Part 35
PRiETORIUM, prS-to'ri-um (irpaiTcapiov, praito-
rion, Mt 27 27 [AV "common hall"]; Mk 15 16; Jn 18 28.33; 19 9 [in all m "palace," and in the last three AV "judgment hall"]; Acts 23 35, [Herod's] "palace," m "Praetorium," AV "judgment hall"; Phil 1 13, "praetorian guard" [m "Gr 'in the whole Praetorium,' " AV "palace," m "Caesar's court"]):
it is now beheved, is the praetorium to which Paul
refers.
The meaning, therefore, of the words, "My bonds in Christ are manifest in the whole praetorium," will be that when Paul wrote the Ep. to the Phil his first Rom trial was aheady so far advanced that he had been able to impress upon his judges, the twenty assessors and their president, the fact that he was no evildoer, but that the sole cause of his imprisonment was his loyalty to Christ. It was manifest to all the members of the emperor's court of appeal that Paul was enduring his long imprisonment, suffering wrongfully, but only for the sake of Jesus Christ.
The Praetorium was originally the headquarters of a Rom camp, but in the provinces the name became attached to the governor's
1. Governofficial residence. In order to provide or's OflB.- residences for their provincial govern-
cial Resiors, the Romans were accustomed to dence seize and appropriate the palaces which were formerly the homes of the princes or kings in conquered countries. Such a residence might sometimes be in a royal palace, as was probably the case in Caesarea, where the procurator used Herod's palace (Acts 23 35). The Praetorium where Jesus was brought to trial has been traditionally located in the neighborhood
The important bearing will be seen which this signification of "praetorium" in this passage has on the question of the order in which Eph. Phil,
A Rparinir *-^°' ^"^"^ Philem—the epp. of Paul's cap- ?. 11 tivity in Rome—were written. On sutaon Paul S jective evidence Lightfoot concludes that Captivity P'^i' '^ the earliest of them, basing his anH Trial Opinion largely on the resemblance which anu iiiai exists in many particulars between the thoughts and expressions in Phil and in the Ep. to the Rom. making Phil, as it were, a connecting link between Paul's earlier and his later epp. See Lightfoot, Philippians,42f; he writes: "These resemblances suggest as early a date for the Ep. to the Phil as circumstances will allow." earlier, that is, than Col and Eph. But Lightfoot's argument is set aside Ijy the new light wliich has been thrown upon the real meaning of "pnetorium." Sir W. ]VI. Ramsay (,S(. Paul the Trateller, 357) writes: "The trial seems to have occurred toward the end of AD Gl. Its earliest stages were over before Paul wrote to the Philippians, for he says, 'The things which happened unto me liave fallen out rather unto the progress of the Good News ; so that my lionds became manifest in Christ in the whole Prcrtorium, and
of the present Turkish barracks where 2. In Gosonce stood the Antonia and where was pels stationed a large garrison (cf Acts 21 Herod's 32-35), but the statements of Jos make Palace it almost certain that the headquarters of the procurator were at Herod's palace. This was a building whose magnificence Jos can hardly sufficiently appraise (Wars, I, xxi, 1; V,
iv, 4). It was in this palace that "Florus, theprocurator took up his quarters, and having placed his tribunal in front of it, held his sessions and the chief priests, influential persons and notables of the city appeared before the tribunal" (Wars, II, xiv,
8). Later on, "Florus .... brought such as were with him out of the king's palace, and would have
2429 THE INTERNATIONAL STANDARD BIBLE ENCYCLOPAEDIA Praetorian Guard Praise
of it in human consciousness; and so Paul associates praise with virtue as an aid and incentive to holy living on which the mind should dwell (Phil 4 8). In the Bible it is God who is esp. brought before us as the object of praise. His whole creation praises Him, from the angels of heaven
compelled them to get as far as the citadel [Antonia]
but his attempt failed" (II, xv, 5). The word tr"" "palace" here is aule, the same word as is tr"^ "court" in Mk 15 16, "the soldiers led him away within the court [aule], which is the Prsetorium." There is no need to suppose that Herod Antipas was in the same palace (Lk 23 4 ff) ; it is more probable he went to the palace of the Hasmoneans which lay lower down on the eastern slope of this southwest hill, where at a later time Jos expressly states that Herod Agrippa II and his sister Bernice were living (Wars, II, xvi, 3).
3. With (Ps 103 20; Rev 5 11) to those lower God as Its existences that are unconscious or Object even inanimate (Ps 19 1-4; 148 1-
10; Rev 5 13). But it is with the praises offered to God by man, and with the human duty of praising God, that the Scriptures are principally concerned. In regard to this subject the following points may be noticed:
The palace of Herod occupied the highest part of the southwest hill near the northwest angle of the ancient city, now traditionally called Zion, and the actual site of the Praetorium cannot have been
(1) The grounds of praise.—Sometimes God is praised for His inherent qualities. His majesty (Ps 104 1) or holiness (Isa 6 3) fills the mind, and He is "glorified as God" (Rom 1 21) in view of what He essentially is. More frequently He is praised for His works in creation, providence, and redemption. References may be dispensed with
far removed from the Turkish barracks near the so-called "Tower of David." It is interesting to note that the two stations of the Turkish garrison of Jerus today occupy the same spots as did the Rom garrison of Christ's time. It is needless to point out how greatly this view of the situation of the Prfetorium must modify the traditional claims of the "Via Dolorosa," the whole course of which depends on the theory that the "Way of Sorrow" began at the Antonia, the Praetorium of late ecclesi-
here, for the evidence meets us on almost every page of the sacred literature from Gen to Rev, and the Book of Ps in particular, from beginning to end, is occupied with these themes. When God's operations under these aspects present themselves, not simply as general effects of His power and wisdom, but as expressions of His personal love to the individual, the nation, the church, His works become benefits, and praise passes into blessing and thanksgiving (Pss 34, 103; Eph 1 3; 1 Pet 1 3).
astical tradition. See also Gabbatha.
With regard to the expression if o\w tw TrpatTupi'a,, en hdlo
if> praitorio, in Phil 113, there is now a general consensus
of opinion that "Praetorium" here means, STj. ] <.io not a place, but the imperial pr^torian
• *^nii 1 . 10 guard, ten thousand in number, which was instituted by Augustus. St. Paul was allowed to reside in his private house in the custody of a praetorian soldier. As these were doubtless constantly changed, it must have become "manifest" to the whole guard that his bonds were for the salie of Christ. See also preceding article.
