BY THE REV. NEIL MACINTYRE, GLENDALE.1
IN this age of scepticism, if we are to hold fast the form of sound words, it is necessary that we should have some intelligent idea of what the Bible is, where it came from, and how it has come to us in a language which we can understand. Need I say that, to reap any real and lasting benefit of studying the Bible, we require the light and guidance of the Holy Spirit, for it is the Spirit alone that can open our eyes to see the wonders of God’s law?
In proceeding to consider the Bible as the inspired Word of God, I shall briefly bring before you, in the first place, three terms commonly used in connection with the subject: 1st, Inspiration; 2nd, Revelation; 3rd, Illumination.
Inspiration means “in-breathing.” This is clearly brought out by the Apostle Peter in his 2nd Epistle, 1st chap. 21st verse—”Holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.” Inspiration is that peculiar influence of the Holy Ghost exercised over the minds of the writers of the Old and New Testaments, by which they were preserved and guided to record everything with infallible accuracy. Revelation is an immediate discovery of God’s mind to man. This we see referred to in Gal. i. 12—”For I neither received it of man, neither was I taught it, but by the revelation of Jesus Christ.” It is the work of the Holy Spirit, making truths known to man which could not otherwise have entered his mind, such, for example, as the doctrines of the Trinity and Incarnation, etc. Illumination is the work of the Spirit in all believers, whereby the darkness of their understandings is removed and their minds are enlightened in the knowledge of Christ. We should guard against a common error, which holds that all believers are inspired. All such are certainly illuminated, but no believer is or was inspired, except those who wrote the Old and New Testaments.
Let us now consider the Bible as a book.
Bible: that is the name commonly given to the sacred writings. It comes from “Biblos” (Greek). Biblos may mean any book, but we speak of the Bible as the book, giving it that supreme place which no other book possesses. It is also common to speak of the Bible as the Holy Scriptures. The word “scriptures” comes from “scripta” (Latin), and means writings, so that the Holy Scriptures are the Holy Writings. The Bible, then, is the written book of God, given by inspiration of His Spirit.
The Bible is made up of two great parts, the Old and New Testaments. The word “testament” comes from “testamentur,”
1 When these lectures were being prepared, the writer had no thought of publishing them; they were simply meant for his own congregation. It is not because of any intrinsic value he claims for them, but owing to the advice of some friends, he gives them publicity.—N. M’N.
and means a solemn written document in which a person declares his will as to the disposal of his estate and effects after his death. The Bible is the testament or covenant which Christ has given to the Church, and has sealed by His death. We often hear the expressions, “the Bible and the Testament,” giving the name “Bible” to the Old Testament, and the name “Testament” to the New. These distinctions are wrong, and we should never speak of the Bible but as containing these two great parts, the Old and New Testaments.
The Old Testament, which was written before Christ appeared on earth, was all composed in Hebrew, except a few chapters, which were written in the Chaldee language. About 200 years before Christ the Old Testament was translated into Greek. This translation is called the “Septuagint,” because accomplished by seventy men at Jerusalem.
Perhaps we should briefly advert here to an argument which is commonly used against the inspiration of the Bible. Those who cavil at the Word of God generally, say that, because our Bible is a translation, it cannot be inspired. But it is well known that the original Hebrew MSS. were not in existence during the time of our Lord’s humiliation, and further, that the Septuagint was then in general use in Palestine, and was the only translation commonly used till the beginning of the fourth century. And yet, let it be observed that Christ, the apostles, and early Christians reverently referred to this translation as the Word of God. Now, is there any difference in principle between an English and a Greek translation? It was this very Greek copy of the Old Testament with which Timothy was acquainted from childhood, and yet the Holy Spirit, through Paul, terms it “the Holy Scriptures.”
The New Testament was all written in Greek after the Ascension of Christ. The New Testament being finished, we have a complete Greek Bible.
