and to imbue with it the heart of the people ; and this
compelled them to seize upon the religious idea only
to aim to develop it and re-establish its sway. But it
again thence resulted, that the idea was more general-
ized, and assumed an appearance of being opposed to,
and independent of, material life. While in Mosaism
the idea and the life are one and the same, the idea
now appeared as self-existent, and severed from the
life*

This separation between the life and the idea was,
doubtless, essentially un-Mosaic. It was likewise a
great evil ; for the union of the idea and the life, alone
forms religious truth. It was, nevertheless, a condition
of its development, and was in so far necessary ; as by
its means only, could be effected the dissemination of
the religious idea throughout the whole world of
man. The idea solely, could win mankind to itself.
When, in the due course of its development, it shall
have thoroughly permeated the mental being of man, it

* For example : Mosaism had said, ' Love thy neighbour as
thyself; consider thy neighbour's rights to be as thine own :
every man shall be free ; thou shalt not have thy neighbour for
a slave, therefore give him his freedom in the seventh year, and
let him go free, and furnish him liberally from thy corn, thy
herds, and thy wine.' The people had lost this idea of personal
freedom on their return to Heathenism, which brought with it
castes slavery : so they did not liberate slaves, nor observe the
year of release. The prophets could not, therefore, insist on the
observance of the year of release, but were obliged to enforce in
general terms, the principle of the equality of rights among
mankind, without expressly applying it to actual life. It would
have been fruitless to address the people thus : ' The gleanings
of the field belong to the poor ; the second tithe of the third
and sixth year.' So they gave general exhortation, ' Break thy
bread,' etc.



THE TEACHINGS OF THE PROPHETS. 109

will and must come into active existence, and regulate
and mould material life.

\Vc shall thus perceive, that the severance of the idea
and the life is complete in Christianity ; that in the mid-
dle ages, the idea was powerless in respect of the life ;
and that it is but in the most recent times, that it is again
beginning to exert any influence on daily existence.

What we here deduce from history, at the close of a
period of development of two thousand, five hundred
years' duration, the prophets clearly foresaw and un-
equivocally predicted, at its commencement. Mosaism
presents the union of the life and the idea, and could
in the first instance be addressed to the Jewish race
only. To disseminate the religious idea is Israel's
mission; to live out the religious life, is Israel's
appointed task. But the prophets, inasmuch as they
especially set forth the religious idea inasmuch as they
elaborate it in its universality, and omit to insist on its
special application, have the pre-consciousness that the
religious idea is not Israel's portion only, but that of all
mankind.* The acknowledgment of one God in His
entire unity of one God, supreme and holy, who is,
in this indirect relation to man created in his image
Man's Providence, the sole source of judgment and
revelation the diffusion of universal love, by means of
universal justice, freedom, and peace and the universal
acceptance of these by mankind, who will thereby be
united and wholly influenced ; such are the chief points
of development, which the prophets imparted to the
Mosaic idea.

Each of these prophets, from the first to the last,

* Moses, the first of the prophets, also declares this great
truth again and again. Deut. 4. 6 ; Judges 32. 1. A. M. G.



110 LECTURE V.

inculcates this doctrine ; and from each in succession, it
receives additional development. Nay: this doctrine is
even anterior to the prophets whose writings we now
possess, and is in fact the very mother of prophecy.
It is, viz., worthy of all remark, that, in Micah iv. 1 4,
and in Isaiah, at the opening of a prophetic address,
ii. 2 4, we find exactly parallel passages expressing
this idea, with but this difference that in Micah, the
composition is more careful, and that there is one
additional and very beautiful verse. There has been
much controversy as to the original authorship of these
verses. Closer investigation proves, however, that to
neither of these two writers does it belong ; but that
they are but the transcript of an older prophetic decla-
ration which both prophets cite,* and place, for a spe-
cific object, at the head of their respective paragraphs.
The verses run thus : " But in the last days, it shall
come to pass, that the mountain of the house of the
Lord shall be established in the top of the mountain ;
and it shall be exalted above the hills; and people shall
flow unto it. And many nations shall come and say,
Come, and let us go up to the mountain of the
Lord, and to the house of the God of Jacob. He
will teach us of His ways, and we shall walk in His
paths; for the law shall go forth out of Zion, and
the word of the Lord from Jerusalem ; and He shall
judge among many people, and rebuke strong nations
afar off: and they shall beat their swords into plough-
shares, and their spears into pruning-hooks ; nation
shall not lift up a sword against nation, neither shall

* It is well known, that the prophets contain numerous quo-
tations, the names of the writers of which are frequently not
given.



