tibvavy of 'the Cheoloctfcd gtmimvy 

PRINCETON • NEW JERSEY 



PRESENTED BY 

The Estate of 
Philip H. Waddell Smith 

,C3£ 



°1 



y* 



CLEWS TO HOLY WRIT. 



CLEWS TO HOLY WRIT; 



OR, THE 



iYCLE 




A SCHEME FOR STUDYING THE WHOLE BIBLE IN ITS 
HISTORICAL ORDER DURING THREE YEARS. 



BY 

MARY L. G. N/ CARUS-WILSON, 

(nee petrie), 

FOUNDER AND PRESIDENT OF " THE COLLEGE BY POST.' 



EIGHTH EDITION. 



AMERICAN TRACT SOCIETY, 

IO EAST 23d STREET, NEW YORK. 



TO THE 
DUCHESS OF BEDFORD, 

ONE OF THE FIRST 

OUTSIDE OUR COLLEGE BY POST TO ADOPT 

THE C.S.C. SCHEME, 

AND THE FIRST TO SUGGEST 

ITS ISSUE IN THIS FORM FOR A WIDER PUBLIC, 

3- S)e&fcate 
MY LITTLE BOOK. 



PREFACE TO THE SIXTH THOUSAND 

r I ^HE reception which my little volume has had from 
-*- the reviewers and the public has been most gratifying 
to the author of a first book. The few adverse criticisms 
were based on the idea that I was daring enough to at- 
tempt the difficult, if not impossible, task of setting forth 
an authoritative scheme of Biblical chronology. Prepara- 
tion of this book has, on the contrary, led me to doubt if 
an undisputed date can be assigned to any single event 
in Scripture history. Modern research has not yet re- 
placed the generally condemned old chronology by a 
generally accepted new one. Hence it seemed best, in 
a popular book, to use the " received chronology " as a 
convenient working basis, indicating that it is only ap- 
proximately true anywhere, and in many places very 
doubtful. 

My marriage, on August 31st, 1893, to Professor 
Ashley Carus-Wilson, of McGill University, Montreal, has 
changed both my name and my address, and puts it out 
of my power to admit any new students into the College 
by Post, at any rate until the summer of 1894. All 



vi PREFACE 

letters referring to it should be addressed to " The 
Secretary of the College by Post," at Hanover Lodge, 
Kensington Park. Letters intended for me should go 'to 
Canada. We are arranging to lend the MS. answers to 
the questions to the many leaders of Scripture classes, 
etc., who are using this book, on payment of a subscrip- 
tion of at least 2s. 6d. to the Prize Fund of the College 
by Post. 

MARY L. G. CARUS-WILSON. 

September, 1893. 



PREFACE. 

""\T7 ILL you as a young student help another young 
V V student ? " The request was made by the founder 
of the " Christian Women's Education Union " to me in my 
early college days, when I had only matriculated and all 
the hardest part of my work for the University of London 
lay before me. So I began an informal correspondence 
with two or three other girls whose schoolroom days were 
over, and who were isolated from educational advantages. 
A few months later, casual mention in the Girl's Own 
Paper of this brought such scores of applications for the 
proffered aid that the organisation now known as the 
COLLEGE by Post came suddenly into being. 

Born thus in the summer of 1881, it has grown steadily 
since. University College, London ; Westfield College, 
Hampstead ; Girton and Newnham Colleges, Cambridge ; 
Somerville and Lady Margaret Halls, Oxford ; the Ladies' 
College, Cheltenham, and kindred institutions for higher 
education of women have contributed able teachers glad 
to share with others what they have themselves received 
to a staff on which 200 have now been enrolled. 

From all parts of the United Kingdom, from the Con- 
tinent and the Colonies, students representing many 
different conditions of life and degrees of education, to the 
number of 3000, have entered our classes. We do not 
prepare for any public examinations, but many who have 
small opportunity of availing themselves of professional 



viii PREFACE. 

tuition are eager to continue self-culture of various kinds 
under definite guidance through correspondence. We 
would fain lead them to prefer wise books to foolish ones ; 
to enrich their lives by caring for history, literature, and 
science, when continuing to learn ceases to be a duty 
imposed from without and one is free to arrest or foster 
further intellectual growth. And since the most important 
history, the noblest literature, and the highest knowledge 
should always come first, every one of our students under- 
takes to give half an hour a day to Bible study on some 
regular system. Some do this merely because it is the 
condition of receiving gratuitous instruction in other sub- 
jects. But these soon find that to know the Bible aright 
is to love it above all other books. And an ever-increasing 
number who do not need our teaching in other subjects 
join Scripture classes only, and continue Scripture study 
year after year when marriage or pressure of other fresh 
claims on time has made secular study with us impossible. 
During more than six years we availed ourselves of four 
plans of Bible reading, each of wJiich joins us to organisa- 
tions of larger extent than our own, and each of which 
has its peculiar advantages : (a) The Lectionary of the 
Church of England, by which the Old Testament is read 
once and the New Testament twice in the year. Four chap- 
ters a day are, however, too large a portion for thorough 
study, save in the case of those who have abundant leisure. 
(b) (c) The two Bible Unions shaped some sixteen years 
ago by two clergymen of the Church of England, and now 
numbering many thousand adherents all over the world — 
viz., the Bible and Prayer Union, which reads the Bible 
straight through in three years and three months at the 
rate of one chapter a day ; and the Christian Progress 
Union, which reads the Old Testament and New Testa- 
ment straight through together, in rather more than two 
years and a half. Both are clear and simple plans, but 
tend to ignore the historical connection of the books of the 



PREFACE. ix 

Bible with each other, id) The Bible study plan, varying from 
year to year, of the Young Women's Christian Association. 
This, as a rule, is only adopted by those few of us who 
are connected with the practical work of that good society. 

No one of these schemes completely meets our special 
needs as students ; and my desire to add a fifth scheme 
took shape during a long ramble among the moors and 
mountains of Argyllshire in August 1887. Surely the most 
intelligent and profitable method of studying the Bible is 
to read it in the chronological order of the events it relates 
and the books it contains, so far as that can be ascertained. 
Thus we can illustrate the story of what was done by the 
poetry and other literature which explains the motives and 
sets forth the results of those deeds " in order " (Luke i. 3, 
Acts xi. 4). This rearrangement will produce fresh in- 
terest in the narratives ; fresh proof of their power, and 
irresistible evidence of their authenticity as history ; fresh 
light on the will of God when we see the truths He has 
revealed, not as isolated things, but as parts of a whole set 
forth in regular progression, from the dim dawn of the first 
promise in Eden to that bright noontide when the Eternal 
Son came in the Father's Name to reveal God to man 
perfectly. 

Such was the idea embodied in the CHRONOLOGICAL 
Scripture Cycle, Those who first adopted it began 
work with MS. papers on February 1st, 1888, and hence- 
forth the number of C.S.C. classes rapidly increased. 
Then many whose lives are too busy to admit of their 
joining our classes, who are engaged in Bible teaching at 
home or in missionary work in distant lands, asked for the 
set of C.S.C. pamphlets which had been prepared in the first 
instance solely for our own students. 

That there is a real need for such aid as we seek to 
give among the more thoughtful Bible readers of to-day, 
who cannot easily obtain or use the larger works of modern 
scholars, is indicated by these facts. In little more than 



x PREFACE. 

four years our students and their friends have subscribed 
for 3000 sets of pamphlets ; and the scheme is now being, 
followed by 50 out of 60 of our Scripture classes, as well 
as by nearly 1700 individual Bible readers. To many 
Holy Writ has thus become not only interesting but 
fascinating ; and the promised half-hour has grown into 
an hour at the expense of less absorbing secular studies. 

This volume forms the third edition or fourth thousand 
of the C.S.C. Papers. In revising them I have been much 
indebted to my colleagues in the College BY Post for hints 
and criticisms founded upon experience of the practical 
work of our C.S.C. classes. Of other friends whose larger 
knowledge has in various ways aided my responsible task, 
special mention must be made of the Principal of St. John's 
Hall, Highbury. Throughout I write for the plain reader 
who knows no language but English. Should more erudite 
persons use " Clews to Holy Writ," 1 trust they will 
forgive explanations of far from recondite things, recom- 
mendations of popular and inexpensive books, and studious 
avoidance of learned allusions and deep and difficult 
questions. 

And now, as with sails trimmed anew my humble craft 
speeds out to sea from its inland lake, I pray God that 
this effort to help my fellow-students, not discoursing from 
a pulpit, but meeting them on common ground, may be 
used to stir many others up to fresh study of His in- 
exhaustible and everlasting Word. 

MARY L. G. PETRIE. 



CONTENTS 



PAGE 

PREFACE ......... Vii 

INTRODUCTION ........ I 

GENERAL PLAN OF THE CHRONOLOGICAL SCRIPTURE CYCLE 9 

FIRST TERM. 
THE DAYS OF THE PATRIARCHS . . . . -19 

SECOND TERM. 
THE DAYS OF MOSES 39 

THIRD TERM. 
THE DAYS OF DATID ....... 60 

FOURTH TERM. 
THE DAYS OF SOLOMON 7^ 

FIFTH TERM. 
THE DAYS OF THE PROPHETS -95 

SIXTH TERM. 
THE DAYS OF JEREMIAH Il8 

SEVENTH TERM. 

THE DAYS OF EZRA 13$ 

THE SIX CENTURIES FROM JUDAH's FALL TO THE BIRTH 

OF CHRIST • 1^4 



Xll 



CONTENTS. 



PAGE 

THE PSALMS IN THEIR HISTORICAL SEQUENCE . . . I7O 

EIGHTH TERM. 

THE DAYS OF THE SON OF MAN ..... 213 

THE GOSPELS IN THEIR HISTORICAL SEQUENCE. . . 244 

NINTH TERM. 

THE DAYS OF S. PAUL ....... 278 

SECOND SERIES OF QUESTIONS 300, 

GENERAL INDEX 335 

INDEX TO THE PSALMS ....... 337 



INTRODUCTION. 

"The word of the Lord was precious in those days; there was no open 
vision." — i Sam. iii. I. 

"The Bible is an interpretation of the eternal, intelligible to every man 
through all time in the language in which he was born." — Dr. Westcott, 
Bishop of Durham. 

" Let us read every word, ponder every word, first in its plain human sense ; 
then if, in after years, we can see any safe law or rule by which we may find 
out its hidden meaning, let us use it, and search into the deep things of God, 
not from men's theories, but from His own words." — Canon Kingsley. 

GOD is silent now as He was in the days of Eli, and for 
us there is no open vision. In one sense, indeed, He 
is ever revealing Himself as "the thoughts of men are 
widened with the process of the suns." With fresh insight 
into Nature we gain fresh knowledge of His ways, while 
the course of History is constantly showing us more and 
more of His will concerning man. But His supreme 
revelation was when He " spoke unto us in His Son," whom 
the heaven has now received until the times of restoration 
of all things (Acts iii. 21, R.V.) ; and since that Divine voice 
is heard no longer among us, most " rare " and " precious " 
is the Book that contains its words, with all the Prophetic 
teaching that led up to them and all the Apostolic teaching 
that flowed out of them (Heb. i. I, ii. 3, 4). We are 
Christians because we believe in Christ, not because we 
believe in the Bible. Our faith is centred in a Person, not 
in a book. But, being Christians, we prize and study the 
Bible, because we can abundantly prove that in the Gospels 
we have the authentic record of Christ's life and teaching, 
that He has set His seal upon the Old Testament as " the 
Scriptures of the prophets which cannot be broken " (Matt 
xxvi. 56; John x. 35 ; cf. Rom. i. 2), and that the whole 
New Testament is the work of men to whom He promised 



2 INTRODUCTION. 

that His Holy Spirit should teach them all things and 
bring all that He had said to their remembrance (John 
xiv. 26). The Bible tells us of a Living Christ, and is 
interpreted to us by the Living Spirit of God who once 
moved its writers (2 Peter i. 21). Therefore it stands alone 
among the " sacred books " of the world in being itself 
living, not dead. Too often, however, it has been treated 
as if it were dead. No book is more read and less studied ; 
no book has been more grievously misunderstood, since the 
Jews who reverenced the paper on which it was written 
rejected Him of whom it spake. For it is read more 
devoutly but less intelligently than other books. And so 
we hear those who are eager and well-informed on other 
subjects confess that, while they make some acquaintance 
with the New Testament, they cannot find the Old Testa- 
ment interesting. How could they, when they hardly read 
it at all, or else, like Browning's half-learned, but wholly 
self-satisfied preacher in " Christmas Eve and Easter Day/' 
"hug the book of books to pieces," reading it piece- 
meal and haphazard, isolating it from its New Testament 
elucidations, and never inquiring into those circumstances 
of time and place without knowledge of which any record 
of the past loses most of its meaning ? Should we venture 
to treat any other book whose author we respected in such 
a way ? Others again read as a compendium of theology or 
a philosophical dissertation, what is really a collection of 
Literature in its four most attractive forms : Biography, that 
is, portraits of the heroes who make history ; Letters, that is, 
the most spontaneous utterances of human thought ; Poetry, 
that is, the loftiest utterances of human thought ; and, above 
all, History, that is, " philosophy teaching by example." 

In these days secular history is being re-written by men 
with highest gifts of thought and expression. Instead of 
retailing trivial anecdotes, small personalities, crude state- 
ments of character, and partisan arguments, they show 
which were really the important events of the past, what 
led up to them, and what new developments of national life 
and human progress may be derived from them. The 
materials for secular history are contradictory, fragmentary, 
and in many ways unsatisfactory. But the materials for 
sacred history contain all we need know, if not all that 



INTRODUCTION. 3 

would gratify our curiosity. Its writers, under Divine 
guidance, were unbiassed and absolutely truthful. (Occa- 
sional trifling confusions of names and numbers, which are 
inevitable in writings preserved for hundreds of years in 
MS., cannot affect the historic worth of the Scriptures for 
any candid reader.) Rightly read, this history shows 
explicitly what can only be found implicitly in other 
histories, how from age to age, in spite of man's weakness 
and wickedness, the purposes of God are carried out. 

Yet, instead of tracing the march of events by aid of 
chronology and geography, the handmaids of all history, 
and using the field-glass that shows each part in relation to 
the whole, we take the microscope for minute investigation 
of words and phrases ; we revel in whimsical applications 
of morsels of misunderstood narrative : using for instance, 
I quote facts, Gen. xliii. 27 and 1 Sam. xxi. 8 (last clause) 
as texts for exhortations that might have been fitly based 
upon Rom. vi. 6 and Rom. xii. 1 1 ; and thus treat the Bible 
as the fashionable folks of the Regency in Louis XV.'s 
reign treated the fine and valuable engravings whose 
figures they cut out to paste on fans and fire-screens. We 
can prove anything from Holy Writ when we regard it as 
a long string of " texts " whose dates and contexts may be 
ignored — e.g., that God does not exist, from a sentence of 
Psalm xiv. 1. 

Sometimes indeed we read it straight through, content to 
pass from the history of Esther to that of Job, who lived 
more than 1000 years earlier ; from the end of Judah's 
Captivity in Daniel to the latter days of the kingdom 
of Israel in Hosea ; from Obadiah's denunciation of Edom's 
exultation over the fall of Jerusalem to Jonah's message 
200 years before to Nineveh, which had been swept away 
ere Jerusalem was attacked ; from S. Paul in his Roman 
prison writing to the Colossians to S. Paul at Corinth, 
eleven years back, writing to the Thessalonians. Then we 
complain that the prophets are uninteresting, and S. Paul's 
teaching hard to understand ! 

The first " clew " (or guiding thread) to a right under- 
standing of Holy Writ is to realise that it is an organic 
whole, to which each of its parts has a definite relation ; 
the second clew is to ascertain that relation. Not that we 



4 INTRODUCTION. 

are to substitute a vague " general idea " of the Bible for a 
close study of its details. Every flower in it, as Luther 
quaintly says, is a garden, and every tree a forest. But we 
must first find out where, when, by whom, and under what 
conditions, a passage was penned, and what it could have 
meant for those who originally read it, before we go on to 
ask what meanings its words may be made to include for 
us. Of course this will involve some trouble, but while 
God does make provision for our unavoidable ignorance, 
He does not make provision for our uncalled-for indolence. 
The good we each get from the Bible must depend upon 
the amount of earnest effort we put into our reading of it. 
Often, because we will not make that effort, we are half- 
hearted and unstable in the faith, when we might be whole- 
hearted and strong. 

The whole Bible must always be looked at in its two 
complementary aspects of Unity as a Divine Book on the 
one hand, and Diversity as a Human Book on the other. 

Observe (a) Unity of Authorship. Throughout God 
speaks, and He changeth not (James i. 17). The same 
Lord who said to Adam, " Thou shalt not eat of it " 
(Gen. ii. 17), said to S. John, "Fear not" (Rev. i. 17). But 
very different was the knowledge of the Apostle from that 
of our first father. From Eden to Patmos, God's revelation 
of Himself was gradual, as men were able to bear it (John 
xvi. 12; 1 Cor. iii. 2). " Truth is one, and right is ever one," 
sings Edmund Spenser ; but humanity, educated by God, is 
ever making progress, and so His teaching, though one, was 
not uniform. From age to age there was a continuous 
advance, not from less to more true, but from simple to com- 
plex manifestations of truth, each of which must therefore 
be considered in connexion with its own period. * And 
though the Canon was closed 1800 years ago, the Bible is a 
book of progress still, for its meaning can never be exhausted. 
Its Divine Author still leads us into all the truth, and 
each generation may learn more from its pages than the 
last. Many things are clearer to the average Christian of 
to-day than to the most enlightened Christian of bygone 
times, as those of us who read the religious books of the 
remote past know well. 

(J?) Unity of Time. Its history covers 3700 years, but 



1 



INTRODUCTION. 5 

is most unequally distributed over that period. More than 
2000 years is compressed into nine chapters of Genesis ; 
while the 40 years from 149 1 to 145 1 fills more than 140 
chapters ; the 48 years from 1064 to 1016 fills more than 
130 chapters ; the week of our Lord's Passion fills 25 
chapters ; the last 15 years of S. Paul's life 100 chapters, 
reckoning his Epistles. 

(c) Unity of Place. Find on the globe Rome, the Black 
Sea, the Persian Gulf, and Sinai. The area enclosed by 
a curved line drawn through these four places is the scene 
of the whole Biblical history. By far the greatest part of 
it is concerned wholly with a little strip of coast, scarcely 
140 miles long, between Sidon and Gaza. 

(d) Unity of Subject. The Bible is not a history of the 
world, but of God's Kingdom on earth, and of His testa- 
ments or covenants (see 2 Cor. iii. 6, 14, R.V. margin) with 
a Chosen People whom He called, redeemed, and trained, 
in order that He might come to them bringing full salva- 
tion. The Old Covenant was with Israel in anticipation 
of His first coming ; the New Covenant is with the Church 
in anticipation of His second coming. 

Hence the structure of the Old Testament corresponds 
throughout to that of the New Testament. In each we have 
(1) God's Revelation and Covenant. See Pentateuch and 
Gospels. (2) What was therefore done, i.e., History. See 
Joshua to Esther and Acts. (3) What was therefore taught, 
i.e., Doctrine. See Job to Malachi and Romans to Revela- 
tion. The curse which closes the Old Testament (Mai. 
iv. 6) passes into the blessing which closes the New Testa- 
ment (Rev. xxii. 21). Moreover "the New Testament is 
latent in the Old Testament ; the Old Testament is laid 
open in the New Testament." Each is the necessary 
complement of the other, and we cannot neglect the Old 
Testament without in the end losing our hold upon the 
New Testament. This is well brought out in Dr. Saphir's 
" Christ and the Scriptures " (Morgan & Scott, is. 6d.). 

The Old Testament is the Divine introduction to the 
New Testament. Israel's history is the key to the history 
of the whole world ; and since it is typical throughout of 
the history of the Church, it has a peculiar application to 
ourselves (1 Cor. x. 11). 



6 INTRODUCTION. 

The Scriptures have one theme, for they refer to one 
Person. Throughout " they contain the display of His 
excellences, and are the lively picture of His matchless 
beauty " {A rchbishop Leighton). 

The whole subject of the inspiration of the Bible is 
handled in a very helpful way in the first chapter of Dr. 
Westcott's " Introduction to the Study of the Gospels " 
(Macmillan, \os. 6d.). 

We turn now to the human side of the Bible, and con- 
sider its diversity. 

(a) Diversity of Authorship. "The Bible is authoritative, 
for it is the Voice of God ; it is intelligible, for it is in the 
language of man." Its authors were penmen, not mere pens. 
The Old Testament contains 39 books, all written in 
Hebrew (except Ezra iv. 8 — vi. 18, vii. 12-26; Jer. x. n, 
and Dan. ii. 4 — vii. 28, which are in Aramaic), during 
rather less than 1100 years (1490 to 39/), by 26 widely 
different authors whose names we know (viz., Moses, 
Samuel, David, Solomon, Asaph, Heman, Ethan, Agur, 
Ezra, Nehemiah, and the sixteen Prophets), and doubtless 
by others also. The New Testament contains 27 books, 
all written in Greek, during rather less than 50 years, by 
nine authors, viz., SS. Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, Paul, 
Peter, James, Jude, and the author of Hebrews. With the 
possible exception of S. Luke's two books, it was all 
written by Israelites, though not for Israelites only. 

Questions too complex to be entered upon fully here 
have recently arisen as to the date and authorship of vari- 
ous portions of the Bible. That, for instance, Deuteronomy 
was written, not merely discovered, in the reign of Josiah ; 
that the second part of Isaiah is from the hand of a much 
later prophet than the first, are hypotheses fascinating to 
some minds. But they are only hypotheses, not proved 
facts, and wider knowledge has frequently overthrown 
hypotheses which seemed equally plausible. The argu- 
ments in favour of the earlier dates assigned for generations 
to these books are so strong that, until more convincing 
evidence than any as yet brought forward can be given for 
setting those dates aside, the most accurate and judicious 
scholars hesitate to treat such hypotheses as if they 
belonged to the region of knowledge and not of conjecture. 



. 



INTRODUCTION. 7 

We must avoid on the one hand rash assumption that 
traditional views are wrong ; and on the other hand 
equally rash assumption that all traditional views can hold 
their own. That Job is a contemporary biography, or that 
Joshua was written by him whose name it bears, is neither 
proved nor provable ; in either case it is possible, but not 
probable, and the question is not of vital importance. 
That all the four Gospels were written before the end of 
the first Christian century, and are therefore contemporary 
biography, has in our own days been established upon 
evidence to which our fathers had no access, and to this 
question the gravest issues belong. 

{U) Diversity of Method. More and more clearly from age 
to age God has made known to man His truth by history, 
type, prophecy, sign, vision, and parable, " by divers portions 
and in divers manners" (Heb. i. 1, R.V.). The Bible may 
be the history of one nation only, but that, as the one 
unmingled race of high antiquity, has the most persistent 
of nationalities, and the longest of histories, and is connected 
with almost every other important nation in the world. 

Nowadays it is said in some quarters that the Bible is 
in peril from " Higher Criticism," and certain good people, 
whose piety is greater than their intelligence, echo the 
assertion, and deprecate criticism altogether. The faith 
of unstable souls is indeed in peril from a criticism that 
errs in not being high enough. But from criticism of 
the right kind the Bible has everything to gain, and if 
we are wise we shall read it in the fullest light our own 
age can throw upon it. Ignorance, not knowledge, is the 
real foe ; and just as the Church gains fresh strength in 
times of persecution, so Holy Writ wins fresh appreciation 
in times when it is being tried (Psalm cxix. 140, R.V. 
margin). For when unassailed, it is also in great 
measure unstudied ; whereas the labours of scholars in 
various departments have lately, as never before, shown 
the unity and beauty of its literary structure, and the 
minute accuracy of its historical narratives. And when 
we cease to read into it what it does not say, and clearly 
ascertain what it does say, we discover again and again 
that its statements are in harmony with the latest results 
of scientific research. 



8 INTRODUCTION, 

Moreover, living in days of worldwide missionary effort 
and worldwide missionary success, we can assert as the 
Christians of past times could not assert, that the Bible, 
written in a remote age and an obscure country, has proved 
its Divine origin by its power to win human hearts of every 
race and to transform human lives in every clime as no 
other book ever did or ever could do. S. T. Coleridge, that 
profound thinker, says that for him the most convincing 
proof of its Divine origin is that it finds him at deeper 
depths of his being than any other book. These are 
matters that claim our earnest consideration. For in the 
near future (I quote Bishop Phillips Brooks, preaching 
from Matt. xxii. 37, on " The Mind's Love for God ") " there 
will be an ever-increasing demand for thoughtful saints ; 
for men and women, earnest, lofty, spiritual, but also full of 
intelligence, knowing the meaning and the reasons of the 
things they believe, and not content to worship the God 
to whom they owe everything with less than their whole 
nature." 

By the Word we are quickened, that is, made alive (Psalm 
cxix. 50), by it we grow (1 Peter ii. 2), by it we become 
strong (1 John ii. 14). There is no surer sign of bodily 
sickness than lack of appetite for wholesome food. There 
is no surer sign of spiritual sickness than lack of appetite 
for that which is sweeter than honey (Psalm xix. 10 ; Jer. 
xv. 16 ; Ezek. iii. 1-3). Does the Christian life seem unreal? 
Is the Christian faith beset with difficulties amid the conflict 
of human opinions and the clatter of controversies and 
arguments ? Is this your bewildered query concerning the 
Son of God, as concerning a Being, awful, distant, vague, 
" Who is He that I may believe on Him ? " (John ix. 36). 

" Have ye not read ? " (Matt. xix. 4), " Understandest 
thou what thou readest ? " (Acts viii. 30). Take comfort in 
the knowledge that all may read and all may understand, 
for all who ask may have the guidance of Him through 
whom the Scripture not only was but is inspired to be the 
living and life-giving Word for every age and every race 
(Luke xi. 13 ; James i. 5). 



FIRST TERM. 
The Days of the Patriarchs. 
The Chosen Family. B.C. 4004 — 1490. From the Creation to the erection 
of the Tabernacle p. 19. 

SECOND TERM. 
The Days of Moses. 
The Chosen Nation. The Tabernacle and the Theocracy. B.C. 1490 — 1256. 
From the erection of the Tabernacle to the Midianite Oppression p. 39. 

THIRD TERM. 

The Days of David. 

The Chosen Nation under one King. b.c. 1256 — 1018. From the Midianite 
Oppression to the choice of a site for the Temple . . .p. 60. 

FOURTH TERM. 
The Days of Solomon. 
The Chosen Nation Centre of an Empire. The First Temple. B.C. 1018 — 915. 
From the choice of a site for the Temple to the accessions of Jehoshaphat 
and Ahab . ....... p. 78. 

FIFTH TERM. 
The Days of the Prophets. 
Decline and Fall of the Kingdom of the Ten Tribes, b.c. 915 — 697. From 
the accessions of Jehoshaphat and Ahab to the death of Hezekiah p. 95. 

SIXTH TERM. 
The Days of Jeremiah. 
Decline and Fall of the Kingdom of Judah. b.c. 697 — 588. From the 
death of Hezekiah to the Fall of Jerusalem . . . . p. 1 18. 

SEVENTH TERM. 
The Days of Ezra. 
The Restoration and the Second Temple, b.c. 606—397. From the Fall 
of Jerusalem to the close of the Old Testament Canon . . p. 138. 

EIGHTH TERM. 
The Days of the Son of Man. 
The Gospel preached to the Jews. b.c. 6 — a.d. 51. From the coming of 
Christ to the Conference at Jerusalem . . . . . p. 213. 

NINTH TERM. 
The Days of S. Paul. 
The Gospel preached to the Gentiles, a.d. 51 — 97. From the Conference 
at Jerusalem to the close of the New Testament Canon . . p. 278. 

9 



GENERAL PLAN 

OF THE 

CHRONOLOGICAL SCRIPTURE CYCLE. 

DIVIDING the Bible, which contains 1189 chapters, 
into nine portions of about 132 chapters each, we 
read it through in 3 years, 36 months, 1095 days, or nine 
terms of four months, taking one chapter a day and an 
extra chapter in the course of every 12 days. 

The section for each term is headed by (a) A title 
showing the main subject of the term's reading ; (b) The 
dates marking off its period of history ; (c) The names of 
the books and parts of books to be read ; (d) A motto for 
the Bible student, taken from these books ; (e) A tabular 
scheme of the term's reading. It consists of nine chapters, 
each of which may be read either in connexion with the 
rest of the section or with the corresponding chapters of 
the other sections : that is, either historically or topically, 
as we divide the Bible into nine successive sections, or take 
a ninefold view of it from beginning to end. 

" Clews to Holy Writ " is not a commentary to be 
merely read through, but a series of suggestions which 
mean little for those who do not work each out for them- 
selves, studying every section closely and constantly, and 
looking up all passages referred to. 

The chapters in each section are as follows : — 

I. General Summary, gathering up the threads of 
our story, and ascertaining the main events and most 
striking lessons of our period as we glance backwards and 
forwards. 

II. BOOKS TO BE Read, indicating their literary char- 
acteristics and keynotes, and marking off from the history 



CHRONOLOGICAL SCRIPTURE CYCLE. u 

which relates the action of the period, the poetry which 
utters its best thought. We do not read the Bible only for 
the intellectual enjoyment of its many literary charms, but 
we shall enter into its higher aspects all the better for not 
ignoring these. 

III. PERIODS AND DATES. — Here we arrange the order 
of our reading in detail, and map out our whole period into 
forty well-defined shorter epochs. Where exact dates are 
out of the question, approximate dates are given, and here 
and there we disregard the actual order of time in order to 
round off an important subject. Very numerous careful 
statements of hours, days, weeks, and years in Holy Writ 
show the importance attributed to chronology by its writers. 

IV. GEOGRAPHY. — Here we connect each chapter of 
history with particular places, whose physical characteristics 
are swiftly sketched. 

V. HEROES. — The biographical interest of any period 
centres round the makers of its history. We are apt to 
think of Bible characters as mere abstractions rather than 
" men of like passions with us." Hence we must endeavour 
to realise the individualities of those who long years ago 
strove with the power of evil and were strong in the grace 
of God, that we may take to ourselves the practical 
lessons of their lives, which will be given as a rule through 
New Testament quotations for the first seven, and Old 
Testament quotations for the last two terms. 

VI. The Coming Messiah. — It has been well said that 
the best key to the mystery of the written Word is the 
mystery of the Incarnate Word. So, beginning at Moses, 
we trace the dominant theme of the Bible (Luke xxiv. 27), 
its one great Hope of ever-growing brightness, brought at 
each crisis in the providential history of the world within 
narrower limits, and illustrated by fresh details. There are 
two kinds of Messianic prophecy. 

(a) Types, or prophecies in picture or action. " Type " 
means " likeness," and Scripture types are " likenesses " of 
good things to come, or earthly shadows of heavenly 
substances. We discriminate typical (1) Persons — e.g., 
Moses ; (2) Things — e.g., Manna ; (3) Ordinances — e.g., the 
Day of Atonement ; (4) Offices — e.g., Prophet, Priest, and 
King ; (5) Events — e.g., the Exodus ; (6) Acts — e.g., the 



12 GENERAL PLAN OF THE 

burial of Jeremiah's girdle. These last are often called 
Signs. Observe, that although we may use types to illus- 
trate and confirm doctrines, we cannot prove doctrines 
from them ; also that search for new and far-fetched types 
often leads us astray. There are quite enough unmistakable 
ones to afford study for our whole lives. Here again the 
Bible is its own best explanation. 

{U) Predictions, or prophecies in words or speech, which 
are either (i) Direct, i.e., referring only to Christ {e.g., Zech. 
ix. 9) ; (2) Indirect, having a primary historical fulfilment 
in some one who partially realised what Christ realised 
wholly {e.g., Psalm lxxii.). " While the words of the Psalms 
and Prophecies not only admit of, but even demand, 
germinant and springing developments, they are primarily 
applicable to events and circumstances of their own days " 
{Calvin). Their ultimate fulfilments grow out of primary 
fulfilments which it must be our first business to under- 
stand, but neither contradict nor supersede them. 

These Predictions fall into three classes — viz., those 
fulfilled at the first Advent, those to be fulfilled at the 
second Advent, and those that have a double fulfilment in 
both. 

The evidence of miracle is strongest in the age when the 
miracle is wrought ; the evidence of prophecy is strongest 
in the age most remote from its utterance. Yet even the 
earliest Christian apologists appeal, especially in argument 
with Jews, to prophecy rather than miracle (see Blunt's 
" Christian Church of the First Three Centuries," chap. vii.). 
For us the progress of events, and the greatly increased 
knowledge of the past now possessed, give the prophetic 
aspect of Scripture a special importance. But we must 
remember that Predictions are not mere adjuncts of re- 
velation, attached to it from without, in order to prove it 
to us, but essential parts of it. The Scripture record is 
nearly always twofold. The Prophet looks forward, and 
says, " It shall be," ere the Historian looks backward and 
says, " It was " (comp. Gen. xv. 13, 14 with Exodus). Its 
Prophecy is History anticipated, its History is Prophecy 
fulfilled; but while its History ceases 1800 years ago, its 
Prophecy looks on to the end of the world. 

In our eighth term we open the New Testament as if 



CHRONOLOGICAL SCRIPTURE CYCLE. 13 

we had never opened it before, to discover how far the 
Messiah of History realises, and how far He transcends, the 
Messiah of Prophecy whom we have learned to know. " And 
by the title of Christ or Messiah, so slowly defined, so 
variously interpreted, so gloriously fulfilled, God teaches 
us to find the true meaning of all history, teaches us at 
all times to wait, to watch, to hope " ( Westcotl). 

VII. God's Revelation of Himself to Man.— 
" Revelation is not the sum of the happiest guesses, or wisest 
observations and reflections, which devout and thoughtful 
men have made regarding God ; but it is the sum of what 
God Himself has imparted to the minds of men to guide 
ancl rule their thoughts about Him " {Dr. Marcus Dods). 
Man seeking God is the origin of other religions. God 
seeking man is the origin of the Christian religion. Slowly 
and gradually, as we shall see, did God make Himself 
known by new Names and new dealings with men. Yet 
our revelation of " the glory of the Eternal Trinity " is not 
only in harmony with, but was dimly adumbrated by, .the 
earliest manifestations of the God of Israel. 

VIII. Man's Relation to God in Worship. — The 
history of religion is the history of man's response to these 
manifestations. This will lead us through Sacrifice and 
Prayer in their most general form, to the Mosaic Ritual, 
the Tabernacle, the two Temples, and the organisation of 
the Church. Here too we notice the ever-recurring tendency 
to some form of idolatry. 

For the first two terms illustrative passages are in- 
dicated. After this we come to periods fully elucidated by 
contemporary Psalms. In the later sections we note how 
sacred history is corroborated by secular history. 

IX. Thirty-two Questions.— These are not intended 
as a test of memory at the end of the term's reading, but 
of observation and thought from day to day. Many of 
them are planned to suggest topics and modes of research. 
At first sight they may seem full of unknown things, but 
though some are more difficult than others, the most 
difficult are less difficult than they appear. That they 
demand care and accuracy rather than much previous 
knowledge has been proved by the following fact. In our 
classes, although the best papers are always sent in by those 



i 4 GENERAL PLAN OF THE 

who take the most pains, they are not always sent in by 
those who have had most educational advantages. 

Every examination paper follows out the term's reading in 
order, and winds up with some questions glancing through 
the whole of it. Early in each term, those Students of the 
College by Post who have sent in answers to the questions 
of last term receive the loan of a MS. containing the com- 
plete Answers to compare with their own and copy. They 
thus get the full benefit of the questions they were not 
successful over themselves as well as the benefit of having 
their work corrected by our teachers. These Answers are 
not always exactly in the same form as those expected 
from students. A mere reference sometimes stands for the 
statement asked for, and in order to supply information 
not readily accessible to students, explanations or quotations 
are added in other cases to the actual reply. 

The figure at the end of each question represents the 
marks to be gained by answering it completely. The 
maximum of marks for each term's paper is 400, and 
for all the nine papers, 3600. 

Most of those who have been through the C.S.C. once 
wish to go through it again. At their request a second 
series of questions and answers more advanced than the 
first has been prepared (see p. 309). These should in no 
case be attempted until the first series has been worked out. 

Some of those who have found the C.S.C. course useful 
and stimulating are helping me to form a Prize Fund, by 
means of which we are able to reward those of our students 
who work out all the nine papers well. Those who obtain 
over 3000 marks choose as a First Class prize a book or 
books to the value of \os. 6d. ; those who obtain over 
2400 marks choose a Second Class prize to the value of 
Js. 6d. ; and those who obtain over 1 800 marks choose a 
Third Class prize to the value of $s. 

The names of prize-winners are published in my annual 
Letter to our Students. 

Over 100 students have already won these rewards, 
and the number promises to increase steadily. Possibly 
some readers of " Clews to Holy Writ " who are independent 
of such aid as our classes give, and desire to encourage 
systematic Bible study, may feel kindly disposed to con- 



CHRONOLOGICAL SCRIPTURE CYCLE. 15 

tribute towards these hardly earned and greatly appreciated 
prizes. 

Let me conclude with twelve practical suggestions to 
C.S.C. students, and to others who adopt the C.S.C. scheme. 
I will word them abruptly for the sake of brevity. 

What we read Heb. iv. 12 ; 2 Peter i. 20, 21. 

Why we read .... Luke i. 4 ; 2 Tim. iii. 16, 17. 

( Acts xvii. 1 1 ; Prov. ii. 4, 5 ; 
How we should read '. . -< 1 Cor. ii. 13; James i. 21 ; 

( 1 Thess. ii. 13. 
We must C Critically \ in order to know What to Believe, 
read < Devotionally „ „ Whom to Love, 

the Bible ( Practically „ „ How to Live. 

I. Provide yourself with the following books : — 

(a) The Authorised Version of the Bible, with references. 

(b) The Revised Version, which may now be had for 
tenpence. This is most helpful to the student, not only 
because of its greater accuracy and marginal information, 
but also in discriminating poetry from prose, and substi- 
tuting for the little " verses " that are so largely responsible 
for the " collection of texts " view of Scripture, a first-rate 
system of paragraphs. Read the two prefaces to it care- 
fully. 

Look out the A.V. references, and study the daily 
chapter in both A.V. and R.V. Striking differences 
between them might be underlined in the latter. 

(c). Helps to the Study of the Bible (Frowde, Clarendon 
Press, is. and 3s. 6d.). This you need not get if you 
already have " The Oxford Bible for Teachers." It is 
referred to here as " Oxford Helps." 

Those who wish for more books will find the following 
useful : — 

(a) " The Bible Handbook," by Dr. Angus (Religious 
Tract Society, 5^.). 

(b) The Student's Old Testament History and The 
Student's New Testament History (each js. 6d., Murray). 

(c) Concise Dictionary of the Bible, 21s., or smaller 
Bible Dictionary, by Dr. Smith, js. 6d. (Murray), or Cassell's 
Bible Dictionary, js. 6d. 



1 6 GENERAL PLAN OF THE 

(d) Student's Edition of the Speaker's Commentary, in 
six volumes (js. 6d. each, Murray). 

(e) Bishop Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers, in 
eight volumes {21s. each, Cassell). 

(f) A good Concordance, say Eadie's Cruden. 

But unless you can give much more than half an hour a 
day to C.S.C., you will find your whole time occupied by 
right use of the three books named as absolutely necessary, 
and of " Clews to Holy Writ." A single chapter will claim 
more and more of your time with growing interest and 
knowledge. If you not only " read," but " mark, learn, and 
inwardly digest " (four distinct processes), you will probably 
feel inclined to diminish rather than increase the quantity 
of your reading as you improve its quality. 

II. Pray daily ere you read your chapter, in such words 
as Psalm xxv. 4, 5, or Psalm cxix. 18, or Eph. i. 17-19, for 
the Holy Spirit's aid. Could we have greater help towards 
understanding a difficult book than the power of speaking 
constantly with its author ? 

Pray also after you have read, for every precept may be 
turned into petition, and every promise into praise. 

" Young men," Professor Beck of Tubingen used to say 
to his students, " let me remind you that theology without 
the Holy Spirit is not only a cold stone, but absolute 
poison." 

III. Mark one striking text in each chapter, and look at 
yesterday's marked text ere you begin to-day's reading. 
There are many advantages in using always one copy of 
the Bible, so mark it neatly or you may regret not having 
done so hereafter. 

IV. Find for each Old Testament chapter a New Testa- 
ment quotation or allusion or precept or illustration. The 
references will help you here. 

V. Ask daily after you have read your chapter, " What 
does it teach me concerning (a) God, (b) Man, (c) Christ, 
who is the Son of God, the very image of God's substance 
as the Incarnate God ; who is the Son of Man, made like 
unto His brethren in all things as the Divine Man ? " Ask 
also what practical lessons you may gain from it for your 
own daily life. Treat the Bible as a matchless temple, 
wherein we may increase our awe and excite our devotion 



CHRONOLOGICAL SCRIPTURE CYCLE. 17 

to God (I quote Robert Boyle's fine simile). For we suffer 
great spiritual loss when we regard it merely as an arsenal 
for weapons of defence and offence ; when we only take 
our own views to it for confirmation and other people's 
views to it for condemnation. Controversy is both easier 
and more exciting than humble search for truth, and there- 
fore it pervades so much of the so-called " religious " 
writing and talking of the day. But if we would really 
benefit by the study of God's Word, we must, as Bible 
readers, avoid this spirit of contention altogether. 

Of the three kinds of study indicated in the table above, 
" Clews to Holy Writ " deals mainly with Critical study, 
not because we regard it as the most important, but because 
the Bible must appeal to the intelligence ere it can appeal 
to the heart and will. Critical study is a means to a higher 
end which we do not ignore, but lead up to — viz., those 
Devotional and Practical applications of our study in which 
others can help us least, since we must each of us make 
them for ourselves, if they are to be worth anything. 

VI. Commit to memory at the rate of one or two verses 
a day, some specially beautiful and important passages in 
the term's reading. We cannot store up what we take in 
too carefully, since we know not how soon we may be 
called upon to give it out. 

VII. The C.S.C. scheme is not meant to be tried for a 
term or two, but to be followed throughout. Hence all 
should begin at the beginning, and do each month's reading 
in the month and each term's in the term. If one term's 
work is interrupted, another term should be given to it, as 
it is far better to extend the whole course over more than 
three years than to break the continuous chain of study ; 
for each section takes all the preceding sections for granted 
and is closely linked with the following sections. The 
tabular schemes should be used throughout together with 
the chapters headed " Periods and Dates." As the course 
is planned for any three years, particular months cannot be 
considered, but since three years contain thirty-six months, 
and the Bible contains 11 89 chapters, the average number 
of chapters read each month will be -J|^=33, as shown 
in the arabic numerals on the tabular schemes. A second 
chapter can be read on any day that there is more time 



1 8 CHRONOLOGICAL SCRIPTURE CYCLE. 

and when the first chapter is very short or a mere list of 
names. 

VIII. Set up a note book or a sheaf of loose sheets 
fastened at the corner, for working out subjects as you read, 
and accumulating material for answers to the questions, 
which should be before you throughout the term. 

IX. Towards the end of the term, begin to prepare a 
fair copy of your answers. Boiling down several pages of 
notes into a few lines of terse and concentrated information 
is a most instructive process. Let it become familiar to 
you, for you will lighten your teachers' work not a little by 
sending them concise, clearly arranged, and clearly written 
answers instead of diffuse and confused ones. 

X. Answer some questions if you cannot answer all, and 
remember that since no answer can win more than maxi- 
mum marks, nothing is gained by giving more than you 
are asked for. Write on both sides of the paper, leaving 
a margin, and number your answers in the margin. Give 
your name and address at the end of your paper. It will 
be corrected if it reaches your teacher at the time 
appointed. 

XI. Remember (i) That if the chapter is difficult, the 
difficulties will probably disappear as you read on. There 
are few which cannot be traced, if we are honest, either to 
Prejudice, Presumption, Ignorance,or Carelessness. " When 
two texts contradict one another, a third will be found to 
reconcile them," was the helpful rule of the Rabbi Ishmael. 
(2) That if the chapter seems barren, your Biblical know- 
ledge and spiritual insight is still imperfect, and also that 
forced applications are a fruitful cause of errors. (3) That 
to the reader of devout heart and holy life God reveals 
what is hidden from mere ability and learning (John vii. 17, 
Matt. v. 8). 

XII. Finally, will you pray for all who are following this 
scheme that to them, as well as to you, the C.S.C. may be 
not only an intellectual interest, but a means of growth in 
grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus 
Christ ? 



FIRST TERM. 

The Days of the Patriarchs 
The Chosen Family. 

b.c. 4004 — 1490. 

Genesis. Job. Exodus. (132 chapters?) 

" Moses took the book of the covenant, and read in the audience of the 
people." — Exod. xxiv. 7. 

1st MONTH (33). 3rd MONTH (33). 

Genesis I.— XXXIII. Job XVIL— XLII. 

, ™™™ Exodus I.— VII. 

2nd MONTH (33). 

Genesis XXXIV.-L. 4th MONTH (33). 

Job I.— XVI. Exodus VIII.— XL. 

I. General Summary. 

THE keynote of Gen. i. is God said. As regards Nature, 
His will is fully carried out (Psalm xxxiii. 9). 

The keynote of Gen. iii. is Hath God said ? As regards 
Man, His will is thwarted (Eccles. vii. 29). Gen. iii. 17-19 
is the declaration, not of a threat or of an arbitrary punish- 
ment, but of an inevitable result, brought about by man 
himself, and working in accordance with God's great natural 
laws. Far heavier would have been the doom of living on 
for ever, sinful and idle. 

The rest of the Bible unfolds the Divine plan whereby 
God's purpose is notwithstanding accomplished, and man 
redeemed. Throughout God calls, tests, and chooses for 
special privilege not Cain, but Abel ; not the rest of man- 
kind, but Noah's family ; not Japhet the elder, but Shem 
the younger (Gen. x. 21, ix. 26); not the eldest brother 
Haran's son, but the younger brother Abraham (Isa. 

19 



20 FIRST TERM. 

li. 2) ; not Ishmael, but Isaac ; not Esau, but Jacob ; not 
Reuben, but Joseph (1 Chron. v. 1, 2) ; not Manasseh, but 
Ephraim (Gen. xlviii.) ; not Aaron, but Moses (Exod. iv. 
16) ; not Nadab and Abihu, but Eleazar (Num. xx. 28). 

From the whole race God chose one family, whose 
training is described in Genesis. When it had suffered so 
severely that it had become utterly helpless, God sent a 
twofold message through Moses ; to Israel, a promise, " I 
will deliver you," which was received with faith and 
worship ; to Pharaoh, a command, " Let My people go," 
signified by (1) Word, (2) Signs, (3) Judgments ; and 
received with (1) Scornful refusal, (2) Defiant imitation, 
(3) Unwilling recognition of the Divine power, and notwith- 
standing continued hardness of heart (Job xxxiii. 14; Isa. 
xxvi. 9). Then God brought that family from Africa to 
Asia ; from the garden of Egypt to the desert of Sinai ; 
from slavery to freedom ; and not only a great nation, but 
" History itself was born on that night when Moses led 
forth his countrymen from the land of Goshen " {Bunsen). 

This chosen nation (Deut. vii. 6 ; Amos iii. 2 ; Rom. ix. 
3, 4) were not the substitutes for, but the representatives of, 
all mankind. They were not blessed merely for their own 
sake, so their national history, unlike any other national 
history, is of interest and importance for all the world. 

II. Books to be Read. 
(See " Oxford Helps," § v.) 

This term we read one great poem, and two of the 
historical books of Moses, which contain four archaic frag- 
ments of Hebrew verse and two magnificent odes — viz., 

{a) Lamech's Sword-song (Gen. iv. 23, 24). 

(b) Noah's Prophecy concerning his sons, an epitome of 
universal history (Gen. ix. 25-7). 

(c) Jehovah's Prophecy concerning Rebekah's sons, an 
epitome of Israel's history (Gen. xxv. 23). 

(d) Isaac's Prophecy concerning his sons, an amplification 
of {c) (Gen. xxvii. 27-9, 39, 40). 

(e) Jacob's Benediction, giving the destinies of the Twelve 
Tribes (Gen. xlix.). 

(f) Moses' Song of Victory, in three stanzas, the grandest 



BOOKS TO BE READ. 21 

national hymn ever sung to the glory of Jehovah and to 
liberty, and the first specimen of responsive choral music 
(Exod. xv. 1- 1 8). 

Genesis is not only the oldest complete book in the 
world, its earlier chapters appear to embody records far 
more ancient than Moses, going back to the very beginning 
of human history (Luke i. 70). About these there is 
nothing distinctively Hebrew, their simplicity of treatment 
and subject belongs to the dawn of civilisation, and they 
have interesting features in common with the earliest 
Egyptian and Chaldean literature. It is not, however, a 
mere compilation of old annals, but a religious history, 
whose unity and symmetry show that it was penned 
throughout with a definite design. Genesis falls into twelve 
natural divisions beginning Gen. i. 1, ii. 4, v. i, vi. 9, x. 1, 
xi. 10, xi. 27, xxv. 12, xxv. 19, xxxvi. 1, xxxvi. 9, and 
xxxvii. 2, all save the first headed by " These are the genera- 
tions \z.e.y " offspring " : comp. Matt. iii. 7, A.V. and R.V.] 

of " The first five portions refer to General, and the 

last seven to Church History ; and their relative lengths are 
very significant. Its keynote is Called and chosen (Matt, 
xxii. 14 ; 1 Peter iii. 9). 

Job, undoubtedly an historical character, probably lived 
before Moses, as his patriarchal length of days indicates ; 
and after Abraham, since his friends refer to the destruc- 
tion of Sodom. The question whether the Book of Job is a 
veracious record of his actual words, brought by Moses 
from Midian, or a truthful general picture of his character 
and life, shaped by a poet of Solomon's age and made the 
groundwork of a lesson for all time, does not affect its 
canonicity. All Scripture is divinely inspired and true in 
the highest sense. But its loftiest truths are clothed not in 
the barely literal, but in the poetical form that contemplates 
everything in its permanent and typical aspect. Whatever 
view we take of the date and authorship of Job, we read it 
now to fill the century that divides Gen. 1. from Exod. i. ; 
because it illustrates individual before we pass to national 
religion, the Patriarchal before we pass to the Mosaic age, 
God's dealings with a Gentile before we pass to His deal- 
ings with Israel. Its keynote is Fear the Almighty and 
Incomprehensible; Trust the All-Wise and A 11- Loving 



22 FIRST TERM. 

(Rom. xi. 33, viii. 28, v. 3,4). Natural instinct, strengthened 
by simple faith in God, connects happiness with goodness. 
Obedience to God's law must lead to the blessedness He 
means His creatures _ to enjoy. This is our first thought, 
exemplified in the speeches of Job's friends and in Psalm i. 
Experience of the imperfections and contradictions of life 
shows that too often the wicked prosper and the righteous 
suffer. How then can God be all-wise, all-powerful, and 
all-loving? This is our second thought, and this is what 
Satan tempted Job to think. Mature conviction, growing 
out of closer study of God's law and man's nature, teaches 
us that through man's free-will the mysterious power of 
evil makes exceptions to God's law, which is a general law 
connecting goodness and happiness. This is our third 
thought, and third thoughts are best and truest. We may 
go on to say concerning these exceptions : — 

(1) God's ways are past our comprehension, but we have 
good cause to believe that His wisdom, power, and love are 
infinite. This is the answer to the problem given in Job. 

(2) In the next life all wrong will be completely redressed. 
This answer is suggested in Psalm lxxiii. 

(3) The righteous may not be happy, but they are 
blessed even in the midst of sorrow. 

11 111 that Thou blessest is our good, 
And unblest good is ill ; 
And all is right that seems most wrong, 
If it be Thy sweet will." — Faber. 

This answer is suggested in Psalm xvii. 14, 15. In the 
Fourth Term we shall have a striking example of " unblest 
good," and in the Seventh and Ninth Terms of " blest 
ill." But these two last answers could not be fully worked 
out until after the anguish of the Cross and the glory of 
the Resurrection. Job remains true as one solution, no 
longer the only solution, of the problem. 

It falls into five sections : — 

(a) i. — ii. Prose Prologue stating the Problem concern- 
ing Affliction. The trouble and temptation of unproved 
Job. 

(b) iii. — xxxi. Discussion of the Problem from the 
human point of view, by Job who regards Affliction as 
an unfathomable mystery (" Wherefore hidest Thou Thy 



BOOKS TO BE READ. 23 

face?" xiii. 24); and by his three friends who, as dogged 
defenders of the traditional popular belief, regard Affliction 
as a punishment for sin (" Who ever perished, being 
innocent ? " iv. 7). 

(V) xxxii. — xxxvii. Exposition of the Problem from 
the point of view of one divinely enlightened, by Elihu 
who regards Affliction as a merciful discipline for our 
instruction (" God, who teacheth us more than the beasts," 
xxxv. 11). 

(d) xxxviii. — xlii. 6. Solution of the Problem by 
Jehovah Himself, who shows that Affliction is a test of 
integrity towards and trust in Him (" Though He slay me 
yet will I wait for Him," xiii. 15, is followed by "My 
servant Job . . . him will I accept," xlii. 8). 

(e) xlii. 7-17. Prose Epilogue. The blessing of proved 
and trustful Job. 

Exodus continues Genesis, begins the national history 
of Israel, and contains the first portion of the Mosaic Law. 
Its keynote is Redeemed of the Lord (Luke i. 68 ; 1 Peter 
i. 18, 19; Gal. iv. 4, 5). 

According to a continuous stream of credible testimony 
from the earliest days of Israel's history, we have attributed 
the Pentateuch to the fifteenth century before Christ, and 
no book has had more external evidence to its authorship. 
One school of modern critics, however, professing to be 
guided by internal evidence, declares that its account of 
the Creation is unscientific, and contradicts facts ascertained 
by recent investigations ; that its records are legendary ; 
and that instead of being contemporary history, it is a 
compilation made many centuries after Moses. We cannot 
enter into the question at length, but one or two suggestions 
may be made in passing. 

(1) It is one thing to have a reasonable faith, another to 
be able to answer all the hard questions concerning it that 
could be asked. 

(2) If, as regards isolated passages, there are difficulties 
in believing the Bible to be a Divine and human book, 
there are still more serious difficulties in believing it 
to be a merely human book as a whole, which is the 
alternative. 

(3) Gen. i. was not intended to satisfy the scientific 



24 FIRST TERM. 

curiosity of the learned few, but to instruct the mass of 
mankind, for whom it would have been utterly unintelligible 
had it been written in technical scientific terms. 

(4) When the exact translation is ascertained, and the 
rash interpretations of prejudiced opponents of the faith 
and also of half-learned apologists for it are swept away, 
this oldest of all books proves to be almost the only non- 
scientific book in the world that does not contain one 
incorrect statement about natural facts ; while at the same 
time it accounts for things that science confesses itself 
unable to account for. See Liddon's " Elements of 
Religion," Lecture II. (Longmans, is. 6d.). 

(5) Geology shows that the general order of the Creation 
must have been that of Gen. i. 

(6) Ethnology points to the Euphrates Valley as the 
probable cradle of the race, and traces its dispersion thence 
under conditions entirely compatible with those described 
in Genesis. 

(7) Archaeology proves, from records of the past long 
hidden, but now uncovered in many unexpected ways and 
places, the minute accuracy of the Biblical description of 
ancient Egypt. 

(8) The Ordnance Survey of the Sinaitic Peninsula 
examined, some 25 years ago, the geography of the Exodus 
and the Wanderings, demonstrating that the story in the 
Pentateuch could only have been written by a contem- 
porary and eye witness. 

(9) Many converging arguments show that it is not only 
possible but probable that the Deluge took place. 

Before all this positive evidence of an early date, in- 
genious speculations as to a late date based mainly on 
linguistic considerations that may be entirely fallacious, do 
not look very satisfactory. To those who wish to pursue 
these subjects further, I recommend Sir J. W. Dawson's 
" Modern Science in Bible Lands " (Hodder & Stoughton, 
6s.), the work of an eminent scientist who speaks with 
authority ; and I know of no more profound or masterly 
treatment of the relation of modern science to revelation 
as a whole, than u Can the Old Faith live with the 
New ? " by Dr. George Matheson, of Edinburgh (Black- 
wood, js. 6d.). 



PERIODS AND DATES. 25 



III. Periods and Dates. 

The whole history of the human race, now nearly 6000 
years of age, may be divided into three great periods ac- 
cording to three successive phases of God's dealings with 
man. Each is about 2000 years long. 

(a) The Patriarchal Dispensation, or Probation of all men 
under the Law of Conscience, during which God mani- 
fested His Power. B.C. 4004 to 1921, from Adam to 
Abraham (Gal. iii. 16), 2083 years. 

(b) The Jewish Dispensation, or Probation of one Chosen 
People under the Law of Moses, during which God mani- 
fested His Righteousness. B.C. 1921 to A.D. 70, from 
Abraham to the Fall of Jerusalem, 1990 years. 

(c) The Christian Dispensation, or " Times of the Gentiles " 
(Luke xxi. 24), under the Law of Christ, during which 
God manifests His Love. A.D. 70 onwards. 

Some would, however, bring {a) down to 149 1, i.e., to 
Moses (see Rom. v. 13, 14), and would date (c) from B.C. 
625, i.e., from the founding of the Babylonian Empire, the 
first of the mighty Gentile powers that prepared Christ's 
way. In this case (b) overlaps both (a) and (c). 

The scanty records of the 2514 years we study this term 
leave its chronology uncertain. Here we follow the com- 
monly received dates as given in " Oxford Helps," § vii. 

430 years (i.e., 1921 — 149 1) is spoken of in Exod. xii. 
40, 41, as the whole period of the sojourning or pilgrimage of 
the Chosen Family, during which Abraham and his children 
were homeless wanderers. S. Paul reckons 430 years (Gal. 
iii. 17) from the promise given in Ur to the law given at 
Sinai. Rather more than 400 years elapsed between the 
vision of Gen. xv. (which foreshadowed the whole history 
of Israel) and the Exodus (Gen. xv. 13 ; Acts vii. 6). 

(1) B.C. 4004 — 2348 (1656 years). From the Creation 

to the Deluge. Probation of the whole human race. 
Gen. i. — viii. 

(2) B.C. 2348 — 1 92 1 (427 years). From the Deluge to 

the Call of Abraham. Probation of the descendants 
of Noah. Gen. ix.— xi. 

(3) B.C. 1 92 1 — 1 49 1 (430 years). From the Call of 



26 FIRST TERM. 

Abraham to the Exodus. Probation of the Chosen 
Family. 

(a) 1 92 1 — 1706 (215 years). The Sojourning in 

Canaan. Gen. xii.— xlv. 
(J?) 1706 — 1491 (215 years). The Sojourning in 
Egypt. Gen. xlvi— 1. ; Job ; Exod. i. — xii. 
(4) B.C. 1491 — 1490 (one year). From the Exodus to 
the erection of the Tabernacle. Redemption of the 
Chosen People. 

(a) From Passover to Pentecost, 1491 (seven 
weeks). The great Deliverances. Exod. 
xiii.— xviii. 
(J?) From Pentecost 1491, to Passover, 1490 (10 
months and 10 days). The Revelation at 
Sinai. Exod. xix.— xl. 

IV. Geography. 

(See " Oxford Helps," Maps I., II., III., IV., and VIII., 
and §§ ix., xxx.) 

Geology demonstrates that before the Deluge a con- 
siderable portion of what is now the Persian Gulf was land. 
Immediately after the Deluge, a considerable portion of 
what is now land was swallowed up by the Persian Gulf. 
Through this once high and well-wooded, then submerged, 
and now low and marshy country, flows a broad tide, fed 
by four great rivers — viz., the Euphrates ; the Hiddekel, or 
Tigris ; the Gihon, or Choaspes, watering not the African, 
but Nimrod's Cush ; and the Pishon or Pasitigris rising in 
mountains rich in mineral products, and descending through 
a fertile country where the beautiful Persian capital of 
Shushan (Esth. i. 2) afterwards was (see Map VIII.). Here 
our story begins, for here (as Sir J. W. Dawson shows in 
an argument too long to quote) was Eden ; hither, as to 
their cradle, Noah's descendants made their way south- 
eastwards (Gen. xi. 2) from the mountains where the Ark 
grounded ; and hence therefore, according to Indian, 
Persian, and Chaldean tradition, mankind originated. In 
the plain of Shinar also they built the city whose name 
runs all through the Bible from Gen. x. to Rev. xviii. 

Prof. Sayce identifies Mugheir immediately to the west of 



GEOGRAPHY. 2? 

Ercch with Ur whence Abraham set forth. Others, however, 
identify Ur with Orfah or Edessa in Mesopotamia, much 
higher up the river, which an abundant spring and high 
crag prove even now to have been a w r ell-watered and 
well-protected place for an early settlement. He went on 
to Haran, the headquarters of Laban's family, whence the 
two great caravan routes to the Euphrates and Tigris 
diverge ; and then to Damascus, the oldest city now exist- 
ing ; and through Palestine (whose geography we take 
next term) to Egypt, a most fertile, thoroughly cultivated, 
and thickly populated country, which was to the wandering 
tribes of Asia then what Italy has since been to Gauls and 
Goths. For it was the home of the earliest civilisation in 
the world, w r hich archaeology traces back beyond B.C. 3000 ; 
of a race skilled both in the fine and the mechanical arts, 
loving nature, honouring women, deeply impressed with 
the seriousness of life on both sides of the grave, and exer- 
cising an influence, whose whole power we are only now 
beginning to estimate, upon the two nations of antiquity, 
the Hebrews and the Greeks, to whom we ourselves owe 
most. The Valley of the Nile (which is the true Egypt) 
is unlike any other part of the world. It has neither 
Alpine grandeur nor pastoral softness, nor variety of plain 
and upland, meadow and forest. Its hills have neither 
heather nor pine upon them, in its rainless sky there is 
neither cloud nor mist. The Nile (worshipped as " The 
Hidden One," because until the middle of this nineteenth 
century its source was a mystery) rises once a year and covers 
the whole valley and plain, so that from desert to desert, 
river and country are one (Amos viii. 8, R.V.). Thus the 
soil is renewed and fertilised for its three annual harvests. 
Egypt is the land of light, of glowing sunshine, and of 
moonshine and starshine so brilliant that night is but a 
softer day. From the time that Israel's ancestors went 
down thither, it has drawn men of every clime with a resist- 
less fascination. 

From Egypt, the scene of our story shifts to the Wilder- 
ness (Hos. xi. I ; Jer. ii. 2), not an uninhabited place, for two 
powerful nations, the Kenites and the Amalekites, were 
there ; but a place wild and desolate, and shut out from the 
rest of the world. As Israel advanced, the mountains 



28 FIRST TERM. 

closed round them : they found themselves in an avenue 
of lofty rocks at the end of which, rising immediately out 
of the level plain, towered massive Sinai, like a huge altar 
in a vast sanctuary, whence ever}/ form of life, animal and 
vegetable/was withdrawn. To them the rugged and deso- 
late grandeur of the scene must have suggested that they 
had reached the end of the world, as they waited there for 
the revelation of their God. 



i 



V. Heroes. 

Abraham, I John v. 4. 
Keynotes^ Joseph, 2 Peter i. 5-7. 
v. J°b> J ames i- 1 2 - 

We see in Abraham the great Bedouin sheikh, the prince 
of the desert, leading a vast caravan of servants, flocks, and 
herds, and wandering homeless for exactly a century in the 
land promised to his heirs ; the saint whose unflinching 
loyalty won him the title of " God's friend," and who, putting 
God first in all the relations of life, became also " the father 
of the faithful " : in Joseph the able statesman, vicegerent of 
the greatest monarch of his age, wielding almost absolute 
power in a highly civilised foreign land, fearing God, and 
therefore fearing nought else : in Job the patriarch dwelling 
amidst his own people, as father and ruler of a pastoral 
tribe, proved in the fire of manifold temptations, to the 
glory of God and the comfort of God's suffering servants 
in all ages. 

The Bible gives us much valuable teaching through con- 
trasted types of character. Besides these almost perfect 
heroes we have the mixed character of Jacob, erring greatly, 
and yet through the teaching of adversity proving that 

"Men may rise on stepping-stones 
Of their dead selves to higher things." — Tennyson. 

Mark these seven stages of his life: (1) Gen. xxv. 31, 
(2) xxvii. 35, (3) xxviii. 20-22, (4) xxxi. 5,(5) xxxii. 10, 
(6) xxxii. 28, (7) xlix. 18. Side by side also with the 
three ancestors of the Chosen People, who inherited the 
blessing, are three others, and the more nearly these are 
related to those in the flesh the more widely are they 
separated from them in the sight of God. From the begin- 



THE COMING MESSIAH. 29 

ning the wheat and tares grew together, and men often 
found it hard to discriminate them (Matt. xiii. 30). Lot, 
Abraham's nephew, who is called a righteous man, started 
at God's command for the Promised Land. Mercy as well 
as judgment was predicted for his descendants in the end 
(Jer. xlviii. 47, xlix. 6), and Ruth, one of them, was Christ's 
ancestor. But, more worldly than Abraham, he com- 
promised his religion for the sake of wealth, enjoyed 
neither happiness nor influence in this world, lost all he 
had in it, barely saved his own soul " as through fire " 
(1 Cor. iii. 15), and was forefather of nations expressly shut 
out from the Lord's congregation (Deut. xxiii. 3). IshmaeL 
Isaac's half-brother, whose personal character is not de- 
scribed, was received into covenant with God (Gen. xvii.), 
and his descendants have never been destroyed. But he 
and they were outcasts, and are regarded as representatives 
of those who have only a form of religion according to the 
spirit of bondage, instead of its living power according 
to the spirit of adoption (Gal. iv.). Esau, Jacob's twin 
brother, who is called a profane person, was born heir to 
God's blessing. He despised his birthright, bartered it 
away, and defied God by marrying heathens. Thus he 
turned the greatest blessing into the most irreparable loss. 
God hated him (Mai. i. 3), and called his descendants " the 
people of My curse" (Isa. xxxiv. 5). So we first learn the 
lesson that S. Paul finally sums up in his Epistle to 
the Romans. There is nothing arbitrary in God's ways : 
the greater the privilege, the greater the responsibility. 
By abusing the blessings He freely bestows we earn curses 
that were never intended for us. 

VI. The Coming Messiah. 
" Your father A braliam rejoiced to see My day? 
John viii. 56. 
Many histories look back to a golden age which is past 
and gone. Jewish history looks forward (Heb. xi. 40 ; Acts 
xxvi. 6, 7). And just as we teach children first from pic- 
tures, and afterwards from the printed page, so early in the 
Old Testament we find many Types and few Predictions, 
and later on many Predictions and few Types. All the six 



30 FIRST TERM. 

kinds of Types occur this term ; but leaving ordinances, acts, 
and offices to be considered with the Mosaic Law generally, 
we note as typical events, the offering of Isaac and the 
Exodus ; as typical things, Jacob's Ladder (access through 
Christ, Eph. ii. 18), the Pillar of Cloud and Fire (presence 
of Christ, Matt, xxviii. 20), the Manna (Christ the Bread of 
Heaven, John vi.), the Smitten Rock (Christ's gift of Living 
Water, John iv.) ; and as typical persons, Adam, Enoch, 
Noah, Melchizedek, Isaac, and Joseph. The first of these, 
a type by contrast, is worked out below ; the working out 
of the last, a type by comparison, forms one of our 
Questions. 

The First Adam (i) Was created in the image of God. 
(2) Was of the earth. (3) Became a living soul. (4) Was 
made to have dominion over all. (5) Was appointed to 
subdue the earth. (6) Was overcome by desire of pleasure 
in a garden. (7) Yielded to the lust of the flesh, the lust 
of the eyes, and the vainglory of life (Gen. iii. 6 ; 1 John 
ii. 16). (8) Excused himself when justly accused. (9) After 
the fall God pronounced judgment on the Serpent, judg- 
ment on the W 7 oman, judgment on the Man ; of sorrow, 
weariness, and death (Gen. iii. 14-19). (10) By his one 
trespass death reigned. 

The Second Adam (i) Is the very image of God's sub- 
stance (Heb. i. 3). (2) Is of heaven (1 Cor. xv. 47). (3) 
Became a life-giving spirit (1 Cor. xv. 45). (4) Is Lord of 
all (Phil. ii. 11). (5) Will subdue all things (1 Cor. xv. 25). 
(6) Overcame by endurance of pain in a garden (Matt. 
xxvi. 36-44). (7) Conquered the lust of the flesh (Luke 
iv. 3), the lust of the eyes (Luke iv. 5), and the vainglory 
of life (Luke iv. 9). (8) Was silent when unjustly accused 
(Matt, xxvii. 12). (9) Destroyed the serpent (Rev. xii. 
9, 10) ; was born of woman (Gal. iv. 4) ; endured sorrow 
(Isa. liii. 3, 4 ; Matt. viii. 17), weariness (John iv. 6) and death 
(Psalm xxii. 15). (10) By His one act of righteousness 
grace reigned unto eternal life (Rom. v.). 

Observe these parallels also : — 

Gen. i. Heaven and earth Rev. xxi. Heaven and earth 

created. renewed. 

Gen. ii. God with man in a Rev. xxi. God with man in 

garden. a city. 



THE COMING MESSIAH. 31 

Gen. ii. Eat not lest thou die. John vi. Eat and live. 

Gen. iii. Tree of life withheld. Rev. xxii. Tree of live given. 

Gen. viii. Earth destroyed by 2 Peter iii. Earth destroyed 

water. by fire. 

Gen. xi. Confusion of Acts ii. Gift of Tongues. 

Tongues. 

To us, all these Types speak far more plainly than they 
did to those who first saw them, but to that age were also 
given nine Predictions of growing fulness and clearness. 
The Coming One would be the descendant of Eve, of Seth, 
of Noah, of Shem, of Abraham, of Isaac, of Jacob, of Judah. 
(1) Gen. iii. 15. An enigmatical prophecy that he (or they) 
who are born of woman should suffer from, and yet in the 
end triumph over, the power of evil. (2) Gen. ix. 26, 27. 
A dim announcement of blessing to Shem, and to 
Japhet through him. (3) Gen. xii. 3 ; (4) Gen. xviii. 18 ; 
(5) Gen. xxii. 18 ; (6) Gen. xxviii. 14. Definite promises of 
blessing through Abraham's descendants to all nations. 
(7) Gen. xlix. 10. A promise which for the first time centres 
in one Person, a ruler descended from Judah. (8, 9) Job 
xix. 25-7 ; Job xxxiii. 23, 24. Trustful aspirations 
rather than direct predictions, and made outside the 
Chosen Family, therefore on a different footing from the 
others, even if we regard this as their chronological place. 

Besides types and predictions, there are in the Old 
Testament three special lines of preparatory revelation 
concerning the Divine Nature of the Coming One, not to 
be associated with the expectation of the Messiah, until, in 
the course of many ages, as we shall see, the conception of 
the Messiah rises above that of a merely human deliverer. 
The Divine Son is called (1) the Wisdom of God (1 Cor. 
i. 24), anticipated by Prov. viii. (2) The Word of God ; the 
opening statement of Genesis that in the beginning God 
created through His Word, is repeated and filled with new 
meaning as 'the opening statement of S. John's Gospel. 
(3) The Messenger or Angel of God (Mai. iii. 1 ; Job xxxiii. 
23, R.V. ; John xx. 21 ; Heb. i. 2). All through the Old 
Testament we see an Angel of God's Presence (or Counten- 
ance), who is worshipped as God and yet seen of men ; who 
is not only commissioned by Jehovah, but represents Him 
so directly and fully that when He speaks or acts God 



32 FIRST TERM. 

Himself is felt to speak or act Comparison of John i. 18, 
x. 30 ; 2 Cor. iv. 6 ; Acts vii. 38 ; 1 Cor. x. 4, 9 (R.V. 
margin) ; Jude 5 (R.V. margin) leads to the inevitable 
inference that in this Angel there is a mysterious fore- 
shadowing of the Incarnation. More than half the allusions 
to Him occur this term. See Gen. xvi. 7, 13, xviii., xxi. 
17-19, xxii. 11, 12, xxxi. II, 13, xxxii. 24, 29, 30 (cp. Hos. 
xii. 4, 5), xlviii. 15, 16; Exod. iii. 2, 6, 14, iv. 5, xiv. 19, 
xxiii. 20-23, xxxii. 34, xxxiii. 2, 14; Num. xxii. 23, 32, 
35 ; Josh. v. 15, with vi. 2 ; Judg. ii. I, v. 23, vi. 1 1, 12, xiii. 
3,6, 18; comp. Rev. xix. 11-13 ; 1 Kings xix. 7, 9; Isa. 
lxiii. 9; Zech. i. 11, iii. 5, xii. 8. " There was One desig- 
nated, not as an epithet but as a description of his being, 
the Angel of the Lord, in whom God accustomed His crea- 
tures to the thought of beholding Himself in human form. 
Whether it was God the Son who so manifested Himself 
beforehand (this was the common belief of the early 
Fathers) or not, yet there was One, known as the Angel of 
the Lord, distinct from and above all the rest." (Pusey.) 

VII. God's Revelation of Himself to Man. 

Wrong ideas about God lie at the root of every form of 
error and superstition (Psalm 1. 21 ; Acts xvii. 29). Hence 
the need of His gradual self-manifestation. This came first, 
through the negative declaration that He is invisible and 
incomprehensible (Deut. iv. 14-19), whose result was that 
to the heathen world Israel seemed to have a religion with- 
out a God. But " let those who wish to understand the 
hidden wisdom of the Second Commandment, study the 
history of ancient religions. No argument can prove that 
there is anything very wrong in all these outward signs 
and symbols. To many people we know they are even a 
help and comfort. But history is sometimes a stronger 
and sterner teacher than argument, and one of the lessons 
which the history of religions certainly teaches is this, that 
the curse pronounced against those who would change the 
invisible into the visible, the spiritual into the material, the 
Divine into the human, the infinite into the finite, has come 
true in every nation on earth." {Max Miiller.) Secondly, 
God manifested Himself through that positive declaration 
of His attributes which forms the Old Testament Creed 



GOD'S REVELATION OF HIMSELF TO MAN. 33 

(Exod. xxxiv. 5-7). To Israel, unable to know Him in 
His absolute and unapproachable majesty, and forbidden 
to make unworthy representations, each fresh and lasting 
revelation came in a new Name, gathering up what was 
shown of God's character, working, and will from age to 
age. Throughout the Old Testament we shall trace these 
names, and observe the different circumstances under which 
different names are used. Here we note the four earliest : — 

(1) Elohim, a title, meaning "the Mighty One" and 
translated " God," is used in those passages which speak 
of the God of nature, and of the world as under a general 
Divine influence (e.g., in the account of the Creation and 
of heathen nations). It is a plural word, understood and 
used as a singular. This had a present reference to the 
polytheism (worship of many gods) of the nations around, 
showing that the God of Israel united in Himself all the 
various powers and attributes of Deity. It had also a 
future reference to the Christian doctrine of the Trinity, 
foreshadowed in Gen. i. 26, iii. 22, xi. 7. The singular of 
Elohim forms part of many names (i.e., " Daniel "), and we 
find it in Matt, xxvii. 46, and know it well in its Arabic 
form, " Allah." 

(2) El Shaddai, meaning " God Almighty," the above 
title qualified, was the special, but not the only name by 
which God was known to the Patriarchs, in whom He 
sought to create and to cherish the sense of personal 
dependence on a strong Helper. It only occurs in the 
Pentateuch and in Ezek. x. 5, but we find Shaddai (i.e., the 
Almighty) in Num. xxiv. 4, 16, and often in Job. 

(3) Adonai, a title, meaning " lords " (plural of majesty), 
translated " Lord," and probably the same word as the 
name of the Egyptian god " Aten " ; is used in Gen. xv. 2, 
xx. 4, etc., and occurs in many proper names. 

(4) Jehovah, a proper name, meaning " He Who Is " 
(Rev. i. 8 ; Heb. xiii. 8), used in those passages which speak 
of the God of the covenant, and of the world as under 
a supernatural overruling Power demanding our adora- 
tion (e.g., in the history of the Chosen People). It is " a 
declaration of the simplicity, unity, and self-existence of the 
Divine Nature, exactly opposite to all the multiplied forms 
of idolatry, human, animal and celestial, that prevailed, so 

3 



34 FIRST TERM. 

far as we know, everywhere else " (Stanley), and " a mani- 
festation of the Eternal who makes Himself known in time ' 
(Westcott). In the French Bible it is well translated by 
" L'Eternel." It was occasionally used in Patriarchal times 
(Gen. iv. I, 26), but its frequent use dates from the Exodus. 
Kuenen reckons that about 190 Old Testament personal 
names are compounded with it, including those of fourteen 
out of the nineteen kings of Judah. The contexts in 
which it and Elohim respectively occur should always be 
noted (e.g., Psalm xix. 1, 14). In later times a feeling of 
reverence (founded on Lev. xxiv. 16), which became a 
superstition, led the Jews to replace Jehovah by Adonai. 
Hence our English Bible translates it LORD and some- 
times GOD (R.V. Preface, p. 2). In Psalm lxviii. 4, 
lxxxix. 8 (R.V.); Isa. xxxviii. 11 (R.V.), etc., we have 
a shortened form, which also occurs in Hallelu^/^. The 
name Ehyeh (Exod. iii. 14, 15, R.V. margin) is from the 
same root, and has the same meaning. 

Summing up, we may say, outside Israel God is anony- 
mous, to Israel He is Jehovah, to the Church He is Father, 
Son, and Holy Ghost (Saphir). 

VIII. Man's Relation to God in Worship. 

Ever since Adam left Eden men have tried to approach 
God through Sacrifice. This may be of two kinds : — 

(a) A thank-offering for God's favour in the past, or a gift 
to secure His favour for the future, generally in the form of 
fruits of the earth. Such was the sacrifice of Cain, who 
worshipped Elohim the Creator, as the type of the Deist, 
and whose form of religion finally degenerated into mere 
nature worship. It was, however, not only the incomplete 
character of his offering, but the spirit in which it was 
offered that caused its rejection (Prov. xv. 8). 

(b) An expiation for sin, generally in the form of an 
unblemished creature whose blood is shed (Heb. ix. 22). 
Such was the sacrifice of Abel, who worshipped Jehovah, 
and looked for the coming Redeemer, as the type of the 
Christian, and whose form of religion finally degenerated 
into worship of subordinate redeemers and intercessors. 
All the various religions of the world go back to those two 
primaeval altars ; and since animal food is first permitted in 



MAN'S RELATION TO GOD IN WORSHIP. 35 

Gen. ix. 3, Gen. iii. 21 may indicate that sacrifices, such as 
Abel's, were divinely instituted. Elsewhere also in Genesis 
we find the germ of those Mosaic institutions which we shall 
consider next term. 

The offering of Isaac is sometimes misunderstood, and 
criticised as if it were an example of human sacrifice for sin. 
So far from sanctioning, it condemns such sacrifice. For 
(a) Abraham had committed no particular sin, and appre- 
hended no special danger. (b) It was not a sacrifice 
to atone for sin, or to propitiate God, but a burnt offer- 
ing, the meaning of which throughout the Bible is dedica- 
tion of oneself to God, and perfect obedience to His will. 
It was not made in the spirit of Mic. vi. 6, but of Acts 
xxi. 13. (c) Isaac is a type of humanity devoted to death, 
but not actually slain. The ram, divinely provided and 
slain in his stead, is a type of the Lamb of God. 

Prayer is first mentioned in Gen. iv. 26 ; we have the 
first specimen of prayer for others in Gen. xvii. 18, xviii. ; 
and of prayer for oneself in Gen. xxxii. (omitting Lot's 
hasty request in Gen. xix. 18, 19). No grander examples 
could be given of its true nature, and of its power with 
God. (See " Oxford Helps," § xii.) 

Passages illustrating Genesis. — i Chron. i. i — ii. 6 ; 
Psalm cv. 1-23 ; Josh. xxiv. 2-4; Neh. ix. 7, 8; Hos. xii. 
2-5, 12 ; Acts vii. 2-16 ; Heb. xi. 3-22. 

Passages illustrating Exodus.— i Chron. ii. 18— 
viii. ; Psalm cv. 24-45 5 Josh. xxiv. 5-7 ; Neh. ix. 9-20 ; 
Hos. xii. 13; Acts vii. 17-44; Heb. xi. 23-9; 1 Cor. x. 
i-ii ; Psalm lxxvii. 14-20, lxxviii. 1-54, lxxxi., cxiv., cvi. 
7-13, 19-23, cxxxv. 8, 9, cxxxvi. 10-16 ; Judg. v. 4, 5 ; 
Hab. iii. 3-13; lsa. lxiii. 11-14. 

Here we pause, but if we have entered into our First 
Term's reading we cannot stop here. We are but half 
through the career of a man who has had a greater influence 
upon the world than any other man we could name, except 
S. Paul. We reserve the full consideration of his character 
and work till we finish the story of his life next term. The 
Chosen People are wandering in the Wilderness. What 
will their destiny as a nation be after this long training ? 
The Tabernacle has ucen set up. What is the nature and 
meaning of the worship for which it is established ? 



36 FIRST TERM. 

IX. Questions, 

(See pp. 13, 18.) 

[Questions I., VII., XI., XIV., XXIII. , XXIV., and XXVIII. may be 

answered with help of any books. The other 28 questions should be answered 
with the help of a reference Bible and the R.V. only.] 

I. Explain fully the meanings of these words as shown 
by their derivations : — Bible, Scriptures, Canon, Testament, 
Pentateuch, Genesis, Exodus. (14.) 

II. Classify the books of the Bible in four groups, as 
{a) History, (b) Biography, (c) Letters, (d) Poetry. (4.) 

III. Give three references to prove each of these state- 
ments : — (a) God spoke through Old Testament writers, 
(J?) God spoke through New Testament writers ; (c) Christ 
insisted upon the importance and authority of the Old Testa- 
ment, (d) The first Christians studied it diligently. (12.) 

IV. Specify the three acts of creation recorded in Gen. i. 
What further act of creation is mentioned by S. Paul ? (4.) 

V. Show by Old Testament and New Testament refer- 
ences that the world and all in it was created by God the 
Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Ghost. (6.) 

VI. On what were the first three curses pronounced? (3.) 

VII. What brought about the Deluge? State its extent 
and duration. What were the dimensions of the Ark ? 
What did it contain ? Name three new precepts and two 
promises given after the Deluge. (20.) 

VIII. Illustrate Heb. xi. 9 by a brief summary of 
Abraham's wanderings in Canaan, noting his four chief 
halting-places. (12.) 

IX. Discuss the character of Abraham, with special 
reference to New Testament allusions to him, and justify 
from Scripture his two titles, (a) Friend of God, (J?) Father 
of the Faithful. (14.) 

X. Prove that Abraham's immediate ancestors, and also 
that his descendants in Egypt, worshipped false gods. (3.) 

XI. Name four important descendants of Esau in the New 
Testament, in whom his striking but cruel, worldly, and 
unstable character was reproduced. How was the prophecy 
that he should first serve, and then have dominion over his 
brother, fulfilled in his descendants ? (6.) 



QUESTIONS. 37 

XII. Consider Joseph as a type of Christ in character 
and circumstances. (14.) 

XIII. Name the first two possessions of Abraham's family 
in Canaan. To whom did they ultimately belong ? (6.) 

XIV. Reconcile Gen. xlvi. 27 and Acts vii. 14. (6.) 

XV. Mention two incidents in the life of Ephraim. (4.) 

XVI. How old was Noah's father when Adam died? 
How old was Abraham's father when Noah died? How 
old were Jacob and Esau when Abraham died ? How old 
was Joseph when Isaac died? (12.) 

XVII. On how many occasions are we told of God 
speaking to man in Genesis ? To whom did He speak ? (15.) 

XVIII. What allusions to Job are there in Scripture 
outside the Book of Job ? Find a New Testament quota- 
tion from Job. (3.) 

XIX. Summarise the four parts of Elihu's discourse. (14.) 

XX. Quote two passages proving that Amram was a 
pious man. (N.B. He is not actually named in either.) (2.) 

XXI. Give the seven reasons Moses gave for not going 
before Pharaoh, and God's answers to them. How many 
interviews had Moses with Pharaoh? (14.) 

XXII. What were the four compromises Pharaoh tried 
to make ? Give the names of the magicians who withstood 
Moses. (6.) 

XXIII. Make a list of the ten plagues of Egypt, showing 
the object or victims, duration, significance, and immediate 
result of each. (20.) 

XXIV. Explain the following passages : — Gen. vi. 2, 6 ; 
Job iv. 18, xix. 25, xxvi. 5, 6, xxxi. 26, xxxvii. 16, xxxviii. 
31 ; Exod. iii. 22, ix. 12. (30.) 

XXV. Where, when, by whom, and with what result was 
the battle of Rephidim fought ? (4.) 

XXVI. Have we Biblical warrant for speaking of the ten 
Commandments ? Show from Genesis that each of the ten 
was recognised before they were given on Sinai. (22.) 

XXVII. Give the passages in which the first mention is 
made of the following :— (1) A Prophet, (2) a Priest, (3) a 
King, (4) a Covenant, (5) Believing in God, (6) a " Righ- 
teous Man," (7) Musical Instruments, (8) a Tombstone, 
(9) Money, (10) a City, (11) Egypt, (12) more wives than one, 
(13) written History, (14) the written Word of God. (14.) 



3 8 FIRST TERM. 

XXVIII. What are the meanings of the following names ? 
— Adam, Eve, Cain, Abel, Seth, Noah, Abraham, Sarah, 
Ishmael, Isaac, Edom, Jacob, Israel, Judah, Joseph, Ephraim, 
Manasseh, Moses, Abimelech, Pharaoh. (20.) 

XXIX. How many New Testament allusions can you 
find to Adam, Eve, Cain, Abel, Enoch, Noah, Lot, Sarah, 
Hagar, Esau ? (20.) 

XXX. What do you know of the following ? — Asenath, 
Bashemath, Deborah (of Haran), Eliezer of Damascus, Hur, 
Iscah, Jochebed, Kezia, Oholiab, and Shiphrah. (20.) 

XXXI. Make a list of all the names of God that you 
can find in Genesis, Job, and Exodus. (30.) 

XXXII. Give references for the following passages 
occurring in this term's reading : — {a) " Where art thou ? " 
(b) " Be thou a blessing." (c) " Submit thyself." (d) " I 
withheld thee from sinning." (e) " I have filled him with 
the Spirit of God." (f) " Remember this day." {g) " Stand 
still." (k) " Go forward." (*) " I fear God." (J) " I am not 
worthy." (k) " I abhor myself." (/) " Teach Thou me." 
(m) " Let us make us a name." {11) " We desire not the 
knowledge of Thy ways." id) "Come, let us slay him." 
(/) " For we are brethren." (q) " Who is on the Lord's 
side ? " (r) " Am I in the place of God ? " (s) " If a man 
die, shall he live again ? " (t) " There is a spirit in man." 
{u) "God took him." (v) "God heard, . . . remembered, 
. . . saw, . . . took knowledge of them." (w) " The Lord 
is in this place." (x) "That rebel against the light." 
(j) " I have bought you this day." (z) " He that voucheth 
for me is on high." (26.) 

For Second Series of Questions, see p. 309. 



SECOND TERM. 

The Days of Moses. 

The Chosen Nation. 

The Tabernacle and the Theocracy. 

b.c. 1490 — 1256. 

Leviticus. Numbers. Deuteronomy. Psalm XC. Joshua. 
Judges L— V. and XVII. —XXI. Ruth. ( 1 36 chapters) 

"These words . . . shall be upon thine heart, and thou shalt teach 
them, . . . talk of them, . . . bind them upon thine hand . . ._ and between 
thine eyes, . . . and write them upon the door posts." — Deut. vi. 6-9. 



5th MONTH (34). 

Leviticus I.— XXVII. 
Numbers I.— VII. 

6th MONTH (34). 

Numbers VIII.— XXXVI. 
Deut. I.— V. 



7th MONTH (34). 

Deut. VI.— XXXIV. 
Psalm XC. Joshua I.— IV. 

8th MONTH (34). 

Joshua V.— XXIV. Judges I.— V. 



and XVII.— XXI. Ruth. 

I. General Summary. 

GOD has redeemed the people whom He chose to be His 
own purchased possession. They did not deliver them- 
selves by such a battle as Marathon, or Morgarten, or Ban- 
nockburn ; He did for them what they could not do for 
themselves. In the Red Sea they have been baptised into 
Moses for a new life (1 Cor. x. 2). They have been claimed 
by God as His sons (Exod. iv. 22 ; Deut. xiv. 1 ; Hos. xi. 1). 
They have been made heirs of the Promised Land (Exod. 
vi. 8). Will they live the new life as obedient children, 
and enter into their inheritance ? This is the question our 
second term's reading will answer sadly enough by showing 
that only two of the grown men who crossed the Red Sea 
also crossed Jordan (Num. xxvi. 64, 65). A like question 
confronts us, baptised into Christ as " children of God and 

39 



40 SECOND TERM. 

inheritors of the kingdom of heaven," and redeemed not by 
the blood of the many lambs of the Passover, but by the 
precious blood of the one adorable and immaculate Lamb 
of God (Eph. i. 4-7). The solemn lesson drawn for us from 
Israel's unbelief in Heb. iii. is brought before us whenever 
we join in singing Psalm xcv. at the public worship wherein 
we claim our Christian privileges. 

In Israel's Exodus, which revived worship of the True 
God and hope of the Messiah, when both were perishing, 
we see the roots of all that is most valuable in religion to- 
day. Recently discovered Egyptian records show us how 
the way was divinely prepared for this important event by 
the victorious campaigns in Western Asia of Rameses II., 
whose harsh but able features were seen by our contem- 
poraries when his mummy was unrolled a year or two ago. 
His wars weakened the Canaanites, but also overstrained 
the resources of Egypt, and led, in the reigns of his weak 
successors, to counter-invasions, which depleted the garri- 
sons that held Israel in subjection. It is possible that the 
Pharaoh of Exod. i. was Seti, son of Rameses I. That the 
Pharaoh of Exod. ii. 23 was Rameses II., son of Seti ; and 
that the Pharaoh of Exod. v.-xiv. was Menephtah II., son 
of Rameses II., are widely received conclusions of modern 
archaeology. See Dr. Kinns' " Graven in the Rock " (Cassell, 
12s. 6d.), Prof. Poole's " Cities of Egypt" (Smith, Elder, 55.). 

Some profess to account for the most characteristic 
Hebrew institutions by the sojourn in Egypt, but M. Le 
Page Renouf entirely gainsays this theory. The following 
results of their bondage may, however, be certainly traced : 
— (a) An ever-recurring tendency to idolatry. (J?) A pre- 
ference for non-monarchical institutions which lasted 400 
years, (c) A liability to leprosy, consequence of long ex- 
posure and hardship. Moreover, in fertile and 'cultivated 
Egypt they acquired the arts of civilisation and industry, 
and affliction welded them together into one nation. During 
more than half their sojourn there, however, they seem to 
have been wealthy and prosperous (Exod. i. 9). 

The number who left Egypt must have amounted to 
between two and three millions in all, and if we would 
understand how a horde of unruly and craven bondmen 
were transformed into dauntless warriors who proved the 



GENERAL SUMMARY. 41 

most faithful generation in Israel's history, we must gain 
a clear idea of the exact sequence of events in the wilder- 
ness. Each incident there has its own particular place and 
its special relation to the whole, and no part of that whole 
was more fruitful than the 37 \ years whose story occupies 
only five chapters. Then it was that the slave-generation 
died out (Psalm xc. 5-8) and the conqueror-generation grew 
up. The conquest began when they crossed the brook 
Zered (Deut. ii. 13), and ended when they occupied Galilee 
(which was to the Canaanites what Wales and Cornwall 
were to the Britons), or, in a larger sense, when David took 
Jerusalem. 

God's command to exterminate the heathen, which first 
appears in Num. xxxi., has been misunderstood and there- 
fore questioned. By their heinous sins, these heathen 
had forfeited the lives God gave them (Deut. ix. 5). The 
agents of His judgments were therefore no more murderers 
than are the executioners who carry out a legal sentence. 
Moreover, distance in time from heathen Europe, and in 
space from heathen Asia and Africa, causes us to have but 
a vague notion of what heathenism really is. The testimony 
of those who have studied it closely either in past or present 
forms proves that it not only permits and sanctions, but 
enjoins iniquities and abominations which Christian influ- 
ence has made utterly hateful in Christian lands, even for 
those who do not confess the name of Christ. This 
heathenism came to a climax in the Canaanites and their 
neighbours, and in those pre-Christian days evil was so 
strong that toleration of those who habitually practised it 
would have been dangerous and even fatal. We, under 
different conditions, are commanded to hate sin, and love 
the sinner ; Israel's only safety lay in hating the sinner as 
well as his sin. S. Chrysostom finds a key to this command 
in Psalm cxxxix. 21, 22, and it is further explained by our 
Lord's words in Matt. v. 38, 39, 43-5 ; Luke ix. 54-6. 
The political wisdom of a command which made Israel 
the instrument of deserved and inevitable punishment to 
these notorious idolaters was proved again and again by 
the long train of evils which followed upon their incomplete 
obedience to it. The Israelites fought not only for them- 
selves, but for us. Just as the intellectual progress of 



42 SECOND TERM. 

mankind depended upon the victory of Greece at Marathon, 
so the future of morality and religion for the whole race 
depended upon the victory of Israel at Bethhoron. 

