s of it. All down the Jewish history
in the midst of a dark world came these mysterious voices telling of a
holy God,--teaching, threatening, pleading, encouraging, pointing to a
gradually brightening ideal and to the hope of some Great One who yet
was to come. And to deepen its impressiveness notice that these
prophets asserted passionately their conviction: "These are not our
words. These are not our thoughts, God has put them into us." "The
word of the Lord came unto me. Hear ye therefore the word of the
Lord." How could the people doubt it? They were not good people.
They were stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears, "who did
always resist the Holy Ghost". They hated the high teaching. They
killed the prophets and stoned those who were sent unto them. But
conscience insisted that these prophets were right and, by and by, in
deep remorse they built them sepulchres and treasured up what fragments
they could find of their sacred words. How could they help it? Put
yourself in their place. Do you not feel that you must have done the
same if you had been there?

2.--The same is evidently true of the Psalms, the hymns of the Jewish
Church. They, too, owe their position to the appeal which they made to
the highest in men. They were the utterances of noble souls who with
all their imperfections knew and loved God, and all kindred souls then
and since have felt their power in inspiring the spiritual life. The
author's name did not matter. In most cases it was not known.

The position of the Psalter, then, is not due to any author's name, to
any Council's sanction, but to its compelling appeal to the highest
side of men in that old Jewish Community. That was how the Holy Spirit
wrought in making the Bible. Judged by the higher standard of Jesus
Christ we can see imperfections and faults due to the poor imperfect
men who wrote the Psalter. Strange if it were otherwise in that dark
age in which it grew. But when all allowance has been made for these,
who can doubt that that Psalter, which has been so powerful in
inspiring human life through the ages since, caught on to men's souls
in those early days and convinced them that it came from God.

Again let us test its compelling power on ourselves. Keep back still
in that dim old world with its self-seeking, and idolatries, and human
sacrifices, and lustful abominations, with no real sense of sin, no
longings after holiness, and listen to the Jewish