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THE  BIBLE 


AN  OUTGEOWTH  OF  THEOCEATIC  LIFE. 


BY 


D.  W.  SIMON. 


NEW   YORK. 

SCRIBNER    &L    WELFORD. 

743-745  BROADWAY. 


"  STijf  %\ft  toae  fi)t  iltgfjt  of  men." 

John  i.  4. 


PEEEACE, 


THIS  little  book  embodies  part  of  the  substance  of 
lectures  delivered  to  students  for  the  Congrega- 
tional niinistry  at  Spring  Hill  College,  Birmingham, 
and  the  Congregational  Theological  Hall,  Edinburgh. 
It  makes  no  pretence  to  be  an  exhaustive  discussion  of 
its  theme ;  on  the  contrary,  it  aims  at  little  more  than 
explaining  the  point  of  view  from  which  the  Bible  should, 
in  my  judgment,  be  approached.  Nor  does  it  claim  to 
set  forth  anything  absolutely  new;  on  the  contrary, 
I  rejoice  to  know  that  many  minds  besides  my  own 
have  been,  and  are  now,  moving  in  the  same  direction. 
What  I  do  believe  myself  to  have  done  is  to  have  pre- 
sented more  distinctly  and  self-consistently  a  view  of 
the  Scriptures,  after  which  many  have  groped,  of  which 
some  have  caught  more  or  less  complete  glimpses,  and 
which  others  probably  fully  appreciate.  I  wish  the 
book  were  more  worthy  of  its  theme.  Whilst  passing 
it  through  the  press,  I  have  become  so  painfully  sen- 
sible of  its  defects  as  almost  to  regret  the  resolution  to 
publish.  However,  if  it  help  to  put  plainly  an  issue 
which  hovers  indistinctly  before  many  minds,  I  shall  be 


viii  Preface. 

satisfied ;  for  then  I  shall  hope  that  thoughts  which  have 
been  helpful  to  theological  students  may  also  prove 
helpful  to  ordinary  Christian  believers. 

Were  it  practicable,  I  would  honestly  acknowledge 
all  my  indebtedness ;  but  who  that  reads  can  tell  how 
much  he  owes  to  his  predecessors  in  the  field;  how 
much,  if  anything,  is  his  own  ?  I  know  I  have  been 
specially  indebted  to  Rothe's  "  Zur  Dogmatik,"  though 
I  have  drifted  considerably  away  from  some  of  its  posi- 
tions since  I  devoured  it  when  first  published  in  the 
"  Studien  und  Kritiken  ; "  further,  to  Tholuck's  article 
on  "  Inspiration  "  in  Herzog's  "  Realencyclopaedie  "  (1st 
edition) ;  and  last,  not  least,  to  F.  D.  Maurice's  works 
on  the  Old  Testament,  which  led  me,  whilst  yet  a 
student,  as  they  have  led  many  besides  me,  to  realise 
that  veritable  men  and  women,  living  real  human 
lives,  lay  behind  the  Biblical  books.  I  have  been  not 
a  little  indebted  for  information  to  Professor  Briggs' 
interesting  "  Biblical  Study,"  and  to  Professor  Ladd's 
learned  work,  "The  Doctrine  of  Sacred  Scripture." 
How  far  Professor  Ladd's  point  of  view  and  mine  agree 
I  cannot  say ;  for  his  method  is  so  complicated,  and  his 
own  opinions  are  so  interwoven,  more  Germanico,  with 
quotations,  and  implicit  or  explicit  controversy,  that 
I  have  been  unable,  in  the  time  at  my  disj)osal,  to  get 
a  clear  notion  of  his  position  as  a  whole.  The  coinci- 
dences between  his  line  of  thought  and  mine  are  due 
probably  to  our  having  come  under  similar  influences. 
I  may  make  this  latter  remark  also  vv^ith  regard  to 
Dr.   Newman   Smyth's  most  suggestive   "  Old    Faiths 


Preface.  ix 

in  a  New  Light."  The  idea  of  my  book  formed  the 
subject  of  lectures  to  students  more  than  fifteen  years 
ago. 

My  purpose  is  primarily  expository,  not  apologetic ; 
and  I  write  less  for  those  who  doubt  and  do  not  believe 
than  for  those  who  believe  and  still  doubt.  Yet  so  far 
as  the  right  putting  of  a  case  is  its  best  apology,  so  far 
do  I  hope  that  my  book  may  render  apologetic  service 
to  the  Bible.  Should  this  venture  meet  with  encourage- 
ment, I  intend  following  it  up  by  an  apology  written 
from  the  point  of  view  here  advocated. 

D.  W.  S. 


Congregational  Theological  Hall, 

George  Square, 

Edinburgh,  October,  18S5. 


TABLE   OF  CONTENTS, 


CHAPTER    I. 

INTKODUCTION. 

PAGE 

Importance  of  right  point  of  view, 1-2 

Point  of  view  should  be  determined  by  the  subject,  ...  2 

Specially  true  in  relation  to  the  Scriptures,         ....  3 

CHAPTER    11. 

TKADITIONAL   POINT   OF   VIEW. 

That  of  a  divine  revelation,        .......  4 

Regarded  in  this  light  by  the  Jews — Philo — Josephus — Rabbis 

— Kabbalistic  rules  of  interpretation, 4-8 

Tendency  to  the   same   view   in  Christian  Church — Sweden- 

borgians, 8-9 

The  Jewish  position  accepted  in  general  by  the  Church — Justin 
Martyr — Athenagoras — Origen — John  Presbyter — Augus- 
tine and  others, 9-12 

Luther's  view — Calvin — Lutheran  and  Reformed  Confessions,  .  13 

First  formulation  of   doctrine  —  Reasons   why  —  Quenstedt — 

Voetius — Jewel — Hooker — The  prevailing  view— Result,  .      13-18 

CHAPTER    III. 

TRADITIONAL  POINT  OF  VIEW — Continued. 

Rise  of  criticism — Fastened  first  on  the  form  or  vehicle — Indi- 
viduality of  the  writers  conceded — Inspiration  of  the  loord, 
not  of  words — As  to  form,  writers  left  to  themselves,  .      19-21 

Question  of  contents — Prae-Reformation  concessions — Jerome — 

Chrysostom, 21-24 


xii  Table  of  Contents. 


PAGE 


Revelation  and  assistance — Calixtus — Further  development  of 

the  distinction — Henderson — Lee, 24-28 

Bible  contains  a  revelation — Grotius — Ladd,      ....  29 

Nature  of  the  divine  element — Aquinas — Baxter — Twesten — 

Lange— Bruce— G.  F.  Wright, 30-35 

CHAPTEK    IV. 

THE   HISTOEICAL  POINT   OF  VIEW. 

Has  existed  alongside  of  the  revelation  view — Philo — Josephus 

— Eusebius — Lives  of  Christ — No  bridge  between  the  two,      36-38 

The  historical  point  of  view  the  right  one — Scriptures  them- 
selves suggest  it — Difference  between  them  and  other 
literature  due  to  diflference  in  the  life,         ....      38-40 


CHAPTER   V. 

THE   HISTORICAL   POINT   OF   VIEW    ILLUSTRATED. 

Literature  the  outgrowth  of  already  existent  life,       ...  41 

Literature  the  chief  source  of  knowledge  of  past  life — Knowledge 

proportioned  to  variety — M.  Taine  quoted,          .         .         .      43-46 
Life,  in  turn,  elucidates  literature — Quotation  from  M.  Taine,  .      46-48 
Chronological  history  implies  chronological  arrangement  of  liter- 
ature,   48-49 

All  this  applies  to  Hebrew  life  and  literature — Eight  and  duty 

of  historical  criticism  implied, 49-51 


CHAPTER    VI. 

FACTORS  IN  LIFE  OF  JEWISH  PEOPLE. 

No  intention  to  write  proper  history — Certain  great  features  of 

the  national  life  to  be  touched, 52 

1.  The  human  factors  : — 1.  Native — Race,  national  character- 

istics, science,  poetry,  philosophy,  religion  :  The  national 
organisation,        .........      53-62 

2.  The  foreign  factors  : — Egyptians,  aborigines,  and  others,      .      63-64 
II.  The  divine  factor: — God  a  factor  in  the  life  of  other  nations — 

Specially  in  Jewish — Proofs — Abraham — Egypt — Exodus — 
Judges — Saul — David — Solomon — Later  history — Christ,  .      64-70 


Table  of  Contents.  xiii 

CHAPTER    VI  T. 

PARTS   TAKEN   IN  THE   NATIONAL   LIFE   BY   THE   SEVERAL   FACTORS — 
THE   HUMAN    FACTORS. 

PAGE 

The  foreign  factors  : — Aborigines — Egyptians,  Assyrians,  and 

Babylonians — Medes  and  Persians — Greeks  and  Romans, .      71-75 

The  native  factors  : — Literary  activity  alone  considered — Liter- 
ature not  all  religious — Extant  literature  incomplete,  .      75-80 

Classes  of  extant  literature  : — History  and  biography — Oratory, 
including  prophecies  and  prayers  ; — Epistle  or  Letter — Old 
Testament — New — Characteristics  ; — Philosophy — Genesis 
— Proverbs  —  Ecclesiastes  —  New  Testament ;  —  Poetry — 
Prose  and  verse — Riddles  and  parables — Lyric,  didactic, 
dramatic  poems, 80-94 

CHAPTER  VIIL 

PARTS  TAKEN  IN  THE  NATIONAL  LIFE  BY  THE  SEVERAL  FACTORS — 
THE  DIVINE  FACTOR. 

God  gave  the  Hebrews  their  national  existence,         .         .         .95-96 

God  gave  them  their  land, 96-97 

God  appointed  their  chief  institutions  and  officials,    .         ,         .      97-99 
God  was  their  great  lawgiver  and  moral  instructor,   .         .         .    99-101 

God  gave  promises,  threats,  &c., 101-102 

God  instructed  them  regarding  Himself  and  His  purposes,  .  102-104 
The  methods  employed  in  the  discharge  of  these  functions 
—  Special  action  on  nature,  with  and  without  human 
agents — Miracles  of  two  kinds — Action  on  the  human 
mind  —  Heightening  normal  energy  —  Awakening  latent 
faculties — Control  of  purposes : — Ways  of  revelation — Signs 
— Dreams  and  visions — Audible  words — Inaudible  words 
— Suggestions — Incarnations,     .         .         .         .         .         .104-118 


CHAPTER  IX. 

THE   MISSION   OF   THE  JEWISH   NATION. 

The  Israelites  from  the  first  conscious  of  a  mission,  .         .  119-120 

Witnesses  for  Jehovah  to  the  world — Idea  of  Messiah — Apostles 

—Christian  Church, 120-123 

Believed  their  history  and  that  of  world  to  tend  to  a  final  goal, .  123-124 
Condition  of  well-being  obedience  to  Jehovah — Old  Testament 

—New  Testament, 124-126 

This  idea  the  immanent,  regulative  principle,    .         .         .         .         127 


xiv  Table  of  Conteiits. 

CHAPTER  X. 

THE   CHARACTER   OF   THE   HEBREW   LITERATURE, 

PAGE 

Will  a  theocratic  literature  not  be  theopneustic  ?        .         .         .         128 
The  contents,  divine  and  human — Two  extremes  to  be  avoided 
— Human   elements   of    the   then   existing  kind— Divine 

elements, 128-134 

Literary  reflex  might  have  ignored  divine  elements,  .         .         .         134 
God  might  have  given  a  systematic  revelation,  or  used  romance,         135 
Divine  element  varies  in  the  literature  as  in  the  life,         .         .  136-137 
Is  the  literary  vehicle  divine-human  ?     Three  classes  of  books, .  137-139 
Books   which    record   the   life    lived — Divine-human,    because 
acquahitance  with  life  necessary  —  Divine  injunctions  to 
record — Duty  of  Israelites  to  know  their  life — Collections 
of  books  therefore  made — Estimate  of  books  by  Jews  and 

Christ— Idea  of  the  history, 139-149 

Books  embodying  divine  communications — Prophecies — Ipsis- 
sima  verba — Originally  written — Prophets  needed  divine 
aid  both  as  "seers"  and  "utterers" — Philo's  conception 
of  the  prophet.  Epistles — Their  writers  also  seers  and 
speakers — divine  co-operation  needed  despite  differences — 

Spirit  a  co-reasoner,  and  so  forth, 149-161 

Books  embodying  thoughts  and  sentiments  of  men  : — Psalter 
inspired — Poets  do  not  rise  much  above  their  environment 
— Intended  for  temple  use — Lamentations — Song  of  Songs 

— Job — Proverbs  and  Ecclesiastes 161-167 

Function  of  Literature  in  national  life — Literature  and  heredity 
— Literature   stimulates — Such  being  the  case  divine  aid 
probable — Preparation  for  Messiah— Dr.  Chalmers  quoted,  167-171 
Nature  and  compass  of  divine  influence, 172 

CHAPTER   XL 

THE   RELATION   OF   THE   SCRIPTURES   TO   SUBSEQUENT   AGES. 

They  subserve  the  general  function  of  literature,  specially  in  a 

religious  respect,         .         .         .         .         .         .         .         .174-176 

Primary  function  to  witness  to  life  and  to  God  as  Saviour— rin 
this  sense  a  revelation — Nature  a  revelation — Retains  this 
character  if  some  things  in  it  are  rejected — Even  if  writers 
not  inspired,  were  it  possible, 176-181 

Second  function  to  guide  conduct,      .         .         .         .         .         .         182 

Third  function  is  scientific  or  philosophical — As  historical 
sources — All  history  in  its  measure — Jewish  specially — 
Direct  hints  towards  a  theology, 182-186 


Table  of  Co7itents.  xv 

PAGE 

Biblical  mine  not  exhausted — Must  be  interpreted  as  literature 

— Mr.  M.  Arnold  quoted, 187 

CHAPTER   XII. 

CONDITIONS   OF  THE   DISCERNMENT  OF  THE   DIVINE  ELEMENT   IN 
SCEIPTDRE. 

The  due  appreciation  of  literature  and  life  always  dependent  on 

conditions — Specially  when  so  peculiar  as  the  Hebrew,       .  188-191 

Surest  means  of  testing  their  testimony  is  experiment — Even  in 

the  case  of  a  sceptic, 191-194 

Loyalty  to  the  right,  the  key  to  the  moral  guidance  offered,      .  194-196 

Intellectual  fitness — Loyalty  to  truth  and  Holy  Spirit's  influ- 
ence needed  to  the  understanding  of  hints  as  to  divine  plan. 
So  the  great  Protestant  divines — Calvin — Owen  and  others,  196-201 

APPENDIX. 

Note  A. — Professor  A.  Phelps  and  Bishop  Goodwin  on  Inspi- 
ration,          203 

Note  B, — Professor  Ladd's  and  Dr.  Daniel  Schenkel's  views 

on  Scripture  as  containing  the  word  of  God,        .         .         .         208 

Note  C. — Bishop  Burnet's  position  with  regard  to  the  divine 

element  in  Scripture,  .......         212 

N  ote  D. — Dr.   Schenkel   on    the   Christological  conception   of 

Scripture, 214 

Note  E. — Influence  of  the  point  of  view  here   advocated  on 

Apologetics, 215 

Note  F. — Quotations  from  Henry  Rogers'  "Superhuman  Origin 

of  the  Bible  proved  from  itself," 217 


THE    BIBLE 

AN  OUTGEOWTH  OF  THEOCRATIC  LIFE. 


CHAPTER  I. 

INTRODUCTION. 

I.  TN  the  conduct  of  every  inquiry,  the  selection  of 
-■-  the  right  point  of  view  is  essential  to  a  satis- 
factory result.  Apart  from  this,  what  is  advanced, 
though  in  itself  true,  is  certain  to  evoke  criticism  and 
contradiction  instead  of  assent ;  and  even  where  assent 
is  given,  there  will  be  an  uneasy  feeling  that  some- 
how a  sound  case  has  been  badly  presented.  Those 
who  agree  in  reality  often  disagree  in  seeming,  because 
of  the  different  lights  in  which  they  view,  and  there- 
fore describe,  the  subjects  which  they  discuss  or  expound. 
And  those  who  differ  from  each  other  often  fail  to 
come  to  an  understanding  as  to  the  real  nature  of 
their  differences,  because  of  the  difference  of  their 
respective  angles  of  vision  or  presuppositions. 

What  has  been  said  holds  good  of  all  inquiries, 
whether  strictly  scientific  or  literary.  Its  application 
to  the  domain  of  literature   is  obvious  at  a  glance.. 

B 


2  The  Bible  —  Theocratic  Literature. 

To  judge  a  poem  from  the  point  of  view  of  a  work  in 
philosophy, — to  try  a  popular  discourse  by  the  tests 
suited  to  a  scientific  treatise, — to  look  at  a  history 
or  memoir  as  though  it  were  a  didactic  treatise, — to 
measure  a  work  on  systematic  theology  by  the 
standard  of  a  book  of  edification,  or  vice  versa, — 
all  will  allow  to  be  unwarranted.  The  what  brought 
forward  may  be  true  enough  ;  the  hoiu  of  its  pre- 
sentation will  cause  the  truth  to  wear  the  look  of 
untruth.  Indeed  the  principle  is  one  of  universal 
validity. 

II.  If  the  point  of  view  is  to  be  a  right  one,  it 
must  be  determined  by  the  subject  itself;  not  by 
considerations  drawn  from  other  quarters.  A  mathe- 
matical problem  must  be  treated  in  a  mathematical 
way  ;  a  physical  problem  in  a  physical  way  ;  a  chemical 
in  a  chemical  way ;  a  biological  in  a  biological  way  ; 
a  mental  in  a  mental  way ;  an  ethical  or  religious 
question  in  an  ethical  or  religious  way.  The  bane 
of  investigation  is  to  take  one's  stand  outside  the 
subject  investigated  ;  to  conduct  it  on  principles  which 
apply  solely  to  a  different  domain.  The  cosmos  is 
doubtless  a  unity ;  but  it  is  the  unity  of  the  hetero- 
geneous, not  of  the  homogeneous.  And  each  several 
domain  has  its  own  specific  features,  relations,  activities, 
laws.  It  is  a  temptation  to  which  students  of  theo- 
logy and  students  of  nature  alike  have  succumbed  ; 
but  which  in  these  days  especially  besets  the  latter, 
and  that  because  of  the  increasing  one-sidedness  of 
their  training  and  culture. 


Introduction.  3 

III.  What  has  been  advanced  holds  emphatically 
true  of  endeavours  to  determine  the  true  nature, 
significance  and  function  of  the  Sacred  Scriptures  of 
the  Christian  Church.  If  they  are  to  be  properly 
understood  and  duly  appreciated,  care  must  be  taken 
how  they  are  approached,  and  that  they  themselves, 
not  some  supposed  intellectual  or  moral  or  religious 
needs  and  perils,  determine  the  method  of  their 
treatment.^ 

It  may  seem  strange  to  speak  as  though  the  right 
point  of  view  had  still  to  be  found,  after  all  these 
centuries  and  after  the  numberless  efforts  made  to 
determine  the  character  of  the  Scriptures, — it  may 
seem  presumptuous.  Yet  in  face  of  the  uncertainty 
by  which  thousands  of  earnest  Christian  believers  are 
haunted ;  of  the  vagueness  and  inconsistency  which 
characterises  the  discussions  of  theologians ;  ^  of  the 
scepticism  of  outsiders,  who  yet  yield  no  stinted  homage 
to  their  worth ;  and  of  the  attacks  of  unbelievers ; 
an  earnest  lover  of  the  Bible  may  well  be  excused 
trying  to  find  some  platform  on  which  all  honest 
seekers  may  meet,  and  where  they  may  at  all  events 
understand  each  other,  even  if  they  fail  to  agree, — 
which  is  scarcely  the  case  at  present. 

1  See  note  A  in  Appendix. 

2  See  the  symposium  on  Inspiration  in  Homiletic  Magazine 
for  1883. 


The  Bible — Theocratic  Literature. 


CHAPTER    IL 

THE   TKADITIONAL   POINT   OF   VIEW. 

THE  point  of  view  from  which  the  Scriptures  have 
hitherto  been  approached  is  that  of  a  divine 
revelation.  This  idea  has  dominated  their  treatment 
alike  at  the  hand  of  friends  and  of  foes.  As  such  they 
have  been  admired  and  praised  ;  as  such  they  have 
been  criticised  and  condemned.  This  has  been  the 
case  from  the  third  or  fourth  century  before  Christ 
down  to  our  own  day,  with  ahuost  the  sole  exception 
of  writers  who  have  reduced  them  to  the  level  of 
ordinary  human  literature. 

The  history  of  the  ''doctrine  of  Scripture"  is  mainly 
the  story  of  the  efforts  to  determine  the  sense  in 
which,  and  the  degree  to  which,  they  are  a  divine 
revelation  ;  and  to  account  for  various  phenomena 
which  seem  incompatible  with  the  supposition. 

I.  The  Jews  before,  about,  and  after  the  time  of 
Christ  undoubtedly  looked  at  the  Old  Testament 
writings  in  this  light.  At  first,  indeed,  the  terms 
employed  to  express  the  belief  were  vague,  and  left 
room  not  only  for  freedom  in  the  treatment  of  details, 
but  also  for  the  recognition  of  the  possibility  of  the 


The  Traditional  Point  of  View,  5 

inspiratioD  of  other  writings.  The  writer  of  1  Macca- 
bees, for  example,  whilst  lamenting  the  absence  of 
prophets  in  Israel,^  yet  cherishes  the  hope  that  other 
prophets  shall  arise.^  Sirach  again,  after  using  various 
comparisons,  says,  "  All  this  is  the  book  of  the  covenant 
of  the  most  high  God,  the  law  which  Moses  commanded 
as  the  property  of  the  congregation  of  Jacob,  which 
overflows  with  wisdom  like  Phison  and  like  the  Tigris 
in  the  days  of  spring;  which  abounds  in  insight  like  the 
Euphrates,  and  like  the  Jordan  in  the  days  of  harvest ; 
which  pours  out  instruction  like  the  Nile  and  like  the 
Gihon  in  the  days  of  vintage."^  Further,  the  warnings 
of  the  prophet  Jeremiah  are  spoken  of  as  "  from  the 
mouth  of  the  Lord  ; "  ^  and  the  prophets  in  general 
are  styled  His  messengers.^  Haggai  and  Zechariah  are 
declared  to  have  spoken  ''in  the  name  of  the  Lord."^ 
The  messages  of  the  prophets  are  designated  "  the 
words  of  God  spoken  by  the  hand  of  His  servants 
the  prophets."^  An  utterance  of  Jeremiah  is  quoted 
with  the  formula,  oi/rco?  efxe  Kvpiog.^  And  these  are 
but  samples  of  the  manner  in  which  the  writers  of 
the  Apocrypha  allude  to  the  Old  Testament  and  its 
writers. 

Philo,  though  claiming  a  certain  kind  of  inspiration 
even  for  himself,^  uses  a  variety  of  terms  to  express 
his  conviction  of  the  divinity  of  the  Scriptures  ; — as 
for  example,  lepai.   ypacpaif  lepa  pipXo^,  iepo9  Xoyog, 

1  ix.  27.       2  iv^  4(3  .  xiv.  41.       ^  ^xiv.  32.       ^  3  ^sJ.  i.  28,  47. 

5  Esd.  i.  51.  <5  3  Esd.  vi.  1.  ^  Bar.  ii.  20,  24. 

8  Bar.  ii.  21  ;  cf.  Jer.  xxvii.  11,  12.     ^  See  Gfrorer's  Philo,  i.  60. 


6  The  Bible — Theocratic  Litei'ature. 

\6'yo<i  Oelos,  lepcorarop  ypanAfxa,  -^pjjo-fxo^f  Xoyiov  rod 
'IXeco  OeoVf  to,  ev  /BaciXiKoh  ^1^X019  lepocpavrrjOepra.^ 
How  exalted  was  his  estimate  of  the  awful  sacredness 
of  the  sacred  books,  may  be  judged  by  a  story  which 
he  narrates,  regarding  an  impious  man,  who  made  a 
mock  of  the  ''  presents "  which  according  to  the 
account  of  Moses,  the  Lord  of  the  world  gave  to  His 
children;  as  for  example,  to  one  of  them — viz.,  Abram, 
an  additional  letter  A  to  his  name,  making  it  Abraam  ; 
to  another,  Sarah,  an  R,  so  that  henceforth  she  was 
called  Sarrah, — for  which  mockery  he  shortly  after- 
wards died  an  unnatural  death  by  the  rope.^ 

The  estimate  formed  of  the  Old  Testament  by 
Josephus,  the  contemporary  of  our  Lord,  who  in  this 
respect  doubtless  represented  the  general  feeling  of 
Jews  who  thought  at  all  on  the  subject,  will 
sufficiently  appear  from  the  fact  that  he  speaks  of  the 
words  of  the  Decalogue  as  so  sacred,  that  it  was 
unlawful  to  divulge  them  to  Gentiles,  save  in  the 
form  of  a  brief  summary  ;^  and  from  a  story  which  he 
relates,  how,  when  the  translators  of  the  Septuagint 
had  completed  their  version,  and  were  asked  by  King 
Ptolemy  Philadelphus  how  it  happened  that  no  poet 
or  historian  had  made  any  mention  of  so  admirable  a 
work,  one  of  them,  Demetrius,  ref>lied  that  no  one 
dared  to  touch  the  record  of  these  laws,  on  account  of 
its    being    divine     and     holy ;     and    that    some    had 

1  See  Lee,  "  Inspiration  of  Holy  Scripture,"  pp.  52  fF.  56. 

2  See  Philo,  "  De  nominum  Mutatione,"  Pf.  iv.  346,  quoted  in 
Gfrorer,  "  Pliilo  u.  d.  Alex.  Pliil."  i.  67.  ^  ^ntiq.  iii.  v.  4. 


The  Traditional  Point  of  Vieiu.  7 

already    been    injured    by    God    for    handling    these 
things.^ 

It  need  cause  no  surprise,  therefore,  that  ere  long, 
when  the  Spirit  had  departed  from  the  nation,  its 
teachers,  the  Rabbis,  made  almost  an  idol  or  god  of 
their  sacred  books,  especially  of  the  law,  and  fell  into 
extravagances  such  as  the  following  : — 

"  If  all  the  seas  were  ink,  and  all  the  reeds  pens, 
and  heaven  and  earth  were  linen,  they  would  not 
suffice  to  write  out  the  words  of  the  Thorah  which 
I  have  learnt — i.e.,  the  knowledge  which  I  have  derived 
from  the  Thorah,  and  I  have  not  made  it  poorer 
any  more  than  a  man  makes  the  sea  poorer  by 
dipping  in  it  the  point  of  his  brush."  So  Kabbi 
Josua.^ 

Their  general  view  of  the  Scriptures  may  also  be 
inferred  from  such  assertions  as  that  Moses  taught 
that  the  Thorah  might  be  interpreted  in  forty-nine 
different  ways  ;  and  from  the  culmination  of  their 
principles  of  interpretation  in  the  three  Kabbalistic 
rules  : — Notaviqon,  which  consists  in  the  reconstruc- 
tion of  a  word,  by  rising  the  initials  of  many ;  or  of  a 
sentence,  by  employing  all  the  letters  of  a  single  word 
as  initial  letters  of  other  words  : — Ghematria,  the  use 
of  the  numerical  values  of  the  letters  of  a  word  for  the 
purposes  of  comparison  with  other  words,  which  yield  the 

1  Antiq.  xii.  2,  13  ;  cf.  Contra  Apionem,  i.  8. 

2  Weber,  "System  deraltsynagogalen  Palflestinischen  Theologie," 
p.  85.  Compare  also  Henderson's  Congregational  Lecture  on 
"  Inspiration,"  for  an  account  of  the  different  degrees  of  inspira- 
tion according  to  the  Jews,  p.  41. 


8  The  Bible — Theocratic  Literature. 

same,  or  similar  combinations  of  numbers: — Temura, 
the  permutation  of  letters  by  the  three  Kabbalistic 
alphabets,  called  'Atbach,  'Albam,  and  Athbash."^  In- 
deed, if  the  preliminary  assumption  be  granted,  do 
not  consistency  and  reverence  for  the  absolutely  wise 
author  of  the  Bible,  necessitate  its  treatment  "  as  a 
book  containing  miscellaneous  information  of  a  more 
or  less  curious  character  on  all  sorts  of  subjects,  not 
merely  on  God,  duty,  the  future  life,  and  such  moral 
and  religious  topics,  but  on  the  secrets  of  nature,  the 
problems  of  philosophy,  the  constitution  of  the  heavenly 
world,  &c.?"^  Nay  more,  must  not  everything  in  it  be 
significant ;  not  merely  the  sentences,  but  the  words ; 
not  merely  the  words,  but  the  letters ;  not  merely  the 
letters,  but  the  very  tittles  ? 

II.  No  recognised  teacher  of  the  Christian  Church 
ever  went  this  length,  though  the  tendency  has  ever 
and  anon  manifested  itself,  especially  among  untrained 
interpreters  of  the  Scripture.  As  an  example  I  may 
adduce  the  following  use  of  Scripture  to  determine  the 
exact  locality  of  heaven.  In  the  book  of  Job  it  is 
said  : — ''  Canst  thou  bind  the  sweet  influences  of 
Pleiades?"  Now  sweet  influences  can  come  from  God 
alone.  God  therefore  must  have  His  throne,  the  very 
seat  of  His  glory,  on  the  central  star  in  Pleiades.  In 
that  star  therefore  heaven  must  be  placed. 

The  Siveclenhorgian  method  of  treating  the  Scrip- 
tures  may  be  regarded  as  the  modern  equivalent  of 

1  Dr.  C.  A.  Briggs'  "Biblical  Study,"  p.  383. 

2  Dr.  Bruce,  "  The  Chief  End  of  Revelation,"  p.  7. 


The  Traditional  Point  of  Viezv.  g 

that  old  Rabbinical  or  Kabbalistic  method.  The 
position  of  the  "  New  Church,"  as  formulated  by  itself, 
is  this  : — "  As  the  works  of  God  contain  and  display- 
infinite  wisdom  and  are  seen  to  be  infinitely  perfect, 
when  examined  interiorly,  so  the  Word  of  God  is  inspired 
and  holy,  and  contains  an  interior  or  spiritual  meaning, 
within,  but  distinct  from  that  of  the  letter.  .  .  .  The 
literal  sense  of  the  word  is  holy,  because  it  is  the  basis 
or  foundation  upon  which  the  spiritual  sense  rests,  and 
in  w^hich  it  dwells  and  is  concealed,  as  by  a  cloud, 
even  as  the  soul  dwells  in  and  is  concealed  by  the 
body ;  therefore  in  the  literal  sense  of  the  word,  divine 
truth  is  in  its  fulness,  in  its  sanctity,  and  in  its  power. 
.  .  .  Each  name,  number,  event,  psalm,  parable  or 
prophecy,  in  the  letter,  in  the  spiritual  sense  relates  to 
God's  infinite  love  and  care  for  man  or  to  man's  duty 
to  God.  ...  By  the  aid  of  the  law  of  analogy,  repre- 
sentatives or  correspondence,  that  is,  the  law  of  the 
mutual  relation  existing  between  natural  and  spiritual 
things,  and  which  exists  between  the  works  and  the 
Word  of  God,  every  sentence  in  the  sacred  books  which 
form  the  true  Word  of  God,  from  Genesis  to  Revelation, 
is  seen  to  teach  spiritual  and  living  truths."  ^ 

S.  The  Christian  Church  accepted  without  question 
the  general  estimate  of  the  Old  Testament  Scriptures, 
which  was  entertained  by  the  Jews,  and  naturally 
transferred  it  to  the  writings  which  eventually  consti- 
tuted the  Church  canon.      The  whole  became  a  revel- 

1  Edmund   Swift,   "Manual   of    the   Doctrines    of    tlie    New 
Cliurch,"  pp.  102-104. 


I  o         The  Bible — Theocratic  L ite7^ature. 

ation  from  God.  Its  teachers  did  not  at  once  give 
their  belief  the  form  of  a  dogma,  deliberately  thought 
or  worked  out  by  themselves,  in  the  face  of  dissent 
or  opposition  ;  they  simply  took  for  granted  that  such 
was  the  nature  of  their  sacred  writings.  Nor  was 
there  a  complete  absence  of  differences  of  opinion  on 
the  subject ;  still  less  was  the  general  estimate  extended 
to  every  individual  detail.  Yet  there  can  be  'little 
doubt  that  any  serious  questioning  of  the  full  and 
complete  authority  of  the  Scriptures  as  a  divine  revel- 
ation, would  have  been  resented  and  denounced  as 
deadly  heresy,  by  the  vast  majority  of  the  Christian 
leaders  and  believers.  The  existence  of  a  lofty  con- 
ception of  Scripture  regarded  as  a  whole,  along  with  a 
certain  recognition  of  imperfection  in  details,  might  be 
established  by  a  long  catena  of  quotations.  But  the 
following  examples  will  suffice  for  my  present  purpose. 

Justin  Martyr,  in  the  second  century,  says  : — 
"  Neither  by  nature  nor  by  human  conception,  is  it 
possible  for  men  to  know  things  so  great  and  divine  ; 
but  by  the  gift  which  descended  from  above  on  the 
holy  men  who  had  no  need  of  rhetorical  art,  nor  of 
uttering  anything  in  a  contentious  and  quarrelsome 
manner,  but  to  present  themselves  pure  to  the  energy 
of  the  divine  Spirit,  in  order  that  the  divine  plectrum 
itself  descending  from  heaven,  and  using  righteous 
men  as  an  instrument,  like  a  harp  or  l3're,  might 
reveal  to  us  the  knowledge  of  things  divine  and 
heavenly." 

Athenagoras  too,  in  the  same  century,  in  his  "  Plea 


The  Traditional  Point  of  View.  1 1 

for  Christians,"  uses  the  words: — "I  think  that  you 
also,  with  your  great  zeal  for  knowledge  and  your 
great  attainments  in  learning  cannot  be  ignorant  of 
the  writings  either  of  Moses  or  of  Isaiah  and  Jeremiah 
and  the  other  prophets,  who,  lifted  in  ecstasy  above 
the  natural  operations  of  their  minds  by  the  impulses 
of  the  divine  Spirit,  uttered  the  things  with  which 
they  were  inspired,  the  Spirit  making  use  of  them  as 
a  flute-player  breathes  into  a  flute."  The  assumption 
that  the  Bible  was  God's  Word  rested  on  the  conviction 
that  the  writers  were,  in  a  sense,  passive  instruments 
in  the  hands  of  the  divine  author.  Even  verbal 
inspiration  is  implied  by  the  words  of  IrencBUS^  in 
the  second  century  : — "Matthew  might  have  said  'the 
birth  of  Jesus  was  on  this  wise  ; '  but  the  Holy  Spirit 
foreseeing  corruptors  and  guarding  against  their  frauds 
says  through  Matthew,  '  the  birth  of  Christ  was  on 
this  wise.' "  Yet  the  same  teacher  wrote  a  work  on 
"  The  peculiarities  of  the  Pauline  style,"  in  which  he 
allows  that  Paul  violates  the  rules  of  syntax  in  the 
formation  of  his  sentences,  which  he  attributes  to  the 
swiftness  with  which  he  wrote,  and  the  native 
impetuosity  of  his  mind. 

Origen  again  (born  185),  although  he  considers  all 
the  books  of  the  Bible  to  be  inspired  by  God,  holding 
that  the  fulness  of  the  divine  majesty  pervades  all 
its  parts,  and  that  traces  of  the  wisdom  of  God  are  dis- 
coverable in  every  letter  of  every  inspired  book,  whence 
Christ  Himself  declared  that  not  one  jot  or  tittle  of  the 
1  Iren.  Adv.  User.,  iii.  16,  2. 


1 2         The  Bible — Theocratic  L  itei^atttre. 

law  should  pass  away  till  all  was  fulfilled/  yet  dis- 
tinguished degrees  of  inspiration,  characterises  Paul's 
style  in  the  epistle  to  the  Romans  as  confused,  and 
concedes  the  existence  of  an  irreconcilable  contradiction 
between  Matthew  and  John  in  regard  to  the  last  pass- 
over  journey  of  Jesus.^ 

Another  view  of  the  subject  is,  however,  suggested, 
though  clearly  without  any  idea  of  contradicting  the 
prevalent  one,  by  John  Presbyter  (first  century)  when 
he  says  respecting  Mark  : — ''  He  was  the  interpreter 
of  Peter,  and  carefully  wrote  down  whatever  of  his 
had  mispressed  itself  on  his  meonory,  without  bind- 
ing himself  to  order,  in  the  discourses  and  works  of 
Christ."  3 

A  similar  position  to  this  was  taken  up  also  by 
Augustine,  Chrysostom,  Jerome,  and  indeed  by  almost 
all  the  writers  of  the  Church  down  to  the  Reformation. 
For  whilst  here  and  there  an  approach  is  made  to  a 
freer  mode  of  regarding  the  Scripture,  as  for  example, 
even  by  Thomas  Aquinas,  by  Archbishop  Agobard  of 
Lyon,  in  the  ninth  century,  by  Abselard  and  others ;  * 
yet  on  the  whole  the  presupposition  in  question 
remained  unassailed  when  Scrii^ture  in  its  entirety 
was  spoken  of,  though  as  to  details  it  might  be 
neglected   without  any  apparent  sense  of  real  incon- 


1  Eedepenning,  "  Origenes,"  vol.  i.  259. 

2  See  Tholuck's  Article,  "  Inspiration,"  in  Herzog's  "  Real- 
en  cyclopsedie,"  1st  ed.  for  such  of  the  following  references  as 
are  simply  noted  "  Tlioluck." 

3  Euseb.  Hist.  EccL,  iii.  39.  ^  See  Tholuck. 


The  Traditional  Point  of  View.  1 3 

sistency.      This  position  of  matters  lasted  substantially 
till  the  second  period  of  the  history  of  the  Reformation.^ 

IV.  Lutliers  point  of  view  differed  very  little  from 
that  of  such  predecessors  as  Augustine  and  Jerome. 
When  giving  expression  to  his  sense  of  the  spiritual 
value  of  the  Scriptures  as  the  word  of  redemption,  he 
seems  unable  to  select  terms  too  strong  and  compre- 
hensive ;  yet,  as  is  well  knowD,  at  other  times  and  in 
more  critical  moods,  nothing  could  exceed  the  freedom 
with  which  he  treats  not  only  portions  of  books,  but 
even  whole  books,  all  the  time  apparently  unconscious 
of  any  real  inconsistency. 

Calvin  approached  nearer  to  a  definite  doctrine  on 
the  subject,  speaking  of  the  Scripture  as  having  flowed 
to  us  from  the  very  mouth  of  Deity  f  yet  even  he 
did  not  hesitate  to  acknowledge  historical  and  other 
inaccuracies  in  detail,  treating  them,  however,  as  of  no 
importance  whatever.^ 

The  Lutheran  Confessions  contain  no  formulated 
doctrine  of  Scripture,  though  they  evidently  take  for 
granted  that  they  are  the  Word  of  God ;  those  of  the 
Reformed  Churches  are  more  definite. 

It  was  about  the  middle  of  the  seventeenth  century 
that  the  tacit  presupposition  of  the  previous  Christian 
centuries  first  took  definite  doctrinal  shape  ;  one  too 
of  a  rigidness  that  left  no  room  whatever  for  even  the 
slightest  measure  of  the  freedom  that  had  hitherto 
been  exercised  towards  details  of  the  Scripture  narra- 

^  Cf.  Ladd,  "Doctrine  of  Scrij^ture/'  ii.,  pp.  153 fF. 
2  Inst.,  i.  7,  5.  3  See  Tholuck. 


1 4        The  Bible — Theocratic  L  iter  attire. 

tives.  Lutherans  and  Reformed  alike  seemed  resolved 
that  in  Scripture  they  would  have  a  visible  and 
tangible  representative  of  the  absolutely  infallible 
God,  whom  they  believed  to  be  its  author.  Their 
view  of  the  relation  of  the  Bible  to  God,  lagged  in  no 
wise  behind  that  of  the  Rabbis;  but  they  were 
restrained  by  Christian  sobriety  from  either  speaking 
of,  or  treating  it,  with  the  extravagance  of  which  one 
or  two  examples  were  given  above. 

Independently  of  the  desire  for  a  clear  apprehen- 
sion and  logical  formulation  of  the  position  occupied, 
which  Protestantism  naturally  awakened  and  fostered, 
two  causes  contributed  to  bring  about  this  result. 
The  first,  was  the  taunt  of  Romanists  that  having 
rejected  the  guidance  of  the  infallible  Church,  Pro- 
testants must  be  without  any  certain  knowledge  of 
God  and  the  divine  will.^  The  second,  was  the  rise 
of  enthusiasts,  who,  by  asserting  the  equal,  if  not 
superior  value  and  authority  of  the  inner  light,  of  the 
direct  teachings  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  threatened  to 
produce  individualism,  disintegration,  and  finally  com- 
plete confusion  and  uncertainty.  The  endeavour  was 
accordingly  made  to  meet  both  antagonists  by  teaching 
that  the  Scriptures  are  verbatim  et  literatim  the 
Word  of  God,  and  therefore  possess  absolutely  infallible 
authority.  By  laying  stress  further  on  their  perspica- 
city, sufficiency,  and  so  forth,  the  leaders  of  Protestantism 
flattered  themselves  that  they  had  more  than  met  the 
difficulties  which  had  been  raised. 

1  See  Ladd,  "  Doctrine  of  ScriiDture,"  ii.  196,  for  examples. 


The  Traditional  Point  of  Viezu.  1 5 

What  this  their  doctrine  was,  we  will  now  illustrate 
by  one  or  two  quotations  from  prominent  theo- 
logians, both  of  the  Lutheran  and  Reformed  Churches. 

In  the  Lutheran  Church,  Qiienstedt  defines  the  nature 
of  Scripture  as  follows  : — "  Not  only  the  matters  and 
opinions  contained  in  the  Holy  Scripture,  not  only  the 
sense  of  the  words,  these  latter  being  supplied  each  in 
his  own  way  by  prophets  and  apostles,  were  inspired 
by  the  Holy  Spirit,  but  the  very  phrases  and  words 
were  all  and  severally  supplied,  inspired  and  dictated 
by  the  Holy  Spirit  to  the  sacred  writers.  Not  merely 
the  mysteries  of  the  faith,  or  those  things  which 
appertain  directly  to  saving  faith,  did  the  holy  men  of 
God  write  by  the  inspiration  and  impulse  of  the  Holy 
Ghost,  the  rest,  namely,  historical,  moral,  natural, 
things  being  added  by  themselves  without  the  aid  of 
the  Spirit ;  but  all  things  without  exception,  that  are 
contained  in  the  Scripture."  "All  and  several  things 
which  are  contained  in  the  Sacred  Scriptures,  whether 
they  were  naturally  unknown  before  to  the  sacred 
writers,  or  naturally  knowable  by  them,  or  not  only 
naturally  knowable,  but  even  known  by  them  whether 
of  their  own  motion,  or  otherwise,  or  by  experience  and 
the  ministry  of  the  senses  ;  all  are  to  be  ascribed  to  the 
particular  suggestion,  inspiration,  and  dictation  of  the 
Holy  Ghost."' 

So  too,  in  the  Reformed  Church,  Yoetius,  who  died 
in  1676,  maintains  the  verbal  inspiration  of  Scripture 

1  Quenstedt.  "  Theol.  didact.  polem.,"  quoted  in  Strauss' 
"  Glaubenslehre,"  vol.  i.  p.  124. 


1 6         The  Bible — Theocratic  Literature. 

in  its  strictest  sense.  "  Not  a  word  is  contained  in 
the  Holy  Scriptures  which  was  not  in  the  strictest 
sense  inspired — not  even  the  punctuation  is  to  be 
excepted.  Even  what  the  authors  knew  before  was 
inspired  afresh,  not  indeed  quoad  impressiones  speci- 
erum  intelligihilium,  but  as  to  formal  conception  and 
actual  remembrance."  In  reply  to  the  question 
whether  ordinary  study,  inquiry,  and  premeditation 
were  necessary  to  writing,  he  answers,  "Nego — I 
deny  it.  For  the  Spirit  moved  them  directly,  extra- 
ordinarily, and  infallibly  to  write,  and  inspired  and 
dictated  the  things  to  be  written."^ 

English  theologians  of  this  period  are  no  less 
definite  and  rigid.  Bishop  Jewel,  for  example,  writes, 
"  There  is  no  sentence,  no  clause,  no  word,  no  syllable, 
no  letter,  but  it  is  written  for  thy  instruction." ^  Not 
even  the  "judicious  "  Hooker  takes  up  a  freer  position. 
He  says,  "  They  (the  prophets)  neither  spake  nor 
wrote  any  word  of  their  own,  but  uttered  syllable  by 
syllable  as  the  Spirit  put  it  into  their  mouths,  no 
otherwise  than  the  harp  or  the  lute  doth  give  a  sound 
according  to  the  discretion  of  his  hands  that  holdeth 
and  striketh  it  with  skill." ^ 

In  fact  the  prevailing  doctrine  of  both  Churches 
was  that  the  writers  of  the  Scriptures  were  passive 
instruments  used  by  the  Spirit  of  God — ''  amanuenses 
of  God,"  "hands  of  Christ,"  "scriveners,  notaries,  writers 

1  Tlioluck.    Cf.  Ladd,  ii.  209. 

2  Treatise  of  the  Holy  Scripture,  p.  37,  1607. 

3  Works  (Oxford  Ed.  1841),  vol.  iii.,  Sermon  v.  4. 


The  Traditional  Point  of  View.  1 7 

of  the  Holy  Ghost/'  "  pens,"  ''  such  as  a  flute  is  to  a 
flute-player  "  and  so  forth. ^  Nay,  more,  it  was  pro- 
nounced blasphemous  to  regard  the  Greek  of  the 
New  Testament  as  in  any  way  really  inferior  to  that  of 
the  best  classical  writers ;  still  more  to  charge  its 
writers  with  reasoning  illogically  or  confusedly.^ 

V.  What  was  intended  to  provide  a  sure  and  clear 
support  for  the  Christian  mind,  became  one  of  the 
means  of  stimulatino-  criticism,  and  shakinsf  its  faith. 
The  problem  of  the  precise  nature  of  the  Bible  and  its 
relation  to  God  was  now  definitively  raised — raised  too 
by  those  who  believed  themselves  to  have  finally 
solved  it.  The  period  of  vagueness  is  past  and  gone 
for  ever.  Theologians  who  were  not  only  reverential 
but  candid,  felt  that  the  human  element  was  too  com- 
pletely banished — that,  as  in  the  case  of  the  humanity  of 
Christ  at  an  earlier  period,  so  now  the  human  side  of 
Scripture  was  evacuated  of  reality,  reduced  to  a  mere 
appearance ;  v/hilst  the  more  critical  were  aroused  to 
positive  antagonism.  Accordingly  a  process  set  in, 
which  Strauss,  after  the  manner  of  too  many  critics  and 
assailants  of  Christianity,  has  chosen  to  describe  as  the 
"disintegration  of  the  orthodox  doctrine."  In  the 
sense  of  a  formulated  statement,  reasoned  out,  techni- 
cally exact,  and  recognised  as  such  by  the   Christian 

1  See  Strauss'  "  Glaubenslehre,"  x.  125. 

2  Among  modem  advocates  of  this  old  view,  who,  however, 
are  more  modern  in  their  presentation  of  the  subject  than  they 
are  willing  to  allow,  may  be  mentioned  Haldane,  "  Divine  Eeve- 
lation  ;  "  Gaussen,  "  Plenary  Inspiration  ;"  Cunningham,  "  Syste- 
matic Theology  ; "  Wangemann,  "  Glaubenslehre." 

C 


1 8        The  Bible — Theocratic  Liter atiu^e. 

Church,  there  never  has  been  such  a  thing  as  an 
''  orthodox  doctrine "  either  of  Scripture  or  of  any 
other  point  of  the  Christian  faith — at  all  events  not 
outside  the  Eomish  Church.  The  creeds  of  the 
several  Churches  which  constitute  Evangelical  Protest- 
antism, express  more  or  less  definitely  their  belief; 
but  an  article  of  a  creed  is  not  doctrine  save  in  a 
loose  sense ;  certainly  not  in  the  sense  required  to 
give  poiDt  to  Strauss'  statement.  Theologies,  systems 
of  doctrine,  have  been  and  must  be  constantly  chang- 
ing ;  for  each  theologian  in  turn  has  sought  and  must 
seek  to  state  more  carefully,  and  explain  and  correlate 
more  satisfactorily  than  his  predecessor,  the  faith 
common  to  both.  Instead,  therefore,  of  speaking  of  a 
disintegration  of  some  imaginary  absolute  standard,  it 
would  be  more  correct  to  speak  of  a  continuation  of 
the  efforts  to  arrive  at  a  view  of  the  Scripture,  which 
should  do  justice  alike  to  the  human  and  divine 
elements,  whose  presence  in  it,  the  creeds  of  the 
Church  have  always  recognised,  without  attempting  to 
explain. 

A  book  rather  than  a  chapter  would  be  necessary 
to  trace  out  all  the  modifications  to  which  the  doctrine 
laid  down  by  successive  Lutheran  and  Reformed  divines, 
— the  first  systematic  attempt,  be  it  not  forgotten,  to 
settle  the  question, — was,  and  indeed  still  is  being,  sub- 
jected. I  must  therefore  limit  myself  to  brief  notices 
of  some  of  the  chief  variations,  and  that  too  rather  in 
logical  than  in  chronological  order,  though  the  two  may 
in  the  main  coincide. 


The  Traditional  Point  of  View.  19 


CHAPTER  HI. 

THE   TRADITIONAL    POINT   OF   VIEW — continued. 

VI.  "VTIEWS  like  those  adduced  under  the  last 
'  head  have  been  becoming  rarer  and  rarer  ; 
at  the  same  time,  there  is  at  present  little  prospect 
of  a  positive  agreement  being  reached  amongst  thinkers 
who  are  convinced  of  the  untenableness  of  the  old 
position. 

1.  As  might  have  been  expected,  criticism  fastened 
first  upon  the  exaggeration  in  relation  to  what  may  be 
termed  the  form  or  vehicle,  as  distinguished  from  the 
matter  or  contents  of  the  Bible.  Absolute  perfection 
had  been  ascribed  to  the  text  of  the  Bible,  some  even 
going  the  length  of  maintaining  that  the  original  text 
had  been  supernaturally  preserved  in  infallible  purity. 
The  very  letters  and  vowel  points  were  held  to  have 
been  inspired  and  supernaturally  preserved  intact. 
The  style  of  the  Bible  was  asserted  to  be  free  from  all 
spot  of  solecism  or  barbarism ;  for  to  charge  the  Holy 
Spirit  with  having  written  bad  Greek,  was  little  short 
of  blasphemy.^ 

Now  many  who  held  that  the  contents  of  the  Bible 
1  See  Ladd,  ii.  177,  182,  cf.  188. 


20         The  Bible —  Theocratic  Literature, 

were  from  God,  felt  themselves  unable,  besides  deeming 
it  unnecessary,  to  go  the  above  length  relatively  to  the 
mere  text.  From  the  recognition  of  defects  in  the 
former,  they  might  and  did  shrink  ;  to  the  recognition 
of  defects  in  the  latter,  intellectual  honesty  forced 
them. 

One  of  the  first  steps  was  accordingly  to  allow  that 
the  Holy  Ghost  in  no  wise  interfered  with,  or  con- 
trolled, the  individuality  of  the  writers  of  Scripture 
in  matters  of  style.  Each  one  wrote  as  his  tempera- 
ment, special  intellectual  capability,  previous  circum- 
stances and  education  natural^  impelled  him  to  write. 

The  next  concession  related  to  the  question,  as  to 
how  far  the  words  were  given  by  the  Spirit  ?  In  view 
of  the  actual  variations  in  the  text  of  the  sacred 
writings,  it  began  to  be  felt  that  the  individual  words, 
the  vocabulary,  must  have  been  determined  by  the 
writers  themselves;  whilst  the  fact  that  notwithstanding 
the  enormous  number  of  the  various  readings,  the 
sense  of  Scripture  is  not  affected,  seemed  to  warrant 
the  assertion  that  the  combinations  of  words  into  wholes 
conveying  a  definite  sense,  must  have  been  the  work  of 
the  Holy  Ghost.  This  view  of  the  matter,  which 
many  have  advanced  with  more  or  less  clearness,  has 
been  most  definitely  formulated  as  follows  : — "  Not 
the  single  letters,  syllables,  and  words,  apart  from  con- 
text and  connection,  are  to  be  regarded  as  directly 
inspired  ;  for  Scripture  contains  not  the  words,  but 
the  word  of  God.  In  the  former  case,  divine  provi- 
dence could  not  have  permitted  these  sacred  words  to 


The  Traditional  Point  of  View.  2 1 

b3  handed  down  with  various  readings,  necessitating 
a  special  inspiration  in  order  to  determine  the  original 
text.  TTo^YZ-inspiration,  on  the  contrary,  God  Himself 
has  guaranteed  by  the  very  history  of  the  text  itself, 
inasmuch  as  the  revealed  contents  of  Scripture  have 
remained,  as  is  generally  allowed,  intact,  notwith- 
standins:  the  immense  number  of  various  readinofs."^ 

Others,  asfain,  held  that  the  vehicle  of  the  divine 
revelations, — in  other  w^ords,  the  vocabulary,  the 
sentences,  the  style, — was  iDfluenced  by  the  Holy 
Ghost  only  in  so  far  as,  in  virtue  of  the  unity  of  the 
mind  and  its  faculties.  His  revealing,  enlightening, 
and  quickening  action  could  not  but  extend  also  to 
the  language  used.  We  all  know  that  in  our  higher 
moments  words  present  themselves  in  unusual  num- 
bers, variety,  and  aptness,  and  our  own  feeling  for 
them  and  control  over  them  are  heightened.^  Why 
should  not  this  be  in  a  special  degree  the  experience 
of  men  whom  the  Spirit  of  God  was  inspiring  ?  ^ 
Even  those  who  hold  this  position  might  consistently 
grant,  that  where  God  actually  spoke,  the  words 
recorded  may  be  His  words,  verbatim  et  literatim, — 
as  for  example  the  ten  commandments,  or  the  words 
spoken  of  Christ,  "  This  is  my  Son,  my  chosen ;  hear 
ye  him."-^ 

Those  who  deny  that  the  Holy  Ghost  exercised  any 

iPhilippi,  "  Glaubenslehre,"  i.  184  ff.  Cf.  Rothe,  p.  258; 
Tholuck,  p.  691.     Compare  also  Burgon,  Rawlinson,  and  others. 

-  Verbaqiie  provisani  rem  non  invita  sequuntur  (Matter  fore- 
seen, words  will  not  unreadily  follow)  Hor.  Ars.  Poet.,  311. 

3  Compare  Martensen,  "  Dogmatik,"  378.  ^  Luke  ix.  35. 


22         The  Bible — -.Theocratic  Literature. 

direct  and  special  influence  at  all  on  the  sacred 
writers,  must  of  course  refuse  to  allow  that  He  had 
anything  to  do  with  their  words  ; — but  with  this 
school  we  are  not  now  concerned. 

2.  But  inquiry  with  regard  to  the  contents  of  the 
Scriptures  had  not  been  finally  put  to  rest.  On  the 
contrary,  it  was  almost  violently  evoked  by  the 
extravagance  of  the  assertion,  that  not  only  what  was 
unknown  or  unknowable,  but  even  what  was  or  might 
have  been  known  to  the  sacred  writers,  was  suggested 
and  dictated  by  the  Holy  Ghost.  Attention  was 
accordingly  next  concentrated  on  the  relation  of  the 
contents  of  the  Scriptures  to  God.  The  problem  was 
approached  first  from  what  may  be  termed  the  human 
side,  then  from  the  divine. 

