothing; but with his hands folded on his breast he looks at every passer-by; and though not a word is spoken, he winneth more than if he daily drawled out his tale, or sung it along the street. So do thou sit like Bartimeus by the way-side begging; and if thou hearest him pass by, then cry, "Jesus, thou son of David, have mercy upon me." But if thou canst scarce say that, sit there, and exhibit thy poor wounds; tell the Lord thy desperate condition; strip thy loathsome sores, and let the Almighty see the venom. Turn out thy heart, and let the rank corruption be all inspected by the Almighty eye. "And he hath mercies rich and free." Who can tell, poor sinner, who can tell? He may look on thee.

"Jesus died upon the tree, And why, poor sinner, not for thee?

His Sovereign grace is rich and free, And why, poor sinner, not for thee?

"Our Jesus loved and saved me, Say why, poor sinner, why not thee?"

Only do this; and if thou art a sinner, hear this: "This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptance, that Jesus Christ came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief." He will not "Plead against you with his great power; no, he will put his strength in you!" The Lord dismiss you with his blessing! Amen.