SCRIPTURAL PROOF OF DIVINE INSPIRATION.

OPEN now the Scriptures. What do they say of their own Inspiration?

All Scripture is Divinely Inspired.

We shall commence by again adducing here the oft repeated passage (2 Tim. iii. 16): "Holy Scripture is wholly and entirely God—inspired;" that is to say, wholly and entirely given by the Spirit of God.

This sentence admits of no exception or restriction.

No exception: it is ALL SCRIPTURE, it is all that which is written; that is, the thoughts which have received the imprint of language.

No restriction: all this writing is so far a work of God, as to be represented to us as uttered by the Divine breath, in the same manner that the words of a man are uttered by the breath of his mouth. The prophet is the mouth of the Lord.

The import of this declaration of St. Paul remains the same in both the constructions of which his words are susceptible; whether, "all Scripture is divinely inspired and profitable," &c., the stress lying on the words divinely inspired; or whether the sentence be rendered, all Scripture divinely inspired of God is profitable, &c. This latter construction would even give the apostle's declaration more force than the former. For his proposition would thus necessarily connect itself with the sacred writings of which he has just spoken, and would take for granted as an admitted and incontestible principle, that to name the sacred writings is assuredly thereby to designate the Scriptures inspired by God.

All Prophecy is given from God.

St. Peter in his second Epistle, at the end of the first chapter, thus speaks:—"Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the Scripture is of any private interpretation. For the prophecy came not at any time by the will of man; but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost." Here we may remark:

1. That written revelations of truth are spoken of.

2. That none of them ever originated from the impulse, or influence, of the will of man.

3. That holy men were moved or led by the Holy Ghost to write and speak.

4. That their writings are termed prophecy.

Before proceeding farther, let us define precisely the Scriptural sense given to the words—prophecy, to prophesy, prophet; because this knowledge is indispensable to the investigation before us, and throws also much light upon the whole question.

Various and often incorrect meanings have been given to the biblical term prophet; but an attentive examination of the passages in which it is used will soon convince us that, in the Scriptures, it invariably designates " a man whose mouth utters the words of God. "

A prophet in Scriptural language, is one into whose mouth God puts the words which he wills to make known to men: and it was in this sense that God told Moses (Exod. vii. 1) that "Aaron should be his prophet before Pharaoh," as he had said in the 16th verse of the fourth chapter—"He shall be to thee instead of a mouth, and thou shalt be to him instead of God."

Observe in Scripture how the prophets bear witness of the Spirit which caused them to speak, and to the full—Divine authority of their words: "The Lord hath spoken it, " say they continually (Mic. iv. 4; Jer. ix. 12; xiii. 15; xxx. 4; l. 1; li. 12; Isa. viii. 11; Am. iii. 1; Ex. iv. 30; De. xviii. 21, 22): " I will open my mouth in the midst of them," said the Lord to his servant Ezekiel. (Ezek. xxix. 21.) "The Spirit of the Lord spake by me, and his word was on my tongue, " said the royal Psalmist. (2 Sam. xxiii. 1, 2.) The prophets announced what they were about to say, with 5. Hear the word of the Lord!" "Thus saith the Lord!" (Isa. xxviii. 14; Jer. x. 1; xvii. 20; xxii. 1.) "The word of the Lord came to me, " say they often. The word of the Lord came unto Shemaiah—unto Nathan—and unto John in the wilderness. (1 Kings xii. 22; 1 Chron. xvii. 3; Luke iii. 2.) "The word which came to Jeremiah by the Lord." "The word which was given to Jeremiah." (Jer. vii. 1; xi. 1; xviii. 1; xxi. 1; xxv. 1; xxvi. 1; xxvii. 1; xxx. 1; and frequently elsewhere; Isa. i. 2; Jer. i. 2, 9, 14; Ezek. üi. 4, 10, 11; Hos. i. 1, 2, && c.). " The burden of the word of the Lord by Malachi." (Mal. i. 1.) "The word of the Lord which came to Hosea." (Hos. i. 1, 2.) "In the second year of Darius, came the word of the Lord by Haggai the prophet." (Hag. i. 1, 2.)

This "word of the Lord " descended upon these men of God at the good pleasure of His will, and often in the most unexpected manner.

It was thus that God, when he sent Moses, said to him, "I will be with thy mouth" (Ex. iv. 12, 15); and when he caused Balaam to speak, it is written that he " put a word in Balaam's mouth." (Nu. xxiii. 5, LXX.) The apostles also, in praying, quote from the Psalmist these words:—"It is THOU, Lord, WHO HAST SAID IT, BY THE MOUTH of David thy servant." (Acts iv. 25.) And St. Peter, in addressing the assembled disciples, says, "Men and brethren, this Scripture must needs have been fulfilled, which the HOLY GHOST BY THE MOUTH OF DAVID spake before concerning Judas. " (Acts i. 16.) The same apostle also, standing in the temple at Jerusalem in Solomon's porch, thus addressed the people: " The God of your fathers hath fulfilled the things which HE HAD SHOWED BEFOREHAND BY THE MOUTH OF ALL HIS PROPHETS." (Acts iii. 18.)

The apostle's testimony therefore is, that David in the Psalms, and all the prophets in their writings, whatever might be the pious emotions of their minds, were only the mouth of the Holy Ghost. David WHO SAID; it was the prophets WHO PRO CLAIMED; but also it was God who SAID BY THE MOUTH of David his servant—it was God WHO HAD PROCLAIMED BY THE MOUTH of all his prophets.

The following expression also, which so frequently occurs in the Gospels, and which is so conclusive, should be carefully examined, viz.—" That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying." (Matt. i. 22; ii. 5, 15, 23; iv. 14; viii. 17; xii. 17; xiii. 35; xxi. 4, & c.)

It is in a sense entirely analogical that holy Scripture gives the name of prophets to those impostors among the Gentiles, who predicted lies in the temples of the false gods, whether they were vulgar knaves falsely pretending to have received revelations from God, or whether in reality they were the mouth of an occult power, of an evil angel, or of a Pythonic spirit. (Acts xvi. 16. See 1 Sam. xxviii. 7; 1 Chron. x. 13; Lev. xix. 26; Isa. viii. 19; xxix. 4.)

And it is also in the same sense that St. Paul, in quoting the epic poet and divining priest among the Cretans, spoke of him as "one of their prophets," be cause all the Greeks consulted him as an oracle. It is therefore established, that, in the language of Scripture, prophecies are "words of God put into the mouths of men."

It is therefore a vulgar error to understand the word as implying only a miraculous prediction. Prophecies may reveal the past as well as the future: may denounce the judgments of God, interpret his word, sing his praise, comfort his people, exhort believers to holiness, and testify of Jesus Christ.

And as "no prophecy came by the will of man" (2 Pe. i. 21), a prophet, as we have already explained, was a prophet only at intervals, and according as the Spirit gave him utterance. (Acts ii. 4.)

A man sometimes prophesied without foreseeing; sometimes again without knowing; and sometimes even without being willing. I have said, without foreseeing, and often even when he could least expect it: such was the old prophet of Bethel. (1 Kings xiii. 20.) I have said without know ing: such was Caiaphas. (Jno. xi. 51.) And I have said, without being willing: such was Balaam, when, being three times prepared to curse Israel, he could only, three times in succession, give utterance to words of blessing. (Nu. xxiii. xxiv.)

