The Express.
London, England, 1865-04-03 00:00:00

DR. TEMPLE ON THE INSPIRATION OP THE

BIBLE.

Yesterday afternoon, by appointment of the
Bishop of Ludas, the Rev. Dr. F. Temple, Head Master
of Rugby School, sad author of the artiele • The Eduastioa
of the World" is "Easy. and Reviews," preached the
fifth of the Lutes merman in the Chapel Royal, White-
hall. The large chapel was dewed> crowded, amongst those
rent being the Speaker of the Home of Commas, Land
lee Pagekll.P. the Bishop of Ely, Mr. Egertoo,
, Mr. J. T. Miller, M.P., and large number of the
Q. Several eminent 00000nfonnist ministers also were
anent at the service. Prayers were said by the Rev. C. W.
.Madford, ILA., the Bishop of Loodoe's chaplain, and Dr.
Temple selected for his teat the 7th chapter of St.
Matthew's gospel, verse 29—" For he Might them as one
having authority, sod not as the scribes." He said the lm-
promos made by the Lord's Washing was that He spoke as
one that bad a right to behove!, inasmuch as He proclaimed
the truths of the gospel se one having authority, and oat
&drift his anthadg from soy one else. What distill-
pilled the Lord's teaching from the teaching of others
was that which distinguished the Bible from other books
—it had authority and power. Other books might
inculcate the loftiest and purest ideas, and might some.
times strike the conscience, but the chief characteristic+ of
the Bible was not merely the truth It taught and the an.
ample. it held out, but the tone of supreme authority is
which it spoke. The Bible not only claimed this sallicrity,
but it compelled the conscious to allow the claim. Other
teachers had fancied that they had a divine iospiratica,
but their influence died away with their immediate fol-
lowers, while the Bible bad WIC remained, speaking with
authority and power. The Bible, again, was unlike all
other books, because it took man at once into God's Immo-
diet. pomace ; not that the Bible was all dictated by Glad
himself, for it was written iu human language, it gave el.
mud= to human thought., and was adapted to the human
uoderstandieg. The Bible was as thoroughly human as
our Lord was man. But yet there was smoothies in it
which the world had sever seen before. They might be
asked whether the Bible was wholly inspired, or only in
substance ; whether all its statement. were guaranteed by
God's authority, or only those portions of it which taught
doctrine? These were all-importat questions, and ia what-
ever way they might be answered the fact still remained 1
that the Bible aloes took the conscience right in before the
throne of God and gave it lemmas there. The Bible sever
allowed them to feel that they were not standing
in the sight of the Lord. It told them what indeed
they could find elsewhere—it required of them what other
teachers imperatively &melded, bat it did more, it'
laid hold of the ooneciesee as nothing else had ever done,
and as no other teachers aver did. This view had been
maintained in all the changes through which the church bed
passed, and would be maintained through the changes which
were to oome. Son* persons held that every word of the
Bible was inspired, even those portions of it which related
to matters of saisooe—that it was infallible in its oteteasent
of facts, and they were shocked if any of those facts waft
disputed, contending that if their particular views were net
accepted the Bible could not be the word of God.
bed changed as time bad gone on, but what had ..2.1.1%
past oontrovany, sod would survive all future controversy,
was that Bible which took them hate the presence of God,
and showed that it beooght a message from Him. Referring
to modern controversy they might have an example of it in
the opinions which had prevailed in reference to the let
chapter of the 8.4 of Genesis. Attempt. had been made
to mope& it. statements with the discoveries of maim
misers ; bat the two Mime were totally irreeoecileable. Os
noground could they be sosepted as two account. of the same
thing, howeveriogeniously they might be dovetailed together.
It was clear, therefore, that the lat chapter of Genesis
was not tbesame thing that theylearned from tbe stady of
geology, and .tbey most acme to the coachasion that the
narrative in the first of Genesis was not history at all, but
poetry. They had in all probability in that account of
creation a poem, just as the whole of the Apoca-
lypse was a poem. The seven days of the creation did
not represent time. The number seven was a symbol, and I
