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EXPOSITORY LECTURES
THE EPISTLE TO THE HEBREWS.
EXPOSITORY LECTURES
ON
THE EPISTLE TO THE HEBREWS.
By REV. A. SAPHIR, B.A.
First Series, Chapters i. to vii., crown 8vo, cloth extra, 6s. 6d.
" Singularly independent in his line of thinking, and unconventional in his way
of expressing his thoughts, the author has succeeded in throwing much and varied
light upon the high argument of the apostle. The book is a rare outcome of sanc-
tified genius. Readers of it will mark many a favourite passage as they pass along,
and return to dwell on it."— Daily Review.
EXPOSITORY LECTURES
ON
THE EPISTLE TO THE HEBREWS.
SECOND SERIES.
CHAPTERS VIII.-XIII.
ADOLPH SAPHIR,
AUTHOR OF
LECTURES ON THE LOKd'S PRAYER," " CHRIST AND THE SCRIPTURES,
ETC. ETC.
LONDON:
JOHN F. SHAW AND CO.;
48, PATERNOSTER ROW.
nPHE more urgent duties of the ministry have
obliged me to delay the publication of this
volume, which appears a few months later than
was promised. My aim has been not so much to
enter Into a minute analysis of the text, as to
reproduce the argument, and to help the reader to
enter Into the spirit and tone of the epistle.
This portion of Scripture bears very forcibly on
many questions of the day ; but my desire was
rather to dwell on the positive and unchanging
doctrines of revelation, believing that the only
real preservative against error Is the spiritual per-
ception and enjoyment of the truth as It Is In
Jesus. Though conscious of Its numerous faults
and imperfections, I commend the book to the
divine blessing, and to the Indulgent kindness of
the reader. A. S.
Trinity Presbyterian Church,
NoTTiNG Hill, W.,
December, 1875.
CONTENTS.
LECTURE I. ' Page
THE CROWNING POINT : CHRIST THE HIGH PRIEST IN HEAVEN . I
LECTURE IL
THE TRUE TABERNACLE . . . . . -31
LECTURE in.
THE BLESSINGS OF THE NEW COVENANT . . . . 55
LECTURE IV.
WORSHIP IN SPIRIT AND TRUTH . , . . - 1^
LECTURE V.
THE FIRST TABERNACLE ...... lOO
LECTURE VL
CHRIST ENTERED IN BY HIS OWN BLOOD .... 123
LECTURE Vn.
THE MEDIATOR OF THE NEW TESTAMENT . . . I48
LECTURE VIIL
"lo, I come" . . . . . . .167
LECTURE IX.
"according to the good pleasure of HIS will" . . 186
LECTURE X.
OUR PERFECTION ....... 204
LECTURE XI.
FAITH, HOPE, AND LOVE ...... 2I9
vlii Contents.
LECTURE XII. Page
WARNING AGAINST APOSTASY ..... 237
LECTURE XIII.
FAITH AND THINGS HOPED FOR AND UNSEEN . . .257
LECTURE XIV.
FAITH IN GOD THE CREATOR ..... 273
LECTURE XV.
ABEL, ENOCH, NOAH ...... 289
LECTURE XVI.
THE PATRIARCHS ....... 3O4
LECTURE XVII.
MOSES . - . . . . . . . 321
LECTURE XVIII.
FROM THE JUDGES TO THE MACCABEES : THE BETTER THING
FORESEEN FOR US ..... . 337
LECTURE XIX.
THE EXEMPLAR OF FAITH ...... 352
LECTURE XX.
"WHOM THE LORD LOVETH HE CHASTENETH " . . -371
LECTURE XXI.
PEACE AND HOLINESS ...... 388
LECTURE XXII.
MOUNT SINAI AND MOUNT ZION ..... 405
LECTURE XXIII.
EXHORTATIONS AND BENEDICTIONS OF THE APOSTLE PAUL . 423
LECTURE XXIV.
EXHORTATIONS AND BENEDICTIONS OF THE APOSTLE PAUL —
CONTINUED ....... 439
THOUGHTS ON THE QUESTION : WHO WROTE THE EPISTLE TO THE
HEBREWS? . . . . . . .451
EXPOSITORY LECTURES
ON THE
EPISTLE TO THE HEBREWS.
LECTURE I.
THE CROWNING POINT: CHRIST THE HIGH PRIEST
IN HEAVEN.
Hebrews viii. i.
JESUS is our High Priest in heaven. This is
the crowning-point in which all the previous
teaching of our epistle culminates. It is the sum-
mary of the apostle's preceding argument, in the
sense that it is the highest and central-point to-
wards which his exposition had constantly tended,
and in which all the truths which he had deduced
from Scripture are manifested in the clearest and
most convincing light. "We have such an High
Priest, who is set on the right hand of the throne
of the Majesty in the heavens."
This crowning-point may be perceived already
in the very commencement of the epistle ; for
there the apostle declares, that God has spoken
II. B
2 The Epistle to the Hebrews. [chap.
to us in His Son, whom He hath appointed heir of
all things, and by whom also He made the worlds ;
and that Jesus, after having by Himself purged
our sins, took His position, according to the pro-
phetic word, at the right hand of God, where He
is now in royal power and dignity. If as Son
Jesus is at the right hand of God, then it follows
of necessity that the whole dispensation connected
with the priesthood of Aaron and the first sanc-
tuary has vanished, and that, no longer on earth,
but in the Holy of Holies is now the true and
eternal High Priest, the Minister of the new and
better covenant. Here is the solution of all the
difficulties which perplexed the Hebrews ; here the
only safety and consolation amidst the persecutions
and temptations which pressed sorely upon them
living in the midst of the Jews, who were still
cleaving to that which was vanishing away.
The Lord Jesus is our High Priest in heaven.
These simple but majestic and weighty words sum
up the teaching of the first eight chapters of
our epistle. This is the crowning-point of the
apostle's profound and massive argument, Jesus,
who suffered and died, is consecrated the priest
for ever after the order of Melchlsedec, after the
power of an endless life. He is the minister of
the heavenly sanctuary and of the true tabernacle.
The apostle seems to a superficial reader to inter-
rupt frequently the thread of his argument, when
VI 11.] The Epistle to the Hebrews. 3
out of the abundant love, sorrow, and solicitude of
his heart he addresses solemn warnings and exhor-
tations to the Hebrews, but he never for a single
moment loses sight of that luminous centre of
doctrine and consolation, Christ, the Priest in
heaven ; his constant aim is to direct the minds
and the hearts of the Hebrews to that perfection
which in the glorified Saviour is given to all
believers. In the very first verses he sounds the
key-note, describing Jesus as the Son, and de-
claring His royal priesthood. The eternal glory
of the Son, His divine power in creation. His
central position in the future Inheritance, His
supremacy over the angels, His session at the
right hand of God — all these great truths are
brought before us, to show how perfect Is the
royal priesthood of Him who is on the throne.
His true and real humanity, the mystery of His
Incarnation, is brought before us in the second
chapter and for the same purpose ; He was made
like unto His brethren in all things, that He might
become a merciful and faithful High Priest. When
in the third chapter the Lord Jesus is contrasted
with Moses, it is to show that Jesus, the High
Priest, is the perfect Mediator, that He, the Son,
Is greater than Moses, the servant. Our responsi-
bility is Indeed greater than that of Israel in the
wilderness, yet while it becomes us In our earthly
pilgrimage to take heed, to fear, and to labour in
4 The Epistle to the Hebrews. [chap.
order to enter into rest, and while the Word of God
is given unto us, that it may judge and discern
the thoughts and intents of the heart, we have
more abundant reason to hold fast our profession,
beholding Jesus, the great High Priest, that is
passed into the heavens, boldly we draw near to
the throne of grace, for He is touched with the
feeling of our infirmities. (Chap, iv.) And after
showing how Jesus fulfilled all the requirements of
priesthood, being chosen from among men and
called of God, and how in the garden of Gethse-
mane He entered into the lowest depth of human
weakness and obtained the victory in the severest
test of faith, he reminds the Hebrews that Jesus,
being made perfect, both by the obedience which
He learned by the things He suffered, and by His
resurrection and ascension, was addressed by God
an Hieh Priest after the order of Melchisedec.
(Chap. V.) Thus he has reached the long-desired
and much-loved summit, but before he describes
the glorious sanctuary, which opens here to our
view his heart fails him by reason of the weak
and infantine condition into which the Hebrews
had lapsed, and by a most solemn and piercing,
yet affectionate exhortation, he entreats them to
go on unto perfection, that Is unto that which is
within the veil, to behold Him who by His death
became the High Priest after the order of Mel-
chisedec.
VIII.] The Epistle to the Heb7'ews. 5
What Is implied in this mysterious and com-
prehensive word, uttered by David when he was
in the Spirit, and uttered by him as the solemn
declaration and oath of the Most High, is explained
in chapter vii. and again in this chapter, in con-
nection with the new and everlasting covenant in
which we stand. For if the priesthood is changed,
there is of necessity also a change of the dis-
pensation. And this according to God's counsel.
For even Jeremiah, six centuries before the advent
of our Lord, had announced that the Lord would
make a new covenant with the house of Judah
and Israel. The High Priest is in heaven, the
covenant is new and eternal, and therefore the
sanctuary must likewise be in heaven. And to
this latter point our attention is now turned. The
old dispensation had a priesthood and an earthly
tabernacle. The new dispensation has a high
priest and a heavenly sanctuary, and the worship
of believers — all of whom are priests — is in spirit
and in substance, that is, in heaven itself, in the
holy of holies.
In no other portion of the new covenant Scrip-
tures is the High Priesthood of the Lord Jesus
explained. Hence in this precious and most
essential epistle, more than in any other book,
stress is laid upon the ascension rather than the
resurrection, and upon the fact that Jesus is in
6 The Epistle to the Hebrews, [chap.
heaven. In the book of Revelation also (between
which and our epistle are many interesting and
instructive points of resemblance and connection)
heaven is brought before us ; but there it is in
connection with the royal dignity and power of
our glorified Redeemer. There we behold Jesus,
the Lamb that was slain, in the midst of the
throne. From Him proceed all the manifesta-
tions of the Creator -power and government of
God ; and all the developments of history, as well
as its ultimate consummation, are represented as
having their central source in the Son of God,
who died once, and who liveth now for evermore.
But in our epistle heaven is viewed as the sanc-
tuary, w^here the High Priest intercedes for us,
and whence He bestows upon us all the benedic-
tions of the new covenant in virtue of the blood,
by which He entered into the holy of holies.
It has been noticed by attentive readers of the
Scriptures that in this epistle, concerning whose
authorship there is much difficulty, the doctrine
of the resurrection of Jesus is not brought for-
ward prominently, as it is in all Pauline epistles.
This remark is perfectly correct, and of great
importance. Let me remind you that in all the
epistles of the apostle Paul, as well as in most
apostolic epistles, the resurrection of Jesus Christ
from the dead holds a very prominent position. In
this epistle it is mentioned but once, in that beau-
VIII.] The Epistle to the Hebrews. 7
tiful passage where the apostle speaks of the God
of peace who brought again (or rather brought
up, i.e. to heaven, di/ayaya>i/) from the grave the
great Shepherd of the flock. And here also the
reference to the resurrection is more, as leading
to the ascension and consummation of His exal-
tation. In all other epistles, where the apostle
speaks of man's justification, of man's renewal,
and of the headship of the Lord Jesus Christ, it
is not the ascension but the resurrection which is
represented as the great crisis, and as the founda-
tion. He, who was delivered for our offences, was
raised again for our justification. If we believe
in our heart that God raised Jesus from dead, we
shall be saved. Thus Paul teaches in his epistle
*to the Romans. " Now is Christ risen from the
dead," is his triumphant exclamation in his epistle
to the Corinthians, and therefore our faith is not
vain, and we are no longer in our sins. Together
with Christ — thus he explains to the Ephesians
other aspects of this central truth, we, who were
dead in trespasses and sins, were quickened, and
as the first-born from the dead, Christ is the Head
of the Church, is the teaching of the epistles to
the Ephesians and Colossians. * How important
is the place assigned in them to the resurrection
of our Lord in connection with the new life of
* Rom. iv. 25; X. 9; I Cor. xv. ; Eph. i. 20; Eph. ii. ; Col. i. 18;
Phil. iii. 10,
8 The Epistle to the Hebrews. [chap.
the believer. As risen with Christ, he Is to seek
the things that are above, and In the description
of the apostle's spiritual experience, we find that
his great and constant desire was to know "the
power of Christ's resurrection."
The question naturally arises : '* Why Is it that
In the Epistle to the Hebrews the resurrection of
the Lord Jesus Christ is comparatively put Into the
background, and all the emphasis is laid upon the
ascension .^ "
The answer is simple. The object of the
Epistle to the Hebrews was to comfort and also
to exhort the Jews, whose faith was sorely tried
because they were excluded from the services of
the temple In Jerusalem ; to confirm unto them
the great truth, that they had the reality and the
substance of those things which were only tem-
porary and signs, and that the real sanctuary was
not upon earth but high In the heavens, and that
Jesus had gone to be the minister of the holy
things, and of the true or substantial tabernacle,
which the Lord pitched, and not man. Hence
all the emphasis must be laid upon this, that Jesus,
the Son of God, in human nature, by virtue of
the blood which- was shed upon Golgotha, has
entered above all heavens into the real and true
heaven, and on the throne of God, according to
the prediction of the iioth Psalm, Is a priest now
after the order of Melchisedec.
VIII.] The Epistle to the Heb7^ews. 9
But in order to understand more fully what is
meant by heaven, where the Lord Jesus Christ
is now exercising the office of High Priest, let
us see with what great clearness the doctrine of
the ascension of the Lord Jesus is brought for-
ward throughout the whole of the new covenant
Scriptures.
Before the incarnation, the true sanctuary was
not yet made manifest ; but when the Word of
God was made flesh He tabernacled in the midst
of us, and we beheld the glory of the Only-be-
gotten. Israel was taught that God, who made
the heavens and the earth, was omnipresent, and
yet combined with this spiritual conception of the
omnipresence of God was the revelation of a
heavenly sanctuary, of an eternal throne, of a
special locality, in which the presence and the
glory of God were manifested, unto which the
prayers and offerings of His people ascend, and
from which divine blessings and powers descend.'"'
With the advent of the Son of God commenced
the full manifestation of heaven. At His birth
the angels sang. Glory to God in the highest;
for the incarnation of Jesus was the unfolding
and the accomplishment of that eternal counsel, in
which the glory of God shines forth most brightly.
The announcement of Jesus to the first disci-
ples, whom He gathered, was : From henceforth
* Compare next Lecture.
lo The Epistle to the Hebrews, [chap.
shall ye see the heavens opened. The kingdom
of heaven is come, was the declaration of the
Prophet of Galilee. He speaks of the kingdom
of heaven and the reward in heaven to the poor
in spirit, unto whom He unfolds the blessedness
and the character of His kino-dom and riorhteous-
o o
ness. And in that solemn and decisive moment,
in which Jesus, the Son of God, the heavenly-
High Priest, is brought before the representative
of the Aaronic priesthood and the old Levitical
dispensation. His testimony is, " From henceforth
shall ye see the Son of man sitting at the right
hand of power."
Now let us look upon the ascension of the Lord
Jesus Christ as it is narrated or testified in the
Gospels.
I begin with the gospel in which the ascension,
as an actual event, is not mentioned — the Gospel
of John. The apostle, who dwells so emphatically
on the divinity of the Lord Jesus, gives us no
account of the ascension. Though not narrated,
however, it is frequently alluded to ; as in a simi-
lar manner the institution of the Lord's Supper
is never mentioned by this evangelist, though his
gospel is full of references to, and expositions of,
that eating and drinking of which the Lord's
Supper is the outward representation and blessed
seal. Let us collect now the testimony of this
gospel concerning the ascension. Jesus says to
yiii.] The Epistle to the Hebrews. 1 1
Nathanael, " Ye shall see the heavens open, and
the angels of God ascending and descending upon
the Son of man," the great Mediator between
heaven and earth. He says to Nicodemus, " No
man hath ascended up to heaven, but He that
came down from heaven, even the Son of man
which is in heaven." Jesus here explains, that
He had come down from heaven in order to
go back again into heaven, to be the source of
regeneration and life. Again, in the Saviour's
arguments with the Jews, when they are astonished
and offended at His words, especially at His
declaration that He is the Bread come down from
heaven, and that we are to live by Him, the Lord
asks, '' Doth this offend you ? What and if ye
shall see the Son of man ascend up where He
was before .'^" ''' Did He not refer to His ascen-
sion when He said to the unbelieving Jews, ''Ye
shall seek me, and shall not find me : and where
I am, thither ye cannot come " 1 1 Or when on
that most solemn last night He spoke to His dis-
ciples '' plainly " — " I came forth from the Father,
and am come into the world : again, I leave the
world, and go unto the Father":^ — of His Father's
house and its many mansions, of the place He
was going to prepare for us, of His return unto
glory, and not merely to the apostles, but be-
fore them to His heavenly Father. Lastly, what
^ John vi. 62. t John vii. 34, X John xvi. 28.
12 The Epistle to the Hebrews. [chap.
fuller announcement of the ascension than His
gracious and majestic words to Mary Magdalene :
" Touch me not ; for I am not yet ascended to my
Father : but go to my brethren, and say unto
them, I ascend unto my Father, and your Father ;
and to my God, and your God." '■' When we con-
sider these passages, which belong to every por-
tion of this gospel, from its commencement to its
conclusion, which consist of the Saviour's own
words, addressed to inquirers, to opponents, to
disciples, and to the Father ; when we consider
the manner in which the Lord connects in these
passages His ascension with His pre-mundane
glory, with His eternal relation to the Father,
and with His mediatorial work, we feel that al-
though the ascension of our Lord is not narrated
by the Apostle John, it is taught by him in the
most profound, radical, and comprehensive manner.
In the Gospel of Mark, which narrates the in-
cidents of the life of Christ in the most terse and
graphic style, the ascension of the Lord Jesus is
mentioned in one verse, in which everything that
is necessary is comprehended ; namely, that He
was taken away from the earth, and that He took
His position at the right hand of the Majesty on
high.
In the Gospel of Luke the ascension is narrated
most fully and circumstantially. Both the place —
* John XX. 17.
VIII.] The Epistle to the Hebrews, 13
Bethany, the mount of OHves — and the manner
of His ascension are mentioned. ''Jesus lifted
up His hands, and blessed them. And while He
blessed them. He was parted from them, and
carried up into heaven." The beloved physi-
cian, unto whom it was given to write the gospel
of the Son of man, thus describes the ascension
of our Lord with most instructive and touching
detail. In his account we hear the loving voice
and see the pierced hands of our blessed Saviour.
In the Gospel of Matthew the ascension is not
narrated. It is distinctly implied in Christ's reply
to the adjuration of the high priest : " Tell us
whether thou be the Christ, the Son of God. Jesus
saith unto him. Thou hast said : nevertheless I
say unto you. Hereafter shall ye see the Son of
man sitting on the right hand of power, and
coming in the clouds of heaven."''' In this gospel
Jesus is chiefly represented as the Messiah, the
King of the Jews. The great object is to show
that Jesus, though rejected and crucified by His
people, is the theocratic Lord ; that the stone re-
jected by the builders is the corner-stone. Hence
the conclusion, while implying the ascension in the
words, '' All power is given unto m.e in heaven and
earth," points to the consummation of this age, to
the restoration of Israel, and the Messianic reign.
Thus we have the most spiritual and theological
* Matt. xxvi. 63, 64.
14 The Epistle to the Heb7'ews. [chap.
account of the ascension in the Gospel of John ;
the most concise and terse statement in the Gospel
of Mark ; the most circumstantial and, if I may
say so, human description, entering into the affec-
tions of our Lord, in the Gospel of the physician
Luke ; and a statement of the ascension of Christ,
with special reference to His theocratic position as
the Messiah and King of the Jews, in the Gospel
of Matthew.
Now pass we on to that which is, as it were,
the neck, the connecting-link, between the gospels
and the epistles and Revelation — the Acts of the
.Apostles, written by the evangelist Luke, the
friend and companion of the apostle Paul.
We have in the first chapter of the book of
Acts another account of the ascension, and from
a different point of view. Let us only bring to
the reading of the Scripture a reverential spirit,
taking for granted that the men that wrote it, even
apart from the inspiration of the Holy Ghost, were
men who approached their high task with the
greatest solemnity and concentration of mind,
whose every expression in the description of the
grand events they narrate was based upon deep
thought, and who always kept a specific and im-
portant purpose in view.
In the book of Acts the evangelist Luke wishes
to describe to us how the root of that tree that
was now to be developed was not on earth, but in
VIII.] The Epistle to the Hebrews. 15
heaven. Therefore he shows unto us how, when
Jesus parted with His disciples, they asked Him,
'' Lord, wilt thou at this time restore the kingdom
to Israel ?" It is not, as it is generally explained,
a question of ignorance, or a question of prejudice,
but a question of true spiritual insight into the
Word of God. They had been taught by our
blessed Saviour after His resurrection that it was
from not understanding the whole Scripture that
they expected the glory of the Messiah to be
revealed without or before His sufferings. It was
impossible for Christ to enter into glory, unless
first He died upon the cross. But now that He
had died, that He had offered the sacrifice, and that
His glorified humanity had come forth from the
grave, what hindered Him to establish the king-
dom of Israel ? Why should not now the prophe-
cies be immediately fulfilled ? If the apostles had
asked Jesus the question before His crucifixion,
"Wilt thou at this time restore the kingdom to
Israel.-^" the Lord Jesus would have told them,
that now it behoved Him to suffer. But now that
He had suffered the question of the disciples was
a perfectly correct one ; nor does Jesus in any
way contradict them, but His answer confirms the
kingdom. He only tells them that it is delayed,
it is postponed : there is a new development.
The river has taken a new turn unforeseen by
Israel.
1 6 The Epistle to the Hebrews, [chap.
Now Is the time of the Church, consisting both
of Jews and Gentiles in one body. Its charac-
teristic Is not rule, but testimony ; not power,
but suffering ; not Israel as a nation, and other
nations, converted as such; but from among Israel
and all the nations a peculiar people, unacknow-
ledged and unloved by the world, witnesses who
are to wait for the coming of the Lord Jesus
from heaven. It is In the Acts, and not in the
Gospel of Luke, where it would not be in accord-
ance with the scope of the whole book, that the
ascension is related from this point of view. Jesus
is King of Israel. He is not forgetting the earth,
or the promises, which God had given to the
fathers, of which He is the minister unto the
circumcision. But In the meanwhile the apostles
must be witnesses in Judaea, and in Galilee, and
in Samaria, and to the uttermost ends of the earth.
And finally, this Jesus shall so come in like man-
ner, the angels declare, as ye have seen Him go
up into heaven.
The first chapter having thus explained the
relation of the ascended Lord to Israel, and the
earthly promise, and the nature of the intermediate
Church dispensation, which does not set aside or
take the position of a substitute of the earthly
promise of the Christocracy, the rest of the book
narrates the acts, not so much of the apostles,
as of the Lord Jesus, the glorified Head of the
vni.] The Epistle to the Hebrews, 17
Church. It is to the ascended Lord that Peter
attributes the gift of the Holy Ghost on the day
of Pentecost. It is of Jesus in heaven, and of
His return thence to fulfil the promises spoken
of by all God's holy prophets since the world
began (for Enoch, the seventh from Adam, spoke
of the coming of the Lord with His saints), that
the apostle of the circumcision testifies, after the
first miracle in Jerusalem. It is to the ascended
Lord Jesus that the prayer of the proto-martyr
is directed. The ascended Jesus appears unto
Saul of Tarsus, and calls him to be His disciple
and His apostle to the Gentiles. The Lord from
heaven appears throughout this book as the
Head and Ruler of the Church ; He guides and
blesses His messengers ; He opens the heart of
Lydia ; He comforts and encourages the fainting
heart of the apostle Paul in Corinth ; His hand is
with the evangelists, so that many believe. '"'" The
whole life, strength, and victory of the Church are
derived from Jesus, seated at the right hand of
God, who is in this book called emphatically Lord.
Let us glance now at the Pauline Epistles. In
the teaching of this apostle we naturally expect that
the ascension should hold a prominent position; for
it was as the ascended Lord of glory that Jesus
first appeared unto him, and thus we find in all
his epistles the triumphant conclusion, the glorious
* Chap. ii. 33 ; iii. 20 ; vii. 56 ; ix. 5 ; xvi. 14, &c.
II. C
1 8 The Epistle to the Hebrews. [chap.
consummation, of Christ's life and work on earth.
He who was God manifest in the flesh was after
His death "received up into glory."*
In the Epistle to the Philippians we can see
more clearly and fully than in any other portion
of Scripture the peculiarity of the apostle's inward
life. There is no more vivid and accurate portrait
of his spiritual individuality. In other epistles we
learn more of his conflicts both before and after
his conversion (Romans and Corinthians) ; here
the features of his spiritual countenance are, as it
were, in repose, and we behold them in their most
real and their most beautiful and placid character.
And throughout this epistle we see that Christ in
heaven was the apostle's constant thought, strength,
joy, and aim. His experience was different from
that of the twelve disciples. In their case there
was gradual development. They knew Jesus of
Nazareth as their Master and Teacher, as the
Prophet of Galilee, as their Friend. Even after
recognizing in Him the Messiah, they did not
understand the mystery of His sufferings. After
three years' discipleship Philip asked, " Show us
the Father." The risen Jesus taught them the
whole counsel of God, and at Pentecost they
entered into the full enjoyment of light. Not
so with Paul. Jesus, the Lord from heaven,
appeared unto him, and beholding Him, he
* I Tim. iii. i6.
VIII.] The Epistle to the Hebrews. 19
entered into a new region, a new life. Here he
beheld God's righteousness ; here he beheld per-
fection In glory ; here he beheld the source of
life and strength ; here he beheld joy, which no
circumstances could cloud, and the hope of the
consummation of blessedness. What Is earth now
to him ? What his former righteousness and all
the national distinctions In which he used to
trust ? What are all things compared with the
excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus ?*
" To me to live Is Christ," " Rejoice In the
Lord.'' I can do all things through Christ which
strengtheneth me." '' Our citizenship is In heaven,
from whence we look for the Lord." *' Christ In
heaven," this Is his aim and hope ; to be like
Him, even in His glorious body, this Is the per-
fection, heavenly In its character, for which at the
return of the Lord he awaits In hope.
In the Epistle to the Romans, and In kindred
epistles, the object of the apostle Paul is to lead
the sinner to God. He begins with man in his
present condition. He shows the depth of the
fall, the guilt of sin, the helplessness of the
flesh ; then the propitiation that was made by
Christ, the death of the Lord Jesus, the resurrec-
tion, and the consequent gift of the Holy Ghost.
He goes from earth upwards. Such Is not the
method of the apostle John. He always goes
^ Phil. iii.
20 The Epistle to the Hebrews, [chap.
from heaven earthwards. He begins with God —
the Hfe that was with God from the beginning",
the Word that was with God, and is now mani-
fested to us. The apostle Paul begins with man,
Jew or Gentile — the sinner guilty and condemned,
dead and helpless. Now from this point of view
the death and resurrection of Christ must needs
form the centre. There all lines meet, as in the
central nextis. Yet the end must always be Christ
enthroned in heaven — Christ at the right hand of
God. Thus, in answer to the question, " Who is
he that condemneth V his answer culminates in
the heavenly exaltation of our Lord. '' It is Christ
that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is
even at the right hand of God, who also maketh
intercession for us."*
In the Epistles to the Corinthians the apostle's
testimony is of Christ, the second Adam, the Lord
from heaven, and he brings before us the glorious
hope, " As is the heavenly, such are they also that
are heavenly." t He describes the attitude of the
believer, living in the spirit and liberty of the
New Testament, as with open face beholding as
in a glass the glory of the Lord ; for the Lord
Christ, exalted in heaven. Is that SpIrit.J
Look again at his experimental and prophetic
■^ Rom. viii. 34. Compare also the expression, "Who is over all"
(ix. 5) ; and the striking passage, Rom. x. 6.
t I Cor. XV. 48. % 2 Cor. iii.
VIII.] The Epistle to the Hebrews, 21
epistles. We have already referred to the Epistle
to the Philippians, as a comment on the words :
''Our citizenship is in heaven."* To the Thes-
salonians he writes more fully about our waiting
for the Son of God from heaven, and of the de-
scent of the Lord Himself to gather His saints.f
In his Epistles to Timothy he concludes his ex-
ulting and rhythmical summary of Christian truth,
" Received into glory," the first link of the golden
chain being God manifest in the flesh. \
Again, in the Epistles to the Ephesians and
Colossians, which we may call Christological, re-
ferring chiefly to the person of Christ, the ascen-
sion of the Lord holds a very prominent position.
In the Epistle to the Ephesians, although Christ
is not spoken of as High Priest, yet His exalta-
tion at the right hand of God is represented in
the same manner as in our epistle. From the very
outset the apostle speaks of all spiritual blessings
as in heavenly places in Christ, and of the Lord
as exalted by the Father far above all princi-
pality and power, and might, and dominion at His
own right hand in the heavenlies, in order to be
the head over all things to the Church. In like
manner he connects in the fourth chapter Christ's
rule over, union with, and gifts to the Church,
with His ascension ''far above all heavens, that
He might fill all things." As in the Hebrews,
* Phil. iiL 20. t I Thess. i. and iv. X i Tim. iii. i6.
2 2 The Epistle to the Hebrews. [chap.
Christ as High Priest is shown to be in heaven,
so here Christ, the Head and Bridegroom of the
Church, the Centre and Heir of all things. The
Epistle to the Colossians contains the same teach-
ing, and with some new aspects and applications.
Here the apostle connects the pre-eminence of
Christ, as the first-begotten of the dead and as
the Head of the Church, with His eternal glory
as the Word by whom all things were made. He
shows that being risen and exalted with Christ
we have been transplanted out of the region of
law and earthly elements (touch not, taste not,
handle not), out of the region of shadows and
types, into the liberty and substance of heavenly
realities; hence His exhortation, "Seek the things
which are above, where Christ sitteth at the right
hand of God."* How very striking and close
the resemblance is here with the teaching of the
Epistle to the Hebrews.
Thus we find in all (the other) Pauline writings
the same importance attached to the culminating
part of Christ's first advent — His ascension into
heaven, t
* Compare Col. i. 15 with Heb. i. 1-3.
t Peter, who was an eye-witness of the ascension (as he was
likewise one of the three favoured disciples who were with Jesus
on the mount of transfiguration, and thus saw the Son of man
coming in His kingdom ; compare Matt. xvi. 28 with 2 Peter i 16),
declared with joyous emphasis the heavenly exaltation and power
of the Lord both in his addresses to the Jews (Acts passim), and in
his epistles. " He is gone into heaven, and is on the right hand of
VIII.] The Epistle to the Hebi^ews. 23
It is because the Son of man, who came down
from heaven, hath ascended up into heaven, it is
because Jesus is at the right hand of God, that
He is the true and perfect mediator between God
and man. Him we in common with all believers
invoke. Him we adore as Lord; to Him, as ex-
alted by the Father, pertaineth the name above
every name, and the homage of the whole crea-
ture-world; unto Him, as the Lord in heaven,
all celestial and earthly power is given, and all
angelic orders are obedient to His command.
From His throne in heaven He gives repentance
and the remission of sins ; from thence He gives
unto His Church all needful gifts, even as He at
first sent forth the Holy Ghost, because He had
been exalted by the right hand of God. From
heaven He shall descend and gather His saints,
changing their vile bodies, that they may be
fashioned like unto His glorious body ; from
heaven He worketh now, and will work, until
He hath subdued all things unto Himself.
Christ in heaven — this sums up all our faith.
Here is our righteousness, and our standing
before God ; here our storehouse of inexhaust-
ible blessings, and of unsearchable riches ; here
God ; angels and authorities and powers being made subject unto
Him." " God raised Him up from the dead, and gave Him glory."
(i Peter iii. 22 ; i 21.)
The book of Revelation is from beginning to end a testimony
of the ascended Lord.
24 The Epistle to the Hebrews. [chap.
our armoury, whence we obtain the weapons of
our warfare ; here is our citizenship, and the hope
of our glory.
What is meant by the right hand of the throne
of the Majesty in the heavens ? In the first
chapter the apostle had used the similar expres-
sion, "the right hand of the Majesty," and with
evident reference to the prophecy of the iioth
Psalm. The expression does not denote the
omnipresence of God ; as the creed correctly and
significantly says, " SItteth at the right hand of
the Y^^xki^x Almighty I' Jesus is now on the throne
of omnipotence. He ascended into the eternal,
highest, and uncreated heaven. The term denotes
the rank of equality which our Lord takes in His
glory. He has entered into the participation of
the sovereign authority.
The right hand is the place of affection, as
well as of honour and dignity." Christ is on the
right hand of the Father, being His beloved Son,
in whom He manifests His glory. The right hand
is also the symbol of sovereign power and rule.
Christ is Lord over all.
Great is the mystery of the Incarnation — the
* So we are told in the 45th Psalm that the bride is to stand at
the right hand of the King. As the apostle explains in the epistle
to the Corinthians, in accordance with this, the husband is the
head of the woman ; Christ is the head of the Church ; God is the
head of Christ. The husband is the head of the wife ; God is the
head of Christ. The wife is the glory of the husband; Christ is
the glory of God.
VIII.] The Epistle to the Hebrews. 25
Son of God in human nature, both before and
after His exaltation. It was not the human nature
of Christ that suffered upon the cross, but the Son
of God in human nature. It is not the human
nature that is glorified at the right hand of the
Father ; but the Son of God in human nature,
who humbled Himself, is now exalted above all
heavens. Unto Him all power is given ; the
government of all things is upon His shoulder;
Jesus rules now. In the book of Revelation His
royal dignity is unveiled. There we behold the
First-begotten of the dead possessing the keys
of hell and of death ; the Lamb, who alone can
open the book ; the Governor, the Lord ; who
overrules and directs all events ; who controls all
storms and tempests, and unto whose kingdom
all developments of history, and all conflicts and
movements among angels and among the nations
on earth must serve ; who shall finally be revealed,
acknowledged, and obeyed as King of kings, and
Lord of lords. The royal aspect of the word,
'' Sit thou at my right hand," is explained in the
Apocalypse, where we behold the Lamb in the
midst of the throne ; in our epistle, the priestly
aspect of the word is unfolded.
Heaven being the locality of Christ's priest-
hood, it must needs be perfect, eternal, spiritual,
and substantial. What are the things in which
Christ is now occupied as a priest ? In one respect
26 The Epistle to the Hebrews. [chap.
He rests, because He finished His work upon the
earth, and therefore He is described as sitting
down on His Father's throne; His is now the
perfect and peaceful rest of victory, for He has
overcome. But, on the other hand. His is now
a constant priestly activity. Every single indi-
vidual that is brought unto God, is brought
through His intercession ; and day by day Christ
is occupied with all His children who are upon
earth, bestowing upon them the benefits which
He has purchased with His blood, sustaining their
spiritual life, and overruling all things for their
good.
If Christ is in heaven, we must lift up our eyes
and hearts to heaven. There are things above.
The things above are the spiritual blessings in
heavenly places. * " Seek those things which are
above ;"t faith and love, hope and patience, meek-
ness, righteousness, and strength. The things
above are also the future things for which we
wait, seeing that our inheritance is not here upon
earth. All that is pertaining unto the inheritance
" incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not
away," belongs unto those things which Christ has
now to minister in the tabernacle which God has
made, and not man. \ Our transfigured body, our
perfectly enlightened mind, our soul entirely filled
■* Eph. i. 3. t Col. iii. i. X Compare i Peter i.
VIII.] The Epistle to the Hebrews. 27
with the love of God, all the strength and gifts for
government (for we shall be called to reign with
Christ upon the earth), all those powers and
blessings which we have now only by faith and in
germ, are in the heavenly places with Christ, who
shall bring them to us when He comes again at
the command of the Father.
Let us pause here to examine the character of
our faith and of our walk in the light of this
truth. Our High Priest is in Heaven. The New
Covenant Scripture explains to us that there are
two kingdoms, two realms, two atmospheres or
methods of life. The one shall pass away, and
the other shall remain for ever. The one is the
world and the earth in its present condition ; the
other is heavenly, and shall abide for evermore.
The one belongs to the first creation, and the
power of sin and death ; the other belongs to the
second creation, to the power of redemption and
life through righteousness. To believe is to see
the things which are unseen and eternal. It is
to behold the land that is afar off, and to take
possession of it.^'* It is to enter into the kingdom t
prepared for us from the foundation of the world,
existing at present, and ready to be manifested at
the appearing of our Lord. It is to cherish the
lively, animating, and purifying hope of the in-
* " Faith is the discovery and conquest of a new country." —
J. MiJLLER. t Matt. XXV. 34.
28 The Epistle to the Hebrews, [chap.
herltance incorruptible, undefiled, and unfading,
even the heavenly kingdom.'"' It is to be trans-
planted into this unseen and yet most real world
of blessing and of power. It is to mind no longer
earthly things,! and to have the affections set
upon the things above. It is to be intrusted with
the true riches. J Such is the nature of faith. § It
is to prefer spiritual things to carnal ; eternal
things to temporal ; real things to things which
are mere shadows.
" Lay not up for yourselves treasure on earth ;
but lay up for yourselves treasure in heaven."
Hence, the whole aim and purpose of our ex-
istence here below, all our endeavour, all our
works, all our diligence, ought to be given to this
one thing, the kingdom of God, which remains
for ever. So, while we are occupied with earthly
duties, our great object should always be to lay up
treasure for ourselves in heaven ; to have our
affections set upon the things which are above,
that thus we may learn Christ in the occupa-
tions and discipline of our present life ; to be filled
with the mind which was in Christ Jesus, who
humbled Himself, and obeyed the Father in love ;
to be heavenly-minded, as they who have a lively
* I Peter i. 4 ; Col. i. 12 ; 2 Tim. iv. 18.
t ra eirLyeia ^popovyres. (Phil. iii. 1 9.)
X kx-neivbv. (Luke xvi. 11.)
§ Heb. xi. I ; 2 Cor. iv. 18.
vrii.] The Epistle to the Hebrews. 29
hope, and whose citizenship is in heaven. Such
is the Christian Hfe — other-worldly, heavenly.
A spurious or superficial conversion dwells
rather on the peace of God than on the God of
peace, contemplates the cross of Christ and not
the Christ of the cross, rejoices prematurely in
deliverance from punishment, instead of cleaving
in repentance and faith to Jesus, who delivers us
from this present evil world, and raises us unto
newness of life ; heavenly in its character and
hope. Wretched and fatal self-deception, to
imagine that after a worldly, selfish, self-centred
life upon earth we shall be transplanted into the
kingdom of glory, into a blessedness of which we
have had no foretaste, into an inheritance of
which we have received no earnest in the gift of
the indwelling Spirit. Jesus, who died on the
cross, is now in heaven; it is only from heaven
that the blessings of redemption, forgiveness, and
the eternal love of God, are now bestowed by
Him ; He never delivers from the wrath to come
without drawing us unto Himself, without separa-
ting us by His cross from the dominion of sin
and the tyranny of self, without sending into our
hearts the Spirit, as the Spirit of life. If our
life is now hid with Christ in God, then, when
Christ, who is our life, shall appear, we also shall
appear with Him in glory. Our citizenship is in
heaven, and Jesus, whom we now love and serve,
will come to receive us unto Himself.
30 The Epistle to the Hebrews. [vm.
From the lowest depth of sin and guilt, of
weakness and fear, look up to heaven, and behold
there the great High Priest. It is because He
finished the transgression, and made an end of
sins, and made reconciliation for iniquity, and
brought in everlasting righteousness, that Jesus
is on the throne of God. Behold in Him the
forgiveness of sin, righteousness everlasting, per-
fect access to the Father, the fountain of renewing
grace, of upholding strength, and of endless bless-
edness. Only believe ! Our works and merit are
of no avail. Into this height none can ascend.
Jesus, who went to the Father, is the way. Faith
beholds the great High Priest who died for sin-
ners on the cross, and who as the sinner's right-
eousness is now before God ; faith beholds Jesus
at the right hand of the Majesty on high ; and
faith can rest, and worship, and say, '' The God
and Father of the Lord Jesus Christ is my God
and my Father."
LECTURE II.
THE TRUE TABERNACLE.
Hebrews viii. i, 2.
T T Is the locality where the great High Priest
^ now exercises His functions which the apostle
emphasizes. Here the contrast is not so much
that of law and gospel, of grace and works, as in
other epistles ; the contrast is between the earthly
and temporary and the heavenly and eternal. In
spirit and reality, the Levitical dispensation ter-
minated when the veil of the temple was rent in
twain ; actually and in outward appearance, it
continued till the destruction of Jerusalem and of
the temple declared unto all the world that the
times of the old dispensation had come to an
end. While the temple was still in existence, it
was difficult for the Hebrews to understand the
heavenly character of their calling and worship.
It seemed to them that faith in the Messiah ex-
cluded them from the blessings and privileges of
Messiah's nation. Levitical services in the earthly
sanctuary still continued. Where was the place
of believing Hebrews ? The apostle shows that
32 The Epistle to the Hebrews. [chap.
Jesus Is High Priest In heaven, and that therefore
ours is a heavenly sanctuary, where all Is substance,
and possessed of an eternal vitality and glory.
All this Is Implied in the fundamental fact that
Jesus Is the Christ, the Son of the living God.
The Lord said of Peter's confession that on this
rock the church is built ; but even Peter did not
fully understand for some time the truths which
necessarily follow from faith in the Christ, the Son
of God. The Priesthood of the Son must needs
be heavenly and eternal. It cannot be connected
with the old covenant ; but it is inseparably con-
nected with the new, in which divine love and life
are truly bestowed through the righteousness of
grace, and in which forgiven and renewed sinners
worship the Father in spirit and in truth. It must
break down the wall of separation between Jew
and Gentile ; for through the exalted Saviour the
Spirit is given, by whom both have the same
access to the Father. Hence the apostle returns
at the end of the seventh chapter to the key-note
struck at first — Jesus the Son.
If our High Priest Is Jesus, God and man in one
person, the only mediator, the sanctuary in which
we worship is above. He is the minister'" of the
true tabernade, which the Lord pitched, and not
^ \€iTovpybs — compare Isa. Ixi. 6 ; Jer. xxxiii. 21 ; Neh. x. 40 — an
expression used for the service of the priests in the sanctuary,
especially as connected with the sacrifices and offerings.
viii.i The Epistle to the Hebrews. 33
man. This tabernacle is contrasted with the taber-
nacle in the wilderness. It is ''true," in the sense
in which Jesus says, " I am the true vine ; that is,
the real and substantial vine, of which the outward
and visible vines are merely emblems.
In the second place, this tabernacle was made,
not with hands, and not through the mediation of
human beings, as was the tabernacle in the wilder-
ness ; but it was made by God Himself. And, in
the third place, this tabernacle is not a tent in the
wilderness, but it is an abiding place in the hea-
venlies, there to be for ever.
The tabernacle is one of the most important
and instructive types. Here is such a variety of
truths, here is such a fulness and manifoldness of
spiritual teaching, that our great difficulty is to
combine all the various lessons and aspects which
it presents.
Now, the tabernacle has no fewer than three
meanings.
In the first place, the tabernacle is a type, a
visible illustration, of that heavenly place in which
God has His dwelling. In the second place, the
tabernacle is a type of Jesus Christ, who is the
meeting-place between God and man. And, in
the third place, the tabernacle is a type of Christ
in the Church — of the communion of Jesus with
all believers.*
* The analogy between the tabernacle and man, or rather the
II. D
34 The Epistle to the Hebrews. [chap.
Moses, when he went up into the mount, after
the glory of the Lord had appeared unto him and
unto the elders, received from God a wonderful
individual believer, has struck Luther. He calls the outer court the
body, the holy place the soul, and the most holy the spirit. As the
passage is in itself interesting and instructive, I add a translation.
Speaking of the Magjiificat (Luke i. 46), Luther says : " Scripture
divides man into three parts, as the apostle writes (i Thess. v. 23),
' The God of peace sanctify you wholly ; that your whole spirit, soul,
and body be preserved unblameable.' And each of these three, as
well as the whole man, is divided in another manner into two,
spirit and flesh, which is a division, not of human nature, but of its
condition. That is, each of the three may be either good or bad,
spiritual or carnal, of which subject we do not treat here. The
spirit is the highest and noblest in man, whereby he is able to grasp
incomprehensible, invisible, eternal things ; and it is, in short, the
dwelling-place of faith, and of God's word, of which David speaks
(Ps, li. 12), put into my inmost being a right spirit. (Compare Ps.
Ixxviii. 37.) The second is the soul ; that is, the same spirit accord-
ing to its natural aspect, in so far as it animates the body, and is
often called in scripture life ; for the spirit can live without the body,
but not the body without the spirit. This soul, we notice, lives and
works constantly even in our sleep, and can perceive and under-
stand, not spiritual things, but the things of reason ; for reason is
the light in this house, and the soul cannot be free from error unless
the spirit illumines and rules it with faith or the higher light. . . .
The third is the body with its members, the works of which are
only exercise and habit, according to the knowledge of the soul,
and the faith of the spirit. . . . Now of this I shall show a simili-
tude from Scripture. Moses made a tabernacle with three distinct
parts. (Exod. xxvi. 33, 34.) The first, satictiwi sanctorum, where
God dwelt, and in which there was no light. The second, sanctum,
in which stood the candlestick with seven branches. The third was
called atrium, or court, that was without, and in the open daylight.
Which is a picture of the Christian. His spirit is satictum sanc-
torum, God's dwelling-place, in faith without sight ; for he believes
what he cannot see, or feel, or comprehend. His soul is sanctum,
in which are seven lights, reason, discernment, knowledge, and
understanding of outward things. His body is atrium, this is open
VIII.] The Epistle to the Hebrews. 35
revelation.'" There was shown unto him — in what
manner it is impossible for us to conceive — a
pattern of the heavenly places ; not the heavenly
realities themselves, but he beheld, most likely in
a vision, the model of heavenly places, the picture
of heavenly realities. And according to that model
he was instructed to give the orders in the framing
of the tabernacle, and to execute the design ; so
that the tabernacle in the wilderness was to be a
faithful representation of what he had seen, as far
as it is possible to represent heavenly and spiritual
realities by outward and visible things. Surely
when God showed unto Moses the pattern of
heavenly things. He showed unto him also the
great m'ystery of godliness, God manifest in the
flesh, by whom there would be brought about
not merely a reconciliation, but also the indwelling
of God in the hearts of His people ; and as Abra-
and patent to all, and every one can see what he does, and how he
lives." No doubt this analogy is correct. (Compare on the dis-
tinction—soul and spirit, i Cor. ii.) What is true of the whole
Church, is true of each individual member ; but to find in this the
purport of the tabernacle chiefly or exclusively is erroneous and
untenable.
^ It is stated four times in the book of Exodus that the taber-
nacle was built after the pattern shown in the mount. (Exod. xxv.
9, 40 ; xxvi. 30 ; xxvii. 8.) To this Stephen also alludes. (Acts
vii. 44.) In like manner the temple was built according to divine
direction, as we read (i Chron. xxviii. 11) that "David gave to
Solomon his son the pattern of the porch, and of the houses, . . .
and the pattern of all that he had by the Spirit." (Compare Heb.
ix. 8, where, speaking of the high priest's yearly entrance into the
Holy of Holies, it is said, " The Holy Ghost this signifying.")
36 The Epistle to the Hebreivs. [chap.
ham saw the day of Christ, and rejoiced and was
glad in it — as Isaiah, when he heard the trisagion
of the seraphim, beheld the glory of the Lord,
even of the Christ,'"* — so there can be no doubt
that, when Moses the man of God was on the
mount, there was revealed unto him the mystery
of the counsel of God, the incarnation, and the
mediatorial work of the Lord Jesus Christ.
The tabernacle presented wonderful truths f to
Israel. In the sacrifices and ordinances of the
tabernacle God declared unto His people the for-
giveness of their sins ; He brought them near
unto Himself through expiation and mediation ;
He healed their diseases and comforted their
hearts. But the ultimate object in all this was to
reveal Himself, to manifest His divine perfection,
to show forth His glory. In all the gifts of pardon,
and in all the privileges of approach unto God, the
Lord revealed the perfection and manifold glory
of Himself. Here Israel beheld the glory of the
Redeemer-God. Everywhere the twofold object
was accomplished, the need of sinful, guilty, and
failing man was supplied, and in this very grace
the character and glory of Jehovah was revealed.
Thus, as in Christ crucified we possess all we need,
and behold all the thoughts and purposes of God,
* John xii.
t Psalm cxix. 18: " Wondrous things." (Compare Lectures V.
and VI.)
VIII.] The Epistle to tJie Hebrews, 37
so in the tabernacle the believing Israelite, receiving
pardon and help, was taught to exclaim, "Who
is a God like unto Thee ? "
The tabernacle was a symbol of God's dwelling.
There is a sanctuary, wherein is the especial resi-
dence and manifestation of the glorious presence
of God. Solomon, although he confesses that the
heaven of heavens cannot contain God, yet prays
that the Lord may hear in heaven His dwelling-
place.* Jeremiah testifies, "A glorious high throne
from the beginning is the place of our sanctuary."!
The visions of Isaiah and of Ezekiel also bring
before us the heavens opened and the likeness of
a throne, and the appearance of the likeness of
the glory of the Lord ; the likeness as the appear-
ance of a man above upon the throne, J Of this
heavenly locality David speaks, when he asks, Who
shall abide in thy tabernacle ^ who shall dwell in
thy holy hill?§ In the book of Revelation we
receive still further confirmation of this truth.
" And the temple of God was opened in heaven,
and there was seen in His temple the ark of the
covenant ;" and again, '' And after that I looked^
and, behold, the temple of the tabernacle of the
testimony in heaven was opened." |J As in the
tabernacle there was a distinction between the
Holy of Holies and the Holy Place, so we read
* 2 Chron. vi. t Jer. xvii. 12. + Ezek. i. 26, 2Sidi passi7n.
§ Psalm xxiv. 3. |1 Rev. xi. 19 ; xv. 5.
38 The Epistle to the Hebrews. [chap.
of the throne of God and of the temple of the
Redeemed, of mount Zion and of the heavenly
Jerusalem. Almost all expressions which are em-
ployed in describing the significance of the taber-
nacle, are also used in reference to heaven. As
in heaven so in the tabernacle God has His dwell-
ing, and manifests His grace and glory. The glory
of the Lord filled the tabernacle. His manifesta-
tion in the tabernacle is generally called glory.
God, the King, has His palace in the midst of
His people. His palace is the sanctuary. The
throne, from which He issues His royal law and
the declaration of His sovereign grace, is between
the cherubim, a symbol of the heavenly throne of
divine majesty. "The temple of thy holiness"
is the name both of the earthly and the heavenly
sanctuary. "'
God, who dwells in heaven, and from His
heavenly throne dispenses all blessings, manifests
Himself on earth and holds communion with His
people, and the place or sanctuary chosen for this
purpose is a symbol of heaven, and there subsists
a real connection between the celestial archetype
and the earthly image. When Jacob awoke out
of his sleep, in which the Lord appeared unto him,
he said, " This is none other than the house of
God, and this is the gate of heaven." In the
sublime prayer of dedication, Solomon constantly
* Psalm V. 7 ; Habakkuk ii. 20.
VIII.] The Epistle to the Hebrews. 39
expresses the same thought : '* That thine eyes
may be open toward this house, even toward tJie
place of which thou hast said, My name shall be
there. And hearken thou to the supplication of
thy servants, when they shall pray toward this
place: and hear thou in heaven thy dwelling-place!'
But the tabernacle is, secondly, a type of the
Lord Jesus Himself. For it is in Him that God
dwells with us ; in Him dwells the fulness of God-
head bodily, that we dwelling in Him should have
communion with the Father.
See the fulfilment of the type in the first place
in the Incarnation. " A body hast thou prepared
for me." He was born of the Virgin Mary, con-
ceived of the Holy Ghost. God, and not man,
built this tabernacle. He dwelt in the midst of us
even as the tabernacle was in the midst -of the
people. And as that tent, although It was made
of materials which were common and earthly, was
irradiated and sanctified by the indwelling glory
of the Lord, so although He was born of the
Virgin Mary, and was in every respect like unto
His brethren, and was found in fashion as a man,
yet is the humanity of Jesus called that holy
thing, for it is the tabernacle in which was beheld
the glory of the Only-begotten.
In the second chapter of the Gospel of John,
the Lord Jesus explains unto us how He is not
merely the tabernacle, but the temple that was
40 The Epistle to the Hebrews, cchap.
to endure for ever. This temple had first to
be broken, Jesus had to die, but it was to be
built again on the third day by His resurrec-
tion. This is still more fully explained, when it
is said that the veil of the temple was rent in
twain. As the apostle teaches us, this refers to
the crucifixion of our Lord, the veil of His flesh
was then rent. For then heaven was not merely
revealed, but the way of access was opened to all
sinners who believe in Jesus. Nay, more than
this. Jesus Himself went thereby into the holy
of holies. And now we behold Him at the right
hand of God, the true tabernacle, in which all
believers worship, even in the very presence of
God, before the throne, which is now a throne of
grace.
Thus do we dwell in Him, in whom dwelleth
all the fulness of the Godhead; and thus has the
Father brought us into His very presence, even
in His Son, in a way which could not be ade-
quately symbolized. It was by a gradual develop-
ment that Jesus became the true tabernacle. First,
by His incarnation. The tabernacle was pitched
of God, and not of man. The Holy Ghost came
upon the Virgin Mary, and the power of the
Highest overshadowed her. Then Jesus, in His
holy humanity, in His perfect walk of obedience,
in His words and works, manifested the Father:
God was with Him ; the Father was in Hhn ; the
VIII.] The Epistle to the Hebrews. 41
glory of the Only-begotten shone through His
body of humiliation. Then, by His death on the
cross, the holy place became, as it were, the holy
of holies ; the veil being rent, all that separated
God from sinners was removed according to
righteousness. Then, by His resurrection and
ascension, He actually entered in — as our repre-
sentative— for us, and, so to say, with us.
It is difficult to combine all the aspects of
Christ, who is Sanctuary, Priest, Sacrifice ; but the
more we dwell on Him as the One who is all, the
more fully are our hearts established. Behold
Him, then, as the tabernacle, where all sacred
things are laid up. All that was in the taber-
nacle is in Him. He is the true Light, the true
Bread of the countenance, the true Incense of
intercession, with which our prayers and offerings
come before God. All spiritual blessings in hea-
venly places are in Christ.*
But the tabernacle has yet a third aspect.
There God and His people meet. The ark of
the covenant was not merely the throne where
God manifested Himself in His holiness, but
it was also the throne of relationship with His
■^ " All the utensils of holy worship of old, all means of sacred
light and purification, were placed and laid up in the tabernacle.
And these were all patterns of the heavenly things themselves,
which are all laid up in Christ, the true tabernacle. They are
all inclosed in Him, and it will be in vain to seek for them else-
where."— Owen, Hebrews, vol. iii. p. 666.
42 The Epistle to the Hebrews. [chap.
people. In all the offerings and sacrifices God was
manifested, just as regards sin, merciful as regards
the sinner ; there also God and the sinner met. So
throughout the tabernacle there was the manifes-
tation of God, in order to bring Israel into com-
munion with Himself. In the tabernacle man's
fellowship with God was symbolized through
manifold mediations, sacrifices, and offerings. But
in Jesus we have the perfect and eternal fulfil-
ment. In Him God and the sinner meet ; in Him
God and the believer dwell and have communion.
In and from Jesus we have received the Spirit.
God now dwells in His saints by His Spirit,
whereby they become an holy temple unto Him.
We are builded together in Him (Christ) for an
habitation of God through the Spirit. "^^ We are,
according to the testimony of another apostle, a
spiritual house, in which sacrifices and offerings
of thanksgiving and obedience are continually
brought unto God. In this chosen Temple God
has His rest and His joy. This is the glorious
gospel : God in Christ, we in Christ, Christ in us.
Thus we have seen that the tabernacle was a
picture of heaven, a type of Christ Jesus, and of
Christ Jesus in the saints. And therefore, when
Jesus Christ comes again with His saints, it will be
said, ''Lo, the tabernacle of God with men." True,
* Eph. ii. 21, 22.
VIII.] The Epistle to the Hebrews. 43
there is a locality where Christ and His saints have
their abode. But the glory and substance of that
heavenly place is the Lord Jesus, one with the saints.
In thinking of the throne of God and of heaven,
we must avoid a phantomising hyper-spiritualism,
and on the other hand a carnal and materialistic
view. Heaven is not a state merely, but a place ;
yet in our present condition it is not possible for
us to form a conception of that spiritual, sub-
stantial, and eternal abode which God has pre-
pared for them that love Him. It is sufficient for
us to receive the Scripture statements, and to
rejoice in the descriptions given- in the prophetic
books, and especially in the Apocalypse, of the
glorious home, of the beautiful and eternal city,
in which the Lamb and His Bride shall dwell. It
is enough for us to believe the word of Jesus, so
simple and sweet : "In my Father's house are
many mansions. I go to prepare a place for you."*
* T^TTOJ/. Is it merely figurative language which the apostles use
when they speak of the city of the living God, and proclaim what they
beheld in the Spirit ? One day John stood on the mount of Olives,
and beheld the city of Jerusalem at his feet, while the Lord ascended
into the heights above. Again, on the Lord's-day, he was in the
Spirit ; an angel led him to a high mountain, and he beheld another
Jerusalem descending from heaven. He numbered the gates of
this holy city, and measured its walls ; he recognized in the Lamb
the temple and the light of the city. All this does not sound hke
mere imagery and similitude. Let us not exchange the green pas-
tures thus revealed to our eyes for the vague abstraction of a colour-
less existence. There is a higher world in the strictest sense of the
word ; and into this world, His home, the Saviour returned when
He ascended.— Steinmeyer.
44 'rhe Epistle to the Hebrews. [chap.
It is in heaven, and in heaven only, that the
Lord exercises His priesthood. '' For if Jesus
were on earth He would not be a priest at all."
As our Lord belonged to the tribe of Judah, and
not to the tribe of Levi, it would have been
impossible for Him to exercise the functions
connected with the Aaronic priesthood. How
forcible a demonstration to the Jews, who saw
the priests of Levi performing their daily office
in the temple at Jerusalem. Godly Israelites
might even in those days be taught by the
image and pattern of heavenly realities ; but those
Israelites, who had recognized in Jesus the
Messiah, were now to walk in the clear bright-
ness of the gospel light, and in the fulness of the
day to perceive the temporary and fragmentary
character of the Levitical dispensation.
But as with the Jews, so with us all, the great
difficulty is, to realise the spiritual and heavenly
character of worship. To lift up our eyes and
hearts to heaven, to feel the power and the reality
of things unseen, to hold communion from the
heart, as mans holy of holies, with God Himself
in His holy of holies — this is, indeed, the gift and
grace of God, and blessed are all whom He chooses
and causes to approach.*
* " The glory and worship of the temple was that which the Jews
would by no means part withal. They chose rather to reject Christ
and the gospel, than to part with the temple, and its outward
pompous worship. And it is almost incredible how the vain mind
viiL] The Epistle to the Hebrews. 45
Now of the holy things,* the spiritual and
heavenly blessings, and of the true tabernacle,
Jesus is the minister or priest. He is ministering
before God and towards God on our behalf; He
of man is addicted unto an outward beauty and splendour in
religious worship. Take it away, and with the most you destroy
all religion itself : as if there were no beauty but in painting, no
evidence of health, or vigour of body. The Christians of old
suffered in nothing more from the prejudice of the whole world,
Jews and Gentiles, than in this, that they had a religion without
temples, altars, images, or any solemnity of worship. And in
latter ages men ceased not, until they had brought into Chris-
tianity itself a worship vying for external order, ceremony, pomp,
and painting, with whatever was in the tabernacle or temple of
old, coming short of it principally in this, that that was of God's
institution for a time, this of the invention of weak, superstitious,
and foolish men. Thus is it in the church of Rome. And a hard
thing it is to raise the minds of men, unto a satisfaction in things
merely spiritual and heavenly. They suppose they cannot make a
worse change, nor more to their disadvantage, than to part with
what is a present object and entertainment unto their senses,
fancies, carnal affections, and superstitions, for that which they can
have no benefit by, nor satisfaction in, but only in the exercise of
faith and love, inclining us to that within the veil. Hence is there
at this day so great a contest in the world about tabernacles and
temples, modes of worship and ceremonies, which men have found
out in the room of those which they cannot deny but God would
have removed. For so they judge that He will be satisfied with
their carnal ordinances in the church, when the time is come that
He would bear His own no longer. But unto them that believe,
Christ is precious. This true Tabernacle, with His ministration,
in their estimation far excels all the old pompous ceremonies and
services of divine institution, much more, all the superstitious obser-
vances of human invention." — Owett.
* The expression rdv ayiuv is here neuter, and does not refer to
holy persons, or tho3e sanctified by Jesus. It seems to refer to holy
things, those things which are essentially connected with the
heavenly sanctuary, both the offering which Christ presents to the
Father, and the blessings which He sends down to the Church.
46 7he Epistle to the Hebrews. [chap.
is continually bestowing upon us the blessings of
the new covenant. There was no approach unto
God without continual respect unto sacrifice and
oblation. However excellent the person of the
high priest, it was an absolute necessity, that
He should have somewhat to offer. And thus our
great High Priest had somewhat to present unto
the Father when He entered into heaven. The
sacrifice, we know, was offered when Jesus died
upon the cross. What was typified on the day
of atonement, found its fulfilment on Golgotha.
Jesus died outside the camp.'^ His precious blood
was shed on the accursed tree.f But as was
already understood in the type, the blood of Jesus,
though shed on earth, pertains to the heavenly
sanctuary. Jesus presents Himself, the victim,
before the Father, and enters by His own blood
into the holy of holies. This is the only perfect
and efficacious oblation. This is the only true and
real propitiation or atonement made for our sins.
Jesus Himself could not save us, or bring us unto
God without this sacrifice ; it was necessary that
He should bring Himself, the victim and substi-
tute, before the throne of God.
But now the High Priest, by virtue of the one
■**• Matt, xxvii. 32, 33 ; John xix. 17, 18. (Compare also Acts vii. 58 ;
Heb. xiii. 12.)
t Compare the important declaration of Deut. xxi. 23. There is
a reference to the manner of Christ's death in His word, John xii. 32.