We read in the First Book of Samuel (chap. x.), with what unexpected power the Spirit of the Lord came upon the youthful king Saul, at the moment when seeking the asses of his father he met a company of prophets coming down from the holy place; who on hearing him prophesy among them, said one to another, " What is this which is come unto the son of Kish?? Is Saul also among the prophets?"

We read in chapter xix. of the same book, some thing still more remarkable. Saul sends men to Ramah to seize David; but as soon as they meet Samuel and the company of prophets over whom he presided, the Spirit of the Lord comes upon these men of war, and " they also prophesy.". Saul sends yet other three, and they too become prophets. Finally, Saul repairs thither himself, and he likewise speaks as a prophet "all that day and all that night, in the presence of Samuel." "The Spirit of God," we are told, " was upon him also."

But it is especially by the twelfth and fourteenth chapters of the First Epistle to the Corinthians, that an exact knowledge may be attained of the action of God, and the agency of man, in prophecy.

The apostle gives the church at Corinth rules by which they were to be guided in the use of this miraculous gift. His counsel will throw great light on this important subject. The following facts and principles will appear:—

1. The Holy Spirit at that time conferred upon believers, for their common benefit, very varied gifts (xii. 7—10). To one he gave the working of miracles; to another the gifts of healing; to another discerning of spirits; to another divers kinds of tongues (who, in speaking them, understood them not himself); to an other the interpretation of tongues; and lastly, to another prophecy,— that is to say, the ability to pronounce, in his own language, words dictated by God.

2. The selfsame Spirit distributed these miraculous gifts according to his own will. (Verse 11; see also Eph. iv. 7, 11; Acts xix. 1–6.)

3. These gifts were a proper object of zeal and christian ambition. (1 Cor. xiv. 1, 39.) But the especial gift which was to be regarded as the most desirable, was that of prophesying; for a believer might speak in an unknown tongue without edifying any one, and this miracle was rather useful to unbelievers than to saints; while "the gift of prophecy edified, exhorted, and comforted. " (1 Cor. xiv. 3.)

4. This prophecy,— that is to say, those words that miraculously descended upon lips which the Holy Spirit had chosen for the office,—this prophecy appeared in various forms. Sometimes the Spirit gave a psalm; at others it was teaching; at others a revelation; and occasionally it was a miraculous interpretation of what others had miraculously uttered in unknown tongues.

5. In these prophecies there was plainly both an operation of God and a work of man. There were the words of the Holy Ghost; but there were also the words of the prophet. It was God who spake, but in men, by men, and for and you might therein discern their utterance, perhaps also the habitual turn of their style, and probably allusions to their own experience, actual position and individuality. 6. These miraculous powers were prolonged in the primitive church during the extended career of the apostles. St. Paul, who wrote his letter to the Corinthians twenty years after the death of the Lord Jesus Christ, speaks to them as of a common and habitual order of things, which had existed amongst them from a certain period, and which was further to continue.

7. The prophets, although they were the mouth of God to proclaim his words were, nevertheless not absolutely passive while they were prophesying.

"The spirits of the prophets (says St. Paul) are subject to the prophets" (1 Cor. xiv. 32); that is to say, while these men of God had the prophetic word on their lips, they had nevertheless power, in the repressive action of their own will, to prevent its going forth. Thus, for example, if a revelation be given to one—that sitteth by," the one who may be speaking is required to be silent, to sit down, and to let him who has just received a revelation speak."

Let us now apply these principles and facts to the prophecy of Scripture, and to that passage in St. Peter's Epistle, for the explanation of which we have set them forth.

"No prophecy of Scripture (he observes) is of any private interpretation, for prophecy came not at any time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost. " (2 Pet. i. 20, 21.)

Here, then, we have the full and entire inspiration of the Scriptures clearly established by the apostle; here we have SCRIPTURE identified with those prophecies which we have just defined. "It came not by the will of man;" it is entirely dictated by the Holy Spirit; it gives us the true words of God; it is entirely given by the breath of God.

Who would therefore, after such declarations, dare to maintain that the expressions of Scripture are not inspired? They are the WRITTEN PROPHECIES.

Here it may be said by the objector, We admit that the written prophecy has, without contradiction, been composed by that power of the Holy Spirit which moved in the prophets; but the rest of the book the Epistles, Gospels, Acts, Proverbs, the Books of Kings, and as much else as is purely historical—has surely no claim to be placed in the same rank.

Let us pause before replying, and ascertain how far our argument has brought us.

It ought already to be fully acknowledged that at least every part of the Scriptures termed PROPHECY, of whatever character it may be, has been entirely dictated by God; so that the very words, as well as the thoughts, have been given by him.

But now, shall we agree to a distinction between any one of the books of the Bible and all the other books? Is not all that it contains given by prophecy? Undoubtedly so; all that is contained therein has been equally guaranteed by God: this is what we shall proceed to prove.

All the Scriptures of the Old Testament are Prophetical.

And in the first place, all the Scriptures without distinction are called THE WORD OF GOD. This title alone ought to suffice to show us, that if Isaiah has commenced his prophecies by inviting the heavens and the earth to give ear, because the Lord hath spoken, the same summons ought to be heard by us as coming forth from all the books of the Bible, because they are collectively called "the Word of God. " " Hear, O heavens! 'and give ear, 0 earth! for the Lord hath spoken!"

Not a single passage can be found which would authorise us to detach one solitary clause of the Scriptures as less Divine than the rest. To say that the whole and entire book is "the Word of God," is to attest that even the sentences of which it is composed have been dictated by him.

Now, not only is the entire Bible called "THE WORD OF GOD," but it is called, as a whole, THE ORACLES OF GOD. (Rom. iii. 2.) Who does not know what Oracles were, in the minds of the ancients? Was there a word which could more absolutely express a verbal and complete inspiration? And, as if this term which St. Paul uses were not sufficiently significant, we hear Stephen, "full of the Holy Ghost, " call them the LIVELY ORACLES. "Moses," says he, "received the lively oracles to deliver unto us. ' (Acts vii. 38.)

All the Scriptures are therefore without exception a continuous word of God, his miraculous voice: they are his written prophecies, and his living oracles. Which of their various parts, then, will you venture to retrench? The apostles frequently speak of them as divided into "Moses and the Prophets." The Lord Jesus Christ distinguished three parts when he said to his apostles, "All things must be fulfilled which are written in the law of Moses, in the Prophets, and in the Psalms, concerning me." (Luke xxiv.44.) According to this division, the Old Testament would be divided into these three parts,—Moses, the Prophets, and the Psalms. Which of these three parts of the Old Testament would you dare to take away from the Scripture of the prophets, or from the Inspired Word?

Would it be Moses? But what is there more holy and more divine, throughout the Old Testament, than the writings of this man of God?—He was such a prophet, that his sacred books are set above all others, and pre—eminently called THE LAW. "The law of the Lord is perfect. " (Ps. xix. 7.) "The words of the Lord are pure words; as silver tried in a furnace of earth, purified seven times." (Ps. xii. 6.) He was such a prophet, that he compares himself to nothing less than the Son of God: "This is that Moses, which said unto the children of Israel, A prophet shall the Lord your God raise up unto you of your brethren,, LIKE UNTO ME; hear him. " (Acts vii. 37.)—He was such a prophet, that he commonly preceded his commands with the words "Thus saith the Lord!"—He was such a prophet, that God said to him, "Who hath made man's mouth? have not I the Lord? Now there fore go; and I will be with thy mouth and teach thee what thou shalt say. " (Ex. iv. 11, 12.)He was such a prophet, that it is written, "And there arose not a prophet since in Israel like unto Moses, whom the Lord knew face to face. " (Deut. xxxiv. 10.)

