his world.

Underneath all their teaching there is a firm belief in the existence
of a righteous God and the reality of his rule over the world, as also
in the other great religious verities taught by the prophets. Far from
disregarding religion, the writers of the Proverbs sought to make it
the controlling motive of life and conduct. A profound religious
spirit pervades the whole book; but in addition there are many passages
which give definite expression to the lofty religious conceptions of
the wise men.[19] Nevertheless, as is natural in view of the purpose
of the wise men, greater stress is laid upon ethics, the practice of
religion. Nothing and no relation of life seems to have escaped the
attention of the writers. Precepts are given concerning ordinary
everyday conduct, the relations of men to their fellows, domestic
relations and happiness, national life and the proper attitude toward
the government, and other relations and interests of life. The
permanent value of the book is suggested in these words of Davison:[20]
"For the writers of Proverbs religion {247} means good sense, religion
means mastery of affairs, religion means strength and manliness and
success, religion means a well-furnished intellect employing the best
means to accomplish the highest ends. There is a healthy, vigorous
tone about this kind of teaching which is never out of date, but which,
human nature being what it is, is only too apt to disappear in the
actual presentation of religion in the Church on earth."

From simple practical precepts the wise men rose to speculation. Their
speculative philosophy is theistic, for it starts from the conviction
that there is a personal God. The best specimen of this type of Wisdom
literature is the book of Job, which deals with the perplexing problem
of evil and suffering. The book recounts how Job, a man of exemplary
piety, was overtaken by an unprecedented series of calamities, and it
reports the debate between Job and other speakers to which the occasion
is supposed to have given rise. The experiences of the perfect Job
raised the perplexing question, How can the suffering of a righteous
man be harmonized with the belief in a holy and just God? The popular
view, reflected in the greater portion of the Old Testament, was that
suffering was always punishment for sin, prosperity reward for piety.
Such belief seemed in accord with the righteousness of Jehovah.
Undoubtedly, exceptions to the r