326 THE LIFE OF PHILIP HENRY GOSSE. 



"judgment, the kingdom of heaven, the unquenchable 

 " fire of hell ; — all these come to me with all the force 

 " of dogmas, not one of which I have the option of 

 " refusing, unless I refuse God ; for they have the authority 

 "of Him whom God has sealed. 



"The Old Testament. 



" The Lord Jesus constantly cites the numerous books 

 * of the Old Testament as a unit — ' the Scriptures,' and 

 " He constantly appeals to it as an ultimate authority ; 

 " ' the Scripture cannot be broken,' etc. He cites the 

 u words of Moses, of Isaiah, of David, but, withal, as 

 "spoken 'by God' (Matt. xxii. 31), by * the Holy Ghost' 

 " (Mark xii. 36). He refers to the ancient narratives, as 

 " indubitable verities ; to the marriage of Adam and 

 " Eve (Matt. xix. 4) ; to Sodom and Gomorrha (xi. 23, 

 " 24) ; to the manna, to the brazen serpent ; to Noah, 

 " to Lot, to Lot's wife, to Elijah, to Elisha. He taught 

 " His disciples that ' all things in Moses, the Prophets, 

 "'and the Psalms ' were about Him, and must be fulfilled 

 " (Luke xxiv. 27, 44-47). Now, since the Lord Jesus 

 " thus honours the Old Scriptures, and never gives the 

 " least hint that there is any exception to this honour ; 

 " never speaks of them as containing, but always as being, 

 "the authoritative Word of God ; I must so receive them, 

 " every word. 



"The New Testament. 



" But how can I be sure that the Gospels, the Acts, 

 " the Epistles, the Apocalypse, are true ? are wholly 

 " true, wholly trustworthy ; free from admixture of 

 " human error ? A question, this, of vast importance ; 

 "since it is in the Epistles that the great scheme of 