He was to be " lifted up from the earth."
VIII.] The Epistle to the Hebrews. 47
sacrifice, is in heaven. There can be only one
temple. There was only one ark in the days of
Noah, one tabernacle in the wilderness, one tem-
ple in Jerusalem. The forgiving, merciful, and
glorious presence of Jehovah is manifested now
in the throne on which Jesus is exalted. Now
that the Antitype is in heaven, and the living
reality of every act of the ritual is fulfilled, and
that abidingly, the earthly type has no longer
divine right and sanction to exist. Before the
coming of Jesus, the shadows symbolized truth
to believing worshippers. After the coming of
Jesus it must fade and vanish before the sub-
stance.
If this is true of the Levitical priesthood, which
was of divine appointment, how much more fear-
ful is the assumption of any priestly title, position,
and function during the new dispensation. All
Christians are priests. To imitate a revival of
that which God Himself has set aside by a fulfil-
ment perfect and glorious, is audacious, and full
of peril to the souls of men. It is not even the
shadow of a substance ; but the unauthorised
shadow of a departed shade. The one sacri-
fice and oblation has been offered on Golgotha,
and presented to the Father by the ascended
Saviour, once for all ; * and now believers are a
* How true and obvious is Owen's remark : " If any one else can
offer the body of Christ, he also is the minister of the true taber-
48 The Epistle to the Hebrews. [chap.
kingdom of priests, drawing near in full assurance
of faith.
The apostle Paul connects "the covenants,
and the giving of the law, and the service of
God, and the promises." (Rom. ix.) These go
together, and the character of one link deter-
mines that of the rest. In the first dispensa-
tion, of which Moses was the mediator and Aaron
the priest, the service was connected with an
earthly tabernacle, and the promises also possessed
an earthly and temporal character. How much
more glorious is the new dispensation, where all is
substance, and not shadow ; heavenly and eternal,
and not earthly and temporal ! Here one Person
is Mediator- Priest ; the law is written on the
heart ; the service is in spirit and in truth ; the
promise is life eternal. True, the contrast between
the old and the new would be viewed in a false
light, if we forgot that in the old dispensation
spiritual reality and blessings were presented, and
were actually embraced in faith by the people of
God. The law had a positive or evangelical
aspect ; although herein also it was elementary
and transitory, it acted as a guardian and a
tutor ; as the snow is not merely an indication
of w^inter, and a contrast to the bright and genial
sunshine, and the refreshing verdure of summer,
nacle. For the Lord Christ did no more. He did but offer Himself,
and they that can offer Him do put themselves in His place."
viii.i The Epistle to the Hebrews. 49
but is also a beneficent protection, cherishing
and preparing the soil for the approaching bless-
ings from above. But now the winter is past, the
fulness has come. The sanctuary being changed,
thedispensation and covenant are likewise changed.
The new covenant is now revealed, of which Jesus
is both Surety and Mediator. In a previous chap-
ter the apostle had inferred, from the superior ex-
cellence of the Priest after the order of Melchisedec,
the superiority of the covenant, of which He is
Mediator. He calls Jesus the Surety of a better
testament. The expression reminds us that the
Lord Jesus gave unto the Father all that divine
righteousness and holiness demanded, that He
gave to man every pledge and assurance of our
full and everlasting salvation. In the Lord Jesus,
who sanctified Himself for our sakes, the Father
possesses all believers ; in Him all believers are
brought into communion with divine love and
life. The expression, '' Mediator," used here is
more comprehensive.*
The mediator and surety of the old covenant
was Moses, and not Aaron. Yet since the first
covenant also could not be instituted without
sacrifice, Moses acted as priest ; the priestly
dignity and functions were afterwards transferred
to Aaron. But now is Jesus the true and eternal
■^ It occurs only in two other Pauline passages. The somewhat
obscure passage, Gal. iii. 20, and i Tim. ii. 5.
II. E
50 The Epistle to the Hebrews. [chap.
Mediator- Priest ; not a servant like Moses, but
the Son. True mediation is accomplished now
because the Mediator as the Son is in the heavenly
sanctuary at the right hand of God, and because
from thence He sends the Spirit into our hearts.
This newcovenant is based upon better promises.
The expression "established" means formally estab-
lished as by a law. It reminds us that here all is
arranged, fixed, and secured by inviolable sanc-
tions. The '' everlasting covenant is ordered in all
things, and sure;"* it is based upon immovable
foundations ; it is according to the eternal purpose
of God and to the divine and unchanging perfec-
tions.
The promises are better, because they are now
clearly and directly spiritual and eternal. For-
giveness of sin, the knowledge of God, communion
with God, His indwelling in our hearts, the inherit-
ance reserved in heaven, such are the promises
and gifts of the new covenant. The promises are
better because they are unconditional, secured by
the great Mediator and High Priest. They are
better because they were given to Christ before
the world began, and are according to the infinite
love which the Father has to His only Son, in
whom He hath chosen us. The promises are
better because in the new dispensation the blessing
comprehends all, Jews and Gentiles, and unites all
* 2 Sam. xxiii. 5.
VIII.] The Epistle to the Hebrews, 51
believers as a royal priesthood, who have access
unto the Father by one Spirit.
There is a wonderful simplicity in the new
covenant revelation. The true light which now
shineth does indeed possess an exceeding greater
brightness than that of the old dispensation ; and
yet everything is full of simplicity^ directness, and
peaceful calm. When we contrast the old and the
new, then we become conscious of the wonderful
transparency, simplicity, condensation of divine
teaching which we possess. Our little children
possess in the words Jesus, Lamb of God, trust
in the Saviour, in the simple gospel declarations
and promises, that which the old saints had to
combine laboriously from the necessarily frag-
mentary types and teachings, and could only see
darkly. We look to Jesus for everything ; we
have and receive all from Him. Our sins and
infirmities, our trials and sorrows, so bind us to
the grace of Jesus, and to His High Priestly
ministrations, that we are constantly with Him,
and experience the power of His blood, and the
sustaining influence of His love. Jesus in heaven,
at the right hand of God, the Lamb in the midst
of the throne — this sums up all our faith, all our
love, all our hope. // is the crozujting point.
Looking back in the light of fulfilment on the
history of God's dealings with mankind and with
Israel, on the long and marvellous, the manifold
52 The Epistle to the Hebrews. [chap.
and complicated, yet harmonious events, ordi-
nances, types and predictions, in which the wisdom
and love of God vailed, and at the same time re-
vealed, the central mystery of redemption, we are
impressed with a sense of the magnitude and the
glory of the new revelation in Christ Jesus, who
verily was foreordained before the foundation of
the world, but was manifest in these last times for
us. We do not merely, like aged Simeon, rejoice
in beholding the salvation which God hath pre-
pared before all nations, but the salvation which
He purposed in Himself from all eternity, to the
praise of the glory of His grace.
How wonderful is the love of God, that from
all eternity this was the secret, cherished purpose
of His will — that He should manifest Himself in
Christ Jesus, and bring poor, guilty, and helpless
sinners nigh unto Himself, that they should dwell
in Him, and that He should dwell in them. How
wonderful is the grace of God — that purpose of
grace which was in God before the foundations of
the world were laid, according to which He has
given unto us eternal life in Christ Jesus, that not
in creation, that not in the perfection and purity
of angelic beings, who never fell, but that in the
redemption, and sanctification, and glorification of
sinners there should be made manifest the fulness
of God.
See then how everything leads you unto the
VIII.] The Epistle to the Hebrews. 53
ultimate love of God. Conceive In an enlarged
manner, and with an assured and blessed con-
fidence, that all the thoughts of God concerning
you are thoughts of peace. You cannot think too
highly of the love of God. You cannot exagger-
ate how Important you are In God's estimation,
how precious your salvation Is unto Him, how
great Is His joy and His delight In His people,
how culminating Is that position which He has
given unto Christ as the head of the church, and
how this is the one thought In God from everlast-
ing to everlasting, so that In Christ Jesus and the
church there should be summed up in one all things
visible and invisible, whether they be in heaven or
on earth. God loved us and chose us in Christ
Jesus that we should be to the praise of the glory
of His grace. '' The Lord hath prepared His throne
in the heavens ;" and what is His throne but Christ
Jesus, who is the tabernacle, and in whom we are
also become the habitation of God.
Learn, in the second place, the wonderful grace
of the Lord Jesus Christ. He is the Minister
of the sanctuary. He is still going on with His
service. His thoughts. His prayers, His affec-
tions. His energies, are all engaged now with
regard to His people who are still upon the earth.
He has ascended into the holiest, into the region
of perfection and glory ; but not to forget us who
are still in the wilderness. As He loved His
54 The Epistle to the Hebrews. [\^iii.
own even to the end, He loves them now, and
throughout all the ages ; and He will come again
to receive us to Himself. He is the same lovine,
serving Jesus as He was on earth, the minister
of holy things even now. In the fulness of His
love, power, and glory, our exalted Lord, the
Son of God, the man Christ Jesus, is ministering
continually on behalf of and unto the saints.
Thirdly. Learn here the true character of
worship. This is more fully explained in the
subsequent chapters of the Epistle. But from
what we have seen, it is evident that it is only
by faith we can worship, for only by faith we
can discern the heavenly and spiritual realities
here set forth. '''^ The heavenly sanctuary is the
only place of worship. We are brought into the
very presence of God in heaven, we draw near in
the one great High Priest, in whom we have
redemption, the forgiveness of sins through His
blood. Such are now the elements of worship,
and only faith can realize and appropriate these
gracious truths and gifts. Believers only can
worship ; they worship in spirit and in truth.
* " The fundamental and essential contrast between the former
and the latter things is, that the discernment by faith of things in-
visible is now the alone condition of true worship." — A. Prideaux.
LECTURE III.
THE BLESSINGS OF THE NEW COVENANT.
Hebrews viii. 6-13.
" I ^HE Lord Jesus Christ, as our High Priest in
•^ heaven, is the Mediator of the new covenant
or dispensation, which is based upon better pro-
mises. New as contrasted with old means in
Scripture that which is perfect and abiding. The
old vanishes, the new remains. God gives us a
new heart that we may love and praise Him for
ever. If any man is in Christ, he is a new crea-
ture. Old things have passed away, all things
have become new. " Behold, I make all things
new," saith the Lord ; I will create new heavens
and a new earth ; and in the new creation all is
eternal, perfect, possessed of vitality, beauty, and
strength, which can never fade.
The old covenant was temporary and imperfect.
God findeth fault with it ; for although the law was
holy, just, and good, yet by reason of Israel's sin
neither righteousness nor life could come through
it. And as the purposes of divine love could not
56 The Epistle to the Hebrews. [chap.
be attained by the old covenant, so the character
of God, as the God of grace, could not be fully
revealed therein. Hence the promise of a new
covenant, which in itself proves the imperfection
and insufficiency of the old ; and this new covenant
is represented as a contrast, unlike the old ; it is
new, that is, perfect, everlasting. God is pleased
with it because it shows forth the glory of Jehovah
as the God of salvation.
Let us remember that this covenant, announced
by the prophet Jeremiah, is to be made first with
the house of Judah and the house of Israel. It is
a spiritual covenant, yet a national one. To Israel
pertain the covenants, both of law and of grace.
This is taught by Scripture throughout, and most
clearly in the chapters in which this precious pro-
mise of the Messianic covenant is contained. No
one can read this section of the prophetic w^ord *
and entertain the slightest doubt that literal Israel,
the seed of Abraham, and their restoration in their
own land, form the subject of divine promise.
The prophet Jeremiah, called in early youth by
God to announce unto his people the impending
judgments on account of their ingratitude and
impenitence, seems little fitted, by his natural
disposition and temperament, to be the bearer
of a message so awful and stern. A character
eminently sensitive and tender, shrinking from
* Jeremiah xxx.-xxxiii.
VIII.] I he Epistle to the Hebi^ezvs. 57
conflict, almost feminine In his delicacy, was
chosen by God to testify against the whole land,
the kings of Judah, and the princes thereof, and
against the priests, and against the people of the
land. The Lord chose this gentle and timid child
(Jer. i. 6) to be as a defenced city and an Iron pillar
and brazen walls against the whole nation. The
prophet's heart was overwhelmed with grief; his
eyes were filled with tears. His soul was dis-
tracted ; his heart was faint within him, when he
would comfort himself against sorrow. The mes-
sage, that Israel's sin and Iniquity had so abounded
that judgment was inevitable, filled him with an-
guish. How solemn and touching are the suppli-
cations which he pours out before God ! While
he was thus consumed by zeal for Jehovah and
sorrowful love for his people, he had to experience
constant and cruel opposition, hatred, and scorn.
His life was continually in jeopardy. Persecution,
Ignominy, and reproach were heaped upon him.
Driven to the utmost verge of despair, he ex-
claimed, " I will not make mention of Him, nor
speak any more in His name." But the Word
was in him as a burning fire shut up In his bones.
He was faithful to God ; and with a breaking heart
testified against the nation and her false prophets.
During forty years Jeremiah stood firm, a solitary
witness among a rebellious and godless nation of
adversaries and persecutors, led astray and forti
58 The Epistle to the Hebi^ews. [chap.
fied in their opposition by false prophets. He
endured insuh and mockery ; he was beaten and
imprisoned. And when the armies of Babylon
proved the divine character of his mission and the
truth of his predictions, the lofty height to which
God had raised him did not separate him from
his nation, his previous sufferings did not embitter
his heart or blunt his sympathy and affection.
He sat down on the ground as a mourner, and
his lamentations over Jerusalem are to this very
day the expression of the grief of desolate and
banished Israel.
Is he not a type of our Lord ? Were the
people, who said that Jesus was Jeremiah, not
uttering a truth, which was then daily unfolding ?
For as Jeremiah announced the first destruction,
so Jesus, in the days of Pharisees and scribes,
predicted the second destruction of Jerusalem.
Jesus wept when He beheld the city. And Jesus
is greater than Jeremiah. For in the Spirit
Jeremiah called Him Lord. Yet were the tears
of Jeremiah in the Spirit of the Christ, who said,
" If thou hadst known, even thou, at least in this
thy day, the things which belong unto thy peace !
but now are they hid from thine eyes."
It is in the night of adversity that the Lord
sends forth bright stars of consoling hope. When
the darkest clouds of woe were gathering above
Jerusalem, and the prophet himself was in the
VIII.] The Epistle to the Hebrews. 59
lowest depths of sorrow, God gave to him the
most glorious prophecies of Judah's great re-
demption and future blessedness. The advent and
reign of Messiah, the Lord our righteousness, the
royal dominion and priesthood of Israel's .Re-
deemer, the gift of the Holy Spirit, the renewal
and restoration of God's chosen people, the days
of unbroken prosperity and blessedness — all the
golden Messianic future was predicted '' in the
last days of Jerusalem, when the magnificent
fabric of its temple was about to sink into the
dust, and its walls and palaces were about to be
thrown prostrate on the ground." *
Thus, while Jeremiah announced the judgments
of God, he was sustained and comforted by the
promises of ultimate restoration and glory. Israel,
the chosen nation of God, could not frustrate the
purpose of God's grace by their unfaithfulness.
God's promise unto Abraham rested upon no con-
dition ; it rested only on the electing, sovereign,
free, and eternal love of God. '' The gifts and
calling of God are without repentance." Israel's
sin abounds unto judgment, and even (temporary)
national death ; but Jehovah's grace abounds unto
resurrection -life, unto restoration and everlasting
blessing. Jeremiah predicts the national restora-
tion of Judah and Israel. In most emphatic
words the Lord declares, that as the ordinances of
* Wordsworth.
6o The Epistle to the Hebrews. [chap.
the sun, and moon, and of the stars shall not
depart from before Him, the seed of Israel shall
not cease from being a nation before Him. The
prophet describes the prosperity of the cities of
Judah, once desolate, and the melody and joy of
the streets of Jerusalem, once filled with sorrow
and lamentation.
But this national and external restoration and
prosperity are inseparably connected with Israel's
spiritual and inward renewal. It is the new cove-
nant of grace in the Messiah, even King David,
which brings life, strength, and joy to the chosen
people. As the promise was of grace, to Abraham
and to Abraham's seed, so the fulfilment of the
promise is not through the old covenant, of which
Moses is mediator, but in the new and eternal
Messianic dispensation.
In like manner prophesied Ezeklel at the river
Chebar among the captives of Babylon. He also
beholds Israel restored; dwelling in their own land,
in prosperity and gladness ; the temple built in a
new and glorious manner, and Jerusalem the city
of the great king, whence the glory of Jehovah shall
never depart again ; for she shall be called Jehovah-
Shammah (the Lord is there). For Israel restored
and glorified is Israel pardoned, cleansed, and re-
newed. The blessing is both spiritual and national ;
the heart within and the land without ; thus do
all prophets testify, and thus the apostle of the
VIII.] The Epistle to the Hebrews. 6i
Gentiles explains to us in the light of the inter-
mediate church-dispensation the counsel of God.
Israel had once the land without the Spirit ;
Israel now has neither the land nor the spiritual
knowledge of God and His love ; but the time is
coming' when Israel shall possess the land, and
receive the Holy Ghost from the Lord, whose
feet shall stand upon the mount of Olives ; in the
liberty of the new covenant they shall worship
and serve the Lord their God.
Apply this truth to the condition of the Hebrews,
whom the apostle was addressing. The law of
Moses, the old covenant, was vanishing ; but the
Messianic promises never were connected with the
legal dispensation ; they are rooted in the promise
to Abraham ; they are fulfilled in the covenant of
grace. The relation of law to gospel as regards
our justification, and also as regards the rule of
life and conduct, is a different question, which is
fully solved in the Epistles to the Romans and
Galatians, and in the Apostolic Council at Jeru-
salem. The question which troubled the minds and
hearts of the Hebrews was their relation to the
Levitical priesthood, and to the old dispensation.
The temple was still in Jerusalem, and the Levi-
tical ordinances appointed by Moses were still
being observed. Although the Sun had risen, the
moon had not yet disappeared. It was waning ;
it was ready to vanish away. Now it became an
62 The Epistle to the Hebrews. [chap.
urgent necessity for the Hebrew Christians to
understand that Christ was the true and eternal
High Priest in the heavenly sanctuary, and that
the new and everlasting covevant with Judah and
Israel was connected with the gospel promise, and
not with the law. God Himself hath made the
first covenant old by promising the new. And
now that Christ had entered into the holy of
holies by His own blood, the old covenant had
passed away ; and yet the promises of God to
His chosen people remain firm and unchanged.
This is the very question which unbelieving
Israel has not been able to solve during the last
eighteen centuries. The temple of Jerusalem has
been destroyed ; the Levitical economy has been
taken away ; Israel has neither high priest, nor
sacrifice, nor altar ; it is without temple, and it is,
strictly speaking, outside covenant. Where is
the old covenant ? The sanctuary, with its ordi-
nances of divine service, was intimately connected
with the old covenant, with the Levitical dispen-
sation. It has vanished. During all these cen-
turies Israel has not been able to account for their
strange condition. When Moses was on mount
Sinai, and the people, in their unbelief and im-
patience, asked Aaron to make unto them gods
which should go before them, they added : " For
as for this Moses, the man that brought us up out
of the land of Egypt, we know not what is become
VOL] The Epistle to the Hebrews. 63
of him." In like manner Israel, since the destruc-
tion of Jerusalem, cannot understand the dealings
of God. They know not what has become of
Moses, the old covenant. It is impossible for them
to keep its ordinances. And in this darkness
they have formed to themselves a religion of their
own traditions and reasonings,'^' human and un-
authorized substitutes for the divinely- appointed
ordinances of the Mosaic dispensation. How
clear is the light shining from the cross of Jesus
and from the heavenly sanctuary, where the
Mediator of the new covenant is now enthroned.
Moses himself and the prophets testified that
communion with God in light and peace, that
spiritual life and strength could only come by grace,
not through the works of the law, not out of man's
unrenewed heart. The history of Israel abund-
* Modern Judaism (both rabbinical and rationalistic) is not able
to account for the cessation of sacrifices and the Levitical dispen-
sation. The former acknowledges that in the destruction of the
temple and the present condition of Israel without high priest and
offerings, divine judgment on the nation's sin is expressed : the
idea of atonement through a vicarious sacrifice is not quite extinct,
as appears in the rite of the cock performed on the eve of the day of
atonement, though devoid of all Scriptural authority. Rationalistic
Judaism has departed still further from the truth. Rejecting the
idea of substitution and expiation in connection with sacrifices, it
regards the present condition of Israel as a more spiritual develop-
ment, misinterpreting the protests of David and the prophets against
a mere external view of the ceremonial law. (Ps. xl. 7 ; Hos. vi. 6 ;
Jer. vii. 21-23.) The old has indeed vanished; but accord'ng to
the will of God, because the true light now shineth, because the
substance has come in Christ.
64 The Epistle to the Hebrews. [chap.
antly showed that the law was not able to fill
them with the knowledge and the love of God ;
for they remained a disobedient and idolatrous
people, they understood not God's character and
ways, and continued not in His precepts.* The
purpose of electing grace can only be fulfilled in
the gift of Jesus and of the Holy Ghost. The
new covenant alone Is the complete manifestation
of God Himself It alone Is everlasting, because
it alone is the fulfilment of God's eternal counsel,
according to which divine love and power accom-
plish the whole work of His people's salvation.
Thus the apostle confirms and comforts his
brethren, who were perplexed and tempted by
the outward splendour of the temple, and the out-
* In reviewing the history of Israel before the exile, it is most
melancholy to notice that the periods of obedience and godliness
are comparatively few ; they are rather exceptional brief glimpses
of light than the normal condition of the chosen people. The forty
years in the wilderness, the age under the Judges and the Kings,
are on the whole periods of darkness. There was always a
remnant according to the election of grace, the seven thousand,
who had not bowed the knee unto Baal ; but idolatry and
heathenish abominations co-existed beside the true worship and
the testimony of the prophets. The reign of David and Solomon
is a bright exception. The law of Moses, with its stern denunciation
of idolatry, with its loving and generous consideration of the poor
and its requirements of liberality and devotedness, was rarely carried
out, as is evident from the prophetic expostulations. Since the Baby-
lonian exile Israel has not fallen into idolatry, but into an external
and superficial view of the law, into dead formalism and self-
righteousness. How true then, in the light of history, is the asser-
tion of the prophet Jeremiah and of the apostle Paul, that Israel
has not continued in the first covenant.
VIII.] The Epistle to the Hebrews. 65
ward insignificance of the Christian assembHes.
Theirs was the worship In spirit and in truth ;
they had received the better promises of the new
covenant. For now they knew the will of God,
not in the form of an outward commandment, but
in the power of the indwelHng Spirit ; not en-
graven on tables of stone, but written on the
renewed heart. Now the knowledge of God, a
knowledge full of light and certainty, given directly
by God Himself, was the privilege of each be-
liever ; they were a congregation of prophets
and priests, to whom God revealed Himself, and
who could draw near to Him in worship ; and
these unspeakable privileges are based upon the
perfect and absolute forgiveness and remission of
sin through the precious blood of Christ.
How great is the contrast between the old and
the new covenant! In the one God demands of
sinful man : " Thou shalt." In the other God pro-
mises : *' I will." The one is conditional ; the
other is the manifestation of God's free grace,
and of God's unlimited power. In the one the
promise is neutralized by the disobedience of man ;
in the other all the promises of God are Yea in
Christ, and Amen in Christ. In the new covenant
Christ is all ; He Is the Alpha and Omega ; all
things are of God, and all things are sure and
stedfast.
The blessings of the new covenant are all
II. F
66 The Epistle to the Hebrews. [chap.
based upon the forgiveness of sin. God pro-
mises to put His laws into our minds, and write
them in our hearts, and to be to us a God,
because He is merciful to our unrighteousness,
and will remember our sins and iniquities no
more. The forgiveness of sin is not merely the
beginning, but it is the foundation, the source ; it is,
so to say, the mother of all divine blessings. For
as long as sin is upon the conscience, and man is
not able to draw near unto God, he is separated
from the only source of life and blessedness. In
the forgiveness of sin God gives Himself, and all
things that pertain to life and godliness. Hence
David, in enumerating the benefits God hath be-
stowed on him, commenced with this fundamental
one, " Who forgiveth all thine iniquities." Sin is
removed, and we are brought nigh to God, and
thus enter into the possession of all spiritual
blessings. If we look at this most elementary
and simple truth, the first which little children
are taught,* we find it contains the germ of all
truths. Hence all our progress in the divine life,
and all the consolations of the Christian pilgrim,
are rooted in this primary doctrine of forgiveness
through faith in Jesus.
To know God is the sum and substance of all
blessings, both in this life and in that which is to
come. Now, although the law manifests to a certain
* I John ii. 12.
viii] The Epistle to the Hebrews. 6^
extent the holiness and truth, the justice and un-
changeableness, the goodness and bounty of God,
the law does not reveal God Himself, the depth
of His sovereign and eternal love, the purpose
which He purposed in Himself before the foun-
dation of the world was laid. When in Christ we
receive the forgiveness of sin, we behold God.
Here is also the source and the commencement,
the root and strength of our love to God. '' We
love Him, because He first loved us." We love
much, because much is forgiven unto us. We are
now a kingdom of priests unto God, becatise Christ
loved us, and washed us from our sins in His own
blood. When the doctrine of forgiveness in its
fulness and freeness is scripturally set forth, it re-
quires no supplemental cautions, restrictions, and
additions ; for it is the central truth from which
all doctrines radiate. The new obedience, the
spiritual worship,* the fight and victory of faith,
the knowledge and fear and love of God, have
their starting-point in the pardon of sin.
And this is the new covenant blessing. True,
the servants of God always knew this blessing.
'; Of the divine righteousness both the law and the
prophets testify. David describeth this blessed-
ness. The sacrifices typified, faith looked forward
to the great atonement. But now that Christ has
* Compare Ps. cxxx. 4. : " With Thee is forgiveness of sin, that
Thou mayest be worshipped."
68 The Epistle to the Hebrews. [chap.
come, and that He died once for all, we receive
forgiveness in a full and perfect manner : there is
no more remembrance of sins ; no repetition of
sacrifice is needed ; no yearly recurrence of the
day of atonement ; in Christ we have redemption
in His blood, even the forgiveness of sins.
How precious is this emphatic declaration,
" Their sins and their transgressions will I re-
member no more." Our sins are removed and
buried in the depths of the sea, and this according
to divine holiness, justice, and truth. Here is the
righteousness of God. " The gospel of Christ is
the power of God unto salvation ; for therein is
the righteousness of God revealed from faith to
faith." * Between God and us, there is now no
longer sin ; Jesus, and Jesus only, fills our view.
It is in giving this perfect pardon that God
renews the heart, and writes in it His laws. We
must needs contrast law and gospel. Yet let us
not forget that the law from the very outset
showed its temporary and negative character,
pointed beyond and away from itself; sighed,
as it were, after Him, who by fulfilling would
take it away, and by taking it away would fulfil
it in us, and in fulfilling it in us, raise us to the
still greater height of the new love ! Oh that My
people had a heart to obey My commandment !
was the language of God in the ancient days. I
■*^ Rom. i. 1 6, 17.
viii] The Epistle to the Hebrews. 69
will circumcise their hearts, was His promise. The
law testified, that fallen man could not keep It ;
that written on tables of stone it only condemned,
that It had no power to inscribe itself on the hard,
unrenewed heart of man. The law commands
love, and love never can come out of law. The
fulfilment of the law presupposes life and spirit ;
and by the law dead souls can never be quick-
ened. As the Apostle Paul fully explains in the
Epistle to the Galatlans, the Holy Ghost is re-
ceived through the preaching of the gospel, the
new covenant, the forgiveness of sins.
Now the grace of God, which bringeth salva-
tion, hath appeared, and teacheth us to deny
ungodliness and worldly lusts. The law of God
Is fulfilled In the believer, in the spiritual man,
who trusts in Jesus.
Of this renewal of the heart and gift of the
Holy Ghost the prophet Ezeklel also testifies.*
May we not say that the whole of the Old Testa-
ment points (both as a contrast and a preparation)
to this : Jesus saves His people from their sins ;
for He comes with water and with blood and with
the Spirit : He Is Righteousness and Life.
All spiritual life flows from Jesus as our Saviour.
When we believe in Jesus we are not in the flesh
but in the Spirit. His precious blood is not merely
our peace, but our strength ; and our strength
* Ezek. xxxvi. 26, 27.
70 The Epistle to the Hebrews. [chap.
because it Is our peace. Justification and sancti-
fication emanate from this One Source.
When Israel is brought In repentance and faith
to the Lord, then shall be fulfilled the gracious
purpose of God, which under the law was frus-
trated through Israel's sin and disobedience.
Although God was a Husband unto them, they
brake His covenant. But now, forgiven and
renewed, Israel will be in actual reality, and not
merely in position, God's people, and Jehovah will
be their God. This is the most exalted and com-
prehensive blessing which was ever promised.
Jehovah is not ashamed to be called their God.
He identifies Himself with His people. All His
glorious perfections are revealed in His relation
to them. In them is fulfilled the good pleasure
of His will. And because He is God to them.
Source of Light and Life, they are His people.
Not merely chosen and appointed ; not merely
called and treated collectively as God's people ;
but in reality, according to truth, according to
their individual character and experience, the
people in whom God's name is revealed, who show
forth His praise, who walk in His ways and obey
His will. For of Him shall their fruit be found ;
God working in them both to will and to do, they
shall abound in the fruits of righteousness to the
glory of His grace.
For then each one individually shall know
VI II.] The Epistle to the Hebrews. 71
the Lord. *' God is known in Judah," said the
Psalmist. God had indeed revealed Himself unto
His people. He had taught them and given unto
them His Word. In their marvellous history,
in the divine messages sent by Moses and the
prophets, in the types and ordinances, in the
Judges and Kings, God had revealed unto His
people His name. His character and will, and His
great desire was that they should know Him. How
touching is the complaint of Jehovah, that after
all the signs which they had seen, and after a'l
His mighty works of redeeming and guiding love,
and after all the words of light and of grace which
He had sent them, His people did not know Him!
So long had He been with them, and erring in
their hearts, they did not know His ways!* What
could be more grievous to the fatherly heart of
God, yearning to be known, trusted, and loved ?
What gives us a sadder picture of the fall of man,
of the alienation of the human heart from God,
of our utter incapacity to understand and to receive
divine things, than the fact that Israel did not
know the revealed God, who taught and blessed
them constantly, abundandy, and with most tender
compassion ? But when the Holy Ghost shall
be poured out upon them, they shall all know
Jehovah, from the least to the greatest ; though
one shall encourage and exhort the other, yet
* Isa. i. ; Ps. xcv.
72 The Epistle to the Hebrews, [chap.
they shall not need to teach and to say to their
neighbour, Know the Lord.
In the Church this promise is already fulfilled.*
Although the apostle John distinguishes between
little children, young men, and fathers, he writes
unto the whole congregation of believers : '' Ye
have an unction from the Holy One, and ye know
all things." f It is true that he sends unto them
an epistle, rich in doctrine and exhortation, but, as
he expresses it, in full harmony with our passage,
" I have not written unto you because ye know
not the truth, but because ye know it." " The
anointing which ye have received of Him abideth
in you, and ye need not that any man teach you."
'' They shall be all taught of God." This promise,
uttered by the prophet Isaiah,]: is regarded by our
Saviour as the promise uttered by all prophets ;§
for it is the great Messianic blessing, the promise
of the Father.
From Jesus, the Anointed, all Christians re-
* " And how do I know thee .'' I know thee in thee ! I do not
know thee as thou art in thyself, but as thou art to me, and that
not without thee, but in thee, because thou art the Hght, which
hath enlightened me. For what thou art to thyself is known only
to thee ; what thou art to me, according to thy grace, is known
also unto me ; I know, because thou art my God." — Aiigustifie's
Soliloquia.
t I John ii. 20. Compare the apostle Paul's words (i Thess. iv. 9) :
" But as touching brotherly love ye need not that I write unto you :
for ye yourselves are taught of God to love one another." Likewise
2 Peter i. 12.
X Isa. liv. 13. § John vi. 45, eV roi% Tr/Jo^Tjratj.
VIII.] The Epistle to the Hebrews. 73
ceive the Holy Ghost ; they have, according to
their name, the unction from above. Hence they
possess the Teacher who guides into all truth.
Knowledge is within them. There is within them
a well of living water. They are not dependent
on external instruction. There is given unto them
the Paraclete, who always reveals the things that
are freely given unto us of God. The spiritual
man knows all things — all the things of the Spirit,
all that pertains to life and godliness. True, he
does not know all things actually, or in any given
moment ; but he knows them potentially. There
is within him the light which can see, the mind
which can receive all truth. It is for this reason
that apostles and teachers give instruction. They
teach the God-taught ; they present spirit-revealed
realities to the spiritual. Human erudition, mental
acuteness or profundity, are of no avail here.
The youngest and most illiterate, the least gifted
and most uncultivated, may possess the wisdom
which is from above. And this knowledge, God-
given, is full of assurance ; it possesses the nature
of light, of conviction, of absolute certainty. We
know that our Redeemer liveth ; we know whom
we have believed ; we know that we are born of
God, and that all things work together for good
unto them that love Him ; we know the things
that are freely given to us of God. Every Chris-
tian knows himself individually, and that because
74 The Epistle to the Hebrews. [chap.
he is taught of God ; he relies not on the testi-
mony of man ; his faith stands in the power of
God.
This personal knowledge of God is the secret
of our spiritual life. It is our safeguard against
error, and against sin. It is the great and the
constant gift of God, the fruit of Christ's redemp-
tion. We now see and know God and His Son ;
we know Jesus, because Jesus always knows His
sheep, revealing Himself unto them, and giving
them guidance and life. This knowledge is no-
thing less than walking with God, walking in the
light, praying without ceasing. The secret of the
Lord is with them that fear Him. In much dark-
ness, amid many difficulties, and in constant war-
fare we yet walk in the light of His countenance,
until at last we shall see Him as He is, and know
even as we are known.
How great is the blessedness of all who are in
the new, the everlasting covenant ; in the cove-
nant of grace and life, in which God Himself is
revealed, and in which all things are of God.
Here Christ is to us wisdom, and righteousness,
and sanctification, and redemption. Our transgres-
sions are pardoned, yea, there is no more remem-
brance of sin. The heart is renewed, and the
Holy Ghost is given as an indwelling Spirit.
God works in us both to will and to do of His
good pleasure. We are in constant and filial
VIII.] The Epistle to the Hebrews. 75
communion with Him. He Is our God, and we
are His people ; He Is our Father, and we are
His children. And all these blessings have their
root and commencement, their vitality and perma-
nence In the redemption, accomplished on Gol-
gotha, they are dispensed from the heavenly
sanctuary by the Mediator, who was the Paschal
Lamb on the cross. Little children and fathers,
young converts and experienced Christians, always
hear the voice of Jesus : This is the New Testa-
7nent in my blood.
Hallelujah ! I believe !
Now no longer on my soul
All the debt of sin is lying ;
One great Friend has paid the whole.
Icebound fields of legal labour
I have left with all their toil ;
While the fruits of love are growing
From a new and genial soil.
LECTURE IV.
WORSHIP IN SPIRIT AND TRUTH.
Hebrews ix. 1-5.
{Introductory Remarks.)
'T^HE nature of spiritual worship, even after it
-*- has been revealed in Scripture, is very rarely
understood.
Apart from revelation, we do not find anywhere
traces of spiritual worship. " Think of the reli-
gions of antiquity. Where do we seek and find
the sanctuary of true, deep, manifold, and eloquent
prayer ? where the language and grammar, where
the scale of all notes of supplication, typical for all
humanity and all the ages ? where, except in the
assemblies of the worshippers of Jehovah, in the
courts of that service which knew no image of the
Unseen, in that temple where God, in His sub-
lime, spiritual presence and reality, transcends all
human thought, who for centuries since, and
through all coming ages, fills and guides the
hearts of all believers." =•' Only Israel and the
* Nitzsch.
CHAP. IX.] The Epistle to the Hebrews. jj
Church possess the knowledge of God ; the most
cultivated and learned nations were not able to
rise to a pure, spiritual, and exalted conception of
divinity. And the spirituality, as well as the ex-
clusiveness of true worship, Jewish and Christian,
have at first a repulsive effect on the natural
man. The Greeks and Romans were not merely
astonished at, but felt irritated by the worship of
Christians, who without image and altar, without
priests and vestments, appeared to them to be a^cot,
men without gods, influenced by what they deemed
a strange superstition, the mysterious power of
which they could not comprehend, when they
saw how it enabled Christians to rejoice in
suffering, and to meet with calm courage and
hopefulness the tortures of death. It was enig-
matic, and the absence of all visible symbol, of
all idols and altars, still more bewildered them.
When they beheld how faith in the unseen Lord
was a real and mighty power in the hearts
and lives of men and women, filling them with
earnestness, zeal, hope, and joy, how it lifted
them above the sinful pleasures of the world, the
love of money, the fever of ambition, the frivolity
and emptiness of a selfish life, how it enabled
them to bear calmly and patiently the trials, and
sufferings, and persecutions which they had to
endure, and to face the cruel and excruciating death
to which they were condemned, not merely with
yS The Epistle to the Hebrews. [chap.
equanimity, but with the fortitude of heroes, and
the radiant joy of virgins going forth to meet the
Bridegroom — their astonishment was boundless.
They called it a mania, a demoniac possession, a
mysterious moral epidemic, which had broken out
and threatened to undermine the commonwealth.
Of truth, of a real, living, and loving God, they
knew nothing. They felt annoyed, that the small
and insignificant Jewish nation would not adopt
their gods and customs, would keep aloof from
their temples, feasts, and banquets. It is narrated,
that when Pompey had conquered Jerusalem, and
without reverence penetrated into the interior of
the temple, he proceeded into the holy of holies.
There, a feeling of awe seized him, and he left all
things untouched. Since that time, the Roman
author says, it is known that the Jews worship
something empty and vague, that cannot be seen.
While the Greeks, proud of their culture and in-
telligence, looked down in contempt upon all other
nations, and also upon Israel, the Romans, proud of
their power, judged of the gods of nations by the
amount of victories achieved under their protec-
tion. You may know, remarks Cicero, what is the
power of the Jews and their God, by the circum-
stance that their land has been subjugated and
divided.
Having no knowledge of objective truth, re-
garding all religions as equally legitimate ex-
IX.] The Epistle to the Hebrews. 79
pressions of national traditions, sentiments, and
modes of thought, they were quite wilHng to
worship, in whatever country they happened to
be, according to the prevaiHng usage. To add
Christ also to the number of their gods and
heroes would have been quite in accordance with
their thought. Hence they could not understand
the nature of that faith and worship which had for
its object the true and living, the only God, and
which could not be added to or mingled with any
other faith and worship. Israel and the Church
claim to possess the truth, to know, love, and
serve the only true and living God. Therefore
they must be hated by all who do not submit
themselves to the heavenly revelation. Philoso-
phers of every age, both before and since the
advent, can tolerate every system of moral and
spiritual thought and worship. They can find
something good, noble, and elevating in every
religion ; but they cannot tolerate the one only
God-revealed truth in Christ Jesus.* The adop-
tion of the Christian name and of Christian
terminology is very superficial. Only a short
* Man delights in the activity of his mental faculties, in fearless
and free speculation, making his own mind the idol, even in inquir-
ing after God and His service. Lessing said, " Did the Almighty,
holding in His right hand truth, and in His left search after truth,
deign to proffer me the onp I might prefer, in all humihty, but
without hesitation, I could request search after truth." This is the
very opposite spirit of the Jewish and Christian. God hath spoken.
(Heb. i. 1-3.)
8o The Epistle to the Hebrews, [chap.
time may be required to complete that process
of development, or rather chemical separation,
which is at present dividing true spiritual Chris-
tians, who believe God's word, and the world,
who reject the counsel of God, in His incarnate
Son and His cross. And again it will be seen,
that of a truth against God's holy child Jesus,
Pontius Pilate and the heathen and unbelieving
Jews have risen, denying God and His Anointed;
for Christ is against the world, and the world
against Christ. Modern Paganism (often using
Christian terminology) only conceals this fact.
Jesus claims to be the truth, absolute, exhaustive,
ultimate ; He claims to be, not one of many ways,
not the best" of all ways, but the way — the only,
exclusive, divine way of access unto the light,
love, and life of God. If He was not exclusive.
He would be like the others, only giving guesses
at truth, and not its revelation ; He cannot but
assert His absolute and exclusive Mediatorship.
It is this exclusiveness of Jesus (like the abso-
lute and jealous denunciation of Jehovah against
all idolatry) which is met by the bitter, though
often latent and unconscious, enmity of the world.
He that is not for Jesus is against Him. All
they that attempt, without Him, to enter into
the fold are thieves and robbers. Jesus is the
truth, and in Him alone we draw near to the
Father.
IX.] The Epistle to the Hebrews. 8i
Apart from Revelation, men have not the idea
of God as Lord, Spirit, Father. And even after
the light of Scripture has appeared, God is to
many only an abstract word, by which they desig-
nate a complex of perfections, rather than a real
living, loving, ever-present Lord, to whom we
speak and of whom we ask the blessings we need.
How different from this vague life and colourless
abstraction, without will and love, this incompre-
hensible All and Nothing is the God of Abraham,
and of Isaac, and of Jacob, the God and Father
of our Lord Jesus Christ. To Him we can pray.
Without revelation prayer is regarded not so
much as asking God in order to receive from
Him, but as an exercise of mind which elevates,
ennobles, and comforts. It is a monologue. Wor-
ship is viewed as a representation of our ideas of
divine attributes and perfections, not the recog-
nition of God, as through revelation we know Him
in His relation to us.
See how God reveals to the poor sin-con-
vinced soul — to the humblest, the most ignorant,
the most guilty — what the wise and righteous of
the world can neither discover nor attain. A sinful,
thoughtless, frivolous woman, living in the dark-
ness of an ungodly life, and belonging to a race
possessing only dim and imperfect knowledge of
divine truth, had been drawn into conversation by a
mysterious stranger, who beginning with the lowly
II. G
82 The Epistle to the Hebrews, [chap.
request of a favour had brought before her in
words (whose meaning she scarcely comprehended,
but which roused deep longings within her soul),
the misery and emptiness of the world, the ex-
istence and blessedness of a higher spiritual and
divine life ; and He who at first spoke as a weary
traveller had gradually presented Himself as the
mysterious Mediator and Dispenser of a divine and
transcendent gift. But the heart and the con-
science, the deepest centre of her being, had not
been touched yet. Jesus then reveals Himself as
the Searcher of Hearts, the Lord and Judge, who
knoweth secret things. He brings before her the
guilty past. The arrow is sent forth by a strong
yet gentle hand ; its purpose is to wound and to
heal. The woman exclaims : I perceive thou art
a prophet; that is, a seer, a messenger of God,
one entrusted with a divine message. Brought
thus unto the presence of God, realizing God, as
only the sin-convinced conscience and heart do,
she immediately wishes to please, worship, serve
that Supreme Lord.
The question she now addresses to the Saviour
is not a skilful evasion of a painful and humili-
ating subject ; it proceeds from the depths of a
wounded heart ; it is the question of repentance
and profound desire after God. If God is He
must be worshipped. Hitherto theological dis-
putes had no interest for her, but noAv she thirsts
Tx.] The Epistle to the Hebrews. 83
after God, the living God, and longs to come
unto Him in true worship.
It was to this poor and sinful Samaritan woman
that Jesus explained, in that solemn, lonely hour,
the profound truths of spiritual worship. He
reminds her, first of all, that the question of wor-
ship is not to be decided by man, but by God.
Human thought, sentiment, traditions, cannot
have authority in this highest and most sacred
matter. The Samaritans, as all other nations left
to themselves, have no knowledge of worship,
because they know not God. True worship can
only be found on the territory of revelation. In
Israel God had revealed Himself, and His revela-
tion of Himself was as the God of salvation.
Because salvation is of the Jews, with them also
was found true worship. True, it was for a long
time under a limited, preparatory, symbolical dis
pensation, but at the same time real and spiritual,
and the germ of the universal and free worship
which has been brought in through the fulfilment
in Christ Jesus.
Spirituality is not an inherent subjective quality,
it is the reflection of the person worshipped ; as the
God so the worshipper. The words of the Saviour,
" Ye worship ye know not what," have a far more
extensive application than to Samaritans. The
most cultivated and refined men cannot, by their
risason, intuition, or learning, find God ; and their
84 The Epistle to the Hebreivs. [chap.
conception of the supreme, ethereal and ideal as
it may be, is not spiritual but carnal. But Israel
knew Jehovah as the God of Abraham, Isaac, and
Jacob ; as the God who had appeared unto their
fathers with condescending, familiar, loving favour,
guiding and comforting, blessing and helping,
the God who had chosen them, and who had
redeemed them out of Egypt to be His peculiar
people, and to show forth His praise. They were
called to the knowledge and service of God, that
through them light and salvation should be
brought to all Gentiles, even to the uttermost
ends of the earth. And we await still the fulfill-
ment of the immutable promises connected with
the Abrahamic covenant when, from Israel as a
centre, the light of God's salvation shall shine
forth unto all nations, and all the ends of the earth
shall worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness.
The dispensation of the law came in as an
intermediate and preparatory one. One great
object was to show forth by types the redemption
which is in Christ Jesus, and the character of true
worship. There are only two chapters of Scrip-
ture to narrate the creation of the world ; but no
fewer than sixteen chapters of the inspired record
are devoted to the description of the tabernacle. It
has been remarked, that God took only six days
in the work of creation, but spent forty days with
Moses in directing him to make the tabernacle.
IX. J The Epistle to the Hebrews. 85
The work of grace is more glorious than the work
of creation. Three times the book of Exodus gives
a full account of all the parts of the tabernacle.
First, when the command is given to build it ;
then again, when its preparation is narrated ; and
a third time, after it was actually erected. For
the tabernacle shows forth the redemption in
Christ ; and the whole world was created that the
glory of God should be manifested in Christ and
the Church. And Scripture, by thus attaching a
far greater importance to the description of the
tabernacle than to the narrative of the world's
creation, teaches us to contemplate the things that
are unseen, to fix our thoughts and affections on
the eternal and heavenly world, to lift our eyes to
those heights whence descend the light and love
of our blessed God.
Scripture teaches us that the tabernacle was
built according to the divine revelation given unto
Moses. 1 1 was according to the pattern of heavenly
things beheld by him on the mount. The idea of
the structure in its grand outlines, as well as the
arrangements of the detail, were not of human
origin. They are not to be traced to the inge-
nuity of Moses, or to the model of heathen sanc-
tuaries. All things were of God, everywhere the
Holy Ghost did symbolize. The tabernacle was
to the believing Israelite full of symbols, showing
the grace of their Redeemer God, and shadowing
86 The Epistle to the Hebrews. [chap.
forth the manifold mercy of God, who forgives
and sanctifies His people, who brings them Into
His presence, bestows upon them His blessing,
and enables them to worship and serve Him with
thankful and rejoicing hearts. And to us who
read these chapters In the light of fulfillment, they
are full of gospel instruction and comfort ; unfold-
ing the varied treasures of grace, the many aspects
of Christ and His work, and of the experience of
His saints.'''
The people offered with exceeding liberality
and willingness of heart all the material needed
for the building, and the skill and genius of en-
lightened workmen prepared the various portions
of the structure and the vessels. Thus according
to the condescending wisdom and goodness of
God, the affections and energies of His people
were enlisted, and they were workers together
with Him of whom and by whom are all things.
* We find here, to use Owen's words, such an evidence of divine
wisdom and goodness, as gives them beauty, desirableness, and
usefulness, unto their proper end. There is that in them, which
unto an enlightened mind will distinguish them for ever from the
most plausible inventions of men, advanced in the imitation of
them. Only a diligent inquiry into them is expected from us. (Ps.
cxi. 2, 3.) When men have slight considerations of any of God's
institutions, when they come unto them without a sense that there
is divine wisdom in them, that which becomes him from whom they
are, it is no wonder if their glory be hid from them. But when we
diligently and humbly inquire into any of the ways of God, to find
out the characters of His divine excellencies that are upon them,
we shall obtain a satisfying view of His glory. (Hosea vi. 3.)
IX.] The Epistle to the Hebrews, 87
When afterwards the temple was built, and the
tabernacle of the wilderness was changed into a
permanent and stationary house on mount Zion,
the palace of the great King, whose chosen city-
is Jerusalem, the affection and reverence of the
nation clung to it with great intensity. From the
very excess of superstition and formalism into
which this feeling degenerated, we can infer its
original strength. And indeed, though we find in
David and Solomon the most spiritual and ele-
vated conceptions of the divine omnipresence, and
of the true nature of prayer and sacrifice ; though
in all the prophetic writings we meet with constant
warnings against a merely outward service, and
a constant reference to inward purity and to the
adoration and obedience of the heart, yet the
temple, where God revealed His presence and
His glory, where His beautiful ordinances were
observed, and the most solemn transactions took
place between Jehovah and His people through
the appointed mediation of priests and high priest,
was necessarily most sacred and endeared to every
true Israelite. How touching is the description
in the book of Ezra of the laying of the founda-
tion at the rebuilding of the temple : '' But many
of the priests and Levites and chief of the fathers,
who were ancient men, that had seen the first
house, when the foundation of this house was laid
before their eyes, wept with a loud voice ; and
88 The Epistle to the Hebrews. [chap.
many shouted aloud for joy : so that the people
could not discern the noise of the shout of joy
from the noise of the weeping of the people : for
the people shouted with a loud shout, and the
noise was heard afar off."
The position of Israel at the time of our Lord
was one of great solemnity. It was the most
solemn crisis in Israel's history. The Lord
whom they sought (some really, and others only
in profession) came suddenly to His temple.
Jesus came as a minister of the circumcision to
fulfill the promises made unto the fathers. He
came first as a prophet, preaching repentance ;
for the kingdom of God was at hand. He came
to gather them. He was the last as well as the
greatest messenger sent unto Jerusalem. But
they did not reverence the Son. They under-
stood not the time of their visitation. Jesus with
tears predicted judgment on the beloved city, the
city of the great King. "For the days shall come
upon thee, that thine enemies shall cast a trench
about thee, and compass thee round, and keep
thee in on every side, and shall lay thee even with
the ground, and thy children within thee ; and they
shall not leave in thee one stone upon another :
because thou knewest not the time of thy visita-
tion." And of the temple He said, '' There shall
not be left here one stone upon another, that shall
not be thrown down."
rx] The Epistle to the Hebreius. 89
But between the announcement and the execu-
tion of the judgment forty years intervened. The
Lord is slow to anger; He is long-suffering, and
gracious. He delays judgment to gather in a
remnant, and to show to the whole world the
righteousness and the mercifulness of all His
dealings. How important and solemn, how wide-
reaching in their influence, are these forty years
of the patience of God, of the further probation
of Israel ! Israel had hated Jesus ''without cause,"
and with cruel hands nailed Him to the accursed
tree ; yet Jesus on the cross prayed, " Father, for-
give them ; for they know not what they do."
Israel had committed the great and culminating
sin ; they had rejected the Lord of glory, the Son
of the Most High, yet God hath not cast away
His people. The gifts and callings of God are
without repentance, and the everlasting covenant
shall yet be made with them, when everlasting
joy and glory shall be given unto the children
of Abraham. And as a pledge of this ultimate
favour, in answer to the prayer of the dying
Saviour, and through the preaching of the apostle
Peter, three thousand were converted on the day
of Pentecost, and many thousands (tens of thou-
sands) were added unto the number of disciples.
The apostle Peter preached to the men of Israel.
He addressed the whole nation, delivering unto
them as a nation the message that God had sent
90 The Epistle to the Hebrews. [chap.
Jesus unto them first. He called upon them to
turn unto the Lord, in order that the fulness of
divine blessing might come upon them according
to the promise. In the same patriotic spirit as
the prophets, with the most tender regard for the
national privileges and customs, the apostles ad-
dressed themselves unto the nation, preaching the
first and second advent of Israel's Messiah and
King. The apostle of the Gentiles also came as
a Jew to the Jews, as under the law to those who
were under the law, and in all his addresses to his
people breathes the same fervent national con-
sciousness ; he declared the hope of the promise
made of God unto the fathers.
But, alas ! the nation resisted the counsel of
God, and took no heed to the voice of the Holy
Ghost, speaking to them with such clearness and
love through the apostles. They counted them-
selves unworthy of eternal life. God, in the
abundance of His love and wisdom, made Israel's
unbeHef the occasion of sending the gospel to the
Gentiles. Still the period of mercy to Israel was
prolonged. The testimony was still sent to them.
The doctrine of the Church, as the body, con-
sisting of both Jews and Gentiles, was now fully
revealed ; the apostle Peter, who opened the door
to the Gentiles in the baptism of Cornelius, and
the apostle Paul, who was specially led to the
uncircumcision ; the Council of Jerusalem, with
IX.] The Epistle to the Hebrews. 91
reference to the relation of the Gentiles to the
law of Moses ; and finally, the full and explicit
teaching of the Pauline Epistles ; — all this unveiled
what had been hitherto hid, the intermediate
position of the Church, when Israel as a nation
was to be set aside. From the very com-
mencement, In the parables and warnings of the
Saviour, In the experience of Peter and John
after Pentecost, In the first persecution of the
saints. In the martyrdom of Stephen, In the oppo-
sition against the apostle Paul, the dark clouds
were gathering, and the wrath to the uttermost
was approaching.
Meanwhile, It was most difficult for many
Jewish Christians to understand the true character
of the transition period, and to enter into the
spirit of the new era, which in reality had already
commenced, though not actually and formally. If
It Is difficult at present for the Church to remem-
ber that they have not taken the place of Israel,
If, as the apostle anticipated, the Church in many
ages has become Ignorant of the " mystery," that
all Israel shall be saved, that Jesus shall reign as
king over His chosen people, when all the bless-
ings promised to Abraham and through all the
prophets will be fulfilled, can we wonder that the
Hebrews could not readily understand the cha-
racter of the Church dispensation, while they were
still, and with apostolic sanction, observing the law
of Moses ?
92 The Epistle to the Hebrews, [chap.
We learn from the book of Acts, and this very
epistle, how much the believing Jews suffered
from their countrymen. Their goods were con-
fiscated ; they had to suffer imprisonment ; some
were put to death ; they were banished from what
was most sacred and precious to them. Israel, as
a nation, would not submit to the righteousness of
God. They became obdurate in self-conceit, self-
righteousness, and formalism. They rested with
a false security in their mechanical obedience of
legal enactments, and in the possession of the
temple services. They were without fear, while the
terrible judgment was approaching. Destruction
came suddenly, unexpectedly. Even to the last
moment the inhabitants of Jerusalem expected
divine deliverance. They had not heard the loving
voice of Him who said, ''Ye daughters of Jeru-
salem, weep not for me ; " they understood not
the fearful words which they had uttered, when
they cried : ''His blood be upon us, and upon
our children."
This is, indeed, the tragedy of history. It is
most melancholy to notice the enthusiasm, the
intense and tenacious trust, which moved them to
resist the invincible might of Romie. They could
not believe that God would give up His beloved
city, and the place of His sanctuary. They hoped
and trusted against all hope. But the hour of
God's righteous judgment had come. Jerusalem
IX.] The Epistle to the Hebi^ews, 93
was destroyed ; their house was left unto them
desolate.*
Extremely solemn and awful is this catastrophe
as the end of centuries of the most marvellous
revelations and dealings of divine love, wisdom,
and power. God, who revealed His truth by
His Spirit to His chosen saints among Jews
and Gentiles, has manifested to the whole world
His counsel by the solemn judgment which de-
scended on Jerusalem. Amid all the vicissitudes
and struggles of the covenant-people, the sanc-
tuary and the Levitical service continued ; only
once it had been interrupted during the Baby-
lonian captivity. During the centuries that Israel
had to live under the Roman yoke, though no
* The character of Roman conquest and rule is most graphically
symbolized in the prophetic vision (Dan. ii.) " Strong as iron : for-
asmuch as iron breaketh in pieces and subdueth all things." The
Greco-Macedonian monarchy was characterized by the presence of
poetical and ide^l conceptions ; but in Rome we see an embodiment
of force. State policy, and the cold haughtiness of violence and
power, must have been very hard to bear. No wonder Tacitus
speaks of the hostile hatred (hostile odium) of the Jews against the
Romans, who regarded them with great indignation and contempt,
because the Jewish God could not be conquered as the other gods.
This small nation would not yield to Roman idolatry. In the
whole of Asia, as Caligula complained, there was not a single temple,
a single city or province of the empire, which had refused to admit
his statue, and to honour him as a divinity, except in Judaea.
The last struggles of Jerusalem show a most extraordinar)' strength
and energy. Never was conflict so unequal, as the Emperor Titus
points out to the two captive leaders of the Jews (according to
Josephus, whose want of patriotism and Jewish spirit is very melan-
choly), when neither the Germans, so renowned for their physical
94 The Epistle to the Hebrews. [chap.
Son of David sat upon the throne, the temple
stood in glory, and Israel rejoiced in the beauty of
its stones and in the splendour of its services.
But since the rejection of Jesus, no human power
has been able to restore this visible sanctuary and
the sacrifices and priestly ordinances. God had
spoken to His people by the voice of apostles.
At last He spoke by the voice of Judgment.
The destruction of the temple and the removal
of the whole Levitical dispensation teaches, by
actual historical demonstration, truth which the
epistles set forth doctrinally. It is an anachronism
to speak now of priests in the sense of sacerdotal
mediators. It is an anachronism to speak of sym-
bolic worship, of ordinances, which are figures and
shadows of spiritual realities. The Levitical dis-
vigour, nor Britannia, guarded by the ocean, nor Carthage, with all
its courage, and with all the skill of its generals, could successfully
resist the power of Rome. He did not know of their trust in
Jehovah, and in His word, which, notwithstanding their grievous
apostacy, and amidst fearful perversions and fanatic zeal, still lodged
ill their hearts. Hence their unparalleled sufferings, and the agoniz-
ing grief with which the destruction of the beloved city and the temple
filled their hearts, could not extinguish the hope of a future resto-
ration and glory. Rabbi Akiba was walking with some friends
about Jerusalem. They saw nothing but deb?is, and caves of wild
beasts. A fox was bounding past them. The friends of Akiba are
grieved ; he himself laughs. How can you laugh when unclean
animals inhabit the sacred soil ! This is why I laugh ; as sure as the
word is fulfilled, uttered by Jeremiah (xxvi. i8): "Zion shall be
plowed like a field, and Jerusalem shall become heaps, and the
mountain of the house as the high places of a forest," that which
was spoken of by the prophet Zechariah will also come to pass.
IX.] The Epistle to the Hebrews. 95
pensation was given only to Israel, and to Israel
only, for a certain period of their history. Since
the destruction of Jerusalem, Israel is without
high priest, without sacrifice, without temple. God
Himself has removed the shadow, because the
substance is come. God Himself has by severe
judgment taken away the earthly, elementary, and
fragmentary, that Israel may turn to the heavenly,
eternal, and perfect.
But unto the Gentiles God nevei^ gave an
Aaronic priesthood, an earthly tabernacle, a sym-
bolical service. From the very commencement
He taught them, as Jesus taught the woman of
Samaria, that now all places are alike sacred, that
the element in which God is worshipped is spirit
and truth, that believers are children who call
Zech. viii. 4 : " Thus saith the Lord of hosts ; There shall yet old
men and old women dwell in the streets of Jerusalem, and every
man with his staff in his hand for very age." The destruction of
Jerusalem is not like the fall of Troy, of Babylon, of Carthage. Even
while the divine judgment is on Israel, and Jerusalem is trodden
down of the Gentiles, the Scripture entrusted to their guardianship,
and the gospel which first was preached among them, goes forth
among all nations, gaining the affection and prayers of multitudes
for their conversion and restoration, while under the special care of
God they are preserved until the appointed time of her favour is
come, and God shall visit and rebuild her in great mercy. But the
'judgment is yet awaiting Rome, who passed unrighteous sentence
against that Just and Holy One, and delivered Him up to be
crucified, who destroyed the holy city, and scattered the chosen
people, who for many centuries shed the blood of the martyrs, and
who is still the centre of the most God-dishonouring perversion
of His truth.
96 The Epistle to the Hebrews. chap.
upon the Father, that they are a royal priesthood,
who through Jesus are brought nigh unto God,
who enter into the holy of holies which is above."
As the apostle says so frequently to the Hebrews,
"We have," we do possess the reality and substance
of those things of which the unbelieving Jews
boast, so may we say in these days of priestly pre-
tension and false views of the Christian ministry
and worship. We have, blessed be God, the true
sanctuary, the new and consecrated way into the
■^ While the temple stood, Jesus and the apostles honoured the
temple. The Lord said unto the leper, " Show thyself unto the
priest." He and His apostles went daily into the temple. After
His resurrection, and while the gospel was being preached unto
Israel, the temple services and ordinances may have been blessed
to souls, as images and prophecies of the heavenly realities. But
any imitation of the Levitical dispensation in the present day must
needs be contrary to God's mind, and obscure the clear revelation
in Christ Jesus. The expression "priest," in the sense of lepev%,
applied to a Christian minister, can in no wise be defended. The
expression "consecration," as applied to buildings, ought also to
be given up, and with the expression every remnant of the old
leaven, which attaches some kind of " sanctity " to any place.
Sacred places there are none now. We never read of the apostolic
Christians going to Bethlehem, where Jesus was born, or to
Golgotha, where He died, or to the garden, where He rose, or
to the mount of Olives, where He ascended, or to the temple-
chamber, in which the Pentecostal gift was received. " Where two
or three are gathered together," there, because, and ivheji they are
gathered together in the name of Jesus ; wherever we worship in
spirit and truth, there and theti we may say, How dreadful is this
place ! This view does not in the least affect the necessity and the
desirability of having spacious, suitable, and attractive buildings
set apart for the meetings of God's people and the preaching of the
gospel. Here is a proper field for Christian liberality and also for
architectural skill.
IX.] The Epistle to the Hebrews, 97
holy of holies, we have access by one Spirit through
the blood of Jesus unto the Father. We have the
real presence, even Jesus, dwelling in our hearts
by faith ; Jesus, where two or three are gathered
in His name; Jesus making Himself known in
the breaking of bread ; Jesus speaking by the
Holy Ghost through the Word read and preached.