(1.)  It  scarcely  needs  remarking  that  in  the  language 
just  referred  to  there  -is  at  one  and  the  same  moment 
both  a  recognition  and  a  denial  of  the  distinction 
between  a  human  and  a  divine  element  in  the  Scrip- 
tures,— a  recognition  in  that  it  is  actually  mentioned, 
— a  denial  in  that  the  human,  no  less  than  the  divine 
element  proper,  is  ascribed  to  the  action  of  the  Holy 
Ghost.  This  obvious  inconsistency  called  for  rectifica- 
tion ;  and  the  Church  set  to  work  to  overthrow  the 
monophysitism  into  which  its  teachers  had  fallen,  by 
reasserting  the  reality  of  the  human  element.  It  did 
not,  however,  and  could  not  be  expected,  to  reach  its 
goal  at  one  bound.  In  this,  as  in  other  domains, 
human  thought  advanced  slowly  and  often  by  circuit- 
ous routes.      And  we  may  say  with  regard  to  apparent 


The  Traditional  Point  of  View.  23 

errors  in  tbe  Christian  Church  what  is  said  with 
regard  to  the  nations  which  the  Israelites  had  to  drive 
out  of  Palestine  :  "  The  Lord  thy  God  will  cast  out 
those  nations  before  thee  by  little  and  little  :  thou 
mayest  not  consume  them  at  once,  lest  the  lands 
become  desolate,  and  the  beasts  of  the  field  increase 
upon  thee."  ^ 

By  the  recognition  of  imperfections  in  the  Scrip- 
tures, Prse-Reformation  waiters  had  of  course  implicitly 
allowed  the  existence  of  a  human  element  in  the 
Scriptures,  but,  as  w^as  remarked  before,  they  did  it 
naively,  without  appreciating  the  bearing  of  what 
they  did  on  the  presumption  with  which  they  started. 
In  fact  the  occasion  for  the  development  of  a  theory 
regarding  the  Scriptures  had  not  yet  arisen.  Thus, 
for  example,  Jerome  says,  when  referring  to  the  account 
of  the  standing  still  of  the  sun  in  the  Book  of  Joshua, 
*'  Many  things  are  spoken  in  Scripture  according  to 
the  judgment  of  those  times  wherein  they  were  acted, 
and  not  according  to  that  which  truth  contained  ; " 
and  again,  "  St.  Paul  does  not  know  how  to  develop 
a  hyperbaton  or  how  to  conclude  a  sentence,  and  as 
he  had  to  do  wdth  rude  uncultivated  persons,  he  has 
availed  himself  of  conceptions  which  (if  he  had  not 
taken  care  to  let  us  know  beforehand  that  he  spoke 
after  the  manner  of  man)  might  have  given  umbrage 
to  persons  of  good  sense." ^  So  too  Chrysostom,  though 
declaring    his    conviction    that    every    enantio-pliony 

1  Dent.  vii.  22,  and  Exod.  xxiii.  30. 

2  Jerome,  "  Comment,  on  Ep.  to  Ga1.,"  iii.  1  ;  Eph.  iii.  1. 


24         The  Bible — Theocratic  LiteraUtre. 

(contradiction)  will  turn  out  to  be  an  enantio^hany 
(contradiction  in  seeming),  says  witli  regard  to  Paul's 
discourse  in  Acts  xxvi.  Q,  "He  speaks  after  the 
manner  of  men,  and  is  not  always  a  partaker  of  grace, 
but  is  permitted  to  introduce  something  of  his  own."  -^ 

Indeed,  thus  writing,  they  went  further  than  they 
themselves  meant  to  do,  in  so  far  as  they  would,  most 
probably,  have  been  unwilling  to  follow  their  concession 
out  to  its  legitimate  results.  They  anticipated,  in 
point  of  fact,  the  more  advanced  of  the  present  day, 
and  must  consistently  have  counted  the  seventeenth 
century  divines  laggards. 

The  first  step  taken  was  to  distinguish  more  care- 
fully than  had  been  done  before,  if  not  indeed 
altogether  afresh,  between  revelation  and  assistance. 
In  this  way  it  was  hoped  to  preserve  the  divine 
character  and  authority  of  the  Scripture  as  a  whole, 
whilst  allowing  that  at  all  events  a  portion  of  its 
contents  was  supplied  by  the  human  organs  of  the 
Spirit  of  God. 

Calixtus,  following  in  the  steps  of  Roman  Catholic 
theologians,  took  up  this  position.  He  says  :  "  What- 
ever presented  itself  to  the  senses  of  the  writers,  or 
was  known  to  them  from  other  sources,  God  did  not 
strictly  reveal ;  nevertheless  He  so  governed  them  by 
His  assistance  that  they  should  not  write  anything 
alien  from  the  truth." ^ 

1  Chrysostom,  Oi^p.  T.,  vii.  p.  51,  in  Tkoluck.  So  also  Thomas 
Aquinas. 

2  Calixt.  Responsio,  etc.,  de  infallib.  Pontif.  Thes.  72  et  74,  in 
Tholuck. 


The  Traditional  Point  of  View.  2  5 

This  suggestion  bore  an  ample  harvest.  Theo- 
logians, both  Continental  and  British,  both  Lutheran 
and  Reformed,  proceeded  to  work  out  the  idea  of  the 
divine  '' assistentia,"  and  to  distinguish  various  kinds 
and  degrees  thereof-^ 

Amongst  recent  writers  who  have  devoted  attention 
to  this  point  we  may  specially  mention  Dr.  Henderson 
and  Dr.  Lee.  According  to  the  former  there  were  the 
following  operations  : — '^  First,  the  sacred  penmen 
were  the  subject  of  a  divine  incitement  when  they 
proceeded  to  commit  to  writing  those  matters  which  it 
was  the  will  of  God  should  be  permanently  preserved." 
"  Secondly,  there  was  an  invigoration  (or  elevation) 
experienced  by  the  inspired  writers,  by  which  their 
natural  faculties  were  elevated  above  the  imperfections 
which  would  have  incapacitated  them  from  receiving 
those  communications  of  a  higher  order  Avith  which 
they  were  favoured ;  and  by  which  also  they  were 
enabled  perfectly  to  recollect,  and  infallibly  to  reason 
respecting  truths  and  facts,  with  which  they  were 
previously  acquainted,  but  which,  owing  to  the  lapse 
of   time    or  the   decay  of   mental  vigour,  they  were 

1  Amongst  these  may  be  mentioned  Grotius,  "  Votiim  de  Pace  "  ; 
Le  Clerc,  "Sentiments  de  quelques  theologiens  de  Hollande,  &c."; 
Lowth,  "Vindication  of  the  Inspiration  of  the  Old  and  New 
Test,"  1692  ;  Clarke,  "  Divine  Authority  of  the  Holy  Scriptures," 
1699  ;  Baxter,  "Methodus  theol.  Christ,"  1681  ;  Doddridge,  "Dis- 
sertation on  the  Inspiration  of  the  New  Test."  Doddridge 
distinguishes  inspiration  of  "  superintendency,"  "  elevation,"  and 
"suggestion."  PfafF,  "  Institutiones  DogmaticcT,"  1719.  Also 
Stennett,  Parry,  Dick,  J.  Pye  Smith,  Home,  Wilson. 


26         The  Bible — Theocratic  Literatitre. 

unfit,  without  such  supernatural  aid,  accurately  and 
fully  to  make  known  to  the  world."  "  In  the  third 
place,  the  divine  influence  enjoyed  by  the  penman  was 
that  of  simple,  yet  infallible  superintendence.  By 
this  is  meant  the  watchful  care  which  was  exercised 
over  them,  when,  in  performing  their  task,  they  made 
use  of  their  own  observation,  or  availed  themselves  of 
their  previous  knowledge  of  existing  documents,  or  of 
other  external  sources  to  which  they  had  access.  In 
virtue  of  this  divine  guardianship  they  were  preserved 
from  all  error  or  mistake,  and  committed  to  writing 
nothing  but  what  was  deemed  ^Droper  by  Infinite 
Wisdom." 

"  FovMJily,  Guidance  was  another  of  the  modes  in 
which  divine  inspiration  operated  upon  the  penmen 
of  Scripture.  ...  By  the  influence  thus  exerted  they 
were  directed  into  truth  of  doctrine, — in  the  selection, 
order,  and  combiDation  of  facts  to  be  narrated,  argu- 
ments to  be  used,  directions  and  admonitions  to  be 
tendered,  decisions  to  be  given,  and  so  forth."  "  The 
last  and  highest  species  of  inspiration  with  which 
we  believe  the  sacred  penmen  to  have  been  endowed 
is  that  of  direct  Revelation,  by  means  of  which  con- 
ceptions were  produced  in  their  minds  without  the 
interposition  of  any  human  agency  whatever."  ^ 

Dr.  Lee  is  in  so  far  clearer  than  the  last-mentioned 

writer,  as  he  tries — though  not  very  successfully — to 

distinguish  between  Revelation  and  Icspiration  before 

determiniijg  the  nature  of  the  influence  exerted   by 

1  Henderson  on  "Divine  InsiDiration,"  pp.  312-326. 


The  Traditional  Point  of  View.  2  7 

the  Spirit  on  the  sacred  writers.  The  following 
quotations  will  fairly  set  forth  his  views  as  to  both 
points.  By  revelation,  on  the  one  hand,  he  under- 
stands a  ''  direct  communication  from  God  to  man, 
either  of  such  knowdedge  as  man  could  not  of  himself 
attain  to  ;  or  of  information  which,  although  it  might 
have  been  attained  in  the  ordinary  way,  was  not,  in 
point  of  fact,  from  whatever  cause,  known  to  the 
person  who  received  the  revelation.  By  inspiration, 
on  the  other  hand,  I  understand  that  actuating  energy 
of  the  Holy  Spirit,  in  whatever  degree  or  manner  it 
may  have  been  exercised,  by  which  the  human  agents 
chosen  by  God  have  officially  proclaimed  His  will  by 
word  of  mouth,  or  have  committed  to  writing  the 
several  portions  of  the  Bible."  ^ 

He  then  proceeds  to  determine  the  nature  of  the 
Spirit's  influence  on  the  sacred  writers  :  "  We  may 
distinguish,  in  the  first  place,  the  stage  in  which  the 
Holy  Spirit  jyrevenU — that  is,  prompts — to  the  task 
of  writing ;  the  outward  channel  through  which  such 
suggestion  was  usually  conveyed  being  the  various 
occasions  or  motives  which,  in  what  men  call  the 
ordinary  course  of  things,  have  led  to  the  composition 
of  most  of  the  books  of  the  Bible.  The  task  having 
been  thus  undertaken,  in  the  second  stage  the  Holy 
Spirit  ojieraUs — that  is,  selects  from  the  mass  of 
materials  which  were  at  the  writer's  command,  what- 
ever may  have  been  their  character,  whether  naturally 
known  or  supernaturally  revealed,  and  so  disposes  the 
^  "  Inspiration  of  Scripture,"  p.  27  ff. 


28        The  Bible — Theocratic  Literature. 

course  of  his  labours  that  St.  Paul  could  say  of  certain 
parts  of  Jewish  history  that  '  they  are  written  for  our 
admonition'  (1  Cor.  x.  11).  In  the  third  stage,  the 
Holy  Spirit  co-oioerates  with  the  natural  faculties  of 
the  mind  [in  a  dynamical  manner] ;  the  result  of  this 
co-operation  being  the  different  books  which  in  their 
combination  constitute  the  Bible,  and  which  have  been 
moulded  into  unity  by  the  power  of  the  Spirit."  ^ 

The  distinctions  thus  drawn  are,  I  believe,  in  the 
main  correct.  Operations  or  influences,  too,  such  as 
those  described,  have  been  at  work  within  the  sphere 
to  which  the  Scriptures  relate  ;  yet,  partly  owing  to 
the  faulty  general  point  of  view,  and  partly  owing  to 
defects  of  classification,  the  scheme  as  a  whole  is  con- 
fused and  unsatisfactory. 

The  movement  accordingly  has  not  stopped.  Most 
Christian  writers  have  gone  on  during  the  present 
century  to  allow  that,  at  all  events  as  regards  matters 
of  natural  science,  the  Scriptures  reflect  the  state  of 
knowledge  at  the  time  when  they  were  written. 
Some  hold  this  to  be  the  case  also  in  relation  to  the 
science  of  mind,  though  others  are  still  inclined  to 
look  to  the  Bible  for  a  divinely-revealed  system  of 
psychology.  And  there  is  now  a  wide-spread  disposi- 
tion to  maintain  that  whatever  has  no  direct  bearing 
either  on  the  generation  or  the  sustentation  of  the 
religious  life,  as  such,  is  as  human  as  the  contents  of 
any  ordinary  book  written  with  the  sympathy  and 
conscientious  care  that  must  have  characterised  men 
1  "  Inspiration  of  Scripture,"  p.  31  f. 


The  Traditional  Point  of  View,  29 

intrusted  with  the  sacred  mission  of  witnessing  for 
God  and  His  Christ. 

With  many  the  distinction  has  found  great  favour, 
which  was  first  drawn  by  Grotius  (1641)  and  Le 
Clerc  (1693-1708),  between  containing  or  recording 
and  being  a  revelation.  The  former  denies  plainly 
that  the  Holy  Ghost  gave  Himself  much  trouble  about 
chronological  and  similar  matters;  maintains  that  for 
the  histories  both  of  the  Old  and  New  Testament 
inspiration  was  superfluous ;  and  represents  the 
inspiration  of  the  Apostles  as  a  devout  movement  of 
soul,  which  occupied,  excited  and  strengthened  their 
minds  in  their  meditation  and  teaching  of  the  doctrine 
of  Christ.  Revelations  were  received  by  inspiration  ; 
but  new  inspiration  was  not  needed  for  their  com- 
munication.^ On  this  view,  the  vehicle  or  form,  plus 
of  course,  what  the  writers  could  know  of  themselves, 
is  the  human ;   the  revealed  and  inspired  is  the  divine. 

The  view  set  forth  by  Professor  Ladd  in  his  work  on 
the  ''  Doctrine  of  Scripture  "  is  akin  to,  if  not  identical 
with  this — the  ''word  of  God"  which  is  the  divine 
element  is  contained  or  recorded  in  the  "  word "  or 
human  element.^ 

But  a  satisfactory  presentation  even  of  this  side  of 
the  subject  has  not  yet  been  effected ;  nor  will  it  be, 
until  the  entire  point  of  view  from  which  the  Bible  is 
approached  has  undergone  material  modification. 

(2.)  This  leads  me  to  note  that  co-ordinately  with 
the  efforts  to  re-assert  the  reality  of  the  human  element 
1  Ladd,  ii.  198.  2  See  Note  B. 


30        The  Bible — Theocratic  Literature. 

in  the  Scripture,  attempts  were  put  forth  to  determine 
more  exactly  the  nature  of  the  divine  element.  The 
two  processes,  indeed,  ran  so  into  each  other  that  it  is 
impossible  properly  to  separate  them.  All  Scripture 
is  given  by  inspiration  of  God, — this  is  the  assump- 
tion : — but  not  all  in  the  same  sense.  Concerning  what 
portions  must  we  say  that  they  really  were  suggested, 
revealed,  dictated  by  the  Holy  Ghost  ?  What  are  the 
specifically  divine  contents  of  the  Bible  ? 

Thomas  Aquinas  amongst  Prse-reformation  writers 
already  started  this  inquiry.  According  to  him  those 
things  only  are  strictly  revealed  which  concern  redemp- 
tion, and  the  safety  of  the  human  race.^  Elsewhere 
he  attributes  the  truths  of  faith  to  divine  influence  ; 
but  distinguishes  between  what  belongs  to  faith  directe 
et  pi'incipaliter,  as  the  "  articles  of  faith,"  and  what 
belongs  only  indirecte  et  secundaria,  as  those  matters 
whose  denial  would  involve  the  corruption  of  one  or 
the  other  article  of  faith.  Of  the  latter  kind  are,  in 
his  view,  such  historical  facts  as  that  Abraham  had 
two  sons,  that  the  dead  man  who  touched  Elisha's 
bones  was  restored  to  life  (2  Kings  xiii.  21),  and  so 
forth. 

This  also  was  the  general  position  taken  up  by  the 
Protestant  theologians.  But  the  need  for  a  more  exact 
definition  of  the  nature  of  these  truths  or  articles  of 
faith  and  their  relation  to  or  place  in  the  midst  of  the 
human  element  of  the  Scriptures,  made  itself  more 
and  more  felt,  and  efforts  in  great  variety  were  put 
1  Tholiick. 


The  Traditional  Point  of  View.  3 1 

forth  to  accomplish  the  task,  both  by  Continental 
and  British  divines. 

Richard  Baxter  (1615-1691)  treats  the  subject 
with  the  freedom  and  reverence  which  generally  char- 
acterised him.  His  remarks  are  as  suggestive  as  they 
are  interesting. 

"  The  Scripture  is  like  a  man's  body,  where  some 
parts  are  but  for  the  preservation  of  the  rest,  and  may 
be  maimed  without  death  ;  the  sense  is  the  soul  of 
Scripture,  and  the  letter  but  the  body  or  vehicle.  The 
doctrine  of  the  Creed,  Lord's  Prayer,  and  Decalogue 
and  Baptism,  and  Lord's  Supper  is  the  vital  part,  and 
Christianity  itself  The  Old  Testament  letter  is  that 
vehicle  which  is  as  imperfect  as  the  revelation  of 
those  times  was."^  Elsewhere,  with  his  usual 
boldness  and  freedom,  he  goes  the  length  of  main- 
taining that  ''  if  the  Scriptures  were  but  the  writings 
of  honest  men,  that  were  subject  to  mistakes  and 
contradictions  in  the  manner  and  circumstances,  j^et 
they  might  afford  us  a  full  certainty  of  the  substance 
of  Christianity  and  of  the  miracles  wrought  to  confirm 
the  doctrine."  This  is  a  position  which  many  hold 
at  the  present  moment,  and  which  it  is  fair  to  urge 
over  against  those  who  doubt  a  jyriori  the  possibility 
or  fact  of  inspiration.  As  he  says  afterwards  in  the 
same  connection  : — "  The  fathers  when  they  disputed 
with  heathens,  did  first  prove  the  truth  of  Christian 

1  "Catecliising  of  Families,"  cli.  vi.  2.  11.,  quoted  l3y  Ladd,  ii.  212. 
Tlie  comparison  here  employed  may  be  found  also  in  Pliilo,  "  De 
Vita  Contempl,"  see  Lee,  "  Inspiration,"  p.  54,  note. 


32         The  Bible — Theocratic  Literature. 

religion,  before  they  came  to  prove  the  divine  authority 
of  the  Scripture,  not  that  we  are  at  any  such  uncertainty 
as  if  the  Scriptures  were  not  infallible  and  divine."  ^ 

In  the  determination  of  the  properly  divine  element 
of  Scripture,  theologians  were  and  still  are  frequently 
influenced  by  a  too  intellectualistic  conception  of 
religion  and  Christianity.  Hence  the  stress  laid  on 
the  mysteries  unveiled  by  revelation,  on  the  truths 
above  reason,  on  the  prophecies  of  things  to  come.^ 
It  was  this  mode  of  treating  the  divine  element  in 
Scripture  that  helped  to  call  forth  the  rationalism 
and  deism  of  the  eighteenth  century,  and  supplies  the 
key  to  Lessing's  position  that  revelation  anticijDated 
for  purposes  of  education  what  human  reason  would 
eventually  have  discovered  for  itself.  Neither  the 
defenders  of  revelation  nor  its  critics  and  assailants 
fully  understood  what  they  were  doing;  but  fragments 
of  the  truth  are  as  usual  to  be  found  alike  in  the 
affirmations  and  denials  of  both  sides. 

In  the  first  quarter  of  the  present  century  ground 
was  broken  for  what  is  coming  to  be  designated  the 
Christological  or  Christocentric  mode  of  regarding  the 
Scriptures  by  the  German  theologian  Tivesten^  who 
says  : — "  The  nearer  or  more  remote  connection  with 
Christ  as  the  centre  of  our  faith,  offers  a  standard 
according  to  which  we  can  distinguish  what  is  more 
or  less  essential  for  the  Christian   consciousness,  and 

1  See  Note  C  in  Appendix. 

2  See  Pfaff  in  his  "  Institutiones  Dogmaticfe,"  1719. 

3  "  Dogmatik  der  Evang.  Lutb.  Kirche,"  1826-37. 


The  Traditional  Point  of  View.  '^Ty 

what  therefore  is  to  be  considered  as  more  mediately  or 
more  immediately  under  the  influence  of  the  Holy 
Ghost;  and  it  is  precisely  hence  that  the  difference 
between  the  Old  and  New  Testaments  and  their 
various  constituents,  with  respect  to  inspiration,  may 
be  deduced  and  justified."  ''Inspiration  relates  also 
to  the  words,  but  only  so  far  as  the  choice  and  use 
thereof  are  connected  with  the  inner  life  ;  also  to  the 
historical,  but  only  so  far  as  it  is  of  significance  for 
the  Christian  consciousness."^  This  may  be  regarded 
as  a  revival  of  Luther's  principle  that  Christ,  the 
centre  of  Holy  Scripture,  is  the  real  test  of  canonicity; 
that  any  book — e.g.,  like  James,  which  does  not  directly 
or  indirectly  point  to  Christ  is  to  be  ejected.^ 

This  view  of  the  matter  is  most  fully  elaborated  by 
Lange  in  a  series  of  propositions  of  which  the  first 
runs  : — "  Every  sacred  writing  is  in  its  religious  centre 
and  vital  kernel,  thoroughly  christological  and  inspired; 
towards  the  periphery  of  its  view  of  the  world  it  may 
be  marked  by  a  definite  stamp  of  the  human. "^ 

The  position  of  one  of  the  most  recent  and  able 
writers  on  the  subject  is  the  following  : — "  Revelation 
is  one  thing,  Scripture  is  another,  though  closely 
related  thing,  being  in  truth  its  record,  interpretation, 
and  reflection."*  "Revelation  does  not  mean  causing 
a  sacred  book  to  be  written  for  the  religious   instruc- 

1  Quoted  in  Grimm's  "  Institutio  Theologicae  Dogmaticse,"  etc., 
1869,  p.  122.     See  Note  D  in  Appendix. 

2  Dorner's  "  Gescliichte  der  Prot.  Theologie,"  p.  246. 

3  "  Pliilos.  Dogmatik,"  p.  548. 

*  Bruce's  "  Chief  End  of  Eevelation,"  p.  53. 


34        The  Bible — Theocratic  Literature, 

tion  of  mankind.  It  signifies  God  manifesting  Himself 
in  the  history  of  the  world,  in  a  supernatural  manner, 
and  for  a  special  purpose,  manifesting  Himiself ;  for  the 
proper  subject  of  revelation  is  God."  ''  The  revelation 
recorded  in  the  Scrij^tures  is  before  all  things,  a  self- 
manifestation  of  God  as  the  God  of  grace.  In  that 
revelation  God  appears  as  one  who  cherishes  a  gracious 
purpose  towards  the  human  race.  The  revelation 
consists  not  in  the  mere  intimation  of  the  purpose,  but 
more  especially  in  the  slow,  but  steadfast  execution  of 
it,  by  a  connected  series  of  transactions  which  all  point 
in  one  direction,  and  at  length  reach  their  goal  in  the 
realisation  of  the  end  contemplated  from  the  first.  "^ 
After  referring  to  the  more  rigid  doctrine  known  as 
Verbal  Inspiration  he  goes  on  to  say,  ''  The  conflicts 
in  which  this  view  has  involved  believers  in  revelation 
and  science  in  its  onward  progress,  are  so  familiar  to 
all,  that  it  is  not  necessary  to  speak  of  them  particu- 
larly. Suffice  it  to  say,  that  these  collisions  have 
gradually  taught  faith  the  necessity  of  caution  in  the 
claims  which  she  advances  in  behalf  of  the  Bible,  and 
led  to  the  general  adoption  of  the  position  that  the 
revelation  contained  in  the  holy  book  relates  to 
distinctively  moral  and  religious  truth,  that  it  is  not 
intended  to  make  known  the  secrets  of  the  universe, 
and  that  when  these  Divine  writings  have  occasion  to 
speak  of  natural  phenomena,  they  do  so,  not  in  scien- 
tific, but  in  popular  language.  "^ 

The  view  thus  expressed,  is  doubtless  substantially 
1  Bruce's  "  Chief  End  of  Eevelation,"  p.  58.         2  jj^-^_^  p_  7^ 


The  Traditional  Point  of  View.  35 

that  which  is  now  most  generally  accepted.  It  bears, 
however,  its  share  of  evidence  to  the  statement  with 
which  I  set  out,  that  the  treatment  of  Scripture  by  those 
who  at  all  recognised  its  possession  of  a  divine  character, 
has  throughout  been  dominated  by  the  idea  of  revelation, 
whether  in  the  more  intellectualistic  form  of  an  earlier 
joeriod  and  of  the  Romish  Church  still,  or  in  the  more 
historical  form,  which,  following  in  the  steps  of  many 
eminent  German  theologians,  Dr.  Bruce  has  so  aptly 
expounded.^ 

1  Prof.  G.  F.  Wriglit,  of  Oberlin,  lias  recently  published  an  ex- 
cellent little  book,  entitled  "  The  Divine  Authority  of  the  Bible," 
which  summarises  in  a  very  clear  way  the  evidences  bearing  on 
the  subject.  His  theory  of  inspiration  "  simply  involves  the  per- 
fection of  the  Bible  for  its  designed  purpose,  which  is  as  already 
remarked  to  give  to  the  world  a  permanent,  adequate,  intelligible, 
and  authoritative  written  revelation  of  religious  truth."  Owing 
to  the  difference  between  my  point  of  view  and  his,  I  am 
constantly  compelled  to  criticise  what,  put  in  another  way,  I 
should  probably  accept. 


36        The  Bible — Theocratic  Literatiti^e. 


CHAPTER  lY. 

THE    HISTORICAL    POINT    OF    VIEW. 

I.  A  LONGSIDE  of  the  point  of  view,  to  whose 
Jl\.  historical  illustration  the  last  two  chapters 
were  devoted,  there  has  been  from  a  very  early  period, 
if,  indeed,  not  from  the  beginning,  another,  of  a 
different  kind,  which  may  be  designated  the  liistorical 
point  of  view.  In  other  words,  the  Biblical  books 
have  been  treated  as  sources  from  which  to  draw  a 
knowledge  of  the  life  of  the  Hebrew  nation.  They 
were  recognised  therefore  implicitly  as  having  grown 
out  of,  and  as  representing  the  life  of  the  people,  very 
much  as  Greek  literature  grew  out  of  and  represented 
the  life  of  the  Greek  people.  Philo,  for  example, 
wrote  a  life  of  Moses,  based,  of  course,  on  the  Old 
Testament  narratives,  though  his  addiction  to  allegory 
deprives  it  of  historical  worth.  Josephus  too  wrote  a 
work  on  Jewish  Antiquities,  in  the  compilation  of 
which  he  made  use  of  the  writings  of  the  Old  Testa- 
ment, just  as  he  made  use  of  other  sources  which  are 
no  longer  accessible  to  us  in  these  days.  Had  he 
been  treating  of  Roman  or  Greek  antiquities,  he 
would  have  made  a  similar  use  of  Roman  or  Greek 


The  Historical  Point  of  Viezu.  37 

writings.  And  this  notwithstanding  that  he  regarded 
Scripture  as  a  divine  revelation. 

The  Egyptian  Manetho  (280  B.C.),  as  well  as  the 
Greek  writers  Herodotus,  Strabo,  Diodorus  of  Sicily, 
and  the  Roman  Justin  and  Tacitus,  may  have  used  the 
Old  Testament  for  similar  historical  purposes,  without 
regarding  it  as  having  had  in  any  sense  a  different 
origin  from  the  literature  of  their  own  peoples.^ 

Eusebius^  (born  about  260  or  270),  called  "The 
Father  of  Church  History  and  the  Christian  Herodotus," 
gave  an  account  of  the  history  of  the  Jews  as  well  as 
of  other  nations,  in  his  Chronicle  or  History  of  the 
World,  and  of  the  life  of  Christ  and  His  AjDostles  in 
the  Ecclesiastical  History.  He  must  therefore  have 
gone  to  the  Scriptures  for  information,  just  as  he  went 
to  the  extant  writings  of  other  nations  whose  history 
he  sketched. 

From  his  time  down  to  the  present,  there  has  been 
a  long  and  ever  increasing  series  of  works  of  the  same 
character. 

For  the  most  part,  writers  have  placed  themselves 
now  on  the  one  point  of  view  and  then  on  the  other, 
according  to  the  particular  purpose  they  were  pursuing, 
or  subject  with  which  they  were  dealing,  without  any 
apparent  consciousness  that  the  two  were  not  one  and 
the  same.  Accordingly  no  attempt  was  made  to 
strike  a  bridge  over  from  the  one  to  the  other.      The 

1  Miiller,  "  Die  taciteischen  Berichte  iiber  den  Ursprimg  der 
Judea,"  in  Stud.  u.  Krit.,  1843. 

2  See  his  "Hist.  Eccl.,"  "Prseparatio  Evangelica,"  and  "Chronica." 


^S        The  Bible — Theocratic  Lite^'ature. 

critical  school,  indeed,  of  which  Spinoza,  Richard 
Simon,  and  Le  Clerc  may  be  said  to  have  been  the 
founders,  has  become  increasingly  aware  of  the 
difference;  though  it  has  also  increasingly  betrayed 
a  disposition  to  eliminate  altogether  the  element  of 
revelation,  and  to  reduce  the  Scriptures  to  the  level  of 
ordinary  literature  and  historical  documents.  Indeed, 
the  general  tendency  at  the  present  moment  is  in  the 
latter  direction,  and  will  doubtless  go  on  increasing  in 
force  unless  it  can  be  shown  that  there  is  truth  in  each, 
and  that  the  truth  in  the  one  requires  to  its  full 
understanding  the  truth  in  the  other. 

II.  In  my  judgment,  the  true  point  of  view  from 
which  to  approach  the  Scriptures  is  this  historical  one. 
The  several  writings  of  which  they  consist  were  the 
product  of  factors  of  the  Jewish  nation ;  expressed  and 
set  forth  more  or  less  the  mind,  or  experience,  or 
purpose,  or  will  of  the  several  factors  and  of  the 
people ;  and  were  designed  to  subserve  ends  connected 
with  the  existence  and  mission  of  the  nation,  analo- 
gously to  the  writings  which  make  up  other  literatures. 
Those  of  the  Old  Testament,  with  the  possible  exception 
of  the  early  chapters  of  Genesis,  stand  in  this  relation  to 
the  Jews  as  a  separate  nationality,  from  the  days  when 
their  founder,  Abraham,  was  called  to  leave  his  own 
country  and  friends,  to  their  restoration  from  captivity 
to  their  native  land.  Those  of  the  New  Testament 
hold  this  relation  to  the  section  of  the  Jewish  people 
which  founded  and  constituted  the  Christian  Church. 

This  is  surely,  too,   the  natural  impression  which 


The  Historical  Point  of  View,  3 

these  books  make,  with  exceptions  which,  rightly 
considered,  as  I  shall  try  to  show,  constitute  no  real 
exceptions, — I  refer  in  particular  to  the  prophecies. 
As  to  the  rest,  who  would  not  take  the  historical 
books  to  be  historical,  just  as  Livy  is  historical  for 
Rome,  or  our  own  early  chroniclers  William  of 
Malmesbury,  Geoffrey  of  Monmouth,  and  others,  are 
historical  for  early  English  life  ?  Or,  again,  are  not  Job, 
the  Psalms,  Canticles,  Lamentations,  poetical  expres- 
sions of  the  experience,  thoughts,  emotions,  and  so 
forth  of  the  Jewish  nation  after  the  manner  of  Homer 
and  Pindar,  or  Chaucer,  or  the  Psalter  of  Cashel,  and 
other  poetical  productions,  whether  directly  religious 
or  not  ?  And  do  not  the  Proverbs,  Ecclesiastes,  and 
the  Epistles  of  the  New  Testament  remind  us  of 
similar  productions  of  other  nations,  both  heathen  and 
Christian?  Why  the  Prophecies  and  the  Apocalypse 
form  no  real,  though  they  are  ajDparently,  an  exception, 
I  shall  explain  further  on. 

Whatever  peculiarity  may  attach  to  the  Jewish  and 
Christian  Scriptures,  considered  thus  simply  as  litera- 
ture, coming  into  existence  in  a  way  analogous  to 
that  of  other  literatures,  is  due  solely  to  the  differences 
hetiveen  the  Jewish  people  and  its  life,  and  othei 
nations  and  their  life.  The  sacred  literature  is  no 
less  the  vehicle  of  an  actual  life  than  are  non -sacred 
literatures,  but  the  life  of  which  it  is  the  vehicle  is 
another  life.  Hence,  whilst  the  point  of  view  from 
which  it  is  regarded  may  be  the  same  as  that  from 
which  all  other  literatures  are  regarded — not  at  all 


40        The  Bible — Theocratic  L  Herat u re. 

different — the  estimate  formed  of  its  nature,  signi- 
ficance, and  value,  may  possibly  be  as  different  as  the 
first  appearances  are  alike. -^ 

III.  As  the  position  thus  assumed  may  seem,  how- 
ever, to  involve  the  rejection  alike  of  revelation  and 
inspiration,  for  the  purpose  of  avoiding  misunderstand- 
ing, I  will  here  anticipate  in  a  few  words  what  I  shall 
endeavour  shortly  to  establish  fully.  I  believe  most 
fully  both  in  revelation  and  inspiration,  as  those  words 
have  been  understood  by  the  best  and  greatest  teachers 
of  the  Christian  Church  ;  I  further  hold  that  the 
application  of  these  terms  to  the  Scriptures  is  not  only 
not  excluded,  but  facilitated,  by  the  adoption  of  the 
historical  point  of  view.  How,  as  already  remarked, 
it  will  be  my  business  to  show.  If  this  Jewish  litera- 
ture, including  the  New  Testament,  really  do  record 
and  reflect  Jewish  life,  a  bridge  can  be  found  to  the 
recognition  of  their  divine  significance,  authority,  and 
mission.  What  was  true  in  the  various  positions 
successively  taken  up  by  the  Church  will  come  out 
more  clearly  than  before,  whilst  what  has  been  felt 
to  be  inconsequent  and  confused  will,  I  believe,  be 
avoided. 

1  See  "  Gottes  Offeiibarung  durch  lieilige  Geschichte,"  von 
Prof.  H.  V.  d.  Goltz,  1868  ;  one  cliapter  of  which  helped  to  set  me 
on  what  I  conceive  to  be  the  right  track. 


The  Historical  Point  of  View  Ilhtstrated.  41 


CHAPTER  V. 

THE    HISTORICAL    POINT    OF    VIEW    ILLUSTRATED. 

I  T  ITERATURE — using  tbe  word  to  describe 
-Li  iiot  merely  helles  lettres  or  literature  proper, 
but  every  sort  of  written  composition — is  the  out- 
growth, or  product,  or  record,  or  monument  of  an 
already  existent  life.  Behind  every  work,  whether  it 
be  embraced  in  the  compass  of  a  few  lines,  or  fill 
endless  folios,  there  is  some  phase  of  thought,  emotion, 
purpose,  act,  experience,  in  a  word,  life.  What  Taine 
says  with  regard  to  literature  proper  may  be  extended 
to  literature  in  this  wider  sense  : — "  From  the  monu- 
ments of  literature  man's  feelings  and  thoughts  may 
be  retraced  for  centuries  back.  .  .  .  What  is  your 
first  remark  on  turning  over  the  great,  stiff  leaves  of 
a  folio,  the  yellow  sheets  of  a  manuscript,  a  poem, 
a  code  of  laws,  a  declaration  of  faith  ?  This,  you  say, 
was  not  created  alone.  It  is  but  a  mould,  like  a  fossil 
shell,  an  imprint  like  one  of  those  shapes  embossed  in 
stone  by  an  animal  which  lived  and  perished.  Under 
the  shell  there  is  an  animal,  behind  the  document 
there  was  a  man.  Why  do  you  study  the  shell,  but 
to  represent  to  yourself  the  animal?      So  you   study 


4  2         The  Bible — Theocratic  L iterature. 

the  document  in  order  to  know  the  man.  .  .  .  It  is  a 
mistake  to  study  the  document  as  if  it  were  isolated. 
This  were  to  treat  things  like  a  simple  pedant,  to  fall 
into  the  error  of  the  bibliomaniac.  .  .  .  Nothing  exists 
except  through  men."  ^ 

Take  any  form  of  literature.  Chronicles,  memoirs, 
histories  tell  what  men,  as  individuals  or  societies, 
have  done  from  day  to  day,  or  year  to  year,  describe 
their  battles  and  peace-makings,  their  marriages,  births, 
and  deaths,  their  uprisings  and  downfallings,  in  short, 
the  manifold  vicissitudes  of  their  life ;  all  which 
existed  before  being  recorded.  Orations,  discourses, 
and  the  like,  enshrine  the  thoughts,  purposes,  emotions, 
reo^ardinof  relio^ion,  morals,  the  nation,  the  commune, 
the  family,  the  fellow-countrymen,  and  the  foreigner, 
and  so  forth,  which  already  possessed  the  mind  and 
soul  of  the  speaker.  It  is  the  poet's  own  joys  and 
sorrows,  raptures  and  anguish,  faiths  and  doubts,  lights, 
and  darkness,  reflections  and  observations,  imagina- 
tions, fancies,  inspirations,  that  are  clothed  in  the 
various  artistic  forms  which  we  call  lyrics,  epics, 
dramas,  and  the  various  other  species  of  poetry.  There 
is  no  exception.  The  driest  record  and  the  purest 
creation  of  imagination,  alike  sprang  up  out  of  a  life  at 
once  individual  and  social.  Logically,  if  not  tempor- 
ally the  one  preceded  the  other. 

To  urge  this  may  seem  very  like  urging  a  truism ; 
but  obvious  as  it  may  seem  when  stated,  and  self- 
evident  as  it  has  been  regarded  in  other  connections, 
1  "  History  of  English  Literature,"  p.  1  f. 


The  Historical  Point  of  View  Ilhcstrated.  43 

relatively  to  the  subject  under  discussion,  it  lias  been 
too  frequently,  if  not  for  the  most  part,  ignored. 

The  books  of  the  Bible  have  been,  to  use  Taine's  apt 
word,  "isolated," — isolated,  i.e.,  from  proper  connec- 
tion with  an  actual  life,  analogous  to  that  which  other 
literatures  are  recognised  as  presupposing.  Language, 
for  example,  is  often  used,  which  seems  to  imply  that 
Christian  faith  and  life  absolutely  presuppose  the  Bible. 
Now,  though  this  may  be  true  of  us  in  these  days ; 
yet,  originally,  the  New  Testament  Scriptures  grew  as 
truly  out  of  Christian  faith  and  life  as  Platonic  writ- 
ings grew  out  of  the  life  of  Plato  and  his  disciples, 
which  could  not  therefore  be  represented  as  the 
absolute  presupposition  of  Platonism. 

II.  The  reverse  aspect  of  what  has  just  been 
stated  is,  of  course,  that  if  we  wish  to  know  how  the 
peoples,  societies,  and  individuals  in  past  ages  lived, 
we  must  study  the  literature  in  which  their  life  found 
expression.  Literature  is,  at  all  events,  the  only 
source  of  accurate  and  detailed  knowledge.  Some- 
thing may  be  learnt  from  works  of  art,  buildings, 
aqueducts,  monuments,  instruments  of  warfare,  tools, 
articles  of  rare  or  common  use,  from  changes 
wrought  for  the  better  or  the  worse  in  the  face 
of  the  earth,  yea,  even  from  the  very  absence  of 
definite  traces  of  influence  ;  but  it  is  scanty  and 
vague.  By  means  of  the  literature,  however,  we 
ascertain  how  men  thought,  felt,  worked,  loved,  hated, 
hoped,  feared,  joyed,  sorrowed,  struggled,  died;  how 
their    life   was    constituted,    the    course    it    ran,    the 


44         The  Bible —  Theocratic  Literature. 

results  it  achieved,  tlie  aims  it  pursued,  the  laws  by 
which  it  was  regulated,  and  so  forth.  Again  to  quote 
M.  Taine  :  ''  They  are  avenues  converging  towards  a 
centre,  and  that  centre  is  the  man  with  his  faculties 
and  feelings .  ...  If  the  historian's  critical  educa- 
tion suffice,  he  can  lay  bare,  under  every  detail  of 
architecture,  every  stroke  in  a  picture,  every  phrase 
in  a  writing,  the  special  sensation  whence  detail, 
stroke,  or  phrase  had  issue;  he  is  present  at  the 
drama  which  was  enacted  in  the  soul  of  artist  or 
writer ;  the  choice  of  a  word,  the  brevity  or  length  of 
a  sentence,  the  nature  of  a  metaphor,  the  accent  of 
a  verse,  the  development  of  an  argument, — every- 
thing is  a  symbol  to  him.  Whilst  his  eyes  read 
the  text,  his  soul  and  mind  pursue  the  continuous 
development  and  the  ever-changing  succession  of 
the  emotions  and  conceptions  out  of  which  it  has 
sprung  ;"  -^  or,  as  we  may  say  more  generally,  of  the 
life,  whether  inward  or  outward. 

It  is  well  to  remember,  too,  that  even  what,  in  its 
immediate  origin,  may  be  the  work  of  an  individual  is 
more  than  that.  It  never  tells  merely  his  tale  ;  it 
tells  also  the  tale  of  the  society,  or  tribe,  or  nation  to 
which  he  belongs.  Is  his  language,  with  its  gramma- 
tical forms,  words,  phrases,  metaphors,  and  the  like, 
exclusively  his  own?  Are  his  thoughts  solely  his 
own  ?  Nay,  is  not  he  and  all  that  makes  up  his  life, 
however  expressed,  a  wonderful  composition,  of  which 
but  a  small  part  is  really  original  to  himself  ?  Still 
1  "  History  of  English  Literature,"  p.  4. 


The  Historical  Point  of  View  Illitstrated.  45 

further,  it  is  surely  the  rarest  possible  thing  for  a 
human  being  to  undertake  a  composition  or  work  of 
art  unless  he  can  reckon  on  the  sympathy,  apprecia- 
tion, and  intelligence  of  some  portion  of  the  great 
whole  to  which  he  belongs.  The  strono^est  stimulus 
to  labour  and  the  keenest  pleasure  afforded  by  it  are 
the  idea  that  he  is  expressing  not  only  his  own  thoughts 
and  feelings,  but  those  of  others.  Could  he  not  regard 
himself  as  to  some  extent  a  "  prophet  "  for  them — that 
is,  as  their  mouthpiece — he  would  scarcely  write  at  all.-^ 

The  knowledge  we  can  get  of  the  life  is  in  direct 
proportion  to  the  fulness,  especially  to  the  variety,  of 
its  literary  reflex  and  record.  Where  it  is  very  one- 
sided— e.g.,  merely  poetical,  liturgical,  philosophical, 
as  in  the  case  of  the  ancient  inhabitants  of  India — 
there  the  picture  we  can  now  form  for  ourselves  of  the 
life  lived  is  exceedingly  vague  and  colourless.  Nay, 
more,  lacking  particularly  the  properly  historical 
element,  it  is  to  a  very  large  extent  beyond  our  power 
either  to  represent  or  understand. 

He  who  proposes  to  write  the  story  of  the  Greeks 
goes  to  Greek  historians,  orators,  poets,  philosphers, 
and  other  writers.  Some  help  may  be,  perhaps, 
derived  from  the  descriptions  and  accounts  of  foreign- 
ers ;  but  in  the  main  the  Greeks  themselves  supply — 
yea,  must  supply — the  material.  So  with  the  Romans 
and  other  peoples.  In  like  manner,  those  of  us  who 
are   interested   in   knowing   the   life   of  the   Hebrew 

1  As  Aaron  was  to  Moses,  Exod.  iv.  16  ;  vii.  1  :  "  Aaron  shall 
be  thy  prophet " — "  instead  of  a  mouth." 


46         The  Bible — Theocratic  Liter at2L7^e. 

people  must  go  to  their  literature — in  other  words,  to 
the  Scriptures  and  other  works  in  which  their  life  has 
been  embalmed. 

III.  As  the  life  can  only  be  learnt  from  the  litera- 
ture, to  which  it  gave  rise  and  in  which  it  found 
expression,  so  the  literature  can  only  be  properly 
understood,  be  rightly  appreciated,  in  connection  with 
and  in  the  light  of  the  life  which  it  reveals.  We  use 
the  literature  to  elucidate  the  life ;  the  life  must,  in 
turn,  elucidate  the  literature.  This  may  seem  a 
strange,  a  roundabout  process;  yet  it  is  the  process 
by  which  we  become  acquainted  with  all  concrete 
things,  especially  with  all  forms  of  past  human  life 
a,nd  all  the  modes  of  its  expression.  They  have  to  be 
known  through  themselves ;  neither  a  'priori,  nor 
through  other  things,  save  to  a  very  limited  extent. 

When  we  have  reconstructed  the  chief  features  of 
the  life  of  an  individual  or  nation,  we  are  prepared  to 
answer  the  questions, — How  came  such  and  such 
works  to  be  produced  ?  What  purpose  were  they 
designed  to  serve  ?  What  relation  do  they  hold  to 
each  other  ?  What  is  their  real  meaning  ?  What 
influence  did  they  exercise  ?  Who  can  understand  the 
orations  of  Demosthenes  and  Cicero  that  has  no  know- 
ledge of  their  historical  environment  ?  or  the  plays  of 
^schylus,  Aristophanes,  or  the  satires  of  Juvenal  and 
Lucian,  save  as  part  of  a  social  life  ?  or  indeed  most 
other  extant  Greek  or  Latin  works  ?  Yet  the  life 
itself  must  first  be  constructed  with  the  help  of  these 
writings. 


The  Historical  Point  of  View  Illustrated.  47 

I  need  scarcely  say  tbat  otlier  things  besides  litera- 
ture should  also  be  taken  into  consideration,  for 
example,  the  country  with  its  climate,  soil,  physical 
configuration,  productions,  situation,  the  surrounding 
nations  and  the  general  circumstances  of  the  age.  To 
the  recognition  of  this  simple  principle  is  largely  due 
the  attention  that  has  of  late  years  been  justly  given 
to  the  historical  setting  of  the  life  of  Christ,  and  the 
general  life  in  which  He  and  His  apostles  and  disciples 
were  cradled.  In  this  particular  case,  indeed,  much 
information  is  drawn  from  other  sources  besides  the 
New  Testament ;  but  the  general  principle  is  not 
thereby  affected.  The  Tubingen  school  of  criticism 
has  done  service  by  efforts  to  assign  to  each  New 
Testament  writing  its  own  proper  position  in 
the  actual  life  and  development  of  the  Christian  com- 
munity ;  though  they  cannot  be  counted  a  great 
success. 

The  extreme  of  this  principle  is  to  reduce  literature 
to  the  rank  of  a  kind  of  spontaneous,  involuntary  pro- 
duct of  the  various  natural  and  other  agencies  of  the 
time.  As  though  the  life  of  humanity  could  be  any- 
thing but  a  perpetual  repetition  of  its  earliest,  simplest 
phases,  if  new  elements  did  not  enter  into  it,  either 
through  the  rise  of  specially-gifted  individuals,  or  in  a 
supernatural  way. 

With  obvious  modifications,  I  may  here  again  use 
the  language  of  M.  Taine.  "  Here  as  everywhere  the 
law  of  mutual  dependence  comes  into  play.  A  civilisa- 
tion forms  a  body,  and  its  parts  are  connected  with 


48         The  Bible —  Theocratic  Literature. 

each  other  like  the  parts  of  an  organic  body.  As  in 
an  animal,  instincts,  teeth,  limbs,  osseous  structure, 
muscular  envelope,  are  mutually  connected  so  that  a 
change  in  one  produces  a  corresponding  change  in  the 
rest,  and  a  clever  naturalist  can,  by  a  process  of 
reasoning,  reconstruct  out  of  a  few  fragments  almost 
the  whole  body ;  even  so  in  a  civilisation,  religion, 
philosophy,  the  organisation  of  the  family,  literature, 
the  arts,  make  up  a  system  in  which  every  local 
change  induces  a  general  change,  so  that  an  experienced 
historian,  studying  some  particular  part  of  it,  sees  in 
advance  and  half  predicts  the  character  of  the 
rest."^ 

lY.  If  our  object  is  to  write  a  history,  in  the  usual 
sense  of  the  term,  and  accordingly  to  relate  events  and 
so  forth  in  their  chronological  succession,  it  will 
clearly  be  necessary  to  determine  the  order  in  which 
the  writings  arose  through  whose  medium  we  approach 
the  life.  Whatever  aspect  of  life  may  be  thus  his- 
torically treated,  this  will  be  requisite  ;  but  specially 
if  it  be  the  life  of  a  nation  or  society  or  individual  as 
a  whole.  I  scarcely  need  say  that  it  would  be  impos- 
sible to  gain  a  correct  view  of  the  philosophical  life  of 
Greece,  if  Thales  were  to  be  placed  after  Democritus, 
or  Heraclitus  after  Socrates,  or  Plato  after  Zeno,  or 
Aristotle  after  Plotinus.  Equal  confusion  will  result 
if  the  order  of  writings  in  general  be  disarranged, 
though  sometimes  it  may  not  so  soon  betray  itself. 

The    chronological  order  of   writings  is  sometimes 


1  « 


History  of  English  Literature,"  p.  17. 


The  Historical  Point  of  View  Ilhistrated.  49 

easy  to  determine.  Internal  and  external  data  of  a 
very  definite  character  supply  landmarks.  In  other 
cases,  however,  it  is  settled  only  after  long  and  elabor- 
ate inquiry.  In  still  further  cases,  it  remains  doubtful 
after  all  means  have  been  exhausted,  and  different 
investigators  arrive  at  different  results,  according  to 
the  difference  in  their  points  of  view.  In  some  cases 
a  philosophical,  scientific,  or  other  a  priori  principle 
unquestionably  controls  the  results  reached.  Take  as  an 
example,  the  literature,  which  we  call  the  Bible.  If  a 
critic  start  with  the  general  conviction  that  all  early 
religious  development  was  from  the  lower  to  the  higher, 
from  fetishism,  animism,  or  what  not,  through  poly- 
theism to  monotheism  ;  he  will  be  under  the  necessity 
of,  to  a  large  extent,  reversing  the  traditional  chron- 
ology of  the  Scriptures  : — either  that,  or  his  d  ^yriori 
conviction  must  give  way.  This  is  the  secret  key  to 
many  results  of  the  so-called  higher  historical  criticism. 
y.  What  is  true  of  history  in  general  is  equally 
true  of  Biblical  history.  A  full  appreciation  of  the 
Hebrew  life  and  literature  depends  on  our  possession 
of  a  chronological  history ;  and  a  chronological  history 
is  impossible  unless  we  know  the  order  and  circum- 
stances in  which  the  literature  was  produced.  Up  to 
within  a  comparatively  recent  period  the  traditional 
view  of  the  rise  of  the  sacred  books  had  been  seldom 
questioned.  At  the  present  time,  however,  an  import- 
ant school  of  critics  maintains  that  at  all  events  some  of 
the  writings  to  which  formerly  an  early  date  was 
assigned,  were  really  written  much  later ;  and  that  the- 


50        The  Bible — Theocratic  Literature. 

conception  of  the  early  life  of  the  Hebrew  people  based 
on  them  therefore  needs  revision,  if  it  be  not  altogether 
mistaken.  It  is  not  my  intention,  if  it  were  in  my 
power,  to  enter  here  on  the  discussion  of  this  com- 
plicated question.  In  fact  I  am  writing  for  those  who 
like  myself  believe  that  in  the  main  the  traditional 
chronology  of  the  Scriptures  is  correct. 

Few  will  be  inclined  to  refuse  to  let  it  be  an  open 
question  whether  many  of  the  books,  for  example, 
those  which  bear  the  name  of  Moses,  contain  parts 
which  he  neither  wrote  himself  nor  personally  caused 
to  be  written;  that  other  books  are  partially  compi- 
lations from  anterior  sources ;  that  in  some  cases  books 
or  parts  of  books  may  have  had  other  authors  than 
those  whose  names  they  have  somehow  come  to  bear. 
But  the  concessions  in  this  direction  required  by  actual 
evidence,  will  eventually  be  found,  I  believe,  to  be  of  a 
very  harmless  character. 

yi.  The  point  of  view  here  adopted  naturally  involves 
the  recognition  of  the  right  and,  in  fact,  necessity  of 
historical  criticism.  Such  criticism,  however,  must  not 
be  controlled,  either  consciously  or  unconsciously  by 
principles  which  settle  beforehand  what  can  be  histori- 
cal and  what  not.  It  ought  to  be  animated  by  the 
spirit  of  candour  expressed  in  Shakespeare's  words — 

"  There  are  more  things  in  heaven  and  earth, 
Than  are  dreamt  in  our  philosophy." 

The  canon  of  true  criticism  is  the  law  of  contradiction. 

But  contradiction  exists  only  when  one  and  the  same 

occurrence  is  narrated  in  two  or  more  ways  that  disagree 


The  Historical  Point  of  View  Ilhtstrated.   5 1 

with  each  other ;  or  when  it  can  be  clearly  shown  that 
what  is  narrated  violates  physical  or  psychical  possibilities. 
But  whether  such  a  violation  actually  exists  in  any 
particular  case  will  frequently  be  very  differently 
decided  according  to  the  presuppositions  with  which 
an  inquirer  sets  out.  It  will  make  all  the  difference 
in  the  world  whether  one  starts  with  the  assumption 
that  all  history  on  earth  is  the  product  of  natural, 
including  human,  factors,  without  any  intervention  or 
determining  action  of  God  either  on  the  order  of 
nature  in  the  form  of  miracles,  or  on  the  spirit  of 
man  ;  or,  with  the  assumption  that  such  extraordinary 
and  miraculous  divine  interventions  are  possible  ;  and 
in  view  of  the  constitution  of  man,  of  the  relation  of  man 
to  nature,  and  of  both  to  God,  alike  natural,  probable, 
and  fitting.-^ 

1  See  KoMer,  "  Bibhsche  Geschiclite,"  pp.  4,  5. 


52         The  Bible — Theocratic  Literahir 


CHAPTER   VI. 

FACTORS  IN  THE  LIFE  OF  THE  JEWISH  PEOPLE. 

IT  is  not  my  intention  here  to  attempt  even  an 
outline  of  tlie  history  of  the  Jewish  people; 
though  such  a  history  would  most  completely  answer 
the  purpose  which  I  have  in  view.  All  that  is  really 
necessary  for  my  purpose  is  to  delineate  its  general 
features,  that  is,  to  present  to  view  such  points  as  in 
most  cases  constitute  men's  knowledge  of  the  life 
either  of  an  individual  or  a  nation.-^  Acquaintance 
with  the  chronological  relations  of  the  life  is  doubtless 
necessary  to  a  full  understanding  thereof.  But  surely 
there  is  a  very  real  and  vital  knowledge  which  has 
comparatively  little  to  do  with  chronology.  Suppose 
we  know  the  chief  factors  in  a  people's  existence  ; 
the  parts  those  factors  severally  and  relatively  played ; 
their  ruling  ideas  and  principles ;  and  the  chief 
experiences  through  which  they  passed,  will  not  our 
knowledge  be  very  genuine  ?   nay  more,  will  it  not  be 

1  Tliis  and  tlie  following  chapter  will,  I  fear,  to  some  appear 
too  much  like  a  handful  of  chips,  w^hilst  others  may  think  that 
I  have  gone  into  unnecessary  detail.  I  was  anxious  to  take  a 
middle  course. 


Factors  in  Life  of  Jewish  People.  53 

perfectly  adequate  for  certain  important  purposes,  and 
possibly  more  characterised  by  insight  than  much  that 
is  termed  historical  knowledge  ?  I  propose,  therefore, 
merely  to  direct  attention  to  such  points  as  those  just 
indicated. 

I.  The  factors  in  the  life  of  the  Hebrew  nation  or 
people  ;  in  other  words,  the  agencies  which  went  to 
constitute  their  life  and  history,  what  their  literature 
teaches  it  was.  I  shall  here  leave  out  of  consideration 
the  countries  which  they  inhabited,  with  their  situation, 
physical  features,  soil,  climate,  natural  productions  and 
so  forth.  It  is  with  the  personal  agencies  that  I  am 
concerned. 

(I.)  The  human  factors.  These  may  be  classed  as 
native  and  foreign. 

1.   The  native  factors. 

(1.)  The  race. 

The  founder  of  the  Hebrew  nation  was  Abraham, 
one  of  the  sons  of  Terach,  the  eighth  from  Shem  or 
Sem.  Terach  lived  at  Ur  of  Chaldaea,  the  modern 
Mukair  on  the  Euphrates,  between  Babylon  and  the 
Persian  Gulf.-^  When  pretty  far  advanced  in  years 
Terach  left  Ur  with  Abraham,  Sarai,  Abraham's  wife, 
and  Lot,  his  grandson,  for  Charan  northwards.  After 
sojourning  there  a  considerable  time,  Abraham,  accom- 
panied by  Lot,  left  Charan  and  his  father,  and  went 
to  Canaan. 

