From all such mad and unintelligible ravings the true prophets were distinguished. The effect of inspiration on the physical condition of their bodies and minds may be expressed in the following particulars. (a.) It prostrated their strength; it threw them on the ground, as we have seen in the case of Saul, and of John, and was attended occasionally with sickness as in the case of Daniel. There seems to have been such a view of God, and of the events which were to come to pass, as to take away for a time their physical strength. Nor is there any thing improbable or absurd in this. In the language of Prof. Stuart (Bib. Repos. ii. p. 221), we may ask, "Why should not this be so? How could it be otherwise than that the amazing disclosures sometimes made to them should affect the whole corporeal system? Often does this happen when one and another scene opens upon us in a natural way, and which has respect merely to things of the present world. But when the future glories of the Messiah's kingdom were disclosed to the mental eye of a prophet or a seer; when the desolation of kingdoms, and the slaughter of many thousands, the subjugation and massacre of God's chosen people, famine, pestilence, and other tremendous evils were disclosed to his view, what could be more natural than that agitation, yea swooning, should follow in some cases?" It may be added, that in the experience of Christians in modern times the elevated views which have been taken of God, of heaven, of the hopes of glory, and of the plan of salvation, have produced similar effects on the bodily frame. Any deep, absorbing, elevated emotion may produce this state. "The flesh is weak," and that there may be such a view of glory or of calamity; such hope or fear; such joy or sorrow as to prostrate the frame and produce sickness, or faintness, is nothing more than what occurs every day. (b.) There is no evidence that the true prophets were divested of intelligent consciousness so that they were ignorant of what they uttered; or that the Spirit made use of them merely as organs, or as unconscious agents to utter his truth. They every where speak and act as men who understood what they said, and do not rave as madmen. Indeed, the very fact to which I have adverted, that the view of future events had such an effect as to take away their strength, shows that they were conscious and had an intelligent understanding of what they saw, or spoke. That the prophet had control of his own mind; that he could speak or not as he pleased; thas he acted as a conscious, voluntary, intelligent agent, is more than once intimated, or expressly affirmed. Thus in one of the strongest cases of the overpowering nature of the inspiration which can be adduced-the case of Jeremiah-it is intimated that the prophet even then was a voluntary agent, and could speak or not, as he pleased. The strength of this overpowering agency is intimated in Jer. xx. 7. Thou didst allure me, O JEHOVAH, and I was allured; I am become a laughing stock every day, Ridicule hath spent its whole force upon me. BLANEY'S TRANS. And yet, in immediate connection with this the prophet resolved that he would cease to prophesy, and that he would no more speak the name of JEHOVAH. Then I said, I will not make mention of him, Nor speak any more in his name; But his word was in my heart as a burning fire shut up in my bones, And I could not stay. ver. 9. This proves, that Jeremiah was, even under the full power of the prophetic impulse, a free and conscious agent. If he was a mere passive instrument in the hands of the Spirit, how could he determine no more to prophesy? And how could he carry this purpose into execution, as he actually did for a while? Bat this inquiry has been settled by the express authority of the apostle Paul. He affirms, in a manner which leaves no room to doubt, that the prophets were conscious agents and that they had control over their own minds, when he says, (1 Cor. xiv. 32), the spirits of the prophets are subject to the prophets;" and on the ground of this he requires those who were under the prophetic inspiration to utter their sentiments in such a manner as not to produce confusion and irregularity in the churches, 1 Cor. xiv. 29-31, 33, 40. How could he reprove their disorder and confusion, if they had no control over the operations of their own minds; and if they were not conscious of what they were uttering? The truth seems to have been that they had the same control over their minds that any man has; that they were urged, or impelled by the Spirit to utter the truth, but that they had power to refuse; and that the exercise of this power was subjected to substantially e same laws as the ordinary operations of their minds. The true idea has been expressed, probably, by Bishop Lowth. "Inspiration may be regarded not as suppressing or extinguishing for a time the faculties of the human mind, but of purifying, and strengthening, and elevating them above what they would otherwise reach." Nothing can be more rational than this view; and according to this, there was an essential difference between the effect of true inspiration on the mind, and the wild and frantic ravings of the pagan priests, and the oracles of divination. Every thing in the Scriptures is