Where two or three are gathered together in
His name, there it is not merely as if He was
in the midst of them, but He Himself is with
them in truth and reality, in Spirit and in power,
in love and in blessing. If any man love Him,
the Father and the Son will come and take up
their abode with him. Jesus is our Immanuel in
the heart, in the assembly, in the world. We have
Christ, and in Him we have all.
How difficult is it to rise from the spirit of
Paganism to the clear and bright atmosphere of
the gospel ! How much inclined are men to wel-
come everything which does not reveal to them
their true condition, and bring them into the very
presence of God. Priesthood, vestments, conse-
crated buildings, symbols, and observances — all
place Christ at a great distance, and cover the
true, sinful, and guilty state of the heart which has
not been brought nigh by the blood of Christ.
Look again at the woman of Samaria. Ignorant,
guilty, degraded as she was, Jesus brought her
at once into the presence of the living, loving
II. H
98 The Epistle to the Hebrews. [chap.
Redeemer-God. He revealed unto her the fulness
of divine love. He revealed Himself as the
giver of the living water. As a free gift He
declared to her salvation. The sinner believes,
and as a child He is brought by Jesus unto the
Father. High above all space, high above all
created heavens, before the very throne of God,
is the sanctuary in which we worship. Jesus pre-
sents us to the Father. We are beloved children,
clothed with white robes, the garments of salvation
and the robes of righteousness, we are priests unto
God.
There is one expression in the teaching on wor-
ship, which the Lord gave unto the woman of
Samaria, which in its simplicity and height ex-
ceeds the teaching of our epistle. Jesus said, " The
Father seeketh such to worship Him." The
doctrine of adoption or sonship is rather implied*
than developed in this epistle. In it God is never
called our Father, f or the Father of our Lord
Jesus Christ. Our epistle rather prepares for the
higher and yet simpler view, which presents to us
God as our Father in Christ Jesus, and believers
as His adopted and beloved children. In this
* Heb. ii. 11.
t Hebrews xii. 9 is no exception. Only one who fully saw the
doctrine of adoption could have written this epistle ; for although
from the aim and scope of the epistle it does not move, as it were,
in this highest plane, yet is all the teaching harmonious with the
full New Testament doctrine.
IX.] The Epistle to the Hebrews. 99
present dispensation the Father seeketh worship-
pers, and it is in childi^eji that He seeketh wor-
shippers. Now we understand the full meaning
of Christ's blessed and sweet word : After this
manner shall ye pray, " Our Father, which art in
heaven;" for the Holy Ghost, whom the ascended
Saviour hath sent into our hearts, teaches and
enables us to cry, in the Spirit of adoption, Abba !
The shadow has vanished ; unto us the true
light shineth ; but Israel is still in darkness, and
the world without the knowledge of God. But
the day is approaching when Israel shall seek the
Lord and their King David ; when the idols shall
be utterly abolished, and the Lord alone be ex-
alted. Meanwhile, let us, who are gathered out
of the world, and who invoke the Name of the
revealed Lord, worship In Spirit, having no con-
fidence In the flesh, but rejoicing in Christ Jesus.
LECTURE V.
THE FIRST TABERNACLE.
Hebrews ix. 1-5.
nPHE apostle had shown (vill. 13) that the
-^ old covenant was ready to vanish away ; yet
he is anxious to show that it was given of God,
and for the appointed time full of blessing and in-
struction. It also possessed ordinances of divine
service ; that is, the divine service connected with
it was given of God, instituted and sanctioned
as a law among Israel. But the sanctuary was
" worldly," that is, visible and tangible, according
to this present world, and built with materials
belonging to this earthly creation."
* The force of dLKaido/xara is, like the Hebrew judgments, ordi-
nances, statutes in Deuteronomy. The service \va.s jure diviiio.
The antithesis to worldly {KoafiiKov) is heavenly, uncreated, eternal.
Thus in the epistle to the Galatians, the apostle, speaking of the
legal parenthetical dispensation, says we were then in bondage
under the elements of the world ; and in the epistle to the Colos-
sians, he contrasts with the rudiments of the world the heavenly
position of the believer who has died with Christ, and " is no longer
living in the world " (Gal. iv. 2, Col. ii. 20), but seeking the things
above. Of the temporary character of the Jewish service, we have
ver>' striking indications in the prophets. Thus we read in the
prophet Jeremiah (iii. 16) : " And it shall come to pass, when ye be
multiphed and increased in the land, in those days, saith the Lord,
IX.] The Epistle to the Hebrews. loi
But now we worship in the heavenly sanctuary.
By the destruction of the Temple, God declared
unto the whole world, in the solemn language of
judgment, what He had before revealed by His
Spirit to His saints. They knew the mystery of
the church : that during the times of the Gentiles,
while Israel, on account of unbelief, is set aside as
the theocratic and central nation, God gathers to
Christ a people from among Jews and Gentiles,
who, united in one body by one Spirit, and
through the mediation of the High Priest, have
access unto the Father. They possess the sub-
stance, the body, the fulness of which Israel had
shadows, pictures, and manifold and imperfect
emblems. Through the death of Christ, and
by the outpouring of the Holy Ghost, the new
covenant saints have entered into the true worship
of sons. Jesus is the perfect mediator ; He per-
fectly accomplishes mediation ; He brings us nigh
they shall say no more. The ark of the covenant of the Lord :
neither shall it come to mind : neither shall they remember it ;
neither shall they visit it ; neither shall that be done any more." It
was already noticed by ancient Jews, that the sacrifices, described
by Ezekiel in connection with the new temple in Jerusalem, are
different from those ordained by Moses. The cleansing of the
sanctuary at the commencement of the year, is substituted for the
atonement at the end of seven months. " The defective and im-
perfect form of the old law gives place to a higher and more com-
plete order." — Hdvernick. Everything is simplified ; the passover
and the feast of tabernacles are the two characteristic festivals of
the new condition ; redemption and the rest and enjoyment of
harvest.
I02 The Epistle to the Hebrews, [chap.
unto God by His Blood, He brings God nigh
unto us by His Spirit.
There is no room in the Church-dispensation
for anything Hke the Levitical priesthood and sym-
boHsm. We who beheve in Jesus, who honour
the adorable Lord as the one Mediator between
God and man, regard with profound sorrow,
dismay, and abhorrence the antlchrlstian attempt
to introduce priestly mediation between Christ
and His people. Christ is the only Prophet, and
of Him, and none else, the Father says to us,
" Hear ye Him." Christ Is the only High Priest ;
and because He is on the throne of God, we are
to come boldly, even out of the depth of our sin
and weakness ; we ascend above angels and prin-
cipalities Into the highest heaven, and find there
help in time of need. Jesus Is King, and has all
power In heaven and on earth ; and by the Holy
Ghost He energises in every saint who cleaves to
Him. It is true, that In the old dispensation there
were symbols. They were not man-Invented, but
God-given, they descended from heaven ; they
derived their authority from God ; they origin-
ated in the divine mind ; they were framed by
Him, who seeth the end from the beginning,
and who In the most elementary and partial
revelation has regard to the harmony and organic
unity of the whole. Again, these symbols were
to teach, to signify, to Illustrate spiritual truths.
IX.] The Epistle to the Hebrews. 103
The divine word, the teaching of the prophets,
and the very instinct of the godly, continually
pointed away from the symbol to the reality,
to the heavenly sanctuary, to the worship of
the broken and the contrite heart. And last of
all, they were known to be temporary, the star
and moonlight to guide and cheer the faithful
who waited for the sunrise, the promised redemp-
tion. What has Israel's symbolism — God-given,
inspired, spiritual, heart-searching, and Christ-un-
folding— to do with the inventions and institutions
of men, substituted for the Word of God, and
placed, not to illustrate, but to obscure the truth
as it is in Jesus ? Has the Church of Rome been,
like the law, a schoolmaster to lead men unto
Christ, to deepen the knowledge of sin, to exalt
the holiness of God, to magnify His boundless
grace, to point to the Lamb of God, and to the
one perfect and all-sufficient Sacrifice ?
What a marvellous confusion of Jewish, Pagan,
and Christian elements do we see here ! Jewish
things which have waxed old, and vanished away ;
preparatory and imperfect elements which the
apostle does not scruple to call beggarly now that
the fulness has come — revived without divine
authority, and changed and perverted to suit cir-
cumstances for which they were never intended.
Pagan things, appealing to the deep-seated and
time-confirmed love of idolatry, and of sensuous
104 T^^^ Epistle to the Hebrews, [chap!
and mere outward performances ; the Babylonian
worship of the Queen of Heaven ; the interces-
sion of saints and angels, the mechanical repetition
of formulas, the superstitious regard of places,
seasons, and relics. Burled among these elements
are some relics of Christian truth, without which
this ingenious fabric could not have existed so
long, and Influenced so many minds — a truth
which in the merciful condescension of God Is
blessed to sustain the life of His chosen ones in
the mystical Babylon. This so-called Church,
vast and imposing, opens its door wide, except
to those who honour the Scriptures, and who
magnify the Lord Jesus. It can forgive sins,
and grant pardons and indulgences, extending
the astounding assumption of jurisdiction even
beyond the grave ; yet it cannot bring peace to
the wounded conscience, and renewal to the aching
heart, because It never fully and simply declares
the efficacy of the blood of Jesus, by which we
obtain perfect remission, and the power of the
Holy Ghost, who joins us to Christ. This com
munity speaks of sacrifice, of altars, of priest-
hood, and stands between the people and the
sanctuary above, the only High Priest, who by
His sacrifice has entered for us into the holy of
holies. And In our day this great apostasy has
reached a point which we would fain regard as its
culminating point, when it places the Virgin Mary
IX.] The Epistle to the Hebrews. 105
by the side of the Lord Jesus as sinless and pure,
and when it arrogates for man infahible authority
over the heritage of God.
But I have referred to this great perversion of
truth, to this apostasy, which exerts such a potent
fascination, in order to remind you by contrast of
the sImpHcity of the Gospel.*
They who believe in Jesus are, a royal priest-
hood, a chosen generation, the people who are
God's peculiar portion ; all whom Jesus loves,
and whom He has washed from their sins in His
own blood, are made by Him kings and priests
unto God and His Father. So we are taught by
the apostles Peter and John.f And in our epistle
we are reminded of the heavenly calling and the
spiritual worship of all believers who consider with
believing and simple hearts the great Apostle and
High Priest of their profession.
God prepared the present dispensation of reality
and substance by one of types and shadows.
Among the high and august privileges of Israel
* The true character of the Church of Rome was well described
by Martin Luther in these forcible words : " The Church of Rome
is built not upon the rock of the divine word, but on the sand of
human reasoning." It is a rationalistic church. The only method
to fortify young minds against Rome's fascinating errors, is to
instruct them fully in the truths of God's word. The blood of
atonement and the indwelling Spirit are the two great and precious
gifts by which we obtain perfect peace, and knowing these two truths
we shall not look for an outward infallible authority.
t I Pet. ii. 5-9 ; Rev. i. 5, 6.
io6 The Epistle to the Hebrews. [chap.
which the apostle Paul enumerates In his epistle
to the Romans, and which culminate In the trans-
cendent fact, which is also their root, " Of whom
as concerning the flesh Christ came, who Is God
over all," he mentions also the service, includ-
ing in this expression all the divine institutions
concerning worship which were given unto the
people through Moses. The people whom God,
had chosen and redeemed were separated to be
a holy nation, to draw near unto Jehovah, and
to worship Him. This was the great purpose
of election and redemption. Hence the God-
appointed service is as important as '' the adop-
tion, and the glory, and the covenants, and the
giving of the law." The word service Is apt to
convey an erroneous Impression, because In the
nominal church the character of spiritual worship
has been so frequently and during protracted
periods misunderstood. The service which God
appointed In Israel must not be compared with
ritual Imposed by human authority, and arranged
according to man's Ingenuity or aesthetic feeling.
In the tabernacle, which Moses built according to
the pattern of heavenly things, shown unto him
of God, everything, down to the minutest detail
of number and colour, was of divine authority,
and full of meaning. The Holy Ghost Himself
teaches here by signs. When the apostle, after
enumerating the vessels of the sanctuary, adds
IX.] The Epistle to the Hebreivs. 107
that he cannot now speak of them particularly,'^
he thereby establishes, or rather confirms, the
truth, well known to the Hebrews, that every-
thing in the tabernacle was of divine appoint-
ment, and was symbolic of spiritual realities.
If we understand the nature of worship, we
also see that the method of worship must be
given and appointed of God. Man neither knows
whom or how to worship. Even the chosen and
redeemed people need to be taught how to wor-
ship ; and herein is only a fuller revelation of the
character of God Himself. Genesis is the funda-
mental book, the book of election ; Exodus is the
book of redemption ; Leviticus the book of wor-
ship. The inference which the Puritan Divines
drew from the second commandment — *' Thou
shalt not make to thyself any image ;" viz., that
it prohibited all methods and ceremonies in the
worship of God invented and appointed by man,
was not merely perfectly correct, but touched the
very vital and sensitive point to which the super-
stition of centuries had become dead and obtuse.
* This expression plainly indicates, that although the apostle
hastens to the consideration of the most important and central
truth of which he is treating here, he could enter into a minute
exposition of the various parts of the tabernacle. Hence the
endeavour to find the typical meaning of those portions of the
tabernacle which are not explained in the New Testament is per-
fectly legitimate, even as there are many more types and Messianic
passages than those referred to and expounded by evangelists and
apostles.
io8 The Epistle to the Hebrews. [chap.
God taught Israel worship. The fulfilment of the
types is in Christ ; and now there is no other
worship but worship of the forgiven and renewed
believers, who through the great High Priest are
before God, and know and love Him as Father.
Let us consider now the earthly tabernacle, as
we are here reminded of it. The saints of old,
whose souls thirsted for the living God, who could
find no happiness and rest in the things of time
and sense, whose hearts could not be filled with
mere form, found in the ordinances of God's house
their greatest delight. *' How amiable are thy
tabernacles. Lord God of hosts ! My soul longeth,
yea, even fainteth for the courts of the Lord : my
heart and my fiesh crieth out for the living God."
And in still stronger words : '' One thing have I
desired of the Lord, that will I seek after ; that I
may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days
of my life, to behold the beauty of the Lord, and
to enquire in His temple." And we, who live in
the bright light of the gospel, shall also find it
good to be here, and to contemplate the divinely-
appointed images of the spiritual blessings in
heavenly places. " The Holy Ghost explains
to us in the New Testament the highest mys-
teries of eternal redemption by words which are
taken from these types, and says to us, ' Know
the Lord,' by unfolding to us the Person, the
Sacrifice, the High Priesthood of Christ, pre-
IX.] The Epistle to the Hebrews. 109
figured more profoundly and completely by the
types than in the prophecies, properly so called." *
*' Types were institutions intended to deepen,
expand, and ennoble the circle of thoughts and
desires, and thus heighten the moral and spiritual
wants, as well as the intelligence and suscepti-
bility of the chosen people." f Tyndal says :
" These similitudes open Christ, and the secrets
of God hid in Christ, and have more virtue and
power with them than bare words, and lead a
man's understanding further into the pith and
marrow and spiritual understanding of the thing
than all the words that can be imagined."
The apostle does not give a full description of
the tabernacle. He makes no mention of the
outer court, of the brazen altar, of the golden
altar of incense, and other important parts. He
hastens to point out that the way into the holiest
was not then made manifest. His object is not
to explain the meaning of the tabernacle, but to
show how the tabernacle itself pointed beyond
the earthly and temporary symbol.
God reveals Himself unto Israel as holy. Holi-
ness, according to the Old Testament, is not so
much one of the divine attributes, such as good-
ness, power, grace ; but rather means the unity of
* Stier.
t From Dr. A. Bonar's excellect introduction on the nature of the
book, Co7n)?ie?it. oti Leviticus.
no The Epistle to the Hebrews, [chap.
all divine attributes, the very nature of God in His
covenant relation to Israel. We bless His holy
name, and mean thereby His forgiving grace, His
healing mercy, His renewing power, His faith-
fulness and loving-kindness.* All His mighty
wonders, and all the marvels of His guidance and
rule, are to show forth His holiness. As in the
new covenant we say God is love, so the Israelites
said God is holy.
Because God is holy, His people, whom He has
chosen, are by this very fact holy. There is no
other holiness but that which is rooted in divine
election.
But this people, chosen and redeemed, called
holy, is in its actual condition ignorant, guilty, and
polluted ; in reality it is distant from God, and
therefore God brings them nigh unto Himself.
For this purpose the priesthood is chosen and the
tabernacle is built.
God dwells in heaven, and therefore heaven is
holy. The expression, God dwells in heaven, was
well understood by Israel to refer to the manifes-
tation of His glory, and not to any local limitation
of His infinite and incomprehensible Majesty.
The heaven of heavens, they acknowledged, can-
not contain Him, yet is the throne of God in
heaven ; there His glory is beheld, and His
presence adored. Now as there is in heaven the
* Psalm ciii.
IX.] The Epistle to the Hebrews. 1 1 1
holy of holies, where God Himself is, and the
heavens the holy place where God's angels are ;
so in the earthly tabernacle the holy of holies
and the holy place are the two places where the
presence, the glory, and the gracious blessing of
the covenant God are vouchsafed to Israel. God
condescends to reveal Himself there, and to give
the blessings of His forgiving and sanctifying
grace.
In the holy of holies was no light. " The Lord
said that He would dwell in the thick darkness.'""*
We read that clouds and darkness are about God,
and yet we know that He is light, and covereth
Himself with light as with a garment. But the
light in which God dwelleth is dark by excess
of brightness. No man can approach unto it. No
man hath seen God at any time. "Verily thou
art a God that hidest thyself," is the exclamation
of even His worshippers, who know Him as the
Holy One of Israel. Yet this God, who is infinite
and incomprehensible, dwelling in light and glory
ineffable, is the Holy God, whose love delights to
draw His chosen people unto Himself, and to enrich
them with the inexhaustible riches of His grace.
From the throne of God shines forth the revelation
of God. He who is the brightness of God's glory,
the image of the invisible God, is sent forth, and we
behold light in God's light. As God, who is light,
* I Kings viii. 12.
1 1 2 The Epistle to the Hebrews. [chap.
said on the first day, ''Let there be light : and there
was Hght," so He hath given us the light of the
knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus
Christ. How peaceful and gentle is this light.
They that sit in darkness and in the shadow of
death can bear and welcome it ; it is the tender
mercy of God, whereby the Dayspring from on
high hath visited us. Yet how perfect and infinite
is this light. For he that hath seen Jesus hath
seen the Father. Christ is the brightness of the
Father's glory; not in that He is less glorious
than the Father, less unsearchable and inexhaus-
tible, for no man knoweth the Son, but the Father,
but that men can behold the glory of the Only-
begotten ; for the Word was made flesh, and
tabernacled with us.
Of this light the candlestick, which stood in the
holy place, was the significant emblem. Here we
behold Jesus Christ, the Son of God incarnate, the
light of the world ; the Lord, upon whom was the
Spirit of the Lord, anointing Him, to declare
salvation unto the broken-hearted ; the Messiah,
who came in the sevenfold plenitude of the Holy
Ghost, and who was continually revealing the
Father. The light of the holy of holies, which
was unapproachable, the glory of the Most High,
was beheld when Jesus lived on earth, when He,
who was in the bosom of the Father, came to
reveal Him. But as He manifested the Father,
IX.] The Epistle to the Hebrews. 1 1 3
so He also revealed the perfection of humanity ;
He was filled with the Spirit, and always walked
in the Spirit. It is as Immanuel that He is the
candlestick. He came to be a mediator, to reveal
God, and to bring the light of God in our hearts.
He is the light of the world in such a way, that
sinful men, becoming one with Him, are also the
light of the world. He is able to say unto His
disciples : '' Let your light so shine before men ! "
Our light, and yet His light, even as the branches
have life, but no other life than that which the
True Vine gives them. Hence in the book of
Revelation we behold seven golden candlesticks,
the seven churches. Christ the Lord walks in
the midst of them ; nay, He is the light within
them. And although in that which is spiritual
every part forms a complete and individual whole,
yet are the seven one ; even as every believer
may be viewed as a temple, yet is there only one
temple, one spiritual house, even Christ's, who is
one with all His saints.
Wonderful light, so clear and simple that little
children behold it, and rejoice ; so peaceful and
consoling that they who cry out of the depths
salute it as the dawn of sweetest hope ; so perfect
and infinite that the more we contemplate it the
more we desire "to know Him," and long for the
day when He shall appear, and we shall know
even as we are known ; so high above us and so
II. I
114 ^^^^ Epistle to the Hebi^ews. tchap.
deep within us, even In the very central seat of
vision, transfiguring and transforming us, nay,
shining out of us Into the dark world of sin and
misery. '' I will dwell In the thick darkness,"
salth God ; for He Is God, and through all the
ages all His angels and saints shall worship Him,
vailing their faces and adoring His awful majesty ;
but He Is the Holy One who delights In mercy,
in giving, In shining forth Into our hearts. In filling
heaven and earth with His glory. In Jesus Christ
we have and are light. Oh that the waves of light
out of the heavenly sanctuary would descend con-
tinually Into our souls with sanctifying, gladdening,
and transforming power !
But In the holy place stood also the table and
the shew-bread. Jesus Christ Is the light of life.
Life and light ; these mysterious highest blessings
are inseparably connected. In Christ, as the
eternal uncreated Word, was life, and the life Is
the light of men.* The Word Is only another
name for light ; It Is the manifestation, the ex-
pression of that which is hidden. We behold, we
hear God In the Son of His love. The Lord
brings to us both life and light. There can be
no spiritual light proceeding from God without
life. To know Him and Jesus Christ is life
eternal. Except a man be born again, he cannot
see the kingdom of God. And there is no spiritual
* John i. 3.
IX.'] The Epistle to the Hebrews. 1 1 5
life without light. With God is the fountain of
life, and in His light do we see light.
Bread is the symbol of life. Bread is the
peculiar food of humanity. It grows out of the
earth, and is the result of human labour and
diligence. It is of all nourishment the most
important, essential, and precious. When we
combine the symbolism of earthly bread with the
symbolism of the manna which God sent to the
Jews in the desert, we are prepared to understand
the deep teaching of our Lord who presents Him-
self as the living Bread, the Bread that comes
down from heaven, the Bread of life. He is the
Son heaven-given, the Child earth-born, the Life
and the Giver of life ; and through His death on
the cross He became bread for all poor sinners,
whose faith in Him can be so fitly compared with
eating, satisfying their hunger after righteousness,
and in their emptiness grasping and rejoicing in
the fulness of God's redemption.
The shew-bread, or bread of presence, set before
God was a type of Jesus, as the delight of His
heavenly Father, who was always well pleased
in Him, and satisfied with His love and obedience.
The number twelve shows that for each tribe
which the High Priest bore on His breast-plate,
there was bread and abundance ; for Jesus came
that we might have life, and that abundantly. The
priests, even all Christians, feed now on the true
1 1 6 The Epistle to the Hebrews. [chap.
bread in the presence of God. And as in the
candlestick we behold in the first place Christ, the
true light ; and in the second place Christ in the
Church, the light of the world ; so may we also
behold in the twelve loaves a reference to Christ
in His people. Jesus was the corn of wheat that
died. Jesus was the sheaf of the first-fruits, which,
on the morrow after the Sabbath, on the first day
of the week, was waved before the Lord ; and
fifty days after His resurrection the Holy Ghost
descended, and the disciples were filled with the
Spirit. Then was the Church born, then the two
loaves of fine flour were presented unto the Lord ;
for we are the first-fruits of His creatures. And
thus we read also that Jesus, entering the heart,
sups with us and we with Him.
The apostle does not mention the golden altar
of incense symbolizing the intercession of our
adorable Lord, and the presentation of our peti-
tions by Him unto the Father. The candlestick,
the table, and the golden altar — light, life, and
acceptable worship, are inseparably connected.
Christ Jesus, God and man, is the true Light, the
true, substantial, living, and life-giving Bread, the
true Intercessor. Yet so perfect is His mystical
union with His believing people, according to the
love of the Father, and by the indwelling of the
Holy Ghost, that we also are seven golden candle-
sticks, children of light, and light-bearers ; that we
IX.] The Epistle to the Hebrews, 1 1 7
also are an acceptable offering unto the Lord ;
and that the prayers of saints ascend as incense
unto the heavenly throne.
To us it is given to understand the full meaning
of these divine symbols, to behold in the one Lord
Jesus Christ the manifold wisdom of God, to re-
ceive in the one unspeakable gift all the gifts of
eternal blessedness. The brightness of gospel
light brings us to the simplicity which is in Christ
Jesus. Knowing Him, who is all, we contemplate
with delight each single type, that so we may
grow in adoring knowledge, and be increasingly
established in the comforting and sanctifying truth.
Let us, then, look also with reverence into the
most holy, which was separated by a veil, itself a
type, from the first tabernacle.
The apostle enumerates seven things as be-
longing to it — types of seven divine and heavenly
realities : (i) The golden censer; (2) The ark of
the covenant overlaid round about with gold ;
(3) The golden pot that had manna ; (4) Aaron's
rod that budded ; (5) The tables of the covenant ;
(6) The cherubims of glory ; (7) The mercy-seat."^
The apostle does not explain the meaning of
these things, but he simply refers to them. His wish
therefore is merely to remind us of the manifold
symbols by which the solemn realities of the
■* In the sanctuary we noticed three things, in the most holy-
seven.
T 1 8 The Epistle to the Hebrews, [chap.
heavenly sanctuary were signified by the Holy
Ghost.
1. In the book of Exodus (xxx. 34-38) we
read a full description of the Incense, which was
regarded as most holy. The golden censer con-
taining It brings before us the Intercession of our
Lord at the right hand of God ; this Is the only
perfect prevailing mediation, fragrant and delightful
unto the Father, whereby all our sin-defiled and
imperfect petitions, praises, and gifts are well-
pleasing unto the Most High.
2. The ark of the covenant, sometimes called
simply the ark, or the ark of testimony ; or In the
last passage where it occurs, " The holy ark," with
(3) The golden pot that had manna ; (4) Aaron's
rod that budded ; and (5) The tables of the
covenant.
The ark was a symbol that God was present
among His people, that His covenant blessing
was resting upon them. It was the most sacred
and glorious instrument of the sanctuary ; yea,
the whole sanctuary was built for no other end,
but to be as it were a house and habitation for
the ark.* Hence sanctificatlon proceeded unto
all the other parts of It ; for, as Solomon observed,
the places were holy whereunto the ark of God
came.t The nations took it to be the Gods
that the Israelites worshipped. | "God gave this
* Exod. xxvi. 33. t 2 Chron. viii. ii. J i Sam. iv. 8.
IX.1 The Epistle to the Hebi^ews. 1 1 9
ark that it might be a representation of Christ,
and He took it away to increase the desire and
expectation of the Church after Him and for Him.
And as it was the glory of God to hide and cover
the mysterious counsels of His will under the Old
Testament, whence this ark was so hidden from
the eyes of all men, so under the New Testament,
it is His glory to reveal and make them open in
Jesus Christ."'-' It contained originally (and the
apostle is not here giving an account of the actual
condition of the temple, but of the original and
perfect design) the manna, or the symbol of the
heaven -descended, real, spiritual, and therefore
hidden bread, f which they who overcome shall
know and taste perfectly in the Paradise of God.
It contained also the rod of Aaron that budded,
whereby God confirmed the election of Aaron
and his sons to be priests unto Him. This is a
beautiful and striking type of Him who is Priest
according to the power of an endless life, of Him
who was dead, and, behold. He liveth for ever-
more, of the Rod out of the stem of Jesse, of the
Man whose name is the Branch, and who shall be
a Priest upon His throne.]: It contained also the
tables of the covenant, in which God had written
His holy law. These tables testified against
Israel's sin and hardness of heart. And at first
* 2 Cor. iii. 1 8.— Owen. t Rev. ii.
X Isaiah xi. i ; Zecli. iii. 8 ; vi. 12, 13.
I20 The Epistle to the Hebrews, [chap;
slo^ht it seems strangfe and alarminof that in the ark
of merciful covenant-presence, besides the manna
and the symbol of resurrection-life and unfading
youth, we should behold the accusing and con-
demning witness of the broken law. But the law
which condemns us is and ever remains holy, just,
and good ; and the God who justifies us is none
other than the just God. Not merely is the pro-
pitiation, the covering and atoning blood, sprinkled
upon the mercy-seat, but the law of God was
magnified and fulfilled by Christ ; as is written in
the psalm, '' Thy law is within my heart."* Our
Advocate with the Father is Jesus Christ the
righteous.
Then there were the cherubim of glory. There
is no reason why we should view the cherubim
as mere personifications either of divine powers
or the Church. We read of them as of other
celestial beings, as of the seraphim who stand
before God's throne, and as of the angels or
messengers whom God sends forth to do His
commandments, and to minister unto the heirs
of salvation. We read of them as guarding the
entrance into the garden of Eden after man's fall.
Afterwards in the Psalms, as the chariot of the
Lord, and in the visions of Ezekiel, they appear
as the representatives of creation and the medi-
ators and agents of divine life-power in the world.f
* Psalm xl. 8. f Ps. xviii. lo ; Ezek. i. 4, etc.
IX.] The Epistle to the Hebrews. 121
In the book of Revelation also we read of them
as the living beings. We may In a general way
call them angels, as the apostle Peter does with
evident reference to the mercy-seat. These high
angelic creatures — thus mysteriously connected
with the divine world-rule — behold with eager
and adoring desire the glory of God In Christ
Jesus, God in Christ reconciling the world unto
Himself, the eternal counsel of divine love fulfilled
in the redemption through the blood of the Lamb.
Thus the apostle teaches us, that by the church the
manifold wisdom of God Is shown unto the princi-
palities and powers in heavenly places. And In
harmony with this sublime truth is the song of
the heavenly host on Bethlehem's plains, " Glory
to God in the highest," and the majestic ascription
of praise to the Lamb, which the myriads of angels
offer in the vision of the apostle John, and to
which the four living beings respond, Amen.
And what shall we say of the mercy -seat ?
Even in the holy of holies, when we have con-
templated so many symbols of the most solemn
character, we pause in reverential silence as we
are brought to this highest manifestation of the
divine presence of holiness and love. Here we
behold the propitiation through faith in the blood
of the Son of God ; the atonement which, while
it covers our sins, manifests the glory of God, and
reveals to us and to all angels the depths of divine
122 The Epistle to the Hebrews. [ix.
wisdom, grace, truth, the marvellous union of all
His glorious perfections : God is love.
Have we come to the blood-besprinkled mercy-
seat ? What other position can we take than
either remain outside, far from God and strangers
to His love, or enter by faith, now that the veil is
rent, into the holy of holies ? If it is true that
Jesus is the way, and that no man cometh to the
Father, but by Him, can we approach, can we
pray, can we adore in any other way than in and
by Jesus ? in any other place than in the heavenly
sanctuary ? We cannot go back by the works of
the law into the garden of Eden. The cherub
with the flaming sword guards the entrance.
But even the cherubim will adore with children of
Eve, guilty and fallen, when in repentance and
trust we look unto the Lord our righteousness,
the Lamb in the midst of the throne! A bond
of more thrilling tenderness binds Jesus to us
sinful men than to the angels.
LECTURE VI.
CHRIST ENTERED IN BY HIS OWN BLOOD.
Hebrews ix. 7-14.
nPHE apostle, having briefly referred to the
•*■ glory of the first tabernacle, contrasts now the
entrance of the high priest into the holy of holies
on the day of atonement and the typical sacrifice,
which sanctified to the purifying of the flesh with
the entrance of our Lord Into heaven Itself by His
own blood, and the real and spiritual purification
connected with Christ's one oblation. The type
was necessarily Imperfect ; the fulfilment Is per-
fect. The former consisted of many parts. There
is a multiplicity of sacrifices, and yet, even when
combined, there is still imperfection. The latter
possesses a marvellous simplicity, for Christ Is
the one sacrifice, by whom all the purposes of
God, as to our redemption, and sanctlficatlon, and
future glory, are fulfilled. In the type, the purifica-
tion was legal, ceremonial, provisional — It admitted
the worshipper to the services of the worldly sanc-
tuary ; in the fulfilment, the conscience is purged,
124 The Epistle to the Hebrews. [chap.
and we have access, continuous and for ever, unto
the throne of God. In the type, the very sanctuary
itself required to be cleansed by expiatory sprink-
lings, the sins of priests and worshippers in their
relationship to the sanctuary needed atonement,
and through this purification the continuance of
typical sacrificial communion with God was secured ;
in the fulfilment, through the blood of Christ,
heaven itself is the sanctuary in which we worship,
and as Christ is there for ever, our acceptance and
worship know no interruption or cessation. Thus
the type itself, witnessing throughout of its imper-
fection, points to the glorious fulfilment.
The way into the holiest, access to the very
presence of God, was not yet made manifest.
While the priests went always into the holy place,
accomplishing the service of God, kindling the
lamps, laying shew-bread every Sabbath-day upon
the table, and offering incense on the golden altar,
they were not allowed to enter into the holy of
holies. Even the high priest could not enter,
except once a year, on the day of atonement — that
solemn and awful day, on which, divested of his
golden and glorious robes, without the mitre, the
embroidered vest, and the breast-plates, he entered
in the garments of humility, offering for himself
and for the errors of the people. Even on that
day the high priest's entrance into the holy of
holies was imperfect ; for he was by no means to
IX.] The Epistle to the Hebrews. 1 2 5
see clearly the ark of the covenant with the mercy-
seat ; the cloud of incense was to be a covering,
lest he die."
But now Christ is come, and now begins the
dispensation, not again of the first tent, or of the
holy place, but of that symbolized by the Most
Holy — of the heavenly sanctuary itself — of the
worship in Spirit and in truth — of entrance into
the holy of holies, where the great High Priest is
enthroned at the right hand of the Father. What
a contrast to the Levitical dispensation !
Even in the first tent, or part of the tabernacle,
the relation of the people with God was through
the priesthood. The sacrifice, by which alone
access could be given to sinful men, according to
divine holiness, had not yet been offered ; hence
the conscience of the worshipper was not perfect,
* This then was perfectly evident, that the Jewish dispensation
was characterized by the holy place, and that access into the
"most holy" was as yet not revealed and given to the chosen
people. The whole structure of the tabernacle, and the whole
arrangement of services, made this clear to every single-hearted
and conscientious Israelite. He must have known, and was con-
tinually reminded, that the most holy place with the mercy-seat
was hid in deepest mystery; that it was as yet veiled and inac-
cessible ; that the blood of goats and calves could not really take
away sins ; and that the imperfection of these sacrifices was mani-
fest both because they had to be repeated, and because the veil
remained, which separated even the priests from the mercy-seat.
The God-fearing Israelite must have felt that meats and drinks,
and divers washings and carnal ordinances, were only figurative,
preparatory — an intermediate education as well as promise and
pledge of the times of reformation, of fulfilment and substance.
126 The Epistle to the Hebrews. [chap.
and his service was not in liberty. But now,
through the death of Christ, beHevers are brought
from the first tabernacle and priestly mediation
into the true archetype of the earthly holy of
holies, into the heavenly sanctuary itself, having
the conscience perfect according to divine right-
eousness, and in the spirit of liberty, in the know-
ledge of the infinite love of God.
Hence, there is a real and great difference
between believers in the new covenant dispen-
sation and in the old. It is true that there was at all
times only one way of salvation, only one right-
eousness through faith in the divinely-appointed
Substitute provided by God for guilty sinners. But
the difference between the condition of believers
before the death of Christ and those after is indi-
cated fully in this and the succeeding chapter, in
harmony with the whole Pauline teaching.* The
law made nothing perfect.
But, as the apostle triumphantly continues,
Messiah is come, the high priest of good things
to come ; that is, of eternal blessings which shall
be fully revealed and bestowed in the ages to
come, but the substance of which is ours already,
even spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ.
He Himself is the true tabernacle. Conceived
of the Holy Ghost, born of the Virgin Mary, He
is called from His very infancy that holy Thing
* Rom. iii. 25.
IX.] The Epistle to the Hebrews. 127
or Sanctuary. This Body the Father prepared ;
He built it by the Holy Ghost to be the tabernacle
of divine glory. The Word was made flesh, taber-
nacled with us, and we beheld the Son's glory.
He was the Light of the world, the golden can-
dlestick ; He was the Bread of the countenance,
and from His pure humanity, as well as His filial
divinity (inseparably united), ascended the true
incense unto God, even as afterwards He inter-
cedes in the holy of holies. But while on earth
Jesus is only the Holy Place; not yet has He
entered into the very presence of God, into
heaven itself. Before He can ascend to His God
and our God, to His Father and our Father, He
must die ; His flesh is the veil, and the veil must
be rent. True, His flesh also is without sin.
Blessed be God, in Him was nothing but Spirit
and life. He came in the weakness and in the
likeness of sinful flesh, for thus it was necessary
in order to bring us unto God. He learned
obedience. He submitted His human will to the
Father's, and in all His walk, trial, and suffering
He was holy, harmless, and undefiled. But, as
the apostle explains it, because man was without
righteousness, inasmuch as the law could not be
fulfilled in us, through the sinful weakness of the
flesh, God sending His own Son in the likeness of
sinful flesh, and by a sacrifice for sin, condemned
sin in the flesh. When Jesus died on the cross,
128 The Epistle to the Hebrews, [chap.
then God condemned sin. When the body of
Christ was broken, then God judged sin — executed
sentence on it — and in the true and real sense
destroyed it for evermore.
Notice how careful the apostle is to remind us
in this very passage of Christ's divinity.* Who
is this man on the cross in the weakness of sinful
flesh ? Who is this man in whose sacrifice of
Himself God the Judge condemns sin ? He is
God's own Son, eternal, infinite, all-glorious.
Wonderful veil rent by God Himself! But now
is Christ no longer the Holy Place, but the Most
Holy, the Holy of Holies. See Him on the right
hand of God ; see now the throne of God a
throne of grace; with His own blood He entered,
and the manifestation of God between the cheru-
bim is now God reconciled to us in Christ Jesus,
our Father and covenant God. Jesus, who glori-
fied the law, manifesting it in His person and
life, and fulfilling and exhausting both its precepts
and its curse, is the ark wherein the tables of the
law were hid ; He Himself is the mercy-seat, the
propitiation, revealing the holy love of God with
such brightness and perfection that angels desire
to look into this mystery. He has the hidden
manna by which He sustains our inner life on
earth, and shall communicate to us in eternity
renewed strength ; and He is the rod, which,
* Rom. viii. 3.
IX.] The Epistle to the Hebrews. 129
though cut off and given over unto death, budded
forth in resurrection-power, and is Hving for ever-
more; thus proving Him to be the true Priest
after the power of an indissoluble life. The veil
is rent ; Christ died on the cross ; we see the God
and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath
chosen us in Him before the foundation of the
world. The darkness is past ; no cloud of in-
cense conceals the mystery ; Christ has no veil
on His face when for us He appears in the
presence of God ; and we also with open face
behold the Father.
The whole throne of God is irradiated now by
the sweet and peaceful light of mercy, for the
Lamb who found an eternal redemption is at the
right hand of God. The Father Himself loveth
us ; God the just and holy One hath accepted us
in the Beloved. Here is what no symbol could
prefigure. ' Jesus, both Sacrifice and Priest, has
fulfilled Aaronic types, and reigns after the order
of Melchisedec, while presenting us continually
unto the Father, is always sympathizing with us
in our infirmities and temptations, and supplying
all needful strength unto us in our earthly pilgrim-
age and conflict.
But let us reverently consider the way by which
Jesus entered, and the position which is thereby
given unto all believers of God. We notice two
expressions. He entered in once by His own
II. K
130 The Epistle to the Hebrews. [chap.
blood, having obtained eternal redemption for us,
and, the blood of Christ, who through the eternal
Spirit offered Himself unto God.
Not without awe and trembling, and yet with
deep and solemn joy, ought a Christian to speak
of the precious blood of Christ. Here is the very
heart, the inmost sanctuary of our faith. Marvel
not, brethren, that this doctrine is at all times,
both to wise Greeks and self-righteous Jews, the
stumbling-block and the rock of offence. But
where man's reason can see no wisdom, where the
unrenewed mind doubts, cavils, and mocks, the
saints of God adore, and expect to adore for ever.
Here is indeed the centre of all divine revela-
tions. With increasing clearness this mystery
shines through the whole Scripture. Do we not
see it in the better sacrifice of Abel ? Do we not
behold it on the door-posts of Israel, on the
memorable night of the passover ? Does it not
meet us on every page of Leviticus ? Do we not
hear it in the solemn and emphatic declaration :
" Without shedding of blood there is no remission
of sin ? " Does it not shine forth in all the ordi-
nances of the tabernacle ? Can we not discover it
in the words of Isaiah, when he speaks of Messiah
pouring out His life ? and in the words of Zecha-
riah, "They shall look unto me, whom they
pierced"? Jesus the Lord declared "Except ye
eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink His
IX.] The Epistle to the Hebrews. 131
blood, ye have no life In you ; " and on the last
evening said, " This is the new testament in my
blood ; this is my blood, shed for the remission of
sins." In like manner all the apostolic epistles
assign peculiar importance as to the death of the
Lord, so especially to the shedding of His pre-
cious blood ; and in the culminating book of
Scripture, the Apocalypse, the doctrine is asserted
with peculiar solemnity. The beloved disciple
ascribes glory and honour unto Him who loved
us, and washed us from our sins in His own blood,
and hath made us a kingdom of priests unto God
and His Father; and all the heavenly doxologies,
the voice of celestial angels and saints, ascribe
redemption to the blood of Christ ; to the blood
they ascribe the righteousness of the saints, as
well as their triumph over sin and evil.
On no subject is the apostolic teaching so
emphatic, so lucid, so abundant. This truth filled
their hearts, and was their central thought. By
the blood of Christ we who were far off were
made nigh ; by His blood we are justified ; Christ
suffered that He might sanctify us by His blood;
we possess (and that for ever) redemption through
His blood ; His blood cleanseth us from all sin,
and the Church has been purchased with this
precious price.*
* Eph. ii. 13 ; Rom. v. 9 ; Heb. xiii. 12 ; Eph. i. 7 ; i John i. 7 ;
Acts XX. 28 ; Rev. i. 5 ; v. 9, etc.
132 The Epistle to the Hebi^ews. [chap.
As the types teach us, the great object of the
death of Christ was, that His blood might be shed.
By His own blood He entered into the holy
place.
And as in no single sacrifice could be adequately
represented the power and efficacy of His precious
blood, the apostle mentions here, not merely the
blood of bulls and of goats, but also the ashes
of an heifer. By the former the high priest, the
priests, and the people were ceremonially purified,
their iniquities and transgressions being removed,
and the sanctuary cleansed for continued worship.
By the other was symbolised the cleansing and
vivifying power of Christ's blood, keeping us
during our pilgrimage in this wilderness of sin
and defilement.'" But while these types could
"^ The ashes of an heifer. It was to take away the defilement of
death. The institution is recorded in the book of Numbers as
relating to the provision God makes for His people in their wilder-
ness journey. As no blood of the slain victim was " incorruptible,"
it was necessary, in order to show the cleansing by blood from
defilement through contact with death, to have as it were the
essential principle of blood presented in a permanent and avail-
able form. The red heifer, which had never been under the yoke,
symbolises life in its most vigorous, perfect, and fruitful form. She
was slain without the camp. (Heb. xiii. 11 ; Num. xix. 3, 4.) She
was wholly burnt, flesh, skin, and blood, the priest casting cedar
wood, hyssop, and scarlet into the fire. The ashes of the burnt
heifer, put into flowing water, were then sprinkled with hyssop for
ceremonial purification. It is also important to notice that it was
not Aaron or the high priest himself to whom the red heifer was
given, but to his son or successor. The high priest was to be
separate from death. Here also we see the imperfection of the type.
Our victim is the Lord of life, who by the eternal Spirit offered Him-
IX.] The Epistle to the Hebrews. 133
not make him that did the service perfect, as
pertaining to the conscience, but were given in
the mercy of God for an intermediate period, and
to bring in a better hope, the blood of Christ, by
which He entered into the holy of holies, brings
unto us eternal redemption and heavenly perfec-
tion. Here the sanctification (dyta^a v. 13) is
real.
We are separated from God the Holy One by
sin, from God the living One by death. In order
to bring us into communion with God, and to
purge our consciences, we have to be delivered
both from the guilt of sin and the defilement and
self and rose in the power of an endless life. Christ is the fulfilment.
For the blood of Christ is not merely, so to speak, the key unlock-
ing the holy of holies to Him as our High Priest and Redeemer, it
is not merely our ransom by which we are delivered out of bondage,
and, freed from the curse, are brought nigh unto God ; but it also
separates us from death and sin. It is incorruptible, always cleans-
ing and vivifying ; through this blood we are separated from this
evil world, and overcome ; by this blood we keep our garments
white. (John vi. 53; Rev. vii. 14.) What had necessarily to be
separated in the types, is here in unity and perfection. Likewise,
what really and potentially is given to us when we are first brought
into the state of reconciliation and access, of justification and sanc-
tification, is in our actual experience continually repeated. We have
been cleansed and sanctified once and for ever ; the same blood,
remembered and believed in, cleanseth us continually.
The difference between this continuous cleansing and the first
(according to John xiii.) must never be forgotten, or we fall into a
legal condition, going back from the holy of holies into the holy
place. But, on the other hand, we must not forget the living
character of the blood, which by the Spirit is continually applied
to us, and by which we have peace, renewal of the sense of pardon,
and strength for service, (i Peter i. 2.)
134 T^^^^ Epistle to the Hebrews. [chap.
power of death. Now of the types which purified
unto the (typical) service, the blood of Jesus is
the antitype. By the blood of Christ we are
brought into the presence of the holy and living
God. This is our sanctification, in which we are
separated and cleansed unto the worship and ser-
vice of God. We are separated from the world
of sin and death, from dead works ; by which
we must understand everything which is not the
manifestation of a divinely- given and wrought
life ; because nothing is fit to be brought before
and unto the living God unless it be living, or
spiritual, or proceeding from communion with the
living One.
But if we ask. Why is this blood so precious,
so efficacious, so all - prevailing ? the answer is,
Not merely because it is innocent, pure, and sin-
less, the life of a perfect and holy Man laid down
voluntarily, the blood of One who had perfectly
fulfilled the law of God, but because Jesus through
the eternal Spirit offered Him.self ; that is, Jesus
who died was God, eternal, infinite, and according
to the eternal counsel of the triune Godhead He
laid down His life. To Him the Father had
given to have life in Himself. He is the Lord
of glory — Spirit.* The Scriptures always remind
us of the Godhead when they speak of the death
of Jesus. The Son of God loved me, and gave
* I Cor. ii. 8 ; 2 Cor. iii. 17.
IX.] The Epistle to the Hebrews. 135
Himself for me. God was in Christ reconciling the
world unto Himself. God purchased the Church
with His own blood.. He, who died, is the Son of
God in human nature. And as in Him the divine
nature and the human nature are one Person, so
His blood, which in His infinite love He shed
on the cross, is of eternal and unspeakable value,
and possesses divine power to redeem, sanctify,
cleanse. The Son of God became man, and His
holy life was poured out for us and shed forth
in His blood; for He ''offered Himself with-
out spot to God." That freedom from all blemish
which the ceremonial law prefigured in the sacri-
fices, was fulfilled in absolute perfection in the
Lamb of God.* It was not merely short-sighted
men who could not convince Him of sin ; it was
not merely the testimony of Judas, who betrayed
Him, and of Pontius Pilate, who pronounced the
unjust sentence, and of the centurion, who stood
by the cross, that Jesus was innocent, and that
there was no fault in Him ; it was not merely the
testimony of the demons, who called Him the
Holy One of God. Here we have the testimony
of God. Christ was the Servant, and the Elect
in whom the Father delighted. And when He
offered Himself as the perfectly pure and spot-
less Lamb, in this His act of highest obedience
as Man, He possessed all the perfection and value
of His divine person ; for He offered Himself by
136 The Epistle to the Hebrews. [chap
the eternal Spirit, which expression refers not so
much to the Holy Ghost as to His Sonship and
union with the Father, to the eternal purpose and
will of the Godhead. God was In Christ reconciling.
The purpose of Christ In offering Himself was in
divine as well as human perfection. His sacrifice
therefore possesses the character of eternal, abso-
lute perfection, absolute efficacy, and everlasting
value. *
We who believe that Christ has entered by
His own blood into the holy of holies have thereby
received a fourfold assurance :
1. Christ has obtained for us eternal redemption.
2. We have access to God.
3. Our consciences are purged by the blood of
Christ to serve the living God.
4. The things to come are secured to us by
Him, who is the heir, and In whom even now all
spiritual blessings in heavenly places are ours.
I. The redemption which Christ has obtained Is
eternal. The apostle uses the expression " found "
redemption.} So Abraham answered the question
of Isaac, God has provided the Lamb for the
* The expression in verse 12 is very emphatic — Sta rov 15l6v aXixaros
(through the blood of His own). "Through the eternal Spirit."
Compare vii. 16 — "The power of an endless life." His divine and
everlasting Spirit concurred with the Father's counsel of love. This
point is more fully explained in chapter x.
t " Found for Himself (lit.) as a thing of insuperable difficulty to
all, save divine omnipotence, self-devoting zeal and love to find." —
Dr. Brown.
IX.] The Epistle to the Hebreivs, 137
offering ; so in the book of Job the messenger or
angel, the interpreter or mediator, one above a
thousand, reveals to afflicted and sin-convinced
man God's righteousness, and saith, " Deliver him
from going down to the pit : I have found a
ransom." Marvellous redemption, in which all
divine attributes working together are revealed, so
that glory is to God in the highest, and perfect
peace on earth to the men of His good pleasure.
God only could provide our ransom. (Ps. xlix.
6-9.) The expression brings before us in a human
way the wonderful wisdom of God, wherein He
has abounded toward us, the marvellous plan
of redemption, which, high above all created
thought, originating in the divine mind, brought
together mercy and truth, justice and grace in
harmonious unity, and made the dark object of
sin the occasion of the brightest manifestation of
divine glory. Thus the Lord commends His own
wisdom, and in the prophets frequently stirs up
our sluggish mind to regard with wonder and
astonishment His great salvation. Christ's precious
blood can never lose its power, till all the chosen
saints of God are gathered unto glory. It is a
real redemption from the guilt and power of sin,
from the curse of the law, from the wrath of God,
from the bondage of Satan, and from the second
death ; an eternal redemption, because sin is for-
given ; Satan, death, and hell are vanquished ;
138 The Epistle to the Hebrews. [chap.
everlasting righteousness is brought in ; we are
saved for evermore. Jesus has redeemed us.
By dying in our stead, by bearing our sins in
His own body on the tree, by satisfying all the
claims which a holy God had against us, by being
made a sin-offering and a curse for us, the Lord
delivered us from our bondage and captivity. His
blood was the ransom. Because we are redeemed
according to divine righteousness, death has no
sting ; we are no longer through fear of death sub-
ject to bondage. Sin has no more dominion over
us, for the death of Christ has set us free to the
service and obedience of God. The wrath of
God abideth no longer on us, for the atoning blood
speaks now only of mercy and everlasting love.
Satan can no longer lay anything to the charge
of God's elect.
He found redemption where man would never
have thought of it. He found it after His in-
carnation and path of obedience in the death of
the cross, in the darkness of agony, and He
brought it forth in brightness and beauty, glory
and strength, by His resurrection from the dead.
2. We have now access to God ; we are brought
into the very presence of God ; we enter into the
holy of holies. The veil no longer conceals the
counsel of God's wonderful love ; sin in the flesh
no longer separates us from the presence of the
Most High. Very awful, and yet most blessed
IX.] The Epistle to the Hebrews, 139
and sweet, is this assurance. God is very near
to each one of us. Though we see Him not, yet
is He nearer than the very air we breathe; for
our very being and living and moving is in Him.
He is very near unto us, and all our thoughts and
desires are open before Him, who is the searcher
of hearts. Yet, although such is the exceeding
nearness of God to us, we are at an exceeding
great distance from God. Who can measure
the distance of the prodigal in the far country
from the father's house ? But we can describe
that distance by one syllable, short though terrible
— sin. Now He by whom alone sin can be for-
given and removed is nowhere else but on the
throne of God — on His right hand. With Him
is forgiveness of sin. In heaven is my right-
eousness ; in the throne of God, and nowhere
else, my hope, my comfort, and my trust. He
who has found and saved me, lost and guilty
sheep ; He who by His death has redeemed me,
has taken me on His shoulder. He is no longer
here. As He died unto sin once, I seek Him
no longer among the dead. He is ascended.
Rejoicing has He gone home, and called His
friends together to rejoice over the sheep now
with Him in the land of peace. Hence there is
no other place for me but heaven itself. Every-
where else I see only sin and condemnation. Where
can I pray or approach God without a Mediator,
140 The Epistle to the Hebrews. [chap.
without the blood, without the High Priest ? But
the blood of Jesus, the Mediator of the new cove-
nant, the interceding High Priest Jesus, is in
heaven itself. Then I also must pray and worship
there. I have no other hiding-place but Christ
in heaven.
You who have come to Jesus, who have looked
unto Him and were healed, you stand now on
the other side of the cross, within the veil, in
the holy of holies. You have obtained mercy.
God forgave all your sins, and clothed you with
Christ. In this state into which God has brought
you there can henceforth be no change. Your
knowledge and enjoyment of it may vary and
grow, your faithfulness and service fluctuate, your
experience may rise and fall ; but you are always
children of God, forgiven, beloved, compassed
about with divine mercy, and embraced in the
very love which the Father has to Jesus.
We are not like the Jewish priests, who, under
the former tabernacle stayed outside the unrent
veil, and never came into the presence of God ;
not like the believer in the old dispensation,
who offered continually sacrifices, which were
needed on account of his repeated sins, but which
were shadows, and only procured a ceremonial
cleansing in hope of the future expiation. We
have been pardoned, redeemed, made righteous
once for all ; God beholds us in Christ His Son ;
IX.] The Epistle to the Hebrews. 141
we are always before God by reason of that
sacrifice which has put away sin, and by reason
of the presence of the Lord, whom the Father
calls My Son, and who is not ashamed to call us
brethren. If the blood of the passover-lamb pro-
tected the Israelites in Egypt, and secured to
them perfect safety, if the blood sprinkled on the
mercy-seat in the holy of holies covered Israel's
transgressions of the divine law, how much more
does the precious blood of Christ, by which He
entered into heaven itself, and with which He
there appears before God for us, cleanse us from
all sin, so that we are accounted by Him holy and
without blame ?
For (3) to you has been given, what the old
covenant saints did not possess, perfection — the
absolution and remission of sins. Your conscience
has been purged and made free ; once for all God
has received you in Christ Jesus, has pardoned and
accepted you, has invested you with everlasting
righteousness. You have no conscience any longer
of sin. There is no guilt on you. There is no
condemnation. You have been acquitted judicially.
That which in the eternal counsel was decreed for
you, that which by the death and resurrection of
Jesus was obtained for you, was actually and per-
fectly given unto you when the grace of God
was exceeding abundant unto you, with faith
and love, which are in Christ Jesus. Our con-
142 The Epistle to the Hebrews, [chap.
science pronounces us just and accepted, even as
God pronounces us just and accepted, and that for
the same reason. The same blood which was
sprinkled on the mercy -seat has touched and
purged our consciences. We know that we have
been made the righteousness of God in Him ; we
know that according to all the perfections of God
we are forgiven and saved. No longer, therefore,
is our conscience burdened or defiled by the know-
ledge of alienation from God, and the fear of His
displeasure.
But are there many such heavenly worshippers
in the liberty and power of the new covenant ?
While we mourn over Israel's blindness, and the
veil on their hearts, are we with open face be-
holding the glory of the Lord ? Among the
people who listen to the gospel, are there not
many who hear and speak constantly of divine
mercy and pardon, and yet never come to a full,
decided, and conscious reception of the grace of
God ? They believe that those who are justified
by faith have peace, but they themselves have no
peace. As the Jews of old had continually to offer
sacrifices, so they repeat continually the same
petitions for pardon and acceptance, and with the
same indistinct and vague consciousness as to
their acceptance. The Jews were not in the full
light, but it was not owing to their unbelief; but
now that the true light shineth, why are souls in
IX.] The Epistle to the Hebrews. 143
gloom and uncertainty ; now that the summer is
come, why is the heart dreary without sunshine
and melody ?
It is because the conscience has not been
set free by the blood of Christ. In that myste-
rious judgment -chamber, where busy thoughts,
like subtle and eager pleaders, accuse and excuse
one another, a voice, whose authority we cannot
dispute, declares us guilty, and the testimony of
God, which is greater than our conscience, reveals
to us more fully our sin and condemnation. But
when we are convinced of our sin, and utter
ruin and helplessness, God is revealed as a just
God, and the justifier of the guilty, who believe
in Jesus ; the blood of Jesus Christ, the Son of
God, reveals to us the holy and perfect way in
which all iniquity is pardoned and all transgres-
sion removed. And as that blood avails in
heaven, so it delivers the conscience from the
burden of guilt, and from the burden of all our
own miserable attempts at pleasing God and
lulling: our fears : dead works which like a dead
weight only increase our wretchedness. Now we
truly turn from sin unto God. In Christ Jesus
God and the sinner meet ; both behold the blood
of the Lord Jesus, and in the high sanctuary
above and in the inmost sanctuary of the con-
science there \s peace.
And now if Jesus says to thee, '' Be of good
144 The Epistle to the Hebrews. [chap.
cheer ; thy sins are forgiven thee," then be of good
cheer, and rest In the love of God. See how In all
the epistles addressed to God's children forgiveness
of sin, redemption, acceptance In Christ, are fun-
damental blessings and gifts, which all believers
are supposed to have received by faith, and once
for all.
Yet the conscience thus purged Is more sensi-
tive. We know now more of our sinfulness ; for
we behold sin In the light of God's love. What
then ? Of sin we have no conscience ; but of our
sinfulness and constant sinning we have. We
confess our sins ; we pray, " Forgive us our tres-
passes ;" w^e mourn over our unfaithfulness ; we
behold and abhor our vlleness ; we have no con-
fidence In the flesh. But we confess to the Father
as children ; we confess before the throne of grace,
and in the hearing of the merciful and compas-
sionate High Priest. We learn the deepest and
most self-abasing lesson ; to go with sin and un-
worthlness to infinite Love, to boundless com-
passion, to never-failing mercy, to the Father who
loves us, to the Lord who always intercedes for us.
We have been washed once for all when we came
to Jesus. We need now to have our feet washed.
Peter either refuses to have his feet washed by
Jesus (false humility), or wishes Jesus to wash not
merely his feet, but also his hands and his head
(unbelief and false humility again) ; but when after
IX.] The Epistle to the Hebrews, 145
wards he understood the ways of God, he
strengthened his brethren. For in his epistle he
teaches them, that if we forget that we have
been purged from our sins we become unfruitful
and blind : the knowledge of our perfect and
complete acceptance is the strength of obedience.
For with the conscience troubled and defiled,
man has only dead works. There is no life in his
feelings, prayers, words, or actions ; for is he not
separate from the fountain of life ? But, as Martin
Luther delighted to say — for what we are always
experiencing, we must express always — ^where
there is forgiveness of sin, there is life and all
blessedness. We do not obtain forgiveness by
good works, but through the forgiveness of sin
come good works. First remove sin from the
conscience, and it will also be dethroned in the
heart.
There are three classes of men. The worst, those
who do not feel sin as a burden on their conscience,
but cherish it as an idol in the heart. Oh what a
discovery in the eternal world, that the burden is
intolerable, and that the idol is an everlasting tor-
ment ! Then there are men who try to cleanse the
heart, and to lead a pure life, and hope thereby to
remove the burden of guilt on the conscience.
Who can help loving such ? But not so can you
obtain either a peaceful conscience or a God-
loving heart. Christ is God s righteousness for
II. L
146 The Epistle to the Hebrews. [chap.
man. First the conscience is delivered, and thus
the heart is renewed ; and out of the renewed
heart flows Hving obedience. '' To serve the
living God." It is by a constantly- exercised
faith in and by the power of the blood of Christ,
that we now serve the living God. Being made
free from sin, by the death of Christ, we became
the servants of righteousness, servants to God,
and have our fruit unto holiness, and the end
everlasting life.* Dead works cannot please a
living God ; but we walk now in newness of life,
serving Him with gladness of heart, f The living
God — it is said emphatically ; for only the believer
realizes God as living, present, sending down con-
tinually the influence of His grace.
Men speak of going to heaven. Go to heaven
now ! Not death, but faith, will take you there.
Jesus is in heaven, the Son of man, who came
to seek and to save that which was lost. Look
up to heaven, all ye ends of the earth, poor, guilty,
* Rom. vi. 22.
t The character of the New Testament obedience is hberty. As
it proceeds from the love of a forgiven and renewed heart, and as
it is in the power of the indwelhng Spirit, it does not stand in need
of outward regulations and legal enactments. We are to reverence,
and diligently to study all the instruction and precepts of God's
Word. But how different are these from that kind of devotional and
ascetic help of our day, which seeks to regulate the inner life, by
prescribing prayers for different hours, &c. Such things keep the
soul, if not in bondage, in an infantine condition of weakness.
Contrast with this : " Enoch walked with God ; " " The joy of the
Lord is your strength ; " " Follow Me."
IX.] The Epistle to the Hebrews. 147
needy ones. Believe It, you will see there a Father,
a Saviour, the Mediator of the new and eternal
covenant, the blood of atonement ; you will see
a throne, and adore ; a throne of grace, and you
will rejoice. Thus you will in truth and reality
belong to heaven. You will be able to say even
in the present time, " My citizenship is In heaven ;"
for Christ Is your High Priest and Lord at the
right hand of God, and He ministers even now
''good things," spiritual and heavenly blessings,
of which the full and perfect manifestation will be
the inheritance at His second coming.
Thus all depends on the character of worship.
Opposed to the condition of the self-righteous or
careless world, and contrasted with the condition of
the Old Testament dispensation of figure, which
never led believers beyond the first tabernacle or
holy place, is the new covenant worship in Spirit
and truth. It is with a conscience purged from
sin ; It is in the very presence of God ; It is
through the mediation of the one High Priest ; it
is in virtue of that same blood, in which alone
is eternal redemption. In this worship only are
we free, in heavenly places, and separated and
delivered from this evil world.
LECTURE VII.
THE MEDIATOR OF THE NEW TESTAMENT.
