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Arthur W. Pink |
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The Divine Inspiration of the Bible
BIBLE TRUTH DEPOT
PUBLISHERS AND BOOKSELLERS
SWENGEL, PA.
COPYRIGHT 1917
BIBLE TRUTH DEPOT
SWENGEL, PA.
I affectionately inscribe this book to my dear father and mother, in grateful appreciation of the fact that from a child I was taught to revere the Holy Scriptures.
Christianity is the religion of a
Book. Christianity is based upon the impregnable rock of Holy
Scripture. The starting point of all doctrinal discussion must be
the Bible. Upon the foundation of the Divine inspiration of the
Bible stands or falls the entire edifice of Christian truth. -
"If the foundations be destroyed, what can the righteous do?"
(Ps. 11:3). Surrender the dogma of verbal inspiration and you are
left like a rudderless ship on a stormy sea-at the mercy of every
wind that blows. Deny that the Bible is, without any
qualifications, the very Word of God, and you are left without
any ultimate standard of measurement and without any supreme
authority. It is useless to discuss any doctrine taught by the
Bible until you are prepared to acknowledge, unreservedly, that
the Bible is the final court of appeal. Grant that the Bible is a
Divine revelation and communication of God's own mind and will to
men, and you have a fixed starting point from which advance can
be made into the domain of truth. Grant that the Bible is (in its
original manuscripts) inerrant and infallible and you reach the
place where study of its contents is both practicable and
profitable.
It is impossible to over-estimate
the importance of the doctrine of the Divine inspiration of
Scripture. This is the strategic center of Christian theology,
and must be defended at all costs. It is the point at which our
satanic enemy is constantly hurling his hellish battalions. Here
it was he made his first attack. In Eden he asked, "Yea,
hath God said?" and today he is pursuing the same tactics.
Throughout the ages the Bible has been the central object of his
assaults. Every available weapon in the devil's arsenal has been
employed in his determined and ceaseless efforts to destroy the
temple of God's truth. In the first days of the Christian era the
attack of the enemy was made openly - the bonfire being the chief
instrument of destruction - but, in these "last days"
the assault is made in a more subtle manner and comes from a more
unexpected quarter. The Divine origin of the Scriptures is now
disputed in the name of "Scholarship" and "Science,"
and that, too, by those who profess to be friends and champions
of the Bible. Much of the learning and theological activity of
the hour, are concentrated in the attempt to discredit and
destroy the authenticity and authority of God's Word, the result
being that thousands of nominal Christians are plunged into a sea
of doubt. Many of those who are paid to stand in our pulpits and
defend the Truth of God are now the very ones who are engaged in
sowing the seeds of unbelief and destroying the faith of those to
whom they minister. But these modern methods will prove no more
successful in their efforts to destroy the Bible than did those
employed in the opening centuries of the Christian era. As well
might the birds attempt to demolish the granite rock of Gibraltar
by pecking at it with their beaks - "For ever, O Lord, Thy
Word is settled in heaven" (Ps. 119:89).
Now the Bible does not fear
investigation. Instead of fearing it, the Bible courts and
challenges consideration and examination. The more widely it is
known, the more closely it is read, the more carefully it is
studied, the more unreservedly will it be received as the Word of
God. Christians are not a company of enthusiastic fanatics. They
are not lovers of myths. They are not anxious to believe a
delusion. They do not desire their lives to be molded by an empty
superstition. They do not wish to mistake hallucination for
inspiration. If they are wrong, they wish to be set right. If
they are deceived, they want to be disillusioned. If they are
mistaken, they desire to be corrected.
The first question which the
thoughtful reader of the Bible has to answer is, What importance
and value am I to attach to the contents of the Scriptures? Were
the writers of the Bible so many fanatics moved by oracular
frenzy? Were they merely poetically inspired and intellectually
elevated? or, were they, as they claimed to be, and as the
Scriptures affirm they were, moved by the Holy Spirit to act as
the voice of God to a sinful world? Were the writers of the Bible
inspired by God in a manner no other men were in any other age of
the world? Were they invested and endowed with the power to
disclose mysteries and point men upward and onward to that which
otherwise would have been an impenetrable future? One can readily
appreciate the fact that the answer to these questions is of
supreme importance. If the Bible is not inspired in the strictest
sense of the word then it is worthless, for it claims to be God's
Word, and if its claims are spurious then its statements are
unreliable and its contents are untrustworthy. If, on the other
hand, it can be shown to the satisfaction of every impartial
inquirer that the Bible is the Word of God, inerrant and
infallible, then we have a starting point from which we can
advance to the conquest of all truth.
A book that claims to be a Divine
revelation - a claim which, as we shall see, is substantiated
by the most convincing credentials - cannot be rejected or even
neglected without grave peril to the soul. True wisdom cannot
refuse to examine it with care and impartiality. If the claims of
the Bible be well founded then the prayerful and diligent study
of the Scriptures becomes of paramount importance: they have a
claim upon our notice and time which nothing else has, and beside
them everything in this world loses its luster and sinks into
utter insignificance. If the Bible be the Word of God then
it infinitely transcends in value all the writings of men, and in
exact ratio to its immeasurable superiority to human productions
such is our responsibility and duty to give it the most reverent
and serious consideration. As a Divine revelation the Bible ought
to be studied, yet, this is the only subject on which human
curiosity does not desire information. Into every other sphere
man pushes his investigations, but the Book of books is
neglected, and this, not only by the ignorant, and illiterate,
but by the wise of this world as well. The cultured dilettante
will boast of his acquaintance with the sages of Greece and Rome,
yet, will know little or nothing of Moses and the prophets,
Christ and His Apostles. But the general neglect of the Bible
verifies the Scriptures and affords additional proof of their
authenticity. The contempt with which the Bible is treated
demonstrates that human nature is exactly what God's Word
represents it to be - fallen and depraved - and is unmistakable
evidence that the carnal mind is enmity against God.
If the Bible is the Word of God; if
it stands on an infinitely exalted plane, all alone; if it
immeasurable transcends all the greatest productions of human
genius; then, we should naturally expect to find that it has
unique credentials, that there are internal marks which prove it
to be the handiwork of God, that there is conclusive evidence to
show that its Author is superhuman, Divine. That these
expectations are realized we shall now endeavor to show; that
there is no reason whatever for any one to doubt the Divine
inspiration of the Scriptures is the purpose of this book to
demonstrate. As we examine the natural world we find innumerable
proofs of the existence of a Personal Creator, and the same God
who has manifested Himself thro' His works has also revealed His
wisdom and will thro' His Word. The God of creation and the God
of written revelation are One, and there are irrefutable
arguments to show that the Almighty who made the heavens and the
earth is also the Author of the Bible.
We shall now submit to the critical
attention of the reader a few of the lines of demonstration which
argue for the Divine inspiration of the Bible.
This argument may be simply and
tersely stated thus - Man needed a Divine revelation couched in
human language. God had previously given man a revelation of
Himself in His created works - which men please to term "nature"
- but bears unmistakable testimony to the existence of its
Creator, and though sufficient is revealed of God thro' it to
render all men "without excuse," yet creation does not
present a complete unveiling of God's character. Creation reveals
God's wisdom and power, but it gives us a very imperfect
presentation of His mercy and love. Creation is now under the
curse; it is imperfect, because it has been marred by sin;
therefore, an imperfect creation cannot be a perfect medium for
revealing God; and hence, also, the testimony of creation is contradictory.
In the spring of the year, when
nature puts on her loveliest robes and we see the beautiful
foliage of the countryside and listen to the happy songs of the
birds, we have no difficulty in inferring that a gracious God is
ruling over our world. But what of the winter-time, when the
countryside is desolate and the trees are leafless and forlorn,
when a pall of death seems to be resting on everything? When we
stood by the seashore and watched the setting sun crimsoning the
placid waters on a quiet eve, we had no hesitation in ascribing
the picture to the hand of the Divine Artist. But when we stand
upon the same seashore on a stormy night, hear the roaring of the
breakers and the howling wind, see the boats battling with the
angry waves and listen to the heart-rending cries of the seamen
as they go down into a watery grave, then, we are tempted to
wonder if, after all, a merciful God is at the helm. As one walks
thro' the Grand Canyon or stands before the Niagara Falls, the
hand and power of God seem very evident; but, as one witnesses
the desolations of the San Francisco earthquake or the death-dealing
effects of the volcanic eruptions of Mount Vesuvius, he is again
perplexed and puzzled. In a word then, the testimony of nature is
conflicting, and, as we have said, this is due to the fact that
sin has come in and marred God's handiwork. Creation displays
God's natural attributes but it tells us little or nothing
of His moral perfections. Nature knows no forgiveness and
shows no mercy, and if we had no other source of information we
should never discover the fact that God pardons sinners. Man then
needs a written revelation from God.
Our limitations and our ignorance
reveal our need. Man is in darkness concerning God. Blot
the Bible out of existence and what should we know about His
character, His moral attributes, His attitude toward us, or His
demands upon us? As we have seen, nature is but an imperfect
medium for revealing God. The ancients had the same nature before
them as we have, but what did they discover of His character?
Unto what knowledge of the one true God did they attain? The
seventeenth chapter of the Acts answers that question. When the
Apostle Paul was in the famous city of Athens, famous for its
learning and philosophical culture, he discovered an altar, on
which were inscribed the words, "To the unknown God".
The same condition prevails today. Visit those lands which have
not been illumined by the light of the Holy Scriptures and it
will be found that their peoples know no more about the character
of the living God than did the ancient Egyptians and Babylonians.
Man is in darkness concerning himself.
From whence am I? What am I? Am I anything more than a reasoning
animal? Have I an immortal soul, or, am I nothing more than a
sentient being? What is the purpose of my existence? Why am I
here in this world at all? What is the end and aim of life? How
shall I employ my time and talents? Shall I live only for today,
eat, drink, and be merry? What after death? Do I perish like the
beasts of the field, or is the grave the portal into another
world? If so, whither am I bound? Do these questions appear
senseless and irrelevant? Annihilate the Scriptures, eliminate
all the light they have shed upon these problems, and whither
shall we turn for a solution? If the Bible had never been written
how many of these questions could have been satisfactorily
answered? A very striking testimony to man's need of a Divine
revelation was given by the celebrated but skeptical historian
Gibbon. He remarked - "Since, therefore, the most sublime
efforts of philosophy can extend no farther than feebly to point
out the desire, the hope, or, at most, the probability, of a
future state, there is nothing except a Divine
revelation that can ascertain the existence and describe the
condition of the invisible country which is destine to receive
the souls of men after their separation from the body."
Our experiences reveal our
need. There are problems to be faced which our wisdom is
incapable of solving; there are obstacles in our path which we
have no means of surmounting; there are enemies to be met which
we are unable to vanquish. We are in dire need of counsel,
strength, and courage. There are trials and tribulations which
come to us, testing the hearts of the bravest and stoutest, and
we need comfort and cheer. There are sorrows and bereavements
which crush our spirits and we need the hope of immortality and
resurrection.
Our corporate life reveals
our need. What is to govern and regulate our dealings one with
the other? Shall each do that which is right in his own eyes?
That would destroy all law and order. Shall we draw up some moral
code, some ethical standard? But who shall fix it? Opinions vary.
We need some final court of appeal: if we had no Bible, where
should we find it?
Man then needs a Divine
revelation; God is able to supply that need; therefore, is
it not reasonable to suppose He will do so? Surely God
will not mock our ignorance and leave us to grope in the dark! If
it is harder to believe that the universe had no creator, than it
is to believe that "in the beginning God created the heavens
and the earth;" if it is a greater tax upon our faith to
suppose that Christianity with all its glorious triumphs is
without a Divine Founder, than it is to believe that it rests
upon the Person of the Lord Jesus Christ; then, does it not also
make a greater demand upon human credulity to imagine that God
would leave mankind without an intelligible communication from
Himself, than it does to believe that the Bible is a revelation
from the Creator to His fallen and erring creatures?
If there is a personal God (and
none but a "fool" will deny His existence), and if we
are the works of His hands He surely would not leave us in doubt
concerning the great problems which have to do with our temporal,
spiritual, and eternal welfare. If an earthly parent advises his
sons and daughters in their problems and perplexities, warns them
of the perils and pitfalls of life which menace their well-being;
counsels them with regard to their daily welfare and makes known
to them his plans and purposes concerning their future, surely it
is incredible to suppose that our Heavenly Father would do less
for His children!
We are often uncertain as to which
is the right course to pursue; we are frequently in doubt as to
the real path of duty; we are constantly surrounded by the hosts
of wickedness which seek to accomplish our downfall; and, we are
daily confronted with experiences which make us sad and sorrowful.
The wisest among us need guidance which our own wisdom fails to
supply; the best of humanity need grace which the human heart is
powerless to bestow; the most refined among the sons of men need
deliverance from temptations which they cannot overcome. Will God
mock us then in our need? Will God leave us alone in the hour of
our weakness? Will God refuse to provide for us a Refuge from our
enemies? Man needs a Counselor, a Comforter, a Deliverer. The
very fact that God has a Father's regard for His children
necessitates that He should give them a written revelation which
communicates His mind and will concerning them and which points
them to the One who is willing and able to supply all their need.
To sum up this argument. Man needs
a Divine revelation; God is able to supply one; is it not,
therefore, reasonable to suppose He will do so? There is
then, a presumption in favor of the Bible. Is it not more
reasonable to believe that He whose name and nature is Love shall
provide us with a lamp unto our feet and a light unto our path,
than to leave us to grope our way amid the darkness of a fallen
and ruined world?
The full force of the present
argument will appeal only to those who are intimately acquainted
with the Bible, and the more familiar the reader is with the
Sacred Canon the more heartily will he endorse the following
statements. Just as a knowledge of Latin is necessary in order to
understand the technique of a treatise on pathology or
physiology, or just as a certain amount of culture and academic
learning is an indispensable adjunct to intelligently follow the
arguments and apprehend the illustrations in a dissertation on
philosophy or psychology, so a first-hand acquaintance with the
Bible is necessary to appreciate the fact that its contents never
become commonplace.
One of the first facts which
arrests the attention of the student of God's Word is that, like
the widow's oil and meal which nourished Elijah, the contents of
the Bible are never exhausted. Unlike all other books, the Bible
never acquires a sameness, and never diminishes in its power of
response to the needy soul which comes to it. Just as a fresh
supply of manna was given each day to the Israelites in the
wilderness, so the Spirit of God ever breaks anew the Bread of
Life to them who hunger after righteousness; or, just as the
loaves and fishes in the hands of our Lord were more than enough
to feed the famished multitude - a surplus still remaining - so
the honey and milk of the Word are more than sufficient to
satisfy the hunger of every human soul - the supply still
remaining undiminished for new generations.
Although one may know, word for
word, the entire contents of some chapter of Scripture, and
although he may have taken the time to ponder thoughtfully every
sentence therein, yet, on every subsequent occasion, provided one
comes to it again in the spirit of humble inquiry, each fresh
reading will reveal new gems never seen there before and new
delights will be experienced never met with previously. The most
familiar passages will yield as much refreshment at the
thousandth perusal as they did at the first. The Bible has been
likened to a fountain of living water: the fountain is ever the
same, but the water is always fresh.
Herein the Bible differs from all
other books, sacred or secular. What man has to say can be
gathered from his writings at the first reading: failure to do so
indicates that the writer has not succeeded in expressing himself
clearly, or else the reader has failed to apprehend his meaning.
Man is only able to deal with surface things, hence he cares only
about surface appearances; consequently, whatever man has to say
lies upon the surface of his writings, and the capable reader can
exhaust them by a single perusal. Not so with the Bible. Although
the Bible has been studied more microscopically than any other
book (even its very letters have been counted and registered) by
many of the keenest intellects for the past two thousand years,
although whole libraries of works have been written as
commentaries upon its teachings, and although literally millions
of sermons have been preached and printed in the attempt to
expound every part of Holy Writ, yet its contents have not been
exhausted, and in this twentieth century new discoveries are
being made in it every day!
The Bible is an inexhaustible mine
of wealth: it is the El Dorado of heavenly treasure. It has veins
of ore which never "give out" and pockets of gold which
no pick can empty; yet, like earthly treasures, the gems of God
must be diligently sought if they are to be found. Potatoes lie
near the surface of the ground, but diamonds require much
laborious digging, so also the precious things of the Word are
only revealed to the prayerful, patient and diligent student.
The Bible is like a spring of water
which never runs dry. No matter how many may drink from its life-giving
stream, and no matter how often they may quench their thirst at
its refreshing waters, its flow continues and never fails to
satisfy the needs of all who come and take of its perennial
springs. The Bible has a whole continent of Truth yet to be
explored. A learned scholar who died during the present year of
grace had read through the Bible no fewer than five hundred times!
