God's Nature & Man's Nurture

A word was secretly brought to me,
    my ears caught a whisper of it.

Amid disquieting dreams in the night,
    when deep sleep falls on people,

fear and trembling seized me
    and made all my bones shake.

A spirit glided past my face,
    and the hair on my body stood on end.

It stopped,
    but I could not tell what it was.

A form stood before my eyes,
    and I heard a hushed voice.

Can a mortal be more righteous than God?
    Can even a strong man be more pure than his Maker?

If God places no trust in His servants,
    if He charges His angels with error,

how much more those who live in houses of clay,
    whose foundations are in the dust,
    who are crushed more readily than a moth!

Between dawn and dusk they are broken to pieces;
    unnoticed, they perish forever.

Are not the cords of their tent pulled up,
    so that they die without wisdom?

- Job 4: 12-21


Blessed is the one whom God corrects;
    so do not despise the discipline of the Almighty.

For He wounds, but He also binds up;
    He injures, but His hands also heal.

From six calamities He will rescue you;
    in seven no harm will touch you.

In famine He will deliver you from death,
    and in battle from the stroke of the sword.

You will be protected from the lash of the tongue,
    and need not fear when destruction comes.

You will laugh at destruction and famine,
    and need not fear the wild animals.

For you will have a covenant with the stones of the field,
    and the wild animals will be at peace with you.

You will know that your tent is secure;
    you will take stock of your property and find nothing missing.

You will know that your children will be many,
    and your descendants like the grass of the earth.

You will come to the grave in full vigor,
    like sheaves gathered in season.

We have examined this, and it is true.
    So hear it and apply it to yourself.

- Job 5: 17-27