THE DIVINE INSPIRATION OF THE BIBLE
ARTHUR W. PINK
BIBLE TRUTH DEPOT
PUBLISHERS AND BOOKSELLERS
SWENGEL, PA.
I affectionately inscribe this book to
my dear father and mother,
in grateful appreciation of the fact that
from a child I was taught to revere
the Holy Scriptures.
INTRODUCTION
Christianity is the religion of a Book.
Christianity is based upon the impregnable
rock of Holy Scripture. The starting point
of all doctrinal discussion must be the
Bible. Upon the foundation of the Divine
inspiration of the Bible stands or falls the
entire edifice of Christian truth. - ”If the
foundations be destroyed, what can the
righteous do?” (Ps. 11:3). Surrender the
dogma of verbal inspiration and you are left
like a rudderless ship on a stormy sea-at
the mercy of every wind that blows. Deny
that the Bible is, without any
qualifications, the very Word of God, and
you are left without any ultimate standard
of measurement and without any supreme
authority. It is useless to discuss any
doctrine taught by the Bible until you are
prepared to acknowledge, unreservedly, that
the Bible is the final court of appeal.
Grant that the Bible is a Divine revelation
and communication of God’s own mind and will
to men, and you have a fixed starting point
from which advance can be made into the
domain of truth. Grant that the Bible is (in
its original manuscripts) inerrant and
infallible and you reach the place where
study of its contents is both practicable
and profitable.
It is impossible to over-estimate the
importance of the doctrine of the Divine
inspiration of Scripture. This is the
strategic center of Christian theology, and
must be defended at all costs. It is the
point at which our satanic enemy is
constantly hurling his hellish battalions.
Here it was he made his first attack. In
Eden he asked, “Yea, hath God said?” and
today he is pursuing the same tactics.
Throughout the ages the Bible has been the
central object of his assaults. Every
available weapon in the devil’s arsenal has
been employed in his determined and
ceaseless efforts to destroy the temple of
God’s truth. In the first days of the
Christian era the attack of the enemy was
made openly - the bonfire being the chief
instrument of destruction - but, in these
“last days” the assault is made in a more
subtle manner and comes from a more
unexpected quarter. The Divine origin of the
Scriptures is now disputed in the name of
“Scholarship” and “Science,” and that, too,
by those who profess to be friends and
champions of the Bible. Much of the learning
and theological activity of the hour, are
concentrated in the attempt to discredit and
destroy the authenticity and authority of
God’s Word, the result being that thousands
of nominal Christians are plunged into a sea
of doubt. Many of those who are paid to
stand in our pulpits and defend the Truth of
God are now the very ones who are engaged in
sowing the seeds of unbelief and destroying
the faith of those to whom they minister.
But these modern methods will prove no more
successful in their efforts to destroy the
Bible than did those employed in the opening
centuries of the Christian era. As well
might the birds attempt to demolish the
granite rock of Gibraltar by pecking at it
with their beaks - “For ever, O Lord, Thy
Word is settled in heaven” (Ps. 119:89).
Now the Bible does not fear investigation.
Instead of fearing it, the Bible courts and
challenges consideration and examination.
The more widely it is known, the more
closely it is read, the more carefully it is
studied, the more unreservedly will it be
received as the Word of God. Christians are
not a company of enthusiastic fanatics. They
are not lovers of myths. They are not
anxious to believe a delusion. They do not
desire their lives to be molded by an empty
superstition. They do not wish to mistake
hallucination for inspiration. If they are
wrong, they wish to be set right. If they
are deceived, they want to be disillusioned.
If they are mistaken, they desire to be
corrected.
