leave them to the operations of their own minds, and the dictates of their own knowledge, habits, and feelings, so far as it could safely be done, as to the MANNER of communicating his will.

This plan reconciles every thing. The divine Spirit guarded the sacred penmen when they would otherwise have gone astray, superintended and watched over every step of their progress, suggested by direct discoveries what lay beyond the reach of their means of knowledge, and directed them to every topic, which to his infinite wisdom appeared necessary upon the whole, for the instruction of the church, and the conversion of mankind. Thus, on the one hand, the inspiration did not supersede, but supported, elevated, and directed them in the use of their natural faculties, of their stores of knowledge, of their experience and observation, and their efforts of recollection and reasoning. The human agency, on the other hand, did not weaken or defeat the supernatural communications; but conveyed them to men, moulded by the conceptions, and expressed in the words of common life. The facts of the case by no means imply that man mingled his frailties and errors with the revealed truths of Christianity; but, simply, that God was pleased to use man as his instrument. The human agency was subordinate to the divine. The Almighty Spirit moved and gently led on; the holy penmen followed the guidance. God inspired; man indited and wrote. The wisdom of the Creator sustained the weakness of the creature. The books therefore are divine, and yet in this sense human, without commixture or inconsistency-divine, as to the matter; human, as to the manner-divine, as to the supernatural tendency and direction; human, as to the stile employed-divine, as to the revelation; human, as to the instruments-the words of God as to the doctrine; the language of man as to the channel of conveyance. The masterly decision of Warburton may, with one

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important exception, be adopted, as well expressing the method of the divine conduct. I say with one important exception, for he strangely admits that some errors may have been allowed to fall from the pens of the sacred writers; probably referring to matters not connected with the revelation. But the admission is quite inconsistent with the express doctrine of the sacred books on the subject of inspiration. "The Holy Spirit," says he, so directed the pens of these writers, that no considerable error should fall from them, by enlightening them with his immediate influence in such matters as were necessary for the instruction of the church; and which either through ignorance or prejudice they would otherwise have represented imperfectly, partially, or falsely; and by preserving them by the more ordinary means of providence from any mistake of consequence, concerning those things whereof they had acquired a competent knowledge by the common way of information. In a word, by watching over them incessantly; but with so suspended a hand as permitted the use, and left them to the guidance of their own faculties, while they kept clear of error; and then only interposing, when, without this assistance, they would have been in danger of falling.”1

On the whole, all is clear, if we keep to the facts of the case-to what we have proved in our former lecture, and what we have traced out in this-and attribute such an inspiration to the minds of the sacred writers as exempted them from all error whatever in the communication of the divine will, and gave to every part of their declarations, its full sanction as the infallible word of God; and, at the same time, allowed to each writer the free exercise of all his natural powers, and the delivery of the divine revelation according to his own habits and associations. This

1 Warburton's Doctrine of Grace, l. 1, c. vii.

accounts for and reconciles all the phenomena. The decisive claims of inspiration made by the apostles require the first; the obvious appearances of every part of the New Testament the second.2

3. Nor is the difficulty of explaining this method of the divine agency in the inspiration of the scriptures, any greater, than in other instances in the government of mankind; where the Almighty "worketh all things according to the counsel of his own will," and yet by means which do not interfere with the free agency, nor alter the moral characteristics, nor lessen the responsibility of man. Our concern is not to explain, but to receive the facts as they lie before us. It is only necessary to admit decisively that the highest measure of that inspiration which preserves from every mistake or error, was not inconsistent with the greatest freedom and latitude in the use of each writer's knowledge and talents, and ordinary means of information

an union incomprehensible, indeed, as to the particulars of it, to our limited faculties, but easy to that inscrutable wisdom which knows our frame, and can direct and elevate, without disturbing, the operations of our minds.

Having thus traced out in the structure of the sacred books, the mysterious method of the divine agency in inspiration, we may proceed in the same way to mark, so far as may be needful,

II. THE EXTENT OF THE DIVINE INSPIRATION ACCORDING TO THE VARIETY OF MATTER WHICH THE BOOKS CONTAIN.

1. For by referring to the language of the apostles, as quoted in our last lecture, we shall find that the divine inspiration was extended to every part of the canonical writings, in the proportion in which each

"In inspiring, the Divine Spirit evidently does not unmake the man; whence every sacred writer has his own peculiar character and style of composition."-J. Scott.

part stood related to the religion they communicate. Whatever weight the different parts of the sacred edifice were intended to sustain, a correspondent strength of inspiration was placed, as it were, at the foundation. Thus all is held immovably together. The triumphal arch of truth is, to us and in its results, equally firm in all its parts, whether we can trace out the relative strength of the materials or not.

Sometimes we read of divine messages by visions, dreams, angelic voices; at other times the Almighty appears to have revealed truth immediately to the minds of the apostles. Sometimes the sacred writers were rapt in the overpowering communications of the Spirit. At other times, and as the matter varied, their memory was fortified to recall the Saviour's life, doctrines, miracles, parables, discourses. In a different matter, an author accompanies St. Paul, and records what he saw and heard. Again, an Apostle hears of disorders in the churches, and is moved by the blessed Spirit to write to them, to denounce judgments, to prescribe a course of conduct. At other times, he enters upon a series of divine arguments; delivers in order the truths of the gospel; or expounds the figurative economy of Moses.

What the extent of the inspiration was in each case, we need not, indeed we cannot, determine. We infer from the uniform language of the New Testament, that in each case such assistance was afforded, as the exigencies of it required. The different measure, or kinds of inspirations, it is not for man to know, for man to say. Where the inspiration of suggestion, of direction, of elevation, of superintendence, was severally afforded, we cannot, and ought not to wish, to decide.

The prophetical parts, the doctrines of pure revelation, the historical facts beyond the reach of human knowledge, all the great outlines of Christianity, both as to doctrine and practice, were probably of the in-,

spiration of suggestion, both as to the matter and the words (for we think in words). Where the usual means of information, or the efforts of memory were enough, as in much of the Gospels and Acts, the inspiration of direction may be supposed to have sufficed. Where the exposition of duty, or the rebuke of error, or exhortation to growth in grace, was the subject, the inspiration of elevation and strength may be considered as afforded. Where matters more incidental occur, the inspiration, still lessening with the necessity, was probably that of superintendency only, preserving from all improprieties which might diminish the effect of the whole, and providing for inferior, but not unimportant points of instruction. Even the slightest allusions to proverbial sayings, to the works of nature, to history, were probably not out of the range of the watchful guardianship of the Holy Spirit.

In all the parts, however, the operations of the mind and habits of the writers appear to act; but were exempted from error and mistake. In all the parts, the divine Spirit moved the writers to such subjects, and such a manner of treating them, as befitted the designs of infinite wisdom. All that is essential for us to know, is that such was the extent of the assistance in each case as sufficed to supply what was deficient in the writer, and to give to every part of his declarations their full sanction as the infallible word of God. Perhaps we cannot get nearer than this.3

3 By the inspiration of suggestion is meant such communications of the Holy Spirit, as suggested and dictated minutely every part of the truths delivered.

The inspiration of direction is meant of such assistance as left the writers to describe the matter revealed in their own way, directing only the mind in the exercise of its powers.

The inspiration of elevation added a greater strength and vigour to the efforts of the mind than the writer could otherwise have attained.

The inspiration of superintendency was that watchful care