of divine authority, we refer to it as a volume and recognize all the writings which it contains as given by the inspiration of the Spirit. In like manner when Christ or his Apostles quote the " Scriptures," or the " law and the prophets," and speak of the volume then so called, they give their sanction to the divine authority of all the books which that volume contained. All, therefore, that is neces- sary to determine for Christians the canon of the Old Testament, is to ascertain what books were included in the " Scriptures " rec- ognized by the Jews of that period. This is a point about which there is no reasonable doubt. The Jewish canon of the Old Testa- ment included all the books and no others, which Protestants now recognize as constituting the Old Testament Scriptures. On this ground Protestants reject the so-called apocryphal books. They were not written in Hebrew and were not included in the canon of the Jews. They were, therefore, not recognized by Christ as the Word of God. This reason is of itself sufficient. It is however confirmed by considerations drawn from the character of the books themselves. They abound in errors, and in statements contrary to those found in the undoubtedly canonical books.
The principle on which the canon of the New Testament is de- tei-mined is equally simple. Those books, and those only which can be proved to have been written by the Apostles, or to have re- ceived their sanction, are to be recognized as of divine authority. The reason of this rule is obvious. The Apostles were the duly authenticated messengers of Christ, of whom He said, " He that heareth you, heareth me."
§ 2. The Scriptures are Infallihleyi. e.^ given hy Inspiration of
G-od.
The infallibility and divine authority of the Scriptures are due to the fact that they are the word of God ; and they are the word of God because they were given by the inspiration of the Holy Ghost.
A. The Nature of Inspiration. Definition. The nature of inspiration is to be learnt from the Scriptures ; from their didactic statements, and from their phenomena. There are certain general facts or principles which underlie the Bible, which are assumed in all its teachings, and which therefore must be assumed in its interpretation. We must, for example, assume, (1.) That God is not the unconscious ground of all things ; nor an unintelligent force ; nor a name for the moral order of the uni- verse ; nor mere causality ; but a Spirit, — a self-conscious, Intel-
154 INTRODUCTION. [Ch. VI. - P. R. of Faith,
ligent, voluntary agent, possessing all the attributes of our spirits without limitation, and to an infinite degree. (2.) That He is the creator of the world, and extra-mundane, existing before, and inde- pendently of it ; not its soul, life, or animating principle ; but its maker, preserver, and ruler. (3.) That as a spirit He is every- where present, and everywhere active, preserving and governing all his creatures and all their actions. (-I.) That wlyle both in the external world and in the world of mind He generally acts accord- ing to fixed laws and through secondar}^ causes. He is free to act, and often does act immediately, or without the intervention of such causes, as in creation, regeneration, and miracles. (5.) That the Bible contains a divine, or supernatural revelation. The present question is not, Whether the Bible is what it claims to be ; but, What does it teach as to the nature and effects of the influence under which it was written ?
On this subject the common doctrine of the Church is, and ever has been, that inspiration was an influence of the Holy Spirit on the minds of certain select men, which rendered them the organs of God for the infallible communication of his mind and will. They were in such a sense the organs of God, that what they said God said.
B. Inspiration Supernatural.
This definition includes several distinct points. First. Inspira- tion is a supernatural influence. It is thus distinguished, on the one hand, from the providential agency of God, which is every- where and always in operation ; and on the other hand, from the gracious operations of the Spirit on the hearts of his people. Ac- cording to the Scriptures, and the common views of men, a marked distinction is to be made between those effects Avhich are due to the efficiency of God operating regularly through second causes, and those which are produced by his immediate efficiency without the intervention of such causes. The one class of effects is natural ; the other, supernatural. Inspiration belongs to the latter class. It is not a natural effect due to the inward state of its subject, or to the influence of external circumstances.
No less obvious is the distinction which the Bible makes between the gracious operations of the Spirit and those by which extraor- dinary gifts are bestowed upon particular persons. Inspiration, therefore, is not to be confounded with spiritual illumination. They differ, first, as to their subjects. The subjects of inspiration are a few selected persons ; the subjects of spiritual illumination are all true believers. And, secondly, they differ as to their design. Tho