Hebrews ix. 15-28.
'T^HE scope of the apostle's argument, from
-^ verses 15-28, is as follows :
Christ entered with the price of an eternal
redemption into the presence of God. The first
effect of His entrance is, that our conscience is
purged from dead works to serve the living God.
{v. 14.) The second effect is, that thereby Christ
has become the Mediator of the New Testament,
in order that the called might receive the pro-
mise of eternal inheritance, {v. 15.) The death of
Christ was necessary to establish this testament ;
for even the first covenant was '' not without
blood." And this blood was applied to the book
and the people ; to the tabernacle and the vessels
of the ministry ; and to " almost all things," in
order to continue the approach of Israel and
their service, {vv. 19, 21, 23.) The antitype or
fulfilment in the New Testament is, that our
conscience has been purged ; the heavenly sane-
IX.] The Epistle to the Hebrews. 149
tuary has been purified with better sacrifice ; and
after the One and perfect offering which Jesus
brought once for all, no repetition of the sacrifice
is possible or needed. Christ has abolished sin,
and we wait now for His second coming in
glory.
Jesus by His death has become the Mediator
of the New Testament. It is because Jesus died
that He now dispenses the gifts which He has
purchased. The New Testament is in His hand.
He Is the Mediator, bringing us as true worship-
pers, unto God ; and bringing the inheritance,
with all its blessings and gifts, unto us.
There is perhaps no word with which we are
more familiar, and which is more frequently used
by us than the word ''covenant" or ''testament."
We are in the habit of calling the sacred books
of Israel and of the church, the books of the Old
and New Testament. And in that precious ordi-
nance of the Saviour, which according to His will
is to be the joy of His disciples, as well as their
testimony to the world until He come, we hear
constantly the solemn words : " This cup is the
New Testament in my blood."
Words which are frequently used are not neces-
sarily correctly understood or rightly valued. And
then our very familiarity with them is the source
of danger. For the incorrect or inadequate idea,
which we connect with the expression, becomes
150 The Epistle to the Hebrews, [chap.
deeply fixed in our minds, and the fundamental
misconception brings forth abundant and widely-
ramified error. For these very familiar and con-
stantly-recurring words express mother-ideas of
primary importance.
Our only safety is a constant and diligent study
of Scripture, and a conscientious adherence to the
principle, that Scripture thoughts and words are
to be explained and judged on Scripture territory
according to the Scripture circle of truth, and the
Scripture mode of viewing and expressing things.
If we apply this canon to the subject before us,
we shall find that the ordinary conception of a
covenant as a mutual agreement is not identical
with the Biblical use of the word, and also that
there is an intimate connection between the idea
of an inheritance bequeathed through death, or a
testament and the Scripture view of covenant.
Now the first and primary idea of covenant and
testament is a disposition and order of things,
made of God, and shown forth in a promise
or institution. For instance, we read that God
established a covenant with Noah.'"' Here is a
divine promise, unconditional and immutable, based
upon His sovereign grace; an order of things
which it pleased Him to establish, and whereof
He gave a double assurance, His word and the
rainbow, seal and pledge of the covenant of His
* Gen. vi. ix.
IX.] The Epistle to the Hebrews. 151
grace. Again the Lord made a covenant with
Abraham. He promised to be the God of Abra-
ham and of his seed ; to give unto them the land ;
to give unto them the seed, in whom all families
of the earth will be blessed. This covenant is
also unconditional and unchangeable, it is not a
mutual agreement, it does not depend on man s
faithful and complete fulfilment of stipulated con-
ditions. And as it originates entirely in the pur-
pose of eternal wisdom and love, it is impossible
that it can ever be changed or frustrated. Nothing
that happens in time, and subsequent to the an-
nouncement of the covenant, can in any way in-
terfere with its fulfilment. Neither the law, given
four hundred years after, nor the awful sin of Israel
in rejecting their Lord and Messiah, can alter
God's covenant of grace. " The gifts and calling
of God are without repentance." The Abrahamic
covenant had also a twofold assurance and mani-
festation— the word of promise, and the ordinance
of circumcision.
In this covenant the testament-nature is already
apparent ; for here is an inheritance, and, as the
apostle explains to us,* it was by promise, and
given unto the one seed, Christ. The Abrahamic
covenant, he also teaches us, was confirmed by
God in Christ, And the meaning of this is
evident now in the light of fulfilment. The
* Gal. iii.
152 The Epistle to the Hebrews. [chap.
covenant with Abraham was also a testament,
and, as all testaments are, connected with death.
It promised an inheritance, but an inheritance
which could become ours only by the death of
Jesus, in whom alone there is redemption for
sinful and guilty men. But in order to bring out
fully the character of the covenant of grace, the
intermediate dispensation of the law was given.
And here it is difficult to see both the contrast,
sharp and distinct, between the old covenant and
the new testament, and also to recognize the bond
of connection between them ; there is the anti-
thesis, law and grace ; there is the contrast, shadow
and truth ; but there is something which bound
these two aspects together in the actual history
and experience of God's ancient people.
For the promise given to Abraham, and not to
Moses, was not superseded or forgotten in the
giving of the law. When God dealt with Israel
in the wilderness. He gave them the promise that
they should be a peculiar treasure unto Him above
all people ; " for all the earth is mine ;" and that
they should possess the land as an inheritance.*"'
Based upon this promise, and corresponding
with the divine election and favour, is the law
which God gave to His people. As He had chosen
and redeemed them, so they were to be a holy
people, and to walk before Him, even as in the
* Exod. xix. 5, 6; xxiii. 30; Deut. xv. 4.
IX.] The Epistle to the Hebrews, 153
Ten Commandments the gospel of election and
redemption came first. *' I am the Lord thy God,
which brought thee out of Egypt." Hence this
covenant or dispensation, although it was a cove-
nant, not of grace and divine gifts and enablings,
but of works, was connected with and based upon
redemption, and it was dedicated, as the apostle
emphatically says, not without blood. Both the
book, or record of the covenant,"^ and all the
people, were sprinkled with the blood of typical
sacrifices.! For without blood is no remission of
sins, and the promises of God can only be obtained
through atonement. But we know that this is a
figure of the one great sacrifice, and that there-
fore all the promises and blessings under the
old dispensation, underlying and sustaining it,
were through the prospective death of the true
Mediator. When therefore the spiritual Israelite
was convinced by the law of sin, both as guilt
and as a condition of impurity and strengthless-
ness, he was comforted by the promise of the
inheritance, which always was of grace, uncon-
* "The book of the covenant," mentioned Exod. xxiv. 7, in
which Moses wrote the first fundamental group of laws. (Exod.
xxi.-xxiii.)
t " The blood of calves and of goats, with water, and scarlet
wool, and hyssop." Water, scarlet wool, and hyssop are mentioned
in connection with the purification of those who had come into
contact with death (Num. xix.) ; also of the lepers. (Lev. xiv. 4-7.)
Compare also the passover (Exod. xii. 22), and the prayer of David,
" Purge me with hyssop." (Ps. li. 7.)
154 ^'^^ Epistle to the Hebrews. [chap.
ditional and sure, and in a righteous and holy
manner through expiation.
Through the blood sprinkled by Moses on the
book and people, and afterwards on the tabernacle
and all the vessels of the ministry, they were set
apart unto the holy God. The tabernacle was itself
established as an ordinance of mercy in the midst
of a people who had been guilty of grievous
transgression," and the very tabernacle required
to be purified by blood before the Lord could
meet there with His people.
How evident is the meaning of these earthly
things now, when we see the fulfilment in the
heavenly and eternal things !
Jesus desired with desire to eat the passover
with His disciples. It was on that night that He
took the cup and blessed it, and said, " This is the
cup of the new testament in my blood." He as
the true Sacrifice — fulfilment of all the varied
types — was offered for us on Golgotha. Through
His death the inheritance is obtained for us ; it is
of grace, and it is reserved for us in heaven, while
we live even now in the enjoyment of its power
and blessedness. The testator is, properly speak-
ing, God ; for we are God's heirs ; but it is God
in Christ, even as in the death of Christ for sinners
we behold God's love. Jesus is the Heir. This
is the Scripture teaching. The Lord Himself in
* Exod. xxxii.
ixo The Epistle to the Hebrews, 155
the parable presents the last Prophet sent by God
into the vineyard as high above all the servants ;
He is the one Son, the Only-begotten of the
Father. And even His enemies draw the correct
inference, that He is the Heir.'' This is the Son
whom the Father loved from all eternity, and unto
whom He hath given all things. f This is He by
whom the world was made, and who was appointed
Heir of all things. We are joint-heirs with Christ,
and the inheritance is blood-bought. But, as
the types prefigure, this precious blood belongs
to the heavenly sanctuary. It does not belong to
earth, even as it does not open the way to an
earthly temple and secure earthly blessings. It is
precious, incorruptible. I
Jesus entered with His own blood into the holy
of holies. And here is the antitype of the earthly
tabernacle being sprinkled with blood. Heaven
is now opened to believers ; the most holy place
is anointed with the blood of atonement.§ Our
sins no longer ascend to heaven. The adversary
can no longer accuse us before the throne of
God. The Father, having made peace through
* Mark xii. 7. t Heb. i. 3.
X Compare in i Peter i. the incorruptible inheritance, the in-
corruptible price of redemption, and the incorruptible seed of
regeneration. The whole covenant refers to Jesus ; yea, He Him-
self is the covenant ; for thus it is written of Him : " I will give
Thee for a covenant of the people, for a light of the Gentiles."
(Isa. xlii. 6.) § Dan. ix. 24.
156 The Epistle to the Hebrews. [chap.
the blood of Christ's cross, hath reconciled all
things unto Himself, "whether they be things In
earth, or things in heaven."* So great and real is
the efficacy of the precious blood of Christ.
The Saviour, who by His own blood entered
into heaven Itself, to appear In the presence of
God for us, Is the Mediator of the New Testa-
ment ; as the First-born He has entered into the
inheritance, and He now dispenses to us the very
blessings which through His death He has pur-
chased for us.
1. Jesus has put away sin, once for all, by the
sacrifice of Himself. All that stood In the way of
the infinite love of God flowing into our hearts
has been removed, and that for ever, unto all who
believe in Jesus. In that He died. He died unto
sin once for all ; and we who believe in Him are
delivered out of the region of sin, of defilement,
and of death.
2. The blessed Lord having entered in by His
blood, we also have ascended with Him. This is
implied by the apostle's saying that Christ appears
now in heaven for tcs. In a different but har-
monious light the same truth Is taught In the
epistle to the Epheslans. The apostles were filled
with amazement when Jesus was taken up, and a
cloud received Him out of their sight; the men
of Galilee stood gazing up into heaven. But when
* Col. i. 20.
IX.] The Epistle to the Hebrews. 157
the full Import of the ascension was disclosed to
them, they rejoiced with exceeding great joy. The
beloved disciple regretted no more that he could
no longer lean on the bosom of the divine Master.
The apostles no longer felt that Jesus had left
them, and had gone alone Into the heavenly home ;
for they knew that they had ascended with Him,
that they had died with Him, had been burled
together with Him, had risen together with Him,
and were seated together with Him In heavenly
places."^'
3. Hence with Increasing clearness it became
evident that believers are always before the
Father as accepted worshippers ; that in the
archetype, of which the tabernacle was a picture,
there was no division of the holy place and the
most holy, but that all believers, as priests, are in
the most holy, because Jesus Christ, the High
Priest, Is there " for them," and one with them.
All these truths are presented to our view and
sealed to our faith in the ordinance of the Lord's
Supper. We notice three very strange and sad
ways in which this ordinance has been misunder-
stood and misused. In the first place, though it
was intended to illustrate and confirm the strong
and sweet bond which unites all the disciples of
* The " together with " Christ begins at the crucifixion. Not the
incarnation, not the prophetic Hfe and work on earth, but the cross
is the point where the Shepherd finds the lost sheep, and the two
are joined.
158 The Epistle to the Hebrews, [chap.
the One Master, it has been the occasion of
dividing and separating brethren, and of substi-
tuting other bonds, not so fundamental, not so
comprehensive, not so profound as the one which
Christ alone acknowledges, that vital faith in Him
which manifests itself in love.
Secondly, whereas the Lord's Supper was de-
signed, by a simple illustration, to show forth
spiritual mysteries, the Lord's Supper itself has
been asserted to be a mystery which it is difficult
to comprehend, or when comprehended to explain
to others. Now, the union of Christ and the
believer is indeed a mystery. Great is the mystery,
exclaims the apostle. Our spiritual life, growth,
and joy are rooted in Christ, in His broken body
and shed blood. Here faith beholds also the
communion of saints, the second advent, and our
glory with Christ. But of these spiritual and un-
seen realities, we have in the Lord's Supper an
illustration so simple, so comprehensive, that it is
the easiest way of explaining to little children the
gospel of our Lord. Many minds are thinking
about the mystery of the sacrament, instead of
thinking about the mystery of the tmion with
Christ by faith and through the indwelling Spirit.
For such the Gospel of John is most instructive,
both on account of its silence as to the institution
and its profound exposition of the ** mystery,"
which in the Lord's Supper is set before us.
IX.] The Epistle to the Hebrews, 159
But thirdly, the very purpose of the Lord's
Supper is to show that by one great sacrifice,
once for all, Christ has put away sin. As often as
we eat this bread and drink this cup, we do show
the Lord's death. It is the commemoration of
the one offering by which we are perfected. Hence
to speak of a repetition of the sacrifice, in any
shape or form, is to contradict the essential mean-
ing and purpose of the ordinance."^' Christ died
once upon the cross, once He entered by His own
blood into the holy of holies, and by this one
death and once entering in we have redemption
and access unto the Father. Hence all the bless-
ings of the New Testament are ours.
Consider the teaching of our passage in the
light of the Lord's Supper. Once we were under
the sentence of death on account of our guilt, the
transgression of God's holy law. We had forfeited
the inheritance. Christ came. He is the Son ;
* All assertions that the Lord's Supper is a sacrifice, from the
glaring fiction of Rome, of an unbloody sacrifice in the mass, down
to more mystical and vague views, are refuted by this chapter and
the whole teaching of Scripture. Beside the one sacrifice of our
Lord, offered and presented to the Father once for all, the New
Testament speaks only of spiritual sacrifices, praise, prayer, and
the offering of ourselves (Rom. xii. i ; Heb. xiii. 15, i6 ; i Peter ii. 8),
and only of the priesthood of all believers, while it never calls
ministers ie/sels, but bishops, presbyters, etc. These spiritual sacri-
fices are to be offered contiitiially, the remembrance of Christ's
sacrifice is to ht frequently. A remembrance not so much of Him-
self, who is always with us and of whom we constantly think, but
of His One oblation. There is a higher aspect of the Lord's
Supper as a sealmg ordinance.
i6o The Epistle to the Hebrews, [chap.
He is the Heir. He came to save us. He came
to redeem them that were under the law from the
curse of the law. He redeemed us by His death
on the tree, by the shedding of His precious blood.^*
This is the bread ; this is the cup.
Jesus the Mediator of the New Testament gives
us the inheritance; and of this inheritance we have
now the substance, for we eat and drink in the
presence of the Father. Yet is the inheritance
still future ; for the Lord's Supper points to the
fulfilment. " Till I come" is the golden link be-
tween Christ's first advent and His return, when
we shall be glorified together with Him. Jesus
said to His disciples on the very night in which He
instituted this ordinance : " I appoint unto you a
kingdom, as my Father hath appointed unto me ;
that ye may eat and drink at my table in my king-
dom, judging the twelve tribes of Israel."! We
are to be made manifest with Christ, and reign
together with Him. The promise is not fulfilled
yet, ''He that overcometh shall inherit all things."
But when we show the death of the Lord we
look forward in hope to the final salvation, which
shall be brought unto us at the revelation of Jesus
Christ.
How solemn sound the words, "This is the
* Compare Gal. iii., where the subject is viewed in connection
with inheritance.
t The original diaTide/xai v/mv paaiXeiav means, I ordain to you in a
testamentary manner. Compare Rev. iii. 21 ; xii. 11 ; xxi. 7.
IX.] The Epistle to the Hebrews. i6i
new testament in My blood." This is indeed
the central, the fundamental, the eternal mystery.
" Thou hast redeemed us by Thy blood," we sing
at the Lord's table — it will be our song in eternity.
This is the new song for ever, even as it is the new
testament for ever.
Blessed are we if we read Scripture, as the
testament ; if, as children and heirs, we see in the
word the record of our inheritance, the promise of
glory, as well as the assurance of our present pos-
session of the unsearchable riches of Christ.
See here the perfection of the fulfilment. (ii)v.
24-27.) As the Levitical high priest entered into
the holy of holies with the blood of the sacrifice, to
appear before God as the representative of Israel,
so Christ by His own blood entered heaven itself
for us. But not as the type is the fulfilment. The
Levitical high priest entered every year ; Christ
once for all. Hence there is no need of a repeti-
tion of His sacrifice. Once He appeared in the
end of the world, in the consummation of the ages.
In the fulness of time'"' Jesus was made manifest
to put away sin really and for ever. He was made
manifest, for in the counsel of God He was, from
before the foundation of the world, the Lamb ;
but now the time was come when He fulfilled the
salvation-will of God. t Once He bore the sins
of many;]: as their substitute He endured that
* Gal. iv. 4. t Comp. i Pefer i. 20. X Isa. liii. 12.
II. M
1 62 The Epistle to the Hebrews. [chap.
which sin deserved according to the hoHness and
righteousness of God. This is accompHshed, and
perfect; it now Hes behind Him.
What then is our position ? The apostle by a
very significant transition speaks now of man;
leaving the contrast between Jewish type and
heavenly reality, he enters, strictly speaking, into
the sphere of the gospel, the glad tidings for man-
kind. Now the contrast is Adam and Christ.
The apostle's statement (vv. 26-28) may be ren-
dered more faithfully thus : But now once for
all, in the conclusion of the ages, hath He been
manifest to put away sin "' by the sacrifice of
Himself. And as it is appointed unto men once
to die, but after that judgment (or decision) ; thus
Christ, having been once offered in order to bear
the sins of many, shall appear a second time
without sin for the salvation of them that wait
for Him.
There are two chains ; the one dark and the
other bright ; the one pertaining to man, earth,
and time, the other entirely of God, from heaven,
and eternal ; the one ending in eternal glory, the
other in everlasting misery. The one chain is
thus described by the apostolic word : *' The wages
of sin is death." The links are sin, death, judg-
ment. Unto fallen and guilty man it is appointed
■* etj iehrjaw afiaprias (v. 26), for the abolishing of sin is a very
forcible expression.
IX.] The Epistle to the Hebrews. 163
to die, and after that the judgment. This chain is
the chain of the covenant of works, the relation
between the Hnks is that of man's doing and its
consequence, according to divine justice and truth.
It is impossible for this sequence to be broken.
The day sin entered into the world, death also
entered, and death as leading to judgment. Death
is not, as many, alas ! deceive themselves, the tran-
sition from sin to glory : as sin leads to death,
death leads to judgment. Inevitable is the con-
nection between sin and judgment, and our death
cannot sever this connection ; it is, on the contrary,
the intervening link. In vain do men seek to put
something between death and judgment. It is on
this side of the grave that we must be taken out
of the reofion of this dark chain.
For there is another chain. It came down from
heaven. It originated in the eternal wisdom and
love of God. It is of God from beginning to end.
Jesus came ; this is the first link. Jesus died ;
this is the second. Jesus comes again to receive
us unto Himself; this is the last. Instead of man,
the Son of man, God's own Son ; instead of the
death of the sinner, Christ's death ; and instead
of judgment, the saints glorified together with
Christ.
But the logic of this chain is not so apparent as
of the first. Sin, death, judgment — this is a right
sequence. But the incarnation of the Son of God
164 The Epistle to the Hebrews, [chap.
and the cross ; the sinless, perfect Son of man and
death, seem to be rather contradictions than con-
sequences. One single word explains it, but this
word is a stumbling-block to many. It is Substi-
tution. Jesus came to die as the substitute ; the
just laid down His life for the unjust ; the Father
laid on Him the iniquity of us all. And now, sin
having been taken away by His one offering of
Himself once for all, we look forward to His
glorious return. The first time He appeared with
reference to sin ; the second time He shall appear
— apart from the work of atonement, for it is ac-
complished, and they who love His appearing
shall then receive the inheritance. As death is
the conclusion of our earthly life, and does not
lead to a repetition of the same, but to judgment ;
so by the death of Christ all that was connected
with sin and atonement is finished, and now there
is nothing before Him but His second coming.
He shall come again in glory.
At the Lord's table we behold nothing but
grace — not wages, but the gift of God ; gospel
or glad tidings, righteousness instead of guilt,
life instead of death, glory instead of judgment.
Instead of looking back to Adam and transgres-
sion, we remember Christ and His obedience, the
obedience, even His death ; instead of looking
forward to judgment, we wait for the coming of
the Lord, who shall give us then the full adoption
IX.] The Epistle to the Hebrews. 165
and inheritance, the redemption of the body and
the glory.
If we were thoroughly fixed and rooted In this
apostolic "once for all," we should have perfect
peace and a lively hope of the glory of God.
Here is our weakness, that we do not put all our
confidence in Christ, in His one and only death
once for all. Though we so often say, '' Christ is
all," yet we have some secret feeling that Christ
is not all, and that the work is not quite complete.
If Christ is all, then blessed be God ! He came.
He died, He ascended. He will return for us. As
He died for us, so His return must be for our
glory.
''Christ is all," the Lord's Supper says. Nothing
can be added to this bread, or mixed with this
cup. " Drink ye all of it ;" the blessed Saviour
includes the weakest believer, encouraging the
bruised reed and the smoking flax. " The blood
was shed for the remission of the sins of the
many." The apostle uses almost the same ex-
pression as the prophet — He was once offered to
bear the sins of many.
Now we rejoice in hope. Sin is removed, and
therefore faith looks back and beholds the love of
God in a crucified Saviour. Hope looks forward,
and beholds the Lord bringing the crown and the
inheritance. And though we also have to pass
through the valley of the shadow of death, we
1 66 The Epistle to the Hebrews. [ix.
know that Christ has abolished death, He has taken
away its sting, it is to us no more a hnk in the
dark chain of sin and judgment. We have been
transplanted out of the kingdom of darkness, and
whether we fall asleep before the Lord's return, or
are still living on earth at His advent, to us there
remains now only one thing to expect : Christ
appearing the second time, apart from sin, unto
salvation.
Our Lord on earth came as the Prophet ; after
His death, and by His blood. He entered into
heaven to be our Priest, and at His second coming
He shall appear as King in great majesty and
glory." He who on earth was without sin, who
knew no sin, and yet was made by God to be sin
for us,f shall appear unto His people waiting for
His return, looking with joyful, though humble
and contrite, hope to His return. For He comes
unto salvation. The Coming One Is the same
Jesus who ascended; it Is emphatically the Saviour
who delivered us from the wrath to come. \
* Rev. xix., XX. t 2 Cor. v. 21 ; Rom. viii. 3.
X Acts i. II ; I Thess. i. 10.
LECTURE VIII.
"LO, I COME."
Hebrews x. 1-7.
nPHE apostle has contrasted the high priest
-^ of the Levitical dispensation with our Lord.
The one entered into the earthly, Christ Into the
heavenly sanctuary ; the one with sacrifices which
could not purge the conscience, Christ with His
own blood, by which we are sanctified ; the one
entered every year, Christ once for all. From this
sublime contrast the apostle now argues that the
law itself, the whole Levitical dispensation, was
not able to give perfect peace to the conscience,
and access Into the presence of God ; for it is
evident from the constantly-repeated sacrifices and
offerings that the worshippers had never attained
to the condition of true acceptance and sanctifica-
tlon — that they had never reached a point where
further sacrifice was not needed. Hence the
apostle says : ''For" (referring to his demonstration
of the perfection of the one offering, Hebrews ix.
1 68 The Epistle to the Hebrews. [chap.
24-28), " the law having a shadow " (only) of good
things to come, that is, of the then future salvation,
blessing and inheritance, and not the express
image of the things (as we have now in Christ,
who is the manifestation and the fulfilment, or
body), can never with the same yearly sacrifices,
which they offer regularly, make the comers there-
unto perfect."
The prophetic Word supplied the description of
the contrast and the fulfilment. It testified of the
insufficiency of the sacrifices and offerings, and
spoke of the self-sacrifice, the self-devotedness of
the true servant of Jehovah, the Redeemer of
Israel. It is to this special aspect of Christ's
offering that our attention is directed in this
chapter.
He who was offered, offered Himself; in His
sufferings He showed the greatest strength and
most concentrated activity of self-surrender ; and
because thus He fulfilled the eternal will of God
concerning salvation, He has perfected for ever
by one offering them that are sanctified. And
thus we are led back to the fundamental and cen-
tral truth: Jesus is the Son of God. Obedience
* Shadow {(TKiav) is put first emphatically ; only a shadow or
outline of the substantial and eternal blessings promised. A
shadow has no substance, but brings before the mind the form of
the body from which it is projected. The image itself {ovk avrriv tt^v
cLKova) is given to us in Christ ; a full and permanent embodiment
of the good things to come.
X.] The Epistle to the Hebrews. 169
belongs to a servant ; concurrence and co-operation
are the characteristics of a son. When we think
of the eternal glory of the Only-begotten, and the
sufferings and obedience of Jesus, it is the divine
Sonship on which our minds rest, and in which
we see the sacred identity of the Lord and the
servant unbroken.
It is a characteristic feature of this epistle, that
it shows forth most clearly and fully the glory of
Jesus exalted at the right hand of God, while at
the same time it enters more deeply than most
portions of the inspired record into the consoling
truth of our Lord's true humanity, of the reality
of His temptations and struggles, of His faith,
prayers, and tears, and of His perfect sympathy
with us, whom He is not ashamed to call breth-
ren. Nowhere in Scripture do we meet with a
representation of Jesus the Messiah in which His
divine majesty, and His human compassion and
sympathy, are so distinctly and yet harmoniously
brought before us. It is for this reason, though
there be many things hard to be understood in
this epistle. It has always exerted a most powerful
and consoling influence on the Christian, whose
joy it is to confess with adoring love that Jesus Is
Lord, and to rest with peaceful assurance in the
marvellous truth that the Lord, unto whom all
power is given in heaven and earth, is the man
Christ Jesus; ''this same Jesus" of the peaceful
170 The Epistle to the Hebrews, [chap.
gospels, * that in the midst of the throne is the
Lamb as it had been slain.
Jesus, the Messiah, the Son, by whom all worlds
were made, and who is appointed Heir of all things,
is now exalted high above all angels and powers ;
He who humbled Himself, and was obedient unto
death, is for this very obedience enthroned at the
right hand of God ; in His humanity He has
received a name above every name ; angels and
men adore Him, and in the heavenly sanctuary
He is our royal Priest ; He is the Son who
abideth for ever, the Lord over His own house,
the chosen people of God. It is on the divinity
of our Lord that our faith and hope rest ; on this
rock (''thou art the Son of the living God") the
Church is built. The apostle brings before us
the divine glory of the exalted Messiah, asserting
it in a tone of joyous triumph, and illustrating it by
the most varied and abundant testimony of the
ancient Scripture ; he reviews all previous reve-
lations and ordinances to exalt the Saviour ; above
all prophets He is the Son, the only adequate,
comprehensive, and ultimate Revelation of God ;
above Moses, the servant. He is the Lord, the
mediator of a better covenant ; above Joshua, He
is the only true and everlasting rest of God, in
whom we also have rest here and a perfect Sabba-
tism hereafter ; above Aaron, the true and royal
* Acts i. II.
X.] The Epistle to the Hebrews. 171
priest, who after the power of an endless Hfe is our
Mediator in the heavenly sanctuary. In Him alone,
and that because He is God, are all promises
fulfilled, all types summed up, and all symbols
substantiated. Nay, He excels them all ; for His
divine fulness could only be shadowed forth im-
perfectly even by God-appointed symbols, and by
inspired prophecies. And beyond the territory of
man Jesus is represented as the Mediator, by
whom all worlds were created, and by whom they
are still upheld; in Him, whom angels worship,
both before the throne and in ministering unto
the heirs of salvation, the counsels of God and
the whole universe find their centre.*
If this view of Christ's glory, like the appear-
ance of the exalted Saviour in the opening scene
of the Apocalypse, is so bright and dazzling that
it overwhelms even loving and trustful disciples,
so that their souls fall prostrate before the Son of
God, the same epistle unfolds to us the humanity
of the Lord, and gives to us a picture so vivid
and touching of His brotherhood, that not even
the gospel of Luke leads us into so profound
and consoling knowledge of the Son of man, the
Friend of sinners, the Physician full of pity and
tenderness. And while we see Jesus here taking
upon Him our flesh and blood, enduring tempta-
'*' The original (Heb. i.) implies that the angels' ministry to us
is an act of worship unto God.
172 The Epistle to the Hebrews. [chap.
tlon, entering into all our difficulties, struggles,
and sorrows ; while here we have explained to us
the reality of Christ's human nature, of His faith
in God and dependence on Him, of His tears
and conflict in Gethsemane, w^e are taught that
He went through all these experiences in order
that in His glory He may sympathize with us
and succour us in all our trials ; that as Man He
regards now with an infinite compassion and
tenderness all His disciples on earth ; and that
therefore, though with awe and trembling, because
He is God, yet with perfect liberty and enlarged
confidence, we may draw near the throne of grace,
where Jesus, the God-man, is still our Brother as
well as our Lord.
These two aspects, so marvellously and in-
separably united, must always co-exist, if we are
to have access unto God and communion with
Him. The neglect of the doctrine of either the
divinity or the humanity of the Lord Jesus is the
source of all heresies, maladies, and infirmities
which afflict Christendom. Unless Jesus is God,
we have not seen the Father, we have not been
reconciled to Him, we have not been brought
nigh as His redeemed and accepted children.
Nor can a soul-renewing influence be exercised
except by the divine Lord, who can pour out the
Holy Ghost. If Jesus is the Son of God, nothing
need or can be added to His sacrifice, to His
X.] The Epistle to the Hebrews. 1 73
intercession, to His soul-transforming and sanctify-
ing power. And as the Hebrew believers, if they
rightly understood Christ's divinity, were thereby
emancipated from all the shadows and types of
the Levitical dispensation, so the subsequent in-
troduction of human and angelic intercessors, of
a so-called repetition of the sacrifice, of priestly
mediation, of supplemental merits, is rooted in a
defective view of the divine glory of Christ's
person and all-sufficient, because infinite, value of
His work.
But equally essential is it to hold fast our faith
In His true humanity. Emphasizing not too
strongly, but in a onesided and untrue manner,
the divinity of Jesus, men fancied that His per-
fection. His spotless purity, His majestic holiness,
stood in the way of our coming to Him with con-
fidence, and with that free and unrestrained trust-
fulness which alone enables us to pour out our
whole heart. Jesus seemed so majestic and glo-
rious, so high exalted above the heavens, so holy
and spotless, that men forgot His Infinite mercy
and tenderness, and the Inexhaustible fulness of
His human sympathy, and imagined that some
human sinful being, better than themselves, yet
Imperfect, ought to Intervene as mediator between
themselves and Jesus ; that they fancied especially
to find such a mediator in the Virgin Mary,
whose womanly gentleness and compassion made
1 74 The Epistle to the Hebrews. [chap.
it easier for them to approach in their weakness
and sinfulness. Oh, how little do such thoughts
harmonize with the blessed gospel ! How dis-
honouring are they both to the divinity and
humanity of our Lord ! This is the great mys-
tery of godliness, that our Mediator is God, of
Infinite love and mercy; that He Is man, perfect
in His sympathy and tenderness. As if imperfect
and sinful men, or any created and therefore limited
angels, could ever fully know the human heart ;
as if finite compassion and love could ever fully
fathom and heal our sorrow ; as if any one but"
Jesus could unite perfect sympathy with the sin-
ner, and the perfect aim and power to bring us
Into fellowship and harmony with God. Between
Jesus, the Bridegroom of the Church, and the
soul none can intervene. He alone knows what
Is In man ; He alone loves us perfectly ; He alone
has the way to the heart, and power to say, " Let
not your heart be troubled." Our sorrow, our sin,
our need, lie too deep for human ministry.
Once, when He was still on earth. His mother
Mary, whom we also In common with all genera-
tions of believers call blessed, ventured to Interfere
on behalf of the guests, and said, " They have no
wine." But the same Lord, who as a child was
subject unto Mary His mother, and as a son re-
membering her with gratitude and affection even
on the cross, commended her to the beloved
X.] The Epistle to the Hebrews, 175
disciple, recognizes here no mediatorial position
or special claim on His affection and help.
Here He does not call her mother. He does
not acknowledge her maternal authority. The
tone of His reply appears strange and severe :
" Woman, what have I to do with thee } " The
evangelist John, who records this incident, was
especially near the blessed virgin, and regarded
her with peculiar veneration and affection. She
had been committed to his care by his beloved
Lord. What is the meaning of Christ's words,
recorded by John ? He who, even as a child, had
said to Mary and to Joseph, " Know ye not that
I must be about my Father's business ? " and had
thereby revealed to them His divine sonship and
His exalted position above all men, returned with
them to Nazareth, and in humility was subject to
His parents, thus obeying the commandment of
the Father who had sent Him. In Nazareth, as a
child and youth, He doubtless always called Mary
" mother," and always obeyed and honoured her.
But now He had entered on His work. He had
commenced His ministry, being filled with the
Holy Ghost. At the marriage of Cana, Jesus
appears as the Lord, as the true Bridegroom of
the Church. Here He manifests His glory; here
Jesus knows none but the Father, and the chil-
dren whom God has given Him. ''Who Is my
mother ? and who are my brethren } He who
176 The Epistle to the Hebrews. [chap.
doeth the will of my Father in heaven, the same
is my brother, and sister, and mother." The Lord
shrinks back from Mary, because she brings her
maternal authority and influence into a region to
which it does not belong ; she attempts to put
herself by His side in the kingdom, where He is
the only monarch. Jesus is Lord, and there is
none in heaven or earth to share in any way or
to any extent His mediatorial throne.
How plainly does this incident teach us that,
highly favoured as Mary was in the kingdom of
Christ, she is only one among myriads, a disciple
of Jesus. Thus we find her mentioned in the
Acts as one of the believers who united in prayer
for the promised descent of the Spirit. In none of
the epistles does she occur again. While we hear
constantly of our Lord's ascension and exaltation,
is there the slightest reference to her ascension ?
In the visions of the heavenly glory vouchsafed
unto John, do we ever read of Mary as enthroned
with or near the Lord — as holding any peculiar
position among the angels and glorified saints ? We
read of angels and living beings, and elders and
martyrs, and multitudes with white robes ; but
where do we read of the Virgin Mary, of a queen
of heaven, of a merciful and indulgent intercessor,
appealing to the filial affection of her son ? No ;
Jesus said unto her, "Woman, what have I to do
with thee?" How much more now in His exalta-
X.] The Epistle to the Hebrews. 177
tlon is He the one and only Lord who alone is the
searcher of hearts, the consolation of Israel, the
healer of the wounded spirit, the Head, from whom
all blessings descend to His members. It is He
who gives us the oil of gladness and strengthens
us with the true wine. Mary recedes from her posi-
tion as mother, and from the false attitude she had
assumed ; her sensitive heart understands Jesus
immediately ; she points as a true disciple to the
one Lord and Saviour, and directing all eyes and
hearts exclusively to Him, utters the great word,
"Whatsoever He commandeth you, do." I think
we honour and revere and love the Virgin Mary
more than the Romanists in their false and un-
scriptural devotion. Her word, ''Whatsoever
He saith unto you, do it," reveals to us her true
greatness, her humility, her faith ; her soul again
magnified the Lord, and rejoiced in her Saviour.
She points the whole Church away from herself to
the Lord Jesus. She acknowledges Him to be
the only Master. And so we rejoice in Him, the
only Mediator, who is infinitely holy, infinitely
merciful ; of whose love all fatherly forethought
and strength, all motherly tenderness, minuteness,
inventive quickness, and persevering patience,
all brotherly faithfulness and sympathy, are but
feeble images ; the man Christ Jesus, in whom is
all manly and womanly perfection, the Lord who
is from above, omniscient, omnipotent, all-good ;
II. N
178 The Epistle to the Hebrews. [chap.
we have, we need no other mediator than Christ
Jesus.
But In our passage the apostle brings before us
another aspect of Christ's person and work. We
are reminded of the truth that Jesus Is the self-
subslstent and eternal Word and Son of God. We
need always to go back to that fundamental and
most comforting truth of the divinity of our Lord.
Only the Father which Is In heaven can so reveal
this mystery to our minds and hearts, that with
adoring love and trust we look unto Jesus. We
do not worship a deified man, but God Incarnate ;
not a perfect man, who by reason of His complete
and holy humanity was exalted Into a heavenly
position, but the Son of God, who came down
from heaven, and returned Into the glory which
He had before the foundations of the world were
laid. Jesus, who was born of the Virgin Mary, who
lived in obedience to the Father, who suffered and
died, and Is now at the right hand of the Majesty
on high, came into the world, not merely sent by
the Father, but by His free concurrence, accord-
ance, and co-operation. In Bethlehem's manger
the child born unto us is The Wonderful, The
mighty God, The everlasting Father. The prophet
of Galilee declares to his cotemporarles, " Before
Abraham was I am." The grace which appeared
in His death had its fountain in the everlasting
love which the eternal Wisdom had to the sons
X.] The Epistle to the Hebi^ews. 179
of men.* He is the Son of God from all eter-
nity, and in that mysterious eternity before the
creation of the world, in His pre-mundane glory,
this mind was in the Son, that He would humble
Himself, and take upon Himself the form of a
servant, and obey the whole counsel of God con-
cerning the redemption of fallen man. His whole
life on earth, embracing His obedience and His
death. His substitution for sinners, was His own
voluntary resolve and act.
True, the Father sent Him ; but such is the
unity and harmony of the blessed Trinity, that it
is equally true to say, the Son came. The love of
Jesus, the sacrifice of Himself in our stead, the
unspeakable humiliation of the Son of God, have
their origin not in time but eternity, in the infinite,
self-subsistent, co-equal Son of the Father. He
took on Him our nature. By His own will He was
made flesh. From all eternity He offered Himself
to accomplish the divine will concerning our sal-
vation. He must needs be God, to have the power
of freely offering Himself; He must needs take
upon Him our nature to fulfil that sacrifice. Only
the Son of God could undertake the work of
our redemption ; only as man could He accom-
plish it.
It is for this reason that Scripture unveils to us
the great mystery of the eternal cavenaat^ It is
* ProY. viii^.
i8o The Epistle to the Hebrews, [chap.
not to gratify an unhallowed desire to look into
things too lofty for our vision, but to show unto us
the marvellous love of the eternal Son, and the
true character and infinite merit of His obedience
and death.
The counsel between the Father and the Son
must ever remain a mystery of solemn and awful
majesty. We think of eternity before creation, of
that silent eternity before the word was uttered,
'* Let there be light ;" before the angels sang to-
gether, and the morning stars shouted for joy, and
faith hears even then the uncreated Word, which
was with God, and was God, the voice of the Only-
begotten responding to the Father's purpose, and
saying, '' Lo, I come." In this eternal region is
the only sunshine, which is never clouded ; here
alone the foundation, which can never be moved.
" The Father loveth the Son, and hath given all
things into His hands." " Therefore doth my
Father love Me, because I lay down My life for
the sheep." '' Thine they were, and Thou gavest
them Me." '' None shall pluck them out of My
hand. I and the Father are one." What are
all these consoling and precious assurances but
declarations of that eternal concord between the
Father and the Son, in which the Son under-
took to do the salvation-will of God, comprising
His incarnation, obedience, and death, on the one
hand, and the Father exalting and crowning and
x.] The Epistle to the Hebrews. 18 1
enriching Him as the Head of the Church, and
the Heir of all things. Now Jesus sees of the
travail of His soul, and is satisfied ; and we also
rejoice ; Christ's joy remains in us, and our joy is
full.
Three most practical truths follow from this
revelatiofL
I. None but the Son of God could offer unto
the Father a sacrifice to please Him, and to
reconcile us unto Him in a perfect manner. The
burnt-offerings and sin-offerings were ordained
merely as shadows and temporary types of that
one offering, the self-devotedness of the Son of
God to accomplish all the will of God, the counsel
of salvation. It is the divine and eternal offerinp-
of Himself unto the Father, in which the incarna-
tion and death of the Lord Jesus are rooted ; it is
the voluntary character of His advent and passion,
and it is the divine dignity of the Mediator which
render His work perfect — absolutely unique, with
which nothing can be compared, and a repetition
of which is impossible. Hence it is impossible
to sever the doctrine of the divinity of Christ
from the doctrine of His expiatory sacrifice. The
character of Christ's sufferings must be utterly
misunderstood, when we do not acknowledge
Jesus as the Son of God, who came to lay down
His life. In the death of our Lord, the Father
was pleased ; this sin-offering was also a sacrifice
1 82 The Epistle to the Hebrews, [chap.
to God for a sweet-smelling savour. Here was
not merely punishment endured, but the doing of
*' God's will," the fulfilment of His eternal counsel,
righteousness exalted, and divine love manifested
in sufferings of infinite depth, and in the strength
of perfect faith.
2. Rise from the river to its source, from the
rays of light and love to the eternal origin and
fount. You know the grace of the Lord Jesus,
how He was poor on earth, and had not where to
lay His head. Remember He who was poor had
of His own free will become poor, though He was
rich, the Lord of heaven and earth. You know
the grace of the Lord Jesus, that He was born of
a woman, and made under the law. Remember
that it was Himself, of His own free will, and by
His infinite power of love, who laid aside His
glory, and emptied Himself. You remember His
gentleness and meekness. His labour and toil. His
unwearied zeal, and His undisturbed patience.
He learned obedience ; but remember it was the
Son, co-equal with the Father, who of His own
choice learned obedience. You see Him rejected
and reviled, buffeted, smitten, spit upon, scourged,
nailed to the cross. You say a man of sorrows,
and acquainted with grief ; remember also to say,
strong and glorious Son of God, whom all the
hosts of angels obey ; who of thine own divine
will and power bearest the sin of the world, and
X.] The Epistle to the Hebrews. 183
offerest thyself by the eternal Spirit a ransom for
thy brethren. See in the life, the obedience, the
agony of Jesus, the expression of that free sur-
render of Himself and espousal of your cause,
which was accomplished in eternity in His own
all-glorious and infinite divinity. Beware lest you
see in Him only the faith and obedience, the
sufferings and death of the Son of man ; see His
eternal divinity shining through and sustaining all
His humanity Because His blood is the blood
of the Son of God, shed freely according to the
everlasting covenant, it cleanseth from all sin.
Who can fathom the depth of such love, of such
grace, of such sacrifice 1
And lastly, this truth is revealed to us, not
merely to establish our hearts in peace, and to fill
us with adoring gratitude and joy, but here, mar-
vellous to say, is held out to us a model which we
are to imitate, a principle of life which we are to
adopt. So wondrously are high mysteries and
deep doctrines intertwined with daily duties and
the transformation of our character, that the apostle
Paul, when exhorting the Philippians to avoid strife
and vainglory, and to brotherly love and helpful-
ness, ascends from our lowly earthly path unto
this highest region of the eternal covenant : " Let
nothing be done through strife or vainglory ; but
in lowliness of mind let each esteem other better
than themselves. Look not every man on his
184 The Epistle to the Hebrews, [char
own things, but every man also on the things of
others." Then he proceeds in a subHme and pro-
found transition : " Let this mind be in you, which
was also in Christ Jesus" (from all eternity) :
"who, being in the form of God, .... made
Himself of no reputation, and took upon Him
the form of a servant, and was made in the like-
ness of men : and being found in fashion as a man,
He humbled Himself, and became obedient unto
death, even the death of the cross." Blessed
apostle, who was always beholding in fervent ado-
ration and love the image of that Lord Jesus, who
appeared unto him as the Lord of glory and the
Saviour of the lost. Paul found it easy to serve, to
stoop, to suffer, to endure reproach and mockery,
to be beaten and scourged, to be hated of his
brethren, and to be suspected by his fellow-dis-
ciples, to bear the burden of all the churches, and
the more vehemently he loved, to be repulsed
with enmity, because he remembered that the Son
of God loved him before the foundations of the
world were laid. Remembering the dark origin of
selfishness, of disobedience, of ambition, of pride,
let us rise to the celestial and eternal foundation of
humility, obedience, love, self denial, to Christ ; and
as we owe all to Him who loved us and washed
us from our sin in His own blood, let us be not
merely debtors, but also followers of Him who
came, not to do His own will and to be ministered
X.] The Epistle to the Hebrews. 185
unto, who came to love and to serve, to give and
to bless, to suffer and to die. He loved 7ne ! Oh,
what a contrast ! Let us then receive the love of
Christ, and love with His love. One with Christ,
let us present ourselves a living sacrifice unto the
Father — I beseech you, brethren, by the mercies
of God!
LECTURE IX.
"ACCORDING TO THE GOOD PLEASURE OF HIS WILL."
Heb. X. 7-10.
A LTHOUGH man Is a finite and limited
-^^^ creature, yet eternity alone can satisfy his
heart. We are not able to conceive of eternity,
either that endless existence, which lies before us,
or— to use language which, Inadequate and almost
self-contradictory as It Is, is the only one at our
command — the eternity which preceded time. And
yet the human heart can only rest in the eternal
love of God ; in a love without beginning, which
has its source not In time, and which shall endure
for evermore ; an ocean without shore, a fulness
which cannot be exhausted. I must know, not
merely that God loves me now, but that He will
love me for ever ; and not merely that the future
is boundless, but that the divine love Is from all
eternity. Its own cause and origin. In Christ
Jesus, the eternal Son of God, beheld by the
Father as the Lamb slain from before the founda-
X.] The Epistle to the Hebrews. 187
tlon of the world, God has chosen us unto eternal
life and glory. In Him we behold and possess
the mercy which is from everlasting to everlast-
ing ; in Him we have the assurance that God
loves us with an eternal love.'"'
This eternal character of the love of God in
Christ Jesus is unfolded to us, especially in the
writings of the apostles John and Paul, from
different points of view, the one confirming and
supplementing the other. The beloved disciple,
brought up in the school of John the Baptist, who
led him to the Saviour, seems, without any severe
struggle or abrupt transition, to have found in
Jesus the promised Messiah, and drawn by the
gentle yet irresistible, the calm but heart-deep
attraction of the Son of man, he leaned on His
bosom : nearest to Him in human friendship and
affection, he beheld with most solemn awe the
glory of the Only -begotten. In his writings
John, like an eagle soaring in loftiest and most
radiant heights, looks down on the world, and
presents to us truth in its divine and eternal
aspect. Hence, he dwells on the contrast between
the world and the Church, the world and the men
out of the world, whom the Father gives unto the
Son, the people who believe not, because they are
not Christ's sheep, and the souls who, drawn by
the Father, hear the Shepherd's voice ; the con-
* I Peter i. 20 ; Eph. i. 4 ; Ps. ciii. 17 ; Jer. xxxi. 3.
1 88 The Epistle to the Hebrews. [chap.
trast between the world, which Heth In the wicked
one, the realm of darkness, and the believers, who
overcome the world, and finally reign with Christ
over a subdued and renewed earth.
In no other portion of Scripture is the contrast
described, and traced to its ultimate reason as well
as to its final issue with such stern distinctness.
We have on the one hand God, Christ, they who
are of God, who are born of Him, who have the
divine seed remaining in them, who are not of
the world, who are Christ's sheep, for whom He
prays, for whom He dies, who shall walk with
Him in white, and inherit all things. On the
other the world, men who are not of God, who
are of their father the devil, and whose end is, that
they are cast into the lake of fire. It is as if to
him the history of the world, the process of de-
velopment had ceased, he ascends to the ultimate
manifestation of the essence of things, and to the
primary origin in the counsel of God.'^
The apostle Paul, in analogy with his own mental
history, begins with man and ascends upwards.
While John shows how the life which was with God
from all eternity was made manifest, Paul describes
how a sinful, guilty, condemned, yet self-righteous
* John is pre-eminently, as the ancient Church discerned, the
theologian ; he views all things theologically ; that is, from the
divine and eternal point. It is strange how an insipid latitudi-
narianism has pretended to have a special congeniality with this
son of thunder.
X.] The Epistle to the Hebrews. 189
man is brought by grace to find in Jehovah right-
eousness and Hfe. He ascends from earth to
heaven. Hence as a guide, especially for those
who are seeking the way of acceptance and life,
the apostle Paul is more helpful ; he enters, with
the sympathy and lucidity of a most intense per-
sonal experience, into the difficulties and struggles
of our hearts. Now let us see how from the ex-
perimental point of view the apostle Paul arrives
at the eternal character of the gospel.
Jesus appeared to him, and what the law could
not give him — righteousness in which to stand
before God, life wherewith to serve and enjoy God
— he received as a free gift in Jesus. Old things
thus passed away, and the covenant, the method,
the dispensation in which he now stood, was new —
new as contrasted with the law of Moses, the Leviti-
cal dispensation, the covenant of works made on
mount Sinai. Yet on reflecting, it became obvious
that this change, this setting aside of the old, this
introduction of another and brighter light, before
which the former faded ; of another and sub-
stantial mediation, which caused the symbolical
and typical to vanish, was no after-thought of
God. It was new only in the sense that the law
had come first ; in reality it was the original, the
primary thought, and the law came in only for a
time, and to prepare, announce, and symbolize the
gospel. The law is. old, because it came first in
IQO The Epistle to the Hebrews. [chap.
point of time ; the gospel is new, because it came
second in point of time : but the law passes away,
because its origin is in time ; whereas the gospel
abideth, because its origin is not in time, but in
eternity.
This thought is most frequently and fondly
expressed by the apostle. He shows that the
promise given to Abraham was before the giving
of the law ; the covenant of grace preceded the
covenant of works. But this priority again is
based upon the essential and eternal priority of
the dispensation or method of grace. The original
and eternal plan of God is now manifested in
the preaching of the gospel. The Scripture, as
Paul personifies it, never meant anything but the
gospel.''' It always had its eye fixed on the
eternal, free, and all-comprehensive grace of God
through Christ Jesus. The law was given only as
a temporary and parenthetic dispensation ; the new
covenant is the eternal covenant — eternal in every
sense of the word. It is ultimate ; it can never
become old or antiquated. It possesses a vitality
which must endure for ever. Nothing more new
can supersede it. But the covenant of grace is
eternal in another and more mysterious sense.
The apostle naturally contrasted the old dispen-
sation and the new method of salvation by grace
in Christ Jesus. The transition from Moses to
* Gal. iii. 8.
X.] The Epistle to the Hebrews. 191
Abraham showed him at once the temporary
character of the law. The unity of Scripture
history, and of Scripture itself, revealed that the
gospel was God's thought even from the very
beginning. But his mind and our mind cannot
stop there. All prophecy points to Messiah, to
God becoming our Saviour, our Righteousness.
This then was God's original and eternal thought,
and thus prophecy and the fulfilment of pro-
phecy are traced to the purpose of God, His
eternal will and counsel. I remind you of such
passages as these : " God hath chosen us in Christ
before the foundation of the world, having pre-
destinated us unto the adoption of children by
Jesus Christ to Himself. . . . The mystery of His
will, according to His good pleasure which He hath
purposed in Himself." '* The hope of eternal life,
which God, that cannot lie, promised before the
world began." "Who hath saved us, and called
us with an holy calling, not according to our works,
but according to His own purpose and grace,
which was given us in Christ Jesus before the
world began, but is now made manifest by the
appearing of our Saviour." "
As the advent and work of Jesus Christ, salva-
tion by grace, irrespective of works and merit,
our adoption and glorification are rooted in the
eternal counsel of God, so His own personal
* Eph. i. 4, 5-9 ; Titus i. 2 ; 2 Tim. i. 9, 10.
192 The Epistle to the Heb7^ews, [chap.
experience, both in his conversion and his sub-
sequent Hfe, force him In Hke manner into the
region and atmosphere of eternity. He who was
before a blasphemer, and a persecutor, and in-
jurious, obtained mercy. True, he had done it
Ignorantly in unbeHef. But not merely was his
Ignorance wilful, and his unbelief culpable, but
only the sovereign, free, and unmerited grace
enlightened the ignorance and dispelled the unbe-
lief; for, as he himself explains it, '* the grace of
our Lord was exceeding abundant with faith and
love which is In Christ Jesus." That is, faith
and love were given and implanted by the Lord
Himself. By grace was he saved through faith,
and that faith not of himself, It was the gift of
God. While this was to him a matter of experience
and consciousness, the grace which thus visited
him led still further to its origin. When the Lord
called \\\xs\^ He said that Paul was a chosen vessel
unto him ; and so the apostle, looking back on this
momentous crisis of his life, writes : " When It
pleased God, who separated me from my mother's
womb, and called me by His grace, to reveal His
Son in me." Hence he traces his conversion to the
electing love of God, even as salvation is a free and
perfect gift of divine righteousness and life. Thus
he writes also to the Thessalonians, " Knowing,
brethren beloved, your election of God. For our
gospel came unto you not in word only, but also
X.] The Epistle to the Hebrews. 193
in power, and in the Holy Ghost, and in much
assurance."
But look to the subsequent life of the new-
born soul. In the manifold trials and sufferings,
in the fluctuating and distressing conditions of
our spiritual life, in the fierce and subtle tempta-
tions of pride and of despondency, what is the
consolation, the encouragement, the cordial of
the Christian.'^ Is it not this: ''And we know
that all things work together for good to them
that love God, to them that are the called ac-
cording to His purpose"? And again, ''Who
shall lay any thing to the charge of God's elect ? "
And again, "He who hath begun a good work in
you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ."
And again, "The Lord shall deliver me from
every evil work, and will preserve me unto His
heavenly kingdom." Is not the election of God
that ocean of love which surrounds our earthly
Christian life as an island, and which we can
never lose out of sight for any length of time ?
Is it not our ultimate refuge in our weakness, in
our afflictions, in our trials ? Thus we ascend to
the eternal counsel of God, whether we consider
the character of the gospel dispensation in its
relation to the law, or the divine righteousness
and life through faith in the crucified Saviour, or
the work of grace in conversion, or the spiritual
experience of the believer. All things are of
II. o
194 ^^^ Epistle to the Hebrews, [chap.
God. Infinite love from all eternity purposed to
clothe us with divine and perfect righteousness, to
renew us unto an incorruptible inheritance, and
this through the gift and the self-devotedness of
the Son.
Of the eternal counsel of God, Jesus crucified is
the centre and manifestation. For, '' Lo, I come,"
was the voice of the Son of God from all eternity.
As the apostle had been speaking of Christ in
this whole section, it cannot surprise us that he
introduces (v. 5) Christ speaking, without specially
saying so ; nor can we wonder that a word of
David is quoted as the word and self-testimony
of the Lord ; for in this whole epistle the funda-
mental and all-comprehensive meaning of the
Holy Ghost in the prophetic word is everywhere
referred to, without dwelling on the mediating
person and circumstances, in connection with
which the passage originally occurs. Hence the
mind with which the son of Jesse, anointed by
God to be king, enters on his royal calling, and
which finds its expression in the 40th Psalm, is
viewed here as the expression of the eternal mind
of David's Lord, with which He entered into the
world. He came to offer unto God that which
sacrifice and burnt-offering could only shadow forth.
In the sin-offering, death, due to the offerer, was
transferred to the sacrifice ; in the burnt-offering,
one already accepted expressed his will to offer
X.] The Epistle to the Hebrews. 195
himself wholly unto the will of God. How per-
fectly, and above all finite conception, was this
twofold sacrifice fulfilled in Christ. The obedience
which He rendered unto God was perfect ; for it
was the obedience of the Son of God, commenc-
ing in His eternal purpose, to do the salvation-
will of the Father ; the atonement, which He
brought, was of infinite value and delight to the
Father, for He offered Himself by the eternal
Spirit.
The contrast is between the sacrifices and a
person. These typical sacrifices the Psalmist, or
rather Messiah, declares that God would not have;
now He offers Himself. This is the one offering
which is perfect, and in which God is pleased.
The Father prepared a body for Him. All creation
and providence centre in Christ* The election of
the Jewish nation and their whole history may be
viewed as the body, the channel prepared by God,
that through it Christ should come. But the chief
meaning is, that the humanity of Christ was pre-
pared of the Father, even as it was called into
existence by the Holy Ghost and assumed by
* On the translation of the LXX,, " A body hast Thou prepared
me," for the original, " Mine ears hast Thou digged or bored for
me," A. Pridham remarks : " The ancient translators, justly appre-
ciating the expression as a metaphor of personal devotedness
(compare Exod. xxi. 1-6), unwittingly furnished, in their very free
version of this passage, the exactest expression of a truth far
hidden from their sight. The Holy Ghost accordingly adopts it
here as a just interpretation of His own prophetic words."
196 The Epistle to the Hebrews. [chap.
Himself. The original expression of the Psalmist,
" Mine ears hast Thou bored," refers to the sym-
bolical act by which a slave, who offered himself
of his own accord to belong to his master, was set
apart to willing obedience of his freely-chosen lord.
It points out the same fact, of which the pro-
phets so frequently speak, that the Lord would
come, the Divine One, sent by God, the perfect
Servant of God ; one whose ear the Lord had
opened, who knew and loved and accomplished
the will of God, though it implied sorrow, shame,
agony, and death.* When the insufficiency of all
sacrifices had been proved, when the powerless-
ness of the law had been made manifest, in the
fulness of time the Sent One came to fulfil that
eternal counsel of which the volume of the book
— that is, the Scripture — had written. The original
reference is doubtless to the Pentateuch, the roll
of the law. Of this fundamental portion of Scrip-
ture it can be said emphatically, "In the roll of
the book it is written of Me." It is with peculiar
significance that Jesus said unto the Jews, ''If ye
believe not Moses' writings, how shall ye believe
my words ? Moses wrote of Me."t Ii^ these books
of Scripture, containing the basis on which the
whole subsequent superstructure rests, we have
unfolded to us the plan of salvation, beginning
with the most comprehensive and far-reaching
* Isaiah xli.-liii. t John v.
X.] The Epistle to the Hebrews. 197
promise of the Seed of the woman. Here we read
of the Seed of Abraham, in whom all nations
shall be blessed ; the Shiloh, unto whom shall be
the gathering of the nations ; the Star of Jacob,
whose shall be the dominion. In the books of
Moses we have many types of Christ's sufferings
and mediation. And as the books of Moses are
evidently the commencement of a series of records
of divine dealings with Israel, the volume of the
book has a more extended meaning, and refers to
the whole Scripture. The written Word of God
is thus connected with God's eternal counsel, and
the authority and inspiration of Scripture insepa-
rably linked with the most hallowed and tender
associations. Jesus, in all His acts and steps, in all
His struggles and sufferings, not merely fulfilled
the Scriptures, but, continually pondering them in
His heart as the revealed counsel of His heavenly
Father, arid as the infallible testimony concerning
Himself, His great purpose was to fulfil them.
See how, after His resurrection, Jesus connects
the counsel of God, the written Word, and the
actual accomplishment*
''In the volume of the Book it is written of
Christ ; " because Christ was set up from ever-
lasting in the counsel of the ever-blessed Godhead.
When we think of this, we see the connection
between our salvation and the eternal purpose of
* Luke xxiv. 44-47.
iqS The Epistle to the Hebrews, [chap.
God, the manifestation of God's glory, the Father's
good pleasure, and the Saviour's reward and
crown. We then begin to feel how much is
implied in the simple truth that God is well pleased
with the sacrifice of the Lord Jesus.
From all eternity God, according to His good
pleasure which He had purposed in Himself,
chose us in Christ, that we should be to the
praise of His glory.* Notice the expression,
"^good pleasure." It was God's eternal delight,
this purpose of self-manifestation in grace; His
counsel and election centre in the Son of His love,
in the Only-begotten. When, according to this
eternal counsel, and the Father's good pleasure, the
Word was made flesh, the whole life of Jesus on
earth was the manifestation of the eternal counsel,
the expression of the Father's will, and of the
Son's free concurrence, and therefore the object
of Jehovah's infinite delight. " This is my beloved
Son, in whom I am well pleased," said the voice
from the highest glory of the man Christ Jesus,
the Incarnate Word ; and again, on the mount
of transfiguration, " This is my beloved Son, in
whom I am well pleased ; hear Him."
In this elect servant the Father had His delight,
even as it was the meat of Jesus to do the
will ; that is, to carry out the salvation-purpose
of the Father. Knowing the will of God, He
* Eph. i. 3-10, especially 5 and 9.
X.] The Epistle to the Hebrews, 199
delighted in it. He never hesitated, He never
swerved. Perfect was His love, His gentleness,
His patience, His alacrity; perfect was His
manifestation of the divine purpose of love. He
went on from strength to strength. His was the
path which shined more and more unto the
perfect day — yes, day ; for that was the perfect
day of light inextinguishable, of love invincible, of
holiness unsullied, when the Father hid His coun-
tenance from Jesus, and He, deserted of God,
continued to love the Father that sent Him.
It Is a merciful arrangement of the divine bene-
volence that we do not see and know our suffer-
ings before they come, and that we are 'distracted
from the anticipation of sorrow and pain by the
varied duties, cares, and joyous gleams of our
lives. But our blessed Lord knew from the com-
mencement of His earthly ministry the sufferings
that awaited Him. Never for a moment did He
lose sight of the cup, the sword, the cross. Every
source of agony was present to His mind. The
enmity of the Pharisees, the ingratitude of His
nation, the weakness of His disciples, the betrayal
of Judas, were foreseen by Him from the begin-
ning. He foretold not merely His rejection, but
all the detail of His last days ; all the fearful fea-
tures of Israel's ingratitude, hate, cruelty, and con-
tempt. Yet He continued faithful to the Father's
will ; He abode in the love which had chosen
200 The Epistle to the Hebrews, [chap.
sinners to be redeemed ; He who was holy, harm-
less, and separate from sinners, was willing to lay-
down His life as a ransom for them ; He who was
higher than the heavens, and needed no sacrifice
for Himself, was willing to enter through His
blood into the holy of holies. Perfect Is the offer-
ing, because Christ's humanity Is perfect, because
In perfect liberty He laid down His life for the
sheep.
