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The following diagrams illustrate the method: Les cartes ou les planches trop grandes pour dtre reproduites en un seul clich6 sont filmdes d partir de Tangle sup6rieure gauche, de gauche d droite et de haut en bas, en prenant le nombre d'images ndcessaire. Le diagramme suivant illustre la m6thode : 1 2 3 1 2 3 1 4 5 6 THE RIDDLE OF EXISTENCE SOLVED OR AN ANTIDOTE TO INFIDELITY Being an Answer to Processor Goldwin Smith's " Guesses at the f^iddle o? Existence." By W. J. FENTON. AUTHOR OF "The Unity of the Spirit"; or, "Failure of Brethrenism as a United Testimony." God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets, hath in these last days spoken unto us by His Son, whom He hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also He made the worlds. — Heb. i : i, 2. / TORONTO : Henderson & Co., 8 and 10 Lombard Street. 1898. Entered according to Act of the Parliament of Canada in tlie year 1898, by W. J. Fenton, at tlie Department of Agriculture. PREFACE. THE apparent confidence with which Professor Goldwin Smith, in his Preface to " Guesses at the Riddle of Existence," takes it for granted that " liberal theologians have at least half resigned the belief in miracles " and " given up the authenticity and authority of Genesis," and that " with these they must apparently give up the Fall, the Re- demption and the Incarnation," are well adapted to shake the nerves of any unsophisticated enquirer after truth P>ut when such an enquirer sits down to read the book itself without a dictionary by his side, and conies across such words and expressions as these: "Anti-Malthusian," "Strangely anthropomorphic." the "Mosaic Cosmogony," " Vitality of protoplasm," the " Cosmogonical and his- torical foundations of traditional belief have been sapped by science and criticism," " The hypostatic union of the Pope and the Holy Ghost," " Dogmatic religion is geocentric," " Such a cataclysm," " This altruism," " Transcendental solipsism," " Physic thaumaturgy," etc., with frequent references to the great discoveries of science, it is Hi tie wonder if he begins to fancy that the very foundations of faith are giving way, and to feel a? if nothing is before him in the future but a great blank void, into which a host of learned professors., scientists and " liberal theologians " are peering with troubled faces, guessing at what they had been evoluted from; and wondering whither they are going after this brief span of existence is over. In the oldest book of the Bible we find Elihu saying as he speaks on behalf of God, " But there is a spirit in man, and the inspiration of the Almighty giveth them understanding. Great men are not always wise; neither do the aged understand judgment " (Job 32 : 8, g). And in the New Testament we read, " But God hath chosen PREFACE. llie foolish things of the world to confound the wise, anil God hath chosen the weak things of the world to con- found the things that are mighty; and base things of the world, and things which are despised, hath God chosen; yea, and things which are not, to bring to nought things that are, that no flesh should glory in His presence " (1 Cor. I : 27-29). And again we read, " But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness unto him, neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned " (i Cor. 2 : 14). The book which Professor Goldwin Smith has pub- lisiicd under the general title of " Guesses at the Riddle of Existence " is really a collection of five essays, not connected with each other in any other sense than that they are all infidel writings. The separate titles given to them are : (i) Guesses at the Riddle of Existence. (.2) The Church and the Old Testament, (3) Is there Another Life ? (4) The Miraculous Element in Chris- tianity, (5) Morality and Theism. The first, third and fifth of these are mainly composed of abstract specula- tions and metaphysical reasonings, not likely to do much harm, and certainly no good, of themselves to any intelli- gent reader. It would, therefore, be a waste of time to reply to them separately. But the real venom of the book is contained in the second and fourth essays, which are sandwiched in between the other three, apparently to make them more palatable to the tastes of readers who imay not think there is anything very dangerous in his other productions. The first of these essays, which gives the title to the book, comprises only about forty-five pages, and, instead of being his own guesses, it is almost exclusively devoted to his remarks upon the guesses of other people, in- cluding Professor Drummond and Messrs. Kidd and Balfour, all of which guesses, together with his remarks upon them, really amount to nothing worthy of serious notice. The writing of this comparatively harmless essay, seems to have been simply taken advantage of by the learned professor for the purpose of putting all his PREFACE. intidel writings before the public, in one volume, under a new title. In his second and fourth essays his chief aim has been to disprove, if possible, the inspiration and authenticity of the Old Testament Scriptures, and especially of the Book of Genesis, against which he seems to have a speci'il antipathy: and to deny the truth of miracles recorded in both Old and New Testament Scriptures, with the expectation, doubtless, that if he succeeds in these objects there will be nothing left in support of Christianity as a supernatural religion, whose faith, as he admits, is still that of those who are the " salt of the earth." The writer's main oi)ject in fhe following pages is to show, chiefly from the Word of God itself, how frivolous are the arguments used by infidel writers against the inspiration and authenticity of the Scriptures as com- pared with the overwhelming weight of evidence of the most positive kind, by which they are proved to be a Divine revelation from God to man. Instead of replying, therefore, to the separate essays as such, he decided to treat them as a whole, and reply to the arguments and assertions contained in them in the way that seems to him best suited to bring the general subject of infidelity, with its pretensions and fallacies most clearly before the minds of those who might possibly be led astray by the plausible theories of modern skepticism. It is quite possible that he has, without knowing it, advanced arguments that have been already used by other and abler writers, and that he has also, through ignorance of their writings, omitted many weightier argu- ments which they have used. However this may be, it is hoped that some things written herein, if not quite new to persons exercised on the subject, may at least be so arranged as to prove helpful to those, and especially to young people, who are in dar'^er of being misled by the confident assertions, v .i g^ alities and plausible sophistries so insiduously presented by Professor Gold- win Smith, who is all the more dangerous because of the refinement of his style, and his apparent candour in some PREFACE. respects, which prevent him from indulging in vulgar blasphemies in the same manner as Voltaire, Paine and Ingersoll, whose very coarseness has often doubtless proved an antidote to the poison they tried to instil into the minds of others. It is really sad to see this learned and eminent pro- fessor, in company with his friends, the " liberal theo- logians," floundering about in nature's darkness, like the ancient philosophers whom they (juote so frequently; and trying to weave out of their own fertile brains some philosophical theories to take the place of that Divine Revelation of Himself land His purposes which God has given, and the faith in which they are taking so much pains, if possible, to destroy. 1 CONTENTS. CHAPTER I. PAGE. The Modf of Divine Revelation 17 No Other Mode Suggested by Skeptics as More Reliable 17 God's Mode the Best Safeguard Against Imposture 19 Reliable Traditions Contrasted with Legends. ;^i Great Ages Ensured Correctness of Earliest Traditions 24 Moses Best Qualified to Commit Traditions to Writing 25 God's Direct Revelations to Moses as His Prophet 26 Public Manifestation of God's Presence to a Whole Nation 28 Professor Smith's Attack Upon the Book of Genesis, etc 29 His Objections Easily Answered 31 Professor Smith's Mistake About the Church.. 35 Insidious Surmises Instead of Arguments 36 God's Last Revelation of Himself to Moses.. 36 Attacks Upon the Book of Deuteronomy 38 God's Revelations Through Other Prophets... 41 God's Revelation by His Son 43 Resurrection and Ascension of Jesus 46 Would the Lord Jesus Certify to an Imposture ? 47 Professor Smith's Denial of Jesus as the Son of God 48 8 CONTKNTS. CHAPTER II. Criticism OK DlVINli PACiK. The Custody and RiiviiLATioN 50 Duration of Human Life in Primeval Ages... 51 Abram tlic l""ittest Custodian of Uivinc Revela- tions 52 Abram's Faith in God 53 Abraham and his Descendants Specially Inter- ested in the Custody and Criticism of Divine Revelations 55 Custody of Divine Revelatit .iS by Jewish San- hedrim and Priesthood 57 Professor Smith Denies Inspiration of Old Testament Scriptures 59 Necessity and Value of Honest Criticism 59 Why Apocryphal Books Are Not Included with the Hebrew Scriptures 62 As a Theocracy the Jewish Nation Most Highly Valued the Inspired Writings... 63 Scope of True Criticism and Qualifications for Its Exercise 64 Descent of the Holy Spirit and New Revela- tions Completed 66 Honest Criticism Required for Both Old and New Testaments 68 Professor Smith Questions Authenticity of the Four Gospels and Acts 68 The Gospels Not Intended as a Biography of ' Christ 71 Results of Enduement with Power 'jz God's Purpose in the Writing and Preservation of the Four Gospels 74 The Professor Objects to Discrepancies 76 Says there is No Trace of the Death of Christ in General History 76 Says Writers of New Testament Did No*; Claim to be Inspired ']'] After Resurrection of Christ the Church Became the Custodian of the Scriptures. . ']'j CONTENTS. 9 Chapter II. — Continued. VMiK. Enmity of Ungodly Men Against the Word of God 7^ Professor Smith's Denial of the Fall, the Incar- nation and Redemption 79 CHAPTER III. God Speaking by the Prophets 82 Unfair Criticism by Professor Goldwin Smith. 82 Many Divine Revelations Not Committed to Writing 83 Divine Revelations Often Certified by Miracles. 83 God's Revelations Often Certified by Judg- ments 85 The Professor Admits that if there is a Great Law-giver He can Suspend the Operation of Law 86 Authentic Records of Miracles in Old Testa- ment Scriptures 87 Fulfillment of Predictions by Prophets 88 Old Testament Saints and Prophets Knew More Than is Recorded of them in Scrip- ture 89 Professor Smith Denies that the First Advent of Jesus was Predicted in Scripture 91 Christ Predicted as Ruler of the Tribe of Judah. 92 Christ Predicted as Prophet and Mediator 92 Christ Predicted as King of the Seed of Abra- ham and Jacob 93 The Suflferings of Christ Predicted 94 The Genealogy of Jesus as the Son of David... 95 Predictions of Christ in Psalm no 95 David's Confidence in Fulfillment of God's Covenant 96 Christ Proclaimed and Recognized as Son of David 97 Prediction in Job of Christ as the Redeemer.. 97 lO CONTENTS. Chapter III. — Continued. PAGE. Prediction of Christ as the Divine King 97 Predictions of Christ in Joel 98 Predictions of Christ in Isaiah 98 Prediction of Christ as the Son of God 100 Prediction of Christ as the Corner Stone loi Predictions of Babylonish Captivity and Deliv- erance loi Micah's Prediction of Destruction of Jerusalem and its Fulfillment loi Prediction of the Birth of Christ in Bethlehtm. 102 Isaiah's Prediction of the Captivity in Babylon and its Fulfillment 103 Prediction of Destruction of Nineveh and its Fulfillment • 103 Predictions of Christ as the Shepherd of His People 104 Remarkable Predictions in Deutero-Isaiah, and their Fulfillment 105 Prediction of Christ Riding on an Ass 107 Prediction of Christ's Betrayal for Thirty Pieces of Silver 108 Prediction of the Manner of His Death 108 Predictions of Christ in Malachi 109 Predictions of Christ in Daniel no Some of Professor Smith's Objections to the Prophecies in Mistaken Criticism Arising from Defective Knowledge of Scriptural Truth 114 Professor Smith's Gross Misrepresentation of Predictions in Isaiah 53 116 The Professor Takes the Churches to Task.... 117 Professor Smith's Incredibilities 117 His Denial of the Miracles of Christ 118 Concluding Remarks 119 CONTENTS. II CHAPTER IV. PAGE. God Speaking by His Son 121 Jesus Proclaimed in Jerusalem as the Promised Messiah 122 Chief Priests, Scribes and Pharisees Alarmed and Determined to Put Jesus to Death... 124 The Ear'\i .*ubHc Ministry of Jesus 126 Profess . • r ■ ;h Denies that Isaiah Wrote what Jesus ' lOted from his Writings 128 The Mira s and Teaching of Jesus in His EarUer Public Ministry 128 Bitter Enmity of the Scribes and Pharisees.... 130 Commission to the Twelve Apostles 131 Commission to the Seventy Disciples 133 Professor Smith's Ingenious Device to Rule Out Evidence of the Miracles of Christ 134 Says that Paul Does Not Testify to Any Miracle Except the Vision 136 Denies that Peter Testified to the Resurrection of Christ 136 Also Questions the Authenticity of Second Peter 137 Desperate Attempts to Create Doubt Respect- , ing Miracles 138 Says the Four Gospels are Anonymous 139 The Teaching of Jesus Distasteful to the Ruling Classes 140 God's Speaking by His Son Excited the Deadly Enmity of the Chief Priests. Scribes, and Pharisees 143 Last Address of Jesus to His Disciples Before His Crucifixion 145 The Lord's Prayer for His Disciples 146 Shameful Treatment and Agonizing Death of the Son of God 146 Resurrection of Christ and Subsequent Inter- views with His Disciples 148 Insidious Question by Professor Smith 150 12 CONTENTS. CiiAi'Ti'.R IV. — Continued. I'AliK. Incorrect Stulcnient by Professor Smith 152 The Professor Wants Christianity Without Christ Crucified 153 Untrue Statement Respecting Orthodox Theo- hjgians 154 The Son of God Still Speaking to Men by the Written Word 156 CHAPTER V. God's Purpose in Creation 159 All Things Created for Pleasure of the Creator. 160 Man Created for God's Glory... 161 Earth as the Chosen Scene of Incarnation and Redemption 162 Cool Proposition of Professor Smith 164 As Creator God is Absolute 166 Man has Failed 'to Glorify God 167 Man's Fallen Nature Utterly Corrupt 168 Professor Smith Objects to God's Manner of Punishing Sin 169 His Attempt to Disparage the Chaiacter of Christ Because of David's Sin 170 God Never Excuses Sin 172 Only One Perfect, Sinless Man 172 Professor Smith's Opinion About the Soul of Man 173 God in His Word Invariably Requires that Man Should Glorify Him 175 General Ignorance About the Nature of Sin... 179 Insidious Questions and Remarks About the Son of God i8t Professor Smith's Ideas of Spiritual Life 183 Vain Speculations About the Origin of Evil... 185 Riddle of Existence Solved by the Word of God 187 CONTENTS. 13 CHAPTER VI. PAGE. God's Purpose in Redhmi-tion 189 Man's Utter Ruin by the Fall 189 Advent and Rejection of the Messiah and His Victory over Satan IQO Deliverance by His Death from the Curse of the Law 191 Deliverance from the Power of Sin 192 The Cost of Redemption 192 Effect of Redemption Not a Mere Restoration of Adamic Perfection 193 God's Desire for Communion with Men 195 Redeemed Men Forever Raised Above all other Created Beings 196 Equipment for Service while in the World.... 197 The Lord Jesus Christ Exalted as Head of the New Creation 199 Redeemed Sinners Exalted with Christ 200 Redeemed Men Left in the World as Witnesses for Christ 202 Redeemed Men Privileged to Suffer wiiii Christ. 204 Redeemed Men to be Separated from Sin 208 The Hope of the Redeemed 210 The Redeemed in Glory 210 The Whole Universe Interested in the Work of Redemption 211 Professor Smith's Failure to Understand about Rewards of the Redeemed 212 Human Philosophy and its Conflicting Theories 213 The Resurrection of the Body 215 Conscience Warning Unbelievers of Judgment to Come 217 Utter Failure of Man's Vain Philosophy 219 Conclusion 222 14 CONTENTS. APPENDIX A. PAGE. Assyrian Legends 229 :3abylonian Legend ot the Creation 232 The Fall of Man and the Curse 236 The Story of the Flood 238 Tower of Babel and Confusion of Tongues 245 APPENDIX B. Dr. Workman's Book 247 EXPLANATORY NOTE. t S THIS book, e: ept the Conclusion and Appen- dices, was hurriedly written nearly two years ago. within a few weeks after the first appearance of Professor Goldwin Smith's " Guesses at the Riddle of Existence." It was not published before for various reasons, amongst which was the fact that the writer was so busily engaged with other and necessary work that he had not time even to look over the manuscript more than once since it was written. It is, perhaps, unnecessary for him to say, what must be self-evident to any reader, that he cannot make any pretensions to either scholarship or literary skill, in this simple endeavour to show from the Word of God itself, that the Bible is what it professes to be, a Divine revelation from God to man. If the Scriptures quoted have been so arranged as to let that Word, as the Sword of the Spirit, speak for itself in defense of its own Inspiration and Authenticity, he will be better satisfied, and the book itself will be more profitable reading, than if, by any arguments or theories he might use, he were to obtain credit from avowed infidels and " liberal theo- logians " for erudite scholarship and scientific know- ledge, in meeting their attacks upon revealed truth with thfcir own weapons. Toronto, December, 1898. I I i ERRATA. Page 52. In sub-heading read " fittest " instead of " fitted." Page 65. In ninth fine from foot insert " will of the '' between " the " and " flesh." Page 105. In first line of second paragraph insert the words " among critics " between the words " opinion " and " as." Page 109. In fifth line of second paragraph read " mes- senger " instead of " messengers." Page 236. In sub-heading read " Reverse " instead of " Result." I 4 I 'A 4 :1 i CHAPTER L THE MODE OF DIVINE REVELATION. THE Bible proves itself to be a Divine Revelation from God to man by its own internal evidence; and the Gospel which it unfolds is always the power of God unto salvation without the help of human science or learni.ig of any kind. They do not require a certificate of character from ungodly men to make them worthy of belief; and the facts still remain as they were when Christianity was first established. " To the poor the Gospel is preached, and not many mighty, not many noble are called." In the first chapter of Hebrews we are informed of the mode of this Divine Revelation. "God. who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in times past unto the fathers by the prophets, hath in these last days spoken unto us by His Son. whom He hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also He made the worlds " (Heb. I : i. 2). This is in striking contrast with the methods of Reve- lation claimed by the founders of many false religions, who profess to be themselves the sole recipients of spiritual communications from the Divine Being, at least for the purpose of founding their systems. No Other Mode Sugfgfested by Skeptics os more Reliable. Those who try so hard to find discrepancies in the statements of Scripture, and on this ground to deny their inspiration or authenticity, do not even suggest any other mode of Divine Revelation with which they would have been satisfied. In reference to God's revealing Himself in human form to Abraham, Professor Goldwin Smilh quotes approvingly fromi some unknown writer in Lux t\i ii; i8 rill". uiDDr.i-: ok kxtstence solvkd. Muiidi as follows : "" Why should \vc force ourselves to l)i'lii'\(.' that a lU-injj^ who tills c-tcniity and infinity hc- I'anit' the KiK'-'^t of a Hebrew sheik ?" To which it may he answered that no one is forced to believe anything? that (iod has revealed, but if He is known to be the speaker through any channel, the refusal to believe His VV( tradilinii would (It'prnd upon tlu' miinhiT of pt'rsoti> throiiv"!! uliom it had bfL'ii trausmitti'd to the oiu' who fir^t ooimiiit> it to writing, and thus inaUcs the tradition l)ecoint' history. If a man tells us something that he has hiin>elf sei-n. we are hoinid to receive his testimony. \{ his charaeler i> unimi)eachal)U'. and it what he says is not eontradicted by iMpially reliable evidi'iiee. If his testimony is not pub lished until after his death, we nuist wi i^h will the ehar- acter of any one wl;.) ))rofesses to ha\e lu-ard his state- ments before we attaeli mncdi importance to them, but if there are a dozen intelligent and reputable persons, who all declare i)ositively to havinj^ heard him make the same statements, we rely upon their evidence as fully as if we had heard the evidence of the first witness with our own ears; and if these i)ersons. before their death, ai^ain hand down the same story to other ecpially intellijjjent and reputable witnesses, their testimony to the facts related is received with confidence. In this manner state- ments of certain facts have in early atj;es and in many countries been handed down from father to son thr()n!j;h succeedinjjj generations as tradition, until they were at length committed to writing, and thus becatiie end)odied in history. It is evident, however, that the more tre- quently verbal traditions are handed dow'ii from one generation to another, the greater liability there is for error to creep into the narrative without any intention on the part of the narrators to state what is untrue. And just here it would be well to clearly mark the distinction between reliable tradition and legends which have been handed down in the same manner from one generation to another. This is necessary, because Professor Gold- win Smith alludes (page 73) to the story of Creation given iti Genesis as only an Assyrian legend (see Appendix A), without producing a particle of evidence in support of his assertion. Reliable tradition might, perhaps. l)e described as statements of important facts by many com- petent witnesses, handed down from one generation to another, without being impeached by any other reliable Till-: MODI-. (»K 1)I\I.\F. RKAi:i..\TirKV. 23 ii^tiniiiiiy tmiil it i> 0(miinitti'(l ti» uriliiiK. A U'Kriul, (111 tlu' oiliiT haiul. is a fanciful story l)y unktiosvu authors, mu lulc'd, it may be. originally on ci-rtaiii facts, hut larked hy poetic license till it has hecctuie more iti tne nature of romance tiian any statement of actual events wliicli have occurred. In the handing down of reliable tradition by competent persons, where care is taken to >tate only what is correc t, th ere is a tend ency to s tick- closely to the material facts and (»mit many details that may seem unimportant. Witl 1 IcKends. on the other hand, ni)on a ver> slight substratum of fact, there is j.?en- erally a ^reat superstructure of poetic hctions. which have been ridded by unknown contributors as the stories increased in a^e, and were fre(|uently intended to cele- brate the praises of some real or imajfiiKiry hercj. .XpplyiiiK these tests to tin ^rst eleven chapters of cende(l upon it in tire; and the smoke thereof as- cended as the smoke of a furnace, and the whole mount ipiaked greatly. And when the voice of the trumpet sounded long, and waxed louder and louder. Moses spake. and God answered him by a voice, and the Lord came down ui)()n Mount Sinai, on the top of the uunnit; and the l-ord called Moses up to the top of the mount, and Moses went up " (Ex. 19 : 18-20). And there Moses re- ceived from God Himself the Ten Commandments and other laws for the children of Israel. And upon another occasion Moses was called to come up unto the Lord in Mount Sinai with Aaron. Nadab and Abihu and seventy of the elders of Israel. And it is said " they saw the God of Israel, and there was under his feet, as it were, a paved work of a sapphire stone, and as it were the body of heaven in its clearness " (Ex. 24 : 10). And the Lord said unto Moses. " Come up to Me into the mount, and be there, and I will give thee tables of stone, and a law and commandments which 1 have written, that thou niayest teach them. And Moses went np and his servant. Joshua; and Moses went up into the Mount of (}od " (vs. 12. 13). And further on we read. "And Moses went up into the monnt, and a cloud overed the mount. And the glory of the Lord abode upon Mount Sinai, and the cloud covered it six days, and the seventh day He called Moses out of the midst of the cloud. And the sight of the glory of the Lord was like devouring fire on the top of the mount in the eyes of the children of Israel; and Moses went into the midst of the cloud, and gat him up into the mount; and Moses was in the mount forty days and forty nights" (Ex. 24: 16-18). Could anything be more imposing and solemn in the presence of a whole nation than what is stated in Ex. 20 : 18. 19. when immediately after the giving of the Ten Commandments we read that " all the people saw the tlumderings. and the lightnings, and the noise of the trumpet, and the mountain smoking; and when the i ' (Tffr 28 llll-: KIDDIJ-: <»|- KXISTKNCK S()IA'l-:0. people saw it they removed and stood afar off. And they saifl unto Moses. " Speak thou with us. and we will hear; hut let not God speak with us lest we die.'' And in v. 21 we read. "And the peoi)le stood afai off. and Moses drew near unto the thick darkness where God was." Here again is the Shekinah hre, hetokening the presence of Jeliovah. These things were not done in a corner by a few ini- posters to be palmed off upon credulous dupes in future ages. These revelations of God's majesty were made in the presence of a vast multitude, and have never been questioned until a few modern infidels favour us with their opinions that it is not [^robablc that such a manifest revelation of God's presence ever took place; and per- haps they will guess that it was volcanic fire coupled with a severe thunderstorin at the same time that caused the phenomena which took place 011 Mount Sinai. Well might Abraham say (as the Lord Jesus Christ declares that He said) to the rich man in Hades, " If they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will they be per- suaded though one rose from the dead" (Luke 16 : 31). ! r, : ( .1 I Public Monif cstotion of God's Presence to a Whole Nation. Before these revelations were given to Moses the Lsraelii'^s were familiar with the presence of the Lord, who in their journeys went before them in a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night (Ex. 13 : 21). and Aloses was frecjuently receiving communications from God. who desired to enter into a more ''itimate relationship with men by divclling in the tabernacij which He commanded them to buikl. and wdiere He promised to meet with Moses and speak to himi (Ex. 29 : 42-45). So after the tabernacle had been set up " it came to pass, when Moses went out unto the tabernacle that all the people rose up. and stood every man at his tent door, and looked after Moses until he was gone into the tabernacle. And it came to pass as Moses entered into TIIK MODE Ol" DIVINE UEVEEATIOX. 29 the tabernacle the cloudy pillar descemled, and stood at the door of the tabernacle. And the Lord talked with Moses, and all the people saw the cloudy pillar stand at the tabernacle door; and all the people rose up and worshipped, every man in his tent door. And the Lord spake unto Moses face to face, as a man speaketh unto his friend" (Ex. 33:8-11). Here again we have the presence of Jehovah manifested by the Shekinah fire. Moses on this occasion asked to be shown God's way, that he might know Him and find peace in His sight, and the Lord answered, " My presence (or Shekinah) shall go with thee, and I will give thee rest" (Ex. ^^: 15). And when Moses came down from the mount his face shone, and he wist it not; but the people were afraid to go nigh him, and when he was speaking unto them he had to put a veil over his face, which was taken off again when he went into the presence of the Lord, and this was witnessed by all the children of Israel (Ex. 34 : 29-35). After the tabernacle had been dedicated the Shekinah fire was always between the cherubim above the mercy-seat of the ark until the destruction of the temple of Solomon ; and thus through all those years that unearthly flame was a constant reminder of Jehovah's presence in their midst. But enough has been stated to show the remarkable and public manner in which the Divine Revelations were given to Moses. It is no won- der that Professor Smith and other infidel writers would like to wipe out such testimony as this and try to per- suade us on their simple assertions that it is f^roboblc the Pentateuch was written many centuries afterwards during the Captivity in Babylon, an assertion which is not sup- ported by any evidence whatever. Professor Smith's Attocfc Upon the Book of GenesfSt Etc* So far as the Book of Genesis is concerned it is evi- dent that reliable traditions and records were handed down through the most trustworthy channels to the man i!« r 30 rill-: KiDDi.F. ()!■ r.\is'n-:.\('i-: soia'ki). !'!!■■ i'l'i who, i)\ all (jthcrs, was best titted ijy his education and early Hebrew training to embody tlicni in permanent history — to Moses, the inspired i)rophet, unto whom the Lord spoke " face to face as a man speaketh unto his friend": and who was, therefore, doubtless commis- sioned by Him to do this very work, and made the recipient also by si)eciial revelation of all the information contained in the first chapters of this book regarding Creation and the Fall. At all events, it is only reason- able to believe that in the familiar personal intercourse to which he was admitted by Jehovah he would ask for information concerning those most important facts in connection with the world and the human race, and would thus be enabled to commit to writing what God had specially revealed to him. But Professor Goldwin Smith questions the fact of any sojourn of the Hebrews in Egypt at all (page 65). because, forsooth. " nothing certainly Egyptian seems to be traceable in Hebrew beliefs or institutions !" Why, this is one of the very strongest proofs that Moses was the author of the Pentateuch. Is it at all likely that he, as God's inspired prophet, who was divinely appointed to lead His chosen people out of Egypt, and write down laws for their future guidance, which Jehovah Himself communicated to him, would incorporate with these any- thing that pertained to the idolatrous institutions of Egypt ? The mere suggestion of such a flimsy basis on which to found a doubt of the truth of Scripture ought surely to be beneath the dignity of anyone who desires to get credit for candour in the investigation of historical facts. The Professor also, on pages 57 and 58. makes the fol- lowing objections to the narratives in the Pentateuch and to the authorship of Moses: — First — That the alleged record is of a date posterior by many centuries to the events, and, therefore, no recorci at all. plainly appears from the mention of Kings in Genesis 36 : 31. Second — The words of Genesis 12 : 6 — " the Canaanite lii m THE MODK OF DI\1\K RF:\' KI.ATION. 3i was then in the land " — shew that the l)ook was written when the Canaanite had h)ng disappeared. Third — Moreover, the writer always speaks of Moses in the third person. Fonrth — The words of Dent. 34: 10 — "there arose not a prophet since like unto Moses " — imply that tho hook was written after the rise " of a line of other prophets." And he adds. " These things were noticed by critics lf>ng ago, but the eyes of faith in England and America at least have been shut." His Objections Easily Answered* In reply to these objections, it may seem superlluous to state that every one of them is susceptible of the most easy and natural explanation. Those who maintain the Divine inspiration and authenticity of Scripture as it came from the pens of inspired writers, do not for a moment contend that copyists and i)rinters have by miraculous power been kept from making mistakes, in reproducing copies of the Sacred Writings, or that some interpolations have not been inserted in these copies during the many ages that have elapsed since they were first written. It is the part of true criticism to discover and explain these errors and interpolations made by copyists; and the result of such work in the past has always been to bring out into fuller and brighter light all those glorious truths that God has revealed through His Word. But there is another kind of criticism by avowed infi- dels and unconverted professors who call themselves "lib- eral theologians." or " higher critics." and who seize with avidity every pretext to attack the authority of the Scrip- tures, which bring before their minds doctrines so repug- nant to their natures as the Fall of Man. with its fearful conse(iuences here and hereafter, and God's only remedy for Sin by the Atoning Sacrifice of His own dear Son; and these persons arc ever ready to avail themselves ci any excuse, however trivial, for raising doubt as to the divine authority of the Word of God, li i tnv r»f 32 TJIIC RIDDLK OF KXlSTHNCt: SOLVICD. i ! 1 1 V 1 1 1 i ■ 1 ; i 1 1 ili A little calm retlectif)n upon the actual circumstances of the case will enable anyone to see a reasonable ex- planation for each of the four apparent discrepancies to which Professor Smith has referred. Taking for granted what is really the fact, that the first five books in the Bible, known as the Pentateuch, wore divinely inspired when they came from the pens of Moses and various amenuensis whom he may have employed in actually commiting them to writing, it must be borne in mind that before the art of printing was discovered there were many centuries during which the ortly means of repro- ducing copies of ancient documents was by the slow and laborious process of writing by hand upon parchment, and that no claim for the inspiration of the copyists em- ployed to do this work has ever been set up by anyone, so far as the writer is aware. It is altogether likely that (luring the Mosaic dispensation, extending over many cen- turies, this work was performed in the schools of the prophets by men liable to err like men at the present day, and some of whom, with the best intentions, might think proper to insert a marginal note occasionally, truthful in itself, and explanatory of some fact then pres- ent to the mind of the copyist. Supposing that such mar- ginal notes were made by a copyist as are referred to in the first and second of the Professor's objections quoted above, they would be simple statements of facts to which no one could take exception so long as they remained in the shape of marginal notes. Supposing, again, that cen- turies afterwards some other copyist were to incorporate these truthful marginal notes with the original text, the whole difficulty is explained, and any candid searcher after truth would say that in the very nature of things these must be interpolations by copyists employed throughout many ages in transcribing again and again, first from the original text and afterwards from other copies of the inspired writings. But it would be absurd to maintain that the insertion of such interpolations was any proof that the original document was not written at the time when all other reasonable evidence showed ill '1 TiiH MoDiv ()i- divixp: kicvklatiox. 33 that it must have been written. And more absurd still would it be to maintain that tiie original documents could not have been inspired because the copyists had inserted these interpolations. It was, doubtless, amongst other things, to guard against just such tampering with the written Word by copyists that such a solemir' warning as this is given, " Every word of God is pure; He is a shield to them that put their trust in Him. Add thou not unto His words, lest He reprove thee and thou be found a liar" (Prov. 30 : 5, 6), See also Rev. 22 : 18, 19. Just as in the case of the Revised Version of the Scrip- tures, every error that has been discovered in the trans- lation has only brought out more clearly the fundamental truths revealed in them, so it will also be found that every interpolation by copyists, which by fair processes of analysis and deduction are discovered in the Sacred Writings, and either- explained or expunged, will only bring out more fully the inerrant character of the inspired Word as it was originally given by God through the prophets. Those two probable interpolations to which Professor Smith takes exception, are all statements of actual facts which may have been inserted by copyists as explanatory notes centuries after the books of Genesis and Deuteronomy were committed to writing by Moses, and it is, to say the least, extremely unfair to argue that because of these interpolations he could not have been the author, and the books were not inspired. There would be just as much reason for denying the inspiration and authenticity of the Psalms because in the Authorized Version certain words have been inserted in italics which totally destroy the sense, as the translator may liave thought he improved the reading of the passage by such interpolation. Look, for instance, at Psalm 84 : 3, where the translator has completely spoiled the sense of a beau- tiful passage by inserting the word " even " in italics. The absurdity of making it appear that the sparrow built a nest for itself on God's altar is self-evident. But this is not the fault of the inspired Word which compares the swallow's nest to God's house, where His altars are, and «?r il I 34 '1111': uiDDM-: oi- KMsri':N( K soiaiod. 1 1 .1 His people may dwell. Christians have nothinj.^ to fear from candid and thorou}j:h criticism of the Scriptures by those who are alone (lualified to euKa^e in this work, namely, men who have heen trained for it in (jod's (-wn school, and who, hein^ filled with the Si)irit themselves. are thus enabled to " compare spiritual things with spiritual." and arrive at correct conclusions upon every point that may be raised. The second objection to the statement, " The Can- aanite was then in the land." apart from the probability of interpolation, really amounts to nothinjj^. as no one con- tends that the book of Genesis was written in the time of Abraham. It was, on the contrary, written centuries afterwards by Moses, by whom such a statement might l)e made, but it would not follow as a matter of course that the Canaanites were not still in the land at the time he as a historian wrote of that fact. The third objection which Professor Smith makes to the authenticity of the Pentateuch is. if i)ossible. much weaker than the first and second. He says. " Moreover the writer always speaks of Moses in the third pcson," and from this he would liave us infer that Moses was not the author of the Pentateuch. Sm-ely. as a professor of history, he must be aware that this .objection really amounts to nothing, as the same thing has been done by other authors in both ancient and modern times, and the authenticity of their works has never been ([uestioned on that account. Take, for instance, that very able history of the Red River Expedition to (|uell Riel's rebellion, which was written by Lord Wolseley. then Colonel Wolseley. in which he constantly speaks of himself in the third i)erson as Colonel Wolseley. but no one has ever -pretended to say that he is not the author of the book which, on the title page, declares that it was written by him. If. however, after the lapse of some cen- turies, only one copy of this book could be found, and the title page was missing, some critics would probably be prepared to assert that he was not the author, and even to deny th^t such a ptrrsoii as Colonel Wolselev Till-: .\i(»i)i-. di' i)i\i\i'. ui-:\i:tw\ti()\. 35 ever fxisti'd. lint it i'^ imiit'ocssary to say more in answrr to such a frivol((Us ohjiTtion. As to tin- fourth ohjcction. it is i-(»iu-lusivc'ly sliowti a few pa^es furtluT on that the last chapter (34th) in Deuteronomy was prohahly achled hy Joshua, the suc- ces.>or of Moses, and that his (h»in}j: so (h)es not alteet the chiinis of Moses to the authorship of that hook. And with respect to the foiu' ohjeetions which have just been considered, and shown to he unworthy of serious notice as arj.?utnents against the inspiration or authenticity of the Pentateuch, the professor gravely remarks. " These things were noticed hy critics h)ng ago. but the eyes of faith in Ivngland and America, at least, have been shut." How sad it must seem to him that Christians should believe God rather than the critics, who on such slight grounds try to make it appear that the Bible is not an inspired book! Professor Smith's Mistokc About the Church. Professor Goldwin Smith (page Sy) speaks of Abra- ham as the founder of the Church. This is a mistake, lie was the progenitor of the llebrew race, and in him and his seed all nations were to be blessed. But the Church of God was not founded until Pentecost, when the Holy Spirit came down and baptized believers into the " one body." of which Christ is the head, and ever after the human race has in the sight of God been divided into three classes — the jew. the Gentile and the Church of God (i Cor. 10:32). The building of the Church was yet future when Jesus said to Peter. " Thou art Peter, and upon this rock I 7vill build my Church" (Matt. 16 : 18); and the Church of God is now built, not upon Abraham and the patri archs of the Mosaic dispensation, but " upon the foun- dation of the apostles and prophets " of this more glorious dispensation in which we now live. "Jesus Christ Himself being the chief corner-stone" (Rph. 2:19-22). This, however, is a subject which cannot be rightly under- stood without the teaching of the Holy Spirit, who only dwells in the believer (i Cor. 3 : 15; 6 : 19). ^jiHH «:!i Tf 36 'nil-: uiDin.i-. ()!•■ i:\isrh:\( !•: s<)Iai:i). Insidious Surmises instead of Argfuments* Professor (joldvviii Sniitli further says (paj^c ()5) : " The history of the l''xo(his is connected with the account of the institution of the Passover, and anah)gy may lead us to surniisi' that national iniaKMuation has hcen busy in exi)laininK the origin of an ininieniorial rile." This su^K^^^tion niiKhl he dismissed with the simi)le statement that sitnniscs are not arfiiDticnts, and, therefore, such a remark is not worthy of notice. But it is not too much to say that on no other subject would he so tride with the facts of history. Here is a solemn rite which he himself calls immemorial, observed by a whole nation yearly, in the manner prescribed by the sacred 'writings preserved by them; describing the first iiistitution of the rite, ind giving miiuite directions as to how it was to be observed ; and throughout their whole history these writings are ascribed to Moses. What more positive evidence could be expected regard- ing the authorship of any writings than what was thus preserved throughout a mation's history in connection with a solemn rite, which the whole people observed every year in obedience to the instructions given in those writings ? How absolutely uncalled for is the surmise which this learned professor makes .that possibly the national imagination has been busy in explaining the con- nection between the Passover and the Exodus and the Author of the Pentateuch! God's Lost Revelation of Himself to Moses* The last revelation by God to Moses of His own presence accompanied by the Shekinah glory and the Shekinah fire, was peculiarly touching. On account of his presumptuous sin it had already been revealed to Moses that he must die before the children of Israel entered into the land of promise, to which he had been leading them for forty years, and, as ihis end drew near, we read in Dent. 31 : 14, "And the Lord said unto Moses, Behold, thy days approach that thou must die ; call ^ TNI". MODI". <»!• I)|\l\h: ui:\i:i.\rinN'. X J(jsliua, ami prt'setit yoiirst'lvcs in tlii' tahi'mack" nf tlir coiiKrcK'itioii that I may ^'wv Iiim a oharKc. And Moses ami Joshua went and presented themselves in the taher- nacle of the eonj^reKation. And the Lord appeared in the tabernacle in a pillar of a cloud; and tihe pilla: of the cloud stood over the door of the tabernacle. And the Lord said unto Moses. Heboid, thou shalt sleep with thy fathers," etc. Then follows solemn warnings to the children of Lsrael as a nation; and in v. j_> we read. " Moses, therefore, wrote this sonjj^ the same day. and taught it to the children of Israel"; and in v. 24 it is stated, "And it came to pass, when Moses had made an end of writing? the words of this law in a book until they were finished, that Moses commanded the Levites. which bare the Ark of the Covenant of tne Lord, saying. Take this book of the law. and put it in the side of the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord your (lod. ' etc. Then fol- lows that wonderful song of Moses in Deut. ^2, spoken by him in the ears of the congregation of Lsrael (Deut. 31 : 30), after v/hich we read from v. 47 to the close of the chapter, "And the Lord spake unto Moses the self- same day, saying, ' Get thee up into this Mountain Abarim unto Mount Nebo. which is in the Land of Moab, that is over against Jericho; and behold the land of Canaan, which I give unto the children of Israel for a possession; and die in the mount whither thou goest up. and be gathered unto thy people; as Aaron, thy brother, died in Mount Hor. and was gathered unto his people; because ye trespassed against Me among the children of Israel at the waters of Meribah-Kedesh. in the wilderness of Zin. because ye sanctified me not in the midst of the children of Israel. Yet thou shalt see the land before thee, but thou shalt not go thither unto the land which I give the children of Israel." Then follows in Deut. 33 the blessing of " Moses, the man of God " upon the children of Israel, after which we have in Deut. 34 the account of his ascent into Mount Nebo to the top of Pisgah. where the Lord showed him the pro- mised land, and from v. 4 we read, " So Moses, the Ii i i 1 ;-r ) .ff«- 3« TIIR UIDDIJ-: or EXTSTKXCE SOT.VF.IX servant of tlu' Lord, died there in the land of Moab according to tlie word of the l^ord, and He (God) buried him in a va!ley in tlie hind of Moal), over against Betli- peor; hut no man knoweth of his sepulchre imto this (..y. And Moses was an hundred and twenty years old vvlien he died; his eye was not dim. nor his natural force abated; and the children of Israel wept for Moses in the plains of Moab thirty days; so the days of weeping anfl mtjurning for Moses were ended, and Joshua, the son of was full of the spirit of wisdom ; for Moses had un. N laid his hands upon him; and the children of Israel hearkened unto him. and did as the Lord commanded Moses. And there arose not a prophet since in Israel like unto Moses whom the Lord knew face to face." etc What a wonderful death! What a grand funeral! and what a striking commentary is the judgment of God upon His chosen servant on the words, "If the righteous scarcely be saved, where shall the ungodly and the sinner appear" (i Peter 4 : 18). This grand old man. who went alone to the top of that mountain to die. and to be buried r)v Jeh oval vv ho had " talked with him face to face a^ a man talks with hi friend." had commenced his great life work at cightly years of ago. After spending forty years in the school of God in the wilderness, before he was fitted for his forty years of service as the leader of God's chosen people, moses. the inspired law-giver of Israel, who had failed and borne the judgment entailed by his failure; did not Cwith all his meekness) hesitate to proclaim liimself an inspired prophet of Jehovah as he looked forward to the coming of that One in whom there would never be any failure, of whom he proi)hesied, "A prophet shall the Lord your God raise up unto you of your brethren like unto me; him shall ye hear" (Acts 7 : 2,7)' Attocks Upon the Book of Deuteronomy. With special reference to the authorship of the Book of Deuteronomy, wduch infidels and "liberal theologians" are not willing to ascribe to Moses, let any candid en- if • ! THE MODE UF DIVINE REVELATIUX. 