(2) The modes of praise.—True praise of God, as distinguished from false praise (Isa 29 13; Mt 15
8), is first of all an inward emolion—a gladness and rejoicing of the heart (Ps 4 7; 33 21), a music of the soul and spirit (Ps 103 1; Lk 1 46 f) which no language can adequately express (Ps 106 2; 2 Cor 9 15). But utterance is natural to strong emotion, and the mouth instinctively strives to express the praises of the heart (Ps 51 15 and passim). Many of the most moving passages in Scripture come from the inspiration of the spirit of praise awakened by the contemplation of the Divine majesty or power or wisdom or kindness, but above
, E. W. G. Masterman PRAISE, praz (n3nri, t'hillah, "psakn,"
"praise," HHin, todhah, "confession," "thanks-
giving," nSlC , shabhah, "to praise,"
1. Its "glorify," TOT, zamar, ^']\, yadhah, Meaning "to stretch out the hand," "confess";
alve'o), aineo, ivaivia, epaineo, tiraivos,
epainos): The word comes from the Lat pre-
lium, "price," or "value," and may be defined
generally as an ascription of value or worth. Praise may be bestowed upon unworthy objects or from improper motives, but true praise consists in a
all by the revelation of redeeming love. Again, the spirit of praise is a social spirit calling for social
utterance. The man who praises God desires to praise Him in the hearing of other men (Ps 40 10), and desires also that their praises should be joined with his own (34 3). Further, the spirit of praise
sincere acknowledgment of a real conviction of worth. Its type may be seen in the representa-
tion given in the Apocalypse of the adoration of God and of the Lamb, which is inspired by a
is a spirit of song. It may find expression in other ways—in sacrifice (Lev 7 13), or testimony (Ps 66 16), or prayer (Col 1 3); but it finds its most natural and its fullest utterance in lyrical and musical forms. When God fills the heart with praise He puts a new song into the mouth (Ps 40
sense of their worthiness to be adored (Rev 4
11; 5 12). Man may be the object of praise, and may receive
it either from God or from his fellow-men. In the former case (Rom 2 29; 1 Cor 4 5)
2. With the praise is inevitably just, as resting Man as Its on a Divine estimate of worth; in the
3) . The Book of Ps is the proof of this for the OT. And when we pass to the NT we find that, alike for angels and men, for the church on earth and the church in heaven, the higher moods of praise express themselves in bursts of song (Lk 2 14; Eph 5 19; Col 3 16; Rev 5 9; 14 3; 15 3). Finally, both
Object latter case its value depends upon
the grounds and motives that he
behind it. There is a praise which is itself a condemnation (Lk 6 26), an honor which seals the
eyes in unbehef (Jn 5 44), a careless use of the
in the OT and NT, the spirit of song gives birth to ordered modes of public praise. In their earlier expressions the praises of Israel were joyful outbursts
epithet "good" which is di.shonoring to God (Lk
18 19). This is the "praise of men" which Jesus warned His followers to shun as being incompatible
in which song was mingled with shouting and dancing to a rude accompaniment of timbrels and trumpets (Ex 15 20 IT; 2 S 6 5.14 ff). In later times Israel had its sacred Psalter, its guilds of
with the "praise of God" (Mt 6 1-4; cf Jn 12
43; Gal 1 10; 1 Thess 2 6). On the other hand,
there is a praise that is the instinctive homage
of the soul to righteousness (Lk 23 47), the acknowledgment given to well-doing by just gov-
trained singers (Ezr 2 41; Neh 7 44), its skilled musicians (Pss 42, 49, etc); and the praise that waited for God in Zion was full of the solemn beauty
ernment (Rom 13 3; 1 Pet 2 14), the tribute of
the churches to distinguished Christian service
of holiness (Ps 29 2; 96 9). In the NT the
(2 Cor 8 18). Such praise, so far from being in-
Psalter is still a manual of social praise. The
compatible with the praise of God, is a reflection
Prayer Prayers of Jesus THE INTERNATIONAL STANDARD BIBLE ENCYCLOPAEDIA 2430
in which intercession is mingled with doxology (Eph 3 14-21). The history of prayer as it meets us here reflects various stages of experience and revelation. In the patriarchal period, when 'men began
"hymn" which Jesus sang with His disciples after the Last Supper (Mt 26 30) would be a Hebrew psahn, probably from the Hallel (Pss 113-118) which was used at the Passover service, and various references in the Epp. point to the continued employment of the ancient psalms in Christian worship
1. In the to call upon the name of the Lord' OT (Gen 4 26; cf 12 8; 21 33), prayer
(1 Cor 14 26; Eph 5 19; Col 3 16; Jas 5 13). But the Psalter of the Jewish church could not
is naive, familiar and direct (15 2 ff; 17 18; 18 23 ff; 24 12). It is evidently associated with sacrifice (12 8; 13 4; 26 25), the underlying idea probably being that the gift or offering would help to eMcit the desired response. Analogous to
suffice to express the distinctive moods of Christian
feeling. Original utterance of the spirit of Christian song was one of the manifestations of the gift
of tongues (1 Cor 14 1.5-17). Paul distinguishes hjTnns and spiritual songs from psalms (Eph 5 19; Col 3 16) ; and it was hymna that he and Silas sang at midnight in the prison of Philippi (Acts 16 25 RV). But from hymns and songs that were the spontaneous utterance of individual feeling the development was natural, in NT as in OT times, to hymns that were sung in unison by a whole congregation; and in rhythmic passages like 1 Tim 3 16; Rev 15 3 f, we seem to have fragments of a primitive Christian hymnology, such as Pliny bears witness to for the early years of the 2d cent., when he informs Trajan that the Christians of Bithynia at their morning meetings sang a hymn in alternate strains to Christ as God {Ep. x.97). See Persecution.
this is Jacob's vow, itself a species of prayer, in which the granting of desired benefits becomes the condition of promised service and fidelity (28 20 ff). In
Ihe preexilic history of Israel prayer still retains many of the primitive features of the patriarchal type (Ex 3 4; Nu 11 11-15; Jgs 6 13 if; 11 30 f;
1 S 1 11; 2 S 15 8; Ps 66 13 f). The Law has remarkably Uttle to say on the subject, differing here from the later Judaism (see Schtirer, HJP, II, i, 290, index-vol, p. 93; and cf Mt 6 5ff; 23 14; Acts 3 1; 16 13); while it confirms the association of prayer with sacrifices, which now appear, however, not as gifts in anticipation of benefits to follow, but as expiations of guilt (Dt 21 1-9) or thank offerings
for past mercies (26 1-11). Moreover, the free, frank access of the private individual to God is more and more giving place to the mediation of the
(3) The duly of -praise.—Praise is everjTvhere represented in the Bible as a duty no less than a natural impulse and a delight. To fail in this duty
priest (21 5; 26 3), the intercession of the prophet (Ex 32 11-13; 1 S 7 5-13; 12 23), the ordered approach of tabernacle and temple services (Ex 40;
is to withhold from God a glory that belongs to Him (Ps 50 23; Rom 1 20 f); it is to shut one's eyes to the signs of His presence (Isa 40 26 if), to be forgetful of His mercies (Dt 6 12), and unthankful for His kindness (Lk 6 35). If we are not to fall into these sins, but are to give to God the honor and glory and gratitude we owe Him, we must earnestly cultivate the spirit and habit of praise. From holy men of old we learn that this may be done by arousing the soul from its slothfulness and sluggishness (Ps 57 8; 103 1), by fi.xing the heart upon God (57 7; 108 1), by meditation on His works and ways (77 11 ff), by recounting His benefits (103 2), above all, for those to whom He has spoken in His Son, by dwelling upon His unspeakable gift (2 Cor 9 15; cf Rom 8 31 ff; 1 Jn 3 1). See also Worship. J. C. Lambert
1 K 8). The prophet, it is true, approaches God immediately and freely—Moses (Ex 34 34; Dt 34
10) and David (2 S 7 27) are to be numbered among the prophets—but he does so in virtue of his
office, and on the ground esp. of his possession of the Spirit and his intercessory function (cf Ezk 2 2; Jer 14 15). A new epoch in the history of prayer in Israel was brought about by the experiences of the Exile. Chastisement drove the nation to seek God more earnestly than before, and as the way of approach through the external forms of the temple and its
sacrifices was now closed, the spiritual path of prayer was frequented with a new assiduity. The devotional habits of Ezra (Ezr 7 27; 8 23), Nehemiah (Neh 2 4; 4 4.9, etc) and Daniel (Dnl 6
