There may be much of what is fallible and human with what is truthful and divine. Suppose, however, that on some Sabbath morning, he could with authority stand up and say that what is now about to be declared is not his, but God's--that he is in ignorance of what the utterance will really be, and that in simple fact, God is to speak through him, using his lips only as the medium of communication; you have here an instance of what is meant by plenary inspiration. And this we say is the case with the prophets. These "holy men of God spake _as_ they were moved by the Holy Ghost. Not in the _words_ which man's wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth." 2. _Their Conduct_. They "enquired and searched diligently." (i.) What is implied in the _search_ they made? It would seem as if for the moment the thought of their inspiration was dropped; and like other earnest students of the Bible, they now search to ascertain the meaning of their own, and each other's prophecies. There is here, however, an incidental, though strong proof of the justice of their claims. The predictions they uttered were not their own conceptions; not the product of their own reasoning; and perhaps not even engraven on their own memory. They gave expression to statements beyond themselves, and the meaning of which at the time, they did not understand. And when (if we may so say) the breath of inspiration had passed from them, they sat down to discover by diligent search the import of those utterances which they had made. They had _written_ for _the world_: they now _enquired_ for _themselves_. Their _predictions_ are by the grace of God, the property of the Church: their _search_ is for their own personal benefit. The truths they proclaim, become the power of God to their own comfort and purity. The metaphor is taken from the employment of a miner who digs deeply into the caverns of the earth that he may find its treasures; and by their appropriation enrich himself. The prophets were not satisfied with the mere knowledge of the fact that the mine existed, and that its contents were more brilliant than any of Golconda, and beyond the price of rubies. They went to dig for themselves; and seizing the precious pearls of truth, they enriched and beautified and ennobled their own character, until their shining became too glorious for earth: they were then translated to heaven to sparkle amid eternal sunshine, and burn in glory for ever. How solemnly does the Great Teacher's injunction sound in our ears--"Search the Scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life; and they are they which testify of Me."