What other portion of the Old Testament would you then exclude from the prophetic Scriptures? Would it be the second—that which is called the Prophets, and which includes all the Old Testament, with the exception of Moses and the Psalms? The apostles, and our Lord, habitually call all the authors of the Old Testament by the name Prophets. To designate the entire Scripture they usually said, "Moses and the Prophets." (Luke xxiv. 25, 27, 44; Matt. v. vii. 12; xi. 13; Luke xvi. 16, 29, 31; xx. 42; Acts i. 20; iii. 21, 22; vii. 35, 37; viii. 28; xxvi. 22, 27; xxviii. 23; Rom. i. 2; iii. 21; x. 5, &c. &c.) The writers were prophets.—Hence Joshua was a prophet;—the authors of the Chronicles were prophets; they, like Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Daniel, Hosea, and all the others down to Malachi, were prophets of Jehovah.

The knowledge of God according to his revelation of himself, and the expressing of it whether in words or actions, seem to admit the appellation of prophesying. Hence Abel is called a prophet (Luke xi. 49, 50); and the patriarchs (Ps. cv. 14, 15). Aaron was also a prophet to Moses (Ex. vii. 1): and the Corinthians generally were allowed to prophesy; that is, I apprehend, each one who had a psalm, a doctrine, a tongue, an interpretation, could exercise it, provided all was to edification—for "He that prophesieth speaketh unto men to edification, exhortation, and comfort. And ye may all prophesy one by one, that all may learn and all may be comforted." (1 Cor. xiv.) In another sense, however, all were not prophets among those in olden or in after times.. " Are all prophets?"

They therefore all wrote prophetic Scriptures; all, words of which St. Peter tells us that none of them " came by the will of man;" all, those " sacred writings, which the apostle declares to be divinely inspired. (2 Tim. iii. 16.) The Lord hath said of them all, as of Jeremiah, "Behold, I have put my words into thy mouth " (Jer. i. 9); and as of Ezekiel, "Son of man, all my words that I shall speak unto thee, receive in thine heart, and hear with thine ears; and go, get thee to them of the captivity, unto the children of thy people, and speak unto them, and tell them, Thus SAITH THE LORD God, whether they will hear, or whether they will forbear." (Ezek. iii. 10, 11.)

And that all the sentences and words were given unto them by God, is manifestly shown by one fact, which is repeatedly related, and which the study of their writings frequently brings to our notice, namely, they were charged to transmit to the church oracles whose signification was yet to remain veiled from themselves. Daniel, for instance, declares more than once that he could not understand the prophetic import of the words which went forth from his own lips, or were traced by his pen. (Dan. xii. 4, 8, 9.) The types imprinted by God on all the events of primitive history, were not to be understood until many centuries after the existence of those who were charged with their first record: and the Holy Ghost declares to us that the prophets, after having penned their sacred pages, applied themselves to study them with the same reverent attention as they would the other Scriptures; searching to understand WHAT THE SPIRIT OF CHRIST which was in them had FORETOLD concern ing the sufferings and future glory of the Messiah." (1 Pet. i. 10—12.) Behold these men of God studiously bending over their own writings, pondering therein the words of God, and the mind of God: but will this excite your astonishment? since what they have just written for the elect of the earth, for principalities and heavenly powers (Eph. iii. 10, 11), is about the advent and the glory of the Son of God; "things which angels desire to look into. "

So much for Moses and the Prophets: but what will you say respecting the Psalms? Would these be less than all the rest the gift of the Spirit of Prophecy? Are not the authors of the Psalms always called prophets? (Matt. xiii. 35; Ps. lxxviii. 2.) And if they are sometimes, like Moses, distinguished from the other prophets, is it not evidently to assign them a more eminent place? David was a prophet St., Peter tells us. (Acts ii. 30.) Hear what he says of himself: "The Spirit of the Lord SPAKE BY ME, and HIS WORD was ON MY TONGUE. (2 Sam. xxiii. 1, 2.) What David wrote, even his least words, he wrote SPEAKING BY THE HOLY GHOST, says our Lord. (Mark xii. 36.) The apostles also, in quoting him (in their prayer), have been careful to say, "This Scripture must needs be fulfilled, which the Holy Ghost by the mouth of David spake, " & c. (Acts i. 16.) " It is thou, Lord,, who by the mouth of thy servant David hast said," & c. (Acts iv. 25.) What do I say? These Psalms are so completely dictated by the Spirit, that Jesus Christ himself calls them by the name of Law (John x. 34; see Psa xxii. 6; John xii. 34; see Psa. lxxxix. 36); all their words formed a law: the least of them was from God. "Is it not written in YOUR LAW?" said Jesus in quoting them, and (as we shall presently have to show) in quoting them FOR A SINGLE SENTENCE.

All the Old Testament is therefore, in the scriptural sense of the expression, a WRITTEN PROPHECY. It is consequently fully inspired by God; since, according to the testimony of Zacharias, "it is God who has spoken by the mouth of all his holy prophets, which have been since the beginning of time" (Luke i. 70); and according to St. Peter, it was moved by the Holy Ghost that they spake. (2 Pet. i. 21; see also Matt. i. 22; xxii. 43; Mark xii. 36.)

Thus far, our reasoning and the evidence upon which it is grounded, only directly relate to the books of the Old Testament; and it may be objected to us that we have as yet proved nothing in respect to the New.

All the Scriptures of the New Testament are Prophetical.

Scripture invariably places the writers of the New Testament in the same rank with the prophets of the Old; and even when it distinguishes between them, it is always to put the latter revelations above the former, as far as one word from God may be superior (not in divinity, certainly, neither in dignity, but in authority) to the word which preceded it.

Let especial attention be paid to the following pas sage of the apostle Peter. It is so important, because it shows us that while the apostles were yet living, the book of the New Testament was already almost entirely formed, to make one collective whole with that of the Old. It was twenty or thirty years after Pentecost that St. Peter with delight quotes "ALL THE EPISTLES OF PAUL, his beloved brother; " and speaks of them as "sacred epistles," which, even in his time, were a part of the " holy writings, " which were to be classed with "THE OTHER SCRIPTURES. " He assigns to them the same rank; and he declares that ignorant men may wrest them to their own destruction. The following is this important passage: "Even as our beloved brother Paul also, according to the wisdom given unto him, hath written unto you, as he has done in ALL HIS EPISTLES, in which he speaks of these things; among which are some hard to be understood, which ignorant and unstable men wrest, as they do also THE OTHER SCRIPTURES, to their own perdition." (2 Pet. iii. 15, 16.)

The apostle in the second verse of the same chapter had already classed himself with the other prophets, in the same rank, and as invested with the same authority, as the sacred writers of the Old Testament, when he said, "Be mindful of the words which were spoken BEFORE by the HOLY PROPHETS, and of the commandments which ye have received FROM US, who are APOSTLES of the Lord and Saviour."

The writings of the apostles were therefore what the writings of the Old Testament were; and since the latter are a written PROPHECY, the former are not less so.

But we have said that Scripture goes beyond this, in the rank which it assigns to the writers of the New COVENANT. It teaches us to consider them as superior even to those of the Old in regard to the importance of their mission, the glory of the promises which have been made to them, the greatness of the gifts which were conferred upon them, and finally by the eminence of the rank which is assigned to them.

