prophets, while conceding, ~dth rnl ionalistic writers, oceasionnl failures in their predic• tinns. The prophets tliemselves do not shrink from this test, but confidently nppeal to ,t (Isa. xxxiv. 16). This shows how different their inspiration was from tho ordinary inspiration of genius, both in their estimation or it and in fact, No man of genius, how- e,·cr wide bis range of vision, be he a Bacon, a Shakespeare, a Goethe, or a Cal'lyle, would like to rest his reput;1tion on the nbsolute unfailingness of his words. 'While propht'Cy affords conspicuous instances of the certainty of fulfilment characteristic of God's words, it is to he remembered that tl1is certainty inheres in all God's words alike. No word of God or of Christ will fall to the ground unfulfilled (Matt. xxiv. 35). The thought should comfort God's people, and make his enemies tremble. Applies to pro- mises and threatenings equally with predictions and doctrines. II. 'l'HE I'REDICTIOKS OF SCRII'TURE ABIDE TIIIS TEST OF TRUE PROPHECY. The force of the e,idence from prophecy can only be properly felt by those who have been at pains to examine the Bible predictions in detail. Dut it docs not need more than an examination of the principal instances to convince us that here we have no chance guess-work, no mere foreca~ting of natural sagacity. We might point to thG pre- dictions in Deuteronomy respecting the future of the Jewish nation, and the punish- ment which would overtake them for their sins (eh. iv. 25-29; xxviii. 45-68); or to the Messianic prophecies (e.g. Isa. !iii.); or to particular predictions delivered long before the events predicted occurred, or could have been foreseen, as when Amos (n.c. 787) predicts of lsrael at a time when the king and nobles were lying on beds of ivory, and indulging in every species of dissipation aun amusement-" Therefore will I cause you to go into captivity beyond Damascus, saith the Lord, whose Name is The God of hosts" (-A..mos ,. 27), or when Micah (B.c. 710), a hundred years before the Captivity, foretells of Judah, " Zion for yonr sake sha II be plowed as a field, and Jerusalem shall become heaps" (Micah iii. 12); "Be in pain, and labour to bring forth, 0 daughter of Zion, like a woman iu travail: for now shalt thou go forth out of the city, and thou shalt dwell in the field, and thou shalt go even to Babylon; there shalt thou be delivered; there shall the Lord redeem thee from the band of thine enemies" (Micah iv. 10). Discovery has not tended to discredit, but in several striking instances has con- firmed the truth of prophecy, as in regard to Ezekiel's prediction of the conquest of Egypt by Kebucbadnezzar (eh. xxix. 8-lG), a prediction pronounced by Kueuen and sceptical critics to be a mere guess, falsified by the event, but no\V strikingly confirm<·d from a contemporary hieroglyphic inscription (see Expositoi·, vol. x.). And while it is trne that an isolated sign and wonder is not proof sufficient of Divine inspiration (eh. xiii.), it is certain that, taking into account the character or thG prophets, the kind and nt!mber of their predictions, the holiness of their message, and the coherence of what they taught with earlier revelations, the evidence of their Di,inc commission is as strong as could be wished-is, in fact, decisive.-J. 0.
Vers. I-8.-The true priest is tl,e Mghest type rf man. God here lays down the lines along which men may rise to the dignity of the true priesthood. The ordinance did not secure the ideal reality. "The Law was weak through the flesh." Human choice and endea,·onr were requisite to attain to God's ideal priest. It is his privilege to receive from God, and to reveal to men. l. DIVINE CHOICE AND BUMAN DESIRE MUST COMBINE TO MAKE A REAL PRIBST, The man thou"h born a Levite, must "come with all the desire of his mind unto the place whidh the iord shall choose" (ver. 6). The human will must co-operate with God's will. This is the product of the second birth. In this ancient arrangement, we see the forecast of the Christian life-the true priesthood, II. THE PillEST'B OFFICE IS, KOT FOR HONOUR, DUT FOR SERVICE. "He shall minister in the Name of the Lord his God." In other words, he shall serve in the stead of God, 11.nd by his authority. This is the hardest work, yet the most honourable. No toil or self-sacrifice can be decline while appearing in the stead of God, for he serves tb~ noblest part or man. In G11d's kingdom there is no houour apart from character; and character is attained by service. Ill. 'l'HE PRIEST'S EARTHLY NEEDS SHALL DE MET WITHOUT ANXIETY ON HIS PART, "They that minister at the altar shall partake of the altar" (vers. 3, 4, 8). While we are employed on the King's errands, the King will provide our rations. We have a OH, xvm. 1-22,] THE DOOK OF DEUTERONOMY. 317
Di vino guflrnntco thflt bodily wE1nts shflll be supplied, for God himself is our inheritance. It is surely better to trust the Fount rather than the strr.am, the First Cause rather than the intermedinte channel, the Creator rather than the creature. The priest shall be supplied before other mon, for the firstfruits of corn a.nd wine a.nd oil are his. 'l'hey that serve God without stint shall never be forgotten. IV. TUE TRUE pnJEST OCCUPIES THE APEX OF THE SOCIAL PYRAMID. The true priest really rules, For him all other orders of men toil. For the priest to possess any earthly iuheritance would be a burden, a care, a.n injury. Others till the ground for him, thresh his corn, and winnow his grain. As a god, he receives. For other men the inferior crC'ation toils and groans. The unreasoning animals bear his burdens and do his will. Yet these men, served well by the subordinate orders of life, wait upon the priest, and minister to his human wants. And in return, the real priest ministers to tho hunger of the soul, and supplies light antl guidance a.nd hope. 'l'he real priest i~ the greatest benefactor to the human race; the counterfeit priest is a. pest.-D.