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How feeble and inefficient all the offensive weapons of antiquity must have been against the crocodile, may be easily imagined, when we are assured by naturalists, that his scales are musketproof! Denon speaks of coming within twenty paces of some crocodiles, which he found asleep, the largest about five-and-twenty feet.-"I fired on one with a heavy musket; the ball struck him, and rebounded from his scales. He made a leap of ten feet, and dived into the river","

30. His bed is the splinters of flint,

Which the broken rock scattereth on the mud". 31. He maketh the deep place to boil like a pot, He snuffeth up the tide as a perfume.

32. He maketh the path to shine after him, The deep is embroidered with hoard.

The motions of the crocodile are described as extraordinarily quick for so large an animal; the agitation produced in the disturbed waters, where this monster pursues his prey, or takes his pastime,' is described in the beautiful language above. 33. There is not on the earth his like!

Who is made without fear?

34. He dismayeth every boaster:

He is king over all the sons of pride.

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b I follow Mr. Good in the rendering of these lines.

c Mr. GOOD.

d Idem.

e Without the fear and dread of him. Mr. Good renders, this creature without fear.' Others, shall his Maker be with 'his' fear?'

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"Not merely," observes a late author, beasts or monsters of enormous size," "it is far more confounding to the haughtiness and exultation of man, to that undue confidence in his own power, which it is the very object of this sublime address to humiliate, to have pointed out to him, even among the brute creation, a Being which he dares not encounter, and which laughs at all his pride, and pomp, and pretensions; and compels him to feel, in all these respects, his real littleness and inferiority. It is difficult, perhaps impossible, to find a description so admirably sustained, in any language of any age or country. The whole appears to be of a piece, and equally excellent."

SECTION II.

Job's humble Reply, and the further Admonition of God. JOB, at length reduced to a proper sense of feeling, by this condescending rebuke of his Maker, presents before him his humble acknowledgement.

Chap. xlii. Ver. 1. Then Job answered Jehovah and said:

2. I know that thou art all powerful,

And that no device can be restrained to theed.

I have been made sensible, not only that immen

Mr. Good, in his note.

b Or, "I am sensible," I feel.' Mr. GOOD.

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That is, so that thou shouldst not have it in thine infinite resources of wisdom.'

sity of power is to be ascribed to the Maker and Governor of the earth; but that all the resources of infinite wisdom and of wonderful contrivance, -which surpass the ingenuity and comprehension of man even as seen in his meanest works-ought to be acknowledged, and will certainly be displayed in all the scheme of Divine Providence.

Job continues, repeating nearly the very words which God had said, as though they were deeply impressed on his heart:

3. "Who is this darkening counsel,

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By words' without knowledge?

The truth of the charge he most humbly allows:

Thus it is; I talked, but did not consider,

Things too wonderful for me, and I did not understand!

Again, I conceive, the afflicted penitent repeats the words previously addressed to him by God." 4. "Hear, now, and I will speak,

"I will question thee and do thou inform me !" -Dwelling in his mind on these words of his reprover, which indeed expressed the granting of his own former presumptuous requests, would I could speak with God, &c.'-he now replies:

5. To the hearing of the ear have I heard thee, Ay, now mine eye hath seen thee !

That is, with my very ears have I heard thee, and my own eyes have now seen thee,- not meaning, as commonly understood, to contrast the present seeing with the former hearing; but, noting the great condescension of God, in visibly appear

ing to him and speaking to him with his own mouth;—and, as it follows, expressing the effect which the heavenly vision and hearing of God's own words had had upon him, so different to what he once promised to himself! For he said he should delight to argue his cause with God, conscious of his innocence; but now his humble acknowledgment is,.

6. Wherefore I abhor myself","

And repent in dust and ashes!

It is in this place, to the best of my judgment, that the fourteen first verses of the fortieth chapter should follow. And they seem to commence the last section of the divine poem,-wherein the Heavenly Instructor teaches Job in what manner he ought to have applied to his own case, that consideration of the power and wisdom of the Creator and Governor of the earth, which was in actual exercise, and which he saw instamped on so many objects of nature around him. For Job's mind had failed, where the minds of other believers do not unfrequently fail, in their troubles and adversities, in not sufficiently magnifying in their thoughts the Lord of providence, and dispenser of heavenly grace. Job had not only fainted when he was rebuked of him; but, in a certain sense, had despised his chastisement. But now humbled before God, his ear is opened to instruction.

There can be little doubt that we are to supply in this place, which the LXX. seem to have read in their copies: the emendation and rendering of Dr. Kennicott is most unne cessary, and altogether improbable.

Chap. xl. Moreover Jehovah addressed Job, and said,
Hath the chastised contended with Shaddai?
Reproved by Eloah, hath he answered again?

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-Yes this had been Job's error: blinded through pride, he had not humbled himself under the mighty hand of God, to confess his sins before him, and to own his chastening hand in the justice of his sentence. He had indeed professed great magnanimity at first, in submitting to his sovereign pleasure in taking away' what he had given:' but when his state was explained to him, as a chastisement for sin and for correction unto righteousness,'—this had touched him to the quick, and had exposed to view 'the naughtiness of his heart. He-a man so eminent for his piety and virtue, afflicted on account of sin!-This he could not endure to have supposed; and was most indignant at such a suggestion from his friends.

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It is more difficult, it should seem, in many cases, to exhibit before God the truly humbled and penitent heart of the chastised child, than the magnanimity of fortitude under severe sufferings, or even than to possess the devoted courage of a martyr! In these latter trials, indeed, we may possibly be enlisting our pride of character in the service which we are to perform: at any rate, we have not to oppose and to conquer it, as it is necessary to do, in order to true humiliation under the chastening hand of a righteous God.

Here it was that Job had failed, and as we have seen, rather than confess himself a sinner justly and

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