1. In the first place, let us ascertain what was their mission, as compared with that of the ancient prophets; and in this it will at once be seen that their inspiration could not be inferior to that of their predecessors.

When Jesus sent forth the apostles whom he had chosen, he said to them: "Go ye and teach all nations, . . . . . instructing them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you; and lo! I AM. WITH YOU unto the end of the world. Amen." (Matt. xxvii. 19, 20.) "Ye shall receive the Holy Ghost which shall come upon you, and ye shall be witnesses for me in Jerusalem, in all Judea, in Samaria, and unto the uttermost parts of the earth." (Acts i. 8.) " Peace be with my Father HATH SENT ME, even so SEND I you. " (John xx. 21.)

Such was their mission. They were "the sent". immediately from the Son of God; they went to all nations; they had the guarantee that their Master would be ever present with the testimony which they were to bear to him in the Holy Scriptures. Were they then less in need of Inspiration to go to the utter most parts of the earth, than the prophets to go to Israel? Had they not to promulgate all the doctrines, ordinances, and mysteries of the kingdom of God? Had they not committed to them the keys of the heavenly kingdom; insomuch that whatever they bound or loosed on earth should be bound or loosed in heaven? (Matt. xviii. 18; xvi. 19.) To this end had not Jesus Christ expressly conferred upon them the Holy Ghost, that those sins which they remitted or retained should accordingly be remitted or retained? Had he not breathed upon them, saying, "Receive ye the Holy Ghost""? *Had they not to reveal the unheard—of character of the "Word made flesh, " and of the Creator humbling himself even to take the form of a creature, and to die upon a cross? Had they not to record his incomparable words? Had they not to exercise in the earth the incommunicable and miraculous functions of his representatives, his ambassadors, as if it had been CHRIST speaking by them? (2 Cor. v. 20.) Were they not called to a glory such as "in the last and great regeneration, when the Son of Man shall be seated on the throne of his glory, they also will be seated on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel "? (Matt. xix. 28.) If, therefore, the prophetic spirit was necessary to the first men of God, to show the Messiah in shadows, was it not far more necessary to these latter, to exhibit him in light, and so to set him forth as crucified among us (Gal. iii. 1), that whosoever rejects them rejects him, and whosoever receives them receives him? (Matt. x. 40; Luke x. 16.) By these features let it be judged what must have been the inspiration of the New Testament as compared with the Old; and say whether, while the latter was fully and entirely prophetical, can the New be inferior to it.

2. But this is not all; let us hear the promises which were made to them for the accomplishment of such a work. Human language cannot more powerfully ex press the most absolute inspiration. These promises were especially addressed to them on three important occasions: in the first place, when they were sent for the first time to preach the kingdom of God (Matt. x. 19, 20); in the second place, when Jesus himself publicly preached the gospel before an innumerable multitude of people (Mark xiii. 11; Luke xxi. 14, 15); and in the third place, when he pronounced his final denunciations against Jerusalem and the Jewish people. (Luke xii. 12.)

"When they deliver you up, take no thought How or WHAT THING 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."

"When they bring you before councils and magistrates, take no thought how ye shall speak, nor WHAT ye shall answer in your defence, nor what ye shall say; for the Holy Ghost will teach you IN THAT VERY HOUR what ye ought to say."

"Do not be troubled beforehand about what ye shall say, NEITHER PREMEDITATE; but it shall be given you in that hour," says Jesus; "for IT IS NOT YE THAT SPEAK, but the Holy Ghost."

On these several occasions the Lord gives his disciples assurance that the most entire inspiration shall regulate their language in the most difficult and important seasons of their ministry. When they should have to speak before princes they were to feel no disquietude; they were not even to premeditate or think thereon; because it would be immediately given to them by GOD, not only what they should speak, but also the words in which they should express themselves. (Matt. x. 19, 20.) They were to rest entirely upon him;—what they ought to say would be entirely given—given by Jesus— given in the very hour—and given in such manner and plenitude that they could say it was no LONGER THEY, but the Holy Ghost, THE SPIRIT OF THEIR FATHER, which spoke in them (Matt. x. 20; Mark xiii. 11); and that then it was not only an irresistible energy which was given them——it was a MOUTH! (Luke xxi. 14, 15.)

“Settle it therefore in your hearts, not to meditate beforehand what ye shall answer; for I will give you A MOUTH and wisdom which none of your adversaries shall be able to resist. "

It will then be (as with the ancient prophets Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel) the Holy Spirit speaking by them, as "God hath spoken by the mouth of all his holy prophets since the world began." In one sense indeed it will be they who speak, but it will be the Holy Ghost (Luke xii. 12) who " shall teach them in the same hour what they ought to say; "so that in another sense it will be the Spirit himself speaking by their lips.

We ask, Whether it is possible in any language to express more absolutely the most entire inspiration, and to declare more unequivocally that even the very words were then guaranteed of God, and given to the apostles?

It is very true that in these promises it is not directly a question of the aid which the apostles should receive as writers, but rather what they were to expect when they should be brought before priests, governors, and kings. Yet, is it not evident that if the most entire inspiration were assured to them (Luke xii. 12) on passing occasions, to close the mouths of some wicked men, to avert the dangers of a day, and to serve the interests of a fleeting hour—if in these cases it was promised them that even the words of their answers should be supplied to them, is it not sufficiently evident that this same aid could not be refused to these very men, when, like the ancient prophets, they should complete the book of the oracles of God, in order to transmit to future ages the laws of the kingdom of heaven, and to pourtray the glory of Christ and the scenes of eternity? Could any one imagine that the same men, who before Ananias, Festus, or Nero were so far "the mouth of the Holy Ghost," that then it was no longer "they " who spoke, but the "Holy Ghost,' should, when they wrote the eternal gospel, " relapse into ordinary beings, merely enlightened, denuded of their preceding inspiration, no longer speaking by the Holy Ghost, and thenceforth using only words which man's wisdom taught? (2 Pet. i. 21; 1 Cor. ii. 13.) Such a supposition is inadmissible.

3. Behold them commencing their apostolic minis try on the day of Pentecost; observe the gifts which they received "(Acts ii. 2—11; iv. 31); tongues of fire descend upon their heads; they are filled with the Holy Ghost; they leave their upper room, and all the people hear them proclaim, in fifteen different languages, the wonderful works of God. They spake AS THE SPIRIT GAVE THEM UTTERANCE; they spake (it is said) THE WORD OF GOD. It must certainly be that the words of these foreign languages were given to them, as well as the things they uttered,— the expression as well as the idea. (Matt. x. 19; Luke x. 11.) Can it be believed that the Spirit would condescend to dictate to them all they ought to say while preaching in the corners of the streets, words which passed away with the sound of their voice, and which at most only met the ears of some assembled thousands,—and yet when these same men came to write for all the people on the face of the whole earth, and for all ages of the church, the "living oracles of God, " they would find them selves without this aid? Will it be believed that after having been more than the ancient prophets for the purpose of preaching in public places, that they should become less than these prophets, and merge into mere ordinary men when they took up the pen to complete the Book of Prophecies, write their Gospels, Epistles, and the Book of their Revelations? How obvious is the inadmissibility of such a supposition!

4. But we have something to add still more simple and forcible: we refer to the rank which is assigned to them; and we might confine ourselves to this fact alone, after having spoken of the prophets of the Old Testament. It is this—that the apostles were ALL PROPHETS, and MORE THAN PROPHETS. Their writings are WRITTEN PROPHECIES, as much as and more than those of the Old Testament; and we are thus brought to the conclusion, that all Scripture in the New Testament, as in the Old, is inspired by God, even in its minutest parts.