10) prove how large a place prayer came to hold in the individual life; while the utterances recorded in Ezr 9 6-15; Neh 1 5-11; 9 5-38; Dnl 9 4-19; Isa 63 7—64 12 serve as illustrations of the language and spirit of the prayers of the Exile, and show esp. the prominence now given to confession of sin. In any survey of the OT teaching the Psalms occupy a place by themselves, both on account of the large period they cover in the history and because we are ignorant in most cases as to the particular circumstances of their origin. But speaking generally it may be said that here we see the loftiest flights attained by the spirit of
PRAYER, prar (Sctjo-is, deesis, irpoo-e-ux^, proseuchi, (vTiv^is, enleuxis; for an excellent discussion of the meaning of these see Thayer's Lexicon, p. 126, s.v. 84t)o-is; the chief vbs. are €-uxo|''<'^i euchomai, irpocreixonai, prosetichomai, and Ssofiai, deotnai, esp. in Lk and Acts; aMu, ailed, "to ask a favor," distinguished from tpwrdu, eroldo, "to ask a question," is found occasionally) : In the Bible "prayer"
is used in a simpler and a more complex, a narrower and a wider signification. In the former case it is supplication for benefits either for one's self (petition) or for others (intercession). In the latter it is an act of worship which covers all the attitudes of the soul in its approach to God. Supphcation is at the heart of it, for prayer always springs out of a sense of need and a belief that God is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him (He 11 6). But adoration and confession and thanksgiving also find a place, so that the suppliant becomes a worshipper. It is unnecessary to distinguish all the various terms for prayer that are employed in the OT and the NT. But the fact should be noticed that in the Heb and Gr alike there are on the one hand words for prayer that denote a dheet petition or short, sharp cry of the heart in its distress (Ps 30 2; 2 Cor 12 8), and on the other "prayers" like that of Hannah
pr.aj'er under the old dispensation—the intensest craving for pardon, purity and other spiritual blessings (51, 130), the most heartfelt longing for a living communion with God HimseU (42 2; 63 1; 84 2). Here it will be convenient to deal separately with the material furnished by the Gospel narra-
tives of the life and teaching of Christ 2. In the and that found in the remaining books. NT The distinctively Christian view of prayer comes to us from the Christ of the Gospels. We have to notice His own habits in the matter (Lk 3 21; 6 12; 9 16.29; 22 32.3946; 23 34-46; Mt 27 40; Jn 17), which for all who accept Him as the revcaler of the Father and the final authority in religion immediately dissi-
(1 S 2 1-10), which is in reality a song of thanksgiving, or that of Paul, the prisoner of Jesus Christ,
2431 THE INTERNATIONAL STANDARD BIBLE ENCYCLOPAEDIA Prayer Prayers of Jesus
PRAYERS, prarz, OF JESUS:
pate all theoretical objections to the value and efficacy of prayer. Next we have His general teaching on the subject in parables (Lk 11 5-9; 18 1-14) and incidental sayings (Mt 5 44; 6 5-8; 7 7-11; 9 38; 17 21; 18 19; 21 22; 24 20; 26 41 and
1. The Lord's Prayer 2. Christ's Doctrine of Prayer Sacredness, Importunity, Conditions 3. Prayers Offered by Christ (1) The High-priestly Prayer (2) The Prayer in Gethsemane
jl's), which presents prayer, not as a mere energizing of the religious soul that is followed by bene-
(.3) The Prayers on the Cross (4) Prayer after the Resurrection (5) General Conclusions
ficial spiritual reactions, but as the request of a child to a father (6 8; 7 11), subject, indeed, to the father's will (7 11; cf 6 10; 26 39.42; 1 Jn 5 14), but secure always of loving attention and response (Mt 7 7-11; 21 22). In thus teaching us to approach God as our Father, Jesus raised prayer to its highest plane, making it not less reverent than it was at its best in OT times, while far more intimate and trustful. In the Lord's Prayer
In the history and doctrine of prayer, nothing is more important than the light shed upon the subject by the prayers of Jesus. 'These are to be studied in connection with His teaching concerning prayer found in the model of the Lord's Prayer, and gen-
eral statements and hints to His disciples.
This model of prayer is given in two forms (Mt 6 9-13; Lk 11 2-4). The differences of form sho-sv that exactness of similarity in words is
(q.v.) He summed up His ordinary teaching on the subject in a concrete example which serves as a model and breviary of prayer (Mt 6 9-13; Lk 11 2-4). But according to the Fourth Gospel, this was not His final word upon the subject. On the night of the betrayal, and in full view of His death and resurrection and ascension to God's right hand. He told His disciples that prayer was henceforth to be addressed to the Father in the name of the Son, and that prayer thus offered was sure to be granted
1. The not essential. The prayer includes Lord's adoration, supplication for the KingPrayer dom, for personal needs, for forgive-
ness, for deliverance from temptation and the ascription of glory. It is at once individual and universal; it sets the recognition of Divine things first, and yet clearly asserts the ethical and social relations of life. See Lord's Prayer, The. That men should pray is taken for granted (Mt 6 5). Its sacredness is involved in the command for privacy (Mt 6 6) ; its importunity
(Jn 16 23.24.26). The differentia of Christian prayer thus consists in its being offered in the name of Christ; while the secret of its success lies on the one hand in the new access to the Father which Christ has secured for His people (17 19; cf He 4 14-16; 10 19-22), and on the other in the fact that prayer offered in the name of Christ will be prayer in harmony with the Father's will (15 7; cf 1 Jn 3 22f; 5 13 f). In the Ads and Epp. we see the apostoUc church giving effect to Christ's teaching on prayer. It was in a praying atmosphere that the church was born
2. Christ's (Lk 11 5-9; 18 1-8); its necessary Doctrine of conditions of humility, absence of selfPrayer righteousness (Lk 18 9-14), of display and repetition (Mt 6 7); necessity of faith and a forgiving spirit (Mk 11 24-26); of agreement in social prayer (Mt 18 19); submission to the will of Christ, "in my name" (Jn 14 13). InMtll 25.26 AV, Christ thanks God: "Thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent,
and hast revealed them unto babes. 3. Prayers Even so, Father: for so it seemed good Offered by in thy sight." This language shows Christ the essence of prayer to be not the mere expression of need and request for what is required, but resort to God. The prayer gives us insight into the deeper experience of the Son with the Father, and His perfect submission to the Father's will, with thanksgiving even for what might seem inexplicable. It thus illustrates the truth that the highest form of prayer is found in the serenity of the soul.
(Acts 1 14; cf 2 1); and throughout its early history prayer continued to be its vital breath and native air (2 42; 3 1; 6 4.6 and passim). The Epp. abound in references to prayer. Those of Paul in particular contain frequent allusions to his own personal practice in the matter (Rom 1 9; Eph 1 16; Phil 1 9; 1 Thess 1 2, etc), and ma,ny exhortations to his readers to cultivate the praying habit (Rom 12 12; Eph 6 18; Phil 4 6; 1 Thess 6 17, etc). But the new and characteristic thing about Christian prayer as it meets us now is its connection with the Spirit. It has become a spiritual gift (1 Cor 14 14—16) ; and even those who have not this gift in the exceptional charismatic sense may "pray in the Spirit" whenever they come to the throne of grace (Eph 6 18; Jude ver 20). The
Mt 14 23 narrates the retirement of the Lord to a "mountain apart to pray." No word of what the prayer was is given, but the record is suggestive. Following a day of severe toil and probably excitement, Jesus betakes Himself to prayer. The reality, the true humanity of the Christ, are here revealed. The former prayer may almost be regarded as that of the Son of God addressed to the Father in the sublime communion of the Godhead. This passage emphatically is a prayer-scene of the Son of Man. The as.sociation of this incident of prayer in Christ's
gift of the Spirit, promised by Christ (.Jn 14 16 ff,
etc), has raised prayer to its highest power by securing for it a Divine cooperation (Rom 8 15.26; Gal 4 6). Thus Christian prayer in its full NT meaning is prayer addressed to God as Father, in the name of Christ as Mediator, and through the enabling grace of the indwelling Spirit. See Prayers op Jesus. J. C. Lambert
life with the miracle of walking on the sea (an example of miracle in the person of the Lord Himself, and not performed on another) opens up an interesting question of the relation of the supernatural and the natural. Here perhaps lies an explanation of the true significance of the miraculous. The communion of the Lord with a supreme Father had
PRAYER, HOURS OF. See Hours of Prayer.