The    direct    descendants    of   Abraham    constituted 

1  So  Kohler,  97,  after  Sclirader  and  Rawhnson,  based  on  cunei- 
form inscriptions. 


54         The  Bible — Theoci^atic  Literatuj^e, 

from  first  to  last  the  great  mass  of  the  Hebrew  people ; 
though  there  can  be  no  doubt  that  from  time  to  time 
foreigners,  both  male  and  female,  were  incorporated 
with  them.  Indeed,  express  provision  is  made  for 
such  cases  :  "  When  a  stranger  shall  sojourn  with  thee 
and  will  keep  the  Passover  to  the  Lord  [i.e.,  become 
one  with  themselves],  let  all  his  males  be  circumcised, 
and  then  let  him  come  near  and  keep  it,  and  he  shall 
be  as  one  that  is  born  in  the  land  ;  for  no  uncircum- 
cised  person  shall  eat  thereof."-^ 

It  is  most  probable  that  during  their  long  residence 
in  Egypt  many  intermarriages  with  the  natives  must 
have  taken  place.  We  know  that,  for  example,  Joseph 
married  an  Egyptian  wife,  and  his  example  would 
influence  others.  ^  During  the  anarchical  period 
depicted  in  the  book  of  Judges,  numerous  alliances 
must  have  been  formed  with  the  aborigines  who 
remained  alive.  The  Gibeonites  and  Kenites  were  even- 
tually absorbed.  ^  Individual  cases  constantly  occurred 
down  to  the  Exile.  During  the  Exile,  many  of  all 
ranks,  princes,  Levites,  and  common  people,  ''mingled 
themselves  with  the  people  of  the  lands  by  taking 
of  their  daughters  for  themselves  and  their  sons."* 
In  later  days  proselytes  were  frequently  received ; 
indeed,  the  words  of  our  Lord,  *'  Woe  unto  you  Scribes 
and  Pharisees,  for  ye  compass  sea  and  land  to  make 

1  See  Exod.  xii.  48  ff.     Cf.  Num.  ix.  14  ;   Lev.  xvii.  34  ;  Num. 
XV.  14  ;  XXXV.  15,  &c. 

2  On  Israel  in  Egypt,  see  Kurtz,  "  Gescli.  des  alten  Bundes," 
ii.  33.  3  Kohler,  89.  *  Nehemiah  ix.  2  f. 


Factors  i7i  Life  of  Jewish  People.  55 

one  proselyte,  and  when  he  is  made,  ye  make  him  two- 
fold more  a  child  of  hell  than  yourselves,"  ^  warrant  us 
in  assuming  that  great  anxiety  was  felt  and  great 
efforts  made  to  secure  them. 

But  allowing  for  all  the  intermixture  of  which  we 
have  either  exact  information  or  hints,  the  Hebrews 
were  from  beginning  to  end  a  separate  people,  of  one 
race,  who  could  say  with  truth  *'  we  have  Abraham 
to  our  father."  ^ 

(2.)   The  natural  characteristics  of  the  race. 

Were  the  Hebrew^s  the  sole  representatives  of  the 
Semitic  stock,  we  should  be  uncertain  how  much  of, 
at  all  events,  their  later  characteristics  to  attribute  to 
their  original  constitution,  and  how  much  to  their 
peculiar  training.  But  there  are  others  besides  them, 
and,  as  the  result  of  a  comparative  consideration  of 
the  Semitic  branch  of  the  human  family,  it  is  main- 
tained by  some  that  the  fact  of  their  having  evinced 
no  inclination,  or  at  any  rate  given  little  or  no  proof 
of  capacity  for  original  production  in  the  domain, 
either  of  natural  or  psychical  science,  or  of  philosophy, 
or  of  painting  and  sculpture,  or  of  architecture,  or  of 
the  higher  and  more  complex  forms  of  poetry,  or  even 
of  theology,  in  the  strict  sense  of  the  term,  was  rooted 
in  their  natural  constitution.^ 

Ewald,  indeed,  maintains  that  Solomon  wrote  the 
"  beginning  of  a  complete  natural  history," — that  is, 
laid  the  foundation  of  natural  science  ;  but  Josephus' 

1  Matthew  xxiii.  15.  2  jj^^  iii.  g. 

3  See  Grau.,  "  Semiten  und  ludo-Germaneii,"  i^p.  20-37. 


56        The  Bible — Theocratic  Literature. 

view  of  the  scope  of  the  allusion,  "  And  he  spake  of 
trees,  from  the  cedar  tree  that  is  on  Lebanon,  even  to 
the  hyssop  that  springe th  out  of  the  wall ;  he  spake 
also  of  the  beasts,  and  of  the  birds,  and  of  the  creeping 
things,  and  of  the  fishes,"  ^  seems  the  truer  one, — 
namely,  that  he  spoke  of  them  in  proverbs  similar  to 
those  which  are  still  extant.  With  this  would  agree, 
too,  the  Arabian  tradition  that  he  "  conversed  with 
the  birds,  both  on  account  of  their  delicious  language, 
which  he  knew  as  well  as  his  own,  as  also  for  the 
beautiful  proverbs  which  are  current  among  them."  ^ 
Besides,  if  the  scientific  impulse  had  really  awakened, 
is  it  likely  that  it  would  have  left  no  further  traces  of 
itself?^  Frequent  attempts  have  been  made  to  find  a 
psychology  in  the  Scriptures ;  but  though  they  contain 
facts  and  hints  which  deserve  consideration,  there  is 
no  system.  Nor,  though  the  chief  problems  of  human 
life — those  of  sin,  suffering,  sorrow,  the  prosperity  of 
the  wicked,  and  the  afflictions  of  the  righteous,  the 
foolishness  of  men,  the  rise  of  idolatry,*  and  the  like — 
attracted  attention  and  received  solutions,  was  there 
any  attempt  at  such  a  systematic  view  of  the  world 
as  a  whole  as  would  deserve  the  name  of  'philosophy. 
Where  are  the  remains  of  Jewish  art  ?  Even  Solomon 
would  seem  to  have  employed  Phoenician  builders  and 
art  workmen  to  design  and  superintend  the  erection 
of  the  great  temple  in  Jerusalem,  and  its  furniture.^ 

1  1  Kings  iv.  33.  ^  West's  Legends,  quoted  by  Stanley, 

"  Jewish  Church,"  ii.  237.  ^  gge  Job  xxviii.  *  Romans  i. 

5  See  1  Kings  v.-vii. :  2  Chron.  ii.  11  ff. ;  iv.  11  ff. 


Factors  in  Life  of  Jewish  People.  57 

Music,  if  we  may  judge  from  the  many  general 
allusions  to  it  in  the  Old  Testament,  the  numerous 
musical  instruments  mentioned,  and  the  large  choirs 
of  singers,  both  male  and  female,  employed  in  the 
temple  services,  must  have  been  largely  cultivated 
and  highly  developed  ;^  and  it  is,  perhaps,  more  just 
to  estimate  the  musical  capacity  of  the  race  by  its 
modern  productions,  than  as  some  have  done  by  the 
specimens  handed  down  by  the  Synagogue,  which 
may  rather  reflect  the  general  spiritual  death  which 
befell  the  nation  after  its  rejection  of  Christ.^ 
Whilst  the  dramatic  element  is  far  from  absent  in 
Hebrew  poetry, — both  Job  and  Canticles  contain 
dialogue,  and  even  in  many  of  the  Psalms  there  is 
something  resembling  it — neither  the  Jews  nor  the 
Semites  generally  have  produced  epics  or  tragedies, 
still  less  comedies.  The  poetry  of  the  former  is  essen- 
tially didactic  or  lyric.  To  the  mind  of  the  Arab, 
lyrical  poetry  is  pre-eminently  poetry,  as  witness  the 
answer  of  Abd  Allah  to  the  question,  "  What  is  a 
poem  ? "  "  They  are  feelings  which  fill  the  human 
heart,  and  are  clothed  by  the  tongue  in  verse."  ^ 

As  to  theology  proper,  the  nearest  approach  thereto 
is  to  be  found  in  the  Epistles  of  St.  Paul ;  and  yet 
Ewald,  who  elsewhere  ascribes  philosophy  to  the  Jews, 

1  See  2  Sam.  vi.  4, 15  ;  1  Chron.  xiii.  8 ;  xv.  16,  &c.  Ezra  ii.  65  ; 
Neh.  vii.  67 ;  vii.  44.  See  Leyrer's  article,  "Musik  bei  den  Hebr.," 
in  Herzog,  vol.  x. ;  also  Saalschiitz,  "  Musik  bei  den  Hebriiern." 

2  So  Leyrer,  p.  129.  Cf.  Stanley,  ii.  143  ff.  Grau.,  "  Semiten," 
22,  is  of  a  contrar}*-  opinion. 

3  See  Grau.,  p.  25.     Compare  Stanley,  240. 


58         The  Bible — Theocratic  Literature, 

on  the  ground  that  "  wherever  men  are  impelled  to 
inquire  into  the  riddles  of  things,  and  an  unwearied 
zeal  for  their  solution  awakens  amongst  the  most 
vigorous  minds,  there  we  have  the  beginnings  of 
philosophy,"  ^  says  regarding  them  :  "  All  his  epistles 
were  veritable  business  letters,  using  the  term  in  its 
apostolic  sense,  children  of  the  moment  and  of  press- 
ing needs.  Scarcely  does  that  to  the  Romans,  which 
was  one  of  his  later  ones,  constitute  a  real  exception. 
In  the  midst  of  what  outward  unrest,  difficulties, 
deprivations,  tribulations,  and  often  most  painful 
sufferings  they  were  written,  we  all  know."^  Rich 
and  true  materials  towards  the  construction  of  a  the- 
ology,— nay,  even  of  a  philosophy  are  there — but 
of  neither  is  there  a  system ;  and  philosophy,  or 
theology  without  system  is  neither  the  one  nor  the 
other. 

In  one  direction,  however,  special  endowments  are 
claimed  for  the  Semites  in  general,  and  the  Jews  in 
particular, — that  direction  is  religion,  specially  of  the 
Monotheistic  type.  One  of  their  own  number  says  : 
"  The  Greeks  had  no  patterns  or  teachers  in  art  and 
science,  they  were  their  own  teachers  and  masters; 
and  they  soon  attained  to  a  perfection  which  made 
them  for  all  time  the  teachers  of  humanity.  It  is  as 
though  a  higher,  living  feeling  for  the  beautiful,  the 
harmonious  ;   for  that   which   is   well-articulated  and 

1  Grau.,  29. 

2  Ewalcl,  "  Sendsclireibeii  cles  Apostels  Paulus,"  p.  5,  quoted  by 
Grau.,  41. 


Factoids  in  Life  of  Jewish  People.  59 

lovely  in  form,  bad  been  born  with  them  ;  it  was  the 
genius  of  the  people  that  fitted  them  to  play  the  part 
of  masters  of  art  and  science.  .  .  .  Was  not  the  Jew, 
too,  born  with  a  similar  genius  for  religion  ?  Was  it 
not  an  original  power  that  enlightened  his  eyes  so 
that  he  penetrated  further  into  the  higher  life  of 
spirit;  recognised  more  livingly,  and  felt  more  keenly, 
the  close  relation  existing  between  the  spirit  of  man 
and  the  Universal  Spirit  (Allgeist) ;  and  had  a  clearer 
and  stronger  vision  of  the  higher  claims  of  human 
life,  of  the  deeper  nature  of  morality,  all  which  he 
set  forth  in  the  form  of  knowledge  ?  "^ 

Renan,  again,  conceives  the  religion  of  the  Old 
Testament  to  be  a  direct  outgrowth  of  the  natural 
monotheistic  tendencies  of  the  Semitic  stem,  and 
asserts  that  it  was  preserved  in  a  purer  form  among 
the  Jews  by  its  aristocracy,  and  the  religious  zealots 
of  whom  it  partly  consisted.^  He  speaks  of  the 
Semitic  consciousness  as  being  clear,  though  restricted  ; 
of  its  having  a  marvellous  appreciation  of  unity,  con- 
joined with  an  incapacity  of  grasping  multiplicity ; 
and  represents  all  its  characteristics  as  summed  up 
and  explained  in  its  monotheism."  ^ 

A  certain  modicum  of  truth  underlies  these  state- 
ments.     The  Jew,  as  has   been   observed,  has  not  a 

1  Geiger,  "  Das  Judentliiim,"  &c.,  p.  34.  Cf.  Stanley,  "  History 
of  Jewish  Church,"  iii.  30. 

2  "  Nouvelles  considerations  siir  le  caractere  g(^nerale  des 
peuples  semitiques,"  &c.,  quoted  in  Herzog,  "  Volk  Gotte:^," 
p.  247. 

3  "  Histoire  des  langues  Semitiques  etc.,"  quoted  by  Grau.,  88. 


6o        The  Bible — Theocratic  Literahire. 

little  of  the  woman  in  his  mental  constitution  and 
habits.  He  is  strong  in  emotion,  liable  to  sudden 
heats  of  passion,  apt  to  jump  to  conclusions,  attentive 
to  practical  details,  persistent  and  conservative.  This 
is  the  temperament  which  shows  itself  in  religiosity. 
As  the  woman  is  more  disposed  to  religion  than  the 
man,  so  the  Jew  than  the  Aryan.  But  as  has  been 
well  said,  "  There  is  scarcely  a  page  of  their  literature 
which  does  not  bear  witness  against  the  notion  of  an  in- 
born inclination  to  monotheism,  and  show  clearly  enough 
what  would  have  become  religiously  of  Israel  had  he 
been  left  to  the  sole  guidance  of  nature."  ^  The  natural 
characteristics  above  noted,  under  the  perverting 
influence  of  sin,  sufficiently  account  for  the  apostasies 
conjoined  with  stiff-neckedness,  the  separation  of 
religion  from  morality,  the  violent  defiance  and  quick 
repentance  with  which  the  Israelites  are  so  frequently 
reproached  in  the  Scriptures. 

Isaiah  rightly  describes  them  in  the  words,  ''  Because 
I  know  that  thou  art  obstinate  and  thy  neck  is  an  iron 
sinew,  and  thy  brow  brass ;  so  I  declared  it  unto  thee 
long  ago ;  before  it  came  to  pass  I  showed  it  thee  ; 
lest  thou  shouldst  say.  Mine  idol  hath  done  them  ;  and 
my  graven  image,  and  my  molten  image,  hath  com- 
manded them."  ^  And  if  at  last  after  multiplied 
experiences  of  the  bitterness  of  apostasy  from  God 
they  did  become  tenacious  monothcists,  it  was  as  the 
result  of  a  training  of  which  the  prophet  says,  in  the 

1  Oeliler,  "  Volk  Gottes,"  in  Herzog,  247. 
-  Isaiah  xlviii.  4  f. 


Factors  in  Life  of  Jeiuish  People.  6i 

divine  name,  ''  Thou  hast  caused  me  labour  with  thy 
sins,  thou  hast  wearied  me  with  thine  iniquities."-^ 

Such  were,  briefly,  the  natural  characteristics  of  the 
Hebrew  people. 

(3.)   The  national  organisation. 

Like  other  nations,  the  Hebrew  nation  had  its 
organisation,  which  underwent  a  variety  of  develop- 
ments in  the  course  of  the  centuries.  At  first,  under 
Abraham,  Isaac,  and  Jacob,  it  was  probably  almost 
identical  with  that  of  the  Bedouins  of  the  present 
day,  the  patriarchs  being  the  sheykhs. 

In  Egypt,^  as  they  grew  in  numbers,  the  several 
families  of  the  sons  of  Jacob  seem  to  have  developed 
into  tribes,  the  headship  of  which  was  successively 
assumed  by  eldest  sons, — those  whom  we  afterwards 
meet  in  the  Exodus  as  princes  or  heads  of  tribes  ;  " 
perhaps,  too,  the  captains  of  Numbers  iii.,  who 
wielded  a  certain  authority,  though  supreme  power 
was  naturally  in  the  hands  of  the  rulers  of  Egypt. 
During  the  Exodus,  things  remained  as  they  were, 
save  that  Moses  led  and  ruled ;  that  he  delegated  the 
lighter  duties  of  his  office  to  "  able  men  chosen  from 
among   the   people ; "  *    and    that    he   established   an 

1  Isa.  xhii.  24.  Cf.  Exod.  xxxii.  7  ;  xxxiv.  9  ;  Num.  xiy.  1  ; 
Dent.  ix.  6-24.     See  Oeliler,  as  above. 

2  See  Kurtz,  "  Geiscliiclite,  d.  A.  B.,"  2,  33.  Cf.  Josh.  vii.  14  ; 
xvii.  18  ;  Num.  i.  4,  16 ;  Deut.  xxix.  9 ;  Exod.  iii.  16,  18 ; 
iv.  29  ;  xii.  21  ;  xvii.  5,  6  ;  xviii.  12  ;  xix.  7 ;  xxiv.  1-14,  &c. 

3  Exod.  ii.  14  :  "  Who  made  thee  a  prince  over  us  1 "  Num. 
vii.  2,  10  ;  xvi.  2  ;  Josh.  ix.  15. 

4  Exod.  xviii.  17-26. 


62         The  Bible — Theocratic  Litei^atiire. 

ecclesiastical  organisation.  Joshua  succeeded  him, 
and  brought  his  work  to  a  sort  of  completion.  After 
Joshua's  death,  disintegration  set  in ;  "  every  man 
did  what  was  right  in  his  own  eyes,"  ^  save  when 
some  great  calamity  threatened  or  befell  them,  and  a 
prophet  or  judge  arose  who  led  them  in  war,  and 
afterwards  judged  them  in  peace.  This  state  of 
things  continued  till  Samuel  arose,  and  as  prophet 
and  judge  revived  the  sense  of  national  unity,  and 
welded  the  tribes  together.^ 

With  the  election  of  Saul  to  be  king  a  complete 
organisation  was  initiated,  which  was  further  devel- 
oped under  David  and  Solomon,  and,  as  to  its  main 
features,  continued  probably  down  to  the  double  exile. 
Military,  civil,  and  other  offices  were  created  in  great 
variety,  and  the  laws  for  the  priests,  Levites,  and 
worship  enacted  by  Moses  were  carried  out  with  such 
modifications  as  circumstances  suggested.^ 

The  people  at  large  were  naturally  divided  into 
various  classes,  pursuing  manifold  occupations,  as  else- 
where.* 

One  human  factor  alone  may  be  said  to  have  been 
peculiar  to  the  Hebrews — that  known  as  Prophet. 
In  the  broader  sense,  Moses  was  the  first  and  chief 

1  Judges  xvii.  6  ;  xxi.  25. 

2  1  Sam.  iii.  20 ;  vii.  5  f.,  15. 

3  Cf.  Stanley,  ii.  90  ff.,  and  the  following  passages  : — 1  Chron. 
xxvii.  1-15  ;  2  Sam.  viii.  4  ;  xii.  26  ff. ;  1  Sam.  xxii.  14  ;  2  Sam. 
xxiii.  8-39  ;  1  Chron.  xi.  9-47  ;  1  Chron.  xxvii.  25-31  ;  xxvi.  29-32; 
xxvii.  16-22,  &c. 

4  2  Chron.  iv.  17  ;  cf.  ii.  7  ff.  ;  iv.  11  ;  xxiv.  12  ff ;  xxvi.  9  ff. 


Fact  07^3  in  Life  of  Jewish  People.  63 

prophet  ;  ^  Miriam  and  Deborah  are  termed  prophet- 
esses;^ a  "man  of  God"  is  mentioned  in  1  Sam. 
ix.  9  ;  but  the  full  and  connected  work  of  the  pro- 
phets began  with  Samuel,^  who  seems  to  have  founded 
those  Schools  of  the  Prophets  from  which,  doubtless, 
many  subsequently  proceeded,  and  in  which  many 
were  trained,  but  of  which  it  was  by  no  means  neces- 
sary that  all  should  have  been  members.  A  constant 
succession  of  them  arose  till  the  return  from  the 
exile  ;  but  then  they  ceased,  till  the  appearance  of 
John  the  Baptist ;  the  advent  of  that  greatest  of  all 
Prophets,  foretold  in  the  words,  "  The  Lord  thy  God 
will  raise  up  unto  thee  a  prophet  from  the  midst  of 
thee,  of  thy  brethren,  like  unto  me  :  unto  Him  ye 
shall  hearken ;  "  *  and  the  calling  of  the  apostles,  who 
after  their  Master,  were  in  the  fullest  sense  the 
"  mouths  of  God."  ^ 

2.   The  foreign  factors. 

The  chief  of  these  foreign  factors  were  the  Egyptians; 
the  Aborigines  of  Palestine  ;  the  neighbouring  peoples 
— the  Assyrians,  Babylonians,  Persians  ;  and  the 
Greeks  and  Romans. 

The  Egyptians  came  into  contact  with  the  Hebrews, 
both  at  the  formative  stage  of  their  history,  and  at 

1  Dent,  xxxiv.  10  ;  Hosea  xii.  14. 

2  Exod,  XV.  20  ;  Judges  iv.  4. 

3  See  Oeliler's  "  Proplietentlium,"  in  Herzog's  "  Realencyclo- 
paedie,"  1st  ed. 

*  Dent,  xviii.  15. 

5  See  Exod.  vii.  1  ;  cf.  iv.  16,  where  Aaron  is  appointed  to  be 
the  prophet  or  mouth  of  Moses.     Oehler,  ihid. 


64         The  Bible — Theocratic  Literature. 

various  times  and  in  various  ways,  as  friends  and  foes, 
from  the  days  of  Solomon  onwards. 

From  the  book  of  Judges  and  from  incidental  notices 
occurring  elsewhere,  we  learn  that  remnants  of  the 
original  inhabitants  of  Canaan  w^ere  left,  that  "  by 
them  Israel  might  be  proved,  that  it  might  be  known 
whether  they  would  hearken  unto  the  commandments 
of  the  Lord,  which  He  commanded  their  fathers  by 
the  hand  of  Moses  ; "  to  wit,  Philistines,  Canaanites, 
Sidonians,  Hivites,  besides  Gibeonites,  Kenites,  and 
others.-^  We  learn  from  2  Chron.  ii.  1 7,  that  Solomon 
numbered  all  the  foreigners  that  were  in  the  land  of 
Israel  after  the  numberins^  wherewith  David  his  father 
had  numbered  them,  and  there  were  found  ''a  hundred 
and  fifty-three  thousand  six  hundred  ; "  but  whether 
these  were  aborigines  or  immigrants  or  both,  we  are 
not  informed. 

(II.)   The  divine  factor. 

God  was  in  a  special  sense  a  factor  in  the  life  of 
the  Jewish  nation.  He  was  as  really,  veritably  a 
factor  in  its  life  as  Moses,  or  Samuel,  or  David,  or 
Josiah,  or  Paul.  Apart  from  a  recognition  of  His 
special  presence  and  activity,  that  life  becomes  as 
unintelligible  as  it  would  become  apart  from  the 
recognition  of  the  existence  and  influence  of  any  of 
the  mere  men  whose  names  have  just  been  mentioned. 
In  this  fact,  and  the  reasons  thereof,  is  rooted  the  value 
of  the  history  of  the  Jews,  and  of  the  Scriptures  which 
they  produced.  Strike  the  fact  out  and  over  their 
1  Jud2:es  iii. 


Factors  iii  Life  of  Jewish  People.         65 

literature  we  shall  have  to  write  Ichabod,  "  its  glory- 
has  departed." 

1.  Not  that  God  has  not  been  a  factor  in  the  life 
of  other  nations.  Nowhere  is  this  more  distinctly 
recognised  than  in  the  very  books  which  claim  special 
privileges  for  Israel.  Nay  more,  the  very  men  whose 
great  business  it  was  to  mediate  this  privilege,  the 
prophets,  are  the  men  to  see  the  feet  of  God  elsewhere. 
Out  of  many  confirmatory  passages,  T  will  quote  only 
the  following.  Isaiah  says,  "  Ho,  Assyrian,  the  rod  of 
mine  anger  !  Yea,  the  staff  in  their  hand  is  mine 
indignation.  I  send  him  against  an  impious  nation, 
and  against  the  peoj)le  of  my  wrath  I  give  him  a 
charge;  to  take  the  spoil  and  to  take  the  prey,  and 
to  make  them  a  downtreading  like  the  mire  of  the 
streets.  Howbeit  he  thinketh  not  so,  neither  doth 
his  heart  think  so  ;  but  it  is  in  his  heart  to  destroy 
and  to  cut  off  nations  not  a  few."''-  Jeremiah,  again, 
says,  ''  Lo,  I  will  bring  upon  you  a  nation  from  afar,  ye 
house  of  Israel,  saith  the  Lord ;  it  is  a  mighty  nation, 
a  nation  from  of  old  ;  a  nation  whose  language  thou 
knowest  not,  neither  understandest  thou  what  they 
say."^  Listen  also  to  Habakkuk,  ''For  lo  !  I  raise  up 
the  Chaldeans,  the  bitter  and  impetuous  nation  which 
marcheth  through  the  breadth  of  the  land  to  take 
possession  of  dwelling-places  not  their  own."^     These 

1  Isaiali  X.  5  ff.  What  is  said  here  about  the  Assyrian  may- 
help  to  explain  the  statement  in  Gen.  -vii.  3  and  elsewhere,  that 
God  hardened  Pharaoh's  heart.  He  used  and  controlled  Pharaoh,, 
though  Pharaoh,  was  certainly  controlling  himself. 

2  Jer.  V.  15.  3  Hab.  i.  6. 

F 


66         The  Bible — Theocratic  Literahtre. 

nations,  with  their  princes  and  mighty  men  were  not 
dreaming  of  fulfilling  the  divine  purpose,  of  being  as 
clay  in  the  hands  of  a  divine  potter.  God,  however, 
was  usino^  them,  was  controlling  their  own  self-con- 
ceived  designs,  self-formed  purposes,  and  self-directed 
movements,  for  the  accomplishment  of  His  plans,  and 
that  all  unknown  to  themselves.  But  the  fact  I  am 
referring  to  is  most  strikingly  expressed  by  the 
Apostle  Paul  in  his  address  to  the  Athenians  :  ''  God 
who  made  the  world  and  all  things  therein,  seeing 
that  He  is  Lord  of  heaven  and  earth,  dwelleth  not  in 
temples  made  with  hands ;  neither  is  He  served  by 
men's  hands,  as  though  He  needed  anything,  seeing 
that  He  giveth  to  all  life,  breath,  and  all  things ;  and 
He  made  of  one  blood  all  nations  of  men  to  dwell  on 
all  the  face  of  the  earth,  and  determined  the  times 
before  appointed,  and  the  bounds  of  their  habitation ; 
that  they  should  seek  God,  if  haply  they  might  feel 
after  and  find  Him,  though  He  is  not  far  from  every 
one  of  us.  For  in  Him  we  live,  and  move,  and  have 
our  being."  ^ 

2.  Accepting  the  Scriptures  as  representing  Hebrew 
life,  it  can  scarcely  be  necessary  to  adduce  proofs  of  the 
fact,  that  God  both  claimed  to  be,  and  was  recognised 
as,  one  of  its  factors.  So  obvious  is  this,  that  many 
writers  accuse  the  Jews  of  regarding  Jehovah  as  in  a 
narrow,  exclusive  sense  their  national  God.  Yet  a  few 
references  may  be  of  value  and  interest. 

The  call  to  Abraham  to  leave  his  country  and 
1  Acts  xvii.  24  ff. 


Factors  in  Life  of  Jezuish  People.  67 

kindred  was  accompanied  by  a  promise,  whose  inner 
significance  the  subsequent  history  of  both  Abraham 
and  his  descendants  did  but  bring  out  into  view, — 
"  I  will  make  of  thee  a  great  nation  ;  I  will  bless  them 
that  bless  thee,  and  curse  them  that  curse  thee."^  It 
is  made  still  clearer  in  the  repetitions  and  expansions 
of  the  promise  afterwards  given  to  Abraham,  his  son 
Isaac,  and  his  grandson  Jacob.  ^  Joseph  confesses  the 
fact  when  he  tells  his  brethren  that  "  God  sent  me 
before  you  to  preserve  you  a  posterity  in  the  earth, 
and  to  save  your  lives  by  a  great  deliverance.  So, 
now,  it  was  not  you  who  sent  me  hither,  but  God."^ 

From  such  hints  as  that  "  God  dealt  well  with  the 
midwives  "  because  "  they  feared  God,"  and  did  not  kill 
the  males  that  were  born,  as  Pharaoh  had  com- 
manded ;*  and  that  in  their  sorrow  and  oppression  the 
children  of  Israel  cried  unto  the  Lord,  we  gather 
that  even  then  there  was  a  recognition,  however 
fitful  and  faint,  of  the  special  relation  between  them- 
selves and  Jehovah.^ 

The  Exodus  itself,  from  its  inception  to  its  com- 
pletion, was  one  long  testimony  to  the  feet  under 
consideration.  What  had  gone  before  was  but  a  pre- 
paration for  that  which  God  announced  to  the  children 
of  Israel  through  Moses  :  "  I  am  the  Lord  :  I  will  take 
you  to  me  for  a  people,  and  I  will  be  to  you  a  God ; 
and  I  will  bring  you  in  unto  the  land  concerning 
which  I  did  swear  to  give  it  to  Abraham,  to  Isaac, 

1  Gen.  xii.  2  f.  2  See  xvii.  3  ff  ;  xxvi.  3  flf ;  xxviii.  13  ff. 

3  Gen.  xlv.  5  ff.         ^  Exod.  i.  20,  21,  16.         ^  Exocl.  ii.  7,  9. 


68         The  Bible — Theocratic  Literature. 


and  to  Jacob,  and  I  will  give  it  you  for  a  heri- 
tage." ^ 

The  closing  address  given  by  Joshua  to  the  people 
whom  he  had  led  into  the  possession  of  their  God- 
given  country,  is  full  of  testimony  to  the  relation 
between  God  and  Israel.  They  are  reminded  of  what 
God  has  done  for  them,  and  in  return  they  vow,  "  We 
will  serve  the  Lord."^ 

Even  during  the  period  of  the  Judges,  marked  as  it 
was,  by  self-will,  apostasy,  anarchy,  when  the  hand  of 
the  Lord  was  against  Israel  for  evil,  "because  they 
forsook  the  Lord  and  served  Baal  and  Ashtaroth," 
the  relation  was  ever  again  and  again  recognised,  and 
when  their  hearts  were  filled  with  penitence  for  their 
sins,  "  the  Lord  raised  up  judges  who  delivered  them 
out  of  the  hands  of  those  that  spoiled  them,"  and  in 
other  ways  showed  that  He  was  in  their  midst,  and  as 
it  were  one  of  their  number.^ 

How  forcibly  does  Samuel  remind  the  Israelites  of 
the  relationship  in  the  address  delivered  to  them 
regarding  their  demand  for  a  king, — ''  The  Lord  your 
God  was  your  King."  "The  Lord  will  not  forsake 
His  people  for  His  great  name's  sake,  because  it  hath 
pleased  the  Lord  to  make  you  His  people."* 

Even  Saul,  whom  "it  repented  the  Lord  to  have 
made    king  over  Israel,"^   "  inquired    of   the  Lord,"^ 


1  Exod.  vi.  6  ff.     Cf.  Ch.  xv.  ;  Lev.  xxv.  23  ;   Num.  ix.  18  ; 
Deut.  ix.  3  ;  xxiii.  14. 

2  Josh.  xxiv.  3  Judges  ii.  13  ff.  *  1  Sam.  xii.  12,  22 ; 
cf.  XV.  23.                     5  1  gam.  xv.  35.  ^  1  Sam.  xxviii.  6. 


Factors  in  Life  of  Jewish  People.         69 

and  in  other  ways  confessed,  tliough  reluctantly,  the 
relation  between  God  and  the  nation. 

The  lives  of  David  and  Solomon  and  of  the  nation 
during  their  rule  were  full  of  the  idea  that  they 
belonged  to  God,  and  were  called  to  serve  and  glorify 
Him,  and  that  God  was  their  refuge,  and  strength, 
their  guide,  and  ruler.  The  Songs  of  David,  the 
Proverbs  of  Solomon,  and  the  prayers  of  both,  sadly  as 
much  of  the  life  of  the  two  men  conflicted  therewith, 
testify  to  a  strong  sense  of  the  reality  of  the  interest 
God  took  in  them,  and  of  the  strength  of  the  claims 
God  had  on  them. 

The  later  history  of  the  chosen  people  is  full  of 
evidences  of  the  fact  under  consideration,  though 
those  evidences  are  predominantly  of  a  sad  and  dark 
character,  culminating  in  the  national  ruin  and  exile.^ 
The  restoration  was  the  last  special  proof  and  sign 
that  God  was  a  factor  in  the  life  of  the  Hebrew  people 
under  the  old  dispensation.  "  The  Lord  stirred  up 
the  spirit  of  Cyrus,  the  King  of  Persia,  to  make  a 
proclamation  that  God  had  charged  him  to  build  for 
him  a  house  at  Jerusalem  and  to  suffer  the  Jews  to 
return  to  their  native  land."  ^ 

After  the  restoration  came  a  long  period  during 
which  the  relation  of  God  to  the  Hebrews  ceased  to 
be  marked  by  any  special  features.  There  was  a  close 
analogy  between  their  position  and  that  of  the  Christ- 
ian nations  at  the  present  day. 

1  Cf.  2  Cliron.  xiv.  11  ;  xx.  6  ff. 

2  Ezra  i.  1  ff.  :  cf.  2  Cliron.  xxxvi.  22  f. 


70        The  Bible — Theocratic  Lite7'ature. 

With  the  advent  of  the  Son  of  God,  God  again 
entered  into  special  relationship  to  Israel,  but  on  a 
higher  platform,  so  to  speak,  in  that  Christ  became 
bone  of  our  bone,  and  flesh  of  our  flesh ;  took  upon 
Himself  the  form  of  a  servant  and  was  made  in  the 
likeness  of  sinful  men ;  lived  with  men  their  life, 
sharing  their  toils  and  sorrows  ;  was  crucified  ;  experi- 
enced even  the  hiding  of  God's  countenance,  which  a 
sinful  race  deserves  ;  was  buried ;  rose  again  ;  and  is 
now  interceding  at  the  right  hand  of  the  Majesty  on 
High. 


The  Human  Factors.  71 


CHAPTER  VII. 

PAKTS  TAKEN  IN  THE  NATIONAL  LIFE  BY  THE 
SEVERAL  FACTORS THE  HUMAN  FACTORS. 

rMO  treat  of  the  subject  of  this  and  the  following 
J-  chapter  satisfactorily  would  involve  the  writing 
of  the  history  of  the  Hebrew  people  ;  but  as  this  is 
altogether  beside  the  object  of  this  work,  I  shall 
restrict  myself  to  such  features  as  have  a  more  direct 
bearing  on  the  problem  of  inspiration. 

I.  The  part  taken  by  the  human  factors.  Here 
I  will  refer,  first  of  all,  to  those  which  I  have  desig- 
nated foreign. 

(I.)  There  can  be  no  doubt  that  the  various  peoples 
mentioned  in  a  previous  paragraph  did  exercise  a  con- 
siderable influence  on  the  Hebrews ;  but  how  far  that 
influence  was  internal  or  chiefly  external  is  a  question 
which  is  variously  answered  according  to  the  varying 
points  of  view  of  investigators. 

1.   The  original  inhabitants  of  the  Promised  Land, 

both  before  and  after  possession  was  taken  of  it,  were 

in    the    main    ''  snares    and    traps    unto    them,    and 

scourges  in    their  sides  and    thorns  in   their    eyes,"  ^ 

^  Josh,  xxiii.  13. 


72         The  Bible — Theocratic  Literature, 

and  that  alike  religiously,  socially,  and  politically. 
By  their  oppression,  however,  during  the  period  of  the 
Judges,  they  drove  the  Hebrews  to  take  refuge  in 
their  God,  and  thus  themselves  counteracted  the  moral 
and  religious  seductions  the  yielding  to  which  would 
have  brought  down  on  the  chosen  people  the  threat- 
ened punishments  of  their  God.-^  Under  the  Kings 
they  lost  power  as  j)ohtical  enemies  ;  but  probably 
continued  to  be  a  source  of  religious  corruption  till 
the  Exile  thoroughly  established  the  Jews  in  the  belief 
that  Jehovah  was  God  alone,  and  all  the  gods  of  the 
nations  idols.  We  must  not  foro^et,  however,  that 
from  Tyre,  at  all  events,  the  Israelites  drew  help  in 
the  erection,  equipment,  and  adornment  of  their 
Temple  and  public  buildings. 

2.  The  Egyptians  before  the  Exodus  helped,  by 
their  very  antagonism  and  tyranny,  to  weld  the 
Hebrews  into  a  nation,  and  thus  contributed  to  the 
accomplishment  of  the  divine  purpose.  Their  idolatry, 
however,  was  a  source  of  temptation,  as  we  find  even 
after  God  had  given  them  wondrous  proofs  of  His 
might,  and  in  presence  of  the  thunders  of  Sinai; 
though  one  very  significant  fact  seems  to  show  that 
Israel  was  not  otherwise  much  indebted  to  them, — the 
fact,  namely,  that  there  is  in  the  Old  Testament  no 
trace  of  the  remarkably-elaborate  and,  in  some  respects, 
elevated  system  of  the  future  world,  and  its  rewards 
and  punishments,  which  had  been  worked  out  by  the 
Egyptians.      The  family  and  political  alliances  of  the 

1  Josh,  xxiii.  5  ff. 


The  Hiunaii  Factors.  73 

period  of  the  Kings  also  tended  to  keep  alive  the 
tendency  of  Israel  to  apostatise  into  idolatry ;  but 
further  influence  is  not  discernible. 

3.  The  Assyrians  and  Babylonians  or  Chaldees,  and 
Syrians  seem  to  have  held  towards  the  Jews  in  the 
main  merely  the  relation  indicated  in  the  w^ords  of 
Isaiah,  ''  O  Assyrian,  the  rod  of  mine  anger  !  Yea  the 
staff  in  their  hand  is  mine  indignation.  I  send  him 
against  an  impious  nation  and  against  the  people  of 
my  wrath.  I  give  him  a  charge,  to  take  the  spoil 
and  to  take  the  prey  and  to  make  them  a  down- 
treading,  like  mire  in  the  streets."  ^  They  were  the 
axe  and  the  saw  in  the  hands  of  God,  the  fire  sent  to 
consume  His  people  for  their  sins  and  apostasies.^ 

4.  The  Modes  and  Persians,  on  the  contrary,  being 
the  enemies  and  conquerors  of  Babylon  were  naturally 
regarded  by  the  Jews  as  friends  and  allies.  In  fact, 
they  showed  themselves  as  such,  by  restoring  them  to 
their  native  land.  As  a  natural  consequence,  an  inter- 
change, especially  of  religious  ideas  is  asserted  by  many 
to  have  set  in  between  the  two  peoples.  The  story  of 
creation  in  Genesis,  for  example  ;  the  idea  of  angels 
constituting  a  heavenly  host ;  that  of  the  ''  seven  eyes 
of  the  Lord  which  rim  to  and  fro  upon  the  earth ;  "  ^ 
that  of  Satan  as  an  accuser  and  seducer  ;  ^  that  of  the 
Fall,  specially  of  the  serpent ;  and  even  that  of  the 
resurrection,  if  not  actually  straightway  borrowed  from, 
yet  are  held  to  have  been  suggested  by  the  Zoroastrian 

1  Isaiah  x.  5.  2  jgaiali  x.  15.  3  ZecL.  iv.  10. 

•*  Zecli.  iii.  1  ;  1  Chron.  xxii.  1 ;  2  Sam.  xxiv.  1. 


74        The  Bible — Theocratic  Literature. 

religious  system  held  by  the  Persians/  The  differences, 
however,  between  the  Bible  and  Zorastrianism  are  so 
fundamental,  especially  the  idea  of  two  primeval,  anta- 
gonistic forces  or  spirits  which  is  essential  to  the  latter,^ 
that  the  utmost  that  can  be  conceded  is  that,  whilst 
there  is  "  a  close  affinity  between  the  forms  which  the 
two  religions  assumed,  it  is  the  affinity,  with  the  excep- 
tion of  a  few  details,  rather  of  a  common  atmosphere  of 
lofty  truths,  of  a  simultaneous  sympathy  in  their  view 
of  earthly  and  heavenly  things,  than  the  affinity  of 
direct  lineage  and  relationship  ;  "  ^  or  that  "  the  germs 
which  lay  hidden  in  Judaism  were  fertilised  by  contact 
with  a  religion  in  which  they  had  arrived  at  maturity."^ 
In  view,  however,  of  the  uncertainty  hanging  round 
not  only  the  age  and  activity,  but  the  very  existence 
of  Zoroaster,^  and  of  the  extent  to  which  Judaism 
must  have  been  known  eastwards,  what  is  there  to 
hinder  us  from  taking  up  the  reverse  position,  and 
saying  that  the  Jewish  religion  fertilised  and  fructified 
germs  lying  in  the  traditional  religion  of  the  Medes 
and  Persians,  perhaps  also  of  the  Babylonians  and 
Assyrians  ?  Have  we  not  a  parallel  case  at  the  present 
day  in  the  Brahmo-Somaj  of  India  ? 

In  the  course  of  trade  and  commerce  the  Israelites 
came  into  contact  with  a  variety  of  other  peoples  ;  but 

1  Pfleiclerer  "  Die  Eeligion,"  ii.  340  ff.       2  gee  Isa.  xlv.  1-7. 

3  Stanley  "Jewish  Church,"  iii.  186. 

*  Kuenen,  iii.  63,  quoted  by  Stanley,  iii.  187  ;  also  Hard  wick, 
"  Christ  and  other  Masters,"  pp.  545-570. 

^  See  Tiele,  "History  of  Religions,"  164;  and  Canon  Cook's 
"  Origins  of  Eeligion,"  &c. 


The  Hitman  Facto7's.        '  75 

any  modification  in  their  life  thence  arising  can  only 
have  been  of  a  most  general  and  external  nature. 

5.  The  Greeks  and  Romans  brought  the  Jews 
within  the  sphere  of  their  influence  during  the  interval 
between  the  dying  out  of  prophecy  and  the  advent  of 
Christ  ;  but,  save  indirectly  through  Alexandria,  and 
externally,  and  incidentally,  they  do  not  seem  to  have 
done  much  to  colour  or  modify  the  life  under  considera- 
tion, either  as  expressed  in  the  Apocrypha  of  the  Old 
Testament,  or  in  the  writings  of  the  New  Testament. 

(II.)   The  part  taken  by  the  native  Jewish  factors. 

The  limits  imposed  by  the  design  of  this  work  pre- 
clude any  idea  of  dealing  completely  either  with  the 
whole,  or,  indeed  with  any  one  important  section  of 
the  subject  which  we  are  approaching.  The  life  of 
Israel,  at  all  events  after  its  birth  as  a  nation, 
embraced  within  itself  a  manifold  variety  of  functions 
and  activities.  Of  the  most  of  these  I  can  take  no 
notice  whatever.  It  is  not  even  necessary  that  I  should 
consider  the  elaborate  religious  institutions  and  organ- 
isation whose  great  features  were  foreshadowed  and 
sketched  in  the  books  of  Moses,  and  which  gradually 
attained  to  realisation  under  the  kings.  What  I  am 
specially  concerned  with  is  the  literary  activity  of  the 
nation,  especially  that  part  of  it  whose  surviving  pro- 
ducts constitute  the  Old  and  New  Testaments. 

1.  It  would  be  opposed  not  only  to  general  analogy 
but  also  to  particular  hints  given  in  the  extant  litera- 
ture itself,  to  suppose  either  that  the  Jews  wrote  only 
on  religious  subjects  ;  or  that  they  treated  the  subjects  on 


76        The  Bible — Theocratic  Literature, 

whicli  the  J  wrote  solely  from  a  religious  point  of  view ; 
or  that  the  Bible  comprises  all  that  their  writers  wrote. 
With  regard  to  the  first  point,  namely,  that  the 
writings  of  the  Jews  were  not  exclusively  religious, 
I  cannot  do  better  than  quote  the  words  of  a  recent 
writer  : — "  Notwithstanding  that  the  most  ancient 
j)oetry  of  Assyria,  Babylon,  and  Egypt  is  likewise 
religious,  we  yet  have  abundant  evidence  from  the 
poetic  lines  and  strophes  quoted  in  the  historical 
books,  as  well  as  from  statements  with  regard  to  other 
poetry  not  included  in  the  collections  known  to  us, 
that  the  Hebrews  had  an  abundant  poetical  literature, 
relating  to  the  everyday  life  of  the  people,  and  to 
national,  social,  and  historical  phases  of  experience  not 
strictly  religious,  lleference  is  made  to  the  '  Book 
of  the  Wars  of  Jehovah,'-^  and  to  the  '  Book  of 
Jasher,'^  which  were  j)^"o^^bly  anthologies  earlier 
than  any  of  those  now  in  existence  ;  as  also  to  a  great 
number  of  songs  and  poems  of  Solomon  relating  to 
flowers,  plants,  trees,  and  animals.^  The  mention  of 
Ethan,  the  Ezrahite  ;  Heman,  Chaleol  and  Darda, 
the  sons  of  Mahol,  in  connection  with  the  wisdom  and 
poems  of  Solomon  opens  a  wide  field  of  conjecture 
with  regard  to  the  amount  and  variety  of  the  poetry 
that  may  have  been  lost."^  And  another  eminent 
authority  writes: — ''AH  that  moved  the  souls  of  the 
multitude  was  expressed  in  soug  ;  it  was  indispens- 
able to  the  sports  of  peace  ;   it  was  a  necessity  for  the 

1  Num.  xxi.  14    2  Josh.  x.  13  ;  2  Sam.  i.  18.    3  \  Kings  iv.  32  f. 
4  1  Kings  iv.  31.     Briggs'  "■  Bibhcal  Study,"  pp.  248  f. 


The  Human  Factors.  yj 

rest  from  battle,  it  clieered  the  feast  and  the 
marriage  ;^  it  lamented  in  the  hopeless  dirge  for  the 
dead.^  Young  men  and  maidens  vied  with  one 
another  in  learning  beautiful  songs,  and  cheered  with 
them  the  festival  gatherings  of  the  villages,  and  the 
still  higher  assemblies  at  the  sanctuary  of  the  tribes. 
The  maidens  at  Shiloh  went  yearly  with  songs  and 
dances  into  the  vine3^ards  ;  ^  and  those  of  Gilead 
repeated  the  sad  story  of  Jephthah's  daughter  ;  *  the 
boys  learned  David's  lament  over  Jonathan  ;  ^  shep- 
herds and  hunters  at  their  evening  rests  by  the 
springs  of  the  wilderness  sang  songs  to  the  accompani- 
ment of  the  flute. "^  The  discovery  of  a  fountain  was 
the  occasion  of  joy  and  song ;  ^  the  smith  boasted 
defiantly  of  the  products  of  his  labour.^  Riddles  and 
witty  sayings  enlivened  the  social  rneal.^  Even  into 
the  lowest  spheres  the  spirit  of  poetry  wandered  and 
ministered  to  the  most  ignoble  pursuits." -^^  The 
estimate  of  the  literary  activity  of  the  Hebrews  formed 
by  the  two  writers  just  quoted,  may  be  pitched  too 
high.  I  am  inclined  to  think  it  is  ;  but  still  it  was 
not  so  exclusively  religious,  at  all  events,  in  the  region 
of  poetry,  as  is  often  vaguely  assumed. 

Many  allusions,  in  addition  to  those  already  men- 
tioned, show  that  in  other  domains  besides  poetry,  the 
extant   literature   is  far  from  complete.      Besides  the 

1  Isa,  V.  12  ;  Amos  vi.  5  ;  Judges  xiv.  ^  £  Sam.  iii,  33. 

3  Judg.  xxi.  19.     4  jndg.  xi.  40.      ^  2  Sam.  1.  18.      ^  jm|„  y.  ]  j. 
7  Num.  xxi.  17.     ^  Gen.  iv.  23.      ^  Judges  xiv.  12  ;  1  Kings  x. 
1^  Isa.  xxiii.  15  ff.     Eeuss  in  Herzog's  "  Encyclopcedie,"  quoted 
by  Briggs,  p.  249. 


yS         The  Bible — Theocratic  Literature. 

public  documents  alluded  to  under  the  title  of  ''  the 
Books  of  the  Chronicles  of  the  Kings  of  Israel,  or  of 
Judah,"  which  are  quoted  in  the  first  and  second 
books  of  Kings  thirty-one  times,  down  to  the  history  of 
Jehoiakim  inclusive;-^  and  to  which  Nehemiah  appeals 
in  the  words, — "  The  sons  of  Levi,  the  chief  of  the 
fathers,  were  written  in  the  book  of  the  Chronicles,  even 
until  the  days  of  Johanan,  the  son  of  Eliashib;"^ 
private  writings  of  a  historical  nature  are  mentioned, 
such  as  ''  the  book  of  Samuel  the  Seer,  and  the  book  of 
Nathan  the  Prophet,  and  the  book  of  Gad  the  Seer ;  "  ^ 
— unless,  indeed,  the  first  and  second  books  of  Samuel 
are  the  writings  here  specified.  Further  allusions  are  as 
follows : — "  The  rest  of  the  acts  of  Solomon,  the  first  and 
the  last,  are  they  not  written  in  the  words  of  Nathan 
the  Prophet,  and  in  the  prophecy  of  Ahijah  the  Shilo- 
nite,  and  in  the  visions  of  Iddo  the  Seer,  concerning 
Jeroboam  the  son  of  Nebat ;"  *  "  the  acts  of  Shemaiah 
the  Prophet,  and  of  Iddo  the  Seer,  concerning  genealo- 
gies;"^ "the  story  or  commentary  of  the  Prophet  Iddo;"^ 
''  the  book  of  Jehu,  the  Son  of  Hanani,  who  is  men- 
tioned in  the  books  of  the  Kings  of  Israel ;" "  "  the  acts 
of  Uzziah  written  by  Isaiah  the  Prophet,"^  which  seems 
to  be  a  different  book  from  that  which  is  elsewhere 
spoken  of  as  "  The  Vision  of   Isaiah   the   Prophet,"^ 

1  2  Kings  xxiv.  5  ;  cf.  1  Kings  xi.  41 ;  xiv.  19  ;  xv.  7,  23,  31  ; 
xvi.  5,  14,  20,  27  ;  xxii.  39,  45,  &c.  See  especially  1  Cliron.  xxvii. 
24.     Cf.  2  Chron.  xvi.  11  ;  xxiv.  27  ;  xxv.  26  ;  xxxiii.  18. 

2  Neh.  xii.  23.  ^  Chron.  xxix.  29.  *  2  Chron.  ix.  29. 
5  2  Chron.  xii.  15.  ^  2  Chron.  xiii.  22.  ^  2  Cln^on.  xx.  34. 
8  2  Chron.  xxvi.  22.     ^  2  Chron.  xxxii.  32. 


The  Human  Factors.  79 

where  the  acts  of  Hezekiah  are  said  to  be  recorded — 
as  is  actually  the  case.  In  view  of  the  frequency  of  the 
references  to  books  of  the  Kings  of  Judah  or  Israel,  it 
seems  warrantable  to  assume  that  those  just  mentioned 
were  separate  works  no  longer  extant,  or  only,  so  far  as 
they  are  quoted  in  the  Books  of  the  Chronicles. 

From  the  following  words — ''  written  in  the  book 
of  Samuel  the  Seer,  and  in  the  book  of  Nathan  the 
Prophet,  and  in  the  book  of  Gad  the  Seer,  with  all 
his  reign,  and  his  might,  and  the  times  that  passed 
over  him,  and  over  Israel,  and  over  all  the  kingdoms 
of  the  countries,''^  it  would  seem,  too,  that  certain 
writers  treated  also  of  the  history  of  other  nations 
besides  their  own.  For,  that  the  expression,  "  the 
kingdoms  of  the  countries,"  refers  to  nations  other 
than  the  Hebrew,  is  pretty  clear  from  2  Chron.  xii.  8, 
where  Jehovah  says  by  Shemaiah  the  Prophet, — "  My 
wrath  shall  not  be  poured  out  upon  Jerusalem  by  the 
hand  of  Shishak  ;  nevertheless  they  shall  be  his 
servants,  that  they  may  know  My  service,  and  the 
service  of  the  kingdoms  of  the  countries'' 

"  No  fewer  than  twenty-three  prophets,  besides 
those  whose  writings  are  preserved  in  the  canon  of  the 
Old  Testament,  are  mentioned  by  name  ;  large  num- 
bers of  nameless  ones  are  introduced  at  different 
periods  of  Hebrew    history,"  ^  and  surely  it  is  more 

1  1  Cliroii.  xxix.  29  f. 

2  Ladd,  i.  119  ;  Winer,  ''  Realworterbuch,"  ii.  283  ;  Clem.  Alex, 
mentions  35,  others  48,  and  7  prophetesses.  See  Judges  iv.  4  ; 
2  Kings  xxii.  14 ;  Neh.  vi.  14 ;  Ezek.  xiii.  17,  a  false  proplietess. 
For  list  see  Lee,  "  Inspiration,"  appendix. 


8o         The  Bible — Theocratic  Liter atttre. 

than  likely  that  many  of  them  produced  writings 
resembling  those  which  have  been  preserved. 

As  to  the  New  Testament,  we  know  from  the 
prologue  to  the  gospel  of  Luke  that  "many  had 
taken  in  hand  to  set  forth  in  order  a  declaration 
concerning  those  things,"  which  were  most  surely 
believed  by  the  Church  of  Christ,  and  yet  these  essays 
at  a  life  of  Christ  have  probably  all  perished.  It  is 
believed  also  by  some  that  at  least  one  of  the  Epistles 
written  by  Paul  is  not  included  in  the  New  Testament. 

2.  The  extant  products  of  the  literary  activity  of 
the  Hebrew  people  may  be  assigned  to  the  following 
classes  : — 

(1.)   History,  including  biography. 

A  considerable  part  of  the  literature  is,  at  all  events 
in  form,  historical.  It  professes  to  narrate  parts  of 
the  life  of  the  nation.  None  of  the  books,  however, 
pretend  to  completeness.  Some  of  their  writers  refer 
to  sources  from  which  they  have  drawm  some,  if  not  the 
whole,  of  their  information.  To  a  certain  extent,  there- 
fore, the  materials  are  selected,  but  on  what  principle 
does  not  seem  to  me  so  clear  as  to  those  writers  of  the 
present  day  who  classify  the  historical  books  of  the 
Old  Testament  as  priestly  and  prophetic,  the  former 
embracing  Chronicles,  Ezra,  Nehemiah,  and  the 
Elohistic  portions  even  of  the  Pentateuch ;  the  latter, 
including  the  books  of  Samuel  and  Kings,  with  other 
sections  of  the  Pentateuch,  namely,  the  so-called 
Jehovistic.  The  former  are  said  to  be  "  characterised 
by  the  annalistic  style,  using  older  sources,  such  as 


The  H2tma7i  Factors.  8i 

genealogical  tables,  letters,  official  documents,  and 
entering  into  the  minute  details  of  the  Levitical 
system  and  the  organisation  of  the  State,  but  destitute 
of  imagination,  and  of  the  artistic  sense."  The  latter, 
''  by  the  descriptive  style,  using  ancient  stories, 
traditions,  poetic  extracts,  and  entire  poems.  They 
are  graphic  in  delineation,  using  the  imagination 
freely,  and  with  fine  artistic  taste. "^ 

Analogous  to  this  division  for  the  Old  Testament 
would  be  that  commonly  associated  with  the  School  of 
Dr.  Baur,  of  Tubingen,  for  the  New  Testament ;  but 
both  views  strike  me  as  rather  read  into,  than  read 
out  of  the  actual  words  before  us,  and  as  the  result  of 
an  undue  exercise  of  subtlety. 

Biography,  in  the  narrower  sense  of  the  word,  is 
confined  to  the  New  Testament — to  the  life  of  the 
Lord  Jesus  Christ ;  but  numerous  biographical  details 
are  interwoven  both  with  the  histories  of  the  Old 
Testament,  and  with  the  one  history — the  Acts  of  the 
Apostles — of  the  New  Testament. 

The  only  characteristic  of  these  books  to  which  my 
design  requires  me  to  call  attention  is  this — the 
perfect  naturalness  with  which  the  action  of  the  divine 
factor  is  described.  In  special  circumstances,  indeed, 
expression  is  given  to  the  consciousness  that  the 
relation  between  Jehovah  and  Israel  is  one  of  a  most 
extraordinary  character  ;2  but  the  divine  interventions 
are  ordinarily  spoken  of  without  surprise,  and  as 
though  they  were  a  matter  of  course.      The  writers 

1  Briggs'  "  Bibhcal  Study,"  230.  2  See  Deut.  iv.  32  flf. 


82        The  Bible — Theocratic  Literature. 

see  God  and  His  acts  just  as  they  see  David  or 
Hezekiah  and  their  acts,  and  record  both  in  the  same 
tone  and  manner,  so  far  as  their  purpose  requires  them 
to  do  so.  At  the  same  time  there  is  a  remarkable 
absence  of  moralising,  spiritualising,  religious  reflection, 
or  of  deducing  of  lessons  of  history. 

