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God would impress on Job his utter ignorance of the world in which he lived, and his incompetency to interpret His moral administration. The moral is this — Be concerned, Job, for a moral trust in My character, rather than for a theoretical knowledge of My ways. In the text there is a Divine challenge in relation to the when and how of the origin of the world.

I. THE WHEN. His ignorance as to when He began His creation. "Where wast thou when I laid the foundation of the earth?"

II. THE HOW. "Who hath laid the measures thereof, if thou knowest? or who hath stretched the line upon it?" Conclusion — The subject serves —

1. To rebuke all disposition to pronounce an opinion upon the ways of God.

2. To suggest that our grand effort ought to be to cultivate a loving trust in the Divine character, rather than to comprehend the Divine procedure. Comprehend Him we never can.

3. To enable us to appreciate the glorious services of Christianity. The question, "Where wast thou when I laid the foundations of the earth?" confounds and crushes me. I feel powerless before it, it overwhelms me with a sense of my own insignificance. Christianity comes to my relief. It tells me that although I am insignificant, I am still a child, a beloved child of the Everlasting, and that it is not the will of my Father that any, even of His "little ones," should perish; nay, that it is His good pleasure that I should have a kingdom.

(Homilist.)

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KJV: Where wast thou when I laid the foundations of the earth? declare, if thou hast understanding.

WEB: "Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth? Declare, if you have understanding.