LIGHT, LUMINARIES AND LIFE. PAN 
which could hear the voice of God saying to them, “‘ The fear of the 
Lord, that is wisdom; and to depart from evil is understanding ” 
(Job xxvin, 28); or (as St. Paul puts it) “as many as are led hy 
the spirit of God, they are the sons of God” (Romans viii, 14). 
On anthropological grounds I go so far (pace the older exegesis) 
as to apply all this even to the use of the expression ‘“‘ Sons of God ” 
in Job i, 6 and xxxvii, 7; the former implying ancient and 
primitive corporate worship outside the pale of the Abrahamic 
Covenant—the latter the early and primitive conceptions of God as 
revealed in Nature. (Cf also the heathen poet Aratus, Acts xvii, 
28, quoted by St. Paul to the sharp-witted Athenians.) 
It was surely a sound maxim of St. Augustine that “the Old 
Testament prepares for the New, and the New explains the Old”; 
and I see no valid reason for making an exception in this case. 
That “light of men,” of which St. John speaks, has never been 
entirely extinguished in the best human spirits, though much 
obscured by sin, which consists essentially in the misuse (through 
perversion of the Will) of those powers and faculties and instincts 
with which God has endowed humanity. I have worked at this line 
of thought in a sermon of mine, which was published in 1893, as 
indeed also in many sermons. 
To refuse to look at the early chapters of Genesis in the light of 
the Incarnation and of the New Testament, is surely to go out of 
our way to create Scriptural difficulties. Mr. Tuckwell does well to 
refer us to the teaching of the Living Word Himself in John x, 
34-36; although, if he will refer to Bishop Perowne’s learned 
commentary on the Psalms (resp. Ps. Ixxxu), he will see that the 
meaning of that passage is somewhat obscure. For myself I[ 
should interpret it in the sense of the remarks which I have 
ventured here to make. Mr. Tuckwell is evidently more at home 
in Bible studies than in physical science. 
Mr. Henry Proctor has sent a most valuable note from a real 
student. I am glad to have the opportunity of explaining away 
what is said in my paper (p. 180) as to certain criticisms of his 
former remarks which had reached me. On _ passing on the 
criticism to Mr. Proctor I received such a full explanation of the 
points raised as seems to me fully to meet the criticisms referred to, 
and I thank him for the information. In a subject, which Mr. 
Proctor (as a Hebraist) seems to have made his own, I feel that it 
BA 