(2.)  Oratory. — This  word  must  be  understood  in  a 
very  general  sense  to  denote  every  species  of  discourse, 
and  not  merely  what  is  sometimes  vaguely  regarded 
as  properly  an  oration ;  indeed,  also,  prayers  addressed 
to  God.  I  may  here,  again,  quote  the  words  of  Dr. 
Briggs : — ''Rare  models  of  eloquence  are  found  in  the 
historical  books,  such  as  the  plea  of  Judah  -^  the 
charge  of  Joshua  ;^  the  indignant  outburst  of  Jotham  f 
the  sentence  pronounced  on  Saul  by  Samuel  ;^  the 
challenge  of  Elijah.^  The  three  great  discourses  of 
Moses  in  Deuteronomy  are  elaborate  orations,  combin- 
ing a  great  variety  of  motives  and  rhetorical  forms, 
especially  in  the  last  discourse,  fitted  to  impress  upon 
Israel  the  doctrines  of  God,  and  the  blessings  and 
curses,  the  life  and  death,  involved  therein."*^'  Many 
others,  too,  might  be  mentioned,  as,  for  example,  the 
addresses  of  David  and  Solomon," 

The  prophetical  books  of  the  Old  Testament,  which 
must  here  be  regarded  from  the  point  of  view  of  their 
human  authors,  form  a  species  of  discourse,  or  oration, 

1  Gen.  xliv.  18-34.  2  Josh.  xxiv.  ^  Judges  ix. 

*  1  Sam.  XV. ;  see  also  Samuel's  charge  to  Israel  in  chap.  xii. 
^  1  Kings  xviii.  ^  Briggs,  p.  234. 

^  1  Chron.  xxviii.  ;  2  Chron.  vi. 


The  Hzunan  Factors.  Z^y 

or  address,  peculiar  to  Israel,  or,  at  all  events,  to  the 
Semitic  race.  'Tor  unction,  fervour,  impressiveness, 
grandeur,  sublimity,  and  power,  they  surpass  all  the 
eloquence  of  the  world,  grasping,  as  they  do,  the 
historical  past  and  the  ideal  future,  and  entwining 
them  with  the  living  present,  for  the  comfort  and 
warning,  the  guidance  and  restraint,  of  God's  people. 
Nowhere  else  do  we  find  such  depths  of  passion,  such 
heights  of  ecstacy,  such  dreadful  imprecations,  such 
solemn  warnings,  such  impressive  exhortations  and 
such  sublime  promises,"  ■*•  and,  I  may  add,  such  amaz- 
ing insight  into  the  laws  and  movements  of  the  moral 
cosmos. 

The  longer  prayers  recorded  in  the  Old  Testament, 
as,  for  example,  that  of  David  in  1  Chron.  xxix.,  of 
Solomon  in  2  Chron.  vi.,  and  of  Nehemiah  in  the 
Book  of  Nehemiah,  chap,  ix.,  are  marked  by  wonderful 
intensity,  elevation,  and  breadth,  and,  considered  even 
as  compositions,  merit  all  admiration.^ 

What  has  been  said  with  regard  to  the  Old  Testa- 
ment applies  in  its  measure  also  to  the  discourses, 
prophetical  and  otherwise,  recorded  in  the  New  Testa- 
ment. What  simplicity  and  depth,  loftiness  and 
persuasiveness,  characterise  the  discourses  of  Him  who 
spake  as  never  man  spake  ;^  and  where  could  be  found 
addresses  to  excel  those  of  Peter  and  Paul,  recorded 
in  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles  ?     Nor  does  the  Apocalypse 

1  Briggs,  p.  234.         2  ggg  YisX  in  "Helps  to  Study  of  the  Bible." 
3  Comp.  Briggs,  235  f.  ;  A.  B.  Bruce's  excellent  work,  "  The 
Parabolic  Teaching  of  Christ." 


84        The  Bible — Theocratic  Literature. 

fall  far  behind  the  prophecies  of  the  Old  Testament 
in  moral  insight,  force  of  admonition  and  dissuasion, 
glory  of  promise,  fearfulness  of  threatenings,  intensity, 
fervour,  even  if  it  do  not  surpass  them  in  a  certain 
lurid  grandeur,  and  in  tenderness. 

(3.)  TU  Epistle  or  Letter. — In  the  Old  Testa- 
ment there  are  repeated  allusions  to  letters  written 
for  official  and  other  purposes,  in  the  name  of  royal 
and  other  personages.^  But  the  only  one  of  import- 
ance now  extant,  is  that  addressed  by  Hezekiah  to  the 
children  of  Israel  : — "  Ye  children  of  Israel,  turn 
again  unto  the  Lord,  the  God  of  Abraham,  Isaac  and 
Israel,  that  He  may  return  to  the  remnant  that  are 
escaped  of  you  out  of  the  hand  of  the  kings  of 
Assyria.  And  be  not  ye  like  your  fathers  and  like 
your  brethren  which  trespassed  against  the  Lord,  the 
God  of  their  fathers,  so  that  He  gave  them  up  to 
desolation  as  ye  see.  Now  be  not  ye  stiff-necked,  as 
your  fathers  were  ;  but  yield  yourselves  unto  the 
Lord  and  enter  into  His  sanctuary,  which  He  hath 
sanctified  for  ever,  and  serve  the  Lord  your  God  that 
His  fierce  anger  may  turn  away  from  you.  For  if  ye 
turn  again  unto  the  Lord,  your  brethren  and  your 
children  shall  find  compassion  before  them  that  led 
them  captive  and  shall  come  again  into  this  land  ; 
for  the  Lord  your  God  is  gracious  and  merciful  and 
will  not  turn  away  His  face  from  you,  if  ye  return 
unto  Him."^ 

1  See  1  Kings  xxi.  8  ;  2  Kings  xvi.  1  ;  xx.  12  ;  2  Chron.  xxxii. 
17  ;  Neh.  ii.  7  ;  vi.  17  fF.  ;  Jer.  xxix.  25.  2  2  Chron.  xxx.  6-9. 


7^ he  Human  Factor's.  85 

Alike  in  this  case  and  in  that  of  the  letters  of  the 
New  Testament,  the  term  connotes  characteristics  not 
found  in  letters  of  the  ordinary  stamp.  The  epistles 
of  the  New  Testament  differ  from  those,  for  example, 
of  Cicero  and  of  modern  correspondents,  so  greatly  as 
scarcely  to  seem  to  belong  to  the  same  class.  Indeed, 
with  one  exception,  apart  from  unimportant  details,  the 
only  common  feature  is  the  personal  element.  Other- 
wise, by  far  the  larger  part  of  the  matter  might  be 
cast  just  as  it  stands  into  the  mould  of  a  discourse — a 
discourse  of  the  type  which  would  be  natural  to  the 
Jewish  or  Semitic  mind.  Just  as  the  letter  quoted 
above  might  be  a  quotation  from  one  of  the  prophets 
— it  was  perhaps  written  for  Hezekiah  by  one  of 
them — so  the  epistles  of  the  New  Testament  might  be 
the  Christian  equivalents  of  the  prophecies  of  the 
Old  Testament,  owing  the  differences  in  their  tone, 
style,  matter,  to  the  different  circumstances  in  which 
they  arose,  and  with  which  they  had  to  deal.  The 
present-day  representatives  of  the  epistles  are  pastoral 
letters,  encyclica  and  the  like.  The  latter,  how- 
ever, owing  to  altered  circumstances,  are  much  more 
restricted  in  their  scope  and  narrower  in  their  range 
than  the  former.  There  is  scarcely  a  phase  of  human 
thought,  emotion,  feeling,  conduct  that  is  not  touched 
upon  by  the  New  Testament  writers ;  and  their  letters 
teem  with  speculative  glimpses,  doctrinal  statements, 
ethical  injunctions  and  warnings,  practical  advices,  and 
prophetic  outlooks. 

1  See  Brigg-s,  p.  237.     Gran.,  "  Scliriftthuni  des  Xeiieii  Test." 


8  6         TJie  Bible  —  Theocratic  L iterahtre. 

(4.)  Philosophy. — In  the  wider  and  more  popular 
sense  of  the  term  philosophy  we  may  regard  the  Books 
of  Proverbs  and  Ecclesiastes, — perhaps  also  the  earliest 
chapters  of  the  Genesis,  which  give  an  account  of  the 
origin  of  the  world, — as  philosophical ;  whilst  what  may 
be  termed  philosophical  problems,  in  other  words,  those 
problems  of  life  and  destiny  which  stare  every  earnest 
and  thoughtful  man  in  the  face  as  he  passes  through 
life,  are  being  constantly  touched  upon  even  in  the 
Psalms,  but  especially  in  the  Prophets  and  in  the 
Book  of  Job. 

The  Book  of  Proverbs  consists  of  several  collections. 
The  first  nine  chapters  form  a  complete  whole,  whose 
chief  burden  is  the  praise  of  wisdom.  Then  follow 
two  great  sections  extending  respectively  from  the 
10th  to  the  24th,  and  from  the  24th  to  the  29th 
chapters,  described  as  sayings  of  Solomon,  the  latter 
being  introduced  by  the  w^ords,  "  These  also  are  the 
proverbs  of  Solomon  which  the  men  of  Hezekiah  King 
of  Judah  copied  out."  Chapter  30  contains  the  say- 
ings of  Agur,  another  wise  man,  and  31  the  "  words 
of  King  Lemuel,  which  his  mother  taught  him."  After 
the  manner  of  proverbs  generally,  though  on  a  far 
higher  plane  than  even  that  on  which  the  proverbs  of 
Christendom  move,  the  book  deals  mainly  with  modes 
of  conduct,  right  and  wrong,  and  with  the  rewards  and 
punishments,  external  and  internal,  therewith  con- 
nected. At  the  same  time  the  reader  must  lack 
insight  who  does  not  feel  that  the  moral  injunctions 
and  dissuasions,  promises  and  threats,  are  bathed  in 


The  Htniian  Factors.  87 

an  atmosphere  of  religion ;  and  that  the  minds  of  the 
writers  are  in  contact  with,  though  they  have  not  yet, 
at  all  events  after  our  modern  manner,  grasped  the 
metaphysics  of  life. 

With  regard  to  Ecdesiastes,  I  cannot  do  better 
than  quote  the  words  of  Prof.  J.  Stewart  Perowne. 
"  It  is,"  says  he,  "  the  one  attempt  made  by  a  Hebrew 
writer,  whose  Avorks  have  beeu  comprised  within  the 
canon,  to  face  the  problems  of  life  in  a  philosophical 
spirit.  It  is  true  this  is  not  done  in  the  manner  of  a 
formal  treatise.  The  Jewish  mind  was  naturally 
averse  from  speculation.  Jewish  literature  in  its 
earlier  form  is  wholly  wanting  in  that  keen  and  subtle 
analysis  which  is  characteristic  of  the  Greek.  Jewish 
thought  delights  itself  in  the  dramatic  iucidents  of 
history  and  in  the  strong  and  passionate  forms  of  poetry, 
rather  than  in  metaphysical  disquisitions  or  the  keen 
fence  of  dialectics.  .  .  .  The  book  is  simply  the  actual 
record  of  the  struggles,  fears,  hopes,  perplexities,  griefs, 
sins  of  a  human  heart.  A  man  of  ripe  wisdom  and 
mature  experience  gives  us  what  may  be  called  his 
"Confessions."-^  It  records  plans,  doings,  hopes,  dis- 
pointments  ;  and  but  for  hints  dropped  here  and  there 
and  for  the  conclusion,  one  might  imagine  the  writer 
to  have  been  a  blase,  sceptical,  and  cynical  man  of  the 
world.^ 

1  Perowne  on  "Ecdesiastes,"  "Expositor,"  vol.  ix.  411  f. 

2  "  Its  characteristic  feature  is  resignation,"  says  Zockler, 
"Handbucli  der  Theol.  Wissenscliaften,"  161.  Cf.  Dehtzch, 
"Apologetik,"427. 


88         The  Bible — Theocratic  Literatttre. 

The  portions  of  the  New  Testament  which  may, 
perhaps,  be  thus  classed,  are  the  prologue  to  the  gospel 
of  John,  the  hints  touching  the  nature  and  origin  of 
heathenism  in  Paul's  Epistle  to  the  Eomans ;  and 
passages  in  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles  and  in  the 
Epistles  to  the  Corinthians,  Ephesians,  Colossians,  and 
Hebrews.  There  is  this  difference,  however,  between 
the  Old  Testament  and  the  New,  that  whilst  the 
writers  of  the  former  are  groping  after  a  key  of  whose 
existence  they  feel  they  have  dim  and  intermittent 
glimpses,  those  of  the  latter  hold  the  key  in  their 
hands,  and  rejoice  in  the  intellectual  and  spiritual 
liberty  its  possession  has  given  them. 

(5.)   Foetry. — Both  in  the  form  of  prose  and  verse. 

a.  The  class  of  prose  poetry  is  represented  solely 
by  riddles  and  parables.  The  still  extant  riddles  are 
Samson's  to  the  Philistines  : — 

"  Out  of  the  eater  came  forth  meat, 
And  out  of  the  strong  came  forth  sweetness."  ^ 

Those  attributed  to  Agur  : — 

"  Two  daughters  (cry)  give,  give  ! 
Three  are  they  which  cannot  be  satisfied  ; 
Four  say,  not  enough." 

Answer — 

"  Sheol,  and  a  barren  womb  ; 
Land  cannot  be  satisfied  with  water  ; 
And  fire  says,  not  enough."^ 

"  Four  are  little  ones  of  earth, 
But  they  are  wise  exceedingly." 

1  Judges  xiv.  14.  ^  Ppov.  xxx.  15  f 


The  Humaii  Factors.  89 

to  which  the  answer  is  given  in  the  following  verses.-^ 
And  further,  that  of  the  great  eagle  put  forth  in  the 
name  of  Jehovah  by  Ezekiel.^  It  is  supjoosed  also 
that  some  of  the  questions  interchanged  between 
Solomon  and  the  Queen  of  Sheba  took  the  form  of 
riddles.^ 

Most  of  the  parables  are  found  in  the  New  Testa- 
ment ;  but  a  few  are  preserved  in  the  Old  : — the  chief 
of  the  latter  are,  that  of  Jotham  regarding  the  trees 
who  sought  a  king  ;^  and  Nathan's  of  the  poor  man's 
little  ewe  lamb  taken  away  by  the  rich  owner  of  flocks 
and  herds.^ 

Those  of  the  New  Testament,  however,  are  chiefly 
worthy  of  attention — an  attention,  too,  which  they 
more  and  more  secure.  Some  of  them  are  models 
even  from  an  aesthetic  point  of  view,  and  all  are  instinct 
with  life  and  meaning. 

(6.)  Poetry  in  the  stricter  sense  is  confined  to  the 
Old  Testament.  Whatever  of  the  poetical  element 
may  be  found  in  the  New  Testament,  is  rather  high 
and  poetically  pitched  oratory  than  poetry  proper. 

Opinions  differ  as  to  the  range  of  Hebrew  poetry, 
some  needlessly  narrowing  it  to  the  lyrical  and  did- 
actic f    others    again   unduly    expanding    it   so   as    to 

1  Prov.  XXX.  24-28.  2  Ezek.  xvii.  1  f. 

3  1  Kings  X.  3.  *  Judges  ix.  8. 

^  2  Sam.  xii.  1-4.  Compare  also  2  Sam.  xiv.  1-11 ;  1  Kings 
XX.  35-40 ;  2  Kings  xiv.  9  ff. ;  Isa.  v.  1-7  ;  Ezek.  xxiv.  3-5  ;  to  which 
some  add  also  1  Kings  xxii.  19-23. 

^  Reuss  in  Herzog,  "  Hebr.  Poesie,"  1st  ed. 


90        The  Bible — Theocratic  Literature. 

embrace  most  of  the  chief  forms. -^  Without  entering 
on  vexed  questions  with  which  I  neither  need  nor  am 
competent  to  deal,  I  would  venture  for  myself  to 
adopt  the  classification  into  lyric,  didactic,  and 
dramatic.  In  the  view  of  some,  the  gnomiic  forms 
a  species  of  itself,  and  includes  even  such  books  as  the 
Proverbs  and  Ecclesiastes  ;  but,  beautiful  as  is  much 
of  their  language  and  poetical  as  are  many  of  their 
thoughts,  images,  and  comparisons,  it  seems  to  me 
better  to  let  their  characteristic  design,  which  clearly 
is  to  instruct  with  regard  to  conduct,  determine  their 
literary  position.^  It  must  be  confessed,  however, 
that  the  task  of  distributing  Hebrew  poetry  under 
rubrics,  like  those  to  which  the  poetry  of  classical  and 
modern  times  lends  itself,  is  very  difficult,  if  not  im- 
possible.^ 

{a.)  Lyric  poetry. 

Lyric  poems  are  scattered  through  the  various 
historical  and  prophetical  books,  though  most  of  them 
are  collected  in  the  Psalter.  They  are  chiefly  hymns, 
with  various  themes,  representing  various  moods — of 
exultation  at  victory ;  of  depression  after  defeat ;  of 
thanksgiving  for  manifold  blessings  ;  of  deprecation  of 
troubles  and  dangers ;  of  lamentation,  penitence,  faith, 
assurance,  doubt,  fear,  despair  ;  of  meditation,  reflec- 
tion, forecast;  of  prayer,  special  and  general,  individual 

1  EwalJ,  "Hebr.  Dichtimg"  has  the  rubric  "  Sagendiclitung 
(Epic),"  because  the  Hebrews,  he  thinks,  like  other  peoples,  had 
sagas  which  were,  so  to  speak,  the  raw  material  of  epics. 

2  See  Briggs.  "  Reuss,  as  above. 


The  Human  Factors.  g  i 

and  social :  indeed  there  is  not  a  phase  of  human 
emotion  and  experience,  so  far  as  it  touches  religion, 
that  has  not  found  expression  in  these  unique  pro- 
ductions. The  so-called  Lamentations  of  Jeremiah 
may  be  described  as  a  dirge  over  the  moral  and 
religious  degradation  of  Israel  and  the  griefs  and 
sufferings  which  it  has  brought  in  its  train. -^  Here 
and  there  we  find  what  seem  to  be  fragments  of  old 
songs,  unless  they  are  to  be  termed  complete  distichs, 
tristiclis,  and  so  forth  f  have  been  embalmed  in  other 
books,  such  as  the  Sword  Song  of  Lamech  ;^  Noah's 
curse  on  Canaan  and  blessing  on  Shem  and  Japheth  ;* 
Sarah's  Song  at  the  birth  of  Isaac  ;^  the  oracle  con- 
cerning Jacob  and  Esau  f  Isaac's  blessing  on  Jacob  ;^ 
and  on  Esau  ;^  Jacob's  blessing  on  the  sons  of  Joseph  f 
the  Song  of  the  Well  ;-^*^  the  dirge  of  David  over 
Abner;-^^  the  strophe  on  the  standing  still  of  the 
sun  ;^^  and  others. 

(6.)   Didactic  poems. 

In  this  class  may  be  included  such  as  Psalm  cxix. 
and  others,  which  take  for  their  theme  the  history,  or 
law,  or  institutions  of  the  nation.  If  Proverbs  and 
Ecclesiastes  are  to  be  treated  as  poetry  at  all,  they 
might  also  be  placed  here. 

If  the  view  recently  put  forth  by  Dr.  Briggs,  of  New 

York,  regarding  the  early  chapters  of  Genesis,  be  correct, 

1  Compare  Briggs,  p.  285.  2  Briggs,  p.  268. 

3  Gen.  iv.  23  flf.  *  Gen.  ix.  25  ff.  ^  Gen.  xxi.  6  f. 

c  Gen.  XXV.  23.  ^  Gen.  xxvii.  27  f.  §  Gen.  xxvii.  39  f. 

9  Gen.  xlviii.  15-20.    lo  Xum.  xxi.  17.  "  2  Sam.  iii.  33  11". 

12  Josh.  X.  12  f. 


92         The  Bible — Theocratic  Literature. 

they  too  might  be  ranked  as  didactic,  or  philosophical, 
or  scientific  poems,  after  the  type  of  Erasmus  Darwin's 
"  Botanic  Garden,"  or  "  Temple  of  Nature."  Speaking 
of  his  investigations  and  their  results,  he  says  : — ''  The 
first  passage  to  disclose  itself  as  poetry  was  the  Elo- 
histic  narrative  of  the  creation.  This  led  us  to  examine 
the  narrative  of  the  flood,  and  it  proved  to  be  a  poem 
of  the  same  essential  structure  as  the  story  of  creation. 
AVe  next  examined  the  Jehovistic  narrative  of  the 
temptation  and  fall,  and  found  it  to  be  a  poem  of 
an  entirely  different  structure  from  the  poems  of  the 
Elohist.  We  further  found  that  the  Jehovistic  story 
of  the  flood  was  a  poem  of  the  same  structure  as  that 
of  the  fall.  The  stories  of  Cain  and  Abel  and  the 
dispersion  of  the  nations  from  Babel  resolved  them- 
selves into  the  same  poetical  structure.  Thus  it  has 
become  manifest  that  the  earlier  chapters  of  Genesis 
are  a  series  of  real  poems,  which  have  passed  through 
the  hands  of  several  editors  in  the  earlier  collections 
of  the  Elohist  and  Jeh ovist,  until  at  last  they  were 
compacted  by  the  redactor  of  the  Hexateuch  into 
their  present  form."^  This  is  a  startling  theory  ;  and 
the  evidence  thus  far  adduced  in  its  favour  is  but 
scant — I  think  all  too  scant — yet,  in  view  of  the 
parallels  supplied  by  the  old  Accadian  account  of  the 
creation  and  so  forth,  it  may  be  well  to  refrain  from 
pronouncing  too  decided  a  judgment.  Even  if  these 
chapters  be  poetry  rather  than  prose,  the  great  facts 
and  truths  lying  behind  them  may  be  none  the  less  of 
1  Tlie  "  Poem  of  tlie  Fall  of  Man."''    By  Prof.  C.  A.  Briggs,  D.D. 


The  Human  Factors.  93 

divine  communication  ;  and  were  they  really  poetical 
in  form,  it  would  be  easier  than  at  present  to  draw  a 
distinction  between  shell  and  kernel,  and  thus  to  render 
conciliations  with  natural  science  a  needless  under- 
taking. 

(c.)  Draniatic  Poems. — The  dramatic  element  enters 
largely  into  the  substance  of  the  lyrical  poetry  and 
the  prophecies ;  but  only  two  whole  poems  can  be 
fairly  described  as  dramatic  in  their  structure — namely, 
Job  and  the  Song  of  Songs.  Nor  are  they  dramatic 
in  the  sense  of  having  been  written  for  representation, 
though  Ewald  thinks  this  to  have  been  the  case  with  the 
latter;^  but  because  the  development  of  the  thought 
or  action  is  distributed  among  and  is  effected  by  means 
of  various  persons.  Ewald  is  inclined  to  regard  the 
Song  of  Songs  as  a  kind  of  comedy,  many  parts  of 
which  were  meant  to  be  sung.  Job,  on  the  contrary, 
he  compares  to  a  Greek  tragedy  ;  for  example,  the 
Philoctetes  of  Sophocles.^  An  interesting  comparison 
has  also  been  drawn  between  the  book  of  Job  and 
Dante's  "  Commedia  Divina."^  Dr.  Robertson  Smith 
regards  the  book  as  "  the  highest  utterance  of  that 
characteristic  form  of  Hebrew  literature,  the  Chokma  ; 
that  is,  wisdom  or  practical  philosophy  in  parabolic, 
epigrammatic,  and  poetic  form."  * 

The  true  purpose  of  the  Song  of  Songs  is  still 
matter  of  dispute,   though  there  is  a  general  agree- 

1  Hebr.  Dichtung,  p.  64.  2  Hebr.  Diclitung,  p.  80. 

3  G.  Baiir  in  "  Stiidien  u.  Kritiken,"  1856. 

4  Encycl.  Brit.  "  Hebrew,"  vol.  xi.  599. 


94         The  Bible  —  Theocratic  Literature. 

ment  that  its  subject  is  Love — Love's  yearning  and 
Love's  happiness.  The  reasons  in  favour  of  the 
Talmudic  idea,  that  it  is  to  be  allegorically  interpreted 
of  the  relations  of  God  and  Israel,  are  stronger  than 
many  are  willing  to  allow. -"^ 

The  purpose  or  idea  of  the  book  of  Job  seems  to  be 
to  show  how  a  godly  man,  on  whom  the  wise  and  mer- 
ciful providence  of  God  has  brought  sore  afflictions 
and  temptations,  passes  victoriously  through  them  all, 
notwithstanding  the  antagonism  of  evil  spirits  and  the 
provocations  of  unsympathetic  and  dogmatic  friends.^ 
Its  basis  is  probably  an  old  tradition  of  the  misfor- 
tunes of  a  pious  nomadic  chief  or  prince  of  the  name 
of  Job.^  It  falls  into  three  parts — prologue,  epilogue, 
and  dialogue,  of  which  the  first  two  are  written  in 
prose,  the  last  in  poetry.  The  kernel  of  the  whole  is, 
of  course,  the  dialogue,  though  the  problem  to  be 
solved  is  stated  in  the  prologue,  and  its  practical 
solution  in  the  epilogue.* 

1  See  Zockler's  "  Handbuch  der  Theol.  Wissenscliaftten,"  p.  160, 
1st  ed. 

2  Sclilottman's  "  Hiob,"  p.  40. 

3  Cf.  Ezek.  xiv.  14,  where  Job  is  praised,  along  with  David  and 
Daniel,  as  an  example  of  righteousness. 


The  Divine  Factor.  95 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

PARTS   TAKEN   IN   THE   NATIONAL   LIFE   BY   THE 
SEVERAL   FACTORS — THE   DIVINE   FACTOR. 

GOD  is  represented  as  having  identified  Himself 
— using  the  word  with  the  reverential  modifi- 
cation naturally  suggested  by  the  connection — with 
the  Jewish  people  and  its  history.  To  them  His  con- 
cern for  and  participation  in  all  that  interested  and 
affected  their  life  was  as  real,  as  certain,  as  open  to 
observation  as  that  of  Samuel,  or  David,  or  any  other 
prominent  man.  It  was  not,  of  course,  the  same 
either  in  quantity  or  manner ;  but  it  was  no  less  real. 
This  is  not  the  place  to  marshal  the  evidence  for  the 
truth  of  the  conviction  which  the  Israelites  cherished, 
and  which  expressed  itself  in  their  literature ;  but  one 
thing  is  certain,  to  revert  to  an  observation  already 
made  in  another  shape,  if  it  were  not  a  fact,  their 
history  is  one  long  chain  of  the  most  extraordinary 
delusions  that  have  ever  befallen  a  branch  of  the 
human  race. 

I.  God  gave  the  Hebrews  their  separate  national 
existence.  He  it  was  who  called  Abraham,  the  human 
father  of  the  nation,  out  from  the  rest  of  his  connec- 


96         The  Bible — -Theocratic  Litei^ahire. 

tions.  But  for  this,  his  descendants  would  have 
become  amalgamated  with  the  surrounding  peoples  or 
would  have  formed  themselves  into  so  many  distinct 
tribes.  "  The  Lord  thy  God,"  says  Moses  to  them, 
"  hath  chosen  thee  to  be  a  special  people  unto  Himself 
above  all  peoples  that  are  upon  the  face  of  the  earth. 
The  Lord  did  not  set  His  love  upon  you  or  choose  you 
because  ye  were  more  in  number  than  any  people,  for 
ye  were  the  fewest  of  all  peoples ;  but  because  the 
Lord  loved  you."  ^  Of  this  fact  they  are  constantly 
reminded  in  a  great  variety  of  ways,  especially  by  the 
prophets. 

11.   God  gave  them  the  land  in  which  they  dwelt. 

When  He  called  Abraham,  He  promised  to  give  the 
land,  saying,  "  Lift  up  now  thine  eyes,  and  look  from 
the  place  where  thou  art,  northward,  and  southward, 
and  eastward,  and  westward  ;  for  all  the  land  which 
thou  seest,  to  thee  will  I  give  it,  and  to  thy  seed  for 
ever."  ^  And,  again  : — "  I  will  give  unto  thee,  and  to 
thy  seed  after  thee,  the  land  wherein  thou  art  a 
stranger,  all  the  land  of  Canaan,  for  an  everlasting 
possession."^  Whilst  the  descendants  of  Abraham 
were  still  in  the  wilderness,  or  on  their  way  to  the 
Promised  Land,  God  assigns  as  a  reason  for  the  law  that 
the  land  they  were  to  inherit  as  individuals  should 
not  be  sold  for  ever, — ''the  land  is  inine ;  ye  are 
strangers    and    sojourners    with    Me."  ^      They    are 

1  Deut.  vii.  6  ff.  ;  cf.  Exod.  xix.  5  ;  Deut.  x.  22  ;  viii.  17  flF. ; 
ix.  4  &.  2  Gen.  xiii.  14.  3  Gen.  xvii.  18. 

4  Lev.  XXV.  23. 


The  Divine  Factor.  97 

warned  by  Moses,  in  God's  name,  not  to  say  in  their 
heart,  when  they  have  settled  in  the  land  of  Canaan 
and  are  prosperous,  "  My  power  and  the  might  of  my 
hand  hath  gotten  me  this  wealth."  -^  And  throughout 
their  history,  as  reflected  in  the  Scriptures,  especially, 
as  was  natural,  at  its  earliest  stages,  the  fact  is  con- 
stantly recognised  either  explicitly  or  implicitly.  But 
what  more  solemn  witness  thereof  could  have  been 
given  than  through  the  exile  of  the  people,  when  they 
turned  their  back  on  Him  from  whom  they  held  their 
country  as  it  were  in  fief?  And  through  their  disper- 
sion when  they  rejected  their  King  Messiah  ?  Ever 
since,  they  have  been  a  landless  nation,  trying,  though 
in  vain,  to  make  for  themselves  homes  among  the 
nations  in  whose  midst  they  have  lived. 

III.  God  appointed  their  chief  institutions  and  the 
men  whose  business  it  was  to  carry  out  their  pro- 
visions. 

It  was  He  who  called  Moses  to  carry  out  the  divine 
plan  for  transplanting  the  people  from  Egypt  to 
Canaan  ;  who  invested  Joshua  with  authority  ;  who 
raised  up  Judges ;  who  set  up  and  dethroned  the 
Kings.  The  political  constitution  of  the  nation  was 
fundamentally  his  work ;  and  the  first  thing  required 
of  its  chiefs,  judges,  and  officials  of  all  ranks,  was  that 
they  should  recognise  Jehovah  as  the  source  of  their 
authority.  He  always  acted  as  the  real  King  of  the 
nation,  and  treated  the  men  who  bore  the  title  as  his 
representatives,    viceroys,    satraps,    governors.        The 

1  Deut.  viii.  17 

H 


98        The  Bible — Theon^atic  Literature. 

religious  institutions  with  their  officers  were  also 
emphatically  of  His  ordination.  The  books  of  Exodus, 
Leviticus,  Numbers,  Deuteronomy  are  largely  occupied 
with  the  instructions  given  by  Him  to  this  end.  It 
is  by  no  means  necessary  to  assume  that  the  details 
there  recorded  were  all  settled  at  one  time,  or  even 
under  and  through  one  man,  Moses.  Whilst  it  is 
highly  probable,  though  not  certain,  that  to  him  are  to 
be  ascribed  the  main  outlines  and  features — for  which 
reason  the  arrangements  as  a  whole  bear  his  name — 
there  need  be  no  hesitation  in  allowing  that,  subse- 
quently to  his  days,  nay,  indeed,  down  even  to  the 
exile,  modifications  were  introduced,  either  with  the 
divine  sanction  or  at  the  divine  command,  to  suit  the 
changing  circumstances  of  the  nation.  Indeed,  we 
know  that,  at  all  events,  as  far  as  the  musical  part  of 
the  temple  worship  is  concerned,  great  changes,  or 
rather  developments,  were  introduced  by  David  and, 
probably,  by  Solomon.^ 

The  institution  of  prophets  was  one  of  the  most 
special  of  God's  appointments ;  and  He  called  the  men 
who  were  to  discharge  its  duties  according  to  His  own 
pleasure,  either  from  among  priests  or  laymen,  high  or 
low,  educated  or  uneducated,  from  the  city  or  field,  the 
school  or  common  vocation. 

The  rite  of  circumcision,  the  great  festivals,  religious 
and  political,  cities  of  refuge,  and  various  other  features 
of  the  life  of  the  nation,  owed  their  origin  to  Jehovah. 

And  it  is  scarcely  necessary  to  refer,  last  of  all,  to 
1  1  Chron.  vi.  31,  48  ;  ix.  33  ;  xv. 


The  Divine  Factor.  99 

the  mission  of  our  Lord,  or  to  His  own  appointment 
of  apostles  and  establishment  of  His  Church,  with  its 
two  rites,  the  Lord's  Supper  and  Baptism, 

The  life  and  character  of  a  nation  are  determined 
by  the  institutions  which  are  either  given  to  it,  or 
grow  up  in  its  midst.  They  generally,  or,  at  all  events, 
very  frequently,  owe  their  existence  to  the  wise  fore- 
sight of  monarchs,  statesmen,  or  other  leaders — factors 
of  the  nation.  Nor  was  it  otherwise  among  the  Jews. 
God,  the  great  and  supreme  Factor,  originated  the 
chief,  the  most  important  institutions ;  though  great 
men  did  their  part  either  in  carrying  out  the  divine 
provisions,  or  aj)plying  the  principles  involved  therein, 
or  introducing  minor  institutions  adapted  to  local 
or  passing  requirements.  Such  was,  for  example,  the 
procedure  of  David  and  Solomon  in  relation  to  the 
army  and  other  branches  of  the  service  of  the  state.-^ 

IV.  God  was  the  great  lawgiver  and  moral  instructor 
of  the  nation. 

Jehovah  spoke  to  the  Hebrews  as  He  spoke  and 
speaks  to  all  other  men,  through  conscience,  and 
natural  and  social  relations ;  but  He  also  gave  special 
individual  commands,  issued  codes  of  law,  and  took 
care  that  His  will  should  be  ever  afresh  explained  and 
enforced. 

The  first  command  of  which  we  read  in  connection 

with  Israel,  was  that  to  Abraham  ;  but  such  individual 

injunctions   were   given   in   great   numbers    of   cases, 

down  to  the  cessation  of  prophecy ;  as  also  afterwards, 

^  1  Chron.  xxvi.,  and  following  chapters  ;  1  Kings  iv. 


lOO      The  Bible — Theocratic  Liter  attune. 

when  the  Lord  Christ  appeared  to  finally  establish  the 
divine  kingdom.  Their  occurrence  was  determined, 
as  we  should  say,  by  circumstances — by  the  necessities 
of  the  case.  They  came  most  frequently  during  the 
exodus  from  Egypt  to  Canaan.  "When  the  life  of  the 
nation  was  flowing  on  in  a  normal  channel,  the  divine 
will  was  left  to  be  discovered  in  the  ordinary  way. 

Codes  of  laws  for  the  regulation  of  the  political, 
civil,  and  religious  conduct  of  the  people  are  preserved 
in  the  Books  of  Exodus,  Leviticus,  Numbers,  Deuter- 
onomy. As  was  remarked,  however,  in  connection 
with  institutions,  it  is  not  necessary  to  suppose  that 
every  detail  of  these  laws  was  given  through  Moses; 
though  there  can  scarcely  be  a  reasonable  doubt  that 
the  great  outlines  and  most  important  features 
originated  with  him. 

For  the  elucidation  and  enforcement  of  national  and 
even  individual  duty  of  various  kinds,  on  the  basis  of 
the  institutions  and  laws  which  had  already  been  given, 
God  further  cared  by  sending  prophets.  The  divine 
procedure  is  forcibly  described  by  Jeremiah.  Refer- 
ring, first  of  all,  to  the  inclination  of  the  people  to 
substitute  the  outward  for  the  inward,  he  says,  "  I  spake 
not  to  your  fathers,  nor  did  I  command  them  concern- 
ing burnt-offerings  or  sacrifices ;  but  this  thing 
commanded  I  them,  saying,  Obey  My  voice  and  I  will 
be  your  God  and  ye  shall  be  My  people :  and  walk  ye 
in  all  the  ways  that  I  have  commanded  you,  that  it 
may  be  well  with  you.  But  they  hearkened  not  nor 
inclined  their  ear,  but  they  walked  in  the  counsels,  in 


The  Divine  Factor.  loi 

the  stubbornness  of  their  evil  hearts,  and  went  back- 
ward and  not  forward.  Since  the  day  that  your  fathers 
came  forth  out  of  the  land  of  Egypt  unto  this  day  I 
have  even  sent  unto  you  all  My  servants  the  prophets, 
daily  rising  early  and  sending  them. "  ^  Last  of  all, 
came  the  great  prophet  who  exactly  defined  the  mission 
of  all  who  had  preceded,  when  he  said,  *'  I  came  not  to 
destroy  the  law  but  to  fulfil ;  "  but  whilst  all  others 
could  but  explain,  apply,  enforce,  he  transferred  the 
law  from  the  tables  of  stone  to  the  fleshy  tables  of  the 
heart. 

V.  God  gave  promises  and  threats,  conferred  rewards, 
inflicted  punishments,  bestowed  honours,  and  plunged 
into  shame. 

The  writings  of  the  Old  Testament  are  full  of 
promises  and  of  threats  to  Israel, — j)romises  opening 
out  the  grandest  and  most  ravishing  prospects,  near  at 
hand  and  far,  far  off,  if  they  should  be  faithful  to 
their  Lord  ;  threats  that  they  should  become  a  byword, 
a  hissing,  and  an  abomination,  and  be  scattered  among 
all  peoples,  if  they  were  unfaithful.  And  their  history 
as  recorded  by  themselves  bears  full  testimony  to  the 
fact  that  the  rewards  and  honours  promised  by  God 
became  theirs  when  they  obeyed  the  divine  voice; 
that  He  delivered  them  over  and  over  again  with  His 
mighty  arm  when  they  repented  and  cried  unto  Him ; 
and  that  He  visited  them  with  terrible  punishment 
and  degradation  in  proportion  as  their  apostasy  became 
open  and  complete. 

1  Jer.  vii.  22  ff. 


I02       The  Bible — Theocratic  Literature. 

The  last,  most  fearful,  and  saddest  outcome  of  their 
rebellious  spirit,  namely,  the  rejection  of  Him  who  was 
the  fulfilment  of  God's  most  glorious  promises,  who 
came  to  seek  and  save  them  and  the  world,  who 
would  have  been  their  exceeding  great  reward,  and 
whose  acceptance  would  have  crowned  the  nation  with 
glory  and  honour,  brought  in  its  train  their  final 
destruction  as  a  nation,  and  their  degradation  from 
the  lofty  position  of  elect  representative  of  God  among 
the  peoples. 

VI.  God  instructed  the  Hebrews  at  sundry  times 
and  in  divers  manners  regarding  Himself  and  His 
purposes. 

The  principal  channel  through  which  the  Hebrews 
learned  to  know  God  was  His  activity  as  a  factor  in 
their  life.  God  lived  and  moved  among  them,  and  so 
they  were  constantly  brought  face  to  face  with  Him, 
and  enabled  to  appreciate  to  some  extent  His  nature, 
attributes,  character,  mind,  will,  even  as  the  know- 
ledge most  of  us  gain  regarding  our  fellow-men, 
especially  regarding  our  rulers,  statesmen,  leaders,  is 
through  their  life  and  activity,  not  through  positive 
declarations  or  instruction  given  by  them.  Still  at 
certain  great  epochs  Jehovah  condescended  to  instruct 
regarding  Himself  For  example,  in  answer  to  the 
request  of  Moses,  He  said  :  "  I  Am  that  I  Am.  Thus 
shalt  thou  say  unto  the  children  of  Israel — I  Am  hath 
sent  me  unto  you."-^  Further,  ''I  am  Jehovah  ;  and 
I  appeared  unto  Abraham,  unto  Isaac,  and  unto  Jacob 
1  Exod.  iii.  14. 


The  Divine  Factor.  103 

in  the  name  of  God  Almighty ;  but  as  to  My  name 
Jehovah,  I  made  not  Myself  known  to  them."^  So, 
likewise,  the  various  declarations  made  to  Pharaoh, 
as,  for  example,  ''  There  is  none  like  Me  in  all  the 
earth;  "2  ''I  am  the  Lord;"^  "The  earth  is  the 
Lord's;"*  ''The  Lord,  the  Lord,  a  God  merciful  and 
gracious,  longsuffering,  and  abundant  in  goodness  and 
truth,  keeping  mercy  for  thousands,  forgiving  iniquity 
and  transgression  and  sin,  and  that  will  by  no  means 
clear  the  guilty;  visiting  the  iniquity  of  the  fathers 
upon  the  children  and  upon  the  children's  children, 
unto  the  third  and  to  the  fourth  generation  ;"^  "The 
Lord  is  a  jealous  God ;  "^  "  Ye  shall  be  holy,  for  I  am 
holy."''  Other  declarations  of  a  similar  nature  occur 
at  intervals,  called  forth,  as  one  may  say,  speaking 
after  the  manner  of  men,  by  the  necessity  of  the 
occasion,  and  finding  their  consummation  in  the  teach- 
ings of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ. 

Many  hints  are  given  also  by  God  regarding  His 
purposes  with  Israel  and  the  world  at  large  ;^  though 
as  they  constantly  interchange  with  promises  and 
threatenings  whose  fulfilment  was  conditional  on  the 
conduct  of  those  to  whom  they  were  given,  it  is  not 
wise  to  press  them  in  any  particular  case.  The 
clearest  intimations  related  to  and  arise  out  of  the 
mission   of  Christ   the   Messiah   and    His   redeeming 

1  Exod.  vi.  2.  2  Exod.  viii.  10.  3  Exod.  x.  1. 

*  Exod.  ix.  29.  ^  Exod.  xxxiv.  6. 

^  Exod.  xxxiv.  14  ;  cf.  Dent.  vi.  15 ;  Num.  xiv.  18.    ^  Lev.  xi.  45. 

^  Amos  iii.  7,  "  The  Lord  doetli  nothing  without  revealing  His 
secret  to  the  prophets." 


1 04      The  Bible — Theocratic  L  iterature. 

work.  But  neither  as  regards  the  divine  nature  nor 
the  divine  plans  is  the  intimation  or  the  revelation 
given  by  God  of  a  kind  to  satisfy  merely  intellectual 
curiosity.  Its  sole  end  and  aim  was  the  furtherance 
of  a  right  practical  relation  to  God  Himself,  and  of 
readiness  to  do  His  will  in  the  world. 

VII.  The  methods  which  God  employed  in  the 
discharge  of  these  functions,  as  a  factor  of  the  life  of 
the  Jewish  people.  The  human  factors  did  their 
work  in  various  ways,  either  themselves  or  through 
agents ;  by  signs,  by  words,  by  deeds,  by  their  per- 
sonal presence,  and  by  unconscious  influences,  giving 
rise  to  feelings,  thoughts,  and  other  movements  of 
the  inner  man.  So  do  human  factors  always  fulfil 
their  parts.  And  if  we  examine  the  history  with 
which  we  are  now  occupied,  we  shall  find  that  God 
adopted  analogous  modes  of  co-operating  with  the 
other  factors  in  the  determination  of  the  life  of  the 
Hebrew  people, — modes  strictly  analogous,  though 
naturally  different,  in  conformity  with  the  difference 
between  the  divine  and  the  human,  between  visible 
and  feeble  man  and  the  invisible  and  omnipotent 
God. 

(I.)  God  acted  specially  on  and  through  the  natural 
environment  of  the  nation,  including  in  the  natural 
environment  also  the  human  body.  In  an  ordinary 
way,  God  is  always  acting  on  nature  generally,  and 
on  the  natural  environment  of  the  nations  ;  and  save 
when  His  personal  relation  to  a  nation  becomes  special, 
He    does    not    act    otherwise.       A    special    spiritual 


The  Divine  Factor.  105 

relation  demands  speciality  in  the  external  relation ; 
and  speciality  in  the  external  without  speciality 
in  the  internal  would  only  give  rise  to  superstitious 
hopes  or  fears.-^  But  the  two  correspond,  supplement, 
interpret,  and  aid  each  other.  This  special  action  of 
God  is  commonly  termed  miraculous  ;  but  I  purposely 
use  a  vaguer  term,  because  the  boundary  line  between 
what  is  obviously  miraculous  and  what  seems  to  be 
merely  an  intensified  or  peculiar  form  of  the  action 
of  what  is  spoken  of  as  the  laws  of  nature,  or,  as  it 
would  be  more  correct  to  say,  of  the  force  or  forces 
whose  ordinary  working  constitutes  the  course  of 
nature,  is  not  very  clearly  marked ;  nor,  if  the  point 
of  view  from  which  the  divine  relation  to  Israel  is 
here  regarded  be  correct,  should  this  be  the  case. 

1 .  A  distinction  may  be  drawn  between  special  divine 
action  without,  or  with  and  through  human  agents ; 
between  special  action,  in  which  no  human  agent  is 
either  really  or  seemingly  interposed,  and  that  which 
is  mediately  directed  or  commanded  by  a  human 
agent.  In  the  former  class  might  be  placed  interven- 
tions, such  as  the  destruction  of  Korah,  Dathan,  and 
Abiram ;  of  the  army  of  Sennacherib ;  the  deliver- 
ances of  Shadrach,  Meshach,  and  Abed-nego  ;  and  the 
resurrection  of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ.  To  the  latter 
class  belong  nearly  all  the  signs  aud  wonders  wrought 
in  the  course  of  the  long  history.^ 

1  See  Rothe,  "  Zur  Dogmatik." 

2  So  Rothe.     See  article  "  Wunder"  in  Herzog's  "  Realencycl.," 
vol.  xviii.  p.  317  ;  cf.  308. 


io6      The  Bible — TJieon^atic  Literahnx, 

2.  The  special  action  of  God  termed  miraculous 
may  be  said  to  be  of  two  kinds.-^ 

(1.)  Special  control  of  natural  forces,  so  that,  with- 
out ceasing  to  be  natural,  they  act  in  a  special  man- 
ner or  produce  special  effects.^  Of  this  kind  were, 
perhaps,  the  enabling  of  Sarah,  Rebekah,  and  Hannah 
to  bear  children  when  apparently  too  old ;  the  plagues 
of  frogs,  lice,  flies,  murrain,  boils,  and  blains,  thunder, 
and  hail,  and  locusts,  in  Egypt ;  the  supply  of  manna, 
quails,  and  water ^  in  the  desert;  the  thunders  and 
lightnings  of  Sinai  ;  the  sending  of  the  fiery  serpents ; 
the  destruction  of  the  mocking  children  at  Bethel; 
the  feeding  of  Elijah  by  the  ravens ;  ^  Jonah  and  the 
whale ;  and  some  of  the  miracles  of  our  Lord,  as,  e.g., 
that  of  the  stater  in  the  fish's  mouth,  and  the  draughts 
of  fish.  Of  this  nature  also  was,  perhaps,  the 
enabling  of  Moses  to  spend  forty  days  and  forty  nights 
on  Mount  Sinai  without  food,^  and  the  strengthening 
of  Elijah  when,  through  the  hand  of  the  Lord  upon 
him,  he  ran  before  Ahab's  chariot  to  the  entrance  of 
Jezreel.^ 

(2.)  The  production  of  effects,  changes,  or  pheno- 
mena without  the  employment  of  any  visible  or 
known  natural  forces.  These  are  the  miracles  proper, 
miracles  in  the  narrower  or  stricter  sense  of  the  term. 

1  See  on  "  Epochs  of  Miracles,"  Herzog,  vol.  xviii.  308. 

2  The  Destruction  of  Sodoni  and  Gomorrah ;   the  Flood,  &c., 
before  the  time  of  Abraham. 

2  Water  from  the  rock  at  Eephidim. 

4  2  Kings  ii.  23  ff.  ^  Deut.  ix.  9. 

6  1  Kings  xviii.  46  ;  Ezek.  iii.  12  ;  ii.  2,  &c. 


The  Divine  Factor.  107 

Amongst  them  may  be  mentioned  the  turning  of 
Aaron's  rod  into  a  serpent,  the  conversion  of  water 
into  blood,  the  darkness,  and  the  slaying  of  the 
firstborn  in  Egypt ;  the  parting  of  the  Bed  Sea  ; 
the  death  of  Nadab  and  Abihu  ;  the  swallowing 
up  of  Korah,  Dathan,  and  Abiram  ;  the  healing 
by  the  brazen  serpent;  the  stoppage  of  the  waters 
of  Jordan  ;  the  fall  of  the  walls  of  Jericho ;  the 
death  of  Uzzali  for  touching  the  ark;  the  wither- 
ing of  Jeroboam's  hand  ;  the  raising  of  the  widow's 
son  of  Zarepath,  and  of  the  son  of  the  Shunamite; 
the  dividing  of  Jordan  by  Elijah  and  Elisha ;  the 
curing  of  Naaman's  leprosy,  and  the  smiting  of 
Gehazi  ;  the  destruction  of  Sennacherib's  army ; 
the  smiting  of  TJzziah  with  leprosy,  and  of  the 
Philistines  ;  the  sending  of  fire  down  on  Elijah's 
sacrifice  ;  the  translation  of  Enoch  and  Elijah  ; 
the  deliverance  of  the  three  Jews  from  the  fiery 
furnace,  and  of  Daniel  from  the  den  of  lions  ;  and, 
in  fact,  nearly  all  the  wonders  recorded  in  the  Old 
Testament.  Most  of  the  miracles  recorded  in 
the  New  Testament,  so  far  as  they  affect  the 
natural  world  and  the  human  body,  belong  to  this 
class.-^ 

(II.)  God  acted  specially  on  the  human  mind.  Of 
this  mode  of  intervention  we  may  distinguish  three 
kinds. 

1  As  to  the  classification  of  one  and  another  of  the  miracles, 
opinions  may  difier,  but  the  distinction  drawn  seems  to  me 
real. 


io8       The  Bible — Theocratic  Literahcre. 

1.  The  jiTBt  had  the  effect  of  heightening,  or 
quickening  the  normal  mental  energy  and  activity. 
Examples  of  this  are  the  influence  on  Bezaleel  and 
others  referred  to  in  Exodus  : — ''  See  I  have  called 
by  name  Bezaleel  and  have  filled  him  with  the  spirit 
of  God  in  wisdom  and  understanding  and  in  know- 
ledge and  in  all  manner  of  workmanship,  to  devise 
curious  works,  to  work  in  gold  and  in  silver  and  in 
brass,  and  in  cutting  of  stones  to  set  them,  and  in 
carving  of  wood,  to  work  in  all  manner  of  workman- 
ship. And  I,  behold  I  have  given  with  him  Aholiab, 
and  in  the  hearts  of  all  that  are  wise-hearted  I  have 
put  wisdom  that  they  may  make  all  that  I  have 
commanded  thee."^  In  this  case  men  are  specially 
energised  for  the  more  external  work  intrusted  to 
them. 

Another  example  is  this  : — "  And  the  Lord  said 
unto  Moses,  gather  unto  me  seventy  men  of  the  elders 
of  Israel,  and  I  will  come  down  and  talk  with  them 
there,  and  I  will  take  of  the  spirit  which  is  upon 
thee  and  will  put  it  upon  them  ;  and  it  came  to 
pass  when  the  spirit  rested  upon  them  that  they 
prophesied."^ 

Again,  it  is  said  of  Joshua,  that  "  he  was  full  of 
the  spirit  of  wisdom,  for  Moses  had  laid  his  hands 
upon  him,  and  the  children  of  Israel  hearkened  unto 
him,  and  did  as  the  Lord  commanded  Moses." ^     No 

1  Exod.  xxxi.  1  ff.  ;  cf.  1  Cliron.  xxviii.  12. 

2  Num.  xi.  16,  17,  25  ;  cf.  Isa.  xi.  2. 

3  Deut.  xxxiv.  9  :  Num.  xxvii.  18. 


The  Divine  Factor.  109 

new  faculties  were  given  to  Joshua  ;  but  his  native 
capabiHties  were  quickened  and  invigorated,  in  order 
to  his  discharge  of  the  great  duties  imposed  upon 
him. 

So  too  of  the  judges  on  whom,  w^e  read,  the  spirit 
of  the  Lord  came,  fitting  them  to  judge  and  deliver 
His  people;  as  is  said,  for  example,  of  Othniel,^  of 
Gideon, 2  of  Jephthah,^  and  of  Samson,  whom  "the 
spirit  of  the  Lord  moved."  "^ 

Saul  also  experienced  this  special  action  of  the 
spirit,^  though  we  are  not  informed  for  what  specific 
purpose  or  with  what  specific  results.  The  prophets 
are  repeatedly  said  to  be  stirred  and  invigorated  by 
the  power  of  the  Spirit  of  God.  "  The  Spirit  of  the 
Lord  God  is  upon  me."^  "  I  am  full  of  power  by 
the  Spirit  of  the  Lord,  and  of  judgment  and  of 
might."  ^ 

2.  By  the  second,  dormant  or  latent  faculties — 
faculties  which  men  are  not  ordinarily  capable  of 
exercising,  still  less  conscious  of,  and  which  indeed 
they  are  apparently  not  meant  to  have  under  con- 
trol in  the  present  life — were  called  into  temporary 
activity.  Under  this  head  may  be  classed  Joseph's 
power  to  interpret  Pharaoh's  dreams  f  Daniel's  ability 
tu  read  the  writing  seen  by  Belshazzar  on  the  wall  of 
his  palace ;  ^  the  opening  of  the  inner  eye  to  see  what 
was    otherwise    invisible,   as  in   the   case   of   Elisha's 

1  Judges  iii.  10.  ^  Judges  vi.  34.  ^  Judges  xi.  29 

*  Judges  xiii.  25.  ^  1  Sam.  x.  10  ;  xi.  6.      ^  Isa.  Ixi.  1. 

7  Micah  iii.  8.  »  Gen.  xli.  14.  »  Dan.  v.  1-13. 


I  lo      The  Bible — Theocratic  Literature. 

servant/  or  Paul  when  Christ  appeared  to  him  on 
the  way  to  Damascus;^  the  unstopping  of  the 
inner  ear,  as  when  Paul  in  ecstasy  "heard  unspeak- 
able words  ;"^  the  power  of  speaking  in  strange 
languages,  as  wielded  by  the  Apostles  at  Pentecost, 
by  those  who  met  at  the  house  of  Cornelius  to 
hear  Peter,  and  by  members  of  the  Corinthian 
Church  ;^  the  ability  to  interpret  the  unknown 
tongues  exercised  by  the  Corinthians  ;^  the  spirit  of 
prophecy  promised  in  Joel  ;^  perhaps  also  the  gifts 
of  the  Spirit  coveted  by  Simon  Magus  ; "  possibly, 
too,  some  of  the  experiences  of  John  recorded  in 
the  Apocalypse ;  and  finally,  our  Lord's  ability  to 
read  the  thoughts  and  purposes  of  the  men  who 
were  around  Him. 

3.  The  special  control  of  the  purposes  and  plans  of 
individual  men,  and  through  them  of  whole  tribes  and 
peoples,  for  the  accomplishment  of  some  divine  end. 
Amongst  illustrations  of  this  kind  may  be  adduced  the 
"  hardening  of  Pharaoh's  heart  that  he  should  not  let 
Israel  go  ;"^  the  stirring  up  of  the  spirit  of  Pul,  King 
of  Assyria,  and  the  spirit  of  Tiglath  Pileser,  King  of 
Assyria,  to  carry  away  the  Reubenites  and  others 
captive  ;^  the  action  of  Amasai,  the  chief  of  the  thirty, 
in  saying,  "  Thine  are  we,  David,  and  on  thy  side ;  "^° 
the  stirring  up  of  the  spirit  of  Zerubbabel,  the  gover- 

1  2  Kings  vi.  17.  2  Acts  ix.  3.  ^  2  Cor.  xii.  4. 

4  Acts  ii.  4  ;  X.  10  ;  1  Cor.  xii.  10,  30  ;  xiv.  2  ff. 

5  1  Cor.  xii.  10,  30  ;  xiv.  4  ff.     ^  Joel  ii.  28.       ^  Acts  viii.  18  ff. 
8  Exod.  vii.  3.  °  1  Chron.  v.  26.  10  1  Ciiron.  xii.  18. 


