^ T. Jones, The Divine Order, 86.
212 THE USE OF SCRIPTURE
then speak as the Hebrew seer spoke. Blow the trumpet in Israel, sound the lamentation, walk through the length and breadth of the land, and cry aloud, " Woe, woe unto thee, saith the Lord God " ; but if not, then you had better speak calmly and reason with men, and suggest the truth, and persuade and attract as a friend — nothing more. No good can come of unreality; mimic thunder causes no alarm, and painted fire gives forth no heat. Loud stormy words which are out of all harmony with the convictions and feelings of the mind from which they proceed are worthless as sounding brass and tinkling cymbals. Falling upon the speaker's own ears, they sound hollow, and in his deepest heart he knows they have no meaning. The hearers also in due time will instinctively discover the truth of the matter, and see plainly enough that what he says is said because speaking is his profession ; and then will follow this most natural consequence — the alienation of the people from the institutions of religion. The first thing for us all is to be true and honest. To speak as the prophets spoke we also must be enlightened and " moved " by the Holy Ghost.^
(3) Thirdly, observe the abiding power in the words. The Scriptures have been regarded as records of inspiration. This is true as far as it goes. The wave-marks on the sand make known how high the tide rose. And we have evidence in the words of inspired men how profoundly they were moved by the Divine afflatus that came upon them ; but here the comparison ends. We are not to think of the word of God as a dry sea-beach from which the waters have receded, or a forsaken channel through which a river once flowed. A man who has the power of true genius writes a book, it may be a " Paradise Lost," a " Pilgrim's Progress," a " Purgatory," or an " Inferno." He has seen visions, his whole nature has been moved by their power, and he speaks in a kind of inspired language. The truth he beheld is in the book ; but this is not all, for much of himself is in it also — his thoughts concerning what he saw, his feelings, his passion, and the real energy of his mind. His anger frowns upon the page, his love trembles in the words, his sorrow sighs and sobs in the sentences, and his power fills the book ; and in reading it you not only come into contact with the truth it reaches, but you have also communion with the spirit and mind of the author. It is this abiding human spirit in great books that makes them
* T, Jones, The Divine Order, 88.
2 TIMOTHY III. 14-17 213
immortal, and gives them power to command the admiration, the love, the smiles, and the tears of many generations. So also of the utterances of holy men under the inspiration of God. " The Lord God, merciful and gracious," " How excellent is thy loving- kindness, 0 God ! therefore the children of men put their trust under the shadow of thy wings." " He shall feed his flock like a shepherd ; he shall gather the lambs with his arm, and carry them in his bosom." " Thy Maker is thine husband ; the Lord of hosts is his name." " For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son." " And I give unto them eternal life ; and they shall never perish." These words and the like of them contain the highest truths, but that is not all ; they are instinct with the love, the pity, the sympathy, and the power of the Divine mind. " They are spirit, and they are life." The ancient sacred fire that descended from heaven continues to burn on the altar of the Bible.
^ On 28th February 1899 the Bishop addressed the Durham Junior Clergy Society in the Chapter-house on " The Study of the Bible." In this address he indicated some characteristics of the study of Scripture which he had found to be of primary import- ance. He mentioned seven : " The study must be systematic, thorough, wide, historical, patient, reverent, vital." On these characteristics he enlarged, and afterwards in his concluding words said : —
" I charge you to prize and to use your peculiar spiritual heritage which was most solemnly committed to you at your ordination. Our English Church represents in its origin and in its growth the study of the Bible. In the study of the Bible lies the hope of its future. For the study of the Bible in the sense in which I have indicated is of momentous importance at the present time, and it is rare ; there is much discussion about the Bible, but, as I fear, little knowledge of it. We are curious to inquire — and it is a reasonable curiosity — when this book and that was written ; but we are contented to be ignorant of what this book or that contains. We remain blind to the magnificent course of the Divine education of the world ; and still less do we dwell upon the separate phrases of ' friends of God and prophets,* and question them and refuse to let them go till they have given us some message of warning or comfort or instruction. Such failures, such neglect, seal the very springs of life. They deprive us of the remedies for our urgent distresses. Who does not know them? We are troubled on all sides by wars and rumours of