12.—The Bible is Unique.

Considered from a mere literary point of view, the Bible stands amid the long catalogue of books, ancient and modern, majestically alone, but yet not isolated. In character, style, and manner of origin it is strangely unique. One of its features which strikes me very forcibly is the manner in which it speaks of man, even of the nation of which it first formed a sacred book. The language of the Bible at all times seeks to deprive man of that feeling so dear to his heart—that pride of power and greatness over his enemies—that boastful self-confidence which we see fostered and encouraged in other ancient books. It never praises man's prowess, never gratifies natural pride. When great feats are accomplished, the human element, in the acts which bring them about, is invariably held in abeyance, while the fact of a Divine interference is affirmed in the most emphatic manner. Nor is its treatment of individuals different from that of the nation. If persons are noticed, all their good and virtuous actions are attributed to the "Spirit being upon them," and when men whose general characters have proved good, are found to have done wrong, the Bible does not gloss over the matter, but, with the most natural expressiveness, tells the blackest as well as the brightest incidents page 29 connected with the story. On the other hand, if any character is introduced, the main features of whose life are bad, we find that his best actions are recorded with a grand candour. The Bible has no heroes of virtue, whose lives throughout are never blemished by a fault, and who are held up in contrast to some demons of vice, whose lives never present one trait of virtue, to relieve the black monotony of their wicked career. Throughout its 66 books, written by about 30 different persons, whose lives were separated in some instances by long periods of time, and whose surroundings were varied, both politically and socially, to a very noteworthy extent, the above marked principle is never violated. One spirit permeates the whole. This peculiarity alone points to some extraordinary source of authorship. Another fact which impresses me strongly is, the exclusively singular manner in which the Bible represents Deity Himself. All sacred books have their deities, but only in the Bible do we find such a Deity. Its first verse declares Him to be the Creator of the universe; and, with a remarkable consistency, this declaration is held forth as the great distinction between Him and the gods of the heathen, from Genesis to Revelation. Creation in all other sacred books is a mystery, for which they can provide no solution. Nor can the results of investigations into Nature and her laws give much relief from the obscurity. In the Bible only can I find anything approaching a satisfactory definition of a first cause. In the Bible God is represented as the Universal Deity. Heathen gods were local and partial; the God of the Bible is omnipresent. Men might act while heathen gods slept or were away on a journey. The Bible only, carries the student back into the undiscovered ages, where the Eternal Diety exists alone—exists everywhere, and in possession of all those attributes which constitute Him what He is. God is the one character of the Bible, and it is full of Him. The world has produced no other book which has assigned such an important position to the character and claims of the author of all things. His existence and transcendent supremacy are in no other composition represented with such beauty and majesty. It speaks of those matters with no indecision or hesitation, but rather with perfect certainty. It makes no effort and experiences no difficulty in presenting its ideas of God; but, inversely, it is as if the writers could only with difficulty restrain their grand expressions concerning the being, nature, and works of God.