The  Divine  Factor.  1 1 1 

nor  of  Judah,  and  of  Joshua,  the  high  priest,  and  of 
the  remnant  of  the  people,  to  come  and  do  work  in 
the  house  of  the  Lord  of  Hosts  '^  the  stirring  up  of 
the  spirit  of  the  King  of  the  Modes  to  execute  the 
vengeance  of  the  Lord;^  and  other  cases  of  strange 
kings  and  also  peoples,  who  "  not  thinking  to  do  the 
will  of  God,"^  were  controlled  so  as  to  work  out  His 
designs. 

Under  this  same  head,  though  at  a  long  distance, 
we  may  mention  the  case  of  our  Lord's  being  "  led  up 
of  the  Spirit  to  be  tempted  in  the  desert;"*  and 
similar  occurrences  in  the  life  of  His  apostles. 

(in.)  God  indicated  and  expressed  His  mind  and 
will  in  special  ways.  In  the  wider  sense  all  the 
divine  interventions  were  indications  of  God's  mind 
and  will,  especially  revelations  of  Hiiinself.  Particu- 
larly was  this  the  case  with  miracles,  properly  so 
termed ;  but  the  distinction  drawn  between  the  acts 
which  a  man  performs  for  the  benefit  of  others,  and 
the  expression  he  gives  to  his  thoughts,  may  be  applied 
to  the  divine  interventions,  as  compared  with  the 
divine  communications. 

1.  Signs  were  employed.^  The  term  sign  is 
variously  applied — at  the  one  end,  to  things  and 
events     which,     though     remarkable,     are     perfectly 

1  Haggai  i.  14.  ^  Jqj.^  h  h  .^  ^f^  2  Kings  xix.  7. 

3  See  Isa.  x.  5  ;  Isa.  xliv.  28,  "  Cyrus  is  my  shepherd,  and  shall 
perform  all  my  pleasure,"  &c. 

4  Matt.  iv.  1. 

5  See  Ladd  on  "  Signs,"  p.  132  ;  "  Miracles,"  p.  127. 


112       The  Bible — Theocratic  Literature, 

natural ;  at  the  other,  to  miracles ;  and  it  is  not 
easy  to  determine  where  the  one  passes  into  the 
other.  The  supernatural  is  a  sign;  and  the  extra- 
ordinary natural  is  a  sign. 

Isaiah  says,  ''  Behold  I  and  the  children  whom  the 
Lord  hath  given  me,  are  for  signs  and  for  wonders  in 
Israel  from  the  Lord  of  Hosts." -^  The  rainbow  was  to 
be  a  sign  or  token  of  the  covenant  from  God.^  The 
censers  once  used  by  Korah,  Dathan,  and  Abiram, 
were  to  be  signs  unto  the  children  of  Israel.^  The 
death  of  Eli's  two  sons  on  the  same  day  was  a  sign.^ 
The  curses  and  desolations  brought  on  Israel  were  to 
be  a  sign.^  The  rending  of  the  altar  and  the  pouring 
out  of  the  ashes  upon  it,  are  set  as  a  sign.^  As  a 
sign  to  Gideon,  the  angel  of  the  Lord  touched  the 
flesh  and  the  unleavened  cakes,  and  caused  them  to 
consume.''^  So,  too,  the  going  back  of  the  shadow  of 
the  dial  ten  degrees,  was  a  sign  to  Hezekiah  that  he 
should  recover.^ 

We  may  further  mention  the  smoking  furnace  and 
lamp  ;  ^  the  burning  bush ;  -^^  the  Shekinah  in  the 
temple ;  ^^  the  prophets  are  instructed,  or  instruct 
others,  to  regard  as  signs,  or  use  for  the  purpose,  the 
destruction  of  the  Assyrians  and  the  assassination  of 

1  Isa.  viii.   18.     See  Isa.  xx.  3,  Isaiah  walking  barefoot.     So- 
Ezek.  xii.  6. 

2  Gen.  ix.  12  flf.  3  Num.  xvi.  38.  *  1  Sam.  ii.  34. 

5  Deut.  xxviii.  46  ;  Jer.  xliv.  29.  ^  1  Kings  xiii.  3. 

7  Judges  vi.  20.  ®  2  Kings  xx.  9  f. 

9  Gen.  XV.  17.  ^^  Exod.  iii.  3. 
11  1  Kings  vi.  16  ;  cf.  8,  6  f. 


The  Divine  Factor.  1 1 3 

Sennacherib  ;  Hosea's  taking  to  himself  a  wife  ;  ^ 
locusts,  fire,  fruit,  &c.  ;  ^  the  tempest,  the  sudden 
growth  and  decay  of  the  gourd  that  happened  to 
Jonah  ;*  the  death  of  Ezekiel's  wife  ;  ^  and  the 
almond  tree  and  the  seething-pot.^ 

Perhaps,  too,  we  might  include  under  this  general 
head  the  phenomena  connected  with  the  Urim  and 
Thummim ;  ^  and,  so  far  as  it  was  done  with  the 
divine  sanction,  the  casting  of  lots.^ 

2.  Dreams^  and  Visions,  with  and  without  explana- 
tory words.  Here,  too,  again,  the  line  separating 
dream  from  vision,  is  not  very  distinct  ;  though  in 
general  there  are  two  features  that  distinguish  them. 
Dreams  come  generally  by  night,  during  natural  sleep, 
and  are  constituted  of  materials  furnished  to  hand 
by  experience.  Visions  come  either  by  day  or  night ; 
either  in  a  waking  state  or  in  one  of  trance ;  and  may 
be  constituted  by  new  materials. 

Amongst  what  appear  to  be  dreams  proper,  may 
be  mentioned  that  of  Jacob  when  he  saw  the  ladder 
up  to  heaven  -^^  those  of  Joseph  ;^-^  of  Pharaoh  and  of 
Pharaoh's  butler  and  baker  ;^^  of  the  Midianite  soldier, 

1  Isa.  xxxvii.  36-38.  ^  Hosea  1.  2  ;  iii.  1. 

3  Amos  vii.  1-4  ;  viii.  1.  *  Jonah  i,  iv. 

5  Ezek.  xxiv.  18.  6  jer.  i.  n  f. 
7  Num.  xxvii.  21 ;  Ezra  ii.  63. 

®  Josh,  xviii.  10  ;  Judges  xx.  9  ;  1  Sam.  xiv.  41  ;  1  Chron. 
xxiv.  7  ;  Isa.  xxxiv.  17  ;  Acts  i.  26. 

9  On  Dreams.  See  Winer's  "  Realworterbuch,"  article  "  Traum ; " 
also  Herzog's  Encycl.  sub  voce. 

10  Gen.  xxviii.  12  ff.  ii  Gen.  xxxvii.  5, 
12  Exod.  xl.  1  ;  iv.  1  ff. 

I 


114      The  Bible — Theocratic  Literature. 

whose  telling  thereof  was  overheard  by  Gideon ;  -^  the 
dreams  interpreted  by  Daniel  j^  and  Daniel's  own 
dream. ^     These  were  unattended  by  words. 

The  following  are  examples  of  dreams,  which  are 
said  to  be  accompanied  by  verbal  communications  : — 
that  of  Abimelech;*  of  Jacob  when  he  was  with 
Laban;^  of  Solomon  ;^  and  of  Joseph  with  regard  to 
Mary  and  Jesus.'^  Dreams  are  frequently  alluded  to 
as  sent  by  God,  in  nearly  all  the  books  of  the  Bible, 
especially,  however,  in  the  prophecies.^ 

Visions  occur,  likewise,  with  and  without  the 
accompaniment  of  words  and  explanations,^  They  are 
of  the  most  varied  kinds.  The  word  is  very  frequently 
applied  to  communications  through  the  ear,  as  for 
example  in  the  case  of  the  divine  message  to  Samuel 
regarding  Eli  and  his  house  : — "  Samuel  feared  to 
show  Eli  the  vision '/'^^  and  frequently  by  the 
prophets. -^-^  Words  are  accordingly  said  to  be  "  seen," 
when  in  reality  they  were  heard. -^^  I  understand  the 
word  here  of  what  is  seen. 

Visions  in  the  narrower  and  stricter  sense  of  some- 
thing presented  to  the  inner  eye,  are  described  most 
vividly  by  Balaam.      "  Balaam  the  son  of  Beor  saith, 

1  Judges  vii.  13. 

2  Dan.  ii.  3.  ^  Dan.  vii.  1.  ^  Qen.  xx.  3. 
5  Gen.  xxxi.  11  ff.      ^  I  Kings  iii.  5.  ^  Matt.  i.  20. 

8  Cf.  Jer.  xxiii.  25  ;  xxiii.  28  ;  Zecli.  x.  2  ;  Joel  ii.  28 ;  Deut. 
xiii.  1  ff  ;  xviii.  21. 

9  Cf.  Ezek.  i.  24  ;  ix.  1  ;  xxvii. ;  xl.  4  ;  xliii.  6,  with  voices. 

10  1  Sam.  iii.  15. 

11  Cf.  Isa.  xxi.  2 ;  Obad.  i.  1  ;  Nahum  i.  1  ;  xxii.  7-26,  &c. 

12  Isa.  ii.  1  ;  Amos  i.  1  :  Micak  i.  1. 


The  Divine  Factor.  1 1 5 

and  the  man  whose  eye  was  closed  saith  :  he  saith 
which  heareth  the  words  of  God,  which  seeth  the 
vision  of  the  Almighty,  falling  down  and  having  his 
eyes  open."^  Balaam  saw  the  future  of  Israel  pass 
before  him  in  a  series  of  pictures,  as  it  were,  a 
panorama.  Isaiah  describes  a  vision  of  the  Lord 
sitting  upon  a  throne,  high  and  lifted  up,  with  train 
filling  the  temple;^  Ezekiel  had  visions  of  various 
kinds  ;^  Daniel  too;^  Peter  had  a  vision  before  going 
to  Cornelius;^  visions  came  also  to  Paul  f  and  John's 
Apocalypse  consists  to  a  large  extent  of  visions. 

8.  Words  audible  to  the  outward  ear.  Cases  of 
this  kind  seem  to  be  the  following : — God,  or  the 
Angel  of  God,  spake  audibly  to  Jacob  during  the 
wrestling;"^  in  the  ears  of  the  children  of  Israel  at 
Sinai ;  ^  to  Moses  from  above  the  mercy  seat,  that 
was  upon  the  ark  of  the  testimony,  from  between  the 
two  cherubims ;  ^  also,  when  the  Lord  came  down  in 
the  cloud ;  ^^  to  Samuel  when  he  was  as  a  boy  in  the 
temple  of  the  Lord  '^^  to  Balaam  through  the  Angel, 
as  he  was  riding  on  his  ass ;  and  elsewhere  in  the  Old 
Testament. -^^  In  the  New  Testament  audible  voices 
were  heard  from  heaven  at  the  baptism  of  our  Lord, 

1  Num.  xxiv.  3  ff. ;  cf.  Henderson  on  "  Inspiration,"  p.  136. 

2  Isa.  vi.  1  ff.  3  Ezek.  i.  4  ff.  ;  xliv.  4. 

*  Daniel  vi.  2  ;  viii.  If.       ^  Acts  xi.  5.  ^  Acts  xvi.  9. 

7  Gen.  xxxii.  24.  »  Exod.  x.  19.  ^  Nnm.  vii.  89. 

10  Num.  xi.  25.  "  1  Sam.  iii.  4. 

12  Cf.  Num.  viii.  1  ;  Exod.  xxv.  22  ;  xix.  16 ;  1  Kings  xix.  11  ; 
Deut.  iv.  12  ;  Dan.  iv.  3  ;  also  Gen.  xv.  8  ff.  ;  xviii.  13,  17  ; 
xxv.  23 ;  XXXV.  1  ;  probably,  too,  many  conversations  with  Moses 
"  face  to  face  "  were  audibly  conducted. 


1 1 6       The  Bible — Theocratic  Literature. 

at  His  transfiguration,  and  at  the  grave  of  Lazarus; 
also  by  Paul,  when  he  was  arrested  on  the  way  to 
Damascus.-^ 

There  are  many  narratives  in  which  it  is  not  quite 
clear  whether  voices  audible  by  the  outward  ear  are 
intended,  or  words  spoken  to  the  inner  ear.^ 

4.  Inwardly  audible  or  perceptible  words.  This 
seems  to  me  to  have  been  one  of  the  chief  modes  by 
which  God  communicated  with  men ;  and  examples 
occur  frequently  through  the  history  of  Israel — so 
frequently,  indeed,  that  it  is  scarcely  necessary  to 
refer  to  any  in  ^Darticular.  As  I  remarked  under  the 
last  head,  there  are  many  cases  in  which  it  is  doubtful 
whether  it  was  externally  or  merely  internally  audible 
speaking.  When  the  prophets  speak  of  the  word  or 
burden  or  message  of  the  Lord  coming  to  them  f  or 
of  things  being  revealed  in  their  ears;^  or  of  God 
revealing  His  secret  to  the  prophet  ;^  or  when  Elijah 
hears  the  still  small  voice  ;*"  or  Philip  the  injunction 
to  go  to  meet  the  eunuch  ;^  or  Paul  the  exhortation 
to  go  to  Macedonia,^  and  so  forth — it  was  probably  in 
this  way.  So  too  the  words  spoken  in  connection 
with,  and  elucidation  of,  visions.^ 

5.  Suggestions.  By  these  I  mean  thoughts  arising 
within  the  mind,  either  during,  or  independently  of, 
conscious  effort  or  co-operation  ;    but  not  expressed  in 

1  Tlie  words  spoken  throiigli  incarnations  were  thus  audible. 

2  On  the  Bath  Col.,  see  Henderson,  146. 

3  Passim.  *  Isa.  xxii.  14  ;  xxx.  21  ;  1.  4  ;  Ixii.  2. 
5  Amos  iii.  7.  ^1  Kings  xix.  12.  ^  Acts  viii. 

8  Acts  xvi.  9.  ®  See  references  under  Visions. 


The  Divine  Factor.  117 

words  to  the  inward  ear.  Of  this  kind  was  probably  to 
a  large  extent  the  action  of  the  spirit  of  God  in  and 
on  the  prophets.  Sometimes  they  heard  their  message, 
oftenest  perhaps  it  came  as  the  result  of  an  influence 
acting  below  consciousness,  but  whose  results  they 
were  able  to  differentiate  from  their  own  proper  work. 
Of  this  nature,  too,  was  the  action  of  the  Spirit 
promised  by  Christ  : — "  It  shall  be  given  you  in  that 
hour  what  ye  shall  speak  ;"^  "He  shall  guide  you 
into  all  the  truth  ;"^  and  the  consciousness  which  Paul 
expresses,  and  the  other  writers  of  the  New  Testament 
probably  had,  of  speaking  and  writing  the  mind  of 
Christ,  was  rooted  in  this  mode  of  the  divine  action.^ 

6,  Incarnations — whether  of  departed  men  or  of 
angels,  or  of  the  Son  of  God.  Under  this  head  must 
be  included  appearances  of  the  dead,  whether  moment- 
ary or  more  lasting,  as  for  example,  that  of  Lazarus, 
that  of  Samuel,  through  the  witch  of  Endor,  of  Moses 
and  Elias  on  the  Mount  of  Transfiguration,  of  our 
Lord  Himself  after  His  death ;  angelophanies,  such  as 
are  mentioned  in  the  Old  aud  New  Testaments,  in 
the  latter  those  to  Mary,  to  Zechariah,  to  Peter  in  the 
prison,  and  so  forth  ;  theophanies  or  Christophanies  as 
in  some  cases  of  the  Old  Testament — perhaps  the 
Maleach  Jehovah  was  a  Christophany — and  finally 
the  Incarnation  proper. 

7.  Such  were  the  chief  modes  in  which,  or  channels 

1  Matt.  X.  19.  2  John  xvi.  13. 

3  Cf.  Mark  xiii.  11  ;  Luke  xxi.  14  ;  xi.  11  ;  Acts  iv.  6  ;  2  Tim. 
iv.  16  ;  cf.  Exod.  iv.  11  ;  Jer.  i.  9  ;  John  xiv.  26  ;  xv.  26. 


1 18       The  Bible — Theocratic  Literature. 

by  which,  God  entered  into  special  communication  with 
the  other  factors  of  the  Jewish  nation.  To  repeat  what 
I  hinted  at  before : — just  as,  we  will  say,  David 
established  institutions,  legislated,  wrought  works, 
influenced  men's  bodies  and  minds,  and  conveyed  to 
his  fellow-countrymen  what  he  wished,  proposed,  felt, 
thought,  by  various  channels;  so  did  Jehovah  the 
great  divine  factor.  The  several  channels  or  modes 
which  He  selected  were  determined  by  the  special 
relation  He  holds  to  men  in  general,  and  by  the 
special  mental  and  other  conditions  of  those  whom  we 
may  term  His  co-factors  in  the  life  of  the  nation. 

Everything  that  God  did  and  spake  was  done  and 
spoken  in  discharge  and  fulfilment  of  His  part,  as  a 
factor  of  the  chosen  people;  to  the  end  that  that 
people  might  become  for  itself  and  for  other  peoples 
what  He  intended  it  to  become.  As  was  remarked 
before,  every  divine  act  told  something  about  God  ; 
but  that  was  rather  the  accident,  or  at  all  events  the 
secondary  purpose,  than  the  substance  or  primary  pur- 
pose of  the  acts.  On  the  contrary,  the  primary  end 
of  God  in  the  use  of  the  vehicle  or  channels  we  have 
been  considering  was  to  let  the  Israelites  know  some- 
thing about  His  mind  or  will  or  feelings  towards  them- 
selves or  others,  though  this,  too,  almost  if  not  quite 
invariably,  as  was  remarked  before,  had  a  distinctly 
practical,  never  a  theoretical  or  merely  intellectual 
purpose. 


The  Mission  of  the  Jewish  Nation,       1 1 9 


CHAPTER    IX. 

THE    MISSION    OF    THE    JEWISH    NATION. 

I.  rSlHE  idea  or  law  and  purpose  of  the  life  of  the 

-L       Israelites  as  a  nation. 

The  Israelites  betray  from  beginning  to  end  a  more 
or  less  distinct  consciousness  of  the  fact  that  they  exist 
as  a  nation  for  a  particular  end  ;  and  that  their  life  is 
subject  to  a  definite  law.  It  may  be  taken  for 
granted  by  every  one  who  believes  that  God  rules  the 
world,  that  some  idea  or  other  underlies  and  pervades 
the  life  of  every  nation.  But  whatever  the  divine 
view  of  the  matter  may  be,  it  is  certain  that  no  other 
nation  has  shown  itself  to  be  clearly  conscious  of  the 
fact.  They  all  live  out  their  lives  as  nations  with 
little  more  sense  of  having  a  special  vocation  to  fulfil 
or  end  to  serve,  than  the  beasts  of  the  fields,  or  the 
fowls  of  the  air.  Occasionally,  perhaps,  where  there 
is  a  literature,  a  great  orator  or  poet  or  historian  may 
have  had  and  given  expression  to,  a  glimpse  of  the 
role  which  the  nation  as  a  whole  was  playing ;  but  even 
if  it  were  confessed  for  a  moment,  and  excited  a  passing 
enthusiasm,  or  pride,  or  other  emotion,  it  never 
became  an  abiding  conviction  of  the  national  mind. 


I20      The  Bible — Theocratic  Literature, 

colouring  its  whole  view  of  life  and  the  world,  and 
swaying  its  conduct  at  every  important  epoch. 

This  was,  however,  the  case  with  the  Jews.  What 
then  was  this  idea  and  law?  Analysed,  the  several 
elements  may  be  described  as  follows : — 

(I.)  They  conceived  themselves  to  be  witnesses  for 
Jehovah  to  the  whole  world,  and  their  mission  to  be 
to  bless  the  whole  earth.  This  keynote  of  their  life 
comes  out  with  wonderful  clearness  in  the  narrative  of 
divine  intercourse  with  Abraham,  Isaac,  and  Jacob  ; 
but  the  idea  recurs  again  and  again  in  a  variety  of 
forms,  especially  at  great  crises.  They  fought,  it  is 
true,  against  it ;  nay,  more,  they  twisted  it  into  the 
notion  that  they  were  special  favourites  of  Jehovah, 
to  the  exclusion  of  all  other  peoples  ;  and  had  con- 
sequently to  be  visited  with  sore  tribulations,  to  be 
exiled,  and  finally,  after  rejecting  Christ,  to  be 
scattered  to  and  fro  on  the  earth ;  yet  it  was  present 
more  or  less  distinctly  to  the  higher  and  nobler  minds 
of  the  nation.  It  comes  out  in  passages  like  the 
following  : — "  Jerusalem  shall  be  called  the  throne  of 
the  Lord,  and  all  nations  shall  be  gathered  unto  it;"^ 
"If  thou  reform — the  nations  shall  bless  themselves  and 
glory  in  Him;"^  "Thou  shalt  rule  over  many  nations;"^ 
"  All  the  peoples  on  earth  shall  see  that  thou  art  called 
by  the  name  of  the  Lord."^  ''Every  one  that  is  left 
of  all  the  nations  that  came  against  Jerusalem  shall  go 
up  from  year  to  year  to  worship  the  King,  the  Lord  of 

1  Jer.  iii.  17.  2  j^r.  iv.  1,  2.  3  Peut.  xv.  6. 

*  Deut.  xxviii.  10 ;  cf.  Ps.  cxvii.  1  ;  xcvii. ;  Psalm  ii. 


The  Mission  of  the  Jewish  Nation.       1 2 1 

Hosts,  unto  Jerusalem  ;"^  "All  nations  shall  call  you 
blessed ;  "^  "  This  is  Jerusalem :  I  have  set  her  in  the 
midst  of  the  nations  and  countries  that  are  round  about 
her  ;"  "I  shall  be  sanctified  in  you  in  the  sight  of  the 
nations;"^  ''Known  in  the  eyes  of  many  nations."^  The 
allusions  to  the  terrible  chastisements  inflicted  on  Israel, 
and  to  the  consequent  mocking  of  the  Gentiles,  point  in 
the  same  direction.^  "  I  will  set  my  glory  among  the 
nations,  and  all  the  nations  shall  see  my  judgment 
which  I  have  executed.  And  the  nations  shall  know 
that  the  house  of  Israel  went  into  captivity  for  their 
iniquity ;  ""^  ''  O  Lord,  unto  Thee  shall  the  nations 
come  from  the  ends  of  the  earth,  and  shall  say.  Our 
fathers  have  inherited  nought  but  lies.  Behold,  I  will 
cause  them  to  know  mine  hand  and  my  might." "^ 
Sometimes,  in  fact,  they  had  to  be  reproved  for  ascrib- 
ing to  themselves  this  special  function  among  the 
nations,  when  their  conduct  was  out  of  accord  with  it, 
as  for  example  by  Jeremiah: — "Trust  ye  not  in  lying 
words,  saying  the  Temple  of  the  Lord  are  these.  "^ 

In  connection  herewith,  and  as  the  means  thereto, 
should   be  mentioned   the   idea   of  the   Messiah,  the 


1  Zech.  xiv.  16.  2  Mai.  iii.  12. 

3  Ezek.  V.  5  ;  xx.  41  ;  cf.  xxviii.  25.         ^  Ezek.  xxxviii.  23. 

^  See  Ezek.  xxii.  5  ;  xx.  48  ;  xxxvi.  4. 

^  Ezek.  xxxix.  21,  23  ;  cf.  xxxvii.  26  ff.  ;  xxxviii.  21. 

7  Jer.  xvi.  19  ;  cf.  Deut.  ii.  25  ;  iv.  5  ;  vii.  6  ;  xiv.  18  ;  xxviii.  10. 
xxvii.  28  ;  Zech.  viii.  13,  20,  22,  23  ;  xii.  2.  See  the  prophecies 
against  other  nations  in  Isaiah  and  Jeremiah.  Cf.  specially 
Simeon's  words  on  Christ,  Luke  ii.  29  fF. 

8  Jer.  vii.  4.     See  context. 


122       The  Bible — Theoci^atic  Literature. 

servant  of  the  Lord  who  was  to  be  the  leader  and 
commander  of  the  people,  and  to  realise  the  divine 
plan.  The  belief  of  the  section  of  the  Israelites 
which  constituted  the  Christian  Church,  was  that 
Jesus  Christ  was  the  promised  Messiah  ;  that  He  was 
the  Saviour  of  the  whole  world,  and  that  the  great 
mission  of  His  followers  was  to  proclaim  the  Gospel  of 
the  kingdom  to  every  creature.  In  fact,  the  true  idea 
of  the  history  of  Israel  came  out  into  clear  conscious- 
ness in  and  through  Jesus  Christ.  As  to  this  matter 
He  brought  nothing  new  : — He  came  not  to  destroy 
but  to  fulfil  the  law  and  the  prophets.  Owing  to  the 
weakness  of  Jewish  human  nature,  it  would  not  have 
been  wise  for  God  to  have  set  before  them  their  real 
mission,  with  full  clearness  and  distinctness,  at  the 
early  stages  of  their  history.  They  would  not  have 
understood  it;  still  less  have  been  willing  to  fall  in 
with  it.  To  us  Christians  of  the  nineteenth  century, 
the  idea  of  a  nation  having  a  mission  for  others  seems 
easy  ;  we  have  been  educated  into  it ;  but  in  old 
times  nothing  could  have  been  more  alien  from  men's 
thoughts.  Foreigners  were  as  such  enemies — men  to 
be  used  or  misused ;  not  to  be  served  and  loved. 
Accordingly  it  was  presented  to  them  gradually — more 
gradually  and  slowly  indeed  than  the  essential  nature 
of  the  case  required,  because  of  their  special  perversity 
and  hardness.  The  higher  minds,  however,  caught 
fuller  and  fuller  glimpses  thereof  as  the  years  rolled  by, 
and  at  last  it  arose  in  all  its  brilliance  and  beauty 
on  the   horizon   of  the   nation   in   and  through  Jesus 


The  Mission  of  the  Jewish  Nation.       123 

Christ  the  incarnate  Son  of  God,  the  desire  of  all 
nations.-^ 

The  apostles  of  our  Lord,  and  the  Church  of  which 
they  were  the  beginning  and  leaders,  had  a  very  distinct 
consciousness  of  this  mission.  They  believed  them- 
selves to  be  intrusted  with  a  divine  message,  which 
men  could  only  disregard  at  their  eternal  peril — a 
message  which  should  be  a  "  savour  of  life  unto  life  or 
of  death  unto  death  "^ — a  message  concerning  which 
the  greatest  of  their  number  could  use  the  strong 
words  :  "  I  count  all  things  to  be  loss  for  the  excellency 
of  the  knowledge  of  Christ  Jesus  my  Lord,  for  whom 
I  suffered  the  loss  of  all  things,  and  do  count  them 
but  dung  that  I  may  win  Christ  and  be  found  in 
Him."^  The  same  apostle,  speaking  forth  the  deepest 
conviction  of  the  Christian  Church,  declared  himself 
to  be  a  "  debtor  both  to  Greeks  and  barbarians,"  to 
preach  the  Gospel  which  is  *'  the  power  of  God  unto 
salvation  to  every  one  that  believeth,  to  the  Jew  first 
and  also  to  the  Greek."*  And  these  men  believed 
themselves  to  be  fulfilling  the  idea  of  the  nation  to 
which  they  belonged ;  they  regarded  themselves  as 
the  true  seed  of  Abraham,  the  genuine  successors  of 
the  prophets. 

(II.)  They  believed  that  their  own  history,  and  that  of 
the  world  with  it  and  through  it,  tended  towards  a  great 
final  goal.  We  read,  for  example,  even  in  Deuter- 
onomy,   a    promise     that    the    Israelites     should    be 

1  Haggai  ii.  7,  now  rendered  "  desirable  things." 

2  1  Cor.  ii.  16.  3    phn.  iii.  3.  ^  Ro^i.  i.  14-16. 


124      TJie  Bible — Theocratic  Literature. 

gathered  from  all  the  peoples  whither  their  God  had 
scattered  them.-^  "  In  those  days  shall  the  house  of 
Jiidah  walk  with  the  house  of  Israel,  and  they  shall 
come  together  oat  of  the  land  of  the  north,  to  the  land 
that  I  gave  for  an  inheritance  to  your  fathers."^ 
*'  Behold  in  those  days  and  in  that  time  when  I  shall 
bring  again  the  captivity  of  Judah  and  Jerusalem, 
I  will  gather  all  nations  and  will  bring  them  down  into 
the  valley  of  Jehoshaphat,  and  I  will  plead  with  them 
there  for  my  people  and  for  my  heritage,  Israel,  whom 
they  have  scattered  among  the  nations."^  ''Wait  ye 
for  me,  saith  the  Lord,  until  the  day  that  I  rise  up  to 
the  prey :  for  my  determination  is  to  gather  the 
nations,  that  I  may  assemble  the  kingdoms  to  pour 
upon  them  my  indignation  .  .  .  for  all  the  earth  shall 
be  devoured  with  the  fire  of  my  jealousy.  For  then 
will  I  turn  to  the  peoples  a  pure  language  that  they 
may  all  call  upon  the  name  of  the  Lord,  to  serve  Him 
with  one  consent."*  "  It  shall  come  to  pass  in  that 
day,  that  living  waters  shall  go  out  from  Jerusalem 
.  .  .  and  the  Lord  shall  be  King  over  all  the  earth  ; 
in  that  day  shall  the  Lord  be  one  and  His  name  one."^ 
"  The  new  heavens  and  the  new  earth  which  I  will 
make,  saith  the  Lord."^ 

This   thought   dominates  the   New  Testament,  and 
finds  distinct  expression  especially  in  the  eschatological 

1  Dent.  XXX.  3  ff.  2  je^^  \Y\.  18. 

3  Joel  iii.  1,  2.  ^  Zepli.  iii.  8,  9.  ^  Zech.  xiv.  8  ff. 

6  Isa.  Ixvi.  22.  See  also  Amos  ix.  14  ;  Obad.  xxi.  ;  Mai.  iv.  ; 
Ezek.  xxxvii.  26  ff.  ;  xxxviii.  21  ;  Haggai  ii.  7  ff.  ;  Zech.  ix.  9  ff ; 
Ezek.  XX.  40  :  xxxiv.  24. 


The  Mission  of  the  Jewish  Nation.      125 

discourse  of  Christ,  in  the  Epistles  to  the  Thessalonians, 
and  in  the  Apocalypse.-^ 

(III.)  They  held  the  conviction  that  the  condition  of 
the  well-being  of  the  nation  was  obedience  to  the  law 
of  Jehovah ;  the  sure  source  of  m  isery,  apostasy  from 
God  and  committal  of  the  moral  abominations  of  the 
heathen  nations  around.  This  is  expressed  in  the 
Bible  in  a  great  variety  of  ways  and  under  a  great 
variety  of  circumstances.  The  keynote  was  struck  in 
Deuteronomy,  iu  the  words,  ''  And  it  shall  come  to 
pass  if  thou  shalt  hearken  diligently  unto  the 
voice  of  the  Lord  thy  God,  to  observe  to  do  all  His 
commandments  which  I  command  thee  this  day,  that 
the  Lord  thy  God  will  set  thee  on  high  above  all  the 
nations  on  earth,  and  all  these  blessings  shall  come 
upon  thee  and  overtake  thee,  if  thou  shalt  hearken  unto 
the  voice  of  the  Lord  thy  God."  ''  But  it  shall  come 
to  pass,  if  thou  wilt  not  hearken  unto  the  voice  of  the 
Lord  thy  God,  to  observe  to  do  all  His  commandments 
and  His  statutes  which  I  command  thee  this  day,  that 
all  these  curses  shall  come  upon  thee  and  overtake 
thee."  "  The  Lord  shall  bring  thee  and  thy  king 
which  thou  shalt  set  over  thee  unto  a  nation  which 
thou  hast  not  known,  thou  nor  thy  fathers,  and  thou 
shalt  become  an  astonishment,  a  proverb,  and  a  bye- 
word  among  all  the  peoples  whither  the  Lord  shall 
lead  thee  away."  "  As  the  Lord  rejoiced  over  you 
to  do  you  good  and  to  multiply  you,  so  the   Lord  will 

1  See  Dorner's  "  Christliche  Glaubenslehre  "  on  tlie  Teleology 
of  the  Bible,  "Theil."  ii.  p.  960  fF. 


126      The  Bible — Theocratic  Literature. 

rejoice  over  you  to  cause  you  to  perish  and  to  destroy 
you."-^  And  alike  in  the  historical  books  and  in  the 
prophecies  attention  is  repeatedly  directed  to  exempli- 
fications of  the  fulfilment  of  the  law  thus  emphatically 
enunciated  —  exemplifications  both  in  the  way  of 
reward  and  of  punishment,  of  blessing  and  of 
curse.  ^ 

In  other  forms,  the  law  is  also  recognised  in  the 
New  Testament.  Loyalty,  both  individual  and  collec- 
tive, to  Christ  the  Kiog  and  Saviour;  loyalty  shown 
alike  in  loving  concern  for  those  who  are  fellow-subjects 
and  for  those  who  are  without ;  or,  in  other  words,  in 
the  preservation  of  the  purity  of  the  Church  and  the 
fulfilment  of  the  Church's  evangelising  mission  ;  is 
explicitly  and  implicitly  confessed  to  be  the  secret  of 
prosperity  and  of  peace.  Owing  to  the  difference  of 
the  New  from  the  Old  Dispensation,  it  is  not  set  forth 
with  legal  distinctness  and  formality  ;  but  it  is  none 
the  less  there.  As  the  New  Testament  writings  are 
addressed  to  those  who  are  renewed  in  the  spirit  of 
their  hfe,  who  have  consciously  taken  sides  with 
Christ,  who  have  come  out  from  the  kingdom  of  dark- 
ness into  the  kingdom  of  light,  who  are  no  longer 
under  law  but  under  grace,  they  contain  few  of  the 
promises  and  threats  which  were  appropriate  and 
necessary  in  appealing  to  men  who,  though  born  to  be 

1  Deut.  xxviii.  1,  2,  15,  36,  63. 

2  Cf.  1  Sam.  xxviii.  6  ;  2  Sam.  xxiv.  ;  1  Kings  xi.  9,  33  ;  xiii. 
21  ;  xxxiv. ;  xv.  29  ;  xvi.  3  ;  xxi,  20  ;  xxii.  53  ;  2  Kings  xvii.  14  ff  ; 
xviii.  11  f.  ;  xix.  7  ;  xx.  5  ;  xxiii.  26.  See  especially  Ps.  cvi. 
34  ff. 


The  Mission  of  the  Jewish  Nation.       127 

faithful   subjects    of  God,  might   and    often    did   turn 
away  from  Him  to  idolatry  and  sin.-^ 

II.  One  thing  seems  at  all  events  clear,  that  the 
idea  under  consideration  was  immanent  in  the  national 
life,  was  its  regulative  principle ;  that  therein  its 
continuity  was  rooted ;  that  in  its  light  it  becomes 
intelligible.  Individual  Israelites,  with  compara- 
tively few  exceptions,  may  have  had  but  dim  and  fitful 
glimpses  thereof;  even  the  exceptions  may  have  been 
unable  to  grasp  it  in  all  its  breadth  and  import ;  that 
import  is  still  largely  overshadowed,  notwithstanding 
all  that  has  been  done  for  the  world  by  Him  who, 
whilst  the  very  Son  of  God  was  also  a  Jew  of  the 
Jews ;  but  a  survey  of  the  completed  story  from 
Abraham  to  Christ  and  Paul  cannot  but  impress  with 
the  conviction  that  however  much  may  yet  await 
explanation,  it  gives  consistency  to  what  otherwise 
would  be  incongruous  and  unity  to  what  otherwise 
would  be  disconnected.  We,  in  these  days,  are  in  the 
position  of  a  man  who  studies  a  plant  after  it  has 
begun  to  take  definite  form,  or  a  machine  that  is  on 
,the  highway  to  completion,  as  compared  with  one  who 
has  only  the  root  or  the  imperfect  beginnings  before 
him.  Men  who  make  history  do  not  always  know 
what  they  are  making;  and  the  wonder  in  the  case 
of  Israel  is  that  they  should  have  so  distinctly  dis- 
cerned the  nature  of  their  mission. 

1  Cf.  Col.  iii.  23  ;  Eom.  xii.  1  ;  Eph.  v.  1  flp. ;  vi.  20  ;   Pliil.  i. 
27;  Heb.  xiii.  16  ;  I  Cor.  ix.  16  ;  Rom.  i.  14 ;  Gal.  vi.  14. 


128       The  Bible — Theocratic  Lite^^ature 


CHAPTER    X. 

THE    CHARACTER    OF    THE    HEBREW    LITERATURE. 

THE  question  now  presents  itself  for  examination 
— Suppose  it  to  be  true  that,  as  this  Hebrew 
literature  tells  us,  the  life  of  the  Hebrew  people  was 
the  result  of  the  co-operation  of  two  great  factors,  the 
one  human,  the  other  divine ;  and  that  the  course 
taken  by  the  life  was  directed  by  the  indwelliog  idea 
and  law  to  which  attention  was  called ; — granted  for 
the  moment  the  objective  reality  of  the  life  enshrined 
in  the  literature  ; — what  follows  with  regard  to  the 
literature  itself?  It  is  not  my  intention  to  adduce 
reasons  in  favour  of  the  actuality  of  the  life.  What 
I  propose  to  consider  is — Whether  the  literature  itself 
must  not  also  be  the  product  of  the  two  great  factors 
which  constituted  the  life  ? — the  literature  regarded 
as  literature.  This  is  clearly  to  raise,  in  another 
form,  the  problem  of  inspiration.  In  other  words, 
will  not  a  theocratic  literature  be  also  theopneustic  ?  ^ 
I.  One  thing  is  quite  clear,  that  if  it  truly  and  duly 
reflect,  embody,  enshrine,  record,  the  life  out  of  which 
it  grew,  its  contents  must  be  divine  as  well  as  human, 
human  as  well  as  divine  ;  these  elements  will  be 
1  See  Note  E  in  Appendix. 


The  Character  of  the  Hebrew  Liter attcre.     129 

present,  too,  in  varying  proportions  and  modes,  corre- 
sponding to  the  varying  proportions  and  modes  of 
action  of  the  several  factors. 

More   or  less  distinctly — more  distinctly  of  late — 
all  candid  inquirers  have  confessed  that  there  was  a 
human  as  well  as  a  divine  element  in  the  Scriptures. 
As  has  been  interestingly  pointed  out,  two  extremes 
have  to  be  guarded   against   in   the   doctrine  of  the 
written   Word,   as    well    as    in   that   of   the  personal 
Word  of  God — the  extreme  of  Ebionitism,  or  as  we 
may  term  it,  Humanitarianism,  on  the  one  hand,  and 
of  Docetism,  or  of  deification,   on  the  other.      As  in 
treating  of  the  person  of  Christ,  so  in  treating  of  the 
Scriptures,  monophysitism,  or  the  theory  of  one  nature 
alone,  seems  at  first  sight   the  freer  from  difficulties, 
and  the  easier  of  apprehension,  but  it  does  not  reckon 
with  all  the  facts  of  the  case.      No,  there  is  a  human 
and  a  divine  element.      In  other  words,  the  Scripture 
as  truly  as  Christ  is  divine-human.      According  to  the 
writer  w^hom  I  just  quoted,  the  divine  elements  are, 
the  testimony   against   sin,  and   the   proclamation  of 
forgiving  grace ;  the  enlightening,  comforting,  admoni- 
tory,  reproving,    correcting,    renovating   power   which 
dwells    in    it ;    the    fact   of   its   setting    forth   truths 
which,  seeming  to  contradict,  really  supplement,  each 
other  ;  and  the  wondrous  unity  and  harmony  of  spirit 
and  aim  which  pervade  it.       The  human  elements,  on 
the  other  hand,  are  the  veritable  human  experiences 
recorded  ;"*■  the  individuality  of  mind,  culture  and  life 

1  See  e.j/.  Eom.  vii.  7  ;  viii.  31  ff. 

K 


130      The  Bible — Theocratic  Literature. 

which  characterises  the  writings  ;  the  defects  which  in 
some  cases  mark  the  mode  of  reasoning;  the  occasional 
want  of  mastery  over  the  languages  employed,  as  in 
the  case  of  the  Apostle  Paul ;  historical  discrepancies, 
mistakes,  errors  ;  and  the  various  readings  in  the  text.-^ 
It  is  not,  however,  quite  in  this  sense  that  I  speak 
of  divine  and  human  elements  being  contained  in  the 
Bible ;  and  that  because  of  the  difference  between 
my  point  of  view  and  that  of  the  writer  in  question, 
his  being  that  of  ''  revelation/'  mine,  as  I  have  already 
stated,  the  historical  one.  What  I  mean  is,  that  as 
the  constituents  of  the  life  were  divine  and  human, 
its  factors  having  been  divine  as  well  as  human,  the 
contents  of  the  literature  which  enshrines  the  life 
must  needs  also  be  divine  as  well  as  human,  human 
as  well  as  divine.  Were  this  not  the  case,  the 
literature  would  be  no  true  reflection  of  the  life,  it 
would  rather  resemble  a  romance.  This  follows  neces- 
sarily on  the  supposition  that  the  literature  really  is 
what  it  professes  to  be — that  it  is,  in  part  or  whole,  a 
national  literature.  Whether  the  divine  elements  that 
have  passed  from  the  life  into  the  literature  were  object- 
ively real  is  another  question.  But  even  those  who 
deny  the  objectivity  referred  to,  must  allow  that  if  the 
people  had  beliefs  or  illusions  regarding  divine  inter- 
ventions, these  beliefs  or  illusions  would  be  reflected 
in  their  literature ;  and  accordingly  its  contents  would 
be  to  thai  extent  divine  as  well  as  human.      Indeed 

1  See  Kiehm,  "  Ueber  den  Gottmenscliliclien  Character  der  h. 
Schrift,"  Stud,  und  Kritiken,  1859,  pp.  308  ff. 


The  Charactei''  of  the  Hebrew  Literahtre.     131 

to  this  extent  the  remark  may  equally  be  made  with 
regard  to  the  Greek  and  Roman  literatures,  as  with 
regard  to  all  known  literatures. 

(I.)  There  are  human  elements — nay  more,  human 
of  the  kind  that  then  existed  in  the  world.  The  men 
whose  inner  and  outer  activity,  whose  life,  is  recorded, 
were  men  of  the  time  ;  characterised  naturally  by  all 
the  weaknesses,  follies,  shortsightedness,  ignorance, 
errors,  and  sinfulness  of  their  contemporaries.  In 
itself,  the  Jewish  nation  was  no  better  than  any  of 
the  neighbouring  peoples  ;  indeed,  some  go  so  far  as 
to  say,  that  God  became  a  special  factor  in  their  life, 
partly  because  ih.Qy  were  unusually  stiff-necked  and 
prone  to  idolatry  and  wickedness.  Even  the  agents 
whom  God  generally  employed  for  working  on  their 
fellow  countrymen  were,  with  one  exception,  through- 
out the  long  history  marked  by  manifold  imperfec- 
tions and  sins ;  how  much  more  the  great  mass  of 
the  nation,  whose  life  he  was  helping  to  colour  and 
determine.  We  cannot,  therefore,  be  surprised  to 
find  in  the  Bible  evil  characters  as  well  as  good ; 
characters  in  which  the  evil  and  the  good  battle  con- 
stantly for  the  mastery,  victory  now  siding  with  the 
one,  then  Avith  the  other ;  men  who,  whilst  com- 
missioned and  endowed  for  special  work  are,  apart 
from  that  work,  frail  and  foolish,  like,  if  not  to  so 
great  a  degree  as,  the  rest ;  events  and  doings,  some 
in  accordance  with  the  divine  will  and  mind,  others 
the  outcome  of  human  perversity,  caprice,  passion, 
malice — some   even   that   were  given    out  for  divine 


132       The  Bible — Theoci'atic  Literature. 

commands/  though  really  dictated  by  the  evil  or 
self-deluded  heart  of  man  ;  error  and  truth  running 
alongside  of  each  other  or  even  more  or  less  subtilely 
combined  and  interwoven.  All  these  things  too  must 
present  themselves  in  the  forms  peculiar  to  an  early, 
little  cultured,  little  disciplined,  little  reflective  period 
of  the  world,  varying,  however,  as  the  ages  ran  on 
from  the  days  of  Abraham,  the  sheikh  of  his  tribe, 
down  to  the  days  of  Christ,  and  the  elaborate  and 
mighty  organisation  of  the  Roman  Empire.  Con- 
sidered from  the  point  of  view  here  occupied,  all  this 
may  seem  very  obvious — so  obvious  indeed  as  scarcely 
to  deserve  stating.  Yet  it  is  not  very  long  ago,  since, 
under  the  influence  of  the  rigid  conception  of  the 
Bible  as  the  very  writing  or  book  of  God,  directly 
brought  into  existence  in  all  its  parts  by  Him,  and 
handed  down  under  His  care  for  our  guidance  and 
instruction,  both  theologians  and  preachers  felt  it 
incumbent  upon  them  either  to  explain  away  or 
somehow  to  justify  such  things  as  the  falsehoods  told 
by  Abraham,  the  deception  practised  by  Jacob,  the 
murder  and  adultery  committed  by  David  and  so 
forth.  For  did  not  these  things  form  part  and  parcel 
of  the  divine  revelation  ?  And  if  so,  must  they  not  be 
good,  and  must  not  the  men  of  whom  they  are  recorded 
be  altogether  saints?  It  is  profoundly  true  that  all  these 
things  were  written  for  our  instruction,  correction, 
edification  ;  but  in  a  somewhat  different  sense. 

^  Comp,  the  false  prophets  referred  to  in  Jer.  xxix.  9  ;    Ezek. 
xii.  24  ;  xxi.  29  ;  Micah  iii.  7,  11  ;  Zeck.  x.  2  ;  xxii.  28. 


The  Character  of  the  Hebrew  Literatttre.     133 

(II.)  There  must  be  divine  elements.  In  a  sense 
the  whole  used  to  be  regarded  as  divine — divine  in 
the  direct  sense.  There  is  a  sense  in  which  the 
Bible  considered  as  literature  is  divine  ;  to  this  I  shall 
refer  further  on.  But  it  is  impossible  to  regard  its  con- 
tents as  all  divine.  Yet  there  are  divine  elements  ; — 
divine  commands  ;  divine  encouragements  and  pro- 
mises ;  divine  warnings  and  threats  ;  divine  rewards 
and  punishments ;  divine  consolations  and  tribula- 
tions; divine  instructions,  teachings,  foretellings.  But 
the  part  taken  by  God  in  the  life  of  the  Israelites  is 
scarcely  exhausted  by  what  can,  as  it  were,  be  sepa- 
rately considered  or  isolated.  On  the  contrary,  it  is 
often  so  interwoven  with  the  human  that  an  untu- 
tored, unsympathetic  eye,  may  either  not  discern  its 
presence,  or  discerning  something  higher  and  purer, 
yet  pronounce  it  simply  human  ;  or  even  judge  it  to 
be  delusion  or  pretence.  As  in  Christ  it  is  not  always 
possible  to  put  one's  finger  on  the  point  where  the 
human  ends  and  the  divine  begins  ;  so  in  Scripture. 
Or  rather,  whereas  in  Christ  iravja  Oela  dvdpcoircva 
iravra,  all  is  human  all  divine  ;  in  the  life  of  the  Jews, 
owing  to  their  perversity  and  weakness,  this  is  only 
partially  the  case.  But  even  where  it  is  the  case,  the 
two  elements  often  blend  and  are  inseparable.  For 
God  frequently  condescended  so  to  identify  His  activity 
with  that  of  His  servants,  that  though  they  were 
certain  of  His  special  presence,  and  we  too  may 
discern  it,  neither  they  nor  we  can  separate  the  one 
from   the  other.      This   was  probably  the   case,   to  a 


134       The  Bible  —  Theocratic  Literature. 

large  extent  with  the  prophecies,  it  was  almost 
entirely  the  case  with  the  epistles  of  the  New  Testa- 
ment. There  was  a  living  co-operation  between  the 
Spirit  of  God  and  the  human  minds,  varying  in  its 
proportions,  doubtless,  according  to  mood,  circumstance, 
and  subject  ;   but  never  actually  ceasing. 

(III.)  We  can  easily  conceive  that  a  literary  reflex 
of  Hebrew  life  might  have  been  produced  either  by 
natives  or  by  foreigners,  that  ignored  the  divine  ele- 
ment altogether,  even  as  histories  of  the  Christian 
Church  have  been  written  by  men,  who  had  no  eye 
for  anything  but  the  working  of  the  human  factors, 
with  their  mistakes,  follies,  and  perversities.  It  is 
quite  possible,  if  not  probable,  that  most  of  the  poems, 
proverbs,  histories,  that  have  perished,  were  of  this 
character.  In  the  view  of  some,  the  Bible  does 
include  at  least  two  books,  which  may  be  thus 
described,  namely,  the  ^ong  of  Songs  and  the  Book 
of  Esther — in  which  latter  no  mention  of  the  name  of 
God  occurs.  Even  were  this  the  case,  we  need  not  be 
surprised.  There  must  have  been  considerable  tracts 
and  phases  of  even  Jewish  life  which  were  touched 
by  God,  at  all  events  in  the  special  sense,  only,  as  it 
were  indirectly  ;  and  which  might  be  described  without 
special  reference  to  Him  and  His  activity.  The  pre- 
sence of  the  two  books  just  named  might  be  taken  as 
evidencing  a  consciousness  that  there  were  differences 
in  the  life  of  the  Jews  in  relation  to  God,  and  in  so 
far  as  a  proof,  that  where  special  references  are 
made    to   His    action,    such   action  was  an   objective 


The  Character  of  the  Hebrew  Liter  attire.     135 

reality.  But  a  reflex  written  in  this  spirit  would 
have  been  untrue  to  the  life  as  a  whole,  and  would 
lack  the  interest  and  value  that  attach  to  the 
Bible. 

(ly.)  Again,  we  can  easily  conceive  that  God  might 
have  given  a  revelation  of  truths  relating  to  Himself, 
man,  and  the  rest  of  the  universe  which  are  undiscover- 
able  by  the  human  mind,  in  a  systematic  form,  by  the 
hands  or  lips  of  men  specially  fitted  and  called.  In 
this  case,  however,  we  should  surely  expect  to  find  in 
the  books  or  treatises  nothing  but  the  pure  truth — 
truth  expressed,  indeed,  so  as  to  be  intelligible  to  the 
generation  by  which  it  was  first  received,  and,  there- 
fore, clad  in  a  garment  that  must  wax  old,  yet  still 
free  from  any  admixture  of  error.  The  business  of 
later  generations  would  have  been  to  separate  the 
kernel  from  the  shell,  the  substance  from  the  form, 
the  spirit  from  the  letter.  This  is  the  conception  of 
revelation  which  seems  to  have  hovered  before  the 
Rationalists  and  Deists  of  the  last  century.  So  far 
as  mere  formi  is  concerned,  the  religious  books  of 
Parseeism,  and  Brahmanism,  and  even  the  Koran, 
approximate  far  more  closely  than  our  Scriptures  to 
this  notion  of  revelation. 

Or  God  might  have  clothed  the  truth  to  be  revealed 
in  the  form  of  story,  romance,  imaginary  biographies 
and  histories,  ballads,  lyrics,  epics,  dramas,  with  a 
view  to  meet  the  universal  love  of  the  concrete,  as 
opposed  to  the  abstract,  in  all  its  varieties  and 
degrees.      The  Scriptures  would  then  have  been  as  a 


136      The  Bible — Theocratic  L  iterature. 

whole  what  certain  parts  of  it  actually  are ;  for 
example,  the  parables  of  our  Lord. 

Indeed,  a  hostile  critic  might  accuse  certain  apolo- 
gists of  the  Bible,  who  argue  that  the  employment  of 
the  historical  element  is  a  proof  of  divine  wisdom, 
and,  therefore  of  the  divine  origin  of  the  Scriptures, 
of  implicitly  taking  up  this  position.-^  At  all  events, 
they  approach  perilously  near  to  it.  The  ground 
chosen  is,  to  say  the  least,  dangerous,  though,  if  the 
Bible  is  to  be  spoken  of  in  the  way  in  which  most 
writers  still  speak  of  it,  I  know  not,  for  my  part,  how 
the  inference  can  be  logically  evaded. 

(V.)  As  has  been  already  hinted,  the  divine  element, 
having  been  present  in  varying  degrees  and  modes  in 
the  objective  life,  varies  correspondingly  in  the  literary 
reflex.  In  the  life  of  Israel,  as  in  the  life  of  all 
nations  that  can  be  said  to  have  life,  there  were 
epochs,  crises,  when  the  ordinary  level  course  was 
quitted,  and  upheavals,  revolutions,  great  movements 
of  thought  or  emotion  in  politics,  or  society,  or  litera- 
ture, or  religion,  or  art  took  jDlace.  At  these  times 
God  revealed  Himself,  or  worked  more  manifestly  or 
mightily,  than  at  others.  Ordinarily,  God  condescend- 
ingly suffered  the  part  He  bore  in  the  national  life 
not  only  to  be  conditioned  and  determined,  but  even 
to  be,  as  it  were,  covered  over  and  absorbed,  by  the 
action  of  the  human  factors,  even  as,  to  resort  to  a 
natural  analog}^,  the  forces  called  gravitation,  cohesion, 

1  So  Eogers'  "Superhuman  Orighi  of  the  Bible  proved  from 
itself."     See  note  F  in  Appendix. 


I 


The  Character  of  the  Hebi^ew  Liter at2L7^e.     137 

affinity,  and  the  like,  work  in,  with,  under,  but  in 
subordination  to,  that  of  life  in  the  plant,  and  that  of 
mind  in  man.  He  did  not  overbear  them  by  His 
omnipotence  or  by  His  wisdom;  He  left  them  free 
play  alike  in  good  and  evil.  On  the  contrary,  He 
accommodated  His  movements  to  theirs;  nay.  He 
even  lent  them  the  use  and  control  of  His  energy,  so 
far  as  was  compatible  with  His  own  holiness  and  wis- 
dom. At  other  times.  He  Himself  acted,  and  that 
unmistakably ;  He  gave  commands  ;  He  sounded 
forth  warnings ;  He  wrought  wonderful  works ;  He 
revealed  His  mind  and  purpose,  and  the  people  knew 
that  their  divine  Lord  had  made  bare  His  arm.  Now, 
if  all  the  important  phases  of  the  life  of  this  theo- 
cracy— of  this  people  whose  invisible  King  was 
Jehovah — are  reflected  in  the  Scriptures,  clearly,  some 
portions  of  them  will  be,  if  I  may  use  the  expression, 
fuller  of  God  than  others,  and,  therefore,  of  greater 
importance  and  authority  than  others. 

II.  But  the  question  we  are  more  immediately  con- 
cerned with  is  the  literature  as  a  vehicle — the  literary 
form  which  enshrines  the  substance.  The  contents — 
the  thoughts,  feelings,  acts,  events — must  clearly  be 
divine  and  human,  unless  the  former  are  inventions 
or  illusions ;  but  what  about  their  clothing  ?  Does 
that  owe  its  existence  entirely  to  the  human  factor  ? 
or  entirely  to  the  divine  factor?  or  did  the  divine 
factor  co-operate  in  its  production  with  the  human  ? 
And  did  the  co-operation  vary  here,  even  as  it  must 
be  confessed  to  have  varied  in  the  life,  with  a  pre- 


138       The  Bible — Theocratic  Literature. 

dominance  now  of  the  divine,  then  of  the  human 
factor  ?  In  putting  this  simple  question,  I  have 
really  raised  the  question  as  to  the  inspiration  of  the 
Scriptures — as  to  their  theopneustic  character.  When 
Paul  speaks  of  ypacprj  Qe6irvevcrTO<5,  "inspired  writing,"^ 
he  evidently  means  writings,  or  Scriptures,  or  books. 
I  question  whether  he  means  their  contents ;  at  all 
events,  in  practically  dealing  with  their  contents  he 
discriminated  between  human  and  divine  elements, 
even  though  he  may  not  have  formulated  the  problem 
of  their  relation  to  each  other,  as  the  Church  of 
Christ  has  since  His  time  been  compelled  to  do. 
Much  ridicule  has  been  thrown  in  these  latter  days 
on  the  notion  of  insjDired  literature,  as  though  there 
were  something  inherently  absurd  in  the  idea  of  a 
co-operation  of  the  Spirit  of  God  with  human  minds 
engaged  in  recording  or  otherwise  reflecting  either 
their  own  life  or  that  of  others.  This  is  not  the  place 
to  enter  on  this  subject ;  but  for  myself  I  have  no 
hesitation  whatever  in  maintaining  that,  so  far  from 
such  action  of  God  in,  with,  and  through  a  human 
intellect,  tongue,  and  pen  being  either  unworthy  of 
God  and  impossible  to  Him,  or  somehow  inconsistent 
with  the  freedom,  independence,  and  dignity  of  man, 
it  is  normal  to  God  and  necessary  to  the  truest  intel- 
lectual activity  of  man.  The  notion  in  question  is  in 
reality  one  of  the  most  lamentable  evidences  that  the 
human  intellect,  as  well  as  the  human  heart  and  will, 
has  suffered  from  the  entrance  of  sin  into  our  world. 
1  2  Tim.  iii.  16. 