We are apt to estimate the days after Joshua by those 
closing episodes of Judges, which account for the omission 
of Dan in I Chron. iv.-vii. and Rev. vii., and for the phrase 
" little Benjamin " in Psalm lxviii. 27. Three-quarters of 
the whole period seem, however, to have passed in a peace 
and prosperity which has little history, but which finds 
beautiful illustration in the story of Ruth. 

II. Books to be Read. 
(See " Oxford Helps," § v.) 

This term we read the three remaining books of Moses 
and his one Psalm, the history of his successor Joshua, half 
the story of the Judges, and the biography of Ruth. 
Glancing at their surface, this appears the least attractive 
of all the nine portions into which we divide the Bible. The 
first three books seem to be full of obsolete laws and cere- 
monies ; Joshua seems full of barbarous exterminations and 
lifeless geography ; Judges of petty strifes stirred up by 
evil passions. When, however, instead of carelessly reading, 
we search these Scriptures diligently, we find them rich in 
historical interest and spiritual instruction. And even the 
details that we are tempted to regard as wearisome and 
barren, teach us that we must stoop to individual names 
and minute particulars, if we would appreciate God's con- 
descension and the reality of His special oversight of the 
children of men (Luke xii. 6, 7). 

Moreover, they contain five short poems or fragments 
and four sustained songs all singularly attractive — viz., 

(a) The Aaronic Benediction of the people given at the 
close of the daily sacrifice (Num. vi. 24-6). 

(b) Fragment from the Book of the Wars of the Lord 
concerning the crossing of Arnon, the first river they had 
come to since they left the Nile (Num. xxi. 14, 15). 

(c) The jubilant Song of the Well, perhaps a common 
water-drawing chant in after-times (Num. xxi. 17, 18). 

(d) A shout of triumph over the Amorites after their 
second victory (Num. xxi. 27-30). 



BOOKS TO BE READ. 43 

(e) Stanza from the Book of Jashar of a Battle Ode com- 
memorating their greatest victory (Josh. x. 12-15). 

(/) The sevenfold Prophecy of Balaam touching Israel's 
destiny and finally glancing at the Gentile world beyond 
(Num. xxiii., xxiv.). 

(g) The magnificent Song of Witness for God by Moses 
(Deut. xxxii.). 

(Ji) The Benediction of the Twelve Tribes by Moses 
(Deut. xxxiii.). 

(1) Deborah's ecstatic Paean over Sisera, the only pro- 
phetic utterance between Moses and Samuel (Judg. v.). 

This term also we make our first acquaintance with the 
Book of Psalms (see p. 1 70). 

Leviticus, the shortest book of Moses, consists of God's 
own words to His people, excepting only chaps, viii.-x., 
xxiv. 10-16, 23. Its structure is as symmetrical as that of 
Genesis. In it God makes provision for man to draw near 
Him in worship. Its keynote is Separated unto the Lord 
(John xvii. 15 ; 1 Peter i. 15, 16, ii. 24). 

Numbers describes that journey through the wilderness 
which has ever since been regarded as a parable of human 
life in its spiritual aspect of a pilgrimage. Its keynote is 
Sinners against their own lives (Prov. viii. 36 ; Jer. xxvi. 
19, R.V. ; Luke xiii. 34 ; John v. 40, 44). 

Deuteronomy is to the other books of the Pentateuch 
what S. John is to the other Gospels, not merely repeating, 
but enlarging upon their theme, and showing its full signifi- 
cance. Its keynote is Choose (Matt. vi. 24 ; 1 John ii. 15 ; 
Heb. x. 38, 39) ; and it falls into seven portions : 

(1) First address by Moses in the Arabah, i. — iv. 40 ; 
(2) Second address by Moses in the valley opposite Beth- 
peor, iv. 41 — xxvi. ; (3) Third address by Moses and the 
Elders at Ebal and Gerizim, xxvii. — xxx. ; (4) The Charge, 
xxxi. ; (5) The Song, xxxii. ; (6) The Benediction, xxxiii. ; 
(7) Appendix, probably by Joshua, xxxiv. 

Joshua (which may be written by him whose name it 
bears, or by one of the elders who out-lived him, Josh. xxiv. 
31) is the Book of the Wars of Israel, and the Doomsday 
Book of Israel also, and shows how their heritage was 
won and divided. Of course it must be illustrated by the 
map. Setting aside the somewhat doubtful sentiment which 



44 SECOND TERM. 

interprets Jordan as death and Canaan as heaven, we have 
here a parable of human life in its spiritual aspect of a 
warfare. Its keynote is Be strong and of a good courage 
(Heb. xiii. 5, 6 ; 1 Peter iii. 13, 14 ; Eph. vi. 13). 

Judges is a mournful history of Israel's decline into 
anarchy and apostasy, when indolently enjoying their 
fertile land, they tolerated their foes, and strove with their 
brethren, and a national war degenerated into struggles 
of separate tribes against their immediate enemies. Its 
keynote is Called out from the world, yet of the world 
(James iv. 4 ; 1 Cor. xv. 33 ; 2 Peter ii. 20, 21). 

Ruth, a prose idyll, is the first chapter in the history 
of the family of which Christ was a member. Its keynote 
is In the world, yet not of the world (Rom. ii. 10, 11 ; 
Matt. xix. 29). No other ancient history contains such 
vivid pictures of the life of the past as Judges and Ruth, 
and the mixed characters of this transition period have 
been well likened to those who made the history of the 
Middle Ages. 



III. Periods and Dates. 

(See " Oxford Helps," § ix.) 

We are still unable to fix exact dates, but may roughly 
map out these 234 years as follows : — (3) is fixed at 25 
years in accordance with the statement of Josephus that 
Joshua, who died aged no, was 35 years younger than 
Moses. Of this we cannot be quite sure, but it must be 
correct within a year or two. Josh. xiv. 7, 10 shows that 
Joshua's subjugation of the land occupied seven years. 

(1) B.C. 1490 — 1452 (38 years). From the erection of 

the Tabernacle to the second arrival at Kadesh. 

Probation of the Chosen People in the Wilderness. 

(a) From Passover to Pentecost, 1490 (7 weeks). 

The close of the year of organisation at Sinai. 

Lev.; Num. i.— x. 10. 

(J?) From Pentecost to Feast of Tabernacles, 1490 

(4 months and 10 days). March from Sinai 

to Kadesh, and unsuccessful attempt to 



PERIODS AND DATES. 45 

enter the Promised Land from the South. 
Num. x. 11— xiv. 
(c) From the Feast of Tabernacles, 1490, to 
Passover, 1452 (37 J years). The Wander 
ings, probably in the neighbourhood of Seir. 
Num. xv.— xix. 

(2) B.C. 1452 — 145 1 (1 year). From the second arrival 

at Kadesh to the death of Moses. Conquest of the 

Land of Gilead, east of ' for dan. 

{a) From Passover to end of Tebeth, 1452 
(10 months). March from Kadesh to the 
Plains of Moab. Successful attempt to 
enter the Promised Land from the East. 
Num. xx.— xxxvi. 
(J?) From Tebeth, 1452, to Passover, 145 1 (2 
months). Encampment in the Plains of Moab. 
Farewell address of Moses. Deut. ; Psalm xc. 

(3) B.C. 145 1 — 1426 (25 years). From the death of 

Moses to the death of Joshua. Conquest of the Land 
of Canaan, west of fordan. 

{a) Occupation of the Valley of the Jordan. 
Josh. i. — viii. 

(b) Occupation of Judaea and Samaria. 

Josh, ix., x. 

(c) Occupation of Galilee. Josh, xi., xii. 

(d) Settlement in the Promised Land. 

Josh. xiii. — xxiv. 

(4) B.C. 1426 — 1256 (170 years). From the death of 

Joshua to the beginning of the Midianite oppression 
Israel under the first four fudges. 

(a) Eight years' oppression of the Syrians on the 

north-east (1402 — 1394), and rule of Othniel. 
Judg. L— iii. 11. 

(b) Eighteen years' oppression of the Moabites on 

the east (1354 — 1336), and rule of Ehud. 
Judg. iii. 12-31. 

(c) Twenty years' oppression of the Canaanites on 

the north (13 16 — 1296), and rule of Deborah 
and Barak. Judg. iV., V. 

(d) Three undated episodes of the early days of 

the Judges, inserted between the histories of 



46 SECOND TERM. 

Samson and Samuel, who were probably about 
the same age — viz., the origin of the idola- 
trous worship at Dan, Judg". xvii., xviii. ; 
" the battle in Gibeah against the children of 
iniquity " (as Hosea calls it), whose details 
may be passed over, Judg. xix. — xxi. ; and 
the story of Ruth, Ruth. 

IV. Geography. 

(See "Oxford Helps," Maps IV., v., and §§ ix., 
xxx., and xxxiii.) 

A few days' journey along the shore of the Mediterranean 
might have brought Israel from Egypt into Palestine. But 
with their minds cankered and their bodies enfeebled by 
slavery they would have been unfit either to conquer or to 
re-people the land. They needed the free air of the desert 
to make them bold and hardy, and the discipline of their 
wanderings to train them in the fear of God. Moreover, 
they needed a time of withdrawal from the rest of mankind 
that their religious and social institutions might be fully 
organised, and that they might learn, as they could never 
have learned elsewhere, to depend wholly upon God. 
Modern travellers describe the scanty vegetation, inade- 
quate rainfall, poor and scarce water, and absence of animal 
life in the wilderness in a way which plainly shows that 
Israel's needs must have been miraculously supplied. 
During the Wanderings, Kadesh, the only city named, 
seems to have been their headquarters. 

Aaron died gazing back from Hor across the Wilderness 
to Egypt. Moses died gazing forward from Pisgah across 
Jordan to the Land of Promise ; and already the rich 
forest and pasture lands east of Jordan (Deut. xxxii. 14 ; 
2 Kings iii. 4; Psalm xxii. 12) had been subdued and 
assigned to tribes whose character was especially pastoral 
(Judg. v. 16). 

Palestine proper lies between the Arabah or wilderness 
beyond the Dead or Salt Sea, the Jordan valley, the 
Lebanon mountains, and the Mediterranean, " the sea " or 
" the great sea " of the Scriptures, just as the Euphrates is 
" the river " or " the great river " (Num. xxxiv. 7 ; Deut. 



GEOGRAPHY. 47 

xxx. 13 ; Psalm lxxii. 8 ; 1 Kings iv. 21). It is called 
(a) Canaan (Exod. xv. 15) ; (b) the Land of Canaan (Judg. 
xxi. 12) ; (c) Palestine or Philistia (Exod. xv. 14; Isa. xiv. 
2 9> 3 x > J oe l iii- 4 y comp. A.V. and R. V.) ; (d) the Land of 
the Hittites (Josh. i. 4) ; (e) the Land of the Hebrews (Gen. 
xl. 15) ; (/) the Land of Israel (1 Sam. xiii. 19); (jf) the 
Land of Jehovah (Hos. ix. 3) ; {h) the Glorious Land (Dan. 
xi. 41) ; (t) the Holy Land (Zech. ii. 12) ; (/) the Land 
(Ruth i. 1). It is 139 miles long from Dan to Beersheba, 
and 55 miles wide at its widest from Gaza to the Dead 
Sea—/.*., it is about the size of Wales, and as mountainous 
as Switzerland ; and for its beauty, variety, small extent, 
and great influence it may be compared to Greece. From 
north to south it falls into four parallel bands : (a) Seaboard, 
a maritime plain broken only by the spur of Carmel ; 
(J?) hill country from Lebanon to the desert, broken into two 
masses by the plain of Jezreel ; (c) the deep trench of the 
Jordan valley ; (d) from Hermon to the Red Sea, the 
hills of Gilead and Moab. Beyond these lie wide prairies. 

The position of Palestine links it both to the East and 
to the West. For though it is in Asia, a broad and im- 
passable desert separates it from the rest of that continent ; 
and it looks towards Europe and Africa. In the Greek 
church at Jerusalem, a circle of marble pavement and short 
column marks that spot as the centre of the world. And 
it tells a truthful tale. Palestine is set in the midst of all 
the worldwide empires of history, including the British 
Empire of to-day (Ezek. v. 5) ; and it commands the 
Mediterranean, the one great highway of nations until the 
discovery of America. It became the cradle of the only 
literature which was written for all mankind, and which finds 
response in every human heart. Within its narrow borders 
every variety of scenery and temperature is illustrated ; 
and the products of almost every region from the Poles to 
the Tropics may be acclimatised (Deut. viii. 7-9). There 
are found the mighty range of Lebanon, " the great white 
mountain," grim with eternal snow ; the gentle uplands of 
Galilee ; the rugged hills and rocky gorges of Judaea ; 
coasts here shelving and there abrupt, washed by the 
sparkling waves of the Tideless Sea ; the laughing Lake of 
Galilee fringed with flowers of every hue, and lovelier than 



48 SECOND TERM. 

even the far-famed lakes of Italy ; the awful Dead Sea, 
whose leaden ripple breaks over the deepest depression on 
the whole surface of the earth ; brooks overflowing and 
impetuous in winter that well-nigh vanish in summer ; 
bubbling springs that can be identified to-day where cities 
are sought in vain ; vineyards on very fruitful hills ; corn 
as tall as a horseman, standing thick on fertile vale and 
plain ; shadowy forest and sunny garden, sandy desert and 
arid steep. Still, off the beaten track, we find abundant 
proof that no country better repays cultivation, while so 
rich is it in wild flowers that from one blasted rock nearly 
iooo lbs. of honey were lately taken (Psalm lxxxi. 16). 
We ask the travellers of to-day to give us their impressions 
of Palestine. They are at once enchanted with its sur- 
passing natural beauty and depressed by the ruin and 
desolation which proclaims that it is under a long-enduring 
curse. See Henderson's " Palestine " (T. & T. Clark, 
Edinburgh, 2s. 6d.) ; Thomson's " The Land and the Book " 
(Nelson, js. 6d.) ; Stanley's " Sinai and Palestine " (Murray, 
12s.) ; and the maps and publications of the Palestine Ex- 
ploration Society. 

The Jordan, never called "the river," like the Euphrates 
or Nile, but always spoken of by its significant proper name, 
which means " the Descender," is unlike any other stream 
on the face of the earth. It rises iooo ft. above the Medi- 
terranean, flows through the two lakes of Merom and 
Galilee, and empties itself into the Dead Sea 1300 ft. below 
the Mediterranean, having fallen 2300 ft. in a course of 1 50 
miles. It never turns aside from its course due north and 
south, and never loses itself in ocean ; its bed is so deep 
that its stream flows unseen almost to the end ; its down- 
ward course in one long cataract is so rapid that no boat 
can swim upon it for more than half a mile, and it is as 
useless for navigation as it is for irrigation. No wonder 
the Canaanites were overcome with fear and amazement 
on beholding the vehement rush of such a river arrested 
where its tfde is strongest, at floodtime (Josh. iii. 15, v. 1), 
when the Ark of God stood in its bed, as the Son of God 
was hereafter to stand there in prayer to be set apart for 
His work on earth, and acknowledged by a voice from the 
excellent glory of Heaven. 



HEROES. 49 

V. Heroes. 

C Moses, 2 Cor. xii. 15. 
Keynotes < Phinehas, Gal. i. 8. 

{Joshua, I Cor. xvi. 13. 

During forty years Moses grew from an exceeding fair 
child into a student at the most learned university, and a 
prince at the most brilliant court of his age. His wisdom 
must have been acquired at On, the mother university of the 
world ; and, according to Josephus, he became general of 
the Egyptian army and won renown by his victory over the 
Ethiopians. Then having shown himself an ardent patriot, 
he endured, for another forty years, exile, through which he 
became acquainted not only with the desert in which he 
was to guide a nation, but with the will of God, which he 
was to declare as it had never been declared before (Psalm 
ciii. 7). Then after this long training he came forward for a 
third period of forty years, as the God-sent deliverer, daunt- 
less leader, enlightened lawgiver, and victorious commander, 
judging sin, yet pleading for the sinner ; bearing, believing, 
hoping, and enduring all things for his discouraged, dis- 
affected, and erring people. And mighty not only in his 
works, but in his words, he was for the Hebrews the father 
both of poetry and history. He died at last with his heart's 
prayer ungranted, leaving others to enter into his labours, 
beholding from Pisgah the goodly land which he would 
not enter until, after a lapse of fifteen centuries, he talked 
upon another high mountain with the Christ of whom he 
wrote (Matt. xvii. 1-3 ; John v. 46). Abraham and David 
are both called prophets incidentally (Gen. xx. 7 ; Acts 
ii. 30). But never, either before or after, were the lofty 
thought of the prophet and the bold action of the ruler 
joined as they were joined in Moses. Beside Moses stood 
the eloquent Aaron (Exod. iv. 14), greater in office, less 
great in character ; and the dignified Hur (husband of 
Miriam, according to Josephus), who seems to have been 
the head of those seventy elders in whom some trace the 
origin of the Sanhedrin (Exod. xxiv. 9, 14; Num. xi. 16). 

For our other heroes, however, we take rather his 
minister Joshua, and his grand-nephew Phinehas. Phinehas, 
third high priest of Israel, is the first example of the 



50 SECOND TERM. 

uncompromising warrior-ecclesiastic, who will not only 
maintain truth, but punish error with the sword, whose 
staunchness is rewarded by that " covenant of everlasting 
priesthood," through which (if we except the period between 
Eli and Solomon) all the high priests of Israel were his 
descendants until the Fall of Jerusalem in A.D. 70. 

Joshua is the first example of the God-fearing soldier, 
simple, straightforward, undaunted ; strong, yet gentle ; 
devout, yet practical ; one who had learned how to command 
by obeying ; as a servant, jealous for his master's honour ; 
as a ruler, jealous for God's honour ; never putting himself 
forward, never seeking aught for himself until all had 
received their portions, this greatest of Ephraimites stands 
forth as one of the few Old Testament worthies whose 
memory is blameless, and as the first who bore that name 
which was to become the Name above every name (Heb. 
iv. 8, R.V. margin ; Phil. ii. 9, 10). 

VI. The Coming Messiah. 

" Christ having come a high priest of the good things to 
come, through the greater and more perfect Tabernacle 
. . . through His own blood, entered in once for all into 
the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption? — 
Heb. ix. 11, 12 (R. V). 

No period is richer in Messianic Types. Moses is the 
one person to whom, as a Prophet, our Lord directly com- 
pares Himself; Aaron is His great type as a Priest ; Joshua, 
His namesake, foreshadowed Him both as Servant of God 
and as victorious King ; and Boaz as the Kinsman Redeemer 
whom Job foretold. 

The Tabernacle, God's holy dwelling-place set in the 
midst of the people, is a type of Christ as God Incarnate 
(Heb. viii. 2, 5, ix. 1 1, x. 5 ; Dan. ii. 34 ; Col. ii. 9 ; John i. 14, 
R.V. margin ; Rev. xiii. 6, xxi. 3). Each of its contents 
has spiritual significance. Its Door (John x. 9) and its 
Veil (Heb. x. 20) are typical ; Christ is foreshadowed in 
the Table of Shewbread as the Bread of Life and the King ; 
in the Golden Candlestick as the Light of the World and 
the Prophet ; in the Altar of Incense as the Intercessor and 
Priest ; in the Ark as the Fulfiller of all God's will ; in the 



THE COMING MESSIAH. 51 

Mercy Seat as the Propitiation for our sins through whom 
we have our access to the Father (Eph. ii. 18). In the 
Laver we see our Regeneration through Him who came by- 
water as well as by blood, to renew as well as to justify 
(Titus iii. 5, R.V. margin ; 1 John v. 6) ; while the Brazen 
Altar points to the Cross, where He not only offered 
Himself as Priest, but suffered as Victim (Heb. xiii. 
10-12). 

Each of the five Sacrifices there made showed a different 
aspect of the one " full, perfect, and sufficient sacrifice, 
oblation, and satisfaction for the sins of the whole world." 
I give them in the order in which they were offered. The 
Sin Offering — made monthly and yearly for the congrega- 
tion, and occasionally for individuals, partly burned on the 
altar, and, in two special cases, partly burned outside the 
camp, in other cases partly eaten by the priests ; the only 
sacrifice whose blood was poured at the base of the altar, 
and the most fundamental of all — shows Christ's Atonement 
for the sin of the world, for " the fault and corruption of 
the nature of every man " (Article IX.), for our unconscious 
sinfulness (Isa. liii. 12; John i. 29 ; 2 Cor. v. 21). The 
Trespass or Guilt Offering — only made occasionally for 
individuals, partly burned on the altar, and partly eaten by 
the priests, and accompanied by confession, restitution, and 
a special ransom — shows Christ's Expiation for the particular 
sins of particular sinners, for our known sins (Isa. liii. 1 1 ; 
1 John iii. 5, i. 7-9). The Burnt Offering— -made daily, 
weekly, monthly, and yearly for the congregation, and 
occasionally for individuals, wholly burned upon the altar, 
the earliest kind clearly discriminated, the commonest, and 
the most comprehensive in its meaning — shows Christ's 
Satisfaction for man's rebellion and disobedience when He 
gave Himself up without blemish and without spot before 
God in perfect self-consecration as our Representative 
(Isa. liii. 10; John x. 17, 18; Eph. v. 2; Heb. x. 6-9). 
The Meal Offering — made daily and on special occasions 
for the congregation, and occasionally for individuals, partly 
burned on the altar, and partly eaten by the priests, and 
pervaded throughout by oil, type of the Holy Spirit ; 
in one sense the earliest, since its name is given to the 
offerings of Cain and Abel, though only Cain's was, strictly 



52 SECOND TERM. 

speaking, a meal offering, — shows Christ's acceptable 
Oblation of a perfectly holy human character and life 
before men (Isa. liii. 9; Matt. iii. 17; 1 Peter ii. 22; 
Rom. v.). The Peace Offering — made both for the congre- 
gation and for individuals on many occasions, always after 
other sacrifices, partly burned on the altar, partly eaten by 
the priests, and partly eaten by the people — shows Christ's 
Reconciliation of man to God (Isa. liii. 5 ; Eph. ii. 14 ; Col. 
i. 20 ; John xiv. 27). 

Summing up, these offerings embody three main ideas : — 
(a) Expiation in the Sin and Trespass Offerings, made/tfr 
(i.e., to obtain) communion with God, never accompanied 
by meat and drink offerings, and consumed in token of 
wrath. Sacrifices of this type were the creation of the 
Mosaic Law (Rom. iii. 20), though they had been imper- 
fectly anticipated already. Their whole meaning is brought 
out for the first time in the Epistle to the Hebrews, after the 
great Antitype had died. (b) Self-devotion in the Burnt 
Offering. Christ dedicating Himself for us, we daily 
dedicating ourselves to Him (Rom. xii. 1), was its teaching, 
the deepest of all, which links all the five Jewish sacrifices 
together, and constitutes the chief difference between them 
and the heathen sacrifices. We see from the prophets 
also that this teaching was the one most often ignored. 
(c) Thanskgiving in the Meal and Peace Offerings (see 
p. 34). Burnt, Meal, and Peace Offerings were all made 
in (i.e., having obtained) communion with God, were of a 
sweet savour, and were burned in token of acceptance. 
(" Consumed " and " burned" are here used to represent two 
quite different words in the Hebrew.) 

Note in conclusion these three special sacrifices, with 
their New Testament explanations : — (a) The annual 
Peace Offering of the Paschal Lamb, 1 Cor. v. 7. (b) The 
annual Sin Offering of the Goat for Azazel, Heb. ix. 7. 
(c) The occasional Sin Offering (made but seven or nine 
times in all Israel's history, said the Rabbis) of the Red 
Heifer, Heb. ix. 13. 

At the base of the whole Levitical worship lay the 
conception that only Blood, the material vehicle of that 
immaterial thing which we call Life, can atone for {i.e., 
cover) human sin, whose inevitable result is death. Thus it 



GOD'S REVELATION OF HIMSELF TO MAN 53 

taught that nothing short of the Death of Christ could 
retrieve man's Fall (Lev. xvii. 1 1 ; Heb. ix. 22 ; Acts xx. 
28 ; 1 Peter i. 1 5-20). Before He came, the Jews clearly 
recognised the reference of their sacrifices to the coming 

o m o 

Messiah, and since He was rejected by them, sacrifice has 
disappeared from their worship. 

For the meanings of the High Priest's Robes, and of the 
other ordinances and acts of the Mosaic ritual, and for fuller 
working out of those suggested above, reference must be 
made to the New Testament, and especially to the Epistle 
to the Hebrews, an inspired commentary upon the Mosaic 
Law that students would do well to learn by heart at the 
rate of 2\ verses a day, if possible, in the course of this 
term. One typical event of our period is referred to by 
Christ (John iii. 14), and another by S. Paul (1 Cor. x. 4). 

Lastly, this term's reading contains two Predictions. 

(a) Num. xxiv. 17-19, wherein, looking forward to the 
future triumph of the Hebrew race and their King, the 
heathen seer, like Caiaphas hereafter, condemned himself. 
This had partial fulfilment in David's conquest of Moab ; 
its complete fulfilment will be when Christ rules as King 
(Matt. ii. 2 ; 1 Cor. xv. 25). (J?) Deut. xviii. 15-19. This 
occurs in a book which proved the sheath whence Christ 
thrice drew the sword of the Spirit for His own use (Matt, 
iv.), and was expounded by Him of Himself when He taught 
as a Prophet (John v. 45-7 ; Acts iii. 22). All that was per- 
manent in the new relation established by Moses between 
God and Man is here transferred to a future Lawgiver. 

VII. God's Revelation of Himself to Man. 

This term's reading speaks less of new names of God, 
and more of a new relation of God to man. As the uncon- 
scious freedom and innocence of childhood gives place to 
the deeper seriousness and independence of manhood, so 
the direct and familiar, but occasional intercourse of God 
with the Patriarchs ceased when Moses no longer spake 
face to face with Him. Joshua was the first man who 
received for his guidance a copy of the Scriptures, which 
are mentioned for the first time in connexion with him 
(Exod. xvii. 14; Josh. i. 8). 



54 SECOND TERM. 

This fuller revelation was associated with a sterner law 
Jehovah was the unseen King and Head of Israel then, 
just as Christ is the unseen King and Head of His Church 
now. Theocracy (government by God) is a word used by 
the Jewish historian Josephus, and commonly applied to 
the 400 years between the Exodus and the reign of Saul. 
Strictly speaking, however, Israel's constitution was a 
theocracy always, whether its human ruler was a prophet 
like Moses, or a priest like Eli, or a king like David. God 
was always their supreme King (1 Sam. xii. 12 ; Isa. vi. 5, 
xxxiii. 17), and they were called then, as the Church is 
called now, to be His special people for a special reason 
(1 Peter ii. 9). 

Observe how the threefold form of the Aaronic Bene- 
diction anticipates a clearer revelation of the Triune God 
(Num. vi. 24-6). 

VIII. Man's Relation to God in Worship. 

Two cardinal truths were uttered at Sinai : 

(a) That the people of Israel were set apart as a holy 
nation, which explains why the Ceremonial Law was given 
at first to separate them, and abrogated later on when their 
privileges were to be shared by others. 

(b) That their God was " eternal, incorruptible, invisible," 
which explains but does not excuse their besetting sin. 

The various laws of Moses may be classified under three 
heads. (1) Moral, referring to our duty to ourselves. All 
sin wrongs ourselves in the first place, while most sins 
wrong others also. These laws are the same in all ages 
(Matt. v. 17-48). (2) Political, Civil, and Criminal, refer- 
ring to our duty to our neighbour. Of these laws, changed 
social conditions have altered the details though not the 
principles (Mark x. 5). (3) Religious and Ceremonial, 
referring to our duty to God. These laws, so far as they 
referred to outward observances, were modified after the 
more perfect manifestation of God in Christ. (Contrast 
Lev. xi. and Deut. xiv. with 1 Tim. iv. 4 and Rom. xiv. 
20, 21.) 

In spite of the written Law, a people constantly engaged 
in war or agriculture would have sunk into ignorance and 



MAN'S RELATION 70 GOD IN WORSHIP. 55 

barbarism had not a leisured and learned class not wholly 
dependent on their own toil been set apart to teach it to 
their fellows (2 Chron. xxxi. 4). Such were the Levites 
(see Exod. xxxii. 26-9, which explains the contrast 
between Gen. xlix. 5-7 and Deut x. 8, 9, xxxiii. 8- 11). 
They had neither political power nor personal wealth, and 
were free to devote themselves to the maintenance of 
public worship. In time they became chroniclers and 
psalmists also. 

The Israelites proved too "carnal" (1 Cor. iii. 1) to 
understand the worship of an unseen God and King. 
Hence Idolatry became their great national sin until the 
Babylonian Captivity. There were two kinds of idolatry, 
which must be carefully distinguished throughout the Old 
Testament. 

(a) Transgression of the First Commandment, worship- 
ping false gods instead of or together with Jehovah. This 
apostasy formed the sin of Israel at Shittim (Num. xxv.), 
of Joash the Abiezrite (Judg. vi.), and of King Ahab. 

(J?) Transgression of the Second Commandment, worship- 
ping Jehovah, the one Creator, under the symbolic likeness 
of a created thing (2 Kings xviii. 22, xvii. 41). These un- 
lawful " aids to devotion " formed the sin of Israel at Sinai 
(Exod. xxxii.), of Micah (Judg. xvii.), and of King 
Jeroboam I. 

Passages illustrating Leviticus, etc. — i Chron. 
ii.-viii. ; Neh. ix. 21-31; Psalm xliv. 1-3, lxxviii. 55-8, 
xcv. 8-1 1, cvi. 13-18 and 24-48, cxiv., cxxxv. 10-12, 
cxxxvi. 16-22; Micah vi. 4-9; Acts vii. 45, xiii. 18-20; 
Hebrews. Whitfield's " Tabernacle, Priesthood, and Offer- 
ings of Israel " (Nisbet, $s.) deals with the symbolism 
of the Mosaic ritual in a simple and popular way. 

Again we pause, but what we have read only stimulates 
us to read on. When and how will a strong nation be 
formed out of this chaos of warring tribes? Will the 
Israelitish dodecarchy give place to monarchy as the 
English heptarchy did ? Will Shiloh continue to be the 
capital, and Ephraim the leading tribe ? Will the struggle 
with their heathen neighbours for independence, nay for 
existence, pass into an assured mastery over them ? Who 
is this David, whose ancestry has been so fully described ? 



56 SECOND TERM. 

IX. Questions. 
(See pp. 13, 18.) 

[Questions I., II, XII., XXI.. and XXIV. may be answered with help of 
any books. The other 27 questions should be answered with the help of A. V. 
and R.V. only.] 

I. Draw, with fine pen and ruler : — 

(a) A ground plan of the Tabernacle, showing the 
relative size and position of the Court, the Holy Place, and 
the Holy of Holies, and also their contents. 

(b) A ground plan of the Camp of Israel, showing the 
positions of the three companies of Levites and of Moses 
and Aaron with regard to the Tabernacle, and stating the 
leader, number, and charge of each ; and secondly, the 
positions of the twelve tribes, naming their leaders. Mark 
the points of the compass on both plans. (25.) 

II. Quote one description of the wilderness from the 
Psalms, and two from the Prophets, which indicate the 
hardships of those who wandered there. (3.) 

III. Enumerate seven occasions on which the Israelites 
murmured. (7.) 

IV. Show from several passages that they transgressed 
the First as well as the Second Commandment in the 
wilderness. (6.) 

V. Quote a conversation between Balaam and Balak on 
the subject of the sacrifices that are pleasing to God, and 
prove from the Second Book of Kings that human sacrifice 
was not unknown among the Moabites. (4.) 

VI. Give the total number of the children of Israel 
(a) in B.C. 1706 ; (b) in B.C. 1490 ; (c) in B.C. 1452. Which 
tribe increased and which tribe decreased most between 
1490 and 1452? (8.) 

VII. "Let me die the death of the righteous ! " Was 
this aspiration fulfilled in the case of the man who uttered 
it? (2.) 

VIII. Quote three New Testament precepts enforcing 
each of the Ten Commandments. (30.) 

IX. "Of all the ancient lawgivers, Moses alone endea- 
voured to mitigate the evils of slavery as a domestic 
institution " {Milman). Point out some of these mitiga- 
tions. (8.) 



QUESTIONS. 57 

X. Name the five kinds of animals that might be offered 
in sacrifice, stating for which of the five kinds of sacrifice 
each was available. (8.) 

XL Mention (a) The one offering that need not be 
unblemished ; (&) the one fast appointecftby Moses. (2.) 

XII. What were the three great annual festivals? By 
what various names are they called ? How were they 
observed? What was their significance in relation to 
(a) The seasons of the year ; (b) the history of Israel ; 
(c) the Gospel of Christ ? What additional annual festivals 
were instituted after the Captivity ? (30.) 

XIII. "Nazirite" means "one separated." From what 
was the Nazirite separated ? Name some famous men who 
were Nazirites. (6.) 

XIV. Point out the differences in privilege, garb, function, 
etc., between the high priest and the priest, and between 
the priest and the Levite. (10.) 

XV. Find in the Gospels or Acts of the Apostles an 
exemplification of each of the following passages : — 
(1) Exod. xxx. 7, 8 ; (2) Exod. xxxviii. 26 ; (3) Lev. x. 6, 
xxi. 10 ; (4) Lev. xi. ; (5) Lev. xii. 3 ; (6) Lev. xii. 8 ; (7) Lev. 
xiii. 45, 46 ; (8) Lev. xiv. 3, 4 ; (9) Lev. xx. 10 ; (10) Lev. 
xxiii. 3 ; (n) Deut xvi. 16 ; (12) Deut. xix. 15 ; (13) Deut. 
xxi. 23 ; (14) Deut. xxiii. 25 ; (15) Deut. xxv. 1-3 ; (16) Deut. 
xxv. 5. (16.) 

XVI. In Deuteronomy, Israel is bidden to remember 
twelve times. Give references, and name the things to be 
remembered. (11.) 

XVII. Quote a verse in Deuteronomy where God is 
called Israel's Father. His love to us, and our love to Him 
is a thought running all through that book, which thus 
anticipates Christ's teaching. Trace this out carefully. ( 1 2.) 

XVIII. Where is Moses called (1) a prophet, (2) a 
priest, (3) a king, (4) a leader, (5) a lawgiver, (6) a shepherd 
of God's flock, (7) a man of God, (8) a man mighty in his 
words and works ? Show by a genealogical table his 
relationship to Levi and to Bezalel. What do we know to 
the discredit of one of his grandsons? (15.) 

XIX. Dean Stanley suggests "heedless of self" as the 
exact meaning of the word rendered " meek " in Num. xii. 3. 
Discuss the character of Moses, showing how this trait was 



58 SECOND TERM. 

impressed upon all his actions from first to last. How 
often did he intercede successfully for his people ? (12.) 

XX. Mention a speech and two actions of Moses recorded 
in Hebrews and not in the Old Testament. What do we 
learn from the New Testament as to his motive in throw- 
ing in his lot with Israel ? Consider Moses as a type of 
Christ. (15.) 

XXI. The exhortation, " Be strong " occurs more than 
twenty times in the Bible. Give as many references as 
you can. (10.) 

XXII. How and when was the curse in Josh. vi. 26 
fulfilled ? What New Testament allusions are there to 
Jericho ? (4.) 

XXIII. "They asked not counsel at the mouth of the 
Lord." What were the circumstances and the results of 
this omission ? Give other instances of enterprises under- 
taken with and without prayer. (12.) 

XXIV. Draw on card or drawing paper a map of Canaan 
as divided among the tribes, indicating the portion of each, 
and marking the six cities of refuge in red. Mark also the 
Sea of Chinnereth, the Dead Sea, the Arnon, the Jordan, 
the Kishon ; Hermon, Carmel, Ebal, Gerizim, Tabor, Dan, 
Beersheba, Bethel, Jericho, Ai, Gibeon, and any other cities 
you please which are mentioned in this term's reading. 

N.B. — Rule margins, latitudes, and longitudes ; outline in 
pencil, then in ink with a very fine pen ; then colour in 
transparent washes, and lastly print the names. (25.) 

XXV. Sketch the character and career of Phinehas. In 
what words, six times repeated, is the character of Caleb 
summed up? (10.) 

XXVI. Prove that the mother and grandmother of 
David's grandfather were not Israelites. (5.) 

XXVII. Illustrate 1 Chron. v. 1, 2, by showing very 
briefly — (a) that up to the days of Samuel, Ephraim and 
Manasseh were the leading tribes ; (7?) that from Samuel to 
the Captivity, Judah was the leading tribe ; (/:) that Reuben 
made an unsuccessful attempt to claim the right of the 
firstborn. (15.) 

XXVIII. Where, when, by whom, and with what result 
were the following battles fought? — Hormah, Jahaz, Edrei, 
Bethhoron, Merom, Megiddo. (24.) 



QUESTIONS. 59 

XXIX. How many New Testament allusions can you 
find to Aaron, Joshua, Korah, Balaam, Rahab, Barak ? (10.) 

XXX. What do you know of the following ? — Achsah, 
Adoni-bezek, Chilion, Eldad, Heber, Hobab, Jair the 
Manassite, Mahlah, Mishael, Shamgar, the Kenites, Chit- 
tim ? (24.) 

XXXI. Show how the following attributes of God are 
revealed in this term's reading : — Living, Holy, Jealous. 
Where is He called the Rock five times, and in what book 
is He called " God of the spirits of all flesh " twice ? (5.) 

XXXII. Give references for the following : — (a) " A 
mother in Israel." (b) " Children in whom is no faith." 
(c) " The land ye have rejected." (d) " Because ye believed 
not in Me." (e) " Every man in his place." (/) " Every 
man straight before him." (jr) " Every man shall be put 
to death for his own sin." (/i) Be sure your sin will find 
you out." (1) " Wroth with me for your sakes." (J) " My 
son, give glory to the Lord." (k) " Let us go up at once." 
(/) " Whithersoever thou sendest us we will go." (;;/) " Come 
thou with us." (n) " A full reward be given thee of the 
Lord." (0) " I am come forth for an adversary." (j>) " I 
am not among you." (g) " I dwell in the midst of the 
children of Israel." (V) " Thou shalt love thy neighbour as 
thyself." (s) Thou shalt be altogether joyful." (t) " The 
Lord your God proveth you." (u) " That ye go not about 
after your own heart and your own eyes." (v) " It is not too 
hard for thee." (w) " The secret things belong unto the 
Lord our God." (x) " What hath God wrought ! " (y) " He 
is thy life." (z) " He hath known thy walking through this 
great wilderness." (26.) 

For Second Series of Questions, see p. 309. 



THIRD TERM. 
The Days of David. 
The Chosen Nation under One King, 
b.c. 1256 — 1018. 

?s VI — XVI. 1 Samuel. 2 Samuel! — XXIII 1 Chronicles 
I. —XX. Psalms II— XXV. XXVII. XXIX. XXXI XXXII. 
XXXIV. XXXV. XXXVIII— XLI. II—IXIV. IXVIII—IXX. 
LXXVIII. CI CVIII.— CX. CXXXVIII. CXL.— CXIIII 
(146 chapters.) 

" The law of the Lord is perfect, ... the testimony of the Lord is sure, 
. . . the precepts of the Lord are right, . . . the commandment of the Lord is 
pure, . . . the judgments of the Lord are true and righteous altogether." — 
Psalm xix. 7-9. 



9th MONTH (35). 

Judg. VI.— XVI. 1 Sam. I.— 

XVII. Psalms VIII., XIX., 
XXIIL, XXIX. 1 Sam. 

XVIII. Psalms CXL., CXLI. 

10th MONTH (37). 

1 Sam. XIX., XX. Psalms 
LIX..XIIL, XL 1 Sam. XXI. 
Psalms LVL. XXV. 1 Sam. 
XXII. Psalms XXXIV., 

CXLIL, LVIL, LII. 1 Sam. 
XXIIL — XXVI. Psalms 

LVIIL, XXXV, LEV, VII., 
XVII. 1 Sam. XXVIL— 
XXXI. 1 Chron. I.— X. 



nth MONTH (37). 

2 Sam. I.— V. 16 
1-9, XIV. 1-7 



1 Chron. 
XL 1-9, XIV. 1-7. 2 Sam. 
XXIIL 8-39. 1 Chron. XL 
10-47, XII. Psalm LXXVIII., 



nth MONTH Continued. 

Psalm XVI. 2 Sam. VI., VII. 

1 Chron. XIII., XV— XVII. 
Psalms CL, XXIV., XV., CX., 
CXXXVIII. 2 Sam. V. 17-25, 
VIII.— XL 1, XII. 26-31, 
XXL 15-22. 1 Chron. XIV. 
8-17, XVIIL— XX. Psalms 
XX., XXL, LX., CVIIL, IX., 
II., XVIIL 2 Sam. XXII. 
Psalm LXVIII. 

12th MONTH (37). 

2 Sam. XL 2— XII. 25. Psalms 
LI., XXXIL, VI., XXXVIIL, 
XXXIX., XLL, XL., LXX.. V. 
2 Sam. XIII —XV. 12. Psalms 
X., XIL, XIV., LIIL, LXIL, 
LXIV. 2 Sam. XV. 13— XVII. 
Psalms CXLIIL, LXIIL, 
XXVIL, LV., CIX., LXIX, 
XXIL, XXXL, LXL, III., IV. 
2 Sam. XVIIL— XXI. 14. 



I. General Summary. 

THE Promised Land has been claimed, but secure pos 
session can only be won through conflict with all tht 
neighbouring nations (see " Oxford Helps," § xxx.). Syrians x 

60 



GENERAL SUMMARY. 61 

Moabites, and Canaanites have already been defeated, and 
a preliminary encounter with the Philistines (Judg. iii. 31, 
x. 11) has taken place. Three greater struggles remain, 
whose story occupies us throughout this term. 

At its beginning we find Palestine overrun by hordes of 
Midianites and Amalekites from the desert, and the Israel- 
ites fleeing for their lives to mountains and caves. Their 
signal deliverance from this extremity is often referred to 
afterwards (Psalm lxxxiii. 9-12 ; Isa. ix. 4, x. 26). 

Eighty years later came the Ammonite invasion, and lastly 
the Hundred Years War with the PJiilistines (Gen. x. 14). 
A pastoral tribe of that name occupied the fertile plain of 
South-West Palestine in Abraham's days (Gen. xx., xxi.). 
By 1 49 1 they had become a formidable military and com- 
mercial nation with five strongholds (Exod. xiii. 17, xv. 14) 
who had already given Israel cause to fear them (1 Chron. 
vii. 2022, viii. 13). When their territory was assigned to 
Dan and Judah, they contested these invaders' succession 
and obtained the mastery for a period of forty years known 
as "the days of the Philistines" (Judg. xiii. 1, xiv. 4, xv. 
1 1, 20). Shamgar and Samson began to deliver Israel from 
them (Judg. iii. 31, xiii. 5), and it was probably to avenge the 
crowning exploit of the latter that they put themselves in 
array against Israel at Aphek, and inflicted a defeat which 
seemed to destroy her national existence. This overthrow 
was referred to as " the day of the captivity of the land " 
(Judg. xviii. 30 ; Psalm lxviii. 18), and the catastrophe which 
desolated Shiloh can only be paralleled in Israel's history 
with the Fall of Jerusalem in B.C. 588 and in A.D. 70. 
Hence the murderous fury which Jeremiah's allusion to it 
provoked. The rout of Israel under priests whose " sin 
was very great before the Lord " was retrieved on the same 
spot twenty years later by the blameless prophet Samuel 
(1 Sam. vii. 13). Then Israel asked for a king to strengthen 
their hands, and God gave them Saul (1 Sam. ix. 16, 
xiv. 52). Central Palestine had now become a Philistine 
country, and its heirs had passed over Jordan again. He 
turned the tide of war, but because he rejected the word of 
the Lord his great victory at Michmash ended in defeat on 
the scene of Gideon's triumph over Midian. Final deliver- 
ance came through the faithful King David y who fought 



62 THIRD TERM. 

his first battle in 1064, and his last battle some thirty years 
later, against the Philistines. He carried the war into the 
enemy's country, captured their strongholds, and made them 
tributary (2 Sam. iii. 18, xix. 9). Not until the disastrous 
reign of wicked Jehoram (889 — 885) shall we meet with 
them again ; but in " Palestine " (i.e., " Philistia "), the most 
familiar name of the land of Israel, they left a lasting trace 
of their long domination. 

David's wars were the summary and the conclusion of 
the whole contest (Acts vii. 45). The victories of Barak 
and Gideon over the Canaanites and Midianites were final ; 
but it was David who, besides subduing the Edomites, 
finally vanquished the Syrians, Moabites, Amalekites, Am- 
monites, and Philistines. And so " the heathen perished 
out of God's land " at last (Psalm x. 16), and Israel became 
united, independent, and strong (Josh. xxi. 45). 

Of the 3 30 years between Joshua's death and Saul's acces- 
sion, in were passed by some portion, sometimes a large 
portion, of God's People in servitude. This was not part 
of God's plan for them, but the result of their own worldli- 
ness and disobedience, and pursuit of what they considered 
expedient and not of what was right. (Observe these four 
stages : Judg. i. 21, iii. 5, xxi. 25, x. 6.) They sought to 
serve their own true God and the false gods of their neigh- 
bours as well ; they wanted to have both God and God's 
enemies for their friends (Psalm cvi. 34-6). Now those who 
live wholly for the world may be happy, though not in the 
highest way ; those who live wholly for God must be happy 
in the highest way. But those who try to serve God and the 
world at once must be miserable. That is our lesson from 
those ancient wars. What was their result for Israel? 

Nine hundred years elapsed between the Exodus and 
the Babylonian Captivity — viz., 400 years of irregular 
government by fifteen judges, and 500 years of monarchy. 
The progress and prosperity of the nation under David 
and Solomon fully justified the establishment of monarchy, 
which we have now to consider. 

Two hundred,years after the death of Moses they offered 
an hereditary crown to Gideon. He refused it, and the 
power of his son was too limited to warrant us in calling 
him the first King of Israel. 1 50 years later, under Philis- 



BOOKS TO BE READ. 63 

tine pressure, the need for a permanent guarantee oi 
national unity again asserted itself with irresistible force. 
Different judges had ruled different tribes ; Samuel for the 
first time ruled all Israel (1 Sam. iii. 20), and when Shiloh 
lay desolate and Jerusalem was still a Jebusite city, his 
abode at Ramah became the national centre. Events were 
ripe for more settled political institutions than the casual 
rule of men who claimed uncertain allegiance during their 
lives, and left certain confusion at their deaths (Judg. xvii. 6, 
xviii. 1, xix. 1, xxi. 25). Monarchy, though not established 
by Moses, was clearly contemplated by the Mosaic Law 
(Deut. xvii. 14-20). But wilfully and defiantly the people 
demanded a king, that they might be " like all the nations," 
ignoring their peculiar position as the People of God. And 
God, who sometimes allows us to mete out our own punish- 
ment when we importune Him to give according to our own 
will, not His (Psalm cvi. 15), gave them a king after their 
own heart of the tribe of Benjamin. When they had learned 
that " unblest good is ill," He gave them a king after His 
own heart of the tribe of Judah, and established his 
dynasty for ever (Acts xiii. 21, 22). 

II. Books to be Read. 
(See "Oxford Helps," § v.) 

This term our time is divided between four of the his- 
torical and one of the poetical books of the Old Testament. 
The larger number of appointed chapters does not represent 
more work. For we have already made some acquaintance 
with 1 Chron. i.-viii., and several of the following chapters 
are almost verbal repetitions of chapters in Samuel ; many 
of the Psalms are very short, and four of them occur twice 
over. We are in the age of one of the greatest poets of 
the world, and, with two exceptions, the following poems 
are all from his hand : — 

{a) The Song of Hannah, the earliest " hymn " properly 
so-called, a first outpouring of individual as distinct from 
national devotion (1 Sam. ii. i-io; comp. Luke i. 46-55). 

(b) David's Song of the Bow, from the Book of Jashar, 
the finest and the most ancient of all dirges, mourning 
Saul with the harp that had so often soothed him, and, full 



64 THIRD TERM. 

of charity as it is of poetry, saying nought but good of 
David's enemy, while commemorating David's friend, the 
mighty archer of the archer tribe, in words destined to be 
used by David's own tribe as they learned to handle the 
archer's weapon (2 Sam. i. 19-27). 

(V) David's Elegy over Abner, a brief outburst of grief 
for the sudden and violent end of a great prince (2 Sam. 

iii- 33, 34). 

(d) David's Song of Praise on the greatest day of his 
life, when he was at once conqueror and king, poet and 
musician. Two liturgical psalms, added to the Psalter 
•after the Captivity, were founded upon it (Psalm cv. 1-15, 
xcvi., cvi. 47, 48), as our Prayer Book makes general use of 
the three canticles in S. Luke (1 Chron. xvi. 7-36). 

(e) David's Song of Victory, recalling his conflicts with 
all his enemies from the first and most implacable, and 
ascribing his success wholly to God (2 Sam. xxii. ; comp. 
Psalm xviii.). 

(jT) David's Last Words, one of his most notable psalms. 
It sums up all his life's experience of the faithfulness of 
God (2 Sam. xxiii. 1-7). (We read this next term, but 
note it now to complete the list.) 

Sixty-one Psalms, all, save one, by David ; see p. 180. 

1 and 2 Samuel with 1 and 2 Kings are spoken of in the 
Septuagint as " the four books of Kings." They form one 
historical compilation based upon the writings of Samuel, 
Nathan, Gad, Isaiah, and others (1 Chron. xxix. 29), and, 
it seems, completed and finally edited by Jeremiah the 
prophet immediately after the Captivity. They were 
written by Prophets with all the freshness and fulness of 
contemporary records. They are political, military, and 
poetical, and contain the history of all Israel. Only they 
insert accounts of the reign of Saul, of David's wanderings 
and of his fall, and of the rebellions of Absalom and 
Adonijah. Their keynote is The Throne of the Lords 
Anointed (John i. 41, 49, xii. 13, xviii. 33-7). 

1 and 2 Chronicles are called in the Septuagint, " The 
history of the things left out." They are based upon the 
public records first instituted by David (1 Chron. xxvii. 24), 
but were edited after the Captivity, probably by Ezra the 
priest, some 1 50 years later than Kings. They cover the 



PERIODS AND DATES. 65 

whole period of the four Books of Kings, which they are 
evidently designed to supplement. In contrast to Kings, 
they were written by Priests and Levites, with the dis- 
passionate judgment befitting records of events long past. 
They are ecclesiastical, genealogical, and prosaic, and 
contain the history of Judah (1 Chron. v. 2, xxviii. 4). 
Only they insert complete genealogies from Adam, com- 
plete statistics of David's kingdom, full descriptions of his 
preparations for the Temple, and henceforth of everything 
relating to its worship. Their keynote is The Lord dwelleth 
in Jerusalem (1 Chron. xxiii. 25, R.V. ; Matt. v. 35 ; John 
iv. 20; Rev. xxi. 2, 3). 

III. Periods and Dates. 

The chronology becomes more definite as this period 
of 238 years draws to a close, but several very perplexing 
questions are connected with it. S. Paul's statement in 
Acts xiii. 20 (but see R.V.) agrees with the result of 
adding up the periods of servitude and judgeship named 
in Judges, but it cannot be reconciled with the assertion 
in 1 Kings vi. 1, that 12 periods of forty years elapsed 
between the Exodus and the erection of the Temple. 
Some, therefore, regard this assertion as an erroneous in- 
terpolation and throw the Exodus back 140 years ; others 
more reasonably recognise that the periods in Judges are 
not successive but overlap each other. For instance, Judg. 
xi. 26 indicates that Jephthah's rule began in 11 52, and 
since Samson's cannot have begun later than 11 36, Ibzan, 
Elon, and Abdon must have been contemporary in another 
part of Palestine with one or other of these two. Thus in 
a period only extending over 130 years, 450 years are 
accounted for. 

(1) B.C. 1256 — 1 136 (120 years). From the Midianite 
oppression to the beginning of Samson's rule. 
Israel under eight Judges. 

(a) Seven years' oppression of the Midianites 

and Amalekites in Central Palestine (1256 — 

1249), and rule of Gideon, Abimelech, Tola, 

and J air. Judg. vi. — x. 5. 

(J?) Eighteen years' oppression of the Ammonites 

5 



66 THIRD TERM. 

on the east (1170 — 1152), and rule of Jeph- 
thah, Ibzan, Elon, Abdo'n (and Eli ?) Judg. 
x. 6 — xii. 

(2) B.C. 1 136 — 1096 (40 years). From the beginning of 

Samson's rule to the accession of Saul. Israel under 
the last three Judges. " The days of the Philistines" 

(a) 1 1 36 — 1 1 16. The rule of Samson and Eli, 

and defeat at Aphek. Judg. xiii. — xvi. ; 
1 Sam. i. — iv. 

(b) 1 1 16 — 1096. The rule of Samuel and victory 

at Ebenezer. 1 Sam. v. — vii. 

(3) B.C. 1096 — 1056 (40 years). From the accession of 

Saul to his death. Israel under Samuel and Said. 

(a) 1096 — 1064. The probation of Saul through 
prosperity. 1 Sam. viii. — xv. 

(b) 1064 — 1056. The probation of David through 

adversity 1 Sam. xvi., xvii. ; Psalms viii., xix., 
xxiii., xxix. ; 1 Sam. xviii. ; Psalms cxl., cxli. ; 

1 Sam. xix. ; Psalm lix. ; 1 Sam. xx. ; Psalms 
xiii., xi. ; 1 Sam. xxi. ; Psalms lvi., xxv. ; 1 Sam. 
xxii. ; Psalms xxxiv., cxlii., lvii., lii. ; 1 Sam. 
xxiii. — xxvi. ; Psalms lviii., xxxv., liv., vii., 
xvii. ; 1 Sam. xxvii. — xxxi. ; 1 Chron. i. — x. 

(4) B.C. 1056— 101 8 (38 years). From the death of 

Saul to the choice of a site for the Temple. 
Israel under David. 

{a) 1056 — 1049. His reign at Hebron over Judah. 

2 Sam. i. — iv. 

(J?) 1049 — io 36. His reign at Jerusalem over all 
Israel. His victories, glory, and prosperity. 
2 Sam. v. 1-16; 1 Chron. xi. 1-9, xiv. 1-7; 2 Sam. 
xxiii. 8-39; 1 Chron. xi. 1047, xii.; Psalms 
lxxviii., xvi. ; 2 Sam. vi., vii. ; 1 Chron. xiii., 
xv. — xvii. ; Psalms ci., xxiv., xv., ex., exxxviii. ; 
2 Sam. v. 17-25, viii.— xi. 1, xii. 26-31, xxi. 
15-22; 1 Chron. xiv. 8-17, xviii.— xx. ; Psalms xx., 
xxi., lx., cviii., ix., ii., xviii. ; 2 Sam. xxii. ; 
Psalm lxviii. 

(c) 1036— 101 8. His sin and suffering. 2 Sam. 

xi. 1 — xii. 25; Psalms li., xxxii., vi., xxxviii., 
xxxix., xii., xl., lxx., v.; 2 Sam. xiii. — xv. 12; 



GEOGRAPHY. 67 

Psalms x., xii., xiv., liii., lxii., lxiv., 2 Sam. xv. 
13— xvii. ; Psalms cxliii., lxiii., xxvii., lv., cix., 
lxix., xxii., xxxi., lxi., iii., iv. ; 2 Sam. xviii. — 
xxi. 14. 



IV. Geography. ■ 
(See "Oxford Helps," Maps V. and VI.) 

We have already studied Palestine, the scene of all this 
term's events, and although Jerusalem is characterised as 
"the city where David encamped" (Isa. xxix. 1), there 
are several good reasons for postponing its topography 
to the reign of David's son, who was " King in Jerusalem " 
(Eccles. i. 1). 

How much of the whole land which God promised was 
possessed by Israel ? This geographical question now calls 
for solution. 

By God Himself to Abraham, through Moses to Israel 
on leaving Egypt, and again through Ezekiel to Israel 
during the Babylonian Captivity, a territory was promised 
to the Chosen People, which was 2\ times as large as Great 
Britain and Ireland, or 300,000 square miles in extent. 
Speaking generally, it lay between the Nile and the 
Euphrates, the Mediterranean and the Persian Gulf or 
the Syrian Desert. Solomon for a short time ruled the 
whole of it as King of Israel and suzerain of Israel's 
neighbours. But, omitting the Trans-Jordanic provinces 
whose occupants soon ceased to have any close connexion 
with their compatriots, we find that what they actually 
possessed lay between Beersheba and Dan, the Mediter- 
ranean and Jordan, and was little larger than Wales. Did 
Israel's sin make void the promise, or will it be fulfilled 
hereafter? Jer. xxxii. 37-42 ; Amos ix. 15 ; Rom. xi. 29. 

Careful comparison of the following passages with each 
other and the maps will show the exact boundaries : — 
Gen. xiii. 14, 15, xv. 18; Exod. xxiii. 31 ; Num. xiii. 21, 
xxxiv. 2-8; Deut. xi. 24; Josh. i. 3, 4 ; I Kings iv. 21, 24, 
viii. 65 ; 2 Chron. vii. 8, ix. 26; Psalm lxxii. 8, lxxx. u, 
lxxxix. 25; Isa. xxvii. 12 (R.V.) ; Ezek. xlvii. 13-21; 
Zech. ix. 10, 



68 THIRD TERM. 

On the north, Mount Hor (that is, either Mount Casius 
on the Bay of Antioch, or the Lebanon Range generally), 
the entering in of Hamath to Zebad, and the River, or 
the Great River, that is, the Euphrates. 

On the east, the Euphrates and Syrian Desert, or else 
the Orontes, Jordan, the Salt (or Dead) Sea, and Red Sea. 

On the south, the deserts of Paran and Zin, called " the 
ends of the earth," to " the brook of Egypt " (that is, the 
Wadi l'Areesh or Rhinocolura). The Nile, or " river of 
Egypt," is only mentioned in Gen. xv. 1 8. 

On the west, the Great, Hinder, or Western Sea, or Sea 
of the Philistines, that is, the Mediterranean. 

V. Heroes. 

(Gideon, Phil. iv. 13, 17 (R.V.), 
Keynotes < Samuel, Eph. vi. 18. 
{David, Eph. vi. 6. 

Each of this term's heroes stands out sharply contrasted 
with a contemporary in a way that throws much light 
upon him. Gideon is the most heroic character in Judges, 
and he wrought the greatest deliverance there recorded. 
Mighty in faith, he recalls the past greatness of Joshua ; 
courteous, forbearing, and humble, he anticipates the future 
grace of David. His disinterested patriotism finds a 
modern parallel in George Washington. He yields to 
none of the judges in dignity ; Samuel only, who rose 
above his superstitious devotion, excels him in holiness. 
The crown he set aside was seized by the rash and 
unscrupulous Abimelech, the one judge who performed 
no public service. 

Samson and Samuel were about the same age. Both 
were Xazirites from birth ; both were raised up to deliver 
Israel, and received a special call and a special training 
for their work. Samson's extraordinary physical power 
enabled him to strike terror into the Philistines and 
encourage Israel, but his wayward inconsistency and 
uncontrolled passions wasted that power on isolated feats, 
and he carried out no organised plan of national defence 
and founded no national institutions. Samuel's extra- 
ordinary moral power was an outcome of the holy and 



HEROES. 69 

consistent life of one who had served the Lord from his 
youth. He and S. John are the great Scripture examples 
of inward, silent, unbroken growth in grace from childhood, 
as Jacob and S. Paul are of sudden and decisive conversion 
in mature years. Note that the same religious surround- 
ings which aided this growth in him only hardened the 
sons of Eli. Warrior, ruler, counsellor, intercessor, and 
prophet, Samuel was neither king nor priest nor poet. He 
was not, like Moses, the originator of new institutions, 
nor, like Jeremiah, the upholder of old ones. To him 
was committed the hardest task of guiding his country 
safely through a time of transition, when new conditions 
brought new needs. He was the last judge, and the first 
of that long succession of prophets who will claim our 
chief attention later on. And as the Levite son of 
Zacharias was forerunner of the Son of David, so the 
Levite son of Elkanah was forerunner of David. 

Chosen of the Lord (2 Sam. xxi. 6, R.V.), endowed with 
the Spirit, with Samuel for his counsellor and David for his 
friend, Saul was favoured in all his circumstances. But his 
fierce Benjamite temper was ungoverned, his better impulses 
were guided by no steady principle, his religion did not 
influence his moral nature. Ever and always he did accord- 
ing to his own will, and sought what was right in his own 
eyes. God put him to a test less severe than those which 
Abraham and Gideon had undergone triumphantly. First, 
by a trial of endurance under pressure from the enemy 
(1 Sam. xiii.). In his rash superstition and impatience he 
broke through the restraint imposed upon him by Samuel. 
Secondly, by a trial of obedience under pressure from 
the people (1 Sam. xv.). In blind self-confidence he dis- 
regarded God's plain command to him. These failures 
proved him unfit for the trust committed to him, so, in 
mercy to Israel, God first took the kingdom away from 
his family, and secondly rejected him from being king. 
His third and crowning sin was asking counsel of one that 
had a familiar spirit in defiance of the law of Moses 
(1 Chron. x. 13, 14). Suicide, possibly completed by the 
hand of one of those Amalekites concerning whom he had 
sinned, was the dark close of a career that might have been 
full of light. So he perished, self-willed king of a self- 



ye THIRD TERM. 

willed people ; and, though fits of madness came over him 
as they have come over more than one unhappy monarch 
whose imperious will has been unchecked by either prin- 
ciple or circumstances, we cannot assert that he was not 
responsible for his own destruction (2 Peter ii. 21). 

David and S. Paul stand alone among the characters of 
Holy Writ in leaving writings through which we can look 
into their heart of hearts, and, of all the heroes of the Old 
Testament, David is the one we know best ; 1 3 1 of its 
chapters have him for their theme or their author, and he 
is frequently mentioned in Scripture elsewhere. His daring 
courage, his quick sagacity, the prudence that never deserted 
him, his prompt resource in difficulty, his singular mixture 
of tenderness and severity, his inborn power to rule, his 
skill to plan and enterprise in carrying out his plans, 
remind us of the champions of the past His intellectual 
gifts link him to the " wise men " of the age which suc- 
ceeded his. For, while we speak of the rod of Moses, the 
spear of Joshua, the sword of Gideon, and the mantle of 
Samuel, we refer to the harp of David. As Moses the 
Prophet anticipated Samuel, so Moses the Psalmist antici- 
pated David, who was the greatest of Israel's poets, and 
the first of all poets to give utterance to man's deep joy 
in nature's beauty and man's deep longings after com- 
munion with God. " David " means " beloved," and no 
one ever gave or received more passionate and devoted 
love than he, from the day the young hero of Ephes- 
Dammim was the nation's darling, to the day the aged 
king bowed the hearts of all as the heart of one man 
(1 Sam. xviii. 1, 3, 5, 16, 20, 22, 28, 30 ; 2 Sam. xix. 14). 
His was that highly emotional nature that feels pleasure 
and pain and is conscious of the good and evil in others 
to a very rare degree. The versatility and complexity of 
character and gifts which we note in many of the tribe 
of Judah reached their climax in David, and the training 
for his life work was unusually complete. The early years 
of pastoral solitude and meditation ; the camp and court, 
first of Israel, then of Philistia the great military power 
of the day ; the College of .Prophets at Ramah, in which 
we may discover a germ of the universities of Christendom ; 
the life of hardship and risk in the wilderness where David 



HEROES. 71 

gathered followers, not as a mere rebel against Saul, but 
as an independent chieftain, destined to be king, fighting 
Israel's foes, and having with him Abiathar, the High Priest, 
and Gad, the prophet of God ;— in all these he learned, 
above every other lesson, to know God, to trust Him wholly, 
and to commune with Him daily and hourly. "Servant 
of God " is the title given to him oftener than any other, 
which he shares with Moses and Joshua only of all Old 
Testament saints in the New Testament, the title in which 
S. Paul, the greatest of all the sons of Abraham, gloried. 
" The way of David " becomes as proverbial as " the way 
of Jeroboam " afterwards, and God, who rejected Saul, 
made with David an everlasting covenant (2 Sam. xxiii. 5). 
But, it may be said, surely the shortcomings of David 
were even more grievous than those of Saul. When his 
throne was established in peace and prosperity, despite the 
generosity and chivalry, the self-control and faithful friend- 
ship which had hitherto distinguished him, he was hurried 
away into shameful sin against God and man. It is not 
enough to reply that we cannot judge a Jewish king by 
a Christian standard, since his temptations were greater 
and his restraints fewer than ours. His crimes would, 
it is true, have been thought little of by contemporary 
monarchs, but then he had the law of Moses. To his 
disregard of one clear precept in it (Deut. xvii. 17) may 
be traced not only all the evils and troubles in his own 
family, but his successor's apostasy and the consequent 
disasters to his house and to Israel. Yes, like Saul, David 
sinned, and many men have been more blameless than he. 
Yet few have been so good, for notwithstanding his sin 
it remained the habit of his life to fulfil God's will from 
his heart (1 Kings xv. 3-5 ; Acts xiii. 22), and therefore, 
unlike Saul's sins, his sins were followed by fullest acknow- 
ledgment, deepest contrition, and meekest endurance of 
the appointed chastisement. David's " heinous sin, hearty 
repentance, and heavy punishment " (to quote Fuller's 
expressive phrase) is recorded for our everlasting in- 
struction. From the record we learn these three things. 
That the noblest intellectual gifts, the greatest religious 
privileges, the fullest knowledge of the truth, and the 
highest spiritual attainments cannot keep us from the most 



72 THIRD TERM. 

flagrant transgressions if we cease to depend humbly 
upon God and to use diligently all the means of grace 
(i Cor. x. 12). That repentance means much more than 
penance and much more than remorse, and that "the 
forgiveness of sins," in which we so continually profess our 
belief, is free, final, and abundant (with Isa. xliii. 25 
compare 1 Kings xiv. 7, 8). Lastly, we learn that in this 
life we must reap the natural consequences even of for- 
given sin. David's own words of self-vindication in 
Psalm vii. 3-5 were terribly taken in earnest, although death, 
the legal penalty he had incurred, was remitted ; and from 
the Psalms he wrote beyond Jordan, ten years later, we 
perceive that there is anguish worse than death ; it can 
never be with us as it would have been if we had not 
sinned. 

VI. The Coming Messiah. 

" How then doth David in the Spirit call Him Lord? " 
Matt. xxii. 41-5 (R.V.). 

Each of the "saviours" whom God gave Israel (Neh. 
ix. 27) was a more or less perfect Type of Him whom the 
angel named JESUS (Matt. i. 21). Gideon sets aside the 
crown, Jephthah gives his dearest a willing sacrifice to free 
her country from a terrible obligation, Samson dies with 
the Philistines for Israel, Samuel prays without ceasing 
for his people. But " the good things to come " were 
most distinctly foreshadowed in " the man whom God 
raised on high" (with 2 Sam. xxiii. I comp. Acts v. 31) 
as His Anointed. The whole history of David is a type 
of the militant kingdom of Christ, and all his utterances in 
the Psalms find their deepest and highest application as 
the utterances of his greater Son (Luke xxiv. 44, and 

P- 177). 

That our Lord would spring out of Judah had been 

already foretold. This term we learn to add " Son of 
David" to "Son of Abraham" (Matt. i. 1). Three Pre- 
dictions in the historical books give more definite shape 
than had been given heretofore to the hopes which reached 
their highest pitch just 1000 years after David. 

(a) 1 Sam. ii. 10, which makes first mention of the 
Lord's Anointed (Luke ii. 26 ; Acts iv. 26, 27, R.V.). 



GOD'S REVELATION OF HIMSELF TO MAN. 73 

(b) 1 Sam. ii. 35. The original allusion is to Zadok, 
whose descendants held the high-priesthood till the Fall 
of Jerusalem in A.D. 70, but it finds complete fulfilment in 
Christ (Heb. ii. 17). 

(V) 2 Sam. vii. 12-16 ; 1 Chron. xvii. 11-14. Here again 
the immediate reference is to Solomon, but even without 
David's own comments on the promise in 2 Sam. xxiii. 3-5, 
and in the Psalms, the words "for ever" show for the 
first time that the Messiah would not only be a King, 
but that He would be more than human (Isa. lv. 3 ; Luke 
i. 31-3; Acts ii. 30, 31, xiii. 34; Heb. i. 5). This being 
so, we may see in the " house for God's name " the earliest 
mention of the Church of Christ (1 Tim. iii. 15 ; Heb. iii. 6). 
Henceforth there was an ever-growing expectation of a 
second David greater than the first (Ezek. xxxvii. 24, 25 ; 
Amos ix. 11). 

VII. God's Revelation of Himself to Man. 

To the Patriarchs God was known as El Shaddai ; to 
Moses as Jehovah. Now in a fresh crisis of His people's 
history, He reveals Himself again by a new name, 
Jehovah Sabaoth (i Sam. i. 3, 11, xvii. 45), first 
publicly proclaimed by David on the day he brought up 
the Ark to Zion (2 Sam. vi. 2, 18, vii. 26; Psalm xxiv.). 
Sabaoth, like " host," is used both of the stars of the 
material heaven and of the angels of the invisible world, 
and this name means " Lord of Hosts or Armies," i.e., of 
all the intelligent creatures who perform the Divine will in 
heaven and earth (1 Kings xxii. 19 ; Neh. ix. 6 ; Dan. 
iv. 35 ; Psalm ciii. 21 ; Matt. vi. 10; Luke ii. 13), and is 
translated in the Septuagint by a Greek word which in 
2 Cor. vi. 18, and nine times in Revelation, is rendered 
"Almighty," but which should rather be rendered "All- 
sovereign." To the newly settled fabric of Church and 
State it was a pledge of victory and glory, and while 
it indirecdy rebuked idolatrous worship of the host of 
heaven (Acts vii. 42), it answered to the wider range of 
vision opening on Israel with a new epoch of her civilisa- 
tion. Jehovah Sabaoth remained the chief name of God 
throughout the monarchical period. It occurs over 260 



74 THIRD TERM. 

times in the Old Testament and twice in the New Testa- 
ment (Rom. ix. 29 ; James v. 4), and is used to-day all 
over Christendom when " the holy Church throughout all 
the world" echoes the songs of heaven in her grandest 
hymn of praise. 

Observe how David's enumeration of the God of Israel, 
the Rock of Israel, and the Spirit of the Lord (2 Sam. 
xxiii. 2, 3) points on to future manifestation of the Three 
in One. 

VIII. Man's Relation to God in Worship. 

We have seen how the days when every man did what 
was right in his own eyes (Judg. xxi. 25 ; Deut. xii. 8, 28) 
ended in a corrupt priesthood, a desolate sanctuary, and 
a captive Ark. The Ark never returned to the dis- 
honoured Tabernacle in ruined Shiloh, but during the 
succeeding age of political change and religious confusion 
both were carried from place to place, and worship seems 
to have been offered at each. Meanwhile the people 
relapsed again and again into the two forms of idolatry 
explained last term, and the practice of various unauthor- 
ised superstitions prevailed (Judg. xviii. 24-7 ; 1 Sam. xv. 
23, R.V., xix. 13). But at length God chose a place for 
His abode (1 Chron. xxiii. 25, R.V. ; Psalm lxviii. i6,lxxviii. 
67, 68, lxxxvii. 2, cxxxii. 13, 14), and it was the desire 
of David's heart there to build a House for Him who had 
so long been served in a roving tent. 

How David prepared for that House, and how Solomon 
reared it, we shall learn next term, 

IX. Questions. 
(See pp. 13, 18.) 

[Questions III, IV, V, VI, XV, XVI, XVII., XXV, and XXIX. 

may be answered with the help of any books. The other 23 questions should 
be answered with the help of A.V. and R.V. only.] 

I. " The Lord sent Jerubbaal and Jephthah and 
Samuel." Complete the quotation, and show in a few 
words for what purpose each was sent, and how he carried 
out that purpose. (6.) 



QUESTIONS. 75 

II. Make a chronological table of the fifteen Judges, 
stating where they ruled, how long they ruled, and what 
they did for Israel. Which of them are commended for 
their faith in the New Testament ? (30.) 

III. At what times and in what ways was the judgment 
upon Eli's house completely fulfilled ? (5.) 

IV. Prove from Jeremiah and the Psalms that Shiloh was 
desolated after the capture of the Ark. (3.) 

V. Show without reference to the books bearing his 
name that Samuel was a prophet, acceptable to God, and 
a man of faith and prayer. (6.) 

VI. What do we know to the credit of one of Samuel's 
grandsons ? (4.) 

VII. Give examples of the vehement vows that were 
one characteristic of the age between Moses and David. (8.) 

VIII. Sketch briefly the history of Saul's persecution of 
David, and trace David's wanderings. (20.) 

IX. Why did David commit his parents to the King 
of Moab ? Did he keep the oath recorded in 1 Sam. xxiv. 
21,22? (4.) 

X. Rehearse briefly the chief incidents in the career 
of Jonathan, and illustrate his faith, courage, patience, 
generosity, unselfishness, and piety. (15.) 

XL How may we account for the conduct of the men 
of Jabesh Gilead to Saul, and for that of Joab to Abner ? (4.) 

XII. Prove that each of the following tribes furnished 
Israel with at least one ruler between B.C. 1500 and B.C. 
1000: — Levi, Judah, Zebulon, Issachar, Dan, Naphtali, 
Manasseh, Ephraim, Benjamin. (12.) 

XIII. How often was David anointed ? (2.) 

XIV. Give as full an account as you can of David's 
nephews, omitting Joab. (14.) 

XV. Which of Solomon's great-grandfathers is parti- 
cularly described in the Psalms ? (3.) 

XVI. Where is David called (1) a prophet, (2) a 
patriarch, (3) " David the King," (4) " a leader and com- 
mander," (5) " the man of God," (6) " the servant of God," 
(7) God's "firstborn," (8) God's "anointed," (9) "a man 
after God's own heart," (10) "one chosen out of the 
people," (11) "the sweet psalmist," (12) inventor of instru- 
ments of music, (13) "light or lamp of Israel," (14) father 



76 THIRD TERM. 

of the Messiah ? On what occasion did he wear the dress 
and perform the office of a priest ? (16.) 

XVII. Find six New Testament references to David as 
inspired, and ten to him as the ancestor of the Messiah. 
On how many occasions was our Lord addressed as " Son 
of David " ? What events in David's life are alluded to in 
the New Testament ? (22.) 

XVIII. What does "Samuel" mean? Show how the 
lives of Samuel and David illustrate the power of prayer. 

(15.) 

XIX. Consider David as a type of Christ in character 
and circumstances. (15.) 

XX. Briefly relate the history of the Ark of God from 
B.C. 145 1 till it "had rest" in B.C. 1041. (15.) 

XXI. Trace the application of 1 Chron. xvi. 20-22 to 
Abraham, Jacob, David, and the Ark. (8.) 

XXII. " The Lord was with him." Find 14 passages in 
which this is said of David. (14.) 

XXIII. Is there any evidence that Absalom's effeminate 
vanity caused his death ? (2.) 

XXIV. Name three heroes who slew lions. (3.) 

XXV. Explain the Old Testament historical allusions in 
the following passages in the Psalms : — ii. 7, iv. 7, vii. 4, 
xi. 6, xxi. 3, li. 11, lv. 3, 12-14, lx. 6-9, lxi. 2, lxviii. 11, 29 
R.V., lxxviii. 60-68, ex. 4. (28.) 

XXVI. Show by New Testament quotations that these 
ten Psalms refer to Christ : — ii., viii., xvi., xxii., xxiv., xl, 
xli., lxviii., lxix., ex. (20.) 

XXVII. By whom and to whom was the oldest letter 
whose contents are on record written ? Who uttered the 
oldest parable, and who invented the oldest riddle extant ? 
To whom was the first temple mentioned in Scripture 
dedicated ? (4.) 

XXVIII. Name the first instance of a foreigner holding 
high office in Israel, and the first instance of a ruler who 
owed his elevation wholly to popular suffrage. (4.) 

XXIX. Illustrate Acts x. 35 by naming representatives 
of the nations whom »God bade Israel destroy or shun 
among the friends and followers of David. (8.) 

XXX. Where, when, by whom, and with what result 
were the following battles fought? — Harod, Oreb's Rock, 



QUESTIONS. 77 

Karkor, Aroer, Aphek, Ebenezer, Michmash, Havilah, 
Ephes-Dammim, Gilboa. (40.) 

XXXI. What do you know of the following ? — Ahitub, 
Chimham, Gaal, Hushai, Ichabod, Ittai, Merab, Purah, 
Sheba, Ziba, the Cherethites, and Pelethites. (24.) 

XXXII. Give references for the following: — (a) "Thy 
people offer themselves willingly " ; (&) " I have looked 
upon My people " ; (c) "The Lord seeth not as man seeth " ; 
(d) " Who daily beareth our burden " ; (e) " Go in this thy 
might " ; (J) " God is gone out before thee " ; (g) " God is 
for me " ; (h) " Them that honour Me I will honour " ; 
(z) " That they might set their hope in God " ; (i) " God was 
entreated of them because they put their trust in Him " ; 
(k)"\ have no good beyond Thee"; (/) "Thou knowest 
Thy servant " ; (in) " Strengthen me only this once " ; 
(n) " O that Thou wouldest keep me from evil" ; (p) " Blessed 
be the Lord that hath kept back His servant from evil " ; 
(p) " Thou art worth ten thousand of us " ; (q) " Thine are 
we, David " ; (r) " With me thou shalt be in safeguard " ; 
(s) " Thou shalt surely prevail " ; (t) " The wicked shall 
return to Sheol " ; (u) " Thou shalt not die " ; (v) " The 
Lord sat as King at the Flood " ; (w) " The host was 
secure"; (x) "But little lower than God"; (y) "The 
woman went in her wisdom " ; (z) " I shall be satis- 
fied." (26) 

For Second Series of Questions, see p. 309. 



FOURTH TERM. 

The Days of Solomon 

The Chosen Nation Centre of an Empire. 
The First Temple. 



b.c. 1018—915. 

2 Sam. XXIII. 1-7, XXIV., 1 Kings I— XVI. 28, 1 Chron. 
XXL— XXIX. 2 Chron. I. —XVI. Song of Songs, Proverbs, 
Ecclesiastes, Psalms I., XXVI, XXVIII., XXX, XXXVI, XXXVII, 
XLII, XLIII, XLV, XLIX, L., LXXIL, LXXIII., LXXVII, 
LXXXL, LXXXII, LXXXIV, LXXXVI, LXXXVIII, LXXX1X., 
XCL, CXI, CXI/., CXXVIL, CXXVIII, CXXXI, CXXXII, 
CXXXIII, CXXXIX, CXLV. (123 chapters) 

"Blessed is the man . . . whose delight is in the law of the Lord." 
— Psalm i. 2. 

13th MONTH (29).* 

Psalms XXXVL, XXXVIL, 
CXXXIII. 2 Sam. XXIV. 
1 Chron. XXL— XXIX. 22. 
Psalms XXVI., XXVIII., 
XXX., CXXXIX., CXXXI., 
LXXXVI., CXLV. 2 Sam. 
XXIII. 1-7. 1 Kings L— V. 
1 Chron. XXIX. 23-30. 2 Chron. 
I., II., Psalms LXXIL, XLV. 



[4th MONTH (31). 

I Kings VI.— IX. 9. 2 Chron. 
III.— VII. Psalms CXXXII., 
I., CXXVIL, CXXVIII., L., 
LXXXL, LXXVII., LXXXII., 
XLIL, XLIII., LXXXIV. 
1 Kings IX. 10— X. 



14th MONTH Continued. 

2 Chron. VIII.— IX. 28. The 
Song of Songs. 

15th MONTH (31). 
Proverbs. 

1 6th MONTH (32). 

1 Kings XL 2 Chron. IX. 
29-^1. Ecclesiastes. Psalms 
LXXXVIII., XLIX., LXXIII., 
CXI., CXIL, XCL, 1 Kings 
XII. 1-19. 2 Chron. X. 

1 Kings XII. 20— XIV. 

2 Chron. XL, XII. Psalm 
LXXXIX. 1 Kings XV. 1-8. 
2 Chron. XIII. 1 Kings XV. 
9-24. 2 Chron.. XIV.— XVI. 
1 Kings XV. 25— XVI. 28. 



I. General Summary. 

SAUL had been little more than the pastoral chief of amal- 
gamated tribes, ruling Central Palestine only. David 
succeeded to a kingdom distracted by civil dissensions, 

7* 



GEAERAL SUMMARY. 79 

without a capital, almost without an army, but loosely knit 
together, and everywhere surrounded by powerful and 
victorious enemies. He founded an hereditary monarchy, 
shaped its institutions, and left a compact and united state, 
not only independent but powerful, and rapidly rising to a 
prosperity that had every prospect of permanence. His 
kingdom became Solomon's empire, which extended over 
the whole territory promised to the Chosen Nation. For 
the first and last time it took its place among the great 
powers of the East, its history culminating just as Greek 
history was beginning. We may institute a threefold com- 
parison between this Hebrew golden age and England's 
golden age under Elizabeth and James I. 

(a) Politically. Just as the old world of the East and the 
new world of the West were thrown open to Elizabethan 
exploration, and the way was thus prepared for the 
" Greater Britain " of to-day ; so eastern Ophir and western 
Tarshish were sought out by Solomon's subjects, which 
resulted in a vigorous foreign policy, far-reaching com- 
mercial enterprise abroad, and wealth and splendour 
hitherto unknown at home. 

(b) Intellectually. Just as the widened Elizabethan 
horizon stimulated patriotism, and nourished our greatest 
English literature and earliest English research ; so Israel's 
enlarged knowledge, new sympathies, and grander ideals 
found expression in a profounder and more highly finished 
literature, whose finest specimens we still have, and in a 
new interest in botany and natural history, of which only 
the record survives, since it is not the object of Holy Writ 
to chronicle scientific discovery of Nature's wonders. 

(V) Religiously. Just as the outward ceremonial of our 
national worship was reconstructed in a more spiritual and 
less superstitious form in Elizabeth's days ; so Israel reared 
an abode for God as worthy as human skill and lavished 
wealth could make it, and Solomon uttered Israel's creed 
in its highest form at the dedication of this long-desired 
House. 

The main interest of this period, unlike that of the pre- 
ceding, is ecclesiastical and political rather than personal, 
and its history forms the most secular chapter of the sacred 
record. Because the glory of Solomon was after the fashion 



80 FOURTH TERM. 

of this world it passed away (i Cor. vii. 31), and no story 
is more disappointing than the tale of how its fair promise 
was blighted. There are but three allusions to Solomon in 
the New Testament, and they are keys to his whole history. 
He attained much, yet he fell short of perfection, politically, 
in spite of his splendour (Matt. vi. 29) ; intellectually, in 
spite of his wisdom (Matt. xii. 42) ; religiously, in spite of 
the noble fabric he reared (Acts vii. 47, 48). Judged by 
Deut. xvii. 14-20, he violated every principle of the Hebrew 
Constitution ; and he left an insecure throne, a discontented 
people, and formidable enemies upon his frontiers. 

On the surface, the Disruption that took place imme- 
diately after his death was due to the thoughtless self-will 
of Rehoboam and the revolutionary ability of Jeroboam ; 
ultimately, it was to be traced to national luxury, pride, self- 
confidence, and godlessness ; also to Solomon's impoverish- 
ing lavishness ; Egypt's jealousy of Israel's prosperity ; and 
the revival of old tribal heartburnings as one result of 
David's sin (2 Sam. xx.). Rachel's children owned the most 
fertile tracts of Palestine ; Shechem and Shiloh, chief seats 
hitherto of secular and religious greatness ; and the historic 
cities of Jericho, Gilgal, Bethel, and Ramah. From them 
had sprung Gideon, Jephthah, Ehud, Jair, and Abdon, 
among the judges ; Deborah and (by birth though not 
descent) Samuel among the prophets ; Abimelech and 
Saul, the first kings ; Joshua, Jonathan, and Abner. So 
they had always been inclined to resent the domination 
of Judah ere they broke into open and final revolt. Hence- 
forth we deal with two struggling kingdoms, weak halves of 
what had once been a strong whole. The lesson plainly is 
that nations and individuals may miss an opportunity God 
will not give them again, if they reject His counsel for 
them (Luke vii. 30, R.V. ; Psalm lxxxi. 13-16). 

II. Books to be Read. 
(See " Oxford Helps," § v.) 

This term two-thirds of our reading is literature, and 
only one-third history. In contrast to our Third Term, we 
read a smaller number of chapters than the average, because 
that literature demands special care and thought. The 



BOOKS TO BE READ. 81 

historical books we continue call for no further comment. 
For the thirty Psalms of this period, see p. 194. 

Three other works depict in a threefold philosophy of 
life, the development of Solomon's character and of the 
thought of his age. 

The Song of Songs is pure poetry, idyllic or pastoral as 
regards its subject, and lyric and dramatic (though scarcely 
a drama) as regards its form. (If the composition of the 
Book of Job, the nearest approach to an epic in the Bible, 
is rightly referred to Solomon's reign, all the three great 
species of poetry are represented in this age.) The only 
survivor of his 1005 songs, doubtless the finest of them all, 
this Song pictures the brilliant promise of Solomon's youth. 
It evidently describes ideal human love, and its keynote is 
Love is strong, indestructible, and priceless (2 Cor. v. 14 ; 
Rom. viii. 35-7 ; 1 John iv. 10, 11). It has been variously 
explained, but the following summary of its purport is at 
once reasonable and widely accepted : — 

The scene of i. 2 — iii. 5, and of viii. 5-14, is laid in a 
wooded district of Northern Palestine, where Solomon is 
spending part of the summer in tents ; the scene of iii. 6 — 
viii. 4 is the royal palace at Jerusalem. There are two chief 
speakers and three choruses — viz., Shelomoh or Solomon 
(1 Chron. xxii. 9), the King of Israel ; Shulammith, a village 
maiden of Northern Palestine, whom he woos in the guise 
of a shepherd ; Chorus of young men, his companions 
(iii. 6- 11); Chorus of virgins, her companions (i. 2-4, i. 8, 
i. 11, v. 9, vi. 1, vi. 10, vi. 13, vii. 1-5, viii. 5 a) ; Chorus of 
Shulammith's brothers (viii. 8, 9). The King's 13 speeches 
are the following: i. 9, 10, i. 15, i. 17, ii. 2, ii. 7, iii. 5, iv. 
1-15, v. 1, vi. 4-9, vii. 6-9, viii. 4, viii. 5 b, viii. 13. The rest 
is uttered by the Bride. The alternate speeches should be 
marked off before one reads the poem in the R.V., which 
gives each a separate paragraph. R.V. is to be preferred 
throughout for this book. 

First Canto. The King seeks and wins the Bride 
and. brings her to Jerusalem (" My Beloved is mine," 
ii. 16). 

(a) i. 2 — ii. 7. The Bride in the King's pavilion. 

(b) ii. 8 — iii. 5. The Bride's first dream. 

(c) iii. 6 — v. 1. The royal Espousals. 

o 



82 FOURTH TERM. 

Second Canto. The Bride seeks and finds the King 
and brings him to her home (" I am my Beloved's," vi. 3, 
vii. 10). 

(a) v. 2 — vi. 9. The Bride's second dream. 

(J?) vi. 10 — viii. 4. Homeward thoughts. 

(c) viii. 5-14. The Return home. 

For the higher meaning of the whole poem, see p. 89. 

Proverbs rises ever and anon into lofty flights of song, 
but, as a whole, it consists of gnomic and didactic rather 
than pure poetry. As the wisest sayings of Israel's wisest 
men, this book represents the mature experience of 
Solomon's prosperous middle life ; and to its selection from 
the 3000 proverbs uttered by Israel's chief sage are added 
other terse apophthegms from the school which he founded. 
Chaps, xxx., xxxi. are probably much later than his reign, 
but as we cannot fix their date they are best read here. 
The Hebrew name of the book includes both " proverb " 
and " parable " in its meaning, and was applied to any 
pointed saying, especially if it conveyed its thought through 
a figure. Its root idea is that of comparison, putting this 
and that together, and noting their likeness and unlikeness 
that they may illustrate each other. Such forms of instruc- 
tion date from an early stage of civilisation. The Greek 
name of the book is frequently used of the parables of 
Christ, which find their Old Testament counterpart here. 
Proverbs is ethical rather than theological, guiding to action 
as the Psalms guide to devotion. Even when religious, it 
deals with the moral aspect of religion common to all creeds, 
and exhorts to a faithful performance of duty in all relations 
of life, though it speaks throughout of our conduct as it is 
in the sight of God. Hence in later days it appealed more 
directly to the Gentile mind than any other Hebrew book. 
Moreover, as its wisdom bears far more on conduct than on 
speculation, it is practical rather than philosophical. Its 
keynote is Justice and judgment are more acceptable than 
sacrifice, xxi. 3 (Matt. ix. 13, xxiii. 23 ; Mark xii. 32-4). 
The thought that the fear of God, which is the beginning 
of wisdom, is something grander and wider than conformity 
to any outward rites, is a remarkable one for a book pro- 
duced in an age which saw the noblest outcome of the 
Ceremonial Law in the Temple. Its sections are : — 



BOOKS TO BE READ. 83 

(a) i. 1-6. Introduction stating that the aim of the whole 
is to answer the question " What is wisdom ? " 

(b) i. 7 — ix. 18. First exhortation concerning wisdom. 

(c) x. 1 — xxii. 16. First collection of 400 proverbs. 

(d) xxii. 17 — xxiv. 22. Second exhortation concerning 
wisdom. 

(e) xxiv. 23-34. Some sayings of the wise. 

(/) xxv. 1 — xxix. 27. Second collection of proverbs made 
under Hezekiah. 

(g) xxx. Prophecy of Agur, son of Jakeh. 

(h) xxxi. Prophecy of Lemuel's mother. 

In Ecclesiastes the lyric outburst which began with the 
Psalms of Israel's foremost poet dies down into prose, yet 
prose of a highly poetical cast. A period of literary 
stagnancy succeeds. The reasons given for assigning the 
book to a later age than Solomon's do not amount to con- 
vincing proofs, so we act upon the time-honoured view that 
it represents the repentance of his sorrowful old age. " Many 
go through David's sins without his repentance, and 
Solomon's experiences without his conclusions, and these 
are the men who rail at both " (Ker). This saddest book 
of the Bible is often misunderstood by those who fail to 
perceive in it the utterances of two voices in a single soul. 
The lower voice is that of the man of the world, who tries 
every form of earthly pleasure, base and noble, and finds 
that none can satisfy the heart of man ; who goes the whole 
round of human speculation seeking to read the riddle of 
the world before he has been chastened by submission and 
elevated by trust in God. It is a voice of doubt, sinking 
into despair, and we have its keynote in the phrase Under 
the sun, which occurs here 29 times and nowhere else. The 
higher voice is that of a divinely taught man, who desires 
to teach others through his own painful experience. He 
cannot solve all the perplexities of life, but he can point out 
the path of true blessedness. Its keynote is God is in heaven, 
ruling the whole earth and rewarding those who serve Him. 
(1 Cor. xv. 58). The sections of Ecclesiastes are : — 

(a) i., ii. The search after Happiness and its failure. 

(b) iii. 1 — vi. 9. Nature's harmony and man's discord. 

(c) vi. 10— viii. 15. Life as a whole is unsatisfying, yet 
t shall be well with the godly. 



84 FOURTH TERM. 

(d) viii. 16 — xii. 14. The highest good attainable is 
being what God means us to be. 

Observe that in Proverbs " wisdom " means " piety " ; in 
Ecclesiastes " sagacity " and " knowledge." 

III. Periods and Dates. 

The dates for these 103 years are those given in " Oxford 
Helps." Some good authorities make them one year later 
throughout. Henceforth a table of Reigns, which form 
most convenient landmarks, will be given each term for 
constant reference. 

