Job 5:1-16: a reflection

1“Call now; is there any who will answer you? To which of the holy ones will you turn? 2For resentment kills the foolish man, and jealousy kills the simple. 3I have seen the foolish taking root, but suddenly I cursed his habitation. 4His children are far from safety. They are crushed in the gate. Neither is there any to deliver them, 5whose harvest the hungry eat up, and take it even out of the thorns. The snare gapes for their substance. 6For affliction doesn’t come out of the dust, neither does trouble spring out of the ground; 7but man is born to trouble, as the sparks fly upward. 8“But as for me, I would seek God. I would commit my cause to God, 9who does great things that can’t be fathomed, marvelous things without number; 10who gives rain on the earth, and sends waters on the fields; 11so that he sets up on high those who are low, those who mourn are exalted to safety. 12He frustrates the plans of the crafty, so that their hands can’t perform their enterprise. 13He takes the wise in their own craftiness; the counsel of the cunning is carried headlong. 14They meet with darkness in the day time, and grope at noonday as in the night. 15But he saves from the sword of their mouth, even the needy from the hand of the mighty. 16So the poor has hope, and injustice shuts her mouth.

In the midst of speaking about the trouble that comes to human life, Job's friend gives counsel that, whatever its context, points to something true: But as for me, I would seek God; I would commit my cause to God, who does great things that can't be fathomed. And he describes the God to whom one would commit one's cause: he sets on high those who are low, and those who mourn are exalted to safety; he saves the needy from the hand of the mighty. Trouble comes to human life; but there is a God to whom we may commit our cause, who lifts the low and saves the needy.

Notice the counsel, and the God it points to: commit your cause to God, who lifts the low and saves the needy. When trouble comes, as it comes to all, there is a God to whom we may commit our cause, entrusting our trouble to him. And this God is one who lifts up the low, exalts the mourning to safety, saves the needy from those stronger than they. To commit our cause to him is to entrust ourselves to a God who cares for the low and the needy, who lifts them up and saves them. He is the God to whom the troubled may turn.

That counsel is worth taking to heart, for when trouble comes, we do well to commit our cause to God who lifts the low. Trouble comes to all; and when it comes, we can be tempted to despair, or to rely on ourselves alone. But there is a God to whom we may commit our cause, who lifts the low and saves the needy. When trouble comes to you, do not despair or rely on yourself alone; commit your cause to God, who lifts up the low and saves the needy, entrusting your trouble to him. He is the God who sets the low on high and saves the needy; commit your cause to him in your trouble, as Job's counsel points, rather than despairing or relying on yourself, for he cares for the low and the needy, and to him you may entrust your cause, who lifts up those who are low and saves the needy from those too strong for them.

Lord, in the midst of speaking about the trouble that comes to human life, Job's friend gives counsel that points to something true: but as for me, I would seek God; I would commit my cause to God, who does great things that can't be fathomed. And he describes the God to whom one would commit one's cause: he sets on high those who are low, and those who mourn are exalted to safety; he saves the needy from the hand of the mighty. Trouble comes to human life; but there is a God to whom we may commit our cause, who lifts the low and saves the needy. Show me the counsel, and the God it points to: commit your cause to God, who lifts the low and saves the needy. When trouble comes, as it comes to all, there is a God to whom I may commit my cause, entrusting my trouble to him. And this God is one who lifts up the low, saves the needy from those stronger than they. To commit my cause to you is to entrust myself to a God who cares for the low and the needy. Take that counsel to my heart, for when trouble comes, I do well to commit my cause to you who lift the low. When trouble comes to me, I can be tempted to despair, or to rely on myself alone. But there is a God to whom I may commit my cause. When trouble comes to me, keep me from despairing or relying on myself alone; help me commit my cause to you, Lord, who lift up the low and save the needy, entrusting my trouble to you.