The first question which the thoughtful
reader of the Bible has to answer is, What
importance and value am I to attach to the
contents of the Scriptures? Were the writers
of the Bible so many fanatics moved by
oracular frenzy? Were they merely poetically
inspired and intellectually elevated? or,
were they, as they claimed to be, and as the
Scriptures affirm they were, moved by the
Holy Spirit to act as the voice of God to a
sinful world? Were the writers of the Bible
inspired by God in a manner no other men
were in any other age of the world? Were
they invested and endowed with the power to
disclose mysteries and point men upward and
onward to that which otherwise would have
been an impenetrable future? One can readily
appreciate the fact that the answer to these
questions is of supreme importance. If the
Bible is not inspired in the strictest sense
of the word then it is worthless, for it
claims to be God’s Word, and if its claims
are spurious then its statements are
unreliable and its contents are
untrustworthy. If, on the other hand, it can
be shown to the satisfaction of every
impartial inquirer that the Bible is the
Word of God, inerrant and infallible, then
we have a starting point from which we can
advance to the conquest of all truth.
A book that claims to be a Divine revelation
- a claim which, as we shall see, is
substantiated by the most convincing
credentials - cannot be rejected or even
neglected without grave peril to the soul.
True wisdom cannot refuse to examine it with
care and impartiality. If the claims of the
Bible be well founded then the prayerful and
diligent study of the Scriptures becomes of
paramount importance: they have a claim upon
our notice and time which nothing else has,
and beside them everything in this world
loses its luster and sinks into utter
insignificance. If the Bible be the Word of
God then it infinitely transcends in value
all the writings of men, and in exact ratio
to its immeasurable superiority to human
productions such is our responsibility and
duty to give it the most reverent and
serious consideration. As a Divine
revelation the Bible ought to be studied,
yet, this is the only subject on which human
curiosity does not desire information. Into
every other sphere man pushes his
investigations, but the Book of books is
neglected, and this, not only by the
ignorant, and illiterate, but by the wise of
this world as well. The cultured dilettante
will boast of his acquaintance with the
sages of Greece and Rome, yet, will know
little or nothing of Moses and the prophets,
Christ and His Apostles. But the general
neglect of the Bible verifies the Scriptures
and affords additional proof of their
authenticity. The contempt with which the
Bible is treated demonstrates that human
nature is exactly what God’s Word represents
it to be - fallen and depraved - and is
unmistakable evidence that the carnal mind
is enmity against God.
If the Bible is the Word of God; if it
stands on an infinitely exalted plane, all
alone; if it immeasurable transcends all the
greatest productions of human genius; then,
we should naturally expect to find that it
has unique credentials, that there are
internal marks which prove it to be the
handiwork of God, that there is conclusive
evidence to show that its Author is
superhuman, Divine. That these expectations
are realized we shall now endeavor to show;
that there is no reason whatever for any one
to doubt the Divine inspiration of the
Scriptures is the purpose of this book to
demonstrate. As we examine the natural world
we find innumerable proofs of the existence
of a Personal Creator, and the same God who
has manifested Himself thro’ His works has
also revealed His wisdom and will thro’ His
Word. The God of creation and the God of
written revelation are One, and there are
irrefutable arguments to show that the
Almighty who made the heavens and the earth
is also the Author of the Bible.
We shall now submit to the critical
attention of the reader a few of the lines
of demonstration which argue for the Divine
inspiration of the Bible.
CHAPTER ONE: THERE IS A PRESUMPTION IN FAVOR
OF THE BIBLE
This argument may be simply and tersely
stated thus - Man needed a Divine revelation
couched in human language. God had
previously given man a revelation of Himself
in His created works - which men please to
term “nature” - but bears unmistakable
testimony to the existence of its Creator,
and though sufficient is revealed of God
thro’ it to render all men “without excuse,”
yet creation does not present a complete
unveiling of God’s character. Creation
reveals God’s wisdom and power, but it gives
us a very imperfect presentation of His
mercy and love. Creation is now under the
curse; it is imperfect, because it has been
marred by sin; therefore, an imperfect
creation cannot be a perfect medium for
revealing God; and hence, also, the
testimony of creation is contradictory.
