writers, by which they were qualified to communicate to the world the knowledge of the will of God."* The definition is designedly made general, that it may comprehend the different degrees of inspiration, which will be afterwards mentioned; and it is so expressed as to suit the highest and the lowest. The possibility of such an influence will be admitted by every person who believes that God is the former of our souls, and the master of our faculties; and the necessity of it is evident, if human agents were to be employed in giving instruction to their brethren on the high and important subject of religion. The Jews make mention of three degrees of inspiration, to which they refer the several books of the Old Testament according to their fancy. The first and highest they attribute to Moses, with whom "God spake mouth to mouth, even apparently, and not in dark similitudes." The second, they call the gift of prophecy, of which they imagine various subordinate degrees, corresponding to the different methods in which God revealed himself to the prophets. The last and lowest is the inspiration of the Holy Ghost, from which proceeded those books that are called the holy writings. Were it worth while to examine this division, and the classification of the books founded upon it, it would be easy to show that it is altogether arbitrary, and discovers the folly and stupidity of its authors. Of books which bear precisely the same character, some are ascribed to the gift of prophecy, and others, without reason, to the inspiration of the Holy Ghost. "It would be idle," says Dr. Grey, "to trouble the reader with the discussion of these rabbinical conceits; and it may be sufficient here to remark upon this subject, that though the Scripture mentions different modes by which God communicated his instructions to the prophets, and particularly attributes a superior degree of eminence to Moses, yet that these differences, and this distinction, however they may affect the dignity of the minister employed, cannot be supposed to increase or to lessen the certainty of the things imparted. Whatever God condescended to communicate to mankind by his servants must be equally infallible and true, whether derived from immediate converse with him, from an external voice, or from dreams or visions, or lastly, from the internal and enlightening influence of the Holy Spirit. The mode of communication, where the agency of Providence is established, can in no respect exalt or depreciate the intrinsic character of the thing revealed." These observations are applicable to the different degrees of inspiration, which have been stated by Christian authors; for all agree that it was not enjoyed in the same degree by all the sacred writers. The three degrees of inspiration which are usually mentioned, are superintendence, elevation, and suggestion. Superintendence signifies the care exercised over those who related things which they knew by ordinary means, and by which they were preserved from the possibility of error. Elevation prevailed, says Dr. Doddridge, "when the faculties, though they acted in a regular and common manner, were elevated or raised to some extraordinary degree, so that the composition was more truly sublime, noble, and pathetic, than what would have been produced merely by the force of a man's natural genius." Suggestion is "the highest kind of inspiration, and took place, when the use of the faculties was superseded, and God as it were spoke directly to the mind; making such discoveries to it as it could not otherwise have obtained, and dictating the very words in which these discoveries were to be communicated • Dick's Essay on Insp. chap. i. p. 21. Key to the Old Testament and Apocrypha, Introduction, p. 10. to others. But although this distinction is very generally adopted, I think it liable to material objections, which will be stated in the sequel. As I have nothing to say on the kinds or degrees of inspiration different from what I long since gave to the public,* I shall content myself with repeating my former observations on the subject. It First, there are many things in the Scriptures which the writers might have known, and probably did know, by ordinary means. As persons possessed of memory, judgment, and the other intellectual faculties which are common to men, they were able to relate events in which they had been concerned, and to make such occasional reflections as were suggested by particular subjects and occurrences. In these cases, no supernatural influence was necessary to enlighten and invigorate their minds: it was only necessary that they should be infallibly preserved from error. They did not need a revelation to inform them of what had passed before their eyes, nor to point out those inferences and moral maxims which were obvious to every attentive and considerate observer. Moses could tell, without a divine afflatus, that, on such a night, the Israelites marched out of Egypt, and at such a place they murmured against God; and Solomon could remark, that "a soft answer turneth away wrath, but grievous words stir up anger;" or, that "better is a dinner of herbs, where love is, than a stalled ox, and hatred therewith." is with respect to such passages of Scripture only, as it did not exceed the natural ability of the writer to compose, that I would admit the motion of superintendence, if it should be admitted at all. But, perhaps, this word, though of established use, and almost undisputed authority, should be entirely laid aside, as insufficient to express even the lowest degree of inspiration. In the passages of Scripture which we are now considering, I conceive the writers to have been not merely superintended, that they might commit no error, but likewise to have been moved or excited by the Holy Ghost to record particular events, and set down particular observations. They were not like other historians, who introduce facts and reflections into the narratives which they compose, in the exercise of their own judgment, and according to their own ideas of propriety; but they rather resembled amanuenses, who commit to writing such things only as have been selected by their employer. Passages written by the direction, and under the care of the Divine Spirit, may be said, in an inferior sense, to be inspired; whereas, had the men written them at the suggestion of their own spirit, they would have been mere human compositions; and though free from error, would have been exactly on a level with those parts of profane