When Jesus offered Himself unto the Father,
and as our Substitute bore our sins In His own
body (that same body which the Father had pre-
pared for Him, as the channel of obedience),
Jesus, although made a curse for us, was unto God
a sweet-smelling savour, He who in the mysterious
hour of darkness had cried, *' My God," returns
again to the full consciousness and enjoyment
of that word " Father," which, In Its eternal and
infinite depth, belongs only to the Son. Knowing
that the Father was pleased, and that the full love
of the Father was resting on Him because He
laid down His life for the sheep, Jesus gave up
the Ghost. Then God raised and exalted Him,
for It pleased the Father that all fulness should
dwell In Christ. Now it Is according to this same
good pleasure, to this same eternal, free, Infinite
delight, that God calls and converts souls through
the foolishness of preaching ; that He gives unto us
the adoption of children, and the forgiveness of
X.] The Epistle to the Hebrews. 201
sins : it is the Father s good pleasure to keep the
Httle flock, and afterwards to give them the king-
dom and the glory, together with Jesus. It is all
in Jesus, for Jesus' sake, through Jesus ; it is all a
most joyous, free, loving gift, flowing out of the
innermost eternal depths of the Godhead ; and
therefore God says so emphatically, " I, even I, am
He that forgiveth thine iniquities; I, even I, am
thy God." God is pleased (that is, in the Scripture
sense of the word), God is infinitely delighted
with Christ, as the incarnate Son and as the Saviour
of believers. Here only is perfect peace. It is not
merely that we are forgiven, but that for Christ's
sake we are forgiven, through the God-pleasing
obedience ; it is not merely that we are acquitted
and declared just, but that God has brought near
His own righteousness, and clothed us with Christ
Himself; it is not merely that we are renewed,
but that we who died together with Christ, are co-
risen with Him, and that the God and Father of
Jesus is in Him our God and our Father.
How marvellous and heavenly is this salvation
by grace through faith ! Here all is gold, that
is divme. We are found in Christ, and where is
Christ found ? Where else but in the bosom of
the Father ? We have nothing but what is divine,
the righteousness, which is by faith in Christ and
which is of God, and the life which Christ the risen
Saviour has breathed into our hearts. And all
202 The Epistle to the Hebrews. [chap.
this, and we In all this, are a joy to God. Lo, I
come ! was the voice of eternal filial love and
obedience. How precious are we to the Father
- — the fruit of Christ's obedience, of that which for
ever is most precious and fragrant unto the God
and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Is there any believer who has received the
pardon of sin in Christ, and who yet goes doubt-
ing, mourning with a dull conscience, and with a
heart that is not filled with the sweetness of God's
peace } You cannot forgive yourself ; you cannot
forget your past ; you cannot overlook your con-
stant sins and failures, or cease to mourn over
your indwelling corruption ? By a strange duality
there is in your soul an elder son, who does not
understand why the prodigal should be arrayed
with the best robe, and that now only the voice
of melody and rejoicing should be heard ? Do
you not know that your frequent failures and falls
do not hinder His love, that His peace is ever in
you, though you are not always consciously in His
peace ? In Him as your representative and head
the Father is pleased. God calls you no longer
forsaken and desolate, but Hephzi-bah and Beulah.
And when you behold this eternal, never-varying
love of God which is in Christ Jesus ; that love
which was before time ; that love which gave up
the Son ; that love which shall keep you for ever ;
when you behold the love of Jesus, combining all
X.1 The Epistle to the Hebrews. 203
that is shadowed forth in the love of friend, of
brother, of mother, of husband ; that love which
bore your sin on the cross, which bears you now
on His High-priestly heart in heaven, which looks
on you with sweet faithfulness and pity after you
denied Him, then, though sin appear more loath-
some and bitter, rest and rejoice in Christ, abide
in the sanctuary, whither you have boldness to
enter by the blood of Jesus. He is ever the same.
There, where we doubt Him most, He is, if I may
so say, strongest. "We doubt not His all-wisdom
or His all-might. That He is all-love is difficult to
believe when we feel our grievous sin." Yet is this
His great (I had well-nigh said His only) grief
with us, that we do not always run to Him with
our burden, our unbelief, our many stains and falls.
The only punishment Jesus imposeth upon sinning
believers is, that they humble themselves to receive
His love, and to be beautified with His salvation ;
He is not willing that they should remain in the
gloomy night, but should return to the light of
His countenance. Let all who mourn in Zion,
turn constantly from the misery they feel, to the
blessedness they trust in ; from the sight of self,
fragmentary and sinful, to the sight of Jesus, in
whom we are holy and complete. While you
say, I am vile, and abhor myself, say in meekness
and faith, God delights in Jesus ; God delights in
me.
LECTURE X.
OUR PERFECTION.
Hebrews x. 5-18.
A GAIN we look to heaven, and behold Jesus
-^^^ seated at the right hand of God ; and again
with adoring joy we say, "He hath perfected for
ever by the one offering all that are sanctified."
He who said, " Lo, I come : in the volume of the
book it is written of Me," is now seated on the
throne of God. His very attitude proves that the
work is finished. Fulfilled are the types, imperfect
and needing constant repetition, and never bring-
ing true purification and access unto God. The
Aaronic high priest stood before the altar to
repeat the same sacrifices, which could not take
away sins. Christ has taken away and abolished
sin, and at the right hand of God only one thing
is before Him — His second advent in glory and
power. He is now waiting till His enemies are
made His footstool.*
* "From henceforth" might also be translated "for the rest,"
or "besides." Thus Kurtz views it (comparing Eph. vi. 10 ; Phil,
iii. I, 4, 8 ; I Thess. iv. i ; 2 Thess. iii. i) : Christ has finished the
X.] The Epistle to the Hebrews. 205
As under the Levltical dispensation, with its
constantly-repeated sacrifices, and the yearly en-
trance of the high priest, there was no true, real,
and final remission of sin, so now, since Christ
is seated in heaven, the apostle argues, it follows
that there is no more remembrance of sin. The
Holy Ghost Himself witnessed by the prophet
Jeremiah, that the new covenant was connected
with complete and eternal forgiveness of sin. If
so, there can be no more offering for sin. The
characteristic feature of the New Testament stand-
ing of believers is, that they are free from sin in
the sight of God, and that always and for ever.
*' No more remembrance of sin ; " because Christ
is seated at the right hand of God.
This is our sanctification ; this is our standing
before God. The sacrifice of Christ is perfect ;
it was based upon the eternal will of the Godhead.
The Son said, " Lo, I come to do Thy will ;" and
in the eternal Spirit He offered Himself, thus ful-
filling the salvation-will of God. The sacrifice,
flowing out of eternal and infinite love, possesses
absolute perfection, never-ceasing efiicacy. And
work of redemption. What is still wanting — the subjugation of
all enemies — He can await quietly till God fulfills the promise.
Christ is represented as sitting on the throne for ever (unless " for
ever" is taken in connection with the One sacrifice for sins), and
yet we believe that Christ will come to establish His kingdom on
earth. Kurtz remarks that in His second advent the Lord comes
on and with the throne of God, in His divine glory and power.
2o6 The Epistle to the Hebrews, [chap.
by this one offering we are set apart unto God.
"Jehovah our Righteousness" is the name by
which we call the Lord. In the Lord Christ are
we ever before the Father, and in the light and
perfection of Christ the Father regards us. Thus,
although sins constantly interrupt our communion
and our enjoyment of God's favour, nothing can
interrupt our position before God, or the repre-
sentative position of Christ, the Advocate with
the Father. Our righteousness is unchangeable
as it is perfect ; it, or rather He, is always before
the Father, and for us, and the Father Himself
always loves us. Access to God is always open ;
the sin-laden and defiled child finds always the
Father and the interceding Lord. Oh, it requires
much humility, and it makes the heart bleed in great
sorrow and contrition, to believe that while we sin
and forget God, the throne remains unchanged — •
the throne of grace ; that the love of the Father
and of the Son never varies ; that our Righteous-
ness and Perfection in the once offered Victim
remain always the same ; that He loves us with
an everlasting love ; that He hath redeemed us
with an everlasting redemption ; that He remem-
bers our sins no more ; and that we are always
before Him in Christ Jesus. Believers in Jesus
Christ rest in the eternal love of God. "It is good
to be here." Let us in the light of our chapter
dwell again on this high and comforting truth.
X.] The Epistle to the Hebrews. 207
True, the Son of God came in the fulness of
time ; in these last times the Lamb without
blemish and without spot was manifest, and was
crucified ; but He was verily fore-ordained before
the foundation of the world.
It was in time that we heard the call of the
Gospel, that we trusted in Jesus, and received
the adoption of sons ; but the Father called us
according to His own purpose and grace, which
was given us in Christ Jesus before the world
began.
Our salvation is of God, of the Father, who
chose us before the beginning of time ; and of the
eternal Son, who, in the deep counsel of the ever-
blessed Trinity, undertook to redeem us and to
bring us unto glory ; and of the Spirit, who in the
same eternal love was appointed to enlighten,
quicken, and renew the elect unto the blessedness
of the everlasting inheritance.
This eternal, absolute, free, and unchanging love
is revealed and given to us in the Lord Jesus,
who by one offering has perfected for ever all
who believe in His name. By His death He has
separated us from our guilt and death, and brought
us unto God. He has sanctified Himself for us,
and us in Him.* Believers have been sanctified
and presented unblamable before the Father in
the person of the Lord Jesus. The Father s good
* John xvii. 19.
2o8 The Epistle to the Hebrews. [chap.
pleasure or delight rests now on the people for
whom Jesus died.
Thus God is always beholding us in Christ, and
with eternal love. He beholds neither iniquity in
Jacob, nor doth He see perverseness in Israel ;
although we stand before Him in the brightness
of the all-revealing light. He sees us clothed with
white garments, and cleansed in the blood of Jesus
Christ His Son. And although we are constantly
failing and falling, yet doth He behold our faith
as never failing, and ourselves as firm as Mount
Zion, which cannot be moved, but standeth fast for
ever. With never-changing fervency and tender-
ness of love God beholds us chosen, redeemed,
sanctified in Christ Jesus.
Perfection is now given to all who believe.
God Himself is our salvation. Jehovah Himself
is our righteousness. Christ's inheritance is our
inheritance. The source is eternal love, self-moved,
infinite, ocean without shore ; the channel is free
abounding grace, the gift is eternal life, even life
by the Holy Ghost in oneness with Jesus ; the
foundation is the obedience of Christ, eternal in
its origin, infinite in its value, and unspeakably
God-pleasing in its character. How willing are
we to forsake our own thoughts, to give up our
own righteousness, to forget our works and feelings,
and to stand still, in awe and joyous adoration
beholding Jehovah bringing near His salvation
X.] The Epistle to the Hebrews. 209
and His righteousness ! " Of God are we in Christ
Jesus, whom God hath made for us wisdom, and
righteousness, and santification, and redemption :
that, according as it is written, He that glorieth,
let him glory in the Lord."
But let me remind you, believers, and let me
testify to you who are yet without the dear Lord,
how this eternal love came to us. In Jesus, the
Friend of sinners, the Good Shepherd, the light
of eternity shone with gentle and healing rays into
our hearts. The death of Jesus on the cross was
the open page, in which we read the eternal love,
the holy and yet gracious purpose of the Father.
The voice which called the heavy-laden and
weary ones attracted us, and He gave us rest,
and thus the eternal counsel was revealed to
us as babes. Stooping to our lowest need, and
declaring to us the forgiveness of sins, Jesus lifted
us up even unto the Father's house, and assured
us of mercy which is from everlasting to ever-
lasting. Jesus is that sweet bosom of eternal
love, where poor and needy sinners can rest ;
and in the wounds of Jesus, in His blood, we
read our eternal election, and the infinite love of
God to us.
And of this we have assurance in the Scripture.
Will not God's written Word suffice ? Behold,
Jesus Himself lived and died to fulfill what was
written ; and it was to His mind the same thing
II. P
210 The Epistle to the Hebrews. [chap.
to say, that the Scriptures are fulfilled, and that
the eternal will of God is accomplished. He not
merely meditated on the written Word of God
with constant delight, He not merely used the
Scripture as His one unfailing weapon against the
adversary; but He fulfilled the Scripture, because
in the volume of the book God's eternal will is
written. He went up to Jerusalem to be crucified
in order that the Scripture might be fulfilled. He
did not ask of the Father to send Him legions of
angels ; for how then would the Scripture be ful-
filled, that thus it must be } " The things that are
written concerning Me must be accomplished."
See then how Jesus regarded the Scripture as the
perfect, most reliable, all-sufficient expression of
God's eternal and secret will. What unbelief then
is it on our part not to recognize in the written
Word the very mind and will of God ! No
voice from heaven, no vision, no authority
can be compared with the volume of the book
which Christ came to fulfill by His death and
resurrection. If we could have heard the counsel
of eternity, the word of the Father to the Son, ere
time began, we could have no greater certainty
than now, when we listen to Scripture, the echo
in time of the counsel in eternity. God Himself
is here speaking ; the word proceedeth out of His
mouth.
Now as Christ said, "In the volume of the book
X.1 The Epistle to the Hebrews. 211
it is written of Me," to come, to live, to die, to
rise, so say, "In the volume of the book it is
written of me: Israel, thou hast destroyed thy-
self; but in Me is thy help ;" and again; '' I, even
I, am He that blotteth out thy transgressions ;"
and again, " Fear not : I have redeemed thee, I
have called thee by name ; thou art mine ;" and
again, '' Being justified by faith, we have peace
with God through our Lord Jesus Christ; and
again, " By one offering He hath perfected for
ever them that are sanctified."
Thus between Jesus and believers there is a
strong and tender tie which binds them to the
Scripture. Jesus believed and fulfilled the written
Word- According to that written Word, He
obeyed and suffered ; according to that written
Word, He hoped and looked forward to His
reward and exaltation. The last word uttered
by. the eternal Word on the cross was from the
Scripture. What a sure and blessed word of
prophecy is ours ! It came from God ; it Avas
fulfilled by Jesus, and sealed with His own blood ;
it comes to us through the channel of Christ
Himself; of Christ's faith, of Christ's prayers, of
Christ's inmost spiritual heart -life, of Christ's
broken body. We can rely on all its promises';
our faith builds on the very words of the almighty
and ever-blessed God ; and in this also are we
conformed to the image of His dear Son.
212 The Epistle to the Hebrews. [chap.
And this very aspect of truth, which has occu-
pied us of late, the eternal counsel, is revealed to
us in Scripture that we may have the more abun-
dant assurance of the divinity of this written Word.
Where but in Scripture do we breathe the atmos-
phere of eternity ? Where but here is God re-
vealed ? Oh, with what majesty, and yet with what
condescending familiarity, does God reveal Him-
self, and unfold to us His thoughts and His ways !
God reveals His infinite majesty. His ineffable
holiness, His sovereign glory, that the creature
may be filled with humility, and veiling his face,
adore with fear and trembling. God reveals His
truth and justice. His goodness and faithfulness,
His wrath and jealousy, that the sinner may
confess in contrition his guilt, and cry out of the
depths. But Jehovah delights in comforting His
people, and speaking to the broken and wounded
heart of Jerusalem. He desires truth in the
hidden part, and therefore, after convincing us
of our sin and wretchedness. He reveals His
overwhelming and abounding grace, the fulness
of His love, the grandeur of His salvation, that
the poor and afflicted ones may go forth with
perfect trust, with joyous self-surrender, to meet
the Bridegroom.
How touching is the sweetness of God!
Clouds and darkness are round about His throne,
and He rebukes Israel, and testifies to them
X.] The Epistle to the Hebrews. 213
of their hardness and iniquity ; but again and
again the deepest thought of God — that is, sal-
vation— and the never-changing method of God
— that is, mercy — burst forth, and with motherly
tenderness and comforting iteration. He says again
and again, Fear not, I am the Saviour. And
then He takes them into His confidence. He un-
veils to them His purpose, He speaks to them of
His cherished plans, of that future glory which
will be His joy and their blessedness. Behold,
He says, where and how I have prepared all for
you. Behold, my servant! I have made Him a
leader and commander to the people. He tells us
of that counsel between Himself and the Lord
the Messiah, and how Davids Son is to suffer
and to die, and how God is to raise and reward
Him, and to make Him Israel's everlasting glory
and the light of the Gentiles. And then the soul
is lifted above time, and its own thoughts, works,
merit, and strength^ into the eternal and infinite
love, the salvation of God, the joy of God.
And in Jesus, the Son of God incarnate, the mes-
sage is still more perfect, more simple ; He speaks
with the utmost plainness, without parable ; His
words are with such condescension, transparency,
homeliness, and sweetness, that the heart is per-
fectly satisfied, and all that is within us magnifies
the Lord. '' I came from the Father, and again I
go to the Father." This is all. I came, according
214 1^^^ Epistle to the Hebrews. [chap.
to eternal love, to die for you ; I go again to the
Father, that this eternal love may be yours for
evermore.
The soul responds with the disciples, " Now
speakest thou plainly." The eye is opened to be-
hold Him, ascended to His God and to our God,
to His Father and to our Father. We know now
that the love with which the Father loved Jesus
embraces us also, and folds us with everlasting
safety and Infinite tenderness. And the highest
mystery is unveiled : " I In them, and thou In Me.
I am the Vine, my Father Is the Husbandman, ye
are the branches."
The word '' perfected" falls with a strange sound
on those who are experiencing dally their sad Im-
perfections. But the Christian Is a strange paradox.
We are unknown, yet well known ; chastened, yet
not killed ; dying, and, behold, we live ; poor, yet
making many rich ; having nothing, yet possessing
all things. Let me speak to you then of this two-
fold aspect of the Christian. You may be caught
up into the third heaven, and yet the abundance
of this revelation will not burn up the dross that
is within you, or kill the old man, the flesh which
warreth against the Spirit. On the contrary, there
is the danger imminent and great, as there was to
the apostle Paul, lest you be exalted above mea-
sure, and dream of victory and enjoyment while
you are still on the battle-field, and called to fight
X.] The Epistle to the Hebrews, 215
the good fight of faith, to crucify every day the old
man, and to have no confidence, still less compla-
cency, in the flesh. The Psalms of David the son
of Jesse are not yet ended ; the Solomon period
of peace and glory has not yet come. A Christian
is known by his difficulties, struggles, conflicts,
tears, groans, as well as by his thanksgiving and
joy. We have died once in Christ, and in Christ
are accepted and perfect ; but our old nature is not
dead, the flesh in us is not annihilated, there is still
within us that which has no pleasure in the will
and ways of God. Painful this struggle will ever
be, though God is with us, and our joy is greater
than our pain. And thus while our soul is rooted
in God, in endless and changeless love, while we
dwell in God, in the secret place of the Most High,
and have by Christ been taken out of our own
misery and wretchedness into the home and sanc-
tuary above; yet are we kept in great humility, self-
abasement, watching, and painfulness. We have
in us the death of Adam, and we have in us the
resurrection of Jesus Christ. By the one we are
broken and tormented through sin, and darkness,
and sluggishness, and earthliness, and gloom ; by
Christ we are raised, and strengthened, and com-
forted. We sin, we fall, we carry about with us a
mind resisting God's will, criticising it, and rebel-
ling ; and we shall experience to the very last
breath we draw on earth, that there is a conflict,
2i6 The Epistle to the Hebrews. [chap.
and that we must strive and suffer in order to be
faithful unto death.
Hear how at the end of his journey the apostle
says of himself, not that he was, but that he is,
chief of sinners. Is he a saint ? He calls him-
self less than the least of God's saints. Is he an
apostle ? he adds, I am not meet to be an apostle.
So we confess daily our sin and our sins, and con-
demn ourselves whenever we appear before God ;
yet are we perfect in Christ Jesus. Deeper than
all our grief is the melody of the heart, and always
can we rejoice in God. And in this song of praise,
in this joyous melody, is our deepest humility ; for
the new song says nothing else but ''grace, grace."
His love is always resting on us, though He is
grieved at our falls, and has to hide His counte-
nance and to chasten us ; yet does He love us all
the time. Even while we are forgetting and for-
saking Him, His motherly pity and forethought
prepare our welcome, while His priestly interces-
sion keeps our faith from failing. Nay, His love
has ordered it, that even our sins and backslidings
should lose us no time ; for He deepens His work
in us, and through the bitter experience of trans-
gressions and of our own weakness leads us to a
greater sense of His love and to greater strength
of obedience.
And you, dear Christian, if you can believe this,
will find that it will make sin very bitter to you,
X.] The Epistle to the Hebrews, 217
and yourself meek and quiet like a weaned child,
and that you will wonder how such a one as you
can be loved by God at any time, and at all times,
without change and wavering. Then will your
heart fear and be enlarged ; you will be amazed
how God has kept you, how Jesus has prayed for
you, how the Holy Ghost has restored and com-
forted you for so many years, through so many
days and weeks of your neglect, and coldness,
and sin, and disobedience. You will be ashamed ;
you will not think of saying, your dross is con-
sumed, and that you see nothing in yourself, but
delight in Jesus ; you will say. Thy grace, Lord
Jesus, is sufficient for me ! The robes are white ;
but it is because He loved us and washed us from
our sins in His own blood.
Unto you also I lift up my voice in the love and
compassion of my Lord ; unto you who are still in
the horrible pit and in the miry clay, who know not
the royal clemency of the Sovereign God, eternal,
infinite love to the sinner; nor Jesus, who became
the sinner's Saviour and Brother, by taking upon
Him our nature, and by dying as our Substitute,
our Mother, bringing us forth by His soul-travail
and agony on the cross. What a multitude of sick-
nesses, sorrows, fears, and evils lie upon you, and
the remedy is near. There is forgiveness for sin,
there is deliverance from death, there is renewal
for the heart, there is the living God for the sinner
2i8 The Epistle to the Hebrews. [x.
in time and eternity. It is near you ; the Word
is in your mouth ; God's Word on which you can
rely. Behold Jesus ! saith God, He who came to
do my will, to fulfill my counsel for the sinner s
salvation.
LECTURE XL
FAITH, HOPE, AND LOVE.
Hebrews x. 19-25.
nPHE apostle's great argument Is concluded,
■*- and the result is placed before us in a very
short summary. We have boldness to enter into
the holiest by the blood of Jesus, by a new and
living way ; and we have in the heavenly sanc-
tuary a great Priest over the house of God. All
difficulties have been removed, perfectly and for
ever. We have access ; and He who is the way
Is also the end of the way; He Is even now our
great Priest, interceding for us, and our all-suffi-
cient Mediator, providing us with every needful
help.
On this foundation rests a threefold exhortation.
I. Let us draw near with a true heart, In the full
assurance of faith. 2. Let us hold fast the pro-
fession of hope without wavering. 3. Let us
consider one another to provoke unto love and to
good works, labouring and waiting together, and
2 20 The Epistle to the Hebrews. [chap.
helping one another" in the unity of brethren.
Faith, hope, and love — this is the threefold result
of Christ's entrance into heaven, spiritually dis-
cerned. A believing, hoping, and loving attitude
of heart corresponds to the new covenant revela-
tion of divine grace.
" Brethren," the apostle here significantly calls
believers. He does not mean so much '' his
brethren ;" but, including himself, he looks unto
the Lord Jesus Christ, in whom we are sanctified.
For, as he taught before, He who sanctified and
they who are sanctified are of one ; for which
reason He took upon Him flesh and blood. He
Is not ashamed to call us brethren. Thus we
who believe stand before the Father.
The eternal election - love of the Father in
Christ ; the present and everlasting delight of the
Father in the accomplished sacrifice, and in the
representative position of the Saviour ; the perfect
High Priestly mediation of the Lord, who remem-
bers His earthly experience, sorrow, and temptation
— these are now the bright and yet peaceful heights
to which we lift our eyes. And we have boldness
to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus ;
for the Holy Ghost witnesses,} that there is no
* It would lead too far from the scope of the passage to enter
into the connection subsisting between these three gifts of grace.
Suffice it to remind the reader of their frequent conjunction in
Scripture. Col. i. 4, 5 ; i Thess. i. 3 ; i Cor. xiii. 13 ; i Peter i.
t The expression [xaprvpel 5k ijfuv Kai rb irvevfia rb ciyiou is very im-
X.] The Epistle to the Hebrews. 221
more offering for sin, for the very reason, that
God, on account of the one offering of Christ,
will remember our sins no more, (vv, 15-18.)
There is now no barrier ; we have a free and
unfettered right of access.^ We are not as Israel
of old ; not even as the Levites, who were excluded
from the Holiest ; not even like Aaron, who only
once a year entered, and that in darkness, and
for a few moments; unto us is given boldness,
right, permission, to enter into the presence of
God; for the blood of Jesus Christ, by which
He entered Himself, opened the door to us also.
Jesus is both the way and the door, even as He is
also the end of the way ; and inside the door we
portant. It is in harmony with the teaching of our blessed Lord
in the Gospel of John, and with the Pauline teaching in Rom. viii.
and I Cor. ii. It brings before us the following important and
comforting truths :
1. The personality of the Holy Ghost, who searcheth the deep
things of God, of the Father, and of the Son.
2. The relation subsisting between the Scripture and the Spirit.
The words of Scripture are the testimony of the Spirit.
3. The Spirit witnesses to the individual believer in and by the
Scripture.
4. The gracious object of the Holy Ghost is to show us our
perfection in Christ Jesus.
Let us ever hold fast in a living and experimental faith the
doctrine of the Divine Authority and inspiration of Scripture, and
never be disturbed by high-sounding phrases of liberty and Spirit ;
for only where the Spirit of God is, there is liberty, and the Spirit is
with and in the written Word.
* It is evident that the expression irappiiffLa must be understood
here objectively, not subjectively, else the subsequent exhortation
would be unmeaning.
222 The Epistle to the Hebrews, [chap.
are brought again into His gracious presence.
That veil which hid the Holiest, which on the
day of crucifixion " was rent in twain from the top
to the bottom,"'^ symbolized the flesh of Christ. It
was in order to die that the Son of God took part
of flesh and blood, f The humanity in which the
glory of the Only-begotten was revealed was, in
its aspect of weakness and before His suffering of
death, also a veil, separating Him as Son of Man
and our Representative, as well as us, from the
holy of holies. But when He tasted death for
us, the veil was rent, and then Jesus with His
own blood entered into the heavenly sanctuary,
leaving an open w^ay of access unto all believers.
This is the new and living way consecrated by
Christ. It is called new,| for before the death of
our Lord no believer and worshipper was able to
enter thus into the presence of the Most High.
This "perfection," which pertains to the con-
science, this absolute confidence, this acceptance
in the Beloved, this standing in Christ, belongs to
the new covenant, though grace prepared and kept
the ancient believers under its safe and sheltering
wings. The way is called new, because the efficacy
and strength of Christ's atonement is ever the
same. As the poet says, not so much by the
power of imagination, as of faith, "dear dying
* Matt, xxvii. 51. f Heb. ii. 14.
X ■irp6s<paTos ; literally, freshly slain, means also accessible.
X.] The Epistle to the Hebrews. 223
Lamb ;" as Luther often said, ''It seems but
yesterday that Jesus died on the cross."
It is called a living way, because all that sym-
bolizes Christ must be represented as possessing
vitality. Thus we read of Him as the living
stone, and of the temple built on Him as grov/-
ing. Thus He speaks of Himself as living bread,
because He gives and sustains life to all His
people. Christ is the living way, for He gives life
and strength to walk by Him to the Father.
Christ actually brings us, in repentance, trust,
and soul - renewal, into the presence of God.
Christ is all, and the sinner is really and truly
transplanted out of the kingdom of sin, guilt, and
death into the kingdom of righteousness, peace,
and life.
But the second privilege, on which the apostle
founds the exhortation is, that Jesus is not merely
the way, but the end of the way, a living Saviour
within the veil ; the great, the all-glorious Priest,*
continuing in the heavenly sanctuary without in-
termission His priestly functions, interceding for
His people, and bringing each of us individually,
with our various need, infirmity, and sorrow, be-
fore the Father. He is the great Priest over the
house of God. By the house of God believers
are meant, f Christ, as the Son, the Only-be-
* Thus in Heb. iv. 14 Christ is called great High Priest.
t Heb. iii. 6.
2 24 The Epistle to the Hebrews, cchap.
gotten of the Father, and the First-born among
many brethren, is over His own house. What a
consoHng and encouraging thought is this, that on
the throne of God is Jesus, Head of the House,
and Head as Priest — merciful, faithful, sympa-
thising, Guardian and Lord, Brother and Friend ;
nay more. One with the people, for whom He
intercedes. And as Christ and the Church are
viewed as the One House, Habitation, and
Temple, so we know there is yet a future mani-
festation of the "place" which He is preparing
for us. He is gathering now a congregation
in the holy of holies ; He is building now a
spiritual and heavenly temple ; and when the
building is complete, then will be made manifest
the threefold meaning of the tabernacle — a hea-
venly locality — Christ, in whom dwelleth all the
fulness of the Godhead bodily, and Christ and
the Church, the tabernacle of God. *
Having thus received, through Christ's sacrifice
and Christ's present priesthood boldness, a full
right of access into the holy of holies, let us draw
near with a true heart in full assurance of faith.
"The term 'draw near,' in English, reads as a mere
general term, but as addressed to the Hebrews it
has peculiar significance. It is the term which is
applied to the approach of a priest drawing near
* Compare Matt. xvi. i8; Acts iv. ii ; i Cor. iii. ii ; Eph. ii. 19;
Rev. xxi. 22.
X.] The Epistle to the Hebrews. 225
to offer sacrifice. The privilege is right of access
unto God, the duty is that of approach ; and no
man values the right of access who does not desire
to approach. There can be nothing which really
satisfies the heart of any man in being told that he
is at liberty to approach God, if he has no inclination
to approach unto God." *
We can only approach with our heart, and by
faith, which has its seat in the heart ; with a heart
which is in earnest, true, and purposeful in this
very work of approach. What is meant by a
true heart .^ Sincerity towards God is not the
natural attribute of our heart. On the contrary,
the heart is exceedingly deceitful with regard to
God and to divine things. It requires divine
grace to give the heart sincerity and unity of
purpose. Only by grace can we say, I will seek
Thee with my whole heart. Only a whole heart
is true.
God desireth truth in the inward part. A true
heart is a heart which accepts the testimony of
God, which distrusts itself, which believes Godfe
Word, declaring our sin, guilt, and helplessness,
and which responds simply, and without reserva-
tion, humbly and joyfully to the divine gospel of
the gift of God, eternal life through the righteous-
ness of our Lord Jesus Christ. A true heart is a
heart purified by trust in Jesus. A true heart is
* Dr. John Duncan, Ser7notis, p. 395.
II. Q
226 The Epistle to the Hebrews. [chap.
a heart which desires to be with God and to live
unto Him. Thus, while we desire this "truth,"
and say,
" Oh for a heart to praise my God,
A heart from sin set free ! "
believing in Jesus, we possess the true heart,
" A heart that always feels the blood,
So freely shed for me."
A true heart rests in the mercy of God, and
allows God to be all its righteousness and strength.
It leaves itself to the heavenly Father, to the
Bridegroom, and to the Spirit, to make it an
abode of their glory, and to work in it of their
good pleasure. A true heart is never pleased with
itself, but is at peace, content that Jesus shall
be all.
What is meant by full assurance of faith ?
Nothing else but faith in full, vigorous, healthy
exercise. Faith in what ? Not faith in our having
faith, in our being accepted ; but faith that we
have a right of access, that Jesus is the living
way, and that He is the High Priest in the holy
of holies. The object of faith, of the weakest and
smallest spark of faith, as much as of faith in
plenitude or full assurance, is not ourselves, but
Christ in His person and work. That which I
am to be fully assured about, on which my faith
is to rest clearly and firmly is Christ, and what He
X.] The Epistle to the Hebrews, 227
is, and has done for sinners. Hence when timid
hearts say, I cannot draw near with full assurance
of faith, because I do not know that I have truly
taken hold of Christ, the answer is, You are to draw
near with full assurance of faith in Christ. It is not,
" Seeing therefore we have evidence that we have
been truly converted and renewed, let us in full
confidence of our possessing true faith draw near ;
but seeing that we have received right of access
by the blood of Christ, and that He is High
Priest over God's house, let us exercise full trust
in His glorious person and His finished work."
Christ alone is the object of faith from beginning
to end. Of Him we are to be perfectly sure, and
then trust ourselves to this firm foundation. '*We
are called to exercise faith, but we are not called
to look in on faith as a condition ; we are called
to exercise faith in looking out on the unmixed
promise of God, which yet can be received only
by believing." Therefore the apostle says at the
end of his life, '' I know whom I have believed."
From his conversion to his last moment he trusted
as a poor sinner in Jesus. Clearly and vividly as
his conversion must have stood before his mind,
indelible as must have been the impression of the
heavenly vision, yet he was never tempted to
substitute the reminiscence of grace received for
the personal and loving Saviour, for the new and
living way by which we constantly come to God.
2 28 The Epistle to the Hebrews. [chap.
Hence when the disciples saw Jesus' hands and
feet they rejoiced, for all doubt was removed.*
The eye does not see itself; faith is not to
stand on itself; your full assurance is to be that
Christ's blood is precious, and that He has entered
as the forerunner. Then you are at peace. Faith
means trust, reliance, confidence, leaning. There
is no other worthy of trust, none else reliable but
Jesus. But if you wish to have an additional object
of faith in your own progress and spirituality, you
are, like Peter, looking away from Jesus unto the
unstable sea.
Nor have I any other proof of my faith's
genuineness yesterday, but my exercising faith
* " In primitive times an apostle could take for granted of a
whole church that they all trusted. For, in writing to the Ephesians,
does Paul make a smgle allusio7i to their i47ibelie/? or does he em-
ploy a single exhortation in the way of persuasion to believe ? or,
from beginning to end of his epistle, does he hint at such a thing
as prevailing distrust ? No ; in those days Christian men no more
thought of refusing to trust in the Saviour than of denying the
Word of truth. But now, is it not a frequent case that a man shall
go by a Christian name, and practise Christian duties, and receive
Christian privileges for years together, while he is so far from trust-
ing in Christ with the confidence of faith, that he shall not only
confess himself destitute of trust, but shall often express a fear
lest full trust and confidence were an unwarranted and dangerous
presumption ? How strange this would have sounded in the apostles'
time, when to trust in Christ, and to trust fully and for all salvation,
was the very first exercise to which they called those who were
awakened to seek in earnest for eternal life, and received the record
of God concerning the way. The remarkable trust of the first
Christians gave a perfection to their character we now seldom
perceive."
x] The Epistle to the Hebrews. 229
this moment. It is an ever-present tense, '* He
that belie veth hath eternal life."
But, alas ! some who speak of not being sure of
salvation, and wish to be persuaded not so much
into assurance as comfort, have most likely never
had any dealings with God. They wish deliver-
ance from sorrow and punishment. They would
like not so much to be brought nigh to God, but
rather to have a title-deed, promising that they
are and must be unfailingly saved ! This would
be salvation without God. This be far from us.
God is our salvation. Our souls thirst for the
livinof God. We draw near in full assurance of
faith ; for Jesus died and rose again, and sitteth
at the right hand of God : we trust and are safe.
Nay, while we are afraid, like the Psalmist, we
will put our trust in Him. The feet may tremble,
but the rock on which they are set standeth firm
and immovable. Be not discouraged that you need
the constant exercise of faith, as if this argued that
you are not already accepted. " Being justified by
faith, we have peace with God through our Lord
Jesus Christ : by whom also we have access by faith
into this grace wherein we stand.^^
The exercise of faith alone keeps the heart true.
When we behold Jesus as the way and the priest,
there is no guile in our spirit.''' Thus have our hearts
been sprinkled from an evil conscience ; we have
* Compare Psalm xxxii. i, 2.
230 The Epistle to the Hebrews. [chap.
been freed from the sense of condemnation and
guilt; and we have been set apart to the service
of God ; for as the priests were set apart by blood
and water, so have our persons, '"* body and soul,
been washed by the virtue and efficacy of the
Holy Ghost, who applied to us the atonement.
This is signified and sealed to us in baptism ; and
the emphatic mention of the body [v. 22) reminds
us that the whole of our present life, with all its
activities and energies, is to be a life of faith and
heavenly-mindedness. The body belongs even
now to Christ ; and of this our personal sanctifica-
tion — body, soul, and spirit — we have the emblem
and seal in baptism, in which we have also the
pledge of the resurrection of the body. There is
" pure, clean water." Not the water which putteth
away the filth of the flesh, but the Spirit of God,
who alone sanctifies by the blood of Christ.f
Thus in the exercise of full confiding faith, in
sincerity of heart, and in conscious separation of
our whole persons unto God, let us draw near to
the Father, who loves us, and to Jesus our great
Priest, faithful and compassionate.
2. We are exhorted to hold fast the profession
* Rom. xii. i.
t The apostle refers to the inward and to the outward purifica-
tion as facts accomplished once for all. This is evident from the
whole scope of these chapters, and from the participles perfect.
A Jew who came to faith in Jesus, and was baptized, was trans-
planted into the kingdom of grace with body, soul, and spirit,
separated inwardly and outwardly to the life and service of Christ.
X.] The Epistle to the Hebrews, 231
of our hope without wavering. Before the first
advent behevers looked forward in faith and hope
to the good things to come. Believing the pro-
mise, they expected in hope the glory of Messiah's
reign. With us this unity of faith and hope is
substantially the same ; but it appears now in a
twofold manner. Faith rests on the past, the
accomplished work of Jesus ; hope looks to the
future, the return of our Saviour. And the more
we realize Jesus as the living Lord, the more shall
we look forward, waiting for His coming, and
going forth to meet Him. If we believe that He
has come, we also hope that He will come. If
we know the salvation - bringing grace of God
which hath appeared, we shall with confiding
hope look for the coming of our great God and
Saviour. Thus " the hope " is the most compre-
hensive view of Christ's relation to a believer.
Hence, when Paul said that ''he stood and was
judged for the hope of the promise made of God
unto our fathers,"* he spoke out of his inmost
heart A dead faith is without hope ; It does not
behold Christ living ; it does not desire Christ's
return ; it has never known Christ crucified.
We have been born again unto a lively hope.
We are saved by hope, and we are waiting for
the adoption ; that is, the redemption of the body.
If in this life only we have hope in Christ, if our
* Acts xxvi. 6.
232 The Epistle to the Hebrews. [chap.
horizon is limited by earth, if we do not look
forward unto the appearing of our great God and
Saviour, ours is indeed a miserable existence.
The profession of our hope is most practical
and testing. Hereby we profess that we are
strangers and pilgrims upon earth, that we are
seeking heavenly things, labouring for heavenly
rewards, laying up for ourselves heavenly trea-
sures. We must forsake the sins, pleasures, and
honours of Egypt ; we must purify ourselves, as
Christ is pure. If we profess hope, we must also
rejoice, though we be in tribulation ; we must view
the sufferings and trials of this present life as not
worthy to be compared with the coming glory.
Then hope, resting on faith, supports faith, and
fills us with courage and patience. " Till I come,'
is the voice of the Saviour, when faith beholds
His dying love ; and going forth to meet Him,
going forth out of the world's sin, bondage, gloom,
is the response of the bride.
Hold fast then the profession of your hope ;
and as God is faithful who promised, so let us be
faithficl to the hope. Let us remember that we can
only have one hope, one purpose, one God. Far
be every thought of apostasy, of faint-heartedness,
of hesitancy. Let us be strong and of a good
courage, and when the soul is cast down and dis-
quieted within us, let the spirit say, '' Hope thou
in God."
X.] The Epistle to the Hebrews. 233
3. But in thus drawing near unto God, and hold-
ing fast the profession of our hope, we must bear in
mind that we are called to be a brotherhood, and
that faith and hope are to be exercised in love.
We are the body of Christ, and members one of
another. We are to please not ourselves, but our
brother unto edification. The congregation of
believers is ordered of God for the exercise of
Christian love. We are to consider one another
as fellow-pilgrims ; to study our brother's need
and sorrow, difficulty and trial ; to exercise our
mind on our duty and relation to him, that thus
we may be helpful to him in his course, and
stimulate and encourage him to good works.
To consider one another in the right spirit is
to look above all at the Christian character of
our brother ; to regard him, not so much in the
light of his natural disposition ; to love him, not
so much on account of qualities congenial and
pleasing to us ; still less to exercise criticism, and
to cherish suspicion and uncharitable judgment ;
but to fix our thought on the one great fact of
brotherhood in Christ, as the apostle Peter ex-
horts, " Seeing ye have purified your souls in
obeying the truth through the Spirit unto un-
feigned love of the brethren, see that ye love one
another fervently with a pure heart, being born
again." We should dwell on their excellencies,
on the fruits of the Spirit which they bear, on the
234 The Epistle to the Hebrews. [chap.
features of Christ which they reflect; and every
good thing that we discover in them should be to
us as the voice of Christ, saying, " Follow Me."
We should thus be benefited by every, even the
humblest, Christian, and find it both easy and de-
lightful in lowliness of mind to esteem each other
better than ourselves. And running together in
a holy rivalry the same race, we should behold
in our brother features of Christian character and
activity in which we are deficient.
And in this spirit of love we should cherish
Christian communion ; '* not forsaking the as-
sembling of ourselves together." Christianity is
eminently an individual heart-affair ; but it is also
eminently social. The promise of Christ's presence
is to the assembly gathered in His name. As a
congregation we are to show the death of the
Lord. The voice of melody is heard in the
assembly of saints. We are to encourage and
exhort one another. " Let us remember to build
our inward service upon God's blessed gospel, and
to build up our outward profession upon inward
heart-religion, and social communion upon a per-
sonal profession of believing."*
In times of persecution or of lukewarmness,
Christian fellowship is specially important ; it is
likewise a test of our faithfulness. Are we
ashamed of the Lord, of His truth, of His
* Dr. Duncan.
X.] The Epistle to the Hebrews. 235
followers, of His reproach ? The Hebrews, It
seems, needed this word of exhortation, and the
apostle confirms it by the solemn addition, " For-
asmuch as ye see the day approaching." The
apostle refers, doubtless, to the approaching judg-
ment on Jerusalem, connecting it, according to
the law of prophetic vista, with the final crisis.
Because the Lord is at hand, we are to be patient,
loving, gentle, exercising forbearance towards our
brother, while examining with strict care our own
work.
The second advent of our Lord is the most
powerful, as well as the most constraining motive.
Do we hope to be with Christ and all the saints
in glory, and shall we not love the brethren, and
minister unto them, while we are waiting together
for His coming ? Do we expect Christ to acknow-
ledge us as His brethren, and shall we be ashamed
of Christ's members, or treat them with cold neglect
and indifference ? Have we all to appear before
the tribunal of Christ and to account for our
stewardship, and shall we not be faithful and
diligent in exercising whatever ministry is en-
trusted to us, as God hath bestowed unto each
one of us his own measure and gift ? Called
to eternal fellowship of love In joy and glory,
let us fulfill the ministry of love in suffering and
service, and let every day see some help and con-
solation given to our fellow-pilgrim.
536 The Epistle to the Hebrews. [x.
Christians ''see the day approaching;" for they
love Christ's appearing ; and to them the day of
Hght is not far off. Jesus said, '' I come quickly."
The long delay of centuries does not contradict
this ''quickly." Christ is looking forward unto
His return, and unto nothing else. All events
only prepare and further this great consummation.
And the Christians of every period recognize that
the mystery of ungodliness is already working,
and that our only hope is the return of our Lord
and Saviour Jesus Christ. Let this hope separate
us from the evil which is in the world, and
strengthen and gladden us in all our sorrows and
difficulties ; let it bind us together in the fellow-
ship and ministry of love. Let us exhort one
another daily by word and by example.
LECTURE XII.
WARNING AGAINST APOSTASY *
Hebrews x. 26-39.
nPHE apostle now confirms the preceding ex-
-■- hortation, first by a severe and solemn
warning against apostasy, and then by an affec-
tionate and hope-inspiring remembrance of their
past sufferings, and by the assurance of his
confidence in their sincere faith. Before con-
sidering the awful words of warning which the
apostle addresses here to professing believers, it
may be useful to refer briefly to some misconcep-
tions which prevent some readers of Scripture
from receiving in a meek and docile spirit solemn
admonitions of the Holy Ghost, such as the
present.
(i.) There is an undue and one-sided haste
to be happy and in the enjoyment of comfort.
We are apt to forget that God's great object
is to bring us and keep us nigh unto Himself,
and that our true and only blessedness is in
* Compare Lecture xiii. of my first volume on Hebrews.
238 The Epistle to the Hebrews. [chap.
communion with the living God. In our present
state, all Scripture consolation must contain exhor-
tation. We must eat the sweet Pashcal Lamb with
bitter herbs of repentance and self - abasement.
The man who received the gospel immediately
and with joy was right, both in at once accepting
the message and in rejoicing. Thus did Saul of
Tarsus, and the Ethiopian, and many others, who
brought forth fruit with patience. But herein
consisted the untrue and defective character of
his immediate joy, that it was not out of a broken
heart and in godly sorrow ; and thus there is a
morbid tendency, even among true believers, to
take joy and calm as a '' robbery," prematurely,
superficially, and of their own power. It is to be
feared that many who have never come truly to
Jesus are resting in false security.
(2.) There is a one-sided and unscriptural for-
getfulness of the actual position of the believer
(or professing believer), as a man who is still
on the road, in the battle ; who has still the
responsibility of trading with the talent en-
trusted, of watching for the return of the Master.
Now there are many bye-paths, dangers, preci-
pices on the road, and we must persevere to
the end. Only they who overcome and are
faithful unto death shall be crowned. It is not
spiritual, but carnal, to take the blessed and solemn
doctrines of our election in Christ and of the per-
X.] The Epistle to the Hebrews. 239
severance of the saints, given us as a cordial for
fainting hours, and as the inmost and ultimate
secret of the soul in its dealings with God, and
place them on the common and daily road of our
duties and trials, instead of the precepts and warn-
ings of the divine Word. It is not merely that
God keeps us through these warnings and com-
mandments, but the attitude of soul which neglects
and hurries over these portions of Scripture is not
child-like, humble, and sincere. The attempts to
explain away the fearful warnings of Scripture
against apostasy are rooted in a very morbid and
dangerous state of mind. A precipice is a pre-
cipice, and it is folly to deny it. *' If we Hve after
the flesh," says the apostle, "we shall die." Now,
to keep people from falling over a precipice, we
do not put up a slender and graceful hedge of
flowers, but the strongest barrier we can ; and
piercing spikes or cutting pieces of glass to pre-
vent calamities. But even this is only the surface
of the matter. Our walk with God and our perse-
verance to the end are great and solemn realities.
We are dealing with the living God, and only life
with God, and in God, and unto God, can be of
any avail here. He who brought us out of Egypt
is now guiding us ; and if we follow Him, and
follow Him to the end, we shall enter into the
final rest.
(3.) We must bear in mind that God in the
240 The Epistle to the Hebrews. [chap.
gospel, and in the outward Church,* deals with
mankind, and not merely with the " elect," known
only unto Him. The revelation of God in Christ
places the whole world, unto which it is sent, in a
peculiar position. It places professing Christians,
whether they be genuine or not, in a position of
most solemn responsibility. God alone can judge
the heart. A man professing faith in Christ, and
spiritual enjoyment of the truth, may be a hypo-
crite, or self-deceived, or in a state of temporary
declension and apparent death. The Word, the
message of God in Scripture, and through the
ministry, places the same truth before all ; the
character of God ; the only salvation in Christ
Jesus ; the necessity and evidence of the renewal
of the heart ; the final perdition of ungodly men.
The apostle, seeing the danger in which the
* The doctrine of the visible Church has of late years been
much overlooked by many, who are anxious to bring prominently
forward the spiritual Church of the regenerate and true believer.
But the position of professing Christians, of those who as children
of believers or otherwise have been brought up in the Christian
Church, is one of special privilege and responsibility. It is true,
that if the fishes are bad, their having been in the net will not save
them ultimately; but their being in the net places them in a
special relationship to God and the Lord Jesus Christ, both at
present and in the future judgment. The nations of Christendom,
it must be admitted by all, stand in a different position from
heathen nations ; and what is true of the nation, is true of the
individual. Whether he believes or not, the name of Father, Son,
and Holy Ghost has been declared unto him and pronounced
upon him.
X.] The Epistle to the Hebrews. 241
Hebrews were, places before them the awful posi-
tion of those who, having professed the knowledge
and enjoyment of the great and glorious salvation
by the blood of Christ, turn away from the Saviour,
and choose to live deliberately and continuously
without the love and obedience of Christ. For
such there is no more sacrifice for sin, and the
wrath of God, which abideth on every one that
believeth not on the Son of God, must fall with
more fearful severity on those who, having been
brought into contact with the love of God in
Christ — how near a contact we cannot judge, but
very near according to their own profession — have
forsaken the Lord and His service.
The doctrine of the whole Word of God is,
that the blood of Christ, the Son of God, cleanseth
from all sin. Even in the Old Testament the
expressions describing the guilt and aggravated
character of the sins which Jehovah is ready to
forgive are exceedingly strong and large, so that
none should despair, but turn in trustful repentance
unto Him who delights to pardon abundantly.
But the New Testament expressions could not be
more distinct and emphatic to show, that through
the blood of Christ there is forgiveness for sin,
sins, all sins, without distinction and limitation.
If it were not so, who of us could have any
peace or hope ? Ours are not merely sins of igno-
rance and weakness, but sins against light, and
II. R
242 The Epistle to the Hebrews. [chap.
against that grace which is given to us, and which
is sufficient to overcome sin.
It is evident that the apostle refers here to the
voluntary and determined choice of leading a sin-
ful and God-estranged life, which choice is made
by those who, having known to some extent, and
having professed to have experienced the grace
of Christ, turn away from the one and only Name
in which we can be saved. If under the law of
Moses death without mercy was the immediate
recompense of the wilful transgressor, how much
more fearful will be the punishment of him who
has treated the Son of God with contempt, and
hath counted the blood of the covenant, which for
awhile he esteemed precious, an unholy thing, and
has turned away the gracious Spirit under whose
teaching and influence he has been ? We know the
holy and righteous indignation of the Almighty,
who said, "Vengeance is mine ; I will repay." The
Lord will judge His people.*
Christ's sheep shall never perish ; all God's
children shall be kept by the power of God,
through faith unto salvation. It is by these stern
and solemn warnings that the elect are kept. We
know both from Scripture and sad experience,
that even true Christians are not exempt from the
* The quotations are from the book of Deuteronomy xxxii. 35, 36
(compare Ps. cxxxv. 14), announcing a special judgment on the
apostate. The apostle quotes the passage in Romans xii. 19 in the
same way, from the Hebrew, and not the LXX.
X.] The Epistle to the Hebrews. 243
danger of serious and protracted departure from
the truth and love of God. And lastly, we know
that men who were thought to be living and faith-
ful members of the Church have fallen, at first
into apathy and worldliness, then into heresy and
sin, lastly into most bitter and fanatical opposition
of Christ's gospel and flock. The apostolic epistles
themselves, especially those last written, contain
most melancholy and heart-stirring descriptions of
apostates. Such wretched men belonged to the
visible church, to the outward great house, and as
such they must be judged."
The warning is necessary, for the actual con-
dition of the Church embraces false professors.
It is necessary and salutary for all, for young and
weak believers as well as for the most experienced.
It is above all trice ; for the gospel reveals to us
the living and holy God, the earnestness and
jealousy, as well as the tenderness of divine love.
It is the humble and true believer who marks
these warnings and lays them to heart. It is he
who says, " Lord, is it I ?" And though some-
times he is betrayed into a despondency, in which
a subtle unbelief turns away from the grace of the
Lord Jesus, yet God comforts His people, and
* I John ii. 19; 2 Peter ii ; Jude 10-16. The expression, "fall
into the hands of the living God," used by humble and penitent
David (2 Sam. xxiv. 14), refers there to the divine compassion which
characterizes His judgment on His people. Here it refers to the
omnipotence and punitive justice of God.
244 ^'^^ Epistle to the Hebrews. [chap.
shows unto those who write bitter things against
themselves, that His thoughts are thoughts of
peace concerning them. Blessed are all who
tremble at God's Word.
The believer beholds the precipice of apos-
tasy, and clings close to God. He sees the
divine justice and the fire of God's jealousy, and
he prays to be delivered from all worldly affections
and idols. He sees the way before him, and
instead of resting on the enchanted ground, he
forgets the things that are behind, and presses on
toward the mark of the high calling of God in
Christ Jesus. He does not boast that he has left
the city of Destruction and spread out the fact of
his conversion as a tent to rest in, but the pearly
gates of the heavenly Jerusalem stand before the
eyes of his heart, and from beyond the gates he
hears the voice, '' Be thou faithful unto death, and
I will give thee the crown of life."
Mark now the bearing of our passage on the
mere professor of Christianity.
If we follow our deceitful and sluggish hearts,
we neither rejoice in God's promises, nor tremble
at His threatenlngs. The world knows not the
sweetness of divine love, nor does it stand in awe
before God's wrath. And professing Christians
also may forget that our God is a consuming fire,
and that we must either serve Him with all our
heart, or depart from Him as evildoers.
X.] The Epistle to the Hebreivs. 245
God sends now the message of peace ; but
this message rests on the full manifestation, and
not upon a change, of His character. And
hence the gospel brings to him who, in fear and
trembling, and with faith, accepts it, salvation,
blood-bought and wrought into us by a total and
central renewal of our hearts ; whereas it brings
to him who rejects it a fuller disclosure of God's
wrath, and a sterner announcement of everlasting
perdition.^'
The brighter light, the greater darkness ; the
greater blessing, the more fearful curse. It is
written, ''He that believeth shall be saved ; " but it
is likewise written, "He that believeth not shall be
damned." It is written, '' Blessed are all that trust
in Jesus ; " but it is also written, ''If any man love
not the Lord Jesus Christ, let him be Anathema."
It is written, "In my Father's house are many
mansions ;" but it is also written, that unbe-
lievers have their portion in the burning lake.
Capernaum was lifted up to heaven, because Jesus
had come to them ; but it shall be cast into hell,
because they rejected Jesus.
The wrath of God is removed from all who
believe in Jesus ; but does it not remain on all
who reject Jesus ? Is not their rejection of Jesus
the crowning sin of all sin ?
* It is worthy of notice, that the passages announcing the doc-
trine of everlasting punishment are chiefly in the New Testament.
246 The Epistle to the Hebrews. [chap.
He who, being taught the gospel, remains im-
penitent, unbelieving, worldly, rejects God. First,
the Father; for He sent Jesus. The Father has
no other message, no other channel of grace. In
not accepting Christ as the Saviour, the Father s
gift is despised. But the unbeliever, or the formalist,
rejects also Jesus. He counts the blood of the
Son of God an unholy, common, lifeless, power-
less thing. By this blood sinners are cleansed,
sanctified, brought nigh to worship, love, and
serve God in liberty of spirit and peace of con-
science. But he who, knowing of this precious
blood, is without prayer, without holiness, with-
out peace, is he not sinning against the blood of
Christ ? And lastly, the unbeliever does despite
to the Spirit of grace. For the Spirit is constantly
witnessing of the love of the Father in Jesus, of
the grace of Jesus in His blood.
Now, if under the dispensation of Moses the
holiness of God's good and loving law was vin-
dicated, how much more will they be thought
guilty who neglect the eternal gospel of the
divine love, the new covenant sealed with the
blood of the Son of God ? No sacrifice for sins
is on the path of unbelief; turning away from
Jesus, there remains nothing but a certain fearful
looking for of judgment and fiery indignation,
which shall devour the adversaries. This warning
has a bearing on all who are under the gospel
X.] The Epistle to the Hebrews. 247
dispensation. God has declared His name, He
has revealed Himself in Christ Jesus. And by
this revelation shall all men unto whom it is sent
be judged.
Now there is a very common, though unex-
pressed, misconception, that the gospel, instead of
revealing, modifies the divine character ; that in
the gospel God is represented as a less holy,
awful, and jealous God, than in the Old Testa-
ment Scripture. People imagine that in the
gospel there is nothing but grace and forgiveness,
whether they believe it or not ; whether they re-
pent and are renewed or not. Now there could
not be a more radical misunderstanding of God's
Word. The gospel reveals the righteousness of
God from faith to faith, because the wrath of God
is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness
and unrighteousness of men ; and to deliver us
from this wrath God has sent His Son, and
through His death provides righteousness for all
who turn unto God in repentance and faith. The
very salvation of God, the death of Jesus, reveals
to us more clearly than the law of Moses, that
God is just, and that even in the person of His
own beloved Son, made a substitute for sinners,
divine justice must be vindicated. The gospel-
revelation is therefore the revelation of God, the
only true and living God, of whom we read in
Moses and the prophets. There is but One, and
248 The Epistle to the Hebrews, [chap.
our God Is a consuming fire. In the book of
Revelation, given by the Lord Jesus Himself in
His heavenly glory to the beloved disciple, we
can read — and blessed are they that read with
reverential fear and unfeigned faith — that while
believers, who have washed their robes and made
them white in the blood of the Lamb, who have
overcome, shall be united with their adorable Lord
and Redeemer in everlasting joy and glory, the
justice, holiness, and truth of God shall be made
manifest in fearful judgment on all who do not
submit themselves to His one and blessed gospel.
In preaching therefore to the world we must
present both sides — life and death, glory and
judgment — the marriage feast, and the wrath of
the Lamb.
There is next the dangerous condition of the
lukewarm Christian. Through the deceitfulness
of sin, through spiritual sloth or pride, through
the allurements of the world, through the subtlety
of Satan, a Christian falls into a careless condition,
in which his spiritual perceptions, affections, and
energies are blunted. Prayer becomes a form,
and Christ mourns over a lukewarm Laodicean.
The most subtle and dangerous temptation for
such a one .is to fancy that he is safe in his
present condition ; that he may safely remain in
his present departure from his first love ; that it
is not absolutely necessary for him to go out
X.] The Epistle to the Hebrews. 249
and weep bitterly ; to repent and to do the first
works.
What reason has such a one to believe that he
is a true disciple, seeing that perseverance is the
test of true discipleship ? Does he not remember
that many received the Word with joy, and yet
did not endure, but fell away ? Why does Jesus
command us to remember Lot's wife, who was
lost because her whole heart had not left Sodom,
and she turned back ? Do we not read of
Demas, who, after being first a disciple, forsook
the apostle, and became enamoured again of this
present world ?
But I will change my voice ; for I am speaking
to the Lord's people, beloved even during their
faithlessness. Then tell me. Was it not better with
you in the days of your first love ? Was it not better
with you when you rested on Christ Himself,
when at the throne of God you poured out your
heart, and the peaceful answer of God comforted
you ? Or what unfaithfulness have you found in
God that you have forsaken Him ? Or where
is the bill of divorcement that God gave you,
saying that He would no longer love and cherish
you, and be your daily guide and blessing ?
Return unto the Lord ! When the soul awakes
from its slumber and returns to the Saviour, a
sweet and peaceful light rises within, truthful and
trusty, and he beholds the goodness and faithful-
250 The Epistle to the Hebrews, [chap.
ness of the Lord. The past and the future are
illumined ; for Jesus is with him, the light of life.
Then, as the apostle proceeds here, we call to
remembrance the former days, and look forward
to the coming of Christ. When we are brought
back into the current of life (not while on the shore
of worldliness and unbelief), we remember, even
as we feel again, our first faith and joy, and the
afflictions and tests we were then enabled to endure.
We hear a voice saying, " I remember thee, the
kindness of thy youth, the love of thine espousals."
And then the soul is able to praise God, who made
the outgoings of the morning to rejoice.
We remember our first confession, '* Thou art
the Christ ;" and the first salutation of the Saviour,
" Blessed art thou." Jesus says again to us, "Feed
my lambs," and '' Follow thou Me." And then
the end also appears approaching, Jesus Himself
returning with His glorified saints.
The believers in Judaea, who at first found
favour with the people on account of the evident
presence of the Spirit of God among them, soon
became the object of persecution. Their faith
was tested. In the death of Stephen, the death
of James, the brother of John, the imprisonment
of Peter, the whole congregation suffered, and had
to endure a great fight of afflictions ; they were
made a gazing- stock ; they became companions
of them that suffered for the sake of Christ. Paul
X.1 The Epistle to the Hebrews. 251
himself had been pre-eminently the prisoner of
the Lord ; before the whole world he bore im-
prisonment and reproach, because of his testimony.
The apostle reminds them of the grace which
had been given unto them to bear their cross,
and to sacrifice ease, honour, and possessions
for the sake of the gospel and the hope. It
is to encourage them to persevere to the end,
that after the seed time in tears they may reap
the harvest of joy.
Having thus reminded them in the tone of
affectionate recognition of their first zeal, he
concludes with the threefold exhortation : Cast
not away your confidence ; be patient ; live by
faith.
1. God hath given you in Jesus a joyous, child-
like confidence, that you can call Him Abba, and
rest peacefully in the love of the Saviour. You
trust Him, who is able to keep that which you
have committed to Him, your all, unto that day.
This confidence itself is the earnest of the future
inheritance. Faith is the forerunner of sight. As
you trust, so you will receive.
2. You have need of patience ; this is the time
of waiting, of watching, of conflict, of sorrow ;
many difficulties and temptations surround you.
But learn to be patient. Impatience is the result
of ignorance, but you know why and for whom
you have to wait. It is the result of pride, but
252 The Epistle to the Hebrews, [chap.
you are to learn of the meek One, who was lowly
in heart. Impatience arises out of an unbelieving
and desponding heart ; but through the Scrip-
ture you obtain patience and comfort, and hope
is kept alive. Impatience arises from under-
valuing the importance of the present ; but you
know that you are now doing the will of God,
and that your present exercises of faith and
your present sufferings are appointed by Him,
who values and rewards them. The duties of our
earthly life may often appear irksome and trifling ;
but as a faithful sentinel knows that his mono-
tonous work is an act of obedience to him who
has appointed him, and will release him at the
right time; as dutiful children and pupils persevere
with tasks which seem sometimes uninterestine
and unimportant, exercising thereby faith in be-
loved parents and teachers, so will the Christian
cherish patience and cheerfulness in fulfilling the
Master's will.
The necessity, importance, and blessedness of
patience are brought constantly before us by the
Lord Himself and by His apostles. Jesus speaks
of our bringing forth fruit with patience, and of
our possessing our souls in patience during great
trials and painful delays. From His heavenly
throne He notices and commends the patience of
Ephesus and Thyatira ; and to Philadelphia He
says, "• Thou has kept the Word of my patience."
