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THE CONGREGATIONAL LECTURE.

FOURTH SERIES.

DIVINE INSPIRATION.

BY THE

REV. DR. HENDERSON.

Tia 415}

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DIVINE INSPIRATION:

OR, THE

SUPERNATURAL INFLUENCE

EXERTED IN THE

COMMUNICATION OF DIVINE TRUTH:

AND

ITS SPECIAL BEARING ON THE

COMPOSITION OF THE SACRED SCRIPTURES.

GAth Motes and Lilustrations,

THE REV. E. HENDERSON

DOCTOR IN PHILOSOPHY.

᾽

LONDON :
JACKSON AND WALFORD,

18, 517. PAUL’s CHURCH-YARD.

1836.

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PREFACE.

Tue attention which the subject of the fol-
lowing Lectures has already received, and the
number of works that have appeared, in which
it is more or less ably discussed, might seem to
render any additional publication superfluous.
It is only, however, necessary to advert to the
facts, that upon no topic within the compass of
theological science does there exist a greater
diversity of opinion; that most of those who
profess to believe in the doctrine which it
involves, hold it in a very loose and unsatisfactory
manner; and that some of the best treatises in
which it is handled are generally inaccessible ;
in order to be convinced that something still
remains to be done—some contribution still to
be made towards the settling of a question, the

importance and interest of which all readily

vi PREFACE.

admit. There is also much in the peculiar
features of the present times which calls for
renewed effort in this department of theology.
A spirit of universal inquiry has been awakened.
The enemies of revealed truth are busily scat-
tering the seeds of scepticism and _ infidelity.
Lowering, or, to speak more properly, annihi-
lating statements respecting the supernatural
phenomena which the Scriptures exhibit, are
liberally made by a pseudo-rational party of
various grades and distinctions. Extravagant
and untenable theories are advanced by some of
the professed friends of revelation; while a
revival of pretensions to inspiration and other
miraculous endowments still continue, in some
measure, to disturb the peace of the church. It
has been presumed that, in contemplation of all
these circumstances, an attempt to subject the
dogma to a fresh process of historical and exege-
tical investigation would at least be considered
justifiable, though, in the judgment of some, it

might not prove successful.

To the difficulties which attach to the subject
the Author has not been insensible. They have

been felt by all who have preceded him, and

PREFACE. Vil

would certainly have deterred him from ventur-
ing to encounter them, had it not been for a
conviction, produced almost at the commence-
ment of his inquiries, that some of the most —
formidable do not necessarily adhere to it, but
are the result of unwarranted hypotheses, or

strained and false interpretation.

It was originally his design to confine himself
to the more limited question respecting the
exertion of supernatural influence on the minds
of the sacred writers; but he soon found that
justice could not be done to that particular
division, without specially examining the state-
ments of Scripture respecting the modes in which
God otherwise revealed himself to the chosen
messengers and other recipients of his will. He,
therefore, extended his plan so as to make it
embrace the whole range of revealing influence,
and has not scrupled to-employ the term inspira-

tion in this its most comprehensive meaning.

The results of his investigations he now
submits to the decision of the candid, in the
humble hope that, by the blessing of God, they

may subserve the cause of truth by confirming

vill PREFACE.

the faith of some, and recovering others from
the baneful influence of sceptical and unsettled
notions, or the equally dangerous tendencies of a

bewildering and perplexing fanaticism.
EK. HENDERSON.

CANONBURY SQUARE,
August, 1836.

ADVERTISEMENT.

(BY THE COMMITTEE OF THE CONGREGATIONAL LIBRARY.)

Tue “ ConcGREGATIONAL Lisprary” was established with’ a
view to the promotion of Ecclesiastical, Theological, and Biblical
Literature, in that religious connection with whose friends and
supporters it originated. It was also designed to secure a con-
venient locality for such associations as had previously existed,
or might hereafter exist, for the purpose of advancing the literary,
civil, and religious interests of that section of the Christian
Church to which it was appropriated. Without undervaluing
the advantages of union, either with Evangelical Protestants, or
Protestant Nonconformists, on such grounds as admit of liberal
cooperation, it was nevertheless deemed expedient to adopt
measures for facilitating the concentration and efficiency of
their own denomination. In connection with these important
objects, it was thought desirable to institute a Lecrurs, partaking
rather of the character of Academic prelections than of popular
addresses, and embracing a Series of Annual Courses of Lectures,
to be delivered at the Library, or, if necessary, in some con-
tiguous place of worship. In the selection of Lecturers, it was
judged proper to appoint such as, by their literary attainments
and ministerial reputation, had rendered service to the cause of
divine truth in the consecration of their talents to the “" defence
and confirmation of the gospel.” It was also supposed, that
some might be found possessing a high order of intellectual com-
petency and moral worth, imbued with an ardent love of biblical
science, or eminently conversant with theological and ecclesi-
astical literature, who, from various causes, might never have
attracted that degree of public attention to which they are entitled,

b .

x ADVERTISEMENT.

and yet might be both qualified and disposed to undertake courses
of lectures on subjects of interesting importance, not included
within the ordinary range of pulpit instruction. To illustrate the
evidence and importance of the great doctrines of Revelation ; to
exhibit the true principles of philology in their application to
such doctrines; to prove the accordance and identity of genuine
philosophy with the records and discoveries of Scripture ; and to
trace the errors and corruptions which have existed in the Chris-
tian Church to their proper sources, and, by the connection of
sound reasoning with the honest interpretation of God’s holy Word,
to point out the methods of refutation and counteraction, are
amongst the objects for which “ the Congregational Lecture”
has been established. The arrangements made with the Lec-
turers are designed to secure the publication of each separate
course, without risk to the Authors; and, after remunerating
them as liberally as the resources of the Institution will allow,
to apply the profits of the respective publications in aid of the
Library. It is hoped that the liberal, and especially the opulent,
friends of Evangelical and Congregational Nonconformity, will
evince, by their generous support, the sincerity of their attach-
ment to the great principles of their Christian profession ; and
that some may be found to emulate the zeal which established
the “* Boyle,” the “* Warburton,” and the ‘‘ Bampton” Lectures
in the National Church. These are legitimate operations of the
“voluntary principle” in the support of religion, and in per-
fect harmony with the independency of our Churches, and the
spirituality of the kingdom of Christ.

The Committee deem it proper to state that, whatever respon-
sibility may attach either to the reasonings or opinions advanced
in any Course of Lectures belongs exclusively to the Lecturer.

CONGREGATIONAL LIBRARY,
Blomfield Sireet, Finsbury, August, 1836.

CONTENTS.

LECTURE I.

INTRODUCTORY.

Prov. xxx.1—6.—“ The words of Agur the son of Jakeh,
even the prophecy: the man spake unto Ithiel, even unto Ithiel
and Ucal, Surely I am more brutish than any man, and
have not the understanding of a man. I neither learned wis-
dom, nor have the knowledge of the holy. Who hath ascended
up into heaven, or descended? who hath gathered the wind in
his fists 7 who hath bound the waters in a garment? who hath
established all the ends of the earth? whatis his name, and
what is his son’s name, if thou canst tell? Every word of God
is pure: he is a shield unto them that put their trust in him.
Add thou not unto his words, lest he reprove thee, and thou
be found a liar.”

LECTURE II.

DIFFERENT MODES OF INSPIRATION.

Heb. i. 1, 2.—* God, who at sundry times and in divers manners
spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets, hath in these
last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed
heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds.”

LECTURE III.

DIFFERENT MODES OF INSPIRATION—(continued.)

Heb. i. 1, 2.— God, who at sundry times and in divers manners
spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets, hath in
these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath
appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds.”

LECTURE IV.

THE GIFTS OF INSPIRATION.

1 Cor. xii. 4—6.—*“ Now there are diversities of gifts, but the
same Spirit. And there are differences of administrations, but
the same Lord. And there are diversities of operations, but it
ts the same God which worketh all in all.” z

Ρ'

123

174

ΧΙΙ CONTENTS.

LECTURE V.

INSPIRATION OF THE SCRIPTURES.— PRESUMPTIVE ARGUMENTS.

1 Cor. x. 15.—‘‘ J speak as to wise men: judge ye what I say.” 235

LECTURE VI.

INSPIRATION OF THE SCRIFTURES—(continued.)—POSsITIVE PROOFS.

2 Tim. iii. 16, 17.—‘‘ All Scripture is given by inspiration of God,

and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for
instruction in righteousness ; that the man of God ma y be per-
fect, throughly furnished unto all good works.” . τς ΡΩΝ

LECTURE VII.
INSPIRATION OF THE SCRIPTURES—(continued.)—DIFFERENT MODES
OF OPERATION.

Hosea viii. 12.— I have written to him the rc thing ings of
my law.” BPN eS nt ey pee te ; . 337

LECTURE VIII.

INSPIRATION OF THE SCRIPTURES—(continued.)—VERBAL INSPIRATION.

1 Cor. ii. 13.—“ Which things also we speak, not in the words
which man’s wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost ᾿
teacheth : comparing spiritual things with spiritual.” . . . 388

LECTURE IX.

CANON OF INSPIRATION,

Jeremiah xxiii. 35.—“ What hath the Lord spoken?” . . . 449

CONCLUDING LECTURE.

CESSATION OF INSPIRATION.

1 Cor. xiii. 8.— Whether there be prophecies, they shall fail ;
whether there be tongues, they shall cease; whether there be
knowledge, it shall vanish CU τ oa) tap Aided ine 10

ΝΟΥ AND TULUSTRATIONE; . ΠΡ fe 1 6 te es 543

INTRODUCTORY LECTURE.

PROV. XXX. 1—6.

“ The words of Agur the son of Jakeh, even the
prophecy: the man spake unto Ithiel, even
unto Ithiel and Ucal, Surely I am more
brutish than any man, and have not the under-
standing of aman. I neither learned wisdom,
nor have the knowledge of the holy. Who hath
ascended up into heaven, or descended ? who
hath gathered the wind in his fists ? who hath
bound the waters in a garment ? who hath
established all the ends of the earth ? what is
his name, and what is his son’s name, tf thou
canst tell? Every word of God is pure: he
is a shield unto them that put their trust in
him. Add thou not unto his words, lest he
reprove thee, and thou be found a lar.”

In whatever obscurity the initial words of the ecr. τ.

text may be involved, or however difficult it
4 B

INTRODUCTORY LECTURE.

Lect. 1. may be to furnish a satisfactory explanation of

the proper names which it exhibits, the senti-
ments expressed in it admit of an appropriate
application to the subject of the present Lec-
tures. The intellectual powers of man are
confessedly of a noble and exalted character,
susceptible of universal culture, and capable of
engaging in extensive and profound research.
Supplied with materials for reflection and ratio-
cination both by the structure and operations
of his own mind, and by the innumerable phe-
nomena which are presented to his view in
external nature, he cannot exercise the faculties
with which he is endowed, by applying, to the
extent of his opportunities, those principles of
physical and psychological induction which
approve themselves as the only solid basis of
human knowledge, without acquiring fresh
vigour and freedom of thought, obtaining more
accurate conceptions of the nature and relations
of things, and commanding more comprehensive
views of the vast universe of which he forms a
part. Yet, after he has taxed his powers to the
utmost—after he has carried his mental processes
into all the regions which come within the limits
of the human understanding—he is reduced to
the conclusion, that, in the absence of Divine
Inspiration, or of its results in the records of
Divine Science, it is impossible to attain to that
acquaintance with Deity and human destiny
which alone can satisfy a rational mind. Taught

INTRODUCTORY LECTURE. 3

from above, he confesses his ignorance and im- LECT. 1.
becility, clings to the volume which contains a
perfect revelation of the character, will, and
government of God; and discovering in it a

light sufficient to conduct him in safety through

all the labyrinths of the present state, and in-
troduce him with joyful nope into a better, he

is jealous for its honour, and frowns on every
attempt to improve upon its contents.

When the mind has arrived at a practical con-
viction respecting the existence of the Supreme
Being, to whatever source that conviction may
be traced, it is obvious no questions can arise of
deeper or more commanding interest than the
following :—What cognizance does the Infinite
Creator take of the Universe, to which he has
given existence? Does he continue to preside
over its affairs, administering them according to
his pleasure, and so controlling and disposing of
them as infallibly to secure the attainment of his
own purposes? In what light, in particular, does
he regard the conduct of his rational creatures ?
Has he made any disclosures of his will to us?
And, if so, where are these disclosures? and
what is their character ?

It will he granted by all who admit the force Mmsuticiency
of the arguments drawn from the admirable of mature.
scheme of contrivances and provisionary arrange-
ments which pervade the economy of nature, in
corroboration of the doctrine of the existence of
a wise, powerful, and all-perfect First Cause, that

B 2

INTRODUCTORY LECTURE.

Lect. 1. the same wonderful economy furnishes numerous

developments of a system of moral government,
the laws of which afford important indications of
his character as a righteous and_ benevolent
Ruler. Whoever seriously reflects on the differ-
ence, which obtains in human actions, the moral
judgments which we naturally form in regard to
them, the established connexion which subsists
between virtue and happiness on the one hand,
and vice and misery on the other, the extent of
retributive awards, which appear in the history of
the world, and the extreme difficulty which men
find in their attempts to annihilate the conviction
of the existence of a supreme Moral Governor,
must perceive that the idea is most congenial to
the human mind, and is, indeed, absolutely in-
dispensable to the resolution of phenomena,
which meet it in every direction. The dis-
position also which mankind have universally
discovered to institute such a government among
themselves is an additional argument in favour
of the existence of a supreme moral system in
the hands of that Being to whom we attribute
infinite excellence—whatever is good or praise-
worthy in ourselves being only a feeble adum-
bration of the same quality in Him, in whose
boundless mind it exists in an infinite degree.
But while we thus satisfy ourselves in regard to
the fact of a Divine moral government, and feel
convinced that to deny it would be to shut our
eyes against the manifold proofs of providential

INTRODUCTORY LECTURE.

and rectoral agency which are every where pre- tect. 1.

sented to us, as well as to repress those inward
notices and feelings which commend themselves
as the genuine dictates of our moral constitution,
it must be allowed that a thick veil of obscurity
hangs over the pages of natural revelation with
respect to those subjects which, as sinful and
accountable creatures, it most concerns us to
know. For, whatever may be the apparently
appropriate processes of moral discipline through
which we are conducted in the present state ;
how cogent soever the reasonings in reference to
our future condition to which we may endeavour
to surrender our minds ; whatever the flattering
guesses and specious hypotheses which we may
form in regard to God’s treatment of moral
agents, and whatever degree of satisfaction we
may derive from certain isolated views of the
Divine character ;—we no sooner take a broad
and impartial survey of our condition, and fix
our contemplations on other aspects of Deity,
which force themselves upon us, than we find
that there is nothing within the wide range of
the physical or the intellectual world, which is
calculated to inspire us with confidence, or
produce in our minds any feeling of well-
grounded hope. Under such circumstances we
require information respecting the will and de-
signs of our Maker, which neither the operations
of nature, nor the ordinary course of things in
the moral world can, by any possibility, supply.

ὃ

LECT. I.

INTRODUCTORY LECTURE,

Independently, however, on the undeniable

Probability ot Characters of moral degeneracy, which so awfully

direct Divine

communica- mark our history, and assuming that the time

tions.

was when man existed in an unfallen and holy
state, is it reasonable to suppose, that he would
be left by his Creator to collect the several items
of his knowledge merely in a natural way by the
observations which he might make on the phy-
sical objects by which he was surrounded, and
by reflection on his own intellectual and moral
constitution? Allied by the superior faculties
of his nature to “ the Father of Spirits,” is it
imaginable that no immediate intercourse took
place between them? Or, are we to believe
that the only communications made by the Deity
were effected by the music of the spheres, the
sound of the elements, the inarticulate voices of
the brute creation, or the deep heavings of man’s
own immortal nature? The rest of creation
was regulated by the laws of physical mechanism,
or mere animal instinct, and terminated on mate-
rial and sensible objects; but man was gifted
with intelligence and moral principle—he was
created with powers which capacitated him for
holding converse with his Maker in the way of
receiving from him supernatural and intelligent
communications, and of yieldmg in return suit-
able expressions of gratitude and love.

The frame of human nature is obviously con-
stituted with a view to a higher intercourse than
can be held with any description of agents in

INTRODUCTORY LECTURE.

the visible world. For though it exhibits a
perfect adaptation to meet the claims of social
converse between individuals of the same species,
it is, at the same time, so constructed as to admit
of intelligent communications taking place be-
tween them and beings of a higher order in the
scale of existence—especially with the Supreme In-
telligence himself, to whose incessant care man is
indebted for the continued preservation of all his
powers and faculties. But if no such communion
ever existed, or was ever intended, the fact just

adverted to presents an anomaly without a paral-
lel in this province of the Divine kingdom.

On the supposition that, on his formation, the
first human being was destitute of all concreated
or supernaturally-imparted knowledge, it does
not appear how, by any process of intellectual
operation whatever, he could have arrived at
definite or satisfactory ideas respecting the spi-
ritual and moral character of God, the relations
in which he stood to him, his duties towards
him, the manner in which these duties should
be discharged, or his own higher and ultimate
destiny. And even as it regards the simple fact
of the existence of one Great First Cause, sup-
posing him ever to have arrived at the know-
ledge of it by the exercise of his own unaided
powers, what an expenditure of time and thought
it must have cost;him! what processes of inves-
tigation and induction he must have instituted!
with what difficulty he must have satisfied him-

lad
͵

LECT. I.

Impossibility
of satisfac-
torily ascer-
taining the
being and
character of
God without
revelation.

INTRODUCTORY LECTURE.

tect. 1. Self with respect to the properties of matter, the

laws of motion, the connection between causes
and effects, and numerous other particulars in
relation to the phenomena of the universe!
And after all, notwithstanding the indications by
which he was met of the operation of a principle
superior to any which came under the cognizance
of his senses, how was it possible for him to
reach a poimt in his inquiries beyond which he
felt it was no longer necessary to proceed—a
point at which he might rest in the assured con-
viction that he had now conquered every difli-
culty, surmounted every doubt, and positively
ascertained the nature of rHat Bernc who was
higher than the highest, from whom all things
proceeded, and to whose governance all were
subject ? When the idea of the Divine Exist-
ence has once been admitted into the mind,
nothing is more easy than the discovery of in-
numerable proofs in support of it. Naturalists
and metaphysicians employ it in the construction
of their several systems, and unconsciously avail
themselves of the light which it diffuses over
their reasonings, even when undertaking by
ἃ priort or @ posterior’ arguments to establish
the fact; but it remains to be seen at what

results they would arrive if they were to com-

mence their labours totally uninfluenced by any
such previous notion. Certain it is that, how
extensively soever the belief im a Deity has
obtained in the world,—and few indeed have been

INTRODUCTORY LECTURE.

the exceptions,—it cannot be shown that it has, txcr. τ.

in any one instance, resulted from argument, or
that any individual ever acquired it by applying
his mental powers to an investigation of the
phenomena of nature.

When we take into consideration the necessity perce in
Divine com-
munications
universally

of supernatural communications in order to the
satisfactory determination of every essential point
of faith and duty, it appears in the highest degree
probable that such communications must have
taken place. We cannot conceive it possible
that the Divine Being would have left the human
family destitute of the knowledge of himself, and
of his will as the supreme standard of moral
actions. We accordingly find, that, in all coun-
tries and in every age, the opinion has prevailed,
that an intercourse has subsisted between heaven
and earth. There exists no pagan system of
religious faith which does not, under one shape
or other, recognise its occurrence. So power-
fully has the idea laid hold on the human mind,
that, in the absence of positive revelations, re-
course has been had to invention and imposture,
in order to satisfy its desires of higher information
than could possibly be obtained by the exercise of
the unassisted powers of reason. To this source
may be traced many of the oracles of Egypt and
Greece, the original Sibylline books, and other
frauds of ancient and modern heathenism ‘There
are also to be found in the various religious creeds,
which have been or still are professed in the pagan

LECT. I.

Moham-
medan pre-
tensions.

INTRODUCTORY LECTURE.

world, numerous points of convergence, which
impel us to believe that there formerly existed a
primitive revelation as the prototype, from which,
by imperceptible degrees, they have receded, in
proportion to the progress of corruption, or the
influence of superstitions more or less gross in
their character, which have been associated with
them. It is impossible to pursue the study of
mythology to any extent, without perceiving
certain relationships which point to a common
source, extraneous in point of locality to the
territory which it covers, and remote in point of
time from the ages which it historically describes.
The Vedas of the Hindoos, the books of
Buddha, the Zendavesta, and the Icelandic
Edda, as well as the mythologies of Chaldea,
Egypt, and Greece, exhibit, amidst all the ob-
scurity in which an immense profusion of sym-
bols, fables, and allegories, has involved them,
unequivocal developments of ἃ pre-existent
period of monotheism and pure revelation.

Of the numerous religions which have existed
in the world, there are only three that claim to
have been derived from the one living and true
God—the Jewish, the Christian, and the Mo-
hammedan ; or, strictly taken, they may be
reduced to ¢wo, inasmuch as the Jewish and
Christian are merely parts or divisions of the
same Divine system of revelation—the latter
being complementary, or perfective of the
former. ‘The pretensions of Islamism are high

INTRODUCTORY LECTURE.

and uncompromising in their character, but they Lzcr. 1.

rest on no solid foundation. ‘The Koran, which
forms its religious code, purports to have been
revealed from heaven during nocturnal visits of
the angel Gabriel, who, it is believed, communi-
cated it to Mohammed precisely as it stands,
chapter for chapter, and verse for verse, written
upon parchment made of the skin of the ram,
sacrificed by Abraham in the room of his son
Isaac. The tenet, that it is celestial, uncreated,
and eternal, has likewise had many adherents ;
but a slight’acquaintance with the history of the
times in which it originated, and an equally
slight comparison of its contents with those of
the Jewish and Christian Scriptures, are sufficient
to show that it consists of borrowed materials,
clumsily put together, and published to the world
in the name of the most Compassionate and
Merciful, unaccompanied by any appeals in proof
of its divinity, except to the inimitable sublimity
of its style, (a quality, however, which is per-
ceptible only by believers, ) its alleged coincidence
with former revelations, and especially the pro-
fessed fulfilment of certain prophecies delivered
by Moses and Christ, which had Mohammed for
their object.* It is undeniable that the hero of
the book had repeated interviews with the Jews
and the Nestorian monks of Syria during his
commercial journeys to that country, when he
had opportunities of becoming acquainted with
* See Note A.

2 INTRODUCTORY LECTURE.

tect. the Bible, isolated passages of which, obscured
and disfigured by Rabbinical and legendary com-
ments, he amalgamated with dogmas held by the
Magi and Sabeans, in order to form a religious
system of his own—a system decidedly hostile to
every species of idolatry, but also essentially
differing from that of the Jews and Christians,
except in regard to the Divine Unity and Spi-
rituality, and a future state of rewards and
punishments. When repeatedly challenged by
those to whom he first announced its dogmas to
work miracles in attestation of lis call as a
Divine ambassador, the reply of Mohammed
was, that a sufficiency of miracles had already
been wrought by Jesus and other prophets ; and
that, besides, they were unnecessary, since be-
lievers did not require them, and they would be
thrown away upon infidels, who would not admit
their validity. He was also urged to confirm
his messages by unequivocal predictions ; but he
excused himself by asserting, that he did not hold
the key of secret things, and that it belonged to
God and not to him to know the future. That
a system so manifestly founded on falsities and
fables should so rapidly have spread, so exten-
sively have prevailed, and have been so permanent
in its influence, is to be accounted for on the
grounds of its superiority to the most refined
system of paganism, its congeniality with some
of the leading principles of our depraved nature,
as existing in a prurient state in oriental climes,

INTRODUCTORY LECTURE.

the secular influence which it has had at its
command, and the deep degeneracy of those
sections of the professed Church of Christ, with
which it has been in more immediate contact.

In support of the Jewish and Christian Reve-
lation, claims of a very different character are
advanced. ‘These claims rest on evidences both
of an external and internal nature, which chal-
lenge the freest and most ample examination,
and furnish the most satisfactory attestation that
the truths, to substantiate which they are pro-
duced, were not of human invention, but the
result of Divine communications, and are to be
regarded as authoritative announcements of the
will of God to mankind.

The more ancient of these communications
were not originally reduced to writing. Such of
them as were granted to our first parents, to the
antediluvians, to Noah and others, appear to
have been committed, for a period of two thou-
sand years, to oral tradition, as a medium of
preservation and transmission :—both of which
purposes it was fully competent to secure, at
a time when human longevity was greatly ex-
tended, and the revelations themselves were
more limited and individual in their aspects than
most of those which were afterwards made. But
after the life of man was about to be abbrevi-
ated to two-thirds of a century, and the patri-
archal dispensation gave place to a national
institute, which was to be the great depositary of

LECT. I.

Claims of the
Jewish and
Christian
Scriptures.

14 INTRODUCTORY LECTURE.

uect.1. Divine truth, not merely for the benefit of those
among whom it was established, but ultimately
for the benefit of the whole world, the revelations
of the will of God were embodied in written
documents, and carefully preserved in the ar-
chives of the Hebrews, where they received such
accessions of oracular matter as continued, from
time to time, to be vouchsafed from heaven.
To the sacred records thus delivered to the pos-
terity of Abraham, have since been added those
which appertain to the Christian economy; and
both classes of books have been handed down to
us, unimpaired, in any material degree, by the
lapse of time, or the accidents of transcription, to
which, in common with all other writings, they
have been exposed.

Bunion It is to the revelations which it pleased the
Deity at different periods to make to mankind,
and to the influence exerted to secure the faith-
ful deposition, in written forms, of those truths
which he was pleased to ordain should be trans-
mitted to future ages, that we here appropriate the
term inspiration. We use it in a generic sense,
and comprehend under it, not merely the par-
ticular species of Divine influence which was
enjoyed by the sacred penmen, but the entire
subject of revelation, or the various modes in
which Jehovah employed supernatural agency
for the purpose of disclosing his will.*

* See Note Β,

INTRODUCTORY LECTURE.

Before proceeding to investigate the nature
and modes of inspiration as thus defined, it will
be necessary to institute an inquiry into the im-
port of certain terms and phrases which have
been employed in reference to it, in order that
we may be fully prepared to view it in the
various aspects under which it is presented to
our notice in the book of God.

On examining the history of languages it is
found that, during their most ancient periods, or
in such as have undergone but little cultivation,
the primitive signification of words is almost uni-
versally physical, being derived from external or
sensible objects, the ideas of which have pre-
viously taken possession of the mind. Whatever
signs there may have been in the primeval lan-
guage, in which the first man held converse with
his Maker, that were purely the result of intel-
lectual conceptions, and in no manner originated
by, or dependent upon any thing of a physical
or sensible character; and how much soever
these signs might have been augmented and im-
proved upon, if the human mind had continued
assiduously to cultivate intercourse with the spiri-
tual world, nothing was more natural than the
reduction of language to a gross subserviency to
sense, in proportion as the mental powers became
enslaved to secular pursuits, and the higher inte-
rests of the soul merged in those of corporeal or
mere animal gratification. The mind becoming
as it were identified with the external objects of

LECT. I.

Explanation
of terms.

Signification
of words
originally
physical.

INTRODUCTORY LECTURE.

tecT.1. its choice, their influence over the ideas which

it formed, and the various modes by which it
gave expression to these ideas, could not but
prove highly deteriorating.

In the state of degeneracy thus superinduced,
mankind now naturally exist; and it is not till
some mighty impulse has been exerted upon
their minds, or certain habits of abstraction have
been created, that an introversion of this order
of things takes place. And even in a state of
spiritual renovation, when the mind is occupied
with the contemplation of invisible objects,—
whether these objects embrace its own internal
states and operations, or whether they embrace
intellectual essences which are extrinsic to it,—it
is next to impossible for it to rid itself of pre-
viously acquired sensible ideas, or to express
itself, except through those vehicles of thought
which owe their origin to something or other
that has come under the cognizance of the
senses, and to which, in consequence, it has be-
come more or less strongly habituated. In pro-
ceeding to generalise and pursue trains of abstract
thought, it is compelled, for the most part, to em-
ploy phraseology already in use, only transferring
to it new and nobler ideas, on the principle of
definite analogies, which are found to exist be-
tween these ideas and those of a physical com-
plexion which it was originally adopted to express.

Nor did it seem proper to Infinite Wisdom,
in making a revelation to mankind, to depart,

INTRODUCTORY LECTURE.

except In comparatively few instances, from the tecr.1.
y Bwide.

ordinary usage of language, as thus obtaining
among them. In Holy Scripture words are
freely used in a metaphorical sense to denote
spiritual objects, which, in their primary accep-
tation, designate objects in the material world,
or purely sensible images and impressions. Of
this we are furnished with. abundant proof by
the terms usually employed to describe our
present subject,—terms which are, for the most
part, borrowed from the analogy subsisting be-
tween the idea of wind or breath and that of
spirit, to express which, not only in Hebrew,
but in most of the ancient, and in many of the
modern languages, the same word is used. This
analogy appears chiefly to rest on the properties
of subtilty, invisibility, and vital energy, by
which both are characterized. Hence, in the
account given by Moses of the formation of
Adam, the language is so constructed, that while
it unquestionably indicates the infusion of vital
animal power by an act of the Creator analagous
to that of inspiration, or blowing into any ma-
terial subject ; it also teaches the doctrine, that
at the same time, and by the same act, man be-
came possessed of a rational, intelligent nature.
« And the Lord God formed man of the dust of
“the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the
““ breath of life ; and man became a living soul.”
(Gen. ii.7.) In the Latin version of this passage
the verb inspiravit occurs, which in the same
Ὁ

INTRODUCTORY LECTURE.

LEcr.1. version is also applied, in the passive voice, to de-

Theo-
pnheustia.

scribe the action of the Holy Spirit on the minds
of the prophets, and the effect of such action in the
production of the sacred Scriptures through their
instrumentality.* In like manner the substantive
inspiratio is employed to express that Divine in-
fluence by which intelligence is imparted to the
human mind (Job xxxii. 8); and it is to the use
of these terms in this ancient version we are to
trace the derivation of the words imspire and
inspiration in their appropriated theological
import.

The Greek term θεοπνευστία, which divines
generally use when treating scientifically of in-
spiration, is formed from the compound θεό-
avevotos, Which, in the authorised version, is
rendered — “ given by inspiration of God,”
(2 Tim. iii. 16) ; but which, according to its strict
etymological import, signifies what is divinely
breathed, or a certain divinely imparted property
or quality, in consequence of which the subject of
which it is predicated claims Divine authority.
The word occurs nowhere besides in Scripture ;
nor has it been found in any of the earlier Greek
writers, on which account it has been conjectured
that it was formed by the Apostle, in order more
definitely to express what he had to teach re-
specting the Divine origin of the sacred writings.

* 2 Pet. i. 21—Spiritu Sancto inspirati. 2 Tim. iii. 16—
Omnis scriptura divinitus ispirata.

INTRODUCTORY LECTURE.

That it may have originated with him is certainly _xecr. 1.

not impossible; yet if it be found in heathen
writers who flourished in or shortly after his
time, and who cannot, with any degree of proba-
bility, be supposed to have had any knowledge of
his writings, it would seem more natural to con-
clude that it was employed by them in common,
as already existing in the language. Now it does
occur in Phocylides, or rather in the poet who
wrote under his name in the reign of the Em-
perer Adrian, when describing the superior
wisdom communicated by the gods, with which
that which was merely human was not for a
moment to be compared.* Plutarch also, who
wrote much about the same time, speaks of θεο-
πνέυστοι ὀνείροι, or such dreams as were obviously
of supernatural origin; such as were so very
extraordinary in their character, that they could
not be referred to the class of common oneiric
phenomena with which we are more or less fa-
miliar, but must be attributed to Divine influ-
ence. But though this identical term does not
appear to have been in use among the earlier
Greeks, their language teems with others simi-
larly compounded, which are, in like manner,
expressive of an action or influence of the
Divinity on the human mind, corresponding
analogically to that exerted on material objects

ee td λόγος ἔρυμ᾽ ἀνθρώπων"
Τῆς δὲ ΘΕΟΠΝΕΥ ΣΤΟΥ͂ σοφίης λόγος ἐστι ἄριστος.
σφ

INTRODUCTORY LECTURE.

uect.1t. by the wind, particularly on vessels impelled

before it at sea,—a Divine energy or afflatus,
which the recipient or passive subject could not
withstand, which took possession of him, filled
him, excited him, bore him along, taught, him,
and enabled him to deliver doctrines, and per-
form actions, which transcended the limits of his
ordinary powers and modes of operation.* Nor
can it be doubted that it is in accommodation
to the phraseology which he found in the Pla-
tonic philosophers, that Philo employs the par-
ticiple καταπνευσθὲν in reference to the noble
endowments of Abraham, which he ascribes to
the inhabitation of the Divine Spirit, whose influ-
ence had descended from above, and produced a
complete change in his character.t

It is with similar reference, as significant of
the supernatural gifts with which the Apostles
were to be inspired, that our Lord is said

to have ‘ breathed upon them, ἐνεφύσησε.--

* Of these the following are a specimen: θεοδίδακτος,
θεοφύρος, θεοφόρητος, θεοφορούμενος, θεοκίνητος, θεόληπτος, θεο-
φράδμων, θεοπρόπυς, θεοδέγμων, θεόμαντις. To express the
same thing, the Greeks made use of the terms ἔνθεος, ἐπί-
mvooc, ἐπιπνευσθὲν, πνευματοφόρος, ἐνθουσιῶν, ἐνθουσιασμένοςο,
ἐνθουσιαστῆς, πεπνυμένος, ἀποδαιμονιζῶν, μαινομένος, μαινόλης,
&e.

+ Οὐδὲ γὰρ ὁμιλίαις ἐχρῆτο ταῖς αὐταῖς, ἀλλ᾽ ἐπιθειάζων τὰ
πολλὰ, σεμνοτέραις. Ὁπότε γοῦν κατασχεθείη, μετέβαλλε πάντα
πρὸς τὸ βέλτιον, τὰς ὄψεις, τὴν χροιὰν, τὸ μέγεθος, τὰς σχέσεις;
τὰς κινήσεις, τὴν φωνήν" τοῦ θείου πνέυματος, ὅπερ ἄνωθεν κα-
ταπνευσθὲν εἰσωκήσατο rn ψυχῇ. De Nobilitate, vol. ii. p. 442.
Edit. Mangey.

INTRODUCTORY LECTURE.

accompanying the symbolical act with words of Lecr. 1.

corresponding import: ‘“ Receive ye the Holy
Ghost,” πνεῦμα ἅγιον. (John xx. 22.) And when
the important promise, thus solemnly made, was
fulfilled on the day of Pentecost, by the actual
impartation of the extraordinary influences of
that Divine agent, among other features of the
wonderful phenomenon is enumerated ‘ a sound
“from heaven, as of a rushing mighty wind,
“ ὥσπερ φερομένης πνοῆς βιαίας, which filled all
“‘ the house where” the disciples ‘ were sitting.”
(Acts ii. 2.) It is true the term employed in this
latter passage is not precisely that by which wind
and spirit are expressed in common ; but it is a
derivative from the same theme, and seems to be
used here with singular propriety in restriction
to the symbol, in order to distinguish it from the
thing signified, vz. the influence of the Holy
Spirit with which the Apostles were then endued
in so remarkable a degree, and from which
effects of the most amazing character were to
result.

On the same principle of analogy the Spirit
of God is said in Scripture, nby, to come or fall
powerfully on those who were the subjects of
miraculous agency, Judges xiv. 19; 1 Sam. x. 10;
ἐπέπεσε, Acts x. 44; m3, to rest or continue upon
them, Num. xi. 26; 2 Kings ii. 15; wb, to cover
or invest them, Judges vi. 34; 1 Chron. xii. 18 ;
(comp. ἐνδύσησθε, Luke xxiv.49;) 5 siz, to enter
into them, Ezek. ii. 2; iil. 24; sb, to fill or

-ὶ

INTRODUCTORY LECTURE.

Lect. 1. replenish them, Exod. xxviii. 3; xxxi. 3, (comp.

ἐπλήσθησαν, Acts ii. 43 πλησθεῖς, iv. 8;) MP2, NI,
to take them up, or bear them away, Ezek. iii.
12, 14;—all which sensible modes of expression
are designed to teach us the divine origin, com-
pleteness, permanence, energy, and efficiency of
the gifts with which the persons spoken of were
endowed ; just as the wind descends upon the
earth, surrounds or fills the objects with which
it is brought into contact, and imparts to them
an impetus by which they are removed from
their ordinary position, and impelled forward in
the direction in which it blows. And it is in
reference to the same physical action, or m terms
borrowed from it, that the prophets are described
as having made their communications, as they
were moved or borne along by the Holy Ghost,
ὑπὸ πνεύματος ἁγίου φερόμενοι, 2 Pet. i. 21.

The exertion of this Divine influence is further
spoken of under the idea of a hand falling or
being upon any one, "Ὁ by mn, ΓΙΌΣ TIM τὸ,
in which Hebrew usage there is the same meta-
phorical accommodation to physical conceptions
or impressions which we have traced in the former
case. Thus we read that the hand of the Lord
was upon Ezekiel by the river Chebar, (ch. i. 3,)
and that when the Spirit lifted him up and carried
him away, and he went in bitterness in the heat
of his spirit, the hand of the Lord was strong
upon him, (iii. 14.) Similar language is em-
ployed by Isaiah when describing the powerful

INTRODUCTORY LECTURE.

impulse by which he was actuated on being tect. 1.

supernaturally instructed respecting the manner
in which he was to discharge the duties of his
office: “ For the Lord spake thus to me with
a strong hand,” (ch. viii. 11.) We read also,
2 Kings iii. 15, “ It came to pass, when the
minstrel played, that the hand of the Lord came
upon” Elisha, who, in consequence, immediately
delivered a prophecy. The hand being the seat
of power, or that member of the human body
by which its strength is most efficiently exerted,
it came to be regarded as the emblem of that
quality ; and in the oriental languages the term
is frequently used in this tropical or metaphorical
sense ; so that by the phraseology which we have
just quoted from the Old Testament, we are ob-
viously to understand that the prophets became
the subjects of a sudden and powerful impulse,
by the influence of which their minds were pre-
pared to receive, and strengthened and prompted
to communicate, those revelations of the Divine
will with which they were favoured.

The exertion of this extraordinary impulse
was not, however, confined to those who were
selected to be interpreters of the will of God;
it was also vouchsafed to such as were raised up
for the achievement of supernatural deeds in
defence of the cause of the Most High. (Judges
ii. 10; vi. 34.) Of this we have a remarkable
instance in the case of Samson, in reference to
whom we read, that ‘the Spirit of the Lord

24 INTRODUCTORY LECTURE.

. tect. 1. began to move him at times in the camp of Dan,”
(xiii. 25.) On which we would observe, that in
the original Says) miny om Som, there is nothing
corresponding to the words “ at times,” which
intimate that the extraordinary spiritual influ-
ence exerted upon him was merely occasional ;
whereas, the fact taught in the passage is, that,
at the period there referred to, he experienced,
for the first time, the exertion of such influence.
But 1 advert to this text specially for the purpose
of pointing out the peculiar force of the term
(895) there employed to describe the manner in
which Samson was wrought upon, it being used
in this application nowhere else in Scripture,
but otherwise signifies to make a stroke or im-
pression on the senses, to move with sudden
violence ; hence, mentally to agitate, throw into
a state of excitement, powerfully to put into a
state of emotion. As employed in the present
instance, it is evidently expressive of the excita-
tion of the Hebrew youth to feats of chivalrous
valour, exceeding any which he or any of his
companions could have exhibited if they had
been left to the exercise of their ordinary
strength, in order that he might be prepared, by
the experience which he thus had of supernatural
aid, to trust in Jehovah when he should be called
to fill situations in which nothing short of that
aid could enable him successfully to cope with
the enemies of his people. When afterwards
honoured to put forth superhuman energy, it is

INTRODUCTORY LECTURE.

said, mimy om yey mbosn, “ the Spirit of the μον.

Lord came mightily upon him,” (ch. xiv. 6 ;
xv. 14;) which is obviously expressive of the com-
munication of that physical strength by which
he became qualified to execute what lay beyond
the limits of mortal power.

In accordance with the use of this and similar
phraseology, indicating the powerful impulse of
the Spirit, he who sustained the prophetical
character is called a ‘ spiritual man,” or @ man
of the Spirit, 7977 ws, ὅς δ. one who is the subject
of his supernatural influence ; or as it is signifi-
cantly expressed by the LXX. πνευματοφόρος, im-
pelled or borne along by the Spirit. (Hos. ix. 7.)
In the same acceptation the term πνευματικὸς
“« spiritual,” is used, 1 Cor. xiv. 37. “ If any
man think himself to be a prophet or spiritual ”»—
where the combination of spiritual with prophet,
just as in the passage quoted from Hosea, shows
that the reference is not to the ordinary grace of
the Holy Spirit, but to the possession or enjoy-
ment of extraordinary Divine influence, which
indeed is also apparent from the nature of the
Apostle’s argument. It is upon this principle
that, in the New Testament, those who were, or
pretended to be, the subjects of such influence,
are termed πνεύματα, spirits. (2 Thess. 11. 2;
1 Tim. iv. 1; 1 John iv. 1—3.) The state in
which the true prophets or spiritual men were,
when acted upon by such influence, is described
by the very emphatic phrase m3, ἐν πνεύματι, to

INTRODUCTORY LECTURE.

tect. τ. be tm the Spirit, i.e. so to be the subject of his

Prophecy.

extraordinary operations, that the influence thus
exerted constituted as it were the element in
which they lived and acted; and, while it lasted,
superseded the ascendency of their rational facul-
ties, though, as we shall afterwards have occasion
to notice, it did not deprive them of the use of
these faculties, as some have preposterously main-
tained. (Ezek. xxxvu. 1; Matt. xxii. 43; Rev.
i. 10.)

Another term of frequent occurrence in its
application to those who were the subjects of
extraordinary Divine influence, and which throws
considerable light on our subject, is PRopHEcy.
According to some the Hebrew word s 33,
which we render prophet, is derived from the
root 552, signifying to produce ; hence, to bring
out, or give utterance in speech: others derive
it from 732, to be high, to be raised to inter-
course with the Deity; while others again refer
it to siz, to come or enter, and explain it to
mean one who has been admitted into the secret
counsel of Jehovah, or to whom a Divine reve-
lation has come. But whatever resemblance
any of these roots may have to the term in
question, and how appropriately soever the sig-
nifications which have been deduced from them
may describe certain aspects of the prophetic
character, they are destitute of any solid etymo-
logical basis. It is now generally agreed among
Hebrew scholars, that the word comes from 823,

INTRODUCTORY LECTURE.

which is not used in any of the forms of the “eer. 1

active voice, but in the Arabic and Ethiopic
dialects signifies to speak, announce, indicate ;
and, in the former, specially to announce the
will of God. It is closely related to another
verb, p23, which differs from it only in a single
letter of the same class, the signification of which
is to boil up as a spring, to pour forth copiously,
to give copious utterance in words. In the
passive and reflexive forms the verb obviously
conveys the idea of the delivery of a communi-
cation by one who is the subject of foreign in-
fluence—one who is acted upon by another of
whose will he is the interpreter, or organ of
revelation.* On comparing all the passages of
the Old Testament in which the word occurs,
and combining in natural order the different
ideas which they most readily suggest, the fol-
lowing appear to be the acceptations in which it
is used by the sacred writers.

First, it designates a person to whom God has
revealed himself in an extraordinary or miracu-
lous manner, and who, in consequence, is on
terms of immediate and intimate intercourse
with him—one for whom the Deity has a special

* See Winer’s Edit. of Simonis Heb. Lexicon, and Ge-
senii Lexicon Manuale in voce. S23 and S°23. F. Ὁ. Dresde
de notione prophet in Cod. Sac. Viteb. 1788. J. F. Reh-
kopff de vate Scripture, Helmst. 1788, 4to. J. C. Kallii
Dissertt. de voce N°23, Havn. 1741, 4to. H. Witsii Mis-
cell. Sacra. lib. i. cap. 1.

INTRODUCTORY LECTURE.

tect. regard, and to whose influence in procuring the

Divine favour great importance is to be attached.
This acceptation presents itself Gen. xx. 7, the
first time the word occurs, where God declares
to Abimelech respecting Abraham, S97 82),
“δ is a PROPHET, and he shall pray for thee,
and thou shalt live.” In the same sense it is
used of Moses, Deut. xxxiv. |0—12, and of the
patriarchs generally, Ps. cv. 15.

Secondly, it is employed to denote one who
announces or publishes the matters which Jeho-
vah has revealed to him, and who, in doing so,
speaks under the impulse of Divine inspiration.
Such, indeed, is the notion which ordinarily at-
taches to the term.* Those who in this sense
were prophets, not only had revelations of the
Divine will made to them, but they were com-
missioned to communicate them in the name of
God to others. ‘The same view is suggested by
the application of the name to Aaron, Exod.
vii. 1: * And the Lord said unto Moses, See,
I have made thee a god to Pharaoh; and Aaron
thy brother shall be thy prophet.” He was to
receive the messages from Moses, and deliver
them to the Egyptian monarch. Hence the
term came to be given, by way of eminence, to
the order of men raised up under the Jewish
economy for the purpose of imparting such re-
ligious instructions as they had derived imme-
diately from God, and who acted officially in the

* Stillingfleet, Orig. Sac. book ii. ch. 5. § 4.

INTRODUCTORY LECTURE.

capacity of infallible religious teachers in the Lecr. 1

ancient Church. And in the quotations made
in the New Testament from the Old, those are
comprehended under the title, who, though not
belonging to the prophetical order, were never-
theless favoured with Divine revelations, which
they published for the benefit of others. Thus
David, who was not a prophet in the official
sense of the term, is nevertheless called by that
name, Acts u. 30.

Thirdly, the word is used of those who, under
the influence of Divine inspiration, gave ex-
pression in a lofty, energetic, and poetic style,
to the truths with which they were inspired, or
to certain truths respecting God and divine
things, which they were supernaturally excited
to rehearse. It appears to be employed in this
sense in reference to the seventy men of the
elders of Israel, who were selected to assist
Moses in the discharge of his official duties, of
whom it is said ‘ that, when the Spirit rested on
them, they prophesied and ceased not ;” with
respect to which exhibition, as continued in the
camp by Eldad and Medad, Moses disinterestedly
exclaimed, ‘‘ Would to God that all the Lord’s
people were prophets, and that the Lord would
put his spirit upon them!” (Num. xi. 29.) In this
sense Miriam is called a prophetess, because she
was inspired to lead the female choir by which
the discomfiture of the Egyptians was celebrated,
(Exod. xv. 20, 21.); and the choirs of prophets

LECT. I.

Revelation.

INTRODUCTORY LECTURE.

mentioned | Sam. x. 5, 10O—15, to which Saul
jomed himself, and in whose exercises he par-
ticipated, seem to have been similarly occupied.
To this species of prophesying must also be re-
ferred the song of Zechariah, Luke i.

Fourthly, the word prophecy is also sometimes
taken in the stricter sense of foretelling future
events, in which case those of whom it is predi-
cated had these events revealed to them with
the express command to make them known to
others ; respecting which Amos writes—‘“ Surely
“‘ the Lord God will do nothing ; but he revealeth
** his secret unto his servants the prophets. The
‘“‘lion hath roared, who will not fear? The
“Lord God hath spoken, who can but pro-
“* phesy ?” (iii. 7, 8.)

Of most of these acceptations of this aug
ant term, and certain minor modifications of it,
examples occur in the New Testament; but it
would be improper to anticipate in this place
what belongs to the χαρίσματα conferred upon
the Apostolic Church, a particular examination
of which will occupy our attention in a future
lecture. What has been adduced is sufficient to
show that the state of the persons who are called
prophets, or who are spoken of as having pro-
phesied, was of an extraordinary character, and
that, in most cases, they were inspired inter-
preters of the Divine will.

To express the supernatural impartation of
truth to the mind, the terms Revelation, 7:,

INTRODUCTORY LECTURE. 31

ἀποκάλυψις, are employed—the last of which 8c. 1
Jerome asserts is not to be found within the
compass of ancient pagan literature, but was
,comed by the LXX., in order to express the
force of the corresponding term in Hebrew.*
_ It properly signifies the rolling back of a veil,
or such a removal of it from any cbject before
which it has hung, that it shall no longer inter-
vene between that object and the subject of
vision, to prevent his contemplation of it.
Though the verb ma, ἀποκαλύπτειν, to reveal,
is frequently followed by the things said to be
revealed, it is evident we are not to conceive of
any effect being produced upon them by the act
of revelation. Truth, like its great Author, is
immutable; it consists of pure celestial light,
and, like that of the sun, is itself equally un-
affected by the existence or by the removal of
any obstructions which may intercept its com-
munication. Whatever change took place in
man, and was the result of a Divine influence,
directly and immediately operating upon his
mind so as to turn his attention to the objects of
revelation, gave him such a perception of them
as was requisite to secure their definite pre-
sentation to others in the forms either of ordi-
nary or prophetic language, and was accompanied
with overpowering, perceptible evidence, that
what had thus been acquired was really com-
municated from heaven. It is on this principle
* Morren’s Biblical Theology, vol. i. p. 180.

32 INTRODUCTORY LECTURE.

LECT. 1. we are to account for and interpret such meta-
phorical phrases as uncovering the ears or the
eyes of any one. Thus 1 Sam. ix. 15; 2 Sam,
vil. 27: ‘“* For thou, O Lord God of hosts; «
God of Israel, hast revealed to thy servant,”
Jay pos moda: lit.—hast wecovered the ear
of thy servant, 7. 6. caused him to perceive, or
opened his mind, and thus imparted to him the
knowledge of thy kind and gracious purpose.
In like manner it is said, that the Lord opened,
753, uncovered or unveiled, the eyes of Balaam,
Num. xxii. 31; and that infatuated prophet,
describing his state as the recipient of Divine
revelations, speaks of himself as “the man

may, the man of

unveiled eyes, i.e. he, from whose mind the veil

whose eyes are open ;”

had been removed, which naturally hides from
mortals the purposes and future operations of
Jehovah. (Num. xxiv. 3, 16.) For this reason
supernatural discoveries of truth are designated
revelations, 1 /Cor. xiv. ὁ: 26°; 2) Corsi eee
Gal. 1.12; 1.2; Eph. iii. 3; Rev. i. 1; and of
the glorious Author of these communications it
is said, “ He giveth wisdom to the wise, and
“knowledge to them that know understanding.
“* He revealeth the deep and secret things ; he
* knoweth what is in the darkness, and the light
“ dwelleth with him.” Dan. ii. 21, 22.

Other terms and phrases, such as—‘‘ Thus
saith the Lord :” ‘the Lord spake ;” ‘the Lord
commanded ;” ‘ the word of the Lord came ;”

INTRODUCTORY LECTURE.

“the Lord appeared;” “the Lord revealed cect...

himself ;” ‘ the Lord showed me ;” ‘ the Spirit
speaketh,” &c.; are all more or less expressive of
the different ways in which the Divine will has
been revealed to mankind. In general, it may
be observed of them in this place, that they most
explicitly assert the fact, that extraordinary Divine
communications were made to men under the
circumstances. described in the sacred narra-
tive ; and it would be contrary to all the laws of
sound exegesis to interpret such phraseology
either of mere natural events, of self-cogitation
on the part of those who are stated to have been
the subjects of them, or of feigned intercourse
with heaven. ‘To these hypotheses, as well as to
some others of a similar description, recourse has
been had both by those who deny that any super-
natural interference has ever taken place on the
part. of the Deity for the instruction of the hu-
man family ; and by those who profess in general
terms to admit such interference, but whose
views, as developed in their exposition of par-
ticular cases, evince that they have no definite or
fixed belief in its reality. Of the two classes of
persons, the former is certainly the more con-
sistent ; for to allow that the Scriptures contain
a Divine revelation, and yet, in endeavouring to
account for the peculiar phenomena connected
with individual instances in which this revelation
is asserted to have been made, to explain. them
away, or so to lower them as to bring them
D

INTRODUCTORY LECTURE.

Lect.1. within the range of events—remarkable, indeed,

in their character, but not beyond the power of
natural causation, is to demolish with the one
hand what they build with the other; and it
would be acting a much more honourable, as
well as a more consistent part, to reject the
Scriptures altogether,’ and constitute the pure
dictates of human reason, if such could be ascer-
tained, the only standard of belief and practice.

It would seem absolutely impossible for any
person who should peruse the Bible for the first
time, and who should put upon its language
such a construction as he would upon the lan-
guage of any other book composed about the
same time, and by persons circumstanced as the
sacred writers profess to have been, to arrive at
any other conclusion than that of a real celestial
interposition having taken place in all those
instances in which the Deity is said to have
spoken, or to have revealed himself to certain
persons specifically mentioned in the narrative.
Such, in point of fact, is the construction univer-
sally put upon the language, not only by plain
and ordinary readers, but also by persons of cul-
tivated minds, who come to the perusal of the
Scriptures unbiassed by hypothetical reasonings;
and it must be obvious that, if such be not the
doctrine which these writings were designed to
teach, no language could have been adopted that
was more likely to lead mankind into error than
that which is there employed.

INTRODUCTORY LECTURE.

The agent by whom, according to the express tecr.1.

statements of revelation, the influence in question Mspiring

was exerted, is the Hoty Spirit, or that distinct
personal Subsistent, of whom Divine names, pro-
perties, and acts are predicated, and who, in
conjunction with the Father and the Son, consti-
tutes the one only God. The propriety of the
name Πνεῦμα, thus given to him, does not appear
to be founded on any spiration, emission, or
breathing, as an internal personal characteristic,
descriptive of the mode in which it has been
asserted the Divine nature was communicated to
him by the Father and the Son.* The only
passage of Scripture to which an appeal has been
made in favour of this hypothesis is John xv. 26,
where our Lord promises, ‘‘ when the Comforter
“is come, whom I will send unto you from the
** Father, even the Spirit of truth, which pro-
*ceedeth from the Father, he shall testify of
“me,” but in which no mind, uninfluenced by a
speculative bias, or unaccustomed to scholastic
or philosophical distinctions, could ever have
discovered any reference to an immanent act in
the nature of Deity ; since the subject spoken of
is the coming forth of the Holy Spirit, in the
exercise of the functions ascribed to him in the
economy of redemption, which was to take
place after the ascension of Christ to glory.
Indeed, this view of the passage is now adopted
by all interpreters of Scripture of any note.

* See Note C.
p 2

agent.

INTRODUCTORY LECTURE.

tect. τ. But though the etymological import of the term

Spirit, as applied to the Third Person of the
Trinity, cannot be pressed into the service of
metaphysical divinity, it would be unfair to con-
clude that no use whatever is to be made of it,
or that the word itself is entirely destitute of
force as applied to this Divine Person. That it
is not given to him simply to denote his pure
immateriality, seems evident from the conside-
ration that, however it might thus serve to dis-
tinguish him from the Son, who united the
humanity to his eternal spiritual nature (πνεῦμα
aiwviov, Heb. ix. 14,) it would not distinguish
him from the Father, whose spirituality is equally
absolute with that possessed by the Holy Ghost.
It can only, therefore, be applied to him in this
appropriate personal sense in reference to his
operations, which, as it regards both the natural
and the spiritual world, are compared to those
carried on by means of the wind acting upon the
bodies with which it is brought into contact.
“The Spirit of God moved upon the face of
the waters.” ‘ The wind bloweth where it
“ listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof,
“but canst not tell whence it cometh, and
“‘ whither it goeth: so is every one that is born
“οὗ the Spirit.” (Gen. i. 2; John iii. 8.) He is
the Author of all vivifying, purifying, and enlight-
ening influences ; and, specially with respect to
our present subject, by his inspiration, or Divine
inbreathing, were the prophets and apostles

INTRODUCTORY LECTURE.

qualified and enabled to communicate the mind of “cr. τ.

God to mankind. Hence the circumstance, to
which sufficient attention has not been paid, that,
im numerous passages of the New Testament the
term Spirit is by metonymy applied to his agency,
or to the effects which resulted from that agency,
as made to bear upon the extraordinary qualifi-
cation of the first teachers of the gospel.

On the subject of Divine Revelation in gene-
ral, and on that of the influence specially exerted
on the minds of those by whom the Scriptures
were penned, no small diversity of opinion has
obtained. ‘To those who repudiate the claims of
revelation altogether, are usually given the names
of Deists and Naturalists ; and to those who
profess to believe in the Divine authority of the
Bible, but explain away its miracles, prophecies,
inspiration, and all its peculiar doctrines—re-
ducing the whole to mere ordinary phenomena,
popular prejudice, prudent accommodation, or
philosophical hypothesis—is given that of Ration-
alists, which in reality differs from the former
designations only in so far as it points to human
reason, or, more properly speaking, individual
opinion, as the standard to which every thing
connected with religious belief is to be sub-
mitted. The Naturalists may be divided into
two classes—Deists, strictly so called, who avow
their belief in one extra-mundane spiritual prin-
ciple, from whose creative impulse the powers

Opposition
to the claims
of Revela-
tion.

INTRODUCTORY LECTURE.

uect.1. and laws of nature originally proceeded; and

Deists.

Materialists, or Pantheists, who place the pri-
mitive cause of things in corporeal substance,
or, carrying out and refining upon this principle,
consider the universe itself to be God.

Though some vague traces of Deism may be
discovered in opinions broached in the earlier
ages of the Church, it was not till the middle of
the sixteenth century that its principles were
openly avowed ;—first, by a number of persons
in France and Italy, who are supposed to have
assumed the name in order to prevent their
opposition to all religion from being branded
with the odious character of Atheism; and
afterwards by individuals in different countries of
Europe. Nowhere, however, did they obtain a
firmer footing than in this country, in which,
during the greater part of the two following
centuries, they were propagated with indefatigable
zeal, chiefly in the shape of attacks on the
Jewish and Christian Scriptures, but partly also
in specious attempts to recommend the sufh-
ciency of the light of nature. By the great
leader of the party, Lord Herbert of Cherbury,
Deism was first formed into a system; and a
few fundamental articles were selected as com-
prehending the whole of religion, to the entire
exclusion of extraordinary manifestations of the
Divine will, which he considered to be alto-
gether unnecessary. Hobbes, Blount, Shaftes-
bury, Collins, Woolston, Tindal, Morgan, Chubb,

INTRODUCTORY LECTURE.

Bolingbroke, and Hume, successively appeared _L£cr. 1.

as the antagonists of revelation, and attempted,
with a degree of acuteness, learning, and elo-
quence, which was only equalled by consummate
cunning and sophistry, to invalidate its evidences,
expose its doctrines, impugn its morality, and
supersede its necessity. Yet, met as they were
by Baxter, Halyburton, Clarke, Jones, Lardner,
the Chandlers, Sherlock, Chapman, Doddridge,
Butler, Campbell, and numerous other able
apologists of Christianity, the mfluence of their
writings was greatly checked ; and till the period
of the French Revolution, little was done to
revive the controversy. Nor are the efforts that
have since been employed of a character calcu-
lated to produce any effect on men of enlightened
and reflecting minds. They can only prove
dangerous to those whose means of information
are scanty, or who have an awful interest to serve
by succumbing to the principles of infidelity.
The result of the contest was very different
on the continent, especially in Germany. Not
only were some of our principal Deistical works
translated into the language of that country at
the time, without any thing of a counteractive
tendency sufficiently powerful making its appear-
ance; but the materials which they furnished
have been the stores whence most of the modern
means of attack on revelation have been sup-
plied. Many of them, indeed, have been mo-
delled into new forms, according to the various

40 INTRODUCTORY LECTURE.

tect. systems of philosophy which have prevailed ;
but notwithstanding the strange metamorphoses
of transcendentalism through which they have
passed, they still retain a distinctness of features
that sufficiently connects them with the family
from which they sprang. Some of the strongest x
arguments that have been employed by Bahrdt,
Teller, Loffler, Reimar, Paulus, Wegscheider,
and Rohr, are to be found in the writings of our
English Deists. It was from our native shores
that the noxious breath of infidelity was wafted
across the sea to empoison the atmosphere of
German theology; so that to whatever extent
that theology has become impregnated with its

pestiferous qualities, and how loud soever we
may be in our condemnation of its influence,
we must not forget that British infidels are pri-
marily the subjects of inculpation.

:
f
|

uistoryor “The history of the dogma of Inspiration,
Rar viewed in its more restricted acceptation, as
applied to the Divine influence enjoyed by the
sacred writers, or the consequent authority
stamped upon the productions of their pens, is
of much wider extent, and far more fruitful in
scientific results. In the sketch with which it is
proposed to occupy the remainder of the. time
allotted to this Lecture, it is not our intention to
comprehend those views of the subject which
are furnished by the Scriptures themselves, as
the statements which they present, strictly belong

INTRODUCTORY LECTURE.

to the head of sacred proofs, which will come to
be considered on a future occasion. It will be
confined to the testimonies of men who lay no
claim to extraordinary supernatural influence, or
on whose behalf no such claim is advanced. In
conducting this inquiry, we shall first examine
the opinions held by the Jews, and then those
which have been broached by Christian writers.

The earliest recognition of the doctrine by
any uninspired Jewish writer is that found in
the book of Ecclesiasticus, written about 180
years B.c. Besides references throughout this
work to the revelations of the Divine will com-
mitted to the posterity of Abraham, there is a
distinct ascription of the gift of prophecy to
Moses, Joshua, Samuel, Nathan, Elijah, Isaiah,
and other messengers of God; and λόγια,
divine oracles, are particularly mentioned, ch.
Xxxvi. xlv. xlix.

In the writings of Philo, who flourished at
Alexandria in the time of Christ and his apo-
stles, the subject is repeatedly treated of, and a
decided opinion is expressed respecting the
degree of sacred influence which was exerted on
the penmen of Scripture, and the state of their
minds during the continuance of celestial com-
munications. That a writer so fertile in ima-
gination, so prone to allegorize, and so deeply
imbued with the Platonic philosophy, should at
times have expressed himself in terms which
imply a belief that others besides Moses and the

LECT. I.

Ecclesias-
ticus.

Philo.

INTRODUCTORY LECTURE.

tect. 1. prophets, himself not excluded, were the subjects

of Divine inspiration, cannot be deemed strange.
Similar language is frequently to be met with
in the earlier fathers. But that he drew a broad
line of distinction between the inspiration of
the former and that of the latter, is evident
from the paramount authority which he uniformly
ascribes to the sacred Scriptures, and the explicit
manner in which he points out the source whence
they emanated. In his book, “ De Vita Mosis,”
he divides inspiration into two species : ἑρμηνεία,
Interpretation, and προφητεία, Prophecy. Those
who enjoyed the former received immediately
from God either communications which were
totally unexpected on their part, or communi-
cations im answer to questions put in order to
obtain them. The latter he restricts to the
ability to predict future events, which he uncon-
ditionally attributes to Divine influence, and
considers those who were favoured with it to be
also imterpreters of the will of God, but sub-
ordinate or inferior to those who were such in a
pre-eminent sense. The prophetic state during
an illapse he thus describes: ‘* While our own
‘“‘imtellect shines with full effect, pouring into
“our whole soul a meridian splendour, and we
“‘ are in a state of self-possession, we are not the
‘subjects of inspiration; but in proportion as
“it disappears, a divine ecstasy and prophetic
*‘ phrensy falls upon us. For when the Divine
* light shines, the human sets; and when the

INTRODUCTORY LECTURE.

“former goes down, the latter rises. Thus it tecr. 1.

‘usually happens in prophecy. Our own in-
“ὁ tellect departs on the arrival of the Divine
« Spirit, and on his departure it again returns ;
“for it is not proper that the mortal and im-
Ὁ

“mortal should dwell together. On which
“account the disappearance of reason, and the
“ς darkness which surrounds it, is followed by an
“ ecstasy and divine fury.”* From this passage
it clearly appears that Philo regarded the abso-
lute cessation of mental activity on the part of
the persons inspired as indispensable to their
reception of supernatural influence. The samie
principle is repeatedly advanced when prophecy
is the subject of discourse, but nowhere more
explicitly than in his Third Book de Specialibus
Legibus: ‘‘ For a prophet,” he says, “" 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,

Ἕως μὲν οὖν ἔτι περιλάμπει καὶ περιπολεῖ ἡμῶν ὁ νοῦς,
μεσημβρινὸν οἷα φέγγος εἰς πᾶσαν τὴν ψυχὴν ἀναχέων, ἐν
ἑαυτοῖς ὄντες, οὗ κατεχόμεθα" ἐπειδὰν δὲ πρὸς δυσμὰς γένηται,
κατὰ τὸ εἰκὸς ἔκστασις ἡ ἔνθεος ἐπιπίπτει, κατοχωτική TE καὶ
μανία. Ὅτε μὲν γὰρ φῶς ἐπιλάμψει τὸ θεῖον, δύεται τὸ ἀνθρώ-
πινον, ὅτε δ᾽ ἐκεῖνο δύει, τοῦτ᾽ ἀνίσχει καὶ ἀνατέλλει. Τῷ δὲ
προφητικῷ γένει φιλεῖ τοῦτο συμβαίνειν" ἐξοικίζεται μὲν γὰρ ἐν
ἡμῖν ὁ νοῦς, κατὰ τὴν τοῦ θείου πνεύματος ἄφιξιν, κατὰ δὲ τὴν
μετανάστασιν αὐτοῦ, πάλιν εἰσοικίζεται. Θέμις γὰρ οὐκ ἔστι
θνητὸν ἀθανάτῳ συνοικῆσαι" διὰ τοῦτο ἡ δύσις τοῦ λογισμοῦ καὶ
τὸ περὶ αὐτὸν σκότος, ἔκστασιν καὶ θεοφύρητον μανίαν ἐγένησε.----

Quis Rerum Divinarum Heres. Edit. Mangeti, Tom.i. p.511-

INTRODUCTORY LECTURE.

tect. 1. “ he is in a state of ignorance (or mental alien-

*‘ ation) ; 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.” *

To Moses the highest place is assigned by
Philo, who not only designates him a Prophet t
and a Hierophant,t but “ the most eminent of
prophets,”§ and makes the prophetic spirit with
which he was endowed the standard to which
that of all other prophets was to be referred.
His books he calls ‘‘ the prophetic word,” ||
“sacred books,” ‘‘ oracles,” ** and scarcely ever
cites them without introducing his quotations by
the use of the most exalted terms. He likewise
mentions most of the other sacred writers in
language which indicates his perfect conviction
of their having enjoyed a special Divine in-
spiration.

Entertaining such ultra views on the nature of
inspiration, it cannot occasion surprise that he

* TIpopijrne τε μὲν γὰρ οὐδὲν ἴδιον ἀποφαίνεται τὸ παράπαν,
ἀλλ᾽ ἔστιν ἐρμηνεὺς, ὑποβάλλοντος ἑτέρου πανθ᾽ ὅσα προφέρει,
καὶ καθ᾽ ὃν χρόνον ἐνθουσιᾷ γεγονὼς ἐν ἀγνοία, μετανισταμένου
μὲν τοῦ λογισμοῦ, καὶ παρακεχωρηκότος τὴν τῆς ψυχῆς ἀκροπόλιν"
ἐπιπεφοιτηκότος δὲ καὶ ἐνοικηκότος τοῦ θείου πνεύματος, καὶ
πᾶσαν τῆς φωνῆς ὀργανοποιΐαν κρούοντος, καὶ ἐνηχοῦντος εἰς
ἐναργῆ ζήλωσιν ὧν προθεσπίζει.--- Tom. ii. p. 343.

+ Προφήτης. { Ἱεροφάντης-

§ Δοκιμώτατος τῶν προφητῶν. || Προφητικὸς λογύς.

4] ‘Lepat βίβλοι. ** Χρήσμοι.

INTRODUCTORY LECTURE. 45

should eagerly have adopted the fable of Aristeas, Lect. 1.
and ascribed to the Seventy Greek translators

the same supernatural influence which he does

to the original writers, or that he should lay

great stress on the selection and collocation of

the Greek words, and even the etymologies of
Greek words, between which and the Hebrew

he could trace any resemblance. He evidently

held the universal verbal inspiration of Scripture

in the strictest sense of the term.

Though the dogma is nowhere expressly Josephus.
treated of by Josephus, yet his works contain
numerous recognitions of his belief, and that of
his nation, in the fact, that their sacred books
were not of human invention, but the result of
express communications on the part of the
Deity. That Moses enjoyed immediate inter-
course with heaven is implied in phraseology
occurring on almost every page, which describes
him as holding a Divine commission,* receiving
Divine commands,t acting by Divine authority, 1
favoured with Divine manifestations,§ and en-
dowed by God with the gift of predicting future
events.|| The laws which he ordained were of
Divine dictation. What he inculcated he was

* Πεμφθεὶς ὑπ᾽ éuod.—Antigq. Jud. lib. ii. cap. xii. 3,

+ Θεοῦ rpooraypara.—Cap. xiii. 4.

1 Θεοῦ KeXevoavroc.—Cap. xv. 3.

ὃ Ὁρῶν τὴν ἐπιφάνειαν τοῦ Ocov.—Cap. xvi. 2.

|| Δηλοῖ δὲ ἔν τῷ ἱερῷ ἀνακειμένη γραφὴ τὸν Θεὸν Μωύσῃ
mpoeuretvy.— Lib. iii. cap. i. 7.

4 Κατὰ τὴν ὑπαγόρευσιν τοῦ Θεοῦ cvverarrero.—Cap. viii. 8.

INTRODUCTORY LECTURE.

tect. τ. himself taught by God,* and the whole Jewish

Talmud.

constitution of which he was the administrator,
and which he consigned to writing, he received
by Divine communications at Simai.t The
sacred books of the Jews, which he enumerates,
he declares to be justly believed to be divine,t
and accounts for the discontinuance of inspired
communications by the circumstance, that, after
the reign of Artaxerxes, there existed no pro-
phets who could regularly establish their claim
to a Divine commission. He adds, that it was,
so to speak, an innate principle with all the Jews
to regard the contents of these books as in-

structions from God,§ to which they adhered ;

with constancy, and for which, if required, they
would willingly lay down their life.

From the professed respect which the later
Jews have uniformly manifested for the sacred
books of the Old Testament, it might be ex-
pected that the subject would be fully discussed
in the Talmud; but the ponderous load of tra-
ditionary rules and precepts with which that
immense work is charged, has left little or no
room for the introduction of this or similar
topics. At the same time occasional hints are
dropped, or general statements are made, from

* ᾽Ανεμάνθανε παρὰ τοῦ Ocov.—Antiq. Jud. lib. iii. cap. 12.

+ ‘Ekéuabe παρὰ τοῦ Θεοῦ, καὶ τοῖς “Ἑβραίοις γεγραμμένην
παραδίδωσιν .----( ἀρ. xii. 3.

Τ Τὰ δικαίως θεῖα rexcorevpéva.—Contra Apion. lib. i. 8.

§ Θεοῦ ddypara.—lbid.

INTRODUCTORY LECTURE.

which we may fairly infer what were the opinions
of the writers. Thus, when they assert, that of
five things in which the second temple was de-
ficient, one was wp nn, the Holy Spirit,*
it is clearly implied that the nation formerly
enjoyed the benefit of that divine influence.
They, in fact, vindicate this influence to the
writers of the Old Testament, by declaring, that,
when the last of the prophets, Haggai, Zecha-
riah, and Malachi, died, the Holy: Spirit was
taken away from Israel.t That they believed
in absolute verbal inspiration appears from a
passage in the Gemara on the Treatise San-
hedrin, in which they scruple not to denounce
the loss of paradise against any who should be
of a different opinion. ἢ

By no Jewish writer has Inspiration been
treated of to a greater extent than by the cele-
brated Rambam, or Moses Maimonides. This
author, who was of an illustrious family at Cor-
dova in Spain, flourished in Egypt in the latter
half of the twelfth century, and distinguished
himself by his proficiency in all kinds of sacred
and profane learning. Both in his work en-
titled Moreh Nevochim, which he composed for

* Sow wiped PWS ὩΣ 3 yaw ὈΞῪ mwa Ids
wap ΓΤ ἢ ΤΣ 9. WS O21 AHS) PHS ἹΠ ἽΝ
sown) ὈΣ ΠἸΝῚ---Οοἀα. Ioma, fol. 21. 6.

+ Phos YNd MATT AT IIMS DDD Tnawn
: ὈΝ wap mn—Rab. Azariah in lib. Imre binah.

t Tollner’s géttliche Eingebung der heligen Schrift,
p. 21.

LECT. I.

Maimonides.

INTRODUCTORY LECTURE.

tect.1.° the purpose of reconciling the doctrines and

institutions of the Hebrew Scriptures with the
principles of human philosophy, and in his Yad
Hahhazakah, he expatiates at some length on
the topic. According to the system which he
lays down, there were, properly speaking, two
degrees of inspiration—the Gradus Mosaicus,
which was the highest and most perfect, and
consisted in a direct divine illumination of the
intellect without the intervention of angelic
agency, or the influence of the imaginative
faculty ; and the other, the Gradus Propheticus,
which he divides into the following subordinate
degrees. 1. The illapse of the Spirit of power,
as in the case of the Judges, who were thereby
qualified to perform supernatural deeds. 2. The
assistance afforded to some of the sacred writers
and others, by which they were enabled, in a
calm and serene state of mind, to compose
psalms, moral precepts, and matters of a poli-
tical and ecclesiastical character. 3. The pre-
sentation of parabolic visions and their imter-
pretation to the mind of a prophet in dreams.
4. The production of a prophetic dream, strictly
so called, in which the person inspired distinctly
heard a voice, but did not perceive the speaker.
5. The appearance of a human being, who con-
versed with a prophet in a dream, as Ezek.
xl. 4,6. 6. Angelic communications in a dream.
7. The appearance of Jehovah himself in a
dream. 8. The impartation of prophetic matter

INTRODUCTORY LECTURE.

during a vision. 9. The production of an tzcr.1.

audible voice on such an occasion. 10. Sensible
converse on the part of a divine messenger
with the recipient, while in a prophetic day-
dream. 11. Angelic converse in a waking
state.*

The second of these subdivisions coincides
with what the Jews usually characterise by the
name of wnpm mn, the Holy Spirit, by which
they understand a supernatural influence exerted
upon persons, exciting and enabling them to
discourse or write on various topics in a strain
in which they would not have done, had they
been left to their own native ability. The-very
terms in which they expressed themselves were
essentially different from any to which they had
been accustomed, or such as they had not ac-
quired in an ordinary way. To this degree of
inspiration Maimonides expressly refers the com-
position of the Psalms by David, the Proverbs,
Ecclesiastes, and the Song of Solomon, the books
of Daniel, Job, the Chronicles, and the rest of
the Hagiographa; and accounts for their re-
ceiving this designation from the fact, that they
were written by the Holy Spirit.t

Between Moses, who enjoyed the supreme
degree of supernatural influence, and inferior

* ps2) ΓΤ. Edit. Buxtorf. Pars II. cap. xlv. p. 315.
Basil. 1629. Carpzovii Introd. ad Libros Canon. Bibl.
V. T. iii. p. 14.

t Ut sup. p. 319.

50 INTRODUCTORY LECTURE.

amu prophets, the Rabbi thus distinguishes :—-Moses
received all his revelations in a waking state,
whereas they received theirs in dreams and vi-
sions. His were derived immediately from God
himself: theirs were received through the minis-
try of angels. The communications with which
he was favoured produced no perturbation or
astonishment in his mind: the prophets were
the subjects of fear and agitation. With him the
gift of prophecy was permanent, so that he could,
without preparation, exercise it whenever he
chose; but in them it was only occasional, and-
required certain predispositions of mind.*
Modifications of these views are found in the
works of Albo, Nachman, Abarbanel, Kimchi,
and other Rabbins ;+ but how much soever they
may differ from Maimonides, and from each
other, on minor points connected with the doc-
trine, they are unanimous in attributing infal-
lible divine influence to the writers of the
Hebrew Scriptures.

Passing on to the christian writers by whom
the dogma is recognised, it may be proper to
repeat the remark which we made when advert-
ing to the sentiments of Philo, that, while some
of them may occasionally speak of themselves
as the subjects of inspiration, it is nevertheless

* Bernard’s Main Principles of the Creed and Ethies of

the Jews, pp. 116—118. London, 1832.
+ Smith’s Select Discourses, p. 247, &e. London. 1831.

INTRODUCTORY LECTURE. ol

evident they never meant to be understood as _LEcT. 1
placing themselves on a level with the sacred
penmen. All they intended by the expression
was, the gracious instruction and direction,
which, according to the Scriptures, every one is
warranted to expect, who sincerely and humbly
applies to God for the guidance of his Holy
Spirit. To this remark there is one exception
in the case of Hermas, one of the Apostolical
Fathers, who, in his “ Pastor,” pretends to have
been favoured with visions and angelic reve-
lations, and speaks of inspiration with a degree
of familiarity which sufficiently indicates the
entire absence of the quality to which he lays
claim. !

In the Epistles of Barnabas and Clement of ἀρυβιοιίοαι
Rome, the contents of Scripture are introduced
by the formulas—‘The Lord saith,” ‘ God
saith,” ‘* Thus saith the Holy Spirit.”* The
latter calls the Scriptures, ‘the holy oracles of
God,” and exhorts the Corinthians to study them,
in language which unequivocally evinces his con-
viction of their inspiration: ‘Look unto the
“holy Scriptures, which are the frue words of
“ the Holy Ghost. Ye know that nothing unjust

* Barnabas further expresses his belief in the inspiration
of the sacred writers by such declarations as the following :—
λέγει εἰς THY καρδίαν Μωσῇ τὸ πνεῦμα ;---ἔλαβε Tapa κυρίου τὰς
δύο πλάκας γεγραμμένας τῷ δακτύλῳ τῆς χειρὸς κυρίου ἐν
πνεύματι ;---γέγραπται γὰρ, πῶς αὐτῷ ὁ πατὴρ ἐντέλλεται;----

ἐφ᾽ ove τὸ πνεῦμα ἠτοίμασε.----Ἐ410. Cotel. vol. i. pp. 39, 42,
43, 52.

E 2

INTRODUCTORY LECTURE.

LECT- 1. ** or counterfeit is written in them.” * And re-

Justin
Martyr.

minding them of what Paul had addressed to
them in his first Epistle, he writes: ‘Take into
*‘ your hands the Epistle of the blessed Apostle
** Paul. What did he write to you at the begin-
“ning of the gospel? Assuredly what he wrote
“to you was by the Spirit.’+ In his Epistle
to the Magnesians, Ignatius, speaking of the holy
prophets, declares that they were inspired by the
grace of Christ fully to convince unbelievers of
the unity of God.t

The view taken of the subject by Justin’
Martyr is sufficiently evident from the two pa-
rallel passages in his first Apology, in which,
when affirming that the Christians worshipped
the Father, the Son, and the Spirit, he repre-
sents the Third Person as the author of that
divine imfluence which the prophets enjoyed.
His words are, “ We also worship the Prophetic
Spirit.”§ Ἠδ declares that “there were among
“the Jews certain men, who were prophets of
“ God, by whom the Prophetic Spirit proclaimed
‘* future events before they came to pass :” and in

, ) ‘ ‘ ‘ ~
* "Bykbrrere εἰς τὰς γραφὰς, τὰς ἀληθεῖς (ῥήσεις) πνεύ-
- ΄ Ὕ φ' ὌΝ i> *>
ματος τοῦ ἁγίου. ᾿Επίστασθε ὅτι οὐδὲν ἄδικον οὐδὲ παραπεποιη-

μένον γέγραπται ἔν avraic.—Cotel. vol. i. Ρ. 174.

—— én’ ἀληθείας πνευματικῶς ἐπέστειλεν ὑμῖν.---- 914.
n μ μ
p. 175.
Ἵ —— ἐμπνεόμενοι ὑπὸ τῆς χάριτος αὑτοῦ εἰς τὸ πληρο-

φορηθῆναι τοὺς ameWovvrac.—Cap. viii.
§ [lvevpa τε τὸ προφητικὸν σεβόμεθα καὶ tpvoxvvovpev.—Apol.
ii. Ρ. δ6. [ υἱοί. Paris, 1615.

INTRODUCTORY LECTURE.

almost every chapter the same epithet is em- Lect. 1.

ployed. Of Isaiah he expressly affirms, that he
was inspired “by the spirit of prophecy ;” and
shortly after adds—‘ Now when ye hear the say-
‘‘ ings of the prophets read, imagine not that they
“are spoken by the inspired writers themselves,
** but by the Divine Word, who moved them ;”*
which latter statement may be reconciled with
the former on the principle suggested by Bishop
Kaye, that the Logos was regarded as the con-
ductor of the economy of Divine grace from the
beginning, though the Holy Spirit was the imme-
diate agent. If the hortatory address to the
Greeks was really written by Justin, which is
questioned, however, by the learned prelate just
referred to, Du Pin, and others, we have from
his pen a description of the organic nature of
inspiration, which would seem to have served as
a model according to which the phraseology of
many later writers was formed. ‘ It was only
*‘ necessary,” he says, ‘‘for the prophets to sur-
*‘ render themselves entirely to the operation of
* the Divine Spirit ; that the divine plectrum de-
*scending from heaven, and using the instru-
“mentality of just men, as of a harp or lyre,
“should reveal to us the knowledge of divine
“and heavenly things.”t Similar language is

* Ὅταν δὲ rac λέξεις τῶν προφήτων λεγομένας ὡς ἀπὸ προ-
σώπου ἀκούητε, μὴ ἀπ᾽ αὐτῶν τῶν ἐμπνευσμένων λέγεσθαι νομί-
σητε, ἀλλ᾽ ἀπὸ τοῦ κινοῦντος αὐτοὺς θείου λόγου ---ΤὈ] 4. p. 76.

+ ——— ἀλλὰ καθαροὶς ἑαυτοὶς τῇ τοῦ θείου πνεύματος

δά

LECT. I.

Ireneus, &c.

INTRODUCTORY LECTURE.

employed by Athenagoras, and Theophilus of
Antioch—the former of whom asserts respecting
the inspiration of the prophets, that the Spirit
from God moved their mouths, like instruments,
making use of them as a musician does of his flute.*
Nor can any language more powerfully express a
belief in the doctrine than that employed by the
last-mentioned writer: ‘The men of God,” he
writes, ‘actuated by the Holy Spirit, and pro-
“‘ phets being inspired and made wise by God
“‘ himself, became divinely taught, holy and right-
“ὁ eous, on which account they were deemed worthy
“ of this recompense—to be the organs of God ;
“ὁ and receiving wisdom from him, they spake by
“ὁ the same wisdom, both of what related to the
‘ creation of the world, and of all other things.”t

Irenzeus, who flourished about the same time
with the preceding writers, Tertullian, Dionysius,
and Clement of Alexandria, abound in state-
ments respecting the Holy Scriptures, which show

παρασχεῖν ἐνεργείᾳ, ἵν᾽ αὐτὸ τὸ θείου ἐξ οὐρανοῦ κατιὸν πλῆκτρον,
ὥσπερ ὀργάνῳ κιθάρας τινὸς ἢ λύρας, τοῖς δικαίοις ἀνδράσι
χρώμενον, τὴν τῶν θείων ἡμῖν καὶ οὐρανίων ἀποκαλύψῃ γνῶσιν.
—Ibid. p. 9. δ

Ὁ τῷ παρὰ τοῦ Θεοῦ πνεύματι, ὡς ὄργανα κεκινηκότι τὰ
τῶν προφητῶν ordpara.—Legatio, Ibid. App. p. 8.

oT; Oi δὲ τοῦ Θεοῦ ἄνθρωποι πνευματόφοροι πνεύματος ἁγίου,

\ os ͵ ΓΤ τ) > ~ ~ ~ , ΄
καὶ προφῆται γενόμενοι, ὑπ᾿ αὐτοῦ τοῦ Θεοῦ ἐμπνευσθέντες,

καὶ σοφισθέντες ἐγένοντο θεοδίδακτοι, καὶ ὅσιοι καὶ δικαίοι. διὸ καὶ
κατηξιώθησαν τὴν ἀντιμισθίαν ταύτην λαβεῖν, ὄργανα Θεοῦ
γενόμενοι, καὶ χωρίσαντες σοφίαν τὴν παρ᾽ αὐτοῦ, δι᾿ ἧς σοφίας
εἶπον καὶ τὰ περὶ τῆς κτίσεως τοῦ κόσμου, καὶ τῶν λοιπῶν ἁπάν-

των.---Τ 14. pp. 87, 88.

INTRODUCTORY LECTURE.

that they considered them to have been written tect. 1.

by special supernatural influence. And though
Tertullian imbibed the fanatical notions of Mon-
tanus, and occasionally makes use of unwarrant-
ably strong expressions respecting his own
possession of the Spirit, he always maintained
the paramount authority of the Bible as the word
of God.

Origen appears to have been the first of the
fathers who took a more minute and definite
view of the subject. This extraordinary man,
whose application to biblical study has never
been equalled in any age, was necessarily called,
in the course of his writings, to state without
reserve the light in which he regarded it. We
accordingly meet with it in many parts of his
works, especially in his Books against Celsus,
and in the chapter of the Philocalia, which is
headed—‘“ The Inspiration of the Divine Scrip-
tures.” He not only speaks of Moses and the
Jewish prophets having the Spirit of God, and of
its being a matter of belief with the Jews that
they spoke by his afflatus, but peintedly asserts,
that the same Spirit who taught- Moses the things
which had happened before his time, also taught
those who wrote the gospel; and, on this ac-
count, scruples not to call both the prophets and
apostles ‘‘ Divine men.”* He ascribes the lan-
guage of Isaiah to the Holy Spirit;t+ declares

* Contra Celsum, lib. i. p.33. Ed. Spenceri.
+ P. 42.

Origen

INTRODUCTORY LECTURE.

tect.1. that it is only necessary to peruse the writings

of the prophets to be persuaded that the Spirit
of God was in them;* maintains that the
apostles taught Christianity in virtue of a divine
power ;f and repeatedly extends inspiration in
express terms to the whole volume.t No per-
son, he affirms, can read it with diligent atten-
tion, without being himself in some degree
sensible of the inspiration which is inherent in
it, or feeling convinced that its contents are the
words of God, and not human compositions. ὃ
He contrasts the inspiration which the writers
enjoyed with the pretended afflatus of the hea-
then priests, and shows that they had nothing in
common. ||

That Origen was a believer in the verbal
inspiration of the Scriptures, is evident from two
passages in his Commentaries. In that on the
first Psalm, he expressly declares that the Holy
Spirit subjected the word to the most rigid trial,
when communicating it through those who were
selected to be its ministers, in order that we
might be convinced, by the analogy of the pro-
cess with that employed by a refiner in purifying
metals, that Divine inspiration was extended to
the minutest letter; to which he thinks our Lord
probably refers, when he says, ‘‘One jot or one
tittle shall in no wise pass from the law till all

* Contr. Cels. lib. viii. p. 409. + Lib. i. p. 48.

1 Philocal. cap. i. pp. 22, 23. § Ibid. p. 5.
|| Contra Celsum, lib. vii. p. 333.

INTRODUCTORY LECTURE.

be fulfilled.” (Matt. ν. 18.) He then institutes Lect. 1.

a comparison with the natural world, in which
small as well as great things are the result of the
Divine operations ; and concludes, that whatever
was written under an afflatus of the Spirit, was
inserted with a view to the salvation of men, and
that every letter contains a trace of wisdom
according to the capacity of the recipient.* In
his Thirty-ninth Homily on Jeremiah, he argues
from our being commanded to suffer no idle
word to proceed out of our mouth, and from the
use to be made of all kinds of herbs for medicinal
purposes, that a wonderful power attaches to
every word which proceeded from the mouths
of the prophets, and that there is not a jot, or the
smallest element of Scripture, which is destitute
of meaning.t The design of Origen in thus

\ » ’ ‘

* Ei δὲ τὰ λόγια κυρίου λόγια ἁγνὰ, ἀργύριον πεπυρωμένον,
δοκίμιον τῇ γῆ: κεκαθαρισμένον ἑπταπλασίως" καὶ μετὰ πάσης
> , ? ΄ XN. δε ~ « , Chee .
ἀκριβείας ἐξητασμένως τὸ ἅγιον πνεῦμα ὑποβέβληκεν αὐτὰ διὰ
τῶν ὑπηρετῶν τοῦ λόγου, μή ποτε καὶ ἡμᾶς διαφεύγε ἡ ἀναλογία,
καθ᾽ ἣν ἐπὶ πᾶσαν ἔφθασε γραφὴν ἡ σοφία τοῦ Θεοῦ θεόπνευστον

- Ἵ ‘ ef
μέχρι τοῦ τυχόντος γράμματος.--Ὅν τρόπον γὰρ .. - « «οὕτως
ἡμεῖς ὑπολαμβανόμεν περὶ πάντων τῶν ἐξ ἐπιπνοίας τοῦ ἁγίου
πνεύματος ἀναγεγραμμένων, ὡς τῆς ἐπιδιδούσης τὴν ὑπὲρ ἄνθρω-
mov σοφίαν ἱερᾶς προνοίας διὰ τῶν γραμμάτων τῷ γένει τῶν
ἰνθρώπων λόγια σωτήρια, ἐνεσπαρκύιας, ὡς ἔστιν εἰπεῖν, ἑκάστῳ

, ν» Ν > ὃ , ” ~ , Phil l
γράμματι κατὰ τὸ ἐνδεχόμενον ἴχνη τῆς sopiac.—Philocal.
cap. ii. p. 29.

j \ > \ " ~ ε- ν , ΄ινν

+ —— καὶ οὐ θαυμαστὸν εἰ πᾶν ῥῆμα τὸ λαλούμενον ὑπο

~ ~ 3 ’ "» \ , es e > ‘ ‘
τῶν προφητῶν εἰργάζετο ἔργον τὸ πρέπον ῥήματι: ἀλλὰ γὰρ
τ - , -
οἶμαι ὅτι καὶ πᾶν θαυμάσιαν γράμμα τὸ γεγραμμένον ἐν τοῖς
λογίοις τοῦ θεοῦ ἐργάζεται, καὶ οὐκ ἔστιν ἰῶτα ἕν, ἢ μία κεραία
PY , ᾿

γεγραμμένη ἐν τῇ γραφὴ, ἥτις τοῖς ἐπισταμένοις χρῆσθαι τῇ

INTRODUCTORY LECTURE.

LECT. asserting a literal inspiration, obviously was to

lay more securely the foundations of the alle-
gorical system of interpretation, which he had
adopted from his predecessors in the Alexandrian
school. On no other principle did he imagine
it was possible to conciliate the good opinion of
philosophers, than that of attaching a spiritual
meaning to the minutest circumstance occurring
in the historical books of Scripture.

Though not canonized by the sainted fathers,
who succeeded him, many of them availed them-
selves of the materials for spiritualizing which
they found in the works of Origen ; and, with
scarcely any exception, they appear to have
approved of the extent to which he carried his
views of the doctrine before us. In the writings
of Athanasius, Eusebius,* Basil the Great, the
two Gregories, Jerome, Augustine, Chrysostom,
and others who flourished in the fourth century,

δυνάμει τῶν γραμμάτων οὐκ ἐργάζεται τὸ ἑαυτῆς ἔργον .---
Philocal. cap. i. p. 37.

* The testimony of Eusebius is too important to be
omitted here :—oi θεσπέσιοι καὶ ὡς ἀληθῶς θεοπρεπεῖς, φημὶ δὲ
τοῦ Χριστοῦ τοὺς ἀποστόλους, τὸν βιὸν ἄκρως κεκαθαρμένοι, καὶ
ἀρετῇ πάσῃ τὰς ψυχὰς κεκοσμημένοι, τὴν δὲ γλῶτταν ἰδιω-
τεύοντες, τῇ γε μὴν πρὸς τοῦ σωτῆρος αὐτοῖς ζεδωρημένῃ θεία καὶ
παραζοξοποιῷ δυνάμει θαρσοῦντες, τὸ μὲν ἐν περινοίᾳ καὶ τέχνῃ
λόγων τὰ τοῦ διδασκάλου μαθήματα πρεσβεύειν, οὔτε ἤδεσαν
οὔτε ἐνεχείρουν. Τῇ δὲ τοῦ Θείου πνεύματος τοῦ συνεργοῦντος
αὐτοῖς ἀποδείξει, καὶ τῇ δι αὐτῶν συντελουμένῃ θαυματουργῷ τοῦ
Χριστοῦ δυνάμει μόνῃ χρώμενοι, τῆς τῶν οὐρανῶν βασιλείας τὴν
γνῶσιν ἐπὶ πᾶσαν κατήγγελλον τὴν oixoupévny.— Eccles. Hist.

lib. iii, cap. xxiv.

INTRODUCTORY LECTURE.

numerous passages occur in which it is vindicated, tect. 1.

and placed in contrast with the notions which
prevailed on the subject of inspiration in the
pagan world. At the same time it cannot be
denied that passages are also to be met with,
especially in Augustine and Jerome, from which
it is evident there were occasions on which they
were compelled to modify their views. Thus
the former of these fathers accounts for the
variations which are found in many parts of
the Gospels on the principle that each writer
exercised his mental faculties, and presented his
own peculiar aspect of facts and circumstances ;
though, as they were all under the superintend-
ence of the Spirit, it was impossible that any
falsehood or error could be admitted into their
writings.* A similar statement was made at a
later period by Euthymius Zigabenus, in his
Commentary on the twelfth of Matthew; but
whether the opinion there expressed be his own,
or that of an earlier expositor, it is impossible
to determine.

It would be preposterous to expect opinions
on the subject to which any value could be
attached from the writers of the middle ages,
since they were accustomed to place human tra-
dition upon a level with the word of God, and
scrupled not to attribute to popes and councils
the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. It does not
even appear to have occupied their attention as

* De consensu Evangel. lib. 11. cap. 12.

LECT. I.

Lutheran
and Reform-
ed Divines-

INTRODUCTORY LECTURE.

a distinct topic of investigation; and such was
the neglect into which the Scriptures had fallen,
that when it happened to be adverted to, it was
only in the most incidental manner, and so as to
show that the ideas entertained of it were of
the most fluctuating character. Admitted as a
general principle, it was called in question by
none of the schoolmen.*

About the time of the Reformation, when
the Scriptures began to be restored to that place
to which they are entitled, and Biblical theology
became the subject of profound and persevering
study, the claims of revelation received a pro-
portionate share of public attention. One of
the first who advanced any opinion at variance
with those commonly received was Erasmus,
who, in his notes on the second of Matthew, and
the tenth of the Acts, remarked, that the Divine
Spirit, by whom the minds of the apostles were
governed, permitted them to remain ignorant of
some things, to fall, and even to err for want of
memory ; but though he endeavoured to defend
his positions against Eckius, by whom he was
attacked, he afterwards retracted and acknow-
ledged—* nunc testor, me abhorrere ab ulla ob-
livione tribuenda Apostolis.” t

The sentiments of Luther on the subject of
the canon are well known. Those which he
entertained respecting inspiration he expressed

* Tollner, Einleitung. §. viil.
Τ Apolog. adv. Monachos quosd. Hispan.

INTRODUCTORY LECTURE.

in his. usual free and undaunted manner ; but it Lect. 1.

is evident, that, in reference to both points, his
opinions are more to be traced to the influence
of the peculiar circumstances of his times than
to patient and ample investigation. For though
he maintained, as a general theory, that the
matters and not the words were inspired, yet in
his controversy respecting the Lord’s Supper, he
was obliged to advocate the inspiration of the
words of the institution. In rejecting verbal
inspiration, the great Reformer was followed by
Calixtus* and Muszus, both of whom, however,
were violently opposed by the body of Lutheran
divines, who, fearing lest their opinion might
yield support to the Romanists, constructed an
hypothesis, according to which the sacred writers
not only had those things immediately communi-
cated to them by the Holy Spirit of which they
could acquire no knowledge by natural means,
or of which they were ignorant, but even those
which they already knew or might have known
from their own consciousness, or through the

* « Neque scriptura dicitur divina, quod singula, que
in ea continentur, divine peculiari revelationi imputari
oporteat, &e.—sed quod precipua, sive que primario et
per se respicit ac intendit scriptura, nempe que redemp-
tionem et salutem generis humani concernunt, non_ nisi
divine illi peculiari revelationi debeantur; in ceteris vero,
que aliunde vel per experientiam, sive per lumen nature
nota, consignandis, divina assistentia et Spiritu ita scriptores
sint gubernati, ne quidquam scriberunt, quod non esset ex
re, vero, decoro, congruo.”—Fespons. con. Mogunt.

LECT. I.

Roman Ca-
tholic
writers.

INTRODUCTORY LECTURE.

medium of the senses. ‘Though the symbolical
books of the Lutheran church are silent on this
head, the hypothesis obtained almost equal au-
thority from the prominent place which was
allotted to it in the systems of Calovius, Hutter,
Hollaz, Gerhard, Quenstedt, Baier, and Bud-
deus, in which it was represented as a funda-
mental article of faith. Some of these authors
went so far as to maintain the absolute imspiration
or infusion of the Hebrew points ;* and though
Calvin and others of the Reformed church had
entertained more moderate views of the subject,
to such lengths was the controversy carried in
Helvetia, that no candidate was admitted to
ordination who did not ex animo profess his
belief in the divine authority of the pointed
text.t

In the Romish Church a diversity of opinions
obtained after the Reformation; Canus, Estius,
and other writers maintaining an inspiration of
words: but the entire question had a peculiar
turn given to it by the decisions of the Council ᾿
of Trent, at which it was determined that not
only the books of the Old and New ‘Testaments,

* 6

hypothesis de punctorum vocalium nova inven-
tione et ad textum Hebraeum adjectione, est falsa, et dudum
a theologis nostris explosa et confutata. Nos eorum ves-
tigia sequuti, cozeva esse literis seu consonantibus puncta
vocalia, ipsisque statim in prima scriptione a Spiritus S.
Amanuensibus addita, probamus,” &¢c.—Quenstedt Theol.
Didact.-Polem. Pars 1. p. 202.
+ See Note D.

INTRODUCTORY LECTURE. 63

including the Apocrypha, had God for their tect. τ.
author, but also the traditions of the Church,
which, it was maintained, were equally to be
traced to the mouth of Christ, or the dictation

of the Holy Spirit.

