Although thou sayest thou shall not see him
Which is another expression of Job's taken notice of by Elihu, and to which he makes answer; he seems to refer to ( Job 23:3 Job 23:8 Job 23:9 ) . God is indeed invisible in his nature and essence, but is to be seen in his works of creation and providence; which Job was acquainted with, and in which he had seen somewhat of the glory of God, and of his divine perfections in them. See ( Job 9:4-10 ) ( 26:14 ) . And he is to be seen in Christ by an eye of faith, and Job had trusted in him as his salvation; and he will be seen with the beatific vision in heaven as he is, in a more glorious and perfect manner, which Job had a full persuasion of, ( Job 13:15 Job 13:16 ) ( Job 19:26 Job 19:27 ) ; and therefore is not to be understood in either of those senses, but of his not seeing him on a throne of judgment, hearing and trying his cause, judging and acquitting him; this he had often desired, but despaired of ever seeing it; see ( Job 23:4-7 ) ( 31:35-37 ) ( 9:32-35 ) ; to which Elihu replies;
[yet] judgment [is] before him;
all things are naked and open to him, and stand clear before him; he has perfect knowledge of what is right and wrong; no cause is unknown to him, and needs not to be searched into by him; nor can he nor will he ever pass a wrong judgment: he is just and true, righteous in all his ways and works, the Judge of the whole earth, who will do right, and will plead and judge the cause of every good man sooner or later; if not now, there is a judgment to come with him, when all must appear before his judgment seat, and he will render unto every man according to his works;
therefore trust thou in him,
or "wait for him" F3; wait for his coming to judgment: wait till that time comes when everything will be brought to light, and every good man shall have praise of God. Or, as we render it, "trust in him"; God alone is the object of trust and confidence, and happy is the man that trusts in him; he is to be trusted in for all things, both temporal, spiritual, and eternal; and particularly for this of doing justice to his people; if not now, yet hereafter, he will render tribulation to them that trouble them; he will right all their wrongs and avenge their injuries, and remove the rebuke that is upon them, and confess them before men and angels, and declare them righteous, and receive them into his kingdom and glory: and be is to be trusted in at all times, in times of adversity as well as prosperity; and even when he is not to be seen, and the dispensations of his providence are dark and intricate, see ( Isaiah 50:10 ) ; The word used signifies such a trust, hope, and waiting, as of a woman in travail, who bears her pains patiently, holding and trusting for a safe deliverance of a child, to the joy of her and her family.