Observe that the reign of David fills 93 chapters, that of 
Solomon 89 chapters ; also that the reigns of Saul (1096 — 
1056), David (1056 — 1016), and Solomon (1016 — 976) each 
occupy 40 years ; and that Asa was contemporary with al) 
the first seven Kings of Israel. 

(1) B.C. 1018 — 1004 (14 years). From the choice of a 

site for the Temple to its Dedication. The House 
of God that Solomon built. 

(a) 1018 — 10 1 6. David's Preparation. Psalms 
xxxvi., xxxvii., exxxiii. ; 2 Sam. xxiv. ; 1 Chron. 
xxi. — xxix. 22; Psalms xxvi., xxviii., xxx., 
exxxix., exxxi., lxxxvi., cxlv. ; 2 Sam. xxiii. 1-7. 

(b) 1016 — 1012. Solomon's Preparation. 1 Kings 

i.— v. ; 1 Chron. xxix. 23-30 ; 2 Chron. i., ii. ; 
Psalms lxxii., xlv. 
(/) The Building and Dedication (1012 — 1004), 
1 Kings vi. — ix. 9 ; 2 Chron. iii. — vii. ; Psalms 
exxxii., i., exxvii., exxviii., 1., lxxxi., lxxvii., 
lxxxii., xlii., xliii., lxxxiv. 

(2) B.C. 1004 — 976 (28 years). From the dedication of 

the Temple to the revolt of the Ten Tribes. The 
Glory and Declension of Solomon. 1 Kings ix. 10 — 
x.; 2 Chron. viii. — ix. 28; Song of Songs; Proverbs; 
1 Kings xi. ; 2 Chron. ix. 29-31; Ecclesiastes; Psalms 
lxxxviii., xlix., lxxiii., cxi., cxii., xci. ; 1 Kings xii. 
1-19 ; 2 Chron. x. 

(3) B.C. 976—955 (21 years). From the revolt of the 

Ten Tribes to the death of Jeroboam. The religious 
Schism and political Disruption. 1 Kings xii. 20 — ■ 



GEOGRAPHY. 85 

xiv. ; 2 Chron. xi., xii. ; Psalm lxxxix. ; 1 Kings xv. 
1-8 ; 2 Chron. xiii. 

(4) B.C. 955 — 91 5 (40 years). From the death of Jeroboam 
to the accessions of Jehoshaphat and Ahab. The 
Strife between Israel and Judah. 1 Kings xv. 9-24 ; 
2 Chron. xiv. — xvi. ; 1 Kings xv. 25 — xvi. 28. 

Three Kings of Judah. Six Kings of Israel 

Rehoboam, 976—959. Jeroboam L, 976—955. 

Abijah, 959—956. Nadab, 955—953- 

Asa, 956— 915. Baasha, 953— 931. 

Elah, 931— 929. 

Zimri, seven days. 

Omri, 929 — 917. 

IV. Geography. 

(See " Oxford Helps," Maps VI., VII., and IX., 

and § xxxiii.) 

About the middle of the mountain ridge, or rather, high 
uneven plateau, which traverses Palestine from the Plain of 
Jezreel to the Desert of Paran, rise two hills, Zion on the 
west (2540 ft. above the sea), with the lower height of Acra 
or Millo to its north, and Moriah on the east (2435 ft), with 
the lower height of Bezetha to its north. The Tyropaean 
Valley divides them. They form an almost impregnable 
natural fortress (2 ■Sam. v. 6, 7, R.V. margin; Psalm cxxv. 1), 
round three sides of which the deep ravines of Hinnom 
and Jehoshaphat or Kidron wind like a continuous natural 
fosse. Other mountains surround them, of which the chief 
is Olivet (2724 ft), " the mount before Jerusalem " (1 Kings 
xi. 7). The climate of this high region is more healthy, 
equable, and temperate than that of any other part of 
Palestine. Upon these twin hills, the " rock of the plain 
or table land" (Jer. xxi. 13), clusters the city of Jerusalem, 
" beautiful in elevation " (Psalm xlviii.), which God chose 
for His abode. They mark its twofold character as a 
political centre from the time when David set up his throne 
on " Zion " (which means " the sunny mount "), and as a 
religious centre from the day the Temple rose on " Moriah " 



86 FOURTH TERM. 

(which means "the mount provided by Jehovah"). After 
the Disruption, and still more after the Babylonian Captivity, 
when little was left of corporate national life, it was Moriah 
rather than Zion that formed Israel's focus. 

Jerusalem at its largest in the days of Agrippawas rather 
more than four miles in circumference. If we set aside the 
probable but not certain identification of it with the Salem 
of Gen. xiv. 18, and the Moriah of Gen. xxii. 2, we find first 
mention of it in Josh. xv. 8, and the first incident in its 
history was, like the last, a destructive siege (Judg. i. 8 ; 
Luke xix. 43, 44). In the sixteen centuries between its 
capture by Judah and its capture by Hadrian, it was besieged 
at least 25 times and twice razed to the ground. No other 
city has had such a fate. David chose it for his seat 
of government, as strong, central (Ezek. v. 5), brilliantly 
captured, and common property of Judah and Benjamin. 
Judah's capital henceforth, like Judah's dynasty, was un- 
changed. It surpassed every other city both in its glory 
and its humiliation. For ere human sin and Divine love 
found their lowest and highest exemplifications there (Rev. 
xi. 8) it had been at once the Holy City, Ariel (" the hearth 
of God," Isa. xxix. 1, R.V.), and the unholy city, shrine 
of foul and horrid idols. The old Jebusite worships clung 
to its soil, and were never thoroughly rooted up. So at 
the base of Mount Zion, which has given a name to heaven 
(Heb. xii. 22), lay Gi-hinnom (in Greek, Gehenna), that 
defiled valley where ever-burning fires consumed the refuse 
of the city (Isa. xxx. 33, R.V. margin), whose name the 
Jews borrowed for hell (Mark ix. 43, R.V.). 

V. Heroes. 

Keynote, Solomon, 1 Cor. i. 19, 20. 

A number of men of unusual power and influence for 
good or evil had made David's age, and he was greatest 
among the great. The calm prosperity of his latter days 
and of his son's reign moulded no such grand characters 
as those which had made the building of the Temple 
possible. Of the men who first worshipped in it, Solomon 
only stands out in bold relief during an age notable for its 
works rather than its heroes. No one occupies so large a 



HEROES. 87 

space in sacred history of whom we have so few personal 
details. He seems to have inherited the beauty and fascina- 
tion of both his parents, and some of his rare sagacity may 
be traced to Ahithophel (2 Sam. xii. 24, xi. 3, xxiii. 34). 
His great intellectual powers were strenuously cultivated 
with a view to his filling the post of heir (1 Kings i. 30) 
left vacant by Absalom's death when he was about ten 
years old. David had united the genius of a poet and the 
insight of a prophet with the prudence of a man of action. 
In Solomon we see a new intellectual type (1 Kings ii. 6, 9, 
v. 7). He was the first of " the wise " of whom we often 
read hereafter (Prov. i. 6 ; Isa. xxix. 14 ; Jer. xviii. 18). The 
wisdom he sought and obtained of God was that of Ecclesi- 
astes rather than of Proverbs, and was displayed in the 
administration of justice (1 Kings iii. 28 ; Prov. xxix. 4, 14, 
xxv. 5), and in ardent pursuit of knowledge (1 Kings iv. 
29-34). Finally, God was with him (1 Kings i. 37, iii. 28 ; 
1 Chron. xxii. 11, 16, xxviii. 20; 2 Chron. i. 1), took him 
for His own son (2 Sam. vii. 14 ; 1 Chron. xvii. 13, xxii. 10, 
xxviii. 6), and gave him a great work to do. 

Such were the gifts and privileges of Solomon. Never 
had earthly glory and human wisdom a greater opportunity, 
never was their insufficiency for man's goodness and happi- 
ness more strikingly shown. He and his people instead of 
influencing their heathen neighbours were influenced by 
them. Like that other brilliant young man for whom 
Christ longed (Mark x. 21), Solomon loved the world more 
than he loved God. He knew the good, and chose the 
evil. He expounded a father's duties, and apparently 
spoiled his own son ; he painted ideal marriage (Prov. v. 
18, 19), and crowded his harem with foreign women against 
whose wiles his wisdom was as powerless as Samson's 
strength (Neh. xiii. 26). He preached justice, yet practised 
oppression (1 Kings xii. 4). He was sagacious and equit- 
able, yet he actually thought to thwart God's purposes by 
slaying his appointed successor. With one hand he reared 
the Temple of the God of Israel ; with the other, pursuing 
an unlawful, short-sighted, and disastrous policy of tolera- 
tion, he raised long-enduring altars (2 Kings xxiii. 13) for 
the shameful worship of the Phoenician Ashtoreth, the cruel 
worship of the Ammonite Molech, and even for that worship 



88 FOURTH TERM. 

of the Moabite Chemosh or Baalpeor whose terrible punish- 
ment in the wilderness (Num. xxv.) ought to have made 
its revival impossible (2 Cor. vi. 16). We will not add one 
to the divers speculations as to the final destiny of this 
man who sinned against so much light, but we note that 
the utterances of his God-given wisdom are not shut out 
from the Book of God because his crime was as great as 
his genius, nor was his dynasty supplanted because he had 
done his best to throw away a rare heritage of loyalty. 
Heir to a kingdom whose strength depended upon its 
unity, and whose unity depended upon its faith, he had 
made shipwreck of both. We speak of the trial of adversity. 
It was prosperity which led even a David astray and which 
destroyed a Solomon (see Ecclus. xlvii. 12-23). 



VI. The Coming Messiah. 

" One greater than the Temple is here. . . . A greater 
tlian Solomon is here!' — Matt. xii. 6, 42. 

As the militant kingdom of Christ in the present is 
typified by the reign of David, so the triumphant kingdom 
of Christ in the future is typified by the reign of Solomon 
(Isa. xi., xxxii. ; Rev. xix. 16), the peaceful king whom 
God called His son, who ruled Israel, and extended his 
dominion over the heathen ; the wise prophet, who taught 
the fear of the Lord ; the priestly prince who offered prayer 
for his people, who entered the Temple Court with sacrifices 
(2 Chron. viii. 12, 13), and even burned incense in the Holy 
Place (1 Kings ix. 25) ; who also performed the highest 
sacerdotal act in solemnly blessing the people (2 Chron. vi. 3). 
The Psalms which celebrate his glory are only entirely 
true of the one Son of David who fulfilled all the con- 
ditions of God's covenant with him (Luke i. 32), and so 
realised the ideal not realised by Solomon, and obtained 
God's infallible (Num. xxiii. 19) promises to David and 
his seed, which Psalm lxxxix. reiterates, in order to point 
the mournful contrast between what might have been and 
what was. 

Of direct Prediction our period contains little. Under 
the secularising spell of Solomon's reign, Israel's great 



GODS REVELATION OF HIMSELF TO MAN 89 

Hope was in abeyance. The Jewish Talmud regarded the 
Song of Songs as an allegory of the dealings of Jehovah 
with Israel, and Christian theology has from very early 
times found a key to it in Eph. v. 25-32, and expounded 
it of Christ as the Bridegroom of the Church (not of the 
individual soul, that is only the unscriptural fancy of un- 
wise mystics). While we learn from it what His love is, 
and what our devotion to Him should be, we must beware 
of fantastic application of details, for the colouring is local 
and Oriental throughout Canto I. typifies His First 
Coming to dwell with us (Psalm cxxxvi. 23 ; 2 Chron. vi. 18 ; 
John i. 14) ; Canto II. typifies His Second Coming to take 
us to Himself when He has made our earth His (Heb. 
ix. 28 ; 1 Thess. iv. 17). 

The Rabbis referred Prov. x. 25 to the Messiah (Isa. 
xxviii. 16), and it is impossible not to see ultimate reference 
to truths yet to be revealed in Prov. xxx. 4 (Col. i. 13-19 ; 
1 Cor. i. 24 ; John i. 1-4), and in Prov. viii., which anticipates 
the doctrine of the Incarnation by teaching that the Wisdom 
of God dwelt with men (1 Cor. i. 30; Col. ii. 3). 

VII. God's Revelation of Himself to Man. 

Jehovah, El Shaddai, and Jehovah Sabaoth had expressed 
God's Eternity, God's Omnipotence, and "the Majesty of 
His Glory." Solomon's Dedicatory Prayer is far in advance 
of its age in its intensely spiritual apprehension of His 
Infinitude and in placing Prayer above Sacrifice. The 
profounder thought of this period, ever looking within, 
recognising that the external things of life are not its 
most important things, and uttering itself in the Sapiental 
Books of Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and perhaps Job, found rest 
in apprehending God's Wisdom (Prov. viii.) and God's 
Holiness. He is first spoken of as the Holy One in Job 
vi. 10 ; Prov. ix. io(R.V), xxx. 3 (R.V.) ; Psalm lxxviii. 41, 
lxxxix. 18 (the word used in Deut. xxxiii. 8 and Psalm 
xvi. 10 is different). This name, occurring very often in 
the prophets of later times, reminds us of that threefold 
assertion three times over of God's holiness, which may 
be directly connected with the doctrine of the Three in One 
(Psalm xcix. 3, 5, 9, R.V. ; Isa. vi. 3 ; Rev. iv. 8). 



9 o FOURTH TERM. 

VIII. Man's Relation to God in Worship. 

At Solomon's accession, Zion and Gibeon were both 
centres of national worship. This dual system ended when 
Solomon had spent y\ years in carrying out the plan 
David received (as Moses received the plan of the Taber- 
nacle) from God Himself. His Temple only existed 34 
years in its original splendour, but Israel's history ramifies 
from it as a centre henceforth. The boundary between 
Judah and Benjamin passed through it. So it belonged 
to no one tribe, but was for the whole nation forum, fortress, 
sanctuary, and university. 

Imagine a massive stone building about 45 ft. high, 
cased in cedar without, so that it resembled a log house, 
and overlaid with gold within, so that it shone like the sun, 
in three divisions, (a) The Porch, 15 ft. deep and 180 ft. 
high, supported upon two pillars of richly ornamented 
capitals, and hung with shields (2 Chron. xxiii. 9). In every 
view of the Holy City, this must have been the most con- 
spicuous object. (J?) The Holy Place (60 ft. by 30 ft.), where 
the priests ministered. It contained the Table and Altar 
of Incense, and was lighted by ten lamps. Round it 
clustered 30 small chambers in three stories, forming three 
terraces, and, seen from without, not unlike the side aisles 
of a church, (c) The Holy of Holies (30 ft. square), where 
only the high priest ministered. It contained the Ark 
with its guardian Cherubim, and was dark save for the 
Shechinah. Outside this structure was the Court (612 ft. 
square), where the people worshipped round the great 
Brazen Altar, which stood on the natural surface of the 
rock, once Araunah's threshing floor. The irregular mass 
of that rock may still be seen beneath the Kubbet es 
Sakhra (miscalled " the Mosque of Omar "), together with 
some of the mighty and highly finished masonry of 
Solomon's outer wall. 

Solomon's Temple differed (a) from the Tabernacle, for 
it exactly doubled all its dimensions, and was far more per- 
manent and splendid ; (J?) from Herod's Temple, whose 
area was 1000 ft. square, in being smaller and more 
primitive, and in having no separate courts for Gentiles and 
for women ; (c) from Pagan Temples, in that it contained 



QUESTIONS. 91 

no statue or sacred animal to represent the indwelling 
divinity ; (d) from Christian sanctuaries, in that it was 
smaller than many parish churches, in that its holiest 
place was at the west end, and in that it was intended 
only for the priests, and surrounded, not by a quiet cloister, 
but by a court crowded with sacrificing priests, worshipping 
people, sheep, and oxen. 

Observe that when the externals of public worship were 
most sumptuous and imposing, the most flagrant example 
of apostasy in high places was given. 

The national unity so recently achieved has been broken 
up for ever. That portion which has Ephraim for its leader 
(Hosea xiii. I, R.V.) and Samaria for its capital has already 
departed from the true worship, and is ready to depart from 
the true faith. Its history will be our chief subject next 
term, while Judah, its more faithful and longer-lived rival, 
will occupy us wholly during our Sixth Term. How the 
Ten Tribes differed from the Two in character, position, 
and destiny must be our first consideration. 

IX. Questions. 
(See pp. 13, 18.) 

[Questions I., V., XV., XVII., XXI., XXIV, XXVII., and XXX. may 
be answered with the help of any books.] 

I. How did David sin in numbering the people? (10.) 

II. Show that David and his people endured each of the 
calamities specified in 1 Chron. xxi. 12. (6.) 

III. (a) God loved Solomon ; (J?) Solomon loved God ; 
(c) God loved Solomon's people ; (d) Solomon's people 
served God. Give one reference for each of these asser- 
tions. (4.) 

IV. Name the two tribes that furnished architects for 
the Tabernacle and the Temple. What allusions to the 
Tabernacle are there in the history of Solomon ? (6.) 

V. Draw a ground plan of Solomon's Temple. (15.) 

VI. Consider Solomon's Prayer of Dedication as a 
prophecy of Israel's future history. (10.) 

VII. What was the only recorded conquest of Solomon's 
reign ? What three incidents of Bathsheba's life are 
recorded in this term's reading? (4.) 



92 FOURTH TERM. 

VIII. Describe the condition of the original inhabitants 
of Palestine during Solomon's reign. (6.) 

IX. Give a brief account of the three occasions on which 
God spoke to Solomon. (6.) 

X. Consider Solomon as a type of Christ. (15.) 

XL Does the name of God occur in the Song of Songs ? 
Give four New Testament references to justify the Christian 
allegorical interpretation of the Song of Songs. (6.) 

XII. Illustrate by two examples from Scripture history 
the truth of each of the following sayings : — Prov. i. 7, 
i. 32, iii. 6, v. 22, ix. 8, x. 24, xi. 2, xi. 10, xi. 21, xii. 19, 
xiv. 32, xv. 1. (24.) 

XIII. What may we learn from Proverbs as to the right 
and as to wrong use of the lips ? Give twelve references 
on each subject. (12.) 

XIV. Prove that the teaching of the Incarnate Wisdom 
of God was anticipated by the teaching of Wisdom in the 
Book of Proverbs, by writing out short Gospel parallels to 
as many passages as you can in Prov. i. — ix. (30.) 

XV. Show that " Under the sun " is a key to Ecclesi- 
astes, by proving from other passages of Scripture that 
the following statements are not absolutely true in them- 
selves, but only relatively true from the speaker's point 
of view : — Eccles. i. 4, i. 8, i. 9, 10, i. 15, ii. II, ii. 16, iii. 19, 
vi. 8, viii. 15, ix. 5. (20.) 

XVI. Find nine allusions to a life beyond the grave in 
Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and the Psalms read this term. (9.) 

XVII. Briefly explain the allusions or metaphors in the 
following passages: — 1 Kings i. 5 ; Cant. i. 5, ii. 5 ; Prov. 
iii. 20, xxv. 11, 23 ; Eccles. xii. 6 ; Psalm xlii. 1. (24.) 

XVIII. For each of the following Psalms give two 
references to Proverbs, Job, or Ecclesiastes, tracing the 
resemblance between the Psalter and the Sapiental 
Books : — i., xxxvii., xlix., 1., lxxiii., lxxxviii., xci., cxi., 
cxii., cxxxix. (20.) 

XIX. How often does " vexation of spirit " occur in 
Ecclesiastes ? How does R.V. render it ? (4.) 

XX. What allusion can you find in the Psalter to the 
office of the Korahites described in 1 Chron. xxvi. 12-19? 

( 2 .) 

XXI. Point out the probable allusions to contemporary 



QUESTIONS. 93 

or earlier history in Psalm lxxii. 8, xlv. 12, cxxxii. 6, 
lxxxi. 5, 7. Describe the probable occasion of Psalm 
lxxxix. (10.) 

XXII. What relation was Rehoboam's favourite wife to 
him? What do you know about her? (5.) 

XXIII. What historical associations guided Jeroboam in 
choosing Bethel and Dan for religious centres? (10.) 

XXIV. Show clearly what constituted "the sin of Jero- 
boam, the son of Nebat." (9.) 

XXV. What king was named as a reformer 300 years 
before he lived ? Mention another monarch named in 
prophecy long before he was born. (2.) 

XXVI. Where, when, by whom, and with what result 
were the battles of Zemaraim and Mareshah fought ? (8.) 

XXVII. What do you know of the following places? — 
Cabul, Ezion-geber, Gezer, Gibbethon, Ophir, Sheba, 
Tadmor, Tarshish, Tirzah. (27.) 

XXVIII. What do you know of the following people? 
— Adoram, Asaph, Ethan, Hadad, Jonathan son of 
Abiathar, Lemuel, Rezon, Tibni. (16.) 

XXIX. Make a complete list of the prophets who were 
sent to Israel and Judah during this period. (14.) 

XXX. What allusion can you find in the prophetical 
books to (a) David, (b) Solomon's molten sea, (c) the 
schismatic worship at Bethel, (d) the enmity between 
Ephraim and Judah, (e) Omri ? (10.) 

XXXI. Make a list of the names of God in the Psalms 
of this period. (30.) 

XXXII. Give references for the following: — (a) "A bag 
of gems in a heap of stones." (J?) " The dance of Mahanaim." 
(c) " Rest on every side." (d) " The lamp of the wicked is 
sin." (e) " They walk to and fro in darkness." (/) " Ex- 
tortion maketh a wise man foolish." (g) " He that uttereth 
a slander is a fool." (/i) " He abhorreth not evil." (z) " The 
way of him that is laden with guilt is exceeding crooked." 
(» " Death shall be their shepherd." (k) " Weary not 
thyself to be rich.'' (/) " Follow after faithfulness." 
{m) " Let thy garments be always white." (;z) " Of thine 
own have we given Thee." (0) " In all labour there is 
profit." (/) " Your work shall be rewarded." (q) " I was 
by Him as a master workman." (r) " He shall have pity 



94 FOURTH TERM. 

on the poor and needy." (s) " Then they will be thy 
servants for ever." (J) " A man is tried by his praise." 
(u) " It was brought about of God." (v) " The early rain 
covereth it with blessings." (w) " God seeketh again that 
which is driven away." (x) " Whoso offereth the sacrifice of 
thanksgiving glorifieth Me." (jy) " She laugheth at the time 
to come." (z) " God hath set eternity in their heart." (26.) 
For Second Series of Questions, see p. 309. 



FIFTH TERM. 



The Days of the Prophets. Decline and Fall 
of the Kingdom of the Ten Tribes. 

b.c. 915—697. 

1 Kings XVI. 29— XXII. , 2 Kings I.— XX, 2 Chron. XVII— 
XXXII. Psalms XXXIII, XL VI., XL VII., XLVIII, LXV, 
LXVL, LXVII, LXXV, LXXVI, LXXX, LXXXIII, LXXXVII. 
Jonah. Amos. Hosea. Joel. Isaiah I. — XXXIX. Micah. Nahn?n. 
(133 chapters.) 



"Should not a people seek unto their God? 
the testimony ! " — Isa. viii. 19, 20. 



. . To the law and to 



17th MONTH (34). 

1 Kings XVI. 29— XXII. 49- 

2 Chron. XVII.— XX. Psalms 
XXXIIL, LXXXIIL, XLVL, 
XLVIL, XLVIII. 1 Kings 
XXII. 50-53. 2 Kings I.— 
VIII. 24. 2 Chron. XXI. 
2 Kings VIII. 25— IX. 2 Chron. 
XXII. 1-9. 2 Kings X., XL, 
2 Chron. XXII. 10— XXIII. 
2 Kings XIL — XIII. 9. 
2 Chron. XXIV. 2 Kings XIII. 
10— XIV. 2 Chron. XXV. 

18th MONTH (33). 

Jonah. Amos. Hosea I. — IV. 
2 Kings XV I-12. 2 Chron. 

XXVI. Joel. Isa. VI. 
2 Kings XV. 13-38. 2 Chron. 

XXVII. Isa. II.— V. 2 Kings 
XVI. 2 Chron. XXVIII. 
Micah I., II. Isa. I. 



19th MONTH (33). 

Isa. VII.— X. 4, XIV. 28-32. 
XXVIII. 2 Kings XVII., 
XVIII. 9-12. Hosea V.— XIV. 
Psalm LXXX. 2 Kings XVIII. 
1-8. 2 Chron. XXIX.— 

XXXI. Micah III. — VII. 
2 Kings XVIII. 13. 2 Chron. 

XXXII. 1. Isa. XXXVI. 1, 
X. 5— XII. 2 Kings XX. 1-11. 
2 Chron. XXXII. 24. Isa. 
XXXVIII. 2 Kings XX. 12-19. 
2 Chron. XXXII. 23, 25-31. 
Isa. XXXIX. PsalmLXXXVII. 
Isa. XIIL— XIV. 27. 

20th MONTH (33). 

Isa. XV.— XXVII. Nahum. 
2 Kings XVIII. 14— XIX., 
XX. 20,21. 2 Chron. XXXII. 
2-22, 32, 33. Isa. XXXVI. 
2-22, XXXVIL, XXIX.— 
XXXV. Psalms LXXV., 
LXXVI., LXV., LX VI.,LXVII 



I. General Summary. 

LOOKING at the extent and fertility of its territory 
and its material resources, the kingdom of the Ten 
Tribes promised to be greater and more prosperous than 

95 



96 FIFTH TERM. 

that of the Two, which had only half its population. 
Looking at guarantees for political endurance and religious 
welfare, Judah had the capital chosen for God's abode 
(Psalm lxxxvii. 1-3), the Temple with the visible sign 
of His presence (1 Kings viii. 11), the Priests and Levites 
(2 Chron. xi. 13, 14), the accumulated treasure of Solomon, 
and sovereigns reigning by Divine right 

Nineteen kings, of nine different families, ruled Israel 
during 255 years. Nineteen kings, all of the House of 
David, ruled Judah during 388 years. The turbulent 
usurpers who seized Israel's crown never gained that 
stable power which came naturally to the monarchs of 
a long hereditary line, associated with Divine promises of 
permanence and glory. The very smallness of Judah's 
kingdom strengthened it by concentrating its interests 
about one dynasty and one city. 

Not one of the kings who received Israel's allegiance did 
right in the eyes of the Lord ; and since no worthy people 
is ever ruled for centuries by unworthy kings, this was an 
effect quite as much as a cause of the estrangement from 
God which proved that nation's destruction (Hos. xiii. 9, 
R.V.). Seven of Judah's kings could be commended for 
piety, and though their people in her last evil days sinned 
as deeply against the First Commandment as Israel had 
done, throughout her history they kept the Second Com- 
mandment better (see p. 55). 

We must sometimes follow the common usage of calling 
the Northern Kingdom " Israel " (1 Kings xii. 20), which 
strictly includes too much ; as " Ephraim," a frequent name 
for it in later prophets, strictly includes too little. The 
popular use of the term "Jews," i.e., men c c Judah (a term 
which first occurs in 2 Kings xvi. 6), for thv. whole nation 
before the Captivity, is misleading. 

The first half-century of Israel's history was occupied by 
a desultory war with Judah, in which Judah not only gained 
the day, but weakened her neighbour until their powers 
were about equal (Pro v. xviii. 19). This struggle was 
followed by an alliance as fatal to Judah as the war had 
been to Israel, and by a century of peace till Amaziah's rash 
vanity provoked fresh strife, in which Judah was worsted. 
The Syrian wars, with their varied fortune, form a back- 



GENERAL SUMMARY. 97 

ground to the history of the 40 years of Omri's dynasty, 
Israel's king being practically Benhadad's vassal at one 
time (1 Kings xx. 2, 3, 34). The vigorous rule of Jehu's 
house for 100 years raised Israel to her greatest prosperity. 
Then during her last half-century a rapid succession of 
fierce soldiers possessed themselves of the throne (Hosea viiL 
4, x. 3), while her enemies closed about her. Palestine lay 
between the great rival powers, Egypt and Assyria. Had 
Israel and Judah been united and faithful to God they might 
have withstood both. Instead, we see the miserable spectacle 
of Israel combining with Syria for a third and last conflict 
with Judah, in presence of their two common foes. Twenty 
years later, Israel's futile struggle against Assyria and 
equally futile attempts at friendship with Egypt ended in 
her downfall. 

Assyria's first direct attack was in 771 (2 Kings xv. 19). 
God's mercy rather than Israel's merit had averted an 
earlier one (2 Kings xiv. 25-7), and deferred her fall for 
a century ; but in 771 evidently Israel, and possibly Judah 
also, was already tributary to that all-absorbing power. 
The story of Israel's Captivity is (like that of Judah's) in 
three chapters. (Compare the prediction uttered by Isaiah 
in 742, Isa. vii. 8.) 

{a) 740. Captivity of the Trans-Jordanic Tribes and of 
Galilee, under Tiglath-pileser. 

(b) 721. Fall and captivity of Samaria and its neigh- 
bours, under Shalmaneser IV. and Sargon. 

(?) &77' Colonisation of Samaria with Gentiles, under 
Esar-haddon. 

Judah's Chronicles we have, but not the corresponding 
volume for Israel (1 Kings xxii. 39). So all her history is 
but partially known to us, and her ultimate fate is wrapped 
in still deeper obscurity. Judah was restored and re- 
established after her fall, but Samaria was left to bear her 
guilt (Hos. xiii. 16, R.V.), and her national existence has 
never been renewed. From the Chosen Race, God has 
made a further choice of Two Tribes only. What became 
of the Ten ? Archaeology has now cast such a broad light 
on the lands of their captivity, that it smiles at the popular 
notion of them as " lost," and at all the extravagant specu- 
lations born of that notion. How far they remained in the 

7 



98 FIFTH TERM. 

lands they had been deported to, were merged in the neigh- 
bouring Gentiles (Hosea ix. 17), and maybe recognised now 
among the gallant Afghans who bear Hebrew names and 
cherish Hebrew traditions ; and among the Nestorians by 
Lake Oroomiah, who also bear Hebrew names and have 
Hebrew faces, speak a Syriac dialect, retain many Mosaic 
observances, and reckon themselves Israelites : how far they 
returned with their Jewish brethren who are spoken of as 
:: Israel " (Ezek. xiv. 1 ; Ezra x. 1 ; Zech. xii. 1), and as 
representing the Twelve Tribes (Ezra vi. 17 ; Acts xxvi. 7) 
after the Restoration (see also Ezek. xxxvii. 16, 17) : how 
far they can be identified with the Samaritans and other 
peoples of Northern Palestine who spoke their language, 
reproduced their customs, claimed to be Israelites and 
faithful adherents of the Mosaic Law, and fostered abiding 
enmity with Judah, and who in the New Testament are 
accounted strangers rather than Gentiles, are matters on 
which those who have thought most are least ready with 
positive assertions. (See Wilkinson's " Israel My Glory.") 
We know that there are promises of blessing to Ephraim 
as distinct from Judah still unfulfilled. We know that the 
Messiah, who was born and who died in Judah, chiefly 
lived and taught in what had been the Northern Kingdom, 
among "the lost sheep of Israel's house," and that the 
witnesses of His Resurrection and builders of His Church 
were " men of Galilee " (Acts i. 1 1, ii. 7). 

This lesson at any rate stands out for all time in the 
prophets of Ephraim. Heartless luxury, grasping dis- 
honesty, violence and oppression, careless disregard of 
Divine laws, and self-willed impiety ruin not only indivi- 
dual lives, but the corporate life of the state whose welfare 
is entrusted to each of its citizens (Num. xxxii. 1 5). 

Reserving special consideration of Judah for next term, 
we notice her prosperity under Jehoshaphat ; her depression 
after his death ; that most striking and fully told episode 
of her history when the dynasty was barely saved from 
extinction ; a century of recovery and renewed vigour 
under three able sovereigns, followed by the disastrous 
reign of her worst king ; and finally how faithful Hezekiah 
and Isaiah saved her from the false friendship of Egypt, 
and how when the people's own utmost effort had been 



GENERAL SUMMARY. 99 

made, God saved her from the determined enmity of 
Assyria (2 Chron. xxxii. 1, 7, 8, R.V.). 

We have reached an age when there are frequent points 
of contact between sacred and secular history, and many 
recently discovered monuments confirm the Biblical 
narrative. See Prof. Sayce's " Fresh Light from Ancient 
Monuments" (Religious Tract Society, $s.), Dr. Kinns' 
"Graven in the Rock" (Cassell, 12s. 6d.\ and the Bishop 
of Ossory's " Echoes of Bible History " (Sunday School 
Institute, 4$-.). 

Rehoboam's defeat by Shishak is pictured in the great 
Egyptian Temple of Karnak. Ahab is named as an ally 
of Benhadad on a monolith from Nimrud commemorating 
Shalmaneser I.'s victories. Mesha describes his successful 
revolt from Israel on the Moabite stone now in the Louvre, 
Paris. Jehu appears among the tributaries of Shalma- 
neser II. of Assyria on the famous obelisk of black basalt 
from Nimrud. Uzziah and Ahaz are mentioned more than 
once on some fragments of Assyrian tablets recording the 
reign of Tiglath-pileser II. The monolith and black 
obelisk may be seen in the British Museum ; so also may 
the bas-reliefs of Sennacherib seated on his throne before 
besieged Lachish, his countenance defaced (doubtless by 
the sons who slew him) ; and a cylinder whereon he, telling- 
half a story whose other half he must have wished for ever 
untold, relates how he shut up Hezekiah the Jew in 
Jerusalem as a bird is shut up in a cage. 

Of the three offices associated with Israel's national and 
religious life to which men were set apart by a solemn 
anointing (Lev viii ; 1 Sam. xvi. ; 1 Kings xix. 16 ; 1 Chron. 
xvi. 22), which all foreshadowed the Christ (John i. 41, 
R.V.), we considered the Priestly in the Second, and the 
Kingly in our Third Term. This term the Prophetic 
claims our chief attention. Enoch was the first (Jude 14) 
and S. John the last (Rev. x. 11) who " prophesied." The 
Seventy whom Moses the Prophet chose anticipated that 
prophetic order (Num. xi.), which actually dates from 
Samuel (Acts iii. 24) and ends with Malachi ; and prophets 
first take a leading part in Israel, a kingdom built up by 
two prophets, Ahijah and Shemaiah, rather than in Judah 
which still had the regular priesthood. 



ioo FIFTH TERM. 

Etymologically, the Greek work whence u prophet " 
comes has this threefold significance : (a) Telling forth, 
teaching and preaching, announcing God's will (2 Chron. 
xxxvi. 15, 16); (b) Telling for, interpreting and expound- 
ing God's will (Exod. vii. 1); (c) Fore-telling, predicting 
future events, revealing God's will (1 Peter i. 10, n). 

All this the Hebrew Prophets did, and they were at 
once the national poets, historians, evangelists, pastors, 
teachers, censors of morals, physicians, patriots, and states- 
men ; often living together and wearing a distinctive garb 
(Zech. xiii. 4). From every part of the country, and every 
station in life, sometimes honoured, sometimes insulted 
and persecuted, they came before men with their great 
commission, "Thus saith Jehovah" (Deut xviii. 18; Jer. 
i. 9) ; and their simultaneous rise in this age was a first 
fulfilment of Joel ii. 28, 29. The nations of whom they 
wrote have passed away, but the same types of national 
character still exist ; and if we read their threatenings and 
warnings aright, we learn from them the great lessons 
which all history has to teach (Prov. xiv. 34), and see how 
the whole course of this world carries out the purposes of 
God (Isa. xiv. 24-7). 

II. Books to be Read. 
(See "Oxford Helps," § v.) 

This term two-thirds of our reading is from the prophetic 
books, with which we now make our first acquaintance. 
These seven books form the first of the three groups into 
which the sixteen prophets whose works are preserved fall. 
An interval of silence for half a century during the evil 
reign of Manasseh succeeds them. They are all written in 
highly poetical prose, varied by occasional bursts of actual 
poetry. After each prophet's name and country, etc., is 
given the approximate date of his prophecy, the name 
of the people to whom he was sent, and of the king then 
reigning. For the twelve Psalms of this period, see p. 200. 

Jonah, son of Amittai, of Gath-hepher in Zebulon, 
Elisha's successor, and also Elijah's servant, if we may 
believe the ancient Jewish tradition which finds him in 
I Kings xvii. 17, xviii. 43, and 2 Kings ix. 4. (823 — 782. 



BOOKS TO BE READ. 101 

Concerning Nineveh. In the reign of Jeroboam II.) His 
keynote is Judgment averted by repentance, which has a 
threefold illustration in the Phoenician crew, the Hebrew 
prophet, and the men of Nineveh (Jer. xviii. 7, 8 ; Acts 
x. 35 ; 2 Peter iii. 9). He was the first apostle of the Gentiles, 
the first missionary, and he shows forth God's dealings with 
the vast Gentile world. We have through him a majestic 
revelation of God's wrath and pity, each bestowed where 
most deserved and least expected, anticipating Matt. xx. 
16; Luke xv. 31, 32, xviii. 14. National rather than per- 
sonal feeling made him grudge God's mercy to Nineveh, 
and his narrowness was divinely rebuked. For what the 
Ninevites were called upon to abandon was probably a 
scheme for attacking Israel (2 Kings xiv. 25-7). The 
message to them resembled that to Pharaoh (Exod. v. 1 ; 
Psalm cv. 15), and their conduct and its issue may be 
contrasted with his. There is no finer illustration of the 
moral grandeur of true religion than this solitary prophet 
of a petty state in the midst of the greatest city in the 
world. Observe also that Jonah, writing the story of his 
own typical life, forms the link between Elijah and Elisha, 
uttering unwritten prophecy, and the later authors of written 
prophecy. 

Amos, a herdsman of Tekoa, in Judah. (808 — 782. Con- 
cerning Israel. In the reign of Jeroboam II.) While 
Jonah was pleading Israel's cause abroad, Amos was in 
direct conflict with her sins at home. No prophet describes 
and denounces them with more vigour, and Special punish- 
ments for special sins is his keynote (Heb. ii. 2 ; James iv. 
17). He also foretells judgments on Israel's immediate 
neighbours, including Judah. Unlike his contemporary 
Joel, he is orator rather than poet, and he takes many 
illustrations from his calling. 

Hosea, son of Beeri, and, according to tradition, of the tribe 
of Issachar. (782 — 721. Concerning Israel and Judah. In 
the reigns of Jeroboam II., Jotham, and Ahaz.) Gods know- 
ledge of us, the knowledge that we may have and that 
Israel refused to have of Him is the keynote (Luke xix. 44 ; 
John xvii. 3) of " the Jeremiah of Israel," contemporary of 
her last seven kings, through whom God uttered His last 
gracious, pitiful, and urgent pleadings with the incorrigible 



102 FIFTH TERM. 

nation. He is the first, but not the last, prophet whose 
personal history is made a symbol to his countrymen 
(Hos. xii. 10), and he and Amos together enable us to 
expand the historian's brief statement that " Israel did 
evil." Through them also we can picture the gathering 
calamities of her last days : drought and failing harvests 
(Hos. ii. 9 ; Amos iv. 7-9, i. 2), plague (Amos iv. 10), 
earthquake (Amos iii. 14, 15, ix. 1), eclipse (Amos viii. 9), 
and the gradual approach of the Assyrian host (Amos i. 
2-15, vi. 14, vii. 17, ix. 7-10; Hos. v. 13, x. 6; Isa. v. 
26-30). There are nine brief allusions to Judah, and no 
predictions concerning the Gentiles. The close of this 
sorrowful book is lighted by a promise of future restoration. 

Joel, son of Pethuel, according to an uncertain tradition 
a Reubenite. (808 — 790. Concerning Judah. In the reign 
of Uzziah.) Conjecture as to his date ranges from Jeho- 
shaphat to Josiah, but most probably he lived in the reign 
of Uzziah, and was the earliest prophet of Judah. His 
abrupt and direct address, whose vigorous diction and 
impassioned fervour place it high in Hebrew literature, 
marks the transition from the earlier prophets, whose deeds 
and sayings only are recorded, to the later writers of 
elaborate predictions and revelations. The cry of repent- 
ance follozved by deliverance is his keynote (Acts iii. 19). 
His book contains what is probably the first dim prophecy 
of the Assyrian invasion, and the first mention of the 
Greeks who were destined to play a part only second to 
that of the Jews in moulding the world's future history. 

Isaiah, son of Amoz, of the house of David, (756 — 697. 
Concerning Judah. In the reigns of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, 
and Hezekiah.) This greatest Old Testament prophecy falls 
into two portions, separated by four chapters of history. 

Part I., chaps, i. — xxxix. Predictions directly referring to 
the times in which they were written. 

Part II., chaps. xl.« — lxvi. Predictions from the standpoint 
of the Babylonian Captivity, which we reserve therefore for 
next term. Salvation of Jehovah is the meaning of the 
prophet's name (which, like those of his sons, was symbolical, 
lsa. viii. 18), and the keynote of his book (Titus ii. 11 ; 
Heb. v. 9). He utters the first clear prediction of the 
Babylonian Captivity (xxxix. 6, j) 112 years before it 



PERIODS AND DATES. 103 

took place, and 20 years after Ephraim's captivity (see 
also Micah iv. 10). He is the chief, as Jonah was the first, 
messenger of good tidings to the Gentiles (Rom. x. 20), 
and there are nearly 80 quotations from him in the New 
Testament, where he is named 21 times. 

Micah, of Moresheth Gath, or of Mareshah in Judah. 
(756—697. Concerning Israel and Judah. In the reigns 
of Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah.) His threefold prophecy, 
calling upon {a) all men, (b) Israel and Judah, and (c) the 
mountains, to hearken, was uttered during Israel's destruc- 
tion, and Judah's devastation under Ahaz and restoration 
under Hezekiah, Man sinful and justly pwiished ; God 
righteous and yet merciful is his keynote (Rom. iii. 26), 
and he looks beyond the impending destruction of Israel 
into the far future of Judah. Like Amos, he makes many 
rural allusions. He is mentioned by Jeremiah (Jer. xxvi. 
18, 19), and quoted by Zephaniah and Isaiah. 

Nahum, of Elkosh in Galilee, or possibly born in captivity 
at Alkush on the Tigris. (726 — 697. Concerning Nineveh. 
In the reign of Hezekiah.) Conjecture as to his date 
ranges from 850 to the Restoration, but most probably 
he wrote shortly before Sennacherib's invasion. He was 
the last, as Ahijah of Shiloh was the first, prophet of Israel, 
and his prophecy is one sustained shout of wild exultation 
over the fall of his nation's great conqueror. Its awful 
keynote is / am against thee (James iv. 4; Rev. ii. 16). 
220 years after the judgment foretold by Jonah had been 
averted, 100 years after the circumstances of its capture 
and desolation had been exactly described by Nahum, i.e. y 
in 606, Nineveh was taken by Cyaxares. 

III. Periods and Dates. 

We divide these 218 years into four periods, of which 
the last two overlap by five years that we may have a 
complete view of Hezekiah's reign. Isa. xxxviii. 6, and 
2 Kings xx. 13, compared with 2 Kings xviii. 15, are among 
several proofs that the true order of its events is given 
below. Observe that Chronicles emphasizes (a), Isaiah (c) 
and (d), and Kings (e). 

Assyrian records show that the first of the two Assyrian 



104 FIFTH TERM. 

invasions, that in 713, took place in the reign of Sargon 
(Isa. xx. 1). Sennacherib may have acted as his lieutenant 
in it. Our information about the Kings of Assyria is 
still fragmentary, and all their dates as given below are 
more or less uncertain. All in italics are named in Scrip- 
ture. The table of reigns should be before the student 
throughout. 

(1) B.C. 915 — 883 (32 years). From the accessions of 
Jehoshaphat and Ahab to those of Athaliah and 
Jehu. The Mission of Elijah and Elisha. First 
conflict with Baalism. 1 Kings xvi. 29 — xxii. 49; 
2 Chron. xvii. — xx. ; Psalms xxxiii, lxxxiii., xlvi., 
xlvii., xlviii. ; 1 Kings xxii. 50-53 ; 2 Kings i. — viii. 24 ; 
2 Chron. xxi. ; 2 Kings viii. 25 — ix. ; 2 Chron. xxii. 1-9. 

(2) B.C. 883 — 770 (113 years). From the accessions of 

Athaliah and Jehu to the death of Zechariah. (The 
readings carry us to 756 in the history of Judah.) 
Ephraim's best days under Jehu's House. Second 
conflict with Baalism. 2 Kings x., xi. ; 2 Chron. 
xxii. 10 — xxiii. ; 2 Kings xii. — xiii. 9 ; 2 Chron. xxiv. ; 
2 Kings xiii. 10 — xiv. ; 2 Chron. xxv. ; Jonah ; Amos ; 
Hosea i. — iv. ; 2 Kings xv. 1-12 ; 2 Chron. xxvi. ; Joel ; 
Isa. vi. 

(3) 77° — 7 21 (49 years). From the death of Zechariah 

to the Fall of Samaria. Ephraim's Decline and De- 
struction. 2 Kings xv. 13-38 ; 2 Chron. xxvii. ; Isa. 
ii. — v. ; 2 Kings xvi. ; 2 Chron. xxviii. ; Micah i., ii. ; 
Isa. i., vii. — x. 4, xiv. 28-32, xxviii. ; 2 Kings xvii., 
xviii. 9-12 ; Hosea v. — iiv. ; Psalm lxxx. 

(4) B.C. 726 — 697 (29 years). From the accession to the 

death of Hezekiah. Judatis Reformation and Deliver- 
ance under her greatest King. 

(a) The great Passover (726 — 713). 2 Kings xviii. 

1-8 ; 2 Chron. xxix., xxx., xxxi. ; Micah iii. — 
viii. 

(b) The Invasion of Sargon (713). 2 Kings xviii. 

13 ; 2 Chron. xxxii. 1 ; Isa. xxxvi. 1, x. 5 — xii. 

(c) Hezekiah's sickness (712). 2 Kings xx. 1-11; 

2 Chron. xxxii. 24 ; Isa. xxxviii. 



PERIODS AND DATES. 



105 



(d) The Babylonian Embassy (712 — 701). 2 Kings 

xx. 12-19 ; 2 Chron. xxxii. 23, 25-31 ; Isa. xxxix. ; 
Psalm lxxxvii. ; Isa. xiii. — xiv. 27, xv. — xxiii. 
(Oracles concerning ten of Judah's neighbours.) 
Isa. xxiv. — xxvii. (Prophecy concerning the 
whole earth.) Nahum. 

(e) The Invasion of Sennacherib (701 — 697). 

2 Kings xviii. 14 — xix., xx. 20, 21; 2 Chron. 
xxxii. 2-22, 32, 33; Isa. xxxvi. 2-22, xxxvii., 
xxix. — xxxv. (Prophecies during Invasion.) 
Psalms lxxv., lxxvi., lxv., lxvi., lxvii. 



Ten Sovereigns of Judah. 



Jehoshaphat 

Jehoram 

Ahaziah 

Athaliah 

Joash 

Amaziah 

Uzziah . . . 

Jotham ... 

Ahaz 

Hezekiah 



915—889 
893—885 
885—883 

883-877 
877-838 
838—808 
808—756 
756—742 
742 — 726 
726 — 697 



Thirteen Kings of Israel. 

Ahab 917—898 

Ahaziah ... 898 — 897 

Joram 897 — 883 

Jehu 883—855 

Jehoahaz ... 855 — 838 

Jehoash ... 838—823 

Jeroboam II. 823 — 782, 



Interregnum. 



Zechariah 
Shallum 
Menahem 
Pekahiah 
Pekah ... 



• 77I—770- 

. One month. 
.. 770 — 761. 
- 76i—759- 

• 759—739- 



Interregnum. 
Hoshea ... 730 — 721. 



The last nine Kings of Assyria. 

Pul 

Tiglath-Pileser II. 

Shabnaneser IV. 

S argon 

Sennacherib 

Esarhaddon I. 

Assur-bani-pal 

Assur-etil-ilani-ukinni. 

Sin-sarra-iskun (or Saracus). 



770—? 

745—727 
727 — 722 
722—705 
705—681 
681—668 
670 — 630? 



106 FIFTH TERM. 

IV. Geography. 
(See " Oxford Helps," Maps VII., VIII., and IX.) 

The kingdom of Israel was 9375 square miles in extent, 
or a little less than Yorkshire, Lancashire, and Cumberland. 
Jeroboam II. extended it from Hamath on the north to 
the Valley of Willows, between Moab and Edom, on the 
south. When it broke up, large portions to the east and 
south-east of Jordan fell to Uzziah (2 Chron. xxvi. 10). 
The kingdom of Judah was 3435 square miles in extent, 
or a little less than Northumberland, Durham, and West- 
moreland. Besides Benjamin, South Dan and Simeon were 
reckoned in it, but early sank into insignificance. Samaria 
was the only city in Palestine created, like Alexandria and 
Constantinople, by a monarch for his capital. It clustered 
on the side of a long flat-topped hill, rising in the centre 
of a wide basin-shaped valley, encircled by the mountains 
of Ephraim. Rather more than 20 miles to the north-east, 
on a hill gently swelling from the plain of Esdraelon (the 
Greek form of " Jezreel "), beautiful with trees and springs, 
stood Jezreel, "the Versailles of Israel's Paris." 

With Jonah we embark for the first time in sacred history 
on the Mediterranean, and cross the desert to the banks 
of the Tigris. Assyria was the oldest of those great 
empires of history of which the British Empire is the 
youngest. At its largest, its sway stretched from Ethiopia 
to India, and it extended from the Halys and Mediter- 
ranean on the west to the Caspian Sea and the great Salt 
Desert on the east, from Armenia on the north to the 
Persian Gulf and Arabian Desert on the south. It included 
peoples as diverse as those in the modern Turkish Empire, 
and the Assyrians themselves were an amalgam of three 
races, yellow-skinned Shemites, dark-skinned Cushites, and 
fair-skinned Chaldeans of Mongolian origin. Nineveh, 
once the chief centre of commerce, and the largest and 
richest city in the world, was so utterly destroyed that only 
shapeless mounds of earth and rubbish marked its site until 
Botta, Layard, and others lifted its shroud of sand between 
40 and 50 years ago. Since then Sir Henry Rawlinson 
and other archaeologists, unriddling the secret of the 



Keynotes 



HEROES. 107 

cuneiform character, have read on countless clay tablets 
the story of its remote past. 

V. Heroes. 

'Elijah, Acts xxvii. 23. 

Elisha, Gal. vi. 10. 
Jehoshaphat, 1 Peter ii. 13, 14. 
jehoiada, Mai. ii. 7. 

Hezekiak, Psalm cxlvi. 3-5. 
Jsaiak, Gal. i. 11, 12. 

The Kingdom of the Ten Tribes produced the grandest 
character of this age, the greatest prophet since Moses. 
Elijah, like Melchizedek, is " without father, without 
mother, without genealogy." The Rabbis said that in him 
the uncompromising Phinehas returned to earth, and for 
centuries the Jews believed that he would come again to 
restore and relieve (John i. 21). Improbable conjecture 
makes him a native of Thisbe in Naphtali. He was a 
sojourner among the brave but rude shepherds of Gilead, 
which was to Jerusalem and Samaria what the Scottish 
Highlands were to the Lowlands a century ago. Some 
five or six times he appeared among men, disappearing 
as suddenly. Bold and swift as David's Gadite allies 
(1 Chron. xii. 8), stern and lofty, of fiery zeal and unflinch- 
ing courage, he stood forth as a witness (a) For the dis- 
established worship of Jehovah ; his name means "Jehovah 
is my God." (b) For the national unity, apparently 
shattered for ever (1 Kings xviii. 31). (c) For the moral 
law (1 Kings xxi. 20) trampled under foot by the weak 
apostate Ahab, who, not wholly without conscience but 
wholly without resolution, became a tool in the hands of 
that most relentless and unscrupulous of women who was 
the very embodiment of lawless paganism and the first 
persecutor of the Church. The characteristic words after- 
wards adopted by his successor (1 Kings xvii. 1, xviii. 15 ; 
2 Kings iii. 14, v. 16 ; Luke xxi. 36) give us the secret 
of his power ; and his short, urgent petitions afford glimpses 
into a life of unbroken communion with God. Lest, how- 
ever, we should feel only the distant awe with which he 
inspired his contemporaries when he came among them 



io8 FIFTH TERM. 

in the all-constraining influence of a divinely guided life 
(i Kings xviii. 7), we are allowed to hear that one un- 
answered prayer for death, wrung from him when, after 
facing Ahab and 850 false prophets, he fled from Jezebel, 
mind and body alike over-wrought (1 Kings xix. 3, R.V. 
margin). Round him the prophets rallied as they had not 
rallied since Samuel ; and our next hero is his successor, 
a contrast to him at every point. Elijah, the prophet 
of the desert, living with God apart from men, the solitary 
champion of truth (1 Kings xviii. 22, xix. 10, 14) 
" ordained for reproofs, whose word burned like a lamp " 
(Ecclus. xlviii. 1-11), who came to denounce and destroy, 
to challenge the world's standards of thought and action, 
to rebuke boldly and directly vain-glorious luxury and 
popular sin, was the type of Christ's Forerunner, the 
predecessor of the hermit, the monk, the ascetic, and the 
Puritan. Elisha, son of Shaphat of Abel-meholah in 
Manasseh, giving up considerable wealth to be the servant 
of God (1 Kings xix. 19), dwelling in cities among men, 
the life and soul of the patriotic party (as Isaiah and Micah 
were later), the friend and counsellor and father (2 Kings 
vi. 21, xiii. 14) of all men, ever ready to comfort the 
sorrowful and succour the poor, is the type of Christ 
Himself (Matt. xi. 18, 19; Acts x. 38), and thus, though 
less in personal grandeur, he is greater because more 
Christ-like in spirit than Elijah. He was the first Hebrew 
prophet who became an oracle and monitor of other 
nations. His whole ministry covers 65 years, and of 
its last 50 years there is little record. Miracles, mainly 
of mercy, are more prominent in it than in that of Elijah. 
No express teaching of either is handed down, but their 
successor Jonah begins the line of literary prophets. 

Judah's heroes this term are two kings, one priest, and 
one prophet. JeJwshapJiat is the most like David in 
character of all her kings (2 Chron. xvii. 3-5 ; 1 Kings 
xxii. 43). His zeal for God's law, his personal piety, 
his righteous administration and vigorous foreign policy 
raised his kingdom to the highest point reached since the 
Disruption. Jehoiada, who was born in the reign of 
Solomon and lived to see eight sovereigns of Judah and 
eleven sovereigns of Israel, reared again the stem of 



HEROES. 109 

David, when it had been cut down to the very roots. In 
his person the priesthood took a more important place 
than it had ever done before, so he is reckoned its second 
as Aaron was its first founder. The power thus gained it 
never wholly lost afterwards. Public-spirited integrity was 
the most noteworthy characteristic of this faithful guardian 
of Church and State. Hezekiah> whose character is thrown 
into strong relief by those of his father and his son, is 
more unreservedly commended than any other king of 
Judah, and no king had a more lofty sense of his mission. 
His reign and its literature fills 77 chapters of the Bible. 
Possibly grandson of one prophet (2 Chron. xxvi. 5 ; 
Isa. viii. 2 ; 2 Kings xviii. 2), and son-in-law of another 
(tradition makes Hephzibah Isaiah's daughter, 2 Kings 
xxi. 1 ; Isa. lxii. 4), he reigned during a period of the 
strongest prophetic influence since Elijah. No sickness is so 
pathetically recorded in Scripture as that which threatened 
to leave Judah without an heir to the throne and defence- 
less before the fell swoop of the Assyrian. In Hezekiah's 
great reformation he cared equally for the restoration of 
true worship and the preservation of true doctrine (2 
Chron. xxix. 25 ; Pro v. xxv. 1), and sought, like David, 
to gather all Israel about him in the bond of a common 
faith (2 Chron. xxx. 1). With one hand he cultivated 
the arts of peace, and was, like David, a poet ; with the 
other he strengthened Judah for war, and, like David, 
defeated on their own ground the Philistines, who in the 
days of Ahaz had again become formidable foes (2 Chron. 
xxviii. 18 ; 2 Kings xviii. 8). God delivered him from 
the power which defied all human might, and since he 
guided the Jews through that great crisis of their history 
which determined whether they would trust in God or 
in man, to him Judah owed in no small degree the con- 
tinuance of her existence for another century. But by 
his side throughout there stood his trusted kinsman 
Isaiah, the first Jewish prophet of whom we have personal 
details. Save the facts named in 2 Chron. xxvi. 22, xxxii, 
20, 32, and the tradition that he was sawn asunder under 
Manasseh (suffering martyrdom for an alleged contra- 
diction between Exod. xxxiii. 20 and Isa. vi. 1 ; see Heb. 
xi. 37), all we know about him is from his own book. 



no FIFTH TERM. 

The turning-point of his life was the vision described in 
Isa. vi. Henceforth the great powers of intellect, imagina- 
tion, enthusiasm, and will of the young descendant of 
David were consecrated to the service of God and his 
country. For 60 years he guided the affairs of the nation, 
and he has since influenced Christendom more than any 
other Old Testament author with the possible exception 
of David. The abrupt and impassioned utterances of his 
predecessors gave place to his magnificent rhythm and 
sustained grandeur of expression, while at the same time 
his inspired genius uttered loftiest thoughts with a direct- 
ness and simplicity that provoked the satire of the inflated 
rhetoricians of the age (Isa. xxviii. 9-13), but won then 
as now many an ear and heart to attend to the things 
of God. 

VI. The Coming Messiah. 

" This is of a truth the Prophet? "Isaiah . . .saw His 
glory and spake of Htm." — John vi. 14, xii. 41. 

Three successive prophets present to us one complete 
Type of Christ. The two greatest Old Testament miracles 
are the raising of the poor Gentile's son by Elijah, and the 
raising of the rich Israelite's son by Elisha. The story of 
Elijah's Assumption is the grandest Old Testament asser- 
tion that for the righteous departure from this life is gain, 
and though Elisha died like other men, "after his death 
(to quote the Apocrypha) his body prophesied " (Ecclus. 
xlviii. 13). These miracles were typical of that moral resur- 
rection from Israel's darkest days which made her pros- 
perity under Jeroboam II. possible. But also, together 
with the story of Jonah, whose meaning Christ Himself 
expounded, they foreshadow the ascension, resurrection i and 
death of Him who is the Life (1 Cor. xv. 22). 

Types we have often met with already, but (always 
excepting the Psalms) Predictions have been few, brief, 
and isolated hitherto. Now in the Days of the Prophets, 
when the hopes first raised by the Hebrew monarchy are 
fast waning, we discern, according to the fine metaphor of 
Delitzsch, one star of promise describing a path from above 
downwards — " Jehovah will come to save His people and 



THE COMING MESSIAH. in 

reign for ever " ; and another describing a path from below 
upwards — " The anointed Son of David, greater than David 
himself, will reign over a regenerate Israel." The first 
promise found a preliminary fulfilment in the Restoration 
as we shall see, the second in Hezekiah. But we cannot 
examine them carefully without perceiving that they ulti- 
mately involve a more personal coming and a more extended 
reign of the Lord, and that the kingdom of David's Son 
would be more than earthly and human. The kingship no 
less than the priesthood of the Old Covenant made nothing 
perfect. It is when these two stars merge in one light that 
the twilight of the Old Testament vanishes before the 
glorious day of the Gospel. 

There are two more allusions to the Promise to David 
in the historical books, 2 Kings viii. 1952 Chron. xxi. 7. 

Nahum is the only one of the 16 prophetical books that 
contains no clear Messianic reference. The following 
summary of those in this term's Prophets are explained 
(like those in the Psalms) by New Testament references. 

(1) Joel ii. 28-32; Acts ii. 16-21 ; Rom. x. 12, 13. 

(2) Joel iii. 2 ; Matt. xxv. 31-46. 

(3) Amos viii. 9, 10 ; Luke xxiii. 44, 45, 48. 

(4) Amos ix. 11-15 ; Acts xv. 15-18. 

(5) Hosea iii. 5 ; Matt. xxi. 9 ; John i. 49. 

(6) Hosea vi. 2 ; 1 Cor. xv. 4 ; Matt. xx. 17-19. 

(7) Hosea xi. 1 ; Matt. ii. 15, 20. 

(8) Hosea xiii. 14 ; Heb. ii. 14 ; 1 Cor. xv. 54. 

(9) Micah iv. 1-7 ; Luke i. 33 ; xxiv. 47 ; Rev. xxi. 24. 

(10) Micah v. 1 ; Matt, xxvii. 30. 

(11) Micah v. 2-5 ; Matt. ii. I, 5, 6 ; Eph. ii. 14. 

(12) Micah vii. 20; Luke i. 68-75. 

Isaiah has been called " the Gospel Prophet " and " the 
Fifth Evangelist." Six of the 16 prophecies in chapters 
i. — xxxix. are directly quoted in the New Testament. 

(13) Isa. ii. 2-4 ; Rev. xi. 15. 

(14) Isa. iv. 2-6; Matt. xi. 28; Rev. vii. 15 (R.V.). 

(15) Isa. vi. 13 ; Gal. iii. 16. 

(16) Isa. vii. 14-16 ; Matt. i. 22, 23 ; John iv. 34. 

(17) Isa. viii. 14 ; Matt. xxi. 42-4 ; 1 Peter ii. 8. 

(18) Isa. ix. 1-7; Matt. iv. 14-16; Luke ii. II, 32; 

Heb. i. 8. 



112 FIFTH TERM. 

(19) Isa. x. 27 ; Acts x. 38. 

(20) Isa. xi., xii. ; Acts xiii. 22, 23 ; Rom. xv. 12. 

(21) Isa. xiii. 12 ; 1 Peter ii. 7. 

(22) Isa. xvi. 5 ; Luke i. 32. 

(23) Isa. xxiv. 23 ; Matt. xix. 28. 

(24) Isa. xxv. 6-8 ; 1 Cor. xv. 54-7 ; Rev. xxi. 4. 

(25) Isa. xxviii. 16 ; Matt. xxi. 42 ; Rom. ix. 32, x. 11. 

(26) Isa. xxix. 18-24 5 Luke vii. 22 ; John. iii. 2. 

(27) Isa. xxxii. ; Rom. xiv. 17 ; Acts ii. 

(28) Isa. xxxv. ; Matt. xi. 5 ; John xiv. 6, 

VII. God's Revelation of Himself to Man. 

On the spot where Moses had been taught "the Old 
Testament Creed " (Exod. xxxiv. 5-7) Elijah received a 
still higher revelation of God. More than in the wind 
which drove the Red Sea before it ; more than in the 
earthquake which shattered the walls of Jericho ; more 
than in the answering fire on Mount Carmel, God is to be 
heard in the voice of His Word (John i. 14, 18), and 
" declares His almighty power most chiefly in showing 
mercy and pity." Elijah was also taught then to dis- 
criminate from that Israel of the Called who had aposta- 
tised, an Israel of the Chosen (Matt. xxii. 16), who held 
and preserved invincible truth. This doctrine of a Rem- 
nant (Rom. xi. 1-5), of an Invisible Church, first enunciated 
to him, was further developed by Isaiah (Isa. vi. 13, x. 20, 21, 
xi. 11, 16, xxviii. 5, lxv. 8, 9), and so passed into the 
New Testament. Isaiah also was privileged to hear (as 
S. John heard 850 years later) echoes of the adoration 
offered by the unfallen company of heaven to the Holy, 
Blessed, and Glorious Trinity. (With Isa. vi. 1, 3, 8, com- 
pare John xii. 36, 41 ; Acts xxviii. 25, 26 ; Rev. iv.). 

Each of the Prophets conveys some characteristic revela- 
tion. " God of Heaven," which became common when the 
Restoration brought Jew and Gentile into a new relation, 
is anticipated once in Jonah. "Jehovah," the special name 
under which God made a covenant with Israel, occurs 33 
times in Joel's brief exhortation to return to Him. " God 
of Hosts" occurs nine times in Amos, and only once else- 
where, i.e. y in the contemporary Psalm lxxx. In Hosea (the 



MAN'S RELATION TO GOD IN WORSHIP. 113 

Old Testament exemplification of the wondrous Divine 
yearning over man which culminates in Luke xix. 41) the 
Lord not only declares Himself the Saviour and invites Israel 
to call Him " my God," but in the term " Ishi " uses a yet 
tenderer metaphor, occurring again in Jeremiah's last plead- 
ings with Judah (Hos. ii. 16; Jer. iii. 14). The God of 
Vengeance, described in MicaJi i. 2-4, and Nahum i. 2-6, 
may be contrasted with the God of Nature, described in 
Amos iv. 13, v. 8, 9, ix. 6. Isaiah contains at least 40 names 
of God, some peculiar to himself, some having striking New 
Testament parallels. He speaks of " the Holy One " about 
30 times, and of the " Lord of Hosts " about twice as often. 

VIII. Man's Relation to God in Worship. 

From the earliest times there had been High Places all 
over the land of Israel : that is, altars on which oil, honey, 
flour, incense, and sometimes animals were offered to God. 
They were sanctioned by the Patriarchs, by Samuel and 
Elijah, and by some of the most pious kinjs, notwithstand- 
ing Lev. xvii. 8, 9, and Deut. xii. 10-27 ; but at last Hezekiah 
removed them, for exactly the same reason that our Re- 
formers swept away many mediaeval usages, originally 
devout in intention, but inseparably connected at length 
with error and superstition. Two of these High Places 
became centres of idolatrous and schismatic worship of the 
True God under Jeroboam I., who led Ephraim at its worst, 
as Joshua had led it at its best. His great sin led to the 
far greater sin of Ahab, who disestablished the worship of 
Jehovah in favour of the worship of Baal and Ashtoreth or 
Astarte, Phoenician gods whose counterparts are easily 
recognised in every other heathen system. Solomon had 
already reared altars to them, and their worship is named 
among: the sins of Israel's last days 2 King xvii. 16. 
(Asherah denotes Ashtoreth's wooden symbol.) But only 
for one evil period of 34 years (917 — 883) did Ephraim 
offend in Baal (Hos. xiii. 1) to the extent of constituting 
Baalism the state religion. Jehu, who combined the furious 
zeal of the fanatic with the cold-hearted remorselessness 
of the scheming politician, made a partial reformation, 
but there was no one to re-construct the true worship 

8 



H4 FIFTH TERM. 

when he had destroyed the false, and neither he nor any one 
of the son of Nebat's successors was free from his sin of 
idolatry. Not arbitrary favour for Judah, but Israel's 
persistent sin accounts for the different fates of the two 
kingdoms (Hos. xi. 12). 

In Judah we read of seven Apostasies of king and 
people, and of four Reformations, the full consideration of 
which we reserve for next term. Israel's day of grace is 
gone, her vine is " burned with fire and cut down." Will 
Judah, newly reformed and delivered, learn once for all the 
lessons of her sister's fall ? 

IX. Questions. 
(See pp. 13, 18.) 

[Questions XV., XXII., XXIII., XXIV., and XXV. may be answered with 
the help of any books.] 

I. Name the successive capitals of Northern Palestine 
from 1426 to 721. How many capitals had Judah? (8.) 

II. Mention the exact duration of the drought foretold 
in 1 Kings xvii. 1. (2.) 

III. Illustrate 1 Kings xviii. 24 by quoting 12 previous 
occasions on which God " answered by fire." (12.) 

IV. Can you name any of the 7000 spoken of in 1 Kings 
xix. 18? (4.) 

V. Had Elijah any message for the House of David? (2.) 

VI. Briefly discuss the character of Elijah, and point 
out some striking parallels between his life and those of 
Moses and our Lord. (15.) 

VII. To how many kings living in her own lifetime 
was Jezebel nearly related ? Was Ahab's marriage to her 
sinful ? (6.) 

VIII. "The Syrian prophet said to the King of Israel, 
1 Is thy servant a dog that he should do this thing ? ' " 
Criticise the historical accuracy of this illustration in the 
speech of an English Cabinet Minister. (3.) 

IX. Make 1 list of Elisha's miracles, naming for each 
a parallel or a contrast among the miracles wrought by our 
Lord. Explain 2 Kings ii. 9. (16.) 

X. What noted preacher of " total abstinence " assisted 
a royal reformer ? (2.) 



QUESTIONS. 115 

XI. Name the only subject buried in the royal sepulchre 
at Jerusalem, giving the reason for this special honour. (2.) 

XII. Two calamities not alluded to in Kings or 
Chronicles took place in Uzziah's reign. One is described 
in a contemporary prophet, the other is mentioned by two 
contemporary prophets, and by a prophet 250 years later. 
What were they ? (4.) 

XIII. When and how did the King of Israel try to put 
a usurper on the throne of David ? (2.) 

XIV. (a) How many kings of Israel were there ? 
(J?) Which had the longest and which had the shortest 
reign ? (c) Which founded the longest-lived dynasty ? 

(d) Which took Jerusalem ? (e) Of which only is the 
expression " all his might " used ? (/) Which were 
wounded by Syrian bowmen ? (g) Which died violent 
deaths? (Ji) Name the best, the worst, and the greatest 
of them all. (16.) 

XV. Explain the following allusions in Hosea : — (a) " The 
blood of Jezreel " ; (6) " The valley of Achor " ; (c) " Their 
staff declareth " ; (d) " The new moon shall devour them " ; 

(e) " A cake not turned " ; (J) "The wickedness of Samaria" ; 
(g) " The calves of Bethaven " ; (Ji) " The calves of our 
lips " ; (i) " Memphis shall bury them." (18.) 

XVI. What allusions are there in the prophets to the 
fall of Samaria ? (6.) 

XVII. Make a complete list of the prophets sent to 
Israel and Judah between 915 and 697. (12.) 

XVIII. Point out the probable allusions to contem- 
porary or earlier history in Psalms xlviii. 7, lxvi. 6, lxxvi. 
5, 1 1, lxxxiii. 5, 9, 11, lxxxvii. 2. What occasioned Psalms 
xlvi., xlvii., and xlviii. ? Explain by Pentateuch references 
Psalm lxxx. 1, 2, 8. (14.) 

XIX. Draw out a genealogical table of the Kings of 
Judah down to Hezekiah, showing their descent from 
Solomon and relation to one another. (12.) 

XX. Make a list of the chief names of God in the 
prophets of this period. (32.) 

XXI. What allusions do they contain to (a) the Garden 
of Eden, (J?) Adam, (V) Abraham, (d) the destruction of 
the Cities of the Plain, (e) Jacob, (/) Moses, (g) Miriam, 
(Ji) Israel's sin at Shittim, (z) Israel's idolatry in the 



n6 FIFTH TERM. 

wilderness, (J) Edom's conduct to Israel, (k) the battle 
of Bethhoron, (/) Gideon's victories ? (15.) 

XXII. What does Isaiah mean by (a) "the crown of 
pride," (b) " the valley of vision," (c) " the rod of God's 
anger," {d) " the land of the rustling of wings," (e) " the 
wilderness of the sea," (/) " the isles of the sea " ? (6.) 

XXIII. Explain briefly the following passages in Isaiah: 
— (a) vi. 13, (6) vii. 16, (c) xiv. 12, (d) xvi. I, (e) xxii. 22, 
(/) xxx. 7, (^) xxx. 33, (^) xxxiii. 14, (2) xxxiv. 16, 
(/) xxxviii. 12. (30.) 

XXIV. Explain fully Nahum's reference to " populous 
No." (4.) 

XXV. Give as many instances as you can of worship 
being offered at High Places. (15.) 

XXVI. Under what names and how often is the 
Pentateuch referred to in Chronicles ? What was the 
first instance after the days of Moses of God's commands 
being committed to writing and regularly taught ? (12.) 

XXVII. What took place at Jerusalem on the first 
Sabbath day of which we have a detailed account ? (2.) 

XXVIII. What do you know of the following? — 
Amaziah the priest, Azariah the priest, Bidkar, Gomer, 
Jehosheba, Mattan, Shear-jashub, Shebna, Zedekiah son 
of Chenaanah, Zichri. (20.) 

XXIX. Where, when, by whom, and with what results 
were the following battles of this period fought ? — Aphek, 
Ramoth-Gilead, Tekoa, Desert of Edom, Zair, Valley of 
Salt, Beth-shemesh, Gaza. (32.) 

XXX. How many New Testament allusions can you find 
to Elijah, Elisha, Jezebel, Uzziah, Zechariah son of Jehoiada, 
Jonah, and Joel ? How many New Testament quotations 
are there from Amos, Hosea, Micah, and Isaiah i. — xxxix. ? 

(40.) 

XXXI. Illustrate the following passages from the history 
of this period : — James v. 10 ; 2 Cor. vii. 10 ; 2 Cor. vi. 
14-16; Phil. iv. 17 ; Matt. x. 41. (10.) 

XXXII. Give references for the following: — (a) "The 
grievousness of war." (J?) " That sing idle songs." (c) " Swift 
to do righteousness." [d) "Sudden destruction upon the 
strong." 0) "The twilight that I desired." (/) "The 
king's son shall reign." {g) " Reproaches shall not depart." 



QUESTIONS. 117 

(h) " There shall be no gloom to her that was in anguish." 
(f) " Her rulers dearly love shame." (/) " Her pillars shall 
be broken in pieces." (k) " The man of God wept." 
(/) " Take your pleasure and be blind." {111) " His sin is 
laid up in store." (n) " Hast thou found me, O mine 
enemy ? " (p) " Let the feasts come round." (/>) " Answer 
him not." (q) " I fear the Lord from my youth." (V) " Be 
Thou my surety." (s) Our eyes are upon Thee." (f) " I 
write My law in ten thousand precepts." (u) " The word of 
the Lord is with him." (v) " Every work that he began he 
did with all his heart." (w) "Thy worthies are at rest." 
(x) " He departed without being desired." (y) " They 
became abominable like that which they loved." (z) " Whei> 
he was strong his heart was lifted up." (26.) 
For Second Series of Questions, see p. 309 



SIXTH TERM. 
<> 
The Days of Jeremiah. 
Decline and Fall of the Kingdom of Judah. 

B.C. 697—588. 



2 Kings XXL— XXV., 2 Chron. XXXIIL— XXXVI. 21. Psalms 
XLIV, LXXL, LXXIV, LXX/X, CXXIX, CXXX. Isaiah XL.— 
LXVL, Zepha7iiah, Habakknk, Jeretniah, Ezekiel L — XXIV. 
La??ientatio?is } Obadiah. (130 chapters.') 



" All My words 
Ezek. iii. 10. 



receive in thine heart and hear with thine ears." — 



23rd MONTH (33). 

Ezek. XIIL— XXIII. 2 Kings 
XXV. 2 Chron. XXXVI. 17- 
21. Jer. XXI. Ezek. XXIV. 
Jer. XXXIV., XXXVII., 
XXXII., XXX., XXXL, 
XXXIIL, XXXVIII., XXXIX. 
15-18. 1-14. LII. Psalms 
LXX1V., LXXIX. Lamenta- 
tions. Obadiah. Jer. XL., 
XLI. 



21st MONTH (33). 

2 Kings XXI. 2 Chron. 
XXXIIL 2 Kings XXIL— 

XXIII. 30. 2 Chron. XXXIV., 
XXXV. Zephaniah. Jer. I.— 
VI. 2 Kings XXIII. 31-7. 
2 Chron. XXXVI. 1-5. Psalm 
XLIV. Habakkuk. Jer. XXVI. 
1-7. VII.-X., XXVI. 8-24, XL, 
XII., XIV— XX. 

22nd MONTH (32). 

Jer. XXIL, XXIII. 2 Kings 

XXIV. 1-17. 2Chron.XXXVI. 
6-10. Psalm LXXL Jer. 
XLVL— XLIX. 33, XXXV., 

XXV. XXXVL, XLV., XIIL 
2 Kings XXIV. 18-20. 2 Chron. 
XXXVL 11-16. Jer. XXIV, 
XXIX., XLIX. 34-9, XXVIL, 
XXVIIL, L., LI. Ezek. I.— 
XII. 

I. General Summary. 

OUR story of the newly delivered Jewish Kingdom 
during its last century is one of unfulfilled promise 
and lost opportunity, similar to the story of ancient Israel in 

118 



24th MONTH (32). 

Jer. XLIL— XLIV. Psalms 
CXXX., CXXIX. Isaiah XL. 
—LXVL 



GENERAL SUMMARY. 119 

Psalm cvi. 12, 13. It is among those deep disappointments 
of history that demand most thoughtful consideration. The 
fifteen years of life for which Hezekiah prayed gave him 
an heir to whom the throne of David owed its destruction. 
Of the incidents of Manasseh's long reign we know little ; 
though the Prophets supply many details about its idolatries. 
But its terrible result is plainly stated in Jer. xv. 4, and 
Jewish tradition places Manasseh beside Jeroboam and 
Ahab as having no part in the life to come. " Too late " 
was written on all Josiah's gallant efforts ; and the four weak 
and wicked kings (Isa. iii. 4, R.V.) who followed him were 
mere puppets (three of them actual nominees) of the two 
powers who acted like two huge beasts of prey, seeking to 
devour each other, but turning aside from time to time to 
snatch at the frightened creature who crosses their path. 
Foolish Judah clung still to the friendship of Egypt. In 
vain her later prophets denounced this treacherous alliance 
as Isaiah had done. His words (Isa. xxx. 7, R.V.) were 
justified when Pharaoh's feint of raising the siege of Jeru- 
salem ended in retirement, without a battle, leaving it to its 
fate (Jer. xxxvii.). Yet, when all was over, they fled from 
their own ruin to Egypt, in. spite of the warning that in so 
doing they would only share her ruin (Jer. xlvi. 17). For 
Egypt had now a mightier rival than even Assyria, and 
Judah, after defying Sennacherib, could only quail before 
Nebuchadnezzar. Nineveh had been taken in 606 (625 
according to some authorities), and on its downfall rose 
the Babylonian Empire which overthrew, and the Persian 
Empire which restored the Jewish State. Isaiah had 
strenuously preached resistance to Assyria. Jeremiah as 
strenuously, but less successfully, advocated submission to 
Babylon as the foreordained conqueror of Judah. 

Now, as Israel represents the Church, Dr. Arnold takes 
Egypt to represent in its milder, and Babylon in its darker 
aspect, that world in which the Church has to bear her 
witness and do her work. If it is so, we may find this lesson 
here. Dallying with the world's better side ends in destruc- 
tion by its worse side. They will never win it for God 
who give it the trust and affection due to Him alone 
(James iv. 4). Jeremiah's policy may symbolise the teach- 
ing of Christ, and His practice in refusing to head a nation 



120 SIXTH TERM. 

of insurgents (Matt v. 39, xxvi. 52 ; John vi. 15, xviii. 36; 
2 Cor. x. 4). 

Observe how the Prophets fill in the historian's brief 
outline. They show us Jehoiakim alarmed for once and 
proclaiming a fast before the Lord. But when God's 
gracious response is brought to him, sitting in that luxurious 
palace whose builders are wrongfully left unpaid, he defies 
and destroys the written Word, and, in vain dependence on 
his Egyptian suzerain, meets with sceptical effrontery the 
predictions about the Babylonian host that was actually 
approaching his gates ; and so we understand why he is 
omitted from S. Matthew's genealogy of Christ (Rev. 
xxii. 19), together with the wicked son of Jezebel's daughter 
(Psalm cix. 14), and Joash and Amaziah, who began well 
but ended ill (Ezek. xviii. 24). The prophets show us also 
the crooked intrigues of Zedekiah, and his treacherous folly 
in making compacts on all sides only to break them. 

Such were the last of that grand line of kings whose 
crown for four and a half centuries had passed, in a way 
unparalleled in any other dynasty, from father to son in 
regular succession (1 Chron. iii. 10-16), without one civil war 
or one interregnum, save Athaliah's brief usurpation 
(1 Kings xv. 4). Moreover, for 250 out of 388 years Judah 
had been ruled by pious sovereigns, and had enjoyed unusual 
peace and prosperty. Ere we leave these kings of long 
ago I may help the reader to think of them as more than 
mere names, by suggesting, from the most familiar pages of 
modern history, one or two monarchs whom they resembled. 
Compare for instance, David with Robert Bruce, Solomon 
with Henry VIII., Rehoboam with Ethelred the Unready 
(that is, "deaf to good advice"), Asa with Edward III., 
Jehoshaphat with David I., Joash with Richard II., 
Amaziah with James IV., Hezekiah with Alfred the 
Great, Josiah with Edward VI., and Jehoiakim with 
Charles II. 

From the three sieges of Jerusalem, which Nebuchad- 
nezzar took three times, date three periods of seventy 
years or ten Sabbatical years, which it is helpful to 
discriminate. 

(a) 606 — 536. The Servitude. In 605 King Jehoiakim 
seems to have been released and suffered to remain on his 



GENERAL SUMMARY. I2r 

throne as a tributary prince, but much of the treasure of 
the Temple, several members of the royal family, and 
perhaps others, were carried off. 

(b) 599 — 529. The Exile. In 599 King Jeconiah, with 
the royal family, the princes, nobles, artificers, and warriors, 
and much Temple and palace treasure, followed them to 
Babylon. 

(V) 588—518. The Desolations. In 588 Judah's Cap- 
tivity was completed by the deportation of King Zedekiah, 
the rest of his people, and the remaining spoil of the 
Temple. A wretched handful was left in Palestine, who 
might, however, have become the nucleus for a regathering 
of Israel without break on their own soil. For they were 
taught by Jeremiah, and ruled by the able and generous 
Gedaliah. The reckless violence of a scheming Jewish 
prince broke up this little community, and the Jews rightly 
regarded Gedaliah's assassination as a calamity great 
enough to be annually commemorated by a fast (Zech. 
vii. 5, viii. 19). 

And now the House of God has been sacked ; the City 
of God has been burned ; His " Anointed " is a mutilated 
prisoner in a foreign land ; prince and priest have fallen by 
the sword, and Judah is numbered among the nations no 
longer. Successive troops of captives have been driven by 
weary marches into the Eastern land, whence their father 
Abraham was called out. Others have found their way as 
fugitives to the Western land, whence God brought out their 
ancestors. A yet greater catastrophe calls forth their loudest 
lamentations, one which involves all the rest. Jehovah, 
who once chose them and crowned them with blessings, 
has now, after long provocation, cast them out from His 
Presence (2 Kings xxiv. 20, xiii. 23 ; Jer. xxiii. 39). That 
they can ever be a nation again is contrary to all proba- 
bility and all analogy. Against it is the might of the 
vastest empire the world has ever seen, ruled by its greatest 
conqueror. Against it is the fact that their own wilfulness 
has rendered their destruction even more complete than he 
meant it to be ; and that their moral and spiritual degrada- 
tion seems past hope. But for it there is the promise of a 
faithful God. 



122 SIXTH TERM. 



II. Books to be Read. 
(See " Oxford Helps," § v.) 

This term more than half our period is represented by 
only two chapters. For the Prophets supply yfths of our 
reading, and they were silent during the reigns of Manasseh 
and Amon. Of the six prophets who form the second 
group, we read all save Daniel, whose book stands midway 
between the second and third group, as it stands midway 
between history and prophecy. 

For the six Psalms of this period, see p. 203. 

Isaiah, Part I, is a mixture of narrative and prediction : 
its pulses throb with all the hopes and fears, the terror and 
defiance and exultation of the changeful age in which it 
was written. Isaiah, Part II, is one majestic and sym- 
metrical poem in three cantos — viz., 

(a) xl. — xlviii. Concerning Cyrus and the restoration 
of Israel as a nation. 

(b) xlix. — lvii. Concerning the Servant of Jehovah and 
the salvation of many nations through Him. 

(V) lviii. — lxvi. Concerning Zion's Light, through which 
all nations shall see God's glory and worship Him. 

Ruined Judah and desolate Jerusalem form the fore- 
ground of its picture, though Isaiah cannot long have 
survived the able and prosperous King who reconstituted 
the state and fortified the capital. All the 66 chapters of 
Isaiah were universally ascribed to one author until some 
recent critics, observing this difference in their points of 
view, put forth the theory that while the son of Amoz 
wrote the first Book of Denunciation and Woe, the second 
Book of Consolation was penned 160 years later, by a 
member of the school of prophets which Isaiah founded 
(Isa. viii. 16), the whole being called after his name, as the 
whole Psalter is called after David. Were this proved, we 
might still receive Isa. xl. — lxvi. as part of the Canon. But 
it is not proved. The literary argument from alleged 
differences of vocabulary and style is far from conclusive, 
and though prophets generally speak of the future revealed 
to them from the standpoint of the present, there is no in- 
superable difficulty in conceiving that Isaiah may have been 



BOOKS TO BE READ. 123 

inspired vividly to imagine and depict the Captivity he had 
already foretold. Eleven New Testament quotations from 
chaps, xl. — lxvi. are directly referred to Isaiah, and no other 
prophet capable of penning thoughts so high and deep has 
ever been heard of. Their author was an incomparably 
greater man than any man of the Post-Exilian age ; and had 
he been contemporary with Ezra, it is inconceivable that his 
name and personality should have been wholly forgotten. 
Minute study of Jeremiah also indicates that Isa. xl. — lxvi. 
had been already written. But we recognise it as a legacy 
to posterity rather than a gift to contemporaries (Isa. xlviii. 
4-7), and therefore read it in connexion with the later age 
for which it was no longer a sealed book (Dan. xii. 9). 
Observe its frequent reference to "all nations," and these 
recurring notes in its glorious song, " Hearken," " Listen," 
" Keep silence," " Cry," " Awake," " Remember," " Fear not." 

Zepha7iiah, son of Cushi, and perhaps great-great-grand- 
son of King Hezekiah. (630 — 610. Concerning Judah. 
In the reign of Josiah.) His keynote is The pure worship 
required by God (Matt. iv. 10 ; PhiL iii. 3), and he predicts 
judgments and blessings for Gentiles as well as Jews. 

Habakkuk, probably a Levite if not a priest, and one of 
the Temple choir. (609 — 599? Concerning Judah. In the 
reign of Jehoiakim ?) His keynote is Life by faith (Gal. 
ii. 20 ; Heb. xi. 6), and the perplexities which he faces and 
solves are those of the individual soul rather than of the 
nation. His Prayer, which recalls the finest lyrics of earlier 
times and expands Isa. 1. 10, is considered by Bishop Lowth 
u one of the most perfect specimens of the Hebrew ode." It 
is preceded by a dialogue between the Prophet (i. 2-4, i. 12 — 
ii. 1) and the Lord (i. 5-1 1, ii. 2-20), concerning the approach- 
ing Chaldean invasion. That is blended here with the 
Scythian invasion about the middle of the seventh century 
B.C., which was the earliest recorded movement behind their 
mountain barrier in Asia of those Northern nomadic tribes 
who ultimately swept away the Roman Empire and built 
up modern Europe on its ruins. (See p. 140, and comp. 
Zeph. ii. 4-6 ; Jer. i. 13-15, vi. 3-5 ; Col. iii. 11.) 

/eremiah, son of Hilkiah (perhaps the high priest of 2 
Chron. xxxiv.), a priest of Anathoth. (627 — 588. Concern- 
ing Judah. In the reigns of Josiah, Jehoiakim, Jeconiah, and 



124 SIXTH TERM. 

Zedekiah.) Continue in sin, and it will prove its own punish- 
ment ; Confess, and ye shall find mercy is his keynote (Rom. 
vi. 21 ; i John i. 9). Like Nehemiah's history, his prophecy 
is interspersed with short and urgent prayers, and charac- 
teristic expressions recur again and again, such as, " Lord, 
Thou knowest " (xxix. 23, R.V.), " I swear by Myself," 
"The days come," "Not a full end." Twice (xxv. II, 
xxix. 10) he clearly foretells the exact duration of the 
Captivity which Isaiah first announced (Dan. ix. 2). Isaiah 
soars like an eagle to behold with undimmed eye the source 
of light. Jeremiah sits in shadow like a dove to mourn 
over his fallen people with infinite pathos and tenderness. 
" Jeremiah is my favourite book now. It has taught me 
more than tongue can tell," writes Kingsley in 1850. 

Obadiah. (588. Concerning Edom. In the reign of 
Zedekiah.) Its resemblance to Jer. xlix. 7-22 ; Lam. iv. 
21 ; Ezek. xxxv. ; and Psalm cxxxvii. 7 suggests that it 
is of the same period, and most probably it was written 
shortly before Nebuchadnezzar's conquest of Edom in 583. 
Judgment without mercy to the merciless is its keynote 
(James ii. 13). "It expresses," says Stanley, " the Divine 
malediction on the sin most difficult to be forgiven, the 
desertion of kinsmen by kinsmen, of friends by friends, 
the readiness to take advantage of the weaker side, 
hounding on the victorious party, and standing on the 
other side in the day of the sorest need." (Comp. Isa. 
xxxiv. 5.) 

Ezekiel, son of Buzi, a priest carried captive in 599, who 
prophesied by the banks of the Chebar in Northern Meso- 
potamia, 200 miles from Babylon, and who is not mentioned 
outside his own book. (594 — 574. Concerning Judah. In 
the reign of Zedekiah.) Tradition says that he was put to 
death by his fellow-exiles for rebuking their idolatry. His 
differs from former prophetical books in being chronological 
throughout, for in him the author preponderates over the 
seer, the poet, and the statesman. His prose is, however, 
always poetical, and the Dirge of the Kings (xix.), the Lay 
of the Sword (xxi. 8-17), the Dirge of Tyre (xxvii., xxviii.), 
and the Dirge of Egypt (xxxi., xxxii.) are actual poetry. 
His keynote is Knowledge of God (a) by Israel (Hos. ii. 20 ; 
John iv. 22), (J?) by the Gentiles (Isa. xxvi. 9 ; Acts xi. 18 ; 



BOOKS TO BE READ. 125 

Matt viii. 11); and he develops more fully the doctrine, 
found in germ in Jeremiah, of the responsibility of the 
individual soul as separate from the collective nation. The 
independence of man from man is brought out by such a 
calamity as the fall of Jerusalem, and no prophet teaches 
this great moral lesson so simply. Observe these recurring 
phrases : " A rebellious house," " I, the Lord, have spoken 
and will do it," " I will recompense the sinner's way on his 
own head." Of the three parts into which Ezekiel's book 
falls, we read this term only Part I. (chaps, i. — xxiv.), 
Exhortations to Repentance before the Fall of Jerusalem. 
Ezekiel has been called " the Old Testament Apocalypse," 
and the parallels between it and Revelation are very close 
and numerous. Miss E. S. Elliott's " Prophecies of Jeremiah 
and Ezekiel" (Morgan & Scott, 6d.) is a helpful analysis 
of both books. 

The Lamentations of Jeremiah, sixth and latest poetical 
book of the Old Testament, was written, perhaps at Mizpah 
immediately after the Fall of Jerusalem. It consists of 
four independent acrostics (see p. 176), and a concluding 
poem, not acrostic, and may be thus divided : — 

I. (a) The Prophet's Lament, (i. 1-11.) 

(b) The Lament of Jerusalem, (i. 11-22.) 
II. (a) The Prophet's Lament, (ii. 1-19.) 
(J?) The Lament of Jerusalem, (ii. 20-22.) 

III. The Prophets Personal Sorrow, (iii.) 

IV. (a) The Prophet's Lament, (iv. 1-16.) 

(b) The People's Lament, (iv. 17-21.) 

(c) The Prophet's Consolation, (iv. 22.) 
V. The People's Prayer, (v.) 

Its keynote is God chastens unwillingly and only for ouf 
good (2 Cor. vii. 10 ; Heb. xii. 5-1 1). In Jewish synagogues 
it is still recited every year on the anniversary of the 
Temple's destruction. "Never did city suffer a more 
miserable fate, never was ruined city lamented in language 
so exquisitely pathetic" (Milman). It is probable that 
Jeremiah also wrote several of those Psalms of the Cap- 
tivity which succeed, at the interval of a century, the 
jubilant Psalms of Hezekiah's reign. Their long wail best 
expresses the woe of Judah's fall. 



126 SIXTH TERM. 



III. Periods and Dates. 



I follow the common chronology as usual, but some good 
authorities extend this period of 109 years to 112 years 
by placing Manasseh's accession in 698 and the Fall of 
Jerusalem in 586. 

(1) B.C. 697 — 640 (57 years). From the death of Heze- 

kiah to the accession of Josiah. /udatis Undoing 
through Manasseh. 2 Kings xxi. ; 2 Chron. xxxiii. 

(2) B.C. 640 — 606 (34 years). From Josiah's accession to 

the First Siege of Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar. 
Judah's last true King, and First Subjection, to 
Egypt. 2 Kings xxii. — xxiii. 30 ; 2 Chron. xxxiv., 
xxxv. ; Zephaniah ; Jer. i. — vi. (Commission, Expos- 
tulation, and Vision of coming invasion). 2 Kings 
xxiii. 31-7; 2 Chron. xxxvi. 1-5; Psalm xliv.; Habakkuk; 
Jer. xxvi. 1-7, vii.— x., xxvi. 8-24 (Denunciation in 
the Temple Court). Jer. xi., xii. (Prophetic Tour 
and Conspiracy against Jeremiah). Jer. xiv. — xvii. 
(the Drought ; approaching Fall and Restoration ; 
the Sabbath). Jer. xviii. — xx. (the Potter's House 
and Valley of Hinnom). Jer. xxii., xxiii. (the Three 
Kings, the Rulers, and Prophets). 