A new epoch in the history of the dogma was
formed by the sentence of condemnation passed
by the theological faculties of Louvain and
Douay in 1586, upon the three celebrated theses
of the Jesuit Professors Less and Hamelius.
These learned divines denied the necessity of
universal verbal inspiration, and the immediate
inspiration of every truth or sentence contained
in Scripture; and maintained, that a book,
written without any inspiration at all, would
become scripture if it afterwards received the
sanction of the Holy Spirit.* It does not
appear, however, that any notice would have
been taken of these propositions had it not been
for the controversy which was keenly agitated
at the time between the Jesuits and Jansen-
ists; for even when the subject of dispute was
referred to the Pope, his answer was of so mild

* The theses were expressed in the following terms :—*“ Ut
aliquid sit scriptura sacra, non est necessarium, singula ejus
verba esse inspirata.— Non est necessarium, ut singule
veritates et sententia sint immediate a Spiritu Sancto ipso
seriptori inspirate.—Liber aliquis, qualis est fortasse se-
ecundus Maccabeorum, humana industria sine assistentia
Spiritus Sancti scriptus, si Spiritus Sanctus postea testetur,
ibi nihil esse falsum, efficitur scriptura sacra.”—Jahn’s
Introd. to the Old Test. pp. 38, 39. New York, 1827.

INTRODUCTORY LECTURE.

LecT. 1. and measured a character, that it tended greatly

Results.

to promote the free discussion of the question.
Cornelius a Lapide, Suarez, Bonfrere, Bellar-
mine, Huet, Du Pin, Calmet, and especially
Richard Simon, advocated the doctrine of the
theses, and most Catholic writers since that
period have gone into the same views. De
Dominis, indeed, whose opinion was afterwards
extended by Holden, scrupled not to maintain
that the Evangelists might have erred in circum-
stantials without any injury to the faith.*

The merits of the discussions which thus
originated, are chiefly to be estimated by the
influence which they had in creating a powerful
reaction in the minds of many Protestants in
opposition to the exaggerated theory which had,
for some time, obtained among them, and but
for which, there is reason to believe, no coun-
tenance would have been given to the loose and
dangerous principles which were afterwards ad-
vanced. The unscriptural notions on the sub-
ject, which had been more or less broached by
Grotius, Spinoza, the Polish Socinians, Episco-
pius, and others of the Remonstrants, were at
last collected and put forth in twenty letters,
purporting to contain ‘ The Sentiments of cer-
tain Dutch Divines respecting Simon’s Critical
History,” but generally supposed to have been
written by Le Clerc, who greatly aggravated the

* Pusey’s Historical Enquiry, &e. Part 11. pp. 75—77.

INTRODUCTORY LECTURE.

evil by. denymg inspiration im almost all its ΜΕΤ. 1.

essential aspects.*

A translation of this work in ‘“ Five Letters”
having made its appearance in this country, ἡ
the defence of the doctrine was taken up by La
Mothe, Williams, Lowth, Calamy, Whitby, and
Bennett, and was afterwards sustained by Dod-
dridge in his able Dissertation on the subject, by
means of which a barrier was thrown in the way
of the influence which Le Clerc’s opinions might
otherwise have exerted on our British theology.
The views adopted by these writers being of a
modified character, the ground which they took
has continued to be occupied ever since; and
the more recent attempts of Priestley, Geddes,
and Wakefield, to impugn the dogma, have been
successfully met by Finlay, Dick, Parry, and
Wilson, whose arguments still remain unan-
swered.§ Nor is there the least ground for
apprehension from any thing that may now be
advanced in opposition to it by those whose
system of doctrine compels them to get rid of
the strictly divine authority ‘of the Scriptures :
the only source whence danger might possibly
arise would be a revival of the antiquated hypo-
thesis of absolute organic inspiration. Some
efforts have lately been made to effect such a

* Sentimens de quelques Théologiens de Holland sur
!Histoire Critique du Vieux Testament composée par le
P. Richard Simon de l’Oratoire. Amsterdam, 1685.

+ Α.ν. 1690. + See Note E. § See Note F.

INTRODUCTORY LECTURE.

LecT. 1 revival ; but, with the exception of Dr. Fraser’s

Essay,* which deserves the serious perusal of all
who wish to see what may be advanced on that
side of the question, they are not likely to
produce much impression.

With respect to the continent, the doctrines
of Luther already began towards the close of
the seventeenth century to be remoulded in the
forms of philosophy ; and in proportion as one
philosophical system ‘overturned or succeeded
another, they continued to be more or less
affected by the different impulses, which, in con-
sequence, were given to scientific minds. The
influence of infidelity was also sensibly felt.
The deep and serious tone in which revealed
truth was formerly taught came to be exchanged
for superficial, flippant, and licentious modes of
interpretation. One dogma was frittered down
after another; the supernatural phenomena of
Revelation were brought to the test of modern
reason, and then discarded, till at last little was
allowed to remain in the Bible but a venerable
collection of mythological fragments, which
might have been of some practical use in the
remote and dark ages of antiquity, but cannot
be admitted to possess any binding authority
upon those who live in our day.

In the midst of this wreck, occasioned by

* An Essay on the Plenary and Verbal Inspiration of the
Holy Scriptures. By Donald Frazer, D.D. New Fam. Lib.
vol. ii. Edin. 1834.

INTRODUCTORY LECTURE.

the precipitation of some of the most valuable xcr. τ.

monuments of Christian truth, lies the doctrine
of inspiration. It was not only the subject of
scurrilous attack and absolute rejection on the
part of such men as Bahrdt, Edelmann, Basedow,
and Daum, but has suffered more serious injury
from the treatment to which it has been sub-
jected by Semler, Michaelis, Morus, Henke,
Eckermann, Ammon, Griesbach, Bretschneider,
Paulus, Wegscheider, and De Wette, by whom,
under the professed discussion of it as a biblical
dogma, its plenary character has gradually been
abandoned, and the position has been laid down
as an ultimate conclusion, that the authority of
the canonical books does not in any degree
depend upon their inspiration, but would be
equally valid and unshaken, though not a syl-
lable contamed in them had originated in any
such source.

We cannot conclude this brief historical view
of the doctrine, without congratulating the
friends of biblical truth on the efficient manner
in which its defence has been undertaken by
Professors Tholuck, Twesten, Hahn, and other
theological writers of the new school in Ger-
many; and expressing a decided conviction,
founded on the spirit in which it is carried on,
and the degree of progress which it has already
made, that the period is not distant when the
Divine authority of the inspired volume will be
fully acknowledged, and its blessed influence

ἘΦ

68 INTRODUCTORY LECTURE.

tect. extensively felt in that interesting portion of
Europe. Then shall he who has most boasted
of the lights of reason and human philosophy,
convinced of the utter emptiness of the prin-
ciples which he and others have advanced,
humbly and ingenuously confess with Agur,
“Surely I am more brutish than any man, and
“have not the understanding of a man. I
*‘ neither learned wisdom, nor did I acquire the
““ knowledge of the Holy.”

LECTURE II.

DIFFERENT MODES OF INSPIRATION.

HES... 1,, 2

“ God, who at sundry times and in divers man-
ners spake in time past unto the fathers by the
prophets, hath in these last days spoken unto
us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of
all things, by whom also he made the worlds.”

Tue result of our inquiry into the force and
bearing of the peculiar phraseology of Scripture
in reference to the subject of inspiration, is
this :—that, in a general point of view, it em-
braces the entire range of influence supernaturally
exerted in order to communicate to mankind the
_knowledge of truths, which they could not other-
wise have acquired, together with a recognition
of the diversified phenomena connected with the
exertion of such influence, in so far as these phe-
nomena form a legitimate object of investigation
by the human mind. It now devolves upon us
te examine the particular modes in which this
extraordinary influence was vouchsafed, in order

LECT. II.

DIFFERENT MODES OF INSPIRATION.

tect.u. that we may obtain more distinct and particular

conceptions of its operations and effects, and thus
be led to admire “ the manifold wisdom of God”
conspicuously displayed in this, as in every other
department of the Divine workmanship.

That the modes in which it pleased God
to reveal his will, were various, is expressly de-
clared in the words of the text. We are aware,
indeed, that some very respectable modern com-
mentators, such as Kuinoel and Dindorf, regard
both the words here employed (πολυμερῶς and
πολυτρόπως) as Synonymous and expressive of the
same thing, namely, the matter or doctrines con-
tained in the ancient revelations ; but it appears
forced to refer either of them to the intrinsic
nature of those divine disclosures itself, since
what the apostle treats of is the diversified parts
and modes in which they were made, which he

~ contrasts with the manner in which God has ‘re-

vealed himself under the new economy. With
respect to the former, they were effected not only
im various parts or portions, according to the
various exigencies of the church, a considerable
period of time frequently intervening between
them, but they were furnished by means or in
ways greatly differing from each other.

Indeed, the term πολυτρόπως, which is com-
monly rendered ‘in divers or various manners”
in the versions, is expressive of multiplicity as
well as of diversity, and has accordingly been
rendered by some, én many different ways. And

DIFFERENT MODES OF INSPIRATION.

what is thus so explicity declared by the apostle Lect. τὶ.

must have been familiar to his readers, as it must
still be to all who are in any degree conversant
with the Scriptures of the Old Testament, almost
every page of which affords proofs and illus-
trations of the fact. It would, however, be a
palpable misconstruction of the text, and diame-
trically opposed to another fact, which appears
no less obvious from the pages of the New Testa-
ment, to suppose, that it implies the absolute
non-existence of diversity in the manner in which
God has made known his will to the church
under the Christian dispensation. So far as con-
cerns the several prophets on the one hand, and
the one great Prophet, the Son of God, on the
other, the antithesis is complete; and the exhi-
bition of this antithesis seems to have been the
grand, if not the sole aim of the writer. The
circumstance of diversity relative to the ancient
revelations is introduced, as it were, en passant,
according to his constant and well-known manner
of indulging in parenthetical additions, or touch-
ig upon minor topics, which caught his eye, but
which have no immediate reference to the main
point of his argument. Not only were the de-
velopments of the Divine will in the latter days
not confined to the personal ministry of Christ,
but were also made through the instrumentality
of his apostles; but they were made in manners
or modes nearly as “divers” as those in which
that will had been revealed in ancient times. Of

DIFFERENT MODES OF INSPIRATION.

tect. nu. this abundant evidence will be adduced as we

Immediate
or direct
ispiration.

proceed.

From a collation of the statements furnished
upon this subject in both divisions of the sacred
volume, it will be found that the modes of Divine
revelation, or the exertion of inspiring influence,
which it pleased the Author of all wisdom to select,
are the following :—direct internal suggestion ;
audible articulate sounds; the Urim and Thum-
mim; dreams; visions; and the re-appearance
of the departed.

Of these several modes, the first only is cmme-
diate, and is that which is generally considered
to be inspiration in the strictest sense: the others
are all mediate, consisting in the miraculous
intervention of secondary causes, or certain ap-
plications of divinely interposed instrumentality
by which the matters of revelation were conveyed
to the minds of its chosen recipients.

That the servants of God were occasionally,
and some of them generally, the subjects of direct
inspiration, is irrefragably proved by express
testimonies of Scripture. In the proem to the
sublime ode of David, with which his inspired
poetical compositions terminate, he declares in

reference to his general inspiration,

“ The Spirit of the Lord speaketh iz me ;
And his word is upon my tongue.” 2 Sam. xxiii. 2.

The parallelism here employed is not to be

viewed as consisting of two synonymous members,

DIFFERENT MODES OF INSPIRATION.

in which the same sentiment is taught without Lect. 11.

any difference of mode or degree; but is ob-
viously of the class termed gradational, in which
the idea introduced in the former member is con-
tinued, but amplified or diminished in the latter.
The Psalmist first announces the source of his
composition—the indwelling, extraordinary in-
fluence of the Spirit of Jehovah, by which he was
supplied with inspired matter, without the inter-
vention of mediate causes ; and then he proceeds
to describe the effect of such influence in the ex-
pression given to it in sacred song. ‘The verse
contains a statement in reference to his character
as an organ of divine communications generally ;
having made which, he proceeds in the next to
call our attention to a special communication,
that had been made to him, in the way of inter-
mediate agency, or by an audible voice, such as
that by which, as we read in his history, he was
often addressed by the Most High.

Other passages, in which the doctrme of im-
mediate inspiration is distinctly taught, are the
following :— Matt. x. 20.—“ For it is not ye that
speak, but the Spirit of your Father which
speaketh zm you.” 1 Pet. 1. 11—‘* Searching
what, or what manner of time the Spirit of Christ
which was 7z them did signify, when he testified
beforehand of the sufferings of Christ.” Gal. 1.
15—* When it pleased God to reveal his Son tm
me.” See also chap. it. 2. In none of these

instances is the instrumental sense admissible.

LECT. 11.

Direct com-
munications
possible.

DIFFERENT MODES OF INSPIRATION.

They all assert the fact of direct internal revela-
tion—the result of the extraordinary operation
of God upon the minds of the prophets and
apostles, by which they became imbued with
supernatural knowledge, or had those objects
and occurrences vividly and powerfully impressed
on them, an acquaintance with which they never
could have acquired in any natural way, or
which, without such divine intervention and in-
fluence, they could not have been qualified to
make known to the world. ‘They all convey.the
idea, which is naturally suggested by the perusal
of innumerable other passages of Scripture, in
which no mention is made of the employment of
any external means in imparting the revelation,
that the recipients were wrought upon directly
and immediately by the Holy Spirit, who opened
their minds to perceive the things which they
were to communicate to others; excited them
specially to attend to them; and supplied them,
as the exigencies of particular cases required, with
the ability suitably to give expression to the
matters with which they were inspired.

The possibility of such immediate revelation
will not be called in question by any who believe
in the Divine Omnipotence. ‘The Infinite Spirit,
by whom the human mind was created, and by
whose unceasing agency it is preserved in exist-
ence, must ever be intimately present to it; and
possessing a perfect knowledge of its faculties,
states, and affections, and exercising a perfect

DIFFERENT MODES OF INSPIRATION.

control over all its operations ;—governing it,
moreover, in such ways as infallibly to secure
the great ends of his moral government, it
would be absurd to suppose that he has not the
power of operating upon it in the way of directly
communicating to it a knowledge of his will, or
of producing in it certain ideas or conceptions
independently on the use of external or secon-
dary means. The denial of these immediate
operations of the Deity upon the human mind
can only consistently be maintained on the prin-
ciples of materialism and physical necessity. If,
indeed, the universe were nothing but a vast
machine, governed by the laws of mechanical
organization, operating invariably and uninter-
ruptedly according to the fixed relations of
things, and in consequence of an original im-
petus or impulse communicated to it at*its crea-
tion, to the exclusion of all foreign influence in
future; in other words, if, through the whole
period of its existence, its affairs were conducted
solely by the influence of its own concreated
powers; then it would be highly irrational to
imagine that any interference of the kind in
question ever took place. But such an hypo-
thesis, if it does not ultimately and absolutely
supersede the necessity of creation itself, at least
excludes the Creator from all further connexion
with the results of his own workmanship, and
implicates the soul of man, with all its operations,
in the concatenation of merely physical causes

LECT. II.

DIFFERENT MODES OF INSPIRATION.

Lect. πα. and effects. Upon this principle there is’ no

occasion for the Divine existence; and man
being abandoned to the influence of a dire and
inevitable necessity, all rational freedom of will
is necessarily excluded, and moral responsibility
itself totally annihilated. From such a system,
what well-poised mind does not recoil with in-
stinctive horror! And with what. satisfaction
does it rest in the belief of a perpetual and
universally concurrent Providence—the omni-
potent influence of Him, who, while he hath
endowed his intelligent creatures with the powers
of free agency, never for a moment renounces
his control over them, but sustains these powers,
and so disposes of all their operations, as shall
effectually promote the highest possible good
of the universe! Such is undeniably the God
of the Bible, the doctrine of which upon this
point may be summed up in its own brief but
emphatic language: “ [ἢ him we live, and move,
and have our being.” (Acts xvii. 28.)

But if God is thus ever present with his
creatures, and incessantly upholds, guides, and
controls their actions, what possible incongruity
can there be in admitting the exercise of his
benevolent agency in immediately presenting to
their minds, and effectually inclming them to
regard, and afterwards to communicate to others,
truths of high concernment in reference to their
present circumstances, or their future and im-

mortal destiny ? With what consistency can we

DIFFERENT MODES OF INSPIRATION. 17

assert our belief in his universal and uncon- Lect. 1.
trollable agency in the physical world, and deny

the exercise of the same unlimited agency in the

world of mind? Shall he cause his voice to be

heard in the sweeping of the hurricane and the
rolling of the thunder, and shall he not possess

the power of holding purely intellectual converse

as a Spirit with spirits—or rather, as the Father

of spirits, with the spirits which he hath made ?

Shall he make his sun to rise on the evil and the

good, shedding the beams of natural light over

the world, and shall we not concede to him the

ability to irradiate the minds of his intellectual
creation with beams of celestial truth, directly
emanating from himself, the uncreated and
effulgent source of spiritual light ?

While no difficulty, however, may be felt in tow the

regard to the possibility of immediate super- could distin

guish such

natural communications on the part of the casi τε,
Almighty, there may still remain in the minds
of some a hesitancy with respect to the possi-
bility of such communications becoming matters
of distinct consciousness on the part of those to
whom they were made. How, it may be asked,
could they assure themselves that they actually
were supernaturally and divinely imparted ἢ
How could they distinguish what they con-
sidered to be such from the productions of their
own minds, or from the results of an influence
exerted upon them by Satanic or demoniacal
agency ? How, im short, was it in their power

DIFFERENT MODES OF INSPIRATION.

txct. π. to ascertain that what they regarded in the light

of divine revelation truly came from God ἢ
The importance of these questions will at once
appear when it is considered, that, in all ages,
there have been those who have themselves been
persuaded, and who have endeavoured to per-
suade others, that they were the subjects of
immediate inspiration, while nothing can be
more satisfactorily made out than the fact of
their self-deception, and the utter nullity of
their pretended supernatural intercourse with
the Deity.

That the prophets and apostles could and
did discriminate between those matters which
resulted purely from their own ratiocination,
or from the mere exercise of any of their mental
faculties, and the direct celestial inspirations
with which they were favoured, appears incon-
trovertible from numerous passages of their
writings. ‘The modus, however, of that con-
sciousness Which they possessed of immediate
inspiration is a psychological question, which is
fraught with no small difficulty ; and it may be
anticipated, that all who have given the subject
any reasonable degree of attention will concur
in considering it to be one of which the absolute
determination lies entirely beyond the power of
those who have never had any personal expe-
rience of such consciousness. Locke, in his
chapter on Enthusiasm,* has some remarks

* Book i. chap. 19.

DIFFERENT MODES OF INSPIRATION.

bearing upon the question; but though they vecr. πὶ.

possess great force in application to false im-
pressions and mental illusions, they fail in fixing
any distinct marks or criteria by which those
who received divine communications could ordi-
narily distinguish them from their own concep-
tions, or from suggestions conveyed to their
minds from some other source. He not only
holds, indeed, the possibility of determining in
each particular case the fact of inspiration, but
that there existed certain marks which bore the
infallible stamp of divine authority—something,
as he expresses himself, extrinsical to the per-
suasion itself, which the inspired person pos-
sessed, and which proved to him that he was not
the subject of hallucination. But wherein does
he place these γνώρισματα, or undoubted marks
of divine inspiration? Not, certamly, in any
thing that removes the pressure of the difficulty
as principally existing in reference to those dis-
closures of which we here treat—such, namely,
as were made in a direct manner, and altogether
apart from the concurrence of the causes brought
into action in other modes of revelation, which
from their nature, or from the circumstances
which attended them, necessarily produced more
powerful impressions upon the mind. He ap-
peals to the miraculous signs given to Moses,
Gideon, and others, and considers these as con-
stituting sufficient evidence that their persuasion
of a divine commission was not illusory. And

DIFFERENT MODES OF INSPIRATION.

ect.1. undoubtedly these signs, whenever furnished,

were most satisfactory. But who does not per-
ceive that this hypothesis by no means meets the
entire exigency of the case: unless we admit,
either that such tokens accompanied every new
instance of direct revelation, or that, once given,
they afforded such perfect assurance to the mes-
senger, that whatever light was afterwards in-
troduced into his mind, he was indubitably to
regard as the result of a supernatural communi-
cation. ‘The former position will not be main-
tained, as it would go to multiply miraculous
agency far beyond any notices of it furnished in
the Scriptures, or which they give us any reason
to believe was ever exerted. With respect to
the latter, it cannot be denied that there is one
point of view in which it may be considered as
bearing upon the question. Moses, the prophets,
and apostles, were all the subjects of an extraor-
dinary commission, which was to continue through
life, and in the execution of which they were to
be employed as instruments in revealing the will
of God to mankind. The miracles which at-
tended their entrance upon this ministry afforded
them incontestable evidence of a divine call, and
their conscious recollection of these miracles,
taken in connexion with numerous others, which
they afterwards performed, must have powerfully
corroborated their impressions in regard to the
truths, which, as inspired men, they continually
taught. But still, since their future life was not

DIFFERENT MODES OF INSPIRATION. 8]

a state of pure, uninterrupted inspiration, but vecr. 1.
furnished scope for the intermediate exercise of
their own thoughts and feelings in reference to
manifold subjects in no way connected with their
office, it follows that occasions must frequently
have recurred on which their minds would expe-
rience a transition from the one state to the
other, and consequently require fresh evidence
of the recommencement ‘of direct supernatural
influence.

Without in any degree opening the door to criteria.
the delusions of enthusiasm, or presuming, in
the absence of positive data, to determine the
question, may we not suppose that there was a
vividness and distinctness attaching to the ideas
directly communicated to inspired men, which
greatly exceeded any thing of the kind ex-
perienced by them in the ordinary exercise of
their rational powers, or even as the result of the
saving operations of the Holy Spirit upon their
minds; and that they possessed an assured con-
sciousness, that the knowledge which they thus
acquired was not the result of any degree of
activity on their part, but came to them quite
unexpectedly, and was, as it were, forced upon
their attention ; add to which, an intuitive per-
ception of the intrinsic excellence and moral
congruity of the new matters of consciousness,
which rendered it perfectly impossible for them
to suppose, for a moment, that they could have
proceeded from any other than a Divine source.

LECT. II.

DIFFERENT MODES OF INSPIRATION.

If we admit the fact of the original legitimation
of the prophets and apostles by the intervention
of miraculous agency, visibly and uncontrollably
displayed, and the equally obvious fact of the
subsequent impartation of supernatural light
through the medium of sensible or physical causes,
specially and miraculously called into operation
for the purpose, by means of which a perfect
assurance must have rested upon the minds of
those holy men that they were actually employed
by the Deity, as the instruments of communicating
to mankind the knowledge of truths otherwise
undiscoverable by them,—it seems no more than
reasonable to demand for the internal concurring
criteria, which have just been specified, a degree
of certitude, which cannot be claimed by any un-
inspired persons, however powerful the impres-
sions of which they are the subjects, or how
much soever they may consider the matters which
they imagine are communicated to them to be
excellent and divine. The consciousness for
which we contend, is not that of private indivi-
duals, or of such as have no external evidence to
which to appeal in proof of their inspiration ; but
that of men who were otherwise warranted, on
the most rational and indubitable grounds, to
conclude that they were the ambassadors of
heaven. For such men to repose confidence
in the inspirations of which they were sensible,
was no enthusiasm: it was ἴῃ perfect har-
mony with every principle which entered into —

DIFFERENT MODES OF INSPIRATION. 83

the high character with which they were in- L&C? ΤΙ,
vested.

Of the different modes of revelation which mediate
were mediate, consisting in the intervention of pies
certain agencies or external physical phenomena,
that which we consider to possess the first claim
on our attention is the production of AUDIBLE Audivie
AND ARTICULATE sounDs, by which Jehovah made ἘΠ
oracular announcements of his willto men. ‘To
this species of inspiration are to be referred all
those passages of Scripture which plainly and
unequivocally ascribe to the Deity the use of
speech in connexion with personal manifesta-
tions, and also those which contain similar ascrip-
tions, without any account of such manifestations,
but which are not susceptible, on any other
principle, of a rational interpretation.

It will be conceded by all who are familiar with
the Hebrew language, that the verbs 7x, fo say,
and 721, 0 speak, are used by the sacred writers
with great latitude of acceptation :—sometimes
importing nothing more than the mere thoughts,
purposes, designs, or resolutions of those of
whom they are predicated ; sometimes the exer-
tion of will requisite to carry such purposes or
resolutions into effect; and sometimes expressing,
in a general sense, a divine communication,
without specifying the particular way in which it
was made. ‘They are in fact employed, more or

less, in reference to all the diversified modes of
@ 2

LECT. 11.

Nothing
absurd in the
hypothesis.

DIFFERENT MODES OF INSPIRATION.

revelation, to indicate the reality of the intelligent
communications thus graciously vouchsafed. But,
on the other hand, it is equally undeniable that
there are numerous passages in which these
terms are used with respect to God, the con-
nexion and other circumstances of which compel
us to understand them in the strictly physical
sense, of his communicating, by articulate vocal
sounds, the knowledge of his will to man. In
such instances, the terms are not to be regarded
as merely anthropomorphic—representing the
Deity, in accommodation to the weakness of our
intellect, as possessed of human organs, and
merely intimating what he would have done had he
been possessed of such organs; but they are to be
taken in their plain and literal signification, as de-
noting the actual production of articulate words.
How these sounds were produced it is not
for us to determine; but of this we may be
certain, that there was nothing in the matter
“too hard” for God. For “who hath made
“man’s mouth? or who maketh the dumb, or
“‘ deaf, or the seeing, or the blind? Have not
“I the Lord?” “ He that planted the ear, shall
“he not hear? he that formed the eye, shall he
“not see?” Exod.iv. 11; Ps.xciv.9. And may
we not further ask, in amplification, and with a
direct bearing upon the point before us: He that
planted the ear, shall he not possess the power of
so disposing of the sonorous susceptibility of the
surrounding medium as to make it the instrument.

DIFFERENT MODES OF INSPIRATION. 85

of communicating to that organ those articulate cxcr. 1.
sounds which he may will it to receive? Shall
the creature be able, at pleasure, to cause those
vibrations, which, being brought into contact
with the sense of hearing, produce in the mind
ideas or impressions corresponding to those exist-
ing in the mind of the agent by whom the impulse
is given, and shall the same power be denied to the
Creator, by whose infinite skill the whole frame-
work of nature was constructed, and at whose
absolute disposal it must ever, in all its parts, be
considered to lie? For the production of such
sounds, he cannot require the organs of speech.
As it was consistent with the pure spirituality of
his being originally to give existence to matter,
and then to mould it into the wondrously diversi-
fied forms which it assumed; and as he con-
tinuously operates upon it by the conserving
influence of his providence, directly and univer-
sally exerted ; there cannot be the least incongruity
in his having occasionally done that himself
immediately, for the attainment of certain great
and important ends, which is ordinarily effected
through the instrumentality of organs adapted
and appointed for this purpose.
On consulting the record we find, that the yoices unac-

companied

oracular communications in question were some- {ith any
times made without any accompanying personal satay:
phenomena. ‘Thus we are informed, (Num. vii.

89; viii. 1,) that when Moses entered the taber-

nacle of the congregation to speak with the Lord,

DIFFERENT MODES OF INSPIRATION.

uect.u. he heard the voice speaking to him from above

the propitiatory which was over the ark of testi-
mony, from between the two cherubim: it spake
to him,—yea, Jehovah spake to Moses, saying, &c.
The Lord on this occasion fulfilled the promise
which he had made, when he gave special instruc-
tions respecting the formation of the adytum, or
holy of holies: ‘* There I will meet with thee,
and I will commune with thee from above the
propitiatory.” (Exod. xxv. 22.) And it was
owing to the oracular responses which were
given from this sacred place, that, on the con-
struction of the temple, it obtained the name of
wat, “ The Oracle.” (1 Kings vi. 16; viii. 6;
2 Chron. iv. 20.) From the particular way in
which it is mentioned by this name in these
passages, there appears to be no ground for the
opinion of Hales* and others, that this mode of
revelation absolutely ceased after the erection of
Solomon’s temple. The very fact of its being
then first mentioned under the name of 37, oracle,
implies, that supernatural responses still con-
tinued to be given; though in consequence of
the institution of the prophetical order, which
had recently taken place, they were, im all pro-
bability, only employed on extraordinary emer-
gencies, such as the death or absence of any of
these accredited messengers of God—on which
occasions it was found necessary to consult his

* Analysis of Sacred Chronology, vol. ii. p. 240, 2d Edit.

DIFFERENT MODES OF INSPIRATION. 87

will in this particular way. It must be observed, ποτ. πὶ.
however, that it was only to Moses, and, after
his death, to the High Priest for the time being,
that the peculiar honour was conceded of receiy-
ing these oracular communications. And even
with respect to the latter, it is uncertain whether
they were ever imparted to him on his being
permitted, on the great day of atonement, to
enter the holy of holies. When he did receive
them it was outside the vail, which separated
the outer or first division of the temple from the
most sacred place; so that there was not that
immediate intercourse in the way of communica-
tion between the Deity and him which Moses
enjoyed, and which is emphatically expressed by
ma “sms, “mouth to mouth.” (Num. xii. 8.)
This distinguished privilege was peculiar to the
Jewish legislator.

In the history of Nebuchadnezzar we meet voice aa-
with another instance illustrative of this mode of nenenn-
revelation. It is stated by the sacred penman, ον
that, while the proud boast of that monarch was
yet in his mouth, “ there fell a voice Srom
heaven, saying, O king Nebuchadnezzar, to thee
it is spoken; The kingdom is departed from
thee,” &. (Dan. iv. 31.) It was not a simple im-
pression wrought upon his mind, but an audible
voice, miraculously produced, the component
intelligible words of which he distinctly heard
and understood.

In the New Testament we meet with similar

LECT. II.

Voice at our
Lord’s
baptism.

DIFFERENT MODES OF INSPIRATION.

examples. At the baptism of our Lord there
was a VOICE from heaven, saying, “ This is my
beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” Ac-
cording to Rosenmuller, Kuinoel, and some
other foreign interpreters, indeed, all that is
meant by the voice here specified is a clap of
thunder, which they suppose to have then taken
place; and which, being so well timed, intimated
that Jesus was the Messiah! But, not to insist on
the absurdity of construing thunder into an an-
nouncement of the gracious pleasure of Jehovah
—that phenomenon being uniformly considered
as calculated to convey to the human bosom the
impression of terror, rather than inspire it with
an assurance of the Divine good will—such an
interpretation is altogether at variance with the
usus loquendi of the New Testament, and ‘indeed
of the Scriptures generally, in which the formula
here used is never employed, except in reference
to an actual verbal declaration. Schleusner,
under the word φωνὴ, quotes a number of passages
in support of this hypothesis; but, as is fre-
quently the case with that lexicographer, there is
not one of them to the point. With respect to
Gen. 11. 8, to which he refers, there can be no
doubt that by ‘the voice of the Lord God walk-
ing in the midst of the garden,” we are to under-
stand the reverberation of thunder; which was
then heard for the first time, and formed an awful
prelude to the judicial summons which the guilty
pair were about to receive. We the rather select

DIFFERENT MODES OF INSPIRATION. 89

this alleged proof, because the passage is Lrcr. u.
generally appealed to as furnishing an instance
of the very kind of revelation we are now con-
sidering; while by some it is preposterously in-
terpreted of a personal appearance of the
Logos— whereas it must be obvious to all who
compare it with other passages of the Old
Testament in which the phrase, “ the voice of
God,” or “ of the Lord,” occurs, without any
specification of words uttered, it is uniformly
employed to denote the noise or sound of
thunder. See 2 Sam. xxii. 14; Job xxxvii. 4, 5;
Ps. xxix. freq. xlvi. 6.

I may just add, as a concluding remark on
the neological construction put upon the words
of the evangelist, that it is rejected as un-
tenable by Fritsche, one of the most recent
commentators on the passage, though his views
generally are of a highly pseudo - rational
character.

The same announcement which was made at voice on the
our Lord’s baptism was repeated in precisely the transisu-
same audible manner on the mount of Trans-*“"”
figuration: ‘‘ While he yet spake, behold a
** bright cloud overshadowed them; and behold
“ἃ voice out of the cloud, which said, This is
“my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased ;
“hear ye him.” (Matt. xvii. 5.) The terms in
which the phenomenon is here described are not,
indeed, identical with those employed on the
former occasion; but the difference is not such

90 DIFFERENT MODES OF INSPIRATION.

LECT. 1. as to warrant the insinuation of Paulus,* that
the voice was not strictly and properly divine.
Though the cloud which overshadowed our Lord
and his disciples may only have rested on the
mountain, and may not have been of that de-
scription of clouds which appear high above the
horizon, yet as it must be supposed to have —
covered the face of the heavens, it is obvious
the voice which made the communication is to
be understood as coming from heaven, just as if
no cloud whatever had intervened. But we are
not left to the uncertainty of conjecture. All
who admit the divine authority of the first
chapter of the Second Epistle of Peter, will, at
once, bow to the decision there furnished by an
inspired witness, who expressly informs us that
the vorcre came ‘“ from heaven—from the excel-
lent glory,” —\anguage than which none could
have been adopted more definitely or strikingly
to characterise the divine source of the oracle.

Voice atthe Ata still more advanced period of our Lord’s

et εν public ministry, this supernatural mode of an-
nouncing the Supreme will was again employed.
In the anguish of his soul, arising from the
pressure of that imputed guilt which he had
undertaken to expiate, and publicly avowing his
sense of such anguish, the illustrious sufferer was
at a loss how to give vent to his feelings; but,
just as he was on the point of supplicating

* Exegetisches Handbuch iiber die drei ersten Evangelien.
11'* Theil. p. 456.

DIFFERENT MODES OF INSPIRATION.

deliverance, he checked himself, nobly resolving xxcr. τι.

to submit to the utmost inflictions, in order that
the object of his mission might be accomplished.
“Now is my soul troubled: and what shall 1
“say? Father! save me from this hour? It
“was for this very purpose I came to this hour.
“‘ Father! glorify thy name!”* No sooner was
the pathetic appeal followed by the equally dis-
interested petition, than ‘‘ there came A VOICE
“‘ from heaven, saying, I have both glorified it,
*‘ and will glorify it again.” That, in this case,
as in the preceding instances, plain intelligible
words were uttered, the express specification of
the terms clearly shows. At the same time, it is
no less evident from the narrative, that though
the voice was heard by the surrounding multi-
tude, their perception of it generally was not
distinct: some, like our modern commentators,
being of opinion that it thundered, while others
said, “an angel spake to him.” ‘The circum-
stance, however, that a portion of the auditors,
who appear to have heard it more distinctly,

* «Tf the common punctuation and interpretation be here
adopted, we must suppose that, through perturbation, our
Lord first utters and then retracts a prayer. That, how-
ever, is both objectionable and unnecessary: for many of
the best ancient and modern commentators and editors place
a mark of interrogation after ταύτης. thus making two in-
terrogations as follows: What shall I say? [shall I say]
Father, deliver me from this hour? But for this cause
came I, for this hour, ἡ. e. to meet this hour.” Bloomfield’s
Greek N. T. 2d Edit.

LECT. IT.

Voices ac-
companying
pers .nal ap-
pearattucs.

DIFFERENT MODES OF INSPIRATION.

though not sufficiently so to recognise the.

Divine Person from whom it proceeded, main-
tained that it was a real articulate communi-
cation made through the intervention of an
angel, corroborates the position, which is other-
wise clearly borne out by the very face of the
narrative, that the sound was not natural
thunder, but that of words audibly produced
by an immediate exertion of the power of God.
We are, indeed, conducted to the same con-
clusion by our Lord’s declaration—“ This voice
came not because of me, but for your sakes:” a
declaration which undeniably implies that the
phenomenon was not the result of the ordinary
operation of physical causes, but a supernatural
testimony expressly furnished in order to lead the
hearers attentively to contemplate the wondrous
personage who stood in the midst of them, and im-
partially to weigh the claims of his divine mission.

Another class of instances in which this mode
of revelation was employed, comprehends those
in which an actual personal appearance accom-
panied the enunciation of the words that were
spoken. In such instances, those by whom the
communications were made presented them-
selves to the view of the persons to whom they
were imparted, in a visible and palpable manner.
The form in which they thus appeared was
human; and there is reason to believe that, in
most cases, when first exhibited, it was marked

7. ee ee ee ee Χχ'

DIFFERENT MODES OF INSPIRATION.

by nothing of an extraordinary character, but vxcr.u.

possessed in appearance the simple properties of
the human body, so that those to whose view
it was presented could have regarded it in no
other light than that of actual humanity. It
was only by the accompanying circumstances, or
by those developements of a higher or super-
natural order with which they were favoured,
they arrived at the assurance, that the being by
whom it had been assumed was not in reality
a member of the human family, but belonged
to a superior order of existences. This view of
the subject is fully borne out by the declaration
of Paul, Heb. xiti. 2, that “some have enter-
tained angels UNAWARES,’—in which, in all
probability, he refers to the cases of Abraham
and Lot, recorded in the eighteenth and nine-
teenth chapters of Genesis, which will presently
come under our consideration.

It must have struck all who have attentively
perused the sacred volume, that, in the accounts
which it furnishes of supernatural personal ap-
pearances, there is a marked distinction betwixt
those of angels generally, or angels strictly and
properly so called, and those of One who, by way
of peerless pre-eminence, is styled mim FS >a,
THE ANGEL oF JEHOVAH, and to whom names,
attributes, and works exclusively divine are
unequivocally ascribed. In proof, it is merely
necessary to refer to the histories of Abraham,

Hagar, Jacob, Moses, and Manoah.

94 DIFFERENT MODES OF INSPIRATION.

LECT. ΤΙ. Different hypotheses have been framed with a

Personal ap-
pearance of
the Logos as
the revealing
Angel of Je-
hovah.

view to explain this extraordinary historical fact.
By some it has been maintained, that nothing
more is meant by the expression, than merely a
natural phenomenon, or some visible symbol,
which was accorded, in order to satisfy men of
the presence and approbation of Jehovah.*
Others + have advanced the opinion, that where-
ever the Angel of the Lord is spoken of, a
created angel is meant, through whose agency
the transactions described were effected ; while a
third class,t sensible of the difficulty presented
by the fact, that to this angel an ascription of
properties is made which clearly imply Divinity,
endeavour to substantiate the hypothesis, that all
such instances are to be regarded as real theo-
phanies, or visible manifestations of Deity,
irrespective of personal distinction. To each
of these theories insuperable objections have
been produced, more or less drawn from the
historical circumstances of the different texts in
which the phenomenon in question occurs. The
only view of the subject which recommends itself
as least clogged with difficulty, is that according
to which the Angel of Jehovah was the Locos,

* Herder, Hebr. Poesie, II. 47.

+ Augustine, Jerome, Gregory the Great, Abenezra,
Grotius, Le Clere, Episcopius, Dr. 8. Clarke, Gesenius, and
Baumgarten Crusius.

{ Priestley, Belsham, Sack, Pustkuchen, De Wette,
Ewald, Koster. See Hengstenberg’s Christologie, vol. i.
p. 236.

DIFFERENT MODES OF INSPIRATION.

or Divine Person of the Messiah, with respect tect. τι.

to whose previous manifestations to mankind, as
distinguished from his actually mearnate mani-
festation in the fulness of time, the prophet
Micah asserts, that “his goings forth were of
old, from everlasting.” *

That the Son of God, in his capacity of Medi- cnrist the

the Old Testament, and that, in the execution of
this agency, he frequently appeared and con-
versed with men, is an opinion which was not
only held by most of the Fathers, but has ob-
tained the suffrages of the most enlightened
Biblical expositors of modern times. Their
arguments in support of it are principally drawn
from the statements of the ancient Jewish Scrip-
tures respecting the character and functions of
the Angel of Jehovah, whom these Scriptures also
plainly teach to be Jehovah ; especially the cele-
brated prophecy in Malachi, which serves most
satisfactorily to unlock all the other passages in
which the doctrine is taught, inasmuch as it
unquestionably identifies nman FN», ‘ the Angel
of the Covenant,” with jits7, THE SOVEREIGN
Lorp, or the Messiah whom the Jews expected,
as one in person and operations. These argu-
ments are corroborated by certain parallel
statements, made in the writings of the New
Testament, which expressly assert the agency of
Christ under the former dispensation. Thus

* See Note G.

. Ν Py Angel of Je-
ator, was invested with a peculiar agency under novan.

DIFFERENT MODES OF INSPIRATION.

uect.1. Paul informs us, that the Rocx, or powerful

God, who was present with the Israelites, and
supplied all their wants in the wilderness, was
Christ, and that he was the Divine Person whom
they tempted at Meribah. (1 Cor.x. 4, 9.) And
in his Epistle to the Hebrews, the same apostle
declares, that it was His voice which shook the
earth on occasion of the transactions at Sinai.
(Heb. xii. 26.) Add to which, the very pointed
and decisive language of our Lord, when speak-
ing to the Jews, respecting the Father—‘ Ye
have neither heard his voice at any time, nor
seen his shape,” by which he appears clearly to
teach, not merely that no such privilege had
ever been enjoyed by any of the Jews whom he
was addressing, or by any of their brethren then
living, but that such personal manifestation and
communication on the part of the Father had
never, at any former period, been vouchsafed to
their nation. And what he thus denies in regard
to the Jews is elsewhere denied in terms equally
strong of the whole human family: ‘‘ No man
hath seen God at any time.” He is absolutely
THE INVISIBLE, whom “no man hath seen, or
can see.” (John v. 37; 1.18; 1 Tim. vi. 16.)
Of this truth, the ancient Israelites possessed so
powerful a conviction,—a conviction produced
by the extraordinary splendours of the Shechinah,
and strengthened by an express declaration of
Jehovah himself to that effect, (Exod. xxxiii. 20,)
—that any thing approximating to a vision of the

a ee ee Ἂν

DIFFERENT MODES OF INSPIRATION. 97

Divine Being, or that could at all be construed tecr. 1.
into such a vision, was totally incompatible with
the continuance of mortal existence. Judges
xiii. 22.

It follows, that whenever mention is made of
the appearance of Jehovah, or of the Angel of
Jehovah, “in whom was his name,”—in other
words, who possessed the sum-total of his attri-
butes,—we are to understand not any manifesta-
tion of the Divine essence, but the hypostatic
developement of the Logos by the temporary
assumption of a sensible human form, antici-
pative of his future real incarnation. In his
character of Mediator he acted from the begin-
ning. By him was the universe created, and on
him were devolved its continual conservation
and government. (Col. i. 16, 17; Heb. i. 2, 3.)
Whatever was done on the part of the Deity in
time was done through him. Such is plainly
the doctrine of the sacred writers of the New
Testament ; and whatever may seem to militate
against it is to be accounted for_on the principle
of the essential union subsisting between the
Logos and the two other persons of the God-
head, in consequence of which certain acts may
be ascribed to the Deity absolutely considered,
which nevertheless were performed by one of
the divine subsistents in particular.

Though we would not derive any positive opinions of
proofs of the dogma just propounded respecting papa
the Logos as the anciently manifested God from

DIFFERENT MODES OF INSPIRATION.

Lect. 1. uninspired Jewish sources, yet, considering how

the ‘Talmudic, Cabbalistic, and even earlier
writers, found themselves puzzled in their at-
tempts to grapple with the difficulties of the
case, the circumstance cannot but be regarded
as in some degree corroborative of the proofs
deduced from Scripture, when it is found that
occasionally, in their discussions of the subject,
they are forced to give expression to sentiments
which coincide with the Christian views of the
Messiah, but which are totally at variance with the.
common Jewish notion of his being a mere man.
It is exceedingly probable that the ancient Greek
translator of Isaiah, in rendering the words, (ch.
ix. 5, ) ὌΝ yp Nob, μεγάλης βουλῆς ἄγγελος, “the
angel,” or messenger “ of the great counsel,”
was influenced by some ideas which floated in
his mind respecting the Person who had appeared
to the ancients, combined with the expectations,
which, at that time, began to be more strongly
entertained of the promised Messiah as_ the
Angel of the Covenant. In regard to the sm»,
Memra, of the Targums, it is incontrovertible
that the author of that which goes by the name
of Jonathan appears studiously to have intro-
duced the term into such passages as speak of
the Lord’s appearing or revealing himself. Ac-
cording to him, it was the Word of the Lord
who appeared to Abraham; who went before
the people in the wilderness; who conversed
with Moses on Mount Sinai; spoke to Job out

DIFFERENT MODES OF INSPIRATION.

of the whirlwind; and was seen by Isaiah on the tect. τι.

throne of his glory. The same usage frequently
occurs in the more ancient and more valuable
Targum of Onkelos, as well as in that of Jeru-
salem; and seems perfectly unaccountable on
any other principle than the prevalence of an
opinion among the Jews, that, in all such
instances, there was the mediation of some
mysterious manifestive power, of whom divine
characteristics are predicable, but who, on these
occasions, exhibited certain peculiar aspects by
which he was distinguished from the Invisible
Jehovah, on whose behalf he mediated, and of
whom he was the visible representative.*

This opinion is more fully developed in the te metator.

rabbinical writings, in which we meet with much
respecting one whom the authors call MeraTor
(we), or Metatron (ἸὙ 2), a term of
uncertain derivation, but in which is most likely
to be traced the Latin Mediator. ‘Though some
of the rabbins confound this exalted being with
the Shechinah, or visible symbol of the Divine
presence, yet others are careful to distinguish
him—ascribing to him personal qualities, repre-

* See on the subject of the Memra J. J. Langii Dis-
sert. Acad. de Targumim, seu versionum ac paraphrasium
V. T. Chaldaicarum, Usu Insigni Anti-Judaico in doctrina
de Persona Christi: speciatim de voce N79", seu λόγω; a
Chaldzis de Messia usurpata. s.d. Dr. Laurence’s Dis-
sertation on the Logos, pp. 13,14. Dr. Pye Smith’s Scripture
Testimony, vol. i. p. 552, 2d edit. J. J. Gurney’s Biblical
Notes and Dissertations, p. 123.

H 2

100

DIFFERENT MODES OF INSPIRATION.

Lect. Π. senting him as the Nuntius (mow) of Jehovah,

and yet as uncreated; not of the number of
ordinary or created angels; free from sin; the
beginning of the creation of God, by whom
the world was produced; in whose image man
was made; the author of the law; the teacher
of Moses ; him by whom the sins of men were,
in future time, to be expiated, and who had the
power to forgive them. ‘They further designate
him—The Angel, the Prince of the face, the
Prince of the law, of wisdom, of strength, of
majesty, of the temple, (comp. Mal. it. 1,) of
kings and rulers, of angels; Prince of the high
and exalted, and the many and noble princes
that are in heaven and upon earth. ‘The whole
is summed up in the most significant figurative
epithet, myzast Noy, THe Cotumn or Με-
piaTIon.* Now, what specially deserves our
notice is the fact, that the rabbins expressly
identify this Metatron with the Supreme Angel,
whose manifestations are described in the Old
Testament, and who is there represented as the
Divine conductor of the Hebrew people.t ‘They

* Buxtorf in-voc. 77700, col. 1191, 1192. Danzius
in Meuschenii N. T. Illustr. p. 721, ἄορ. Eisenmenger’s
Entdecktes Judenthum, vol. ii. p. 394. Edzardi Tract. Bera-
choth, pp. 226—239. Sommeri Theologia Soharica, p. 36.
Glesneri Theol. Sohar, p. 57. Rosenroth’s Kabbala denu-
data, tom. i. p. 528. Hengstenberg’s Christologie, vol. i.
pp. 239—246; or Bib. Repos. for 1833, pp. 672—678.

+ Rabbi Alshech on Gen. xviii. 2. Rabbi Moses ben
Hoshke, as quoted by Danzius, wé sup.

DIFFERENT MODES OF INSPIRATION. 101

differ, indeed, in the modes in which they express Lect. τι.
themselves upon the subject; but this is nothing
more than might naturally be expected, since
they shut their eyes against the light of the
New Testament, and chose to wander in the
dreary mazes of Jewish unbelief, rather than
follow Him who is “ the Light of the world,”
“the brightness of the Father’s glory, and the
express image of his person.” They distinctly
recognised in “ the Angel of Jehovah” features
of character which they found it impossible to
reconcile with their notions respecting ordinary
or created angels; but what idea to form of his
true and proper nature was utterly out of their
power.

To return from this digression. ‘The Son of snore
God, who, in his pre-existent state, appeared Paul.
anciently in human form to men, and announced
to them the Divine will, has likewise, since his
glorification, manifested himself corporeally, and
held converse with his followers. Of this a
signal instance occurs in the history of the con-
version of Paul, recorded in the ninth chapter of
the Acts. Attempts, it is true, have been made
to set aside the miraculous character of the
transactions there described, and, as usual, to
resolve the whole into a storm of thunder and
lightning, and the supposed effects of such natural
phenomena on the vivid imagination and aroused
conscience of the apostle ; but a more complete

102

DIFFERENT MODES OF INSPIRATION.

LECT. Il. tissue of gratuitous assumptions was never

thrown round any hypothesis than that ex-
hibited in those commentaries in which the anti-
miraculous view is advanced and _ defended.*
To suppose that when the apostle solemnly
avers, both in his apology before the Jews, and
in that before king Agrippa, and when Luke
repeats the statements in a plain, historical nar-
rative, not only that he heard a voice from
heaven, but that this voice was immediately
addressed to him; that the communication con-
sisted of certain intelligible words, which he
specifies ; that these words were in the Hebrew
language ; that he conversed with the person
from whom the voice proceeded; and when he
afterwards, in his epistles, declares that he had
actually seen him ;t—to suppose that by all this
he means nothing more than that he was over-
taken by a thunderstorm, and merely imagined
these things, is so totally at variance with sound
principles of interpretation, and so_ perfectly
irreconcileable with the known sobriety and
judgment of the apostle, (not to say absolutely
incompatible with the inspiration under the in-
fluence of which he spoke,) that it seems next

‘to incredible how any persons, not led away by

the love of novelty, or determined per fas et
nefas to procure support to some favourite
* Kuinoel on Acts ix. furnishes abundant specimens of

the neological hypothesis.
+ Comp. Acts ix. with chap. xxii. and xxvi.

DIFFERENT MODES OF INSPIRATION.

theory, should, for a moment, succumb to such
an opinion. If Paul had been a_hot-brained
enthusiast, and there had been no attendant
circumstances to control the account which he
gives of his individual experience, the possibility
of a mental illusion might be admitted; but
taking into account the high and unbending
claims of his personal character—the facts that
the voice was heard by his attendants as well as
by himself ; and that both Ananias and Barnabas
expressly declare that he had seen the Lord
Jesus; the frequent appeals which, in subsequent
life, he makes to the event; and especially the
radical moral change which that event was made
the means of effecting; we are warranted, without
hesitation, to affirm, that it is impossible either
psychologically or historically, with the least
degree of consistency, to interpret the language
on any other principle than that of its obvious
literal meaning.

Some, however, who have ably defended the
miraculous character of the circumstances in
question, are disposed to think, that after all it
is not necessary to adopt any corporeal appearance
of the Lord Jesus on the occasion. But not to
insist. on the declarations made by Ananias and
Barnabas, just referred to, it seems clear from
the statements of the apostle himself, that such
actually was the case. Asserting the validity of
his apostleship, and his equality of rights with the
other apostles, he asks the Corinthians,— “ Have

103

LECT. II.

This appear-
ance really
corporeal.

104

DIFFERENT MODES OF INSPIRATION.

Lect. 1. | not seen Jesus Christ our Lord?” (1 Cor. ix. 1.)

And, after enumerating the witnesses who had
seen our Lord after his resurrection, he adds,—
** And last of all he was seen by me also, as of one
born out of due time.” (chap. xv. 8.) The grand

. point which it is his object in this part of his

epistle to establish, is the fact of Christ’s resurrec-
tion. ‘To effect this, he adduces several instances
of actual bodily appearance, which were succes-
sively afforded to the disciples and other believers
after that event, than which, it is manifest, no
evidence could be more satisfactory. But the
addition of his own evidence, so far from cor-
roborating that of the other witnesses, would
rather have weakened it, if his vision of Christ
had not been of the same description with theirs.
If he had not seen the real body which was raised
from the dead, but only a semblance of it, or if
the vision was nothing more than an image of it
impressed upon his imagination, he could not,
with any propriety, have borne testimony to his
resurrection, and consequently must have been
disqualified from being an apostle.

It is only necessary to add, that, though the
body of our Lord, as presented to the view of
Paul, retained and exhibited the indubitable
features of humanity, yet, as it no longer existed
in the state of humiliation in which he appeared
while on earth, but in the perfect and glorified
condition in which he now exists in heaven,
there is reason to conclude that the excessive

DIFFERENT MODES OF INSPIRATION. 105

brightness of the splendour, which so powerfully "ct. τι.
affected the apostle’s organs of vision as tempo-

rarily to deprive him of their use, consisted in

the rays of Christ’s glory, which resembled the
dazzling effulgence of the Shechinah, or the
visible symbol of the Divine presence among -

the ancient Hebrews.

We now proceed to examine the import of those Personal

appearances

statements which are made in Scripture respecting a ee
the visible intervention or personal appearances

of angels strictly so called, for the purpose of
revealing the will of God to his church.

The existence of an order of spirits superior to
those with which mankind are endowed, is a doc-
trine of pure revelation. Probable arguments in
its favour have been deduced from the gradations,
in which all beings exist, that come within the
scope of our observation, and from the univer-
sally diffused belief in intermediate intelligences
between the gods and men which has existed in
all ages of the world; but apart from the disclo-
sures of holy writ, it is supported by no positive
or satisfactory proof. From that source, how-
ever, the most decisive evidence is abundantly
supplied; and notwithstanding all the efforts of
modern Sadduceeism, put forth in the violence of
interpretation, the suspicions of criticism, the
contributions of oriental and popular modes of
thought, and the much-boasted emancipating
influence of a superior philosophy, to banish the

106

LECT. IT.

Names and
agency of
angels.

DIFFERENT MODES OF INSPIRATION.

dogma from the domain of Biblical theology, it
still continues to retain a firm hold, not only on
the popular belief, but also on the minds of those
who have received an enlightened and liberal
education, and whose only aim is definitely to
ascertain, and cheerfully to submit to the dictates
of divine truth. The attempts that have been
made to reduce the angels to mere phantoms of
the human imagination, to the simple elements
of nature, or to unusual physical phenomena,
have signally failed ; and all such attempts must
fail, so long as the contents of Scripture shall
be honestly judged of by tested and correct
principles of hermeneutics.

The names ΣΝ 5, and ἄγγελοι, by which these
superior spirits are designated, are indicative not
of their nature but of their office.* They are the
messengers or servants of Jehovah, whose agency
he employs for the revelation and execution of
his will. ‘They are represented as ministering
unto him by thousands of thousands ;+ standing
before him to receive his high behests ;+ flying
with the utmost alacrity to perform his pleasure ;§
excelling in strength for the purpose of carrying

* TN is derived from ΠΝ, an obsolete Hebrew root,
which is preserved in the Ethiopic and Arabic, and signifies
to send, to delegate, send or go as a messenger, render or
perform any service. See Gesen. & Win. in Simon.—

"Ayyedoc λέγεται, διὰ τὸ ἀγγέλλειν τοῖς ἀνθρώποις, ὅσαπερ

βούλεται αὐτοῖς ἀγγεῖλαι 6 τῶν ὅλων To;THe.—Justin Martyr
in Dial. cum Tryph.
+ Dan. vii. 10. t Ibid. Sia: 2k

DIFFERENT MODES OF INSPIRATION.

into effect his wise and holy designs ;* and,
specially, as λειτουργικὰ πνεύματα, “ ministering
spirits, sent forth to minister for those who shall
be heirs of salvation.” Effects which God might
have produced in a direct or immediate manner,
without the intervention of secondary causes, he
has been pleased, for the greater display of his
infinite wisdom and goodness, to devolve upon
the operation of their agency. Of the mode in
which this agency is generally exercised we are
totally ignorant—it being conducted invisibly,
imperceptibly, and upon principles belonging to
a higher sphere of action than that with which we
are conversant. Nor can any reasonably be sur-
prised at our ignorance on this head, who reflect
on the deficiencies of our knowledge with respect
to the manner in which even human spirits act
on each other, or the very limited acquaintance
which we possess with the nature and operations
of our own intellectual powers. We receive the
fact on the authority of Him who cannot deceive
us; and leave the mode to be discovered, if it
shall please him to reveal it, in that world where
we shall enjoy immediate converse with these
celestial messengers, and where, there is reason
to anticipate, the history of their wondrous and
greatly - diversified ministrations will furnish
themes of exalted and ineffable delight.

Of the several remarkable aspects of the
agency of angels furnished in the sacred volume,

* Ps. ciii. 20. 7 Heb. i. 14.

107

LECT. II.

Reality of
their per-
sonal appear-
ance.

108 DIFFERENT MODES OF INSPIRATION.

tecr. 1. that presented by the accounts therein contained
of their personal apparition is most calculated to
strike and interest the mind. Other instances
in which their ministry was employed exhibit the
wonderful effects of their power, but these effects
were brought about in an invisible manner. And
even when they revealed the will of God in
visions or dreams, presenting themselves to view
on such occasions as divine messengers, this ap-
pearance did not consist in any actual contact
into which they were personally brought with
the sense of vision, but solely in a scenic repre-
sentation, which they impressed upon the imagi-
nation of the persons to whom the revelation was
made. But in the cases which we have here in
view, real visible objects were presented to the
organ of sight. They appear to have usually
assumed for the time a material body, in which
they held converse as man with man. Of this we
have examples in the xvuith and xixth chapters
of the book of Genesis. At the commencement
of the former of these two chapters the sacred
historian informs us in general terms, that
Manifest JEHOVAH appeared unto Abraham “ in the plains
Abraham. of Mamre.” He then enters into an enumera-
tion of particulars descriptive of this Divine
manifestation, from which it appears that it con-
sisted in the presentation to the view of the
patriarch of three persons in human form, whom
he immediately saluted, and towards whom he
proceeded to perform the customary rites of

DIFFERENT MODES OF INSPIRATION.

109

oriental hospitality. That, at this time, he tecr.1.

conceived his guests to be more than human
does not appear; that it should ever have been
imagined that all three were Divine persons, seems
scarcely credible; yet some injudicious advocates
of the doctrine of the Trinity have actually ad-
vanced the absurd hypothesis, and thus given
occasion to the Jews to turn into ridicule a truth
otherwise abundantly supported by Scripture
proofs of the most unexceptionable character.
Yet, that one of the three was a Divine person
is a fact, which even the Jews themselves have
been compelled to admit on the ground of the
extraordinary reverence shown to him by Abra-
ham ; his promising to perform a miracle in
restoring pristine vigour to Sarah; his being ex-
pressly called Jehovah, ver. 13, 17, 20, 22; and
his having prayer and supplication addressed to
him on the part of the patriarch, ver. 23—32.
So powerfully have they felt the force of these
reasons, that, in pointing the word, which is
translated ‘‘ Lord” in the third verse, they have
not only given it a long vowel, pronouncing it
πὸ, Adondi, which is equivalent, as it regards
the exclusiveness of its application, to miny, Jz-
HOVAH, and thus distinguished it from »34s Adonz,
which only answers to.our ‘ Sir,” but have
mserted in the margin the term wp, “ Sacred,”
to intimate that the word, as here employed, is
not to be read or understood as a common term,
but as a Divine name, descriptive of the sovereign

110

DIFFERENT MODES OF INSPIRATION,

tect. 0. rule of Jehovah. That this construction of the

passage is very ancient appears from the manner
in which it is rendered by the translator in the
version of the LXX. and by the Chaldee para-
phrast. The reading of the former is κύριε, not
κύριε μοῦ; that of the latter », which is the ab-
breviated form of mim, JEnovan. Even Dr.
Priestley admits that there was a real human
appearance of Jehovah on the occasion. ‘ ‘There
** cannot,” he says, “ be a doubt but that what
“6 15 here called an appearance of Jehovah was in
“the form of man. For one of the three (who
“all appeared in that form) and for whom
«* Abraham even made an entertainment of which
‘they actually partook, addressed him in that
“ς character.”* And on the 9th verse he re-
marks, ‘‘ That the speaker in this verse is he
“who assumed the character of the Supreme
““ Being is particularly evident from verse 13.”
It would seem, nevertheless, that whatever there
may have been of the appearance of superiority
in the person to whom the patriarch specially
addressed himself, he did not at first recognise in
him any strictly divine attribute ; and therefore
this rendering, however ancient, is not to be
defended or followed; but must give place to
that of the Venetian Greek (δέσποτ᾽ ἐμὲ), our own,
and other modern versions, in which the language
is that which may be employed in reference to

* Note on Gen. xviii. 1.

DIFFERENT MODES OF INSPIRATION.

111

any superior, or merely as a courteous form of L£cT. 1.

address. ὦ

The opimion, which has very generally ob-
tained, that there was, on this occasion, a
personal appearance of the Logos, accompanied
by two created angels, seems to be the only one
which harmonizes all the circumstances of the
narrative. It was He who assumed the language
and received the homage which belong to Je-
hovah alone; before whom Abraham still con-
tinued to stand, after the other messengers had
departed; who responded to his pleadings in
behalf of the devoted cities; and who also dis-
appeared at the close of this wonderful scene.

The angels, in common with their Lord, whom
they accompanied, partook of the patriarchal hos-
pitality, and then proceeded to execute the com-
mission with which they had been entrusted. In
affirming that they actually ate the food which
was placed before them, we simply assert what is
expressly declared by the sacred penman, 352s,
“‘and they pip Eat.” We are aware that the
supposed absurdity of spirits consuming material
food has led to the interpretation that their eat-
ing was in appearance only, not in reality. It is
an interpretation of no modern date. It is found
in Josephus,* in the Targum of Jonathan, in the
Talmud,t and more recently in the Commentary
of Solomon Jarchi, and is countenanced by a

* Antiq. lib. i. cap. ii. 2. + Baba Metzia, cap. vii.

112

DIFFERENT MODES OF INSPIRATION.

LECT. 1. statement made in the fabulous book of ‘T'obit. *

It has also been adopted by Theodoret, in his
Questions on Genesis, and by other christian
commentators, both of ancient and modern
times; and Thomas Aquinas attempts to prove,+
that no other view can be taken of it. But that
it is perfectly gratuitous must be evident, when
we reflect, that the bodies in which the angels
appeared were not spectral illusions, or mere
phantasmata, but proper organic bodies, which
actually stood, walked, and gave utterance to”
articulate sounds, just as those do, to which our
own spirits are united; and with equal con-
sistency might it be maintained, that they really
performed none of these actions, as to contend
that their consumption of the food presented to
them was a mere semblance of the act, and not
the act itself. Whether the food thus consumed
was absolutely required for the sustenance of the
bodies in which they appeared, or whether it was
actually converted into animal substance, it
would be presumption either to affirm or deny ;
but that they did not literally partake of the
repast which had been provided for them can
only be asserted on principles of interpretation
which would disturb the security of all simple
historical narrative.

From the intimate coherence of the matter
which forms the subject of these two chapters, it

* Cap. xii. 10. + Quest. 41. Art. 111.

DIFFERENT MODES OF INSPIRATION. 113

has, with the greatest probability, been inferred, Lect. 1
that the two angels, moyben δ, who are de-
scribed as coming to Lot in Sodom, are the same tom
who had just left Abraham. And that they ap-
peared to him in the same human form is equally
obvious from the circumstances of the story.
They not only presented themselves to his bodily
organs of vision, and to those of the inhabitants
of Sodom, but conversed with him in an audible
manner; and it is said of them in reference to
the feast which he prepared for them, as it was
in reference to the former instance, that “ they
did eat.”

The principal design of their visit was to
announce to Lot and his family the purpose of
God to destroy the abandoned city which he had
unwisely selected for the place of his residence,
and to urge their immediate escape from the im-
pending catastrophe. In making this announce-
ment, they blended tones of earnestness with
accents of mercy ; and did not quit the object of
their guardian-solicitude till they had conducted
him safely to Zoar.

Another remarkable instance of angelic appear- Τὸ Davia
ance occurs in the history of David. We are
informed, 1 Chron. xxi. that, in visitation of his
presumptuous conduct in causing an enrolment
to be made of all Israel, with a view, it would
seem, partly to gratify a vain-glorious disposition,
and partly to create a permanent military service,
an angel was despatched to inflict pestilence on

114

DIFFERENT MODES OF INSPIRATION.

tect. 1. the land, in consequence of which not fewer than

seventy thousand of the people perished. ‘The
same celestial messenger was commissioned to
destroy the metropolis, and had actually begun to
execute his commission, when Jehovah graciously
arrested him in his progress. In order more deeply
to impress the mind of the monarch with a sense
of the impending judgment which he had been
charged to inflict, the angel took his station by
the threshing-floor of Ornan the Jebusite, where
he was distinctly seen by David, rising majestically
in form, between the earth and the heaven, with a
drawn sword in his hand, stretched out over
Jerusalem. In the mean time he communicated
to Gad a divine message, which that prophet
was instructed to deliver to the king; it not
being deemed proper, under the peculiar aggra-
vation of the monarch’s guilt, that he should be
honoured with any direct revelation on the part
of the angel. ὶ

It has been thought by some, that as the Jews
were accustomed to regard certain diseases, and
even death itself, as under the control and direc-
tion of individual angels, and to speak of the
pestilence as ‘‘the angel of death,” the whole
account of the appearance contained in _ this
chapter and the parallel one, 2 Sam. xxiv., may
be resolved into a figurative or poetical descrip-
tion of that awful malady. To such a construc-
tion of the narrative, however, insuperable
objections present themselves. In the first place,

DIFFERENT MODES OF INSPIRATION.

115

the occurrence of a bold, poetical figure, in tecr. τι.

plain, unimpassioned prose, would be altogether
out of place. Every other part of the style of
this historical portion of sacred truth is of the
most simple description; and the idea of any
᾿ thing else being here meant by the phrase “ the
angel of the Lord” than a real superhuman
intelligent agent, the idea uniformly attaching to
it elsewhere in Scripture, would never occur to
any one who was not anxious to derive support
from it in favour of some preconceived opinion.
Secondly, it cannot be proved that the Jewish
notion respecting the angels presiding over
certain diseases, obtained till after the captivity ;
consequently, any application of such a notion
with a view to elucidate an historical document
of so early a date as that of Samuel is totally
irrelevant. Like many other ideas which we
find among the later Jews, there is every reason
to believe it was adopted by them during the
exile, when they were brought into close contact
with the superstitions of their conquerors.
Thirdly, nothing would be more ridiculous or
absurd than to refer the different particulars,
which are so definitely and specifically described,
to any other than a real personal appearance.
The standing between the earth and the heaven ;
the drawn sword in the hand of the angel ; his
being seen both by David and by Ornan, with
his four sons, who were so struck with fear that

they immediately hid themselves; and his giving
1 2

116

DIFFERENT MODES OF INSPIRATION.

Lecr. 1. an order to David to erect an altar to Jehovah ;—

To Zecha-
riah.

are circumstances of so marked a character, that
every attempt to explain them away, or diminish
their force, merits unqualified reprobation.

Of the different angelic appearances recorded
in the New Testament, none are more remark-
able, or exhibited with a greater degree of pro-
minence, than those of Gabriel, of which we
have an account in the first chapter of the
Gospel by Luke. It is only a short time since
the enemies of our Lord’s miraculous conception
called in question the authenticity of the initial
portion of this Gospel; and Mr. Belsham had
at once the effrontery and imprudence to print
it with Italics, as if it had actually been spurious,
in his “‘ Improved Version” of the New Testa-
ment. So completely, however, has its genuine-
ness been demonstrated, that even Paulus, the
corypheus of the Neologians, has shown that
the sceptical view cannot be sustamed on -any
grounds either of an internal or of an historical
nature; but, true to the wretched principles of
pseudo-criticism with which his mind has long
been imbued, he sets himself to reduce every
thing of a supernatural character to the level of

> and,

what he designates “ spiritual intuition ;’
after adverting to what he conceives to have
been the external occasion, proceeds psycho-
logically to explain the narrative. According
to his opinion, the scene in which Zechariah was

concerned was partly an optical and_ partly

DIFFERENT MODES OF INSPIRATION.

117

a mental illusion. Under the influence of feel- Lecr. τι.

ings of the most profound reverence, the priest
of the course of Abiah approached the altar for
the first time in the performance of his duty,
and, as the fumes of incense ascended to heaven,
the rays of light from the seven lamps of the
candlestick in the holy place were intercepted,
and formed all kinds of shapes, and, among
others, one of a most singular appearance at the
right side of the altar, which he took to be a
celestial genius. All that followed was the
mere working of his imagination, aided by the
fond wishes of his heart, to which he had given
utterance in prayer. The address of the angel,

his own interrogatories, and the reply that was |

made to them, were all purely ideal! But the
psychological interpreter does not stop here.
By the magic touch of his hermeneutical wand,
the dumbness of Zechariah is resolved into
simple silence—a silence which, for the space of
nine months, he was afraid to break, lest it might
frustrate the hopes which had been excited in
his mind!* It may truly be affirmed, that how
deficient soever the Scriptures may appear in
real miracles to the eye of thorough-paced
Rationalists, there is no lack of the wonderful
and incredible in the expositions which they
have furnished of such passages as contain them.

But what student of the Divine oracles is
there who has made himself acquainted with

* Exeget. Handbuch.

118

DIFFERENT MODES OF INSPIRATION.

Lect. π. the various circumstances connected with the

early revelations, and interpreted the language
of the historical documents in which they are
embodied, according to just principles of phi-
lology, who does not discover in the account
which Luke furnishes of the communications
between the angel and Zechariah, features of
supernatural interposition perfectly parallel in
character with those which took place under
preceding economies? ‘The description here
given is in the same simple, unadorned, narrative
style, which we find in the writings of Moses,
and other books of the Old Testament, con-
taining statements respecting the appearance of
angelic bemgs to the servants of Jehovah.
There is evidently, in this respect, an almost
imperceptible transition from the ancient state
of things to that which introduced the Christian
dispensation. ‘The ministering spirits who had
formerly been commissioned to make known the
will of God, and especially to announce im-
portant future events, are now employed to
prepare the way for the grand revelation, with
a prospective view to which all the others had
been imparted. Of these one is selected to
enjoy the distinguished honour of predicting
the immediate birth of the Saviour, and of his
harbinger and relative, John. On_ presenting
himself at first to Zechariah, he is spoken of
indefinitely as “an angel of the Lord ;” and
it is clear the officiating priest could only have

DIFFERENT MODES OF INSPIRATION.

regarded him as one of those celestial messen-
gers of whom he had often read in the holy
Scriptures ; but, in the course of his interview
with him, he ascertained from himself that he
was the identical angel who had announced to
Daniel the period of the seventy weeks, and
the advent and death of Messiah. With the
exception of Michael, who is designated “ one
of the chief princes,” (Dan. x. 13,) he is the
only angel specified by name in the inspired
volume. From the circumstance of his assuming
the human form, and conversing familiarly as
the messenger of God in that form, he was
called Yy7a2, GaBRIEL, ὃ. 6. “the man of God ;”
and it is in reference to this that Daniel further
describes him as 5332 ws, THE MAN GABRIEL,
(ch. ix. 21.) He describes himself as standing in
the presence of God, by which is intimated the
favour in which he was with the Most High,
and his readiness to receive and execute Divine
commands. On the present occasion he was
not only commissioned to promise Zechariah
a son, who should prepare the world for the
appearance of the long-expected Messiah, but
empowered miraculously to deprive him for a
time of the use of speech, as a mark of the
displeasure of God on account of his un-
belief.

Six months afterwards the same exalted mes-
senger was despatched to Nazareth, for the spe-
cific purpose of communicating to the Virgin

119

LECT. II.

And to Mary.

120

DIFFERENT MODES OF INSPIRATION.

Lect. 1. Mary the news that she was to be the mother of

our Lord. His appearance filled her with per-
turbation of mind, which he immediately pro-
ceeded to remove ; and after delivering his
message, and assuring her of the certainty of
the promise which it contained receiving its ful-
filment, he withdrew into the invisible world.

On comparing the instances of the actual
appearance of angels, of which those we have
just investigated are merely a specimen, the con-
viction is irresistibly forced upon the mind, that,
upon such occasions, they assumed real, though
not permanent, material bodies. Functions,
proper to real bodies, are unequivocally ascribed
to them. They became the subjects of real,
not of imaginary vision. They spoke in audible
language. They came into real and palpable
contact with those to whom they were sent.
They were recognised as real material objects,
endowed with intelligence, not only by one, but
by more persons at the same time. In short,
the evidence in support of the conclusion at
which we have arrived, is so full and satisfactory,
that it is difficult to perceive how it can be
resisted.

That angels are not, in their own nature,
pure spirits, but are invested with tenuous,
subtil bodies, is an opinion which was early
imported from the Platonic school into the
Christian Church. Most of the Fathers held
that pure incorporeity is a property exclusively

DIFFERENT MODES OF INSPIRATION.

121

distinctive of the Divine nature, and that all cecr. τι.

other spirits have a corporeal vestment—thin,
indeed, ethereal, and totally different from what-
ever belongs to the grossness of our material
bodies, yet as completely distinguishing them
from the absolutely incorporeal God, as those
with which mankind are invested remove them
to a distance from these celestial intelligences.
So extensively did this tenet at length prevail,
that at the seventh Qcumenical, or second
Nicene council, held in the year 787, it was
established as a point of orthodox belief. It
was afterwards, however, called in question by
many of the schoolmen, who adopted the
opinion of Lombard, that the angels have no
corpus proprium, i.e. no body of their own,
but have it in their power to assume one, in
order to become visible to men.* Several of
the modern continental divines, as Reinhard,
Doderlein, Ammon, and Bretschneider,t have
revived the ancient dogma; and it has been
thought by some that the admission of such
thin, subtil bodies of fire or air, would facilitate
our conceptions of the operations of angels
within the sphere of the material world. But
an impartial investigation of the various phe-
nomena connected with their actual appearances
as described in Scripture, shows that even if we

* Knapp’s Christian Theology, vol. i. pp. 430, 431.
+ Bretschneider’s Handbuch der Dogmatik, vol. i. p. 597.

122

DIFFERENT MODES OF INSPIRATION.

Lect. u. were to adopt this opmion, it would not advance

us a single step in our knowledge of the subject,
nor enable us to form, in any degree, a more
satisfactory judgment respecting the mode in
which those superior beings placed themselves
in material contact with humanity. The pro-
duction of those bodies or vehicles through
which they held intercourse with men, was, so
far as our acquaintance with material bodies
goes, strictly miraculous; and it is difficult to
conceive how pure spirituality on the one hand,
or an ethereal corporeity of angelic nature on
the other, im any way affects this undeniable fact
of the case.

LECTURE III.

DIFFERENT MODES OF INSPIRATION— (continued. )

HEB. I. 1, 2.

** God, who at sundry times and in divers man-
ners spake in time past unto the fathers by the
prophets, hath in these last days spoken unto
us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of
all things, by whom also he made the worlds.”

In the last Lecture a view was taken of the ποτ. uo.
employment of angelic agency in revealing the
will of God to his church ; and several instances
were adduced with a view to elucidate the
manner in which it was rendered available for
that end. There remains to be considered a
transaction of a mixed character in the history

of divine revelations, in which the angels are
represented as having taken part—the giving of Promu-

gation of the

the law from Mount Sinai. In asserting that law from
this transaction, so memorable in the history of
the Hebrews, exhibits a mixed character, we do

it on the ground that it consisted partly in the

exercise of the mediatorial agency of the Logos,

124

DIFFERENT MODES OF INSPIRATION.

Lect. ut. and partly in that of angels, and combined, in

the entireness of the scene, a remarkable per-
sonal manifestation with the employment of
invisible power, and the widely-extended pro-
duction of audible and intelligible language.

The presence of an immense number of
angels on that occasion can only be called in
question by those who make light of the tes-
timony of Scripture, or do not believe in the
existence of such beings, or in their ministry in
reference to human affairs. In direct allusion
to this event, the author of Ps. ἴχνη]. 17, sings
in the following strains: ‘‘ The chariots of God
“‘ are twenty thousand, even thousands of angels :
“the Lord is among them, as in Sinai, in the
“holy place.” In the poem composed by
Moses, and delivered to the children of Israel
immediately before his death, he thus commences
in language of uncommon grandeur and beauty :

«ς Jehovah came from Sinai,
He arose from Seir,
He shone from Mount Paran :
He came with holy myriads :
In his right hand he had a fiery law,
(Yet he loved the people.)
All thy holy ones were with thee,
They bowed themselves at thy feet ;—
Each conveyed thy oracles.
A law Moses ordained for us,
An inheritance for the congregation of Jacob.
In Jeshurun he was king,
When the chiefs of the people assembled,
When the tribes of Israel were one.” *

* Deut. xxxili. 2—5. See Note H.

DIFFERENT MODES OF INSPIRATION. 125

Making every allowance for the poetic costume Lect. ut.
in which the facts here described are arrayed, it
is unquestionable that it is the object of the
Jewish legislator to celebrate the majestic descent
of Jehovah on Sinai, the effulgence of which
was reflected through the whole of the Arabian
desert ; that, in this descent, he was accompanied
by myriads of holy angels; that the object to be
attained by it was the solemn announcement of
his law; that these superior spirits prostrated
themselves in his presence, and received the
divine commandments to promulgate among the
people ; that though the law was delivered under
circumstances that were highly calculated to
inspire the Israelites with alarm, it was never-
theless to be regarded as a signal proof of the
love of Jehovah towards them; and, finally,
that the law thus given became their peculiar
and exclusive property.

That it was the Logos, or the Son of God, in curist tne
his pre-existent manifestive character, whose elk ane
glory was displayed on this occasion, is placed
beyond dispute by the declaration of Stephen,
that it was “‘ THE ANGEL, τοῦ ᾿Αγγέλου, who
spake to Moses in the Mount Sinai,’—namely,
the same angel whom he had just mentioned as
having appeared to him in the bush; whom he
designates the angel of the Lord, and who pro-
claimed himself to be the God of his fathers—
the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and

126 DIFFERENT MODES OF INSPIRATION.

tect. τπ. the God of Jacob. (Acts vii. 30—38.)* Nor
is the evidence of this fact less convincing
which is furnished by Paul in his Epistle to the
Hebrews. Warning that people against apo-
stasy, he reminds them of the punishment which
had been inflicted upon those who refused to
obey Moses, who was merely of earthly origin ;
and contrasting with his the superior dignity and
authority of Christ, he adds, ‘“‘ WHOosE voice
then shook the earth”t—a statement which is
allowed by the best commentators to identify
our Saviour with Jehovah, the God of Israel,
whose voice convulsed Sinai, and filled the
people with terror. In corroboration of this
view of the subject may be adduced the cir-
cumstance, that soon after the promulgation of
the decalogue, when, by special invitation,
Moses, with Aaron, Nadab, Abihu, and seventy
of the elders of Israel, ascended the Mount,
they were favoured with a vision of the God of

* Most of the Fathers recognised the divine Logos in the
angel who appeared at the bush; but none of them has ex-
pressed himself more explicitly than Theodoret: Ὅλον τὸ
χωρίον, he says, δείκνυσι Θεὸν ὄντα τὸν ὀφθέντα" κέκληκε δὲ
αὐτὸν καὶ ἄγγελον, ἵνα γνῶμεν, ὡς ὁ ὀφθεὶς οὐκ ἔστιν ὁ Θεὸς
καὶ πατήρ' τίνος γὰρ ἄγγελος ὁ πατήρ; ἀλλ᾽ ὁ μονογενὴς υἱὸς
ὁ μεγάλης βουλῆς ayyedoce—Quest. V. in Exod.

+ Heb. xii. 25, 26, “ Whose voice,” i.e. the voice of
Christ: so Michaelis, Storr, Cramer, Rosenmiiller, Boehme,
Kuinoel, and Bloomfield. It is one of the many passages in
the New Testament which ascribe to Christ the same things
that are ascribed to Jehovah in the Old Testament.—Stuart,
in loe.

DIFFERENT MODES OF INSPIRATION.

127

Israel. It is common, indeed, to explain the L:c?. 11.

object of this vision so as to make it signify
nothing more than a singular display of the
Divine glory ; but such an interpretation is no
less at variance with the usage of the phrase
than it is with other parts of the sacred narrative.
To see God, in the language of the Pentateuch,
signifies either to have a view of his divine
essence, which is declared to be impossible for
mortals, or to have such a view of him as was
afforded when he is said to have appeared to any
one, namely, in a certain visible form, more or
less glorious according to circumstances. The
Israelites saw the glory of the Lord, (Exod.
xxiv. 17,) yet it is never affirmed of them that
they saw the Lord himself. On the contrary,
Moses appeals to their own knowledge of the
fact, that no similitude was presented to their
view, (Deut. iv. 12): “The Lord spake unto
you out of the midst of the fire: ye heard the
voice of the words, but saw no similitude ; only
ye heard a voice.” It was a privilege, however,
which Moses enjoyed, as we are expressly in-
formed, Numbers xii. 8: ‘‘ And the similitude
of the Lord shall he behold.” And there is
reason to believe, that though his elect com-
panions were not permitted to obtain so full
a discovery on the occasion to which reference
is here made as that conferred upon him, they
nevertheless did behold Him, who, before his

actual assumption of human nature, existed ‘‘ in

128

DIFFERENT MODES OF INSPIRATION.

LECT. II. the form of God,” (μορφοῦ Θεοῦ, the similitude,

Nature of
the angelic
agency em-
ployed.

likeness of God,) “ and thought it no robbery
to be equal with God.” (Phil. ii. 7.) The lan-
guage of the whole passage is quite peculiar:
** And they saw the God of Israel ; and there
“‘ was under his feet, as it were, a paved work of
“‘a sapphire stone, and as it were the body of
“the heaven in his clearness. And upon the
“nobles of the children of Israel he laid not
“his hand: also they saw God, and did eat and
* drink.” (Exod. xxiv. 10, 11.)

Most of those who have admitted the fact of
angelic ministration at the giving of the law,
confine that ministration to their attendance in
regular hosts or bands; while some go further,
and maintain that they were employed in pro-
ducing the awful physical phenomena which
accompanied the event. The former class en-
deavour to find support to their hypothesis by
pressing the etymological meaning of the words
employed by Stephen and Paul, when describing
the transaction. In his address to the Jews, the
proto-martyr states, that their ancestors, whom
they resembled in obstinacy, ‘‘ received the law
by the disposition of angels,” εἰς διαταγὰς ἀγγέλων,
(Acts vii. 53.) And the Apostle, writing to the
Galatians, (ch. iii. 19,) says, that it ‘ was or-
dained by angels, Svatayeis δι᾿ ἀγγέλων, in the
hand of a mediator.” In the passage in the
Acts, the original term rendered ‘“ disposition”
is derived from that which, in the Epistle, is

DIFFERENT MODES OF INSPIRATION.

129

translated “ ordained.” And as both have been tecr. πὶ.

taken in a military sense to denote the marshal-
ling or arranging of troops in order of battle,
and the divisions or squadrons thus arranged,
it has been inferred that the idea intended to be
conveyed is that of the regular order or arrange-
ment which obtained among the myriads of
angels who were present at the promulgation of
the law. Now, though it is conceded that the
verb διατάσσω is frequently used in a military
sense, yet the substantive διαταγὴ is never so
employed; and as both are applied in common
usage to acts of legislation, which is the subject
of which the sacred writers are treating, it
seems more reasonable to conclude that ‘they
used them in their current acceptation, as it
respects the act of promulgating laws, than that
they only meant to say, that, when the law was
given, the angels were present in cohorts or
troops, attending upon the Divine Majesty.
The one interpretation is tame, and little to the
point ; the other is appropriate to the occasion.
Nor does it seem the most natural construction
to be put upon the passages in question, to re-
strict the meaning to any thing like mere acces-
sory subserviency, as if the angels only increased
the external pomp, or at most produced the
thunders, lightnings, and tempest, but took no
direct or immediate part in announcing the law
itself to the assembled Israelites. It only re-
quires a cursory glance at the parallel instances
K

130

DIFFERENT MODES OF INSPIRATION.

Lect. 11. quoted by the critics to perceive, that the terms

here employed express actual agency with respect
to the communication of the Divine institutes,
and that, if any thing less had been intended,
very different phraseology would have been em-
ployed.

But what appears to set the question com-
pletely at rest is the positive manner in which
the apostle speaks respecting it, (Hebrews ii. 2,)
where he asserts that the word was spoken by
angels, ὁ δί ἀγγέλων λαληθεὶς λόγος. ‘That it is
the Sinaic law he means by “ the word,” and not
any of the other communications made through
their instrumentality to the ancients, is evident
from the connection, from what is predicated of
those who treated it with contempt, and from
a comparison with chap. x. 28, 29, and xii. 25.
And it is equally clear, from the identity of the
mode in which the law and the gospel are here
said to have been announced, that it was a verbal
ministration with which the angels were occupied
at Sinai—the law which was spoken by them
being contrasted with the message of “‘ salvation,
‘“‘ which at the first began to be spoken by the
“Lord, and was afterwards confirmed by them
“that heard him.” (ver. 3.) It has been ob-
jected to this view of the subject, that no
mention is made of any articulate words, enun-
ciated by angels, in the history of the transaction
contained in the Pentateuch; but that, on the
contrary, whatever was spoken is said to have

DIFFERENT MODES OF INSPIRATION. 131

been spoken by God himself. But to this it is vecr. mm.
sufficient to reply, that the history makes no
reference whatever even to the presence of
angels on the occasion; and that we are war-
ranted to believe that they were actually engaged
in communicating the law to the people on the
very same authority on which we believe that
they took any part at all in the transaction—the
express testimony of the New ‘Testament.*
Nor must it be forgotten, that though the
passage already quoted from Deuteronomy is
not clothed in the simple style of history, but
appears in the garb of poetry, it is nevertheless
based upon historical facts, and, as we have
already shown, unequivocally teaches both the
presence of those celestial beings, and the nature
of their ministry at the giving of the law. With
respect to that part of the objection which as-
serts to Jehovah the exclusive enunciation of
the decalogue, it will not weigh with any who
are familiar with the circumstance, that, in the
Bible, just as in other books, an individual is
frequently said to do that which he really effects
through the instrumentality of another, or which
they do conjointly.

* The statements of the New Testament in regard to this
subject are quite in accordance with the traditionary inter-
pretation of the Jews. Thus Josephus puts the words into
the mouth of Herod, when addressing the Jewish army :
τῶν μὲν Ἑλλήνων ἱεροὺς καὶ ἀσύλους εἶναι τοὺς κήρυκας φαμέ-
νων, ἡμῶν δὲ τὰ κάλλιστα τῶν δογμάτων, καὶ τὰ ὁσιώτατα τῶν
ἐν τοῖς νόμοις δι’ ἀγγέλων παρὰ τοῦ Θεοῦ μαθόντων᾽--- Απέϊαᾳ.
lib. xv. v. 8.

K 2

132

LECT. IIT.

History of
angelic ap-
pearances,

DIFFERENT MODES OF INSPIRATION.

The fact of the case seems to have been this:
God distinctly and audibly delivered his law on
the mountain, and each commandment, as it was
pronounced, was repeated in loud and thrilling
tones by the vast company of angels by whom
he was surrounded, just as afterwards, when the
news of the Saviour’s birth were announced to
the shepherds, ‘ there was suddenly with the
“‘ angel a multitude of the heavenly host, praising
“‘ God, and saying, Glory to God in the highest,
“and on earth peace, good will toward men.”
It is not more difficult to conceive of the trans-
mission of the articulate sounds in the one case
than it is in the other, though it is impossible for
us to form any thing like an adequate conception
of the transcendently-powerful effect which must
have been produced by the magnitude of sound
proceeding from the united myriads, whose
service was employed on the solemn occasion.
While such a representation of the nature of
this great transaction at Sinai cannot, it is pre-
sumed, give offence to any candid mind, it has
the advantage of harmonizing the otherwise
conflicting circumstances which press upon our
notice. It is advanced, of course, purely as an
hypothesis, as every statement necessarily must
be which respects objects, the existence of which,
but not the manner of whose existence and
operations, is revealed to us.

We conclude what we have to offer, in this
place, respecting the ministry of angels, with the

DIFFERENT MODES OF INSPIRATION.

133

following historical remarks. In the patriarchal vecr. τὴ.

ages, or the periods which preceded the esta-
blishment of the Jewish dispensation, their
appearances, both in real bodily forms, and in
dreams, were more numerous than afterwards ;
which may be accounted for by the circumstance,
that the Church was at that time without any
public interpreters of the Divine will. Each
father of a family, or he failing, the eldest son,
officiated in holy things on behalf of those with
whom he was connected by the ties of domestic
relationship. The extraordinary dealings of
God with men possessed more of an individual
character, and were consequently more limited
in regard to the extent of their immediate
operation and influence than they were after-
wards. In the time of Moses and Joshua, no
instances occur of their actual appearance—
Jehovah revealing his will directly to Moses ;
though, as we have seen, their agency was em-
ployed at Sinai. During the period of the
Judges, and of Samuel and David, they are
again introduced to our notice; after which
their visible ministry seems to have been with-
drawn till about the time of the Babylonish
captivity, and at the commencement of the
Christian dispensation, when it reassumes a pro-
minence in the history of Divine revelation.
But even then it still retains much of the same
character of particularity by which it had for-
merly been marked, having immediate respect

134

DIFFERENT MODES OF INSPIRATION.

Lec. 11. to peculiar circumstances in the experience of

The Urim
and Thum-
mim.

individuals rather than a general bearing upon
the illumination of the Church of God.

Another mode by which Jehovah signified his
will in a supernatural manner was the O58
ΘΟ, Urim and Thummim. Wherein precisely
this mode of revelation consisted, and what is
the precise import of the terms by which it is
described, are points which it is impossible to
determine with any degree of accuracy, owing
to the limited nature of the information which
the Scriptures furnish respecting them. Strictly
speaking, no description whatever is given of
the Urim and Thummim; which is the more
remarkable, on account of the fulness and
minuteness of the description furnished of the
ephod and breastplate with which they were
connected. ‘There are only two passages in the
Mosaic law in which they are specifically men-
tioned along with the high priest’s dress, but in
both they are assumed as something already
known. In Exod. xxviii. 29, 30, we read,
‘And Aaron shall bear the names of the
‘children of Israel in the breastplate of judg-
“ment upon his heart, when he goeth in unto
“the holy place, for a memorial before the
“ Lord continually. And thou shalt put in the
“breastplate of judgment the Urim and the
« Thummim; and they shall be upon Aaron’s
“heart when he goeth in before the Lord: and

DIFFERENT MODES OF INSPIRATION.

135

*¢ Aaron shall bear the judgment of the children vecr. m1.

““ of Israel upon his heart before the Lord con-
“tinually.” And in the account given (Lev.
viii. 5—9) of the investiture of Aaron and his
sons, it is stated, “* And he put the breastplate
upon him: also he put in the breastplate the
Urim and the Thummim.” From the circum-
stance that they are expressly spoken of as being
put in the breastplate, it is impossible to adopt
the opinion of Prideaux, who, to elude the diffi-
culties which clog the several hypotheses to
which he refers, maintains that nothing more
is meant by them than “ the divine virtue and
“power given to the breastplate at its conse-
““ cration, of obtaining an oracular answer from
** God, whenever counsel was asked of him by
“the high priest with it on, in such manner as
“his word did direct; and that the names of
“Urim and Thummim were given to them only
“(0 denote the clearness and perfection which
“these oracular answers always carried with
“them.” The language obviously implies that
they were material substances, corresponding, in
some way or other, to the pectoral, in which
they were inserted. The same fact is completely
subversive of the theory of Josephus and the
Jews, and generally approved by Braunius,
Schroeder, Dathe, Bellermann, and many other
moderns, that they were merely the precious
stones in the breastplate, and that they de-
rived their name from the excessive splendour

136

LECT. III.

Hypothesis
of Castro and
Spencer.

DIFFERENT MODES Ἢ INSPIRATION.

produced by the rays of light reflected from so
many precious gems. In both the passages just
quoted, however, they are represented as distinct
—as something existing separately, before being
placed in the breastplate. No mention, it is
true, is made of them in Exodus, where there is
a description of the stones; and in Leviticus,
where mention is made of the Urim and Thum-
mim, there is no account of the stones; but no
legitimate argument can hence be drawn in
support of their identity, since the breastplate,
so far as the gems are concerned, was evidently
complete without the Urim, which are repre-
sented as having been superadded after the gems
were set. They were in fact no part of the
breastplate properly so called.*

According to the opinion first broached by
Christopher a Castro,t and borrowed from him
by Spencer, who wrote an elaborate dissertation
on the subject,t the Urim and Thummim were
two small golden images, or one such image in
human form, through which God, or an angel
commissioned by him, gave audible responses to
the high priest respecting all points of difficulty
on which he applied for decision. Both authors
are further of opinion that these images were

* Such is clearly the view taken of the subject by David
Kimchi and other rabbins: OTM 7 SEN TAN Nd

ἽΓΙΝ 927 ἘΠῚ oypioan 2 ΠΌΤ 3 oan ONT
WW YAN sndv7.—Lib. Rad. in voe. 7S.

+ De Vaticin. lib. ili. ὁ. 3.
{ De Legibus Hebreorum, tom. ii. Dissert. vil.

DIFFERENT MODES: OF INSPIRATION.

137

adopted from among the teraphim, or super- L&£cT. 1.

stitious figures, to the worship or consultation of
which the ancients were greatly addicted ; and
that the object of their exclusive appropriation
by Moses was to restrain the Hebrews from the
private use of them, and teach them to look to
Jehovah alone for oracular instruction. The
principal passage on which this opinion is founded
is Hosea iil. 4, where it is predicted that “ the
“children of Israel shall abide many days
“‘ without a king, and without a prince, and
“‘ without a sacrifice, and without an image, and
‘‘ without an ephod, and without ¢eraphim,”
where, it is maintained, the connection of the
teraphim with the ephod clearly shows that they
occupied the same place, consequently were
identical with the Urim and Thummim. But
it by no means appears that such is the
true construction of the passage. The pro-
phet is describing a lengthened period during
which the posterity of Abraham were to
live not merely in the disuse of the peculiar
ordinances enjoined in the law of Moses, but
also in a state of total abstinence from the use
of idolatrous rites—precisely the state in which
they have now lived for more than seventeen
centuries. ‘The passage couples four contrary
objects by pairs; one of which is legitimate,
and the other illegitimate. The sacrifice (mar)
and the ephod (7i5s) were of Divine appoint-
ment; ‘the image or pillar (may) on which

138

DIFFERENT MODES OF INSPIRATION.

ΒΕΟΤ. ur. libations were poured, and the teraphim (511)

or penates, were either expressly prohibited, or
regarded as pertaining to idolatry. The same
view of the teraphim is furnished by the con-
nection in which they occur in the history of
Micah, (Judges xvii. 14): “ Then answered the
“‘ five men that went to spy out the country of
““ Laish, and said unto their brethren, Do ye
“know that there is in these houses an ephod,
“and teraphim, and a graven image, and a
“molten image?” It is altogether a gratuitous
assumption to assert that the ephod and the
teraphim were an imitation of the dress of the
Hebrew high priest. The whole appears to
have been idolatrous in its character. ‘ His
‘mother took two hundred shekels of silver,
“and gave them to the founder, who made
“‘ thereof a graven image and a molten image ;
“and they were in the house of Micah. And
“the man Micah had an house of gods, and
“ made an ephod and teraphim, and consecrated
“one of his sons, who became his priest,” (ver.
4,5.) But even on the supposition that there
was imitation on the part of Micah, it does not
follow, that, because the teraphim are mentioned
along with the ephod, they must necessarily
have symbolized other teraphim in the sacred
breastplate. It is much more natural to sup-
pose that they were designed as a substitute for
the true God himself, whose responses, as we
shall presently see, were vouchsafed to the

DIFFERENT MODES OF INSPIRATION. 139

high priest, when in full garniture he applied £2°T πη.
for judgment.

The idea that Jehovah, the very mention of
whose name removes him to an immeasurable
distance from all idols, should have introduced
into one of the most solemn acts of appeal to
himself, as the only living and true God, an
object or objects, which had, from time imme-
morial, received the superstitious homage of
the great bulk of mankind, is so totally re-
pugnant to all our conceptions of his character,
and all the enactments of his law, that we can
only ascribe its adoption to the powerful in-
fluence of prejudice in favour of a particular
hypothesis. ‘The incorporation of images into
any part of the Mosaic institute, in accom-
modation to the grossness of Hebrew pre-
possessions, would have been an act of con-
descension utterly irreconcileable with the
integrity of the Divine Being. So far would
such an arrangement have been from sup-
pressing idolatry, which Spencer and _ others
state to have been its object, that it must have
tended most directly to promote it.*

A modification of this opinion is that expressed Theory of

ilo,

by Philo,t which is still held by many, and as- Gesenius,ana

others.

serted by Gesenius in his Lexicons, according
to which the Urim and Thummim were two small

* For a complete refutation of Spencer, see Witsii
‘Egyptiaca, and Pococke on Hosea iii. 4.
+ De Vita Mosis, tom. ii. p. 152.

140

DIFFERENT MODES OF INSPIRATION.

LecT. 1.oracular images personifying Revelation and

Truth, which were placed in the cavity of the
breastplate. What has been supposed to yield
support to this view is the fact stated by Diodorus
Siculus* and Atlian,t that the Supreme Judge
among the Egyptians wore about his neck a
golden chain set with precious gems, in which was
an image called Zruth. It so happens that the
LXX. have translated own, Thummim, by
᾿αλήθεια, which has the same signification; and
it is by no means impossible that they might
have designedly adopted the term, in order to
conciliate the favourable regard of the Egyptians.
But granting all this, there is nothing to prove
the priority of such a custom to the Mosaic
institute. ‘The writers in question flourished at
too late a period to render their testimony of
any value further than as it regards its existence
in their time; and, in all probability, the refer-
ence made in their works would never have led
to an institution of the comparison, if it had not
been for the coincidence that the same term is
that employed in the Greek version.

