wiOiy ^-,/ .^^<*.■^''^ ' ^^%, ^ PRINCETON, N. J. \ Shelf.. \y Li, Numbt'i . 7f- '^'. ,f'' * ■* "* y. THE PAULINE THEORY INSPIRATION OF HOLY SCRIPTURE. THE AN INQUIRY INTO THE PRESENT UNSETTLED STATE OF OPINION CONCERNING THE NATURE OF PERSONAL INSPIRATION j WITH THE VIEW OF PLACING ON A CONSISTENT AND SCRIPTURAL BASIS THE INSPIRATION OF HOLY SCRIPTURE. / WILLIAM ERSKINE ATWELL, D.D., EX-SCHOLAR OF TRINITY COLLEGE, DUBLIN ; RECTOR OF CLONOE. H/ieiS Be oil TO iri'ev/xa Tov Kocrjuou fXo|3o/icr', /i/j rcscivcd,\ Hazell; WatSDn and Viaey Printers, London and Aylesbury. PREFACE, A SUBJECT which relates to the operations of the Divine Spirit on the spirit of man, is, no doubt, intrinsically abstruse. Nevertheless, it has for many years appeared to me that there must be some in- fluential cause besides at work, largely contributing to the present unsettled state of opinion on inspira- tion. What in the pure light of Scripture is clear, may become cloudy when compressed within the artificial enclosure of an arbitrary definition. Thus it really happened that the Pauline idea of inspiration has been lost sight of in the surrounding gloom of human improvement. In fact, the impossibility of adjusting the deductions of reason which proceed on uncertain principles, to the explicit statements of Holy Scripture, accounts for much of the present dis- content occasioned by the inconsistencies abounding in many modern treatises on the subject. vi" PREFACE. All the lines of Scripture converge to the person and work of Christ. This work — the great scheme of human redemption — the Saviour promised to unfold by the Paraclete to His apostles, after His departure ; for previously they were not prepared to understand fully, and accept, this mystery of the Gospel. " I have yet many things to say unto you, but ye cannot bear them now. Howbeit, when He the Spirit of Truth is come, He will guide you into all tJie Truth — iraaav rrjv aX^Oetav." Now it is to be observed that the guidance here promised is one into the kuoiolcdge of all the truth. Accordingly, it has been my object in this essay to show that in St. Paul's exhaustive analysis of the subject, this know- ledge is the resultant of the two distinct spiritual forces of revelation and inspiration. In fact, the apostle teaches that, while the lower parts of human nature cannot apprehend the higher truths — the deep things of God — " God hath revealed them unto us by His Spirit." Again, unless the mind and heart be prepared by inspiration to grasp and com- prehend the revelation, in any particular case, vouch- safed, it must remain for ever unknown. " Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but tJie Spirit ivhich is of God, [the exact scrijDtural idea of inspira- PREFACE. vii tion,] that we might know the things that are freely- given to us of God," ix.^ the revelations graciously presented. The idea here brought out, and insisted on, in these pages, is that inspiration is 2i preparation of the mind and heart, through the agency of the Holy Spirit, which transforms its character from the natural state ((^vyiKo'i) to the spiritual (TTvevixaTtico^). This transformation is absolutely necessary, since " the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness unto him, neither can he kiiozu them, because they are spiritually discerned.' Thus the agency of the Spirit in the work of in- spiration, is twofold : ist, to remove prejudice, and thus 2:ain a favourable consideration for the revcla- tion presented ; 2ndly, to improve and quicken the intuitional consciousness, and so to fit the mind for the full and clear apprehension and accurate know- ledge of the truth which that revelation was intended to convey. The Donnellan Lectures of the Archdeacon of Dublin were preached before tlie University in 1852. Two years previously, Mr. Robertson, of Brighton, one of the master spirits of the age, ex- pressed himself strongly on the unsettled state of viii PREFACE. opinion respecting the nature of inspiration ; for in a remarkable discourse he enumerates among the questions into which the subject breaks itself up, this one touching its very essence, 'What is meant by inspiration ? ' Dr. Lee, equally sensible of this unsettled state of opinion, notices the fact as existing, and " prevalent even with well-inform.ed persons ; " and observes, " So far as relates to the direct arguments which may be deduced from the expressions of the sacred writers in proof of their inspiration, but little remains to be said that has not been forcibly said already. With reference, however, to the nature of inspiration itself, and to the possibility of reconciling the unques- tionable stamp of humanity impressed upon every page of the Bible, with that undoubting belief in its perfection and infallibility which is the Christian's most precious inheritance, — it may be safely main- tained that in English theology almost nothing has been done, and that no effort has hitherto been made to grapple with the difficulties of the subject." In my mind, the expressions of the sacred writers themselves furnish the only reliable data from which to deduce also the nature of inspiration, or the Divine influence, which pervades and quickens the Bible. In PREFACE. my humble, but decided opinion, the co-operation of the Divine Spirit with the spirit of man is explained by St. Paul in terms so clear and cogent, that no additional light has been thrown on the union of the human element with the Divine by any uninspired writer since the days of the apostles. So that if the great question left to our age to solve be this, ' What is the nature of inspiration.^' its solution must be sought only in the Bible itself. No a priori assumptions can supply the place of this appeal to the holy volume. The results of such assumptions are perfectly well known. A talented author of great ability and high attainments has tried this plan. Assuming with little variation Perrone's definition of the inspiration of Holy Scripture, and even before he had made a transition to it, from per- sonal inspiration, taking this arbitrary definition, coupled with the infallibility of Scripture, as his point of departure, — although he must have been aware that eminent theologians of our Church were not universally agreed on either position, — Arch- deacon Lee has produced a treatise, elaborate and learned, on the Nature of the Inspiration of Holy Scripture. While he proceeds on these principles, (it may be asked,) can any writer have a well-grounded X PREFACE. hope that he shall be able to settle the vexed question, 'What is meant by inspiration ?' Judging, however, from the complaints of many, so rife since the publication of this work, who objected to the line of reasoning adopted, the definitions and divisions employed, as well as the arguments used, it can be confidently afhrmed that the question ' What is the nature of inspiration ? ' is as unsettled as ever. We must therefore conclude that, this failure ad- mitted, no one can approach the solution of the problem by a priori assumptions. Si Pergama dextra Defend! possunt ; etiam