(3) B.C. 606 — 599 (7 years). From the First Siege to the 

Second Capture of Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar. 
[udatis Second Subjection, to Babylon. 2 Kings 
xxiv. 1-17 ; 2 Chron. xxxvi. 6-10 ; Psalm lxxi. ; Jer. 
xlvi. — xlix. 33 (concerning the Nations). Jer. xxxv. 
(the Rechabites). Jer. xxv. (the Cup of God's fury). 
Jer. xxxvi., xlv. (Jeremiah's Roll). Jer. xiii. (the 
Journey to Euphrates). 

(4) B.C. 599 — 588 (11 years). From the Second Capture 

of Jerusalem to its Third Capture and the Flight 
into Egypt. J udatis Destruction and Dispersion. 
2 Kings xxiv. 18-20 ; 2 Chron. xxxvi. 11-16. 

598. Jer. xxiv., xxix., xlix. 34-9 (Those taken and those 
left. Elam). 

595. Jer. xxvii., xxviii. (the Yokes. Hananiah). 
L, li. (Babylon). 

594. Ezek. i. — vii. (opening Visions and Signs). 



GEOGRAPHY. 127 

593. Ezek. viii. — xix. (Judah's Apostasy and its result). 
592. Ezek. xx. — xxiii. (against the Elders, the Land, the 
Princes, the King, and the Capital). 

590. 2 Kings xxv. ; 2 Chron. xxxvi. 17-21 ; Jer. xxi. 
(Zedekiah's Inquiry just before the siege began). Ezek. 
xxiv. (Prediction of Jerusalem's Fall). Jer. xxxiv., xxxvii. 
(last Offer of Mercy during a pause in the siege). 

589. Jer. xxxii., xxx., xxxi., xxxiii. (Promise of 
Restoration). 

588. Jer. xxxviii., xxxix. 15-18 (Imprisonment and 
Rescue of Jeremiah). Jer. xxxix. 1-14 (the Fall of Jeru- 
salem). Jer. lii. (Supplement to Jeremiah, by another hand 
probably). Psalms lxxiv., lxxix ; Lamentations; Obadiah ; 
Jer. xl. — xliv. (the Flight to Egypt). 
Psalms cxxx., cxxix. (the Sorrow). 
Isa. xl. — lxvi. (the Hope). 

Seven Kings of JndaJi. 

Manasseh ... ... ... 697 — 642. 

Anion ... ... .. ... ... 642 — 640. 

Josiah ... ... ... ... ... 640 — 609. 

Jehoahaz ... ... ... ... ... Three months. 

Jehoiakim ... ... ... ... 609 — 599. 

Jeconiah ... ... ... ... ... Three months. 

Zedekiah 599 — 588. 

IV. Geography. 

(See " Oxford Helps," Maps IV., VII., VIIL, and IX.) 

Next term we shall follow Judah into the land of her 
captivity. We now leave her disobedient remnant, in 
defiance of a very ancient command (Deut. xvii. 16), and 
fulfilment of as ancient a prophecy (Deut. xxviii. 68), 
forcing one of Israel's last great prophets back into the 
Egypt from which their first great prophet had brought 
them out (Jer. xliii. 7). We infer from Ezekiel, Jeremiah, 
and Josephus that most of these fugitives perished there, 
or were carried to Babylon later ; but from that day to this, 
a Jewish colony has existed in Egypt. 250 years after- 
wards Alexandria became a centre of Judaism only second 
in importance to Jerusalem (Acts ii. 10, xviii. 24). The site 
of Tahpan/ies, clearly an important frontier town (Jer. ii. 
16, xliii., xlvi. 14; Ezek. xxx. 18), whither the fugitives 



128 SIXTH TERM. 

went, long baffled inquirers. Within the last year or two, 
Dr. Flinders Petrie has found, in the lonely desert sands 
near the mud swamp of Pelusium, below a lofty mound 
long known in the Arab speech as " The Castle of the Jew's 
daughter," the palace of Pharaoh Hophra, and the court- 
yard where Jeremiah hid " in mortar in the brickwork " the 
symbols of Nebuchadnezzar's capture of this building. Its 
newly uncovered ruins tell plainly that the fiery destruction 
predicted for it by the prophet came to pass. 

V. Heroes. 

jt ( Josiah, Acts xx. 27. 

\Jeremiahy 2 Cor. xii. 9. 

Josiah was the only one of Judah's last seven kings who 
served the Lord. We blame Joash and Manasseh the 
more because they were impious in spite of their circum- 
stances. We admire Josiah the more because amid utterly 
corrupt princes, priests, prophets, and people, he resolved 
to serve God himself, and to do all he could to recall the 
nation to His service also. He reformed with little support 
and little hope, and therefore he reformed fiercely and 
vehemently. The sunset light of Judah's history plays 
round him. and no death in her annals is so lamentable as 
that of her last royal hero. 

Hezekiah had Isaiah beside him ; Josiah had Jeremiah, 
not only able as a prophet to proclaim, in season, out of 
season, in palace and street, in venerated Temple and 
abhorred Gi-hinnom, the most unwelcome and unpalatable 
truths ; but also able as a poet to pour out the mournfullest 
of dirges over imprisoned king, captive people, ruined 
sanctuary, and desolate city, when all had been said in vain 
More than half our reading this term is from Jeremiah's 
pen (for he was in all probability editor of the earlier, and 
author of the later parts of I., II. Kings), and he is "the 
one grand immovable figure which alone redeems the 
miserable downfall of his country from triviality and shame." 
He was the last sc cr who was also a statesman and coun- 
sellor of kings. He was the first who uttered his inspired 
counsel in that epistolary form afterwards made so illus- 
trious by S. Paul. Like S. Paul also, we find him the 



HEROES. 129 

centre and life of a group of devoted friends and faithful 
adherents, who were direct inheritors of the traditions of 
Josiah's reign ; such as his brother Gemariah ; his uncle 
and aunt Shallum and Huldah, with their son Hanamel ; 
Delaiah and Urijah, the sons of Shemaiah ; Hanan the son 
of Igdaliah ; Zephaniah the son, and Seraiah and Baruch 
the grandsons of Maaseiah. Baruch was his Timothy and 
his Tertius, and as the first notable Scribe who committed 
God's word to writing, may be regarded as the predecessor 
of Ezra. And Jeremiah, forbidden to seek the love of wife 
and child, needed the sympathy and affection of friends 
not a little. At once priest and prophet (a rare combina- 
tion), he could not, like Hosea, fall back upon Judah, 
though despairing of Israel ; he could not, like Isaiah 
and Amos, fall back upon her prophets, though despair- 
ing of her priests ; he saw that priest and prophet were 
alike corrupt, and he was called upon to declare it (Jer. 
xxiii. 11). Hence the rancorous hostility of both orders 
to their noblest representative. Jeremiah the priest was 
excluded from the Temple (Jer. xxxvi. 5). Jeremiah the 
prophet was persistently traduced and persecuted as a liar 
and traitor by the smooth-tongued utterers of popular 
predictions. And his was one of those gentle, sensitive, 
and highly strung souls for which the trust and love of 
others is the very breath of life. No prophet reveals 
himself so clearly in his writings. By nature shy, timid, 
shrinking, hesitating, and desponding, suffering deepest 
sorrow of heart at seeing things as they are, and called to 
the hard task of proving that all Judah most relied upon 
would avail her nothing, and of preaching submission and 
repentance to a self-willed and hardened people bent on 
resistance ; by God's grace and his own manful resolve, he 
was bold, fearless, unflinching, determined, and even hopeful, 
through that faith tried in the fire which enabled him to 
read in the bright possibilities of the future a balance for 
the difficulties and distresses of the present. After forty 
years of courageous testimony, he refused the favour of the 
greatest of monarchs, and " gladly clung " (says Josephus) 
" to the ruins of his country, and to the hope of living out 
the rest of his life with its surviving relics." Here history 
leaves him (? Chron. xxxv. 25, xxxvi. 12, 21, are the only 



i 3 o SIXTH TERM. 

Biblical mentions of him outside his own book), and con- 
flicting traditions speak of a peaceful end in Babylon, and 
a death by stoning in Egypt at the hands of his reprobate 
countrymen. Afterwards they reckoned him not a whit 
behind the very chiefest prophets, and daily expected that 
he, like Elijah, would return as the restorer of Israel (Matt, 
xvi. 14 ; John i. 21). 

VI. The Coming Messiah. 

" Lord, dost thou at this time restore tJie kingdom to Israel? " 

Acts i. 6. 

Isa. xl. — lxvi., which may have been penned during the 
first persecution of the true faith in Jerusalem, contains the 
greatest Messianic Predictions of the Old Testament. A 
Messiah winning through much tribulation a kingdom not 
of this world, is a promise as appropriate to the age of 
Judah's Fall as the promise of a triumphant and glorious 
Messiah was to the age of David and Solomon. Isaiah's 
prophecies were fulfilled by Jews whose eyes were blinded 
to this aspect of the Coming One. The predictions about 
Cyrus in xli. 2, 25-7, have an ultimate fulfilment in Him 
who was to all mankind spiritually what Cyrus was to 
captive Judah politically. There are also nine great and 
detailed predictions, eight of which are quoted in the New 
Testament. Notice that the section about " the Servant 
of the Lord " is followed by one that speaks often of " the 
servants of the Lord" (Rom. v. 15-19). 

(1) Isa. xl. 1- 1 1 ; Matt. iii. ; John x. 

(2) Isa. xlii. ; Matt xii. 17-21 ; Luke ii. 32. 

(3) Isa. xlix. ; Acts iv. 27 (R.V.), xiii. 47 ; Phil. ii. 7. 

(4) Isa. 1. 4-7 ; Heb. v. 8 ; Matt. xxvi. 67 ; John xvi. 32. 

(5) Isa. Hi. 13 — liii. 12 ; Acts viii. 27-35. 

(6) Isa. lix. 20, 21 ; Rom. xi. 26 ; Matt. i. 21. 

(7) Isa. lx. 1-3 ; Matt. ii. ; John viii. 12 ; Eph. v. 14. 

(8) Isa. lxi. 1-3 ; Luke iv. 17-21, iii. 22 ; John xii. 28. 

(9) Isa. lxii. 10 — lxiii. 6; Matt. xxv. 19, xxi. 5 ; 2 Thess. ii. 

(10) Zeph. ii. 7 ; Luke i. 68. 

(11) Zeph. iii. 8-20 ; John. i. 49, iv. 24 ; Acts viii. 27-38. 

(12) Hab. ii. 3 ; Heb. x. 37. 

(13) Hab. ii. 14 ; 1 John ii. 13, iv. 16, v. 20. 



GOD'S REVELATION OF HIMSELF TO MAN 131 

(14) Hab. iii. 13 ; 2 Cor. v. 19 (but see R.V.). 

(15) Jer. xxiii. 5, 6 ; Rom. i. 3 ; 1 Cor. i. 30. 

(16) Jer. xxx. 8, 9, 21, 22 ; Acts ii. 29-32 ; Heb. ii. 14-17. 

(17) Jer. xxxi. 22 ; Luke i. 26-35. 

(18) Jer. xxxiii. 15-17, 21,22 ; Acts xiii. 22, 23 ; 2 Tim. ii. 8. 

(19) Obad. 17-21 ; Rev. xi. 15-17. 

(20) Ezek. xvii. 22-4 ; Rev. xxii. 16; Matt. xiii. 31, 32. 

(21) Ezek. xxi. 27 ; John xviii. 36, 37 ; Matt, xxviii. 18. 

Lamentations is read both in the English and the Latin 
Church during the week in which we commemorate the 
sufferings of our Lord (Lam. i. 12). 

Compared with Isaiah's, Jeremiah's Messianic predictions 
are few. But through him we hear, for the first time, that 
the Old Covenant or Testament, which forms the theme of 
the first part of the Bible and gives it a name, was to be 
superseded. Nebuchadnezzar had just re-formed his siege 
for a final assault upon the famine-stricken city, when 
Jeremiah's sorrowful pleadings and warnings gave place to 
a joyous message of blessing for Israel's latter end (xxxi. 
31-6). After a dim presage of the Incarnation (ver. 22) he 
passes to a clear announcement of a New Covenant, looking 
more than 500 years beyond the Restoration (contrast Jer. 
xxxi. 32 and Hag. ii. 5) to that Upper Room (Luke xxii. 
11, 12 ; Acts i. 13, R.V., ii. 1), which became the birthplace 
of the Church of Christ, and in which each of the four 
clauses of this Royal Charter was reiterated and ratified. 
The promise is fourfold (see Heb. viii. 6-13, x. 9-18) : — 

{a) Remission of Sins (Matt. xxvi. 27, 28, R.V.). 

(&) A New Law (John xiii. 34, xiv. 23, 26, xv. 13, 14). 

(c) A New Relationship (John xv. 15, 16, xvii. 
6, 9, 11). 

(d) A New Fellowship with Father, Son, and Holy Spirit 
(John xiv. 7, 9, 17; 1 John i. 3, ii. 20). See Miss Elliott's 
" Jeremiah and Ezekiel." 

VII. God's Revelation of Himself to Man. 

Again we note characteristic revelations in the Prophets 
of our period. Twice over from Isaiah we learn (Isa. xiii. 
8, xlviii. 11) that the glory of God can be shared by no 
other being. Yet in Isa. ix. 6, 7 (as in Micah v. 2, 4 ; 
Psalm xiv. 6, 7, ex. ; and Jer. xxiii. 5, 6), two Divine and 



132 SIXTH TERM. 

Eternal Beings are spoken of; and in Isa. xlviii. 16, lxi. 1-3 
we have still plainer pre-Christian enumeration of the Co- 
eternal Three who ever live and reign One God. Zephaniah, 
the earliest of the group of prophets whose great theme 
will be God's judgment, seen in the convulsion and over- 
throw of all the kingdoms of that age, proclaims that He 
is righteous (iii. 5). Habakkuk humbly adores Him as the 
mysterious and awful Holy One (i. 12, 13, ii. 20). JeremiaJi 
delivers the terrible message recalling the Name by which 
He had made Himself known to Israel (xliv. 26). He is 
henceforth " God of all flesh," " God in the Heavens " (cp. 
2 Chron. xxxvi. 23), " King of the Nations," and, 65 times, 
" Lord of Hosts." Yet He has been in Jeremiah also 
" Jacob's Portion," " Israel's God and Hope and Holy One," 
and the " God of all Israel's families." ObadiaJts message 
is from Adonai Jehovah, recalling Amos and Micah. 
Ezekzel, worldwide rather than national in his outlook, 
revives the ancient patriarchal name of El Shaddai (x. 5), 
which we met with last in Exodus. " God of Israel " 
occurs once, and in striking contrast to Isaiah and Jeremiah, 
Ezekiel contains no other name save " Jehovah." 

VIII. Man's Relation to God in Worship. 

Eight of Judah's kings led their people into seven 
Apostasies. Save Rehoboam, who repented in time, each 
was visited with a personal punishment in addition to the 
national punishment that followed the national sin. 

(1) Rehoboam : hence Egyptian Invasion (2 Chron. xii. 1 ; 

1 Kings xiv. 21-6). 

(2) Jehoram : hence Philistine and Arabian Invasion 
(2 Chron. xxi. ; 2 Kings xi. 18). 

(£)Joash: hence Syrian Invasion (2 Chron. xxiv. 18-23). 

(4) Amaziah: hence Israelite Invasion (2 Chron. xxv. 
14, 20-22). 

(5) AJiaz : hence Invasion by Israelites, Syrians, Philis- 
tines, Edomites, and Assyrians (2 Chron. xxviii. 2, 19, 25 ; 

2 Kings xvi. 2-4). 

(6) Manasseh : hence Assyrian Invasion (2 Chron. xxxiii. 
3-1 1 ; 2 Kings xxi. 1-16). 

(7) Jehoiakim and Zedekiah : hence Babylonian Invasion 
(2 Chron. xxxvi. 8, 14; Jer. xi. 13, xvii. 2, xix. 5). 



QUESTIONS. 133 

(1) and (2) may both be traced to the influence of a queen 
of foreign extraction. (4) is the only one of which we are 
not told that worship of Ashtoreth was set up. In (2), (5), 
(6), and (7) special mention is made of the worship of Baal. 
In (6) the worship of Jehovah was actually disestablished, 
and the true faith, for the first time in Judah, persecuted. 
Amaziah, Manasseh, Jehoiakim, and Zedekiah were taken 
captive, Jehoram and Joash were smitten with sickness, and 
Ahaz was ruined with his people. (1), (2), (5), and (6) 
were followed by Reformations, (3) and (4) being less 
flagrant, and (7) past reforming, save by the stern discipline 
of the Captivity. These Reformations, by which evil was 
for the time overcome of good, and ruin averted, were 
through 

(a) Asa, completed by JehosJiapJiat. 

(d) Jehoiada in the reign of Joash. 

(c) Hezekiah. 

(d) Josiah. 

Students would do well to work out fully this brief 
summary of Judah's religious history, for it has many 
lessons to teach us, as a nation, as a church, and as 
individuals. 

We leave the Chosen People ruined, as Moses had warned 
them they might be ruined (Deut. xxix.), by serving false 
gods. Our next two terms will show them purged from 
this gross idolatry and restored, only to fall into a subtler 
idolatry which, under the outward forms of the true 
religion, will lead to another rejection of God and a yet 
more terrible fall. But before we resume their story we 
shall glance round at Nebuchadnezzar's work elsewhere as 
pictured by the Hebrew prophets. 

IX. Questions. 
(See pp. 13, 18.) 

[Questions III., XIII., XVII, XVIIL, XIX., XX., and XXVI. may be 

answered with help of any books.] 

I. Where, when, by whom, and with what results were the 
battles of Megiddo and Carchemish fought ? (8.) 

II. Complete the genealogical table of the Kings of 
Judah from Hezekiah onwards. (7.) 



134 SIXTH TERM. 

III. Reconcile Jer. xxxii. 4, 5 and xxxiv. 2, 3 witn Ezek. 
xii. 13 ; also Jer. xxii. 28, 30 with Matt. i. 12. (6.) 

IV. (a) How many sovereigns of Judah were there? 
(Ji) Which had the longest and which had the shortest 
reign ? (c) Which attained the greatest age ? (d) Which 
of them made war with Israel ? (e) Of which of them is 
it said that the Lord was with them ? (/") Which of them 
were taken captive by their enemies? (g) Which died 
violent deaths? (Ji) Name the four best, the four worst, 
and the four greatest of them all. (z) Which of them 
is called King of Israel ? (j) Which of them were buried 
in the royal sepulchres ? (24.) 

V. Make a complete list of the prophets sent to Judah 
between 697 and 588, and name three false prophets of the 
period. (8.) 

VI. What do you know of Shaphan the scribe, and of 
four sons and two grandsons of his mentioned in the 
Bible ? (7.) 

VII. What do you know of the following? — Elnathan, 
Irijah, Ishmael son of Nethaniah, Jaazaniah son of Azur, 
Jehudi, Nehushta. (12.) 

VIII. "We will not ride upon horses." Explain this 
vow by quotations from Isaiah and Ezekiel. (3.) 

IX. What circumstances recorded by Jeremiah and 
Ezekiel account for Nebuchadnezzar's relentless policy to 
Jerusalem the third time he took it, though he had spared 
it twice before? (5.) 

X. Show that Jerusalem was captured and the Temple 
pillaged at least eight times between 976 and 588. (12.) 

XL Give a brief summary of the chief incidents in 
Jeremiah's life. (10.) 

XII. Quote ten prayers in the Book of Jeremiah, giving 
references only. (10.) 

XIII. What does Jeremiah mean by (a) " The throne of 
God's glory," (Ji) " God's footstool," (c) " The mountain 
in the field," (d) " The joy of the whole earth," (e) " The 
King of Sheshach," (/) " The king . . . my servant," 
(g) " God's battle axe," (Ji) " The hammer of the whole 
earth," (J) "The iron furnace," (j) "The sword of the 
wilderness," (k) " The queen of heaven," (/) " The breath 
of our nostrils " ? (12.) 



QUESTIONS. 135 

XIV. Point out 20 coincidences of thought and expres- 
sion between the Psalms read this term and Jeremiah's 
writings. (10.) 

XV. To whom was the promise made that their life 
should be given them for a prey ? (3.) 

XVI. Consider Jeremiah and Ezekiel as types of Christ. 

(15.) 

XVII. Enumerate four signs (or prophecies through 
symbolic acts done by the prophet) shown by Jeremiah to 
Israel, indicating what each signified. (8.) 

XVIII. Enumerate six signs shown by Ezekiel, indica- 
ting what each signified. (12.) 

XIX. Give short historical explanations of the vision of 
Ezek. viii., ix., and the parables of Ezek. xvii., xix. (8.) 

XX. What may be gathered by comparison of Ezekiel 
with Genesis, Exodus, Isaiah, and Revelation as to the 
appearance and nature of the Cherubim and Seraphim ? 

(10.) 

XXI. Find 20 allusions to the Holy Spirit in Ezek. i. — 
xxiv., and Isa. xl. — lxvi. (10.) 

XXII. Prove by quotations that Isa. xl. — lxvi. speaks 
of Judah's Captivity as past and not future, and account 
for this. (10.) 

XXIII. Illustrate Acts viii. 28-38 by finding 20 New 
Testament quotations or references for Isa. lii. 13 — liii. 12. 

(10.) 

XXIV. Find 25 other New Testament quotations from 
Isa. xl. — lxvi., 6 from Jeremiah, and 5 from Habakkuk. 

(18.) 

XXV. " The word peace runs as a golden thread through 
the tissue of the whole Book of Isaiah." Illustrate .this. 

(10.) 

XXVI. Explain briefly the following passages :— Zeph. i. 
4, 5, 1 1 ; Hab. ii. 1 1 ; Jer. ii. 30, xii. 5, xxii. 10 ; Ezek. xviii. 
4; Isa. lxv. 3,4, 11. (16.) 

XXVII. How often is God spoken of as King in the 
literature of this period? Give some of the other chief 
names of God in Jeremiah and Isa. xl. — lxvi. (24.) 

XXVIII. What may we learn from the prophets of this 
period as to (a) the wages of sin, (b) the forgiveness of 
sins, (c) God's desire to save, (d) God's power to save. 



136 SIXTH TERM. 

(e) guidance by God, (/) rest in God ? Do not give more 
than 36 references altogether. (36.) 

XXIX. What allusions do they contain to (a) the 
Creation, (&) the Garden of Eden, (c) Noah, (d) Job, 
(e) Abraham, (/) the destruction of Sodom, (g) Rachel, 
(Ji) Moses, (*') the Plagues of Egypt, (J) the Exodus, 
(k) Israel in the Wilderness, (/) Samuel ? (14.) 

XXX. Illustrate the following passages from the history 
of this period. Psalm cxix. 71 ; James v. 1-6 ; Heb. xiii. 3 ; 
Luke ix. 24 ; 1 John ii. n ; 1 Cor. vii. 29-31. (12.) 

XXXI. Indicate briefly the contexts of the following : — 

(1) "I am against them," " I am with thee." 

(2) " I have made thee despised," " I will glorify them." 

(3) " There is no healing for thee," " I will heal him." 

(4) " I will make this city a curse," " A blessing is 
in it." 

(5) " They shall be weary," "They shall not be weary." 

(6) " The nations weary themselves for vanity," " Thy 
work shall be rewarded." 

(7) " Take ye no rest," " Ye shall find rest." 

(8) " Wilt Thou be angry for ever ? " "I will not keep 
anger for ever." 

(9) " Remember not former iniquities," " I will not re- 
member thy sins." 

(10) "We walk in darkness," "I will make darkness 
light." 

(n) "We are called by Thy name," " I have called thee 
by thy name." 

(12) " Come ye," " We come unto Thee." (24.) 

XXXII. Give references for the following: — (a) "O 
deadly wounded wicked one ! " (b) " The false pen of the 
scribes." (V) " O nation that hath no shame ! " (d) " Neither 
could they blush." (e) " He whose might is his god." 
(/) " His boastings have wrought nothing." (^) " New 
every morning." ( h ) " Satisfied with My goodness." 
(*) "At peace with Me." (J) "A nation before Me for 
ever." (%) " Mighty to save." (/) " Plenteous redemption." 
{m) " Abundance of peace and truth." (n) " Why will ye 
die?" {0) "Seek meekness." (j>) "Eat ye that which is 
good." (q) " Keep not back a word." (r) " Begin at My 
sanctuary." (s) " I said, Behold Me." (J) " I made him 



QUESTIONS. 137 

many." (u) "Because thine heart was tender, I have 
heard." (v) " He knoweth the secrets of the heart." 
(w) " Foolish prophets that follow their own spirit." 
(x) " They turned in fear one toward another." (jj/) " He 
shall come as a rushing stream." (z) " My sleep was 
sweet." (26.) 

For Second Series of Questions, see p. 309. 



SEVENTH TERM. 

The Days of Ezra. 

The Restoration and the Second Temple. 

b.c. 606 — 397. 

2 Chron. XXXVL, 22, 23. Psalms LXXXV., XC/f.—C, CIL— 
CVII., CXIII.—CXXVL, CXXXIV.—CXXXVII., CXLIV., CXLVI. 
— CL. Ezekiel XXV. — XLVIII. Daniel. Ezra. Esther. Nehemiah. 
Haggai. Zechariah. Malachi. (129 chapters?) 

" All the people went their way ... to make great mirth, because they had 
understood the words that were declared unto them." — Neh. viii. 12. 



25th MONTH (32). 

Ezek. XXV. — XLVIII. Dan. 
I. —IV., VII., V., VIII., 
IX. 

26th MONTH (32). 

Dan. VI. 2 Chron. XXXVL 
22, 23. Ezra I. — III. 7. 
PsalmsCIL— CVII.,CXXXVII. 
CXX. — CXXIL, LXXXV. 
Ezra III. 8-13. Ezra IV. 1-5. 
Dan. X.— XII. Ezra IV. 6— 
VI. 13. Haggai. Zech. L— VIII. 



27th MONTH (33). 

Ezra VI. 14-22. Esther. Ezra 
VII.— X. Zech. IX.— XIV. Neh. 
I.— VII. Psalm CXXIIL— 
CXXVI. Neh. VIII., IX. 

28th MONTH (32). 



Neh. X. 

CXLIV., 

CXXXVI. 

Psalms 

xcv— c, 

Neh. XII. 
CXLVI. - 



Psalms XCIV., 
CXXXIV. — 
Neh. XL— XII. 26. 
XCIL, XCIIL, 
CXIIL— CXVIII. 
27— XIII. 3. Psalm 
CL. Neh. XIII. 



4-31. Malachi. Psalm CXIX. 



I. General Summary. 

THAT God is the God of Gentiles as well as of Jews 
is the first note of this term's reading. The world's 
history has been divided into three great epochs. 

(1) Primaeval History, from the dawn of civilisation in 
Egypt to the Fall of Babylon, the first capital of the world, 
in B.C. 538. Here the Semitic races predominate, but Israel 
is the only one of which we have more than a fragmentary 
account. (2) Classical History, from B.C. 538 to the Fall 

138 



GENERAL SUMMARY. 139 

of Rome, the second capital of the world, in A.D. 476. 
Here the Aryan races predominate. (3) Mediceval and 
Modern History, from A.D. 476 onward. Here history deals 
with all mankind. 

We now approach the end of the first epoch, and sacred 
and secular history, hitherto quite distinct, begin to mingle. 
Israel influences and is influenced by Gentile powers, and 
thus the way is prepared for the mystery revealed to S. Paul 
(Eph. iii.), the subject of our Ninth Term's work. 

In the first epoch the ruling power is physical, in the 
second intellectual, in the third spiritual. Of physical 
power, Nebuchadnezzar, the last of the Primaeval conquerors, 
was the greatest representative. He was used to bring about 
the new historical epoch, and the Hebrew prophets were used 
to point out the significance of his work. " Like the great 
tragic chorus to the awful drama which was unfolding itself 
in the Eastern world," they uttered their sublime funeral 
anthems over the falling Primaeval monarchies, and summed 
up the everlasting lesson of " the ruins of time " (see Isa. 
xl. 6-8). Joel, Amos, Micah, Isaiah, Zephaniah, Habakkuk, 
Jeremiah, Obadiah, and Ezekiel picture the falls of Israel 
and JudaJi, 'descendants of Jacob ; the Edomites, descend- 
ants of Esau ; the Arabians, descendants of Ishmael ; Moab 
and Amnion, descendants of Lot ; the Syrians and Elamites, 
descendants of Shem ; the Philistines, Tyrians, Sidonians, 
and EtJiiopians, descendants of Ham ; also of the Egyptians, 
and finally of the Chaldeans, when Babylon drank of the 
cup she mingled for others (Jer. xxv. 17-26). (They are 
named above according to the nearness of their relation to 
Israel. Students are advised to look them out on the map, 
to read about them in § xxx. of " Oxford Helps," to find 
the references in the Prophets, and to observe that for Israel, 
Judah, Moab, Amnion, Elam, and Egypt, mercy as well as 
judgment was predicted.) 

The political reconstruction of the world was then the 
Prophets' theme, surely a grand enough one to claim our 
attention. Yet they looked beyond that. Daniel com- 
pleted their predictions with an announcement of the 
spiritual kingdom which would supersede and transcend 
for ever all the kingdoms founded on force. 

A recently discovered inscription of Nebuchadnezzar's 



140 SEVENTH TERM. 

runs thus : " I have made completely strong the defences 
of Babylon. May it last for evei." But on the north side 
of the mountain barrier that crosses the world from the 
Himalayas to the Pyrenees, lived fierce races who have 
more than once swept down upon the fertile south side, and 
dispossessed its less hardy inhabitants. Such a descent 
thence of a great Aryan tribe the Hebrew prophets had 
long foretold. History calls it the Medo-Persian conquest 
of Babylon. Its leader was Cyrus, the first of the ancient 
conquerors who was more than a despot and a destroyer, 
the first great man in Scripture who spoke a language akin 
to our own ; referred to more honourably in Hebrew 
prophecy by Isaiah than any other Gentile ; and in Greek 
literature by Xenophon than any other " barbarian " prince. 
His people went on and prospered till they met a still 
stronger Aryan race in Greece, and then the conquering 
Ahasuerus of the Hebrew Book of Esther became the 
conquered Xerxes of Greek history. 

And now " the set time to have pity on Zion " had come 
(Psalm cii. 13 ; Dan. ix. 2). Her Captivity in Babylon was 
not, like that in Egypt, the personal bondage of individuals, 
but the political subjection of a nation. In Greek it is 
described by a word meaning " transportation " or " migra- 
tion." The exiles were allowed to dwell together in con- 
siderable bodies, and to acquire property (Jer. xxix. 4-7). 
Yet we see the anguish of their exile not only through its 
Hebrew name which means "stripped bare," but through 
Isaiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel, and the Psalms. Its litera- 
ture has a permanent interest, because it expounds "the 
sweet uses of adversity," and the power of the consolation 
that comes from God. The highest comfort offered to 
them, through Isaiah, was a picture of that supreme 
suffering of supreme Love, which was to ennoble suffering 
for ever, and console our sorrowful hearts again and again 
(see Isa. liii.). 

Their Restoration, an event without parallel in history, 
was regarded as a second birth, a second Exodus. But 
from Egypt there came out, by the extraordinary inter- 
position of God's power and in spite of an earthly sovereign, 
an entire people, bound together by common descent and 
common suffering, to take possession of a promised king- 



GENERAL SUMMARY. 141 

dom and assert their national independence. From Babylon 
there came out, by the ordinary working of God's provi- 
dence, and through the action of an earthly sovereign, some 
50,000 out of a whole nation, to form the central part of 
a scattered church, to hear the last words of prophecy, and 
to recognise in the writings of the past the abiding lessons 
of God. 

For the mass of the exiles had accumulated property 
to the amount of ,£4,000,000 (Esth. iii. 9) in their new 
homes, and preferred to retain their faith, but sacrifice their 
patriotism ; types of those who, ceasing to watch against 
sin, leave a higher for a lower religious life, and though 
distressed at first by the change, learn by degrees to find more 
pleasure in the world and less pleasure in the things of God. 
These Jews (known as " the Dispersion " : see John vii. 35, 
R.V.) gradually spread far and wide, until, according to 
Josephus, there was scarcely a corner of the Roman Empire 
wkere they might not be found. The Greek conquest opened 
the way for this, and Greek rule neutralised many of the 
evils by which it was attended. In A.D. 1 there were three* 
great sections of the Dispersion, the Babylonian, Syrian, 
and Egyptian. They still prided themselves on the purity 
of their descent, and a spiritual bond still united them, 
Jerusalem, no longer the centre of a nation and the capital 
of a royal race, became the holy city of a church and the 
capital of a creed, whose monotheism and Messianic hope 
had a far-reaching influence. Never again was the race to 
be confined within the borders of Palestine, and its name 
of Hebrew or Israelite henceforth gives place to the name 
of Jew, " born," says Josephus, " on the day they came out 
of Babylon." But all alike looked to the Temple as their 
religious centre, and contributed largely to its funds. No 
rival sanctuary disputed its place henceforth, though every- 
where it was supplemented by synagogues. 

Other results of the Captivity may be summed up thus : — 

(1) Hitherto Israel had been constantly led away into 
the old idolatries that still clung to their soil. Henceforth, 
after close contact with heathenism in its fullest develop- 
ment at Babylon, they hated idolatry with a fanatical 
hatred. (See Psalm cxv.) 

(2) Hitherto they had stumbled through too frank an 



142 SEVENTH TERM. 

intercourse with other nations. Henceforth their religion 
became intensely national and exclusive, and they held 
that a man who read foreign books risked his hopes of 
eternal life. Yet their dispersion among other peoples 
made them perforce more cosmopolitan in their ideas, and 
this dispersion, with the accompanying stern purification 
from heathenism, fitted their faith to become the seedplot 
of the one truly universal religion of the world. 

(3) Hitherto they had been ruled by kings. Henceforth 
they were ruled by priests. 

(4) Hitherto they had paid little heed to the written 
word of God. Henceforth they regarded it with a well-nigh 
exaggerated reverence. Contrast Elijah, who was almost 
exclusively a preacher, with Ezekiel, who was almost exclu- 
sively an author. 

(5) Hitherto the external ceremonies of religion had been 
all important, and their religious life mainly corporate. 
Henceforth reading the Scriptures, preaching, and abtfve 
all prayer, became the essential things in public worship, 
and there was a new sense of individual responsibility, and 
of the grandeur of being true to one's convictions in the 
face of the whole world. 

(6) Hitherto the Hebrew in which the Old Testament is 
penned had been a living tongue, written in the old Phoe- 
nician characters. Henceforth it gradually became a dead 
tongue, and at some unknown date before B.C. 300 the 
square characters now used were adopted. At the Restora- 
tion the. Jews were bilingual. The last of their prophets 
still wrote in Hebrew, but the language of daily life and of 
all their subsequent literature was Aramaic or Chaldean 
(2 Kings xviii. 26, R.V.), the kindred tongue of the land of 
exile. Jer. x. 11, Dan. ii. 4 — vii. 28, and parts of Ezra (see 
R.V.), all of which refer to the Gentiles, are in Aramaic, 
and it is called " Hebrew " in Acts xxii. 2. 

(7) Hitherto they had been an agricultural people. 
Henceforth they became what they are now, a trading 
people, their commercial enterprise finding a first outlet at 
Alexandria. 

The nation had returned, but not to be what it had been. 
The opportunity for proving a leader among the peoples 
as God's People, once lost, did not recur. Its humbler 



BOOKS TO BE READ. 143 

career henceforth teaches the sad lesson that in this life an 
evil past can never be entirely retrieved. The moral of 
the whole Captivity, which Jeremiah had foretold, is given 
by Ezekiel where he points to a restoration and renewal, 
not of national glory, but of individual goodness through 
the operation of the Holy Spirit of God. 

II. Books to be Read. 
(See " Oxford Helps," § v.) 

This term history, psalmody, and prophecy are repre- 
sented in almost equal proportions. The three historical 
books cover only one of the six centuries between Judah's 
Fall and the Birth of Christ. Of the first seventy years 
we glean particulars from psalms and prophecies ; of the 
last 393 from the Apocrypha. For the forty Psalms of 
this period, see p. 204. The life of Daniel, the last prophet 
of the second group, bridges the age of the Captivity. 
The three Post-Exilian prophets forming the third group 
close the Canon. They give us the result of former 
teaching rather than new doctrines. 

Part I. of Ezekiel has already been uttered as a final 
message to Judah before her fall. Part II. (xxv. — xxxii.) 
proclaims God's Judgments upon seven foreign nations, 
and was written between the besieging and the capture of 
Jerusalem (with the exception of xxix. 17 — xxx. 19, the 
date of which is 572). Part III. (xxxiii. — xlviii.), all written 
immediately after the capture, is a glorious Promise of 
Restoration, culminating in a vision of the Temple re-built 
and the land re-peopled. 

Daniel, of the royal house of David (603 — 534). Chaps, 
i. — vi. are history mingled with prophecy. Chaps, vii. — xii. 
are prophecy written with the detail of history. There is 
no other book in the Bible with which this unique book can 
be classed. The Jews put it among the " Scriptures," not 
among the " Prophets." (See " Oxford Helps," § v.) Its 
Hebrew is strikingly like that of Ezekiel ; there are many 
traces of its literary influence upon each of the Post-Exilian 
prophets, and many close parallels between it and Revela- 
tion. The narrative is interspersed, like Nehemiah's, with 
characteristic utterances of personal devotion. That its 



144 SEVENTH TERM. 

history is authentic is proved by contemporary and later 
references to its incidents. That its prophecies are inspired 
communications from God is attested by our Lord's 
reference to Daniel. That it may have taken its present 
form after Daniel's death is possible, and according to 
some authorities probable. Its keynote is God's supreme 
and everlasting kingdom (Mark i. 1 5 ; Rev. xi. 1 5), and it 
forms the first philosophy of history, " the first recognition 
of the continuous succession of ages, of the instructive fact 
that the story of humanity is that of a regular development 
of epochs, one growing out of another, cause leading to 
effect, race following race, and empire following empire, in 
a majestic plan in which the Divine economy is as deeply 
concerned as in the fate of the Chosen People " (Stanley). 

Ezra and Nehemiak, which in many ancient MSS. form 
one book, are probably a compilation by various authors 
in continuation of Chronicles, which they closely resemble 
in style. Ezra i. (whose chronological place is between 
Dan. ix. and x.) is probably by Daniel ; and Ezra ii. — 
iii. 1, and Neh. i. — vii. and xii. 27 — xiii. 31, by Nehemiah. 
Ezra iii. 2— iv. 5 and iv. 24 — vi. may be by Haggai. Cer- 
tainly Ezra vii. — x., and probably Neh. viii. — x. are by 
Ezra. Ezra iv. 6-23 is probably a later addition by Ezra, 
and the statistics in Neh. xi. 1 — xii. 26, which are brought 
down to B.C. 330, were probably prepared under Nehemiah's 
direction and added to after his death. 

Esther is probably from the pen of Mordecai, and may 
have formed part of those Persian official records to which 
it alludes more than once. The story of how Haman gives 
to Mordecai what he had chosen for himself, while what he 
had chosen for Mordecai is given to him, fills the most 
secular book in the Bible, and the one which the Christian 
Church has hesitated most about receiving into the Canon. 
But the Jews said it would outlast all the rest of the Old 
Testament save the Pentateuch. And rightly. For not 
only is it a picture of the Dispersion, without which their 
history would not be complete ; it also teaches once for all 
that what we falsely call " chance " works out God's purposes 
even when His hand is hidden (Matt. x. 29, 30 ; Rom. 
viii. 28). As Herodotus, Xenophon, and Berosus fill in the 
brief statement of Dan. v. 30 with details exactly corro- 



BOOKS TO BE READ. 145 

borating the predictions of Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Habakkuk 
concerning the Fall of Babylon, so the historians of Greece 
paint the same wilfully imperious monarch that appears in 
Esther, and account for the fact that two foreigners were 
apparently rivals for the office of Grand Vizier by de- 
scribing the great destruction of Persian nobles in the war 
with Greece that took place between Vashti's repudiation 
and Esther's marriage. This same war also explains the 
willingness of Xerxes' successor to have Jerusalem fortified as 
an important post on the line of communication with Egypt. 

Haggai (520). His keynote is Do your appointed work at 
the appointed time, zealously and steadily (Mark xiii. 34 ; 
Heb. vi. 10). He dwells on hindrances from within, as 
the contemporary historians dwell on those from without. 
Both have in all ages to be overcome. With little of the 
poetic fire of his great predecessors, he utters vigorous 
and practical exhortation to men to consider their ways, 
and see themselves as they really are. No prophet ever 
appeared at a more critical juncture, and no prophet was 
more immediately successful. 

Zechariah, son of Berachiah, priest as well as prophet, 
like Jeremiah and Ezekiel, and probably young since he 
returned with his grandfather Iddo, as Haggai was pro- 
bably aged (520—518). His keynote is The holy people 
with whom God dwells (John xiv. 23 ; Eph. iii. 17). Part I. 
(i. — viii.) is dated, continuous, full of clear allusions to 
the events and circumstances of the time, and evidently all 
from the same hand. Part II. (ix. — xi.) and Part III. (xii. 
— xiv.) are very dissimilar in their subject-matter and style, 
undated, and disconnected. The contemporary allusions 
they contain are vague, and seem to point to a different, 
perhaps to a much earlier, state of affairs. Nor are they else- 
where attributed to the son of Berachiah. Hence some critics 
regard chs. ix. — xiv. as an anonymous prophecy, accidentally 
incorporated with Zechariah. The question does not at all 
affect its right to a place in the Bible (it is more than once 
quoted in the New Testament) ; and opinions differ so 
widely as to its date, if it is not by Zechariah, that I merely 
separate it from Part I., without placing it in a different 
period. See Dr. Marcus Dods' " Post-Exilian Prophets " 
for fuller discussion of the subject (T. & T. Clark, is. 6d.). 

10 



146 SEVENTH TERM. 

Malachi (397 ?). We are not even certain of this 
prophet's name. He is never mentioned elsewhere, and 
his designation means "messenger." Its use in Hag. i. 13, 
and Mai. ii. 7, iii. 1, has suggested that this book, which 
the Jews called " the seal of the prophets," is anonymous. 
(See Mai. i. 1, R.V. margin.) Its author was to Ezra and 
Nehemiah what Haggai and Zechariah had been to Joshua 
and Zerubbabel. In its rebuke of the demoralisation of 
the priesthood, the insolence of wealth, and the loosening 
of family ties, there are three leading thoughts. The Lord's 
Messenger, as contrasted with the Lord's Anointed of 
earlier prophecy ; the ideal priest, as contrasted with the 
actual priest ; the faithful few, as contrasted with the faith- 
less many ; all leading up to the keynote of Pure and 
spiritual religion (James i. 27 ; John iv. 23, 24). Malachi 
points to no new prophet, but to Elijah himself as the 
herald of the last and greatest crisis of Israel's history, and 
as the Old Testament closes we see the way opened by the 
great for the Greatest, and the Sun of Righteousness appears 
"with Moses and Elias" (see Luke ix. 30). "The age of Ezra 
was the last pure glow of the long days of the Old Testa- 
ment seers, and Malachi closes the prophetic writings in a 
manner not unworthy of such lofty predecessors " (Ewald). 

III. Periods and Dates. 

Of the 584 years which elapsed between the Fall of 
Jerusalem and the Birth of Christ, 191 bring us to the end 
of the Old Testament. But we deal with 209 years alto- 
gether this term, going back 18 years first of all, in order 
to trace the whole history of the captives from the First 
Deportation, since we did not follow any of the Jews to 
Babylon last term. The reigns of the Babylonian and 
Persian Kings form landmarks as convenient as those of 
the sovereigns of Palestine have hitherto been. Note these 
four Decrees : — 

(a) 536. First Decree of Cyrus to the Jews generally, 
authorising their Return and the re-building of the Temple. 

(b) 520. Second Decree of Darius to their opponents, to 
give effect to the First Decree. 

(c) 458. Third Decree of Artaxerxes to Ezra, author- 
ising the restoration of the Temple worship. 



PERIODS AND DATES. 147 

(d) 445. Fourth Decree of Artaxerxes to Nehemiah, 
authorising the building of Jerusalem. 

(1) B.C. 606—536 (70 years). From the First Siege of 

Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar to the First Decree. 
The Captivity of Judah. 590 — 572. Ezek. xxv. — xlviii. 

606. Dan. i. 603 — 561. Dan. ii. — iv. 540. Dan. vii. 

538. Dan. v., viii., ix. 537. Dan. vi. 

(2) B.C. 536—516 (20 years). From the First Decree to 

the Dedication of the Second Temple. The fews 
under foshua and Zerubbabel. 

536. 2 Chron. xxxvi. 22, 23 ; Ezra i. — iii. 7 ; Psalms 
cii. — cvii., exxxvii., cxx. — exxii., lxxxv. 

535. Ezra iii. 8-13. 534. Ezra iv. 1-5 ; Dan. x. — xii. 

529. Ezra iv. 6. 522. Ezra iv. 7-24. 

520. Ezra v. — vi. 13 ; Haggai ; Zech. i. — viii. 

516. Ezra vi. 14-22. 

(3) B.C. 516—458 (58 years). From the Dedication of 

the Second Temple to the Third Decree. The fews 
of the Dispersion. 

483. Esth. i. 479. Esth ii. 

474 — 473. Esth. iii.— x. 

(4) B.C. 458—397 (61 years). From the Third Decree to 

the close of the Old Testament Canon. The Jews 
under Ezra and Nehemiah. 458. Ezra. vii. — x. 15. 
457. Ezra x. 1644 ; Zech. ix. — xiv. 
445—433. Neh. i. — vii. ; Psalms exxiii. — exxvi. ; Neh. 

viii. — x. ; Psalms xciv., cxliv., exxxiv. — exxxvi. ; 

Neh. xi. 1 — xii. 26 ; Psalms xcii., xciii., xcv. — c., 

cxiii.— cxviii. ; Neh. xii. 27 — xiii. 3 ; Psalms cxlvi. 

— cl. 
432 ? (or 428 ? or 423 ?). Neh. xiii. 4-31« 
397 (?). Malachi ; Psalm cxix. 

Six Kings of Babylon. 

1. Nabopolassar. 625 — 6o4. 

2. Nebuchadnezzar. 604 — 561. 

3. Evil Merodach. 561—559. 

4. Neriglassar (Nergal-sharezer, Jer. xxxix. 3). 559 — 556. 

5. Laborosoarchod. 556 — 555. 

6. Nabonadius. 555—538. 



I4« SEVENTH TERM. 

Nabopolassar was the founder of the empire, and Nebu- 
chadnezzar was his son ; Evil Merodach and Nabonadius 
were son and grandson of Nebuchadnezzar (see Jer. xxvii. 
6, 7) ; Neriglassar and Laborosoarchod his son were usurpers. 
At the end of his reign Nabonadius made his son BelsJiazzar 
his associate in the kingdom and governor of Babylon. 
Those mentioned in the Bible are in italics. 

Two Kings of Media. 

1. Cyaxares {Ahasuerus, Dan. ix. 1). 634 — 595. 

2. Astyages {Darius, Dan. v. 31). 594 — 536. 

Six Kings of Persia. 

1. Cyrus, founder of the empire. 558 — 529. 

2. Cambyses {Ahasuerus, Ezra iv. 6). 529 — 522. 

3. Gomates {Artaxerxes, Ezra iv. 7). 522 — 521. 

4. Darius Hystaspes {Darius, Ezra iv. 5, 24, v., vi.). 
$21—486. 

5. Xerxes {Ahasuerus, Esther). 486 — 465. 

6. Artaxerxes Longimanus (Ezravii. ; Neh.). 465 — 423. 
The mother of Cyrus was the daughter of Astyages, 

Cambyses was the son, and Xerxes' mother the daughter 
of Cyrus. Xerxes was son of Hystaspes and father of 
Longimanus. Gomates was a usurper. Cambyses, Gomates, 
Darius Hystaspes, and Xerxes are mentioned in Dan. xi. 2. 
The Bible name of each is given in italics. Many of the 
identifications are among the most recent discoveries of 
Biblical scholarship. Ahasuerus (like Pharaoh, Sultan, or 
Czar) is a title, not a name, and is applied to three different 
sovereigns in Scripture. 

Of the five kings who followed Artaxerxes only the last, 
Darius Codomannus (336 — 331), is named in Scripture 
(Neh. xii. 22). 



IV. Geography. 

(See " Oxford Helps," Maps VIII., IX., X.) 

From their mountain fastnesses and land of varied scenery 
and diverse products, from the hurrying, unnavigable torrent 



GEOGRAPHY. 149 

of Jordan, from their simple pastoral and agricultural life, 
the Jews, who since the Exodus had been isolated from the 
rest of mankind, were taken to the vast alluvial plains of 
Babylon, unbroken save by the works of their teeming 
population, nourished by broad and majestic willow-fringed 
rivers, where ships laden with merchandise (Isa. xliii. 14) 
thronged, and whence straight tributary canals irrigated 
the whole country (Psalm cxxxvii. 1, 2), to the largest walled 
city ever built, the capital of the world, the seat of empire 
of the greatest primaeval conqueror. Its present desolation 
exactly fulfils Isa. xiii., but in the Hebrew prophets we 
catch glimpses of its ancient wealth and splendour, of its 
learning and its pride, of the glitter of its arms and the 
clash of its music. Secular historians have fully described 
its broad streets at right angles to each other, its four- 
storied houses, its parks and gardens and colossal public 
buildings, and its aged sanctuary, the grandest place of 
worship ever raised. Its influence on the captive race was 
permanent ; and henceforth Babylon, Queen of the East 
and destroyer of Jerusalem, becomes in Scripture the type 
of the World, reappearing thus in S. John's vision oi 
Imperial Rome, Queen of the West and destroyer likewise 
of Jerusalem, the only other seat of worldwide empire that 
can be named beside it (Rev. xviii.). 

The Jewish caravans who, after the four months' march 
across the desert so joyously predicted in Isa. li. 1 1, regained 
their own land, found its state very different from that of 
the Palestine they had left. What was henceforth known 
as " Galilee of the Gentiles," was occupied by a half heathen 
people ; in the centre were the Samaritans, whom they 
branded as Cuthites, *>., Assyrians, and as " proselytes of 
the lion " (2 Kings xvii. 26, 27), their determined an- 
tagonists ever after ; beyond Jordan, Moab and Ammon 
had returned to a fearfully devastated land ; on the west 
coast their ancient foes, the Philistines, were reasserting 
their independence ; and on the south, hostile and vin- 
dictive Edom claimed all Judaea. The whole country 
west of the Euphrates was ruled by a Persian Satrap. 
Under him Zerubbabel (Ezra ii. 63) and Nehemiah 
(Neh. viii. 9) were successively Tirshathas or Pashas of 
Falestine. 



5Q SEVENTH TERM. 



V. Heroes. 

SZerubbabel, I Cor. i. 27. 
Daniel. 1 Peter iii. 14-16. 
Ezra, Matt. xiii. 52. 
NehemiaJi, Luke xviii. I. 

Two princes of David's house, a statesman of the tribe 
of Judah, and a priest are the chief makers of this period 
of history. Of these one was a prophet and three were 
authors. Zerubbabel, or Sheshbazzar (both Chaldasan 
names, possibly indicating service to the King of Babylon, 
comp. Dan. i. 7), was the representative of David at the 
time of the Return, and the direct ancestor of Christ. He 
seems to have been the descendant of David's son Nathan, 
the son of Pedaiah, and the adopted son of Pedaiah's brother 
vShealtiel ; his father and uncle both being sons of Neri, 
and adopted sons of the childless (Jer. xxii. 30) King 
Jeconiah, in whom Solomon's line died out (1 Chron. iii. 
17-19 ; Luke iii. 27, 28, 31). The promise to Solomon was 
conditional (1 Kings ix. 4, 5), while the promise to David 
was absolute (2 Sam. vii. 12). Judah's royal line had been 
mown down relentlessly by Jehoram, the Arabians, Jehu, and 
Athaliah (2 Chron. xxi., xxii. ; 2 Kings x.). Zedekiah had 
left daughters only, of whom we hear no more ; Ishmael's 
violence had proved his unworthiness ; and Daniel and his 
companions held office at the court of Babylon as Isaiah 
had foretold (Isa. xxxix. 7). Hence Zerubbabel's claim to 
be leader of his countrymen. Like Solomon, he built the 
Temple ; like David, he regulated the courses of priests 
and Levites ; like Hezekiah, he celebrated a great Passover. 
His life illustrates the sure success of a lofty and strenuous 
purpose. Of his death there are vague traditions only, and 
his children were without authority. But the hope of a 
renewal in him of the royal line found glorious fulfilment 
in the Son of Mary 500 years later. Since then there has 
been no undoubted representative of David. 

Daniel's personality is far clearer than that of Zerub- 
babel. Tradition even tells us that " he had a spare, dry, 
tall figure, with a beautiful expression." Like Moses 
before, and S. Paul after, he acquired the wisdom and 



HEROES. 151 

learning of the Gentiles to fit him for wide influence and 
great achievements, and became Rab-Mag, head of the 
wise men, or chief astrologer at the court of Babylon. Like 
Joseph in earlier, and other Jews in later times, he rose by 
sheer force of personal ascendency to the highest place 
among the Gentiles, as the mighty Nebuchadnezzar's Grand 
Vizier, and vindicated his royal descent by showing himself 
a born king of men. An incorruptible statesman, who 
risked his head to give advice wholesome both for prince 
and people ; a devout servant of God, " wearing the white 
flower of a blameless life " at the headquarters of Vanity 
Fair ; he showed that greater than the material power of 
Babylon was the moral power of one man doing his duty 
" with God to friend," cost what it might. And to him was 
given the eagle vision of the prophet, or rather of the seer, 
with extraordinary knowledge of the counsels of God, and 
he only of all the Old Testament saints received assurance 
from God Himself of his personal salvation. " He was 
one" (I quote Bishop Ken), "that kept his station in the 
greatest of revolutions, reconciling policy and religion, 
business and devotion, magnanimity and humility, authority 
and affability, conversation and retirement, interest and 
integrity, Heaven and the Court, the favour of God and the 
favour of the king." 

We turn from Daniel to Ezra, from the prince born in 
David's palace to the priest born in exile, from the large- 
minded statesman to the stern reformer, from one of the 
last of the seers to the first of the editors and compilers 
whose scholarship and research shape the literature of that 
age of criticism and reflection (when, according to the 
Talmud, " the crown of learning was nobler than that of 
empire ") which followed the great creative age of soaring 
poesy and inspired prophecy. We see him firing his 
countrymen's enthusiasm for God's law by precept and 
example, and inexorably putting down abuses, like his 
ancestor Hilkiah, in the strength of " the good hand of God 
upon him." And while he, the aged theologian and scribe, 
helped forward the political revival, Nehemiah, the young 
layman, half warrior, half statesman, architect, engineer, 
and earliest of archaeologists, helped forward the moral 
reformation. The learned son of Aaron cannot be separ- 



152 SEVENTH TERM. 

ated from the firm and upright but quick-tempered pasha. 
He, too, was a man of prayer as well as a man of action, 
and he left a splendid monument of his prudence and 
fidelity, of his devotion to duty and self-denying liberality, 
in making Jerusalem a strong fortress once more. We can 
easily understand why in early traditions his renown 
eclipses that of Zerubbabel or Ezra. But in calling our 
whole period after Ezra we act in the spirit of those later 
traditions which place Nehemiah's colleague on a level with 
Moses and Elijah. For what Nehemiah had done for the 
Holy City, Ezra did for the Holy Book (see Ezra vii. 14), 
whose influence has been yet more extensive and endur- 
ing. The " Moses of the Second Exodus," he is said also 
to have lived 120 years, to have written I. and II. Chronicles, 
to have formed the Old Testament Canon, and the council 
afterwards known as the Great Synagogue, to have intro- 
duced the character in which Hebrew has been written 
ever since, and to have established synagogues. These 
traditions may not be 'exactly true, but their existence 
proves Ezra's importance. For ourselves, we learn the 
same great lesson from all these four heroes of a crushed 
nationality : that we are impotent ; that God is infinitely 
potent ; that by living in fellowship with Him through 
prayer we may be endowed with a power not our own 
(Zech. iv. 6, 7 ; Dan. vi. 10 ; Ezra vii. 28, viii. 22 ; Neh. ii. 4). 

VI. The Coming Messiah. 

" They brought Jesus up to Jerusalem . . . into the Temple? 
"Jesus entered into the Temple oj God, and cast out 
all them that sold and bought? — Luke ii. 22, 27 ; 
Matt. xxi. 12. 

The cycle of Old Testament prophecy closes by telling 
both the time and the place of Messiah's coming. 

(1) Ezek. xxxiv. 23, 24 ; John x. ; Acts v. 31. 

(2) Ezek. xxxiv. 29 ; John vi. 35. 

(3) Ezek. xxxvii. 22-4 ; John i. 49 ; Rev. xxi. 3-5. 

(4) Dan. ii. 34-45 ; Matt. xxi. 44 ; Rev. ii. 26, 27, xix. 
15, 16. 

(5) Dan. vii. 13, 14 ; Matt. xxiv. 30, xxv. 31, 32, xxvi. 64. 

(6) Dan. ix. 24-7 ; Heb. ix. 26-8 ; Acts x. 38. 



THE COMING MESSIAH. 153 

(7) Hag. ii. 7-9 ; Luke ii. 26, 27, 46 ; John xiv. 27. 

(8) Zech. iii. 8 ; Rev. xxii. 16. 

(9) Zech. vi. 12-15 ; Heb. iii. 3, viii. I ; Acts ii. 39. 

(10) Zech. ix. 9-1 1 ; Matt. xxi. 4, 5, xxvi. 28; Heb. xii. 
24, xiii. 20. 

(11) Zech. xi. 12, 13 ; Matt. xxvi. 15, xxvii. 3-10. 

(12) Zech. xii. 10 ; Luke xxiii. 48; John xix. 34, 37; 
Rev. i. 7. 

(13) Zech. xiii. 7 ; Matt. xxvi. 31, 56; John xvi. 32. 

(14) Zech. xiv. ; Acts i. 11, 12; John iv. 10. 

(15) Mai. iii. 1-3 ; Luke vii. 27, ii. 27 ; John ii. 13-16. 

(16) Mai. iv. 2-6 ; Luke i. 17, 78 ; Matt. xi. 14, xvii. 10-13. 
The Rabbis referred to Messiah the passages in Ezek. 

xliv.— xlviii. about the Prince, but looking at Ezek. xlvi. 
16-18, etc., it seems more probable that they mainly refer 
to Zerubbabel. 

Dan. ix. 24-7 is one of the most remarkable and also 
most difficult of Messianic prophecies. It sets forth the 
time and the purpose of Christ's death, and upon it was 
based an universal expectation of His approach at the 
Christian era. Clearly 70 weeks means 490 years, or 70 
cycles of Sabbatic years, or an enlarged jubilee, or seven 
times the period of the Captivity. A similar period had 
already elapsed between Abraham's call and Joshua's con- 
quest of Palestine (B.C. 1921 — 1431), and between Saul's 
accession and the Captivity (1096—606), and reckoning in 
lunar years, we find a similar period from the Persian era 
of Jewish restoration to the Roman era of Christ's coming 
(B.C. 538 — 62). Concerning the exact application of this 
prophecy there have been since the days of Jerome many 
conflicting opinions. Had the prediction been absolutely 
explicit, it must have compelled recognition of the true 
Messiah when He came, and thus thwarted its own 
fulfilment. Hence it was dim, but not too dim for the 
spiritually enlightened. (See Dan. xii. 10.) We do not 
know {a) which of the four Decrees (see p. 146) the com- 
mandment " of v. 25 refers to ; (b) whether the Messiah's 
death occurs at the end of the 70 weeks (490 years) or the 
69 weeks (483 years) ; (c) whether the years are solar years 
of 365 days or luni-solar years of 360 days ; (d) what was 
the exact date of the Crucifixion. Out of many, varying 



154 SEVENTH TERM. 

slightly, I give two calculations, both of which place the 
Crucifixion in A.D. 32. (a) Taking the Third Decree, 70 
weeks, and solar years, 458 B.C. to 32 A.D. is 490 years. 
(b) Taking the Fourth Decree, 69 weeks and lunar years, 
March 14th, B.C. 445 to April 6th, A.D. 32, is 483 years. 
April 6th is calculated as the day (see Luke xix. 42) of 
Christ's Entry into Jerusalem. The first seven weeks (v. 25) 
are also shown to bring us in lunar years to the close 
of the Canon, B.C. 445 to 397 being 49 lunar years. There 
is probably a threefold reference to (a) the profanation 
of the Temple in B.C. 168 and its restoration three years 
later, (b) the death of Christ, (c) the Last Days ; and a corre- 
sponding explanation of " the prince that shall come " as 
Antiochus Epiphanes, Titus, and Antichrist. 

Haggai foretells the place of Christ's coming. In the 
R.V., ii. 7 refers to the rich gifts brought by Gentiles to 
the House of God. 

Next to Isaiah, Zechariah has the most numerous and 
detailed prophecies of Christ, especially of Christ suffering. 
To us they seem particularly easy of interpretation, but 
they must have been particularly hard to those who first 
heard them, while what was plainest to them probably 
seems hardest to us. Tsemach (shoot or sprout) is a title 
which occurs five times (sometimes without article, as if it 
had become a proper name) of the Messiah as 

(a) Son of David, Jer. xxiii. 5, xxxiii. 15 (comp. S. 
Matthew). 

\b) God's Servant, Zech. iii. 8 (comp. S. Mark). 

(c) Son of Man, Zech. vi. 12 (comp. S. Luke). 

(d) Son of God, Isa. iv. 2 (comp. S. John). 

The title has special reference to the house of David, and 
therefore refers primarily to Zerubbabel. Further, its root 
idea is that Messiah was the grand result God looked for 
from Israel, the fruit-bearing Branch which would compen- 
sate for the barrenness of the rest of His vine. A different 
word (netser) is used in Isa. xi. 1 and Psalm lxxx. 1 5. 

The Old Testament ends with the hopeful word, " He 
will come." The New Testament opens with the triumph- 
ant word, " He has come." In the Apocrypha there are 
no Messianic allusions beyond vague reference to the glory 
of the Chosen People. But in other literature of this later 



GODS REVELATION OF HIMSELF TO MAN 155 

age, such as the Book of Enoch, the Psalms of Solomon, and 
the Fourth Book of Esdras, there are visions of a coming 
Deliverer, unlike the Old Testament prophecies in their 
extravagant fancies and frequent trivialities ; unlike them 
also in not acknowledging His essentially Divine Nature, 
or the true import of His Human Nature. Yet these 
books speak of the Messiah as " Son of God " ; and from 
the time of Daniel, " Son of Man " was universally regarded 
as a Messianic title. Hence the import of John i. 34 ; 
Matt. xvi. 13, xxvi. 63, 64. 

VII. God's Revelation of Himself to Man. 

That enlarged conception of God which taught the later 
prophets of the second group to dwell on His dealings with 
all mankind, appears in such titles as " Most High," " Lord 
and King of Heaven" (Dan.), "God of Gods" (Dan., 
Psalms), " God of Heaven " (Ezra, Neh., Dan., Psalms), 
"Lord of all the Earth" (Zech.). "Lord of Hosts" occurs 
87 times in the three Post-Exilian prophets. The Court 
now for the first time set apart for Gentiles in the Temple 
was a symbol of the truth so grandly proclaimed in Mai. 
i. 11. "God of Jerusalem" occurs first in 2 Chron. xxxii. 
19, and also in Ezra, marking the fact that only a part 
of the Chosen People had remained faithful (comp. Ezek 
xlviii. 35). 

The thought that their God was no mere national deity 
such as other peoples acknowledged, and that He was no 
longer in direct communication with them, led to a deeper 
awe of Him, which showed itself in two ways, (a) By a 
"seasonable development" (to quote Westcott) of that 
doctrine of angels as agents and messengers between God 
and man, of which there are much earlier hints, (b) By 
a false reverence which, at some unknown date, replaced 
"Jehovah" by "Adonai" in Old Testament MSS., and 
then translated that by a Greek word which in its turn was 
literally translated " Dominus " in the Vulgate and " LORD " 
in our English Bible (see p. 34). At last the Name 
itself was only uttered in a whisper by the High Priest on 
the Day of Atonement, and came to be regarded as alto- 
gether mystical if not magical. This reticence was a sad 



156 SEVENTH TERM. 

symbol of the fresh joy of spiritual life sinking under the 
pressure of superstition. In the same spirit the Samaritans 
replaced "Jehovah" by "Shemeh," which means "the 
Name." 

Esther is the only book in the Bible where the Name of 
God does not occur. But in the Hebrew text the four 
letters of the name Jehovah are found four times (Esth. 
i. 20, v. 4, 13, vii. 7), and the five letters of the name 
Ehyeh (Exod. iii. 14, R.V. margin) once (Esth. vii. 5), in 
an acrostic form. These sentences are the pivots of the 
whole story, the arrangement of letters is in each case 
too ingenious to be accidental, and three ancient MSS. 
emphasize these letters in all the five passages. All this goes 
to prove that the sacred Name was thus buried designedly 
in a book, which is remarkable throughout for " that under- 
current of faith which refers all to the Providence of Him 
whose name is never mentioned." The nearest literary 
parallel I know of is the signature Cynewulf, Bishop of 
Lindisfarne, put to his " Elena." 

VIII. Man's Relation to God in Worship. 

When in 538 the Persians became masters of Jerusalem, 
they ordered the re-building of the Temple in such generous 
terms that the descendants of those who had reared the 
Tabernacle with the spoils of Egypt enriched the Second 
Temple with the free-will offerings of Assyria. When in 
480 the Persians became masters of Athens, they wrecked 
its national sanctuary, the Parthenon, and, as recent exca- 
vations on the Acropolis have proved, smashed all its 
exquisite statuary into ten thousand fragments. These 
two different effects were produced by the same cause, the 
Persian religion, which took its name from Zoroaster or 
Zarathustra, round whom the mists of ages have now 
gathered so thickly that scholars are not agreed as to 
whether he was an enlightened human teacher (some have 
ventured to fancy him Daniel's pupil) who was ultimately 
regarded as a god, or a mythical god whom time trans- 
formed into a man. (See Darmesteter's Zend-avesta). 
His followers worshipped without idolatry one supreme 
God, all good and all knowing, Ahura Mazda. The Evil 



MAN'S RELATION TO GOD IN WORSHIP. 157 

One, they said, is at war with Him, and men must range 
themselves on one side or other in the conflict, which will 
end in the triumph of good. (Both the creed and the race 
who professed it are now represented by the Parsis who 
1 1 00 years ago took refuge from religious persecution in 
India, whence their creed had originally sprung 1400 years 
before.) That God is a Spirit, and that He is One, had 
been far more fully revealed to the Jews ages before, yet 
they had worshipped Him idolatrously and gone after false 
gods. They never repeated these sins after the Captivity, 
and the extinction of them may be attributed not only to 
the wholesome discipline of sorrow, to the substitution of 
priestly for kingly rule, and to the new zeal of the teachers 
of God's law ; but also to the influence of Zoroastrianism, 
which Judaism probably influenced in its turn, and to the 
impressive sight of the destruction of Babylon's imposing 
idolatries by the Persian iconoclasts, as Isaiah had foretold 
in days when they seemed invincible (Isa. xxi. 9, xlvi. 1, 2)., 
So while the corrupted religion of the Ten Tribes does 
not seem to have survived their transportation, the faith of 
the Two, cherished by faithful Kings, Priests, and Prophets, 
preserved their inextinguishable nationality, while its own 
preservation became henceforth the great end of the restored 
nation. Those three great historic offices were no longer 
what they had been. Zerubbabel's kingship was a mere 
shadow of the old royal rule. Zechariah's last vision (Zech. 
vi.) had shown how in Maccabaean days it was to be merged 
in the priesthood. The crown is set on Joshua, not on 
Zerubbabel. " That would have been confusing ; a seeming 
restoration of the kingdom when it was not to be restored ; 
an encouragement of the temporal hopes which were the 
bane of Israel " {Pusey). The prophetic order had done 
its work of expunging from God's worship the popular 
heathenism. Habakkuk, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and Zechariah 
had blended its ideal (Micah vi. 8) with the priestly ideal 
(Lev. xix. 2), and now the prophets and the condition de- 
scribed in Amos iii. 7 had passed away, and the first effect 
was an increased power of the priests, who must have been 
almost as numerous in proportion to the population in 
Judaea as the ecclesiastics in Papal Rome, and whose persons 
were almost as sacred to the multitude as those of the 



158 SEVENTH TERM. 

Brahmins to the Hindus now. But three causes combined 
to lesson this importance ultimately. 

[a) The diminished glory of the Temple. If the decree 
recorded in Ezra vi. was carried out, the Second Temple must 
have been larger than Solomon's, and its worship was more 
elaborate. It is characteristic of the age that, through the 
Psalms we know more about its worship than about its walls, 
more of its liturgy than of its structure. But the Holy of 
Holies was empty. The Ark, for which the restored sacred 
vessels were but a poor substitute, and round which their 
religion had centred for nine centuries, had been carried up 
to heaven (Rev. xi. 19), swallowed up by the earth, taken 
by an angel to some secret place, hidden on Gerizim to 
be found there at Messiah's coming (according to the 
Samaritans), buried on Mount Nebo by Jeremiah in a place 
that should not be known until God gathered His people 
again together (2 Mace, ii.), or laid up in the mysterious 
caverns of the Temple rock, once Araunah's granary 
(1 Chron. xxi. 20), where the wood was stored, by Josiah 
(a curious inference from 2 Chron. xxxv. 3) or by Jeremiah. 
Such were the six various traditions about it, and as no 
one has entered the Temple caverns for ages it may be 
there still. 

(J?) The dispersion of the Jews, through which Jehovah's 
worship was no longer associated only with the soil of 
Palestine as it had once been (1 Sam. xxvi. 19). When 
a compact state had given place to a scattered church, 
Synagogues, originating probably in the religious meetings 
of the captives in Babylon, became numerous, and were 
"the inspiring soul and abiding nurture of Judaism" 
(Geikie). Finding out the inevitable results of withdrawal 
from all ordinary religious privileges (which are too often 
illustrated in our remote colonies now), the exiles, whose 
two saving influences at first had been the personal teaching 
of Ezekiel and the literary teaching of the Psalms, deter- 
mined that wherever ten Jews settled a congregation must 
be formed, if only in a little river-side oratory (Acts xvi. 13). 
So the synagogue gradually grew up, though we find 
few mentions of it until after the Maccabaean war. To a 
great extent its ritual reproduced that of the Temple, but 
it had neither sacrifices nor priests. The public worship 



MAN'S RELATION TO GOD IN WORSHIP. 159 

which was now the chief witness to God's Presence among 
them was conducted by laymen learned in the Law, and 
consisted chiefly of prayer, a short sermon, and, above all, 
that stated reading of the Law which had been inaugurated 
by Moses and firmly established by Ezra. When the 
Syrian persecution made copies of the Law scarce, a second 
lesson from the Prophets was added to the daily service 
(Luke iv. 16, 17). 

(c) The supplanting of the hierarchy of caste by the 
hierarchy of education. The Scribes originally were re- 
gistrars or clerks (Jer. Hi. 25) and royal secretaries (2 Kings 
xii. 10). Hezekiah seems to have employed them first 
in transcribing and preserving ancient writings (Prov. 
xxv. 1), and from the times of Baruch and Ezra their main 
work was handing down, expounding and enforcing the 
words of God, no longer a living voice through His prophets, 
but fixed in a Book whose growing value to the Jew may 
best be estimated from Psalm cxix., " the golden alphabet 
of Hebrew faithfulness." To these scribes (or " lawyers " 
to call them by their less official name) the ancient authority 
of priest and prophet was transmitted ; and our modern 
clergy as " messengers, watchmen, and stewards of the 
Lord " {Ordering of Priests) go back rather to Ezra's pulpit 
than to Samuel's college or to Aaron's altar. 

All Christians are spoken of as kings and priests, God 
still makes known His truth to them by the Holy Spirit as 
He did to the prophets of old ; the princes of Christendom 
" rule all states and degrees committed to their charge by 
God" (Article XXXVII.), and "from the Apostles' time 
there have been orders of ministers in Christ's Church " for its 
regulation as an organised society. But the Church owns 
no earthly supreme head, offers no daily sacrifice for sins, 
and acknowledges no new prophetic messages from God. 
Christ only is our King, Priest, and Prophet in the full 
sense of these words now. The modification of those three 
ancient offices after 536 already foreshadows " the more 
excellent ministry " and " the better covenant " yet to come 
(Heb. viii. 6). 

From the Post-Exilian Jews we may learn much con- 
cerning zeal for God's honour and love for God's word. 
But while every error in religion is the distortion of a truth, 



160 SEVENTH TERM. 

there is no religious truth that has not at some time been 
distorted into an error. The intensely national character 
of their religion degenerated into a haughty spirit of exclu- 
siveness and an arrogant assumption of superiority to all 
other men. They doubted that a Jew could be lost or a 
Gentile saved, and the Book of Sifri in the Talmud maintains 
that "a single Israelite is of more worth in God's sight 
than all the nations of the world." Their zeal for the law 
of Moses, which had never been so rigidly observed, degene- 
rated into a hardening of living principles to dead rules. 
Their three favourite maxims were : Be discreet in judging, 
Train up many scholars, Make a hedge around the Law. 
That hedge of elaborate tradition not only emphasized and 
fixed the Law, but gradually choked it with formulas and 
mere external observances. " It is a well-known principle 
in history that when the ceremonial is elevated to the same 
rank with the moral, the fetter will soon be lost sight of" 
{Stalker), and so " duty had ceased to be infinite." All these 
types of degeneracy illustrate and are abundantly illustrated 
by the New Testament. 

IX. Questions. 
(See p. 13, 18.) 

[Questions II., V., VIL, IX., XL, XII. , XVI., XVIII., XXIIL, XXVIII., 
and XXXI., may be answered with help of any books.] 

I. Find three lists of precious stones in the Bible. (3.) 

II. Illustrate Ezek. xxxiv. by quoting 20 other passages 
from the Old and New Testament in which God's relation 
to man is spoken of under the same metaphor. (15.) 

III. Without referring to Daniel's book, prove that its 
author was a prophet and a man of faith, very wise and 
very righteous. What passages in Daniel are quoted or 
referred to in the New Testament? (12.) 

IV. Consider Daniel as a type of Christ. Do you agree 
with the statement that he is " the most perfect of all Scrip- 
ture characters " ? (15.) 

V. What may we learn from the writings of this period 
as to the nature and ministry of angels ? Of how many 
archangels do we hear in Scripture? (12.) 

VI. Give a very concise history of what occurred between 



QUESTIONS. 161 

B.C. 1 92 1 and B.C. 1490 in quotations from {not references 
to) the Psalms of this period. (15.) 

VII. Did those who returned from the Captivity represent 
twelve tribes or two ? (9.) 

VIII. The Second Temple was built " according to the 
command of God and the decree of Cyrus," both issued 
before the Return. Which prophet pictured its establish- 
ment, and where do we find the decree completely 
quoted ? (2.) 

IX. Briefly enumerate the particulars in which the 
Second Temple differed from the First Temple. (8.) 

X. Give six New Testament references showing what 
constitutes the Temple of the Christian Dispensation. (6.) 

XL Of how many Passovers and of what notable events 
occurring at the Feast of Tabernacles is there record in the 
Old Testament ? (9.) 

XII. Mention under descriptive titles the eight visions 
of Zech. i. — vi., very shortly indicating the significance of 
each. (24.) 

XIII. From what opposed monarchs of earlier times 
were Mordecai and Haman respectively descended? How 
is the group of captives to which Mordecai belonged 
characterised by Jeremiah ? (4.) 

XIV. Explain why intermarriage with aliens was pro- 
hibited to Israel. (5.) 

XV. Name a good man falsely accused of wishing to 
make himself a king, and find a New Testament parallel. (2.) 

XVI. How far was the solemn national compact described 
in Neh. x. 28-39 observed afterwards ? (5.) 

XVII. Chronologically, who is the latest person men- 
tioned by name in the Old Testament ? (2.) 

XVIII. Illustrate Heb. xi. 33-8 from the history of the 
period from B.C. 606 to A.D. 1. (16.) 

XIX. Where is common prayer first mentioned as part 
of the public worship of God ? Show that prayer became 
more and ritual less important after the Captivity. (6.) 

XX. Where do these expressions first occur : " the Jews," 
" the Holy Land," " the Holy City " ? (6.) 

XXI. Eight rebellious questions are asked by the Jews 
in answer to God's pleadings through Malachi. Quote in 
each case the pleading and the question. (4.) 

II 



162 SEVENTH TERM. 

XXII. Find eight New Testament quotations from 
Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi. (8.) 

XXIII. Explain briefly the following passages: — Ezek. 
xxviii. 14 ; Dan. iii. 25 ; Neh. viii. 8 ; Hag. i. 2 ; Zech. 
i. 21, viii. 19, ix. 13, xii. 11, xiii. 6 ; Mai. iv. 6. (30.) 

XXIV. What allusions are therein the prophets of this 
period to {a) the Garden of Eden, (U) the institution of 
marriage, (c) Abraham, id) Esau, (e) the Exodus, (/) the 
Law given on Horeb, (g) David, (h) Alexander the Great, 
(z) the Maccabees. (14.) 

XXV. Make a list of the chief names of God in the 
writings of this period. (30.) 

XXVI. Quote ten sentences from Psalm cxix. (R.V.) in 
which the Scriptures are called by ten different names. (5.) 

XXVII. Name the only historical Old Testament book 
in which Palestine is not referred to, and the only prophetic 
book that contains no clear Messianic allusion. (2.) 

XXVIII. Find the earliest Biblical allusions to (a) the 
King of Assyria, (&) Nineveh, (c) the Chaldeans, (cf) Babylon, 
(e) Persia, (/) the Grecians, (g) the Romans, (h) Cyprus, 
(i) Spain, (j) India, (k) China, (/) The ancestors of the 
present nations of Europe. (Those in italics are mentioned 
under other names.) (12.) 

XXIX. From the Old Testament prophets generally 
quote passages enforcing the fourth commandment. (7.) 

XXX. From the Old Testament prophets generally 
quote passages anticipating the " mystery " spoken of in 
Eph. iii. 3-6, and give six Old Testament instances of 
Gentiles spiritually blest by contact with the Chosen 
People. (16.) 

XXXI. From the direct prophecies (not general allusions) 
in the Old Testament construct a description of the 
Messiah's character, offices, and life on earth. (70.) 

XXXII. Give references for the following: — (a) "The 
light dwelleth with Him." (b) " Light is sown for the 
righteous." (c) " I will curse your blessings." (d) " God 
turned the curse into a blessing." (e) " There shall be no 
more curse." (/) " I will make them a blessing." (g) " Thou 
hast made me glad through Thy work." (/i) " The Lord 
hath made them joyful." (*) " The joy of the Lord is your 
strength." (J) " The day that I do make." (k) " Who 



QUESTIONS. 163 

maketh winds His messengers." (/) " Boys and girls play- 
ing in the streets." (iji) " A people near unto Him." 
(n) " Satisfied with good." (0) " Every one unto his work." 
(J>) " Be strong and work." (q) " Show the house." (r) Love 
truth and peace." (s) " Teach ye him that knoweth not." 
(t) " O that ye would hear His voice." (u) " In their 
security shall he destroy many." (v) "We are His." 
(w) " Because they wrought for Me." (x) " In his hand 
shall be destruction." (jy) " I shall not die, but live." 
(z) " Righteousness shall make His footsteps a way to walk 
in." (26.) 

For Second Series of Questions, see p. 309. 



164 SEVENTH TERM. 



The Six Centuries from Judah's Fall to the 
Birth of Christ. 

(i) B.C. 606 — 536 (70 years). The Subjection to Babylon 

(2) B.C. 536 — 332 (204 years). T J te Domination of Persia. 

(3) B.C. 332 — 301 (31 years). The Domination of Macedon. 

(4) B.C. 301 — 198 (103 years). The Domination of Egypt. 

(5) B.C. 198 — 168 (30 years). The Domination of Syria. 

(6) B.C. 168 — 63 (105 years). Independence under the 
Asmoneans. 

(7) B.C. 63 — 4 (59 years). The Domination of Rome. 

" The great epochs of revelation are widely separated 
by ages which serve at once for seed-time and harvest " 
( Westcott). Such were the periods of silence before Abraham's 
Call and the missions of Moses, Samuel, and the Baptist, 
when God no longer spoke directly to men, but left them to 
themselves to live out the law He had already given. We 
must acquire some knowledge of the four centuries of Divine 
silence which form the last of these periods, if we would 
understand the state of affairs when our Lord came. Four 
centuries never brought about a greater change in any 
country than they brought about then in Palestine. The 
literature of this age, which we call the Apocrypha, is far 
less familiar than the Old Testament and the New Testa- 
ment, for it was not placed in the Canon by the Jews 
or by the Church, in accordance with the well-established 
principle " no living Prophet, no further Scripture." The 
character and names of its various books are given in the 
Sixth Article, each is described in § vi. of " Oxford Helps," 
and the books themselves are bound up with many old 
Bibles. External and internal evidence both place it on a 
lower level than the Canon, but it forms a valuable link 
between the Old and New Testament, so we do well to 
make some acquaintance with it. Its most noteworthy books 
are, from the historical point of view, 1 and 2 Maccabees ; 
and from the literary point of view, Ecclesiasticus, represent- 
ing the Hebraic Judaism of Palestine, and full of practical 
piety and wise humanity ; and Wisdom, representing the 



FROM JUDAH'S FALL TO CHRIST'S BIRTH. 165 

Hellenistic Judaism of Alexandria, and full of earnest 
thought and high philosophy, the last and fairest growth of 
Judaism. There is no certain reference to an Apocryphal 
book in the recorded words of Christ, but S. James in his 
short Epistle refers five times to Wisdom and 1 5 times to 
Ecclesiasticus, and there are other traces of the Apocrypha 
in the New Testament 

We will now look at this period of history, taking for our 
guide Dan. xi., whose circumstantial details of the first 240 
years make it unlike any other Old Testament prophecy. 
Its picture of Judah's suzerains passes by a transition hard 
to mark into a far-reaching vision of the end of the world. 
This outline should be compared with § xiii. of " Oxford 
Helps," and also, if possible, with some such account of 
the period as those in Smith's " New Testament History," 
Angus's " Handbook," Milman's " History of the Jews," 
Westcott's " Introduction to the Study of the Gospels," or 
Stanley's " Jewish Church," vol. iii. 

Perfect religious liberty and sympathy with their rulers, 
born of a common monotheism and hatred of idolatry, made 
the Persian Domination one of the happiest periods of Jewish 
history. Of the century following NehemiahVrule we know 
almost nothing. Then the young Greek conqueror of the 
world, whose career is vividly pictured in Daniel, and who 
believed himself to be the Heaven-sent reconciler and paci- 
ficator of all mankind, spared and favoured Judaea, and 
linked East and West in a bond which has never since been 
broken, thus preparing the way for Christianity with its 
Eastern cradle and its Western throne. His work was per- 
petuated in Alexandria, the city he founded to bear his 
name, a second capital of the Jewish faith henceforth, and 
the common portal of the East and West to this day. The 
spiritual gains of the Persian period were followed by the 
intellectual gains of the Greek period, and on the banks of 
the Nile a new Israel, trained in all the wisdom of a new 
Egypt, arose. After Alexander's death in 323, the maritime 
regions of Palestine were for some 20 years buffeted in the 
strife between his successors. Then followed a peaceful 
century under five Macedonian Kings of Egypt, whose 
capital was Alexandria. All are mentioned as " Kings of 
the South " in Dan. xi. They were, — 



166 SEVENTH TERM. 

(i) Ptolemy Soter, 320 — 283 (Dan. xi. 5). 

(2) Ptolemy Philadelphus, 285 — 247 (v. 6). 

(3) Ptolemy Euergetes, 247 — 222 (v. 7, 9). 

(4) Ptolemy Philopater, 222 — 205 (v. 11). 

(5) Ptolemy Epiphanes, 205 — 181 (v. 14). 

Under Ptolemy Soter lived Simon the Just, the greatest 
High Priest between Joshua the son of Jehozadak and 
Jonathan the Asmonean. He is said to have finished 
Ezra's work by completing the Old Testament Canon and 
Nehemiah's work by fortifying the Temple. Under Ptolemy 
Philadelphus was produced the Septuagint. The Greek 
tongue had already proved itself the most perfect expression 
of human thought by becoming practically universal, and 
now God's Word appeared in what was hereafter to be the 
language of the New Testament. The Septuagint has been 
well called " The first Apostle of the Gentiles." Ptolemy 
Philopater alienated the Jews by forcing his way into the 
Holy of Holies, and cruelly persecuting them when a super- 
natural terror drove him forth. He was then at war with 
the Syrian king who had just taken " the well-fenced city " 
of Sidon. Him the Jews rashly welcomed as a deliverer, 
and thus passed under the sway of three Macedonian 
Kings of Syria, whose capital was Antioch, and who are 
mentioned in Dan. xi. as " Kings of the North." They 
were, — 

(1) Antiochus the Great, 223 — 187 (Dan. xi. 10, 15). 

(2) Seleucus IV., 187 — 175 (v. 20). 

(3) Antiochus Epiphanes, 175 — 164 (v. 21, etc.). 

Hitherto Israel's foreign suzerains, while exacting tribute, 
had respected their customs and left the conduct of their 
affairs to their own princes and priests. To the Ptolemies 
their relations had been almost wholly friendly, and they 
were yielding more and more to the spell of Greek art and 
culture. But between them and the Syrian Kings there 
was antagonism from the beginning, ending in the wanton 
attempt of Antiochus Epiphanes (a half-mad despot whose 
character reappears in great measure in Nero 200 years 
later) to Hellenise Judaea completely, to substitute the 
heathen " god of fortresses " for the God of Israel, and to 
extinguish their ancient religion by a ruthless persecution, 



FROM JUDAH'S FALL TO CHRIST'S BIRTH. 167 

which proved in the end its truest safeguard. The deter- 
mined effort to destroy or deface every copy of the Law 
increased love for God's Word and zeal for its multiplication ; 
the determined effort to trample out their nation roused an 
indomitable spirit of patriotism, which gave unity and com- 
plete independence to a race that had been a subject race 
for nearly 4 J centuries. It was for this crisis, which settled 
whether the true faith would perish or prevail, that the 
wonderful Book of Daniel had been " sealed up " (Dan. 
xii. 4). " Its sword-edge utterance, its piercing exhortation to 
endure in face of the despot, and its promise full of Divine 
joy of near and sure salvation " (Ewald) quickened their 
courage, and its earliest glorification of the martyr spirit 
spoke to the hearts of the first martyrs of whom history gives 
us any details. The story of this great struggle for civil and 
religious liberty is the finest episode of the whole period. 
Mattathias, a descendant of Eleazar, son of Aaron, had five 
heroic sons, who achieved Judah's deliverance and founded 
a family which ruled for more than a century. From its 
ancestor Chashmon it was called Asmonean, or Maccabaean 
from a word meaning " hammer " (comp. Jer. 1. 23, and 
Charles Martel), or from the initials of the first sentence of 
Exod. xv. 11. These priestly rulers were, — 

(1) Judas, 166 — 161 ~\ 

(2) Jonathan, 161 — 143 > Sons of Mattathias. 

(3) Simon, 143—135 * ) 

(4) John Hyrcanus L, 135 — 106. Son of Simon. 

(5) Aristobulus I., 106 — 105 ) Sons of Hyr- 

(6) Alexander Jannaeus, 105 — 78 j canus I. 

(7) Alexandra, 78 — 69. Widow of Jannaeus. 

(8) Hyrcanus II., 3 months ") c r T 

) \ a • 4. u i tt ^ ^ \ Sons of Jannaeus 
9 Anstobulus II 69-63 V and Alex J andra . 

(8) Hyrcanus II., 63—40 ) 

(10) Antigonus, 40 — 37. Son of Aristobulus II. 

Judas is the W r allace of Hebrew history. No one ever 
united more generous valour with a better cause, and of all 
military chiefs he accomplished the largest ends with the 
smallest means. As Israel's preserver in its extremity, he has 
a place beside Moses, Samuel, and David. In 168 the stand- 
ard was raised. In 167 he won decisive victories at Samaria, 



1 68 SEVENTH TERM. 

Bethhoron and Emmaus in Philistia, and at Bethzur in 1 66, 
thus regaining the Temple. The crowning conflict of Adasa 
or Bethhoron, the Marathon of Jewish history, took place 
in 161, on the scene of Joshua's greatest triumph in 1450, 
traditionally also the scene of Sennacherib's destruction in 
701. The army of Judas "advanced to victory," says the 
historian, " fighting with their hands and praying with their 
hearts." In the same year, the great " Hammer of the 
Gentiles " fell at Eleasa, the Hebrew Thermopylae, dying, 
as all his brothers did, a violent death. 

The last undoubted representative of the High Priest 
Joshua fled in 167 from the desecrated Temple to Egypt, 
and at Leontopolis founded a secondary rather than a rival 
Temple, to form a religious centre for the Hellenistic Jews 
of the Dispersion, thus professing to fulfil Isa. xix. 18, 19. 
This lasted for three centuries. Great was the degradation 
of the high priesthood, when in 162 the Syrians gave it 
to Alcimus, who had placed himself at the head of the 
Hellenising party. In Jonathan, however, a new and noble 
line of high priests was instituted. But alteration of a 
succession which had remained unbroken for nearly 900 
years paved the way for further changes, and one Rabbi 
finds an explanation of Prov. x. 27 in the fact that during 
410 years the First Temple had 18 high priests, while the 
Second Temple, during 426 years, had more than 300. 

Simon snapped the last Syrian fetter when in 142 he 
took the citadel that over-awed God's sanctuary, and his 
successor saw the issue of a 40 years' strife in the formal 
recognition of Judah's independence in 128. Hyrcanus L 
also conquered her two nearest relatives and bitterest 
enemies, Edom and Samaria, and in 109 razed the rival 
temple of Gerizim to the ground, thus triumphantly closing 
the 60 years of ecclesiastical commonwealth which form 
the first and best half of the Maccabaean age. 

Seventy years of ecclesiastical monarchy (the last 37 
merely nominal) followed. For the last six Maccabaean 
rulers assumed the title, not of "King of Israel," but of 
" King of the Jews " (contrast John i. 49 and Matt, xxvii. 37), 
the new phrase marking the new character of the monarchy. 
Their Greek names indicate the growing strength of 
Hellenism. Already in the reign of Hyrcanus the party 



FROM JUDAHS FALL TO CHRIST'S BIRTH 169 

strife between the two opposed sects of Pharisees and 
Sadducees, henceforth to play so large a part in Jewish 
history, had begun. The self-seeking ambition of the later 
Asmoneans led to family discord and political confusion, 
till Alexander y grandson of the Simon whose wisdom and 
valour " had made his honourable name renowned unto 
the end of the world," was a detested tyrant, and six years 
of civil war between his two sons ended in appeal to the 
arbitration of Rome. That ever encroaching and irresistible 
power restored Hyrcanus II. to nominal rule, and from 
B.C. 37 to A.D. 6 an Edomite dependant of Rome and his 
son held imposing sovereignty over Jacob's descendants. 
But practically from B.C. 63 to the awful close of their 
history as a nation, the Jews had no king but Csesar. 
Aristobulus III., grandson of both Aristobulus II. and 
Hyrcanus II., was the last Asmonean high priest, and his 
beautiful and ill-fated sister Mariamne, wife to the Herod 
of Matt, ii: 1, and grandmother of the Herod of Acts xii. 1, 
and of Herodias, was the last of her race. See " Oxford 
Helps," § xxii. 

During these six centuries Judaism had gained elasticity 
of shape without losing distinctness of principle. But its 
hierarchy had degenerated into a mere sect, its kingdom 
had ended in foreign usurpation. It had been weighed 
and found wanting, yet " a missionary nation was waiting 
to be charged with a heavenly commission, and a world 
had been unconsciously prepared to welcome it." 

To sum up. We have seen the nation which was chosen 
to represent the whole race, created in God's image (First 
Term), trained to His likeness (Second Term), made to 
have dominion (Third and Fourth Terms), falling and 
thwarting His designs (Fifth and Sixth Terms), and 
restored by His grace (Seventh Term). 215 years of 
wandering for its ancestors; 215 years of bondage in 
Egypt ; 450 years of struggle for mastery in Palestine ; 
450 years of national independence ; 30c years' domination 
of the East, i.e., of Babylon and Persia ; 300 years' 
domination of the West, i.e., of Greece and Rome ; such 
was the historical preparation of the Chosen People for the 
greatest event in human history. 