The  Character  of  the  Hebrew  Literature.      139 

If  under  any  circumstances  it  be  permissible  to 
indulge  in  a  priori  reasoning  anent  what  God  is 
likely  to  do  and  not  to  do,  we  may  surely  argue  here 
that  He  would  scarcely  have  entered  into  the  life  of 
the  Jewish  nation  to  the  extent  to  which  the  litera- 
ture itself  represents  Him  to  have  done,  and  for  the 
ends  there  assigned,  and  yet  have  left  those  who  pro- 
duced the  literary  record  and  reflection  of  the  life  to 
themselves.  It  is  not  a  question  of  a  sort  of  deus  ex 
machind  production  of  books,  which  are  to  serve  as  a 
revelation  of  the  mind  and  will  of  God  to  future  ages ; 
no,  it  is  a  question  whether  He  who  was  helping  to 
mould  the  individual,  social,  national  life,  in  its  poli- 
tical, moral,  religious  aspects,  should  also  help  to 
mould  the  literature. 

And  there  is  the  further  question,  whether  a  life  of 
the  nature  handed  down  to  us  in  these  Biblical  books 
could  have  been  duly  represented  without  that  aid 
from  God  which  we  call  inspiration  ? 

But  let  us  look  at  these  questions  in  connection 
with  the  books  themselves. 

For  this  purpose  we  may  distribute  them  into  three 
classes,  the  first  embracing  those  which  express  the 
mind  and  will  of  the  divine  factor  regarding  the  life 
of  the  people, — viz.,  the  prophecies  and  epistles  ;  the 
second,  the  histories,  which  record  the  life  actually 
lived  by  the  people  ;  the  third,  the  books  which 
embody  the  thoughts  and  feelings  of  the  human  factors 
of  the  life,  regarding  and  awakened  by,  their  life  as 
individuals  or  as  members  of  a  theocratic  society. 


140      The  Bible — Theocratic  Literatztre. 

(I.)  Let  us  look  first  at  the  books  wkich  record  the 
life  actually  lived,  which,  as  we  know,  are  partly 
general,  partly  individual,  or  partly  historical,  partly 
biographical.  Their  contents  are  divine  and  human  ; 
— what  about  the  vehicle  ?  Is  it  purely  human  or 
also  divine-human  ?  We  may  leave  on  one  side  the 
alternative  of  its  being  purely  divine. 

1.  Consider  the  matter  in  the  light  of  the  general 
law  which  has  found  expression  in  the  popular  saying, 
"  The  eye  sees  only  what  it  brings  with  it."  Poetry, 
art,  philosophy,  music,  science,  scenery,  the  beautiful 
and  sublime, — each  and  all  can  be  discerned  and 
appreciated  alone  by  the  man  who  is  imbued  with 
their  sjDirit.  In  others  they  awaken  no  response,  and 
therefore  no  understanding  :  ''  No  man  can  learn 
what  he  has  not  preparation  for  learning,  however 
near  to  his  eyes  is  the  object.  A  chemist  may  tell 
his  most  precious  secrets  to  a  carpenter  and  he  shall 
be  never  the  wiser — the  secrets  he  would  not  utter  to 
a  chemist  for  an  estate.  God  screens  us  evermore 
from  premature  ideas.  Our  eyes  are  holden  that  we 
cannot  see  things  that  stare  us  in  the  face,  until  the 
hour  arrives  when  the  mind  is  ripened, — then  we 
behold  them  and  the  time  when  we  saw  them  not  is 
like  a  dream."  ^ 

Still  less  can  they  be  adequately  and  truly  set  forth 
in  literary  form  by  men  who  lack  discernment.  Dis- 
cernment, indeed,  is  not  always  enough.  There  must 
be  also  the  gift  of  representation,  but  the  prime 
1  See  Emerson,  "  Spiritual  Laws." 


The  Character  of  the  Heb^'ew  Literatttre.     141 

condition  is  the  eye  to  see  things  as  they  are.  "  A 
painter  told  me  that  nobody  could  draw  a  tree  with- 
out in  some  sort  becoming  a  tree,  or  draw  a  child  by 
studying  the  outlines  of  its  forms  merely, — but  by 
watching  for  a  time  his  motions  and  plays,  the  painter 
enters  into  his  nature  and  can  then  draw  him  at  will 
in  every  attitude.  So  Roos  entered  into  the  inmost 
nature  of  a  sheep  !  I  knew  a  draughtsman  employed 
in  a  public  survey  who  found  that  he  could  not  sketch 
the  roads  until  their  geological  structure  was  first 
explained  to  him."  ^ 

So  it  is  impossible  for  any  one  to  give  true  literary 
expression  to  any  form  of  either  individual  or  natural 
life,  unless  he  have  in  some  sense  lived  the  life,  at  all 
events,  by  entering  sympathetically  into  its  spirit, 
motive,  aims  ;  nay,  more,  a  knowledge  thereof  is 
necessary,  beyond  that  which  may  be  possessed  by  the 
ordinary,  commonplace  observer.  He  who  would 
adequately  reflect  German  life  needs  to  be  pre-emi- 
nently a  German,  or  English  life  pre-eminently  an 
Englishman.  Not  the  less  but  the  more  he  is  steeped 
in  its  spirit,  the  better  can  he  delineate  its  move- 
ments. A  foreigner  may  have  a  quicker  eye  for 
peculiarities,  eccentricities,  abnormalities,  and  so  forth, 
but  even  of  them  he  only  describes  the  outward  appear- 
ance, their  inner  roots  and  causes  escape  him.  For  the 
secret  of  the  ordinary  life  he  is  blind. 

The  experimental  acquaintance  with  the  life  thus 
desiderated    must  relate   specially  to   its   higher  and 
1  Emerson,  "  History." 


142       The  Bible  —  Theocratic  Literature. 

highest  aspects  or  forms  ;  and  m  the  case  of  a  nation, 
to  its  highest  factors  and  their  activities.  Judgment 
even  of  the  lower  sides  of  a  nation's  life  is  partial 
and  defective  whenever  the  judge  is  out  of  sympathy 
with  the  higher.  Indeed,  the  law  of  all  intelligence 
is  that  the  lower  is  best  understood  in  the  light  of  and 
by  the  higher,  not  the  reverse.  So  is  it  in  nature. 
The  higher  sphere  explains  the  lower  ;  not  the  lower 
the  higher. 

If  this  be  true,  what  follows  regarding  the  literature 
which  enshrines  the  life  of  the  Jewish  people  and  of 
the  Christian  Church  ?  Its  writers  must  needs  surely 
have  understood  the  Jews — that  is  clear.  But  if  God 
were  veritably  a  great  factor  in  their  life,  and  co- 
operated both  openly,  by  means  of  personal  manifesta- 
tions, verbal  communications,  wonderful  works,  the 
mission  of  His  Son  and  of  the  Comforter,  as  well  as 
in  other  ways,  and  also  subconsciously  in  moulding 
and  directing  its  course,  must  not  those  who  gave  it 
true  literary  embodiment  have  been  specially  imbued 
with  and  influenced  by  the  Spirit  of  God  ?  Unless 
they  lived  the  divine  as  well  as  the  human  life,  unless 
they  saw  the  divine  elements  in  their  divine  light  as 
well  as  the  human  in  their  human  light — nay,  more, 
the  latter  in  the  light  of  the  former, — how  could  they 
represent  both,  and  each  in  its  relation  to  the  other, 
truly  and  adequately?  And  what  is  this  but  to  say 
in  another  and  more  general  form  that  the  books  we 
are  considering  were  given  by  inspiration  of  God  ? 
And  that  holy  men  of  God  wrote,  even  as  they  spake. 


The  Character  of  the  Hebrew  Literature,      143 

as  they  were  moved  by  the  Holy  Ghost?  For  my 
own  part,  I  can  no  more  conceive  of  this  history  being 
truly  written,  whether  as  to  its  human  or  divine 
elements,  without  the  guidance  of  God  and  the  insight 
given  by  His  Spirit,  than  I  can  understand  the  life  of 
the  English  nation  for  the  last  quarter  of  a  century 
being  truly  written  save  by  a  man  who  is  able  to 
look  at  it  with  the  eyes,  and  to  interpret  it  with  the 
special  aid,  of  the  two  men  in  whom  were  incarnated 
as  it  were,  its  ruling  tendencies,  motives,  aims — 
namely,  Beaconsfield  and  Gladstone.  In  one  word, 
then,  the  literary  vehicle,  as  well  as  the  contents 
thereof,  must  be  regarded  as  divine-human.  The 
nature  and  manner  of  the  co-operation  of  God  with 
the  human  writer  of  the  history  is  a  question  for 
separate  inquiry. 

2.  That  such  aid  would  be  rendered  to  the  writers 
of  the  history  of  the  Jewish  nation,  we  should  be 
led  to  expect,  by  the  express  injunctions  given  by  God, 
that  certain  critical  phases  and  events  of  the  national 
life  should  be  recorded.  Moses  is  enjoined  to  write 
an  account  of  the  battle  of  Rephidim  for  a  memorial 
in  a  book,  and  to  rehearse  it  in  Joshua's  ears.^  By  the 
commandment  of  the  Lord,  Moses  wrote  an  account  of 
the  journeys  of  the  children  of  Israel  when  they  went 
forth  out  of  the  land  of  Egypt.^  If  such  things  were 
recorded  by  the  divine  command  we  may  be  sure 
that  the  book  of  the  covenant^  which  "  contained  the 
words  spoken  by  Jehovah  to  Moses,  rehearsed  to  the 
1  Exod.  xvii.  14.  2  Num.  xxxiii.  2.  ^  Exod.  xxiv.  7. 


144       ^^^^  Bible — Theocratic  Literahtre. 

people,  accepted  by  them  as^the  basis  of  the  covenant/ 
and  read  in  the  hearing  of  the  people  at  the  celebra- 
tion of  the  covenant  offering,^  owed  its  origin  to  the 
same  authority.  The  same  divine  injunction  to  write 
occurs  in  other  connections  also,  as,  for  example,  in 
Exodus  xxxiv.  27,  where  we  read,  "Write  thou  these 
words,  for  after  the  tenor  of  these  words  I  have  made 
a  covenant  with  thee  and  Israel ;  "  and  in  Deut.  xxxi, 
1 9,  where  God  says,  ''  Now,  therefore,  write  this  song 
for  you,  and  teach  thou  it  the  children  of  Israel  :  put 
it  into  their  mouths,  that  this  song  may  be  a  witness 
for  me  against  the  children  of  Israel."^  We  are 
surely  also  warranted  in  concluding  that  where  Moses 
is  elsewhere  said  to  have  written  the  law  of  the  Lord, 
he  did  so  by  divine  command.* 

But  these  express  injunctions, — let  them  cover  as 
much  ground  as  they  possibly  can,  for  example,  the 
whole  of  the  Pentateuch, — cannot  be  extended  to  the 
other  historical  books ;  and  these  other  books  supply 
us  with  no  direct  information  as  to  the  reason  why 
they  were  written.  We  may  fall  back,  however,  on 
four  considerations,  which,  taken  in  conjunction  with 
each  other,  and  wdth  what  has  just  been  advanced,  are, 
to  say  the  least,  striking  and  suggestive. 

(1.)  The  first  is  the  duty  imposed  on  all  Israelites 
of  making  their  descendants  fully  acquainted  with  the 
works   and  law  of  the  Lord.      We  read,  for  example, 

1  Exod.  xxiv.  3.  2  Exocl.  xxiv.  7.  ^  peut.  xxxii. 

4  Deut.  iv.  44  ;  xxix.  1  ;  xxviii.  58,  61  ;  xxxi.  9,  24  ;  cf.  xxvii. 
1-8  :  xxxi.  9. 


The  Character  of  the  Hebrew  Literature.     145 

"  Only  take  heed  to  thyself,  and  keep  thy  soul  dili- 
gently, lest  thou  forget  the  things  which  thine  eyes 
saw,  and  lest  they  depart  from  thy  heart  all  the  days 
of  thy  life ;  but  make  them  known  to  thy  children, 
and  to  thy  children's  children."-^  Still  more  emphati- 
cally are  they  warned  to  teach  the  words  of  the  law 
"diligently  unto  their  children,  and  to  talk  of  them  when 
they  sit  down  in  their  houses,  and  when  they  walk  by 
the  way,  and  when  they  lie  down,  and  when  they  rise 
up  :  to  bind  them  for  a  sign  upon  their  hands,  and  to 
let  them  be  for  frontlets  between  their  eyes  ;  and  to 
write  them  upon  the  door-posts  of  their  houses,  and 
upon  their  gates.  "^  It  is  further  provided  that  the 
law,  with  naturally  what  preceded  and  accompanied 
it,  should  be  read  at  the  feast  of  tabernacles  before  all 
Israel,  and  even  the  stranger  within  their  gates,  that 
the  children  which  have  not  known  may  learn  to  fear 
the  Lord  their  God.^  Elsewhere,  too,  we  are  told  that 
it  was  a  duty  of  the  priests  to  "  teach  the  children  of 
Israel  all  the  statutes  which  the  Lord  hath  spoken 
unto  them  by  the  hand  of  Moses."  *  The  immediate 
reference  of  these  passages  is  a  restricted  one  ;  but  in 
view  of  words  like  the  following  : — "  I  will  open  my 
mouth  in  a  parable,  I  will  utter  dark  sayings  of  old, 
which  we  have  heard  and  known,  and  our  fathers  have 

1  Deut.  iv.  9  f.  ;  cf.  Gen.  xviii.  19. 

2  Deut.  vi.  7  flF.  ;  cf.  Exod.  xiii.  9  ;  Pro  v.  vi.  21 ;  vii.  3  ;  see 
Ps.  Ixxviii.  4. 

3  Deut.  xxxi.  10  ff.  ;  Neh.  ix.  3  ;  xiii.  1 ;  Zech.  vii.  12;  cf.  Ps.  i. 
2,3;  xix.  7-14;  xl.  7  1;  cxix. 

*  Lev.  x.  11  ;  cf.  Deut.  xxxiii.  10  ;  2  Chron.  xxxi.  4. 

L 


146       The  Bible — Theocratic  Literature. 

told  us  ;  we  will  not  hide  them  from  their  children, 
telling  to  the  generation  to  come  the  praises  of  the 
Lord,  and  His  strength,  and  His  wondrous  works  that 
He  hath  done,"-^  and  of  the  further  considerations  to  be 
adduced, — we  may  surely  believe  that  the  duty  in 
question  was  extended  to  the  entire  past  history  of  the 
chosen  people  as  it  was  successively  lived.  In  support 
thereof  we  may  adduce  also  the  fact  that  festivals  and 
fasts  were  ordained  by  the  nation  to  keep  up  the 
memory  of  and  celebrate  the  great  deliverances  and 
tribulations  of  their  history.  So,  for  example,  Purim 
in  remembrance  of  the  deliverance  by  Esther,  and  fasts 
to  commemorate  the  siege  and  the  capture  of  Jerusalem, 
the  burning  of  the  temple  and  its  complete  devasta- 
tion. 

(2.)  Accordingly  collections  were  made  of  books 
relating  to  their  history,  beginning  with  those  ascribed 
to  Moses,  and  mention  is  made  of  their  being  read 
in  the  hearing  of  the  people.  Joshua  ''  read  all 
the  words  of  the  law,  the  blessiDg  and  the  curse, 
according  to  all  that  is  written  in  the  book  of  the 
law.  There  was  not  a  word  of  all  that  Moses  com- 
manded which  Joshua  read  not  before  all  the 
assembly  of  Israel,  and  the  women,  and  the  little 
ones,  and  the  strangers  that  walked  among  them."^ 
David  charges  his  son  Solomon,  "  Keep  the  charge  of 
the  Lord  thy  God  and  His  testimonies  according  as 
they  are  written  in  the  law  of  Moses. "^     Here  and 

1  Ps.  Ixxviii.  3.  2  Josh.  viii.  35  ;  cf.  xxvi.  26-28. 

3  1  Kin^s  ii.  3  ;  cf.  Jer.  viii.  8. 


The  Cha7^acter  of  the  Hebrew  Litei'atiire.     147 

elsewhere  tlie  book  of  the  law  means,  probably,  not 
merely  the  law  as  such,  but  the  books  of  the 
Pentateuch  with  their  intermingling  of  law  and 
narrative.^  Other  books,  however,  were  also  collected. 
Mention  is  made  of  the  ''  Book  of  the  Wars  of 
Jasher;""  of  the  ''Book  of  the  Wars  of  Jehovah;"^ 
the  "Book  of  the  History  of  Solomon  ;"4  the  ''Book 
of  the  Kings  of  Judah;"^  and  the  "Book  of  the 
Kings  of  Israel;"*^  and  Zechariah's  words, — "They 
refused  to  hearken,  and  pulled  away  the  shoulder,  and 
stopped  their  ears,  that  they  should  not  hear  ;  yea, 
they  made  their  hearts  as  an  adamant  stone,  lest  they 
should  hear  the  law,  and  the  words  which  the  Lord  of 
Hosts  had  sent  by  His  Spirit  by  the  hands  of  the 
former  prophets,""  seem  to  warrant  the  inference,  that 
in  his  days  a  collection  existed  embracing  at  least  two 
constituents,  the  Law  of  Moses  and  some  of  the 
prophetic  writings.  The  formation  of  the  canon  at  a 
later  period,  too,  may  fairly  be  assumed  to  have  rested 
on,  and  at  least  been  suggested  by,  previous  essays  of 
the  same  kind.  It  is  scarcely  likely  that  it  would 
have  been  undertaken  as  an  entirely  new  thing. 

1  Cf.  2  Kings  xi.  12  ;  1  Cliron.  xvi.  40  ;  xxii.  12  ;  2  Chron.  xii. 
1  ;  xxxi.  3,  4,  21  ;  Ezra  iii.  2  ;  vi.  18  ;  Neh.  i.  7  ;  x.  29  ;  viii. 
1  ;  cf.  Ps.  i.  2  f.  ;  xix.  7-14 ;  xl.  7,  8  ;  cxix. 

2  Josh.  x.  13  ;  cf.  2  Sam.  i.  18. 

3  Num.  xxi.  14,  ^  \  Kings  xi.  41.  M  Ki^gg  ^iv.  29. 

6  1  Kings  XV.  31  ;  cf.  1  Chron.  xxvii.  21. 

7  Zech.  vii.  11,  12,  7  ;  see  Hosea  viii.  12,  "  Though  I  write  for 
liim  my  law  in  ten  thousand  precepts,  they  are  counted  as  a  strange 
thiuir." 


148       The  Bible — Theocratic  Liter aticre. 

(3.)  The  estimate  formed  of  the  books  of  the  Old 
Testament  by  the  Jews,  and  especially  by  the  Lord 
Jesus  Christ,  points  in  the  same  direction.  The 
Jews,  alike  before  the  close  of  the  canon,  between 
that  event  and  the  advent  of  Christ,  during  the  life  of 
Christ,  and  ever  since,  have  believed  the  Scriptures  of 
the  Old  Testament  to  have  arisen  under  special  divine 
superintendence  and  with  special  divine  aid.  Of  the 
part  taken  in  their  composition  by  God,  they  formed 
indeed,  as  we  have  previously  seen,  an  altogether 
exaggerated  conce]3tion. 

Our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  treated  them  as  having 
divine  authority.  His  own  exposition  of  the  things 
they  contain  concerning  himself,  taken  in  connection 
with  the  belief  of  His  disciples,  that  all  Scripture  was 
given  by  inspiration  of  God,  seems  to  imply  that 
not  only  the  contents,  but  the  vehicle  also,  was  divine 
as  well  as  human. 

What  was  true  of  the  Old  Testament,  must  surely 
have  been  pre-eminently  true  of  the  writings  of  the 
New,  whose  contents  in  even  a  still  higher  degree 
were  an  interweaving  of  the  divine  and  human. 

(4.)  And  lastly,  the  idea  of  the  entire  history,  in 
other  words,  the  divine  purpose  in  condescending  to 
become  a  factor  in  the  life  of  the  Jews,  could  not 
have  been  realised  or  accomplished  without  a  true  and 
adequate  record.  Hence  the  provision  to  which 
reference  has  already  been  made  for  recounting  the 
wondrous  deeds  of  the  Lord  to  children  and  children's 
children.    Without  this,  how  could  the  Israelites  them- 


The  Char  act  67'  of  the  Hebrezu  Literature.     149 

selves  have  been  brought  into  and  kept  in  the  relation 
to  God,  which  was  the  end  of  the  divine  dealings  with 
them.  Still  less  could  they  have  discharged  their 
function  to  the  rest  of  the  world.  Accordingly,  when 
we  are  assured  that  ''  the  earth  shall  be  full  of  the 
knowledge  of  the  Lord;"^  "I  am  the  Lord,  and  there 
is  none  else,  beside  me  there  is  no  God  :  I  will  gird 
thee  though  thou  hast  not  known  me  :  that  they  may 
know  from  the  rising  of  the  sun,  and  from  the  west, 
that  there  is  none  beside  me;  "^  "  All  the  ends  of  the 
earth  shall  remember  and  turn  unto  the  Lord,  and  all 
the  kindreds  of  the  nations  shall  worship  before 
Thee ;  "^  and  consider,  that  when  the  Israelite  spoke 
of  the  knowledge  and  remembrance  of  Jehovah,  he 
meant  not  abstract  formulaB,  but  the  concrete  know- 
ledge which  had  become  his  possession  through  the 
divine  interventions  in  his  individual  and  national 
history,  we  are  justified  in  concluding  that  the  history 
was  designed  to  be  written — written,  too,  in  the  light 
of  Him  whose  great  purposes  it  was  meant  to  serve. 
All  this  may  be  applied  with  still  greater  emphasis 
and  truth  to  the  New  Testament,  with  its  history  of 
Him  who  was  in  all  things  truly  divine  and  ideally 
human,  and  of  the  beginnings  of  the  society  which 
was  entrusted  with  the  mission  of  proclaiming  the 
kingdom  of  God  to  the  very  ends  of  the  earth. 

(II.)   The  books  w^hicli  embody  communications  from 
God  touching  the  life  and  destiny  of  the  Jews,  or  of 

1  Isaiah  xi.  9  ;  cf.  Num.  xiv.  21.  2  jga.  xlv.  5  f. 

2  Ps.  xxii.  27. 


150      The  Bible — Theocratic  Literature. 

other  peoples,  or  of  the  Church.  These  are  the  Pro- 
phecies, and  the  Epistles  of  the  New  Testament, 
including  the  Apocalypse. 

1.  Let  us  first  consider  the  case  of  the  prophecies. 
There  can  be  little  doubt  that  in  many  cases  they  give 
us  the  ipsissima  verba  of  God  Himself.  The  frequent 
"  thus  saith  the  Lord,"  may  not  indeed  all  imply  that 
the  words  that  follow  are  God's  words  ;  they  may  be 
the  natural  outflow  of  a  consciousness  that  the 
"  burden,"  or  message  is  really  the  Lord's,  though  not 
verbatim  et  literatim  issuing  from  Him  ;  but  such  a 
consciousness  itself  would  have  been  impossible  had 
not  some  of  the  communications  of  the  prophets 
literally  and  truly  deserved  to  be  thus  announced. 
Here  there  is  verbal  inspiration  in  the  strictest  and 
narrowest  sense.  For  such  cases,  it  was  conceded 
even  by  Coleridge,^  nervously  anxious  as  he  was  to 
eliminate  any  appearance  of  reducing  man  to  a  mere 
instrument  of  God  : — The  thoughts,  feelings,  or  facts, 
are  expressed  in  words  chosen  and  dictated  by  God 
Himself  As  already  hinted,  it  is  impossible,  in  the  vast 
majority  of  cases,  to  determine  where  these  ipsissima 
verba  end,  and  the  words  that  are  not  simply  and 
solely  divine  begin.  They  are  imbedded  in  the  rest ; 
but  a  man  who  believes  at  all  in  special  divine  inter- 
positions, that  is,  in  the  so-called  supernatural  element 
of  the  Bible,  has  every  ground  for  recognising  their 
existence.  But  what  about  the  rest  ?  At  this  point, 
if  indeed  not  prior  to  the  remarks  just  made,  the 
^  "  Confessions  of  an  Enquiring  Spirit,"  &c. 


The  Cha7^acter  of  the  Hebrew  Literature.     151 

question  forces  itself  on  our  attention, — ''  How  did  the 
books  before  us  originate  ?  What  is  their  relation  to  the 
prophets  ?  In  other  words, — did  the  prophets  deliver 
their  prophecies  by  word  of  mouth,  and  are  our  books 
mere  reports  handed  down  by  hearers  ?  Or  did  the 
prophets  themselves  write  or  dictate  them  ?  "  Let  us 
look  for  a  moment  at  these  two  alternatives.  In  some 
cases,  we  know  the  messages  were  spoken.  Jeremiah, 
for  example,  tells  us,  "  Thus  saith  the  Lord,  go  forth 
into  the  valley  of  the  son  of  Hinnom,  which  is  by  the 
entry  of  the  gate  Harsith,  and  proclaim  there  the 
words  that  I  shall  tell  thee."^  Whether  it  was  the 
rule,  we  are  not  distinctly  informed.  It  depended 
probably  on  circumstances. 

The  circumstance  that  of  so  many  of  the  prophets  who 
are  said  to  have  prophesied,  no  prophecies  are  extant, 
may  seem  to  imply  that  it  was  rather  the  exception  than 
the  rule  for  them  to  write.^  But  it  is  susceptible  of 
more  than  one  other,  equally,  if  not  more,  satisfactory 
explanation.  There  may  too  have  been  many  prophets 
who  never  wrote  a  word,  just  as  there  have  always  been 
preachers  who  never  wrote  a  word  ;  and  yet  the  pro- 
phecies which  are  extant  may  have  been  originally 
written  ;  besides,  the  Bible  makes  no  claim  whatever 
to  be  a  complete  collection  of  even  the  religious  writings 
of  the  Jews  ;  though  we  are  nowhere  informed  why 
are  just  those  books  included  which  it  does  include, 
and  none  others. 

Were  they,  however,  originally  delivered  by  word  of 
1  Jer.  xix.  1  ff. ;  cf.  Ezek.  xxxiii.  22.  2  gee  p.  78. 


152       The  Bible — Theocratic  Literature. 

mouth,  and  have  we,  as  a  matter  of  fact,  only  reports, 
by  whomsoever  furnished,  then  the  question  drops 
of  itself. •'^  For  even  if  the  spoken  words  were  from 
God,  we  have  no  reason  to  suppose  that  those  who 
heard  or  reported  them  were  inspired ;  and,  good  as 
may  have  been  the  memories  of  men  in  those  old 
times,  it  is  utterly  improbable  that  they  should  have 
been  able  to  retain  with  exactness,  utterances  of  the 
character  of  the  Hebrew  prophecies.  The  fact  would 
be  without  a  parallel  in  the  known  history  of  the 
human  mind. 

Were  the  prophecies  then  originally  written  ?  It 
would  seem  so.  Indeed,  in  some  cases,  their  writers 
are  expressly  enjoined  to  write,^  a  circumstance  which 
might,  however,  be  interpreted  as  implying  that  with- 
out a  special  injunction  they  would  not  write.  For 
those  who  take  this  view  of  the  matter,  our  question 
naturally  drops  of  itself.  But  other  considerations 
point  in  the  direction  of  the  prophets  having  them- 
selves penned  the  messages  received  from  God,  even 
though  they  may  furnish  no  stringent  proof  of  the  fact. 
For  example,  the  repeated  instances  of  quotation 
from  one  prophet  by  another.  Compare  Isa.  ii.  2-4 
with  Micah  iv.  1-4  ;  Isa.  xi.  9  with  Hab.  ii.  14 ; 
Isa.  xiii.  19-22  with  Jer.  i.  39  ff. ;  Isa.  xiv.  4,  13 
with  Hab.  ii.  6,  9  ;  Isa.  lii.  7  with  Nahum  i.  15  ;   Jer. 

1  Compare  2  Sam.  vii..  "  According  to  all  these  words,  and 
according  to  all  this  vision,  so  did  Nathan  speak  unto  David." 

2  See  Isa.  viii.  1,  16  ;  Jer.  xxix.  1  ;  xxx.  1  ;  xxxvi.  1  ff'.  ;  Ezek. 
xxiv.  1  ;  xliii.  10  ;  Dan.  vii.  1  ;  Hab.  ii.  2  ;  Zecli.  vii.  12  ;  Apoc. 
i.  10,  11 ;  xxii.  18  ff.     See  especially  Ezek.  iii.  1. 


The  Character  of  the  Hebrew  Liter atitre.     153 

xlix.  7-22  with  Obadiali  1-4;  Amos  ix.  13  with 
Joel  iii.  18.  Which  is  the  quoter  and  which  the 
quoted  depends  of  course,  on  the  chronological  arrange- 
ment adopted,  a  matter  as  to  which  there  are  very 
great  divergencies  of  opinion  amongst  the  learned. 
These  quotations  are  without  name,  as  are  also  others 
of  a  less  distinct  nature,  and  which  may  rather 
perhaps  be  termed  echoes  than  distinct  quotations. 
Such  echoes,  however,  suggest  the  thought  that  not 
only  the  prophets  in  whose  writings  they  occur,  but 
also  those  to  whom  they  delivered  their  messages 
must  have  been  familiar  with  the  prophecies  of  their 
predecessors  ;  and  how  could  that  be  if  they  had  not 
been  written  ?  But  there  are  at  least  two  cases  in 
which  the  prophet  quoted  is  mentioned, — namely, 
Micah,  the  Morasthite,  by  Jeremiah  ;^  and  Jeremiah, 
by  Daniel.^ 

Then,  again,  allusions  occur  which  seem  to  imply 
that  it  was  customary  to  collect  and  preserve  the 
writings  of  the  prophets,  as  having  divine  authority. 
Isaiah,  for  example,  referring  to  prophecies,  says, 
"  Seek  ye  out  the  book  of  the  Lord  and  read."^ 
According  to  Daniel  also,  Jeremiah's  prophecies  were, 
in  his  day,  included  in  "  the  word  of  the  Lord."* 

Besides  it  would  seem  that  the  messages  were 
intended  not  merely  for  those  who  formed  the  im- 
mediate environment  of  the  prophets,  but  also  for 
such   as  were  at  a  distance,  if  not  in  some  cases  for 

1  Jer.  XX vi.  18  ;  cf.  Zech.  vii.  7,  12. 

2  Dan.  ix.  2.  ^  jsa.  xxxiv.  16.  *  Dan.  ix.  2. 


154       ^^^^  Bible — Theocratic  Literature. 

the  whole  people.  Judah  and  Israel  were  treated  as 
a  unity,  and  the  prophets  were  the  mouthpieces 
of  Jehovah  to  them.  Is  it  probable  then  that 
the  communications  of  the  great  invisible  King  would 
be  left  altogether  to  the  chances  of  s^Doken  speech  ? 

Assuming,  then,  that  the  prophets  themselves  wrote 
or  dictated  their  writings,  we  have  now  to  ask  whether 
they  were  specially  aided  by  God  in  the  apprehension 
and  presentation  of  the  words,  visions,  burdens,  He 
sent  to  them  ? 

The  necessity  for  the  exercise  of  some  divine  con- 
trol arises  from  two  sides — the  prophet  is  a  seer  and 
liearer  of  divine  things ;  and  he  is  also  an  utterer 
forth,  a  S'peaker  of  divine  things.-^  In  both  aspects 
special  help  is  needed.  Let  us  look  for  a  moment  at 
each. 

As  one  who  is  clearly  to  behold,  distinctly  to  hear, 
lovingly  to  apprehend,  firmly  to  grasp  what  God  shows 
or  tells  him  of  His  mind  and  will,  he  needs  more  than 
moral  sympathy  with  God,  and  a  natural,  constitu- 
tional fitness.  Those,  indeed,  he  must  also  have.  God's 
unconscious  instruments  are  often  men  to  whom  His 
yoke  is  galling,  and  His  burden  heavy,  and  both 
odious  ;  but  His  conscious  servants,  though  practically 
very  imperfect  and  inconsistent,  must  recognise  and 
approve  of  His  will  and  ways  as  good  and  noble. 
Nay  more,  they  must  possess  by  nature  the  necessary 
fitness  of  temperament  and  ability.  Of  one  of  the 
greatest  of  the  prophets  it  was  said,  "  Before  I  formed 
1  Orelli,  "  Die  Altest.  AVeissagiing,"  &c.,  p.  6  f. 


The  Character  of  the  Hebrew  Literaticre.     155 

thee  in  the  belly  I  knew  thee,  and  before  thou  earnest 
out  of  the  womb  I  sanctified  thee.      I  have  appointed 
thee    a    prophet    unto    the  nations,"^ — words  which 
express  in  the  very  strongest  way  the  fact  that  iwo- 
yheta  nascitur  non  Jit.      Apart  from  these  conditions 
— conditions  whose  fulfilment  was  due  to  God  Him- 
self, working  in   another  way, — and  He  always  works 
towards  His  ends  from  various  points,  on  various  lines, 
and  in  various  degrees  at  the  same  time, — His  work 
through  the  prophets  would  have  been  of  a  magical, 
mechanical  kind — not  of  the  kind  that  hovered  before 
the  mind  of  Paul  when  he  spoke  of  the  "  spirits  of  the 
prophets  being  subject  to  the  prophets."^     The  novelty 
and   strangeness  of  their  position  must  not  be  over- 
looked.     Men  brought  face  to  face  with  Jehovah,  the 
Lord   of  heaven  and  earth  !      We  are   familiar   with 
the  idea,  and  therefore  underestimate  the  significance 
of  the  thing.      What  means  this  opening  of  an  eye 
other   than  the  bodily  eye  ?     What  is  this  new  ear 
that  has  been  unstopped  ?      Who  sends  these  visions  ? 
Whose  are  these  voices,  heard  yet  not  heard  ?     How 
shall  they  be  discriminated?      In  new  circumstances, 
even  on  earth,  we  are  all  apt  to  lose  ourselves,  to  get 
confused,  if  totally  new  subjects,   belonging  even  to 
this    world,   are    broached   to  us,   we  fail    at  first   to 
understand    and    make    mistakes  —  we    have    to    be 
educated   up  to   our  changed  position.      What  then 
must   the   prophets  have    felt  ?      One    of    their    own 
countrymen  describes  the   prophetic  state  during   an 
1  Jer.  i.  5.  2  1  Cor.  xiv.  32. 


156       The  Bible — Theocratic  L  iteratitre. 

illapse,  or  revelation,  as  follows  ; — "  While  our  own 
intellect  shines  with  full  effect,  pouring  into  our  soul 
a  meridian  S23lendour,  and  we  are  in  a  state  of  self- 
possession,  we  are  not  the  subjects  of  inspiration  ;  but 
in  proportion  as  it  disappears,  a  divine  ecstacy  and 
prophetic  phrensy  falls  upon  us.  For  when  the  divine 
light  shines,  the  human  sets  ;  and  when  the  former 
goes  down  then  the  latter  rises.  Thus  it  usually  happens 
in  prophecy.  Our  own  intellect  departs  on  the  arrival 
of  the  divine  spirit,  and  on  his  de^Darture  it  again 
returns;  for  it  is  not  proper  that  the  mortal  and 
immortal  should  dwell  together.  On  which  account 
the  disappearance  of  reason  and  the  darkness  which 
surrounds  it,  is  followed  by  an  ecstacy  and  divine 
fury."-^  "  For  a  prophet  advances  nothing  whatever  of 
his  own ;  he  is  merely  the  interpreter  of  another,  by 
whom  he  is  actuated  all  the  time  he  is  speaking ;  and 
while  he  is  the  subject  of  divine  enthusiasm  he  is  in 
a  state  of  ignorance  (or  mental  alienation)  ;  reason 
has  retired ;  the  citadel  of  the  soul  has  capitulated  ; 
the  Spirit  of  God  coming  into  and  occupying  it,  acts 
upon  the  whole  mechanism  of  the  voice  and  imparts 
to  it  those  sounds  by  which  there  shall  be  a  clear 
enunciation  of  the  things  predicted."-  In  this  de- 
scription there  is  certainly  much  exaggeration  ;  there  is 
no  reason  for  thinking  that  the  prophets  actually  did 
thus   completely  lose  possession   of  themselves  ;    but 

1  Philo,  "  Quis  rerum  div.  Hseres?  "  i.,  511,  quoted  by  Hender- 
son, p.  36. 

^  Philo,  op.  cit.  ii.  343. 


The  Character  of  the  Hebrezu  Literatttre.     157 

why  ?  Not  because  the  new  position  in  which  they 
found  themselves  was  not  enough  to  overmaster  and 
confound  them  ;  but  because  God,  whilst  manifesting 
and  revealing  Himself  to  them  from  witliout,  at  the  same 
time  energised  in  them,  so  that  they  should  receive  His 
communications  with  calmness  and  insight.  This  is 
according  to  the  divine  method  everywhere.  What  is 
natural  science  itself,  which  has  so  much  now-a-days  to 
object  to  phenomena  of  this  kind,  but  the  result  of 
man  energised  by  nature  to  see  and  understand 
nature?  And  to  him  who  refuses  to  be  thus  aided 
by  nature  to  know  nature,  nature  remains  an  unin- 
telligible mystery.  So,  too,  God  must  dwell  in  man,  if 
man  is  to  understand  God.  This  is  true  of  us  now  in 
an  ordinary  way.  It  was  true  of  the  prophets  in  an 
extraordinary  way,  and  would  be  again  true  if  the 
need  should  arise  for  special  divine  revelations  and 
manifestations. 

But  the  prophet  was  a  "  speaker "  as  well  as  a 
"seer;"  nay,  he  was  a  "seer"  in  order  to  be  a 
"  speaker," — that  is,  also  a  writer,  yea,  a  speaker  or 
writer  for  God.  Did  he  need  special  help  for  this 
part  of  his  task  ?  If  we  may  take  Jeremiah  as  a  fair 
interpreter  of  the  feelings  of  his  class,  we  shall  have  to 
acknowledge  that  they  at  any  rate  confessed  it.  When 
Jehovah  said  to  him,  "  I  have  appointed  thee  a  prophet 
unto  the  nations,"  he  said  in  reply,  "  Ah  !  Lord  God  ! 
behold,  I  cannot  speak  :  for  I  am  a  child.  But  the 
Lord  said  unto  me.  Say  not  I  am  a  child  ;  for  to 
whomsoever  I  shall  send  thee  thou  shalt  go,  and  what- 


158       The  Bible — Theocratic  Literature. 

soever  I  shall  command  thee  thou  shalt  speak." -^  He 
felt  the  responsibility  resting  upon  him, — responsi- 
bility to  God  on  the  one  hand,  on  the  other  to  the 
nations, —  he  felt  also  his  own  insufficiency;  God 
therefore  assured  him  of  divine  help  according  to  his 
need,  help  surely,  not  merely  in  the  matter,  but  also 
in  the  form  of  his  message.  What  he  felt  they  pro- 
bably all  felt ;  and  the  need  was  a  real  one.  God's 
interference  scarcely  went  as  far  as  was  indicated  in 
the  closing  part  of  the  extract  given  above  from 
Philo ;  but  He  doubtless  did  aid  the  prophetical 
writers  from  within.  When  we  remember,  too,  that 
the  language  which  they  used  had  to  be  moulded  and 
transfigured,  if  not  created,  for  the  purpose  of  expressing 
the  divine  thoughts,  we  shall  be  ready  to  allow  that  in 
all  probability  God  exercised  effective  control  alike  over 
tongue  and  pen.  Their  words  may  be  described  as 
the  resultant  of  the  joint  action  of  God  and  the  mind 
of  the  prophets, — a  joint  action  in  which  now  the  one 
factor  predominated,  then  the  other. 

To  the  Apocatypse  in  the  New  Testament  applies 
in  some  respects  with  intensified  force  w^hat  has  been 
said  regarding  both  the  ij}sissima  verba  of  God  in  the 
prophecies  of  the  Old  Testament,  and  those  parts 
which  are,  so  to  speak,  the  joint  product  of  a  divine 
and  a  human  factor. 

2.  The  case  of  the  Epistles  of  the  New  Testament, 
which  next  falls  to  be  examined,  seems  at  the  first 
blush  to  differ  well-nigh  toto  coelo  from  that  of  the 
1  Jer.  i.  6  f. 


The  Character  of  the  Hebrezv  Litei^atiire.     159 

prophecies.  Yet,  after  all,  the  difference  is  on  the 
surface  rather  than  in  the  depths.  The  function  of 
the  writers  of  the  New  Testament  was  essentially  the 
same  as  that  of  the  writers  of  the  Old.  Their  mission 
indeed  was  to  the  Church,  not  to  the  nation ;  but  it 
was  the  same  mission  of  interpretation,  application, 
warning,  promise,  foretelling  that  was  discharged  by 
the  prophets,  only  that  whereas  the  former  had  to 
deal  with  types  and  shadows,  with  yearnings  and 
hopes,  with  the  form  and  letter,  the  latter  were  called 
to  proclaim  a  Messiah  come,  a  redemption  accom- 
plished, the  spirit  and  the  substance, — in  a  word,  the 
fulfilment. 

They,  too,  were  seers  and  speakers.  It  could 
be  said  of  them  indeed,  ''  Blessed  are  your  eyes  for 
they  see,  and  your  ears  for  they  hear :  for  verily  I  say 
unto  you,  that  many  prophets  and  righteous  men 
desired  to  see  the  things  which  ye  see,  and  saw  them 
not,  and  to  hear  the  things  which  ye  hear,  and  heard 
them  not."-^  He  in  whom  the  law  and  prophets 
were  fulfilled  was  in  their  midst,  and  they  could  see 
with  their  outward  eyes,  and  hear  with  their  outward 
ears,  and  handle  the  Word  of  Life,  of  which  their  great 
predecessors  had  only  got  dim  and  fitful  glimpses  ;  yet, 
as  the  example  of  their  fellow-countrymen  showed, 
yea,  even  their  own  words  and  conduct,  they  too 
needed  to  have  their  eyes  opened  and  ears  unstopped 
by  the  Spirit  who  dwelt  without  measure  in  Him 
whom  they  were  called  to  understand,  else  ''  hearing 
1  Matt.  xiii.  16  f. 


i6o       The  Bible — Theocratic  Liter  attire. 

they  would  have  heard,  and  yet  not  have  understood ; 
and  seeing  they  would  have  seen,  and  yet  not  per- 
ceived," even  though  their  hearts  were  not  gross,  nor 
their  natural  faculties  unfitted.-^  Accordingly  they 
received  the  Spirit  to  lead  them  into  the  truth  ;  and 
not  till  He  came  did  they  really  see  what  they  had 
seen,  and  hear  what  they  had  heard. 

But  did  they  also  need  and  receive  divine  co-opera- 
tion in  the  discharge  of  their  duty  as  speakers  for  God 
by  voice  and  pen  ?  The  literary  features  of  their  dis- 
courses and  letters  are,  it  must  be  confessed,  as  a  rule,  less 
suggestive  of  inspiration  than  those  of  the  prophecies. 
Judgment,  reflection,  reasoning  seem  to  have  been 
more  active,  as  indeed  was  natural  in  the  case  of  men 
to  whom  divine  truth  presented  itself  through  outward 
and  visible  media.  Yet  notwithstanding,  in  view  of 
the  permanent  importance  of  their  words  to  the  life  of 
the  Church,  and  to  the  progress  of  the  kingdom  of  God, 
whatever  reasons  could  be  urged  on  behalf  of  the 
divine  co-operation  with  the  prophets  may  be  urged 
now,  though  the  co-operation  differed,  as  divine  co- 
operation always  does,  in  accordance  with  differing 
temperament,  faculties,  work,  and  circumstances. 

There  would  seem,  indeed,  to  some  to  be  a  sort  of 
incongruity,  if  not  improbability,  in  the  idea  that  the 
Spirit  of  God  should  have  exercised  any  sort  of  con- 
trolling co-operation  in  the  production  of  writings  like 
those  now  under  consideration — writings  in  which 
memory,  judgment,  argument,  practical  wisdom,  ethical 
1  Matt.  xiii.  14  ff. 


The  Character  of  the  Hebrew  Literature.     i6i 

precept,  bursts  of  exulting  gratitude  and  praise,  prayer, 
remonstrance,  entreaty,  reproach,  humour,  satire,  per- 
sonal greetings, — in  short,  everything  that  we  count 
characteristically  human  finds  so  obvious  a  place  ;  yet 
where  is  the  real  difficulty  ?  If  God  can  have  access 
at  all  as  an  indwelling  energiser  to  the  human  spirit, 
shall  He  who  made  us  capable  of  all  these  forms  of 
activity  leave  them  unaffected  ?  No ;  the  divine 
Spirit  can  as  truly  condescend  to  become  a  co-reasoner, 
co-judger,  co-adviser,  co-entreater  with  man  as  He  can 
become  our  co-worker  in  the  moral  and  spiritual 
struggles  for  which  we  constantly  entreat  His  aid. 
And  if  ever  men  needed  such  aid,  if  ever  it  were 
fitting,  surely  it  was  needed  by  and  fitting  in  the  case 
of  men  whose  business  it  was  to  watch  over  and  direct 
the  launching  of  the  Church  of  Christ. 

III.  We  now  come  to  the  books  which  may  be 
described  as  embodying  the  thoughts  and  sentiments 
awakened  in  the  higher  minds  of  the  nation  by 
the  environment  and  phases  of  their  individual  and 
collective  life,  especially  that  part  in  which  the  divine 
factor  more  peculiarly  manifested  Himself.  These  are, 
to  mention  them  in  the  order  of  their  significance  and 
importance,  the  Sacred  Songs,  most  of  which  are 
included  in  the  Psalter  and  Lamentations ;  the  moral, 
philosophical,  or  Chokma — i.e.,  Wisdom,  Works, 
namely,  Proverbs  and  Ecclesiastes ;  the  book  which 
combines  poetry  and  wisdom,  namely  Job ;  and  lastly, 
the  Song  of  Songs. 

Special  divine  aid  or  co-operation  would  seem  here 

M 


1 6  2       The  Bible  —  Theocratic  L  iterature. 

to  be  least  of  all  necessary.  There  must  be,  of  course, 
the  poetic  faculty,  insight  into  the  laws  and  constitu- 
tion of  the  moral  cosmos,  sympathy  with  humanity  in 
its  failures  and  successes,  its  joys  and  sorrows,  its 
heights  and  depths  ;  but  surely  this  is  not  enough, 
especially  as  both  poets  and  moralists  alike  devote  all 
possible  attention  to  the  vehicle  by  which  they  seek 
to  convey  their  thoughts  and  feelings,  words  and  the 
arrangement  of  words  being  indeed  almost  of  the 
essence  of  their  productions.  First  of  all,  it  behoves 
us  never  to  forget  that  genius,  talent,  gift  of  expression, 
moral  sympathy,  however  real  they  may  be,  are  as 
unable  as  water  to  rise  much  above  the  level  of  their 
source.  Now  there  is  no  reason  for  supposing  that 
the  general  level  of  thought  and  sentiment  among  the 
Jews  was  high;  on  the  contrary,  the  intellectual, 
moral,  and  religious  condition  of  the  people  was  low. 
Nay,  more ;  in  some  cases — notably,  for  example,  in 
that  of  David  and  Solomon — there  was  frequently  a 
painful  contrast  between  the  personal  conduct  and  the 
works  of  the  writers.  But  if  God  were  specially  work- 
ing at  other  points  in  order  to  redeem  the  nation,  and 
through  it  the  world,  would  it  have  been  natural  for 
Him  to  leave  it  entirely  to  itself  in  the  production  of 
its  poetry  and  writings  on  duty  and  religion  ?  Poetry 
and  other  writings  doubtless  did  spring  up  which  were 
the  unaided  utterance  of  the  Jewish  mind  and  heart. 
It  is  not  necessary  to  conceive  of  God  as  interposing 
in  each  and  every  form  of  literary  activity,  any  more 
than  He   interposed  in   every  other  form  of  activity. 


i 


The  Character  of  the  Hebrew  Literature.     163 

As  I  remarked  in  another  connection,  He  respected 
the  freedom  alike  of  the  individual  and  the  nation, 
not  merely  in  one,  but  in  every  direction.  But  the 
poetry  of  a  nation — especially  its  songs — and  the 
proverbial  wisdom,  are  such  important  factors  in  its 
life,  that  to  have  left  them  out  of  tlie  sphere  of  His 
special  influence  would  have  been  to  render  well-nigh 
purposeless  the  use  that  was  being  made  of  prophets, 
and  the  control  wielded  over  the  historians.  "  Let 
who  will  make  the  laws,  if  I  may  write  the  songs 
and  proverbs  "  may  be  truly  said. 

As  far  as  the  Psalms  in  particular  are  concerned — 
at  all  events  the  greater  number  of  them — the  need 
of  divine  inspiration  is  heightened  by  the  purpose  for 
which  most  of  them  were  probably  written,  and  the 
use  to  which  they  were  actually  put.  "  The  Psalter," 
says  Ewald,^  "  might  easily  be  taken  for  a  simple 
anthology  of  the  best  songs  known  to  the  collector — 
an  anthology,  too,  made  without  any  ruling  principle. 
But  when  we  come  to  examine  their  general  character, 
we  find  that,  both  as  to  subject  and  tone,  they  are  all 
alike.  All  relate  unmistakably,  though  in  the 
greatest  variety  of  ways,  to  the  divine — prayer, 
thanksgiving,  praise ;  simple  thoughts  and  bodements ; 
descriptions  of  divine  things  and  truths ;  admonition 
to  divine  works.  Even  when  a  king  is  addressed,  as 
in  Psalms  xxl,  Ixxii.,  and  ex.,  it  is  rather  the  majesty 
and  glory  of  the   divine  than   of  the  human  that  is 

1  "Hebraische  Diclitung,"  p.  239  ff. — a  free  quotation.  Cf. 
"  Psalms  by  Four  Friends,"  App.  A.  B. 


1 64       The  Bible — Theocratic  Literature, 

expressed.  Psalm  xlv,  seems  to  form  an  exception,  in 
so  far  as  it  does  not  take  the  divine  for  its  point  of 
departure ;  and  yet  even  it  is  a  beautiful  example  of 
the  influence  exercised  on  merely  human  poetry  by  the 
higher  spirit  which  pervaded  Hebrew  life.  A  very 
characteristic  feature  is,  further,  that  the  divine 
subject  of  the  songs  is  presented  in  a  general  rather 
than  in  a  personal  relation ;  many  of  them  have,  in 
point  of  fact,  no  personal  reference  whatever ;  and 
where  there  is  a  personal  reference,  it  admits  of  a 
wider  application,  and  the  song  may  be  adopted  by 
others  in  similar  circumstances.  There  is  an  obvious 
avoidance  of  poems  with  a  strong  personal  colouring. 
Whilst  doubtless  many  of  the  Psalms,  especially  those 
of  the  first  part,  were  intended  to  be  used  by  indivi- 
duals for  their  private  edification,  there  can  be  no 
question  that  their  primary  destination  was  the  public 
services  of  the  Temple,  though  whether  they  were  all 
regularly  sung,  or  sung  in  order,  cannot  now  be 
determined."  If  this  were  the  case,  what  an  incon- 
gruity if  Jehovah  should  have  ordered  the  rites, 
ceremonies,  sacrifices,  not  to  mention  even  less  import- 
ant external  surroundings,  and  have  left  men  to  their 
own  unaided,  unguided  impulses  relatively  to  songs 
that  could  not  but  wield  a  mighty  influence  over 
intellect  and  heart. 

What  was  the  purpose  of  the  affecting  dirges  desig- 
nated "  The  Lamentations  of  Jeremiah  "  ^  we  are  not 

1  Comp.  2  Cliron.  xxxv.  25,  where  mention  is  made  of  Jere- 
miah's dirge  at  the  death  of  Josiah. 


The  Character  of  the  Hebrew  Lite7^atitre,     165 

informed;  but  we  may  fairly  conjecture  that  they 
were  intended,  at  all  events,  for  the  private  edifica- 
tion, consolation,  warning,  and  so  forth  of  those  mem- 
bers of  the  nation  who  confessed  that  the  visitations 
of  the  Lord  in  the  destruction  of  Jerusalem  and 
the  captivity  of  its  inhabitants  were  righteous.  As 
such,  they  will  have  shared  divine  influence,  though, 
perhaps,  in  a  less  direct  and  marked  measure  and 
manner  than  most  of  the  Psalms.  Indeed,  at  the 
time  when  they  were  probably  written,  Israel  was  in  a 
mood  of  intellect  and  heart  that  rendered  him  more 
susceptible  of  what  may  be  termed  the  normal  or 
ordinary  action  of  the  Spirit  of  God. 

Still  less  clear  is  it  what,  or  whether,  indeed,  any, 
special  design  was  meant  to  be  served  by  Job  and  the 
Song  of  Songs.  But  the  fact  of  their  admission  to 
the  Canon  shows  that,  in  the  estimation  of  the  Jews, 
their  writers  had  been  imder  the  influence  of  the 
Spirit  of  God.  Their  relation  to  the  life  of  the  nation 
and  the  divine  purpose  in  it  could  never  have  been 
so  intimate  and  important  as  that  of  the  Psalms ;  but, 
knowing  as  we  do,  from  the  conduct  of  other  Oriental 
nations,  and  even  of  Southern  Italians  at  the  present 
day,  how  common  it  is  for  such  poems  to  be  publicly 
read  or  recited,  and  how  they  fascinate  hearers  of  all 
ranks  and  classes,  we  may  well  believe  that  the  same 
God  who  concerned  Himself  for  the  welfare  of  the 
Shunamite,  and  punished  Gehazi,  would  also  extend 
His  influence  to  poetical  productions  like  those  to 
which   we   are   now   referring.       As  to  the  harmony 


1 66       The  Bible — Theocratic  Literature. 

between  the  book  of  Job  and  the  general  purpose  of 
Jehovah  with  the  Jewish  nation,  there  can  be  no 
doubt.  It  contains  wonderful  glimpses  into  and  hints 
of  the  very  highest  and  profoundest  truths ;  and, 
studied  by  those  to  whom  its  language,  local  colour, 
and  mode  of  thought  were  familiar,  must  have  done 
much  to  give  steadiness  to  faith  in  God  and  His 
righteousness,  as  well  as  to  lighten  the  darkness  and 
scatter  the  doubts  of  the  ionocently  afflicted. 

With  regard  to  the  Book  of  Proverbs  and  Eccle- 
siastes,  Ewald  says :  "  Whilst  it  is  probable  that  the 
first  composers  of  proverbs  did  so  from  the  pure  love 
of  literary  production,  we  may  be  sure  that  thereupon 
soon  supervened  a  desire  to  teach  others  by  their 
means.  They  then  turned  their  attention  to  the 
people  as  a  whole,  and  sought  to  write  what  would  be 
commonly  intelligible,  especially  to  the  young  and 
inexperienced,  seeking  to  give  insight  and  guidance 
for  all  the  moral  relations  of  life.  It  must  not  be 
supposed  that  they  made  collections  of  proverbs 
already  current  among  the  people ;  such  proverbs 
merely  supplied  the  pattern  or  literary  mould  into 
which  they  cast  their  own  thoughts."  ^  The  passages 
in  which  the  writer  or  writers  use  the  direct  address, 
"  My  son,"  or  "  My  sons,"  confirm  this  view  of  the 
books.  The  difference  between  Proverbs  and  Eccle- 
siastes  which  here  calls  for  notice  is,  perhaps,  one 
rather  of  form  than  of  substance.  In  Proverbs,  pre- 
cepts, promises,  warnings  are  set  forth  in  a  didactic 
1  "  Hebr.  Diclitung,"  55  ff.  ; — a  free  quotation. 


The  Character  of  the  Hebrew  Literature.     167 

form ;  in  Ecclesiastes,  the  same  truths  appear  in  the 
guise  of  the  confessions  of  one  who  has  tried  every- 
thing for  himself,  and  has  proved  that  the  ways  of 
sin  are  ways  of  misery  ;  those  of  righteousness,  ways 
of  peace.  The  writers  of  both  books  would  agree  in 
giving  as  "  the  end  of  the  matter,  Fear  God,  and 
keep  His  commandments  ;  for  this  is  the  whole  duty  of 
man.  For  God  shall  bring  every  work  into  judgment, 
with  every  hidden  thing,  whether  it  be  good,  or 
whether  it  be  evil."  ^  But  if  these  writings  were  thus 
a  kind  of  lesson-book  of  duty,  a  guide  to  conduct  in 
the  various  relations  of  life,  more  particularly  for  the 
young,  is  it  extravagant  to  argue,  from  the  general 
relation  of  God  to  Hebrew  life,  that  their  writers 
wrote  under  an  inspiring  influence  from  on  high  ? 