THE TEACHINGS OF THE PROPHETS. Ill

they learn war any more. But they shall sit every
man under his own vine, and his own fig tree, and
none shall make them afraid; for the mouth of the
Lord of Hosts hath spoken it."

It is herein declared 1st. That all nations of the
earth will acknowledge the truth of the Religious idea.
2ndly. That they will consider themselves bound by it;
and Srdly. Peace, the cessation of war and strife,
general security and happiness will, by means of that
religious idea, come universally to prevail. We see
this general acceptance of the religious idea meta-
phorically portrayed in " the going up of the nations
to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God
of Jacob;" its fulfilment in the life, in "the walking in
his paths ;" its result, in the cessation of war, and in
dwelling peacefully every one " under his own vine and
his own fig-tree." Every prophet depicts, in accordance
with his own character and in his own individual style,
this great future of the human race, in the most vivid
colours, and at length transfers into the brute creation,
and into all nature, the spirit of heavenly peace.* " The
wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard
shall lie down with the kid, and the calf and the young
lion and the fatling together, and a little child shall
lead them. And the cow and the bear shall feed their
young ones, shall lie down together, and the lion shall
eat straw like the ox. And the sucking child shall play
on the hole of the asp, and the weaned child shall put
his hand on the cockatrice's den. They shall not hurt
nor destroy in all my holy mountain ; for the earth
shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord, as the waters
cover the sea."

* Isaiah 11. 69.



112 LECTURE V.

As soon as the prophets had attained to the con-
sciousness that Mosaism was not destined to limit its
influence to the Jewish race, but that its ultimate end
was the dissemination of the religious idea among the
whole of mankind, the question How was that design
to be accomplished ? naturally suggested itself to them.
Their first necessary deduction was, that Israel was but
the instrument of God.* To be the depositaries of
the religious idea, for the whole human race, they recog-
nised to be the mission of the whole posterity of Abra-
ham.-}- Their second deduction was, that in its fulfilment
no thought of victory by force of arms, or by coercive
means, or by the exercise of political power, was to be
entertained. The idea could only prevail by virtue of
its power as an idea ; freedom cannot be attained through
slavery ; it can be won by free development alone. The
views set forth in the writings of the prophets may be
summed up as follows: Israel is contaminated God's
chastisement is therefore necessary. By this chastise-
ment Israel shall be sanctified and purified. Israel will
be re-established. This chastisement, regeneration, and
restoration will serve as examples and proofs of the
truth of the religious idea ever existent in Israel, and
therefore lead to its recognition by all people. There-

* ' And now saith the Lord that formed me from the
womb to be his servant, to bring Jacob again unto him,' etc.
Isaiah 49. 1.

t ' Behold my servant whom I uphold, mine elect in whom my
soul delighteth. I have put my spirit upon him. He shall bring
forth judgment to the Gentiles. He shall not cry, nor lift up,
nor cause his voice to be heard in the street. A bruised reed
shall he not break, and the smoking flax he shall not quench.
He shall bring forth judgment unto truth. He shall not fail nor
be discouraged, till he have set judgment in the earth. And the
isles shall wait for his law.' Isaiah 42. 1 4.



THE TEACHINGS OF THE PROPHETS. 113

fore Israel endures his punishment for the sake of all
nations, his degradation and their contumely, for that of
all mankind. Israel is the martyr for the human race,
of the religious idea, as Isaiah in the well-known 33rd
chapter represents him to be. The reference which
these successive propositions bear to the actual condition
of the Jewish people, (the latter furnishing in fact
their connecting links) is clearly perceptible. The
more palpable this condition of things became, as the
fall of the kingdom approached and the captivity of the
Jews ensued, and as their restoration appeared more
imminent, the clearer were the predictions of prophecy.
"We shall, therefore, not be surprised to find, that the
second Isaiah* puts forth these statements with the
greatest precision.