Equally unsatisfactory is the theory advanced

Ἐν ἐφόρει δὲ οὗτος (ὁ ἀρχιδικαστὴς) περὶ τὸν τράχηλον ἐκ
χρυσῆς ἀλύσεως ἠρτημένον ζώδιον τῶν πολυτελῶν λέθων, ὁ προ-
σηγόρευον &dOecav.—Biblioth. Hist. lib. i.

+ Δικασταὶ τὸ ἀρχαῖον παρ᾽ Αἰγυπτίοις ἱερεῖς ἦσαν" ἦν δὲ
τούτων ἄρχων ὁ πρεσβύτατος, καὶ ἐδίκαζεν ἅπαντας" ἔδει δὲ
αὐτὸν εἶναι δικαιότατον ἀνθρώπων καὶ ἀφειδέστατων" εἴχε δὲ καὶ
ἄγαλμα περὶ τὸν αὐχένα ἐκ σαπφείρου λίθον, καὶ ἐκαλεῖτο τὸ
ἄγαλμα ἀλήθεια.---Ηἰ5ι. Var. lib. xiv. cap. 34.

DIFFERENT MODES OF INSPIRATION. 141

by Michaelis,* and approved by Jahn,t that the Lect. τι.

Urim and Thummim constituted the sacred lot Fah αὶ

of the Hebrews, and consisted of three stones,
on one of which was engraven 73, Yes; on the
second 85, No; the third being destitute of
any inscription. In order to obtain a direct
answer, the question, it is thought, was always
put in such a way as to call forth one or other
of these words, in case any answer was given.
Nor is there the smallest degree of probability 11 common

the hypothesis, which is perhaps the most gener- ane
ally approved of all, that they consisted in the
emission of light from such of the letters com-
posing the names of the twelve tribes engraven
upon the stones in the breastplate, as were re-
quired in order to form the words of the response.
It having been discovered by the rabbins, most
of whom held this opinion, that the Hebrew
alphabet as furnished by the names of the tribes
was incomplete, they first added the names of
Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the progenitors of
the nation; but finding that the letter Teth was
still wanting, they ingeniously hit upon a whole
sentence: ‘ All these are the tribes of Israel,” t
in one of the words of which it is found. ‘That
this Talmudical camel, as Spencer justly calls it,
should have been swallowed by so many Christian

* Note on Exod. xxviii. 30, and Commentaries on the
Laws of Moses. Art. ecciv.

+ Introd. § 370.

~ Seow seaw ΤῸΝ bo:

142

LECT. III.

Nature of the
oracle.

DIFFERENT MODES OF INSPIRATION.

rabbins, is truly astonishing, and could scarcely
be believed were it not for the propensity which
exists in the human mind, to avow almost any
opinion rather than acknowledge its own igno-
rance.

In contemplation of the judgment with the
impartation of which the Urim and ‘Thummim
were connected, there is a singular propriety in
the selection of the terms by which this mode of
revelation was designated. ‘They seem intended
by way of hendiadys, to express the idea of the
clearest or most perfect revelation. ‘The decision
was that of Jehovah, who could not deceive, and
from whose decision, as the theocratic ruler of the
Hebrews, there could be no appeal. ‘The use
of this oracle appears to have been confined to
matters of importance, such as those which
affected the common interest of the nation, on
which account it was not consulted by the people
generally, nor on ordinary occasions, but was re-
sorted to by the monarch or persons in authority,
in the absence of other means of determining
what was the path of duty.

On examining the different passages in which
the use of the Urim and ‘Thummim is referred
to, there seems to be sufficient ground for the
conclusion that the mode in which these intima-
tions of the Divine will were obtained, consisted
in an audible voice, which gave to the high priest
in brief but explicit terms, direct answers to the
questions proposed. Moses, as the mediator of

DIFFERENT MODES OF INSPIRATION.

143

the old covenant had no successor. With him, “cr. τι.

as we had occasion formerly to observe, the
peculiar privilege of direct and familiar converse
with the Deity ceased. The only legitimate
medium of approach for divine direction after-
wards was the high priest, and it was unlawful
even for him to apply on behalf of any person
except he were arrayed in his full pontifical
dress, and under circumstances of great solemnity
and awe. He was to take his station before the
veil, which concealed the mercy-seat, where the
Divine Presence resided. Thus an instruction
was given respecting Joshua: “ He shall stand
““ before Eleazar the priest, who shall ask counsel
“for him after the judgment of Urim before the
** Lord: at his word they shall go out, and at
*‘ his word they shall come in, both he, and all
“the children of Israel.” (Num. xxvii. 21.) That
Saul had been accustomed to receive responses
in this way is manifest from the statement, 1 Sam.
xxvill. 6, that on account of his disobedient con-
duct they were discontinued: ‘ And when Saul
*‘ inquired of the Lord, the Lord answered him
“not, neither by dreams, nor by Urim, nor by
** prophets.” In no other passage is the use of
this mode of obtaining oracular communications
mentioned by name; but in the history of the
judges and in that of David, it is described in
language more or less indicative of its attendant
circumstances. Those who availed themselves of
it, are said to have asked the Lord; to have

144 DIFFERENT MODES OF INSPIRATION.

LECT. 1. gone up to the house of the Lord; to have asked
counsel of the Lord before the ark of the cove-
nant of God ; and to have called for the ephod,
and then inquired of the Lord. And as the
inquiry was made verbally, it seems undeniable
that the answer consisted in an audible verbal
communication on the part of Jehovah. Hence
the children of Israel in the matter οἵ the
Gibeonites are blamed for not asking counsel at
“the mouth of the Lord,” and in almost every
instance, the response is introduced by the
formula —“ the Lord said.” To which we may
add, that several of these responses are of some
length, and comprise particulars which could
only have been specified by a direct communi-
cation.

How long this mode of divine revelation lasted
we are not informed. No mention is made of it
after the time of Solomon, except in the books
of Ezra and Nehemiah, where notice is taken of
a decision of the governor, that those of the family
of the priests who could not legally prove their
genealogy, and were, as polluted or common men,
put from the priesthood, should not eat of the
most holy things, till there stood up a priest with

cessation Urim and Thummim*—language which plainly

and ultimate ,

reference of _Implies that it was not then in existence, though,
the Urim 5
and Thum- aS Some suppose, it is equally expressive of an
mim. ‘ .
expectation that it would be restored. Others,
however, are of opinion, that as Joshua, the high

* Ezra ii. 63. Neh. vii. 65.

DIFFERENT MODES OF INSPIRATION. 145

priest, already officiated, and might have been L2¢T 11
employed for consultation, just as Phmehas or
Abiathar had formerly been, the reference in
these passages is not to the Jewish pontiff, but to
the Messiah, of whom he was an illustrious type.
Though now excluded from all participation with
their brethren in the rights and functions of the
sacerdotal office, the time would come when all
ceremonial distinctions should be abrogated by
the introduction of the clear and perfect dispen-
sation, and all the members of the church be on
an equality with respect to the enjoyment of her
immunities. This interpretation receives some
degree of support from the declaration of Moses,
recorded Deut. xxxiii. 8: ‘‘ And of Levi he said :
“Thy Thummim and thy Urim belong to thy Holy One,

Whom thou temptedst at Massah,
With whom thou contendedst at the water of Meribah.”’

There is here a manifest reference to the honour
conferred upon the tribe of Levi, by its having,
in the person of the high priest, the exclusive
right of approach to God in matters of public
concernment. It alone possessed the sacred
symbols of Divine adjudication. But though
this was the case, these symbols had a higher
reference. They more properly belonged, or
had respect to Him, whose presence accompanied
the Israelites in the wilderness, and whom, as it
is expressly stated, they tempted at Massah.
That the person referred to was Aaron cannot
be admitted, since it is contrary to the usus
L

146

DIFFERENT MODES OF INSPIRATION.

Let. 1. loquendi of Scripture to employ the verb 753, here

rendered fempt, in the sense of provoking any
mere man. Besides, it does not appear that
Aaron was specially the object of displeasure on
that occasion. ‘The dissatisfaction was princi-
pally directed against Moses; yet it is nowhere
said that they tempted him. This term he ex-
clusively appropriates to the description of their
conduct towards Jehovah: ‘ And he called the
“‘name of the place Massah, and Meribah, because
“of the chiding of the children of Israel, and
“because they tempted the Lord, saying, Is the
‘Lord among us or not ἢ" (Exod. xvii. 7.) On
consulting the New Testament, however, we learn
that it was Christ against whom the children of
Israel rebelled in the desert. ‘‘ Neither,” says
the apostle, (1 Cor. x. 9,) ‘ let us tempt Christ,
as some of them also tempted him, and were
destroyed of serpents.”* ‘To him, therefore, ap-
pertained the Urim and Thummim. He was
the true Light, who, coming into the world,
enlighteneth every man; the Apostle and High
Priest of our profession, by whose complete reve-
lation we are now to abide, and whose decisions
will ultimately fix our eternal condition. In this
aspect of the subject, we may acquiesce in the con-
clusion ofCalvin: ‘‘Neque etiamscire laboro, qualis
fuerit utriusque effigies: res ipsa mihi sufficit.”+

* See Note I.
Ἴ J. B. Carpzov. christiana de Urim et Thummim Con-

jectura. Ugolini Thesaur. xii. Nos. 7, 8, 9, 10, And. Sen-

nerti Dissert. de Urim et Thummim in Thesaur. Theo. Phil.

DIFFERENT MODES OF INSPIRATION.

Besides revealing his will in modes which had
no respect to any peculiarity of circumstances
in the condition of those to whom it was com-
municated, the Most High also employed certain
phenomena in their personal history as the basis
on which the communications rested, or the
medium through which they were made. Among
these, DREAMS and VISIONS occupy a prominent
place in the sacred history. ‘That such are re-
cognised as modes of divine revelation is evident
from the declaration of Jehovah to Aaron and
Miriam: “If there be a prophet among you, I
the Lord will make myself known unto him in
a vision, and will speak unto him in a dream.”
(Num. xii. 6.) And that they were actually
employed, and held in high estimation, is equally
clear from the history of the first Hebrew
monarch, of whom it is said: “ When Saul in-
“quired of the Lord, the Lord answered him
“not, neither by dreams, nor by Urim, nor by
“prophets.” (1 Sam. xxviii. 6.) The withdraw-
ment of the privilege he thus bitterly laments :
“Tam sore distressed ; for the Philistines make
“‘war against me, and God is departed from me,
“and answereth me no more, neither by pro-
“ phets, nor by dreams.” (ver. 15.) And so well
tom. ii. p. 966. Schroeder de Urim et Thum. Stiebriz,
Dissert. de Variis de Urim et Thummim Sententt. Witsius,
ut sup. Braun, de Vestit. Sacerd. Heb. Lightfoot Opera,
vol. i. p- 186. Prideaux, Connections, Part I. book iii.

Schickard de jure Regio, cap. 1. theor. 2. Jennings’ Jewish
Antiq. book i. chap. 5. Calmet’s Dict. Art. Urim.

i, 2

147

LECT. III.

Dreams,

148

LECT. III.

Importance
anciently at-
tached to
dreams,

DIFFERENT MODES OF INSPIRATION.

known was the fact of these phenomena having
been selected by God for the purpose of reveal-
ing his mind, that in the days of Jeremiah it
was common for the false prophets to pretend to
them. Hence the protestation and appeal of the
Lord: “I have heard what the prophets said,
‘* that prophesy lies in my name, saying, 7 have
** dreamed, Ihave dreamed. How long shall this
“6 in the heart of the prophets, that prophesy
** lies ? yea, they are prophets of the deceit of their
** own heart ; which think to cause my people to
“forget my name by their dreams, which they
“tell every man to his neighbour, as their
““ fathers have forgotten my name for Baal. The
‘ prophet that hath a dream, let him tell a dream ;
“and he that hath my word, let him speak my
“ word faithfully. What is the chaff to the wheat?
** saith the Lord.” (Jer. xxiii. 25—28.) The same
thing is obviously implied in the promise of the
renewal of supernatural communications under
the Christian economy : ‘‘ And it shall come to
“ pass afterward, that I will pour out my Spirit
* upon all flesh ; and your sons and your daugh-
“ ters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream
“‘ dreams, your young men shall see visions.”
(Joel ii. 28.)

In few things were the ancients more unani-
mous than their belief in the importance to be
attached to dreams. ‘Their histories are full of
them ; and some of their first philosophers spe-
cially treat of their prognostic character. Nor

DIFFERENT MODES OF INSPIRATION.

149

can this be matter of surprise when it is COn- LEcT. m1.

sidered that notwithstanding the innumerable
instances in which dreams are nothing but the
idlest vagaries of fancy, and involve the most
whimsical and trifling absurdities, important an-
ticipations have sometimes occurred in them,
the verification of which is beyond all reasonable
doubt. Between dreams and subsequent events,
there is occasionally a most remarkable coin-
cidence. ‘To persons unaccustomed to psycholo-
gical investigations, and to those whose views of
the connection between matter and mind, and the
operation and influence of the one upon the other,
were only partially enlightened, such extraor-
dinary coincidences presented themselves in the
aspect of supernatural interpositions ; and every
thing of the kind was viewed as indicative of the
will of the gods.* In proportion, however, to
the advance of science, and the augmentation of
the number of well-attested matters of experi-
ence, light has been thrown on the subject of
dreaming ; and though it belongs to a class of
phenomena hitherto confessedly only partially
developed, and from the invincible mysterious-
ness of the circumstances under which they hap-
pen, never to be fully explained, yet much of the
obscurity in which it was involved has been

* —— «ai yap τ᾽ ὄναρ ἐκ Διὸς torw.—lliad, A. 1. 63.
Jamblich. de Myster. sect. iii. c.3. Cicero de Divinatione,
lib. i.e. 19. Aristotle and Isocrates, as quoted by Wetstein
on Matt. i. 20.

150

DIFFERENT MODES OF INSPIRATION.

Lect. uz, removed. Observations have been collected and

Common
sources of
dreams.

compared, and natural causes have been dis-
covered, sufficient to account for effects which,
in the absence of such knowledge, must have been
ascribed to a higher source. In many instances,
dreams are nothing but the resuscitation or re-
vival of ideas, which have formerly occupied the
mind. They may not be reimbodied precisely
in the same elemental combinations ; on the con-
trary, they rather present themselves in all kinds
of heterogeneous and incoherent associations ;
but still, when distinctly recollected and subjected
to a strict and careful analysis, such dreams may
be clearly referred to previous circumstances in
the history of the individual. Sometimes they
are made up of a motley group, the component
parts of which are collected from certain transac-
tions in which he was engaged on the preceding
day ; at other times they are connected with
events which transpired at an earlier and even a
remote period of life. The immediate link by
which they are connected, or the operating cause
of the reproduction, may seldom be discoverable ;
but when, by the aid of memory, a comparison
has been instituted, no doubt is left on the mind
respecting the relation in which the one stands
to the other.

It has been clearly ascertained that certain
states or habits of the bodily constitution, certain
organic disturbances, a change of situation or

posture, and other external circumstances, which

DIFFERENT MODES OF INSPIRATION.

make impressions on the senses, not only exert
an active influence on the production of dreams,
but stamp a discriminative peculiarity of character
on their phenomena. Some of these circum-
stances impart to them a vividness and distinct-
ness which invest them with almost the reality
of waking existence: others produce an obscurity
in which the images are but dimly perceived.
Sometimes dreams are of the most pleasurable
character; at others, they are characterised by
all that is horrific and appalling. How inimi-
tably graphic the description given of the latter
class by Eliphaz :
“ To me a matter was secretly conveyed ;

My ear perceived a whisper of it.

Amid agitations from visions of the night,

When deep sleep falleth upon men,

Fear came upon me and tremor ;

The multitude of my bones trembled ;

A spirit passed before me ;

The hair of my flesh stood on end.

It stopped ;—but I could not discern its form ;

A figure was before my eyes.

There was silence :—then I heard a voice:

‘ Shall man be just before God?
‘ Shall man be pure before his Maker ?’”

Our object in adverting to some of the phe-
nomena of natural dreams is to pave the way for
the introduction of the observations which we
have to offer on such as were supernatural and
divine. Those who have treated on the subject
appear, for the most part, to have proceeded on
the principle, that the dreams mentioned in

151

LECT. ΠῚ.

Points of
agreement
between
common and
supernatural
dreams.

152

DIFFERENT MODES OF INSPIRATION.

LecT. m1. Seripture had nothing in common with those

which are attributable to mere natural causes;
and to have been of opinion that, being miracu-
lous, it would derogate from their high and
sacred claims to bring them in any way into
comparison with manifestations which are purely
the result of a morbid state of the brain. It
cannot be denied, however, that, physiologically
considered, they possess various palpable points of
coincidence. Both classes are produced during
sleep, when there is a cessation of the usual
action of the sentient powers; and, so far as the
body is concerned, nothing is in operation except
those organic processes which are essential to
the existence of animal life. In both the ima-
gination is the principal faculty of the mind,
which is in an active state. They likewise agree
in the sympathy frequently found to exist be-
tween the creations that are called forth, and the
character, or external and mental circumstances
of those who are the subjects of them. Those
who had supernatural dreams were sometimes
incapable of recollecting them when they awoke,
just as it often ‘happens in regard to such as are
natural. Of these common features the last but
one merits particular attention. In the dream
which Abraham had, when a deep sleep, and a
horror of great darkness, fell upon him,* the
subject was one which had occupied his thoughts

during the day, —the posterity which God had

* Gen. xv.

DIFFERENT MODES OF INSPIRATION. 153

7 promised him. ‘That of Abimelech had respect recr. πὶ.
toi Sarah, whom he had taken to his palace.*
When Jacob had his dream between Beersheba
and Haran,+ he was exposed to attacks from the
banditti in the surrounding regions, and required
the particular protection of Heaven. Those of
the chief butler and the chief baker of Pharaoht
had respect to their usual avocations. In that
which Solomon had at Gibeon,{§ there was a
palpable agreement between the subject of it and
the previous state of his mind. It embodied
the thoughts which arose from an anxious solici-
tude properly to discharge the duties of royalty,
to which he had just been raised.

From these and similar instances which occur
in Scripture, taken in conjunction with other
features, some of which have already been speci-
fied, we are warranted to conclude, that when
Jehovah employed dreams as media through
which to reveal his will or effect his purposes, he
laid under contribution the operation of ordinary
causes, to the extent in which these causes were
available, and only interposed his miraculous
agency in the degree in which it was absolutely
requisite. He made use of the instrumentality
of sleep, the various affections of the physical
constitution, the action of the faculty of imagina-
tion upon that of memory for the reproduction
of previous ideas; and, when the mind was

* Gen. xx. + Ibid. xxviii.
t Ibid. xl. § 1 Kings iii.

154 DIFFERENT MODES OF INSPIRATION.

Lect. 1. exactly in that state of natural preparation which
was necessary for the reception of the super-
natural communication, or the superaddition of
certain ideas or images, which could not have
been produced in an ordinary way, such celestial
intervention took place.

Peculiarityor Lhe characteristics of the supernatural in the

sens" divine dreams recorded in the Bible, are, in most
cases, sufficiently obvious. ‘They involve some
circumstance or other which it lay entirely be-
yond the sphere of natural causation to produce.
The specification of four hundred years as the
period during which the posterity of Abraham
were to be in circumstances of depression ; the
number ¢hree in reference both to the branches
and the baskets in the case of Pharaoh’s servants ;
that of seven in the dreams of the ears and the
kine; and the characters and arrangement of the
symbols 1 the dreams of Nebuchadnezzar and
Daniel, are poimts of coincidence which no
fragments of thought, however curiously com-
bined, and no power of imagination, simply left
to its own influence, could possibly have brought
out.

ony Supernatural dreams are of two kinds: the
Monitory, and the Symbolical. In Monitory
Dreams distinct communications were made
directly to the intellect of those who were the
subjects of them, which carried with them such
definite and unequivocal marks of a divine origin,

that they were impelled instantly, and without

DIFFERENT MODES OF INSPIRATION.

the least degree of hesitation, to comply with
them. Of this description were those of Abime-
lech and Joseph, already referred to; that of
Laban, (Gen. xxxi. 24;) and that of the Magi
recorded in Matt. τ. 12. In such instances, it
does not appear that the imagination was em-
ployed further than was necessary to present
those ideas which were connected with the sub-
jects of Divine communication, and which formed,
as it were, the substratum of the information
imparted from above. These intimations of the
Divine will had respect to some immediate point
of duty, and were accordingly couched in lan-
guage the most simple, direct, and intelligible.
Symbolical dreams, on the contrary, were em-
blematical and mysterious; being composed of
images taken, for the most part, from natural
objects, but also at times of those which were
monstrous and unnatural in their character. Of
the former description of symbols are the sheaves
in the first of Joseph’s dreams, and the sun,
moon, and eleven stars, in the second; and the
vine with its branches, buds, blossoms, and grapes,
the cup and the wine, in that of Pharaoh’s chief
butler. Of the latter, the colossal image of
Nebuchadnezzar is an appropriate specimen.
Certain symbolical dreams were of easy inter-
pretation. In the case of Jacob’s ladder, as
nothing further was intended to be conveyed by
it than an assurance of the connection constantly
maintained between heaven and earth by the

155

LECT. IIT.

Symbolical
Dreams.

156

DIFFERENT MODES OF INSPIRATION.

LECT. 1. operations of Divine Providence carried on

through the instrumentality of angels,* the patri-
arch required no interpretation of it. In like
manner, the significance of those which Joseph
related to his brethren was so palpable, that they
at once understood how they were intended to
apply. It was very different, however, with re-
spect to the dream of the Babylonian monarch.
How familiar soever he might be with the diffe-
rent parts of the image, or the additional symbols
of the stone and the mountain, the whole assem-
blage was such, that it was as far beyond the
reach of human penetration to discover its real

* It has been commonly supposed that Jacob’s ladder was
a type of Christ; but the supposition is not based on any
solid scriptural foundation. The only passage which exhibits
a shadow of reference to the Old Testament narrative is John
i. 51, in which it is said, that the angels were to be seen,
ascending and descending, ἐπὶ, upon the Son of Man. What
consistent interpretation can be put upon the phraseology -
as rendered in our common version, it is impossible to divine.
Every attempt which has been made to throw light upon it
has only rendered the darkness more visible. The preposi-
tion in such connection must be taken in the sense of with,
in the presence of, like the Heb. OY, and is accordingly ren-
dered 2a%, apud, in the Syriac version. The whole phrase
is expressive of attendance upon, with a view to service. See,
for the fulfilment of our Lord’s declaration, Luke xxii. 43;
Acts i. 10, 11. Comp. Ps. Ixviii. 17, 18; 2 Thess. i. 7.
Thus Clarius: h. e. in ejus ministerium, ut in Resurrectione
ejus, et Ascensione factum est ;” and still better Zegerus: “Hoc
adimpletum est dum apparentibus Angelis visus est subvehi
in coelum: sed et manifestius adimplebitur cum venerit Fi-
lius hominis in majestate sua, et omnes Angeli ejus cum eo,

judicaturum vivos et mortuos.”

DIFFERENT MODES OF INSPIRATION.

157

meaning as it was to declare wherein the dream Lect. ΠΙ.

itself consisted. The successive order and appro-
priate minute characteristics of the four great
monarchies of Babylon, Persia, Greece, and
Rome; the supernatural origin and all-subduing
energies of the kingdom of Christ; were points
which He alone could disclose who “ revealeth
the deep and secret things, who knoweth what is
in darkness, and with whom dwelleth the light.”
(Dan. i. 22.)

That the high and holy God should have re-
vealed himself in this manner to idolaters, who
paid a superstitious regard to dreams and em-
ployed the science of oneirocritics in subser-
viency to the interests of heathen worship, may
present a difficulty to some minds; but when it
is recollected that all the instances recorded in
Scripture had an important bearing on the con-
dition of the church, which was destined to wit-
ness for the exclusive claims of Jehovah, and
against every species of superstition; and that
they had the most direct tendency to convince
the pagan world of the futility of human skill
in its pretended attempts to penetrate into the
arcana of the Divine purposes, as well as to draw
its attention to the servants of the true God, and
the revelations of his will, which were in their
possession—they cannot but appear highly con-
gruous, and worthy of sacred veneration.

Intimately connected with the subject of visions

dreams is that of prophetic visions, which we

ΚΘΩ
158 DIFFERENT MODES OF INSPIRATION.

Lect. WI. find distinctly recognised in many parts of Serip-
ture. So close, in fact, is this connection, that
the one species of revelation occasionally merges
in the other. Thus, in the case of Abraham,
recorded Gen. xv., the Divine communications
first took place in a vision; but afterwards, at
sun-set, they continued to be made, when a deep
sleep, and a horror of great darkness, fell upon
him. It is on the same principle we are to
account for the circumstance, that both were
combined in that described by Daniel, (vii. 1, 2,)
where we read: “ Daniel had a dream, and
visions of his head upon his bed: then he wrote
the dream, and told the sum of the matters.”
From the term mp ΤΙ, employed to designate
the kind of sleep with which such night visions
were connected, it is evident it was more pro-
found than usual, amounting, there is reason
to believe, to an almost entire suspension of the
functions proper to the nervous system. The
same word is used to describe the state into which
Adam was thrown preparatory to the creation of
Eve, durmg which his senses were so completely
locked up that he had no susceptibility of pain
from the operation. The LXX. have translated
it, as occurring on such occasions, by ἔκστασις,
or trance, in which the mind is, as it were, re-
moved from the body, or, at least, placed beyond
the consciousness of any immediate influence of
the visible world. In such a state it is so com-

pletely absorbed with the images impressed upon

DIFFERENT MODES OF INSPIRATION.

the imagination, that it not only regards them
as realities, but conducts itself towards them as
actual matters of fact. .

Between divine dreams and divine visions
generally there appears to exist this radical
distinction, that the former necessarily took
place in astate of somnolency, and were con-
nected with brainular affections; while the
latter, though sometimes physiologically origi-
nating in such a condition, did not exclude the
healthy exercise of the mental faculties, and
were granted in the waking state. In dreams
there was a resuscitation of former ideas, more
or less influenced by the condition of the cere-
bral organ: in visions, the mind was raised
entirely above the influence of material im-
pressions and former reminiscences, and had
all its energies concentrated in the intense con-
templation of the supernatural objects directly
presented to its view. It is manifestly to such
a state the Apostle Paul refers, when he writes,
(2 Cor. xii. 1—4,) “It is not expedient for me
“ doubtless to glory. I will come to visions and
* revelations of the Lord. I knew a man in
“Christ about fourteen years ago, (whether in
“the body, I cannot tell; or whether out of
“the body, I cannot tell: God knoweth;) such
“an one caught up to the third heaven. And
“1 knew such a man, (whether in the body, or
“ out of the body, I cannot tell : God knoweth ; )
“how that he was caught up into paradise, and

159

LECT. ΠῚ.

Difference
between
dreams and
visions.

160

DIFFERENT MODES OF INSPIRATION.

uect. 1. * heard unspeakable words, which it is not

“lawful for a man to utter.” He was so im-
pressed with the ineffably sublime subjects which
engrossed his mind, that he had no consciousness
whatever of external or material objects, and
was not able afterwards to determine whether
his soul was for the time actually disembodied,
or whether his body accompanied it to the
exalted regions of the invisible world. The
condition of the persons thus inspired is likewise
strikingly described by Balaam, Num. xxiv. 3, 4,
and<15, 16:—

“ The oracle of Balaam the son of Beor;
The oracle of tne man whose eye is unclosed ;
The oracle of him who heareth the words of God ;
Who seeth the visions of the Almighty ;
Entranced, with his eyes unveiled.”

Most of the terms employed to designate this
species of inspiration are otherwise appropriated
to the sense of sight, and because the prophets
were so frequently favoured with it, they ‘ob-
tained the name of O84, DYN, seers. The prin-
ciple on which the metaphorical use rests is the
clear and satisfactory nature of the evidence
which is acquired through the medium of bodily
vision. What the presentation of material ob-
jects is to the eye, that the supernatural pre-
sentation of invisible objects is to the mind.
Both are impressive, distinct, and convincing.
In the visions of the prophets, the objects
brought before them were invested with a pecu-
liarity of character which rendered it impossible

DIFFERENT MODES OF INSPIRATION. 161

to mistake their origin. Rapt in this state of σον. mi.
holy entrancement, the favoured seers had
opened to their mental view every region of
the visible and invisible worlds ; and so power-
fully were they impressed at times by the over-
whelming glory, or the amazing and _ painful
aspect of their visions, that they required to be
strengthened and animated, in order to be capa-
citated to sustain further disclosures. Thus
Daniel informs us, (chap. x. 15—19,) “ And
“‘when he had spoken such words unto me,
“ I set my face toward the ground, and I became
“dumb. And, behold, one like the similitude
“of the sons of men touched my lips: then
“1 opened my mouth, and spake, and said unto
“him that stood before me, Ὁ my lord, by the
‘vision my sorrows are turned upon me, and
“1 have retained no strength. For how can
“the servant of this my lord talk with this my
“lord? for as for me, straightway there re-
*“mained no strength in me, neither is there
“breath left in me. Then there came again
“and touched me one like the appearance of
“‘a man, and he strengthened me, and _ said,
“Ὁ man greatly beloved, fear not: peace be
“unto thee; be strong, yea, be strong. And
“when he had spoken unto me, I was strength-
“ened, and said, Let my lord speak; for thou
“ hast strengthened me.”

It was maintained, as we have already seen,
by Philo, and the position has recently been

162 DIFFERENT MODES OF INSPIRATION.

Lect. 11. again advanced by Henstenburg, in his Christ-
The prophets ology of the Old Testament,* that, during the

never de-
prived of
self-con-
sciousness.

continuance of their visions, a complete ces-
sation of intelligent consciousness took place in
the experience of the prophets; and their indi-
vidual agency being suppressed by the powerful
operation of the Divine Spirit, they were re-
duced to a state of entire passiveness, and the
absence of all reflection. But the theory is not
only totally irreconcileable with all that we con-
ceive to be essential to the existence of the soul,
but is destitute of support from the phenomena
detailed by the prophets themselves. It is evi-
dently to be traced to the influence of Platonic
ideas, and a misinterpretation of those passages
of Scripture in which the overwhelming effects
of prophetic vision upon the body are described
with great force of expression. On perusing
these descriptions, as well as the prophecies
generally, it is abundantly obvious that the
chosen recipients of Divine revelations were
conscious of the objects which passed in suc-
cession before their view ; that they apprehended
them, and discriminated them from each other ;
that they reasoned and proposed questions con-
cerning them; and that, though they could not
penetrate the obscurity, which, from various causes,
must have enveloped many parts of the scenery,
they nevertheless had intelligent conceptions of
the general bearing and design of the whole. On
* See Note I.

DIFFERENT MODES OF INSPIRATION.

163

no point.are the Fathers more unanimous than in tecr. 11.

the opinion that the minds of the prophets were
in a sound and active state during the continuance
of their visions—an opinion which many of them
were called upon distinctly to avow in opposition
at once to the ravings of the Montanists, and the
wild impulses of the pagan priests.*

From the very nature of prophetic visions,
it is evident that the images presented in them
were not real objects, but merely symbols or
hieroglyphics, the ascertained antitypes of which
constitute the true meaning. Predominating as
they did in the history of that inspiration which
the holy men of God enjoyed, these images
have necessarily invested their writings with a
large share of emblematical instruction. Indeed,

* The following extract from Basil may be regarded as
embodying the views of the Fathers upon the subject :—
Φασὶ δὲ τινὲς ἐξεστηκότας αὐτοὺς προφητεύειν, ἐπικαλυπτομένου
τοῦ ἀνθρωπείνου νου παρὰ τοῦ πνεύματος. Τοῦτο δὲ παρὰ τὴν
ἐπαγγελίαν ἐστὶ τῆς θείας ἐπιδημίας, ἔκφρονα ποιεῖν τὸν θεό-
ληπτον, καὶ ὅτε πλήρης γέγονε τῶν θείων διδαγμάτων, τότε καὶ
τῆς οἰκείας ἐξίστασθαι διανοίας, καὶ ἄλλους μὲν ὠφελοῦντα δι
ἑαυτοῦ, αὐτὸν δὲ τῆς ἐκ τῶν ἰδίων λόγων ἀπολείπεσθαι ὠφελείας.
Ὅλως δὲ τίνα λόγον ἀκόλουθον ἔχει, ἐκ τοῦ τῆς σοφίας πνεύ-
ματος μεμηνότι παραπλήσιον γίνεσθαι καὶ ἐκ τοῦ τῆς γνώσεως
πνεύματος τὸ παρακαλουθητικὸν ἀποβάλλειν. ᾿Αλλ᾽ οὔτε τὸ
φως τυφλότητα ἐμποιεῖ, ἀλλὰ τὴν EK φύσεως ἐνυπάρχουσαν
ὁρατικὴν δύναμιν διεγείρει: οὔτε τὸ πνευμα σκότωσιν ἐμποιεῖ
ταῖς ψυχαῖς, ἀλλὰ πρὸς τὴν τῶν νοητῶν θεωρίαν τὸν ἀπὸ τῶν
τῆς ἁμαρτίας κηλίδων καθαρεύοντα νοῦν Craviornoe. Πονηρὰν
μὲν οὖν δύναμιν συγχυτικὴν εἶναι διανοίας, ἐπιβουλεύουσαν τῇ
ἀνθρωπίνῃ φύσει, duke ἀπίθανον: OEIOY ΔῈ ΠΝΕΥΜΑΤῸΣ
ΠΑΡΟΥ͂ΣΙΑΝ ΤΑΥ̓ΤῸ TOYTO ΛΕΓΕΙΝ ἘΝΈΡΓΕΙΝ, ΑΣΕ-
BES.—Comment. in Isaiam, vol. i. ». 806. Paris, 1618.

M 2

164

DIFFERENT MODES OF INSPIRATION.

tecr.1. so deep were the impressions which they pro-

duced upon their minds, that the language of
those parts of their predictions, which are,
strictly speaking, free from scenic representa-
tions, are exuberantly charged with terms and
combinations of the same figurative import. Of
all the sacred writers, none received more reve-
lations of this description than Ezekiel, Daniel,
Zechariah, and John, in whose prophecies sym-
bolical imagery of the most magnificent and
comprehensive, and, at the same time, most
appropriate description abounds. All nature
was laid under contribution to furnish types of
invisible realities. ‘The heavens, the earth, and
the waters; the sun, moon, and stars; moun-
tains, islands, forests, trees, deserts, rivers,
fountains ; winds, fire, thunder, lightning, hail,
smoke, earthquakes, inundations; cities, tem-
ples, houses, thrones ; ships, animals, minerals,
and an immense number of other objects; form
the assemblage of external images which the
Holy Spirit rendered available for the com-
munication of prophetic truth, at seasons when
those whom he inspired were placed in a state
of complete disseverance from all sensible con-
tact with their prototypes. Selections were
made from them, adapted to the subjects to
be revealed. They were grouped together,
arranged and disposed of so as most effectually
to correspond with the developement of the
Divine purposes. In this condition of ecstatic

DIFFERENT MODES OF INSPIRATION. 165

inspiration, (ἐν ἔκστασει, ἐν πνεύματι γίνεσθαι, LECT. ΠΣ.
Acts x. ἥ10; Rev. 1. 10; iv. 2,) the prophets
beheld the Deity himself, (Isa. vi. 1; Dan.
vil. 13,) with whom, and with angelic spirits,
they conversed, and received direct information
respecting many of the things contained in their
visions. From the books of Zechariah and
Daniel, and from the Apocalypse, it appears
that, besides manifestations of the Angel of
Jehovah, or the Lord Christ himself, they
had the ministry of a created angel spe-
cially accorded to them, in order to furnish
them with a knowledge of the symbols, and
otherwise reveal to them the will of God.

There is one other mode by which God was
pleased to make supernatural communications to
man, which claims to be noticed before we pass
on to the remaining divisions of our subject, and
which, though the most seldom in use, has at-
tracted a greater degree of attention, and oc-
casioned a wider diversity of opinion, than some
of the higher and more important methods of
revelation. We refer to the REAPPEARANCE OF aa pee
THE DEAD. From the deceptive and superstitious dea
character of the numerous accounts which are
still widely circulated respecting apparitions of
spirits, combined with the impressions produced
by the illusions of necromancy recorded in ancient
history, a strong degree of mental revulsion has
arisen in reference to the literal interpretation of

166

DIFFERENT MODES OF INSPIRATION.

Lecr. ur. the only passage of Scripture which contains an

Scene at
Endor.

account of any such appearance.* It is that
which relates to the scene at Endor, to which
place Saul had repaired in order to obtain, by
means of the nefarious and strictly interdicted
art of witchcraft, that information respecting the
future which Jehovah had refused any longer to
communicate to him. (1 Sam. xxviii.) The en-
chantress to whom the monarch applied to call
up Samuel from the dead, after some importunity,

proceeded to comply with his request ; but ere

she had time to apply her necromantic art, Samuel
appeared; she shrieked with terror; detected
Saul in the person of her applicant ; and, after
answering his question respecting the form of the
apparition, left the king and the resuscitated
prophet to continue the solemn interview.
Having expostulated with him for disturbing the
peaceful sleep of the grave, and heard his un-

* Other instances occur of the reanimation or appear-
ance of the departed, as in the case of the man who was
being interred in the sepulchre of Elisha, (2 Kings xiii. 21 ;)
in that of Moses and Elijah, who appeared in glory on
the mount of Transfiguration, (Luke ix. 30, 31;) that of
Lazarus, (John xi:); and that of the saints who rose when the
rocks were rent and the graves opened at our Lord’s death,
(Matt. xxvii. 53): but none of them appear to have taken
place for the purpose of making definite disclosures or proper
revelations of the Divine will to those who witnessed them.
That such were to be expected with this view, is strongly
negatived by the declaration—* If they hear not Moses and
the prophets, neither will they be persuaded though (ξὰν,
even if, putting the case hypothetically) one rose from the
dead.” (Luke xvi. 31.)

DIFFERENT MODES OF INSPIRATION.

167

satisfactory reply, Samuel announced to Saul the vecr. m1.

confirmation of his rejection by Jehovah, and the
certainty of his speedy death and that of his
sons, together with the victory of the Philistines
over Israel. This is in substance what is con-
tained in the sacred narrative. The principal
questions that have been started in reference to
it are these: Did Samuel actually appear? Or
was it merely a spectral illusion, a juggling trick
on the part of the woman, or Satan himself per-
sonifying the prophet? If Samuel did appear,
was it at the call of the woman? Was it by
the exertion of demoniacal influence ? or was it by
the intervention of Divine power? ‘That a direct
negative must be given to each of these queries,
except the first and last, appears to be the only
conclusion at which we can arrive consistently
with the analogy of Scripture doctrine, and the
integrity of Scripture interpretation. To attempt
a refutation of the hypotheses which have been
constructed against the real appearance of the
prophet, would occupy more time than can be
appropriated to it on the present occasion.
Suffice it to say that the whole strain of the
narrative is opposed to the idea of any present
deception on the part of the woman; that for
one to be invested with the ability to work a
miracle, who, with her companions in guilt, had
been most solemnly execrated on account of their
diabolical practices, is contrary to the first prin-
ciples of the Jewish theocracy, as it is at variance

168

DIFFERENT MODES OF INSPIRATION.

Lect. 1. with every correct notion of the holy character of

the Universal Governor; that it was not in the
power of the female or of any demon to predict
not merely the defeat of the Israelites, but the
death both of Saul and his sons on the following
day; and that, as Satan could have had no end
to serve by a scene of such a character, it would
be absurd to ascribe it to his influence.

On the other hand, that Samuel actually ap-
peared, and consequently that his appearance
was the result of Divine interposition, is as much
a matter of simple historical fact as any recorded
in the book of God. Not less than five times is
it expressly stated im the narrative, that it was
Samuel. ‘The woman saw that it was Samuel,
(ver. 12.) ““ Saul perceived that it was Samuel,”
(ver. 14); “ Samuel said unto Saul,” (ver. 15);
“then said Samuel,” (ver. 18); Saul “ was sore
afraid because of the words of Samuel.” (ver. 20.)
In this view of the case, are we not warranted to
ask and to assert with Origen, ‘‘ Who is the person
“that here speaks? Is it the Holy Spirit, by whom
‘“‘ we believe the Scriptures to have been indited,
“ or is it some other person? It is unquestionably
‘ the author of the history who speaks throughout,
““as the whole tenor of the discourse shows. But
“the proper author of the discourse is not man,
‘but the Holy Spirit, by whom the penmen
“were moved to write.’* The authority on

* TY , ᾽ ‘ , τ « , ; \
[νος προσωπὸν ἐστι τὸ λέγον, εἶπεν ἢ γυνή. Apa τον

- , 9 - , ’ 4.
πρύσωπον του ἁγίου πνεύματος, EG του πεπιστευται ἀναγεγράφθαι

DIFFERENT MODES OF INSPIRATION.

169

which the statement rests is the same on which Lect. 1.

we receive other statements of Scripture. The
passage is not introduced as containing an ac-
count given by some uninspired person ; but as a
continuation of the sacred history, and perfectly
tallies with the preceding and following context.
The rejection of its obvious import can only be
effected at the hazard of unsettling the entire
basis of divinely inspired narrative.

Viewing this transaction, then, as real and not
imaginary, and as having been effected by the
power of God, it is natural to inquire—What
were the ends it was designed to answer? and
what was the character of the communications
which the prophet was sent to deliver? ‘To these
questions it may be replied, that one of its most
obvious designs was to teach the futility of expect-
ing any satisfactory information from the invisible
world to compensate for the righteous withdraw-
ment of the appointed means of supernatural
instruction. Saul had not complied with the in-
timations of the Divine will which he had already
received, on which account God answered him
no more, “neither by prophets, nor by dreams.”
His application to Samuel was now equally un-
successful. He received nothing beyond a
ἡ γραφὴ, i) πρόσωπον ἄλλου τινός ; τὸ γὰρ διηγηματικὸν πρόσ-
ὠπὸν πανταχοῦ, ὡς ἴσασι καὶ οἱ περὶ παντοδαποὺς γενόμενοι
λόγους, ἔστι πρύσωπον τοῦ συγγραφέως" συγγραφεὺς δὲ ἐπὶ
τούτων τῶν λόγων πεπίστευται, οὐκ ἄνθρωπος, ἀλλὰ συγγρα-

φεὺς TO πνεύμα τὸ ἅγιον τὸ κινῆσαν τοὺς avOpwrovc.—Com-
ment. in Libb. Regum.

170

DIFFERENT MODES OF INSPIRATION.

LecT. 1. repetition of what that prophet had announced

to him on a former occasion respecting the
alienation of the crown, if we except the predic-
tion of the defeat which was to take place the
following day, and the death of himself and _ his
sons, which is rather, however, to be regarded as
part of the punishment inflicted upon him, than
as a boon resulting from prophetic revelation. A
subordinate end to be answered by the event was
a more complete exposure of gross superstition
and imposture. While engaged in the wicked
attempt to practise upon the credulity of the
infatuated monarch, the female necromancer is
suddenly arrested and confounded by the actual
appearance of the venerable servant of Jehovah,
the manifestation of whose omnipotent power she
was compelled to acknowledge.* The publica-
tion of the whole transaction had a powerful
tendency to check the propensity which existed
to apply to the dead for a disclosure of the secrets
of the unseen world.t

* yaa ye od wy OVIN.

+ It is possible that some who read these Lectures may
have expected that notice would be taken of the letter which
is said (2 Chron. xxi. 12,) to have come to Jehoram from
Elijah the prophet: it being apparently the sense of the
passage, that the missive came directly, at the time specified,
which is generally supposed to have happened several years
after his death. According to this interpretation the com-
munication was transmitted from the invisible world, which
Grotius believes to have been the case, though Ephraem
Syrus had declared that those who dwell on the earth re-
ceive no epistles from the inhabitants of heaven. That

DIFFERENT MODES OF INSPIRATION.

171

The Jews have generally supposed that, on the L8ct. ur

cessation of ancient prophecy, a new mode of
revelation was employed, to which they give the

name of im ΓΞ, BATH-KOL, or “the daughter of Bath-bo.

the voice.” Such of them, however, as use the
phrase in this sense, ascribe to it a degree of
importance which elevates the communications
made by it above those made by what they call the
wip mn, or the supernatural influence enjoyed
by such as were not prophets according to the
strict meaning of the term, but yet truly inspired.
They make it to consist in a miraculous voice
proceeding immediately from heaven, and im-
parting in intelligible language the knowledge of
the Divine will. Yet the instances which they
adduce to prove that it took place are so trifling

Elijah the Tishbite is intended, and not another of the same
name, as Cajetan conjectured, is beyond dispute; but the
Hebrew text, S8°337 apo an YON Sas), does not
necessarily imply that tie letter was written by the prophet
at the time of its delivery. The preposition 2, connects
with 292, a writing, more readily than with the verb Sa,
and refers it to Elijah as ts author: so that it may have been
composed years before it reached the hands of the wicked
monarch whom it was designed to reprove. According to
the best chronological computation, Jehoram must have
already been grown up before the venerable servant of God
ascended to heaven; and furnishing awful evidence of
abandonment of character, it pleased the prophetie Spirit to
dictate the contents of the present communication, which,
Emmanuel a Sa has suggested, was in all probability
delivered to Elisha or some other person to be conveyed
to the king, at a particular juncture, when it might be
expected to operate more powerfully upon his mind.

172

DIFFERENT MODES OF INSPIRATION.

Lect. 11. and so completely ‘Talmudic in their character,

as at once to evince its total discrepancy from
any thing justly claiming to be divine. It would
seem, from statements made by some of the
rabbins, that the Bath-kol was in reality nothing
but an extraordinary noise, or sound, which,
from the peculiarity of the circumstances in which
it was heard, might be construed into a good or
bad omen, or a communication simply of porten-
tous import. The word ip, Kol, being one of
those by which thunder is expressed in Hebrew,
it has not improbably been inferred, that, by pre-
fixing to it the word na, Bath, or Daughter, the
Jews originally meant to express the idea of the
echo or repercussion which follows a clap of
thunder. ‘Thus, indeed, it is expressly defined
in the Codex Sanhedrin; ‘ Bath-kol is when
a sound proceeds from heaven, and another
sound proceeds from it.”* To such reverbera-
tions or distant sounds they were accustomed to
attach a monitory significance; and so far did
they carry the superstition, that, at length any
words which they might accidentally hear re-
peated when they were intent on ascertaining a
particular fact, they viewed in the light of a
supernatural intimation, or a sacred oracle, to
whose import they were bound to attend.

* Os cow 7a NEP DIP oypw YT ΝῺ ODN Ὁ.
24ns Sp PIND.—Piske Josaphoth, fol. 11, a.

And again: yyy pyawi yo REY DPW TT Dp ΓΞ
sams Sip 1D9Nd.—fol. 29, Ὁ.

DIFFERENT MODES OF INSPIRATION. 173

The application of any of the notions con- tecr. m1.
nected with the Bath-kol of the Jews to the
elucidation of the New Testament, is greatly to
be reprobated. Between such notions and any
of the facts narrated in that portion of the sacred
volume, there exists not the slightest degree of
congruity. Since the use of the phrase cannot
be traced further back than an age considerably
posterior to that of the apostles, we have no
reason whatever to conclude that it was cus-
tomary in their day thus to designate an articulate
voice from heaven.

LECT. IV.

LECTURE IV.

THE GIFTS OF INSPIRATION.

1 COR. XII. 4—6.

** Now there are diversities of gifts, but the same
Spirit. And there are differences of admini-
strations, but the same Lord. And there are
diversities of operations, but it ts the same
God which worketh all in all.”

TuatT a more copious effusion of Divine in-
fluence, both in its extraordinary and ordinary
features, was to take place in the time of the
Messiah, is a fact, with which the ancient church
was distinctly made acquainted. Not to insist on
the address in Psalm Ixviii. 18,—‘* Thou hast
“ascended on high, thou hast led captivity cap-
“tive: thou hast received gifts for men; yea, for
“the rebellious also, that the Lord God might
“ dwell among them ;” which words Paul applies to
the royal donative of the Spirit, (Eph. iv. 8,)—we
find a direct prophecy in reference to the subject,
Joel 11. 28, 29: “And it shall come to pass
“afterward, that I will pour out my Spirit upon

THE GIFTS OF INSPIRATION.

175

“all flesh; and your sons and your daughters /&°? τν.

“shall prophesy, your old men shall dream
“dreams, your young men shall see visions: and
‘also upon the servants and upon the handmaids
“in those days will I pour out my Spirit.” Of
the direct bearing of this prediction on the mira-
culous communication of spiritual gifts on the
day of Pentecost, no one can doubt who peruses
the narrative contained in the second chapter of
the Acts, in which is recorded the inspired appli-
cation of it by Peter to the unprecedented occur-
rences which took place on that remarkable
occasion.

To the accomplishment of these prophetic de-
clarations, our Lord obviously refers his disciples
when he gives to this effusion of extraordinary
spiritual influence the name of baptism. ‘‘ Wait,”
he said, “‘for the promise of the Father, which
“ye have heard of me: for John truly baptized
“ with water ; but ye shall be baptized with the
** Holy Ghost not many days hence.” (Acts i. 5.)
As we shall afterwards have an opportunity of
showing, the specific repetition of the promise by
Christ in his last discourse before his sufferings,
to which he here adverts, was intended to remove
from the minds of the eleven every doubt with
which they might be harassed respecting their
native disqualification for the execution of the
arduous task which was soon to be devolved
upon them. On the advent of the Spirit of
Truth they were to receive those extraordinary

176

THE GIFTS OF INSPIRATION.

Lect. 1v. endowments by which they would be fully pre-

pared to carry into effect their high commission.
And we find, accordingly, both in the history of
the Pentecostal phenomena to which reference
has just been made, and in that of the other
supernatural events which distinguished the
ministry of the apostles, a profusion of proofs
attesting the realization by the church of the
predicted and promised blessing. Not only were
these primary and extraordinary ministers of
Christ richly endowed with miraculous gifts them-
selves; they were also honoured instrumentally
to communicate them more or less copiously to
the first converts, who thus became qualified to
perform those extraordinary services which the
peculiar circumstances of the infant church re-
quired. This impartation generally took place
during the preaching of the word, or on the
baptism of the parties who were thus favoured,
and appears to have consisted in an immediate
exertion of Divine power attending the preach-
ing of the gospel, or in answer to the prayer,
which accompanied the imposition of the apostles’
hands, (Acts viii. 15, 17; xix. 6.)

To the enjoyment and exercise of these super-
natural powers by certain members of the first
Christian communities, numerous references are
made in the apostolical epistles, but in none
more amply than in that from which our present
text has been selected. In the city of Corinth,
the capital of Achaia, celebrated on account of

-
d3

THE GIFTS OF INSPIRATION.

its opulence and learning, as it was notorious for cr. ἵν.

its effeminacy and profligacy of manners, the
Apostle Paul preached the gospel with such
effect, that a considerable number of Jews, pro-
selytes, and heathens, were led to profess the faith
of Christ, and unite together for the purpose of
observing the rules of the Christian fellowship,
in obedience to the will of their common Lord.
In the course of a few years, however, besides
other evils, which sprang up to disturb the peace
and obstruct the spiritual progress of the brethren,
a jealousy of each other’s gifts, existed on the
part of some, who had been made partakers of
the extraordinary endowments of the Spirit, which
produced an unhappy collision in the church
generally, and not only led to the splitting of the
body into separate parties, but exhibited to the
view of unbelievers, who happened to visit their
assemblies, scenes, which were powerfully calcu-
lated to strengthen their natural prejudices
against the gospel. In reply to an application,
which they had agreed to make for apostolic
advice, the inspired master-builder, by whom the
foundation of the Christian edifice had been Jaid
in that city, proceeds in this and the two follow-
ing chapters of his first Epistle to discuss the sub-
ject of spiritual gifts, with respect to their origin,
their nature, their comparative value, and their
appropriate and legitimate use ; and in the course
of the instructions, which he imparts on these
several topics, takes occasion specially to enlarge
N

178

THE GIFTS OF INSPIRATION.

Lect. Iv. on the gift of tongues, which, more than any of

the others, appears to have occasioned a spirit of
pride and contention.

As the term πνευματικῶν, ver. 1, is elliptical,
some commentators supply ἀνθρώπων, and render
it “spiritual men ;” viz. such as were gifted with
supernatural endowments,—especially those who
had the gift of tongues ; others prefer χαρισμάτων,
“spiritual gifts,” of which that just mentioned
was held in the highest estimation. It is imma-
terial which mode of construction we adopt:
only it is more in accordance with the apostle’s
general use of the word, to understand him as
referring to things rather than to persons. In
opening the subject, he most appositely reminds
the Corinthians of the fact, that, before those of
them who had been pagans had embraced the
gospel, they had been urged on by a blind infatu-
ation to serve idols, which, being themselves
inanimate and speechless, could not possibly im-
part to their votaries any thing analogous to the
miraculous gift of language, which had so greatly
attracted their attention. He next lays it down
as a principle, particularly to be borne in mind
by those who had been Jews, and might still be
exposed to the influence of Jewish impostors,
pretending to be actuated by the Holy Spirit,
that no person, who spoke by the inspiration of
that Divine Agent, could blaspheme the Re-
deemer,—just as it was equally certain that no
one could sincerely profess belief in his divine

THE GIFTS OF INSPIRATION.

179

character and mission, except in virtue of his ecr. 1.

supernatural influence.

Having thus entered upon his subject, the
apostle proceeds to show, that how various so-
ever were the supernatural gifts bestowed on the
first Christians, they were all to be traced to the
Holy Spirit as their common source. In the
fourth and fifth verses he extends the idea of
diversity so as to make it comprehend all the
modes in which the gifts were employed, and all
the results which followed their exercise, in
order the more forcibly to exhibit the unity which
pervades the whole of the Divine administration.
It has been supposed by some, that, in the beauti-
ful synthetical climax, which he thus forms, the
words χαρίσματα, διακονίαι, and ἐνεργήματα, are
synonymous. The opinion is not new, being
found in Chrysostom* and other Greek com-
mentators, but it is quite a gratuitous assumption ;
for though they all designate what the apostle
describes as belonging to the subject of which he
is treating, they nevertheless mark its several parts
with sufficient distinctness to authorize their sepa-
rate consideration. With respect to the χαρίσματα,
there can be no dispute: they manifestly signify
the miraculous endowments conferred by the
Spirit on certain individuals, for the purpose of

, ΄, , , \ ,
* Ti ἐστὶν ἐνέργημα ; τί δὲ χαρίσμα ; τί δὲ διακονία; Ὄνο-
μάτων διαφοραὶ μόνον, ἐπεὶ πράγματα τὰ dura, Ὅ yap ἐστὶ
χαρίσμα, τοῦτο διακονία, τοῦτο καὶ ἐνέργειαν λέγει.

nN 2

180

THE GIFTS OF INSPIRATION.

tect. IV. qualifying them for the performance of extra-

ordinary services in the cause of Christ. By the
διακονίαν are meant the different forms in which
these endowments were exercised, the functions
by which they were called into operation, or the
services engaged in by those who possessed them.
The ἐνεργήματα were the actual effects which re-
sulted from the application of the various super-
natural powers or gifts in the modes specified ;
and are so called in reference to the Divine
energy by which they were produced.* The
term ‘‘ operation,” which is employed in our com-
mon version, is ambiguous. It may either signify
the agency, influence, or act exerted with a view
to the production of effects, or the result of
such agency in the effects themselves. Though
the translators appear to have understood it in
the former of these significations, the latter is its
only legitimate acceptation in the present connec-
tion. This construction of the passage is found
in Theodoret ; only he refers it to the χαρἵσματα
themselves as miraculously produced in the minds
of the gifted individuals :—which view, though
adopted by Locke, Bloomfield, and other moderns,
is decidedly objectionable on the ground of the
tautology which it would introduce, and the
want of harmony which would thus arise among
the three several members of the climax.

* Like other nouns ending in pa, such as μέμημα, θῆμα,
γέννημα, ὀπίσμα, σπέρμα, this term does not denote the act
or action, but that which is the effect of the action.

THE GIFTS OF INSPIRATION. 181

That Πνεῦμα, in verses 4th, 7th, 8th, 9th, vecr. iv.
and 11th, is to be taken ina personal sense, is
evident not only from the attributes ascribed to
him, but from his being associated with the two
other Divine Persons—o κύριος, the Lord Jesus,
and ὁ θεὸς, God the Father. And that he is a
Divine person, is further proved by the fact of
such association ; by his sovereign impartation
of miraculous powers; and by the identity of
the phraseology employed to express the extent
of his operations, ver. | 1th, with the language in
which that of the operation of the Father is ex-
pressed, ver. 6th. It is nota little surprising, that
Bishop Middleton should have been perplexed
by the ellipses, ver. 4th, and 5th; and that
he should have considered the concluding clause
of the parallelism, ὁ ἐνεργῶν τὰ παντὰ ἐν πᾶσιν,
‘who worketh all in all,” as intended to apply
equally to all the three Persons of the Godhead.
Such a mode of construction unnecessarily clogs
the passage. ‘The two preceding propositions
are indeed elliptical, but the defective words are
so easily suggested by the ideas contained in
those which are employed, that their absence is
not sensibly felt. “This would at once have ap-
peared, had these propositions stood by them- ᾿
selves. We should then have supplied some
words in the fourth verse, expressive of the in-
‘spiring agency of the Spirit; and in the fifth
verse, such terms as convey the idea of the uni-
versal Lordship of Christ, to whom all the

182

THE GIFTS OF INSPIRATION.

LECT. Iv. arrangements in the administration of the affairs

of his church are subject. ‘The gifts are the gifts
of the one Spirit; the administrations are carried
on under the rule of the one Lord; the results
of both are effected by the universally operative
power of the one Father, who is above all, and
through all, and in us all. (Eph. iv. 6.)

After finishing the climax produced by the
idea of κύριος having been suggested by the use
of the correlative term διακονία, the apostle re-
turns to the agency of the Holy Spirit, on which
he expatiates in the remaining part of the section.
The miraculous endowments by the exercise of
which the influence of the Divine Donor was
manifested, were not conferred for the purposes
of ostentation and vanity, to which one of them
at least had been awfully prostituted in the
Corinthian church, but each recipient was so
favoured that he might contribute that which in
his particular circumstances might be most ad-
vantageous to the interests of the gospel, ver. 7.

Over the specific nature of the χαρίσματα, ver.
8—10, no ordinary degree of obscurity has been
thrown, partly by want of due attention to the
structure of the apostle’s language, and partly by
abortive attempts to harmonize the catalogue
here given with that furnished at the end of the
chapter. Because several of the gifts and offices
in the one passage correspond to certain orders
of persons mentioned by the same names in the
other, it has been assumed that there must be an

THE GIFTS OF INSPIRATION.

183

entire correspondence throughout—each co-ordi- tecr. τν.

nate member exactly answering to each—what-
ever difficulty may be experienced in establishing
it. Various schemes of parallelism and interpre-
tation have been constructed with a view to
exhibit this correspondence ; of which, that pro-
posed by Bishop Horsley, in the Appendix to his
XIVth Sermon, has met with considerable appro-
bation. Yet who that allows to sober principles
of Biblical exegesis their proper influence over
his mind, can possibly admit that ‘“ Teachers” of
Christianity in the one table, can in any degree
answer to ‘ Faith” in the other; or that ‘* Helps”
in the one can correspond to ‘ Prophecy” in the
other ; or that “Governments” in the one can
properly stand over against ‘ Discerning of
Spirits” in the other? Only a fertile imagination,
unbridled by habits of severe critical discrimination,
could have advanced a theory so totally subversive
of the meaning of language, and calculated, to the
extent of its luxuriance, entirely to unsettle the
interpretation of the New ‘Testament.

That there is a beautiful symmetrical connec-
tion in the enumeration of the gifts, we shall
presently show. With respect to the list of
persons holding offices in the church, and exer-
cising gifts of a supernatural order, it may be
observed, that it discovers nothing which indi-
cates a design on the part of the apostle to adhere
to the order in which he had classed the miracu-
lous endowments, or to place the one table in

184

THE GIFTS OF INSPIRATION.

LECT. IV. juxta-position with the other. It has generally

been supposed, that in the former of the two,
there are nine varieties of gifts; and though in
the latter there are only e¢ght varieties of orders
or persons, there bemg no office corresponding
to the gift of ‘‘ the interpretation of tongues ;”
yet, as it has been supposed to be comprehended
under the γένη γλωσσῶν, “ diversities of tongues,”
with which the apostle concludes the list, the
numbers have thus been made to coincide. If,
however, we regard πίστις, “ faith,” as we must,
ver. 9, not as indicative of any distinct principle
with which the immediately following endow-
ments had no connection, but as the basis on
which they rested, or the root from which they
sprang, the strict number in that catalogue will
be reduced to eight, which creates a fresh objec-
tion to the system of identity. ‘That ἀντιλήψεις,
“ helps,” and κυβερνήσεις, “ governments,” should
signify prophets and persons endowed with the
faculty of discriminating inspired men and in-
spired matter, is contrary to all usage and analogy.
They can only, with propriety, be referred to the
administration of the affairs of the church: the
one appropriately designating the Deacons, whose
office it was to afford ἀντίληψις, aid to the poor,
and otherwise assist in conducting the affairs of
the church ; and the other, the Elders or Bishops,
on whom, as προϊστάμενοι, προεστῶτες, OF ἡγούμενοι,
devolved its κυβέρνησις, direction in regard to
worship and discipline. To this interpretation

THE GIFTS OF INSPIRATION.

of the terms it may be objected that there is
nothing so peculiar in these offices to entitle
them to be ranked with the extraordinary func-
tions pointed out by the other names in the
catalogue. In reply to which we remark, that,
as the circumstances which originated the apostle’s
argument were connected with the character of
public worship in the church at Corinth, and the
state of insubordination and want of discipline in
many who took a prominent part in that worship,
there was the greatest propriety in adverting to
the more ordinary officers, especially as he had
set out by stating that the persons whom he was
about to enumerate had been placed by God in the
church. Add to which, that though the functions
of the bishops and deacons were designed to
be permanent, and, on this account, are termed
ordinary, it must not be overlooked that those
who were called to sustain these offices in the
primitive church were such as were endowed with
spiritual gifts, and might justly, on this ground,
be taken into the number of gifted persons.

On examining the catalogue of χαρίσματα as
presented in the original, it will be found to
contain a three-fold classification, proper at-
tention to which will greatly facilitate the inter-
pretation of the passage. Instead of simply
commencing with the words “ to one is given,”
and then, as in the versions, repeating the words
“to another is given,” without any distinction,
before each of the following subjects of the

185

LECT, IV.

Classification
of the gifts.

186

THE GIFTS OF INSPIRATION.

LecT. lv. several propositions,—from which it might be

inferred that no relative adaptation existed among
the gifts,—there is, according to the native force
of the Greek, a marked distribution of them into
three orders, each of the two last of which is, in
its enumeration, introduced by a term discri-
minating it from that which precedes it, and
comprehends under it one or more subordinate
species, to each of which is prefixed another
term, also expressive of difference, but marking
that difference much less definitely than the
former would have done. The Greek scholar
has only to notice the distinctive use of ἕτερος
and ἄλλος in order clearly to perceive the state
of the question; or if he will arrange the several
members of the list, according to the gram-
matical principle just noticed, he will at once
become sensible of the beautiful symmetry which
the passage, as thus divided, exhibits.
I. ἢ μὲν--λόγος σοφίας.
23 ἄλλῳ δὲ λόγος γνώσεως.
Il. ‘ETEPQ δὲ πίστις.

1. ἄλλῳ δὲ χαρίσματα ἰαμάτων.

2. ἄλλῳ δὲ ἐνεργήματα δυνάμεων.

3. ἄλλω δὲ προφητεία.

4, ἄλλῳ δὲ διακρίσεις πνευμάτων.

III, ‘ETEPQ δὲ γένη γλωσσῶν.

2. ἄλλῳ δὲ ἑρμηνεία γλωσσῶν.

According to this division, “ the word of
knowledge ” belongs to the same class with
“the word of wisdom ;” the ‘ gifts of healings,”
“ working of miracles,” “ prophecy,” and “ dis-

THE GIFTS OF INSPIRATION.

187

cerning of spirits,” are assigned to “ faith,” as vcr. 1v.

their genus; while the “ interpretation of
tongues” ranks with ‘ divers kinds of tongues,”
with which it is naturally associated. Assuming
what we shall afterwards prove, that by πίστις
here is meant what is commonly called the faith
of miracles, it is self-evident that it was indis-
pensable to the exercise of all the four species of
χαρίσματα, which are ranged under it, whereas
it was not called for in exercising any of those
which belong to the two other divisions, as will
be shown in its proper place.

We now proceed to consider these χαρίσματα
separately, according to the classification which
has just been pointed out.

To the first class belong λόγος σοφίας, ““ the-
word of wisdom,” and λόγος γνώσεως, ‘ the word
of knowledge.” That λόγος here is not to be
taken pleonastically, as by Dr. Owen and others,
seems evident from the nature of the case. Nor,
indeed, can the pleonastic use either of this
term or the Hebrew 7233, to which it corre-
sponds, be fairly established. In all the instances
that have been alleged in support of it, there is
something which suggests the idea of a certain
subject or matter spoken of, or some communi-
cation that is made respecting it. Equally inap-
posite is the interpretation, adopted by many,
which limits the acceptation to doctrine ; for
though the word is frequently employed by the
apostle in this sense, as ὁ λόγος τοῦ σταυροῦ, “ the

188

THE GIFTS OF INSPIRATION.

Lect. 1v. word” or doctrine “ of the cross ;” ὁ λόγος τῆς

Word of
Wisdom.

πίστεως, “ the doctrine of faith ;” yet in such
instances it takes the article, whereas in the
present case it is anarthrous. The signification
which best suits the connection, is that of a faculty
or power of communicating to others the things
to which reference is made. What confirms this
view of the meaning is the recurrence of the
term in this acceptation, Eph. vi. 19, where the
apostle requests the prayers of the brethren, that
λόγος, ** utterance,” might be given unto him,
that he might open his mouth boldly, to make
known the mystery of the gospel. Whatever,
therefore, σοφία, or γνώσις, in this connection
may import, the λόγος was necessary for its
impartation to others.

The former of the two species, which constitute
this class, is σοφία, wispoM. No small difficulty
has been experienced in attempting to determine
the precise idea attaching to the term by which
this primary endowment is designated, or the
exact point of difference existmg between its
signification and that of γνώσις, employed to
characterise the other species of endowment
which is here associated with it. ‘That it merely
signifies prudence or skill in teaching, or discreet
management in adapting the doctrines or defence
of the gospel to persons, occasions, and circum-
stances *, how important soever such a quality is

* Owen's Discourse of Spiritual Gifts; Works, vol. iv.
p. 281, 8vo. edit.

THE GIFTS OF INSPIRATION.

189

in all Christian teachers (and was especially so in cecr. 1v.

the apostles, who were often placed in the most
difficult and trying situations) cannot be admitted
to come up in any degree to the claims which the
exigency of the passage presents. All ideas de-
rived from the application of the term in systems
of philosophy are no less objectionable. Bishop
Horsley, carried away by its use in this sense in
the classics, would comprehend under it the
natural principles of reason, from which he
imagines the apostles were called to argue for the
conviction and conversion of philosophical in-
fidels *. Grotiust considers it to have the same
signification with the Hebrew m»2n, which occurs
so frequently in the writings of Solomon, and
explains it of grave and weighty sentences, such
as those contained in the book of Proverbs. From
this apparently, Billroth, one of the most recent
foreign commentators on the Epistle, adopts the
notion of practical wisdom, and supposes the
word to be descriptive of the kind of instruction
conveyed in the parables of our Lord, and the
hortatory parts of the apostolical Epistles. On
the same principle of Old Testament reference, it
is interpreted by Michaelis Τ in application to the
Jewish philosophy, which consisted in a recondite
knowledge of the ancient Scriptures, laws, and
usages of the Hebrews. He accordingly con-
jectures that the wisdom or science here meant,

* Append. to Serm. XIV, + Annot. ix loc.
t Anmerk. zum, 1 Cor. xii. 8.

190 THE GIFTS OF INSPIRATION.

Lect. IV. was occupied with the mterpretation of the Old
Testament, in subserviency to the establishment
of the doctrines and facts of Christianity.

Such constructions would never have been put
upon the term, had due attention been paid to
the peculiarly appropriated sense, in which it is
used in the New Testament, especially in the
present Epistle. In the second chapter parti-
cularly, after disavowing the use of the artificial
means prescribed by human philosophy, the
apostle takes occasion, from the introduction of
the word σοφία, to show, that he nevertheless did
teach wisdom—not indeed a wisdom originating
in, or harmonizing with, the philosophy of the
world, but the only system worthy of the name,
and in itself truly divine, which, though concealed
from all preceding generations, was to be traced
to the eternal counsel of Jehovah, who had de-
termined in due time to reveal it for the salvation
of men. (Verses 6, 7.) The ancient church
had been favoured with partial developements of
the plan of human redemption ; and believers, to
the extent of their knowledge of it, rejoiced in the
anticipation of its execution; but it was so
couched under the figurative language of pro-
phecy, and the external types of the Jewish
economy, that it was perceived only by a few.
Of this we have a practical illustration in the
rejection of the Messiah, and the blessings of his
kingdom, by the great body of those who had
been constituted its depositaries. The glorious

THE GIFTS OF INSPIRATION.

191

principles, however, which this plan involved, ecr. rv.

and which formed a system of wisdom which
it was impossible for man either to have dis-
covered or devised, God disclosed immediately
to the apostles. Truths of which they could
have had no conception were communicated to
their minds instantaneously, without the inter-
vention of means, by direct illumination from
above. These truths relate to the developement
of the Divine character and purposes ; the dig-
nity of the Redeemer; the excellencies of his
character ; the wonders of his incarnation, obe-
dience, atonement, and intercession ; the spiritual
nature of his kingdom; the person, office, and
operations of his Spirit; the present privileges
and future glory of his subjects ; his final triumph
over his enemies ; his second advent; and the
character and results of the general judgment.
Christ “ the wisdom of God” is the centre, and
the sphere of his mediation is the vast circum-
ference, within which are deposited all the
treasures of wisdom and knowledge, (Col. ii. 3.)
In the whole economy of salvation, and in each
of its several parts, a display is made of Divine
wisdom infinitely transcending the disclosures,
which are furnished by the natural world. It is
an attribute which he hath exercised towards us
in the highest degree, ἐπερίσσευσεν ἐν πάσῃ σοφίᾳ,
(Eph. i. 8) ; and so multiform are the exhibitions
made of it in the gospel, (ἡ πολυποίκιλος σοφία
τοῦ Θεοῦ) that it furnishes themes of profound

192

THE GIFTS OF INSPIRATION.

LECT. Iv. contemplation to the highest orders of created

intelligences. (Eph. iii. 10; 1 Pet. i. 12.)

And as the human mind could not have con-
trived such a system of divine philosophy, its
unassisted powers were equally inadequate to the
task of teaching it to the world. The apostles of
Christ were in themselves totally disqualified for
unveiling its mysteries. They required super-
natural aid; and that aid was vouchsafed by the
impartation of the yapicua of which we here
treat. On receiving the “ power from on high,”
which was promised by their Divine Master, they
not only obtained a clear and perfect insight into
the doctrines of the economy of grace, but
became fully competent to teach them with
infallible accuracy to others. Hence Paul speaks
of himself as σοφὸς ἀρχιτέκτων, “ἃ wise master-
builder,” (1 Cor. ii. 10 ;) and employs a tone of
confidence and authority in his Epistles, which
would have been altogether unwarranted, if he
had not been miraculously endowed. And Peter
adduces the peculiar wisdom with which Paul was
gifted, τὴν αὐτῷ δοθεῖσαν σοφίαν, as the source
of his ability to compose his Epistles, “" even as
“‘ our beloved brother Paul also, according to the
*‘ wisdom given unto him, hath written unto you ;
‘as also in all his epistles, speaking in them of
“these things.” (2 Pet. iii. 15,16.) That this
wisdom is equivalent to ἀποκάλυψις, revelation,
and the impartation of a knowledge of Divine
secrets, is evident from 1 Cor. xiv. 6; xiii. 2; in

THE GIFTS OF INSPIRATION. 193

which passages these are introduced in the same 1°? !Y-
relation to γνώσις, as σοφία is in the present
text. ‘‘ Now, brethren, if I come unto you,
“speaking with tongues, what shall I profit you,
“ except I shall speak to you either by revelation,
“or by knowledge, or by prophesying, or by
* doctrine?” ‘ And though I have the gift of
** prophecy, and understand all mysteries and all
““ knowledge ; and though I have all faith, so that
“1 could remove mountains, and have not
** charity, I am nothing.”

By σοφία, therefore, in this passage, we un-
derstand the sublime truths of the gospel, directly
revealed to the apostles, of which the λόγος was
the supernatural ability rightly to communicate
them to others.

The second species of this primary class of Word or i
extraordinary spiritual endowments is γνώσις,
KNOWLEDGE. ‘This term, like that the import of
which we have just examined, is in itself ex-
tremely simple; and perhaps the difficulties
which have been felt in fixing its meaning in this
and some parallel passages, are chiefly to be
ascribed to the predominating influence of its
common acceptation upon the mind. To form a
proper idea of it, we must recollect that it is
neither ordinary nor saving knowledge that is
meant, but a gift peculiar to the first age of
Christianity :—miraculous in its nature, and
designed to contribute, by its exercise, to the

194

THE GIFTS OF INSPIRATION.

Lect. Iv. establishment of the Church. This Chrysostom *

and other Greek fathers lost sight of, or they
would not have sunk it into a mere acquaintance
with divine truth, which ordinary believers might
possess without the faculty of communicating it
to others. On the other hand, we must also be
on our guard against the influence of the signifi-
cation attached to γνώσις by the ancient Platonic
philosophers, and, after them, by those of their
disciples who embraced the gospel, in whose
writings it incessantly occurs. Accustomed to
apply it in abstract speculations respecting the
Divine nature and other spiritual existences, the
latter employed it in reference to the highest
kind of knowledge, with which the followers of
Christ were favoured, or a perfect comprehension
of the grand fundamental principles of his reli-
gion: whence the name Gvostic, which came to
be commonly used in the second century, in
application both to those who possessed these
sublime conceptions of divine truth, and to those
who merely pretended to them. Heydenreich,t
Stenersen, and Bloomfield, § adopting this ac-
ceptation of the term, reverse the order of these

* Τὶ λόγος γνώσεως ; ὃν εἶχον πολλοὶ τῶν πιστῶν, γνῶσιν
μὲν ἔχοντες, διδάσκειν δὲ οὕτως μὴ δυνάμενοι, οὐδὲ εἰς ἕτερον
εὐκόλως ξξενέγκειν, ἅπερ ἤδεσαν. ‘The same view is given in
the Commentary of Theodoret.

+ Comment. in prior. du Pauli ad Corinth. Epist. Mar-
burgi. 1828,

{ Epistola Pauline perpet. Comment. Christiane. 1830.

ὃ Greek New Test. 2d ed. Note.

THE GIFTS OF INSPIRATION.

195

χαρίσματα, and consider γνώσις to be the more tect. tv.

exalted and comprehensive of the two. In
the same class of interpreters may be ranked
Neander * and Billroth t, who explain γνώσις of
the theoretical, and σοφία of the practical know-
ledge of religion. But to this construction of
the meaning, it must be objected, that it violates
the principle of relation, which the apostle uni-
formly observes when referring to the gifts in
question. ‘Thus in ch. xiii. 2, already quoted, he
first mentions a comprehension of ‘ mysteries,”
and then “ knowledge,” just as in ch. xiv. 6,
“knowledge” follows “ revelation.” We adhere,
therefore, to the order approved by Calvin, Lord
Barrington, Doddridge, Horsley, Macknight,
Hales, and Townsend, who regard the ‘ word of
knowledge ” to be inferior and subordinate to the
* word of wisdom.”

With respect to the nature of the gift itself, it
appears to have consisted in the immediate com-
munication of an exact and competent knowledge
of the truths, which God had already revealed
through the instrumentality of the inspired pro-
phets and apostles, in consequence of which,
those who possessed it became qualified, inde-
pendently on the use of all ordinary means,
forthwith to teach them to the church. They
differed from the apostles, who possessed the

“ Geschichte der Pflanzung und Leitung der Chr, Kirche
durch die Apostel. p. 120.
+ Commentar, 7x oe.

196 THE GIFTS OF INSPIRATION.

Lect. tv. word of wisdom, inasmuch as the latter had new
truths revealed to them; whereas it was the
department of the former infallibly to explain
truths and doctrines, which had been previously
divulged. They also differed from ordinary
teachers—these being under the necessity of ac-
quiring their knowledge of the great principles of
revelation by a diligent study of the holy Scrip-
tures, and all the subsidiary means at their com-
mand; whereas the primitive instructors, who
were supernaturally endowed with the γνώσις
here specified, were at once prepared to dis-
charge the duties of their office. They had
imparted to them clear, accurate, and connected
views of the Divine dispensations ; a profound
acquaintance with the more intricate and obscure
parts of the ancient inspired oracles ; and such
enlarged and definite conceptions of the doctrines
preached by the apostles, as enabled them by
their ministry greatly to contribute to the in-
struction and confirmation of the disciples in the
faith of the gospel. ‘Their interpretations, pro-
ceeding from direct inspiration, possessed an
authority which was tantamount to that claimed
by the apostles for the new truths, which it was
their province to reveal. According to this
view of the gift, all difficulty in explaining
| Cor. xiv. 6 is removed. The apostle might
impart a new revelation; he might give an in-
fallible interpretation of some truth already
revealed; he might deliver a prediction ; or he

THE GIFTS OF INSPIRATION.

197

might give instruction on some known and tect. iv.

acknowledged points of Christian doctrine. For,
as an apostle, he combined in his person, not only
the χαρίσματα forming the present class of gifts,
but a share of all the extraordinary spiritual en-
dowments, which were at that time bestowed
upon the church. Though those to whom this
particular modification of divine inspiration was
imparted did not possess the ‘ word of wisdom:”
those, who had the latter gift conferred upon
them, possessed and exercised the ‘ word of
knowledge,” or the faculty of infallibly inter-
preting the Divine Revelations.

This view of the subject is substantially that
adopted by Lord Barrington, Benson, Macknight,
Townsend, and Macloed, in his invaluable work
on the gifts of imspiration;* though most of
these writers restrict the inspired knowledge to
an extraordinary ability to understand and ex-
plain the meaning of the Old Testament, parti-
cularly in reference to the person, work, and

kingdom of the Messiah.

We now come to the second class of χαρίσματα,
of which there are four species ranged under
the general head of riots, or raAiTH. ‘Though
itself a miraculous endowment, and essential to
the effective exercise of those which immediately

* A View of Inspiration; comprehending the Nature and

Distinctions of the Spiritual Gifts and Offices of the Apo-
stolic Age. By Alex. Macloed. Glasgow, 1827.

Faith.

198

THE GIFTS OF INSPIRATION.

tect. Iv. follow in the classification, this πίστις is to be

contemplated, not as a separate and distinct gift,
but as the immediate source to which these
endowments are to be traced, or the fundamental
principle by which they were called into ope-
ration. It holds the same place in regard to the
succeeding χαρίσματα which λόγος does to the
two χαρίσματα which precede. It was not re-
quired for the exercise of either of these gifts ;
nor was it necessary in order to the exercise
either of the ability to speak foreign languages,
or to interpret these languages. All that was
requisite in any of these cases, was the im-
partation of the conceptions of the things to
be revealed or interpreted, and the words to be
spoken or translated. But without πίστις no
miraculous cure could be effected ; no stupendous
supernatural effects produced; πὸ prediction
uttered; and no discovery made of the real
state and secret thoughts of the heart.
That the faith here specified is not that of
doctrines, the reception of which was essential to
the salvation of those who possessed it, nor
merely a firm confidence in the truth and im-
portance of the Christian religion, as Belsham*
fritters it down, but of things of an extraordinary
and supernatural character to be performed for
the good of others, or for the general advance-
ment of the cause of Christian truth, was per-

* Episties of Paul translated, &c. Vol. ii. p. 256.

THE GIFTS OF INSPIRATION.

199

ceived by Chrystostom,* and is the construction xecr. ry.

put upon the term by nearly all, excepting those
of the Neologian school, who have written on the
subject. Bishop Horsleyt stands almost alone in
the opinion, that it signifies a depth and accuracy
of understanding in the general scheme of the
Christian revelation, for the improvement and
edification of believers. It is in fact what the
schoolmen called fides miraculorum, or a firm
and undoubting confidence in God, produced by
an immediate impulse of his Spirit on the minds
of those who exercised it, that, in certain given
circumstances, he would, through their instru-
mentality, perform acts surpassing the power of
natural agency. ‘The effects which resulted from
it, did not consist simply in the performance of
difficult actions, or the putting forth of extra-
ordinary exertion, which circumstances might
require. ‘They were, in all cases, strictly super-
natural. It is of this peculiar kind of faith our
Lord speaks when he charges his disciples, (Mark
xi, 23,)—‘ Have faith in God. For verily I
“say unto you, That whosoever shall say unto
*‘ this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou
““ cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his
“heart, but shall believe that those things which
“he saith, shall come to pass; he shall have
** whatsoever he saith.” That the form πέστιν
Θεοῦ, which here occurs, is to be rendered “ a

* Πίστιν ov ταύτην λέγει τὴν τῶν δογμάτων, ἀλλὰ τὴν τῶν

σημείων. + Ut sup.

200

THE GIFTS OF INSPIRATION.

tect. v. Strong faith,” as some have done, on the ground

of what has been called a common Hebraism,
cannot be proved, since it is more than doubtful
whether any such idiom really exists in the
Hebrew language. Θεοῦ is here as frequently
the genitive of object, and the phrase imports a
firm and unshaken reliance on Divine Omnipo-
tence. ‘The absence of all doubt with respect to
the production of the miracle is expressly de-
clared both in this and the parallel passage,
Matt. xxi. 2], to be indispensable to its per-
formance. It seems evident from the connection,
that it is of this faith Christ also speaks, Mark
xvi. 17,—‘* And these signs shall follow them
that believe ; in my name shall they cast out
devils; they shall speak with new tongues.”
It is true, he had just insisted on the indispen-
sable necessity of that faith with which salvation is
connected; but he had finished what he had to
deliver respecting saving faith, in the 16th verse;
and now proceeds, taking occasion from the
introduction of the term to employ it in a higher
sense (ver. 17,) in reference to that special en-
dowment, which was required for the perform-
ance of those miracles which he immediately
describes. That it is the same ‘“‘ faith” the
apostle has in view, when he says, (1 Cor. xiii. 2,)
“If I have all faith, πᾶσαν τὴν πίστιν, so that I
could remove mountains,” is evident, not only
from its being classed along with prophecy, an
acquaintance with mysteries, and the gift of

THE GIFTS OF INSPIRATION.

supernatural knowledge, but from the effects
ascribed to it. To the exercise of this spiritual
gift in effecting miraculous cures, the Apostle
James also refers, (ch. v. 14, 15,—‘* Is any sick
* among you? let him call for the elders of the
church ; and let them pray over him, anointing
‘him with oil in the name of the Lord. And
“the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and
“the Lord shall raise him up; and if he have
“committed sins, they shall be forgiven him.”
What is here termed 7 εὐχὴ τῆς πίστεως, IS not
that which is usually called believing prayer, or
such prayer as is based on the Divine character
and administration generally, or on particular
promises of Scripture made to all believers, but
that in which the gifted person was to engage
from a firm persuasion, supernaturally wrought in
his mind at the time, that God would, on the occa-
sion specified, miraculously restore the sick believer
to health. The exercise of this gift presupposes
a conviction, resting on the most solid grounds,
that he, who possessed it, was called at the time
to perform a miracle ; and, on proceeding to the
performance of it, an unwavering confidence in
the power and faithfulness of God to effect it.

The first of the supernatural gifts placed under
this special faith, as their operative principle, is
χαρίσματα ἰαμάτων, THE GIFTS OF HEALING. The
attempts of some foreign commentators, after
Rosenmuller, to reduce this endowment to the

201

LECT. IV.

The gift of
healing.

202

THE GIFTS OF INSPIRATION.

Lect. 1v. rank of eminence in medical science, are a bur-

lesque on the word of God, and totally undeserv-
ing of serious refutation. Heydenreich* properly
designates the opinion: Vacua et inanis conjec-
tura. ‘Vhe use of the plural in the specification
of the gift, is derived from the number and
variety of the diseases that were healed. When
our Lord sent forth his twelve disciples, he in-
vested them with power “ to heal all manner of
sickness and all manner of disease ;” and one
of the prominent parts of the charge, which he
delivered to them on the occasion, was: ‘* Heal
the sick.” (Matt. x. 1, 8.) To the account
given by Luke of the same commission, he adds :
‘** And they departed, and went through the
towns, preaching the gospel, and healing every
where,” (ch. ix. 6.) ‘The seventy, who were
afterwards sent out to announce the approach of
the Divine reign, were similarly endowed, and
commanded to “ heal the sich of every city into
which they might enter,” (Luke x. 8, 9.) In
like manner, when the apostles received their
final commission, just before the ascension of
their Master, he expressly promised, that they
should, in the exercise of the special χαρέσμα of
faith, day hands on the sick, and they should
recover, (Mark xvi. 18:)—a promise, to the ac-
complishment of which ample testimony is borne
in the Acts of the Apostles, especially in chap. v.
15, where we read, that, in consequence of the
* ΜΟΙ 301.

THE GIFTS OF INSPIRATION.

impression made upon the inhabitants of Jerusa-
lem by the miracles wrought by the apostles, and
the vast number of conversions, which took place,
“they brought the sick into the’ streets, and laid
“ them on beds and couches, that at the least the
“‘ shadow of Peter passing by might overshadow
** some of them.”

When this gift was exercised, it was accom-
panied with the laying on of hands, or anointing
with oil, both of which actions were symbolical
of the exertion of Divine power, by which alone
the cures were effected. (Mark xvi. 18; vi. 13;
James v. 14.) Considering the extensive scope
which there was for its exercise, it is easy to
perceive of what immense service it must have
proved to the gospel—confirming its truth, and
conciliating the good will of the more considerate
of the heathen to a religion so manifestly bene-
ficient in its nature and effects.

The second class of effects resulting from
the exercise of this gift of faith, is desig-
nated, ἐνεργήματα δυνάμεων, THE WORKING OF
MIRACLES. Definitely to mark the distinction
between this χαρίσμα and that of healing, has
greatly puzzled many of the commentators,
owing to the supposed incongruity of treating
the latter separately, since nothing can be more
obvious than the fact, that it also is miraculous.
Pressed by the difficulty, Macknight, without
any support from analogy, and depending

203

LECT. IV.

The working
of miracles.

204

THE GIFTS OF INSPIRATION.

Lect. tv. entirely on the precarious use of the Greek pre-

position in the compound ἐνεργεῖν, maintains, that
the whole phrase is to be rendered the tnworkings
of powers, though he is obliged to admit that he
has opposed to him the whole current of trans-
lators, both ancient and modern. The hypo-
thesis, which he constructs upon this single
point of etymology, is, that the gift consisted
in the ability to infuse miraculous powers into
the minds of others:—an endowment which
cannot be proved from any other part of Scrip-
ture, or from the documents of uninspired
antiquity, ever to have been conferred upon man.
To operate thus upon the human mind is the
sole prerogative of Him, 6 ἐνεργῶν τὰ πάντα ἐν
πᾶσιν. (1 Cor. xii. 6.)*

That miracles, various in their character, are
here intended, is evident from the plural form
of the terms (ἐνεργήματα δυνάμεων) employed
by the apostle. Δύναμις, which properly sig-
nifies power or might, is the word usually used in
the Gospel to denote the miracles, which were
wrought by our Saviour; and sometimes it ex-
presses the power by which they were performed;
sometimes the effects of that power in the miracles
themselves. (Matt. xi. 20, 21, 23; xiii, 545
Mark y. 30.) It also occurs in the same accep-
tation in the Pauline Epistles, and is that by
which the Christian miracles are characterised

* For a refutation of Macknight’s arguments, see Mac-
loed, wt sup. p. 267.

THE GIFTS OF INSPIRATION.

205

as δυνώμεις μέλλοντος αἰῶνος, “the powers of Lect. tv.

the world to come.” (Heb. vi. 5.) The other
term, ἐνεργήματα, occurs only here and ver. 6,
and, as has already been observed, is descriptive
not of the act of performing the miracles, but
of the effects of that power by which they were
performed. Both words may indeed be taken as
a common hendiadys, and are equivalent to
ἐνεργήματα δύνατα, ‘ miraculous results,” or
as δυνάμεις by itself is frequently rendered in
our common version, “ mighty deeds.”

The very selection of the terms appropriated
by the apostle to the description of this gift,
sufficiently evinces that he had something of no
ordinary character in view, to which he thus
gives expression. ‘Though every effect produced
by causes not within the course of nature is
miraculous, we may conceive of a difference in
the circumstances in which these causes are
called into operation, and in the degree in which
the supernatural energy requires to be exerted.
Between the healing of a disease, for example,

and the raising of a dead person to life, there
~ exists a most palpable distinction. The former
might have been effected in the course of time
by the efforts of human skill. The miracle con-
sisted in the cure being produced instantaneously
and altogether independently on the use of ade-
quate means. But to the re-animation of one
who had been really dead, no mere created power
could possibly pretend, under any circumstances,

206

THE GIFTS OF INSPIRATION.

tect. tv. or by the application of any means whatever.

Prophecy.

This distinction is clearly supported by what is
stated, Mark vi. 5: “And he could there do
““ οὐδεμίαν δύναμιν, no mighty work, save that he
*‘Jaid his hand upon a few sick folk, and healed
‘them ;” and by the declaration of Luke, Acts
xix. 11: “ And God wrought, δυνώμεις τε du τὰς
τυχούσας, special miracles, by the hands of Paul.”

To the production of more extraordinary and
astonishing miracles of this description, the
χαρίσμα we are now considering was applied.
The restoration of the limbs or of the senses;
the resuscitation of the dead; the imnocuous
use of empoisoned liquor; the dispossession of
demons; the infliction of blindness, and even
of death itself, as in the case of Ananias and
Sapphira—were such stupendous effects of omni-
potent intervention as could not but claim for
those, in connection with whose ministry they
were produced, all the deference which was due
to teachers sent from God.

This view of the distinction between the two
gifts, which was not unnoticed by Chrysostom, is
acquiesced in by Calvin, Schlichting, Crell,
Grotius, Hammond, Heydenreich, Macloed, and,
on the whole, by Billroth.

The third gift assigned to Faith, as its principle
of operation, is προφητεία, PROPHECY. In a
former Lecture it was shown, that the term pro-
phecy is employed in Scripture with great latitude

THE GIFTS OF INSPIRATION.

207

of application. To determine its signification ;pecr. rv.

in this passage, we must be careful not to con-
found it with another acceptation in which it is
used in this same Epistle. In chapters xi. 4, 5;
xiv. 1, 3, 4, 5, 22, 24, 31, 32, 37, 39, it is taken
in the laxer sense of public teaching, in what way
soever that teaching was exercised, whether by
expounding the Scriptures of the Old Testament ;
discoursing of the great facts and doctrines of
the gospel ; administering consolation; or ex-
horting to the performance of duty. Universal
edification was its immediate and grand design.
Hence it is so highly estimated by the apostle ;
and is, on this account, specially contra-distin-
guished from the gift of tongues, the utility of
which, except under certain circumstances, he
more than questions. Those who were prophets,
in this acceptation of the term, differed in
nothing from succeeding pastors and teachers,
or ordinary ministers in after ages, except in
the enjoyment of a supernatural influence which,
though it did not elevate them to the rank of
those who were gifted with the “ word of
wisdom ” and the ‘ word of knowledge,” and
thus render them infallible, nevertheless sup-
plied the defects under which they naturally
laboured, and qualified them ex promptu to
minister instruction to the church. It is only
necessary diligently to collate the several aspects
under which the subject is presented in the four-
teenth chapter, to be convinced that this is the

208

THE GIFTS OF INSPIRATION.

Lect. lv. only view that can be taken of it, which does

not involve it in insuperable difficulties.

In the same sense the word ‘ prophesying ” is
ued, when the female members of the church
are supposed to have engaged in it: (ch. xi. 5.)
«Every woman, that prayeth or prophesieth
with her head uncovered, dishonoureth her head.”
Most, indeed, interpret the passage to signify
merely their joining in the public prayers and
praises as a part of the congregation: but such a
construction would never have been put upon
it, had it not been to make it harmonize with
the prohibition, ch. xiv. 34: “ Let your
women keep silence in the churches: for it
is not permitted unto them to speak.” Were
it not for this latter passage, we should un-
questionably have interpreted the fifth verse
just as we do the fourth, of actual praying
and preaching. ‘The phraseology is identical ;
and there appears no reason why we should
dispute the fact of certain female members of
the Corinthian church actually engaging in these
exercises. It was not the object of the apostle,
however, at this stage of his argument, to con-
demn the practice. Having introduced it, he
exposes the gross violation of eastern decorum
of which they were guilty in appearing unveiled
before the assembly, and reserves the express
condemnation of the practice for the close
of his instructions on the subject of public
worship.

THE GIFTS OF INSPIRATION.

209

It is certain, however, that no such acceptation ποτ. rv.

can be attached to προφητεία in the catalogue
of supernatural gifts, since in the obvious re-
lation in which it there stands to πέστις, the
term must signify a peculiar endowment, in
the use of which a degree of confidence was
requisite, corresponding to that which was re-
quired for the performance of miracles. That
this was necessary in order to qualify the pri-
mitive teachers to communicate to the churches
the ordinary instructions with which they were
inspired, will not be maintained. In what sense,
then, are we to understand προφητεία but in its
highest bearing—the disclosure of future events ?
The position which the apostle assigns to pro-
phecy between “ miracles” and “ the discerning
of spirits ;” his classing it along with mysteries,
knowledge, and faith of the highest description,
(ch. xiii. 2); and his distinguishing it from
doctrine on the one hand, and from revelation
and knowledge on the other, (chap. xiv. 6);
clearly show, that, in all these passages, he in-
tended it to be taken in a superior sense to
that in which he employs it, when describing
the more usual mode of communicating public
instruction. But there is πὸ other, except
that of predicting future events, which is not
included in one or other of the terms, which
he here employs. That there existed, in the
apostolic age, an order of men who possessed
the gift of predicting future events, is beyond
Ρ

210

THE GIFTS OF INSPIRATION.

‘LECT. IV. dispute. We are told, (Acts “i. 27, '28); © Amd

‘in these days came prophets from Jerusalem
“unto Antioch. And there stood up one of them
“named Agabus, and signified by the Spirit that
“ there should be great dearth throughout all the
“‘ world: which came to pass in the days of
“‘ Claudius Cesar.” Of this same Agabus, we
further read, (chap. xxi. 11), ‘“ And as we
* tarried there many days, there came down from
“ Judea a certain prophet, named Agabus. And
‘““when he was come unto us, he took Paul’s
““ girdle, and bound his own hands and feet, and
“said, Thus saith the Holy Ghost, So shall the
* Jews at Jerusalem bind the man that owneth
*‘ this girdle, and shall deliver him into the hands
““ of the Gentiles.” It appears also from the first
Epistle to ‘Timothy, that persons endowed with
the gift of prophecy were specially excited to
give utterance to predictions respecting the
eminent service which that young disciple would
render to the Church. (Chap. i. 18; iv. 14.)
With this prophetic gift Paul himself was en-
dowed, in virtue of which he was enabled clearly
to predict the apostasy, (1 ‘Tim. iv. 1 ;) and the
rise, arrogance, and destruction of Antichrist,
(2 Thess. ii.;) and John, the beloved disciple,
possessed it in so eminent a degree, that the
Apocalypse, which we have from his pen, ranks
with the very first of the Old Testament pro-
phecies. Now without the special assurance
(πίστις) that they were divinely called to deliver

THE GIFTS OF INSPIRATION.

these predictions, and that God would, in due
time, carry them into fulfilment, they could not
have ventured to publish them to the world. By
uttering or recording them, they staked their
own reputation in all future time on their ac-
complishment or non-fulfilment. It is, there-
fore, not without reason, that this gift is assigned
to “ faith” as its operative principle.

The last of the gifts, to the exercise of which
the extraordinary faith specified by the apostle
was necessary, 15 διακρίσεις πνευμώτων, ‘ DISCERN-
ING OF spIRITS.” ‘The same principle on which we
accounted for the use of the plural in reference
to two of the preceding gifts will apply to the
present: the occasions for its exercise being
various. It consisted in the faculty of distin-
guishing persons who really spoke from in-
spiration from such as merely pretended to it.
As in the case of Simon Magus, who, having
witnessed the wonderful effects which resulted
from the laying on of the hands of the apostles,
was desirous of possessing the same power, in
order. that he might feed his vanity and increase
his wealth, so it cannot be doubted that the ex-
citement which was produced by the exhibition
of the gifts in the Corinthian and other churches,
provoked many to imitate the spirit and actions
of such as possessed them. Nor is it at all
improbable that numbers became the dupes of

enthusiasm, and actually believed that they were
p 2

211

LECT. IV.

The discern-
ing of spirits.

212 THE GIFTS OF INSPIRATION.

Lect. Iv. the subjects of a divine impulse, while they spake
from their own spirit. Against the influence of
both descriptions of persons, it was highly impor-
tant the first disciples should be put on their guard;
but in the circumstances in which the church then
was, this could only be effectually done by a posi-
tive determination on the part of the Omniscient
Searcher of hearts, through such instruments as he
should select for the purpose. Where the apostles
were present, being possessed of this and all the
other gifts, they could at once detect impostors
and persons who were deceiving both themselves
and others; but in their absence, and in the
non-possession of their writings, by proper
attention to which the church has since been
able to judge of those who have pretended to
inspiration, as well as of the truth of doctrine,
a special order of divinely-accredited men was
required. We say divinely-accredited : because
without this the disciples might have been im-
posed upon by pretensions to this endowment
equally as in regard to any of the others.
Wherein their credentials consisted, we are not
informed; but we may suppose, that, in many
instances, they received the sanction of the
apostles, or that of others who were known to
be inspired; or, that the effects produced, in
most instances, by the exercise of the gift itself
on those who merely pretended to a supernatural
impulse, were such as to convince all who wit-
nessed them of the justness of their claims.