hac defensa fuissent. I have, moreover, endeavoured to show that the idea of inspiration borrowed from Perrone by Mr. Litton exactly, and with a small addition by Dr. Lee, harmonizes badly with the use of this word in our Prayer Book. The distinction between revelation and inspiration given by Dr. Lee has been the subject of severe criti- cism. Undoubtedly, it does not agree with the view of St. Paul. Dr. Henderson is of opinion that the distinction itself must be given up, as unnecessarily clogging the question. PREFACE. xi Notwithstanding-, on scriptural grounds, I am bold to say, there is a well-marked line of demarcation separating them, though this is not the one held by Dr. Lee, which besides (it has been argued) is not drawn sharply enough, so as to avoid confusion. Neither for this definition of inspiration, nor for the distinction here drawn between revelation and inspiration, can I find any substantial supports in the early Christian Fathers. On the other hand, the Pauline views of both are sustained by many such. Lastly, I have shown that St. Paul's view of in- spiration of Holy Scripture is more entitled to the rank and title of a theory than either the Organic or Dynamic, with this unquestionable advantage, that it is certainly true. Two of our ablest prelates, the Bishop of Winchester and the Bishop of Gloucester, whose praise is in all the churches, have spoken. The former feels that the present unsettled state of opinion on the subject causes "great anxiety, and not without reason." The latter, advising the rejection of " all the distinctions and definitions which were drawn up for no other purpose than to meet real or supposed difficulties," suggests that the holy volume itself should explain xii PREFACE. to US the nature of that influence by which it is per- vaded and quickened." I have therefore humbly tried both to show why these distinctions and definitions should be discarded, and, by positive teaching derived from Scripture, to supply the desideratum here indicated. CONTENTS. CHAPTER I. THE PRESENT STATE OF THE QUESTION. PAGE Unsettled state of opinion, in our day, as to the nature of inspi- ration — The Old Roman Catholic division of inspiration into ' Revelatio ' and ' Directio Divina ' generally prevailed at the Reformation period — None of the authors cited really held that the directio divina alone was inspiration as it is now regarded by modern writers— The true distinction between revelation and inspiration — The Pauline view of inspiration — This is the orthodox view as taught by the Anglican Church — St. Paul's analysis of the facts of the case ought to have led to a more accurate definition of inspiration than that which is now received and borrowed from Perrone ... i — 47 CHAPTER H. INVESTIGATION OF THE NATURE OF INSPIRATION, AND ITS RELATION TO THE AUTHORITY OF HOLY SCRIPTURE. The correct scriptural idea of inspiration — Its close connexion with revelation sometimes the source of confusion — Wrong methods of theorizing — Bishop EUicott's advice touching these methods, and hint of the true method — What Dean Alford considers to be the key to the whole question concerning the nature of the inspiration of Holy Scripture — Professor Light- foot on this point in Gal. i. 15, 16 — A strange conjecture of CONTENTS. Augustine bearing on the same point — Relation of inspiration to the Divine authority of tlie Scriptures — Mr. Svvainson's pertinent remark on this matter — Source of error in the ambiguities of language 48 — 76 CHAPTER III. DEFINITION OF INSPIRATION. The sense in which revelation and inspiration are now understood by many theologians altogether abandons the popular employ- ment of the terms — Results arising from this abuse of language — The definition now commonly adopted and derived from Perrone is not properly at all a definition of inspiration — Scriptural definition of inspiration in general — Starting from an a priori assumption such as is involved in Perrone's defi- nition, must lead to errors and inconsistencies — St. Paul's idea of the nature of inspiration is presented in the form of a true constructive system — Logical method of arriving at a scrip- tural definition of inspiration — Preparation in man for the exercise of any charism of the Spirit is the proper idea of this influence as to its effects — Hence the inspiration of Holy Scripture consists in the qualification to write, not in the act of writing -..-....- 77 — 103 CHAPTER IV. THE DISTINCTION BETWEEN REVELATION AND INSPIRATION. Two principles which must guide to a true determination of this distinction — The true subjective character of inspiration set forth in the Communion Service of our Church — Objections to the commonly received definitions of inspiration and revelation ■ — The true nature and extent of revelation was lost sight of at the time of the Reformation both by Lutherans and Roman Catholics ; and still continues so — The distinction between revelation and inspiration not deducible from the different CONTENTS. PAGE characters of isolated passages of Holy Scripture — Cardinal Cajetan and Melchior Cano on Revelation and Divine direc- tion — Remarks of a very able critic on the distinction as drawn by Dr. Lee .....---- 104— 131 CHAPTER V. THE NATURE OF INSPIRATION DEDUCED FROM ITS RELATION TO REVELATION. None but the spiritually prepared can receive and understand the revelations of God — There can be no revelation without inspiration : for without the latter the former would be un- intelligible — Thus Perrone's definition, and those derived from it, are untenable — Bretchneider makes inspiration a species of revelation, reversing the view of the old Roman theologians, who regarded inspiration as the genus, and revelation and Divine dii-ection its species — An excellent passage of Dr, Lee which might have suggested to him the true nature of inspiration 132 — 159 CHAPTER VL THE DIFFERENT KINDS AND MODES OF INSPIRATION.' The Inquiry as to the inspiration of the Bible must be postponed to that of the inspiration of the writers — The former is a result terminating in the written word, the last step of many in the series — Revelation, inspiration, knowledge, expression in words — The common definition of inspiration, as a Divine direction, partakes more of the nature of revelation — Inspiration is either (i.) primary and personal, or (ii.) secondary and Biblical — Again, personal inspiration is either (i) intellectual, or {2) moral — General definition which includes every form of personal in- spiration — Moral inspiration, as taught in our Church, has the essential characteristic of all inspiration, namely, pre- paration .-.-..-.. 