False religion is prepared to offer us false comfort, comfort offered on terms we cannot accept, for the price is too high. In the next chapter Job rightly scorns all this, and dismisses it as worthy only of contempt.
The believer must beware of taking hold of the hand held out to him by those who do not know the Lord. It is tempting to receive comfort from any quarter from which it is offered. Sympathy is so rare in the world, and self-seeking and indifference are so much the rule, that when we come across those who seem to care, we are drawn to them. But the offer of comfort is an offer to lean on another, and we must consider whether they are able to bear our weight. The offer of comfort is an offer to share a burden, or it is a pointer to the place where our burden can be relieved. But the burden we bear is greater than any mortal frame can support. If God has taught us then we have seen that our true needs are not matters of time but matters of eternity; they are not the affairs of this life but of the life to come; they are not only about our relationship with men but with the living God. These things are not important to a world that does not believe in God. Furthermore we have learnt that the problem of sin and the obtaining of peace with God are out of reach to mortal man. We cannot go to the doctor, or to the expert, or to the wisest living on earth and expect to find help when it comes to matters of the soul. The world does not even agree that these needs are real, let alone know how to solve them. Furthermore, there are conditions attached to every offer of comfort, which those who offer help may not even be aware they are imposing on us. Ultimately the Christian goes to God for help with the soul, for he alone can save us. Those who love him can direct us on our way, but they cannot themselves offer the help we need.