PRAYER, LORD'S. See Lord's Prayer, The.
PRAYER OF HABAKKUK. See Habakkuk; Beth-horon, Battle of.
filled the physical nature of Jesus with spiritual forces which extended the power of the spirit over the material world beyond the limits by which man
PRAYER OF JOSEPH. See Joseph, Pr.ayer
is bound in his normal and sinful condition (see Lange, Comm. on Mt; Mt 15 36; cf 14 19). Christ's recognition of God as the Giver of food, in thanks at the meal, or "asking a blessing," should be noted as an example which in modern times is
PRAYER OF MANASSES. See Manasses, Prayer of.
Prayers of Jesus Preacher THE INTERNATIONAL STANDARD BIBLE ENCYCLOPAEDIA 2432
This prayer is unique, not merely among the prayers of Our Lord, but also among the prayers of humanity. While it is distinctly a petition, it is at the same time a communion. In one or two places Our Lord expresses His will, thus setting Himself upon a level with God. The fact of this prayer of triumph in which every petition is virtually a declaration of the absolute certainty of its reahzation, immediately preceding the prayer of Gethsemane, is both difficult and suggestive. The anomaly is a powerful argument for the historic
largely ignored or followed as a mere formality. But it is significant; it expresses that intense and all-compelling sense of the Divine which ever dwelt in Him ; of which prayer is an expression, and which
is evoked so naturally and becomingly at a social meal. In Mt 17 21, Our Lord's reference to prayer as a necessar}' condition of miraculous power, in the light of Mk 7 34, where "looking up to heaven, he sighed, and saith unto him [the deaf man], Ephphatha," may imply His own prayer in connection with the exercise of miraculous energy. This is apparently indicated in Ju 11 41.42, although, as above, it is the expression of the intimate relation between Christ and the Father, which is the essence of prayer, and in which relation He ever exercised the fullest power of God Himself. Mt 19 13 records that little children were brought to Him that He should put His hands on them and pray. That He praj'ed is not related, but ver 15 relates that He laid His hands on them and, presumably, with the imposition, prayed. The scene
reality. The explanation of these contrasted mooda
is to be found in the depth of Our Lord's nature, and esp. in the complete consistency of His dual nature with the spheres to which each nature belongs. He is most Divine; He is most human. In the fulness of the reach of the prayer and its calm confidence, the believer may find a ceaseless and inexhaustible source of comfort and encouragement. Attention might be called to the remarkable forecast of the history and experience of the church which the prayer furnishes.
is most suggestive, in the light of Our Lord's words. In ver 14 and in Mt 26 26 Our Lord blesses the bread or gives thanks at the institution of the Supper, and has set the mode of celebration universally adopted, even giving the term Eucharist ("giving of thanks") to the service.
(2) The prayer in Gethsemane.—This is recorded by the three Synoptics (Mt 26 36-44; Mk 14 22^0; Lk 22 39-46), and is probably referred to in He 5 7. Brief though the prayer is, it exhibits most clearly recognition of God's infinite power, a clear object sought by the prayer, and perfect submission to God's will. All the elements of prayer, as it can be offered by man, are here except the prayer for forgiveness. It is to be noted that the prayer was three times repeated. This is not to be regarded as inconsistent with Our Lord's prohibition of repetition. It was vain repetition which was forbidden. The intensity of the prayer is expressed by its threefold utterance (cf Paul's prayer in regard to the thorn in 2 Cor 12 8).
(1) The high-prieslly prayer.—This prayer (Jn 17) is the special prayer of the Lord, and may be regarded as the sole example furnished by the evangelists of Our Lord's method of praj'er. The thanksgiving in Mt 11 2.5 is the only other instance of any extent in the report of the prayers of Jesus, but even that is brief compared to what is here furnished. The fulness of this prayer clearly shows that it was uttered in the hearing of the disciples. Their relation to it is remarkable. Auditors, they yet could not share in it. At the same time,
(3) The prayers on the cro.^s.—In Mt 27 46; Mk 15 34, Christ uses the prayer of Ps 22 1. In the moment of complete desolation, the Sufferer claimed His unbroken relationship with God. This is the victory of the atoning sacrifice. Lk 23 34 records the prayer of intercession for those who crucified Him ; in ver 46 is the calm committal of His spirit to the Father. Prayer here again assumes its highest form in the expression of recognition and trust. Thus the three prayers on the cross not only reveal the intimate relation of Our Lord to the Father, but they also illustrate prayer such as man may offer. They represent supplication, intercession, communion. Prayer thus expresses our relation to God, to others, to ourselves; our trust, our love, our need. In all things He was made like unto His brethren, except without sin (see. Points). His prayers on
it was a profound revelation to them both of the relation of the Master to God, and the character of the work which He had come to perform, and the part which they were to take in it. John gives us no hint as to the place in which it was spoken; 14 31 indicates a departure from the upper room. But apparentlj' the prayer was offered where the discourses of chs 15 and 16 were delivered. It has been suggested by Westcott that some spot in the temple courts was the scene of chs 15, 16 and 17. It has been generally supposed that the ornament of the Golden Vine would naturally suggest the figure of the Vine and Branches which Our Lord employs. Jn 18 1 shows that the prayer was offered before the Lord and His disciples had passed over the brook Kidron. The determination of the exact spot is certainly impossible, except the probability that the words were spoken in the vicinity of the temple.
^ the cross illustrate His high-priestly office. It rises at that intense crisis to its supreme manifestation and activity.
(4) Prayer after the resurrection.—It is to be observed that after His resurrection there is no record of any prayer offered by Christ. In the supper at Emmaus He "blessed" the bread (Lk 24 30); and the ascension took place in the midst of blessing
The first part of the prayer (Jn 17 l-'J) is an expression of profound communion between the Son and the Father, and the prayer that the Father should glorify the Son, but with the supreme end of the Father's own glory. The absolutely unique character of Chrtst's relation to God is the calm assertion of ver 4. Its consciousness of completeness in the work which He had received from God, impossible for the children of men, marks tlie supreme nature of the Son of God.
(Lk 24 .51), suggestive of the course of the church as ever beneath the benediction of the Lord, to be ended only at the final consummation. The act of eating the fish and honeycomb (Lk 24 43) seems to have been unaccompanied by any act of specifically religious form. Mk, with characteristic regard to details, records Christ's "looking up to heaven" (Mk 6 41; 7 34); Jn 11 41 refers to a similar act, and adds the Lord's words of thanksgiving that God had heard Him (see also Jn 17 1). The gesture was usual in association with Christ's prayers; it ia appropriate and suggestive. Lk narrates that Christ prayed at His baptism (Lk 3 21); that He spent a night in prayer before choosing the Twelve (Lk 6 12.13); that the transfiguration was preceded by
In the .second part of the prayer (.In 17 6-19), Our Lord prays for His disciples, to whom He has revealed Himself and His relation to God (ys 78). He prays that they may be kept by the Father, and for their imity. Their separation from the world is declared (ver 14), and Our Lord prays that they may be kept from the evil that is in the world, which is alien from them as it is from Him.
In the third portion of the prayer Christ's relation to His ultimate followers is referred to. Their unity is sought, not an external unity, but the deep, spiritual unity found by the indwelling of Christ in them and God in Christ. The prayer closes by the declaration that Christ's knowledge of the Father is revealed to His people, and the end and crown of all is to l>e the indwelling of God's love in man by the dwelling of Christ in him.