(lY.)  From  the  importance  of  the  function  dis- 
charged by  literature  in  general  in  the  life  and  growth 
of  nations,  we  may  fairly  conclude  that  the  writers  of 
the  Jewish  nation  would  not  be  left  entirely  to  them- 
selves. 

1.  Literature  is  the  great  means  through  which  a 
nation  possesses  itself,  becomes  conscious  of  its  life, 
realises  what  it  actually  is.  It  subserves  for  society 
the  purpose  which  language  subserves  for  the  indi- 
vidual. We  know  not  what  we  really  are,  we  never 
come  really  face  to  face  with  ourselves,  we  do  not 
possess  ourselves  and  are  therefore  not  completely  men, 
until  what  we  are  becomes  thought,  and  in  the  act  of 
becoming  thought,  clothes  itself  in  words.  So  is  it 
1  Eccles.  xii.  13  f. 


1 6 8       The  Bible  —  Theocratic  L  iterature. 

witli  a  nation  and  literature.  The  thinkers  and 
writers — i.e.,  the  historians,  philosophers,  and  poets  of 
a  people,  are  the  organs  through  which  it  knows  itself. 
Such  self-possession  is  necessary  alike  in  the  case  of 
the  individual  and  of  a  people,  to  the  full  utilisation 
of  its  powers  and  riches,  and  to  the  realisation  of  its 
destiny.  For  man  is  constituted  to  have  the  conscious 
control  of  his  own  activity,  and  not  like  the  rest  of 
creatioD,  to  be  unconsciously  controlled  from  within 
and  from  without.  A  people  without  a  literature, 
remains  in  a  state  of  nature,  that  is,  continues  to  be 
swayed  and  controlled,  even  as  the  forces  of  nature  are 
swayed  and  controlled.  And  only  in  proportion  as 
literature  permeates  its  life,  and  is,  not  merely  the 
privilege  of  the  few,  but  the  daily  food  of  the  many, 
does  a  nation  arrive  at  that  conscious  self-control, 
which  is  one  of  the  essential  conditions  of  its  accom- 
plishment of  the  work  entrusted  to  it. 

2.  Literature  is  the  chief  vehicle  through  which  the 
higher  life  of  a  people  is  handed  on  to  the  next 
generation,  in  accordance  witli  the  law  of  heredity. 
Certain  mental  qualities,  some  slight  portion  of  the 
intellectual  acquisitions  of  a  generation,  a  measure  of 
its  modes  of  feeling,  may  be  handed  down  by  natural 
descent,  by  language,  by  oral  tradition,  by  custom, 
and  in  other  ways  ;  but  without  literature,  by  far  the 
larger  portion  will  be  lost.  The  differences  between 
civilised  and  uncivilised,  barbarous  aud  uncultured 
peoples,  is  mainly  due  to  the  existence  or  non-existence 
of  literature — literature  taken  in  the  broad  sense  to 


The  Character  of  the  Hebi^ew  Liter  alter e.     169 

which  I  previously  referred.  Without  it  and  the 
knowledge  it  conveys,  each  generation  has  to  start 
afresh  in  the  race  of  life,  and  leaves  off  therefore 
pretty  nearly  where  the  preceding  generation  ceased  ; 
and  so  there  is  no  real  progress.  The  life  of  a 
nation  neither  broadens  nor  deepens.  This  is  true, 
not  only  of  the  intellectual  life  and  all  that  depends 
directly  on  it,  but  also  of  the  spiritual  life.  It  was 
partly  in  consideration  of  this  fact,  that  God  ordained 
that  every  succeeding  generation  of  the  Israelites 
should  be  carefully  instructed  in  their  previous  history. 
Not  merely  that  they  might  have  a  dead  knowledge 
of  what  had  happened,  but  that  the  past  might  serve 
as  a  foundation  for  the  building  which  was  to  rise  in 
the  future. 

3.  Literature  suggests  new  fields  of  inquiry  and 
activity,  stimulates  to  new  efforts,  and  qualifies  for  new 
conquests  and  attainments.  Not  merely  as  so  much 
property  with  which  to  sustain  life  is  literature  of 
use,  but  as  the  basis  of  further  undertakinors,  higher 
achievements.  It  does  not  indeed  necessarily  exercise 
this  influence ;  for  in  connection  with  man  there  is  no 
such  thing  as  necessity.  The  Chinese  are  an  illustra- 
tion to  the  contrary.  They  have  inherited  au  enormous 
literature,  and  have  taken  care  that  the  inheritance 
should  be  entered  upon  ;  yet  progress  has  not  been 
made.  For  centuries  they  have  been  content  with 
simply  living  on  inherited  capital — not  of  course 
diminishing  it,  though  of  course  losing  hold  upon  it ; 
but  not  increasing  it.      Why,  this  is  not  the  place  to 


170       The  Bible — Theocratic  Literature. 

inquire.  But  whilst  an  inherited  literature  does  not 
necessarily  generate  progress,  progress  is  impossible 
without  it. 

4.  Now,  if  such  be  the  relation  of  literature  to  a 
national  life,  and  if  God  really  had  constituted  Him- 
self a  factor  of  the  Hebrew  nation,  and  really  were 
co-operating  with  and  using  it  for  the  establishment 
of  His  kingdom  in  the  world,  how  very  improbable 
that  He  should  not  directly  stimulate  to  literary 
activity,  that  He  should  not  make  literature  one  of 
the  forms  of  His  own  direct  activity,  and  that  He 
should  not  exercise  indirect  control  over  it,  by  acting 
upon  the  producers  in  every  way  that  was  open  to 
Him.-^  We  need  not  suppose  that  He  concerned  Him- 
self about  every  form  and  degree  of  literary  production. 
The  freedom  He  left  to  the  Israelites  in  other  spheres 
He  would  leave  to  them  in  this.  But  that  He  should 
refrain  from  exercising  special  control  and  influence  in 
this  direction  whilst  He  was  exercising  it  in  that  of 
legislation,  institutions,  and  the  like,  would  scarcely 
have  been  in  harmony  with  divine  wisdom. 

Specially  necessary  must  such  influence  appear  in 
the  light  of  the  consideration  that  the  soil  of  Israel 
had  to  be  prepared  for  the  planting  and  ripening  of 
the  Messiah,  the  Son  of  God.  He  could  not  appear 
till  the  times  were  full,  that  is,  until  the  Hebrew 
people  in  particular  had  developed  to  the  point  when 
they  could  appreciate  His  mission  ;  when  they  could 
understand  His  words,  His  works.  His  sufferings.  His 
1  Compare  "The  Symposium"  in  Homiktic  Magazine. 


The  Character  of  the  Hebrew  Liter  attire.     171 

death,  His  resurrection.  And  one  of  tbe  chief  means 
of  furthering  this  development  was  a  literature  that 
should  truly  and  adequately  enshrine  the  life  of  the 
nation  with  its  divine  and  human  elements.  Unless 
their  life  had  been  enriched  as  it  was  enriched  by  the 
treasure  of  knowledge,  insight,  trust,  reverence,  handed 
down  in  their  literature,  Christ  could  not  have  come 
at  all,  or  if  He  had  come,  would  have  found  a  world 
deaf  to  the  music  of  His  voice,  and  blind  to  the  glory 
of  His  grace.  Still  less  would  they  have  been  capable 
of  ripening  the  new  fruitage  from  the  apparently- 
decayed  and  dying  stem  which  constitutes  the  New 
Testament.  With  modifications  in  the  mode  of  expres- 
sion, necessitated  by  the  difference  in  my  point  of 
view,  I  would  say  in  the  words  of  Dr.  Chalmers :  — 
"  Strange  that  with  the  inspiration  of  thoughts  it 
should  make  pure  ingress  into  the  minds  of  the 
apostles  ;  but,  wanting  the  inspiration  of  words,  should 
not  make  pure  egress  to  that  world,  in  whose  behalf 
alone,  and  for  whose  admonition  alone,  this  great 
movement  originated  in  heaven  and  terminated  in 
earth.  Strange,  more  especially  strange,  in  the  face 
of  the  declaration  that  not  unto  themselves,  but  unto 
us  they  ministered  these  things  ;  strange,  nevertheless, 
that  this  revelation  should  come  in  purely  to  them- 
selves, but  to  us  should  come  forth  impurely — with 
somewhat,  it  would  appear,  of  the  taint  and  the  obscura- 
tion of  human  frailty  attached  to  it/'-^ 

(Y.)  I    have    only   incidentally  touched   upon    the 
1  Quoted  by  Given,  "  Revelation,  Inspiration,  the  Canon,"  p.  124. 


172       The  Bible — Theocratic  L  iterature. 

nature  and  compass  of  the  influence  which  the  Spirit 
of  God  exercised  on  the  writers  of  the  Hebrew  nation. 
It  is  clearly  impossible  to  determine  it  with  anything 
like  exactness  in  the  individual  cases.  We  may 
reasonably  doubt  whether  those  who  were  most 
sensible  of  divine  action  could  have  given  more  than 
a  very  vague  account  of  what  they  had  experienced. 
One  may  know  for  one's-self  that  one  has  been  the 
subject  of  an  illapse  from  the  invisible  world — an  illapse 
either  for  good  or  evil,  for  darkening  or  enlightening, 
for  quickenment  or  enfeeblement,  for  encouragement 
or  depression,  for  temptation  or  deliverance, — and  yet 
one  may  be  unable  to  convey  a  true  notion  thereof  to 
others,  save  and  unless  they  have  been  in  like  circum- 
stances. Only  the  scantiest  hints  have  been  left  on 
record  by  those  who  were  most  affected — the  prophets ; 
and  they  do  not  throw  much  light  on  the  subject,  besides 
that  they  refer  rather  to  their  state  whilst  receiving 
divine  communications,  than  to  their  state  whilst  utter- 
ing or  writing  them.  Thus  Elisha  said,  "  Bring  me 
a  minstrel.  And  it  came  to  pass,  when  the  minstrel 
played,  that  the  hand  of  the  Lord  came  upon  him."^ 
Isaiah  :  "  The  Lord  God  hath  given  me  the  tongue  of 
the  taught  ...  he  wakeneth  mine  ear  to  hear  as 
they  that  are  taught."^  Ezekiel  :  "Then  the  Spirit 
of  the  Lord  lifted  me  up,  and  took  me  away,  and 
I  went  in  bitterness,  in  the  heat  of  my  spirit ;  and 
the  hand  of  the  Lord  was  strong  upon  me."^  Micah  : 
"  But  I  truly  am  full  of  power  by  the  Spirit  of  the 
1  2  Kings  iii.  15.  2  ig^.  iy.  1.  3  Ezek.  iii.  14. 


The  Character  of  the  Hebrew  Literature.     173 

Lord."^  Of  Samson  it  is  said:  "The  Spirit  of  the 
Lord  began  to  move  him  in  Mahaneden."^  Peter  uses 
the  words,  "Moved  or  borne  away  by  the  Holy 
Ghost  ;  "^  and  according  to  the  Acts,  the  effect  of  the 
descent  of  the  Spirit  upon  the  Apostles  was  to  make 
them  speak  in  a  manner  that  suggested  the  thought 
of  their  being  "  filled  with  new  wine."* 

Judging  by  analogy,  we  may  be  sure  that  the 
divine  action  would  vary  according  to  the  men,  the 
subjects,  the  circumstances,  alike  in  degree  and 
manner.  The  great  matter,  however,  is  not  so  much 
the  Ifiow,  as  the  fact ; — the  former  is  of  interest 
primarily  to  the  scientific  inquirer,  the  latter  is  of 
practical  concern  for  every  man. 

1  Micah  iv.  8.  '^  Judges  xiii.  25. 

3  2  Pet.  1.  21.  4  Acts  ii.  13. 


174       ^^^^  Bible — Theocratic  Literature. 


CHAPTER  XI. 

THE   RELATION    OF    THE    BIBLE    TO    SUBSEQUENT    AGES. 

"TTARIOUS  hints  have  been  already  thrown  out 
'  on  this  subject;  but  it  may  be  well  to  look  at 
it  a  little  more  closely  from  the  vantage  ground  which 
we  now  occupy. 

The  position  I  have  taken  up  and  sought  to  expound 
is  this  :  that  the  Scriptural  books  are  the  outgrowth, 
record,  reflection  of  an  actually-lived  national  life ; 
that  according  to  their  testimony,  that  national  life 
was  constituted  what  it  was,  not  only  by  the  activity 
of  human  factors,  but  also  by  the  special  activity  of  a 
divine  factor;  that  consequently  the  contents  of  the 
books  are  both  divine  and  human ;  and  finally,  that  in 
view  of  the  peculiar  character  of  the  life,  and  of  the  end 
which  the  divine  factor  purposed  in  taking  part  in  it, 
as  well  as  of  other  considerations,  the  v/riters  of  the 
books  must  have  been  specially  stimulated,  quickened, 
guided,  enlightened,  inspired  by  the  Spirit  of  God  :  in 
one  word,  that  the  Scriptures  are  theopneustic. 

What  relation,  then,  are  they  designed  to  hold  to 
subsequent  ages,' — for  example,  to  ourselves  ? 

I.   They  subserve  in  a  religious  respect  the  general 


Relation  of  the  Bible  to  subsequent  Ages.      1 7  5 

function  above  attributed  to  literature.  Indeed,  they 
do  so  in  other  than  religious  respects.  Wherever  the 
Hebrew  Scriptures  have  been  well  known  they  have 
enriched  and  fructified  the  whole  mental  life.  It  is 
too  commonly  allowed  by  all  whose  judgment  is  worth 
considering,  as  far  as  Britain  is  concerned,  to  need 
any  urging.  But  the  Bible  is  so  emphatically  a 
religious  book  ;  its  various  parts  are  so  permeated  by 
religion,  that  we  may  here  deal  with  it  solely  from 
this  side.  Now,  even  if  we  were  to  suppose  that  all 
the  references  to  special  divine  interventions,  both  by 
word  and  deed,  are  to  be  understood  as  we  understand 
the  references  made  by  believers  at  the  present  day, 
to  divine  interventions  in  word  and  deed,  the  Scrip- 
tures would  still  hold  a  unique  position  and  possess 
unique  value.  This  is  a  view  to  which  many  now-a- 
days  incline.  They  do  not  doubt  that  God  existed, 
and  was  actually  interested  in  the  Israelites  ;  that  He 
guided,  enlightened,  and  helped  in  answer  to  prayer 
and  otherwise  ;  this  was  really  the  case,  they  would 
say,  as  really  as  with  us  in  these  days  ;  their  experi- 
ence was  as  objectively  genuine  as  ours  now,  but  not 
more  so.  The  difference  between  them  and  us,  or 
between  us  and  them,  is  that,  whilst  they  with  their 
lively  Semitic  and  Oriental  fancy  clothed  their  experi- 
ence in  an  externally  objective  garb,  and  expressed  it 
in  vivid,  highly  coloured  forms  ;  we,  after  our  Western, 
Aryan  manner,  express  ourselves  more  soberly,  refrain- 
ing from  the  introduction  of  the  miraculous,  the 
supernatural.    Viewed  even  thus,  the  Scriptural  books 


176       The  Bible — Theocratic  L  iterature. 

are  incomparably  richer  in  all  that  is  fitted  to  quicken, 
elevate,  and  invigorate  the  religious  nature,  than  all 
the  other  sacred  books  of  the  world  taken  together; 
and  have,  therefore,  an  incomparably  higher  value. 

I  venture  to  maintain,  however,  that  no  branch  of 
the  human  race,  whatever  its  natural  endowments, 
could  ever  have  held  the  relation  to  God  which  is 
reflected  in  the  Bible  and  in  the  literature  of  the 
Christian  Church,  unless  God  had  first  entered  into 
human  life  in  a  special,  or  as,  in  my  opinion,  it  is 
unfortunately  termed,  supernatural  way  :  in  other 
words,  unless  He  had  specially  manifested  and  revealed 
Himself.  The  reverence,  confidence,  and  love  which 
were  cherished  towards  God,  and  the  peace,  blessed- 
ness, joy  and  deep  satisfaction  which  were  experienced 
in  God  by  the  pious  among  the  Jews,  and  by  the 
followers  of  Christ,  had  these  and  no  other  roots,  could 
have  arisen  and  lived  under  no  other  conditions. 

II.  The  primary  function  of  the  Scriptures  is  to 
bear  witness  to  the  life  out  of  which  they  grew.  In 
this  regard  they  stand  on  the  same  footing  as  do  other 
literatures.  Greek  literature  testifies  to  Greek  life — 
to  the  thoughts,  feelings,  words,  acts  of  the  Greek 
people ;  Roman  literature  to  those  of  the  Romans. 
The  life  of  which  these  literatures  testify  is  past  and 
gone.  Our  interest  in  it  therefore,  is  in  the  main, 
one  of  curiosity.  Not  so  with  the  life  of  which  the 
Scriptures  bear  witness.  But  why  ?  As  we  have  seen, 
it  was  the  life  of  a  people  into  which  God  had  entered 
into  a  special   relation  for  a  special  purpose.     That 


Relation  of  the  Bible  to  subsequent  Ages.      177 

purpose  was  that  in  them  all  the  nations  of  the  earth 
might  be  blessed.  In  the  carrying  out  of  this  purpose 
God  intervened  by  word  and  deed  at  sundry  times  and 
in  divers  manners,  sending  at  last  His  only  begotten  and 
well-beloved  Son  into  the  world,  that  all  men  through 
Him  might  be  saved.  For  the  life  of  the  Jews,  apart 
from  these  facts  we  need  care  no  more  than  we  care  for 
that  of  the  ancient  Greeks  :  scarcely  indeed  as  much. 
If  this  be  not  the  meaning  of  their  literature  it  must 
needs  be,  in  these  sceptical,  agnostic  days,  a  source 
rather  of  bitterness  of  soul,  than  of  pleasure.  Why 
torment  me  with  David's  certitudes  and  raptures, 
Isaiah's  strengthening  visions,  Christ's  testimony  to  a 
Father  in  heaven,  and  the  thousand  other  glorious 
phases  of  the  religious  life  of  the  Hebrew  and  Christian 
saints,  if  they  had  no  objective  real  foundation.  Rather 
should  we  exclaim — A  curse  on  such  literature  !  The 
sooner  we  can  banish  and  forget  it  the  better  !  How 
eminent  Agnostics  of  the  present  day  can  praise  the 
Scriptures  and  cling  to  them,  is  to  a  Christian  believer 
a  most  puzzling  logical  riddle. 

Now  our  knowledge  of  the  blessed  realities  just 
touched  on,  comes  to  us  through  the  Scriptures  ;  even 
as  our  knowledge  of  the  wars  of  Julius  Csesar,  or  of 
the  life  of  Mohammed  comes  to  us  through  certain 
parts  of  the  Latin  and  Arabic  literatures.  Caesar's 
contemporaries  did  not  get  their  knowledge  of  Caesar's 
wars  through  Caesar's  "  Commentaries,"  but  either 
from  Caesar  himself  or  Caesar's  companions  and  sub- 
ordinates.     Nor    were    the   Jews     and    post-Christian 


178       The  Bible — Theocratic  L iterahtre, 

believers  dependent  for  their  knowledge  of  what  God 
did  and  said  on  what  we  now  call  the  Old  and  New 
Testaments.  We,  however,  have  no  other  source  of 
knowledge. 

In  a  certain  very  general  sense  all  literatures  are  a 
*'  revelation  :  " — they  reveal,  unveil,  make  known,  life 
lived  long  ago  :  without  them  we  should  be  ignorant 
of  it  ;  where  there  is  now  knowledge  there  would 
otherwise  be  a  blank.  But  as  the  word  "  revela- 
tion "  has  come  to  be  employed  technically  and  speci- 
fically to  denote  that  which  makes  God,  known,  we 
apply  it  exclusively  to  the  Scriptures  among  litera- 
tures. In  this  secondary  and  derived  sense,  therefore, 
the  Scriptures  are  a  revelation  of  God ;  but  though 
they  contain  communications  which  in  some  cases  are 
*'  revelations  "  fromi  God,  they  themselves,  as  a  whole, 
cannot  be  correctly  described  as  a  revelation  from 
God. 

Nature  bears  its  own  witness  of  God  :  human  history 
in  general  witnesses  of  God  :  other  religious  literatures 
witness  of  God  :  but  nowhere  else  do  we  find  a 
witness  to  a  redeeming  God — a  God  gracious,  mercy- 
ful,  slow  to  anger,  plenteous  in  lovingkindness  and  in 
truth,  forgiving  iniquity,  and  saving  the  world  from 
sin  and  death.  It  testifies  of  God  as  a  living  Saviour, 
because  it  shows  us  Him  in  the  very  act  of  saving, 
whilst  it  also  records  His  assurance  that  in  Him  there 
is   no   ''  variableness   neither   the   shadow  of  a  turn- 

Now  such  a  witness-bearer  or  revelation  the  Bible 


Relation  of  the  Bible  to  subsequent  Ages.      179 

would  remain,  even  were  we  to  concede  to  the  critics 
the  presence  of  historical  and  other  errors,  of  mythical 
and  legendary  elements.  A  history  as  a  whole  cannot 
surely  be  discredited  because  here  and  there  contradic- 
tions are  discovered — because  certain  parts  of  the 
record  thereof  have  been  coloured  by  the  popular 
imagination.  What  reasonable  man  would  think  of 
throwing  doubt  on  the  entire  part  played  in  the  life 
of  China  by  Confucius,  or  in  that  of  India  by  Buddha, 
or  in  that  of  Greece  by  Socrates,  or  in  that  of  Rome 
by  Cicero,  simply  because  legendary  elements  had 
crept  into  the  literature  relating  to  them  ?  Equally 
unreasonable  would  it  be  to  reject  in  toto  the  testi- 
mony of  the  Scriptures  regarding  God,  because  there 
may  seem  to  be  reason  for  doubting  some  things  said 
to  have  been  done,  or  spoken,  or  thought,  or  intended, 
by  Him.  Whether  on  other  grounds,  this  testimony 
should  be  rejected  is  an  altogether  different  question. 
From  the  point  of  view  here  taken  up,  what  I  have 
just  stated  might  be  safely  allowed  :  from  the  other 
points  of  view,  to  which  attention  was  directed,  it 
would  be  logically  impossible. 

Indeed,  one  might  go  even  a  step  further.  Could 
the  life  we  have  been  considering  have  been  truly  and 
adequately  reflected  and  recorded,  without  any  inspira- 
tion whatever,  the  literature  in  which  it  was  enshrined 
would  have  served  the  purpose  of  witness  to  the  rela- 
tion of  God  to  men  even  as  a  merely  natural  produc- 
tion. What  we  are  chiefly  concerned  with  is  ihQ  fact 
of  a  veritable  objective  divine  intervention  for  saving 


i8o       The  Bible — Theocratic  Literature. 

ends,  in  the  life  of  Israel.^  If  that  be  true  ;  if  God 
was  the  Saviour,  and  if  He  be  still  the  same,  do  we 
not  know  the  most  important  thing  we  need  to  know  ? 
Has  not  the  most  wonderful  and  precious  revelation 
been  made  to  us  that  heart  of  man  can  imagine  ? 
This  was  a  great  truth,  even  before  Israel's  history- 
was  consummated  by  the  advent  of  Christ  ?  What 
was  it  sustained  the  moral  energy  and  life  of  the  Jews 
during  the  period  covered  by  the  apocryphal  books  of 
the  Old  Testament,  when,  as  they  themselves  con- 
fessed, direct  and  special  divine  interventions  in  their 
life  had  ceased  ?  It  was  the  mem^ory  of  what  God 
had  done — of  His  great  and  marvellous  works  wrought 
on  their  behalf?  They  trusted  Him  when  He  did  not 
work  specially,  because  of  what  they  knew  of  Him 
from  His  special  workings  in  old  time.  And  the  faith 
of  the  Christian  Church  during  the  last  eighteen  cen- 
turies has  been  kept  alive  by  the  knowledge  of  what 
God  did  through  Israel,  and  especially  in  Christ.  It 
is  even  so  in  our  relations  to  men.  What  they  once 
did  is  taken  as  a  witness  to  what  they  were,  and  are, 
and  can  still  do.  This  is  their  ''  character,"  as  we 
term  it.  The  life  reflected  in  the  Bible,  so  far  as  its 
divine  factor  is  concerned,  is,  so  to  speak,  the  character 
of  God ;  and  the  Bible  is  the  medium  through  which 
we  are  made  acquainted  with  it — the  transcript  whose 

1  The  particular  modes  of  the  intervention  have  after  all  but 
secondary  significance,  with  the  sole  exception  of  that  of  Christ ; 
for  they  were  adapted  to  or  conditioned  by  the  peculiar  character 
and  circumstances  of  the  Jewish  people. 


Relatio7i  of  the  Bible  to  subsequent  Ages.      1 8 1 

production  he  has  himself  superintended.  It  con- 
tinues the  work  of  those  who  were  called  to  be 
specially  God's  agents.  As  in  the  Old  Testament 
they  came  with  a  burden  from  the  Lord,  so  in  the 
New,  they  style  themselves  His  "  witnesses  " — "  we 
are  His  witnesses  of  these  things  ;  "  and  now  that  their 
voice  is  hushed  by  death,  they  continue  to  speak 
through  the  writings  which  they  wrote. 

The  primary  function  of  the  Bible  is  to  be  an  abid- 
ing special  witness  for  God. 

III.  The  Scriptures  serve  further  as  a  guide  to 
conduct,  alike  religious  and  moral.  Whilst  they  tell 
what  the  mind,  and  will,  and  conduct  of  God  have  been 
towards  men,  they  also  tell  what  the  mind,  and  will, 
and  conduct  of  men  should  be  towards  God,  each  other, 
and  their  fellow-creatures.  They  do  this — to  repeat 
a  remark  too  often  made  already — indirectly  through 
the  medium  of  the  laws  and  institutions,  commands 
and  prohibitions,  promises  and  threatenings,  encourage- 
ments and  warnings,  rewards  and  punishments,  which 
proceeded  from  God  in  the  discharge  of  His  function 
as  a  factor  in  the  life  of  the  nation  through  which  He 
was  seeking  to  bless  and  save  mankind.  In  its 
measure  every  literature,  so  far  as  it  truly  reflects  life, 
does  the  same  thing.  It  is  full  of  precepts  and 
dissuasions.  In  one  sense  the  lessons  of  history  are 
good  and  divine ;  but,  in  the  sense  now  referred  to, 
the  teachings  of  literature  generally,  what  it  supplies 
for  the  guidance  of  conduct,  is  of  a  very  mixed 
character.       Nor,    considering    that   imperfect,    short- 


1 82       The  Bible — T/ieocratic  Litei'ahnx. 

sighted,  erring,  ignorant,  and  even  corrupt  human 
nature  is  their  source,  can  we  be  surprised  at  the  fact. 
The  Scriptures,  however,  bring  us  face  to  face  with  a 
life  which  God  Himself  undertook  to  guide.  Even 
He  failed  to  educate  into  righteousness;  but  the 
indications  of  His  will  are  marked  bj  His  own  perfec- 
tion. The  chief  features  and  lines  of  an  ideal  life 
are  drawn  with  clearness  and  vigour.  Nay  more,  the 
perfection  of  religion  and  morality  was  set  before  the 
Hebrew  nation  in  the  person  and  life  of  Jesus  of 
Nazareth. 

The  commands  and  prohibitions  are,  it  is  true, 
temporary  in  their  form ;  and,  naturally  so,  for  the 
simple  reason  that  they  were  issued  and  intended  for 
men  who  lived  at  a  particular  time,  under  particular 
circumstances.  But,  with  rare  exceptions,  their  sub- 
stance is  abiding  ;  for  the  principal  relations,  deepest 
needs,  and  chief  activities  of  man  remain  the  same 
under  all  changes  of  time,  clime,  colour,  language,  and 
environment.  Moreover,  to  a  large  extent,  their  form 
is  as  general  as  their  essence  is  eternal. 

IV.  The  Scriptures  subserve  finally  another  pur- 
pose, which  may  be  briefly  designated  the  scientific 
or  philosophical  purpose :  that  is,  they  supply  materials 
for  the  construction  of  a  view  of  the  world  as  a  whole. 
According  to  the  conception  of  the  Bible,  whose 
history  was  briefly  reviewed,  its  primary  design  was 
to  instruct  men  on  this  point.  It  was  treated  at  all 
events  as  though  its  books  had  been  brought  into 
existence  for  the    exjDress  purpose    of  teaching   what 


Relation  of  the  Bible  to  subsequent  Ages.      183 

reason  could  not  discover  regarding  the  mysteries  of 
existence ;   and  so  it  is  still  largely  treated.-^ 

But  though  this  may  not  be  the  right  point  of  view 
from  which  to  approach  the  Scriptures  as  a  whole,  it 
is  certain  that  they  do  supply  invaluable  philosophical 
or  theological  material,  and  that  in  two  ways. 

(I.)  Simply  as  the  source  of  knowledge  of  an 
objective  life,  in  other  words,  as  documents. 

All  history — using  the  term  history  to  denote  the 
life  rather  than  its  record — does  the  same  in  its 
measure.  The  play  of  human  caprice  and  jDerversity 
in  history  must  not  be  ignored  ;  but  neither  must  the 
fact  of  an  overruling  providence  be  ignored.  ''There  's 
a  divinity  that  shapes  our  ends  ;  rough-hew  them  how 
we  will."  This  applies  to  nations  as  truly  as  to  indi- 
viduals. Paul  also  recognised  this  in  the  remarkable 
words  which  he  spoke  to  the  Athenians  : — "■  He  made 
of  one  blood  all  nations  of  men  to  dwell  on  all  the  face 
of  the  earth,  and  determined  the  times  before  appointed, 
and  the  bounds  of  their  habitation."  ^  A  method, 
a  law,  an  end,  a  reason  underlies  every  life, — indi- 
vidual or  national ;  and  he  who  discovers  it  has  made 
a  contribution  to  the  philosophy  of  the  world.^  The 
philosophy  of  history,  when  it  understands  itself,  has 
this  aim.  Few  tasks,  however,  are  more  difficult 
than    that    of   the    philosophical    historian,    even    as 

1  Even  by  so  able  a  writer  as  Bishop  Temple  ;  see  his  "  Bamp- 
ton  Lecture." 

2  Acts  xvii.  26. 

3  See  Professor  Flint's  remarkable  "  History  of  the  Philosophy 
of  History,"  Introduction. 


184       The  Bible — Theocratic  Literature, 

ordinarily  viewed ;  how  much  more  difficult  still  if 
his  aim  be  to  discover  the  particular  purpose  of  God 
in  the  life  of  any  particular  nation  or  group  of  nations. 

At  this  point,  the  history  of  the  Jewish  people,  as 
reflected  in  the  Bible  renders  invaluable  help.  The 
law  and  meaning  of  their  experiences  are  exhibited 
in  and  along  with  those  experiences  with  startling 
clearness.  Whilst  the  nation  is  acting,  enjoying, 
suffering,  men  arise  in  its  own  midst  who  tell  them 
what  God  thinks  thereof,  how  far  God  is  concerned 
therewith,  what  His  designs  are  therein.  What  the 
Greek  chorus  aimed  to  be  to  the  action  in  the  Greek 
tragedy,  that  the  prophets  actually  were,  though  in  a 
deeper  and  fuller  sense  than  Greek  poet  could  ever 
have  deemed  possible,  to  the  Hebrew  life.  Whilst 
thus  interpreting  Hebrew  life,  they  interpreted  also 
the  life  of  other  nations  ;  for  the  special  brought  out 
the  regular  and  normal, — it  was  not  a  substitute  for 
it.  Hebrew  life  furnishes  a  key  to  the  deeper  secrets 
and  mysteries  of  the  life  of  other  and  very  dis- 
similar peoples.-^ 

But  light  is  at  the  same  time  thrown  on  the  life  of 
humanity  as  a  whole.  We  get  in  the  Scriptures 
glimpses  of  its  divine  idea,  for  Israel  lived  not  merely 
for  itself,  but  also  for  humanity.  It  suggests  where 
it  does  not  distinctly  state  the  principle  on  which 
other  histories  may  be  correlated  to  its  own.  It 
supplies  a  key  to  the  course  of  the  world.      It  fur- 

1  See  F.  D.  Maurice's  "  Prophets  and  Kings,"  &c.,  and  works 
generally. 


Relation  of  the  Bible  to  sitbseqicent  Ages.      185 

nishes  the  significant  member  of  the  great  organism 
of  history,  by  means  of  which  the  whole  may  in 
certain  respects  be  reconstructed,  and  therefore  under- 
stood. We  cannot  say  this  of  any  other  history  ;  for 
whilst  other  histories  mainly  hinge  on  some  jDoint  of 
the  periphery  of  human  life  and  destiny,  that  of  Israel 
touches  the  very  centre,  namely,  man's  relation  to 
God.  What  a  wonderful  light  is  thrown,  for  example, 
on  the  life  of  humanity  at  the  beginning  of  the 
history,  by  the  election  of  Abraham,  that  "  in  him 
and  his  seed  all  the  nations  of  the  earth  might  be 
blessed  ;"  and  at  its  consummation,  by  the  mission  of 
the  Son  of  God  to  live,  suffer,  and  die  for  the  salva- 
tion of  the  whole  ivorlcl. 

(II.)  It  comprises,  however,  not  merely  facts,  events, 
and  the  like,  which  throw  light  on  the  plan  of  the 
world,  but  also  direct  hints  and  statements.  The 
Scriptures  are  full  of  suggestions,  more  or  less  clear, 
towards  a  philosophy,  or  as  it  is  ordinarily  termed,  a 
theology.  Hence  the  Biblical  theologies  that  have 
been  constructed  directly  from  the  Scriptures  ;  and 
the  systematic  theologies,  professedly  based  on  them. 
It  has  long  been  seen  that  the  Bible  is  not  itself  a 
system  of  theology,  or  of  anything  ;  though,  as  far  as 
the  point  of  view  is  concerned,  which  I  have  advocated, 
it  might  comprise  among  its  books  a  more  or  less 
complete  outline  of  such  a  theology  ;  even  as  the 
literature  of  Britain  or  Germany  or  France,  were  it 
bound  up  in  one  volume,  would  comprise  such 
systems.      But  it  does  not  do  so.      Still,  there  is  not 


i86       The  Bible — Theocratic  Literature. 

a  problem  of  philosophy  proper — i.e.,  of  the  system 
of  the  world,  on  which  more  or  less  direct  light  is 
not  thrown  by  the  sacred  writings  ;  whilst  elsewhere, 
we  search  for  any  but  the  vaguest  and  most  uncertain 
hints  on  most  of  the  problems.  The  nature  of  God, 
the  origin  of  the  universe,  the  true  constitution, 
position,  and  destiny  of  man,  the  origin,  history,  and 
goal  of  evi],  its  cure — these  and  other  problems 
remain  utterly  dark  apart  from  the  Scriptures. 
Ethics,  religion,  theology,  anthropology,  cosmology, 
and  so  forth,  all  alike  get  help  in  the  Bible  ;  though 
it  can  scarcely  be  said  to  contain  a  page  that  bears 
a  strictly  scientific  character. 

The  treasures  of  the  Bible  have  thus  far  not  been 
exhausted.  It  is  like  a  mine  in  which  he  who  digs 
deepest  finds  ore  the  most  valuable.  But  the  material 
there  stored  up  must  not  be  used  in  a  mechanical 
and  soulless  manner.  There  is  not  a  little  force  in 
Mr.  Matthew  Arnold's  denunciation  of  the  habit  of 
taking  terms  which  the  Biblical  writers  use  "  in  a 
fluid  and  passing  way,  as  men  use  terms  in  common 
discourse,  or  in  eloquence  and  poetry,  to  resemble 
approximately,  but  only  approximately,  what  they 
have  present  before  their  mind,  but  do  not  profess  that 
their  mind  does  or  can  grasp  exactly  or  adequately, 
in  a  rigid  manner,  as  if  they  were  symbols  with  as 
definite  and  fully  grasped  a  meaning  as  line  or  angle  " 
— against  the  employment  of  terms  which  are  literary, 
as  though  they  were  scientific.^  He,  however,  runs  to 
1  "  Literature  and  Dogma,"  p.  8. 


Relation  of  the  Bible  to  stibsequeiit  Ages.      187 

the  other  extreme,  and  treats  the  terms  employed  in 
the  Bible  as  if  they  had  no  definite  meaning  whatever. 
Still,  in  the  broad  sense,  it  is  quite  true,  that  the 
Scriptures  are  literary,  not  scientific;  literature,  not 
philosophy  or  science.  But  they  none  the  less  supply 
ample  material  for  the  construction  of  philosophy  to 
him  who  has  the  eyes  to  see,  and  the  intellect  to 
grasp. 

Such  then  is  the  relation  of  the  Scriptures  to  us — 
First,  they  witness  concerning  God,  telling  us  what  He 
has  done  for  the  redemption  of  the  world,  and  that 
He  is  still  able  and  willing  to  save  ;  secondly,  they 
furnish  us  with  guidance  to  conduct,  and  show  us  how 
God  would  have  us  to  behave  towards  Himself,  each 
other,  and  the  world  ;  and,  finally,  they  put  into  our 
hands  the  means  of  understanding  the  course  of  the 
world,  and  the  history  and  destiny  of  humanity. 


The  Bible — Theocratic  Literature. 


CHAPTER    XII. 

CONDITIONS    OF   THE    DISCERNMENT    OF   THE    DIVINE 
ELEMENT    IN    SCRIPTURE. 

rilHE  due  appreciation  of  literature,  and  of  the  life 
-■-  which  it  enshrines,  is  in  all  cases  subject  to 
certain  conditions.  The  remark  made  in  another 
connection — *'  The  eye  sees  what  it  brings  with  it " 
— applies  here.  Neither  Greek  literature,  considered 
simply  as  literature,  nor  Greek  life,  can  be  understood 
or  assimilated  or  enjoyed,  without  preparedness  in  him 
who  studies  it.  It  is  not  otherwise  with  the  litera- 
ture and  life  to  which  our  attention  has  been 
directed. 

Hebrew  literature  and  life,  like  the  literature  and 
life  of  other  nations,  have  several  sides,  to  the  appre- 
ciation of  each  of  which  a  specific  attitude  or  prepara- 
tion is  necessary.  Take  the  life.  Its  political  aspects 
can  best  be  interpreted  by  a  man  of  political  discern- 
ment; its  social  aspects  by  one  who  is  interested  in  and 
acquainted  with  the  movements  of  society ;  its  ecclesi- 
astical aspects  by  one  who  is  familiar  with  the  manage- 
ment of  Church  affairs  ;  and  so  with  the  various  other 
aspects.      This  is  equally  true  of  literature.     It  has 


How  the  Divine  Element  is  discerned.     189 

its  philological  and  aesthetic  sides,  neither  of  which 
can  be  rightly  estimated  by  any  one  who  does  not 
fulfil  certain  obvious  conditions. 

The  more  peculiar  the  life  and  literature,  the  more 
special  the  qualifications  of  him  who  would  properly 
judge  them. 

Now  the  Hebrew  life  and  literature  are  differentiated 
from  every  other  life  and  literature  by  their  religious 
quality ;  or  to  speak  more  exactly,  by  their  divine- 
human  character.  There  is  a  very  true  sense,  indeed, 
in  which  this  twofold  character  belongs  to  every  other 
national  life  and  literature.  God  is  not  far  from  any 
individual  or  nation  ;  in  Him  all  live  and  move  and 
have  their  being.  Of  them,  however,  it  holds  good  in 
a  very  special  sense. 

This  immanence  of  the  divine  in  the  human,  and  of 
the  human  in  the  divine,  this  blending  of  the  two  in 
human  history,  ordinarily  escapes  the  observation  of 
historians  and  philosophers,  owing  to  their  lack  of  the 
inner  fitness  and  preparation.  They  see  the  human, 
and  more  or  less  appreciate  its  various  activities 
and  manifestations,  because  their  mind  is  dvOpcoTroeLSyg 
(manlike) ;  they  miss  the  divine  because  it',  is  not  in 
the  same  degree  OeoeiS)]?  (Godlike).  Some  of  the 
aspects  of  this  co-operation  of  God  with  man  in 
common  human  history  were  very  clearly  discerned  by 
the  great  men  of  the  Hebrew  nation ;  others  were 
hidden  even  from  them.  In  their  light,  we  in  our 
measure  may  noAV  see  light. 

The  co-operation  of  God  with  Israel,  both  as  to  life 


190      The  Bible — Theocratic  Literature. 

and  literature,  was  special ;  and  the  speciality  was  in 
part  meant  to  open  our  eyes  to  the  true  meaning 
of  the  ordinary.  Yet  even  the  special,  or  as  it  is 
generally  termed,  the  supernatural,  does  not  force  its 
significance  on  the  human  mind.  It  too  will  remain 
hidden,  unless  it  be  approached  in  the  right  spirit, 
looked  at  in  the  right  light.  Nay  more,  it  may  even 
deepen  the  obscurity  which  hangs  round  the  ordinary 
action  of  God  in  the  world.  It  seems,  in  fact,  to  have 
had  that  effect  on  many  modern  minds.  No  liter- 
ature and  no  life  repels  them  so  much  as  the 
literature  and  life  of  the  Hebrew  people ;  in  none  do 
they  apparently  find  less  of  the  divine. 

How  can  we  know  that  this  Hebrew  life  and  litera- 
ture are  what  they  profess  to  be  ?  In  other  words, 
inasmuch  as  our  concern  here  is  with  the  divine,  not 
with  the  human  element,  in  the  Scriptures — using 
this  term  to  denote  both  the  life  enshrined  and  the 
enshrining  vehicle — how  can  we  assure  ourselves  that 
their  witness  concerning  God,  the  guidance  they  offer 
for  conduct,  and  the  hints  they  give  about  the  ways 
of  God  are  true — that  is,  divine  ?  In  putting  this 
question  we  approach  the  wide  domain  of  apologetics  ; 
but  I  shall  only  refer  in  a  general  way  to  the  practical 
or  moral  conditions  of  certitude,  not  to  those  which 
are  more  properly  intellectual.  What  I  thus  desig- 
nate practical  or  moral  conditions  are  of  supreme 
importance,  partly  because  they  are  open  to  all  men, 
whatever  their  intellectual  culture  and  discipline,  or 
lack  thereof;  and  partly  because  they  really  determiue 


How  the  Divine  Element  is  discei^ned.      1 9 1 

the  attitude  and  action  of  the  intellect,  consciously  or 
unconsciously. 

I.  The  surest  means  of  testing  the  truth  of  the 
Scripture  testimony  to  God  as  the  living  Saviour  is  to 
try  Him.  What  is  needed  is  loyal  experiment. 
Here  all  can  begin — the  sceptic  no  less  than  the  man 
who  has  never  been  troubled  by  a  doubt.  By  way  of 
testing  the  matter,  take  the  case  of  a  sceptic. 

The  Scriptures,  be  it  again  remarked,  are  from  the 
beginning  to  the  end  witness-bearers,  in  a  thousand 
different  ways,  to  one  great  fact  or  truth — the  truth 
that  God  can  and  will  save  from  sin,  darkness,  and 
unrest  all  who  are  willing  and  ask  to  be  saved. 
They  take  for  granted  that  all  men  are  more  or  less 
conscious  of  moral  imperfection,  intellectual  ignorance 
and  perplexity,  and  restlessness  of  heart,  not  to  men- 
tion other  forms  of  misery.  They  narrate  how  God 
has  actually  wrought  deliverance,  and  assure  us  that 
He  always  will  and  can  deliver.  They  mention  various 
modes  in  which  He  has  accomplished  His  saving 
work,  or  shown  His  willingness  to  do  so.  Suppose 
a  man  doubts  the  accuracy  of  some  of  the  stories, 
regarding  them  as  either  fictitious,  or  coloured,  or 
exaggerated,  especially  where  miracles  are  in  question, 
yet  the  mass  of  the  testimony  will  scarcely  be  mate- 
rially diminished.  Man's  need  of  help,  if  he  is  to  be 
truly,  blessedly  man ;  God's  constant  readiness  to  give 
the  help  man  needs  in  order  to  be  truly  and  blessedly 
man — the  first  is  what  Scripture  tahes  for  granted; 
the  second   is  the  substance,  the  essence,   the  kernel 


192      The  Bible — Theocratic  Liter ahn^e. 

of  its  testirtiony .  Salvation  by  a  living  God :  that 
is  the  chief  uniting,  harmonising  element  in  this 
strange  collection  of  the  literary  remains  of  a  strange 
nation. 

''  But  what  if  it  be  so  ? "  a  doubter  may  reply. 
"  What  is  their  testimony  to  me,  even  if  I  grant  that 
this  actually  is  the  burden  of  their  literature  ? "  It 
is  nothing  to  him  if  God  only  saved  men  in  the  days 
of  old,  to  which  these  books  relate  ;  or,  if  he  be  among 
"  the  whole  who  need  not  a  physician."  But  suppose 
he  be  sensible  of  need,  and  be  compelled  to  exclaim 
with  Ovid,  "I  see  and  approve  the  better,  but  follow 
the  worse  ; "  suppose  he  agree  with  Sophocles  in  say- 
ing, "  Be  assured,  the  gods  regard  the  evil  no  less 
than  the  good,  and  that  a  godless  man  hath  never 
escaped  them ;  "  or  that  he  have  to  lament  with 
Theocritus,  "  Behold  !  calm  is  the  sea  and  calm  the 
stormy  wind,  but  into  my  inmost  soul  rest  never 
comes  ; "  suppose  that  he  know  himself  to  be  often 
weak  for  good,  strong  for  evil,  ignorant  of  that  which 
the  soul  most  yearns  to  know,  without  confidence, 
brightness,  gladness  at  the  deepest.  Suppose,  further, 
he  lend  a  candid  ear  to  the  millions  of  men  who 
throughout  the  Christian  ages,  and  at  the  present 
moment,  testify  that  "  God  is  now  nigh  at  hand,  and 
not  afar  off ; "  "  that  He  still  saveth  them  that  put 
their  trust  in  Him  ; "  "  that  wherever  there  is  loyal 
willingness  to  let  Him  work,  no  matter  what  intellec- 
tual uncertainty  and  perplexity  men  may  be  conscious 
of,  there  He  saves  from  darkness,  sin,  misery  : "  then 


Hoiv  the  Divine  Ele77ient  is  discerned.      193 

the  case  is  a  different  one  ;  the  Bible  is  for  him  to 
that  extent  an  authority.  And  if  he  enter  into  it 
through  this  doorway,  he  will  soon  begin  to  find  out 
that  it  is  in  other  ways  an  authority,  till  at  last  it  will 
become  the  sweetest  and  freest  exercise  of  his  intellect 
to  look  to  it  for  divine  instruction,  and  believe  where 
he  cannot  see. 

Whether  there  be  a  still  simpler  and  lower  form  of 
the  authority  of  the  Scripture  than  this  I  am  scarcely 
able  to  say.  At  all  events,  I  know  of  none  that  is  at 
once  so  simple,  so  comprehensive,  and  yet,  as  it  must 
needs  be,  so  searching.  For  surely  Bishop  Blougram's 
condition  is  quite  too  easy  and  indefinite — 

"  *  What  think  ye  of  Christ,'  friend  ?  when  all 's  done  and  said, 
You  like  this  Christianity  or  not  % 
It  may  be  false,  but  will  you  wish  it  true  % 
Has  it  your  vote  to  be  so  if  it  can  % 
Trust  you  an  instinct  silenced  long  ago 
That  will  break  silence  and  enjoin  you  love 
What  mortified  philosophy  is  hoarse, 
And  all  in  vain,  with  bidding  you  despise  % 
If  you  desire  faith — then  you  've  faith  enough  : 
What  else  seeks  God — nay,  what  else  seek  ourselves  ? "  ^ 

As  I  remarked  before,  the  burden  of  the  Scriptures 

is  their  witness  to  a  saving  God.      This,  too,  is  what 

distinguishes   our   sacred   books  from   those   of  other 

religions.      There  may  be  found  in  other  sacred  books 

beautiful  petitions,  prayers  ;  beautiful  ethical  sayings, 

injunctions,   warnings  ;    impressive  confessions    of  sin 

and  guilt  and  fear ;   wonderful  gleams  of  insight  into 

truth  ;    mysterious    fore-reachings  towards  judgment, 

1  Browning's  "  Men  and  Women," 

O 


194       ^'^^  Bible — Theocratic  Literature. 

immortality,  and  heaven  ;  but  you  will  search  in  vain 
for  any  but  the  most  fragmentary,  vague,  and  ineffi- 
cient testimony  to  God  as  the  Saviour  of  men. 

The  Bible  primarily  a  witness  to  God  as  our  Saviour 
— that,  I  think,  may  be  allowed  by  any  man  ;  that, 
all  may  agree  on,  however  widely  they  differ  in  other 
respects. 

But  suppose  a  man  says,  "  The  witness  is  there,  but 
the  witness-bearers  were  themselves  deluded.  I  don't 
dispute  the  witness,  I  only  dispute  its  objective  valid- 
ity." I  would  answer:  Accept  it  provisionally;  deal 
with  it  as  men  of  science  deal  with  hypotheses  they 
have  not  yet  been  able  but  are  anxious  to  verify ;  act 
as  though  the  witness  of  the  Bible,  sustained  as  it  is 
by  the  confirmatory  witness  of  Christian  believers  of 
all  ages  and  lands,  were  true  ;  try  God  as  a  Saviour  ; 
you  need  not  fear  to  go  to  Him  with  the  cry,  "■  I  believe, 
help  Thou  mine  unbelief."  And  as  sure  as  God  is 
true,  your  experience  will  be,  not  perhaps  in  a  moment, 
but  certainly  in  due  season,  all  that  I  have  already 
described. 

II.  Whether  the  guidance  offered  by  the  Scriptures 
for  conduct,  is  of  God  or  no,  will  be  learned  by  him 
who  is  genuinely  willing,  that  is,  straightforwardly 
ready,  to  do  the  will  of  God.  Nay  more,  I  might  say, 
if  a  man  is  straightforwardly  ready  to  be  and  do  the 
right,  and  straightforwardly  resolved  to  avoid  the 
wrong,  he,  too,  will  not  fail  to  discern  the  mind  of 
God  in  the  moral  system  which  in  many  parts  and 
many  ways  is    laid  down   in  the  Scriptures.      Is  the 


How  the  Divine  Element  is  discerned.      195 

right  in  the  abstract,  confessed  by  him  to  be  sacred,  to 
be  absolutely  obligatory  ?  Does  he  say  within  himself 
— Yes,  to  the  right  I  must,  I  will  bow  ?  Then  assur- 
edly he  shall  discern  whether  individual  commands 
are  right  or  not.  And  in  discerning  that,  his  inner 
eye  will  gradually  become  capable  of  distinguishing  in 
the  commonest  duties  the  "  still  small  voice  "  of  God  ; 
still  more  shall  he  know  that  through  the  Scriptures 
God  is  verily  speaking  to  him.  Whereas,  if  a  man  is 
disloyal  to  right  in  the  abstract,  he  will  soon  become 
sceptical  as  to  right  in  the  concrete  ;  still  more  scepti- 
cal as  to  the  right  of  the  Scriptures  to  guide  him.  This 
does  not  mean  that  willingness  to  be  and  do  God's 
will  will  enable  us  to  discover  what  that  will  is  :  all 
that  it  means  is  that,  given  the  concrete  claim,  or 
duty,  or  command,  or  injunction,  and  we  shall  be  able 
to  discern  whether  it  be  of  God  or  not.  Not,  indeed, 
all  at  once  ;  but  accordino^  to  our  needs  will  it  be 
given  to  us.  This  experience  presupposes  the  accept- 
ance of  God  as  Saviour  ;  and  the  certitude  that  He  is 
a  Saviour  will  grow  upon  us  through  the  experience 
that  he  energises  in  us  to  do  His  will.  The  process 
is  something  like  this  :  We  are  ready  to  do  His  will 
whatever  it  be  ;  then  we  see  more  or  less  distinctly 
that  the  particular  thing  asked  from  us  is  His  will ; 
then  we  find  ourselves  energised  to  do  what  we, 
perhaps  dimly,  see  ;  and,  as  we  do  it,  the  conviction 
becomes  firm  that  what  we  have  done  is  verily  the 
divine  will.  The  energising  vouchsafed  to  us  is  the 
work  of  the   Holy  Spirit  who,  whilst  invigorating  for 


196       The  Bible  —  Theocratic  Literature, 

the  resistance  of  temptation,  the  vanquishment  of  evil, 
and  the  performance  of  duty,  concurrently  opens  our 
eyes  to  see.  So  far  all  alike  can  advance — foolish  and 
wise,  ignorant  and  learned,  weak  and  strong — each  in 
his  measure  ;  but  each  in  the  measure  sufficient  for  his 
own  particular  needs. 

III.  To  the  proper  appreciation  of  the  hints  con- 
tained in  the  Scriptures  relatively  to  the  divine  plan 
of  the  world  are  necessary  on  the  one  hand,  an  intel- 
lect capable  of  correlation  and  construction,  and  on 
the  other,  an  intellect  quickened  and  guided  by  the 
Holy  Spirit.  Then,  and  then  only,  can  full  certitude 
be  attained.  Passing  over  the  question  as  to  the  exact 
kind  of  intellectual  activity  which  is  necessary  for  this 
work,  two  things  need  to  be  urged.  First,  that 
there  must  be  as  perfect  and  absolute  loyalty  to  truth 
in  the  abstract,  as  was  demanded  towards  riglit  in  the 
abstract.  He  who  either  consciously  or  unconsciously 
is  ready  to  prescribe  what  shall  be  true,  or  to  bend  it 
till  it  fits  his  system  or  his  interests,  will  fail  to 
discern  the  concrete  truth  when  presented  to  him — 
nay,  more,  he  may  even  count  it  error.  But,  secondly, 
the  aid  of  the  Holy  Ghost  is  required  ;  and  that  aid 
will  be  given  to  him  who  has  fulfilled  the  two  condi- 
tions first  considered.  As  we  read  in  the  Epistle  to 
the  Corinthians  : — "  The  things  of  God  knoweth  no 
man,  but  the  Spirit  of  God.  Now  we  have  received, 
not  the  spirit  of  the  world,  but  the  spirit  which  is  of 
God  ;  that  Ave  might  know  the  things  that  are  freely 
given  to  us  of  God.      Which   things   also   we  speak. 


How  the  Divine  Element  is  discej^ned.      197 

not  in  the  words  which  man's  wisdom  teacheth,  but 
which  the  Holy  Ghost  teacheth  ;  comparing  spiritual 
things  wdth  spiritual.  But  the  natural  man  receiveth 
not  the  thiugs  of  the  Spirit  of  God  ;  for  they  are  fool- 
ishness unto  him  ;  neither  can  he  know  them,  because 
they  are  spiritually  discerned.  But  He  that  is  sjjiritual 
judgeth  all  things,  yet  he  himself  is  judged  of  no  man." 
If  the  Bible  contain  the  things  of  the  Spirit  of  God, 
no  man  can  become  assured  of  the  fact  until,  through 
the  aid  of  the  Spirit  and  spiritual  experience,  he 
becomes  capable  of  spiritual  discernment. 