THE PSALMS. 

ARRANGED IN THEIR HISTORICAL SEQUENCE. 
I. History and Purpose of the Psalms. 

AMID manifold differences of opinion and usage, all who 
worship God agree that their devotion may best be 
uttered in the words of an ancient volume of poems which 
we call the PSALMS, from a Greek word meaning songs 
having a musical accompaniment, which its Hebrew authors 
called by the less comprehensive name of Tehillim, that is, 
Praises (see Psalm cv. 2, R.V. and A.V.). Sung or said ; 
in prose translation or metrical paraphrase ; in the vulgar 
tongue, or in Hebrew, Greek, or Latin ; within the stately 
Anglican cathedral, enriched by the heritage of many ages, 
yet ever adapting itself to the times ; in the sternly simple 
Scottish kirk ; in the Nonconformist chapel, bared of all 
that does not commend itself to a particular body of 
Christians ; in the Roman church, crowded with signs of 
traditional observance ; in the Greek or Oriental church, 
which recalls to us a yet dimmer past ; and in the Jewish 
synagogue, from whose ceremonial that of all Christendom 
sprang, Psalms are sung fervently, constantly, sometimes 
as the only, always as the chief form of spiritual song. 

We open our Bibles to find a Bible within the Bible, 
" an epitome of the Bible " (to quote the phrase of 
Athanasius). Elsewhere we have God's words to us, here 
are our words to God, our answer to His revelation given 
in the rest of the Scriptures. Hence to every age and 
church, and to each pious heart, this is the best known 
and best loved part of Holy Writ. Its naturalness and 
simplicity, its fresh joyousness and tender pathos, its 

170 



HISTORY AND PURPOSE OF THE PSALMS. 171 

diversity and breadth, its fervour of feeling and depth of 
thought, its sympathy with every mode of human life and 
every phase of nature, above all its spirituality, make it 
worth more and more to the individual with advancing 
years, and to the race with further evolution of the ages. 
" What sadness and melancholy comes over me at times, 
and I find myself shedding tears like a child ! Then 
those wonderfully consoling Psalms of David and Asaph 
send a thrill of joy into my whole being." So wrote in his 
Journal, Alexander Mackay, pioneer missionary to Uganda, 
when persecution was raging against the church there in 
March 1887. The Psalms cannot lose their value while 
man longs for a personal relation to God, and feels that 
such a relation is possible. Therefore they have ever been 
an inspired manual of devotion in its sevenfold form : 
(1) Confession of sin; (2) Supplication for spiritual gifts ; 
(3) Petition for temporal blessings ; (4) Praise and thanks- 
giving ; (5) Self-dedication ; (6) Intercession ; (7) Medi- 
tation upon God's words and works. Nor are they a 
manual of devotion only. "What is there necessary for 
man to know which the Psalms are not able to teach ? " 
says Richard Hooker. " The choice and flower of all 
things profitable in other books, the Psalms do both more 
briefly contain and more movingly also express, by reason 
of that poetical form wherewith they are written " ("Ecclesias- 
tical Polity," Book V., ch. xxxviii.). 

The Psalms were at once the national ballads and 
national liturgy of Israel. They form an accompaniment 
of sweetest music to her whole history, from the plaintive 
Prayer of Moses to the last burst of praise in the restored 
Temple, or rather from her birthday paean by the Red Sea 
(Exod. xv.) to the calm thanksgiving 1500 years later in 
the presence of the Lord's Christ, when the purpose of her 
national existence was fulfilled (Luke ii. 29-32). This 
music was not continuous, but specially enriched particular 
periods. Its chief age was the age of David, and the fact 
that he is the greatest lyric poet of the world may account 
for the fact that Hebrew poetry throughout is lyric rather 
than epic or dramatic. His rare genius mapped out the 
path of all its later achievements. 

What use the Jews made of this their Prayer Book, and 



172 THE PSALMS. 

how God's prophets not only sanctioned, but commanded 
use of music, vocal and instrumental, in public worship, we 
may gather from 2 Chron. v. 13, vii. 3, xx. 19-22, xxix. 
25-30; Ezra iii. 10, 11 ; Neh. xi. 17, xii. 40-47. We read 
how in the daily service of the Second Temple, after the 
prayers and the burnt offering, the meat offering, and the 
offering of incense, and the priestly benediction, the silver 
trumpets sounded and the white-robed choir of Levites, 
standing on the fifteen steps between the Court of Israel 
and the Court of the Women, closed the service by singing 
with instrumental accompaniment the Psalm for the day, 
i.e., one of these seven : xxiv., xlviii., lxxxii , xciv., lxxxi., 
xciii., xcii. 

Such was the worship which the first Christians so 
regularly attended (Acts ii. 42, R.V.) and upon it the 
worship of the Church was shaped. The first example of 
Christian Common Prayer we have is based upon a Psalm 
(Acts iv. 24-30). Use of the Psalms in apostolic times is 
shown in 1 Cor. xiv. 26 ; Eph. v. 19 ; Col. iii. 16 ; James v. 
13. In very early days they were sung by two choirs anti- 
phonally, as they are sung in cathedrals now, and for 1 500 
years the Gloria Patri has been added to them to express 
the idea that Christians can enter more fully into the 
meaning of these inspired songs than those who first wrote 
and sang them. Luther, for instance, called his four 
favourite Psalms (xxxii., Ii., cxxx., and cxliii.) Pauline, 
saying they anticipated the great apostle's doctrine that 
our trust is in God's forgiving mercy, not in our own 
merits. In the Middle Ages, when our countrymen had 
only a Latin Bible, they had the Psalms in English, and 
these must have formed the best spiritual sustenance of 
many a devout soul in the ages we call " dark." Our 
Prayer Book version is more than 350 years old, being from 
Cranmer's Bible (1539), or more exactly Coverdale's (i 53 5)- 

II. Authors of the Psalms. 

(1) MOSES, who wrote Psalm xc. 

(2) David ; 73 Psalms are ascribed to him in the 
headings, ii. is also called his in the New Testament, and 
x. is evidently his. Of these 75, five are probably of later 



AUTHORS OF THE PSALMS. 173 

date, viz., lxv., ciii., cxxii., cxxiv., and cxliv. Hence we 
may regard 70 as really his. 

(3) SOLOMON ; two Psalms are ascribed to him in the 
headings, and i., cxxviii., cxxxii. are probably his also, 
making five in all. 

(4) Asaph ; twelve Psalms are ascribed to him, of which 
1., lxxiii., and lxxvii. are almost certainly his, and also most 
probably lxxviii., lxxxi., and lxxxii. The other six seem 
to be of later date, of his school rather than his. 

(5) HEMAN ; lxxxviii. is ascribed to him, and eleven are 
of his school, viz., Korahite. 

(6) Ethan ; to him lxxxix. is ascribed. On the last 
three authors a few notes may be added. When David 
first organised a full choral service for Divine worship, he 
set apart for its maintenance the following three families of 
prophets and singers, one from each of the Levite tribes. 
They were like the " colleges " of bards in other nations. 

(a) Of the tribe of Gershon, the sons of Asaph. 1 Chron. 
xxv. 1-6; 2 Chron. v. 12, xx. 14, xxix. 13, 14, xxxv. 15; Ezra 
ii. 41, iii. 10 ; Neh. vii. 44, xi. 17, 22, xii. 35. At their head 
was Asaph, the son of Berachiah, a prophet (Matt. xiii. 35) 
and musical composer, who is placed on a par with David 
himself. Joah, Hezekiah's chronicler, seems to have been 
his descendant. 1 Chron. vi. 39, xv. 17, 19, xvi. 4-7, 37-42 ; 
2 Chron. xxix. 30, xxxv. 1 5 ; Neh. xii. 46 ; 2 Kings xviii. 
18, 37 ; Isa. xxxvi. 3, 22. (b) Of the tribe of Kohath, the 
Korahites, or Korathites, descendants of Korah, Kohath's 
grandson (Num. xvi. 1), also called sons of Heman 
1 Chron. ix. 19, xii. 6. At their head was Heman, son of 
Joel, and grandson of Samuel, king's seer in the words of 
God, and singer. He is probably to be identified with 
Heman the Ezrahite (i.e., descendant of Zerah, son of 
Judah), who was famed for his wisdom. His Levite ancestor 
may have married a Judaean heiress, when he would be 
reckoned in both tribes. 1 Kings iv. 31 ; 1 Chron. ii. 6, 
vi. 33, xxv. 5, 6. (c) Of the tribe of Merari, the sons of 
Jeduthun. At their head was Ethan, or Jeduthun, son of 
Kishi, king's seer and singer, probably to be identified 
with the wise Ethan the Ezrahite. 1 Chron. vi. 44 
(References in which more than one of these psalmists or 
schools are named are given once only.) 



174 THE PSALMS. 

Of the 101 Psalms with headings we have now assigned 
96 to their authors, and we have attributed five of the 49 
anonymous Psalms to David or Solomon. This leaves 
five doubtfully headed, and 44 anonymous, of whose author- 
ship no definite account can be given. 

III. The Division of the Psalter into Five Books. 

This division may have been suggested by the five books 
of Moses, and of the Prophets. (The Jews reckoned the 
twelve minor prophets as one book.) The five books of 
Psalms are roughly chronological, and were probably formed 
in succession. Each closes with a doxology. They are 
discriminated in the R.V. 

BOOK i (Psalm i. — xli.) is the original Psalter, and was 
probably formed by Solomon. Jehovah occurs 272 times, 
and Elohim 15 times in it. It contains 39 Psalms by 
David, one by Solomon (?), and one anonymous. 

BOOK 2 (Psalm xlii. — lxxii.) may have been compiled 
later by Solomon ; others refer its formation to Hezekiah. 
Elohim occurs five times as often as Jehovah in it. It 
contains 17 Psalms by David, one by Solomon, one by 
Asaph, eight Korahite, and four anonymous. 

BOOK 3 (Psalm lxxiii. — lxxxix.) may have been compiled 
by Hezekiah or perhaps by Josiah. Elohim and Jehovah 
occur equally often. It is liturgical in character, and 
contains one Psalm by David, one by Ethan, eleven 
Asaphite, and four Korahite. 

BOOK 4 (Psalm xc. — cvi.) was probably compiled after the 
Captivity. Jehovah is the dominant name. It contains 
one Psalm by Moses, one by David, and fifteen anonymous. 

BOOK 5 (Psalm cvii. — cl.) may have been compiled by 
Ezra. It is mainly liturgical, and uses Jehovah chiefly 
It contains twelve Psalms by David, three by Solomon (?), 
and 29 anonymous. 

IV. Psalms not in the Psalter. 

Of these there are about 25 in the Old Testament and 
three in the New Testament : viz., four by Moses (Exod. xv. ; 
Num. xxi. 14, 15, and 17, 18; and Deut. xxxii.), one by 
Deborah (Judg. v.), one by Hannah (1 Sam ii.), four by 



THE HEADINGS TO THE PSALMS. 175 

David (2 Sam. L, xxii., xxiii. ; 1 Chron. xvi.), two by 
Isaiah (Isa. xii. and xxvi.), ten short prayers by Jeremiah, 
one by Jonah, one by Habakkuk, and one by Hezekiah 
(Isa. xxxviii.), one by the Virgin Mary, one by Zacharias, 
and one by Simeon (Luke i., ii.). Nearly all these are 
easily discriminated in the R.V. The five other poetical 
Books of the Old Testament may each be regarded as the 
expansion of a Psalm, cp. Job and Psalm xxxix. ; the 
Song of Songs and Psalm xlv. ; Proverbs and Psalm i ; 
Ecclesiastes and Psalm xc. ; Lamentations and Psalm lxxix. 

V. The Headings to the Psalms. 

The authors of the Septuagint (the Greek translation of 
the Old Testament made in B.C. 285, and often referred to 
as the LXX.), evidently did not understand all the head- 
ings to the Psalms, which must therefore be older than the 
LXX. Some were probably affixed by the authors, others 
later from conjecture or tradition. The most thorough 
and cautious scholars hesitate about setting them aside, save 
in a few cases where internal evidence is clearly against 
them. Four insufficient reasons for rejecting a larger 
number have been given. (1) That these Psalms contain 
words and grammatical forms of later date than that 
assigned to them. Our knowledge of the stages of Hebrew, 
and of the possible modernisations of copyists, is too 
slender to warrant the sweeping conclusions sometimes 
based on considerations of this kind. (2) That the word 
"temple" must refer to Solomon's building. But see 
1 Sam. iii. 3. (3) That definite hope for the future life is 
later than the time of David. This is pure assumption. 
See 2 Sam. xii. 23. (4) That all acrostic forms are late. 
Of this there is no- clear proof, and at least two acrostics 
contain strong indications of David's authorship. 

The Hebrew headings are explained in so many books 
that I need only say here that Nehiloth, Neginoth, and 
Gittith refer to musical instruments. Sheminith, Alamoth, 
Higgaion, Shiggaion, and Selah are musical directions. 
Muth-labben, Aijeleth S/ia/iar, Shoshannim, Skushan-Edutk t 
Mahalath, Leannoth, Al-tashhetJi, and perhaps Jonath elem 
rehokim, are names of well-known tunes to which the 
Psalms in question were to be sung. 



176 THE PSALMS. 

Six Psalms (xvi., lvi.-lx.) are called Micktam, which means 
either " a golden song," one of special richness and beauty ; 
or " a mystery," one of deep import. Thirteen (xxxii., 
xlii., xliv., xlv. lii.-lv., lxxiv., lxxviii., lxxxviii., lxxxix., cxlii.) 
are called Maschil, meaning didactic, for the purpose of 
giving instruction. Fifty-five are addressed to the Chief 
Musician, that is, the choirmaster or precentor. These are 
liturgical adaptations of the psalmist's personal experience 
to the congregation. Fifteen short Psalms (cxx.-cxxxiv.) 
of singular tenderness and beauty form a Psalter within the 
Psalter, and are called Songs of Ascents or Pilgrim Songs, 
either because they were sung by the people going up to 
the great feasts (Isa. xxx. 29), or by the captives returning 
to the Holy City, or by the Levites on the fifteen steps in 
the Temple. Fifteen begin or end with HallelujaJi (civ.-cvi., 
cxi.-cxiii., cxv.-cxvii., cxxxv., cxlvi.-cl.). Four begin with 
Hodu (which means " give thanks "), and may be termed 
Eucharistic Psalms (cv., cvii., cxviii., cxxxvi.). 

Six are characterised as New Songs (xxxiii., xl., xcvi., 
xcviii., cxliv., cxlix. See Isa. xlii. 10 ; Rev. v. 9, xiv. 3). 
Six are Morning Hymns (iii., v., xix., lvii., lxiii., cviii.), and 
three are Evening Hymns (iv., viii., cxliii.). These nine are 
all David's. Five are called Prayers, viz., three of David's 
(xvii., lxxxvi., cxlii.) ; also xc. and cii. Two (xxxviii., 
lxx.) are entitled " To bring to remembrance or record" 
(1 Chron. xvi. 4), which may mean "to remind God of 
man." See Psalm cvi. 4 ; Rev. viii. 4 ; Acts x. 4 ; Lev. ii. 2. 

Seven from early times have been reckoned Penitential 
(cii., cxxx., and five by David, vi., xxxii., xxxviii., Ii., and 
cxliii.). Three are Imprecatory, that is, they call down 
Divine judgment upon the wicked (xxxv., lxix., cix.). 
As the language of God's servant about sin they are 
absolutely right ; as the language of God's anointed King 
upholding justice against wrong they are relatively right ; 
as the language of personal desire for vengeance on 
particular sinners they express the imperfect enlightenment 
of the most enlightened ere Christ's new law was uttered, 
and differ widely from His sternest denunciations (Matt. 
v. 44 ; Luke ix. 55. Contrast 2 Chron. xxiv. 22 and 
Acts vii. 60). 

Nine Psalms and five other Bible poems are Acrostic, 



THE TWELVE MESSIANIC PSALMS. 177 

that is, each verse begins with a different letter of the 
Hebrew alphabet (Psalms ix., x., xxv., xxxiv., xxxvii., 
cxi.,* cxii.,* cxix., cxlv. ; Lam. i., ii., iii.,* iv. ; Prov. xxx. 
10-31. Only those marked * are perfectly regular in struc- 
ture). They are chiefly of a didactic character, and their 
form seems to have been adopted as an aid to memory for 
private devotion or public recitation. 

A number of the Psalms are, more or less completely, 
Historical. These not only supplement and confirm other 
records, but are an illustration of how all the events of the 
past contain lessons for the present. Unlike any other 
national poems, they are thoroughly patriotic without in 
any way feeding national vanity. They show that all 
Israel's glory came from God, and all her misfortunes were 
due to herself. Observe lastly that many of the later 
Psalms are made up of quotations from earlier ones. Three 
are complete reproductions, viz., liii., lxx., and cviii. 

VI. The Twelve Messianic Psalms. 

Seven Psalms refer to the Suffering, Risen, Ascended 
Christ of the First Advent (xxii., xl., lxix., xvi., cxviii., xxiv , 
lxviii.) ; five to the Glorified Christ of the Second Advent 
(ii., xlv., lxxii., xcvii., ex.). In saying this we do not assert 
that every word of these is Messianic. They contain acknow- 
ledgments of sin, etc., which are inapplicable. Nor do we 
deny that the whole Psalter may be regarded as Messianic. 
The directly prophetic Psalms, such as ii., xlv., ex., are few. 
Even these describe a promise of good things to come 
connected in the first instance with David and Solomon, 
but only finding complete fulfilment in their greater Son. 
Nearly all the Psalms are, however, typical. " Thoughts 
beyond their thought to those high bards were given " 
(Keble) ; so when the Psalmist protests against scorn and 
abuse, enmity and treachery, which sought to ensnare and 
destroy a blameless man ; when he pictures suffering inno- 
cence and vindicated righteousness ; when he utters his 
delight in the word and will of God, we know that 
unconsciously he is speaking in the name of Another, that 
the Psalter is the Prayer Book not only of Israel and of 
the Church, but also of Christ. Two lines of thought, 

12 



173 THE PSALMS 

traceable throughout, converge in Christ, (a) God drawing 
near to man, (J?) Humanity in the person of its noblest 
Representative exalted to God. Before they rejected our 
Lord the Jews freely acknowledged the Messianic applica- 
tion of the most remarkable prophetic and typical psalms. 
Just as their whole religion was ultimately resolvable into 
a Messianic hope, so their whole method of Scripture study 
was Messianic application. They have since tried to explain 
these Psalms away. Our best guide to their interpretation 
is the use made of them by Christ and His Apostles. New 
Testament references will therefore suggest their interpre- 
tation here. Two-thirds of the Old Testament quotations 
in the New Testament are from the Psalms. 



VII. Plan of this Scheme for the Psalter. 

The Psalms are arranged in chronological order so far as 
that can be done, and we connect those whose dates and 
authors cannot be discovered with periods which may have 
produced them and which are certainly illustrated by them. 
We have no room for learned arguments and long lists of 
authorities ; but in weighing the external evidence of the 
headings and the internal evidence of language, style, and 
allusions, I have availed myself of the works of not a few 
good scholars who have given special attention to the 
Psalms. For a clear, simple, and comprehensive account of 
them, I know none better than that in the later editions of 
Bishop Barry's " Teacher's Prayer Book," now issued in a 
separate volume. For a fuller exposition see Dr. Perowne's 
" Psalms " (Murray 10s. 6d). 

Our plan of dealing with each Psalm is this. After 
pointing out by whom, when, and under what circumstances 
it was written, with a reference for those circumstances, 
I give its number in the Psalter, a name indicating its 
character and theme, a summary of its leading thought, New 
Testament quotations or parallels, and one or two explana- 
tory notes if needed. Finally, mention is made of its use in 
the Anglican Church, in the Jewish Synagogue, and else- 
where, and its special associations with the faithful of the past. 
Throughout I use the Revised Version, which is particularly 
helpful for the Psalms, as it clears up many difficult 



OF THE DAYS OF MOSES. 179 

passages by its renderings, and enables us to follow their 
poetical structure by its method of printing them. 

Students of the Psalms as a whole would do well to 
make out (a) A chronological table of all the allusions to 
past history, from the Creation to the accession of Saul, 
noting which made the deepest impression on the national 
mind. (J?) A collection of the Psalter's testimonies con- 
cerning the state of man immediately after death, and the 
duration and character of the life beyond the grave, (c) A 
summary of the references to Jerusalem, as the holy city, 
the abode of God ; as the royal city, the abode of the King ; 
and as the centre of national life. Reference to the follow- 
ing pages will be aided, if the arabic numeral they assign 
to each of the Psalms be written beside its roman numeral 
in the student's own Bible. 

It is to the devotional rather than to the intellectual or 
practical aspect of Christian life that the Psalms direct our 
attention, and this is the aspect most likely to be overlooked 
in the hurry and pressure of our daily life now. Much of 
the restlessness and spiritual hunger so common in these 
days is due to neglect of that communion with God which 
is as necessary for our spiritual welfare as the pure breath 
of heaven is for our physical welfare. Great will be our 
gain if fresh knowledge of " the Prayers of the son of Jesse " 
teaches us to pray as we have never prayed before. 

Second Term. The Theocracy. 

(1.) One Psalm by Moses on the Plains of Moab about 
B.C. 145 1 (Num. xxvii. 12-14; Deut. xxxiv.). 

XC. A Prayer concerning Time and Eternity. 
" How may man, whose true Home is the Everlasting God, 
best use this mortal life ? " Quoted (ver. 4), 2 Peter iii. 8. 
Compare Deut. xxxiii. 15, 27 with vv. 1, 2 ; Gen. iii. 17-19, 
Num. xxvi. 64, 65, and Rom. vi. 23 with vv. 7, 8 ; Heb. xii. 
5-1 1 with ver. 1 5. This archaic Psalm, which bears through- 
out the stamp of high antiquity, has been called the most 
sublime of human compositions. Moses evidently meant 
it to be his own funeral hymn, and it has since become the 
funeral hymn of the world. Burial Service and New Year's Eve 
Service. At Jewish burials in New Testament times, it was chanted 
during a slow sevenfold circuit round the bier. 



180 THE PSALMS 



Third Term. The Reign of Saul. 

Twenty Psalms by David between 1064 and 1056. Com- 
pared with his later Psalms, David's early ones contain 
more exuberant and vigorous poetry, less profound thought 
and spirituality ; show less self-knowledge, and make 
more vehement protestations of innocence. Reference to 
Acts, xxiii. 1 proves, however, that this is not always 
inconsistent with humility. They are marked by freshness 
of tone and style, and unclouded trust in God. 

(2 — 5.) Four during his youth at Bethlehem (1 Sam. 
xvii. 15). 

VIII. The Shepherd's Evening Hymn. " Before the 
God of Nature, man is little ; before the God of Grace, 
man is great." Quoted (ver. 2), Matt. xxi. 16 ; (ver. 4), Heb. 
ii. 6-9 ; (ver. 6), 1 Cor. xv. 27. Compare Job vii. 17. The 
antithesis brought out in this meditation on Gen. i. under 
the brilliant glory of an Oriental heaven is strengthened 
for us by larger knowledge of Nature's vastness, through 
modern science ; and of God's grace, through the Incarna- 
tion of our Lord. Ascension Day. 

XIX. The Shepherd's Morning Hymn. " Great is 
the majesty of God's starry heavens above, greater the 
majesty of His pure law within the heart of man." Quoted 
(ver. 4), Rom. x. 18 ; with ver. 12 cp. Rom. vii. 13. 
What Nature can and cannot teach, and what the Word 
of God is to His servants, could not be more accurately 
expressed. " Line " (ver. 4) means " string " or " music " ; the 
allusion is to Nature's song without words. Christmas Day 
(for the Incarnation was the third and crowning revelation of God). 

XXIII. The Shepherd's Watch in the Wilderness. 
" My Divine Shepherd leads, restores, and comforts me, 
and I fear no evil." Compare Luke xv. 4-6 ; John x. 1-16 ; 
Heb. xiii. 20; 1 Peter ii. 25. With "thy rod and staff" 
(ver. 4), one to lead, the other to defend, cp. Zech. xi. 7. 
In some old liturgies, this Psalm took the place of the " Comfortable 
Words " in our present Communion Service. 

XXIX. The Psalm of the Seven Thunders. 
" Mighty is the voice of the Lord our King." With ver. 4 
cp. John v. 25. This Psalm describes a storm sweeping 
over the whole land from Lebanon to Kadesh. The Jews 



OF THE REIGN OF SAUL. 181 

use it on the first day of Pentecost to commemorate the thunders of 
Sinai ; also on the evening of New Year's Day. 

NOTE. — Some refer viii. and xix. to the mature experi- 
ence of David the King, xxiii. 4, 5 suggests the circum- 
stances of his flight from Absalom, and no more beautiful 
sequel to xxii. could be found (cp. xxii. 15 and xxiii. 4). 
The LXX. refers xxix. to the removal of the Ark to Zion. 
If not, however, products of his shepherd days, they are 
certainly reminiscences of them, and show how his religious 
life and his poetic power developed in the lonely watches 
of his youth. 

(6, 7.) Two on Saul's attempt on his life at Gibeah (1 
Sam. xviii. 11). 

CXL. A Prayer against the Violent Man. "Save 
me from foes without, O Strength of my salvation." Quoted 
(ver. 3), Rom. iii. 13. . With vv. 5, 7 cp. I Sam. xviii. 21-7 ; 
with ver. 13 cp. Heb. xii. 14. " When Saul cast the javelin 
at him ° is the Syriac heading of this Psalm. Some, 
however, apply it to Doeg. 

CXLI. A Prayer for Aid against all Perils. 
" Save me from foes within, and from the snares of the 
wicked." With ver. 2 cp. Luke i. 9, 10. This Psalm is 
evidently connected with the preceding, and utters the 
shepherd-hero's sense of new peril in his new life at court. 
Used at the Daily Evensong of the Greek Church from very early 
times. 

(8.) One on his escape from Saul's assassins (1 Sam. 
xix. 11, 12). 

LIX. A Golden Psalm on God's Defence. " Save 
me from them that lie in wait." With ver. 3 cp. John viii. 
40, 46 ; with ver. 7 cp. Mark xv. 29. " Heathen " (ver. 5) 
may refer to Doeg. 

(9, 10.) Two on his flight to Ramah or Nob (1 Sam. 
xix. 18, xx.). 

XIII. Fear's Question. " How long wilt Thou forget 
me? Lighten my eyes, lest the enemy prevail." With 
ver. I Cp. Rev. vi. 10. Third Collect for Evensong. Usque quo 
Domine? (How long, Lord?) was Calvin's motto. Princess Anne, 
daughter of Charles I., aged four, died with ver. 3 on her lips. 

XI. FAITH'S ANSWER. " Why bid me flee ? The Lord 
rules and judges men, and I trust in Him." With ver. 2 
cp. 1 Sam. xx. 36; with ver. 7 (R.V.) cp. Matt. v. 8 



1 82 THE PSALMS 

and Psalm cxl. 13. Written perhaps after the encourage- 
ment of Jonathan's visit. Others refer it to Absalom's 
Rebellion. 

(11, 12.) Two when the PJiilistines seized him at Gath 
(1 Sam. xxi. 10-15), an incident only recorded in tJie heading 
to lvi. 

LVI. A Golden Psalm of the Silent Dove among 
ALIENS. " My foes are many, wily, and full of hatred. 
But God is for me and will deliver me." With ver. 9 cp. 
Rom. viii. 31 ; with ver. 13 cp. Jude 24. 

XXV. An Acrostic Prayer for Forgiveness and 
DELIVERANCE. " Put not Thy servant to shame in the 
presence of the enemy." With ver. 20 cp. Rom. ix. 33, 
and final verse of Te Deum, which formed the last words 
of S. Francis Xavier. Both the substance and structure of 
this Psalm indicate that it was written at the same time as 
xxxiv. But some refer it to Absalom's Rebellion, pointing 
to ver. 7, which does not, however, prove the author was 
no longer young ; ver. 11, which may refer to circumstances 
not recorded (see xxxiv. 18); and ver. 22, which is pro- 
bably a liturgical addition of later times, like xxxiv. 22 
and xiv. J. Petrarch concludes his autobiography by quoting the 
first clause of ver. 7, "than which," he says, "no words could sound 
sweeter." 

(13.) One 07i his escape from Gath by feigning madness 
(1 Sam. xxii. 1). 

XXXIV. An Acrostic Thanksgiving for Forgive- 
ness AND DELIVERANCE. " Let others learn from my 
experience that God saves those who trust Him." Quoted 
(vv. 12-15), l Peter iii. 10-12 ; (ver. 20), John xix. 33-6. 
With ver. 8 cp. 1 Peter ii. 3 ; with ver. 13 cp. James i. 26. 
" Abimelech " was the title of the Philistine kings : see Gen 
xx. and xxvi., and cp. " Pharaoh " and " Caesar." In 597 the 
dying S. Columba laid aside his pen for ever when he had transcribed 
ver. 9, leaving Baithune to write out the rest. The Dutch admiral 
Joost de Moor celebrated with this Psalm a victory over the Spaniards 
on May 25th, 1603. 

(14, 1 5.) Two in the Cave of Adullam (1 Sam. xxii. 1, 2). 

CXLII. A Didactic Prayer for Rescue. "For- 
saken of all men and brought very low, I cry to Thee, my 
Refuge." With ver. 3 cp. Mark xiv. 1. Ver. 7 (first clause) 
was S. Francis of Assisi's last Quotation on his death-bed. 



OF THE REIGN OF SAUL. 183 

LVII. A Golden Psalm of Thanksgiving for 
Rescue. A Morning Hymn. "Thou wilt send from 
heaven to save me, and I will sing Thy praise among the 
nations." With vv. 3-5 cp. Acts ii. 31-3. Written perhaps 
when his family and friends had come to him. Easter Day. 

(16.) One in the Forest of Hareth on hearing of the 
massacre at Nob (1 Sam. xxii. 21). 

LI I. A Didactic Psalm on Doeg the Edomite. 
"Boast not thyself, false-tongued deviser of wickedness, 
for God shall destroy thee." With vv. 2-4 cp. James 
iii. 5-8, and see description of the Edomite character in 
Obad. 3, 10 ; ver. 5 probably alludes to the Tabernacle, 
and ver. 8 to the trees on the north slope of Olivet where 
Nob was. 

( 1 7.) One on hearing in the Wilderness of Ziph of Keila/is 
treachery (1 Sam. xxiii. 11, 12). 

LVIII. A Golden Psalm concerning the Recom- 
penses OF GOD. "Let those who are hardened, in sin 
learn that there is a God who judges in the earth." With 
ver. 11 cp. Rom. xii. 19 and Rev. xxii. 12. Its connexion 
with Keilah is a conjecture, but the characteristics of this 
Psalm are those of David's early ones, and it closely 
resembles Hi. The metaphor in ver. 9 is from a fire kindled 
for cooking in the wilderness. 

(18.) One in the Wilderness of Ziph on SauVs pursuit 
(1 Sam. xxiii. 14, xxiv. 11, 14, 15, xxvi. 20). 

XXXV. An Imprecatory Psalm concerning the 
Enemies of the Righteous Man. " Strive with my 
foes, judge my accusers, and save me from those who are 
too strong from me." Quoted (ver. 19), John xv. 25. With 
ver. 11 cp. Matt. xxvi. 60 ; with ver. 12 (R.V.) cp. John xvi. 
32 ; with ver. 13 cp. Luke xiii. 34. The metrical structure 
is peculiar and artistic. David evidently alludes to the 
base enmity of Saul's jealous courtiers. Vv. 1, 2 formed the 
prayer of Thanew, mother of S. Kentigern, when in 518 she was cast 
adrift upon the Firth of Forth. 

(19.) One in the Wilderness of Maon on the Ziphites* 
treachery (1 Sam. xxiii. 19-28). 

LIV. A Didactic Psalm on the enmity of the 
GODLESS AND THE HELP OF GOD. " Save me, and destroy 
my foes. Thou hast delivered, and I will give thanks." 



1 84 THE PSALMS 

With ver. 4 cp. Acts xxvi. 22. Ver. 7 may be explained 
by I Sam. xxiii. 27, 28. Good Friday. 

(20.) One on sparing Saul in the Wilderness of Engedi 
(1 Sam. xxiv.). 

VII. An Ode concerning Cush the Benjamite. 
" Save me from the foe who causeless hated me, and whom 
I spared, for I am righteous." Quoted (ver. 9), Rev. ii. 23. 
With ver. 8 cp. John viii. 46 ; with ver. 1 1 cp. Gen. xviii. 
25. Cush, one of Saul's adherents of whom nothing is 
known, had slandered David to his master. Shiggaion 
means a poem of free and erratic structure. 

(21.) One on sparing Nab al (\ Sam. xxv. 39). 

XVII. A Prayer comparing the World's gifts 
WITH THE GIFTS OF God. " Hear me, uphold me, and 
keep me from my deadly enemies." With ver. 14 cp. Matt. 
vi. 2, Luke vi. 24, xvi. 8, 25, John xiv. 27; with ver. 15 
cp. 1 John iii. I, 2, Rev. xxii. 4. The connexion with 
Nabal is a mere inference from probability. 

The Reign of David. 

(A.) One Psalm by Asaph and fourteen by David {all 
probably wj-itten at Jerusalem) during his glory and pros- 
perity. (1049 — 1036.) 

This group of Psalms is noted for kingly dignity, perfec- 
tion and maturity of style, profound thought, and intense 
devotion. 

(22.) One by Asaph ojz David's Accession (2 Sam. v. 1-9). 

LXXVIII. A Didactic Psalm on Israel's History 
from the Exodus to David's Capture of Jerusalem. 
" Trust God who hath done such great things for you, and 
follow not your fathers' rebellion." Quoted (ver. 2), Matt. 
xiii. 34, 35; (vv. 24, 25), John vi. 31. The date of this 
first and greatest Historical Psalm, the longest next to 
cxix., is fixed by the abruptness of its conclusion. It 
describes and vindicates the transfer of the spiritual and 
temporal headship from Shiloh and Ephraim to Jerusalem 
and Judah. 

(23.) One on the establishment of Davids TJirone (2 
Sam. v. 10). 

XVI. A Golden Psalm concerning God's Holy 



OF THE REIGN OF DAVID. 185 

ONE. " Preserve me. Thou wilt take me out of Sheol 
and show me the path of life." Quoted (vv. 8-1 1), Acts ii. 
25-32, xiii. 35-7. With ver. 4 cp. Lev. vii. 20, Zech. ix. 7 ; 
with ver. 5 cp. Num. xviii. 20. The priestly character of 
the Lord's Anointed may be referred to. With ver. 10 cp. 
John xx. 9. 

(24.) One when he desired yet feared to bring up the Ark 
(2 Sam. vi. 9). 

CI. The Godly resolves of the Lord's Anointed. 
(A Speculum Regis or Mirror for Magistrates?) " I will 
put away evil and follow good with a perfect heart." With 
ver. 1 cp. Matt, xxiii. 23 ; with ver. 2 cp. Matt. v. 48 ; 
with ver. 6 cp. 1 John iii. 3 ; with ver. 8 cp. Rev. xxi. 8. 
Here David limits for himself the usual despotic power of. 
Eastern kings. Queen's Accession. 

(25, 26.) Two on bringing up the Ark. (2 Sam. vi. 12-15). 

XXIV. The Anthem of the King of Glory. 
" Only the pure shall ascend God's hill. Let the King of 
Glory enter His chosen abode." Quoted (ver. 1), 1 Cor. x 
26; cp. Exod. ix. 29. With vv. 3, 4 cp. Heb. xii. 14; 
with ver. 8 cp. James ii. 1, 1 Cor. ii. 8. This Psalm, describ- 
ing the true God and the true worshipper, was written by 
David on the greatest day of his life, to be sung antiphonally 
or alternately. The Levite choir who bore the Ark to 
Zion's summit are answered by another choir who receive 
it there. Ascension Day (see Mark xvi. 19). The Jews used it on 
the First Day of the week, though unaware of its fitness for what was 
to be the Day of Resurrection. 

XV. Epilogue setting forth the right Worship 
OF THE KING OF GLORY. " He who would become God's 
guest must be pure and true, kind and honourable, unselfish 
and generous." Quoted (ver. 5), 2 Peter i. 10. Compare 
Psalm 1. ; Isa. xxxiii. 13-17; Mic. vi. 6-8; John iv. 24; 
1 Cor. xiii.; 1 John iv. 20, 21. Ancient usury differed in 
several respects from modern interest. Ascension Day. 

(27, 28.) Two on the Promise given through NatJian 
(2 Sam. vii.). 

CX. An Oracle concerning the Kingly Priest 
WHO LlVETH FOR Ever. " Jehovah promised to my Lord 
wide dominion and everlasting priesthood." Quoted oftener 
than any other portion of the Old Testament in the New 



1 86 THE PSALMS 

Testament — viz., in Matt. xxii. 44 ; Mark xii. 36 ; Luke 
xx. 42, 43 ; John xii. 34; Acts ii. 34, 35 ; 1 Cor. xv. 25 ; 
Heb. i. 13, v. 6, vi. 20, vii. 28, x. 13 ; 1 Peter iii. 22. Com- 
pare Dan. vii. 13, 14 ; Isa. ix. 6, 7. " Saith" in ver. 1 is a 
word used specially of Divine utterances. With ver. 3 cp. 
Rom. xii. 1 ; with ver. 4 cp. Zech. vi. 13 and Heb. vii. ; with 
ver. 7 cp. John iv. 6, xix. 28. The Rabbis referred nearly 
every word of this Psalm to the Messiah, and the Targum 
of Jonathan renders ver. 1, " The Lord said to His Word." 
Christmas Day. 

CXXXVIII. A Psalm of Praise concerning the 
WORD OF THE LORD. " I and all the kings of the earth 
will thank Thee for Thy gracious words." With ver. 2 
cp. John i. 1 ; with ver. 4 cp. Rev. xxi. 24 ; with ver. 8 

cp. Phil. i. 6. Ver. 8 was Bishop Andrewes' favourite ejaculatory 
prayer. 

(29, 30.) Two on the Wars with Amnion and Syria, 
according to tJie Syriac heading (2 Sam. x., xi., xii. 26-31). 

XX. The People's Prayer for the King on the 
Eve OF War. " God grant thy desire, for we trust in 
Him. God save the King." With ver. 2 cp. 1 Kings viii. 
44, 45; with ver. 3 (A.V. margin) cp. Lev. vi. 10, 11 ; 
with ver. 6 cp. John xi. 42. This verse is the King's 
uttered response to the people's supplication for him while 
he was in silent prayer. Queen's Accession, 2nd versicle before 
the Collect for the Day, 2nd versicle in Marriage Service, and Visitation 
of the Sick. 

XXI. The People's Praise for the King's Vic- 
tory. " God has granted his desire, and saved him with 
great glory." With ver. 3 cp. 2 Sam. xii. 30 ; with ver. 9 
cp. 2 Sam. xii. 31 ; with vv. 4, 5 cp. 2 Sam. vii. 13, and 
Heb. vii. 15, 16. Ascension Day. Queen's Accession. 

(31, 32.) Two on tJie Wars with Edom (2 Sam. viii. 
13, 14, R.V. margin, x. 7-19; 1 Chron. xviii. 12, 13, xix. 
6-19; 1 Kings xi. 15, 16). 

LX. A Golden Psalm of Triumph over Edom. 
" Restore and save, O God." " All Israel shall submit to 
thee, My anointed ; Moab, Edom, and Philistia are utterly 
humbled." With ver. 8 cp. James iv. 6, Isa. xvi. 6, Obad. 
I, 3 ; with ver. 12 cp. 2 Cor. iii. 5. Ver. 9 refers either to 
Rabbah or Zobah, or possibly to Selah (2 Kings xiv. 7). 
This Psalm shows more clearly than the history that David 



OF THE REIGN OF DAVID. 187 

fought against Syria of the Two Rivers (or Mesopotamia) 
and Syria of Zobah, and after suffering a critical reverse, 
won victory which brought him to the zenith of his power. 
During the campaign the Edomites took advantage of his 
absence in the north to revolt, and Joab was sent to quell 
their rebellion. Lot's children are pictured as washing 
the dust from Israel's feet (cp. 1 Sam. xxv. 41), Esau's are 
imaged by the slave to whom was thrown the shoe taken 
off for this washing ; the Philistines, who had so long 
been Israel's mighty oppressors, cry aloud at last in forced 
homage or terror. 

CVIII. A Morning Song of Praise. This adapta- 
tion of lx. and lvii. 7-1 1 was probably made to celebrate 
some similar victory in later times. Ascension Day. 

(33 — 3&) Four on triumphing over all foreign enemies 
and establishing lordship over the surrounding heathen 
(1 Chron. xviii. 6, xx. 3). 

IX. An Acrostic Psalm of Triumph over Foreign 
FOES. " Righteous Judge of the world, I will praise Thee. 
Thou hast destroyed the heathen and remembered the 
poor." With ver. 8 cp. Acts xvii. 31 ; with ver. 12 cp. 
Num. xxxv. 10-28 ; with ver. 13 cp. Acts ii. 31, 32. 

II. The Conquering Kingdom of the Lord's 
ANOINTED. " The heathen rage, but the Lord shall laugh 
them to scorn, and His Son shall be King over the whole 
earth." Quoted, Matt. xxvi. 63 ; Acts iv. 25-8, xiii. 33 ; 
Heb. i. 5, v. 5 ; Rev. ii. 27. Compare Rom. i. 4 ; Col. i. 18. 
Ancient Jewish interpreters ascribe the Psalm to David, 
and refer it to the Messiah. The New Testament not only 
ascribes it to David, but founds an argument on his author- 
ship. Its date is fixed by the allusion to the great Promise, 
and to triumph over the heathen (ver. 12). Homage to 
the sovereign is still expressed by a kiss. Easter Day. 

XVIII. The Hebrew Te Deum, David's Liturgical 
Song of Victory. (Repeated in 2 Sam. xxii.) " I love 
and praise and give thanks to the Lord, my Strength and 
Rock. He has delivered me from all my foes at home 
and abroad, and will show lovingkindness to me and my 
seed for ever." Quoted (ver. 49), Rom. xv. 9. With ver. 1 1 
cp. 1 Tim. vi. 16 ; with ver. 28 cp. Matt. vi. 22, 23 ; 
with vv. 37-42 cp. 2 Sam. xii. 31 ; with ver. 48 cp. 



1 88 THE PSALMS 

Psalm cxl. Ver. 50 is David's only mention of his own 
name. The Theophany so magnificently described in 
vv. 6-15 may be a reminiscence of some great storm that 
fought for David. Compare Judg. v. 20, 21. 

LXVIII. A National Thanksgiving for the 
Kingdom established on Mount Zion. "The God 
who went before us in the wilderness is gone up in triumph 
to dwell for ever in His holy place on Zion." Quoted, 
Eph. iv. 8-12 ; cp. Col. ii. 15. With ver. 1 cp. Num. x. 35 ; 
with ver. 4 cp. Exod. vi. 3 ; with ver. 1 1 (R.V.) cp. Exod. 
xv. 20, Judg. v., 1 Sam. xviii. 6; with ver. 12 cp. 1 Sam. 
xxx. 24; with ver. 18 cp. 2 Cor. vi. 16; with ver. 27 
cp. Judg. v. 1 8 ; with ver. 29 cp. 2 Chron. ii. ; with ver. 
31 cp. Acts viii. 27-39. Ver. 22 speaks of enemies ; 
ver. 30 alludes to the crocodile, emblem of Egypt. The 
Psalm was probably written for the festal procession which 
brought back the Ark from David's crowning campaign 
(2 Sam. xi. Ii). Whitsunday. Used by the Jews on the Feast 
of Pentecost. 

(B.) Twenty-six Psalms by David during the sufferings 
that followed his great sin. ( 1 036 — 1 024.) 

The sorrowful Psalms of this period show that prosperity 
is more trying to spiritual life than adversity. The ex- 
planation of David's fall may possibly be seen in the state 
of heart depicted in Psalm xviii. 20-24. 

(37, 38.) Two after Nathan's rebuke (2 Sam. xii. 13). 

LI. The Sinner's Confession {Miserere Mei). 
" Have mercy, O God ; pardon, cleanse, and restore me, 
for I acknowledge my sin." Quoted (ver. 4), Rom. iii. 4. 
With ver. 3 contrast Gen. iii. 12, 13, 1 Sam. xv. 15, and 
cp. 2 Cor. vii. 9-1 1 ; with ver. 7 cp. Exod. xxiv. 5-8, 
Lev. xiv., Heb. ix. 18-23 ; with ver. 1 1 cp. 1 Sam. 
xvi. 14, 2 Kings xxiv. 20, Jer. xxiii. 39; with ver. 18 cp. 
2 Sam. V. 9. Commination Service. A Penitential Psalm. It has 
guided the expression of repentance for centuries, and formed the 
dying prayer of the Chevalier Bayard, Dr. Arnold of Rugby, and many 
another saint. Vv. 3, 9, 17 are opening sentences at Morning and 
Evening Prayer ; ver. 15 is one of the versicles before the Venite. 

XXXII. The Penitent's Absolution. A Didactic 
Psalm. " At last I confessed, God forgave, and He will 
guide. Rejoice in Him, ye godly." Quoted, Rom. iv. 6-8 ; 
cp. Prov. xxviii. 13, I John i. 8, 9. Ash Wednesday. A Peni- 



OF THE REIGN OF DAVID. 189 

tential Psalm. The Jews used it on the Day of Atonement. S. 
Augustine had it written on the wall over against his bed in his last 
illness, that he might win comfort from it. 

(39 — 45). Seven during a grievous sickness unrecorded 
in 2 Samuel. The seclusion it involved may account for the 
success of Absalom's intrigues (2. Sam. xv. 6). 

VI. Prayer in Pain and Weakness. " Have mercy, 
I am wasted with sickness." Quoted (ver. 8), Matt. vii. 23. 
With ver. 1 cp. Jer. x. 24 and Rev. iii. 19. Ash Wednesday. 
A Penitential Psalm. Opening sentence of Morning and Evening 
Services. 

XXXVIII. A Psalm in Sickness to bring to Re- 
membrance. " I am full of pain, laden with iniquity, 
forsaken by my friends, and beset by enemies. I hope 
in Thee, make haste to help me." With ver. 9 cp. 2 Sam. 
xxiii. 5 ; with ver. 1 1 cp. Matt. xxvi. 56, Luke xxiii. 49 ; 
with ver. 13 cp. Matt, xxvii. 12, 14. Ver. 20 means that his 
cause is Still the cause of right. Ash Wednesday. A Penitential 
Psalm. Used on the Day of Atonement. 

XXXIX. A Prayerful Meditation on the Frailty 
OF HUMAN LIFE. " Man is but a breath. My hope is in 
Thee. Deliver, hear, spare." With ver. 2 cp. xxxviii. 13, 
14; with ver. 3 cp. Jer. xx. 9; with ver. 6 cp. Luke xii. 
16-21 ; with ver. 11 (margin) cp. James iv. 14 ; with ver. 12 
cp. 1 Peter ii. 11, Heb. xi. 13. This is the most beautiful 
elegy in the Psalter. Burial Service. 

XLI. A Prayer when nigh unto Death. " Heal 
me, for my enemies whisper against me, expecting me to 
rise no more. They triumph not, and Thou upholdest me 
for ever." Quoted (ver. 9), John xiii. 18, with a significant 
omission (see John ii. 24, 25). Ver. 1 refers to sickness, not 
poverty ; " King's friend " (in ver. 9) means " privy coun- 
cillor," 2 Sam. xv. 37, xvi. 16, 1 Kings iv. 5 ; ver. 13 is 
the doxology added by the compiler of Book I. (see p. 174). 
This Psalm evidently represents the crisis which settled the 
question of life or death for David. Offertory sentence (ver. 1). 

XL. A New Song of Praise on Recovery. " God 
has delivered me, and shown in what sacrifices He delights. 
Confound my enemies, and let those that seek Thee rejoice." 
Quoted (vv. 6-8), Heb. x. 5-10. With ver. 6cp. Isa. xlviii. 8 
and Exod. xxi. 5, 6 ; with ver. 7 cp. Psalm exxxix. 16 ; with 
ver. IO Cp. Psalm li. 13. Good Friday. 



190 THE PSALMS 

LXX. A Psalm on Recovery to bring to Remem- 
brance. Detached from xl. for liturgical use. Ver. i, 
versicles before Venite. S. Vincent de Paul asked to have this Psalm 
read to him again and again on his death-bed. 

V. A Morning Prayer on returning to Public 
Worship. " Lead me, because of my enemies. Thrust 
out the rebels, and let them that love Thee rejoice." 
Quoted (ver. 9), Rom. iii. 13. Ver. 3 (R.V.) shows that we 
should look out for the answers to our prayers ; ver. 6 
refers to Ahithophel ; with ver. 11 cp. Psalm xl. 16 and 
Phil. iv. 4. 

(46 — 51.) Six during growing public disorder and disaffec- 
tion to the throne (2 Sam. xv. 1-12). 

X. An Acrostic Prayer pleading against Law- 
lessness AT HOME. "Arise, O Lord, for the wicked 
oppress the poor, and say, God hath forgotten. But Thou 
art King for ever." Quoted (ver. 7), Rom. iii. 14. With 
ver. 4 cp. Psalm xiv. 1, John iii. 19. The LXX. regards 
ix. and x. as one Psalm. Their parallel structure and 
coincidences of language and style show their connexion ; 
x. is a mournful supplement to ix. The brigandage and 
injustice which followed upon political tumult and foreign 
invasion are also pictured in Prov. i. 10-14. 

XII. Man's Words and the Words of the Lord. 
" Help, for the faithful fail and the wicked walk en every 
side." With vv. 3, 4 cp. Jude 16, 2 Peter ii. 9-12, and 
Micah vii. 2-4 ; with ver. 6 cp. 1 Peter i. 23. 

XIV. The Divine Vision of Godlessness. "The 
Lord beheld that all the children of men had turned aside, 
and had forgotten and denied Him." Quoted, Rom. iii. 
10-12. (By a curious accident, St. Paul's further Old 
Testament quotations there were in most MSS. of the 
LXX. incorporated into this Psalm, whence they found 
their way into the Prayer Book Version.) With vv. 2-4 cp. 
Gen. vi. 12, Luke xviii. 2, Rom. i. 19, 20, 28; with ver. 3 
cp. Eccles. vii. 29. Ver. 7 may be a later liturgical addition, 
copied possibly from liii. The atheism described is that 
of the life rather than the lips, moral depravity rather than 
intellectual doubt. 

LIII. A Didactic Psalm. This reproduction, with 
slight variations, of xiv., was probably used for some 
signal defeat of Israel's enemies. (See ver. 5.) 



OF THE REIGN OF DAVID. 19T 

LXII. If God is for us, who is against us ? "How 
long will ye set upon a man, treacherous liars ? I wait on 
God, to whom power belongeth." With ver. 4 cp. John 
xi. 53 ; with ver. 12 cp. Rom. ii. 6, Gal. vi. 7, I Peter i. 17, 
cp. Psalm xlix. throughout. The word rendered " surely " 
in ver. 9 and "only " elsewhere occurs six times. Vv. 5, 6, 7 
were inscribed outside the cavern where Captain Allen Gardiner and 
his heroic comrades, pioneer missionaries in Tierra del Fuego, lay down 
to die, as their last message home. 

LXIV. GOD WILL Repay. " Hear, preserve, and hide 
me from the secret council of evil-doers. Suddenly God 
shall wound them, all shall fear, and the righteous shall 
rejoice." Compare Matt. xxvi. 3, 4, 14-16, xxvii. 3-5. With 
ver. 3 cp. 2 Sam. xv. 3 ; with ver. 9 cp. Isa. xxvi. 9. 

(52 — 54.) Three in the Wilderness, fleeing from Absalom 
and exiled from God's house (2 Sam. xv. 13-30). 

CXLIII. The Fugitive's Evening Hymn in Dark 
PLACES. " The enemy hath smitten me down. Hear, 
guide, save, and quicken me, for I am Thy servant." Wit,h 
ver. 1 cp. 1 John i. 9; with ver. 10 cp. John xvi. 13; 
cp. Psalms lxiii. and xxvii. throughout. The LXX. heads it, 
" When he fled from Absalom his son." Delitzsch says, if 
not actually David's, it is an extract of the most precious 
balsam from the old Davidic psalms. Ash Wednesday. A 
Penitential Psalm. Ver. 2, opening sentence in Morning Prayer. 

LXIII. The Fugitive's Morning Hymn in a Dry 
and Weary Land. " My God, I thirst for Thee. I will 
praise Thee, for Thou hast been my help." With ver. 1 
cp. John vii. 37 and 2 Sam. xvi. 14, xvii. 2, 29 ; it may be 
called " the keynote of personal religion." Donne says the 
spirit and soul of the whole Psalter is concentrated in this 
Psalm. A Daily Morning Psalm in the Eastern Church in very early 
times. 

XXVII. The Fugitive's Sure Confidence. " For- 
saken of all and cruelly maligned, I fear nothing, for the 
Lord is my Light and Salvation, and I shall yet praise 
Him in His Tabernacle." Quoted (ver. 6, LXX. version), 
Eph. v. 19. With ver. 1 cp. Micah vii. 8, John viii. 12, 
1 John i. 5. Its first three words are the motto of the 
University of Oxford. With ver. 14 cp. Hab. ii. 3. In 
ver. 10 "father and mother" are used proverbially of the 
nearest and dearest. 



192 THE PSALMS 

(55 — 57-) T/iree at BaJiurim on the taunts of Shimei and 
treacJiery of ' Ahithophel (2 Sam. xv. 31, xvi. 5-13, xvii. 23). 

LV. A Didactic Psalm of the cursed and betrayed 
SUFFERER. " With sore pain and terror of death within, 
and the enemy's reproaches without, O that I could flee 
altogether from the unholy city and treacherous friend, and 
be at rest ! Destroy them, for I trust Thee." Quoted 
(ver. 22), 1 Peter v. 7. With v. 21 cp. John xii. 5, 6, 
Matt. xxvi. 25, 49 ; with ver. 23 cp. Eccles. vii. 17, 2 Sam. 
xviii. 12-14. 

CIX. An Imprecatory Psalm concerning the Son 
OF PERDITION. " My deceitful adversary has overwhelmed 
me with curses. Let them recoil upon his own head." 
Quoted (ver. 3), John xv. 25 ; (ver. 8), Acts i. 20. With 
ver. 7 cp. John xvii. 12 and Matt. xxvi. 24 ; with ver. 13 
cp. Matt, xxiii. 38 and xxiv. ; with ver. 31 cp. Zech. iii. 
1, 2, 1 John ii. 1, 1 Tim. ii. 5. The attitude is that of 
either accuser or advocate. It seems best to take vv. 6-19 
as the adversary's words, and vv. 20 — 31 as David's appli- 
cation of them. S. Chrysostom calls this awful Psalm a 
prophecy under the form of imprecation. But our Lord's 
words about Judas, who was self-condemned and self- 
destroyed, contain no trace of personal vengeance, nothing 
inconsistent with John iii. 17 and Luke ix. 56. 

LXIX. An Imprecatory Psalm concerning many 
reproachful Adversaries. " For Thy sake I have 
borne reproach, derision, desolation, and shame. Let my 
persecutors be blotted out of the book of life, and save me." 
Quoted (ver. 4), John xv. 25 ; (ver. 9), Johnii. 17, Rom. xv. 
3 ; (ver. 21), Matt, xxvii. 34, John xix. 28, 29 ; (vv. 22, 23), 
Rom. xi. 9, 10 ; (ver. 25), Acts i. 20. With ver. 8 cp. John 
i. 11, vii. 5 ; with ver. 12 cp. Matt, xxvii. 27-30. There 
is a good reason to believe that the physical cause of our 
Lord's death was a broken heart (see ver. 20). Vv. 35, 36 
may be a liturgical addition. Internal evidence has led some 
to assign this Psalm to Jeremiah, whose circumstances it 
certainly describes ; but our knowledge of David's suffer- 
ings is not complete enough to warrant us in setting aside 
the heading, and to David it is twice clearly ascribed in 
the New Testament. It looks beyond the type to the Anti- 
type throughout. Good Friday. 



OF THE REIGN OF DAVID. 793 

(58 — 62.) Five at tJie time of David's greatest anguish 
and danger, when lie crossed Jordan, and battle was im- 
minent (2 Sam. xvii.). 

XXII. The Psalm of the Passion. "God has for- 
saken me, all laugh me to scorn, and I am brought into the 
dust of death. Thou hast answered, and I will praise Thee. 
The whole earth shall turn to the Lord and worship Him." 
Quoted (ver. 1), Matt, xxvii. 46, Mark xv. 34, cp. 2 Cor. 
v. 21 ; (ver. 8), Matt, xxvii. 43, cp. Matt. iii. 17 ; (ver. 18), 
Matt, xxvii. 35, John xix. 24; (ver. 22), Heb. ii. 1 1, 12. 
With ver. 7 cp. Matt, xxvii. 39 ; with ver. 1 5 cp. John 
xix. 28 ; with ver. 16 cp. John xx. 25 ; with vv. 25, 26 
cp. John vi. 53-8, Lev. vii. 11-21 ; with ver 27 cp. John 
xii. 32 ; with ver. 28 cp. 1 Cor. xv. 24, 25 ; with ver. 30 
cp. 1 Peter ii. 9. No circumstances of David's life are on 
record to which this Psalm is altogether applicable, so 
some refer it to an exile in the Captivity. But it vividly 
depicts the sufferings peculiar to death by crucifixion, 
unknown to the Jews till the Romans conquered Judaea. 
One Sufferer alone realised its language, which He directly 
applied to Himself, and we can only account for its por- 
trayal from within of what Isa. liii. portrays from without, 
by the foresight of supernatural revelation. The Jewish 
commentary on the Psalms explains its Hebrew title thus, 
" On him who leaps as a stag, and brightens the world in 
the time of darkness." Good Friday. 

XXXI. The Prayer of Faith tried with Fire. 
" I am defamed, forgotten, and wasted with grief. Deliver 
me. Great is Thy goodness. Take courage, ye godly." 
Quoted (ver. 5), Luke xxiii. 46, cp. Acts vii. 59. With ver. 
1 1 cp. Matt. xxvi. 56 ; with vv. 22, 23 cp. 2 Cor. i. 4. 
Some with less probability refer this to David's flight from 
Saul, others attribute it to Jeremiah. Ver. 5 formed the last 
words of Polycarp, Bernard, Charlemagne, Anskar, Columbus, Tasso, 
Lady Jane Grey, Jerome of Prague, Nicholas Hottinger, Luther, Me- 
lanchthon, and many others. 

LXI. A Cry from the End of the Earth. " Hear 
me, my Refuge. Let Thy lovingkindness and truth pre- 
serve me." With w. 6, 7 cp. John vi. 58, Heb. vii. 14-16. 
Ver. 8, versicle in Marriage Service and Visitation of the Sick. 

III. A Morning Hymn in the midst of many and 
GREAT DANGERS. " My foes are many, but I will not fear. 

13 



I 9 4 THE PSALMS 

Arise and save me, my Shield." With ver. 2 cp. 2 Sam. 
xvi. 8 ; with ver. 4 cp. 2 Sam. xv. 25 ; with ver. 6 cp. 
2 Sam. xv. 12, xvii. 11 ; with ver. 7 cp. Num. x. 35 ; with 
ver. 8 cp. Jonah ii. 9, 2 Sam. xxiv. 17, Luke xxiii. 34. 

IV. An Evening Hymn in the midst of many and 
GREAT DANGERS. " How long will ye seek after false- 
hood ? The Lord will hear and preserve me." Quoted 
(ver. 4, R.V. margin), Eph. iv. 26. With ver. 3 cp. John ix. 
3 1 ; with ver. 4 cp. 2 Sam. xviii. 5 ; with ver. 5 cp. Heb. 
xiii. 15 ; with ver. 6 cp. Psalm lxxx. 1, 3 ; 2 Cor. iv. 6 and 
Num. vi. 26. Ver. 7 contrasts his hungry followers with their 
opponents. First Psalm at Compline in the old Service Books. 

Fourth Term. The Reign of David. 

(C.) Ten Psalms by David of uncertain date, probably 
writteit during the closing years of his reign. (1024 — 10 16.) 

(63 — 65.) Three concerning the ways of God and the ways 
of men. 

XXXVI. The Wicked love Darkness though God 
GIVES LIGHT. " The wicked heart utters its oracles against 
God, but the children of men take refuge in Him who can 
abundantly satisfy." Quoted (ver. 1), Rom. iii. 18. With 
ver. 9 cp. John iv. 14 ; Rev. xxii. 1. 

XXXVII. An Acrostic on the Latter End of 
the Upright and of the Wicked. " Fret not thyself, 
but trust in the Lord. Delight in Him. Rest in Him. 
Commit thy way to Him. Wait for Him. The wicked 
shall be cut off ; the righteous shall abide for ever." Quoted 
(ver. 11), Matt. v. 5. With ver. 1 cp. Pro v. xxiv. 19 ; with 
ver. 4 cp. Job xxvii. 10 ; with ver. 16 cp. Prov. xv. 16 ; 
with ver. 23 cp. Jer. x. 23 ; with ver. 32 cp. Luke xiv. 1. 
This Psalm resembles Job, and solves the problem dealt 
with in that book. 

CXXXIII. A Song of Ascents concerning Unity. 
" Brotherly love is good and pleasant as oil and dew." 
Compare 1 Cor. xii. ; 2 Cor. xiii. 1 1 ; Eph. iv. 3 ; Phil. ii. 2, 3 ; 
Prov. xiii. 10. With ver. 3 cp. Lev. xxv. 21. This song, 
which has, says Herder, the fragrance of a lovely rose, may 
have been written on David's third anointing (1 Chron. xii. 
38-40), or on the pacification of Sheba's revolt. Hermon and 



OF THE REIGN OF DAVID. 195 

Zion represent North and South Israel united under 
David. 

(66 — 68.) TJiree concerning the Sanctuary. 

XXVI. Prayer on Access to the Sanctuary. 
" Judge, examine, and redeem me, that I may fitly enter 
Thy habitation which I love." Compare 1 Cor. xi. 28, 31 
and Psalms xv. and xxiv. With ver. 9 cp. Matt. xiii. 40. 

XXVIII. Prayer and Praise on entering the 
SANCTUARY. " Draw me not away with the wicked. Thou 
hast heard, my Strength. Bless Thy people." With ver. 2 
cp. Dan. vi. 10 ; with ver. 5 cp. Rom. i. 20. Ver. 9, versicles 
before Collect for the Day, and ver. 22 of Te Deum. 

XXX. A Song of Praise at the Dedication of 
the House of the Lord on Mount Moriah (2 Sam. 
xxiv.). " I will extol Thee, for Thou hast delivered and 
healed me, and turned my mourning into dancing." Com- 
pare James v. 15 ; 1 Chron. xxi. 16, 28, xxii. 1. David 
himself may have been smitten by the pestilence. Used on 
the Feast of Dedication (John x. 22). One of the closing entries in 
the Diary of the heroic Bishop Hannington speaks of the strength and 
comfort gained from this Psalm in his last hours. 

(69 — 72.) Four on Communion with God. 

CXXXIX. The Mystery of Man's Being and of 
God's PRESENCE. " Thou knowest me altogether, and I 
am ever in Thy presence. Search me, try me, and lead 
me." Compare Acts xvii. 28 ; Rom. xi. 33 ; Eccles. xi. 5. 
Aben Ezra calls this " the crown of all the Psalms." Note 
that its attempt to fathom the most profound subjects of 
human thought leads neither to abstract speculation nor 
to intellectual self-congratulation, but to humble prayer 
for salvation from sin. 

CXXXI. A Song of Ascents concerning Unques- 
tioning FAITH. " I do not exercise myself in things 
too wonderful for me." Compare Matt, xviii. 3, xix. 14 ; 
2 Sam. vi. 22. 

LXXXVI. A Prayer for Guidance and Strength. 
" Hear and save, most Mighty, most Merciful. Teach me 
Thy way, and show me a token for good." Quoted 
(vv. 8, 9), Rev. xv. 4. With ver. 11 cp. Matt. vi. 21-4. 
Some refer this to Saul's persecution. Others regard it as 
a late recast for liturgical use of one of David's Psalms. 
Ver. 2, versicles in Marriage Service and Visitation of the Sick. 



196 THE PSALMS 

CXLV. An Acrostic Hymn of Praise to God for 
WHAT He IS. " I will extol Thee, my King, for Thou art 
great and glorious, good and gracious, merciful and mighty. 
Thy kingdom and Thy praise shall be for ever." Compare 
Acts xvii. 24, 25 ; Psalm civ. ; Dan. vii. 27. We find 
David's " last words " in 2 Sam. xxiii., but his half of the 
Psalter could not conclude more fitly than with this magni- 
ficent invitation to all God's creatures to laud and magnify 
His glorious Name. Whitsunday. In the ancient Church it was 
the grace at the mid-day meal. 

The Reign of Solomon. 

Five Psalms by Solomon, five by Asaph, five by the Sons 
of Korahy one by Heman, and three of unknown authorship. 
(1016 — 976.) 

(73.) One by Solomon on his Accession (1 Kings ii. 12, 
iii. 28). 

LXXII. The Peaceful Reign of the Righteous 
King. " Let the King's son and heir judge the poor, save 
the needy, and rule from the Red Sea to the Mediterranean, 
from the Euphrates to the Desert ; and let all nations call 
him happy." With ver. 2 cp. Rev. xix. 2 ; with ver. 6 
cp. 2 Sam. xxiii. 4; with ver. 8 cp. Exod. xxiii. 31. 
Tarshish and the isles represent Europe ; Sheba in Arabia, 
Asia ; and Seba or Meroe, Africa. The Jewish Targums 
most emphatically refer this Psalm to the Messiah (Matt, 
xii. 42). Vv. 18-20 are the doxology and note added by 
the compiler of Book II. " Prayers of David " is a general 
name for the Psalms. 

(74.) One by the Korahites on Solomons marriage to 
Pharaoh's daughter {1 Kings iii. 1). 

XLV. A Didactic Song of Loves concerning the 
Bridegroom-King. " Ride on in triumph, O fair and 
mighty, O gracious and glorious King. Leave thy father's 
house, O king's daughter, for the King desires thee, and thy 
children shall be princes." Quoted (ver. 6), Heb. i. 8, 9 ; 
cp. Matt, xxv., 2 Cor. xi. 2, Eph. v. 25-32, Rev. xix. 6-9. 
The Jews regarded this Psalm as Messianic. With ver. 2 
cp. Isa. xxxiii. 17, Luke iv. 22, I Peter ii. 22 ; with ver. 6 
cp. 2 Sam. vii. 12, 13 ; with ver. 16 cp. Psalm xxii. 30, 
Rev. V. 10. Christmas Day. 



OF THE REIGN OF SOLOMON. 197 

(75 — 78.) Four by Solomon on inaugurating the Temple 
worship (1 Kings viii.). 

CXXXII. A Song of Ascents concerning the 
Lord's choice of Zion and Promise to David. " Re- 
member David's vow to find Thee an abode, and Thy 
promise to establish his throne. Arise into Thy resting 
place with the Ark of Thy strength." Compare Luke i. 
32, 33 ; 2 Tim. ii. 8 ; Rev. xxii. 16. With ver. 8 cp. Num. 
x. 33-6, 2 Chron. vi. 41, 42. This grandest Song of Ascents 
was clearly written after David's days, but not long after. 
Christmas Day. Versicles before the Collect for the Day. 

I. Concerning the Happiness of Wisdom. 
" Blessed is the man who delights in God's law. His way 
shall prosper, but the way of the wicked shall perish." With 
ver. 3 cp. John xv. 1-8 ; with ver. 4 cp. Matt. iii. 12 ; with 
ver. 5 cp. Luke xxi. 36 ; with ver. 6 cp. 2 Tim. ii. 19. Its 
resemblance to Proverbs suggests that Solomon wrote this 
Psalm as a preface to the Psalter he compiled for the new 
Temple. Jer. xvii. 5-8 seems to be a paraphrase of it. 

CXXVII. A Song of Ascents concerning Domes- 
tic BLESSINGS. " God only can give our labours their 
increase. Children are His reward." Compare 1 Cor. 
iii. 7 ; Matt. vi. 25-34. With ver. 2 cp. 2 Sam. xii. 25 (R.V. 
margin) ; with vv. 3, 4 cp. 1 Chron. xxvi. 2-5. This Psalm, 
an expansion of Prov. x. 22, refers to the rapid growth of 
population in the peace and prosperity that followed long 
years of war and tumult. Churching of Women. Used apparently 
at the presentation of the firstborn (Exod. xxii. 29; Luke ii. 22, 23). 

CXXVIII. A Song of Ascents concerning Home 
HAPPINESS. (A sequel to cxxvii.) " Blessed shall the 
godly be, as breadwinner, husband, father, and citizen." 
Compare Titus ii. 4, 5. Solemnisation of Matrimony. 

(79 — 82.) Four by Asaph, of uncertain date, illustrating 
the Temple worship and Solomon's dominion. 

L. Acceptable Sacrifice. " God hath shined out of 
Zion, and cometh to judge His people. He looks not for 
mere outward observances, but for thanksgiving, trustful 
prayer, and righteous conduct." Compare Psalm xl. 6-1 1, 
li. 16, 17 ; 1 Sam. xv. 22 ; Isa. i. 11-20 ; Jer. vi. 20, vii. 21-3 ; 
Amos v. 21-4 ; Micah vi. 6-8. With ver. 3 cp. Heb. i. 2, 
John iii. 32, xiv. 19, Rev. i. 7 ; with ver. 5 cp. 1 Thess. iv. 



198 THE PSALMS 

1 6, 17 ; with ver. 14 cp. Heb. xiii. 15, Rom. xii. 1. The 
opening name of God only occurs elsewhere in Josh. xxii. 
22. This Psalm must have been written in the best age of 
Hebrew poetry. 

LXXXI. A Festival Psalm on the Exodus. " Sing 
aloud to God who delivered Israel from bondage, and will 
feed them and subdue all their foes if they hearken to Him." 
With ver. 10 cp. John xv. 7, Isa. vii. 11 (A.V. margin). 
The Jews used it on the Fifth Day of the week, and probably on the 
Feast of Trumpets and the Feast of Tabernacles. 

LXXVII. Ancient Mercies a Pledge of Present 
Help. "I cried in trouble, Hath God forgotten? Then 
I remembered Thy wonders of old." Compare Hab. iii. ; 
I Cor. ix. 10 ; Heb. x. 36. With ver. 13 cp. 1 Kings viii. 30 ; 
with ver. 14 (R.V.) cp. 1 Kings viii. 60. 

LXXXII. A Vision of Judgment. "God judges 
the judge, therefore let him be just. Human authority is 
sacred, yet limited and delegated." Quoted (ver. 6), John 
x. 34-6. With ver. 2 cp. Acts x. 34, James ii. 1-4 ; with 
vv. 3, 4 cp. Psalm lxxii. ; with ver. 6 cp. Exod. xxi. 6 
(R.V.), 1 Sam. ii. 25 (R.V.), and Psalm viii. 5 (R.V. 
margin); cp. 2 Chron. xix. 6, 7, lsa. iii. 13-15. The Jews 
used it on the Third Day of the week. 

(83 — 85.) Three by the Korahites of uncertain date> illus- 
trating the Temple worship. 

XLII., XLIII. A Didactic Psalm by a Priest in 
Exile beyond Jordan. " My soul thirsts for God, and 
is cast down when I remember the worship of His house. 
Plead my cause against an ungodly nation, and bring me 
to Thy holy hill." With ver. 2 cp. Matt. v. 6 ; with ver. 7 
cp. Jonah ii. 3. xliii. 3 seems to refer to the Urim and 
Thummim ; " Tabernacles " alludes to the Holy Place and 
Holy of Holies ; xliii. is virtually the conclusion of xlii. 
(See R.V.) " Cast down " in ver. 5 is represented in the 
LXX. by a word which our Lord uses in Matt. xxvi. 38, 
thus applying the Psalm to Himself. " The language of 
this exile is the language of the human heart, under the 
stress of the purest and deepest desire that man can know " 
{Liddoii). In some old liturgies xlii. is used instead of the " Com- 
fortable Words " of the Communion Service. 

LXXXIV. The Devout Pilgrim's Joyous Song 



OF THE REIGN OF SOLOMON. 199 

on Approaching the Sanctuary. " I long for the 
courts of the Lord, for they that dwell in Thy house are 
blessed." Compare Luke ii. 37. " The living God " only 
occurs elsewhere in the Psalter in xlii., which may be by the 
same author ; ver. 9 is a prayer for the King. With ver. 
10 cp. 1 Chron. ix. 19 ; with ver. 11 cp. Rev. xxi. 23, Eph. 
iii. 20. Used by those who journeyed up to Jerusalem for the three 
great Feasts (Deut. xvi. 16). 

(86 — 91.) Six closely resembling in style and tone the 
Sapiential Books of Solovwn y s period — z.e. f fob, Proverbs, 
and Ecclesiastes. TJieir dates are unknown. 

LXXXVIII. A Didactic Psalm by Heman on the 
LAND OF FORGETFULNESS. " I am desolate and afflicted, 
and my life draweth nigh to unremembered Sheol, where 
all is forgotten." Compare Matt. xxvi. 38, 56, xxvii. 46 ; John 
xii. 27 ; 2 Tim. i. 10. This is the saddest of all the Psalms, 
but ver. 1 shows that its dark doubt is not absolute despair. 
Good Friday. 

XLIX. A Korahite Meditation upon Man's 
Mortality, the Old Testament Version of Dives 
AND LAZARUS. " Rich and wise die with poor and foolish. 
All are alike appointed as a flock for Sheol. But God will 
redeem my soul from its power." Quoted (ver. 17), I Tim. 
vi. 7 ; cp. Matt. xvi. 26, Luke xvi. 19-31. With ver. 14 cp. 
Rom. xiii. 12 ; with ver. 15 cp. John xiv. 3. 

LXXIII. The Sure and Certain Hope. Faith's 
Triumph over Honest Doubt. By Asaph. "The 
prosperity of the wicked troubled me till in God's sanctuary 
I considered their latter end, and knew that God is my 
Refuge and my Portion for ever." With vv. 25, 26 cp. 
Phil. iii. 8, 2 Cor. iv. 16-18, v. 1. The Syriac version says 
this Psalm was written on the death of Absalom. Perhaps 
the oppressions at the end of Solomon's reign are referred 
to (1 Kings xii. 4). 

CXI. A Hallelujah Acrostic concerning the 
WORKS OF THE LORD. " I will give thanks, for God's 
works are great and eternal, gracious and just." With 
ver. 5 cp. Matt. vi. 33 ; with vv. 7, 8 cp. Luke xvi. 17 ; with 
ver. 10 cp. Prov i. 7, ix. 10, John vii. 17. Easter Day, 
probably because of an ancient application of ver. 5 to the Passover. 

CXI I. A Hallelujah Acrostic concerning the 



2oo THE PSALMS 

Fear OF THE LORD. "Blessed is the God-fearing. 
Wealth, riches, peace, and enduring remembrance are his." 
Quoted (ver. 9), 2 Cor. ix. 9. With ver. 5 cp. Luke vi. 35. 

XCI. The Life Hid in God. "He that abideth in 
God shall be shielded from all fears and all adversities. 
God's angels shall guard thee, because thou hast set thy 
love upon Him." Quoted (vv. 11, 12), Matt. iv. 6; Luke 
iv. 10, II. With ver. 13 cp. Rom. xvi. 20, and the Litany; 
with ver. 16 cp. Luke ii. 30; cp. Job v. 17-23, 1 John iv 
16-18. This Psalm is in the form of a dialogue. 

The Reign of Rehoboam. 

(92.) One Psalm by Ethan on Shishak's Invasion. 
About 970 (1 Kings xiv. 25, 26). 

LXXXIX. A Didactic Psalm on God's Covenant 
WITH David. " Our all-sovereign God chose David, and 
promised that his throne should endure. But now Thou 
hast cast it down to the ground. Where are Thy former 
mercies?" Quoted (ver. 20), Acts xiii. 22; (vv. 36, 37), 
John xii. 34. The Targums interpret this Psalm of the 
Messiah. With ver. 19 cp. Acts v. 31 ; with ver. 27 cp. 
Col. i. 15, 18. Ver. 52 is the doxology added by the com- 
piler of Book III. Some refer this Psalm to the reign of 
Jehoiakim, while Ewald conjectures that it expresses loss 
of the hope that David's line would be restored through 
Zerubbabel. Christmas Day. 

Fifth Term. The Reign of Jehoshaphat. 

One anonymous Psalm, one Asaphite, and three Korahite 

(915-889.) 

(93.) One written perhaps during the famine in Israel, 
and the religious revival in Judah (2 Chron. xvii. 9). 

XXXIII. A New Liturgical Song of National 
Trust in GOD. "Praise the Lord who hath created 
heaven and earth, and whose eye is on them that fear Him." 
With ver. 6 cp. John i. 1-3, Job xxxiii. 4, Gen. i. 26; 
with ver. 9 cp. Heb. xi. 3; with vv. 10, 1 1 cp. 1 Cor. 
i. 19-31. Mention of horses suggests that the Psalm is 
later than those of David. It might have been written at 



OF THE REIGN OF JEHOSHAPHAT. 201 

several different periods, but illustrates this one very well. 
Ver. 22, closing versicles in the Litany. 

(94.) One Asaphite on the confederacy of Moab and 
Amnion against Israel, written perhaps by fahaziel 
(2 Chron. xx. 1-18). 

LXXXIII. A Song in the Temple imploring 
God's Aid. " The sons of Lot, Ishmael, and Esau, with 
Amalek, Philistia, Tyre, and Assyria, consult together 
against us. Destroy them as Thou didst destroy the 
Canaanite and Midianite confederacies of old." With vv. 
15-18 cp. Phil. ii. 10, 11. 

(95 — 97-) A Triplet of ' KoraJiite Songs celebrating Israel's 
victory (2 Chron. xx. 19-28). 

XLVI. A Song on the Eve of Battle in the 
WILDERNESS OF Tekoa. " God, our Refuge and Strength, 
is with us, and will help us right early." With title cp. 
1 Chron. xv. 20; with vv. 4, 5 cp. Rev. xxi., xxii. 1-5. 
This is the original of Luther's famous hymn, "Ein'feste Burg ist unser 
Gott." 

XLVI I. A Song of Deliverance in the Valley 
OF BLESSING. " Shout unto God with triumph. He shall 
subdue the peoples under us, and we gather together to be 
His." (An expansion of xlvi. 10.) With ver. 5 cp. Exod. 
iii. 8, Acts i. 9; with "shields," in ver. 9, cp. Hos. iv. 18 
(R.V. margin). Ascension Day. 

XLVI 1 1. A Song of Thanksgiving in the Temple. 
"The City of the Great King is beautiful, for there is 
God known for a Refuge. He will be our Guide for ever." 
Quoted (ver. 2), Matt. v. 35. Compare Lam. ii. 15. With 
ver. 7 cp. 2 Chron. xx. 36, ^J. Jewish commentators refer 
this Psalm to the Messiah. Whitsunday. The Jews used it on 
the Second Day of the week. 

These three Psalms are often referred to Sennacherib's 
defeat, and they contain several coincidences with Isaiah. 
They were doubtless used in 700, but suit the circumstances 
of the early deliverance even better. 

The Decline and Fall of Israel. 

(98.) One Asaphite Psalm. About 740? (Compare 
Hosea.) 
LXXX. A Mournful Prayer for the perishing 



202 THE PSALMS 

Sons OF Joseph. " Turn us again and save us, O Shep- 
herd of Israel. For the vine Thou broughtest out of Egypt 
is ravaged." With vv. I, 2 cp. Num. ii. 18-24, iii. 23, 25 ; 
with ver. 3 cp. Acts iii. 26 ; with ver. 8 cp. Isa. v., Jer. 
ii. 21, Ezek. xix., Hos. x. 1, and Gen. xlix. 22; with ver. 
17 cp. Eph. i. 20, Rev. i. 13-16. 

The Reign of Hezekiah. 

Two AsapJiite Psalms, one Korahite, and three anonymous ', 
written perhaps by HezekiaJi. (Compare Isa. xxxviii.) 

(99.) One Korahite on the tribute brougJit to HezekiaJi. 
About 711. (2 Chron. xxxii. 23.) 

LXXXVII. A Song concerning Zion, the 
Glorious Mother of many Nations. " God loves 
Zion, and shall establish her, and count who was born there 
when Hewriteth up the peoples." Compare Eph. ii. 19, iii. 
3-6; Col. iii. 11 ; John x. 16 ; and contemporary prophecies — 
e.g., Isa. ii. 2-5, xix. 23-5, xl.-lxvi. ; Micah iv. 1-4. In antici- 
pating the mystery revealed to S. Paul of the brotherhood 
of all men in Christ, this striking Psalm stands alone in the 
Old Testament. 

(100, 1 01.) Two Asaphite on the invasion by tJie Assyrians, 
and the deliverance from them. About 700. (2 Kings xix.) 

LXXV. A Song concerning the Judge of the 
WHOLE EARTH. " We thank Thee, for from Thee alone 
cometh the destruction of the wicked and the lifting up 
of the righteous." With ver. 2 cp. John v. 25-9 ; with 
ver. 4 cp. 2 Kings xviii. 35 ; with ver. 8 cp. Rev. xiv. 10 ; 
cp. 1 Sam. ii. 1-10 and Isaiah throughout. The reference 
to looking for human aid from all quarters save the North 
has suggested that they feared Northern enemies, of whom 
the chief were the Assyrians. This is, however, conjectural. 

LXXVI. A Song of Exultation over the Death 
Sleep of the Mighty. " God is known in Judah as 
glorious and excellent. At His rebuke the stout-hearted 
are spoiled." With ver. 1 cp. 2 Chron. xxx. 1 ; with 
ver. 3 cp. Isa. xxxvii. 33 ; with ver. 10 cp. Acts iv. 27, 28. 
Internal evidence fixes the date. 

(102 — 104.) TJiree after signal deliverance and special 
harvest blessing. About 700. (Isa. xxxvii. 30.) 



OF THE REIGN OF HEZEKTAH. 203 

LXV. A Song of Harvest Thanksgiving. "Blessed 
are Thy people, Lord. Thou hast stilled the tumult, 
and all creation is enriched by Thy goodness." With ver. 7 
cp. Matt. viii. 27 and Isa. xvii. 12-14. This Psalm may be 
adapted from one of David's by his descendant. 

LXVI. A Passover Song of Deliverance after 
Sore Trial and Earnest Prayer. " Come and see the 
terrible works of God, who observes the nations, who has 
brought us out into a wealthy place." With ver. 10 cp. 2 
Peter i. 7. Ver. 6 alludes to the two great Passover miracles 
(Exod. xiv. ; Josh, iii.) ; ver. 12 may refer to the famous 
Assyrian cavalry. Both style and substance connect this 
Psalm with lxv., but its date cannot be certainly fixed. 
Thanksgiving after a storm at sea. 

LXVI I. A Liturgical Harvest Song of Benedic- 
tion. {Dens Misereatur.) " Bless us, that all men may know 
Thy saving health, and praise Thee together." Compare 
Acts i. 7, 8 ; Psalm xxii. 27 ; Num. vi. 24-6. Solemnisation 
of Matrimony and second canticle at Evensong. 

Sixth Term. The Decline and Fall of Judah. 

One Korahite Psalm, two Asaphite, and three anonymous. 
(105.) One Korahite, probably occasioned by some un- 
recorded disaster in the later days of the monarchy. 
XLIV. A Didactic Psalm in time of Great 
National Calamity. "We have heard what Thou 
didst for our fathers of old. But now Thou hast cast 
us off, yet we have not forgotten Thee. Rise up for our 
help, O Lord." Quoted (ver. 22), Rom. viii. 36. With ver. 
17 cp. Hos. xi. 12 ; cp. also 1 Kings viii. 33-50. Con- 
jectures as to its date range from the days of David to 
those of the Maccabees. Antiphon in Litany. 
(106.) One in time of fear and trouble. 
LXXI. A Psalm of trustful Old Age concerning 
God's Righteousness. " From my youth I have trusted 
Thee. Forsake me not in my old age, for my enemies 
are many. My redeemed soul shall praise Thee." With 
ver. 17 cp. Phil. i. 6. The LXX. gives this contradictory 
heading : " A Psalm of David, of the Sons of Jonadab, 
and of those who were first led captive." It may be a 



204 THE PSALMS 

Rechabite (Jer. xxxv.) adaptation of Psalms xxii., xxxi., 
xxxii., and xl. ; others refer it to Jeremiah. Visitation of 
the Sick. Last verse of Te Deum. 

(107, 108.) Two AsapJiite on the Fall of Jerusalem, B.C. 
588 (2 Kings xxv.). 

LXXIV. A Didactic Psalm on the Profanation 
and Destruction of the Temple. " The enemy has 
fired Thy sanctuary and burned up all Thy synagogues. 
Thou didst great things for us of old. Arise, plead Thine 
own cause." Compare Jude 5 ; Matt. xxi. 13, xxiii. 38. 
With ver. 9 cp. Lam. ii. 9. 

LXXIX. A Sorrowful Pleading for the Slaugh- 
tered People and Ruined City. " Jerusalem is wasted, 
Thy servants lie unburied, and we are brought very low. 
Remember not our fathers' iniquities, but deliver us." 
Compare Luke xix. 41-4 and Lamentations ; with vv. 6, 7 
cp. Jer. x. 25 ; with vv. 4, 9 cp. Dan. ix. 16. Some 
attribute these two Psalms to Shishak's invasion, others 
to the time of the Maccabees. See 1 Mace. i. 44-64, iv. 
38, vii. 16, 17, ix. 26, 27; 2 Mace. i. 8, v. 12-16, viii. ^3> 
They may be by Jeremiah. Ver. 9, antiphon in Litany. 

(109, no.) Two representing the darkest hour of the 
Captivity (2 Chron. xxxvi. 17-20). 

CXXX. A Song of Ascents concerning God's 
Abundant Forgiveness. (Be profundi's.) "Out of the 
depths I cry. I wait on Thee, and hope in Thee." Compare 
Rom. iii. 24, 25 ; 2 Cor. iv. 8-10 ; Titus ii. 14. Ash Wednesday. 
A Penitential Psalm. 

CXXIX. A Song of Ascents concerning Israel's 
Afflictions. " Great have been my afflictions, yet the 
enemy hath not prevailed. Let all Zion's haters be 
ashamed." Compare John xvi. 33. With ver. 8 cp. Ruth 
ii. 4. 

Seventh Term. The Restoration and the 
Second Temple. 

The Psalms of this period are only a softened echo of 
David's strains ; not experimental, autobiographical heart- 
searchings, but liturgical and national hymns for the 
ordinary Temple service. They lead us up from the deep 



OF THE RESTORATION. 205 

sorrow of the Captivity, through the mingled music of the 
Songs of Ascents, to the four great groups of Thanksgiving 
Psalms which close the Psalter. 

(m — 117.) A sequence of six Psalms and one detached 
Psalm, written towards the close of tlie Captivity as the 
prospect of return gradually brightened, 538 — 536. (Ezra 
i. 1-6.) 

CI I. A Prayer of the Afflicted when he is 
OVERWHELMED. " In pain and loneliness and reproach, 
a weak and dying creature, I cry to God, who endureth 
for ever, for the time to have pity on Zion is come." 
Quoted (vv. 25-7), Heb. i. 10-12. With ver. 26 cp. 2 Peter 
iii. 10; with ver. 13 cp. Jer. xxv. 11, xxix. 10, Dan. 
ix. 2. The heading of this Psalm, which contains many 
thoughts and words from earlier psalms, stands alone in 
appointing it for private devotion. Ash Wednesday. A Peni- 
tential Psalm. Ver. 1, versicles in Confirmation and Marriage Services, 
and Visitation of the Sick. 

CI II. A Thanksgiving for Individual and Na- 
tional SALVATION. " Bless the Lord who forgives, heals, 
redeems, and satisfies, and pities like a father. Brief is His 
wrath and everlasting His mercy." Quoted (vv. 15, 16), 
James i. 10 ; 1 Peter i. 24. With ver. 8 cp. Exod. xxxiv. 
6, 7, 2 Peter iii. 15 ; with ver. 13 cp. Luke xv. 11-32 ; with 
ver. 20 cp. Matt. vi. 10. The evidence of language and 
style as well as the connexion with cii. is against the 
ascription to David. Ver. 10, versicles after the Lord's Prayer in 
the Litany. 

CIV. A Hallelujah Psalm of Creation. " Bless 
the Lord who created the heavens and earth and sustains 
all His creatures." Quoted (ver. 4), Heb. i. 7. With ver. 2 
cp. Matt. xvii. 2. The Psalm is an ode on Gen. i., 
whose order is followed throughout. Compare Job xxxviii., 
xxxix. ; 1 Cor. viii. 6; Rev. iv. 11. Its landscape of 
mountain, springs, and cedars, bounded by distant sea 
covered with ships and swarming with a monster brood, 
may be found in Lebanon. Whitsunday. 

CV. A EUCHARISTIC AND HALLELUJAH PSALM RE- 
COUNTING God's marvellous works from Abraham's 
Call to THE EXODUS. "God promised Canaan to 
Abraham, preserved his descendants in their wanderings, 



206 THE PSALMS 

and brought them out of Egypt with gladness." Compare 
Rom. xv. 4. Vv. 1 -1 5 are taken from David's Song of 
Praise (i Chron. xvi. 8-22 see p. 64). Whitsunday. Used by 
the Jews on the First Day of the week. 

CVI. A Hallelujah Psalm recounting the Rebel- 
lions of Israel from the Exodus to the Days of 
THE JUDGES. " Our fathers sinned and God's wrath was 
kindled. We have sinned with them, yet gather us from 
among the heathen." Compare 1 Cor. x. 1-12; Dan. ix. 
With vv. 47, 48 cp. 1 Chron. xvi. 35, 36. Ver. 48 is the 
doxology added by the compiler of Book IV. The terse 
and simple style of cv., cvi. indicates that they may have 
been meant for instructing the young. 

CVII. A Eucharistic Psalm of Life in Six 
STANZAS. " Thank the Lord for His goodness to the 
wanderers (cp. John viii. 1 2), the prisoners (cp. Luke iv. 1 8 ; 
Rom. vii. 24, 25), the sick (cp. Matt. iv. 23), the storm- 
tossed (cp. Matt. viii. 26), and the perishing (cp. John vi.)." 
Matt. vi. 25, 26 may be regarded as its keynote. Isaiah 
and Job are frequently quoted and referred to. With ver. 9 
cp. Luke i. 53. Ver. 16 may refer to the capture of Babylon 
(Isa. xlv. 1, 2). With ver. 20 cp. John iv. 50, Luke vii. 7 ; 
with ver. 43 cp. Hos. xiv. 9. This Psalm was perhaps sung 
at the Feast of Tabernacles described in Ezra iii. Thanks- 
giving after a storm at sea. 

CXXXVII. A Reminiscence of Silent Suffering 
IN BABYLON. " We wept in Babylon, thinking of the Zion 
we can never forget. O Lord, recompense Edom and 
Babylon." Compare Obadiah and Rev. xviii. 

( 1 1 8 — 121.) A triplet of So?tgs on approaching and entering 
Jerusalem, with a KoraJiite thanksgiving as a sequel, 536. 
(Ezra iii.) 

CXX. A Song of Ascents concerning Deceitful 
Tongues and Haters of Peace. "Deliver me from 
lying lips, for I dwell among the turbulent, yet long for 
peace." Compare Ezra iv. 1, 4 and John iv. 9. 

CXXI. A Song of Ascents concerning Israel's 
KEEPER. " My help cometh from the Lord. He will keep 
thee from all evil." Compare Luke xii. 4-7. " Keep " 
occurs six times. See R.V. 

CXXII. A Song of Ascents concerning Joyous 



OF THE RESTORATION. 207 

Entrance into the Holy City. "We stand within 
thy gates, where are the thrones of David's house. Peace 
be within thee, Jerusalem." Compare Heb. xii. 22 ; Isa. xxx. 
29 ; Exod. xxiii. 17. Internal evidence is against David's 
authorship, and his name is omitted in the LXX. 

LXXXV. Praise for Restoration and Prayer 
FOR THE RESTORED. " Lord, Thou hast forgiven, and 
turned our captivity. Our land shall yield her increase. 
Quicken us again." With vv. 10, 11 cp. Rom. iii. 25, 26, 
John i. 14. Christmas Day. Ver. 7, versicles before the Collect for 
the Day. 