consistent, rational, sober, and in accordance with the laws of the animal economy; every thing in the heathen idea of inspiration was wild, frantic, fevered, and absurd. (c.) It may be added, that this is the common view of prophecy which prevailed among the fathers of the church. Thus Epiphanius says, "In whatever the prophets have said, they have been accompanied with an intelligent state of mind." Ad. Haeres. Mont. c. 4. Jerome in his preface to Isaiah says, "Nor indeed, as Montanus and insane women dream, did the prophets speak in an ecstasy, so that they did not know what they uttered, and, while they instructed others, did not themselves understand what they said." Chrysostom says, "For this is characteristic of the diviners, to be in a state of frenzy, to be impelled by necessity, to be driven by force, to be drawn, like a madman. A prophet on the contrary is not so; but utters his communication with sober intelligence, and in a sound state of mind, knowing what he says: Homil. xxix. in Ep. ad Cor., Bib. Repos. ii. 141. (4.) The representation of future scenes was made known to the prophets by VISIONS. This idea may not differ from the two former, except that it intimates that in a dream, and in the state of prophetic ecstasy, events were made known to them not by words, but by causing the scene to pass before their mind or their mental visions, as if they saw it. Thus the entire series of the prophecies of Isaiah is de scribed as a VISION in ch. i. 1, and in 2 Chron. xxxii. 32. It is of im portance to have a clear understanding of what is implied by this. The name vision is often elsewhere given to the prophecies: Num. xxiv. 4, 16. 1 Sam. iii. 1. 2 Sam. vii. 17. Prov. xxix. 18. Ohad. i. 1. Isa. xxi. 2. xxii. 1, 5. Jer. xiv. 14. Lam. ii. 9. Ezek. vii. 13. Dan. ii. 19. vii 2. viii. 1, 13, 16, 17, 26. ix. 21, 23. 24. x. 1, 7, 8, 14, 16. 2 Chron. ix. 29. Ezek. i. 1. The prophets are called Seers rōyim; and in Hhōzim, and their prophecies are designated by words which denote that which is seen, as, &c.—all of which are words derived from the verbs rendered to see, and . It would be unnecessary to quote the numerous passages where the idea i seeing, is expressed. A few will show their general characters. They may be classified according to the following arrangement. (a.) Those which relate to an open vision; a distinct and clear seeing, 1 Sam. iii. 1: "And the word of the LORD was precious in those days; there was no open vision "--no vision spread abroad, common, open, public, usual. It was a rare occurrence, and hence the divine communications were regarded as peculiarly precious and valuable. (b.) Those which pertain to the prophetic ecstasy, or tranceprobably the more usual, and proper meaning of the word. Num. xxiv. 3, 4, “The man whose eyes are open hath said; he hath said which heard the words of God, which saw the vision of the Almighty, falling, but having his eyes open." Num. xxiv. 17, “I see him, but not now; I behold him, but not near; there shall come a Star out of Jacob, and a Sceptre shall rise out of Israel." That is, I see, or have a vision of that Star, and of that Sceptre in the distance, as if looking on a landscape, and contemplating an indistinct object in the remote part of the picture. Thus Ezek. i. 1, "The heavens were opened, and I saw the visions of God;" viii. 3. xl. 2, "In visions he brought me to the land of Israel." Comp. Luke i. 22. (c.) Instances where it is applied to DREAMS: Dan. ii. 19, 28. iv 5. vii. 2. viii. 1, 13, 16, 17, 26, 27. ix. 21, 23, 24. Gen. xlvi. 2, “God spake to Israel in visions of the night." Job. iv. 13. (d.) Instances where the prophets represent themselves as standing on a watch-tower, and looking off on a distant landscape to descry future and distant events. "I will stand upon my watch, And will set me upon the tower, And will watch to see what he will say unto me, Habak. ii. 1. "For thus hath the Lord said unto me, Go, set a watchman, let him declare what he seeth." Notes, Isa. xxi. 6. Comp. vs. 8, 11. Micah vii. 4. Comp. Jer. vi. 17. Ezek. iii. 17. xxxiii. 7. In these passages, the idea is that of one who is stationed on an elevated post of observation, who can look over a large region of country, and give timely warning of the approach of an enemy. The general idea of prophecy which is presented in these passages, is that of a scene which is made to pass before the mind like a picture or a landscape; where the mind contemplates a panoramic view of objects around it, or in the distance; where, as in a landscape, objects may appear to be grouped together, or lying near together, which may be in fact separated a considerable distance. The prophets described those objects which were presented to their minds as they appeared to them, or as they seemed to be drawn on the picture which was before them. They had, undoubtedly, an intelligent consciousness of what they were describing; they were not mad, like the priestesses of Apollo; they had a clear view of the vision, and described it as it appeared to them. Let this idea be kept in mind, that the prophets saw IN VISION; that probably the mode in which they contemplated objects was somewhat in the manner of a landscape as it passes before the mind, and much light and beauty will