I have said that the apostles were all prophets. They themselves frequently declare it. We will only refer to the two following passages by the apostle Paul:

The first is addressed to the Ephesians (iii. 4, 5): "You can," writes he to them, "by reading WHAT I HAVE WRITTEN before in few words, ascertain the understanding which I have in the mystery of Christ; a mystery which in other generations was not made known unto the sons of men, as it has now been revealed by the Spirit to his holy apostles and prophets."

It is likewise of the same mystery, and of the writings of the same prophets, which this apostle speaks in the second of the passages alluded to; I mean the last chapter of his Epistle to the Romans. (Rom. xvi. 25—27.)

"Now to him that is of power to stablish you according to my gospel, and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery, which has been kept secret since the world began, but now is made manifest by the means of PROPHETIC WRITINGS, according to the commandment of the everlasting God, made known to all nations for the obedience of faith. To God only wise be glory through Jesus Christ, for Amen!"

Here, then, we have the authors of the New Testament called PROPHETS, and their writings called PROPHETIC WRITINGS, which is the equivalent of the words of St. Peter. And since we have already seen that "no prophecy came by the will of him who utter ed it, but that holy men of God spake as they were moved and guided by the Holy Ghost," the prophets of the New Testament have therefore spoken like those of the Old, and according to the commandment of the eternal God. They were all prophets. (See further, Luke xi. 49; Eph. ii. 20; iii. 5; iv. 11; Gal. i. 12; 1 Pet. i. 12; 1 Cor. xi. 23; 1 Thess. ii. 15.)

But even this is not enough; for we have said, they were MORE than PROPHETS. This also has been remarked by the learned Michaëlis, who, in spite of his lax principles respecting the inspiration of a part of the New Testament, did not fail to observe this. It is clear, according to him, from the context, that in the sentence where Jesus Christ speaks of John the Baptist (Matt. xi. 9, 11), the words greater and least, in the 11th verse, only apply to the name of prophet which precedes them in the 9th. So that the Lord Jesus there declares that if John the Baptist is the greatest of prophets, if he is even more than a prophet, yet the least of the prophets of the New Testament is nevertheless greater than John the Baptist; that is to say, greater than the greatest of the Old Testament prophets. (Ibid, and Luke vii. 28.)

Again,— this superiority of the apostles and prophets of the New Testament is more than once attested to us in the apostolic writings. Wherever mention is made of the several offices established in the church, the apostles are set above the prophets. Thus for instance in a very remarkable passage of Paul's First Epistle to the Corinthians, in which the apostle applies himself to make known to us the gradations of excellence and dignity which mark the various miraculous powers conferred by God in the primitive church, he thus speaks: "God has set in the church, first, APOSTLES; secondarily, PROPHETS; thirdly, TEACHERS; after these, miracles, gifts of healing, helps, governments, diversities of tongues." (1 Cor. xii. 28.)

In the 11th verse of the fourth chapter to the Ephesians, Paul sets the apostles above the prophets. He calls them AMBASSADORS, 2 Cor. v. 20; and in 1 Cor. xiv., he places himself above the prophets which God had raised up in that church. He desires that each one of those who had truly received the Holy Spirit, would employ his gifts to recognise in the words of the apostle the commandments of the Most High; and he is so assured that what he writes is given by the inspiration of God, that after having laid down SOME PRECEPTS for the churches, and finished with words which inspiration from on high could alone authorise, viz., "Thus I ORDAIN in all the churches," he does more he proceeds to rank himself ABOVE THE PROPHETS; or rather, as a prophet himself, he calls upon the Spirit of prophecy in them to receive the words of Paul as the words of the Lord; and concludes in these remarkable terms: "CAME the word of GOD OUT FROM YOU?" "If any man THINK HIMSELF to be A PROPHET, or a man HAVING THE SPIRIT (1 Cor. xiv. 37; see also xv. 46, and Jude 19), let him acknowledge that the things which I WRITE TO You are the COMMANDMENTS of THE LORD. "

The writings of the apostles are, therefore, (like those of the ancient prophets,) "the commandments of the everlasting God; " they are written prophecies, as much as the Psalms, and Moses, and the Prophets (Luke xxiv. 44); and all the writers of the New Testament have been enabled to say with St. Paul, "CHRIST SPEAK ING IN ME" (2 Cor. xiii. 3; 1 Thess. ii. 13), my word is THE WORD OF God, and the instruction which I give was taught me by the Holy Ghost (1 Cor. ii. 13), as much as David before them had said, "The Spirit of the Lord has spoken by me, and his word was on my tongue." (2 Sam. xxiii. 2.)

Hear them also when they speak of themselves. Would it be possible to declare more clearly than they have done, that the words, as well as the subject, have been given to them by God? With respect to ourselves (say they), we have the mind of Christ." (1 Cor. ii. 16.) For this cause thank we God without ceasing, be cause, when ye received the word which ye heard of us, WHICH IS FROM GOD, ye received it not as the word of men, but, as it is in truth, THE WORD OF GOD." (1 Thess. ii. 13.) "Thus, therefore, he that rejects us, rejects Not A MAN, but GOD, who hath even put his Holy Spirit in us. (1 Thess. iv. 8.)

Such, then, is the book of the New Testament. It is, like the Old Testament Scriptures, the word of prophets, and of prophets even greater than all those who had preceded them; so that, as Michaëlis has well observed, an epistle which commences thus, "Paul an apostle of Jesus Christ," (Rom. i. 1; Gal. i. 1; 1 Cor. i. 1; 1 Pet. i. 1; 2 Pet. i. 1,) more forcibly attests to us its Divine authority and prophetic Inspiration, than could have done even the writings of the most illustrious prophets of the Old Testament, when they open with these words, "Thus saith the Lord " (Isa. l. 1; lvi. 1, et passim); or other similar expressions. And if there be in the New Testament some books in which the like prefatory expressions are not found, their Divine Inspiration is no more compromised thereby, than that of the second or ninety—fifth Psalm, which, although they bear not at their commencement the name of the prophet who composed them, are not the less quoted as Divine by the Lord Jesus and his apostles.

To this point, then, our argument has brought us; and we are bound to acknowledge it on the authority of holy Scripture itself; viz.—In the first place, that the Divine Inspiration of the words of the prophets was entire; that the Holy Spirit spake by them; and that the word of the Lord was on their tongue. And secondly, that, all which has been written in the Bible having been written by prophecy, all the sacred books are holy writings, written prophecies, and writings divinely inspired. Everything there is of God.

The Examples of the Apostles and of their Master at test that, in their Estimation, all the Words of the Holy Books are given by God.

In the first place let us consider what use the apostles themselves make of the Word of God, and observe in what terms they quote it.

Not only do they say, God saith (Eph. iv. 8; Heb. i. 8)—The Holy Ghost has said (Acts xxviii. 25; Heb. iii. 7; x. 15, & c.)—God said by such a prophet (Rom. ix. 25); but observe, further, when they quote what they feel are the least parts of the divine word, with what reverence they speak of it, with what attention they consider each expression, with what godly confidence they insist often upon a single word, for the purpose of deducing thence the most important consequences and fundamental doctrines!

For ourselves, nothing impresses us so strongly as this consideration;—nothing has produced in our mind such firm and abiding confidence in the entire and Divine Inspiration of the Scriptures.

