sent expressly to induce prophets to prophesy falsely, in order to lead an idolatrous king to his destruction? We need not suppose Micaiah himself thought so; but take it as his way of insinuating their faithlessness to the spirit of their high office,—an insinuation which they felt keenly enough and resented on the spot.

Even Baal's prophets are described in the same language as prophesying or prophetizing (1 Kings xviii. 29); and their prophesying, as described in the history, consisted in calling upon the name of Baal from morning even until noon, saying, O Baal, hear us!-in leaping about the altar and cutting themselves, according to their custom, with knives and lancets, till their blood gushed out. But all in vain: "there was no voice, nor any that answered."

These illustrations sufficiently shew that, whatever special illumination of mind may have been in any special instance imparted, or whatever agency of outward miracle may have occasionally attended a prophet's words, his ordinary function consisted in keeping his natural powers of observation and thought actively alive, and especially in looking at all the actions and characters of the moving scene around him from a high moral and religious point of view, while exercising his own mind in frequent meditation and prayer and holy song. Truly a noble vocation! He was the Moralist and Sage;—the Seer who saw things spiritually;-the Wise Man, with whom wisdom was identical with virtue and religion. He was the true Jewish Pastor when faithful to his charge. How the spiritual perceptions may be sharpened by such an exercise of them, and the religiously cultivated judgment may rise to a commanding view of the progress of events, is seen in the histories and works of many of these men, on occasions on which there is no plea for regarding them as speaking under any other

inspiration than that of a religious mind and heart;— while, at the same time, popular repute would probably ascribe a supernatural character to many of their simple but earnest and emphatic utterances; and the power of divination was popularly ascribed to them. (See 1 Sam. ix. 8, among other places.)

The Hebrew prophets seem to have been, generally, sedulous cultivators of music;-like bards every where, who know its power over their own and other men's feelings. They practised it often in their schools or communities; and we are expressly told on one occasion that Elisha called for a minstrel to play to him before he gave his oracle (2 Kings iii. 15): "And it came to pass," the record goes on, "when the minstrel played, that the hand of the LORD came upon him."

Seer is another, but earlier, name for Prophet, expressive of that part of his function which meets the constant demand of human nature to pry into futurity or to divine things that are doubtful. The historian explains (1 Sam. ix. 9) that "he that is now called a prophet was beforetime called a seer;" and in the books of Kings and Chronicles the two terms seem to be used promiscuously. Samuel is called both prophet and seer; Gad also both; Nathan, as it happens, is always "the prophet;" Iddo, as it happens, always "the seer." term was in a state of transition in those days.

The

Samuel seems to have instituted something of regular discipline and systematic training for the "sons of the prophets," that is the disciples, or followers, of the prophetic calling. But there is no distinct account given of the formation of such "schools of the prophets;" and it is only from casual incidents and allusions that we can at all conjecture their nature. We have already quoted the incident of the "company of prophets" meeting Saul (1 Sam. x. 10), and Saul prophesying with them.

These prophets were coming down "God's hill" (x. 5), somewhere on the borders of Judah and Benjamin; but it does not absolutely follow that their place of residence was there. On David's flight from Saul's jealousy, we learn (xix. 18—) that he went "to Samuel at Ramah," Samuel's own residence; "and he and Samuel went and dwelt in Naioth. And it was told Saul saying, Behold David is at Naioth in Ramah" (or, by Ramah). And then the "company of prophets" are mentioned as prophesying, and Samuel standing as "appointed over them," or presiding over them, when the messengers of Saul come to take David and begin themselves to prophesy; and Saul himself comes in great anger; but he too "prophesies all day and all night, having laid aside his royal robes." Naioth has been translated cells, as "the cells of the prophets in Ramah." But the fact of such monasticism is as doubtful as the translation. Enough that in Naioth, by Ramah, which was Samuel's own residence, a company of prophets (we may call them, if we will, a school, or college, of prophets) dwelt, over whom Samuel presided, and who exercised themselves in religious conversation, meditation and song, and surely we may add, in such knowledge of the Mosaic Law as there were means of gaining.

Later in the history, that is in the time of Elisha, there seems to have been a "company of prophets" at Bethel (2 Kings ii. 3); and an incident is recorded from which we may pretty safely infer, perhaps, that there was a company of prophets living together, with provisions at least in common, at Gilgal (2 Kings iv. 38-); and this is all that these books tell us on the subject of the schools or companies of the prophets.

The individual characters and actions of some of these men are, however, brought out in considerable detail; especially those of Elijah and Elisha. Fine and noble

and generous spirits they both were. To these two men in particular, the leading spirits of the prophetic band during the middle period of the monarchy,—both miraculous utterances and miraculous doings are ascribed. And the careful study of what is recorded respecting them will shew the difficulty-nay, rather the impossibility of drawing the line of exact separation between the natural and the supernatural in the record of their sacred function, while it must also (as appears, at least, to the present writer) shew the impossibility of resolving their intire ministrations into the most earnest or rapt exercise of their natural powers and characters alone. We may never be able to draw the exact line of distinction, while yet we may feel ourselves authorized to pronounce confidently respecting certain leading facts, that, unless utterly falsified in the narration, they were properly miraculous. At the same time we have to allow (as already frequently observed) for the disposition on the part of the Hebrew historians to regard as supernatural many things which would not have appeared so to the scientific thought of a later age. And in this state of doubtful but reverential feeling we must be content to leave many a difficulty.

The remark must be repeated in this, no less than other periods of the Old Testament history, that we should avoid committing ourselves to the approval or vindication of any actions or sentiments of a questionable moral kind, over which the veil of the miraculous seems to be drawn in the record, if taken as literally and strictly true. It cannot be strictly and literally true that any immoral miracle has been wrought in behalf of revealed religion. Nor are the most prominent characters in the Hebrew Scriptures exemplary at all points. Neither these two leading prophets, nor the most celebrated kings that Hebrew history boasts, are to be made

amenable to any standard of superhuman or miraculous virtue. On the memory of David, the most popular of monarchs, the "sweet singer of Israel," must ever remain one foul blot of awful crime and meanness united. That of Solomon, the wise and the magnificent, is tainted with extreme sensual self-indulgence and compliant idolatry. Elijah's part in the slaughter of Baal's priests horrifies us, and the legend of Elisha and the children and the bears seems quite too cruel for belief; while, however, the Jewish historian tells all such things approvingly as for the glory of God. Doubt or confession of difficulty is more religious in these instances than assent. Let the reader of the Scriptures never think himself called upon to tamper with the light within him. He can only appreciate those very Scriptures by its aid. Ever be the moral principle sacred! Revealed truth will nurture it, if properly distinguished from those records of human nature which shew its sad perversions and shortcomings.

The prophets of the middle monarchical period do not seem to have been generally writers. They were men of action rather. But some are mentioned in the history,―as Isaiah, Jonah, Jeremiah,-whose writings are in part or wholly preserved to us, and whom we know indeed chiefly as writers. And the class of writing prophets increases during the later monarchy,—a plain symptom of that increase of readers among the Jews which the increased facilities of writing, already alluded to, would naturally produce. There must have been a large reading public when the prophets wrote, as well as spoke, their burdens and their oracles.