Job 34:29 - Exposition

When he giveth quietness, who then can make trouble? literally, Who then can condemn? The sentiment is the same as that of St. Paul in the Epistle to the Romans, "If God be for us, who can be against us? … Who shall lay anything to the charge of God's elect? It is God that justifieth. Who is he that condemneth?" ( Romans 8:31-34 ). And when he hideth his face, who then can behold him? When God hideth away his face, then all flesh is troubled ( Psalms 104:29 ); man shrinks into himself, and despairs of happiness; nature itself seems to fail and fade. None nan behold him when he hides himself; none can do more than deprecate his anger, and pray, "Lord, lift thou up the light of thy countenance upon us" ( Psalms 4:6 ). Whether it be done against a nation, or against a man only . The results are similar, whether God withdraws the light of his countenance from a nation or from an individual. In either case, there is no help from without; ruin and destruction follow.