39 t U (liiircr look carefully at the statements just (|Uotcd from the last four chapters of that book, and he will not have much ditticulty in arriving at a correct conclusion. Com- paring the Song of Moses in Deut. 32 with that in Ivx. 15, there is no difliculty in deciding that they were written by the same author. Then again in Deut. 31 : 22 it is stated. " Moses, therefore, wrote this song the same day"; and in v. 24, "And it came to pass when Moses had made an end of writing the words of this law in a book until they were finished," etc. Do not these state- ments certainly jirove that Moses was the author of the book and of the song to which they refer ? " But," say the critics. " the Song of Moses, and his blessing upon the children of Israel, and the account of his death and burial all appear in the last three chapters, and after the statements which you have (luoted from chap 31." Quite true, but was that any evidence that Moses was not the author of this book ? It is distinctly stated that he wrote the song on the same day that Jehovah had last revealed Himself to him in the pillar of cloud over the door of the tabernacle. After Jehovah had given His charge briefly to Joshua we read, " When .Moses had made an end of wriSng the words of this law in a book until they were finished," etc. What does this imply ? Is it not that after the song had been written the book of the law was finished, so i\r as the work of Moses upon it personally was concerned ? But the song written out by him previously was afterwards spoken by ihim in the ears of all the congregation of Israel; and. although it is not stated, it is (luite possible that his blessing upon the children of Israel in chap, 33 may also have, like the song, been committed to writing before it was pro- nounced by him. However that may be, there can be no (juestion from the evidence of the book itself as to his authorship of chaps. t,2 and 33, although these have been added after the book of the law was said to have been finished. Then as to chap. 34. The last in the book. It would, of course, be absurd to contend that Moses wrote tht accouut gf his qwu death and burial, nor is I 1 i ! ' -I ! ij i r\ ! ( ' w t~ 40 Tin-: KIDDLE OV KXISTBNCR SOLVED. it at all likely that any one ever set up such a contention. How, then, does that affect the authorship of the book ? Suppose, for instance, that some uninspired writer in modern times was engaged in a work which he was imable to complete before death overtook him, but that only a few pages remained to be added, including a poem which he had written out and some other matter that he had written, and that he desired his amanuensis to add these things on the last pages, and to Insert a closing chapter, giving an account of his own death and burial; and supposing these directions to be faithfully carried out, would he thereby lose his claim to the authorship of that book ? The absurdity of such a suggestion is .^elf-evident, but not more so than the refusal to recog- nize Moses as the author of the Book of Deuteronomy because certain matter was added after his death, which in the very nature of things could not be inserted before. But how does this affect the cjuestion of the inspiration of the last chapter ? We have seen that at that last interview with Jehovah in the pillar of cloud at the door of the tabernacle, both Moses and Joshua, his servant and successor, were summoned to be present, and God gave to Joshua the assurance, "I will be with thee"; and we read in chap. 34 : 9, "And Joshua, the son of Nun. was full of the spirit of wisdom, for Moses had laid his hands upon him." There is, therefore, no doubt that God's inspired leader completed the work which Moses left unfinished, but that did not affect either the (juestion of inspiration or the claim of Moses to be re- garded as the author of the book. .\fter the death of Moses the Lord spoke to Joshua, saying, "As 1 was with Moses, so will I be with thee: I will not fail thee, nor forsake thee" (Josh, i : 5). And at the siege of Jericho the Lord appeared to him as a man with a drawn sword in his hand, and proclaimed himself as "Captain (or Prince) of the host of the Lord." and told him to loose his sihoe from off his feet, for the place whereon he sitood was holy (Josh. 5 : 13-15). and on many occasions afterwards the Lord spoke to Joshua; and in '!M TJIIC MODK OF DU'IXK KEVKLATIOX. 41 his charge to the chihlreii of Israel he said. " Be ye, therefore, very courageous to keep and to do all that is written in the book of the law of Moses." etc., thus wit- nessing to the fact that Moses was the author of the books of the law. And if any further evidence on this point is retjuired, we could give that of the Lord Jesus Christ Himself in Matt, ly : 7, 8. referring to the passage in Deut, 24 : i. " They say unto him. Why did Moses then command to give a 'vriting of divorcement, and to put her away ? He saith unto them. .Moses, because of the hardness of your hearts, suffered you to put away your wives, but from the beginning it was not so," and He thus recognized Moses as the author of the Book of Deuteronomy; and in replying to the temptations of Satan He quoted three times from that book. God's Revelations Through Other Prophets. In the time of the Judges there was generally de- parture from God, which is summed up in the last verse of the book in this way : " In those days there was no Icing in Israel, and every man did that which was right in his own eyes." And yet during those centuries of general Lawlessness God spoke to His people repeatedly through various channels, and raised up instruments of deliverance from their adversaries at various times. The Lord appeared unto Gideon as an angel, and appointed Jiim as the deliverer of His people from the Midianites, encouraging him with the assurance, " Surely I will be with thee," and deliverance was obtained (Judges 6 : 16). And an angel of the Lord appeared to the wife of Manoah. promising her a son, who should be a Nazarite from the wond); and Samson was born and used as an instrument in executing God's vengeance upon the Philistines. In I Sam. 3:1 we read, " The word of the Lord was precious in those days; there was no open vision." And we read in v. 3 that when Samuel was laid down to sleep where the Ark of God 'was that the Lord called "Samuel"; and he answered, " Here am I," and he arose and went 1 1 ' ' If-f-l^ 42 TIIR KTDDLK OK EXTSTEXCK SOLVKD. 1, ill: ' 'i. ' ,iV, ■li( III'': W' to iCli, thinking it was he that called liim. This was repeated several times, and at lenj^^th I'^li perceived that it must be the Lord that had called the child, and told him the next time tin- happened to answer, " Speak, Lord, for Thy ser\ant heareth." Then the Lord told him of the judgments that were to be executed upon Eli and his house for the wickedness of his sons, which were afterwards literally fultilletL and after that we read iti V. 21, "And the Lord appeared again in Shilnh : for the Lord revealed Himself to Samuel in Shiloh by the Word of the Lord," and '" he was established as a prophet of the Lord." and the mind of the Lord was repeatedly made known through him to Saul and the people of Israel, and also to David before he came to the throne. Through Natihan, the prophet, and Gad, the seer, the word of the Lord came repeatedly to David regarding His dealings wiith himself personally; but in the Psalms we have an inexhaustable fund of deep, spiritual teaching suited to the people of God in all ages, with prophetic forecasts of Christ and the future glory of the Messiah, which must have been the result of direct inspiration from God, as it was also recognized by the Lord Jesus Christ Himself after His resurrection, when He said to His disciples that " all things must be fulfilled which were written in the law of Moses, and in the prophets, and in the Psalms concerning Me." During the reigns of the kings of Judah and Israel God raised up many proi)hets. to whom He revealed His will in various ways, and through them spoke to the kings and people of Israel. Some of the greatest of these prophets, such as l^'lijah and Eli.sha, hav.- left no writings behind them, but their sayings and d>.eds and God's revelations to them are end)()died in the historical records of Lsrael and Judah. Others again, such as Isaiah. Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Daniel, Zechariah and the minor prophets have left us their own records oi God's revelations to them, luade " at sundry times and in divers manners," but all revealing to us in one way or another the same Infinite Being who had first spoken to Adam, Mm .1 m TUK MODI-: OF DIVINE REVELATION. 43 and afterwards to Noah, to Abram, Isaac and Jacob, and at lenj^th in the presence of the whole nation amidst the thnnderings and lightnings of Mount Sinai had revealed to Moses the law which was ever since recognized as coining direct from Jehovah to His chosen i)eoi)ie. God's Rcvclotion By His Son. God had revealed Flis will to men thronghont many ages; 1)y ai)i)earing to them personally as a man; by send- ing angels to them in the forms of men; and by speaking to them with auflible voice, which they recognized as the voice of (lOfl. PTi' had spoken to them in dreams and visions of the i)'ight. ;ind in the rhundcrs and lightnings of Sinai; by the tables of stone and the statutes delivered to Moses; by tjic ])illar of cloud by day and the pillar of fire by mght, which accomi)anie(l them through all their wilderness journeys, and afterwards by many other prophets whom He had sent to them. Thus had He " at sundry times and in divers manners spoken in times past unto the fathers by the prophet'-." But at length, in the fullness of timr. He in these last days "spoke unto them by His Son, whom He hath appointed heir of all things. I)y whom also He made the worlds." What amazing condescension! The Second Person in the Godhead, the Creator of the universe comes from heaven to earth in order to reveal to sinful men of Adam's race His Father's will, and His Father's heart of love towards all mankind, as expressed by Himself in John 3 : 16, " God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that wdiosoever believeth on Him should not perish, but have everlasting life." What good news to come from the lips of the Son of God! Surely no one ought to be so foolish as to reject salvation 011 such easy terms. But it seemed to be too good news to 1)e true. A few poor fisheriuen of Galilee heard His call, obeyed His word and followed Him. leaving their nets, which were their all, behind them. His conception in the Virgin's wotub, by the power of the Holy Spirit, had been announced by an angel to His mother and His reputed father. Born IN ( \ ! 1 ■' i 44 TIIK RIDDLE OF EXISTENCE SOLVED. lit i'T, 1 ;■■ ' 1 i!\^i ill a stable, cradled in a manger, an angelic host heralded His birth. Reared in a lowly station, until, at thirty years of age He entered upon His life work of three and a hall years. The Jews, as a nation, refused to recognize or accept Him as their long-looked for Mes- siah. At His baptism l)y John in the Jor ,'! i is: 46 TIIK KIDDLE OF KXISTENCE SOJA KD. The ol'liccrs who were sent to arrest Jesus were con- strained to say. " Xever man sjiake like this man " (John 7:46); and He l)()hlly threw (h)wn this eliallenge to His enemie^i. " W'hioli of you oonvinoeth Me of sin ?" and afterwards said. " Before Abraham was I am," upon hearinjj^ which they took up stones to east at Him. At His examination before the lii.L'h priest He was condemned for blasphemy only because He claimed to be the Son of (jod. Judas han}j:e(l himself because he had " betrayed innocent blood." Pilate's wife sent word to her husband, saying. " Have thou nothing to do with that just man"; and Pilate himself washed his hands before the multitude, saying. "I am innocent of the blood of this just person." Resurrection and Ascension of Jesus* But in addition to His own testimony as a sinless man that He was also " the Son of God," the crowning proof was His resurrection from the dead, as we read in Rom. i : 2. 3. "Concerning His Son. Jesus Christ our Lord, which was made of the seed of David according to the flesh; and declared to be the Son of God with power, according to the Spirit of holiness, by the resur- rection from the dead." Each of the evangelists gives an indei)endent record of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ, naming certain rei^utable witnesses to whom He appeared, most of whom afterwards sealed their testimony with their blood; and the Apostle Paul gives a summary of the evidence upon this point, "For T delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that Tie rose again the third day according to the Scriptures, and that He was seen of Cephas (Peter), then of the twelve; after that He was seen of above five hundred brethren at once; of whom the greater part remain unto this i)resent. but some are fallen asleep. After that He was seen of James, then of all the apostles. And last of all He was seen of me Till': MODE OF- DtVTXI". UKAELArTON". 47 also as of one horn out of diic time " (i Cor. 15:3-8). .'Vjj^ain and aKain diirinj^ His ministry had lie foretold His death and His resurrection uu the third day, hut His disciples were slow to helieve such a statement umil the evidence of their own senses convinced them that it was an accomplished fact. At the end of the Gospels of .Mark and Luke and in th( first chapter o f .Act.^ we have the account of His ascension to heaven from the presence of His disciples, and in Acts it is added, "And while they looked stead- fastly toward heaven, as He went up. behold, two men stood by them in white apparel; which also said, Ve men of Galilee, why stand ye gazinjj: up into heaven ? This same Jesus which is taken up from you into heaven shall so come in like manner as ye have seen Him go into heaven " (Acts i : 10. 11). Against all this positive evidence of the resurrection of the Son of God is only that of the soldiers who were set as a watch at His tomb, and who were bribed by the priests to say that His disciples came and stole Him away while they slept! (Matt. 28 : 13). Would the Lord Jesus Certify to an Imposture* The law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ (John 1-17). The first promise of redemption for the fallen human race was given by God when addressing the Serpent. He said. "1 will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel" (Gen. 3 : 15). .And so. in fulfilment of this promise we read of Christ, '" (•'(•rasmuch. then, as the children are partakers of Hesh and blood. He also Him- self likewise to(jk part of the same; that through detatli. He might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil" (Heb. 2 : 14). Moses, as he looked for- ward with prophetic eye to the future, said, " The Lord thy God \v\\] raise up unto thee a prophet from the midst of thee of tiiy brethren like unto me; unto him shall ye hearken " (Deut. 18 : 15). Other prophets in sue- I* j 48 rill-: KIDDIJC OF KX1STKNCI-: SOIAKI). •, r, I ■:I1*'I(I occ'diii!^ agi's liad sijokcn of Christ as they hy faith had hjokcd forward to the ooniiiiK Messiah. All these pre- dictions were inrhided in the Old Testament Scriptures, then in possession of the Jewish nation, and, referring to these, the Son of God said that Abraham replied to the rich man in Hades. " If they hear not Moses and the pr(xphets, neither will tiiey he persuaded though one rose from the dead" (Luke 16:31). The Lord Jesus Christ, as the Son of God, knew whether or not Moses and the proi)!iets were really the authors of the books ascribed to them I)y the Jewish people. Is it possible that if they were not the authors lie would try to per- petuate a wrong imi)ression ? Professor Smith's Denial of Jesus as the Son of God* Professor Goldwin Smith speaks of Jesus only as "the great Teacher of humanity" (page 187). and on page 181 he also says. " In calling flimself the Son of Man Jesus might seem to identify Himself with a mystic figure in Daniel; but the Son of Man is not the Son of God, nor is it the son of a Jew; it is >a title of humanity." On page 137 he says. "The efifect produced by the teaching of Jesus and His disciples is beyond question the most momentous fact in history." On page 139 he quotes from the author of Sii/^cruatural Religion as follows : " The system of Jesus might not be new. but it was. in a high sense, the perfect development of natural morality, and liiat it confined itself to two fundamental principles, love to God and love to man." On page 174 he says. " We cannot conceive of two natures. Divine and human, though we may mechanically repeat the form of words." And again he says, " The sayings of Christ would • not be less true or applicable if they had been cast ashore by the tide of time without anything to designate their source"; and on page 176 he asks, " Did Jesus give Himself out or allow His followers to designate Him as the Messiah ? It is im- possible to tell." From all these quotations it is evident that the learned professor only recognizes Jesus as a Till'. MoDic ()i- niNTXi': ui:vi:l\'ii()N', 40 mere man whilst rcKurdiiij; him at the same time as a good man and " the great Teacher of humanity." But he must surety he prepared to a(hnit that if the claims of the Lord Jesus Christ. (|Uoted iti the foregoing pages from the four gospels, are not correct lie must have heeti one of the most infamous imposters that ever walked the face of this earth. If He was not the Son of God as well as the Son of Man, as He claimed to be. He must have licen a had man to assert what He knew to he false, anf the previous chapter the manner in which rehahle tradition had l)rohahIy heen handed down from Adam to Moses tlirough the most trustworthy channels, a good (kal had to he stated which wouhl. jjcrhaps. more pro- perly come under the heading of this chai)ter. It will not. of course, he necessary to repeat what has been already written respecting that i)ortion of the inspired Word. But in referring to the custody of Divine reve- lation from Adam to Noah this matter might be put in a somewhat different form by stating that Enoch, who walked with God 300 years before he was taken to heaven without dying, was 308 years old when Adam died, and his son, Methuselah, was 243 years old when Adam died, and Noah was 600 years old when 'his grandfather, Methuselah, died in the year of the Flood. It would only be fair to conclude that a man like Enoch, who walked with God 300 years, and most of that time con- temporaneously with Adam, would be sure to meet per- sonally w ''^ the first progenitor of the human race, and obtain ' is own lips the story of Creation as th;. Lor .vealed it to him; of the Fall and the curse en thereby, which brought so much misery to himself and his posterity; and of future redemption by the atoning sacrifice of Christ, in the Scripture narra- tive so dimly outlined. And it may also be taken for granted that such a godly man as Enoch would not fail to impress upon the mind of his son, Methuselah, the facts which he had learned from Adam, even if Methuselah himself had not learned them from Adam's own lips during the 243 years that he had lived contemporaneously CUSTODY AND CKITKISM ()[• KKVKI.ATION'. 5t witli him. And as Noali lived (km) years cotiteniporaiie- oiisly with his Kraiidl'athor, Mcthuschih. he had ample opportunities to obtain from the most trustworthy chan- nel the fidlest and most reliable information upon the subjects referred to. Another circmnstance showing the reliability of the traditions and fj;eiiealoKi<-'s handed down from Adam to Noah is the remarkable fact that Adam himself and every one of his descendants in the direct line to Noah were alive when Noah's father, Lamech. was tifty-six years of age, and that the last of them to die was Methuselah, in the year of the Flood; and when Noah was eighty-four years of age every one of his ancestors was alive except Adam, Seth and Enoch. ! II* Duration of Human Life in Primeval Ages. Much speculation has been indulged in by skeptics as to the duration of human life in i)rimeval ages, and many of them are disposed to (jt'estion the correctness of the Scripture narrative on this point without produc- ing a particle of evidence to the contrary. All departure from God has commenced with unbelief of His Word, and Divine revelation has been so given and preserved as to leave fallen men wholly without excuse if they refuse to believe the records that He has caused to be handed down to them in the Bible regarding Him- self and His dealings with the human race. In His infinite wisdom He so ordained that the great ages to which men lived in antediluvian days should provide the surest guarantee that the traditions handed down by them were reliable; and the same method Avas continued down to the time of Abram. who. as we have seen in the former chapter, lived contemporaneously with both Noah and Shem. Up to this time God had been dealing with the whole human race under various dispensations, with failure in each case on the part of man as the inevitable result. Created in the likeness of God Him.s^lf, in a state of i 1 52 THE RIDDLE UE EXISTENCE SULVED. ^^ innocence, and endowed with freedom of will, he had failed and fallen. Left with the testimony of Adam, Enoch and Noah, and doubtless many other faithful witnesses to the consequences of the Fall, the whole earth became corrupt before God and was filled with violence (Gen. 6:11). Only one man (Noah) was at lenj^th found walkinj^ with God, and he was commanded to build the ark; and in it himself and his family were saved when all others were destroyed by the Deluge (Gen. 9:9). God er ered into a covenant with Noah, and again dealt with die human race as a whole. After the terrible example of the destruction of all others by the Flood, his desicendants soon departed froiji the knowledge and service of the true God, which they had received from Noah, and failure, almost universal, again took i)lace, until men seemed to think only of how to escape the righteous judgment of God in event of another Deluge. The Tower of Babel (see Appendix A) was built, the confusion of tongues followed, and men were scattered upon the face of the earth. Before the Flood vGen. 6 : 3) God had announced His indention of short- ening human life to one hundred and twenty years on account of the general wickedness which then prevailed, but this purii:)ose was only brought about gradually down to the time of Abram. Abrom the Fitted Custodian of Divine Re""^eIations, It is altogether likely that the long duration of life, which assured the correct handing down of Divine revelations and reliable traditional history, had at the same time a hardening effect upon the consciences of men. And when God shortened the span of human life He chose one man and his posterity to be henceforth the custodians of those most important and sacred reve- lations and traditions which He designed to be care- fully preserved for future ages. In examining the genealogy in the direct line from Noah to Adam as the CUSTODY AND CRITICISM OF REVELATION. 53 duration of human life becomes gradually shorteneii (Ckm. ID : 10-20) it is worthy of notice that Abram lived contemporaneously with all his own ancestors since the Flood, including Noah and Shem. It is morally certain that, as the eldest son of his father. Terah, he held the birthright in that illustrious family, who traced their pedigree directly back to Adam, the first created man. and that he would thus be the one wIk), as a matter of right, according to patriarchal customs, would be en- trusted with the custody of all the archives and tradi- tional lore connected with such an ancestry. The call of Abram by God was no hap-hazard matter. It was given to the one who of all other men then living was best (lualified by his position to be the custoilian of Divine revelations already given, and of the reliable traditions and genealogies received by him from his ancestors, which he had the most abundant opportunities of veri- fying, while they were all living who had existed since the Flood. It i^ very likely that all his immediate an- .estors had since the Deluge, as a pastoral people, occu- pied those parts of Armenia and Mesopotamia lying between Mount Arrarat and Ur of the Chaldees where the call of God came to him. As was usual in those patriarchal days, it is also probable that, as no time had been fixed for his departure, he. as a dutiful son had re- mained with his father at Haran until his death, and then departed for Canaan as the Lord had spoken to him. Professor Goldwin Smith thinks it very unlikely that the great Being who inhabits eternity and infinity would deign to be the guest of a Hebrew sheik; but has he ever paused to consider that, even before the call of God came to Abram, he was. according to his lineage, the repre- sentative man of the human race at that particular time, and the probable custodian of its most important tra- ditions ? Abrom's Foith in God* In the call which God gave to Abram he commenced to deal with one family upon the principle of grace. .f |i| J i| :! 1 ': % ;i ¥ ! ^ "il i 1'' I * 1^.! il p 54 THE RIDDLE OP^ EXISTENCE SOLVED. Icavinj^. as it were, all the rest of the hu'inan race in the nieantiiiie lo their own devices. He commanded him to go to Canaan, which He i)r()mised to give to him and to his seed for an everlasting possession (Gen. 17 : 8). Ahram built altars unto the Lord at Sichem. at Bethel, and in Hebron, and thus proved that he, as well as Noah understood that it was only through the atoning sacri- fice that fallen men could acceptably ajjpear in the pres- ence of God. And in his meeting with Melchizedek, the l)riest of the most high God, and giving tithes to him. we find that there were other worshippers of the true God in Canaan, who. like himself, had received the knowledge of Him through their ancestor, Noah, and hi-j descendants. Since the Creation God had been looking for faith on the part of man, but finding very little. Now He i^romises to Abrar^ an apparent impossibility ; that he in his old age sho Id have a son through his wife, Sarah, whose womb was dead. "And," we read in Gen, 15 : 6, " he believed in the Lord, and He counted it to him for righteousness."' And after the great trial of his faith upon Mount Moriah God further covenanted with him thus : " By Myself have 1 sworn, saith the Lord; for because thou hast done this thing, and hast not with- held thy son, thine only son; that in blessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will multiply thy seed as the stars of heaven, and as the sand which is upon the sea shore; and thy seed shall possess the gate of his enemies; and in thy seed shall all nations of the earth be blessed, because thou hast obeyed my voice." God at length had found a man who would believe His simple word, con- trary to all natural appearances, and wdio would obey Him under all circujnstances ; and He revealed Himself and His purposes more fully to him than He had yet done to any human being; and. the covenant of grace was repeatedly renewed, and the promise was further given, "And in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth, be blessed" ((kmi. 26 : 4). The meaning of this promise we find in Gal. ^ : 1(1. which reads thus : "Now to Abra- ham and his seed were the promises made. He saith II CUSTODY AXn CRITICISM OF RKVr:L.\TTOX. 55 not, and to seeds as of many; but as of one. And to thy seed, which is Christ." This is the sum and substance of all revelation from God to man since Aid them of their pedigree, extendinig backwards to Adam, the first created man: of a noble ancestry, with whom Jehovah held personal intercourse; of the promises made by God to their fathers of earthly blessings above those of every other people; of the coming of that won- : ' 'i'i ■ m Sf' Till-: in 1)1)1. F, OF Kxis'ri-:\(F soiakd. il ili (lerful person, their Messiah, who was to reign over them ghjriously, and in wlioni all nations of the earth would be blessed. These promises, at first in the form of reliable tradition, and afterwards perhaps partly or wholly committed to writing before the time of Moses, we may be sure were preserved by the children of Israel with the greatest care, until at length they were em- bodied in permanent form in the Book of Genesis by Moses, the inspired prophet of Jehovah. The custodians of Divine revelation before the days of Moses were the people most deeply interested in its preservation, and the inspired prophet who embodied those revelations in sacred history was the one with whom God talked " face to face as a man with his friend." Surely it must be adtnitted that down to the time of Moses the persons who had the custody of Divine revelations were the very best that could be found in the various ages in which they lived. In confirmation of the writer's remarks regarding Abram on a previous page it may be added that Josephus states that Berossus mentions Abram without naming him when he says thus : " In the tenth generation after the Flood there was amongst the Chaldeans a man righteous and great, and skilful in the celestial science." Also, that Hecataeus does mcjre than barely mention himi, for he composed and left behind a book concern- ing him. He says also that Nicolaus. of Damascus, in the fourth book of his history writes thus concerning him : "Abram reigned at Damascus, being a foreigner, who came with an army out of the land above Babylon, called the land of the Chaldeans; but after a long time he got him up. and removed from that country also with his people, and went into the land then calied the land of Canaan, but now the land of Judea, and this when his posterity were become a multitude; as to which pos- terity of his we relate their history in another work. Now the name of Abram is even still famous in the country of Damascus; and there is showed a village named after him. The Habifatioti of .Ibnnn." CLSTODV AND CRITICISM OF REVELATION. 57 Custody of Divine Revelations by Jewish Sanhedrim and Priesthood. After the giving of tlic Law by Moses and the appoint- ment of the seventy elders to aid him in governing the people, these elders with himself formed tiie first San- hedrim or Supreme Council of the nation, avowedly, at least, subject to the direct rule of Jehovah. This body of magistrates or councillors was, as well as the priests, directly interested in preserving the law by wihich they should be guided in the administration of justice, as it was delivered by God to Moses; and they would also, as representatives of the whole people, be intensely in- terested in the preservation o' heir genealogy from Adam to Abram, and of the promises to Abraham and his seed that had not >et been fulfilled. From the time of Moses, whether under the rule of Judges or Kings, they were organized as a nation, with the proper officers to look after the safe-keeping of their laws. But the priests also were most deeply interested in the preserva- tion of the books given to them by Moses, in which alone were to be found all the details of the ceremonial law, by which they were to be guided in their sacrifices and other religious observances. It is hard to suppose the possibility of their not taking care of such important documents, however great might be their departure from the true worship and service of Jehovah at various stages of their history. Thus there were provided the most effectual guar- antees for the custody of the Pentateuch, or the first five books in the Bible, as they came from the hands of Moses to the Israelites, as a nation which regarded these books as containing their code of civil laws and religious ritual, to wliich reference had to be made continually. The historical books, written after the Exodus, give in very brief terms the national history, and recount God's dealings with them as His chosen people; and many chapters are occupied with details as to the divi- sion of the land amongst the twelve tribes who came out II' 1 ■ ;8 rilK RIDDIJ': Ol' KXISTEXCK SOLVED. m m m I' of Egypt with Moses; with genealogical tables; with strange names of ancient cities and countries, all inter- woven with rec(jr(ls of failure and conseciuent judgment by Jehovah, which, taken all together, have not the slightest appearance of works of fiction or legendary lore. It is impossible to conceive of these books being aught else than what is claimed for them, a correct his- tory of the nation which has preserved them with its other sacred writings received from Moses. But these historical books, as well as Genesis and other books of the Pentateuch, contain many additional revelations from Jehovah, which are incorporated with the history of the nation and the most important genealogies. Could any method have been devised which would have been better adapted for securing the custody of those additional revelations from God to man ? The correctness of the history thus handed down is confirmed by other co- temporary history, and by the ruins of buried cities, which in recent years have been unearthed in various eastern countries. With these historical books and the Pentateuch the Jewish nation has preserved and handed down to us the Book of Job. the Psalms of David, and the writings of Solomon, in all of which there is so much practical instruction for the regulation of daily life, and so much that is calculated to awaken devotional feeling of the highest character. And in later ages to these have been added the books written by the various prophets foretelling, besides other events, the coming of their Messiah, His rejection, and death, and Second Advent and imillennial glory, when all the promises given by God to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob will be literally fulfilled. And all this mass of Divine revelations, from the time of Adam to the time of Christ, accumulating and ex- panding as the ages have rolled on, has thus been handed down to us and kept intact by the plan which God in His infinite wisdom devised, of first making one family, and afterwards one nation, deeply interested in its preserva- tion. w- CUSTODY AND CR1TI(I«^M oV KKVFJ.ATIOX. 59 Professor Smith Denies Inspiration of Old Testament Scriptures* Professor Gold win Smith (paj^a* 7K) asks. " What is the Old Testatiient ?" and himself answers the (luestioii tinis. " It is the entire body of Hebrew literature, theo- 'offy. philosophy, history, fiction, and poetry, including; the ipoetry of love as well as that of religion, all bound ir. a single book. This statement is not correct. Surely he must be aware that no books of fiction are included in the Old Testament, although there is much sublime poetry, conveying spiritual lessons. And on page 94 he says: "The time has come when as a supernatural reve- lation the Hebrew books should be frankly, though reverently, laid aside, and no more allowed to c id the vision of free enquiry." etc. Certainly a very cool pro- position! But a very unwise course to take. Necessity and Value of Honest Criticism. These statements of the learned, but rash. Professor naturally bring us to the consideration of the criticism of Divine revelation, which is as important as its cus- tody. There is a vast difference between honest criti- cisK' and infidel skepticism. The latter starts with the assumption, either that there is no God. or that He has never given a revelation of Himself to man. The former reverently acknowledges that a Divine revelation has been given, but recognizes at the same time the possi- bility of human failure in connection with its preserva- tion as it first came from Jehovah, and the danger of imposture on the part of uninspired men. Frequent warnings are given in the Old Testament Scriptures against false prophets, as. for instance in Deut. 18 : 20-22. " But the prophet which shall presume to speak a word in my name which I have not commanded him to speak . . . even that prophet shall die. and if thou shalt say in thine heart. How shall we know the word that the Lord hath not spoken ? When a prophet speaketh in the name of the Lord, if the thing follow not nor come ifc ii ft ; Ck^ Till': KiDDiJC oi" i:.\is'i KNCI-: s()iA'i:n. tt) pass . . . the prophet hath si)()ken presumptuously; thou shalt not he afraid of him"; and in Jcr. 23 : jS ,^j. "The i)roi)hct that hatli a dream, let him tell a dream, and he that hath my word, let him speak my Word faith- fully. What is the chafif to the wheat, saith the Lord ? Is not my Word like as a fire ? saith the Lord; and like a hammer that breaketh the rock in pieces ? There- fore I am against the prophets, saith the Lord, that steal my words, every one from his neighbour. Behold. I am against the prophets that use their tongues and say. He saith. Behold, I am against them that prophesy false dreams, saith the Lord, and do tell them, and cause my people to err by their lies, and by their lightness; yet I sent them not. nor commanded them; therefore, they shall not profit this people at all. saith the Lord." And again in Ezek. 13 : 1-3 we read, " And the word of the Lord caime unto me. saying. Son of man. prophesy against the prophets of Israel that prophesy, and say unto them that prophesy out of their own hearts. Hear ye the word of the Lord. Thus saith the Lord God. Woe unto the foolish prophets that follow their own spirit and have seen nothing." In many other passages similar language is used. As to the great care which was taken by the Jewish nation from the earliest ages to preserve their sacred writ- ings in their purity and integrity, the best authority is Josephus. who says : " We, therefore, who are Jews, must yield to the Grecian writers as to language and elocjuence of composition; but then we shall give them no such preference as to the verity of ancient histdry. and least of all as to that part which concerns the affairs of our several countries. As to the care of writing down the records from the earliest antiquity among the Egyp- tians and Babylonians, that the priests were entrusted therewith, and employed a philosophical concern about it; that they were the Chaldean priests that did so among the Babylonians; and that the Phoenicians, who were mingled among the Greeks, did especially make use of their letters both for the common affairs of life, and for s CUSTODY AND CUniClSM ()!• 1< i:\ ICL ATloX. 61 the (k'livoriny down the history of coininou transactions. I think I may omit any proof, because all men allow it so to be. But now as to our forefathers, that they tf)ol< no less care about writing such records (for I will not say they took greater care than the others I spoke of), and that they committed that matter to their high priests and to their prophets, and that these records have been written all along down to our own times with the utnu)st accuracy; nay, if it be not too bold for me to say it. our history will be so written hereafter. I shall endeavour briefly to inform you. For our forefathers did not only employ the best of these priests, and those that attended upon the Divine worship for that design from the be- ginning, but made provision that the stock of priests should continue unmixed and pure; . . . and this is justly or rather necessarily done, because every one is not permitted of his own accord to be a writer, nor is there any disagreement in what is written; they being only prophets that have written the original and earliest account of things, as they learned them of God Himself by inspiration; and others have written what hath hap- pened in their own times, and that in a very distinct manner also. For we have not an innumerable number of books among us. disagreeing from and contradicting one another (as the Greeks have), but only twenty-two books, which contain the records of all past times, which are justly believed to be Divine. And of them five belong to Moses, which contain his laws, and the tradi- tions of the origin of mankind till his death. This interval of time was little short of three thousand years; but as to the time from the death of Moses till the reign of Artaxerxes, King of Persia, who reigned after Xerxes; the prophets who were after Moses wrote down what was done in their time in thirteen books. The remaining four books contain liymns to God and precepts for the conduct of human life. It is true our history hath been written since Artaxerxes very particularly, but hath not been esteemed of the like authority with the former by our forefathers, because there hath not been an exact 111 i ! 1 ! ! i ! ( SI ■" ; .1 If 62 Till-, u 11)1) 1. 1', ni' I'.xis'rK.xci-: soiA'i'.n. I succession ol' i)foi)hi'ls since that time; ami li(»w firmly we have ji^iven credit to these hooks of our own nation is evident hy what we (h); for durinj^ so many ages as have already passed, no one hath been so hohl as either to add anything to them, to take anythijig from them, or to make any change in them; but it is become natural to all Jews, immediately and from their very birth, to esteem those books to contain Divine doctrines, and to l)ersist in them, and. if occasion be, willingly to die for them." Why Apocryphal Books are not IncIucJcd with the Hebrew Scriptures* The number of books which, in the foregoing ex- tract, Josephus enumerates as being contained in the Hebrew Scriptures is thirty-nine, exactly corresponding with the number now in the Old Testament. But, it may be asked, What about the fourteen Apocryphal books which are in the Roman Catholic Bible ? To which it may be replied, that these were originally writ- ten in Greek and Latin, and never formed a part of Hebrew literature. They were, therefore, never incor- porated with the Hebrew Scriptures, or recognized by the Jews as inspired or possessing any canonical au- thority, whatever value might attach to them as ordinary histories of passing events. The 'writer of the preface to the Commentary on the Ai)ocrypha, published by the Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge, under the direction of the Tract Committee of the Church of Eng- land, makes the following remarks in reference to these books : " It is certain that the Apocrypha was written after the age of Malachi, and that the greater part of it, if not the whole, was composed before the coming of Christ, land existed in the time of our blessed Lord; and it is no less certain that it was not received by the Hebrew Church as inspired, and that our blessed Lord commu- nicated with the Hebrew Church, which called Malachi ri CUSTODY .\>:i) CKITICISM OF KEVKLATTON. 6^ the ' Seal of the Prophets.' and acknowledged tlwit the succession of inspired writers had come to a close in his age, and that no books composed after it were to be regarded as inspired. Our Lord acknowledged her canon of the Old Testament as complete, and set His Divine seal upon it. The written Word, as received by the Hebrew Church, was accepted by the incarnate Word; it was received as the Word of God by the Son of God." As o Theocracy the Jewish Nation Most Highly Volued the Inspired Writings, The Jewish nation from the time of Moses, whether governed by judges or kings, was a theocracy, under the direct rule of Jehovah, and this they always recog- nized, no matter how grievously they sinned against Him and merited His chastisements. The children of Israel had been living under the first covenant made with Abraham, which was one of grace, down to the time when they voluntarily placed themselves under the second covenant made at Sinai, which was one of law. Through Moses God then spake to the children of Israel, saying. "Now, therefore, if ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treas- ure unto me above all people; for all the earth is mine. And ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests, and an holy nation"; and all the people answered together and said, "All that the Lord hath spoken we will do " (K\. 10 : 5-8). From that time forward they were under a solemn covenant with Jehovah to obey all His com- mands, and He promised earthly l)lessings as the reward of their obedience, and threatened with earthly judg- ments as the consecpience of disobedience. .Xnd now nearly forty years afterwards, when about to enter the promised land. Moses in that wonderful summary of God's dealings with them, and commandments to them, as given in the Book of Deuteronomy, reminded them thus of the covenant into which Jehovah had entered with 1 i \ i| ,1 •1 i R I 1 64 rill-: uiDDi.i-: oi- i-xisticnhic soia'icd. tluMii : " I'or thou art an holy ipcople unto the Lord thy God; the Lord thy God hath chosen thee to he 11 special l)e()ple inito Himself ahove all people that are ui)on the face of tlic earth. The Lord did not set His love upon you, nor choose you hecause ye were more in numher than any people; for ye were the fewest of all peo|)le," etc. (Deut. 7 : 6, 7). .And ajj^ain He reminds them, " For thou art an holy i)eople unto the Lord thy G(jd, and the Lord hath chosen thee to he a peculiar people unto Him- self ahove all the nations that are upon the earth" (Deut. 14 :2). It is little wonder that a nation so highly favoured hy God should lijjjhtly esteem .the writings of uninspired philosophers and works of fiction; and, therefore, we find no place given to such literature among the collec- tion of Hehrew hooks, which consisted only of inspired writings, in which, through His prophets God had hcen gradually unfolding His will to them, as we read, "The Word of the Lord was unto them precept upon precept, precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line; here a little and there a little," etc. (Lsa. 28 : 13). And all these writings hy various persons in different ages, predicting the coming of the Messiah, in whom, through them, all nations should 'he hlessed; or warning them oi coming judgments on account of their sins." Surely the learned Professor must he willing to admit that such a nation as this, with their inspired prophets, had no need for either philosophy or fiction. Scope of True Criticism and Qualifications for Its Exercise* As has heen already remarked, true criticism ack- nowledges the Divine inspiration and authenticity of those Hehrew Scriptures comprising the Old Testament, which have heen handed down with such scrupulous care through so many generations of God's chosen people, and which have heen used and commended as the Word of God by the Son of God. But still there is a large field r»(, ( l's■|■()l^^• AM) ( uniciSM oi" ui-:\i:i..\'ri()N. <>5 for honest criticism in the detection and explanation of interi)olations by copyists and errors hy trnnslator.i, which (h) not in any way afTect either the inspiration or authenticity of the Old Testament Scrij)tures. The only j)ersons. however, who are (|ualified to en^'r^e in t/his work are those who are not only learne(l, hnt also rejfenerate men. filled with the Holy Spirit, and thus able to compare spiritual things with spiritual. It was their hi}j;h priests and their inspired proi)hets. who. amongst the Jews, not only wrote, but had the custody and criticism of the inspired writings down to the time of Malachi. and from that time until the Lord Jesus Christ entered upon His public ministry they were in the custody of the priests, who were responsible for their safe-keeping. But after the resurrection of Christ and the descent of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, a new dis- pensation w^is inaugurated. The Church of Christ was formed by believers (Jew and Gentile) being baptized by the Holy Spirit into One Body, of which Christ is the head, and in that Church there was a new line of prophets, inspired by God to reveal His will respecting the new order of things that had been established. The Messiah promised to the Jewish nation, the seed of Abra- ham, and " the seed of David according to the Hesh. and declared (or determined) to be the son of God with power, according to the Spirit of holiness, by the resur- rection from the dead" (Rom. i : 4) had come "unto His own, but His own received Him not; but as many as re- ceived Him to them gave He power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on His name, which were born, not of blood, nor of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God" (John i : 11-T3). He was rejected by the Jewish nation, and by them crucified; {ind, as He had promised to His disciples. He rose from the dead on the third day. Before leaving them and ascending to heaven from their very presence. He gave them the pro- mise of the l)aptism with the Holy Spirit . . . and said to them : " Ye shall receive poiver after that the Holy Spirit is come upon you, and ye shall be witnesses 1^ I 66 TiiK uiDDFj-: OF i<:xisTi<:.