The Bible when written was not divided into chapters and verses as we have it now. There were many attempts at dividing the Bible into sections, but the division of it into the present form of chapters is generally ascribed to one Cardinal Hugo, in the thirteenth century. About 1551, Robert Stephen, a French printer, divided the New Testament into verses, while he was travelling from Paris to Lyons, and from him they have been copied into all English and other editions of the sacred scriptures. Whatever merit we ascribe to these divisions, yet we cannot reasonably suppose that a man riding on horseback was in competent circumstances to break up the text of Scripture into 7959 verses correctly. We only wish to draw attention to the fact that these divisions are not the work of the Holy Spirit, and that there is, therefore, no crime in correcting them. We are not finding fault with the present arrangement, and any alterations would probably cause much inconvenience.
The names prefixed to the books of the Bible are of great antiquity. The authors of the names are unknown. A few, of course, have Divine authority, such as the “Book of Psalms.” The names of the separate books of the Pentateuch came down to us from the titles found in the Septuagint. The titles of the other books of the Old Testament are generally taken from the opening word or sentence in the books. The titles, especially of the Pentateuch, are very appropriate and most important, as they are full of meaning.
The Pentateuch (which means five books) was written by Moses more than 3000 years ago, and consists of the most ancient writings in the world. Let us look at the appropriateness of the titles of these five books.
Genesis, which is the name of the first book, means “generation” or “beginning.” You will see how suitable the title is, for this great book gives us the history of the beginning of creation and the generation of man. It gives the history of the world for about 2369 years. It is common in our day to cast doubts upon the authenticity of this book. Professor Denney and others deny that it is inspired, or that Moses was its author; but, strange to relate, that Genesis is quoted not less than thirty-two times in the New Testament as part of God’s Word.
Exodus, which is the title of the second book, means “going forth.” It describes the deliverance of Israel from the bondage of Egypt, and their journey to the land of Canaan. It gives the history of Israel for about 145 years, and is similarly quoted in the New Testament fifteen times.
Leviticus, which is the third book, is so called because it chiefly consists of laws relative to the Levitical priesthood. To a careless reader nothing appears more trifling than some parts of this book, but to the wise and prudent Christ is the sum and substance of it all. To show that it was received by Christ and the inspired apostles as the Word of God, it is quoted thirteen times in the New Testament.
Numbers, which is the fourth book, is so called because it relates to the numbering of the people. It shows that the promise which God gave to Abraham, that his seed should be as the stars of heaven for multitude, was fulfilled. It covers a period of thirty-eight years of the life of Israel, and is mentioned in the New Testament eighteen times.
Deuteronomy, which is the fifth and last book of Moses, signifies “the law repeated.” It briefly touches on many former circumstances, and ends with an account of the death of Moses, which is supposed to have been written by Joshua. Perhaps there is no book in the Old Testament which has suffered more than this at the hands of the critics, especially at the hands of Professor Robertson Smith. The Lord of the Bible, foreseeing that this book would be assailed with such terrible fury, encompassed it with a high and strong wall. When Christ was tempted in the
wilderness by the Devil we find that he took out of it three of the passages by which he met and overcame Satan (Deut. vi. 13, vi. 16, viii. 3. Matt. iv. 4, 7, 10). This book is mentioned eighteen times in the New Testament.
We hope to deal in a future article with how the Bible has come to us in a language we can understand.
Brief Account of Gustavus Adolphus.