Observe the apostle Paul, when he quotes and comments upon the Scriptures! Remark with what reverence the apostle discusses and dwells upon the minute expressions; with what sanguine confidence in the submission of the church, he points to the use of such a word, rather than of such another word; and with what earnest affection he clings to each, until he has developed all its power!

Among the many examples which we might adduce, let us,, in order to be brief, confine our illustration of this to the Epistle to the Hebrews. In the first place turn to chap. ii. ver. 8, and observe how, after having quoted "Thou hast put all things under his feet, " the sacred writer reasons upon the force of the word " all."

In the eleventh verse of the same chapter, in quoting from the twenty—second Psalm, he dwells upon the expression "my brethren," to exhibit from it the human nature which the Son of God assumed.

Observe in chap. xii. 27, how in quoting the prophet Haggai, he reasons upon the use of the word 16 once:" " Yet once more."

From ver. 5 to 9 of the same chapter, remark how he enlarges upon the expression "my son, " from Pro verbs iii.: "My son, disregard not the chastening of the Lord."

In chap. x., quoting Psalm xl., he dwells upon the expression "Lo! I come," as corresponding to "Thou wouldest not. "

In chap. viii. from ver. 8 to 13, quoting Jer. xxxi. 31, he reasons upon the word "new."

In chap. iii. from ver. 7 to 19, and in chap. iv. from ver. 1 to 11, with what earnestness, quoting Psalm xcv., does he rest upon the word "to-day;" the expression "I have sworn; " and especially upon "my rest;" introducing as a commentary, the words from Genesis—"And God did rest the seventh day."

From ver. 2 to 6 of chap. iii., observe how he dwells upon the words servant and house, taken from the book of Numbers, xii. 7: "My servant Moses, who is faithful in all my house."

But especially remark, in chaps. vi. and vii., the use which he consecutively makes of all the words of the 110th Psalm,—"The Lord sware;" "He sware by him self;" "Thou art a priest; " "A priest for ever;" " Of Melchisedec, king of righteousness;" and of "Melchisedec, king of Salem. The exposition of the doc trines contained in these expressions occupies three chapters; viz., v. vi. and vii.

But here I pause. Is it possible to avoid the conclusion, from such examples, that in the estimation of the apostle St. Paul, the Scriptures were inspired by God, even in their least expressions?

And you who may read these lines, where will you then range yourselves? Under the apostles, or under the objectors of this generation? Remember, "If any one take aught from the words of this book, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book" (Rev. xxii. 18); and " if any man preach any other gospel, though it were I or an angel from heaven, let him be accursed." (Gal. i. 8, 9.)

But now let us leave the apostles,—prophets indeed as they are, sent by God to establish his kingdom, pillars of the church, mouths by which the Holy Ghost has spoken, and ambassadors of Jesus Christ,— and go to THE MASTER. Inquire of Him in what estimation He held the Scriptures. This is the great question. The testimonies which we have been setting forth are, doubtless, conclusive; and the doctrine of a full and entire. Inspiration by God is as clearly taught in the Scripture as that of the resurrection of the dead. This ought to suffice us; but the argument upon which we are about to enter renders all others superfluous: How has Jesus Christ himself quoted the Holy Bible? What was His mind as to the letter of the Scriptures? What use has He made of it,—"He, who was the object of the Inspirer, the beginning and the end, the first and the last;—He whose Holy Spirit, says St. Peter (1 Pet. ii. 11), animated all the prophets of the Old Testament;—He who was in heaven, in the bosom of the Father, at the same time that He was seen below holding converse with human kind and preaching the gospel to the poor?

Were I to be asked, What think you of Holy Scripture? I should answer, What has my Master thought? How has He quoted it? What use has He made of it? What, in His estimation, are even its details?

Speak thyself, O Eternal Wisdom!—Uncreated Word! Judge of judges! And while we proceed to review the declarations of thy mouth, do thou display to us that majesty in which the Scriptures appeared before thee; that perfection which Thou didst ac knowledge in them; and especially that unchangeable ness which thou hast assigned to their least iota, and in virtue of which they will survive the universe, when heaven and earth shall have passed away!

We do not hesitate to say, that when we hear the Son of God quoting the Scriptures, the question of their divinely inspired nature is, in our judgment, at once settled. We want no further evidence. All the declarations of the Bible unquestionably are Divine; but this example of the Saviour of the world at once tells us all. This proof does not require either long or learned researches; the hand of a child can grasp it as powerfully as that of a theologian. If any doubt assail your soul, turn to the Lord of lords, and behold his reverent attitude before the Scriptures!

Follow Jesus in the days of his flesh. See with what serious and tender respect he holds the " volume of the book," to quote from its every part, and to show the import of its least details. Observe how each expression, even a word, a psalm, or an historical book, has the authority of a law. Mark with what confiding submission he receives all the Scriptures. Do I say that he receives them? From infancy to the tomb, from his resurrection to his disappearance in the clouds, what did he bear about with him everywhere— in the desert—in the temple—and in the synagogue? What does he quote, with resurrection voice, when the heavens already are about to exclaim,—"Lift up your heads, 0 ye gates, and be ye lift up, ye everlasting doors, and the King of glory shall come in! " It is the Bible,—evermore the Bible. It is Moses, the Psalms, and the Prophets, which he quotes and explains. And this even verse by verse, and word by word.

After such a spectacle, in what sad and fearful contrast do those men present themselves to us, who, in the present day, dare to judge, gainsay, test, and mutilate the Scriptures! One trembles, after beholding the Son of Man commanding the elements, stilling the tempest, and despoiling the tomb—yet filled with pro found reverence for the sacred volume—on hearing him declare, that he would one day return to judge, by this book, the quick and the dead,—one trembles, I say, when the eye lights upon some poor, wretched, learned, accountable mortal, irreverently handling the word of his God!

With what arrogant self—complacency do deluded men parade their hypotheses! They retrench, they add, they praise, they blame, and they pity the simplicity of those who read the Bible as Jesus Christ himself read it. Where Jesus Christ confided, they decide what interlineations or retrenchments holy Scripture shall undergo; they lop off that which they understand not; and denounce it as containing mistakes, ill grounded or inconclusive arguments, prejudices, rash assertions, ignorant conceits, and vulgar errors!

Alas! after the lapse of a few years, these teachers and their pupils will be consigned to a common tomb; they will wither like the green herb; but no tone particle of a letter of this Divine book will then have passed away: and as certain as the Bible is truth, so certainly shall we see the Son of Man come in the clouds of heaven, and judge by this eternal word. the secret thoughts of all men. (Rom. ii. 16; John xii. 48; Matt. xxv. 31.) All flesh is grass, and all the glory of man is as the flower of grass: the grass withereth, and the flower thereof falleth away; but the Word of the Lord endureth for ever. And this is the word which is preached unto us. It is this word which will judge us.

We shall now proceed to complete our proofs, by sketching under this point of view the ministry of the Lord Jesus Christ. Let us follow him from the age of twelve years to his descent into the tomb, or rather to his ascent in the clouds; and in all the course of his incomparable career, let us see what the Scriptures were in the estimation of Him who "upholdeth all things by the word of his power. "

In the first place, observe him when twelve years. old. He has increased, like a child of humanity, in wisdom and stature; he is in the midst of the doctors, and his answers amaze all who hear him; for (said they) he knows the Scriptures without having studied them. (John vii. 15.)