be cast ou many of the prophecies which now seem to be obscure. III. From the view which has now been taken of the nature of prophecy, some important remarks may be made, throwing additional light on the subject. (1.) It is not to be expected that the prophets would describe what they saw in all their connexions and relations. See Hengstenberg, in Bib. Repos. ii. p. 148. They would present what they saw as we describe what we witness in a landscape. Objects which appear to be near, may be in fact separated by a considerable interval. Objects on the mountain side may seem to lie close to each other, between which there may bea deep ravine, or a flowery vale. In describing or painting it, we describe or paint the points that appear; but the ravine and the vale cannot be painted. They are not seen. So in a prophecy, distant events may appear to lie near to each other, and may be so described, while between them there may be events happy or adverse, of long continuance and of great importance. (2.) Some SINGLE VIEW of a future event may attract the attention, and engross the mind of the prophet. A multitude of comparatively unimportant objects may pass unnoticed, while there may be one single absorbing view that shall seize upon, and occupy all the attention. Thus in the prophecies which relate to the Messiah. Scarcely any one of the prophets gives any connected or complete view of his entire life and character. It is some single view of him, or some single event in his life, that occupies the mind. Thus at one time his birth is described; at another his kingdom; at another his divine nature; at another his sufferings; at another his resurrection; at another his glory. The prophetic view is made up, not of one of these predictions, but of all combined; as the life of Jesus is not that which is contained in one of the Evangelists, but in all combined. Illustrations of this war. remark might be drawn in abundance from the prophecies of Isaiah. Thus in ch. ii. 4, he sees the Messiah as the Prince of Peace, as diffusing universal concord among all the nations, and putting an end to In ch. vi. 1-5, comp. John xii. 41, he sees him as the Lord of glory, sitting on a throne, and filling the temple. In ch. vii. 14, he sees him as a child, the son of a virgin. In ch. ix. 1, 2, he sees him as having reached manhood, and having entered on his ministry, in the land of Galilee where he began to preach. In ch. ix. 6, 7, he sees him as the exalted Prince, the Ruler, the mighty God, the Father of eternity. In ch. xi. he sees him as the descendant of Jesse-a tender sprout springing up from the stump of an ancient decayed tree. In ch. xxv. 8, he sees him as destroying death, and introducing immortality. Comp. 1 Cor. xv. 54. In ch. xxxv. the happy effects of his reign are seen; in ch. liii. he views him as a suffering Messiah, and contemplates the deep sorrows which he would endure when he should die to make atonement for the sins of the world. Thus in all the prophets we have one view presented at one time, and another at another; and the entire prediction is made up of all these when they are combined into one. It may be observed also of Isaiah, that in the first part of his prophecy the idea of an exalted or triumphant Messiah is chiefly dwelt upon; in the latter part, he presents more prominently the idea of the suffering Messiah. The reason may have been, that the object in the first part was to console the hearts of the nation under their deep and accumulated calamities, with the assurance that their great Deliverer would come. In the latter part, which may not have been published in his life, the idea of a suffering Messiah is more prominently introduced. This might have been rather designed for posterity than for the generation when Isaiah lived; or it may have been designed for the more pious individuals in the nation rather than for the nation at large, and hence, in order to give a full view of the Messiah, he dwelt then on his sufferings and death. See Hengstenberg's Christol. vol. i. pp. 153, 154. (3.) Another peculiarity which may arise from the nature of prophecy as here presented, may have been that the mind of the prophet glanced rapidly from one thing to another. By very slight associations or connexions, as they may now appear to us, the mind is carried from one object or event to another; and almost before we are aware of it, the prophet seems to be describing some point that has, as appears to us, scarcely any connexion with the one which he had but just before been describing. We are astonished at the transition, and perhaps can by no means ascertain the connexion which has subsisted in view of the mind of the prophet, and which has led him to pass from the one to the other. The mental association to us is lost or unseen, and we deem him abrupt, and speak of his rapid transitions, and of the difficulties involved in the doctrine of a double sense. The views which I am here describing may be presented under the idea of what may be called THE LAWS OF PROPHETIC SUGGESTION; and perhaps a study of those laws might lead to a removal of most of the difficulties which have been supposed to be connected with the subject of a spiritual meaning, and of the double sense of the prophecies. In |