The Portland daily press., 1874-02-17
TERMS $500 PER ANNUM ADVANCE.

tne Bible he has the very words of God-the
;s'y words that God addresses now to him
~ ioslng that must lose what is yery
made so anu inspiring. II little things can be
~ maui so sacred 10 us by our common hurnau
rr;a,,d" nsi u the memorials of departed
art;cias g. pictures, Odd letters, familiar
th;na nh ~ apparel, common, trivial, worthless
m an a,fso.;n, nahowed by the sanctity of Lu-
man anection, have power to awaSen eoa,;,,a,
100 deep Tor words. too deem for go 'i,si
what profound, ineffabe emotion 49,. VIII
behold the present testimonial of a di,is ol'e
deathless Lowell The Book OF God dn.Is,.. allc
has speech, addressed throughout To- mel H., uJ
shall approach It, or venture to rest nv
glance Tor single moment upon the sacreJ
page! eu
But in fact the expected feeling i, NOT ex-
perienced, the emotion called for does no,
come, save 10 the credulous Imagination NJ
early years. The de 5otee at that shrine finds
labor in ke' ping alive the fame upon that
altar. How overwhelmed he should be ir
contemplating the handwriting of God and
how cool and undisturbed be unexpectedly
finds himself! He is shocked and distressed
by this unsusceptibity of his spirit, ami
strives to work up the devotion towards the
i pook ne thinks he ought TO feel. But some
low the little halfworn slipper laid away In,
oquent 10 him. Why? Because In that
.uere Is no speech nor language and its voice
= bot neari. Becdnse the letter kiLlefb. Pre-
casey oecduse he does regard the BiIIe os Us
.ermdots ~ords Of God, and letters his spirit
70 ehe" oy the short tether Of their literal
neotsn9' IL Is The silent memorial that
gulckens remembrance and awakens lonoiu1.
u i the song Without words that guides 10 a
hsht where language cannot soar; it is pspi-
latlon untrammeled by liberalism that eyokes
to G 'nsciousness the indwellng Word of God;
and Bible, plastic, open, suggestive. breath,
lng tntsmotions of the heavenly fe, must be
forever more inspiring to the heart of man
tnah Bible coDgealed into bard unchangipq
dehnlteness. looked Que day from my study
wlnuow ana saw the river encased in solid ice;
y spread before me drear, soiemn, white. re-
necting only N dull monotonous ljeht the
neavens above. Yesterday / looked again.
the ice was gone and reflected from the fluid
moving waters came heavens light to ME in
so brilliant glory that l must close my ewes
before it.
The simple obvious fact is that the revela-
tlons OF the Holy Spirit are beyond the power
OF words to compass them. LANGUAGE "a
Mr.. Martineau has finely said, lis the in
strument Of business, of learning, of mutual
understanding, Of common action: the fool
OF the intellect and will. ~** When we try To
raise ]: to higher functions. it only spoils The
thinS II cannot speak; which becomes, Ike
an uttered secret, treasure killed and gone
hel,sion IN the soul is like spirit hiding in
enshadowed forests; call it into the staring
light, 1t Is exhaled and seen no more; or as
the whispering of God among the trees;
peer about behind the leaves and il Ia NOT
there: lEndeavors, &c, p. 1851.
.. am comparing the two theories OF in
splration, In their application. or this spir-
itua' theory have said, in the first place.
tna. ~ IL delivers US from certain periIs involved
.ond place how it Increase the yalue Of IN.
Bible by setting free the insprra.;an Hooked
up in the letter; now, in the third piae~-
let me briefly say that it enlarges our Bible
to include ali words Of inspiration, by whom
soever spoken. When Kepler, following the
laws OF motion which he had himself dis
covered, tracked through planetary spaces
the vast courses of creative mind. inspired
and exalted by that communion with Deity,
be exclaimed, 20 God! / think thy thoughts
after thee!' How grand the words, from
now grand an emotion! IL is permitted TO
men in all ages to think Gods thoughts
after Him, under the inevitable human lin
itations; and when those thoughts are de-
clared, it is surely a misguided jealousy in
behalf OF God, which would prevent our
welcoming with gladness His own thoughts,
by whatever faltering lips expressed. Let il
be remembered that 1t is God who kindles
the light OF reason, it Is His inspiration that
| glveth US our understanding, it is His Word
that ighteth every man coming into the
world.
Does any one fear that under the operation
OF this liberal view of Inspiration the Bible
| Will lose IT'S hold upon the public iriud? He
has then, small faith in that which he defends.
Inc biDle needs no defence; certainly not any
hx 0H HrApA kor n
has brought 1t already under the condemna-
| ton of many. The natura, result" saws
Edward Hisginson, ''of this Bible worship on
the one hand is contempt for the Bible Oh
the other hand" [Spirit of the Bible, Vol.
l, p. 2. No, the Bible not only n, eds mo
defence, but proves incontestably its enduring
vitality, by surviving SOL long tine matreat-
meht to which it has been exposed at the
hands OF its defenders. Its real wortb-like
all real worth-is imperishabe. 1 have read
words culled with careful selection frvrn the
BOOKS OF other religions; and there are words
IN the Bible that, in my Judgment at least.
TAR surpass their highest reach. / have,
searched 1.-The Bible Of the Ages" a collection
OF wise sayings by ssges of every time, u fiud
| III 1t some words of religious confidence and
| hope, and found none that could compar.
with the sublime utterance of the Psamist,
"Ihe Lord is my Shepherd. shall not want
| That In the Bible which declares mans high
| est aspiration, declares also Divine inspira-
| tlon,; 1t caunot die. As God inspired the
| Greeks with genius which tended to art.
and the Romans with genius which tended
to Jaws, He inspired the Jews with genius
which tended to religion. As He inspired
SHAKESPEARE to be high priest of the inagina
ten, and the works of Shakespeare al e i'm
mortal, he inspired Jesus to hold tar more ex-
ated rank as high priest of the Divine affec-
tons and the words OF Jesus, ,imperecly repor-