This  position  is  in  harmony  not  only  with  the  letter 
and  spirit  of  the  Scripture  itself,  but  also  with  the 
best  teaching  of  the  Christian  Church,  especially  with 
that  of  the  most  spiritual  leaders  and  theologians  of 
the  Reformed  Churches.  From  a  very  early  period  a 
distinction  was  drawn  between  general  and  special 
assurance,  between  historical  or  human  and  divine 
assurance,  or  confidence,  or  conviction,  or  faith,  with 
regard  to  the  authority  of  the  Scriptures.  The 
former  was  held  to  be  producible  by  considerations 
such  as  were  referred  to  before  ;  namely,  prophecy, 
miracles,  moral  and  religious  elevation  of  the  Biblical 
teachings,  the  Person  of  Christ,  the  remarkable  progress 
of  Christianity,  the  martyrs,  and  so  forth  ;  the  latter 
was  held  to  be  produced  alone  by  experience  of  the 
power  of  Christian  truth  and  the  inward  witness  of 
the  Holy  Ghost.  Generally  speaking,  indeed,  the 
witness  of  the  Spirit  alone  is  expressly  mentioned  ; 
but   as   that    witness    Avas    believed    either    to   come 


198       The  Bible — Theocratic  Literature. 

through  or  to  accompany  spiritual  experience — never 
otherwise — such  experience  is  always  implied.-^  Con- 
stant stress  is  laid  on  the  need  and  value  of  the 
Spirit's  witness  ;  the  merely  human  assurance  is 
always  depreciatively  contrasted  with  divine  assur- 
ance. "■  God  Himself,"  says  a  Lutheran  theologian,^ 
**  seals  the  certitude  (given  by  other  arguments)  in 
the  hearts  of  His  saints  by  the  earnest  of  His  Spirit. 
And  this  argument  is  of  all  others  at  once  the  safest 
and  most  efficacious  for  the  confirmation  of  faith  in 
the  Scriptures.  Its  weight,  however,  cannot  be  per- 
ceived by  unbelievers,  but  only  by  the  believing  and 
godly."  Another  speaks  of  ''  the  divine  assurance 
produced  by  the  inward  witness  of  the  Holy  Ghost, 
showing  itself  in  the  legitimate  use  of  the  Word  of 
God,  as  far  stronger  and  surer  than  that  which  results 
from  the  arguments  ordinarily  adduced."^ 

Calvin  expresses  himself  very  distinctly  and  strongly 
on  this  subject  : — 

"  Many  things  might  be  adduced  which  certainly  evince,  if 
there  be  any  God  in  heaven,  that  He  is  the  Author  of  the 
Law  and  the  Prophecies  and  the  Gospel.  .  .  .  Yet  it  is 
acting  a  preposterous  part  to  endeavour  to  produce  sound 
faith  in  the  Scriptures  by  disputations — i.e.,  proofs,  reasons, 
and  so  forth,  which  of  themselves  are  insufficient  without 
the  internal  persuasion  of  the  Holy  Ghost.  .  .  .   Religion 

1  See  Hollaz,  Gerhard,  and  others,  quoted  by  Klaiber,  "  Die 
Lehre  der  altprotestantischen  Dogmatiker  von  dem  testimonium 
Spiritus  Sancti,"  &c.,  in  Dorner's  "  Jahrbiicher,"  &c.,  1857,  p.  17. 

2  Hunnius,  "  De  Majestate  et  Certitudine  Scripturoe  Sacras," 
see  Klaiber. 

3  Buddeus,  "  Institut.,"  §  xiii.,  quoted  by  Klaiber,  p.  14. 


How  the  Divme  Element  is  discerned.      199 

appearing  to  profane  men  to  consist  wholly  in  opinion  they 
wish  and  expect  it  to  be  proved  by  rational  arguments  that 
Moses  and  the  prophets  spake  by  divine  inspiration.  But 
I  reply  that  the  testimony  of  the  Spirit  is  superior  to  all 
reason.  For  as  God  alone  is  a  sufficient  witness  of  Himself 
in  His  own  Word,  so  also  the  Word  will  never  gain  credit 
in  the  hearts  of  men  till  it  be  confirmed  by  the  internal 
testimony  of  the  Spirit.  It  is  necessary,  therefore,  that  the 
same  Spirit  who  spake  by  the  mouths  of  the  prophets  should 
penetrate  into  our  hearts,  to  convince  us  that  they  faithfully 
delivered  the  oracles  which  were  delivered  to  them.  .  .  . 
Let  it  be  considered,  then,  as  an  undeniable  truth  that  they 
who  have  been  inwardly  taught  by  the  Spirit  of  God  feel  an 
entire  acquiescence  in  the  Scripture,  and  that  it  is  self- 
authenticated,  carrying  with  it  its  own  evidence,  and  ought 
not  to  be  made  the  subject  of  demonstration  and  arguments 
from  reason  ;  but  it  obtains  the  credit  which  it  deserves 
with  us  by  the  testimony  of  the  Spirit.  Being  illuminated 
by  Him,  we  believe  the  divine  original  of  the  Scripture  not 
from  our  own  inferences  or  the  judgment  of  others  ;  but  we 
esteem  the  certainty  to  be  equal  to  that  of  an  intuitive  per- 
ception of  God  Himself  in  it.  We  seek  not  arguments  or 
probabilities  to  support  our  judgment,  but  submit  our 
judgments  and  understandings  as  to  a  thing  concerning 
which  it  is  impossible  for  us  to  judge."  ^ 

So  far  Calvin,  who  is  surely  clear  enough  as  to  the 
one  thing,  the  true  and  full  certainty  regarding  the 
divinity  of  Scripture  can  come  only  by  experience  of 
the  power  of  its  truth  and  the  work  of  the  Holy 
Spirit  in  the  heart,  whatever  preliminary  assurance 
may  be  attainable  through  arguments  of  the  ordinary 
kind. 

Not  less  clear  and  emphatic  is  John  Owen. 
1  Calvin's  "  Institutes,"  vol.  i.  pp.  84  fF.     Translated  by  Allen. 


200      The  Bible — Theocratic  Literature. 

"  A  man  may  believe  that  wliicli  is  true,  infallibly  so, 
and  yet  his  faith  not  be  infallible.  That  the  Scripture  is 
the  Word  of  God  is  infallibly  true,  yet  the  faith  whereby  a 
man  believes  it  so  may  be  fallible,  for  it  is  such  as  his  evi- 
dence is,  and  no  other  j  he  may  believe  it  to  be  so  on 
tradition,  or  the  testimony  of  the  Church  of  Rome  only,  or 
on  outward  arguments,  all  which  being  fallible,  his  faith  is 
so  also,  although  the  things  he  assents  unto  be  infallibly 
true.  .  .  .  There  are  sundry  cogent  and  external  arguments 
for  Scripture  that  evince  it  on  rational  grounds  to  be  from 
God.  Only  we  do  not  judge  them  to  contain  the  whole  of 
the  evidence  which  we  have  for  faith  to  rest  on  or  be 
resolved  into ;  yea,  not  that  at  all  which  renders  it  divine, 
supernatural,  and  infallible  (p.  250).  These  arguments, 
with  the  evidence  in  them,  are  such  as  nothing  but  perverse 
prejudice  can  detain  men  from  giving  a  firm  assent  unto — 
i.e.,  a  moral  assurance,  which  should  lead  us  to  endeavour 
to  yield  obedience  unto  God  accordingly  (p.  280).  Above 
and  beyond  that  natural  human  faith  and  assent  which  is 
the  efiect  of  the  arguments  and  motives  of  credibility,  there 
is  and  must  be  wrought  in  us,  by  the  power  of  the  Holy 
Spirit,  faith  supernatural  and  divine,  whereby  we  are 
enabled  so  to  do,  or  rather  whereby  v/e  do  so.  This  work 
of  the  Sjnrit  of  God,  as  it  is  distinct  from,  so  in  order  of 
nature  it  is  antecedent  unto,  all  divine  objective  evidence  of 
the  Scriptures  being  the  Word  of  God  (p.  291)."  ^ 

Qaotations  to  the  same  effect  might  be  brought 
from  many  other  writers,  both  of  the  formative  and 
later  periods  of  the  history  of  Protestantism.  As 
was  observed  before,  a  marked  distinction  is  always 
drawn  between  the  certitude  that  could  be  produced 
by  arguments  before  spiritual  experience,  and  the  cer- 
titude generated  by  spiritual  experience,  and,  indeed, 
1  Owen,  "  The  Eeason  of  Faith,"  Works,  vol.  iii.  p.  246  ff. 


How  the  Divine  Element  is  discerited.     20 1 

even  by  arguments  after  or  on  the  back  of  such  expe- 
rience. 

In  fine,  to  him  whose  inner  eye  has  been  purged 
by  the  indwelling  Spirit  of  God,  in  whom,  as  another 
Puritan  writer  says,-^  ''the  Holy  Spirit  creates  a  light 
receptive  of  the  light  without,"  the  Scriptures  will 
increasingly  seem  full  of  divine  energy  and  light — a 
revelation  in  many  parts  and  many  ways  of  the  pur- 
pose of  God  in  nature  and  history  alike,  whose  several 
portions  will  grow  under  his  steady,  disciplined,  specu- 
lative gaze  into  a  vast  system  reflecting  the  system 
that  lies  back  of  the  world,  and  which  we  call  its 
divine  plan  or  idea.^ 

1  F.  Eoberts'  "Mystery,  &c.,  of  the  Bible,"  p.  141,  2. 

2  Part  of  this  chapter  consists  of  quotations  from  a  paper  of 
mine  published  in  the  British  Quarterly  Eeview  for  October,  1884. 


Notes.  203 


NOTES. 


Note  A  to  page  3. 

By  way  of  illustration  of  two  very  different  ways  of 
approaching  the  Scriptures  and  the  problem  of  Inspira- 
tion, I  will  quote,  first,  from  an  American  Congregation- 
alist.  Professor  Austin  Phelps,  D.D.,  and  then  from  an 
English  Episcopalian,  the  Rev.  Harvey  Goodwin,  D.D., 
Bishop  of  Carlisle. 

Professor  Phelps  says  : — 

"  Ours  is  the  religion  of  a  Book.  The  inspiration 
of  the  Book  is,  therefore,  to  the  popular  faith  especially, 
a  necessity.  No  other  Christian  truth  so  poorly  bears 
tampering  with.  .  .  .  What,  then,  do  we  need  to  find  in 
the  doctrine  of  Inspiration  to  make  it  effective  in  the 
theology  of  the  people  ? 

Insinration  Intelligihle. 

"  First,  we  need  a  theory  of  inspiration  ivhich  is 
easily  understood.  A  theory  packed  full  of  critical 
distinctions,  and  of  qualificatious  not  easily  intelligible, 
except  to  educated  minds,  is  not  the  theory  needed  by 
the  common  mind.  It  will  not  long  hold  the  common 
mind.  It  is  not  a  practicable  theory,  tb  ere  fore,  for  the 
uses  of  the  pulpit.  All  Christian  history  sbows  that 
the  masses  of  a  Christianised  nation  must  have  the 
idea  of  inspiration,  if  at  all,  in  clear  forms  of  statement, 
and  supported  by  obvious  methods  of  proof. 


204         The  Bible — Theocratic  Literature. 

Inspiration  Imperative. 

"  We  need  also,  in  a  working  theory  of  inspiration, 
something  vMch  'iiiahes  the  authority  of  the  Scrip- 
tures i7}iperative.  We  must  have  the  doctrine  in  a 
bold  and  decisive  form.  Plain  men  must  be  able  to 
carry  it  from  the  pulpit  to  their  homes,  and  trust  it 
with  a  seDse  of  assurance  in  their  devotional  reading  of 
their  Bibles.  On  such  a  subject  men  will  not  long 
believe  a  doctrine  which  they  cannot  use.  .  .  .  The 
plain  Christian  believer,  who  feels  the  need  of  a  revela- 
tion from  God  which  is  authoritatively  God-like.  Plain 
men,  when  in  earnest  in  religious  inquiry,  incline  to 
believe  much  rather  than  little.  They  are  by  stress  of 
necessities  believers,  not  doubters.  They  need  a  con- 
ceiDtion  of  inspiration  which  shall  make  the  Bible 
resonant  with  the  very  voice  of  God.  It  must  be  some- 
thing which  the  soul  can  hear  in  the  far  distance,  when 
conscious  of  estrangement  from  its  Maker.  It  must 
give  visions  of  truth  which  men  can  see  in  the  dark. 
Nothing  less  authoritative  than  this  is  the  inspiration 
needed  to  commend  the  religion  of  a  Book  to  a  lost 
world.  Lost  men  need  a  voice  which  can  find  them. 
.  .  .  We  need  an  obvious  authority,  an  imperial  author- 
ity, an  authority  from  which  there  is  no  appeal.  We 
need  a  clear  light  shining  in  a  dark  place.  We  need 
something  which  shall  illumine  blinded  eyes,  and  be 
audible  to  deafened  ears.  A  revelation  which  in  the 
very  groundwork  of  its  claims  multiplies  our  question- 
ings, and  reduplicates  our  doubts,  is  7iot  the  revelation 
we  need.  Therefore  the  presumption  is  conclusive  that 
it  is  not  the  revelation  we  have  received. 

Comprehensiveness  of  Inspiration. 

"  Another  element  needed  in  a  working  theory  of 
inspiration  is  that  it  shall  be  one  luhicJi  shall  compre- 
hend in  its  scope  the  entire  Scriptures  in  their  moral 
and  religious  teachings. 


Notes.  205 

"  The  assertion  that  '  the  Bible  contains  the  Word  of 
God '  IS  amphibious.  It  belongs  to  two  widely  diverse 
realms  of  thought.  It  is  true  or  it  is  false,  according  to 
its  occult  meaning.  The  Bible  is  a  unit.  In  its  unity 
lies  the  climax  of  its  purpose  and  its  power.  That 
unity  cannot  be  broken  with  impunity  to  the  frag- 
ments. The  whole  or  nothing  is  the  Word  of  God. 
A  revelation  sujoported  by  intermittent  authority, 
inspired  in  patches  and  parentheses,  we  may  be  very 
sure  is  not  a  revelation  either  of  God  or  from  God.  Its 
structure  is  not  God-like.  ...  To  teach  effectively  the 
religion  of  a  Book  which  shall  be  world-wide  in  its 
sway,  we  must  have  a  volume  which  is  one  in  its 
system  of  moral  ideas.  It  must  be  a  structure  in 
which  every  part  gravitates  to  a  centre.  It  must  be 
written  by  men  who  knew  that  whereof  they  affirmed, 
and  who,  consciously  or  unconsciously,  wrote  under  the 
direction  of  one  controUincr  Mind.  In  their  relioious 
teachings  they  must  have  made  no  mistakes,  nor  written 
by  guess-work.  They  must  not  have  contradicted  each 
other  or  themselves.  The  earlier  writers  must  have 
been  forerunners  to  the  later,  and  in  the  end  there 
must  be  a  fulfihnent  of  divine  plan  which  shall  throw 
back  a  light  upon  the  beginning.  An  epic  poem  or 
a  tragedy  is  not  more  truly  a  structure,  compact  and 
one,  than  we  have  reason  to  expect  a  progressive  reve- 
lation to  be  which  shall  express  to  men  of  all  ages  the 
mind  of  God. 

*'  On  the  other  hand,  a  theory  of  inspiration  of  which 
the  final  outcome  is  that  Moses  contradicted  Christ, 
that  the  imprecations  of  David  conflict  with  the  epistles 
of  St.  John,  and  that  St.  Paul  could  not  even  repeat 
himself  correctly,  abrogates  all  claim  of  the  Scriptures 
to  imperative  and  divine  authority.  God  has  not  thus 
contradicted  God.  He  has  not  given  to  such  a  world 
as  this  a  volume  throuo^h  which  runs  no  ^folden  thread 
of  truth  unbroken.  That  He  has  given  to  a  lost  world 
a  book  inspired  here  and  not  inspired  there,  historic 
now  and  mythic  then,  blundering  sometimes  and  by 


2  o6         The  Bible — Tlieocra '  ic  L  iterahtre. 

hap  right  at  other  times,  and  that  He  has  left  it  to 
man's  infirm  intuitions  to  divine  whether  it  is  oracular 
anywhere,  is  absurd.  It  is  not  like  God  to  build  such 
a  rickety  structure.  .  .  .  Socrates,  when  he  prayed  that 
a  teacher  might  be  sent  from  God,  craved  no  such  reve- 
lation as  this.  In  all  soberness,  would  not  Cicero  be  as 
valuable  a  teacher  of  immortality  ?  Would  not  Marcus 
Aureliiis  be  a  better  guide  to  a  manly  philosophic  life  ? 
The  book  of  nature  surely  would  be  infinitely  superior 
to  such  a  Book  of  God. 

Inspiration  Fitted  to  a  State  of  Trial. 

"  Once  more,  we  need  in  our  theory  of  inspiration  to 
find  an  adaj^tation  to  men  luho  are  undergoing  the 
discipline  of  probation.  One  thing  seems  to  be  often 
strangely  overlooked  in  discussions  of  this  and  kindred 
doctrines.  It  is,  that  man  here  is  in  no  ideal  world. 
Life  is  too  severe  a  strain  upon  his  physical  and  moral 
nature  to  leave  him  mental  force  enough  to  settle  for 
himself  the  interminable  questions  to  which  scholastic 
theories  of  such  doctrines  give  rise.  We  need  in  such 
a  life  a  revelation  from  God  and  of  God  which  shall 
speak  its  own  authority." — Article  in  the  Boston  "Con- 
gregationcdist"  for  10th  Sept.,  1885. 

The  following  are  Bishop  Goodwin's  words  : — 
"  Attention  does  not  seem  to  have  been  duly  given 
to  the  fact  that  the  word  inspiration  must,  in  the  nature 
of  things,  be  a  word  used  to  express  a  certain  quality  of 
a  book,  known  upon  other  grounds  to  exist,  and  cannot 
rightly  be  regarded  as  a  word  from  which,  by  a  deduc- 
tive process,  the  qualities  of  the  book  can  be  determined. 
A  writer  starts,  for  instance,  with  the  principle  that  the 
Bible  is  inspired — is  the  Word  of  God — is  the  message 
of  God  to  man — or  the  like  ;  and  from  this  principle 
undertakes  to  assert  that  certain  propositions  concern- 
ing it  must  be  true.  He  says,  for  exam.ple,  that  it 
cannot  contain  any  statements  contrary  to  the  truths  of 


Notes.  207 

science,  or  that  it  cannot  contain  historical  errors  as  to 
matters  of  fact,  or  that  it  cannot  contain  internal  dis- 
crepancies.    Now,  I  do  not  say  that  any  one  of  these 
characteristics,  declared  to  be  impossible,  does  in  reality 
belong  to  the  Bible ;  but  I  wish  to  know  upon  what 
principle  any  one  can  venture  to  assert  positively,  that 
the  discovery  of  their  existence  strips  the  Bible  of  its 
Divine  character  ?     If  we  had  any  other  instance  of  a 
Divine  record,  from  the  examination  of  which  we  could 
deduce  a  knowledge  of  the  general  features  which  belong 
to  such  utterances  of  God's  Spirit,  we  might  then  per- 
haps be  in  a  state  to  say  whether  the  Bible  satisfies  the 
necessary  conditions  or  not ;   but  seeing  that  by  hypo- 
thesis the  Bible  stands  by  itself — that  its  very  name 
asserts  for  it   a   unique   existence,  as   the  Book  Kar 
e^oxn^ — i^   seems    manifestly    contrary    to   all    sound 
principles  of  reasoning  to  undertake  to  say,  a  priori, 
what  it  must  or  must  not  be,  to  make  its  name  the 
rule  for  judging  of  its  contents,  instead  of  an  expres- 
sion descriptive  of  contents  whose  quality  is  otherwise 
determined.     Yet  this  is  the  principle  upon  which  the 
question  of  inspiration  is  frequently  argued  ;  and  so  it 
is  that  writers  fret  themselves,  for  instance,  to  show  that 
the  Mosaic  cosmogony  can  be  brought  into  harmony 
with  modern  science,  and  that  many  who  read  their 
writings  feel  an  anxiety  about  the  issue,  or  that  some 
speak   unworthily   of  scientific   results,   because   it   is 
assumed  that  a  discrepancy  established  would  damage 
the  claim  of  the  Scriptures  to  Divine  inspiration.     And 
the  notion  of  the  possibility  of  historical  inaccuracies, 
errors  as  to  matters  of  fact,  is  combated  upon  ground  of 
the  same  kind.     Now,  of  course,  the  Mosaic  cosmogony 
is  a  fair  subject  for  examination;  any  one  who  reverences 
the  Scriptures  will  believe  there  are  good  reasons  why 
it  should  be  such   as  it  is ;   so  also  is  the  historical 
character  of  the  various  sacred  books,  and  our  faith 
must  be  small  if  we  fear  the  results  of  the  study  of 
them ;  but  I  submit  that  it  is  contrary  to  all  sound 
principles  to  examine  cither  the  one  or  the  other  with 


2o8         The  Bible — Theocratic  Literature. 

the  foregone  conclusion  that  certain  results  will  destroy 
the  claim  to  inspiration,  when  we  have  no  other  means 
of  knowing  what  the  inspiration  of  a  book  means,  besides 
the  examination  of  these  very  writings.  Let  me  illus- 
trate, by  reference  to  a  somewhat  parallel  case,  the  danger 
of  asserting  a  "priori  what  inspiration  must  or  must  not 
imply.  I  say,  a  somewhat  parallel  case,  because  there 
are  obvious  distinctions.  Of  man  we  read,  that  God 
breathed  into  his  nostrils  the  breath  of  life,  and  man 
became  a  living  soul — an  inspired  [theopneustic]  work 
of  God  this,  if  ever  there  were  one.  Now  suppose 
that  we  should  take  our  stand  upon  the  assertion  of 
man's  inspiration,  and  pretend  to  declare  what  must  be 
the  character  and  properties  of  a  being  created  in  God's 
image,  and  inspired  by  His  Spirit ;  what  attributes 
should  we  consider  to  be  too  exalted  ?  And  should  we 
not  shrink  with  instinctive  horror  from  the  thought 
that  this  inspired  work  of  God  would  rebel  against  his 
Maker  on  the  first  temptation  offered  ?  ...  If  we  are 
deceived  in  the  case  of  a  man,  why  should  we  dogmatise 
positively  in  that  of  a  book." — Hulsean  Lectures  for 
1885,  pp.  84-87,  quoted  in  "Brief  Examination  of 
Prevalent  Opinions  on  Inspiration"  1861. 

Were  I  undertaking  a  criticism  of  other  views  than 
my  own,  I  should  have  a  good  deal  to  say  on  both 
the  above  extracts ;  especially  on  the  position  assigned 
by  Professor  Phelps  to  a  theory  of  inspiration  in  the 
genesis,  sustenance,  and  development  of  the  Christian 
life. 

Note  B  to  page  29. 

Professor  Ladd's  own  statement  of  his  position  will 
be  found  in  the  following  quotation  from  his  Doctrine 
of  Scripture. 

"  The  title  '  Words  of  God '  belongs  specifically  to 
certain  truths  which  have  been  revealed  during  the 
historic  process  of  divine  self-revelation  in  redemption 
by  inspiration  of  the  subjects  of  this  revelation.     Those 


Notes.  209 

moments  and  items  of  revelation,  which  have  come  to 
the  members  of  the  believing  community  by  super- 
natural illumining,  elevating,  and  purifying  of  their 
spiritual  activities,  are  all  worthy  to  be  called  words  of 
God.  Pre-eminently  worthy  are  the  divine  self-com- 
munications to  prophets  and  apostles.  There  have 
been,  then,  many  words  of  God  to  men  through  the 
process  of  His  self-revealing  in  redemption.  .  .  .  But 
a  number  of  disconnected  words  of  God  cannot  make  up 
the  true  divine  Word.  Since,  however,  the  objective 
and  historic  process  (revelation),  and  the  subjective  and 
spiritual  process  (inspiration),  have  been  connected 
with  each  other  organically,  the  past  course  of 
revelation  has  resulted  in  something  more  than  the 
preservation  of  a  number  of  disconnected  words  of 
God.  .  .  .  They  are  set  in  that  sacred  history,  which  is 
itself  an  abiding  and  developing  word;  we  have  an 
organism  of  the  words  of  God.  The  many  words  thus 
organised  by  the  same  divine  Spirit  which  procured 
their  utterance,  have  become  one  word  of  God.  It  was 
previously  said  in  a  provisional  way  (chap.  i.  p.  279), 
*  The  Word  of  God  comprises  all  those  ethico-religious 
facts  and  truths,  Avhich  taken  together  in  their  oro^anic 
unity,  and  regarded  in  their  historic  relations,  give  us 
the  true  history  and  essential  ideas  and  principles  of  the 
kingdom  of  redemption.'  ..."  In  a  more  nearly  final  way, 
we  may  now  say :  The  Word  of  God  is  that  organism 
of  truth,  consisting  of  both  fact  and  doctrine,  which 
has  been  made  known  by  the  historic  process  of  divine 
self-revelation  in  redemption,  to  men  whose  spiritual 
activities  were  for  that  purpose  supernatu rally  illumined,, 
quickened,  and  purified.'^  'The  essential  relations 
between  the  Word  of  God  and  the  accepted  canonical 
writings,  are  those  between  the  content  of  truth  and 
the  form  of  its  preservation  and  presentation.'"^ 

In  this  connection  I  may  further  quote  what  the  same 
writer  says  regarding  the  subject  of  "  Inspired  writings." 

"  Certain  portions  of  the  Biblical  writings  may  be 
1  Vol.  ii.  495  f.  2  Vol.  ii.  513. 

P 


2  TO         The  Bible —  Theoa^atic  Literature. 

called  inspired,  because  they  contain  in  written  form 
those  ethico-religious  ideas  and  truths  which  the  divine 
Spirit  has  revealed  through  the  selected  and  inspired 
souls  who  were  the  authors  of  the  writings.  In  all 
such  cases  we  apply  the  term  '  inspiration '  to  both  the 
author  and  his  writing,  because  of  an  assumed  or 
obvious  connection  between  the  two.  The  quality  of 
the  author's  mind  and  heart  determines  the  character  of 
his  writing.  If  the  author  be  inspired,  and  express 
himself  in  writing  upon  the  subject  to  which  his 
inspiration  extends,  the  written  form  of  his  inspired 
thought  and  feeling  may  also  be  called  inspired.  If,  on 
the  other  hand,  the  contents  of  any  writing  which  is  by 
an  unknown  writer,  when  examined  by  the  appropriate 
tests,  ap23ear  to  possess  those  qualities  which  we  know 
in  other  cases  to  have  resulted  from  an  inspired  mind, 
it  may  be  assumed  that  such  writing  also  is  by  an 
inspired  mind ;  a  writing  by  an  unknown  author  may, 
therefore,  be  spoken  of  as  inspired.  Considerable 
portions  of  the  Old  and  New  Testaments  make  in  this 
form  a  direct  or  an  implied  claim  to  inspiration. 
They  claim  to  give  in  written  form  the  ideas  and  truths 
of  revelation  which  have  come  to  mankind  through  the 
media  of  selected  and  inspired  minds.  Of  such  inspired 
writings,  the  prophetic  and  apostolic  stand  in  the  first 
rank.  The  genuine  prophetic  and  apostolic  writings  of 
the  Bible  claim  to  contain,  scripturally  fixed,  certain 
ethico-religious  ideas  and  truths  which  the  Holy  Spirit 
revealed  to  their  authors.  But  inspiration  is  the 
inseparable  accompaniment  and  correlate  of  revelation. 
Such  writings,  therefore,  claim  to  be  inspired.  The 
Word  of  God  to  Israel  when  lodged,  as  it  were,  in  sacred 
writings,  imparts  such  a  quality  to  those  waitings  that 
they  may  fitly  be  called  inspired.  In  contradiction  of 
such  a  claim  for  these  portions  of  the  Biblical  writings, 
critical  and  historical  research  has  nothing  valid  to  urge. 
On  the  contrary,  all  research  tends  to  confirm  and 
illustrate  the  claim.  Critical  research  does  indeed 
disprove  many  of  the  claims  which  have  been  made  for 


Notes.  2 1 1 

the  historical  and  critical  accuracy  of  the  Biblical 
writings ;  but  such  disjDroof  does  not  also  disprove 
the  inspiration  of  the  writings,  until  it  is  shown  that 
historical  and  critical  accuracy  is  an  indispensable 
quality  of  inspired  writings.  The  elements  of  error, 
however,  may  be  most  reasonably  ascribed  to  the  nature 
of  the  second  causes  through  which  the  Spirit  of  revela- 
tion has  accomplished  His  work.  Certain  elements  of 
error  have  plainly  been  eliminated  from  the  writings  by 
the  inspiration  of  their  authors.  Certain  elements  of 
imperfection  and  fault,  belonging  to  other  writings, 
have  been  excluded  from  the  inspired.  For  inspiration 
has  so  operated  as  to  make  for  itself,  to  a  considerable 
extent,  its  own  peculiar  form.  But  the  merely  historical 
and  human  elements  have  not  all  been  excluded  by 
revelation  and  inspiration ;  neither  have  they  all  been 
so  transformed  and  purified  as  to  remove  the  limitations 
of  human  history,  and  the  imperfections  of  human 
nature."^ 

A  somewhat  different  presentation  of  the  view 
set  forth  in  the  first  passage,  is  given  by  Dr.  Daniel 
Schenkel,  late  Professor  of  Theology  in  the  University 
of  Heidelberg,  in  his  Die  Ghristliche  Dogmatik  vom 
Standpunkte  des  Geiuissens  cms  dargestellt,  1858-59. 

"  Scripture  is  the  Word  of  God  only  when  regarded 
as  an  indissoluble  whole,  as  the  most  genuine  repre- 
sentation of  the  divine  redemption,  closely  cohering, 
and  culminating  in  the  knowledge  of  the  Redeemer's 
perfect  personality.  Hence  it  is  only  Scripture,  and 
not  individual  Scriptures,  not  sections,  sentences,  words, 
that  constitute  the  Word  of  God.  And  it  is  thus  that 
the  other  proposition  also,  that  the  Word  of  God  is 
contained  in  Scripture  is  justified.  For,  as  we  have 
shown,  the  human  and  imperfect  individuality  of  the 
writers  cleaves  to  the  Scripture,  and  to  assert  that  this 
individuality  was  the  Word  of  God,  would  be  more  than 
an  error,  it  would  be  a  sin.  Hence  the  Scripture  can 
only  be  regarded  as  the  Word  of  God  on  condition  that 
1  See  Vol.  i.  757  f. 


212       The  Bible — Theocratic  Literature. 

it  shall  be  interpreted  with  the  key  of  an  enlightened 
conscience ;  that  in  this  way  all  that  is  human  in  it 
shall  be  separated  from  what  is  divine,  and  that  the 
kernel  of  salvation  shall  be  discriminated  from  its 
mundane  husk.  We  may,  therefore,  further  say,  that 
it  is  Scripture  rightly  interpreted  from  the  standpoint 
of  conscience  which  is  the  Word  of  God.  But,  as  both 
of  these  propositions  are  true  only  in  their  connection 
with  one  another,  it  is  not  permitted  to  us  to  separate 
the  one  from  the  other,  and  to  say  either  that  Scripture 
is  purely  the  Word  of  God,  or  that  the  Word  of  God  is 
only  contained  in  Scripture.  Experience  itself  shows 
that  the  one  statement  is  not  true  without  the  other. 
The  attempt  to  sever  the  Word  and  the  Scripture  from 
each  other  has  never  yet  succeeded ;  the  precise  exter- 
nal line  has  never  been  pointed  out  where  Scripture 
ends  and  the  Word  of  God  in  it  begins.  The  human 
and  divine  are  united  in  it  in  a  similar  manner  as  the 
human  body  is  with  the  Spirit  of  which  it  is  the 
instrument.  ...  It  is  necessary  that  the  theologian 
should  be  constantly  conscious  of  the  distinction 
betAveen  the  two  factors  in  Scripture,  and  that  while 
he  retains  an  unwavering  confidence  in  the  redemptive 
substance  {Heilsiibstanz)  of  Scripture  as  a  whole,  he 
should  reserve  to  himself  the  right  of  examining  every 
single  part,  with  the  view  of  determining  how  far  it 
contains  a  divine  revelation  or  a  mere  communication 
of  human  thoughts." — Quoted  m  Brief  Examination  of 
Opinions  on  Inspiration,  &c.,  p.  234  f 


Note  C  to  page  32. 

Bishop  Burnet,  at  a  later  period,  takes  up  the  follow- 
ing position :  —  "In  these  writings,  some  parts  are 
historical,  some  doctrinal,  and  some  elenchtical  or 
argumentative.  As  to  the  historical  part,  it  is  certain 
that  whatsoever  is  delivered  to  us  as  a  matter  truly 
transacted,  must  be  indeed  so.     But  it  is  not  necessary 


Notes,  2 1 3 

when  discourses  are  reported  that  the  individual  words 
should  be  set  down  just  as  they  were  said ;  it  is  enough 
if  the  effect  of  them  is  reported;  nor  is  it  necessary 
that  the  order  of  time  should  be  strictly  observed,  or 
that  all  the  conjunctions  in  such  relations  should  be 
understood  severely  according  to  their  grammatical 
meaning.  It  is  visible  that  all  the  sacred  writers  write 
in  a  diversity  of  style  according  to  their  different 
tempers,  and  to  the  various  impressions  that  were  made 
upon  them.  In  that  the  inspiration  left  them  to  the 
use  of  their  faculties,  and  to  their  previous  customs  and 
habits.  The  design  of  revelation  as  to  this  part  of  its 
subject  is  only  to  give  such  representations  of  matter 
of  fact  as  may  both  work  upon  and  guide  our  belief. 
But  the  order  of  time  and  the  strict  words  having  no 
influence  that  way,  the  writers  might  dispose  them 
aud  express  them  variously,  and  yet  all  be  exactly  true. 
For  the  conjunctive  particles  do  rather  import  that  one 
passage  comes  to  be  related  after  another  than  that  it 
was  really  transacted  after  it. 

"As  to  the  doctrinal  parts,  that  is,  the  rules  of  life 
which  these  books  set  before  us,  or  the  propositions  that 
are  offered  to  us  in  them,  we  must  entirely  acquiesce  in 
these,  as  in  the  voice  of  God  ;  who  speaks  to  us  by  the 
means  of  a  person,  whom  He,  by  His  authorising  him 
in  so  wonderful  a  manner,  obliges  us  to  hear  and 
believe.  But  when  these  writers  come  to  explain  or 
argue  they  use  many  figures  that  were  well  known  in 
that  age.  But,  because  the  signification  of  a  figure  is 
to  be  taken  from  common  use,  and  not  to  be  carried 
to  the  utmost  extent  that  the  words  themselves  will 
bear,  we  must  therefore  inquire  as  much  as  we  can  into 
the  manner  and  phraseology  of  the  time  in  which  such 
persons  lived,  which,  with  relation  to  the  New  Testa- 
ment, will  lead  us  far ;  and  by  this  we  ought  to  govern 
the  extent  and  importance  of  these  figures. 

■'  As  to  their  arguings,  we  are  further  to  consider  that 
sometimes  they  argue  upon  certain  grounds,  and  at 
other  times  they  go  upon  principles  acknowledged  and 


214        ^^^^  Bible  —  Theocratic  L  iterahux. 

received  by  those  mth  whom  they  dealt.  It  ought 
never  to  be  made  the  only  way  of  proving  a  thing  to 
found  it  upon  the  concessions  of  those  with  whom  we 
deal ;  yet,  when  a  thing  is  once  truly  proved,  it  is  a 
just  and  usual  way  of  confirming  it,  or,  at  least,  of 
silencing  those  who  oppose  it,  to  show  that  it  follows 
naturally  from  those  opinions  and  principles  that  are 
received  among  them.  Since,  therefore,  the  Jews  had 
at  the  time  of  the  writing  of  the  New  Testament  a 
peculiar  way  of  expounding  many  j^rophecies  and 
passages  in  the  Old  Testament,  it  was  a  very  proper 
way  to  convince  them  to  allege  many  places  according 
to  their  key  and  methods  of  exposition.  Therefore, 
when  divine  writers  argue  upon  any  point,  we  are 
always  bound  to  believe  the  conclusions  that  their 
reasonings  end  in  as  parts  of  divine  revelation ;  but  we 
are  not  bound  to  be  able  to  make  out  or  even  to  assent 
to  all  the  premises  made  use  of  by  them  in  their  whole 
extent,  unless  it  appears  plainly  that  they  affirm  the 
premises  as  expressly  as  they  do  the  conclusions  proved 
by  \hQmr— Exposition  of  the  Thirty-Nine  Articles,  on 
Art.  vi.     Quoted  in  Brief  Exar}iination,  (^c. 

Note  D  to  page  33. 

Dk.  Schenkel  describes  as  follows  his  peculiar  view  of 
the  Christological  conception  of  Scripture  : — "  The 
importance  of  any  particular  part  of  the  Bible  depends 
on  the  closeness  of  its  relation  to  Christ :  and  from  this 
point  of  view  the  erroneousness  of  that  mechanical 
conception  of  Scripture  which  regards  the  different 
books  as  documents  of  equal  rank,  and  all  equally 
inspired  by  the  Holy  Ghost,  becomes  apparent.  The 
highest  place  is  occupied  by  the  gospels,  which  present 
a  vivid,  historical  picture  of  the  life  of  Jesus,  founded 
on  authentic  documents  ;  and,  among  the  gospels,  the 
highest  rank  belongs  to  that  of  St.  John,  which  most 
distinctly  testifies,  and  most  unequivocally  guarantees, 
the  perfect  harmony  of  the  self-consciousness  of  Jesus 


Notes.  2 1 5 

with  that  of  God.  In  the  second  rank  stand  the 
apostolical  epistles,  containing  conceptions  of  the  person 
of  Jesus,  which  proceeded  partly  from  the  more  intimate 
band  of  His  disciples,  and  partly  from  the  wider  circle 
of  the  apostolical  community;  and  among  these 
epistles  the  highest  position  must  be  assigned  to  those 
in  which  the  sense  of  the  harmony  of  the  human  and 
the  divine  nature  in  Christ  has  been  expressed  with  the 
deepest  conviction.  Thus  the  epistles  of  St.  Paul  and 
St.  John  will  stand  before  those  of  St.  Peter,  and  these 
again  before  those  of  St.  James  and  St.  Jude.  In  the 
third  rank  comes  the  Apocalypse,  &c."  ^ 


Note  E  to  page  128. 

It  scarcely  needs  remarking  that,  according  to  this 
method  of  treatment,  he  who  would  establish  the 
inspiration  and  divine  authority  of  the  Scriptures  by 
argument  must  first  establish  the  objective  reality  of 
the  life  out  of  w^hich  they  grew,  more  particularly  that 
of  the  divine  element  therein.  The  first  and  great  aim 
of  Christian  apologists  usually  is  to  establish  the  cor- 
rectness and  inspiration  of  the  writings  The  object  of 
defence — or,  in  other  words,  the  defendant — in  this  case 
is  the  document;  in  the  case  as  I  have  put  it,  the 
document  becomes  itself  a  chief  witness  to  something 
else — namely,  a  peculiarly  constituted  life.  To  argue, 
for  example,  that  "  certain  bas-reliefs  exhuraed  from 
the  palace  of  Koyunjik  supply  the  Assyrian  report  of 
the  same  occurrences  as  are  mentioned  in  Isaiah 
xxxvi.  and  xxxvii.,  and  2  Kings  xviii.  and  xix.^namely, 
the  invasion  of  Judah  by  the  Assyrians,  and  their 
imposition  of  a  tribute  on  King  Hezekiah — testify 
surely  though  silently  to  the  trutli  of  God,  and  afford 
the  most  marvellous  verification  of  Scripture,  corrobor- 
ating, as  scarcely  anything  else  could  do,  the  accuracy 
of  its  statements  and  the  perfect  trustworthiness  of  its 

1  See  the  "  ChristUche  DogmatiJc,  d&c,"  quoted  above. 


2i6        The  Bible — Theocratic  Lite^^atiire. 

venerable  and  everlasting  verities" ^  is  right  and  legiti- 
mate enough,  in  a  sense ;  but  I  question  whether  it  is 
the  best  way  of  arguing.  Instead  of  straightway  say- 
ing, These  bas-reliefs  prove  the  Scriptures  to  be  correct, 
it  would  be  more  natural  and  forcible  to  reason :  The 
Scriptures  testify  to  certain  facts ;  these  exhumed  bas- 
reliefs  give  independent  testimony  to  the  same  facts ; 
other  evidence  is  also  forthcoming  :  therefore  the 
supposed  facts  are  real  facts.  Having  established 
those  facts,  we  have  done  something  towards  the 
establishment  of  the  rest  of  Hebrew  history,  whose 
objective  reality  is  the  thing  about  which  we  ought 
to  be  chiefly  concerned.  In  point  of  fact,  we  have  no 
right  to  reason  that,  because  document  x  contains 
substantially  the  same  reports  as  document  y,  there- 
fore document  y  or  document  x  is  true.  Each  would 
thus  be  made  a  witness  to  the  other,  which  is  not 
allowable,  unless  the  credibility  of  one  of  them  is  safe 
on  other  grounds.  But  it  is  perfectly  in  order  to 
bring  both  into  court  as  independent  witnesses  to 
certain  facts  to  which  both  alike  refer.  The  usual 
mode  of  procedure  really,  though  unwittingly,  confuses 
by  constantly  interchanging  the  "  Revelation  "  and  the 
historical  points  of  view. 

It  is  thus  men  reason  in  other  domains.  In  dealing 
with  the  facts  of  Greek  history,  the  first  witnesses 
adduced  are  the  Greek  writers ;  then  come,  say,  Roman 
writers,  monuments,  and  the  like.  Historians  do  not 
begin  by  reasoning  that,  because  we  find  in  a  Roman 
writer — if  this  were  the  case — certain  things  which 
confirm  the  Greek  writers,  therefore  the  Greek  writers 
are  true.  They  argue  that,  because  two  independent 
witnesses  testify  to  the  same  event  or  fact,  therefore  the 
event  or  fact  really  happened. 

This  change  of  venue  will  be  found,  I  believe,  to  be 

attended  with  great  advantages.    The  Hebrew  literature 

is,  after  all,  a  fact.    Why  should  we  not  reason  from  it  to 

the  life  behind,  even  as  we  reason  from  Greek  literature 

1  See  Given,  "  Revelation,  Inspu^ation,  and  Canon,"  p.  161  ff. 


Notes.  2 1 7 

to  Greek  life  ?  Besides,  many  things  which  now  occa- 
sion perplexity,  when  viewed  as  parts  of  a  book  revela- 
tion sent  down  from  God,  or  otherwise  brought  directly 
into  existence  by  God,  become  intelligible,  and  more, 
if  not  quite,  credible,  when  seen  to  be  links  in  the 
life  of  an  individual,  society,  or  nation. 

Another  service,  too,  it  will  render :  it  will  help  to 
free  the  Christian  Church  from  the  fatal  notion  that 
the  Biblical  religion,  objectively  considered,  consists 
primarily  in  ideas,  and  help  it  to  realise  that  its  true 
essence  is  a  history.^ 


Note  F  to  page  186. 

The  following  quotation  from  the  chapter  headed,  "Reply 
to  Some  Objections  Founded  on  the  Form  and  Structure 
of  the  Bible,"  will  illustrate  the  meaning  of  the  state- 
ment in  the  text.  "  If  a  man  of  large  and  cautious  mind 
permitted  himself  to  speculate  on  what  form  a  revela- 
tion might  not  unnaturally  assume,  I  am  by  no  means 
sure  that  he  would  not  anticipate,  on  a  survey  of  all  its 
requirements,  a  very  great  complexity  and  variety  of 
form.  He  might  conjecture  that,  to  answer  so  many 
diverse  and  complicated  ends,  it  must  not  be  simply  a 
perspicuous,  logical  abstract  of  the  great  truths  tuhich 
constitute  its  essential  value  as  a  revelation,  but  an 
exhibition  of  those  truths  in  the  most  versatile  and 
flexible  forms,  adapted  to  minister  to  the  spiritual  wants 
and  aspirations  of  universal  humanity ;  that  being  the 
book  of  all  time,  and  of  "  every  land,"  it  would  be  suited 
to  all  the  faculties  of  human  nature,  and  all  the  intel- 
lectual and  moral  varieties  in  individual  men  ;  capable 
of  arresting,  not  the  intellect  alone,  but  the  memory,  the 
imagination,  the  affections,  and  the  heart.  .  .  .  Assuming 
for   argument's  sake,  the  Bible  to  be  a  revelation,  I 

1  I  am  glad  to  find  myself  in  agreement  with  Professor  Ladd 
in  laying  stress  on  this  ;  though  I  cannot  say  that  1  endorse 
either  his  method  or  all  his  affirmations,  negations,  and  dubi- 
eties,— that  is,  if  I  understand  them  aright. 


2i8  The  Bible —  Theocratic  Literature, 

apprehend  that  our  supposed  critic,  on  inspection  of  the 
principal  elements  of  which  it  consists,  their  proportions, 
and  the  different  purposes  they  seem  adapted  to  answer, 
would  say  that  it  met,  in  a  high  degree,  the  conditions 
of  his  speculation.  I  have  no  space  to  enter  into  such 
extended  investigation  here  ;  but  I  am  tempted  to  take 
a  single  illustration  from  the  manifold  adaptations  to 
the  surmised  ends  of  such  a  revelation,  presented  in 
that  element  of  the  Bible  which  is  by  far  the  largest 
and  most  important, — I  mean  narrative. 

The  staple  of  the  book  is  history  and  biography.  This 
alone  sharply  discriminates  it  from  all  other  sacred  books, 
from  Avhich  the  historic  element  is  almost  wholly  absent. 
.  .  .  Now,  in  the  first  place,  this  form  of  composition  is 
one  of  the  most  easy  and  impressive  vehicles  of  con- 
veying moral  instruction.  .  .  .  We  all  know  that  history 
has  been  called  "  philosophy  teaching  by  example  ;  "  in 
the  case  of  the  Bible,  it  may  be  truly  called,  "  Theology 
teaching  by  example,"  for  everything  is  regarded  in  the 
light  of  those  great  principles  which  characterise  the 
entire  book,  and  which  subordinate  everything  to  the 
claims  of  God  as  the  Creator  and  Sovereign  of  the 
universe.  It  constitutes  therefore  a  perpetual  com- 
mentary on  God's  providential  government,  and  shows  us, 
by  innumerable  examples,  how  to  interpret  those  lessons 
which  the  varying  events  of  life,  its  joys  and  sorrows, 
its  temptations  and  trials,  are  calculated  to  teach  us. 
There  is  hardly  an  event,  hardly  a  character,  that  has 
not  its  parallel  in  that  immense  picture  gallery  of  his- 
toric and  biographic  sketches  which  the  Scripture  opens 
to  us.  The  whole  of  life  seems  mirrored  there ;  nor  can 
the  attentive  and  candid  reader  fail  to  be  struck  with 
the  fact,  that  such  a  panorama,  in  which  all  the  condi- 
tions of  human  life  seem  exhibited,  should  be  painted 
in  so  small  a  compass.  The  examples  range  through  all 
the  ranks  of  social  life,  embrace  all  varieties  of  character, 
and  illustrate  by  analogous  case,  almost  every  conceiv- 
able combination  of  circumstances  in  which  men  can  be 
placed.     It  is  hardly  possible  to  imagine  ourselves  in 


Notes.  219 

any  situation,  in  which  that  immense  repertory  and 
storehouse  of  monitory  or  touching  examj)les  will  not 
furnish  a  precedent  either  for  our  warning,  consolation, 
or  guidance." — Pages  189-194. 

All  which  would  be  admirably  said  if  the  Biblical 
histories  and  biographies  were  of  the  nature  of  historical 
tales.  Yet  nearly  everything  that  Mr.  Rogers  says,  not 
only,  indeed,  in  this  chapter,  but  throughout  his  most 
suggestive  work,  would  have  remarkable  force,  if  it 
were  differently  set, — set,  as  from  the  point  of  view 
advocated  in  these  pages,  it  naturally  would  be  set. 


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THE   TRIPARTITE  NATURE  OF  MAN: 

SPIEIT,  SOUL,  AND  BODY. 

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THEOLOGICAL  AND  HOMILETIOAL  COMMENTARY 
^  ON  THE  OLD  AND  NEW  TESTAMENTS. 
Specially  designed  and  adapted  for  the  use  of  Ministers  and  Students.  By 
Prof.  John  Peter  Lange,  D.D,,  in  connection  with  a  number  of  eminent, 
European  Divines.  Translated,  enlarged,  and  revised  under  the  general 
editorship  of  Kev.  Dr.  Philip  Schaff,  assisted  by  leading  Divines  of  the 
various  Evangelical  Denominations, 


OLD    TESTAMENT  — 14    VOLUMES. 

1.  Genesis.    "With  a  General  Introduction  to  the  Old  Testament.    By  Prof.  J.  P.  L.vxr.r;, 

D.D.    Translated  from  the  German,  with  Additions,  by  Prof.  Taylkr  Lewis,  LL.D., 
and  A.  Gosjian,  D.D. 

2.  Exodus.     By  J.  P.  Lange,  D.D.    Lsviticus.    By  J.  P.  Lange,  D.D.    With  GENERAL 

INTRODUCTION  by  Rev.  Dr.  Osgood. 

3.  Numbers  and  Deuteronomy. — Numbers.  By  Prof.  J.  P.  Lange,  D.D.  Deuteronomy. 

By  W.  J.  SCHROEDEK. 

4.  Joshua.    By  Rev.  F.  R.  Fat.    Judges  and  Ruth.    By  Prof.  Paulus  Cassell,  D.D. 

5.  Samuel,  L  and  II.    By  Professor  Erdiiakn,  D.D. 

6.  Kings.     By  Karl  Chr.  W.  F.  Bahr,  D.D. 

7.  Chronicles,  L  and  n.    By  Otto  ZSckler.    Ezra.    Bv  Fr.  W.  ScnuLxz.    Nehemiah 

Br  Rev.  Hoavard  Crosby,  D.D.,  LL.D.    Esther.    By  Fr.  W.  Schultz. 

8.  Job.     With  an  Introduction   and  Annotations  by  Prof.  Tatler  Lewis,  LL.D.     A 

Commentary  by  Dr.  Otto  Zockler,  together  with  an  Introductory  Essay  on  Hebrew 
Poetry  by  Prof.  Philip  Schaff,  D.D. 

9.  The  Psalms.    By  Carl  Brrnhardt  Moll,  D.D.    With  a  new  Metrical  Version  of  the 

Psalms,  and  Philological  Notes,  by  T.  J.  Conant,  D.D. 

10.  Proverbs.  By  Prof.  Otto  ZCckler,  D.D.  Ecclesiastes.  By  Prof.  0.  Zocklek, 
D.D.  With  Additions,  and  a  new  Metrical  Version,  by  Prof.  Tatler  Lewis,  D.D. 
The  Song  of  Solomon.    By  Prof.  0.  Zockler,  D.D. 

11.  Isaiah.    By  C.  W.  E.  Naegelsbach. 

12.  Jeremiah.  By  C.  W.  E.  Naegelsbach,  D.D.  Lamentations.  By  C.  W.  E 
Naegel.sbach,  D.D. 

13.  Ezekiel.    By  F.  W.  Schr'o'der,  D.D.    DanieL    By  Professor  Zockler,  D.D. 

14.  The  Minor  Prophets.  Hosea,  Joel,  and  Amos.  By  Otto  ScnjioLLER,  Ph.D. 
Obadiah  and  Micah.  By  Rev.  Paul  Kleinert.  Jonah,  Nahum,  Habakkuk,  and 
Zephaniah.  By  Rev.  Paul  Kleinert.  Haggai.  By  Rev.  James  E.  M-Cdrdy. 
Zechariah.    By  T.  W.  Chajibers,  D.D.    Malachi.    By  Joseph  Packard,  D.D, 


The  Apocrypha.     (Just  imlMshal.)    By  E.  C.  Bissell,  D.D.     One  Volume. 


NEW    TESTAMENT  — 10    VOLUMES. 

1.  Matthew.    With  a  General  Introduction  to  the  New  Testament.    By  J.  P.  Lange, 

D.D.    Translated,  with  Additions,  by  Philip  Schaff,  D.D. 

2.  Mark.    By  J.  P.  L.a.nge,  D.D.    Luke.    By  J.  J.  Van  Oosterzee. 

3.  John.    By  J.  P.  Lange,  D.D. 

4.  Acts.    By  G.  V.  Lechler,  D.D.,  and  Rev.  Charles  Gerok. 

5.  Romans.    By  J.  P.  Lange,  D.D.,  and  Rev.  F.  R.  Fat. 

6.  Corinthians.    By  Christian  F.  Kling. 

7.  Galatians.    By  Otto  Schmollek,  Ph.D.    Ephesians  and  Colossians.     By  Karl 

Braune,  D.D.    Philippians.    By  Karl  Braune,  D.D. 

8.  Thessalonians.    By  Drs.  Acberlen  and  Riggenbach.    Timothy.    By  J.  J.   Van 

Oosterzee,  D.D.    Titus.    By  J.  J.  Van  Oosterzee.  D.D.    Philemon.    By  J.  J.  Van 
Oo.sterzee,  D.D.     Hebrews.    By  Karl  B.  Moll,  D.D. 

9.  James.     By  J.  P.  Lange,  D.D.,  and  J.  J.  Van  Oosterzee,  D.D.    Peter  and  Jude.    By 

G.  F.  C.  FuoNMULLER,  Pii.D.     Johu.     By  Karl  Braune,  D.D. 

10.  The  Revelation  of  John.    By  Dr.  J.  P.  Lange.    Together  with  double  Alphabetical 
Index  to  all  the  Ten  Volumes  on  the  New  Testament,  by  John  II.  Woods. 


2\  and  T.  Clark's  Puhlications. 


Ill  Twenty  Landsome  8vo  Volumes!,  Subscription  price  .£5,  5s., 

MEYER'S 

COMMENTARY  ON   THE  NEW   TESTAMENT. 


'  Meyer  has  been  long  and  well  known  to  scholars  as  one  of  the  very  ablest  of 
the  German  expositors  of  the  Nsw  Testament.  We  are  not  sure  whether  W3 
ought  not  to  say  that  he  Is  unrivalled  as  an  interpreter  of  the  grammatical  and 
historical  meaning  of  the  sacred  writers.  The  Publishers  have  now  rendered 
another  seasonable  and  important  service  to  English  students  in  produciuj 
this  translation.'— G'((a;cZicuk 


(Yearly  Issue  of  Four  Volumes,  21s.) 

Eacli  J'ulume  will  he  sold  scjxirutcly  at  10s.  6d.  tu  Xoa-Sul)Scrihers. 


CRITICAL  AKD  EXEGETICAL 

COMMENTARY  ON   THE    NEW  TESTAMENT. 

ST.    MATTHEW'S    GOSPEL   TO   JUDE. 

By    Dr.     II.     A.     AY.     MEYER, 
Obeucoxsistorialratii,  Eaxnovkk. 


First  Year.— "Roman?!,  T^vo  Volumes;  Galatians,  One  Volume;  St.  John's 
Gospel,  Vol.  I.  Second  Year. — St.  John's  Gospel,  Vol.  II. ;  Philippiin.s 
and  Colossians,  One  Volume;  Acts  of  the  Aposth'S,  Vol.  I.;  Corinthians, 
Vol.  I.  Third  Year.— Acts  of  the  Apostles,  Vol.  II.;  St.  Matthew's 
CJospel,  Two  Volumes;  Corinthiaus.Vol.il.  Fourth  Year. — Mark  and 
Luke,  Two  Volumes;  Ephesiaus  and  Philemon,  One  Volume;  Thessa- 
lonians,  One  Volume  (Dr.  Liinemanti).  Fifth  Year. — Timothy  and  Titus, 
One  Volume  {Dr.  Iluther);  Peter  and  Jude,  One  Volume  (Jjr.  Iluther)  ; 
Hebrews,  One  Volume  (Dr.  Lunemann)\  James  and  John,  One  Volunic 
{Dr.  Huthery 

The  series,  as  vjritten  hy  Meyer  himself,  is  completed  by  the  puhlication  of  Ephesians  with 
Philemon  in  one  volume.  Bat  to  this  the  Publishers  have  thought  it  right  to  (nil 
Thessalonia.ns  and  Hebrews,  by  Dr.  Lilnemann,  and  the  Pastoral  and  Catholic  Epistles, 
by  Dr.  Huther. 


'I  need  hardly  add  that  the  last  edition  of  the  accurate,  perspicuous,  and 
learned  commentary  of  Dr.  Meyer  has  been  most  carefully  consulted  through- 
out; and  I  must  again,  as  iu  the  preface  to  the  Galatians,  avow  my  griar, 
obligations  to  the  acumen  and  scholarship  of  the  learned  editor.' — Bisiioi' 
Eli.icott  ill  Preface  to  his  '  Cummtntary  on  Ephesians.' 

'  The  ablest  grammatical  exegete  of  the  ago.' — Philip  Schafk,  D.D. 

'In  accuracy  of  scholarship  and  freedom  from  prejudice,  he  is  equalled  ly 
few.' — lAterary  Churchman. 

'  We  have  only  to  repeat  that  it  remains,  of  its  own  kind,  the  very  best 
commentary  of  the  New  Testament  which  we  possess.' — Church  Bells. 

'No  exegotical  work  is  on  the  whole  more  valuable,  or  stands  in  high,  r 
public  esttsem.  As  a  critic  he  is  candid  and  cautious;  exact  to  minuteness  in 
philology;  a  master  of  the  grammatical  and  historical  method  of  iuterpruia- 
Uou.'—l'rincetijn  Reclnc. 


BS535 .559 

The  Bible  an  outgrowth  of  theocratic 

Princeton  Theological  Seminary-Speer  Library 


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