(122 — 125.) Four Songs while the work was interrupted 
and opposed by their enemies, 445 — 433. (Neh. iv.-vi.) 

CXXIII. A Song of Ascents concerning the Eye 
OF HOPE. (Oculus Sperans was the old name of the 
Psalm.) " Filled with the foe's scorning and contempt, we 
look to Thee, our Master." Compare Col. iii. 23, 24, and 
Neh. ii. 19, iv. 4, ix. 36, 37. 

CXXIV. A Song of Ascents concerning Hope 
NOT PUT TO Shame. "Had not the Lord been for us, 
we had been overwhelmed. But He is our Help, and we 
are escaped." Compare Rom. viii. 31. David's name is 
omitted in the chief versions, and in some MSS. If origin- 
ally from his hand, it may have been adapted to the 
experience of the restored Jews, as a sequel to cxxiii. 
Thanksgiving after Victory. Ver. 8, versicles in Confirmation Service. 

CXXV. A Song of Ascents concerning Israel's 
Defence. " The Lord is round about His people as the 
mountains are round about Jerusalem." Compare Gal. 
vi. 16 ; Zech. ii. 5. 

CXXVI. A Song of Ascents concerning the 
Turning of Zion's Captivity. " Our joy is like a dream, 
as we rejoice over the great things the Lord hath done for 
us." Compare Matt. v. 4 ; John xvi. 22 ; Gal. vi. 7-9 ; 
Luke viii. 39. Vv. 5, 6 were engraved on the walls of the Beau- 
champ Tower by Edmund Poole, imprisoned there in 1562. 

( 1 26, 1 27.) Two Liturgical Prayers for the Second Temple 
(Neh. xi. 22, 23). 

XCIV. A Lyric Psalm for the Fourth Day of 
THE Week. (LXX. heading.) "How long shall the 
arrogant wicked afflict Thine heritage? The Lord shall 



208 THE PSALMS 

cut them off in their own evil." Quoted (ver. n), I Cor 
iii. 20. With ver. I cp. Heb. x. 30, Deut. xxxii. 35 ; with 
ver. 3 cp. Psalm xiii. 1; with ver. 12 cp. Heb. xii. 3-1 1, 
James i. 12; with ver. 21 cp. Matt, xxvii. 1-4. The con- 
jectures as to the date of this Psalm, which the LXX. 
ascribes to David, are very numerous. It borrows from 
many earlier ones. The Jews used it at the Feast of Tabernacles. 

CXLIV. A New Song praying for Israel's Pros- 
perity. " Rescue me from the hand of strangers. Happy 
and prosperous are Thy people." With ver. 12 cp. 1 Peter 
ii. 5. Vv. i-n is made up of extracts from David's Psalms. 
To these a national prayer is added. 

(128 — 130.) Three Liturgical Thanksgivings for the 
Second Temple. 

CXXXIV. A Concluding Song of Ascents con- 
cerning the Priestly Benediction. The pilgrims at 
the close of their journey greet the priests and Levites 
in the Temple (vv. 1, 2) keeping their night watch (see 
1 Chron. ix. 33 ; Luke ii. 37 ; Rev. xvi. 15), who bless them 
in return (Num. vi. 23-7) ; cp. 1 Tim. ii. 8. 

The first seven Songs of Ascents were written alter the 
Captivity ; of the next seven, two are by David, three (?) 
by Solomon, and two were written during the Captivity. 
The fifteenth was added after the Captivity as a doxology. 

CXXXV. A Hallelujah Psalm acknowledging 
Israel's God to be the one true God. " Praise the 
great Creator, who chose and redeemed Israel and gave 
them Canaan." Quoted (ver. 14), Heb. x. 30. With ver. 
5 cp. Mark xii. 32, 1 Cor. viii. 6, Neh. ix. 5-38. This is 
a mosaic from the earlier Psalms and prophets, and was 
probably sung in alternate responses by priest and people. 

CXXXVI. The Great Hallel. A Eucharistic 
PSALM (in alternate responses, with a burden sung in full 
chorus). " Give thanks to God, whose mercy endureth for 
ever, for our creation, redemption, preservation, and all the 
blessings of this life." Compare 1 Tim. iv. 4. This " Jewish 
national anthem " is also a mosaic of earlier Psalms, and 
the three following groups may be regarded as expansions 
of it. It was sung on the evening of the battle of Emmaus. B.c. 167. 
See p. 168. 

(131 — 138.) Seven Royal Psalms^ with a closing Doxology 



OF THE RESTORATION. 209 

concerning the joyful coming of Jehovah the righteous King. 
A Missionary Hallel. The LXX. ascribes XCIII. — C. to 
David, and XCII. has been attributed to him also. Others 
refer all these Psalms to Isaiah at the time of Hezekiah's 
Reformation, and they closely resemble his later prophecies. 
Others make them post-Restoration Psalms. They are 
evidently liturgical and continuous. 

XCII. A Song for the Sabbath Day to God 
THE CREATOR. " Thou hast made me glad through Thy 
works. Thine enemies shall perish and the righteous shall 
flourish." With ver. 5 cp. Rom. xi. 33 ; with ver. 10 cp. 
2 Cor. i. 21, 1 John ii. 20. Ver. 13 alludes to the trees 
in the Temple Courts. " Jehovah " occurs seven times in 
this Psalm, which was used at the early morning sacrifice. 
The Talmud explains its title by saying it is " a Psalm for 
the future age of the Messiah, the day which is wholly a 

Sabbath." Used by the Jews on the Seventh Day of the week (Num. 
xxviii. 9, 10), and on the Second Day of the Feast of Tabernacles. 

XCIII. A Psalm of Praise to God the Ruler 
OF ALL CREATION. " Thy throne is established of old, 
and holiness becometh Thine house." Compare Rev. xix. 6 
and Psalm xcii. 8. Used by the Jews on the Sixth Day of the 
week. 

XCV. A Psalm of Praise to God the Shepherd 
OF ISRAEL. ( Venite.) " Worship God joyfully, and harden 
not your hearts as your fathers did." Quoted, Heb. iii. 7 — 
iv. 11; " in David " merely means " in the Psalms." 
With ver. 4 Cp. I Kings XX. 28. Used by the Jews on Friday 
Evening. It has formed the Invitatory Psalm at Morning Prayer in 
both the Eastern and Western Church from very early times. 

XCVI. A New Song to God the Righteous 
JUDGE. " Give God the glory due to Him, all peoples, 
and let the earth exult in His coming." With ver. 10 cp. 
Act xvii. 22-31. This Psalm is an adaptation of the second 
part of David's Song of Praise (1 Chron. xvi. 23-33). 

XCVI I. A Psalm of Praise to God exalted far 
ABOVE ALL GODS. " Let earth rejoice and tremble, and 
ye that love the Lord hate evil." Quoted (ver. 7), Heb. i. 6. 
With ver. 1 cp. Psalm lxv. 5 ; with ver. 10 cp. 2 Tim. ii. 19 ; 
with ver. 1 1 cp. Mai. iv. 2. 

XCVI II. A New Song to God who hath wrought 
Salvation. {Cantate Domino^) " Let the whole earth 

14 



210 THE PSALMS 

rejoice, for t3ie Lord's salvation is known to all." With 
ver. I cp. i Cor. xv. $7 > with vv. 8, 9 cp. Rom. viii. 21-3. 
First Canticle at Evensong. 

XCIX. A Song of Praise to the Holy God who 
HEARS PRAYER. " The Lord is great in Zion. He heard 
His servants of old, and they kept His statutes." With vv. 
3, 5, 9 (R.V.) cp. Isa. vi. 3, Rev. iv. 8 ; with ver. 9 cp. Luke 
xxiv. 52, Acts i. 12, John xii. 41 ; cp. Rev. xi. 15-18. 

C. A Psalm for the Thankoffering to the 
Good God whom all serve joyfully. (Jubilate^ 
" Let all lands know that Jehovah is God, and rejoice.'' 
Compare Acts ii. 46, 47. With ver. 5 cp. 2 Chron. v. 13. 
Second Canticle at Morning Prayer. 

The wide recognition of God's wonderful interposition on 
behalf of His captive people is the original theme of these 
eight Psalms (Ezek. xxxvi. 21-4; Dan. iv. 17, 25, 35). 
Their complete fulfilment is to be found in the universal 
preaching of the gospel and the Advent in glory of Christ 

(139 — 144.) Six Psalms forming the Egyptian Hallel 
for the Passover, very doubtfully attributed to David, more 
probably post-Restoration. 

CXI 1 1. A Hallelujah Psalm on the God of 
Glory AND Grace. " Praise the Lord. His glory is 
high above the heavens, yet He humbleth Himself to raise 
the poor." W T ith vv. 5, 6 cp. Phil. ii. 5-8. Compare the songs 
of Hannah and of the Virgin Mary. Easter Day. Versicles 
in Confirmation Service. 

CXIV. The Deliverance of God's Nation 
THROUGH THE Red Sea AND JORDAN. " At the presence 
of Jacob's God, sea and flood were driven back, and the 
rock became a fountain of water." With ver. 7 cp. Matt. 
xxiv. 29, 30 ; with ver. 8 cp. I Cor. x. 2, 4. Easter Day. 

CXV. A Hallelujah Psalm contrasting the 
God of Heaven with the Idols of Men. {Non nobis, 
Domine^) " Not unto us be glory. For God hath been 
mindful of us and will bless us." Vv. 1-8 and 16-18 are 
said by the congregation, vv. 9-1 1 by the Levites and choir, 
vv. 12-15 by the Priest. Compare 1 Cor. viii. 4; 1 John 
v. 21. 

CXVI. A Hallelujah Psalm on the Deliver- 
ance OF God's Servant. " I was brought low and God 



OF THE RESTORATION. 211 

saved me. What shall I render unto Him ? " Quoted 
(ver. 10), 2 Cor. iv. 13. With ver. 16 cp. Isa. lxv. 23, 1 
Cor. vii. 14. It illustrates the depth of religious life in 
individuals at this time. Churching of Women. 

CXVII. A Hallelujah Psalm. "Let all nations 
praise the Lord." Quoted, Rom. xv. 1 1. This shortest of 
the Psalms seems to have formed the usual doxology with 
which the congregation was dismissed. 

CXV1II. The Great Hosanna. A Eucharistic 
PSALM. " The Lord is on our side, and in His name will I 
cut off all the nations that compass me round. I shall not 
die, but live, and declare His works." Quoted (ver. 6), Heb. 
xiii. 6 ; (ver. 22), Matt. xxi. 42, Acts iv. 11, 1 Peter ii. 4-7 ; 
(vv. 25, 26), Matt. xxi. 9, xxiii. 39. The Psalm is in 
alternate responses, and seems designed for solemn entrance 
into the Temple on some great festival, perhaps that of 
Neh. viii. 13-18. Easter Day. Used by the Jews on the Feast of 
Tabernacles. 

These six Psalms are termed the great Hallel by some 
Jewish authorities, others giving that name to cxxxvi. ; 
cxi. and cxii. formed an introduction to them. They were 
used at the three great Feasts, at the New Moons, and at 
the Feast of Dedication. At the Passover, cxiii., cxiv. 
were sung before the second cup, and cxv. — cxviii. after 
the fourth cup, when supper was ended (Matt. xxvi. 30). 

(145 — 149.) Five Psalms, forming a Second Hallel for 
daily Morning Prayer. The LXX. attributes cxlvi. — cxlviii. 
to Haggai and Zechariah, and the group may have been 
written for the Dedication of the Wall of Jerusalem, 433. 
(Neh. xii. 27-43.) 

CXLVI. A Hallelujah Psalm. " Praise the Lord, 
who is thy Help and Hope, O my soul." Compare Rev. 
i. 4-6. 

CXLVII. A Hallelujah Psalm. " Praise the Lord, 
who feedeth and upholdeth all, O Jerusalem." Compare 
Rev. iv. 10, 11. 

CXLVIII. A Hallelujah Psalm. "Praise the 
Lord, all-sovereign Creator, ye children of men with all 
the company of heaven." Compare Rev. vii. 11, 12. The 
Benedicite is a paraphrase of this Psalm. 

CXLIX. A New Song and Hallelujah Psalm. 



212 THE PSALMS. 

" Praise the Lord, who is King of Israel, in the assembly 
of saints." Compare Rev. xix. 5. 

CL. A Hallelujah Psalm. " Praise the Lord in 
His sanctuary and in the firmament, all that hath breath." 
Compare Rev. v. 8-14. This forms a doxology to the whole 
Psalter. Ver. 6 was chanted by Severinus, missionary to the tribes 
of the Upper Danube, when he lay dying (a.d. 462) and his brethren 
could not sing for sorrow. 

(150.) One Psalm probably written by Ezra, but also 
attributed to David and Daiiiel. 

CXIX. "The Great Alphabet" {Masorali), "the 
Golden A.B.C." {Luther), an Acrostic Psalm of the 
Law. Compare 1 Peter i. 23. All its verses, saving 122 and 
132, refer to the Scriptures under one of these ten names 
(the Jews connect their number with the Decalogue), word, 
ways, testimonies, judgments, law, statutes, ordinances, 
precepts, commandments, faithfulness. This Psalm, which 
has been called " an epitome of all true religion," " the 
Biblical expression of the unchanging Law of Right," and 
" the Jewish Ode to Duty," illustrates the close of the 
Canon, and the new value and importance attached to the 
written Word by the restored Jews (Psalm cii. 18), the 
succession of whose prophets ended in Malachi ; whose 
kings were no longer of the house of David ; and whose 
priests no longer ministered before an Ark over-shadowed 
with the Divine Glory. From the days described in Neh. 
viii. 1- 1 2, the Book which contained the record of their past 
and the promise of their future was regularly multiplied, 
and taught, and made the basis of an elaborate doctrine. 
When we meet the Jews again in the New Testament, their 
veneration for it has degenerated into a new form of 
superstition and idolatry. 



EIGHTH TERM. 

The Days of the Son of Man. 
The Gospel Preached to the Jews. 

b.c. 6— a.d. 51. 

6*. Matthew, S. Mark, S. Ltike, S. John, Acts I. — XII ., James, 
Peter, Jude, 2 Peter, Hebrews. (130 chapters.) 

" Then opened He their mind, that they might understand the Scriptures." 
-Luke xxiv. 45. 



29th MONTH (32). 

Matt. I.— XL 19, XII., XIII. 
Mark I.— VI. 13. Luke I.— IX. 
6, XL 14— XII. 12. John I.— 

V.* 

30th MONTH (33). 



j 31st MONTH (32). 

Matt. XXIII.— XXVII. Mark 
XII. 38— XVI. Luke XX. 
45— XXIV. John XII. 20— 
XXI. Acts I.— VIII. 



XXVL^M^vf^ ! 3-* MONTH (33). 

XII. 37, XIV. 3-9. Luke IX. Acts IX.— XII. James, 1 Peter, 

7— XI. 13, XII. 13— XX. 44- i J ude ' 2 Peter > Hebrews » Acts 

J0hnVI.-XII.i9. ! XIII., XIV. 

I. General Summary. 

"npHE Days of the Son of Man" (Luke xvii. 22) 
X prefaced the last chapter in the history of Israel and 
the first chapter in the history of the Church. We consider 
them in the first aspect this term ; in the second, next term. 
Christ came 4000 years after the Creation ; nearly 1 500 
years after the Exodus ; 1000 years after the First Temple 
was built ; and 500 years after the Second Temple ; in 
an age when the fair promise of the Restoration had 
been blighted (see pp. 160, 169). Through the Roman 
conquerors of Palestine, detested Edom had given Israel 

* For the Gospels see p. 244. They are read in about 85 days, and contain 
3779 verses. Therefore, as their chapters are much broken up, it will be a 
good rule to read them at the rate of ^-ff^ = 44J verses a day. 

213 



214 EIGHTH TERM. 

a king in Herod, the low-born usurper, tyrant over an 
unwilling people, and more than suspected apostate (see 
p. 228). When Archelaus was deposed, the Jews sought the 
direct rule of a Roman procurator, thinking they would be 
freer to manage their own affairs thus. And so the sceptre 
finally departed even in name from Judah, for what Josephus 
calls "Agrippa's illegal assumption of the procurator's 
power " from A.D. 41 — 44 cannot be reckoned as a restora- 
tion of the monarchy. Agrippa II., the last descendant of 
the Asmoneans, sided with the Romans when war broke 
out in A.D. 66 The Roman had always shown an aptitude 
for assimilating conquered nations to himself. The Jew 
alone doggedly refused to be in friendly relation to him. 
Each utterly misunderstood, hated, and despised the other, 
and though Csesar tolerated Judaism as he tolerated the 
religions of all his subjects, many insults and outrages were 
offered to it by his officials and soldiers. 

As for the Jews, though the old demon of idolatry had 
been finally cast out (Luke xi. 24-6), their creed had 
shrunk into a dead formula, their religion into a network 
of elaborate rules, which nourished self-righteousness and 
fanaticism, but left out " the weightier matters of the law " 
(Matt, xxiii. 23). Murder in the name of orthodoxy they 
could justify ; what they could not tolerate was teaching 
of truths new and old that opposed itself to their interests. 
And while the formalist is always harder to influence than 
the worldling who makes no religious profession, his pe- 
dantic scrupulosity is too often compatible with indifference 
or actual unbelief. Let us, then, take heed lest even in the 
midst of our religious observances the law of Christ lose 
its hold upon our hearts, lest we deceive ourselves, and 
substitute a routine use of the means of grace for a life hour 
by hour under the power of grace. 

Again and again the Jews rose in small fruitless seditions, 
and, as Tacitus admits, their patience could endure no 
longer when Gessius Florus proved even more insolent and 
rapacious than his predecessors. Suddenly they made 
themselves masters of Jerusalem, and in November 66 
inflicted a crushing defeat upon the Romans at Beth-horon. 
Vespasian and Titus, both afterwards Emperors, were sent 
to subdue the revolted province, the country was conquered, 



GENERAL SUMMARY, 215 

and in 70 Jerusalem was besieged. Her children were 
within her (Luke xix. 43,44), for the blockade began at the 
Passover, just 40 years (always a significant period in sacred 
history) after the Lamb of God had been slain, and the city 
was crowded to suffocation. It seemed as if the nation had 
given itself a "rendezvous of extermination," and history 
tells no tale of such unspeakable horror and overwhelming 
misery as that of the awful fulfilment of their awful words 
to Pilate (Matt xxiii. 35, xxvii. 25). Within, the distracted 
people devoured each other, until all were devoured by the 
irresistible foe without. Josephus, who was no Christian, 
says in his famous History that it was certainly God who 
had brought the Romans to punish His people ; and that 
He had doomed this city to destruction as a polluted city, 
and was resolved to purge His sanctuary by fire. Even 
Titus felt himself to be the instrument of a calamity far 
crueller than he wished or intended, and said, as he looked 
at the city's defences : " God has been my helper ! God 
it was that pulled down the Jews from these formidable 
walls, for what could the hands of men or their engines have 
availed against them ? " With the obstinacy of despair 
they contested every inch ; the Temple streamed with the 
blood of its priests ; its altar slopes were piled with corpses 
(cp. 2 Kings xxiii. 16) ; and on the same day of the year 
that Nebuchadnezzar had burned it, the House of God was 
fired, and sank in ashes (Matt, xxiii. 38, xxiv. 2). Without 
the city gates (Heb. xiii. 12) Jews were crucified in such 
multitudes that "room was wanting for the crosses and 
crosses for the carcases " ; they were sold for slaves in such 
multitudes that at last none would buy them. For the 
second time, Jerusalem was razed to the ground, and 
disappears from history for 60 years. 

In A.D. 132 the crushed people made a final revolt under 
Bar-Cocheba, who claimed to be the Messiah. When this 
had been suppressed, their God-given land was legally 
appropriated by the Romans, and the plough passed over 
desolate and desecrated Moriah. A new city called .-Elia 
Capitolina was reared on Zion, and peopled by a Roman 
colony. None but pagans or Christians were suffered to 
enter it, but the capitation tax the Jews had formerly paid 
for the Temple worship (Matt. xvii. 24) was still exacted 



216 EIGHTH TERM. 

from them and used to erect a temple to Jupiter Capitolinus 
on Mount Moriah (John xix. 15). For 200 years the name 
of Jerusalem was never heard, and Judaism henceforth was 
a religion deprived of its two most characteristic features, 
a temple and sacrifices. 

" Thus fell and for ever " (says Dean Milman) " the 
metropolis of the Jewish State. It might almost seem to 
be a place under a peculiar curse ; it has probably seen 
a far greater portion of human misery than any other spot 
upon the earth." In B.C. 588 it had already been taken ten 
times, and unsuccessfully besieged twice, and we read of 
twelve other captures or sieges between 588 and the 
Christian era. It had had many privileges and sinned 
many sins (all summed up in 1 Thess. ii. 15, 16). Its highest 
privilege was to receive the words of God from His own 
Son ; its greatest sin was the deliberate rejection of both 
message and Messenger. Then it suffered the heaviest 
punishment history records (Luke xiii. 34, 35). Comparison 
of Matt. x. 23, xvi. 28, xxiv. 34, and John xxi. 22 shows 
that its Fall was a Coming, though not the final Coming of 
Christ. (See Alford, etc., etc.) He had five times predicted 
it and foretold many of its most striking features. The 
great prophecy of Matt. xxiv. blends, so that we cannot 
completely discriminate them until all has been fulfilled, 
the three catastrophes which close the three Dispensations 
of the world's history, both the former being types of the 
last, viz., the Flood in the past at the end of the Patriarchal 
Dispensation, the Fall of Jerusalem in the near future at 
the end of the Jewish Dispensation, and the final Judgment 
of the Son of Man in the distant future, at the end of the 
Christian Dispensation (see p. 25). 

Dean Stanley notes only three other events of equal 
magnitude with the Fall of Jerusalem : the Fall of Babylon, 
which ended Primaeval History ; the Fall of Rome, which 
ended Classical History ; and the Fall of Constantinople, 
which ended Mediaeval History (see p. 138). But the Fall 
of Jerusalem has the peculiar interest of involving the 
dissolution of a religious dispensation with the agony of an 
expiring nation. 

Or, looking only at Hebrew history, we may observe 
three Desolations of God's House : by the Philistines in 



GENERAL SUMMARY. 217 

B.C. 1 1 16; by the Chaldeans in B.C. 588; and by the 
Romans in A.D. 70 ; and two crowning catastrophes for 
Israel, viz., that of B.C. 588, which through Jeremiah's 
preaching became a new birth to the Chosen People ; and 
that of A.D. 70, which through Christ's preaching led to the 
development of the Church. On both occasions the city 
might have been saved had it listened to the preacher 
{Dr. Payne Smith). 

Again we observe that the Chosen People were three 
times expatriated : to Egypt B.C. 1706 to 149 1 ; to Babylon 
B.C. 606 to 536 ; and to all lands from A.D. 70 onwards. In 
each case the expatriation and the return was foretold, and 
its period fixed, clearly in the second and vaguely in the 
other cases (Gen. xv. 13 ; Jer. xxv. 12 ; Dan. viii. 14 ; Luke 
xxi. 24). As they have twice literally returned, historical 
analogy points to a third literal return. See also Isa. xi. 
11, 12; Amos ix. 15, passages not applicable to B.C. 536. 
Fifty years ago there were scarcely 8000 Jews in Palestine. 
Now (1892) 42,000 of the 58,000 inhabitants of Jerusalem 
are Jews, and there are at least 100,000 Jews in Palestine, 
whose number steadily increases (cp. p. 141). Other con- 
quered and captive peoples have vanished utterly, this " in- 
exhaustible race " has survived all the determined efforts of 
Pharaoh, Nebuchadnezzar, Titus, and others to abolish it ; 
and the Prussian king who asked for the briefest and most 
convincing statement of the evidences of Christianity had 
it in the one word " Israel." 

Israel's downfall began in B.C. 740, and was consummated 
in A.D. 70. Since then it has ceased to be the medium of 
God's dealings with mankind, and although represented in 
nearly all the states and kingdoms of the world, it has 
never been recognised as one of them. The legend of the 
Jew Ahasuerus who spurned Christ on His way to Calvary, 
and was doomed to roam the earth till He came again in 
glory, simply sums up the nation in the individual (Deut. 
xxviii. 25, R.V.). In Milman's "History of the Jews" 
(Routledge, 3^. 6d.) may be read the story of its wrongs 
and oppressions for the last eighteen centuries, wrongs such 
as no other race could have survived. Even as I write, 
Western Christendom having at last learned that there are 
better ways of serving Christ than by continuing to bring 



218 EIGHTH TERM. 

His blood (Acts v. 28) upon every generation of His own 
guilty nation, is protesting against new outrages upon the 
Jews of Eastern Europe. Meanwhile we hear of this new 
and growing desire among them to return to their own 
land, and in Bessarabia there is the dim dawn of a national 
recognition of Him whom they once rejected (Zech. xii. 10). 
God has called Israel an everlasting nation (Jer. xxxi. 35-7 ; 
Isa. xliv. 21, liv. 10, lxvi. 22), and promised it a hopeful 
future (Jer. xxix. 1 1, xxxi. 17, R.V.). Our duty to it as 
Christians is plain (Psalm cxxii. 6 ; Isa. lxii. 7 ; Rom. xi. 
25-32, R.V.). 

II. Books to be Read. 

(See "Oxford Helps," § xv.) 

We have often turned already for explanation of the Old 
Testament to the New Testament as its continuation and 
completion. We now find in our study of the last seven 
terms the best interpretation of the New Testament. It 
consists of four biographical sketches, one narrative con- 
cerning some missionaries, twenty-one letters, and one 
description of a heavenly vision (Liddon). It is com- 
monly regarded as the work of eight writers, of whom six 
were apostles. There is, however, reason, as we shall see, 
to regard it as the work of nine authors, of whom four only 
were apostles, two were the Lord's brethren, and three 
wrote under the express guidance of S. Peter and S. 
Paul. Of these nine, we make acquaintance with all save 
S. Paul this term. Geographically, we may note, that S. 
Matthew, S. James, and S. Jude wrote in Palestine ; S. 
John in Asia Minor ; S. Luke, S. Paul, and perhaps 
S. Peter mainly in Europe ; and the apparent connexion 
of S. Mark and the author of Hebrews with Alexandria 
makes them representatives of Africa. Chronologically, 
1 Thessalonians (A.D. 52) is its earliest, and S. John's 
Gospel, written some 45 years afterwards, its latest book, 
and S. Paul's Epistles are most of them earlier than the 
five General Epistles and the Gospels. We, however, not 
only begin with the Gospels that we may begin with our 
Lord's life ; we recognise that a true instinct placed the 
General before the Pauline Epistles in most of the ancient 



BOOKS TO BE READ. 219 

texts ; and after studying through them the Gospel preached 
to the Jews, we turn next term to Gentile Christianity as 
shown in the life and writings of S. Paul, and to the 
consummation of the Divine revelation through S. John. 

The Gospels. In Acts we see that the Apostles pro- 
claimed not a code of morality, nor a philosophical theory, 
nor a body of abstract doctrine, but a series of facts to 
which they had been eye-witnesses, and for the reality of 
which they not only hazarded but laid down their lives, as 
the present sense of "martyr," which originally meant 
simply "witness" (see Rev. ii. 13, R.V. and A.V.) proves. 
The plain recital of the story of Christ's life was their 
"gospel." Passed from mouth to mouth, and diligently 
rehearsed to their converts (Luke i. 4, R.V. margin ; 2 Thess. 
ii. 15), it lived on, not in writing, but in their memories. 
" Commit nothing to writing " had been a favourite Rabbinic 
precept, and as yet they shrank from placing it in the 
hands of unbelievers. 

It soon acquired a settled form throughout the Church. 
Twenty years after the Crucifixion, i.e., in A.D. 51, the form 
in which S. Paul taught it in Asia Minor was found to agree 
absolutely with the form in which it was taught in Jerusalem, 
as he tells us in an epistle whose date and authenticity 
none dispute (Gal. ii. 1-10). Of the countless acts and 
words of Christ (John xxi. 25) His apostles selected the 
most significant, and the general plan of their narrative 
was always the same ; the same stories were related in the 
same way ; and often, especially in recounting Christ's 
discourses, the same words were used. They dwelt chiefly 
upon the incidents of the Passion, and all was arranged 
with a view of being committed to memory. 

Within 30 years of Christ's death, ere the living witnesses 
to the facts had passed away, and therefore ere there was 
any possibility of legendary embellishments to the story, 
various attempts were made to write it down in prepara- 
tion for a new age and a fresh generation of Christians 
(Luke i. 1). Three transcripts (produced probably between 
A.D. 55 and A.D. 65) of the original oral Gospel have 
survived, and the fact that all others have passed away 
utterly proves that these, S. Matthew, S. Mark, and S. 
Luke, were its authorised and universally accepted record. 



220 EIGHTH TERM. 

They were three because the life of Christ was too complex 
for a single, history, and Christian truth too wide to be 
given in any one set of formulas. All heresy springs from 
inordinate desire to define, distinguish, and isolate its 
manifold elements ; all error is but the exaggeration of 
some truth taken out of its relation to other truths. So 
various early heretics took one Gospel only, to the exclu- 
sion of the others, and perverted its characteristic teaching. 
Thus, then, "the pattern of sound words" (2 Tim. i. 13) 
which the Apostles, directly inspired by the Holy Spirit 
according to Christ's promise (John xiv. 26 ; Mark xiii. 11), 
had shaped, was condensed in the Apostles' Creed, and 
expanded in the Synoptical Gospels. The Gospels were 
the result, not the foundation, of the Apostles' teaching 
and their common oral basis (as I have already indicated 
in describing it) accounts for all their peculiarities. They 
agree less than if they had been written in direct relation 
to each other, and more than if they had been quite inde- 
pendent narratives by three different men. We accept 
them, not on the bare assertion that their individual authors 
were inspired, but on the proved fact that they represent 
the experience of the whole Christian Society that had 
known Christ in the flesh, and received the Holy Spirit to 
guide them into all truth (John xvi. 13). No history ever 
had such an authentication, and alongside the written 
record the unbroken chain of living witnesses to its truth 
has continued, as we shall see next term. For fuller 
exposition of the now generally accepted hypothesis of an 
original oral Gospel, see Archbishop Thomson's article in 
Smith's " Dictionary of the Bible." 

Finally, together with this corporate testimony of the 
whole Church, we have the individual testimony of the 
disciple whom Jesus loved, and who was gifted with the 
deepest intuition into Divine truth. He evidently wrote 
with the Synoptical Gospels before him, designedly sup- 
plementing them. The evidence for the historical accuracy 
of the Gospels is well summed up in Dr. Wace's " Authen- 
ticity of the Gospels " (Religious Tract Society, 4^.). 

That S. Matthew, in its first Aramaic form, of which 
only the record survives, may have been the earliest 
Gospel ; that S. Mark was probably written after the allu- 



BOOKS TO BE READ. 221 

sion to its author in Col. iv. 10, A.D. 65 ; that S. Luke's 
Gospel shortly preceded his Acts, whose history is doubtless 
brought down to the time of writing it, i.e., to 63 ; and that 
S. John's Gospel was written at the very close of the first 
century, are the most definite statements we can safely 
make as to their dates. 

The following summary of the peculiarities of each as 
contrasted with the others should be worked out fully : — 

S. Matthew, the earliest Gospel, was written in Judaea 
for the Jews, by one of the Twelve. It is £ narrative, and 
is notable for its many Old Testament quotations, and for 
dwelling on the discourses of Jesus, whom it presents to us 
as the Messiah and Son of David, and as the King coming 
to restore Israel's monarchy, the Priest fulfilling all the 
Old Testament types, and the Prophet teaching a new law 
of life in the Sermon on the Mount. It shows us Chris- 
tianity as the end and perfection of Judaism, as a royal 
law of freedom ; and looking at the Past in a didactic 
way, relies on the power of Tradition and Precedent, and 
expounds the relation of the Old and New Testament 
to each other. Its keynote is Come to fulfil, Matt. v. 17 
(cp. Isa. xxxiii. 22, and Rom. i. 3), and James, Jude, and 
Hebrews are its best commentary. " Son of David " occurs 
seven times here and only thrice in S. Mark and S. Luke. 
" That it might be fulfilled " occurs eight times here and not 
in S. Mark or S. Luke. " Your heavenly Father " occurs 
1 5 times, only twice in S. Mark, and only once in S. Luke. 

S. Mark, the shortest Gospel, was written in Rome (?) 
for the Romans, by the cousin of S. Barnabas, who may or 
may not have been an eye-witness of what he relates, but 
who wrote under the direction of S. Peter. It is ^ narra- 
tive, and is notable for its vivid and forcible style and 
graphic details, and for dwelling on the deeds of Jesus, 
whom it presents to us as the Servant of God and Minister 
of mercy to the world, and as the King ruling nature and 
man. It shows us Christianity as a great social force 
moulding men's outer lives anew ; and looking at the 
Present in a practical way, relies on the power of Active 
Energy, and expounds Christian Practice, emphasizing 
works as the outcome of faith. Its keynote is Come to 
minister, Mark x. 45 (cp. Isa. xlii. 1-4 and Acts x. 38), 



222 EIGHTH TERM. 

and S. Peter's Epistles are its best commentary. Several 
Latin words occur here and not elsewhere, and it has most 
in common with the other Gospels. 

5. Luke, the longest Gospel, was written in Greece (?) for 
the Greeks, by a Gentile physician and medical missionary, 
who had not been an eye-witness of what he relates, but 
who wrote under the direction of S. Paul. It is J narrative, 
and is notable for its pathos and literary beauty, and for 
dwelling on the conversations of Jesus, whom it presents 
to us as the Son of Man and Saviour of sinners, and as the 
Priest offering Himself in sacrifice. It shows us Chris- 
tianity as a new creation of the inner lives of men ; and 
looking at the Future in a human and historical way, relies 
on the power of Thought, and expounds a doctrine 
concerning Man, emphasizing faith as the source of works. 
Its keynote is Come to save, Luke xix. 10 (cp. Isa. ix. 6, 
Rom. viii. 3), and S. Paul's Epistles are its best commentary. 
" Grace," which occurs but three times in John, and never 
in Mark or Matthew, occurs often in Luke as in S. Paul's 
writings. 

vS. John, the latest Gospel, was written in Asia Minor for 
the whole Church, by one of the three chosen Apostles, 
who was Christ's first cousin and His nearest and dearest 
follower. It is J narrative, and is notable for its profound 
spiritual teaching and symmetrical structure, and for 
dwelling on the progressive manifestation of Jesus and 
on the growing unbelief of the Jews contrasted with the 
growing faith of the disciples. It presents Him to us as 
the Son of God and Incarnate Word, and as the Prophet 
revealing highest truths. It shows us Christianity in its 
infinite relations ; and looking at Eternity in a philosophical 
and poetical way, relies on the supreme power of Love, 
and expounds a doctrine concerning God. Its keynote is 
Come in My Father's Name, John v. 43 (cp. Isa. liv. 13, 
1 John v. 20), and S. John's Epistles and Apocalypse are 
its best commentary. It has least in common with the 
other Gospels, not using many of their most familiar words, 
and using at least 65 words not found in them. It is 
at once the simplest in manner and the most difficult in 
matter of all. For the Harmony of the Gospels, and the 
exact order in which they should be read, see p. 244. 



BOOKS TO BE READ. 223 

Acts, probably written at Rome, forms S. Luke's sequel 
to his Gospel, and both are addressed to the same official 
of high rank. Its record, like that of the Gospels, covers a 
period of about 34 years. " Acts," not " The Acts," is the 
literal rendering of its title, for it is not a history of the 
Twelve (eight of whom it names in Acts i. 13 only), but 
of the organisation of the Church and of the progress of 
Christian truth among representative men of very different 
types. It may be regarded as " the Gospel of the Holy 
Ghost," as the first Church History and the first Missionary 
Report. Acts i. — xiv. has for its keynote Witnesses to 
Christ's Resurrection (Acts i. 8 ; cp. Luke xxiv. 47, 48). 

The Epistles. The life of Christ comes to us through 
four writers, the doctrine concerning Christ through six, 
viz., two (Peter and John) who believed on Him when He 
was on earth (John vi. 67-9) ; two (James and Jude) who, 
though near Him throughout His earthly life, did not 
believe till He rose from the dead (John vii. 5 ; 1 Cor. xv. 
7 ; Acts i. 14) ; and two (Paul and the author of Hebrews) 
who probably never knew Him on earth, but believed on 
Him ascended to Heaven, even as we may believe, though 
we have not had a miraculous vision or the spoken testimony 
of His companions (Acts ix. 5 ; Heb. ii. 3). This multiplied 
witness shows us : (a) That Divine Truth cannot be 
summed up in any one man's apprehension of it, however 
deeply he be taught of God. (h) That there was nothing 
mechanical in the inspiration under which the New Testa- 
ment was written. We receive it, as we receive the Old 
Testament, in portions tinged with the individuality of 
different human minds, that it may be perfectly adapted to 
our complex nature, (c) That there may be real unity 
without absolute uniformity. The churches in Jerusalem, 
Asia Minor, Alexandria, and Europe each had their 
characteristic differences (not disagreements) according 
to the different types of teaching which they received from 
their founders, in whose writings these differences are 
reflected. 

The General or Catholic Epistles differ from others in 
not being addressed to particular churches or individuals. 
James and 1 Peter address the Dispersion, Jude and 
2 Peter address all Christians (but 2 Peter iii. 1 may imply 



224 EIGHTH TERM. 

that both S. Peter's Epistles address the Dispersion). 
Hebrews probably addresses all Jewish Christians, and 
is practically though not in name a General Epistle. 
The whole group has for its theme the Risen and Ascended 
Christ, is deeply influenced by the Old Testament, and 
alludes often to later apocryphal books and various Jewish 
traditions. It represents Judaic Christianity. The strong 
likeness between the pictures of declension in S. Paul's 
Pastoral Epistles and those in I and 2 Peter and Jude 
indicate that they were written at the same time. S. James 
was martyred in 62, and S. Peter (together with S. Paul) in 
6y. Both wrote soon before they died, and S. Jude's Epistle 
must have been written shortly before 2 Peter. Hebrews 
must have appeared before the Fall of Jerusalem, but cannot 
have been written long before. This is all we can affirm 
as to their dates, so no years are here mentioned lest dates 
should give an erroneous impression of exact information. 
Students are strongly recommended not only to study each 
Epistle in detail, but to read it through at a sitting as 
they would read a friend's letter. 

James and Jude were the Lord's brethren (Mark vi. 3). 
Some identify them with His apostles and first cousins, the 
sons of Alphaeus. In that case we should not be told within 
six months of His death, and just after the apostolic con- 
fession of faith, that His brethren did not believe in Him 
(John vi. 69, vii. 5 ; see also Jude 17). Nor is there any 
other instance of cousins being called "brethren." Some 
rashly assume that they were younger children of our 
Lord's Mother. In that case they would not have asserted 
the authority over Christ which they did assert on more 
than one occasion, nor would He then have commended her 
to S. John's care. In all probability they were the sons of 
Joseph by a former marriage. S. James, after the Twelve 
had dispersed far and wide according to Christ's command 
(Mark xvi. 15) for missionary work, presided over the 
Church in Jerusalem, having the position, if not actually 
the title, of its Bishop (Acts xii. 17, xv., xxi. 18 ; Gal. 
i., ii.). At the hands of the Sadducean party whom his 
Epistle so pointedly rebukes, he was martyred, boldly 
witnessing that Jesus is the Christ. To this death, which 
filled up the cup of Jerusalem's iniquity, there may be an 



BOOKS TO BE READ. 225 

allusion in Heb. xiii. 7, and his pwn words (James v. 6) are 
prophetic of it. We know nothing certain about S. Jude's 
life, labours, and death, and history mentions S. Peter for 
the last time in Acts xv. Concerning his latter years, be- 
sides his Epistles and I Cor. ix. 5 and Gal. ii., there are 
only uncertified traditions and legends that cannot be true. 
The Epistle of 5. James is addressed to Jews, many of 
whom were Christians, while the other four Epistles are ad- 
dressed to Christians, many of whom were Jews. It contains 
more allusions to Christ's discourses than all the other 
Epistles put together, but fewer allusions to Christian 
doctrine, which it assumes rather than expounds. There is 
little in it which a pious and enlightened Jew could not 
accept, and to its author Christians are but ideal Jews. 
He has not only the new light of the Christian teacher, but 
the fervour, sternness, and pointed brevity of the Hebrew 
prophet. Through him Jerusalem received her last warning 
from God. His keynote is CJifistian faitJifulness must 
express itself in the energy of loving service. " Temptation," 
"Riches," "Patience," "Wisdom" are its recurring thoughts, 
and " the worthlessness, religiously speaking, of unfruitful 
knowledge is its theme " {Liddon). 

1 Peter bears throughout the traces of familiarity with the 
acts and words of Christ, and many minute similarities 
between S. Peter's sermons in Acts and his Epistles prove the 
genuineness of both. The many points in which they echo 
the utterances both of S. James and of S. Paul (2 Peter 
iii. 15, 16) show us that the teachings of those two great 
leaders, though in apparent opposition, are really in 
harmony. S. Peter reconciles them, standing as he does 
doctrinally just between them. Its keynote is Endure, 
submit, for ye are the heirs of salvation. " Resignation " 
and " Hope " are its recurring thoughts. 

The picturesque Epistle of 5. fude is like a rough sketch of 
S. Peter's second Epistle ; indeed, their likeness is too close 
to be accidental. It is remarkable for its threefold arrange- 
ment throughout. We note 1 1 triplets of word and idea. 
Its keynote is Contend for the Faith. 

2 Peter alternates between passionate warning and 
earnest exhortation, and has more unity and coherence 
than 1 Peter. Its keynote is Stand fast in the Faith. 

*5 



226 EIGHTH TERM. 

Of the canonicity, importance, and authority of Hebrews 
there is no doubt, but there is great doubt as to its author. 
It is the one absolutely anonymous Epistle, and we do not 
know exactly whence or whither it was sent. Early testi- 
monies of the Eastern Church are vague and conflicting ; 
in the Western Church it was attributed to S. Paul for the 
first time 300 years after it was written. Loose conjecture 
has always favoured his authorship, but scholarly criticism 
is generally against it. Many differences of literary style 
between it and S. Paul's writings are pointed out. They 
are evident to some extent in the English, but far more 
in the Greek. It teaches the same truths as S. Paul, but 
from quite a different point of view ; and it is scarcely 
possible that Gal. i. n, 12 and Heb. ii. 3 could have been 
penned by the same hand, as one asserts and the other 
disclaims for the writer the position of an apostle taught by 
Christ Himself. Luther's guess that it waswritten by Apollos 
has been adopted by Alford, Plumptre, and other eminent 
modern scholars. For this there is no positive evidence, 
but we cannot name any other New Testament Christian 
who is so likely to have written it. Without presuming to 
dogmatise where great authorities disagree, I separate it 
from S. Paul's Epistles that we may fitly conclude our study 
of Judaic Christianity by learning why Judaism "vanished 
away " when it had produced something higher than itself. 

Hebrews deals with the relation of Judaism as a system 
of worship to Christianity. Its stately rhetoric is the 
finest Greek in the New Testament. Its keynote is Christ 
our High Priest, and its recurring thoughts, " A better 
covenant," " By how much more," " Living," " Eternal," 
" Perfect," " Draw near," " Consider," " Hold fast." 

For all these Epistles see Archdeacon Farrar's " Early 
Days of Christianity " (Cassell, 6s.). 

III. Periods and Dates. 

This term we overstep the 57 years marked out for it in 
order to close our epoch with the Fall of Jerusalem, A.D. 
70. Next term we retrace our steps in order to take the 
story of Gentile Christianity as a whole. Our chronology 
is only approximately accurate, the dates given by different 
authorities for the Conference varying from 47 to 52 ; but 



PERIODS AND DATES. 227 

it cannot be far wrong. For clear understanding of our 
story, we must note the dates of the Roman Emperors and 
of the rulers of Palestine. 

(1) B.C. 6 — A.D. 26 (32 years). From Gabriel's message 

to Zacharias to the Divine anointing of our Lord for 
His life. The Coming of the Messiah. Matt, i., ii. ; 
Luke i., ii., iii. 23-38 ; John i. 1-18. 

(2) A.D. 26 — 30 (3^ years). From the Divine anointing 

for His life to the human anointing for His death. 
The Ministry of the Messiah. Matt, iii.— xx. ; Mark 
i. — x. ; Luke iii. 1-22, iv. — xix. 28 ; John i. 19 — xi. 

(3) A.D. 30, March 31 — May 17 (48 days). From the 

human anointing for His death to the Ascension. 
The Death and Resurrection of the Messiah. Matt, 
x&i. — xxviii. ; Mark xi. — xvi. ; Luke xix. 29 — xxiv. ; 
John xii. — xxi. ; Acts i. 1-12. 
(See p. 251 for the details of all these periods.) 

(4) A.D. 30 — 35 (5 years). From the Ascension to the 

appointment of deacons. The Hebrew Church. 
Acts i. 13 — v. 

(5) A.D. 35 — 40 (5 years). From the appointment of 
deacons to the conversion of Cornelius. The Hellenis- 
tic Church. Acts vi. — ix. 31. 

(6) A.D. 40 — 45 (5 years). From the conversion of Cornelius 

to the Mission from Antioch. The Founding of the 
Gentile Church. Acts. ix. 32 — xii., James, 1 Peter, 
Jude, 2 Peter, Hebrews. (Two or three years pro- 
bably separate Acts v. 42 from Acts vi. 1 ; and 
Acts ix. 31 from Acts ix. 32, and a period of one or 
two years separates Acts xi. 26 from Acts xi. 27.) 

(7) A.D. 45 — 51 (6 years). From the Mission from 

Antioch to the Conference at Jerusalem. vS. Paul's 
First f ourney . Acts xiii., xiv. 

Twelve Emperors of Rome. 

Augustus B.C. 12 — A.D. 14. Otho 69 (3 months). 

Tiberius A.D. 12—37. Vitellius 69 (1 month), 

Caligula 37 — 41. Vespasian 69 — 79. 

Claudius 41 — 54. Titus 79 — 81. 

Nero 54—68. Domitian 81 — 96. 

Galba 68 — 69. Nerva 96 — 98. 



228 EIGHTH TERM. 

Rulers of Pa 7 ~stine. 

(See " Oxford Helps," § xxii.) 

Herod, King of Judaea, etc., B.C. 37 — 4. 

Archelaus, Ethnarch of Judaea, B.C. 4 — A.D. 6. 

Herod Antipas, Tetrarch of Peraea and Galilee, B.C. 4 — 

A.D. 39. 
Herod Philip, Tetrarch of Ituraea and Trachonitis, B.C. 4 

—A.D. 33. 

Five Roman Procurators of Judaea, A.D. 6 — 26. 

Pontius Pilate, Procurator, 26 — 36. 

Four Roman Procurators, 38 — 51. 

Antonius Felix, Procurator, 51 — 60. 

Porcius Festus, Procurator, 60 — 62. 

Albinus, Procurator, 62 — 64. 

Gessius Florus, 14th and last Procurator, 64 — 70. 

Agrippa I., King of Judaea and Samaria, 41 — 44. 
Herod, King of Chalcis, 41 — 48. 
Agrippa II., King of Chalcis, 49 — 70. 

IV. Geography. 
(See " Oxford Helps," Maps IX., X., XI.) 

Not only did Christ begin His ministry on Jordan's 
banks, close to the spot where Israel entered Canaan under 
Joshua : He had previously gone down from Palestine into 
Egypt, and had been brought up thence by Divine command. 
If we may believe that the evidences for the Sinaitic 
Peninsula outweigh those for the traditional idea that 
Quarantania in Judaea was the scene of His Temptation, 
we see further that He had passed through 40 days of trial 
where Israel had been tried for 40 years. Farther west 
and farther south He had not been. He also went as far 
north as Phoenicia, as far east as Peraea. But His life as a 
whole was spent in a space represented by one or two 
English counties. 

At His birth, Herod ruled all that had been divided 
among the Twelve Tribes and Idumea also, a larger kingdom 



GEOGRAPHY. 229 

in all than David's. During His ministry, Samaria and 
Judaea formed the Roman province of Judaea under a 
procurator, while Galilee (once the portion of Asher, 
Naphtali, Zebulun, and Issachar) and Peraea (once the 
portion of Reuben and Gad) were ruled by Antipas. What 
had once been Manasseh's eastern portion was under the 
sway of Philip (Luke iii. 1). 

Six hundred years of Gentile domination had left many 
traces in new half-heathen cities with foreign names. The 
most famous New Testament names, such as Caesarea (the 
Roman capital of Judaea), Capernaum (the Roman capital 
of Galilee), Tiberias, Julias, Caesarea Philippi, Bethsaida, 
Cana, Chorazin, Nazareth, Gadara, Emmaus, and Bethany, 
are not mentioned at all in the Old Testament. 

Reserving the geographical extension of the Church to 
be dealt with from the beginning next term, we now note 
the places most hallowed by the Lord's presence — viz., 
Bethlehem, His birthplace ; Nazareth, His own city in 
youth ; Capernaum, His own city in manhood (Matt. ix. 1) ; 
Bethsaida and Cana, each the home of five of the twelve 
Apostles ; the Lake of Galilee, " the most sacred sheet of 
water which this earth contains " {Stanley), as significant 
of His teaching as the stern desert was of the Baptist's 
teaching ; Bethany, His favourite retreat in Judaea ; and 
Jerusalem, where His work was completed. 

The ancient town of Bethlehem lies on the ridge of a 
long grey hill, only 300 feet lower than the top of Helvellyn, 
six miles to the south of Jerusalem. Bethany nestles on 
the eastern slope of Olivet, on the road to Jericho, one mile 
and three-quarters from Jerusalem (John xi. 18). 

But though Christ began His public ministry in Judaea, 
and was born and died there, He began to proclaim His 
gospel in Galilee, which remained throughout the chief 
scene of His work. Its soil was the most fertile and its 
climate the finest in Palestine. Well-wooded, it yielded 
wine and wheat and olive oil abundantly. Its 240 towns 
and villages filled it with the hum of many-coloured life. 
Since the Captivity, it had been largely peopled by heathen, 
and was looked down upon therefore by the southern Jews 
(Matt. iv. 15). Many Syrians, Phoenicians, Arabs, and 
Greeks had settled there in Christ's day, but its Hebrew 



230 EIGHTH TERM. 

inhabitants, though less bigoted and narrow than the 
Judaeans, were most faithful to the Law, and had more of 
its life if less of its form. Their mountain air made them 
patriots and heroes. Again and again they were the first 
to defy the Roman arms, and they were the last to defend 
the ruins of Jerusalem. " The Galilean loves honour, the 
Jew loves money," says the Talmud. The beautiful Lake, 
named Chinnereth, Gennesaret, or Tiberias, \2\ miles long 
by nearly 7 miles wide at its widest (i.e., about the length 
of Loch Maree, but wider), was called " the Eye of Galilee." 
Deserted now, its bright waves were then thronged not 
only with fishing boats, but with Roman war vessels, and 
gilded pinnaces from Herod's palace. They are fringed 
with gay oleanders and set in smiling pastures ; their shore 
line is broken into exquisite little bays, and the hills slope 
up gently from the water. The Rabbis expressed their 
enthusiasm for its beauty in a proverb which had a deeper 
meaning than they knew, " God has created seven seas in 
the land of Canaan, but one only — the Sea of Galilee — has 
He chosen for Himself." On its shores, which Josephus 
calls " the crown of Palestine," and on the much-frequented 
high road from Damascus to Ptolemais (Isa. ix. 1), lay the 
thriving and busy little town of Capernaum, whose inhabit- 
ants had no leisure for the teaching of Christ (Matt. xi. 23). 
It is now too utterly destroyed for its site to be certainly 
determined. 

Nazareth is a secluded mountain village 1200 feet above 
the sea, in an amphitheatre of hills, overlooking one of the 
little folds of the great plain seen as the hills open. The 
comely women and bright-eyed children who still gather 
about its clear and abundant fountain attest its pure air ; 
while the traces of terrace cultivation on its hills, and the 
many cemeteries, show how large its population once was. 
Amid the peaceful loveliness of its myriad flowers and 
gardens of fig and orange and olive and cypress, Jesus 
passed His youth of humble obedience and patient ob- 
scurity, and even as the Risen Lord who claimed Paul's 
allegiance called Himself by its name (Acts xxii. 8). In 
Mohammedan lands His followers are still known as 
Nazarenes. 



HEROES. 231 



V. Heroes. 

C The Lord Jesus, 1 Peter ii. 21. 
I John the Baptist, Ezek. ii. 4, 5. 
Keynotes] ^S. Peter, Psalm li. 12, 13. 
5. Stephen, Rev. xii. II. 
S.James, Psalm i. 1, 2. 

The instinct of hero-worship is an universal and ennobling 
one, and we have throughout recognised it by dwelling on 
the best and greatest men in Bible history. New Testament 
writers tell us little of the earliest Christian heroes and 
saints. For them the transcendant personality of the Lord 
Tesus completely filled eye and thought and heart. In 
Him we recognise the Almighty Creator of the world who 
deigned to be its Almighty Redeemer. The Word was 
God, and the Word became flesh (John i. 1, 14). We 
receive with adoring faith the crowning mystery of the 
Incarnation, anticipated dimly in the Old Testament and 
clearly recorded in the New Testament, as the one possible 
explanation of Christianity and the one solution of all the 
problems concerning man's relation to God. Strong and 
terrible as is the power of evil over human hearts, we dare 
to cherish the highest hopes for ourselves and for our 
fellow-men, because on this earth not only has a death of 
infinitely meritorious self-sacrifice been died, but one perfect 
human life has been lived, and the ideal of humanity has 
in Christ become real. " We cannot conceive what is 
implied in a nature of which omnipotence, omnipresence, 
and omniscience are attributes, far less present them 
adequately in words as united with human weakness and 
local limitation " {Geikie). As the uncreated and eternal 
Son "of the Substance of the Father," He is for ever in- 
comprehensible. But since He lived on earth to be our 
Example, we may gaze reverently upon Him as " Man, of 
the Substance of His mother, born in the world " {Athana- 
sian Creed), and behold in Him the highest perfection of 
all that human goodness of which our Heroes hitherto 
have been noble but partial types. The Son of Man, 
" in the truth of our nature made like unto us in all 
things sin only except " ("Article XV.), was more faith- 



232 EIGHTH TERM. 

ful than Abraham ; more blameless than Joseph ; more 
patient than Job ; more heedless of self than Moses ; 
zealous with a purer zeal than that of Phinehas ; more 
dauntless than Joshua ; more disinterested than Gideon ; 
more devout than Samuel ; more desirous to fulfil God's 
will than David ; wiser than Solomon ; more earnest in 
the service of God than Elijah ; more earnest in the 
service of men than Elisha ; juster in judgment than 
Jehoshaphat ; a greater restorer of Divine worship than 
Jehoiada; with stronger trust in God than Hezekiah, and 
clearer insight into the things of God than Isaiah ; a more 
single-hearted reformer than Josiah ; a more unswerving 
preacher of unwelcome truth than Jeremiah ; holier than 
Daniel ; a greater teacher of God's law than Ezra ; more 
prayerful than Nehemiah ; and the builder of a grander 
Temple than that of Zerubbabel. Pre-eminently meek 
and lowly in heart (Matt. xi. 29), He, unlike all these other 
saints, never hinted at a personal need of *epentance ; He 
advanced claims of absolute sinlessness, appealing to earth 
(John viii. 46), to Hell (John xiv. 30), and to Heaven 
(John viii. 29) in support of them, which, in any other, 
would be the very delirium of religious pride, but which 
are a greater reason for regarding Him as more than 
human than any of the wonders He wrought. His own 
character was more miraculous than any of His miracles. 
Men acknowledged Him to be perfect in thought (Heb. 
vii. 26), word (John vii. 46 ; Luke iv. 22), and deed (Mark 
vii. 37). Not only was every thought and emotion and 
desire holy, but none was in excess. With us any supreme 
pre-occupation leaves us apathetic to other things : Christ 
always had "a heart at leisure from itself." Hence that 
absolute unselfishness and ever ready sympathy, which 
were as prominent as any traits could be in such a perfectly 
balanced and altogether harmonious character. Seven 
times in all, once of a blind man, of a leper, of a childless 
widow, thrice of the multitude, and once in His own 
parable (Luke x.), we read that "He was moved with 
compassion." Consider how much you have accomplished 
in the last 3 J years of your own life, and then try to 
realise the unity of purpose and intensity of effort that 
made Christ's ministry the turning-point of the world's 



HEROES. 233 

whole history. Two other characteristics which no painter 
can depict must have struck those who saw Him on earth : 
insight, before which all the self-satisfied hypocrisies of a 
decadent religion shrank back, while the humble penitent 
drew near ; and majesty, which tempered intense love for 
Him with overwhelming reverence. " Certainly a flame 
of fire and starry brightness flashed from His eyes 
(says Jerome), and the majesty of the Godhead shone in 
His face." 

But we may not try to sum up His character as we have 
summed up those of others. The inspired singer who 
prophesied of Him checks our presumption, and reminds 
us of our true attitude before Him, " He is thy Lord, 
worship thou Him" (Psalm xlv. 11); and we bow down 
uttering the words of that most ancient Church hymn, 
" Thou only art holy, Thou only art the Lord, O Christ ! " 

But 

" Though He is so bright and we so dim, 
We are made in His image to witness Him" 

{Robert Browning), 

to testify that He is no mere historical character in the 
past, but our living, loving Saviour in the present, who 
bids the sinful come to find pardon ; the weak come to 
find strength ; the perplexed come to find light ; the 
sorrowful come to find joy ; the weary come to find rest ; 
the tempest-tossed come to find peace ; the hungry and 
thirsty come to find satisfaction. Coming to Him in 
prayer, we may be as truly near to Him as were those 
whom He succoured and taught when on earth. 

We can add nothing to Christ's own eulogy of His 
grandly heroic forerunner, John the Baptist (Matt. xi. 9-1 1), 
save the comment that he is almost the only great man 
who has been content to merge his own glory wholly in 
that of another (John iii. 30). To utter self-abnegation, he 
added that unfaltering steadfastness which enabled him 
to fulfil his course (Acts xiii. 25), although he was cut off 
in the prime of manhood. In him the voice of prophecy 
spoke again, after a silence of four centuries. 

Of Christ's first twelve followers we hear much collec- 
tively, and note their growing faith culminating in S. Peter's 
confession, and their too frequent dulness of apprehension, 



234 EIGHTH TERM. 

which took the Master's figurative expressions literally and 
His literal expressions metaphorically. But *S\ Peter is the 
only one of whom there are many individual incidents in 
the Gospels. He stands out as the first (Matt. x. 2) in this 
first chapter of Christian history. His special work was 
opening the gates of the Church at Pentecost to the Jews 
and at the baptism of Cornelius to the Gentiles (Matt. xvi. 
19). His priority was personal, not official ; for afterwards 
it is S. James who presides over the Jewish and S. Paul who 
is chiefest Apostle in the Gentile Church. " Whatsoever 
thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might " was always 
S. Peter's motto, says Professor Blunt ; and throughout he 
is the same zealous, eager, impulsive disciple, wavering and 
falling, yet rising to a higher height. He shows us what we 
too often are, but also what we may be if we follow Christ 
with the same ardent loyalty and deep affection. 

Lastly, let us name 6\ Stephen, the immediate pre- 
decessor of S. Paul, the protomartyr of the Church, of 
whose rare intellectual power and spiritual fervour we get 
but one glimpse; and S.James, the Lord's brother, whom 
we see first in S. John's account of the marriage in Cana, 
and last in the pages of Josephus and Hegesippus. They 
describe him as a Nazarite and uncompromising observer 
of the Mosaic Law, venerated for his extraordinary sanctity, 
and called the Just, and the Bulwark of the People. 

VI. The Manifestation of the Messiah. 

" All this is come to pass, that the Scriptures of the 
prophets might be fulfilled" — Matt. xxvi. 56. 

Of Christ, who is Himself in heaven, we have (as 
S. Ambrose beautifully says) not only the image in the 
Gospel, but the shadow in the Law. These two, with the 
living witness of the Holy Spirit through the Church, form 
a threefold testimony to Him. The answer to Question 
XXXI. on p. 162, surveyed the shadow as a whole. Its parts 
we have traced term after term in following " the Hope of 
the Promise which God made " to His people. We have 
seen how from the day Eve welcomed Cain to that in which 
their aspirations centred in Zerubbabel, the Messianic 
thought colours the whole Old Testament history, and in 



THE MANIFESTATION OF THE MESSIAH. 235 

the subsequent national depression they threw themselves 
more and more on the future till the hateful reign of Herod 
stirred their desires to white heat. The Herodians, it is 
true, attenuated the Jewish faith in a coming Deliverer 
into a vague hope of general progress and prosperity, a? 
some would attenuate the Christian faith in a coming 
Saviour now. Josephus never betrays any personal interest 
in the Messianic doctrine, yet he bears the strongest testi- 
mony to its powerful hold on the nation. At the Christian 
era there was universal doubt, uncertainty, and expectation. 
From Daniel's great prophecy three calculations were 
made, fixing B.C. 17, A.D. 67, and A.D. 135 as the date of 
the Messiah, and to these may be attributed their desperate 
challenge to the Romans in 66, and the success of Bar- 
Cocheba's pretensions in 132. That was the last public 
profession of the earlier creed. The utmost limit to which 
His coming could be delayed had been passed, and they 
shaped despairing legends — truer than they seemed — that 
the Shechinah had gone to the Mount of Olives and 
pleaded with the people in vain for three years before the 
city fell ; and that the Messiah actually appeared at the 
destruction of the Temple, but was suddenly carried away 
to be revealed at His proper time. 

And meanwhile, why had they not received Him when 
He came? There was abundant witness to Him. Five 
preliminary announcements, by Gabriel to Zacharias and 
the Virgin, by angels to the shepherds, by the Spirit to 
Simeon, and by a star to the Magi, were followed by the 
Baptist's three testimonies. Sixteen times before and 
once after His resurrection, Jesus declared Himself the 
One to whom the Prophets bore witness, using the word 
Messiah {i.e., Christ) six times ; sixteen times also was He 
acknowledged as such by others, the word Messiah being 
used six times. And although no Jew could have pictured 
Him beforehand as He actually was, we cannot imagine any 
other Saviour who could have satisfied as He did all the 
wants which were felt in His days. Atonement, independ- 
ence, restoration, dominion, union, in their highest sense, 
were what He offered and what they refused. (See p. 249.) 

As a solemn warning to ourselves, let us note these three 
causes of their refusal : — 



236 EIGHTH TERM. 

(a) Prejudice. " Pre-occupation of the mind by fixed 
opinions (says Dr. Geikie) leads to a wrong reading of any 
evidence. We unconsciously distort facts or invent them 
to support our favourite theories, and see everything 
through their medium. . . . The only way we can hope to 
see truth in its own white and unbroken light is, as Christ 
tells us, by our becoming little children." The rigid 
literalism and unchanging conservatism of the Rabbis shut 
out the light of the new and spiritual truths put before 
them by Christ. 

(b) Worldliness. Their religious leaders were lovers of 
money (Luke xvi. 14, R.V.), and it was for their advantage 
that Jesus should die (John xi. 50). So they clung to gain 
till they lost all. The multitude loved the violence for 
which their prophets had so often reproved them, and they 
preferred the brigand (Luke xxiii. 18, 19). So they 
suffered every conceivable outrage from their conquerors. 
Pilate loved Caesar's favour (John xix. 12-16), and con- 
demned where he wished to acquit, in obedience to the 
clamour of a mob. And Caesar sent him into ignominious 
exile. 

(c) Self-will. They had shaped an easy religion of rigid 
outward observances, leading to exclusive pride and self- 
righteousness, while permitting many " pleasant sins." 
With the national conscience thus weakened and perverted, 
they spurned the hard religion of faith and love which led 
to unselfish humility. 

And so the Messiah could only weep over the doomed 
city that He yearned to save. Yet He had come not to 
destroy the Past, but out of it to form the Future. That 
which concerns Him has complete fulfilment (Luke xxii. 
37, R.V.) now that He has taught in the Past as a Prophet 
greater than Moses, now that He intercedes for us in the 
Present in virtue of His one sacrifice as a Priest greater 
than Aaron (Heb. ix. 24), now that His coming draweth 
near in the Future as a Kincr or rea ter than David. 



l fc3 ir> J 



VII. God's Revelation of Himself to Man. 

Ever since Adam and Eve hid themselves from God 
(Gen. iii. 8), a cloud of sin (Isa. lix. 2) had shut out the 



GOD'S REVELATION OF HIMSELF TO MAN. 237 

undimmed glory of the true Light from man. The story of 
the Bible is the story of how God gradually dispersed that 
earth-born cloud, and with infinite patience and longsuffer- 
ing revealed Himself to men as they were able to bear (John 
xvi. 12) the revelation. But never had they seemed more 
ignorant of God than in this day of dead Judaism and un- 
utterably corrupt heathenism (Rom. i. 25, ii. 24; 1 Cor. 
i. 21), the day in which Christ, who as Son of God knew 
Him perfectly, came as Son of Man to reveal Him per- 
fectly (Heb. i. 1-3 ; John i. 18). Only God can comprehend 
God, but He was made man that we might apprehend 
Him, might know Him (John xvii. 3 ; 1 John i. 2, 3, ii. 13, 
v. 20), and draw near to Him (1 Peter iii. 18 ; Heb. vii. 
19, x. 19-22 ; Eph. ii. 18 ; Rom. v. 1, 2 ; John xiv. 6). The 
Incarnate Son revealed these three things : — 

(a) God's Power (Matt. xix. 26). 

(&) God's Glory (Isa. xl. 5 ; cp. Exod. xxxiii. 18). Both 
had been to some extent made known already, but both 
had been forgotten (Rom. i.. 20, 23 ; Matt. xxii. 29). 

(c) God's Goodness and Love, which men were farthest 
from finding out and yet most yearned after (1 John i. 5, 
iv. 8-10). It was of the Divine Character above all that 
the Son was " the express image." Even now men have 
but slowly learned to replace their human notion of a 
God of revenge, who is to be slavishly feared, by Christ's 
Divine portrayal, culminating in His death (1 John iii. 16 ; 
Tit. iii. 4), of a God of Love, who is to be humbly loved. 

He made this revelation in three ways, (a) By what 
He taught. As at each previous stage of revelation, a new 
truth came in a new Name of God. Men had occasionally 
ventured to think of Him as FATHER already (Deut. 
xxxii. 6 ; 1 Chron. xxix. 10 ; Isa. lxiii. 16, lxiv. 8), and to 
find a Divine symbol in human fatherhood (Eph. iii. 15, 
R.V. margin). But He came in the Father's name, 
proclaiming it clearly and constantly (John v. 43, xvii. 6), 
and His witness to it, as Hausrath points out, was one 
of the strongest proofs of the absolute perfection of His 
human nature (see Westcott's " Revelation of the Father "). 
(J?) By what He was. He enabled us to know and see 
the Father through knowing and seeing Him (John xiv. 
7-9 ; Matt. i. 23). His life was an unveiling of God to 



238 EIGHTH TERM. 

the eye of man's sense, that the eye of man's spirit might 
understand Him (Liddon). His Incarnation is the founda- 
tion truth of our creed as a race and as individuals. " All 
past history, so far as it has any permanent significance, 
appears to be the preparation for that great mystery, and all 
subsequent history the gradual appropriation of its results " 
( West co tt). (c) By giving the Holy Spirit to reveal Him as 
He had revealed the Father (Acts xvi. 7, R.V.). 

There is abundant proof in the Acts of the Apostles that 
the Church from the first regarded her Founder as Divine. 
For her members His words recorded in Matt, xxviii. 20 
stated not an abstract doctrine, but a fact of daily experience. 
Accordingly they prayed to Him in heaven, as they had 
spoken to Him on earth, which being Jews they could not 
have done had they regarded Him as merely human. With 
Acts i. 24 cp. John vi. 70, ii. 24, 25, xxi. 17; with Acts 
ii. 21, vii. 59, 60 (R.V.), and ix. 14, cp. 1 Cor. i. 2 ; with 
the significant word " began " in Acts i. 1 cp. Mark xvi. 20, 
2 Cor. vi. 1. 

Lastly, observe how the doctrine of the Three in One 
underlies the whole of Christ's teaching, Matt, xxiii. 8-10, 
R.V. (cp. John xiv. 26); John iii. 5, 16, xiv., xv., xvi. 
His one explicit statement of it in Matt, xxviii. 19 is not, 
however, speculative, but practical. " The highest mystery 
of the Faith is conveyed in the words which are the pass- 
port into the Christian community " ( Westcott). So indeed 
the whole wondrous revelation of " Divine Humanity re- 
newing nature " (E. B. Browning) had a directly practical 
issue (1 John iii. 2 ; 2 Peter i. 4). In the grand words of 
Athanasius's famous treatise on the Incarnation, § liv., 
" He became human that we might be made divine." 

VIII. Man's Relation to God in Worship. 

Herod's Temple has been so often pictured and described 
that we need not dwell upon it. Edersheim's " Temple 
and its Services" (Religious Tract Society, 5^.) gives 
a scholarly and complete account of it. This grandest 
of all the three Temples reared at Jerusalem, the one 
honoured by our Lord's presence, was finally completed 
in A.D. 65, the year before the war with Rome broke 



MAN'S RELATION TO GOD IN WORSHIP. 239 

out. Five years later not one stone was left on another 
(Matt. xxiv. 1, 2). 

Henceforth, realising the teaching of Mai. i. 11 and 
John iv. 24, we turn to the living Temple of the future, 
which had Christ for its corner-stone, and for its foundation 
the Apostles (Eph. ii. 20), that first company of believers 
which has grown up into the great Christendom of to-day, 
and will, we trust, grow into the greater Christendom of 
to-morrow. Christ began to form His Church when He 
gathered five disciples about Him by Jordan (John i.). He 
first named it after Peter's confession of the central truth 
upon which it was to be founded (Matt. xvi.). Its birthday, 
and the day it first found itself face to face with the world, 
was the Day of Pentecost A.D. 30. That transformed 
a handful of dejected, faint-hearted, materialising Galilean 
peasants into the heroic preachers and confessors who 
enlightened the world. The transient gift of tongues was 
the symbol of a permanent and far greater gift of spiritual 
power on the day which began the last phase of God's 
dealings with men ; the day when He followed up the 
promise to Abraham and the law of Moses, the Tabernacle 
and Temple where dwelt as visible emblem of His presence 
the Shechinah, and the tabernacling in a mortal body of 
His own Son amo7ig men, by sending His Spirit to dwell 
in men (John xiv. 17). " More than this God could not 
give ; nearer than this He could not be " (Farrar). 

And now the teaching of Christ, with its two new key- 
notes, correlatives of each other, the Fatherhood of God 
and the Brotherhood of Men, was to be practically illus- 
trated. The political comprehension of mankind in one 
great empire would give way to a moral federation of 
mankind through a common faith. 

The first two stages of the history of that Church which 
placed men in a new relation to each other were : — 

(1) The Hebrew Period, when it consisted of Jews of 
Palestine speaking Aramaic, and probably reckoned as 
only one more synagogue in a city which already had 480. 

(2) The Hellenistic Period, when it included Jews of the 
Dispersion speaking Greek. See "Oxford Helps," § xiii. 

We begin next term by considering the steps that led 
to the formation of a Gentile Church. 



240 EIGHTH TERM. 

Here it only remains for us to show that Christ placed 
men in a new relation, not merely to each other, but to 
God. He taught that religion does not depend upon 
external precepts, but upon surrender of the will to God ; 
that good acts have no value apart from good motives ; 
that hatred, not violence, is the essence of murder ; that 
God looks at the sinful thought rather than the criminal 
deed. He did more than teach. Human sin, a far more 
heinous thing than men had hitherto thought it, is taken 
away once and for ever by the Sinless One (John i. 29), 
who laid down His life for men. 

" Yea, once Immanuel's orphaned cry His universe hath shaken, — 
It went up single, echoless, ' My God, I am forsaken ! ' 
It went up from the Holy's lips amid His lost creation, 
That, of the lost, no son should use those words of desolation." 

E. B. Browning. 



IX. Questions. 
(See pp. 13, 18.) 

[For all the Questions pp. 244-277 may be consulted, and for Questions IV., 
VI., XVIIL, XXIII., XXIX., and XXXI. any other books.] 

I. What Old Testament allusions are there to the town 
and to the house in which Christ was born ? (6.) 

II. Draw out in tabular form a contrast in character and 
circumstances between Christ and His Forerunner. (12.) 

III. Illustrate Luke iv. 13 and Heb. iv. 15, by showing 
that each of the three temptations in the wilderness was 
afterwards repeated in a somewhat different form. (3.) 

IV. Ahaz was rebuked for not asking a sign (Isa. vii.). 
Christ rebuked the Jews for asking a sign. Explain this. 

V. Which of Christ's miracles were wrought on the 
Sabbath? and how did He vindicate His action on each 
occasion ? (14.) 

VI. Which of His miracles were not to be proclaimed ? 
Why was this silence enjoined ? (8.) 

VII. Show that among those who came to Christ there 
were representatives of (1) the Ten Tribes, (2) the Two 
Tribes, (3) Samaritans, (4) Greeks, (5) Romans, (6) Women, 
(7) Children, (8) Citizens, (9) Rustics, (10) Rich, fu) Poor, 



QUESTIONS. 241 

(12) Honourable, (13) Degraded, (14) Wise, (15) Un- 
learned. (15.) 

VIII. Quote our Lord's description of the Apostle 
Bartholomew, and mention two Canaanitish women com- 
mended for their faith in this term's reading. (3.) 

IX. Illustrate Heb. ii. 17, by showing that our Lord 
suffered hunger, thirst, weariness, and poverty ; that He 
wept, and passed through severe mental anguish. (9.) 

X. On what occasions did He express (1) Joy, (2) Sorrow 
for human suffering, (3) Tender consideration for others, 
(4) Pity for the multitude, (5) Sympathy and affection for 
His friends, (6) Filial love, (6) Surprise, (8) Disappoint- 
ment, (9) Indignation, (10) Anger, (11) Disdain, (12) Zeal 
for God's glory ? (12.) 

XI. How did He illustrate in His own life His teaching 
that men ought always to pray ? Give references. (20.) 

XII. Quote instances of (1) His patience and humility, 
(2) His courage, (3) His prudence, (4) His tenderness to 
and love of children, (5) His personal fulfilment of the 
Mosaic Law. (15.) 

XIII. Show that He claimed Divine power to forgive 
sins, and assumed and accepted titles given to God in the 
Old Testament. (10.) 

XIV. Give examples of that Divine knowledge of men's 
thoughts through which His disciples were persuaded that 
He came forth from God. John xvi. 30 (R.V.) (8.) 

XV. Name seven occasions on which His look and 
bearing awed and confounded His foes. (7.) 

XVI. Four times before the multitude and five times 
to the Apostles He alluded prophetically to His Resur- 
rection. Quote the passages, and show that He also 
foretold the Pentecostal gift of the Spirit and His own 
Second Coming. (10.) 

XVII. Once He called Himself "the King," and once 
He called His disciples " little children." Give references. 
Where is He called " Our Lord " for the first time? (3.) 

XVIII. What do you understand by these expressions : 
Miracle, Parable, Gospel, Repentance, Kingdom of Heaven ? 

(10.) 

XIX. Illustrate the special characteristics of each Gospel 
by enumerating some incidents, etc., peculiar to it. (20) 

16 



242 EIGHTH TERM. 

XX. Which Evangelist makes most and which fewest 
quotations from the Old Testament ? Name the only 
miracle recorded by all the Evangelists. (3.) 

XXL What evidence is there in the Synoptists of the 
ministry in Judaea and in S. John of that in Galilee ? (8.) 

XXII. Show that S. John recognises though he does 
not directly relate, (a) that Christ's birth was miraculous, 
(/?) that He was reputed son of Joseph, (c) that in youth 
He was subject to His mother and Joseph, (d) that He 
dwelt at Nazareth, (e) that the Spirit came upon Him at 
His baptism, (/) that He was rejected at Nazareth, 
(g) that He appointed twelve Apostles, (Ji) that the Baptist 
was imprisoned, (i) that Christ ascended to heaven. Find 
in S. John the ground of the accusation in Matt. xxvi. 61. 
Is there any reference to the Sacraments in S. John? (12.) 

XXIII. Briefly define the following New Testament 
terms : (a) Pharisees, (b) Sadducees, (V) Herodians, 
(d) Zealots, (e) Scribes, (/) Lawyers, (g) Chief Priests, 
\h) Rulers of the Synagogue, (Y) Proselytes, (/) Publicans, 
(k) Libertines, (/) Greeks, (m) Grecians. (26.) 

XXIV. Analyse shortly S. Peter's first sermon, indicating 
the thread of his argument, and show that the leading 
theme of all his teaching was Christ Risen. (8.) 

XXV. Point out the causes, instigators, and immediate 
results of each of the four Persecutions of the Church 
recorded in Acts i. — xii. (8.) 

XXVI. Discriminate in this term's period of history 
three persons named James (i.e., Jacob) ; four named Philip ; 
five named Joseph ; five named John ; five named Judas ; 
five named Mary {i.e., Miriam) ; and eleven named Simon 
or Simeon. (38.) 

XXVII. Trace the influence of the Sermon on the 
Mount in the Epistle of S. James. (12.) 

XXVIII. Trace the influence of words and incidents in 
the Gospels on S. Peter's Epistles. (15.) 

XXIX. Consider the historical accuracy of the statements 
in John vii. 52, viii. 33 ; Heb. vii. 3, 27, ix. 3, 4. (10.) 

XXX. Write out the fifteen practical inferences in 
Hebrews introduced by " wherefore," " therefore," or 
" then." (8.) 

XXXI. Explain briefly the following passages : Matt. 



QUESTIONS. 243 

viii. 22, xxiii. 5 ; Luke xii. 5, xvi. 9, xxiii. 31 ; Acts ii. 23 ; 
1 Peter iii. 19 ; 2 Peter i. 20 ; Jude 19 ; Heb. vi. 3-6. (30.) 

XXXII. Give references for the following (the first four 
occur more than once) : — (a) " Thy faith hath saved thee." 
(6) " Follow Me." (c) " Weep not." (d) " He cannot be My 
disciple." (e) " Able to save to the uttermost." (/) " Able 
to guard you from stumbling." (^) " Out of death 
into life." (h) "To each one his work." (J) "That we 
may see and believe." (j) " Said I not, If thou believedst 
thou shouldst see ? " (k) " Take heed what ye hear." 
(/) " Take heed how ye hear." {111) " Have ye not read ? " 
In) " Let him that readeth understand." (p) " Do good, 
despairing of no man." (/) " Make straight paths for your 
feet." (g) "Ye have need of patience." (r)"Your Father 
knoweth." (s) " A people for God's own possession." 
(/) " Good stewards of the manifold grace of God." (u) " Ye 
have taken your pleasure." (v) " Because he gave not 
God the glory." (w) " He is guilty of an eternal sin." 
(x) " Doth the spirit . . . long unto envying ? " (y) " Men 
spake from God." (z) " This He said, making all meats 
clean." (32.) 

For Second Series of Questions, see p. 309. 



THE GOSPELS 
ARRANGED IN THEIR HISTORICAL SEQUENCE. 

I. Method and Purpose of the Gospels. 

THE difficulties of Biblical chronology culminate when 
we come to the Life of our Lord. The one point 
on which all good authorities agree is that an exact 
Harmony of the Four Gospels cannot be constructed. 
As memoirs containing infinitely beautiful pictures of the 
infinitely beautiful Life they are perfect. But as formal 
biographies they are confessedly fragmentary and obviously 
incomplete, more like lectures on the Life than annals of 
it. Dean Alford represents all the scholars when he points 
out that their authors wrote with no design of being pieced 
together into a complete history, and all attempt to do 
this must be merely conjectural. John xxi. 25 warns us 
that we have only a selection of events, and the notes of 
time throughout are few and vague. 

S. Matthew's style has the most appearance of continuity, 
yet he diverges most widely from chronological methods. 
S. Luke professes to write " in order " (Luke i. 3), but that 
does not necessarily involve (says Dr. Westcott) order of 
time, but rather of logical or moral sequence. S. Mark's 
clear and precise story furnishes several accurate and 
valuable chronological data. S. John's narrative appears 
to be chronological throughout, but the points of contact 
between it and that of the other Evangelists are not always 
easy to fix. Moreover, there is not one absolutely certain 
date in the whole Gospel history. And when we look 
elsewhere for additional information, we only learn that 
outside our four Gospels traditions concerning Christ are 

244 



METHOD AND PURPOSE OF THE GOSPELS. 245 

very few, slight, and untrustworthy. Knowing the Gospels 
we know all that can now be known about His life. 

For our spiritual instruction they are all-sufficient Their 
purpose, as expressed in John xx. 30, 31, can be fulfilled 
without exhaustive information or an exact table of dates. 
As a whole, they may be fragmentary, but they are not 
fragments. Each has unity and design, a spiritual law binds 
together its several parts, and its selection of representative 
facts is grouped according to its own dominant idea and 
conveys its peculiar lesson (see p. 221). Their real harmony 
is essentially moral, not mechanical. It is not to be found 
in an ingenious mosaic of disjointed fragments, but in con- 
templation of each narrative at its proper point of sight. 
This brings out the manifoldness of the record of Christ's 
many-sided life, while the unbroken spiritual concord in 
four independent histories is a convincing proof of their 
inspiration. 

When all this has been said, however, it is still possible 
to get a fifth and most instructive view of our Lord's 
sojourn on earth by combining these narratives, and so 
forming a general idea of the course of events. Nor need 
we ignore the special characteristics of each Gospel or fail 
to recognise throughout that while the substance of our 
Harmony deals with facts, its arrangement deals with 
probabilities. 

The dates given below are agreed on by many good 
authorities. Some make the Crucifixion one year earlier, 
others two (or three) years later than A.D. 30. Here are 
the points from which all the dates must be calculated. 
Herod's Temple was begun in B.C. 19. The course of 
Abijah went out of office on October 9th, B.C. 6. Herod 
died April 1st, B.C. 4. Tiberius began his joint rule with 
Augustus A.D. 12. Pilate was deposed A.D. 36. 

The plan we adopt with regard to all those incidents 
whose exact place in the narrative cannot be determined 
is to assume that the order is chronological wherever we 
have not proof to the contrary (a large assumption, looking 
at the many cases in which sequence of time can be shown 
to give place to sequence of thought), and to regard the 
unity of each Gospel by breaking it up as little as possible. 
Where the order of time is not evident, we shall follow the 



246 THE GOSPELS. 

Evangelists in grouping together incidents that illustrate 
each other. S. John's order we leave unchanged, and we 
only depart twice from that of S. Mark, and five times from 
that of S. Luke. 

II. Difficulties. 

Ours is the practical purpose of reading the Gospels 
together in the best way. Therefore we need not enter 
upon interminable discussions of problems that can never 
be solved. Their solution, had it been essential, could have 
been given in two or three words ; but the silence of 
Scripture baffles speculation. Every disputed point has been 
determined in this Harmony after much consideration and 
fullest consultation of those whose scholarship gives them the 
right to an opinion. But lest probabilities be taken for cer- 
tainties, I will briefly mention the chief questions that arise. 

(i) What was the duration of our Lord's Ministry? 
Three Passovers are mentioned by S. John, so it could 
not have been less than two years. If John v. i also 
refers to a Passover (see R.V. margin) it must have been 
three years. Other excellent authorities explain John v. I 
of Pentecost or Tabernacles or Purim or the Feast of 
Trumpets in September. Even so, Luke vi. I implies 
a Passover other than those of John ii. and vi. (but see 
R.V.), and Luke xiii. 7, 32 suggests three years, t.e., 3 J years 
from the Baptism. Moreover 3 J years is always a signifi- 
cant period in the prophetic writings. 

(2) Do Mark vi. and Luke iv. refer to one or to two 
rejections at Nazareth ? If to one, which gives it in the 
right order ? 

(3) Do Luke v. 1-11 and Matt. iv. 18-22 refer to the 
same event? If so, did it precede or follow the great 
Sabbath at Capernaum ? 

(4) Do Matt. v. — vii. and Luke vi. report the same 
sermon ? If so, was it preached at the beginning or in the 
course of the ministry in Galilee? 

(5) Did the conflict of Matt. xii. 22-45 take place in 
the order indicated by S. Mark or in that indicated by 
S. Luke ? 

(6) Do the incidents of John ix. — x. 21 belong to the 
Feast of Tabernacles or to the Feast of Dedication t 



AUTHORITIES. 247 

(7) What is the relation of the events of Luke ix. 52 — 
xviii. 30 to each other, and to S. John's narrative ? This 
great episode is an argument against the observance of an 
exact order of time in the Gospels, and an illustration 
of their real mode of sequence. Many of its sayings 
occur elsewhere in different contexts, but they may very 
naturally have been uttered more than once. Throughout 
its keynote is To Jerusalem — to suffer, and the burden of 
its teaching is the contrast between the spiritual and the 
literal Israel, between the true and the false people of God. 
We understand it best by reading it as a whole, though all 
its incidents may not have occurred in the six months to 
which we assign them. 

(8) Did the Last Supper take place on Nisan 13 or 
Nisan 14, on or before the Passover day? 



III. Authorities. 

Erudite references to authorities are not characteristic 
of this simple and practical volume. But its readers may 
like to have the names of some of the books found help- 
ful in preparing this Harmony : — Westcott's " S. John " 
(Speaker's Commentary) and " Introduction to the Study 
of the Gospels " ; Farrar's " S. Luke " and " Life of Christ" ; 
Geikie's " Life and Words of Christ" ; Smith's " New Testa- 
ment History " and " Dictionary of the Bible " ; Conder's 
" Life of Christ " ; Hanna's " Our Lord's Life on Earth " ; 
Stalker's " Life of Christ " ; Edersheim's " Ministry and 
Services of the Temple" ; and Trench's " Miracles of our 
Lord." 

IV. Plan of this Harmony. 

Each of the three years of the Ministry has its own 
distinguishing feature. Note also that there is positive 
evidence for our division of the third year, and circum- 
stantial evidence for our division of the second year, but that 
the similar division of the first year is purely conjectural. 
To each of the ten Periods two mottoes are prefixed, one 
from Old Testament prophecy anticipating Christ's coming 
and fulfilled by Him, the other from those earliest Christian 



248 THE GOSPELS. 

writings (some even earlier than the Gospels), which vouch 
for all the main facts of the Gospel story, and form its 
most important corroboration. The following matters are 
emphasized throughout, generally by use of italics. 

(a) Miracles, which are most numerous in the Fourth 
Period. Thirty-five are described, but many others were 
wrought. Their distribution is significant, and the key to 
their meaning lies in the fact that they were not mere 
wonders of Christ's power, but redemptive acts of His 
grace and expressions of His character, each at once a work 
and a revelation. Christ was Himself the great miracle of 
which His particular miracles were merely sparks or 
emanations. They entered with Him, not to disturb but 
to repair the harmony of nature. See Liddon's " Elements 
of Religion," Lecture II. 

{li) Parables, of which there are three chief groups : one 
in the Sixth Period (see Matthew) after the first great crisis 
of conflict with the Pharisees ; one in the Eighth Period 
(see Luke) during the journey to Jerusalem ; and one on 
the Day of Gainsayings (see Matthew). We reckon the 
recorded Parables as thirty-five in number, but they are 
less easily counted than the Miracles. Some make 50 ; 
others only 27. S. John represents the higher stage of 
teaching which had got beyond Parables. 

Clearly the recorded Miracles and Parables are only 
specimens of Christ's works and words (see John xii. 37 ; 
Matt. xiii. 34). Observe that Miracles were most numerous 
at the beginning, to call attention to His teaching ; and 
that not until He has been rejected by " the wise " does 
He systematically teach " the babes " by Parables, fixed 
first in the imagination and memory, and gradually en- 
lightening the understanding afterwards. Never yet had 
been speaking so simple, yet so profound ; so pictorial, 
yet so absolutely true. 

(c) Only the leading truths of the chief Discourses of 
Christ can be indicated. Observe the progressive character 
of the teaching throughout, and the mode of addressing 
men as men, which makes Christ's words come with fresh 
force to each fresh generation ; and note that Authority, 
Boldness, Power, and Graciousness are His most striking 
characteristics as a Preacher. 



PLAN OF THIS HARMONY. 249 

(d) Seven Visits to Jerusalem form useful landmarks. 
This, like all our enumerations, refers to records, not to 
events. From the silence of the Gospels we can never 
safely argue. Luke xiii. 34 implies more than the three 
visits during the Ministry recorded as having occurred 
before these words were uttered. 

(e) Our Lords Manifestation of Himself as the Divine 
Messiah of Prophecy and Recognition as such should be noted, 
with the time, circumstances, and extent of each successive 
manifestation. He made no sudden proclamation of His 
office, nor did He continually revert to it. For (1) He 
desired to shun popular excitement, that His words might 
have time to take root and bear fruit. (2) He could neither 
descend to their ideal, nor raise them to His. They looked 
forward to a political Messiah who would exalt their race, 
establish the Mosaic Law in its Rabbinic form for ever, 
and destroy the heathen. Their hope had degenerated 
into a standing conspiracy of the nation against its actual 
rulers. For this, the idea of the true suffering Messiah, 
establishing a kingdom on love not on force, ruling in not 
over men, could not be substituted at once, and even after 
the Resurrection the Apostles themselves had not entirely 
unlearned the notions of the past. (3) Instead of the 
human or angelic Messiah of their thoughts, He slowly 
revealed the Divine Messiah. Hence, though He never 
refused the title when given to Him, and habitually spoke 
of Himself as Son of Man (a recognised name of the 
Messiah, see p. 155), and implied Messiahship continually 
by His acts, He only assumed the title openly towards the 
end of His Ministry, and His public and official claim to 
be the Divine Messiah (Mark xiv. 61, 62) was reserved for 
a moment when all false expectations of political revolution 
were at an end, and swift sentence of death was its 
inevitable outcome (see p. 272). 

(/) The development of Opposition, more and more noisy, 
persistent, and pitiless, is one of the most perplexing 
features of the history. Why was not He welcomed by 
the world He came to save? Why is not every knee 
bowed to Him now in grateful homage ? This opposition 
was foretold from the first (Luke ii. 34), and expected by 
Christ Himself throughout. He set forth its cause and 



250 THE GOSPELS. 

true character (John xv. 19, 24), and the latest Evangelist 
expounds it more fully than his predecessors in those 
" comments " which are peculiar to His Gospel. John i. 5, 
11, iii. 19, 20, 32, xi. 51, 52, xii. 37-43. Demanding a sign 
was one significant form of this opposition, met each time 
in a noteworthy way. 

(g) Rejected by the unbelief of the religious leaders of 
His own nation, and by His fellow-townsmen of Nazareth 
and Capernaum, He was received by the poor of Galilee, 
by the Samaritans, and by the Gentiles. 

(Ji) First by vague allusion, then by direct prophecy, 
Christ foretold His own Passion ; 22 of the 30 allusions to 
it were made after S. Peter's Confession (i.e., almost within 
the last six months), and in five of them the Resurrection 
is named. This prophecy culminates in the command to 
commemorate for ever (1 Cor. xi. 25, 26), not His life, nor 
His teaching, nor His miracles, nor even His resurrection, 
but His shameful death, which seemed to all defeat. When 
His followers anticipated triumph, He calmly predicted 
His rejection. When His enemies were certain that they 
had secured the destruction of Himself and His doctrine, 
He looked forward with majestic confidence to His ultimate 
universal dominion. No more convincing proof that His 
power and wisdom were alike Divine could be given (Isa. 
xlvi. 10). 

(z) Remembering that Christ was not only the greatest 
Teacher of God's Will, but also the greatest Example 
of conformity to it, we note lastly how His life was 
throughout a life of Prayer, and a perfect demonstra- 
tion of the duty, privilege, and pozver of supplication to 
God. 

Endeavour is made in the following pages to give the 
best possible Life of our Lord by neither superseding nor 
supplementing the Gospels, but by putting the student in 
a position to read their record with fresher and fuller 
appreciation of its meaning. Other noble lives stir us up 
to emulation, and rouse our admiration and affection for 
those who lived them. That is all. But in the case of this 
Life that cannot be all. All that Christ surrendered, all 
that He did, all that He taught, and all that He suffered, 
was for us men and for our salvation, and knowing about 



FIRST PERIOD. 251 

Him as He lived then on earth, through the well-attested 
memoirs of His four disciples, cannot leave us where it 
found us. Before us, as before the Jews, more than i860 
years ago, is placed the alternative of accepting or rejecting 
Him ; for God compels no man to believe against his will. 
May I say then to every reader of this volume, Ask your- 
self, as the familiar story of the Saviour is once more put 
before you, " What difference has His life and death made 
to me? Did He, or did He not, give Himself for me in 
vain ? " If He is already all in all to you, thank Him 
afresh for what He has done. If you have never sought 
Him, seek Him now ; trust yourself, your life here, your 
life hereafter, once for all to that freely given and fully 
proved love. Add one more to those myriads of His 
redeemed, who can testify that He blesses above all we 
ask or think those who through faith have learned to 
know Him as He lives now in Heaven. 