What other book, ancient or modern, Oriental or Occidental, would
repay even a fiftieth reading?
How can we account for this
marvelous characteristic of the Bible? What explanation can we
offer for this startling phenomenon? It is only stating a
commonplace axiom when we affirm that what is finite is
fathomable. What the mind of man has produced the mind of man can
exhaust. If human mortals had written the Bible its contents
would have been "mastered" ages ago. In view of the
fact that the contents of the Scriptures cannot be exhausted,
that they never acquire sameness or staleness to the devout
student, and that they always speak with fresh force to the
quickened soul that comes to them, is it not apparent that none
other than the infinite mind of God could have created such a
wonderful Book as the Bible?
The title of this chapter suggests
a wide field of study the limits of which we can now only skirt
here and there. To begin with the writers of the Old Testament.
Had the historical parts of the Old
Testament been a forgery, or the production of uninspired men,
their contents would have been very different to what they are.
Each of its Books was written by a descendant of Abraham, yet
nowhere do we find the bravery of the Israelites extolled and
never once are their victories regarded as the outcome of their
courage or military genius; on the contrary, success is
attributed to the presence of Jehovah the God of Israel. To this
it might be replied, Heathen writers have often ascribed the
victories of their peoples to the intervention of their gods.
This is true, yet there is no parallel at all between the two
cases. Comparison is impossible. Heathen writers invariably
represent their gods as being blindly partial to their friends
and whenever their favorites failed to come out victorious their
defeat is attributed to the opposition of other gods or to a
blind and unyielding fate. In contradistinction to this, the defeats
of Israel, as much as their victories, are regarded as coming
from Jehovah. Their successes were not due to mere partiality
in God, but are uniformly viewed as connected with a careful
observance of His commands; and, in like manner, their defeats
are portrayed as the outcome of their disobedience and
waywardness. If they transgressed His laws they were defeated and
put to shame, even though their God was the Almighty. But we have
digressed somewhat. That to which we desire to direct attention
is the fact that men who were their own countrymen have
chronicled the history of the Israelites, and therein have
faithfully recorded their defeats not to an inexorable fate, nor
to bad generalship and military failures, but to the sins of the
people and their wickedness against God. Such a God is not the
creation of the human mind, and such historians were not actuated
by the common principles of human nature.
Not only have the Jewish historians
recounted the military defeats of their people, but they have
also faithfully recorded their many moral backslidings and
spiritual declinations. One of the outstanding truths of the Old
Testament is that the Unity of God, that God is One, that beside
Him there is none else, that all other gods are false gods and
that to pay them homage is to be guilty of the sin of idolatry.
Against the sin of idolatry these Jewish writers cry out
repeatedly. They uniformly declare that it is a sin most
abhorrent in the sight of heaven. Yet, these same Jewish writers
record how again and again their ancestors (contrary to the
universal leaning towards ancestral adoration and worship), and
their contemporaries, were guilty of this great wickedness. Not
only so, but they have pointed out how some of their most famous
heroes sinned in this very particular. Aaron and the golden calf,
Solomon and the later kings being notable examples - "Then
did Solomon build a high place for Chemosh, the abomination of
Moab, in the hill that is before Jerusalem, and for Molech, the
abomination of the children of Ammon. And likewise did he for all
his strange wives, which burnt incense and sacrificed unto their
gods" (Kings 11:7,8). Moreover, there is no attempt made to
excuse their wrongdoing; instead, their acts are openly censured
and uncompromisingly condemned. As is well known, human
historians are inclined to conceal or extenuate the faults of
their favorites. A forged history would have clothed friends with
every virtue, and would not have ventured to mar the effect
designed to be produced by uncovering the vices of its most
distinguished personages. Here then, is displayed the uniqueness
of Scripture history. Its characters are painted in the colors of
truth and nature. But such characters were never sketched by a
human pencil. Moses and the other writers must have written by
Divine inspiration.
The sin of idolatry, while it is
the worst of which Israel was guilty, is not the only evil
recorded against them - their whole history is one long story of
repeated apostasy from Jehovah their God. After they had been
emancipated from the bondage of Egypt and had been miraculously
delivered from their cruel masters at the Red Sea, they commenced
their journey towards the Promised Land. Between them and their
goal lay a march across the wilderness, and here the depravity of
their hearts was fully manifested. In spite of the fact that
Jehovah, by overthrowing their enemies, had plainly demonstrated
that He was their God, yet no sooner was the faith of the
Israelites put to the test than their hearts failed them. First,
their stores of food began to give out and they feared they would
perish from hunger. Trying circumstances had banished the Living
God from their thoughts. They complained of their lot and
murmured against Moses. Yet God did not deal with them after
their sins nor reward them according to their iniquities: in
mercy, He gave them bread from heaven and furnished them a daily
supply of manna. But they soon became dissatisfied with the manna
and lusted after the flesh pots of Egypt. Still God dealt with
them in grace.
Shortly after God's intervention in
giving the Israelites food to eat, which ought for ever to have
closed their murmuring mouths, they pitched in Rephidim where
"there was no water for the people to drink. Wherefore the
people did chide with Moses, and said, Give us water that we may
drink. And Moses said unto them, Why chide ye with me? wherefore
do ye tempt the Lord? And the people thirsted there for water;
and the people murmured against Moses, and said, Wherefore
is this that thou hast brought us up out of Egypt, to kill us and
our children and our cattle with thirst? And Moses cried unto the
Lord, saying, What shall I do unto this people? they be almost
ready to stone me." What was God's response? Did
His anger consume them? Did He refuse to bear longer with such a
stiff-necked people? No: "The Lord said unto Moses, Go on
before the people, and take with thee of the elders of Israel;
and thy rod, wherewith thou smotest the river, take in thine
hand, and go. Behold, I will stand before thee there upon the
rock in Horeb; and thou shalt smite the rock, and there shall
come water out of it, that the people may drink" (Exod. 17).
The above incidents were but sadly
typical and illustrative of Israel's general conduct. When the
spies were sent out to view the Promised Land and returned and
reported, ten of them magnified the difficulties which confronted
them and advised the people not to attempt an occupation of
Canaan; and though the remaining two faithfully reminded the
Israelites that the mighty Jehovah could easily overcome all
their difficulties, nevertheless, the nation listened not but
heeded the word of their skeptical advisers. Time after time they
provoked Jehovah, and in consequence the whole of that generation
perished in the wilderness. When the succeeding generation was
grown, under the leadership of Joshua they entered the Promised
Land and by the aid of God overthrew many of their enemies and
occupied much of their territory. But after the death of Joshua
we read, "There arose another generation after them, which
knew not the Lord, nor yet the works which He had done for Israel.
And the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the Lord God
of their fathers, which brought them out of the land of Egypt,
and followed other gods, of the gods of the people that were
round about them, and bowed themselves unto them, and provoked
the Lord to anger. And they forsook the Lord, and served Baal and
Ashtaroth" (Judge. 2:10-13). There is no need for us to
follow further the fluctuating fortunes of Israel: as is well
known, under the period of the judges their history was a series
of returns to the Lord and subsequent departures from Him;
repeated deliverances from the hands of their enemies, and then
returning unfaithfulness on their part, followed by being again
delivered unto their foes. Under the kings it was no better. The
very first of their kings perished thro' his willful disobedience
and apostasy; the third king, Solomon, violated God's law and
married heathen women who turned his heart unto false gods.
Solomon, in turn, was followed by a number of idolatrous rulers,
and the path of Israel ran farther and farther away from the
Lord, until He delivered them over unto Nebuchadnezzar who
captured their beloved Jerusalem, destroyed their Temple, and
carried away the people into captivity.
In the repeated mention which we
have in the Old Testament of Israel's sins, we discover, in light
as clear as day, the absolute honesty and candor of those who
recorded Israel's history. No attempt whatever is made to conceal
their folly, their unbelief, and their wickedness; instead, the
corrupt condition of their hearts is made fully manifest, and
this, by writers who belonged to, and were born of the same
nation. In the whole realm of literature there is no parallel.
The record of Israel's history is absolutely unique. The careful
reader would at first conclude that Israel as a nation was more
depraved than any other, yet further reflection will show that
the inference is a false one and that the real fact is that the
history of Israel has been more faithfully transmitted
than that of any other nation. We mean the history of Israel as
it is recorded in the Holy Scriptures, for in striking contrast
thereto and in exemplification of all that we have written above,
it is noteworthy that Josephus passes over in silence
whatever appeared unfavorable to his nation!!
Coming now to the New Testament we
begin with the character of John the Baptist and the position
that he occupied. John the Baptist is presented as a most eminent
personage. We are told that his birth was due to the miraculous
intervention of God. We learn that he was "filled with the
Holy Spirit, even from his mother's womb" (Luke 1:15). John
the Baptist was himself the subject of Old Testament prediction.
The office that he filled was the most honorable which ever fell
to the lot of any member of Adam's race. He was the harbinger of
the Messiah. He was the one who went before our Lord to prepare
His way. He had the honor of baptizing the blessed Redeemer. Now
where would human wisdom have placed him among the attendants of
the Lord Jesus? What position would it have ascribed to him?
Surely he would have been set forth as the most distinguished
among our Lord's followers; surely, human wisdom would have set
him at the right hand of the Saviour! Yet what do we find?
Instead of this, we discover that he had no familiar discourse
with the Saviour; instead, we find he was treated with apparent
neglect; instead, we find him represented as occupying the
position of a doubter who, as the result of his imprisonment, was
constrained to send a message to his Master to enquire whether or
not He were the promised Messiah. Had his character been the
invention of forgery, nothing would have been heard of his lapse
of faith. Indeed, this is so opposed to the dictates of human
wisdom, that many have been shocked at the thought of ascribing
doubts to the eminent forerunner of Christ, and have taxed their
ingenuity to the utmost to force from the obvious meaning of the
record some other and some different signification. But all these
ingenuities of human sophistry are dissipated by the reply which
our Lord made on the occasion of John's inquiry (Matt. 11), a
reply which shows very plainly that the question was asked not
for the benefit of his disciples, but because the Baptist's own
heart was harassed with doubts. Again, we say that no human mind
could have invented the character of John the Baptist, and the
faithfulness of his biographers is another proof that the writers
of the Bible were actuated by something more and something higher
than the principles of human nature.
Another striking illustration of
our chapter heading - one which many writers have pointed out -
is the treatment the Son of God received while He tabernacled
among men. For two thousand years Israel's hopes had all centered
in the advent of their Messiah. The height of every Jewish
woman's ambition was that she might be selected of God to have
the honor of being the mother of the promised Seed. For
centuries, every pious Hebrew had looked and longed for the day
when He should appear who was to occupy David's throne and rule
and reign in righteousness. Yet, when He did appear how was the
Promised One received? "He was despised and rejected of men."
"He came unto His own and His own received Him not."
Those who were His brethren according to the flesh "hated"
Him "without a cause." The very nation which gave Him
birth and to which He ministered in infinite grace and blessing
demanded that He should be crucified. The startling thing which
we desire to particularly emphasize is, that the narrators of
this awful tragedy are fellow countrymen of those upon whose
heads rested the guilt of its perpetration. It was Jewish writers
who recorded the fearful crime of the Jewish nation against their
Messiah! And, we say again, that in the recording of that crime
no attempt whatever is made to palliate or extenuate their
wickedness; instead, it is denounced and condemned in the most
uncompromising terms. Israel is openly charged with having taken
and with "wicked hands" slain the "Lord of Glory."
Such an honest and impartial recital of Israel's crowning sin can
only be explained on the ground that what these men wrote was
inspired of God.
One more illustration must suffice.
After our Lord's death and resurrection, He commissioned His
disciples to go forth carrying from Him a message first to His
own nation and later to "every creature." This message,
be it noted, was not a malediction called down upon the heads of
His heartless murderers, but a proclamation of grace. It was a
message of good news, of glad tidings - forgiveness was to
be preached in His name to all men. How then would human wisdom
suppose such a message will be received? It is further to be
observed that those who were thus commissioned to carry the
Gospel to the lost, were vested with power to heal the sick and
to cast out demons. Surely such a beneficent ministry will meet
with a universal welcome! Yet, incredible as it may appear, the
Apostles of Christ met with no more appreciation than did their
Master. They, too, were despised and rejected. They, too, were
hated and persecuted. They, too, were ill treated, imprisoned,
and put to a shameful death. And this, not merely from the hands
of the bigoted Jews, but from the cultured Greeks and from the
democratic and freedom loving Romans as well. Though these
Apostles brought blessing, they themselves were cursed; though
they sought to emancipate men from the thraldom of sin and Satan,
yet they were themselves captured and thrown into prison; though
they healed the sick and raised the dead, they suffered martyrdom.
Surely it is apparent to every impartial mind that the New
Testament is no mere human invention; and surely it is evident
from the honesty of its writers in so faithfully portraying the
enmity of the carnal mind against God, that their productions can
only be accounted for on the ground that they spake and wrote
"not of themselves," but "as they were moved by
the Holy Spirit" (II Peter 1:21).
Take its teachings about God
Himself. What does the Bible teach us about God? It declares
that He is Eternal: "Before the mountains were
brought forth, or ever Thou hadst formed the earth and the world,
even from everlasting to everlasting, Thou are God" (Ps. 90:2).
It reveals the fact that He is Infinite: "But will
God indeed dwell on the earth? Behold, the heaven and heaven of
heavens cannot contain Thee" (I Kings 8:27). Vast as we know
the universe to be, it has its bounds; but we must go beyond them
to conceive of God - "Canst thou by searching find out God?
Canst thou find out the Almighty unto perfection? It is as high
as heaven; what canst thou do? deeper than hell; what canst thou
know? The measure thereof is longer than the earth, and broader
than the sea" (Job 11:7-9). It makes mention of His Sovereignty:
"Remember the former things of old: for I am God, and there
is none else; I am God, and there is none like Me, declaring the
end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that
are not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do
all My pleasure" (Is. 46: 9-10). It affirms that He is Omnipotent:
"Behold I am the Lord, the God of all flesh: is there
anything too hard for Me?" (Jer. 32:27). It intimates that
He is Omniscient: "Great is our Lord, and of great
power: His understanding is infinite" (Ps. 147:5). It
teaches that He is Omnipresent: "Can any hide himself
in secret places that I shall not see him? saith the Lord. Do not
I fill heaven and earth? saith the Lord" (Jer. 23:24). It
declares that He is Immutable: "The same yesterday,
and today, and forever" (Heb. 13:8). Yea, that with Him
"is no variableness, neither shadow of turning" (James
1:17). It reveals that He is "The Judge of all the
earth" (Gen. 18:25) and that every one shall yet have to
"give an account of himself to God" (Rom. 14:12). It
announces that He is inflexibly just in all His dealings
so that He can by "no means clear the guilty" (Num. 14:18);
that all will be judged "according to their works" (Rev.
20:12), and that they shall reap whatsoever they have sown (Gal 6:7).
It reveals the fact that He is absolutely holy, dwelling
in light inaccessible. So holy that even the seraphim have to
veil their faces in His presence (Is. 6:2). So holy that the
heavens are not clean in His sight (Job 15:15). So holy that the
best of men when face to face with their Maker, have to cry,
"I abhor myself" (Job 42:6); "Woe is me! For I am
undone" (Is. 6:5). Such a delineation of Deity is as far
beyond man's conception as the heavens are above the earth. No
man, and no number of men, ever invented such a God as this.
Ransack the libraries of the ancient, examine the musings of the
mystics, study the religions of the heathen and nothing will be
found which can for a moment be compared with the sublime and
exalted description of God's character which is furnished by the
Bible.
The teachings of the Bible about
man are unique. Unlike all other books in the world, the Bible
condemns man and all his doings. It never eulogizes his wisdom,
nor praises his achievements. On the contrary, it declares that
"every man at his best state is altogether vanity" (Ps
39:5). Instead of teaching that man is a noble character,
evolving heavenwards, it tells him that all his righteousnesses (his
best works) are as "filthy rags," that he is a lost
sinner, incapable of bettering his condition; that he is
deserving only of Hell.
The picture which the Scriptures
give of man is deeply humiliating and entirely different from all
which are drawn by human pencils. The Word of God describes the
state of the natural man in the following language: - "There
is none righteous, no, not one. There is none that understandeth,
there is none that seeketh after God. They are all gone out of
the way, they are together become unprofitable. There is none
that doeth good, no, not one. Their throat is an open sepulcher;
with their tongues they have used deceit; the poison of asps is
under their lips; whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness.