\(i': solvkd. unto me, both in Jerusalem and in all Judea. and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost parts of the earth. And when He had spoken these things, while they beheld, he was taken up, and a cloud received Him out of their sight. And while they looked steadfastly tf)war(l heaven as He went up, behold two men stood by them in white apparel: which also said unto them. Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye ga/.ing up into heaven ? This same Jesus which is taken up from you into heaven shall so come in like manner as ye have seen Him go into heaven " (Acts I : 5-11). Descent of the Holy Spirit ond New Revelations Completed* With the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the whole Church various gifts were bestowed, among which was that of iprophecy (i Cor. 12 : 10). This gift was needful in the Church for revealing the will of God in the new dispensation before fhe New Testament was written. They, as well as the apostles, spoke as the Spirit gave them utterance, and. while the apostles exercised a gen- eral supervision of the spiritual work and revelations in the various assemblies of Christians, it is likely, from what we read in i Cor. 14 : 29-33. that in every assembly there were several of these inspired prophets. As. how- ever, in the Mosaic dispensation there were false pro- phets, against whom the people were warned, and vdiose pretended revelations were rejected nhen subjected to inspired criticism, so in this new dispensation there was the danger of men professing to be prophets, through whom God was not si)eaking ; and. therefore, in the passage just referred to provision was made for the most careful criticism of all that was said, so that if the instructions given by the apostle were observed there was little danger of error being permitted amongst them. One of the special purposes for which the Holy Spirit came to dwell in the heart of each individual believer during this dispensation was that He might teach "TTT [W IP ('l'STOl)V A\l) CRITTflSM OJ-' KF.VI'.I.ATK )N. 6/ tliein all tliiiiK>^. 'ind bring all tiiinj;s to their rcineni- hrance which the Lord Jesus Christ had said unto them (John 14 : 26). Jesus, whom Professor Goldwin Smith, like Nicodemus. calls the " Great Teacher." said to His disciples again in John 16 : i.^, " Howbeit when lie, the Spirit of truth, is come, He will guide you intt> all truth; for He shall not speak from (R.V.) Himself, but what- soever He shall hear that shall He speak; and He will show you things to come." Even as their great Teacher had been with them personally when present bodily on earth, so now and henceforth they were to have dwelling in their hearts continually another great Teacher, the third person in the Godhead, by whose mighty power the Lord Jesus Christ Himself had performed all His wonderful works. And just as they yielded themselves up to be taught and guided by this ever-present Teacher wculd He guide them into all truth, and enable them rightly to criticize and detect any errors that might be advanced while as yet there was no written word. The Clnirch is being still " built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets. Jesus Christ Himself being the chief corner-stone" (Eph. 2:20); but for the erection of the superstructure it was needful that the record of the life and works and teaching of Christ and His apostles and the leading principles of Christian faith, delivered at first orally or \jy lettc through the inspired apostles and prophets of this new di'-i/ensatioii, should be end)odied in more permanent form for the instruc- tion of future generations. There were many histories written of the life and sayings and doings of the Lord Jesus Christ, but only four of these, the Gospels as we now have them, passed the ordeal of criticism to which they were subjected, and were received by the apostles and prophets of the early Church as inspired writings, and thus embodied in the New Testament Scriptures. All the writings wih' " make up this book were, it is believed, publish(,'d between A.D. 4.S and A.D. 98. Before this period the Church had received oral instruction fro-m Christ and His apostles and inspired prophets for ■\ 1 w III V: w; 68 Tlll<: RTDDLE OF EXISTENCE SOLVEH. lii^' over twemty years. They recognized the fact that since Pentecost the Holy Spirit was and ever would be their teacher as they submitted to His guidance, but, as the apostolic and prophetic gifts in the foundation were passing away, the need was felt of preserving their in- si)ired writings in pern^anent form for use in future ages, and as authentic records of the life of Christ and the teaching which had been received by the Spirit of Christ through the gifts which He had bestowed. Honest Criticism Required for Both Old and New Testaments. For many centuries before the art of printing was discovered the New Testament Scriptures were, like the Old Testament Scriptures, copied with the pen on parch- ment; and as a matter of course there is just the same reason in both cases why honest criticism should be exercised for the detection of interpolations and other errors by the copyists and of ii*stakes by translators into various languages. For such criticism, however, mere scholarship is not a sufficient qualification. The critic should also, as aheady remarked, be a regenerated man. and endued with power by the Holy Spirit, or he cannot apprehend the true spiritual meaning of what he reads so as to perform intelligently this necessary work. Professor Smith Questions Authenticity of the Four Gospels and Acts. Professor Goldwin Smith objects to the four Gospels, because, as he says. " they were written by anonymous writers and of uncertain dates"; and yet. with strange inconsisitency he accepts just so much of the life and sayings of Jesus recorded in those Gospels as suits his taste, and rejects all the rest. But his statement is not correct if it implies that the writers were unknown. It is doubtful if there are any writings of the same age in existence the author.sihip of which is more clearly estab- 1 T crSToDN' AM) CRITTCTSM OK RK\ ELATION. 69 I ! lislu'd. That Matthew, the apostle, and formerly a pub- lican, was the writer of the first Gospel was never ciues- tioncd by any ancient authority, and that it was written by him in Hebrew is the tradition of the ancient Church from apostolic times, and Irenaeus says it was written by Matthew when Peter and Paul were preaching at Rome, about A.D. 63. or probably earlier. Irenaeus says that Mark's Gospel was w^'itten about A.D. 43 by John Mark, who acted as interpreter to Peter, and also assisted both Barnabas and Paul. It was written by him at Rome, and, as w-as supposed, under the special influence and direction of Peter, from whom he learned most of the facts. Luke was not an eye-witness of the resurrection, but was an honest compiler of the facts related by him and doubtless received from many witnesses. It is not cer- tainly known whether he was a Hellenistic Jew or a convert from the Gentiles, but his companionship with Paul during his missionary journeys and his imprison- ment at Rome give assurance of the reliability of all his statements. No doubt was ever felt in the Church as to the authorship of this Gospel. But the fourth Gospel is the one to which the Pro- fessor has the strongest objections, and yet. strange to say, it is the one about which there is the strongest evi- dence, both as to authorship and date. It was pub- lished in Ephesus about A.D. 97 by the .Vpostle Johij in his extreme old age. about the time of his banishment to Patmos, at the urgent entreaty of the elders of the Asiatic coast and of deputies sent from several churches and many still surviving disciples of Christ, among whom is said to have been the Apostle Andrew. It was said to be his intention mainly to supplement the other three Gospels already written, and this accounts for his omit- ting most of the important things stated by them, and only repeating three of the same events which they have given besides the history of the Passion. Death and Resurrection of Christ, viz.. the feeding of the five thousand, Jesus walking on the sea. and Mary anointing I ■ ) ■ J ^ 70 Till-: UIDDT.K OF EXTSTFATE SOEVKD. Mi 1- ;?^ I Him; hut he supplies a j^reat deal that the other evan- gelists have not given, thus hearing out the thecjry that it was intended as a supplementary Gospel. He describes himself as " the disciple whom Jesus loved," and that " other disciple." A comparison of this Gospel with John's first Epistle should settle the cpiestion of author- ship if there were any doubt about it. It does seem, however, that the special dislike of infidels generally to this Gospel must arise from the plain statements made in it as to the necessity of the new birth for salvation, and of the indwelling of the Holy Spirit for instruction in the truth, two things which, as a matter of course, neither tiiey nor any other unregenerate man or woman can possibly understand. Professor Goldwin Smith says that Luke was pro- bably the author of the Acts, but that there is no positive evidence of the existence of this book till towards the close of the second century; and he thus insinuates a doubt in reference to its authorship for which there is no foundation whatever. The fact is that the Acts is just a continuation of the Gospel which Luke had writ- ten, both having been addressed to Theophilus. probably a Roman of high rank, to give him certain information about the things which he had been taught by Paul and himself. The fact of both books having been addressed to the same person makes it certain that n(^ great length of time elapsed between the publication of the two. In reference to the four Gospels Professor Goldwin Smith further says (page 175) : "A biography of Christ there cannot be. There are no genuine materials for it. as Strauss truly says. Four compilations of legend can- no't be pieced together so as to make the history of a life. No ingenuity can produce a chronological sequence of scene such as a biographer rc(|uires." Another objection tihat he makes (page 156) to the four Gospels is that " there are di.screpancies in the narratives." And a still further objection is (page 160) that " there is no trace of the death of Christ left in general history!" i CUSTODY AM) CUITICISM OF KHVICI.ATION. JI And yet in the face of all these objections to the Gospels, which he calls a "compilation of lejj^ends," he makes the following remarks with apparent candonr : On page 137 he says : " The effect produced by the teaching of Jesus and His disciples is beyond (iuesti(jn the most momentous fact in history!" And on page 137 : " The conversi(m of Saul marks the greatness of the moral change!" But on page 105 he had previously said : "A sudden and absolute change of nature is contrary to all our ex- perience, which would lead us to believe that gradual progress is the law." If in this last statement he is speaking only on behalf of himself and the so-called *' liberal theologians " the writer is not disposed to (lues- tion its correctness; but every true Christian will declare that his or her experience accords with the statement of Scripture : "If any man be in Christ, he is a new creature; old things are passed away : behold, all things are become new" (2 Cor. 5 : 17), The Gospels Not Intended as a Biogfrophy of Christ* And now with regard to the three objections to the four Gospels which are (juoted above. Let us consider briefly the circumstances of the case. According to the promises which Jesus had given to His disciples, the Holy Spirit had come down at Pentecost when " they were all with one accord in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a rushing, mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. And there appeared unto them cloven tongues, like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them; and they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance " (Acts 2 : 1-4). It seems as if human language was inadeiiuate to describe this wonderful transaction, the like of which had never before occurred in the history of the world; but there was ^in experience then entered upon by all 1 72 Till-: KlUDLE (JF ICXISTK.XC !•: S()IAi:i). !v i present on that memorable occasion which could never afterwards be erased from their minds : " they were all filled with the Holy Ghost"; they had received the pro- mised enduement of po-wer from on hiRh; a Divine Person had taken possession of each heart; and He, the Spirit of Christ, had strangely c|uickened their memories, and brought to their recollection the person of Jesus and His sayings and doings as vividly as if He was then speaking and acting in their midst. They no longer felt like comfortless orphans, who had been bereaved of their best and only friend. He was by His Spirit still with them las He had promised : '" Lo! I am with you alway, even unto the end of the age." They did not want a biography of One who was still present with them, and all whose words and actions were kept ever freshly before their minds, " written not witli ink, but with the Spirit of the living God; not in tables of stone, but in fleshy tables of the heart" (2 Cor. 3 : s). Results of Enduement With Power. The presence of Jehovah had been manifested in the Shekinah glory which had overshadowed them, and in the Shekinah fire which appeared as tongues of tlanie; and with the conscious indwelling of the Holy Spirit all timidity was gone. Peter and John and the other dis- ciples ])reached the Word with all boldness in the power of the Spirit, and on the same day, the day of Pentecost, three thousand souls were converted, and we read: "And fear came upon every soul; and many wonders and signs were done by the apostles." This enduement of power by the Holy Spirit is the cause which produced the effect referred to by Professor Smith on page 137, where he makes the admission, " The effect produced by thi; teaching of Jesus and His disciples is beyond question the most momentous fact in hi .tory." After the healing of the lame man at the gate of the temple Peter and John were brought before the rulers and elders and scribes, where Annas, the high priest, ))resided, and they ^TT m c ^s'l•()l)^■ AM) CRITICISM or ri:\ ki.ation. "3 were asked : " By what power or hy what natne liave ye done this ? Then Peter, filled with the Holy Glujst, said unto them. Ye rulers of the jjeoplc and elders of Israel, if we this day be examined of the good deed done to the inii)otent man, by what means he is made whole: be it known unto you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom ye crucified, whom God raised from the dead, even by Uini doth this man stand here before you whole. This is the stone which was set at U' ight of you builders, which is become the head of the corner. Neither is there sal- vation in any other; ior there is none other 'ame under heaven given among men whereby we must be saved: Now when tbey saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were unlearned and ignoranL men. tiiey marvelled; and they took knowledge of them that they had been with Jesus. And beholding the man that was healed standing with them, they could say nothing against it" (Acts 4:14). And twenty years afterwards, when Paul at Thes'-.alOiiica went into the synagogue and reasoned with the Jews out of their Old Testament Scrip- tures, " opening and alleging that Christ must needs have suffered and risen again from the dead; and that this Jesus whom I preach unto you is Christ," a great commotion was raised, and certain lewd fellows of the baser sort cried : " These that have turned the world upside down have come hither also " (Acts 17 : 6). And after the death of the first martyr Stephen, the Church at Jerusalem (exce])t the Apostles) " were scattered abroad throughout Judea and Samaria, and went every- where preaching the Word" (Acts 8:1. 4). What Word did they preach ? Only the Hebrew Scriptures, which they read, and to the fulfilment of which in the person of Christ they boldly testified. And the great theme of their discourses always was. " Jesus and the resurrection." They had no New Testament Scriptures, and they needed none, for they spoke of the things which they had themselves seen and heard, and which the Holy Spirit, dwelling in them, was ever keeping freshly before ■I I w 74 THE RIDDLE OF EXISTENCE SOLVED. their minds and hearts, and for the truth ol tliese things they were vvilHng to lay down their lives at any moment. He whom they preached had tohl them that He was going from them for a little while, hut He was coming again to receive them to Himself, that where He was there they inight he also (John 14 : 3). They fondly treasured up the memory of His words and actions, and looked forward with longing eyes to His expected return. He had never, so far as we have heard, either written anything Himself or commanded them to write anything ahout Him or His works, or His teaching; and so long as they lived, according to His i)romise to them, the Holy Spirit hrought all things to their rcmemhranco thai; He had said unto them (John 14 : 26). But as the Second Coming of their l.ord was delayed, and the living witnesses to His life and death and resurrection passed one by one from earth to heaven, the Holy Spirit put it into the hearts of His disciples to commit to writing those truths to wdiich they had been witnessing during their lives, and thus to jirovide the means whereby men in future ages might be saved through believing their testimony regarding Him. God's Purpose in the Writing and Preservotion of the Four Gospels. To write all that He had said and done when here on earth could not be expected, nor was it necessary. At the close of the fourth (iospel. John, the beloved dis- ciple, declared himself to be the writer of it in these words. " This is the disciple which testitietli of these things and wrote these things, and we know that his testimony is true. And there are also many other things wdiich Jesus did. the which, if they should be written every one, I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the l)ooks that should be written." In this oriental style of expressing himself the apostle shows how impossible it would be to commit to writing within rc'isonable bounds a full account of the sayings and P'jm 'm CUSTODY AM) (KIIK ISM OK Ki:\'KI.A:nON. 75 (loiiiKs of the Lord Jesus Christ, and. as luis been already remarked, his own Gospel was doid)tless chielly intended to be supplementary to the other three which had been already written. l^aeh of the four Gospels appears to hav(; been written from a different standpoint, and vvith- vvt any special care as to the chronological order it; V hich the events were narrated. They were not intended as a history of the life of Christ, but rather to brin;..? His person and work before the mind of the reader from the point t)f view at which the writer beheld Ilim. Matthew presents Him as the Mes.Mah i)romised to Israel. Mark seems to regard Him sjjccially as the servant - '' Jehov.di. Luke as the Son of Man. and John as the Son of God. But^ the four books are written without any pre-arrauKc- ment between the authors, in different countries and at widely different dates, extending from A.D. 4.^ to A.U. 98. But there is agreoment between them in all essential particulars which concern the salvation of men, present- ing Him. notwithstanding all the bitter enmity aroused against Him as the oidy perfect man who ever walked this earth. Sf)n of Man and Son of God. dying the shameful death of the cross for sins that were not His cvvn. and rising again from the dead on the third day the One who voluntarily laid aside the glory which He had with the Father from a past eternity, for whom a body had been prepared, in order that as a man He might identify Himself with this fallen race, revealing the infinite love of God to sinful men, to wdiom He is still speaking by His Holy Spirit. Therefore, in reply to Professor Goldwin Smith's first objection to the four Gospels, it is a sufficient answer to say that they were never intended for the purpose of writing a history of His life in chronological order; and that it is absurd for anyone to try and represent as legends or fables the well-attested and thoroughly re- lialde records handed down to us in the Gospels regard- ing the life and ministry and the death and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ. » i i ! 1 I ! 76 Till-: KIDDI.E OF EXISTENCI*: SOLVED. I J : M The Professor Objects to Discreponcies. The next objection that he makes to the four Gospels is that there are " discrepancies l)et\veen the narratives." Leaving aside for the time being the (piestion of the inspiration of the writers, and regar(hng them simply as honest men, desirous of giving a truthful account of v\hat they knew personally, or had learned from the most trustworthy sources, regarding Ids wonderful man; our faith in the truthfulness of statements would be strengthened by the circum j that there were dis- crepancies between them as to minor details, whilst there was substantial agreement as to all the main facts. Thus we find in the Gospels some things stated by one evangelist that are omitted by another, and where some events are related by all there are great differences in the manner of relating them. As the Professor has only made a general statement without giving any proof or particulars, it is, of course, impossible to guess at wdiat discrepancies he may refer to; but if he will oidy con- sider the matter carefully he must admit that, as a general principle, some discrepancies between a nmnber of independent witnesses are calculated to increase our con- fidence in the correctness of their statements about the main facts on which they are all agreed. At all events, this would be strong evidence that no cond)ination had been entered into by the different narrators to impose upon the credulous. il Says there is no Trace of the Death of Christ in General History. The other objection which he makes to the four Gos- pels is that " there is no trace of the death of Christ left iti general history." To which it miight be sufficient answer to say briefly if such is the fact : " So much the worse for general history!" But in another place the Professor himself refers to the death of Christ as a /" judicial murder," and it . cannot be supposed that he CLSTODV AM) CRlTIllSM OF KKVIII-ATIUN. jy seriously questions the fact that Jesus died because gen- eral history did not mention it. Says Writers of New Testomcnt did not Gaim to be Inspired* Another remark which he makes ro^arding these Ne w Testament Scriptures is that the writers themselves do not claim to be inspired. To which it may l)e rei)lied. that their claiming to be inspired would not make them so. It is of much greater importance that their inspira- tion should be recognized, as it has been by other insj)ired writers, and by .all other spiritual men in the Church of God, who are best (|ualified to judge upon such a subject. For those who are still unconverted it sliould be sufticient to know that they are reliable wit- nesses to the things which they have seen and heard, and that through l)elieving their testimony regarding the Lord Jesus Christ they may have life through His name (John 20:31). But while the writers did not claim inspiration for themselves, or say what they thought about their own writings, there can be no doubt that they felt, whether speaking or writing, that they were under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, and that thus their ministry was a continuation of the ministry of Christ when He was upon earth. After Resurrection of Christ the Church became the Custodian of the Scriptures. The Old Testament Scriptures '"'ssed into the cus- tody of the Christian Church; .ana with the Gospels, the Book of Acts, the Epistles, and the Book of Reve- lation, which formed the New Testament, have been care- fully preserved by the early fathers, and many copies of them reproduced by monks secluded in cloisters through- out many ages since the time of the apostles; and these copies have been subjected to the most severe criticism by many competent and spiritual men, more especially i. 1 It H \ 7« TIIK KIDDIJ-: ol" i;\ISTIC\CK SOLVKU. 1) I since tlu' imtltipHcation of copies by the art of printitiM. That some few interpolations and errors l)y copyists in both Old and New Testaments may yet be discovered is (juitc possible. But it wonld be the lieiKbt of folly for anyone to conclude because there are some things about the Mible which as yet he is unable to understand or explain, that, therefore, as intldel writers woidd fain have him tihink. the wliole book is nothing but a compilation of fables, with which mankind has been )4;ulled for s(>me thousands of years. No other records in this world have ever been jjreserved with so nuich care through so many centuries, and none others have ever been subjected to such searchinjj: criticism by those who were best qualified to do this work. Enmity of Ungodly Men against the Word of God. For centuries past ungodly men have been doing their utnu)st to make it appear that the Word of God is neither authentic nor it.spired. but thus far without success. It is true that infidelity is on the increase, but this arises, nox from the soundness of arguments used against the Scriptures, but from the natural entuity of the human heart to the revelation which God has given therein of man's true condition by nature, and the necessity of the new birth, without which there can be no jjossible hope of salvation for impenitent sinners. With the increase of scientific knowledge, and the march of material im- provement in many ways, in modern times, men are becoming more exalted in tlieir own estimation, and more unwilling to see and confess their own utter depravity by nature as the Bible pourtrays it. Their pride will not allow them to take the place of lost sinners, and thus seek and find salvation through the atoning sacrifice of the Son of God upon the cross of Calvary. And so they try to persuade themselves that the Word of the living God is otdy a compilation of fables, by which mankind lias been deluded through many generations. But, not 7^ CUSTODY AM) (.KlllLlSM ( »!- KK\ KLATION. 7^ content with thus destroying llu'ir own .s(»nls, they are generally bent on destroying the faith of others in tlie only revelation which (lod has j^iven of the way of sal- vation, without giving theni anything in exchange. While lluse writers may do innch mischief to themselves and others, the) can never shake the sure foundation of the Word of (j(Hi. The ( )ne whom Professor (ioldwiji Smith recognizes as "the (ireat Teacher" said : "' Heaven and earth shall pass away, hut my Word shall not pass away" (Matt. 24:. ^5); and we also read in 1 Peter i : 24, J5 : " {""or all tlesh is as grass, and all the glory of man as the dower of grass. The grass withereth and the llf)wer thereof fadeth away; hut the Word of the Lord endureth for ever. .Vnd this is the Word which hy the (losijcl is preached unto you." Professor Smith's Denial of the Fall, the Incornation and Redemption* Before closing this chapter two other statements (both on page i()6) from Professor Goldwin Smith's book may be given to show the thoroujjrly infidel character of his publication. In the first he disputes what he calls the Johanistic doctrine of the Trinity, and ridicules the idea of " a Being who fills eternity and infinity, becoming for the redemption of one speck of the universe an end)ryo in the womb of a Jewish maiden," and says that " for this stupendous doctrine our princii)al evidence is the anony- mous work of a mystic writer." It is really extra- ordinary how one who is generally regarded as a learned and able writer can show such an utter disregard for facts when writing about the Word of God. It is ciuite true that the Apostle John clearly presents the doctrine of the Trinity in his Gospel (John 14 : 26), but it is not true, as has already been clearly shown in this chapter, that he was an anonymous writer, because in the closing verses of the Gospel he has declared himself to be the writer of it just as clearly as if he had signed his name •^ :( 1 «o 'nil-: Ri 1)1)1. K oi" i:xiSTRN('E sdiaicd. I I f t(j it; and tlic immaculate conception of Christ is tes- ti ' -d to by both Matthew and Luke in their Gospels. Such a remark as that referred to shows how easy it is for a man to deceive himself by ithinking that he has an exalted idea of the Divine Beinjj^ when he is really limit- ing the attributes of Him who. as the Scriptures declare, numbers the very hairs of our heads, and without whose knowledge a sparrow does not fall to the ground. These are the words of the Lord Jesus Christ Himself, whom the Professor admits to be " the Great Teacher." The other statement which he makes is this. He says: " The Incarnation is the centre of this whole circle of miracles, but, since his reiection of the authenticity and authority of the Book of ' /Luesis, the purpose and mean- ing of the incarnation have been withdrawn. H there was no Fall of man there can be no need of redemption. If there was no need of redemption, there can have been no motive for the incarnation . . . This is a vital point." There is a perfectly logical secpience in these conclusions, provided his first premise is correct, that there was no Fall But this is not true. In other Scrip- tures besides the Book o!" Genesis we have the clearest statements as to man's natural condition as a sinner and his need of redemption. Look, for instance, at what the Lord Jesus Christ said to the two disciples whom He overtook on the road to Emmaus after His resurrection. " (^ fools, .and slow of heart to believe all that the pro- phets have spoken! Ought not Christ to have suffered these things, and to enter into His glory ?" vnd, be- ginning at Moses and all the prophets, He e-.poutuled unto them in all the Scrif^turcs the things concerning Him- self " (Luke 24:25-27). And these Scriptures which He e\poun 84 THE KIDDLE OF EXISTENCE SOLVED. behind them. Moses at the command of God " stretched out his hand over the sea; and the Lord caused the sea to go back by a strong east wind all that night, and made the sea dry land; and the waters were divided, and the children of Israel went into the miidst of the sea upon the dry ground; and the waters were a wall unto them c>n their right hand and on their left." .'Kfter they had got safely over the I'.gyptian army attempted to follow them. But Moses stretched forth his hand again over the sea, which came back and overwhelmed the host of Pharaoh in the waters so that not one of them escaped. And what was the effect of this miraculous deliverance ? Wc read that " Israel saw that great work which the Lord did upon the Egyptians : and the people feared the Lord, and believed the Lord and His servant Moses" (Ex. 14:31). After this the bitter water at Marah was miule sweet, and there God first covenanted to be their Healer if they were obedient to His commands (Ex. 15 : 26). And then for their sustenance in their wilder- ness journeys the manna was provided, which they gath- ered fresh every morning for so many years. And again, when in that arid, barren waste at Rephidim they cried out for water to drink, the Lord commanded Moses to smite with his rod the rock in Horeb and water would come out of it; and Moses did so, and the thirst of the peo])le was assuaged. And by many other signs and wonders did God. through the forthputting of His super- natural power, bear testimony to His people that Moses was His prt)phet. and tlKit He was speaking to them through him. After Joshua succeeded Moses as the proi)het and chosen leader of the host of Israel God caused Jericho to be taken by the forthi)utting again of His own super- natural power; and thus, at the very outset of the work he was commissioned to do, his own heart, and the hearts of the people were encouraged by the manifest approval of Jehovah. Aiul after tlu' land was conquered and divided amongst the various tribes we read, ".\nd the piople serv'd the Lord all the days of Joshua, and all (lOI) SlM:AKl.\(i l!V THE I'K( )PI1 HTS. 8 till.- (lays (if the oMcrs that outlived Joshua, who had seen (ill I he great z\.'orl:s of the Lord that He did for Israel " (Jud^a-s 2 : 7). God's Revelations often Certified by Judgfments. During the time of the Judges, who followed Joshua. God sometimes raised up strange instruments, as it ai)pears to us, to execute His judgments, both on Hi (AMI i)eople and on the surrounding nations on account of their sins. The assassination of Kglon. King of Moab, who was oppressing the children oi Israel, by Ehud, the left-handed son of Gera. a Benjamite (Judges 3 : 15). The death of Sisera. captain of the Canaanite host, wdiich was warring against Israel, by the hands of Jael. the wife of Heber, the Kenite. The death of the cruel murderer. Ah by Dmiciecn Dy mea'.is ot a millstone, winch a woman cast upon his head. The t.errible vengeance executed by the children of Israel upon the tribe of Benjamin for the murder and shameful outrage of the Levite's con- cubine, are all cases in jjoint, and reveal to us the state of barbarism into which the nation had fallen for nearly three hundred years after the time of Joshua; and the sad picture is only relieved by the occasional history of some prophet, prophetess or judge whom the Lord rais';d ui> for their deliverance, under whose rule a temporary respite was enjoyed from the prevailing lawdessness. When the Law was given at Mount Sinai their forefathers had coveiKintcd with Jehovah. "All that the Lord hath spoken we will do " ( i'.x. K) : 8). But after Moses and Jo.'hua. God's appointed prophets and rulers, and tlv.' elders who outlived Joshua had (lisai)i)eare(l. and the people were left without any visible head, " they forsook the Lord God of their fathers which brought them out of the land of Kgypt. and followed other gods and jirovoked the Lord to anger; and they forsook the Lord and served Baal and Ashtaroth; and the anger of the Lord was hot against Israel, and He delivered them into the hands of spoilers that spoiled them, and He s'tld them int(» the liamL of their enemies . . . Never- ^f 'fel l" h ■i ! '. I' 1 I 86 THE KIDDLI-: OF KXISTEXCK S(JIAEI). tbt'less the Lord raised up judges, which delivered them out of the hand of those that spoiled them . . . And when the Lord raised them W]) Judges, then the Lord was with the Judge, and delivered them out of the hand of their enemies all the days of the Judge. And it came to pass when the Judge was dead that they returned and corrupted themselves more than their fathers in following other gods to serve them, and to bow down unto them; they ceased not from their own doings nor from their stuhhorii way" (Judges 2:12-19). And the general record of this highly favoured nation is summed up thus : " In those daj s there was no king in Israel; e\ery man did that whicl. was right in his own eyes" (Judges 21 : 25). Before taking possession of the land promised to Abraham and his seed they hiad failed to cast out all the nations that were therein as God had commanded; and God allowed them to remain, and the reason is thus explained : "And they were ito prove Israel by them, to know whether they would hearken unto the commandments of the Lord, which He com- manded their fiathers by the hand of Moses." Under the Law given to them by Moses they had failtrd and merited the judgments which came upon them from the nations which they had not driven out; and. on the other hand. God made use of them to punish those who were afflicting them. Considering the con- ditions of society that exisited in that age, those assassi- nations would not probably seem more cruel to the people where they took place thian would executions after a formal trial by court martial appear to those now living in countries where the benign influence of Chris- tianity has softened the asperities of war even amiongst those who do not themselves profess to be Christians. The Professor Admits thot if there is a Great Law- gfiver^ He can Suspend the Operation of Law. Professor Goldwin Smith candidly admits (l)age 143) that the phrase, "Laws of nature," presupposes that there GOD SPEAKING BY THE PROPHETS. 87 must be a law-givi-r capable of siisi)en(biiK the operatitjii of law. Believing this to be correct, is it unreasonable to suppose that if the great Law-giver land Ruler of the universe has given a revelation of Flis will through any human being He should suspend the operation of His laws for the purpose of testifying to the genuineness of the revelation given ? If this proposition is admitted tliere is no need for discussing the probability of any miracles having been wrought by Jehovah as an endorse- ment of any prophets who ckiimed to speak in His na ue. We only recjuire, therefore, to investigate the evidence that such miracles were really performed, just in the same manner that we would investigate any other his- torical facts. Authentic Records of Miracles in Old Testament Scriptures* There are many cases besides that of Moses in which God has thus .-et the stamp of His approval upon pro- phets who ' "" J His messages to His chosen people, and upon " i. -iS raised up for their deliverance. When the angel of the Lord appeared to Gideon and commis- sioned him to save the children of Israel from the Midianites, he was overwhelmed with a sense of his own insutTiciency. And the Lord gave him the assurance. " Surely I will be with thee." But he wanted a miracle performed to convince him that it was really the angel of God who was speaking to him; and the Lord graci- ously complied with his reciuest (Judges () : 17-21). .\nd again, when about to go forth to battle with the enemies of Israel, he twice asked God to work a miracle as a proof thai he would obtain the victory, and again God com- plied with both his retiuests. and the assurance was given (vs. 36-40). The feats of strength performed by Samson were all miracles, as we read in connection with each of them that "the Spirit of the Lord came mightily upon him" (Judges 14:6), or "the Spirit of the Lord came upon H 88 rilK RIDDI.K OF i<:\ISTI-:.\(K SOlAia). 1 1 him " (Judges 14 : 19). The shiyiiiK <'f (joliath hy David in the presence of all Israel wias evidently a miracle wrought by the power of God to show that lie was with him, although in this case it was not necessary to sus- pend the operation of natural law. The claim of l"!lijah, the Tishhite. to he regarded as a true i)rophet of Jehovah, was certified to by many miracles, including the pro- vision of meal and oil made for the widow who had sup- plied his wants, and the healing of her son ( 1 Kings 17). and the calling down of fire from heaven in the presence of four hundred and fifty '> )phets of Baal which con- sumed the burnt sacrifice, that had been first drenched ater. Elisha's position as a prophet was also wi th w certified in a sinr'ar way l)y ah( m iracles which he wr(jught. including the dividing of the waters of the Jordan, which he struck with the mantle of Elijah, say- ing. " Where is the Lord God of I'^lijah ?"' the restora- tion to life of the Shunamite woman's dead child, and the healing of Naaman of leprosy. The accou.it of these miracles appears in authentic history, and we have no right to (|uestion its correctness without positive evidence to the contrary. Fulfillment of Predictions by Prophets. The most general way, however, by which God cer- tified His true prophets was by the fulfillment of their predictions, and the spiritual power that accompanied their words as judged by spiritual men.^ When Deborah, the prophetess, judged Israel, she predicted the defeat of the Canaanites. and told Barak, her captain, that the Lord would deliver Sisera into the hand of a woman, and it all literally came to pass as she said. When Samuel told Eli of the judgment that was to come upon his house on account of the wickedness of his sons, the prediction iwas literally fulfilled. Nathan told David that the child which Bathsheba bore to him should surely die, and it died the seventh day afterwards. And the predictions made by Elijah and Elislia were also literally fulfilled. When King Plezekiah was sick the prophet i GOD Sl'EAKIXC 15 V Till-: I'KCJl'IlIiTS. 8y Isaiah was sriit to him with a nu-ssagc from God to set his liousc in order, hfcause he shoidd d\v and not hve. And when Ile/.ekiah prayi'd to (iod and wept before Him, the prophet was sent to him again with another message tliat He wonhl heal him, and that He had a(hled fifteen years to his hfe, an : lo. i(S). 'riu'relOrc. in looUiuji; at various texts in tlic Old TcstanK-nt Scriptures, wliicli tuay be regarded as Messianic jjropliecies, we must not look at them as isolated passayjes. from which alone tlie peopL' to whom they were addressed were to obtain their know- ledge of the Person and the events to whicli they refer, bui rather as hmdmarks in a vast tiehl of truth, in which much more had ah-eady been re\eak'd. In this way these otherwise isohited i)assajji:es assume a new si>j;niticance. and we j?et a nu)re definite conception of the manner in which the One Inthiite Hein^ bas "at sundry times and in divers manners spoken in time past unto the fathers l)y the i)r()phets." Through many channels. " i)recept upon precei)t. line upon line, here a little and there a little." as it is expressed in Isa. jS : i.^. God had thus been revealing more and more information ui)on subjects already in a great measure understood through revela- tions previously made to themselves and their fathers. Bearing these facts in mind, let us now look at some passages in the Old Testament which refer to the Coming One, who is the sum and substance of all revelation frotu God to man. ^1 Professor Smith Denies that the First Advent of Jesus was Predicted in Scripture. Professor Goldvvin Smith says (page 76) that no real and specific i)rediction of the advent of Jesus, or of lany event in His life, can be produced from the books of the Old Testament. This, like many of his other objections, is not a fair way of putting the matter. We hnve no right to surmise that the Old Testament is not the Word of God if we cannot find one isolated passage giving full particulars of some future event, when there may be much stronger evidence from many passages, each of which gives different phases of the same event. Let us look at the statements made by various pro- phets apart from those which have been already quoted, '! , I 1:. 1: \, i ' i ^ IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) V /, A t^. ^j 'i7 M-, ^ f/. z ^ 1.0 I.I 12.8 l£ 14.5 us 2.5 M 1.8 1-25 ■ 1.4 i 1.6 V] 7: f %y 9. y /A ,V-.'"^ 6^ ^ 95 'nil-: uiDDi.i-: oi- ivnisti'-xcI'. sot-vi-.I). and hearing in mind from what has l)cen staled ihat the prc'chctions respecting the Coming Messiah require to he looked at as a whole if we wish to get any ade(iuate idea of their appHcation to, and fultilhnent in, the person of tlie Lord Jesus Clirist. Christ Predicted os Ruler of the Tribe of Judah. In Gen. 49 : lo. where Jacoh hlesses his son. Judah, we read : " The sceptre shall not depart from Judah. nor a law-giver from hetween his feet until Shih^h come; and unto him shall the gathering of the people he." Another translation of this verse is as follows : " The scc])tre shall not depart from Judah. nor the leader's staff from hetween his feet, until he comes to Shiloh. and to him will he the obedience of the peoples." It matters no* which of these translations is adopted. It is plainly shown by either of them that the future Ruler of Israel was to be of the tribe of Judah. . Christ Predicted as Prophet and Mediator. In Deut. 5 : 23-28 and Ex. 20 : 19 we find that the Israelites could not bear to have Jehovah speak directly to them, .and they entreated Moses to act as their Media- tor. And in Deut. 18 : 15-19 Moses said to the children of Israel : " The Lord thy God will raise up unto thee a Prophet from the midst of thee of thy brethren, like unto me; unto him ye shall hearken, according to all that thou desirest of the Lord thy God in Horeb in the day of the assembly, saying. Let nie not hear again the voice of the Lord my God, neither let me see this great fire any more, that I die not. And the Lord said unto me. They have well spoken that which they have spoken. I will raise them up a Prophet from among their brethren like unto thee, and will put my words in his mouth; and he shall speak unto them all that I sliall command him." This Prophet which was to be raised up from among His brethren, like unto Moses, was to be, as he was, a Mediator between them and God. RPRii GOD Sl'KAKIXd I'.V TIIK l'K( )l'm':TS. 93 Christ Predicted os King: of the Seed of Abraham and Jacob* In Num. 24 : 15-19, when God compelled Balaam to bless Israel instead of cursing them, as Balak desired, we find him saying, " I shall see him, but not now. I shall behold him, but not nigh; there shall come a Star out of Jacob, and a sceptre shall rise out of Israel, and sliall smite the corners of Moab, and destroy all the children of Seth. And Edom shall be a possession; Seir also shall be a possession for his enemies: and Israel shall do valiantly. Out oi Jacob shall come he that shall have dominion, and shall destroy him that remaineth of the city." An evident prediction of the glorious reign of the Coming Messiah as King over all the earth. Taking this passage in connection with Ex. 15 : 18 in the Song of Moses, "The Lord shall reign for ever and ever"; or, as another translation renders it, " Jehovah shall be King for ever and ever," we see that God is to reign, and the seed of Jacob is to reign; or, in other words, God manifest in the flesh, the Messiah promised to Israel of the seed of Abaiham, is to reign for ever and ever. After the removal of the Benjamite King Saul, and the enthroning of David as the anointed king of the house of Judah over a theocratic kingdom, he evidently regarded himself as the vicegerent of Jehovah, having God's enemies as his enemies, and l)eing, indeed, in many respects la type of the Coming King, who was to be of his seed. Peter, when filled with the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost, spoke of him as a Prophet (Acts 2 : 30) ; and there can be, therefore, no (luestion about the propriety of applying to the Lord Jesus Christ those passages in the Psalms which were evidently ful- filled in Him, more especially when we remember that He Himself after His resurrection spoke to them about those things in the Psalms referring to Himself (Luke 24 : 44). 1 ' T 1:1 i i i= ' 1' 1 ^1 \: ii t' 9-1 I' III-: UIDDI.h: OK KXISTKNCE SOLVED. ^ 1 1;' The Sufferingfs of Christ Predicted. The sufferings of Christ, as prophetically described in Psalm 22, transcended anything in David's own actual cxi)crience, and, theref(jre, cannot, by any stretch of imagination, be made to apply to him. The first verse commences with the very words which the Lord Jesus Christ uttered on the cross, " My God! my God! Why hast Thou forsaken me?" (Matt. 27:4-6 and Mark 15:34). The eighteenth verse says. "They part my garments among them, and cast lots upon my vesture." And this prediction was literally fulfilled by the Roman soldiers at His crucifixif)n, as we read in Matt. 2-j : 35, and also in John 19 : 2^^, 24, " Then the soldiers, when they had crucified Jesus, took his garments and made four parts, to every soldier a part; and also His coat. Now the coat was without seam, woven throughout. They said, therefore, among themselves. Let us not rend it, but cast lots for it, whose it shall be. . . . These things, therefore, the soldiers did." Surely this is the fulfil- ment of a specific prediction of an event in the life of Jesus which ought to be satisfactory to Professor Gold- win Smith. In this Psalm it is evident that the spirit of prophecy impelled David to write things of which he had no personal knowledge, land which could only be understood in the light of their New Testament fulfill- ment. This is also true of the first twenty-one verses of Psalm 69. which describe the sufferings of Christ, and end with the words, " They gave me also gall for my meat, and in my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink." The literal fulfillment of this prediction we find in Matt. 2"] : 34, " They gave him vinegar to drink, mingled with gall; and when he bad tasted thereof he would not drink." But the most remarkable prediction in either of these two Psalms is that in Psalm 22 : 16, " They pierced my hands and my feet," which literally described the manner of His death by crucifixion, which could not have been present to the mind of the Psalmist, as this n R icde of execution was afterwards introduced by the cmans. GOD Sl'EAKlXC. I?Y THIC PROl'UliTS. 