First Period. 

B.C. 6 to a.d. 26. 

Birth, Infancy, and Youth of Christ. 

Matt, i., ii. ; Luke i., ii., iii. 23-38; John i. 1-18. 

"Unto us a Child is born." — Isa. ix. 6. 

H Born of a woman, born under the law" — Gal. iv. 4. 

S. Luke's Introduction. Character and purpose of the 
Gospels. Luke i. 1-4. 

S. John's Prologue. The Divine and Eternal Word 
creating the world and manifesting Himself to man through 
His Incarnation. Christ the only begotten Son of God. 
John i. 1-18. 

Legal Pedigree as Abraham's seed and Solomon's heir, 
Christ the greatest Son of David and King of Israel 
Matt. i. 1-17. 

NaUiral Pedigree as David's descendant tl. rough Nathan. 
Christ the greatest Son of Adam and the Son of Man. 
Luke iii. 23-38. 

B.C. 6. Early in October (?), in the Temple at Jem- 



252 THE GOSPELS. 

salem, announcement to Zacharias the priest of the birth 
of John as forerunner of the Lord God. Luke i. 5-25. 

B.C. 5. End of March (?), at Nazareth, first announce- 
ment to the Virgin Mary (type of the Church) of the birth 
of JESUS, God's Son and David's heir. Her visit to 
Elisabeth. The first Christian hymn. Luke i. 26-56. 

B.C. 5. Early in July (?), at a city of Judah, birth of 
John, greatest son of Aaron. The second Christian hymn. 
Luke i. 57-80. 

At Nazareth, second announcement to Joseph (type of 
Israel) of the birth of JESUS, the Divine Saviour from sin. 
Matt. i. 18-25. 

B.C. 5. End of December (or B.C. 4, beginning of 
January), at Bethlehem, JESUS Born, and made known to 
the shepherds (types of the poor who gladly receive the 
Gospel), by angels as a Saviour, Messiah the Lord. First 
adoration. Luke ii. 1-20. The latest research confirms the tradi- 
tional date of mid-winter. 

Eight days later, Jesus is circumcised and named, thus 
beginning to fulfil the Law as perfect Man. Luke ii. 21. 

B.C. 4. February. First visit to Jerusalem. In the 
Temple, Jesus redeemed as a first-born son (Exod. xiii. ; 
Num. iii. 13), presented to God the Father, enrolled in 
the register, and received by Simeon and Anna (types of 
the faithful remnant of Israel), to whom He is made known 
by God the Holy Spirit as Jehovah's Messiah. The third 
Christian hymn. Luke ii. 22-38. 

At Bethlehem, the Magi, to whom He has been made 
known by a star as the King of the Jews, pay the first 
formal Jiomage to Christ. His first Manifestation to the 
Gentiles. First persecution, by Herod. Flight into Egypt 
(tradition says to Memphis). Massacre of the Innocents. 
Death of Herod on April 1. Return to Nazareth. Matt, 
ii. ; Luke ii. 39. The Magi were probably Persians, and represented 
the Zoroastrian system, the purest form of religion which man has 
devised without knowledge of the True God. See p. 156. 

A.D. 8. PASSOVER. Second visit to Jerusalem. In the 
Temple, Jesus announces, in His first recorded words, His 
Divine parentage and life-work with its sacred law of self- 
sacrifice. His youth of sinless obedience and obscure toil 
as our Example. Luke ii. 40-52. 



SECOND PERIOD. 253 

Second Period. 

Summer of A.D. 26 to Passover of A.D. 27. 

The Preparation for the Ministry. 

Matt. iii., iv. 1-11; Mark i. 1-13 ; Luke iii. 1-18, 21-3, 
iv. 1 -1 3 ; John i. 19 — ii. 12. 

" The Lord hath anointed Me to preach good tidings unto 
the meek." — Isa. lxi. I. 

"He Himself hath suffered being tempted" — Heb. ii. 18. 

In the wilderness of Judaea, John, aged 30 (1 Chron. 
xxiii. 3), begins to preach repentance, to baptize, and to 
give His first testimony to Jesus as the Coming One, and 
to the Kingdom of God as now at hand. Matt iii. 1-12 ; 
Mark i. 1-8 ; Luke iii. 1-18. 

In Jordan, Jesus (aged about 30, Num. iv. 352 Sam. 
v. 4), is baptized by John, and, while praying, anointed by 
the Holy Spirit as Prophet, Priest, and King, and thus set 
apart for His work and made known as God's beloved 
Son by the First Voice from Heaven, heard probably by 
Jesus and the Baptist only. Matt. iii. 13-17 ; Mark i. 9-1 1 ; 
Luke iii. 21-3. 

In the wilderness, He fasts 40 days, and as the Second 
Adam retrieves man's Fall by overcoming the threefold 
temptation for body, spirit, and soul ; concerning sense 
God, and man ; to lust of the flesh, vainglory of life, and 
lust of the eyes ; or to reliance on self not on God, religious 
presumption, and earthly ambition ; or in one word, to 
self-will. Thus His absolute sinlessness is tested and proved. 
Matt. iv. 1- 1 1 ; Mark i. 12, 13 ; Luke iv. 1-13. s. Matthew 
evidently gives the temptations in the order in which they occurred, 
which is followed above. 

At Bethany beyond Jordan, John gives His second 
testimony to fesus as the Son of God and the Lamb of 
God, or divinely given atonement for sin. Jesus calls His 
first disciples, Andrew, John, Peter, James (?), Philip, and 
Nathanael, and thus begins to form His Church. They 
acknowledge Him as Messiah, and Nathanael calls Him 
Son of God and King of Israel. John i. 19-51. 



254 THE GOSPELS. 

At a marriage feast in Cana of Galilee, Christ works 
His 1st miracle, changing water into wine, at once a gracious 
leave-taking of His old home life, and a figure of the better 
covenant He would bring in. The disciples believe. His 
first visit to Capernaum. John ii. 1-12. 

Third Period. 

Passover to Feast of Tabernacles, A.D. 27 (6 months). 

Christ revealing Himself to the World in Judaea. 

John ii. 13 — iv. 42. 

" The Lord shall suddenly come to His Temple? — Mai. iii. 1. 
" To the Jew first!' — Rom. i. 16. 

FIRST PASSOVER. — Third visit to Jerusalem. First 
Cleansing oj the Temple by Christ, as a Reformer urging 
amendment, to prepare it for His first preaching there (comp. 
p. 269). In answer to the first demand for a sign, He gives 
the Temple as representing His body, and makes a first 
mysterious allusion to His death and resurrection (see Matt. 
xxvi. 61, xxvii. 40, 63). He works many miracles and 
many Jews believe. John ii. 13-25. 

At Jerusalem, to a member of the Sanhedrin, the Rabbi 
Nicodemus, He utters His First Discourse about the Birth 
from Above, one of the clearest proclamations of His Divine 
nature and mission, containing the whole gospel in epitome, 
and including a second mysterious allusion to His Passion. 
John iii. 1-21. 

In the land of Judaea, His disciples baptize, and large 
numbers come to Him. John's third testimony to Jesus as the 
Messiah, at iFnon. John iii. 22-36. Westcott regards w. 16-21 
and 31-36 as comments by the Evangelist. 

At Sychar, to a Samaritan woman, Jesus utters His 
Second Discourse about the Living Water, and makes 
the first distinct avowal that He is the Messiah. Many 
Samaritans believe and acknowledge Him as the Saviour 
of the world. John iv. 1-42. 

Note. — Taking John iv. 35 literally, Christ must have been eight 
or nine months in Judaea, and only three or four in Galilee. But John 
iv. 3, 45 suggests that the Passover of 27 was still recent when He left 



FOURTH PERIOD. 255 

Judaea, and the events in Galilee before the Passover of 28 must have 
occupied at least six months. It may therefore be merely a familiar 
proverb expressing the interval between seed-time and harvest. The 
inference from John vii. II, that He was usually at Jerusalem for the 
Feast of Tabernacles, determines the date here given. 

Fourth Period. 

Tabernacles A.D. 27 to Passover A.D. 28 (6 months). 

Christ revealing Himself to the World in 
Galilee. 

Matt. iv. 12-24, viii. 2-4, 14-17, ix. 2-34, xiv. 3-5 ; Mark 
i. 14— ii. 22, v. 22-43, vi. 17-20 ; Luke iii. 19, 20, iv. 14 — v. ; 
viii. 41-56 ; John iv. 43-54. 

" In the latter time hath He made the land of Zebulun and 
tJie land of Naphtali glorious" — Isa. ix. 1 (R.V.). 
"Jesus, who went about doing good." — Acts x. 38. 

Imprisonment of John the Baptist in Castle Machaerus 
on the eastern shore of the Dead Sea. Matt. xiv. 3-5 ; 
Mark vi. 17-20; Luke iii. 19, 20. 

At Cana, 2nd miracle, healing of fever the son of a noble- 
man (possibly Chuza). The first Christian household. 
Matt. iv. 12 ; John iv. 43~54- Westcott refers John iv. 44 to 
Judaea, not Galilee. Comp. John ii. 24, 25. 

On a Sabbath in the synagogue at Nazareth, Jesus 
preaches, and for the second time declares Himself the 
Messiah in His First Sermon. First open opposition 
from His fellow-citizens, who seek to kill' Him. Luke iv. 
14-30. 

He begins to dwell at Capernaum, and to preach the 
Gospel to the mixed race of Galileans, " the lost sheep of 
the house of Israel." Matt. iv. 13-17 ; Mark i. 14, 15. 

By the Lake of Galilee, Peter, Andrew, James, and John 
receive their second and final call, and Peter prays to Christ 
as to God. First miraculous draught of fishes (3rd miracle). 
Matt. iv. 18-22 ; Mark i. 16-20 ; Luke v. 1-11. 

A Great Sabbath at Capernaum, " a day of faith."— 
In the Synagogue, 4th miracle , a demonaic healed (over- 
coming passion), and tyh miracle, Peter's mother-in-law 
healed (overcoming disease). Many others healed. Demons 



256 THE GOSPELS. 

acknowledge Jesus as Messiah, Son of God, and Holy One 
of God. Matt viii. 14-17 ; Mark i. 21-34 ; Luke iv. 31-41. 

First Circuit through Galilee after solitary 
prayer. — Multitudes seek Him and come to Him, and great 
numbers are healed. Matt. iv. 23, 24 ; Mark i. 35-9; Luke 
iv. 42-4. 

In a certain city, 6th miracle, a leper cleansed (overcoming 
pollution). Multitudes come to hear and to be healed. 
Christ retires for solitary prayer. Matt. viii. 2-4 ; Mark i. 
40-45 ; Luke v. 12-16. 

At Capernaum, Jth miracle, a paralytic healed (over- 
coming weakness). Christ's Divine claim to forgive sins 
leads to a second opposition, from the Scribes and Pharisees 
(comp. Luke vii. 49 ; Matt. xxvi. 65), and a first accusation 
of blasphemy. Matt. ix. 2-8 ; Mark ii. 1-12 ; Luke v. 17-26. 

By the Lake, He teaches the multitude who resort to 
Him, and calls Matthew, who in Capernaum shortly after 
gives a farewell feast to his friends, at which Christ teaches 
the universality of the gospel, anticipates His teaching by 
parables in two vivid similitudes, and makes a third allusion 
to His departure. Third and four -th oppositions from the 
Pharisees (comp. Luke xv. 1 ; Matt. xi. 19), because He 
received sinners and did not enforce fasting. Matt. ix. 
9-17 ; Mark ii. 14-22 ; Luke v. 27-39. 

On the same day, 8th and gth miracles, a diseased woman 
healed and the only daughter of Jairus raised from the bed 
of death (overcoming death). Matt. ix. 18-26; Mark v. 
22-43 \ -Luke viii. 41-56. 

\oth and nth miracles, two blind men who acknowledge 
Jesus as Son of David and a dumb demoniac healed 
(overcoming loss of faculties). Fifth opposition from the 
Pharisees (comp. Matt. xii. 24), and first suggestion of aid 
from Beelzebub. Matt. ix. 27-34. 

Note. — All the typical miracles of healing wrought by our Lord are 
represented in this Period, and five forms of opposition, recurring 
hereafter more vehemently, are illustrated. 



FIFTH PERIOD. 257 

Fifth Period. 
Passover to Feast of Tabernacles, A.D. 28 (6 months). 

Christ in conflict with the World. From the 
First Sabbath Controversy with the Pharisees 
to their open and blasphemous Rejection of Him. 

Matt. iv. 25— viii. 1, viii. 5-13, x. 2-4, xi. 2-19, xii. ; Mark 
ii. 23 — iii. ; Luke vi. 1 — viii. 3, 19-21, xi. 14 — xii. 12; 
John v. 

" They that seek after my life lay snares for vie!' — Psalm 
xxxviii. 12. 

" Consider Him that hath endured such gainsaying of 
sinners." — Heb. xii. 3. 

SECOND PASSOVER.— Fourth visit to Jerusalem. At the 
pool of Bethesda, \2th miracle, a man impotent for 38 
years healed on the Sabbath. Brought, it seems, before the 
Sanhedrin,and accused of Sabbath-breaking and blasphemy, 
Jesus claims to be Son of God and Son of Man, and the 
Prophet whom Moses foretold ; assumes God's highest 
attributes, lays bare their worldliness and blindness, and 
declares that not only the Baptist and His own works, but 
Moses, and the Scriptures, and God Himself, all that they 
most professed to honour, bear witness to Him. Henceforth 
the Pharisees seek to kill Him, \ti\s first deliberate Jiostility 
from them fixes His doom, and He leaves Jerusalem 
probably for 18 months. John v. 

On a Sabbath shortly after the Passover, in the cornfields 
near Capernaum, Christ vindicates the Law from super- 
stition, declaring Himself greater than the Temple; and on 
another Sabbath, in the synagogue at Capernaum, heals a 
man with a withered hand (13th miracle). Because He thus 
protests against the perversion of a divinely given benefit into 
a burden, the Nationalist party of the Pharisees and the Ro- 
manising party of the Herodians consult together for His de- 
struction. Matt. xii. 1-14 ; Mark ii. 23 — iii. 6 ; Luke vi. 1-1 1. 

By the Lake, great multitudes follow Him, and many 
are healed. Demons again acknowledge Him the Son of 
God. Matt. xii. 15-21 ; Mark iii. 7-12. 

After solitary prayer, He appoints twelve of His disciples 

17 



258 THE GOSPELS. 

Apostles : viz., two sons of Jonah, Simon surnamed Cephas 
or Peter, and Andrew ; two sons of Zebedee and Salome, 
fames and John, both surnamed Boanerges (all four fisher- 
men) ; and Philip (all five of Bethsaida) ; Nathanael, or 
Bartholomew {i.e., son of Tolmai) ; three (or four ?) sons 
of Alphaeus and Mary, Matthew or Levi, the taxgather, 
Thomas or Didymus,/^//^, and Judas surnamed Lebbaeus 
or Thaddaeus, son (or brother ?) of James (all five of Cana) ; 
Simon the Cananaean or Zealot {i.e., follower of Judas of 
Giscala, and therefore a Jew of the strictest and most 
patriotic type), and Judas son of Simon. The surname 
Iscariot {i.e., of Kerioth in Judaea) may belong (John vi. 71, 
R.V.) to both these two last. Matt. x. 2-4 ; Mark iii. 
13-19 ; Luke vi. 12-16. 

Having thus laid the foundations of His Church, Christ 
utters on Kurn Hattin, the mountain by the Lake of 
Galilee, the SERMON ON THE MOUNT, its new Law, 
" the Magna Charta of our faith." Summary : — {a) The 
Citizens of the Kingdom. (1) Their character in nine 
Beatitudes ; showing that true blessedness lies in what we 
are, not in what we have (Luke xii. 1 5) ; (2) Their influence, 
to preserve and to guide. (b) The New Law as a fulfilment 
of the Old Law, both generally and specially, (c) The 
New Life. (1) Its acts of devotion ; (2) Its aims ; (3) Its 
conduct; (4) Its dangers, {d) The Great Contrast, described 
in the \st parable of the Two Foundations, Matt. iv. 25 
— viii. 1 ; Luke vi. 17-49. 

In Capernaum, 14th miracle, Christ heals of paralysis 
the servant of a Roman centurion, already a proselyte to 
Judaism, who becomes the first Gentile believer, and whose 
faith Christ specially commends. Matt. viii. 5-13; Luke 
vii. 1-10. 

At Nain, i$th miracle, He raises a widow's only son 
from the bier, and is recognised as a great Prophet. 
Luke vii. 11-16. 

In answer to the Baptist's question, He appeals to His 
miracles as proofs that He is the Coming One of prophecy, 
and bears witness to His Forerunner. Matt. xi. 2-19; 
Luke vii. 17-35. 

At Capernaum, in a Pharisee's house, a sinful woman 
bears witness to Jesus as the Messiah by solemnly anoint- 



SIXTH PERIOD. 259 

ing Him. His forgiveness of her rouses fresh opposition 
from the Pharisees, stimulated by the recent organisation 
of His followers, and the growing enthusiasm of the people. 
2nd parable of the Two Debtors. Luke vii. 36-50. 

Second Circuit through Galilee. — The first Chris- 
tian sisterhood. Luke viii. 1-3. 

A Great Day of Conflict at Capernaum. — 16th 
miracle y blind and dumb demoniac healed. The people 
are ready to acknowledge Jesus as Son of David, but the 
Pharisees and Scribes from Jerusalem affirm that He 
works miracles through Beelzebub, and choose darkness 
for their portion by this deliberate and conscious enmity. 
Hitherto Christ had avoided open collision with the reli- 
gious leaders of the people. Now He passes from self- 
defence to rebuke, shows that His power is at once superior 
to and contrary to Satan, that the old demon of idolatry 
had only given place to new demons of self-righteous 
unbelief, and warns them that their wilful rejection of the 
revelation of His presence and power would be sin against 
the Holy Ghost (1 Cor. xii. 3), and therefore unpardonable. 
In answer to the second demand for a sign He gives Jonah, 
making ^fourtJi allusion to His death and resurrection, and 
declaring Himself greater than Jonah or Solomon. Matt, 
xii. 22-45 5 Mark iii. 20-30 ; Luke ix. 14-36. 

Interruption and interference from His mother and 
brethren (probably the children of Joseph's first marriage) 
leads Him to expound the difference between natural and 
spiritual kindred. Matt. xii. 46-50; Mark iii. 31-5 ; Luke 
viii. 19-21. 

Dining afterwards with one of the Pharisees, He first 
calls them hypocrites, utters His first great declaration of 
a triple zvoe upon them, and referring to the national treat- 
ment of all God's messengers, makes a fifth allusion to His 
departure. The Pharisees vehemently seek to ensnare Him, 
and in presence of a great multitude He teaches His 
disciples to fear God only. Luke xi. $J — xii. 12. 

Note. — Sowing began in October, when the early rains ended the 
long summer drought, and recalled the husbandman to the plough. 
Hence the multitude of Luke viii. 4, xii. 1, may have been pilgrims to 
the Feast of Tabernacles, and the Twelve were probably sent forth as 
soon as the people had returned home. These are the only indications 
of date to fix the limits of this Period. 



260 the gospels. 

Sixth Period. 

Tabernacles, A.D. 28, to Passover, A.D. 29 (6 months). 

Christ in Conflict with the World. From the 
First Teaching of the Multitude by Parables to 
the Culmination of His Popularity and Large 
Defection of His Followers. 

Matt. viii. 18 — ix. 1, ix. 35 — xi. 1, xiii. 1 — xiv. 1, 2, 
6-36 ; Mark iv. 1 — v. 21, vi. 1- 16, 21-55 ; Luke viii. 4-18, 
22-40, ix. 1-17; John vi. 

" / will ope?i my mouth i?i a parable!' — Psalm lxxviii. 2. 
" A man approved of God unto you by mighty works and 
wonders and signs? — Acts ii. 22. 

A Great Day of Parables.— From a boat on the 
Lake, Christ utters five and in the house afterwards three 
parables of the Kingdom of Heaven : viz., (a) The Sower 
(its origin from God), (b) The Secret GrowtJi (its unper- 
ceived progress), (c) The Tares (its counterfeit by the 
devil), (d) The Mustard Seed (its progress in outward 
extent), (e) The Leaven (its progress in inward influence). 
(/) The Hid Treasure (the kingdom as a gift from 
Heaven to men). (g) The Merchant seeking Pearls (as 
a power in the individual). (Ji) The Drag Net (as a 
wide working instrument among men leading to the final 
separation between good and evil). Matt. xiii. 1-53 ; Mark 
iv. 1-34 ; Luke viii. 4-18. 

Just as He is about to cross the Lake, He answers two 
aspirants to discipleship, suggesting what is involved in 
following Him. Matt. viii. 18-22. 

On the Lake He calms a great storm (ijth miracle). In 
the country of the Gerasenes on the eastern shore of the 
Lake, He heals a savage demoniac, who acknowledges 
Him the Son of God, and sends him as a missionary to 
his own people in Decapolis (iSth miracle). The per- 
mission given to the legion of demons to enter some swine, 
stirs up the first popular opposition to Christ. Matt. viii. 
23 — ix. 1 ; Mark iv. 35 — v. 21 ; Luke viii. 22 — 40. 

Nazareth rejects Christ for the second time. Matt. xiii. 
54-8; Mark vi. 1-6. 

Third Circuit through Galilee.— He sends forth 
the 'Twelve Apostles to the Twelve Tribes of Israel to 



SIXTH PERIOD. 261 

proclaim the kingdom of heaven as the first Missionaries 
of His Gospel, thus converting followers into fellow-workers ; 
and gives them the first Pastoral Charge concerning the 
extent and character of their mission ; their conduct and 
responsibility ; and the inevitable persecution and un- 
failing reward of His messengers in all future ages. The 
reference to His coming again and the first mysterious 
mention of the Cross form a twofold sixth allusion to His 
departure. He then continues His own circuit. Matt. ix. 
35— xi. 1 ; Mark vi. 6-13 ; Luke ix. 1-6. 

At Machaerus (or in the palace at Julias), Herod's Feast 
takes place, leading to the martyrdom (after at least 18 
months' imprisonment) of the Baptist. Matt. xiv. 1, 2, 
6-12 ; Mark vi. 14-16, 21-29 5 Luke ix. 7-9. 

Shortly before the THIRD Passover, at Bethsaida Julias 
on the east side of the Lake, whither He has retired with 
the Apostles newly returned from their mission, Christ 
feeds more than 5000 people (igth miracle, the only one 
recorded in all the Gospels). They acknowledge Him as 
the Prophet foretold by Moses, and attempt to make Him 
King by force. He retires for solitary prayer, and meets 
His disciples on their way to the western shore, walking 
on the sea {20th miracle). They acknowledge Him Son 
of God, and at Capernaum a great multitude gather round 
Him to be taught. Many are healed. Matt. xiv. 13-36; 
Mark vi. 30-55 ; Luke ix. 10-17; John vi. 1-24. 

In the synagogue at Capernaum, Christ's Feast leads to 
His most profound teaching about spiritual life. Answer- 
ing the third demand for a sign, in a twofold sermon to the 
multitude (v. 26-40) and to the Pharisees (v. 41-59), He 
declares Himself the true Bread of Life from Heaven, 
whose flesh would be given for the life of the world, the 
first clear public allusion to His Passion. He has thus 
made His most unreserved public declaration of His char- 
acter and claims, calling on men to believe not merely in 
His words, but on Him ; and this demonstration of the 
spiritual character of His Kingdom results in a great 
winnowing of His disciples, the first instance of the offence 
of the Cross. Many depa7't from Him, but Peter in the 
name of the Twelve confesses Him the Holy One of God. 
For the first time He refers to Iscariot's treachery. John vi. 
25-71. 



262 the gospels. 

Seventh Period. 
Passover to Feast of Tabernacles, A.D. 29 (6 months). 

Christ revealing Himself to His Disciples in 
outlying Heathen Regions. 

Matt, xv.— xviii. ; Mark vi. 55— ix. ; Luke ix. 18-50; 
John vii. 1. 

" / will also give thee for a light to the Gentiles!' — Isa. 
xlix. 6. 

" We were eye-witnesses of His majesty . . . in the holy 
mount." — 2 Peter i. 16, 18. 

Fourth and Final Circuit through Galilee — 
Mark vi. 55, 56; John vii. I. 

In answer to the Scribes and Pharisees who came as 
spies from Jerusalem to discredit Him with the Galileans, 
Christ shows how their tradition had perverted the Law, 
abolishes caste, and anticipates the abrogation of Mosaic 
ceremonialism. Matt. xv. 1-20 ; Mark vii. 1-23. (With 
Mark vii. 19, R.V., compare Acts x.) 

Departing to Phoenicia, in consequence of their malig- 
nant hostility, He is acknowledged as Son of David by the 
first believer from heathendom, a Canaanite by birth, a 
Greek by language, and a Roman citizen by position, so 
representing the three most influential peoples of the Pagan 
world. He tests and then commends her rare faith (Gal. 
iii. 7, 9), end heals her demon-vexed daughter (21st miracle). 
Matt. xv. 21-28 ; Mark vii. 24-30. 

In Decapolis, a half-heathen region between Damascus 
and Jabbok, He heals a deaf man (22nd miracle), and many 
others, and is followed by a great multitude (comp. Mark 
v. 20), 4000 of whom He feeds (23rd miracle). They glorify 
the God of Israel. Matt. xv. 29-38 ; Mark vii. 31— viii. 9. 

On His return to the western shore of the Lake at Dal- 
manutha, the Pharisees, in ominous coalition with the 
Sadducees who now oppose Him for the first time, make a 
fourth demand for a sign. In His last public teaching in 
Galilee, He again gives them the sign of Jonah, type of His 
death and resurrection {eighth allusion), and warns His 



SEVENTH PERIOD. 263 

disciples against their hypocrisy. Matt. xv. 39 — xvi. 12 ; 
Mark viii. 10-21. 

Crossing the Lake again, at Bethsaida Julias He heals a 
blind man (24/// miracle). Mark viii. 22-6. 

At Csesarea Philippi, a great centre of heathen worship, 
after He has prayed, His teaching and the Apostles' faith 
culminate in Peter s great Confession of Him as Messiah, 
Son of the Living God. Solemnly ratifying it, Christ 
makes first mention of His Church, and lays the corner- 
stone of the New Society on this fundamental truth, 
promising Peter the privilege of being the first to proclaim it 
both to Jew and Gentile. (See Acts ii., x.) This is followed 
by the first clear propliecy of His death and resurrection at 
Jerusalem to the Twelve, and a second mysterious mention 
of the Cross. Matt. xvi. 13-28 ; Mark viii. 27 — ix. 1 ; 
Luke ix. 18-27. 

One night a week later on Mount Hermon, as He prays, 
Christ's revelation of Himself culminates in the vision of 
His Glory given to Peter, James, and John. The two 
greatest representatives of the Law and the Prophets are 
in converse with Him concerning His death, and a Second 
Voice from Heaven, heard by the three Apostles, proclaims 
Him God's beloved and chosen Son. Second clear prophecy 
of His sufferings. Identification of the Baptist with Elijah. 
At the foot of the Mount, He preaches faith as the only 
source of strength, and heals an epileptic boy (2$th miracle} 
Matt. xvii. 1-2 1 ; Mark ix. 2-29 ; Luke ix. 28-43. 

During a farewell secret journey through Galilee, He 
utters the third clear prophecy of His betrayal, death, and 
resurrection. Matt. xvii. 22, 23 ; Mark ix. 30-32 ; Luke ix. 

43-5. 

At Capernaum, He provides the half-shekel tribute 
(Exod. xxxviii. 26) for Himself and Peter, but while thus 
teaching obedience, shows Himself Lord of the Temple, 
Son of the King of Kings, and Ruler over creation (26th 
miracle}. He teaches His disciples concerning humility, 
stumbling-blocks for others, and unselfishness, rebuking 
the selfish ambition and rivalry which the Twelve begin to 
display ; fixes the extent and limit of toleration ; and in 
the nth parable of the Merciless Servant exacting a debt 
1,250,000 times smaller than the one he had been forgiven, 



264 THE GOSPELS. 

explains the Christian law of forgiveness. Incidentally, He 
again refers to Himself as the Messiah. Matt. xvii. 24 — 
xviii. 35 ; Mark ix. 33-50 ; Luke ix. 46-50. 

Eighth Period. 

Tabernacles, A.D. 29, to Passover, A.D. 30 (6 months). 

Christ revealing Himself to His Disciples 
journeying towards jerusalem. final rejection 
by Jerusalem, Samaria, and Galilee. 

Matt. xi. 20-30, xix., xx.; Mark x.; Luke ix. 51 — xi. 13, 
xii. 13 — xix. 28 ; John vii. 2 — xi. 

" Who hath believed our report ?" — Isa. lift. I. 

" Preaching good tidings of peace by Jesus Christ {He is 
Lord of ally— Acts x. 36. 

Christ refuses to go publicly to the Feast of Tabernacles, 
but secretly pays His Fifth visit to Jerusalem, and in the 
midst of their talk concerning Him in the Temple, vindi- 
cates His Sabbath miracles, and declares that He is sent 
by God. Much discussion as to whether He is the Messiah. 
At the close of the Feast, He utters His great promise 
of the Holy Spirit, with a \2th allusion to His departure 
whither they could not find Him. Unsuccessful attempt 
to arrest Him, and division among the people and in the 
Sanhedrin. John vii. 2-52. 

Teaching in the Temple next morning, He defeats a 
base plot by the Pharisees to ensnare Him, and compels 
these self-righteous religionists to condemn themselves, 
while He exercises the Divine prerogative of forgiveness. 
In the Treasury, He declares Himself the Light of the 
World, and the great object of faith to the multitude, many 
of whom believe. Then He analyses the unbelief of the 
Jews, showing Himself the Son of God, and discriminating 
children of Abraham through faith from children of the 
devil through unbelief. After the 13th and 14th allusions 
to His departure whither they could not find Him, and to 
the lifting up of the Son of Ma7i, He closes the discussion 
by claiming for Himself the absolute sinlessness which He 
elsewhere attributes to God only (Luke xviii. 19), and 
assuming the great name I Am. They violently oppose 



EIGHTH PERIOD. 265 

Him, making a first attempt to stone Him. John vii. 53 — 
viii. 59. 

As He begins His last solemn progress towards Jerusalem 
(see p. 247), He is rejected by a Samaritan village, and 
shows how His mission differs from that of Elijah. Luke 
ix. 51-6. 

At another Samaritan village, He heals ten lepers {27th 
miracle), and accepts the faith of one. Luke xvii. 11-19. 

He crosses Jordan into Peraea, followed by multitudes. 
Matt. xix. 1, 2 ; Mark x. 1. 

After giving three illustrations of the sacrifices of true 
discipleship, He sends forth the Seventy Disciples, whose 
number is typical of the seventy nations of the earth 
reckoned by the Jews, to preach the coming of God's 
kingdom, especially to the heathen of the outlying districts. 
He receives the tidings of their success with joy and 
thanksgiving, declaring Himself the Son of God, and utter- 
ing a terrible woe on the highly favoured scenes of His 
chief teaching which had now utterly rejected Him, followed 
by an invitation to the weary and heavy laden of the whole 
world. Luke ix. 57 — x. 24 ; Matt. xi. 20-30. 

A lawyer's tempting question leads to the \2tJ1 parable 
of the Good Samaritan, teaching the brotherhood of all 
men, and showing Christ as the minister of mercy when 
law and sacrifice had failed. At Bethany on Olivet, He 
visits Martha and Mary, and teaches concerning the one 
thing needful. After praying in a certain place, He teaches 
His disciples the Lord's Prayer as the model of all 
prayer, and in the 13/// parable of the Friend at Midnight 
enforces prayer as the chief means of grace. Luke x. 25 — 
xi. 13. 

In answer to an ill-judged request, Christ shows the folly 
and sin of covetousness in the 14th parable of the Rich 
Fool\ and discourses concerning God's providence, illus- 
trates watchfulness by the \$th parable of the Servants 
waiting for their Lord, makes a 15th allusion to the Passion 
as His baptism of suffering, and closes with the \6th 
parable of the Barren Fig-tree, on the coming judgments 
of God. Luke xii. 13 — xiii. 9. 

In a synagogue on the Sabbath, He heals an infirm 
woman (2W1 miracle), rousing an utterly unreasonable 



266 THE GOSPELS. 

opposition, but shaming all His adversaries. Discourse on 
the way to Jerusalem concerning the Narrow Door, and the 
universality and spirituality of the Kingdom of God. 
Message to Herod, first prediction of the Fall of Jerusalem, 
and 16th allusion to His death as taking place there. Luke 

xiii. 10-35. 

In the house of a chief Pharisee on the Sabbath, He 
heals a dropsical man (29th miracle), and rebukes struggles 
for precedence in the 17 th parable of the Great Supper, 
showing how the last are made first Luke xiv. 1-24. 

Surrounded by great multitudes, He bids them count the 
cost of discipleship, making a third me7ition of the Cross, 
in the parables of the Unfinished Tower and the Prudent 
King. Parables, in answer to Pharisees murmuring, of the 
Lost Sheep (the guileless wanderer from the Church), the 
Lost Drachma (the lost slumberer in the Church), and the 
Prodigal Son (the wilful apostate from the Church), testi- 
fying the free mercy to men of God the Son, God the 
Spirit working through the Church, and God the Father. 
Parables of the Provident Steward (reproof of worldliness 
and covetousness), of Dives and Lazarus (closing with an 
allusion to His resurrection from the dead), and of the 
Unprofitable Servants. General lessons of forbearance, for- 
giveness, faith, and humility. Luke xiv. 25— xvii. 10. 

In answer to the Pharisees, He shows the character of 
the Kingdom of God, and utters to the disciples a fourth 
clear prophecy of His sufferings and rejection, speaking of 
His Second Coming. 26th and 27th parables of the Im- 
portunate Widow and of the Pharisee and Publican. Luke 
xvii. 20 — xviii. 14. 

In answer to an ensnaring question by the Pharisees, He 
shows the provisional character of the Mosaic legislation 
and enunciates the Christian law of marriage. Matt. xix. 
3-12 ; Mark x. 2-12. 

He welcomes and blesses little children, and shows the 
young ruler, a half-hearted rich man, that God claims us 
and ours wholly, making a fourth mention of the Cross. 
Further discourse with the disciples concerning riches leads 
to the 2§th parable of the Labourers in the Vineyard, show- 
ing that in Heaven there are no struggles for precedence ; 
and that God looks at the quality not the quantity of our 



EIGHTH PERIOD. 267 

services ; not at what we do, but at what we are, neither to 
ourselves nor to the world, but in His own sight. Matt. 
xix. 13 — xx. 16; Mark x. 13-31 ; Luke xviii. 15-30. 

In December, Feast of Dedication, Sixth visit to Jeru- 
salem. On the Sabbath day, after a 21st allusion to the 
coining night when He could work no longer, Christ heals 
a man born blind {$oth miracle), who becomes the first con- 
fessor of Christ to his cost and the first conscious sufferer 
for His sake. To him Christ clearly reveals Himself as 
the Son of God. The new congregation and new spiritual 
Temple of which he is a type are described in the Parabolic 
Discourse of the Good Shepherd, wherein Christ clearly and 
publicly foretells His voluntary death, in terms implying His 
Resurrection. John ix. — x. 18. 

In Solomon's Porch, answering an impetuous appeal 
from the divided people concerning His Messiahship, He 
appeals to His work as its proof and declares Himself one 
with God. Second attempt to stone Him. John x. 19-39. 

He retires to Bethany beyond Jordan, and the many 
(probably former disciples of the Baptist) who there believe 
constitute His last large following. John x. 40-42. 

At Bethany on Olivet, after prayer, He raises Lazarus, 
dead four days, from the grave (31^ miracle), in this 
crowning miracle proclaiming His absolute power over 
death ere He submits to it. Martha confesses Him Messiah 
and Son of God. Thereupon the Sanhedrin, in which the 
Sadducaean party predominates, close the long controversy 
by formally determining on His death. He retires to 
Ephraim, near Bethel, with His disciples. John xi. 1-54. 

On the final journey from Ephraim to Jerusalem, alone 
with the Twelve, Christ utters the fifth clear prophecy of His 
suffering (quoted Luke xxiv. 7), stating that in fulfilment 
of Old Testament prophecy He should be mocked, scourged, 
and crucified by Gentiles, and rise again the third day. 
Matt. xx. 17-19 ; Mark x. 32-4 ; Luke xviii. 31-4. 

Salome's ambitious request for her sons is checked by 
the announcement that He had come to give His life for a 
ransom (24th allusion). Matt. xx. 20-28 ; Mark x. 35-45. 

In Jericho, He heals two blind men, who acknowledge 
Him Son of David (32nd miracle). Matt. xx. 29-34 ; Mark 
x. 46-52 ; Luke xviii. 35-43. 



268 THE GOSPELS. 

In Jericho, He lodges, self-invited, with the tax-gatherer 
Zacchaeus, a whole-hearted rich man, and in the 29th 
parable of the Mince teaches His departure to receive a 
kingdom and return, to judge every man according to his 
wtfr^ (comp. 34/// parable). Luke xix. 1-28. 

Discussion at Jerusalem as to whether Jesus will come 
for the Passover. John xi. 55-7. 

Ninth Period. 

Nisan 9 to 16 A.D. 30 (one week). 

The Passion of Christ. 

Matt. xxi. — xxvii. ; Mark xi. — xv. ; Luke xix. 29 — xxiii. ; 
John xii. — xix. 

" The Lord hath laid on Him the iniquity of us all." — Isa. 
Hii. 6. 

" Who loved me, and gave Himself up for meT — Gal. ii. 20. 

Saturday, March 31. — At Bethany, in Simon's house, 
Christ accepts Mary's homage as an anointing to prepare 
Him for burial (26th allusion). Many believe through 
seeing Lazarus. Matt. xxvi. 6-13; Mark xiv. 3-9; John 
xii. i-ii. 

SUNDAY, April i. — Seventh visit to ferusalem. Trium- 
phal entry to claim His heritage and give the Jews a final 
choice between accepting or rejecting their King. The 
enthusiastic crowd of provincials receive Him with accla- 
mation as the Son of David, but amid their shouts He 
mourns over the obstinate unbelief of the city He came to 
deliver, and utters a second prediction of its Fall. (Note 
that on this day the paschal lamb was chosen: Exod. xii. 3.) 
Matt. xxi. 1 -1 1, 15-17; Mark xi. 1-11; Luke xix. 29-44; 
John xii. 12-19. 

Monday, April 2. — On the road from Bethany to 
Jerusalem, He condemns the fig-tree whose unusually early 
show of leaves had no corresponding promise of fruit. By 
this 33r<f miracle, the only miracle of destruction, He com- 
pletes the 1 6th parable, symbolises the inevitable ruin of 
the impenitent Jews, warns against hypocrisy, and illustrates 
the power of faith. Matt. xxi. 18, 19; Mark xi. 12-14. 



NINTH PERIOD. 269 

At Jerusalem, Second Cleansing of the Temple by Christ 
the Priest, as a Judge pronouncing condemnation, to pre- 
pare it for His final preaching there (comp. p. 254). Many 
are healed in the Temple. Matt. xxi. 12-14; Mark xi. 
15-19 ; Luke xix. 45-8. 

TUESDAY, April 3. — On the way into Jerusalem the 
fig-tree is found withered. THE GREAT GAINSAYINGS IN 
THE TEMPLE, a final combined attempt to ensnare Him. 
He meets the demand of a formal deputation from the 
Sanhedrin " By what authority ? " with an unanswerable 
preliminary question ; and in the 30///, 31J/, and 32nd 
parables of the Two Sons, the Wicked Husbandmen, and 
the Wedding Garment at the Marriage of the King's Son, 
claims to be God's last great Messenger to His people, and 
instructs concerning false profession, abused privileges, and 
lost opportunities, and the coming blessing for the Gentiles. 
The people still take Him for a Prophet. He answers the 
Pharisees' and Herodians' test by showing that they had 
themselves acknowledged Caesar by accepting his coinage ; 
the Sadducees' test by Mosaic proof of the future life ; and 
the Lawyer's test by a perfect summary of the whole Law. 
He then puts them all to silence by His eounter-qujstion 
concerning David's Son ; proving His double claim to the 
throne of David and of God. Matt. xxi. 20 — xxii. ; Mark 
xi. 20 — xii. 37 ; Luke xx. 1-44. 

Sevenfold woe foretold to the Scribes and Pharisees 
whose hypocrisy made void the Law they professed to 
honour. Christ refers to Himself as Messiah, and by men- 
tion of the one Father, the one Master, and the one Teacher 
(see R.V.), indicates the relation of the whole Trinity to 
man, and closes with a third prediction of the Fall of Jeru- 
salem. Commendation of a widow, teaching that the 
essence of charity is self-denial. Matt, xxiii. ; Mark xii. 
38-44 ; Luke xx. 45 — xxi. 4. 

In response to the request of some Greeks (first fruits of 
Europe, the Christendom of the future), who come to His 
cross from the West, as the Magi came to His cradle from 
the East, Christ, after prayer, completes His self-revelation 
to the World, foretelling that when lifted up He will draw 
all men to Him. A Third Voice from Heaven, heard by the 
gathered crowd, confirms His words. On leaving the 



270 THE GOSPELS. 

Temple finally, He makes a last appeal to men in the 
Father's name, to which S. John prefixes a comment ex- 
plaining His rejection, and referring to Christ Isaiah's vision 
of the Lord of Hosts. John xii. 20-50. 

On Olivet, Christ discourses to the Twelve of the Last 
Things, dealing with their four questions as to the (a) time 
and (J?) sign of the Fall of ferusalem {predicted for the 
fourth time), and the (c) time and (d) sign of His appear- 
ing and tJie end of the world. He passes from judgment 
of the Rulers and of Jerusalem to judgment of the whole 
World, in the three last parables, 33rd, 34th and 35th, of 
the Fig-tree a?id all Trees, the Ten Virgins (the Church 
watching), and the Talents (the Church working ; every 
man judged according to His opportunities : comp. 29th 
parable), and the Discourse on the Son of Man judging 
those who had not known the Law. He closes by a 2&th 
allusion to His death by crucifixion two days thence. Matt, 
xxiv., xxv., xxvi. 1,2; Mark xiii. ; Luke xxl 5-38. 

Meanwhile the Sanhedrin, maddened by the public 
exposure of their hypocrisy, meet to arrange the manner 
of His arrest, and bribe fudas to sell his Master to them 
for the price of the meanest slavey one-third of the price of 
what Mary had lavished in loving homage. Matt. xxvi. 
3-5, 14-16 ; Mark xiv. 1, 2, 10, 11 ; Luke xxii. 1-6. 

Wednesday, April 4, an unrecorded day of solemn 
preparation for the Passion, spent at Bethany. 

THURSDAY, APRIL 5 (Nisan or Abib 14). S. John's in- 
troductory words. John xiii. 1. Peter and John sent to 
Jerusalem to make preparation for the FOURTH PASSOVER. 
Matt. xxvi. 17-19; Mark xiv. 12-16; Luke xxii. 7-13. 
Christ with the Twelve enters the Upper Room in Jerusalem 
for the Paschal Feast. The first cup (of consecration) 
passed round and hands washed. Matt. xxvi. 20 ; Mark 
xiv. 17; Luke xxii. 14-18. He settles the dispute about 
precedence which arose when they were taking their places 
by washing their feet Himself. Luke xxii. 24-30 ; John 
xiii. 2-17. The Lamb, etc., is then set out, the bitter 
herbs eaten, the dishes removed, the second cup filled, and 
the inquiry concerning the Feast asked and answered 
(Exod. xii. 26, 27 ; Deut. xxvi. 5-9). After this, the first 
part of the great Hallel (Psalms cxiil, cxiv.) is sung, the 



NINTH PERIOD. 271 

second cup passed round, and the hands washed again. 
As the unleavened bread is dipped in the sauce which 
commemorated the mortar of their bondage, with another 
thanksgiving, Christ foretells His betrayal, indicates to Peter 
and John the traitor, utters his awful doom, and dismisses 
him to complete his treachery. Matt. xxvi. 21-5 ; Mark 
xiv. 18-21 ; Luke xxii. 21-3 ; John xiii. 18-35. 

Then the lamb is eaten, and during the subsequent dis- 
tribution of unleavened bread followed by the third cup 
(of blessing) Christ institutes the Sacrament of the Lord's 
Supper as a perpetual memory of His precious Death until 
His coming again. Matt. xxvi. 26-9 ; Mark xiv. 22-5 ; 
Luke xxii. 19, 20 ; 1 Cor. xi. 23-5. The fourth cup (of joy), 
the second part of the Hallel (Psalm cxv. — cxviii.), and a 
final prayer and thanksgiving conclude the last true Paschal 
Feast. Christ thrice foretells Peter's denial, and again 
speaks of His sufferings as fulfilling prophecy. John xiii. 
36-S ; Luke xxii. 31-8 ; Matt. xxvi. 30-35 ; Mark xiv. 26-31. 

Christ completes His self-rev elation to His Apostles by 
His Last Discourse concerning the Paraclete sent by the 
Father and the Son to testify of Him to men. He deals 
with His relation to the Father and to His disciples, with 
the law and progress of revelation, gives them a new com- 
mandment, and for the 30th time refers to His departure. 
After leaving the Upper Room, He utters the Parabolic 
Discourse of the Vine and its Branches, typifying their 
union with Him and love for one another in face of the 
world's hatred ; and speaks of the Paraclete's testimony to 
the world and to the Church, of sorrow turned into joy 
and failure issuing in victory. Then our great High 
Priest offers Himself as Victim in His Prayer of Consecra- 
tion for Himself (v. 1-5), His apostles (v. 6-19), and all 
believers (v. 20-26). Westcott suggests that this may have been 
uttered in the Temple Courts, which were thrown open at midnight 
during the Passover. John xiv. — xvii. 

Crossing Kedron, Christ enters the Garden of Gethsemane 
on the slope of Olivet. His solitary prayer and mysterious 
Agony, as the Sinless One bearing our sins, " the sufferings 
of His soul forming the soul of all His sufferings," is wit- 
nessed by the Three who had seen His Glory. Matt. xxvi. 
36-46 ; Mark xiv. 32-42 ; Luke xxii. 39-46 ; John xviii. 1, 2. 



272 THE GOSPELS. 

He is betrayed by Judas, and, after display of His power 
that proves Him a willing Victim (John x. 18), is arrested 
by the emissaries of the Sanhedrin, and heals Malchus' ear 
(34^ miracle). After a futile resistance, the disciples all 
forsake Him. Matt. xxvi. 47-56 ; Mark xiv. 43-52 ; Luke 
xxii. 47-53 ; John xviii. 3-12. 

FIRST TRIAL soon after midnight, in the High Priest's 
house at the north-east corner of Mount Zion, by Annas the 
legitimate, though deposed, High Priest. No witnesses. are 
brought, but Jesus is practically condemned to death, and 
insulted by the servants. John xviii. 13, 14, 19-23 ; Luke 
xxii. 54. 

Second Trial in the same house, by Caiaphas, the 
actual High Priest, and an informal gathering of part of 
the Sanhedrin. False witnesses accuse Him of speaking 
against the Temple, perverting His words. Questioned by 
the rulers of the nation, He confesses Himself Messiah 
and Son of God, and is potentially condemned to death for 
" blasphemy." First Derision as Messiah by the High 
Priest's servants. Matt. xxvi. 57-68 ; Mark xiv. 53-65 ; 
Luke xxii. 63-5 ; John xviii. 24. In the courtyard below, 
Peter, who has followed with John, being questioned by 
two or three servants, thrice denies his Lord. Matt. xxvi. 
58, 69-75 ; Mark xiv. 54, 66-72 ; Luke xxii. 55-62 ; John 
xviii. 15-18, 25-7. 

Friday, April 6 (First Day of Unleavened Bread). — 
Third Trial at dawn, in the Gazith or Hall of Polished 
Stones, or some other chamber adjoining the Temple on 
Mount Moriah, by a formal assembly of the Sanhedrin. 
Again He confesses Himself Messiah and Son of God, and 
is formally condemned to death by the ecclesiastical authori- 
ties. Matt, xxvii. I, 2 ; Mark xv. 1 ; Luke xxii. 66-71. 

The suicide of Judas. Matt, xxvii. 3-10 ; Acts i. 18-20. 

FOURTH Trial in the Praetorium or official residence of 
the Roman governor in the castle of Antonia, north of the 
Temple on Mount Moriah, by Pontius Pilate, procurator 
of Judaea. First accusation of sedition against Rome, the 
pretext for demanding His death being that He threatened 
to use force to establish His Kingdom, while the real 
offence in their eyes was that He would not use force. He 
makes no reply, but in a first private interview with Pilate 



NINTH PERIOD. 273 

acknowledges Himself King of the Jews with a kingdom 
not of this world. First warning to Pilate in the awe- 
inspiring aspect of his Prisoner. 1st acquittal by Pilate. 
Second accusation of insurrection. Pilate's first expedient of 
sending Him to Herod. Matt, xxvii. 2, 11-14; Mark xv. 
1-5 ; Luke xxiii. 1-7 ; John xviii. 28-38. 

FIFTH Trial in the old palace of the Asmonean princes 
on Zion, by Herod Antipas, tetrarch of Galilee. Third 
accusation met with unbroken silence. Second Derision as 
King by Herod and his soldiers. 2nd acquittal by Herod. 
Return to the Praetorium. Luke xxiii. 8-12. 

Sixth Trial in the Praetorium by Pilate, who, after 
a 3^ declaratioji of His innocence ', proposes for a second 
expedient to release Him as an act of artificial grace, not 
plain justice, and receives in his wife Claudia Procula's 
message a second warning. But the Jews ask for Barabbas, 
the brigand and murderer. For the Holy and Righteous One 
they demand that most shameful and painful form of death 
which was reserved for felonious slaves. After a 4th acquittal 
Pilate scourges Jesus, and He endures a Third Derisio?i as 
King from the Roman soldiers. As his third expedient, 
Pilate brings Him before the people, saying, " Behold the 
Man," and pronouncing a $th acquittal. Mention of the 
Son of God awes him with a third warning, and in a second 
private interview Christ calmly judges His judge. Mount- 
ing his tribunal for the third time, Pilate makes a final 
attempt to release Christ, washing his hands with a 6th 
acquittal of " this righteous man." The maddened people 
accept the guilt of His blood, loudly professing allegiance 
to their Roman conqueror only, and thus disclaiming all 
their Messianic hopes, and demanding formal condemnation 
to death by the civil autlwrities of their true King, which 
Pilate at last pronounces. Matt, xxvii. 15-31 ; Mark xv. 
6-20 ; Luke xxiii. 13-25 ; John xviii. 39 — xix. 16. 

Rejected by the Pharisees, condemned by the Sadducees, 
denounced by the multitude, and forsaken by His own 
disciples, Jesus is led to death by the Romans. On the 
way He utters His last Sermon and -fifth prediction of the 
Fall of Jerusalem to the pitiful women who bewail Him. 
Simon bears His cross. Matt, xxvii. 32 ; Mark xv. 21 ; 
Luke xxiii. 26-32 ; John xix. 17. 

18 



27+ THE GOSPELS. 

About nine o'clock, at Golgotha, He refuses the soporific 
offered to alleviate the anguish of crucifixion, and is nailed 
to the cross between two robbers with a superscription in 
the three languages of the civilised world over His head, 
just as the morning daily sacrifice is being offered. First 
Word of priestly Intercession for the impenitent. He is 
mocked by the members of the Sanhedrin as Saviour, 
Messiah, and King of Israel ; by the soldiers as King of 
the Jews ; and by the multitude as Son of God. Matt, 
xxvii. 33-44 ; Mark xv. 22-32 ; Luke xxiii. 33-8 ; John 
xix. 18-24. Second Word of royal Grace for the penitent 
and believing robber (the first Jew won by the Cross). 
Luke xxiii. 39-43. Third Word of tender Love and care 
for His Mother. John xix. 25-7. 

Noon. Three hours of supernatural darkness and awful 
silence begin. Three o'clock. Fourth Word of spiritual 
Agony. Fifth Word of physical Agony. Sixth VVord of 
Triumph. Seventh Word of calm Trust, and then our 
Saviour yields up His spirit just as the evening daily sacri- 
fice is beginning, and the first Sabbath trumpet sounding. 
The sign from heaven so long clamoured for appears, the 
Rent Veil of the Temple proclaims the Law abrogated and 
man brought nigh to God, earth quakes, the rocks are rent, 
and the tombs are opened. The centurion confesses Him 
righteous Son of God (the first Gentile won by the Cross), 
and the multitude mourn and fear exceedingly. Matt, 
xxvii. 45-56; Mark xv. 33-41 ; Luke xxiii. 44-9; John 
xix. 28-30. 

In the evening, Joseph of Arimathaea obtains Pilate's 
permission to take away the body of Jesus, and when His 
death has been proved by the soldier's spear thrust, Joseph 
and Nicodemus bury Him with all possible honour in a 
new tomb in a garden near Golgotha, just as the wave 
sheaf (comp. Lev. xxiii. 10, 11 ; 1 Cor. xv. 20), is carried 
across Kedron. Matt, xxvii. 57-61 ; Mark xv. 42-7 ; Luke 
xxiii. 50-56 ; John xix. 31-42. 

SATURDAY, April 7, the Sabbath. — The disciples rest. 
The priests secure a guard for the tomb. Luke xxiii. 56 ; 
Matt, xxvii. 62-6. 



TENTH PERIOD. 275 

Tenth Period. 

Between Passover and Pentecost, A.D. 30, 
Nisan 17 to Sivan 3 (40 days). 

The Resurrection and Ascension of Christ. 

Matt, xxviii. ; Mark xvi. ; Luke xxiv. ; John xx., xxi. 

" Thou hast ascended on high." — Psalm lxviii. 18. 
"Now hath Christ been raised from the dead." — 1 Cor. 
xv. 20. 

Sunday, April 8 ("The first Lord's Day ").— In Joseph's 
garden, before dawn, there is a great earthquake, and 
Christ is raised from the dead, being thus for the fourth 
time declared (Rom. i. 4) the Son of God. Matt, xxviii. 2-4. 

In the morning twilight, Mary of Magdala visits the 
tomb, and departs with the news that the Lord is not there. 
Matt, xxviii. 1 ; John xx. 1, 2. 

At daybreak, Mary wife of Alphaeus, Salome wife of 
Zebedee, Joanna wife of Chuza, and other women visit the 
tomb, and hear of the Resurrection from an angel, who 
sends them to tell the Apostles. Matt, xxviii. 1, 5-8 ; Mark 
xvi. 1-8; Luke xxiv. 1-11. 

Mary of Magdala returns to the tomb with Peter and 
John, who find it empty and depart. John believes. First 
Appearance of the Risen Lord to her at the tomb. Luke 
xxiv. 12 ; John xx. 3-18 ; Mark xvi. 9-1 1. 

Second Appearance to the other women returning to 
Jerusalem. Matt, xxviii. 9, 10. 

Third Appearance to Peter. Luke xxiv. 34 ; 1 Cor. 
xv. 5. 

The Sanhedrin bribe the guard to promulgate an im- 
potent fabrication. Matt, xxviii. 11 -15. 

Fourth Appearance in the evening, on the road to 
Emmaus, to Cleopas and another. The Lord discourses 
on His fulfilment of Old Testament prophecy, and is made 
known to them " in the breaking of the bread." Mark xvi. 
12, 13 ; Luke xxiv. 13-32. 

Fifth Appearance, later in the evening in the Upper 
Room at Jerusalem, to ten Apostles and other disciples. 



276 THE GOSPELS. 

The Lord's first charge to His Church to evangelise the 
world, and His Easter evening gifts to it : viz., peace (comp. 
John xiv. 27), assurance, understanding, spiritual authority, 
power to work miracles, and the Holy Spirit quickening 
them with new faith in anticipation of His endowing them 
with new power at Pentecost. Mark xvi. 14 ; Luke xxiv. 
33-48; John xx. 19-23 ; 1 Cor. xv. 5. 

SUNDAY, APRIL 15. Sixth Appearance in the evening 
in the same Upper Room to the Eleven Apostles. Thomas 
worships Him as Lord and God. John xx. 24-9. 

Seventh Appearance by the Lake of Galilee to Peter, 
James, John, Thomas, Nathanael, and two others, probably 
Philip and Andrew (viz., the six first called and the con- 
vinced doubter). 35^// miracle. Second miraculous draught 
of fishes, typical of the gathering in of a perfect Church in 
heaven, as the 3rd miracle had been typical of the gathering 
in of a militant Church on earth. The Lord again made 
known " in the breaking of the bread." Peter's threefold 
confession undoes his threefold denial. John xxi. 1-23. 

Eighth Appearance on Kurn Hattin, in Galilee, to the 
Eleven and more than 500 disciples. He receives their 
homage as Lord of heaven and earth, and shows how the 
Chosen People of the past give place henceforth to the 
Universal Church of the future. He institutes the Sacra- 
ment of Baptism in the name of the Trinity as the rite of 
admission into it, and gives a second charge to His Church to 
evangelise the world, promising power to fulfil the com- 
mand, and His abiding Presence till the consummation of 
the age. Matt, xxviii. 16-20 ; Mark xvi. 15-18 ; 1 Cor. xv. 6. 

Ninth Appearance to James, " the brother of the Lord," 
1 Cor. xv. 7. (There were but three to individuals in all. 
Acts i. 3 suggests other unrecorded Appearances.) 

Thursday, May 17 (ten days before Pentecost).— TV///// 
Appearance in Jerusalem to the Eleven, whom He leads 
out to Bethany. After renewing His promise of the Spirit, 
and giving a third charge to His Church to evangelise the 
world, from Mount Olivet, while blessing them, He ascends 
to Heaven, where He ever liveth to make intercession for 
us, until He comes again in like manner as He went up. 
Mark xvi. 19, 20 ; Luke xxiv. 49-53 ; Acts i. 3-12 ; 1 Cor. 
xv. 7 



TENTH PERIOD. 2J7 

S. John's Epilogue on the purpose of the Gospels, and 
a confirmation of his narrative, probably added by the 
Ephesian elders. John xx. 30, 31 ; xxi. 24, 25. 

" By the mystery of Thy holy Incarnation ; 
By Thy holy Nativity and Circumcision ; 
By Thy Baptism, Fasting, and Temptation ; 
By Thine Agony and bloody Sweat ; 
By Thy Cross and Passion ; 
By T J ly precious Death and Burial ; 
By Thy glorious Resurrection aitd Ascension ; 
And by the coming of the Holy Ghost, 

Good Lord, deliver us." 



NINTH TERM. 

The Days of S. Paul. 
The Gospel Preached to the Gentiles. 



a.d. 51—97- 

Acts XV. — XXVIII. I Thessalonians. 2 Thessalonians. 1 Conn 
thians. 2 Corinthians. Galatians. Romans. Philippians. Colos- 
sians. Philemon. Ephesians. 1 Timothy. Titles. 2 Timothy. 
1, 2, and 3 John. Revelation. (130 chapters?) 

"Thou hast known the sacred writings which are able to make thee wise 
unto salvation through faith." — 2 Tim. iii. 15. 



33rd MONTH (32). 

Acts XV.— XVIII. 17, 1 and 2 
Thess. Acts XVIII. 18-XIX. 
20. 1 Cor. Acts XIX. 21 — 
XX. 1. 2 Cor. I.— III. 

34th MONTH (32). 

2 Cor. IV— XIII. Acts XX. 
2. Gal. Rom. 



35th MONTH (33). 

Acts XX. 3— XXVIII. Phil. 
Col. Philem. Eph. I Tim. 
Titus. 

36th MONTH (33). 

2 Tim. 1. 2, 3 John. Rev. 



I. General Summary. 

NO one chapter in the intertwined and unfinished history 
of mankind can be altogether isolated from its other 
chapters. Having rounded off the story of the literal Israel, 
the people who were chosen to be a kingdom of priests in 
the past (Exod. xix. 6), we must trace its connexion with 
the story of the spiritual Israel, chosen to be a kingdom of 
priests in the present (Rev. i. 6, R.V. : see p. 5). Israel 
was called out of the world ; the Church is placed in the 
world, though not of it. Extraordinary privileges as 
regards God and extraordinary obligations as regards man 
characterise both. One nation only God knew and made 

278 



GENERAL SUMMARY. 279 

Himself known to (Amos iii. 2). Yet while Gentiles 
knowing only false gods were desiring the true God (Acts 
xvii. 23), Israel went after other gods whom they knew 
not (Jer. vii. 9), and so God removed them from their 
place among the nations, and " the times of the Gentiles " 
began. 

From B.C. 6c6 to A.D. 45 they were prepared for the 
Gospel, just as Israel had been prepared for the Law from 
B.C. 1 92 1 to 1490 (see p. 25). Individual Gentiles had already 
received blessing through contact with Israel (see p. 162, 
Question XXX.). And when the nations who had been 
scattered at Babel (Gen. xi.) were re-united under Nebu- 
chadnezzar (Jer. xxvii. 4-7), Israel, hitherto kept apart, 
was placed in the midst of them to bear witness in the 
Gentile tongue to the true God (Jer. x. 11, R.V. margin ; 
Dan. iii. 29) ; and the Psalms which we have called " the 
Missionary Hallel " (p. 209), anticipated blessing through 
Israel to all the world. Not only have Jew and Gentile 
lived in closest contact with each other since B.C. 606, 
but the history of the whole world may be grouped round 
that of the twelve tribes of Israel, whose names are on the 
gates of the City of the Future (Rev. xxi. 1 2 ; comp. Deut. 
xxxii. 8). 

As we have seen, the Church in its infancy appeared to 
be only a sect of Jews who believed that the Messiah had 
come, and emphasized the Pharisaic doctrine of the Resur- 
rection (Acts xxiii. 6). Christ's own fulfilment of the 
Law consisted in its spiritualisation, and once at least He 
had pointed to its abrogation (Mark vii. 19, R.V.). He 
sought Gentiles as well as Jews (John iii. 16, xii. 32), and 
strongly commended Gentile faith (Matt. viii. 10, xv. 28). 
But the first Christians seem to have had no clear con- 
ception of their faith as the one worldwide religion with 
whose expansion the ceremonial Mosaic Law would vanish 
away. The Greek in which the New Testament is written 
is symbolical of the universality of its revelation, and it was 
one of the greatest of Greek-speaking Jewish Christians, 
S. Stephen, who first enunciated two new truths as cardinal 
as the two uttered at Sinai (see p. 54). (a) All men, 
both Jews and Gentiles, are equally unacceptable to God 
in view of their fallen and sinful condition, and all are 



2S0 NINTH TERM. 

equally acceptable to God if they call upon Him through 
Christ (Rom. iii. 9, 22, 23, x. 12, 13). (b) The Mosaic 
Covenant is temporary and imperfect (Heb. viii. 13). 

Let us now trace the application of these principles. S. 
Peter anticipates the first in Acts ii. 39, iii. 26 ; and it was 
acted on in the successive admissions to the Church of 
the Samaritans, somewhat heretical followers of Moses ; 
of Cand ace's treasurer, a proselyte of the gate ; and of 
Cornelius and his household, all of whom could hardly 
have been proselytes. But it was at Antioch that some 
Cyprian and African missionaries first preached to Gentiles 
as Gentiles (Acts xi. 20, R.V.). There the emergence of 
the Church from Judaism was further marked by the name 
" Christian," invented by the quick-witted Antiochenes and 
formed by adding a Latin suffix to the Greek translation 
of a Hebrew idea (comp. John xix. 20). That it was at 
first used by the world opprobriously, is clear from each 
recurrence of it in the New Testament (Acts xi. 26, xxvi. 
28 ; 1 Peter iv. 16). Later on the Church adopted it and 
gloried in it (James ii. 7). It shows that our faith is not 
centred in a doctrine, but in a Person. 

Meanwhile the Apostle through whom God " caused the 
light of the Gospel to shine throughout the world " had 
been called, and the mystery of a Gentile Church had been 
revealed to him (Eph. iii. ; Acts xxvi. 16-18). Step by 
step he acted upon this revelation (Acts xiii. 46, xiv. 1 5, 
27, xv., xviii. 6), and taught in accordance with it. (Rom. 
i. 16). And so we come to the most memorable journey on 
record (Acts xiii.), the first definite act of obedience to our 
Lord's last command (Mark xvi. 15). For in contrast to 
the Old Dispensation, where the Proselyte sought admission 
into Israel's congregation, in the New Dispensation the 
Apostle went out to seek converts whom he might lead into 
the Church. Divinely guided, S. Paul and his companions 
went westwards towards the scenes of the epoch-making 
events in the world's future history. 

Three circumstances were in his favour, through which 
God had prepared men to receive the truth : — 

(a) The intellectual conquest of the world by Greece had 
produced a unity of language, so that the Apostles speaking 
and writing in Greek were everywhere understood. 



GENERAL SUMMARY. 281 

(J?) The material conquest of the world by Rome had 
produced a political unity, which gave them free scope and 
fair protection everywhere. 

(c) The dispersion of the Jews had carried some know- 
ledge of the One True God and some purer notions of 
morality into many parts, and the heathen were often 
reached through the proselytes, of whom the larger number 
were women (Acts xiii. 50, xvii. 4, 1 2). 

On the other hand, he had greater difficulties to contend 
with than any missionaries could have now in any part of 
the world. Disowned and cast out at Jerusalem, he carried 
a message to the Jews concerning the abrogation of their 
cherished exclusive privileges ; despised and loathed as a 
Jew, he had to tell the Gentiles of a revelation that would 
supersede all their national beliefs and transcend all their 
proudest philosophies. But he went for Christ and with 
Christ, and God chose weak things that He might shame 
the things that were strong. 

In A.D. 51 the Church contained these seven classes of 
Christians : — (a) Strict Hebraists, such as those in Acts 
xxi. 20. (b) Liberal Hebraists, such as S. Peter, Acts 
xi. 3. (V) Strict Hellenists, such as those in Acts ix. 29. 
(d) Liberal Hellenists, such as S. Paul, (e) Proselytes of 
Righteousness who were circumcised, such as Nicolas, Acts 
vi. 5. (f) Proselytes of the Gate who were uncircumcised, 
such as Cornelius. (^) Heathen converts, such as Trophimus, 
Acts xxi. 29. He is a type of nearly all the Christians of to- 
day, and he belongs chronologically to the last class brought 
into the Church (see Farrar's " Life of St. Paul." Cassell, 6s.). 

What was to be the relation of this class to the Mosaic 
Law ? Over that question arose the first controversy. It 
was settled, not without loss of velocity through friction 
meanwhile, but with ultimate gain, theoretically at the first 
synod of the Church, and in S. Paul's second group of 
Epistles ; practically, just 40 years after the Resurrection, 
by the Fall of Jerusalem. 

S. Paul recognises four stages in the world's history 
dating from four persons, of whom the first like the last 
stands at the head of a long line of representatives : — 

(a) Relative innocence ending in Sin in Adam, whose 
transgression developed a death-working principle. 



282 NINTH TERM. 

(J?) Awakened conscience and Promise in Abraham. 

(f) Imputable transgression and Law in Moses. 

(d) Free justification and Gospel in Christ, whose 
righteousness developed a new life-working principle. The 
Law of Moses had shown the need of this, and it fulfilled 
the Promise to Abraham. In Christ the Law found both 
its accomplishment and its conclusion, in one word, its 
"end" (Rom. x. 4), as He Himself indicated (Matt. xi. 13). 

For its relation to the Gospel, work out this summary. 

The Law was negative, particular, complex, preparatory, 
temporary, and easy to act up to, in that it controlled 
deeds. It uttered precepts and commands, requiring works 
and saying, " Thou shalt love," " Do and live " (Deut. iv. 1). 

The Gospel is positive, general, simple, final, eternal, and 
hard to act up to, in that it controls motives. It utters 
principles and sanctions, requires faith, and says, " God so 
loved," " Live and do " (Rom. viii. 2-4). 

The moral Law still binds us, not as the condition of 
our acceptance before God, but as an evidence of our accept- 
ance by God before men. 

The relation of Judaism to Christianity is not that of 
error to truth, but of the bud to the flower, of the child to 
the man, of the dawn to the day, of the acorn which 
perishes when it has germinated to the oak which it has 
produced. "Tear up the Jewish root, and the Christian 
branch will perish," thought Titus when he took Jerusalem. 
In reality its Fall settled the Judaic controversy ; separated 
Christians from Jews finally in the eyes of the heathen ; 
cut the cords which bound the new faith to a local habita- 
tion, and enabled it to become worldwide. In S. John's 
writings Jew and Gentile stand undistinguished in the 
same fold. 

Why did Titus desire to destroy Christianity ? For in 
Acts, which records twelve separate persecutions that S. 
Paul suffered from the Jews (1 Thess. ii. 14-16) we see the 
Roman power protecting him from his own compatriots ; 
the heathen indifferent, curious, tolerant, and docile, but 
only hostile on those rare occasions when fears for their 
worldly interests were roused. In ancient days worship 
of other gods by Gentiles had been recognised if not 
actually permitted (Deut. xxix. 25, 26). But later on the 



BOOKS TO BE READ. 283 

prophets call on all men to worship one God only (Jer. 
xvi. 19-21). And when the Gentiles found that Christianity 
always and everywhere claimed to be not only a religion, 
but the one true religion, they resented this claim. In 64 
the First of Ten heathen Persecutions of the Church broke 
out, and thenceforth the Empire was at war with the Church 
until A.D. 313. See Blunt's " Christian Church during the 
First Three Centuries," chap. viii. (Murray, 6s.). 

Israel's religion had never before won other nations or 
saved Israel from ruin ; Gentile wisdom had proved power- 
less to arrest decay of all forms of belief, and universal 
depravity of morals. Yet 1900 years ago, from the midst 
of Jewish weakness and Gentile uncleanness (Job xiv. 4), 
there sprang a new thing irresistibly mighty, and not only 
clean but cleansing, which has been the salt of the earth 
ever since. Secular history seeks to account for this in 
vain. We know that the new principle of life which made 
this marvellous change possible was the indwelling Spirit 
of God working through the Church of the Living Jesus. 

II. Books to be Read. 
(See " Oxford Helps," § xv.) 

Save for the remaining chapters of the Acts, our reading 
this term is wholly of the two greatest authors of the Apos- 
tolic age, S. Paul and S. John, with one of whom we now 
make our first acquaintance. Poetry is not an element that 
we commonly recognise in the New Testament. But besides 
the parallelism in many of our Lord's discourses, the 
poetical structure of some of His parables, and such rhyth- 
mical outpourings as Rom. viii. 29-39, xi. 33-6 ; 1 Cor. 
xiii. 1-8, xv. 35-58 ; 2 Cor. vi. 3-10 ; James v. 1-6, it contains 
one whole book, which is in the highest sense poetry, viz., 
the Apocalypse. 

Acts xv. — xxviii. tells of the Gospel's progress westward 
from its cradle in Jerusalem to Rome, the capital of the 
world, and dwells, with all the minute accuracy of a con- 
temporary historian and eye-witness, upon those parts of 
S. Paul's career during which S. Luke was his companion. 
It breaks off suddenly at the eve of the Neronian persecu- 



284 NINTH TERM. 

tion, concerning which it would have been unsafe to speak 
freely, and we must glean the events of the last thirty-four 
years of our period from less complete records. The key- 
note of Acts xv. — xxviii. is The Gentiles are fellow-heirs 
and fellow-partakers of the promise. 

S. Paul's thirteen Epistles fall into four groups, and 
should always be read in their chronological order. Six 
were written to Europe (viz., three to Macedonia, two to 
Achaia, and one to Italy), three to Asia Minor, and four 
to individuals. Of the churches S. Paul addresses, five had 
been founded by him. (1 Cor. v. 9 ; 2 Cor. x. 9 ; Col. iv. 
16 ; 2 Thess. iii. 17, indicate that he may have written other 
letters not preserved.) As a rule, his Epistles consist of six 
parts : (a) Solemn Salutation ; (J?) Expression of Thank- 
fulness for God's work in the church addressed ; (c) Re- 
ligious Doctrine ; (d) Practical Exhortation ; (e) Personal 
Details and Greetings. (/") Autograph Benediction as a 
mark of authenticity. (The notes at the end, which R.V. 
omits, are very late, and in some cases evidently erroneous.) 
But we misunderstand the Epistles if we try to reduce 
them to regular subdivisions as so many set treatises on 
abstract doctrine. Clause by clause they were dictated to 
his children in the faith, as he sat stitching the coarse tent 
cloth, and wondrous thoughts of things Divine were welling 
up within him. From his heart to their hearts, and to 
our hearts, he speaks, with all the tenderness and all the 
familiarity of personal intercourse, and in these living 
utterances of a living man the expositions of truth are 
incidental. Each thought leads on to the next, not by a 
process of elaborate reasoning, but by a natural association 
of ideas. There is in them not formal system, but sponta- 
neous coherence and sequence. Each Epistle should be 
looked at apart from the rest. Each should be read swiftly 
at a sitting, as well as studied in detail, that its general 
purpose and character may be duly apprehended. 

FIRST GROUP. — The Advent Epistles, written at Corinth 
in 52, and addressed to a Macedonian Church, whose 
religion was practical and straightforward. Hence they 
are the simplest of all in their matter and manner, and deal 
with Christian life rather than Christian doctrine. Their 
subject is the Second Coming of Christ, and our prepara- 



BOOKS TO BE READ. 2S5 

tion in patience and watchfulness for it. Undue curiosity 
as to the time of the end is discouraged. 

1 Thessalonians was occasioned by Timothy's return with 
cheering news of Thessalonian steadfastness. Its tone is 
very sweet and consolatory. S. Paul commends the Church 
as a whole, admonishes the sinful, comforts the sorrowful, 
and concludes with general exhortation. Its keynote is 
The Coming of our Lord Jesus with all His saints. 

2 Thessalonians was occasioned by the erroneous infer- 
ences which had been drawn from the former letter. The 
Advent must be unexpected, but it may not be near. 
Its keynote is The Revelation of the Lord Jesus with the 
angels of His power. S. Paul's favourite trilogy of Faith, 
Hope, and Love pervades both epistles. 

SECOND GROUP. — The Anti-Judaic Epistles ; written in 
57 and 58, in the midst of physical and mental trials which 
have left deep traces on their style. Their subject is 
Individual Christian Life, God's Grace and our Faith. 
Compared with Macedonian, Achaian religion was more 
enlightened, but more conceited and of lower type morally. 

1 Corinthians, written in Ephesus at the Passover of 57, 
was occasioned by a letter asking questions as to marriage, 
things offered to idols, spiritual gifts, public worship, collec- 
tions, and the Resurrection. S. Paul shows that there may 
be love and unity where there are different opinions, and 
that practical details of life should be decided by eternal 
principles. Its keynote is Take heed, be steadfast, and let 
all ye do be done in love. 

2 Corinthians, written at Philippi (?), is in two parts. Ch. 
i. — ix., occasioned by a cheering account of the church from 
Titus, whose keynote is Transient light afflictioti and eternal 
weight of glory ; ch. x. — xiii., occasioned by news of a 
fresh attack upon S. Paul's authority, and written in a 
sterner and more sorrowful tone, whose keynote is In nothing 
behind the very chiefest Apostles. Of all the Epistles this 
is the one in which we see deepest into S. Paul's heart. 

Galatians, written at Corinth in 58 (?), was occasioned 
by news that the Galatians w ere forsaking the freedom of 
Christ for the bondage of Moses. It is "a trumpet note 
of defiance to the Pharisee?, of Christianity." It falls into 
three parts of two chapters each, personal, historical, and 



286 NINTH TERM. 

practical, and its keynote is NcitJier circumcision nor uncir- 
cumcision, but a new creature. 

Romans, written at Corinth in 58 in expectation of 
visiting the capital, fills the central place in S. Paul's 
writings, both chronologically and doctrinally, and contains 
the sum of his theology, dealing in the largest and most 
general way with the universality of sin and the univer- 
sality of grace. Galatians is like a rough sketch for it. Its 
keynote is The revelation of the Righteousness of God ; and 
we may sum up its main argument thus : " The Gospel is 
the power of God unto salvation because it contains the 
revelation of a righteousness. This is needed because 
God's wrath is upon sin, and all, both Jews and Gentiles, 
have sinned (i.— iii. 20). God offers man a salvation, whose 
freeness the Old Testament illustrates and vindicates, 
whose effects, as we ourselves know, are immediate, pro- 
gressive, and ultimate. It is a reversal of the Fall, a lifting 
up of the individual life above sin ; a complete deliverance 
from sin and its consequences (iii. 21 — viii.). The relation 
of this Gospel to the Jew is a sorrowful story, but it involves 
no injustice on God's part, and will be gloriously compen- 
sated hereafter (ix. — xi.). The practical results of this 
Gospel should be dedication of ourselves to God, devotion 
to duty in all the relations of life, in submission to authority, 
love, toleration, conscientiousness, in one word, in imitation 
of Christ (xii. — xv.)." Or we may say the Epistle shows the 
dealings with men of God the Father (i. — iii. 20), God the 
Son (iii. 21 — vii.), God the Holy Ghost (viii.) ; or see, as its 
dominating ideas, Faith (iii. — vii.), Hope (viii.), and Love 
(xii. — xiv.). Faith, which links God's righteousness and 
man's justification, is mentioned some sixty times. Those 
who know something of Greek can have no more helpful 
guide to the understanding of Romans and of S. Paul's 
Epistles generally than Dean Vaughan's edition of its Greek 
text with notes (Macmillan, Js. 6d.). 

THIRD GROUP. — The Anti-Gnostic Epistles, all written at 
Rome in 63. They deal with loftier and more mysterious 
themes than the earlier ones, and show throughout thought 
enriched and ripened, and growth both in grace and wisdom.. 
Their subject is Corporate Christian Life, and Christ as 
God and Man. 



BOOKS TO BE READ. 287 

Philippians, occasioned by the visit of Epaphroditus, and 
written to a church which seems to have been to S. Paul 
what the household of Bethany was to his Master, falls, like 
Galatians, into personal, doctrinal, and practical sections 
Its keynote is Press on and rejoice always. 

Colossians, occasioned by the return of Onesimus, combats 
error. Its keynote is Christ is the Head of the Church, and 
in Him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead. 

Philemon, written and sent together with Colossians, 
forms " the practical manifesto of Christianity against the 
horrors and iniquities of slavery." Its keynote is No longer 
as a bondman, but as a brother beloved. 

Ephesians, which may have been a circular letter to all 
the Asiatic churches (i. 1, R.V. margin), builds up truth. 
Its keynote is The Church is Christ's Body, the fulness of 
Him that fillet Ji all in all. It may be called the Epistle of 
the Ascension. 

FOURTH GROUP. — The Pastoral Epistles, manuals of 
practical discipline rather than expositions of doctrine. 
They have not the depth and grandeur of the earlier 
epistles, their purpose being wholly different. Their subject 
is the Work of the Ministry, Being and Doing. The 
trilogy of Faith, Hope, and Love again becomes prominent. 

1 Timothy, written from Macedonia in 65 or 66, has 
least structural unity of all the epistles. Its keynote is 
Teach healthful words, and the doctrine zvJiicli is according 
to godliness. 

Titus, written from Macedonia in 66, has for keynote 
Those who are Gods must be godly. 

2 Timothy, written from his Roman prison in 6j to 
implore his best-beloved disciple to come to him quickly, 
contains S. Paul's last brave and tender words, and its 
keynote is Through the cross to the crown. 

The three Epistles of S. John were probably written at 
Ephesus during his last years. 1 John is addressed to the 
Church generally, and especially to Gentile Christians in 
Asia Minor. Its recurring thoughts are Light, Life, Truth, 
Abiding, and above all Love ; and its keynote is Eternal 
Life through the Incarnation of the Eternal Word. 

2 John, one of the three private letters in the New 
Testament which illustrate Christian intercourse rather 



23S NINTH TERM. 

than Christian doctrine, is addressed to a lady of uncertain 
name and abode, with her children. This fact in itself in- 
dicates the new value attached to womanhood and child- 
hood in Christ. Its keynote is Love in truth and truth in 
love. 

3 John is addressed to a hospitable Christian who bore 
the common name of Gaius. Its keynote is Imitate not 
the evil, but the good. The use of the word " friends " in 
the last clause is peculiar to S John. Comp. John xi. n, 
xv. 14, 15. 

All that S. John teaches might be inferred from S. Paul's 
writings, but the last of the Apostles sums up Divine revela- 
tion in a clear and final exposition of loftiest truth, which 
transcends the controversies of earlier days. The Judaic 
question has fallen into the background ; and S. John 
opposes those subsequent heresies which all began and 
ended with denial of the doctrine that Christ is truly God 
and truly Man, by showing forth truth rather than com- 
batting error. He makes three great declarations about 
God. God is Light, God is Love, God is Righteous. He 
expresses our Christian privileges through three conceptions 
brought out through a threefold metaphor, (a) That of 
Righteousness from the law court, looking at Christ as the 
Righteous One (1 John ii. 1, 29). (d) That of Sonship 
from the household, looking at Christ as the Son (1 John 
iii. 1, 8). (c) That of Sanctification from the Temple, 
looking at Christ as the Holy One sacrificed (1 John iii. 
3, 5, i. 7). He uses eternal, not in antithesis to temporal, 
but to seen. He speaks of eternal life, not as that which 
shall be, but as that which is for all believers. 

Revelation. That this is a work by S. John of special 
value and importance, forming a fit climax to the whole 
Word of God, is certain. Its exact date and its meaning 
are far less easily determined. Internal evidence con- 
nects it with two startling and most important events, 
the first great outbreak of Heathen Persecution by Nero 
in 64, when all the world hated the Christians on the false 
charge that the Christians hated all the world ; and the 
Fall of the Jewish Nation (66 — 70). Those who had lived 
through the anguish and tumult of that time, and seen its 
awful bloodshed, would find more than poetic metaphor in 



BOOKS TO BE READ. 289 

such passages as Rev. xiv. 19, 20. If written then it is 
S. John's earliest work. But external evidence connects it 
with the Second Persecution of the Church by Domitian 
in 96, and some of its pictures of judgment seem drawn 
from the eruption of Vesuvius in 79, which must have 
made an even deeper and wider impression than Uzziah's 
earthquake of old (Amos i. 1). In any case, S. John's 
Gospel, in which we find the deepest teaching of the whole 
Bible, was doubtless later than the Apocalypse ; yet our 
Cycle most fitly completes its revolution with this New 
Testament counterpart of Daniel. For (a) Its new Heavens 
and Earth, its Paradise, and River, and Tree of Life, its gold 
and pearl and precious stones, its Bridegroom and Bride 
carry us back to the first pages of revelation, and show 
how God's will regarding man, though thwarted for a time, 
will be gloriously fulfilled to all eternity. (J?) It is the last 
magnificent development of divinely inspired prophecy. 
(<:) It possesses at once the unity of a great poem, and the 
gorgeousness of a dream, and thus closes the diapason 
with a transcendent note of music, (d) It gathers up all 
the rest of the Bible in its allusions, and looks furthest into 
the future, (e) " The Revelation of Jesus Christ " (that is 
the correct name of a book often ignorantly called " The 
Revelations of John ") is the last gift of the glorified Saviour 
to His Church. Old Testament witness beforehand, New 
Testament preparatory prophecy, Christ's own witness to 
Himself on earth, and the Apostolic witness to Him later 
on, are all consummated by His final witness to Himself 
from Heaven. Its keynote is The revelation of the Risen 
Christ as the Lord God. 

Rev. i. 19 is a table of contents for the whole book. Ch. 
i. refers to the Past, chs. ii., iii. to the Present. Chs. 
iv. — xxii. contain visions certainly past as visions when 
S. John described them, and certainly prefiguring things 
that were Future to him. The question is how far are 
they future for us ? Here interpreters of three different 
schools come forward. 

(a) The Prcetetists, who point to the word "shortly" in 
Rev. i. 1, and say that they have been fulfilled in the past. 
Sodom is Jerusalem, Babylon is heathen Rome ; and the 
book finds its great and sufficient theme in the downfall 

19 



290 NIN1H TERM. 

of these two cities which had drunk so deeply of the blood 
of the saints. Just as Daniel's " vile person " was Antiochus 
Epiphanes, so Nero, to whom divine honours were blasphe- 
mously paid, is the Beast out of the Sea, and the Beast 
out of the earth (evidently the same as the False Prophet) 
is probably Simon Magus. The Sun-clad Woman is the 
Primitive Church in its flight to Pella. The earliest 
commentators favour this interpretation, and a general 
expectation that the world would end in A.D. iooo sprang 
out of dating the iooo years of Rev. xx. 4 from the 
foundation of the Church. 

(b) The Presentists, or Historical School, who say that 
they are being fulfilled in the present, that Revelation is a 
synopsis of anticipated history, either of the whole world 
or of the Church. This view is not much more than 600 
years old, and the greatest diversity exists among its 
exponents as to the application of details, and the point 
we have now reached chronologically. 

(V) The Futurists, who say that they are to be fulfilled 
in the future. Between ch. iii. and ch. iv. there is a gap of 
at least 1800 years. These interpreters have generally 
been few in number, but they have had representatives in 
all ages. 

Without attempting to judge between the three views, 
one or two principles may be laid down for those students 
of Scripture who do not undertake to be authoritative 
exponents of it. 

(1) The Apocalypse is a book of signs, and the use of 
similar signs elsewhere will be our best key to them. We 
must be consistent in our explanations. A dried-up river 
is more possible than a woman riding a seven-headed 
beast. We are not therefore to regard one as literal and 
the other as figurative. 

(2) No book is so saturated with Old Testament allusion. 
Hence the Old Testament meanings of the various things 
alluded to must be reckoned with. 

(3) Our own century and continent are large to us out 
of proportion to their real size. Hence those whose 
knowledge of other ages and regions is limited rashly 
assert that the Apocalypse is full of the events of to-day. 

(4) " Divine prophecies," says Bacon, " have steps and 



PERIODS AND DATES. 291 

grades of fulfilment through divers ages." Just as Old Testa- 
ment prophecies had primary reference to David and 
ultimate reference to Christ, so S. John's visions were for 
his own generation, and referred to events of his own age 
in the first instance. This does not exclude the possibility 
of a wider reference to ages yet to come. 

(5) Study of the history of the first century will to some 
extent unravel the primary reference. The ultimate re- 
ference must remain more or less dim until all is fulfilled. 

(6) Meanwhile the preciousness and sacredness of the 
book lie deeper than either. Whatever its details mean, 
it enunciates two things unmistakably, (a) As " a Christian 
philosophy of history," it shows that the affairs of men in 
all ages and places are governed by God. (J?) It also shows 
that although falsehood and evil are potent, truth and 
goodness will prove omnipotent in the world which a good 
God made. Christ will triumph. Those who hate Him 
will perish, those who love Him will be unspeakably blest. 
Could the persecuted Church, feeble, despised, and opposed 
by both the " religious " and the secular world, have met her 
foes without the spiritual tonic of this Divine encourage- 
ment? 

III. Periods and Dates. 

That Claudius expelled the Jews from Rome in A.D. 52, 
that Festus became Procurator in A.D. 60, and that Nero's 
persecution of the Christians took place in A.D. 64, are the 
only fixed points from which we can calculate the chro- 
nology of these 46 years. We may fairly think of S. John's 
life as closing with the first Christian century, but the actual 
dates assigned to its close vary from 89 to 120. For the 
details of S. Paul's journeys see "Oxford Helps," §§ xxiv. 
and xxv., and refer again to the lists of rulers on p. 228. 

(1) A.D. 51 to Pentecost 54 (3 years). From the Con- 

ference at Jerusalem to S. Paul's last return to 
Antioch. 5. Paul's Second Journey. Acts xv. — xviii. 
17 ; 1 Thessaloniaiis ; 2 Thessalonians ; Acts xviii. 18-22. 

(2) A.D. 54 to Pentecost 58 (4 years). From S. Paul's 

last return to Antioch to his Imprisonment. St. 
Paul's Third Journey. Acts xviii. 23 — xix. 20; 



2Q2 NINTH TERM. 

1 Corinthians ; Acts xix. 21 — xx. 1 ; 2 Corinthians ; 
Acts xx. 2 ; Galatians ; Romans ; Acts xx. 3 — xxiii. 

(3) A.D. 58 — 63 (5 years). From S. Paul's Imprisonment 

to his Liberation. 6*. Paul's Captivity at CcBsarea 
and Rome. Acts xxiv. — xxviii. ; Philippians ; Colos- 
sians; Philemon; Ephesians. 

(4) A.D. 63 — 67 (4 years). From S. Paul's Liberation 

to his Martyrdom. 5. Paul's Fourth Journey. 
1 Timothy ; Titus ; 2 Timothy. 

(5) A.D. 67—97 (3° years). From S. Paul's Martyrdom 

to the close of the New Testament Canon. The 
Last of the Apostles. 1, 2, 3, John ; Revelation. 

IV. Geography. 
(See " Oxford Helps," Maps X., XL, XII.) 

Jerusalem, whose church S. Peter founded, became the 
first metropolis of Christianity, and these five visits paid 
to it by S. Paul form useful landmarks in his history. 
(1) Alone in A.D. 40 to see Peter (Gal. i.) ; (2) with Barna- 
bas in 44 to bring his collection (Acts xi. 30) ; (3) with 
Barnabas in 51 to report upon the evangelisation of the 
Gentiles ; (Acts xv.) ; (4) with Silas and Timothy in 54 
to salute the church and keep Pentecost (Acts xviii.) ; 
(5) with Luke, Aristarchus, Timothy, Trophimus, and 
others in 58 to keep Pentecost and bring his collection 
(Acts xxi.). The extension of the Church from Jerusalem 
through three different areas, orthodox, heterodox and 
heathen, is sketched in our Lord's very last words on earth, 
which are an outline of all subsequent Church history 
(Acts i. 8). 

Antiochy whose church S. Barnabas and S. Paul founded, 
the third city in the Roman Empire, became the second 
metropolis of Christianity and the mother church of all the 
Gentile churches. In his first journey S. Paul went to 
Cyprus and Asia Minor, in his second he re-visited Syria 
and Asia Minor, and just half-way through his whole 
Christian career entered Europe, where Philippi and Thes- 
salonica in Macedonia and Corinth in Achaia became 
the great centres of Christianity. In his third journey he 
re-visited Asia Minor and Greece, but spent most of his 



GEOGRAPHY. 293 

time at Ephesus, whose church he founded, which became 
the third metropolis of Christianity. Here S. John com- 
pleted the work of the Apostles, and from its church the 
Church of England ultimately traces her descent. Then 
from Caesarea, Roman capital of Palestine, " Paul the 
prisoner " was brought to Rome, the capital of the whole 
empire, which became the fourth metropolis of Christianity. 
Its fifth metropolis was Alexandria, second city in the 
empire, whose church, probably founded by S. Mark, has 
Apollos for its chief New Testament representative. More 
than two centuries later, Constantinople, the first city which 
was Christian from its foundation, became the sixth metro- 
polis of Christianity. In its greatness that of Ephesus was 
merged ; and omitting Ephesus these five cities became 
the seats of the five patriarchates round which early ecclesi- 
astical history groups itself. 

All the countries which Acts ii. 9-1 1 enumerates in their 
exact geographical order had Christian churches planted in 
them by the end of the first century. In Palestine, besides 
the church of Jerusalem, where Simeon, the Lord's brother, 
presided over a feeble remnant, we hear of churches in 
Lydda, Joppa, Sharon, Caesarea, and Samaria ; and of 
Syrian churches in Tyre, Ptolemais, Antioch, and Damascus. 
In Asia Minor, where we perceive greatest mixture of 
race in narrowest compass, where Jewish faith, Greek 
culture, and Roman power all influenced the original in- 
habitants, churches grew apace, and were some of them 
old enough to have lost their first love when the Beloved 
Disciple presided in their midst. There were churches in 
Cyprus (whose ancient church still preserves its indepen- 
dence through an almost unique history), Macedonia, 
Achaia, Crete, Illyricum, and Dalmatia, for all of which 
S. Paul himself had laboured fervently. 

