THE KING’ S .BUSINESS
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TWO SP IRITS In a man who is truly regenerated, there is always the- divine spirit and the human spirit, which operate at once—the one enlightening, the other darkening; and the illumination will be so much the greater, the more that o f the divine Spirit surpasses that o f the human spirit. In the prophets, and, above all, in the Apostles, these two elements also are to be found. But, thanks be to God, our faith in the words o f Scrip ture nowise depends on the unknown issue o f that combat-which was waged between the Spirit and the flesh in the soul o f the sacred writers. Our faith goes directly to the heart o f God. 'X V I. Can much harm result from the doctrine according to which the language o f inspiration would be no more than the human expression o f a superhuman revela tion, and, so to speak, o f a natural reflec tion o f a supernatural illumination? One or other o f .two evils will always result from it; either the oracles o f God- will be brought down to the level o f the words o f the saints, or these last will be raised to the level o f the Scriptures. This is a deplorable consequence, the alternative involved in which has been reproduced in all ages. It became unavoid able. All truly regenerated men being enlight ened by the Holy Ghost, it would follow,' according to this doctrine, that they would all possess, though in different degrees, the element o f inspiration; so that, according to the arbjtrary idea which you would form to yourselves o f their spiritual condition, "you would be led inevitably sometimes to assimilate the sacred writers to them, sometimes to raise them to the rank o f writers inspired from above.
the saints), but solely on their divine in spiration. 3. That, divinely-inspired words, having been miraculous, aré also all o f them the words o f G od .. 4. That as our faith in every part of the Bible rests no longer on the illumination of the writers, but on the inspiration of their writings, it may dispense henceforth with the perplexing study o f their internal state, o f the degree in which they were enlight ened, or of that o f their holiness ; but must stay itself in all things on God, in nothing on man. TXV . I f such has been the difference between illumination and inspiration in the prophets and the Apostles, as respects- the duration of those gifts, what has it been as respects their measure f Illumination is susceptible o f degrees ; inspiration does not admit o f them. A prophet is.more or less enlightened by God; but what he says is not more or less inspired. . It is so, or it is not so ; it is from God, or it is not from God ; here there is neither measure nor degree, neither in crease nor diminution. David was enlight ened by God; John. Baptist more than David; a simple Christian possibly more than John' Baptist; an Apostle was more enlightened than that Christian, and Jesus Christ more than that Apostle. But the inspired word ò f David, what do I say ? the inspired word of Balaam himself is that of God, as "was that of John Baptist, as was that o f St. Paul, as was that-of Jesus Christ ! It is the Word of God. The most enlightened o f the saints cannot speak by inspiration, whilst the most wicked, the most ignorant, and the most impure o f men may speak- not o f his own will, but by inspiration (John 11:51).
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