Their feet are swift to shed blood: destruction and misery are in
their ways: and the way of peace have they not known. There is no
fear of God before their eyes" (Rom. 3:10-18).
Instead of making Satan the source
of all the black crimes of which we are guilty, the Bible
declares, "For from within, out of the heart of man proceed
evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, thefts,
covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lasciviousness, an evil eye,
blasphemy, pride, foolishness: all these evil things come from within
and defile the man" (Mark 7:21-23). Such a conception of man
- so different from man's own ideas, and so humilitating to his
proud heart - never could have emanated from man himself. "The
heart is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked"
(Jer. 17:9) is a concept that never originated in any human mind.
The teachings of the Bible about the
world are unique. In nothing perhaps are the teachings of
Scripture and the writings of man at such variance as they are at
this point. Using the term as meaning the world-system in
contradistinction to the earth, what is the direction of man's
thoughts concerning the same? Man thinks highly of the world, for
he regards it as his world. It is that which his labors have
produced and he looks upon it with satisfaction and pride. He
boasts that "the world is growing better." He declares
that the world is becoming more civilized and more humanized.
Man's thoughts upon this subject have been well summarized by the
poet in the familiar language - "God is in heaven: All's
well with the world." But what saith the Scriptures? Upon
this subject, too, we discover that God's thoughts are very
different from ours. The Bible uniformly condemns the
world and speaks of it as a thing of evil. We shall not attempt
to quote every passage which does this, but shall merely single
out a few specimen Scriptures.
"If the world hate you, ye
know that it hated Me before it hated you. If ye were of the
world, the world would love his own: but because ye are not of
the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the
world hateth you" (John 15:18-19). This passage teaches that
the world hates both Christ and His followers. "The
wisdom of this world is foolishness with God" (I Cor 3:19).
Certainly no uninspired pen wrote these words. "Ye
adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of
the world is enmity with God? Whosoever therefore will be a
friend of the world is the enemy of God" (James 4:4). Here
again we learn that the world is an evil thing, condemned by God,
and to be shunned by His children. "Love not the world,
neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the
world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in
the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and
the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world"
(I John 2:15-16). Here we have a definition of the world:
it is all that is opposed to the Father - opposed in its
principles and philosophy, its maxims and methods, its aims and
ambitions, its trend and its end "And the whole world
lieth in the Evil One" (I John 5:19, R.V.). Here we
learn why it is that the world hates Christ and His followers;
why its wisdom is foolishness with God; why it is condemned by
God and must be shunned by His children - it is under the
dominion of that old serpent, the devil, whom Scripture
specifically denominates "The prince of this world."
The teachings of the Bible about
sin is unique. Man regards sin as a misfortune and ever seeks to
minimize its enormity. In these days, sin is referred to as
ignorance, as a necessary stage in man's development. By others,
sin is looked upon as a mere negation, the opposite of good;
while Mrs. Eddy and her followers went so far as to deny its
existence altogether. But the Bible, unlike every other book,
strips man of all excuse and emphasizes his culpability. In the
Bible sin is never palliated or extenuated, but from first to
last the Holy Scriptures insist upon its enormity and heinousness.
The Word of God declares that "sin is very grievous" (Gen
18:20) and that our sins provoke God to anger (I Kings 16:2). It
speaks of the "deceitfulness of sin" (Heb. 3:13) and
insists that sin is "exceedingly sinful" (Rom 7:13). It
declares that all sin is sin against God (Ps. 51:4) and against
His Christ (I Cor. 8:12). It regards our sins as being "as
scarlet" and "red like crimson" (Is. 1:18). It
declares that sin is more than an act, it is an attitude. It
affirms that sin is more than a non-compliance with God's law -
it is rebellion against the One who gave the law . It teaches
that "sin is lawlessness" (I John 3:4, R.V.),
which means that sin is spiritual anarchy, open defiance against
the Almighty. Moreover, it singles out no particular class; it
condemns all alike. It announces that "all have sinned and
come short of the glory of God," that "there is none
righteous, no, not one" (Rom. 3). Did man ever write such an
indictment against himself? What human mind ever invented such a
description of sin as that discovered in the Bible? Whoever would
have imagined that sin was such a vile and dreadful thing in the
sight of God that nothing but the precious blood of His own
beloved Son could make an atonement for it!
The teaching of the Bible about the
punishment of sin is unique. A defective view of sin
necessarily leads to an inadequate conception of what is due sin.
Minimize the gravity and enormity of sin and you must proportion-
ately reduce the sentence which it deserves. Many are crying out
today against the justice of the eternal punishment of sin. They
complain that the penalty does not fit the crime. They argue that
it is unrighteous for a sinner to suffer eternally in consequence
of a short life span of wrong-doing. But even in this world it is
not the length of time which it takes to commit the crime which
determines the severity of the sentence. Many a man has suffered
a life term of imprisonment for a crime which required only a few
minutes for its perpetration. Apart, however, from this
consideration, eternal punishment is just if sin be looked
at from God's viewpoint. But this is just what the
majority of men refuse to do. They look at sin and its deserts
solely from the human side. One reason why the Bible was written
was to correct our ideas and views about sin, to teach us what an
unspeakably awful and vile thing it is, to show us sin as God
sees it. For one single sin Adam and Eve were banished from Eden.
For one single sin Canaan and all his posterity were cursed. For
a single sin Korah and his company went down alive into the pit.
For one single sin Moses was debarred from entering the Promised
Land. For a single sin Achan and his family were stoned to death.
For a single sin Elisha's servant was smitten with leprosy. For a
single sin Ananias and Sapphira were cut off out of the land of
the living. Why? To teach us what an infinite evil it is to
revolt against the thrice holy God. We repeat, that did men but
see the terribleness of sin - did they but see that it was sin
that put to a shameful death the Lord of Glory - then they would
realize that nothing short of eternal punishment would
meet the demands which justice has upon sinners.
But the great majority of men do
not see the meetness or justice of eternal punishment; on the
contrary, they cry out against it. In lands which were not
illumined by the Old Testament Scriptures, where there existed
any belief in a future life, it was held that at death the wicked
either passed thro' some temporary suffering for remedial and
purifying purposes or else they were annihilated. Even in
Christendom, where the Word of God has held a prominent and
public place for centuries, the great bulk of the people do not
believe in eternal punishment. They argue that God is too
merciful and kind to ban one of His own creatures to endless
misery. Yea, not a few of the Lord's own people are afraid to
take the solemn teachings of the Scriptures on this subject at
their face value. It is therefore evident that had the Bible been
written by uninspired men; had it been a mere human composition,
it certainly would not have taught the eternal and
conscious torment of all who die out of Christ. The fact that the
Bible does so teach is conclusive proof that it was
written by men who spake not of themselves, but as they were
"moved by the Holy Spirit."
The teachings of God's Word upon
eternal punishment are as clear and explicit as they are solemn
and awful. They declare that the doom of the Christ rejector is a
conscious, never-ending, indescribable torment. The Bible depicts
the place of punishment as a realm where the "worm dieth not"
and "the fire is not quenched" (Mark 9:48). It speaks
of it as a lake of fire and brimstone (Rev. 20:10), where even a
drop of water is denied the agonized sufferer (Luke 16:24). It
declares that "the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for
ever and ever: and they have no rest day nor night" (Rev. 14:11).
It represents the world of the lost as a scene into which
penetrates no light - "the blackness of darkness for ever"
(Jude 1: 13) - a doom alleviated by no ray of hope. In short, the
portion of the lost will be unbearable, yet it will have to be
borne, and borne for ever. What mortal mind conceived of such a
fate? Such a conception is too repugnant and repulsive to the
human heart to have had its birth on the earth.
The teachings of the Bible about Salvation
from Sin is unique. Man's thoughts about salvation, like
every other subject which engages his mind are defective and
deficient. Hence the force of the admonition - "Let the
wicked forsake his way and the unrighteous man his thoughts"
(Is. 55:7). In the first place, left to himself, man fails to
realize his need of salvation. In the pride of his heart he
imagines that he is sufficient in himself, and thro' the
darkening of his understanding by sin he fails to comprehend his
ruined and lost condition. Like the self-righteous Pharisee, he
thanks God that he is not as other men, that he is morally the
superior of the savage or the criminal, and refuses to believe
that so far as his standing before God is concerned there is
"no difference." It is not until the Holy Spirit deals
with him that man is constrained to cry, "God be merciful to
me a sinner."
In the second place man is ignorant
of the way of salvation. Even when man has been brought to
the place where he recognizes that he is not prepared to meet
God, and that if he died in his present state he would be
eternally lost; even then he has no right conception of the
remedy. Being ignorant of God's righteousness he goes about to
establish his own righteousness. He supposes that he must make
some personal reparation for his past wrong-doings, that he must
work for his salvation, do something to merit the esteem of God,
and thus win heaven as a reward. The highest concept of man's
mind is that of merit. To him salvation is a wage to be
earned, a crown to be coveted, a prize to be won. The proof of
this is to be seen in the fact that even when pardon and life are
presented as a free gift, the universal tendency, at
first, is to regard it as being "too good to be true."
Yet, such is the plain teaching of God's Word - "For by
grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it
is the gift of God: not of works; lest any man should boast"
(Eph. 2:8-9). And again - "Not by works of righteousness
which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us"
(Titus 3:5).
If it is true that man left to
himself would never have fully realized his need of salvation,
and would never have discovered that it was by grace thro' faith
and not of works, how much less would the human mind have been
capable of rising to the level of what God's Word teaches about
the nature of salvation and the glorious and marvelous destiny
of the saved! Who would have thought that the Maker and Ruler
of the universe should lay hold of poor, fallen, depraved men and
women and lifting them out of the miry clay should make them His
own sons and daughters, and should seat them at His own table!
Who would ever have suggested that those who deserve naught but
everlasting shame and contempt, should be made "heirs of God
and joint-heirs with Christ"! Who would have dreamed that
beggars should be lifted from the dunghill of sin and made to sit
together with Christ in heavenly places! Who would have imagined
that the corrupted offspring of disobedient Adam should be
exalted to a position higher than that occupied by the unfallen
angels! Who would have dared to affirm that one day we shall be
"made like Christ" and "be for ever with the Lord"!
Such concepts were as far beyond the reach of the highest human
intellect as they were of the rudest savage. "But as it is
written, 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 God hath revealed them unto
us by His Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the
deep things of God" (I Cor. 2:9-10).
Again we ask, what human intellect
could have devised a means whereby God could be just and yet
merciful, merciful and yet just? What mortal mind would ever have
dreamed of a free and full salvation, bestowed on hell-deserving
sinners, "without money and without price"! And what
flight of carnal imagination would ever have conceived of the Son
of God Himself being "made sin" for us and dying the
Just for the unjust?
The teaching of the Bible
concerning the Saviour of sinners is unique. The
description which the Scriptures furnish of the Person, the
Character, and the Work of the Lord Jesus Christ is without
anything that approaches a parallel in the whole realm of
literature. It is easier to suppose that man could create a world
than to believe he invented the character of our adorable
Redeemer. Given a piece of machinery that is delicate, complex,
exact in all its movements, and we know it must be the product of
a competent mechanic. Given a work of art that is beautiful,
symmetrical, original, and we know it must be the product of a
master artist. None but an Angelo could have designed Saint
Peter's; none but a Raphael could have painted the "transfiguration;"
none but a Milton could have written a "Paradise Lost."
And, none but the Holy Spirit could have produced the peerless
portrait of the Lord Jesus which we find in the Gospels. In
Christ all excellencies combine. Here is one of the many
respects in which He differs from all other Bible characters. In
each of the great heroes of Scripture some trait stands out with
peculiar distinctness - Noah, faithful testimony; Abraham, faith
in God; Isaac, submission to his father; Joseph, love for his
brethren; Moses, unselfishness and meekness; Joshua, courage and
leadership; Job, fortitude and patience; Daniel, fidelity to God;
Paul, zeal in service; John, spiritual discernment - but in the
Lord Jesus every grace is found. Moreover, in Him all
these perfections were properly poised and balanced. He was meek
yet regal; He was gentle yet fearless; He was compassionate yet
just; He was submissive yet authoritative; He was Divine yet
human; add to these, the fact that He was absolutely "without
sin" and His uniqueness becomes apparent. Nowhere in all the
writings of antiquity is there to be found the presentation of
such a peerless and wondrous character.
Not only is the portrayal of
Christ's character without any rival, but the teaching of
the Bible concerning His Person and Work is also utterly
incredible on any other basis save that they are part of a Divine
revelation. Who would have dared to imagine the Creator
and Upholder of the universe taking upon Himself the form of a
servant and being made in the likeness of men? Who would have
conceived the idea of the Lord of Glory being born in a manger?
Who would have dreamed of the Object of angelic worship becoming
so poor that he had not where to lay His head? Who would have
declared that the One before whom the seraphim veil their faces
should be led as a lamb to the slaughter, should have suffered
His own blessed face to be defiled with the vile spittle of man,
and should permit the creatures of His hand to scourge and buffet
Him? Whoever would have conceived of Emmanuel becoming obedient
unto death, even the death of the Cross!
Here then is an argument which the
simplest can grasp. The Scriptures contain their own evidence
that they are Divinely inspired. Every page of Holy Writ
is stamped with Jehovah's autograph. The uniqueness of its
teachings demonstrates the uniqueness of its Source. The
teachings of the Scriptures about God Himself, about man, about
the world, about sin, about eternal punishment, about salvation,
about the Lord Jesus Christ, are proof that the Bible is not the
product of any man or any number of men, but is in truth a
revelation from God.
In Isaiah 41:21-23 we have what is
probably the most remarkable challenge to be found in the Bible.
"Produce your cause, saith the Lord; bring forth your strong
reasons, saith the King of Jacob. Let them bring them forth, and
show us what shall happen; let them show the former things, what
they be, that we may consider them, and know the latter end of
them; or declare us things for to come. Show the
things that are to come hereafter, that we may know that ye are
gods." This Scripture has both a negative and a positive
value: negatively it suggests an infallible criterion by which we
may test the claims of religious impostors; positively, it calls
attention to an unanswerable argument for the truthfulness of
God's Word. Jehovah bids the prophets of false faiths to
successfully predict events lying in the far distant future and
their success or failure will show whether or not they are gods
or merely pretenders and deceivers. On the other hand, the
demonstrated fact that God alone grasps the ages and in His Word
declares the end from the beginning, shows that he is God
and that Scriptures are His Inspired Revelation to mankind.
Again and again men have attempted
to predict future events but always with the most disastrous
failure, the anticipations of the most far-seeing and the
precautions of the wisest are mocked repeatedly by the bitter
irony of events. Man stands before an impenetrable wall of
darkness, he is unable to foresee the events of even the next
hour. None knows what a day may bring forth. To the finite mind
the future is filled with unknown possibilities. How then can we
explain the hundreds of detailed prophecies in the Scriptures
which have been literally fulfilled to the letter, hundreds of
years after they were uttered? How can we account for the fact
that the Bible successfully foretold hundreds, and in some
instances thousands of years beforehand, the History of the Jews,
the Course of the Gentiles, and the Experiences of the Church?
The most conservative of critics, and the most daring assailants
of God's Word are compelled to acknowledge that all the Books of
the Old Testament were written hundreds of years before the
incarnation of our Lord, hence, the actual and accurate
fulfillment of these prophecies can only be explained on the
hypothesis that "Prophecy came not at any time by the will
of men: but holy men of God, spake, moved by the Holy Ghost."
The Inspirer of the Scriptures has
told us that "We have also a more sure word of prophecy;
where unto ye do well that ye take heed as unto a light that
shineth in a dark place" (II Peter 1:19). In the limited
space at our command we shall appeal to but a few from among the
many fulfilled prophecies of God's Word, and shall limit
ourselves to those which have reference to the Person and
Work of the Lord Jesus Christ. The cumulative force of these
will be sufficient, we trust, to convince any impartial inquirer
that none other but the mind of God could have disclosed the
future and unveiled beforehand far distant events.
"The testimony of Jesus is the
Spirit of Prophecy." The Lamb of God is the one great object
and subject of the Prophetic Word. In Genesis 3:15 we have the
first word about the Coming of Christ. Speaking to the serpent,
Jehovah said, "And I will put enmity between thee and the
woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy
head, and thou shall bruise His heel." Note that the Coming
One was to be the "woman's seed," the Miraculous
Character of our Lord's Birth being thus foretold four thousand
years before He was born at Bethlehem!