95 The Gcncologfy of Jesus os the Son of David. In 2 Sam. 7 : 12-18 God announced to David through the prophet. Nathan, " Thine house and thy kingdom shall be established for ever. The sins of David and his descendants afterwards could not frustrate the Divine purpose thus expressed. And so we find that the Lord Jesus Christ came of the seeil of David. His genealogy, according to Jewish law, was reckoned not after the another, but after the father. He was reckoned as the legitimate son of Joseph, who was of the house (>f David, because, although not begotten by him, He was born into his marriage relationshii) (Matt, i : 20, 21). In Matthew's Gospel the genealogy is shown from David through Solomon to Joseph, the son of Jacob; and in Luke's Gospel Joseph is spoken of as the son of Eli (Luke 3 : 23), and the genealogy is traced back from him through Nathan to David, so that there is a double line from David to Christ, one through Solomon and the other through Nathan; and this double line may i)os- sibly be accounted for in this way : that Mary may have been la daughter of Eli, and thus also of the house of David, and that Joseph, the son of Jacob, may have been brought up with her in the house of Eli, and married her, when their genealogical descents from David would thus be united but her name could not appear. Predictions of Christ in Psalm CX. In Psalim no there is a manifest reference to the Coming Messiah. The first verse. " The Lord said unto my Lord, Sit thou at my right hand until I make thine enemies thy footstool," is (juoted by Peter on the day of Pentecost, after which he pressed home their guilt upon the Jewish nation, saying, " Therefore, let all the house of Israel know assuredly that God hath made that same Jesus, whom ye have crucified, both Lord and Christ "' (Acts 2 : 34-36). And the fourth verse of this Psalm. " The Lord hath sworn and will not repent, Thou art 4 1 1 i 96 THE KIDDLE OF EXISTENCE SOLVED. i (.. -I I a priest for ever after the order of Melchizedek," com- pletes the threefold picture of Christ as Prophet, Priest and King. His priesthood not being after the order of Aaron in the tribe of Levi, but " a priest for ever after the order of Melchi/.edek," of whose pedigree nothing is known ( Heb. 5 : 6), but his name means, "My King is righteous." which is very significant. David's Confidence in Fulfillment of God's Covenant* In 2 Sam. 23: J -7 Diavid presented a womlerful picture of the Coming Messiah : " The Spirit of the Lord spake by me, and His word was in my tongue. The God of Israel said, the Rock of Israel spake to me. He that ruleth over men must be just, ruling in the fear of God; and he shall be as the light of the morning, when the sun riseth. even a 'morning without clouds; as the tender grass, springing out of the earth, by clear shining 'after rain. Although my house be not so with God; yet he hath made with me an everlasting covenant, ordered in all things, and sure, for this is all my salvation and all my desire, although he make it not to grow." In this passage as well as in Psalm no and others, written after his great sin in the matter of Uriah the Hittite, we cannot help recognizing how strongly conscious he had become of the difiference between his life and the ideal of the divinely anointed One who was to come after him; and yet he clings with assured confidence to the " ever- lasting covenant ordered in all things, and sure." which Goci had nuade with him. that the Messiah would be of his seed. And there is no fact more fully recognized in the public ministry of the Lord Jesus Christ than this, tlu(<^ He beUmged to the hou:e of David, apart from the genealogies that are recorded in Matthew and Luke alteady referred to. In Matt. 9:27 the two blind men followed him, saying, " Thou Son of David, have mercy on us." (joi) si'i:aki\(; i'.v 'riiK i-Roi'iiins. 97 Christ Proclaimed and Recogfnized as Son of Dovid. In Matt. 15 : J2 the woman of Canaan cried unto him. " Have mercy on me. O Lord, tliou son of David." In Matt. 20:30 two bhnd men cried out after Flim, saying, " Have mercy on us. C) Lord, thou Son of David. ' In Matt. 21 :g we read of the multitudes crying out to Him, *' Hosanna to the son of David! Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord. Hosanna in the highest!" and in the fifteenth verse we read that the children cried out. " Hosanna to the son of David!" and the chief priests and scribes who heard them, and were sore displeased, did not deny His right to be thus addressed. In Rom. 1 3 He is spoken of las being of the seed of David. In 2 Tim. 2 : 8 He is spoken of in the same way. In Rev. 3 : 7 He is spoken of as being the Key of David, and in Rev. 22 : 16 as '' the root and offspring of David." Prediction in Job of Christ as the Redeemer, In the Book of Job, supposed to be the (eldest in the Bible, and to have been written by Moses, in chap. S,] • 24. atonement for sin is referred to by Elihu speaking on behalf of God in these words : " Then he is gracious unto him and saith. Deliver him from going down to the pit; I have found a ransom." or. as the margin has it, "An atonement." This is doubtless an intimation of Christ as the Redeemer, who Himself said in Matt. 20 : 28. " Even as the Son of man came not to be ministered unto but to miinister, and to give his life a ransom for many"; and of whom we read in i Tim. 2 : 5. 6. "For there is one God, and one Mediator between God and men, the man. Christ Jesus, who gave Himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time." Prediction of Christ as the Divine King:. In Psalm 45 is a song in praise of the Divine King, and. whatever may have been the occasion of writing it originally, it is evidently, according to the prophetic ! 1 98 THK KII)I)I.I>: or KXISTIiXCK SOIA'KD. M ■ ' \ m] : word, to be understood as a song of praise to Messiah as King, and having a distinct reference to the marriage of the Lanil). Tlie sixth verse of this Psialm is (juoted in Hel). i : 8 as addressed to the Sou of God, " Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever; a sceptre of riglit- eousncss is the sceptre of thy kingdom." Predictions of Christ in Joel* In Joel we have some very distinct prophecies re- garding the Lord's Second Coming to execute vengeance and to estahhsh His millennial kingdom, which, as a matter of course, are not yet fulfilled, and in chap. 2 : 28. 29 that renvarkable prophecy about the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, which had a partial fultiiment at Pentecost, which is still being fulfilled in these last days in the cases of individual Christians, but which is to have its complete fulfillment at the Second Coming of Christ. "And it shall come to pass afterward that I will pour out my Spirit upon all Mesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions. And also ui)on the servants and upon the handmaids in those days will I pour out my Spirit." Referring to this prediction Peter ciuoted it at Pentecost, prefacing his cjuotation with these words : " This is that which was spoken by the prophet. Joel." and he thus declared that in the fulfil- ment of the promise made by the Lord Jesus Christ to His disciples after His resurrection the prediction by Joel was also fulfilled (Acts 2 : 16). Predictions of Christ in Isoioh. But the most definite Messianic prophecies are those of Isaiah. Look, for instance, at chap. 7:14, " There- fore the Lord Him.se'f shall give you a sign : Behold. a virgin shall conceive and bear a son. and shall call his name Tmmanuel." The literal fulfillment of this prophecy we find recorded in Luke r : 26-36 and in Matt, i : 23. with the additional information that His name, Im- manuel or Emmanuel, means " God with us." Tl COD SI'KAKIXr. \\\ TIIR l'R( )l'l I IVIS. <)9 A^aiii in Isa. 9 : f), 7 wc read. " hor unto us a child is horn, unto us a son is j^ivcn. and the government shall he upon his shoulder; and his name shall he called Wonderful. Counsellor, the Mighty (iod. the MverlastiuK heather, the Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his K'>\- irnment and i)eace there shall he no end upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdoiu. to order it and to establish it with judjjtment 'and justice from henceforth, even forever. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this." There is no p(issibility of any unprejudiced encjuirer failing to comprehend who is meant by tliis •prediction. The Apostle Paul, in i Cor. 15 : 25, says regarding Christ, " For He must reign till He hath put all enemies under His feet." The Lord Jesus Christ was, indeed, a wonderful personage. His enemies were obliged to confess, " Never man spake like this man " (John 7 : 46). And He was certainly the Prince of Peace, for He nmde peace by the blood of His cross. In His la.st address before leaving them, by His suffer- ings and death, to make atonement for sin. He said, " Peace I leave with you. my peace I give unto you, not as the world giveth give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid " (John 14 : 27). And after His resurrection from the dead, when He appeared in their midst, the first words He uttered were, " Peace be unto you " (John 20: 19, 26). He came and "preached peace " to those that were afar off and to those that were nigh (Eph. 2 : 17), and He Himself is now " our peace " (Eph. 2 : 14). In Isa. 10 : 1-5 we read, "And there shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of his roots; and the Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord; and shall make him of quick tmdcrstandiug in the fear " the Lord; and he shall not judge after the si^ of Ins eyes, neither reprove after the hearing of his ears; but with righteousness shall he judge the poor, and reprove wiJi equity for the meek 1 lOO TWE KIDDr.R OF r.XTSTKNfR SOT.Vi:i). of the earth : and ho >liall smite the earth with the rod of his mouth, atul with the hreath of his lii)s shall he slay the wicked. And righteousness shall he the girille of his loins and faithfulness the girdle of his reins." .And in v. lo of the saane chai^ter we read, ".\iid in that day there shall be a root of Jesse, which shall stand for an ensign of the i)eople; to it shall the Gentiles seek; and his rest shall he glorious." These verses also appear clearly to point to the Lord Jesus Christ as descended from Jesse, the father of David, more especially wdien we cf)Ui)le them with Zech. 3 : 8 and 6 : u, in both of vvdiich passages He is referred to as the Branch. That He was of (juick understanding at twelve years of age was shown by his discoursing with the doctors in the temple, when " all that heard him were astonished at his understanding and answers" (Luke 2 : 47), and at His baptism by John the heavens opened, and the Spirit of God was seen " descending like a dove, and lighting upon Him, and lo. a voice from heaven saying. This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased " (Matt. 3 : 17). Part of the predictions in Lsa. 10 have already been literally ful- filled as we find by the passages just quoted. Others await fulfillment in the future. *i;ii Prediction of Christ as the Son of God. In Psalm 2 : 6, 7 the future Messiah is declared to be the Son of God: "Yet have I set my King upon my holy hill of Zion. I will declare the decree : the Lord hath said unto me. Thou art my Son; this day have I be- gotten thee." and in v. 12. " Kiss the Son lest he be angry and ye perish from the way. when his wrath is kindled but a little. Blessed are all they that put their tiust in him." The Lord Jesus was accused of blas- phemy, condemned to death, and crucified because He declared Himself to be the Son of God. This predic- tion was, therefore, literally fulfilled in the person of Christ. (i()i) sncAKi xc. I'.N rill': rkoi'iii'/rs. loi Prediction of Christ as the Corner Stone* 111 Isa. jH : i() tlRTc is another statcnicut. wliicli also cvidoiitiy refers to the Cotniiijj^ Messiah. "Therefore thus saith the Lortl (iod, Hehohl. I lay in Zion for a foinidation. a stone, a tried stone, a precious conicr-stciic, a sure foundation; he that helieveth shall not make haste." In Matt. Ji .42 we read. "Jesus saith unto them. Did ye never read in the Scriptures. The st(uie which the builders rejected, the same is become tlie head of the corner; this is the Lord's doiiiK- ''uid it is mar- vellous in our eyes ?" referring? to Psalm 1 iS •.22, which is a^ain referred to in Acts 4:11 by Peter. And also in Rom. Q : 3.^ and in l-lph. 2 : 20 we read about the Church beinliall hi-conn' lu'ai)s, and the mountain ol tlu- liousf as the liiKh places of the forest." 'i'liis was fulfilled in the destruetion of the city hy the Romans under Titu-^ about I'ij^ht hundred years afterwards. Iti Micah 4:1-5 there is a rem.irkahle predicti(*n of the coniinj^ Kh>ry of the Messiah's rei^n at Jerusalem (hirinji; the Millennium, the fulfillment of which is. of course, yet future Predictions of tne Birth of Christ in Bethlehem. But in Micah 5 : j we have the most remarkahle Messianic prediction hy this i)roi)het : " But thou. /^f//i/r/;r;;/-Ephratah. thoujj:h thou be little amon^ the thousands of Judah. yet 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 everlasting"; or, las the marginal reading has it (" from the days of eter- nity "). The literal fulfillment of this i^rediction is recorded in Matt. 2 : 1. and should be of itself a con- clusive answer to Professor Goldwin Smith's f)bjectiou. that " No real and specific i)redictions of the advent of Jesus or of any event in His life can be produced from the books of the Old Testament."' This is the Ruler of the tribe of Judah to whom Jiacob referred in Gen. 49 : 10 when blessing his sons. This is the One spoken of in John 1:1, ■ In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God. and the Word was God." and again referred to in Col. i : 15. " Who is the image of the invisible God. the first-born of every creature." Jerusa- lem was the royal city of David, where his sins had brought disgrace upO'n himself and dishonour upon the name of Israel's God; but Bethlehem, "Too small to be reckoned among the districts of Judah." as it is rendered in another translation, had been the birth-place of David and the home of his father, Jesse, before grace had found him and made him the anointed ruler of Israel. How (lOl) SI'K.\Kl\(i l!^- TIIK I'kOlMIKTS. 'O3 fitting it was. tlifii, tliat the Second David, who was at the sa?iie time David's Son and David's Lord, si iihl he horn there, where, as another writer puts it, " The Davidic royal house is reduced to its root and renews its youth." and tin- i)redictions regardiiiK "' the Mranch (Isa. II : I, 10) out of the root of Jesse" should be fulfilled. Isoioh's Prediction of the Coptivity in Bobylon and Its Fulfillment* In Isa. M the captivity in Bahylon is distinctly fore- told. The King f)f Bahylon had sent letters and a i)resent to Hezekiah, King of Judah. and Ikv.ekiah was glad, and showed the messenger all his treasures, and the Lord sent this message to him by the prophet, " Behold, the days come that all that is in thine house, and that which thy fathers have laid up in store until this day shall be carried to Babylon; nf)thing shall be left, saith the Lord. And of thy sons which siiall issue from thee, which thou shalt beget, shall they take away, and they shall be emnichs in the palace of the King of Babylon." About one hundred years afterwards this prediction was lit- erally fulfilled (2 Kings _'5 and 2 Chron. 36). Prediction of Destruction of Nineveh and Its Fulfillment. In Nahum 3:7 it is predicted that Nineveh was to be laid wiaste, and this was literally fulfilled about one hundred years afterwards. In Jer. 23 : 5-8 we have a very distinct prediction of the coming reign of the Messiah, " Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that I will raise unto David a righteous Branch, and a King shall reign and prosper, and shall execute judgment tand justice in the earth. In his day Judah shall be saved, and Israel shall dwell safely; and this is his name whereby he shall be called, The Lord (iur Rir.riTEousNKSS. Therefore, behold the days come, saith the Lord, that they shall no more say. The I >i^ li 'WT 104 THE RIDDLE Ol" EX]STE.\( !•: SOLVIiD. Lord livetli, which brought up tlic chililrcn of Israel (Mit of the land of Egypt; but the Lord liveth, which brought up and which led the seed of the house of Israel out of the north country, and ironi all countries whither I had driven them; and they shall dwell in their own land." As a matter of course, this prediction will not be c(jmpletdy fulfilled until after the Lord's Second Com- ing, which cannot now be far distant; but it is impcjrtant to mark the names here given to the Messiah as the Branch out of the stem of Jesse, spoken of by Lsaiah, who is identical with the Ruler that was to be born at Bethlehem, the liome of Jesse, poken of by Micali. There is a similar prediction again in Jer. 30 : 15, 16. Predictions of Christ os the Shepherd of His People. Tn Ezck. 34 : 2.3-25. where the prophet is speaking of the future glory of Messiah's kingdom, we read, "And 1 will set up one Shcfhcrd over thom, and he shall feed them, aii'd he shall be their shepherd. .'\nd I, the Lord, will be their God. and my servant, David, a prince among them; L the Lord, have spoken it. And T will make with them a covenant of peace . . . and I will make them and the places round about my hill a blessing; and 1 will cause the showers to come down in his season; there shall be showers of blessing." In John 10 : 14, 15 the Lord Jesus Christ says : " T r-m the good shepherd, and know my sheep, aird am known of mine. /\s the Father knoweth me, even so know I the Father : and I lay down my life for the sheep." .\nd, as we have seen before, He is also their Prince of the house of David. In Ezek. .37 : 21-25 there is a promise to restore the children of Israel to their own land. "And say unto them, thus saith the Lord God, Behold, T will take the children of Israel from among the heaHien whither they be gone, and will gather them on every side, and bring them into their own land; and I will make them one nation in the land upon the niomUaing o( Israg], and one 7 COD SI'I':.\KI.\(; \',\ \'\\E I'K'OI'FIIl'I'S. lo.S KiiiK shall he king to them all; and they shall be n(» more two nations, neither shall they be divided into two kingdoms any more at all . . , land David, my servant, shall be king over them; and they shall have one shep- herd . . . and David, my servant, shall be their ])rinee forever." T\ ese predictions, so far as Israel is con- cerned, have yet to be fiilrtlled. bnt the mention of David as th a.. :re king and shepherd of Israel, taken in con- nct _ ' ith other i)assages previonsly (pioted, show that th Lord Jesns Christ is the person referred to in this p )hecy. Remarkable Predictions in Deutero-Isaiah^ ond Their Fulfillment. There is considerable difference of opinion as to the anthorshi]) of the last twenty-seven chapters of Isaiah, often spoken of as Dentero-Isaiah. which are snpposed to have been written (hiring the captivity in Babylon, bnt there is no (|nestion as to their inspiration. From the beginning of chap. 40 there appears to be a decided wiflening ni the scope of those blessings which were to come throngh tlie Messiah to the world. Look, for instance, at Isaiah 45 : Ji-2,^. "Tell ye and bring them near; yea. let them take counsel together, who hath declared this from ancient time ? who hath told it from that time ? have not I the Lord ? and there is no (io(l else beside me; a jnst (iocl and a Saviour; there is none beside me. Look nnto me and be y saved, all the ends of the earth; for I am God, and there is none else." But es|)ecially is this true of chap 53, which presents such a wonderful picture of the Lord Jesus Christ as the Suf- fering Surety for sinners, and in which Israel is not once specially referred to. A.nd to this world-wide signifi- cance of His death we seem to have an introduction in tlie last two verses of the preceding chapter: "As many were astonished at thee ; his visage was so marred more than any man, and his form more than the sons of men; so shall he sprinkle many nations; the kings ii 5. li f;i fi 1 1 ii! l." ': i io6 THE KIDDLE OF EXISTKXCE SOlA'KD. sball shut their mouths at him ; for that which had not been tohl them sliall they see, and that which they had not heard shall they consider" (52:14. 15). The whole of chap. 53 predicts His substitutionary suf- ferings and death so vividly that there can be no question in the mind of any Christian as to its meaning, and it is certain that the New Testament writers regarded it in the same light. With respect to its literal fidfillmetit in the person of Christ, consider some of these verses singly : I i 1 11 li 11^ PREDICTIONS IN ISAIAH 53. FULFILLMENTS. Verse i. " Who hath believed our report? and to whom is the arm of the Lord revealed ? " Verse 3. " He is despised and re- jected 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." John I : 14 "He cauie unto His own, and His own received Him not " John 12:37. " But though He had done so many miracles before them, yet they believed not on Him." Luke 23:18. "They cried V. U at once. Away with this man, aj.d release unto us Barrabas ! " Heb. 4 : 15. " For we have not an high priest whicli cannot be touched with a feeling of our infirmities, but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin." Verse 4. " Surely he hath borne our griefs (or sickness) and carried our sorrows (or pains), yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God and afflicted." Matt. 26: 37, 38. "And he took with him Feter and the two sons of Zebedee, and begin to be sorrow- ful and very heavy. Then saith he unto them. My soul is exceeding sorrowful even unto death." Verse 5. " But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruis- ed for our iniquities ; the chastise- ment of our peace was upon him ; and with his stripes we are healed." I Peter 2 : 24. " Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness : by whose stripes ye were healed." i GOD SPEAKING 15V Till-: I'KOI'IIETS. 107 PREDICTIONS IN ISAIAH 53. Verse 6. " All we like slieep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the Lord hath laid on him the iniciuity of us all." FULFILLMENTS. Rom. 4: 25. "Who was delivered for our offences, and raised again for our justification." I Peter 2 : 25. " I"or ye were as sheep Koins astray, but are now re- turned unto the Shepherd and Bis- hop of your souls." I Peter 3 : i8. " For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit." Verse 7. " He was oppressed, and he was afHcted ; yet lie opened not his mouth; he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep be- fore her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth." Mark 15: 3-5. "And the chief priests accused him of many things ; but he answered nothing. And Pi- late asked him again, saying, An- swerest thou nothing? Behold how many things they witness against thee. But Jesus yet answered no- thing, so that Pilate marvelled." Verse 9. "And he made his grave with the wicked and with the rich in his death, because he had done no violence, neither was any deceit in his mouth." Matt. : 57-60. "When the even was come, there came a rich man of Arimathaea, named Josei)h, who also himself was Jesus' disciple. He went to Pilate and begged the body of Jesus. Then Pilate commanded the body to be delivered. And when Joseph had taken the body he wrap- ped it in a clean linen cloth, and laid it in his own new tomb, which he had hewn out in the rock; and he rolled a great stone to the door of the sepulchre and departed." Prediction of Christ Riding: on an Ass. In Zech. 9 : 9 we read. " Rejoice greatly. O daughter of Zion ; shout, O daughter of Jerusalem ; behold, thy King Cometh unto thee; he is just, and having salvation; lowly, and riding uoon an ass, and upoti a colt, the foal % t !■ ;-i" I; Is £H io8 Tine RIDDLE OF EXISTKNCK SOLVED. m ''\ of an ass.'' The literal fulfilment of this prediction we find in John 12 : IJ-15, which reads : "On the next day much people that were come to the feast, when they heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem, took branches of palm trees, and went forth to n;eet him. and cried, Uosanna! Blessed is the King of Israel that cometh in the name of the Lord. And Jesus, when he had found a young ass, sat thereon; as it is written. Fear not, daughter of Zion; behold thy King cometh, sitting on an ass's colt.'' Prediction of Christ's Bctroyal for Thirty Pieces of Silver. In Zech. 11 : 13 we read, "And the Lord said unto me. Cast it unto the potter : a goodly price that I was prized at of them. And I took the thirty f^icccs of silver, and cast them to the potter in the house of the Lord." The fulfillment of this prediction is given in ]\Iatt. 27 : 3-10, "Then Judas, which had betrayed him, when he saw that he was condemned, repented himself, and brought again the thirty pieces o^ silver to the chief priests and elders, saying, I have sinned in that I have betrayed the innocent blood. And they said. What is that to us ? See thou to that. And he cast down the pieces of silver in the temple and departed, and went and hanged himself. And the chief priests took the silver pieces and said. It is not lawful for to put them into the treasury, because it is the price of blood, and they took counsel and bought with them the potter's field, to bury strangers in. Wherefore that field was called the field of blood unto this day." It is stated in Matt. 26 : 15 that the chief iiriests before the betrayal had covenanted to give him thirty pieces of silver. Prediction of the Manner of His Death* In Zech u ig-ii we read. "And it shall come to pass in that day that I will seek to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem, and I will pour upon the house GOD SPEAKING BY THE I'ROPIIETS. 109 of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of supplications; and they shall look on me zvhom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for him as one mourneth for his only son, and shall be in bitterness for him, as one that is in bitterness for his firstborn. lu that day there shall be a great mourning in Jerusalem as the mourning of Hadad'"iminion in the valley of Megiddoii " (that is, like the mourning for Jcsiah, their best beloved king). This prediction will be fulfilled at the Second Coming of Christ with all His saints to execute vengeance upon the nations that are gathered against Jerusalem to battle, spoken of in Zech 14, when His kingdom is to be established over all the earth. But the remarkable thing in connection with it for our present purpose is that here, as well as in Psalm 22, the death of the Lord Jesus Christ by cruci- fixion is plainly referred to in the words, " They shall look upon me whom they have pierced." and thus in the manner of His death there was a fulfillment of the prophecy. Predictions of Christ in Malachi* In Mai. 3 : i there is definite prediction in connection with the first coming of Christ which has been fulfilled, " Behold, / ivill send my messenger, and he shall prepare the way before me, and the Lord, whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to his temple, even as the messengers of the covenant, whom ye delight in : behold, he shall come, saith the Lord of hosts." The fulfillment of this prediction in the person of John the Baptist as the fore- runner of Christ is found in Luke i : 76 where Zechariah prophesies concerning him, "And thou, child, shalt be called the Prophet of the Highest; for thou shalt go before the face of the Lord to prepare his ways." And in Luke 7 : 27 the Lord Jesus Christ Himself says of John the Biaptist, " This is he of whom it is written. Behold, I send my messenger before thy face, which shall prepare thy way before thee." I ! ■'\ V. I lO TIII£ RIDDLE OF EXISTEXCI*: SOLVED. Predictions of Christ in Daniel* -i ill The Book of Daniel does not claim to have been aottvally written by tlie Prophet Daniel, but the predic- tions are his, and are among the most remarkable in the whole canon of Old Testtament Scripture. And there is no more (|uestion about the inspiration of this book than ■ about the inspirati(ui of flebrews, which is only sup- posed to have been written by either Paul or Barnabas. As already remarked, however, on a previous page, the knowledge of an ^author's name does not determine the (jucstion of the inspiration of a book, which must be judged on its own merits by spiritual men otherwise properly (jualitied for such work. The most remarkable passage in this book is that referring to the death of the Messiah in Dan. 9 : 24-27 in these words : " Seventy weeks are determined upon thy people, and upon thy holy city to finish the transgression, and to miake an end of sins, and to make recoriciliation for inicpiity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness, and to seal up the vision and the prophecy, and to anoint the Most Holy. Know, therefore, and understand that from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jeru- sialem unto the Messiah, the Prince, .=liall be seven weeks and threescore and two weeks; the street shall be built again, and the wall even in troublous time.* And after threescore and to weeks shall Messiah be cut off. but not for himself; land the people oi the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary; and the end thereof shall be with a flood; and unto the end of the war desolations are determined. And he shall con- firm the convenant with many for one week; and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and oblation to cease; and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation; and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate." It would be outside the purpose of this book to attempt an exposition of this prophecy upon which volumes have been written. It is sufficient to say that in it the death I I GOU SI'KAKlNd I'.V TlIK I'R()I'[IETS. lit of the Messiah is cleiarly predicted, and ' the death i)f Christ this was fulfilled. We have seen in the preceding pages soi.ie of the thiiigs which Jesus as " the Great Teacher of humanity " explained to His disciples out of Moses and the Psalms and the prophets concerning Himself after His resurrec- tion fro'ji the dead. Hut. although they had heen with him so luuch, and had seeii K'is mighty works and wit- nessed His death, and were now witnesses to His resur- rection, they were slow to leyrn the lessons which He taught them, and failed \o comprehend *jieir meaning fully until after the Holy Spirit came down at Pentecost, and guided them into all truth, and brought all things to their remembrance which Jesus hajJ said unto them. It was out of the i)\d Testament Scriptures that He was teaching them; and if, with .ill their advantages, as His disciples, taught by Himself, they vvere so slow to learn without the Spirit's teaching, how futile must be the efforts now of the most highly cultured men to under- stand by their own unaided, intellects the same Scriptures out of which He instructed them. Some of Professor Smith's Objections to the Prophecies. Let us now look at some of the remarks and objec- tions which Professor Goldwin Smith makes to the pro- phecies. On page 167 of liis book he asks. " Was there miracu- lous fulfilment of Hebrew pr. l)I;iiiily. It must surt'ly l)c siiriiciont to refer the reader to the pass.'iKes in Matt. I : J^ and l.uke i : J<>-38. which speak so clearl}- on this snhjeet, proving the hterai fultill- nient (jf this preihction. which was a miracle; hut he cannot reject tlie testimony of Scripture on this ground, for a miracle is something contrary to the laws of nature, and on page 14.^ he admits that the phrase. " Laws of nature," presup|)oses that there must he a law-giver, capahle of suspending the operation of law." Mistaken Criticism Arising from Defective Know- ledge of Scriptural Truth. He says, on page 169, that the prediction, " ' The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor the ruler's staff from hetween ins feet until Shiloh come, and unto him shall the obedience of the i)eoples be,' not only were n(jt fulfilled, but were contradicted by the history of Jesus, who was not a temporal ruler or deliverer, and 'vvas, therefore, not recognized as the Messiah by the Jews," These remarks are a striking proof of the absolute in- abi'ity of any one tt) undertake the criticism of Scrip- ture who is not accjuainted with the leading truths which it unfolds. All prophecies regarding the Coming of Christ or the Messiah represent Him in one or other of two aspects. Either, first, as the future King of the tribe f)f Judah and of the house of David, who was to reign gloriously at Jerusalem, and whose advent was to usher in a time of wonderful temporal and spiritual blessing to them as a nation, and through them to all other nations. It was in this sense that the Jewish people looked for- ward to His coming. Or, second, as the Laml) of God to take away the sin of the world by laying down His life to make atonement for sin. In this sense His coming was not understood except by those whose spiritifal eye- sight was enlightened by the Holy Spirit, as was the case with John the Baptist, the " messenger sent before His face." who proclaimed Him as the Lamb of God that taketh away the sin of the world; and as was also i ! \m\i con SI'KAKIXC, !IV rillC I'ROIMIKTS. I I tlu' case with the ianjj;t'ls who appeared to tlic shepherds on the IMahis of Bethlehem, sayiiij^, " l-'ear not : for. behold. I brinjj: you k^xxI tidings of great joy. which shall he to all j)eo])le. For unto yon is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ, the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you : ye shall find the babe, wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host, praising God. and saying, (ilory to God in the highest, and on earth i)eace. good-will tow'ard men " (Luke 2 : 10-14). To this latter aspect of His coming the minds of the Jewish people as a nation were blinded; and, although He was duly heralded by the people on His way to Jeru- salem with shouts of '* Plosanna! Blessed is the King of Israel that cometh in the name of the Lord." yet He was rejected and desi)ised by the rulers and the nation at I'arge, who, instead of a crown, gave Him a cross; and thus, 'without knowing it, carried out the purpose of God in providing redemption for a fallen race by His atoning sacrifice for sin. And thus all the types of the ceremonial law, and all the prophecies as to His suffer- ings were at once and for ever fulfilled when Christ, our Passover, was sacrificed for us. For their " judicial murder,'' as the Professor calls it, of the Lord Jesus Christ, the judgment of God in fulfilment of prophecy descended upon the Jewish people, Jerusalem was de- stroye(' and the people scattered throughout the earth, a hissing and a bye-word among all other nations; but the fulfillment of their hopes is only deferred for a iime until the Church of God. composed of Jew and Gentile. is completed, and taken to be with Himself in the glory, after which the Messiah will come again and establish His kingdom with the Jewish people as His subjects, through whom all other nations of the earth will then be blessed, and ell those prophecies that speak of Messiah as King and of the glories of His reign will be fulfilled as literally as were the predictions relating to Hi:; humiliation, and suffering, and death. If Professor Gold- 1 ii! i i; ■;M^ fTT ' ii6 Till': KiDhij': oi" i:xisrK\(i': soiai-.d. will Smith had understood these truths and borne them 111 mind his remarks upon this passage in Gen. 40 : 10 would not have been so liopelessly mixed. Christ ha.f come las the .Messiah of the tribe of Judah as therein predicted, and lie has been proclaimed as King, but rejected and crucified, so that Mis work of redemption nnght i)e accomplished, after vvdiich He is coming again to establish His kingdom and ride over His people and this whole earth righteously during His millennial reign, and "unto Him shall the obedience of the peoples be." It is true there is some difference between critics as to the proper translation of the i)art of that verse relating to Shiloh. but that is only a small matter compared with the. important truth contained in it in reference to Christ as the Lion of the tribe of Judah. and we can afford to wait the result of sanctified criticism on the other part of the passage, when its meaning will doubtless be made perfectly clear. , ■* ; \ia m ^ |H fv ' w ^ J wL^ Professor Smith's Gross Misrepresentation of Predictions in Isoiah LIIL He says, in reference to Isa. 53. " None, in short, of the so-called prophecies will be found to be more than applications, and many of them, as applications, are far fetched. This is true of even the most rejiiarkable of the number, the description of the oppressed and sorrowing servant of Jehovah in Isa. 53 : 3. the author of which cannot be said to have distinctly foretold anything in the history of Jesus, even if we take Jesus to have been so pre-eminently a nuan of sorrows. . . . In no single case can Jesus or any event in His life be said to have been present to the mental eye of the prophet." This is about the most glaring attempt that could possibly be imagined to destroy the effect of the predictions con- tained in that wonderful chapter regarding the atoning sufferings of the Lord Jesus Christ. If it is a specimen of the kind of criticism his friends, the " liberal theo- logians," indulge in, the world can afford to do without (ioi) si'i;.\KiN(; itv TIM': i'koi'IILits. i'7 tlu'iu. W'c \v»ml(l a>k tin- . r(.'a(k'r> of this book to lonU back \^y pai^n-s i()() aiul 107, at tlu" remarks made 011 this chapter, especially at the separate verses tha,t are (luoted. with the evideiu'e ot their luUiMmeiit set opposite; aiul then to turn back to the above remark of Professor Cioldwin Smith, and say what they think of such a mis- representation of the pkiin statements of Scripture. The Professor Takes the Churches to Task. On page 7'; he blames the churches for ascribinjj; the authorship of the Pentateuch to Moses, of the i?ook of Daniel to the Prophet Daniel, and of both parts of the Book of Isaiah to the Prophet Isaiah, but he has failed to inform us to whom the writmg of these books should be ascribed; and hr)w the knowledge of the author's name affects t insi)iration and authenticity of a book 'tten containing clear predictions of wind lie h; IS future events, which have been literally fulfilled in after ages, and the revelations in which, as regards the char- acter 'and purjjoses of Jehovah, are in complete accord with other books which we have no doubt are inspired. It is unnecessary to say more on this subject here as it has been more fully dealt with in preceding pages. But in reference to Moses being the author of the Pentateuch, we would direct attention to Matt. 8 : 4, in which the Lord Jesus Christ referred to a command in Leviticus which He saui was given by Moses; and 'also to Matt. If) : 7. 8, in which He referred to .-"lotlier command in Deuteronomy, which He also said was given by Moses. This is certainly a higher authority for the authorship of those books than Professor Goldwin Smith or the " lib- eral theologians." Professor Smith's Incredibilities. On pa 94 he speaks of certain things as manifest incredibilities, such as the stoppage of the sun, Baalam's speaking ass, Elisha's avenging bears, and the trans- formation of Nebuchadnezzar, but he cannot bring for- 'li ijj f' i:? THE K1J)ULE OF EXISTENCE SOLVED. It 1! % m 1 s m I a: ' W ■ ward one tittle of proof that those things did not occur, while the Word of God assures us that they did; and that Word also assures us that with God " all things are possible." But he is not the first man to have been troubled with incredibilities about Divine things. The A'l.ostle Paul, when s[)e'aking for himself before King Agrij)pa. said : " Why should it be thought a thing incredible with you that God slK)uId raise the dead ?" (.Acts 26 : 8). .\nd if He has raised the dead, why should we doubt anything else that His Word declares to be true ? The great trouble, however, with Professor Gold- win Smith seems to be that he finds almost everything incredible that God has revealed. His Denial of the Miracles of Christ* On page 173 he says with regard .to the miracles of Christ that " The Jews were further prepared for the acceptance of fresh miracles by their traditional accept- ance of those of the C)ld Testament. So devoid were they of any conception of natural law, or of anything except a direct action of the Deity, that with them a miracle would hardly be miraculous." How absurd, and yet how plausible! The Professor admits that there is la great Being who somehow or other rules the universe. He admits there are natural laws. But he goes further, and says that the phrase, "Laws of nature." pre-supposcs that there must be a law-giver capable of suspending the operation of law. .Vnd it is presumed that he would define a miracle to be something done contrary to the laws of nature. Let it be borne in mind that from the very beginning of their existence as a people the Jews' religion was a supernatural one. They had a super- natural God to deal with, who had repeatedly manifested His presence and His power in a supernatural way. and the record of these supernatural manifestations had been most carefully handed down to them through many gen- erations; but they were an intelligent race, not likely t(j be imposed upon by trickery. If the Professor's TT'^'m GOD SPKAKIXG RV THE PROPHETS. 119 remark last (luotcd means anything, it means tliis. that when the Lord Jesus Clirist entered upon His public ministry He found the Jews a credulous people, who believed a lot of traditions that had come down to them from former ages, and were, therefore, likely to be easily inii)osed upon by pretended miracles, and, being unac- (luainted with the operation of natural laws, they as- cribed to Divine power the mighty works that were done by Him. And hence we may conclude that he disputes all the miracles wrought by the Lord Jesus Christ, whom he calls '' the great Teacher of humanity," and would apparently have us believe that He was an imposter, who was deceiving the people by tricks of legerdemain through the operation of natural laws, and at the same time declaring that He was the Son of God, who had come to seek and save those that 'were lost and to call siniuers to repentance. (3r, perhaps, he would have us believe that there were no iniracles performed by Jesus, and that the reports of them were only invented by His disciples after His death, which would be contrary to the testimony of reliable history from various sources. Concluding Remorks* In this and the two preceding chapters we have seen that God has, indeed, spoken at sundry times and in divers manners in time past unto the fathers by the pro- phets; that the earliest of the revelations thus given were embodied in history and carefully preserved as sacred writings by the Jewish nation, and thus handed down to future generations; and we have also seen that those sacred writings, known by us as the Old Testa- ment Scriptures, were recognized and endorsed by the Lord Jesus Christ as the Word of God. In confirmation of historical facts referred to in the Book of Genesis it may be remarked that in recent ex- plorations of ruins of ancient Assyrian cities archaeolo- gists have discovered stone taljlets with inscriptions telling of the concjuests of Chedorlaomer, King of Elam, and of other kings who are spoken of in connection fl? i \' I ' j X . ! i ' 120 'line KIDDLI-: OF I'.NI STIC NIK SOIA'I-:!). I|i with tlie history (jf Abraiii in (icnesis J4; and also telling of Melchi/.edc'k, who was King of Salem and priest of the most high God (Gen. 14 : 18). Tt may also be mentioned that Sir J. W. Dawson, our most eminent Canadian geologist and scientist, says that the Book of Ivxodns is lan Egyptian book, with nu- merous words and i)hrases descriptive of Egyptian manners, and coloured with Israelitish ideas of de'.ert life; that the plagues spoken of in that book were natives of the climate and soil of Egypt, and that the golden calf was an imitation of the h^gyptian deity, Apis. There is. therefore, not the slightest excuse for sup- posing with Professor Goldwin Smith that the Penta- teuch was written d 'ring the Babylonish captivity, about 1. 000 years after the Exodus of the children of Israel out of Egypt; and that Moses was not the author of those five books when all Jewish history and the Lord Jesus Christ Himself bave certified that he was. CHAPTER IV. GOD SPEAKING BY HIS SON. IN Isaiali 5 : 7 we read. " For the vineyard of the Lord of hosts is the house of Israel, and the men of Judah his pleasant plant : and he looked for judgment, but. behold! oppression: for righteous- ness, but behold a cry." And in Mark 12 : 1-9 we are informed that the Lord Jesus Christ spake the following parable to the chief priests and scribes and elders who had come to Him : "A certain man planted a vineyard, and set an hedge about it. and digged a place for the winefat, and built a tower, and let it out to husbandmen, and went into a far country, and at the season he sent to the husbandmen a servant, that he might receive from the husbandmen of the fruit of the vineyard. And they caught him and beat him, and sent him away empty. And again he sent unto them another servant; and at him they cast stones, and wounded him in the head, and sent him away shamefully handled. And lagain he sent another, and him they killed, and many others, beating some and killing some. Having yot. therefore, one son, his well-beloved, he sent him also last unto them, saying. They will reverence my son. But these husbandmen said among thems'elves. This is the heir. Come, let u.s kill him, and the inheritance shall be ours. And they took him and killed him, and cast him out of the vine- yard. What shall, therefore, ithe Lord of the vineyard do ? He will come and destroy the husbandmen, and will give the vineyard unto others. Have ye not read this Scripture, The stone which the builders rejected is become the head of the corner. This was the Lord's doing, and it was marvellous in our eyes." And then we read in the following verse, ''And they (that is, the ir^ ■i It i!. il li 122 THE KIDDI.E OF EXISTENCE SOLVED. chief priests, scribes and ciders) sought to lay hold on him, but feared the people; for they knew that he had spoken the parable against them; and they left him, and went their way." The Sc ipturc the Lord quoted to them was from Psalm 118:22, 23. referring to Himself as the head stone of the corner. Jesus Proclaimed in Jerusalem as the Promised Messiah* The time when Jesus thus spoke to the chief priests, and scribes, and elders was the day after His triumphal entry into Jerusalem riding upon the ass's colt, which trod upon the garments and branches the multitude strawed in the way as they shouted, " Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is he thait cometh in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!" After which, as we read in Matthew's Gospel, " When he was come into Jerusalem, all the city was moved, saying, Who is this ? And the multitude said, This is Jesus, the prophet of Nazareth of Galilee. And Jesus went into the temple of God, and cast out all them that sold and bought in the temple, and overthrew the tables of the money changers, and the seats of them that sold doves; and said unto them. It is written. My house shall be called a house of prayer, but ye have made it a den of thieves. And the blind and the lame came to him in the temple, and he healed them. And when the chief priests and scribes saw the wonderful things that he did, and the children crying in the temple and saying, Hosanna to the Son of David! they were sore displeased, and said unto him, Hearest thou what these say? And Jc; .s said unto them, Yea; have ye never read. Out of the mouths of babes and sucklings thou hast perfected praise ?" (Matt. 21 : 9-16). In order to understand the full force of the parable which He had spoken to the rhief priests, and scribes. and elders, who were members of the Sanhedrim that soon afterwards condemned Him to suffer death by. GOD SI'EAKIXG IJV HIS SoN. 123 crucifixion, let us look ;it sonic jiassa^cs in the Old Testament Scriptures with which His hearers were faniili'ar. In 2 Kinjj^s 17:9-23. "And the children of Israel did secretly those things that were not right against the Lord their God. . . For they served idols, whereof the Lord their God had said unto them, Ye shall not do this thing. Yet the i>ord testified against Israel and against Judali. by all the proi)hets. and by all the seers, saying. Turn ye from your evil ways, and keep my commandments and my statutes, according to all the law which I comm-nvjed your fathers, ami which I sent unto you by my servants, the prophets. Notwith- standing they would not hear, but hardened their necks, like to the neck of their fathers, that did not believe in the Lord their God. . . . Therefore the Lord was very angry with Israel, and removed them out of His sight : there 'was none left but the tribe of Judah only, . . . The Lord removed Israel out of His sight, as He had said, by all His servants, the prophets. So was Israel carried away out of their own land unto Assyria unto this day." In 2 Chron. 