160 — 191 CONTENTS. CHAPTER VII. THE SAME SUBJECT FURTHER CONSIDERED. PAGE Question examined whether poets, philosophers, and men of genius are inspired ; at most only a quasi-inspiration can be accorded to the naturally gifted — Mr. Robertson not very consistent on this point — Forms of inspiration, erring in defect or excess : 1st form, a guidance to the extfcrnal act of uttering in words or of writing Divine truth ; 2nd form, a guidance limited^ further to the written expression ; 3rd form, an undue extension to poets, philosopliers, and skilled craftsmen — The two first forms are not supported by the early Fathers, who claim to be themselves inspired, yet do not attach unerring accuracy to their own oral or written statements of religious truth 192 — 222 CHAPTER VIII. PROGRESS TOWARDS A SOUNDER AND MORE SCRIPTURAL TIEW OF INSPIRATION. The popular definition, as a special guidance to writing, of recent date ; such a limitation was proposed in 1689, and is sanctioned neither by Scripture nor antiquity — A regard to the Pauline synthesis would have led to a more accurate view — With the exception of one remarkable passage in Origen (giv^ in the title-page of this essay) the question of the nature of inspiration was really overlooked by the Fathers — Thomas Aquinas sheds some rays of light on the surrounding gloom — He states the conditions on which revelations are intelligible and communi- cable — Progress to more correct views marked in Hengstenberg, Havernick, Twesten - - 223 — 257 CHAPTER IX. THEORIES OF THE INSPIRATION OF HOLY SCRIPTURE. The formal idea of inspiration is preparation — This has three con- stituent elements — What is a legitimate theory of inspiration? CONTENTS. PAGE What a non-legitimate? — The Organic, Dynamic, and the Latitudinarian theories in the Essays and Reviews do not pro- ceed on right principles as to their construction — Philo's theory of inspiration is rather a classification of the different species of prophecy, and therefore is rather a theory of prophecy than of inspiration — Origen occupies the unique position of being the only ancient Father who gives the true nature of inspiration clearly and fully as a preparation for the reception of Divine revelations 25S — 305 CHAPTER X. GENERAL REMARKS AND CONCLUSION. Is St. Paul's full and complete proof that the written word is the word of God, to be regarded as a theory of the inspiration of Holy Scripture ? — Arguments in support of this view summed up — The usual argument against this position answered — The inconsistencies which have arisen from making a definition like Perrorie's the starting-point, are attended with one advantage, furnishing a test by which the doctrine may be tried - 306—326 APPENDIX. Notes and Illustrations 327— 33^ ERRATA. The footnotes in pages 15 and 16 ought to change places. Page 18, in note *, the reference should be to page 235. ,, 66, line 6, for is read it. ,, 96, line 20, for . The read ; the. THE INSPIRATION OF HOLY SCRIPTURE. CHAPTER I. THE PRESENT STATE OF THE QUESTION. A QUARTER of a century has now passed away, since the distinguished author of 'The Mission of the Comforter ' mournfully called attention — in an utter- ance still as fresh as when he pronounced it — to a desideratum in theology. When he said, "An in- telligent theory upon the subject of inspiration is a most pressing want of the day," he only expressed the general feeling of the divines of his own time. But these words were oracular ; for during all that period they have never ceased to echo the same note on the ear of the religious world. In a similar strain, and about the same time, Mr. Robertson of Brighton, one of the great thinkers of the age, notices the same want, and points out many 2 THE INSPIRATION OF HOLY SCRIPTURE. of the obstacles to be met and encountered before the desired goal can be reached : — " This is the deepest question of our day, the one which hes beneath all others, and in comparison of which, the questions now agitating the popular mind — whether of Papal jurisdiction, or varieties of Church doctrine in our own communion — are but superficial : it is the grand question of Inspiration, which is given to this age to solve." Of the many difficulties surrounding the problem, this brilliant writer, among others, mentions the following : — " What the Bible is, and what the Bible is not ? What is meant by inspiration ? Whether inspiration is the same thing as infallibility ? When God inspired the minds, did He dictate the words ? Does the inspira- tion of the men, mean the infaUibility of the words ? Are the operations of the Holy Spirit, inspiring men, compatible with partial error, as His operations, in sanctifying them, are compatible with partial evil." * It would be presumption in me to attempt a dis- cussion of the many nice distinctions of the various phases of the subject here presented. I may, how- ever, be permitted briefly to touch upon a few of the more important ; feeling unequal to bear the burden of the many weighty principles involved, lest, if too * Without committing oneself to the views of the eminent writers here referred to on all points, it can be safely said that no men were more competent to give an opinion on the present state of the question. THE PRESENT STATE OF THE QUESTION. heavily equipped, I might not find it easy to reach the end of my journey. Within the hmits of a short sermon, Mr. Robertson wisely took the shortest method of treating a subject so abstruse and so complicated, in a single, but very remarkable, aspect of the question. " Upon these things (he observes) there are many views, some of them false, some superstitious ; but it is not our business now to deal with these : our way is ratlier to teach positively than negatively. We will try to set up the truth, and error may fall before it." While approving, and also endeavouring to follow this method, I am obliged to mark out for myself a wider range. The importance of this question in its present theological bearings, is forcibly brought before us very recently in an able treatise : — " The indeterminateness of current opinions regard- ing the nature of inspiration and regarding consequent principles of interpreting Scripture, are to a great extent the vantage-ground from which the Christian faith is assailed in the now notorious ' Essays and Reviews.' How indeed can we settle the meaning of Scripture, or even combat for its claims upon us, until we have realized definite notions of what is involved in its being given of God, and yet coming through man." '" If, says Augustine, the authority * Ilcbert's Neology, page 136. 4 THE INSPIRATION OF HOLY SCRIPTURE. of the divine Scriptures is shaken, the Christian faith will falter, and with it will Christian practice also falter/'' The present unsettled state of the question has also been strongly felt by the learned Bishop of Win- chester, Dr. Harold Browne, whose weighty words deserve the deepest consideration : — " The historical sketch, thus rapidly given, seems to show that there have been always slight differences of tone and opinion touching this important question, but that these differences have never so markedly come out as in the nineteenth century. The subject at present causes great anxiety, and not without reason." f Let so much suffice to indicate the unrest, and dis- content, which at this moment prevail concerning the nature of inspiration, personal and Biblical. Of the ablest and most erudite treatises lately published on the subject, there is no end to the com- plaints of hostile criticism. On the contradictions and inconsistencies originating (it is alleged) from the confusion of thought and language in their authors, how much has been said by men of the highest cha- racter as theologians, and of known ability and great learnins ? * " Titubabit fides, si divinarum Sciipturanim vacillat auctoritas : porro fide titubante, charitas et etiam ipsa languescit." — Aug. de Doct. Chr., i. 41. t ' Aids to Faith,' page 301. THE PRESENT STATE OF THE QUESTION. 