writings which are agreeable to truth. Superintendence, indeed, is no peculiar kind of inspiration, but is the care exercised by Providence over all the sacred writers, in whatever degree or manner inspired, to secure a faithful relation of the histories, doctrines, prophecies, and precepts, which they were employed to communicate to mankind. Secondly, there are other passages of Scripture, in composing which, the minds of the writers must have been supernaturally endowed with more than ordinary vigour. It is impossible for us, and perhaps it was not possible for the inspired writer himself, to determine where nature ended and inspiration began. He could not have marked, in all cases, with precision, the limits which separated the natural operation of his faculties, and the agency of the Spirit of God. It is enough to know, in general, that there are many parts of Scripture, in which, though the unassisted mind might have proceeded some steps, a divine impulse was necessary to enable it to advance. I think, Essay on Insp. chap. i. The nine following paragraphs are taken from the same chapter + Prov. xv. 1. 17. for example, that the evangelists could not have written the history of Christ, if they had not enjoyed miraculous assistance. Two of them, Matthew and and John, accompanied our Saviour during the whole, or the greater part of his personal ministry. At the close of that period, or rather a considerable number of years after it, the gospel of Matthew having been published, as is generally agreed, at least eight years, and that of John between sixty and seventy, posterior to the ascension, there can be no doubt that they had forgotten some of his discourses and miracles; that they recollected others indistinctly; and that, if left to themselves, they would have been in danger of producing an unfair and inaccurate account, by omissions and additions, or by confounding one thing with another. Simple and illiterate men, who had never been accustomed to exercise their intellectual faculties, could not, it is probable, have retailed his shorter discouses immediately after they were delivered, and much less those of greater length, as his sermon on the Mount, and his last instructions to his disciples. Besides, from so large a mass of materials, writers of uncultivated minds, such as Jewish fishermen and publicans may be conceived to have been, who were not in the habit of distinguishing and classifying, could not have made a judicious selection: nor would persons, unskilled in the art of composition, have been able to express themselves in such terms as should ensure a faithful representation of doctrines and facts, and with such dignity as the nature of the subject required. A divine influence, therefore, must have been exerted, by which their memories and judgments were invigorated, and they were enabled to relate the discourses and miracles of their Master with fidelity, and in a manner the best fitted to impress the readers of their histories, The promise of the Holy Ghost to bring to their remembrance all things whatsoever Christ had said to them,* proves, that in writing the gospels, their mental powers received from his agency new degrees of strength and capacity. Farther, there are several passages of Scripture in which there is such elevation of thought and style, as clearly shows the faculties of the writers to have been raised above their ordinary state. There is a grandeur, a sublimity of ideas and expressions, of which their acknowledged powers were obviously incapable, and which must, therefore, have been the result of superior influence. Should a person of moderate talents give as elevated a description of the majesty and attributes of God, or reason as profoundly on the mysterious doctrines of religion, as a man of the most exalted genius and extensive learning, we could not fail to be convinced that he was supernaturally assisted; and the conviction would be still stronger, if his composition should transcend the highest efforts of the human mind. In either of these cases, it would be impossible to account for the effect by the operation of any ordinary cause. Some of the sacred writers were taken from the lowest ranks of life; and yet sentiments so dignified, and representations of divine things so grand and majestic, occur in their writings, that the noblest flights of human genius, when compared with them, appear cold and insipid. This remark on the matter and language of Scripture admits of an obvious application to the prophetical and devotional books of the Old Testament, and may be extended to many other passages, in which the purest and most sublime lessons are delivered on the subject of God and religion, by the natives of a country unac quainted with the philosophy, the literature, and the arts of the more polished nations of antiquity. Thirdly, it is manifest, with respect to many passages of Scripture, that the subjects of which they treat must have been directly revealed to the writers. They could not have been known by natural means; nor was the knowledge John xiv. 26. of them attainable by a simple elevation of the faculties, because they were not deductions from the principles of reason, or from truths already discovered, but were founded on the free determination of the will of God, and his prescience of human affairs. With the abilities of an angel, we could not explore the thoughts and purposes of the divine mind. This degree of inspiration we ascribe to those who were empowered to reveal heavenly mysteries, "which eye had not seen, and ear had not heard;" to those who were sent with particular messages from God to his people; and to those who were employed to predict future events. The plan of redemption being an effect of the sovereign. counsels of heaven, it could not have been known but by a communication from the Father of lights. This kind of inspiration has been called the inspiration of suggestion. It may be deemed of little importance to dispute about a word; but suggestion seeming to express an immediate operation on the mind, by which ideas are excited in it, is of too limited signification to denote the various modes in which the prophets and apostles were made acquainted with supernatural truths. God revealed himself to them, not only by suggestion, but by dreams, visions, voices, and the ministry of angels. This degree of inspiration, in strict propriety of speech, should be called revelation; a word preferable to suggestion, because it is expressive of all the ways in which God communicated new ideas to the minds of his servants. It is a word, too, chosen by the Holy Ghost himself, to signify the discovery of truth formerly unknown to the apostles. The last book of the New Testament, which is a collection of prophecies, is called the revelation of Jesus Christ. Paul says that he received his Gospel by revelation; that "by revelation the mystery was made known to him, which in other ages was not made known unto the sons of men, as it was then revealed unto his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit;" and in another place, having remarked that "eye had not seen, nor ear heard, neither had entered into the heart of man, the things which God had prepared for them that love him," he adds, "but God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit."