When the Apostle uttered the words which form the title of this series, it would of

course have been possible for an extreme literalist to have attempted to show that, unless

the Apostle had confined himself entirely to a literal quotation of the actual words of

Moses and the Prophets without adding any words of his own, his statement was not true.

We can hardly believe, however, that anyone would, in fact, have adopted such an

extreme attitude. If such a view were legitimate, Paul's "one word" of Acts 28: 25

would be open to criticism, for the quotation which constitutes this "one word" is made

up of 55 "words" in the Greek, and 70 "words" in the English. Many more such

examples could be given, but we fear that the average reader would grow impatient, and

feel that we were wasting time. We have an object, however, in view, and that is to show

that, even though Paul's utterances were not simply quotations, and even though some of

his teaching does not appear upon the surface of the O.T. Scriptures, the language of the

Prayer Book is applicable here, when it speaks of the doctrine of Holy Scripture "and

whatsoever may be proved thereby".

In the N.T. we learn that Abraham not only received the land of Canaan as an

inheritance, but that he also looked for a "better country, that is, an heavenly". Although

the New Jerusalem is never mentioned in the O.T. Scriptures, it is nevertheless true that

this "city which hath foundations" constituted a real and blessed hope in O.T. times.

When we read such verses as Heb. 11: 9, 10, 13-16, we may feel at first that here at least

the Apostle is saying something more than "the Prophets and Moses did say should

come". Let us observe, however, exactly what is written in this chapter (Heb. 11:).

We know, from the record of Genesis, that Abraham "believed" and had "faith". The

nature of faith is not enlarged upon by Moses and the Prophets to the extent that it is so

treated in the N.T., and the reason is fairly obvious. To teach that Abraham's faith was

"the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen" is certainly an

expansion of the O.T. account, but it is not an addition. How shall we intelligently

interpret the fact that Abraham, Isaac and Jacob were willing to be tent-dwellers in the

very land of promise, dying in full faith without possessing more than a burial ground in

the land, unless we believe that they knew that the promise upon which they rested

demanded the resurrection of the dead for its fulfillment and enjoyment? Paul himself

tells us that "they that say such things, declare plainly" (Heb. 9: 14 A.V.), or "make it

manifest" (R.V.). While we may have to admit that some of the deductions tabulated in

Heb. 11: 9, 10, 13-16, were not so "manifest" to us, our own poorness of insight is surely

not the standard whereby we must judge the Apostle. From the recorded attitude of