2433 THE INTERNATIONAL STANDARD BIBLE ENCYCLOPAEDIA Prayers of Jesus Preacher
the church in whose name he has been set apart to proclaim the gospel. Both the personal and the representative or official are united in him and his preaching.
prayer (Lk 9 29) ; and records the prayer in the garden (Lk 22 41-45). The third evangehst thus in addition to the notes of Our Lord's prayers in retirement, which the other evangelists record, adds these instances of the special relation of prayer to events of critical importance.
His work is always to be related to the OT and NT. His sermon is under the creed of his church as the creed is under the word. The
(5) Oeneral conclusions.—The following conclusions as to prayer may be drawn from the records of Christ's prayers: (1) Prayer is the highest exercise of man's spiritual nature. (2) It is natural to the soul even in perfect accord with God. (3) It
3. A Man preacher is a man with a message, and with a the preacher who has no message of the Message particular kind indicated above is in no true sense a preacher. It has been well expressed in one of the valuable Yale series of lectures on the subject, "Every living preacher must receive his communication direct from God, and the constant purpose of his life must be to receive
is not only the expression of need, the supply of which is sought of God, but by the example of Christ
it is the highest expression of trust, submission and union with God. (4) It is to be used both in solitude and in society; it is personal and intercessory. (5) It may be accompanied by the plea of Christ's name, and for Christ's sake. These are the laws which should direct it; that is to say, it should be based upon the merit and the intercession of Christ, and should be addressed to God under the limitations of the Kingdom of the Lord and His purposes for good, both for the interest of the suppliant and others, under the conditions of the interest of the whole Kingdom. Ll. D. Bevan
it uncorrupted and to deliver it without addition or subtraction." When he presents the message of
his Divinely appointed ambassadorship in its in-
tegrity, he speaks with that peculiar kind of "authority" which has been pronounced "the first and indispensable requisite" in giving a message from God. He manifests thereby a "high celestial dogmatism," and "human weakness becomes immortal strength." The true preacher preaches from a Divine impulsion. He says with Paul, "Necessity
is laid upon me; for woe is unto me, if I preach not the gospel" (1 Cor 9 16; cf Jer 20 9). He says with Peter, "Whether it is right in the sight of God to hearken unto you rather than unto God, judge ye: for we cannot but speak the things which we saw and heard" (Acts 4 19.20). The message of the preacher is greater than the man, because it is from God. It largely makes the man who preaches
PREACHER, prech'cr, PREACHING, prech'ing
(nbni5, koheleth, "preacher" [Eccl 1 1], lips,
basar, "to bring or tell good tidings" [Ps 40 9; Isa 61 1], Xnp^, kara', "to call," "proclaim" [Neh 6 7; Jon 3 2], nS^lp, k'rl'ah, "cry," "preaching" [Jon 3 2]; KT|pu^, ktrux, "crier," "herald" [1 Tim 2 7), KHpio-o-iD, kenlsso, "to cry or proclaim as a herald" [Mt 3 1; Rom 10 li], dayyiM^lla, euaggelllzo, "to announce good news" [Mt 11 5]):
it in its fulness and power. Whatever be his own
gifts or whatever the alleged gift conferred in the laying on of hands, without the sense of the message he is not chosen of God to proclaim His word. Destitute of that, he does not have the sustaining impulse of his vocation to enlist his entire person-
1. Definition 2. The Preacher's Limitations 3. A Man with a Message 4. Preaching a Necessary Agency
ality in his work and give him mastery over the minds and hearts of men.
5. Biblical Terms and Their Meanings
6. The Hebrew Prophets 7. Christ as a Preacher The Apostles as Preachers Fundamental Postulates
No agency of religion is older than preaching.
It is as old as the Bible itself (2 Pet 2 5). It is a necessary adjunct of a rehgion that
(1) Preach the Word
(2) " We Are Ambassadors "
4. Preachis communicated to man by means of ing a an objective and authoritative reveNecessary lation, such as we have in the sacred Agency Scriptures. It is an entirely natural agency of the forms of religion revealed in the OT and NT. It is strictly in harmony with those ideas that obtain in both testaments regarding the method of propagating the faith, set forth through the agency of holy men who spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost. That faith is disseminated by means of teaching through argument, explanation, motive and exhortation. The agency for the spread of a rehgion of persuasion must be preaching.
In the NT sense a preacher is a man who has the inner caO from the Holy Ghost and the external call
from the church, the witnessing body
1. Definiof Christ on earth, and has been duly
tion set apart as an accredited and qualified teacher of the Christian religion. His
vocation is that of addressing the popular mind and
heart on religious truth, as that truth is set forth
in the sacred Scripture, for the spiritual profit of the
hearer as its end. The preacher, recognized as
such by the church, speaks as a personal witness of God's saving truth, explaining it and applying it
as the circumstances of the people and the time may
In the Bib. usage of the terms which have reference to the subject, preaching means the proclama-
require. The gravity and importance of this vo-
cation, as set forth in the sacred Scriptures and amply illustrated in the history of the church, sur-
tion of religious truth. It is that
5. Biblical continuous and public testimony which Terms and the church is always giving, through Their discourses, by men set apart for such Meanings work, to her own living faith as that faith is rooted in and sustained by the written word of God. In this sense "to call," "proclaim," "cry aloud" are used frequently of the prophetic message under the various aspects of denunciation, as in Jon 1 2; of the relation of the Divine, as in Jer 11 6, and of Messianic promise, as
pass those of any other calling among men. Luther
said, "The devil does not mind the written word,
but he is put to flight whenever it is preached
aloud." -Till. The preacher, in the sense indicated above, is
with all other Christians a sharer in the freedom
that is in Christ. But as a recognized
2. The teacher and leader of the church, he
Preacher's is not an unattached and entirely un-
Limitations restricted teacher. He is not to speak
in Isa 61 1. The term for "preaching" is also used to designate a political propagandism set forth by the prophet (Neh 6 7). In two passages (Ps_68
as his own, but as the mouthpiece of
the church whose apprehension of the gospel he has
voluntarily confessed. The faith of the church is,
11, "publish"; Isa 61 1) another word for preaching means "to declare good news." In the case of Jonah's preaching at Nineveh, the word used to
by his own assent, his faith, and her doctrine
is his doctrine. He is not expected to give his
own, as distinct from or opposed to the faith of
Preacher Predestination THE INTERNATIONAL STANDARD BIBLE ENCYCLOPAEDIA 2434
counsels of James to the brethren at Jerus, as to what ordinances should be imposed on gentile Christians. In the early church preachers were first
designate what it was means strictly "proclamation" and corresponds to the NT word used to define Our Lord's "proclamation" as a herald of the advent of the Kingdom of God (Mt 4 17), which in its initial stages particularly was closely associated with the preaching of John the Baptist
of all witnesses to what Jesus had said and done, and to the significance to be attached to the great facts of the redemptive history. With the spread
of the gospel and the passing of time, this office was taken up by others, esp. such as were endued with "the word of wisdom" and "of knowledge"
(Mt 3 1.2),
Thus while preaching belongs esp. to Christianity, it has well-defined antecedents in the OT, Under both the old and the new dispensations the subject
(1 Cor 12 8). Upon the basis of what is taught in the word of God there are two fundamentally important postu-
6. The takes the church for granted and utters TTphrpw ^^^ testimony, not simply of a solitary neurew believer, but of a Divinely founded soProphetS ciety, whether it be of Jews or Christians. The older books in the Canon have in them the beginnings and some of the features of the preacher's oflBce and of the high function of preaching. In them we find a special class of men .set apart and separated unto that particular work, as we find in the Christian church, from its beginnings, the same Divinely instituted office. The Heb prophet had a message direct from God, which frequently came witli supernatural knowledge in the power of prediction. The mission of the prophet, however, was not simply or chiefly to forecast the future, but to declare a present message from the Lord to the people. The prophet of the OT was the forerunner in of&ce and the prototype of the ambassador of Christ. With the development of the synagogue as the center of Heb worship, application as well as interpretation of the Law became essential.
lates concerning preaching and the
9. Fundapreacher. mental (1) Preach the word.—The first note Postulates of preaching is that it be the word of God (2 Tim 4 2). Out of the Bible must the life of every generation of Christians be
fed. To Holy Scripture, therefore, ought the pulpit to abide faithful, for out of its treasures the preacher
fulfils his double office of edifying believers and subjugating the world to Christ. There must always be an organic connection between the word in the text and the sermon.
