Inspiration 29 make myself known unto him in a vision, and will speak unto him in a dream. . . . With him [Moses] will I speak mouth to mouth, even apparently, and not in dark speeches; and the similitude of the Lord shall he behold” (Num. 12:6, 8). Ye shall not add unto the word which I command you, neither shall ye diminish from it” (Deut. 4:2). “But the prophet which shall speak a word presumptuously in My name, which I have not commanded him to speak, . . . that prophet shall die” (Deut. 18:20). In Mark 12:36, Jesus said: “David himself said in the Holy Spirit.” If we turn to 2 Sam. 23:2, we will find what it was David said: “The Spirit of the Lord spake by me, and His word was upon my tongue.” Jeremiah said: “Ah! Lord God! behold I cannot speak, for I am a child. But the Lord saith unto me, Say not I am a child, for thou shalt go to all that I shall send thee, and whatsoever I command thee thou shalt speak. Be not afraid of their faces, for I am with thee to deliver thee, saith the Lord. Then the Lord put forth His hand and touched my mouth. And the Lord said unto me, Behold, I have put My words in thy mouth” (Jer. 1:6-9). Balaam was compelled to speak against his will. He said: Lo, I am come unto thee; have I now any power at all to say anything? the word that God putteth in my mouth, that shall I speak.” He did his very utmost to curse the Israel- ites, but as often as he tried it, he blessed them. Balak at last said, “Neither cursé them at all, nor bless them at all.” But Balaam answered, “Told not I thee, saying, All the Lord speaketh, that must I do” (Num. 22:38; 23:26). In the five books of Moses, in the books called historical, and books included under the general title of the Psalms, such expressions as the following occur hundreds of times: “Thus saith the Lord;” “The Lord said;” “The Lord spakeH “The Lord hath spoken;” “The saying of the Lord;” and “The word of the Lord.” There is no other thought expressed in
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