* I have not names to distinguish the two other kinds of inspiration. The names used by Dr. Doddridge and others, superintendence, elevation, and suggestion, do not convey the ideas stated in the preceding particulars, and are liable to material objections, as we have already shown with respect to the first and the last of them. Superintendence does not include the notion of a moving or exciting influence on the minds of the sacred writers, and consequently cannot denote any kind of inspiration: and suggestion being a word of too limited a meaning to express all that is intended, ought to give place to one more appropriate, which is furnished by the Holy Spirit himself. By those who use the term elevation, to signify a particular kind of inspiration, it is confined to such parts of Scripture as are lofty and sublime; whereas it is easy to perceive, that there must have been, in some cases, an elevation of the faculties, or a raising of them above their ordinary state, even when the province of the writer was simple narrative. This has been proved by a particular reference to the evangelists. The account now given of the inspiration of the Scriptures has, I think, these two recommendations, that there is no part of them which does not fall under one or other of the three foregoing heads; and that it carefully discriminates the different kinds or degrees of the agency of the Holy Spirit on the minds of the different writers. From the preceding statement it appears, that we do not apply the term, inspiration, in the same sense to the whole of the Scripture, because the same degree of divine assistance was not necessary in the composition of every part * Rev. i. 1. Gal. i. 12. Eph. iii. 3, 5. 1 Cor. ii, 9, 10. 66 of it. In some parts, if I may speak so, there is more of God than in others. When a prophet predicts the events of futurity, or an apostle makes known the mysteries of redemption, it is God alone who speaks; and the voice or the pen of a man is merely the instrument employed for the communication of his will. When Moses relates the miracles of Egypt, and the journeys of the Israelites in the wilderness, or the evangelists relate the history of Christ, they tell nothing but what they formerly knew; but without the assistance of the Spirit, they could not have told it so well. In some cases," it has been properly remarked, "inspiration only produced correctness and accuracy in relating past occurrences, or in reciting the words of others; in other cases it communicated ideas not only new and unknown before, but infinitely beyond the reach of unassisted human intellect; and sometimes inspired prophets delivered predictions for the use of future ages, which they did not themselves comprehend, and which cannot be fully understood till they are accomplished."* From the preceding account of inspiration, it is easy to perceive in what sense the Scriptures, taken as a whole, may be pronounced to be the Word of God. We give them this denomination, because all the parts of which they consist have been written by persons moved, directed, and assisted by his Holy Spirit; but we do not mean, that all the sentiments contained in them are just, and all the examples are worthy of imitation. In the sacred writings, we meet with sayings and actions, which are neither wiser nor better for being found in them than if they had occurred in any ordinary history. I apprehend, that some persons, from want of reflection, fall into a mistake in this matter. They quote a sentiment as authoritative because they read it in the Scriptures, without waiting to consider by whom it was uttered; and draw arguments for the regulation of their own conduct and that of others from an action, without previously examining whether it received the divine approbation or not. Yet it is certain, not only that wicked men and wicked spirits are often introduced as speaking and acting, but that, as the saints of whom mention is made were not perfect and infallible, any more than the saints who are now alive, their opinions and conduct must not instantly be presumed to be right, unless it appear that they were under the influence of the Spirit of God, or their example be expressly or implicitly commended. From the mere admission of any fact into the inspired history, no other conclusion can be warrantably drawn, than that it actually took place, and it was the will of God that we should be acquainted with it: its moral nature, its conformity or disconformity to the standard of truth and rectitude, must be ascertained by some other test than its simple insertion in the Bible. Were clear ideas formed on this subject, some misapplications of passages would be prevented, and some objections which are brought against the inspiration of the sacred books, would either be not advanced at all, or would be immediately perceived to be inconclusive or unjust. For the more complete elucidation of this point, let it be considered, that there are two different senses in which a book may be denominated the Word of God. In the first place, the meaning may be, that all the contents of the book were spoken or revealed by God himself; or that they proceeded directly from the eternal source of wisdom and purity, and consequently are all true and holy. It is evident, that, according to this sense of the Word of God, the name can be given only to a part of the Scriptures, because they contain, besides a revelation of the divine counsels, an account of human opinions, manners, customs, superstitions, and crimes. Sometimes it is God who speaks, and at other times it is man. Now, we are presented with a view of his wise * Bishop of Lincoln's Introduction to the Study of the Bible, chap. i. p. 16. |