The Relation of Science and Religion.pdf - Online Christian Library

EXPERIENCE FROM PAST CONFLICTS. 75outburst of devotional feeling on the occasionof presenting her son Samuel before the Lord.In magnifying the greatness of God, she says,"the pillars of the earth are the Lord's, and hehath set the world upon them." * Next comethe utterances of Job, when enlarging on thepower of the Almighty. In one of his repliesto his irritating counsellors, when speaking ofthe works of Jehovah, he says, " which shakeththe earth out of her place, and the pillarsthereof tremble." j- In another passage ofsimilar construction, he says of God, " Hehath compassed the waters with bounds, untilthe day and night come to an end. The pillarsof heaven tremble, and are astonished athis reproof.'' f There is no Bible reader whocan readily fall into such an obvious mistakeas to treat these highly figurative utterances,as if they vere formal revelations concerningthe structure of the universe. As well mightwe, in reading the words of Paul concerningthe position and influence of prominent disciplesin the early church, in which he says thatJames, Cephas, and John " seemed to be pillars,"proceed to deduce from this statementthe revelation that the spiritual kingdom is a* I Samuel ii. 8. t Job is. 6. $ Job xxvi. 10, 11.