5 The subject is too sacred to be handled in a con- troversial spirit. I cannot, therefore, bring myself to think that writers, as remarkable for piety as for scholarship, would, from any lower motive than the love of truth, feel dissatisfied with the current views of inspiration, had they not just, at least very plausible, grounds for these complaints. Now — to come at once to the root of the matter — if there really be, as is alleged, palpable errors and inconsistencies in treatises which hold the notions popularly entertained, whence do they arise ? In this essay it will be shown — 1. That these authors generally take their answer to the question, ' What is inspiration ? ' not from the Bible, but from the traditions of Roman theology, and that this does not give the true scriptural idea of inspiration. 2. That there is a real distinction between Reve- lation and Inspiration ; but that this is not the one derived from the view of inspiration transmitted to us from the theology of Rome, resolvable into the elements of ' Revelation ' and ' Assistentia et Directio Divina.' 3. That the marvellous manner in which inspiration is interwoven with revelation, sometimes hides from view the very nature of inspiration. 4. That the ambiguity of language has told power- fully upon writers, who profess "to abandon altogether the popular employment of the terms revelation and 6 THE IXSPIRA TION OF HOL V SCRIPTURE. inspiration." For nothing more exposes men to the subtle inroads of inconsistency than the arbitrary- employment of words. Thus, violence being done to their established use, on which depend the rule and norm of speech, an unfailing Nemesis is sure to reassert nature's outraged rights. And so it happens that the abandoned meaning is again restored to its legitimate place, from which it had been forcibly expelled. I shall then endeavour, in the first place, to present what I am convinced is the true and scriptural idea of the inspiration of Holy Scripture, exhibited in a correct analysis of St. Paul's theory. And next I shall explain how the record of a Divine revelation is truly expressed in "words which the Holy Ghost teacheth." This analysis, it may be seen, rejects, as unsound, the present popular view of inspiration, borrowed from the dogmatic theology of Rome, and stereo- typed in the conventional language of the day. My conclusions, however, lead me to the highest form of verbal, though not mechanical, inspiration ; for they are by no means identical. In modern times, theories of inspiration date from the era of the Reformation. Now in the strife and heat of party spirit then prevailing, opinions were often hastily taken up, and as hastily renounced. As at that time men had no very definite notions con- cerning the distinct and proper functions of revelation . THE PRESENT STATE OF THE QUESTION. 7 and inspiration, for communicating Divine knowledge, inspiration generally signified with them the whole compound process* by which something was infused into the mind. The question ventilated at that stirring epoch, with much subtlety and earnestness, was, whether the Holy Spirit inspired only the matter, or both the matter and the words. Mosheim, in his ' Elementa Theologize dogmaticse,' presents a clear account of the progress of this notable controversy. He states that Luther held the view that the matter only was inspired ; and generally, that the theologians of the sixteenth century were of the same opinion ; but remarks that the adherents of the Church of Rome attacked this view. Reasoning, that if only the matter were inspired, the prophets and apostles might have erred in their enunciation of the truths inspired, they came to the conclusion that both the matter and form were inspired by the Holy Spirit. Mosheim winds up his narrative in these terms : " Our theologians deserted the view of Luther ; and at the end of the sixteenth century, and the beginning of the seventeenth, adopted the view that the Scrip- ture was inspired by the Holy Spirit, not only as to its matter, but also as to its form. This opinion took its first rise in Saxony, and then spread over almost * Even in our own day Dr. Henderson holds this view : ' Divine Inspiration,' p. 12. THE INSPIRATION OF HOLY SCRIPTURE. the entire Church. Yet some of our divines are unwilling to give up the view of Luther." Some time afterwards, the Church of Rome, how- ever, yielded a point in the direction of the Lutheran view ; for a controversy having arisen between two parties in the Roman communion — the Jesuits and Jansenists — in 158G, the former at their public lectures in Louvain set forth, among other propositions, (i) "That for anything to be sacred scripture, it is not necessary that its several words be -inspired by the Holy Spirit." (2) " It is not necessary that the several truths and their meaning should be immedi- ately inspired by the Holy Spirit to the writer him- self," (non est necessarium ut singulse veritat|s et sententiae sint immediate a Spiritu S. ipsi Scriptori inspiratse)," the business was settled in this way. To end this domestic quarrel, an apostolical breve in 1588 from Pope Sixtus V. commanded all parties to desist, until the matter should be determined finally by the Holy See. To this day it remains undecided — adJmc sub jiidice lis est. It is indeed not strange to find men to be so easily shaken in their opinions, when they entertain such wrong conceptions about the nature of inspiration* — a purely subjective influence as to its effects — trans- forming it into the objective transmission of thoughts * This great abuse of language, producing much confusion of thought, has come down to more recent times. Thus, treating of the degrees of inspiration, Bishop Wilson says, "By the insi:)iration of suggestion is THE PRESENT STATE OF THE QUESTION. 