In Genesis 22:18 we have the second
distinct Messianic prophecy. Unto Abraham, the angel of the Lord
declared, "And in thy seed shall all the nations of the
earth be blessed." Not only was the Saviour of sinners to be
human as well as Divine, not only was He to be the "woman's"
seed, but in the above Scripture it was declared that He should
be a descendant of Abraham - an Israelite. How this was fulfilled
we may see by a reference to the first verse in the New
Testament, where we are told (Matt. 1: 1) that Jesus Christ was
"The Son of David, the son of Abraham."
But still further was the compass
narrowed down, for we have intimated in the Old Testament
Scriptures the very tribe from which the Messiah was to
issue - our Lord was to come of the tribe of Judah (the
"kingly" tribe). He was to be a descendant of David.
Nathan the prophet was commanded by God to go and say to David,
"I will set up thy seed after thee, which shall
proceed out of thy bowels, and I will stablish His kingdom. He
shall build an house for My name, and I will stablish the throne
of His kingdom for ever" (II Sam. 7:12-13). And again, in
Psalm 132:11 David declares concerning the promised Messiah,
"The Lord hath sworn in truth unto David; (He will not turn
from it) Of the fruit of thy body will I set upon thy
throne.
Not only was our Lord's nationality
defined hundreds of years before His incarnation, but the very place
of His birth was also given. In Micah 5:2 we are informed,
"But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among
the thousands of Judah, but out of thee shall He come forth unto
Me that is to be Ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been
from of old, from the days of eternity." Christ was to be
born in Bethlehem, and not only in one of the several
villages which bore that name in Palestine, but Bethlehem of Judea
was to be the birth-place of the world's Redeemer; and though
Mary was a native of Nazareth (far distant from Bethlehem) yet
through the providence of God, His Word was literally fulfilled
by His Son being born in Bethlehem of Judea.
Further, the very time of
Messiah's appearing was given through both Jacob and Daniel (see
Gen. 49:10 and Daniel 9:24-26). Now in order to appreciate the
force of these marvelous, super-natural prophecies, let the
reader seek to foretell the nationality, place and time of the
birth of some one who shall be born in the twenty-fifth century A.
D., and then he will realize that none but a man inspired and
informed by God Himself could perform such an otherwise
impossible feat.
So definite and distinct were the
Old Testament prophecies respecting the Birth of Christ, that the
hope of Israel became the Messianic Hope; all their expectations
were centered in the coming of the Messiah. It is therefore the
more remarkable that their sacred Scriptures should contain
another set of prophecies which predicted that He should be
despised by His own nation and rejected by His own kinsmen. We
can only now call attention to one of the prophecies which
declared that the Messiah of Israel should be slighted and
scorned by His brethren according to the flesh.
In Isaiah 53:2-3 we read, "And
when we (Israel) shall see Him, there is no beauty that we should
desire Him. He is despised and rejected of men; a Man of sorrows,
and acquainted with grief; and we hid as it were our faces
from Him; He was despised, and we esteemed Him not!"
We pause here for a moment to enlarge upon this strange and
striking phenomenon.
For more than fifteen centuries the
Coming of the Messiah had been the one great national Hope of
Israel. From the cradle the sons of Abraham were taught to pray
and long for His advent. The eagerness with which they awaited
the appearing of the Star of Jacob is absolutely without parallel
in the history of any other nation. How then can we account for
the fact that when He did come He was despised and rejected? How
can we explain the fact that side by side with the intense
longing for the manifestation of their King, one of their own
prophets foretold that when He did appear men would hide their
faces from Him and esteem Him not? Finally, what explanation have
we to offer for the fact that such things were predicted
centuries before He came to this earth and that they were
literally fulfilled to the very letter? As another has said,
"No prediction could have seemed more improbable, and yet
none ever received a sadder and more complete fulfillment."
We pass on now to those predictions
which have reference to the death of our Lord. If
it was wonderful that an Israelitish prophet should foretell the
rejection of the Messiah by His own nation, what shall we say to
the fact that the Old Testament Scriptures prophesied in detail
concerning the manner or form of His death? Yet
again and again we find this to be the case! Let us examine a few
typical instances.
First, it was intimated that our
Lord should be betrayed and sold for the price of a common slave.
In Zechariah 11:12 we read, "So they weighed for My price thirty
pieces of silver." Who was it that was able to declare,
centuries before the event came to pass, the exact amount that
Judas should receive for his dastardly deed? In Isaiah 53:7 we
have another line in this marvelous picture which human wisdom
could not possibly have supplied - "He is brought as a lamb
to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so
He opened not His mouth." Who could have foreseen
this most unusual sight, of a prisoner standing before his judges
with his life at stake, yet attempting and offering no defense?
Yet this is precisely what did happen in connection with our
Lord, for we are told in Mark 15:5, "But Jesus yet answered
nothing; so that Pilate marveled." Again; who was it
that knew seven hundred years before the greatest tragedy of
human history was enacted that the Son of God, the King of the
Jews, the gentlest and meekest Man who ever trod our earth,
should be scourged and spat upon? Yet such an experience was
foretold: "I gave My back to the smiters, and My cheeks to
them that plucked off the hair: I hid not My face from shame and
spitting" (Is. 50:6).
Further; the form of capital
punishment reserved for Jewish criminals was "stoning
to death," and in David's time the experience of "crucifixion"
was entirely unknown, yet we find in Psalm 22:16 that Israel's
king was inspired to write, "They pierced My hands and My
feet!" Again; what human foresight could have seen that in
His thirst-agonies upon the cross our Lord should be given gall
and vinegar to drink? Yet it was declared a thousand years before
the Lord of Glory was nailed to the tree that, "They gave Me
also gall for My meat; and in My thirst they gave Me vinegar to
drink." (Ps. 69:21). Finally; we ask, how could David
foretell, unless he was inspired by the Holy Spirit, that our
Lord should be taunted by His enemies and challenged to come down
from the Cross? Yet in Psalm 22:7-8 we read, "All they that
see Me laugh Me to scorn: they shoot out the lip, they shake the
head, saying, He trusted on the Lord that He would deliver Him:
let Him deliver Him, seeing He delighted in Him." Such
examples as the above might be multiplied indefinitely, but
sufficient illustrations have already been given to warrant us in
saying that the fulfilled prophecies of the Bible bespeak the
omniscience of its Author.
Were it necessary, and had we the
space at our command, scores of additional fulfilled prophecies
relating to the History of Israel, the Course of the Gentiles,
and the Experiences of the Church - prophecies just as definite,
accurate, and remarkable as those relating to the Person of the
Lord Jesus Christ - could be given, but our present limits and
purpose forbid us so doing.
Having examined a few of the
startling prophecies which treat of the Birth and Death of our
Saviour, it now only remains for us to apply in a word the
significance of this argument. Many have read over these
Scriptures before and perhaps have regarded them as being
wonderfully descriptive of the Advent and Passion of Jesus
Christ, but how many have carefully weighed the fact that each of
these Scriptures were in indisputable existence more than five
hundred years before our Lord came to this earth?
Man is unable to accurately predict
events which are but twenty-four hours distant; only the Divine
Mind could have foretold the future, centuries before it came to
be. Hence, we affirm with the utmost confidence, that the
hundreds of fulfilled prophecies in the Bible attest and
demonstrate the truth that the Scriptures are the inspired,
infallible, inerrant Word of God.
"In the volume of the Book it
is written of Me" (Heb. 10:7). Christ is the Key to the
Scriptures. Said He, "Search the Scriptures..they are they which
testify of Me." (John 5:39), and the "Scriptures"
to which He had reference, were not the four Gospels for they
were not then written, but the writings of Moses and the prophets.
The Old Testament Scriptures then are something more than a
compilation of historical records, something more than a system
of social and religious legislation, something more than a code
of ethics. The Old Testament Scriptures are fundamentally a stage
on which is shown forth in vivid symbolism and ritualism the
whole plan of redemption. The events recorded in the Old
Testament were actual occurrences, yet they were also typical
prefigurations. Throughout the Old Testament dispensations God
caused to be shadowed forth in parabolic representation the whole
work of redemption by means of a constant and vivid appeal to the
senses. This was in full accord with a fundamental law in the
economy of God. Nothing is brought to maturity at once. As it is
in the natural world, so it is in the spiritual: there is first
the blade, then the ear, and then the full corn in the ear.
Concerning the Person and work of the Lord Jesus, God first gave
a series of pictorial representations, later a large number of
specific prophecies, and last of all, when the fullness of time
was come, God sent forth His own Son.
It is failure to discern the
typical import of the Old Testament Scriptures which has caused
so great a part of them to be slighted by so many readers of the
Bible. To multitudes of people the Pentateuch is little more than
a compilation of effete and meaningless ceremonial rites, and if
there is nothing in them more excellent than their outward
semblance, then, surely, it is passing strange that they should
find a place in the Word of God. Take Christ out of Old
Testament ritual and you are left with nothing but the dry and
empty shell of a nut. It is therefore a matter of small surprise
that those who see so little of Christ in the Old Testament
Scriptures should undervalue the instruction and edification to
be derived from every part of them, and that they entertain such
degrading ideas of their inspiration. Deny that there is a spiritual
meaning in all the laws and customs of the Israelites and what
food for the soul can be gathered from a study of them? Deny that
they are so many typical representations of Christ and His
Sacrifice for sin and you cast reproach on the name and wisdom of
God by suggesting that He instituted the carnal ordinances, the
cumbrous ceremonies, the propitiations by sacrifice of animals,
which are recorded in the opening Books of the Bible.
The typical import and the
spiritual value of the Jewish economy, both as a whole and in its
many parts, is expressly affirmed in the New Testament.
The Apostle Paul, when referring to the narratives and events
recorded in the Old Testament, declares that, "Whatsoever
things were written aforetime were written for our learning"
(Rom. 15:4). Later, when making mention of Israel's exodus from
Egypt and their journey through the wilderness, he affirms,
"Now these things were our examples" and "Now all
these things happened unto them for ensamples: (marg. "types")
and they are written for our admonition" (I Cor. 10:6-11).
Again; when commenting upon, and while expounding the spiritual
significance of the Tabernacle, he declares that it was "the
example and shadow of heavenly things" (Heb. 8:5). In
the next chapter he declares, "The Tabernacle...was a
figure for the time then present" (Heb. 9:8-9) and in
Hebrews 10 he states, "The law" had "a shadow of
good things to come" (10:1). From these declarations it is
evident that God Himself caused the Tabernacle to be erected
exactly according to the pattern which He had showed Moses, for
the express purpose that it should be a type for symbolizing
heavenly things. Hence it becomes our privilege and bounden duty
to seek by the help of the Holy Spirit to ascertain the meaning
of the types of the Old Testament.
In addition to the express
declarations of the New Testament quoted above, there are a
number of additional passages which also teach the same thing.
John the Baptist hailed our Saviour as "The Lamb of God
which taketh away the sin of the world," that is, as the
great Antitype of the sacrificial lambs of Old Testament
ritual. In His discourse with Nicodemus our Lord alluded to the
lifting up of the Brazen Serpent in the wilderness as a type of
His own lifting up on the Cross. Writing to the Corinthians the
Apostle Paul said, "Christ our Passover is sacrificed
for us" (I Cor. 5:7), thus signifying that Exodus 12 pointed
forward to the Lord Jesus. Writing to the Galatians the same
Apostle makes mention of the history of Abraham, his wives and
his children, and then states "which things are an
allegory" (Gal. 4:24). Now there are many brethren who
will own the typical significance of these things, but who
refuse to acknowledge that anything else in the Old Testament has
a typical meaning save those which are expressly interpreted in
the New. But this we conceive to be a mistake and to place a
limit upon the scope and value of the Word of God. Rather let us
regard those Old Testament types which are expounded in
the New Testament as samples of others which are not
explained. Are there no more prophecies in the Old Testament than
those which, in the New Testament, are said to be "fulfilled"?
Assuredly. Then let us admit the same concerning the types.
Several volumes would be filled
were we to dwell upon everything in the Old Testament which has a
typical meaning and spiritual application. All we can now attempt
is to single out a few illustrations as samples, leaving our
readers to pursue further this entrancing study for themselves.
The very first chapter of Genesis
is rich in its spiritual contents. Not only does it give us the
only reliable and authentic account of the creation of this
world, but it also reveals God's order in the work of the new
creation. In Genesis 1:1 we have the original or primitive
creation - "in the beginning". From the next verse we
infer that some dreadful calamity followed. The handiwork of God
was marred, "the earth became (not "was") without
form and void" - a desolate waste and empty ruin. The earth
was submerged. A scene of dreariness and death is introduced -
"and darkness was upon the face of the deep." Not only
was this the history of the earth, but it was also the history of
man. In the beginning he was created by God - created in the
image and likeness of his Maker. But a terrible calamity followed.
An enemy appeared on the scene. The heart of the creature was
seduced, unbelief and disobedience being the consequence. Man
fell, and awful was his fall. God's image was broken: human
nature was ruined by sin: desolation and death took the place of
God's likeness and life. In consequence of his sin, man's mind
was blinded and darkness rested upon the face of his
understanding.
Next, we read in Genesis 1, of the
work reconstruction. The order followed is profoundly significant
- "The Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters. And
God said, Let there be light: and there was light" (vs. 3-4).
The parallel holds good in regeneration. In the work of the new
birth which is performed within the darkened and spiritually dead
sinner, the Spirit of God is the prime mover, convicting the soul
of its lost and ruined condition and revealing the need of the
appointed Saviour. The instrument that He employs is the written
Word, the Word of God, and in every genuine conversion God says,
"Let there be light," and there is light. "For
God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath
shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the
glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ" (II Cor. 4:6). The
parallel might be followed much further, but sufficient has been
said to show that beneath the actual history of Genesis 1 may be
discerned by the anointed eye the spiritual history of the
believer's new creation, and as such it bears the stamp of its
Divine Author and evidences the fact that the opening chapter of
the Bible is no mere human compilation.
In the coats of skin with which the
Lord God clothed our first parents we have an incident that is
full of spiritual instruction and which could never have been
invented by man. To obtain these skins life had to be taken,
blood had to be shed, the innocent (animals) must die in the
place of Adam and Eve who were guilty, so as to provide a
covering for them. Thus, the Gospel truths of redemption by blood-shedding
and salvation thro' a substitutionary sacrifice, were preached in
Eden. Be it noted that man did not have to provide a covering for
himself any more than the "prodigal son" did, nor were
they asked to clothe themselves any more than was he: in the one
case we read, "The Lord God made coats of skins and
clothed them" (Gen. 3:21), and in the other the command
was, "Bring forth the best robe, and put it on him"
(Luke 15:22), and both speak of "the robe of righteousness"
(Is. 61:10) which is furnished in Christ.
In the offerings which Cain and
Abel presented to the Lord, and in the response which they met
with, we discover a foreshadowing of New testament truths. Abel
brought of the firstlings of the flock with their fat. He
recognized that he was alienated from God and could not draw nigh
to Him without a suitable offering. He saw that his own life was
forfeited thro' sin, that justice clamored for his death, and
that his only hope lay in another (a lamb) dying in his
stead. By faith Abel presented his bloody offering to God and it
was accepted. On the other hand, Cain refused to take the place
of a lost sinner before God. He refused to acknowledge that death
was his due. He refused to place his confidence in a sacrificial
substitute. He brought as an offering to God the fruits of the
ground - the product of his own labors and in consequence, his
offering was rejected. Thus, at the commencement of human history
we have shown forth the fact that salvation is by grace thro'
faith and altogether apart from works (Eph. 2: 8-9).
In the great Deluge and the ark in
which Noah and his house found shelter, we have a typification of
great spiritual verities. From them we learn that God takes
cognizance of the doings of His creatures; that He is holy and
sin is abhorrent to Him; that His righteousness requires Him to
punish sin and destroy sinners. Yet, here also we learn that in
judgment God remembers mercy, that He has no pleasure in the
death of the wicked; that His grace provides a refuge if only His
sinful creatures will avail themselves of His provision. Yet only
in one place can deliverance from the Divine wrath be found. In
the ark alone is safety and security. And, in like manner, today,
there is only one Saviour for sinners, and that is the Lord Jesus
Christ, "Neither is there salvation in any other: for there
is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must
be saved" (Act 4:12).
In the deliverance of Israel from
Egypt and their wilderness journey we see portrayed the history
of God's people in the present dispensation. We, too, were living
in a world "without God and without hope." We, too,
were in bondage to the cruel taskmasters of sin and Satan. We,
too, were in imminent danger of falling beneath the sword of the
avenging Angel of Justice. But, for us, too, a way of escape was
provided. For us, too, a Lamb was slain. Unto us, too, was given
the precious promise, "When I see the blood I will
pass over you" (Exod. 12:13). And we, too, were redeemed by
Almighty power and were "delivered from the power of
darkness and translated into the kingdom of God's dear Son"
(Col. 1:13)
After our exodus from Egypt there
lies before us a pilgrim journey thro' a barren and hostile
wilderness as we journey toward the Promised Land. We have to
pass thro' a strange country and meet with enemy forces, that we
are unable to overcome in our own strength. For these tasks our
own resources - the things we brought with us out of Egypt - are
altogether inadequate, and thus we, too, are cast upon the
sufficiency of Israel's God. And blessed be His name, ample
provision is made for us and grace is furnished for every need.