THE GIFTS OF INSPIRATION.

213

The reason why teachers are here called Lect. rv.

πνεύματα, ‘ spirits,” is, that all who were se-
lected by God to impart instruction to the
primitive church were endowed with one or
other of the extraordinary gifts of the Holy
Spirit. When they spake, they spake ἐν πνεύματι,
by the Spirit, or under the influence of inspira-
tion; and received the designation from their
being the subjects of this influence. The term
only occurs in this acceptation in two other
passages of the New ‘Testament: in the first,
(2 Thess. ii. 2,) the apostle warns the brethren
not to suffer themselves to be thrown into per-
turbation respecting the immediate appearance
of Christ, either διὰ πνεύματος, by any one pre-
tending to a divine revelation, by a pretended
verbal communication from the apostles, or by
a letter purporting to have proceeded from their
pen. In the other, (1 John iv.1, 2, 3,) the Chris-
tians generally are thus exhorted: ‘ Beloved,
“believe not, παντὲ πνεύματι, every spirit, but
“try, τὰ πνεύματα, the spirits, whether they are
“of God: because many false prophets are gone
“out into the world. Hereby know ye the
«Spirit of God: every spirit that confesseth
“that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of
“God: and every spirit that confesseth not
“that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh, is not
“of God: and this is that spirit of antichrist,
“whereof ye have heard that it should come;
“and even now is it already in the world.”

214

THE GIFTS OF INSPIRATION.

tect. 1v. By placing the ψευδοπροφῆται, ‘ false prophets,”

in contrast with the πνεύματα, “ spirits” which
were of God, it is evident, that by the latter he
means teachers really endowed with the gifts of
the Spirit.

It may be asked, however: In what respect
was such an eminent degree of faith required
for the exercise of this gift of spiritual dis-
cernment? We reply: First, because it was
necessary that the persons who were endowed
with it should be infallibly certain of the cor-
rectness of their judgment in given cases, before
they proceeded to deliver a decision. And,
Secondly, because without such assurance they
would have been ill qualified to meet the oppo-
sition which they must have experienced on the
part of the false teachers and their partisans.
Their office was not merely to detect, but to
expose—not merely to discern, but to present
the reality of the imposture to the discernment
of others.

Some have referred the case of Peter’s
detection of the hypocrisy of Ananias and
Sapphira, and Paul’s exposure of the hidden
wickedness of Elymas, to this gift; and Mac-
knight preposterously attributes to it what is said
| Cor. xiv. 25, respecting the effect produced
upon the mind of a heathen, who should hear
the truth intelligibly and forcibly taught in his
native language; but the peculiar and appro-
priated signification of the term πνεῦμα in our

THE GIFTS OF INSPIRATION.

present text, and in those to which we have
just adverted, proves that such applications
cannot be philologically sustained.

There are yet two χαρίσματα, forming the third
class in the catalogue, the examination of which
will occupy what remains of the time allotted for
the present Lecture.

Of these the first is γένη γλωσσῶν, rendered in
our version: ‘* DIVERS KINDS OF TONGUES,” —a
gift, to which no ordinary degree of attention has
of late been attracted, both by the philological in-.
vestigations, which it has originated in Germany,
and by the renewed claims to its possession,
which have been advanced in our own coun-
try. As the latter aspect of the subject will
properly come before us in our concluding Lee-
ture, when the pretensions that have been made
to inspiration subsequent to the apostolic age
will be examined, our present observations will
be confined to the gift itself, as exhibited in the
New Testament, and the views, which have been
taken of it by those, who have professed to deter-
mine the question on purely philological and
historical grounds.

Respecting the nature of this gift, it does not
appear that any essential difference of opinion
obtained in the early ages of the church. When-
ever it is referred to either by the Greek or
Latin Fathers, it is always taken for granted that
it consisted in the ability imparted to certain

215

LECT. IV.

Gift of
tongues.

Nature of
the gift.

216 THE GIFTS OF INSPIRATION.

cect. 1v. members of the first churches to give utterance to
divine things in languages which they had never
learned. ‘The numerous succeeding writers, who
have treated on the subject, have viewed it in the
same light; and it was reserved for modern
times to present it under aspects totally at vari-
ance with the generally received opinion. ‘The
first who excited public notice by the novelty
pheory f of his hypothesis was C. G. Bardili,* of the
University of Tubingen, in a small tract on the
primitive signification of the word προφήτης as
used by Plato, which he applies to the interpre-
tation of the fourteenth chapter of the first Epistle
to the Corinthians. Conceiving that there is a
difference between the phrases γλώσσῃ λαλεῖν,
“to speak with a tongue,” and ἑτέραις γλώσσαις
λαλεῖν, to speak with other tongues,” while he
explains the latter according to the common in-
terpretation, he considers the former to signify
nothing more than the employment of the tongue
as an organ of utterance to unknown sounds.
The gift, which he represents to have been super-
natural, excited those who possessed it to such
a pitch of enthusiasm, that they were utterly
deprived of consciousness ; so that becoming the
passive instruments of the Spirit, they discoursed
or prayed in loud, broken, and half articulated
tones, under convulsive affections of the body,

* Significatus primitivus vocis προφήτου ex Platone eru-
tus cum novo tentamine interpretandi 1 Cor. xiv. Gott.
1786.

THE GIFTS OF INSPIRATION.

resembling those to which the heathen priests
were subject, when delivering the oracles of the
gods. These accompanying phenomena he infers
from certain circumstances mentioned in the
second chapter of the Acts, and the passage re-
ferred to in the Epistle to the Corinthians ; and
the construction which he puts upon γλώσσα as
signifying the organ of speech, is derived from
the 9th verse, where it is undeniably used in this
acceptation.

The view of the subject thus advanced by

217

LECT. IV.

Modified hy-
pothesis of

Bardili was adopted by Eichhorn in his review of gicuhorn.

the work :*—only with this difference, that he
rejected the distinction which had been made be-
tween γλώσσα, “tongue,” and γλῶσσαι, “tongues ;”
and, agreeably to his well-known rationalistic
principles, denying that there was any thing super-
natural in the case, he resolved it entirely into the
effects of bodily distemper, a heated imagination,
or pagan habits, which many of the Corinthians
had contracted, while frequenting the temples
previous to their conversion to Christianity.
Ziegler, Bohme, Ammon, and many others, fol-
lowed on the same side; but the theory was
powerfully attacked, and its leading positions
completely refuted by Storr,t who successfully
vindicated the supernatural origin and import-

* Bibliothek der Bib. Liter. 2 B. 5 St. s. 757—859, and
again 6 B. 3 St. s. δ.

+ In Paulus Neue Repertorium ftr bibl. und morgen.
Lit. 3 Th. 5. 281—357.

ὃ

THE GIFTS OF INSPIRATION,

Lecr.iv. ance of the spiritual gifts conferred upon the

Christians at Corinth; so that, since his time, it
has not been advocated by any writer of note.
Nor can it indeed be expected, that a notion so
extravagant in itself, so destitute of foundation
in Scripture, and so palpably at variance with the
whole genius of Christianity, would continue to
receive countenance except from those who are
determined, even at the risk of sacrificing their
literary reputation, to expel every thing miracu-
lous from the Bible ; or from such as realize, in
their physical or mental constitution, the descrip-
tion which Eichhorn and Bardili furnish of what
they considered to be the phenomena of the case.
Is it for a moment to be supposed, that, when the
apostle declares, 1 Cor. xiv. 5: “ I would that
ye all spake with tongues,” his meaning is, that
the whole community, or all the gifted persons,
should assume frantic attitudes, and, by the irra-
tional use of their tongues, give expression to
sounds which were absolutely unintelligible? or
that, when he thanks God, that he spake with
tongues, more than they all, he would be under-
stood seriously to affirm, that he surpassed them
all in the number and vehemence of the inarticu-
late tones, which he enunciated in a state of
ecstatic elevation ? Did the disciples on the day
of Pentecost require the supernatural energy of
the Holy Spirit to enable them merely to move
their tongues in an unintelligible manner? Was
this the amount of the gift bestowed upon

THE GIFTS OF INSPIRATION.

219

Cornelius and his family, and upon the disciples ©®ct- ΤΥ.

of John, who were rebaptized at Ephesus? or, if
inarticulate speech be intended, what are we to
understand by γένη γλωσσών, divers kinds of inar-
ticulate speech ? How could they really differ, if
they were alike unintelligible ?

When the apostle speaks of uttering by the
tongue, διὰ τῆς yAwoons, “ words or discourse easy
to be understood,” (ver. 9,) he is not opposing
the articulate and intelligent use of speech to
that which is inarticulate and unintelligible, but
to the “uncertain sound of the trumpet,” men-
tioned in the preceding verse ; and his assertion,
that ‘there are, it may be, so many kinds of
voices in the world, and none of them is without
signification,” (ver. 10,) shows, that he never
meant to extend his argument beyond the appro-
priation of real languages. ‘That in this passage,
φωνὴ, which primarily signifies sound, then voice,
must be taken in the sense of language or dialect,
is evident: for it would not be true, that there
are no sounds or voices in the world (adver)
without signification, according as these terms
are usually understood. ‘The meaning is: every
language is intelligible to some nation or other ;
and it is only to persons who are ignorant of it,
that its words are destitute of signification. This
the apostle illustrates in a very forcible manner :
“Therefore, if I know not the meaning of the
** voice (τῆς φωνῆς, of the language,) I shall be to
“him that speaketh a barbarian, and he that

220

LECT. IV.

Hypothesis
of Herder
and Bleek.

THE GIFTS OF INSPIRATION.

“ speaketh shall be a barbarian unto me.” (Ver.
11.) We shall be like two foreigners, who do
not understand each other’s tongue. ‘The very
use of the terms “interpret” and “ interpreta-
tion” as applied to this subject, also proves that
he could only have intelligent language in view :—
it being a contradiction in terms to speak of in-
terpreting that which has no meaning. In short,
the whole of his argument proceeds upon the
principle, that the tongues in question were
real languages, which, how properly soever they
might be used in the presence of those by whom
they were understood, could not possibly serve
as vehicles for imparting edification to such as
were ignorant of them. For their benefit the
“interpretation of tongues” was necessary, in
cases in which the tongues were used.

Another hypothesis formed with a view to ex-
plain the nature of this gift, is that according to
which γλώσσαι signify single terms or expres-
sions, which are either foreign, obsolete, obscure,
or not in common use, and consequently not un-
derstood by all, but which poets, animated speak-
ers, or persons in a high state of excitement,
might be expected to employ. ‘This opinion was
first broached by the celebrated Herder ;* it was
adopted among others by De Wette; and has
recently been espoused and discussed with great
learning and candour by Professor Bleek, of the

* Von der Gabe der Sprachen am ersten christl. Pfingst-
feste. Riga, 1794.

THE GIFTS OF INSPIRATION.

University of Berlin.* The arguments, which
he advances in his dissertation on the subject, are
principally founded on the fact, which admits of
no dispute, that in the Greek and Latin classics,
γλῶσσαι, and glosse, often denote antiquated
terms which required interpretration ; idioms or
provincial modes of expression, which were un-
derstood by those only who lived in the places
where they prevailed; the diction peculiar to
poets ; and specially the poetical costume in which
the Pythian priestess originally presented her ora-
cles, but which was afterwards exchanged for
that of prose. In support of these acceptations,
he produces unequivocal quotations from Galen,
Marcus Antoninus, Aristotle, Sextus Empiricus,
Plutarch, Quintilian, and Pollux ; and, certainly,
were we to confine ourselves to the simple philo-
logy of the question, as furnished from these
extraneous sources, it might be difficult to dis-
turb the position which he occupies: but we no
sooner bring to bear upon it the various histori-
cal circumstances, under which the subject is in-
troduced to our notice in the New Testament,
and one or two points of New Testament philo-
logy, than it becomes totally untenable.
Applying his principle, however, to the state-
ments of the sacred writers, the Professor
attempts to show, that when persons are said
to have spoken with γλώσσαι, the meaning is,

* Ullmann’s Studien und Kritiken, Heft 1.

221

LECT. IV.

222

THE GIFTS OF INSPIRATION.

tect. Iv. that they gave expression to their new religious

views and feelings in language, which differed as
much from that of common life as lyric poetry
did from simple prose; and as they were men of
plain habits, who had possessed no literary ad-
vantages, and from whom the use of such a style
was not to be expected, their possession of the
gift could be ascribed to no other cause than the
supernatural influence of the Holy Spirit, whom
Christ had promised to bestow on his followers.
By the extraordinary disclosures that were made
to them, and the extraordinary emotions of
spiritual gratitude and joy to which these dis-
closures gave rise, they were excited to bursts of
feeling in the loftiest strains of praise. While
thus engaged, their higher faculties were so over-
powered by supernatural influence, that they
lost the possession of intelligent consciousness,
and employed expressions which were at once
unknown to themselves, and unintelligible to
their hearers. When this state of ecstasy sub-
sided, they possessed no recollection of what
they had uttered, consequently were unable,
without receiving the gift of interpretation, to
translate or explain their discourse. ‘The end to
be attained by the collation of this χαρίσμα was
twofold: a demonstration to unbelievers of the
indwelling power of the Holy Spirit, and the
personal edification of those who possessed it.
Such is briefly the theory of Bleek, which 15
invested with a considerable degree of interest

THE GIFTS OF: INSPIRATION. 220

by the coincidence existing between the results ‘nct. tv.
of his learned researches, and the light in which

the “ gift of tongues” is viewed by some in

this country, who have recently published upon

the subject, without being at all aware of the
philological principle on which his hypothesis is
founded.

To the adoption of this theory, or of any of refutation
its modifications as held by Neander,* Ohls- thesis.
hausen,t and Billroth,t insuperable objections
must occur to those, who take into consideration
all the circumstances of the case, as presented to
our view in the Scriptures. Nor, indeed, is it
possible to account for the sanction which it
has received from these biblical scholars, on any
other ground than the influence of a mystical
notion, which seems to predominate among most
of the recent German supernaturalists, that
those who experienced the extraordinary in-
fluences of the Spirit, had their intelligent con-
sciousness repressed, and enjoyed most of the
Divine life in the soul, when destitute of the
power of intelligent developement.

It is obvious, that if the term γλῶσσα is to
be applied in its peculiar classical acceptation
to all the passages of the New ‘Testament in
which the subject occurs, it will follow that

* Geschichte der Pflanzung, &c.

+ Commentar zu Ap. Gesch. 2. 4—11; and in Ullmann’s
Studien, 2 B. 3 Heft.

1 Ut sup.

224 THE GIFTS OF INSPIRATION.

isct. 1v. the apostles and others exercised the power in
certain forms, before they were endowed with
it in others. In the promise made by our
Saviour, Mark xvi. 17, it is expressly stated,
that those who believed should speak γλῶσσαις
καιναῖς, “ with new tongues.” And in the
account given of the phenomena on the day
of Pentecost, it is as expressly declared, that
the disciples began to speak, ἑτέραις γλώσσαις,
*‘ with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them
utterance.” (Actsii. 4.) Now if the word ren-
dered “tongues” signifies by itself exalted,
unusual, or unintelligible modes of speech, the
addition of the qualifying adjectives ‘“ new
and “other” was quite unnecessary ; or if they

be allowed to retain their usual force, their
adoption necessarily goes to prove, that other
modes of the same description had previously
been employed by the disciples—the bare mention
of which is its own refutation.
That the γλώσσαι, “ tongues,” with which they
spoke on the day of Pentecost, (Acts ii. 4,) were
identical with ἰδέαι διαλέκτοι, the vernacular lan-
guages, (verses 6th and 8th,) of the different
nations, specified by the sacred historian, is incon-
trovertibly evident from the declaration made
ver. 11: ‘We hear them speaking, ταῖς ἡμετέραις,
γλώσσαις, In our own tongues.” ‘The fact, indeed,
is admitted by Professor Bleek, who unsuccess-
fully attempts to get rid of the difficulty by the
supposition, that Luke, not having been an eye-

THE GIFTS OF INSPIRATION.

225

witness, may have stated the circumstances Lerct. ΤΥ.

differently from the order of their occurrence.
Those who insist on our adoption of the imter-
pretation given of γλώσσα, must, to be consistent,
maintain that the terms and phrases selected
from each of these foreign languages on this
occasion, consisted exclusively of such as were
antiquated and unintelligible (ταῖς ἡμετέραις γλώσ-
cavs); yet the persons from the different nations,
who heard them, found no difficulty in under-
standing them, but at once declared their import
to be ‘ the wonderful works of God.” In the
verse last quoted, the term is manifestly employed
in its usual acceptation as signifying language
generally, without any particular modification of
meaning ; and since it is used in reference to
the same subject with that introduced at the
commencement of the chapter, it would be a
violation of all hermeneutical propriety to inter-
pret it differently when it occurs there. But if
the languages in which the disciples spoke on
that occasion were the ordinary languages of
the nations, many of the inhabitants of which
were then present, and the miraculous collation
of the ability to discourse in them was the fulfil-
ment of the promise of Christ, it not only follows
that this is the construction to be put upon the
words of the promise, which specifies ‘“ new
tongues,” but that the same construction must
be put upon all the other passages, in which
similar phraseology occurs. It follows, more-
Q

226

THE GIFTS OF INSPIRATION.

tect. Iv. over, that the gift being the same wherever con-

Case of the
church at
Corinth.

ferred, it had always the same object. But the
object of its original bestowment appears from
the unstrained purport of the narrative to have
been to qualify the first Christians for the work of
publishing the gospel in the different languages,
spoken by those to whom they had access: con-
sequently its future collation was designed to
furnish the means of instruction to those, who
must otherwise have been debarred from enjoying
the benefit of their labours. Its importance to the
members of the Church at Jerusalem, who were so
soon to be scattered abroad amongst various na-
tions, and who, when thus scattered, went every
where preaching the word, (Acts viii. 4); to
Cornelius and his family, who were thereby quali-
fied to publish the glad tidings to the mixed popu-
lation of Cesarea, (ch. x. 44—46); and to the
disciples at Ephesus, the much frequented capital
of Ionia, (ch. xix. 6)—must be apparent to all.

The whole subject of the gift of tongues has
been involved in much obscurity by unfounded
assumptions respecting its appearance among
the Corinthians, and the manner in which it is
treated of by the apostle in the fourteenth chapter
of his First Epistle to that church. It is taken
for granted, that its exercise was designed to be
a regular and standing part of divine worship,
so that at each meeting of the church, if pro-
vision were made for interpretation, it would be
proper to employ it; that one of its ends was

THE GIFTS OF INSPIRATION.

227

self-edification ; that the person who used it Lscr.1v.

had not the power of translating what he had
spoken into the language generally known in
the church, though he himself understood that
language ; that his understanding was perfectly
dormant during the exercise—the gift being the
prostration of human intellect; and that the
utterance was the effect of an immediate ope-
ration of the Holy Spirit. But a definite and
impartial view of the circumstances to which
the reasoning of the apostle applies, and an
unprejudiced examination of the meaning of
his language, cannot but induce the conviction,
that there is not the slightest ground for any of
these positions.

The city of Corinth, bemg situated most ad-
vantageously for the purposes of trade, was a
place of great resort by merchants from Asia
and Africa, from Italy and other parts of
Europe. Amongst its mixed population, a
diversity of languages must have been spoken ;
and consequently very considerable scope af-
forded for the exercise of the gift in question.
In their intercourse with unbelievers of different
nations, those who possessed it would appro-
priately employ it; but its exercise in the
church, in which the vernacular Greek was
used, could only have been called for on special
occasions, and even then it would have been
proper to have confined it within narrow limits.
It evidently appears, however, that many who

ᾳ 2

228

LECT. IV.

The gift lia-
ble to abuse,
and actually
abused at
Corinth.

THE GIFTS OF INSPIRATION.

had received this χαρίσμα, either at Corinth or
elsewhere, abused it in the church at that place,
to the gratification of their own vanity; ob-
truded themselves in numbers upon the attention
of the assembly ; interrupted the procedure of
the worship; and thus prevented general edi-
fication.

It may, to some, appear unwarrantable to
speak of the abuse of such a gift; but the
apostle’s reasoning clearly presupposes the fact.
Though supernatural in its bestowment, the
linguistical knowledge, which had thus been
obtained, was permanently inherent in its pos-
sessors; and might be employed by them in
the same way as that of any language which
they might have acquired by ordinary means.
In this respect the gifts of tongues, and the
interpretation of tongues, differed essentially
from the other χαρίσματα : a momentaneous
illumination or impulse of the Spirit being,
from their very nature, always indispensable to
the exercise of the latter: whereas the former
were constantly available without further mira-
culous intervention. The persons, therefore,
who abused the gift, were not, at the time,
under the Divine influence ; they were actuated
simply by their own spirit; and ungratefully
applied to purposes of personal ostentation and
ambition what, at some previous period, they
had received from above for the purpose of

adyancing the cause of truth.

THE GIFTS OF INSPIRATION.

229

When the apostle refers to a person speaking Lect. rv.

with γλώσσῃ, a tongue, (1 Cor. xiv. 2, 4,) he is
not sanctioning it as a stated exercise in the
church ; but only supposing the case of a foreign
language being employed, when no persons were
present, except the speaker, to whom it was
known. In such a case, whatever the individual
might pretend or imagine, he was not really
speaking to men: God alone knew the import
of his discourse. He might derive benefit
(πνεύματι) to his own mind by giving utterance
to the sublime doctrines of the gospel, (which
he could not have done, had he not understood
what he spoke,) but others, not being able to
attach any ideas to his words, were unedified.

In the directions, which he gives with respect
to the exercise of this gift, (vv. 13, 26, 28,)
he evidently treats it as something which was
oceasional, and not as a stated or regular ordi-
nance. ‘There might be occasions, when a
number of foreigners were present, which called
for its introduction into the service: but even
then he prescribes, that it should be restricted
within certain limits, and that it should always
be accompanied with an interpretation into the
current Greek. In this way only could the
meaning of what was expressed become profit-
able to the church, (ver. 14.) He takes it for
granted, that those, who spoke in these lan-
guages, might not know the Greek: being them-
selves foreigners, or at least not sufficiently

230

LECT. IV.

No founda-
tion for the
notion, that
during its ex-
ercise those
who pos-
sessed this
gift were de-
prived of the
use of their
understand-

ing.

THE GIFTS OF INSPIRATION.

versed in it, to translate into it, in an edifying
manner, what they had delivered in a foreign
tongue. In such case, they were to pray for
the additional gift of interpretation, if no one
was present, who was endowed with that faculty.

The opinion, that those, who possessed the
gift of tongues, were deprived of the use of
their mental faculties, so as to be totally uncon-
scious of what they said, while engaged in the
exercise, cannot be held by any, who come,
with unfettered minds, to the study of the sacred
Scriptures. For assuredly there is nothing con-
tained in these Scriptures, which, in the smallest
degree, clashes with the principle, that the re-
ligion which they inculcate, is, in all its aspects
and bearings, “a reasonable service.” It is
represented as engaging, maturing, and strength-
ening, never as prostrating, debilitating, or an-
nuihilating the powers which man has received
from his Maker. Some, indeed, have imagined,
that they discovered the contrary in the language
of the apostle, (vv. 14—16), ‘“ For if I pray
‘in an unknown tongue, my spirit prayeth, but
“my understanding is unfruitful. What is it
“then? I will pray with the spirit, and I will
ΚΕ pray with the understanding also: I will sing
‘“‘ with the spirit, and I will sing with the under-
“ derstanding also. Else when thou shalt bless
‘with the spirit, how shall he that occupieth
“the room of the unlearned say Amen at thy
“oivying of thanks, seeing he understandeth

THE GIFTS OF INSPIRATION.

231

“πού what thou sayest?” Here, it has been τον. rv.

affirmed, we are pointedly taught, that it is pos-
sible for a person to be moved by the Spirit to
give utterance to prayer or praise, while his
understanding is perfectly inactive, and derives
no benefit from the exercise. But nothing can
be more alien from the sense of the passage.
What the apostle means by τὸ πνεῦμά pov 15
neither the Holy Spirit moving him to speak,
‘nor any spiritual endowment with which he was
gifted, but, as the phrase signifies in other pas-
sages, in which it occurs, (Rom.i.9; 1 Cor.
v.3; 2 Tim. iv. 22; Philem. 25,) his own mind
with which he engaged in the service. By νοῦς,
as contrasted with this, it is manifest he cannot
mean his faculty of understanding—for it is
comprehended under the former. The word
must, therefore, signify the meaning or sense
which he attached to the language he employed
—an acceptation in which he uses the term,
ver. 19. So far as he himself was concerned,
he derived benefit—connecting as he did in-
telligent ideas with the words, to which he gave
utterance ; but the meaning of what he uttered
(ἄκαρπος) produced no fruit in the hearers,
inasmuch as they did not understand him. It
must be observed, however, the apostle is here
only supposing a case, such as that which fre-
quently presented itself in the church at Corinth
—not that he would have it to be believed, that
it ever occurred in his own experience. On the

232 THE GIFTS OF INSPIRATION.

Lect. Iv. contrary, he avers, that whenever he engaged
either in prayer or praise, it was in a way which
was intelligible and consequently profitable both
to himself and others.—7o πνεύματι----τῷ voi.

It was not the design of Paul to depreciate the
gift of speaking in foreign languages. On the
contrary, he was desirous that all who had re-
ceived this gift should employ it on proper
occasions; but he declares, that, in relation to
the edification of the church, it would not bear
comparison with that of teaching in the verna-
cular tongue, (ver. 5.) It was a gift, which he
himself enjoyed in an eminent degree, and which
he used, when brought into contact with foreign-
ers, who understood no language but their own ;
but in the church he would rather speak five
words, in a manner that would convey his mean-
ing to those who heard him, than ten thousand
words in a language, to which they were
strangers, (vv. 18, 19.)

On the whole, we consider the gift of tongues
to have been an endowment, by which those who
received it were miraculously furnished with such
a knowledge of languages, which they had never
learned, as enabled them to communicate to
those, by whom these languages were spoken,
the glorious truths of the gospel of Christ. Its
impartation, which had been predicted by the
prophet Isaiah, (xxviii. 11, 12; 1 Cor. xiv. 21;)
took place on the day of Pentecost, and during
the continuance of the first age of the church:

THE GIFTS OF INSPIRATION. 233

and, while it lasted, not only presented a stand- tect. ιν.
ing miracle to the view of unbelievers, but paved

the way for the more rapid spread of Christianity

in the world.

On the last of the gifts, ἐρμηνεία γλωσσών, THE cad
INTERPRETATION OF TONGUES, it is not neces- %s¥°
sary to enlarge. It was merely a modification of
that which has just engaged our attention, and
could only be necessary on special occasions.
When any one who had received the gift of
speaking a language, which was new to him,
addressed an audience composed of such only as
understood that language, no interpretation was
required ; but if he spoke in a mixed assembly,
it was necessary for general edification, that his
discourse should be translated into a tongue or
dialect intelligible to those who were unacquainted
with that in which it had been delivered. Some-
times both endowments were combined in the
same individual, but, in most instances, they
appear to have been conferred on different per-
sons. ‘Thus the apostle directs (1 Cor. xiv. 13,)
that he who speaks in a language unknown to an
assembly, or, at least, to the bulk of those com-
posing it, should pray (iva διερμηνεύῃ) that he
might be enabled to interpret, just as he had de-
clared, ver. 5, that such a speaker would only be
upon a par, in point of utility, with one who pro-
phesied, if he furnished an interpretation of what
he had delivered. He otherwise ordains, that,

234

THE GIFTS OF INSPIRATION.

Lect.tv. under present circumstances at Corinth, one,

whom, from the office, he designates διερμηνευτὴς,
an interpreter, should convert, into the vernacular
Greek, whatever might orderly be delivered in a
foreign language, vv. 27, 28.

To conclude: the bestowment of these various
χαρίσματα being, as the term imports, purely
gratuitous; and having for its object the promo-
tion of the spiritual good of the kingdom of
Christ ; not only those who possessed them, but
all who were brought within the sphere of their
influence, were bound to cherish feelings of lively
gratitude to the Triune God, from whom they
proceeded, and to whom alone they owed their
efficiency. And as, with all the diversity which
characterised them, there existed a glorious and
blessed unity, it became both the gifted and those
for whose benefit they were conferred, to main-
tain “the unity of the Spirit in the bond of
peace.” |

LECTURE V.

INSPIRATION OF THE SCRIPTURES.

1 COR. X. 15.
“ T speak as to wise men: judge ye what I say.”

RevELATION appeals to the understanding as
well as to the heart. It requires no man to be-
lieve without evidence. So far from shrinking
from inquiry or inculcating prostration of in-
tellect, it courts the fullest investigation, and
submits its claims to be tried by the unbiassed
exercise of the judging faculty. To the task of
determining whether these claims are divine,
it uniformly asssumes that faculty to be compe-
tent ; and while it furnishes abundant criteria by
which to arrive αὐ ἃ satisfactory conclusion re-
specting its celestial origin, it clearly indicates
the cause to which, in all instances, its rejection
is to be traced, and emphatically pronounces the
doom of those who shall be found chargeable
with such rejection. ‘This is the condemna-
“tion, that light is come into the world, and
** men loved darkness rather than light, because
‘* their deeds were evil.” (John iii. 19.)

LECT. V.

INSPIRATION OF THE SCRIPTURES.

Hitherto our attention has been directed to
some of the leading questions connected with the
exertion of supernatural influence in general, as
it respects the various modes in which a know-
ledge of the will of God was imparted to those
who were honoured to be its original recipients.
We now proceed to bring under your notice the
exertion of the same influence in regard to its
operation upon such of these recipients as were
divinely commissioned to deposit in writing the
knowledge thus acquired, together with other
points of knowledge, which they had opportuni-
ties of acquiring from ordinary sources, and which
Infinite Wisdom deemed fit should be preserved
for the instruction of future generations. Much
of what was communicated by Jehovah to man-
kind in ancient times, being designed merely to
answer temporary purposes, was confined within
the breast of the inspired individuals, or within
the narrower or more extensive circle with which
they were placed in immediate contact. Of all
that the holy and devoted Enoch was imspired
to prophesy, nothing, that can be depended upon
as genuine, remains, but the small fragment pre-
served in the Epistle of Jude ;* of the prophe-
cies of Ahijah the Shilonite, Shemaiah, Azariah,
Hanani,t and others who were the subjects of
Divine inspiration, only a few scanty portions

* See Note K.
+ 1 Kings xi. 29—39; xii. 15, 22; 2 Chron. xi.2; xii. 7;

ἘΝ ς᾽ XVI 7:

PRESUMPTIVE ARGUMENTS.

237

have come down to our times; and even the Lecr. v.

visions of Iddo, though committed to writing,
doubtless most interesting in their character, and
serving as a book of infallible appeal at the time
the writer of the second book of Chronicles
lived,* have long ago irrecoverably perished. In
like manner, how little comparatively do we pos-
sess of the inspired discourses of the apostles of
Christ! From most of these heaven-taught am-
bassadors not so much as a single word has been
transmitted to us. Like the holy men of God,
who flourished before the birth of our Lord, some
of whose names have just been specified, they
laboured each in his own individual sphere ; and
their labours were blessed for the establishment,
and promotion of the cause of God during their
life-time, and, after their death, through the in-
strumentality of the disciples, who learned the
truths of Christianity from their inspired lips,
and conveyed it to the generation which fol-
lowed.

It would seem unreasonable to maintain, that
the documents, which compose the canon of the
New Testament are the only writings that pro-
ceeded from the pens of those to whom they are
ascribed. They had, in all probability, frequent
occasions to send written messages or shorter
epistles to individual Christians, some of which
may have been inspired, and others not, ac-
cording to the nature of their contents, or the

* 2 Chron, xi. 29; xii. 22.

238

INSPIRATION OF THE SCRIPTURES.

tect. v. exigency of the circumstances under which they

were written ; but these communications, having
answered the momentary or more limited ends,
which they were intended to accomplish, were
never divulged—it not having been deemed
proper that they should be preserved for any pur-
poses of future and general edification. It even
appears certain, that an epistle was sent by Paul
to the church at Corinth prior to the first in our
canon, but which now no longer exists. The
point, indeed, is contested, and many respectable
authorities may be produced in favour of the
opinion, that the document to which the apostle
refers, (1 Cor. v. 9,) is no other than that
which he was then writing; but no construction
can, in our judgment, be more violent, or further
removed from that which the language naturally
suggests. In fact, we cannot well conceive how
such a construction ever could have obtained,
but for the influence of a covert, if not openly
avowed indisposition to admit, that any writing
can possibly have been lost which was penned by
an inspired apostle. But what real difficulty is
there in this, or any other supposable case, more
than in the universally admitted fact, that a por-
tion only of the gracious and Divine words,
which proceeded out of the mouth of the Saviour
himself, has been preserved to us? How im-
portant soever may have been the instructions
communicated in the lost Epistle to the Corinthian
church in their bearing upon certain local and

PRESUMPTIVE ARGUMENTS.

239

private points, we cannot imagine, that, in a_tecr.v.

general aspect, or as it regards the edification of
the church in all future ages, they possessed half
the interest of much that Christ himself taught
during his public ministry, respecting which we
read, Mark iv. 33: “And with MANY suUCH
parables spake he the word unto them, as they
were able to bear it.” Yet what he thus taught
has not been transmitted for our instruction. In
reference to this and all other matters of Divine
ordination, it is our wisdom to acquiesce in the
exact modes and proportions in which they have
been adminstered, and on no occasion to adopt
any hypothesis, to uphold which it would be
necessary to misconstrue, or do violence to any
part of the word of God.

When investigating the different modes in
which the Deity supernaturally revealed his will
in ancient times, we took for granted the authen-
ticity and credibility of the Scriptures of the Old
and New Testament, from which alone all our
knowledge of the subject is derived. We ap-
pealed to them as sources containing divinely
authorized statements respecting facts of history,
and points of doctrine and practice, which are
essential to our instruction and moral improye-
ment as responsible agents under the government
of God. We now advance a step further, and
inquire on what ground we attribute to these
Scriptures divine authority? What are the
characters of that supernatural stamp with which

240

INSPIRATION OF THE SCRIPTURES.

Lect. V. they are said to be impressed? In other words:

what is the nature of that inspiration under the
influence of which it is affirmed they were written,
and which is regarded as imparting to them an
infallibility and authority to which no pretensions
can be made by any merely human writings ?

In treating this part of our subject it is not
necessary to enter into a discussion of the evi-
dences of Divine Revelation any more than it
was necessary, when treating of those divisions

which have already come under our consideration.

We still assume it as matter of fact, that the books
of Scripture were written by those whose names
they bear, and that what they contain is entitled
to our belief on grounds of a purely historical
nature. But it must be obvious, that, before
moving the question respecting the nature of
inspiration, considered in the more limited point
of view, which restricts it to the qualification of
the sacred writers infallibly to embody in the
forms of written language those truths and facts,
which it pleased God should be transmitted to
after ages, it is necessary to examine the evidence
on the ground of which such high and paramount
claims are advanced on their behalf. For not
only is such the more logical method of proceed-
ing, but it has this additional recommendation,
that during the process of investigation to which
the evidence will be submitted, much general
information will be obtained respecting the sub-
ject itself, the importance of which, in preparing

PRESUMPTIVE ARGUMENTS. 241

the mind for its direct and immediate discussion, xcr. v.
cannot fail to be appreciated.

The proofs of the inspiration of the Scriptures
naturally admit of a twofold division: those
which are merely presumptive, resting on a more
or less probable basis, and deducible in the way
of fair logical inference from certain incontestible
criteria, by which the Scriptures are distinguished ;
and such as are positive, consisting in authorita-
tive affirmations made respecting these Scriptures
by those whose divine credentials have been fully
established.

What we propose in the present Lecture is to presumptive

. f; . evidence of
review some of the leading arguments which inspiration.
afford presumptive evidence in favour of the

Divine Inspiration of the Bible.

The first of the ἃ priori arguments to be ad- ristpre-
duced is: the reason of the case. If God pc ως
been pleased to make a revelation of his γῆ θ ΤΣ
mankind, it must have been made in such a way
as to secure the great ends of its impartation.

In the position in which we stand to him, as the
subjects of his moral government, it is of supreme
moment, that we possess positive and accurate
information respecting his character, the prin-
ciples of his legislation, the precise nature and
modes of those duties, which he requires of us,
and what treatment we have reason to expect
from him both in this and the future world. In

242

INSPIRATION OF THE SCRIPTURES.

tect. y. the absence of such information, it would be

absolutely impossible for us fully to ascertain our
moral relations, or satisfactorily to determine the
character of moral actions. In proportion as we
might indulge in processes of reflection and
reasoning, our minds would become the abode of
anxious solicitude ; no well-grounded hope would
cheer or animate our bosom; the present would
be charged with inconsistency and contradiction ;
while over the future nothing would hang but
dense clouds of doubt or despair. ‘To relieve us
from the perplexities, which our natural circum-
stances obviously involve, and of which the wisest
of the ancient philosophers were painfully con-
scious ; to furnish us with palpable evidence of
his own existence; to impart to us the know-
ledge of that moral constitution of things over
which he presides ; to acquaint us with our obli-
gations and liabilities as free agents subject to
his control, and amenable at his tribunal; to
communicate to us intelligence respecting the
provision which he has mercifully made for our
deliverance from the evils which we feel we have
entailed upon ourselves by sin; and to unveil
the otherwise impenetrable mystery, which en-
velopes the future issues of human conduct :—
these are objects infinitely worthy of an all-wise,
holy, and benevolent Deity. Whether we regard
the capabilities of the human soul, or the charac-
ter of its Omnipotent Creator, it seems diametri-
cally opposed to every dictate of sound reason to

PRESUMPTIVE ARGUMENTS.

243

suppose, that no means would be employed to re-_Lecr. v.

move the obstacles, which naturally intervene
between man and the ascertainment of these
necessary moral truths. Such means the Scrip-
tures profess to furnish. They bear on their
very surface the avowed character of a Divine
revelation. They develope statements regarding
God and his intelligent and responsible creation,
which it is of the highest importance for man to
know: statements, which every rightly consti-
tuted mind must intuitively perceive are precisely
adapted to the actual condition and circumstances
of mankind, and which it cannot but instinctively
feel to be most desirable should rest on a fixed
and stable foundation. But no such basis can
exist in the absence of inspiration. Except we
are assured that God actually did reveal the
truths in question; in other words, that the
books in which they are contained were written
under his express sanction, and by the aid of his
divine influence, and that they were sealed with
the infallible stamp of his authority, we must still
labour under the painful apprehension, that, not-
withstanding all the intrinsic excellence, and
admirable adaptation, which we discover in them,
they may have originated in human sagacity.
The statements which they contain respecting
our highest interests may be true in themselves,
but nothing less than a well-grounded conviction
that they proceed from a divine origin can satisfy

the reflecting and inquisitive mind. The question,
R 2

244

INSPIRATION OF THE SCRIPTURES.

tect. Vv. Has God spoken? is that which must ever un-

avoidably press upon it.

The inspiration of the written documents in
which the revelations of the Divine will are de-
posited is essential to their character as an
infallible authoritative rule of faith. If the in-
struments, by whom they were penned, merely
wrote according to the best of their native
ability ; if what they have stated be simply the
result of their own observation ; or, if the argu-
ments and proofs which they employ be referable
to no higher source than the bare exercise of
their intellectual and moral faculties—it matters
not how high might be our opinion of their
honesty and ability—they could not advance any
authoritative claims on our submission, nor furnish
us with an unerring standard to which we should
be bound to conform either in belief or practice.
Or, admitting that the prophets and apostles
were divinely commissioned to teach their con-
temporaries, and that what they thus taught was
binding upon the conscience of every one who
heard them, it is nevertheless evident, that their
doctrines and precepts could not possibly possess
any direct obligatory power over us, except they
had been handed down to us in the shape of a
standing rule, expressly vindicating to itself the
infallible claims of Divine authority. ‘They must
be embodied in documents to which a final appeal
may safely be made as the records of God. Νο-
thing but ‘ Thus saith the Lord,” either in the

PRESUMPTIVE ARGUMENTS.

245

way of direct communication, or through the txcr. ν.

medium of those whom he has charged and quali-
fied, without lapse or failure, to instruct us, can
oblige us to surrender our judgment, or yield a
cordial and unreserved obedience. And as, in
the absence of uninterrupted miraculous agency,
this instruction could only be infallibly conveyed
to future generations through the medium of
written documents, to prove effectual in securing
its ends, it must, as thus transmitted, be invested
with absolute autocracy. It is the bar before
which every question of a religious nature must
be brought, and from which there is no appeal ;
to the decision, which is there pronounced, every
mind must unhesitatingly bow. ‘To the law
and to the testimony: if they speak not accord-
ing to this word, it is because there is no light in
them.” Isaiah viii. 20.

Another presumptive evidence of the imspI- secona pre-

sumptive

ration of the Scriptures is derived from the incon- νοοῖ. None

gruity of supposing, that such writings could

but inspired
persons could
have com-

have proceeded from the pens of those to whom posed the

subjects of supernatural influence. It is not
our design to enter into an investigation of the
contents of each book, which is found im the
sacred canon, or even of the entire contents of
any one of such books. ‘Their claims will be
considered under a separate head of argument.
Nor do we intend to discuss the subject of the

Sacred Wri-

they are ascribed, except they had been the tings.

246

INSPIRATION OF THE SCRIPTURES.

uecT. v. style, with respect to which we would only

remark, that such are its characteristic features
in the different writers by whom the Scriptures
were composed, and such its complete harmony
with their age, rank, and culture, that it forms
one of the most satisfactory evidences of the
authenticity of their writings. But the point of
view in which we now regard them respects the
peculiar nature of the leading subjects, which
they develope, compared with the native cha-
racter of the penmen, and the circumstances
in which they are known to have been placed
previous to their being engaged in making such
disclosures to the world. The simple con-
sideration of the nature of some of the subjects,
which incidentally arrest our attention, forces
upon the mind the conviction, that the knowledge
of them never could have originated in the
operations of their own intellect, or been de-
rived from a merely human source. Without
jeopardizing the authority of Scripture by making
it dependent on any modern theory of geology,
it cannot but strike every candid mind, as a
remarkable circumstance, that several of the
statements contained in the Mosaic account of
the formation of the globe exactly tally with
those results at which, after most laborious
researches, some of the ablest scientific men of
the present age have arrived, but the know-
ledge of which Moses cannot be supposed to
have obtained in any other way than by Divine

PRESUMPTIVE ARGUMENTS.

247

revelation, or, at all events, from sources origi- LECT. V.

nally supplied by previous revelations. The
originally liquid state of the earth ; the upheaving,
by internal convulsions, of the heavier materials,
of which the primitive fluid in part consisted, so
as to form islands and continents; the natural
unproductiveness of these solid masses with
respect to vegetable life; the creation of light
and the arrangement of the planetary system ;
the order of succession in which the different
animals were created, and the relation which
this order bears to the primitive and secondary
rocks; the priority in point of time, and the
immense numbers of irrational animals; the
posterior production and original paucity of
mankind; the marks and period of an universal
deluge ; the extinction of certain races of animals
from the period of such an event; the territory
occupied by those of the human family who
escaped that catastrophe :—these are some of
the points to which such men as La Place,
Cuvier, Humboldt, and Buckland, have directed
their researches, and which their observations
on existing phenomena go satisfactorily to esta-
blish. But who does not perceive the palpable
correspondence between the conclusions of these
eminent naturalists, and the declarations which
are made in the sacred narrative ? The question,
therefore, comes to be: How could Moses have
acquired his knowledge of facts, the truth of
which has only recently been established on a

248 INSPIRATION OF THE SCRIPTURES.

LECT. V. scientific basis? He was learned indeed in all
the wisdom of the Egyptians, (Acts vii. 22), but
we possess no evidence whatever by which to
prove, that the philosophy of that people clearly
or distinctly recognised these facts. From the
accounts furnished us by Diodorus Siculus, Dio-
genes Laertius, Jamblicus, and other ancient
writers, who have treated of Egyptian affairs,
it is evident, that Moses might have ransacked
all the archives of the country, without lighting
upon any cosmogony corresponding to that
which he has given in the beginning of Genesis.

Most of the facts, to which reference has just
been made, took place before the creation of man-
kind—consequently were not susceptible of human
testimony. Nor could the knowledge of them
have been the result of early scientific research :
for the investigation of subjects connected with
natural history was too limited and partial in the
ancient world, to admit of such discoveries as the
facts in question involve; and it is notorious, that
it is only within the space of a few years, that they
have been satisfactorily established.*

The whole system of Hebrew theology, as
laid down in the Pentateuch, likewise corro-
borates our position. It is in the last degree
improbable, that Moses could have derived his
sublime ideas of the unity, self-existence, and
moral perfections of Jehovah, the universal

* See An Argument to prove the truth of the Christian
Revelation, by the Earl of Rosse. London: 1834.

PRESUMPTIVE ARGUMENTS.

249

superintendence of Divine Providence, and the txcr. y.

great principles of moral action, which are so
prominently exhibited in his writings, from a
school in which polytheism, idolatry, and human
degeneracy reigned with the most unlimited
sway. ‘The utter rejection, too, of all super-
stition, and the uncompromising demands which
are made on the homage of the heart, are points
which we cannot conceive to have spontaneously
sprung up in the mind of an Egyptian philo-
sopher ; at all events, it requires the utmost
stretch of credulity to believe, that, circum-
stinced as he afterwards was among a people,
who had evidently been brought up under the
influence of Egyptian ideas and customs, he
would have attempted, or succeeded in the
attempt, to enforce such pure and exalted prin-
ciples of religious belief, or a code of laws so
perfectly different from any to which they had
been accustomed, and which bore on its very
front, characters of restraint, that the least
degree of foresight must have shown would
prove intolerably irksome to the turbulent and
licentious passions of the human breast. [ἢ fact,
the constitution of the Hebrew state, its grounds
of separation from the rest of the world, the
sublimity of its religious creed, the design of
its ceremonial observances, the principles of its
penal code, its purity, strictness, equity, bene-
volence, and wisdom, discover such a superiority
to every system then existing, and a totality

250

INSPIRATION OF THE SCRIPTURES.

Lect. V. of character so perfectly unique, that to attribute

its origination to any human source would be
to contradict every principle of fair and unpre-
judiced induction. To no circumstances in the
history of the people, or the times, can it with
any convincing force of argument be traced.

In proof of our general position, let us select
another portion of the Old ‘Testament Scriptures
—the Book of Psalms. Of the collection of
sacred odes contained in this book,’ it may,
without exaggeration, be affirmed, that it is
altogether unrivalled. Not only does the re-
ligious poetry of all the other nations cf an-
tiquity fall infinitely short of it with respect to
the pure elements of devotion; but the sub-
sequent hymnology both of the Jewish and
Christian churches has nothing that will bear
to be compared with it. Were we to select the
most admirable psalms of mere human com-
position, and from these to make a further
selection of the most exquisite and felicitous
portions, and then estimate their merits in re-
lation to the compositions of ‘ the sweet singer
of Israel,” how vast the distance at which they
would stand from these divine songs! Even
those poetical effusions which have been in-
spired by the devotional flame caught at the
altar of David lose immeasurably when placed
by the side of the inimitable models after which
they have been formed. ‘The dignity, the so-
lemnity, the force, the pathos, the splendour,

PRESUMPTIVE ARGUMENTS.

251

the elevation, the sweetness, the tenderness, tecr. v.

the inexpressible aspirings after moral purity
and God, by which these models are charac-
terised, irresistibly carry the mind to a higher
source than mere poetical genius in the Hebrew
monarch :—even to that Divine Agent to whom
he unequivocally ascribes his inspiration. ‘The
more we catch the spirit of these sublime odes,
and the more our moral feelings are in har-
mony with the sentiments to which they give
expression, the more we become conscious of a
proximity to the fountain of eternal blessedness,
and the more are our affections elevated above
the grovelling objects of sense.

Of the inspiration of the Hebrew prophets,
strong presumptive proof is supplied by the
circumstances connected with the discharge of
their official duties, as well as by the nature of
the messages they were called to deliver. How
different their character and predictions from
those which distinguished the vates and the
oracular responses of the heathen! They were
the guardians and interpreters of no oracle.
The delivery of their prophecies was not pur-
chased by costly presents, confined to certain
days and places, or preceded by any particular
ceremonies. ‘Their announcements were not
made in scanty and obscure sentences, in answer
to superstitious applicants, and in terms of am-
phibological import. Neither were they charac-
terised by those hollow and unearthly sounds,

252

INSPIRATION OF THE SCRIPTURES.

tect. V. which marked the responses of the Dodonean,

the Delphic, and other ancient oracles.* The
prophets had no mysteries to conceal from the
light of day. The signs, which they furnished,
were publicly exhibited : they were submitted to
the view equally of the prince and the peasant :
they invited the belief of the pious, while, at
the same time, they challenged the opposition
and braved the contempt of the wicked. ‘They
were an order of men, who transacted the whole
of their affairs with the utmost publicity. In-
stead of shrouding themselves in the gloom of
a cave, and enunciating their predictions with
the studied caution and the base timidity of
conscious imposture, they appeared in the centre
of the metropolis, in the palace of the monarch,
before the gate of the city, and in the court of
the temple, and denounced in the boldest and
most unequivocal terms the judgments of God
against every rank of transgressors. So far
were they from amassing wealth, and living in
luxury, by the price of their announcements,
that the only rewards they received were hatred,
derision, imprisonment, and death. Where, it
may fearlessly be asked, is a parallel to be found
in all the ancient world? Does not the case
stand out in bold relief from every thing exhi-
bited in connection with the functions of re-
ligious teachers or divine interpreters on the
pages of profane history? Was it in human
* See Note L.

PRESUMPTIVE ARGUMENTS.

253

nature to have acted the part ascribed to the tecr. v.

Jewish prophets, if they had not really been the
subjects of divine inspiration ?

The same conviction in favour of the inspired
claims of these holy seers must be produced by
an impartial consideration of the nature of their
messages. Not to insist on the unrivalled sub-
limity of the diction in which these messages
are clothed, the exalted characters of majesty
and moral excellence in which they depict the
Divine Being, and the pure and forcible prin-
ciples of moral obligation which they uniformly
inculeate—we have only to examine the pre-
dictions contained in them, and compare with
these predictions the events in which most of
them have received their accomplishment, in
order to be satisfied, that on no solid ground
can the exact coincidence be accounted for,
except that of a direct revelation from Him,
who knew the end from the beginning, and
showed to his servants the things which were
surely to come to pass. As the just conceptions
of God and divine things with which the pro-
phets were evidently familiar, were altogether
foreign to their contemporaries, and we can only
admit the possibility of the fact, on the prin-
ciple of their having enjoyed a celestial tuition
peculiar to themselves, it is most reasonable to
refer their predictions to the same superior and
infallible source. ‘The knowledge of future
events, which they communicated, was obviously

254

INSPIRATION OF THE SCRIPTURES.

LECT.V. miraculous. For though a shrewd and ex-

perienced politician, who is well versed in the
history of the past, and commands an extensive
and accurate view of the present, may draw many
successful conclusions respecting, the future,
taking it for granted that the same causes will
always produce the same events; yet to predict
what lies in the distant as well as the more im-
mediate future; to describe, with the utmost
minuteness and particularity, circumstances, which
to human view, could have been connected by
no intermediate links with existing phenomena ;
to depict the distinctive fates of nations in un-
born generations; and to fix, with the utmost
definiteness, centuries beforehand, the time and
place of our Lord’s appearance, his birth, manner
of life, sufferings, death, resurrection and glory ;
the abolition of the Jewish polity ; the spread
and corruptions of Christianity :—argues a pene-
tration to which the unassisted faculties of the
human mind cannot, under any circumstances,
pretend—the operation of a prescience absolutely
divine. With respect to the prophets themselves
and those among whom they lived, the events
which they foretold were perfectly contingent.
It was neither in their power to contribute, in
the smallest degree, to their occurrence, nor, by
any conjecture or presentiment to anticipate
them. ‘lo foresee and reveal them belonged to
Him alone in whose hand are the reins of uni-
versal government, to whom is known the whole

PRESUMPTIVE ARGUMENTS.

255

series of future events, and who executes all tecr. v.

things according to the counsel of his own will.
Taking now for granted the reality of the pre-
dictions contained in Scripture, 7. e. that they
were actually delivered at the time assigned
to them, the Divine inspiration of the records,
in which they are deposited, follows as a neces-
sary consequence. For it is evident they were
not delivered merely for the benefit of those who
lived at the time, but to guide the views, sustain
the hopes, and strengthen the faith of the church
between the period of their announcement, and
that in which their fulfilment should transpire ;
and, specially to furnish to those who should
witness their completion, and to all future gene-
rations, the most convincing evidence of the truth
of Divine Revelation. But it is equally mani-
fest, that they could not have answered these
ends, if they had not been infallibly committed to
a medium of transmission, by which the certain
knowledge of them would be supplied in all
coming time. ‘The discussions, which have arisen
on the subject of prophecy, evince the importance
of the utmost accuracy :—a trifling variation in
a date, an historical circumstance, or any other
part of a prediction frequently involving conse-
quences highly momentous in its interpretation,
and dangerous in its application to actual events.
It is therefore most reasonable to conclude,
that He, by whose inspiration the prophecies
were originally announced, must have exerted

256

INSPIRATION OF THE SCRIPTURES.

Lect. v. such a degree of supernatural influence upon the

minds of those by whom they were committed
to writing, as secured their faithful deposition in
the form in which they have come into our
hands.

The support derived to our argument from
the character, circumstances, and compositions
of the writers of the New Testament is equally
powerful and satisfactory. It is impossible care-
fully to examine the accounts, which these
writers ingenuously furnish respecting their pre-
vious habits, prejudices, and expectations, and
then candidly to contrast with these their subse-
quent spirit and demeanour, the peculiarity of
the new principles which they taught, and the
extensive influence which they exerted upon the
state of human affairs, without admitting that
they had become the subjects of an inspiration in
harmony with the effects which it produced—an
inspiration superhuman, holy, and divine. How
otherwise can we account for the fact, that per-
sons of ordinary talent, untutored in the schools
of philosophy, dull of apprehension, pusillani-
mous in spirit, narrow in their opinions, secular
in their hopes, and strongly imbued with national
prepossessions, should all at once have displayed
the most extraordinary mental energy, a supe-
riority to every earthly consideration, a profound
acquaintance with truths of the most sublime
character, and of the deepest interest to the
whole human species, and an expansion of

PRESUMPTIVE ARGUMENTS.

257

benevolence, which embraced every nation and LECT. V.

every human being on the face of the globe ? ‘To
the operation of what causes within the compass
of those principles of action, which govern man-
kind, are we to ascribe the sudden and entire
transformation undergone by the plain, illiterate
fishermen of Galilee, and the bigoted and zealous
disciple of Gamaliel? Assuredly they were the
most unlikely persons in the world to embrace
the spiritual, catholic, and universal views of re-
ligious truth, to the propagation of which they
forthwith and ever after devoted their lives; or,
having embraced them, to succeed in procuring
for them any degree of approbation or extent of
currency among those to whose attention they
recommended them. All the phenomena of the
case are precisely the reverse of any thing we
should have expected to result from their charac-
ter, and from the circumstances in which they
were placed : and we are irresistibly led to the con-
clusion, that they were supernaturally qualified—
having had imparted to them that immediate
divine instruction, and the ability to communicate
this instruction to others, which their high com-
mission as the legates of Christ indispensably re-
quired.

But as they were the chosen instruments of
Jehovah in making the final disclosures of his
will to mankind, and as it was of the highest im-
portance that these disclosures should be pre-
served unimpaired in integrity and undiminished

258

INSPIRATION OF THE SCRIPTURES.

Lect. V. in authority—being the charter of the new con-

stitution of religion, which was established by the
Messiah, and is to remain valid till the end of
time—it is natural to infer, that the documents
in which they were deposited must have been
furnished with the seal of their great Author, and
thus be entitled to claim for themselves the most
unqualified reception as the oracles of God. If
the apostles required supernatural influence when
engaged in imparting oral instruction respecting
the doctrines and laws of Christ to those among
whom they laboured, it must have been at least
equally necessary for them when performing the
task of registering these divine institutions for
the benefit of future ages. In the former case,
their communications terminated on a limited
number of persons, most of whom had opportu-
nities of repeatedly listening to the truth from
their lips: in the latter, their statements were
designed to tell on all succeeding generations of
mankind. On the supposition, that their writings
are not inspired, we possess no certain divine
rule of Christian faith, We may peruse these
writings as the productions of honest, well-mean-
ing men, who were sincerely attached to their
Master, and zealous for the interests of his king-
dom; and we may derive edification from the
perusal of them, just as we do from other human
productions written on the same subjects: but it
is evident, we should not be influenced by them
in the way of authority beyond the power of

PRESUMPTIVE ARGUMENTS.

259

moral evidence, which the truths they teach bring ΨΈΟΤ. v.

along with them. Nothing contained in them
could possibly come home to us with the force of
Divine law. If indisposed to receive the testi-
mony, either as to the doctrines, or the facts
which it exhibits, we should only have to call in
question the knowledge, the judgment, or the
accuracy of the writers; and opposing our own
opinions, as founded on the principles of what we
might deem a sounder and more liberal philoso-
phy, to those which they entertained in a remote
and barbarous age, we should feel ourselves at
perfect liberty to deal with them according to the
dictates of individual conceit or caprice. There
would be no entire and unreserved submission of
the understanding to their dicta as authoritative
announcements of the will of God.

The intrinsic character, however, of these docu-
ments is such, that, viewed apart from all positive
testimony to the inspiration of the writers, it
furnishes a powerful presumptive argument in
favour of their divine original. The very form
and disposition of the materials—so unlike that
which the wisdom of man would have selected,
yet so admirably adapted to arrest the attention,
convince the judgment, and win the heart; the
perfectly unsystematic and practical manner in
which didactic truth is exbibited ; the plenitude of
moral instruction with which every part of the
history is charged; the one grand leading pur-
pose, which they constantly keep in view, and to

260

INSPIRATION OF THE SCRIPTURES.

LECT. V. which, how diversified and minute soever their

subordinate points, every thing is laid under con-
tribution; the striking harmony, which, without
the smallest marks of concert or imitation, is
found to pervade them; the infinite ease with
which subjects of the loftiest character are stated
and enforced ; the total absence of every thing
like effort or colouring ; the want of emotion,
seemingly bordering on insensibility, which marks
those narrative portions, the scenes depicted in
which were calculated to call forth the most im-
passioned description and appeal; the confident
assurance and high tone of authority every where
evinced ;—these and other characteristics, that
might be enumerated, advance on behalf of the
instruments to which they attach, claims that can
be advanced in favour of no work of merely
human origin, and naturally dispose the mind to
ascribe to their composition the operation of a
divine influence, controlling, directing, and assist-
ing the writers, so as to secure the infallible com-
munication of the results contained in them.

Nor must the excellence of the doctrines and
precepts contained in the Apostolic writings be
left out of the account: for though objections
have been taken against constituting this a
direct or positive proof of the inspiration of the
writers, on the ground that there are other books,
which advance no such claim, but are never-
theless remarkable for the excellence of their
contents; yet, when we reflect on the superior

PRESUMPTIVE ARGUMENTS.

261

and unparalleled degree of the excellence in L£T-Y.

question, and contrast with this the native
character, education, habits, and abilities of the
writers, it cannot be conceived how it was
possible for them to attain to such an elevation,
without the intervention of supernatural in-
fluence. They could not have reached it by
the improvement of any natural means, to which
they had access. Those pure and exalted ideas
of the Divine Being and attributes; those lucid
exhibitions of the principles of the Divine
government; those impressive views of the tur-
pitude of moral evil; those developements of the
eternal purposes of Jehovah; those testimonies
to the infinite dignity, the all-sufficient propi-
tiation, and the continued effectual mediation of
the Son of God; those promises of gracious
and efficient aid on the part of the Holy Spirit ;
those strict and impartial yet reasonable rules
of morality ; those motives to the practice of
piety; those supports under the trials and suf-
ferings of life; those antidotes against the fear
of death; those clear and definite statements
respecting the immortality of the soul, the resur-
rection of the body, and the opposite states of
eternal suffering and enjoyment, with which their
compositions abound; were such as they could
have deduced from no existing school either in
the Jewish or Pagan world. With respect to the
Heathen philosophers, how speculative, defective,
and erroneous were their choicest descriptions

INSPIRATION OF THE SCRIPTURES.

1ecT.V. of Deity! How dark and incoherent their

views of the government of the world! How
slight and superficial their rules of morality!
How profound their ignorance on the paramount
subject of pardon and acceptance with God!
How uncertain, vague, and inconsistent their
reasonings respecting the immortality of the
soul, and a future state of retribution! ‘Then
as it regards the Jews, at what a low ebb was
theology among that people at the time! How
selfish and unworthy the conceptions entertained
by the Pharisees respecting the character and
providence of God! How blind to the spiri-
tuality of his law! How inflated with proud
notions of their own merit, and confidence in the
Divine favour! ‘To the sect of the Sadducees,
it were equally vain to look for a solution of
the problem. Nor should we prove more suc-
cessful, were we to compare the matter of apo-
stolic teaching with the tenets of the Essenes—
the only remaining religious section of Judaism.
Distinguished as that portion of the community
was by simplicity of habits, rigidity of morals,
and strict observance of the services of religion
—there is no evidence by which it can be
proved, that its members held any of the peculiar
principles of the Christian system, or that any
intercourse subsisted between them and_ the
Founder of that system, or his disciples, out of
which these peculiar principles might gradually
have arisen.

PRESUMPTIVE ARGUMENTS.

263

It may be alleged, that the principles which we _tecr. v.

have enumerated were already laid down in the
Old Testament, and that it was only necessary
for the apostles to study those religious records
in order to construct from them the more ma-
tured system of belief contained in their writings.
But to this it is sufficient to reply, that, while it
is readily admitted that these religious truths
are taught in the ancient Scriptures of the Jews,
yet it is certain they are found there only in
the germ. The light, which shines in them, is
not that of the day, or the day-star, but obscure,
like that of a lantern shining in a dark place.
(2 Pet. i. 19.) Now is it supposable, that the
apostles were so far in advance of their age and
nation, as to be capable, by their own native
abilities, to evolve, with so much clearness and
force, from this common source, what lay undis-
covered by their contemporaries? Would it
not argue the greatest credulity to believe, that
individuals of their rank in life and their general
habits could be at all qualified, in the unassisted
use of their own faculties, to seize the existing
materials of theology, and work them into the
admirable, consistent, matured, and perfect forms
in which they are found in their writings? They
were proverbially ‘“ slow of heart to believe all
that the prophets” had spoken respecting the
Messiah and his kingdom. (Luke xxiy. 25.)
Their understanding was shut against the entrance
of the truths which had formerly been revealed

264

INSPIRATION OF THE SCRIPTURES.

LECT.V. respecting these important subjects. What they

have written, therefore, must be referred to a
higher influence ; and, being the result of such
influence, must be received as divine.

It may be objected to the necessary inspiration
of the Gospels, that, since they contain nothing
but what was taught by Christ, or witnessed by
his apostles, those by whom they were ‘written
were perfectly competent to describe them after-
wards from memory. But the persons who make
this objection cannot have maturely reflected on
the fact, that with all their honesty and fidelity,
these witnesses never could have been able, after
the lapse of fifty, twenty, or even ten years, to
give an accurate account of lengthened dis-
courses, which they were ill prepared to under-
stand, and which in fact they but partially
understood at the time they were delivered.
They took no notes on the spot: they had no
documents from which to draw, or by which
to refresh their memories. Yet with what
minuteness and exactitude are the precise words
of the Saviour recorded !—words, which, from
their singularity, their significance, their point,
could only have been employed by such a teacher
as Jesus, and could not, by any possibility, have
been invented by the historians themselves. For
instance, how could they have given the discourse
on the Mount, or that which our Lord delivered
immediately before his apprehension by the Jews,
if they had not been the subjects of supernatural

PRESUMPTIVE ARGUMENTS.

aid ? Had they been left to themselves, or had
not their minds been invigorated by direct super-
natural influence, they could not have failed to
forget some parts of their Master's instructions
altogether, and blend ideas or views of their own
with their accounts of the doctrines which he
delivered.

A third presumptive argument in favour of the

265

LECT. V.

Third pre-

sumptive ar~

divine inspiration of the Scriptures is furnished ag =

by the miracles which were wrought by Moses
and the apostles, who either wrote these Scrip-
tures, or gave their sanction to them as divine.
It would be altogether out of place here to enter
into any discussion of the question of miracles
generally, either as it respects their reality, or
the evidence, which, on the supposition of such
reality, they afford in attestation of the divine
commission of those by whom they were per-
formed. ‘These are points which have been
satisfactorily disposed of by those who have pro-
fessedly entered the lists with deistical writers,
and by others who have treated of them as they
incidentally came in their way. ‘The aspect
under which we now consider the miracles,
regards the support which they yield to the doc-
trine of inspiration. That they afford any direct
support has been denied. Dr. Woods, in his
valuable Lectures on Inspiration, asserts, that
“miracles furnish no direct or certain proof,
that those who perform them are under divine

osaic and
Apostolic
miracles.

266

INSPIRATION OF THE SCRIPTURES.

LECT. V. inspiration.”* He allows, indeed, that they prove

their commission, but he considers their inspira-
tion to depend on the nature of that commission.
Now it will not be denied, that miracles wrought
by inspired persons do not directly attest the fact
of such inspiration, if by direct attestation be
meant, that they were wrought specifically or
exclusively with the view of attesting the divine
authority of their writings. With respect to the
miracles performed by Moses, it is clear, they
were not immediately designed to vindicate to
his writings the claims of inspiration. He does
not appear to have wrought any of them with
this view. ‘Their great design was to prove, that
he was a Divine Legate; that he stood in a
supernatural relation to Jehovah; and as they
were in themselves calculated to impress the
mind with a sense of the Almighty power of that
Being, to whose interposition alone they were
referable, so they were, in the highest degree,
fitted to excite attention to those communica-
tions, which he might be pleased to make through
the instrumentality in connection with which they
were performed. We accordingly find Moses
repeatedly appealing to the mighty deeds which
the Lord had achieved, when he is inculcating
the precepts which he had received to deliver to
the people. Now it was impossible for them not
to combine in their minds with the idea of the
achievement of these deeds, that of the agency of

* Lectures on the Inspiration of the Scriptures, p. 15.

PRESUMPTIVE ARGUMENTS.

267

Moses, at whose instance they had seen them SECT. ν.

effected. Nothing could be more natural than
the conclusion, that they were bound implicitly
to believe whatever doctrines he might propound
to them. Nor was this obligation restricted to
any particular mode of delivery. It was their
duty to attend to his written instructions, Just as
much as it was to attend to the verbal messages,
which he delivered from the mouth of God.

On the same principle, the design of the
miracles wrought by the apostles was to ac-
credit them generally as teachers sent from God,
and to fix the seal of heaven to whatever they
might teach in his name. But, in writing the
documents which we have from their pens, they
were discharging the office of divinely commis-
sioned teachers, just as much as when they taught
and preached Jesus Christ by word of mouth. If
when communicating oral instruction on the
doctrines or precepts of the gospel, they were
warranted to appeal to the miraculous gifts with
which they were endowed, on what principle can
it consistently be maintained, that, when com-
g, in order to
their being transmitted to some distant church,
or published for the benefit of Christians gene-
rally, they were debarred from making a similar

mitting the same things to writin

appeal? Are we to suppose that they forewent
the use of the credentials thus furnished them,
when they performed the task of scribes? Does
not the apostle directly appeal to his power of

268

LECT. V.

INSPIRATION OF THE SCRIPTURES.

inflicting miraculous chastisement on the church
at Corinth, when he asserts in writing, his high
commission ?—‘* Now some are puffed up, as
“though I would not come to you. But I will
“6 come to you shortly, if the Lord will, and will
‘“‘ know, not the speech of them which are puffed
‘“up, but the power. For the kingdom of God
“615 not in word, but in power. What will ye?
‘‘ Shall I come unto you with a rod, or in love,
“and in the spirit of meekness?” (1 Cor. iv.
18—21.) Does he not equally appeal to his
miraculous power, as that by which the authority
of his epistles was to be estimated? ‘ Do ye
“look on things after the outward appearance ὃ
“ΤΕ any man trust to himself, that he is Christ’s,
“let him of himself think this again, that, as
“he is Christ’s, even so we are Christ’s. For
“though I should boast somewhat more of our
authority, which the Lord hath given us for
“ edification, and not for your destruction, I
“should not be ashamed: that I may not seem
“‘as if I would.terrify you by letters. For his
“letters, say they, are weighty and powerful ;
‘“‘ but his bodily presence is weak, and his speech
* contemptible. Let such an one think this, that,
such as we are in word by letters, when we are
absent, such will we be also in deed, when we
“are present.” (2 Cor. x. 7—11.) In the last of
these verses, he attaches precisely the same
degree of authority to his epistles that he does
to his personal ministry, in the exercise of which

PRESUMPTIVE ARGUMENTS.

269

he takes it for granted, that he would exert a_tecr. v.

miraculous influence. The deed (épyov) which he
here opposes to word (λόγος) is evidently a
miracle: for in this acceptation it is usually to
be taken, when the terms are thus contrasted in
the New Testament. Now the Corinthians had
already been furnished with proofs of the divine
commission held by Paul. ‘ Truly,” he says»
“the signs of an apostle were wrought among
you in all patience, in signs, and wonders, and
mighty deeds,” (2 Cor. xii. 12,) where it is to be
observed, he employs the term sign (σημεῖα) in a
twofold sense :—first, in that of evidence or proof
—that by which any person is shown actually to
sustain the character to which he pretends, or
really to hold the commission with which he pro-
fesses to be vested. By prefixing the article to
the word apostle, τὰ σημεῖα τοῦ ᾿Αποστόλου, a
peculiar degree of emphasis is given to it :—the
proofs of a ¢rue apostle. Such Paul had ex-
hibited in the signal instances of miraculous
agency, which had been exercised by him during
his abode at Corinth, to which he here specifically
refers, and in characterising which he further
employs the term σημεῖα in the sense of a miracle,
or preternatural operation. On the ground,
therefore, of the vouchers of the apostolic au-
thority, with which they had been abundantly
supplied, the members of that church were bound
to submit to the instructions transmitted to
them by letter from the apostle, with the same

270

INSPIRATION OF THE SCRIPTURES.

tect. V._ readiness, and the same religious deference, which

they had evinced in receiving his oral testimony.
The displays of divine interposition, which ac-
companied the exercise of the apostolic ministry,
operated in the way of sanction and evidence
upon every act of that ministry. They ac-
credited the apostles as instruments specially
employed by Christ in making known his will, in
whatever manner they divulged it. ‘Their influ-
ence, in this respect, was universal, extending to
all the apostles wrote for the benefit of the church,
and to all that they taught in the way of oral
communication.

Nor is the proof of inspiration afforded by
miracles to be confined to that of the books
written by those who performed these miracles:
it is also valid in its bearing upon other books or
writings, which they may have sanctioned as
divine. If, for example, any of the apostles are
found to ascribe divine authority to the Old
Testament Scriptures, such testimony must be
received as decisive on the ground of the evi-
dence which they furnished of a divine commis-
sion, by the supernatural gifts with which they
were endowed, and which they exercised in
effecting results not to be accounted for on any
principle of natural causation. Declarations
made by them in the course of the discharge of
their official duties, claiming for the Jewish Scrip-
tures an unqualified reception as the word of
God, are to be sacredly regarded in the light of

PRESUMPTIVE ARGUMENTS. 271

authoritative proofs of their inspiration : in other ect. v.
words, that they were written under the special
direction and aid of the Divine Spirit. In like
manner, the sanction given by one apostle to the
writings of another, or to any other writing form-

ing part of the New Testament Canon, is to be

viewed as ἃ priori settling the point of the Divine
authority of such writings. But we shall after-

wards have occasion to enter more fully into this

aspect of the subject.

The last proof of a presumptive nature, which Fort Pr

sumptive

we shall adduce, is the original reception of the “um:

the original

books of Scripture as inspired writings by the ‘ction of
e books as

Jewish and Christian churches. ἸΒΈΡ ΕΙΣ

That the Pentateuch has been in the _pos-
session of the Jewish people from the time of
Moses is an historical fact, which cannot, with
any show of reason, be contradicted. Attempts
have been made by De Wette,* Gesenius,t and
other German writers, to bring down its an-
tiquity partly to the time of the Jewish monarchy,
and partly to that of the captivity; but the
arguments, by which Eichhorn,t Jahn,§ and
Rosenmuller,|| have refuted their positions, tri-
umphantly vindicate its Mosaic origin; and

* Lehrbuch der Histor. Krit. Einleitung in die Bibel,
1 Theil. § 158, p. 228.

+ Geschichte der Hebr. Sprache und Schrift, pp. 19, 23.

+ Einleitung, § 432—§ 445.

§ Einleitung, 2 Theil. ὃ 1—§ 22.

|| Scholia. Prolegom. ὃ 5.

272

INSPIRATION OF THE SCRIPTURES.

tect. v. those which have been employed by Graves*

and Marsht in our own country, not only go
to prove the same point, but furnish strong
collateral proofs of the divine inspiration of
the writer. Not only is the volume recognised
as sacred, after and in the time of the exile, but
it is repeatedly appealed to as of divine autho-
rity in a chain of testimonies from that period,
back to the days of Joshua, the immediate suc-
cessor of Moses. In these testimonies, it is
expressly spoken of as ‘the Law of Moses,”
“the Book of the Law of Moses,” and “ the
Book of the Law of God.” But is it for a
moment to be imagined, that it ever could have
been imposed upon the Jewish people, if it had
not been delivered to them, under the peculiar
circumstances, which it describes as accompanying
its reception? If they had not enjoyed ocular
demonstration of the divine legation of Moses,
they never would have submitted to the re-
straints of the institutions contained in the
Mosaic code. In the pride of their hearts, they
would have rejected with contempt the humili-
ating description given of them as a nation;
and for ever consigned to oblivion a record,
which, while it represented them as having been
from the commencement entirely destitute of
merit, denounced the most awful judgments of
the Almighty against their anticipated crimes.

* Lectures on the Four Last Books of the Pentateuch.
+ Authenticity of the Five Books of Moses.

PRESUMPTIVE ARGUMENTS.

273

In opposition, however, to all those corrupt LEcr. v.

principles which must have disposed them to
repudiate the inspired claims of the books
written by their legislator, they were compelled
by irresistible evidence—evidence carrying with
it the force of mathematical demonstration—
fully to admit them, and adopt the laws, civil,
ceremonial, and moral, which they contained,
as the rule of their future conduct. Notwith-
standing their natural aversion to the holiness
of the religion inculcated by Moses, they became
its faithful depositaries, in the assured conviction
that God was its author; and, although they
were often seduced to a course of action at
variance with its requirements, they never at-
tempted to raise any historical doubts by which
to suppress the painful feelings, which a ‘sense
of guilt must have inspired. Their written code
continued to be the burden of their songs, and
the legacy, which, from one generation to an-
other, they bequeathed to their children. The
other books of the Old Testament were suc-
cessively received into the collection of sacred

writings—being attested as the productions of
men actuated by the Spirit of God, and de-
signed for purposes of general and permanent
instruction. From the Jewish church, by which
they had been religiously preserved, these writings
were received by the first Christians, who had
the direct sanction of Christ and his apostles,
in corroboration of their divine authority.

274

LECT. V.

INSPIRATION OF THE SCRIPTURES.

The books of the New ‘Testament having
been written to individuals, or to individual
churches in different places, some time elapsed
before a complete collection of them was ob-
tained, and consequently before any appeal
could be made to them collectively, as divinely
inspired. But whenever they are quoted sepa-
rately, the reference is obviously made to them
as writings, possessing more than human au-
thority, and, in this respect, differing from all
other works; and when collected, after their
claims and those of other books pretending to
inspiration had been thoroughly sifted, they are
spoken of in the identical language that was
employed respecting the scriptures of the Old
Testament, with which they were placed upon
a level, and along with which they were read in
the public assemblies of the Christians. They
are called: The Divine Gospels, the Scriptures
of the Lord, the Oracles of the Lord, the Holy
Scriptures, Divine Scriptures.

Now those who spoke of them in these ex-
alted terms, and who regarded them with sacred
veneration, were not individuals of little note,
destitute of critical judgment, or removed to
such a distance, in point either of time or place,
from the sources to which they are to be traced,
as to create doubts of their competency to
appear as witnesses in the case; but men of
information, who diligently investigated the
claims of these Scriptures, and only received

PRESUMPTIVE ARGUMENTS.

275

them on the conviction that they were the Lecr. v.

genuine productions of those whose names they
bear, and to whom, on indisputable: grounds,
they were compelled to ascribe a divine com-
mission. While they repudiated the claims of
the numerous apocryphal gospels and epistles,
which were attempted to be palmed upon the
world as the productions of apostles or apostolic
men, they admitted those which compose our
canon as entitled to implicit reception. The
very circumstance, that some of the books were
not at first universally received, proves the ex-
treme scrupulosity with which their claims were
weighed, and that no writings were received as
inspired, which did not possess indubitable marks
of apostolicity. Nor must we omit adverting
to the corroboration of this exalted and sacred
estimate of these books, which is afforded by
the light in which they were viewed by the
early heretics. It was obviously the interest of
those, who opposed the truths taught in the
apostolic writings, to endeavour to bring them
into discredit, by denying their authority, and
rejecting the evidence, which they might furnish
contrary to their favourite tenets; but, if we
except one or two, who had the effrontery to
mutilate the Scriptures, and practise forgeries,
in order to procure support to their peculiar
views, and of whom no account is made by any
who impartially study the records of eccle-
siastical history, it will be found, that the heretics
T2

276

INSPIRATION OF THE SCRIPTURES.

Lect. v. unanimously admitted the claims of the New

Testament, and, equally with the orthodox,
appealed to it as an ultimate rule of decision.
The question between them was not; What
books are of divine authority? but, What is
the testimony of the canonical Scriptures in
reference to the matters in dispute ?

From these circumstances, a presumption 15
created in the mind, that the books of the New
Testament must, from the very period of their
publication, have obtained a reception very dif-
ferent from that given to any works of mere
human composition, and that this reception is
to be ascribed to the evidence which accom-
panied them, that they were of divine origin.
The tone of authority with which they spoke
was found to be perfectly supported by external
criteria. The links of the chain, which con-
nected those who received them during the
three first centuries with the churches to which
they were originally delivered, or the individual
Christians to whom they were addressed, were
so few, that it was easy to trace them up to the
circumstances under which they were written,
and the persons by whom they were penned ;
and the concurrent enlightened testimony of all
who flourished during the intervening period,
ascribing their composition to men who ex-
perienced an extraordinary intervention of the
Deity, it was impossible, comparing this external
evidence with the intrinsic characteristics of the

PRESUMPTIVE ARGUMENTS. 277

books themselves, to withhold a rational assent “ect. v.
from them as divinely authenticated.

Without anticipating what will more properly
come to be considered under the head of the
Canon of Inspiration, we may remark in con-
clusion, that the Romanists cannot, with any
shadow of reason, maintain, that our appeal to
the Fathers in proof of the reception given by
the primitive church to the books of Scripture
is an admission of their dogma of tradition, or
that we are entirely beholden to tradition for
the Scriptures. It was avowed, indeed, by
Augustine : “ Evangelio non crederem, nisi me
ecclesie moveret autoritas;” but it is obvious
from the connection, that he did not mean by
autoritas the mere delivery of an opinion, which,
as announced by the church, every one was bound
to receive; but the testimony, which she bore
to the simple matter of fact, that such and such
books were originally committed to her charge.
Her authority is not that of a Judge definitively
pronouncing upon the matter in point of law,
but the weight of evidence, which, in the cha-
racter of a witness, she honestly and unhesi-
tatingly gives at the bar of reason. She does
not, like the church of Rome, arrogate to her-
self the right to stamp divinity on any book
or number of books; all she pretends to is to
convey down the testimony—a testimony cor-
roborated by abundant evidences both of an
internal nature furnished by the books them-

278

INSPIRATION OF THE SCRIPTURES.

Lect. v. selves, and those which are external, arising

from the versions, and from the admissions of
heretics and pagans, by whom in various forms
Christianity was attacked at a very early period.
It is with the worst possible grace that the
western church presses us on this point, since
it is a notorious fact, that her tradition is any
thing but fixed and determinate. At first, for
instance, she received the Epistle to the Hebrews
into her canon; afterwards rejected it; and, at
a subsequent period, restored it again to its place.
Besides, we require not so much as her tes-
timony on the subject. We might leave her
witnesses altogether out of the account. Those
furnished by the Greek and other churches are
quite sufficient for our purpose ; and we admit
them to give testimony, not in the character of
members belonging to any particular church or
churches, or in any ecclesiastical capacity what-
ever, but simply as persons worthy of credit,
and competent to avouch the truth of this, as of
any other matter in the history of literature,
with which they were acquainted. If the church
of Rome had never existed, the Christian world
would possess precisely the same number of
sacred books which it now does. The Epistle
addressed to the church at Rome would have
reached us in the same way as that addressed to
the church at Corinth.

We, therefore, take our ground in primitive
times, anterior to the rise of that system of

PRESUMPTIVE ARGUMENTS. 279

sacerdotal power, which assumes as its exclusive tect. v.
prerogative, the title of ‘“ The Church.” We
receive the depositions of the witnesses in regard
to the actual fact of the case in their day; and,
taking into consideration all the circumstances
under which they aver, that the Scriptures were
written by men under the influence of divine
inspiration, we are compelled to admit the high
probability, that such was actually the case.
The positive evidence of such inspiration will
be adduced in our next Lecture.

LECT. VI.

Positive
evidence of
the doctrine
of inspira-
tion

LECTURE VI.

INSPIRATION OF THE SCRIPTURES — (continued. )

2 CIM. ΠΤ ΡΝ:

“ All Scripture ts given by inspiration of God,
and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for
correction, for instruction in righteousness :
that the man of God may be perfect, throughly
Surnished unto all good works.”

Having, in the foregoing Lecture, adduced some
of those probable arguments which go to prove
that the Scriptures are of divine inspiration, we
now proceed to investigate the statements ad-
vanced in these Scriptures themselves in reference
to the subject, by which we are furnished with
evidence of tlie positive and direct kind.

It must be obvious, that nothing short of this
description of evidence can form a proper basis
of religious faith. The arguments which have
occupied our attention may go far towards re-
moving doubts from the mind, and preparing it
carefully and conscientiously to prosecute the
study of the dogma, and impartially to receive
whatever farther light may be thrown upon it ;

POSITIVE PROOFS.

281

but it is not their design, as it is not within tecr. vr.

their province, to impart a perfect conviction of
its truth, or give to it such a lodgment in the
soul, as shall inspire an unhesitating reliance upon
the testimony of the Bible as the sure and infal-
lible word of God. This conviction can only be
produced by evidence, which positively evinces,
that the persons by whom the Scriptures were
written were in actual correspondence with the
Deity ; that they wrote by his direction and as-
sistance ; or, that what they have delivered to us
possesses his sanction as an infallible rule of faith.
Except these points be made good, we shall
never be practically influenced by their writings,
but shall feel more or less at liberty to treat them
as we do standards of mere human fabrication—
assenting to them or departing from them, as
may best accord with our own previous notions
of truth and duty.

It has been customary, without any preliminary
or qualifying consideration, to maintain, that the
doctrine of inspiration is to be received simply
on the declarations of those by whom the Scrip-
tures were written ;—that they were infallible,
and consequently if they have expressly affirmed,
that they were the subjects of such extraordinary
divine influence as the term inspiration implies,
we are bound, without any further imquiry, to
abide by their testimony. On this ground, the
doctrine is supposed to possess all the authority
of a direct divine sanction; and to press for

282

INSPIRATION OF THE SCRIPTURES.

ect. vi. further evidence is deemed unwarrantable, if not

Primary

basis of the
doctrine of
inspiration.

profane. But it must be evident to every one,
who takes a more minute view of the subject,
that, to say the least, this is merely to beg the
question. It is taking for granted the very point
to be proved. It amounts in effect to nothing
more than this: the Bible is inspired, because
those who wrote it declare that they were in-
spired—a statement, however, which is by no
means universally true; for though it may be
shown, that some of the writers do advance such
a claim, it by no means holds true of them all.
We may argue ἃ priori in support of the question,
and may establish positions in reference to it,
which it might be difficult to overturn; but with
persons of reflecting minds, the inquiry will still
return :—What positive grounds have we for be-
lieving, that the authors of the books of Scripture
really were inspired to write them?—or, in other
words, that these books possess a plenary divine
sanction ?

In such a view of the case, the only fair and
satisfactory process to be pursued is to narrow
the question within certain definite limits, and
endeavour to ascertain whether any primary
basis can be found, on which it may rest, undis-
turbed by the attacks of scepticism and unbelief.
Now it appears to us, that there is only one
position, which, in the first instance, we can safely
and fearlessly occupy, and within the limits of
which we must primarily concentrate our forces,

POSITIVE PROOFS.

283

if we would not expose ourselves to the reproach tecr. v1.

of inconsistency, or surrender the truth into the
hands of its adversaries. That position is the
authority of the Son of God, which none can
consistently call in question, who does not reject
the entire mass of evidence by which his mission
and the religion which he founded, are immoy-
ably supported. If it can be proved, that Christ
has attributed to the Scriptures of the Old Testa-
ment the qualities and claims of inspiration, then
we are bound to receive them as inspired simply
on the ground of his declarations to that effect ;
or, if he has affirmed, that such endowments
should be vouchsafed to his apostles as would
invest their writings with similar claims—we
are equally bound to acquiesce in the decisions
contained in these writings, as the infallible
dictates of Jehovah. Whatever, as the Great
Messenger sent from the Father, he has been
pleased to reveal, it is our duty implicitly and
cordially to believe.

In determining, however, whether our Lord
imparted any information upon the subject or
not, and if he did, what are the nature and
amount of that information, we must call in the
testimony of those who have furnished us with
accounts of his doctrines simply as that of honest
and competent witnesses :—men of unimpeach-
able integrity, who had no worldly interest to
support by giving a colouring to any thing he
might have communicated on the subject; and

284

INSPIRATION OF THE SCRIPTURES.

LecT. vi. who, to the best of their ability, have discharged

the task which they undertook, in furnishing the
world with a history of the principal events of his
life, and the leading topics, which constituted the
themes of his ministry. The question as thus
narrowed is purely historical. We take it up
precisely as we would any other question in the
history of dogmatics, and decide upon it as we
would upon an opinion which may have been
ascribed to one of the ancient Fathers, or to any
other religious teacher, who flourished in an age
remote from our own. If, for example, we were
desirous of ascertaining any particular sentiment
held by the German Reformer, respecting which
he has published nothing himself, we should be
perfectly satisfied with the testimony of Melanch-
thon, Bucer, or any other contemporary, who was
intimately acquainted with him, and who may
have declared, that he heard him deliver his
views in the language, which he describes.
Taking into consideration the character of these
men, we should do them injustice, if we did not give
entire credence to their testimony. On the same
principle, without, in the least, detracting from
the high claims which the apostles possess, and
which will afterwards be allowed their full force
in application to the subject before us, but regard-
ing them now simply in the light of historians,
who faithfully tell us what they heard from the
lips of their great Master, we are bound, except
counter-evidence can be produced, to believe

POSITIVE PROOFS. 285

their report of what he taught. And though in tecr. vr.
the last Lecture we have expressed a decided con-
viction, that their memories would not have
enabled them to retain all that he delivered, so
as to reproduce it in the identical order and
terms in which it was originally spoken, we feel
no hesitation in asserting, that they were quite
competent to give an accurate account of his
doctrine respecting inspiration. His promise to
furnish them with supernatural assistance was
invested with a degree of interest too momentous
for them ever to forget. The very words, in
which it was expressed, must have been inde-
libly imprinted upon their minds.

Proceeding, therefore, upon the assumption,
that we are warranted to place the fullest confi-
dence in the testimony of these witnesses on the
point before us, we now advance to the investiga-
tion of those passages in their writings, in which
the statements referred to are contained. In
prosecuting this investigation we might be ex-
pected to commence with those declarations of
Christ, which bear upon the inspiration of the
Old Testament, and then to consider those which
relate to that of the New Testament; and cer-
tainly, in so far as priority of arrangement in
regard to the books is concerned, this would be
the more appropriate method. But as there are
numerous testimonies in the apostolic writings,
in support of the inspiration of the Old Testa-
ment, we shall obviously gain even in point of

286

LECT. VI.

Christ’s pro-
mise of the
Holy Spirit.

INSPIRATION OF THE SCRIPTURES.

order by first establishing that of the apostles,
inasmuch as we shall then have it in our power
to combine at once the testimonies borne by
them, with those which our Lord himself de-
livered in divine authentication of the Jewish
Scriptures.

That the apostles were to be the subjects of an
extraordinary and strictly divine assistance, by
which they should be qualified infallibly to teach
the doctrines and inculcate the precepts of Chris-
tianity, during the whole course of their future
lives, was expressly and unequivocally promised by
their Divine Master. ‘The promise is as follows:
“And I will pray the Father, and he shall send
** you another Comforter, that he may abide with
** you for ever ; even the Spirit of truth, whom the
“ὁ world cannot receive, because it seeth him not,
“neither knoweth him: but ye know him ; for
“he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you.”—
“These things have I spoken to you, being yet
“present with you. But the Comforter, which
“15 the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send
“in my name, he shall teach you all things, and
*“‘ bring all things to your remembrance, whatso-
“ever I have said unto you.”—“ But when the
‘Comforter is come, whom I will send unto
“‘ you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth,
‘* which proceeded from the Father, he shall tes-
“ tify of me.”—“ I have yet many things to say
““ unto you, but ye cannot bear them now. How-
“beit, when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he

POSITIVE PROOFS.

287

* will guide you into all truth: for he shall not vecr. νι.

“speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall
“hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew
“‘ you things to come. He shall glorify me: for
“ς he shall receive of mine, and shall show it unto
“you. All things, that the Father hath, are
“mine: therefore said J, that he shall take of
“ὁ mine, and shew it unto you.” (John xiv. 16, 17;
xv. 26; xvi. 12—-15.) By the promise, thus
emphatically repeated, the disciples were assured,
that though they were now to be deprived of the
presence of their Master, and consequently of the
benefit of his personal instruction, they should be
no losers as it regarded their further illumination
on all points connected with divine truth, and
those qualifications, which it was requisite they
should possess, in order properly to discharge the
important functions to which he had called them.
On the contrary, he declares, that his departure
would prove advantageous to them, inasmuch as
it would furnish an occasion for the advent of the
Divine Spirit in the plenitude of his miraculous
gifts, by the reception of which they would be
rendered superior to their own natural defici-
encies, and be fully prepared to meet every ex-
igency that might arise in the course of their
apostolic ministrations. ‘That by the Spirit here
promised, we are to understand the Divine Per-
son, who is so frequently designated by this term
in other passages of Scripture, is evident from the
personal attributes which our Lord predicates of

288

INSPIRATION OF THE SCRIPTURES.

tecr. vi. him, and the personal acts which he was to per-

form. ‘The language, therefore, is not metapho-
rical, or capable of being limited in its meaning
so as to indicate nothing more than superior
mental endowments, an extensive acquaintance
with divine truth, or the spiritual doctrines of the
gospel itself. And he is called “the Spirit of
truth,” (τὸ πνεῦμα τῆς ἀληθείας,) not in reference
either to the reality of his existence, or the
veracity of his testimony, but in designation of
his character as the author and revealer of that
which, in the New ‘Testament, is emphatically
styled the truth, ἡ. 6. the doctrines relating to the
Divine plan of human redemption through the
mediation of the Lord Jesus Christ. He is also
called the Paraclete, (ὁ παράκλητος,) a term
which has been variously rendered by the words
Comforter, Teacher, Monitor, Leader, Advocate,
Helper, Adjutor, Supporter ; but none of which, -
taken singly, fully expresses its import. It oc- —
curs only once besides in the New Testament,
namely, 1 John 11. 1, in which it is applied by
the same writer to Christ, and describes the
powerful influence which he employs in heaven
in behalf of his people. It is a term very gene-
ral and comprehensive in its meaning : embracing
every kind of assistance, whether it be in the way
of consolation, instruction, mental invigoration,
support, advocacy, or any other efficient aid.
The sense, however, in which it is specifically to
be taken in application to the Holy Spirit, whom

POSITIVE PROOFS.

289

our Lord promises to send to his disciples, is pro- ποτ. v1.

perly to be determined by the adjuncts found in
the connections, in which it here occurs. Now,
on examining these connections, the following
appear to be the principal features of the office
which he was to sustain.

First, As the Spirit of truth, he was to guide
the apostles into the whole of that system of truth,
with which it was necessary for mankind to be-
come acquainted in order to their full enjoyment
of the blessings of salvation: ὀδηγήσει ὑμᾶς εἰς
πᾶσαν τὴν ἀλήθειαν. (Ch. xvi. 13.)

Secondly, He was to recall to their memory
all the instructions, with which they had been
favoured during their attendance on the ministry
of our Lord, but which they had forgotten, or
might but imperfectly recollect, ὑπομνήσει ὑμᾶς
πάντα a εἶπον ὑμῖν. (Ch. xiv. 26.)

Thirdly, He was effectually to teach them the
meaning of those doctrines, which had been pro-
pounded to them by Christ, but which they had
not been in a state rightly or fully to comprehend,
together with all the other doctrines pertaining
to the divine counsel and economy of grace:
ἐκεῖνος ὑμᾶς διδάξει πάντα, κ. τ. 2X. (Lbid.)

Fourthly, He was to endow them with a know-
ledge of future events, so that they should be
qualified to predict them for the information,
guidance, and consolation of the church: τὰ
ἐρχόμενα ἀναγγελεῖ ὑμῖν. (Ch. xvi. 13.)

Fifthly, He was specially to disclose to their

290

INSPIRATION OF THE SCRIPTURES.

LEcT. Vi yiew the dignity and excellence of the Redeemer,

imparting to them an accurate knowledge of his
Divine Person, his official relations and functions,
and the glorious results of his Mediatorial under-
taking, that through their instrumentality, others
might be brought to know, acknowledge, and
honour him: ἐκεῖνος ἐμὲ δοξάσει. (Ver. 14.)
Sixthly, He was to confirm all that he enabled
them to teach respecting the Messiah, by afford-
ing sensible demonstrations of the truth of their
divine commission in the miracles which they
performed in the name of Jesus, and the super-
natural gifts which should accompany their mini-
stry : μαρτυρήσει περὶ ἐμοῦ. (Ch. xv. 26.)
Seventhly, By means of this miraculous inter-
position, he was so to qualify the apostles, that
they should bear ample and infallible testimony
respecting all that they had seen and heard as
personal attendants on the Saviour, from the
commencement of his public ministry: καὶ ὑμεῖς
δὲ μαρτυρεῖτε, ὅτι ἀπ᾿ ἀρχῆς μετ᾽ ἐμοῦ ἐστε. (Ver. 27.)
Eighthly, He was to effect all these things by
means of an invisible, consequently a supernatural
influence exerted upon their minds or in con-
nection with their ministry, of which the world
could have no perception, but which, in its re-
sults, was to leave them without excuse: ὃ, ὁ
κόσμος ov δύναται λαβεῖν, OTL οὐ θεωρεῖ αὐτὸ, οὐδὲ
γινώσκει αὐτό ὑμεῖς δὲ γινώσκετε αὐτὸ, ὅτι παρ᾽
ὑμῖν μένει, καὶ ἐν ὑμῖν ἔσται. (Ch. xiv. 17.)
Finally, He was to render them this super-

POSITIVE PROOFS.

natural assistance permanently, so that whatever
light or ability they required at any period of
their future life would assuredly be vouchsafed to
them : iva μένῃ μεθ᾽ ὑμῶν εἰς τὸν aiava, (xiv. 16 ;)
map ὑμῖν μένει, (ver. 17.)

Is it now possible carefully to weigh these
several particulars, and especially to form a
proper idea of the collective import of the charac-
ter, which they were to impart to the apostles,
without arriving at the conclusion, that, by the
accomplishment of the promise here repeatedly
made to them, they were to have all the dis-
advantages removed, under which they naturally
laboured in regard to the discovery and commu-
nication of Divine truth, and to be qualified to
become the infallible interpreters of the will of
God? Who, that attaches any just or adequate
meaning to language, and places implicit reliance
on the testimony of the Son of God, can feel
the smallest degree of hesitation in according to
these divinely-accredited messengers the most
cordial reception, and to the doctrines, which
they teach, absolute submission? Since the super-
natural agency of which they were to be the
subjects was to be constantly exerted, while they
continued through life to discharge the functions
of the apostleship, it is obvious, that, in what
way soever their instructions were to be commu-
nicated, whether orally or by writing, they were
equally to claim an unqualified reception on the
part of all to whom they might be addressed.

υ 2

291

LECT. VI:

* 293

INSPIRATION OF THE SCRIPTURES.

tect. vi. Whatever these ambassadors of heaven might

Christ’s
promise of
infallibility
to his
apostles.

teach was to be received, not as the word of men,
but, as in truth, the word of God.

That the reception of the supernatural gifts
of the Holy Spirit, with which the apostles were
to be favoured, was to stamp infallibility on all
that they taught, their Divine Master further
expressly assures them, (John xx. 21, 22,) “ As
“the Father hath sent me, even so send I you.
“And when he had said this, he breathed on
“them, and saith unto them, Receive ye the
“* Holy Ghost: whose soever sins ye remit, they
“are remitted unto them; and whose soever
“‘ sins ye retain, they are retained.” The com-
mission with which they were to be entrusted
was equally divine with that which Christ him-
self had received from the Father. It had, in
one point of view, the same object—the certain.
and infallible communication of religious truth
to mankind. As it respects authority, their
delegation was upon a par with his own. And,
in order that they might not be discouraged by
a sense of the disparity, which existed between
himself and them with respect to qualifications
for the discharge of the office, he once more
repeats the promise, which he had formerly made
to them—accompanying its repetition with an
action strikingly symbolical of the nature and
manner of its fulfilment: ἐνεφύσησε. The con-
sequence of their reception of the supernatural

POSITIVE PROOFS.

