Also now, behold, my witness is in heaven, and my record is on high.
The verse belongs to the account of Job's uprightness, trial, and patience, and his suffering is set forth as a lesson and a source of comfort and hope for others who suffer. Hardship by itself does not prove God's displeasure, for God sees the end from the beginning. It is Job's appeal to God that his witness is in heaven and his record is on high, declaring confidence that God knows him and his case even while he suffers under false accusation. That confidence holds amid suffering and the condemnation of his friends, affirming that his case is known beyond their accusations.
Job trusts that God knows him despite suffering and accusation, and his former experience with God anchors him through doubt and distress. A person may have the same assurance that their witness and record are in heaven, and that heavenly assurance is to be held daily. Heaven keeps a record not only of sin but also of the good deeds of the faithful, for a person's witness and record are on high. A person's witness and record are on high before God, so that prayer is kept before Him as a memorial that will never be forgotten. One who brings private sorrow to God has a witness in heaven and a record on high, and secret prayer over inward grief, when others may scorn or pity, testifies to sincerity and integrity of heart as the sorrowing person pours out tears to God who knows the truth of that experience.
Faithful work, sacrifice, devotion, and labor for the cause of God are known to God in heaven and entrusted to the Lord who keeps the record on high. The verse also describes the place of the true saint who is misunderstood even by the best saints and stripped of earthly standing, with no record and no reputation left except on high. That place means willingly and constantly agreeing to be esteemed as little nobodies by the world and by the church, to be suspected, neglected, disesteemed, and imposed upon without self-defense, and to toil while others get the credit. Yet through it all the true saint follows Jesus in a meek and loving spirit, hiding in cleansing blood and pressing after universal holiness and peace to please Him alone, which is the price of true saintliness.
The verse belongs to the account of Job's uprightness, trial, and patience, and his suffering is set forth as a lesson and a source of comfort and hope for others who suffer. Hardship by itself does not prove God's displeasure, for God sees the end from the beginning. It is Job's appeal to God that his witness is in heaven and his record is on high, declaring confidence that God knows him and his case even while he suffers under false accusation. That confidence holds amid suffering and the condemnation of his friends, affirming that his case is known beyond their accusations.
Job trusts that God knows him despite suffering and accusation, and his former experience with God anchors him through doubt and distress. A person may have the same assurance that their witness and record are in heaven, and that heavenly assurance is to be held daily. Heaven keeps a record not only of sin but also of the good deeds of the faithful, for a person's witness and record are on high. A person's witness and record are on high before God, so that prayer is kept before Him as a memorial that will never be forgotten. One who brings private sorrow to God has a witness in heaven and a record on high, and secret prayer over inward grief, when others may scorn or pity, testifies to sincerity and integrity of heart as the sorrowing person pours out tears to God who knows the truth of that experience.
Faithful work, sacrifice, devotion, and labor for the cause of God are known to God in heaven and entrusted to the Lord who keeps the record on high. The verse also describes the place of the true saint who is misunderstood even by the best saints and stripped of earthly standing, with no record and no reputation left except on high. That place means willingly and constantly agreeing to be esteemed as little nobodies by the world and by the church, to be suspected, neglected, disesteemed, and imposed upon without self-defense, and to toil while others get the credit. Yet through it all the true saint follows Jesus in a meek and loving spirit, hiding in cleansing blood and pressing after universal holiness and peace to please Him alone, which is the price of true saintliness.