In the spring of the year, when nature puts
on her loveliest robes and we see the
beautiful foliage of the countryside and
listen to the happy songs of the birds, we
have no difficulty in inferring that a
gracious God is ruling over our world. But
what of the winter-time, when the
countryside is desolate and the trees are
leafless and forlorn, when a pall of death
seems to be resting on everything? When we
stood by the seashore and watched the
setting sun crimsoning the placid waters on
a quiet eve, we had no hesitation in
ascribing the picture to the hand of the
Divine Artist. But when we stand upon the
same seashore on a stormy night, hear the
roaring of the breakers and the howling
wind, see the boats battling with the angry
waves and listen to the heart-rending cries
of the seamen as they go down into a watery
grave, then, we are tempted to wonder if,
after all, a merciful God is at the helm. As
one walks thro’ the Grand Canyon or stands
before the Niagara Falls, the hand and power
of God seem very evident; but, as one
witnesses the desolations of the San
Francisco earthquake or the death-dealing
effects of the volcanic eruptions of Mount
Vesuvius, he is again perplexed and puzzled.
In a word then, the testimony of nature is
conflicting, and, as we have said, this is
due to the fact that sin has come in and
marred God’s handiwork. Creation displays
God’s natural attributes but it tells us
little or nothing of His moral perfections.
Nature knows no forgiveness and shows no
mercy, and if we had no other source of
information we should never discover the
fact that God pardons sinners. Man then
needs a written revelation from God.
Our limitations and our ignorance reveal our
need. Man is in darkness concerning God.
Blot the Bible out of existence and what
should we know about His character, His
moral attributes, His attitude toward us, or
His demands upon us? As we have seen, nature
is but an imperfect medium for revealing
God. The ancients had the same nature before
them as we have, but what did they discover
of His character? Unto what knowledge of the
one true God did they attain? The
seventeenth chapter of the Acts answers that
question. When the Apostle Paul was in the
famous city of Athens, famous for its
learning and philosophical culture, he
discovered an altar, on which were inscribed
the words, “To the unknown God”. The same
condition prevails today. Visit those lands
which have not been illumined by the light
of the Holy Scriptures and it will be found
that their peoples know no more about the
character of the living God than did the
ancient Egyptians and Babylonians.
Man is in darkness concerning himself. From
whence am I? What am I? Am I anything more
than a reasoning animal? Have I an immortal
soul, or, am I nothing more than a sentient
being? What is the purpose of my existence?
Why am I here in this world at all? What is
the end and aim of life? How shall I employ
my time and talents? Shall I live only for
today, eat, drink, and be merry? What after
death? Do I perish like the beasts of the
field, or is the grave the portal into
another world? If so, whither am I bound? Do
these questions appear senseless and
irrelevant? Annihilate the Scriptures,
eliminate all the light they have shed upon
these problems, and whither shall we turn
for a solution? If the Bible had never been
written how many of these questions could
have been satisfactorily answered? A very
striking testimony to man’s need of a Divine
revelation was given by the celebrated but
skeptical historian Gibbon. He remarked -
“Since, therefore, the most sublime efforts
of philosophy can extend no farther than
feebly to point out the desire, the hope,
or, at most, the probability, of a future
state, there is nothing except a Divine
revelation that can ascertain the existence
and describe the condition of the invisible
country which is destine to receive the
souls of men after their separation from the
body.”
Our experiences reveal our need. There are
problems to be faced which our wisdom is
incapable of solving; there are obstacles in
our path which we have no means of
surmounting; there are enemies to be met
which we are unable to vanquish. We are in
dire need of counsel, strength, and courage.
There are trials and tribulations which come
to us, testing the hearts of the bravest and
stoutest, and we need comfort and cheer.
There are sorrows and bereavements which
crush our spirits and we need the hope of
immortality and resurrection.
Our corporate life reveals our need. What is
to govern and regulate our dealings one with
the other? Shall each do that which is right
in his own eyes? That would destroy all law
and order. Shall we draw up some moral code,
some ethical standard? But who shall fix it?
Opinions vary. We need some final court of
appeal: if we had no Bible, where should we
find it?
