Encyclopedia of sacred theology - pagina 388

864

§ 69.

THE RELATION BETWEEN

[Div. Ill

berg Catechism requires, therefore, no theory concerning the Scripture, but merely asks that one believe, and believe in such a way, " that one hold for truth all that God has reThe Scripture, vealed to us in his word" (answer 21).

and

all

the historic content of which that Scripture bears

is therefore not something by itself, which inserts with a certain independence between our consciousness and God, as the principium of revelation; but is as the wave of ether, upon which the beam of light from the source of light moves itself directly to our eye. To him who does not feel that, at the moment when he opens the Holy

witness,

itself

God comes by and

and touches his very soul, of God, or has ceased to be this; or it is this in his spiritual moments, but not at other times, as when the veil lies again on his heart, while With again it is truly such when the veil is taken away. the Holy Scripture it can never be a God afar off, and the Scripture a something God sends from afar. The telephone rather supplies an illustration that interprets this realit}-. God is, indeed, a God afar o& but He approaches you by and in the Scripture unveils His presence to you and speaks to you as though you were standing right by Him, and He drew you close beneath His wings. The action on God's side is not ended Avhen the Scripture is completed for all nations. The revealing activity is then, indeed, completed and decided Scripture,

the Scripture

is

in

it

Word

not yet the

;

;

;

to the end, in so far as the central instrument

and nothing

added to

is

concerned,

but this is not all. This central instrument of revelation is not placed in the midst of the world, in order that God may now look on and see

will ever be

what man

will

do with

it.

it

On the

;

contrary,

now

follows

that entirely distinct action of preserving the Scripture, of interpreting and of applying the Scripture, and specially

— of

—

still

more

bringing the Scripture to individual souls, of

preparing those souls for

its

and bringing them in by what our Reformed

reception,

it, and thus finally, Theologians called providentia specialissima, of rendering this Scripture a special revelation for this and that given person.

contact with

The

confession of

all

those wlio have possessed the Scriptvire

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