^ Of his early acquaintance with the Bible, Thompson writes : " The Bible as an influence from the literary standpoint has a late but important date in my life. As a child I read it, but for its historical interest. Nevertheless, even then I was greatly, though vaguely, impressed by the mysterious imagery, the cloudy grand- ^ S. R. Driver, Sernwns on the Old Testament, 150.
I THKSS.-HFB. 14
2IO THE USE OF SCRIPTURE
eurs, of the Apocalypse. Deeply uncomprehended, it was, of course, the pageantry of an appalling dream ; insurgent dark- ness, with wild lights flashing through it; terrible phantasms insupportably revealed against profound light, and in a moment no more ; on the earth hurryings to and fro, like insects of the earth at a sudden candle; unknown voices uttering out of darkness darkened and disastrous speech ; and all this is in motion and turmoil, like the sands of a fretted pool. Such is the Apocalypse as it inscribes itself on the verges of my childish memories. In early youth it again drew me to itself, giving to my mind a permanent and shaping direction. In maturer years Ecclesiastes (casually opened during a week of solitude in the Fens) masterfully affected a temperament in key with its basic melancholy. But not till quite later years did the Bible as a whole become an influence. Then, however, it came with decisive power. But not as it had influenced most writers. My style, being already formed, could receive no evident impress from it : its vocabulary had come to me through the great writers of our language. In the first place its influence was mystical ; it revealed to me a whole scheme of existence, and lit up life like a lantern." ^
3. Observe a threefold effect of inspiration — the. revelation of truth, intensity of feeling, and abiding power in the words.
(1) First, the inspired man was a "seer"; the veil was turned aside, and he was permitted to look into the sanctuary of truth. Think of the Hebrew prophets to whose writings the text refers. The unity, personality, and spirituality of God were revealed to them. They beheld His glory as others did not, and therefore spoke of it in sublime and incomparable language. He is " the high and lofty One that inhabiteth eternity." " All nations are before him as nothing." " The heavens are not clean in his sight." He is "glorious in holiness, fearful in praises, doing wonders." They are conscious also of His loving-kindness and tender mercies, so that while they feared His great and awful name, they put their trust under the shadow of His wings. They recognized His active presence in the world, saw His hand in the rise and fall of nations, and history was to them the unfolding of His purpose. The future was opened to some of them, and they foresaw the coming of Him who is the Saviour of men, to " set up a kingdom that shall never be destroyed." The result of inspiration was the
1 E. Meynell, The Life of Francis Thompson (1913), 172,
2 TIMOTHY III. 14-17 211
same in the minds of the Apostles. There were things in tlie teaching of Christ which they could not comprehend, others they misunderstood, and others were in the course of time entirely forgotten. But when the Spirit was given He brought all things to their remembrance ; they were able to recall the past, and to enter into the meaning of the wonderful words.
^ A man standing in a large room in the faint twilight of evening can distinguish the objects nearest to him ; those farther removed are indistinct and confused, and the most distant are completely lost to his view ; but fill the place with light and all things are made manifest. This illustrates the influence of in- spiration upon the minds of prophets and apostles : old truths became more important when seen in the new and brighter light ; truths imperfectly understood appeared clear and well defined, and things which the unaided reason could not discover were revealed.^
(2) Secondly, their mental illumination was accompanied by deep and intense feeling. Their spirits were " moved " — they felt the burden of "the word of the Lord" — the truth was in their heart "as a burning fire." Therefore speech became a necessity, for by speaking they lightened the burden that op- pressed them and gave out the fire that burned in their bosoms. When they had messages of peace and good tidings to deliver, their " doctrine dropped as the rain, their speech distilled as the dew, as the small rain upon the tender herb." But when the sins of the nation and the judgments of Heaven were their themes they cried aloud, and their language was as terrible as a midnight alarm. Sometimes there is a wail of sorrow in the words they utter ; at others they endeavour in vain to express the workings in their spirit, and their broken sentences resemble the mutterings of a storm that fails to open into loud resounding thunder.
^ Before a man is justified in using the same language and style of speaking and writing as the prophets, he must possess their insight into the truth and the agonizing feeling which they experienced. To use their terrible language without their in- spiration is false. Our words and the manner of using them should correspond with the clearness of our mental vision and the depth of our spiritual emotion. If the word of the Lord weighs heavily upon your heart, if the sacred fire burns within you, if your spirit is in anguish because of the sins of your people,