Man then needs a Divine revelation; God is
able to supply that need; therefore, is it
not reasonable to suppose He will do so?
Surely God will not mock our ignorance and
leave us to grope in the dark! If it is
harder to believe that the universe had no
creator, than it is to believe that “in the
beginning God created the heavens and the
earth;” if it is a greater tax upon our
faith to suppose that Christianity with all
its glorious triumphs is without a Divine
Founder, than it is to believe that it rests
upon the Person of the Lord Jesus Christ;
then, does it not also make a greater demand
upon human credulity to imagine that God
would leave mankind without an intelligible
communication from Himself, than it does to
believe that the Bible is a revelation from
the Creator to His fallen and erring
creatures?
If there is a personal God (and none but a
“fool” will deny His existence), and if we
are the works of His hands He surely would
not leave us in doubt concerning the great
problems which have to do with our temporal,
spiritual, and eternal welfare. If an
earthly parent advises his sons and
daughters in their problems and
perplexities, warns them of the perils and
pitfalls of life which menace their
well-being; counsels them with regard to
their daily welfare and makes known to them
his plans and purposes concerning their
future, surely it is incredible to suppose
that our Heavenly Father would do less for
His children!
We are often uncertain as to which is the
right course to pursue; we are frequently in
doubt as to the real path of duty; we are
constantly surrounded by the hosts of
wickedness which seek to accomplish our
downfall; and, we are daily confronted with
experiences which make us sad and sorrowful.
The wisest among us need guidance which our
own wisdom fails to supply; the best of
humanity need grace which the human heart is
powerless to bestow; the most refined among
the sons of men need deliverance from
temptations which they cannot overcome. Will
God mock us then in our need? Will God leave
us alone in the hour of our weakness? Will
God refuse to provide for us a Refuge from
our enemies? Man needs a Counselor, a
Comforter, a Deliverer. The very fact that
God has a Father’s regard for His children
necessitates that He should give them a
written revelation which communicates His
mind and will concerning them and which
points them to the One who is willing and
able to supply all their need.
To sum up this argument. Man needs a Divine
revelation; God is able to supply one; is it
not, therefore, reasonable to suppose He
will do so? There is then, a presumption in
favor of the Bible. Is it not more
reasonable to believe that He whose name and
nature is Love shall provide us with a lamp
unto our feet and a light unto our path,
than to leave us to grope our way amid the
darkness of a fallen and ruined world?
CHAPTER TWO: THE PERENNIAL FRESHNESS OF THE
BIBLE BEARS WITNESS TO ITS DIVINE INSPIRER
The full force of the present argument will
appeal only to those who are intimately
acquainted with the Bible, and the more
familiar the reader is with the Sacred Canon
the more heartily will he endorse the
following statements. Just as a knowledge of
Latin is necessary in order to understand
the technique of a treatise on pathology or
physiology, or just as a certain amount of
culture and academic learning is an
indispensable adjunct to intelligently
follow the arguments and apprehend the
illustrations in a dissertation on
philosophy or psychology, so a first-hand
acquaintance with the Bible is necessary to
appreciate the fact that its contents never
become commonplace.
One of the first facts which arrests the
attention of the student of God’s Word is
that, like the widow’s oil and meal which
nourished Elijah, the contents of the Bible
are never exhausted. Unlike all other books,
the Bible never acquires a sameness, and
never diminishes in its power of response to
the needy soul which comes to it. Just as a
fresh supply of manna was given each day to
the Israelites in the wilderness, so the
Spirit of God ever breaks anew the Bread of
Life to them who hunger after righteousness;
or, just as the loaves and fishes in the
hands of our Lord were more than enough to
feed the famished multitude - a surplus
still remaining - so the honey and milk of
the Word are more than sufficient to satisfy
the hunger of every human soul - the supply
still remaining undiminished for new
generations.