(2) "We are ambassadors."—The work of preaching is the fulfilment of a Divinely instituted ambassadorship (2 Cor 5 20). The gospel is put into the hands of men for a distinct purpose, and is to be administered in accordance with the plan of its author. The preacher is in a very distinct sense a trustee. "But even as we have been approved of God to be intrusted with the gospel, so we speak; not as pleasing men, but God who proveth our hearts" (1 Thess 2 4). Those who have accepted the responsibility imposed upon them by this Divine commission are enjoined to exercise their
Moses, the most commanding figure in Heb history, was a prophet, and no messages in the OT are more imbued with power, sublimity and pathos than those uttered by the great lawgiver. He became the guide of Israel, not so much by his rod as by the word he delivered to the people. There are numerous indications that after INIoses there was a continuous class of religious teachers whose work it was to instruct men and inspire the people, as is indicated in the cases of Joshua, in the history of Deborah and Barak, and in the days of solemn assembly which are inconceivable without men who spoke and other men who listened. In the time of Samuel there was a distinct advance made in the work of the prophets, and the prophetic office had become a fixed institution. There were schools of the prophets at Bethel, Jericho and Gilgal, the very seats of heathen idolatry. Under the OT dispensation the whole course of progress was toward presenting Divine truth in its simplicity and power, by bringing it to bear upon the popular mind and heart. One of the marks of the new era beginning with John the Baptist was a revival of prophetic preaching (Mt 11 9), which again resumed its old character and meaning. See Prophecy and Prophets.
office so as to warrant the approbation of Him who has appointed them to a specific work. The homiletio practice of taking the theme of every sermon from a passage of Holy Writ has been an almost invariable rule in the history of the church. It is the business of the preacher to present the truth embodied in the text in its integrity. In the exercise of his Divinely appointed ambassadorship he is to administer God's word revealed to Christian faith, not human opinions or speculations. David H. Badslin
The words meaning "to proclaim as a herald" and "preaching," are frequent in the NT. The mission of Our Lord was essentially
7. Christ as one of proclaiming good tidings cona Preacher cerning the Kingdom of God (Mt 4 17). He at once, on His entrance upon His ministry, gave to preaching a spiritual depth and practical range which it never had before. At that time preaching had manifestly become a fixed part of the synagogue worship, and was made one of the chief instruments in the spread of the gospel. Our Lord constantly taught in the synagogue (Mt 4 23; Mk 1 21; Jn 6 59). He thus read and interpreted and applied the Law and the Prophets (Mk 1 39; Lk 4 16). Christ's testimony about Himself was that He came "to bear witness to the truth." The spoken word became Llis great power in His life and ministry. Throughout His life Jesus was above all things a preacher of the truths of His kingdom. Telling men what He was in Himself, what in His relation to man and his salvation and what to God the Father, formed a large part of His pubhc work.
PRECEPT, pre'sept: A commandment, an authoritative rule for action; in the Scriptures generally a Divine injunction in which man's obligation is set forth (Lat praeceptum, fr. praecipere, 'to instruct").
Four words are so rendered in AV: (1) rnjZIO . mt'swdh, very frequently (168 t) tr^ "commandment!" but 4 t "precept" (in RV only Jer 35 18: Dnl 9 5); (2) from the same root is 12 , f am, or li , f au) (Isa 28 10,13); (3) D1"l^pS3, pi<:fcMdAim, only in the Pss (21 tin Ps 119, e.g. vs 4.15.27; also HV Ps 19 8; 103 18; 111 7); (4) in the NT, eiToA^, entoli, generally in AV tr<i "commandment" (08 t), but twice "precept" (Mk 10 5; He 9 19; in both cases RV substitutes "commandment"). See Commandment.
D, MiALL Edwards PRECIOUS, presh'us (stands for 17 different words, chief of which are "Ip'^, yakar; TC|iios,
tirnios): (1) Generally in the literal sense, "of great price," "costly," "expensive," of material things (e.g, Prov 1 13; Jer 20 5; Mk 14 3 AV), esp. of precious stones (2 S 12 30; 2 Ch 3 6; 1 Cor 3 12 AV, etc). (2) Sometimes "of great moral [nonmaterial] value." "Precious in the sight of Jeh is the death of his saints" (Ps 116 15); "his precious and exceeding great promises" (2 Pet 14); cf Ps 139 17; 2 Pet 1 1. The literal and the moral senses are both involved in the expression, "knowing that ye wore redeemed, not with corruptible things, .... but with precious blood" (1 Pet 1
The preaching of the apostles was essentially prophetic in character, and bore testimony concern-
ing the resurrection of Jesus and His
8. The early return to judgment (Acts 2 Apostles as 24.32.36; 1 Cor 15 15). The sermons Preachers of the apostles which are reported with much fulness are those of Peter on the Day of Penteco.st (Acts 2), his address in the house of Cornelius at Caesarea (Acts 10), and the
2435 THE INTERNATIONAL STANDARD BIBLE ENCYCLOPAEDIA Preacher Predestination
18.19). "Preciousness" (n/iii, tiwff) occurs in 1 Pet 2 7 ARV, ERV, for AV "precious." D. MlALL Edwakds PRECIOUS STONES. See Stones, Preciods.
hath chosen us in Christ "before the foundation of the world," having predestinated or "foreordained us unto adoption as sons through Jesus Christ"; and where it is said, further, that our salvation imports "the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure" (ver 9), which He purposed in Christ. This "eternal purpose" to save men through Christ is again referred to in Eph 3 11. This helpful mode of viewing predestination as in Christ, and never outside Him, had a place in religious thought at the Reformation time, as the famous "Formula of Concord," to be referred to below, shows. The predestined certainty of God's gracious work in Christ was not meant to perplex men, but to encourage and reassure all who trust in His grace. In Rom 9 14-25, the absolute sovereignty of God is put in a form whereby election is made to originate in the Divine will apart from all human merit, whether actual or foreseen. But from this assertion of God's free supremacy we can derive no concrete theodicy, or do more than infer that God is just and wise in His exercise of free grace, even when His doings are most perplexing to us.
PRECIPITATION, prS-sip-i-ta'shun. Sec Punishments, III, (5).
