in the kingdom of God on earth. Among the Hebrews he was the interpreter
of the divine will; he predicted future events. He was a preacher of
righteousness; he was the counsellor of kings and princes; he was a sage
and oracle among the people. He was a reformer, teaching the highest
truths and restoring the worship of God when nations were sunk in
idolatry; he was the mouth-piece of the Eternal, for warning, for
rebuke, for encouragement, for chastisement. He was divinely inspired,
armed with supernatural powers,--a man whom the people feared and
obeyed, sometimes honored, sometimes stoned; one who bore heavy
responsibilities, and of whom were demanded disagreeable duties. We
associate with the idea of a prophet both wisdom and virtue, great gifts
and great personal piety. We think of him as a man who lived a secluded
life of meditation and prayer, in constant communion with God and
removed from all worldly rewards,--a man indifferent to ordinary
pleasures, to outward pomp and show, free from personal vanity, lofty in
his bearing, independent in his mode of life, spiritual in his aims,
fervent and earnest in his exhortations, living above the world in the
higher regions of faith and love, disdaining praises and honors, soft
raiment and luxurious food, and maintaining a proud equality with the
greatest personages; a man not to be bought, and not to be deterred
from his purpose by threatenings or intimidation or flatteries,
commanding reverence, and exalted as a favorite of heaven. It was not
necessary that the prophet should be a priest or even a Levite. He was
greater than any impersonation of sacerdotalism, sacred in his person
and awful in his utterances, unassisted by ritualistic forms, declaring
truths which appealed to consciousness,--a kind of spiritual dictator
who inspired awe and reverence.

In one sense or another most of the august characters of the Old
Testament were prophets,--Abraham, Moses, Joseph, David, Elijah, Daniel,