Observe him at the time of entering upon his minis try. He is filled with the Holy Ghost; he is led into a wilderness, there to sustain, like the first Adam in Eden, a mysterious conflict with the powers of dark The unclean spirit ventures to approach, and seeks to overthrow him; but how does the Son of God, he who was come to destroy the works of the devil, resist him? With the Bible only. The sole weapon in his Divine hands during this threefold assault, was the sword of the Spirit,—the Bible. Three times successively he quotes the book of Deuteronomy (Deut. viii. 3; vi. 16; vi. 13; x. 20; Matt. iv. 1—11): at each new temptation, He, the Word made flesh, defends himself by a sentence from the oracles of God, and even by a sentence whose whole force lies in the employment of one or two words: in the first place, of these words, bread alone; afterwards of these, thou shalt not tempt the Lord; and finally of these words, thou shalt worship God.

What an example for us! His only answer, his only defence, is—"It is written. " "Get thee hence, Satan, for it is written; "—and as soon as this terrible and mysterious conflict ended, angels came and ministered unto him.

But let us further and particularly remark, that of such authority is each word in the Scriptures in the estimation of the Son of Man, that the unclean spirit himself (a being so mighty for evil, who knew the Saviour's estimate of the words of the Bible) could not devise a more secure way of operating upon his will, than by citing a verse of the ninety—first Psalm; and immediately Jesus, to confound him, contents himself with once more replying, "It is written."

Thus commenced his ministry—by the use of the Scriptures. And thus it was that, soon afterwards, he entered upon his prophetic ministry—by the use of the Scriptures.

Let us further follow him when, engaged in his work, he goes from place to place doing good; in poverty, always exercising his power for the relief of others,, and never for himself. He speaks, and things have being; he casts out devils, stills the tempest, and raises the dead. But in the midst of all these marvels, observe how great is his regard for the Scriptures. The Word is always with him. He bears it about, not in his hands, (he knows it. entirely,) but in his memory. Observe him, when he speaks of it:—when he unfolds the sacred volume, it is as if a door in heaven were opened, to enable us to hear the voice of Jehovah. With what reverence, with what subjection, does he set forth its contents, commenting upon, and quoting them word by word! This was no wall his business to heal, and to preach the Scriptures; as it was after wards to die and accomplish them!

Observe him, "as his custom was," entering a synagogue on the sabbath—day; for (we are told) " he taught in their assemblies." (Luke iv. 15, 16.) He enters that of Nazareth. What does he there? He, "the eternal Wisdom, whom Jehovah possessed from ever lasting, when there were no depths, before the mountains were settled, or the hills brought forth " (Prov. viii. 22—25): he rises from his seat, takes the Bible, opens at Isaiah, and reads a few sentences; he then closes the book, sits down, and while the eyes of all assembled were fixed on him he says,—"This day is this Scripture fulfilled in your ears. (Luke iv, 21.)

Observe him traversing Galilee. What does he there? Still occupied with "the volume of the book, " explaining it line after line, and word by word, and claiming our respect for its least expressions as much as he would for the Law of the "Ten Commandments" uttered upon Mount Sinai.

Observe him again in Jerusalem at the pool of Bethesda. What does he call upon the people to do? "Search the Scriptures. " (John v. 39.)

Observe him in the holy place, in the midst of which he does not shrink from declaring, "that in this place there is One greater than the temple." (Matt. xii. 6.) Follow him before the Pharisees and Sadducees while he alternately rebukes both, as he had done Satan, in these words,—"It is written."

Hear him answering the Sadducees, who denied the resurrection of the body. How does he refute them? By ONE SINGLE WORD from an historical passage in the Bible; by a single verb in the present tense, in stead of that same verb in the past. "Ye do greatly err, (said he to them,) BECAUSE YE KNOW not the Scriptures." "Have ye not read what God has declared unto you, in saying, I am the God of Abraham?" It is thus that he proves to them the doctrine of the resurrection. God, on Mount Sinai, 400 years after the death of Abraham, said to Moses, not "I was, " but "I am the God of Abraham." (Matt. xxii. 31, 32.) I am so now. There is therefore a resurrection; for God is not the God of a few handfuls of dust, of the dead, of annihilated humanity: he is the God of the living. Those you speak of, therefore, live before Him.

Observe him afterwards among the Pharisees. It is still by the letter of the word that he confounds them.

Some few who had already followed him to the borders of Judea beyond Jordan, came and inquired his doctrines respecting marriage and divorce. What did the Lord Jesus do? He might certainly have answered with authority, and given his own laws. Is he not himself King of kings and Lord of lords? But not so: it is to the Bible he appeals in order to show the foundation of the doctrine, and this he does in a few simple words taken from a purely historical passage in the book of Genesis. (Gen. i. 27; ii. 24.) "HAVE YE NOT READ, that He who made them at the beginning, made them male and female; so that they are no longer two, but one flesh? What therefore God has joined, let not man sever." (Matt. xix. 4–6.)

But hear him, especially, when in the temple he de sires to prove to other Pharisees, from the Scriptures, the Divinity of the expected Messiah. Here again, in order to demonstrate it, he lays stress upon the use of A SINGLE WORD, selected from the Book of Psalms. "If Messiah be the Son of David (he observes), how then doth David BY THE SPIRIT call him LORD, when in Psalm cx.) he said, Jehovah said unto my Lord, Sit thou at my right hand? If David call him Lord, how is he his Son? " (Matt. xxii. 43.)

How was it, that among the Pharisees there were none to answer him? What! would you insist upon a single word, and this too in a sentence taken from an eminently lyric composition, in which the royal poet might without risk indulge a fervid style, and use exaggerated expressions, and words which doubtless he had not theologically weighed in his mind ere he put them into his psalmody? Would you pursue the method, at once fanatical and servile, of minutely interpreting each expression? Would you revere the Scriptures even to the very letter? Would you ground a doctrine upon a word?

Yes, answers the Saviour, I would—yes, I would rest on a word, because that word is from God, and with one word he created light. To cut short all your objections, I declare to you that it was BY THE SPIRIT that David wrote all the words of his Psalms; and I ask you, how, if the Messiah is his Son, David could BY THE SPIRIT call him Lord, when he said, "Jehovah said unto my Lord? "

Students of the Word of God, and you especially who are designed to be its ministers, and who, as a preparation for preaching it, desire, in the first place, to receive it into an honest and good heart, see what, in the estimation of your Master, was each utterance, each word of the book of God.. Go therefore and do likewise!

But there is more. Let us further hear him, even on his cross. He there made his soul an offering for sin; all his bones were out of joint; he was poured out like water; his heart was like wax, melted in the midst of his bowels; his tongue clave to the roof of his mouth; and he was about to render his spirit to his Father. (Ps. xxii. 16—18.) But what did he first do? He strove to rally his expiring energies to recite a Psalm which the church of Israel had sung at her festivals through a thousand years, and which records in succession all his sufferings and prayers, Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani ("My God, my God, why hast thou for saken me")? He did even more; and let us well re mark it. There remained one little word of Scripture unaccomplished: vinegar was to be given him on that The Holy Spirit had declared it, in Psalm lxix., a thousand years before. "After this, Jesus knowing that all things were now accomplished, that the Scriptures might be fulfilled, saith, I thirst. – And when Jesus had received the vinegar, he said, it is finished! then bowed his head, and gave up the ghost." John xix. 28—30.) Could David, when he chanted these sixty—ninth and twenty—second Psalms,—could David, we ask, have known the prophetic sense of each of these expressions?—of the hands and feet pierced, of the gall and vinegar administered, of a vesture appropriated by lot, of people shaking the head and pouting the lip in derision? It matters little to us whether he understood it—the Holy Ghost did; and David, says Jesus Christ, spake BY THE SPIRIT. The heavens and the earth are to pass away; but there is not in this book the particle of a letter which will pass away without being fulfilled. (John x. 35.)

