he other prophets of a later age, shed each a light on the pages of all
the rest. The same is true of all the epistolary writers of the New
Testament, notwithstanding their marked differences of style, and the
different aspects also in which they respectively contemplate Christian
doctrine and duty.

Our Saviour says of those who claimed to be, before his advent, the
shepherds and leaders of God's spiritual fold: "All that ever came
before me are thieves and robbers; but the sheep did not hear them."
John 10:8. Yet according to this same evangelist he honored Abraham,
Moses, and the prophets, as true leaders and teachers of God's people.
Chaps. 8:39, 40, 56; 5:45-47; 12:38-41. We know, then, that the
Saviour's words must be restricted to such spiritual thieves and robbers
as the scribes and Pharisees of his day, who under the leadership of
Satan (chap. 8:41, 44) climbed up some other way into the fold.

The apostle Paul says (Rom. 2:7) that God shall render "to them who by
patient continuance in well-doing seek for glory, and honor, and
immortality, eternal life." We know at once, without reference to the
context, that he does not mean, in opposition to the whole tenor of his
epistles, to affirm that men can obtain eternal life by their own
well-doing, without respect to "the righteousness of God, which is by
faith of Jesus Christ, unto all and upon all them that believe." But if
we examine the context, this shows that here the apostle is not speaking
of the meritorious ground of justification, but of God's impartial
regard to a righteous character in both Jews and Gentiles.

_Historical_ parallelisms hold of necessity a prominent place in the
interpretation of both the Old and the New Testament. In the Old
Testament we have the two parallel histories of the Hebrew commonwealth,
first in the books of Samuel and the Kings, then in the books of
Chronicles. In the New, the four gospels are four parallel accounts of
our Lord's life and teachings. Then there are several parallelisms of
less extent; as, for example, Isaiah's account of Sennacherib's war upon
Hezekiah, and Hezekiah's sickness (Isa. chaps. 36-39, compared with 2
Kings 18:13-20:21, and the briefer notice of 2 Chron. chap. 32); the
three accounts of Paul's conversion (Acts 9:1-22; 22:1-21; 26:1-20); and
other passages which will readily occur to the reader. To the work of
comparing and harmonizing these parallel histories biblical students
have with reason devo