36:16 we read. "But they mocked the messengers of God, and despised his words, and misused his prophets, until the wrath of the Lord arose against his people till there was no remedy." In Neh. 9 : 26 we read, " Nevertheless they were dis- obedient and rebelled against thee, and cast thy law behind their backs, and slew^ thy prophets, which testi- fied against them to turn them to thee; and they wrought great provocations." In Jer. 25 : 4-12, "And the Lord hath sent unto you all his servants the prophets, rising early and sending them; but ye have not hearkened, nor inclined your ear to hear. . . . Therefore, thus saith the Lord of hosts. Because ye have not heard my words, behold, I will send and take all the families of the north, saith the Lord, and Nebuchadnezzar, the King of Babylon, my servant, and will bring them against this lamd, and against the inhabitants thereof, and against all these IN 11 i>' III 124 TiiK ui 1)1)1.1-: OF i:xisTi<:.\(K soia'kd. nations round about ; and Miis wliole land shall be a desolation and an astonishment; and these nations shall serve the King of Babylon seventy years. And it shall come to pass when seventy years are accomplished that 1 will punish the King of Babylon, and that nation, saith the Lord, for their ini([uity, and the land of the Chal- deans, and will make it perpetual desolations." Both of which predictions were literally fulfilled. Chief PriestSt Scribes and Pharisees alormed ond Determined to put Jesus to Death* From these and similar passages in the Hebrew Scrip- tures those whom the Lord Jesus Christ addressed knew well that they a,nd their predecessors were the husband- men referred to. They felit it keenly. This Nazarene, in an obscure station of life, had for over three years been attracting much attention by His teaching many things contrary to all their traditions, and by many wonderful miracles that He wrought. His fame was spread throughout the whole country, and multitudes followed Him wherever He went. The day before they bad seen Him riding into Jerusalem as Zechariah had predicted upon an ass's colt, and they had heard the crowds shouting, " Hosainna to the Son of David!'' thus proclaiming Him as their Coming Messiah; and this son of a poor village carpenter had actually gone into the temple in their very presence, and upset the tables of the money changers, and charged them with making the house of God a den of thieves. Such audacity they had never witnessed before, and they were determined to put a stop to his career. After the severe rebukes He had given them in the parable about the vineyard they sought to lay hands on Him. l)ut they feared the multitude, who regarded Him as a prophet. In the following chai)ter we find them repeatedly trying to entrap Him in His sipeech in order to find some ground of accusation against Him. but without success; and we read in Matt. 22 : 46. "And no man was able to answer ■^' (ion si'iCAKixc, I'.v ms sox. 125 Him a word. Neither durst any num from that day forth ask Ilim any more (juestions." And in chap. 23 we have His final terrihle denunciation of the Scrihes and Phari- sees who had rejected Him as their Messiah, and were now seeking His life. Eight times over He says, " Woe unto you, Scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites," as He brings various charges against them. Twice He says to them, " Ye fools and blind." Twice He calls them " blind guides," and He thus concludes His address to them, " Ye serpents, ye generation of vipers! How shall ye escape the damnation of hell ? Wherefore, behold, I send unto you prophets, and wise men and Scribes : and some of them ye shall kill and crucify; and some of them shall ye scourge in your synagogues, and persecute them from city to city; that upon you may come all the righteous blood shed upon the earth, from the blood of righteous Abel unto the blood of Zacharias, son of Barachias, whom ye slew between the temple and the altar. Verily, I say unto you, all these things shall come upon this generation. Oh, Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killcst the prophets, and stonest them that are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not! Be- hold, your house is left unto you desolate. For I say unto you, Ye sihall not see me henceforth till ye say, Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord." This was His valedictory address to the chief priests, Scribes and Pharisees, who were thenceforth bent on securing His death at the earliest possible moment. They had missed their opportunity. Had they received and acknowledged Him as their Messiah when He had come just as Zechariah had predicted, riding 011 the ass's colt, and proclaimed by the multitude, who cried, Hosanna! " Blessed is the King of Israel, who cometh in the name of the Lord " (John 12 : 13), His glorious reign might have been commenced, and all the temporal blessings promised to them as a nation might have been usihered in; but they had deliberately and blindly rejected Him ! TT-r I I 1^ h 1 i& I I II li'i! la. 126 rill': uiDDi.h: ov I'-xisri-'Aci". soiai-.d. (as Me kiu'w tlicy would), who. as the Son of (joil, luid conic to I lis [''atlicr'svincyard and spoken to tlifni ; even as their fathers had rejected, persecuted, and slain the prophets who had been sent to them and spoken to them, in the name of the Lord. He had often told His dis- ciples about His death, which was now near at hand, and said to them that He would rise again from the dead on the third day. but they never seetued to fully compre- hend what He meant by such a strange statement until after His resurrection had actually taken place, and the evidence of their natural senses convinced them that it was a reality. The Earlier Public Ministry of Jesus. We have seen from the Scriptures just ciuoted how He spoke to the chief priests and scribes and elders about the way in which their fathers had treated the prophets whom God had sent unto them, and about the way in which they themselves would treat His Son after all the proofs that He had given to them that He was the pro- mised Messiah. Let us now look back at the earlier part of His public ministry and consider how the Son of God has spoken, not simply to the Jews, as in the Scriptures to which we have referred, but to us. Gentiles as well as Jews; and in doing so we must take into account not only the matter and manner of His speech, but also the miracles which He performed, and which attested His Divine character and mission. After His baptism by John the Baptist in the Jordan the heavens were opened, and the Spirit of God was seen descending upon Hiim like a dove, and lighting upon Him, and a voice from heaven was heard saying, " This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased." After- wards, when filled with the Holy Spirit, He was tempted of Satan in the wilderness for forty days, after which He commenced His public ministry in Galilee, and, as we read in Matt. 4 : 23, 24, "Went about all Galilee teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the Gospel of the Kingdom, and healing all manner of sickness, and all GOD Sl'EAKINC. MY HIS SON. 1-7 niianncr of disease amonj? the people. And his fame went tliroughout all Syria; and they brought unto him all siok people that were taken with divers diseases and torments, and those which were possessed with devils, and those which were lunatic, and those that had the palsy; and he healed them." This is the way in which God first spoke to us by His Son — by teaching, preaching, and healing the physical diseases of the people. Then it was that He preached that wonderful sermon upon tlie moimtain to the multitudes who followed Him. in which He an- nounced the inauguration of a new era of grace in the dealings of men one with another, and the need of a righteousness and a purity which are not merely confined to external acts, but which must also pervade the secret thoughts and intents of the heart. The beatitudes in the beginning of this discourse are a beautiful expression of spiritual truths contained in the Gospel; and yet imme- diately following them He declares. " Think not that I am come to destroy the law or the prophets. I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil. For verily. I Siuy unto you. Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law till all be fulfilled." This corresponds with the .statement made in John i : 17. '' For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ." In Luke 4 : 16-22 we read what may have been His first public announcement of His Divine mission. "And he came to Na/careth, where he had been brought up; and, as his custom was, he went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day. and stood up for to read; and there was delivered unto him the book of the Prophet I'^saias. And when he had opened the book, he found the place where it was written. " The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the Gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the broken-hearted. ti preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord. And he closed the book, and gave it again to the minister, and IM 1 f/ rj 128 THI-: u, 1)1)1. !•: oi- kxistknck solvkd. sat down; and the eyes of all them that were in the synagogue were fastened on him. And he hegan to say unto them this day is this Scripture fultilJed in you ears, and all bare witness and wondered at the gracious words which proceeded out of his mouth." The passage that the Lord Jesus Christ here read was in Isa. 61 : i, 2, and the remarkable thing in connection with His quotation was that lie stopped reading in the middle of the second verse, the whole of which is as follows : " To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord, and the day of ven- geance of our God; to comfort all that 'mourn,'' and sat down without reading. " and the day of vengeance of our God"; after which He said, "This day is this Scrip- ture fulfilled in your ears," thus intimating to His hearers that a new dispensation of grace had been entered upon, and that the day of vengeance had been postponed. Professor Smith Denies thot Isaioh Wrote what Jesus quoted from His Writings. It will, perhaps, be a surprise to Professor Goldwin Smith to find that the passage in the book of the Prophet Lsaiah, from Wihich the Lord Jesus Christ read at this time, was in that part of the book which He. without producing any proof for his statement, assents was not written by the Prophet Isaiah. The gracious words which Jesus spoke at Nazareth were followed by some plain truths that pricked the consciences of His fellow- townsmen, and they were filled with wrath, and would have killed Him if they could; but He, passing through their midst, went His way. The Miracles and Teoching: of Jesus in His Eorlier Public Ministry. He next went to CaperTvaum and taught them on the Sabbath day. "And they were astonished at his doc- trine: for His word was with power" (Luke 4:3.^). There He cast an unclean demon out of a man in the !^i GOD SPEAKING \',\ HIS SOX. 129 synaKORUc, and we read in v. 36, "And they were all amazed, and spake ainonj^ tht'inselves. saying, Wliat .'i word is this! for with authority and power He coni- niandeth the unclean spirits, and tiiey come (jut." There the Roman centurion came and asked Hiiin to heal his servant, and Jesus said to him, " (io thy way; and as thou hast believed, so be it done unto thee." and iiis servant was healed the self-same hour. It was there that He entered into Peter's house and found " his wife's mother sick oi a fever, and He touched her hand, and the fever left her; and she arose and ministered unto them." After which we read in Matt. 8 : 16, " When the even was come, they brought unto him many that were possessed with demons, and He cast out the spirits with His word, and healed all that were sick." After that He entered into a ship with His disciples to go to the other side of the Sea of Galilee; and there arose a great storm, but He was fast asleep. And they aw')ke Him, saying, " Lord, save us; we perish. And He said unto them. Why are ye fearful ? Oh, ye of little faith! Then He arose and rebuked the winds and the sea; and there was a great calm. But the men marvelled, saying. What manner of man is this, that even the winds and the sea obey Him!" After crossing to the other side of the lake He cast the demons out of two men who "" dwelt in the tombs, exceeding fierce, so that no man might pass that way; and they cried out, saying. What have we to do with thee, Jesus, thou Son of God ? Art thou come hither to torment us before the time." They asked Him if He cast them out of the two men to allow them to enter a herd of swine that was near. He did so. The men were healed, but the swine ran down a steep place into the sea and perished. .*\nd in conseciuence of this serious loss of ])roperty the wihole city came out and besought Jesus to depart out of their coasts. It was also as we find in Luke 7 : 12-15 during this part of His ministry while at Capernaum that He raised to life the widow's son who was being carried to his burial. *' Now when they came nigh to the gate of the city, behold, ;: nj 7 -r I A 30 THE kll)l)l-K OU KXlSTENCt: SOLVED. I ii '^i|i^ Hi there was a dead man carried out, the only son of his mother, and she was a widow; and much people of the city was with her. And when the Lord saw her lie had compassion on her. and touched the hier, and they that bare him stood still. .Vnd He said, Youn^ man, I say unto thee, Arise. And he that was dead sat up and i)ejian to speak. And lie delivered him to his mother." And after that we read in v. 16 the effect produced by this miracle. "And there came a fear on all; and they glori- fied God. saying, That a great prophet is risen up among us; and that God hath visited his people." Now. up to this time it appears that God was speak- ing by His Son, almost exclusively, by the miracles of mercy that He was constantly performing, and the result was that God was glorified; and the people were obliged to confess that Jesus was a prophet, thereby fulfdliiig the l)re(liction (A Moses, "A Prophet shall the Lord your God raise up unto y(ju of your brethren like unto me; him shall ye hear in all things whatsoever he shall say unto you." Bitter Enmity of the Scribes and Pharisees. After recrossing the Sea of Galilee to Capernaum we find that the Scribes and Pharisees have begun to watch liim, land find fault with Him at every opportunity. In Luke 5 : 17-26 we read. "And it came to pass on a certain day, as he was teaching, that there were Pharisees and doctors of the law sitting by which were come out of every town of Galilee, and Judea, and Jerusalem; and the ])ower of the Lord was present to heal them. And behold, men brought in a bed a man which was taken with a palsy; and they sought means to bring himi in and lay him before Him; and when they could not find by what way they might bring him in because of the multitude, they went upon the house top. and let him down through the tiling with his couch into the midst before Jesus. And when he saw their faith he said unto him, Man. thy sins are forgiven thee, and the Scribes ^nd Pharisees began to reason, saying, Who is this which ■'T^ r.Ol) Sl'KAKlNC I'.V Ills SON. 131 siJtakcth hlaspluMiiirs ? W'lio can forKivo sin but Tiod aldiie ? liut wlu'ii Ji'sus i)rrorivi'(l their tliniiKlUs lie, answering, said unto tliciu, What reason ye in yonr hearts ? Whether is easier to say, Tliy sins he Utrjjfiven thee, or to say, Rise up and walk ? Hut that ye may know that the Son of Man hath power on earth to for- give sins (he said unto the sick of the palsy). 1 say unto thee, Arise, and take up thy couch, and k<» '"to thine house. And immediately he rose up before them, and took up that whereon he lay, and departed to his own house ^lorifyi.iig Ciod. And they were all amaxed. ativ' they glorified God, and were filled with fear, saying. We have seen strange things to-day." From this time for- ward wc find that while "the common people heard Ili'i gladly," as stated in "^fark 12:37. 1^<-' vvas a marked man by the Scribes and Pharisees, who constantly sought to entrap Ilim in His wo»-ds, and find some occasion against Ilim. In Matt. 9 we have the account of His restoring to life the ruler's daughter; of the healing of the woman that had the issue of blood; of His giving sight to two blind men, and of His casting a dumb devil out of a man, so that he afterwards spake. The Pharisees could not dispute the miracles that they witnessed, but they said. "He casteth out devils through the prince of the devils " (Matt. 9:34), after which we read that "Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their syna- gogues and preaching the Gospel of the kingdom, and healing every sickness and every disease among the people." Commission to the Twelve Apostles* At length He sent out the twelve apostles whom He had chosen, land commissioned them to preach the Gospel of the kingdom which He had been preaching, and com- manded them, saying, " Go not into the way of the Gen- tiles, and into any city of the Samaritans enter ye not; but go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. And as ye go preach, saying, The kingdom of heaven is ! I mt ! i ff'f ' 132 THE RTDni>E OF l':XISTENCE soLVi:n. I I » at hand, heal the sick, ck-ansc the lci)ers, raise the dead, cast out devils; freely ye have received, freely give" (Matt. 10 : 5-8). Thus they were empowered to work miracles as He did, and to preach the Gospel of the kingdom which He preached, and to proclaim that the ^icssiah had come of the seed of David to establish His kingdom. After this He sent out other seventy disciples, two and two, with power to heal the sick and to preach the same Gospel of the kingdom. The twelve had obeyed His word, and gone through the towns preaching the Gospel and healing everywhere. They came back and told Him what they had done, and He took them aside privately into a desert place to rest awhile with Himself. But the multitudes followed, and He who never turned a deaf ear to the poor and needy, healed all that had need of healing. And then, as if to encourage His disciples' hearts. He gave them that wonderful proof of the inex- haustible fulness that was in Him by feeding the five thousand men with the five loaves and two fishes, and after tliey had all eaten, twelve baskets of fragments remained. He then prevailed on His disciples to get into a ship and go before Him to the other side of the sea whilst He sent the multitudes away, and when this was done, " He went up into a mountain to pray, and when the ever.ing was come He was there alone; and in the fourth watch of the night He went to His dis- ciples walking on the sea. And when the disciples saw Him walking on the sea they were troubled, saying. It is a spirit: and they cried out for fear. But .straightway Jesus spake unto them, saying. Be of good cheer; it is I; be not afraid. And Peter answered him, and said. Lord, if it be thou, bid me come unto thee on the water. And He said. Come. And when Peter was come down out of the ship he walked on the water to go to Jesus. But when he saw the wind boisterous he was afraid; and, beginning to sink, he cried, saying. Lord, save me! And immediately Jesus stretched forth his hand, and caught him and said unto him. Oh, thou of little faith; wherefore didst thou doubt ? And when they were come n^ !■■ GOD Sl'KAKlXc; I'.V HIS SOX. 133 into the ship the wind cased. Thou they that were in the ship came and worshipped him. saying. Of a truth thou art the Son of God. And when they had gone over they came into the hind of Gennesaret. And when the men of that place had knowledge of him, they sent out into all that country round abcnit, and brought unto him all that were diseased; and besought him that they might only touch the hem of his garment; and as many as touched were made perfectly whole. Then came to Jesus Scribes and Pharisees which were of Jerusalem, saying. Why do thy disciples transgress the tradition of the elders ? for they wash not their hands when they eat bread" (Matt. 14:24-36 and 15:1. 2). After answering their question He rebuked them sharply in these words, "Ye hypocrites! Well did Esaias prophesy of you say- ing. This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoureth me with their lips; but their heart is far from me. But in vain do they worship me. teaching for doctrines the commandments of men" (Matt. 15:7-9). Commission to the Seventy Disciples. The seventy disciples whom He had sent out also " returned to Him again with joy. saying, Lord, even the devils are subject to us through thy name. And he said unto them, I beheld Satan as lightning fall from heaven. Behold, I give you power tO tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy; and nothing shall by any means hurt you. Notwithstanding in this rejoice not, that the spirits are subject unto you; but rather rejoice, because your names arc written in heaven. In that hour Jesus rejoiced in spirit, and said. I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent and hast revealed them unto babes; even so. Father, for so it seemed good in thy sight. All things arc delivered to me of my Father; and no man knoweth who the Son is but the Father, and who the Father is but the Son. and he to whom the Son will reveal him. And he turned him unto his disciples and said privately, BJessed are the 134 THE RIDDLE OK KXISTEXCE SOlAICD. eyes which see the things which ye see; for I tell you. that many prophets and kings have desired to see those things which ye see, and have not seen them, and to hear those things which ye hear, and have not heard them " (i.uke 10 : I7-.34)- How richly were both the twelve apostles ana the seventy disciples rewarded for the service which they liad done for the Master! The twelve iiad witnessed the miraculous feeding of the five thousand, and had seen Him walking on the water, and were forced to exclaim. " Of a truth thou art the Son of God." And the seventy were assured that their names were written in heaven, that nothing should by any means hurt them, and that He was, indeed, the promised Messiah, to whom many prophets and kings had been looking forward. Only a few of the miracles performed by the Lord Jesus Christ, and they chieHy in the early part of His public ministry, have been specially mentioned in this chapter. They are enough, however, to show that He was constantly exercising supernatural power; and this fact was not questioned by His bitterest enemies, the chief priests and Scribes and Pharisees, who admitted the miracles, but declared that they had been performed by the power of Satan. As we have already seen in a previous chapter, there can be no reasonable doubt about the authenticity of the four Gospels, which contain the records of those miracles, and have been carefully pre- served and handed down to us. But the resources of infidel skepticism are apparently as inexhaustible as they are futile, which we shall see farther on. Professor Smith's Ingfenious Device to Rule Out Evidence of the Miracles of Christ* Professor Goldwin Smith has adopted a most in- genious rule for limiting the evidence that he thinks should be allowed in proof that a miracle has been per- formed, and that is. only to receive the testimony of an actual eye-witness to the occurrence in question. But I ,1 GOD Sl'KAKIXC. 15 V HIS SOX. 135 in event of this rule failing to set aside the testimony in favonr of miracles, he has anotiier in reserve which is still more sweeping, and that is, to throw doubt upon the authenticity of the four Gospels, without even attempting to produce any reasonable evi'dence that they are not authentic. Thus, respecting the miraculous feed- ing of the i've thousand men, besides women and chil- dren, and respecting Jesus walking on the water, all the apostles having been present, including Matthew and John, the wiiters of the two Gospels which bear their names, the first rule would not apply. He can, there- fore, conveniently fall back upon the second, and say that it is not known who were the writers of those Gospels. The absurdity of setting up and applying such rules to the investigation of historical facts is self-evident, but may, perliaps. be made more plain by applying the same principle to the criticism of profane history. Sup- posing, for instance, that some ultra skeptic were to deny that Julius Caesar had been murdered, would we refuse to receive any evidence of that fact except that of some person or persons who had witnessed the commission of the crime ? And if we had placed in our hands two well-known histories by independent writers, who both claimed to have been present when the assassination took place, and if these records difTered somewhat in the details, but agreed in regard to the main facts; and if. moreover, the testimonies thus given were confirmed by the writings of two other co-temporary authors, who only compiled the accounts they had received from a great many different persons who were eye-witnesses of the tragedy, would any sane man declare that it was very doubtful if such an event had ever taken place, although for over two thousand years it had never been (|ues- tioned. simply because he chooses to doubt the authen- ticity of the four independent histories in our posses- sion without giving some substantial reason for his doubts ? And yet this is the kind of arguments with which modern skeptics are trying to throw dust in the eyes of the rijiing generation, and thus prevent them 136 THIi klDDLE OF EXISTENCE SOLVED. from searching the Scriptures for themselves with un- biased minds, and finding therein what wonderful things God has spoken to us in these last days by His Son. I ! Says that Poul Does Not Testify to Any Miracle Except the Vision. On page 149 Professor Goldvvin Smith says that Paul does not testify to any miracle other than the vision! This statement is made in pursuance of his ironclad rule only to receive the testimony of an eye-witness himself. But we have the testimony of Luke as author of the Acts, who travelled with Paul as to the blinding of Elymas, the sorcerer (Acts 13:8-12); the healing of the cripple at Lystra (Acts 14:8-10); Paul's own miracu- lous healing after having been stoned (Acts 14 : 19. 20); his casting the spirit of divination out of the damsel at Philippi (Acts 16:16-18); his deliverance from prison, and the conversion of the Philippian jailer and his family (Acts 16:23-35); the "special miracles which God wrought by the hands of Paul; so that from his body were brcnight to the sick handkerchiefs or aprons, and the diseases departed from them, and the evil spirits went out of them" (Acts 19:11. 12); and the healing of Publius and others on the Island of Melitn, (Acts 28 : 8, 9). Surely the evidence of Luke, the companion of Paul in his travels, ought to be sufficient to satisfy any rcj'sonable man as to these facts, which were well known, and never controverted in the early Church when the narrative was written.' Denies thot Peter Testifier to the Resurrection of Christ* On page 150 he says that in the first Epistle of Peter there is no allusion to the resurrection of Christ. This is not correct; there is a very distinct reference to it in chap. 3. V. 2T. But it would seem from his remark that, having denied the authenticity of the foi^r Gospels, he ^"nmi (lOl) Sl'KAKINii \',\ IMS S<)\. •37 vvouUl iti this way try to get rid of Peter's testimony as an eye-witness to the resurrecti(jn; after iwhich he wt)ulcl set aside all the testimony given in Paul's writings because he was not an eye-w'itness to that miracle, anrl would probably contend that ihis vision on the way to Damascus was only an optical illusion, although attended with very substantial results! Also Questions the Authenticity of Second Peter. On the same page he says that in Second Peter there is an allusion to the Transfiguration and the voice from heaven. See 2 Peter 1 : 16-18. " For we have not followed cunningly devised fables wihen we made known unto you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were eye-witnesses of his majesty. For he received from God the Father honour and glory, when there came such a voice to him from the excellent glory, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. And this voice, which came from heaven, we heard when we were with him in the holy mount." This is certainly a strong testimony to a most extraordinary miracle, given in plain words which cannot be mistaken. But the Professor in his book, instead of (luoting the passage, only' refers to it as " an allusion to the Transfiguration," And he adds that " the authenticity of Second Peter is strongly im- pugned and feebly defended!" But he does not say by whom or on what grounds it is impugned so strongly, or by whom it is defended so feebly. Very likely it is strongly impugned by his friends, " the liberal theolo- gians " and " higher critics," who are doubtless referred to in the beginning of chap. 2 as " false teachers," but in order to get the connection read from the verses quoted above in chap, i : 19-21, '' We have a more sure word of prophecy : whercunto ye dp well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawm and the day star arise in your hearts; knowing this -first that no prophecy of the Scripture is of any private interpretation. For the prophecy came "W 138 TTTE RIlJlJr.E OK EXISTEXCH SOLVED. 'i 1 iidl in old time by the will of man; hut holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost," and then follows the solemn warning in chap. 2 : 1-3. " But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruc- tion. And many shall follow their pernicious ways; by reason of whom the way of truth shall be evil s])oken of. And through covetousness shall they with feigned words make merchandise of you: whose judgment now of a long time lingereth not. and their damnation slumbereth not." Desporate Attempts to Crcotc Doubt Respecting Mirocles* On page 155 he says that to some of the miraculous parts of the Gospels there would be no eye-witnesses, such as the annunciation and the immaculate concep- tion, of which the only possible witness tells us nothing. In reply to this it may be said that we have no know- ledge of Mary having ever written anything, but she was a constant companion of Jesus and the apostles, and her home was with John after the crucifixion; so that all the particulars were doubtless obtained by the writers from her own lips. In the same way he also speaks of the temptation, the agony in the garden, and the descent of the angel, to which it should be a suflicient answer to say that the Lord Jesus Christ conversed much with His disciples after His resurrection, and He afterwards sent down the Holy Spirit to dwell in their hearts, and to bring to their remembrance all that He had said unto them, of which but little is recorded. On page 161 he says: "The demoniac miracles are clearly stamped with the mark of Jewish superstition, and they are all absent from the fourth Gospel, because the first three Gospels were written for Jewish readers, while the fourth was written for an intelligent circle, to which (lol) SIMCAKINT. nv IMS SON. 139 tlicy were not CDiigonial, pcrluips, at a later day"; all of which statements are mere assertion on his part, with- out a tittle of evidence to sui)port them. Professor Goldwin Smith is continually shiftinj^ his Ki'ound so as to create doubt, if possible, about everything that God has revealed. is it not remarkable that he and the " liberal theologians " should have the greatest aversion to the fourth (iospel, which, he says, was written for the " intelligent circle." Jiut it has already been shown in a previous chapter that John wrote that Gospel as sup- plementary to the other three, and. therefore, he repeated but little of what they had slated, and stated things which they had omitted. As tt) demoniacal possession, it was not necessary for John to repeat what had already been stated in the first three Gospels. Soys the Four Gospels ore Anonymous. On page 150 he .^ays: "The four Gospels are anony- mous: and two of them, the second and third, are not even ascribed to eye-witnesses. The first Gospel (Matthew), if he were its author, would be the work of an eye-witness; and the preface to the third implies that it is not the work of an eye-witness, but a compiler; and to the fourth Gospel there is an attestation, but it is anonymous and misleading"; all of which statements are most insidious and misleading, and made for the purpose of destroying faith in the testimony which these Gospels give as to the miracles wrought by the Lord Jesus Christ, including His own resurrection from the dead. That these state- ments are all incorrect has already been shown in a previous chapter, and it is. therefore, unnecessary to say more on this subject at present. But it would, perhaps, not be out of place here to ask the learned Professor to mention, if he can, a single instance of an authentic history which has ever been written by any man who was himself eye-witness to all the facts which he recorc d. Are not all true historians compilers of facts which they have learned from others, who may or may not have I40 THE RIDDLK OF KXISTENCK SOLVKD. hiiMi eye-witnesses ? On p.if^c 150 he also says : "The above is the sum total of the ocular evidence producible for the miraculous part f)f Christianity, and, besides this, there is nothing bin traditions of unknown origin, recorded by unknown writers, at a date uncertain, and. for aught we know, many years after the events." These assertions and insinuations, so insidiously made, have already been refuted, and it is only necessary to say that the " ocular evidence " is that referred to under the tirst of his two rules for setting aside all evidence in regard to the per- formance of miracles. (See page 1.^4.) And on page 173 he adds: " If we must resign the miracles, the Messianic prophecies, and their sui)posed fulfillment in Christ, and the Trinitarian creed, what remains to us of the Gospel ? There remains to us the cluiracter, the sayings and the parables, which made and have sustained moral, though not ritualistic, dogmatic, or persecuting Christendom. There remain the supremacy of conscience over law, and the recognition of motive as that which determines the (luality of action." And it is worthy of notice that the only place where he can get these things is in the Scriptures, whose authenticity he denies. But as we go on to consider the sayings of Jesus, and learn how God has spoken to us by His Son, we shall find Professor Smith and the " liberal theologians " are just as much opposed to His teaching as to His miracles. The Teaching: of Jesus Distasteful to the Ruling: Classes. Whilst Jesus preached the Gospel of the kingdom, and performed so many miracles that both friends and foes were obliged to recognize His mighty works, there were things He spoke which were very distasteful to many of the listeners, and especially to the chief priests, the Scribes and Pharisees and elders of the people, most of whom probably looked forward to the reign of their GOD SI'KAKINC; 15 Y HIS SON. 141 expected Messiah as a time of earthly ^lory and worldly I)rosi)erity. when all their ambitions wonUl be gratified. Riches and honour they doubtless expected as a matter of course. But this extraordinary man, who had only kind words for the poor an! II III II II III'' III'! ■ ■HI ' planaticHi of this He had told thctn that, as Moses Iit'tetl U)) the serpent in the wihlerness, even so must He Him- self he lifted np; that whosoever heUeved in Him shouhl not perish. l)Ut liave eternal hfe. for (iod so h)ved the vvorhl that He had Riven His only hegottcn Son, that whosoever helieveth in Him shouhl not perish, but have everhistin^' life; and that those who did not believe on Him were c(»ndenined already (John 3 : i-iS). He said He had hving water to k'v*-'. of which, if a man drank, he would never thirst again. And. nothwithstanding that Jerusalem was the place where God had chosen to put His name, He had actually declared that the hour was coming when the Father would be worshipped, neither in that mountain nor in Jerusalem, but the hour cometh. said He, and now is. when the tru.' worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth, for the Father seeketh such to worship Him; and that God is a spirit, and they that worship Him nuist worship in spirit and in truth (John 4 : 14-24). And again and again He had repeated the declaration that those who believed in Him should not perish, but had everlasting life, and they should not come into condemnation (John 5 : 24). He had invited all that laboured and were heavy laden to come unto Him and He would give them rest (Matt. II : 28). O.n the last great day of the feast, when the Pharisees and chief priests sent officers to take Him He cried out. " If any man thirst, let him come unto me and drink. He that believeth on me. as the Scripture hath said. Out of his belly shall How rivers of living water": and when the officers returned to the chief priests and Pharisees and were asked why they had not brought Him. they answered. " Never man spake like this man " (John 7 : 27-46). He had told them that '' if any man came to Him He would in no wise cast him out." He had told the Jews who were opposing Him that they were of their father, the devil, and that if they did not believe in Him they would die in their sins. He had declared that He was the good Shepherd, who was to lay down His life for the sheep, and that He would give thorn eternal life; GOD SPEAKING BY HIS SON. 143 aim tlicy should ikvit [xjrish; neither shoiihl any niati pluck thciu out of His hand (John 10: 15. _'8). And Ifc liad also declared that \\v was the resurrection and the life; that he that believed in Him, thou^li He were dead, yet should he live; and that whosoever iiveth and he- lieveth in Hini sliould never die (Jojin 11 : 25, j6). God spoke these things by His Son to the Jews, who listened to His words as they came from His own lips. He speaks them to us now by His Son through tiie Word which the HOIy Spirit inspired His discii)les to write, bringinj^, as Jesus had promised, all things to their remembrance which lie had said unto them. God's Speaking: by His Son excited the Deadly Enmity of the Chief Priests, Scribes ond Pharisees. The effects produced through God thus speaking by His Son to the Jews are described in John 7 : 12, "And there was much murmuring among tlie people con- cerning him; for some said He is a good man; others said. Nay. but he deceiveth the people." Also in John 7 : 40-43, " Many of the people, therefore, when they heard this saying, said. Of a truth, this is the Prophet." Others said, This is the Christ. But some said. Shall Christ come out of Galilee ? Hath not the Scripture said that Christ comrth of the seed of David, and out of the town of Bethlehem where David was ? So there was a division among the people because of him." And again we read in John 9 : 16, " Therefore, said scjme of the Pharisees, This man is not of God, because he keepeth not the Sababth day. Others said. How can a man that is a sinner do such miracles ? And there was a division among them." The chief priests, and scribes, and elders, from the things that He had publicly spoken against them, be- lieved that they would receive no favour from Him if He was raised to the throne of Israel, and they had no sym- pathy with the doctrines He was teaching, which were If ; k l! I Iff V .• 144 rill': KiDDi.i'. ()!• I'.xisri'.N'ci-: S()i.\'i-:i». II 1 1., so imicli at variam-i' with all that they had loniu'rly learned iiiid taught ; and their enmity against Him was intensified hy the miracle which lie wronj^ht in raisinK Lazarns from the dead. This was followed hy important resnlts. Some of the Jews who had seen La/arus raised went to the I'harisees and told them what Jesus had done, after which we read. " Then gathercvl the chief priests and the Pharisees a cotmcil. and said. What do w'c ? for this man dot-tli many miracles. If we let him thus alotiie. all men will believe on him. and the Rctmans will come and take away our place and nation. And one of them named Caiaphas. bein^ the hijj^h priest that year, said unto them. Ve know nothinj.? at all. nor con- sider that it is expedient for us. that one man should die for the people, and that the whole nation perish not. And this spake he not of himself: but. bein^ hi^h priest that year, lie i)rophesied that Jesus shou'd die for that nation; and not for that nation only, but that also he should gather together in one the children of God that were scattered abroad. Then from that day forth they took counsel to put him to death" (John 11 : 46-53). His triumphal entry into Jerusalem soon afterwards amid the iplaudits of the multitude confirmed them in this determination, and their hatred was increased by the stinging rebukes that He administered to them in ])ublic soon afterwards. That they would seize Mini and put Him to death at the T\'issover feast was a foregone con- clusion. and they must act swiftly and surely, as many thousands who had heard Him si)eak and witnessed His miracles would also be there; and, if they were not expeditious in their movements. His friends might effect a rescue; and, as they had already proclaimed Him King, they might place Him on the throne. They must not lose an hour between His condeniiiiation and execu- tion. They expected to justify themselves before the people, because He was guilty of blasphemy in calling Himself the Son of God, and before the Roman governor, because He declared that Pie was the King of the Jews. COD si'i" \Ki \(; i:v HIS son. MS Last Address of Jesus to His Disciples Before His Crucifixion* Jcsits Kiitln-ri'd His (liscii)lc's in an iii)i)i'r room to par- take with tlu'Mi (»f tlu' Passover feast t<»r the last time hefore Himself ^{oiiiK to the crf)ss to suffer as ihe Lamh of (i()(l that heareth away the sin (»f the world (John I : 29). lie had (h>ne with sjjeakinj; to the Jews ^s a nation. They had despised and rejected llini. Hut now, as they all sat together at that feast. His heart went out in tender love and pity to those whom He was ahont to leave so soon, and whose hojjes He knew would be blighted for a season by His death. .After they had par- taken of the Passover Sui)per He instituted another feast, to be partaken then and afterwards till fie should Cf)me again, as a memorial of His dying love. And then with tenderest love and sympathy He comforted their sorrowing hearts, saying: " Let not your heart be troubled ; ye believe in (iod. believe also in me. In my Father's house are many mansions; if it were not so I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And. if I go and prepare a place for you, T will come again, and receive you to myself: th«';^ where I am. there ye may be also. And whither I go ye know, and the way ye know. Thomas saith unto him, Lord, we know not whither thou goest. and how can wc knov. the way ? Jesus saith unto him. I am the way. the truth, and the life; no man cometh unto the Father but by me" (John 14 : 1-6). And then He wont on to tell them that those who believed on Him were to do greater works tlian He had done, because He was going to the Fatiier, and whatsoever they asked in His name He would do it. And He spoke to them repeatedly of that wonderful Person whom He was to send to dwell in their hearts as another Comforter, and said that He would not leave them comfortless. And He told them that this Comforter, who is the Holy Spirit, would teach them all things, and bring all things to their remembrance that He had said unto them; and He would guide them into all truth, and 146 THE RIDDFJ-: OF KXISTENCK SOLVF<:i). testify of Him; and He repeated the words of comfort, saying, " Peace I leave with you. my peace I give unto you; not as tlie world giveth, give I unto you; let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid; ye i^ave heard how I said unto you. I go away, and come af^,ain unto you " (John 14 : 26. 