PREDESTINATION, prS-des-ti-na'shun (irpi-
Betris, prdlhesis, irp6Yvu<ris, prognosis, n-poopio-pibs, proorismds)
1. Predestination as a Biblical Question 2. Importance of tiie Subject for Our Time 3. Nature of Predestination 4. Tlie Doctrine in Scripture 5. Historic Kise and Development of the Doctrine 6. The Doctrine in the Middle Ages 7. Predestination in the Reformed Theology 8. Predestination in Lutheranism 9. The Arminian View 10. Wesleyanism on Predestination 11. Present Needs and Values of the Doctrine Literature
Predestination can be, and has sometimes been, regarded as a philosopiiioal question rather than a Biblical one. It is with predesti-
The needful thing is to understand, so far as may be, the nature of the cooperation that takes place
1. As a nation as a Biblical question, however, Biblical that we are here mainly concerned. Question It is possible to urge, and it has been urged, that the philosophical question —whether aU that occurs is foreordained—is not discussed and decided by Scripture. Theology, starting from God in its interpretation of all things, has arrived at universal foreordination by a species of deductive reasoning. But we must not argue the matter from any abstract principles, but deal with the actual facts as set forth in Scripture and as found, inductively, in the experience of man.
between the Divine and the human
5. Historic factors or elements, which latter facRise and tors include natural capacity, dispoDevelopsition and development, working under ment of the grace. It must be carefully observed Doctrine that nothing in Scripture points to any personal and inexorable predestination to reprobation, in any sense corresponding to the personal election to salvation just spoken of. A non-election there may be, of course, but not in any sense that annuls full personal responsibility for coming short of life everlasting. The appeal of Scripture from first to last is to men as free. Calvin's strange way of putting the matter was, "Man therefore falls, God's Providence so ordaining, but he falls by his own fault." This idea of reprobation was first introduced by GottschaUc, a monk of the 9th cent., long after the predestination doctrine had received its first full and positive exposition by Augustine. Augustine, following upon the indecision shown by the fathers in the first three centuries of the church, made the doctrine of a special predestination his foundation for special grace, in opposition to Pelagius. Augustine gave new prominence in his theory to the absolute wiU of God: he made Divine grace the only ground of man's salvation; it was to him the irresistible power working faith within the heart, and bringing freedom as its result. It was to him God's absolute predestination that determined who were believers. But Augustine held predestination as an inference from his conception of the Fall and of grace, rather than as a metaphysical principle.
It must first be asserted, however, in view of much loose modern thinking, that predestination
is a category of religious thought of
2. Its fundamental importance. No cateFundagory of religious thought could go mental Tmdeeper, for it reaches down to the Inportance finite WiU in relation to the universe
of finite wills, and lays stress on will as the core of reality. The philosophy of our time may be said to have received, from the time of Schopenhauer, an impact toward will-emphasis,
alike in respect of will in the universe and in man. But the relation of the Absolute Will to the universe, and to mankind, is precisely that with which we are concerned in predestination. Predestination is that aspect of foreordination whereby the salvation of the believer is taken to be
effected in accordance with the will of
3. Nature God, who has called and elected him,
of Prein Christ, unto life eternal. The
destination Divine plan of salvation must certainly be conceived under this aspect of indi-
In the IVIiddle Ages, Ansehn, Peter Lombard, and Aquinas, followed the Augustinian views only to a
vidual reference. To understand and set forth the
nature, and ethically justifiable character, of such
certain extent. Aquinas admits that
a foreordaining to life eternal, is our purpose. For
6. The predestination implies a relation to Doctrine in grace, but holds that grace is not of the Middle the essence of predestination. PreAges destination is, to Aquinas, a part of Providence, and it presupposes election in the order of reason. Though Divine goodness in general be without election, Aquinas thinks the communication of a particular good cannot be without election. Predestination has, for him, its foundation in the goodness of God, which is its reason. Aquinas thinks predestination most surely takes effect, but not as from necessity; the effect takes place under the working of contingency. From such views we are recalled to the idea of a rigorous predestination, by Thomas Bradwardine
the doctrine has need to be purged of the historic
inconsistencies, and fatal illogicalities, with which,
in its older forms of presentation, it was often in-
fected. This, esp., in order that the doctrine may appear as grounded in reason and righteousness, not
in arbitrariness and almighty caprice. To begin with, it must be said that there seems
to be no evading the doctrine of an election by
grace, as found both in the letter and
4. The the spirit of Scripture. The idea of
Doctrine in predestination is set forth, with great
Scripture power and clearness, in Rom 8 29.30, and with its elements or parts articu-
lated in natural and striking form. The idea recurs
in Eph 1, where it is finely said (vs 4,5) that God
Predestination Presbyter THE INTERNATIONAL STANDARD BIBLE ENCYCLOPAEDIA 2436
and John Wyclif, in pre-Reformation times. We are thus brought up to the decretal system—so called from Calvin's making predestination con-
differed by maintaining a universal call along with a particular election, and it rejected the decree of reprobation. Later Lutheranism adopted a moderate form of the doctrine, wherein predestination was often identified with prescience. But Lutheranism ought not, in strictness, to be identified, as is sometimes done, with the Arminian theory. The Lutheran doctrine of predestination was
sist of the eternal decree of God—which became, in its metaphysical principle, the fundamental position of the whole Reformed theology after the Reformation.
The theology of the Reformed church adopted the Calvinistic doctrine of the decree of predesti-
^ further developed by Schleiermacher, who emphasized the
efficiency of grace, while adopting its universality in the Lutheran sense.
nation and election. Calvin, however,
7. Predestisimply carried the Augustinian theory nation in to its logical and necessary conclusion, the Reand he was the first to adopt the docformed trine as the cardinal point or primorTheology dial principle of a theological system. ZwingU, it must be remembered, was, even before Calvin, of consistent deterministic leanings, as part of his large speculative views, which were not without a tendency to universalism. Salvation was, to Calvin, the execution of a Divine decree, which was supposed to fix the extent and conditions of such salvation.
Arminianism, in its earliest assertion, maintained simply universal grace and conditional elec-
tion. But in the five Articles it
9. The formulated its opposition to CalvinArminian ism, although Arminius does not View appear to have been more than moderately Calvinistic, as we would account
it. Arminius gave grace supreme place, and made
it, when welcome, pass into saving grace. He made election depend on faith, which latter is the condition of rmiversal grace. Arminianism rejects the so-called common grace of the predestination theory, and its effectual grace for the elect, for, in the Arminian view, saving grace can in no case be missed save by resistance or neglect. Arminianism holds the awakened human will to cooperate with Divine grace, in such wise that it rests with the human will whether the Divine grace is really accepted or rejected. It is the claim of Arminianism to do more justice than Calvinism to faith and repentance, as conditions of personal salvation, and precedent thereto. The Arminian standpoint admits the foreknowledge of God, but denies foreordination, though it must seem difficult to reduce the foreknowledge of God to such a bare knowledge of the future. But it is, of course, freely to be granted that foreknowledge in God, simply as knowledge, does not carry any causal energy or efficiency with it. But it may stiU be doubted whether the prescience of God can be nothing more fruitful and creative than such a position implies, and whether
(1) Calvin's definition.—Reprobation was, for Calvin, involved in election, and Divine foreknowledge and foreordination were taken to be identical. Calvin's mode of defining predestination was as the eternal decree of God, by which He has decided with Himself what is to become of each and every individual. For all, he maintains, are not created in like condition; but eternal life is foreordained for some, eternal condemnation for others. Calvin confesses that this is a "horrible decree," and it is not surprising to find competent theologians in our time denying such a form of predestinarianism any place in the teachings of St. Paul, who never speaks of reprobation.
(2) Theology advanced by Calvin.—It is generally overlooked, however, that the theological advance registered by Calvin is to be seen by study of the views of the Middle Ages, and on to the Reformation, not by viewing Calvinism in our post-Reformation lights. It was love—"the fatherly love of God," as he terms it—the efficiency of saving love which Calvin insisted upon, above all, in his teaching about God. But Calvin also heightened men's ideas as to the certitude of personal salvation. It
its relation to predestination may not be a more necessary one. The theory seems to fail of giving satisfactory account of the Divine activity in its relation to human activity, in the sphere of grace. The shortcoming of Arminianism lies in its failing also to do justice to the spirit of Scripture with its emphatic assertion of the doctrine of God as the one absolute wiU, which, in its expression, is the sole originative power of the universe. See also Providence.
is but fair to Calvin to remember—for superficial acquaintance with his teachings is far from rare that he, in the strongest manner, maintained Divine sovereignty to be that of Divine wisdom, righteousness, and love, and expressly rejected the notion of absolute power as, in this connection, a heathenish idea. The Calvinistic doctrine was not absolute, but mediated in Christ, and conditioned upon faith.
