2 Tim. iii. 16.
All Scripture is given by inspiration of God.
But that is not exactly what St. Paul says. The Greek for that, would be πᾶσα Ἡ γραφή—not πᾶσα γραφὴ—θεόπνευστός. St. Paul does not say that the whole of Scripture, collectively, is inspired. More than that: what he says is, that every writing,—every several book of those ἱερὰ γράμματα, or Holy Scriptures, in which Timothy had been instructed from his childhood,—is inspired by God[331]. It comes to very nearly the same thing; but it is not quite the same thing. St. Paul is careful to remind us that every Book in the Bible is an inspired Book[332]. And this statement is not confined to one place.—Elsewhere, he calls his message "the Word of God;" and says that it had been received by the disciples not as the Word of Men, but as it is in truth, the Word of God[333].—Elsewhere, "Which things also we speak, not in the words which man's wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth[334]:"—where, if I at all understand the Apostle, (and he speaks very plainly!) he says that his words were inspired by the Holy Ghost.—Accordingly, St. Peter declares that the Epistles of his "beloved brother Paul" are part of the Holy Scriptures[335];—Divinely inspired, therefore, like all the rest.
But does not St. Paul himself in a certain place express a doubt—saying "I think that I have the Spirit of God[336]?" and does he not contrast his own sayings with the Divine sayings, ("not I but the Lord[337]"), clearly implying that his own were not Divine? and does he not say that he delivers certain things "by permission, and not of commandment[338]," whereby he seems to insinuate a gradation of authority in what he delivers?—No. Not one of these things does he do. He says, indeed, of a certain hint to married persons that he offers it "by way of advice to them not by way of precept:" but giving advice to men is a very different thing from receiving permission from God. Again, "Unto the married," (he says,) "I command, yet not I but the Lord,"—alluding to our Lord's words, as set down by St. Matthew, chap. xix. verse 6[339]; which is simply an historical allusion to the Gospel.—So far from "thinking" he had the Spirit of God, (as if it were an open question whether he had it or not,) he says the very contrary. Δοκέω, in all such places, implies, not doubt but certainty[340]: (as when our Lord asks,—-"Doth he thank that servant because he did the things commanded him? οὐ δοκῶ,"—I fancy not indeed[341]!) On St. Paul's lips, as every scholar knows, the phrase is not one of doubt, but one of indignant, or at least emphatic asseveration[342].—A man had need be very sure he understands the record, (let me just remark in passing,) before he presumes to criticize it.
"The Spirit of Christ" is said by St. Peter to have been "in the prophets[343]:" and in another place he declares that they "spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost[344]." The Holy Ghost accordingly is said to have spoken the xlist Psalm "by the mouth of David[345]." The xcvth Psalm is declared absolutely to be the utterance of the Holy Ghost[346]. Once, the cxth Psalm is ascribed simply to God[347]; and once, to David speaking under the influence of the Holy Ghost[348]. The iind Psalm is described as the language of God the Father "by the mouth of His Servant David[349]." "Well spake the Holy Ghost by Esaias the Prophet unto our Fathers[350],"—was the exclamation of the Apostle Paul, quoting the 9th and 10th verses of his vith chapter. When Jeremiah speaks, the Holy Ghost is declared, (not Jeremiah, but the Holy Ghost) to witness unto us[351]. The assertion is express that it was "God" who, "by the mouth of all His Prophets," foretold the Death of Christ[352]: "the Lord God of Israel" who, "by the mouth of His holy Prophets of old," gave promise of Christ's coming[353]. "The Holy Ghost signified" what the Mosaic Law enjoined[354]. "It is not ye that speak, but the Holy Ghost[355]"—was our Saviour's word of promise and of consolation to the Twelve: and, on an earlier occasion,—"It is not ye that speak; but the Spirit of your Father, which speaketh in you[356]." And this promise became so famous, that St. Paul says the Corinthians challenged him to prove that Christ was speaking in him[357].... But why multiply places? The use which our Saviour makes in the New Testament of the words of the Old,—from the writings of Moses to the writings of Malachi,—would be simply nugatory unless those words were much more than human. And the record of the Apostle is express and emphatic:—"All Scripture—every Book of the Bible,—is given by Inspiration of God."—In the face of such testimony, by the way, we deem it not a little extraordinary to be assured (by an individual who has acquired considerable notoriety within the last few months) that "for any of the higher or supernatural views of Inspiration there is no foundation in the Gospels or Epistles[358]."