9 and words, and thus confounding it with revelation. In fact, revelation is altogether ignored in the propo- sition above referred to. The Tridentine Council gave no definition of inspi- ration ; but a widespread distinction existed among Roman and Lutheran theologians of the complex conception that went under the name of inspiration. This was its division into •' Revelatio ' and ' Assis- tentia et Directio* Divina,' to which already I have alluded. Thus Melchior Cano, Bishop of the Canaries, and before him Cardinal Cajetan on the part of Rome,! besides Calixt on the side of the Lutherans, upheld this distinction ; but none of them limited inspiration to the contracted bounds of the 'Assistentia et Directio Divina,' which, if not revelation, is rather a result of inspiration than inspiration itself. Cardinal Cajetan (born 1470), in his Commentary on Luke i., published 1528, writes : " Unde clare ap- paret Lucam scripsisse ex auditu ab Apostolis, et meant such communications of the Holy Spirit as suggested and detailed minutely every part of the truth delivered." — The Evidences of Chris- tianity, by Daniel Wilson, vol. i., p. 508. In like manner M. Athanase Coquerel defines the word, '• Inspiration is a transmission of ideas from God to man." — Christianity, p. 202. * "Another degree of inspiration is the inspiration of direction," (also mentioned by Wilson) ; and yet inspiration itself, in the popular definition, is direction or guidance. Thus the genus is transformed into a subordinate species. f Perrone is our authority for the view ncao received, and left un- decided by the Church of Rome. He teaches " libros sacros esse con- scrijutos utpote Spiritu S. afflante, Saltern quoad res et sententias." lo INSPIRATION OF THE HOLY SCRIPTURES. non revelatione sibi immediate facta : divina tamen gratia dirigente et servante ne in aliquoerraret." Melchior Cano (born 1523) in very decisive terms gives the view of the Cliurch of Rome : " Ipsi vero fatemur singula quaeque, sive magna seu parva, a sacris authoribus Spiritu Sancto dictante, esse edita : id a patribus accepimus, id fidehum animis inditum, et quasi insculptum est. Id itaque et nos ; Ecclesia prsesertim magistra et duce, retinere debemus. Non enim asserimus per immediatam S. Spiritus reve- lationem, quse quidem proprie revelatio dicenda sit, quamlibet Scripturse partem fuisse editam. Sive ergo Matthaeus et Joannes, seu Marcus et Lucas ; quamvis ilH visa, hi audita, referunt, non egebant S. Spiritus nova revelatione : egebant tamen pecuhari S. Spiritus directione." (See p. 126, ' De Locis Theol.,' lib. ii.) This view, though unsupported by Scripture, it must be admitted was, in some measure, necessitated by the prologue to the book of Ecclesiasticus, which with Roman Catholic divines is canonical. The question now arises, Is this direction rightly denominated, at the present time, inspiration } Cajetan and Cano did not, in their day, think so. And yet both were very familiar with the term in- spiration. What then } Why did they not use it in this sense .'' Doubtless because, with them, inspira- tion, as something infused into the mind, cannot apply to the external act of writing. According to THE PRESEJVT STATE OF THE QUESTrO.V. n the teaching of their Church, inspiration was this infusion by the Holy Spirit of the matter and form of the revelation. In their view, inspiration of the Holy Scriptures had a generic signification, including under it ' Revelation ' and ' Divine assistance and direction.' The idea then adopted by Roman Catholicism, was indeed — though not the scriptural one — very ancient and very general. This may be aptly exemplified by the classic phrase " divinely inspired dreams," where the revelation, as a subordi- nate species, is included in inspiration. And the whole process, whereby the Divine Spirit imparts the knowledge of things revealed, enabling the prophet or apostle to record the same faithfully and accurately, was called inspiration. Time rolled on, and was changed, and men were changed in it. What the earlier divines left undone, their successors tried to complete. The old division of Biblical inspiration into revela- tion and Divine direction, was at length transformed into the new division of revelation and inspiration, — a subordinate species, as I have said, of inspiration taking the place of inspiration itself, — and the long-desired definition of inspiration, after centuries of misgiving, came into the light of day, emerging from its hiding- place in that division. The finishing stroke of this tedious work was made when the dogmatic theology of Rome supplied a definition of this so-called in- spiration. In that Church, Peronne's is now accepted 12 THE INSPIRATION OF HOLY SCRIPTURE. as the authorised definition. This, which is the parent of the popularly received definition, is thus expressed, " Inspiration is that peculiar impulse of the Holy- Spirit, moving to write. His direction and aiding pre- sence ruling the mind and heart of the writer, so as not to suffer him to err, and so as to cause him to write what is agreeable to the will of Gcd." * It will be observed how the tendency to narrow the limits of revelation gradually advanced among Roman Catholic divines, who, as I have already remarked, felt themselves obliged to modify their views in ac- cordance with the sentiments expressed in the preface of the book of Ecclesiasticus. These sentiments im- parted much force to the division above referred to, and it spread far and wide. No writer has so fully and so clearly stated the view which prevailed in the early stages of the Reformation as Cardinal Bellar- mine : " God is the author of all the Divine Scrip- tures ; but He nevertheless assists the prophets in one ^y^ ; and others, especially the historians, in a different way. For He was wont to reveal the future to the prophets, and at the same time to assist them, lest they should introduce anything false into their writings ; and thus the prophets had no other labour than that of writing or dictating. But to other writers * " Inspiratio est singularis ea Spiritus Sancti moventis ad scii- bendum, impulsio, directio ac prsesentia mentem animumque Scriptoris gubernans qucE non sinit eum errare ; efficitque ut scribat quK velit Deus." — Prcelectiones TheoL, Perrone. THE FRESEN7 STATE OF THE QUESTIOX. 13 God did not always reveal what they should write ; yet He excited them to write the things which they had seen or heard, and of which they had the recol- lection : and at the same time He assisted them, lest they should write anything false. This assistance did not exempt them from the labour of thinking and inquiring what, and how, they should write." * The time, however, had not yet arrived for reducing inspiration to the dimensions of this second term of the division. Still it may be safely affirmed that every modern, and the commonly received definition of inspi- ration, has in this lucid statement been forestalled by Bellarmine. And no less safely may it be affirmed that this is not inspiration in the mind of Bellarmine, as it was not in the minds of Cajetan and Cano. So much have recent authors in our day mistaken the true nature of this sacred influence. It is indeed to be observed, that revelation is not excluded by those theologians, even in the record of matters cognizable by unaided human reason ; but only express revelation. For in the passage cited in Basil * "Dcum quidem esse autorem omnium divinarum Scripturarum, sed aliter tamen adesse solitum prophetis, aliter aliis proesertim historicis. Nam prophetis revelabat futura ct simul assistebat ne aliquid falsi ad- miscerent in scribendo : et ideo prophetce non alium habuerunt laborem quam scribendi vel dictandi : aliis autem scriptoribus Deus non semper revelabat ea quae scripturi erant sed excitabat ut scriberent ea qu.t viderant vel audierant quorum recordabantur : et simul assistebat ne falsi aliquid scriberent : qua; assistentia non faciebat ne laborarent cogitando et quccrendo quid et quomodo scripturi essent." 