IN our last issue we narrated the parting of the two rival leaders after their ineffectual meeting at Nuremberg. Gustavus having debated the alternative plans of marching westward to Vienna or southward to Bavaria, chose the latter direction. He accordingly marched, and was on the point of besieging Ingoldstat, the headquarters of Jesuitism, when he received news out of the north which troubled him. Wallenstein, neglecting the danger to rearwards, had set himself, with a reinforced army, to invade the domains of the Duke of Saxony. The Duke was the King’s most important but most dubious ally. As matters then stood, the fidelity of Saxony to the Protestant cause was a thing vital in the highest degree, and the Duke, half-hearted at best, had to be secured both against the terror and seduction of Wallenstein’s presence. Accordingly, Gustavus summoning all his reserves, started northwards in pursuit of Wallenstein, resolved to attack him wherever he found him. He marched rapidly from stage to stage. At Erfurt he bade farewell to his queen, whom he was not to see again. At Naumburg the people, fearing the advent of Wallenstein, and overjoyed to see Gustavus instead, saluted him with a reverence which was excessive. This, instead of elating him, made him sad, and he said, “These people honour me as a god ; I fear God will punish me.” The King, finding Wallenstein in front, and much increased in numbers by the accession of another army under Pappenheim, saw good to forbear an open engagement, and prepared to entrench himself at Naumburg to await events. Wallenstein, concluding that Gustavus was now encamped for the winter, and disinclined for active operations, detached Pappenheim to pursue some supposed advantageous design towards the Rhine. Gustavus, hearing of this division of the enemy’s forces, saw his opportunity, and sprang to arms immediately. Surveying more accurately Wallenstein’s weakened position, he exclaimed joyfully, “Now I verily believe that God hath given the enemy into my hands.” Wallenstein finding that a crisis was at hand, moved with all available forces into the extensive plain of Lutzen. Gustavus having driven in some cavalry sent to embarrass the passage of a small river which lay between him and Wallenstein, came up with the enemy on November 5, 1632, but it was now nightfall and too late to attack. The King passed the night in consultation with his generals. Early in the morning the King had prayers read to himself by his
chaplain Fabricius. (Gustavus was a Lutheran.) “The rest of the army (we quote Chapman’s work) sang Luther’s hymn ‘Our God is a strong tower,’ and Gustavus himself led another hymn, ‘Jesus Christ our Saviour, He overcame death.’ The King mounted his horse without having broken his fast. He wore a plain buff coat without armour, replying it is said to some servant upon this deficiency, ‘That God was his harness.’ He addressed some words first to the Swedes then to the Germans of his army, and then casting his eyes up to heaven he said, ‘O my Lord Jesus, Son of God, bless these our arms and this day’s battle for Thine own glory and holy name’s sake.’ Then drawing his sword and waving it over his head advanced the foremost of his army.” At the beginning of the battle, before Pappenheim’s division was added to Wallenstein’s force, the Swedes numbered 18,000 against 17,000 of the enemy.
The battle cries of the respective hosts were, on the one side “Jesus and Mary,” on the other “God with us.” The conflict began at eleven o’clock, and lasted till nightfall. At the first stroke of battle the Swedes, who had assumed the offensive, were driven back, and the centre began to waver. The King, who had been successfully maintaining the battle on the right wing, resigned his command there and rushed to the support of his menaced centre. Rallying the troops he called them to follow him into the thick of the fight. Owing to his impetuosity and near-sightedness he did not notice that he had far outstripped the troops he was leading, and, save for a few followers, was isolated in full view of the enemy. A musketeer noticing that the foremost man was an officer of high rank, took aim and wounded him on the left arm. “The King bleeds,” cried one. “It is nothing; march forward, my boys,” said the wounded hero, but soon overcome by pain and loss of blood he requested the Duke of Launenberg to lead him out of the tumult without being observed. In making this detour they encountered some of Wallenstein’s cuirassiers. The foremost man, recognising the King, fired a pistol shot, hitting him in the back. “Brother,” said he to Launenberg, “I have enough; look to your own life.” At the same moment the King fell from his horse struck by more balls, and soon the fatal news spread through the ranks that the King was dead. The tidings inflamed the valour of the troops to a white heat, and despite Wallenstein’s utmost efforts his cuirassiers were scattered in flight, and after a bloody fight of seven hours the Swedes remained masters of the field.
(To be continued.)
We regret to learn of the decease of one of our worthy elders in Canada, Mr. Alexander Mackenzie, of Ashfield, Ontario, which took place there on the 7th April. Mr. Mackenzie was 80 years of age. A fuller notice will (D.V.) appear in next issue.