For us there is heavenly manna in the exceeding great and
precious promises of God. For us there comes water out of the
Smitten Rock in the person of the Holy Spirit (John 7:38-39) who
refreshes our souls by taking of the things of Christ and showing
them unto us and who strengthens us with might in the inner man.
For us too, there is a pillar of cloud and fire to guide us by
day and by night in the Holy Scriptures which are a lamp unto our
feet and a light unto our path. For us, too, there is One to
counsel and direct us, to intercede for us and help us overcome
our Amalekites in the Captain of our salvation who has said,
"Lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end." And, at
the close of our pilgrimage we shall enter a fairer land than
that which flowed with milk and honey for we have been begotten
"to an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled, and that
faded not away, reserved in heaven" for us.
Let the careful and impartial
reader weigh thoroughly what has been said above, and surely it
is evident that the numerous resemblances between the story of
Israel and the spiritual history of God's children in this
dispensation cannot be so many coincidences, and can only be
accounted for on the ground that the writings of Moses were
inspired by the Living God.
The history of Israel in Canaan as
the professed people of God corresponds with the history of the
professing church in the New Testament dispensation. After Moses,
the one who led Israel out from their Egyptian bondage, came
Joshua who led Israel in their conquest of Canaan. So after our
Lord left this earth, He sent the Holy Spirit who through the
Apostles caused the Jericho's and Ai's of Paganism to be
overthrown and the greater part of the world to be evangelized.
But after their occupancy of Canaan Israel's history was a sad
one, being characterized by spiritual declination and departure
from God. So it was with the professing church. Very quickly
after the death of the Apostles heresy corrupted the Christian
profession, and just as Israel of old grew tired of a theocracy
and demanded a human head and king, like the nations which
surrounded them, so the professing church became dissatisfied
with the New Testament form of church government and submitted to
the domination of a pope. And just as Israel's kings became more
and more corrupt until God would bear with them no longer and
sold His people into captivity, so after the setting up of the
Papal See there followed the long period of the Dark Ages when
Europe was subjected to a spiritual bondage and when the Word of
God was bound in chains. Then, just as God raised up Ezra and
Nehemiah to recover the living oracle and to lead out of their
captivity a remnant of His people, so in the sixteenth century, A.
D., God raised up Luther and honored contemporaries to bring
about the great Reformation of Protestantism. Finally: just as
after the days of Ezra and Hehemiah the Jews in Palestine
witnessed a marked spiritual declination, ultimately lapsing into
the ritualism of the Pharisees and the rationalism of the
Sadducees from which God's elect were delivered only by the
appearing of His own Son, so has history repeated itself. Since
Reformation and the last of the Puritans, Christendom has moved
swiftly in the direction of the predicted apostasy, and today we
have reproduced the ancient Phariseeism in the rapid spread of
Roman Catholicism, and the ancient Sadduceeism in the far-reaching
effects of the infidelistic Higher Criticism: and as it was
before, so it will be again - God's elect will be delivered only
by the reappearing of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.
Thus we see how wonderfully and
accurately the Old testament history runs parallel with and
anticipated the history of the professing church in the New
Testament dispensation. It has been truly said that "Coming
events cast their shadows before them," and who but He who
knows the end from the beginning and who upholds all things by
the word of His power, could have caused the shadow of the Old
Testament to have taken the shape they did, and thus give a true
and comprehensive parabolic setting forth of that which has taken
place thousands of years later!
But not only do the broad outlines
of Old Testament history possess a typical meaning, everything in
the Old Testament Scriptures has a spiritual value.
Every battle fought by the
Israelites, every change in the administration of their
government, every detail in their elaborate ceremonialism, and
every personal biography narrated in the Bible, is designed for
our instruction and edification. The Bible contains nothing that
is superfluous. From beginning to end the Scriptures testify of
Christ. Inanimate objects like the ark, which tells of security
in Christ from the storms of Divine wrath; like the manna, which
speaks of Him as the Bread of Life; like the brazen Serpent
uplifted on the pole, of the Tabernacle, which presents Him as
the meeting place of God and men - all foreshadowed the Redeemer.
Living creatures like the Passover Lamb, the sacrificial
bullocks, goats and rams, all pointed forward in general and in
detail to the great Sacrifice for sins. Institutions like the
Passover which prefigured His death; like the waving of the first-fruits,
which forecast His resurrection; like the fast of Pentecost with
its two loaves baken with leaven, telling of the uniting into one
Body of the Jew and the Gentile; like the Burnt, the Meal and the
Peace "sweet savor" offerings, which proclaimed the
excellency of Christ's person in the esteem of God - all
emblemized our blessed Saviour. And, many of the leading
personages of Old Testament biography gave a remarkable
delineation of our Lord's character and earthly ministry.
Abel was a type of Christ. His name
signifies vanity and emptiness which foreshadowed the Lord Jesus
who "made Himself of no reputation," literally "emptied
Himself" (Phil. 2:7), when He assumed the nature of man
who is "like unto vanity" (Ps. 72:9). By calling, Abel,
was a shepherd, and it was in his shepherd character he brought
an offering to God, namely, the firstlings of his flock -
speaking of the Good Shepherd who offered Himself to God. The
offering which Abel brought to God is termed an "excellent"
one (Heb. 11:4) and as such it pointed forward to the precious
blood of Christ, the value of which cannot be estimated in
silver and gold. Abel's offering was accepted by God, God "testifying"
His approval of it; and, in like manner, God publicly witnessed
to His acceptance of Christ's sacrifice when He raised Him from
the Dead (Acts 2:32). Abel's offering still speaks to God
- "by it he being dead, yet speaketh;" so, too,
Christ's offering "speaks" to God (Heb. 12:24). Though
guilty of no offense, Abel was hated by his brother and cruelly
slain at his hand, foreshadowing the treatment which the Lord
Jesus received at the hands of the Jews - His brethren according
to the flesh.
Isaac was a type of Christ. he was
the child of promise. His nativity was announced by an angel. He
was supernaturally begotten. He was born at an appointed time. He
was named by God (Gen. 1: 18-19). He was the "seed" to
whom the promises were made and thro' whom they were secured. He
became obedient unto death. He carried on his own shoulder the
wood on which he was to be offered. He was securely fastened to
the alter. He was presented as a sacrifice to God. He was offered
on Mount Moriah - the same on which,two thousand years later,
Jesus Christ was offered. And, it was on the "third day"
that Abraham received him back "in a figure" from the
dead (Heb. 11:19).
Joseph is a type of Christ. He was
Jacob's well-beloved son. He readily responded to his father's
will when asked to go on a mission to his brethren. While seeking
his brethren he became a "wanderer in the field" (Gen.
37:15) - the "field" figuring the world (see Matt. 13:38).
He found his brethren in Dothan which signifies the law - so the
Lord Jesus found His brethren under the bondage of the law. His
brethren mocked and refused to receive him. His brethren took
counsel together against him that they might put him to death.
Judah (Judas is the Greek form of the same word) advised his
brethren to sell Joseph to the Ishmaelites. After he had been
rejected by his brethren, Joseph was taken down into Egypt in
order that he might become a Saviour to the world. While in
Egypt, Joseph was tempted, not without any compromise he put from
him the evil solicitation. He was falsely accused and thro' no
fault of his own was cast into prison. There he was the
interpreter of dreams - the one who threw light on what was
mysterious. In prison he became the savor of life to the butler,
and the savor of death to the baker. After a period of
humiliation and shame, he was exalted to the throne of Egypt.
From that throne he administered bread to a hungering and
perishing humanity. Subsequently Joseph became known to his
brethren, and in fulfillment of what he had previously announced
to them, they bowed down before him and owned his sovereignty.
Moses was a type of Christ. Moses
became the adopted son of Pharaoh's daughter - so that legally he
had a mother but no father, thus typifying our Lord's
miraculous birth of a virgin. During infancy his life was
endangered by the evil designs of the ... ruler. Like Christ's,
his early life was spent in Egypt. Later, he renounced the
position of royalty, refusing to be called the son of Pharaoh's
daughter; and he who was rich, for the sake of his people, became
poor. Before he commenced His life's work, a long period was
spent in Midian in obscurity. Here he received a call and
commission from God to go to deliver his brethren out of their
terrible bondage. The credentials of his mission were seen in the
miracles which he performed. Though despised and rejected by the
rulers in Egypt, he, nevertheless, succeeded in delivering his
own people. Subsequently, he became the leader and head of all
Israel. In character he was the meekest man in all the earth. In
all God's house he was faithful as a servant. In the wilderness
he sent twelve men to spy out Canaan as our Lord sent out the
twelve Apostles to preach the Gospel. He fasted for forty days.
On the mount he was transfigured so that the skin of his face
shone. He acted as God's prophet to the people, as as the
people's intercessor before God. He was the only man mentioned in
the Old Testament that was prophet, priest and king. He was the
giver of a Law, the builder of a Tabernacle, and the organizer of
a Priesthood. His last act was to "bless the people (Deut.
33:29), as our Lord's last act was to "bless" His
disciples (Luke 24:50).
Samson was a type of Christ - see
the Book on Judges. An angel announced his birth (13:3). From
birth he was a Nazarite (13:5) - separated to God. Before he was
born it was promised that he should be a saviour to Israel (13:5).
He was treated unkindly by his own nation (15:11-13). He was
delivered up to the Gentiles by his own countrymen (15:12). He
was mocked and cruelly treated by the Gentiles (16:19-21, 25) yet
he was a mighty deliverer of Israel. His miracles were performed
under the power of the Holy Spirit (14:19). He accomplished more
in his death than he did in his life (16:30). He was imprisoned
in the enemy's stronghold; the gates were barred, and a watch was
set; yet, rising up at midnight, in the early hours of the
morning - "a great while before day" - he burst the
bars, broke open the gate, and issued forth triumphant - a
remarkable type of our Lord's resurrection. He occupied the
position of "judge," as our Lord will in the last great
day.
David was a type of Christ. He was
born in Bethlehem. He is described as "of a beautiful
countenance and goodly to look upon." His name means "the
beloved." By occupation he was a shepherd. During his
shepherd life he entered into conflict with wild beasts. He slew
Goliath - the opposer of God's people and a type of Satan. From
the obscurity of shepherdhood he was exalted to Israel's throne.
He was anointed as king before he was coronated. He was
preeminently a man of prayer (see the Psalms) and is the only one
in Scripture termed "The man after God's own heart." He
was a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief, suffering chiefly
from those of his own household. Repeated attempts were made upon
his life by Israel's ruler. When his enemy (Saul) was in his
power he refused to slay him, instead, he dealt with him in mercy
and grace. He delivered Israel from all their enemies and
vanquished all their foes.
Solomon was a type of Christ. He
was Israel's king. His name signifies "Peaceable,"
and he foreshadows the millennial reign of the Lord Jesus
when He shall rule as Prince of Peace. He was chosen and ordained
of God before he was crowned. He rode upon another's mule, not as
a warrior, but as the king of peace in lowly guise (I Kings 1:33).
Gentiles took part in the coronation of Solomon (I Kings 1:38)
typifying the universal homage which Christ shall receive
during the millennium. The Cherethites and Pelethites were
soldiers, so that Solomon was followed by an army at the time of
his coronation (I Kings 1:33; cp. Rev. 19:11). Solomon began his
reign by showing mercy to and yet demanding righteousness from
Adonijah (I Kings 1:51) - such will be the leading
characteristics of Christ's millennial government. Solomon was
the builder of Israel's Temple (cp. Acts 15:16). At the
dedication of the Temple, Solomon was the one who offered
sacrifices unto the Lord: thus the king fulfilled the office of
priest (I Kings 8:63), which typifies the Lord Jesus who "shall
be a Priest upon His throne" (Zech. 6:13). Solomon's "fame"
went abroad far and wide and "all the earth sought to
Solomon" (I Kings 10:24). The queen of Sheba, representing
the Gentiles, came up to Jerusalem to pay him homage (I
Kings 10) as all the nations will to Christ during the millennium
(see Zech. 14:16). All Israel's land enjoyed rest and peace. The
glory and magnificence of Solomon's reign has never been equaled
before or since - "And the Lord magnified Solomon
exceedingly in the sight of all Israel, and bestowed upon him
such royal majesty as had not been on any king before him in
Israel" (I Chron. 29:25).
In the above types we have not
sought to be exhaustive but suggestive by singling out only the
leading lines in each typical picture. There are many other Old
Testament characters who were types of Christ which we cannot now
consider at length: - Adam typified His Headship; Enoch His
Ascension; Noah as the provider of a Refuge; Jacob as the one who
served for a Wife; Aaron as the great High Priest; Joshua as the
Captain of our salvation; Samuel as the Faithful Prophet; Elijah
as the Miracle worker; Jeremiah as the despised and rejected
Servant of God; Daniel as the Faithful Witness for God; Jonah as
the One raised from the dead on the third day.
In closing this chapter let us
apply the argument. Of the many typical persons in the Old
Testament who prefigure the Lord Jesus Christ, the striking, the
accurate, and the manifold lights, in which each exhibits Him is
truly remarkable. No two of them represent Him from exactly the
same viewpoint. Each one contributes a line or two to the
picture, but all are needed to give a complete delineation. That
an authentic history should supply a series of personages
in different ages, whose characters, offices, and histories,
should exactly correspond with those of Another who did not
appear upon earth until centuries later, can only be accounted
for on the supposition of Divine appointment. When we consider
the utter dissimilarity of these typical persons to one another;
when we note that they had little or nothing in common with each
other; when we remember that each of them represents some
peculiar feature in a composite Anti type; we discover that we
have a literary phenomenon which is truly remarkable. Abel,
Isaac, Joseph, Moses, Samson, David, Solomon (and all the others)
are each deficient when viewed separately; but when looked at in
conjunction they form an harmonious whole, and give us a complete
representation of our Lord's miraculous birth, His peerless
character, His life's mission, His sacrificial death, His
triumphant resurrection, His ascension to heaven, and His
millennial reign. Who could have invented such character? How
remarkable that the earliest history in the world, extending from
the creation and reaching to the last of the prophets - written
by various hands thro' a period of fifteen centuries - should
from start to finish concentrate in a single point, and that
point the person and work of the blessed Redeemer! Verily, such
a Book must have been written by God - no other
conclusion is possible. Beneath the historical we discern the
spiritual: behind the incidental we behold the typical:
underneath the human biographies we see the form of Christ, and
in these things we discover on every page of the Old Testament
the "watermark" of heaven.
The manner in which the Bible has
been produced argues against its unity. The Bible was penned on
two continents, written in three languages, and its composition
and compilation extended through the slow progress of sixteen
centuries. The various parts of the Bible were written at
different times and under the most varying circumstances. Parts
of it were written in tents, deserts, cities, palaces and
dungeons; in times of imminent danger and in seasons of ecstatic
joy. Among its writers were judges, kings, priests, prophets,
patriarchs, prime ministers, herdsmen, scribes, soldiers,
physicians and fishermen. Yet despite these varying
circumstances, conditions and workmen, the Bible is one Book,
behind its many parts there is an unmistakable organic unity. It
contains one system of doctrine, one code of
ethics, one plan of salvation and one rule of faith.
Now if forty different men were
selected today from such varying stations and callings of life as
to include clerks, rulers, politicians, judges, clergy, doctors,
farm laborers and fishermen, and each was asked to contribute a
chapter for some book on theology or church government, when
their several contributions were collected and bound together,
would there be any unity about them, could that book truly be
said to be one book; or would not their different
productions vary so much in literary value, diction and matter as
to be merely a heterogeneous mass, a miscellaneous collection?
Yet we do not find this to be the case in connection with God's
Book. Although the Bible is a volume of sixty-six Books, written
by forty different men, treating of such a large variety of
themes as to cover nearly the whole range of human inquiry, we
find it is one Book, the Book (not the books), the
Bible.
Further; if we were to select
specimens of literature from the third, fifth, tenth, fifteenth
and twentieth centuries of the Christian era and were to bind
them together, what unity and harmony should we find in such a
collection? Human writers reflect the spirit of their own day and
generation and the compositions of men living amid widely
differing influences and separated by centuries of time have
little or nothing in common with each other. Yet although the
earliest portions of the Sacred Canon date back to at least the
fifteenth century, B. C., while the writings of John were not
completed till the close of the first century, A. D.,
nevertheless, we find a perfect harmony throughout the Scriptures
from the first verse in Genesis to the last verse in Revelation.