Although one may know, word for word, the
entire contents of some chapter of
Scripture, and although he may have taken
the time to ponder thoughtfully every
sentence therein, yet, on every subsequent
occasion, provided one comes to it again in
the spirit of humble inquiry, each fresh
reading will reveal new gems never seen
there before and new delights will be
experienced never met with previously. The
most familiar passages will yield as much
refreshment at the thousandth perusal as
they did at the first. The Bible has been
likened to a fountain of living water: the
fountain is ever the same, but the water is
always fresh.
Herein the Bible differs from all other
books, sacred or secular. What man has to
say can be gathered from his writings at the
first reading: failure to do so indicates
that the writer has not succeeded in
expressing himself clearly, or else the
reader has failed to apprehend his meaning.
Man is only able to deal with surface
things, hence he cares only about surface
appearances; consequently, whatever man has
to say lies upon the surface of his
writings, and the capable reader can exhaust
them by a single perusal. Not so with the
Bible. Although the Bible has been studied
more microscopically than any other book
(even its very letters have been counted and
registered) by many of the keenest
intellects for the past two thousand years,
although whole libraries of works have been
written as commentaries upon its teachings,
and although literally millions of sermons
have been preached and printed in the
attempt to expound every part of Holy Writ,
yet its contents have not been exhausted,
and in this twentieth century new
discoveries are being made in it every day!
The Bible is an inexhaustible mine of
wealth: it is the El Dorado of heavenly
treasure. It has veins of ore which never
“give out” and pockets of gold which no pick
can empty; yet, like earthly treasures, the
gems of God must be diligently sought if
they are to be found. Potatoes lie near the
surface of the ground, but diamonds require
much laborious digging, so also the precious
things of the Word are only revealed to the
prayerful, patient and diligent student.
The Bible is like a spring of water which
never runs dry. No matter how many may drink
from its life-giving stream, and no matter
how often they may quench their thirst at
its refreshing waters, its flow continues
and never fails to satisfy the needs of all
who come and take of its perennial springs.
The Bible has a whole continent of Truth yet
to be explored. A learned scholar who died
during the present year of grace had read
through the Bible no fewer than five hundred
times! What other book, ancient or modern,
Oriental or Occidental, would repay even a
fiftieth reading?
How can we account for this marvelous
characteristic of the Bible? What
explanation can we offer for this startling
phenomenon? It is only stating a commonplace
axiom when we affirm that what is finite is
fathomable. What the mind of man has
produced the mind of man can exhaust. If
human mortals had written the Bible its
contents would have been “mastered” ages
ago. In view of the fact that the contents
of the Scriptures cannot be exhausted, that
they never acquire sameness or staleness to
the devout student, and that they always
speak with fresh force to the quickened soul
that comes to them, is it not apparent that
none other than the infinite mind of God
could have created such a wonderful Book as
the Bible?
CHAPTER THREE: THE UNMISTAKABLE HONESTY OF
THE WRITERS OF THE BIBLE ATTESTS TO ITS
HEAVENLY ORIGIN
The title of this chapter suggests a wide
field of study the limits of which we can
now only skirt here and there. To begin with
the writers of the Old Testament.
Had the historical parts of the Old
Testament been a forgery, or the production
of uninspired men, their contents would have
been very different to what they are. Each
of its Books was written by a descendant of
Abraham, yet nowhere do we find the bravery
of the Israelites extolled and never once
are their victories regarded as the outcome
of their courage or military genius; on the
contrary, success is attributed to the
presence of Jehovah the God of Israel. To
this it might be replied, Heathen writers
have often ascribed the victories of their
peoples to the intervention of their gods.
This is true, yet there is no parallel at
all between the two cases. Comparison is
impossible. Heathen writers invariably
represent their gods as being blindly
partial to their friends and whenever their
favorites failed to come out victorious
their defeat is attributed to the opposition
of other gods or to a blind and unyielding
fate. In contradistinction to this, the
defeats of Israel, as much as their
victories, are regarded as coming from
Jehovah. Their successes were not due to
mere partiality in God, but are uniformly
viewed as connected with a careful
observance of His commands; and, in like
manner, their defeats are portrayed as the
outcome of their disobedience and
waywardness. If they transgressed His laws
they were defeated and put to shame, even
though their God was the Almighty. But we
have digressed somewhat. That to which we
desire to direct attention is the fact that
men who were their own countrymen have
chronicled the history of the Israelites,
and therein have faithfully recorded their
defeats not to an inexorable fate, nor to
bad generalship and military failures, but
to the sins of the people and their
wickedness against God. Such a God is not
the creation of the human mind, and such
historians were not actuated by the common
principles of human nature.
