of medieval darkness when Christianity and barbarism had become convertible terms.

A remarkable instance of musical conjuration occurred on the occasion of Jehoram and Jehoshaphat, kings of Israel and Judah, consulting Elisha in his prophetic capacity,' when that eminent Nâbi exclaimed : 'Bring me a minstrel. And it came to pass, when the minstrel played, that the hand of the Lord came upon him.' Is it possible to attain clearer evidence of the affinity between Hebrew and heathen conjuration?

The artistic minstrelsy which invited Jehovah discomfited Satan." Thus, we read of David driving away an evil spirit from Saul by a skilful performance on the harp, which cannot, of course, mean anything more than the soothing influence of music on mental excitement or depression.

Apart from the anonymous band of choral aspirants, the most distinguished prophets were, obviously, men of genius, in whom the poetic fire had kindled an enthusiasm which they accepted, in harmony with the superstition of their age, as divine inspiration. Thus Elijah, Isaiah, and Jeremiah, when pouring forth, with glowing eloquence, the imaginative creations of exuberant fancy, assumed, in their own and popular estimation, the imposing aspect of inspired prophets, authoritatively interpreting the will and purpose of the Deity, with reference to impending events susceptible of forecast through merely human foresight.

The prophetic career of Jeremiah indicates the obvious design of controlling the immediate future of the nation in harmony with the supposed will of Jehovah ;

and when predicting the Babylonian invasion and conquest of Palestine, he simply forecasts probabilities, already foreshadowed by the growing power and menacing ambition of the Chaldean empire. The practice of fancifully adapting the language of prophets to events remote from the era of authorship was the work of later generations, seeking to authenticate the foregone conclusions of current theology by an arbitrary interpretation of the prophets, thus posthumously glorified by a predictive eminence surpassing their own prophetic pretensions.

There is no demand for prophets in modern communities; but, if we stood in need of prescient bards, the predictive sagacity of our age would prove sufficiently fruitful in prospective forecast to establish the reputation of a thousand prophets. Modern journalists occasionally forecast events with an accuracy which subsequently gives to merely conjectural essays the aspect of virtual history. One of the most remarkable prophecies of modern times was uttered by that distinguished but unfortunate Frenchman, Prévost-Paradol, who, when accredited as ambassador to the United States by Napoleon III., committed suicide, in the prescient consciousness of genius that he had accepted service under the Ruler whose policy would tarnish the glory and diminish the greatness of his beloved France.

These are his words, uttered two years before the tragic drama of Sedan: Yes, France will have to expiate, one way or the other-with the blood of her children if she succeeds, with the loss of her greatness, perhaps of her very existence, if she fails-the series of

faults committed in her name by her Government since the day when the dismemberment of Denmark was commenced under her eyes—since the day when France favoured that great disorder in the vain hope of profiting by it.' If this remarkable prediction, subsequently fulfilled in the lamentable results of the Franco-German war, had been uttered in an age of faith in prophecy, would not its author have been placed in the foremost rank of divinely inspired prophets?

No marvellous foresight is required to forecast the consequences of great political errors; but, if retrieved, the prophecy does not come off. Thus when we first heard of our faithful Egyptian ally, and even our own countrymen, apparently abandoned to the brutality of Arab bandits under the guns of a British fleet, we might have exclaimed, England shall yet expiate with blood, with treasure, and even with territory, the tarnished prestige of centuries.' But, when the thunder of her avenging guns was heard on the shores of the Mediterranean, Cassandra was put to silence, and Englishmen again placed greater faith in admirals than in prophets.

The illusion of prophetic control over the ordinary course of natural events is disclosed in the narrative recording the alliance of the kings of Israel, Judah, and Edom, for the purpose of quelling the rebellious revolt of the tributary King of Moab.1 The allied sovereigns, having found their armies and cattle in danger of perishing through scarcity of water in the wilderness of Edom, decided on consulting a prophet of Jehovah, who was, accordingly, found in the person of Elisha, 1 2 Kings iii.

and requested by the allies to communicate with the Deity on the subject of their dire extremity. Elisha forthwith called for a minstrel- And it came to pass, when the minstrel played, that the hand of Jehovah came upon him, and he said, Thus saith Jehovah, make this valley full of ditches.'

To dig and obtain water is so natural an event that its explanation by the miraculous is obviously due to the superstition of a people, whose ignorance of causation furnished unlimited scope for fanciful conceptions of divine intervention in human affairs.

Let us, however, test the true nature of prophecy among the Hebrews by consulting the prophets themselves. Turning to Ezekiel xiii. we read: And the word of the Lord came unto me, saying, Son of man, prophesy against the prophets of Israel, and say unto them that prophesy out of their own hearts, Thus saith the Lord God, Woe unto the foolish prophets that follow their own spirit and have seen nothing. They have seen vanity and lying divination, saying the Lord saith, and the Lord hath not sent them. And they have made others to hope that they would confirm the word. Have ye not seen a vain vision, and have ye not spoken a lying divination, whereas ye say the Lord saith it, albeit I have not spoken?'

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They

Jeremiah xiv. 14-16: Then the Lord said unto me, The prophets prophesy lies in my name. I sent them not, neither have I commanded them. prophesy unto you a false vision and divination, and a thing of naught and the deceit of their heart. Therefore thus saith the Lord, concerning the prophets that

prophesy in my name and I sent them not, yet they say sword and famine shall not be in the land. By sword and famine shall these prophets be consumed; and the people to whom they prophesy shall be cast out in the streets of Jerusalem because of the famine and the sword, and they shall have none to bury them, their wives, nor their sons, nor their daughters, for I will pour their wickedness upon them.'

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Two eminent Hebrew bards thus affirm the existence of false prophets, whose successful deception of the nation involves the most appalling calamities; and yet these inspired representatives of Jehovah suggest no means of determining the divine authenticity of prophetic pretensions. How therefore could the general community discriminate between the deception of fraudulent impostors, the illusions of honest fanaticism, and the revelations of inspired prophets? For scriptural enlightenment on this vital question we turn to Deuteronomy xviii. 20-22: The prophet which shall presume to speak a word in my name which I have not commanded him to speak, or that shall speak in the name of other gods, even that prophet shall die. And if thou say in thine heart, How shall we know the word which the Lord hath not spoken? When a prophet speaketh in the name of the Lord, if the thing follow not nor come to pass, that is the thing which the Lord hath not spoken, but the prophet hath spoken it presumptuously: thou shalt not be afraid of him.'

There is, perhaps, no passage in Deuteronomy more clearly proving its post-Mosaic authorship than this