Job 33:4 The spirit of God has made me, and the breath of the Almighty has given me life. There are two conflicting theories of the origin of man. One brings him upward from the brute, the other downward from God. 1. Life, in its origin, is infinitely important. The birth of a babe is a mighty event. The Scandinavians have a very impressive allegory of human life. They represent it as a tree, the "Igdrasil," or tree of existence, whose roots grow deep down in the soil of mystery; the trunk reaches above the clouds; its branches spread out over the globe. At the foot of it sit the past, present, and future, watering the roots. Its boughs, with their unleafing, spread out through all lands and all time; every leaf of the tree is a biography, every fibre a word, a thought, or a deed; its boughs are the histories of nations; the rustle of it is the noise of human existence onwards from of old; it grows amid the howling of the hurricane — it is the great tree of humanity. 2. Human life is transcendently precious from the services it may render to God in the advancement of His glory. Man was not created as a piece of guess work, flung into existence as a waif. There is purpose in the creation of every human being. What is the purpose of life? Man was created to be happy, to be holy! That is the double aim of life — duty first, then happiness as the consequence. The highest style of manhood and womanhood is to be attained by consecration to the Son of God. 3. Life is infinitely valuable from the eternal consequences flowing from it. This world is a solemn vestibule of eternity.Practical thoughts — 1. How careful we ought to be to husband life. 2. What a stupendous crime wanton war becomes! 3. How short life is, yet infinite in its reach and retribution! What sort of life are you living? (T. L. Cuyler, D. D.) Parallel Verses KJV: The Spirit of God hath made me, and the breath of the Almighty hath given me life.WEB: The Spirit of God has made me, and the breath of the Almighty gives me life. |
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