Not only have the Jewish historians
recounted the military defeats of their
people, but they have also faithfully
recorded their many moral backslidings and
spiritual declinations. One of the
outstanding truths of the Old Testament is
that the Unity of God, that God is One, that
beside Him there is none else, that all
other gods are false gods and that to pay
them homage is to be guilty of the sin of
idolatry. Against the sin of idolatry these
Jewish writers cry out repeatedly. They
uniformly declare that it is a sin most
abhorrent in the sight of heaven. Yet, these
same Jewish writers record how again and
again their ancestors (contrary to the
universal leaning towards ancestral
adoration and worship), and their
contemporaries, were guilty of this great
wickedness. Not only so, but they have
pointed out how some of their most famous
heroes sinned in this very particular. Aaron
and the golden calf, Solomon and the later
kings being notable examples - “Then did
Solomon build a high place for Chemosh, the
abomination of Moab, in the hill that is
before Jerusalem, and for Molech, the
abomination of the children of Ammon. And
likewise did he for all his strange wives,
which burnt incense and sacrificed unto
their gods” (Kings 11:7,8). Moreover, there
is no attempt made to excuse their
wrongdoing; instead, their acts are openly
censured and uncompromisingly condemned. As
is well known, human historians are inclined
to conceal or extenuate the faults of their
favorites. A forged history would have
clothed friends with every virtue, and would
not have ventured to mar the effect designed
to be produced by uncovering the vices of
its most distinguished personages. Here
then, is displayed the uniqueness of
Scripture history. Its characters are
painted in the colors of truth and nature.
But such characters were never sketched by a
human pencil. Moses and the other writers
must have written by Divine inspiration.
The sin of idolatry, while it is the worst
of which Israel was guilty, is not the only
evil recorded against them - their whole
history is one long story of repeated
apostasy from Jehovah their God. After they
had been emancipated from the bondage of
Egypt and had been miraculously delivered
from their cruel masters at the Red Sea,
they commenced their journey towards the
Promised Land. Between them and their goal
lay a march across the wilderness, and here
the depravity of their hearts was fully
manifested. In spite of the fact that
Jehovah, by overthrowing their enemies, had
plainly demonstrated that He was their God,
yet no sooner was the faith of the
Israelites put to the test than their hearts
failed them. First, their stores of food
began to give out and they feared they would
perish from hunger. Trying circumstances had
banished the Living God from their thoughts.
They complained of their lot and murmured
against Moses. Yet God did not deal with
them after their sins nor reward them
according to their iniquities: in mercy, He
gave them bread from heaven and furnished
them a daily supply of manna. But they soon
became dissatisfied with the manna and
lusted after the flesh pots of Egypt. Still
God dealt with them in grace.
Shortly after God’s intervention in giving
the Israelites food to eat, which ought for
ever to have closed their murmuring mouths,
they pitched in Rephidim where “there was no
water for the people to drink. Wherefore the
people did chide with Moses, and said, Give
us water that we may drink. And Moses said
unto them, Why chide ye with me? wherefore
do ye tempt the Lord? And the people
thirsted there for water; and the people
murmured against Moses, and said, Wherefore
is this that thou hast brought us up out of
Egypt, to kill us and our children and our
cattle with thirst? And Moses cried unto the
Lord, saying, What shall I do unto this
people? they be almost ready to stone me.”
