Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1891-09-13

cannot remember how many people he bap-
tized in Corinth. Only Crispus and Gaius,
he says. But wait-yes, and all the house.
hold of Stephanus, and perhaps others; he
knows not. 1t is as natural and personal as
any letter which the postman will carry in
his bag tomorrow. st. Paul is not even
sure, in all cases, of his own judgment. 81
think have the spirit OF God, he says.
Any earnest manca say as much.
SIMPLE KIND OF INSPIRATION.
What then becomes of inspiration? Is
there such an influence at all? The best
illustration of the working of inspiration
that 1 know of is this: 1t is like that ac-
tion of one mind upon another by which
man influences his friends. In we come,
full of the enthusiasm of some new scheme,
and with our mind fully made up about it;
and our friend talks it over with us. He
suggests this and that, points out fallacy,
shows danger, argues on the other side.
And, by and by, we come to look at the
matter from quite another point of view.
We have changed our mind Our wise
friend has actually put part of his mind
into ours. Thenceforward, in. that particu-
lar direction of conduct, there will be as
much of him in US as of ourselves. He has
put his spirit in us. He has inspired us.
This sort of actien of one spirit upon
another is forever going on in daily life.
We are Influenced. by our associates,
changed in taste, uplifted or depressed in
character, set with our faces this way or
that, actually inspired by our companions.
And this in proportion as we trust them
and love them. But does inspiration stop
here? Shall we say that God, who is a
spirit, cannot act upon our spirit, save by
physical and tangible forces? Cannot God
affect us as we affect our friend? Certainly
he can, and will, and does, just in proper
with him. That is to say, just as much as
we will let Him.
THE DISCOVERIES OF TRUTH,
I believe that God is closer to US than our
own thoughts, and that he speaks to every
one of ps every day we live. believe that
all truth comes from God, and that he is
forever helping us to discover and recognize
it. And 1 see that in all realms of truth
God speaks to man here and man there,
and shows that man his truth most clearly
and sends that man to be teacher. There
is no reason to think that truth about God
is an exception. 1 believe that God in His
own wav spoke to Newton and made him
His prophet in the truth of science. What
a wonderful thing-this one man so far
ahead of all the other men about himl So
spoke God to jeremiah and made him His
prophet in the truth of religion. And that
is inspiration.
But what does inspiration do? Well, ev-
identity, not all which has sometimes been
imagined for it. 1t does not take all the
human nature out of man. And vet, much
more, perhaps, than some have been in the
habit of claiming for it. Inspirati, n, if we
may venture upon fragment of definition,
is the uplifting influence of the Holy
Spirit. Will anybody set bounds to that?
Will anybody say that certain company of
good men, who wrote history and poetry
and plays and sermons a good while ago,
were inspired; while another company OF
cellent work to-day, are not inspired?
THE INSPIRATION OF TO-DAY.
Did God stop helping men when the last
apostle wrote the last epistle? We believe
do we nst?-that the Holy Spirit is God
abiding in the world we live in, thinking
in all earnest thought, living in all earnest
life, the source of all holy desires, the i'm
peller of all purposes, the prompter and
helper of all excellent achievement
Are we not inspired ourselves? We pray
tlldL W may UC. VIC pray LHib NOu Will
"cleanse the thoughts of our hearts by the
inspiration of His Holy Spirit" We ask
Him to grant us, that 'by His holy inspira-
tion we may think those things that are
good, and by His merciful guiding may
perform the same" The men who wrote
the Bible prayed the same kind of prayer.
Inspiration is as wide as the influence of
the Holy Spirit. "AI1 Scripture is given
by inspiration of God''-yes; and so arsall
good books, in all nations and all languages.
And "holy men spake as they were moved
by the Holy Ghost''-yes; and are still
speaking, the world over.
But are all the books equally good? Are
all the messages equally important? At
once, we begin to make distinctions in this
wide field of inspiration.
THE PRINCIPLE OF SELECTION.
And what principle! Why were some
better than others? Why, because they had
more of God in them, more of help for the
soul in them than the others had. Some
were the original messages from God; others
were but commentaries upon the messages.
They were all inspired, but some were more
inspired than others. The same kind of Sc
lection resulted in the canon of the New
Testament. Again, among the good, men
chose the best. And here we have them.
The Epistle of Clement and the Epistle of
Jude were both inspired. For long time
one was accounted of as much value as the
other. But the fittest survived.
Not only did the Bible come into its pres
ent shape by an act of selection, but it holds
its place to-day by a continuance of that
same selection. 1t is our Bible, because it
is the best book in the world. We can quote
the Westminster Confession of Faith for
that: "We may be moved and induced by
the testimony of the church." says that
document, "to a high and rev.
heavenliness of the matter, the efficacy of
the doctrine, the majesty of the style, the
consent of all the parts, the scope of. the
whole (Which is to give all glory to God),
the full discovery it makes of the only way
of mans salvation, the many other incom-
parable excellencies, and the entire perfec-
tion thereof, are arguments whereby it doth
abundantly evidence itself to be the Word
of God; yet, notwithstanding, our full per-
suasion and assurance of the infali truth
and divine authority thereof is from the in
ward work of the Holy Spirit bearing wit
ness by and with the Word IN our hearts. "
WOULD ACCEPT A BETTER BOOK.
That is Just what 1 am saying, expressed
in the formal language of theology. Show
us better book, with a truer tracing of
Gods dealings with the race, with more
accurate record of mans growth in right
and faith from age to age out of
into the less imperfect, with
a clearer revelation of God in it, and more
helpful ministry to the needs of our souls;
show us a better book, and that shall be our
Bible. But a good many centuries have
gone by now, and the making of books has
multiplied out of all numbering, and yet
there is no other book which can compare
with this book in all the world. And the
great books which lie at the heart of all
other great religions have been translated