14 THE INSPIRATION OF HOIY SCRIPTURE. by Cano, these words occur, " haec supernaturali lumine et expfessd revelatione ut scriberentur non egebant." Now the direction and assistance of the Holy Spirit mentioned, is, if anything, a veritable undoubted revelation ; while, on the other hand, the absence of supernatural light shuts it out from the category of inspiration. Such is the perplexity involved in the new distinc- tion introduced between revelation and inspiration ; and in the new definition of what late writers please^ to call inspiration. All this would have been avoided, had they, according to the Pauline conception, regarded inspiration as an effect produced by the Spirit of God preparatory to the knowledge of Divine truths, presented by revelation to the mind and heart of the apostle or prophet ; and the things recorded as constituent parts of one entire narrative. Then there should be no reason to deny inspiration to be necessary to the full and clear understanding of the whole, though separate portions of it could be com- prehended by the light of nature. Previously, however, to entering on the examination of the scriptural view of the nature of the inspiration of the Bible set forth by the apostle Paul, it may be useful to clear the way by removing two misconcep- tions lurking in the minds of theorists, who aim at being "wise above that which is written." One of these relates to the extent of revelation, the other to the nature of inspiration. THE PRESENT STATE OF THE QUESTION. 15 The reader has no doubt anticipated much of what I am about to say, in the remarks already made on the Httle support which the current views respecting the nature of inspiration in this nineteenth century derive from the vacillating and shifting opinions of the authors of the post-reformation period, concern- ing the question. What is inspiration ? So much reason had Mr. Robertson to include among the m-any difficulties by which the subject is embarrassed, the primary question, " What is meant by inspiration ? " But fresh difficulties have started up, and have dis- turbed other inquirers, who ask, What is revelation ? What is the distinction between revelation and in- spiration ? How much then is the embarrassment multiplied ? I do not know any treatise where these questions are answered in exact accordance with the statements of Holy Scripture, above all with the Pauline expo- sition of them in the second chapter of i Corinthians. I. Very great confusion both of thought and language has generally shrouded the whole subject in darkness, in consequence of authors narrowing the field of revelation beyond what Scripture warrants ; and excluding from this category all Divine disclosures through ideas supernaturally suggested to the minds of the holy apostles and prophets.* * See DocUlridg g-rw-fay. y . / /r.. 1 6 THE INSPIRATIOISf OF HOLY SCRIPTURE. Now, that this was one of the many ways {rrroXv- Tp6iTcoi)iiUuUc' u. Suta THE PRESENT STATE OF THE QUESTION. 17 intelligibility * of a revelation is the inspiration of the mind to which the revelation is presented, this revelation implies that Peter's mind and heart had been opened by the Spirit of God, so as rightly to understand the disclosure of the truth conveyed to his soul, and clearly expressed in his answer. I must not, however, anticipate what next comes to be considered. Again, in i Cor. xiv. 30, St. Paul instructs the Christian prophets of the Church at Corinth in the proper and edifying use of their gift, and advises, "If anything be revealed to another that sitteth by, let the first hold his peace." Here is a clear case of a revelation imparted to a person sitting in an assembly of Christians, by divinely suggested thoughts. Again, when Christ instructed His disciples, at what times they should be delivered up to councils, not to premeditate, for it should be given to them in that hour, what they should say ; or when He promised that the Comforter should recall to their remembrance what He had said unto them ; new instances rise up to view of revelations by suggestion, of the same kind as those referred to. Once more : Jesus of Nazareth, as very man in whom dwelt all the fulness of the Godhead bodily, while He tabernacled in the flesh, being like His brethren in all things, sin only excepted, was favoured with express revelations, — voices from heaven, angelic * See Eph. i. 18. i8 THE INSPIRATION OF HOLY SCRIPTURE. visitants. But as He enjoyed an unbroken com- munion with His heavenly Father, the more frequent revelations which He received, were not express, but ideal and suggestive.* Picture in imagination the All-merciful approaching the grave of Lazarus, and Mary falling down at His feet. Behold the sympathy of Jesus for the weeping broken-hearted sister ! Her sorrows touched His human soul at a tender point, and He wept. What a sight this for the contemplation of men and angels ! — a scene in which the truest emotions of man's nature are drawn out in their loveliest form. They come to the tomb. "And Jesus lifted up His eyes, and said, Father, I thank Thee that Thou hast heard me." f Was not He, who, as the Son of Man, prayed to the Father, in very deed a fit recipient of Divine revelations .^ He, who was one Christ, by taking the manhood into God ; and who, though one with the Father, yet, O ineffable mystery, prayed to the Father, and obtained by direct revelation an assu- rance that His prayer was heard ! Compare Matthew XX vi. 53. All these, on the unquestionable authority of Scripture, are properly and truly revelations; and to be called such. So far had Melchior Cano, and those who had adopted the view that " express * See Dr. Salmon's Sermons, p. 44» 1861. f Thomas Aquinas, the great luminary of the scholastic age, enume- rates suggestion as a class of revelations : see p. 109. THE PRESENT STATE OF THE QUESTION. 19 revelations " are only those which are correctly de- nominated revelations, deviated from the scriptural standard.* In matters of so delicate a nature, and having regard to the fact that, even after nineteen centuries have almost passed away, the questions are still asked, " What is revelation ? " " What is inspiration ? " an appeal must be made, not to human conjecture, but to Divine certainty. In the second chapter of his epistle to the Galatians, St. Paul says, " Then fourteen years after I went up again to Jerusalem with Barnabas ; and took Titus also with me. And I went up by revelation^ On this passage Professor Lightfoot remarks, — and his remark strongly corroborates the view which I have taken, — " In Luke's narrative (Acts xv. 2) he is said to have been sent by the Church at Antioch. The revelation either prompted or confirmed the decision of the Church. Here there is no contradiction. The historian naturally records the external impulse which led to the mission : the apostle himself states his inward motive. What I did, he says, I did not owing to circumstances, not as yielding to pressure, not in deference to others, but because the Spirit of * The immense range of this class of revelations can be understood from these pertinent remarks of Jerome : "Pharissei stupent ad doc- trinam Domini, et mirantur in Pe'tro et Johanna quomodo legem sciant, quiim literas nondidicerint. Quidquid enimaliis exercitatio et quotidiana in lege meditalio tribuere solet, illis Spiritus ^■^xio.X.M.'i suggcrcbat." — Ad Paiilin., Ep. liii., t. i., p. 271. 