The third deduction from the same view, is the ampli-
fication by the Prophets of the doctrine of the divine
government of the universe, and of God's appearing to
them, for the express purpose of leading, by means of
justice and truth, all mankind to moral perfection; they
declare that God ordains the destinies of all nations,
in accordance with His universal wisdom. It is God
who calleth upon people and princesf for specific objects,
who granteth them the victory, in order to chastise the
iniquity of the conquered, and to humble the pride of
man; but who prepareth likewise the downfall of the
conqueror, if he misuse the success vouchsafed unto
him.

The judgments of God, the purification of man by
their means, and the re-acceptance of the purified man,
are thus the chief subject-matter of the writings

* Vide ante note, p. 93.

t Nebuchadnezzar, as likewise Cyrus, are " called of the Lord."

I



114 LECTURE V.

of the prophets ; the theme of which they treat in end-
less modifications. With unflinching courage do they
inveigh against all immorality ; they denounce it in all
its forms and phases ; and brand its votaries, whether
found among the people, the priests, or the princes,
whether Israelite, Assyrian, Egyptian, Babylonian, or
Tyrian. With unwearied hand do they portray their
fall, their utter destruction. Then they turn to paint
in glowing colours, how God is found of them who seek
Him, how He hath compassion on the penitent, and
blotteth out his transgression. But with deepest inspi-
ration do they address themselves to the oppressed and
downcast, and declare how the Lord, throned in un-
speakable majesty, is nighest unto the broken in heart,
and turneth his sorrow into joy, his aspirations into
fulfilment ; and is his Saviour and Redeemer.

What renders the Prophets so valuable is, that while
Mosaism inculcates the right in fixed doctrine and spe-
cific rules of life, the Prophets bring general morality to
be accepted, set it forth as the universal guide of
human action, and insist upon the truth, that by means
of it alone, can nations continue to exist, and that with-
out it they must eventually decline and fall; that
neither force of arms, nor diplomacy, is of power to
sustain them, if morality has ceased to be active in the
midst of them. The Prophets are the book of the
peoples ; the mirror in which they may see their des-
tinies clearly reflected.

If we hastily review the utterances of each prophet
individually, we shall perceive that Isaiah especially
enlarges on the Holiness of the Deity. At his sanc-
tification for his prophetic mission, the loftiest accent
that greets his ear, is the three times " Holy,"* from the
* Isaiah 6.3.



THE TEACHINGS OF THE PROPHETS. 115

lips of the seraphim. " Holy Lord" is the epithet, with
which he most frequently apostrophises his God. This
Holy God is sanctified by justice ; he who accepts His
judgments, sanctifies Him. Hence the Almighty's
displeasure at crime and injustice, His condemnation of
fraud and hypocrisy. Therefore He executeth judgment,
causeth the proud to fall, and visiteth the froward, but
purifieth by chastisement. * c ' When Thy law came to
earth, the inhabitants of the world learnt righteous-
ness." If He be angry, he returneth from His anger,
and hath compassion, and guilt is expiated. Isaiah
says, f" God teareth asunder the veil that hideth" the
nations; raiseth the covering that covereth all peoples;
annihilateth death, and wipeth the tear from every eye."

The characteristic of Ezekiel is his enforcement of
the doctrine of God's unconditional justice. The
judgment of God is pronounced on all souls. J Each
soul will be judged individually ; the sinful soul will
be visited with death, i. e., annihilation ; the just with
life, i. e. salvation. If the just soul depart from justice,
and turn to evil, it will be punished. If the wicked
turn from transgression and pursue the path of right-
eousness, it will receive forgiveness, and attain to
immortality. God is therefore prompt to forgive ;
hath pleasure in the return of the repentant sinner.
As with individual so it is with national existence.

But the second Isaiah is peculiarly the prophet of
the unfortunate, of the oppressed and sorrowing. In
every accent of tender love, he calls them to God,
He will feed his flock like a shepherd ; He will gather

* Isaiah 11. 9. t Isaiah 25. 7, 8.

t So also Moses. 5 Mos. 24. 16. ; again, ibid, 30. 6, 15, 19.
A. M. G.

Isaiah 40. 11.



