question : How does criticism affect our position as Christians
? The same topic is treated in the sermon which concludes the volume. In V. Dr. Ryle writes of the Mosaic Cosmogony ; in VI. he takes for his subject the "Element of Compilation in the Structure of the Old Testament Books," one of the most important divisions of the whole controversy. That all the difficulties are removed by these discourses is more than we can affirm ; but we are sure that no one can read them without some feeling of re- assurance and comfort. We shall give a brief extract in which a very important aspect of the matter is set forth :— "The patriarchal narratives throw light undoubtedly upon the nomad life of the early Israelites ; but if we look for mere history, we have gained from the Tell-el-Amarna tablets more insight into the condition of Canaan during the Patriarchal age than from many chapters of Genesis. And yet, there is much more in them than mere story ; what is there to compare with that matchless series of simple scenes, so true to nature, so rich in moral beauty, so matchless in purity of pathos, so descriptive in symbolism of the Divine election and of spiritual discipline? We read the stories of Ahab and Jehu, of Manasseh and Josiah. And yet from the mere narrative we remain in ignorance of the foreign relations, the larger history, of the Israelite kingdoms. The cuneiform inscriptions have thrown far more abundant light upon the external history of the people. The prophets interpret the inner condition of the country. But the sacred narrative, so far from presenting complete history, is partial and fragmentary, and furnishes us with A series of scenes selected for a purpose of religious and ethical instruction and.edited with that end in view. Criticism has revealed, for all aspects of teaching, the essential value of the Prophets. Only in our day has their work been appreciated. For centuries they have been ignored as mysterious oracles, honoured and valued merely for the precious texts and sayings which sparkled like rare and brilliant gems upon the dim, obscure surface of an unexplored literature. Modern scholar- ship has laid bare their intimate relation to the political and social problems of the day. In Amos and Micah and Hosea we can now listen to the passionate pleadings of prophet preachers and social reformers with their countrymen."
Previous page
