mony, blessed the people ; which appears to have been contrary
to the letter of the law, if indeed it were not at direct variance
with the spirit of it, as the narrative of Melchizedek and
others seems to show. Some have sought to escape from this
difBculty by associating the prophethood with the priesthood.
But in order to be convinced of the worthlessness of this theory,
it is only necessary to look through the prophecies of Jeremiah.
Even in the time of Malachi, when the priesthood gave far less
offence, at least externally, than formerly, the priestly ofiBce
forms the principal object of the denunciation of the prophets.
Isaiah, in chap, xliii. 27, strikes a blow at the vanity of Israel
respecting their own merit, in the words, " Thy first father (the
high priest) hath sinned, and thy teachers have transgressed
against me." And since the assumption of a tendency to
glorify the royal power would be just as reprehensible as the
assumption of a tendency to magnify the priesthood, the pro-
phetic oifice alone remains. But even in this assumption we
become involved in insuperable difficulties. The prophets
formed no close corporation, not at least in the kingdom of
Judah, which is the only question now at issue. It was some-
what different in the kingdom of Israel, where there was cer-
tainly some kind of membership and organization ; for in it
prophets alone performed the service of the true God, after
the abolition of the Levitical priesthood. In the kingdom of
Judah, where they had only to wall up the gaps, the prophets
appeared singly, as they were inspired by the Spirit of God.