X.] The Epistle to the Hebrews. 253
The beloved disciple, who calls himself companion
in tribulation, and in the kingdom and patience of
Jesus Christ, exclaims twice in the book of Revela-
tion, " Here is the patience of the saints."
The apostle Paul associates patience with hope,
with comfort of the Scriptures, with the God of
patience and consolation, with meekness and long-
suffering, with tribulation, of which it is to be the
blessed result. In the epistle of James patience
is represented as the fruit of faith's trial, as that
which perfects the Christian character, as the atti-
tude of the believer who waits for the Saviour, as
the exemplary quality of Job and the prophets.*
Quiet submission and persevering continuance
in well-doing under difficulties and conflict is that
will of God, according to which Christ's members
are to follow the Master in His humility and suffer-
ing. When Jesus comes, they who have thus done
the will of the Father will bear away triumphantly
the prize of their high calling, (v. 36.)
3. Meanwhile ours is the life of faith. Jesus
will come. As it is written in the prophet : " Yet
a little while" — how very, very little ! f — and He,
whose name is the coming One, will come. Now
* Rom. V. 3 ; xv. 4, 5 ; James i. and v.
t The reference is to Isa. xxvi. 20, and Hab. ii. 3, 4. In the
former passage, the LXX. translate a small moment ^iKphv 6a6v dcrov.
Messiah was called by the Jews the coming One. (Matt. xi. 3 ;
Luke vii. 19.) Compare Ps. xl. 8; cxviii. 26; Zech. ix. 9; Mai.
iii. I ; Dan. vii. 13.
254 The Epistle to the Hebrews, [chap.
the just live by faith ; but if anyone draw back,
my soul shall have no pleasure in him.*
To the prophet Habakkuk, the first and second
coming of the Lord were still coincident. He
waited for the advent of Jehovah to deliver Israel
from the Chaldeans, and to manifest His glory.
The ungodly were lifted up with pride and self-
reliance ; God's people cried in great anguish,
How long ? but in humility, in deep sorrow, in
sincere heart-dealing with Jehovah, asking Him
why He contended with His people, the godly
Israelite held fast the promise ; he trusted, and
this was his only and his true life. The prophet
and all the godly ones were sorely tried. They
saw nothing but violence, iniquity, strife, and
contention. '' O Lord, how long shall I cry,
and Thou wilt not hear ! " Surely they had need
of patience. And the Lord answered and com-
forted them by renewing the promise of His
coming, and calling on His people to exercise
faith, as the sole and decisive mark of the godly.
'' For the vision has a still future goal, and speaks
* The first part of this sentence is quoted from the prophet
Habakkuk. The addition is suggested to the apostle by the some-
what difficult and obscure rendering of the LXX., When he draws
back, my soul has no pleasure in him. The words added by the
apostle, correcting the current translation, give a meaning in har-
mony with the scope of the exhortation. Thus we have in this
latter clause, not so much a quotation as ati adaptation of a well-
known translation. A similar view is given by Calvin and
Hofmann.
X.] The Epistle to the Hebrews, 255
of the last time without deceiving. Though it
tarry, wait for it ; He will surely come, the coming
One ; He will not tarry." Unbelief and sloth see
delay, worldliness and pride mock, '' Where is the
promise of His coming ? " But the just shall live
by faith ; he beholds in faith the Lord's advent.
The sentence in Habakkuk is very concise, and
the apostolic comment in two important epistles ■'
brings out the fulness of the original meaning.
Who is the just ? We first read in Scripture of
righteousness in connection with Abraham's faith. f
Abraham is the father of the godly. Believers
then are the just ones ; and by faith they are just.
And the life which we now Hve is by faith, even
as the full salvation shall be given at the Lord's
coming to them that believe, j
And is not our position essentially the same,
though one of much greater privilege ? We are
placed between the peaceful light of the cross of
Christ and the glory and reward of the returning
Saviour. This is historically the God-given posi-
tion of Christendom, of all who have heard and of
all who profess the gospel. Be it ours to believe
* Rom. i. 17 ; Gal. iii. ii. t Gen. xv. 6.
X In the Gemara Makkoi it is narrated that David summed up
the 613 commandments of the Mosaic law in eleven (Psalm xv.) ;
Isaiah in six (xxxiii. 15 ; Micah in three (vi. 8) ; but Habakkuk in
one, " The just shall live by faith." {Delitzsch on Habakkuk, p.("£S
The author of this remark was surely not far from the kingdom of
God. Another ancient Jewish writer combines Psalm cxviii. 19 ;
Isaiah xxvi. 2 ; Jer. v. 3 ; and Hab. ii. 4.
256 The Epistle to the Hebrews. [x.
and to hope ; to look back in faith on the atone-
ment ; to look forward in hope to the glory. God's
people do not look and turn back. He who draws
back may appear to the eye of sense to be saving
his life ; but, as the Saviour often teaches us, who-
soever will hate and lose his life for Christ's sake
shall find and save it.* When Peter turns to look at
John, the Master says emphatically, " Thou follow
Me."f Let us follow the Lord, for '' God hath not
appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by
our Lord Jesus Christ."]:
* Matt. xvi. 25 ; Luke xvii. 33 ; x. 39 ; Mark viii. 35 ; ix. 24 ;
John xii. 25. This was evidently a saying which the Lord repeated
frequently.
t John xxi. 20-23. X 1 Thess. v. 9.
LECTURE XIII.
FAITH AND THINGS HOPED FOR AND UNSEEN.
Hebrews xi. i.
nPHE pre-eminence of faith is kept in view
■^ throughout this whole epistle, which the
writer himself describes as a word of exhortation.
For this purpose the apostle unfolds the glory of
the Lord Jesus -as the great Mediator in the
heavenly sanctuary, that the Hebrews may con-
tinue in the faith, considering the great Apostle
and High Priest of our profession, drawing near in
full confidence to the throne of grace, realizing
the true, substantial blessings of the new cove-
nant, and waiting for the promised return of their
Lord. Unbelief was the reason why the Jews,
with whom God was grieved, could not enter into
rest : if we believe not, as Isaiah had testified, we
cannot be established. The apostle warned the
Hebrews by the most solemn and awful arguments
from their own Scriptures against unbelief. But
as he exhorts them most earnestly, so he hopes
also in the exercise of deep affection that they
belong not to them who draw back unto perdition,
II. . s
258 T/ie Epistle to the Hebrews. [chap.
but that they are of the true disciples who beUeve
to the saving of the soul.
Live then by faith ; for only by faith is it
possible for the just to live. The things hoped
for and the things not seen, which are now made
manifest in full perfection by the gospel of Christ,
can only be realized by faith, even as it was by
faith that all the godly, since the beginning of the
world, lived and suffered, obeyed and conquered.
In order to encourage, stimulate, and comfort
them in the midst of trial and temptation, he
brings before them in rapid but most vivid and
comprehensive sketches the history of the fathers,
whom they regarded with the profoundest rever-
ence and affection, showing them that theirs also
as the life of faith. What was their greatness,
but that they were men of God ? and what made
them men of God, but that they believed God, and
waited for the fulfilment of His promise ? Faith
was the characteristic feature of all the saints. It
is the attitude of heart, without which there is
no communion with God, and without which we
cannot please Him. The apostle gives therefore
the most comprehensive definition of faith, de-
scribing the radical and essential disposition of
heart Godwards, in whatever dispensation men
lived, both before the first advent and in the
Church period. It consists at all times in a
firm confidence of unseen and future realities.
XL] The Epistle to the Hebrews. 259
There are things hoped for in the future, in
eternity ; there are things not seen, both past and
present. The latter expression is more compre-
hensive than the former. The second advent, our
resurrection and glory, are future things hoped for ;
God, as the creator and upholder of all things, and
all spiritual truths and heavenly realities, belong
to the unseen, of which faith alone can have
assurance. The heart of man, although since the
fall gravitating towards the things which are seen
and which are present, is never satisfied with the
visible and temporary, but cannot rest except in
the spiritual and eternal. God of His great mercy
hath revealed unto us the things of God ; eternal
and spiritual realities have been manifested by
God's Spirit. There is a divine revelation ; the
things which man's reason cannot discern or his
imagination and intuition discover, have been
un vailed. God revealed Himself, He spoke unto
the fathers, and His revelation contained always a
promise of future and never-ending blessings, as
well as a manifestation of present spiritual and
heavenly realities. The victory of the seed of the
woman over the serpent was a future thing, the
object of hope ; the manifestation of Jehovah's
holy love, combining mercy with judgment, was
the manifestation of a present, though unseen,
spiritual reality. The promise of the seed, in
whom all nations are to be blessed, was a future
26o The Epistle to the Hebrews. [chap.
thing ; the assurance, ** I am thy God, walk before
Me," revealed a present unseen but much real
blessedness. Now all communion with God was
based upon the divine revelation of things hoped
for, and things not seen.
How is this revelation received ? What is
the eye that sees, the organ that beholds and
appropriates this gift ? Faith is the eye that
beholds the King in His beauty, and that sees
the land that is afar off. Not man's intellect,
not man s imagination, not man's conscience ; all
these become indeed most deeply, radically, and
thoroughly the servants of faith ; but that which
discerns and beholds spiritual realities and appro-
priates them, that which beholds future blessings,
and so grasps and cherishes them as to prefer
them to things visible, and to make them the
object and joy of life, is what Scripture calls
faith.
Now faith appears at first sight a very simple
thing ; it is nothing else but receiving the Word
of God. We know what it is to receive the word
of a man, to believe statements, though strange
and surpassing our experience, because we regard
the character of him who makes them with respect
and confidence. Faith in God's Word is receiving
God's testimony. But then, remember, as God is
greater than man, as God's Word is heaven-high
above any human word, so the reception of this
XL] The Epistle to the Hebrews. 261
Word, the believing of this Word, is necessarily
something quite different from the reception of
any human word or testimony. As is the voice,
so is the echo ; as is the seal, so is the impression ;
as is the word, or revelation, so is the faith. The
divine Word produces in the heart of man faith,
which is divine in its nature and power. When
God speaks, when God discloses to the soul the
world of spiritual realities and of future blessings,
this very word of His creates within the soul
a new world of fear, shame, contrition, desire,
reverence, longing, hope, trust, which no other
word could call forth, perfectly unique in its
character, as God's word is unique in its character.
To assent to the Word of God is therefore to
enter into a perfectly new life, a perfectly new^
mode and power of existence. Nothing but God's
w^ord could ever have called forth that which we
call faith, and God's v/ord. Spirit-given as it is,
only when vitalized by the same Holy Ghost.
Where then is the seat of faith 't Not m the
intellect, which sees the logical connection or the
historic evidence ; not in the imagination, w^hich
recognizes the beauty and organic symmetry, and
reproduces the picture ; not in the conscience,
which testifies to the righteousness and truth of
the revelation ; but in a something which lies
deeper than these, in which all these centre, and
to which all these return. With the heart, as the
262 The Epistle to the Hebrews. [chap.
Scripture teacheth, man believeth. There, whence
are the issues of Hfe, emotional, intellectual, moral,
spiritual, in that secret place, to which God alone
has access, God's word, as a seed, begets faith ;
God's word, as a light, kindles light, and the man
becomes a believer. Believer describes the whole
man. This is the characteristic and the power of
the new life — we believe in God.
See then how mistaken those are who fancy-
faith to consist in the mere assent of the under-
standing to doctrines and facts, seen to be true on
sufficiently evidenced authority. See how no man
can give faith to another ; how the mere recep-
tion by reason, or sentiment, or fancy, of clear and
pathetic statements of gospel truth is not faith.
Without desiring the things future, without turn-
ing in sorrow and self-condemnation to the unseen
God — revealed without the heart clinging in trust-
fulness to God the Saviour — there is no faith.
God speaks to the heart of Jerusalem, and faith is
the heart hearing and responding.
In this faith, called forth by the Word of God,
and brought forth by the influence of the Holy
Ghost, there is from its very birth and commence-
ment an element of certainty, conviction, light,
which transcends the certainty of the senses or of
the intellect. Human argumentations deal gene-
rally with words, abstractions, vessels of mere
formal conceptions. God's Spirit reveals to us
XI. 1 The Epistle to tlie Hebi^ews. 263
the things of God, and the things of God which
are given to us ; so that from the river which flows
into our heart and lives, according to the promise
of Jesus, we know with perfect certainty the eternal
fountain of divine love, and the infinite ocean of
endless blessedness, towards which we hasten.
Where in the whole realm of thought and feeling
is there anything to compare with the Christian's
'* I am persuaded that nothing can separate me
from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus " ?
Hence he who believes says, I know ; or he says,
I believe, and am sure, that thou art the Christ.
When God speaks to the soul, and the soul, giving
up its own judgment and thoughts, receives in
humility the testimony of God, faith stands in the
power of God. The Spirit demonstrates, that is,
shows as realities the things of God. Faith is the
evidence, the clear and all-sufhcient demonstra-
tion,* of things not seen ; and it is an assured con-
* The apostle uses here a term which occurred in his day often
in philosophy ; the more so as the thing itself is wanting in all
human metaphysics, proof, evidence, or demonstration which meets
all objections and admits no doubt. Philosophy has no such
demonstration of things invisible and unknown ; it cannot give
such certainty ; the divine testimony brings with it such inward
conviction ; faith resting on divine testimony possesses such
certainty. — Menken, Honiilien icber Heb. xi.
Human reasoning loves to give itself the appearance of perfect
originality, and every new metaphysical system appears with some
degree of assumption of having arisen out of the depths of a human
mind and of being built up by necessary laws of thought. Per-
haps nothing so fascinates and entangles young minds as this
264 The Epistle to the Hebrews. [char
fidence in the fulfilment of things hoped for ; so
much so that \}^^ power and comfort of the future
is even now realized, though it doth not yet appear
what we shall be : faith stedfastly anticipates the
fulfilment and possesses the substance. * Do not
look upon assurance of faith, as it is called, as a
subsequent addition to the original faith which
first grasps the promise ; all faith, and be it but
as a grain of mustard seed, possesses the God-
given certainty, trust, conviction, light. '' O God,
Thou art my God ; I will put my trust in Thee."
Thus all the children of God lived by faith.
They knew Gods character; they believed His
promise, "Ye shall be as God, knowing good and evil." Hamann
refers to' this when he asks : Is your whole human reasoning any-
thing else but tradition ? and does it require much to trace the
succession of your bare and twice-dead opinions to the root of your
genealogical tree ?
* The expression vToarains, substance, is used (i) in the sense of
essence (Heb. i. 3), and (2) in the sense of confidence. (Heb, iii. 14 ;
also 2 Cor. ix. 4, xi. 17.) Taken in the latter sense, the meaning of
the passage would be, that faith is a standing, confiding expectation
of future things, which as ifuture are objects of hope. But the ex-
pression seems also to suggest the other aspect of faith, as realizing
and possessing, even in the present, the blessings and powers of
the future. The expression '^Xe-^x^^^ teaches that faith itself is to
the believer a sure argument of the reality of those things which
cannot be seen, or which cannot otherwise be discerned. An in-
teresting passage is quoted by Delitzsch from Dante, Paradise,
xxiv. [on faith, a paraphrase of Heb. xi. i. His words, in reply
to the question how he obtained faith, are also memorable : " The
flood, I answered, from the Spirit of God rained down upon the
ancient bond and new. Here is the reasoning that convinceth
me so feelingly ; each argument beside seems blunt and forceless
in comparison."
XL] The Epistle to the Hebrews. 265
mighty works in creation ; they rejoiced In His
presence ; they realized the future blessings He
promised. Israel beheld God, the invisible, and
they waited for the Messiah. This was their
whole life. This is the explanation of their self-
denial, courage, patience. Though the present
and actual condition was full of reproach and suf-
fering, yet they knew God was theirs, and the
future glory and inheritance remained secure.
What shall we say of our father Abraham, and
of his children ? What else but that they were
believer's, receiving the promises by faith, even as
by faith they realized the ever-present Jehovah ?
And just as the first mention of priesthood In
Scripture is not in connection with the Levitical
successlonal priesthood, but with Melchisedec, type
of the Son of God, the true, real, personal Priest,
so the word "righteousness," it occurs for the
first time in the book of Genesis, as the apostle
Paul notices exultingly, not in connection with law
and works, but with grace and faith. Abraham
believed God, and it was counted to him for
righteousness, and this golden sentence shines
forth again in the pregnant declaration of the pro-
phet Habakkuk, ''The just shall live by faith;"
and again in the fulness of the Pentecostal light
Habakkuk's word is illumined in the epistles to
the Romans and to the Galatlans, and in our
chapter, where the whole Old Testament history
266 The Epistle to the Hebrews. [chap.
is described as the history of men who Hved by
faith, confidently expecting things hoped for, and
fully assured of the reality of things unseen.
But if the glory of the old covenant was great,
much greater is the glory of the new dispensation.
Greater and better thingrs were reserved for us.
Israels future was the advent of Messiah, the
descent of Jehovah — the coming of their king
David, to give glory to Israel and light to the
Gentiles ; and Israel's unseen things were the
salvation truths manifested in type and prophecy,
in God's words and dealings. But contrast with
this our position. Our future, though compre-
hending Israel's, contains new and peculiar
elements. Messiah's first advent is past. Accom-
plished is His exodus at Jerusalem,* finished His
work in Golgotha ; as Son of man He is now
enthroned at the Father's right hand ; and we
expect Him now to return to receive His bride,
that we may be glorified together with Him. To
us it is said, *' Go ye forth to meet the Bride-
groom ; " to us it is announced, '' This same Jesus
shall so come again in the clouds of heaven."
Now that the incarnation and the death and
ascension of the Son of God have been accom-
plished, how much brighter is our hope ! how much
clearer and more blessed are the things hoped for,
and the things not seen! For if, like Stephen, dead
* Luke ix. 31.
XL] The Epistle to the Hebrews, 267
to the world and filled with the love of Christ, we
look stedfastly towards heaven, we see the glory of
God, and Jesus at the right hand of the Father.
This was the great object of our epistle, to reveal
the things not seen, the glory and grace of the
heavenly sanctuary. The throne of grace, the
blood of Christ, the intercession of the Saviour,
the spiritual blessings in heavenly places, are
the things unseen ; Christ's coming again, and we
manifest with Him in glory, things hoped for.
It is clear why in this epistle the apostle gives
such a general and comprehensive view of faith.
The question of justification and santification is
not before him. Christ the Priest, heaven the*
holy of holies, believers for ever perfected in Jesus,
this is the all-important point towards which all
his arguments tend ; hence faith, and faith in its
most general or root-sense, as beholding unseen
and future things, is the great and constant theme
of his exhortation.
We also need the faith explained in the epistles
to the Romans and Galatians, to be deepened and
quickened as well as tested by the faith explained
in this epistle. The sinner, first brought to a
knowledge of his guilt and misery, beholds the
Lamb of God ; through faith in His blood he is
justified and filled with joy and peace, and this by
the power of the Holy Ghost. This is indeed
the very centre of faith, and that to our very
268 The Epistle to the Hebrews, [chap.
last breath. But If we are really to continue In com-
munion with God, to obey and to suffer, to work
and to conquer, we must learn also the circum-
ference of faith, beholding the things which are
unseen and eternal : through Jesus we believe In
God, we have our citizenship In heaven.
Faith Is what Jesus sought In Israel ; and when
the Son of man cometh again He asks, Shall He
find faith on the earth ? How often did Jesus
says, " Go In peace, thy faith hath saved thee ! "
Only believe! Is His word of consolation as well
as rebuke. And how harmonious Is the testimony
of the apostles. Peter cannot leave Jesus, because
*he believes and Is sure that Jesus Is the Christ,
the Son of the living God ; faith in the name
of Jesus was what he preached in Jerusalem.
" Whosoever belleveth In Him shall receive re-
mission of sins," Is his message when he opens
the door to the Gentiles in the house of Cornelius.
Faith was also the result of his preaching, as he
writes, *' Whom having not seen, ye love ; In whom,
though now ye see Him not, yet believing, ye
rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory."
In like manner John, the beloved disciple. Not
even the apostle Paul gave a fuller and deeper
testimony to the pre-eminence of faith. True,
he was called to point out the relation between
faith and works, law and gospel, the dispensation
of Moses, and the dispensation of the Spirit, and
XI.] The Epistle to the Hebrews. 269
hence for teaching and convincing men, the Jews,
the self-righteous, the natural man in general, we
must always go to the Pauline epistles. But the
nature, essence, power, and victory of faith are
nowhere described with such clearness and energy
as in the writings of John. Let me remind you
of a few of his golden words : " To as many as
received Him, to them gave He power to become
the sons of God, even to them that believe on
His name : which were born, not of blood, nor of
the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but
of God." " Whosoever believeth that Jesus is the
Christ is born of God." Faith is here represented
as the gift of God, inseparably connected with the
new birth and divine Sonship. Think again of
the many declarations in his gospel in which the
Lord connects faith with the (present and imme-
diate) possession of eternal life.''' Then again the
indwelling of God in us and our indwelling in
God, and the witness of the Spirit, are connected
with faith, t Again, if we beheve in Jesus, the
Lord says, rivers of living water shall flow out
of us, or the Spirit of God shall be given to us
abundantly, so that, filled with the Holy Ghost,
our words, influence, and works will be like fer-
tilizing streams. And in like manner, if we believe,
we shall do the same works which Christ did, and
greater works, because the glorified Son of man
* John iii. i6, v. 24, xi. 25. t i John iv. 15, v. 10.
270 The Epistle to the Hebrews. [chap.
is now with the Father.* Again, faith is described
as the victory which overcometh the world.
We see that Scripture speaks thus of faith in a
very deep and comprehensive manner, and that it
is indeed a wonderful, mysterious, powerful grace
given of God. Inseparably connected with eternal
life, the indwelling of God, the witness of the
Spirit, the victory over the world, and the imita-
tion of Christ. Such a view may at first discourage
anxious and seeking souls. Let them remember
that it is their need and guilt, and nothing else, to
which the words of the Lord Jesus and His call
are addressed.
Have we faith ? We say, we need a stronger
degree of faith. Yet Jesus says, when the dis-
ciples ask Him to increase their faith, '' If ye had
faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye should say to
this mountain. Be thou removed, and be thou cast
into the sea, and it should be done." t We say
that we have weak faith, because we are yet babes
in knowledge, and have discovered yet little of
the treasures of divine revelation ; but Jesus says,
" Have faith in God." \ The most elementary
truth is sufficient. Realize God's power and love.
We need not so much deeper knowledge, as faith
in the simplest truths. We say that we have not
the faith of some of God's eminent servants, yet
* John vii. 38, xiv. 12. t Luke xvii. 6.
X Mark xi. 22.
XI.] The Epistle to the Hebrews. 271
Jesus says, " Whosoever'' (not merely an apostle or
prophet) "shall say unto this mountain, Be thou
removed, and be thou cast into the sea ; and shall
not doubt in his keart, but shall believe that those
things which he saith shall come to pass ; he shall
have whatsoever he saith." '' But let us remember
for our comfort the great distinction between a
dead or vain faith, and weak or little faith. The
Lord rebukes the fearfulness and doubting of
sincere disciples, yet He rebukes also the storm,
and delivers His people from all their fears. \
True faith takes hold of the divine Word ; it is
weak or strong, great or small, as it receives,
keeps, and uses the Word of God. Abraham
staggered not at the word of promise through un-
belief, though it was a word most difficult, nay,
impossible, for reason to receive, and thus Abra-
ham was strong in faith. The source of weak
faith is in the ignorance and slowness of the
heart in reference to the divine testimony. The
strength of faith is the humility of a helpless and
broken heart cleaving to the promise. Worm
Jacob becomes Israel ; and a poor Syrophenician
woman is transplanted ''from the utmost corner
of the land " to the foremost place by the Master's
word, " O woman, great is thy faith !"
There was one who, next to the apostles, was
perhaps the greatest gift of God to the Church,
* Mark xi. 23. t Matt. viii. 24 ; xiv. 31.
272 The Epistle to the Hebreivs. [xi.
whom we all admire for his faith. And yet
Martin Luther was wont to say, " Oh, If I had
faith ! If I could only believe that God is the
Creator! If I could only say in faith, Our
Father ! " And often he confessed, that unless
every day he read the Scriptures, and meditated
on Christ, and repeated the Creed, and prayed the
Psalms, his heart became dead and cold, full of
dark and hard thoughts of God, and of dreary
and tormenting doubts and fears. Let us dwell
then on Christ; let us consider Him in stedfast,
diligent, frequent meditation ; let the Word of
Christ dwell richly in our hearts, minds, and
homes. Let us connect the world of unseen
and future realities with our walk and conduct,
with our daily duties and trials. Let the life
which we now live in the flesh — our present
earthly life, with its work and trouble — be a
life of faith. Things hoped for, Jerusalem the
golden, and the constant presence of the Prince ;
things not seen, the throne of God and the great
High Priest, the spiritual blessings in heavenly
places — think of these things in your hearts, and
with full purpose of will, all ye who sit by BabeFs
streams, with your harps on the willows ; and
though strangers and pilgrims, you will be able
to sing the song of faith, you will go on from
strength to strength.
LECTURE XIV.
FAITH IN GOD THE CREATOR.
Hebrews xi. 3.
"IVTOW abideth faith, hope, love, these three."
■^ ^ The apostle Paul has described the nature
and power of these three fundamental, abiding,
and inseparable gifts of grace in three chapters,
which shine forth as bright stars in the firmament
of Scripture.
Writing to the Corinthians, who were enriched
in all utterance and in all knowledge, but who
stood in danger of departing from the simplicity
which is in Christ Jesus, and of falHng into discord
and lukewarmness, he showed the more excellent
way by describing the pre-eminence, character-
istics, and eternity of love in a hymn which pro-
ceeded from his inmost experience,* and which
contains a portraiture of his own individuality.!
Again in the epistle to the Romans (chap, viii.),
after having shown the position of the believer
justified before God, and separated from sin by
* Notice the form of this chapter in the first person,
t I Cor. xiii.
II. T
2 74 The Epistle to the Hebrews. [chap.
the death of Christ, he shows how, in the midst
of afflictions, and in the conflict with sin and
the flesh, the believer is upheld by hope; from
the high tower of hope, resting upon the sure
foundation of faith, he beholds the manifestation
of the sons of God, the redemption of our body,
the regeneration of the whole creation, and he is
persuaded that nothing shall be able to separate
us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus.
And in our chapter the same apostle brings before
us the power oi faith in a series of examples, which
comprise the whole history of revelation from the
beginning to the first advent. This wonderful
exposition of the most fundamental of the funda-
mental graces stands before our eyes and hearts
like a triumphal arch commemorating the beauty
and the victory of faith. Faith, hope, love ; these
three inseparable gifts of the grace of God are
brought before us continually in Scripture, and the
simplest experience of the Christian recognizes
their connection, as well as their relative position.
Faith comes first ; for only when we believe the
love of God, wherewith He loved us, we love
Him and the brethren in Him. Only when we
trust in Jesus we hope to see Him again. God
speaks, God gives, the grace of God brings to us
salvation. Since God begins, faith must needs
be our beginning. " Salvation is of the Lord ; "
this itself implies the pre-eminence of faith. Jesus
XL] The Epistle to the Hebrews. 275
Is the Christ; this itself implies that only by trust-
ing in Him can we be brought nigh to God. We
have seen how the apostle John, who dwells so
fully on the love of God towards us and the God-
given love of believers towards God, points out
the root-nature of faith. For this purpose was
his gospel written, that we may believe, and
believing, have eternal life, and know that we
have life. For this purpose were his epistles
written, that we who believe may live and walk
in love ; for God is love. And for this purpose
was the book of Revelation given by the Lord
Jesus to the apostle, that believing and loving we
may hope for the Bridegroom's advent, to receive
us unto Himself Blessed is he who, believing in
Jesus, can say, '' Father ; " who, loving the Father
and the brethren, can say, ''Our Father;" who,
hoping for the inheritance above, can say, ''Our
Father, which art in heaven."
Things unseen are not doubtful to faith ; but
faith is the evidence, the clear and sure beholding
of the things of God, shown or demonstrated by
the Holy Ghost. Things future are not vague and
shadowy, for faith gives them substance ; so that
they Influence, gladden, and uphold us in our
earthly life. Not as the world giveth gives God
unto us. Our faith Is not a pale and uncertain
light ; it is not inferior to the knowledge of reason,
or memory, or the senses ; it Is light, conviction.
2/6 The Epistle to the Hebrews. [chap.
substance. We have the things we beHeve, and
which God has freely given to us.
Now in illustrating the power of faith, the
apostle begins with Abel and ends with the
Maccabees. Israel's history commences, strictly
speaking, with Abraham ; but as Israel was chosen
in Christ, and for the salvation of all nations, so
the beginning of Israel's history is, more strictly
speaking, from the very first believer in the Mes-
siah. Jesus says, "Before Abraham was, I am;"
and thus we may say. Before Abraham was, were
Abraham's children, the seed of faith ; so that the
father of the faithful will rejoice, not merely over
all the Gentiles who believe in the promised and
now manifested Redeemer, but shall behold Abel
and Enoch and Noah, and all the saints of the pre-
Abrahamic period, numbered among his children.
Yet the distinctness, and the peculiar position of
Israel in the kingdom, remains an undoubted fact
revealed in Scripture.
We may wonder why the list of believers does
not commence with Adam. But the reason is
obvious. Scripture is inspired, both in its narra-
tive and in its silence. Moses does not mention
Adam's faith in the promise, and his return to the
favour and love of God. He implies it; and the
reason of his not stating it fully is, because through-
out the whole Scripture Adam is brought before
us, not as an individual, but as the representative,
XL] The Epistle to the Hebrews. 277
the federal head of humanity, in whom we stood,
in whom we fell, through whose disobedience sin
and death came upon all. This is the sad but
fundamental truth which we are to remember in
connection with Adam. From him we are to
look to Christ, the incarnate Son of God, as to
the second Adam, our Righteousness and our
Life. We have no doubt that Adam and Eve
believed to the saving of their souls. But Adam's
typical and federal character is so important that
all other aspects are thrown Into the shade.
But the apostle may have another reason. We
Inherit from Adam unbelief, distrust of God's
Word, suspicion of His kind and loving purposes,
the tendency to ask, Is it so ? when God says it is
so ; and to say, I will not go, when God commands
to go. The Father, the author of faith, is not
Adam, but the Lord Jesus. Hence is it more
appropriate and instructive to begin the series of
believers not with Adam. And yet, as faith in
God the Creator is mentioned before Abel's faith,
there seems an allusion to Adam before the fall.
As the Creator, God revealed Himself to our first
parents. All knowledge possessed by creatures
of creation is necessarily hy faith in God's reve-
lation. The very angels, who rejoiced when they
beheld the six days' work, were not witnesses of
the first creation of heaven and earth, since the)-
themselves were called out of non-existence Into
278 The Epistle to the Hebrews. [chap.
being. They also by faith understand that God
created all things.
And this declaration of the apostle, as It remains
true in every period of history, Is more especially
Important In our day.
Reason cannot ascend from nature to nature's
God. The most comprehensive observation of
things seen (that Is phenomena), of which we can
take cognizance, and the most minute analysis of
things to the most remote and simple elements,
leave the question of creation or the origin of
things perfectly untouched and unapproached.
The step from matter to mind, from things which
appear to that which is the cause, spring, origin of
all, Is one which reason cannot take. God reveals
it ; we believe.
Ancient mythologies and philosophy, as well as
modern science and speculation, cannot rise to the
conception of the original, free and infinite cause
of all things. It cannot get beyond some prime-
val material substratum of elementary atoms, and
by tracing developments from a lower to a higher
form of existence, only removes by millions and
billions of years the question which lies dormant
in every child's mind : Who made all things ?
Scripture announces In sublime simplicity : "In
the beginning God created the heaven and the
earth."* Every house is built by some one ;
* Gen. i. i.
XI.] The Epistle to the Hebrews. 279
but He that built all things Is God/^ By faith we
understand that the worlds were framed by the
Word of God, so that things which are seen were
not made of things which do appear ; that the
visible world did not arise out of phenomenal
matter. God created by His Word (as we read
ten times, ''And God said") all things, from the
highest to the lowest. He created In the be-
ginning, and all things which have a beginning
form the world or creature. To conceive of the
world as without beginning Is to deify It ; for In
and before the beginning Is only God, the Father,
the Word, or the Son, or the Eternal Wisdom,!
and the Holy Ghost. | God created all things for
His glory ; the self-manifestation of God in the
redeemed Church of which Christ Is Head is
the purpose which He purposed in Himself.
The fundamental truth of creation is unfolded
In Scripture with increasing light and fulness, and
as our insight into the counsel of God is enlarged,
our faith takes firmer and deeper hold of this pri-
mary revelation of God's sovereignty, life, good-
ness, wisdom, power, and love. The doctrines of
the Trinity, of man's relation to God, to angels,
to the world, of redemption, of the first and second
advent, of the future glory, are all most intimately
* Heb. iv. 24.
t John i. I ; Col. i. 18; Rev. iii. 14; Prov. viii. 14.
1 Gen. i. 2.
28o The Epistle to the Hebrews, [chap.
connected with the doctrine of creation ; so that
here is not only the first lesson which we teach
our children, but the ultimate and highest theme
of adoration. * The apostle declares in our passage
that the very first statement of Scripture history
can only be grasped by faith. By faith we under-
stand,! not merely that God created the world,
but that He created the world by His word \\ for
as we read in Genesis, every new species was
called into existence by the creative Word of God,
And this view, which faith receives, it receives
in order to excltcde\ the hypothesis into which all
attempts of reason to account for the origin of the
world resolve themselves ; viz., the things visible
developed out of things phenomena.
By faith, through revelation, we understand this.
It is not by our own reason or observation that
we ascend to this knowledge. It is one of those
"things not seen," for the perception of which
faith only is the organ, and the evidence of which
is only the testimony of God apprehended by a
believing mind.
* Rev. iv. II.
t voovix^v (compare Matt. xv. 17) to understand the reason and
method.
X The apostle uses the expression p-nfiariy which of course is a
different expression from the personal \6yos. But what else can be
the meaning of him who, in this same epistle (i. 3), declared that
God made the worlds by His Son? Though the apostle Paul does
not use the word Uyos, he teaches the same truth as John (i. 3) in
his epistles to the Ephesians and Colossians. § c'sro /x??.
XI.] The Epistle to the Hebrews, 281
Even Christians take erroneous and superficial
views of this fact. They say, only a fool can deny
that the world must have had a Creator. They
think that the beautiful design - argument must
occur to every rational mind, and have force with
every rational mind. If we look at a watch and
its ingenious mechanism, we never doubt that
an intellio^ent mind contrived and a skilful hand
executed the design. Can this universe, in its
marvellous and stupendous structure, and with its
complicated and harmonious laws, be the result of
chance, or its own cause ?
Now this argument is very forcible to those
whom Scripture has taught that God created. No
heathen mind ascends thus from things seen to
the infinite, self- existent Creator. We, whom
revelation has lifted to the height of faith, are
able to reach down arguments like ladders to
those in the valley ; but not by such ladders did
we ourselves ascend, ^y faith, and through God's
word, God is known as Creator.
God did not leave man to find Him from crea-
tion, to infer His existence from His works.''' He
* Compare my remarks on the necessity of the Spirit's revelation
in " Christ Crucified. Lectures on i Cor. ii." As Pascal observed :
" Scripture assures us, that in every instance, when the beauty of crea-
tion manifests its Author, it is not from the simple contemplation
of natural objects, but owing to a divine illumination, which disposes
the heart aright." We speak of man's unassisted reason, but it
never was unassisted. The expression is correct only in a relative
and limited sense. There is not merely the action of the Holy
282 The Epistle to the Hebrews, [chap.
revealed Himself, and men, knowing God, did not
glorify Him as God, neither were thankful. Thus
from their original knowledge of God, they by
their own sin fell into idolatry ; and one of the
great results of this apostasy is the ignorance of
man, of the most refined and gifted nations, of the
most subtle and powerful intellects, of God as the
Creator of the world.
Now it may be said there are many people who
do not believe in the Scriptures or in Jesus, and
who yet believe that God created the world. To
this my answer is twofold. First, Where did
they obtain this knowledge ? Reason often adopts
the teachings of Scripture, and then, like a con-
juror, pretends to have brought them out without
assistance, and out of an empty receptacle. All
the philosophy of man could never have written
the first verse of Genesis. But reason and
science will ultimately acknowledge the first
chapter of Genesis to be a perfect revelation of
truth.
But my second answer is more important,
though sad. What is this belief worth, this rational.
Ghost on the heart and conscience, there are not merely the traces
of our original condition, but there was the primeval revelation,
which left distinct marks in the traditions of antiquity, (p. 105.)
Hamann says: "To my mind, 'natural religion' is a perfect
nonentity, the same as natural (self-originated) language. Unbelief
is the oldest and strongest, and, next to superstition, the only
'natural religion.'"
XL] The Epistle to the Hebrews. 283
intellectual belief, that God is the Creator — a
belief independent of Scripture, and independent
of the God of salvation revealed in Christ Jesus ?
Soon — thus the history of human thought shows
us — this belief vanishes, either before the lofty
and alluring speculations of Pantheism, or the
powerful and fascinating science of materialism.
We find it difficult to look from earth, from
things visible, from second causes, to heaven, to
spiritual and eternal realities, to the Lord, from
whom Cometh every good and perfect gift. And
as civilization advances, as men who have not the
love of God in their hearts become more fully
acquainted with the laws of nature, the tendency
to materialism becomes stronger ; and, resting
satisfied with the phenomenal and the secondary
causes and powers, men fail to rise above the
inanimate and visible unto the Fatherly heart in
heaven, whose omnipotent love and wisdom day
by day, hour by hour, cherishes, rules, and sustains
all things.
Let me remind you of Israel's, of the Christian s
or Church-faith. For as the Israelite believed
in God, and waited for the advent of Messiah, so
the Christian believes in God, the Father of our
Lord Jesus Christ.
We believe that God is ; for He has spoken to
us, He has loved us, He has redeemed us. He
was Abraham's guest and guide, his sure portion,
284 The Epistle to the Hebrews, [chap.
and exceeding great reward. He brought Israel
out of Egypt. He spoke unto the fathers as unto
His chosen friends. Jehovah reveals to us, that
He is the Lord, the Creator of heaven and of
earth ; that He made all things by the word of
His power. He shows us His works ; He points
out their vastness, their grandeur, their beauty,
their joyousness. He bids us lift up our eyes on
high, and behold who hath created these things.
When we murmur against Him, and question the
wisdom of His impenetrable dealings. He asks
us, like Job, ''Where wast thou when I laid the
foundations of the earth, when the morning stars
sang together, and all the sons of God shouted
for joy ?'' We adore in humility, we behold God's
sovereignty, and we say. It is the Lord ; let Him
do what seemeth good in His sight. He shows
us His wisdom. His power, His goodness in
creation. When we are tempted to trust in the
creature, to swerve from obedience to God's com-
mand, and to be anxious about the future, He
explains to us creation — the heavens above ; the
sun, with its genial and joyous light ; the moun-
tains and rocks in their strength ; the beneficent
rain and snow which come down to earth ; the
mysterious seed, which brings forth fruit, as sym-
bols of His own grace, love, faithfulness, of spiritual
realities given to His people. He reveals to us
that all things were made by His Son, and for
XI.] The Epistle to the Hebrews. 285
Him, who Is appointed Heir of all things ; that
not atoms, or an original matter, but Christ, Is the
beginning of creation, in whom all His counsel
stood before Him from all eternity. And He
assures us that He will make " new heavens and
a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness."
And Israel responds : "My help cometh from the
Lord, which made heaven and earth." And the
Church responds : '' I believe in God, the Father
of our Lord Jesus Christ, maker of heaven and
earth." Israel responds : " By the word of the
Lord were the heavens made ; and all the host
of them by the breath of His mouth." And
the Church confesses : "In the beginning was
the Word, and the Word was with God, and the
Word was God. . . . All things were made by
Him."
Israel replies : " What have I to do any more
with idols ? " " Cursed is he who trusteth in the
arm of flesh." And the Church replies, " Love
not the world, neither the things that are in the
world. . . . The world passeth away, and the lust
thereof : but he that doeth the will of God abldeth
for ever." Israel says : " Let the whole earth be
filled with His glory;" "Let the sinners be con-
sumed out of the earth, and let the wicked be no
more." The Church says : "He shall come to be
glorified in His saints, and to be admired in all
them that believe, and to take to Himself the
286 The Epistle to the Hebrews, [chap.
kingdom, and we shall reign with Him." Israel
knows the Creator of heaven and earth as the
giver of the new life, of repentance, and faith.
" Turn me, and I shall be turned ; " " Create in me
a pure heart ; " " Breathe, O Spirit, upon these
slain." The Church says : " God, who commanded
the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in
our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of
the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ."
"Of His own will begat He us by the word of
truth, that we might be the first-fruits of His
creatures."
God is the Creator ; this is the first note struck
on the lyre of Revelation, with which all other
strains are in harmony. It sounds throughout the
whole anthem. In Christ we hear the full melody.
In Him we behold both the eternal counsel of
redemption, and the final consummation in glory.
He who made all things by His word has by
the self-same word created us anew unto eternal
glory. His promises. His sayings, are creative
words, spirit and life. That same Almighty
Father, by Christ and through the Spirit, will
make new heavens and a new earth, wherein
dwelleth righteousness. God is the Creator ; with
Him all things are possible. He calleth unto non-
existent things, and they are ; He doeth all in
Christ, and for His glory.
Such are the apparently simple but inexhaustible
XL] The Epistle to the Hebrews. 287
and ever-blessed revelation-truths for the sinner
seeking salvation, for the Christian in affliction,
in temptation ; for the day of warfare, the night
of sorrow, the hour of death.
God is the Creator. We say to every human
being : You are not your own ; Christ is the Head
of every man ; return unto the Lord. Glorify
God with your body and spirit, which are His.
And if he says, " I cannot," we answer : God is
the Creator. With man it is impossible, but with
God all things are possible. He can create a new
heart, and put His Spirit within you. If any man
be in Christ, he is a new creature.
And to the doubting, afflicted, perplexed be-
liever we say : God is the Creator. '' Thus saith
the Lord that created thee, O Jacob, and He
that formed thee, O Israel, Fear not. Why
sayest thou, O Jacob, and speakest, O Israel,
My way is hid from the Lord, and my judg-
ment is passed over from my God ? Hast thou
not known } hast thou not heard, that the ever-
lasting God, the Lord, the Creator of the ends
of the earth, fainteth not, neither is weary ? there
is no searching of His understanding." And again :
" Behold the fowls of the air. Consider the lilies
of the field. Are ye not much better than they ?"
" Shall not God much more feed and clothe you,
O ye of little faith?" And again, God has made
and upheld all things great and small. The very
288 The Epistle to the Hebrews. txi.
hairs of your head are numbered. He that made
the heart, shall He not know all Its fears and its
sorrows ! Commit the keeping of your souls to
Him in well-doing, as unto a faithful Creator.
And to the backslider, the lukewarm and world-
loving, we say : Hast thou forgotten God, the
Creator ? and trustest and lovest and seekest thou
the creature more than the Lord, putting thy trust
and delight in uncertain riches ? To the Laodi-
cean, Christ speaks, as the beginning of the creation
of God.
And to the dying, in his faintness, we say : God
is the Creator; and we know that if this our earthly
tent be taken to pieces, we have a building of
God, an house not made with hands, eternal in
the heavens.
Now may the eternal and the omnipotent, the
faithful and all-wise Creator, who by the precious
blood of Christ His Son has redeemed us, and by
the power of the Holy Ghost through the Word
has renewed us and grafted us into the living Vine,
keep us through faith unto the glory and reward
of the inheritance at the appearing of our blessed
Lord Jesus Christ. '' Of Him, and through Him,
and to Him, are all things : to whom be glory for
ever. Amen."
LECTURE XV.
ABEL, ENOCH, NOAH.
Hebrews xi. 4-7.
TSRAEL was pre-eminently to be an historical
^ people.'" They were always exhorted to re-
member and to consider their history. It was
their solemn duty to cherish the memory of the
past. The remembrance of the wonderful deal-
ings of God was to be perpetuated from generation
to generation. The Jewish nation lived in the
remembrance of its early history. The annual
* The difference in this respect between Israel and the other
nations of antiquity is very marked. Bunsen says, " Historical
writing was born in Israel." Niebuhr remarks that " the Old Testa-
ment is the only exception to the general patriotic untruthfulness
of the other nations. It never disguises or passes over the reverses
of the people of which it treats. Its truthfulness is the highest in
historical literature. . . . The Old Testament is also the most accurate
of all historical sources." It should be added that the Old Testa-
ment not merely records faithfully all calamities and defeats which
Israel had to suffer, but where is there a national record which nar-
rates and censures the national sins with such unsparing severity,
which is thoroughly free from national conceit and self-righteous-
ness, which lays the axe at the root of all pride and self-exaltation ? I
do not know any history except this one which announces on every
page, We are a stiff-necked and rebellious people ; and it is only
owing to divine mercy and long-suffering that we are preserved.
II. U
290 The Epistle to the Hebrews. [chap.
festivals, the constantly -recurring sabbath - daySj
the very names of God, kept the fundamental
facts of their marvellous history before their
minds, and impressed them on their hearts. The'
children were encouraged to ask questions both
in reference to memorial services and to memorial
stones and institutions.* " Remember the days
of old, consider the years of many generations :
ask thy father, and he will shew thee ; thy elders,
and they will tell thee."t The whole book of
Deuteronomy is a review of the past. Many
psalms contain a synopsis of Jewish history from
the days of Abraham to the election of David,
whom the Lord took from the sheep-folds, and
made king over Israel. Such psalms are either
didactic in form, and inscribed Maschll, or lyrical
songs of praise, extolling the ever-enduring mercy
of the Lord. All the prophets were filled with a
vivid and constant consciousness of Israel's past
history. In their addresses to the people, and in
their communion with God, the memory of Jeho-
vah's past dealings with Israel is ever with them. J
Take for instance the sublime prayer of Daniel. §
He refers to the books of Moses and the pro-
phecy of Jeremiah ; but how full of life and
concrete reality is the Scripture to him ! He is
* Exod. xii. 26 ; Gen. xviii. 19 ; Josh. iv. 6, 7.
t Deut. xxxii. 7.
X Josh, xxiii. xxiv. ; i Sam. xii. 6. § Dan. ix.
XL] The Epistle to the Hebrews. . 291
himself in the current of divine history. Here
all is of God, and supernatural ; and yet here all
is perfect liberty, and out of the inmost depths of
the heart gush forth the confessions and ardent,
importunate petitions of the loving patriot.
To remember the past, and to wait for the
coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord,
was the attitude of God's children ; thus Malachi
concludes by pointing back to God's servant Moses
on mount Horeb, and by pointing forwards to
Elijah preparing the advent of Jehovah. For
this is Israel's peculiarity, that the past is con-
nected with a great and glorious future ; that
memory and hope dwell together in unity ; that
the older days are viewed not with regret but with
the joyous anticipation of a coming era, fulfilling
all the promise given in the morning of their
history.
It is natural that this historical character of the
Jewish mind should manifest itself most fully
during a period of transition and crisis. The
advent of the Lord was the turning-point in
Israel's history. Hence the gospel of Matthew
begins with a genealogical summary of Jewish
history from Abraham to David, from David to
the Babylonish captivity, and from the exile to
Mary, the mother of our Lord. Hence the
historical character of the songs of Zechariah, of
Mary, and of aged Simeon. After the death and
292 The Epistle to the Hebrews. [chap.
resurrection of the Lord, the Jewish nation was
still further tested by having the gospel preached
unto them. And as the future development of Israel
depended upon their acceptance or rejection of the
divine message, we notice in the apostolic preach-
ing always a reference to their past history and a
solemn declaration that Israel had now arrived at
the most important and awful crisis. The apostles
recapitulated the past history of Israel, and showed
the coming, the death, and resurrection of Jesus
to be the culminating events of the dealings of
God with the chosen nation. All the addresses
of the apostles Peter and Paul, recorded in the
book of Acts, are historical and not doctrinal.
The living God, who had brought Israel up to
this point, was now sending the gospel of His Son
Jesus to bless them, in turning away every one of
them from his iniquities.''''
The apostles called upon the nation to believe
in Him of whom all their prophets had testified,
* It is difficult for us fully to realize the historical and national
character of the apostolic preaching to Israel. In the new covenant
dispensation our thoughts are directed chiefly to truth in its eternal
aspect. We meditate on the love of God, the grace of the Saviour,
the indwelling of the Spirit, on the soul's relation to Christ, and on
our union with Him in the coming glory. This is right, and yet
there is a danger of substituting an abstract and doctrinal method
for the concrete and historical method of Scripture, according to
which the remembrance of Jesus, and the expectation of His return
and kingdom, form the main elements of Christian teaching and
life.
XI.] The Epistle to the Hebrews. 293
in whom the covenant was made with Abraham,
and who was now in heaven waiting for the resti-
tution of all things. It was the burning question
of the day ; the turning-point in Israel's history.
Hence we can understand the speech of Stephen.
In the face of death, and beholding by faith the
glory of God, so that even to his enemies his
countenance appeared irradiated by a heavenly
beauty, Stephen addresses the rulers of the nation;
and in this most solemn moment, and in the pleni-
tude of the spirit, what is his address ? He surveys
the yewish history. Calmly, deliberately, and with
great fulness, he narrates the story of Abraham's
call, and of Joseph's sufferings and exaltation, and
of the youth of Moses, his flight into Midian, and
of Israel's exodus and wanderings in the wilder-
ness, and of David and Solomon. This is not
the place to explain his selection of events and
characters and the scope of his address ; the only
point of importance is the fact that Stephen at
such a time dwelt on the past history of Israel ;
he speaks not of doctrines, but of history, facts,
and the past dealings of God with the nation. How
strong, how vivid, how ever-present must that
past have been to the believers of the apostolic
age!
In our chapter the past history of Israel is
brought before us in a similar manner. The uni-
versal character of God's chosen people, and of
294 The Epistle to the Hebrews. [chap.
the Scripture which records their history, is seen
in many ways ; and perhaps the most obvious is
the fact, that as its prophecy comprehends all
nations, so its history begins not with Abraham,
but with Noah and with Adam ; thus showing
from the outset that it is a revelation for man-
kind, and of the dealings of God with man, and
concerninor the whole race. It is on account of
this connection of Israel with the whole race that
Jesus charges Jerusalem with all the righteous
blood shed upon the earth, from the blood of
righteous Abel unto the blood of Zacharias.-^ And
as the genealogy of our blessed Lord is traced
not merely to Abraham, but to Adam, so is the
history of Abraham's seed traced to the pre-
Abrahamic believers, f
In this remarkable history, extending over so
many centuries, there is a wonderful unity. It
records God's dealings with man ; and as God is
unchangeable, and the human heart the same in
every age, this history speaks to all times and
* Matt, xxiii. 35.
t This portion of the book of Genesis must have appeared in a
new Hght to the Jews, as the gospel in its universal character and
world-wide application became dear to them. The references of
our Lord to this section of the Word are very numerous ; to the in-
stitution of marriage in Paradise, to Cain and Abel, to Noah, to
the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, to Lot's wife. Again the
patriarchal history appeared in a new light to the apostle Paul, as
the history of our fathers, before the law came as a parenthesis and
schoolmaster.
XI.] The Epistle to the Hebrews. 295
nations ; It is the most human history, as well as
the most divine. This peculiarity of Scripture has
been acknowledged by poets and philosophers ; it
has been felt by all nations and ages. There is
no history, there are no characters with which the
world has become so familiar, which have so
wrought themselves into the very consciousness
and heart of mankind.
But the Christian regards this characteristic
from a higher point. " To the spiritually-minded,
time and place are not. The Word of God is there-
fore, when spiritually apprehended, no history of
successive generations having reference to various
countries and divers persons. It becomes a living
whole — a picture of the dealings of God with man ;
of the o^reat contest between g^ood and evil ; of the
victory over evil by men in whom Christ dwells,
and who hold communion with God."
Before the flood and the Abrahamic covenant
God had a people on earth who lived by faith.
Abel the first martyr, Enoch the seventh from
Adam, and Noah the preacher of righteousness,
are the three witnesses of this period whose
lives are recorded. In Abel we behold faith's
accepted sacrifice and worship ; in Enoch faith's
walk and triumphant ascension ; in Noah faith's
reverent, persevering obedience, and testimony.
It is only with reference to this central grace of
296 The Epistle to the Hebrews, tcHAP.
faith that we have here to consider these three
characters.
The first believer who is brought before us
in this gallery of God's saints is Abel, the shep-
herd, beloved of God ; but hated without cause
for righteousness' sake by his brother. He is a
type of the Lord Jesus, the great Shepherd of the
sheep, whom His brethren hated, because — and
not merely, although — there was no guile in Him.
Jesus calls him ''righteous Abel," and speaks of
him as the first martyr, whose blood was shed
in witness of God's truth. There is no figure
in sacred Scripture so vividly impressed on
our imagination from childhood. On the thresh-
old of history we behold this silent, believing
martyr. There is scarcely any incident here of
man's doing, and yet it is full of instruction, full
of testimony glorifying God. He brought a sacri-
fice, he worshipped, he was accepted, he died, and
this by faith.
He was the first of the human family who
tasted death. Fallen in Adam, he died ; through
Cain's sin he suffered death ; but through faith in
the sin-offering he overcame death. The first
man, who had to descend into the grave, was
carried through it on the arms of redeeming love.
The first son of Adam, who had to experience
the divine sentence pronounced against sin, was
to angels, and, may I say, to the Son of God
XL] The Epistle to the Hebrews. 297
Himself, a type of the great sacrifice of divine
love to be fulfilled in the appointed time. Faith
from the first rested in the Lamb of God. Be-
tween the revelation of God, the Creator, to Adam,
and the first witness and example of faith, Abel,
lies a catastrophe, a change, important, mysterious,
and awful, which we can never understand, though
in the sweet light of revelation, we can now think
of it without despair. It is the fall of man, the
entrance of sin and death into the world of man.
Hence man cannot approach, worship, love and
serve God without sacrifice. The Creator, the
paternal and bountiful Lord, is also the Governor
and Lawgiver; in holiness is His reign, and in
justice and truth stands His kingdom. God
Himself provided the remedy, and revealed the
mediation. The eternal thought of the Three-
One, love manifested in mercy through a Substi-
tute, was declared to man before he was banished
from Paradise. God gave the promise. God
also gave the type of righteousness through the
Substitutes death, when He clothed our fallen
and guilty parents. The Lord covered them with
jhe robe of righteousness. Abel, believing the
word, approached God through the better sacrifice.
In the book of Genesis we are simply told the
facts, that '' Abel brought of the firstlings of his
flock and of the fat thereof. And the Lord had
respect unto Abel and to his offering." Here we
298 The Epistle to the Hebrews. [chap.
have the explanation of the fact. What caused
Abel to bring his offering ? what else but faith ?
He believed that God is the Creator, the Lord,
the source of all life and blessing ; and how could
he believe it without desirinof to be in communion
with Him ? He believed that God is holy, that
man is sinful and guilty ; how then could he dare
to come before God, or to appear with his sins,
and with his imperfect and sin- stained gifts and
works ? He believed that God is love, gracious,
and merciful, and that throuo^h sacrifice, throuo^h
the suffering of a Redeemer yet to come, through
the substitution of an innocent and pure life for
his own forfeited one, God the just would justify
and accept the guilty. Because he believed he
brought the appointed sacrifice. Behold, the sacri-
fice is accepted, and Abel is declared righteous —
righteous according to God's estimate, according
to the perfection of that Sacrifice, of which Abel
beheld only the symbol."
Every one who believes in Jesus Christ, is an
accepted worshipper. There is no other true and
spiritual worship but the worship of a believer in
* When it is so frequently asserted that the reason why Abel's
sacrifice was accepted was solely because it was offered in faith, it
seems to be forgotten that faith consisted in the very fact that
Abel offered the God-appointed sacrifice, and thereby showed his
humility as a sinner, and his trust in divine mercy as a believer.
The object of the apostle here is, however, not to teach the doctrine
of expiation, but the character of faith.
XL] The Epistle to the Heb7^ews. 299
Jesus, and this worship Is always accepted. Let
us therefore not speak doubtfully, whether God
will accept our ''poor prayers." We believe that
God cannot accept us as we are In ourselves,
for He cannot acquit the guilty and accept any-
thing except perfection ; but If we believe In
Jesus, God accepts us In Him. His blood was
shed for the remission of our sins. By His offer-
ing He has perfected us for ever. Of this, the only
worship, Abel though dead yet speaketh. And of
this also, that though God loves us dearly in His
own Son, yet sufferings and affliction may be our
portion. We who accept the sacrifice must be
willing to become a sacrifice, and to know the
fellowship of His sufferings.
The sinner, who through faith in the sacrifice
is righteous before God, belongs now to God, and
Is an heir of eternal life. Sin and death have no
more dominion over him. Thus Enoch, the seventh
from Adam, walks with God. In this simple
familiar expression, we have the description of the
new life. It brings before us communion with God,
dependence on His guidance, submission to His
authority, confidence In His love and favour, con-
tinuous, habitual fellowship, and a mind conformed
to God's mind, and delighting Itself In the Lord.
How can two walk together except they be
agreed? God was Enoch's constant and loving
companion, Lord, and strength. Enoch pleased'
300 The Epistle to the Hebrews. [chap.
God, and why ? Because he trusted Him. He
trusted Him as a reality, beheving that He is, and
as a faithful and loving God, the rewarder of all
who diligently seek Him. Enoch walked with
God only ; for as his own prophecy, preserved
to us by the Spirit in the epistle of Jude, shows,
ungodliness was the characteristic of his age,
" Behold, the Lord cometh with ten thousands of
His saints, to execute judgment upon all, and to
convince all that are ungodly among them of all
their ungodly deeds which they have ungodly
committed." Living in an age of ungodliness,
of violent and defiant unbelief, Enoch not merely
kept himself unspotted from the world, and com-
muned with the Most High, but he was a bold
and intrepid confessor, and declared the future
things which he apprehended by faith. The
contemplative and spiritually -minded believer is
also a witness. The life which is hid in God
must manifest itself also in conflict with the world.
The disciple who rests on the bosom of Jesus is
afterwards banished for his testimony. No doubt
Enoch had to experience the opposition and hatred
of an unbelieving age. As a lily among thorns, so
was Enoch among the children of men ; God re-
garded him with delight, because he lived by faith.
The constant repetition of the words, " and he
died," in the fifth chapter of Genesis, is very
striking. Although the duration of human life
XI] The Epistle to the Hebrews. 301
was still exceedingly long, as If the forfeited
blessing of immortality was reluctantly leaving
mankind, yet it is evident that, through the dis-
obedience of one, death passed upon all men.
But to show that the believer is not under the
dominion of death, God took Enoch away and
translated him into the eternal, peaceful region.
"He was not ; for God took Him." His life was
short compared with those of his cotemporaries,
and this must have rendered his translation the
more remarkable. Without seeing death he passed
to the immortal state. Enoch and Elijah are types
of the ascension of our Lord, an illustration of the
truth, '' We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be
changed." Thus shall it be when Christ comes ;
they who are living by faith at a time of which
Christ says, '' When the Son of Man cometh, shall
he find faith on the earth V they shall be caught
up to meet the Lord in the air, transfigured in their
bodies, glorified and beatified in a ''moment, in
the twinkling of an eye." And we all, who believe,
belong no more to death. Christ has destroyed,
that is, rendered powerless to us-ward, him who
had the power of death, that is, Satan ; Christ has
taken away the sting of death ; dying we do not
see or taste death, but we see and taste Jesus, the
life of our life, our eternal life.
Abel testifies of faith's sacrifice and worship,
always accepted. Enoch of faith's walk and
302 The Epistle to the Hebrews, [chap.
triumph, lifted above sin and death into fellow-
ship with the holy God, the Lord of life. Noah's
faith has again another testimony. He found
grace — first time the word is used in Scrip-
ture— in the eyes of the Lord. The judgment of
the flood was announced to him. Moved with
fear — not the fear of terror, but the fear of re-
verence, of humility, and of trembling astonish-
ment, both at the impending judgment and con-
descending mercy of God, he obeyed and built
the ark. The element of true repentance was in
that fear, as it must always be in faith ; for Noah
was a sinner, and in believing the judgment of
God he acknowledged also his own unworthiness
and guilt. Only a deep sense of sin could have
acknowledged the justice and believed the ap-
proach of judgment. His faith, rooted in the
contrite heart, and evidenced in his daily work
and obedience, was tested by the opposition and
mockery of the world, to whom he testified of
sin, of judgment, of saving grace ; declaring what
he possessed himself, righteousness by faith. And
by his faith he not merely saved himself, but also
his household.
Abel, Enoch, Noah, are a threefold type both
of Christ and of the believer. Jesus is the right-
eous One, Shepherd and Lamb, the Martyr, true,
and faithful Witness. He is put to death becaus^t
He was holy, and His brethren were wickec]i.
XL] The Epistle to the Hebrews. 303
But Jesus, who died, is like Enoch, who after his
walk with God is taken up to heavenly regions.
He liveth now to God. And Jesus is like Noah,
who saves the household, so that the punitive
judgment on sinners does not reach them ; but
they dwell safely in the secret place of the Most
High, under the shadow of the Almighty.
If we possess Abel's faith in the Lamb of God,
then the history of our life and death can be
summed up as Abel's — a sinner, who worshipped,
who was accepted, who entered heaven through
faith in the blood of the atonement. If God per-
mits us to continue our life on earth, we walk with
God — our light, our strength, our law, our con-
solation, and our joy. Walking with Him, we
please Him, notwithstanding all our sinfulness
and errors ; our citizenship is in heaven ; we
belong to the realm of light, and when Christ
comes we shall be taken by divine power, and
delivered in a moment from earth's trials and the
bondage of mortality. And, like Noah, looking
forward to the fulfilment of the prophetic word,
and possessing ourselves the righteousness which
is by faith, we testify and call to the world : Flee
from the wrath to come.
LECTURE XVI.
THE PATRIARCHS.
Hebrews xi. 8-22.
^^T'lTH the election of Abraham commences
^ ^ 2l new period In the history of revelation.
Hitherto God's dealings had been with mankind
as one family ; but after the destruction of the
tower of Babel, mankind was divided into lan-
guages and nations. That tower was the expres-
sion of a deep-seated apostasy, a type of the God-
defying infidelity which in the last days shall
rise against the Lord and His anointed. Judgment
was sent, and, as we notice in all God's dealings,
judgment according to His Infinite wisdom pre-
paring greater manifestations of redeeming love.