The great ethical and spiritual lessons presented in the Bible,
by whoever taught, agree.
The more one really studies the
Bible the more one is convinced that behind the many human mouths
there is One overruling, controlling Mind. Imagine forty persons
of different nationalities, possessing various degrees of musical
culture visiting the organ of some cathedral and at long
intervals of time, and without any collusion whatever, striking
sixty-six different notes, which when combined yielded the theme
of the grandest oratorio ever heard: would it not show that
behind these forty different men there was one presiding mind,
one great Tone master? As we listen to some great orchestra, with
an immense variety of instruments playing their different parts,
but producing melody and harmony, we realize that at the back of
these many musicians there is the personality and genius of the
composer. And when we enter the halls of the Divine Academy and
listen to the heavenly choirs singing the Song of Redemption, all
in perfect accord and unison, we know that it is God Himself who
has written the music and put this song into their mouths.
We now submit two illustrations
which demonstrate the unity of the Holy Scriptures. Certain grand
conceptions run through the entire Bible like a cord on which are
strung so many precious pearls. First and foremost among them is
the Divine Plan of Redemption. Just as the scarlet thread runs
through all the cordage of the British Navy, so a crimson aura
surrounds every page of God's Word.
In the Scriptures the Plan of
Redemption is central and fundamental. In Genesis we have
recorded the Creation and Fall of man to show that he has the
capacity for and is in need of redemption. Next we find the
Promise of the Redeemer, for man requires to have before him the
hope and expectation of a Saviour. Then follows an elaborate
system of sacrifices and offerings and these represent
pictorially the nature of redemption and the condition under
which salvation is realized. At the commencement of the New
Testament we have the four Gospels and they set forth the Basis
of Redemption, namely, the Incarnation, Life, Death, Resurrection
and Ascension of the Redeemer. Next comes the Book of the Acts
which illustrates again and again the Power of Redemption,
showing that it is adequate to work its great results in the
salvation of both Jew and Gentile. Finally, in the Revelation, we
are shown the ultimate triumphs of redemption, the Goal of
Salvation - the redeemed dwelling with God in perfect union and
communion. Thus we see that though a large number of human media
were employed in the writing of the Bible, yet their productions
are not independent of each other, but are complementary and
supplementary parts of one great whole; that one sublime truth is
common to them all, namely, man's need of redemption and God's
provision of a Redeemer. And the only explanation of this fact
is, that "All Scripture is given by inspiration of
God."
Secondly; among all the many
personalities presented in the Bible, we find that one stands out
above all others, not merely prominent but preeminent. Just as in
the scene unveiled in the fifth chapter of the Revelation we find
the Lamb in the center of the heavenly throngs, so we find that
in the Scriptures also, the Lord Jesus Christ is accorded the
place which alone befits His unique Person. Considered from one
standpoint the Scriptures are really the biography of the Son of
God.
In the Old Testament we have the Promise
of our Lord's Incarnation and Mediatorial work. In the Gospels we
have the Proclamation of His Mission and the Proofs of
His Messianic claims and authority. In the Acts we have a
demonstration of His saving Power and the execution of His
missionary Program. In the Epistles we find an exposition
and amplification of His Precepts for the education of His
People. While in the Apocalypse we behold the unveiling or Presentation
of His Person and the Preparation of the earth for
His Presence. The Bible is therefore seen to be peculiarly
the Book of Jesus Christ. Christ not only testified
to the Scriptures but each section of the Scriptures testify of
Him. Every page of the Holy Book has stamped upon it His
photograph and every chapter bears His autograph. He is its one
great theme, and the only explanation of this fact is that, the
Holy Spirit superintended the work of each and every writer of
the Scriptures.
The unity of the Scriptures is
further to be seen on the fact that they are entirely free from
any real contradictions. Though different writers often described
the same incidents - as for example the four evangelists
recording the facts relating to our Lord's ministry and
redemptive work - and though there is considerable variety in the
narrations of these, yet there are no real discrepancies. The
harmony existing between them does not appear on the surface,
but, often, is only discovered by protracted study, though it is
there nevertheless. Moreover, there is perfect agreement of
doctrine between all the writers in the Bible. The teaching of
the prophets and the teaching of the Apostles on the great truths
of God's righteousness, the demands of His holiness, the utter
ruin of man, the exceeding sinfulness of sin, and the way of
salvation, is entirely harmonious. This might appear a thing
easily effected. But those who are acquainted with human nature,
and have read widely the writings of men, will acknowledge that
nothing but the inspiration of the writers can explain this fact.
Nowhere can we find two uninspired writers, however similar they
may have been in their religious sentiments, who agree in all
points of doctrine. Nay, entire consistency of sentiment is not
to be found even in the writings of the same author at different
periods. In his later years Spurgeon's statement of some
doctrines was much more modified than the utterances of his
earlier days. Increasing knowledge causes men to change their
views upon many subjects. But among the writers of Scripture
there is the most perfect harmony, because they obtained their
knowledge of truth and duty not by the efforts of study, but from
inspiration by the Holy Spirit of God.
When therefore we find that in the
productions of forty different men there is perfect accord and
concord, unison and unity, harmony in all their teachings, and
the same conceptions pervading all their writings, the conclusion
is irresistible that behind their minds, and guiding their hands,
there was the master-mind of God Himself. Does not the unity of
the Bible illustrate the Divine Inspiration of the Bible and
demonstrate the truth of its own assertion that "God
(who) at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past
unto the fathers by the prophets" (Heb. 1:1)?
The influence of the Bible is world-wide.
Its mighty power has affected every department of human activity.
The contents of the Scriptures have supplied themes for the
greatest poets, artists and musicians which the world has yet
produced, and have been the mightiest factor of all in shaping
the moral progress of the race. Let us consider a few examples of
the Bible's influence as displayed in the various realms of human
enterprise.
Take away such sublime oratorios as
"Elijah" and "The Messiah," and you have
taken out of the realm of music something which can never be
duplicated; destroy the countless hymns which have drawn their
inspiration from the Scriptures and you have left us little else
worth singing. Eliminate from the compositions of Tennyson,
Wordsworth and Carlisle every reference to the moral and
spiritual truths taught in God's Word and you have stripped them
of their beauty and robbed them of their fragrance. Take down
from off the walls of our best Art Galleries those pictures which
portray scenes and incidents in the history of Israel and the
life of our Lord and you have removed the richest gems from the
crown of human genius. Remove from our statute books every law
which is founded upon the ethical conceptions of the Bible and
you have annihilated the greatest factor in modern civilization.
Rob our libraries of every book which is devoted to the work of
elaborating and disseminating the precepts and concepts of Holy
Writ and you have taken from us that which cannot be valued in
dollars and cents.
The Bible has done more for the
emancipation and civilization of the heathen than all the forces
which the human arm can wield, put together. Someone has said,
"Draw a line around the nations which have the Bible and you
will then have divided between barbarism and civilization,
between thrift and poverty, between selfishness and charity,
between oppression and freedom, between life and the shadow of
death." Even Darwin had to concede the miraculous element in
the triumphs of the missionaries of the cross.
Here are two or three men who land
on a savage island. Its inhabitants posses no literature and have
no written language. They regard the white man as their enemy and
have no desire to be shown "the error of their ways."
They are cannibals by instinct and little better than the brute
beasts in their habits of life. The missionaries who have entered
their midst have no money with which to buy their friendship, no
army to compel their obedience and no merchandise to stir their
avarice. Their only weapon is "the Sword of the Spirit,"
their only capital "the unsearchable riches of Christ,"
their only offer the invitation of the Gospel. Yet somehow they
succeed, and without the shedding of any blood gain the victory.
In a few short years naked savagery is changed to the garb of
civilization, lust is transformed into purity, cruelty is now
kindness, avarice has become unselfishness, and where before
vindictiveness existed there is now to be seen meekness and the
spirit of loving self-sacrifice. And this has been accomplished
by the Bible! This miracle is still being repeated in every part
of the earth! What other book, or library of books, could work
such a result? Is it not evident to all that the Book which does
exert such a unique and unrivaled influence must be vitalized by
the life of God Himself?
This wonderful characteristic,
namely the unique influence of the Bible, is rendered the more
remarkable when we take into account the antiquity of the
Scriptures! The last Books which were added to the Sacred Canon
are now more than eighteen hundred years old, yet the workings of
the Bible are as mighty in their effects today as they were in
the first century of the Christian era.
The power of man's books soon wane
and disappear. With but few exceptions the productions of the
human intellect enjoy a brief existence. As a general rule the
writings of man within fifty years of their first public
appearance lie untouched on the top shelves of our libraries.
Man's writings are like himself - dying creatures. Man comes onto
the age of this world, plays his part in the drama of life,
influences the audience while he is acting, but is forgotten as
soon as the curtain falls upon his brief career; so it is with
his writings. While they are fresh and new they amuse, interest
or instruct as the wise may be, and then die a natural death.
Even the few exceptions to this rule only exert a very limited
influence, their power is circumscribed; they are unread by the
great majority, yea, are unknown to the biggest portion of our
race. But how different with God's Book! The written Word, like
the Living Word, is "The same yesterday, and today, and for
ever," and unlike any other book it has made its way into
all countries and speaks with equal clearness, directness and
force to all men in their mother tongue. The Bible never becomes
antiquated, its vitality never diminishes and its influence is
more irresistible and universal today than it was two thousands
years ago. Such facts as these declare with no uncertain voice
that the Bible is endued with the same Divine life and energy as
its Author, for in no other way can we account for its marvelous
influence through the centuries and its mighty power upon the
world.
THE MIRACULOUS POWER OF THE BIBLE SHOWS FORTH THAT ITS INSPIRER IS THE ALMIGHTY
In Hebrews 4:12 we have a Scripture
which draws attention to this peculiar characteristic of the
Bible - "For the Word of God is quick, and powerful, and
sharper than any two edged sword, piercing even to the dividing
asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and
is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart."
The writings of men may sometimes stir the emotions, search the
conscience, and influence the human will, but in a manner and
degree possessed by no other book the Bible convicts men of their
guilt and lost estate. The Word of God is the Divine mirror, for
in it man reads the secrets of his own guilty soul and sees the
vileness of his own evil nature. In a way absolutely peculiar to
themselves, the Scriptures discern the thoughts and intents of
the heart and reveal to men the fact that they are lost sinners
and in the presence of a Holy God.
Some thirty years ago there resided
in one of the Temples of Thibet a Buddhist priest who had
conversed with no Christian missionary, had heard nothing about
the cross of Christ, and had never seen a copy of the Word of God.
One day while searching for something in the temple, he came
across a transcription of Matthew's Gospel, which years before
had been left there by a native who had received it from some
traveling missionary. His curiosity aroused, the Buddhist priest
commenced to read it, but when he reached the eighth verse in the
fifth chapter he paused and pondered over it: "Blessed are
the pure in heart: for they shall see God." Although he knew
nothing about the righteousness of his Maker, although he was
quite ignorant concerning the demands of God's holiness, yet he
was there and then convicted of his sins, and a work of Divine
grace commenced in his soul. Month after month went by and each
day he said to himself, "I shall never see God, for I am
impure in heart." Slowly but surely the work of the Holy
Spirit deepened within him until he saw himself as a lost sinner;
vile, guilty, and undone.
After continuing for more than a
year in this miserable condition the priest one day heard that a
"foreign devil" was visiting a town nearby and selling
books which spoke about God. The same night the Buddhist priest
fled from the temple and journeyed to the town where the
missionary was residing. On reaching his destination he sought
out the missionary and at once said to him, "Is it true that
only those who are pure in heart will see God?" "Yes,"
replied the missionary, "but the same Book which tells you
that, also tells you how you may obtain a pure heart,"
and then he talked to him about our Lord's atoning work and how
that "the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanseth us from
all sin." Quickly the light of God flooded the soul of the
Buddhist priest and he found the peace which "passeth all
understanding." Now what other book in the world outside of
the Bible, contains a sentence or even a chapter which, without
the aid of any human commentator, is capable of convincing and
convicting a heathen that he is a lost sinner? Does not the fact
of the miraculous power of the Bible, which has been illustrated
by thousands of fully authenticated cases similar to the above,
declare that the Scriptures are the inspired Word of God, vested
with the same might as their Omnipotent Author?
A single incident which was brought
before the notice of the writer must suffice to illustrate the
above mentioned truth.
Some forty years ago a Christian
gentleman stood upon the quay of the Liverpool docks distributing
tracts to the sailors. In the course of his work he handed one to
a man who was just embarking on a voyage to China, and with an
oath the sailor took it, crumpled it up and thrust it into his
pocket. Some three weeks after, this sailor was down in his cabin
and needing a "spell" with which to light his pipe felt
in his pocket for the necessary paper and drew out the little
tract which he had received in Liverpool. On recognizing it he
uttered a terrible oath and tore the paper in pieces. One small
fragment adhered to his tarry hand and glancing at it he saw
these words, "Prepare to meet thy God." When relating
the incident to the writer he said, "It was at that moment
as though a sword had pierced my heart." "Prepare to
meet thy God" rang again and again in his ears, and with a
strickened conscience he was tormented about his lost condition.
Presently he retired for the night, but sleep he could not. In
desperation he got up and dressed and went above and paced the
deck. Hour after hour he walked up and down, but try as he might
he could not dismiss from his mind the words, "Prepare to
meet thy God." For years this man had been a helpless slave
in the grip of strong drink and knowing his weakness he said:
"How can I prepare to meet God, when I am so powerless to
overcome my besetting sin?" Finally, he got down upon his
knees and cried: "O God, have mercy on me, save me from my
sins, deliver me from the power of drink and help me prepare for
the meeting with Thee." More than thirty-five years after,
this converted sailor told the writer that from the night he had
read that quotation from God's Word, had prayed that prayer, and
had accepted Christ as his Saviour from sin, he had never tasted
a single drop of intoxicating liquor and had never once had a
desire to craving for strong drink. How marvelous is the power of
God's Word to deliver men from sin! Truly, as Dr. Torrey has well
said, "A Book which will lift men up to God must have come
down from God."
In thousands of instances men and
women have been stretched upon the "rack," torn limb
from limb, thrown to the wild beasts, and have been burned at the
stake rather than abandon the Bible and promise never again to
read its sacred pages. For what other book would men and women
suffer and die?
More than two hundred years ago
when a copy of the Bible was much more expensive than it is in
these days, a peasant who lived in the County of Cork, Ireland,
heard that a gentleman in his neighborhood had a copy of the New
testament in the Irish language. Accordingly he visited this man
and asked to be allowed to see it, and after looking at it with
great interest begged to be allowed to copy it. Knowing how poor
the peasant was the gentleman asked him where he would get his
paper and ink from? "I will buy them," was the reply.
"And where will you find a place to write?" "If
your honor will allow me the use of your hall, I'll come after my
day's work is over and copy a little at a time in the evenings."
The gentleman was so moved at this man's intense love the the
Bible that he gave him the use of his hall and light and provided
him with paper and ink as well. True to his purpose and promise,
the peasant labored night after night until he had written out a
complete copy of the New Testament. Afterwards a printed copy was
given to him, and the written Testament is preserved by the
British and Foreign Bible Society. Again, we ask, what other book
in the world could obtain such a hold upon the affections and win
such love and reverence, and produce such self-sacrificing toil?
The antiquity of the Scriptures
argues against their completeness. The compilation of the Bible
was completed more than eighteen centuries ago, while the greater
part of the world was yet uncivilized. Since John added the
capstone to the Temple of God's Truth there have been many
wonderful discoveries and inventions, yet there have been no
additions whatever to the moral and spiritual truths contained in
the Bible. Today, we know no more about the origin of life, the
nature of the soul, the problem of suffering or the future
destiny of man than did those who had the Bible eighteen hundred
years ago. Through the centuries of the Christian era, man has
succeeded in learning many of the secrets of nature and has
harnessed her forces to his service, but in the actual revelation
of supernatural truth nothing new has been discovered.
Human writers cannot supplement the Divine records for they are
complete, entire, "wanting nothing."
The Bible needs no addendum. There
is more than sufficient in God's Word to meet the temporal and
spiritual needs of all mankind. Though written two thousand years
ago, the Bible is still "up-to-date," and answers every
vital question which concerns the soul of man in our day. The
Book of Job was written three thousand years before Columbus
discovered America, yet it is as fresh to the heart of man now as
though it had only been published ten years ago. The majority of
the Psalms were written two thousand five hundred years before
President Wilson was born, yet in our day and generation they are
perfectly new and fresh to the human soul. Such facts as these
can only be explained on the hypothesis that the Eternal God is
the Author of the Bible.