293

influences of the Holy Spirit (πνεῦμα ἅγιον) was cect. vi.

to be the authoritative and irreversible decisions,
which they would be enabled to give on every
point connected with human salvation. Of the
various doctrines which this momentous subject
involves, our Lord selects one of the deepest
interest—the pardon of sin; leaving it to be
inferred, that if they were endowed with power
infallibly to pronounce who were to be the sub-
jects of that boon, and who were to be denied
it, they might well be supposed to be qualified
to teach with certainty and without any ad-
mixture of error, every other branch of the
grand system of revealed truth. That, by the
declaration here made, we are to conceive of
any power delegated to the apostles literally
and in their own persons to remit sin, would
be completely at variance with the whole tenor
of the Bible in reference to this subject—such
an act being uniformly vindicated to Jehovah as
his peculiar and inalienable prerogative. The
phraseology is nearly parallel with that which
our Lord employs, when addressing Peter, as
the representative and spokesman of the dis-
ciples, (Matt. xvi. 19,) “ And I will give unto
*‘ thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and
“ς whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be
‘bound in heaven; and whatsoever thou shalt
* loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.”
Than this no language could more strongly
express the plenary power with which they were

294

INSPIRATION OF THE SCRIPTURES.

tect. vi. to be furnished, authoritatively to announce

and enforce every thing connected with the
kingdom of heaven. Whatever they were to
declare to be lawful, whatever they were to
teach, permit, or constitute in the exercise of
their apostolic functions, was to be ratified, and
hold good with God, and consequently was to
be held sacred by men.*

Another proof of the infallibility which was
to attach to all the instructions of the apostles,

‘is furnished by the declaration made by Christ

in his promise to afford them every requisite
assistance when called to defend his cause before
human tribunals: “ But when they deliver you
“up, take no thought how or what ye shall
“‘ speak: for it shall be given you in that same
“hour what ye shall speak. For it is not ye
“that speak, but the Spirit of your Father,
“which speaketh in you.” (Matt. x. 19, 20.).
In this passage he not only selects an appro-
priate instance of the Divine aid, that would be
vouchsafed to them in the discharge of their
office—assuring them, that nothing should be
lacking, how great soever the emergency of the
circumstances in which they might be placed—
but also, that, upon all occasions, they were to
regard themselves merely as the instruments of
a higher agent—the Divine Spirit, who should
employ them as a vehicle, through whom to
reveal the knowledge of God and his will to

* Bloomfield, 7 Joc.

POSITIVE PROOFS. 295

the human race. The 20th verse is evidently uecr. v1.
supplementary, and general in its bearing, and
contains the ground of the special promise made
in that which precedes it. The words: “It is
not ye that speak, but the Spirit of your Father
which speaketh in you,” contain a comparative
negation. ‘The apostles were to employ human
language, but this language was not to be the
mere fruit of their own mental operations ; it
was to result from the supernatural influence
of the Holy Spirit, prompting, controlling, and
guiding these operations, so as to produce appro-
priate and infallible exhibitions of divine truth.

The endowments in which the legates of
Christ were to participate, and which he de-
signates ‘‘ the promise of the Father,” because
he had promised that the Father would bestow
them, he expressly characterises as power imme-
diately derived from heaven, with which they
were to be invested: ἐνδύσησθε δύναμιν ἐξ
υψους. (Luke xxiv. 49.) It was therefore to be
strictly supernatural, and being designed fully
to fit them for the apostolic office, must be
viewed as extending to every department of
that office.

Of the accomplishment of the promises thus
made to the apostles, we are furnished with
abundant proof by the surprising change which
took place in their views and conduct on ᾿
and after the day of Pentecost, and by the
miraculous gifts which were then conferred

296

INSPIRATION OF THE SCRIPTURES.

LECT. VI. upon them: but, as these topics have already

occupied our attention, it is uunecessary to say
more at present than simply to advert to them,
for the purpose of substantiating, on historical
grounds, the extraordinary authority of their
character, as the ambassadors of Christ, and
asserting the religious deference, which is due
to whatever statements they may have made
relative either to the doctrines taught by our
Saviour himself, or to those communicated
through them by his Spirit. Endowed with the
infallible inspiration of this Divine Agent, they
claim to be heard with implicit belief. The
testimony, which they have borne in their
written documents, is equally entitled to our
reception, as that which they delivered to the
audiences which they orally addressed, was to
theirs. Both in speaking and in writing they
acted as divinely commissioned instructors. [π΄
the former case, the result was more limited ;
for, though it consisted in laying the foundation
of the new state of the church, which was to
continue till the end of time, yet the infallibility,
that attached to their doctrines, did not extend
beyond their oral communication. When re-
ceived by those to whom they were delivered,
these doctrines became liable to all the modi-
fications and changes by which they have more
or less been characterised in the confessions and
writings of uninspired men from the apostolic
age to the present. In the latter case, the

POSITIVE PROOFS. 297

result is- permanent, and extends to all succeed- tect. vr.
ing ages:—their writings, propagated through-

out the world, possessing all the indubitable
certainty, and all the infallible authority, which
belonged to the narratives and doctrinal state-

ments originally communicated by word of
mouth to individuals or communities.

Having thus established the infallibility of the
apostolic teaching, we are prepared to enter
upon an investigation of the testimony borne
in the New Testament Scriptures to the in-
spiration of those of the Old ‘Testament, in
prosecuting which, we shall first consider the
amount of that furnished by our Lord himself,
and then that of those passages in the apostolic
epistles in which it is either expressly taught,
or obviously implied.

And here it is important to remark, that the tre tes.

timony of

references to the Old Testament, which we find cnrist to the
in the discourses of Christ, are not to be under- pe areal
stood in application to the dispensation itself, aia
which was established by Moses at Sinai, but to
the books or writings, containing the records of
that dispensation, and received as divine by those
to whom it had been committed. Whatever fact
he specifies, or whatever precept or doctrine he
quotes, is uniformly to be regarded as embodied
in the sacred Scriptures, which were then in the
hands of the Jews, and to which he appeals as

decidedly possessing divine authority.

298

LECT. VI.

INSPIRATION OF THE SCRIPTURES.

First, He mentions several of the writers by
name, and ascribes to them in this capacity an
authority, which he would not have conceded
to any ordinary or uninspired author. ‘Thus
he speaks of the gift that Moses commanded,
(Matt. vii. 4 ;) his ordinance respecting divorce,
(xix. 8;) his seat, or the elevated place, whence
his writings were read in the synagogues, (xxiii.
2;) his accusing the Jews, (John v. 45;) his
law prescribing circumcision, (vii. 19, 22.) When
quoting his book, he expressly designates Isaiah,
“the prophet,” (Matt. viii. 17; xii. 17;) speaks
of his prophesying, (xv. 7,) and his prophecy,
(xiii. 14,) which he more than once declares
was to be fulfilled. He recognises David as
an inspired prophet, (xxii. 43,) and repeatedly
quotes the book of Psalms, (xiii. 35 ; xxi. 16, 42.)
He likewise, when referring to their writings,
calls Daniel and Jonah prophets, (xii. 80:
xxiv, 15;) and quotes Hosea and Zechariah,
(xi. 7; xxvi. 31,) as furnishing the words of
Jehovah.

Secondly, He refers his hearers to the Old
Testament Scriptures, with the question ; ‘ Have
ye not read ?” (Matt. xix. 4; xxii. 31 ;) intimat-
ing, that, if they had perused them, they would
have ascertained the will of God on the subjects
respecting which they had interrogated him.

Thirdly, He speaks of them as a definite col-
lection of writings, an acquaintance with which
would prove an effectual preservative against

POSITIVE PROOFS.

299

error in matters of religion ; and he reproves the ‘zcr. v1.

Sadducees, who neglected to employ them for this
purpose: “ye do err, not knowing the Scrip-
tures, tas γραφὰς, nor the power of God.”
(Matt. xxii. 29.) He further ascribes to these
Scriptures, as thus collectively existing, the power
of imparting instruction respecting the momen-
tous subject of eternal life, and himself as the
way to it; and commends the study of them on
that account: ‘Search the Scriptures, ἐρευνῶτε
τὰς γραφὰς, for in them ye think ye have
“ eternal life; and they are they which testify of
“me.” (John v. 39.) Biblical critics are divided,
indeed, with respect to the manner in which the
principal verb here employed is to be construed :—
most of the ancients, and many moderns, render-
ing it in the imperative, as it is done in our own
and almost all the received versions, while by far
the greater number of those, who have been
most distinguished for critical acumen, read it in
the indicative, which unquestionably is more
agreeable to the context. But translated indica-
tively, “‘ Ye search the Scriptures,” &c., it still con-
veys a commendation of the practice; for our
Lord proceeds to declare, that the Scriptures
bore testimony to him as the Messiah; and, in the
course of a few verses, he expressly states, that
Moses wrote of him in that character. From the
circumstance, that the writings of Moses are thus
introduced into the connection, Storr concludes, *

* Storr and Flatt’s Bib. Theology, vol i. p. 234.

300

INSPIRATION OF THE SCRIPTURES.

Lect. vi. that the Scriptures mentioned, ver. 39, are

necessarily to be restricted to those of the
Pentateuch; but this by no means follows. The

reference to Moses and his writings is alto-

gether distinct from that before made.. Our
Lord, after telling the Jews, that, notwithstand-
ing their perusal of the Old Testament, which
pointed to him as the only Saviour, they would
not come to him, that they might have life, dis-
closes the true cause of their unbelief—the prefer-
ence, which they gave to human and worldly
considerations. And lest they should accuse him
of the intention of bringing a judicial charge
against them, and thus be the more rivetted in
their prejudices against him, he directs them to
their own lawgiver, whose testimony respecting
him was sufficiently clear to afford ground for the
condemnation of all who professed to receive it,
and yet disallowed his claims to the Messiahship,.
(ver. 45—47.) On another occasion, when con-
vincing them of the aggravated guilt, which they
contracted by rejecting him, he asks: “ Did ye
never read in the Scriptures,” ἐν ταῖς γραφαῖς,
and then quotes the cxviiith Psalm, which the
ancient Rabbins interpreted of the Messiah.
(Matt. 21, 22.)

Fourthly, Our Lord also repeatedly speaks of
the Old Testament in the singular number, calling
it the Scripture, ἡ γραφὴ, (vil. 38, 42; xii. 18 ;
xvil. 12;) and most peremptorily vindicates its
authority as “the word of God,” which could not

POSITIVE PROOFS. 301

be set aside or rendered void—consequently was tect. v1.
in point of religious obligation, binding upon all
into whose hands it came: “ Is it not written in

“your law, I said, ye are gods? If he called
“them gods, unto whom the word of God came,

“‘ and the Scripture cannot be broken, say ye,” &c.

(John x. 34—36.) By law, in this place, he does

not mean the Pentateuch, but the whole of the

Old Testament, only specifically quoting from

the Psalms, as a part of the whole :—an idiom
frequent both in the Scriptures and in the Rab-

binical writings. And of this Scripture, ἡ γραφὴ,

he expressly affirms, that ov δύναται χυθῆναι, it
cannot be invalidated—its authority cannot be

called in question—it must be received and
treated as coming from God.

Fifthly: He further speaks of the writings of
the Old Testament, under the designation of
“the law and the prophets,” ὁ νόμος καὶ ot
προφῆται. (Matt. vii. 12; xxii. 40. See also
Luke xvi. 16; Acts xiii. 15; Rom. iii. 21.)
That by this designation is meant the whole
compass of the Jewish Scriptures:—these two
divisions forming its two grand component parts
—the “ law” comprehending the five books of
Moses ; and the “ prophets,” all the other books,
beginning with Joshua, the first in the list of the
prophets according to a classification in use
among the Jews, is admitted as beyond dispute
by all commentators. And agreeably to another
mode of classification, he divides the books of the

302

INSPIRATION OF THE SCRIPTURES.

tect. vi. Old Testament into the “‘ Law, the Prophets, and

the Psalms,” (Luke xxiv. 44)—the book of Psalms
being the first of the third class, as commonly
divided by the Jews. Now of these Scriptures
our Lord, the great Prophet, whom they pre-
dicted, declares, that their Divine authority was
perpetual. It was not the object of his advent to
dissolve men from their obligations to receive the
doctrines and keep the moral precepts therein
contained, or in any way to teach a less perfect
or a superficial system of moral duty (καταλῦσαι);
but, on the contrary, to lead mankind into a more
thorough and extensive acquaintance with their
demands, the great designs they were given to
accomplish, and the ratification, which they were
to receive in the new economy about to be
founded in his name (πληρῶσαι.) So far was it
from being intended by the doctrines which he |
and his apostles promulgated, to supersede the
use, or lower the claims of the Old Testament
Scriptures, that they were only thereby to acquire
their full significance, and be more abundantly
honoured. _ But it cannot, for a moment, be sup-
posed, that Christ would have spoken in this
manner of any merely human writings. And
indeed the terms, by which he designates them,
imply, that they were of divine origin :—nothing
being more common than the interchange of the
forms “ the law,” and ‘ the law of the Lord,” as
synonymous in signification; and the prophets
having been all actuated by a divine impulse,

POSITIVE PROOFS.

303

whatever they committed to writing possessed Lxcr. vi.

the stamp of divine authority.

From these and other passages, that might be
adduced from the Gospels, it is apparent, that our
Saviour fully admitted the inspired authority of
the entire codex received in his day as divine by
the Jews in Palestine. ‘The doctrine of its inspi-
ration is not taught by him in so many express
words ; but it is so clearly implied in many of
his discourses, and is so fairly deducible from the
manner in which he refers to it, that, on the
contrary supposition, his appeals would lose their
force, and his reasonings be rendered totally map-
posite and nugatory. Indeed, so manifestly is
the doctrine taught by implication in the dis-
courses of our Lord, that its opponents, in order,
if possible, to get rid of it, are compelled to
adopt the hypothesis of accommodation :—main-
taining, that, when he spoke in such exalted terms
of the Jewish Scriptures, and appealed to them
as divine, he did not express his own sentiments
on the subject, but merely adapted himself to the
opinions then prevalent among his contempo-
raries: but such a theory, being at once incon-
sistent with the integrity, and derogatory from
the dignity of the Redeemer, violates one of the
fundamental rules of interpretation. It is only
necessary to compare the dogmas, which he
taught with those which were peculiar to the
Scribes and Pharisees, in order to perceive the
contrast, in which they stand to each other ; and

304

INSPIRATION OF THE SCRIPTURES.

Lect. vi. so far was he from succumbing to popular opinion,

or feigning acquiescence in any of the erroneous
views or principles of his hearers, that he was
most pointed in their condemnation, and opposed
his own high authority to that of the whole body
of the Rabbins. His agreeing with them on any
point could only be viewed as improper, on the
assumption, that their entire system of belief was
a tissue of falsehood and error, and merited indis-
criminate reprobation. But that such an as-
sumption is perfectly gratuitous, must be evident
to all, who reflect, for a moment, on the facts of
the case. The public teachers among the Jews
inculcated the traditions of the elders, and, by so
doing, virtually made the commandment of God,
in many instances, of no effect ; but they did not
avowedly reject the principles inculcated in the
law. ‘They allowed the law to occupy the place,
which had ever been assigned to it in their
peculiar constitution ; and only added to it cer-
tain notions or opinions of their own invention.
That veneration for the sacred books of the
nation was one of these cannot be proved. It
was a duty, which, from the most ancient times,
was considered to be binding upon them as a
people: and was founded on the assurance, which
they had, from well-authenticated testimony, that
the books containing it were written by men
who stood in direct communication with Jehovah,
whose Spirit prompted them to write, and assisted
them in executing the task. This ascription of

POSITIVE PROOFS. 305

the Hebrew Bible to God as its author, our Lord 1£T. ΥἹ.
sanctioned and approved, and thereby threw the

weight of his authority as the Messiah into its

scale.

The testimony, which Christ thus bore to the Apostolic

testimony to

divine claims of the Jewish Scriptures, was clearly eon
1

illustrated by that of his apostles, when writing Ola Testa
under the inspiration which he had promised
them. Of the various passages which contain
this testimony none is more celebrated than our
present text, (2 Tim. iii. 16, 17.) “ All Scripture
“is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable
“for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for
“instruction in righteousness: that the man of
“‘ God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto
“all good works.” It may, indeed, be properly
considered as the principal dictum classicum to
which, more than to any other, the supporters of
the doctrine of inspiration have appealed, and
which, in consequence, has also received a con-
siderable degree of attention from those who
have opposed that doctrine. This celebrity is
owing partly to the occurrence of the compound
Jeomvevatos—a term which, as we have already
seen, is not employed elsewhere in Scripture, but
which strikingly expresses the quality, which is
inherent in the Scriptures, as the result of a
divine influence exerted on their composition ;
and partly to the use of the adjective all (πᾶση),
which has generally been considered as predicating
x

306

INSPIRATION OF THE SCRIPTURES.

tect. vi. the universality of the Scripture (γραφὴ) here

stated to be imspired. On the subject of the
apostle’s predicate, a wide difference of opinion
has obtained. The greater number of critics and
commentators consider it to be the Old Testa-
ment, though they are divided respecting the
construction and the sense which is dependent
upon it:—some comprehending under the term
γραφὴ the whole of that ancient volume, and
others restricting it to those parts only of which
they think θεόπνευστος may be predicated. A
second class regard it as designating not only the
inspired codex of the Jews, but also such of the
apostolic writings as had then appeared ; while a
third class confine it exclusively to the latter.
That the Scriptures of the Old Testament are
intended, is unquestionably the construction best
supported by the preceding context. Even on
the supposition, that no reference had previously
been made to any specific writing or collection
of writings, it was most natural for Timothy, who
had received an early Jewish education, of which
the study of the Scriptures formed a prominent
part, to understand the apostle to mean these
Scriptures :—ypad¢7, the term here used in the
singular number, being in common use in applica-
tion to them. He had been taught to regard
them, as the productions of men who were
actuated by the Spirit of God, and who conse-
quently wrote what was agreeable to his will.
The very terminology, therefore. independently

POSITIVE PROOFS.

307

of any thing else, would, at once, lead his txcr. vr.

thoughts to these Scriptures as the collection to
which reference was made. But the circum-
stance, that, in the verse immediately preceding,
the apostle had expressly mentioned the ἱερὰ
γράμματα, “Sacred Scriptures,” as those which
Timothy had known from his earliest age, would
seem to place the matter beyond dispute. It is
in the closest connection with the statement there
made respecting these Scriptures, that the subject
of the present text is introduced; and it is evi-
dently introduced by way of supplement to what
had been there taught. ‘The train of the argu-
ment is this: Not only are the Divine Scriptures
with which you are familiar, capable of furnishing
you with the knowledge requisite for your own
personal salvation by pomting to Christ as their
end or scope; but they are a rich treasury of
inspired wisdom, from which you may bring forth
matter adapted to all the various departments of
the office, with which you have been invested.

It cannot be denied, that a considerable pro-
portion of the books of the New ‘Testament
already existed at the time the apostle wrote
these words, which is generally supposed to have
been about the year sixty-five, and it must also
be admitted, that, on the supposition that it is to
these the apostle refers in the phrase πᾶσα γραφὴ,
there would be an appropriate connection be-
tween what he affirms of them, and what follows
in this and the succeeding verse. In addition to

x 2

308

INSPIRATION OF THE SCRIPTURES.

vecr. vt. the Scriptures of the Old Testament, Timothy

also possessed those of the New, which were
given by inspiration of the same Spirit by whom
the former had been dictated; and being full of
matter bearing more directly on the affairs of the
Christian church, they might be expected to
supply every information, which he would require
as an Kvangelist—every thing requisite to perfect
his qualifications for his sacred and important
work. But in order to establish this construction
of the passage, it must be proved, that the term
γραφὴ, “ Scripture,” is not to be taken here in
the collective, but in an individual or distributive
sense ; and the adjective πᾶσα, must in this case
be rendered “every,” and not “all.” But though
numerous attempts have been made to justify
this rendering, they have never succeeded. For
those who translate the words, ‘ Every writing is
inspired of God, and profitable,” &c., expose
themselves to the absurdity of making the apostle
affirm, that every composition without exception
is of this high character—an absurdity which led
some in the time of Theophylact to ask, “ Are
then the writings of the Greeks also inspired ?” *
It may be thought, this is pressing the words
beyond what is clearly their meaning—since the
apostle could of course intend such books only as
were written by inspired men; but it is evident
there is nothing in the context that would

* Ζητοῦσι δὲ τίνες πῶς εἶπε Πᾶσα γραφὴ Oedrvevoroc. “Apa
uf e ~ en ΄, , .
οὖν καὶ at τῶν Ελλήνων θεόπνευστοι ;—Comment. in loc,

POSITIVE PROOFS.

naturally suggest any other writings of this “scr. vt

description but those of the Old Testament
mentioned in the preceding verse. Besides, if
we except the Gospel of Matthew, two or three
of the Pauline Epistles, and those of James and
Peter, Timothy required no information respect-
ing the inspired authority of such writings as had
by that time been composed, since, in most of
them, his own name is conjoined with that of
Paul in the titles. But the adjective here em-
ployed, if taken in a distributive sense, obviously
supposes a number of writings, every one of
which, according to the proposed interpretation,
laid claims to inspiration: consequently there
could have been no propriety under the circum-
stances in which Timothy was placed to address
him in such terms. In short, this construction
of the words is so forced, that none have ventured
to defend it, except those who have been deter-
mined at all hazards to extract from them an
inspired proof of the inspiration of all the writings
contained in the New ‘Testament.

Nor is the translation, ‘“ Every divinely-
inspired writing is also profitable,” &c., though
sanctioned by a much more numerous class of
interpreters, entitled to a more favourable re-
ception. To say nothing of the awkwardness
and total want of point introduced into the
passage, by giving to the copulative conjunction
καὶ the signification of also, which even Geddes
allows it requires some straining to make it bear

309

310

INSPIRATION OF THE SCRIPTURES.

Lecr. vi. in this place,* we may remark, that such a mode

of construction is at variance with a common
rule of Greek syntax, which requires, that, when
two adjectives are closely joined, as θεόπνευστος
and ὠφέλιμος here are, if there be an ellipsis of
the substantive verb ἐστὶ, this verb must be sup-
plied after the former of the two, and regarded
as repeated after the latter. Now there exists
precisely such an ellipsis in the case before us ;
and as there is nothing in the context which
would lead us to take any exception to the rule,
we are bound to yield to its force, just as we
would in any similar instance. In support of
this rendering, an appeal has usually been made
to the Syriac, Arabic, and Latin versions ; but
it is, to say the least, very doubtful whether
these versions really convey the idea, which is
thus endeavoured to be attached to them. With.
respect to the two former, it is well known to ori-
ental scholars, that the word translated ‘ every”
is more properly a substantive signifying fotality
than an adjective ; while the Latin omnis is also
often used for fota ; so that all the versions in
question may as properly be rendered, ‘ The
whole of Scripture, which is divinely inspired,
is profitable,” &c., as “ Every Scripture,” &c.
The evidence in favour of the translation in
our common English Bible, derived from the
Fathers, and almost all the versions, among
others, the modern Greek, which reads ὅλη,

* Bible, vol. ii. Pref. p. xi.

POSITIVE PROOFS.

911

“the whole,” is most decided. The opposite “cr. vz

interpretation, however, was eagerly adopted by
Semler, who, in his work on the canon, en-
deavoured to prove that the design of the
apostle in this text is to furnish the criteria, by
which to judge whether any work be inspired or
not—namely, its religious and moral utility ;
and having, as he imagined, established this
point, he proceeded to apply the principle to
the books of the Old Testament, and, without
ceremony, lopped off not fewer than eight of
them, as, in his judgment, not possessed of the
requisite marks of legitimacy. Most of those
critics, who, like him, have been dissatisfied
ἃ priori with certain portions of the Jewish
Scriptures, have eagerly adopted and_perse-
veringly propagated his hypothesis: so that
most of the German divines without hesitation
give it their suffrage. Knapp, however, Storr,
and others, contend for the common rendering.
Convinced that this rendering is the only correct
one, we consider the passage as throwing an
impenetrable shield round the sacred books of
the Jews, and stamping every portion of them
with the seal of divine authority.*

A similar testimony, of great weight in the
present argument, is furnished by the Apostle
Peter, (2 Epist. i. 19—21,) “We have also a
“more sure word of prophecy ; whereunto ye

* See Note M.

312 INSPIRATION OF THE SCRIPTURES.

Lect. vi. do well that ye take heed, as unto a light
“that shineth in a dark place, until the day
“dawn, and the day-star arise in your hearts:
“knowing this first, that no prophecy of the
“Scripture is of any private mterpretation.
“For the prophecy came not in old time by
“the will of man: but holy men of God spake
“as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.”
Having directed the attention of the elect
strangers to whom he wrote, to the immovable
foundation on which their faith was built, and
assured them that those, to whom they were in-
debted for the knowledge of that foundation,
had not been the dupes of credulity, but witnesses
of the most convincing testimony that had been
given from heaven to the divinity of the claims
of Christ as the Saviour of the world, the
apostle, in contemplation of the irresistible proof
which was thus afforded, proceeds to state, that
they were thereby supplied with an additional
confirmation of the truth of the Old Testament
Scriptures, one of the prominent features of
which was the chain of predictions contained in
them respecting the Messiah and his kingdom.
The prophetic word, τὸν προφητικὸν λόγον, to
which he refers, is not any new communications
with which the apostles had been favoured,—in
other words, New Testament prophecies,—an
hypothesis which has been advocated by War-
burton, Griesbach, and others; nor the decla-
ration made by the Father on the Mount, as

POSITIVE PROOFS.

313

Erasmus and Beza violently interpreted; but xecr. vr

the ancient prophetic oracles of the Jews,
which, having been written by men under a
prophetic impulse, came to be spoken of under
the general designation of prophecy, προφητεία.
These had ever been in the highest estimation
with all who feared Jehovah. ‘They delighted
in the study of them. ‘They believed the truth
of their contents, though they but imperfectly
understood them. But now, that the most im-
portant of these prophecies had received their
fulfilment in the appearance, sufferings, and
glorification of the Redeemer—their certainty
was confirmed, (βεβαιότερον,) and their authority
heightened in the minds of believers. In them-
selves, they could receive no increase of cer-
tainty, bemg the words of Him of whom it is
declared, ““ Hath he said, and shall he not do
it? or hath he spoken, and shall he not make
it good?” but subjectively, or as received by
men, they were susceptible of increasing degrees
of certainty, in proportion as subsequent pre-
dictions threw light upon those which had
previously been given, and especially as the
events transpired to which they pointed.

The apostle commends the diligent investi-
gation of this prophetic word; which, though,
when compared to the sun, might be said to be
only a lantern, the light of which but dimly
discovers the objects upon which it shines, yet
would afford certainty to all who availed them-

314

INSPIRATION OF THE SCRIPTURES.

Lect. vt. selves of its aid. It shed its light, comparatively

feeble as it was, during the dark ages which
preceded the advent of the Messiah. ‘That
portion of the Christian church to whom this
Epistle was written, being composed, for the
most part, of converts from Judaism, had been
accustomed to peruse the Scriptures of the Old
Testament, which contained the prophecies ; and
no doubt still continued to do so, after having
received the gospel. Peter exhorts them to
adhere to the practice ; as, by that means, they
would improve in knowledge and be preserved
from apostasy, till the copious flood of New
Testament light should break in upon them
through the instrumentality of the inspired
writings of the apostles of Christ. In all pro-
bability, their opportunities of Christian in-
struction had been limited; and perhaps this
and the former Epistle were the only parts of
the Scriptures of the New Covenant, which
many of them had yet seen. [0 was, therefore,
important for them diligently to avail them-
selves of the ancient revelations, and to rest in
the conviction, that, though they had not at-
tained to the same degree of assurance with the
apostles, who had been eye-witnesses of the
accomplishment of the prophecies contained in
them, yet the time would soon arrive when they
too should be made fully acquainted with such
fulfilment by means of the written Gospels and
letters, which originated in the influence of the

POSITIVE PROOFS.

315

same Spirit, under whose impulse the Scriptures Lect. vr.

of the Old Testament had been composed. In
prosecuting this investigation of the prophecies,
however, they were to lay it down as a first
principle, (τοῦτο πρῶτον γινώσκοντες,) from which,
notwithstanding the obscurities in which some
of them might be involved, they were never to
suffer their minds to be moved, that they were
all of divine origin. None of them was the
result of mere human disclosure, or an inter-
pretation of the will of God delivered by an
unauthorized individual. The reason (yap) is
obvious. At no time was prophecy brought in
by human volition; on the contrary (ἀλλὰ), it
was under the impulse of the Holy Spirit that
the holy men of God spake, by whom it was
delivered to the church.*

Such appears to be the tenor and bearing of
this confessedly difficult passage. Its bearing on
the subject of inspiration must now be con-
sidered. By most of those, who have employed
it in support of this dogma, it has been considered
as furnishing one of the clearest and most deci-
sive proofs to be met with in the sacred volume.
And unquestionably if we simply regard the act
of inspiration, or the exertion of supernatural
influence on those who were the recipients of
Divine communications, it must be confessed,
that no language can more expressly assert such
an exertion—no statement can more explicitly

* See Note N.

316

INSPIRATION OF THE SCRIPTURES.

Lect. vi. deny the human origin of the communications

_just mentioned, or more convincingly attribute

them to God as their author, than that which is
here employed. It may, however, be objected to
the appropriation of this language to the Old
Testament universally, that the term prophecy,
which repeatedly occurs in the passage, neces-
sarily restricts the influence in question to the
predictive portions of that book, and that the
reference is not made in any respect to the com-
mittal even of these prophecies to writing, but
merely to their oral annunciation. The holy
men of God spake as they were moved by the
Holy Ghost. But the objection may partly be
met by the remark, that, as the special subject of
prophecy here referred to is the Messiah, and the
predictions respecting him are not confined to
the prophets strictly so called, but are likewise
found in the writings of Moses, Samuel, David,
and other Old ‘Testament writers, any construc-
tion, which would go to exclude these writers, is
inadmissible. And it is further to be observed,
that whatever books of Scripture are found to
contain prophecies written by imspired men, are
to be regarded as divine, not merely in so far as
the exhibition of the prophecies themselves is con-
cerned, but through the entire extent of their
composition ; inasmuch as they obviously consti-
tute one whole, and every part is more or less
necessary in order to furnish an infallible histo-
rical basis, on which the evidence of the several

POSITIVE PROOFS.

predictions may rest. For, if we separate the
prophecies from the rest of the matter with which
they are connected, we completely isolate them, rid
them of their sacred character, and place them
upon a level with the Sybilline oracles, or any
other unauthenticated predictions of antiquity.
It is because they are found in the writings
of those, who held a divine commission, and
were communicated by them to the church of God
at the time, and under the circumstances, which
these writings definitely specify, that we allow the
authority of their claims. In this point of view,
it is important to notice the peculiar phraseology
employed by the apostle in the text under con-
sideration. His language is not, as Erasmus in-
terprets it;* no prophetic Scripture, but πᾶσα
προφητεία γραφῆς, ov, kK. Tr. no prophecy of Scrip-
ture, i. e. no prophecy contained in Scripture—
thus extending the reference to the entire code in
which the Divine predictions are deposited. With-
out such reference, the allegation would have
been nugatory. And thus, whenever the oracu-
lar announcements of the Old Testament pro-
phets are quoted by our Lord, or his apostles, the
indisputable claims of that division of the sacred
volume are either expressly asserted, or obviously
assumed. Indeed it was impossible for a Jew to
disconnect, in his own mind, the idea of a pro-
phecy from that of its existence in the volume,

* Nov. Test, in loc.

317

LECT. VI.

318

INSPIRATION OF THE SCRIPTURES.

tect. vr. which had been handed down to him from his

ancestors as the book of God; or rather he com-
pletely identified them—conceiving only of the
prediction as embodied in the document which
had served as the vehicle of its transmission.
The former he invested with paramount autho-
rity, on the ground of the divine authentication
of the latter. It is upon this principle, that Paul,
referring to the ancient announcements, which
Jehovah had made relative to the gospel dispen-
sation, declares: ‘‘ Which he had promised afore
by his prophets in the holy Scriptures,” (Rom.
i. 2,) in which passage he fully expresses what is
implied in that now under consideration, namely,
that the Scripture, in which the prophecies are
deposited, is sacred, a term which not only im-
plies the destination of that to which it is applied,
but also its origin—the sacred or divine mfluence -
of the Holy Spirit.

We are, therefore, warranted to maintain, that
this passage does, to a certain extent, contain a
cogent proof of the inspiration of the Old Testa-
ment. The writings of which it is composed are
spoken of by the Apostle Peter precisely in the
same style as we have seen they are spoken of by
the Apostle Paul. They both designate them by
the collective term Scripture, (γραφὴ) ---ἃ term,
which, from its peculiarly appropriated accepta-
tion, when employed to denote the sacred books
of the Jews, evidently invests them with an im-
portance, which cannot be claimed in behalf of any

POSITIVE PROOFS.

319

human writings. This importance is here clearly 1®°7. ¥t

recognised. But this, I conceive, is the entire
amount of the proof which the text affords. ‘To
extend to the whole Scripture what the apostle
specifically affirms of its prophecies, namely, that
it is not of private interpretation—though true
in itself and provable from other sources, is in
our opinion to compel him by torture to give
utterance to what did not, at the time, exist in
his mind. [0 is of the prophetic word or the pro-
phecies universally he predicates absolute Divine
authority, human agency having had nothing
whatever to do with their origination. His men-
tion of the Scriptures is merely made in passing—
the prophecies being contained in these Scrip-
tures, as the divinely constituted and infallible
medium of their preservation for the benefit of
future ages.

Another passage in which an express sanction
is given to the inspired authority of the Old Tes-
tament is that recorded Rom. xv. 4, in which
the apostle, after quoting from the lxixth Psalm,
states: ‘For whatsoever things were written
*‘aforetime were written for our learning, that
“we, through patience and comfort of the Scrip-
“tures might have hope.” We are here taught
not merely, that such practical lessons are dedu-
cible from the ancient Jewish Scriptures, but
that they were composed definitely with a view
to communicate such instruction. And that the

320

INSPIRATION OF THE SCRIPTURES.

LECT. Vi. intention or design to which he refers was not

that of the writers, but that of God himself, ap-
pears from the intimate connection of this and
the following verse, in which, repeating the two
benefits which he had mentioned, he expressly

ascribes them to God as their author. ‘They are

conferred by the Scriptures only instrumentally :
but He who is the true source from which they
spring, so ordered it, that, when these Scriptures
were composed, precisely such things were selected
to form their contents as should subserve the
edification of his people in all future time. No
argument can more conclusively prove, that the
books included in the Jewish canon were inspired.
That it is to these books the apostle refers, is
evident from his use of the appropriated term
the Scriptures, ai γραφαὶ; from his having just
made a quotation from the Psalmist ; and from
his assigning the time, when the things spoken of —
were written, to a period antecedent to the intro-
duction of the Christian economy. ‘They are
things, προεγράφη, that were written aforetime.
Nor must the universality of the language here
employed be unnoticed. It is not certain parts
or portions only of Scripture that were written
by divine appointment to promote our benefit,
but the whole, not excepting any portion what-
ever. For while the special correlative ὅσα is
most comprehensive in its import, obviously con-
veying the idea of quantity or number, it, at the
same time, expresses the minutest parts of a whole,

POSITIVE PROOFS.

321

how great soever the whole may be. Hence the 12°t- Yt

Syriac renders the passage : ‘‘ For every thing that
was anciently written, was written for our instruc-
tion.”* A similar declaration relative to speci-
ality of design is furnished, 1 Cor.x. 11: ‘“ Now
“6 all these things happened to them for ensamples,
“and were written for our instruction, upon
** whom the ends of the world are come.”
Numerous other texts might be adduced from
the apostolic writings, in support of the doctrine
of the inspired authority of the books of the Old
Testament, such as those in which they are ex-
pressly called τὰ λόγια τοῦ Θεοῦ, the oracular an-
nouncements of God,t (Rom. ii. 2; Heb. v.
12 ;) or in which they are ascribed to the influ-
ence of the Holy Spirit, (Acts xxvii. 25; Heb.
il. 7; ix. 8; x. 15); but what has already been
quoted may suffice. I would only remark, in
this place, that so deeply were the minds of the
apostles impressed with a sense of the importance
and authority of these Scriptures, that, compara-
tively limited as their writings are, the Epistles
and the book of the Revelation alone contain
upwards of four hundred and fifty passages in
which they are either expressly quoted, or
marked reference is made to them; or their
language is employed in a way which evinces

* on fioXSaS i>s2] Yaaro S02 Ty 70 So

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Ἴ Adya. Hesych. Θέσφατα, μαντεύματα, φῆμαι, χρησμοί.
Y

322

LECT. VI.

Old Testa-
ment proofs.

INSPIRATION OF THE SCRIPTURES.

that they were regarded by these inspired ambas-
sadors of Christ as truly of divine origin. In the
Epistles of Paul alone, upwards of two hundred
and fifty such quotations or references are found.

Since the testimonies, which are furnished in
such abundance in the New Testament, are so con-
clusive, it were altogether superfluous to enlarge
upon those which are contained in the Old ‘Testa-
ment itself. Suffice it, in brief, to remark, that
Moses was expressly commanded to write the ac-
count of the war with Amalek in the book, which
he had already begun to compose, and which was,
in all probability, the preceding part of the Penta-
teuch, (Exod. xvii. 14;) that David, in one of his
most striking prophetical Psalms, which treat exclu-
sively of the Messiah, introduces him as declaring:
“< In the volume of the book it is written of me,” -
(Ps. xl. 6;) that Isaiah distinctly recognises a book,
which he designates tHE Book or THE Lorp,
which he calls upon his readers to investigate,
(xxxiv. 16;) that he and the prophets Jeremiah
and Habakkuk are charged by the Lord to
commit their predictions to writing, (Isa. vii. 1;
xxx, 8;. Jer, xxxe2; xxxvb 25-4 ;,)59;.60%
Hab. ii. 2;) that Daniel was commanded to shut
up the words, and seal the book of his prophecy,
(ch. xii. 4;) that he closely connects the word of
the Lord, which was delivered by Jeremiah, with
certain books by the study of which he ascertained
the exact length of the captivity ; that Jehovah

POSITIVE PROOFS. E 323

asserts to himself the composition of the docu- “ect. vi
ments, which had been put into the hands of the
Israelites, (Hosea vii. 12;) and finally, that not
infrequently later writers quote or borrow pas-

sages from those who preceded them, in a way

which implies their divine authority, (Is. xv. xvi;

Jer. xlviii.; Jer. xlix. 7—17; Obad.; Exod. xv.

2; Ps. cxviii.; Is. xii.; Deut. xxv.; Jud. v.35

Ps. Ixviii. ὅτ.)

These and similar notices, which meet the eye
on perusing the sacred pages of the Old Testa-
ment Scriptures, cannot fairly or consistently be
explained upon any other principle, than the
admission of a Divine authority attaching to the
book, or those portions of the book to which
reference in each case is made.

It only remains, on the present occasion, to Evidence

from their

bring forward the evidence, which the books of own testi-

. e δὰ . Mony, that

the New Testament furnish of their own inspi- the books of
the New

ration. Testament

are inspired,

Assuming it as proved, that the writers of
the books, which were composed under the Old
economy, enjoyed the privilege of infallible
Divine assistance or supernatural communication
of truth, it may be presumed, that those of the
New, which is a dispensation of more enlarged
privilege, and more abundant in extraordinary
gifts, should likewise have stood under the im-
mediate guidance of the Holy Spirit. We have
shown, that, as it was more important for the

Υ 2

324

INSPIRATION OF THE SCRIPTURES.

tect. vi. church to be furnished with an unerring standard

of faith and practice in all ages, than merely to
possess such an undoubted rule of authority
during the lifetime of the apostles, in their oral
decisions, there is every reason to believe her all-
wise and gracious Head has made special pro-
vision for the supply of such a standard, especially
since he expressly promised them the efficient aid
of the Paraclete in the execution of their high
commission. We take it for granted, that, if
they actually enjoyed the extraordinary influences
of this blessed Agent, when preaching the doc-
trines of the kingdom by word of mouth, they
must equally have enjoyed those influences in the
composition of their written documents.*

But it is not to presumptive arguments we
now appeal. We take up the authentic writings
of the ambassadors of Christ, and we learn, from
their own testimony, that they were inspired.
Not that the dogma is formally asserted with any
degree of frequency. The circumstances, in
which the apostles were placed, rendered the
announcement of such a proposition, in most
cases, perfectly unnecessary. All that we have
any right to expect is the incidental mention of
it, on certain particular occasions which called
for its assertion.

The prefixing of the term “ apostle,” as de-
scriptive of office, to the different epistles, was
obviously intended to stamp with divine authority

* See Note O.

POSITIVE PROOFS.

325

whatever they might contain. It was a notifica- Lect. v1.

tion, that the person, who laid claim to the title,
was under the special direction of the Spirit of
truth, whom the Redeemer promised to confer
upon his apostles to qualify them for their work.
It is the seal-royal of heaven, giving a divine
sanction to all the imstructions contained in the
documents to which it is attached. Suppose that
any of us had lived in the time of Paul, and
been acquainted with all the circumstances of
his history, and a letter had been addressed to
us individually, beginning as follows: PauL, AN
APOSTLE OF JESUS CHRIST BY THE WILL or Gop
—should we not have considered ourselves
sacredly bound to receive its contents, and
comply with its requisitions? Admitting the
fact, that he held a Divine commission, we could
not, with the smallest degree of consistency,
have rejected his authority as thus announced
to us through the medium of a written com-
munication. ;

It is not, however, at the commencement of
their letters merely, that the apostles assert
their inspired authority: they also vindicate it
in the course of their written instructions. “ I
say the truth in Christ ; I lie not, my conscience
also bearing me witness iz the Holy Ghost.”
(Rom. ix. 1.) Not only was what he was about
to deliver agreeable to the relation in which he
stood to the Saviour; it was also the result of
what his inward consciousness assured him was

326

INSPIRATION OF THE SCRIPTURES.

uect. vi. a dictate of the Holy Spirit, by whom he was

inspired, (ἐν πνεύματι ἁγίῳ.) In a subsequent
part of the same Epistle, he ascribes the bold-
ness with which he wrote to the special grace of
apostleship : ‘* Nevertheless, brethren, I have
*“ written the more boldly unto you m some
“sort, as putting you in mind, because of the
“grace that is given to me of God,” &c.
(Rom. xv. 15, 16.) At the conclusion of his m-
structions to the Corinthian church on several
questions connected with marriage, he states as
a valid reason why they should be received :
“1 think also that I have the Spirit of God.”
(1 Cor. vii. 40.) Not that he stood m any
doubt with respect to the fact of his being under
the infallible direction of the Holy Spirit: he
only expresses himself in language adapted by
the very peculiarity of its construction to silence _.
any who might be disposed to call his inspiration
in question.* Some commentators, it must be
admitted, have advanced the hypothesis, that,

‘in this and other parts of the chapter, the

apostle disclaims inspiration, and merely de-
livers his own private opinion, which it was at
the option of those, to whom he wrote, to re-
ceive or reject at pleasure. The passages are
as follows, (1 Cor. vii. 6, 10, 12, 25, 40 :) “ But
“Τ speak this by permission, and not of com-
‘‘mandment.” ‘* And unto the married 1 com-
“mand, yet not I, but the Lord.” “ But to

* See Note P.

POSITIVE PROOFS.

“the rest speak I, not the Lord.” “1 have μον. vi.

“no commandment of the Lord: yet I give
“my judgment as one that hath obtained mercy
“οὗ the Lord to be faithful.” “I think also
“that I have the Spirit of God.” But such
a mode of construction as that just noticed
cannot be reconciled with the representations
which the apostle otherwise makes of the au-
thority with which he was invested, and the
obedience which he claims to his decisions, as
those of the Master by whom he had been sent.
It is at variance even with the language which
he employs in the chapter itself. For though
he declares at the 12th verse: “Τὸ the rest
speak I, not the Lord,” yet after giving the
directions to which that formula is introductory,
he concludes: ‘* And so orparn [ in all the
churches,” (ver. 17.) The term διατάσσομαι,
here rendered ordain, is equally authoritative
with ἐπιταγὴ and παραγγέλλω, which he uses to
denote the commandment or ordinance of the
Lord himself. When he asserts (ver. 6) that
what he spoke was κατὰ συγγνώμην, οὐ κατ᾽
ἐπιταγὴν, ‘by permission, not by command-
ment,” it is evident, from the structure of the
words, that he did not mean, as Wahl explains
in his Lexicon, to leave it to the pleasure of the
Corinthians, which course they would adopt.
The preposition κατὰ points out equally in both
cases the origin or author of the communications
of which he speaks. The directions, which he

327

328 INSPIRATION OF THE SCRIPTURES.

tect. VI. had just given, did not originate with himself.
Had he been left to advise according to his own
views and feelings, he would (θέλω, L could wish
for θέλοιμι) unquestionably have delivered a
different judgment, (ver. 7); but what he wrote
was the result of a concession directly made to
him by the Holy Spirit, of which he was dis-
tinctly conscious at the time. In like manner,
when stating (ver. 25) that he had no specific
commandment of the Lord, and being about to
employ the verb vouitw, “ I judge,” he qualifies
his statement in such a manner as must convince
every impartial reader that he attached to the
judgment he was about to deliver an importance
to which it would not have been entitled, if he
had not been writing under the influence of
mspiration. His meaning evidently is: “1
“give my judgment, as one who has been so
‘“‘ graciously dealt with by the Lord, as to be
‘* put into the apostleship, and thus to be worthy
“of entire credit. It is not an ordinary mini-
“ster of Christ who addresses you, but an
‘* apostle endowed with the Holy Spirit.” And,
as we before observed, the way in which he ex-
presses himself, (ver. 40,) when concluding this
part of his Epistle, evinces his conviction, that,
notwithstanding the distinction which he had
made between the Lord and himself, the de-
cisions which he had given were the result of
the infallible guidance of the Spirit of God.
We are, therefore, compelled by the simple

POSITIVE PROOFS.

329

showing of the phraseology, which the apostle tecr. v1.

uses in this chapter, to search for a solution
very different from that which would represent
him as delivering mere human opinions respect-
ing the subjects in question. And there appears
no just reason why we should depart from the
interpretation adopted by Chrysostom, Calvin,
Mills, Witsius, and many others, that, in the
one case, there is a reference to certain special
instructions which the Lord Christ had given
during his personal ministry, and in the other,
to instructions which were now being delivered
by the Holy Spirit through the instrumentality
of the apostle. On the subject of the conduct
of married persons, referred to verses 1—5,
and that of virgins, ver. 25, our Lord had said
nothing while upon earth; it was, therefore,
necessary for the apostle now to decide upon
them, which he did under the unerring direction
of the Holy Spirit. On other subjects, such as
divorce, (ver. 10,) Christ had already decided,
(Matt. v.32; xix. 3—10); in which case it
was proper simply to avow, that the reply to
the question which had been proposed, was
founded, not on a judgment similarly produced,
but upon the recollection of the Saviour’s com-
mandment. The same remarks will apply to
2 Cor. viii. 8, 10: ‘ I speak not by command-
ment, but by occasion of the forwardness of
others.” ‘ And herein I give my advice ;” and
in some measure to ch. xi. 17, of the same

330

INSPIRATION OF THE SCRIPTURES.

uecr.vi. Kpistle: ‘That which I speak, I speak it not

after the Lord;” though in the latter passage it
is the example of Christ (κατὰ Κύριον), and ποῦ
his precepts to which the apostle refers.

Clearly, however, as this appears to be the
meaning of the passages quoted, it may not be
inapposite to observe, that, on the supposition
that Paul did intend to disclaim inspiration in
these particular instances, it follows from the
very circumstance of his making them exceptions,
that all the other parts of his epistles were in-
spired. Mr. Belsham, indeed, contends, that
“‘ the contrary conclusion would be most agree-
** able to reason, viz. that, wherever he does not
‘‘ expressly assert his inspiration, he is not to be
“regarded as inspired. For inspiration is a
** miracle, which is never to be admitted but upon
‘the clearest evidence. And the apostle no- -
*‘ where claims unlimited inspiration.”* But the
question is not left to the decision of reason: the
apostle did demand unlimited submission to what-
ever he taught. What can be more positive than
his language, for instance, (ch. i. 16,) ‘ We
have the mind of Christ ?” ἡ. ὁ. as the same author
paraphrases the words, ‘“‘ we, who are authorized
‘* apostles, and who have learned the Christian
“ doctrine by the instruction of the Spirit of God,
‘and by supernatural illumination, are assured,
** that we are in possession of the genuine truths

* Apostolical Epistles, ἐ)ὲ loc,

POSITIVE PROOFS.

991]

“‘ of the Christian religion, and that we are duly tecr. νι,

‘“‘ authorized and qualified to communicate these
“important truths to all—And being in pos-
“session of the true doctrine of Christ, and
“having given the most satisfactory proofs that
“weare so, we have aright to challenge the atten-
““ tive and persevering regard of our hearers.*
That the apostle considered himself to be
under the infallible influence of the Spirit of God
in all that he wrote to the churches, is most evi-
dent from his absolute and uncontrolled declara-
tion, (1 Cor. xiv. 37, 38.) ‘If any man think
“himself to be a prophet or spiritual, let him
““ acknowledge, that the things that Z write unto
you, are the commandments of the Lord. But
“1 any man be ignorant, let him be ignorant.”
The comment of the writer just quoted, on the
last of these verses, is too remarkable to be
omitted ; and we can only express our astonish-
ment, that any person, who could employ such
language, should himself, m his theological writ-
ings, have furnished so awful an example of the
case, Which he deprecates. ‘‘ If any one pretends,
““ that he is not satisfied concerning my apostolic
‘“‘ authority, and that he sees no obligation to
“submit to my decisions, after all the proofs
‘“¢ which I have alleged of the commission under
“which I act, I shall take no further pains to
convince him; his ignorance is wilful. Ler

* Apostolical Epistles, ix loc.

332

INSPIRATION OF THE SCRIPTURES.

LECT. VI. “* HIM AND HIS ASSOCIATES TAKE THE CONSE-

““ QUENCES OF THEIR VOLUNTARY ERROR.”

In his 2d Epistle, (ch. x. 11,) the apostle, as
we have already had occasion to observe, places
his epistles precisely upon the same footing in
point of authority with his personal labours.
“« Let such an one think this, that such as we are
in word by letters, when we are absent, such
also are we in deed, when we are present.”
They equally possessed miraculous influence : his
oral teaching or enforcement of discipline being
accompanied by the Divine sanction supernaturally
evinced ; his letters not contaming the mere
results of his own invention or reasoning, but the
unerring dictates of the Spirit of God.

When exhorting the members of the church
at Thessalonica to maintain purity of conduct,
he most unscrupulously avers: “Ηρ, therefore,
that despiseth, despiseth not man, but God, who
hath also given unto us his Holy Spirit.” (1 Thess.
iv. 8.) Though he had just inculcated the duty,
yet he would have the attention of the Thess: o-
nians entirely directed away from himself as the
instrument to the real author of the mjunction.
The negation is not comparative, as some would
construe it: ‘ He, therefore, that despiseth, de-
spiseth not so much man as God,” &c., but abso-
lute.* The duty is enjoined by Divine authority,
which whoever rejects, must abide the conse-

* Winer’s Gram. pp. 414, 415.

POSITIVE PROOFS.

333

quences. To confirm his statement, however, LCT. ΥἹ.

the apostle adds: ‘“‘ Who hath also given unto
us his Holy Spirit.” He and his fellow-apostles
were the subjects of divine inspiration, so that
the instructions which they imparted were to be
received as divine, not merely in the present
instance, but on every occasion, and without any
exception. Whenever they taught, either orally
or by letter, they merely communicated what they
were commissioned by the Holy Spirit to impart.
The words, to have any force in such connection,
must be thus interpreted.

In his second Epistle to the same church, the
apostle attaches to his epistolary communications
an importance, which he never could have done,
had they not been the result of inspiration: “ If
any man obey not our word by this epistle, note
that man, and have no company with him,”
&c. (ch. i. 14;) and so important did he con-
sider it to have his apostolic authority clearly
established in the minds of those to whom he
addressed his letters, that, on closing the present
communication, he adds, ‘‘ The salutation of Paul
with mine own hand, which is the token in every
epistle : so I write.” (ver. 17.)

To the inspiration of the Pauline Epistles, an
unequivocal testimony is borne by Peter in his
second Epistle, (iii. 15, 16.)—* Even as our
“beloved brother Paul also, according to the
** wisdom given unto him hath written unto you ;
“as also, in all his epistles,” &c. ; on which we

334

INSPIRATION OF THE SCRIPTURES.

tect. vr, Observe: First, that what Paul wrote is here ex-

pressly ascribed to supernatural wisdom: it was
not the result of his own reasoning, nor deduced
from any school of human philosophy, but was
the effect of that divine teaching to which he re-
peatedly refers in his writings. Secondly, there
is in the words a distinct recognition of a definite
number of epistolary writings, which were known
to have been composed by the same apostle, and
of which it is also of course to be predicated,
that he wrote them in consequence of the same
divinely inspired wisdom. Thirdly, by ‘the
other Scriptures,” τὰς λοιπὰς γραφὰς, the apostle
most probably means the writings of the Old Tes-
tament. If so, then, by placing the Epistles of
Paul in the same category with them, he invests
them with equal authority, and furnishes us with
the earliest instance, in which the term Scripture, -
which we have seen was appropriated to the Old
Testament, is, by implication, extended to at least
a considerable portion of the New. Grotius,
however, supposes the Gospels and Acts to be
meant, which amounts to the same thing.

That John was inspired, the Book of the Reve-
lation bears most ample testimony—the whole
being composed either of visions, which were
presented to him in a state of the highest inspi-
ration, (ἐν πνεύματι, chap. i. 10,) or epistles, which
were dictated to him immediately by the Lord
Jesus, to be despatched to the seven churches of
Asia Minor.

POSITIVE PROOFS. ; 335

There is only one passage more, which it would tecr. vi.
be injustice to our subject not to quote. It is that
in which Peter, after having adverted to his for-
mer Epistle, and that which he was then writing,
claims for the instructions given by himself and
the other apostles an authority equivalent to that
with which the doctrines and precepts, delivered
by the prophets of the Old Testament, were in-
vested: “ That ye may be mindful of the words,
‘* which were spoken before by the holy prophets,
‘and of the commandments of us the apostles of
“the Lord and Saviour.” (2d Epist. iii. 2.)

_ Such are some of the testimonies to be found
in the books of the New Testament to the fact
of the inspiration of the writers ; and certainly,
bearing in mind, what has already been hinted,
that they are, for the most part, incidental, and
not put forth systematically in support of the
dogma, they are so highly satisfactory in their
character, that, had we no other evidence, we
should be perfectly warranted in ascribing all that
can be ascertained to have proceeded from the
pens of these men, or to have received their sanc-
tion, to the same divine influence, which Moses
and the prophets enjoyed under the former dis-
pensation. The language is of the most explicit
and positive nature ; and describes an inspiration,
which extended to all that the writers communi-
cated. They vindicate to themselves and their
associates a tuition, which they could only have
enjoyed as the result of the accomplishment of

336

LECT. VI.
ark Be Seo ἘΞ

INSPIRATION OF THE SCRIPTURES.

our Lord’s promise of the Holy Spirit; and they
speak in a tone of authority and infallibility,
which none was warranted to assume, who did
not stand in direct correspondence with heaven,
and to which such men as the disciples of Jesus
could not possibly have pretended, had they not
been specially called to the office which they
sustained.

LECTURE VII.

INSPIRATION OF THE SCRIPTURES—(continued.)

HOSEA VIII. 12.

“7 have written to him the great things of my
law.”

We have now arrived at one of those divisions
of our subject, which has been regarded as clogged
with more than ordinary difficulties, and with
respect to which, as may easily be imagined, a
great diversity of opinion has prevailed. In the
introductory Lecture, a general view was taken
of the different lights in which the topic has been
contemplated in various sections and in successive
ages of the church. Certain aspects, under which

it has been presented, are obviously to be at-
tributed to the distorted mediums of prejudice,
and the false colours of unenlightened zeal,
through which it has been viewed. In many
instances, the love of system, or sheer opposition
to all system, has exerted a baneful influence on
the adjudication of the question ; and, while, on
the one hand, there has been exhibited a con-

LECT. VII.

338

INSPIRATION OF THE SCRIPTURES.

Lect. vit. tractedness, a dogmatism, and an asperity, not

less unfriendly to the discovery and communica-
tion of truth, than dishonourable to all, who
would identify themselves with its interests, there
has frequently, on the other hand, been exercised
a vagueness of conception, a temerity of reason-
ing, a rashness in conclusion, and a levity and
flippancy of language, egregiously out of place at
all times when brought into contact with subjects
of grave and serious import, but more especially,
when applied to the treatment of a subject of so
sacred a character, as that of Divine Inspiration.
The fact of a divine influence having been
exerted in the composition of the Scriptures is
expressly asserted by Jehovah himself in the
words, which we have just read from the prophet
Hosea. ‘That we are to limit the sense of the
words to the decalogue simply, which is described:
by Moses as having been written by the finger
of God, there is nothing in the connection to
warrant: on the contrary, there is reason to
believe, that the declaration was designed to be
extended to the whole of the Mosaic law, if not
to all the other portions of divine revelation, ,
which had been written prior to the time of the
prophet. The Hebrew 53, rendered in our
version “the great things,” may equally well be
translated ‘the numerous things ;” and the use
of the future tense of the verb (ain2s) conveys
the idea of communications being continuously
committed to writing. With these the Israelites

DIFFERENT MODES OF OPERATION.

999

had been favoured, but they made no account of Lect. vi.

them: preferring the worship of idols to the
service of the only God, and the impure gratifica-
tions of sin to the satisfaction connected with
obedience to his law.

With respect to the two tables of stone, which
Moses received on Mount Sinai, there can be
no doubt, that they were miraculously prepared,
and that the writing which was inscribed upon
them was likewise of Divine workmanship. It
has been maintained, indeed, by some, that the
language is merely figurative, and that nothing
more is meant, than the communication of the
ten commandments to Moses, and his writing
them upon the tables by order and according to
the direction of God: but the terms of the sacred
description are so explicit, and the repetitions of
the fact so evidently troduced for the purpose
of creating a contrary belief, that we must either
reject the testimony of Moses altogether, or
abide by the literal interpretation. ‘The Deca-
logue had been proclaimed in the hearing of the
whole nation of Israel, encamped before the
- mountain ; but awful as were the circumstances
which attended its promulgation, it would soon
have passed into oblivion, if a permanent mode
of preserving it had not been adopted. Moses
was, therefore, invited to go up to Sinai, in the
following words: ‘Come up to me into the
“mount, and be there: and I will give thee
“‘ tables of stone, and a law, and commandments,

‘

340

INSPIRATION OF THE SCRIPTURES.

Lect. vit. which I have written; that thou mayest teach

“them.” (Exod. xxiv. 12.) He next informs
us, chap. xxxi. 18, “ And he gave unto Moses
when he had made an end of communing with
him upon mount Sinai, two tables of testimony,
tables of stone, written with the finger of God.”
But the most complete description is given,
chap. xxxii. 15, 16: ‘* And Moses turned, and
“ went down from the mount, and the two tables
“* of testimony were in his hand, the tables were
* written on both their sides; on the one side
“and on the other were they written. And the
“ tables were the work of God, and the writing
“was the writing of God, graven upon the
“tables.” And though, after they had been
broken, Moses was commanded to hew two tables
like unto the first, yet it is again expressly stated,
that “ the Lord wrote on the tables, according to
the first writing, the ten commandments.” (Deut.
x. 1- δ.) It is impossible for language more
explicitly to teach the immediate operation of
Deity, than what is employed by Moses in these
several passages of the Pentateuch.*

It may strike some minds, that there was no
occasion for this intervention of Jehovah, since
Moses was already acquainted with writing, and
might, with the utmost ease, have inscribed on
the tables whatever it pleased the Almighty to
reveal through his instrumentality. That he was

* See Note Q.

DIFFERENT MODES OF OPERATION. 341

previously initiated into the art of writing is past tecr. vn.
dispute, since he received a command to enter, in
the register of events, which he kept, an account
of the victory gained over the Amalekites, some
time before the transactions which took place on
Sinai. (Exod. xvii.) Attempts, it is true, have
been made to explain this passage so as to get rid
of its evidence against the theory, that there was
no writing whatever before the time of Moses :
but they have completely failed, and it must ever
prove an insuperable barrier to the adoption of
any such hypothesis.

It is, however, extremely probable, that, pre- Divine
vious to this period, Moses was only acquainted alphabetical
with the hieroglyphic mode of writing, which he a
must have learned in Egypt; but, partly in order
to discountenance image-worship, and partly with
a view to give facility to the transmission of the
truths of Divine revelation, God furnished him,
‘on this occasion, with an important specimen of
alphabetic Scripture, and taught him how to
compose in it the other laws and ordinances,
which he revealed to him. - At all events, it is
certain, we possess no accounts from antiquity,
which go to show, that letters were invented prior
to the time of the Jewish legislator; while the
concurrent testimony of ancient writers, referring
their introduction to some period near to that in
which he flourished, corroborates the opinion, so
naturally suggested by the sacred narrative, that
they were of divine origin.

942

LECT. VII.

How human
agency was

employed by
the Spirit of
Inspiration.

INSPIRATION OF THE SCRIPTURES,

In the composition of this divine autograph of
the decalogue, we possess the only instance on
record of inspiration, in the highest and most
perfect, though not the ordinary acceptation of the
term. On all other occasions, and in reference to
all that we now possess in writing, as the result of
a Divine operation, human agency was employed.
The copy of the decalogue itself, which was de-
signed for common use among the Hebrews, was
written by the hand of Moses. It becomes,
therefore, a question of deep interest ; How was
human agency employed in committing to writing
the contents of Holy Scripture, so as to invest
them with the authoritative character of a divine
revelation? In other words: What was the nature
of that influence, which was exerted on the minds
of the writers? And how did it operate to the
production of that unerring standard of truth,
which their writings comprise ?

To some all such questions may seem to savour
of presumption, and to spring from a profane de-
sire to penetrate into arcana, which must ever
remain inaccessible to human _ investigation.
They may be decried as unhallowed speculations,
and giving rise to fruitless and unscriptural
theories: but if the subject is really presented
to our view in the word of God, not merely
as to the matter of fact, but under a variety
of aspects and bearings, can it possibly be wrong
to contemplate it in the various lights in
which it is thus presented? Or rather, we may

DIFFERENT MODES OF OPERATION. 343

ask : Must it not, to say the least, be ungrateful to μον. vir.
refuse to examine it according to those points of

view in which the Author of revelation has been
pleased to place it, and which afford manifest
illustrations of his infinite wisdom and goodness ?
If certain phenomena are exhibited on the pages
of Scripture in connection with what it teaches
respecting the doctrine of inspiration, is it not
reasonable to expect, that an impartial examina-
tion of these phenomena will greatly facilitate
our attempts to ascertain the particular bearings
of the sacred influence which the writers en-
joyed? And if a diversity of forms and modes
of expression are employed in the descriptions
which are given of that influence, can there be
any thing improper in fully weighing the import
of such phraseology according to just principles
of interpretation, and framing our views in ac-
cordance with the hermeneutical results which
may thus be brought out ?

It is obvious, that, not possessing the con- on what
sciousness of ever having ourselves been acted one aay
upon by any such influence, the subject in itself nited.
is one which lies entirely beyond the sphere of
our actual experience. None of us has ever
been favoured with miraculous communications
from the Father of lights. The secrets of the
invisible world have not been directly unveiled
to us. To our view the vista of future events
has not been opened. ‘The knowledge of divine
things, which we may possess, we are able, more

344

INSPIRATION OF THE SCRIPTURES.

vEcT. Vi. or less, to refer to some instrumentality within

the range of secondary causes—though we
cannot but ascribe the arrangement, operation,
and efficiency of these causes to the positive,
though invisible, accompanying influence of
Him, who worketh all in all. The utmost
latitude that can be conceded to experience,
in reference to the point before us, is simply
to determine how, according to its native con-
stitution, the human mind is acted upon, in
order analogically to deduce certain inferences
respecting the manner in which it became sus-
ceptible of impressions produced upon it by
its Maker, always keeping within the limits
prescribed by the representations of sacred
Scripture. If the admired position be indeed
just, that, when God makes the prophet, he
does not unmake the man, it may rationally be
concluded, that, in exerting a supernatural in-
fluence upon the powers of the human mind,
he did not act contrary to the nature of the func-
tions which he has allotted to them; but, on
the contrary, operated upon them precisely as
they are ordinarily operated upon—the only differ-
ence consisting in the super-addition of mental
vigour, which it was not in the power of inferior
agency to supply, and the infallible certainty
of the sequences resulting from his immediate
operations. In bringing those powers into
action, the influence exerted would be such as,
in each particular case, was necessary to secure

DIFFERENT MODES OF OPERATION. 345

the proposed end. Sometimes one faculty would Lect. vu.
be called into exercise; sometimes another ;
but each, or more of them combined, as the
exigency of the occasion required. In arresting
the attention ; presenting objects of sensation
and perception ; creating and guiding processes
of ratiocination ; suggesting new elements and
combinations of thought; prompting to inves-
tigation ; producing elevation of feeling; re-
viving former impressions and associations; or
preserving from fallacy and error—there 15
reason to believe, that the Holy Spirit conducted
his administration so as not to do violence to
any of the natural faculties with which he had
endowed the agents whom he condescended to
employ. They were his instruments, but not
blind or unconscious mechanical instruments of
his will. They continued to be the subjects
of perception, memory, imagination, judgment,
and will, all of which he sanctified for the
execution of the important task to which he
called them.*

Such a view of the subject is completely
borne out by the facts of the case, as presented tre tignt in
on almost every page of the Bible. Instead of bidies by the
appearing there in the character of mere passive integ ἧς
agents, the writers display evident marks of con-
scious and rational activity. They relate facts,
teach doctrines, inculcate duties, lay down pre-

* Witsii Miscell. Sac. lib. i. cap. xxii. 12,

346

INSPIRATION OF THE SCRIPTURES.

LECT. VII. mises, draw conclusions, reflect, remember, re-

Inspiration
not univer-
sally imme-
diate.

solve, hope, fear, rejoice, grieve, &c., so far as
the natural constitution of the mind is con-
cerned, in a way precisely analogous to what
they would have done, had no supernatural in-
fluence been exerted. In fact, to such an extent
does the active agency of the instruments per-
vade the composition, and so manifestly does
it appear, that, when adverting to any particular
passage, nothing is more common than for
writers of opposite views of the subject to
employ the language: ‘ according to the rea-
soning of the apostle ;” ‘* Paul says;” ‘it is
affirmed by John,” &c.—language, which would
be altogether destitute of meaning, if the or-
dinary exercise of their faculties had been
counteracted or suspended while the process of
inspiration was beimg carried on by the higher
Agent, in whose service they were engaged.
Nor is it unusual for the New Testament
writers themselves to speak in the same style :
“ς Even as David also describeth the blessedness
of the man:” ‘“ Moses saith:” ‘ Paul hath
written—as also in all his Epistles, speaking of
these things.”

It has been customary to speak of inspiration
in language, which conveys the idea, that every
thing contained in Scripture was immediately
revealed to the writers at the moment of its
composition. They have been represented as
the simple and momentary recipients of the

DIFFERENT MODES OF OPERATION.

347

communications, which they were to reduce to ποτ. vi.

a documentary form; and the whole of the
result as presented in their compositions has
been unconditionally attributed to the Holy
Spirit, without making any allowance whatever
for human agency. Indeed, to take this agency
at all into the account has been thought to
derogate from the honour of the Divine In-
structor, and to be calculated to diminish our
regard for his dictates. Nearly allied to this
prejudice is another, which exerts a powerful
influence over some minds, namely, that, as
every part of the Bible is inspired, we ought
to rest satisfied with the fact of such inspiration,
without inquiring whether any distinctions ob-
tained in the mode of its operation.

But it appears truly surprising how such con-
clusions could have been arrived at by any, who
alowed the facts and phenomena of the case,
which stand out with so much prominence in
the Scriptures, impartially to engage their at-
tention. ‘That they should have disapproved
of much that has been written on the subject
cannot be matter of wonder; that they should
have opposed the spirit and condemned the rea-
sonings of some who have rejected the views,
which they regard to be alone just and scriptural,
might naturally be expected; but that they
should have hazarded the position, and even
gone so far as to constitute it an article of
Christian faith, that no difference whatever

318

INSPIRATION OF THE SCRIPTURES.

Lect. vil. existed in reference to the way in which the Holy

Spirit acted upon the writers of the Bible, must
have exceeded belief, had it not been placed
beyond all doubt by documents, which are before
the public. With the statements put forth on
the subject by Le Clerc, Semler, Eckermann,
Priestley, Belsham, De Wette, Wegscheider, and
others of various grades in the same school, we
confess we have no sympathy. They are sub-
versive of that full and implicit confidence in
the word of God, which it unconditionally
claims. ‘The treatment which divine truth has
experienced at the hands of those who have
advocated them, cannot but inspire all who are
supremely attached to that truth with abhorrence
of the source to which it is manifestly to be
traced. Results, that would annihilate every
point of revelation, which renders it either
necessary or valuable, are totally mcompatible
with a consistent belief in its supernatural cha-
racter.

But are such men as Baier, Calixt, Hollaz,
Carpov, Baumgarten, Pfaff, Baxter, Clarke, Stack-
house, Doddridge, La Mothe, Stennett, Parry,
Smith, Horne, Knapp, Dick, and Wilson, to be
branded as heretics, or suspected of infidelity, be-
cause, compelled by the evidence before them,
they have admitted the distinction in question ?
If the simpler aspect had been found to satisfy the
exigencies of the various passages of Scripture
in which the dogma is taught, these writers would

DIFFERENT MODES OF OPERATION. 349

have been the last to abandon it; but while their vecr. vu.
belief in plenary inspiration was as firm, and, as
their writings and lives have proved, as influen-
tial as that posssessed by their opponents, and
they would on no consideration have sacrificed
an iota of revealed truth to meet prejudice or
support a theory, they found it impossible to shut
their eyes against the light, which an impartial
study of the sacred word supplied. ‘The opinions,
which they have given to the world, were not
crudely formed, nor hastily embraced; but the
result of much patient investigation, the free and
unfettered pursuit of truth, comprehensive views
of the contents of divine revelation, and a per-
ception of the entire bearing of the question on
the interests of the kingdom of God. ‘They may
occasionally have employed a term or a phrase,
in which the keen eye of criticism may discover
a want of strict consistency with the principles,
which they have unequivocally avowed: but it is
not. from incidental expressions, which may fall
from an author, that we are to form our judg-
ment of his system, but from his statements and
arguments taken as a whole.

It will be convincingly evident to all, who maV gource of
take the pains to peruse the works, in which (isin.
what we deliberately term the contracted view
of the question is advocated, that it never could
have been adopted, but as the result of pressing
beyond their proper import, certain metaphorical
terms employed by the sacred writers to describe

350

LECT. VII.

The employ-
ment of
diversified
intermediate
agency analo-
gous to the
usual modes
of Divine
operation.

INSPIRATION OF THE SCRIPTURES.

their own inspiration, or that of the Scriptures
of which they treat. Instead, for instance, of
allotting to θεόπνευστος all that latitude of mean-
ing, which the various circumstances connected
with the composition of the different books im-
peratively demand, it has been limited so as to
signify nothing more than simple infusion, or the
direct communication of all that is written to the
minds of the authors. According to this view, no
room is left for the operation of any mediate
causation, either in the minds of the writers or
extrinsical to them, which the Spirit might have
employed to the extent of its efficiency ; but the
whole is resclved into his own immediate and
exclusive agency. The effect of this agency was,
it is maintained, analogous to that experienced
by those, who consulted the pagan oracles. Their
inspiration was of the highest kind, without any
variation or exception ; or rather there was but
one kind—the strict infusion of the ideas and
words, which they were to commit to writing.

It is a principle, which no one will deny, who
possesses enlightened views of the character and
government of God, that the introduction of
miraculous agency takes place only where the
efficiency of ordinary causes fails to produce
results, which, for wise, holy, and benevolent
purposes, it is necessary should be brought into
existence. So long as the laws of nature, both
of the physical and mental order, continue, by
their sustained operation, to effect the Divine will,

DIFFERENT MODES OF OPERATION. 351

(and to the extent in which they can be rendered txcr. vu.
subservient to its accomplishment, ) their All-wise
Author and Controller employs them for this
end; and it is not till a new order of causation
is required, and precisely in the ratio of the
degree in which it is required, that it is made to
tell upon the affairs of the universe. It is only
when second causes cannot, in any way, con-
tribute to the achievement of higher ends than
those for which they were originally adapted,
and to which they are perfectly adequate, that
the Great First Cause interposes his own imme-
diate agency, and then also exactly in proportion
as the exigencies of particular cases may require.
Upon this principle, which is universally ad-
mitted in its application to miracles generally, it
seems perfectly lawful to reason with respect to
that special kind of miraculous influence, which
was exerted on the penmanship of the sacred
Scriptures. It is an incontrovertible fact, that
those, by whom the sacred books were written,
possessed, to a greater or less extent, a previous
acquaintance with many of the subjects of which
they treat. These subjects were of an historical
nature ; they came under the cognizance of their
senses ; or they were matters of inward personal
experience and consciousness. Now is it not
absolutely preposterous to maintain, without any
reserve or qualification, that they had the know-
ledge of these things infused into them? How
are we to conceive of an immediate impartation

INSPIRATION OF THE SCRIPTURES.

Lect. vu. of that which they already possessed? Was it

necessary, for example, that Moses should have
communicated to him the knowledge of the cir-
cumstance, that “ the children of Israel went into
“‘ the midst of the sea upon dry ground, and that
** the waters were a wall unto them on their right
““ hand and on their left ?” (Exod. xiv. 22.) Or
Matthew, that ‘as Jesus passed from Nazareth,
he saw a man named Matthew, sitting at the re-
ceipt of custom ἢ (Matt. ix. 9.) Or Paul, that
“ Achaia was ready a year ago” with her contri-
tributions, and that the zeal of the believers had
provoked very many? (2 Cor. ix. 2.) These
were circumstances which they could not but
know, and therefore, they required no inspira-
tion to make them acquainted with them. In-
numerable instances of a similar description
might be adduced ; and indeed the fact is so noto-
rious, that it is only necessary to mention it, in
order at once to produce a vivid impression of
its bearmg on the present discussion.

The charge of absurdity, which so manifestly
lies against the hypothesis we are combating,
may be attempted to be met by the remark, that,
in reference to such cases, the inspiration did not
consist in the actual impartation of such know-
ledge to the writer, but merely in impelling and
enabling him to record it. But who does not
perceive, that this completely shifts the ground ;
or rather, that it is an abandonment of the
position, which is incessantly reiterated respecting

DIFFERENT MODES OF OPERATION. 353

the immediate infusion of ideas and words; Lect. vir
and an adoption of the very principle, in one of
its most important bearings, which so much pains
have been taken to bring into discredit ? If this
view of the subject be once admitted, there can
be no consistency in reprobating the opinion, that
there did actually exist a distinction in the method
adopted by the Spirit of God, when employing
human agency in writing the Scriptures. Such
a distinction is ¢pso facto granted ; and if con-
ceded with respect to one point, without en-
dangering the divine authority of the record, it
may, with equal safety, be conceded in regard to
other aspects, under which the doctrine is pre-
sented to our notice.

Having made these preliminary observations, The inspire
for the purpose of clearing the ground which we oe
intend to occupy, it may now be proper to give a anea,
general definition of what we conceive that in-
spiration to have been, which the sacred writers
enjoyed. In furnishing this definition, we are
anxious to express it in terms, which shall, in
their unstrained import, embrace the whole of
the case, while they leave the particular aspects,
under which it may be viewed, unforeclosed, and
susceptible of further determination, according
to the different classes of phenomena that are
presented for investigation. Divine Inspiration,
then, we consider to have been: An extraordi-
nary and supernatural influence exerted by the
Holy Spirit on the minds of the sacred writers,

354

LECT. VII.

Its super-
natural cha-
racter.

INSPIRATION OF THE SCRIPTURES.

in such modes and degrees as to lead to, and
secure, in documentary forms, the deposition of
such historical, didactic, devotional, and prophetic
truth, as Infinite Wisdom deemed requisite for the
immediate and future benefit of mankind.

In defining the influence in question as sw-
pernatural in its character, we wish clearly to
distinguish it from those operations of Divine Pro-
vidence, by which intelligence and genius are im-
parted to the human mind, and which being gifts
imparted from above, and not acquired by human
effort, are spoken of in a lower sense by Job as
inspiration. ‘ But there is a spirit m man; and
the inspiration of the Almighty giveth them un-
derstanding.” (Chap. xxxii. 8.) To these natural
gifts the Rationalistic writers would reduce all that
the Scripture teaches on the subject of Inspira-
tion; and in recommendation of their hypothesis
they quote innumerable passages from the clas-
sical writers of antiquity, in which poets and others
of distinguished mental endowments are spoken
of as inspired. But the cases are by no means
parallel. The writers of the Bible were men of
sound natural parts, but there is nothing in their
history or writings, which, except we beg the
question, can at all be admitted to prove that
they were naturally possessed of extraordinary
abilities. On the contrary, their own admissions
on the point evince, that they were not thus dis-
tinguished. Besides, it is impossible to sustain
this hypothesis, without doing violence to all the

DIFFERENT MODES OF OPERATION. 355

passages of Scripture, in which the doctrine is L8cT. vu.
taught. In proof of this we need only refer to
the treatises of Hencke, Tieftrunk, Eckermann,
and Wegscheider, in which is exhibited an incom-
parably larger mass of perverted philology and
criticism, than is to be found within the same
compass, in any theoretical works, published on
subjects connected either with profane or sacred
literature. ‘The influence, or inspiration asserted
in behalf of the prophets and apostles was a direct
miraculous interposition on the part of God,—
an exertion of divine energy totally different
from any which he puts forth either in the origi-
nal creation of our mental powers, or in their
subsequent preservation. It was an application
of power and intelligence transcending any thing
of the kind, which takes place in his ordinary
governance of human affairs. Nothing short of
this can, in any degree, meet the demands, which
are made upon our understanding by the gram-
matico-historical interpretation of the Scriptures,
or satisfy a mind thoroughly alive to the momen-
tous concerns of religion.

We have further defined inspiration to be e2- re extracr-
traordinary as well as supernatural, with a view liu. or as
to discriminate it from the gracious operations}...
of the Spirit of God on the hearts of the regene-
rate. Such operations, like the influence of which
we treat, are indeed supernatural: they belong
to an order of causation superior to any exist-
ing in the ordinary departments of the Divine

AA 2

356

LECT. VII.

Inspiration
distinct from
saving influ-
ence.

INSPIRATION OF THE SCRIPTURES.

operations ; but they are common to all genuine
Christians, whatever may be their station in the
church. When unbelievers are described as “ sen-
sual, not having the Spirit,”—(Jude 19,) mere
animal men (φυχικοὶ) destitute of those higher or
spiritual influences, by which alone the degene-
rate family of Adam can attain to the enjoyment
of adequate happiness ; the description obviously
implies that such influences are enjoyed by those
to whom the character does not belong. And
that they are the privilege of all believers without
exception, we are expressly taught in the very
solemn and emphatic words: “ If any man have
not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his.” (Rom.
vil. 9.) Wherever he is pleased thus to operate,
saving effects are infallibly produced, consisting in
“love, joy, peace,” &c. (Gal. v. 22, 23,) and just
in proportion as these appear are Christians fur-
nished with evidences of their actual interest in
the blessings of redemption.

But the extraordinary influence in which inspi-
ration consists, is perfectly distinct from that
exerted for the production of these blessed effects,
and might have been brought into operation in
the entire absence of true piety. In the case of
Balaam, the prophetic impulse operated in direct
opposition to the principles and feelings of his
unsanctified heart. He would have pronounced
acurse against the people of God; but he was
compelled to bless them. And if it had pleased
the great Head of the church to employ uncon-

DIFFERENT MODES OF OPERATION. 307

verted men to compose the Holy Scriptures, how Lzcr. vu.
greatly soever it might have changed the aspect
of the case as it regards their personal testimony,
the results would have been equally infallible :
what would have proceeded from their pen must
have been the word of God just as much as that
which we now possess. But such has not been
the mode of the Divine procedure. Not only
are the Scriptures holy as proceeding from the
infinite Source of purity, but also because they
were written by ‘“‘holy men of God.” Those
whom he selected to be the instruments of com-
municating his will to the world were previously
the subjects of his spiritual and saving grace ;
their best feelings were in harmony with the
sacred truths of which they were the medium of
conveyance ; and thus a striking congruity was
maintained between the moral and the miracu-
lous character of the Divine government.

This fact being assumed as indisputable, a new The connec-
feature of the case presents itself for our con- ration with
sideration. We have already adverted to the exsicnest
powers of the human mind, as operated upon by pi
the inspiring influence, according to circum-
stances, without taking into account the regene-
rate or unregenerate state of these powers. Our
object then was simply to point out the untenable-
ness of any theory, the tendency of which goes to
suspend, or supersede their exercise, and reduce
the writers to the character of mere passive

instruments. What here claims our attention is

358

INSPIRATION OF THE SCRIPTURES.

tecr.vul. the circumstance, that the Holy Spirit not only

renewed and sanctified their minds by his saving
operations, before he employed them in writing
the Scriptures, but also specially laid his own
gracious work in their souls under contribution
when he thus employed their instrumentality.
That this was really the case must be evident on
even a cursory perusal of inspired writ. Who
can read the Psalms of David, and not perceive,
that most of the subjects which he has embodied
in sublime verse were the subjects of his own
deep-felt and various experience? With what
prominence do the gracious workings of the
mind of Paul appear in all his epistles? And as
to the beloved disciple, how is every thing which
proceeded from his pen deeply imbued with that
spirit of intense affection, mto which he was
baptized! ‘Though mspiration, therefore, is to
be conceived of as something distinct from the
spiritual influence ordinarily exerted on believers,
yet it is not to be separated from the results of
such influence in the experience of those who
were selected to write the Scriptures; but com-
bining itself with these results, and rendering
them subservient to the attainment of more com-
prehensive ends, its operation gave occasion to a
more illustrious exhibition of their moral excel-
lence. Had the apostle of the Gentiles, for
instance, never written a line of Scripture, the
constellation of his Christian graces must have
shone with a brilliant light in numerous parts of

DIFFERENT MODES OF OPERATION.

359

the Roman world; but the orbit, in which it ἘΡΟΤ ΝΗ.

would have revolved, must have been confined
to an incomparably narrower space, than that
which it describes on the widely diffused pages of
inspiration ; and have disappeared in the course
of a few years, instead of continuing upwards of
seventeen centuries to occupy one of the first
positions in the Christian zodiac.

The Holy Spirit has not only secured to us
the transmission of all the religious truth, which
it is proper for us to know in the present state of
our existence ; but he has secured a large share
of it in those interesting ana attractive forms of
experimental and practical godliness of which
there exists a counterpart in the heart of every
believer. It is not conveyed to us in the
language of angels, but in the language of ‘‘ men
of like passions with ourselves,” who had ‘ the
treasure in earthen vessels,” and who not only
could avow—‘* We have the mind of Christ ;”
but also— We believe, and therefore speak.”

This view of the nature of inspiration affords a
twofold illustration of the Divine goodness. It
displays the exercise of that attribute towards the
inspired instruments, in permitting them to give
expression to the decisions of Christian judgment,
and the interesting feelings of Christian experi-
ence, while in the act of recording the will of
God—a privilege, which they clearly could not
have enjoyed, if they had performed a mere
mechanical part, or if their intelleetual faculties

360

INSPIRATION OF THE SCRIPTURES.

tect. vu. had merely been a channel for the conveyance of

abstract truth. Theirs was not the cold and
heartless task of communicating matters, in which
they had no concern, but the exalted felicity of
imparting to others, what most deeply interested
their own minds. ‘To this there may seem to be
an exception in the case of the writers of pro-
phecy, who did not fully understand the import
of those visions with which they were favoured.
But whatever imperfections may have accom-
panied their subjective knowledge of the truths
which they delivered, it is manifest from the
statements, which they have made respecting the
manner in which their minds were exercised in
reference to them, that they experienced a
powerful excitement, and were led to institute
certain courses of pious action, which most de-
lightfully harmonized with the nature of the
heavenly communications. Examples in abund-
ance occur in the books of the prophets Jeremiah,
Ezekiel, Daniel, Zechariah, and in that of the
Apocalypse.

Nor is the manifestation of the goodness of
God less conspicuous in such a view of the sub-
ject, in regard to the persons for whose benefit
the Scriptures were written. These Scriptures
are presented to our view, not in the shape of
abstract uniform documents, but of historical,
epistolary, didactic, prophetic, and devotional
monuments, the endless variety of which, created
chiefly by the diversity of situations in which the

DIFFERENT MODES OF OPERATION. 361

writers were placed, is admirably calculated at vrcr. vu.
once to please and to instruct ; while the convic-

tion, that those by whom they were composed

were persons, who more or less took part in the
transactions which they describe—whose tempta-

tions, difficulties, and dangers were, in many
respects, similar to our own, is equally fitted to
awaken our attention, inspire with a deep interest

in the subjects brought under our review, and
produce impressions of a highly powerful and
practical character. We naturally identify our-

selves with the writers, or with those whom they
describe. We are conscious of a sympathy of
feeling in all that we possess in common as fallen

and redeemed creatures; and before we are
aware, we become possessed of many truths,
which, but for the vital forms in which they are

thus conveyed to us, might not so easily have
obtained a lodgment in our minds.

The great end for which the extraordinary One

supernatural influence in question was exerted the inspira-

tion of the

was to provide mankind with a depository of sacrea pen-
divine truth, out of which-all that variety of
instruction might be derived, which should be
adapted to the diversified exigencies of the human
condition and character, and to which, as to an
infallible standard, an ultimate appeal might be
made in all matters of conscience towards God and
man. In producing such a collection, it was not
necessary to exert the influence always precisely
in the same way. Many truths had already been

362

LECT. VII.

Different
kinds or
modes of in-
spiration.

INSPIRATION OF THE SCRIPTURES.

communicated to the church, and required only
to be brought together and stamped with the seal
of Divine approval. Others were elicited by the
peculiar circumstances and occurrences, in which
the prophets and other messengers of the Divine
will were placed: while certain leading subjects
of doctrinal and prophetic import were directly
revealed to the sacred penmen. But in what
way soever the deposition of these truths was
effected, the whole took place as the result of an
infallible influence from the Holy One, securing
to what was written the high and sacred character
of The Word of God.*

It is upon the different phenomena which the
history of revelation presents, that divines have
established the fact of a diversity of operation in
regard to the influence supernaturally exerted
upon the minds of those by whom it was penned.
They have not indeed agreed respecting the
extent of this diversity, and the points of view
in which it may be contemplated—but it
would be, in the highest degree, unfair to argue
from this circumstance, that all such distinctions
are groundless,’ since it palpably arises from the
difference of construction, which is put upon some
of these phenomena, and not from any uncer-
tainty in regard to the fact itself. Such a repre-
sentation of the subject is by no means new.
Baier, Hollaz, and other Lutheran theologians

* See Note R.

DIFFERENT MODES OF OPERATION.

363

of the old school, together with several of the vecr. vu.

reformed divines, employed it in their systems
of theology. It was also adopted by Lowth,
Williams, La Mothe, Clarke, Calamy, and Dod-
dridge ; and has more recently been sustained
by Stennett, Parry, Dick, Smith, Scott, Horne,
and Wilson, either in distinct treatises upon the
subject of inspiration, or in works, in which it
has necessarily come under their attention. Nor
have the attacks that have been made upon it at
all disturbed the foundation on which it rests.
Imperfect or even unscriptural statements on the
part of some of its advocates may have been
exposed ; but it is only necessary cooly to peruse
the treatises that have been opposed to them, to
be convinced that the general principle remains
untouched. Were it intended, by asserting dif-
ferent. degrees or modifications of inspiration,
that there are degrees or modifications of the
authority given by inspiration to the Scriptures,
according as it might be proved that different
portions were the result of their exertion, then
undoubtedly the theory by which they were at-
tempted to be supported must meet with unquali-
fied reprobation from every one, who “ trembles
at the word of the Lord.” But, if it can be
proved, that what was written under the influence
of the lowest conceivable degree of inspiration
possesses the Divine sanction equally with that
which was written under the most elevated—
being the operation of the same Holy Spirit, and

364

LECT. VII,

First opera-
tion of In-
spiration :
Excitement.

Direct ex-
citement.

INSPIRATION OF THE SCRIPTURES.

intended for the spiritual good of mankind, those
who maintain such a distinction cannot justly be
charged with lowering the inspiration of the word
of God, or, in any way, making it void. They
simply view the subject in the lights in which it is
placed in the Scriptures, and taking them for
their guide, they feel assured, that they cannot
be in error.

Let us now inquire in what lights the subject
is placed by an impartial and complete view of
the case.

In the first place, the sacred penmen were the
subjects of a Divine Excitement, when they
proceeded to commit to writing those matters
which it was the will of God should be per-
manently preserved. By this excitement we
understand both the supernatural intimation
given to the writers, that it was the pleasure of
the Most High they should pen any particular
book or portion of Scripture, and also the in-
fluence by which they were impelled to comply
with such intimation.

With respect to the former of these modes
of operation, we find that sometimes it was
immediate, and sometimes mediate in its cha-
racter. Of immediate or direct excitement,
we have instances in the express command to
Moses: ‘ And the Lord said unto Moses,
“ Write this for a memorial in a book, and
“rehearse it in the ears of Joshua: for I will

DIFFERENT MODES OF OPERATION.

co)

“utterly put out the remembrance of Amalek tecr. vu.

“from under heaven,” (Exod. xvii. 14); to
Isaiah: ““ Moreover the Lord said unto me,
Take thee a great roll, and write in it with
a man’s pen concerning Maher-shalal-hash-baz,”’
(ch. viii. 1), “* Now go, write it before them
in a table, and note it in a book, that it may be
for the time to come for ever and ever,” (ch.
xxx. 8); to Jeremiah: ‘ Thus speaketh the
Lord God of Israel, saying, Write thee all the
words that I have spoken unto thee in a book,”
(ch. xxx. 2); to Habakkuk: “ And the Lord
answered me and said, Write the vision, and
make it plain upon tables, that he may run that
readeth it,” (ch. ii. 2); and to John: ‘ What
thou seest, write in a book, and send it unto
the seven churches which are in Asia,” (Rey.
i. 11): ‘ Unto the angel of the church of
Ephesus, write,” (ch. ii. 1, &c.): ‘ And I heard
“a voice from heaven, saying unto me, Write,
“ Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord
“‘from henceforth: yea, saith the Spirit, that
“they may rest from their labours; and their
“ works do follow them,” (ch. xiv. 13.) ‘ And
“he saith unto me, Write, Blessed are they
“which are called unto the marriage-supper of
*‘ the Lamb,” (ch. xix. 9.) ‘ And he said unto
“me, Write; for these words are faithful and
* true,” (ch. xxi. 5.) In all such cases, God
signified his will to his servants by an internal
communication, or by vision, in a way which

366

INSPIRATION OF THE SCRIPTURES.

Lect. vil. so Clearly evidenced the divine origin of the

Mediate ex-
citement.

intimation, that no doubt was left upon the
mind of the recipients in regard to it. They
had a vivid impression of the nature of the task
assigned to them, and a conviction that it was
their duty to proceed at once to execute it. As
prophets or apostles, they stood in an immediate
relation to the Deity, and received repeated
commissions without the intervention of any
secondary causes, which they could not but
construe into an intimation that they were
divinely called to engage in composition. In
consequence of this high relation, they were
also frequently the subjects of a divine impulse
operating in a silent or imperceptible manner,
yet infallibly prompting them to undertake the
penmanship of such matter as God had purposed
should form part of the inspired volume.

On other occasions, (and these, there is reason
to believe, by far the most numerous, ) the Spirit
of Inspiration condescended to employ a variety
of mediate agencies in exciting the sacred pen-
men to the performance of their work. Pecu-
liar circumstances, for example, in the history
of David, or peculiar states of mind super-
induced by these circumstances, called forth the
effusions of his sacred muse: at which times he
proceeded either to pen them himself, or to
dictate them to his amanuensis. It was in this
way subordinately that Luke was excited to
compose his Gospel. ‘Theophilus, a person of

DIFFERENT MODES OF OPERATION. 367

dignity, who had been converted to Christianity, Lect. vu.
but whose situation in all probability precluded
him from enjoying the oral instruction of the
apostles, and who was in danger of being misled
by imperfect accounts of the life and doctrines
of our Redeemer, required to be put in pos-
session of full and accurate information on these
points. Luke, excited by the consideration of
these circumstances, composed his Gospel, and
forwarded it to him for his immediate and
private benefit ; though the Divine Spirit, under
whose invisible influence he wrote, intended that
the work should not only answer this end, but
serve as a source of perpetual and universal
instruction. In like manner, Paul was induced
by the accounts which reached him respecting
the state of affairs in the church at Corinth, and
especially by the letter which had been addressed
to him, requesting his decision in regard to
several questions of practical import that were
agitated among them, to write the epistles which
are inserted in our canon under their name.
And so with respect to other portions of the
sacred volume, many of the circumstances
leading to the composition of which are noto-
rious matters of fact; and others, though not
recorded, may easily be imagined to have arisen
out of the position occupied by the writers, or
the relations in which they stood to the com-
munities or individuals to whom they wrote.
But whatever these circumstances or occasions

368

LECT. VII.

Impulsive
character of
the inspiring
excitement.

INSPIRATION OF THE SCRIPTURES.

may have been, they were all under the control
of the Holy Spirit, by whom they were em-
ployed to indicate to his inspired instruments
that it was his pleasure they should reduce to
writing what, in each particular case, he might
commission them to deliver. The penmen ex-
ercised their own judgment, and felt the force
of such motives as the nature of each case
suggested; yet in the formation of this judg-
ment, and in the presentation of these motives,
a special divine influence was exerted, which
invested them with a cogency and efficiency,
which infallibly secured the certainty of the
result.

The excitement, however, of which we treat,
did not consist merely in the presentation to the
mind of the sacred penmen of a divine com-
mand, or of such circumstances as unequivocally
indicated the Divine will: it further included
the impelling power of the Spirit, by which they
were inclined to undertake the task which he
assigned to them. Owing to a variety of causes,
they might, like Jonah, have refused to comply
with the will of God. ‘The depravity of their
nature might have overpowered the gracious
principles which would otherwise have induced
them to engage in the work. ‘To counteract
the influence of this depravity, and to give a
decided preponderance to their better views and
feelings, the Sovereign Agent, from whose ordi-
nary operations these had sprung, superadded

DIFFERENT MODES OF OPERATION. 369

those degrees of miraculous influence which the vucr. vu.
mental condition of each required. Possessed
of omnipotence, he might have operated upon
their minds as he did upon that of Balaam, and
compelled them, contrary to their natural in-
clination, to perform his will; but such a mode
of effecting his purpose would have ill accorded
with the state of acceptance, and other spiritual
relations, in which they stood. His inspiring
influence was exerted in harmony with the work
of grace of which they were the subjects, and
wrought specially upon their wills, effectually
inducing them to a cheerful concurrence in the
act of recording the matters of Divine reve-
lation. ‘The impulse by which they were ex-
cited was powerful, but placid ; efficacious, yet
gentle in its operation on their rational faculties.

Secondly, there was an Invigoration expe- secona ope-
rienced by the inspired writers, by which their sing n=
natural faculties were elevated above the imper- Clerntion
fections, which would have incapacitated them
from receiving those communications of a higher
order with which they were favoured; and by
which also they were enabled perfectly to recol-
lect 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 unfit, without such
supernatural aid, accurately and fully to make
known to the world. To this modification of the

ΒΒ

370

INSPIRATION OF THE SCRIPTURES.

Lect. Vl. divine influence is usually given the name of

elevation, which is sufficiently appropriate as
denoting the capacity that was imparted to the
inspired recipients of Divine truth to apprehend
the more sublime and transcendent subjects, which
they were to communicate to others; but it does
not so properly express the removal of those
other disabilities under which they naturally
laboured. ‘To express both, the term énvigora-
tion is preferable, and its adoption is the more
appropriate, as it corresponds to that of δύναμις,
or power, which the Saviour specially promised
to his disciples to qualify them for the discharge
of their important functions. (Luke xxiv. 49;
Acts i. 8.) It is to the direct influence of this
supernatural energy, that Paul refers, when he
avows, that he and his fellow-labourers possessed
no native power of their own to excogitate or
produce any of those truths, which they taught,
as pertaining to the Christian dispensation ; ‘Not
“ that we are sufficient of ourselves to think any
*‘ thing as of ourselves ; but our sufficiency is of
“ God.” (2 Cor. iii. 5.) Their entire fitness for
the service, which they were called to perform,
he ascribes to the operation of “the power of
God.” (Ch. vi. 7.)* This energy strengthened
their mental powers—giving expansion to the
understanding, quickness to the perception, vivid-
ness to the imagination, vigour to the memory,

* Compare τῷ ἐνδυναμώσαντί pe Χριστῷ ᾿Ιησοῦ. (1 Tim.
1.02.7

DIFFERENT MODES OF OPERATION. 371

and solidity to the judgment,—whereby they L8cr. vir.
were rendered capable of receiving and com-
municating those matters of Divine revelation,
to which their minds were otherwise totally in-
adequate. In vindicating to the sacred writers
this invigorating influence, we would not be
understood as maintaining, that it imparted to
them properties in any degree bordering upon
omniscience or impeccability. All we contend
_ for is, that, in proportion as they required its ex-
ercise in order to capacitate them, as percipient
and intelligent instruments, infallibly to publish
or record the truths and facts of revelation, it
was vouchsafed to them. At other times, and in
reference to other subjects, it left them in the
ordinary circumstances of humanity. Hence we
find, that, at the very time when Paul addressed
language to the high-priest Ananias, which cannot
be viewed in any other light than that of a pro-
phetic denunciation, he was left in ignorance of
the station which Ananias filled. On being re-
proved for using such language, he replied, “ I
** wist NOT, brethren, that he was the high-priest :
** for it is written, Thou shalt not speak evil of
“186 ruler of thy people.” Attempts have been
made to defend the plenary inspiration of the
apostle on this occasion, but they are too arbi-
trary, and forced to admit of adoption ; the only
construction, that the words will fairly bear is
either, that, strictly speaking, he did not know
who the individual was who had ordered him te

BB2

372 INSPIRATION OF THE SCRIPTURES.

tect. vi. be struck; or, that he had not, at the moment,
considered or recollected the office which he held.
The former solution seems the preferable: but,
according to either the apostle spoke from igno-
rance, which the Holy Spirit did not see fit to
remove. ‘The same fact is confirmed by the man-
ner in which he speaks of the number of converts,
whom he had baptized at Corinth: “1 baptized
also the household of Stephanus : besides, I know
noT whether I baptized any other.” He here
admits that his memory did not serve him so as
to enable him accurately to specify the persons
in question: which proves, that, how powerful
soever might have been the invigorating influence
of inspiration, which was vouchsafed to him at
other times, that specific kind of influence was
not put forth on this occasion, though he was
otherwise inspired at the moment he wrote. The
reason must be obvious to every one. It was a
matter of no moment whatever that the apostle
should definitely fix the number of persons whom
he had baptized: all that it was requisite for him
to know and state was their paucity, which he
appositely alleges im proof of his disinterested-
ness and freedom from party-spirit, when labour-
ing in the city of Corinth.