What was God’s response? Did His anger
consume them? Did He refuse to bear longer
with such a stiff-necked people? No: “The
Lord said unto Moses, Go on before the
people, and take with thee of the elders of
Israel; and thy rod, wherewith thou smotest
the river, take in thine hand, and go.
Behold, I will stand before thee there upon
the rock in Horeb; and thou shalt smite the
rock, and there shall come water out of it,
that the people may drink” (Exod. 17).
The above incidents were but sadly typical
and illustrative of Israel’s general
conduct. When the spies were sent out to
view the Promised Land and returned and
reported, ten of them magnified the
difficulties which confronted them and
advised the people not to attempt an
occupation of Canaan; and though the
remaining two faithfully reminded the
Israelites that the mighty Jehovah could
easily overcome all their difficulties,
nevertheless, the nation listened not but
heeded the word of their skeptical advisers.
Time after time they provoked Jehovah, and
in consequence the whole of that generation
perished in the wilderness. When the
succeeding generation was grown, under the
leadership of Joshua they entered the
Promised Land and by the aid of God
overthrew many of their enemies and occupied
much of their territory. But after the death
of Joshua we read, “There arose another
generation after them, which knew not the
Lord, nor yet the works which He had done
for Israel. And the children of Israel did
evil in the sight of the Lord God of their
fathers, which brought them out of the land
of Egypt, and followed other gods, of the
gods of the people that were round about
them, and bowed themselves unto them, and
provoked the Lord to anger. And they forsook
the Lord, and served Baal and Ashtaroth”
(Judge. 2:10-13). There is no need for us to
follow further the fluctuating fortunes of
Israel: as is well known, under the period
of the judges their history was a series of
returns to the Lord and subsequent
departures from Him; repeated deliverances
from the hands of their enemies, and then
returning unfaithfulness on their part,
followed by being again delivered unto their
foes. Under the kings it was no better. The
very first of their kings perished thro’ his
willful disobedience and apostasy; the third
king, Solomon, violated God’s law and
married heathen women who turned his heart
unto false gods. Solomon, in turn, was
followed by a number of idolatrous rulers,
and the path of Israel ran farther and
farther away from the Lord, until He
delivered them over unto Nebuchadnezzar who
captured their beloved Jerusalem, destroyed
their Temple, and carried away the people
into captivity.
In the repeated mention which we have in the
Old Testament of Israel’s sins, we discover,
in light as clear as day, the absolute
honesty and candor of those who recorded
Israel’s history. No attempt whatever is
made to conceal their folly, their unbelief,
and their wickedness; instead, the corrupt
condition of their hearts is made fully
manifest, and this, by writers who belonged
to, and were born of the same nation. In the
whole realm of literature there is no
parallel. The record of Israel’s history is
absolutely unique. The careful reader would
at first conclude that Israel as a nation
was more depraved than any other, yet
further reflection will show that the
inference is a false one and that the real
fact is that the history of Israel has been
more faithfully transmitted than that of any
other nation. We mean the history of Israel
as it is recorded in the Holy Scriptures,
for in striking contrast thereto and in
exemplification of all that we have written
above, it is noteworthy that Josephus passes
over in silence whatever appeared
unfavorable to his nation!!
Coming now to the New Testament we begin
with the character of John the Baptist and
the position that he occupied. John the
Baptist is presented as a most eminent
personage. We are told that his birth was
due to the miraculous intervention of God.