27). And then He exhorted them to abide in Him. and obey His commai»ds, and love one another as He had loved them, ?Ie told them that the hour was come when they would be scattered, e\ -y man to his own home, and leave Him alone, and concluded with these words, " These things have I spoken unto you that in me ye might have peace. In th.e world ye shall have tribulation ; but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world" (John 16:33). ' I! :.t The Lord's Prayer for His Disciples* And then followed that wonderful prayer to the Father on behalf of those whom He was about to leave so soon, who had been given to Him by the Father out of the world, and yet left in it to witness for Him in separation from it, that they might be kept and sanc- tified through the truth, and that they all might be one, that the world might believe that the Father had sent Him; and finally, that they might hereafter be with Him and behold His glory. Althoutih then, as it were, under the very shadow of the cross to which, as He knew. He would be nailed on the following day, the Lord Jesus Christ seemed to com- eave. forget all about His own sufferings in His desire to fort the humble followers whom He was about to 1 and through whom, in the power of the Holy Spirit, He was to continue to speak to flis Church and to the world. Shameful Treatment and Agfonizins: Death of the Son of God* After singing a hymn they went out to the Mount of Olives and into the garden of Gethsemane, where for a short time alone, in communion with the Father, He GOD Sl'EAKIXG BY HIS SON. 147 looked forward, in deepest agony, to that fearful ordeal through which He was so soon to pass as the Sin- bearer suffering instead of sinners the judgment due to them. Soon Judas came with the officers of the chief priests and betrayed Him to them with a kiss. He was arrested and taken before the high priests for trial, and condemned for blasiphemy in saying that He was the Christ, the Son of God. after which they spat in His face and smote Him, and told Him to prophesy who smote Him. Then He was taken before Pilate, the Roman governor, charged with claiming to be the King of the Jews. Pilate examined Him. and said that he could find ;no fault in Him. and wished to release Him, but he finally yielded to the clamour of the Jews, who shouted, "Away with him! Crucify him!" And when he asked them, " Shall I crucify your king ?" the chief priests answered. " We have no king but Caesar." And they also said, " His blood be on us and on our chil- dren," and the soldiers stripped Him, and put on Him a scarlet robe and a crown of thorns, and said. "Hail! King of the Jews." and they again spat on Him and mocked Him. He was then delivered to them and crucified between two malefactors, and Pilate wrote this title and put it on the cross : Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews. While hanging on the cross, and slowly dying that shameful, agonizing death. He spoke some words that told at the same time the depth of His anguish, the strength of His love to the perishing, and His thoughtful care for the mother whom He was leaving behind. Forsaken by all His disciples, oppressed by the burden of sin He was bearing, and suffering intense torture from His wounds, He looked upon His murder- ers and prayed for them, saying, " Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do." To the conscience- stricken thief at His side He gave the assurance that his sins were forgiven. To his mother and His beloved disciple. John, He spoke, providing a home for her with him. And after three hours, when darkness overspread the earth, and He realized that God, the Father, had bid 148 THE RIDDLE ()E EXISTENCE SOLVED. His face from Him. and that without any help from God or man He was bearing alone the judgment due to sin, the cry came from flis lips with which the twenty-second Psalm opens, " My God! my God! why hast Thou for- saken me ?" And at length, after saying, " It is finished," He bowed His head and died, and the Roman centurion and those that were with him said, " Truly, this was the Son of God!" Resurrection of Christ and Subsequent Interviews With His Disciples. He rose from the dead on the third day as He had promised, and appeared to Mary Magdalene, and " the same day at evening on the first day of the week, the door being shut. He appeared in the midst of the dis- ciples, saying unto them. Peace be unto you. And when He had so said. He showed them His hands and His side. Then were the disciples glad when they saw the Lord. Then said Jesus to them again. Peace be unto you; as my Father hath sent me. even so send I you. And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said Receive ye the Holy Ghost." etc. v^John 20 : 19-22). But Thomas was not with rhe other disciples on that occasion. And he would not believe what they had told him. So we read again in v. 26. "And after eight days again His disciples were within, and Thomas with them; then came Jesus, the doors being shut, and stood in the midst, and said. Peace be unto you. Then said He to Thomas, Reach hither thy finger, and behold my hands, and reach hither thy hand, and thrust it into my side; and be not faithless but believing. And Thomas ans- wered and said unto him. My Lord and my God. Jesus said unto him, Thomas, because thou hast seen me thou hast believed; blessed are they that have not seen and yet have believed" (John 20 : 26-29). Again He appeared to seven of His disciples at the Sea of Tiberias. (Peter being one of the number), who had been fishing all night and caught nothing. Then H(^ told them to cast their GOD SPEAKING BY HIS SON. 149 net on the right side of the ship, and they would find. They did so, and were not able to draw it in for the multitude of fishes. They had not known Him at first, but now John said to Peter, "It is the Lord," and Peter, with his usual impetuosity, at once cast himself into the sea and went to Him. The rest soon followed, and they found a fire of coals, with fish and bread laid thereon; and He invited them to dine with Him, and also took bread Himself. This was the third time He had appeared to them, and after they had dined He asked Peter three times in succession if he loved Him, and on being assured that he did. He told him to feed His lambs, and to feed His sheep. Paul states, in i Cor. 15:6, 7. that he was seen of above five hundred brethren at once, of whom the greater part were then alive, but some had died; and that after that He was seen of James, and then again of all the apostles; and last of all by Himself also as of one born out of due time. And against all this positive evidence for the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ there is only, as has been already remarked, the evidence of the Roman guards at His tomb, who were bribed to say that His disciples had come and stolen Him away while they slept. In Matthew's Gospel we are informed that He said to His disciples, "All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. Go ye, therefore, into all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost; teaching them to ob vrve all things whatsoever I have commanded you; and lo! I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world " (Matt. 28 : 18-20). In Mark's Gospel we are told that " He appeared to the eleven as tlicy sat at meat, and upbraided them with their unbelief and hardness of heart because they believed not them wb.ich had seen Him after He Wr-s risen. And He said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach tho Gospel to every creature. He that believeth and is bap- tized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned." etc. (Mark 16 : 14-16). In I>uke's Gospel we are told that in conversing with the two disciples on ', i ill ml V mmm 150 THE RIDDLE OF EXISTENCE SOLVED. 1 It "I III ; I I i! n tiiii ' the way to Enimaus He said. "O fools, and slow of heart to helieve all that the prophets have spoken! Ought not Christ to have suffered these things and to enter into His glory ? And beginning at Moses and all the pro- phets, He expounded unto them in all the Scriptures the things concerning Himself" (Luke 24:25-27). And also to the eleven apostles at Jerusalem He said. "These are the words that I spake unto you while I was yet with you. that all things must he fulfilled which were written in the law of Moses, and in the prophets, and in the Psalms concerning me. Then opened he their under- standing that they might understand the Scriptures, and said unto them. Thus it is written, and thus it behoved Christ to suffer, and to rise from the dead the third day, and that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in His name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. And ye are witnesses of these things. And, behold, I send the promise of my FathtT upon you; but tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem until ye be endued with power from on high. Aiud he led them out as far as to Bethany, and he lifted up his hands and blessed them. And it came to pass while he l>lessed them he was parted from them and carried up into heaven. And they wor- shipped Him, and returned to Jerusalem with great joy; and were continually in the temple, praising and blessing God" (Luke 24:44-53). And in John's Gospel we read of Him after His resurrection, "And many other signs truly did Jesus in the presence of His disciples which are not written in this book; but these are written that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that, believing, ye might have life through His name" (John 20:30, 31). Insidious Question by Professor Smith. On page 176 Professor Goldwin Smith asks, " Did Jesus give Himself out, or allow His followers to desig- nate Him as the Messiah ? It is impossible to tell. All that we can say is that His disciples . . . desired to identify Him with the hope of Lsrael, and applied, or ' GOD SPKAKIXr, RV TITS SON. 151 wrested, passages of the Old Testament to that intent." This (|uestion reminds one forcibly of the ([uestion which the serpent asked Eve in the garden, " Yea, hath God said. Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden ?" And it is evident that the intention in putting both (|ues- tions was the same: just to raise a doubt as to what God had really said, when the (jucstioner knew perfectly well what the answer should be. It is impossible to suppose that any man of Professo™ Goldwin Smith's intelligence does not know what has already been fully shown by the Scriptures ciuoted in this chapter, that throughout His whole ministry the Lord Jesus Christ claimed to be the Messiah, of the seed of David, and Sou of God as well as Son of man. and that His disciples thus regarded ITim. At T^i^^ baptism in the Jordan and on the Mount of Transfiguration the voice from heaven had said. "This is my l)eh)ved Son." When on the ass's colt He entered Jetusalem w'ith the multitude shouting. " Hosanna to the Son of David!" and " Blessed be the King of Israel, that Cometh in the name of the Lord," th s proclaiming Him as the Messiah, did He not recognize that in doing so they were simply fulfilling the prophetic word con- cerning Him ? He was condetuned to death by the chief priests because He said He was the Son of God; and Pilate allowed Him to be crucified because He was the King of the Jews; and He would not deny either of these charges to save His life. The statement about wresting Old Testament Scriptures to identify Him with the hope of Israel has already been fully met in a pre- vious chai)ter and is not worthy of further notice. On page 139 he (juotes ai)pr()vingly from the author of " Supernatural Religion " as follows : '" The system of Jesus might not be new, but it was in a high sense the perfect development of natural morality, and it con- fined itself to two fundamental principles, love to God and love to man." The writer of that book had per- haps not read the discourse of the Lord Jesus Christ with Nicodemus, in the third chapter of John's Gospel, in the course of which He told that honest enquirer that t I li. mn }] 152 Till". RIDDI.I-: <)!■• KXISTICNCK SOIA'KD. he must be born aj^aiii (jr never enter heaven. It is really a wonder how the author of " Supernatural Re- ligion " (whot'ver he may be) could write such unmiti- gated nonsense in the face of the i)laiiiest statements of Scripture. There is really no such thing as natural morality, but natural immorality has often presented a respectable, and even refined, exterior, through the re- straints of law and society, but especially of Christian civilization. Where these are wanting the natural im- morality develops rapidly. Incorrect Statement by Professor Smith* On page 116 he says that. ''Apart from the miraculous resurrection of Christ, and Christ's miraculous raisings from the dead, no one has been heard from after death." This is not correct. The Lord Jesus Christ Himself, who knew all things, told, in Luke 16 : 19-31, about a certain rich man and a beggar named Lazarus, who both died. The beggar was carried by the angels to Abraham's bosom, and the rich man was buried (and doubtless had a grand funeral), but in Hades he lifted up his eyes, being in torments, and saw Abraham afar ofif, and La'/arus in his bosom; and he cried out to have Lazarus sent to dip the tip of his finger in water, and cool his tongue, for he was tormented in that fiame. This re- quest was refused, and he then wanted some one sent back from the dead to warn his five brethren lest they also should come into that place of torment. But Abra- ham said to him. " If they hear not Moses and the pro- phets, neither will they be persuaded though one rose from the dead." It is perfectly safe to predict that if any one rose from the dead, and were to go through the world describing from his own experience the terrible doom of lost souls, who had died without being born again, he would be denounced as a lunatic or an im- poster by Professor Goldwin Smith and all the " liberal theologians " and " higher critics." GUU SI'HAKIXC; IJY HIS SON. '53 The Professor wonts Christianity without Christ Crucified. After having done his best to destroy all faith in the miracles wrought by the Lord Jesus Christ, and denied that He was the Son of God or t' promised Messiah, as He claimed to be. on page 187 Professor Goldwin Smith thus closes his essay on the "Miraculous Element in Christianity " with tlie following remarks upon the person of Jesus : " In His character there is no doubt a large element of sorrow, without which He would not have touched humanity. Yet we think too much of Jerusalem, and of the closing scene, with it,> agonies, its horrors, and the circle of dark, and even dreadful, dogma, which has been formed a ound it. We think too little of the preaching of the V\ d of Life, and of the land in which the Word of Life was preachec'. Let us some- times draw a veil over the cross, banish from our imaginations Jerusalem and its temple, reeking with bloody sacrifices, its fanatical Judaism, its hypocritical Phariseeism. its throng of bigots yelling for a judicial murder. Let us learn to see the great Teacher of humanity in the happy days of His mission, while He gathers round Him the circle of loving disciples and of simple hearts, thirsting for the waters of life, in the village synagogue, on the summer hillside or lake shore, amidst the vines and oleanders and lilies of Galilee.'* Now that is a very beautiful and poetic peroration, but it reminds one too much of the kiss with which Judas betrayed his Master. The Word of God declares that " the preaching of the cross is to them that perish fool- ishness." and that the preaching of " Christ crucified was unto the Jews a stumbling-block, and unto the Greeks foolishness"; and it is so still. And Paul said that he was determined not to know anything amongst the Cor- inthians save Jesus Christ and Him crucified, and that he was with them in weakness and fear and much trem- bling, and his speech and his preaching were not with enticing words of main's wisdom, but in demonstration \ 'I 154 THK KIDDIJ': OF EXISTENCK SOlAED. of the Spirit and of power that their faith should not stand in the wisdom of hkii, but in the powjr of God (I Cor. 2 : 2-5). Untrue Statement Respecting: Orthodox Theolo8:ians. But the following extract from Professor Goldwin Smith's book will, perhaps, give a better idea of its insidious and dangerous character than anything else that has been (pioted notwithstanding his poetic refer- ences to )esus as a mere man, and his professed recog- nition of a great Supreme Being, who somehow or other rules this universe. On page 181 he says : " We have done, too, forever with the mixture of Rabbinism and Alexandrian theosophy with which Paul has been ac- cused of overlaying the Christian faith. We may bid farewell to his doctrine of Atonement. That doctrine is bound up with the belief in the Fall of Adam, and the Fall of Adam is now abandoned as a fact even by ortho- dox theologians, though they would fain substitute for it some lapse of the human race from a more perfect state without any proof either of the more perfect state or of the lapse." As the learned Professor has not in- formed us what he thinks the original Christian faith really was, and who it was that accused Paul of over- laying it with something that has obscured its lustre, we are entirely in the dark as to the meaning of the first sentence in this extract; but it may be remarked that all true Christians are generally under the impression that Paul, through the special revelations made to him by the Lord Jesus Christ, was the instrument used in un- folding the Gospel of the grace of God more fully than any other. If he wants to learn Paul's opinion of Jewish Rabbinism in connection with Christianity, he should read carefully the Epistle to the Galatians; and if he wants to know what amount of sympathy there was between him and the cu'tured intellectual theosophists of Athens he should read Acts 17 : 18-34. " Then certain li ipi! V- (iOl) SI'KAKIXC I!V INS S(».\. 155 pliilosopluT^ of the l"".i)iciiroans, and <>f the Stoics on- countered liini. And some said. What will this babbler say ? other some. He seenieth to be a setter forth of strange gods; because he preached unto theni Jesus and the resurrection. And they took him and brought him unto Areopagus, saying. May we know what this new doctrine whereof thou speakest is ? for thou bringest strange things to our ears; we would know, therefore, what these things luean. . . . Then Paul stood in tiie midst of Mar's Hill, and said, Ye men of Athens. I per- ceive that in all things ye are too superstitious. For as I passed by and beheld your devotions. 1 found an altar with this inscription. To tiik Unknown Goo. Whom, therefore, ye ignorantly worship, him declare I unto you. . . . And the titucs of this ignorance God winked at; but now commandeth all men everywhere to repent; because he hath appointed a day, in the which he will judge the world in righteousness by that man whom he hath ordained; whereof he hath given assurance to all men, in that he raised him from the dead. And when they heard of the resurrection of the dead, some .nocked; and others said. We will hear thee again of th.is matter. So Paul departed from among them. Howbeit certain men clave to him 'and believed; among the which was Dionysius. the Areopagite. and a woman named Damaris, anc others with them." So we see that Paul's preaching to the philosophers of either Greece or Alexandria was not likely to be acceptable to those proud men. who were so filled with self-conceit and self-sufficiency with their own intellectual attainments that they would not take the place of little children, without which " the great Teacher of humanity " had said that they could not enter into the kingdom of God. In his Epistle to the Colossians the same apostle warned them against phil- osophers thus: " Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ. For in Him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily." As to the learned Professor bidding farewell K* ' IS'-. TIIK U 1 1)1)1. K OK i:xiSTIC\CR SorA'KD. I ii'; to tlif t, av()i(hng profane and vain habhlings. and opposi- tions of science, falsely so called (i Tim. 6 : jo). While we cannot help admiring the wonders of the universe, so far as they have been revealed to us by astronomical science, we must bear in mind that God has also revealed to us in His Word, that there are more worlds than this earth which we inhabit. We read in Heb. 1:1.2," God who. at sundry times, and in divers manners, spake in times past unto the fathers by the prophets, hath in these last days spoken unto us by His Son, whom He hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also He made the worlds"; and again in Heb. II : 3, "Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the Word of God." But it does not seem to be the part of true wisdom to be so much occu- pied with other planets, and their possible inhabitants, as to shut our eyes to those wonderful things which God has revealed to us in the Scriptures regarding Himself and His purposes concerning the human race, upon the right apprehension of which our eternal destiny depends for either happiness or misery. As Creatoft God is Absolute* As we have already seen, God's purpose in creating all things was, for His own pleasure; and as Creator He became the absolute master of all that He created. The creature never had any rights whatever as against the will of the Creator; and this is plainly taught in the Word of God as we read in Isa. 29 : 15, 16. •' Woe unto them 'that seek deep to hide their counsel from the Lord, and their works in the dark, and they say, Who seeth us ? and who knoweth us ? Surely your turning of things upside down shall be esteemed as the potter's clay; for shall the work say of Him that made it. He made me not ? or shall the thing ' >rmed say of Him that formed it. He hath no understanding ?" And again. in Isa. 45 : 9. " Woe unto him that striveth with his Maker! Let the potsherd strive with the potsherds of H! 1 HI 4 Hi i If < a GODS ITKIMiSK I\ CREATION. 167 the earth. wShall the clay say to Him that fashioneth it, What niakest thou ? or thy work. He hath no hands ?'* And also in Rom. 9 : 17-21, " Therefore hath He mercy on whom He will, and whom He will He harden '". Thou wilt say then to me, Why doth He yet find fault, for who hath resisted IHs will ? Nay, hut i) man, who art thou that repliest against God ? Shall the thing formed say of Him that formed it. Why hast thou made me thus ? Hath not the potter power over the clay, of the same ump to make one vessel unto honour, and another unto dishonour ?" Mon has Foiled to Glorify God. But in the creation of man we have also seen that God had a still higher purpose. In the creation of other living creatures He spoke them into existence, and then commanded them to be fruitful and multiply in the earth, and God saw that all was good, and He had pleasure in His works. In the case of man, made in His own image, a'"ter His own likeness, we have a repetition, in greater detail, of his creation in Gen. 2. in which it is stated, "And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul " (Gen. 2:7). Thus, by the very breath of God. there was communicated to him a life that was infinitely higher than that of (vther earthly creatures. They had existence, and in their existence (lod had pleasure. But man had received life from God, in whose image he was formed, and, as viceroy of God over this fair earth, he had dominion over all other creatures; and God "brought them unto .Adam to see what he would call them; and whatsoever Adam called every living creature, that was the name thereof " (Gen. 2 : 19). We have seen from Isa. 4.3 : 1-7 that man was created for God's glory, and from a being so highly favoured and endowed, and possessed of a holy nature and a free will, God had a right to expect implicit faith and perfect obedience. But sin came in through Satan in the form of a serpent tempting Eve, and through her ! I i ! m'vT 168 TIIK KlhDLK OK i:.\ IS'IKNC IC SOIAHO. I I! (|!l i. ¥k' 'h \ tempting Adam. And they came utulcr the sentence of death, which had been pronounced as the penalty of their disobedience. While still continuing to exist as animate and rational creatures, they lost the life that had been breathed into them by God, and became dead in sin; and. as those thereafter possessed of evil natures, they commuiiicated evil natures to all their posterity. And so we read in i Cor. 15 : 22. " For as in Adam all die," etc., and again in Rom. 5 : 14, " Nevertheless, death reigned from Adam to Moses," etc. Man's FoIIcn Noturc Utterly Corrupt. This is a very unpalatable truth to unconverted men, who have never seen the utter corruption of their own fallen natures, and, therefore, rebel against the thought that they are wholly unable to earn the favour of God by any merit of their own. They try to persuade them- selves that there is some germ of goodness about them, which only needs to be cultivated and developed in order to make them pleasing in His sight, before whom, con- science tells them, they must some time give an account of the deeds done in the body. But, rather than take the place now of guilty, ruined sinners before Him. many prefer to try and persuade themselves that the record which tells them of their true condition is only a myth, and that the Bible, which contains it, is not a Divine revelation from God to man. If a man makes a complicated machine, he will take pleasure in it just in proportion as it fulfills the end for which it was made, and if it does not do this he has a perfect right to destroy it. But if he could impart life to it. with conscience, reason, and a free will, he would expect more from it; and he would naturally feel very indignant if, insttMd of obeying his word, it were to tliwart his plans, dishonour his name, and insult him to his face. No man would submit to such treatment. He would either destroy what he had made or inflict upon it the severest punishment. And yet men seem to think that God is an easy, good-natured Being, who is all love, CODS IMKl'OSl-: l\ CUI-.AIIOX. \Cn) without any sense of justice, and who made them to live for their own pleasure and not for Mis, and will, therefore, allow them to disobey Him with impunity. For this reason they do not like the God of the Bible, who therein reveals Himself as a lieing of sp(jtless purity, who will judge His creatures righteously and l)unish them for their sins. As a just and holy God, in dealing with the nations of this world, He has fre(iuently made them the means of chastising each other for their sins against Him. as we find by the records of Scrip- ture; and these men profess to stand aghast at the deeds of cruelty which were thus committed; and point to passages in which God's terrible judgments have been visited upon various peoples in the course of His gov- ernmental dealings with them, and ask if we expect them to believe that God desired such things to come to pass, although His Word has plainly declared it; and He alone, who knew all the circumstances, was best able to judge what punishment was needed. Professor Smith Objects to God's Manner of Punishing: Sin. On page 66 Professor Goldwin Smith says that we arc in no way bound to believe -that God so identified Himself with one family as to license it to invade other tribes and slaughter them; or that He rebuked His chosen people for saving alive the women and children of the Midianites. On page 68 he objects in like manner to the slaughter of the Canaanites, the killing of Sisera, the assassination of Eglon, the hewing of Agag to pieces by Samuel, the prophet of the Lord. Elijah's massacre of the prophets of Baal, who were leading Israel away from the worship of Jehovah, and the hanging of Haman upon the gallows which he had erected for ^lordecai. He seems to have overlooked the fact that in these and many other cases there is an entire absence of per- sonal malice on the part of those who were carrying (JUt I 1 b I ' llj 170 TIIK KTDDLK UK KXfSTf.NCR SOIAI-:!). II wli.il llu'y hrlirved to hi- l\\v will of Ciod upon llis ctic- inics. ll is (|uit(.' tnu- that (jod eoiikl have raim-d (l«i\vn firi' from lioavcn upon tlicni as lie did upon Sod(»in and (ioni(>rrali if lie had chosen that method of punishing the i)arties referred to for their sins. Hut lie chose other means, and it would he very presumptuou> in us to (jueslion the wisdom and the justice of llis actions whether we understand them or not. ( )n pa-'" ()K he admires David, and accepts him as the auth f the Psalms, some of which, he remarks on pag are spiritual as well as lyrical, and others shocking. Now, in order to understand the lauKnajjje used in some of the I'salms it is needful to bear in mind that Jsrael was a theocratic kiuKdom, over which David was reigning as the representative of Jehovah, and that in the Psalms wliich appear to show a vindictive spirit towards His enemies there is not a particle of personal malice on his part; but as the mouthpiece of Jehovah ho speaks of God's enemies as if they were his own, aiul thus cries for judgment on the wicked who are opposing His holy will. His Attempt to Disparagfe the Character of Christ Becouse of David^s Sin. On page 68 he al.so refers to David's great sin in the matter of Uriah, the Hittite, but fails to point out how speedily the judgment of (jod came upon him on account of that sin. as recorded in J Samuel. '*.\nd Nathan said to David, Thou art the man. Thus saith the Lord God of Israel, T anointed thee king over Israel, and I d '- livered tliee out of the hand of Saul. . . Wherefore hast thou despised the commandment of the Lord to do evil in His sight ? Thou hast killed Uriah, the Hittite. with the sword, and hast taken his wife to be thy wife, and hast slain him with the sword of the children of Ammon. Now, therefore, the sword shall never depart from thine house; because thou hast despised me, and hast taken the wife of Uriah, the Hittite, to be thy wife." (ioi) S I'lUI'oSK I\ CKKATION, 171 When his sin was tliiis hrouKlit lionu" to liitn David was liiimbkMl hi'foro (Jod, his lil'i' was sparctl, and the sin put away, hut the evil coiiscciuences rcmaitied. The child horn to him by Mathsheha had tn die. the sword did not depart from his house as h»ii)^ as he hved ; and the enemies of (iod have ever since made a handle of David's terrible sin to blas|)henie tlu' name of David's (iod. not- withstandinji Mis speedy jiul^ment upon the sin. In the face of these facts, and without mentiotiiufjf them, the following remarks on pa^L' (^ by I'rofesscjr (ioldwiii Smith oti this subject are, to say the least, in extremely bad taste; although, as usual, the lauf^ua^c used is not oft'ensive. lie says that David " w.is Ruilty of murder and adultery in the tirst decree; ptU to death with tor- tures the people of a captured city; an his deathbed becjueathed to his son a murderous legacy of vengeance, and ishuts up his ten concubines for life." and then he adds " that it is not possible that the issues of spiritual life are so shut up that from this man's loins salvation should s])riug." The real attack made here so insidi- ously is upon David's Son. the l\ord Jesus Christ, who is yet to sit upon David's throne, and through whom alone, as the sinner's substitute, in the work of Atone- uicnt salvation is to be found. The angel who announced His conception to Mary said. "That holy thing that shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of GckI"; and we read in Heb. 7 : j6 that He was " holy, harmless, undefiled. sei)aratc from sinners, and made higher than the heavens." The manner in which the learned Pro- fessor groui)s together David's real sin. which God severely condemned and i)unished; and for which David. after confession, btained forgiveness; along with acts which he commanded to be done, in i)ursuance of his rightful authority as Jehovah's representative in execut- ing judgment upon the sins of others, shows a deliberate intention not only tf) blacken the whole character of David himself, but also to make it appear that the Lord Jesus Christ, having come from such a polluted source, it is not likely that salvation should be alone through Him; w II t! 172 TIN': KiDDMc ()i- i:.\isil:*''I<: solvkd. ;m(l. tlKTcfore, the allusion to David is only a pretext for a most insidious attack upon the person of the Lord Jesus Christ. II ? i God Never Excuses Sin. God never excuses sin. even in the cases of His most honoured servants. Siti must either be punished or atoned for. and without atonement forgiveness' cannot he ohtained. (lod has said that He " will by nt) means clear the guilty," and that " the soul that sinneth shall die." He cannot lie. and the sentence of judgment must be executed, either now or hereafter. Because of his sin Moses, the servant of God. with whom " God talked face to face as a man with his friend." could inot enter the promised land; and David, because of his sin. was obliged to have war in his house all his days, and could not build the temi)le to Jehovah; and so with all, or nearly all. of God's chosen servants, we find sin and failure e\'erywhere except in the case of the Lord Jesus Christ Himself, to whose charge no sin has ever been laid. In this respect the Bible is different from any other book. There is ,no attempt in it to cover over sin of any kind, no matterUvho may be implicated. Only jOnc Perfect Sinless Man. God created man for His own glory, but there has been only one mm who, looking back on the past, and about to leave this world, could lift up his eyes to the Father in heaven, and say, " I have glorified thee on the earth" (John 17:4); "I have finished the work which thou gavest me to do." and that was the I ord Jesus Christ. Paul was able to give a satisfactory testimony when he said. " I am now ready to be offered, and the time of my departure is at hand. I have fought a good fight. I have finished my course. I have kept the faith; henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteous- ness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day; and not to me only, but unto all them that GODS I'l'kl'OSE IS CRKATION. 173 love lii^ ;ipi)c'aring " (-J Tim. 4:6-8); hut ho could uot say of liis whole life: "I have j^jloritied God": and whereiti he failed at any time in this purpose of his existence he had sinned; hut he could rejoice that the sin was i)ut away hy the atoning sacrifice of Christ, in whom he helieved. In Matt. 22:36-40 we read of a lawyer asking the Lord Jesus Christ : " Master, which is the Kre;it com- mandment in the law ? Jesus said unto him. Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. Tins is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it : Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thy self. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets." These are the words of the "Great Teacher of humanity." regarding whom, on page 184, Professor Goldwin Smith m.'dses the following remarks: "Among the teachings of Jesus recorded in the Gospels, learning, literature, and science have no place. To the mind of Jesus, had they jiresented themselves, they would probably have seemed entirely alien. The simplicity of the child and the spiritual insight of poverty were, in His eyes, superior to the wisdom of the wise. In this respect His thorough- going disciples have generally reflected the image of their Master." Some readers may be inclined to suspect that there is a vein of sarcasm in these remarks, but truer words were never written, and it is refreshing to find something in the learned Professor's book which can be endorsed where there is so much that has to be disputed. In His answer to the lawyer's question the Lord Jesus Christ summed up. in the very simplest manner, what God has a right to expect from men whom He created for His own glory : that they should love Him " with all the heart, and soul, and mind." Professor Smith's Opinion About the Soul of Man* The Professor says, on page 102, regarding the soul : " Science (Darwinian and general) has put an end to the traditional belief in the soul as being separate from "•■»<*•• 174 THK KIDDr.K OF EXISTENCE SOLVED. the body, breathed into it by a distinct act of the Creator." Science may have had this effect with liiin, and perhaps also witli some of the so-called " liberal theologians," bnt certainly not with trne Christians, as his remark wonld seem to imply. They have a much higher source of information in the unerring Word of God. It is true that the word " soul " is sometimes used as an interchangeable term for " life," and is often used to designate the whole person, as, for instance, in Acts ^1 : 37. "And we were, in all, in the ship, two hundred threescore and sixteen souls." But there are many other passages in which the soul is mentioned as distinct from the ' "sdy, the mind, the heart, or the life. Look, for exan.ple. at the following : My soul is weary of my life (Job lo : i). Rut his flesh upon him shall have pain, and his soul within him shall mourn (Job 14 : 21). Why art thou cast down, O my soul ? and why art thou dis(iuieted within me? (Psa. .42:11). So shall they be life unto thy soul (Prov. 3 \22). Behold, all souls are mine: as the soul of the father, so aK'.o the soul of the son is mine; t "e soul that sinneth it shall die (Ezek. 18 : 4). Incline your ear and come unto me; hear, and your soul shall live (Isa. 55 : 3). And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul, but rather fear him who is able to destroy both sou' ar.d body in hell (Matt. 10 : 28). For what is a man pro' .ed if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul (or life) ? or what shall a man give in exchange for his own soul (or life)? (Matt. 16 : 26). But God shall say to him. Thou fool! this night thy soul (or life) shall be required of thee (Luke 12 : 20). Now is my soul troubled: and what shall I say ? (John 12 : 27). Because thou wilt not leave my soul "n Hades, neither wilt thou suffer thine ^^ \y One to see corruption (Acts 2 : 2y'). GODS PURPOSE IN CRF.ATTON. 175 He (David) seeing tliis before, spake of the resurrec- tion of Christ, tluit his soul was not left mi Hades, neither his flesh did see corruption (Acts 2 : 31). And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit, and soul, and body be preserved blameless unto the ci^ning of our Lord Jesus Christ (i Thess. 5:23). But we are not of them who draw back unto perdi- tion, but of them that believe to the saving of the soul (Heb. 10 : 39). Beloved. I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper and be in health even as they soul prospereth (3 John 2). And I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the Word of God . . . and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years (Rev. 20 : 4). The information contained in the above texts about the soul of man is much more reliable than anything that Mr. Darwin could furnish. Godf in His Word> Invariably Requires that Man Should Glorify Him. As we have already seen, the Lord Jesus Christ declared that the first and great commandment is. "Thou shalt love the Lord thy God witli all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind." Nothing less than this will satisfy the CrT-ator. who has formed man for His own glory. And any failure to conie uj) to this standard is sin. which can only be forgiven on the ground of atonement made. The supreme conceit which leatL i.icn who have not glorified Go-d to talk as if He were imder some obligations to them, to consult their wishes or promote their happiness, is really e.xtraordinary; and the presumption with n'hich tliey sit in judgment upon His character ..id governmental dealings with the human race is still more amazing, and can ordy be accounted for by their total blindness to what His Word declares i 'f mm PF ,76 THK RIDDLR OF EXISTENCE SOLVED. He rccjuires. Lo(ik. for instance, at a few passages of Scripture in this connection : This is it that the Lord spake, saying. I will be sane- titled in them that come nigh me. and before all the people I will be glorified (Lev. 10:3). C) Lord, thou hast increased the nation, thou art glorified (Isa. 26 : 15). Thus saith the Lord God ... I will be glorified in the midst of thee (Ezek. 28 : 22). Yea. all the people of the land shall bury thetn. and it shall be to them a renown, the day that I shall be glorified, saith the Lord God (Ezek. 39 : 13). Thus saith the Lord of liosts. Consider your ways. Go up to the mountain, and bring wood and build the h(;;;se (i.e., the temple); and I will take pleasure in it. and I will be glorified, saith the Lord (Haggai i : 7. 8). And said unto me. Thou art my servant. O Lsrael, in whom I will be glorified (Tsaiah 40:3). Thy people also shall be all righteous: they shall inherit the land forever, the branch of my planting, the work of my hands, that I may be glorified (Isa. 60 :2i). Ye that fear the Lord, praise him; all ye, the seed of Jacob glorify him (Psa. 22 : 2^). I will deliver thee, and thou shalt glorify me (Psa. 50 : 15). Whoso offereth i)raise glorifieth me (Psa. 50 ; 23). All nations whom thou hast made shall come and worship before thee. O Lord ; and shall glorify thy name (Psa. 86 : 9). I will praise thee. O Lord my God. with all my heart; and I will glorify thy name for evermore (Psa. 86 : 12). Therefore shall the strong people glorify thee (Lsa. 25 : 3) ... for the Holy One of Israel, for He hath glorified thee (Isa. 55 : 5) . . . and to the Holy One of Israel, because He hath glorified thee (Isa. 60:9). And in the New Testament Scriptures the glorifying of God occupies as prominent a place as in the Old, as we see by the following passages : (jobs ITRI'OSK l.\ ( Ul'ATtoN* 177 Let your fight so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven (Matt. 5 : j6>. And they gh)rified the God of Israel (Matt. 15:31). They were all amazed, and glorified God (Mark 2: 12). And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God (Luke 2 : 20). And He taught in their synagogues, being glorified of all (Luke 4 : 15). And they were all amazed, and they glorified God (Luke 5 : 26). And they glorified God, saying that a great prophet is risen up (Luke 7 : 16). And immediately she was made straight, and glorified God (Luke 13 : 13). And one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back and with a loud voice glorified God (Luke 17 : 15). And Jesus said unto him. Receive thy sight; thy faith hath saved thee; and immediately he received his sight, and followed him, glorifying God; and all the people when they saw it gave praise unto God (Luke 18 : 42, 43). Father, glorify thy name. Then came a voice from heaven, saying, I have both glorified it, and will glorify it again (John 12 : 28). Jesus said, Now is the Son of man glorified, and God is glorified in him (John 13 : 31). And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son (John 14 : 13). Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit (John 15 : 8). And all mine are thine; and thine are mme; and I am glorified in them (John 17 : 10). This spake he, signifying by what death he should glorify God (John 21 : 19). The God of Abraham . . , hath glorified his Son Jesus (Acts 3 : 13). TT 'w:-- 178 TIIK RIDDLE OF liXISTKNCR S()K\'F<:D. ^ )'i i; P'or all men glorified God ior that which was done. For the man was abcjve forty years old on whom this miracle of healing was shewed (Acts 4 :2i). When they heard these things they held their peace and glorified God, saying, Then hath God also to the Gentiles granted repentance unto life (Acts 11 : 18). And when they heard it they glorified the Lord (Acts 21 : 20). Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God. neither were thankful, but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was dark- ened; professing themselves to be wise, they became fools (Rom. I : 21, 22). That ye may, with one mind and one mouth, glorify God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Where- fore receive ye one another as Christ also received us to the glory of God (Rom. 15 : 6- 7)- That the Gentiles may glorify God for his mercy (Rom. 15 : 10). For ye are bought with a price; therefore glorify God in your body (i Cor. 6 : 20). They glorify God for your professed subjection to the Gospel of Christ (2 Cor. 9 : 13). And they glorified God in me (Gal. i : 24). So also Christ glorified not Himself (Heb. 5 : 5). They may by your good works, which they shall behold, glorify God in the day of visitation (i Peter 2 : 12). That God in all things may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom be praise and dominion for ever and ever (i Peter 4 : 11). On their part he is evil spoken of, but on your part he is glorified (i Peter 4 : 14). Yet if any man suffer as a Christian, let him not be ashamed; but let him glorify God on this behalf (i Peter 4 : 16). .And they sing the song of Moses, the servant of God. and the song A the Lamb, saying. Great and marvellous are thy works. Lord God Almighty; just and true are ClOl) S I'URl'OSK IX CREATION. 179 thy ways, thou King of saints. Who shall not fear thee, O Lord, and glorify thy name ? for thou only art holy (Rev. IS :3, 4)- It is instructive to read over these Scriptures, and mark in what a variety of ways men may glorify God. This is the purpose for which they were created; for this they are allowed to exist on this earth and have been endowed with faculties, which, if rightly used, will enable them to glorify their Creator in their lives, liere and now. But if, through pride and self-will, they refuse to obey Him, or believe His Word, they are condL'mned already, and He will be glorified in the execution of the righteous sentence of His broken laws. '" The soul that sinneth, it shall die." Not the mere natural death of the body; but the second death in the lake of fire, into which are to be cast all whose names are not written in the Book of Life, including the fearful, and unbelieving, the abomin- able, and murderers, and whore mongers and sorcerers, and all liars (Rev. 21 : 8). Only one man, as has been already remarked, could ever look back upon His whole life here and truthfully say, " I have glorified Thee on the earth.'' But all the redeemed, both in the Old and New Testament dispen- sations, have in some measure glorified God. if it was in nothing else than believing His Word, and accepting the full salvation purchased for them by the atoning sacrifice of the Lord Jesus Christ, and pressed ui)on their acceptance as a free gift. Only such have life in the proper sense of the word. All others only exist, and that they will continue to exist in a state of hopeless misery after the death of the body is plainly taught in the Word of God. Gcncfol Isfnorance About the Nature of Sin. In the light of God's re(|uirements from man as the Creator it is astonishing what ignorance generally pre- vails as to the nature of sin. in the sight of a just and holy God, who knows the secret motives that prompt lo 1 '. ri 3, If 180 Till-: RIDDLE OI- i:.\ISTKXCE SOLVKl). every action. For the preservation of order in society it is necessary that severe penaUies should follow the commission of certain crimes; hut we have no right to assume that the sins which are most severely punished by men are more heinous in the sight of God than those which are not punished by men at all. The fearful, and unbelieving, and all liars, are to be cast into the same lake of fire with murderers, whoremongers, sorcerers. and idolators (Rev. 21 :8). As a matter of fact, the greatest sins of which any human being can be guilty are those which most directly afifect the character and person of God Himself. And thus it is a most heinous sin to make Him a liar by duubting His Word, and rejecting His Son and that salvation which He has pur- chaser! by the shedding of His precious blood. It is quite possible for a man to be a respectable member of society, intellectual, refined, genial, and benevolent, and at the same time to be a bitter enemy of God, as He has revealed Himself in the written Word and in the person of His incarnate Son; and to be guilty of idola- try, in making a god for himself after the imagination of his own heart, which he professes to worship. It will be apparent to any one who carefully searches the Scrip- tures that unbelief of His Word, rebellion, and idolatry are the sins which God has always most strongly con- denmed and most severely punished. Men are not going to be dealt with hereafter so much according to the way in which they have treated their fellow-creatures as according to the way in which they have acted towards their Creator, to whose long suffering they are indebted for continued existence. They may point with a sneer to the sins of David, which God severely punished and David bitterly repented of; but they omit to notice how loyal he wais to God throughout his whole life, how he reverenced the Word of God, and wrote those inspired Psalms which have been used since his days in spiritual worship; and, above all things, how he looked forward in simple faith to the coming of the promised Messiah, and was, therefore, a man after God's heart, m GODS PUKl'OSK IX CREATION. i8r notwithstanding the sins into which he had fallen, and for which he had been punished. The Lord Jesus Christ declared that the first and great coniniandinent is. " Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind." If this has not been done always, those wlio fail are law-breakers. Future obedience can never atfjne for past transgression. The law of God is in- exorable. It is not a (|uestion of how much has a man sinned, but has he sinned at all. As we read in Rom. 3 : 19, " Now we know that what things soever the law saith, it saith to them who are under the law; that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God." And again in Rom. 3 : 22, 2$ "For there is no difference: for all have sinned and come short of the glory of God"; and we read also in the same chapter, "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 dceth good, no, not one." To come short of the glory of God is as much sin before Him as to commit murder, and unless all sin is put away it is impossible for any one upon whom it rests to ever enter heaven. Ise( Insidious Questions and Remarks About the Son of God. The inisidious character of Professor Goldwin Smith's remarks is nowhere more plainly seen than in the fol- lowing extract from page 180: *' Did Jesus regard Him- self or allow Himself to be regarded as God ? Uni- tarians quote strong texts to the contrary. The T-'ni- tarians get their texts chiefly from the fourth Gospel, which is manifestly imbued with the peculiar views of its writer and his circle. In fact, it may be said to be one note of the comparatively late composition of that Gospel that time must have elapsed sufhciemt for the Teacher of Galilee to become, first Divine, and then the mm'' 182 TIN-: KIDDF.K OK KXISTKXCK SOLNKO. r ,1 -i I ! Sccr)n{l person of tlie Trinity, and the Alexandrian i.oKos. It seems unlikely that, even in those days of theosophic reverie, the author of the sayings and the parables should ever have been led by spiritual exalta- tion to form and promulgate such a conception of Himself." A sufficient answer has already been given in Chapter IV. to a similar (juestion asking if Jesus re- garded Himself or allowed His followers to designate Him, as the Messiah. It is niuieccssary to repeat what has !)