In like manner, the promise made by our
Saviour, that the Holy Spirit should aid the
memories of his disciples, is necessarily to be re-
stricted to their recollection of such things as per-
tained to the discharge of their office. They are

DIFFERENT MODES OF OPERATION. 373
indeed limited by himself to those instructions, tecr. vir.
which he had orally imparted to them. ‘ He
shall bring all things to your remembrance, what-
ever I have said unto you,” (John xiv. 26 ;) but
as the promise was designed to assure them of
their complete qualification for their work, and
they were to bear testimony to what Jesus had
done and suffered as well as to what he had taught,
they might justly infer, that they would be
endowed by the Comforter with the recollection
of every point, even the most minute which had
any bearing upon the efficient execution of their
trust. Beyond this, however, we have no war-
rant to extend it.

In the third place, it clearly appears from the Third ope-

ration of

facts of the case, that, in writing many parts of fa a
Sacred Scripture, the divine influence enjoyed Suerintena-
by the penmen was that of simple, yet infallible 60
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 pre-
vious 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 com-
mitted to writing for the benefit of posterity
nothing but what was deemed proper by Infinite
Wisdom. That they actually knew much of what

they have written, independently on the aid of

374

INSPIRATION OF THE SCRIPTURES.

LECT. VIL Inspiration, cannot be denied. ‘They only re-

quired, therefore, in such case, to be excited to
commit what they thus knew to writing, and to
be so controlled, while engaged in writing, as to
produce it with accuracy and truth. As long as
their natural faculties were adequate to the task,
and when, on being supernaturally excited, they
took precisely that course which its proper execu-
tion required, they were employed without further
aid by the Spirit of Inspiration: but whenever
they would have taken a wrong direction, or
when there was the slightest liability to present
the matters to be recorded in a light or in an
order that would, in any degree, have deterio-
rated from their utility, his divine influence inter-
posed to prevent or remove it. By the law of
association, when one idea is awakened in the
mind, it gives rise to a train of other ideas, which
more or less possess a natural connection with
it. Now there is no reason to believe, that the
operation of this law of combination and corre-
spondence was suspended in the sacred writers.
On the contrary, it is im accordance with all
that we otherwise know of the Divine works to
conclude, that it was rendered available to the
extent of its efficiency, and that it was only
where it failed to produce correct and appro-
priate results, that a higher degree of inspira-
tion was employed.

That the book of Genesis was, in a great
measure, composed from previously existing docu-

DIFFERENT MODES OF OPERATION.

379

ments, or from true traditionary accounts exist- LECT. Vil.

ing in the church at the time of its composition
by Moses ; that the books of Kings and Chro-
nicles are chiefly made up of extracts or abridg-
ments from the original annals or diaries of the
several kings of Judah and Israel; that Kzra
availed himself of authentic documents, which he
found among the Jews on his arrival at Jerusalem ;
and that the book of Esther is, for the most part,
a translated extract from “ the book of the Chro-
nicles of the kings of Media and Persia ;”—are
points which are now very generally admitted
among those who are conversant with Biblical
criticism.* Now we contend, that, in composing
or writing out these books, when once the minds
of the writers had been prompted by divine
influence to commence at any given point, they
could not possibly require further assistance than
such as preserved their natural faculties in a
sound and composed state, or such as prevented
them from committing any errors of transcription,
which might at all affect the truth or effective-
ness of their copies. Where selection, omission,
or addition took place, a higher influence of
course was necessary, and, when thus required,
was doubtless vouchsafed: but apart from any
such modifications of their labour, they appear
to have pursued the same track, which they
would have taken had they been acting from a

* See Note S.

376

INSPIRATION OF THE SCRIPTURES.

LecT VU. mere impulse of their own minds—only under the

constant supervision and infallibly conservative
influence of the Divine Spirit.

To this view of the subject it has been objected,
that ““ superintendency is not inspiration,” that it
includes nothing but what may be claimed by
uninspired men, and consequently, that if the
theory which asserts it be true, the greatest part
of the Bible is not the word of God at all. All
this seems very specious, and may have weight
with a certain order of minds ; but it cannot, for
a moment, be admitted by any, who look fairly at
the facts of the case, and whose views are based,
not upon an isolated, monogrammatic idea of
inspiration, but upon the broad foundation fur-
nished by the sacred history, and our knowledge
of the analogous proceedings of the Divine Being.
If inspiration were, in all cases, nothing else than
a simple and immediate infusion of the matter
and words into the minds of the writers, then it
must be allowed, all distinctions would not only
be useless but impious; but, if there be satisfac-
tory evidence to prove, that such was not the
case, but that it consisted in the employment of
such Divine influence, modified according to the
exigency of circumstances, so as to secure to the
entire record the indubitable character of THE
Book or Gop, the objection is perfectly nuga-
tory, and leaves the question precisely where
it was.

It may be said, that superintendence cannot be

DIFFERENT MODES OF OPERATION.

377

called inspiration, since it is merely a negative Lect. vu.

quality, whereas inspiration is positive im its
nature. But the objection would only apply on
the principle, that the term inspiration is to be
restricted in its signification to the idea of direct
or immediate revelation. Taken in its more
extended acceptation, as comprehending the
totality of supernatural influence employed by
Jehovah for the production of the sacred Scrip-
tures, it may include superintendence as well as
any other of the modes in which that influence
was made to tell on the rational instruments by
whom they were composed. It is not, however,
correct to assert, that superintendence is negative
and not positive in its nature. Is there nothing
positive in that superintending Providence, by
which the order of things in the vast universe of
being is maintained? Is the God in whom we
believe, like the deity of the ancient philosophers,
who, after having arranged the different parts of
the world from pre-existing materials, abandoned
it to its fate, having no intercourse with its in-
habitants, looking at it from a distance, and
taking no further efficient concern in its affairs ?
Do we not rather attach to the superintendence
of his Providence the idea of watchful and active
control, by which the universe is preserved in
being, and prevented from taking any course for
which no provision was made in his eternal, all-
wise, and holy scheme of government ? When we
speak of the care with which he watches over our

378

INSPIRATION OF THE SCRIPTURES.

LECT. vit interests, we justly conceive of it as an active

Fourth
operation of
inspiring
influence :
Guidance.

vigilance, which is incessantly exerted, in conse-
quence of which all that would prove injurious
to us is warded off, and every thing is supplied,
which is contributory to our good. In like
manner, the special superintendency experienced
by the inspired writers was an active, preserving
influence, in virtue of which, they were positively
prevented from inserting in their compositions
any thing that would prove inconsistent with
their design.

We now proceed, in the fourth place, to re-
mark, that Guidance was another of the modes
in which divine inspiration operated upon the
penmen of Scripture. This view of the subject
is suggested by that part of our Lord’s gracious
promise to his apostles, that the Paraclete should
“‘ lead them into all truth.” The word selected
for the purpose of expressing this guidance, ὁδηγεῖν,
properly signifies to point out, or lead any one
into a road, and, metaphorically, to teach or
instruct. In the latter sense, it is used by the
Ethiopian eunuch, when intimating the impossi-
bility of his understanding the passage of Isaiah,
which he had been reading, without foreign as-
sistance, by which he might be put into the right
track, and arrive at a proper conception of its
meaning. It is also employed in the LXX. to
express the signification of the Hebrew verbs
PIT, Win, m2, 202, mI, to cause to walk,

DIFFERENT MODES OF OPERATION. 379

or lead in a way, conduct, point out, teach, vecr. vir.
(Josh. xxiv. 3; Exod. xiii. 7; Ps. Ixxx. 2;
Ixxxvi. 11; xxv. 5.) By the influence thus
exerted, the apostles were to be directed into the
whole truth, (πᾶσαν τὴν ἁλήθειαν,) or the entire
system of Christian doctrine ;—comprehending
the (πολλὰ) numerous topics on which they
needed instruction, but which, during our Lord’s
public ministry, their prejudices and slowness of
comprehension had prevented him from bringing
before them. (John xvi. 12.) By the descent
of the promised Spirit, these impediments were
removed, and they were conducted to deeper and
more enlarged views of the great principles of the
gospel-dispensation. Under his direction, they
taught both orally and by writing; and as the
same Spirit, in former times, moved “ the holy
men of God,” or bore them onward to the de-
livery of his messages, it is obvious both prophets
and apostles were upon a level in regard to the
infallible guidance which they enjoyed. ‘They
were not left to choose their own way. ‘The
path in which they were to proceed was pointed
out to them. They were supernaturally excited
and strengthened to walk in it. Supernal
guardianship was vouchsafed to them ; and what-
ever instruction they required with respect to
the regions of truth, which lay before or around
them, was fully imparted. Moses was unerringly
taught what to incorporate of the pre-existent
documents, which had served as repositories of

380 INSPIRATION OF THE SCRIPTURES.

tecr. vu. the divine revelations, and what historical facts
to select from the events of his own times;
Samuel, and the prophets that followed, what
historical, devotional, ethical, and _prophetical
matter to collect and record; the evangelists
what portions of our Lord’s discourses and what
incidents of his life to appropriate; and the
apostles what points of doctrine and duty to
choose, and what aspects of truth to present in
their epistolary writings, which should, when
ultimately embodied in one whole, prove a
copious storehouse of inspired directions for the
benefit of the church in all future ages. In the
selection, order, and combination of the facts to
be narrated; in the particular line of argument
to be employed; in the directions and admoni-
tions to be tendered; and in the peremptory
decisions to be given on all points connected
with the kingdom of God; they were favoured
with the teaching of an infallible guide, to whose
omniscient view were present at the time all the
diversified circumstances of those into whose
hands the Scriptures would come, and who
adapted his instruction so as most exactly to meet
them. ‘This arrangement of the sacred materials
is vastly different from that which human wisdom
would have adopted; but this very circumstance
only furnishes an additional proof that the writers
were not abandoned to the operations of their
own intellect, but were specially aided by wisdom
given to them from above. (2 Peter ii. 15.)

DIFFERENT MODES OF OPERATION. 381

The last and highest species of inspiration, [&¢T.VU.

. . . Highest
with which we believe the sacred penmen to gperation of

have been endowed, is that of direct Revelation. jntwence:
Besides the various subjects to which we have ee
adverted, as coming within the sphere of their »
external cognizance, or that were matters of
personal consciousness, in recording which they
only required to be under the special superin-
tendence and direction of the Holy Spirit, many
are to be found in their writings of a description,
which clearly evinces that they were the result
of an immediate influence upon their minds, by
which conceptions were produced without the
interposition of any human agency whatever.
To this head are to be referred all those doc-
trines, which had previously been hid in the
Divine mind; all knowledge of past events, re-
specting which no record or tradition existed ;
all acquaintance with circumstances present in
point of existence, but of which the writers could
not but be totally ignorant ; and all communica-
tions respecting future contingent events, the
foreknowledge of which is the sole prerogative
of Deity. Whatever is found in Scripture in the
form of a divine purpose, promise, or threatening,
comes under this class. Now with these both
the prophetic and apostolic Scriptures abound.
How frequently are such portions of the Old
Testament introduced by the solemn formula:
Tuus ΒΑΊΤΗ THE LORD! ‘The matters con-
tained in them were directly imparted to the holy

382

INSPIRATION OF THE SCRIPTURES.

LECT. vit. seers, to whose mental vision were presented

scenes of present or future reality, which no
effort of human imagination could possibly have
depicted. ‘Times, places, persons, occurrences,
were distinctly brought under their view; and
though, with respect to some of these, they were
not able to form definite conceptions, yet the
Spirit of prophecy enabled them, without abate-
ment, addition, or colouring, to enter them cor-
rectly in the records of truth.

Nor was this direct revelation confined to the
prophets under the ancient economy. It was
likewise granted to the apostles under the new.
When Paul is contrasting the simplicity of the
gospel with the high-sounding philosophy of
the world, he declares that such was never-
theless the profoundness of its doctrines, that
the human mind never could have conceived of
them; and then specifies the manner in which
he and his fellow-labourers had been made ac-
quainted with them. ‘ Eye hath not seen, nor
‘ear heard, neither have entered into the heart
“of man, the things which God hath prepared
‘“‘ for them that love him. But Gop HATH RE-
‘‘ VEALED THEM UNTO US BY HIS SPIRIT: for
“the Spirit searcheth all things; yea, the deep
“things of God. For what man knoweth the
“ things of a man, save the spirit of man, which
“615 in him? even so the things of God knoweth
*“no man, but the Spirit of God. Now we have
* received, not the spirit of the world, but the

DIFFERENT MODES OF OPERATION.

383

“spirit which is of God; that we might know tecr. vu.

“ the things that are freely given to us of God.”
(1 Cor. ii. 9—12.) With respect to the apostle
himself, he explicitly teaches the Galatians that
his knowledge of the gospel was matter of pure
revelation: “ But I certify you, brethren, that
“the gospel which is preached of me is not
‘after man. For I neither received it of man,
‘neither was I taught it, but (δ ἀποκαλύψεως
“Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ,) BY THE REVELATION of Jesus
Christ.” (Gal. i. 11, 12.) It had neither been
communicated to him, in its first principles, by any
human being, nor had he received more mature
instruction in these principles from any who
had been in Christ before him. He was in-
debted for the truths which he taught to no
external means whatever, but exclusively to a
supernatural or direct revelation made to him
by the Redeemer. The same fact he asserts
Eph. 1. 1—5: “ For this cause I Paul, the
“prisoner of Jesus Christ for you Gentiles:
“if ye have heard of the dispensation of the
“‘ grace of God, which is given me to you-ward :
“how that (κατὰ ἀποκάλυψιν), BY REVELATION,
“he made known unto me the mystery; (as
“1 wrote afore in few words, whereby, when ye
“read, ye may understand my knowledge in
“the mystery of Christ,) which in other ages
‘was not made known unto the sons of men,
“as it is now (ἀπεκαλύφθη) REVEALED unto the
*‘ holy apostles and prophets By THE Spirir.”

384 INSPIRATION OF THE SCRIPTURES.

uct. vil. "To immediate inspiration he also ascribes his
knowledge of the ordinance of ‘the Lord’s
Supper,” (1 Cor. xi. 23,) which circumstance,
taken in connection with certain others occasion-
ally occurring in his Epistles, clearly establishes
the principle, that his acquaintance with the
institutions, as well as the doctrines of Chris-
tianity, was wholly the result of direct com-
munications from above. That these were
numerous is implied in his statement: ‘ It is
“ποῦ expedient for me doubtless to glory. I
‘will come to visions and (ἀποκαλύψεις) REVE-
‘zations of the Lord.” (2 Cor. xii. 1.) The
language which he employs, when about to de-
scribe the characters of the apostasy, conducts
us to the same conclusion: ‘The Spirit speaketh
expressly.” ‘That, by this clear and unequivocal
annunciation of the Spirit (ῥητώς, capws φανηρώς)
we are to understand what the Spirit imme-
diately spoke through him at the moment he
was writing, and not any predictions of the Old
Testament, nor any prophetic oracles delivered
by other inspired men in the apostolic age,
appears best to comport with the nature of the
subject, and the high station which the apostle
occupied in the church. We remark, finally,
that the inspired title of the last book in the
New Testament canon conveys most pointedly
the idea of instruction supernaturally communi-
cated : ᾿Αποκάλυψις ᾿Ιησοῦ Χριστοῦ, a develope-
ment of future events directly furnished by the

DIFFERENT MODES OF OPERATION. 385

Son of God to the Apostle John in ecstatic tecr. vir
vision.

From a review, therefore, of all the facts of
the case, and from analogy, it appears con-
vincingly evident, that a diversity of degrees
or modes of operation did exist in regard to
the extraordinary influence which was vouch-
safed to the penmen of sacred Scripture ; and
that this diversity was the result of infinite
wisdom, adapting its operations to the existing
circumstances of the instruments who were thus
employed, and to the nature of the subjects
which they were to record. And it appears
equally clear, that, except we admit such diver-
sity, it is impossible to form correct scriptural
ideas of the subject, or to arrive at those con-
clusions respecting it, which shall prove satis-
factory to the inquisitive mind.

Nor can the distinction, which we have en-
deavoured to establish, be justly chargeable with
an aspect, in the slightest degree, hostile to the
divine authority of any part of Scripture.
There is no portion of that holy book which
was written independently on miraculous in-
fluence. Those parts, as we have already ob-
served, which were composed under the lowest
degree of inspiration, are, in so far as the book
itself is concerned, equally inspired with that
which resulted from the highest. In either case,
and in all the supposable intermediate stages,

386

INSPIRATION OF THE SCRIPTURES.

ΜΕΘ. vil. the end was infallibly attained, viz. the commit-

ment to writing of precisely such matters as
God designed for the religious instruction of
mankind. The whole volume is divinely in-
spired. Every part of it is to be received in
the light in which it has been presented by the
Holy Spirit; and is to be applied to the holy
purposes for which he caused it to be written.
Exceptions have been inconsiderately taken
against such passages as those in which Paul
advises Timothy: ‘ Drink no longer water,
but use a little wine for thy stomach’s sake,
and thine often infirmities ;” and desires him to
bring the cloak which he had left at Ephesus,
&c. (1 Tim. ν. 22; 2 Epist. iv. 19 :) but neither
these, nor hundreds of similar passages, would
ever have proved a stumbling-block to any,
had it not been for the contracted hypothesis of
inspiration, with which they certainly are in
direct collision. On the principles which we
have laid down, they present not the smallest
difficulty, since they were dictated by him who
could say: ‘ We have the Spirit of Christ ;”
and who was as really inspired when he wrote
them, as he was when he wrote to the Ephesians :
“Be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess ;
but be filled with the Spirit ;” or when he or-
dered his Epistle to the Colossians to be read
also in the church of the Laodiceans, (Col.iv. 16.)
In all such cases the sacred penmen wrote what
had for its object, not merely the immediate

DIFFERENT MODES OF OPERATION. 387

benefit of individual persons, or individual Lect. vu.
churches, but what would be useful to Chris-
tians in all future times. In the minute as well
as in the great ; in matters which relate to civil
life and personal comfort, as well as in those
which respect the soul and the world to come ;
the Divine wisdom is apparent: so that con-
templating the most inconsiderable of them, we
are compelled to say: ‘‘ This also cometh forth
from the Lord of hosts, who is wonderful in
counsel, and excellent in working.”

QO
Q
bo

LECTURE VIII.

INSPIRATION OF THE SCRIPTURES — (continued. )

L-COR. TE 13.

“© Which things also we speak, not in the words
which man’s wisdom teacheth, but which the
Holy Ghost teacheth: comparing spiritual
things with spiritual.”

Lect. vi. IN the last Lecture, we entered at some length
into the nature of the superior influence, which
the writers of Scripture enjoyed, when composing
the sacred books, and showed, that, though there
was a diversity of operation in the employment of
this influence, adapted to their different circum-
stances and exigencies, it was in all cases, such
as to claim for every portion of the work, which
they executed, the high character of a divine
sanction. Their inspiration was proved to be
plenary, and, consequently, demands for the
writings to which it attaches, an unqualified re-
ception from all within whose reach they are

placed.

VERBAL INSPIRATION.

389

We now advance to the discussion of the μου. vm.

question respecting VERBAL INSPIRATION, which
embraces both the style of the sacred writers, and
the single terms, in which they have expressed
themselves. As appeared from our Introductory
Lecture, there have been and still are those who
maintain, that these writers not only had all the
ideas immediately communicated to their minds
by the Holy Spirit, but that their very style, in-
cluding every word, syllable and letter, was
equally the result of pure organic inspiration.
To deny this, is, in their opinion, to sap the very
foundation of the doctrine ; to withhold from the
Scriptures that sacred veneration to which they
are entitled; and to reduce them to a level with
mere human writings. Others, who as decidedly
believe in the complete inspiration of the Bible,
and will not concede that any part of it was
written independently on the Divine influences,
nevertheless hold that the hypothesis of an uni-
versal, immediate verbal inspiration cannot be
sustained; but that a modified view may be taken
of the subject, which will reconcile apparently-
conflicting phenomena, and present it in a light
which must recommend it to all persons of calm
and impartial minds.

To the latter view we frankly confess we are
compelled to give our adhesion. Not that we
approve of much that has been written by authors,
who at different times have opposed the contrary
opinion. It is manifest, that owing both to the

390 INSPIRATION OF THE SCRIPTURES.

Lect. vil. want of precision in their conceptions of the sub-
ject, and the unguarded manner in which they
have expressed themselves, many of them have
given a handle to the verbalists, of which they
have not been slow to take advantage, to the no
small disparagement of the cause of truth, and
the unjust aspersion of some of its advocates.
But while we object to certain representations
which have been made, and certain terms which
have been employed by these authors, it is our
settled conviction, that accurate views of that side
of the question, which they have generally sup-
ported, are alone compatible with the aspects,
under which the doctrine is exhibited in the
holy Scriptures.

Extent of That, to a certain extent, verbal inspiration, or

verbal inyy- the inspiration of words, took place, is not denied.

Rie (Aan recording matters immediately spoken with
an audible voice by Jehovah, or by an angel-
interpreter ; in giving expression to points of |
revelation, which entirely surpassed the compre-
hension of the writers ; in recording prophecies
the minute bearings of which they did not per-
ceive ; in presenting views of truth, or enact-
mg institutions, which belonged to a different
economy, and to which there was nothing ana-
logous in preceding dispensations; in short,
in committing to writing any of the dictates
of the Spirit, which they could not otherwise
have accurately expressed, the writers were sup-
plied with the words as well as the matter.

VERBAL INSPIRATION. 391

But, that on other occasions, and in reference tecr. vit.
to other matters, the appropriate terms were
either mediately suggested by the ideas, or pre-
sented in documents which were rendered avail-
able for the purposes of divine revelation, is a
position which we conceive we are fully authorised
to maintain. Before proceeding, however, to
discuss the subject of the inspiration of single
words, it may be proper to make a few remarks
on that of style; since, how closely soever they
are connected as parts and a whole, they are
clearly susceptible of separate consideration, and
may or may not have been the distinct effects
of direct inspiration. The existence of great Diversity of

style and

diversity of style in Scripture will be denied by mane i
none, but persons entirely destitute of critical writers.
discrimination. Even the ordinary readers of a
translation cannot but be more or less struck
with this diversity ; but it is more perceptible by
persons of cultivated minds, and especially by
such as are capable of perusing the originals.
Not only are there all the essential differences

by which poetical and prose compositions are
distinguished from each other—the former ex-
hibiting the varied characters of the Lyric, the
Epic, the Elegiac, the Parabolic, and the Didactic;

and the latter those of the Historical and Episto-
lary; but every writer has his own characteristics,

and different parts of the same book are marked

by peculiarities of feature, in perfect accordance
with the varied state of the author’s feelings, or

392 INSPIRATION OF THE SCRIPTURES.

ueer. vil. the different subjects of which he treats. No
two of the sacred penmen were placed in pre-
cisely the same circumstances. ‘They were men
of various talent; unlike in their habits of
thought ; and dissimilar in their natural tempera-
ment and dispositions. I’rom Moses the com-
mander and legislator, or David and Solomon,
the monarchs of Israel, to Amos the herdsman
of ‘Tekoah; and from Luke the physician, to
Peter the fisherman of Galilee; we meet with all
the diversified grades of intellectual endowment
and mental culture, which might be reasonably
expected in persons so circumstanced. Hence
the corresponding diversity of style, which is
presented to view in their compositions :—the
antique simplicity and the energy of Moses ; the
feeling and gracefulness of David; the senten-
tiousness and elegance of Solomon; the majesty
and sublimity of Isaiah ; the sensibility and plain-
tiveness of Jeremiah; the magnificence and
solemnity of Ezekiel; the argumentativeness and
vehemence of Paul; and the tenderness and
affection of ‘the disciple whom Jesus loved.”
They have each his own peculiar character—a
character, which they have in so remarkable a
degree communicated to their writings, that it
furnishes one of the most striking and satisfactory
evidences of their authenticity. They severally
exhibit a certain distinctiveness of cast or manner,
which, nevertheless, in each is perfectly natural
—being that which exactly agrees with our

VERBAL -INSPIRATION. 393

historical knowledge of his times and circum- tecr. vit.
stances.

The several particulars that have just been
enumerated relate to the bolder features of style
by which these writers are distinguishable. Be-
sides these, there exist numberless minute peculi-
arities of diction, such as the frequent recurrence
of favourite words, niceties of grammatical con-
struction, idiomatic combinations, dialectic differ-
ences, groupings of synonymes, and the like,
which most distinctly mark the authors of the
respective books.

With these matters of fact before us, what is How to be
_ the conclusion to which we should reasonably on
come respecting the source to which they are to
be traced? Prejudice apart, should we not
ascribe them to a diversity of natural talent, to
the various situations of the writers, to the
character of the subjects on which they wrote,
and to the impressions which such subjects were
calculated to produce upon their minds? Would
it be imagined by any who are at all conversant
with enlightened principles of mental philosophy,
or with the general procedure of Divine Provi-
dence, that on such an occasion, God entirely
departed from his usual method of operation,
and, by an immediate action of his Spirit upon
the minds of the holy penmen, produced a class
of phenomena, which, though not perhaps all
in the same degree, have assuredly existed in
numberless instances in the ordimary history of

394 INSPIRATION OF THE SCRIPTURES.

tecr. vul. mankind? If we take up the human productions
of any given age, and compare them with each
other, we find a similar diversity of style per-
vading them :—a diversity for which we account
on principles of acknowledged validity in their
application to the case. But the same principles
apply to the case before us; and must be
regarded as equally valid in their bearing upon
it, except it can be shown, that there is some-
thing in inspiration, which requires an exception
from the rule.

It is readily conceded, that, on many occasions,
the diction of the Biblical writers was the result
of immediate inspiration, and was such as they
would not have employed but for this inspiration.
But in other instances, we contend, that the
Holy Spirit made use of their natural style or
manner of writing. Whatever change Divine
grace effected in their character, it neither de-
stroyed nor disturbed their peculiar intellectual
operations, but, turning them into a new and
nobler channel, consecrated them to the service
of God. In like manner, when they became
the subjects of that extraordinary miraculous
influence in which we have defined inspiration
to consist, he did not unmake their mental con-
stitution, suspend the natural operation of their
faculties, or prevent them from being acted
upon by circumstances ; but adapted his in-
spirations to the physical and intellectual features
of each, and rendered these, to the extent in

VERBAL INSPIRATION. 395

which they were available, subservient to the vecr. vu.
revelation or the recording of his will. It was
only when the style or diction in which these
features became embodied, proved inappropriate,
that a direct supply was afforded, and then only
so long as the exigency continued. They other-
wise wrote, each in his own manner, yet always:
secured by celestial influence against the adoption
of any forms of speech, or collocations of words,
that would, in any degree, have injured the
exhibition of divine truth, or that did not ade-
quately give it expression.

There has unaccountably been mixed up with
the question of style, in its bearing upon in-
spiration, another respecting classical purity,
which has nothing whatever to do with it. To
contend for Attic purity and elegance in the
writings of the apostles, may have been deemed
requisite at a time when disputes ran high on
the subject of the New Testament Greek—just
as it was at one time accounted heterodox to
doubt of the divine origin of the Hebrew vowel
points ; but now that the contest has in a great
measure ceased, and Biblical scholars have very
generally settled down into moderate views, the
hypothesis that, if the language was inspired at
all, it must necessarily exist in a state of perfect
freedom from what are commonly termed bar-
barisms or inelegancies, will not be maintained
by persons of any pretensions to a competent
acquaintance with the subject. The style of

396 INSPIRATION OF THE SCRIPTURES.

tect. vin. the writers of Scripture, notwithstanding its
distinctive varieties, is precisely that which, as
a whole, was best adapted to be a medium for
the conveyance of truths, that were designed
not for the polished and learned only, but for
men of every nation under heaven, and of all
the diversified conditions of human life. For
while there is nothing in it that is calculated to
give offence to persons of enlarged and cul-
tivated minds, it possesses a genuine simplicity,
and a condescension to men of low estate, which
renders it attractive to those on whom classical
elegance would have been lavished in vain. ἢ
Some, who strenuously contend for verbal
inspiration, allow that there is a variety in this
general style of language which it pleased
Divine Wisdom to select, and that every feature
by which one writer was distinguished from
another was natural to him, and accorded with
the particular tone or state of his own mind ;
but still they maintain that it was a matter of
direct inspiration. _Now no position can be
more glaringly inconsistent or self-contradictory.
If the characteristic differences were immediately
inspired, they could not by any possibility have
been natural to the writers, nor can they in any
sense be called their own; and if they were
already in possession of them, it would be an
utter perversion of language, and the very acmé

* See on this subject a beautiful passage in Origen cont.
Celsum, lib. vii. towards the elose.

VERBAL INSPIRATION.

397

of absurdity, to assert that they were super- vecr. ὙΠ.

naturally infused. It is one thing for the Holy
Spirit to have employed these styles, and some-
thing altogether different for him to have created
them. Existing, as we conceive them, for the
most part, to have done, previously to their
being used for the nobler purposes of inspiration,
they were called forth quite in a rational way ;
ἢ. 6. those, whose language they characterised,
on being acted upon by the Divine Spirit,
expressed themselves, on the whole, just as they
would have done in ordinary circumstances.
Some may deem it a lowering of the subject
to admit that the influence of an Infinite and
All-perfect Agent should in any shape or degree
have been moulded by individual character, or
the peculiar conformations of intellectual and
moral habits; or, that it should at all have
accommodated itself to existing circumstances
in the history or experience of its recipients.
But the question relates to matter of fact. It
is not for us to argue what it might, or might
not be proper for God to do, or that such and
such modes of procedure would be derogatory
to the majesty and glory of his character as
a Being of infinite perfection. ‘The query is,
Whether sufficient data be not furnished by the
history of the inspired penmen and the results
of their inspiration as exhibited in their writings
to prove, that, whatever may be the stamp of
perfection which attaches to the matter of

398

INSPIRATION OF THE SCRIPTURES.

Lect. vill. revelation, considered absolutely in itself, yet in

passing through their minds as rational instru-
ments, or in assuming the ordinary forms of
human language, it was adapted to the peculiar
moulds into which it thus flowed? If we find
that the sacred influence has actually been
exerted in this manner, instead of stumbling at
the fact, it becomes us to admire the infinite
condescension which has been displayed in pro-
viding us with the certain means of spiritual
instruction in a way so manifestly accommodated
to the diversified states of the human intellect.

In entering upon the subject of verbal in-

spiration strictly taken, or the hypothesis that

in committing the contents of the Bible to
writing, the penmen had all the terms imme-
diately supplied to them by the influence of the
Holy Spirit, it may be necessary to premise,
that nothing can be more unjust than to charge
those who deny it with a rejection of the dogma
of inspiration, while they most explicitly avow
their belief in its plenary and infallible charac-
ters. It is possible, indeed, to make a profession
of belief in any doctrine, and yet to give the
lie to this profession by conduct at variance with
the claims advanced by the alleged object of
faith ; but if any person solemnly protests that
he holds no partial or imperfect inspiration of
the Scriptures, but regards them as entirely the
result of divine intervention, and in his treat-

VERBAL INSPIRATION. 399

ment of them furnishes convincing evidence Lect. vu.
that he does so regard them, receiving their
contents with a mind willing in all things to
yield uncompromising obedience to their dictates,
as the oracles of Jehovah, we are bound to give
credit to his asseveration, and consider him as
a consistent believer, whatever consequences
others may draw from his premises, or in what
light soever they may think fit to represent him.
That the position at issue is perfectly untenable
we maintain on the following grounds.

First, The universality of the immediate vniversa
erbal In-

inspiration of the words is nowhere asserted »pitation no-

where as-

in Scripture. From the degree of confidence » rine
with which the contrary opinion has been
advanced, it might be imagined that divine
testimonies in its favour were neither few nor
obscure ; or rather, it might be expected, that
they were so numerous, and so clear and definite
in their character, as irresistibly to compel assent
from all who bow to the authority of Scripture.
And it must be confessed that its advocates have
not been slow in producing quotations both
from the Old and New ‘Testaments, which, in
sound and appearance, yield a plausible support
to their views. To the specious weight of
authority thus presented, numbers have suc-
cumbed, the piety of whose feelings naturally
revolted from the idea so loudly reprobated, that
any part of the Bible should be conceived of as

400

INSPIRATION OF THE SCRIPTURES.

tee? YO not having proteeded directly from the Holy

Spirit, but whose acquaintance with the history
of revelation, and a just method of interpreta-
tion, was too limited to enable them to detect
the false construction that has been put upon
the texts to which the appeal has been made.
When brought, however, to the touchstone of
sober and impartial criticism, and viewed, not
in the light of arbitrary etymologies and false
emphases, or wholly independent on the con-
nections in which they occur, but according to
the correct application of grammatical and
hermeneutical rules, founded on the general
principles of language, and the circumstances
peculiar to the writers of Scripture, including
all the phenomena of the particular cases, it
will be found that the terms or statements in
question give no countenance to the theory into
the service of which they have been pressed.
The doctrine of inspiration many of these texts
most unequivocally teach. We have employed
them in proof of it. But who, that reflects for
a moment on the subject, will contend, that,
because they teach the doctrine as a general
matter of fact, they must necessarily exhibit
a certain assumed aspect of it? Who does not
perceive, that the complete and universal in-
spiration of the word of God, and the imme-
diate communication to the writers of every
single term of which that word is composed,
are positions so perfectly distinct, that, though

VERBAL INSPIRATION.

the one may be clearly established, there may
not be the slightest vestige of evidence by which
to substantiate the other? ‘The force of these
observations will appear on investigating the
principal passages usually alleged in defence of
direct verbal inspiration.

Of these the first place is generally assigned to
2 Timothy iii. 16: “All Scripture is given by
inspiration of God.” Here, as we have already
proved, the divine inspiration of the whole of the
Old Testament Codex is expressly taught; and
the text will ever prove an insurmountable barrier
against all attempts that may be made to imvali-
date the supernatural claims of that fundamental
portion of the sacred volume. But on what prin-
ciple is the theory of direct verbal inspiration
attempted to be built upon it? First, it is main-
tained, that as Scripture signifies writing, and all
writing is made up of written words, or words,
syllables, and letters, to say, that a writing is in-
spired, while the words are uninspired, is a con-
tradiction in terms. Unfortunately, however, for
this argument, it assumes two points, neither of
which will be admitted by those who take the
opposite view of the subject. It takes for granted
that verbal inspiration is totally or in every sense
denied, which is, by no means, the case; and it
also affixes to the term inspiration the idea of the
direct impartation of the words on all occasions
without exception, wholly irrespective of exist-
ing circumstances in the previous state of the

401

LECT. VIII.

Not proved
by 2 Tim. iii,
16.

402 INSPIRATION OF THE SCRIPTURES.

Lect. vill. writers’ mind. It is self-evident, that, if the
Scriptures are inspired at all, the meaning is, they
are inspired as written documents: in other
words, their contents were committed to writing
or sanctioned by men, who were under the special
and extraordinary influence of the Holy Spirit.
They are the result of the exertion of this influ-
ence. So much the text asserts, but nothing
more. It does not affirm, that every word con-
tained in the book was supernaturally suggested
to the penmen. It simply vindicates to the
sacred volume the passive quality of containing
whatever the Spirit of God caused to be written
for our instruction—implying of course the fact
of that causation. ‘he position taken by those
who contend for verbal inspiration in the sense
which we oppose, can only be consistently de-
fended by going the whole length of the rigid
punctists, who extended the divine influence to
every point and accent in the Hebrew Bible, as
well as to the consonants or alphabetical letters.
“Tf,” says Dr. Gill,* ‘all Scripture or the whole
“ writing of the Bible is by inspiration of God,
“then not the matter only, but the words in
‘“‘ which it is written, are of divine inspiration ;
‘and indeed what else are meant by the words
“the Holy Ghost teacheth, (1 Cor. ii. 13 :) and
“if the words of Scripture are of divine inspira-
“tion, and given by God himself, then, surely,

* Dissertation concerning the Antiquity of the Hebrew
Language and Letters, p. 271.

VERBAL INSPIRATION. . 403

“not half-words, as consonants without vowels Lect. vit.
*‘ are: and if whole words, which is most agree-
‘able to the wisdom and honour of the Divine
** Being, then both consonants and vowels were
“‘oiven by inspiration.” Extravagant as this
mode of reasoning may appear, it is not more so
than that by which it is attempted to deduce the
universality of verbal inspiration from the decla-
ration of the apostle in the text before us. For,
supposing the divine origin of the points and ac-
cents to be denied, it may still be argued: As
written words are made up of letters, and can-
not exist without them, it follows that every
letter of Scripture, as well as every word, must
have been immediately suggested to the writers
by the Holy Ghost. But is any person in the
present day prepared to maintain, that Moses
was inspired to write the feminine pronoun N17
with a Vaw instead of a Yod so frequently in the
Pentateuch? Or that the writer of the books of
Chronicles was directed by the same immediate
suggestion to omit the Yod in the proper names
of David, (777), and Jerusalem, (obvi)? Or,
that it was by this verbal inspiration that Isaiah
wrote in full, chap. xxi. 14, miny cea mb
nisay, ‘It was revealed in mine ears by Jehovah
of Hosts;” but in chap. v. 9, only elliptically
"s “my onsza, “In mine ears—Jehovah of
Hosts:” and that the New Testament writers
sometimes observe the order σὰρξ καὶ αἷμα, “ flesh
and blood,” and sometimes invert it, as Eph. vi. 12,

pp 2

404

INSPIRATION OF THE SCRIPTURES.

LECT. VUI. « we wrestle not against αἷμα καὶ σάρκα, blood

and flesh.” Or finally, (for it would be endless
to quote examples,) that, when specifying the
number of the thousands that were sealed, (Rev.
vii.) John required inspiration to direct him to
employ ιβ΄, two Greek letters having the numeri-
cal power of twelve, rather than write the word
in full, or vice versd? Whoever will attentively
examine these, and similar phenomena which the
sacred text presents to our notice, must perceive,
that to accouut for them on the principle of
inspiration is not only to assert what has no
foundation in the testimony of Scripture, but
what is ridiculous in itself, and perfectly de-
grading to the subject in support of which it is
alleged.

Not satisfied with a wire-drawn exposition of
the term γραφὴ (Scripture) as here used by the
apostle, the advocates of direct verbal inspiration
also insist on the meaning and force of the com-
pound θεόπνευστος as employed to express the
inspired quality of the sacred writings. As we
have already had occasion to remark, this term,
according to its etymological import, strictly sig-
nifies divinely-breathed. Some, indeed, consider
it to have an active signification, and render it
divinely-breathing ; understanding it to express
the fact, that the Bible is full of God; that
through the Bible as a medium, God breathes
forth, or communicates, in human language, his
will to mankind. But, though it cannot be denied,

VERBAL INSPIRATION. 405

that, according to the analogy of ἄπνευστος, one Lxcr. vu.
who does not breathe, the word is susceptible of
this active signification, yet such a construction
by no means suits the connection, and is not the
meaning otherwise attaching to the word, or to
others similarly compounded. ‘The rendering in
our common version ‘given by inspiration of
God” seems to be derived partly from the Vul-
gate, and partly from Luther’sGerman,* of which
considerable use was made in the execution of
most of the translations now publicly in use in
the different Protestant countries of Europe ; and
it is to the influence of the latter, that we are, in
some measure, to ascribe the extent to which the
idea of verbal inspiration has prevailed. If the
Scriptures were given and wholly given by divine
inspiration, then, it is argued, the words must
have been supernaturally imparted. ‘They could
not have previously been at the command of the
writers ; for, if this had been the case, they can-
not, with propriety of language, be said to have
been given to them. But this reasoning 1s alto-
gether fallacious. It is based not only on a free
translation of the original term, but upon the
strained interpretation of the words of which
that translation is composed. It attaches to the
word given a degree of emphasis which it does
not possess, and which, if it did, could not be
admitted in critical argument to be of any weight,
except the same degree of emphasis were dis-

* Alle Schrift von Gott eingegeben.

406 INSPIRATION OF THE SCRIPTURES.

Lect. vil. coverable in the original. Yet all our translation
fairly implies is, that, when the Scriptures were
delivered to men, it was effected by divine inspira-
tion. ‘There is not a word to intimate, that the
operation consisted in the communication of the
terms to the minds of the penmen. ‘The general
doctrine of imspiration is taught; but nothing
whatever by which to determine the particular
mode in which the inspiration operated. And such
clearly is the open state in which the question is
left by the original, and by all the versions.

Norby cor. Another passage to which an appeal is fre-
quently made in support of the hypothesis of
universal verbal inspiration is that which contains
our text: ‘‘ Which things also we speak, not in
““ the words, which man’s wisdom teacheth, but
“which the Holy Ghost teacheth, comparing
“spiritual things with spiritual.” Here, it is
maintained, verbal inspiration is expressly as-
serted. ‘The apostles had not only the matter
communicated to them by the Spirit which they
were to teach to others, but they were furnished
with the very words in which it was to be ex-
pressed. ‘That Paul unequivocally ascribes both
the doctrines, which he and his fellow-labourers
taught, and their manner of propounding them,
to the influence of the same Divine Agent, is past
all dispute ; but that this influence was exerted
in the way of directly imparting to them every
term which they employed, has never yet been
proved to be what he intends to convey. The

VERBAL INSPIRATION,

407

phrase in the original διδακτοῖς πνεύματος, does xecr. vi.

not necessarily imply this. On the contrary, it
merely conveys the idea that the style or mode
of expression which they used was such as they
were instructed by the Spirit to employ. It is
not asserted that the words were furnished to
them, as Hooker expresses it, ‘syllable by syl-
lable, as the Spirit put them into their mouths;”*
but that they were the result of instruction—
that heavenly instruction or guidance which the
Saviour promised to his disciples. What proves
this to be the meaning is the contrast in which
διδακτοῖς πνεύματος, ‘the words taught by the
Spirit,” stands to διδακτοῖς ἀνθρωπίνης σοφίας
λόγοις, ‘the words taught by human wisdom.”
By the latter, the apostle obviously intends not
the single expressions, but the whole manner of
wording their discourses, on which the Greek
rhetoricians so much prided themselves. In the
schools that were instituted on purpose to teach
the art of eloquence, special rules were laid
down ; artificial figures and forms of speech were
introduced ; and every thing was inculcated that
could invest human speech with the irresistible
power of persuasion. The apostles had not
been in any such schools: nor did they imitate
the style which was there taught. They enjoyed
the benefit of a higher tuition : and as what they
delivered did not depend for its efficiency on the

* First Sermon on Jude, sect. 5.

408

INSPIRATION OF THE SCRIPTURES.

LECT. Vill. embellishments of human diction, but on the

power of God, they never attempted to recom-
mend it by the persuasive arts of oratory, but
employed that sober and simple style which alone
comported with the spiritual doctrines they were
commissioned to teach. In delivering these doc-
trines, they were under the constant guidance of
the Great Instructor, and clothed them in that
garb, which he directed them to use. That this
is the only construction we are warranted to put
upon the passage, the actual circumstances of
the Corinthian Church at the time, and the whole
of the preceding context, abundantly show. In
fact, the words are little else than a repetition of
the statement made in the fourth verse, as must
be evident on their being placed together in
juxta-position :
ver. 4. οὐκ ἐν πειθοῖς LavOpwrivnc | σοφίας λόγοις
ἀλλ᾽ ἐν ἀποδεῖξει πνεύματος καὶ δυνάμεως.
ver. 13. οὐκ ἔν διδακτοῖς ἀνθρωπίνης σοφίας λόγοις
ἀλλ᾽ ἐν διδακτοῖς πνεύματος [ἁγίου].

Now, as the subject of the preceding statement
is not words simply; but a particular kind of
words, or rather the manner and style of expres-
sion, viz. that splendid and imposing eloquence,
which the Greeks so highly extolled; it follows
that it is not single terms to which the apostle
refers in the latter, but the entire character of
the style, which the first teachers of the gospel
were taught to use in announcing its all important
doctrines.

VERBAL INSPIRATION. 409

Besides, Paul himself furnishes us with the tecr. viu.

key to his meaning, when he adds: πνευματικοῖς
πνευματικὰ συγκρίνοντες, ““ Comparing spiritual
things with spiritual.” We are here expressly
informed that so far were the apostles from
having every word immediately supplied to them
without the intervention of means, that the teach-
ing of the Spirit consisted in exciting them under
his infallible guidance to exercise their own
judgment upon the πνευματικὰ, spiritual subjects
which he revealed to them; and by comparing
these with πνενματικοῖς, similar subjects revealed
by inspired prophets under the Old ‘Testament,
to employ, so far as it went, identical phraseology.
By this means, a beautiful harmony or agreement
in style was effected between the two depart-
ments of Divine Revelation. From this passage,
therefore, no support can be derived to the hypo-
thesis of verbal inspiration.

It has frequently been asserted that the doc- wor vy matt.
trine is clearly involved in the terms of the Luke xii. 12,
promise, made by our Lord to his apostles in anti-
cipation of their being called to defend his cause
before earthly tribunals. The words as given by
Matthew, ch. x. 19, 20, are these: “ But when
“ they deliver you up, take no thought how or
** what ye shall speak ; for it shall be given you
“ἴῃ that same hour what ye shall speak. For it
“is not ye that speak, but the Spirit of your
“Father which speaketh in you.” The legiti-

macy of the application of this passage as an

410

INSPIRATION OF THE SCRIPTURES.

Lect. vii. indirect proof of the general inspiration of the

apostles, we have already admitted; but it
remains to be shown how it bears directly on
our present argument. ‘That universal or direct
verbal inspiration is pledged by the Saviour, as
it respects even the extraordinary occasions to
which he refers, is more than can be proved from
the words in which the promise is expressed.
The apostles are supposed to be solicitous about
both the πώς and the ri—the manner and the
matter of their defence: and they are exhorted
not to give way to such solicitude: but it is
worthy of notice, that, in the promise itself, no
regard is had to the manner (το πώς) in which
they were to express themselves. It is quite
general in its terminology. ‘It shall be given
you in that same hour what (τὶ) ye shall speak.”
“The Holy Ghost shall teach you in the same
hour what things ye ought to say,’—a δεῖ
εἰπεῖν. (Luke xi. 12.) It is the subject-matter |
of apology that was to be supplied to them;
and they might be well-assured, that if this,
which was the more important, was secured by
divine intervention, the mere expression would
not be wanting. To remove, however, all ground
of hesitation from their minds, our Lord adds:
“For it is not ye that speak; but the Spirit of
your Father, which speaketh in you.” By his
teaching, and superintending influence, they
would always be enabled to express themselves
in ἃ manner worthy of the divine cause, which

VERBAL INSPIRATION. 411

they were called to defend :---ἃ manner, to which tecr. vit.
they could never have attained by the exercise

of their own unassisted powers; so that, though

these powers were not to be superseded but
employed, it was to be as the organs of the divine

agency by which they were employed.

Were we to grant, however, that universal
verbal inspiration was, on such occasions, vouch-
safed to the apostles, still we could not justly
infer that they were the subjects of the same kind
of inspiration, when composing their writings.
The cases were altogether different. In the
former, they were called upon to speak extem-
pore, and were liable to be perpetually inter-
rupted by the interrogatories of their judges, or
the captious insinuations of their accusers: in
the latter, they had leisure to exercise thought,
choose expressions, and arrange their ideas,
according to the nature of the subjects, or the
peculiar claims of existing circumstances, which
might be brought under their notice. [0 is easily
to be imagined, therefore, that though, as to all
practical purposes, they were under the influence
of divine inspiration in both, it was nevertheless
modified or adapted in its exercise according to
the necessities of their condition.

The statement made by Luke, that, on the day Nor by Acts
of Pentecost, the apostles ‘were all filled with Ὁ
the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other
tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance,” has
also been advanced in proof of the same view of

412

INSPIRATION OF THE SCRIPTURES.

tecr. vi. the subject. That, on this occasion, verbal

inspiration, in the strictest acceptation of the
term, took place, cannot, for a moment, be
doubted by those who allow, that the languages
in question were tongues with which the speakers
had before been totally unacquainted. ‘The
immediate supply of words was, in this case,
absolutely necessary ; and the same direct com-
munication must have taken place in all similar
instances during the apostolic age. But surely
a moment’s reflection must convince every im-
partial person of the perfect irrelevancy of such
a proof to the point under discussion. If the
writers of Scripture had composed in languages
to which they had been entire strangers, then
indeed we should be compelled to infer, that the
infusion of every. term was granted to them ; but
nothing can be more absurd than to argue from
a case of absolute necessity to one in which only
to a certain extent, any necessity can be supposed ἡ
to have obtained. With respect to the authors
of the books contained in the canon of the Old
Testament, every one knows, that they wrote in
their native language, or in a dialect with which
they were equally familiar ; and as it regards the
New ‘Testament writers, there cannot be a doubt
on the subject of their previous acquaintance, in a
greater or less degree, with the language in
which they penned their books. Considerable
diversity of opinion has existed respecting the
original language of the gospel of Matthew:

VERBAL INSPIRATION. 413

some maintaining that it was Hebrew, or the ἸΟῪ. vit.
Aramaic dialect, spoken in Palestine in the time
of our Lord; and others, that it was Greek.* If
the former, then the evangelist belongs to the same
class with the writers of the Old Testament; if
the latter, which seems the more probable, he
will occupy much the same place with Peter,
James, and Jude, in point of his knowledge of
Greek. The fact is now well established, that
this language was, in their time, extensively
understood in Palestine; and there is every
reason to presume, that the apostles, being
natives of Galilee, where a more than ordinary
intercourse with foreigners prevailed, were more
or less acquainted with it. Indeed their writings
furnish satisfactory proof that their knowledge of
this tongue was chiefly derived from common
usage, the constructions of words and phrases
being such as obtained in ordinary conversation.t
This being the case, it follows that all attempts
to prove, from the fact of the gift of tongues, the
immediate communication of every word of
Scripture to the sacred writers, must ever prove
completely nugatory. ‘They were already> in
possession of a considerable proportion of the
terms, and consequently did not require their
infusion.

* For an account of the different authors who have written
on this litigated question, see Horne’s Introduction, vol. iv.
p- 262, and Schott’s Isagoge Histor. Crit. p. 70.

+ Plank on the Greek Diction of the N. T. Biblical
Cabinet, vol. ii. p. 112.

414 INSPIRATION OF THE SCRIPTURES.

uect. vit. No small degree of confidence has been placed

Sense in

whieh the 00 the evidence supposed to be yielded in support

phrases the
“word” or
“words of

the tora” Passages, in which the terms—the word, or the
cndentan words of the Lord ; The Lord spake—thus saith
the Lord, &c. occur. But against this argument
lies the same objection, which we have urged in

of this view of the subject, by the numerous

refutation of that which has just occupied our
attention. It is the extension of what belongs to
a particular to the exigencies of a universal pro-
position. It is fully conceded, that, in a vast
majority of the instances in which these formulas
occur, they are to be regarded as descriptive of
immediate verbal communications. The single
terms and all their collocations were the simple
result of a miraculous exertion of divine power.
On examination, however, it will be found, that
all such instances fall under the class of revela-
tions made through the medium of articulate
vocal sounds, of which we have already had
occasion to treat. The particular communica-
tions made to Moses on Sinai, the messages of
Jehovah to Joshua, to the prophets, to Paul, and
to John on the isle of Patmos, and others that
might be specified, are of this description. ‘They
were literally and properly spoken: the words
being pronounced by God himself, by an angel
in his name, or by the Saviour in person.

But, on the other hand, it is equally manifest,
that there are numerous passages of the Old and
New Testaments, in which the phrase, the word,

VERBAL INSPIRATION. 415

or the words of the Lord, is not to be understood L£ct. vit.
in this restricted acceptation. ‘The Hebrew 727,
and the Greek λόγος, are used with great latitude
by the sacred writers. Besides denoting verbum,
a single term or expression, or dictwm, an asser-
tion or declaration, they are frequently taken in
the sense of sermo, ‘* discourse,” and of res,
matter,” or, that which is the subject
of discourse. How often does David speak of
the word of God, when he means the entire
divine testimony, or the promises, threatenings,

3. ςς

“thing,

directions, &c., which it contains, without respect
to any particular mode of its composition or
delivery. (Ps. cxix.) The Apostle James, refer-
ring to the prediction contained in the book of
the minor prophets, respecting the re-establish-
ment of religion in the days of the Messiah,
speaks of it, as consisting in οἱ λόγοι τῶν προφητῶν
—‘ the words of the prophets,” (Acts xv. 15,)
which he then proceeds to quote, yet not in the
identical terms which are there employed. In
the New Testament, the phrases, ‘‘ the word of
God,” and ‘the word of the Lord,” are fre-
quently employed to designate the doctrine
preached by the apostles, without any other idea
being attached to it, than that of the message
which they were commissioned, and, by divine
inspiration, enabled infallibly to deliver. See
Acts vi. 2; viii. 14; xi. 1; xiii. 7, 26, 44, 48,
49; 1 Cor. xii. 36; 1 Thess. ii. 13; 2 Tim. ii. 9;

and numerous other passages.

416

LECT, VIII.

INSPIRATION OF THE SCRIPTURES.

It may be said, that divine doctrine delivered
either orally or in writing being presented
through the medium of speech or discourse, the
individual terms in which it is delivered must
necessarily have been inspired, inasmuch as all
speech is composed of single words. If the
speech be inspired, the words must be inspired of
course. But this conclusion can only be drawn
from the premises advanced by those who hold,
that, in all cases, the words were immediately
communicated. It is founded on a signification
being universally attached to the term inspiration,
which can only be allowed to it m a limited
number of instances. Remove this restricted
acceptation, and invest the word with the whole
extent of meaning, which the phenomena of
Scripture require, and there will be no absurdity
in maintaining, that a discourse may be inspired,
though the single terms of that discourse may not
have been directly imparted to the writer. Ac-
cording to the doctrine laid down in a former
Lecture, the penmen of Scripture wrote under a
Divine influence so exerted as to secure the
proper deposition of those matters, which were
to be transmitted in writing for the benefit of
mankind; and, till it can be shown that this
could not be effected without the immediate com-
munication of every single word to their minds,
the assertions advanced respecting the component
parts of speech must be regarded as quite aside
from the point.

VERBAL INSPIRATION. 417

The same remarks will more or less apply to tect. vur.
those passages in which God is said “ to put his
word into the mouth” of his messengers; to be
‘© a mouth and wisdom” to them; to be ““ with
their mouth,” to ‘ touch their mouth,” and the
like. (Exod. iv. 10—12; Jer.i. 9.) The phra-
seology is descriptive of that divine assistance,
which they enjoyed, in virtue of which they were
qualified to give utterance to “ the things of the
Spirit ;” and from the circumstances of some of
the cases, it may be admitted, that with respect
to them, direct verbal inspiration is implied ; but
in others, there is clearly a recognition of bold-
ness of delivery, or a readiness of speech generally,
rather than the special infusion or absolute dicta-
tion of single words.

On the whole, it will be found, that the
appeals, which have been made to Scripture in
defence of this theory are the result either of a
contracted notion of the general subject, or of
misapprehension with respect to the force and
bearing of those passages in the inspired records,
which have been pressed into its service. A
thorough-going and consistent comparison of
“‘ spiritual things with spiritual” will evince,
that it derives no legitimate support from this

quarter. ἊΝ ΒΒ

Our second objection to the universality of universal
. - Ὃ 3 F - verbal inspi-
direct verbal inspiration is:—that it was un- tation un-
aka relate necessary,

necessary. In examining the principle of the

418 INSPIRATION OF THE SCRIPTURES.

LECT. VII. immediate revelation of all that the sacred pen-
men wrote, we tested it by the axiom, that mira-
culous influence is never resorted to except
where natural causes prove insufficient. ‘To the
same process we would also subject the present
question respecting the absolute organic revela-
tion of words.

If the apostles had been totally unacquainted
with the Greek language, universal verbal inspi-
ration would have been indispensably requisite.
They must, in that case, have had the épsissima
verba immediately revealed to them. To the
extent in which they wanted appropriate terms
and phrases in which properly to express the
conceptions of their minds, the supply must have
been made in this way. But to hold, that all
their previous knowledge of the language was
superseded ; that no room was left for the exer-
cise of memory and judgment; and, that the
identical terms and combinations of speech, which.
the exercise of their mental faculties must other-
wise have spontaneously produced, were imme-
diately derived from a supernatural source, is not
only to suppose a fact fo which, so far as we
know, there is nothing analogous in the govern-
ment of God, but is so diametrically opposed to
the established methods of the Divine procedure,
that an explicit revelation would be absolutely
necessary to convince us of its existence.

The true state of the case appears to be this.
When excited by the Holy Spirit to compose any

VERBAL INSPIRATION.

419

particular writing, the penman had the ideas pro- tect. vr.

duced in his mind. If these ideas represented
objects with which he was previously familiar, he
naturally clothed them in the words by which he
had been accustomed to express them. ‘Thus
Moses, when designating the Nile, employed the
term 8), Yeor, corresponding to the Egyptian
word !&po, or fepo, and not the proper Hebrew 773,
which is commonly used to denote larger rivers ;
just as he naturally called the Euphrates κατ᾽
ἐξοχὴν, 797, the River, and the Mediterranean
Sianon, the Great Sea, or rns 07, the hinder
sea. ‘Thus also Paul spontaneously gave to the
Jewish feast of weeks the name of Πεντεκοστὴ,
Pentecost, (1 Cor. xvi. 7;) to Luke, the profes-
sional title of “Iatpos, Physician, (Col. iv. 14;)
and the designation φελόνης to the travelling cloak,
which he had left at Troas, (2 Tim. iv. 13.)
Nor is the principle to be confined to single
terms: it may be extended to phrases and more
elaborate forms of expression, such as; Sb)
Ὅν ΠΝ, He lifted up his eyes, (Gen. xxii. 4 ;)
myze nayin, the abomination of the Egyptians,
(Exod. viii. 22;) νὰ nin ΠΕ my, And it
came to pass after the death of Saul, (2 Sam.
pel 5) Οὐ γὰρ ἐπαισχύνομαι τὸ εὐαγγέλιον, IT am
not ashamed of the gospel, (Rom. i. 16,) Εὐχα-
ριστῷ TO Θεώ, πάντων ὑμῶν μᾶλλον γλώσσαις λαλών᾽
LI thank God, I speak more in foreign languages,
than all of you, (1 Cor. xiv. 18.) In these and
innumerable parallel instances, the moment the
EE 2

420

INSPIRATION OF THE SCRIPTURES.

Lect. vil. things became matters of consciousness on the

part of the writers, the verbal signs, which cor-
responded to them would necessarily be called
forth by the natural law of association.

The same holds good in regard to much that
was the subject of revelation through the medium
of visions or dreams. In what has been not
inappropriately termed symbolical mspiration*
scenes were depicted to the imagination, compre-
hending a vast multitude of objects otherwise of
familiar occurrence, with respect to the natural
characteristics of which no hesitancy whatever
could exist in the mind. No person of sound
intellect, on being furnished with such a pictorial
representation, could be at a loss to discriminate
the different objects, and without any extrinsic or
superior aid, clearly and definitively to appro-
priate to them their respective names. ‘Take an
example from the prophecies of Zechariah. “1
saw,” he declares, “‘ by night, and behold! a man’
*‘ riding upon a red horse, and he stood among
“the myrtle-trees, that were in the shade, and
‘behind him were red horses, speckled and
“white.” (Ch. i. 8.) Take another from the
Apocalypse: ‘ I stood upon the sand of the sea,
“ and saw a beast rise up out of the sea, having
‘* seven heads and ten horns, and upon his horns
“ten crowns. And the beast which I saw was
“like unto a leopard, and his feet were as the

* Notes to Hartley on Man, by Pistorius, vol. iii. p. 571.
ed. Lond. 1791.

VERBAL INSPIRATION. 421

« feet of a bear, and his mouth as the mouth of tecr. vin.
“a lion.” (Ch. xiii. 1, 2.) Is it for a moment
imaginable that any additional supernatural pro-
cess was necessary in order to supply either of these
prophets with the names of the different symbols
composing the hieroglyphic groups, which they
have described? Were they not of themselves com-
petent to allot to each its distinctive character, just
as they would have done, had they furnished us
with a description of any real scene in which these
objects were exhibited apart from inspiration ?
What, then, we contend for is, that, to the
extent in which the ideas or symbols were
clearly perceived by the sacred writers, and they
were sufficiently acquainted with the language
in which they wrote to be able to reduce them
to verbal forms, they did not require the imme-
diate communication of these forms, but natu-
rally connecting the one with the other, or
rather the one being insensibly produced by
the other, they gave them expression, under the
superintendence of the inspiring Spirit. Where
their memory did not readily suggest the cor-
responding words, they doubtless experienced
the exertion of a Divine energy; and on no
occasion, and in regard to no subject, were they
left to express themselves in a way that would
prove injurious to the matters which they were
commissioned to make known to the world.
With respect to communications of a more wien verbal

inspiration

peculiar character, to which there was nothing was neces-

sury.

422

LECT. VIII.

Words not
indispensable
to thought.

INSPIRATION OF THE SCRIPTURES.

analogous in the range of their previous ideas,
and which, by necessary consequence, they could
not have appropriately expressed in words,
direct verbal inspiration became indispensably
requisite. ‘To this head we refer all instances
in which the prophets and apostles were em-
ployed to commit to writing what they did not
clearly comprehend ; instances in which the
subjects were perfectly new to them, and in-
stances in which they entirely surpassed the
grasp of human intellect. Without the imme-
diate supply of apposite terms, it was morally
impossible for them, in such cases, to express
themselves with accuracy: for, by no process
of mental abstraction, by no inductive reason-
ing, by no elevation of thought, could they ever
have brought the topics in question within the
determining influence of any previous habits
of intellection, nor, on the supposition, that
this had been in their power, were they pos-
sessed of external signs at all adapted for their
revelation to others.

Some of those, who advocate universal verbal
inspiration in the strict acceptation of the term,
are in the habit of appealing in defence of their
theory to what they consider to be an established
fact in the philosophy of the human mind—the
impossibility of thinking except in words. We
have only, it has been said, to attend to the
operations of our own minds in order to be
conscious, that, whenever we prosecute any

VERBAL INSPIRATION. 423

train of ideas, the operation is effected through vecr. vim.
the medium of language, and that where this
is not the case, our ideas are indistinct and
confused. ‘That this is, in a certain sense, true,
may be granted. In processes of abstract rea-
soning, where the utmost nicety of comparison
and discrimination is necessary in classing and
methodizing ideas, language becomes a powerful
instrument of thought. The philosopher has
recourse to its symbols as so many steps by
which to proceed, or to retrace the ground over
which he has gone; and were he to lay aside
the use of these symbols, his ideas would become
more or less indistinct and obscure. But to
what is this to be ascribed? ‘To any thing phy-
siologically inherent in the constitution of the
human mind? or to artificial habits, that have
been created by accidental circumstances, or
that are the result of tuition and imitation?
To attribute it to the former would be to con-
found cause and effect. Words, so far from
being subjectively the original sources of ideas,
are strictly and properly the mere organs of
their expression to others. They were not
primarily designed to facilitate our mental pro-
cesses, but to be the vehicles by which ideas
might be transmitted from one mind to another.
That they have been rendered subservient to
these processes is not denied; but that they
are indispensably necessary to thought cannot
be admitted, while daily experience evinces its

42.4 INSPIRATION OF THE SCRIPTURES.

vecr. vil. rapidity to be such, that frequently it is incapable
of becoming embodied in words. ‘The current
is too rapid to be arrested by the sensible signs
by which it might otherwise be expressed.

But it may reasonably be asked; What real
connection is there betwixt this alleged phe-
nomenon in the history of the human mind,
and the subject of inspiration? Divine reve-
lation forms a perfect contrast to the laboured
productions of human reason. So far as the
mental operations of the inspired writers were
concerned, they appear to have been of the
simplest character. Unlike the metaphysician,
or the speculative philosopher, the prophets and
apostles were strangers to abstraction. With
them all was instinct with feeling. They wrote,
as they spoke, because they believed. Even
Paul, in his closest reasonings, is merely pouring
forth the spontaneous effusions of a mind excited,
enlightened, and strengthened from above. ‘To ᾿
the extent of their knowledge of the languages
in which they wrote, the ideas which they con-
ceived would readily suggest the appropriate
terms; where that knowledge was defective,
the terms would be suggested by supernatural
influence; and in matters of direct revelation,
of which they could form no adequate con-
ception, such as those relating to the Divine
Essence, the mutual relations of the sacred
Three, the counsels of God, the realities of
the invisible world, the words immediately

VERBAL INSPIRATION. 425

supplied must have been invested with much of ΠΡ τ ‘'
the same obscurity to them in which they present
themselves to us—an obscurity arising, not from

the terms themselves, but from the great sub-

jects to which they refer, and the comparatively

small degree of light that is imparted concerning

them in Scripture.

In the third place, the doctrine of the abso- universal

verbal in-

lute dictation of every word to the sacred spiration

contradicted

writers is invalidated by the fact of the exist- by te exist-

ence of

ence of various readings in the original Scrip- μπὲ τῇ
tures. That such readings do exist, and that
to a vast amount, is matter of ocular demon-
stration. When first made public, considerable
offence was taken by those who had been un-
accustomed to the study of Biblical criticism,
and much hostility was shown against those who
were implicated in their publication. Among
other reasons assigned for rejecting them were
their supposed incompatibility with the imspira-
tion of the original texts, and the dangerous
consequences which must result to the authority
of the Bible, if their existence were granted.
It is truly humbling to find such an eminent
divine as Dr. Owen stating, that ‘‘ it is true we
“have not the αὐτόγραφα of Moses and the
““ prophets, of the apostles and evangelists ; but
the ἀπόγραφα which we have, or copies, contain
“every zofa that was in them.”* Of the fact

* Works, vol. iv. p. 393.

426

INSPIRATION OF THE SCRIPTURES.

Lect, vit. of the existence of the various readings he was

not ignorant. He admits it; but, in order to
elude the force of the argument, which might
be deduced from it against his views of the
purity and integrity of the text, he maintains
in regard to the Keris and Chethibs of the
Hebrew Bible, that they were found in it in the
time of our Lord, consequently received his
sanction, and contain between them the genuine
readings ; and with respect to the Greek New
Testament, that it likewise is preserved entire
in the different manuscripts, how greatly soever
they may vary from each other. ‘“ In them all,”
he says, ‘‘is every letter and tittle of the word.”
Since his time the labours of Mill, Wetstein,
Kennicott, De Rossi, Griesbach, Matthzi, and
Scholz, have greatly augmented the mass of
various readings; and the light that has been
thrown on the history of the text by these, and
other writers who have availed themselves of
the published results of their researches, or
instituted separate examinations of particular
passages, evinces the extreme folly of contending
for a literal identity between any copies now
extant, and the originals as published by the
sacred penmen. Nor could any such identity
have been preserved through the course of
transcription without the intervention of a per-
petual miracle ; it being impossible, m_ the
exercise of the greatest care, and by the appli-
cation of every human means of conservation,

VERBAL INSPIRATION. 497

absolutely to secure the text from the irruption tecr. vat.
of errors and mistakes. At the same time, it is
equally beyond dispute, that, in exact proportion
to the increase of discovered manuscripts, by
which the aggregate of readings has been suc-
cessively swelled, has been the amount of cor-
roborative evidence, which they have supplied
of its doctrinal integrity and purity. The
identical books, and the essential text, which
composed the original canon, are exhibited in
one and all of them. The most imperfect copy

contains every article of faith, every ethical

precept, and every source of consolation, to be
found in the most correct. By far the greatest
part of the variations are of no moment what-
ever, consisting merely in the omission or
addition of a letter, the transposition of a word,
the substitution of a synonyme, and such like,
by which not the slightest change is produced
in the meaning of the record; while, such as
wear a more serious aspect, are so controlled
by concomitant circumstances, that πὸ sub-
stantial detriment can possibly accrue from
them.

It appears from ancient testimonies that varie- rary exist-
ties of readings existed at a very early period. iret
Origen, who flourished within a hundred years a
of the time of the apostles, not only admits the
fact, but is loud in his complaints in reference to
it; and the allegations which he makes are fully
borne out by the quotations which occur both in

428 INSPIRATION OF THE SCRIPTURES.

Lect. vil. his own writings, and in those of the fathers
who were contemporary with him, or who lived
between his time, and that in which the books of
the New Testament were written. They are
also corroborated by the ancient Syriac and Latin
versions, which belong to the same period. Nor
is it at all improbable, that varie lectiones existed
in the very first copies that were transcribed
from the inspired idiographs, or from the auto-
graphs which were dictated to amanuenses, and
accredited by the apostolic signature. It may by
some be deemed presumptuous to hazard such
a supposition ; but Dr. Owen himself, though he
lays considerable stress on the first copies having
been given out to faithful men, whilst the
infallible Spirit continued his guidance in an
extraordinary manner, nevertheless allows, that
none of the first transcribers of the original
copies were ἀναμάρτητοι, and θεόπνευστοι, infalli-
ble and divinely-inspired, so that it was impossible ἡ
for them in any thing to mistake. Religious
care and diligence in their work, with a due
reverence of Him, with whom they had to do,
is all he ascribes to them.*

Now the question which is naturally suggested
by these considerations, in application to the
subject of inspiration, is this: Is it at all sup-
posable, that the writers of Scripture should have
every word and syllable immediately dictated to
them, in order to constitute their books or letters

* Works, vol. iv. p. 458.

VERBAL INSPIRATION. 429

a perfect standard of doctrine and practice in all 2°? Vt
ages, since the result of such inspiration could

not be transferred, except by inspired transcrip-

tion, from the divine archetypes? That the Bible

was intended to be such a standard is avowed by

all who strictly admit the supernatural claims of
revelation; and on all points with respect to
which there may arise a difference of opinion, an
appeal is made to it, as containing the inspired
decisions of the supreme and infallible Arbiter of

truth. But if the perfection of this ultimate rule

of judgment consist in words absolutely and
immediately dictated by the Spirit of truth to the
original writers, it is obvious we possess no such

rule; for these words, as thus dictated, cannot

now be in every case ascertained. ‘They may all

exist in the multitudinous mass of Hebrew and
Greek manuscripts to be found in different parts

of the world; but where is the collator, who will te verbai
bring them together? or where is the critic, who ὁ πριάδυβο,
will arrange them precisely as they originally ae tac
stood? Much has been effected, especially of late
years, in the way of collecting various readings,

and restoring the text to its pristine state of
verbal integrity ; but many principles still remain

to be settled, and much more critical and her-
meneutical skill than has yet been brought into
operation must be applied, before any thing
nearly approaching to a literal identity can be
expected ; and, as to a perfect identity in this
respect, supposing it ever to be produced, no

430

INSPIRATION OF THE SCRIPTURES.

LEcT. vill. person would be qualified, without a special reve-

lation, definitively to assert its existence.

We are reduced, therefore, to this dilemma:
either the Bible is a sufficient and authoritative
rule of faith, though not verbally existing in
the condition in which it was published by the
writers ; or, we have not, and never can expect
to possess any such rule. ‘The latter alternative
no one will admit, who takes a fair and en-
lightened view of the subject. Without being
dependent on the judgment of the church of
Rome, in what shape soever she may pretend
to express that judgment, or upon the ultimate
decisions of Biblical critics, every person who
will consult the Scriptures in their connection,
comparing one passage, phrase, and term with

Sufficiency of another ; calling in to his aid those subsidiary

doctrinal in-
tegrity.

means, which the present times abundantly sup-
ply ; and humbly imploring the promised illumi-
nation of the Holy Spirit ; may confidently expect ©
to attain to that certainty, which is essential to
his satisfactory determination of all points con-
nected with truth and duty. Though he may not
be able to ascertain in every case the particular
words, which actually proceeded from the Spirit,
he will not be left at a loss with respect to the
‘‘minp of the Spirit:”’—there being attendant
circumstances which frequently point out that
mind as distinctly as if it had been expressed in
a precise number of terms, or in one term rather

than another.

VERBAL INSPIRATION.

451

But, if the books of the Old and New Testa- tect. vu.

ments as existing in the ¢eatus receptus, or as
they have existed in different manuscripts, from
the time the first copies were taken, are sufficient
to answer all the purposes for which revelation
was given, and there is no reason to believe
that they will ever be restored to their original
state of absolute purity—is there not the strongest
possible presumption against the position, that,
in order to their production at first, a kind or
degree of supernatural influence was exerted,
by which every word was immediately communi-
cated to the writers? For what conceivable
purpose were all the words thus miraculously
imparted, if, with respect to many of them, they
were so soon to undergo those changes, to which
we have seen they were subjected, almost under
the eye of the apostles? Was it merely that the
first churches might enjoy the exclusive preroga-
tive of having an inspired book in their posses-
sion? To be consistent, those who adopt the
theory of universal verbal inspiration must deny
that we now possess the inspired volume. By
way of courtesy, they may speak of the Bible in
this or similar language ; but what, according to
their view, they mean, is the book of God, not
as it now exists, but as it was given forth by God.
In order to carry a speculative point, they must
sacrifice the practical authority of the doctrine.

New Testa-
ment appeals

That the inspired authority of a document does to uninspired

copies of the

not depend on its verbal accuracy, but on the Jewish Βοῖρ-
ures.

INSPIRATION OF THE SCRIPTURES.

LECT. VII. matters which it contains having been com-

mitted to writing by the special will and sanction
of God, may be argued from the fact, that the
Hebrew Scriptures to which our Lord and his
apostles ascribe inspiration, were not the original
manuscripts, but merely copies of them, which
had been taken by uninspired scribes. Their
appeal was not to the manuscripts laid up in the
temple, with respect even to which it is matter
of doubt, whether any of them were the sacred
autographa, but to those which were in current
use among the Jews in Palestine, and the different
countries of the dispersion. Now, there is no
reason whatever for supposing, that these copies
were exempt from many of the imperfections,
which more or less characterise later transcripts.
Notwithstanding the scrupulosity, which the Rab-
bins have discovered in their treatment of the
letters of the law, and their assertion, that, upon
each tittle of it, whole mountains of doctrine are
suspended, these letters have undergone nu-
merous changes and transpositions; and though it
cannot be proved, that they wilfully corrupted
any part of the text, either before or after the
time of our Lord, it is past all dispute, that it
was by no means possessed of literal perfection
at that period. Yet to these very manuscripts he
gives the sacred title of “the Scriptures,” ‘ the
Scripture,” and “the word of God,” and it is
of them (if indeed it is not of the LXX.) and

not of the divine autographs, the apostle affirms,

VERBAL INSPIRATION. 433

that they were θεόπνευστος, divinely inspired, wecr. vu.
and which he designates as τὰ ἱερὰ γράμματα, “ the
Holy Scriptures,” which are able to make us
wise unto salvation, through faith which is in
Christ Jesus. (2 Tim. iii. 15, 16.) If this fact
had been adverted to, the world would have been
spared much of the extravagant argumentation,
which has been founded upon these texts, and
the doctrine of inspiration would never have
been obscured by the mists, in which it has been
enveloped.

A fourth argument against the notion of beer
an entirely literal inspiration of the sacred ration ae-
Scriptures, is its tendency to sink the authority te auton
of faithful translations, by depriving them of tions.
all claim to that quality. That the authors
of such translations were or may be inspired
will not be pretended in the present day. ‘The
story of the inspiration of the LXX inter-
preters, who are said to have produced, in their
separate cells at Alexandria, without communi-
cating with each other, as many Greek versions
of the law, possessing a perfect literal identity,
however firmly it was believed by Philo and the
Christian Fathers, and, by the latter, for obvious
reasons, extended to the whole of the Old Testa-
ment, has justly been treated as a fable since the
time of Humphry Hody, whose complete and
luminous history of the Septuagint, in his cele-
brated work de Textibus Originalibus, has left

434

INSPIRATION OF THE SCRIPTURES.

LEcT. vill. jittle to be added on the subject. The exclusive

claims of the Latin Vulgate also, though advo-
cated by certain of the members of the Council
of Trent, on the alleged ground that it was
dictated by the same Holy Spirit who dictated
the sacred originals, and finally pronounced by
the “sacred, holy, cecumenical, and general
council,” to be the only authentic standard of
truth, are now equally repudiated by every
enlightened and candid Roman Catholic. But
still, since all versions of the Scriptures, which
faithfully represent the contents of the divine
originals, express “ the mind of the Spirit,” it is
obvious they must be regarded as possessing that
inspiration, which demands for the truths they
reveal a cordial and unhesitating reception.
They do not indeed contain the words, syllables,
and letters which originally constituted the book
of inspiration, nor an identical number of words,
syllables, and letters corresponding to them ; but
they contain the same truths, breathe the same
spirit, and exhibit the same general structure or
cast of language, the same conformation of sen-
tences, the same choice of epithets, the same
selection and combination of images, the same
order and dependence of ideas, and the same
plenitude of divine authority, as a communication
of the will of God to mankind. ‘They are not
the primary fountain, but they are reservoirs,
close by its side, into which its fresh and limpid
waters have been conveyed.

VERBAL INSPIRATION. 435

In asserting that every faithful translation vecr. vir.
possesses, as a Divine Revelation, the same Practica
authority that attaches to the original Scriptures, λάθοι,
the statement is of course to be understood in a
practical point of view. Speculatively, or rather
critically considered, there must ever, as it regards
authority, be a degree of difference between
them; just as there must ever be between the
most correct copy of the Hebrew and Greek
Scriptures, which can now be obtained, and the
immaculate autographs of these Scriptures; but
for every practical and saving purpose the autho-
rity is strictly tantamount. ‘Take, for example,
our common English version, the general fidelity
and truth of which have always commanded the
assent of the most competent judges. What
revealed truth, or what essential aspect of revealed
truth does it not teach? Is it not the same Eter-
nal, Omnipotent, Omniscient, Benevolent, Holy,
Righteous, and All-Perfect God, whose character
is there displayed, whose will is there disclosed,
and whose rule is there established ? Are not
the same features of human character and con-
dition there portrayed? Does it not disclose the
same blessed Redeemer ; the same glorious plan
and means of salvation; the same privileges of
believers ; the same moral precepts; the same
positive laws ; the same states of future and eter-
nal retribution? What motive is urged in the
one, that is not urged in the other? What
promise, encouragement, threatening, warning,

FF2

436 INSPIRATION OF THE SCRIPTURES.

ier. VU: invitation or expostulation is contained in the
one, which is not equally contained in the other ?
In point of practical authority, therefore, such
versions are perfectly upon a par with the origi-
nals. And then as to practical effect : who, that
is conversant with the subject, will deny, that
fear of God, trust in his mercy, faith in the
Mediator, dependence on the Holy Spirit, devo-
tedness of heart, and holiness of life, have been
produced by the Divine blessing on the simple
perusal of the English Scriptures, equally as in
those cases in which the Hebrew or Greek
texts have been the instrumentality employed ?
Rather, we may say: how limited are the
effects resulting to scholars, compared with
those which result to the unlearned! Where
there is one Junius, whose mind has_ been
savingly affected by the reading of the original,
there are thousands and hundreds of thousands
to whom the Divine word, contained in their :
vernacular versions, has proved the power of
God unto salvation.

Contemplating the subject, then, in this light,
in which alone it must be viewed, in connection
with the grand design of Revelation, are we not
fully authorized to advance a claim to inspiration
in favour of the versions in question ? Do they not
contain a transfusion of the original inspiration,
in so far as the truths which they exhibit are
concerned ? And is it not this transfusion, as
identified with these truths, that stamps the

VERBAL INSPIRATION. 437

versions with an authority, which never can attach L&cT. vi.
to any work of merely human origin or compo-
sition ? Possessing this authority, we scruple not
to assign to them the paramount and sacred
designations: ‘The oracles of God;” ‘the

Words of Eternal Life.”

That we are warranted to speak in this style The Greek
of the contents of Scripture as existing in trans- sete
lations, is convincingly evident from the language Shoes
employed by the inspired writers of the New of Goa.
Testament respecting many of the quotations,
which they make from the Old. To whatever
lengths the controversy may formerly have been
carried, it is now universally acknowledged, that,
in a very considerable number of instances, the
quotations found in that portion of the sacred
volume were not made from the original Hebrew,
but from the Greek version of the LX X. which
was then generally known and read among the
Hellenistic Jews. Many indeed of these cita-
tions are only partially in the words which the
text of this version exhibits: while others are
taken from it verbatim, in instances in which
it differs from the Hebrew text: yet not the
slightest distinction exists between the formulas
by which they are introduced, and those prefixed
to such as are made from that text. Of the one
class equally as of the other, it is affirmed: “ It

is written :” ‘thus it is written :” “ the Scripture

438 INSPIRATION OF THE SCRIPTURES.

Lect. vit. saith :” “the Holy Ghost saith.” Can any thing
more clearly evince, that the apostles were taught
to regard the inspiration of the Old Testament,
as consisting, not in any quality inherent in a
definite set of words and phrases, but in the
truths, which God of old communicated to the

church, and which were available for Christian
instruction, and equally bmding upon the con-
science, whether presented through the medium
of the original Hebrew, through that of the Sep-
tuagint text, or by means of a version differing
from both, either executed previously, or made
at the moment under the influence of inspira-
tion ?

With the fact of such quotations from the
LXX. those, who advocate universal verbal
inspiration have been not a little perplexed; yet
they have generally endeavoured to escape from
the dilemma on the grounds taken by Dr. Owen ;
that the New Testament writers only used that
liberty, which the Holy Spirit gave them, with-
out any prejudice to the truth, or to the faith of
the church; or that the passages in the LXX.
which they appear to quote were not originally
in that version, but have been afterwards foisted
into it from the New Testament by christian tran-
scribers, with a view to remove the discrepancies
which exist between them.* The latter hypothesis,

* Exposition of the Epistle to the Hebrews. Exercit. v.

VERBAL INSPIRATION. 439

though attempted to be sustained by Ernesti, has tecr. vu
been sufficiently refuted by Michaelis in his
Introduction to the New Testament,* and will

not now be advanced by any Biblical critic.

The former reason is virtually a concession of

the principle for which we contend; and only
requires to be combined with the import of the
formulas, to which reference has just been made,

in order to give consistency to our views respect-

ing the inspiration of Scripture.

In the last place, we object to the τιη]- vniversa
versality of verbal inspiration, because it is δ προ στε
flatly contradicted by the facts of the case, momen
as presented by the sacred text itself. It Wee
must have struck the most superficial reader of
Scripture, that, in almost all the instances in
which there is a repetition of the same discourse,
though the meaning is identical, a greater or less
degree of diversity obtains with respect to the
terms in which it is couched. ‘The production of
a few of these instances will sufficiently illustrate
and establish our position. In the two editions,
which we have, of the Decalogue,—(Exod. xx.
and Deut. v.) besides one or two literal dis-
crepancies, such as the omission or insertion of a
Vau, or the change of a Jod into a Vau, there
is a totally different phraseology employed in
certain parts of the fourth commandment. As
presented in the two books, they stand thus :-—

* Vol. I. chap. v. sect. iv.

440

LECT. VIII.

INSPIRATION OF

Exopus XX.

REMEMBER the _ sabbath
day, to keep it holy. Six
days thou shalt labour, and
do all thy work: But the
seventh day is the sabbath
of the Lorp thy God; in it
thou shalt not do any work,
thou, nor thy son, nor thy
daughter, thy man-servant,
nor thy maid-servant, nor thy
cattle, nor thy stranger that
zs within thy gates: for im six
days the Lorp made heaven
and earth, the sea and all
that in them 7s, and rested the
seventh day: wherefore the
Lorp blessed the sabbath
day, and hallowed it.

THE SCRIPTURES.

DeuTERONOMY V.

Keep the sabbath day to
sanctify it: as the Lorp thy
God hath commanded thee.
Six days thou shalt labour,
and do all thy work: but
the seventh day is the sab-
bath of the Lorp thy God:
tz τέ thou shalt not do any
work: thou, nor thy son, nor
thy daughter, nor thy man-
servant, nor thy maid-servant,
nor thine ox, nor thine ass,
nor any of thy cattle, nor thy
stranger that zs within thy
gates: that thy man-servant
and thy maid-servant may
rest as well as thou. And
remember that thou wast a
servant in the land of Egypt,
and that the Lorp thy God
brought thee out thence
through a mighty hand and
by ἃ stretched-out arm :
therefore the Lorp thy God
commanded thee to keep the
sabbath day.

A similar discrepancy occurs in the wording of

the fifth commandment.

Exoous.

Honour thy father and
thy mother; that thy days
may be long upon the land,
which the Lord thy God

giveth thee.

DEUTERONOMY.

Honour thy father and
thy mother, as the Lorp thy
God hath commanded thee:
that thy days may be pro-
longed, and that it may go
well with thee, in the land
which the Lorp thy God
giveth thee.

VERBAL INSPIRATION.

In like manner the phraseology differs in the ποτ. vin.

two editions of the tenth commandment.

Exopus.

Tuov shalt not covet thy
neighbour’s house, thou shalt
not covet thy neighbour's
wife, nor his man-servant,
nor his maid-servant, nor his
ox, nor his ass, nor any thing
that is thy neighbour’s.

DEUTERONOMY.

NEITHER shalt thou de-
sire thy veighbour’s wife,
neither shalt thou covet thy
neighbour’s house, his field,
or his man-servant, or his
maid-servant, or his ox, or
his ass, or any thing that is
thy neighbour’s.

Another instance in the Old Testament, which
strikingly corroborates our argument, is that
contained in the two accounts, which we find of

the message of Jehovah to David by the prophet

Nathan.

2 SamuEL VII. 4—17.

AND it came to pass that
night, that the word of the
Lorp came unto Nathan,
saying, Go and tell my ser-
vant David, Thus saith the
Lorp, Shalt thou build me an
house for me to dwell in?
Whereas I have not dwelt in
any house since the time that
I brought up the children of
Israel out of Egypt, even to
this day, but have walked in
a tent and in a tabernacle.
In all the places wherein I
have walked with all the
children of Israel spake I a
word with any of the tribes
of Israel, whom I commanded
to feed my people Israel, say-

They are as follows :—

I CHron. Ν᾽ 1125: Ὁ:

AnD it came to pass the
same night, that the word of
God came to Nathan, saying,
Go and tell David my servant,
Thus saith the Lorn; thou
shalt not build me an house
to dwell in: for I have not
dwelt “in a house since the
day that I brought up Israel
unto this day ; but have gone
from tent to tent, and from
one tabernacle to another.
Wheresoever I have walked
with all Israel, spake Ia word
to any of the judges of Israel,
whom I commanded to feed
my people, saying, Why have
ye not built me an house of
cedars? Now therefore thus

442

LECT. VIII.

INSPIRATION OF

SAMUEL.
ing, Why build ye not me an
house of cedar? Now there-
fore so shalt thou say unto
my servant David, Thus saith
the Lorp of hosts, I took
thee from the sheep-cote,
from following the sheep, to
be ruler over my people, over
Israel: and I was with thee
whithersoever thou wentest,
and have cut off all thine
enemies out of thy sight, and
have made thee a great name,
like unto the name of the
great men that are in the
earth. Moreover I will ap-
point a place for my people
Israel, and will plant them,
that they may dwell in a
place of their own, and move
no more; neither shall the
children of wickedness afflict
them any more, as before-
time, and as since the time
that I commanded judges ἕο
be over my people Israel, and
have caused thee to rest from
all thine enemies. Also the
Lorp telleth thee, that he
will make thee an house. And
when thy days be fulfilled,
and thou shalt sleep with thy
fathers, I will set up thy seed
after thee, which shall pro-
ceed out of thy bowels, and I
will establish his kingdom.
He shall build an house for
my name, and I will stablish
the throne of his kingdom for

THE SCRIPTURES.

CHRONICLES.

shalt thou say unto my ser-
vant David, Thus saith the
Lorp of hosts, I took thee
from the sheep-cote, even
from following the sheep, that
thou shouldest be ruler over
my people Israel: and I
have been with thee whither-
soever thou hast walked, and
have cut off all thine enemies
from before thee, and have
made thee a name like the
name of the great men that
are in the earth. Also I will
ordain a place for my people
Israel, and will plant them,
and they shall dwell in their
place, and shall be moved no
more; neither shall the chil:
dren of wickedness waste them
any more as at the beginning,
and since the time that I
commanded judges éo be over
my people Israel. Moreover
I will subdue all thine ene-
mies. Furthermore I tell thee
that the Lorp will build thee
an house. And it shall come
to pass, when thy days be
expired, that thou must go éo
be with thy fathers, that 1
will raise up thy seed after
thee, which shall be of thy
sons; and I will establish his
kingdom. He shall build me
an house, and I will stablish
his throne for ever. I will
be his father, and he shall be
my son: and I will not take

VERBAL INSPIRATION.

SAMUEL.

ever. I will be his father,
and he shall be my son. If
he commit iniquity, I will
chasten him with the rod of
men, and with the stripes of
the children of men: but my
mercy shall not depart away
from him, as I took ἐξ from
Saul, whom I put away be-
fore thee. And thine house
and thy kingdom shall be
established for ever before
thee: thy throne shall be
established for ever. Ac-
cording to all these words,
and according to all this
vision, so did Nathan speak
unto David.

CHRONICLES.

my mercy away from him as
I took 7 from him that was
before thee: but I will settle
him in mine house and in my
kingdom for ever: and his
throne shall be established
for evermore. According to
all these words, and accord-
ing to all this vision, so did
Nathan speak unto David.

To these we shall only add one instance,
selected from many, that might be adduced from

the New Testament.

In the accounts given us

of the institution of the Lord’s Supper in the three
synoptic gospels, verbal differences occur, which,

how trivial soever in themselves, are important

in their bearing upon
inspiration.
Matt. XXVI. 26—29.

AND as they were eating,
Jesus took bread, and blessed
it, and brake ἐξ, and gave i to
the disciples, and said, Take,
eat; this is my body. And
he took the cup, and gave
thanks, and gave ἐξ to them,
saying, Drink ye all of it:

the question of verbal

They may be exhibited thus :-—

Mark XIV. 22—25.

Anp as they did eat, Jesus
took bread, and blessed, and
brake ἐξ, and gave to them,
and said, Take, eat; this is
my body. And he took the
cup; and when he had given
thanks, he gave ἐξ to them;
and they all drank of it. And

443

LECT. VIII.

444

LECT. VIII.

INSPIRATION OF THE SCRIPTURES.

MatTTHew.
for this is my blood of the
New Testament, which is shed
for many for the remission of
sins. But I say unto you, I
will not drink henceforth of
this fruit of the vine, until
that day when I drink it new

MARK.

he said unto them, This is
my blood of the New Testa-
ment, which is shed for many.
Verily I say unto you, I will
drink no more of the fruit of
the vine, until that day, that
I drink it new in the king-

with you in my Father's dom of God.

kingdom.

Luke XXII. 19, 20.

AnD he took bread, and
gave thanks, and brake Zt,
and gave unto them, saying,
This is my body, which is
given for you: this do in
remembrance of me. Like-
wise also the cup after sup-
per, saying, This cup zs the
New Testament in my blood,
which is shed for you.

To these statements might be added that given
of the same transaction, which Paul received
by immediate revelation from the Lord, as he
expressly states, 1 Cor. xi. 23—25; but it is
not necessary to do more than refer to it.

Without dwelling upon the verbal discre-
pancies which these several passages present,
in their relation to each other, or stopping to
show how they may be reconciled, and that, so
far from detracting from the credibility of the
sacred history, they only tend more strongly
to confirm it, the single point to which we wish
to give prominence is this: that, in each case
the words specified in the accounts are expressly

VERBAL INSPIRATION. 445

stated to be those which were delivered on the vecr. vu.
occasions described by the sacred penmen. ‘The
Decalogue is thus introduced in Exodus: ‘* And

God spake ALL THESE worpDs, saying.” In
Deuteronomy, it is prefaced as follows: ‘“ The

Lorp talked with you face to face in the mount

out of the midst of the fire, saying ;” and it is
added at the close: ‘ These words the Lorp
spake unto all your assembly—and he added no
more. And he wrote them in two tables of
stone, and delivered them unto me.” In the
same way the message of Nathan is introduced
in Samuel and Chronicles by the formula:
“ Thus saith the Lord ;” and in both is added :
““ According to all these words, and according
“to all this vision, so did Nathan speak unto
“ David.” And in all the three evangelists,
the words of the institution of the supper are
preceded by the declaration: ‘“ Jesus said,” or
by the term “ saying,” which amounts to the
same thing.

Now we contend, that it is absolutely im-
possible to reconcile these phenomena on the
principle of universal organic inspiration. If
the words are to be pressed in such cases as
they are in reference to the subject generally,
and we are to take either of the combined
statements as bond fide furnishing us with the
identical words which were spoken on the se-
veral occasions, then it is demonstrably evident,
that the words, contained in the corresponding

446 INSPIRATION OF THE SCRIPTURES.

Lect. vill. statement, could not, so far as they differ from
the former, have been delivered. If they are
both to be considered strictly, and ad literam,
what was communicated, there is manifestly a
contradiction in terms, which no possible inge-
nuity can remove. It is of no use to tell us
that they are both inspired. We admit this.
But then we hold it on an entirely different
principle—a principle which allows of the va-
riety in the accounts of the discourses, without
doing the least violence to any part of the
language employed. ‘There is throughout a
substantial agreement. Each writer states the
matters in his own way; or the same writer
varies his statement, in the repetition, in some
immaterial circumstances, which affect neither
their accuracy, nor his veracity as a narrator.
In superintending or controlling their procedure
as inspired instruments, the Holy Spirit per-
mitted them to employ different phraseology, |
according to the particular aspect in which, at
the moment, the subject was presented to their
minds. He might have so strengthened their
memory as to qualify them infallibly to repeat
the same words and phrases, and that to any
imaginable length. But he has not seen fit
always to exert his inspiring influence in this
degree. While he has preserved them from
using any terms that would derogate from the
truth or propriety of their narratives, he has
condescended to avail himself of the variable

VERBAL INSPIRATION. 447.

state of their mental faculties in composing tecr. vim.
them, in such a way as must necessarily have
produced the diversities in question. ‘The words
in these instances were not infused into their
minds, but suggested by their own recollection ;
and conveying in substance the same truths
or matters of fact, they were deemed equally
worthy of a place in the Divine record with
those which were directly imparted. When
they inform us that such and such words were
spoken or delivered, they speak according to
the influence of the peculiar view which they
were then led to entertain of the subjects; and
there being nothing essentially different in their
accounts, we hesitate not to receive both as they
are presented to our notice. They could, with
the strictest propriety, adopt the language:
*« These are the words,’ meaning thereby the
matters, though what follows does not exhibit
the identical words of the original communi-
cation. But if the whole was composed as the
result of direct verbal infusion, and the formulas
are to be understood in the restricted sense in
which they are interpreted by those who take
this view of inspiration, we must inevitably
abandon the consistency and truth of the docu-
ments altogether. ‘To maintain that the Holy
Spirit might immediately inspire the different
wordings, and yet declare that they are ver-
bally the original communications, is worse than
trifling; it is to turn the truth of God into

448 INSPIRATION OF THE SCRIPTURES.

tect.vit. a lie; to expose it to the scoff of the infidel ;
and to cast a stumbling-block in the way of the
honest inquirer. It is lamentable to reflect on
the obstacles which have thus been interposed
between the word of God and the human mind
by the false and inconsistent interpretations
which have been given of that word by its
sincere friends. Speculative notions are hastily
adopted, or a pertinacity to defend certain
received modes and forms of expression is un-
wisely indulged in, by means of which distorted
conceptions of truth are formed, and_repre-
sentations of its character and claims presented
to the world, which are altogether unsanctioned
by holy Scripture.

We here close what we have to offer on the
subject of verbal inspiration. Our next Lecture
will contain a determination of the question :
What Books are inspired ?—involving a variety
of topics connected with the history of the:
sacred canon, and the grounds on which we
receive as divine a certain number of writings
to the entire exclusion of all others.

LECTURE IX.

THE CANON OF INSPIRATION,

JEREMIAH XXIII. 35.
What hath the Lord spoken ?

Next in point of importance and interest to the
fact that the sacred writers were inspired, are
the questions: What are those books, on behalf
of which the claim of Divine Inspiration 15
advanced? And what is the evidence on which
we believe, that a certain specific number are
exclusively entitled to this distinction? It is
notorious, that nothing like unanimity respecting
these points prevails. Not only have they been
keenly agitated among theologians of different
periods, but collections of books, differing more
or less in point of size and number, yet all com-
prehended under the general name of “the Holy
Bible,” have obtained in several of the churches
in Christendom. ‘The Scriptures, as generally
received by us, differ from those in accredited
circulation among the Lutherans ; the books, to
which inspiration is ascribed by that body, are

LECT. Ix.