116 . LECTURE V.

the lambs with His arm and carry them in His bosom ;
*He giveth power to the faint ; and to them who have
no might He increaseth strength. He saysf " Ho every
one that thirsteth, come to the waters ; and he that
hath no money, come ye, buy and eat : yea, buy wine
and milk without money and without price." He con-
siders it his especial vocation to preach good tidings
unto the meek. J " He hath sent me to bind up the bro-
ken-hearted ; to proclaim liberty to the captives, and
the opening of the prison to them that are bound."

The thought of most frequent recurrence to him is,
" Thus saith the Lord, The heaven is my throne and
the earth my footstool, but to that man will I look,
even to him that is poor and of a contrite spirit, and
trembleth at my word." But all the glory of the earth
is as nought in His sight, for|| "Behold the nations are
as a drop of a bucket, and are counted as the small
dust of the balance."

The transition hence to the so-called Hagiographa, is
easily perceived. They form the third division of the
Old Testament, and a specific and necessary phase of the
development of the religious Idea. We select for ex-
amination the Psalms, the Book of Job, and the Pro-
verbs of Solomon. Doubtless a part of these writings
preceded the prophets whose works we possess. Some
of the Psalms were composed by David and his contem-
poraries; of many of the Proverbs, Solomon is the
author ; and, according to my view, (founded upon the
style and the description of manners it contains), the
Book of Job dates from the times of the Judges.
These productions are, for the most part, unconnected
with the march of events historically considered, and

* Isaiah 40. 29. t 55. 1. J 61. 1. 66. 1, 2. || 40. 15.



THE HAGIOGRAPHA. 117

appertain to the individual. But we must recollect
also, that the individual lives amid, and is influenced
by, the circumstances of his age and its prevailing
mental tendencies, and that the mass is but composed
of the aggregate of individual existences.

The characteristic of these writings, and one which
renders them an integral and essential portion of the
whole edifice of the religious Idea, is that they express
subjective religion, i. e., the religion and piety of the
individual. Mosaism and Prophetism declare the ob-
jective doctrines of God, the world, and mankind.
The Hagiographa enlarge on the relation of God to
the individual, and of the individual to his God. Mo-
saism in teaching the direct connection of the Deity
with mankind by means of His Providence, of judg-
ment, and revelation, places God and man in direct
relation to each other. The necessary consequence
was, that man perceived this relation to be not only
objective, (i. e. existing in the social man) but he felt
himself also to be, in his strict individuality, in inti-
mate connection with his Maker; and thus is evolved
subjective religion, i. e., man in his individual destiny,
his individual position, in fine, in his every relation;
and in his conformation, physical, intellectual, and
moral. And this view is perfectly consistent ; for the
all-embracing, all-seeing God, who hath divided this
universe into its manifold parts and sections, must have
regard, not alone to the species, but to the individual.
The ' Writings' thus portray the various emotions expe-
rienced by the individual in his relation to his God, in
the ever-changing scenes of life ; and the conceptions
of the Deity induced by these emotions. As the
writings of Moses, notwithstanding their nationality



118 LECTURE V.

of costume, are emphatically the book of mankind,
the Prophets the book of the nations, so are the
'Writings' the book of the individual man. In all
ages, therefore, and under all climes, have they ever
found their way to the hearts of all God-loving men.

The subject-matter of these Hagiographa, is the
suffering and struggling human being. In the vortex
of actual life, amid the friction, the contending and
selfish efforts of mankind, is he destined to battle.
He feels his own strength to be insufficient, and seeks
a higher support, an immovable stay, in God. He
falls, the power of his adversaries overcomes him.
He seeks more efficient help, firmer support, protec-
tion, and safety, in God. This it is of which
these writings treat; in this consists subjective re-
ligion. The richest in these treasures are the Psalms.
They are a collection of devotional lyrics, uttering in
accents the most touching, in forms and modes of
language the most varied, the thoughts, sensations,
and emotions of suffering, struggling man. The ma-
jority of these Psalms are prayers for deliverance from
enemies, for punishment of the godless, who oppress
the innocent. Thus the judgment of God is sometimes
invoked, sometimes pronounced; for He judges the
people, the rulers, and the universe, with inflexible
justice. He who trieth the heart and the reins, who
knoweth the secrets of all spirits, the all- seeing Lord,
He annihilateth the wicked, is unto them who trust
in Him, help, shield, banner, saviour, shepherd, refuge,
and light. Let every one therefore trust in the Lord,
for He is his help and his shield. Unto Him shall
men turn in every peril, for He is faithful and full of
compassion. Men's unhappiness is often caused by



THE HAGIOGRAPIIA. 119

sin, for the forgiveness of which we must pray. But
God's mercy is without limit. He remembereth that we
are but dust. He is the protector of the oppressed.
He chastiseth, but delivereth not unto death. He is
nigh unto the poor and wretched, and granteth victory.