<• 1 already said in answer to that question any further than to say that the learned Professor is per- fvctly well aware that Jesus did constantly declare Him- self to be the Son of God, and that the (|uestion is only put for the purpose of raising doubt in the minds of otliers. But not only was He regarded as the Son of God, but He is spoken of as God by the Ajjostle Paul in the following passages: " Whose are the fathers, and of wdiom. as concerning the tiesh. Christ came, who is over all. God blessed for ever" (Rom. 9 .-5). " Looking for that blessed hoi)e and the glorious a])pearing of the great God and our Saviour. Jesus Christ " (Titus 2 : i.S)- The Jewish nation rejected the prophets of Jehovah, but their crowning sin was the rejection of the Son of God, who, by His life and teaching, and by the miracles of mercy which He wrought, gave ample proof that He was what He claimed to be. their promised Messiah, the Son of God. come down from heaven. For their rejection of Him they have been scattered throughout all other nations, and their land has been a desolation for many centuries. There is less excuse for Gentile heathens now, in so-called Christian countries, who have the Bible in their hands and see the results of Christian character and teachings. A terrible responsibility rests upon those, with so much light and privilege, who deliberately reject the Son of God, and treat His ofTers of mercy with contempt. This is a thousandfold worse than David's sin, and God will not hold him guiltless who spurns His offered grace. r.ODS I'l'KF^OSK IN' CREATION'. 183 Professor Smithes Ideas of Spiritual Life. Oil page 5 Professor Goldwin Smith says: " What wo call Spiritual Life seems, in fact, to be the cultiva- tion of character, carried on under religious influence by a sort of inner self." This is certainly a strange definition of spiritual life to be given by one who says in another i)lacc: " Science (Darwinian and general) has put an end to the traditional belief in the soul as being separate from the body." What, then is the sort of inner self to which he refers ? There is notiiing more perplexing to unconverted men than the idea of receiving an entirely new life, direct from God. which is just as real as that with which they came into the world at their natural birth. And yot this is the truth taught in the Word, and enjoyed in the experience of every true Christian. llhree times over Jesus impressed upon Nicodemus the necessity of the new birth as follows: " Verily, verily. I say unto thee, H.xcept a man be born again he cannot see the kingdom of God. Nicodemus said unto ?Iim, How can a man be born when he is old ? Can he enter the second time into his mother's womb and be born ? Jesus answered. Verily, vorily I say unto thee. Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Marvel not that I said unto thee. Ye must be born again " (John 3 : .3-7). That the water here referred to has no reference to baptism is evident from the following Scriptures : Eph. 5 : 25. 26. tfusbands, love your wives even as Christ also loved the Church, and gave Himself for it; that He might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the Word. James i : 17, 18. Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness neither shadow of turning. Of his own will begat He us with the Word of truth, that we should be a kind of first fruits of His creatures. I If mv ^m i I I I i<^4 THK UIDDI.K OK KXISTK.VCK SOLVKD. i I Ml i :i! ;•' I IVtcr I : J.v Being Dorn again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the Word of God, vhich livcth and abideth for ever. By these passages the necessity of the Word of God for the reception of spiritual life is plainly seen. The Word of God, applied by the Spirit of God to the hearts of men dead in trespasses and sins, is the only means whereby spiritual life can be received. A terrible re- sponsibility rests, therefore, upon any man who attempts to shake the faith of others in that Word, without which he cannot receive spiritual life. It is bad enough for a man to lose his own soul, but it is far worse to be the means of dragging others down with him to a lost eternity. Cultivation of character will do no good where a new nature is reciuircd; and before any man receives that he must see his own lost and helpless condition, and then come to God in His o'wn way as directed in His Word. The idea that unconverted men generally have about there being some germ of goodness about them- selves, or some " natural morality," that only needs to be developed is a sham and a delusion, wholly opposed to the teaching of the Word of God and the experience of all Christians before regeneration. " Cultivation under religious influences " will never make a man a Christian; for the Lord Jesus Christ said, "That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Marvel not that I said unto thee. Ye must be born again." In the first chapter of Romans we read, " For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all un- godliness and unrighteousness of men . . . Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened; professing themselves to be wise they became fools, and changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man . . . and even as thej"^ did not like to retain God in their knowledge God gave them over to a reprobate mind," etc. This is man's r.ons I'UKi'osK in ckkation. 185 natural cDiidition and without a new nature, it is impos- sible for him to glorify God, and thus fulfil the purpose of his creation. Voin Speculations About the Origfin of Evil. There has been much useless speculation about the origin of evil in the universe of God, and men .' no wiser now than when they first began to sipeculate ubout it. This is one of the " secret things belonging to the Lord." which we have no right to pry into, as .t vs only " the things which are revealed which belong to Us." All we know is that it does exist, and that the human race is subject to its power. We have reason to believe that man in a state of innocence as he came from the hand of God was the noblest creature that God had ever formed, because he was made in the very image and likeness of God Himself, and all other earthly creatures were sub- ject to his will. If sin had not come in we know not how soon that wonderful intellect with which he was endowed might have mastered the knowledge of all the sciences and arts that are known at the present day. But this was not the purpose of his creation, and it might have served rather to glorify the creature than the Crea- tor. What God required for His own glory were im- plicit faith and perfect obediiice. Now look at the nature of the temptation presented by Satan in the form of the serpent, which led to the fall of Adam and Eve. He first suggested a doubt, then he boldly denied that what God said was true, and then he promised that they would be as gods, knowing good and evil. The great temptation after doubt and unbelief had taken roo't in the heart was to know more than God had chosen to reveal; and so, while the woman saw that the tree was good for food and pleasant to the eye, she concluded it was to be desired to make one wise, and with this desire for forbidden wisdom they disobeyed God and fell from their high estate. Hitherto they had only known that which was good; henceforth they knew both good and v,vil, Theii" increase of knowledge had cost 'm ^;; /A # '/ IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) 1.0 I.I y^|28 12.5 ■ 50 l"^" IffiflHi ■^ 1^ ill 2.2 S m '""^ ^ 1^ 12.0 1.8 11.25 i 1.4 i 1.6 V. m \ // / <;. ^^ /- f/. ■ I if! 1 86 THK KIDDLE OF EXISTKXCIC SOLVED. tlicni dearly. The life received from God was forfeited, although they continued to exist. Their posterity in- herited their fallen nature; and God tried fallen man under the new conditions of his being, with the sad con- sequences of Adam's unbelief and disobedience before them, and the promise of redemption by the seed of the woman, who was to bruise the serpent's head, but very few walked with God as Enoch did for three hundred years, and who then ascended to heaven without dyin^ when Noah's father was 113 years of age. Under these conditions man proved a failure, for by the time that Noah was five hundred years old he was the only man upon earth that walked with God, and all the rest had corrupted themselves, although many of them were mighty men which were of old, men of renown. All mankind except Noah and his family having been swept away by the flood, men were left to themselves again, with the warning of the Deluge and the knowledge of the altar of sacrifice and its meaning, but they soon departed from the way of righteousness again, and, instead of repenting of their sins, only sought to escape their consequences in case of a second Deluge. Again, under these new conditions, man with his free will proved a failure as before. Then God selected one man and his descendants, and entered into a covenant of grace with him. "Abraham believed God, and his faith was counted unto him for righteousness," and he knew the meaning of the altar and its sacrifice, and. God treated him as a friend and gave him repeate'd promises of bless- ing, that was to come through his seed, upon all nations. Four hundred and thirty years after the covenant of grace made with Abraham, the Israelites, his descendants, were delivered from bondage in Egypt, and the law was given by God through Moses, which the whole nation promised to obey; and ceremonial worship was estab- lished, with sacrifices, all of which were typical of the One great sacrifice, which was to take away the sin of the world. Established as a theocratic nation, most highly favoured, with God Himself dwelling in their tlODS ITKI-OSK I.\ CUICATIOX. 187 midst, in the most holy ])lace. first in tlie tabernacle, and afterwards in the temjjle at Jernsalem. they were continually sinning and rebelling against Hini. and receiving His judgments on account of their sins. Under these conditions again, with all the privileges that they enjoyed, the Jewish nation proved a failure, just as the human race had been a failure under all circumstances since the Fall of Adam. In no way that he had been tried had man glorified God, and thus ful- filled the purpose of his creation. His utter incapacity to do that which is right, whether without law or under law. had been plainly made manifest. Essentially cor- rupt by nature, and beyond all hope of improvement, nothing remained for him but the execution of God's righteous judgment against him as a sinner. " There is none righteous; no. not one"; "There is none that doeth good; no, not one." "That every mouth may be stopped, and all the world become guilty before God"; " for there is no difference: for all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God." This is the verdict of the Word of God, and doubtless also of all created unfallen beings, who are aware of the various conditions under which this wonderful creature CjU'Hi) has been tried, who was originally made in the very image of God, and destined for His glory. I Riddle of Existence Solved by the Word of God* This is the solution of the Riddle of Existence so far as man is concerned. The same temptations that led Adam and Eve astray are still all-powerful in preventing men from being reconciled to God. The lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes and the pride of life are always alluring; but — above all things in this age of intellectual progress and scientific research, the desire to be wise, or to be thought wise, arc hindering proud men from taking the place of little children before God. without which they cannot possibly enter His kingdom. So ' h -TyTp- ;: ^hv i?' 188 TilK. RIDDIJi OF KXTSTKXCF. SOLVED. l(jiig as men are without Christ they are without life. Tliey only exist, and there is no bright future before them, the reflection of which so often lights up the most squalid scenes of poverty and the pallid features of the dying saint; no hope beyond the grave; only an empty void, to which they are looking forward, and insanely trying to drag others with them, as if they thought there would be some comfort in having companionship on such a dark and dreary road. Why should men guess at the Riddle of Existence when God has so clearly revealed its solution ? Why waste time in considering what a few frail mortals like ourselves think about evolution when God's Word plainly declares to us how the first progenitors of the human race were created, and when the truth of the Word of God has been confirmed by the Son of God, who has died, and risen, and ascended into heaven, and is soon coming again. Let men stop guessing and believe the solution that Divine revelation has given. Only thus can they obtain correct information and satis- factory results regarding the great problems of creation and human existence. t .11! ' CHAPTER VL GOD'S PURPOSE IN REDEMPTION. ^^ /^"y oD OD so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that wrhosoever believeth in ini should not perish, but have everlasting life " (John 3 : 16). These are the words of Jesus Himself, whom Professor Goldwin Smith calls "the gteat Teacher of humanity," as He explained to the Jewish ruler, Nicodemus, how the new birth was to be obtained. They proclaim a salvation provided for the whole world, to be received in the way which God has appointed. Man's Utter Ruin by the Foil. In the previous chapter we have seen how incurably corrupt man is by nature, and how faithless and dis- obedient he has always been, under all circumstances, in which he, as a highly endowed creature, with a free will, has been tried. There was only failure as the result of every trial. " Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God. neither were thankful; but became vain in their imagination, and their foolish heart was darkened: professing themselves to be wise, they became fools . . . who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed for ever " (Rom. 1:21-25). "All had sinned and come short of His glory." "Angels which kept not their first estate . . . are kept in everlasting chains, under darkness, unto the judgment of the great day." Man is not by any means the first creature that has fallen from the condition of holiness in which he was created. But so far as we are informed, nothing but the righteous judgment of an infinitely holy vrj'r- if' f 190 rill-: Ki 1)1)1, K OF i:xisTi<:\ci<: sotakd. God awaited any who sitincd against Him until the Fall of man gave the opportunity for such a display of love and grace as the universe had never before witnessed. For four thousand years God had patiently borne with men's selfish ingratitude and open rebellion. Only a few out of the great mass of humanity looked by faith, through the tyi)es, to the great Antitype, who was to hear away sin by the sacrifice of Himself. Advent and Rejection of the Messiah and His Victory Over Satan. The Jewish nation had been looking for the advent of their long-promised Messiah of the seed of Abraham of the tribe of Judah, and of the house of David, to raise them as a people to the pinnacle of earthly greatness, and to reign gloriously at Jerusalem, as had been pre- dicted by the prophets. If He had come as they expected, they would doubtless have gladly hailed Him as their deliverer from the Roman yoke, and been willing to lay down their lives in His service. But they did not under- stand the purpose of God, who foresaw all their rebel- lion and rejection of His Son, and who purposed that through His bearing away the sin of the world salvation should be provided which was co-extensive with the race; and that not only the Jewish people, but all other nations throughout the earth, should thus share in the benefits of His atoning sacrifice. So " when the fulness of time was came, God sent forth His Son, made of a woman, made under the law. to redeem them that were imder the law. that we might receive the adop- tion of sons " (Gal. 4:4. 5). Men through sin had come under bondage to Satan, and the Lord Jesus Christ came into the world to conquer and destroy this enemy of God and of all righteousness. He defeated him in the temptation in the wilderness, using no other weapon than the Sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God, to repel all his attacks; but His crowning victory over this great adversary was by His death and resurrection, GODS JTKI'OSH IX RKDKMITTON. TOl when as a man who was " tempted in all points like as wc are, yet without sin " (Heb. 4 : 15), He went to the cross and died for sins that were not His own, and rose triumphantly from the dead on the third day thus show- ing that His sacrifice had been accepted, and that the justice of God was satisfied by that one Sacrifice of infinite value. Thus was the power of Satan broken, and the fatal wound given that will yet end in his complete overthrow, and confinement in the lake of fire, prepared for the devil and his angels (Matt. 25:41). In Heb. 2 : 14, 15 we read, " Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of fiesh and blood he also himself likewise took part of the same; that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the ■devil; and deliver them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage." Deliverance by His Death From the Curse of the Law. The Israelites as a nation had v(jluntarily placed themselves under the law given by God through His servant, Moseg. when they said, "All that the Lord hath spoken we will do," and, having broken the law, they came under the curses pronounced against law-breakers, as we read in Gal. 3 : 10-13. " For as many as are of the works of the law. are under the curse: for it is written. Cursed is every one that continueth not in all things which are written in the book of the law to do them. But that no man is justified by the law in the sight of God, it is evident; for the just shall live by faith. . . . Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law. being made a curse for us: for it is written. Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree " (Gal. 3 : 10-13). The substitutionary character of the death of Christ is here very clearly expressed. The law of God. which is holy and just and good, can never save any one because it rcciuires a perfect obedience, and in default of this the curse is entailed upon the sinner, which can only TJW' r I' ■ \; I ':[!. . Ill 192 iiii-: RiDDiJ-: oi' i':.\isTi<:.\(K soia'Kd. be removed by payment of the full penalty. By full payment of this penalty when He was made a curse for us the Lord Jesus Christ purchased by His death upon the cross redemption for all who will receive it through faith in Him, and thus obtain deliverance from the curse which was resting upon them. Deliverance From the Power of Sin. Another sense in which redemption is spoken of in the Word of God is that referred to in Titus 2 : 13, 14, " Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious ap- pearing of the great God, and our Saviour Jesus Christ; who gave Himself for us that He might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto Himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works." This corresponds with the statement made by the angel to Joseph when announc- ing the conception of Jesus by the power of the Holy Spirit: "Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary, thy wife; for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost. And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shaft call his name Jesus, for he shall save his people from their sins." The Cost of Redemption* The price paid for the redemption of fallen men is very clearly stated in Scripture, as will be seen from the following passages: " In whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace" (Eph. i : 7), "Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath, trans- lated us into the kingdom of His dear Son; in whom we have redemption through His blood, even the for- giveness of sins; who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature; for by Him were all things created that are in heaven and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or do- minions, or principalities, or powers; all things were created by him and for him; and he is before all things, and by him all things consist" (Col. 1:13-17). And GODS riJKPOSli: IX KKDKMI'TIOX, ^93 again. " Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not re- deemed vvitli corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation, received by tradition from your fathers; but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish, and without spot . . . being l)orn again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the Word of God, which liveth and abideth forever " (i Peter i : 18-22). And again in Rev, 5:9. 10 there is that wonderful picture of the redeemed after they have been caught up to heaven, surrounding the " Lamb, as it had been slain," who is also spoken of as the " Lion of the tribe of Judah," and " the Root of David." "And they sing a new song, saying. Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof; for thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood, out of every kindred and tongue and people and nation, and hast made us unto our God kings and priests; and we shall reign on the earth." It is thus evident from the teaching of the Word ot God that the redemption by Christ delivers from bond- age to the devil, from the curse of a broken law, and from the dominion of sin; and also that the price paid in redemption was the precious blood of Christ, or, in other words, the life of Christ, laid down on behalf of siimers who were condemned to die, not only the natural death of the body, which is common to all, but the second death in the lake of fire, with the devil and his angels (Matt. 25 141, 46). That the blood refers to the life is clear from the teaching in Lev. 17 : 11-14, " For the life of the flesh is in the blood: and I have given it to you upon the altar, to make an atonement for your souls; for it is the blood that maketh an atonement for your souls . . . for it is the life of all flesh; the blood of it is for the life thereof." Effect of Redem '-^n 1. a Mere Restoration of Adamic Perfection. The marvellous thing in connection with the work of redemption by the Lord Jesus Christ is this, that it does ^^nr I i KJ4 Till': UIDDMC OF ICXJSTENCT': SOLVED. not merely restore man to a position of Adaniic ri^l't- eousness and innocence, such as our first parents had before the Fall. That \v(nild be a great deal, but there would still be the liability to fall again. But redemp- tion provides something infinitely higher and better, for under its jirovisions the sinner who receives Jesus as his Saviour is reckoned by God as having died on the cross in the person of Christ as his substitute, and as having become a mend)er of the new creation, of which the l-ord Jesus Christ is now th.e head: being made partaker of His resurrection life, and having a new nature, with new desires and new imi)ulses, which leads him to hate the things he formerly loved, and to love the things he formerly hated. And even as, in the natural body, the head directs all the members when in a healthy condition, so in this new creation, of which the Lord Jesus Christ, as the second .Adam, is the head, all the members, if in a right condition, will be subject to Him in all things. God reckons them all as having not only died, in the person of their Substitute, upon the cross; but also as having been quickened together with Him, and raised together with Him, when He rose from the dead, and made to sit together with Him even now in heavenly places (Eph. 2:5. 6); and they are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation, ready to be revealed in the last time (i Peter 1:5); that is, when Jesus comes again for them, and they receive their glori- fied bodies. Because in the person of their Substitute they have paid the full penalty demanded by the law on account of sin. they are now free from all imputation of sin through the first Adam, and receive the forgive- ness of sins, and they are justified from all things, from which they could not be justified by the law of Moses (Acts 13 : 38. 39). And as those who are justified from all things they stand before God as free from all imputa- tion of sin as the Lord Jesus Christ Himself; for "as He is, so arc they in this world" (t John 4 : 17): "and they arc complete in Him who is the head of all prin- cipality and power" (Col, 2 : 10). But not c y are they GODS I'lRl'OSK IX UKDKMITTON. 1(;5 justified in the person of the Lord Jesus Christ; they are also sanctified iti liiin (i Cor. i : 2), and "by tlie will of God they have been sanctified by the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all" (lleb. 10:10); and by that one offering of Himself as a sacrifice for sin He " has perfected forever them that are sanctified " (Ileb. 10 : 14). Thus, as to their standing before God in Christ, they are just as He is. complete in Him. justi- fied, sanctified, and perfected forever, and so fitted and privileged to enter with boldness into the very presence of God, and worshij) Him in spirit and in truth (Hcb. 10 : 19). And the assurance is given unto tlum ip the Word of God that there is no condenmation to those that arc in Christ Jesus (Rom. 8:1), and that nothing will be able to separate them from tiie love of God. which is in Christ Jesus our Lord (Rom. 8: .^8, 39). And also that their life is hid with Christ in God (Col. 3 : .0. and, therefore, eternally secure. God's Desire for Communion with Men. This is a wonderful position for redeemed men to be placed in, but it is not all. When God created man for His own glory, in His own image and likeness, it seemed as if His heart was set upon having a race of beings with whom He could have more intimate fellowship than He ever had with any other created intelligencies; and thus, after man sinned, and justice required that he should be banished from Eden, and earn his bread by the sweat of his brow; and after the Flood had come and swept away the whole race for their sins, except Noah and his family, it seemed as if Jehovah was still longing to find in some of Adam's descendants a fev*- in whom he could confide, and to whom He could reveal more of His character and purposes. God talked with Moses " as a man talketh with his friend." and Abraham was called " the friend of God." The tabernacle was built, and God's presence was manifested there by the Shekinah fire between the cherubim, over the mercy- seat, and in this way He dwelt in the midst of His rrr !(/) IIIK KIDDI.K ()|- KXISTHXCI-: SOTA'KD. M i t it ', r ! cliosfii people, hi tlu' saiiu- niaiiner also lie dwell in the temple which Solomon built at Jerusalem. In the tabernacle and in the temple lie received the worship of His people, but only the hijj;h priest was permitted to enter once a year into the holiest of all, where His own immediate presence was sij^nitied by the Shekinah tiame. Men were still kept at a distance, and G(h1 in His infinite love wanted to draw them nearer to Himself, and lift them into a hij^her place of blessing and privi- lege than any other created beings had yet reached. And this love that was n His heart towards the human race found expression the words of the Lord Jesus Christ with which this chapter opened: " God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life." Redeemed Men Forever Raised Above All Other Created Being:s. We have already seen something of the position into which redeemed men are brought, but there was a greater height to which God purposed raising men after the Atonement of Christ bad made expiation for sin; and this purpose was a mystery kept secret since the world began (Rom, i6 : 25; but it was at length revealed through His servant, Paul (Eph. 3:3-11). It was a re\ elation of som-^thing new, the making of a new man. composed of Jews and Gentiles, saved during this dis- pensation; Christ Himself being the head of this new crea- tion, already referred to. and each of the redeemed a mem- ber of His mystical body, indwelt by the same life as the head, and destined to be sharers of His glory. This is otherwise known as the Church (Eph. i : 22, 23), com- menced at Pentecost, when believers were baptized by the Holy Spirit into "one body " (i Cor. 12 : 13). The close and indissoluble character of this union is expressed by two other figures, one of which is that of a building, as follows: " Now, therefore, ye are no more stranger? (loDS I'lui'osi". i\ Ni:i)iv\ii'ri()\. '•)7 and forcigiKTs, hut fillou-citi/cns with tlic saints, .-ind of the honschuhl of (iod: .-ind arc biiiU upon the fonnda- tion of the apostles and prophets, Je>us Christ llinl^eU' being the chief corner stone; in whom all the building fitly framed together, groweth unto an holy temple in the Lord: in whom ye also are bnilded together for an habitation of God through the Spirit' ( I'-ph. J : ig-J_'). The other figure given to us of this union is that of the husband and wife, as follows: " Wives, submit your- selves unto your own husbands as unto the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the Church; and he is the Saviour of the body. Therefore, as the Church is subject unto Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in everything. Hus- bands, love your wives as Christ also loved the Church, and gave himself for it; that he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the Word, that he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish. . . . For no man ever yet hated his own flesh; but nourisheth and cher- isheth it, even as the Lord the Church; for we are members of his body, of his flesh, and of his bones . . . This is a great mystery: but I speak concerning Christ and the Church." (Fph. 5:22-32.) It is no wonder that the angels should desire to look into the revelation of such a wonderful mystery as this (i Peter i : 12); that men who had sinned and come short of God's glory should be "justified freely by His grace, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus " (Rom. 3 : 24), and raised to such a place of nearness to the Godhead and of such security as the nature of their union with Christ implies. This is the true "Ascent of Man." Equipment for Service while in the World. The Lord Jesus Christ had promised His disciples " the night in which He was betrayed, the very night before He died," that He would not leave them com- '< fif, M)H TIIK UIDDIJ-: ()|- l':.\IS'rK.\( K SOIAKD. r ;; J fdrtk'ss. He would sincl tlu'iii anotlier Comforter, that lie inig'lit abidf with them for ever; even the Spirit of truth; "whom." said he. "the worhl cannot receive, because it seeth Ilim not, neither knowetli Him, l)ut ye know Him. for lie dwelleth with you. and shall be in you" (John 14: 17). And He said to them also, "But the Comforter, who is the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name; he shall teach you all things, and brinj^ all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you" (John 14:26). And again He said: "But when the Comforter is come whom I will send frcjm the Father, the Spirit of truth which ])r(. eedeth from the Father, He shall testify of me" (John 15 : 26). And a little later He said: "Howbeit. when He. the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth; for he shall not speak from (k.\^) himself; but whatsoever he shall hear that shall hesi)eak: and he will show you things to come" (John 16:13). After His resurrection, when about to leave His disciples and ascend into heaven. He told them to wait for the promise of the Father, "which," said He. "ye have heard ( i me: for John truly baptized with water, but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost not many days hence. . . . But ye shall receive power after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you; and ye shall be witnesses unto me. both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea. and in Samaria, and u:ito the uttermost part of the earth" (y\cts r : 5. 8). The fulfillment of these promises took place on the day of Pentecost, as we read in the second chapter of Acts, "And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a rushing, mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting; and there ap- peared unto them cloven tongues, like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them; and they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance" (Acts 2:1-4). When this extraordinary occurrence was noised abroad, a mul- titude of Jews from every nation under heaven were GODS I'lkl'OSK I.V I-tKDKMI'TIOX. 199 drawn tf)^ether, and vvcrr confounded, l)ccause every man heard them sjjeak in his f)wii language. Peter then stood up with the other apostles, and he atUh'cssed the pe()i)le, charjjfing home upon them their KniH in the crucifixion of Christ: " Him hein^ delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of (iod ye have taken, "ud by wicked hands have crucified and slain ■' ' \cts 2 : 2^). And he concluded his acUlress witli tl jsv. )rds: "This Jesus hath (jod raised up, where(jf w all are witnesses. Theref(ire. being by the right han> )f God exalted, and having received of the l^'ather the ])romise of the Holy Ghost, he hath shed ff^rth this which ye now see and hear. I'^or David is not ascended into the heavens; but he saith himself. The Lord said unto my Lord. Sit thou on my right hand until I make thy foes thy footstof)l. Therefore, let all the house of Israel know assuredly that God hath made that same Jesus both Lord and Christ" (Acts 2 : 32-36). The Lord Jesus Christ Exalted as Head of the New Creation. As a conse(iuence. therefore, of the work of redemp- tion, which He completed. Jesus has been exalted to the right hand of God the Father, who has made Him both Lord and Christ; and those who arc really Christians now speak of Him as the Lf)rd Jesus Christ, and not simply as Jesus, the name by which He was known during the days of His humiliation or earth, although that name alone is very precious to them. In Acts S '■ 30-32 His exaltation is again spoken of by Peter, who said: "The God of our fathers raised uj) Jesus, whom ye slew and hanged on a tree. Him hath God exalted with his right hand to be a Prince and a Saviour, for to give repentance unto Israel, and forgiveness of sins; and we are witnesses of these things; and so is also the Holy Ghost, whom God hath given to them that obey Him." And the same truth is repeated by Paul in his letter to the Philippians, where he says: "Wherefore m 1 m 200 THI<: RIDDLIC i)l' KXISTiiNCK SOLVED. II: IIB 1 ii. God also hath highly exalted Him, and given Him a name which is above every name: that at the name of Jcsns every knee shonld bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things nnder the earth; and that every tongue shonld confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father." This is a literal fulfill- ment in the person of Jesus, as the glorified man, of that prediction in Isa. 45 : 21-23. which is made concerning God, thus giving another proof that the Lord Jesus Christ is God manifest in the flesh. "And there is no God else beside me: a just God and a Saviour; there is none else beside me. Look unto me and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth; for I am God, and there is none else. I have sworn by myself, the word is gone out of my mouth in righteousness, and shall not return, That unto me every knee shall bow and every tongue shall swear." Redeemed Sinners Exalted with Christ* This is the extraordinary height of glory to which the human race has been raised by virtue of the redemption work of the Lord Jesus Christ, who, as the seed of the woman, has 'bruised the serpent's head" (Gen. 3:15), anrl by His own death has destroyed " him that had the power of death; that is, the devM " (Heb. 2 : 14). But not only is He thus exalted Himself as the Head of the new creation. It is clearly revealed that all the redeemed from earth are also exalted, in the same manner, above all other created beings in the universe, and made sons of God, and heirs of God, through Christ, as we read in Gal. 4 : 4-7, " But when the fulness of time was come, God sent forth His Son. made of a woman, made under the law, to redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons. And because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of His Son into your hearts, crying. Abba, Father. Wherefore thou art no more a servant, but a 'Son; and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ." And the same truth is taught in Romans, where it is said, ** For as many as are led cons ITRI-OSI-: I\ KKDKMPTION. 20 I by the Spirit of God. they are the sons of God. For ye have not received the spirit ol bondage again to fear; but ye have received the spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, P^ather. Tlie Spirit liimself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God; and if children, tiien heirs; heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together" (Rom. 8:14-17). This is more amazing still, that sinners of Adam's race who had been created for God's glory and failed to glorify Him. should themselves be glorified together with Christ, and should also be made partakers of the Divine' nature, as it is expressly stated in 2 Peter i : 4. That the Lord Jesus Christ makes those whom He has redeemed sharers of His glory is pla.inly taught in Hebrews, where it is said, " What is man that thou art mindful of him ? or the son of man, that thou visitest him ? Thou madest him a little while inferior to the angels; thou crownedst him with glory and honour, and didst set him over the works of thy hands . . . But now we see not yet all things put under him. But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels, for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honour, that he by the grace of God should taste death for every man. For it became him, for whom are all things and by whom are all things, in bringing many sons unto glory to make the captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings. For both he that sanctifieth and they that are sanctified are all of one, for which cause he is not ashamed to call them brethren" (Heb. 2:6-11). We are also informed that, ''When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with him in glory" (Col. 3: ^). And all this is in answer to the prayer of the Lord Jesus Christ to the Father the night on which He was betrayed as follows: "And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them; that they may be one even as we are one: I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one; and that the world may know that thou hast sent me, and m iH ■),:\i Hi 202 TTIK KTnnLE OP RXTSTENCK SOLVED. hast loved them as thou hast K)vi.'cl inc. Father, I will that they als(j, whom thou hast ^iven me, be with me where I am; that they may beho'd my glory, which thou hast given me: for thou lovedst me before the founda- tion of the world" (John (7 : J2-24). Redeemed Men Left in the World as Witnesses for Christ. Now, it would almcjst seem as if the best thing that could happen to a man, who has been brought into such a position as we have been considering, would be to be taken at once to heaven, away from the temptations and trials of earth. Rut the Lord Jesus Christ prayed for them thus: " I have given them thy word, and the world hath hated them, because they are not of the world, even as I am no'; of the world. I pray not that thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that thou shouldest kecj) them from the evil one. They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth. As thou hast sent me into. the world, even so have I also sent them into the world " (John 17 : 14-18). It was not His purpose that they should be taken away to heaven at once, as He had work for them to do here, as He told them after His resur- rection: "These are the words which I spake unto you, while I was yet with you, that all things must be ful- filled, which were written in the law of Moses, and in the prophets, and in the Psalms, concerning me. Then opened He their understandings that they should under- stand the Scriptures, and said unto them. Thus it is written, and thus it behoved Christ to sufl^er, and to rise from the dead the third day: and that repentance and remission of sins should be i)reached among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. And ye are witnesses of these things. And behold, I send the promise of the Father upon you, but tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem, until ye be endued with power from on high " (Luke 24 : 44-49). And when He appeared to the eleven apostles r : GODS I'lRl'OSl-: l\ KKDKMl'TIOX. 203 in the mouiitaiii in Galilee, where He had appointed, we are told that " when they saw Him they worshipped Him. hut some douhted. And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying: "All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. Go ye. therefore, and teach all nations, baptizir r them in the name of the F'ather. and of the Son. and of the Holy Ghost; teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you; arid lo. 1 am with you alway. even unto the end of the world" (Matt. 28:16-20). And on another occasion, wlien they sat at meat. He appeared to the-m. and said: " Go ye into all the world and preach the Gospel to every creature. He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned" (Mark 16 : 14-16). And again, as we have already seen in this chapter, just before leaving them He said. " Ye shall receive the power of the Holy Ghost coming upon you; and ye sliall be witnesses unto me, both in Jeru- salem, and in all Judea. and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth. And when He had spoken these things while they beheld, he was taken up, and a cloud received him out of their sight" (Acts i : 8, 9). These are the commissions which the Lord Jesus Christ left for His disciples to execute as His witnesses, and this is the power with which they were to be en- dued for the performance of the work comiuitted to them. And what was true of those to whom He then spoke is equally applicable to all His redeemed people throughout this dispensation. There is reason for thank- fulness that in recent years the Church of God has become more fully awakened to its responsibility to exe- cute the trusts committed to it; and that many more consecrated missionaries have gone to preach the Gospel in heathen lands than at any other time since the days of the apostles. And yet there is cause for shame chat most of the denominational missions are financially in arrears; while there is but little difficulty in raising large sums of money for political purposes ; and the total amount spent upon missions in so-called Christian i^-1 204 Till-: KlJJDLIi OF EXISTEiNCE SOLVED. countries is only a trifle compared with what is spent yearly in li(|iior and tobacco. God could have commis- sioncil angels to preach the Gospel, but He has not chosen to do so. This work has been entrusted to those who have been themselves redeemed, and can testify as witnesses of the Lord Jesus Christ to what He has done for themselves, and can, therefore, do for others. And they are eciuipped for this service in the same manner that He was during His earthly ministry. For even as He, at His baptism in the Jordan, wuS filled with the Holy Spirit, and in the power of the Spirit exe- cuted all His work, so has He made the bodiei of all His redeemed people temples of the Holy Spirit (i Cor. 3 : 16 and 6 : 19), and commanded them to be filled with the Spirit (Eph. 5 : 18), and promised that the Father would give the Holy Spirit to them that ask Him (Luke II : 13). • Redeemed Men Privileged to Suffer with Christ. And there are certain great privileges allowed to the redeemed during the time they are left in this world as witnesses for Christ, foremost of which is that of suf- fering in fellowship with Him. When He was with His disciples He said to them: "Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I am not come to send peace, but a sword. For I am come to set a man at variance against his father, and the daughter against hf • mother, and the daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. and a man's foes shall be they of his own household. He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me. And he that taketh not his cross and followeth after me is not worthy of me" (Matt. 10:34-37). Popularity with the unconverted members of one's own household is generally bought at the expense of compromise with the world, in order to shun the cross, which unflinching loyalty to the Word of God entails. It is not, therefore, a bad sign if the ungodly members of a Christian's own family speak evil of him. After the Lord Jesus Christ n ^ GODS PIKI'OSK IN UEDEMITION. 205 had appeared to Saul of Tarsus on the way to Damascus the Lord spoke to Annanias in a vision, and coinmanded him to go and lay his hands upon him, so that h might receive his sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit. And He said to him at the same time: " I will show him how great things he must suffer for my name's sake "' (Acts 9 : 16). After the eleven apostles had been imprisoned for preaching the Word and healing in the name of Jesus they were set at liberty after being beaten, and com- manded not to speak in His name. "And they departed from the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for his name " (Acts 5 :4i). The secret of their rejoicing was that they were enabled to look away from their present sufferings to the glory that was in store for them as it is stated in Ro-m. 8 : 16-18, " The Spirit Himself beareth witness with our spirit that we are the children of God; and if children, tlien heirs — heirs of God, and joint heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him that we may be also glori- fied together, for I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that shall be revealed in us." But apart from the thought of reward in the coming glory there is a much higher motive for those who are called to fellowship with Christ in His sufferings, more especially when they are thus better fitted to minister to other members of the body of Christ. This is brought out fully in 2 Cor. I : s-7: " Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort; who comforteth us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God. For as the sufferings of Christ abound in us, so our consolation also aboundeth by Christ. And whether we be afflicted it is for your consolation and salvation, which is effect ml in the enduring of the same sufferings which we also suffer; or whether we be comforted, it is for your consolation and salva- tion, and our hope of you is steadfast, knowing 206 Till-: klDDLI-: OF EXISTENCE SOLVED. l\ I I that as yc arc partakers of the sufferings, so shall ye be also of the consolation." And if it is thus a great privi- lege to suffer for the sake of ministering blessing to other Christians, how niuch gre; ter must be the privilege of suffering directly for the sake of Christ Himself as stated in Phil, i : 29. 