Strange to say, there is a marvellous indisposition in Man to admit the notion of such a heaven-sent message. Not to dispute with those who deny Inspiration altogether, (for that would be endless,) there are many,—and, we fear, a daily increasing number of persons,—who, admitting Inspiration in terms, yet so mutilate the notion of it, that their admission becomes a practical lie. "St. Paul was inspired, no doubt. So was Shakspeare." He who says this, intending no quibble, declares that in his belief St. Paul was not inspired at all.
But this is a monstrous case, with which I will not waste your time. Far more numerous are they, who, admitting that the Authors of the Bible were inspired in quite a different sense from Homer and Dante, are yet for modifying and qualifying this admission after so many strange and arbitrary fashions, that the residuum of their belief is really worth very little. One man has a mental reservation of exclusion in favour of the two Books of Chronicles, or the Book of Esther, or of Daniel.—Another, is content to eliminate from the Bible those passages which seem to him to run counter to the decrees of physical Science;—the History of the Six Days of Creation,—of the Flood,—of the destruction of Sodom,—and of Joshua's address to Sun and Moon.—Another regards it as self-evident that nothing is trustworthy which savours supremely of the marvellous;—as the Temptation of our first Parents,—the Manna in the Wilderness,—Balaam reproved by the dumb ass,—and the history of Jonah.—There are others who cannot tolerate the Miracles of the Old and the New Testament. The more timid, explain away as much of them as they dare. What remains, troubles them. The more logical sweep them away altogether. A miracle (they say) cannot be true because it implies a violation of the fixed and immutable laws of Nature.
And then,—(so strangely constituted are some men's minds,)—there are not a few persons who, without exactly denying the inspiration of the Bible in any of its more marvellous portions,—(for that would be an inconvenient proceeding,)—are yet content to regard much of it as a kind of inspired myth. This is a class of ally (?) with whom one really knows not how to deal. The man does not reason. He assumes his right to disbelieve, and yet will not allow that he is an unbeliever. The world is singularly indulgent toward persons of this unphilosophical, illogical, presumptuous class.
Now, I shall have something to say to all these different kinds of objectors, on some subsequent occasion. But I shall be rendering the younger men a far more important service if to-day I address my remarks to a different class of objectors altogether: that far larger body, I mean, who without at all desiring to impugn the Inspiration of God's Oracles, yet make no secret of their belief that the Bible is full of inaccuracies and misstatements. These men ascribe a truly liberal amount of human infirmity to the Authors of the several Books of the Bible;—slips of memory, misconceptions, imperfect intelligence, partial illumination, and so forth;—and, under one or other of those heads, include whatever they are themselves disposed to reject. The writers who come in for the largest share of this indulgence, are the Evangelists; because the Historians of our Lord's life, having happily left us four versions of the same story, and often three versions of the same transaction, the evidence whereby they may be convicted of error is in the hands of all. Truly, mankind has not been slow to avail itself of the opportunity. You will seldom hear a Gospel difficulty discussed, without a quiet assumption on the part of the Reverend gentleman that he knows all about the matter in question, but that the Evangelist did not. His usual method is, calmly to inform us that it is useless to look for strict consistency in matters of minute detail; that general agreement between the four Evangelists there does exist, and that ought to be enough. The inevitable inference from his manner of handling the Gospels, is, that if his actual thoughts could find candid expression, we should hear him address their blessed authors somewhat as follows:—"You are four highly respectable characters, no doubt; and you mean well. But it cannot be expected that persons of your condition in life should have described so many intricate transactions so minutely without making blunders. I do not say it unkindly. I often make blunders myself,—I, who have a "clearness of understanding," "a power of discrimination between different kinds of Truth[359]" unknown to the Apostolic Age!" ... Of course the preacher does not say all this. He has too keen a sense of "the dignity of the pulpit." And so he puts it somewhat thus:—"While we are disposed to recognize substantial agreement, and general conformity in respect of details, among the synoptical witnesses, in their leading external outlines, we are yet constrained to withhold our unqualified acceptance of any theory of Inspiration which should claim for these compilers exemption from the oscitancy, and generally from the infirmities of humanity." ... This sounds fine, you know; and is thought an ingenious way of wrapping up the charge which the Reverend preacher brings against the Evangelists;—of having, in plain terms,—made blunders.