We do not know ourselves as well as the Lord knows us and we dare not say anything about our hearts that contradicts what he says about us. The heart is deceitful above all things and no one can know it but the Lord, so that it is always safer for us to resign our case into his hands and to let him be the judge of when we have learnt our lesson. When a man considers himself to be humbled, further humbling may still be required before he can be said to be truly emptied of pride. Matthew Henry says, ‘Those who are truly convinced of sin, and penitent for it, yet have need to be more thoroughly convinced and to be made more deeply penitent.’ Since God’s work of sanctification in our hearts must involve our own recognition of our weakness and wrong attitudes, then God does not bypass our faculties. We must be involved, and the job cannot be done without out cooperation. It was therefore important for Job to accept that he needed to hear more from the Lord even though he seemed to have already accepted correction. Matthew Henry also, most helpfully, says, ‘When our hearts begin to melt and relent within us, let those considerations be dwelt upon and pursued which will make a thorough effectual thaw of it’. We should welcome the good effect of correction on our hearts and not resist it, and if we know ourselves well we should not say, ‘That is enough’, but instead say, ‘Surely I need more of this good medicine.’
‘Some might think it strange that God should still speak with Job, and mock at his presumptuousness, seeing he was utterly caste down in himself. But by this we see that when we are humbled, there is still some remnant of pride hidden in us, which only is only visible to God, and he must purge us from it … Although men are brought to God, and desire to align themselves with God’s will … God sees there is still some secret disease remaining which he needs to amend’ (Calvin – in modern English).