20 THE INSPIRATION OF HOIY SCRIPTURE. God told me it was right. The very stress which he lays on this revelation seems to show that other influences were at work." In the preceding chapter St. Paul also refers to internal revelation, verse i6 : "When it pleased God to reveal His Son in me." Olshausen proceeds a step farther, and shows how, by a superior inspiration and internal suggestive revelation, the Divine Spirit enabled the blessed apostles to unfold the mind of the Spirit, not only in the new disclosures made to themselves, but also in the right understanding of the old. " The apostles, like all other writers of the New Testament, had in the ilhtmination of the Holy Spirit the full authority to pass beyond the standpoint of consciousness in the Old Testament writers, and to unveil their innermost truth of the thought according to the sense of Him who promised and foretold. If, therefore, Jewish learning also has made similar applications of Old Testament passages, still the distinction of the apostolic mode of procedure from the Rabbinical always consisted in this, that the learned Jew acted merely according to the arbitrary manner of human beings, by which their acuteness often degenerated into mere conceits ; while the apostles, guided by the Spirit, ever unveiled infallibly the true sense of the predicting Spirit (2 Peter i. 20, 21)." Now what is the guidance of the Spirit but a revelation, or an unveiling rather, to their own spirits, of truths which otherwise they could not expound to THE PRESENT STATE OF THE QUESTION. 21 others, but which, by inspiration or "the illumination of the Holy Spirit " being enabled to understand,* they were fitted to explain ? For, as is stated by a very able writer, f if this guidance participate not largely of the nature of revelation, it is nothing, or an unintelligible impulse. | Writers have embarrassed the subject immensely by confounding this class of undoubted revelations with inspiration. They however hide the confusion by applying to this mode of revelation the desig- nation of ' direction.' Still it may be asked can anything be more a revelation than the suggestions of the Spirit which such supernatural direction really implies .-' Thus Ouenstadt, quoted by Dr. Lee (who appears himself to use the word suggestion in the same sense, though it is hard to see the meaning which either attaches to the word), writes : " Each and all such matters were not only committed to writing, under the infallible assistance and direction of God, but are to be ascribed to the special snggestion, inspiration, and dictation of the Holy Spirit." Now it is not easy to understand the double aid referred to in this perplexing sentence, since the reason added seems to be itself merely a repetition of the infallible assistance and direction. The reason * Eph. i. 18. t Journal Sac. Lit., April 1866. p. 170. X Of the large scriptural sense assigned to revelation, see Eph. i. 17 ; Philip, iii. 15. 22 THE INSPIRATION OF IIOIY SCRIPTURE. is thus given : " For all things which were to be written were in the very act of writing suggested by the Holy Spirit." And this only becomes intelligible on the supposition that with Quenstadt inspiration was something different from 'Divine direction,' as was indeed to be expected in a Lutheran Professor of Theology of that period. Quenstadt was born in 1617. Again, Dr. Lee remarks, " We have reason to believe that, in general, the Divine communications were not committed to writing for some time after they were received : there are even instances of several years having elapsed before they were placed on record. Now in all such cases, where it was the will of God that a record of a revelation should be preserved as a guide and a rule for future ages, the co-operation of the Holy Spirit was indispensable, in order both to bring the original communications before the mind of the sacred writer in its primitive perfection, and to enable him to record it with in- fallible accuracy." Here it is to be considered, in the first place, whether in this vague statement, leaving undefined the steps by which the sacred writer was guided to such infallible utterance, this co-operation of the Holy Spirit can in any proper sense of the word be denominated inspiration, although it may be fairly called ' direction.' In the second place, no notice or account is taken of the fact, that the original THE PRESENT STATE OF THE QUESTION. 23 communications of our Lord to His apostles were generally misunderstood, or only partially understood by them. A presentation to their minds at a future time of these communications, with every additional infor- mation, which only then they were able to bear, and by inspiration able to receive, and thoroughly to comprehend, gives to them an indisputable title to the name of revelation. I cannot see any valid reason for calling ideas suggested for the first time to the mind by the Holy Spirit, a revelation ; and refusing this designation to a former communication, now perhaps forgotten, when it is amplified and presented in a new light, — when, that is, the apostle, through inspiration able to bear it, can receive the communication, not certainly " in its primitive perfection," but in a much higher state of perfection. Besides, if this illumination and quickened intuition be inspiration, (as it really and truly is — and this I shall presently show,) I ask, is that which, on Scrip- ture authority, I have called revelation, also inspira- tion ? So much for this mode of revelation, which cannot be confounded with inspiration. But, to do the old authors — from whom this dis- tinction is borrowed — ^justice, they instead call it by another name, ' dircctio.' Thus, when the many ways in which Divine truths have been supernaturally re- vealed, are classified — such as visions, ecstasy, dreams. 