their approximately chronological order, the Old Testament books become
the harmonious and many-sided record of ten centuries of strenuous human
endeavor to know and to do the will of God and of his full and gracious
response to that effort. The beatitude of those who hunger and thirst
after righteousness was as true in the days of Moses as it was when
Jesus proclaimed it.

[Sidenote: _Its different books of very different values_]

Finally, the right and normal attitude toward the Old Testament leads to
the wholesome conclusion that its different books are of very different
values. The great critic of Nazareth again set the example. As we have
just seen, certain of the Old Testament laws he distinctly abrogated;
others he quietly ignored; others, as, for example, the law of love
(Deut. vi. 5, and Lev. xix. 19) he singled out and gave its rightful
place of central authority. A careful study of the Gospels, in the light
of the Old Testament, demonstrates that a very important element in his
work, as the Saviour of men, was in thus separating the dross in the
older teachings from the gold, and then in giving to the vital truth a
clearer, more personal, and yet more universal application. For the
intelligent student and teacher of to-day the Old Testament still
remains a great mine of historical, ethical, and religious truth. Some
parts, like Genesis, Deuteronomy, Hosea, Jeremiah, Isaiah xl.-lv., and
the Psalter, are richly productive. Others, like Numbers, Chronicles,
and Esther, are comparatively barren.

[Sidenote: _Application of this truth_]

Since the Old Testament is the record of a progressively unfolding
revelation, it is obvious that all parts do not possess an equal