30. " For unto you it is given in the behalf of Christ; not only to believe on Him, but also to suffer for his sake ; having the same conflict which ye saw in me, and now hear to be in me." There is no kind of suffer." ;'<^ to which a Christian is exposed that is harder to l)ear than misrepresentation and slander from others who profess to be Christians. When motives are misjudged, and actions misconstrued, and the tongue of slander busy in trying to. blacken the private character of a man or the business in which he is en- gaged. When the basest ingratitude and the foulest calumny are experienced at the hands of those who should be the nearest and dearest friends, only those who have been tried in these ways know how hard it is to re- sist the natural feeling of indignation that is aroused, but cannot be indulged or expressed, because the sufferer is a Christian, and must bear patiently, but cannot help feel- ing keenly, even as the Lord Jesus Christ Himself felt the reproaches that were heaped upon Him, as we read in Psa.69 : 18-20, " Draw nigh unto my soul, and redeem it: deliver me, because of mine enemies.- Thou hast known my reproach, and my shame, and my dishonour: mine adversaries are all before thee. Reproach hath broken my heart, and I am full of heaviness (or sore sick); and I looked for some to take pity, but there was none; and for comforters, but I found none." For those who suffer thus the Word of God says: " For this is thankworthy, if a man for conscience towards God endure grief, suffering wrongfully. F"or what glory is it, if, when ye be buffeted for your faults, ye shall take it patiently ? but if. when ye do well, and suffer for it, ye take it patiently, this is acceptable with God. For even hereunto v -e ye called, because Christ also suffered for us. cod's IMKl'OSE IN KliDliM I'TK )X. 207 leaving us an example, tliat ye should follow his steps" (1 Peter 2. ly-.M) It is stated in Heb. 1 : 10 that the L(jr{l Jesus Christ was made perfect throu^jih sufTerings; and again in Heb. 5 ; H. g it is said, "Though he were a Son. yet learned he .ibedience by the things which he sutifered; and, being made perfect, he became the author of eternal salvation to them ,hat obey him." The perfection of His character was absolute, for he was always holy, harndess and sei)arate frtun sinners, and yet it is m - 'fest that even He re<|uire(l a special train- ing; through suffering to be able, as a man. fully to sympathize with those who might be tried in the same way. And. therefore, we read. " I'"or in that he hath suffered, being tempted, he is able to succour them that are tempted " (Pleb. 1 : 18). .\nd again. " For we have not an high priest which cannot 1 e touched with a feeling of our infirmities: but was in all points tempted like as we are. yet without sin. Let us. therefore, come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need " (Heb. 4 : 15. 16). And just as the Lord Jesus Christ Himself was made perfect through sufferings for His ministry on high as our Great High Priest; so it would seem as if it were His design that by the same means His redeemed pef)ple should be perfected for the ministry which they are called to engage in down here, as we read, " But the God of all grace, who hath called us unto His eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after that ye have suffered a while, nirke you perfect, stablish. strengthen, settle you " ( 1 Peter S : 10). Paul said, in writing to the Church at Colosse. " I Paul, who now rejoice in my sufferings for you. and fill up that which is behind of the afflictions of Christ. in my flesh for his body's sake, which is the Church " (Col. \ : 24). And again, in writing to the Church at Philip. .. he said: " I count all things but loss for the ex- cellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus, my Lord; for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung that I may win Christ, and be found in Him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of ^Vr i( ; 208 Till-: KIDDLK OF EXISTENCE SOLVED. the law, l)Ut that wliich is throuKli llif faith of Christ, the rifjjhti'ousncss wliich is of God by faith; that 1 may know him and the ixjwcr of his resurrection, and the fellow- ship of his snfferinjjjs, heinjj: made conformable unto his death" (Phil. .^ :8-io). Redeemed Men to be Separated from Sin. The redeemed are also left in the wf)rlid as witnesses for the Lord Jesus Christ in their daily lives by separa- tion from the ungodly like Him who v\ms " holy, harm- less, undefiled. and separate from sinners" (Heb. 6:26); and as they are commanded in 2 Cor. 6 : 14-18, " Be ye not unc(|ually yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness ? and what communi(jn hath light with darkness ? And what concord hath Christ with Belial ? or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel ? And what agree- ment hath the temple of God with idols ? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them and walk in them: and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. Wherefore, come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch no unclean thing; and I will receive you, and will be ;i Father unto you. and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty." And they are reminded that, as temples of God, they are indwelt by the Holy Spirit just as the Lord Jesus Christ Himself was; and warned against the conseciuences of defiling that temple as follows: " Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you ? If any man defile the temple of God him shall God destroy, for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are" (i Cor. 3 : 16, 17). And again. "What! know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost, which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own ? For ye are bought with a price; therefore glorify God in your body" (i Cor. 6 : 19, 20). And they are commanded to be holy in i Peter i: 15, 16 as follows: " But as he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy II (lOl) S I'l'RroSK l\ UKDKMI'TFOX. 209 in all niamicr of conversation; because it is written. Be ye holy, for I am holy." And a>?ain we read, "Abstain from all appearance of evil. And the very God of peace sanctify yon wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be i)reserved blameless unto the cominj.? of our Lord Jesus Christ. Faithful is he that calleth you, who also will do it" (i Thcss. 5 : 22-24). Thus we see that those who are redeemed are wit- nesses for the Lord Jesus Christ in preaching the Gospel and ministry of the Word, in suffering with and for Him, and in living holy, separated lives; and. in order that they may have power thus to witness for Him. the com- mand is given them to " be filled with the Spirit " (Eph. 5:18); and the Master Himself has also given the assurance: "If ye, then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask Him ? (Luke 11 : 13). And they are exhorted to "pre- sent their bodies as living sacrifices, holy, acceptable to God, which is their reasonable service, and not to be conformed to this world" (Rom. 12:1. 2). And are told to " reckon themselves dead, indeed, unto sin and alive unto God. through Jesus Christ, our Lord " (Rom. 6:11). There is, therefore, no doubt about the position which those redeemed by the precious blood of Christ should occupy in the world whilst left in it as His witnesses to continue the . inistry, and the sufTering, and the life in which He was Himself occupied whilst He was here. But those who die are said to fall asleep in Jesus, and to be " absent from the body, and present with the Lord; wherefore they labour that, whether present or absent, they may be accepted of Him" (2 Cor. 5:8, 9). And so Paul wrote to the Philippians: " For me. to live is Christ and to die is gain. . . . For I am in a strait betwixt two, having a desire to depart, and to be with Christ, which is far better; nevertheless to abide in the flesh is more needful for you " (Phil, i : 21-24). 210 TirK RTDDT.K OF KXTSTRXCR SOLVED. The Hope of the Redeemed* But Christians are not told to look for death, hecause the Lord Jesus Christ has told them that lie is coming again to take them to be with Himself where He is; and they are. therefore, told " to wait for the coming of his Son from heaven, whom he raised frcmi the dead, even Jesus, which delivered them from the wrath to cojiie " (i Thess. i : lo). And the manner of His coming is thus spoken of: " But I would not have you to he ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not. even as others, which have no hope, for if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so. them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him. for this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not go before them which are asleep. F^or the Lord Himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God; and the dead in Christ shall rise first, then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air; and so shall we ever be with the Lord. Where- fore comfort one another with these words" (i Thess. 4 : 13-18). This will be the fulfilment of the promise which Jesus gave to His disciples tlie night before He died on the cross: "Let not your heart be troubled; ye believe in God. believe also in me. In my Father's house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if 1 go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also " (John 14 : 1-3). i The Redeemed in Glory* As we have already seen in a former chapter, there is a wonderful picture in Rev. 4 and 5 of all the redeemed from earth in glory, represented by four and twenty elders, sitting, clothed in white raiment; with crowns mm CODS ITKI'OSI-: I\ UKDEMPTION. 211 1(1 ()• K<>1<1 oil their heads, round about the throne of God. And they " cast their crowns before the throne, saying, Thou art worthy. () Lord, to receive n^r.vy and honour and power: for thou hast created all thing;., and for thy l^leasure tliey are and were created" (Rov. 4:10, ll). And afterwards there was beheUl " in the midst of the throne, and of the four Hving creatures and in the midst of the ehlers a I.amb as it had been shiin. . . . Anil they sung a new song, saying. Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof; for thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood, out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation; and hast made us unto our God kings and priests; and we shall reign on the earth" (Rev. 5:6-10). And after- wards, we arc informed in the same chapter, that ten thousand times ten Hiousand angels, and thousands of thousands said. " W^ 'ly is the Lamb that was slain to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honour, and glory and blessing." And every creature which is in heaven, and on the earth and under the earth, and such as are in the sea, were heard saying, "Blessing, and honour, and glory, and power be unto him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb, for ever and ever" (Rev. 5:11-14). From the Scriptures that have been read it is evident that the redeemed from earth who have been raised and glorified with Christ, and made unto God ki; gs and priests, are coming back to reign on the earth after the Lord Jesus Christ estab- lishes His millennial kingdom. > The Whole Universe Interested in the Work of Redemption, Tt is also clear from Rev. 5 that the whole universe of God, wherever intelligent created beings exist, are intensely interest ' in the work of redemotion accom- plished on this earth. As to what benefits they receive from that work we are not informed; but it is possible that by destroying Satan the Lord Jesus Christ has I Iff'-' Nil \i< 212 THE RIDDLE OF EXISTENCE SOLVED. removed a disturbing element from other worlds, as well as from our own; and even if they art not directly made partakers of the benefits of the Atoning Sacrifice oflfered upon Calvary, they are so much interested that it calls forth adoring worship from their hearts to the Lamb that was slain. Professor Smith's Failure to Understand about Rewards of the Redeemed* Professor Goldwin Smith says, on page 104, that *' the doctrine of a future life with rewards and punish- ments pervades the New Testament, and is the sentiment of the Founder of Christianity." That is certainly cor- rect, and yet how far short that statement comes of setting forth the exceeding glory of the position to which the redeemed are raised in the universe of God by free grace alone; and not as a reward for any merits of theirs, as the Scriptures quoted in this chapter plainly show. If such a position could be earned by a lifetime of most arduous toil, it would surely be an object worthy of the loftiest ambition; and none would grudge the effort necessary to secure it. It seems to be des- pised just because men will not believe that the God of all grace would ofifer them such wonderful blessing on such easy terms. But the redeemed are not only glorified with Christ by free grace alone, but rewards are offered for faithful service. These are spoken of in i Cor. 3 : 13-15, *' Every man's work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man's work, of what sort it is. If any man's work abide which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward. If any man's work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss; but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire." There are also various crowns spoken of as rewards for service. See, for in- -stance, that referred to as a crown of rejoicing in i Thess. 2 : 19, " For what is our hope, or joy, or crown of rejoicing ? Are not even ye in the presence of our GOU S PURPOSE IX REDEMPTION. 213 Lord Jesus Christ at His coming ?" In 2 Tim. 4 : 8 Paul speaks thus of a crown of righteousness which he expects to receive, " Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the right- eous judge, will give me at that day; and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing." In James 1 : 12 we read about a crown of life as follows : " Blessed is the man that endureth temptation; for when he is tried he shall receive the crown of life which the Lord hath promised to them that love him." And in I Peter 5 : 4 we read that the elders are to receive from the chief Shepherd crowns of glory that will not fade away if they are faithful in their ofitice. These are doubt- less some of the crowns that are seen on the heads of the four and twenty elders in Rev. 4 : 10, and which they cast before the throne, saying, " Thou are worthy, () Lord, to receive glory, and honour, and power, for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created." Hi 111 lious in- less. lown our Human Philosophy and Its Conflicting: Theories. The following remarks by Professor Goldwin Smith, on page no, sound very strange after reading the Scrip- tures quoted in the early part of this chapter. He says: " The great thinkers of antiquity have the advantage (wdiile they lacked our modern science) of studying the problem of existence, with minds free from ecclesias- tical or theological prepossessions. Plato believed in a life of future rewards and punishments. But there is no trace of this belief in Aristotle, Epiditus and Marcus Aurelius; and in Seneca there is a vague intimation that death is a transition to a higher life." Now, it may be asked in reference to this paragraph. What did the great thinking of these ancient philosophers amount to after all ? They were only guessing, and did not agree amongst themselves, and when they got through they were as much in the dark as before! No amount of mmw^f^ HfHaA 214 THE RIDDLE Ol- EXISTENCE SOLVED. thinking can penetrate tlie veil that hides from the ken of mortals here, the mysteries of a future state of exist- ence; and if they choose to reject the revelation vviiich God has given in the written Word, and by the lips of the Son of God Himself when as " the great Teacher of humanity " He spake on earth, they cannot possibly obtain reliable inf(jrmation on this subject in any other way. Again, on page 125, he says: "' There is nothing that can warrant us in looking for immortality as the certain gift of unlimiteiration of its authors and an irrati(mal method of inter- preting its books"; and on page 10 he adds: "The only thing about it that ought to be discarded is an old- fashioned way of viewing and treating its literature." Professor Bonney. Canon of Manchester, in an ad- dress at Norwich, stated that: "The stories of the Flood and of the Tower of Babel are incredible in their present form. Some historical element may underlie many of the traditions in the first eleven chapters of that book, but this we cannot hope to recover." Regarding this assertion Professor Workman says, on page 2^: " This statement indicates rather a confused faith than an intel- ligent abandonment of faith," whatever he may mean by that. But Professor Goldwin Smith refers to the same statement iby Canon Bonney, who is another of the " liberal theologians." and points to its legitimate con- clusion as follows: " With the historical character of the chapters relating ito the Creation Canon Bonney must resign his belief in the Fall of Adam; with his belief in the Fall of Adam he must surrender the doctrine of the Atonement, as connected with that event, and thus relieve conscience of the strain put upon it in struggling to reconcile vicarious punishment with our sense of jus- tice. He will also have to lay aside his belief in the Serpent of the Temptation, and in the primeval per- sonality of evil." To which Professor Workman, on page 24. makes the following extraordinary reply: "Pro- fessor Smith is too profound a student, general as well as special, not to know that the account of the Fall in Genesis, ivhich ivas once explained by theologians as literal history, is nozv explained by Christian scholars as religions allegory — an allegory, like a parable, being a form of nar- rylive employed by the sacred writers to inculcate i ■ 1 1.. iisi i' Mil 250 THE KIDDLK OF EXISTENCE SOLVED. I f iv :i; spiritual truth. The second and third chapters of tlie book were constructed out of traditional materials, which are not only of Babylonian origin (see Appendix A), but are stamped with a Babylonian impress, as Professor Sayce, the eminent archaeologist, has shown. Hence, in' primitive times, no doubt, some features of the story were regarded as literal facts, which at the present time are not so regarded." On page 25 he says: " Inasmuch as the doctrine oi a personal devil does not belong to Mosaism. and does not appear in the Old Testament before the time of the Exile, the best interpreters of Genesis do not hold that the story of the Fall teaches the primeval pers(Miality of Evil.'' This statement is absolutely untrue, as a per- sonal devil is spoken of in the Book of Job, the oldest book in the Bible, generally believed to have been vvriten by Moses while among the Midianites, although infidel critics try to make it appear that it was written during the Captivity, without producing any reasonable proof for such a theory. That such a person as Job really lived is proved by Rzek. 14 : 14-20, and James 5:11, and the book may have been written by himself. On page 26 Professor Workman says: " While Paul uses the familiar form of Genesis in introducing the doc- trine of Atonement, and, in that sense, connects it with the Fall of Adam, the apostle really connects the doctrine with the entrance of sin as a moral fact into human nature. Consequenitly, we are not required by anything in the Bible to reconcile vicarious punishment with our sense of justice, because the Ne^v Testament uriters nozvhere represent our Heavenly Father as punishing Christ for the sins of men. They simply represent our Lord as in loving obedience to the will of His Father effecting the reconcilation of man to God." But the Lord Jesus Christ said plainly to those who claimed God as their Father and at the same time perverted His words: "Why do ye not understand my speech? .... ye are of your father, the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He w^s a murderer from the begin- AIM'KN'DIX P.. 251 iiiiiK, and alxxk' not in the trntli. because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh .'i lie. he s|)eaketh ot liis own. for he is a liar, and the father of it . . . lie that is of (iod heareth God's words; ye. tlierefore. hear them not, because ye are not of (iod." No matter what critics and " liberal theologians " might think, it is (|uite certain that the Lord Jesus Christ believed and tauj^ht that there is a real, personal devil; and that thos' who would not believe God's words had no rijjjht to claim Him as their Father. On pajj^e 27 he says that " Bishop Butler speaks of the sacrifice of Christ as a vicarious i)UJiishment. but lie employs tlie words, not in the scjise of an inflictive peiialty. exacted or imposed by God. but in the sense of a providential appointment of every day's experience. In the daily course of natural providence, he says, it is appointed that innocent i)eopIe should suffer for (on account of) the faults of the guilty. He further says that, as one person's sufferings contribute to the relief oi another, so the sufferings of Christ could contribute to the redemption of the world." And then Professor Work- man goes on to say: "Vicarious punishment, however, is an ambiguous, as well as an unscriptural. expression, which should never be applied to the redemptive work of Christ." In direct opposition to all which fine-spun theorizing the Word of God distinctly says: " But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the Lord hath laid upon him the iniciuity of us all " (Isa. 53 : 5, 6). It is no wonder that infidelity is on the increase inside of the professing Church when such a fundamental, vital truth as the vicarious sacrifice of the Lord Jesus Christ, clearly taught in both Old and New Testaments is thus publicly denied by leading bishops and professors, whose teaching is in direct op- position to those doctrines which they have professed to believe. pi '! ; r hill ' 252 IHK UIDDIJ-: ()!•• i:\ISTKN( !•; soia i.d. .Mm: On p.'iRO -'0 he says: "AssntniiiK that Hihlioal inspira- tion is c'(|uivalc'nt to dictation by tin- Holy Spirit (a theory which tio scholar holds), ho {i.e., (iohlwin Smith) sliows tliat the Ohl Testament contains some things which are incompatible with such a view (a truism which no scholar doubts); and then he asks if these thinjjfs arc inspired (a supi)osition which no scholar cn'crtains)." On the same page he speaks of Professor Gohlwin Smith's article as perhaps " the most misleading, if not the most mischievous, criticiue of the ancient Scriptures that has ever been written by a reverent, religions scholar," and goes on to describe it as " simply an arraignment of an obsolete theory of the Old Testament. That is to say. ihe arraigns the well-known dit^kulties connected with an old-fashioned viezv of Scripture, which a recent but truly evangelical view removes." On page 31 he says: "Modern scholars modify their views of the Bible." The extraordinary conceit about the value of scholarship in teaching the truth of Scrip- ture as displayed and constantly repeated in this book must be simply nauseating to any godly, spiritual- minded man who knows " in whom he has believed," and who recognizes that it is the Holy Spirit alone who, through the Word, can guide into all truth. It is in striking contrast with the testimony and experience of that most honoured servant of God, George M tiller, who, only a few months ago, went to his reward at the ad- vanced age of ninety-three years. Addressing a company of university students, Mr. Miiller said: "Young gentlemen, I, too, have been a university student, and I am glad to meet you. I know you and your student life through and through. There isn't anything in the life you are now living or in the studies you are now studying that I do not know all about. Probably I know some things you do not know. ... I have rend all the Latin and Greek classics. I can talk Latin and Greek. I can speak nearly all the European languages. I can read Hebrew, Arabic, Syriac, and some '^tlipr Oriental tongues. I have studied Hi AITKNIMX It. 253 inathcMiiatics. pliilosopliy, I'lifinistiy. and >\\ch tliiiiKs- So you sec, yoniiK Kciitlcnifii. you have notliitiK to teach nie iu your (k-partiueuts of university study, and pro- bably there are some tbiu)j;s I could teach you." He then went on to tell them about his conversion and to preach Christ to them. It it had not been for this most important experience of the new birth his j^reat learnin}< would doubtless have (|ualitie(l him for a first- class " higher critic," and he mi}j[hl have commanded a high salary as professor in any of our foremost theo- logical colleges. But God had far higher work for him to do, and chose him as an honoured instrument to prove by a life of faith in His service, unparalleled in modern times, that He is indeed the same yesterday, to-day, and forever, a faithful, convenant-keeping God. Like the Apostle Paul, he counted all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus, his Lord; and he only spoke of his scholastic attainments to point out their comparative worthlessness. One of the most marked traits in the life of that humble and distinguished servant of God was his reverence and esteem for the Scriptures, respecting which, not long ago, he wrote as follows: " I have been for sixty-eight years a lover of the Word of God, and that uninterruptedly. During that time I have read considerably more than one hun- dred times through the whole Bible with great delight. .[ have for many years read through the whole Old and New Testaments, with prayer and meditation, four times every year. I also state to the glory of God as His wit- ness that in my inmost soul I believe all the books of the Old Testament, as well as the Gospels, Epistles, and the Revelation of the New Testament, are written by Divine inspiration." Surely such a testimony as this to the verbal inspira- tion of the Bible must have infinitely more weight with any candid enquirer than all the theories of all the so- called and self-styled " higher critics " and " liberal theo- logians." whose opinions are only a rehash of the argu- ments of German and English skeptics since the days fi ii I' m ■;*(;; II ^54 THE RIDDLE OF EXISTENCE SOLVED. t|i li ¥ 11 :'• !; ' ■ -f 11 .1 1 of Voltaire and Tom Paine. And there are many hun- dreds of other godly and spiritual men, who are also great scholars, that hold firmly to the Divine inspiration of the whole Word of God, notwithstanding the repeated confident assertions of Professor Workman as to what "the best Christian scholars and modern Christian scho- lars " hold and teach. A few more extracts from this book will suffice to show the character of the teaching which young men studying for the ministry may expect to receive from Professors known as " liberal theologians." On page 35, writing in defence of one of the teachers of this school, Dr. Workman says: "The editor of Lux Mundi does not assume that myths are inspired. He simply regards traditional narratives, such as those presented in the earlier chapters of Genesis, as containing great inspirations of all things!" And again, on page 35. he .says: " The Church does not need to insist, and certainly does not intend to insist, on the historical character of any account that is not demonstrably historical " (by which it is supposed that he means anything that is supernatural). Why he should assume to speak on behalf of the whole Church is not explained! On page 26 he says that "no scholar of repute to-day accepts the dictation theory of inspiration because . . . he very properly speaks of verbal inspiration as being but a consecrated tradition"; and then he adds: "All such mechanical theories of the Bible have long since been discarded. The Holy Spirit did not dictate the words of Scripture, but inspired the spiritual ideas it contains. It might fairly be asked. " Where did this learned Professor get his information " on this subject, about which he writes so positively ? Certainly not in the Bible itself. And there is no other way by which he could obtain it except by direct inspiration, which he surely does not claim on behalf of himself and other " liberal theologians." On page ^y, regarding the writers of the Scriptures, he says: "The Divine Spirit quickened their faculties APPENDIX B. 255 in reference to spiritual, not temporal, things. Their inspiration thus consisted in their quickened insight into the ways of God, and their quickened foresight respect- ing His providential purposes." All of which is simple assertion on his part without one particle of Scripture to support it. On page 38 he says: " Only the teaching in them which pertains to Divine redemption, and deals with those ideas which have to do with faith and conduct, has the guarantee of inspiration." And again, on page 39, he says: " It is only the moral truths and spiritual prin- ciples of the Bible that are divinely inspired." But, as this learned Professor has already discarded the doctrine of the vicarious sacrifice of Christ, it is as hard to under- stand what his theory of redemption is as it is to find out how much of the Bible he would admit to be really the Word of God. On page 43. speaking of revelation, he says: "Modern scholars not only distinguish between r'^^elation and Scripture, but they also distinguish between revelation and inspiration." And again, on page 44. he says in reference to Professor Goklwin Smith : " Though he rejects the Hebrew Scriptures as a supernatural revela- tion in the obsolete sense, which no inodcrn scholar holds." Upon the subject of Evolution, on page 48. he says: " We may safely assume the same sort of evolution for tlie ages before thj Scr.ptures were produced, namely, a gradual ascent from fetichism and polytheism to the worship of a single God." Not at all. Such an assump- tion is entirely unwarrantable. It is disproved by facts in the whole history of the world, and specially in the history of the children of Israel. The tendency has always been to evolute downwards instead of upwards in this respect, from the worship of one God into idolatry and the worship of many gods. On page 51. writing on the same subject, he says : " Re'-^'itions take i)lace indei)endently of the Bible. Being the outcome of ri living. conMnnous agency, they &re occurring all the time. God is always unveiling 'i; i}i ii HI ■ 25'6 THE KIDDLE OF EXISTENCE SOLVED. P: "; » : I Himself, and disclosing His secrets to the minds of devout men. Hence, there is a sense in which revela- tion can never be a finished product." In this way he might, perhaps, claim that his own unscriptural theories are inspired. On the subject of Interpretation (page 51) he says: ■' Referring to an old-fashioned method of reading or studying the Scriptures," etc.; and then, on page 56. he says. " as if he believed resf^cctablc scholarship was still pursuing such a foolish course. It is a good while since the Song of Songs, which all rcf^titablc scholars now regard as a lyric poem, intended to display the triumph of pure affection over the temptations of wealth and rank, has been turned by intelligent interpreters into a crytogrammic description of the union of Christ with His Church." Regarding the story of Jonah, he says, on page 60: " It is unwarrantable for men to claim that His (Jesus) reference to the story of Jona;h proves that the incident is historical, or that He believed it to be historical." And a train on page 61. he says: " We likewise have the best of reasons for believing that the story of Jonah is not literal but topical history." And on page 63 he says that " He (Jesus) leaves all (luestions of historical or literary criticism, such as the composite origin of the Pentateuch, the allegoric character of the account of the Fall, and the parabolic character of the Book of Isaiah to be settled by study and investigation." All contrary to plain Scripture, and only assertions on his part. On the subject »>f History Professor Workman makes some references to the Assyrian legends, which the writer thinks are fully ansiwered in the Appendix A to this book. It is sufticient to remark that in this, as in all other cases, the tendency with him is to adopt theories which throw doubt upon the inspiration of Scripture even when an opposite theory is much more reasonable. On the subject of Science he says, on page 81 : " Theologians once believed that the whole universe was Al'l'ENDlX B. -257 constructed piece by piece, that the first man was made directly from the dust of the ground, and that the first woman was built out of a rib taken from his side. They once believed, too, that the world was formed in six days of twenty-four hours each, and that the earth was just four thousand years old at the birth of Christ. Having obtained a better understanding of the literary construction of the story, as well as a clearer percep- tion of the didactic purpose of the compiler, theologians now recognize that some features of the story are not to be treated literally, but topically; and they also recognize that the aim of the writer was not to explain how anything came into being," etc. But the learned Professor does not explain how it was that he and the other critics and liberal theologians found out the intentions of the writer of Genesis, which is a pity. In the last paragraph on the subject of Science he says, on page 86: "No competent instructor now finds anything in the story of creation to impugn since, technically speaking, the account is neither scientific nor unscientific, but non-scientific." On the subject of Religion he concludes the chapter as follows on page 94: " It is owing to the influence of the Jewish, and not the Grecian or the Roman religion, that the human race has for upwards of two thousand years been steadily advancing to universal brother- hood! : T On the subject of Miracles, on page 126, the learned Professor says: "The account of the destruction of the Cities of the Plain is a graphic description of an ancient volcanic eruption, a kind of catastrophe to which the valley of the lower Jordan, from its geological structure, is said by Christian scientists to have been subject at one time." And he concludes the chapter by saying that "a miracle is not a suspension, much less a violation, of the laws of the universe, but something wonderful that has happened in the providence of God, or something remarkable that has been performed by the power of God in harmony with nature's laws." But Professor '.I I ^'i 2s8 Tin-: RIDDLE OF EXISTENCE SOLVED. ![■ ; I 1! i' 1 1 i\ Goldwin Smith's reasoning is much ftiore consistent than this when he says that the term, " Laws of nature," presupposes a Law-giver, who has also the power to sus- pend the operation of those laws. In the Introduction, which Professor Burwash, the Principal of Victoria College, has written, he says: "Dr, Workman's bocjk is an able as 'well as a useful exposition of the new line of defending the Scriptures by a man of ripe scholarship in the department with which it deals"; and he concludes in the following words: "As such a work, having such an aim, I heartily commend the volume to the serious consideration, not only of the Methodist Church, but also of the Christian public, as a valuable contribution to the elucidation of the Old Testament." When such a line of teaching is adopted by the Pro- fessors in our leading theological seminaries it is not much wonder that infidelity is rapidly on the increase. One traitor in the camp can do more mischief than a liundred open and avowed enemies on the outside. In this Laodicean age, when many of the leading denomi- nations in Christendom are boasting of their wealth, and numbers, and scholarship, is it not only too true that the Lord Jesus Christ has taken His place on the outside of the whole scene of confusion, and is saying: " If any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and sup with him, and he with me ?" It is not surprising that som(^ honest preachers should sound the alarm, as did the Rev. Dr. De Costa in an Episcoi)al church in New York recently. " The time has come to think," said Mr. De Costa. " It is simply criminal to attempt \i) shut our eyes to the facts presented by the census, showing the spread of irreligion in the land. Millions of young men of three generations have gone down to unsanctified graves. Morally, denominationalism has not saved the people. It has not saved religion or morality. This morning Christianity is ignored by the masses of the people. Sectarianism has played a high game, and it has lost. APrEXDTX P.. 259 Even amonjj[ its nieinhership. if rcjiorts are true, there are men who reflect little or no .redit upon its work. " What is the prospect ? . . . One hundred years ajj^o there were one million peoi)le out of the Church: to-day there are fifty million. How long is it going to take at this rate to convert the nation ? "It is something pitiful to see the secretaries of churcii societies prepare figures to show an increase in the mem!)ership of their organizations, wlien the masses are drifting further away from the Gospel of our Lord and Saviour. You can count the gains on your fingers, while the census counts up the losses by millions. Blatant infi- delity prevails throughout the land." Nor is it surprising that such an avowed infidel as Professor Goldwin Smith should, after reading an ac- count of Professor Workman's book. " The Old Testa- ment Vindicated." publish the severe rebuke contained in the following letter : To the Editor of The Globe : " Sir. — Dr. W^orkman's new book has not yet come into my hands, but if your account of it is correct it must, as a reply to my argument, be a misdirection. " My arguments have been pointed, not against the theories of rationalists like Dr. Workman, who abandon everything of orthodoxy except the names, but against the creed which Dr. Workman cannot deny is commonly taught in the churches, and is embodied in the ordination tests. " Dr. Workman abandons, it seems, the historical authority of the Book of Genesis; he must then abandon the story of the Fall. If he abandons the story of the Pall, how can he maintain the doctrines of the redemp- tion or the incarnation ? " There is no use in trying to entangle me in con- troversies about the documentary origin of the books of the Old Testament. I have read Ewald. Kuenen, Renan and the rest, and have convinced myself that the subject is, and is likely to remain, in a highly hypothetical con- dition. The last guess is a Hebrew Homer, hidden be- •;! ) Mj a6o THE RIDDLE OF EXISTENCE SOLVED. M J, hind the figures of Ehjah and Elisha. But all this is entirely beside my mark. " That there is much spirituality as well as historic- ally valuable in some of the books of the Old Testament no man of comprehensive intelligence will deny. How much, we shall be better able to say when theological sophistication on these subjects is at an end, when the real facts are honestly admitted, and the superstitious use of the Hebrew writings is frankly laid aside." Gold WIN Smith. There can be no compromise with infidelity upon the Divine inspiration of the Bible without bringing dis- honour upon the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, who, as the Son of God, certified to the Old Testament Scrip- tures being the Word of God. and, therefore, divinely inspired. It is altogether likely that Professor Work- man's so-called vindication of the Old Testament will do a thousand times more harm than Professor Goldwin Smith's open attack upon it. Who can estimate the far- reaching and mischievous effects ot such teaching in one of the principal theological and denominational colleges of Canada ? The attempt to vindicate the Old Testa- ment by denying its inspiration, and using the stale arguments of rationalistic critics, to explain away and set aside all that is supernatural about it is, indeed, a novel experiment, wihioh must have a bad efifect upon the minds of young men who are not well established in the knowledge of the truth, and are thus likely to be misled by the confident assertions of any one who is reputed to be a great scholar, and is in a responsible position. An able booklet on "' The Higher Criticism " has recently been published by H. L. Hastings, of Boston, editor of the Christian, from which the following extracts are taken : " It is not needful to go wild with pani^ over the results of the Higner Criticism, or of any other criticism. If these gentlemen throw away half or two-thirds of the Al'l'KNDlN n. 261 r>il)lc. tlierc will still he more left than most people are- likely to study carefully or practice faithfully; and hesides if half the hooks of the Bihle can he thrown overhoard, it will save a large amount of labour for those expositors who spend so much time trying to prove th.r the book does not mean what it says, nor say what it means; and there will he (|uite as much consistency exhibited in rejecting the writing as there is in accept- ing it, and then perverting its sense. " The sublime assurance with which some modern critics announce their judgme; coi.cerning the origin, authorship, and authenticity of ''ic Holy Scriptures implies the posse.ssion of great self-confidence, if not absolute omniscience. They speak as if the (piestions under consideration were definitely settled, and as if only the ignorant, prejudiced, and bigoted could for a mo- ment presume to (lue&tion the soundness of their con- clusions, or the accuracy of their assertions. Thus, ques- tions of vast importance and wide-reaching interest are decided with an assumption of infalliibility or inerrancy which ordinary mortals scarcely dare to cLaim. And all this is done in the name of Higher Criticism, and exact Biblical science, by men whose" greatness is supposed to be so manifest that the very mention of their names should awe peopl? into silence and submission." In the Methodist Review for March-April, 1891, page 265, the late learned and lamented editor, J. W. Menden- hall. D.D.. LL.D.. while speaking of "The intrusion of the hypothetical spirit in the investigation of Biblical Doctrines, and of the origin of Biblical l^iterature." thus illustrates the uncertainty of this scientific guess-work, by which certain critics have endeavoured to determine infallibly the origin and authorship of the various books of the Old and New Testaments, until, where truth ought to be found as transparent as sunlight, we find it . t !i i) ii 1I mi }h i 262 Till': lU 1)1)1. F. ()[•" KXISTKNCr: SOIATJ). it . !; m ill i hi i '■ * 1 • ■ V ■ \ i-loiidi'd and liiddi'H in \\\v tliick nrtworU of rlR'tcs) and beer, discuss and everlastingly settle these (luestions beyond the possibility of doubt or appeal, and make their conclusions the end of the law regarding this matter. I |:|' i|,! i |i il \ .' H '' . % ■ ' I ■ffi' -:' •;^i)\ ^^ui : ■ K ■.' { ■Vil '4hh : '.i 1 i 1 >', -i { 1 1 : ■ ! 1 " But they must not ask us to depend on authority when we drop the Bible. We cannot make a fetish of the new books of the Higher Critics. They must give us evidence, and demonstration, and must bring this evidence down where the common people can read and understand it ; and if they will kindly agree among themselves, so that when one of them has settled every- thing no one else will come along ne.xt day and upset the whole, we shall be truly thankful, h^specially would we be glad to have them tell us what they believe, and ivliy they believe it. ' Tell me what you believe, T have doubts enough of my own,' is a saying attributed to Goethe. These gentlemen have spent time enough tell- ing us what they do not believe; now will they inform us what they do believe, and also why they believe it ? They have showed us how to cut our cable: will they now tell us how to come to anchor, and where we are to find an anchorage ground ? " Truth courts investigation. Candid men are not afraid to consider difficulties which occur in the Hebrew Scrii)tures; but when such difficulties are invented or exaggerated, they indicate th^ errancy of the critic rather a!'|'i:ni>i\ r.. _>r,s tlian that of tlu- BooU lie critici/cs. liiti-UiKt'tit. careful, honest rriticism is leKitiinate and welcome; hut cirpiti^ skepticism is not legitimate criticism. "The plirase * Hij^her Critic' is as indefinite as the term ' reptile.' which may he either a crocodile, a mud- turtle, a lizard, or a striped snake; or the word 'animal.' which may he a mouse, a mammoth, a pussy cat, or a P-engal tij^er. So there are critics and critics, of every variety, from the mildest grade of i)erplexed douhters to the most outsi)oken type oi skeptics and unbelievers. Names and brands signify little now; every parcel must l)e examined. Doubtless some of the Higher Critics are men of devout spirit and true faith, but they are in <|ues- tionable company, and are sowing seed which may pro- duce an utdof)ked-for harvest. They must not complain if men scrutinize or suspect them. Plain people are anxious to know ju.s^t what the critics of the day are, and what they are doing. Are they Cliristians or infidels ? Are they trying to pilot the old ship into port, or wreck it on the sandbar ? Christians are (|uite willing that critics should scrape ofi" barnacles, but they are not ready to have them scuttle the ship: and it seems to be time for those in whom faith is not utterly dead to watch the course of events, and stand for the defense of truths which are rashly assailed." Since the above was in type the November mnnber of " Watchword and Truth." published by Robert Cam- eron, of Boston, has been received, containing an article from the pen of ^fr. A. Ben Oliel, the celebrated Hebrew scholar, and missionary to the Jews in Jerusalem. Mr. Ben OHel i'- ^. Sephardim Jew, and his family has always claimed ucscent from the house of David. He was educated for a Rabbi, and became a good Oriental scholar. When eighteen years of age he read a New Testament, which made a deep impression, and some time afterwards became convinced that Jesus was the Messiah. Since 1848 he has laboured as a mission- ary amongst the Jews in Spain, North Africa, Turkey and Palestine. In 1887 he was sent to Jaffa by the m 266 TIIR Kinni.K OF KXISTRNCE SOU D. il, .. 1 .?< 1 ! 1 111 ' ft' t^, t. ■■ 1 (. ;J.i y ... I'i ■ i^J Ii i. British Society, who ;ilti rw.irds ah;iii(h)iH'(l thi- work for want of funds, .-ind .Mr. I'. N'. lulwards. the Treasurer of the Society, wroti' thus respecting tlie missionary: " I have the highest oi)inion of Mr. I'en (Jhel as a schojar. Orientahst. Hn^nist tmd llehraist. and havt always heHeved him to he hotli a >;entieman and ;i true-hearted Christian." .Mr. Ben Oiiel has suffered much perseciuion since he went to Jerusalem without asking any one's per- mission, and without an appointiuent hy any missionary society, over eight years ago; and he is now supported solely by the free-will offerings which the Lord leafls His people to send to him. Siu'ely such a man as this, with his fifty years exi)eri- ence amongst Hebrew scholars and Jewish people, is better (lualified to speak with authority about the books of the Old Testament than a few Rnglish Professors known as " liberal theologians," whose ideas have been borrowed from skeptical German doctors, and who yet presume to write and speak as if they represent the whole Christian Church. Mr. Ben Oliel writes as fol lows on the subject of " Higher Criticism and Common Sense ": — " One of the most commonly accepted theories of the so-called higher criticism in vogue in this genera- tion of presumed superlative acumen in liiblical study, is that which attributes the composition of the book of the pro])het Isaiah to several auhors. usually to two. and sometimes to three or more, on the ground mainly of differences of style and the use of peculiar phraseol- ogy in the latter chapters of the book. Other arguments are advanced betimes, and they all make my Jew sh blood boil within me. and my Bible and Gospel-loving heart ache, when reading the works and writings of men, talented in other respects, but almost wholly desti- tute of any real gra.sp of the genius of the Hebrew tongue, which is a far higher attainment, and of far iviore practical importance, particularly in the study of its sublimely poetical books, than a mere knowledge of Al'l'KNDIN W. 2bj its granuiiatical ootistructioii, sitting iii judj^iiRiit. dis- secting and mangling the sacred hooks of my lore- fathers — the incomparahle, indnhitahly-inspired Jiihle— for the purpose of procUicing such fancilul as>iimpti<»ns as the theory referred t<» ahove, or, to say tlie least, with no hetter resMJi than that. '■ I shall eontine these lines to that the«)ry of plurality of authors in Isaiah hy an appeal to common sense and the general experience of mankind, writers an