g great glory to GOD, and
through which he will receive permanent enlargement of heart, and
blessing for himself and others.

Take the case of Abraham: GOD so thoroughly trust him, that He was
not afraid to call upon His servant to offer up his well-beloved son.
And here, in the case of Job, it was not Satan who challenged GOD
about Job, but GOD who challenged the arch-enemy, the accuser of the
brethren, to find any flaw in his character, or failure in his life.
In each case grace triumphed, and in each case patience and fidelity
were abundantly rewarded; but more of this anon.

THE UNSEEN HEDGE.

The reply of Satan is noteworthy. He does not need to ask, "Which
Job?" or, "Where does he live?" He had considered GOD'S servant, and
evidently knew all about him. How came it that he was so well
acquainted with this faithful man of GOD? It may have come about in
this way: those subordinate spirits of evil who are evidently under
the control of Satan had in vain tried ordinary means of temptation
with the patriarch. Probably reporting their want of success to some
of the principalities and powers of evil, these likewise had essayed
their diabolical arts, but had not succeeded in leading Job to swerve
from his integrity. Last of all, the great arch-enemy himself had
found all his own efforts ineffectual to harass and lead astray GOD'S
beloved servant. He found a hedge around him, and about his servants,
and about his house, and about all that he had on every side--an
entrenchment so strong that he had been unable to break through, so
high that, going about as a roaring lion, he had been unable to leap
over, or to bring disaster within the GOD-protected circle.

How blessed it must have been to dwell so protected! The work of
Job's hands was prospered--his substance increased in the land, and
he became the greatest as well as the best of all the men of the
East, for in that day GOD manifested His approval largely, though not
solely, by the bestowal of temporal blessings.

Is there no analogous spiritual blessing to be enjoyed now-a-days?
Thank GOD, there is. Every believer may be as safely kept and as
fully blessed, though, perhaps, not in the same way, as Job--may be
delivered from the power of the enemy, and preserved in a charmed
circle of perfect peace. The conditions are simple, and are given us
by the Apostle Paul in the 4th chapter of Philippians, v. 4-7,
"Rejoice in the LORD always ... Let your moderation [your ge