[Sidenote: _Importance of the study of origins_]

The present age is supremely interested in origins. Not until we have
traced the genesis and earliest unfolding of an institution or an idea
or a literature do we feel that we really understand and appreciate it.
Familiarity with that which is noble breeds not contempt but reverence,
and intelligent devotion. Acquaintance with the origin and history of a
book is essential to its true interpretation. Therefore it is fortunate
that modern discovery and research have thrown so much light upon the
origin of both the Old and the New Testaments.

[Sidenote: _The growing recognition that the natural is divine_]

Equally fortunate is it that we are also learning to appreciate the
sublimity and divinity of the natural. The universe and organic life are
no less wonderful and awe-inspiring because, distinguishing some of the
natural laws that govern their evolution, we have abandoned the
grotesque theories held by primitive men. Similarly we do not to-day
demand, as did our forefathers, a supernatural origin for our sacred
books before we are ready to revere and obey their commands. With
greater insight we now can heartily sing, "God moves in a natural way
his wonders to perform." Our ability to trace the historical influences
through which he brought into being and shaped the two Testaments and
gave them their present position in the life of humanity does not in a
thoughtful mind obscure, but rather reveals the more clearly, their
divine origin and authority.

[Sidenote: _Value of the comparative study of the origin of both
Testaments_]