THE VOICE OUT OF THE STORM

383. THE LORD: FINITE MAN CANNOT GRASP AND THEREFORE JUSTLY CRITICISE THE INFINITE PLAN OF THE UNIVERSE

Then Jehovah answered Job out of the whirlwind:

Who is this that obscures my plan
By words devoid of knowledge?
Now gird your loins like a warrior;
Let me ask, and you answer me!

Where were you when I founded the earth?
You have knowledge and insight, so tell me.
You must know! Who determined its measures?
Or who measured it off with a line?

On what were its pedestals placed?

Or who laid its corner-stone,

When the morning stars all sang together,
And the sons of God shouted for joy?

Who shut up the sea with doors,

When it broke forth fresh from the womb;
When I made the clouds its garments,
And thick mists its swaddling-band,

When I appointed its boundaries,
And set up its barriers and doors,
Saying, 'Thus far, but no further;
Here shall your proud waves cease'?

Have you ever commanded the morning,
Or shown the dawn its place,

To take hold of the skirts of the earth,

That the wicked might be shaken out of it?

It is changed as clay under the seal,

And the world stands forth as a garment;
The wicked are shorn of their light,
And the upraised arm is broken.

Have you entered the springs of the sea,
Or walked in the depths of the ocean?
Have the gates of death been unveiled to you?
Have you seen the guardians of Hades?
Have you grasped the breadth of the earth?
If you know all this, declare it.

Where is the dwelling of light,
And where the abode of darkness?
Can you take it to its border,
And lead it back to its home?
You know, for you were born then,
And your years are so great in number!

Have you entered the storehouse of snow,
Have you looked on the guardian of hail,
Which I hoard for the time of distress,
For the day of assault and battle?

In what way are the clouds divided
That scatter the showers on earth?
Who has cleft for the torrents a channel,
Or a path for the flash of the lightning,
Sending rain on a desolate land,

On the uninhabited wilderness,
To slake waste and desolation,

To clothe the dry land with verdure?

Has the rain a father?

Who gave birth to the dew-drops ?
Out of whose womb came the ice?
And who gave birth to the hoar-frost,
So the waters are frozen like stone,
And the face of the deep is hidden?

Can you bind the group of the Pleiades,
Or loose the bands of Orion?

Can you lead forth the stars in their season,
Or guide the Bear with her young?
Do you know the laws of the heavens?
Can you set up their rule on the earth?

Can you lift up your voice to the clouds,
That abundance of water may answer you?
Can you send on their missions the lightnings;
To you do they say, 'Here we are'?

Who has put in the dark clouds their wisdom,
Or given the cloud-rack perception?

Can you hunt the prey for the lioness,
Or fill the mouths of her cubs,

When they couch in their dens together,
Or lie in wait in the thicket?
Who provides at evening her prey,
When her young ones cry to God,
And wander in search of food?

Do you give the war horse his might,
Clothe his neck with the quivering mane?
Do you make him leap like a locust?
His majestic snorting strikes terror,
He paws in the valley, rejoicing;
In strength he goes forth to the fray,
He mocks at fear, undismayed,
He turns not back from the sword.

The quiver rattles upon him,
The spear and the javelin flash.

He devours the ground with fierce rage,
Halting not at the blast of the trumpet.
When the bugle sounds, he neighs,
As he scents the fray from afar,

The din of commands and the battle cry.

Does the hawk soar because of your wisdom,
And stretch her wings to the south wind?
Does the eagle mount up at your bidding,
And build her nest on high?

On the cliff she dwells, making her home,
On the peak of the cliff and the stronghold.
From there she spies out her prey;
From afar her eyes behold it.

Will the fault-finder strive with Almighty?
He who argues with God, let him answer.
Will you set aside my judgment,

And condemn me, that you may be justified?

Or have you an arm like God,

With a voice like his can you thunder?
Deck yourself with pride and dignity,
Clothe yourself with glory and splendor,
Pour forth the floods of your anger,
And abase all those who are proud.
Tread down in their tracks the wicked,

Bury them all in the dust,

Shut them up in the hidden place;

Then will I sing your praise,

Because your right hand can save you!

384. JOB: A LARGER VISION OF GOD BEGETS HUMILITY AND TRUST

Then Job answered the Lord:

How small I am! what can I answer?
I lay my hand on my mouth.

I spoke once, but will do so no more;
Yes, twice, but will go no further.

I know thou canst do all things,
And that nothing with thee is impossible.

I spoke, therefore, without sense,
Of wonders beyond my knowledge.
I had heard of thee but by hearsay,
But now my eye has seen thee;
Therefore I loathe my words,
And repent in dust and ashes.