Chapter 4
Inspiration
132. What is inspiration, and into how many kinds is it divided?
Any supernatural influence on the mind of man that enables him to discover truth or to
understand it, which by the exertion of his natural powers he would not have discovered
or understood so clearly, may be called inspiration. As to its object, therefore, it may be
considered
1. As leading to the knowledge of truth before unknown
2. As affording clearer knowledge of truth before known
3. As giving assurance to the mind of the truth, of such things as we have
observed ourselves, or heard from others
But with respect to which when left to ourselves we are liable to fall into mistakes, it has
been distinguished into that of
1. Suggestion
2. General superintendency
3. Of elevation
133. What is meant by inspiration of immediate suggestion?
That by which the Spirit of God reveals particular truths to the mind immediately. This
revelation may be of words as well as of things, or the truth may be revealed and it may
be left to the person inspired to clothe it in his own language.
134. What is meant by superintendency and elevation?
Superintendency is that by which the Spirit influences the inspired person to write or
speak such things as he may know by the common means of acquiring information but
which preserves him from the errors incident to human imperfection.
Elevation exists where no new truths are revealed and when no particular
superintendencies are required, and it consists in strengthening and elevating all the
powers of the mind for some special purpose so that the production shall far exceed the
natural abilities of the person.
Such inspiration we may suppose existed in those who composed divine songs
and also when persons were called to make their defense before kings and governors. But
in the latter case it would appear that the very words as well as the ideas were suggested
to them by the Holy Ghost. In the composition of divine poems and psalms, something
more was necessary to preserve from error than mere elevation of mind.
It is doubtful, therefore, whether this ought to be considered as a distinct species,
for we have reason to believe that even preachers and writers may have their minds
elevated by a divine influence, but we cannot say that they are inspired, for that which
distinguishes inspiration from the illumination of which all Christians partake is that by
the former something unknown is revealed, whilst by the latter, the mind is furnished
with a spiritual discernment of truths that speculatively were well understood before.
135. Is this distinction correct?
Not altogether.
136. What kind and degree of inspiration is to be ascribed to the sacred writers?
1. The plenary inspiration of the sacred Scriptures should be maintained.
2. Though the inspiration was plenary, yet there is no necessity of supposing any greater
influence on the mind of the person inspired than what was sufficient to accomplish
the object in view.
3. The proper method, therefore, of ascertaining the kinds and degrees of inspiration will
be to consider the difference of the matter contained in the Holy Scriptures.
4. Many things in Scripture must be considered a direct revelation from God, both as to
the ideas and words, such as laws and positive institutions; prophecies, whether literal
or symbolical; and to this class belong also the discourses and sayings of our Lord
Jesus Christ, who was the great medium of communication between God and man.
5. But many things contained in Scripture are of such a nature that they could be known,
and some of them must be known by those who received them without any revelation.
The question, then, is what need was there of inspiration to write such things? Answer:
it was necessary
1. To guide the persons in the selection of facts and circumstances
2. To preserve them from such slips of memory as all men are liable to, and to
revive in their memory such discoveries as could not be exactly retained too
long a time
3. To assure them of facts they may have received only on probable evidence
6. It is not necessary to suppose that, in writing such parts of the Scriptures, the very
words were suggested to them, as the truth of the facts and not the beauty or sublimity
of the language was the object in view, and the great variety of style in the sacred
Scriptures evinces that the writers were in a good degree left to choose their own
language.
But as the precision and perspicuity with which truth is communicated depends
greatly on the language by which it is conveyed in order to [receive] a clear revelation
of the will of God, it was necessary that fallible and especially unlearned men should
be under a particular guidance in the selection of their words so as to preserve them
from ambiguous and improper terms. The rule, therefore, seems to be this: that as far
as was necessary for certainty and perspicuity in the things revealed, there was a
superintending influence in guiding to the selection of proper words.
7. Many compositions contained in Scripture are of a devotional and moral kind, such as
psalms and prayers. These, when they proceed from pious men, are to be considered as
inspired, though we are not to consider every declaration or discourse in the sacred
Scriptures as inspired, as those of Job's friends, the speeches of wicked men.1
8. The last class of Scripture truths are such as contain reasonings and discussions on
particular points, such as the epistles of the apostles. Here we think that the writers
were under a divine guidance so as to be preserved from error, but in the choice of
words and in the particular style of writing and method of reasoning were left very
much to their own natural genius. So far, however, as divine assistance was requisite
to make the reasoning correct and to guide them to proper words by which to express
their ideas, so far was it afforded to the inspired writers.
1 [Alexander's purpose in this discussion is to differentiate the providential operations in how God immediately and directly inspired from His Holy Spirit the various sayings and accounts of variously morally qualified persons in the Scriptures, probably from critics who criticized inspiration as a simplistic (and therefore untrue) concept. While Alexander rightly denies the immediate and direct inspiration by the Holy Ghost to the evil speeches of men in Scripture (evil does not come from God), yet there is no reason to believe that Alexander did not believe that the special governance of God was still upon those evil speeches and that the entirety of the sixty-six books of Scripture are still authoritative canon for the church, rightly interpreted in their context.]
136. Were the words as well as the ideas revealed?
See the answer to the proceeding question.
137. In how many different ways were revelations made?
1. Many truths recorded in Scripture were spoken by God Himself or by Jesus Christ, the
Son of God. Thus, immediate intercourse existed between God and the first man.
2. Truths not capable of being known by reason were revealed to chosen men by
immediate suggestion to the mind, as the gospel to Paul.
3. Revelations were frequently made by visions, in which by some symbolical
representations the persons were instructed in the truths intended to be made known.
4. Revelations were made by dreams, of this we have numerous examples.
5. They were made by the mission of angels.
6. By Urim and Thummim, and voices, or as the Jews say2 בת קול.
2 ]For the urim and thummim, see Ex. 28:30 and Num. 27:21. The Hebrew above is pronounced "bat kohl" and literally means "daughter of a voice," or, "the proceedings of a voice," namely God's voice. The term was given by the Jews for the places in the Old Testament where God audibly spoke from heaven, though many superstitious and extrabiblical legends became attributed to this term.]