The origin of nations, apparently coincident
with the beginning of Idolatry, Is the occasion of the
election of Abraham, to be the father of a divinely-
given nation, which was to be the witness of
God and the channel of His revelation. And
the other nations, though for a season left in
ignorance, are reserved, to be brought by Jesus
XI.] The Epistle to the Hebrews. 305
the Son of Abraham unto the knowledge of God,
and the unity of peace.
Since mankind is now divided into nations,
salvation is ultimately to be brought to mankind
by a nation. Hence the restoration of humanity,
which we yet await, shall be through the medium
of Israel. The promises shall be fulfilled, when all
nations of the earth, with Israel, and round Israel
as a centre, fear the Lord, and confess Him with
one accord in unity of spirit."
This chosen nation must needs have a peculiar
origin and character. It is to show forth God's
praise ; it is to bring to fallen, helpless, guilty
humanity God's salvation. Now, as Christ the
Saviour, though true man, must come from above,
as He is God -given and conceived by the Holy
Ghost, though born of the Virgin Mary, so Israel,
the nation, must likewise have a supernatural
character. As Jesus among men, so Israel among
nations — He a real and true man, yet God's Son ;
they a real nation, with a true human history and
development, but different from all other nations
in the manner in which God by direct interference
originates them, forms them, and gives them His
guidance.
The election of Abraham and the birth of Isaac
show at once the supernatural character of Israel's
* Compare my Lecture on Heathenism in " Christ and the
Church : the Apostolic Commission."
II. X
3o6 The Epistle to the Hebrews. [chap.
history. Their history throughout Is an embodi-
ment of the principle, "Salvation Is of God." It
illustrates the contrasts of divine omnipotence, and
the utter weakness of nature ; the promise of grace,
and the utter Inadequacy of the present actual
condition ; heavenly treasure In earthen vessels,
worm Jacob, God-conquering Israel. Abraham,
nearly a hundred years old, and childless. Is to be
the father of a multitude like the stars of heaven ;
the dwellers In tents, who have to purchase a
burial-place for Sara, the Inheritors of the land ;
nay, heirs of the world. Such from the begin-
ning was the contrast, stamped upon. Infused Into
the God-chosen people.
Now, what else but faith could bridge over
these contrasts ? How could Israel have any
other life than the life of faith ? What was their
history but a continuous declaration : With man
it Is impossible, but with God all things are pos-
sible ? From the song of Hannah to the song of
Mary, Israel was in the low estate of the hand-
maiden, and God, who is mighty, did great things
to her. The same principle is declared by the
gospel. The life of the apostle Paul eminently
illustrates the kindred truth, that Christians have
been crucified with Christ, and die daily ; but,
raised by Divine power, walk in newness of life
before God.
Why does God call Himself so frequently and
XL] The Epistle to the Hebrews, 307
with such peculiar emphasis the God of Abraham,
Isaac, and Jacob ? It was not on account of their
excellence, because there are many other saints of
the old covenant who are equal to them In faith
and devotedness. God never calls Himself the
God of Moses, of David, or of Daniel. He calls
Himself the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob,
because they are the fathers, unto whom He
revealed Himself as the Covenant-God, and unto
whom He gave the threefol4 promise of the
nation, the Seed, or Messiah, and the land of
inheritance. God's promise to the fathers, the
relation In which He stood to them, was the
foundation on which the confidence and hope of
Israel rested ; with the Invocation of this Name
they drew near. And since this covenant Is for
all ages, and centres in the salvation which is by
Jesus Christ, God, In calling Himself the God of
Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, is revealing a name
which can never lose Its importance and signifi-
cance. Jesus the Son of Abraham has come, and
Israel, fallen through unbelief. Is still reserved for
the ultimate fulfilment of the promise at His second
advent. Then shall the promise be fulfilled to
Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob ; and that which they
never saw during their life, but realized by faith,
shall then be revealed.
The thoughts and ways of God are indeed
very different from our thoughts and ways; and
3o8 The Epistle to the Hebrews, [chap.
even after they are revealed In Scripture, man is
slow to receive divine teaching. The history of
Abraham and Isaac and Jacob is received as a
very instructive record of the past, and as illustra-
ting spiritual truths; but few recognise the cove-
nant with Abraham as the basis of history, and
look forward to the fulfilment when, according to
God's promise, all nations shall be blessed with
God's chosen nation Israel. Hence the apostle
calls it a mystery ; that is, something which man
could not discover without divine revelation, but
which he is anxious the Gentile Christians should
understand. The unbelief of Israel, rejecting the
Lord of glory, has made no change in the divine
counsel. For a season Israel as a nation is
rejected and scattered ; they are dead — cut off.
But the gifts and calling of God are without
repentance. What He promised to Abraham,
what He announced by all the prophets, can never
be revoked. Messiah, the land, and the glory, are
theirs. Jehovah-Shammah must yet be the name
of Jerusalem. From Zion shall go forth the law
of light and love and peace to all the nations.
Israel's resurrection shall be the regeneration of
the earth. As was typified by all deliverances
from captivities, the ultimate deliverance shall be
wrought by Jehovah Himself, and Israel shall be
glorified, and the Gentiles shall come to her light,
and kings to the brightness of His rising. As
XI.] The Epistle to the Hebrews. 309
the angel, descending from the heavenly heights,
and declaring the divine counsel, announced unto
Mary, " The Lord God shall give unto him the
throne of his father David : and he shall reign
over the house of Jacob for ever ; and of his king-
dom there shall be no end."
See then what significance this name has, and
^hall have as long as sun, moon, and stars endure ;
for as God said through Jeremiah, "If those ordi-
nances depart from before me, then the seed of
Israel also shall cease from being a nation before me
for ever." Thus through the millennial ages Israel
shall praise God as the God of Abraham, Isaac,
and Jacob; and all Gentile nations shall thus praise
God, and rejoice in the world-wide covenant made
with these fathers ; and the patriarchs themselves
shall behold with joy the fulfilment of the pro-
mise— the land of blessing, the whole earth of
blessing, until finally the city descends from
heaven, and the tabernacle of God is for ever
with man.
Jesus is of the seed of David, of the seed of
Abraham.''' Israel is chosen in Him for all ages.
Israel's history has scarcely yet begun. The
faithful Israelites, the kernel of the nation, though
a minority, waited, believed, hoped. At the first
coming of the Messiah the nation rejected Him,
yet a remnant according to the election of grace
* Matt. i.
310 The Epistle to the Hebrews. [chap.
believed. Throughout the period of Israel's national
unbelief and dispersion, there are at all times some
who as representatives of the true seed believe ;
but the real history of Israel, according to the
eternal counsel and the prediction of prophets,
and the announcement of the angel Gabriel, has
not commenced yet. The land is Palestine, the
King is Jesus, the Son of David; the beginning
of the reign is the return of Jesus, when His feet
shall stand upon the mount of Olives, and when
He shall pour out the Holy Ghost upon the
inhabitants of Jerusalem and Judah. After this
Israel shall never turn back. Their true David
shall reign over them, and all nations shall rejoice
with the Lord's people.
Thus the history recorded in the book of
Genesis contains the outlines of the world's his-
tory. It is not an ancient or antiquated narrative
of events which have served their end, but it is
the foundation upon which rests the yet future
history of earth. The next direct interference of
God, the next personal and visible manifestation
of Jesus, will introduce a new period of national
and earthly history. It will not be the end
of the world's history, and commencement of a
heavenly and endless eternity ; we are waiting for
the coming of the Lord Jesus from heaven to
fulfil the promises given to the fathers, and by
the prophets, concerning Israel and the nations.
XL] The Epistle to the Hebrews. 3 1 1
How clear and striking is the reply which our
Saviour gave to the Sadducees, who did not be-
lieve in the resurrection from among the dead !
"Ye do err greatly," the Lord, the heavenly wisdom,
said unto them, "because you know not the Scrip-
tures, the written Word and revelation, nor the
power of God, by the inward experience of the
Holy Ghost." But how does Jesus prove from
Scripture the resurrection ? There are many pas-
sages which we should have deemed much more
appropriate, such as Joseph giving commandment
concerning his bones; or such passages in the pro-
phet Isaiah : " Thy dead men shall live ;" or the
prediction in Daniel : " And many of them that
sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some
to everlasting life, and some to shame and ever-
lasting contempt." The Lord goes, however, to
the very root of the question. God called Him-
self the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob long
after they had died ; and God is not the God of
the dead, but of the living.
They to whom God vouchsafed to reveal His
name, whom He drew into commuion with Him-
self, with whom He established His covenant,
must needs possess a life which death cannot
terminate or extinguish. Knowing and loving
God, known and loved of Him, they possessed
even in time life eternal ; and since the everlast-
ing God called Himself their God, immortality
312 The Epistle to the Hebrews, [chap.
was theirs. And not merely immortality, but resur-
rection; for redemption must be connected with
resurrection, as sin is connected with death, and
moreover the promise of the covenant referred
to the land; and as the psalmist and prophets,
so the patriarchs looked beyond the grave to the
time when the meek shall inherit the earth.
The period of the patriarchs has a very peaceful
and lovely character. God appeared and spoke
to them. There was as yet no law. God revealed
Himself, and simply said : ''Walk before Me, and
be thou perfect." The word " patriarchal" has in all
languages of Christianized nations the meaning of
simple, childlike, transparent, peaceful. But this
character attaches more or less to all nations in
the early stage of their history. What is the real
peculiarity of the patriarchal life } What else but
faith ; that they lived before and with God, wait-
ing for the promise, the heavenly country ? They
were not worldly, they were other-worldly. God
was a very present God to them ; while the
future, the tabernacle of God on earth with man,
was their constant hope.
Abraham is the father of the faithful ; and he
is also the model of a believer. His faith is
recorded that we also may learn from it the nature,
energy, trial, and victory of faith. How great is
this man, called the friend of God, the father of
all them that believe, the father of us all (Jews
XI.] The Epistle to the Hebrews. 313
and Gentiles) who trust in the Hving God. How
great is the honour of Abraham when the apostle
says : '' And if ye be Christ's, then are ye Abra-
ham's seed, and heirs according to the promise."'"'
God, who chose him to this eminent position,
appointed him also to be to us an example of
faith. First, in obeying the call of God, to leave
his kindred and to go whither he knew not ;
secondly, in believing impossibilities, looking away
from facts simply to the promise of God ; thirdly,
in cherishing the God-given promise of the land
though as yet only a stranger and pilgrim ;
fourthly, in sacrificing the visible fulfilment of the
promise, believing that God would bring Isaac
from the dead.
Abraham's faith was the substance of future
things hoped for, and a conviction of things not
seen. It triumphed over reason ; it laughed at Im-
possibilities ; It looked beyond death and the long
night of the intermediate state ; and in all this it
gave glory to God ; for this is the only glory we
* James ii. 23 ; Rom. iv. 11-16; Gal. iii. 26-29. Sarahs faith
is also mentioned. At first she doubted, but then she "also"'
received the promise. As Eve is the mother of all living, Sara
is the mother of the faithful, (i Peter iii. 5, 6.) She symbolizes
"Jerusalem which is above and free, and the mother of us all."
(Gal. iv. 26, 7.7.) God spoke of her : " I will bless her : yea, I
will bless her." (Gen. xvii. 16-19, xviii. 10.) And she received the
word by faith. She is the only woman in Scripture whose age
is recorded. A whole chapter is devoted to the narration of her
burial.
314 TJu Epistle to the Hebrews. [chap.
can give to God, believing that He can and will
do what He promised.
To leave home and kindred, and to go forth
into a new land, was at that time common enough
among Shemitic tribes ; but to do this in obedience
to the call of God, and in sole reliance on His
guidance and help, was the obedience of faith.
Abraham was called to become a servant of God,
and to found a society of men, whose centre was
to be God : they were gathered round the name
of the Lord, and His worship and service. The
reward which was promised him was, that God
would make him the father of a great nation,
and that God's blessing would come through that
nation to all the earth. Only faith could even
understand this reward ; for only faith knows what
it is to be blessed of God. Only faith could
grasp the promise ; for reason could only reject it.
Reason, considering the circumstances, could only
stagger at the promise. But this was the excel-
lence and strength of Abraham's faith, that he did
not consider his own body now dead ; that he did
not reason ; that he did not look at difficulties
and impossibilities ; but that he honoured God
by "being fully persuaded that, what He had
promised. He was able also to perform." " If
you would believe," says Luther, "you must
crucify the question, How ? " To believe God
when reason says it may be so, and when sight
XI.] The Epistle to the Hebrews. 315
says it is possible and likely, is not to honour
God ; for under these conditions you would
believe any one. But if you cannot look away
entirely from difficulties to God's promise, then
look first at God's promise ; and in the light of
God's Word consider your difficulties, and see
them vanquished.
How sorely was Abraham's faith tried ! How
long had he to wait for the fulfilment of the
promise ! Meanwhile, though living in tents, and
though not possessing any portion of the land,
and knowing that in this life he would not see it,
yet he believed the inheritance was his ; and that
God Himself had prepared a city, a permanent,
substantial, organized dwelling-place for him and
his seed, and all the nations to whom the blessing
was to come. He and his sons after him waited
for that country, which would be heavenly in its
character, given and established by divine power.
It is not necessary here to enter into a distinction
between the heavenly and the earthly Jerusalem ; '^
the expectation of the patriarchs and the prophets
■* As is remarked by Delitzsch, the promise given unto the
fathers never goes beyond Canaan as their future home and inherit-
ance ; not even when Jacob calls the place where God appeared
unto him the gate of heaven, does the divine promise go beyond
the land "upon which thou sleepest." The apostle applies New
Testament language to the faith of the fathers, because in sub-
stance their desire was after the promised permanent inheritance,
in which God in His glory and love will be their everlasting portion.
Compare the concluding remarks of Lecture xviii.
2,1 6 The Epistle to the Hebrews, [chap.
is the renewed earth in which Israel and all
nations dwell in righteousness — the prospect
stretches forth into the boundless ages when
ultimately the tabernacle of God shall be with
men. The patriarch's hope reached beyond
death, and it had reference to themselves and
their children and all the righteous, they expected
that God would give to them and their seed the
earth, that they would live then before and with
God in their inheritance, and that from this centre
blessings would flow to all lands. " Blessed are
the meek, for they shall ifiherit " — because chosen
of God unto adoption — the earth."
In this hope of Messiah and Messiah s inherit-
ance, Isaac and Jacob and Joseph lived and died.
As illustrations of their faith, the apostle refers
to their last acts of blessing. It is only by faith
that we can bless ; for God alone is the fountain of
blessing, and it is only in communion with Him,
and in reliance on His promise, that men are able to
pronounce benediction. The fathers, realizing the
fulfilment of the promise, treated the ftttttre pos-
session as if it was theirs already, and disposed of
it, as the Spirit directed them, by their last will
and blessing. It is this firm and assured convic-
tion of the future things, the things hoped for,
that is so strikingly illustrated in the last words
of the patriarchs. Isaac looked to God alone, and
to His will and promise. The weakness and sin
XI.] The Epistle to the Hebrews. 317
of Jacob In obtaining the blessing did not disturb
Isaac's conviction that he had declared the will of
God, which man's unfaithfulness and unworthiness
cannot frustrate.
Jacob also, at the end of his long and weary
pilgrimage, during which the Angel, the Redeemer,
had been his guide and shepherd, blessed the sons
of Joseph ; and here again faith, and not sight or
reason, caused him to give the greater blessing
to the younger. *' I have waited for thy salva-
tion" was Jacob's exclamation; and worshipping,*
adoring the Lord, who had redeemed him from
all evil, he died.
The apostle does not speak of Joseph's varied
life, but his faith shone forth brightly in his last
injunction. Future things hoped for were present
and certain to him. He knew God would re-
member His people in their affliction, and fulfil
the promise given to Abraham ; and he was
anxious to show that his heart was with the
children of Jacob, and that the blessing of the
God of Abraham was his joy and hope.f
To return to Abraham. His faith was tested
still more severely. He was called to offer up
Isaac his son, his only son, the son in whom all
his affections centred. But the natural affection
of a father to his child was in this case inseparably
connected with Abraham's whole spiritual life. In
* Gen. xlix. 18. t Compare Gen. 1. 25 ; Josh. xxiv. 32.
3i8 The Epistle to the Hebrews, [chap.
Isaac was the promise. All the hopes and expec-
tations of faith centred in him. To offer up Isaac
was to sacrifice the very object of faith. Here
God seemed to contradict Himself — to take away
His own gift, to revoke His promise. And here
faith saw what reason could not see. Faith per-
ceived the hidden meaning of the command. It
was \,o try faith. Before Isaac's birth Abraham
simply believed God's Word. Faith had no out-
ward help ; it rested solely on God's promise.
Now Isaac was given, faith's object had become
visible, and hence there was not the same exclu-
sive leaning on God. The Lord tested Abraham
when He commanded him to offer up Isaac. It
was faith's wisdom which recognized the command
as a temptation from God. Now this is the be-
liever's experience. God takes from us that which
by faith was first obtained, because we make a
Christ of it, because we rest in our faith, -in our
peace, in our conversion, in our experience. God
teaches us that we must believe in Him always,
as we believed in Him at our conversion, when
we had nothing else to trust in but His Word.
All gifts obtained by faith have to be given up
unto death, and that by faith.
But Abraham believed again, as at first. Isaac's
non-existence was no difficulty to him when the
promise first came ; and now Isaac s death is no
difficulty. God can bring him again from the
XI.] The Epistle to the Hebrews. 319
dead. This Abraham believed as the only solu-
tion of the difficulty ; for God's word must be
fulfilled ; and since Isaac is to be offered up, the
Lord God Almighty will surely raise him from
the dead.
What depth of self-searching, what agony, what
crucifixion this trial involved, who can describe?
Here was indeed a summing-up of all his previous
life and conflict of faith. But faith conquered, and
in faith, love and hope. For when we believe
God, and only then, and only in that proportion,
we love God, and do not withhold from Him the
most cherished heart-object, and when we believe
God, we hope even against hope ; as Luther says,
*' I could run into Christ's arms though He had
a sharp sword in each hand." Abraham received
back Isaac in a figure — a figure of the resurrection
of Jesus, the consummation of Israel's history ;
resurrection-life after death and burial ; the pledge
and source of our incorruptible, undefiled, and
unfading inheritance.
Children of God, on whom the blessing of
Abraham has come through Jesus Christ, live by
faith ! Crucify reason, consider not the things
which are visible ; confess, manifest it by your
character and walk, that you are strangers on
earth ; wait for the heavenly country, living even
now in the spirit of the golden millennial age.
Learn from Abraham to believe in God that raised
320 The Epistle to the Hebrews, [xi.
up Jesus from the dead. Reason sees your guilt ;
faith sees your acquittal, for Christ is risen ; reason
sees your sinfulness and infirmity ; faith sees your
power and strength in newness of life, for Christ
is risen ; reason sees your affliction, sickness,
sorrow, old age, and death ; but faith sees your
glory, renewal of youth, joy, and strength everlast-
ing, for Christ is risen. Live in tents ; set not your
affections on things below. Live in the tents the
patriarchal life of prayer, and a reverent filial
walk with God. When the soul is cast down and
disquieted within you, when the heart is heavy,
when Isaac, in whom you delight, faith's child, is
to be sacrificed, then believe, hope in God, and
know that you shall yet praise Him. Thus we
give glory to God.
LECTURE XVII.
MOSES.
Hebrews xi. 23-29.
/^F all the great men whom God raised up
^^ in Israel, there is none whom the nation
regarded with a more profound veneration than
Moses. By him they were brought out of Egypt ;
through him they received the law. During forty
years he ruled in Jeshurun, combining prophetic,
priestly, and royal dignity. They owed to him,
under God, all that was precious to them as a
nation. There arose not a prophet since in Israel
like unto Moses, whom the Lord knew face to
face ; who had assigned to him the position of
mediator, of a servant in all God's house. And
as his position was wonderful, his character also
was marvellous. In him we see the majesty of a
solemn. God-fearing, and chastened man, whose
soul was constantly dwelling apart in the adoration
of the Most High, combined with a most singular
meekness, and a most fervent and self-denying
affection. His love to God shines forth in his
love to Israel, which forgave, hoped, endured all
II. Y
32 2 The Epistle to the Hebrezvs. [chap.
things ; which ingratitude never weakened, and
disappointment never blunted. We see in this
man of God courage and gentleness, fortitude and
patience — zeal for God's glory and motherly meek-
ness towards the people. He bore the image of
Him who afterwards came to Israel the perfect
manifestation of divine love.
His words also seem to surpass all other pro-
phetic words in grandeur, lucid simplicity, and
power. And the five books which bear his name,
as they are unequalled in all literature in their
beauty and majesty, became the most cherished
treasure of his nation.
It is most interesting that Scripture gives us a
picture of Moses, from his infancy to his depar-
ture. The Scripture biography of some great men
begins with their manhood. We do not know
anything of the early course of their lives. Thus
we read abruptly of Elijah the Tishbite, appear-
ing with a prophetic announcement. But in the
case of Samuel, of David, of our blessed Lord
Himself, we are told the history of their childhood
and youth. Now the apostle, in reviewing the life
of Moses, wishes to show us that it was the life
of faith. And thus the history of Moses is to
testify of righteousness by faith, though he is the
lawgiver. In like manner Paul often proved, that
the law was only given to point out the righteous-
ness which is by faith.
XI.] The Epistle to the Hebrews, 323
Faith In the God of Abraham and Isaac and
Jacob, faith in the divine promise, enabled the
parents of Moses to look away from the king's
commandment, and to confide in the unseen God,
and to realize the promised future. Thus was his
life preserved by an act of faith in the power and
mercy of the covenant God.
Brought up by the daughter of Pharaoh as her
son. Instructed in all the wisdom of the Egyptians,
the faith which was in his father and mother, and
of which they doubtless constantly testified to him,
seemed to be in an uncongenial atmosphere, and
exposed to most adverse Influences. But when
he was come to years, when he reached the age
in which the world with its attractive beauty is
fully appreciated by the youthful heart, it was
then that his faith was not eclipsed, but mani-
fested, not shipwrecked, but, as it were, consum-
mated; it was then that the good seed which for
years had quietly been cherished by the divine
Spirit in his soul sprung up In most lovely flower ;
the riches and honours of the world had not
choked it.
The only free man of his nation, the only son
of Abraham, who need not have called him a
Hebrew, he voluntarily made the choice ; he re-
fused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daugher.
His heart was with God, and with God's people
he would take his position. Abraham was called
324 The Epistle to the Hebrews. [chap.
to leave his kindred, Moses was called to join his
kindred. In both cases the choice was the same —
equally free, equally difficult.
Moses gave up the world ; ambition had the
prospect of honour and greatness ; the culture of
the most civilized state was fascinating to the
mind ; treasure and wealth held out potent allure-
ment. All this — and does it not comprise "all
that is in the world," and in its most attractive
and elevated manner ? — Moses gave up. And, on
the other side, what awaited him ? To join a
down-trodden nation of slaves, whose only riches
was the promise of the invisible God.
As the choice of Moses was perfectly free, so
we enquire with greater interest, What was it
which determined the choice ? And here we
might at first fancy it was the impulse of a
generous and patriotic heart, which espoused the
cause of the suffering and despised race. Such
a feeling is indeed noble, but we may doubt
whether it would have been strong enough to
make the sacrifices which Moses made ; and
whether it would not have preferred the path of
worldly wisdom and policy, and sought to ame-
liorate the people's condition by securing first a
position of power and influence. The Scripture
and the subsequent history prove that it was faith
which made the choice. Not reason, not senti-
ment, but the mysterious clinging of the heart to
XI.] The Epistle to the Hebrews, 325
the promise of God, the realizing of things not
seen, and the confident expectation of the future
reward. Moses chose to suffer affliction with
Israel, not because they w^ere his people, but
because they were God's people. The object of
his choice was God ; the God who chose his
fathers, who revealed to them His truth and
grace, and commanded them to walk before Him
without fear ; the God who was not ashamed to
be called their God, and to whom he had been
dedicated in his infancy.
We call this choice free, because Moses was in
the anomalous position of an Israelite at the court
of Pharaoh severed from the bondage and the
reproach of his nation. But it was free in a yet
higher sense. For in choosing God as the object
of our love and service, the heart for the first time
becomes free. Mysterious as this act is, this turn-
ing-point in the history of the soul, we know that
it is the birth of our liberty ; that it is really the
first act of perfect liberty, of conscious liberty, the
first act in which the soul, looking down into its
depths as into a transparent lake, does what it
wills to do. " I will arise and go to my Father."
I will love and serve God. I will confess Christ.
I will be the Lord's. And so God makes us
"■ willing," and sets us free ; and here is the great
triumph of divine power in its wisdom and love.
We ca7inot but obey God, yet we freely turn to
God. Necessity and liberty are blended. The
326 The Epistle to the Hebrews. [chap.
choice was made by faith ; and that which was
attractive to faith was the very thing which to
reason and nature is repulsive — the reproach of
Christ. It is the cross, which is a magnet, draw-
ing the heart.
There seems an anachronism in the expression
*'the reproach of Christ." But the expression is
chosen purposely. We know that the outgoings
of Messiah were from of old. In the sacrifice of
Isaac, in the humiliation of Joseph, in the suffer-
ings of Israel, we see foreshadows of the perfect
Servant, who was to be both the Sufferer and the
Redeemer of His people. '' Out of Egypt have I
called my Son." Israel is a type of Christ. The
ancient Jewish teachers spoke of the pangs and
sorrows of Messiah, and divided them into three —
those which He would suffer Himself, those which
would be endured by His people before and by
His people after the advent. Thus as the apostle
speaks of filling up that which is behind of the
afflictions of Christ in his body for his body's sake,
Moses by faith beheld in Israel's sufferings, and
those that awaited him, the reproach of the true
Israel, Israel's glory and hope, the Messiah.*
* Compare i Cor. x. 4 ; i Peter i. 10. Christ, as the Word, the
Messenger of the covenant, was with Israel. The coming Christ
was also typified by Israel ; hence the typical meaning of Israel's
sufferings, of Joseph's, of David's. The expression " esteeming the
reproach of Christ greater riches " is therefore one which comprises
many aspects. The New Testament counterpart may be seen in
I Peter iv. 13 ; Phil. iii. 10 ; Col. ii. 24 ; 2 Tim. iii. 12, &c.
XL] The Epistle to the Hebrews, 327
Moses thus believed in the Redeemer-God
that was to come, and by faith he became a par-
taker of the sufferings, even as he expected to be
a partaker of the inheritance. He had regard to
the recompence of the reward. His faith was the
confidence of things hoped for. And through
the most painful trials, during forty years of in-
cessant care, toil, sorrow, grief of heart, amidst
the greatest difficulties and struggles, he held
fast this hope ; he bore the burden of the nation
patiently and lovingly, in the constant exercise of
priestly intercession, relying on the Lord, rejoicing
In the Christ, the Rock, that followed them. As
he himself expressed it in his Psalm, the everlast-
ing God was his dwelling-place ; he knew the sin
of man, and the righteous anger of God, but Jeho-
vah's mercy made him rejoice, and the beauty of
the Lord was upon him. (Ps. xc.)
On mount Nebo his earthly pilgrimage was
ended. Mysterious, unwitnessed by mortal eye,
was his exodus from this troubled life. Only
angels were present, who had guarded the little
ark of bulrushes in which a hundred and twenty
years before the beautiful babe lay helpless, except
for the omnipotence and faithfulness of the cove-
nant-God, to whom the faith of loving parental
hearts had commended him. While the peace of
God filled his soul, the archangel Michael guarded
his body. Centuries after, we behold him and
328 The Epistle to the Hebrews, [chap.
Elijah descend from the celestial realms, and on
the mount of transfiguration they conversed with
the Son of God about the exodus which He should
accomplish at Jerusalem. How bright is the light,
how exceeding great is the glory, how abundant
the recompence of the reward ! How blessed was
the choice of faith, which preferred the affliction of
God's people and the reproach of Messiah to all
the pleasures of sin and treasures of Egypt !
The forty years which Moses lived as a shep-
herd in the wilderness of Midian seem a long
period of inactivity and obscure leisure. For what
purpose, we feel inclined to ask, this waste of
years ? God watches over the days and hours of
His chosen people. He who has numbered the
very hairs of our head, will He not watch also
over our years } Moses had made the great
choice ; he had forsaken Egypt's grandeur and
felicity ; he had embraced the reproach of Christ.
He learned now in the solitude of Midian to
crucify self ; to wait quietly on God ; to give up
his own will and strength ; to be a stranger and
pilgrim, even as his fathers were.
God's servants are often sent into the desert.
So was John the Baptist, ere he began his short
but brilliant witness-life, a bright torch ; thus did
Saul, after his conversion, go into Arabia. And
was not the ministry of Jesus, in whom was
no earth-born impure element of false zeal or
XI.] The Epistle to the Hebrews. 329
strength, preceded by the thirty years' stillness of
Nazareth ?
After forty years the Lord appeared unto
Moses. Scripture does not conceal from us the
timidity, the unbelief, the resistance of Moses,
when the great command was given to him to
deliver Israel out of Egypt. Formerly he was too
ready and swift to unsheath the sword, and to
rescue the oppressed. Now he is conscious of
man's weakness, of his own utter inability for so
great a task. But God's word and promise over-
came all his difficulties. Moses asked. Who am
I that I should go unto Pharaoh ? The Lord
answered by reminding him who He was, He
revealed His name, and promised His presence
and all-sufficient help.
By faith Moses went to Egypt and to Pharaoh,
and neither the wrath of the king nor the murmur-
ing, the bitter reproaches and the unbelief of his
own nation, moved him. He endured, because
before the eyes of his heart stood the mighty
God, who is invisible. Moses is the first of
whom Scripture tells us that performed miracles ;
believing the Word of God, he showed great and
mighty signs.
By faith he ordained the passover and the
sprinkling of blood. He believed the mercy of God,
who had chosen Israel, and was their Redeemer,
passing over their iniquity, transgression, and sin,
330 The Epistle to the Hebrews, [chap.
delivering them through the blood of the Lamb.
Here was the centre and heart of his faith. As
the representative and leader of the nation, he had
first to receive himself the salvation of God by faith.
Notice this passover is his first ordinance to Israel :
before the giving of law was the gospel. '' Believe,
and thou shalt be saved." The first command given
by Moses was, " Believe and live." Afterwards
the law was given by him, and the law speaks not
of faith, but says, *' Do this and live." But salva-
tion Is of God through faith, redemption Is by the
blood of the Lamb. Moses himself preaches here
salvation without works, by grace, through faith
in the Substitute.
By faith he led them through the Red Sea.
Israel murmured. They reproached him for bring-
ing them out of Egypt to die In the wilderness.
On the faith of Moses rested the burden of the
whole nation. He said unto the people, " Fear ye
not, stand still, and see the salvation of the Lord,
which He will shew to you to-day." But while he
spake these courageous words in the name and
for the honour of Jehovah, his heart was crying
to the Lord, " Deliver us." And to this silent
prayer was the answer, " Why criest thou unto
Me ? speak unto the children of Israel, that they
go forward." God's miracles pass through some
believers' hearts. They are not merely the children
of divine omnipotence and mercy, but the travail
XI.] The Epistle to the Hebrews. 331
and anguish of believing and praying hearts.
Elijah prayed, and it rained not ; he prayed again,
and it rained. Thus we are told in the epistle
of James ; but in the book of Kings we read only
the miraculous facts.
This faith of Moses will be remembered for
ever ; and the song of Moses, the servant of God,
for ever associated with the song of the Lamb ;
for Israel's deliverance out of the Red Sea is a
type of the true and final deliverance from all evil,
from sin and death, from the world and Satan.
And it is by faith only that we can pass through
the sea as by dry land. We grasp the promise :
"■ When thou passeth through the waters, I will be
with thee ; and they shall not overflow thee."
The Lord is our salvation, and in Him is our trust.
Israel is a typical nation. The things which
happened unto them are recorded for our instruc-
tion and comfort. The things which happened
unto them, happen unto us also. Hence all
Scripture is to us truth, reality, experience ; it is
not a record of the past merely, but it is an ever-
new description of the experience of all God's
children.
We also were in Egypt, and had to learn that
we could not bring about our deliverance by our
own strength and zeal. Like Moses, we had to
flee from such attempts of self-wrought emanci-
pation into the wilderness, and wait quietly upon
332 The Epistle to the Hebrews. [chap.
the Lord. When we were still, and knew that
it was not of him that willeth, nor of him that
runneth, God showed mercy. We also have kept
by faith the passover and the sprinkling of blood ;
when, acknowledging our guilt and helplessness,
we believed in the Lamb of God, when in faith
we repented, eating bitter herbs, and began to
gird our loins and to prepare for the walk and
fight through the wilderness. We also went
through the Red Sea, and then sang the song
of praise to God ; when we were taught the
power of Christ's resurrection, and when the
Holy Ghost, separating us by the cross from
Egypt, brought us through resurrection unto the
new life, and raised our affections to the things
above.
This history of the spiritual Israel, described in
Scripture and by the saints of God, is so clear and
so full of great thoughts, that many know and
appreciate it intellectually; it is so beautiful and
ideal that many grasp it admiringly with their
imagination. But do we know It hy faith ? Have
we by faith kept the passover, left Egypt, and
passed through the Red Sea .^ In the intellectual
and imaginative belief there is no pain, no con-
trition of heart, no repentance, no godly sorrow ;
there is no travailing in birth. But faith is the
trust of a guilty, sin-convinced, and helpless soul
in a crucified Saviour.
XL] The Epistle to the Hebi^ews, 333
Israel in Egypt. Look at another aspect of
this history : " I have chosen thee in the furnace
of affliction." The saints who are precious in His
sight, whom He purchased with the blood of His
own Son, and for whom He has prepared an ever-
lasting inheritance, God's elect must through much
tribulation enter into the kingdom of God. Who
would recognize them in their earthly sufferings
as the favourites of God ? Despised of the world,
they are a royal priesthood, and the joint-heirs of
Christ ; and oppressed with manifold trials and
sufferings, they are yet the possessors of all
things.
God chasteneth whom He loveth ; and it be-
comes the future kings to have the experience of
the Master, and to take their cross upon them.
Yet even while they are thus bearing the marks
of the Lord Jesus, they are upheld by God. The
measure of their trial is fixed by infinite wisdom
and tenderness. The angel of the covenant is
afflicted in all their afflictions ; God regards them
as the apple of His eye. The suffering and tried
believer has the most consoling experience of
God's goodness and faithfulness ; nay, of God
Himself as their portion. Joseph in his prison,
David in the mountain solitude, Jonah in the
belly of the whale, Daniel in the lions' den, the
three men in the fiery furnace, Peter chained to
Roman soldiers, Paul and Silas in their fetters at
334 The Epistle to the Hebrews. chap.]
Philippi, John In the Isle of Patmos, were they
not all able to praise the Lord, and to rejoice in
His love ?
Weak and despised believers are the pillars of
the world. The intercession of Moses prevails
to avert judgment from a whole nation ; Samuel
prays, and it thunders, and the enemies are
defeated ; Elijah's faith brings down rain on the
parched ground ; for the sake of Paul, and through
him, the ship's crew were saved, and not one of
them perished. God will do all things to secure
His people's good. Sun and moon stand still in
their course ; the dial's hand goes back more than
an hour ; iron swims on the river ; the barrel of
meal and cruse of oil fail not ; five loaves and two
fishes feed a multitude.
It Is the will of God to do great things for us.
All things are ours ; all things work together for
good to them that love God — who are the called
according to His purpose ; all things are freely
given unto us with Christ, the Son, whom God
spared not, but gave up for our everlasting salva-
tion. But it is the will of God that we should
learn faith.
By faith a poor and guilty sinner looks to Jesus
Christ crucified, and says. By grace I have been
saved ; by faith, continuing his gaze on Jesus, he
adds. The Father Himself loveth me; by faith he
beholds in the wounds of Jesus the election of
XI.] The Epistle to the Hebrews. 335
God, free, spontaneous, never-changing — the choice
which in the still eternity counted him one of the
jewels, and set him apart for the glory of the ages
to come. Resting in this boundless and amazing
love of God, as it shines through the Saviour
Jesus Christ, the believer lives a life of constant
difficulty, trial, conflict, and yet of continual victory
and thanksgiving. Faith says, Who can lay any-
thing to the charge of God's elect ? Faith asks
triumphantly. Who can separate us from the love
of God which is in Christ Jesus ? Triumphantly
it Is true ; but with deep humillt}', and In the pain-
ful conflict with sin, with troubles and temptations
of the present life, a wretched man is the believer,
and yet a man giving thanks to God." Saving
faith humbles. No mark is more certain and more
universal. Suspect all faith that does not clothe
the soul with humility. Suspect all faith in which
there Is not pain, sorrow, conflict.
But if we die daily, let us also rejoice in Christ
Jesus.
True faith hath a "yet not I."i There is a
threefold "yet not I." One that relates to sin,
one that relates to spiritual life, and one that
relates to duties. " I sin ; yet not I." Delight-
ing in the law of God after the Inward man, I still
* Rom. viii. 23 ; vii. 24, 25.
t From Bridge's Sermo7is on Faith. (Edited by the Countess
of Huntingdon.)
33^ The Epistle to the Hebrews. [xi.
do that I would not ; it is no more I that do it, but
sin that dwelleth in me.
'' I Hve ; yet not I." Christ liveth in me, and
that because I believe in the Saviour, that He
loved me, and that by His own gift of Himself
He is mine.
I work, yet not I, as the apostle Paul writes :
'' I have laboured more abundantly than they all,
yet not I, but the grace of God which was with
me."
Christ dwells in the heart by faith. Hence the
wonderful paradox : I, yet not I. He that by grace
gives up himself shall find his soul — his life ; his
name, his individuality shall endure for ever; he
shall abide and dwell in God for evermore. He
has found himself, he has been found of the Great
Shepherd. And he, who belongs to the Christ of
God, shall inherit all things ; for all things are ours
if we be Christ's, who is the Son and the glory of
God.
LECTURE XVIII.
FROM THE JUDGES TO THE MACCABEES : THE BETTER
THING FORESEEN FOR US.
Hebrews xi. 30-40.
T^O we think enough of faith, chosen by divine
^-^ omnipotent love to be its channel ? God
alone doeth great marvels, but it is through the
faith of His saints.
All the victories of Israel were wrought by faith.
Divine power and grace redeemed them on that
memorable night ; but it was the faith of Moses
which kept the passover and the sprinkling of
blood. It was God who divided the Red Sea,
but in answer to the silent prayer of faith which
ascended from the heart of His servant. All
miracles of healing recorded in the Gospels were
wrought by faith. Jesus prayed to the Father,
and then fed the multitude with five loaves and
two fishes. Jesus lifted up His eyes to heaven, and
then said, " Ephphatha. Be thou loosed." Jesus
by faith thanked God that He heard Him always,
and then uttered His mighty " Lazarus, come
forth."
II. z
338 The Epistle to the Hebrews. [chap.
And faith was wrought also in the recipient of
divine favour. *' Thy faith hath healed thee ;"
" Be it unto thee as thou hast believed/' Such
were frequently Christ's words.
The people who perished in the wilderness
entered not into God's rest because c>f unbelief ;
and because of their unbelief, Jesus could not
show many miracles in some places. *' Believe
only, and thou shalt see the glory of God."
Israel's history is the history of God's omni-
potent saving grace, and of man's faith. From
heaven descends miracle ; from earth ascends
faith. From the election of Abraham to the birth
of Moses, from the passover and the Red Sea to
the dividing of the river Jordan, all is miracle,
and all has to go through the faith of some
chosen saint. Israel is before Jericho, a walled
and fenced city ; it is not by power and might, but
by faith, that they are. to take it. How utterly
foolish it must have seemed to the Canaanites, to
see that procession day after day : the men of
war went round the city, and seven priests before
them, bearing the ark of the Lord and blowing
trumpets. But Israel believed. To give up their
own strength, and to put no confidence in their
number or valour, and to trust in God, who com-
manded them — to do what to reason appeared so
utterly useless — was indeed faith. The walls of
Jericho fell; and, according to God's command,
XL] The Epistle to the Heb7^ews. 339
the city was burnt with fire, and all that was
therein ; for the iniquity of the Amorites was full.
Is this not written for our learning ? The walls
of unbelief, superstition, and ungodliness, yield to
no earthly armour and power. It is not by com-
pulsion, nor by reasoning ; it is not by the weapons
which this world supplies, that these walls can be
be destroyed. It is by the Word of God, and
by the Word declared in faith. Ministers and
people, they who blow the trumpet, and also the
people who are with them, are to be united be-
lieving in the power of God. Congregations are
only too apt to let the ministers go forth by them-
selves with the message ; they forget that they
are all called to strive with the minister in the
gospel, to pray, to labour with him.
The inhabitants of Jericho all perished except
one. We ask, what virtue, what excellence,
distinguished this chosen one among so many
thousands, and commended her to the divine
clemency ? God hath chosen things base in this
world. Sin red as scarlet He can forgive, and
make whiter than snow. Rahab believed. She
heard the message, that God was with Israel, and
that He was about to give them Canaan, because
the measure of Canaan's sin was full. All Jericho
had heard it. The fame of Israel had gone forth
while they were yet in the wilderness. Their
victories over Amalek, over Og king of Bashan,
340 The Epistle to the Hebrews, [chap.
over SIhon, king of the Amorltes, had been noised
abroad. Jericho had heard that Jehovah was
leading forth His people, and coming to judge
Canaan. The message was clear, the evidence
proving its truth strong and patent ; but only
Rahab believed. Man's unbelief has its source,
not in the want of evidence or proof, with which
the divine message is accompanied, but in the
self-righteous, sinful heart, which does not acknow-
ledge the justice of God's anger, and does not
thirst after His mercy. But Rahab, though a
great sinner, believed both that Canaan was to be
judged, and that Israel was God's chosen people.
God had granted her conviction of sin and true
repentance.
We measure things by an earthly and false
standard. We make a great distinction between
vice and sin ; between crime and the inward trans-
gression of God's law ; between outward degra-
dation and the pollution of the heart. But how
solemn and touching is the fact, so emphatically
brought before us in the Gospels, that moral
Pharisees rejected, hated, and crucified the blessed
Jesus ; and that publicans, and sinners, and harlots
received Him in repentance, in faith, in love, and
life-long self-sacrifice. Rahab believed with that
true and genuine faith which, looking away from
the things seen, grasps the promise and trusts all
to the unseen God. Her faith manifested itself in
XI.] The Epistle to the Hebrews, 341
action, in obedience. And she was saved ; though
her house was most exposed to danger, yet she
was at peace and in safety ; she was separated
from judgment and destruction. The Hne of
scarlet thread was to her the sign and seal of the
covenant of pardon and salvation. Thus is the
chief of sinners safe, if he trusts in the Saviour.
Who more exposed than he to the righteous judg-
ment of God .'^ Who safer in the cleft of the
smitten Rock ?
By grace through faith. This is the explana-
tion of the history of Ra.'iab the sinner. She
was pardoned and rescued, numbered now among
Israel, a daughter of Abraham, father of the be-
lieving. We see her name enrolled in the im-
perishable annals of the sacred history. The
evangelist Matthew records her name among the
ancestors of Jesus. She is one of the mothers of
Jesus, and teaches us the wondrous love of our
Saviour God.
And in that earnest, severe, and most searching
epistle of James, the only two examples given of
true, genuine, living faith are Abraham, the friend
of God, and Rahab.
*' And what shall I say more ?" Time would
fail to go through the whole history of Israel, the
period of the judges and kings, and to show all
the golden links of faith in the wonderful chain.
Let us learn from this the eternal and spiritual
342 The Epistle to the Hebrews, [chap.
character of these Scriptures. The history of the
judges, Gideon, Barak, Jephthae, and Samson f^
the history of the kings from David downward ;
the history of the prophets beginning with Samuel,
last of the judges and first of the prophets, Is a
history of faith, grasping the promises, obeying
the divine voice, overcoming the world, suffering
and dying In the Lord.t
By faith they wrought great things. They
subdued kingdoms and wrought righteousness.
You remember the victories over Philistines and
Moabltes, Syrians and Edomites, which judges
and kings obtained by faith in the living God.
You remember the justice and equity with which
* ^^ Fides nobilitat omnes : it is faith that raiseth a man. They
did great things ; but those things are upon record only as they
were wrought by 'faith ; yet their faith was weak, and laboured
under many infirmities. Look into the nth of the Hebrews;
there is no mention made of Samson's infirmities, nor of Rahab's.
Mention is made of their faith, but their infirmities passed by, and
not one mentioned ; and all the great things which they did were
mentioned only upon the account of faith. God honours His own
work, faith."
t Verses 32-38. It is evident that the apostle feels quite over-
whelmed with the numerous illustrations of the power of faith in
the acts and sufferings of Israel's great men. This accounts for
the absence of strict chronological order in these verses. Gideon,
Barak, Samson, Jephthae, and David are enumerated first (without
conjunctive particle) as warriors, then (joined by reKai. as introduc-
ing something different) the group of prophets. Verse 33 : Subdued
kingdoms refers to period of judges, obtained promises to 2 Sam. vii.,
stopped the mouths of lions, Dan. vi. 22. Verse 34 : Quenched
violence of fire, Dan. iii., escaped the edge of the sword (Elijah,
Elisha, David, also Mace, ii.), out of weakness were made strong, like
XL] The Epistle to the Hebrews, 343
Joshua, Samuel, and David ruled in Israel. They
executed justice and judgment unto all the people.
They were able to appeal to the whole nation, that
in faithful and disinterested love they had ruled
over them. And what was the secret spring of
this righteousness ? It was what Joshua expressed,
'' As for me and my house, we will serve the
Lord;"* what David said, " I will behave myself
wisely in a perfect way. O when wilt thou come
unto me ? " They believed in God. By faith they
obtained promises ; for David and the prophets
were still and lowly before the Lord, and received
His message with meekness and a trembling heart.
Thus were they the children of Abraham, who
by faith subdued kings, judged righteously, and
Samson, after his declension (some think of Hezekiah, 2 Kings xx.;
Isa. xxxviii,), waxed vahant in fight, turned to flight the armies of
the ahens, i Mace, where the same expressions are often used.
Verse 35 : Women received their dead to hfe again, i Kings xvii. ;
2 Kings iv. 17. "Tortured," &c., refers to the touching story of
Eleazer, and of the seven brothers and their heroic mother. (2 Mace.
V. I ; vii.) Verse 37 : Stoned, Zechariah (2 Cliron. xxiv. 20 ; Matt,
xxiii. 35), sawn asunder, according to old tradition, Isaiah the
prophet ; slain with the sword, i Kings ix. 20. The saints had to
endure poverty and_eyery kind of destitution. Notice how all the
opposition of the world and rage of Satan cannot pluck Christ's
sheep out of His hand, or prevail against the congregation of the
Lord. There will always be a testimony for God. How cheerfully
ought we to bear our comparatively light burden. And if any
brother reading these lines has been counted worthy by the Lord
to "suffer great things for Christ's name sake" (Acts ix. 16), may
the voice of the Saviour uphold him : " Rejoice, and be exceeding
glad : for great is your reward in heaven."
* Josh, xxiii., xxiv. ; I Sam. xii. 3, 4 ; 2 Sam. viii. 15.
344 "^^^ Epistle to the Hebrews, [chap.
received the promises and the confidential dis-
closures of the divine counsel. They had Abra-
ham's faith, and did the works of Abraham.
Faith accomplishes marvellous deliverances.
The mouths of lions can do no injury to believing
Daniel, for his God sent His angel to shut the
lions' mouths. The violence of fire, heated seven-
times furiously, is quenched not by water, but by
faith ; the fourth man — fourth, where there are
three believers ; third, where there are two
Emmaus disciples — was with them because they
believed. They escaped the edge of the sword,
as David escaped Saul's wrath, and Elijah that
of Jezebel.
But faith has not merely great works and great
victories, it has also great trials, sufferings, and
painful deaths. Now the apostle enumerates not
the persons who suffered, but the evils which
/ faith endured. Hoping for a better resurrection,
faithful Israelites in the times of the Maccabees
^ endured agonizing tortures ; others in faith en-
dured stripes, imprisonments, protracted hardship,
destitution, hunger and nakedness, constant suffer-
ing and dying. Some, like Zechariah, were stoned ;
others, as tradition says of Isaiah, were sawn
asunder ; others, like the prophets in the days of
Jezebel, were put to death by the sword. And
all lived and suffered by faith, looking forward
unto the self- same golden time which we are
xi.i The Epistle to the Hebrews. 345
awaiting, the coming of the Lord, to establish
His kingdom and manifest His glory. God has
so united the children of the old dispensation and
the disciples of Jesus, that the fathers are not to
receive the fulfilment of their hopes until we also
receive the full adoption.
Let us learn from these bright examples. We
may make use of extraordinary examples to en-
courage our ordinary faith in ordinary times.
These models are on a very grand and large
scale, and so we can plainly see them. /
Faith works and suffers ; faith Is busy and J
energetic. It is our only strength and victory.
In suffering we glorify God as well as in action ;
and In suffering it is only faith which grasps the
promises, and rests on the bosom of God In quiet
and loving humility. Suffering Is an honour God
puts on His saints. To them it \s given to suffer
for Christ's sake. A life without affliction and
self-denial, a life without the cross, is not likely to
precede the life with the crown. When the Church
becomes lukewarm, there is little hardship en-
dured, and little cross-bearing. Let tried believers
not doubt that they are precious in God's sight.
They whom the world despises are generally the
God-chosen nobility, of whom the world is not
worthy.
See to your faith, listening to God's Word, hear-
ing His call, relying on His promise. "What is
34^ The Epistle to the Hebrews. [chap.
sanctlfication but faith Incarnate P""^ And as a
true believer is very sensible of his unbelief, dwell
much on Christ as the Alpha, the ever-new and
sweet beginning. Christ rebukes, but acknow-
ledges, honours, and helps little faith, though He
commends strong faith.
Look also at Christ, the Omega. The saints
of old looked forward to the better resurrection —
that first resurrection of the just spoken of by
Daniel, by our Lord, by the apostle Paul, and in
the book of Revelation.!
These all, having the grace of Gcd in their
hearts, so manifested it in their lives, sufferings,
and death, that they obtained a good report.
They are now waiting in the realm of peace for
the final consummation.
Meanwhile new covenant believers have re-
ceived some " better thing." What is the better
thing foreseen by God for us ?
The first and most obvious difference between
the old saints and the Church is, that the promised
salvation was to them entirely in the future ; while
we have lived to see the first advent, we also are
looking forward to the fulfilment of God's promises
at the second coming. But to Israel the Messianic
advent, with its salvation and glory, was altogether
in the future. It is a wonderful privilege that we
can say, " Messiah has come ! The sacrifice has
* Bridge, t Dan. xii. 2 ; Luke xx. 35 ; Phil, iii, 1 1 ; Rev. xx. 6.
XL] The Epistle to the Hebrews. 347
been offered ! " But does this difference imply
anything real, or is it merely a difference in clear-
ness of vision and degree of enjoyment ? While
we must never forget the unity of all God's saints
in the one faith and one hope, yet we must not
overlook the clearly -taught difference between
the position of the Church of Christ and that of
believers before the advent.
The promise of the Father, which is contained
according to Christ's teaching in all the prophets,
was fulfilled on the day of Pentecost. This great
culminating and comprehensive promise, the in-
dwelling of the Holy Ghost, presupposes the
Incarnation, death, and ascension of the Son of
God. Thus John the Baptist perceived that the
first link of the chain had appeared, and declared
that Jesus "shall baptize with the Holy Ghost."
This baptism had never taken place yet in Israel.
Nor could It take place during Christ's life. John
spoke of it as something future. John himself,
though in the old dispensation there was none
greater than he, is declared by our Saviour to be;
less than the privileged saints of the new cove-'
nant. This gift of the Holy Ghost Is connected
by our Lord with His death and His going to the
Father ; and the evangelist John explains to us
that it is connected with the glorified humanity of
Jesus.'''' Hence, in a very real and important sense,
■^ John vii. 38, 39, xiv. 16, xv. 26, xvi. 7, &c.
34^ The Epistle to the Hebrews. [chap.
the Comforter has come, since the ascension of
the Lord, in a manner in which He never did
and could come before.
The day of Pentecost is the beginning of days.
Here is not an isolated and exceptional manifes-
tation, but the commencement of a new period.
Believers henceforth are spoken of as sealed with
the Spirit, as having received the Spirit of God's
Son in their hearts, as having an unction from
above. They were exhorted, not to seek " a fresh
baptism of the Spirit," but not to grieve the Spirit,
whom they had received — not to forget that they
were the temple of the Holy, Ghost ; and as they
had received the Spirit, so to walk in the Spirit.
The reasons why this gift is now bestowed are
manifold and obvious.
1. The Spirit's advent is connected with the
finished work of redemption. Because the blood
has been shed, the Spirit descends.
2. The Spirit comes through the preaching of
faith, and not by the law. It is when the forgive-
ness of sin is declared that God puts His Spirit
within our hearts. Now it is true that Old Testa-
ment believers looked forward to the atonement,
and were comforted by the assurance of God's
grace. But, as we have seen, the way of access
into the holiest was not yet made manifest ; the
conscience was not brought perfectly into liberty.
Hence the influence of the Holy Ghost during
XL] The Epistle to the Hebrews. 349
their period must have been different from His
indwelling now, when we have been actually
brought nigh by the blood of Christ. But,
3. The Spirit, as an Indwelling Spirit, descends
from the Incarnate, crucified, and glorified Son
of God — the Christ or anointed Head of the
Church. Now as before the advent there was not
'..^ humanity on the throne, the relation of be-
lievers to the coming Lord and Jehovah was
Indeed mediated by the Spirit ; but It must have
been different from the mystical union as It now
subsists between the Head and the members.
Wonderful Is our position ; and nothing does so
humble and abase the believer as the contrast
between the high position given to him of God,
and his actual state, life, and conduct. How
glorious Is the Head! how weak, wayward, and
sinful are the members ! Are we indeed one with
Christ, called to live in the perpetual sunshine of
God's love. In the blessed and lively hope of
glory ; called to represent Jesus In our daily life,
to speak and act, to suffer and overcome, as He
gave us an ensample, and In the strength of the
life, which descends from Him into our souls,
have we received the Spirit, who dwells In us
constantly, who bears witness with our spirits
that we are God's sons, who Intercedes in us, so
identifying Himself with our sorrow and need as
to become a suppliant with us ? Are we thus Iden-
350 The Epistle to the Hebrews. [chap.
tified and united with the Lord Jesus, He the
Christ, and we the Christians, anointed with the
Spirit, as His ? Oh, what manner of men ought
we to be ! And when we compare ourselves with
the fathers, who were not chosen to see and hear
on earth the things which were reserved for us,
how gigantic does the faith of Abraham and the
patriarchs appear, how stupendous the sacrifice,
the patience, the love, the unworldllness of Moses
and the prophets ! Do we believe, love, suffer,
and endure as the fathers did ?
Here Is no cause for elation, but for humility ;
let none of us be puffed up by a merely Intellectual
head knowledge of the "glorious position of the
Church,"as distinguished from the Old Testament
saints ; " but let us glorify God in these men of
faith, whose lives are recorded for our learning;
let us imitate their example ; let us always cherish
their memory with veneration and affection.
And as for their future position, let us rest
satisfied with what Scripture reveals. God is not
ashamed to be called their God. Jesus shall bring
them with Him at His coming. At present the
spirits of just men are perfect, and in the heavenly
Jerusalem. It seems that in the future kingdom
they shall stand in a special relation to the earthly
Jerusalem and Israel ; that they shall be more
immediately connected with the earthly inherit-
ance which was promised them of old. The
XL] The Epistle to the Hebrews. 351
twelve apostles also, though they belong to the
Pentecostal Church, we are told, shall sit on
thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel.
At the coming of the Lord, the hope of the
ancient Israel (including also the saints before
Abraham) and the hope of the Pentecostal Church
will be fulfilled. The union of all believers will
be manifested. This union will be to the glory
of God, and part of the blessedness of His
people. And in this union we think there will be
variety ; differences of glory. Different positions
and relationships may be maintained during the
millennial age, while there is perfect union and
communion, Christ Himself being the all-glorious
centre.
And as we believe that there will be differences
of glory among individuals, why may there not
be differences of glory and position for the saints
of the various dispensations ? These things are
partly hidden, that we may dwell all the more on
that which is clear, and hasten to the coming of
our God and Saviour.
LECTURE XIX.
THE EXEMPLAR OF FAITH.
Hebrews xii. i, 2.
nnO continue stedfast in faith, patient and en-
-*- during to the end, looking unto the appearing
of the Lord — this was the exhortation with which
the apostle concluded the tenth chapter. This
exhortation was not so much interrupted as con-
firmed and illustrated by the review of the past
history of God's children, who exemplify in a
most striking manner the nature, trial, and victory
of faith. Appealing to their sense of the union
of the family of God, and reminding them that
God had provided some better thing for them, he
repeats the exhortation to steady perseverance in
the ways of faith and patience. If all the saints
of God lived, suffered, endured, and conquered
by faith, shall not we also ? If the saints who
lived before the incarnation, before the redemption
was accomplished, before the High Priest had
entered for us into the heavenly sanctuary, trusted
in the midst of all discouragements and trials, how
XII.] The Epistle to the Hebrews, 353
much more ought we who know the name of Jesus,
who have received the beginning, the instalment
of the great Messianic promise.
We who have still to walk in the narrow path
which alone leads to glory are encouraged and
instructed by the cloud of witnesses, the innumer-
able company of saints, who testified amid the most
varied circumstances of suffering and temptation,
that the just live by faith, and that faith is the
victory which overcometh the world. The memory
of those children of God, whose lives are recorded
for our learning and consolation, animates us, and
we feel upheld as it were by their sympathy and
by the consciousness, that although few and weak,
strangers and pilgrims on earth, we belong to a
great and mighty, nay, a victorious army, part of
which has already entered into the land of peace.
But the cloud of witnesses* is not the object
on which our heart is fixed. They testify of faith,
and we cherish their memory with gratitude, and
walk with a firmer step, because of the music of
their lives. Our eye, however, is fixed, not on
* " So great a cloud " denoting the exceeding great number of
saints, a multitude which no man can number. The most re-
markable instances of faith had been singled out by the apostle ;
but soon he felt that time would fail him to enumerate all, while he
implied that these eminent saints whom he singled out were only
representatives of the thousands of faithful ones who in every age
served God. " Witness" may either refer to the saints as beholding
us, and our walk of faith or unbelief ; or it may mean their testi-
mony to the necessity, the nature and power of faith. In favour
II. 2 A
354 '^^^ Epistle to the Hebrews. [chap.
many, but on One ; not on the army, but the
Leader ; not on the servants, but the Lord. We
see Jesus only, and from Him we derive our true
strength, even as He is our Hght of hfe.
There are many witnesses, and yet Jesus only
is the true and faithful witness. His witness is
also of faith. He is the root, the source, out of
which proceeded all the faith of which the eleventh
chapter speaks. He is the true Israel, the servant
of the Lord, who trusted in God, and by faith
glorified the Father who sent Him. As the
great Exemplar of faith, Jesus is set before us ;
as the Captain of salvation, who is the author and
finisher of faith ; who is not merely the new and
Jiving way, by whom we have access to the Father,
but who is the way, that we may walk in Him.
Let us first consider the example of Jesus as
the great motive of our obedience of faith, and then
look at the nature and method of our Christian
race.
By faith Jesus lived, suffered, and died ; on
account of His obedience of faith He entered into
of the first view may be adduced — (a) The nature of the illustration
itself. In a race there are spectators who judge, and by their
presence encourage, if) The similar use of the word witness in
I Tim. vi. 12; 2 Tim. ii. 2. But the second view seems more in
accordance with the whole scope of the passage, and is both simpler
and more comprehensive. The saints' witness, which is recorded in
Scripture, and which we are always to remember, is to the faithful-
ness of God the transitory character of suffering and persecution,
the power and comfort of faith, &c.
XII.] The Epistle to the Hebrews, 355
glory. Here Is not merely our righteousness and
peace, but this Is also the model and strength of
our life. Jesus Is the way to the Father. By Him
we first come; like Him, and In Him, we who
have come must walk ; for Jesus Is the first-born
among many brethren, and to His Image we are
to be conformed. Jesus suffered for us, leaving
us an example that we should follow His steps.
We who know Him as our Saviour know also the
fellowship of His sufferings, and the power of His
resurrection ; we know Him as the author and
finisher of faith. The Lamb who was slain for us
Is also the Lamb whom we follow; the cross Is
both the source and method of our new life.
You who trust In Jesus learn to trust also like
Jesus. You who believe In the blood of Christ,
and who rejoice In His resurrection, learn as the
sons of God to live the life and to be possessed
of the spirit of your Head and Lord, your elder
Brother. For this purpose has the Father quick-
ened you together with Him, that you should walk
as the Son of God also walked — by faith.
Jesus walked by faith. '' I will put my trust In
God." This was the description given of Messiah
In the prophets. He, who In the eternal counsel
undertook our salvation in obedience to the Father's
will, entered by His incarnation on the path of
faith. In the eternal counsel of the ever-blessed
Triune God, we see not merely the equality of the
356 The Epistle to the Hebrews. [chap.
Son with the Father, but also the voluntary stibordi-
nation of the Son, undertaking our salvation, and
becoming according to the divine purpose the
Christ, the Head of the Body, entering thus on
the relation of the servant : and this mind was in
Him, the Son of God, from all eternity, even
obedience unto death. Who can comprehend this
mystery of divine love ! But herein is the very
power and efficacy of the obedience of Jesus, that
it is the voluntary condescension and obedience
of the Son of God ; and that it is a true and
real obedience, submission, dependence, struggle,
suffering — that it is the obedience oi faith.
