t the meaning of the first resurrection,
believing that it is one of the mysteries which God alone will reveal in
its fulfilment. But whether it should be taken literally or
figuratively, after the analogy of the resurrection of the two witnesses
(chap. 11:11), it does not seem reasonable to build upon this obscure
and difficult passage a doctrine respecting our Lord's pre-millennial
advent and personal reign on earth which is so decidedly at variance
with the general tenor of Scripture.

CHAPTER XXXIX.

QUOTATIONS FROM THE OLD TESTAMENT IN THE NEW.

1. As it respects inspiration, and consequent infallible authority, the
quotations of the New Testament stand on a level with the rest of the
apostolic writings. The Saviour's promise was: "When he, the Spirit of
truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth;" literally, "into all
the truth," that is, as immediately explained, all the truth pertaining
to the Redeemer's person and work. When, therefore, after the fulfilment
of this promise, Peter and the other apostles expounded to their
brethren the Scriptures of the Old Testament, wherein the Spirit of
Christ "testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ, and the glory
that should follow," the same "Spirit of Christ" guided them to a true
apprehension of their meaning. If we cannot trust Peter and Paul, whom
Christ himself personally commissioned to preach his gospel, qualified
for this work by the gift of the Holy Spirit, and endowed with
miraculous powers as the seal of their commission--if we cannot trust
these men to interpret the words of the Old Testament, then we cannot
trust the guidance of the Divine Spirit himself. But when we have
admitted, as we must, the authority of the New Testament writers as
interpreters of the Old Testament, a very important question remains to
be considered; and that is the _manner of their quotations_. This
question we propose briefly to examine in respect to both _outward form_
and _inward contents_.

2. As it respects _outward form_, we cannot but notice at once the _very
free spirit_ of these quotations. It is manifest that these inspired
penmen are not anxious about the verbal accuracy of the words cited. The
spirit and scope of a passage, which constitute its true life and
meaning, are what they have in view, not the exact number of words
literally translated from Hebrew into Greek. It is well known that a
very large part of their quotations is made from the Greek v