450

LECT, IX.

Origin of the
term, Canon.

THE CANON OF INSPIRATION.

not numerically the same with those for which it is
claimed by the Roman Catholics: the catalogues
of sacred writings sanctioned in the Romish and
Greek churches also differ from each other;
while the Armenian Bible contains more books
than are to be found in any other. With respect
indeed to the books which are commonly cir-
culated in this empire as Divine, and which
accord with those composing the Hebrew Bible
and the Greek New ‘Testament, there exists no
disagreement in the creeds of the different
churches. Im all and each of these creeds, the
claims of the whole Scripture, to the extent in
which it is approved by us, are unhesitatingly
admitted. But most of the foreign churches have
appended to them, intermixed with them, or
sanctioned, by promoting their joint circulation,
other books or portions, which possess no claim
to inspiration. On the other hand, the demands
made on our religious regard by some of the
books of the Old and New Testament have been
called in question both in ancient and modern
times.

The term canon, which may be considered as
now possessing classical authority in reference to
the present division of our subject, is, like many
other ecclesiastical words, originally Greek ; but
for the sake of convenience, it has been adopted
into all the languages of modern Europe, just as
it was anciently into the Latin, and into the
Syriac, Ethiopic, Arabic, Armenian, Slavonic,

THE CANON OF INSPIRATION.

and other languages in use in the Oriental
churches.

In ecclesiastical usage, κανὼν was anciently
employed to designate a book or catalogue; a
book containing a list of the different persons
belonging to any church, particularly those who
officiated at the public services; the liturgical
writings used on such occasions ; and whatever
else appertained to the edifice. It was also taken
in the sense of a publicly approved catalogue of
all the books, which might be read in the public
assemblies of the Christians; and in that of a
collection of writings divinely inspired. Finally,
in application to one of the great ends of such
writings, according to its original and literal
signification, it was used to denote such writings
viewed in the light of an infallible RULE of faith
and practice. In the last acceptation the word
is repeatedly employed by Irenzus, Tertullian,
Origen, Clement of Alexandria, and Isidore of
Pelusium :—a circumstance of no small moment,
as furnishing us with an idea of the paramount
importance attached by these fathers to the
sacred Scriptures, but which appears to have
been entirely lost sight of by many of those who
have treated on the subject. In modern usage,
canonical and inspired are, for the most part,
convertible terms: and, indeed, with many of
the ancients, those books alone were considered
to be canonical, κανονικὰ, κανονιζόμενα, which
were recognised as divine, and to which they

ἘΠ.

451

LECT. IX.

Different
acceptations
of the terms
Canon and
Canonical.

452 THE CANON OF INSPIRATION.

LECT.IX. gave the character of ἐνδιάθηκοι, ἐνδιάθετοι, διαθη-
κόγραφα, γνησία, ὁμολογούμενα, writings found or
entered in the Testaments, genuine, and univer-
sally acknowledged to be of divine authority.
But as the word was frequently used, in the
third and following centuries, in reference to all
books that were read in the churches (and other
writings besides those which were inspired had
this honour conferred upon them), a consider-
able degree of vagueness came to be attached
to it, in consequence of which no small difficulty
has attended the attempts that have been made
definitely to separate the one class from the other
in the works of the Fathers. ‘To the books
which have been universally received, Roman
Catholic writers give the name of Proto-canoni-
cal; and to those which have not been thus
received, that of Deutero-canonical:—a distinc-
tion, however, which is not allowed by Protestants,
who consider those only to be entitled to a place ἡ
in the canon, which can be proved to have been
divinely inspired.

Historyot ‘Lhe canonicity of the books of Scripture has

me nm nore or less occupied the attention of all who

have applied themselves to the study of their
history. It was treated on more or less fully in
the ancient church by Melito, Origen, Eusebius,

Athanasius, Jerome, Augustine, and others; and

since the Reformation, it has generally occupied

one or more sections in the leading bodies of
divinity which have appeared in the Roman

THE CANON OF INSPIRATION.

453

Catholic and Protestant churches: besides having tecr. rx.

been discussed in separate works, of which those
by Cosins, Jones, and Alexander, possess dis-
tinguished merit. Since the publication of
Semler’s Free Inquiry respecting some of the
books of the Old Testament in 1771, in which he
advanced sentiments that went completely to
unsettle the grounds on which the question had
been placed, and the appearance of a work on the
same subject, and leading to the same results by
Corrodi, it has been much agitated in Germany,
and numerous attempts have been made to sub-
vert the entire canon of the Hebrew Scriptures,
as well as to exclude as spurious whole books of
the New Testament. A powerful reaction, how-
ever, was produced by the portions of Eichhorn’s
Introduction,* in which the subject is handled
-with consummate historical ability; and ever
since, there has been a gradual abandonment of
the hypothetical reasonings, which had been ad-
vanced respecting it, and on the whole an
approximation to the views which were enter-
tained, prior to the time of Semler, is now visible
in most of the works in which it comes under
review.

Owing to the absence of minute historical
data, the history of the canon, so far as its
formation and completion are concerned, is
involved in considerable obscurity. In this
respect, little difference exists between that of

* § 15 to § 57.

454

LECT. IX.

Old Testa-
ment Canon.

Mosaic
Canon.

THE CANON OF INSPIRATION.

the books which compose the Old ‘Testament,
and that of those which form the New; there
being no definite or positive information relative
either to the exact period when they were col-
lected, or the persons by whom the collection
was made. But though this deficiency in point
of minute and particular data must be admitted,
it cannot be denied that we possess evidence of
a more general character, which, in the view
of all the circumstances of the case, is highly
satisfactory.

With respect to the Canon of the Old Tes-
tament, it is evident its formation must have
been progressive and protracted. Upwards of a
thousand years elapsed between the publication
of the first and the addition of the latest books
which it contains. From the same premises,
it follows that it must have been very unequal
in its extent at different periods of its history.
Originally it consisted only of the Pentateuch,
part of which relates to events which transpired
before the time of Moses; but most of it is
occupied with matters in which he was per-
sonally concerned, and its internal economy is
such as is sufficient in itself to induce the belief
that he was the writer. Though now divided
into five parts, there is no historical evidence
to prove the primitive antiquity of this division.
Moses himself uniformly speaks of it as a whole
whenever he adverts to its composition. In
Deut. xxxi. 24—26, we read: “ And it came

THE CANON OF INSPIRATION,

455

“to pass, when Moses had made an end of LECT. ΙΧ.

*‘ writing the words of this law in a book, until
“they were finished, that Moses commanded
‘the Levites, which bare the ark of the cove-
“nant of the Lorp, saying, Take this book of
“* the law, and put it in the side of the ark of
“the covenant of the Lorp your God, that it
“may be there for a witness against thee.”
Some, indeed, have maintained, that the docu-
ment here specified contained simply the legal
enactments, apart from all historical matter ;
but the reason assigned for its preservation
sufficiently proves the contrary. It was to
furnish to that and all succeeding generations
a faithful testimony of the dealings of Jehovah
with his church, and of the conduct of her
members towards him. It also appears from
Exod. xvii. 14; xxiv. 4, 7; Num. xxxiii. 2;
that Moses committed to writing accounts of
the Divine appearances, and other historical
facts tending to illustrate the character of the
ancient economy, and not merely the statutes
of ceremonial and judicial legislation. What
he thus successively wrote was solemnly de-
livered to the sacerdotal and civil officers of
the nation, and ordered to be deposited beside
the ark, and to be brought out and read to the
whole body of the people every seventh year.
To the Pentateuch, the names “ The Law,” and
“the Book of the Law,” were given, not be-
-cause it contained nothing but the national code,

456 THE CANON OF INSPIRATION.

tect. 1x. but because that code constituted the most im-
portant part of it, as prescribing positive rules
of conduct, and contained the charter of pri-
vileges to the Hebrew people. So far, there-
fore, as the Mosaic canon is concerned, there
is reason to believe that it was completed before
the death of the writer himself, and that by his
own pen, with the exception of the concluding
chapter, which was, in all probability, added by
his assistant and successor.

The first augmentation which the Divine
canon received was made by Joshua, to whom
we have just ascribed the probable composition
of the last chapter of the Pentateuch. Not

Gradual ex- Only did he receive an express charge to occupy

himself incessantly with the study of what is
emphatically called “* This book of the law,”
(ch. i. 8); but we are informed, that, after he
had made a covenant with the people in She-
chem, just before his death, he ‘ wrote these
words in the book of the law of God,” (ch.
xxiv. 26.) How much more he may have in-
serted, we are not told; but, considering the
importance that attaches to the description which
his book contains of the tribal divisions of the
land of Canaan, and which must have been
written by himself, the hypothesis that it also
was added possesses a high degree of verisi-
militude. That any other part of the book of
Joshua had this honour conferred upon it, or
that any of the succeeding historical books

THE CANON OF INSPIRATION,

457

were inscribed upon the same roll or rolls, is vecr. 1.

destitute of all evidence; but that writings
composed by inspired men were deposited beside
the Pentateuch in the holy of holies is admitted
on all hands. ‘Thus it is expressly stated, that,
when Samuel had told the people the manner
of the kingdom, he “ wrote it in a book, and
laid it up before the Lord.” (1 Sam. x. 25.)
It is also clearly taken for granted by Isaiah,
that his prophecies would be enrolled in a col-
lection of sacred oracles, which he designates
“the Book of the Lord,” the consultation of
which, with a view to compare the predictions
with the events, would convincingly prove their
divine origin. ‘‘ Seek,” he says, “out of the
book of the Lord, and read: no one of these
shall fail.” (Ch. xxxiv. 16.) The very words,
“pp->yp avinq, compared with the language of
our Lord, ἐρευνᾶτε tas γραφὰς, (John ν. 39,)
seems to intimate, that such a sacred codex had
already become the subject of study. And
Daniel informs us, (chap. ix. 2,) that he under-
stood by the books, o 7502, the number of the
years of the captivity: which books Michaélis,
Gesenius, and Bleek, believe to have been the
Scriptures of the Old Testament, which then
existed in a collective form: though others, as
Bertholdt and De Wette, think they were only
a collection of the prophetical writings. How
difficult soever it may be to determine which of
these two opinions possesses the higher claim

458

THE CANON OF INSPIRATION.

ΕΟΤ. ΙΧ. On our reception, this much is certain, that a

particular collection of sacred books must have
existed in the time of the prophet, since he
never would have used the plural number when
referring to the book of Jeremiah, from which
alone he could have obtained the information
spoken of, except that book had existed among
others, to which it was assimilated by the sacred-
ness of its character; and that these were, in
an eminent sense, omppn, ‘the Books,” τὰ
βιβλιὰ, αἱ γραφαὶ, in other words, “ the sacred
writings,” is supported by the traditional inter-
pretation of the Jewish punctators, who have
pointed the preposition so as to express the
article.

From the former of these passages, it may be
inferred, that, while the original writings were
deposited in the temple, copies were taken and
circulated throughout the land. ‘That copies were
taken is certain from the facts, that the Levites
and priests, whom Jehoshaphat sent to teach in
the cities of Judah, took the book of the law of
the Lord with them, (2 Chron. xvii. 9 ;) and that
the Samaritans were in possession of the five
books of Moses, prior to the captivity. And
though there is reason to believe they did not exist
in great numbers during the idolatrous periods
which immediately preceded the deportation of
the Jews to Babylon, nothing was more natural
than an increased attention to the Law of God,
after that event, to which, in combination with

THE CANON OF INSPIRATION.

459

their afflictive circumstances, may, in a great LECT. 1x.

measure, be ascribed their complete abandon-
ment of idolatry, and return to the pure worship
of their ancestors.

On the return of the captives to Judea, and
the restoration of their ancient polity, an anxiety
to conform in every point to the requirements of
the divine law, may easily be imagined. And that
such an anxiety did exist is evident from the
distinct and repeated references made to the law
of Moses in the books of Ezra and Nehemiah ;
and especially from the eagerness with which the
people listened to it, when read at their own
special request, on the first day of the year, by
the former of these patriots. ‘And all the
“people gathered themselves together as one man
‘‘ into the street, that was before the water-gate ;
*‘ and they spake unto Ezra the scribe to bring
“‘ the book of the law of Moses, which the Lorp
“had commanded to Israel. And Ezra the priest
*‘ brought the law before the congregation both of
“men and women, and all that could hear with
““ understanding, upon the first day of the seventh
‘month. And he read therein before the street,
‘‘ that was before the water-gate, from the morn-
“ing until mid-day, before the men and the
*“ women, and those that could understand; and
** the ears of all the people were attentive unto the
* book of the law. And Ezra the scribe stood
“upon a pulpit of wood, which they had made
“for the purpose ; and beside him stood Matti-

460

THE CANON OF INSPIRATION.

Lect. Ix. ‘ thiah, and Shema, and Anaiah, and Urijah, and

“ Hilkiah, and Maaseiah, on his right hand; and
“* on his left hand, Pedaiah, and Mishael, and Mal-
“¢ chiah, and Hashum, and Hashbadana, Zechariah,
“and Meshullam. And Ezra opened the book in
“* the sight of all the people ; (for he was above all
“the people;) and when he opened it, all the
“‘ people stood up: And Ezra blessed the Lorn,
“the great God. And all the people answered,
« Amen, Amen, with lifting up their hands: and
“they bowed their heads, and worshipped the
* Lorp with their faces to the ground. Also
« Jeshua, and Bani, and Sherebiah, Jamin, Akkub,
‘“« Shabbethai, Hodijah, Maaseiah, Kelita, Aza-
“ὁ riah, Jozabad, Hanan, Pelaiah, and the Levites,
“‘ caused the people to understand the law: and
“‘ the people stood in their place. So they read
“1 the book in the law of God distinctly, and
*“‘ gave the sense, and caused them to understand
“the reading.” (Neh. viii. 1—8.) They again
assembled daily for a whole week for the same
purpose; and on the great fast, which was after- ᾿
wards celebrated, no less than a fourth part of
the day was occupied in this exercise, (ch. 1x.
1—3.) Such an instance of deep interest in the
holy Scriptures is unparalleled in the history of
the Jewish nation; and at this, if at any period

Formation or Of that history, we might expect to find extra-

the present
Canon.

ordinary exertions made to render the canon as
complete as possible. It is accordingly to the
combination of events, which then took place,

THE CANON OF INSPIRATION.

461

that both Jewish and Christian writers have, im .ecr. rx.

general, attributed the formation of the collection
of Old Testament writings now in our possession.
The Rabbins have a tradition, that, on the
rebuilding of the temple, Ezra assembled a
college of a hundred and twenty scholars, com-
monly known by the name of ΓΙ ΓΙ np, The
Great Synagogue, for the express purpose of
collecting and arranging, under his inspection,
all the sacred books, which were then found in
the hands of the Jews. Some degree of discredit
has been thrown on this statement by the fabu-
lous additions which have been made to it by
the author of the second book of Esdras, and
others, to the effect, that the law having dis-
appeared at the destruction of the temple by
Nebuchadnezzar, it was necessary that Ezra
should have it all restored to him by immediate
inspiration ; which favour having been vouch-
safed, he dictated it to his colleagues, who had
no sooner completed their task, than the Temple
copy preserved by Jeremiah was discovered, and
on comparing the two together, it was found that
they did not differ in a single letter. But, apart
from these marvellous addenda, the tradition
must commend itself to our judgment as, on the
whole, possessing a high degree of probability.
Indeed, if something of the kind had not taken
place, it does not appear how the belief of it
could have so generally prevailed. And who
was so competent to conduct such a work as

462

THE CANON OF INSPIRATION.

tect. 1x. Ezra, whose skill in sacred literature was so dis-

guished, that the honourable name of 375, priest,
was almost entirely merged in that of 72d, scribe,
and to mark whose proficiency in literary labours,
the epithet ready was annexed to the appella-
tion: MBM ΓΞ WM 7b sam, “and he was
ἃ READY SCRIBE in the law of Moses?” That
a college of learned men did exist after the
captivity, is proved by a passage in the first book
of Maccabees (vii. 12,) where it is called συναγωγὴ
γραμματέων, a Synagogue of scribes, which, in all
probability, was a continuation of that founded
by Ezra, and the same which afterwards, with
certain modifications, existed under the name of
the Sanhedrim. It is not necessary to suppose
that the collecting of the Sacred Books was the
sole end for which the members of this assembly
were convened : this was, in all probability, only
one among many points to which their attention
was called; and after these had been effected, it
was quite natural for them to prosecute their
labours in reference to any affairs of difficulty
that might arise in the public administration. In
this way, what was originally designed to be
temporary became permanent.

To what length towards its completion, the
canon was, at this time, carried, we possess no
positive historical information, from which to
determine. According to a statement made in
the Talmud, the members of the Great Syna-
gogue copied Ezekiel, the twelve minor prophets,

THE CANON OF INSPIRATION.

463

Daniel, and the book of Esther, while Ezra ΓΈΟΤ. Ix.

wrote the book which bears his name, and the
genealogical tables in the Chronicles down to his
own time. It is generally supposed that Nehe-
miah, who is said to have founded a sacred library
in the ‘Temple, (2 Mace. ii. 13,) and Malachi,
the last of the prophets, put their seal to the
sacred collection by the addition of their own
writings ; though some are of opinion that it was
not finally closed till the time of Simon the Just,
who flourished about the beginning of the third
century before Christ. The books were now
translated into Greek; and we not only find
them divided into three parts by the translator
of the book of Kcclesiasticus, in the year 130,
corresponding to the classification in our present
Hebrew Bible, but they are spoken of as possess-
ing some degree of antiquity by the author of
the book himself, who is supposed to have lived
nearly two centuries before the birth of our Lord.

On the ground that certain books are found teentity of

the Palesti-

in the Greek version of the Old Testament, nian ana

Egyptian

which were never known to exist in the Hebrew canons.

Canon, Semler,* Corrodi,t Augusti,t and others,
have maintained that the Egyptian Canon
differed from that of Palestine. Nothing, how-
eve, in the shape of positive proof, has been
adduced in support of this opinion; and even

* Apparatus ad liberalior. V. Τὶ interpret. p. 18.
+ Versuch einer Beleuchtung, &c. part i. chap. 2.
{ Einleit. ins Alte Test. p. 72.

464

THE CANON OF INSPIRATION.

LEcT. 1x. the conjectures which these authors have advanced

in its justification, have been shown by Eichhorn*
and Bauert to be without foundation. Not only
does it appear, that, notwithstanding the jealousy
with which the Palestinian Jews regarded the
efforts of their brethren in Egypt to support a
separate religious establishment, the latter never
lost their attachment to the country and institu-
tions of their ancestors, and therefore were not
likely to deviate so far from their received faith,
as to admit mere human writings into a collec-
tion, which they had been taught to regard as
exclusively divine ;—but the classification of the
sacred books above referred to, which was made
by Jesus, the son of Sirach, and that which is
essentially the same, furnished by Philo, both of
them Alexandrian Jews, clearly evince that the
Apocryphal books formed no part of the Egyp-
tian Canon. And, indeed, the former of these
writers carefully distinguishes between the
inspired books and the moral sayings of his
grandfather, his translation of which forms one |
of the books in question. Apologizing in his
Prologue for any imperfection which might be
found in the work, he writes, ‘‘ Wherefore let me
‘“entreat you to read it with favour and atten-
“tion, and to pardon us, wherein we may seem
«(0 have come short of some words, which we
“‘ have laboured to interpret. For the same things
“ uttered in Hebrew, and translated into another

* Ut supra. + Einleit, § xxxvii.

THE CANON OF INSPIRATION. 465

“ tongue, have not the same force in them ; and LECT. Ix.
« not only these things, but the law itself and the
“ prophets, and the rest of the books, have no
‘small difference, when they are expressed in
“their own language.” ‘The circumstance too,
that though Philo was acquainted with the
Apocryphal Books, yet he never quotes any of
them, shows, that he viewed them in a very
different light from that in which he regarded
the Canonical Scriptures, which he cites and
treats as inspired. ‘To which we may add the
testimony of Josephus,* that no Jew had ever
ventured to add to or detract from the twenty-
two national books—which obviously applies to
his brethren in Egypt as well as in Palestine:
and to the Greek translation equally as to the
Hebrew original.

To the canon of the Old Testament as existing Extent ot
in their day, our Lord and his apostles have, as canon in ὅμο
we have shown in a former Lecture, given their ana nis
unqualified sanction. They not only allowed, aaa
but expressly maintained and vindicated the
divine authority of the books of which it was
composed. Their frequent appeals to these
books; the importance which they attach to their
decisions; and their direct and positive ascription
of them to a supernatural influence ; prove that
they singled them out from the mass of works
then extant as alone worthy of the religious faith

* Contra Apion. lib. i. § 8,
i

466

THE CANON OT INSPIRATION.

Lect. 1x. and confidence of mankind. ‘They speak of them

The wit-
nesses
examined.

as a corpus Librorum, a definite collection of holy
writings, well known as such to the Jews, in
whose hands they were. If, in addition to this,
they had specified by name the different books in
the Jewish canon, no question respecting any of
them could have been fairly agitated by those
who bow to the high authority with which they
were invested; but this not being the case, it
remains to be proved, that the books which we
now find in the canon are precisely those which
it contained in their time. Except we are satis-
fied in regard to this identity, we cannot ascribe
to our collection as a whole, the same authority
which they ascribed to the collection, that formed
the subject of their appeals.

It will be admitted, that the only proper
method of proceeding with the investigation in
reference to these books is to examine the wit-
nesses, who lived in or near the time to which
reference is made, and carefully to weigh and
compare the testimonies which they have fur-
nished on the subject. In conducting this |
examination, however, we must discriminate
those who incidentally advert to it, or assert the
authority of certain books, or classes of books, or
quote from them, from such as professedly treat
of the canon: since it must be evident, that
omissions on the part of the former are not to be
placed in the same estimate with those which
might be found in the latter.

THE CANON OF INSPIRATION. 467

The earliest testimony which bears upon the tecr. 1x.
Jewish canon is that contained in the book of Pelee
Eccesrasticus, which Eichhorn considers to have
been written within two centuries before Christ.

In this work we discover manifest indications of
the books which were accounted sacred at the
time when it was written. Commencing with
Moses and Joshua, whom he designates the suc-
cessor of the former in prophecies, the author
enumerates Samuel, David, Solomon, Isaiah,
Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and the twelve prophets, as
those who had furnished, in their writings, the
knowledge of the various topics which he cele-
brates, or whose actions, as described in these
writings, form the subject of his discourse. It
deserves special. attention, that he takes the
sacred writers in the order of chronology, just as
they commonly stand in our Bibles; and that
though he brings his story down to the time of
Simon the Second, the minor prophets are the
last of whom he predicates the gift of inspiration.
(See chapters xlix. 1.) To Solomon especially he
ascribes songs, proverbs, parables, and interpre-
tations, by which last he most probably means
the book of Ecclesiastes.

In the New Testament the collection of the New
Divine Scriptures is represented as commencing .
and ending with the same books that occupy the
first and last place in our present canon. Thus
our Lord, designing to comprehend all the
instances in which innocent blood had been

Hu 2

468

THE CANON OF INSPIRATION.

Lect. 1x. shed, cites that of Abel, from Genesis, and that

Philo.

of Zacharias, from the close of the Second of
Chronicles, which is the last book in the Hebrew
Bible. (Matt. xxiii. 35.) It is also divided into
“The Law of Moses, the Propuets, and the
Psaums,” (Luke xxiv. 44,) the third of which
classes comprehends the Chethuvim, or Hagio-
grapha, according to the custom of the Jews to
designate by synecdoche a book, or number of
books, from that with which it commences. It
also contains direct quotations from, or obvious
references to all the books now in the Old Testa-
ment canon, except those of Ruth, Ezra, Nehe-
miah, Esther, the Song of Solomon, Lamentations,
and Ezekiel; to which, however, on the presump-
tion that they existed, it does not appear the
writers had any occasion to advert. In the
present case, as we have already shown, the testi-
mony is strictly divine, being that either of the
Son of God himself, or of his apostles, who were
infallibly taught by the Holy Spirit.

Our next witness is PH1Lo, who was contem-
porary with Christ and his apostles. He nowhere
professes to give us a complete catalogue of the
books of the ‘Old Testament; but, in his book
on a Contemplative Life,* when treating of the
Therapeutze, he distinguishes between those com-
positions which had been written by the founders
of that sect, and “ the Holy Scriptures,” which

* Tom. ii. p. 475. Ed. Mang.

THE CANON OF INSPIRATION. 469

he divides into the Laws, the divinely-inspired ecr. 1x.
Propuetic Oracies, the Hymns, and THE
OTHER Books, and of which alone he asserts,
that they were admitted into their sacred places.*
We farther find scattered through his works,
express or more current citations from all the
books, which we now possess, or some mention
made of them, with the exception of Ruth,
Chronicles, Nehemiah, Esther, Lamentations,
Daniel, Ecclesiastes, and the Song of Solomon.

Nor can his silence with respect to these be
fairly construed into a proof against their exist-
ence in the canon, since they may all be classed
under one or other of the books, the authors of
which he expressly specifies; or it may be as-
sumed, that his subject furnished no occasion for
a separate reference to them.

The most complete of the ancient testimonies Josephus.
is that borne by Josepnus in his first book
against Apion. It is as follows: ‘“ It was
“neither permitted to every one who pleased to
“write, nor does any discrepancy exist in the
“things which are written ;—the prophets alone
“ having been taught by inspiration of God, wrote

* "Ev ἑκάστῃ δὲ οἰκία ἱερὸν, ὃ καλεῖται σεμνεῖον καὶ μονα-
στήριον, ἐν ᾧ μονούμενοι τὰ τοῦ σεμνοῦ βίου μυστήρια τελοῦνται,
μηδὲν εἰσκομίζοντες, μὴ ποτὸν, μὴ σιτίον, μηδέν τι τῶν ἄλλων,
ὅσα πρὸς τὰς τοῦ σώματος χρείας ἀναγκαῖα, ἀλλὰ ΝΟΜΟΥΣ,
καὶ ΛΟΙΊΑ θεσπισθέντα διὰ ΠΡΟΦΉΤΩΝ, καὶ ὝΜΝΟΥΣ, καὶ
TA ᾽ΑΛΔΑ, οἷς ἐπιστήμη καὶ εὐσέβεια συναύξονται καὶ τελειοῦν-
ται--- Εντυγχάνοντες γὰρ τοῖς ‘IEPOIS TPAMMASI, φιλοσο-
φοῦσι τὴν πάτριον φιλοσοφίαν, κ. τι Ar.

470

THE CANON OF INSPIRATION.

Lect. 1x. * the earliest and most ancient events, and accu-

“rately recorded those of their own times, as they
“happened. For we have not innumerable books,
“which are discordant and conflicting, but only
“ twenty-two, containing a history of all past time,
“and justly believed to be divine. Of these, five
“are from Moses, containing the laws and the
“account of the origin of mankind, and extend to
‘‘ his death, thus including a period of nearly three
“thousand years. And from the death of Moses
“till the reign of Artaxerxes, who reigned over
“the Persians after Xerxes—the prophets, who
“lived after Moses, have recorded in thirteen
“books the things which were done in their time.
“The remaining four contain songs of praises to
“‘ God, and precepts for the government of human
“life. From the time, indeed, of Artaxerxes to
“our own, every thing has been recorded ; but
“these accounts are not deemed worthy of the
‘same degree of credit with those written earlier,
*‘ owing to the absence of a regular succession of
“prophets. The faith with which we receive our
“Scriptures is manifest: for though so long a
‘period has already elapsed, no one has dared
“either to add to, detract from, or alter them in
“any respect. Itis an innate principle with every
Jew, by which he is influenced from his very
“birth, to regard them as announcements of the
“¢ Divine will, perseveringly to adhere to them, and
‘if necessary, willingly to die for them. Hence
“‘many of our nation, who have been captives,

THE CANON OF INSPIRATION.

471

“have often been seen to submit to racks and all Lect. 1x.

“kinds of death in the theatres, because they
κε would not utter a word against the laws and the
“records which accompany them. But which of
“‘the Greeks would be willing to suffer, or incur
“the least danger, though all their writings
“were to be destroyed? And no wonder ; for
“ they regard them merely as discourses framed
* according to the pleasure of those who wrote
“* them.”*

* »" tA ~ @ ’ ᾿ , ~ ” ὕ
-- ἅτε μήτε τοῦ ὑπογράφειν αὐτεξουσίου πᾶσιν ὄντος, μήτε
‘ - ~ , > δ ὃ , e > . , ~
τινὸς ἐν τοῖς γραφομένοις ἐνούσης διαφωνίας" ἀλλὰ μόνων τῶν
πρυφητῶν τὰ μὲν ἀνωτάτω καὶ τὰ παλαιότατα, κατὰ τὴν ἐπί-
4 > Ἀ a ~ , " \ > e ‘ ε
πνοιαν τὴν ἀπὸ τοῦ Θεοῦ μαθόντων, τὰ δὲ καθ᾽ αὑτοὺς ὡς
ἐγένετο, σαφῶς συγγραφόντων. Οὐ γὰρ μυριάδες βιβλίων εἰσὶ
- Ἁ ’ ~
παρ᾽ ἡμῖν, ἀσυμφώνων καὶ μαχομένων" δύο δὲ μόνα πρὸς τοῖς
, ~ ” ᾿
εἴκοσι βιβλία, τοῦ παντὸς ἔχοντα χρόνου τὴν ἀναγραφὴν, τὰ
δικαίως θεῖα πεπιστευμένα. Καὶ τούτων πέντε μέν ἔστι τὰ
Μωὺῦσέως, ἃ τούς τε νόμους περιέχει, καὶ τὴν τῆς ἀνθρωπογονίας
παράδοσιν, μέχρι τῆς αὐτοῦ τελευτῆς. Οὗτος ὁ χρόνος ἀπολεί-
met τρισχιλίων ὀλίγον ἐτῶν. ᾿Απὸ δὲ τῆς Mwicéwe τελευτῆς
μέχρι τῆς ᾿Αρταξέρξου, τοῦ μετὰ Ξέρξην Περσῶν βασιλέως ἀρχῆς,
e ‘ - =~ ~ .
ot μετὰ Μωῦσῆν προφῆται τὰ Kar’ αὐτοὺς πραχθέντα συνέγραψαν
ἐν τρισὶ καὶ δέκα βιβλίοις. Αἱ δὲ λοιπαὶ τέσσαρες ὕμνους εἰς
Ν \ ἅν - > / « ,ὔ - Vv ,
τὸν Θεὸν καὶ τοῖς ἀνθρώποις ὑποθήκας τοῦ βίου περιέχουσιν.
> \ ‘9 , ~ ~
Aro δὲ ᾿Αρταξέρξου μέχρι τοῦ καθ᾽ ἡμᾶς χρόνου γέγραπται μὲν
Ca Si , ~ ~ κ᾿
ἕκαστα" πίστεως δὲ οὐχ ὁμοίας ἠξίωται τοῖς πρὸ αὐτῶν, διὰ τὸ μὴ
γενέσθαι τὴν τῶν προφητῶν ἀκριβῆ διαδοχήν. Δῆλον δ᾽ ἐστὶν
” ~ « - - sD, ΄ ,
ἔργῳ THC ἡμεῖς τοῖς ἰδίοις γράμμασι πεπιστεύκαμεν. Τοσούτου
. 9. Ἡ“ὩὉ , Ν ~
yap αἰῶνος ἤδη παρωχηκότος, οὐτὲ προσθεῖναΐ τις οὐδὲν οὔτε
- ᾿ - " - -
ἀφελεῖν αὐτῶν, οὔτε μεταθεῖναι τετύλμηκε. Πᾶσι δὲ σὐμφυτόν
Ἀ ᾿ ~ , , , .
ἔστι εὐθὺς ἐκ τῆς πρώτης γενέσεως Ἰουδαίοις, τὸ νομίζειν αὐτὰ
Ὁ he , ,
Θεοῦ δόγματα, καὶ τούτοις ἐμμένειν, καὶ ὑπὲρ αὐτῶν εἰ δέοι
S72 ” > τ
θνήσκειν ἡδέως. Hen οὖν πολλοὶ πολλάκις ἑώρανται τῶν
> ’ a 'ν 38 , , , > ,
αἰχμαλώτων, στρέῶλας καὶ παντοίων θανάτων τρόπους ἐν θεά-
, , \ = , %
τροις ὑπομένοντες, Ext TO μηδὲν ῥῆμα προέσθαι παρὰ τοὺς

nh are. ‘ ‘ ει > ΄ a , * . ,
νύμους Kat τὰς μετὰ τούτων avaypapacg. Ὃ τίς ἂν ὑπομείνειεν

472

THE CANON OF INSPIRATION.

tect. 1x. On this important statement, furnished us by one

who was so competent to decide on a subject of
this nature, we remark,

First, That Josephus clearly distinguishes the
books, which were received by his nation as
sacred and divine, from others written after-
wards, on behalf of which no such claim could
be advanced. The attachment of the Jews to
the former was strictly religious, and, for this
reason, unconquerable.

Secondly, ‘They were held in so high a degree
of veneration, that any attempt to introduce an
alteration into them would be regarded as an act
of atrocity unheard of in their history. They
were carefully preserved, and transmitted without
augmentation, diminution, or mutation, from
one generation to another.

Thirdly, The same classification, which we
have noticed in the preceding testimonies, is here
explicitly recognised: the sacred books being
divided into the Pentrateucu, the PrRoPHETs,
and the rest of the books not included in these
two classes.

Fourthly, The writer specifies the period
during which the series of sacred books was
written: viz. from the time of Moses to the
reign of Artaxerxes Longimanus, a mode of

‘EMjvwv ὑπὲρ αὐτοῦ, ἀλλ᾽ ὑπὲρ τοῦ Kal πάντα τὰ Tap’ αὐτοῖς
ἀφανισθῆναι συγγράμματα, τὴν τυχοῦσαν ὑποστήσεται βλάβην;
λόγους γὰρ αὐτὰ νομίζουσιν εἶναι, κατὰ τὴν τῶν γραψάντων
βούλησιν éoyeciacpévovc.—Contra Apionem, lib. i. cap. 7, 8.

THE CANON OF INSPIRATION.

473

that it may be made to comprehend the whole of
the reign of that monarch. The last of the
books in point of time, which he assigns to the
canon, is that of Esther, the events narrated in
which chronologically belong to the reign of
Artaxerxes.

Fifthly, According to the investigations of
Eichhorn*~ and Jahn,t the following is the
specific arrangement of the books, which com-
posed the Jewish canon in the days of Josephus.
First class, Tur Five Booxs of Moses: Genesis,
Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy.
— Second class, THirTEEN Propueticay Books:
1. Joshua. 2. Judges and Ruth. 3. Two books
of Samuel. 4. Two books of Kings. 5. Two
books of Chronicles. 6. Ezra and Nehemiah.
7. Esther. 8. Isaiah. 9. Jeremiah and Lamen-
tations. 10. Ezekiel. 11. Daniel. 12. The
Twelve Minor Prophets. 13. Job.— Third
class, THe REMAINING Four: 1. Psalms. 2.
Proverbs. 3. Ecclesiastes. 4. Song of Solomon.
The sum total of the books thus classified amounts
to twenty-two, to which number the Jews are sup-
posed to have reduced them in order to make it
correspond with the number of letters originally
in their alphabet; just as, in the opinion of
Jerome, the Hellenists afterwards enlarged it, by

separating Ruth from Judges, and Lamentations »

* Ejinleitung, § 50. + Introduction, ὃ 28.

474

THE CANON OF INSPIRATION.

ΒΟ. 1x. from Jeremiah, in order to make it twenty-four,

the number of letters in the Greek alphabet.
That they were accustomed to count two or
more books as one, we learn from Origen ; and
nothing could be more natural than the combina-
tion of Ruth with Judges, Nehemiah with Ezra,
Lamentations with Jeremiah, and the two books
of Samuel, Kings, and Chronicles respectively
with each other. In fact, most of them continued
undivided till the time of Bomberg, who intro-
duced the separation into one of his celebrated
editions of the Hebrew Bible, in the commence-
ment of the seventeenth century. ‘The reckoning
of ali the Minor Prophets to one book, must be
very ancient, since we meet with a reference to
them under the designation of ““ The Book of the
Prophets.” (Acts vil. 42.) The only apparent
discrepancy in this arrangement is the allotting to
Job a place among the prophets: but this dis-
crepancy vanishes, when it is recollected, that the
term prophets in application to the sacred books
of the Hebrews comprised such writings as
were composed by inspired men: hence Joshua,
Judges, Ruth, &c. are reckoned in the common
Jewish division of the canon among the former
prophets. Besides, the book of Job being re-
garded as a true narrative clothed in a poetic
dress, came naturally to occupy a place among
historical books of the class to which reference
has just been made.

Although the celebrated passage on which we

THE CANON OF INSPIRATION.

have made these remarks is the only one in the
writings of the Jewish historian, in which he
professedly treats of the canon of the Old Testa-
ment, it must not be inferred, that his works
contain no further allusions to it. On the con-
trary, his pages constantly exhibit the designa-
tions, the ancient books, the books of the Hebrews,
Hebrew books, the sacred books, the books of
the sacred Scriptures, the books of prophecy, &e.
and allege statements from most of them, accord-
ing as the subjects, of which he treats, required.
He regarded them in their collective state as long
ago complete; and, like the rest of his nation,
considered them to be so sacred as not to allow
of being tampered with in any respect whatever.
Next to the testimony of Josephus ranks that
of MetiTo, bishop of Sardis, about the middle of
the second century, who travelled into the East
expressly for the purpose of ascertaining from the
Jews resident there the number and order of the
books in their canon. ‘The result he communi-
cates in a letter* to Onesimus, containing a cata-
ἘΞ Μελίτων Ὀνεσίμῳ τῷ ἀδελφῷ χαίρειν" ἐπειδὴ πολλάκις
ἠξίωσας σπουδῇ τῇ πρὸς τὸν λόγον χρώμενος γένεσθαι σοι ἐκλο-
γὰς, ἐκ τε τοῦ νόμου καὶ τῶν προφητῶν περὶ τοῦ σωτῆρος καὶ
πάσης τῆς πίστεως ἡμῶν. "Ere δὲ καὶ μαθεῖν τὴν τῶν παλαιῶν
βιβλίων ἐβουλήθης ἀκρίβειαν, πόσα τὸν ἀριθμὸν, καὶ ὁποῖα τὴν
τάξιν εἶεν, ἐσπούδασα τὸ τοιοῦτο πρᾶξαι, ἐπιστάμενός σου τὸ
σπουδαίον περὶ τὴν πίστιν; καὶ φιλομαθὲς περὶ τὸν λόγον. Ὅτι
τε μάλιστα πάντων πόθῳ τῷ πρὸς Θεὸν ταῦτα προκρίνεις περὶ
τῆς αἰωνίου σωτηρίας ἀγωνιζόμενος" ἀν ἐλθὼν οὖν εἰς τὴν ἀνα-
τολὴν, καὶ ἕως τοῦ τόπου γενόμενος ἔνθα ἐκηρύχθη καὶ ἐπράχθη

καὶ ἀκριβῶς μαθὼν τὰ τῆς παλαιᾶς διαθήκης βιβλία, ὑποτάξας

475

LECT. IX.

Melito.

476

THE CANON OF INSPIRATION.

LECT. IX. Jogue, in which all the books now in the canon

Origen.

are specified, excepting Nehemiah, Esther, and
Lamentations ;—with respect to which it may be
sufficient to remark, that, it was customary to
reckon the book last mentioned to that of
Jeremiah; and, as Ezra and Nehemiah were
frequently considered as one, it is in the highest
degree probable that Melito comprehended, under
Ezra all the three books, which treat of the his-
torical affairs of the Jews after the captivity.*

In the ecclesiastical history of Eusebius we are
furnished with a catalogue of the canonical books
of the Jews as given by OricEn in his Exposition
of the First Psalm,t in which he assigns to them

> / - ᾽ \ 5 ae, yond ΄, . ΄
ἐπεμψά σοι ὧν ἐστὶ τὰ ὀνόματα. Mwioéwe πέντε" γένεσις,
” iN \ 3 \ ὃ , ας - ~ \
ἔξοδος, λευιτικὸν, ἀριθμοὶ, Cevrepovdpuay* ᾿Ιησοῦς ναυῆ, κριταὶ,
pov)" βασιλεῖων τέσσερα, παραλειπομένων δύο. Ψαλμῶν δαβὶδ,
σαλομῶνος παροιμίαι, ἢ καὶ σοφία, ἐκκλησιαστὴς, ᾷσμα ᾷἄσματων,
ἰώβ. Προφητῶν, ἡσαΐου, ἱερεμίου, τῶν δώδεκα ἐν μονοβιβλῳ,
\ τὶ \ ag SS ie © \ ‘ 3 ᾿ ? , >

δανιὴλ, ἱεζεκιὴλ, ἐσδράς" ἐξ wy καὶ τὰς ἐκλογὰς ἐποιησάμην, εἰς
ἐξ βιβλία διελώ».--- 56 0:1 Hist. Eccles. lib. iv. cap. 26.

* Eichhorn’s Einleit. § 52, and Bruns in his Edition of
Kennicott’s Dissert. General, p. 178.

+ Tov μὲν rotye πρῶτον ἐξηγούμενος ψαλμὸν, ἔκθεσιν πεποίη-
ται τοῦ τῶν ἱερῶν γραφῶν τῆς παλαιᾶς διαθήκης καταλόγου, ὧδέ

- , ‘ , 4 > 3 , we ἂν A 2? Ὁ ,
πῶς γράφων κατὰ λέξιν" οὐκ ἀγνοητέον δ᾽ εἶναι Tac ἐνδιαθήκους

, ε th) Pe so? , rer) chu af εἰ δὰ
βίβλους, ὡς Ἑβραῖοι παραζιδόασιν, δύο καὶ εἴκοσι ὅσος ὁ ἀριθ--
μὸς τῶν Tap αὐτοῖς στοιχείων ἐστίν" εἶτα μετά τινα, ἐπιφέρει
λέγων" εἰσὶ δὲ αἱ εἴκοσι δύο βίβλοι καθ᾽ “Ἑβραίους αἵδε" ἡ παρ᾽
ἡμῖν γένεσις ἐπιγεγραμμένη, παρὰ δὲ Ἑβραίοις ἀπὸ τῆς ἀρχῆς
τῆς βίβλου βρήσιθ, ὅπερ ἐστὶν ἐν ἀρχῇ" ἔξοδος, οὐαλεσμὼθ,
ὅπερ ἐστὶ ταῦτα τὰ ὀνόματα" λευιτικὸν, οὐ ἱ κρὰ, καὶ ἐκάλεσεν
ἀριθμοὶ ἀμμεσφεκωδείμ' δευτερονόμιον, ἔλλε ἁ δδεβαρὶμ,
οὗτοι οἱ λόγοι' Ἰησοῦς υἱὸς Νανῆ, Ἰωσῦε βὲν Νοῦν" κριταὶ, ῥοὺθ,

" ᾽ - “ Le , ~ ΄ by ΄ ᾽
παρ αὑὐτοις ἐν ἑνὶ σωφετίμ' βασιλειῶν πρώτη, CEUTEPAa, παρ

THE CANON OF INSPIRATION.

477

the number twenty-two, and mentions all now L£cT.1x.

received, if we except the minor prophets, which
must have been omitted by some copyist, since it
is evident from other parts of the writings of that
father, that he regarded them as inspired. What
renders the testimonies of Melito and Origen of
greater importance, is the circumstance of their
having both lived in the second century, and

the former especially so very near the time of
Josephus.

There are only two additional sources of eVi- Jerome.

dence to which it is necessary to refer, since
the other testimonies, which are exceedingly
numerous, exactly correspond with them. ‘The
former of these is JERomgE, who flourished in the
fourth century, and is justly regarded as the first
Biblical critic in point of eminence to be found
among the Fathers. Among other subjects of
investigation, in connection with the Hebrew
studies, which he prosecuted in Palestine, that
before us claimed his special attention ; and he
gives us the result of his inquiries respecting it in

αὐτοῖς ἐν Σαμουὴλ, ὁ θεόκλητος" βασιλειῶν τρίτη, τετάρτη ἐν
ἑνὶ οὐαμμέλεκ δαβὶδ, ὅπερ ἐστὶ βασιλεία δαβίδ' Παρα-
λειπομένων πρώτη, δευτέρα Ev ἑνὶ, διβρή ἀΐϊαμιμ, ὕπερ ἔστι
λόγοι ἡμερῶν" Eacpac πρῶτος καὶ δεύτερος ἐν ἑνὶ ἐζρᾶ, ὁ ἔστι
βοηθός" βίβλος ψαλμῶν σέφερ θιλλέμ. Σολομῶντος παροι-
μίαι, μισλώθ, ἐκκλησιαστὴς, κωέλεθ, ἄσμα ἄσμάτων, σὶρ
ἁσσιρίμ' ἡσαΐας, ᾿Ιεσαϊά. “lepeulac σὺν θρήνοις καὶ τῇ ἐπι-
στολῇ ἐν ἑνὶ, Ἰρεμία. Δανιήλ, Δανιήλ. Ἱεζεκίηλ, Ἰεεζκήλ.
Ἰὼβ, Ἰώβ. Ἐσθὴρ, Ἔ σθήρ. "Ἑξω δὲ τούτων ἐστὶ τὰ Μακκα-
βαϊκὰ, ἅπερ ἐπιγέγραπται Σαρβὴθ σαρβανὲ ~A.—Eusebii
Hist. Eccles. lib. vi. cap. 25.

478

THE CANON OF INSPIRATION.

tEcT.1x. his celebrated Prologus Galeatus, in which he

specifies every book at present in the Hebrew
canon, and shows how the number might be
estimated either at twenty-two or twenty-four,
according as the books of Ruth and Lamentations
were or were not reckoned along with Judges
and Jeremiah respectively.* The other source

* Viginti et duas litteras esse apud Hebreos, Syrorum
quoque lingua et Chaldzorum testatur, que hebraee magna
ex parte confinis est. Nam et ipsi viginti duo elementa
habent, eodem sono et diversis characteribus. Porro quinque
litterze duplicis apud Hebrzos sunt, Caph, Mem, Nun, Pe,
Sade. Unde et quinque a plerisque libri duplices existi-
mantur, Samuel, Melachim, Dibre Hajamim, Esdras, Jeremias
cum Cinoth, id est lamentationibus suis. Quomodo igitur
viginti duo elementa sunt, per que scribimus hebrezice omne
quod loquimur, et eorum initiis vox humana comprehenditur ;
ita vigintt duo volumina supputantur, quibus quasi litteris et
exordiis in Dei doctrina, tenera adhuc et lactens viri justi
eruditur infantia.

Primus apud eos liber vocatur Beresith, quem nos Genesin
dicimus. Secundus Veelle Semoth. ‘Tertius Vajikra, id
est, Leviticus. Quartus Vajedabber, quem Numeros vocamus.
Quintus Elle haddebarim, qui Deuteronomium prenotatur.
Hi sunt quinque libri Mosis, quos proprie Thora, id est,
Legem, appellant.

Secundum Prophetarum ordinem faciunt, et incipiunt ab
Jesu filio Nave, qui apud eos Josue Ben Nun dicitur.
Deinde subtexunt Sophetim, id est Judicum librum: et in
eundem compingunt Ruth, quia in diebus Judicum facta
ejus narratur historia. Tertius sequitur Samuel, quem nos
Regum primum et secundum dicimus. Quartus Melachim,
id est Regum, qui tertio et quarto Regum volumine con-
tinetur. Meliusque multo est Melachim, id est Regum,
quam Melachoth, id est Regnorum, dicere: Non enim
multarum gentium describit regna, sed unius Israelitici
populi, qui tribibus duodecim continetur. Quintus est
Esaias. Sextus Jeremias. Septimus Lzechiel. Octavus

THE CANON OF INSPIRATION.

is the Tatmup, which may be referred to much
about the same period, and is to be viewed as
furnishing the testimony of the Masorites or
Jewish critics, who occupied themselves in the
most minute manner with every thing connected
with the state of the Hebrew text. In the tract
entitled Bava Bathra, the books of Scripture are
first divided into the Law, the Prophets, and the

liber duodecim Prophetarum, qui apud illos vocatur
Thereasar.

Tertius ordo Hagiographa possidet. Et primus liber
incipita Job. Secundus a David, quem quinque incisionibus
et uno Psalmorum volumine comprehendunt. Tertius est
Salomon, tres libros habens, Proverbia, que illi Misle, id est
Parabolas, appellant. Quartus Ecclesiasticus, id est Coheleth.
Quintus Canticum Canticorum, quem titulo Sir hassirim
prenotant. Sextus est Daniel. Septimus Dibre hajammim,
id est Verba dierum, quod significantius Chronicon totius
divinee historia possumus appellare, qui liber apud nos
Paraleipomenon primus et secundus inscribitur. Octavus
Esdras: qui et ipse similiter apud Grecos et Latinos in
duos libros divisus est. Nonus Esther.

Atque ita fiunt pariter Veteris Legis libri viginti duo, id
est, Mosis quinque, et Prophetarum octo, Hagiographorum
novem,

Quanquam nonnulli Ruth et Cinoth inter Hagiographa
seriptitent, et hos libros in suo putent numero supputandos,
ac per hoc esse prisce Legis libros viginti quatuor.

Hic prologus scripturarum quasi galeatum principium
omnibus libris, quos de Hebreo vertimus in Latinum, con-
venire potest : ut scire valeamus, quicquid extra hos est, inter
apocrypha esse ponendum. Igitur Sapientia que vulgo
Salomonis inscribitur, et Jesu Jilii Sirach liber, et Judith et
Tobias, et Pastor non sunt in Canone. Machabeorum
primum \ibrum hebraicum reperi. Secundus grecus est,
quod ex ipsa quoque phrasi probari potest. 8. Hieronymi
Opera, tom. iii. p. 682. ed. Mar. Vict, Reatini. Paris, 1624.
Or, in Eichhorn’s Einleitung, § 55.

479

LECT. IX.
Talmud.

480

THE CANON OF INSPIRATION.

tect.1x. Hagiographa, after which the name of each book

Job.

of the latter divisions is given separately. ‘They
are twenty-four in number, and likewise agree
with those now extant.*

It is only with regard to the canonicity of a
few of the books comprised in the Hebrew
Bible, that any serious doubts have been enter-
tained ; but these doubts will be found to have
been originated not by any deficiency of external
or historical evidence, but by supposed grounds
of rejection furnished by the books themselves.

Canonicity of Thus objections have been taken against the

inspired authority of the book of Job, on the
ground of the incongruousness of supposing,
that a person afflicted to desperation as Job is
represented to have been, should have expressed
himself in the measured language of poetry,
and that any thing in the shape of a dramatic
composition should form part of the inspired
volume. To which is added, the extraordinary
character of the prologue, in which Satan. is.
introduced into the celestial council, and repre-
sented as obtaining formal permission to afflict
the patriarch. Were this the place to go into
a refutation of these and other kindred objec-
tions, it might easily be shown that there is

ἘΝῚ oop) pwim oso Sw yp 7359 21
Sw yao -- > wy ow) ΓΝ ὈΝΡΥΓΙῚ man ody

sw nomp sowed ays) ΌΤΙ app) AM Dans

2D MAT) SITY ἽΠΠΟΝ Dd) ὈΝΟῚ Ap) Owe
Fol. 14. Ed. Amsterdam.

THE CANON OF INSPIRATION.

48]

nothing whatever in the style of the language “scr. 1x.

which is not in perfect keeping with the well-
known improvisatorial habits of the Arabs,
according to which it would even be more
natural for one of that people under the power-
ful excitement of disease to express himself in
the terse and energetic language of poetry, than
to content himself with the cold tameness of
prose. The other points are purely hypo-
thetical ; and as they have been met by other
hypotheses, which remove the apparent diff-
culties, no value is to be attached to them.
The book, which bears unequivocal marks of
patriarchal antiquity, inculcates some of the
most important lessons respecting Divine Pro-
vidence ; and though much of it is occupied
with statements which are at variance with
sound views of the subject, but for which in-
spiration is in no degree responsible, it being
absurd to ascribe these statements to it as their
origin, the whole was highly worthy of forming
part of the inspired volume. Though not men-
tioned by Philo or Josephus, it is quoted by
the Apostle Paul in the same style in which
he usually makes citations from the Old Tes-
tament—+yéyparrau yap, “for IT IS WRITTEN,
He taketh the wise in their own craftiness.”
(1 Cor. ii. 19; Job y. 13.) It is found in the
catalogues of Melito, Origen, and other sources
of the second and third centuries.

The objections which have been advanced

482 THE CANON OF INSPIRATION.

Lect. ΙΧ, against the book of Esther, on the ground of

hah the follies, wickedness, and cruelties narrated
in it, have been ably refuted by Jahn and other
writers, who have shown that these things are
not recorded with approbation, but simply as
facts of history, illustrative of the operations of
the providence of God with a view to effect
the deliverance of his people. Every feature
exhibited in it is in harmony with the scene of
the transactions, and especially the character of
the king whom it describes. No reasonable
doubt can be excited by the absence of the
Divine name, and of any direct reference to
the Divine Being, since it is nothing more than
an historical record, extracted, in all probability,
from the royal chronicles, and inserted by di-
rection of the Spirit of Inspiration in the sacred
collection of Hebrew writings. With a sin-
gularly bad grace is this objection urged by
De Wette, who is loud in his complaints against
the other historical books on account of the
decided theocratical spirit which they universally
breathe.

The claim of the book of Esther to a place
in the canon rests on the following facts. It
is obviously admitted by Josephus to belong to
the time of Artaxerxes Longimanus, with whose
reign he closes the imspired canon. It is found
in the catalogues of Origen, Cyril of Jerusalem,
Epiphanius, Jerome, and others, and in that of
the ‘Talmud; and was translated as one of the

THE CANON OF INSPIRATION. 483

canonical books of the Jews by the LXX., and tect. 1x.
by Aquila, Symmachus, and Theodotion, in the
second century.

The peculiar argument of the book of Eccle- canonicity of
siastes, and the want of a clear perception of ἐπ κ᾽
the manner in which it is conducted, have occa-
sioned considerable dissatisfaction with it both in
ancient and modern times. On the supposition
that it contains self-contradictory propositions
and statements, which seem to countenance
Epicurism, some of the rabbins wished to keep
it back from public view, and thus, in one sense,
to render it apocryphal ; but they were never
able to succeed in the attempt. Equally fruit-
less has been the opposition evinced by Grotius,
and after him by Voltaire, Semler, and others,
to its canonicity and consequent inspiration.
No specific mention, indeed, is made of it by
Josephus, but the same may be said of that of
Proverbs, which is allowed on all hands to have
been in the canon. There can be little doubt,
however, that it formed one of the sacred books,
which that historian describes as treating of
moral subjects. It is found in the catalogues
of Melito, Origen, Jerome, and other fathers ;
in the Talmud ; and in the early Greek versions
mentioned above.

To the canonical claims of no book of the Croat
Old Testament has a greater degree of reluct- of Solomon.
ance been felt than to those of the Song of
Solomon. Instead, however, of these claims

484

THE CANON OF INSPIRATION.

Lect. 1x. heing brought to the test commonly applied to

the adjudication of the title of any writings to
a place in the list of sacred books, they have
been opposed on the ground of certain modes
of expression, or certain representations in the
book itself, or the difficulties which have pre-
sented themselves in regard to its satisfactory
interpretation. But the only question that in
our judgment can legitimately be entertained
on the subject, respects the external evidence.
It is a question of history, not of dogmatics.
Have we, or have we not sufficient reason to
believe, that it formed part of the Jewish canon
in the time of our Saviour and his apostles ?
If it did, then, as we have already proved, it
must indisputably have received their sanction
as a divine book, and is, on this high and sacred
authority, to be received as such by us, irre-
spective of the internal difficulties which it may
be thought to contain. If it occupied a place
in that canon then, it cannot now be rejected
with impunity. -We are bound to receive it as
the word of God, and apply ourselves to the
study of it with the simplicity, humility, and
prayer, which are indispensable to our attaining
to a correct understanding of its import, and
our deriving from it the instruction which it
was intended to afford. What then, it may be
asked, is the amount of testimony adducible in
support of its canonicity ? That it is in all the
Hebrew manuscripts, which profess to contain

THE CANON OF INSPIRATION.

485

the entire Scriptures of the Old Testament, is tecr.-1x.

beyond dispute. ‘That it existed in such manu-
scripts in the days of the Masorites, that is to
say, some six or seven hundred years previous
to the transcription of the oldest Hebrew manu-
script now extant, is equally incontestible. That
it ever was wanting, we have no authority for
supposing. It is found in the catalogue exhi-
bited in the Talmud, and in those of Jerome,
Rufinus, Origen, and Melito, and was even
commented upon by Hippolytus and Origen.
It was translated into Greek by Symmachus
before the end of the second century ; by Theo-
dotion during the first half of the same century ;
and by Aquila, according to Jahn and other
Biblical critics, between the years 90 and 130.
The testimony of the last-mentioned translator
is of high importance on three grounds. First,
because it was expressly his design in making
the version to furnish his brethren the Jews
with an exact representation of the original
text of their sacred books, to which he accord-
ingly adheres with the most rigid verbality.
Secondly, because it supplies us with positive
evidence of the existence of the book in the
canon, at a period almost, if not entirely, co-
incident with the apostolic age. And, thirdly,
because of the light, which its ascertained exist-
ence at this early period throws upon the testi-
mony of Josephus, who, within at most half a
century before, declared that no Jew would on

486

THE CANON OF INSPIRATION.

LECT. ΙΧ. any consideration dare to add to the twenty-two

books, which formed the sacred canon of the
nation. Can it now be reasonably doubted, that
the Song of Solomon formed one of the four,
which that historian describes as celebrating the
Divine praises, and furnishing precepts for the
regulation of human conduct? [5 it likely, that
between the period at which he wrote, and that
in which the version of Aquila was executed,
it could have been foisted into the Jewish Bible ?
On the contrary, is it not certain that the 1η-
creased attention which had been excited to that
divine volume by our Lord and his apostles,
and the necessary attitude of mutual jealousy
with respect to the nature and interpretation of
its contents, in which the Jews and Christians
stood to each other, must have rendered it abso-
lutely impossible for an interpolation to have
taken place? ‘Till such time as the New Tes-
tament canon was completed, the Old Testament
was the only collection of sacred writings which,
as a whole, had received the Divine sanction.
It is therefore natural to suppose, that it would
be much read by the Christians of the first, and
part of the second century, and that not merely
in the Greek version of the LXX., but also in
the original Hebrew, with which great numbers
of them must have been familiar, and quite
competent to detect any attempted imposition.

It is only necessary to add, that we have no
ground whatever for believing that this book

THE CANON OF INSPIRATION.

487

did not form part of the Septuagint before the Lect. 1x.

time of our Lord, though the exact period at
which it was translated cannot be ascertained.
That Theodotion found it in that version cannot
be disputed.

When the claims of the Song of Solomon
were first called in question in the fourth cen-
tury by Theodorus of Mopsuestia, it appears
that his objections were not taken from any
matter of fact alleged in evidence against its
canonicity, but simply arose out of his opposition
to every thing in the shape of allegorical expo-
sition, and his not finding it possible to reconcile
what he conceived to be its historical import
’ with the sacred attribute of Divine inspiration.
On this account he was severely castigated by
Leontius of Jerusalem, who declares that the
book was not only acknowledged as most sacred
by all who were skilled in divine things, and by
all the churches in the world, but admired even
by the Jews themselves, the enemies of the Cross
of Christ.

Into the subject of the interpretation of this
book, it would be out of place to enter on
the present occasion, further than to state our
conviction, that, of all the modes which have
been resorted to, there is none that commends
itself as correct, or, in any degree, satisfactory,
except that which recognises and illustrates the
relation in which Jehovah stood to the church
as his bride, who, by solemn covenant, pledged

488

THE CANON OF INSPIRATION.

LecT. 1x. to him her undivided fidelity and affection ; that

it applies to the church in her collective capacity ;
and that the figures, so far from being designed
to be taken up and explained singly, are to be
viewed as grouped together, in the gorgeous
style of oriental costume, for the sake of orna-
ment and effect. Due attention to these simple
principles will not only tend to remove the
prejudices which unhappily exist against the
spiritual interpretation, but will banish entirely
those luscious, sensual, and extravagant appli-
cations, which have so extensively disgraced our
theological literature.*

Having disposed of the canon of the Old
Testament so far as its integral parts are con-
cerned, and adduced evidence to prove, that it
consists of precisely the same books now, which
it comprised in the time of our Lord,t we pro-

* See Professor Robinson’s Calmet, Article Canticles :
containing some valuable remarks, chiefly drawn from an
Essay on the Song of Songs, by Professor Hengstenberg
of Berlin, inserted in the Evangelische Kirchenzeitung for
1827.

+ “From the accounts which we have hitherto collected,
“it appears to me to be undeniable, that in the time of
“Christ and the apostles the canon of the Jews corresponded
‘in extent with our present editions of the Bible.”’"—* So far
“back as we can carry its history, even at the time when
“the Apocrypha again unite the broken threads of Hebrew
*‘ literature, a Sacred National Library is already spoken of, as
‘*if the separate parts of it were accurately defined,—so that it
‘appears to have been formed soon after the Exile, or, that

definite number of books, forming one whole, had been

THE CANON OF INSPIRATION. 489

ceed briefly to review the Apocryphal question, tect rx.
or the claims of certain other books to a place in
common with those in the volume of inspiration.
The terms Apocrypha and Apocryphal, like the tne apocry-

word Canon, are also of Greek origin, though a
some difference of opinion has existed respecting
their derivative signification. Some, with Epipha-
nius, suppose that they are to be referred to the
κρύπτη, or ark in which the sacred books were kept,

so that such writings as were not admitted into
this depository, (8x0. AIO ΤῊΣ KPYIITHS,)
were considered to be separate and _ profane.
By others, they are derived from ἀπόκρυφος, that
which is hidden or obscure, and are supposed to
have been applied to certain books, in order to
intimate, that they were dark and difficult of in-
terpretation; that they were kept back from
public use in religious assemblies, and from
young and inexperienced readers; that they
were the productions of unknown authors, or
even forgeries; or that they were merely of

“selected from among those which differed greatly from
“each other as it regards their contents, their authors, and
“the period of their composition, on purpose that no new
‘‘ writings should be added to them; though from the want
‘of documents it is impossible for us to determine in what
“year, or why their augmentation ceased.”

«In short, history shows, that after the Babylonish exile,
‘and soon after the re-establishment of the Jewish polity in
«“ Palestine, the canon was fixed, and that, at that time, all
‘the books were received into it, which we now find in it.”
Eichhorn, Einleit. § 57.

490

THE CANON OF INSPIRATION.

Lect. 1x. human origin, and consequently could not claim

to rank with books, which had been divinely
inspired. Owing to this diversity of signification,
the same degree of obscurity often attaches to the
use of the words in question, which attaches to
the terms Canon and Canonical. Those who
adopt the meaning, which is indicative of with-
holdment from public inspection, generally ap-
peal to the parallel use of the term Τὴ). among
the rabbins; but, though it is incontestible, that
my22 oD signify books which are laid aside,
and not permitted to be publicly read, or put
into the hands of all persons indiscriminately, it
is equally certain, that such writings were never-
theless considered to be divinely inspired. The
term is applied in rabbinical works to copies of
the law, which happened to contain three or
more errors of transcription on the same page,
and which, on this account, were prohibited from
being read in the synagogue: but it is also
applied to the first chapter of Genesis, the Song
of Solomon, and the last eight chapters of
Ezekiel, respecting the inspiration of which no
doubts were entertained, but which, it was thought,
might easily be abused by those whose age or
inexperience disqualified them from putting a
right interpretation upon them. It does not
appear, that it was ever used in reference to
books of human origin: and therefore is alto-
gether inappropriate in application to the sub-
ject before us.

THE CANON OF INSPIRATION.

The books, or portions of books, which are
strictly apocryphal, or destitute of all divine
sanction, but have nevertheless been placed in
the same category with the canonical books, are
the following :—Two books of Esdras; four of
Maccabees; those of Wisdom, Ecclesiasticus,
Tobit, Judith, and Baruch ; the Appendix to the
Book of Job; the 151st Psalm ; the additions to
the Books of Esther and Daniel; the Prayer of
Manasseh ; the Song of the Three Children; the
story of Bel and the Dragon; the History of
Susannah ; and the Epistle of Jeremiah appended
to the book of Baruch. Add to which, the Epistle
of the Corinthians to the Apostle Paul, and his
Epistle in reply, which are founded in the Arme-
nian Bible. Of the former, the two books of
Esdras, the third and fourth of Maccabees, the
Prayer of Manasseh, the Appendix to Job, and
the supernumerary Psalm, are admitted by the
church of Rome to be apocryphal; but she will
not allow the term to be applied to the rest,
which, by the council of Trent, she has pro-
nounced to be sacred and canonical, and scruples
not to pronounce a solemn curse against any
one, who shall not so regard them.* The high and

* After having declared that the Council “doth receive
“and reverence, with equal piety and veneration, all the
“books as well of the Old as of the New Testament, the
“same God being the author of both,” the fathers proceed to
specify them: “Sunt vero infra scripti: Testamenti Ve-
* TERIS, quinque Moysis, id est Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus,
“ Numeri, Deuteronomium ; Josue, Judicum, Ruth, quatuor

491

LECT. IX.

Specification

of the Apo-
cryphal
writings.

492

LECT. IX.

THE CANON OF INSPIRATION,

unbending character of the decision thus given
has invested the subject with a degree of interest,
which it never would have acquired, had it been
left to every individual to form his own judgment
according to the evidence within his reach. It
has accordingly ever since formed, and, while the
decree stands, must ever form, one of the funda-
mental points of controversy between the Roman
and Protestant churches. Many who, considering
the subordinate uses to which the apocryphal books
may be applied, would have been the last to con-
demn them en masse, were roused to keen and
determined hostility by the presumption of a
human tribunal arrogating to itself the right of
infallibly declaring writings to be upon a par
with the inspired dictates of the Holy Spirit,

“ Regum, duo Paraleipomenon, Esdre primus et secundus,
“* qui dicitur Nehemias, Vobias, Judith, Hester, Job, Psal-
“ terium Davidicum centum quinquaginta psalmorum, Para-
“ bole, Ecclesiastes, Canticum Canticorum, Sapientia, Eccle-
** stasticus, Isaias, Jeremias cum Baruch, Ezekiel, Daniel,
** duodecim Prophete minores, id est, Osea, Joel, Amos,
“‘ Abdias, Jonas, Micheas, Nahum, Habacuc, Sophonias,
** Aggwus, Zacharias, Malachias; duo Machabeorum, primus
*‘ et secundus.” [Then follow the books of the New Testa-
“ment, after which the decree proceeds, ] ‘“ Si quis autem
“ libros ipsos integros cum omnibus suis partibus, prout in
“ Eeclesia Catholica legi consueverunt, et in veteri vulgata
“ Latina editione habentur, pro sacris et canonicis non
“* susceperit ; et traditiones praedictas sciens et prudens con-
κε tempserit: ANATHEMA 511. Though the other apocry-
phal matter specified above in the text is not mentioned in
this decree, it is nevertheless included, being mixed up with,
or appended to certain of the books here enumerated.

THE CANON OF INSPIRATION.

493

which it was impossible to trace to a higher than tecr. rx.

human origin, and which at best had always been
considered of doubtful authority. This oppo-
sition was increased on the discovery, that, in
certain of these books, doctrines are taught and
practices sanctioned, which cannot be reconciled
with what is inculcated in the genuine Scriptures.
Owing, however, to the circumstance of their
having, at the time of the Reformation, been
translated, and bound up along with the ca-
nonical books in the vernacular languages of the
different Protestant churches, they have continued
to retain this position under a separate and cau-
tionary heading in the authorized Bibles, with
the exception of the Calvinistic versions, from
most of the editions of which they have been en-
tirely expunged. That this has not been the case
universally both in the Lutheran and Reformed
communions is cause of deep regret—espe-
cially as it is an undeniable fact, that, in the
former of these two divisions of the professing
church, some of the Apocrypha are held in
higher estimation than the inspired books
themselves, not only by the people generally, but
also by many, who might be expected to draw a
broad line of demarcation between them. Certain
it is, that, if the question were to be taken up on
the continent, and treated as a matter of purely
historical research, with that iron diligence and
critical acumen, for which the German character is
so distinguished, the result would be a complete

494 THE CANON OF INSPIRATION.

LecT. 1x. restoration of the sacred books to their pris-
tine state of incontamination and undisturbed
authority.

Light in That the Apocryphal books are spoken of by

were rege SoMe Of the fathers in language, which almost

Fathes. elevates them to an equality with the divine
oracles, is not denied, any more than the fact of
their having been read in the churches; just as
lessons from them are read at this day in the
church of England under the common rubric :
“Tables of lessons of Holy Scripture to be read
‘‘at morning and evening prayer throughout the
“vear.” But that they were regarded as inspired,
or of the same authority with the canonical
Scriptures, cannot be proved. Not only are they
not recognised either in Philo, Josephus, or the
New Testament, but they were never received
into the Jewish canon. ‘They are not found in
the catalogues of Melito, Origen, Hilary, Am-
philochius, Gregory Nazianzen, Epiphanius, Cyril
of Jerusalem, nor in the Synopsis of Athanasius.
On the contrary, such of these fathers as mention
them, state explicitly, that they are not canonical,
as do also Chrysostom, Eusebius, Rufinus, and
many others, quoted by Bishop Cosin in his
valuable work on the Canon. Neither Origen,
Hesychius, nor Lucian, took the least notice of
them in their critical revisions of the text of the
Septuagint. Augustine is the only writer in the
first four centuries, who, in his work De Doctrina
Christiana included them among the canonical

THE CANON OF INSPIRATION.

495

Scriptures ; but the statement which he made in tzcr.1x.

that work he afterwards abandoned, as may be
seen in his Retractations. Many other witnesses
might be cited from about the same period, and
from each of the succeeding centuries down
to that of the Reformation ; but the most impor-
tant testimony of all is that borne by Jerome,
who, as we have already noticed, was decidedly
the best skilled of all the fathers in matters con-

nected with Biblical literature. Not only did this testimony

scholar reside successively at Rome, Constanti-
nople, and Bethlehem, but he travelled through
Italy, Gaul, Greece, Palestine, Egypt, and other
parts, and corresponded with many of the most
eminent men of his day, from whom he enjoyed
the most favourable opportunities of ascertaining
the light in which the subject was viewed by the
different churches of Christendom. In numerous
passages of his works he refers to the Apocryphal
books, which he expressly designates by this name
on account of their not being in the canon. In
his prologues and commentaries, he more _par-
ticularly states his opinion in reference to them,
speaks of many of them as fables, and repeatedly
appeals to the fact of their never having been
received by the Jews. And that no doubt what-
ever might remain respecting the nullity of their
claims to rank with those books, which were re-
cognised as divine, and that the latter might
receive no injury from their being circulated
along with them in the Latin version, he wrote

of Jerome.

496

THE CANON OF INSPIRATION,

ect.1x. his Prologus Galeatus, or Helmeted Preface,

which he prefixed to his translation of the books
of Samuel and Kings. In this Prologue, which
he placed in the front of his translation, to per-
form the part of a centinel in guarding the sacred
enclosure, he enumerates and gives the names of
the books im the Hebrew canon, which are per-
fectly identical with those now received by us.
He then adds: “ This Prologue to the Scriptures
‘“‘ may properly serve as a guardian Introduction
“to all the books, which I have translated from
“the Hebrew into Latin, that we may know,
‘“‘ that WHATEVER IS NOT INCLUDED IN THE
“ ENUMERATION HERE MADE IS TO BE PLACED
“* AMONG THE ApocryPHA. ‘Therefore Wisdom,
“‘ which is commonly ascribed to Solomon, and
““ the book of Jesus the Son of Sirach, and Judith,
“and Tobit and the Shepherd, arE NoT IN THE.
“ canon.”* So express, pointed, and specific is
this testimony, that, if no other evidence were
adducible, it must be regarded as sufficient of
itself definitively to settle the dispute ; and such,
in fact, is the judgment given respecting it
by Cardinal Cajetan, a celebrated Romanist :
«« Adopting,” he says, “ the rule laid down by
ςς Jerome, we shall not err in our discrimination
“of the canonical books. We hold those to be
«ς canonical, which he declares to be canonical,
‘and those which he separated from such as
“were canonical, we hold to be excluded.—

* See above, p. 478.

THE CANON OF INSPIRATION. 497

* Indeed thewhole Latin church is greatlyindebted Lect. 1x.
* to this blessed father for severing the canonical

“from the uncanonical books, and thus freeing

“us from the reproach of the Jews, who might

* charge us with forging books or parts of books,

** which never belonged to their ancient canon.”

After such declarations, any appeals to the loose

and doubtful decisions of councils are altogether
nugatory.

With respect to the New Testament Canon, wistory of
the New

one very important feature presents itself at the Testament
very commencement of our inquiry, by which it
is distinguished from that of the Old—its freedom
from Apocryphal interpolations and additions.
This immunity is absolute,* if we except two
epistles in the Armenian Bible, one of which
professes to be from the Corinthians to the Apostle
Paul, and the other, an Epistle of Paul to the
Corinthians. The antiquity of the latter docu-
ment cannot be doubted, since it is expressly
quoted by St. Gregory the Illuminator in one of
his sermons in the third century ; but neither of
them is mentioned by any Greek or Latin writer,
and they evidently belong to the numerous class
of pseudo-epigraphical compositions which made
their appearance in the early age of the Christian
church. ‘The spurious Gospels, Acts, Epistles,
Preachings, and Revelations, which circulated to

* The above statement is not to be extended to various
readings, but is meant to apply to whole books.

K K

498

THE CANON OF INSPIRATION.

LECT.IX. ἃ considerable extent in the second and third

centuries, bore such manifest marks of forgery,
that though they had the names of the apostles
and other disciples of Christ affixed to them, they
were never able to compete with the canonical
Scriptures, and very soon fell into universal
disrepute.

The canon itself must have been gradual in its
formation, and at first more or less complete
according to circumstances. ‘That a collection
of certain epistles of Paul existed about thirty
years before the close of the first century, appears
from the appeal of Peter in his second Epistle,
(ch. ii. 16,) “as also im all his epistles,” ἐν πάσαις
ταῖς ἐπιστολαῖς. ‘The two epistles to the Corin-
thians, the two to the Thessalonians, and the two
to ‘Timothy, would naturally be joined to each
other respectively, after the perusal of that,

which, in each case, was of a more recent date ;

just as it must have been natural for ‘Theophilus
to join the Acts of the Apostles to the former
narrative (τὸν πρῶτον λόγον,) which had been
transmitted to him by Luke. Of the Pauline
epistles, those addressed to the churches in Asia
Minor formed, in all probability, the first collec-
tion; a second was likely soon made of those
addressed to the churches in Europe ; and when
to these were added his letters to Timothy,
Titus, and Philemon, all the writings which bore
his signature would be combined together. ‘The
Gospels of Matthew, Mark, and John, and the

THE CANON OF INSPIRATION. 499

Epistles of James and Jude, the first of Peter tecr. rx.
and the first of John, not being directed to any .
particular churches or individuals, but more or
less generally to the Christians of Jewish or
Greek extraction, or to all of them in common,
were no doubt rapidly and extensively circulated ;
and copies being taken both for the use of private
persons and of different Christian communities,
they must, along with the other inspired writings
already specified, have been formed into a general
collection at a very early period. ‘To these were
added the writings of Luke, the Epistle to the
Hebrews, the second of Peter, the second and
third of John, and the Apocalypse, as soon as
they became generally known, and it was ascer-
tained, that they were inspired productions.

At what time, and by what means, the New
Testament Canon was completed, it is impossible
definitively to determine. That a diversity of
opinion obtained for a time in reference to some
of the books now comprised in it appears from
the statement of Eusebius, who, in his classifica-
tion of the writings of the New Testament,*
divides them into the ὁμολογούμενα, or such as
had been universally received, and the ἀντιλεγό-
μενα, the genuimeness of which had by some been
called in question, but yet was acknowledged by

the most. It is further confirmed by the fact,
that the Peshito Syriac version, which there is

* Hist. Eccles. lib. iii. cap. 25.

K kK 2

500

THE CANON OF INSPIRATION.

LECT. IX. reason to believe was made very near, if not in,

the apostolic age, contains only three out of the
seven Catholic Epistles, and omits the Apo-
calypse. The very circumstance, however, that
the claims of some of the books were, in some
quarters, disputed, proves the deep interest, which
was felt in settling what should and what should
not be received as the genuine word of God; and
the speedy withdrawment of all opposition to the
ἀντιλεγόμενα, inan age, when the subject not only
engaged the attention, and kept alive the vigi-
lance of the orthodox, but was not unobserved
either by the heretics, or by the learned pagan
writers who attacked Christianity, satisfactorily
shows, that when they were universally admitted
into the canon, it was in consequence of sufficient
evidence having been produced in support of
their divine sanction. ;

The division of the canonical books into two
classes may be traced to a very early date. The
former of the two was called τὸ εὐαγγέλιον, The
Gospel, and contained the four Gospels ; and the
latter ὁ ἀπόστολος, The Apostle, contaiming the
Acts, the Apostolic Epistles, and the Apocalypse.
The most ancient writer who adverts to any such
division is Ignatius. The four Gospels are dis-
tinctly recognised as possessing dive authority
by Irenzeus, Clement of Alexandria, and Ter-
tullian; and towards the close of the second
century, a Harmony of them was composed by
Tatian, to which, in reference to their number,

THE CANON OF INSPIRATION: 501

he gave the title of Ava teccapov. A similar Lecr. IX.
Harmony was written by Ammonius early in the
third century; which proves, that the gospels,
which we now possess, and these only, existed
at that time in the canon. ‘That the Apostle
John had the other three before him, when he
composed his, is justly regarded as highly pro-
bable, from the circumstances, that it omits what
they have detailed, and appears designed to be
supplementary to them: but the tradition,
mentioned by Eusebius,* that this evangelist was
requested before his death to give his sanction to
the three first gospels, and that he actually
affixed to them the seal of inspiration, is too
vague (fac) to warrant our laying any stress
upon it.

That not only the gospels, but also the epistles
were collected so as, with the gospels, to form
one body of sacred writings as early as the days
of Tertullian, is evident from his calling it an
Instrument, or rather he says, a Testament,
which designations he gives to it and the Old
Testament in common.t He further gives to it
the name of the New Testament, and places it
upon a level in point of authority with the Old.
“If 1 do not,” he says, “ relieve this point from
“the doubts, which may attach to it in the
“ancient Scriptures, I will take the proof of our
“interpretation de Novo Testamento.’+ ‘The

* Hist. Eccl. lib. iii. cap.24. { Adv. Marcion, lib. iv. eap. 1.
{ Ady. Praxeam, cap. 10.

502

THE CANON OF INSPIRATION.

LecT. Ix. manner too im which he speaks of it, when

adverting to the Pastor of Hermas, proves the
same thing. ‘ But I would concede the point to
“you if the writing of the Shepherd—deserved
“to be placed in the Divine Instrument, if it
“‘ were not considered as apocryphal and spurious
“by every assembly of your own churches.”*
If now we inquire, of what books did this New
Testament consist, to which Tertullian appeals,
which he ranks with the ancient records of
inspiration, and which he expressly declares to
be the word of God—the reply must naturally
be: those books, which are quoted by him as
such in his writings, or by other credible
witnesses in or before his time. Now though he
no where professedly gives a catalogue of them,
he has perhaps more numerous and larger quota-
tions from them, than are to be found of all the.
works of Cicero in the writers of all characters
for several ages.+ The four gospels; the Acts
of the Apostles; the thirteen Pauline Epistles ;
that of James; probably ; the first of Peter ; the
first of John; that of Jude; and the book of
Revelation ; are all recognised by him as inspired
writings. As his not quoting the second of
Peter and the second and third of John may
have been owing to his not having had any occa-
sion to refer to them, it would be unreasonable
to construe his silence into an argument against

* De Pudicitia, cap. 10.
+ Lardner’s Credibility, vol. ii. p. 306, Svo. 1829.

THE CANON OF INSPIRATION.

503

them. The only book mentioned by Tertullian, tecr. 1x.

which he quotes as not apostolic, is the Epistle to
the Hebrews, but which he nevertheless ascribes
to Barnabas, the divinely-accredited fellow-
labourer of Paul. Though not acknowledged as
canonical by the Latin church in his time, (for
what reason cannot be ascertained) this epistle
was received by the Greek, the Syrian, and
Alexandrian churches; and its existence in the
ancient Latin version, as well as the use made of
it by Clement of Rome, evinces that it had also
been formerly received in the West.

The testimony of ‘Tertullian, which is fully
borne out by that of Origen, Eusebius, Athana-
sius, Epiphanius, Jerome, and other fathers, is
the more important in consideration of his near
proximity to the apostolic age, his extensive
erudition, and his celebrity among the ancients,
With what force must the appeal have come at
that early period from his pen: “ Well, if you be
‘* willing to exercise your curiosity profitably in
“ the business of your salvation, visit the aposto-
‘‘ lical churches, in which the very chairs of the
** apostles still preside; in which their genuine
“ς epistles* are recited, sounding forth the voice

* Ipse authentice litere ; a much contested passage, but
which seems to convey the idea expressed in the text, rather
than that of the original documents, for which Rigaltius,
Simon, Dodwell, Richardson, Michaélis, and others have
contended. The construction which we have adopted has
the suffrages of Lardner, Schmidt, Hug, and Griesbach.
Bertholdt is of opinion that letters in the Greek language

504

THE CANON OF INSPIRATION.

uecT. 1x. ‘* and representing the countenance of each one of

“them. Is Achaia near you? You have Corinth.
“Τῇ you are not far from Macedonia, you have
“ Philippi, you have Thessalonica. If you can go
“to Asia, you have Ephesus. But if you are
“near to Italy, you have Rome, from whence
κε we also may be easily satisfied.”*

From the imvestigations, which have been
instituted respecting the completion of the New
Testament Canon, it is certain, that it cannot be
attributed to any legislative enactment, to any
decrees of councils, or to any public authority what-
ever. It was the simple result of evidence elicited
by a growing acquaintance with the channels
through which the different books might be traced
to an inspired source. It was entirely dependent
on testimony ; so that afterwards, when a decree
was issued by the council of Laodicea in the year _
363, it was more a declaratory act, attesting the
universal prevalence of such testimony, than an
authoritative mandate, designed, as such, to be
binding on the whole Christian world. The
ground of decision was the universal suffrage of
the Christian church, which had been constituted
a keeper and witness of the sacred oracles, just
as the Jewish church had been in former times.
To her care the deposit was committed ; she was

are meant by authentice, though he does not think that
Tertullian had the apostolical autographs in view. Einleit.
1 Theil. s. 416.

* De Prescript. cap. 36.

THE CANON OF INSPIRATION. 505

the pillar and ground of the truth; and upon ποτ. 1x.
each of her members, who became possessed of
the invaluable treasure, devolved the respon-
sibility of guarding and transmitting it unimpaired
to others, according to his ability, and according
to the peculiar circumstances in which he was

placed.

It only remains, that we advert to the inspired canonicity of
authority of the writings of the Evangelists ἀπάται ΠΝ
Mark and Luke. That this authority should Fi a
ever have been called in question is principally
to be ascribed to the circumstance, that these
authors were not of the number of the apostles
to whom specifically the promise of the Holy
Spirit was given by our Lord. The authenticity
and credibility of the books composed by them,
have been most satisfactorily proved ; but a book
may possess all requisite evidence of this kind,
and yet not be inspired. ‘To possess this quality
it must either have been the result of inspiring
influence on the mind of the writer himself, or
it must have received the sanction of one who
was the subject of such influence, and who, by
giving it his official sanction, authorized its
publication as an accredited document, to be
perused by the church for the purposes of divine
instruction. Now it is at once conceded, that in
none of the three books written by Mark and
Luke is any claim to imspiration advanced.
That its possession, however, by the latter

506 THE CANON OF INSPIRATION.

Lect. ΙΧ. evangelist, is necessarily excluded by the state-
ment made in his introduction, can only be con-
sistently maintained by those whose idea of the
nature of inspiration does not extend beyond
that of direct and immediate communication.
Even the phrase ἔδοξε κἀμοὶ, “ It seemed good to
me also,” which has been so frequently appealed
to, cannot fairly be construed to favour such
exclusion ; since we find Luke employing similar
phraseology, (Acts xv. 25,) in reference to the
decree of the assembly at Jerusalem, though, as
we learn from ver. 28, it was enacted by
direction of the Holy Ghost. As the exercise
of judgment and argumentation in the one case
did not supersede the guidance of the promised
Instructor, so the diligence of the evangelist in
tracing, with the utmost accuracy, every thing
connected with the history of our Lord, was in
no way incompatible with his being the subject ;
of supernatural influence.

With respect to Mark, we may observe, that
he was, in all probability, the same who is more
commonly called John Mark, who accompanied
Paul and Barnabas, and was by the apostle
authoritatively commended to the church at
Colosse, and to Timothy. He even recognises
him in the high character of a fellow-labourer.
That he also laboured some time in conjunction
with Peter, to whom he was doubtless introduced
at his mother’s house in Jerusalem, may be
inferred from what that apostle says of him in

THE CANON OF INSPIRATION. 507

his First Epistle, v. 13, and from the unanimous recr. 1x.
voice of antiquity, which connects them most
intimately together. And, indeed, the same
unanimity prevails in regard to their testimony,

that Mark wrote his gospel not only with the
privity, but with the inspired sanction of Peter.
The Fathers differ as to the circumstances of its
composition, but they perfectly agree respecting
the fact itself. Nor is there wanting internal
evidence to prove, that Peter was concerned in
its publication. He is less frequently mentioned
in this gospel, than in the others. What is related
of him renders him less conspicuous than the
statements do, which are made by the other
evangelists, except in the cases of his weak-
nesses and fall, which are more fully exposed
to view, while the things which redound to his
honour are either slightly touched or wholly
concealed.

That Luke was the companion of Paul is
beyond all dispute; that he resided with him
upwards of two years at Jerusalem appears from
Acts xxi. 17; xxiv. 27; and he must have been
with him for a still longer period at Rome,
(Coloss. iv. 14; Philem. 24; 2 ‘Tim. iv. 11.)
He clearly includes himself along with the
apostle and ‘Timothy in the supernatural inti-
mation which was given to them to preach the
gospel in Macedonia, (Acts xvi. 10); from
which we may warrantably conclude, that he
was under the special direction of the Holy

508

THE CANON OF INSPIRATION.

Lect. 1x. Spirit.* In 1 Tim. v.18, Paul quotes a declara-

tion made by our Lord, verbally as it stands in
the Gospel of Luke, but differently from the
wording of Matthew, in whose gospel it also
occurs ; and introduces the quotation in such
a way as to show, that he places the book from
which it was taken upon a level with the Pen-
tateuch. “ For THE ScriprureE saith: Thou
“shalt not muzzle the ox that treadeth out the
“corn; AND [it also saith | the labourer is worthy
“of his hire, μισθός.

From the intimate connection which subsisted
between both these evangelists and the apostles
of our Lord, and from the fact that the first
teachers of Christianity, among whom they are
unquestionably to be reckoned, were endowed
with the miraculous gifts of the Holy Spirit, it
may reasonably be concluded that they were
qualified to record every point of the history
of our Lord, and the early planting of the
Christian church, which Infinite Wisdom deemed
essential to her edification at the time, and in
all future ages.

Both of these gospels and the Acts were
received by the first Christians, who had the
best opportunities of ascertaining the persons

* Some would deduce a proof of the inspiration of
Luke from the statement made by Paul, (2 Cor. viii. 18,)
respecting ‘the brother whose praise in the gospel is
throughout all the churches ;” but the foundation is too
precarious to admit of any solid argument being built

upon it.

THE CANON OF INSPIRATION.

509

by whom they were written; and as they ac- Lact. 1x.

knowledged no books to be of divine authority
which they could not satisfactorily trace to in-
spiration, but proved all, and retained only those
which stood the test, it behoves us to abide by
their decision, and likewise receive them as
divine. ‘That they did thus acknowledge them
is proved by the universal consent of unex-
ceptionable witnesses from Papias and Irenzeus
downward: no suspicion was ever raised re-
specting the sacredness of their character: no
doubt was ever entertained of their claims being
tantamount to those conceded to the writings
of the apostles.

The total result of our inquiry into the Canon
of inspiration is this: That it never consisted
of more, or other books than those which now
compose our Bible; that these books were in-
serted in the canon as they were written, or as
it was indubitably proved that they were the
product of inspiring influence; that they were
received as the oracles of God, or Divine Scrip-
tures, by his church, which he had constituted
the guardian of the truth; and that they have
been transmitted to us in the original languages,
and in numerous yersions, most of which are
independent vouchers for the integrity of the
sacred volume.

CONCLUDING LECTURE.

THE CESSATION OF INSPIRATION.

1 COR. XIII. 8.

“* Whether there be prophecies, they shall fail ;
whether there be tongues, they shall cease ;
whether there be knowledge, it shall vanish
away.”

Havine reviewed the various methods, which
God was pleased to employ in affording positive
revelations of his will to mankind, and shown
that the sacred Scriptures now in our possession
consist of such portions of these revelations,
and other matters connected with them, as he
chose should be transmitted for the infallible
instruction and guidance of future ages, it re-
mains that we inquire into the withdrawment of
inspiring influence ; and that we deduce a few
practical inferences in improvement of the
whole subject.

That inspiration should cease, when it had
answered the purposes for which it was afforded,
is a conclusion than which none can be more
natural, because nothing is more in accordance

THE CESSATION OF INSPIRATION. 511

with the dictates of wisdom in reference to any Lect. x.
agencies that may be called into operation, or
more in harmony with the whole tenor of the
Divine administration. That it actually did
cease, is a fact which no one will deny who has
consulted the annals of ecclesiastical history.
It is reluctantly admitted even by those who
charge the church with guilt in having lost it,
and who advocate not only the possibility but
the certainty of its restoration in these latter
days. ‘That its cessation was anticipated, as an
event that would take place, is clearly taught in
the words we have just read. ‘The object of
the apostle, in the chapter from which they are
taken, is to fix the attention of the Corinthian
church on the intrinsic superiority of Christian
love to all the miraculous gifts which he had
enumerated, and even to the graces of faith and
hope, though these are essential to salvation.
While he would not repress the proper exercise
of those extraordinary endowments, but, on the
contrary, urges to the zealous improvement of
them, he shows that there is a principle of in-
comparably greater value, καθ᾽ ὑπερβολὴν ὁδὸν,
than the highest imaginable faculty of a purely
miraculous character ;—a principle, without the
possession of which the most splendid gifts
would be productive of no real personal benefit.
“Though I speak with the tongues of men and
“of angels, and have not love, I am become
** as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal. And

512 THE CESSATION OF INSPIRATION.

uncr.x. “though I have the gift of prophecy, and
“understand all mysteries and all knowledge ;
‘and though I have all faith, so that I could
“remove mountains, and have not love, I am
“nothing.” (Ver. 1, 2.) He then describes,
with inimitable beauty and effect, the nature
and characteristics of this love; and dwells
especially on the circumstance of its perennity,
with which he contrasts the temporary nature of
the extraordinary supernatural endowments of
prophecy, tongues, and knowledge.

That it is endowments of this description
which the apostle has in view, and not ordinary
teaching, the common use of language, or know-
ledge simply considered, is proved by the subject-
matter of his discourse, and the object at which
he aims. ‘The terms are obviously to be taken
in the same sense in which he employs them in_
the preceding context. The question, however,
may be raised: To what period is the cessation
of miraculous influence here anticipated to be
referred? Was it first to take place at the second
coming of Christ, as Billroth and the modern
Millenarians maintain? Or, was it to happen
when the church had reached a state of matu-
rity—in other words, when the Christian religion
had been fully established by the ministry of the
apostles and the apostolic men, on whom it had
been conferred ?

In order to make good the former of these
positions, it must be proved, that it was the

THE CESSATION OF INSPIRATION.

513

definite purpose of Jehovah, that the extraordinary ΜΕΤ. x.

gifts of the Holy Spirit were to be permanent in
the church, during the whole of the new dispen-
sation. But no proof of any such purpose can
be alleged either from the Old or the New Testa-
ment. In the prediction of the gift of tongues,
Is. xxviii. 11, which the apostle quotes, 1 Cor.
xiv. 21, no intimation is given respecting the
period of its continuance. It may be said, indeed,
that, as it is expressly stated in the latter passage
to be for the conviction of unbelievers, it must
be supposed to continue as long as there are any
unbelievers to be convinced. But it is only
necessary to consider the circumstances under
which the apostle wrote, in order to perceive,
that the conviction to be effected by the gift, had
respect to the divine commission of the speakers,
in the absence of all other criteria. It was
designed to prove, at the moment, the celestial
origin of the Christian faith to those foreigners
under whose notice it was brought. It was
a supernatural attestation to a new religion,
which was not required after the general diffusion
of Christian truth, or the complete exhibition of
its evidences, when men of all nations having
become converts, were qualified, without miracu-
lous aid, to preach in the different languages
which were spoken in them. Nor can the perpe-
tuity of the endowments in question be proved
from the prophecy, Joel ii. 28, 29, in which
some of them are specifically mentioned. That
ΕΥ̓

514

THE CESSATION OF INSPIRATION.

Lect. x. prophecy, we are assured, on inspired authority,

received its fulfilment on the day of Pentecost,
when the remarkable effusion of the extraordi-
nary influences of the Holy Spirit was experienced
by the assembled disciples, and they became
instantaneously qualified to give intelligent
utterance to the wonderful works of God, in the
languages of the numerous foreigners then at
Jerusalem. And we have indubitable evidence
that it continued to be extensively fulfilled in the
experience of the primitive church. But it con-
tains no intimation that the gifts were to be
permanent. ‘The universal term αὐ in the phrase
“all flesh” must necessarily be taken in a
restricted sense, whatever construction be put
upon the passage; and, from the mention made
immediately after of sons and daughters, old
men and young, servants and handmaids, it
clearly appears to have been designed to express
persons of both sexes, and of every age, rank,
and condition of life. It has been maintained,
that the duration of these gifts is distinctly
implied in our Lord’s promise, (Mark xvi. 17,)
‘«¢ And these signs shall follow them that believe ;
‘In my name shall they cast out devils; they
“‘ shall speak with new tongues,”—but, that
believing is, in this verse, to be taken in the
sense of exercising the faith of miracles, is
evident both from the nature of the subject to
which it refers, and from the fact, that, even
in the apostolic times, the endowments here

THE CESSATION OF INSPIRATION.

promised were not extended to all who simply tecr. x.

believed the gospel. In writing to the Corin-
thians, Paul asks : ‘* Are aLt workers of miracles?
Have aux the gifts of healing? Do ΑΙ, speak
with tongues?” (1 Cor. xii. 28.) And that they
were not all miraculously endowed is not charged
to their want of faith, but to the sovereign
appointment of God, who hath set in his church
‘first apostles, secondarily prophets, thirdly
‘* teachers, after that miracles, then gifts of heal-
‘ing, helps, governments, diversities of tongues.”
When it is said, that “the Spirit is given to
every man to profit withal,” and that he ‘ divideth
to every man severally as he will,” the phrase is
not to be understood as comprehending all the
members of the body of Christ, but is to be
restricted to the gifted persons, whose offices are
specified in the immediate connection: just as
the words, (ch. iii. 8,) ‘‘ Avery man _ shall
receive his own reward according to his own
labour,” are restricted by the connection to every
one who labours in preaching the gospel.

The theory of the perpetual continuance of
miraculous agency is directly opposed to the
reasoning of the apostle in this thirteenth chap-
ter. On no allowed principle of exegesis can it
be maintained, that, when he declares, (ver. 8,)
that prophecies are to fail and tongues to cease,
his language is to be taken in an absolute sense ;
but that, when he adds, that knowledge is like-
wise to vanish away, the last proposition is to be

Liege

516

THE CESSATION OF INSPIRATION.

tect.x. taken limitedly as only referring to the state,

kind, or degree of our knowledge in the present
world. The language is just as positive and
absolute in this case as it is in the two preceding.
According to the doctrine laid down by the
apostle, γνώσις, the knowledge he speaks of is as
completely to pass away, or come to an end, as
prophecy and tongues. But it would be the
height of absurdity for a moment to imagine
that any part of true saving knowledge will ever
perish. What we possess now forms the basis
of that which will be acquired, or it may be
regarded as the outline, which will be filled up
in the eternal world. It is just and accurate, so
far as it extends, and must, like all truth, be
imperishable.

The same view of the subject is powerfully
supported by the contrast in which the apostle -
places the perpetuity of faith, hope, and charity,
with the transitory character of these extraor-
dinary gifts. The 8th and 13th verses are
evidently most closely connected in the argumen-
tation. All that intervenes is merely illustrative
of the statements made in the former of these
verses. ‘ But now,” νυνὲ δὲ, in the present state,
“‘abideth faith, hope, love, these three ; but the
greatest of these is love.” ‘There seems even to
be a peculiarity of emphasis attaching to the terms
“these three.’ The writer had mentioned three
gifts, as a specimen of a particular class, which were
to cease: he here specifies three, which are to be

THE CESSATION OF INSPIRATION.

517

permanent in the church; and concludes with ἃ tecr. x.

further eulogium on Christian love, which, in the
heavenly state, will attain to its highest exercise,
when faith shall be exchanged for vision, and hope
converted into eternal fruition. And what was
thus anticipated by an inspired apostle has been
undeniably realized. While these Christian graces
have been permanently in exercise, in all suc-
ceeding ages, and still continue to be exercised by
all who have received the love of the truth, in-
spiration, with all its concomitant gifts, disap-
peared at a very early period, and has never,
in any instance, been restored.

It is a question which has been much agitated,
and one of the most difficult in the department of
church history: At what time did these mira-
culous gifts cease in the church? According to
the Roman Catholics they never ceased, but have
continued in a clear succession to the present day.
They allege in proof, the testimonies of the
numerous writers who have flourished in all the
several ages of the church since the times of the
apostles, and the fact, that such testimonies were
believed without contradiction down to the period
of the Reformation: as also the miraculous
powers which are still professedly possessed by
that church, and which it is maintained she ex-
ercises on proper occasions, in Justification of her
apostolic claims, and to the confusion of heretics
and unbelievers. Gibbon, on the other hand,
argues from the silence of church history on the
subject of their cessation, an event, he conceives,

518

THE CESSATION OF INSPIRATION.