The adaptation of the
Scriptures is another illustration of their wonderful
completeness. To young or old, feeble or vigorous, ignorant or
cultured, joyful or sorrowful, perplexed or enlightened,
Orientalist or Ocidentalist, saint or sinner, the Bible is a
source of blessing, will minister to every need, and is able to
supply every variety of want. And the Bible is the only Book in
the world of which this can be predicted. The writings of Plato
may be a source of interest and instruction to the philosophic
mind, but they are unsuitable for placing in the hands of a child.
Not so with the Bible: the youngest may profit from a perusal of
the Sacred Page. The writings of Jerome or Twain may please, for
an hour, the man of humor, but they will bring no balm to the
sore heart and will speak no words of comfort and consolation to
those passing through the waters of bereavement. How different
with the Scriptures - never has a heavy heart turned in vain to
God's Word for peace! The writings of Shakespeare, Goethe, and
Schiller may be of profit to the Western mind, but they convey
little of value to the Easterner. Not so with God's Word; it may
be translated into any language and will speak with equal
clearness, directness and power to all men in their mother tongue.
To quote Dr. Burrell: " In
every heart, down below all other wants and aspirations, there is
a profound longing to know the way of spiritual life. The world
is crying, "What shall I do to be saved?" Of all books
the Bible is the only one that answers that universal cry. There
are other books which set forth morality with more or less
correctness; but there is none other that suggests a blotting out
of the record of the mislived past or an escape from the penalty
of the broken law. There are other books that have poetry; but
there is none that sings the song of salvation or gives a
troubled soul the peace that floweth like a river. There are
other books that have eloquence; but there is no other that
enables us to behold God Himself with outstretched hands pleading
with men to turn and live. There are other books that have
science; but there is none other that can give the soul a
definite assurance of the future life, so that it can say, "I
know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that He is able to
keep that which I have committed unto Him against that day."
Though other books contain valuable
truths, they also have an admixture of error; other books contain
part of the truth, the Bible alone contains all the truth.
Nowhere in the writings of human genius can a single moral or
spiritual truth be found, which is not contained in substance in
the Bible. Examine the writings of the ancients; ransack the
libraries of Egypt, Assyria, Persia, India, Greece, and Rome;
search the contents of the Koran, the Zend - Avesta, or the
Bagavad-Gita; gather together the most exalted spiritual thoughts
and the sublimest moral conceptions contained in them and you
will find that each and all are duplicated in the Bible! Dr.
Torrey has said, "If every book but the Bible were destroyed
not a single spiritual truth would be lost." In the small
compass of God's Word there is stored more wisdom which will
endure the test of eternity than the sum total of thinking done
by man since his creation. Of all the books in the world, the
Bible alone can truly be said to be complete, and this
characteristic of the Scriptures is another of the many lines of
demonstration which witnesses to the Divine inspiration of the
Bible.
The survival of the Bible through
the ages is very difficult to explain if it is not in truth the
Word of God. Books are like men - dying creatures. A very small
percentage of books survive more than twenty years, a yet smaller
percentage last a hundred years and only a very insignificant
fraction represent those which have lived a thousand years. Amid
the wreck and ruin of ancient literature the Holy Scriptures
stand out like the last survivor of an otherwise extinct race,
and the very fact of the Bible's continued existence is an
indication that like its Author it is indestructible.
When we bear in mind the fact that
the Bible has been the special object of never ending persecution
the wonder of the Bible's survival is changed into a miracle.
Not only has the Bible been the most intensely loved Book in all
the world, but it has also been the most bitterly hated. Not only
has the Bible received more veneration and adoration than any
other book, but it has also been the object of more persecution
and opposition. For two thousand years man's hatred of the Bible
has been persistent, determined, relentless and murderous. Every
possible effort has been made to undermine faith in the
inspiration and authority of the Bible and innumerable
enterprises have been undertaken with the determination to
consign it to oblivion. Imperial edicts have been issued to the
effect that every known copy of the Bible should be destroyed,
and when this measure failed to exterminate and annihilate God's
Word then commands were given that every person found with a copy
of the Scriptures in his possession should be put to death. The
very fact that the Bible has been so singled out for such
relentless persecution causes us to wonder at such a unique
phenomenon.
Although the Bible is the best Book
in the world yet is has produced more enmity and opposition than
has the combined contents of all our libraries. Why should this
be? Clearly because the Scriptures convict men of their guilt and
condemn them for their sins! Political and ecclesiastical powers
have united in the attempt to put the Bible out of existence, yet
their concentrated efforts have utterly failed. After all the
persecution which has assailed the Bible, it is, humanly
speaking, a wonder that there is any Bible left at all. Every
engine of destruction which human philosophy, science, force, and
hatred could bring against a book has been brought against the
Bible, yet it stands unshaken and unharmed today. When we
remember that no army has defended the Bible and no king has ever
ordered its enemies to be extirpated, our wonderment increases.
At times nearly all the wise and great of the earth have been
pitted together against the Bible, while only a few despised ones
have honored and revered it. The cities of the ancients were
lighted with bonfires made of Bibles, and for centuries only
those in hiding dare read it. How then, can we account for the
survival of the Bible in the face of such bitter persecution? The
only solution is to be found in the promise of God. "Heaven
and earth shall pass away, but My Words shall not pass
away."
The story of the Bible's
persecution is an arresting one. During the first three centuries
of the Christian era the Roman Emperors sought to destroy God's
Word. One of them, named Diocletian, believed that he had
succeeded. He had slain so many Christians and destroyed so many
Bibles, that when the lovers of the Bible remained quiet for a
season and kept in hiding, he imagined that he had made an end of
the Scriptures. So elated was he at this achievement, he ordered
a medal to be struck inscribed with the words, "The
Christian religion is destroyed and the worship of the gods
restored." One wonders what that emperor would think if he
returned to this earth today and found that more had been written
about the Bible than about any other thousand books put together,
and that the Bible which enshrines the Christian faith is now
translated into more than four hundred languages and is being
sent out to every part of the earth!
Centuries after the persecution by
the Roman Emperors, when the Roman Catholic Church obtained
command of the city of Rome, the Pope and his priests took up the
old quarrel against the Bible. The Holy Scriptures were taken
away from the people, copies of the Bible were forbidden to be
purchased and all who were found with a copy of God's Word in
their possession were tortured and killed. For centuries the
Roman Catholic Church bitterly persecuted the Bible and it was
not until the time of the Reformation at the close of the
sixteenth century that the Word of God was again given to the
masses in their own tongue.
Even in our day the persecution of
the Bible still continues, though the method of attack is changed.
Much of our modern scholarship is engaged in the work of seeking
to destroy faith in the Divine inspiration and authority of the
Bible. In many of our seminaries the rising generation of the
clergy are taught that Genesis is a book of myths, that much of
the teaching of the Pentateuch is immoral, that the historical
records of the Old Testament are unreliable and that the whole
Bible is man's creation rather than God's revelation. And so the
attack on the Bible is being perpetuated.
Now suppose there was a man who had
lived upon this earth for eighteen hundred years, that this man
had oftentimes been thrown into the sea and yet could not be
drowned; that he had frequently been cast before wild beasts who
were unable to devour him; that he had many times been made to
drink deadly poisons which never did him any harm; that he had
often been bound in iron chains and locked in prison dungeons,
yet he had always been able to throw off the chains and escape
from his captivity; that he had repeatedly been hanged, till his
enemies thought him dead, yet when his body was cut down he
sprang to his feet and walked away as though nothing had
happened; that hundreds of times he had been burned at the stake,
till there seemed to be nothing left of him, yet as soon as the
fires were out he leaped up from the ashes as well and as
vigorous as ever - but we need not expand this idea any further;
such a man would be super-human, a miracle of miracles. Yet this
is exactly how we should regard the Bible! This is practically
the way in which the Bible has been treated. It has been burned,
drowned, chained, put in prison, and torn to pieces, yet never
destroyed!
No other book has provoked such
fierce opposition as the Bible, and its preservation is perhaps
the most startling miracle connected with it. But two thousand
five hundred years ago God declared, "The grass withereth,
the flower fadeth, but the Word of our God shall abide for
ever." Just as the three Hebrews passed safely through
the fiery furnace of Nebuchadnezzar unharmed and unscorched, so
the Bible has emerged from the furnace of satanic hatred and
assault without even the smell of fire upon it! Just as an
earthly parent treasures and lays by the letters received from
his child, so our Heavenly Father has protected and preserved the
Epistles of love written to His children.
We are living in a day when
confidence is lacking; when skepticism and agnosticism are
becoming more and more prevalent; and when doubt and uncertainty
are made the badges of culture and wisdom. Everywhere men are
demanding proof. Hypotheses and speculations fail to satisfy: the
heart cannot rest content until it is able to say, "I know."
The demand of the human mind is for definite knowledge and
positive assurance. And God has condescended to meet this need.
One thing which distinguishes
Christianity from all human systems is that it deals with
absolute certainties. Christians are people who know. And well it
is that they do. The issues concerning life and death are so
stupendous, the stake involved in the salvation of the soul is so
immense, that we cannot afford to be uncertain here. None but a
fool would attempt to cross a frozen river until he was sure that
the ice was strong enough to bear him. Dare we then face the
river of death with nothing but a vague and uncertain hope to
rest upon? Personal assurance is the crying need of the hour.
There can be no peace and joy until this is attained. A parent
who is in suspense concerning the safety of his child, is in
agony of soul. A criminal who lies in the condemned cell hoping
for a reprieve, is in mental torment until his pardon arrives.
And a professed Christian who knows not whether he shall
ultimately land in Heaven or Hell, is a pitiable object.
But we say again, real Christians
are people who know. They know that their Redeemer liveth
(John 19:25). They know that they have passed from death
unto life (I John 3:14). They know that all things work
together for good (Rom. 8:28). They know that if their
earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved, they have a
building of God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the
heavens (II Cor. 5:1). They know that one day they shall
see Christ face to face and be made like Him (I John 3:2). In the
meantime they know whom they have believed, and are
persuaded that He is able to keep that which they have committed
unto Him against that day (II Tim. 1:12). If it be asked, How
do they know, the answer is, they have proven for themselves the
trustworthiness of God's Word which affirms these things.
The force of this present argument
will appeal to none save those who have an experimental
acquaintance with it. In addition to all the external proofs that
we have for the Divine Inspiration of the Scriptures, the
believer has a source of evidence to which no unbeliever has
access. In his own experience the Christian finds a personal
confirmation of the teachings of God's Word. To the man whose
life which, judged by the standards of the world, appears morally
upright, the statement that "the heart is deceitful above
all things and desperately wicked" seems to be the gloomy
view of a pessimist, or a description which has no general
application. But the believer has found that "the entrance
of Thy words giveth light" (Ps. 119:30), and in the light of
God's Word and beneath the illuminating power of God's Spirit who
indwells him, he has discovered there is within him a sink of
iniquity. To natural wisdom, which is fond of philosophizing
about the freedom of the human will, the declaration of Christ
that "No man can come to Me, except the Father which hath
sent Me, draw him" (John 6:44) seems a hard saying; but, to
the one who has been taught by the Holy Spirit something of the
binding power of sin, such a declaration has been verified in his
own experience. To the one who has done his best to live up to
the light which he had, and has sought to develop an honest and
amiable character, such a statement as, "All our
righteousnesses are as filthy rags," seems unduly harsh and
severe; but to the man who has received "an unction from the
Holy One," his very best works appear to him sordid and
sinful; and such they are. The Apostle's confession that "in
me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing" (Rom. 7:18)
which once appeared absurd to him, the believer now acknowledges
to be his own condition. The description of the Christian which
is found in Romans ... is something which none but a regenerate
person can understand. The things there mentioned as belonging to
the same man at the same time, seem foolish to the wise of this
world; but the believer realizes completely the truth of it in
his own life.
The promises of God can be tested:
their trustworthiness is capable of verification. In the Gospel
Christ promises to give rest to all those who are weary and heavy
laden that come unto Him. He declares that He came to seek and to
save that which was lost. He affirms that "whosoever
drinketh of the Water that I shall give him shall never thirst."
In short, the Gospel presents the Lord Jesus Christ as a Saviour.
His claim to save can be put to the proof. Yea, it has been, and
that by a multitude of individuals that no man can number. Many
of these are living on earth today. Every individual who has read
in the Scriptures the invitations that are addressed to sinners,
and has personally appropriated them to himself, can say n the
words of the well-known hymn: -
Weary and worn and sad;
I found in Him a resting place
And He has made me glad."
Should these pages be read by a
skeptic who, despite his present unbelief, has a sincere and
earnest desire to know the truth, he, too may put God's Word to
the test and share the experience described above. It is written,
"Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved,"
- believe, my reader, and thou, too, shalt be saved.
"We speak that we do know, and
testify that we have seen" (John 3:11). The Bible testifies
to the fact that "all have sinned and come short of the
glory of God," and our own conscience confirms it. The Bible
declares that it is "not by works of righteousness which we
have down, but according to His mercy" God saves us; and the
Christian has proven that he was unable to do anything to win
God's esteem: but, having cried the prayer of the Publican, he
has gone down to his house justified. The Bible teaches that
"if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things
are passed away; behold, all things are become new;" and the
believer has found that the things he once hated he now loves,
and that the things he hitherto counted gain he now regards as
dross. The Bible witnesses to the fact that we "are kept by
the power of God thro' faith," and the believer has proven
that though the world, the flesh, and the devil are arrayed
against him, yet the grace of God is sufficient for all his need.
Ask the Christian, then, why he believes that the Bible is the
Word of God, and he will tell you, Because it has done for me
what it professes to do (save); because I have tested its
promises for myself; because I find its teachings verified in my
own experiences.
To the unregenerate the Bible is
practically a sealed Book. Even the cultured and educated are
unable to understand its teachings: parts of it appear plain and
simple, but much of it is dark and mysterious. This is exactly
what the Bible declares - "The natural man receiveth not the
things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him:
neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned"
(I Cor. 2:14). But to the man of God it is otherwise: "He
that believeth on the Son of God hath the witness in
himself" (I John 5:10). As the Lord Jesus declared,
"If any man will do His will, he shall know of the
doctrine" (John 7:17). While the infidel stumbles in
darkness, even in the midst of light, the believer discovers the
evidence of its truth in himself with the clearness of a sunbeam.
"For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath
shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of
the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ" (II Cor. 4:6).
Not only does the Bible claim to be
a Divine revelation but it also asserts that its original
manuscripts were written "not in the words which man's
wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Spirit teacheth" (I Cor.
2"13). The Bible nowhere claims to have been written by inspired
men - as a matter of fact some of them were very defective
characters - Balaam for example - but it insists that the words
they uttered and recorded were God's words. Inspiration
has not to do with the minds of the writers (for many of them
understood not what they wrote (I Peter 1:10-11), but with the
writings themselves. "All Scripture is given by
inspiration of God," and "Scripture" means "the
writings." Faith has to do with God's Word and not with the
men who wrote it - these are all dead long since, but their
writings remain.
A writing that is inspired by God
self-evidently implies, in the very expression, that the words
are the words of God. To say that the inspiration of the
Scriptures applies to their concepts and not to their words; to
declare that one part of Scripture is written with one kind or
degree of inspiration and another part with another kind or
degree, is not only destitute of any foundation or support in the
Scriptures themselves, but is repudiated by every statement in
the Bible which bears upon the subject now under consideration.
To say that the Bible is not the Word of God but merely contains
the Word of God is the figment of an ill-employed ingenuity and
an unholy attempt to depreciate and invalidate the supreme
authority of the Oracles of God. All the attempts which have been
made to explain the rationale of inspiration have done
nothing toward simplifying the subject, rather have they tended
to mystify. It is no easier to conceive how ideas without words
could be imparted, than that Divinely revealed truths should be
communicated by words. Instead of being diminished the difficulty
is increased. It were as logical to talk of a sum without figures
or a tune without notes, as of a Divine revelation and
communication without words. Instead of speculation our duty is
to receive and believe what the Scriptures say of themselves.
What the Bible teaches about its
own inspiration is a matter purely of Divine testimony,
and our business is simply to receive the testimony and not to
speculate about or seek to pry into its modus operandi.
Inspiration is as much a matter of Divine revelation as is
justification by faith. Both stand equally on the authority of
the Scriptures themselves, which must be the final court of
appeal on this subject as on every question of revealed truth.