24 THE INSPIRATION OF HOLY SCRIPTURE. audible voices, symbolic acts, Urim and Thummim, angelic appearances, spirits of the departed, — another mode, viz., that of the Divine suggestion of thoughts to the mind, must be added to the number* Indeed, short of this more comprehensive enumera- tion (as I shall show more fully hereafter), a legitimate designation is scarcely given to the Bible, when we call it ' a Divine revelation.' And this sentiment is in unison with the view of Bishop Stillingfleet : " The primary notion of a prophet doth not lie in foretelling future events, but in declaring and interpreting to the world the mind of God, which he receives by imme- diate revelation from Himself." II. Inspiratio (^eoTn^euo-rm) signifies the inbreathing of God. The ordinary use of the term, it has been ^truly remarked, confuses the distinct conceptions of breathing into> and breathing out. We cannot fail to perceive in St. Paul's view of the. matter, that an influence of a peculiar kind, infused by the Holy Spirit into the spirit of the apostle or prophet, is that which is properly called inspiration. But an outflowing energy, enabling him to commit * Since writing the view here given by me, of the comprehensive scriptural meaning of revelation, I have found with much pleasure its strong confirmation in the very learned treatise of Dr. Henderson, even while he confounds revelation with inspiration as many of the reformers had done. "The modes of Divine revelation, or the exertion of in- spiring influence, which it pleased the author of all wisdom to select, are the following : direct internal suggestion, audible articulate sounds, the Urim and Thummim, dreams, visions, and the reappearance of the departed. " THE PRESENT STATE OF THE QUESTION. 25 to writing what had been revealed, can, in no legitimate sense of the term, be denominated inspira- tion.* For the latter is not inspiration, but prophecy, (irpo^TfTeLo) the external act of utterance, or teaching, as explained above by Stillingfleet. And it is note- worthy that in our Lord's division of the Scriptures into "the law of Moses, the prophets, and the Psalms, prophecy has its larger and more correct signification. When the Holy Ghost breathed this hallowed influence into the prophets and apostles, they became bearers of the Spirit (Trvev/jbaTotpopoi), i.e., inspired and fitted for the prophetic office. In former times, before the necessities of the case had forced theorists — as each new theory was started — to attach a new meaning to the word, inspiration (though generally taken for the whole combined internal result of inspiration and revelation) had been very rarely confounded with the outward act of expression, or Trpo^ijrela. The prophet's office was to declare the truths revealed to him. And he was duly qualified for that work by the infused gift of inspiration. Thus Theophilus ad Autolycum, (ii. § 9,) refers to this as the qualification for the prophetic enunciation * I cannot read Philo in the sense given by Dr. Henderson and Dr. Lee, (see p. 262,) as if '' he divided inspiration into two species, 'tpiirjvka and Trpo(p,,THa.-' Philo says, " they differ," but does not say that cither of these two modes of e.\pressing God's will is inspiration. 26 THE INSPIRATION OF HOLY SCRIPTURE. of these truths in the following words: "The prophets inspired by God Himself."* But to proceed. Both in revelation and inspiration there are to be considered, first, the Divine act, and next the effect produced on the mind. These are often not kept distinct ; in the same manner as inven- tion is used ambiguously, — sometimes denoting the act of inventing, sometimes the thing invented. To enable man, who by his unaided natural faculties cannot grasp the spiritual truths conveyed to his mind by revelation, a power of recipiency is divinely imparted, and a distinct recognition that the things revealed are not the natural offsprings of his own mind. As intromitted forces, acting on mart's intellectual and moral faculties, the radical and essential difference of each (which must exist in the tilings themselves) cannot be in the Divine agents — whether the Father, or the Son, or the Holy Spirit be the operating cause ; nor in any external results produced ; but in the influences wrought upon the mind. Now such are the following : — In revelation there are presentations to the mind — something objectively given, such as thoughts, super- naturally suggested to the understanding, or objects of some kind to the spiritual faculties. In inspiration there are no presentations. It is * Truofijrai vn avrov tov 9eov iixirvivaQivriQ. THE PRESENT STATE OF THE QUESTION. 27 simply and solely a Divine subjective influence, wrought on the mind and heart by the Spirit of God. This is called by Bishop Wordsworth, " a Spiritutil Transfiguration," see page 107. To objectify inspira- tion is entirely to mistake its true nature, function, and office. A subjective influence on the human soul, produced by the operation of the Holy Spirit, is the formal and proper idea of this imparted gift. And this perfectly accords with the analogous influ- ences of the same Divine agent recorded in many passages of Scripture,* as when He imparted courage and strength to Samson, and quickened intelligence in works of art to Bezaleel and Aholiab. Moreover, this mistaken view has a double aspect : whether the object be something infused into the mind, or some result of this sacred internal influence extra7ieous to the mind. In the former sense, inspiration wrongly moved in the sphere of objectivity when there appeared in the Jansenist controversy (A.D. 1586) the proposition "non est necessarium ut singulse veritates et sententire sint immediate a Spiritu Sancto ipsi scriptori inspiratcu." In the latter, when Dr. Lee, with equal error, fixes on the objective results of inspiration. This distin- guished Biblical scholar asserts in very positive terms, from which I am forced to dissent, " The inspiration of the authors of the Bible was an energy altogether * This is also the idea of our Church. See the prayer for the Churcli Militant in Communion Service, quoted page 1 07. 28 THE INSPIRA TION OF HOL V SCRIPTURE. objective, and directed to supply the wants of the Church. The inspiration of the Christian is altogether subjective, and directed to the moral improvement of the individual."* Again, "the true idea of inspiration is altogether objective, extending to every portion of every book."t Now I submit that we cannot define inspiration, either intellectual or moral, in the manner here indicated, from the terminus ad qiievi, — that is, from results. In both cases, inspiration was an accom- plished spiritual fact within the soul of the sacred author, on the one hand, and of the Christian believer on the other, antecedently to the results which they were intended to produce. In other words, inspi- ration was objective in neither ; for on the same ground that you call the inspiration of the sacred writer objective, you must call that of the Christian, also, objective, according to the orthodox teaching of our Church : " Grant to us Thy humble servants that by Thy holy inspiration we may think those things that be good, and by Thy merciful guiding may perform the same;"| and, without doubt, the performance of the things that be good, is as much objective, as the speaking or writing the things that are true. To which we may add, that if the guiding in the one case is not inspiration, so neither is it * See ' Inspiration of Holy Scripture,' 2nd ed., p. 243. •f See page 31, ibid. % Collect for Fifth Sunday after Easter. THE PRESENT STATE OF THE QUESTION. 29 in the other, as is stated in the popularly received definition of inspiration. Havernick states in what "the essence and subjective peculiarity" consists. (See chap. viii. of this essay.) The very compound term itself, 6eoTTvevaTo