Then again the delivered pours forth his song of
thanksgiving, for the salvation and help that God hath
vouchsafed unto him in the hour of his sorest peril.
And with this is connected the universal song of praise,
in which God is addressed as the Creator of the
Universe, Almighty Ruler of the Earth, the Revealer
of the truth which leadeth man to the right path, the
Providence, whose counsels are unsearchable. Unto
Him must man submit. Him must he fear, love, and
worship. In Him must he rejoice and be glad. Him
must he acknowledge as the Eternal God, for ever and
ever.

The Psalms must doubtlessly be understood from
the subjective point of view. They are not intended
to present us with objective doctrine. They express
the conceptions, which man, in the various phases of
life, forms of the Deity. The pictures are often highly
coloured. But every chord of human feeling and
aspiration is touched, and the ever-present unfailing
conviction of God's existence and government, pours
forth into the trembling heart of man, peace, security,
and consolation. No writings are more instructive and
interesting than these Psalms, the lyric utterances of the
Jewish race. They may be compared with the hymns and
odes of Pindar, or the chorusses of the Greek tragedy.
In the latter, we have the cold marble, wrought by the
hand of art into the most perfect forms, and the
highest plastic beauty ; in the former, the warm palpi-



120 LECTURE V.

tating human heart, whence the fresh rapid stream
of life gushes freely forth. In these creations we at
once clearly perceive the contrast presented, and the
missions to be respectively fulfilled, by these, the two
most important nations of antiquity, Hellas and Israel.
Both have exercised a powerful influence on mankind;
the one on temporal or human things, the other on
things imperishable, eternal, on the inmost being of
man.

The Book of Job treats the same question in all its
bearings more exclusively and more extensively, viz. :
the actual life of suffering man, in his relation to the
Deity. But what is matter of feeling and impulse only
in the Psalms, is elevated in Job into a matter of con-
sciousness, artistically elaborated to a definite proposi-
tion. The question itself, in its various solutions,
assumes a dramatic form. Job himself opens the in-
quiry 'Why does God permit so much evil to visit
man, in this, his brief pilgrimage on earth ?' The
friends of Job undertake to reply to this query, after
the old accepted manner. ' God is just ;' every affliction
is punishment for transgression. Job refutes this, partly
from general, and partly from personal experience.
Then every sufferer would be indicated to be criminal,
every prosperous man to be a hero of virtue. The con-
trary is endlessly manifest, since many known sinners
enjoy immunity from suffering, and many sufferers are
unconscious of guilt, comparable with their sufferings
in intensity. A higher solution must be sought, which
God in fact Himself declares, viz : everything in nature
has its fixed purpose assigned to it by God. This pur-
pose is achieved by the most appropriate means. By
virtue of the co-operation [and arrangement of these



THE HAGIOGRAPHA. 121

several purposes, nature exists. These designs are
proofs in themselves of the wisdom of the designer.
The inevitable deduction, left by the artistic handling
of the argument, for the reader himself to make,
although prepared in the introduction and conclusion,
is this : an allwise purpose is contained in the vicissi-
tudes and sorrows of human life ; these last tend to the
continued endurance of the race of man, to the develop-
ment of the mental power by the exercise of piety and
resignation : thus is man led by suffering to a higher
goal.

The Book of Job presents a grand picture of human
life. As to style, religious depth, and artistic per-
fection, it has been, and still remains, unequalled.
What it contains and sets forth, is yet as true, as un-
changed, as though this very day it had first been
uttered. The same lamentations over the innumerable
ills of life, the same condemnatory judgment upon the
fallen, are still heard from the lips of selfish dogmatists.
But the consolatory inferences we draw at the present
moment from this argument, are not more striking nor
sublime, than those furnished by this glorious poem.
With all this, a spirit of humanity pervades the book,
a deep sympathy for human sorrow, a knowledge of
human weakness, touches of a morality the most re-