Wesleyanism, or Methodist Arminianism, maintains, like Calvinism, the will of God to be supreme.
But it distinguishes between the desires 10. Wesleyand the determinations of God. It anism on takes Divine foreknowledge to prePredescede the Divine volitions. It makes tination God's prescience purely intuitional, and regards that which He knows as nowise necessitated by such knowledge, a conception of God which differentiates the Wesleyan type of thought from Calvinism. God is held to have left events in the moral sphere contingent, in an important sense, upon the human will. Hence human probation is based upon this position, as to man's free choice. Influence of God upon man's will is postulated, for its right guidance and direction, but not in any coercive sense, as Augustinianism seems to Wesleyanism to imply. Thus it is hoped to preserve just balance, and maintain proper responsibility, between the Divine and the human factors in this spiritual cooperation.
Luther and the Lutheran church at first shared the doctrine of predestination and election, Luther
in his treatment of free will repro-
8. Predestiducing the Augustinian form of the nation in doctrine in a strict manner. The Lutheranpredestination of Luther and Melanchism thon proceeded, not from their conception of God, but rather from the doctrine of sin and grace. Melanchthon was less disposed than Luther to press the doctrine of absolute predestination, and, in his "synergistic" tendencies, laid increasing stress on human freedom, until he at length rejected the doctrine of absolute predestination. He was blamed by strict Lutheranism for yielding too much to Pelagianism. But the Lutheran "Formula of Concord," prepared in 1577, was not a very logical and consistent presentation of the case, for, opposed at points to Augustinianism, it fell back, in the end, on election in the Augustinian spirit. Or, to put the matter in another form, the "Formula of Concord" may be said to have held with Augustinianism, but to have
When we come to the present needs and values of the predestination doctrine, we have to remark the primal need of a thoroughly ethicized conception of God. The past few decades have witnessed
2437 THE INTERNATIONAL STANDARD BIBLE ENCYCLOPAEDIA Predestination Presbyter
the 6th day (Friday) of each week. So in Did., viii and the Martyrdom of Polycarp, vii. The addition of the phrase rod 7ra<rxa, lou pdscha, "of the passover," in Jn 19 14, and of the phrase "for the day of that sabbath was a high day," in 19 31, seems to indicate that the author of the Fourth Gospel regarded the Passover as occurring on the Sabbath in the year of the crucifixion. This
a lessened interest in this doctrine, largely because of the increasingly ethical conceptions of Deity. That is to say, the doctrine of the 11. Present sovereignty of God's will has ceased to Needs and be taken, as often in the older presValues entations, as mere almightiness, or of the arbitrary and resistless will. Calvin Doctrine expressly taught that no cause or ground but God's unconditioned will was to be sought; but he feebly tried to save Divine will from sheer omnipotence by saying that God is law to Himself; and the notion of sovereignty continued to be presented in ways quite absolute and irresponsible. But God we now regard as the absolute and eternal reason, no less than the supreme will, and as both of these in the one indivisible and absolute personality. We have passed from an abstract predestinationism to maintain God in living and ethical relations to the world and to man. Such an ethical sovereignty we hold to be necessary, over against that lax humanitarian spirit, which, in its recoil from the older Calvinism, invests the Deity with no greater powers of moral determination than may be imphed in His love, when viewed as a mere golden haze of good will. See Election; FOBEORDINATION.
is clearly the natural interpretation of the words of John's Gospel, and if it were not for the seeming contradiction to the narrative of the Synoptics it
is very doubtful whether any other interpretation would ever have been put upon them. This question is discussed in the articles on the date of the
crucifi.xion and the Lord's Supper, and it will be necessary only to allude to it here.
' Preparation of the passover" in Jn 19 14 may mean it was the preparation day (Friday) of the Passover week (see Andrews, Life of Our Lord, 451 ff ; and most recently Zahn, Das EvangeHum des Johannes, 1908, 637 11). This method of harmonizing seems to the present writer to be forced, and it therefore seems wiser to give to the words of Jn 19 14 their natural interpretation, and to maintain that, according to the author of the Fourth Gospel, the Passover had not been celebrated at the time of the crucifixion. There seems to bo reason to believe that the ordinary view that the Lord's Supper was instituted in connection with the Passover, based upon the narrative in Mark (14 12 ff) , does not have the unanimous support of the Synoptic Gospels.
It is possible that the phrase the
Literature.—The relative works of Augustine, Aquinas, Zwingli, Calvin, Luther, Melanchthon, Arminius, Wesley, Rothe. Dorncr, Luthardt; W. Cunningham, TlLe Reformers, and the Theology of the Reformation, 1862; James Orr, art. "Calvinism," in Hastings, Enc of Religion and Ethics; and the various Histories of Christian Doctrine.
Literature.—In addition to references in the body of the article, the comms., esp. Plummer, Cambridge Bible, "St. John," Appendix A; Allen, ICC, "St. Matthew," 270-74; Godct. Comm. on the NT; Gospel of St. John, ET, New York, 1886, II, 378, 379; and the significant articles on the interpretation of Lk 22 15.16 by Burkitt and Brooke, Journal of Theological Studies, IX, 569 S, and by Box, ib, X. 106.
James Lindsay PREEMINENCE, pre-em'i-nens : Superiority, esp . in noble or excellent qualities . The word stands
Walter R. Betteridgb PRESBYTER, prez'bi-ter, pres'bi-ter (irpeo--
PvTtpos, presbuteros), PRESBYTERY, prez'bi-ter-i,
for: (1) iril^, mothar, "what is over and above,"
pres'bi-ter-i (irpeo-puT^piov, presbuleri-
"excellence"; "Man hath no preeminence above the beasts" (Eccl 3 19); (2) -n-puiTeia, proieuo, "tobefirst"; "That in all things he [ = Christ] might have the preeminence" (Col 1 18); (.3) A 4>i\oirpu-
1. Words ore): This latter word occurs in the Used in NT once (1 Tim 4 14), so rendered in the NT both AV and RV. But the original Gr occurs also in Lk 22 66, in RV tr"^ "the assembly of the elders," in AV simply "the elders"; and in Acts 22 5^ tr^ in EV "the estate of the elders"; in both of which occurrences the word might more accurately be tr'' "the presbytery," just as it is in 1 Tim 4 14. Besides these three occurrences of the neuter sing, preshuterion, the masc. pi.
TcvwD, ho philoproteiidn, is tr'' "who loveth to have the preeminence," lit. "who loveth to be first" (of Diotrephes, 3 Jn ver 9).
PREFER, pr5 general meaning Ps 137 6, it does agree; in Est 2 has "preferred";
fur': Does not always have the "to choose before another." In have this sense and the two VSS
presbuteroi, always tr'' "elders," is often used to indicate the same organization or court as the former, being applied earlier in NT history to the Jewish Sanhedrin (Mt 27 1; 28 12; Lk 9 22; Acts 4 5.8), and later in the development of the church to its governing body, either in general (Acts 15 2.4.6.22 f), or locally (Acts 14 23; 16 4; 20 17;
J, RV has "removed" where AV
in Dnl 6 3, "distinguished" takes
1 1.5.30, "become" is substituted
its place; in .In
in ver 27, "preferred" drops out 12 10, the VSS agree.
for "preferred"; entirely; in Rom