Lecr.x. Which, from its extraordinary character, must

have excited universal attention, that they never
existed, and that all claims to them in any age
are equally unfounded. Protestants, in general,
maintain that they were continued through the
three first centuries, and that they ceased about
the time when Christianity came to be established
by the civil power; but this position, however
plausible it may appear to some, is unsupported
by other than merely hypothetical proof. We
find precisely the same evidence of miracles having
been wrought in the fourth and fifth, or any of
the succeeding centuries, that we have of their
having been performed in the third. Numerous
references are made to them by the fathers and by
ecclesiastical historians; and so far are they from
ceasing, when we arrive at the beginning of the
fourth age of the church, that they rather accu-
mulate upon us, and continue still to increase in
number as we proceed down the stream of time.
[In fact, if we once admit the reality of those mira-
cles said to have been wrought in the time of
Chrysostom, Basil, and others, we cannot, with
any degree of consistency, reject the evidence by
which the existence of similar miracles in after-
ages is attested.

Strongly convinced of the spuriousness of these
pretended miracles, Dr. Conyers Middleton
wrote a volume* to prove, that there is no sufh-

* A Free Inquiry into the Miraculous Powers, which are
supposed to have subsisted in the Christian Church, from

THE CESSATION OF INSPIRATION,

519

cient reason to believe that any such powers were ΓΈΟΤ. x.

continued in the church, subsequent to the days of
the apostles. It must be admitted that this work
contains unanswerable arguments against the tes-
timonies adduced from the fathers in support of
miraculous interpositions : but still the author does
not succeed in fixing the exact time when real
miracles ceased, and false or pretended miracles
assumed their place. The questions remain to
be solved: Did they cease in each particular
country on the death of the apostle, who laboured
in that country? Or, did they continue to be
universally exercised in the church till the death
of John, who is generally supposed to have lived
the longest of any of the apostles? It has already
been noticed, that the gifts were conferred by the
apostles upon others. Is there not reason to sup-
pose, that such persons retained and exercised
these supernatural gifts during their lifetime ;
and, that many of them, surviving the apostles at
least half a century, perpetuated them in the
church till the latter half of the second century,
when the last individual, on whom any of the
apostles had laid his hands, expired, and with him
the power of working miracles became extinct ?
On this principle, they must gradually have
ceased, just as the persons were gradually re-
moved, who had been privileged to perform them;
which at once obviates the objection of Gibbon,

the earliest Ages through several successsive Centuries.
London, 1749, 4to.

520

THE CESSATION OF INSPIRATION.

LecT.x. drawn from the absence of any excitement of

wonder at the event.

By the period referred to, the great ends for
which the gift had been conferred, had been
attained. The authority of the apostles had been
completely established; the different churches,
that had been planted by them, had been con-
firmed in the faith of the gospel; and the col-
lection of the books of the New Testament into
one whole presented such a complete body
of evidence in favour of Christianity as super-
seded the necessity of any further visible inter-
positions, on the part of its Divine author, in
attestation of its truth.

It has been remarked by Bishop Kaye,* that,
in the language of the fathers, who lived in the
middle and end of the second century, when
speaking on this subject, there is something
which betrays, if not a conviction, at least a sus-
picion, that the power of working miracles was
withdrawn, combined with an anxiety to keep up
a belief of its continuance in the church. ‘They
affirm, in general, that miracles were performed,
but rarely venture to produce an instance of a
particular miracle. Of all the miraculous gifts
that were imparted in the primitive age, none
was considered of greater importance, or more
necessary for the propagation of the gospel, than

* Ecclesiast. Hist. of the Second and Third Centuries,
p. 101. 2d ed.

THE CESSATION OF INSPIRATION.

521

the gift of tongues; and from such necessity, it xecr. x.

has been inferred that this endowment certainly
must have continued long after the days of the
apostles: but it deserves particular notice, that
the only reference made to it in all the documents
of antiquity is in the work of Irenzus against the
heretics, in which he asserts : “ We hear of many in
the church imbued with prophetic gifts, speaking
with all kinds of tongues,”* &c. And, though that
father was called to labour for the spread of the
gospel among the pagan Celts, and may be sup-
posed to have required the gift as much as any,
yet he expressly states, that ‘“‘it was not the least
part of his trouble, that he was forced to learn the
language of the country, a rude and barbarous
dialect, before he could effect any good among
them.t ‘That this and other miraculous gifts had
entirely ceased in the days of Augustine and
Chrysostom, is evident from many parts of their
writings. The former on the Gospel of John
expresses himself to this effect: “ In the primi-
‘tive times, the Holy Spirit fell upon believers,
** and they spoke in tongues which they had not
‘‘ learnt, as the Spirit gave them utterance. These
** were signs suitable to the time. For it was right,
* that the Holy Spirit should be thus borne witness
** of in all tongues, because the gospel of God was
‘about to travel through all tongues throughout
“‘the whole world. That testimony being given, it

* Adver. Heres. lib. v. cap. 4.
+ Middleton, μέ sup. p. 119.

522

THE CESSATION OF INSPIRATION.

Lect. x. “ passed away.”* Again: ‘ Let no one, therefore,

“brethren, say, that, because our Lord Jesus
“‘ Christ does not do these things (i. e. miracles)
“now, therefore he prefers the former times
“of the church to the present. For there is a
“passage, in which the same Lord sets those,
‘“‘ who do not see, and yet believe, before those
‘“‘ who believe, because they see.”+ Of the testi-
monies borne by Chrystostom, it is sufficient to
allege the following simple but most explicit de-
claration: ‘ Of miraculous powers not so much
as a single vestige remains.” t

It is also a noticeable circumstance, that the
church of Rome, which boasts so much of the
power of working miracles, and whose history
abounds with accounts of the pretended exertion
of this power, has never been able to produce a
single instance, in which the gift of tongues has
been exercised. If ever there was an occasion,

* «“Primis temporibus cadebat super credentes Spiritus
Sanctus, et loquebantur linguas quas non dedicerant, quomodo
Spiritus dabat eis pronuntiare. Signa erant tempori oppor-
tuna. Oportebat enim ita significari in omnibus linguis
Spiritum Sanctum, quia evangelium Dei per omnes lig uas
cursurum erat toto orbe terrarum. Significatum est illud et
transiit.”—In Evan. Johan. ο. 4. Tract. vi. § 10.

+ “ Nemo itaque, fratres, dicat non facere ista (miracula)
modo Dominum nostrum Jesum Christum et proper hoe
preesentibus Ecclesia temporibus priora preeponere. Quodam
quippe loco idem Dominus videntibus et ideo credentibus

preponit eos qui non vidit et credunt.’— Serm. 88. de verb.
Ewan. Matt. xx. ὃ 2.
t Τῆς ζυνάμεως ἐκείνης ὁ ὑδὲ ἴχνος ὑπολέλειπται. De

Sacerd. lib. iv.

THE CESSATION OF INSPIRATION.

in any respect upon a parallel with any in the
primitive times, which called for the exercise of
such a gift, or an individual worthy to have
so distinguished an honour put upon him, the
missions to the East Indies and China furnished
that occasion; and Francis Xavier, than whom
there never lived a more devoted missionary, was
that individual. But what does that ‘apostle
of the Indies” say respecting his case? He
confesses, that, through his ignorance of the
languages of those nations, he found himself
incapable of doing any service to the Christian
cause, and was but little better than a mute
statue among them, till he could acquire some
competent knowledge of their tongues; for
which purpose, he was obliged to act the boy
again, and apply himself to the task of learning
the rudiments.

The causes of the cessation of extraordinary
inspiring influence are obvious. As it was im-
parted with a view to the establishment of
Christianity, when that event took place, it
ceased. The apostles alone being endowed with
the ‘“‘word of wisdom,” were employed during
their lifetime, as the instruments of revealing
to mankind the grand doctrines of the economy
of grace, and ordaining those laws, which were
to be of binding obligation in all future ages ;
and when they had executed their task by
developing the whole counsel of God, they and
the gift of inspiration, in this high sense of the

023

LECT. X.

Causes of its
cessation.

524

LECT. X.

Post-aposto-
lie preten-
sions.

THE CESSATION OF INSPIRATION.

term, were at once withdrawn. ‘The results of
its impartation having been deposited in their
writings, it was no longer required. Since some
years, however, elapsed before these writings
were collected, so as to furnish the church with
one complete body of New Testament truth, and
a standard of universal appeal on all points of
New Testament doctrine and practice, it was
necessary during the interim, that those, who
were gifted with the word of knowledge, with
tongues, and the power of working miracles,
should continue to exercise these endowments in
those regions in which an infallible announce-
ment or interpretation of truths already revealed,
had not been furnished. Soon after the middle
of the second century, the inspired volume
became, and has ever since been, the only
infallible source of religious knowledge—the only
adequate and unerring test of religious truth.*
That pretensions to inspiration should after-
wards have been advanced, and that such preten-
sions should still be made, cannot be matter of
surprise. Both in the days of the prophets
under the Old Testament, and of the apostles
under the New, men arose with ‘* Thus saith the
Lord” upon their lips, though the Lord had not
spoken: but how specious soever their claims,
and how extensive soever their success, they
could present no credentials that would bear to
be examined by the light of truth; and sooner

* See Note T.

THE CESSATION OF INSPIRATION. 525

or later their folly became manifest to all. The tecr-x.
church had been sufficiently warned under both
dispensations against false prophets and teachers ;

and she had only to try them by “the law and

the testimony” to ascertain that they were
deceivers.*

Having avowed the conviction, that we have
sufficient ground in Scripture to induce the
belief that it was the design of God that all
miraculous, or immediate supernatural influence
should cease when the church became furnished
with the complete revelation of his will; it may
not be improper, in this place, to make a few
remarks on the subject of that Divine influence
which zs continued in the church, and the ex-
ertion of which is indispensable to salvation.

That there is a supernatural saving influence continuance
distinct from that which was miraculous, must robes.
appear convincingly evident to all who read the
Scriptures with any degree of discrimination.
Besides the unequivocal recognition of the Holy
Spirit as the author of those extraordinary gifts
which had for their object the revelation, con-
firmation, and advancement of the truth, he has

* When these Lectures were delivered, a brief historical
account was here given of the pretensions to inspiration
which have been made subsequent to the apostolic age; but
as the present volume already exceeds the usual size, the
author has been induced to throw this portion into a smaller
type, and append it in Note U.

526

THE CESSATION OF INSPIRATION.

tect. x. also ascribed to him a divine agency by which

the work of grace is commenced, carried on,
and consummated in the souls of men. He
regenerates, renews, illuminates, purifies, com-
forts, and strengthens them. These are his
saving operations. By mere natural efforts,
men may acquire a theoretical knowledge of
the holy Scriptures; they may become adepts
in theological science, and be able clearly to
unfold its principles to others; but except they
experience the spiritual power of these prin-
ciples, they are necessarily excluded from the
perception and enjoyment of true happiness.
This doctrme our Lord taught Nicodemus in
terms at once the most explicit and peremptory.
** Verily, verily, 1 say unto thee, Except a man
“be born again—of water and of the Spirit—
‘‘he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.”
(John ii. 3, 5.) That kingdom consists not in
word, but in power. ‘There is a mighty power
—an exceeding greatness of power, exerted on
those who believe—a power, which is spoken of
as the standard whereby we are to conceive of
Omnipotence itself. Hence the change which
it effects is called a new creation, a new birth,
a resurrection from death. (Eph. i. 19, 20;
ii. 20: 21}. 2Coriv.. 475 “John ind yeas
Eph. ii. 2.) From these, and parallel passages
of Scripture, it is evident that a real, efficient
Divine influence operates on the minds of all
the saved—an influence, which is rendered

THE CESSATION OF INSPIRATION.

O27

indispensable by the total depravity of human xecr. x.

nature, and is vouchsafed solely in the way of
mercy and favour through the mediation of our
Redeemer. In no part of the divine word,
however, is this influence represented as ope-
rating, or taking effect, except im connection
with the employment of means. It js never
spoken of as a universal power, emanating from
the Deity, diffused over the whole human family,
and dependent for its efficiency on the suscepti-
bility or insusceptibility of its supposed recipients.
It is nowhere described as a divine principle
separately and universally, but, in most instances,
unsuccessfully contending with the innate cor-
ruption of the human heart. On the contrary,
it is uniformly represented as specially and defi-
nitely put forth, in connection with the instru-
mentality of divine truth, for the purpose of
infallibly securing the salvation of those on
whom the Lord willeth to have mercy. Are
they regenerated? “ Of his own will he begets
them with the word of truth.” (James i. 18.)
Are they justified? It is by faith in the blood
of his Son. (Rom. ν. 1, 9.) Are they sane-
tified? It is through the word of God, which
is truth. (John xvii. 17, 19.) Are they chosen
to salvation? It is through sanctification of the
Spirit and belief of the truth. (2 Thess. ii. 13.)
Are they kept unto salvation? It is by the
power of God through fuith. (1 Pet. i. 5.)
Now, with respect to this faith, which is indis-

528

THE CESSATION OF INSPIRATION.

ecr. x. pensable to salvation, the inspired conclusion

applies to it in all stances without exception :
“So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing
by the word of God”—that word, which, ac-
cording to the apostolic doctrine, requires to be
preached, or outwardly announced, before it can
be believed. (Rom. x. 14—17.)

So constantly do the Scriptures insist on the
importance of truth, and the necessity of its
external presentation to the mind—and 50
powerful are the effects ascribed to it, when
received by faith, that many have been induced
to merge the influence of the Holy Spirit en-
tirely in moral suasion, or the operation of those
cogent motives which the word of God abun-
dantly supplies. But while we readily admit
that the word does supply such motives, and
that the arguments and inducements which it
contains are, in themselves, calculated to per-
suade and impel to holy action, and leave those
utterly inexcusable who resist them, we contend,
that, without a Divine operation upon the heart
at the time the external proposal of the truth is
made, no saving impressions will be produced.
The native enmity of man against his Maker
not only renders him indisposed to attend to
spiritual things, but leads him, in the degree in
which they are faithfully presented, positively
to hate and reject them. Hence the necessity
of a distinct, yet concurring and efficient in-
fluence—the exertion of supernatural power

THE CESSATION OF INSPIRATION.

529

upon the mind, by which the barriers to the L2¢T. x. -

entrance of the truth are broken down, and the
principle of resistance is destroyed, which natu-
rally interposes between the mental faculties and
the external instrumentality which God is pleased
to employ in conversion. Such is undeniably
the light in which the subject is presented to
our view in the holy Scriptures. ‘Thus, not-
withstanding the deep conviction which David
possessed of the inherent excellence and force
of divine truth, he felt it necessary to pray:
“ Open thou mine eyes, that I may behold won-
drous things out of thy law.” (Ps. exix. 18.)
He knew that it was only as the veil was re-
moved, which naturally hung before his under-
standing, that the word of God could enter it in
the way of true spiritual illumination. The
case of Lydia is also fully in point: ‘ Whose
heart the Lord opened, that she attended to the
things which were spoken of Paul.’ The moral
inducements were presented by the apostle ; but
her attention to them, so as to yield to their
force, and give herself up to their influence, is
expressly ascribed to a direct Divine operation.
We are likewise taught by Peter, that the sub-
mission of believers to the doctrine of Christ
is not to be attributed to that doctrine otherwise
than instrumentally: the efficient cause of such
submission he unequivocally states to be the
influence of the Holy Spirit: ‘‘ Seemg ye have
purified yourselves in obeying the truth, through
MM

530

LECT. X.

Conclusion.

THE CESSATION OF INSPIRATION.

the Spirit, unto unfeigned love of the brethren,”
&c. (1 Pet. i. 22.) In short, while the Scrip-
tures invariably insist on the use of external
means, they as invariably insist on the necessity
of Divine influence in order to give them
effect.

It now remains that we close the present course
of Lectures with a few practical observations,
suggested by the whole subject, which has come
under our notice.

In the first place: If the Bible is deed, what
it has been proved to be, the Book of God, con-
taining an express supernatural revelation of his
will on subjects of the highest importance to
mankind, then its Blessed Author must be en-
titled to adoring gratitude from all upon whom
the boon is conferred. It is only necessary for
us seriously to reflect on our natural condition
as rational and accountable, yet fallen, guilty,
and perishing creatures, in order to be convinced,
that a source, which lets in upon our dreary
circumstances a flood of Divine light, full,
glorious, and satisfying—not only claims to be
most highly appreciated, but to have its appre-
ciation accompanied by feelings of the most lively
thankfulness towards the God of all grace. How
dark the prospects of those who are destitute of
this “light of the Lord!” How unenviable the
state of those who reject it, and walk in the light
of their own fire, and in the sparks of their own
kindling! On the other hand, how blessed the

THE CESSATION OF INSPIRATION.

531

in the light of the Divine countenance. In the
name of the Lord they rejoice all the day, and in
his righteousness they are exalted. His word is
a lamp unto their feet, and a light unto their
path, amidst all the labyrinths and perplexities of
the present world, and effectually dispels the
gloom of the grave, by its full revelation of life
and immortality in the world to come. Let the
recollection, that, for all the guidance, consolation
and support, which it is made the instrument of
conveying to us, we are indebted to Him, who,
on account of our apostasy, might justly have
abandoned us to the blackness of darkness for
ever, excite us to the exercise of unceasing
gratitude and _ praise.

Secondly, Let us attentively consider the
regard which is due to the volume of inspiration.
If * all Scripture is given by inspiration of God,
*‘ and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for
** correction, for instruction in righteousness” —
it behoves us to receive and treat it “ not as the
word of men, but, as it is in truth, the word
of God.” If we possess convincing evidence,
that no part of Scripture was the simple result of
human agency, but occupies a place in the sacred
record in consequence of the all-wise and in-
fallible influence of the Holy Spirit, the whole
volume must demand the exercise of those dis-
positions and the application of those principles,
which are strictly accordant with its paramount

M M 2

532

THE CESSATION OF INSPIRATION.

Lect.x. character and design. It claims our most pro-

found reverence and submission. A commu-
nication made in the way of miraculous interpo-
sition is not to be treated with levity. Every
approach to such a temper of mind is highly
censurable. No disposition can possibly be more
at variance with the stamp of divinity which the
Bible exhibits, or the thrilling interests which its
truths involve. A spirit of genuine humility,
child-like simplicity, and deep attention, must
ever characterise the man who gives it a suitable
reception. And that he alone has reason to
expect the Divine regard is the solemn decree of
Jehovah: “ To this man will I look, even to
him, that is poor and of a contrite spirit, and
TREMBLETH AT MY WORD.” Where such a spirit
is found, unreserved submission, both of intellect
and heart, will be its certain concomitant. In-
stead of proudly opposing the statements of
Scripture, because they may not accord with
preconceived notions, or favourite hypotheses,
there will be a cheerful relinquishment of every
thing that is inconsistent with the will of God.
Again: The Bible claims our sober, careful,
sedulous, and comprehensive study. The con-
viction, that it contains a revelation of the mind
of God, and embraces subjects superlatively im-
portant in regard to our present and eternal
well-being, ought to excite to the diligent and
unremitting perusal of its pages. To answer its
purpose, it must be understood. It is written in

THE CESSATION OF INSPIRATION.

533

the language of men, and must therefore be Lect. x.

studied and interpreted agreeably to the general
principles of language. Whatever there may be
in the nature of its contents, or in certain pecu-
liarities of its diction, which requires a modifica-
tion of the ordinary rules of interpretation, yet
these rules are constantly to be kept in view, if
we would attain to just and accurate ideas of the
subjects which it reveals. The exact meaning
of terms, phrases, and modes of expression is to
be carefully ascertained; the subject-matter of
entire portions is to be definitely marked; the
dependence of one part upon another, and the
coherence of each with all, are diligently to be
traced ; and in conducting the entire process of
investigation the greatest care is to be taken
never to indulge in speculation, never to give
the reins to fancy, and never to lose sight of the
practical appliances of the truths that are dis-
covered. We should be particularly on our
guard, lest we introduce conceptions or doctrines
of our own into the Scriptures ;—a_ practice
awfully common, but to which no small degree of
guilt must attach, since it is a substitution of
mere human opinion for the dictates of the
Blessed Spirit—a counterfeiting of his holy inspi-
ration. Let us strive to obtain an extensive and
solid acquaintance with the contents of the sacred
volume. While we presume not to be wise above
what is written, let us never rest satisfied with
any degrees of knowledge which fall below the

534

THE CESSATION OF INSPIRATION.

xecr.x. Standard supplied by the inspired word. That

word is a mine in which we may continually dig,
and still find beds of the most abundant ore to
reward our unwearied research.

The holy book likewise claims our steady and
unalienable attachment. ‘ How love I thy law!”
is an exclamation which has been responded to
by the hearts of the pious in every age. Its
excellence is unrivalled. Its divine authority is
fully substantiated. The light which it supplies
is sufficient for every holy and spiritual purpose.
The certainty of the truths which it teaches has
ever proved an immovable rock on which the
minds of believers have rested with security and
delight. Let us therefore hold fast the faithful
word. Let us not be children, tossed to and fro,
and carried about with every wind of doctrine,
by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness,
whereby they lie in wait to deceive, but, adhering
to the truth in love, let us grow up into him in
all things, who is the Head, even Christ. (Eph.
iv. 14, 15.) Let us not be soon shaken in mind,
or troubled by any pretended inspiration or
utterance (μήτε διὰ πνεύματος, μήτε διὰ λόγου,
2 Thess. ii. 2.) A careful review of miraculous
pretensions in different ages of the church will
convince us, that they all more or less exhibit
identical features of character; that they may
originally be traced to a latent dissatisfaction
with existing circumstances, an over-excitement
of feeling, the influence of a luxuriant or heated

THE CESSATION OF INSPIRATION.

535

imagination, or the pressure of a certain state of Lect. x. -

bodily temperament; and that they have been
nourished and supported by a depreciation of the
written word, crude or disproportionate notions
respecting some of its prophetical announcements,
the total absence of consistent interpretation with
respect to the Scriptures generally, and no small
portion of arrogance and pride. While it cannot
be doubted, that many, perhaps most of those
wlio have believed in them, have been really
pious, it is no less certain, that they have suffered
great injury in their souls from indulgence in the
spiritual revellings produced by enthusiasm and
hallucination of mind. When mercifully re-
covered out of the snare into which they had
fallen, they have again bowed with becoming
reverence to the authority of the divine testimony,
to the exclusion of all human follies and vagaries;
and, as new-born babes, they have desired the
sincere milk of the word, that they might grow
thereby unto salvation.

Finally, it behoves us seriously to ponder the
responsibilities which attach to us as the deposi-
taries of divine revelation.

Having ourselves received the love of its
sacred truths, and perseveringly applying them
to the great purposes connected with our present
and eternal happiness, our duty next regards its
sacred preservation and unlimited extension.
We ought at all times to watch over it with the
most sedulous care. We should be jealous for

536

THE CESSATION OF INSPIRATION,

_trcr.x. its honour; defend its character; maintain its

purity; and transmit it to others in a state of
unimpaired integrity. If our studies, opportuni-
ties, or means call for exertions in behalf of the
critical investigation, or settlement of any point
relating to the state of the original texts, let us
take no step without the exercise of the greatest
caution, much self-diffidence, a solemn sense of
the importance of Divine truth, and a fixed de-
termination to prosecute our researches, and
draw our conclusions by the conscientious appli-
cation of all the means which lie at our com-
mand, in the fear of God, and with a single view
to his glory. Against conjectural emendation
we ought to be specially on our guard. Nothing
but positive evidence should ever lead us to make
or propose an alteration in the reading of any
text of Scripture.

If we are called to engage in the work of trans-
lation, it is indispensable that we perform the
task m such a manner as shall faithfully convey
the mind of the Spirit to those into whose lan-
guage the version is made. We should diligently
avail ourselves of the superior advantages which
are now so abundantly supplied. Every means
should be laid under contribution, that promises
to elucidate the philology, geography, history,
dogmatics, and morality of the Bible. Especially
should there predominate a spirit of nice dis-
crimination with respect to the idiomatical and
other differences existing between the original

THE CESSATION OF INSPIRATION.

537

languages and modern tongues. Lightly as the _uect.x. -

science of Biblical translation has been estimated,
and unthinkingly as many have embarked in the
undertaking, it cannot admit of a doubt, that, of
all engagements, it is the most solemnly re-
sponsible. For a weak, erring mortal to propose
to himself to furnish in another language an
exact representation of all that Jehovah hath
revealed for the instruction of mankind—nothing
adding, nothing abating, nothing discolouring, is
a task of the most appalling magnitude. It re-
quires a mind not only well stored with the
requisite literary furniture, but a holy familiarity
with sacred truth, and a spirit plentifully baptized
with heavenly influence. Except the Bible be
translated in the spirit of the Bible, the blessed
truths which it contains cannot fail to be tar-
nished and profaned.

But it is not only our duty vigilantly to pre-
serve and carefully to transmit the Scriptures in
a state of incontaminate purity and integrity :
we lie under an imperious obligation to give
them the widest possible circulation among our
fellow-men. ‘There exists not a human being,
possessed of the powers of reason, for whose use
they were not designed. ‘There is not a truth
which they reveal, nor a blessing of which they
are the appointed medium of conveyance, which
does not belong to him equally with ourselves.
But, how few comparatively of the inhabitants of
the globe are in possession of the inestimable boon!

538

THE CESSATION OF INSPIRATION.

ect.x. Hundreds of millions have never read, or heard

read to them, a single word of all the inspired
truth which the Father of mercies hath com-
municated to us! With respect to their actual
condition, it is, in a spiritual point of view, the
same as if no holy seer had ever spoken, as if no
inspired apostle had ever committed to writing a
single idea regarding God, the way of salvation,
or the eternal world. Let us hasten to their
relief, Let us extend to them the lamp and
light of life. Let us rally round, and more
vigorously and zealously than ever support
that noblest of institutions, Tue British anp
Foreign Biste Socrery—a Society, the sole
and exclusive object of which is to circulate THE
VoLtumeE or Inspiration to the utmost extent
among the inhabitants of every nation under
heaven. By carrying forward and extending its —
operations, while we lend efficient aid to other
important institutions, whose labours in the field
of Christian philanthropy have all a more or less
direct bearing on the spread of divine truth, we
shall, by the grace of God, discharge our duty as
stewards of the trust committed to us, remain
free from the blood of souls, and accelerate the
approach of that period, when the way of the
Lord shall be known upon earth, and his saving
health among all nations.

May He of whom the Scriptures testify, and to
glorify whom the Spirit, under whose inspiration
they were written, continues his gracious and

THE CESSATION OF INSPIRATION. 539

saving influences, be all our salvation and all our tect. x.
desire! May we enjoy the perpetual tuition of

that blessed Teacher! And may we shine as

lights in the world, holding forth the word of

life, that it may be cause of mutual rejoicing in

the day of Christ, that we have not run in vain,
neither laboured in vain!

ae ἴων ing? πῷ 15 Νὰ Lua
ae Ἂν ἥλατο vA “lait f
ἢ “δ anidyeuin ign vie Privehissgs'i μ if
7 th ee vide) 1} (Patt er we biter aij

ΤΉ ΠΥ

ΠΣ i 7 ΤΠ ja >

NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS.

Note A. Page 11.

In the Koran itself, pretensions to inspiration are advanced in
almost every page. The very formulas «οὖς! a , wl il J,
Ny) Jz Le, al] JI lw lyrel, and such like, which perpetually
occur, claim for it a celestial origin, and ascribe its communication

to Mohammed to celestial influence. In the vith Sura, after recog-
nising the fact of former revelations having been made, the Divine

Being is made to say, Ben esau] deo Dro si] wif lin,

ps ὁ upbop BEI epiegs ily Ub> crey οὐδ pl dud, ae
apie rose «οἷς. “ This Book, which we have sent peg isa

“ blessed Book, confirming what was already given, and is sent
** that thou mayest publish it to the people of the city, and of the
*« surrounding country ; and those who believe in a future state,
** will believe in it; even those who observe the stated seasons of
‘* prayer.’ And in the rvth Sura, its inspiration is placed upon the

same footing with that of the ancient prophets: LS G4) κα. 0]
εκ, ΣΝ J Lest, Side Cre eel oy «οἱ bey!

Προ» ylathng erarPy Cagis Gpily _cuaney bland] glimr, 55:5};

es ᾽ alo «“ We have made a revelation to thee, as we made revela-
“ tions to Noah, and the prophets who succeeded him ; and as we made
«ς revelations to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and the tribes, and to
« Jesus, and Job, and Jonah, and Aaron, and Solomon; and as we
‘* gave the Psalter to David.” On this ground the Koran, which
by way of eminence is called Zhe Book, or Bible, is expressly

called a celestial revelation, opahs! py a} Bes oid) be ps

544 NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS.

“ The Book is a revelation sent down from God the mighty, the
wise.” Beginning of Sura xxxixth, and several others.

The common Mohammedan belief on the point is thus expressed
in a Turkish MS. in my possession, containing a Confession of the

Orthodox faith. The chapter is entituled, dk x} OLS «“ The

Books of God ;” and begins thus: ls al] cyl molt ἘΠ::-::}
Sad jp, χὰ pdsrel YASS aL! ype γον «οὐδ Oe
ale as? (οὐρᾶς. μος ones pl OW ane oj! rary
Opldy Sie l dellusl) ἀλλο, φυχλοῦ ἄρ dodlaul] ale «507 Sepa y
Blam jrtrods] diy) wore CsA ΟΣ» ἀοδ abe
dee plas οὐ" YS dim bar 0 Hi co jg «οὐδ
OSL Sd choles oS, privet) Sye

«IT also declare my belief that there are Divine Books, sent

“ down from heaven by Gabriel, to the prophets upon the earth,
« besides which there are no others, nor did he come to any besides.
“ To Mohammed, on whom be peace and salvation, the Kordn
«ς descended, piece by piece, during the space of twenty-three years,
“ till it was completed ;—to Moses, on whom be peace, the Law ;— -
« to Jesus, on whom be peace, the Gospel ;—to David, on whom
“be peace, the Psalter;—and to the rest of the prophets the
“remainder descended. All the books are one hundred and
“ twenty-four in number. They are all true; but the Koran is

“ the greatest of all. It was given last, and its authority will con-
“ tinue till the last day.”

Note B. Page 14.

Tue strict theological distinction between Revelation and Inspi-
ration, is of comparatively modern date. No traces of it are to be
found in the Fathers; nor was it at all used by the Reformers, how
strenuously soever they contended for the divine authority of the
Scriptures. It appears to have been first introduced in the
seventeenth century by Calovius, in his System. Theol. tom. Ἰ.
p. 555. It was improved upon by Quenstedt, and afterwards
more scientifically treated by Baumgarten, Seiler, and other
divines; but has since been abandoned as unnecessarily clogging
the subject. Even Quenstedt himself was compelled to admit that

NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS. 545

it could not be absolutely maintained. He thus defines: “ Dis-
“ tingue inter divinam revelationem, et inspirationem. tevelatio
“ formaliter, et vi vocis, est manifestatio rerum ignotarum et
“ occultarum; et potest fieri multis et diversis modis, scil. vel per
“ externum alloquium, vel per somnia et visiones. (Nam Revelare
“ Grace ἀποκαλύπτειν, est id, quod occultum erat, retegere.)
“ Inspiratio est actio Spiritis S. qua actualis rerum cognitio
“ὁ intellectui creato supernaturaliter infunditur; seu, est interna
“ conceptuum suggestio, seu infusio, sive res concepte jam anté
*« Scriptori fuerint cognite, sive occult. Illa (Revelatio) potuit
“ tempore antecedere scriptionem, hee cum scriptione semper fuit
“ conjuncta, et in ipsam scriptionem influebat. Interim non nego
* ipsam θεοπνευστίαν, sive divinam inspirationem dici posse reve-
* Jationem secundum quid, quatenus scil. est manifestatio certarum
“ς circumstantiarum, item ordinis et modi, quibus res consignandz
‘et scribende erant; quandoque etiam revelatio cum ipsa in-
“ spiratione divinad concurrit, atque coincidet, quando scil. divina
“ἐ mysteria inspirando revelantur, et revelando inspirantur, in ipsa
“‘ scriptione.” Theol. Didact. Polem. Witteb. 1685, fol. p. 68.
See also Baumgarten, Dissert. de Discrimine Revelationis et
Inspirationis. Hale, 1743, 4to. Seiler Program. de Revelationis
et Inspirationis rite Constituendo. Erlangen, 1794, 4to.

Note C. Page 35.

Tue dogma of the ἐκπόρευσις was first fixed as an article of faith
on occasion of the Macedonian heresy. At the second cecume-
nical council, held at Constantinople in the year 381, the original
article on the Holy Spirit: πιστεύομεν εἷς τὸ ἅγιον πνεῦμα had
appended to it the clause : τὸ κύριον, τὸ ζωοποιὸν, τὸ EK TOU πατρὸς
ἐκπορευόμενον. κιτιὰ. and ever since, notwithstanding the discussion
of the filiogue controversy, the doctrine of essential procession has
continued to be regarded as the only orthodox view, both in the
Eastern and Western churches. Chrysostom, however,* explains
the term in such a way as to favour its economical acceptation, in
which light it was viewed by Calvin, Beza, Bucer, Rollock,
Martyr, and other reformers.} Beza’s note is as follows: “ Certum
“ est autem hic non agi de ipsa Spiritus essentia, sed de ipsius
“ yvirtute et efficacia in nobis: cujus virtutis autorem facit Patrem,
“non ut sese vel ipsum Spiritum sanctum excludat, sed ut

* Homil. de Spiritu Sancto. { Lampe on John xv. 26, vol. iii. p. 276.
N N

546 NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS.

“ discipulorum oculos a carnis infirmitate aversos ad Deitatis
“‘intuitum evehat, ut norint videlicet qua virtute sint deinceps
τς confirmandi. Itaque hujusmodi testimonia nec ἃ Grecis, nec
“ contra Greecos, ad persone Spiritus sancti emanationem relati-
‘“‘ yam sive originalem satis apposite sunt citata.”

The subject is ably handled by Lampe, wt sup. to whom, and to
Titmann, in his Meletemata, p. 570, we refer the reader.

Note ἢ. Page 62.

Canon II.—In specie autem Hebraicus Veteris Testamenti
Codex, quem ex Traditione Ecclesiz Judaice, cui olim oracula
Dei commissa sunt, accepimus, hodieque retinemus, tum quoad
consonans, tum quod ad vocalia sive puncta ipsa, sive punctorum
saltem potestatem, ita authenticus est, et tum quoad res, tum
quoad verba Θεόπνευστος; ut Fidei et vite nostre, und cum Codice
Novi Testamenti, sit unicus et illibatus Canon, ad cujus normam,
ceu Lydium lapidem, universe que extant Versiones Orientales,
sive Occidentales exigende, et sicubi deflectunt, revocande sunt.
—Formula Consensus Eccles. Helvet. Reform. 1678.

Note E. Page 65.

Or the several writers who published on Inspiration in conse-
quence of the circulation of Le Clere’s sentiments, the first in the
field was Prebendary Lowth, in a little work entitled: A Vindica-
tion of the Divine Authority and Inspiration of the Old and New
Testaments. By the Rev. William Lowth, B.D. It was first
published in 1692, but appeared in a second edition, with amend-
ments, and a new preface, wherein the antiquity of the Pentateuch
is asserted, and vindicated from some late objections. A third
edition was published. London: 1821.

The next who wrote was Lamothe: The Inspiration of the New
Testament asserted and explained in Answer to some Modern
Writers. By C.G. Lamothe, Divine. London: 1694. In this
work the subject is treated with much greater discrimination than
in that which preceded it; and the author has avoided several
statements and forms of expression by which Mr. Lowth had laid
himself open to objection.

The valuable observations of Dr. John Williams are contained
in his Boyle’s Lecture for 1695, especially the Sixth and Seventh

NOTES AND. ILLUSTRATIONS. 547

Sermons on The Divine Authority of the Scriptures, and the
several Ways of Revelation.

The Divine Authority of the Holy Scriptures asserted, in Two
Discourses ; the former showing the Nature and Extent of the
Inspiration vouchsafed by the Holy Ghost to the Penmen of the
Scriptures, and the distinct Share of each therein, $c. By Samuel
Clark, M.A. London: 1699, Contains many excellent suggestions.

Dr. Edmund Calamy’s work, though likewise making common
cause with those which have just been mentioned, against the
innovations of Le Clerc, was more immediately occasioned by the
pretended inspiration of the French prophets. Its title is: The
Inspiration of the Holy Writings of the Old and New Testament
considered and improved. In Fourteen Sermons, preached at the
Merchants’ Lecture at Salters’ Hall. London: 1710. It is still
one of the best books which we have on the subject.

Dr. Whitby’s remarks on the doctrine, contained in the eight
first sections of the General Preface to his Commentary, are very
judicious and satisfactory.

The Truth, Inspiration, and Usefulness of the Scripture asserted
and proved. In several Discourses on 2 Tim. iii. 16. By the
late Rev. and learned Mr. Benjamin Bennett. Published from
his Manuscripts by L. Latham, M.D, London: 1730. A plain,
but solid and useful work.

A Dissertation on the Inspiration of the New Testament, as
proved from the Facts recorded in the Historical Books of it. This
important Dissertation of Dr. Doddridge is the second of two
annexed to his Expositor, and continues to be a treatise of clas-
sical authority in reference to the subject.

The Doctrine of Grace: or the Office and Operations of the
Holy Spirit, §e. By William, Lord Bishop of Gloucester, London :
1763. In this work, amidst much that is paradoxical and extra-
vagant, Dr. Warburton advances many acute observations in
regard to inspiration, both as it regards the extraordinary endow-
ments of the apostles generally, and the particular influence
under which they composed their writings.

The Inspiration of the Holy Scriptures asserted and explained :
in Three Dissertations, in which a plain and rational Solution is
attempted to be given to the following Inquiries: 1. What Scrte-
TURES are divinely inspired? 11. In what Sense the Holy
Scriptures are so? And III. What Proor we have of it? By
John Kiddell, of Tiverton, Devon. London: 1779. This tract,
which is of extreme rarity, contains much valuable matter directly

ΝΝ

548 NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS.

bearing on the queries here specified; and is rendered the more
remarkable by its having been translated into German by Semler,
whose copious notes, appended to the text, evince that his object
in publishing it was merely to give currency to his own freethink-
ing opinions respecting both the inspiration and the canon of
Scripture.

A Treatise on the Plenary Inspiration of the New Testament.
By the Rev. J. L. Moore. London: 1793.

Note F. Page 65.

By this time the principles of Socinianism began to come to
some maturity in this country ; and among other doctrines which
were openly attacked by its abettors was that of inspiration.
Dr. Priestley, in his Theological Repository, and his Institutes of
Natural and Revealed Religion; Mr. Wakefield, in his Essay on
Inspiration, which he significantly designates—“ this vexatious
doctrine of inspiration ;’’ and Dr. Geddes, in the preface to the
second volume of his Bible; undisguisedly renounced the plenary
inspiration of the sacred penmen, and indeed their inspiration in
any sense deserving the name. The last-mentioned writer, than
whom scarcely any of the continental neologians has gone farther
in profane levity and daring assertion, roundly declares, that he
would not believe the absolute inspiration of the Hebrew writings
were an angel from heaven to teach it. To counteract the influ-
ence of their statements, and of others made by those who have
since espoused their views, the following works have appeared :—

An Essay on the: Inspiration of the Holy Scriptures, $e. By
William Nelson, Edinburgh. With Notes, by Alexander Bowyer,
Author of the Life of Dr. Beattie. (No date.)

The Divine Inspiration of the Jewish Scriptures, or the Old
Testament asserted by St. Paul, 2 Tim. iii. 16; and Dr. Geddes’s
Reasons against this Sense of his Words examined. By Robert
Findlay, D.D., Professor of Theology in the University of Glasgow.
London: 1803. An admirable specimen of sacred criticism.

An Essay on the Inspiration of the Holy Scriptures, by John
Dick, A.M. Third Edition, with Corrections and Additions.
Glasgow: 1813. In this work the subject is very fully and ably
gone into; but the view which it gives of verbal inspiration has
been greatly modified in the ninth of the author’s excellent Lee-
tures on Theology, recently published.

NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS. 549

An Inquiry into the Nature and Extent of the Inspiration of the
Apostles, and other Writers of the New Testament. Conducted with
a view to some late Opinions on the Subject. By the late Rev. William
Parry, Tutor of Wymondley Academy. Second Edition. London :
1822.

We here subjoin a few works which have more lately appeared.

The Books of the Old and New Testament proved to be Canonical,
and their Verbal Inspiration maintained and established, §c. By
Robert Haldane, Esq. Third Edition, much enlarged. Edinburgh :
1830.

The Theories of Inspiration of the Rev. Daniel Wilson, Rev. Dr.
Pye Smith, and the Rev. Dr. Dich, proved to be erroneous ; with
Remarks on the Christian Observer, and Eclectic Review. By
Alexander Carson, A.M. Minister of the Gospel. Edinburgh.
(No date.)

Both authors maintain verbal inspiration in its narrowest and
most restricted sense, and, in the most unmeasured terms, repro-
bate all who are of a different opinion.

Proofs of Inspiration, or the Grounds of Distinetion between the
New Testament and the Apoeryphal Volume, &c. By the Rev.
Thomas Rennell, B.D, F.R.S. Vicar of Kensington. London: 1822.

A View of Inspiration, comprehending the Nature and Distinc-
tions of the Spiritual Gifts and Offices of the Apostolic Age. By
Alexander Macleod. Glasgow: 1827.

Lectures on the Inspiration of the Scriptures, by Leonard Woods,
D.D., Abbot Professor of Christian Theology in the Theological
Seminary, Andover. Andover: 1829. —

The Plenary Inspiration of the Scriptures asserted, and the Prin-
ciples of their Composition investigated, with a view to the Refutation
of all Objections to their Divinity, $c. By the Rev. S. Noble,
London: 1825. The title of this work is here inserted, merely in
order to furnish an occasion of cautioning the reader not to expeet
from it what it does not contain. Its objeet is to palm upon the
world the allegorical jargon of Swedenborgianism or the universally
hidden and spiritual sense, under the imposing name of plenary
inspiration.

Several other authors have treated on the subject, though not
in separate publications, as Dr. Frazer, referred to, p. 66; Dr.
Wilson, in his work on the Evidences of Christianity; the Rev.
Hartwell Horne, in his invaluable Introduction to the Study of
the Scriptures; Bishop Tomline, in his Elements of Theology ;

550 NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS.

Professor Pusey, in the Second Part of his Historical Inquiry;
Dr, Powell, in the Boyle Lectures ; and my esteemed friend, Dr.
John Pye Smith, in his justly celebrated work on the Scripture
Testimony to the Messiah; vol. i. p. 35, second edition.

Before closing this note, it may be proper to adduce some of
the leading foreign publications in which the dogma of inspiration
is professedly discussed, and which those who wish to pursue the
study of it would do well to consult.

Klemm. (Joh. Chris.) Diss. Θεοπνευστία sacrarum literarum
asserta, Tub: 1743.

Stosch (Fred.) Diss. Theol. de duplici Apostolorum Θεοπνευστία,
tum generali, tum speciali. Guelpherbyti: 1754.

Teller (Guil. Abr.) Progr. Defensio Inspirationis divine Vatum
sacrorum adversus enthusiasmum Poeticum. Helmst. 1762.

—— Diss. de Inspirationis Seript. Sac. judicio formando.
Helmst. 1764.

Tollner (Joh. Gottl.) Die Gottliche Eingebung der heiligen
Schrift untersucht. Mittau und Leipzig. 1772. A work of 487
pages, in which the subject of the inspiration of the Scriptures is
more fully discussed than in any other that has appeared.

Hoffmann (Joh. Thom.) Exercit. Hist. Theol. communis veterum
Doctrine de Inspiratione divina a recentior. nonnull. Argutationi-
bus vindicata. Dresdze: 1782.

Hegelmaier (Job. Godof.) de θεοπνευστία ejusque Statu in Viris
sanctis Librorum sacrorum Auctoribus. Tub. 1784.

Meyer (Laurent.) Comment. de Inspiratione Seripture sacra, ~
qua ejus indolem explanare conatus est. Ultraj. 1784.

Sontag (Gust. Frid. Nicol.) Doctrina Inspirationis ejusque
Ratio, Historia et Usus popularis. Heidelb. 1810.

Dullo (H. F.) Ueber die Gottliche Eingebung des N. T. Jena.
1816. 4

Credner (Car. Aug.) de Librorum N. T. Inspiratione quid sta-
tuerint Christiani ante seeculum tertium medium.

Elwert (M.) Ueber die Lehre von der Inspiration, in Beziehung
auf das Neue Testament, ein Versuch.—Studien der Evangelischen
Geistlichkeit Wirtembergs, iii. B. 2. Heft. 1831.

That no unjust accusation is brought against Griesbach, p. 67,
the following positions, extracted from his Stricturar. in locum de

NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS. 551

Theopneustia Libr. Sacr. (Opuscula Academica, vol. ii. pp. 288—
357,) will be sufficient to prove.

“I. Omnia que in libris Novi Testamenti leguntur, e theopneu-
** stia (stricte sumta) scripta esse, probari nequit. Nam neque
**e scripture sacri oraculis cogi hoe potest, neque res ipsa et
* librorum sacrorum destinatio necessario id postulat.

“II. In collectione librorum Novi Testamenti continentur
“ὁ fortasse scripta nonnulla apostolica, eaque genuina, quibus nihil
** inest theopneustia. Et nihilo tamen secius talia scripta suo jure
* et merito locum suum in canone obtinent.

*« III. Liber Novi Testamenti constare potest partibus diverse
‘* indolis ; inspiratis admixtz esse possunt non inspirate.

ΤΥ, Non datur criterium certum, cujus ope id quod ex theo-
“ἡ pneustia profectum est, ab eo quod absque inspiratione dictum
** aut scriptum est, dignosci queat.”—P. 356.

ΝΟΤΕ G. Page 95.

Tuart the “ goings forth” of the Messiah ΟΞ) spoken of,
Micah v. 2, refer to his previous manifestations in the times of
Moses and the patriarchs seems the most natural interpretation of
the phrase, especially as what it designates is obviously put in
contrast with his manifestation when he should actually assume
human nature, and “come forth” (S32) among men. Grotius,
Michaélis, and Rosenmiiller, interpret it of descent or family
origin; but Mr. J. J. Gurney has satisfactorily shown, that though
the substantive is capable of signifying extraction or filiation, its
meaning must be determined by that of the verb as used in the
present passage. But whenever NS) has any such signification,
the preposition 72 is placed before the name of the parent or
family, and never before that of the place,* which is the case here.

Norte H. on Devt. xxxiii. 2—5. Page 124.

V. 2. Tue rendering of ind, “he rose up fo them,” in our
common version, clogs the passage. The dative of the pronoun is
here, as frequently, redundant after an intransitive verb of motion.
The Targum of Onkelos, the LXX. and the Syriac and Vulgate
versions read 929, the first person plural, but the reading is clearly
to be attributed to emendation. It is unsupported by manuscript

* Biblical Notes and Dissertations, pp. 80, 81.

552 NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS.

authority —W7) M2279 TOs, “He came with holy myriads.”
The LXX. mistaking wip, ἀρνί, for Ὁ ἼΏ, Kadesh, render the
words thus: σὺν μυρίασι Κάδης, “ with my riads at Kadesh ;’ but
still, having an impression that reference was had to the angels,
they add, ἐκ δεξιῶν αὐτοῦ ἄγγελοι per’ αὐτοῦ. Aquila, however,
Symmachus, the Venet. Greek, and the Syriac agree with Onkelos
in considering the term to be a substantive, signifying “ holiness ;”
which, being governed by the preceding noun, has the force of an
adjective, and is by Symmachus so expressed. That nian the
fem. plur. should be employed of angels can excite no surprise,
since this numeral is only used in the feminine. See among other
passages, Neh. vii. 71: MD %AW OINDI7. In fact, it is
employed in the dual form of the fem. in the parallel passage,
Ps. LXVIII. 17.

The words 2") MWY 12 have greatly perplexed inter-
preters. The principal difficulty has been occasioned by the
unusual combination NWR, which, as it is found in upwards of a
hundred of Kennicott and De Rossi’s MSS. and in twenty-five
printed editions, has been supposed to come from ΓΤ, TW, or
even from the Arab. \.), and interpretations agreeing with such
derivations have been advanced ; but they have all failed in afford-
ing satisfaction. Those who have most distinguished themselves
for critical taste regard the word as compounded of ws and —
an opinion which is confirmed by the circumstances, that it is
included by the Rabbins in the number of fifteen words, which
though written as one are nevertheless to be read as two, and that
in a great number of the best MSS. the Keri exhibits NJ Wk,
which several editors, both Jewish and Christian, have adopted as
the textual reading. With respect to 17, the signification of law
is now pretty generally acquiesced in; and Gesenius, in his The-
saurus, very ingeniously traces its etymology. The singularity of
its occurrence in pure Hebrew is not greater than that which is
exhibited in several other parallel instances. That the construc-
tion should be YJ WR, and not WX M7, according to rule, seems
at first sight to present an obstacle to the rendering: “law of
fire,” or fiery law ; but the prominence which the writer intended
to give to the igneous phenomenon is sufficient to account for the
anomaly. Winer’s observation in Simonis Lex. is: “In loco
Deut. xxxiii. 2, MJ WR significare videtur ignem legis, h. e. legem
igneam, media inter fulgura promulgatam.” The in? at the end
of the verse is the poetic singular, as in the preceding instance,
only it is here used as the dative of possession,

NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS. 553

Vaasa PWIA there is an evident continuation of the third
person from the foregoing participle, though the transition in the
following word to the second person renders it necessary in a
translation to adopt the change earlier.—TJ)2 is quite idiomatic,
and does not express more than the simple preposition 5Y, or the.
particle TS. See Gesen. in voc. 4 aa).—The ἅπαξ λεγόμενον
Mh, like the Arab. (5, Signifies to bend one’s self, fall down,
fall prostrate, and is used here to express the deep reverence of the
angelic hosts on the occasion to which reference is made,—NW is
taken partatively, as V2, Is. xlv. 24, “he,” 1. 6. each, “ saith.”
The verb has here all the pregnance of its meaning—signifying
not merely to take, take up, but to take up so as to bear away.

V. 5. That the King mentioned in this verse was Jehovah, and
not Moses, as Abenezra interprets, seems past dispute.

NotelI. Page 146.

Tue force of the evidence afforded by 1 Cor. x. 9, in support of
the doctrine of our Lord’s being the object of temptation on the
part of the Israelites, has been attempted to be got rid of in two
ways.

1. By adopting the reading Κύριον, or Θεὸν, instead of Χριστὸν.
To this adoption, however, which is that of the “Improved
Version,” it must be objected, that it is not critically supported,
and neither of the readings has been received by any editor into
the text of the Greek New Testament. ‘The relative claims of the
various readings are thus exhibited by Scholz :—xvpwy BC 17,
31, 39, 46, 73, 80, 109, al. Syr. p. in m. Copt. MS. Arm. (sed in
m. edd. amst. et constant. Χριστὸν) Aeth. Epiph. (qui Marcionem
κύριον in Χριστὸν mutasse putavit.) Chrys. (alicubi) Theodoret.
Damase. Epist. synodi Antioch. ad Samosat. Sedul. Cassiod. Θεὸν
A 2. Slav. MS. Beda. Χριστὸν testes reliqui fere omnes, etiam 165.
Syr. Arr. Sahid. Vulg. It. Theodotus. Sen. (apud Ir. 27, 263)
Chrys. Theoph. Ambr. Aug. Ambrosiast. Pelag. rp Χριστῷ 23**.

2. By supplying Θεὸν after ἐπείρασαν. But, it is an admitted
principle of construction, that when the same verb is repeated,
and no object is expressed in the second instance, we are to consi-
der the same object to be referred to in both cases. One example
in proof will be sufficient ; but it is one so exactly parallel both in
expression and sense, that it ought to set the question completely
at rest. It is Deut. vi. 16. "WSD OQ 28 Tiny ΓΝ AID N?

554 NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS.

M32 OMND32, which the LXX. render: οὐκ ἐκπειράσεις κύριον τὸν
Θεὸν σου, ὅν τρόπον ἐξεπειράσατε ἐν τῷ πειρασμῷ. In our common
version, the translators have very properly supplied the word him,
and, to be consistent, they should have supplied the ellipsis in the
same way 1 Cor. x. 9. It is in fact supplied in almost all the
versions (Belsham’s itself not excepted)—it being felt to be abso-
lutely necessary to the full expression of the sense.

Nore J. Page 162.

Es zeigt sich, dass auch die wahren Propheten sich in einem
ausserordentlichen, von dem gewohnlichen characteristisch ver-
schiedenen zustande, in einer ἔκστασις befanden, in der das verstdn-
dige Bewustseyn zuricktrat, und das ganze Selbstleben durch eine
gewaltsame Wirkung des gottlichen Geistes unterdrickt, und zu
einem leidentlichen Verhalten gebracht wurde, so dass die Pro-
pheten, wie Philo sagt, Dollmetcher waren, deren Organe sich
Gott zur Mittheilung seiner Offenbarung bediente—Auch auf
die wahren Propheten leidet demnach Anwendung, was Plato im
Ion und Phadrus ausfiihrt, dass mit der Weissagung nothwendig
die Unterdriickung der menschlichen Thatigkeit und des verstdn-
digen Bewusteyns verbunden sey.—Mit dem verstdndigen Bewust-
seyn trat zugleich ihr niederes Seelenleben zuriick. Christologie
des Alten Testaments. 1. Th. 1 Abtheil. pp. 294, 297.

Nore K. Page 236.

Ir seems altogether probable that the Apostle Jude quotes the
passage of Enoch’s prophecies from tradition, and not from the
apocryphal book of Enoch, which is frequently quoted by the
Fathers. This book, which was long supposed to be lost, was
found by Bruce, in an Ethiopic translation, in Abyssinia, and has
lately been published by Dr. Laurence (the present Archbishop
of Cashel), who is of opinion that it is the production of some
unknown Jew, under the assumed name of Enoch, who lived
shortly before the time of our Lord. It has been shown, however,
by an able writer in the Christian Observer, vol. xxx. pp. 417—
4.26, 496—503, that it could not have been written earlier than
the middle of the second century of our era. See Horne’s Introd.
vol. ii. Part II. p. 139.

NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS. 555

Note L. Page 252.

Or the great value put upon the Pagan Oracles, and the impor-
tance that was attached to their decisions, no one can be ignorant
who is at all acquainted with ancient history. They were resorted
to on all state occasions of any consequence—on the commence-
ment of war, or the conclusion of peace; the founding of cities
and colonies; the establishment of religious ceremonies ; the
enactment of laws; the introduction of new forms of government ;
or the prevalence of any public calamity. They were also con-
sulted by individuals of different ranks in society in reference to
any subject in which they felt peculiarly interested. It is obviously
to their influence we are to ascribe most of the sudden revolutions
and other remarkable occurrences which happened in the states of
antiquity, but which cannot be traced either to the councils of
political wisdom, or to the power of arms. The response of a god
frequently effected what the impulse of merely human motives
never could have accomplished. Sometimes the oracular responses
were professedly given by the gods themselves; at other times
they were imparted by priests and priestesses, who acted as inter-
preters. Those who consulted them were obliged previously to
present valuable offerings and sacrifices. They were, as in the
case of the Delphic oracle, minutely interrogated as to their private
history and their expectations; they were then conducted into a
dismal cavern, where they were exposed to a damp and noxious
air; and were sometimes required to drink a potion, the effect of
which on the imagination tended to complete their melancholy
and stupefaction, and thus prepare them for becoming the dupes
of an artful superstition. When no difficulty clogged the question,
which required an answer, the language of the oracle was clear
and explicit; but in cases of a complicated and doubtful character,
the response was proportionately equivocal. In cases of extreme
difficulty, when the very existence of the oracles was at stake, no
answer whatever could be obtained. Great management is appa-
rent in all the measures connected with their consultation.

Of the different nations of antiquity, none were more famous
for oracles than Egypt and Greece, where they existed in great
numbers: among which, were those of Jupiter Ammon at Thebes
and Ammonium, and those at Dodona and Delphi, the last of
which became the most celebrated, and consequently the most
frequented of all. With the exception of the Cumean Sibyl, the
Sibylline books, and a few others, the Romans had no domestic

556 NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS.

oracles, but availed themselves, on particular occasions, of the
Egyptian and Grecian.

The fact, that most of these oracles became silent about the
time of the introduction of Christianity, has induced many to
believe that there was really something supernatural in them;
that they were the result of demoniacal inspiration; and that
their cessation is to be ascribed to the victory gained by our
Saviour over the powers of darkness. In this hypothesis there is
much to commend itself to the Christian mind; and could the
basis, on which it rests, be shown to be sufficiently solid, it might
lay claim to universal adoption. On examining the history of
oracles, however, we meet with so many traces of manifest
duplicity and fraud; such a disposition to philippize; such a
combination of effective physical causes; such a degree of igno-
rance and superstition on the part of the credulous multitude ;
and such an interest to support on that of the priests and rulers ;
that it is impossible to suppress the conviction that the whole is
resolvable into human wickedness, acted upon and disposed of,
indeed, by the spirit that worketh in the children of disobedience,
but involving no agency of a strictly miraculous or extraordinary
character. We accordingly find, that, before the coming of our
Saviour, they had in a great measure fallen into discredit, owing
partly to the detection of the artifices employed to deceive the
applicants, partly to the failure of their predictions, partly to their
mutual contradictions, and partly to the obscurity and ambiguity
in which they were generally involved. Many of those who had
been their votaries, now repudiated them, and philosophers of
different schools hurled against them the shafts of their ridicule.
Eusebius states, in his Praeparatio Evangelica, that they had been
attacked by not fewer than six hundred pagan writers; and to
judge from the fragments which he has preserved of a work of
(Enomaus on the subject, these attacks were conducted in the
keenest and most unsparing manner.

That the rapid spread and signal triumphs of the gospel should
have been mainly instrumental in effecting the eventual and
complete overthrow of oracular authority, was the necessary result
of its subversion of the reigning systems of idolatry, by which that
authority was chiefly supported. In proportion as its light was
diffused and its power felt, men were turned from dumb idols to
serve the living God, and lying vanities were abandoned for the
words of eternal life. Still it is evident, from the historical state-
ments both of Christian and Pagan authors, that certain oracles

NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS. 557.

continued to be consulted, and to give their pretended responses a
considerable time after the Christian τὰ. Those at Delphos and
Daphne existed even in the reign of the Emperor Constantius ;
and it was not till the entire eradication of idolatry had been
effected that the superstition became extinct.

While these counterfeit inspirations were held in detestation by
the early Christian writers, except when they could be interpreted
so as to bear evidence in favour of the truth of Christianity, they
regarded in a very different light the Sibylline oracles, or verses
purporting to have been deposited at Rome, and containing
distinct recognitions of the creation, the fall, the deluge, &c.,
together with striking prophecies respecting the birth, actions,
sufferings, death, and resurrection of Christ, the succession of
several of the Roman emperors, and the universal conflagration at
the end of the world. These statements and prophecies accorded
so completely with the representations of Scripture, that the Fathers
appear to have conceived it impossible to employ a more convincing
argumentum ad hominem than by appealing to their testimony.
There can be no doubt, however, that the collection, to which
these appeals were made, was, for the most part, a fabrication of
the second century. The original oracles were delivered by pagan
females, who were believed to be inspired by the gods, the most
renowned of whom was the Sibyl of Cumz in Campania, to which
place the oracle and worship of Apollo had been conveyed from
the Trojan Ida. What remained of the books, which she offered
to Tarquin, was afterwards augmented by the addition of a
number more; and though burnt with the Capitol, great efforts
were made to collect them anew from various quarters; and of
those which were collected, not fewer than one thousand verses
were declared to be genuine, and preserved with the greatest care
in the new temple of Jupiter Capitolinus. So great was their
authority, that a vast number of spurious productions appeared
under their name, many of which contained an amalgamation of
heathen prophecies, with imitations of the LXX. and ultimately of
the Christian Scriptures :—a circumstanc® which accounts in part
for the extreme jealousy with which the Roman government
regarded the existence of such oracles in private hands, and the
high estimation in which they were held by Clement of Alexandria,
and other Christian authors in and before his time.

To one or other of these collections in its purer state, it is not
impossible Virgil may have been indebted for his glowing descrip-
tion of the golden age, contained in his fourth Eclogue, in which he

558 NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS.

expressly refers to the Cumzan oracle; and thus, at second hand,
he may have borrowed his imagery from the Jewish Scriptures.
The eight books at present extant under the name of the Sibyls,
contain most of what was used by the Fathers; but they have also
been made up of additional matter—the result of well-meant but
most unjustifiable attempts to gain over the pagans to a belief in
Christianity. The same must be said respecting the books which
passed under the names of Hydaspes, Trismegistus, and others, for
which a high antiquity was claimed, and whose predictions were
ascribed to inspiration.

Note M. Page 311.

Ir the text, 2 Tim. iii. 16, had read πᾶσα ἡ γραφὴ; the interpre-
tation, ““ all Scripture,” would not have been disputed. That no
stress, however, is to be laid on the absence of the article, must
be evident from the peculiarly appropriated and definite sense in
which γραφὴ is here used. What the apostle designates by the
term was so pre-eminent and notorious, that the article was no
more required to give it a greater degree of weight than it was in
such cases as πᾶσα Ἱεροσόλυμα, Matth. ii. 3; πᾶς οἶκος ᾿Ισραὴλ,
Acts ii. 36: πᾶς Ισραὴλ, Rom. xi. 26; πᾶσα πατριὰ, Eph. 111. 15.
In all these, and similar cases, there is a grand, well-known whole,
to which reference is made, which renders any further definiteness
unnecessary. Compare πᾶσα συναγωγὴ; Josh. xviii. 1 ; μετὰ πᾶσης
δυνάμεως, Diod. Sic. 19, 29; ἅπας λεὼς, Himer. 13, 9; Winer’s
Gram. ὃ 17. 10. Note; πᾶσα οἰκοδομὴ, Eph. ii. 21, as exhibited in
BDEGI 44, 48, 67 **. 72, 73, 74, 80, 91, 106, 109, 219, 238, al.
pl. Lect. 1, 8, 13, (bis) edd. Clem. Bas. Chrys. (in Comment.)
Theodoret. Cc. Though καὶ is not expressed in the Syriac,
Vulgate, and Arabic versions, all of which are closely related to
each other, it is not wanting ina single MS. of the Greek New
Testament that has yet been collated. It is, therefore, perfectly
unwarrantable to omit it in translation, as some have done. That
the Greek Fathers understood an ellipsis of the substantive verb
after θεόπνευστος, cannot be disputed. Thus Origen: πᾶσα γραφὴ
θεύπνευστος οὖσα, ὠφελιμὸς EoTt.—The author of the Synopsis:
πᾶσα γραφὴ ἡμῶν χριστιανῶν θεόπνευστος ἔστιν. οὐκ ἀόριστα δὲ, ἀλλὰ
μᾶλλον ὡρισμένα καὶ κεκανονισμένα ἔχει τὰ βιβλία" καὶ ἔστι τῆς μὲν
παλαιᾶς διαθήκης, ταῦτα, k. τ. Χ. S, Athanas. Opera. tom. ii. p. 55,
ed. Colog-—Basil M. πᾶσα γραφὴ θεόπνευστος καὶ ὠφέλιμος, διὰ
τοῦτο συγγραφεῖσα παρὰ τοῦ πνεύματος, κι τ. A. Proem. in Psalm.

NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS. 559

Note N. Page 315.

Various explications have been given of the words πᾶσα
προφητεία γραφῆς, ἰδίας ἐπιλύσεως ov γίνεται. (2 Pet. i. 20.) of which
the following are the principal:—1. No prophecy is of arbitrary
interpretation. 2. No prophecy is of separate or detached inter-
pretation. 3. All prophecy is not to be Jiterally interpreted.
4. No prophecy could be explained by the prophets themselves.
5. No prophecy can be interpreted by the unassisted powers of the
reader, 6. No prophecy is of self-solution. 7. No prophecy can
be rendered invalid. 8. No prophecy is the result of private or
uninspired disclosure. The sixth is that which Bishop Horsley
has adopted, and which, in consequence of the ability with which
he has defended it, has met with very general acceptance. Yet
the same objection lies against it, which has been adduced against
most of the others—its want of strict agreement with the state-
ment made in the following verse. In fact, the last of these
different constructions is the only one which at once suits the pre-
ceding and following context. The subject of discourse is the
prophetic oracles contained in the Old Testament, which the
apostle proceeds to show were equally to be depended on, as was
the voice from the excellent glory, forasmuch as they did not
originate with man, but with the Spirit of God. What confirms
this view of the passage is the appropriation of the term ἴδιος in
such connection, precisely as it is used by Philo, in the section
quoted in the Introductory Lecture, p. 44. And, that it is the ori-
gination of the prophetic matter, and not the mere interpretation
of it, after it has been delivered to the church, which is intended,
may be argued from the verb γίνεται, and not ἔστι; being employed.
The former, it is well known, does not denote simple existence,
but the commencement of existence—the coming into being, the
origination of any thing. The only difficulty connected with this
interpretation is the sense in which it requires ἐπιλύσις to be
taken—a sense which, it is freely admitted, is not found elsewhere
to attach to the word. But though it is not used in the exact
sense of revelation or inspiration, the instances in which it, or the
cognate verb ἐπιλύω, are employed (Gen. xl. 8, LXX. ἃ Aquila;
Hos. iii. 4, Symmachus; Mark iv. 34,) all convey the idea of
information imparted respecting obscure or difficult matters, in
consequence of supernatural or divine influence. It is, therefore,
equivalent to ἑρμηνεία, in the sense of a communication made by a

560 NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS.

divine interpreter, and may have been employed in this sense by
the apostle. See on the passage Wolfii Curze Philol.

Notre O. Page 324.

Esr enim scripture et predicationis par ratio. Que enim
voce predicabatur doctrina, ea postea juvande memoriz causa
consignabatur literis, et que causa erat, cur predicationem ex
divina inspiratione oporteret peragi, ea militabat pro scriptionis eo
magis, quod scriptura deberet esse medium doctrine ejusdem in-
corrupte ad finem mundi usque conservande et ad posteritatem
propagande.—Museus in Spinosismo, p. 69.

Nore P. Page 326.

THAT δοκεῖν (1 Cor. vii. 40) is not designed to express doubt or
uncertainty is admitted by the best critics. “ Verbum δοκῶ non
* incertam quandam opinionem, sed convictionem et scientiam
«ς infert, ut Joh. v. 39, Acts xv. 28, et Matth. xvii. 25.” Wolfius.
“‘Verbum δοκῶ non incertam opinionem, sed convictionem et ex-
* ploratam notitiam infert: certum habeo, conscio mihi.” Hey-
denreich, “ In Nov. Test. verbum δοκεῖν nonnunquam non de existi-
** matione aut judicio super aliqua re explicandum est, sed rem, de
‘“¢ qua sermo est, affirmat, sive potius πλεονάζει, ἄο. Glassii Phil.
“ Sac. ed. Dath. p. 229. “ Mr. 10, 42, sind οἱ δοκοῦντες ἄρχειν τῶν
“ ἐθνῶν die fiir die Beherrscher der Volker gelten, dafiir anerkannt
“ sind (ahnl. Arrian Epict. 1, 9, vgl. Soph. Aj. 1114. Hist. Susan.
“5. Joseph. Antt. 19, 6, 3; die Parallelstelle Mt. 20, 25, hat blos
“ οἱ ἄρχοντες ; Luc. 22, 24, ric αὐτῶν δοκεῖ εἶναι μείζων quis videatur
““ habere (habiturus esse) principatum, von wem man urtheilen
“ἐ muisse, dass er den Vorzug (vor den iibrigen) habe ; die Sache ist
“noch zukiinftig, und so nur Gegenstand des muthmaasslichen
* Urtheils; 1 Cor. 11, 16, εἴ τις δοκεῖ φιλόνεικος εἶναι si {ἰδὲ placet
* litigare ( Stolz ; willIem. hieriiber streiten ) obschon in dieser Bed.
** gern der Dativ des Pron. (ἑαυτῷ) wenigstens in Prosa dabei steht ;
“Luc. 8, 18, 6 δοκεῖ ἔχειν was er glaubt (recht fest) zu besitzen.
“ Ueber 1 Cor. 3, 18, 7, 40, 14, 37. Heb. 4, 1, (wo Boéhme das
“ δοκεῖ fir elegantius halt!) bedarf es keiner Bemerkung.” Winer’s
Grammatik, p. 494, 3d Ed. The note of Calvin is not undesery-
ing of notice: ‘“* Non tamen videtur ironia carere quod dicit.
« Eyxistimo. Nam quam pseudo-apostoli, Spiritum Dei inflatis buccis

NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS. 561

« identidem jactarent ad auctoritatem sibi arrogandam, et interea
*« Paulo detrahere studerent ; dicit se quoque sibi videri compotem
“ Spiritus non minus quam ipsos.”— Comment. in loe.

Nore Q. Page 340.

“ς Digito Dei fuerunt scripte, id est, opere Dei, ab ipso Deo,
“non ab homine, vel angelo. Digitus Dei significat Dei omnipo-
“ tentiam, (Exod. viii. 19; Luc. xi. 20.) Senus igitur est, quod
** operatione Dei immediata, sine angelorum ministerio, lex duabus
“tabulis fit impressa, Dei enim dicere est facere. Psalm exv. 3;
* Psalm xxxiii. 9.”—Gerhardi Loc. Theol. tom. v. p. 236.

Nore R. Page 362.

Tue position held in common by the Quakers and Socinians,
that the phrase ὁ λόγος τοῦ Θεοῦ; is never used of the written word,
or the revelation of the will of God, contained in the Scriptures,
must appear unwarranted to those who impartiaily and carefully
examine the following passages: Ps. exix; Prov. xxx. 5; Mark
vii. 13; John x. 35; Heb. iv. 12.

Nore S. Page 375.

Tuat the Book of Genesis was, in part at least, compiled from
ancient documents, is an opinion which was first advanced by
Vitringa in his Observationes Sacre, lib. i. c. iv. § 23. It was
afterwards adopted and defended by Le Cene, Calmet, and Astrue.
The refinements which have been made upon it by Eichhorn,
Ilgen, Gramberg, and other German writers, have in some measure
brought it into discredit ; but the discriminative use of the Divine
names mm and mide, in the three first chapters, can only be
accounted for on some such principle. See the Introductions of
Horne, Eichhorn, Jahn, and Bertholdt.

Nore T. Page 524.

“

Tue supposition, that miraculous powers were gradually
*‘ withdrawn from the Church, appears in a great measure to account
“ for the uncertainty which has prevailed respecting the period of
“* their cessation. To adopt the language of undoubting confidence
“on such a subject, would be a mark no less of folly than presump-
* tion; but I may be allowed to state the conclusion to which I

O O

562 NOTES AND. ILLUSTRATIONS.

“‘ have myself been led, by a comparison of the statements in the
“ Book of Acts with the writings of the Fathers of the second
“century. My conclusion then is, that the power of working
“miracles was not extended beyond the disciples upon whom the
“‘ apostles conferred it by the imposition of their hands. As the
“number of those disciples gradually diminished, the instances
* of the exercise of miraculous powers became continually less
“ frequent, and ceased entirely at the death of the last individual on
“whom the hands of the apostles had been laid. That event
** would, in the natural course of things, take place before the middle
“of the second century; at a time when, Christianity having ob-
“ς tained a footing in all the provinces of the Roman empire, the
*‘ miraculous gifts conferred upon its first teachers had performed
“ their appropriate office—that of proving to the world that a New
‘* Revelation had been given from heaven. What, then, would be
“* the effect produced upon the minds of the great body of Christians
** by their gradual cessation ἢ Many would not observe, none would
*‘ be willing to observe it ; for all must naturally feel a reluctance
** to believe that powers which had contributed so essentially to the
‘rapid diffusion of Christianity, were withdrawn. They who re-
“ὁ marked the cessation of miracles, would probably succeed in per-
“ suading themselves that it was only temporary, and designed by an
“6 all-wise Providence to be the prelude to a more abundant effusion
“ of supernatural gifts upon the Church. Or if doubts and mis-
“ givings crossed their minds, they would still be unwilling openly
* to state a fact, which might shake the stedfastness of the friends,
“‘ and would certainly be urged by the enemies of the gospel, as an
“‘ argument against its divine origin. They would pursue the plan
“‘ which has been pursued by Justin Martyr, Theophilus, Irenzus,
“‘ &c.; they would have recourse to general assertions of the exist-
“ence of supernatural powers, without attempting to produce a
“ specific instance of their exercise. The silence of ecclesiastical
“« history, respecting the cessation of miraculous gifts in the Church,
“is to be ascribed, not to the insensibility of Christians to that
“ event, but to the combined influence of prejudice and policy—
“ οὗ prejudice which made them reluctant to believe—of policy
“which made them anxious to conceal the truth.”"—Bp. Kay's
Liccles. Hist. of the Second and Third Centuries, pp. 98—100,
2d ed. The same view of the subject is substantially presented by
the late Dr. Burton, in his History of the Christian Church,
pp- 185—187, Christ. Know. edit. 1836; and by Dr. Waddington,
in his History of the Church, p. 19.

NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS. 563

‘Nore U. Page 525.

ScaARcELY had the miraculous gifts ceased, when the Cataphry-
gians sprang up, who laid claim to a greater plenitude of them
than had been enjoyed even in the apostolic age. They took
their name from the circumstances, that Montanus, to whom they
owed their origin, was born at the village of Ardaba in the
province of Mysia, bordering on Phrygia (ἐν τῇ κατὰ τὴν Φρύγιαν
Mvoia); that most of them, at first, were natives of that province ;
and that Pepuza and Tymium, two of its towns, were their great
resort, and, in their estimation, the predicted New Jerusalem of
the Revelation. They made their appearance soon after the
middle of the second century, Their founder appears to have
been a man of melancholy temperament, and an overheated imagi-
nation, given to ecstatic abreptions of mind, and subject to the
most extravagant enthusiasms. Not content with maintaining the
continuance of the miraculous gifts of the Spirit, he went so far in
the arrogance of his pretensions as to assert, that he was the
Paraclete promised by. our Saviour—by which, however, it would
be doing him injustice to suppose he meant the Holy Spirit per-
sonally, All he intended appears to have been, that, as the
Divine dispensations were progressive in their character, and that
of Christ and the apostles was more eminent than those whith
preceded it, so the dispensation, with which he was entrusted, was
supplementary to the gospel, and distinguished by a more plentiful
degree of supernatural influence. He was irreproachable in his
moral character, a rigid disciplinarian, and, except on the point
just mentioned, orthodox in his doctrinal principles. Attaching
to himself Priscilla and Maximilla, two ladies of rank and fortune,
who left their husbands, and assumed the character of prophetesses,
he soon attracted attention—no less by his own frantic manifes-
tations, than by the fanatical spirit, and bold, alarming predictions,
to which these and others of his disciples gave utterance. They
all represented themselves to be the mere passive organs of the
Spirit, by whose power they were, during their ecstatics, bereft of
all self-possession. If we may believe the statements of Epipha-
nius, many of their prophecies were couched in the most extrava-
gant language. They foretold in particular the fall of the Roman
empire; the coming of Antichrist ; and the speedy commencement
of the Millennium.

The sensation which was created by the appearance of Montanus

002

564 NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS.

and his prophetesses led to considerable opposition on the part of
the neighbouring bishops; several works were written against
them, and they were at length formally denounced: but the sect
rapidly multiplied not only in Asia and Africa, but also in Europe,
and continued to exist under various names so late as the sixth
century. What principally contributed to its prosperity was the
severity of its discipline, which, contrasted with the lax and
accommodating spirit which began to prevail, greatly recom-
mended it to notice. It was beyond all doubt this feature of its
character, which operated upon the mind of Tertullian, already
strongly imbued with ascetic feelings, who, about the year 199,
embraced its general principles, though it is thought he became
less attached to them as he advanced in life. Whoever will care-
fully peruse what has been preserved to us of the sentiments and
practices of the Montanists, will find in them the prototypes of
almost all the extravagances broached by those who, in succeed-
ing ages, have pretended to inspiration and prophecy.*

Not to enter into a detailed account of the imaginary visions
and revelations of Leuthard in the tenth century ; Elizabeth and
Hildegardis in the twelfth; St. Francis in the thirteenth; St.
Brigitta and the French Dancers in the fourteenth; Elizabeth
Barton, or the Holy Maid of Kent; and Munzer, Storck, and
others of the Anabaptists, in the sixteenth—who, laying claim to
celestial communications, and, some of them, to a divine commis-
sion, gave utterance to prophecies and warnings by which they
more or less seduced the credulous multitude—we pass on to
notice the pretensions of some of those, who, from the seventeenth
century downwards, have advanced unscriptural notions on the~
subject of supernatural influence.

In consequence of the circulation of the works of Paracelsus,
Weigel, Boehme, Gichtel, and other Rosicrucians, a spirit of
mysticism began to obtain on the continent, which resulted partly
in assurances of a supposed inward light, which was elevated
above the Scriptures, and partly in ecstatic abstractions, visions,
and fancied inspirations, prophecies, and miracles. Most of those

* Eusebii Hist. Eccles. lib. v. c. 16; Mosheim’s Church Hist. b. i. p. 2,
ch. δ, §§ 23, 24; Weismanni Introd. in Memorab. Eccles. Secul. ii. § xviii. ;
M. Wernsdorf Commentatio, de Montanistis, &c. Dantzig. 1751, 4to ; Neander’s
Kirchengeschichte, 1 Band, 3 Abtheil, pp. 579—595; Bp. Kay’s Eccles. Hist.
p. 12—85. The History of Montanism, by a Layman (Dr. Lee, of St. John’s
College, Oxf.), in Dr. Hickes’s Spirit of Enthusiasm exorcised. London, 1709.

NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS. 565

who laid claim to these privileges were persons of unimpeachable
character, and, to all appearance, sincere in their piety. The first
appearances of this description took place in connection with the
Moravian Brethren, one of whose bishops, the learned Come-
nius, mixed himself up in some measure with them, and left an
account of some of the more remarkable revelations. A num-
ber of imposing prophecies were delivered by Cotter, a native
of Silesia, occasioned by the political aspect of the times, and
were received as divine by some of the most pious then living ;
but as several of them related to things, that were soon to happen,
their non-fulfilment proved their falsity; the pretended seer lost
his credit, and was at last banished his country. It might have
been supposed, that such failures would have opened the eyes of
the good bishop; but he was again imposed upon by a female
named Christina Poniatovsky, who, in the year 1627, began to
experience ecstasies, and give forth extraordinary revelations ; and
was the subject of pretended miracles, such as a sudden recovery
from lameness, and a resurrection from an alleged state of death.
The disclosures which she made were both of a political and
religious nature, and such were the impressions produced by them,
that, after much prayer and deliberation, at a synod of the
Brethren, held in 1629, it was decided, that the matter should be
left in abeyance, lest, from the difference of opinion which existed,
a rupture might take place in the church. Nor did the non-
occurrence of the events which Christina foretold render Come-
nius and his fellow-believers in these claims incredulous respecting
their character ; for scarcely had Dabricius, one of the Moravian
pastors, some years afterwards, propounded similar revelations,
than they also were admitted to be divine.*

Visionary pretensions were revived in Germany, towards the
close of the seventeenth century, in the persons of two ladies of
rank, Rosamunde Juliana von Asseburg, and Johanna Eleonore
von Merlan, both of whom professed to be favoured with extraor-
dinary communications from heaven, and predicted with great
confidence the immediate commencement of the thousand years’
reign, and the restitution of all things;/ and in Antoinette
Bourignon, whose supernatural gifts were asserted with equal
confidence ; but all who had hitherto appeared were eclipsed by the
Camisards, or the prophets of the Cevennes in France, who sprang

* Goode’s Modern Claims, pp. 162—164.
+ Guericke Handb. der Allgem. Kirchengesch., p. 880.

566 NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS.

up to the number of several thousands, amidst the persecutions
which followed the revocation of the edict of Nantz in 1685.
According to testimonies given by themselves, the gifts were
liberally bestowed on persons of both sexes, and of different ages
and conditions of life. Children between three and twelve years
of age, and some only thirteen or fourteen months old, had the
gift of exhortation; some pretended to that of tongues, some to
the discerning of men’s thoughts, and a knowledge of future
events; and some to the power of working miracles. They were
subject to the most violent agitations and convulsions of body ;
stretching out their arms and legs, and staggering several times
before they dropped down ; they then struck themselves with the
hand, fell on their back, shut their eyes, heaved with the breast,
and, after remaining some time in trances, came out of them with
twitchings, and gave utterance to their inspirations, sometimes
with great vehemence and incoherence—at others, more connect-
edly and calmly. They uniformly maintained, that they were
compelled by an invisible, over-ruling power to deliver themselves
as they did.*

Having been, for the most part, hunted down by the king’s
troops, those who survived took refuge in other countries, espe-
cially in our own, where they continued their pretensions. Their
leaders, Marion, Cavalier, and Fage, were joined, in the year 1706,
by Nicholas Facio, a learned mathematician, John Lacy, a gen-
tleman of property, and Sir Richard Bulkeley, who assisted them
in their attempts to introduce, what they impiously termed, ‘‘ The
New Dispensation,” which was to begin in England, and be
manifest over the whole earth within the short term of three years.”
Their proceedings were marked by the same agitations, heavings
of the breast, and humming noises, which had characterised the
proceedings of the party in France. They gave vent to their
feelings on all occasions, in private houses and in public assem-
blies—accompanying their announcements with violent gesticula-
tions; beating marches, and showing other signs of military
exercise ; singing, laughing, and frequently whistling aloud. They
not only indulged in Hebrew, Greek, Latin, and French utterances,
with which languages, it was alleged, they were unacquainted
when out of the eestasy, but spoke in a tongue equally unknown
to themselves, and to those who heard them. They delivered
numerous warnings and predictions, which, on being disproved by

* Goode’s Modern Claims, pp. 169—180.

NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS. 567

the event, they endeavoured to construe in a different manner.
They also professed to work miracles; but, unfortunately for their
cause, they staked its credit on the resurrection of a Dr. Emms,
which it was explicitly predicted was to happen on the 25th of
May, 1708, about five months after his interment. By the com-
plete failure which ensued, the eyes of many of the visionaries
were opened to the delusion, the influence of which gradually
diminished, especially in the metropolis, which had been the
principal scene of action. The immoral conduct in which
Mr. Lacy, one of the chief prophets, was afterwards known to
indulge, also contributed to bring it to a close, as a matter of
public notoriety in this country.*

- Some of the fraternity continued, however, to meet at Boston
and Manchester; from which latter place, under the name of
Shakers, a number of them proceeded, in the year 1774, to
America, headed by Ann Lee, a blacksmith’s wife, who had been
cruelly persecuted for her opinions, and who acquired such an
ascendency over them, that they acknowledged her as their
spiritual mother in Christ, and gave her the title of Mother Ann.
They first settled at Watersliet, in the State of New York, but
afterwards formed a more permanent establishment at New
Lebanon, which is still regarded as the common centre of union
for all the societies which exist in different parts of the country.
Their notions on subjects of doctrine are grossly erroneous. Their
views of Deity are Dualistic; they hold the sinful humanity of
Christ, and sinless perfection in this life. They place their much-
boasted mother on ἃ par with our Saviour, and regard her as a
second Eve, in whom, as the first-born daughter, to use their own
language, “the image and likeness of the eternal Mother was
formed, as really as the image and likeness of the eternal Father
was formed in the Lord Jesus, the first-born Son.”+ Having
received what she considered to be~the fulness of the Divine
Spirit, she had numerous visions and manifestations, to which her
followers still pretend, as they also do to the gift of propheey,
speaking with tongues, discerning of spirits, and the power of
working miracles. Benjamin Whitcher, one of the aged brethren,
whose Testimonies, as approved by the church, were published in

* Goode, ut sup. pp. 181—196. Calamy’s Life, vol. ii. pp. 71—78, 94—98,
103—105, 111, 112.
+ Peculiarities of the Shakers, p. 79. New York, 1832.

568 NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS.

1827,* declares, under date July 23, 1826, that “ Mother Ann and
“‘ the first elders were endowed with all those spiritual gifts, which
‘“* were so abundantly poured out upon the apostles at the day of
““ Pentecost ; and many of the believers actually received the same
*‘ spiritual gifts through their ministration, and these gifts have
“* continued in the church to this day. However incredible or unac-
““ countable these things may appear to those who are without
«« Christ and without God in the world, I am fully established in this
“truth, and can confidently testify to all men, without the least
** doubt or hesitation, that Christ did commence his second appear-
“ance by his Spirit, in Mother Ann, to complete the work of
“ salvation and redemption, according to his promise ;—that she was
“a chosen vessel, anointed and commissioned of God to reveal to
“ fallen man the seat of human depravity, and to preach the gospel
“ of salvation to a lost world ;—and that she and the first witnesses
“« did actually administer the only way of salvation to all who be-
““ lieved and obeyed her testimony.” Their present number exceeds
five thousand, and is said to be rapidly increasing. More than two-
thirds of the number have been added to the Society since the
commencement of the present century ; a circumstance which is,
no doubt, in a great measure, to be ascribed to those spurious
excitements, which may be regarded as morbid fanatical excres-
cences of the remarkable revivals of religion which have taken
place within that period in the state of Kentucky and other parts
adjacent.

To return to Britain, whence this branch of Inspirationists
emanated: if we except the pretended commissions of Richard
Brothers and Joanna Southcote, whose fictitious revelations and -
prophecies attracted attention for a time, and those of the latter
far beyond what might have been expected, considering the crass
absurdities by which they were marked, nothing preferring claims
to be a revival of the extraordinary gifts of the apostolic church
appeared, till the year 1830, when they were advanced at Ferni-
carry on the Gareloch, and at Port Glasgow in the west of
Scotland, from which places they were speedily transferred to
one of the Scotch churches in London, where Mr. Irving and his
followers had gradually been preparing for their admission, by a

* Testimonies concerning the Character and Ministry of Mother Ann Lee,
and the first Witnesses of the Gospel of Christ’s second Appearing. Albany,
1827, p. 154.

NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS. 569

course of prophetic and spiritual interpretation of the most eecen-
tric, yet highly fascinating description. Alarmed at the political
movements of the day, every aspect of prophecy which seemed to
bear on the coming of Christ in judgment upon his enemies,
was laid under contribution, and made to tell on the circumstances
of the times; with the announcement of the doom of Babylon
was propounded a peculiar system of Millenarianism ; and in
order that the church might be prepared for the return of her
Lord, it was declared to be her duty to pray for the restoration of
the miraculous gifts of the Spirit. What was taught with all the
solemnity and assurance of an ambassador from heaven, met with
a corresponding reception from the great bulk of the hearers.
A wide-spreading expectation was excited, and in many the firm
belief was produced, that the Lord would immediately appear.
Ai this juncture, utterances broke forth, partly of an unknown and
inexplicable description, and partly in English, of which the latter
were regarded as prophetic announcements, to be implicitly
received and obeyed. At first, they were confined to private
meetings, but in 1831 they made their appearance in the public
congregation, and continued to convey warnings of divine judg-
ments, and predictions of a complete restoration of the apostolic
office, with all the accompanying supernatural endowments; a
new church order, and the coming of Christ in glory, after testi-
mony had been borne to the world for three years and a half,
commencing from the 14th of January, 1832. The expulsion of
Mr. Irving from the church in which he had officiated, and into
which these novelties had been introduced, was the signal for the
formation of a new constitution of things: ministries of apostles,
angels, pillars, prophets, elders, and evangelists, have been succes-
sively established, and are now under the presidency of a leader,
who unites in his own person the characters of “ Pillar of the
Apostles,” “ Pillar of the Angels,” and “ Angel of the church at
Albury.” They consider the antitypes of the ancient Jewish
tabernacle and all its appurtenances to exist among them—each
member answering, in some respect or other, to something belong-
ing.to that erection. The tithe system is strictly carried out in
virtue of a mandate, that they shall all, without exception, pay one-
tenth of their weekly expenditure into the treasury for supporting
the different ministries; and submission as implicit is required to
this and every other point ‘ordained by the new apostles, as that
which was demanded by Moses in the name of Jehovah.

570 NOTES* AND ILLUSTRATIONS.

The present position of this people is very peculiar. A high
degree of excitement has been produced by what has taken place
among them; and means are still employed for the purpose of
keeping up this excitement, and extending it through the country ;
but the novelty of the manifestations begins to wear away ; several
distinct and pointed predictions have completely failed; the
unknown tongue still remains uninterpreted, while the English
utterances, which are still more or less continued, have nothing
in them indicative of a celestial origin; all attempts at the per-
formance of miracles have proved abortive ; impostures and other
evils have been detected; some pious persons, who took a leading
part in the scenes which are exhibited, have become convinced of
the delusion, and retain so deep a sense of its horrid nature, that
they find it impossible to rid their minds of the idea, that it can
only be resolved into diabolical influence—an immediate inspiration
of Satan, wrought with a view to counteract the work of God,
which is going forward on the earth. Much anxiety prevails with
respect to the disclosures, which are to be made by the conclave
of the twelve apostles now sitting at Albury, where they were
commanded, by an utterance, to remain for a year in a state of
separation from the church and the world; and all sorts of argu-
ments are adopted in order to keep up a conviction, that God will
reveal himself in the plenitude of his spiritual gifts, whatever may
be the result of this or any other particular measure, and whatever
may be the disappointments by which the faith of “the remnant”
may be tried.*

In passing from a review of the pretensions put forth by the
French prophets to that of those advanced by the Irvingites, we
purposely omitted to notice the Swedenborgians, though they
made their appearance in the interim—partly that we might avail
ourselves of the intermediate link, which connects the two former
parties, and partly that we might have an opportunity of exa-
mining separately the claims of the last-mentioned body of
religionists.

That we do them no injustice in placing them among those

* For a most satisfactory refutation of the claims advanced by this body, and
others pretending to inspiration, the reader is referred to The Modern Claims
to the possession of the extraordinary Gifts of the Spirit, stated and examined.

sy the Rev. William Goode, A. M. &c. London, 1834. 2d Edit. A work replete
with learning, and sound scriptural reasoning. See also Baxter’s Irvingism.

NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS. 571

who believe in post-apostolic inspiration, must be obvious to all
who are, in any measure, acquainted with the peculiar principles
of their system, the seriously avowed supernatural intercourse of
their founder with the invisible world, and their devoted attach-
ment to his writings. They profess to regard Emmanuel Sweden- .
borg as an extraordinary messenger of God to the world, speak of
him as holding a divine commission, and scruple not to call him
** the inspired Swedenborg.”* According to his own state-
ments, the Lord manifested himself to him, in a personal ap-
pearance, in the year 1743, by means of which “ his interiors”
were opened to a perception or sight of the spiritual world,
and he was privileged to converse with angels and spirits, who
imparted to him information on an immense number of points
previously unknown to mankind. This privilege, he tells us,
he continued to enjoy for the space of twenty-seven years. Most
of his visions, he avers, he had in the body; but, on some
particular occasions, his spirit was separated from the body,
and had immediate commerce with the inhabitants of the spi-
ritual world. Among other arcana which he professes to
have had revealed to him, is that which continues to be the
principal prop of Swedenborgianism—a spiritual sense of the
words of Seripture. ‘Lest mankind,” he says, “should remain
“ any longer in doubt concerning the divinity and most adorable
‘“‘ sanctity of the word, it hath pleased the Lord to reveal to me
“its internal sense, which, in its essence, is spiritual :—a sense,
‘‘ which hath never heretofore entered into the conception of any
‘* person on earth.” + By the doctrine of correspondences, which
the Baron’s extensive acquaintance with natural science, and
his almost boundless imagination, admirably qualified him to
elucidate, he found no difficulty in bringing a mystical meaning
out of every part of the literal narrative. If we receive his
revelations, we must believe that Egypt signifies what is scien-
tific; Asshur, what is rational; Edom, what is natural; Moab,
the adulteration of good; Ammon, the adulteration of truth;
the Philistines, faith without charity; Tyre and Sidon, the
knowledge of goodness and truth; Gog, external worship without
internal ; Jacob, the church-natural; Israel, the church-spiritual ;
and Judah, the church-celestial.{ In mystical interpretation,

* True Christian Religion, p. 7. + Ibid. pp. 222, 223.
t Ibid. p. 228.

572 NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS.

he surpasses Philo, Origen, and the whole tribe of spiritualizers.
The influence of the system on the doctrines of the Trinity,
the Mediation of Christ, Justification through Faith, and indeed
all the peculiar articles of the Christian faith, is radically sub-
versive. Under the pretext of belief in the plenary inspiration
of the Scriptures, he and his followers fill them with all
imaginable fictions; turn the soberest realities into allegory;
and, while they profess to find stores of hidden wisdom beneath
the surface of the letter, supply their disciples with the rubbish
of deception and error. They imagine, that, by their dexterity
in the science of spiritual discovery, they can meet all the
objections of infidels; but principles of exegesis, which are an
outrage on the dictates of common sense, and which, if consist-
ently followed out, would authorize our converting profane
history itself into an allegory, are not likely to commend them-
selves to persons of that description. It may further be ob-
served, that the Swedenborgians believe only certain books of
the Bible to be strictly the Scriptures or the absolute word of
God, viz. the Law, the Prophets, the Psalms, the Gospels, and
the book of Revelation. To all the rest, they deny plenary
inspiration, and regard them merely as the compositions of highly
gifted men, who were under a general illumination from the
Spirit of God.

The last class of professing Christians, to whose sentiments on
the subject of continued inspiration, it is necessary to advert,
consists of the Friends, or the body originally and still generally
known by the name of Quakers. To the miraculous endowments,
which distinguished the apostolic age, they make no pretensions.
From the visionary extravagances by which some other sects have
rendered themselves ridiculous, they are also in the present day,
for the most part, exempt. One of the fundamental points, how-
ever, in which they differ from the general body of Christians, is
that of immediate revelation, or a direct, internal presentation of
truth to the soul, a new objective revelation, which becomes the
supreme rule or guide, and is altogether distinct from, and inde-
pendent on the external testimony of Scripture. They refuse to
call the Scriptures “ the word of God,” and will not allow them to
be the primary rule of faith and manners. They believe in the
actual inspiration and divine authority of the Bible, and admit its
great practical utility. They also concede to it the exclusive

NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS. 573

prerogative of being the only fit outward judge of controversies
among Christians; but they will not admit, that it constitutes the
ultimate standard, to which the inward light or testimony is to be
subordinate.

The consequences of the adoption of this principle have been
the concession of a greater degree of attention to the supposed
internal light, perceptible guidance, or mental impressions, than to
the light of divine truth as shining in the holy Scriptures; the
assumption of a saving light, which, it is maintained, is imparted
in a direct or immediate manner to all mankind; the palpable
confounding of the two essentially distinct doctrines of justifica-
tion and sanctification; and, to a lamentable extent, the reduction
of the blessed and saving instruction of the Holy Spirit to the
mere operations of natural reason.

By the salutary influence, however, of the Bible Society, in the
operations of which the Quakers have happily been led to take a
most active part, and by the contact into which they have been
brought with genuine Christians of different denominations, as
well as by the more general diffusion of the principles of evan-
gelical truth among them, a very considerable change has been
effected in their body on the subject of personal inspiration, and
other topics connected with it. The Bible has risen in estimation ;
many of its texts, which had been seen through a distorting medium,
are now viewed in their true light ; its commanding power has been
more sensibly felt ; the excellence of its truths has induced to its
more extensive perusal, both privately and in the family circle ;
and there is reason to believe that many members of the Society
would now cheerfully consent to the reading of it being intro-
duced as a constituent part of their public worship. A comparison
of the “‘ sure testimonies” of God, contained in his word, with the
variable standard of an imaginary inward revelation, has discovered
the uncertain and consequently unsatisfactory character of the
latter, and created a desire to remove from the former the degrad-
ing epithet of a secondary rule, and restore it to its proper place
as THE REVELATION and THE RULE, which alone possess objective
certitude.

What has in no small degree contributed to bring matters to an
issue in the minds of some of the more enlightened and pious
members of this community, and is likely to operate still more
powerfully on the body, is the discovery, that the principle of
universal inward light, if carried out to its whole length, naturally
leads to Deism, or at least merges most easily in Rationalism, for

574 NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS.

which its advocacy is little else than a different name. Of this a
mournful exemplification has recently been furnished by Elias
Hickes and his numerous adherents in America, formerly belong-
ing to the Society, who have been seduced into an undisguised
denial of the fundamental doctrines of the Christian Religion.*

Since the above was written, the Author has had the happiness to find
his views respecting Quakerism fully supported in a masterly work on the
subject by the Rev. Dr. Wardlaw, entitled, “ Friendly Letters to the Society of
Friends, on some of their distinguishing principles.” Glasgow. 1836. 12mo.

THE END.

R. CLAY, PRINTER, BREAD-STKEET-HILL

THE

CONGREGATIONAL LECTURE.

First Series.

CHRISTIAN ETHICS;

OR
Moral Philosophy on the Principles of Divine Revelation.
BY THE REV. DR. WARDLAW.

Third Edition.—8vo. 10s. 6d. cloth.

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THE CAUSES OF THE CORRUPTION OF
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BY THE REV. DR. VAUGHAN.

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Its Basis, Nature, and Bearings : or, the Principle of Substitution illustrated, as
applied in the Redemption of Man.

With Notes and Illustrations.
BY THE REV. JOSEPH GILBERT.
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DIVINE INSPIRATION;

OR, THE

Supernatural Influence exerted in the Communication of Divine Truth; and its
special bearing on the Composition of the Sacred Scriptures.

With Notes and Illustrations.

BY THE REY. DR. HENDERSON.

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PUBLISHED BY

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A MEMOIR of the REV. WILLIAM CAREY, D.D. late

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Il.

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IV.

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’
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BY THE SAME AUTHOR,

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