they would never dream of inferring from the *even gold
gifts of the spirit that the Holy Spirit consisted of
parts. The number mesa signified perfection, and the
seven days of creation was nothing more than a symbolical
account of the perfectness of that crestion. The first
chapter of (Musk, thee, did not profess to teach history
but doctrine. Be it, however, poetry or history, this first
chapter of Genesis bore with it the same characteristic
of authority. Whether it were, as some thought, a history,
or as others thought with him, a peens all would admit that
it contained a divine message. It might be urged that his
View, were in oppositioa to the theory of isspridon which
the church had held is all ages, and it might be asked where
such views, if allowed, were to stop. The church had never
bad before it ell the evidence it now bad on them
matters. Science had made gradual but rapid strides.
The early church cams to oae oonclasioe, the
church of this day came to a different conclusion on different
arguments, and this was a °occlusive answer to all objec-
tion& Then as to the question where such views
should stop. Thom who knew that God's ears was watching
over the church, would be satisfied on that point. Jost
opinions would stop where the evidence in rapport of them
stopped. There would be much study and much metro-
versy, but nimbus men would sit down satisfied when the
evidence stopped. Many of the important questions now
raised would never be solved, nod they would be obliged at
last to give up the effort to solve them. Religions men
would be satisfied to allow them to remain unsolved. Mean-
while, they must be ooutest to allow the discussion to go
on. No one who bed watched the controversies of past
times would come to the conclusion that the authority of
the Bible was at stake, or that it. power would depend upon
the issue of such discussions as these in which men were
now engaged. What many persons wanted was a rev.-
latiOn which they should be booed rigidly to
obey—a revelation which should ague them the responsi-
bility of deciding for themselves. In neither the Old nor
the New Testament would they find this conception realised.
The Old Testament 'hanged its teaching as its lasso= were
learned. How disappointed would they of old have been
if, when they bad been told that their system was to last
for ever, they could have foreseen that it was merely a
temporary diepensatins which was to cease on the coming
of Christ. In the New Testament the same thing was
observable. The Lord ..id—" Swear not at all," but the
church said that this was not to apply to oath' is &court of
justice. The Lord taught that meu must submit to wroage
done to them. bat most men knew of times whets to have
submitted to wrongs would have been sinful. No doubt
there was danger in such views. Them was (Ismer to men's
settled convictions when it was demonstrated that the
world revolved round the sun, and from sunk dangers they
bad no right to expect in this see to be free. Bak what-
ever might be the changes which occurred, there was one
respect in which the Bible could never be altered—namely,
in its power to reach the conscience of man, and to make
him bow before his Maker. The serums out Sudsy after-
sopa will be presoaked by the Rev. Dr. C. J. Vaughan, vicar
of Doncaster. late head mister of Harrow School.

- .1110 L

**P,

Tin PRINCE or WALEB AT CRERTERY.—We are
authorised to state that there is Do troth whatever in the
report published by the Court Journal, arid since copied far
sad wide, that the Prince of Wales was robbed of his vetch
at the SpriDg Steeplechaser here. Neither the Prises of
Wales nor any other prime lost his watch or any *Um pro.
party on that awasioe. We believe that his royal hipbone
is not s little snowed by the cirsulatioe of this canard, se
it seems to railed somewhat upon his shrewdeers that be
should be unable to attend a race meeting without meethrg
with a disaster of this nature. It is des, therefore, to his
royal Winer, to the race committee, and to the clerk of
the course. that t►e fullest publicity sbould be given to this
costredietioe.—Chertacy Mail.
BOARD OP TRADE, WHITZIALL, MARCH. 30.
TN" Right How. the Leeds of the Committee el Privy
Council for Trade him rewired, from the fiseretery of [Rate
Ifor Fp:olio Alaimo, • espy ef • limpets\ from bar Majesty's
Mioistor at Oopeehagen, reverting that the Deeish transit
duties will be abolished en the Ist Avail next.—Gemitc.

.isat.