The Divine Inspiration of the Bible
CHAPTER TWO: THE PERENNIAL FRESHNESS OF THE BIBLE BEARS WITNESS TO ITS DIVINE INSPIRER
CHAPTER THREE: THE UNMISTAKABLE HONESTY OF THE WRITERS OF THE BIBLE ATTESTS TO ITS HEAVENLY ORIGIN
CHAPTER FOUR: THE CHARACTER OF ITS TEACHINGS EVIDENCES THE DIVINE AUTHORSHIP OF THE BIBLE
CHAPTER FIVE: THE FULFILLED PROPHECIES OF THE BIBLE BESPEAK THE OMNISCIENCE OF ITS AUTHOR
CHAPTER SIX: THE TYPICAL SIGNIFICANCE OF THE SCRIPTURES DECLARE THEIR DIVINE AUTHORSHIP
CHAPTER SEVEN: THE WONDERFUL UNITY OF THE BIBLE ATTESTS ITS DIVINE AUTHORSHIP
CHAPTER EIGHT: THE MARVELOUS INFLUENCE OF THE BIBLE DECLARES ITS SUPER-HUMAN CHARACTER
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CHAPTER NINE: THE MIRACULOUS POWER OF THE BIBLE SHOWS FORTH THAT ITS INSPIRER IS THE ALMIGHTY |
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CHAPTER TEN: THE COMPLETENESS OF THE BIBLE DEMONSTRATES ITS DIVINE PERFECTION
CHAPTER ELEVEN: THE INDESTRUCTIBILITY OF THE BIBLE IS A PROOF THAT ITS AUTHOR IS DIVINE
CHAPTER TWELVE: INWARD CONFIRMATION OF THE VERACITY OF THE SCRIPTURES
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Typed by Kathy Sewell, ksewell@gate.net
February 7, 1997
THE DIVINE INSPIRATION OF THE BIBLE
ARTHUR W. PINK
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.
INTRODUCTION
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.
CHAPTER ONE: THERE IS A PRESUMPTION IN FAVOR 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?
CHAPTER TWO: THE PERENNIAL FRESHNESS OF THE BIBLE BEARS WITNESS TO ITS DIVINE INSPIRER
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?
CHAPTER THREE: THE UNMISTAKABLE HONESTY OF THE WRITERS OF THE BIBLE ATTESTS TO ITS HEAVENLY ORIGIN
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).
CHAPTER FOUR: THE CHARACTER OF ITS TEACHINGS EVIDENCES THE DIVINE AUTHORSHIP OF THE BIBLE
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.
CHAPTER FIVE: THE FULFILLED PROPHECIES OF THE BIBLE BESPEAK THE OMNISCIENCE OF ITS AUTHOR
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.
CHAPTER SIX: THE TYPICAL SIGNIFICANCE OF THE SCRIPTURES DECLARE THEIR DIVINE AUTHORSHIP
"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.
CHAPTER SEVEN: THE WONDERFUL UNITY OF THE BIBLE ATTESTS ITS DIVINE AUTHORSHIP
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)?
CHAPTER EIGHT: THE MARVELOUS INFLUENCE OF THE BIBLE DECLARES ITS SUPER-HUMAN CHARACTER
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.
CHAPTER NINE: THE MIRACULOUS POWER OF THE BIBLE SHOWS FORTH THAT ITS INSPIRER IS THE ALMIGHTY
I. The Power of Gods Word to Convict Men of Sin.
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?
II. The Power of Gods Word to Deliver Men From Sin.
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."
III. The Power of Gods Word Over the Human Affections.
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?
CHAPTER TEN: THE COMPLETENESS OF THE BIBLE DEMONSTRATES ITS DIVINE PERFECTION
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.
CHAPTER ELEVEN: THE INDESTRUCTIBILITY OF THE BIBLE IS A PROOF THAT ITS AUTHOR IS DIVINE
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.
CHAPTER TWELVE: INWARD CONFIRMATION OF THE VERACITY OF THE SCRIPTURES
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: -
"I came to Jesus as I was.
Weary and worn and sad;
I found in Him a resting place
And He has made me glad."