The teaching of the Bible
concerning the inspiration of the Scriptures is clear and simple,
and uniform throughout. Its writers were conscious that their
utterances were a message from God in the highest meaning of the
word. "And the Lord said unto him (Moses), Who hath made
man's mouth? or who maketh the dumb, or deaf, or the seeing, or
the blind? Have not I the Lord? Now therefore go, and I will be
with thy mouth, and teach thee what thou shalt say" (Exod. 4:11-12).
"The Spirit of the Lord spake by me, and His word was
in my tongue" (II Sam. 23:2). "Then the Lord put forth
His hand, and touched my mouth. and the Lord said unto me,
Behold, I have put My words in thy mouth" (Jer. 1:9).
The above are only a sample of scores of similar passages which
might be sighted.
What is predicted of the Scriptures
themselves, demonstrates that they are entirely and absolutely
the Word of God. "The law of the Lord is perfect,
converting the soul" (Ps. 19:7) - this altogether excludes
any place in the Bible for human infirmities and imperfections.
"Thy Word is very pure" (Ps. 119:140), which
cannot mean less than that the Holy Spirit so superintended the
composition of the Bible and so "moved" its writers
that all error has been excluded. "Thy Word is true from
the beginning" (Ps. 119:160) - how this anticipated the
assaults of the higher critics on the Book of Genesis,
particularly on its opening chapters!
The teaching of the New Testament
agrees with what we have quoted from the Old. "Take ye no
thought how or what thing ye shall answer, or what ye shall say:
for the Holy Spirit shall teach you in the same hour what ye
ought to say" (Luke 12:11-12), - the disciples were the ones
who spake, but it was the Holy Spirit who "taught them what
to say." Could any language express more emphatically the
most entire inspiration? and, if the Holy Spirit so controlled
their utterances when in the presence of "magistrates,"
is it conceivable that He would do less for them when they were
communicating the mind of God to all future generations on things
touching our eternal destiny? Assuredly not. "But those
things, which God before had showed by the mouth of all His
prophets, that Christ should suffer, He hath so fulfilled" (Acts
3:18). Here the Holy Spirit declares thro' Peter that it was God
who had revealed by the mouth of all His prophets that Israel's
Messiah must suffer before the glory should appear. "But
that I confess unto thee, that after the way which they call
heresy, so worship I the God of my fathers, believing all things
which are written in the law and in the prophets" (Acts 24:14).
These words clearly evidence the fact that the Apostle Paul had
the utmost confidence in the authenticity of the entire contents
of the Old Testament. "And my speech and my preaching was
not with enticing words of man's wisdom, but in demonstration
of the Spirit and of power" (I Cor. 2:4). Could any man
have used such language as this unless he had been fully
conscious that he was speaking the very words of God? "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 Spirit"
(II Peter 1:21). Nothing could possibly be more explicit.
Dr. Gray has strikingly and
forcefully stated the necessity of a verbally inspired
Bible in the following language: - "An illustration the
writer has often used will help to make this clear. A
stenographer in a mercantile house was asked by his employer to
write as follows:
"Gentlemen: we misunderstood
your letter and will not fill your order."
Imagine the employer's surprise,
however, when a little later this was set before him for his
signature -
"Gentlemen: we misunderstood
your letter and will not fill your order."
The mistake was only of a single
letter, but it was entirely subversive of his meaning. And yet
the thought was given clearly to the stenographer, and the words,
too, for that matter, Moreover, the latter was capable and
faithful, but he was human, and it is human to err. Had not his
employer controlled his expression, down to the very letter, the
thought intended to be conveyed would have failed of utterance."
So, too, the Holy Spirit had to superintend the writing of the
very letter of Scripture in order to guarantee its accuracy and
inerrancy.
Many proofs might be given to show
the Scriptures are verbally inspired. One line of demonstration
appears in the literal and verbal fulfillment of many of the Old
Testament prophecies. For example, God made known thro' Zechariah
that the price which Judas should receive for his awful crime was
"thirty pieces of silver" (Zech. 11:12). Here then is a
clear case where God communicated to one of the prophets not
merely an abstract concept but a specific communication. And the
above case is only one of many.
Another evidence of verbal
inspiration is to be seen in the fact that words are used
in Scripture with the most exact precision and discrimination.
This is particularly noticeable in connection with the Divine
titles. The names Elohim and Jehovah are found on the pages of
the Old Testament several thousand times, but they are never
employed loosely or used alternately. Each of these names has a
definite significance and scope, and were we to substitute the
one for the other the beauty and perfection of a multitude of
passages would be destroyed. To illustrate: the word "God"
occurs all thro' Genesis 1, but "Lord God" in Genesis 2.
Were these two Divine titles reversed here, a flaw and blemish
would be the consequence. "God" is the creatorial
title, whereas "Lord" implies covenant relationship and
shows God's dealings with His own people. Hence, in Genesis 1,
"God" is used, and in Genesis 2, "Lord God"
is employed, and all thro' the remainder of the Old Testament
these two Divine titles are used discriminatively and in harmony
with the meaning of their first mention. One or two other
examples must suffice. "And they went in unto Noah into the
ark, two and two of all flesh, wherein is the breath of life. And
they that went in, went in male and female of all flesh, as God
had commanded him" - "God" because it was the
Creator commanding, with respect to His creatures, as such; but,
in the remainder of the same verse, we read, "and the
Lord shut him in" (Gen. 7:16), because God's action here
toward Noah was based upon covenant relationship. When going
forth to meet Goliath David said, "This day will the Lord
deliver thee into mine hand (because David was in covenant
relationship with Him); and I will smite thee, and take thine
head from thee; and I will give the carcasses of the host of the
Philistines this day unto the fowls of the air, and to the wild
beasts of the earth; that all the earth (which was not in
covenant relation with Him) may know that there is a God
in Israel. And all this assembly (which were in covenant
relationship with Him) shall know that the Lord saveth not
with sword and spear" etc. (I Sam. 17:46-47). Once more:
"And it came to pass, when the captains of the chariots saw
Jehoshaphat, that they said, It is the king of Israel. Therefore
they compassed about him to fight: but Jehoshaphat cried out, and
the Lord helped him; and God moved them (the
Syrians) to depart from him" (II Chron. 18:31). And thus it
is all thro' the Old Testament.
The above line of argument might be
extended indefinitely. There are upwards of fifty Divine titles
in the Old Testament which are used more than once, each of which
has a definite signification, each of which has its meaning
hinted at in its first mention, and each of which is used
subsequently in harmony with its original purport. They are never
used loosely or interchangeably. In every place where they occur
there is a reason for each variation. Such titles are the Most
High, the Almighty, the God of Israel, the God of Jacob, the Lord
our Righteousness, etc., etc., are not used haphazardly, but in
every case in harmony with their original meaning and as the best
suited to the context. The same is true in connection with the
names of our Lord in the New Testament. In some passages He is
referred to as Christ, in others as Jesus, Jesus Christ, Christ
Jesus, Lord Jesus Christ. In every instance there is a reason for
each variation, and in every case the Holy Spirit has seen to it
that they are employed with uniform significance. The same is
true of the various names given to the great adversary. In some
places he is termed Satan, in others the devil etc., etc.; but
the different terms are used with unerring precision throughout.
A further illustration is furnished by the father of Joseph. In
his earlier life he was always termed Jacob, later he received
the name of Israel, but after this, sometimes we read of Jacob
and sometimes of Israel. Whatever is predicted of Jacob refers to
the acts of the "old man;" whatever is postulated of
Israel were the fruits of the "new man." When he
doubted it was Jacob who doubted, when he believed God it
was Israel who exercised faith. Accordingly, we read,
"And when Jacob had made an end of commanding his
sons, he gathered up his feet into the bed, and yielded up the
ghost" (Gen. 49:33). But in the next verse but one we are
told, "And Joseph commanded his servants the physicians to
embalm his father: and the physicians embalmed Israel (Gen. 50:2)!!
Here then we see the marvelous verbal precision and perfection of
Holy Scripture.
The most convincing of all the
proofs and arguments for the verbal inspiration of the Scriptures
is the fact that the Lord Jesus Christ regarded them and treated
them as such. He Himself submitted to their authority. When
assaulted by Satan, three times He replied, "It is written,"
and it is particularly to be noted that the point of each of His
quotations and the force of each reply lay in a single word -
"Man shall not live by bread alone" etc.; "Thou
shalt not tempt the Lord thy God;" "Thou shalt
worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve."
When tempted by the Pharisees, who asked Him, "Is it lawful
for a man to put away his wife for every cause?" He
answered, "Have ye not read?" etc. (Matt. 19:4-5).
To the Sadducees He said, "Ye do err, not knowing the
Scriptures" (Matt. 22:29). On another occasion He accused
the Pharisees of "Making the Word of God of none
effect thro' their tradition" (Mark 7:13). On another
occasion, when speaking of the Word of God, He declared "The
Scripture cannot be broken" (John 10:35). Sufficient has
been adduced to show that the Lord Jesus regarded the Scriptures
as the Word of God in the most absolute sense. In view of this
fact let Christians beware of detracting in the smallest degree
from the perfect and full inspiration of the Holy Scriptures.
What is our attitude towards God's
Word? The knowledge that the Scriptures are inspired by the Holy
Spirit involves definite obligations. Our conception of the
authority of the Bible determines our attitude and measures our
responsibility. If the Bible is a Divine revelation what follows?
If it were announced upon reliable
authority that on a certain date in the near future an angel from
heaven would visit New York and would deliver a sermon upon the
invisible world, the future destiny of man, or the secret of
deliverance from the power of sin, what an audience he would
command! There is no building in that city large enough to
accommodate the crowd which would throng to hear him. If upon the
next day, the newspapers were to give a verbatim report of his
discourse, how eagerly it would be read! And yet, we have between
the covers of the Bible not merely an angelic communication but a
Divine revelation. How great then is our wickedness if we
undervalue and despise it! And yet we do.
We need to confess to God our sin
of neglecting His Holy Word. We have time enough - we take time -
to read the writings of fellow sinners, yet we have little or no
time for the Holy Scriptures. The Bible is a series of Divine
love letters, and yet many of God's people have scarcely broken
the seals. God complained of old, "I have written to him the
great things of My law, but they were counted as a strange thing"
(Hos. 8:12). To neglect God's gift is to despise the Giver. To
neglect God's Word is virtually to tell Him that He made a
mistake in being at so much trouble to communicate it. To prefer
the writings of man is to insult the Almighty. To say that human
writings are more interesting is to impugn the wisdom of the Most
High and is a terrible indictment against our own evil hearts. To
neglect God's Word is to sin against its Author, for He has
commanded us to read, study, and search it.
If the Bible is the Word of God
then -
It is not a question of what I
think, or of what any one else thinks - it is, What saith the
Scriptures? It is not a matter of what any church or creed
teaches - it is, What teaches the Bible? God has spoken, and that
ends the matter: "Forever, O Lord, Thy Word is settled in
heaven." Therefore, it is for me to bow to His authority, to
submit to His Word, to cease all quibbling and cry, "Speak,
Lord, for Thy servant heareth." Because the Bible is God's
Word, it is the final court of appeal in all things pertaining to
doctrine, duty, and deportment.
This was the position taken by our
Lord Himself. When tempted by Satan, He declined to argue with
him, He refused to overwhelm him with the force of His superior
wisdom, He scorned to crush him with a putting forth of His
almighty power - "It is written" was His defense for
each assault. At the beginning of His public ministry, when He
went to Nazareth where most of His thirty years had been lived,
He performed no wonderful miracle but entered the synagogue, read
from the Prophet Isaiah and said, "This day is this
Scripture fulfilled in your ears" (Luke 4:21). In His
teaching upon the Rich Man and Lazarus, He insisted that "If
they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will they be
persuaded, though one rose from the dead" (Luke 16:31) -
thus signifying that the authority of the written Word is of
greater weight and worth than the testimony and appeal of
miracles. When vindicating before the Jews His claim of Deity (John
5) He appealed to the testimony of John the Baptist (vs. 32), to
His own works (vs. 36), to the Father's own witness - at His
baptism (vs. 37), and then - as tho they were the climax - He
said - "Search the Scriptures ** they are they which
testify of Me" (vs. 39).
This was the position taken by the
Apostles. When Peter would justify the speaking with other
tongues, he appealed to the Prophet Joel (Acts 2:16). When
seeking to prove to the Jews that Jesus of Nazareth was their
Messiah, and that He had risen again from the dead, he appealed
to the testimony of the Old Testament (Act 2). When Stephen made
his defense before the "counsel" he did little more
than review the teaching of Moses and the prophets. When Saul and
Barnabas set out on their first missionary journey they "preached
the Word of God in the synagogues of the Jews" (Acts
13:5). In his Epistles, the Apostle continually pauses to ask -
"What saith the Scripture?" (Rom. 4:3, etc.) -
if the Scripture gave a clear utterance upon the subject under
discussion that ended the matter: against their testimony
there was no appeal.
If the Bible is the Word of God -
then
How can man be just with God? or
how can he be clean that is born of a woman? What must I do to be
saved? Where is true and lasting peace and rest to be found? Such
are some of the inquiries made by every honest and anxious soul.
The reply is - Search the Scriptures: Look and see. How shall I
best employ my time and talents? How shall I discover what is
well-pleasing to my Maker? How am I to know what is the path of
duty? And again the answer is - What teaches the Word of God?
No one who possesses a copy of the
Bible can legitimately plead ignorance of God's will. The
Scriptures leave us without excuse. A lamp has been provided for
our feet and the pathway of righteousness is clearly marked out.
A chart has been given to the sailors on time's sea, and it is
their own fault if they fail to arrive at the heavenly port. In
the day of judgment the Books will be opened and out of these
Books men will be judge, and one of these Books will be the Bible.
In His written Word God has revealed His mind, expressed His
will, communicated His requirements; and woe to the man or woman
who takes not the necessary time to discover what these are.
If the Bible is the Word of God
then -
Man craves for certainty.
Speculations and hypotheses are insufficient where eternal issues
are at stake. When I come to lay my head upon my dying pillow, I
want something surer than a "perhaps" to rest it upon.
And thank God I have it. Where? In the Holy Scriptures. I know
that my Redeemer liveth. I know that I have passed from death
unto life. I know that I shall be made like Christ and dwell with
Him in glory throughout the endless ages of eternity. How do I
know? Because God's Word says so, and I want nothing more.
The Bible gives forth no uncertain
sound. It speaks with absolute assurance, dogmatism, and finality.
Its promises are certain for they are promises of Him who cannot
lie. Its testimony is reliable for it is the inerrant Word of the
Living God. Its teachings are trustworthy for they are a
communication the the Omniscient. The believer then has a sure
foundation on which to rest, an impregnable rock on which to
build his hopes. For his present peace and for his future
prospects he has a, "Thus saith the Lord," and
that is sufficient.
If the Bible is the Word of God
then -
A unique book deserves and demands
unique attention. Like Job, we ought to be able to say, "I
have esteemed the words of His mouth more than my necessary food."
If history teaches us anything at all, it teaches that those
nations which have most honored God's Word have been most honored
by God. And what is true of the nation is equally true of the
family and of the individual. The greatest intellects of the ages
have drawn their inspiration from the Scripture of Truth. The
most eminent statesmen have testified to the value and importance
of Bible study. Benjamin Franklin said: "Young man, my
advice to you is that you cultivate an acquaintance with and firm
belief in the Holy Scriptures, for this is your certain interest."
Thomas Jefferson gave it as his opinion, "I have said and
always will say, that the studious perusal of the Sacred Volume
will make better citizens, better fathers, and better husbands."
When the late Queen Victoria was
asked the secret of England's greatness, she took down a copy of
the Scriptures, and pointing to the Bible she said, "That
Book explains the power of Great Britain." Daniel Webster
once affirmed, "If we abide by the principles taught in the
Bible, our country will go on prospering and to prosper; but, if
we and our posterity neglect its instructions and authority, no
man can tell how sudden a catastrophe may overwhelm us and bury
all our glory in profound obscurity. The Bible is the Book of all
others for lawyers as well as divines, and I pity the man who
cannot find in it a rich supply of thought and rule of conduct."
When Sir Walter Scott lay dying he
summoned to his side his man in waiting and said, "Read to
me out of the Book." Which book? answered his servant.
"There is only one Book," was the dying man's response
- "The Bible!" The Bible is the Book to live by and the
Book to die by. Therefore read it to be wise, believe it to be
safe, practice it to be holy. As another has said: "Know it
in the head, store it in the heart, show it in the life, sow it
in the world."
"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, thoroughly
furnished unto all good works" (II Tim. 3:16-17).