of the above Forms—­Freedom of Hebrew Poetry—­Peculiarities of Diction—­Office of Hebrew Poetry—­4.  The Celebration of God’s Interpositions in Behalf of the Covenant People; Song for the Sanctuary Service; Didactic Poetry; Prophetic Poetry—­B. The Several Poetical Books—­I. Job—­1.  Survey of its Plan—­6.  Its Design to Show the Nature of God’s Providential Government over Men—­7.  Age to which Job belonged—­Age and Authorship of the Book—­8.  Its Historic Character—­II. The Book of Psalms—­9.  Its Office—­Authors of the Psalms—­Date of their Composition—­10.  External Division of the Psalms into five Books—­First Book; Second Book; Third Book; Fourth Book; Fifth Book—­Subscription appended to the Second Book—­Principle of Arrangement—­Attempted Classification of the Psalms—­Frequent Quotation of the Psalms in the New Testament—­11.  Titles of the Psalms—­the Dedicatory Title; Titles relating to the Character of the Composition to the Musical Instruments, or the Mode of Musical Performance—­These Titles very Ancient, but not in all Cases Original—­III. The Proverbs of Solomon—­12.  Place of this Book in the System of Divine Revelation—­13.  Its Outward Form—­First Part; Second Part; Third Part; Fourth Part—­14.  Arrangement of the Book in its Present Form—­IV. Ecclesiastes—­15.  Authorship of this Book and its View of Life—­16.  Summary of its Contents—­V. The Song of Solomon—­17.  Meaning of the Title.  Ancient Jewish and Christian View of this Song—­18.  It is not a Drama, but a Series of Descripture Pictures—­Its Great Theme—­Caution in Respect to the Spiritual Interpretation of it

CHAPTER XXII.

The Greater Prophets. 1.  General Remarks on the Prophetical Writings—­2.  Different Offices of the Prophets under the Theocracy—­Their Office as Reprovers—­3.  As Expounders of the Mosaic Law in its Spirituality—­4.  And of its End, which was Salvation through the Future Redeemer—­They wrote in the Decline of the Theocracy—­Their Promises fulfilled only in Christ—­I. Isaiah—­5.  He is the First in Order, but not the Earliest of the Prophets—­His Private History almost wholly Unknown—­Jewish Tradition Concerning him—­Period of his Prophetic Activity—­6.  Two Great Divisions of his Prophecies—­Plans for Classifying the Contents of the First Part—­Analysis of these Contents—­General Character of the Second Part, and View of its Contents—­7.  Objections to the Genuineness of the Last Part of Isaiah and Certain Other Parts—­General Principle on which these Objections are to be met—­Previous Preparation for the Revelations contained in this Part—­True Significance of the Promises which it contains—­Form of these Promises—­Mention of Cyrus by Name—­Objection from the Character of the Style considered—­8.  Direct Arguments for the Genuineness of this Part—­External Testimony; Internal Evidences—­9.  Genuineness of the Disputed Passages of the First Part—­II.