[Gutenberg 52151] • Inspiration: Its Nature and Extent

INTRODUCTION.

It is quite impossible to over-estimate the deep importance of this great subject, for on our conclusions respecting it must depend our confidence in all the great mysteries of the Gospel. There is a sphere within which the human mind is capable of astonishing achievement, and I would be the last to undervalue human intellect. It has done vast things already, and is doing great things now. But there is a limit beyond which it has no power to pass; p. 2a world in which it has no means of investigation; an unseen kingdom which lies quite outside its range. Yet, though unseen, this kingdom is all important; and, though an undiscovered country, it is one in which we are all most deeply concerned, for we are all rapidly hastening thither, and He who is our Father, our Creator, our Redeemer, our Lord, our life, is the great and unseen Head of it. Thus, no science can ever inform us as to the nature of the Godhead, the plan of salvation, or eternal life; and it is altogether unphilosophical and unscientific to attempt to reduce such subjects to the ordinary rules of science and philosophy. God’s plan of salvation can only be known from God Himself; so that, if He has not imparted to us all needful knowledge respecting it, there is no human power that can ever supply the deficiency, and we must p. 3live and die convinced of the soul’s immortality, but still in utter ignorance of the plan which God has arranged for its safety. Hence the inexpressible value of the inspired word of Scripture. It is the communication from God to man respecting the deep things of the unseen world. It supplies that which lies beyond the reach of human investigation, and gives us exactly that information which dying man requires. It unfolds to us the eternal nature of God, and the plan of salvation which He has prepared in tender mercy for a fallen world. If therefore our Bible fail us, our whole hope fails with it, and if we cannot rely on its sacred statements, we are left without any trustworthy information as to all those great truths which most deeply concern us. If we cannot rely on Scripture as a communication from God we have nothing to take its place; and all our p. 4present joy, as well as our future hopes, must melt away into utter ignorance respecting all that lies beyond the range of science, and utter hopelessness as to all beyond this present world.

It is not my present object to attempt to prove the inspiration of Scripture. It is a great and noble subject, and one which I should rejoice to investigate. But it is not the subject of this paper. My object is to examine the extent and nature of inspiration, and to that I must exclusively confine myself. I take it for granted therefore that inspiration is an admitted fact, so that my only business is to consider how far it carries us, and what security it gives us for certain, reliable, infallible truth, in all the statements of the inspired word.