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and defiance of, the claims of God on life and love and service. “He came unto his own, and his own received him not.” Had they done so, they would have made their greatest .discovery. They would have beheld in Jesus the greatest marvel of all time. Had they welcomed Him for what He was, had they worshiped with the Magi, adored with the shepherds, praised with Simeon and Anna, and reechoed the angels’ Gloria, they would have saved their place and their nation, and the exile of over nineteen hun dred years. Meanwhile, the individual heart, in response to the call of the Word, in the power of the Spirit, enters upon a profound experience. “That I have a Saviour,” is the modern testimony of countless thousands besides Sir James Simpson. The Jesus of Prophecy, the Jesus of History, the Jesus of Calvary, the Divine Man in the Glory, justifies His Name. He is still exalted to be “a Prince and a Saviour, to give repentance to Israel and remission o f sins.” And, finally, that is His greatest glory. It is for that He lives and reigns and reveals Himself. It is because of this that Saul of Tarsus is arrested on the Damascus load HOSE theological students who were privileged to sit at the feet of Dr. Moorehead during the days of his ministry at Xenia Theological Seminary, recognize the great privilege that was theirs to be acquainted with such a man of God. Not least among the values of this personal con tact were those intimate, incidental touches which came when he told the story of his own intellectual and spiritual struggles. The recital always confirmed the faith of his students and beautified the doctrines of Christianity. Those who knew Dr. Moorehead well and recall his exceptional command of language, how both English and Greek flowed from his lips most eloquently, would scarcely suspect that he had ever had any difficulty in acquiring a new language. One day in one of his New Testament Greek classes a question was asked him which had to do with the doctrine of the inspiration of the Scriptures. He replied by giving an incident from his own experience to illustrate his idea of the meaning of verbal inspiration. He sought through the illustration to emphasize the abso lute necessity of words as a vehicle for conveying thoughts, because, as he said, thought cannot be conveyed apart from the use of words. He related that he had been for some time a missionary in Italy. After he had gained a reading knowledge of the Italian, he felt that, in order to do his best work and to have the greatest influence with the Italian people, he must be able to use the language like a native—think in it, dream in it; make it, as it were, his native tongue. In order to accomplish this, Dr. Moorehead went to a seaport town where he saw no one but Italians and heard only the Italian language. Here he applied himself dili gently to his self-appointed task. After some time he became very much discouraged, even fearing he was
and receives new letters of authority. It is for this that a door is opened in heaven for St. John. It is this—the one unfailing demonstration of it—which guards the Church against all the assaults of death and hell. It is still a miracle that the Church, ever assailed, ever triumphs. She survives because she enshrines and enthrones a Sav iour. The center of her life, the source of her power, the fountain of her sacrifice, the secret of her successes, are explained by Him who is not now the Babe of Bethle hem, but the Lord of Glory, enthroned in the power of an endless life. “Who came down from heaven to earth? Jesus Christ our Saviour! Came a Child of lowly birth? Jesus Christ our Saviour 1 “Sound the chorus loud and clear— He hath brought salvation near; None so precious, none so dear: Jesus Christ our Saviour 1” Therefore, let the whole earth raise a seven-fold Hal lelujah ! losing his mind. This distress came because he seemed unable to think freely and to express his thoughts clearly, as he had been accustomed to do. He became so oppressed with this burden that he determined to find out as soon as possible whether he was actually losing his mind. Opportunity to do so came one day when he saw a British vessel come into the port. Knowing he would there find some one who could speak the English language, he went down and accosted the first man who left the boat. It proved to be one of the English officers, who was making his way to a restaurant. Dr. Moorehead asked, and re ceived, the privilege of talking with him as he ate his meal. For an hour or more he was busily engaged in conversation with this Englishman on all sorts of subjects, including English literature, and found that mental relief which he sought. He discovered he was not losing his mind, at all. He could think and speak in English as formerly, and therefore he concluded that his confusion was not due to any mental weakness but simply to his lack of Italian words. He went away from that conversation convinced that his mind was quite normal but that he did not have an Italian vocabulary sufficient to match the thoughts needing expression. Dr. Moorehead made us understand, through this re cital of his experience, that we cannot think apart from words, and one’s thought life is limited by the vocabulary he possesses. As he applied this to the doctrine of inspira tion two things were indelibly impressed upon our minds: First, the necessary part that words play in the matter of our thinking; second, the absolute impossibility of con veying our thought apart from the use of the vehicle of words. If, therefore, there is to be a revelation from God which is in its nature infallible, it can only be such a revelation as comes through the medit m of words.
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Professor W. G. Moorehead on Verbal Inspiration B y O ne of H is S tudents , E lbert L. M c C reery
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