From Rome the Gospel had spread westward, ever 
following the course of the sun, to Spain and Gaul ; it had 
also reached Carthage and Egypt and Ethiopia in the 
south ; and in the east Armenia, Persia, Parthia, Arabia, 
and perhaps India ; beginning in most cases in the syna- 
gogue, and spreading from Jew and proselyte to heathen. 
For in those days every Christian was a missionary, and 
wherever he went throughout the empire he was received 



294 NINTH TERM. 

as a brother by humble little companies of fellow-believers. 
The " Barbarians " outside the empire had not yet been 
reached, but there were Christians in regions too distant to 
contain a church, and Christian influences slowly quicken- 
ing and purifying human life in all its phases in regions 
which no Christian had yet reached. The story is repeating 
itself to-day in not a few of " the uttermost parts of the 
earth" ; and now, as then, we know that the issue is certain 
and glorious. 

V. Heroes. 

-rr . ( 5. Paul, Psalm cxvi. 10, 16 (A.V.). 
Keynotes ^ s j ohflj DarL x> 8> 9> l8j I9< 

Among Israel's many great men three stand out pre- 
eminent as her greatest — viz., Moses, of Levi, the founder 
of her religion and polity ; David, of Judah, the founder 
of her everlasting monarchy ; and S. Paul, of Benjamin, 
the chief builder of the Church, in which both her religion 
and her monarchy are to find their highest realisation. 
Imagine for a moment the Bible deprived of the Pentateuch, 
the Psalms, and the Epistles of S. Paul, and you will to 
some extent estimate the importance of these three. The 
commanding personality of the last dominates all our 
reading this term; he occupies 17 out of the 28 chapters 
of the first Church history, and writes 13 out of the 27 
books of the New Testament. He was the first and 
greatest of missionaries to foreign parts, the Christian who 
did the grandest life-work for Christ on record, the man who 
received from Christ's own lips the most ample and splendid 
commission human being was ever honoured with (Acts 
xxvi. 16-18). How many events there were in his life of 
which we know nothing may be gathered from 2 Cor. xi., 
yet " there is scarce one other person of history," says 
Dean Vaughan, " so familiarly known to us, Cicero perhaps 
— perhaps Napoleon — I could scarcely name a third." A 
great spiritual convulsion cleft his career in twain, when 
" Saul the Pharisee " became " Paul the Bondservant of 
Jesus Christ." In a moment he turned, not from an 
irreligious to a religious life, not from an immoral to a 
moral life but from a conscientious and honoured anta- 



HEROES. 295 

gonism against Christ to a conscientious and passionate 
devotion for Christ that cost him everything most men 
hold dear. God revealed His Son to him, Christ appre- 
hended him, that is the only reasonable explanation of 
this sudden and absolute change. Rightly understood, the 
story of his " wonderful conversion " checks doubt as to 
the possibility or reality of conversion to God ; it also 
checks glib talk about conversion as if it meant no more 
than external reformation, or change of religious opinion, 
or strong spasm of feeling. And although his conversion 
was instantaneous, and his knowledge of Christ direct and 
all-convincing, his public testimony to the truth was pre- 
ceded by three years of solitary thought and prayer (Gal. 
i. 17, 18), spent in that wilderness where Moses was taught 
of God, and where perhaps Christ, as true Man, stood the 
test of temptation. A pupil of Gamaliel and member of 
the Sanhedrin, a native of Tarsus, and a Roman citizen, 
he had been influenced by the religious enlightenment of 
the Jews, the intellectual sovereignty of the Greeks, and 
the political supremacy of the Romans, and so became a 
highly trained instrument in God's hands. For 30 years 
a Christian, for 27 years a missionary, by his unflinching 
endurance of keenest temptation, sorrow, and persecution, 
he not only gave proof of the reality of his conversion, but 
of the power and reality of the Gospel to which he had 
been converted. The man who had amplest opportunity 
and strongest inducement to disprove the Resurrection of 
Christ, had it been a delusion or an imposture (as some 
try to assume), sacrificed all to witness to it as a great fact. 
And this witness is mighty in our days as well as in his. 

Notice also that he is, of all missionaries, the most 
representative, for he dealt with all sorts and conditions 
of men, bigoted Pharisee, sceptical Sadducee, time-serving 
Herodian, serious Jew, trifling Greek, practical Roman, 
dreamy Oriental, and impulsive Barbarian. And his work 
was done in face of obstacles from without and from within 
that would have baffled most men. What his thorn (or 
stake) in the flesh actually was we cannot know certainly, 
but careful comparison of Acts xxiii. 5 ; Gal. iv. 12-16, vi. 
17, 11 (R.V.); 1 Cor. ii. 3; 2 Cor. iv. 10, v. 4,vii. 5, x. 1, 10 ; 
Col. i. 24, indicates that it was an acute form of Oriental 



296 NINTH TERM. 

ophthalmia, which renders the sufferer blind and helpless, 
and is at once painful and disfiguring. If he were indeed 
liable to such a malady, he would be unusually dependent 
upon companionship; and like Jeremiah, he was surrounded 
by a group of devoted followers and friends, each of 
whom deserves separate study. 

We owe S. Paul three debts of the first magnitude :— 
(i) The emergence of Christianity from Judaism ; (2) the 
planting of the Gospel in what is now the Christian con- 
tinent ; (3) the shaping of Christian theology, in works 
whose renewed study has again and again brought renewed 
spiritual life to different ages and different sons of the 
Church. How little he himself knew what his consecrated 
genius was achieving ! How little can we judge his mis- 
sionary successors by what they seem to their own genera- 
tion to accomplish ! 

5. John's piety, like that of Samuel, ripened by gradual 
stages without violent break, from the day that he followed 
Jesus, as a young and ardent disciple of the Baptist, to the 
day when he was carried in extreme old age into the church 
at Ephesus to preach his last sermon, " Little children, love 
one another," to a new generation in the new age which 
he had lived to see. His calm, certain, didactic style differs 
widely from the enthusiastic argumentation of S. Paul. His 
power of righteous indignation, and that bold faithfulness 
which brought him only of the Twelve to the foot of the 
Cross, show that he is most inadequately represented by 
the feminine-looking youthful S. John of mediaeval art. 

The first age of the Church's history exhibits three types 
of the Apostolate reflected in three successive phases of 
that history. A prism analyses the one brightness into 
three distinct hues, so the one faith is seen, to our no 
small advantage, through three individualities. S. Peter, 
the founder, looking back to the past, dwells on Hope and 
Christian practice, and is reflected in the Mediaeval Church. 
S. Paul, the propagator, looking at the present, dwells on 
Faith and Christian doctrine, and is reflected in the Church 
of the Reformation. S. John, the consummator, looking 
far into the future, dwells on Love and Christian experience, 
and foreshadows a type yet to come. 

This chapter has dealt wholly with men hitherto. 



THE COMING ONE. 297 

Women there are in Old Testament history of striking 
character and great influence, but the mention of "the 
women " in Acts i. 14 inaugurates a new order of things. 
Never did any woman directly oppose Christ Women 
ministered to Him (Luke viii. 2, 3 ; Matt, xxvii. 55) and 
spake of Him (Luke ii. 38 ; John iv. 39 ; Matt, xxviii. 5, 7). 
Women were last at His cross and first at His tomb, and 
when He rose He appeared twice to women ere He appeared 
to any man. Woman's true exaltation must be traced to 
and can only be rightly recognised in connexion with Him 
who deigned to be born of a virgin ; and the large and 
fruitful share which women from the first took in the 
highest work of the Church calls upon us to note heroines 
as well as heroes henceforth. 

VI. The Coming One. 

" Christ shall appear a second time to them that wait 
for Him, unto salvation!' — Heb. ix. 28. 

Each term we have seen the Hope of the Promise 
broadening and brightening, and it was not until the 
God-sent Deliverer had come and gone that inspired pens 
could sum up all that He was and all that He had done. 
Again and again history has shown that a creed based 
upon the idea that Christ was merely the wisest and best 
of men, who died a martyr's death, is powerless over men's 
hearts and quickly vanishes away. If Christianity is to 
be more than a vague sentiment or a dead morality, it 
must be founded upon three foundation truths concerning 
Him. All have been taught at all times by the Catholic 
Church, but all have not always been equally prominent : — 

(a) His Resurrection. " God raised Him " was the key- 
note of S. Peter's teaching (Acts ii. 32), the first great 
startling witness to the world (Acts xxv. 19). 

(J?) His Crucifixion. " He gave Himself for us " was the 
keynote of S. Paul's teaching (1 Cor. ii. 2). And He had 
Himself clearly alluded to His atoning work, saying that 
He would and could be a Ransom for the remission of 
sins, because He was both Human and Divine (Matt. xx. 
28, xxvi. 28, 63, 64). 

(c) His Incarnation. " He became flesh " was the key- 



298 NINTH TERM. 

note of S. John's teaching (John i. 14 ; 1 John iv. 2, 3). 
The Church is only now entering upon her full heritage 
in this glorious truth of the Divine Man and Incarnate 
God, and never has it seemed of such paramount impor- 
tance as it seems to-day. 

Christ Incarnate, Crucified, Risen, reversing the order 
of time, these truths were successively insisted upon ; and 
there is yet a fourth truth at once earliest and latest of all : 
Christ Ascended and Coming Again (1 Cor. xvi. 22, R.V.). 
We end as we began our consideration of the Coming One 
by looking out into the future. The Old Testament Hope 
has been fulfilled ; our " living Hope " in the New Testa- 
ment has yet to be fulfilled. We stand, as S. Paul so 
often shows, between the epiphany of His grace in the 
past, and the epiphany of His glory in the future, and 
find a motive power for the present in both (Titus ii. 11-13, 
R.V.). 

Four events, each twofold, in that future of the world's 
history which we sometimes wrongly regard as an abso- 
lutely blank page, have been revealed to us (Rev. i. 1-3). 

{a) Christ will come for His saints to receive His own 
to Himself (1 Thess. iv.). Christ will come with His saints 
to be seen and known of all men (2 Thess. i. ; Rev. i. 7). 

{p) There will be a first resurrection of those who are 
His, and a second resurrection of the rest of mankind 
(Rev. xx.). 

(c) Christ will judge His saints that they may be rewarded 
according to their works (2 Cor. v. 9, 10). Christ will judge 
the whole world (Rev. xx.). 

{d) Christ will reign a thousand years over the earth 
(Rev. xx.). Christ will reign for ever over the universe 
(Rev. xi. 15). 

Four names are given to this great group of events in the 
New Testament : (1) That Day (2 Thess. i. 10), the Great 
Day (Jude 6), or the Day of God (2 Peter iii. 12), or the 
Day of the Lord (1 Thess. v. 2), or the Day of Jesus Christ 
(Phil. i. 6), or the Day of our Lord Jesus (2 Cor. i. 14). 
(2) The Coming (or Presence) of Christ, used seventeen 
times in all, and especially in the Epistles to the Thes- 
salonians. (3) The Appearing (or Epiphany) of Christ' 
used seven times in the Pastoral Epistles, and not else- 



GOD'S REVELATION OF HIMSELF TO MAN. 299 

where. (4) The End or Consummation of all things 
(1 Peter iv. 7). 

Nothing less will solve all problems and abolish all evils, 
will carry out those purposes of God which for a while were 
thwarted, will bring about our individual satisfaction and 
perfection, and the perfection and happiness of the world 
Christ came to redeem, than this " one far-off divine event, 
To which the whole creation moves." Unhappily contro- 
versy and speculation have been imported into the whole 
subject to such an extent that many Christians are not a 
little hindered and troubled in its study, and others doubt 
that the second Advent will be literal. But most of 
the arguments against a literal second Coming of Christ 
are equally applicable to His first Coming, which certainly 
was literal. A merely figurative coming would contradict 
the " again " of John xiv. 3, and the emphatic " in like 
manner " of Acts i. 1 1. 

And as the Jews were blamed for not being better 
prepared by prophecy for the First Coming, so may we be 
blamed, if we do not discern in part that which has still to 
be fully revealed. As usual, the fulfilled prophecy of the 
Old Testament is the best key to the unfulfilled prophecy 
of the New Testament. 

VII. God's Revelation of Himself to Man. 

Legend says that the Apostles, ere they dispersed from 
Jerusalem twelve years after the Ascension, assembled to 
shape the Apostles' Creed as an authoritative statement of 
Christian doctrine. The fact underlying this tale is that 
from earliest times there was definite teaching of the leading 
mysteries of the faith, and before truth was fully expounded 
in the New Testament, terse summaries of it, as keys to 
Scripture and safeguards against error, were current in the 
Church. We are not to regard them as human attempts 
to define Divine mysteries, but as formulating truth which 
God had already revealed. The earliest examples of them 
are Acts viii. 37 ; 1 Cor. xv. 3-7 ; Heb. vi. 1, 2 ; 1 Tim. iii. 
16, and the " faithful sayings " of the Pastoral Epistles. 
Two creeds are now recognised throughout the whole 
Church. The Apostles' Creed, whose substance can be 



300 NINTH TERM. 

traced back to earliest times, originating in the baptismal 
profession, and still used for the testing and instructing of 
catechumens. The Nicene Creed, shaped in 325 at the 
First General Council, and used as a fuller and deeper ex- 
position of truth for testing and instructing communicants. 
The Western, but not the Eastern Church, adds for the 
last 1 100 years to these the Athanasian Creed, a masterly- 
exposition, for the teacher, of the doctrines of the Trinity 
and of the Incarnation. 

The doctrine of the Trinity cannot be explained to our 
natural faculties (though nature illustrates it in our own 
threefold being, 1 Thess. v. 23) ; and the Scriptures contain 
no formal expression of it. For there was much that 
Christ Himself could not say till He had risen, much that 
the Apostles only learned slowly under the Spirit's guidance 
as they looked back to His earthly and up to His heavenly 
life. But all the following passages imply it, just as Gen. i. 
implies without stating the existence of God : Acts vii. 55, 
x. 38; Rom. i. 4 ; 2 Cor. xiii. 14 ; 2 Thess. iii. 5 (comp. Rom. 
v. 5) ; Eph. ii. 18, iii. 14, 16, 17, iv. 4-6 ; 1 Peter i. 2 ; Rev. i. 
4, 5. Notice also that the Creeds fix our attention not on 
what we are and should do, but on what Christ is and has 
done (contrast Luke xviii. 1 1 and Heb. xii. 2), and that God, 
Three in One, is revealed to us, not in His absolute Being, 
but in His relation to ourselves. Some bond of union 
among men connecting each with all through something 
higher than themselves has, in all ages, been the need of 
the human heart, but no age has felt and expressed that 
need so strongly as our own. So acknowledged the intelli- 
gent artizan, who was uttering some well-worn cavil at the 
doctrine of the Trinity, to one of our bishops lately. The 
bishop silenced his cavil, and won him to holier and truer 
thought of God by translating that abstract theological 
mystery into language he could comprehend, thus : " The 
doctrine of the Trinity expresses three things, the Father- 
hood of God, the Brotherhood of God, the Mateship of God." 

What is this new relation of God to men of which the 
Christian revelation speaks ? We may put the matter 
briefly thus. Unless thought is wholly drowned in pleasure 
and excitement or worldly care, every man is conscious of 
two things — (a) That apart from vice whereby we wrong 



GOD'S REVELATION OF HIMSELF TO MAN 301 

ourselves, and crime whereby we wrong others, there is also 
in us sin whereby we wrong God. (J?) That this sin is un- 
natural, i.e., is not part of God's law for man, but a bondage 
whence we would fain be delivered, and whence no outward 
religious rites and no good resolutions can really deliver us. 
So we are led to seek and to find a Saviour in Christ. 

How does Christ save? He bore, say some, as my 
Substitute, all the punishment that I deserved to bear. 
God, like a judge who arbitrarily allows an innocent man to 
endure the sentence that a criminal has incurred, setting 
the criminal free, has thus been reconciled to me, and will 
take me to heaven if I believe that Christ has done this. 
This too common but most inadequate setting forth of the 
gospel illustrates it by the imaginary act of a human judge 
who is guilty of a double outrage upon justice. But right- 
eousness demands righteousness, and cannot accept mere 
punishment instead. The Scriptural view (as careful 
students of S. Paul's Epistles especially will see for them- 
selves) is this : Christ, as my Representative, assumed that 
humanity which He had originally created in His own image, 
conquered where Adam fell, and by enduring death con- 
demned sin, and saved sinners by uniting them to Him- 
self. Thus He reconciled, not God to me, but me to God, 
who in His wondrous love had given His Son for us men 
and for our salvation. He died, and I died in Him, and 
must therefore reckon myself dead to sin. He lives, and I 
live in Him, and must therefore live unto righteousness. 
He gave Himself up for me, and I must therefore give 
myself up to Him, not by mere intellectual assent to a 
doctrine, but by personal trust in a personal Saviour. I 
strive, not upwards to salvation, but onwards from salva- 
tion, not to win heaven for myself, but because He has won 
it for me " by His precious blood-shedding," and calls upon 
me and can enable me to walk worthy of what He has done. 

From its opening assertion of a Divine Creator, to its 
closing cry heavenwards of a definite faith and certain 
hope in a Divine Redeemer, the Bible makes a wondrous 
ascent. Starting from the being of God and the spiritual 
nature of man, it leads us" up, not through vague proposi- 
tions, but through historical verities, to that unfathomable 
revelation of God in Christ which is the key to the under- 



302 NINTH TERM. 

standing of all nature and all history. We still, it is true, 
know only in part. But instead of mourning over the 
limitations of our knowledge, should we not rather rejoice 
that we have an inexhaustible creed and an unsearchable 
God? (Rom. xi. 33-6.) 

VIII. Man's Relation to God in Worship. 

Christ left the preservation and propagation of the truth 
He taught in the hands of the Society which He formed, 
a body of men all united to each other because they were 
each united by a real spiritual tie to God, in the world, but 
not of the world, extending to all races, all times, and all 
countries. Acts i. I strikes the keynote of the whole history 
of the Church by representing its work as the continua- 
tion of Christ's own. Its power depended on His abiding 
Presence (Matt, xxviii. 20; John xiv. 18). It witnessed 
to His truth in four ways which we take chronologically. 

(a) By its two Sacraments, which are not only rites of 
entrance and of continued membership to Christians, but 
ever-recurring declarations to the world of their faith 
(1 Tim. vi. 12 ; 1 Cor. xi. 26). 

(b) By its sacred Seasons. Easter and Pentecost seem 
to have passed straight into the Church from Judaism, 
their new significance gradually superseding their old (1 Cor. 
v. 7, 8 ; Acts -xx. 16). The Lord's Day as a weekly festival 
of the Resurrection also replaced the Sabbath (Acts xx. 
7 ; Rev. i. 10). That weekly celebration of the Holy 
Communion was the primitive rule, is suggested by the 
New Testament, and shown clearly in a recently discovered 
treatise called " The Teaching of the Twelve Apostles," 
which is probably the next oldest Christian writing. 

(c) By the New Testament Scriptures, written by some 
of its members, and gathered up and preserved as a 
divinely inspired book by the whole Church. 

(d) By the Creeds, and by the various liturgical forms 
which grew up. 

In some ages, Christians have been content to listen 
only to the spoken testimony of the Church without 
verifying her teaching, each for himself, from the Bible. 
Then truth has been exaggerated or mutilated, and error 



MAN'S RELATION TO GOD IN WORSHIP. 303 

has grown apace. In other ages, Christians have been 
content to listen only to the written testimony of the 
Bible, saying, " My religion is a matter between God and 
my own soul, and concerns no one else. What I take 
to be the meaning of His word is the measure of all truth." 
Then divisions have sprung up, and internal dissensions 
have weakened the Church's power for good. Each man, 
it is true, is directly responsible to God and spiritually 
free. But each as a Christian is also member of a corporate 
body. The Church, as the " witness and keeper of Holy 
Writ " (Article XX.), testifies to the inspiration of Scripture ; 
Scripture attests the truth of what the Church teaches. 
We must not separate these testimonies. The communion 
of the Church and the study of the Word are both needed, 
and beyond and above both we must learn, through the 
teaching of the Holy Spirit, from the Living Christ 
Himself. And so we arrive at the threefold evidence of 
Christianity, (a) The personal experience of Christians 
(John ix. 25 ; 2 Cor. iv. 13). (J?) The New Testament 
Scriptures, which have just come victoriously through fifty 
years of the ablest and keenest hostile criticism to which 
any book was ever subjected, (c) The unbroken chain of 
living witnesses, ever lengthening and ever widening with 
the ages, whose daily worship for more than i860 years 
has borne witness to a history for whose truth hundreds, 
nay millions, have been ready tc vouch with their lives. 
What stronger or more varied authentication could any 
statements have? 

For the regulation of worship, the maintenance of truth, 
and the preservation of unity, provision was made from 
the first for a succession of authorised teachers (2 Tim. ii. 2). 
Regular Christian worship grew out of attendance at 
the daily services of the Temple (Acts iii.), and there are 
many traces of it in the New Testament (Acts ii. 42, 
iv. 24, xiii. 3, xx. 7 ; 1 Cor. xiv. ; Heb. x. 25). The first 
difference of opinion that arose was settled at the first 
synod of the Church (Acts xv.). The various Christian 
communities were federated into one Catholic Church, 
and although sects dropped off it from time to time, it 
continued one in intercommunion until 1054. But the 
notion that the Apostolic Church was ideally perfect in 



3°4 



NINTH TERM. 



knowledge and practice is most misleading and dis- 
couraging. Like other kingdoms, Christ's Kingdom con- 
tained both loyal and disloyal subjects, and from the very 
first the wheat and tares grew together, discriminated only 
by God. Church history includes some of the saddest and 
most disappointing as well as some of the most glorious 
pages ever penned. Turbulent self-conceit, rancorous party 
strife, grave moral delinquencies, unstable quest of novel 
teachings, Judaising apostasy (see Galatians) Antinomian 
error (see Rom. vi.), Gnostic heresies (see Colossians), meet 
us again and again in the New Testament ; and the Pastoral 
Epistles show that in little more than one generation there 
were many mere professors as well as true Christians in 
the Church. 

Yet a benumbed and moribund past had given place to 
a future full of hope and glory, which has become our 
present. By A.D. ioo the faith of Christ had been firmly 
established among the three great civilisations of the world, 
Greek, Roman, and Jewish. Men say the age of miracles 
is now over. In reply we ask them to look at what is 
going on to-day in many parts of the Mission Field 
at home and abroad. There they are not content with 
studying Christian evidence ; they make it. For there the 
miracle of changed human hearts and lives, which Christ 
reckoned the greatest of all, still takes place, through the 
all-subduing power of His Spirit (John xiv. 12). And 
remembering that the Church has only within the last 
century really attempted to carry out systematically her 
"marching orders" (Matt, xxviii. 19, 20), we recognise 
that we are only on the threshold of the possibilities of 
Christianity. The Chronological Scripture Cycle deals 
with time, but it ends, as it began, in eternity (Rev. xiii. 8 ; 
I Cor. xv. 28). 

IX. Questions. 
(See pp. 13, 18.) 

[Questions VII., X., XVI., XVII., and XXV. may be answered with help 
of any books.] 

I. What do you know of S. Paul's father, and of his 
kinsfolk, also of his education and social position ? Quote 
two passages in which he is called "our beloved." (8.) 



QUESTIONS. 305 

II. Make a list of fourteen places at which S. Paul 
founded churches, and a list of churches to which he 
wrote. (8.) 

III. Enumerate the seven occasions on which he was 
enlightened or encouraged by a vision of the Lord or of 
His angel. (7.) 

IV. How often did he suffer shipwreck, and how often 
was he opposed and persecuted by heathen ? (3.) 

V. Make a list of his seven recorded sermons, noting 
when, where, to whom, and with what result each was 
spoken, and indicating very briefly its leading thought. 

(23.) 

VI. Fill in the statement of Acts xx. 1,2 by a brief 
narrative of S. Paul's movements drawn from 2 Corinthians. 
(6.) 

VII. Would you justify or condemn S. Paul's conduct 
as described in Acts xxiii. 3,6? (6.) 

VIII. What were the objects of the collection S. Paul 
made, and what motives does he urge upon contributors 
to it ? (7.) 

IX. What allusions are there in S. Paul's Epistles to the 
soldier that guarded him ? (4.) 

X. Give three passages in which S. Paul quotes Christ's 
own words spoken before His Ascension, and three in which 
he quotes from Greek authors. (6.) 

XI. " Faithful is the saying." Quote all the passages 
that begin thus, and show their doctrinal significance. (5.) 

XII. Find some references to the Mosaic ritual, and 
to Greek and Roman usages and customs in S. Paul's 
Epistles. (12.) 

XIII. Name — (a) The only church for which S. Paul 
has no commendation, (b) The only church for which 
he has no reproof. (c) The only church to which he does 
not call himself an Apostle, (d) The only church to which 
he sends his love, (e) The only church from which he 
accepted personal gifts, (f) The three Epistles that contain 
no clear Old Testament quotations. (g) The Epistles 
whose salutation adds " mercy " to " grace and peace." 
(//) The only mention of S. John by S. Paul, (z) The 
only mention of S. Paul outside his own Epistles and 
Acts. (10.) 

20 



306 NINTH TERM. 

XIV. Construct a life of Christ from the Epistles of 
S. Paul. (24.) 

XV. Summarise S. Paul's teaching as to — (a) Tolerance ; 
(b) Sectarian designations from personal names ; (c) Con- 
science. (9.) 

XVI. Is there any contradiction between the teaching of 
S. Paul and S. James concerning Faith and Works ? (9.) 

XVII. "By grace have ye been saved" (Eph. ii. 5). 
" Which are being saved " (1 Cor. i. 18). " Now is salvation 
nearer to us than when we first believed" (Rom. xiii. 11). 
How can S. Paul consistently make these three statements 
simultaneously of the same class of people ? (6.) 

XVIII. "We stand," "We walk," "Filled with/' "Built 
up." Illustrate by quotations S. Paul's use of these four 
metaphors. (12.) 

XIX. " Neither circumcision nor uncircumcision availeth, 
but . . ." Quote S. Paul's three conclusions to this sentence, 
and illustrate his characteristic teaching that blessing does 
not depend upon the privileges we enjoy, but upon the use 
we make of those privileges. (5.) 

XX. Illustrate 1 Cor. xi. 1 by showing how S. Paul, as 
a follower of Christ, gave evidence both in word and deed 
of — (a) Courage ; (J?) Patience ; (c) Humility ; (d) Long- 
suffering ; (e) Self-denial ; (/) Self-discipline ; (g) Self- 
abnegation ; (Ji) Unworldliness ; (i) Single-heartedness ; 
(j) Laboriousness ; (k) Conscientiousness ; (/) High aspira- 
tions ; (m) Patriotism ; («) Considerateness and courtesy ; 
(0) Enthusiasm ; (/) Passionate Devotion ; (g) Prayerful- 
ness ; (r) Submission to God's will ; (s) Zeal for God's 
glory ; (t) Intense love to God and man. (20.) 

XXI. Find in the Church Histoiy of the New Testament 
fulfilments of the prophecies in Matt. x. 19, 23, xxiv. 12 ; 
John xvi. 2 ; and of the promises in John xiv. 26 and 
xvi. 13. (6.) 

XXII. Briefly sketch the early history of the Church of 
Ephesus, as told in the New Testament. (10.) 

XXIII. Give examples of the following callings from the 
Acts and Epistles : — (1) Governor or Procurator ; (2) Deputy 
or Proconsul ; (3) Chancellor of the Exchequer ; (4) Trea- 
surer, z'.e., fiscal city officer ; (5) Chief Captain, i.e., Colonel ; 
(6) Centurion, i.e. t Captain ; (7) Judge ; (8) Barrister ; 



QUESTIONS. 307 

(9) Doctor ; (10) Silversmith ; (11) Coppersmith ; (12) Tent- 
maker ; (13) Tanner ; (14) Bondservant. (14.) 

XXIV. "We know that . . . if (or because). . . ." Trace 
this statement through 1 John, giving its contexts. (10.) 

XXV. What do you understand by these expressions, as 
used in the New Testament? — Faith, Justification, Grace, 
Mystery, Church, Bishop, Elder, Deacon, Saint, Ana- 
thema. (20.) 

XXVI. Make a list of the names and titles given to our 
Lord by S. Paul and S. John. (25.) 

XXVII. Mention, in alphabetical order, noting the abode 
of each, 28 Christian women referred to in the Acts and 
Epistles. (28.) 

XXVIII. Give, in tabular form, an epitome of the mes- 
sages to the Seven Churches (Rev. ii., iii.), showing in 
each : — (a) The Lord's attributes ; (J?) His commendation ; 
(c) His reproof ; (d) His warning of judgment ; (e) The 
enemies He notes ; (/) His exhortation ; (g) His promise 
to him that overcometh. (21.) 

XXIX. Enumerate the eleven Songs in the Apocalypse, 
and write out the seven Beatitudes it contains. (9.) 

XXX. The imagery and phraseology of the Apocalypse 
are borrowed throughout from the Old Testament. Illus- 
trate this by references, especially to the Pentateuch, 
Ezekiel, and Daniel. (15.) 

XXXI. What do you know of the following ? — Antipas, 
Demas, Diotrephes, Epaphroditus, Mnason, Onesiphorus, 
Silvanus, Tertius. How many of the name of Titus and 
of Gaius can you discriminate ? (20.) 

XXXII. Give references for the following: — (a) "They 
are worthy " (twice). (6) " Mighty in the Scriptures." 
(c) " Measuring themselves by themselves." (d) " Dwelling 
in the things which he hath seen." (e) " Supposing that 
godliness is a way of gain." (/) " It behoved the Christ to 
suffer." (g) " Who emptied Himself." (Ji) " He died for 
all." (J) " That He might have mercy upon all." (J) " On 
whom we have set our hope." (k) " I press on toward the 
goal." (/) "The life which is life indeed." (in) "Sin is 
lawlessness." {n) " Apart from the law sin is dead." 
(0) "The world through its wisdom knew not God." 
(J?) " Everything that is made manifest is light." (q) " Light 



308 NINTH TERM. 

shall shine out of darkness." (r) " Be not weary in well- 
doing." (s) "Through love be servants one to another." 
(t) " Follow after things which make for peace." (u) " Judge 
nothing before the time." (v) " Let each man prove his 
own work." (w) " Comforted each of us by the other's faith." 
(x) " I have kept the faith." (y) " He shall spread His 
tabernacle over them." (z) " At home with the Lord." (27.) 
For Second Series of Questions, see p. 309. 

L'ENVOY. 

What next ? is the question with which we have ended each term's 
work. No one who has really entered into the enjoyment of our three 
years' Bible study will wish merely to drop it now. Two determina- 
tions will rather be formed. First, since our course is not a straight 
line but a Cycle (or wheel that returns into itself), to read the whole 
Bible again systematically. If our first reading was delightful and 
instructive, our second cannot fail to prove even more delightful and 
instructive. For we are dealing with the one inexhaustible Book. 

Secondly, to continue the history of the Church which we have just 
begun. Many things in the New Testament would be explained, many 
disputes upon which the energies of Christians now waste themselves 
would cease to exist, if we rightly linked the New Testament story 
of that first of all the Christian ages of which we are heirs, with the 
story of this latest age, which is at once so interesting and so difficult, 
because we ourselves are part of it. The history of the 1800 years that 
lie between them explains the transition from the one to the other. 
There is a Church History Class in the College by Post ; and all can 
read up the subject for themselves in such works as Smith's " Students' 
Ecclesiastical History" (Murray, ys. 6d.), or Cutts' "Turning Points of 
General Church History " (S.P.C.K., 5s.). 



QUESTIONS. SECOND SERIES. 
(See p. 14.) 

[Throughout books may be freely consulted for all the questions except 
Question XXXII. The maximum of marks for each Paper is 400, the 
maximum for each question is added to it.] 

FIRST TERM. 

I. Find seven Scriptural metaphors expressing the excel- 
lence of the Word of God. (14.) 

II. What portions of the Bible were composed by 
women ? (4.) 

III. Which three of the Twelve Tribes furnished authors 
for the largest number of books in the Bible? State 
approximately the number to be attributed to each. (18.) 

IV. Mention all those parts of the Old Testament whose 
authors are not certainly known. (10.) 

V. Name any created things existing before God said 
" Let there be light," and any intelligent creatures of 
whose creation we have no record in Genesis. (4.) 

VI. Can we prove from Scripture that the " days " of the 
Creation were 24 hours long? (5.) 

VII. Enumerate the most remarkable nations descended 
from each of the three sons of Noah. (15.) 

VIII. Show from the study of Abraham's life what 
great facts about God he had firmly grasped. (9.) 

IX. Account for the statement in Rom. ix. 13 by 
contrasting the characters of Jacob and Esau as shown in 
their personal history and in the spiritual teaching con- 
nected with them. (Remember that "Esau is Edom.") 

(is.) 

X. Point out the difference in origin and meaning of 

309 



310 QUESTIONS. SECOND SERIES. 

" Jacob " and " Israel," and illustrate this difference from 
the contrasted use of these terms in the Prophets. (15.) 

XI. Show how each of the Twelve Tribes fulfilled, in 
geographical position and history, Jacob's words about 
their ancestors. (24.) 

XII. Make a list of the passages which enumerate, all 
the sons of Jacob, or all the tribes named after them. 

(14.) 

XIII. "Ye meant evil, but God meant it for good." 
Give other instances of this Divine overruling in Bible 
history. (6.) 

XIV. Name eight children of Heth mentioned in the 
Bible. What is known concerning the origin, conquests, 
and migrations of the Hittites ? (12.) 

XV. Enumerate fourteen kings of Egypt named in 
Scripture. Briefly summarise the intercourse between 
Egypt and the Chosen People throughout their history. 

(20.) 

XVI. Sum up, in two or three sentences, each of the 
sixteen speeches forming the colloquy of Job iii. — xxv., 
showing the progress of the argument throughout. (32.) 

XVII. Discuss fully the meaning of each of the three 
signs described in Exod. iv. 2-9. (12.) 

XVIII. Explain the things alluded to in the following 
passages : — Gen. xxxi. 30, xli. 42 ; Heb. xi. 21 ; Exod. 
viii. 26. (12.) 

XIX "I have sinned." Quote instances of this con- 
fession in Scripture, distinguishing those which marked a 
satisfactory repentance from the rest. (9.) 

XX. Name the day and hour that the Exodus began. 
What were the Egyptians doing while the Israelites were 
departing ? (2.) 

XXI. Consider the historical origin and purpose of the 
two national ordinances of Circumcision and the Passover. 
What light do they throw upon the two Christian Sacra- 
ments ? (20.) 

XXII. Reconcile Exod. iv. 10 and Acts vii. 22 ; also 
Exod. xxiv. 10 and 1 Tim. vi. 16. (6.) 

XXIII. Was the Manna a natural product? (4.) 

XXIV. Tabulate the events that took place between 
Passover and Pentecost, 1491. (10.) 



FIRST TERM. 



3ii 



XXV. " The Blood of the Covenant" Quote the two 
Old Testament and five New Testament passages where this 
phrase occurs, showing how they explain each other. (10.) 

XXVI. Name six places called after events that took 
place in them. (6.) 

XXVII. Illustrate Heb. ix. II, 12 by expounding the 
typical meaning of each of the eight parts of Aaron's garb 
as enumerated in Lev. viii. 7-9. (16.) 

XXVIII. Tabulate the events that took place between 
Pentecost 1491 and Passover 1490. (10.) 

XXIX. Work out with New Testament references the 
typical meaning of any one of the events between Passover 
1 49 1 and Passover 1490. (4.) 

XXX. Note all the facts and incidents concerning the 
Patriarchs and Moses for a knowledge of which we are 
indebted solely to the Psalms, Acts, and Hebrews. (12.) 

XXXI. Each of these phrases occurs both in Genesis or 
Exodus, and in the New Testament. (Slight variations 
are indicated by italics.) Give two references to each : — 
(a) " Blessing I will bless thee." (b) " God rested on the 
seventh day." (c) " Man became a living soul." (d) " They 
shall be one flesh." (e) " The tree of life in the midst of 
the garden." (/) " Be thou perfect." (g) " The elder shall 
serve the younger." {It) " The earth is the Lord's." 
(/) " Your lamb without blemish." (J) " The people which 
Thou hast purchased." (k) " I will be to you a God." (/) " I 
will give thee rest." (24.) 

XXXII. Give references for the following : — (a) " What 
is this thou hast done ? " (b) " I will do this thing that 
thou hast spoken." (c) " The thing that thou doest is 
not good." (d) " Wherein have I sinned against thee ? " 
(e) " God is great, and we know Him not." (/) " I have 
waited for Thy salvation." (g) " My life shall behold the 
light." (A) " Fear not, for God hath heard." (1) " The 
people believed and worshipped." (J) " Thou hast saved 
our lives." {k) " The Lord hath blessed me for thy sake." 
(/) " He knoweth the way that I take." (in) " God did send 
me." (n) " There will I meet with thee." (0) " I know 
it, my son." (p) " And the boys grew." (q) " He lieth 
under the lotus trees." (r) " He shall be as a wild ass." 
(s) " Thou art much mightier than we." (/) All the men are 



3 i2 • QUESTIONS. SECOND SERIES. 

dead which sought thy life." (u) " Wilt thou go with this 
man ? " (v) Show them the work that they must do." 
(w) " They turned trembling one to another." (x) " I shall 
die in my nest." (7) " Hating unjust gain." (z) " He 
maketh peace." (26.) 

SECOND TERM. 

I. Which of the five sacrifices ordained in Lev. I. — vii. 
seem to have been instituted for the first time at Sinai? 

(4-) 

II. After what events were the sacrifices ordained in 

Lev. xvi. and Num. xix. appointed? Describe them. 
What light is thrown upon their unique character by the 
New Testament? (10.) 

III. Name eight notable periods of 40 years and eight 
periods of 40 days in the Bible. (16.) 

IV. Tabulate the events that took place between the 
Feasts of Passover and Tabernacles, 1490. (15.) 

V. Under what circumstances were two men stoned in 
the Wilderness ? (4.) 

VI. Had Korah, the son of Izhar, any descendants ? (4.) 

VII. Write a brief life of Aaron, giving dates and places 
of his birth and death, and of the chief incidents in his 
career. (18.) 

VIII. Summarise in about twelve sentences the three 
parts of Balaam's prophecy. (12.) 

IX. Make a list of all the nations mentioned in Deutero- 
nomy. What inferences as to the date of this book does 
the catalogue suggest ? (14.) 

X. Note the facts and incidents mentioned in Deutero- 
nomy only. (15.) 

XI. Find eighteen New Testament quotations from Deu- 
teronomy. In how many of these is the book referred 
to Moses? (18.) 

XII. Quote some memorable instances of obedience to 
the command in Deut. xii. 2, 3. (12.) 

XIII. "Be pitiful" (tender-hearted, R.V.). Illustrate S. 
Peter's exhortation from the injunctions in the Mosaic Law 
concerning (a) aliens, (b) the young and helpless, (c) dumb 
creatures. (12.) 



SECOND TERM. 313 

XIV. Consider how far the curses of Deut xxviii. 15-68 
have come upon and overtaken Israel during the last 2500 
years. (15.) 

XV. " Thy Thummim and thy Urim." What were these, 
and how often are they mentioned in Scripture ? (8.) 

XVI. Enumerate the occasions on which " The Angel 
of the Lord " was seen of men. Who was this Being ? (15.) 

XVII. What New Testament references are there to the 
Shechinah or manifested Glory of God ? (5.) 

XVIII. Seven tribes are likened to beasts. Name them 
and their symbols. (7.) 

XIX. Give the R.V. equivalents of the following : — 
(a) " Tabernacle of the congregation." (J?) " Meat offer- 
ing." (c) " Trespass offering." (d) " Curious girdle." 
0) "Bonnets." (/) "Badgers' skins." (g) "Fowls that 
creep." (/*) " Scape goat." (i) " Unicorn." (J) " Giants." 
(k) " Groves." (/) " Observe times." (12.) 

XX. Trace the progress in Israel's national character, 
which was the result of their 40 years' experience in the 
Wilderness. (8.) 

XXI. State the period of time covered by each of 
these books : — Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy, 
Joshua. (5.) 

XXII. Compare Psalm xc. with the personal experience 
of Moses as described in the Pentateuch. (9.) 

XXIII. Give the name of Joshua's grandfather. Sketch 
the course of the successive campaigns by which Joshua 
made the Israelites masters of Palestine. (12.) 

XXIV. Enumerate the Cities of Refuge, stating in whose 
portion each was, and mentioning any historical incidents 
connected with it. To whom did these cities belong ? 
What is their typical significance ? Name a murderer who 
met his death at one of them. (24.) 

XXV. Write a short history of Jericho, city of palm 
trees, from B.C. 145 1 to A.D. 30. (10.) 

XXVI. How many cities were assigned to Kohath, 
Gershon, and Merari respectively? What was the con- 
sequent geographical position of each of the three Levite 
tribes ? (6.) 

XXVII. Give the exact meaning and origin (if you can) 
of these terms : — Canaan, Palestine, the Holy Land, Galilee 



314 QUESTIONS. SECOND SERIES. 

Sharon, Jordan, Suph, Arabah, the Hinder Sea, the Brook 
of Egypt (20.) 

XXVIII. What events are connected in this term's 
reading with the following places ? — Baal-tamar, Bezek, the 
Fords of Jordan, Hazeroth, Kibroth-Hattaavah, Massah, 
Mosera, Shittim, Taberah, the brook Zered. (10.) 

XXIX. Specify which of the original inhabitants of 
Canaan were left in each tribe's portion, with the places of 
their abode. (14.) 

XXX. Illustrate from Old Testament history the differ- 
ence between choosing what is right and merely desiring 
what is right. (10.) 

XXXI. Find twelve Moabites and nine Ammonites 
mentioned in the Bible, and sketch the relations of Moab 
and Ammon to Israel throughout their history. (30.) 

XXXII. Give references for the following: — {a) "A 
Syrian ready to perish." (b) " One of his chosen men." 
(c) " The day thou stoodest before the Lord." (d) " The 
goodwill of Him that dwelt in the bush." (e) " March 
on with strength." (/) " Cut down for thyself there." 
(g) " Vex them not nor contend with them." (Ji) " He 
shall dwell alone." (z) "Ye shall know the revoking of 
My promise." (J) " He will not fail thee." {k) " Thou 
shalt eat and be full." (/) " Because ye sanctified Me not." 
{in) " That there be no plague." (n) " As I have done, so 
God hath requited me." (p) " I pray Thee, let me go 
over." (J>) " Lo, I am come unto thee." (q) " To destroy 
the moist with the dry." (r) "That man perished not 
alone in his iniquity." (s) "The word is very nigh unto 
thee." (7) " He shall write him a copy of this law." (u) " He 
left nothing undone." (v) "Aaron held his peace." (w) 
" They became servants to do taskwork." (x) " They pro- 
claimed peace unto them." (ji) " They spake no more of 
going up against them." (2) " Thou hast lacked nothing." 
(26.) 

THIRD TERM. 

I. Briefly contrast the characters and careers of Gideon 
and Samson. (12.) 

II. Find five allusions in Judges to previous events in 
Israel's history. (5.) 



THIRD TERM. 315 

III. Consider Samuel as (a) a servant of God, (fi) a 
prophet, (c) a patriot, (d) a statesman. (12.) 

IV. Name four men who owed their names to the 
sorrowful circumstances of their birth. (4.) 

V. Find/^/r Amalekites mentioned in the Bible. What 
is known of the origin and abode of this people? Quote 
the earliest and latest allusions to them. (12.) 

VI. Give with references the refrain of a song which is 
quoted thrice and referred to once in the Scriptures. (3.) 

VII. Consider carefully the causes that led to the rejection 
of Saul. (10.) 

VIII. Who killed one of Goliath's brothers? What do 
we know of his kinsfolk ? (2.) 

IX. Give as many Old Testament illustrations as you 
can of 1 Cor. i. 26-9. (10.) 

X. Find twelve Philistines mentioned in the Bible. 
Name three false gods worshipped by the Philistines, and 
connect some historical incident with each of their five 
cities. (24.) 

XI. What is known of the origin and national character 
of the Philistines ? Sketch their relations to Israel through- 
out. (20.) 

XII. May we infer from Scripture that the dead can 
manifest themselves to the living and communicate with 
them? (3.) 

XIII. Give references in the Psalter and elsewhere to 
passages where God is called "our " or "my " (1) " Salvation," 
(2) "Health," (3) "Life," (4) "Strength," (5) "Hope," 
(6) "Refuge," (7) "Portion," (8) "Inheritance," (9) "Praise," 
(10) " Song," (11) "Joy," (12) "Glory." (12.) 

XIV. Which of the High Priests enumerated in 
I Chron. vi. 3-15 are mentioned elsewhere? Can you 
name any Prae-Captivity High Priests omitted in this list ? 

(10.) 

XV. What do you know of Azel, Beerah, the Hagrites, 
and Saraph? (8.) 

XVI. Name two notable citizens of Anathoth. (2.) 

XVII. Write a brief life of Abner. (10.) 

XVIII. State the exact number of priests and Levites 
that brought the Ark up to Mount Zion. (4.) 

XIX. Gather up twenty-five allusions in the Psalter to 



316 QUESTIONS. SECOND SERIES. 

Jerusalem as (a) the Holy City, abode of God, or (b) the 
Royal City, abode of the King. (25.) 

XX. " The Lord's Anointed," " My Anointed," " Thine 
Anointed." Where does this phrase first occur, and of 
what persons is it used ? Give its New Testament equi- 
valent. (12.) 

XXI. Discriminate two places named Aphek, Aroer, 
Bethlehem, Bethshemesh, Carmel, Gibeah, Hebron, Mizpah, 
Ramah, and Ramoth. (20.) 

XXII. " The Lord hath put away thy sin." Quote nine 
metaphors through which the completeness of this Divine 
putting away is expressed in Scripture. (18.) 

XXIII. Would you condemn or justify David's conduct 
with regard to (1) Saul, (2) Achish, (3) Shimei? (9). 

XXIV. Mention six Old Testament women living be- 
tween B.C. 1500 and B.C. 1000 who were married more 
than once. (6.) 

XXV. Give instances of sickness being sent as an 
exemplary punishment for flagrant sin. Show that sick- 
ness is not always a judgment on the sufferer. (14.) 

XXVI. Name a common edible brought to a prophet 
in his old age who had brought it to others in his youth. 

(30 

XXVII. "I will do it, (a) For My own sake, (b) For 
My servant's sake." Give instances of this Divine principle 
of action. (12.) 

XXVIII. Distinguish between Abiezer and Ahiezer ; 
Abijah and Ahijah ; Abimelech and Ahimelech ; Abinoam 
and Ahinoam ; Adonibezek and Adonizedek ; Amos and 
Amoz ; Buz and Buzi ; Elah and Eli ; Eleazar and Eliezer ; 
Gedaliah and Gemariah ; Gershom and Gershon ; Hosea 
and Hoshea ; Joab and Joah ; Korah and Kohath. (28.) 

XXIX. Knowledge of God is light and ignorance of 
God is darkness. Trace this image in the Psalter and 
elsewhere. (20.) 

XXX. Each of the following queries refers to a different 
tribe : — (1) Whose warriors were bold as lions and fleet 
as roes? (2) Whose warriors jeoparded their lives unto 
the death ? (3) Whose warriors were not of double heart ? 
(4) Whose warriors proved in battle the power of the 
prayer of faith ? (5) Whose warriors were noted for a 



FOURTH TERM. 317 

physical peculiarity mentioned thrice ? (6) Which of the 
Ten Tribes extended their borders by conquest over 
Philistines and Amalekites after the other tribes had gone 
into captivity ? (7) Which was the least warlike tribe ? 
(8) Which produced men who had understanding of the 
times? (9) Which is more than once rebuked for pride? 
(10) Which led Israel in sin ? (1 1) To which were Joshua's 
only recorded words of blessing spoken? (12) To which 
was the privilege of teaching given as the reward of faith- 
fulness. (13) To which was the gift of song given in the 
largest measure? (26.) 

XXXI. Explain exactly what is meant by Redemption. 
Trace this metaphor throughout the Bible. (18.) 

XXXII. Give references for the following: — (a) "The 
bread of the mighty." (J?) " As the man is, so is his 
strength." (c) " The war was of God." (d) " God is a 
righteous Judge." (e) " By Him actions are weighed." 
(/) " He hath redeemed my soul." (g) "Deliver us, and 
we will serve Thee." (Ji) " What shall be his work ? " 
(7) "What do these Hebrews here?" (j) "Whose son 
is this youth ? " (k) " Who am I, O Lord God ? " (/) " I 
know that Thou delightest in me." (m) " The records are 
ancient." (n) " There is none like that." (0) " The covetous 
contemneth the Lord." (p) "These men be too hard for 
me." (q) "The land was wide and quiet and peaceable." 
(r) " Shall the sword devour for ever? " (s) " Rebuke the 
wild beast of the reeds." (/) " Thou shalt be turned into 
another man." (u) " The Lord hath made Himself known." 
(v) " He hath wrought with God this day." (w) " Blessed 
be thy wisdom." (x) " Glad with joy in Thy presence." 
(y) " They ministered with song." (z) " In His temple 
everything saith, Glory." (26.) 

FOURTH TERM 

I. Elucidate all the historical and geographical allusions 
in Psalm cxxxiii. (6.) 

II. What is the exact meaning etymologically of the 
words Satan and Devil 7 Does either occur in the plural ? 
Trace the use of both in Old and New Testament, distin- 
guishing " devil "from " demon." (18.) 



318 QUESTIONS. SECOND SERIES. 

III. Make a list of the names or descriptive titles of the 
Tabernacle and the Temple which bring out their purpose 
and character. (25.) 

IV. State precisely the contents of the Ark (a) in the 
Tabernacle, (b) in the First Temple. (3.) 

V. Name five great warriors who dedicated the spoil 
won in battle to the repair of the Temple. (2.) 

VI. What became of the treasures in the storehouse 
named in 1 Chron. xxvi. 15? (2.) 

VII. "The shadow of Thy wings." Give the probable 
origin of this metaphor, and quote six passages in the 
Psalter, and six elsewhere in which it occurs. (14.) 

VIII. Name /^ Phoenicians and four Phoenician cities 
mentioned in Scripture, noting the earliest and latest 
allusions to Tyre. What false gods did the Phoenicians 
worship? (12.) 

IX. Sketch the relations of Israel to Phoenicia through- 
out her history, and account for the contrast presented to 
her relations with the Philistines. (15.) 

X. Illustrate Psalm xlv. 6 by giving six references in 
the Psalms, nine in the Prophets, four in Revelation, and 
six elsewhere in the New Testament to the Throne of 
God. (25.) 

XL Name three sons of Abraham' who married Egyp- 
tian princesses. (3.) 

XII. Mention three women who rode on camels, and two 
men who rode on mules. Give some other Biblical refer- 
ences to both animals. (10.) 

XIII. What inferences as to the scenery and physical 
characteristics of Palestine might be drawn from Hebrew 
literature generally ? (10.) 

XIV. Quote passages that allude to the ant, the bee, the 
gnat, the moth, and the spider. (5.) 

XV. Quote ten passages in Proverbs enforcing the fifth 
commandment. (5.) 

XVI. Each of the things mentioned in Prov. vi. 16-19 
is characterised elsewhere in Proverbs as an abomination 
to the Lord. Give references. (7.) 

XVII. Find sixteen aphorisms which occur more than 
once in Proverbs. (16.) 

XVIII. What has Proverbs to say of wives and of 



FOURTH TERM. 



319 



widows ; of a gracious, a wise, and a virtuous woman ; and 
of a contentious, an indiscreet, and an odious woman ? 

(10.) 

XIX. Illustrate Prov. xxii. 6 by a short essay on the 
principles and methods of education in Israel. (10.) 

XX. Where do the Scriptures allude to figs, dates, 
melons, pomegranates, almonds, nuts, cucumbers, lentiles, and 
honeycomb 1 (18.) 

XXI. What conclusions as to the authorship of Ecclesi- 
astes may be derived from a careful consideration of the 
book itself? (8.) 

XXII. Briefly summarise the argument of each of its 
four sections. (12.) 

XXIII. Give instances of persons who with few religious 
privileges were blest and made a blessing ; and of persons 
who in the midst of many privileges forfeited blessings 
that might have been theirs. (8.) 

XXIV. Discriminate two persons named Ahab, Amaziah, 
Deborah, Enoch, Ezra, Gad, Hoshea, Iddo, Ishmael, Jehu, 
Job, Joel, Jonadab, Jonah, Jotham, Levi, Manasseh, Micah, 
Nadab, Nathan, Noah, Obadiah, Phinehas, Shallum, and 
Zephaniah. (50.) 

XXV. Consider carefully the causes, immediate and 
remote, which led to the revolt of the Ten Tribes. (8.) 

XXVI. " The light of Thy countenance." To what past 
and future manifestations of God would an Israelite have 
referred this phrase? Note all the passages where it 
occurs. (12.) 

XXVII. Sketch the history of King Asa, and discuss 
his character. (6.) 

XXVI II. Give Biblical examples of temptation resisted 
and yielded to, illustrating 1 Cor. x. 13 and James i. 14. (10.) 

XXIX. Can we reconcile 2 Sam. xxiv. 24 and 1 Chron. 
xxi. 25, 1 Kings iv. 26 and 2 Chron. ix. 25, 1 Kings xvi. 8 
and 2 Chron. xvi. 1 ? (6.) 

XXX. (1) Man is ready to halt and perish. (2) God is 
ready to pardon and save. (3) God can make us ready to 
{a) speak for Him, (&) work for Him, (c) die for Him. Give 
at least one reference for each of these assertions. (12.) 

XXXI. Each of the following queries refers to a different 
tribe : — (1) Whose portion contained Jerusalem ? (2) Whose 



320 QUESTIONS. SECOND SERIES. 

portion became the abode of two dauntless reformers separ- 
ated by nine centuries? (3) In whose portion did our 
Lord dwell longest ? (4) In whose portion did He preach 
and work most ? (5) In whose portion were two mourning 
mothers made suddenly joyful ? (6) Which tribe is omitted 
in Deut xxxiii. ? (7) Which is omitted in 1 Chron. iv. — 
viii., and Rev. vii. ? (8) Which was Judah's rival through- 
out ? (9) Which contributed most largely to the Bible ? 
(10) Of which was it said " Let his men be few " ? (1 1) Of 
which was it said "He shall be great"? (12) Of which 
do we twice find representatives faithfully worshipping at 
Jerusalem? (13) From which were all the high priests, 
save Aaron, descended ? (26.) 

XXXII. Give references for the following: — (a) " A 
discreet counsellor." (b) " A thousand years twice told." 
(c) " I will make known my words unto you." (d) " That 
they may know My service." (e) " The knowledge of the 
Holy One is understanding." (/) "As well the small as 
the great, the teacher as the scholar." (g) " He shall die 
for lack of instruction." (//) " One sinner destroyeth much 
good." (z) " The righteous is a guide to his neighbour." 
(j) " My hand was stretched out in the night." (£) " Let 
thine eyes look right on." (/) " I am sent to thee with 
heavy tidings." {111) " The wicked earneth deceitful wages." 
{n) " I hated life." (0) " A flattering mouth worketh ruin." 
(/) " Well is it with the man that dealeth graciously." 
(g) " He that despiseth his neighbour is void of wisdom." 
(r) " Our shield belongeth unto the Lord." (s) " Victory 
is of the Lord." (/) " It is the gift of God." (u) " Give 
me neither poverty nor riches." (v) " The Lord gave them 
rest." (w) " This is My resting place for ever." (x) " The 
Lord searcheth all hearts." (y) " I have trusted in the 
Lord without wavering." (z) " That we may seek him 
with thee." (26). 

FIFTH TERM. 

I. Sketch the relations between the kingdoms of Israel 
and Judah from 976 to 770. (15.) 

II. Name two persons who did not see death, and nine 
who were raised from the dead. (6.) 



FIFTH TERM. 321 

III. Give instances from Kings and Chronicles of recog- 
nition of laws in the Pentateuch. (6.) 

IV. Whose descendants avenged the murder of Zechariah, 
son of Jehoiada ? (2.) 

V. Find ten Syrian kings and twelve other Syrians men- 
tioned in the Bible. Name eight Syrian cities. What do 
we know of the gods of the Syrians ? (32.) 

VI. Sketch the relations between Israel and Syria 
throughout their history. (15.) 

VII. Name a successor of Jeroboam I. whose prayer 
God answered. (2.) 

VIII. Find a parallel in the Psalter for every verse of 
Jonah's prayer. (9.) 

IX. Note the chief illustrations in Amos from natural 
objects and agricultural pursuits. (6.) 

X. Explain Amos iv. 5 by quoting two New Testament 
statements of the meaning of leaven. (2.) 

XL Elucidate the historical allusions in Amos i. 3, 9, 
ii. 4, iii. 14, iv. 2. (10.) 

XII. Illustrate Amos iii. 8 by naming two princes, one 
farmer, three shepherds, six priests, and six Levites whom 
God called to be prophets. (18.) 

XIII. Sketch the history of the schools of the Prophets 
from Samuel to the Captivity. (10.) 

XIV. Find twelve allusions to Egypt in Hosea. (6.) 

XV. Trace out carefully the ever-recurring tendency 
to idolatrous worship of God among the descendants of 
Rachel who " stole the teraphim." (10.) 

XVI. Investigate the other causes which led to the 
downfall of the kingdom of Israel. (8.) 

XVII. " A vine out of Egypt." Trace the typical use of 
the vine throughout the Bible. (8.) 

XVIII. Explain the historical allusions in Micah i. 5, 
IO, 13, ii. 5, iii. II, iv. 8, 13, vii. 14. (16.) 

XIX. Discriminate three persons named Azariah, Hana- 
niah, Jeremiah, Joshua, Micaiah, Saul, Shemaiah, Zechariah, 
and Zedekiah. (27.) 

XX. Make a list of incidents peculiar to the books of 
Samuel and Kings and to the two books of Chronicles, 
bringing out the characteristic differences of these two his- 
torical works. (15.) 



322 QUESTIONS. SECOND SERIES. 

XXI. Find three allusions to Hezekiah outside Kings, 
Chronicles, and Isaiah. (3.) 

XXII. Illustrate S. Paul's great declaration of the 
solidarity of humanity (Rom. xiv. 7) by giving instances 
in which (a) one man's faithfulness has saved a people, 
(b) one man's unfaithfulness has destroyed a people. (8.) 

XXIII. Explain Chiun, Huzzab, Nehushtan, Rahab 
(Isa. xxx.), Siccuth your King, the tax of Moses (2 Chron. 
xxiv.). (12.) 

XXIV. Note how recently discovered monuments illus- 
trate and confirm the following passages : 2 Kings xvi. 
7-9, xviii. 7, 14, 33, 34, xix. 28, 32. (10.) 

XXV. Illustrate Isa. xxvi. 9 by collecting passages that 
speak of man seeking God. (8.) 

XXVI. Distinguish the following places : — Baalah and 
Baalath, Bethel and Bether, Besor and Bezer, Cush and 
Cuth, Elam and Elath, Etam and Etham, Gaza and Gezer, 
Hachilah and Havilah, Hor and Horeb, Kadesh and 
Kedesh, Lachish and Laish, Moreh and Moriah, Nob and 
Noph, Seba and Sheba, Shenir and Shinar, Sin and Zin. 

<3 2 -) , , , 

XXVII. Make a list of persons to whom or of whom it 

is said that God would be or was with them. (8.) 

XXVIII. Point a contrast between ancient and modern 
Oriental women by Biblical instances of women (a) cooking, 
(b) sewing, (c) buying and selling, (d) writing letters, 
(e) building, (/) succouring the needy, (g) rescuing the im- 
perilled, (Ji) giving counsel about public affairs, (i) ruling, 
(J) teaching, (k) praying, (/) prophesying. (12.) 

XXIX. God (a) cares for the poor, (J?) blesses those who 
aid them, (c) judges those who oppress them. Illustrate 
by quotations, especially from the Psalms and Prophets. 

(io.) 

XXX. Name twelve men and three women of the tribe 
of Benjamin, and six men and six women of Manasseh. (27.) 

XXXI. Name a general, two judges, and three idolaters 
of the tribe of EpJiraim ; three rulers, a prophet, and an 
oppressed subject of Issachar ; two rulers and a prophet of 
Zebulon ; a ruler and an artificer of Dan ; three sinners of 
Reuben ; a ruler of Naphtali, and an idolater of Simeon. 

(21.) 



SIXTH TERM. 323 

XXXII. Give references for the following : — {a) " Written 
among the living." (J?) "A brand plucked out of the 
burning." (c) "The Lord saw the affliction of Israel." 
(a) " His eyes observe the nations." (e) " God saw their 
works." (/") " I will never forget any of their works." 
(g) " They dealt faithfully." (//) " Like people, like priest." 
(Y) " Your eyes the prophets, and your heads the seers." 
(J) " Ye trample upon the poor." (k) " Forgive them not." 
(?) " I would not look toward thee nor see thee." {in) " How 
shall Jacob stand ? " (n) " They shall see Thy zeal for the 
people." (0) " Though I would redeem them." (/) " (He) 
made them sin a great sin." (q) " He had sackcloth within 
upon his flesh." (r) " The meadows by the Nile . . . shall 
become dry." (s) " I am thy servant and thy son." 
(/) " By the strength of my hand I have done it." (u) " Is 
thine heart right?" (v) "On whom dost thou trust?" 
(w) " Have we made thee of the king's counsel ? " 
(x) " Sheep that no man gathereth." ( y) " Thou hast in- 
creased their joy." (z) " Wait on thy God continually." (26.) 

SIXTH TERM. 

I. Compare and contrast the four Reformations in 
Judah's history with regard to the Reformers, the abuses 
reformed, and the results. (12.) 

II. Which would you reckon the six most important 
battles in Israel's history ? (6.) 

III. Describe six memorials of Israel's past history 
which a traveller through Palestine might have seen before 
the Captivity. (6.) 

IV. Make as complete a list as possible of those who 
formed in Jeremiah's days (a) the heathen party of the 
princes and nobles, (b) the great body of the sacerdotal 
and prophetic order. Note the chief offences with which 
both parties are charged by Jeremiah and Ezekiel. (12.) 

V. Contrast the political position of Jeremiah with that 
of Isaiah. (5.) 

VI. Find twelve parallels between Zephaniah and Jere- 
miah. (12.) 

VII. Briefly indicate the meaning of the six parables in 
Jeremiah. (12.) 



324 QUESTIONS. SECOND SERIES. 

VIII. " I swear by Myself," or, "by My Name." Find 
seven passages in which God uses these words. (7.) 

IX. Summarise the dialogue with which the book of 
Habakkuk opens. (4.) 

X. For what lawful and unlawful purposes was the 
Valley of Hinnom used? Note all the Old Testament 
allusions to it and to them, and find twelve New Testa- 
ment passages containing the Greek form of its name. (20.) 

XI. Write a concise history of the kingdom Nimrod 
founded. Does the Assyrian character as delineated by the 
Hebrew prophets correspond with the Assyrian character 
as portrayed by the monuments ? (14.) 

XII. Note passages in six prophets referring to Assyria 
and Nineveh ; and consider how far their predictions have 
been fulfilled. (12.) 

XIII. Name some women in Bible history whose per- 
sonal influence for good or for evil was very great. (6.) 

XIV. Make a chronological list of passages in the 
Psalter and the Prophets from which the Jews might have 
learned the lesson enforced by our Lord in Matt. ix. 13. 
(8.) 

XV. Mention two Ethiopians whose piety met with a 
great and unexpected reward. What promises to Ethiopia 
does Scripture contain, and to whom might they be applied 
now ? (4.) 

XVI. Had the exiles in Babylon any intercourse with 
Jerusalem during the reign of Zedekiah ? (2.) 

XVII. Where are the Chosen People called Jeshurun, 
Hephzibah, God's flock, God's hosts, God's armies, God's 
assembly or God's congregation, God's inheritance, God's 
peculiar treasure ? (9.) 

XVIII. Summarise Ezekiel xx. — xxii. (8.) 

XIX. Give references for each of the five similes — wind, 
water, fire, oil, and dew — under which t*he operations of 
the Holy Spirit are spoken of, indicating the significance of 
each. (15.) 

XX. What evidence is there as to the religious and 
political condition of North and South Palestine and of the 
exiles in Egypt immediately after the Captivity? (6.) 

XXI. Discriminate two places named Antioch, Bethany, 
Caesarea, Gilgal, Kir, Luz, Rimmon, Succoth, Sion. (18.) 



SIXTH TERM. 



325 



XXII. Note how recently discovered monuments illus- 
trate and confirm the following passages : Hab. ii. 12 ; 
2 Chron. xxxiii. 10, 1 1 ; Isa. xlvii. 6 (R.V.). (6.) 

XXIII. Illustrate Isa. xliii. 1 by quoting as many 
instances as you can of men and women whom the Lord 
or His angelic messengers addressed by name. (15.) 

XXIV. Make a list of Old Testament saints upon 
whom God " put His name " by being known as their God. 
(5.) 

XXV. Summarise Isa. xlix. — lvii. (14.) 

XXVI. Illustrate Isa. xlix. 7 and Isa. lxiii. 1 by citing 
ten passages where we are told that God is faithful, and 
twelve where we are told that God is able. (22.) 

XXVII. Are there any traces in the Old Testament of 
a definite belief in " the Resurrection of the body and the 
life everlasting " ? (8.) 

XXVIII. Illustrate Isa. lvii. 3, 4 and Isa. lxv. 23 by 
giving Biblical examples of (a) godly children of godly 
parents, (J?) ungodly children of ungodly parents, (c) godly 
children of ungodly parents, (d) ungodly children of 
godly parents. (16.) 

XXIX. Make a list of forty men of fudah who were 
memorable for goodness, valour, or wisdom ; and of 
eighteen who were infamous for their evil deeds. (58.) 

XXX. Distinguish between Mahlah and Mahlon, Medad 
and Medan, Mesha and Meshach, Naamah and Naaman, 
Obed and Oded, Rezin and Rezon, Shaphan and Shaphat, 
Sheba and Sheva, Shimea and Shimei, Uriah and Urijah, 
Uzzah and Uzziab, Vashti and Vashni, Zebul and Zebah, 
Zillah and Zilpah. (28.) 

XXXI. Quote some prophecies that mention definite 
periods of time that were in the future for the prophet who 
uttered them. (4.) 

XXXII. Give references for the following : — (a) " Israel 
My glory." (&) " The dearly beloved of My soul." (V)"Triou 
shalt not be forgotten of Me." (d) " I will strengthen thee 
for good." (e) " The oaths to the tribes were a sure word." 
(f) " In the latter days ye shall understand it." (g) " The 
joyous city that dwelt carelessly." (//) " A land that is very 
far off." (1) " The land whereunto their soul longeth to 
return." (j) " We are weary and have no rest." (k) " How 



326 QUESTIONS. SECOND SERIES. 

long shall' it yet be ? " (/) " I will satisfy My fury." (m) " I 
poured out their life blood." (n) " The earth was waste and 
void." (p) " He created it not a waste." (/) " Ye have dealt 
deceitfully against your own souls." (q) "Thy doom is 
come unto thee." (r) " Thou hast had thy way." (s) " He 
shook the arrows to and fro." (/) " We will denounce him." 
(u) " This shall they have for their pride." (v) " He hum- 
bled himself greatly." (w) " Cursed be he that doeth the 
work of the Lord negligently." (x) " Yet will I gather 
others to him beside his own." (y) " That they may all call 
upon the name of the Lord." {z) " Then answered I and 
said, Amen." (26.) 

SEVENTH TERM. 

I. " I the Lord have spoken it." Find twelve passages 
in Ezekiel where this phrase or an equivalent phrase 
occurs. (12.) 

II. Illustrate Ezek. xxxiv. II, 12 by collecting passages 
which speak of God seeking man. (10.) 

III. Which idolatrous nations received the most signal 
proofs of the Deity of Jehovah. (12.) 

IV. Why did Daniel refuse the King's meat ? (2.) 

V. Trace the successive stages in Nebuchadnezzar's 
knowledge of the true God. (6.) 

VI. Do secular historians or the monuments enable us to 
identify the four royal persons mentioned in Dan. iv. ? (8.) 

VII. Note all the Old Testament prophecies concerning 
Babylon and the Chaldeans. Consider the symbolical use 
of Babylon. (20.) 

VIII. Sketch the relations between Babylon and Assyria, 
and between Babylon and Israel throughout their history. 
(20.) 

IX. Find episodes in Daniel which illustrate Matt. vi. 33, 
xviii. 20 ; 1 John v. 4 ; Luke xii. 8 ; 1 Peter i. II. (5.) 

X. Discriminate four Gentile decrees for the restoration 
of the Jews, giving the date and purpose of each. (8.) 

XI. Show by quotation chiefly from the Psalter how true 
satisfaction may be found. (10.) 

XII. Of what ancient hostilities was the persistent 
enmity met with by the restored Jews a revival ? (6.) 



SEVENTH TERM. 327 

XIII. " The fear of the Jews." Where does this phrase 
occur, and what are its various contexts ? (4.) 

XIV. Mention the only Old Testament book that does 
not name God, and the only New Testament book that 
does not name Christ. Show how each recognises God or 
Christ notwithstanding. (4.) 

XV. What do you know of Ezra's personal history ? 
How far does his ancestry account for his piety and 
influence ? (9.) 

XVI. Enumerate the epistles of the Old Testament, 
noting the author, date, and theme of each. (8.) 

XVII. What do you know of the following? — Arioch, 
Bigthan, Geshem, Jahaziah, Jarib, Melzar, Shemaiah, 
Tatnai, Tobiah, Zeresh. (20.) 

XVIII. Illustrate Zech. ix. 9 by showing that the ass is 
the most prominent animal throughout Israel's history. (15.) 

XIX. Explain Horonite, Nethinim, Ophel, Purim, Solo- 
mon's servants, Tirshatha. (12.) 

XX. Name seven Old Testament prophetesses. (7.) 

XXI. What are the favourite metaphors and similes in 
the Psalter to express (a) God's righteousness, (b) God's 
wrath, (c) man's frailty, (d) slander, (e) the prosperity of 
the righteous? (20.) 

XXII. Show from internal evidence that Malachi 
belongs to the later, not the earlier period of the Restora- 
tion. (4.) 

XXIII. Illustrate Mai. ii. 7 by showing what the priest- 
hood had done for the preservation of the knowledge and 
worship of God in Judah. (10.) 

XXIV. What evidence is there that the priests exercised 
judicial functions ? (6.) 

XXV. Make a chronological table of the three groups 
of Old Testament prophets, approximately indicating the 
length of time during which each prophesied, showing 
which were each other's contemporaries, and naming the 
chief nations concerning whom each prophesied. (32.) 

XXVI. On whom were the three last curses of the Old 
Testament pronounced ? (3.) 

XXVII. Make a list of faithful and unfaithful servants 
in Scripture, indicating which were slaves. (10.) 

XXVIII. How often does each of these pravers occur in 



328 QUESTIONS. SECOND SERIES. 

Psalm cxix. ? — (a) Remember me, {b) Hear me, (c) Seek me, 
(d) Save me, (e) Redeem me, (/) Deliver me, (g) Consider 
me, (Ji) Help me, (z) Quicken me, (y) Strengthen me, 
(k) Teach me, (/) Give me understanding. (12.) 

XXIX. Find fifteen books no longer extant to which the 
Old Testament refers. (15.) 

XXX. Make a list of twenty-six famous and six in- 
famous Levites. (32.) 

XXXI. Mark off by horizontal lines twenty-one inches 
to represent the centuries from B.C. 2000 to A.D. 100. In- 
dicate by perpendicular lines (a) the periods named on 
p. 169, (J?) the duration of the united monarchy, (c) of the 
monarchies of Judah and Israel, (d) of the Captivity, (e) of 
the Assyrian, Babylonian, Persian, Grecian, and Roman 
Empires, (/) of the priesthoods of the houses of Eleazar 
and Ithamar, (g) of the First and Second Temple. (32.) 

XXXII. Give references for the following: — (a) "The 
bread of heaven." (fi) " The day of small things." (c) " A 
time of much rain." (d) " Ivory inlaid in boxwood." (e) "The 
house which a great King of Israel builded." (/) " Whose 
are all thy ways ? " (g) " They have laid their swords 
under their heads." (//) " Thou shalt surely fall before him." 
(/) " They have overthrown me wrongfully." (J) " Woe 
worth the day ! " (Js) " They conspired to cause confusion 
therein." (/) " Brought to silence in the midst of the sea." 
(m) " He was a faithful man." («) " He shall magnify him- 
self in his heart." (0) " Every one unto his work." (/) " As 
thou hast said, so must we do." (q) " O Lord, shine forth." 
(r) " That we should have discernment in Thy truth." 
(/) " The sum of Thy word is truth." (J) " Make crowns." 
(?/) " I am the son of Thine handmaid." (v) " I will accept 
you." (w) " From this day will I bless you." (x) " When I 
shall be sanctified in you." (y) " All the peoples have seen 
His glory." (z) " The Lord is there." (26.) 

EIGHTH TERM, 

I. Trace the influence of Isaiah's writings upon John the 
Baptist. (9.) 

II. Give references for all the sayings of the Baptist 
about Christ, and of Christ about the Baptist. (9.) 



EIGHTH TERM. 329 

III. Note in chronological order all the events and in- 
cidents in Old Testament history to which our Lord 
alludes. (20.) 

IV. Does Scripture warrant us in anticipating a future 
literal restoration of Israel to their own land ? (10.) 

V. Give the occasion, date, and chief incidents of each of 
Christ's recorded visits to Jerusalem. (21.) 

VI. Which miracle of healing did Christ repeat oftenest? 
Which class of His miracles is unparalleled among miracles 
wrought by others ? (4.) 

VII. "According to your faith." Elucidate this by 
showing that some of His miracles were instantaneous, and 
others more or less gradual. (6.) 

VIII. In which of His miracles did He seek human 
co-operation ? What is the significance of His doing this ? 

(6.) 

IX. Illustrate Acts ii. 22 by showing from Scripture 
(a) that miraculous manifestations are not necessarily of 
Divine origin, (b) that Christ's miracles were evidences of 
His Divine mission rather than of His Divine nature. 

(10.) 

X. After which of His miracles did the people glorify 
God ? (7.) 

XI. Illustrate Dr. Westcott's remark that S. Mark more 
than any other evangelist records the effect produced on 
others by the Lord's working. (24.) 

XII. Contrast the parables of the Mince and of the 
Talents, of the Great Supper and of the Marriage Feast. 
Account for their characteristic differences by pointing out 
the circumstances under which each was spoken. (8.) 

XIII. Give two references to each of twenty-four sayings 
of Christ which occur in more than one context. (24.) 

XIV. "As He said," Matt, xxviii. 6. Note all the 
occasions here referred to. (5.) 

XV. Harmonise Matt. ix. 17 and xiii. 52, Luke ix. 50 
and xi. 23, John v. 31 and viii. 14. (9.) 

XVI. Enumerate all the sayings and incidents of Christ's 
ministry which reveal Him as "a Light to lighten the 
Gentiles." (10.) 

XVII. " The Spirit of the Lord is upon me." Consider 
this aspect of the character and work of Christ. (10.) 



33o QUESTIONS. SECOND SERIES. 

XVIII. Quote a verse in which the Father, the Son, and 
the Holy Ghost are each referred to twice. (2.) 

XIX. "The higher and holier the teacher in the eyes 
of other men, the unworthier is he in his own eyes." Give 
Biblical instances of this, and point out one noteworthy 
exception to it. (12.) 

XX. Enumerate all the persons by whom and all the 
occasions on which Christ was acknowledged to be the Son 
of God. (12.) 

XXI. Prove from Scripture, without reference to the 
writings of S. John, that Christ is " very God of very God." 
(10.) 

XXII. From the private interviews with Christ, which 
are recorded in the Gospels, illustrate His patient con- 
descension, also the importance He attaches to individual 
influence upon individuals. (9.) 

XXI I I. Mention by name thirty men and ten women 
who believed in Christ before His Ascension. (40.) 

XXIV. Sketch the growth of opposition to Christ 
during the three and a half years of His ministry, and 
show how it influenced His teaching and action. (20.) 

XXV. Quote the various accusations brought against 
Him by His enemies. Which did He refute, and which 
did He tacitly accept? (12.) 

XXVI. Name (a) one who knew the exact age he 
would attain, (b) one who knew the manner of his death 
years before he died, (c) two who received Divine assurance 
of their personal salvation, (d) the only one of Christ's 
followers to whom lasting earthly fame was promised. (5.) 

XXVII. Trace out in S. John's Gospel how Christ 
reveals Himself as the One having Life in Himself and 
giving Life to men. (12.) 

XXVIII. What personal details can we glean of the 
authors of the Synoptical Gospels ? (12.) 

XXIX. Summarise the external and internal evidence 
for attributing the fourth Gospel to the Apostle John. (12.) 

XXX. Sketch the life of S. Peter and discuss his 
character. (12.) 

XXXI. Illustrate James v. 16 by giving twelve Old 
Testament instances of answered intercessory prayer. 
(12.) 



NINTH TERM. 331 

XXXII. Give references for the following: — (a) " My 
Son, My Chosen." (b) " A new teaching." (c) " The things 
concerning the Kingdom of God." (d) " For a testimony 
unto all the nations." (e) " Making no distinction." (/) " The 
multitude welcomed Him." (g) "Ye know nothing at all." 
(//) " Certain which set all others at nought." (Y) " Is it not 
for this cause that ye err ? " (/) " Because they were not 
united by faith with them that heard." (k) " On some have 
mercy who are in doubt." (/) " Having forgotten the 
cleansing." (;/*) " They stood still, looking sad." (n) " He 
was much perplexed." (<?) " God is one." (/) " All live unto 
Him." (q) " No word from God shall be void of power." 
(f) " Therefore do these powers work in him." (s) " On 
whom ye have set your hope." (t) " Ye are Christ's." (u) ft Be 
ye free from the love of money." (v) " Keep yourselves from 
all covetousness." (w) " Be not anxious." (x) " Watch ye at 
every season." (j) " Looking for the Kingdom of God." 
(z) " Sanctify in your hearts Christ as Lord." (26.) 

NINTH TERM. 

I. Give the occasion, date, and chief incidents of each of 
S. Paul's recorded visits to Jerusalem. (15.) 

II. Note in chronological order twenty-five events and 
incidents in Old Testament history to which S. Paul 
alludes. (25.) 

III. Write a concise biography of S. Paul's dearest 
friend. Is he mentioned in S. John's writings ? (15.) 

IV. " He shall bear witness of Me." Quote twelve 
passages bearing out the above statement in this term's 
reading. (12.) 

V. What are the three objects of Christian ambition 
which S. Paul puts before the Thessalonians, Corinthians, 
and Romans? (See R.V. margin.) (3.) 

VI. Illustrate 1 Cor. iv. 1,2 by tracing the metaphor of 
stewardship throughout the New Testament. (14.) 

VII. Illustrate Gal. v. 22, 23 from the earliest chapters 
of Church history. (12.) 

VIII. Quote all the passages in which S. Paul speaks of 
giving thanks for and praying for those to whom he writes, 
and in which he asks their prayer for himself. To which 



332 QLESTIONS. SECOND SERIES. 

churches and individuals is he silent on this subject ? 

(25-) 

IX. In reference to subsequent uses of the phrase, con- 
sider all S. Paul's references to " the cross." (8.) 

X. Summarise the argument of the Epistle to the 
Ephesians. (12.) 

XL " I am not able," " I am able." Trace out, especially 
in S. Paul's Epistles, the two ideas of weakness in self and 
strength in Christ. (12.) 

XII. Examine the significance throughout the Bible of 
the act of laying on of hands, (io.) 

XIII. Give Scriptural instances of conscience (a) 
awakened, (6) enlightened, (c) perverted, (d) seared. (8.) 

XIV. What New Testament characters and incidents 
are connected with Ashdod, Damascus, Egypt, Gaza, 
Joppa, Kidron, Salem, Sharon, Sychar, Tyre, and Sidon ? 
What Old Testament mention is there of Olivet ? (12.) 

XV. " The end of your faith, even the salvation of your 
souls" (i Peter i. 9). "By hope were we saved" (Rom. 
viii. 24). " Every one that loveth is begotten of God " 
(1 John iv. 7). Harmonise these three statements. (12.) 

XVI. Consider generally our gain in having different 
aspects of the same truths presented to us in the writings 
of different Apostles. (10.) 

XVII. What do you know of the Churches of Thyatira 
and Antioch in Syria? (10.) 

XVIII. Illustrate 1 John iv. 8 by a list of the objects of 
God's love that are expressly named in Scripture. (12.) 

XIX. Name the twenty-one sevenfold things mentioned 
in the Apocalypse. (21.) 

XX. " He that openeth " (Rev. iii. 7). Where are we 
told of the Lord opening (a) the eyes, (6) the ears, (c) the 
understanding, (d) the heart, (e) the mouth ? (6.) 

XXI. " The Lamb of God." Examine the historical 
origin and doctrinal significance of this title. (10.) 

XXII. Find seven references in the Apocalypse and 
elsewhere to God's Book of Life. (7.) 

XXIII. Find three allusions in the Psalter to the River 
of God. (3.) 

XXIV. "An unfallen creature may proclaim the Gospel 
as a herald\ only a redeemed creature can testify from 



NINTH TERM. 333 

personal experience to the Gospel as a witness? Illus- 
trate, especially from the writings of S. Luke and S. John. 

(12.) 

XXV. Trace throughout the Bible (a) the Divine call 
to salvation, " Come" (b) the Divine call to service, " Go." 

(150 

XXVI. What light does the Old Testament throw upon 
these expressions : " The middle wall of partition," " The 
place called Har-Magedon " ? (6.) 

XXVII. Make a list from the whole Bible of "things 
which God hath prepared." (12.) 

XXVIII. Name all the books of the Bible that contain 
explicit internal evidence as to their authorship. (12.) 

XXIX. Give five Old Testament references to " Sheol" 
eleven New Testament references to " Hades" and three 
New Testament references to " Paradise!' Expound the 
meanings of these words as shown by their derivations. 

(24.) 

XXX. Quote seven New Testament passages bearing 
upon the present condition of those who " have departed 
this life in God's faith and fear." (7.) 

XXXI. Do any of the following occur in the Bible ? If 
not, where do they occur, or of what texts are they mis- 
quotations ? — (a) " Assurance of salvation." (b) " Justifica- 
tion by faith." (c) " Hope full of immortality." (d) " Not 
lost, but gone before." (e) " A reason for the faith that is in 
you." (/) " In the world, but not of the world." (g) " In the 
midst of life we are in death." (h) " His end was peace." 
(i ) " Charity begins at home." (/) " Money is the root of 
all evil." (k) " Spare the rod and spoil the child." (/) " God 
tempers the wind to the shorn lamb." (12.) 

XXXII. Give references for the following: — (a) "There 
is no distinction " (twice), (b) " Teachers of that which is 
good." (c)" Helpers of your joy." (d) "Giving no occasion 
of stumbling in anything." (e) " The uncertainty of riches." 
(f) " I would have you to be free from cares." (g) " All 
things are yours." (Ji) "Encourage the faint-hearted." 
(i) " Complete the doing also." (J) " I have found no works 
of thine fulfilled." (k) " Worse than an unbeliever." (/) " I 
speak this to move you to shame." (in) " Hold such in 
honour." (n) " Not knowing God, ye were in bondage." 



334 QUESTIONS. SECOND SERIES. 

(p) " We desire to hear of thee what thou thinkest." 
(/) " The earth was lightened with his glory." (g) " Try your 
own selves." (r) " Approved in Christ." (s) " That thy pro- 
gress may be manifest unto all." (V) " Manifest throughout 
the whole praetorian guard." (u) " The patience and the 
faith of the saints." (v) " In all the world bearing fruit and 
increasing." (w) " God's own possession." (x) " For whom 
Christ died." (/) " And such we are." (/) " Remember 
Jesus Christ." (26.) 



THE END. 



GENERAL INDEX. 

(The pages given are those on which either the book itself or its subject- 
matter is dealt with.) 



Genesis . • 


PAGES 

. 19-35- 


The Psalms . 


PAGES 

45, 66, 67, 84, 


Exodus . . 


. 20, 23-35 39, 




85, 104, 105, 




40, 50. 




126, 127, 147, 


Leviticus 


. 43, 44, 5o-55- 




170-212. 


Numbers 


. 41-46, 49. 53- 


The Proverbs 


82-84, 89. 


Deuteronomy . 


. 43, 45, 49, 


Ecclesiastes . 


83, 84. 




53- 


The Song of Songs 


81, 82, 89. 


Joshua . 


. 41-50. 


Isaiah 


52, 102-105, 


Judges . 


. 42-46, 55, 61, 




109-113, 122, 




62, 65, 66, 68. 




123, 127, 130- 


Ruth . 


. 42, 44, 46, 50. 




132. 


i Samuel • 


. 61-64, 66, 68- 


Jeremiah 


119-121, 123- 




74- 




132, 139, 140. 


2 Samuel . 


. 62, 64, 66-68, 


Lamentations 


125, 127, 131. 




70-74. 


Ezekiel . 


124-127, 131, 


i Kings . 


. 79, 80, 84-91, 




132, 143, 147, 




96-100, 104, 




152, 153. 




107, 108, 112. 


Daniel . • 


143, 144, 147- 


2 Kings . 


. 96-100, 104- 




155, 165-167. 




110, 113, 114, 


Hosea . . 


101, 104, III, 




118-121, 126- 




113. 




128, 132, 133. 


Joel 


102, 104, in, 


I Chronicles . 


. 64-66, 69-74, 




112. 




84. 


Amos 


101, 104, III, 


2 Chronicles . 


. 64, 65, 79, 80, 
84-91, 96-100, 




112. 




Obadiah 


124, 127, 131, 




104, 105, 108- 




132. 




110, 118-121, 


Jonah . . 


100, 101, 104, 




126-128, 132, 




I06, I IO, 112. 




133, 147. 


Micah . • 


IO3, I04, III, 


Ezra . • 


. 140-142, 144, 




"3- 




146-152. 


Nahum . 


IO3, I05, II3. 


Nehemiah . 


144, 147, 151, 


Habakkuk 


123, 126, I30, 




152. 




131, 132. 


Esther . . 


. 141, 144, 145, 


Zephaniah 


123, 126, I30, 




147, 148, 156. 




132. 


Job . . 


. 21-23, 28, 31. 


Haggai . 145 


147, 153, 154. 



335 



336 



GENERAL INDEX. 



Zechariah • 


PAGES 

. 145, 147, I53> 


Ephesians 


PACES 
. 284, 286, 287, 




154, 157. 




292. 


Malachi . 


. 146, 147, 153- 


Philippians 


. 284, 286, 287, 




154. 




292. 


The Apocrypha 


164-169. 


Colossians 


. 284, 286, 287, 


S. Matthew . 


218-221, 227- 




292. 




240, 244-277. 


1 Thessalonians . 284, 285, 291, 


S. Mark 


. 218-222, 227- 




292. 




240, 244-277. 


2 Thessalonians . 284, 285, 291, 


S. Luke . 


218-222, 227- 




292. 




240, 244-277. 


1 Timothy 


. 284, 287, 292. 


S. John . 


218-222, 227- 


2 Timothy 


. 284, 287, 292. 




240, 244-277. 


Titus 


. 284, 287, 292. 


The Acts 


223, 227, 234, 


Philemon 


. 284, 287, 292. 




238, 239, 278- 


Hebrews 


. 50-53,224,226, 




284, 291-300, 




227. 




302, 304. 


James . 


. 223-225, 227. 


Romans. . 


. 284, 286, 292, 


1 Peter . 


. 223-225, 227. 




301. 


2 Peter . 


. 223-225, 227. 


i Corinthians . 


. 284, 285, 292. 


1, 2, 3 John 


. 287, 288, 292. 


2 Corinthians . 


. 284, 285, 292. 


Jude . 


. 223-225, 227. 


Galatians 


. 284, 285, 292. 


Revelation , 


. 288-292. 



INDEX TO THE PSALMS. 

(The Arabic numerals are those assigned to the Psalms on pp. 179 — 212.) 











No. 






No. 


Psalm 


I. . 


Psalm 


XXXVII. . 


. 64 


u 


II. 






. 34 


11 


XXXVIII. . 


. 40 


n 


III. 






61 


11 


XXXIX. . 


. 41 


11 


IV. 






62 


11 


XL. . 


• 43 


•t 


V. 






45 


11 


XLI. . 


. 42 


M 


VI. 






39 


11 


XLII. . 


• 83 


l» 


VII. 






20 


11 


XLIII. . 


. 84 


II 


VIII. 






2 


11 


XLIV. . 


. 105 


II 


IX. 






33 


11 


XLV. . 


. 74 


II 


X. 






46 


11 


XLVI. . 


• 95 


i» 


XI. 






10 


11 


XLVII. . 


. 96 


II 


XII. 






47 


11 


XLVIII. . 


. 97 


M 


XIII. 






9 


11 


XLIX. . 


. 87 


II 


XIV. 






48 


tt 


L. . 


. 79 


11 


XV. 






26 


11 


LI. . 


. 37 


II 


XVI. 






23 


11 


LII. . 


. 16 


l| 


XVII. 






21 


11 


LIU. . 


. 49 


• 1 


XVIII. 






35 


11 


LIV. . 


. 19 


11 


XIX. 






3 


11 


LV. . 


. 55 


II 


XX. 






29 


>t 


LVI. . 


11 


tl 


XXI. 






3° 


tt 


LVII. . 


. 15 


II 


XXII. 






58 


11 


LVI 1 1. . 


. 17 


• 1 


XXIII. 






4 


11 


LIX. . 


8 


• • 


XXIV. 






25 


11 


LX. . 


. 3 1 


11 


XXV. 






12 


11 


LXI. . 


60 


tl 


XXVI. 






66 


•1 


LXII. . 


5° 


11 


XXVII. 






54 


it 


LXIII. . 


53 


II 


XXVIII. 






67 


11 


LXIV. . 


5 1 


„ 


XXIX. 






5 


•1 


LXV. . 


I02 


II 


XXX. 






68 


11 


LXVI. . 


I03 


II 


XXXI. 






59 


11 


LXVII. . 


I04 


II 


XXXII. 






33 


it 


LXVIII. . 


- 36 


II 


XXXIII. 






93 


11 


LXIX. . 


57 


11 


XXXIV. 






13 


11 


LXX. . 


44 


tl 


XXXV. 






18 


•t 


LXXI. . 


106 


It 


XXXVI. 






63 


it 


LXXII. . 


73 



337 



22 



338 



INDEX TO THE PSALMS. 





No. 


salm LXXIII. . 


. 88 


LXXIV. . 


. 107 


LXXV. . 


. IOO 


LXXVI. . 


. IOI 


LXXVII. . 


. 81 


LXXVIII. . 


22 


LXXIX. . 


. 108 


LXXX. . 


■ 98 


LXXXI. . 


. 80 


„ LXXXII. . 


82 


LXXXIII. . 


94 


„ LXXXIV. . 


■ 85 


LXXXV. . 


. 121 


LXXXVI. . 


7i 


„ LXXXVII. . 


99 


„ LXXXVIIL . 


86 


LXXXIX. . 


92 


XC. . 


1 


XCI. . 


9i 


XCII. . 


131 


XCIII. . 


132 


XCIV. . 


126 


xcv. . 


133 


XCVI. . 


134 


XCVII. . 


135 


XCVIII. . 


136 


XCIX. . 


137 


c. . 


138 


CI. . 


24 


CII. . 


in 


cm. . 


112 


CIV. . 


113 


cv. . 


114 


CVI. . 


115 


CVII. . 


116 


CVIII. . 


32 


CIX. . 


56 


ex. . 


2 7 


CXI. . 


89 





No. 


Psalm CXII. . 


. 90 


CXIII. . 


• 139 


CXIV. . 


. 140 


CXV. . . 


. 141 


CXVI. . 


. 142 


CXVII. . 


. 143 


CXVIII. . 


. 144 


CXIX. . 


150 


. cxx. . 


. 118 


CXXI . 


. 119 


CXXII. . 


120 


CXXIII. . 


. 122 


CXXIV. . 


.- 123 


exxv . 


, 124 


CXXVI. . 


125 


CXXVII. . 


77 


CXXVII1. . 


78 


CXXIX. . 


no 


exxx. . 


109 


CXXXI. . 


70 


CXXXII. . 


75 


CXXXIII. . 


65 


CXXXIV. 


128 


exxxv. . 


129 


CXXXVI. . 


130 


„ CXXXVII. . 


117 


„ CXXXVIII. . 


28 


„ CXXXIX. . 


69 


CXL. . 


6 


CXLI. . 


7 


CXLII. . 


14 


CXLIII. . 


52 


CXLIV. . 


127 


CXLV. . 


72 


CXLVI. . 


145 


CXLVII. . 


146 


CXLVIII. . 


147 


CXLIX. . 


148 


■CL . . . 


149 