We learn that he was “filled with the Holy
Spirit, even from his mother’s womb” (Luke
1:15). John the Baptist was himself the
subject of Old Testament prediction. The
office that he filled was the most honorable
which ever fell to the lot of any member of
Adam’s race. He was the harbinger of the
Messiah. He was the one who went before our
Lord to prepare His way. He had the honor of
baptizing the blessed Redeemer. Now where
would human wisdom have placed him among the
attendants of the Lord Jesus? What position
would it have ascribed to him? Surely he
would have been set forth as the most
distinguished among our Lord’s followers;
surely, human wisdom would have set him at
the right hand of the Saviour! Yet what do
we find? Instead of this, we discover that
he had no familiar discourse with the
Saviour; instead, we find he was treated
with apparent neglect; instead, we find him
represented as occupying the position of a
doubter who, as the result of his
imprisonment, was constrained to send a
message to his Master to enquire whether or
not He were the promised Messiah. Had his
character been the invention of forgery,
nothing would have been heard of his lapse
of faith. Indeed, this is so opposed to the
dictates of human wisdom, that many have
been shocked at the thought of ascribing
doubts to the eminent forerunner of Christ,
and have taxed their ingenuity to the utmost
to force from the obvious meaning of the
record some other and some different
signification. But all these ingenuities of
human sophistry are dissipated by the reply
which our Lord made on the occasion of
John’s inquiry (Matt. 11), a reply which
shows very plainly that the question was
asked not for the benefit of his disciples,
but because the Baptist’s own heart was
harassed with doubts. Again, we say that no
human mind could have invented the character
of John the Baptist, and the faithfulness of
his biographers is another proof that the
writers of the Bible were actuated by
something more and something higher than the
principles of human nature.
Another striking illustration of our chapter
heading - one which many writers have
pointed out - is the treatment the Son of
God received while He tabernacled among men.
For two thousand years Israel’s hopes had
all centered in the advent of their Messiah.
The height of every Jewish woman’s ambition
was that she might be selected of God to
have the honor of being the mother of the
promised Seed. For centuries, every pious
Hebrew had looked and longed for the day
when He should appear who was to occupy
David’s throne and rule and reign in
righteousness. Yet, when He did appear how
was the Promised One received? “He was
despised and rejected of men.” “He came unto
His own and His own received Him not.” Those
who were His brethren according to the flesh
“hated” Him “without a cause.” The very
nation which gave Him birth and to which He
ministered in infinite grace and blessing
demanded that He should be crucified. The
startling thing which we desire to
particularly emphasize is, that the
narrators of this awful tragedy are fellow
countrymen of those upon whose heads rested
the guilt of its perpetration. It was Jewish
writers who recorded the fearful crime of
the Jewish nation against their Messiah!
And, we say again, that in the recording of
that crime no attempt whatever is made to
palliate or extenuate their wickedness;
instead, it is denounced and condemned in
the most uncompromising terms. Israel is
openly charged with having taken and with
“wicked hands” slain the “Lord of Glory.”
Such an honest and impartial recital of
Israel’s crowning sin can only be explained
on the ground that what these men wrote was
inspired of God.
One more illustration must suffice. After
our Lord’s death and resurrection, He
commissioned His disciples to go forth
carrying from Him a message first to His own
nation and later to “every creature.” This
message, be it noted, was not a malediction
called down upon the heads of His heartless
murderers, but a proclamation of grace. It
was a message of good news, of glad tidings
- forgiveness was to be preached in His name
to all men. How then would human wisdom
suppose such a message will be received? It
is further to be observed that those who
were thus commissioned to carry the Gospel
to the lost, were vested with power to heal
the sick and to cast out demons. Surely such
a beneficent ministry will meet with a
universal welcome! Yet, incredible as it may
appear, the Apostles of Christ met with no
more appreciation than did their Master.
They, too, were despised and rejected. They,
too, were hated and persecuted. They, too,
were ill treated, imprisoned, and put to a
shameful death. And this, not merely from
the hands of the bigoted Jews, but from the
cultured Greeks and from the democratic and
freedom loving Romans as well. Though these
Apostles brought blessing, they themselves
were cursed; though they sought to
emancipate men from the thraldom of sin and
Satan, yet they were themselves captured and
thrown into prison; though they healed the
sick and raised the dead, they suffered
martyrdom. Surely it is apparent to every
impartial mind that the New Testament is no
mere human invention; and surely it is
evident from the honesty of its writers in
so faithfully portraying the enmity of the
carnal mind against God, that their
productions can only be accounted for on the
ground that they spake and wrote “not of
themselves,” but “as they were moved by the
Holy Spirit” (II Peter 1:21).