4. Once more. It seems perfectly clear that the prophets in many cases did not understand their own writings. We are sometimes told that we must only understand the prophecies as the prophets themselves did. But if we were to act on that rule, it must follow that in many cases we could not understand them at all; for we know, in fact, that Daniel had to pray for an understanding of the prophecy just conveyed through his own lips, and we are distinctly taught by St. Peter that the prophets inquired and searched diligently into the meaning of their own prophecies. (1 Pet. i. 11.) ‘Searching what, or what manner of time the Spirit of Christ which was in them did signify, when it testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ, and the glory that should follow.’ This also I have no doubt is the meaning of the expression, ‘No prophecy is of any private interpretation’ (2 Pet. i. 20), ἰδίας ἐπιλύσεως οὐ γίνεται, ‘Has not arisen out of private interpretation,’ and is not the result of the writer’s own thoughts, ‘but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.’ But, if this were the case, the whole prophecy must depend on verbal accuracy. If they were employed to speak words which had a certain deep, hidden meaning, unknown to themselves, and intended by God to remain unknown until their meaning should be made manifest by fulfilment at the coming of the Lord, surely we must admit that it was the words and not the thoughts which God inspired. The thoughts were actually withheld from the prophets, but they were moved to utter words which required events then unknown to bring out their true meaning. 5. But it may be said that this applies to the predictive portions of Scripture only, and not to the historical. It possibly may, and the last argument clearly does. But have we any thing to lead us to suppose that there is one kind of inspiration for the predictive, and another for the historical portions? Are they not all spoken of as one book? Are not many of these verbal quotations included in the historical portions, as _e.g._ the promise made to Abraham? Unless, therefore, it can be proved to me that there is such a distinction drawn by divine authority, I feel it my privilege to regard the whole as one, to receive the whole with equal reverence, and to accept the whole, prediction, psalm, history, facts, thoughts, and words, as the inspired Word of the living God.