But we are called to observe something yet more striking, if it be possible. Jesus Christ rises from the tomb; he has conquered death; he is about to return to the Father, to reassume that glory which he had with him before the world was. Follow him in his remaining rapid movements upon the earth. What words will flow from that mouth to which utterance has been restored by resurrection from the dead? Words of Holy Scripture. Again he quotes, explains, and preaches it. In the first place, we behold him on the way to Emmaus, accompanying Cleopas and his friend; next, in the upper room; and afterwards on the borders of the lake. What does he do? He expounds the Scriptures; beginning at Moses, and continuing through the Prophets and Psalms, he shows them the things concerning himself, he opens their minds to understand them, and causes their hearts to burn while he talks with them. (Luke xxiv. 27, 44.)

But we have not yet done. All these quotations demonstrate in what estimation the Bible was held by Him "in whom are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge" (Col. ii. 3), and "by whom all things subsist." (Col. i. 17.) But we must further adduce two declarations and one final example of our Lord, touching the letter of Scripture:

"It is easier," he has said, " for heaven and earth to pass, than for one particle of a letter of the Law to fail" (Luke xvi. 17); and by the term law, Jesus Christ understood the whole of the Scriptures, and even more particularly the Book of Psalms. (Jno. x. 34; xii. 34.)

What words can be conceived which would express with more force and precision the principle we are maintaining than do the foregoing? I mean the principle of the plenary inspiration, and everlasting character of all the parts, even to the very letter of the Scripture. Students of the Word of God, behold then the theology of your Master! Be such theologians as He was: have the same Bible as the Son of God!

But let us hear another declaration, pronounced by our Lord in his sermon on the mount:—

"Until heaven and earth pass away, there shall not pass from the Law a single iota, nor the tittle of a letter." (Matt. v. 18.) All the words of THE SCRIPTURES, even to the least letter and particle of a letter, are equal to the words of Jesus Christ HIMSELF; for he has also said, "Heaven and earth shall one day pass away, but my words shall not pass away." (Luke xxi. 33.)

The men who oppose these doctrines ask us, if we go so far as to pretend that holy Scripture is a law from God, even in its words, as hyssop or an oak is the work of God, even in its leaves? We answer, with all the Fathers of the Church, Yes, we do; or rather, Jesus Christ our Saviour and Master lifts his hand to heaven, and replies, Yes, even in its words—even to a single iota or particle of a letter!

Having recorded these two declarations, let us now consider one of the last examples of our Lord, to which we have not hitherto referred.

It is still Jesus Christ who is about to quote the Scriptures; but this he does in claiming for their least words such an authority as compels us to range our selves among the most ardent disciples of a verbal inspiration: nor do we think that, if all the writings of our theologians, even the most decided in orthodoxy, were produced, there could be found among them the example of so profound a reverence for the letter of the Scriptures, and the plenitude of their Inspiration.

It was on a winter's day. Jesus was walking under the colonnade of the eastern porch of the Temple; the Jews come round about him; and he then (John x. 27) says to them, "I give eternal life to my sheep; they shall never perish, neither shall any one pluck them out of my hand. I and my Father are one. They were amazed at his language; but he continued to rebuke them unmoved, until at length the Jews accused him of blasphemy, and took up stones to stone him, saying, " We stone thee, because, being a man, thou makest thyself God." (John x. 27.)

We would now invite especial attention to the several features of the Lord's reply to this. He proceeds to quote an expression from one of the Psalms, and on this single expression to found the whole of his doctrine:: "for," says St. John (chap. v. 18), "he made himself equal with God. " To defend the most sublime and mysterious of his doctrines, and to com mend to our belief the most marvellous of his pretensions, he rests upon an expression of the eighty—second Psalm. But, mark! previously to uttering this expression, he deliberately pauses for a moment, and then in a solemn parenthesis, adds with impressive authority,—" And the Scripture cannot be destroyed!"

Have we sufficiently felt the force of this? Not only is our Lord's argument founded entirely upon the use which the Psalmist has made of a single expression, and not only does he proceed to build upon it the most amazing of his doctrines; but further, in thus quoting the Book of Psalms, and in order to enable us to comprehend that in his estimation the book is wholly and throughout a writing of the Holy Ghost, in which each word ought to be to us a law, Jesus calls it by the name of Law, and says to the Jews, "Is it not written in your law, I said, Ye are gods?" These words occur in the middle of a psalm; they might appear to have been the result of inconsiderate fervour on the part of the prophet Asaph, or a fanciful creation of his poetic genius. And if the plenary inspiration of all that is written were not admitted, we might be tempted to view them as indiscreet, and to think that their imprudent use by the psalmist might have led the people into customs elsewhere rebuked by the Word of God, and into idolatrous notions. And here we would once more inquire, how did it happen that some rationalist scribe, of the Israelitish universities, was not found under Solomon's porch, to say to him, " Lord, you cannot take that expression as your authority. The use which Asaph has made of it may have been neither considerate nor becoming. Although inspired in the thoughts of his piety, he doubtless did not weigh his least words with jealous apprehension as to the use which might be made of them a thousand years after he should cease to exist. It would there fore be rash to pretend to lay stress upon them?"

But now mark how the Saviour anticipates the pro fane temerity of such an assertion. He solemnly calls to mind that he had just uttered words which would be blasphemy in the mouth of an archangel,—" I and my Father are one;" but he interrupts himself, and immediately remarks, "Is it not written in your law, I said, Ye are gods? " He then pauses, and fixing his eyes with authority upon the doctors who surround him, adds, " THE SCRIPTURE CANNOT BE DESTROY ED. ' As if he had said, Beware! there is not in the sacred books either an expression which can be questioned, or a word which can be neglected. That which I quote to you from the eighty—second Psalm is traced by the hand of him who made the heavens. If therefore He has been pleased to give the name of gods to men, in so far as they were the anointed,  and types of the true Christ—of the supreme Anointed One—being at the same time fully aware that they " would die like men," how how much more will it become ME, doing the works of my Father, as him whom God the Father hath sealed?

We will here ask every serious reader—and we wish it to be remarked that our argument is entirely independent of the orthodox or Socinian interpretations of these words of Jesus Christ we will here ask—Is it possible to admit that the Being who made such a use of the Scriptures DID NOT BELIEVE IN THEIR PLENARY AND VERBAL INSPIRATION? Had he imagined that the words of the Bible were left to the free choice and pious fantasies of the sacred writers, would he ever have resorted to the thought of grounding such arguments on such an expression? The Lord Jesus, our Saviour and our Judge, believed therefore in the most complete inspiration of the Scriptures; and for him the first rule of all interpretation, and the commencement of every exposition, was this simple maxim applied to the least expressions of the written word, "AND THE " SCRIPTURE CANNOT BE DESTROYED."

May, then, the Prince of Life, the Light of the world, rank us all in His school! What he believed, let us receive. What he reverenced, let us revere. Let that word, to which his heart of redeeming love, and all the thoughts of his holy humanity were subject, let that word, we say, be bound upon our diseased hearts, and gain the mastery over every emotion of our fallen nature. Let us seek God in its least expressions; nourish with it daily all the roots of our being; that we may be like a tree planted by running waters, which yields its fruit in its season, and whose leaves never wither.