By faith He walked, looking always unto the
Father, and speaking and acting in filial de-
pendence on the Father, and in filial reception
out of the Father's fulness. By faith He looked
away from all discouragements, difficulties, and
oppositions, committing His cause to the Lord,
who had sent Him, to the Father, whose will He
had come to fulfil. By faith He resisted and
overcame all temptation, whether it came from
Satan, or from the false Messianic expectations of
Israel, or from His own disciples. By faith He
performed the signs and wonders, in which the
power and love of God's salvation were sym-
bolized. Before He raised Lazarus from the
grave, He, in the energy of faith, thanked God,
who heard Him alway. And here we are taught
XII.] The Epistle to the Hebrews. 357
the nature of all His miracles. He trusted in
God ; He gave the command, " Have faith in
God," out of the fulness of His own experience.*
As the apostle Peter says, "Jesus went about
doing good, and healing all that were oppressed
of devils ; for God was with Him!' \
The incarnation of the Son of God, His con-
descension in emptying Himself, was most real
and true ! He who was rich did really become
poor. He who was God's own Son in glory did
really empty Himself, and take upon Him the form
of a servant. Born of a woman, and made under
the law, the Messiah came to do the will of the
Father that sent Him. Real were His prayers,
the expression of dependence and trust ; real
was that lifting up of the eyes to the Father
above, before Jesus blessed and healed, before
He fed the multitude, before He uttered the
word of power ; real the supplications in the
still night before Jesus appointed His apostles ;
real the petition, *' Glorify Thy Son." Not His
* It is equally true and important that Jesus performed miracles,
not as Moses and the other servants of God, but as the Lord,
the Son of God. " My Father worketh hitherto, and I work."
The Jews rightly inferred that Jesus made Himself equal with
God. Again: "The Father that dwelleth in Me, He doeth the
works." Again : Jesus, unlike any mere human prophet, did
miracles to manifest forth His glory. (John ii. ii.) We must
seek the solution of these apparent contradictions in the Sojiship.
Jesus is Son ; Jesus is God's Son — filial faith and equahty.
+ Acts X. 33.
35 8 The Epistle to the Hebrews. [chap.
own divine omnipotence, but the Father's protec-
tion, was His strength; not His own power, but the
Scripture promises echoing the eternal promise,
were His hope and consolation.
The Lord Jesus believed. By faith He rested in
the Word of God which was written concerning
Him : "He shall see of the travail of His soul, and
be satisfied." He pierced by faith the dense, dark
cloud of suffering, ignominy, agony, death, and
He beheld the joy set before Him. He knew
that Israel would reject Him; the cross, with all
its shame, the scourging, and spitting, and the
mockery, all stood before Him ; and yet by faith
He added: *'And on the third day the Son of
man shall rise again from the dead." He who
knew that the first part of the 22nd Psalm yet
awaited its fulfilment, even His own suffering,
believed that the conclusion was also concerning
Him. " Thou hast heard me. I will declare Thy
name unto my brethren" (faith's family) : "in the
midst of the congregation will I sing praise to
Thee." His faith appropriated the words of the
1 6th Psalm : " I have set the Lord always before
me : because He is at my right hand, I shall not
be moved. For Thou wilt not leave my soul in
hell ; neither suffer Thy Holy One to see corrup-
tion. Thou wilt shew me the path of life : in
Thy presence is fulness of joy ; at Thy right
hand there are pleasures for evermore." Was it
XII.] The Epistle to the Hebrews. 359
not by faith that on that night, and after having
by a glorious and majestic anticipation instituted
the memorial of His expiatory death, He sang a
hymn of praise ? " The Stone which the builders
rejected has become the head corner-stone. This
is the Lord's doing, and wondrous in our eyes."
In His sufferings, as the apostle Peter writes,
"Jesus committed Himself to Him thatjudgeth
righteously ;" and His last word was the act of
faith : '' Father, into Thy hands I commend my
Spirit."
Jesus believed. He is the author and finisher
of faith — the only perfect, all-sided embodiment
of faith. Since without faith it is impossible to
please God, and since Jesus always and perfectly
pleased the Father ; since faith is the very root
and spirit of obedience, and Jesus was the ser-
vant of the Lord, who finished the God -given
work, Jesus was perfect in faith. In the cloud
of witnesses we see faith manifested in scattered
fragments, each saint illustrating some aspect,
overcoming some difficulty, enduring some test ;
but Jesus had all faith. The whole realm of faith
was traversed by Him ; He ascended the whole
scale, from the lowest to the highest step ; He
endured, and He conquered all things. To the
end, even unto the death of the cross, He trusted
in God.
The joy set before Him was not His motive.
360 The Epistle to the Hebrews, [chap.
but His encouragement. His motive was God's
glory, and His love to the Father and to man.
Hence we may also say, that the joy set before
Him was His motive. For what else is that joy
but that the Father is glorified, that His name is
declared, that sinners are saved ; that the Church,
the body, is gathered ; the Church one with Jesus
by the indwelling of the Holy Ghost, who came
after His ascension ; that the kingdom is estab-
lished at His appearing, when the Church, the
bride, is associated with Him ; that throughout
the ages God is all in all ? This joy, anticipated
by faith, sustained Him here below ; upon this
joy He entered at His resurrection ; this joy is
fulfilling itself even now, and is yet awaiting its
perfect manifestation and consummation.
Thus by faith He endured the cross, despising
the shame. '' The cross," the only time in which
the word occurs in our epistle as the symbol of
the obedience, the expiatory sacrifice, the offering
up of Himself unto the Father. Who can fathom
the depth of His suffering on Golgotha ? The
more we think of His divinity, and the more
we think of Him as the Son of man, of His
infinite and eternal love to the Father, of His
most sensitive and perfectly holy humanity, the
more we wonder with deep sorrow and contrition,
yet with adoring gratitude, that He endured the
cross, despising the shame. Pain and shame were
XII.] The Epistle to the Hebrews. 361
most real to Him — to Jesus, Son of God and Son
of man, one person.
Jesus is now at the right hand of the throne of
God. You know how the apostle, in harmony
with all Scripture, delights in presenting the glory
and exaltation of the Saviour as the result and
reward of His obedience unto death.*
Who is this glorious One, far above all prin-
cipality, and power, and might, and dominion, and
every name that is named, not only in this world,
but also in that which is to come ? It is Christ,
whom He raised from the dead, the man Jesus,
who suffered, was crucified, dead and buried, f
Who is it that ascended far above all heavens,
that He might fill all things ? Who but He that
also descended first into the lower parts of the
earth?! Thus Jesus Himself, before His ascen-
sion, declared unto His disciples that all power
w2iS given unto Him in heaven and on earth ; that
is, given by the Father unto Him as the incarnate
Son, who obeyed the salvation-will of God. It is
unto His God and our God, unto His Father and
our Father, that Jesus ascends ; and when in the
heavenly glory He appears unto the beloved
disciple. He reveals Himself as the First-begotten
of the dead : " I am He that liveth, and was dead ;
and, behold, I am alive for evermore."
* So in Phil, iii., and in the epistles to the Colossians and
Ephesians. t Col. i. X Eph. iv.
362 The Epistle to the Hebrews. chap.]
Jesus, the Messiah, is represented to us in Scrip-
ture both as Lord and as servant ; both as the
King, whom we honour even as we honour the
Father, and as the first of worshippers, who in the
heavenly glory continually maketh Intercession
for us. In the book of Revelation, which is the
revelation of Jesus Christ in this sense also, that it
manifests unto us the glorified Christ, the Saviour
speaks emphatically of God as His God. Blessed
truth, that He who is the First and the Last, the
Only-begotten of the Father, has become the
Servant, the Anointed, the Head of the Church ;
that the Father has^^W^ Him unto us for ever;
that on His throne of glory He identifies Himself
with the brethren, praying with them as well as
for them ; that even now He is waiting for His
return to us and for His reign with us, even as we
are longing for His appearing. In the light of
His infinite, eternal divine glory, we behold His
marvellous condescension and love. And as the
fruit and reward of His obedience we behold His
majesty, power, and kingdom.
This truth is full of consolation — full of the
most searching and animating consolation. Jesus
is our Example ; He is our Forerunner ; He is the
Prototype of all God's saints ; the first-born among
many brethren. We also are through suffering
to enter into glory. Who would venture to rise
to such a conception, had not the Lord Himself,
XII.] The Epistle to the Hebrews, 363
from His throne of exaltation, addressed these
words to His churches : " To him that over-
cometh will I grant to sit with Me in my throne,
even as I also overcame, and am set down with
my Father in His throne."
Learn then that as we are saved by faith in
Christ crucified, so we are saved in the faith of
Jesus, knowing the fellowship of His sufferings.
Jesus suffered and died to deliver us from wrath
and to give us glory. But Jesus suffered and
died, that we should arm ourselves likewise with
the same mind ; that choosing to suffer in the flesh,
we should cease from sin ; that being chastened of
the Lord, we should not be judged ; that by dying
daily, we should rejoice in the resurrection power
through the Spirit that raised Jesus from the dead.
Jesus did indeed suffer, in order that we should not
suffer the wrath of God, separation from His pre-
sence and the eternal death. But Jesus suffered
that we should suffer all the pain and struggle, all
the loneliness and opposition, all the self-denial
and crucifixion, which the flesh must experience
when the Spirit of Christ rules and guides. Jesus
died to send a sword, to send death to self, sin,
the love of the world, nay, to our whole life, as it
is of the first Adam. Oh, how sad is it to notice
these two inseparable aspects of Christ separated !
Some speaking of Christ as our model, who know
not Christ as our Sacrifice and High Priest ; others
364 The Epistle to the Hebrews. [chap.
again speaking much of Christ's blood and perfect
peace, and not remembering that Christ suffered
for us, leaving us an example that we should follow
His steps. Let us hold fast the simplicity of God's
method. In the obedience, sufferings, and death
of Jesus we have righteousness and peace, and
that first and always ; and in them also we have
the source, the example, and the strength of our
life of faith.
And since the words death and crucifixion,
suffering and self-denial, have a gloomy and dis-
couraging sound, let us remember that here is
nothing legal, hard, impossible, or even uncertain.
All real bitterness was tasted in our stead by
Jesus. The light of resurrection shines into our
hearts, even while we mortify the members which
are npon earth. The peace of God and the
sympathy of Jesus uphold us, even while we offer
up Isaac, our only son. The assurance of the
Father's unchanging love, and the indwelling of
the Holy Ghost bring us joy, even while we
groan in this our tabernacle, being burdened,
and while we feel the presence and power of sin
and temptation. Our blessedness is not in that
we mourn, but in that even now Christ is our
consolation. We are indeed sorrowful, yet alway
rejoicing. We show the death of the Lord ; but
it is in a feast, the banquet of love and joy. For
He died that we should henceforth truly live, and
we hear the words, " Till I come."
XII.] The Epistle to the Hebrews, 365
(11.) There is a race set before us. Every
human life may be viewed as a race, even as every
human life may be compared with a fight. There
is, however, a good fight of faith, and there is a
bad fight against and without faith. So there is
the race which the world sets before us, which our
own ambition chooses, and which we run in our
own unrenewed energy — and there is the race set
before us of God, on which we enter when we
give our hearts to Jesus, and hear from His lips
the words of majesty and love — " Follow Me.'*
The one race appeals to us in our natural state :
animated by merely human, if not sinful motives,
and pursuing earthly methods, we may reach the
goal — a crown of fading leaves ; but in the God-
appointed race all is of God — heavenly, spiritual,
and eternal. The prize of the high calling in
Christ Jesus is the crown, immortal and unfading,
the inheritance of light and blessedness, the throne
of Jesus Himself, who will associate with Himself
the disciples, who have overcome and finished
their course. The method and laws of the race
are the words of Jesus abiding in the heart, the
mind of Christ implanted by the Holy Ghost.
The strength and energy of the race is the influ-
ence, faith-renewing, which the Lord sends unto
all that wait upon Him. The race is set before us
of God, and God renews our strength to run the
race.
366 The Epistle to the Hebrews, [chap.
It Is a race , hence constancy, stedfastness, per-
severance are absolutely necessary. He that
endureth to the end shall be saved. Many, like
the Galatlans, run well at first, rejoicing in the
liberty of the gospel, and with enthusiastic love
receiving the messenger of peace ; but they are
soon hindered and turned aside. Many who at
first and immediately rejoice, and perhaps owing
to the very absence of sorrow, contrition, and self-
distrust, soon fall away, because they have no root.
It is a race, and therefore requires concentration
of purpose, singleness of aim, and self-restraint:
they who have determined to gain the prize lay
aside every burden, and free themselves from every
entanglement. They need no exhortation to do
so. Of their own accord they lay aside everything
that hinders. This points out the necessity (must
I say also the difficulty?) of sincerity and single-
ness of heart. Jesus says, '' One thing is needful."
May the heart respond, '' One thing I ask of the
Lord ;" and the life, " One thing I do." Every
weight, the burden of cares and difificulties, of
earthly plans and self-chosen toil, must be laid
aside ; and that sin of unbelief, which is always
within and about us, always obstructing our pro-
gress, clouding our view, paralysing our energy,
and above all lessening our love. Is not faith
victory ? Is not unbelief defeat .^"
■* Whereas weight designates everything that hinders, though
XII.] The Epistle to the Hebrews. 367
The apostle asks us to lay aside every weight,
and the besetting sin, as if we could do it, and
could do it easily. '' Lay aside," he says, " these
useless and hurtful things; leave them behind."
It is easy, when we look unto Jesus; but impos-
sible unless our thoughts and affections are centred
in Christ — unless we behold Him as our Lord and
Bridegroom, our strength and joy. This is the only
method of the new covenant. We are not under
the law, but under grace. It is not by introspec-
tion, by self-discipline, by attempting first to lay
aside our weight and our sin, that we gain the
victory. These things do not precede the look
unto Jesus. It is the light which dispels the
darkness ; it is the love of Jesus which separates
us from the world ; it is the grace of Christ that
delivers us from all fear and doubt.
Thus the apostle describes his own experience.*
His only object is to win Christ, and to be found
in Him. His constant desire is to know Christ in
His fulness, and the fellowship of His sufferings
and the power of His resurrection, being made
in itself not wrong, the apostle proceeds to mention sin, designating
it by a word which occurs nowhere else {e^irep[<xTaTov)^ and which
seems to mean, coming in our way, standing round us, obstructing
us in our progress. To refer the word to unbelief is in harmony
with the whole argument and with the whole epistle, (iii. 12.)
The words of Owen appear to me to express it most concisely :
" It is the nature of indwelling sin, at such seasons, to work l)y
unbelief towards a departure from the living God or the relinquish-
ment of the gospel." * Phil. iii.
368 The Epistle to the Hebrews. [chap.
conformable unto His death. Starting with Jesus,
he entered the race ; looking unto Him, walking
with Him, he desired to finish his course. Christ
is the end of the way, and the way itself.
" Look away" unto Jesus : averting our eyes from
the difficulties before us. The difficulties of our
path are great ; we know and feel them ; we must
look at them, but we must then look away from
them unto Jesus. Like Abraham, we must not
consider the obstacles and even impossibilities ; we
must not stagger at the promise of God through
unbelief. We are not to be insensible in sorrow
and trial ; we are not to forget our cares ; but feel-
ing the weight of our cares, cast them upon the
Lord : rejoicing in Him, we may be delivered
from all painful anxiety. Stoicism enables men
to endure, but the heart Is hardened, and still
more estranged from God. Looking off unto
Jesus, the difficulties and trials of our path only
accelerate our progress and deepen our peace.
What is the secret of holiness, peacefulness, and
strength, but to have no will, separate from and
prior to the will of God ? To run the race God sets
before us, to walk in the good works foreordained
by divine wisdom and love. It is one thing to
ask. What good thing should / like to do for God ?
Here self is still choosing, and we please and serve
after all ourselves. But to ask, like Saul, behold-
ing the divine Master, " Lord, what wilt Thou have
XII.] The Epistle to the Hebrews, 369
me to do ?" is the beginning of true separation
to God. If we run the race set before us, engag-
ing in duties God -appointed and not self-chosen,
and bestowing all our energies, and that cheerfully,
on the God -appointed tasks and sorrows, then
may we rest in full assurance that our strength
shall never fail, that our fruit shall remain,* that our
life shall, though apparently fragmentary, be com-
plete, that we shall reach the end, and be counted
faithful in that day.
'* Run with patience." Always remembering
that it is not of him that willeth, nor of him that
runneth, but of God that showeth mercy ; that
he that believeth shall not make haste, that the
race is not to the swift ;t but learning the divine
paradox, that they who wait on the Lord ruriy
and are not weary. We have the example of
the prophets J: in patience or endurance, and above
all of our blessed Lord. This endurance (in which
faith shows its meekness as well as strength) is
the great characteristic of the saints, the followers
of the Lamb. Here also is wisdom. He who
gives up self rejoices in God, and he who has
died to this present world anticipates the joy of
the heavenly kingdom. Experience teaches us
that there is an unreal and unfruitful way of
speaking of heaven and the future glory, when
we forget that Jesus Himself is the heaven we
* John XV. 16. t Eccles. ix. ii. % James v.
II. 2 B
370 The Epistle to the Hebrews. ixii.
expect ; and that we have received even now the
earnest pledge and foretaste of our Inheritance.
Oh, how much of heaven may we not have even
now ! for are we not even at present the sons of
God ? and beholding Jesus, are we not even now
to be like Him ? It is not so much our sufferings,
our infirmities, or our trials which separate us from
the joy to come, as sin, and above all unbelief.
For if a man love Jesus, will not the Father and
the Son come and take up their abode in him ?
LECTURE XX.
"WHOM THE LORD LOVETH HE CHASTENETH."
Hebrews xii. 3-13.
T 00 KING unto Jesus, we behold both the
"* — ' way and the end of the way. We walk in
Him, with Him, to Him. We are to be glorified
together with Christ, if so be that we suffer with
Him. And therefore we are constantly to con-
sider Jesus ; not the sufferings of Jesus, but Jesus,
who suffered and entered into glory ; not the
work of Christ, as bringing to us salvation, but
Himself, our Saviour, our life, the strength and
the model of our walk.
Look at Jesus glorified, and you will behold
His wounds ; you will see Him, the Lamb as it
was slain. Look at Jesus on the cross, and you
will behold His glory, and the Father glorified.
The sufferings of Christ are remembered in
heaven, and in the Church. The image of the
suffering Jesus is engraved on the hearts of all
believers. To remember Jesus is to remember
Jesus crucified.
372 The Epistle to the Hebrews. [chap.
When we are inclined to become weary and
faint in our minds, when our courage fails and
our patience wavers, let us consider Jesus, and
His experience on earth. To live on earth among
sinners, this in itself was trial and sorrow to the
Holy One. Not even His own disciples could
understand Him ; for they savoured the things
that are of man. Even they called forth con-
stantly the exercise of patience and forbearance.
Jesus was always alone. His soul dwelt apart, with
thoughts, desires, sorrows, and hopes, which none
could fathom and share. And what contradic-
tions did He suffer from sinners ! Jesus was by
reason of His purity so clear-sighted and sensitive
that from the beginning He knew that He was
hated and rejected. He did not commit Himself
even to those who admired and followed Him, or
who seemed to believe in Him ;" for He knew what
was in man — contradiction to divine love. Sin-
ners, whom He came to bless and save, opposed
Him, the Holy One. He knew and felt their
contradiction. It was deep-seated, strong, and
bitter ; and at last it manifested itself in the cruel
hands which nailed Him to the cross. Jesus only
loved, blessed, prayed, wept, and died. Let us con-
sider Him as our example ! Let us learn of Him
to be meek and lowly in heart ; always willing to
submit to God s will and commandment.
* John ii.
XII.] The Epistle to the Hebrews. 373
It is in the heart that the burnt-offering is
brought. We have not yet resisted unto blood,
striving against sin. This refers not so much to
the death of martyrdom. We ought to be wilHng
to lay down our lives both for Jesus and for the
brethren. But in the conflict with sin, we ought
to dread no pain, no wounds, no crucifixion, even
when asked to pluck out the right eye, or to cut
off the right hand, to sacrifice the thing most
cherished.
" Take the heart from out my heart,
Though it cost me bitter smart." "^
Chastisement,! which is the true character of
all painful and trying experiences of the saint, is
spoken of throughout Scripture ; but we are apt
to forget this most important teaching of the word.
We remember the verses well enough — they have
become proverbs and commonplaces — but we
forget to apply them to ourselves ; and when the
* Silesius.
t The sufferings of God's children are sent either to chasten and
correct, to bring them to the knowledge of and victory over hidden
sin or transgressions, or to prove, test, and thus strengthen and
raise to a higher level of experience and usefulness, or they are a
privilege and honour as a testimony for Christ, for His name's sake,
and to show forth His praise. But they may all be summed up
under iraideia, parental disciplirie, and are contrasted with the judg-
ments of divine displeasure and anger. The apostle uses here {v. 5)
a personification of the divine voice of exhortation speaking to us
in love. (Prov. iii. 11.) In Proverbs the eternal wisdom addresses
warning, counsel, and encouragement to " her children." (Matt.
xi. 19.}
374 The Epistle to the Hebrews. [chap.
afflictions and difficulties come, we often fail to
recognize In them the fulfilment of the Scripture
word. In the world you shall have tribulation.
Through much tribulation we must enter Into the
kingdom of God. Many are the afflictions of the
righteous. They that sow with tears shall reap
with joy.
Scripture is a book for life ; and as life Is full
of affliction, so the Word of God abounds with
counsel and comfort for the afflicted. For to
view and to bear affliction aright Is not easy ; it
is impossible without God's Word and Spirit. We
are Inclined either to despise the chastening of
the Lord, or to faint under it. Either we try to
bear trials in pride, in our own strength, without
recognizing that they are sent by God to humble
us, to lead us to self-examination and repentance,
to deepen our sense of dependence on God, to
fix our thoughts and desires more on heavenly
things. The world generally endeavours, In time
of sorrow, bereavement, or trial, to get over It; that
is, to feel It as little as possible. God does not
mean us to get over It, but to feel chastisement,
and in and through it to be drawn nearer to
Himself.
The spirit of Stoicism is far removed from the
spirit of God's children. They are sensitive ; they
feel the displeasure of God ; they stand upon the
watch-tower and ask, " Shew me wherefore Thou
XII.] The Epistle to the Hebrews. 375
contendest with me ? " The Christian does not
harden his heart against sorrow and bereave-
ment ; he does not look upon suffering as an iron
necessity, to be borne with an iron and impassive
calmness ; it is sent of God.
There is the other danger of sinking into de-
spondency ; we think we cannot endure it ; dark-
ness seems to swallow us up ; hard thoughts rise
within us ; our hearts fail us ; and the voice of
thanksgiving and hope seems hushed for ever.
Now knowinor from the Word of God and our
o
own experience that such is the tendency of our
hearts, either in undue elation to despise God's
chastening, or in undue depression to faint, let
us pray for ourselves, and for all the afflicted,
that we may not lose the benefit of the precious,
though sad, gift of chastisement, that we may
humble ourselves under the mighty hand of God,
so that He may exalt us in due time.
Chastisement is sent by fatherly love. In
heaven no chastisement is needed ; in hell no
chastisement is possible ; earth is the scene, and
the children of God the subjects of chastisement.
God is our Father, and therefore He chastens
us. Jesus is our loving and faithful Saviour, and
therefore He rebukes us. And the Holy Ghost,
although it is His to comfort and sustain the
believer, reveals unto us first, with piercing con-
viction, the sins and failings which are to be judged
37^ The Epistle to the Hebrews. [chap.
and given up. Chastisement has reference not
merely to sins, but God's object is to conform
us to the image of Christ. God had one Son,
without sin, but not without sorrow.
But Ave are sinful, and our hearts cleave to the
world and our souls to the dust. To love God
truly, and to find our joy and delight in Him and in
heavenly things, to give up trust and complacency
in self, and to ascribe glory to God only, how
far are we from this ! and sometimes when we or
others least think so. Was not Job upright and
devoted to the fear of God ? Why is David a
man of sorrows, and Jeremiah a man of tears ?
Paul, caught up to the third heaven, and beholding
the glory of the Lord, has to bear the thorn in
the flesh. John the beloved is in Patmos. God
knows why. He has chosen the saints and ap-
pointed the sufferings of the saints, that they may
win Christ ; that they may be made like unto Him ;
that they may hereafter be glorified together with
Him. We see the gentlest, the most heavenly-
minded Christians tried ; they themselves are the
first to humble themselves under the mighty hand
of God, and to acknowledge that God is trying
and refining them, to condemn sin in the flesh, to
vivify the Spirit.
And this chastisement is severe. He scour get h
every son. Even an apostle beseeches the Lord
three times to remove it. There, where we are most
XII.] The Epistle to the Hebrews. 377
sensitive, God touches us. The thorn in the flesh
is something which we fancy we cannot bear if it
were to remain Hfe-long. We have emerged as it
were out of a dark tunnel, and fancy that the rest
of our journey will be amid sunlit fields. We have
achieved steep and rugged ascents, and imagine the
period of great and exhausting exertions is over.
But Abraham was above a hundred years old
when his faith was severely tested. The trial,
deepest and sorest, seems to leave us for awhile,
yet it returns again. For God's love remains, and
He scourgeth every son whom He receiveth. If
the apostle Paul stood in danger of spiritual pride
and self-trust, and needed this perpetual scourging
to cling to Jesus' grace, which Is all-sufficient, oh
let us remember that in each one of us there is the
same flesh which needs painful crucifixion. And
what shall I say of daily trials, losses, wounded
affection, sickness, loneliness ?
One of the platitudes of the present day is, that
religion is not a gloomy, but a cheerful thing.
Although it is easy to see what was meant by
him who first opposed this assertion, either to
morbid and self-assumed gloom, or to the ignorant
representation of the world ; yet, as it is generally
understood, nothing can be less true. Blessed
are they that mourn. Woe unto you that laugh.
Narrow is the way. If any man will serve Me,
let him take up his cross, and follow Me. He
^yS The Epistle to the Hebrews. [chap.
that seeketh his life shall lose it. Although
the Christian anoints his head and washes his
face, he is always fasting ; the will has been
broken by God, by wounding or bereaving us
in our most tender point ; the flesh is being con-
stantly crucified. We are not born to be happy
either in this world or in our present condition,
but the reverse — to be unhappy ; nay, to try
constantly to be dead to self and the world, that
the spirit may possess God, and rejoice in Him.*
God is our Father ; this present life is only a
school, a period of childhood and minority ; dis-
cipline and chastisement are the tokens of God's
unchanging love and constant watchfulness. Child-
hood is both solemn and peaceful. We look back
on it with reverence and affection. For in child-
hood everything has the character of education ;
it is spiritual, and for the sake of the real inner
man and his future. Parents and teachers are con-
stantly directing, and rebuking ; the whole life is
under rule, restraint, and guidance ; but the only
* As there is a false and morbid asceticism, so there is also a
false and pernicious tendency to cover a worldly and shallow
method of life under the phrase of " religion being joyous, and no
enemy to cheerfulness." To take a very simple and obvious instance.
What is meant by a " cheerful, pleasant Sunday " .? No doubt men
may have erred on the side of strictness and legalism ; but is
a " cheerful " Sunday one in which there is much communion with
God in prayer and meditation on God's Word, much anticipation
of the joys of heaven in praise and fellowship with the brethren ?
Alas ! too many understand by a cheerful Sunday a day in which
the spiritual element is reduced to a minimum.
XII.] The Epistle to the Hebrews. 379
and constant object Is the child himself, his good,
his character, his future ; the only motive is love.
There is more reality in a child's life than in our
subsequent life ; the whole day, with its lessons and
recreations, is devoted to the true and real interests
of the child. Hence, when we look back on it,
w^e say, How happy we were ! Not that we
forget the constant troubles, sorrows, cares, and
fears which children have ; but we feel that then
every one connected with us loved us, and sought
our welfare ; that we were the object, not means
to an end, but the end itself.^
Now, as childhood is to the rest of our earthly
life, so is the whole of our earthly life to the future
heavenly one. Let us cultivate then the spirit of
childhood. Let us think it natural that we are
daily rebuked and chastened, that our thoughts,
words, and actions need constant correction and
alteration ; let us receive this with the docility and
meekness of children, and with the trustful and
■^ The contrast between the discipUne of earthly fathers and of
God. (i) The one is father of our flesh; God is the Father of
spirits, the Creator and source of hfe, spiritual and everlasting, as
well as physical and temporal. (2) The one for a brief period ; God
during our whole lifetime. (3) The one with imperfect knowledge,
in much infirmity " after their own pleasure ; " God with unerring
wisdom, and in pure love. (4) The aim of the one, our earthly future ;
the aim of God, to make us partakers of His holiness. Yet imper-
fect as is the earthly father's discipline, we gave it reverence, " as
was right" and according to God's will, and for our safety. How
much more ought we to be in subjection unto the Father of spirits,
of whom is our true life.
380 The Epistle to the Hebrews. [chap.
sweet assurance that love breathes in all our
chastening, that we are in the most tender and
fatherly hands. God's only object is our blessed-
ness, and this is our blessedness, to be like Jesus,
the only-begotten of the Father, the first-born
among many brethren.
No chastisement while it lasts is joyous, but
grievous ; but afterwards it yieldeth the peace-
able fruits of righteousness unto them that are
exercised thereby. Even on earth w^e reap the
fruit, and enter into the harvest. "Afterwards."
Does not this word search and try us ? Have we
not all had chastisement ? Have we not all passed
through sorrow ? Can we look back on the
past without recalling seasons of deep and heart-
felt affliction ? Has no sword pierced our soul,
has no painful sacrifice been exacted of us ? Do
these things belong to the past ? Have they
gone and disappeared without leaving behind
them peaceable fruits unto righteousness ? After
such experiences, tears, conflicts ; after such
solemn, silent, chastened seasons in the wilderness ;
after such views of Jesus at the grave of Lazarus,
of the fourth Man in the fiery furnace, are we still
worldly, proud, impatient, volatile ? do we still
seek our rest and joy in the broken cisterns
instead of the living Fountain ? God forbid that
we should forget the chastening of the Lord, that
we should " get over " sorrow, or be comforted
XII.] The Epistle to the Hebrews, 381
like the world. Now is our ' afterwards/ peace and
godliness to-day — by reason of yesterday's sorrow
and trial.
Especially in the new covenant dispensation
God's people are called to suffer. The saying of
the great philosopher is well known : '' Prosperity
was the characteristic of the Old Testament ;
adversity is the characteristic of the New."^~ The
full meaning of this remark does not lie on the
surface. The Israelites had the promise of earthly
prosperity. God promised to reward His people
with temporal blessings, if they obeyed His com-
mandment. He Himself was to be their portion,
and their exceeding great reward ; and such was
the spirituality of the law, that the saints under the
old covenant dispensation knew that in God, and
in Him alone, was their life and joy. In con-
necting thus obedience and earthly prosperity,
God not merely wished to help and attract the
people in their spiritual weakness and infancy,
but also to teach them that every good gift cometh
from above ; that Jehovah is Lord of all, and that
even on this sin-defiled and Satan-enslaved earth
the divine laws of holy love contain the true and
permanent sources of physical and social happi-
ness. And this will be seen when Israel, con-
verted by the Holy Ghost and restored to their
own land, shall walk in God's precepts. Then, as
* Bacon.
382 The Epistle to the Hebrews. [chap.
the psalms and prophets describe, on the basis of
the original promises in the law, all earthly lands
will be prosperous. No war, no oppression, no
abject poverty, no famine shall then bring misery
and suffering to mankind ; but the original pur-
pose of the loving and generous Creator shall
then be realized, and hitherto unknown resources
of health, wealth, and social well-being be de-
veloped.
Israel was chosen for this purpose also — to
reveal on earth the blessedness of a God-fearing
commonwealth. But only in the future Messianic
kingdom will this be realized. When Israel had
these promises of earthly blessing, the sufferings
and afflictions of the godly must have been a
most perplexing problem. We can understand
the difficulties propounded in the book of Job,
and in such psalms as the 37th and 73rd : " Fret
not thyself because of evildoers. Let not thy
footsteps slip, doubting God's truth and faithful-
ness, when thou seest the righteous In trouble and
anguish, and the wicked without care and sorrow.''
This exercise of faith was very great. How in-
tense and ardent was then their soul -cleaving
unto Jehovah! ''Whom have I in the heavens
but Thee ?" " Though He slay me, yet will I stay
with Him." How firm was their hope, that ulti-
mately Jehovah would come and establish the
kingdom, when the poor will have bread and be
XII.] The Epistle to the Hebrews. 383
satisfied, when justice and equity would reign.
The Old Testament is indeed the religion of
prosperity ; but only in idea and in the hope of
Messiahs reign. In actual reality, it was the
religion of suffering, of tears, of self-denial, of
faith in the Unseen. Hence the Psalms of David
and the prayers of the prophets.*
Gradually the divine method of glory through
suffering was made known to God's people. From
righteous Abel onward, the servants of God suf-
fered for righteousness. From the days of Abra-
ham, the true yet imperfect believers suffered while
they were tested, and led into a higher region of
light. From the days of Joseph, the faithful ones
had to be bound in fetters, and the word of the
Lord tried them, by a divine chemistry separating
in them the carnal from the spiritual. Moses pre-
ferred Jehovah's reproach to Egypt's honour and
treasure. Chosen of God, and nearest to Him,
Moses was the most plagued of all men; the
burden of a sinful and disobedient, yet tenderly-
beloved, nation rested on him. But in David a
new manifestation of suffering was given to Israel.
See the shepherd -youth, In the simplicity and
beauty of childlike faith, performing heroic acts,
unseen by man, on the silent field ; no feverish
ambition or youthful self-confidence, but trust In
* Wo kamen David's Psalmen her,
Wenn nicht die liebe Triibsal war.
384 The Epistle to the Hebrews, [chap.
the God of his fathers steeling his arm against
the Hon and bear; see this true IsraeHte without
guile, strong in faith and with a tender and loving
heart overflowing with song and melody, chosen
of God, anointed by Samuel the prophet, cham-
pion and deliverer of Israel's armies, beloved of
the nation ; yet meek and lowly, without pride and
elation of impatience. How noble his bearing to
Saul ! how quiet and humble towards the people !
True king, by the grace of God ; lover of God,
and companion of all them that fear Him ; yet
who ever suffered like him persecution, reproach,
famine, or nakedness ? He was hunted like a par-
tridge on the mountains, surrounded by foes, de-
spised, forsaken ; tears were his meat day after
day, while the enemy continually said, " Where Is
thy God ?" The reign of David was full of
trouble and most heart-searching sorrow. What
prayers of anguish and desolate mourning as-
cended from his soul ! Yet was he God's chosen
and anointed ; the Beloved was his name ; in and
through him God's blessing rested upon Israel.
Since that time the prediction of Messiah as the
suffering servant of Jehovah assumes increasing
distinctness, the picture of the One, the only One,
of whom David, of whom the true righteous Israel,
w^ere only imperfect types.
To us, the New Testament Church, a clearer
light has come, a brighter blessing is given.
XII.] The Epistle to the Hebrews. 385
What Is it ? One word expresses it — the cross.
Jesus is our Lord ; if the world hated Him, it will
hate us also. If Jesus came into the world to suffer
and to die, can we call ourselves followers of Jesus,
or brothers resembling Him, unless we suffer with
Him, and are made conformable unto His death ?
We have to suffer for righteousness' sake ; we
have to suffer because of our sin and of the cor-
ruption of our flesh. But in both these kinds of
suffering it is our blessed privilege to have fellow-
ship with Christ crucified. When we suffer as
Christians, we say. This is because I belong to
Jesus ; I fill up what is behind of His sufferings.
If God sends affliction and sorrow, we say, God
made the Captain of salvation perfect through
sufferings ; He treats me now as one of the chil-
dren. If we find it painful to overcome impatience,
self-love, and the various manifestations of sin, we
say, I have been crucified together with Christ,
then God condemned sin in the flesh ; and by
virtue of my union with Jesus I must now mortify
the members that are oh earth. Christ's cross
separates us from sin and the world. Here is our
station. Here is the nexus of justification and
sanctification. Here we learn to become a burnt-
ofTering. Here we spend truly sweet moments,
yet full of sorrow and pain, while we behold not
merely our sins forgiven, but crucified ; while we
behold ourselves not merely acquitted, but cast
II. 2 c
386 The Epistle to the Hebrews. [chap.
into the fiery mould, to be made like Jesus.
Every child of Adam has trouble, sickness, suffer-
ing ; only Christ's people have the cross.
The cross of Christ is despised and hated, not
merely by self-righteous Jews and wise and worldly
Greeks ; but within the professing Church the
apostle weeps over many who are enemies of the
cross of Christ. Not of the doctrine, that Christ
died instead of sinners, but of the teaching, that
we have been crucified with Him, and have been
planted in the likeness of His death ; that we
have been saved, and are being saved, not from
death, but out of death ; that dying daily the
painful death by crucifixion, we live the spiritual,
resurrection-life together with and in Christ. We
are to be partakers of God's holiness.* When
God commands us to be holy, He knows that
there is only one holiness, even His own. Man
trying to be holy — that is, separate from sin and
the world — can only fail ; he is only going to a
greater distance from God, from the only position
in which God can have communion with us as
poor and helpless sinners. But God gives us His
holiness. In Christ Jesus, who is both the Temple
and the High Priest, we are brought nigh, a chosen
generation, a royal priesthood, a holy people. As
Jesus covers, shelters, and beautifies us with His
righteousness and peace, so He separates also by
* Compare next Lecture.
XII.] The Epistle to the Hebrews. 387
His holiness from sin and worldliness. Chastise-
ment is one of the instruments by which the Father
prunes the fruit -bearing branches. By affliction
and the inward crucifixion we learn to seek our
true life, treasure, strength, and joy, not in earthly
affections, possessions, pursuits, and attainments,
however good and noble, but in Him who is at
the right hand of God ; and the end will be glory.
Christ's people, who have passed through much
tribulation, shall stand before the throne and the
Lamb, arrayed in white robes, and palm branches
in their hands.
Let us therefore not faint, but lift up the hands
which hang down, and the feeble knees ; let us
run with patience the race set before us,* making
straight paths for our feet, that thus even the weak
and lame may not stumble, but gain strength and
skill in the divine and peaceful path.
* Verse 13 returns to verse i.
LECTURE XXI.
PEACE AND HOLINESS.
Hebrews xii. 14-18.
^ I ^HE two exhortations,'"' to follow peace with
■^ all men, and that holiness without which none
can see the Lord, comprise the whole Christian
life. They refer to our relation to God and to
our neighbour. They embrace both tables of the
law. Love to God is the first and supreme com-
mandment. But, as Jesus so beautifully expressed
it, the second is Iz^e unto it : " Thou shalt love
thy neighbour as thyself."
The intimate connection between these two
exhortations is always pointed out in Scripture.
In loving our brother we abide in God. If there
is a cloud between me and my brother, there is
* The preceding exhortation, " Lift up the hands," &c. ; " Making
straight paths for your feet," &c., alludes to Isa. xxxv. 3, and Prov.
iv. 26. As Delitzsch remarks, the total apostasy of weak and hesi-
tating members was to be prevented by the whole congregation
rousing itself to decision and faithfulness. This would exert a
salutary and helpful influence, as a smooth and even path encourages
weak and lame feet to the effort of walking.
xiL] The Epistle to the Hebrews. 389
also a cloud between me and the Lord. Our
growth in grace is according to Gods will and
Christ's institution within the Church, and in and
by the communion of saints. Hence we are ex-
horted to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond
of peace ; for there is one body and one Spirit,
even as we are called in one hope.
Christ has indeed promised to each individual,
" If a man love Me, he will keep my words : and
my Father will love him, and v/e will come unto
him, and make our abode with him." And we
can scarcely lay too much stress on the necessity
of secret prayer, of solitary meditation, of each
one working out his own salvation with fear and
trembling. But neither can we lay too much
stress on the institution of the congregation, on
the communion of saints, on the special blessing,
on the special presence promised to the meeting
of believers in Jesus' name, on the necessity of
continuing stedfast in doctrine — that is, in the
apostolic teaching as continued by God-given
teachers and pastors — in fellowship, in breaking
of bread, and in united prayer. The individual
spiritual life is to be nourished in the Church, and
is again to nourish and enrich the congregation ;
and as no general and comprehensive philan-
thropy can be genuine without love to parents
and children, neighbours and friends, or can be a
substitute for the affection, claimed first by divine
390 The Epistle to the Hebrews. [chap.
and natural law, so as a rule no Christian is in his
right place, or in a healthy condition, who does
not live and work in a congregation, and give his
energies, beginning with his prayer and interces-
sion, to a community of believers, united together
for worship and work in one special place. When
the Hebrews became cold in love and wavering
in the faith, they began neglecting to assemble
themselves together, and cultivate Christian fel-
lowship. Edification in Scripture always refers
to the building up of believers as a community.
Fellowship and co-operation are inseparably con-
nected with the development of many aspects of
Christian life.
Now the characteristic feature of the Church
ought to be the spirit of peace. " Behold, how
good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell
together in unity ! " " The multitude of them that
believed were of one heart and of one soul." And
this concord proceeds from that peace with God,
which the individual Christian possesses, even
as the absence of concord must be traced to the
absence of peace in the heart with the Lord.
The peace the world cannot give, which passeth
all understanding, comes from the God of peace,
the Father who loved us. It comes through Jesus
Christ, by His death on the cross ; it enters the
heart by the Holy Ghost, who assures us of our
acceptance. But this Is only the first experience
XII.] The Epistle to the Hebrews. 391
of peace. Our peace is the very peace of Jesus.
" My peace I give unto you." How then can they
who have Christ's peace, as well as the peace pur-
chased by Christ, be without love to the brethren,
without patience and meekness ? How can clamour
and bitterness and malice, uncharitableness and
envy, enter into the heart which rejoices in God,
and which is one with that Saviour who washed
the disciples' feet ; who prayed for Peter, while
he denied his Master ; who shed His blood, inter-
ceding for His enemies, and loving His own to
the end ?
" Follow peace with all men." " Blessed are the
peace-makers ; for they shall be called the sons of
God." Why has this beatitude the highest reward
attached to it ? Because the only begotten Son of
God is the Peace-maker. He came to make
peace, true peace in righteousness and holiness.
He made peace by His life and death ; He sends
the message of peace to all, far and near ; He
brings peace to the greatest enemies, and despisers
of His gospel. By the indwelling of the Holy
Ghost, He gives believers to be partakers of His
own peace.
Christians are therefore at peace, and the makers
of peace. They are faithful to God, and to His
truth ; their testimony is against sin and unbelief
in the world, against hypocrisy and unfaithfulness
in the Church ; but as love is their life-element,
392 The Epistle to the Hebrews, [chap.
so peace Is their characteristic. " Into whatever
house ye go, salute it ;" and this is the salutation,
" Peace be with you." "And if the house be
worthy, let your peace come upon it ; but if it be
not worthy, let your peace return to you." As if
Christ said. You possess peace as your own, in-
alienable and most precious, deep-seated in the
very heart of hearts. You go forth to wish, to
declare, to bring peace. They who receive you
shall through your peace be brought to peace, as
flame kindles flame. They who reject you shall
not disturb your peace, or even diminish it, or
embitter you, or discourage you for your further
work.
We are to follow peace — cultivate it earnestly.
We must have peace within first, if we are to be
the sons of peace, the peacemakers. Let us there-
fore look constantly to Jesus.
There are dark thoughts in the heart ; a dis-
content with things around us, and a dissatisfac-
tion with our spiritual state and attainments : a
discontent which is barren of useful or helpful
thoughts and actions. There are fears and misgiv-
ings which paralyse and fetter ; a downward bent,
the soul cleaving to the dust ; the mind running
to and fro in fruitless retrospect, calculating and
planning future amendment. But it need not be
so. The child of God ought to walk in the light
of His countenance. Saved by grace, his life is a
XII.] The Epistle to the Hebrews. 393
life of faith In the Son of God, who Lved him, and
gave Himself for him.
Again, there are Christians who, although they
know the grace of the Lord, seem always to be
in search of something to give them a fuller peace.
They run eagerly after every new doctrine and
movement, as if it might bring them the unknown
treasure. Oh, dear soul, remember thy baptism
in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of
the Holy Ghost! Look unto Jesus, who died for
thee, and who now liveth to pray for thee, and
by His Spirit to conform thee to His image. If
Jesus dwells in the heart by faith, it is peace. We
rest in the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus,
and from which nothing shall be able to separate
us. Christ's peace, beginning in the conscience,
pervades the heart with Its affections, and the
mind with its thought and purpose. It passes
all understanding ; It manifests itself in humility
and quietness. There is sometimes among Chris-
tians a restlessness and feverish energy, running
to and fro in order to draw water, which shows
that there is a want of the true peace within.
Christ has given to us to have within us a well of
w^ater springing up into eternal life.
If God's peace is within us, we love the brethren
and all men. We are able to deal with them ten-
derly and calmly. Humility, affection, and hope-
fulness characterise the son of peace ; for he Is
394 The Epistle to the Hebrews, [chap.
always praising the boundless grace of God in
which he stands.
Thus, in our relation with our fellow-men we
are in communion with God ; therefore the apostle
adds : " Holiness, without which none shall see the
Lord." How beautiful and solemn are these words.
They seem to descend from the very throne of
God, out of the brightness of that light which no
man can approach unto. And yet every heart
must assent, and every conscience set to its seal.
** Holiness, without which none shall see the Lord."
Who can hear the words without bowing in rever-
ence, and saying, Amen ? And such is the divine
simplicity and power of these words, that once
heard they can never be forgotten. They live for
ever in the memory. But do these words fill me
with fear or with love ? do they repel and chill ? or
do they attract and animate ? Do they disturb or
deepen my peace, and the sweet assurance, I am
the Lord's, and He is mine .^
Some of us may remember the time when this
word and similar declarations of Scripture brought
to us fear and the spirit of bondage. Some here
may still be in this state. Is it not strange that
we should think this a hard saying, and that we
should avoid looking it earnestly in the face ? and
yet we pass so lightly over a word like this,
" Except a man be born again, he cannot see the
kingdom of God." And what is this declaration,
XII.] The Epistle to the Hebrews, 395
" Holiness, without which none shall see the Lord,"
but another form of the same most solemn truth :
The flesh cannot please God, and sinners cannot
stand in His presence. Only the renewed, w^ho
by faith in Jesus have received power to become
the sons of God ; only the spiritual, born of the
Spirit, have fellowship with the Father and the
Son. But when you hear, " Except a man be
born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God,"
you think of a doctrine and of a past experience.
While when you hear, *' Holiness, without which
none shall see the Lord," you think of God and
yoicrself, living nozu, and this Indeed is full of awe
and solemnity.
God is holy, separate from all darkness and sin ;
but not in isolated majesty banishing the imperfect
and sinful from His presence : for God is light ;
God is love. It is the nature of light to com-
municate Itself. Remaining pure and bright, un-
diminished and unsullied, it overcomes darkness,
and kindles light. The holiness of God is likewise
mentioned in Scripture, mostly in connection with
love, communicating itself, and drawing into itself.
" Holy, holy, holy. Lord God oi hosts'' The angelic
creation is also holy; for it is God's. "Heaven
and earth are full of Thy glory ; " for in Christ
both heaven and earth are to be filled with the
divine light and love. " The Holy One of Israel,
and your Redeemer." " I am holy" — but God
2,g6 The Epistle to the Hebrews, [chap.
does not remain alone, separate — "be ye also
holy." ''He that is mighty hath done great things
to me, and holy is His name."*
I behold then in the holiness of the Lord His
most pure, righteous, solemn, and yet most tender
and compassionate, love condescending to me ; not
willing to leave me in my sin, opaque darkness,
flesh, Adam, but to bring me unto Himself; nay,
to make me a partaker of His holiness. I see the
holiness of God manifested in Jesus. I see Jesus,
the Holy One, God and Man, Creator and Crea-
ture, Lord and Servant, Adored and Adoring;
I see the Babe, that Holy Thing which was born
of the Virgin Mary, holy, and yet flesh ; I see
Him on earth, the Tabernacle of God ; I see
Him on the cross, the Holy Temple broken, nay,
the Holy Temple accounted sinful, and deserted
by God ; I see Him risen, the Holy Temple built
again ; I see Him ascended, the great High Priest.
" Holiness unto the Lord" is written on His fore-
head ; and I know that in Him I also am holy to
Jehovah. By the blood of Jesus we are brought
nigh to God. In the great High Priest we are
priests, holy, set apart to worship and serve God.
We who were formerly darkness, are now light ;
we who were enemies, are now in the love of God.
* Compare also Psalm xcix ; Hosea xi. 9. The Spirit, who in
condescending love comes most directly into contact with us, is
emphatically called " holy."
XII.] The Epistle to the Hebrews. 397
In Jesus we are sanctified. As Luther frequently
said, " My holiness is in heaven."
Hence the exhortation of the apostle, when he
says, Follow holiness, is the same which he urges
in all his epistles : " Remember, that by the death
of Christ you have been delivered, and separated
from sin and this evil world ; reckon yourselves
to have died with Christ, to have been buried, and
to have been raised to seek the things which are
above." "As you have received Christ, so abide
and walk in Him." '' Follow " (as the one constant
and earnest object of life) " that holiness, without
which none shall see the Lord."
There are two errors against which we must
guard. Justification and sanctification proceed from
one source. When we first believed in Jesus, we
received not merely pardon, but the renewal of
heart and will. Then we were separated from
sin unto God. Then faith saw the old man con-
demned and crucified. Then we began the new
life of faith, in which there is conflict between
the Spirit and the flesh. Now, we must always
remember and hold fast this beginning. There is
no second starting-point for sanctification ; there is
only one starting-point and beginning of the new
life. It is not by some subsequent resolution, in
which we concentrate our energy, and by an act
of our will that we determine henceforth to live a
godly life, but by faith constantly grasping what it
39 S The Epistle to the Hebrews, [chap.
grasped at conversion, the grace of God in Christ,
that we are discipHned and conformed to the will
of God. The apostle never exhorts Christians to
make a new beginning, to resolve, to consecrate
themselves, to seek a fresh baptism ; but to reckon
themselves to have died, to have been transplanted,
to remember that they had received the Spirit,
and that they were set apart unto God. God Is
holy; Christ is my holiness; I am holy In Him,
who died for me, and for me Is now In heaven.
Humbled and comforted by this assurance, let me
abide in Christ ; let me put away, In His strength,
all sin and worldliness, from which His death
separates me ; let me live by faith in Jesus.
Again, it is not a matter of degree. The flesh
is condemned ; sin is judged ; the world is cruci-
fied. My aim Is not to be a little less sinful,
carnal, and worldly to-day than I was yesterday.
My aim Is to mortify the old man, with all its
affections and lusts ; not to love the world, and
any of the things that are In the world ; to follow
that holiness according to which I have been
brought into the position of a child of God, a
member of Christ, and a temple of the Holy
Ghost. It Is not said to me, Become perfect, but
be perfect ; I am to be a partaker of God's
holiness.
This is the peculiarity of the divine method.
All human religions are ignorant of this mystery.
XII.] The Epistle to the Hebrews. 399
Ask a Jew, a Mohammedan, a Rationalist, any
one but a Christian, " What do you mean by your
righteousness, or your holiness ?" His reply is,
" I mean my integrity, my kindliness, my purity,
my benevolence, my good thoughts, feelings, and
works." It is always "my." Ask a Christian,
''What is your righteousness?" His answer is,
** Jehovah — Christ is my righteousness." "What
is your holiness ?" " My holiness is in heaven —
Christ." ''What is your life ?" " My life is hid
with Christ in God, and Christ liveth in me."
Christ then is made unto us sanctification. If
only holiness can admit us to the blessed vision
of God, it must be Christ ; for imperfect holiness
is as great a contradiction as unclean purity.
But what is meant hy following (striving after)
holiness ?
If you are one with Christ, you must know
that there are within you two, which war against
each other with a most determined hostility. The
aim of the flesh is nothing less than to kill the
Spirit. Its object is total extermination. It is
not that you should pray less, but that you should
not pray at all. It is not that you should love
Christ with less fervour, but that you should forget
Him. The aim of the Spirit is to kill the flesh,
even sin.
This warfare is painful ; for sin is still in us.
It is not like a garment that we wear. It has en-
400 The Epistle to the Hebrews. [chap.
trenched itself In our flesh ; that is, the old Adam-
nature of body, soul, and spirit. Hence cleaving
to Christ and our holiness in Him is crucifixion of
the flesh, and that is painful. To overcome the
temptations of the world, with its allurements,
fascinating errors, or alarming frowns, involves
conflict and sacrifice ; implies painful watching
and constant self-denial. To follow a human
standard of holiness, to perform the self-imposed
task, to deny oneself the self-chosen number and
kind of enjoyments, may involve a certain amount
of hardship and pain ; and the world has an
admiring eye for this kind of saintliness. But
what is it to the fight of faith ? What to the task
of presenting our bodies — our whole self, and that
always — a living sacrifice unto God ? What to
the conflict, in which there is no intermission, to
the aim of glorifying God which enters into the
minutest detail of our life, whether we eat, or
drink, or whatsoever we do ? What to the desire
to walk in love, even as Christ loved us, to be
imitators of God as dear children, to have the
same mind in us which was in Christ ? Let us
study the epistles of the apostle Paul, and learn
the solemn and awful character of the Christian
life, warfare, and race ; the constant need of watch-
fulness and concentration of energy ; of diligence,
self-restraint, and self-denial. But let us learn
from them that it is a blessed and joyous thing
XII.] The Epistle to the Hebrews, 401
to follow ''the Holiness;" to abide in the light
and love of God ; to dwell in Him who is Light,
and in whom is no darkness at all ; who is Love,
and who hath shed abroad His love in our
hearts.
While we thus know the fountain of holiness,
let us use with diligence and reverent humility
the channels of divine blessing. God has given
His word, that the man of God may be furnished
throughly unto every good work. We are sancti-
fied through the truth. The commandments of
God, and the precepts of the Lord Jesus Christ,
are to be our constant study, our inward delight,
and our daily path. If we keep Christ's com-
mandments, we abide in His love. The child of
God regards all the commandments of God as
channels of blessing, and of communion with the
Father and the Son ; as safeguards against the
inroads of the enemy ; as expressions of the divine
love seeking our love. "Be ye holy, for I am
holy," is the language of Infinite love, which has
chosen us to be His portion for evermore.
He who seeks the holiness, without which none
shall see the Lord, must remember that our whole
man — body, soul, and spirit — is to be presented
unblamable, that in all things we are to glorify
God. Let us therefore have regard to all the com-
mandments and warnings of the Word. Two dan-
gers are here pointed out by the apostle, worldly
II. 2 D
402 The Epistle to the Hebrews, [chap.
lusts and profanity, or ungodliness.* Believers still
need such exhortations. The apostle writes to
Timothy, faithful and spiritual as he was, '' Flee
youthful lusts." The epistles contain many direct,
and pointed warnings against different sins. No
humble Christian will pass over these injunctions
as unnecessary.
* In verse 15, the apostle exhorts the congregation to remember
their corporate responsibility for each member. They are to look
diligently, lest any man fail of the grace of God. An outward
professor may be brought, through the loving care and zeal of the
brethren, to true faith. But if this object is not attained, church-
discipline is an important ordinance and duty, " designed by Christ
Himself to prevent these contagious evils in churches." (Owen.)
The reference is to Deut. xxix. 18. Out of such, as a root, spring
bitter results — a burden of guilt which oppresses and defiles the
whole congregation. Even when the bad example does not infect
the rest, the guilt resting upon the Church, neglecting discipHne,
acts as defilement.
The character and history of Esau is a beacon. We know from
Genesis xxiv. 37, xxvii. 46, and xxviii. 1-6, that Esau had no
appreciation of the divine blessing and promise. He was "pro-
fane ; " that is, earthly-minded or ungodly. We are here told
that Esau was also sunk in carnal ways. (This statement rests
probably on tradition.) Yet the time came when he regretted that
for a paltry gratification he forfeited his right. Afterwards, when
he would have inherited the blessing, he was rejected. For though
he sought carefully with tears to change his father's mind (avrr]}/,
that is, fierdvoiav), he found (in Isaac) no place for change of mind.
This seems to be the meaning of this difftcult passage. Esau is
never represented as an apostate, as one who professed and
appeared to be a believer, and then fell away. So (apart from
other reasons) the meaning of the apostle cannot be that Esau, as
an apostate, was not able to find repentance. But we know that,
notwithstanding his vehement and urgent entreaties, Isaac could
not change his mind, or repent him of what he had done in con-
ferring the blessing on Jacob, which God approved of. This ex-
planation is adopted by Owen, and fully defended by Kurtz.
XII.] The Epistle to the Hebrews. 403
The child of God, separated by the blood of
Jesus, and sanctified by the indwelling Spirit, has
received from God the love of holiness. He has
been made by grace partaker of the divine holi-
ness, and his daily desire and aim is to realize his
position, to live according to it, and to resist and
overcome sin, the flesh, and the world. Amid
many falls and failures, in fear and trembling,
with tears and sighs, his soul followeth hard after
God. But the Lord says, '' Only be strong, and
of a good courage." If our sincere desire is,
Show me Thy glory ! the Lord will declare unto
us His name. If we wish to see God, our hearts,
purified by faith, shall behold Him, and in the
glory we shall see Him face to face. Living in
the presence of God, he who loves and seeks
holiness offers this prayer, "Search me, O God,
and know my heart : try me, and know my
thoughts : and see if there be any wicked way in
me, and lead me in the way everlasting." Walking
in the light (following peace and holiness), we
have fellowship one with another, and the blood
of Jesus Christ His Son cleanseth us from all sin.
And as there is nothing here to discourage the
weakest believer, so let the very knowledge that
God's holy people in glory behold the Lord,
preach glad tidings unto the sinner. What were
the Corinthians whom the apostle Paul brings and
espouses as a chaste virgin unto the heavenly
404 The Epistle to the Hebrews, [xii.
Bridegroom ? They were once sinners, trans-
gressors, living far from God and His ways ; but
they are washed, they are sanctified, they are
justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by
the Spirit of our God. Saints are sinners saved
by grace, Having washed their robes, and made
them white in the blood of the Lamb, they walk
by faith as strangers here, and shall behold the
face of God in glory everlasting. Thus the future
glory preaches present grace to all sinners.
LECTURE XXII.
MOUNT SINAI AND MOUNT ZION.
Hebrews xii. 18-29.
A S in his epistle to the Romans the apostle had
'C\ argued, "Sin shall not have dominion over
you : y'oj'' ye are not under the law, but under
o^race ; " so here he confirms his exhortation to
follow peace and holiness by the assertion, "for
ye are not come unto mount Sinai, but unto
mount Zion."
Mount Sinai and mount Zion are contrasted,
as in the epistle to the Galatians Hagar and Sara
are contrasted. The contrast is very great, striking,
and far-reaching.
The apostle speaks first of Sinai. He reminds
us of seven things in connection with the giving
of the law.* The mount which, writing to Hebrews
it was not necessary to name, is that "mount
Sinai in Arabia, which gendereth to bondage."
" The Lord descended upon it, and the whole
* (i) The mount touched by God; (2) Fire; (3) Blackness of
cloud ; (4) Darkness ; (5) Thunder ; (6) The sound of a trumpet ;
(7) The voice of God.
4o6 The Epistle to the Hebrews. [char
mount quaked greatly."* There was fire also, that
burned, symbolic of God's jealousy, and His holy
anger against sin. We read also of blackness
and darkness, the thick cloud upon the mount,t
and tempest ; that is, thunders and lightnings on
the third day in the morning. And more awful
than the thunder was the sound of the trumpet,
which sounded long and waxed louder and louder ;
and last of all, most solemn and more awful than
the sound of thunder and the trumpet, the voice
of words, '' God spake all these words, saying,"
beginning, 'T am the Lord thy God;" and ending,
" Thou shalt not covet."
The terrors of the majesty of God kept the
people at a distance. Even Moses, the mediator
of the old covenant, said, '' I exceedingly fear and
quake." Nothing can give us a more vivid im-
pression of the awe and terror connected with the
dispensation of mount Sinai than the significant
fact, that even Moses, the chosen servant of God,
and the mediator between God and the people, was
not able to approach without fear and trembling.
Nothing can show us more clearly that Moses
was not the true mediator ; that the true media-
tion by which the love of God is brought to us,
and we are brought unto the holy God, is not
through a sinful and finite man, but through Jesus,
the holy Son of God.
* Exod. xix. 1 8. t Exod. xix. i6.
XII.3 The Epistle to the Hebrews. 407
We are not come to mount Sinai, but to mount
Zion. Here are also mentioned seven great and
solemn heavenly realities.
1. Mount Zion. Mount Sinai represents the
law. It manifests the majesty of God above us
as creatures, the wrath of God against us as
sinners ; it reveals to us God's judgment and our
condemnation ; it convinces us of our guilt and of
our strengthlessness ; it represents the state of
fear and darkness, of distance and alienation from
God. There is no true mediation ; Moses and
the angels minister, but cannot truly and fully
bring God and man together. Here we are not
children and heirs of salvation ; here we are in
bondage, and under condemnation. It is winter,
without sunshine, without flower and fruit, without
the song of birds, the melody of praise.
2. Mount Sinai has passed away. It was only
temporary. God touched it, but did not abide
there. There is another mount, even Zion. " The
Lord hath chosen Zion ; He hath desired it for
His habitation. This is my rest for ever: here will
I dwell; for I have desired it.""^' Upon God's
holy hill of Zion He hath set His King, even
the Son. Mount Sinai represents the law, tem-
porary and intermediate ; mount Zion the Gospel,
eternal and abiding ; mount Sinai is connected
with God's dealings with man according to respon-
■* Psalm cxxxii. 13, 14.
4o8 The Epistle to the Hebrews, [chap.
sibility; mount Zion with the eternal election of
grace. The one is touched by God as it were for
a moment ; the other chosen to be His habitation.
The one brings fear and terror ; the other brings
joy and peace, because God delights in it. In
the one, the very Mediator trembles ; in the other,
God s own Son, crowned with glory and power,
brings nigh His people, who approach "boldly" in
the peace and joy of Christ.
Mount Zion represents the Gospel, but we know
there is a real mount Zion, of which the earthly
mount Zion was only a type. We read of mount
Zion, the citadel of David, the King of Israel, the
place of the sanctuary of God, the glory of Jeru-
salem, the city of peace, where David had assem-
bled the godly of the land, whither the tribes of
the Lord went up to give thanks unto the name
of the Lord. We know that these earthly places
symbolized the heavenly, true, and eternal Zion
and Jerusalem. There is the throne of God and
of the Lamb : we read of the holy city coming
down out of heaven.* Jesus is preparing a
place for us. The earthly Zion and Jerusalem
have also a glorious future ; but we believers
are now come to the true mount Zion, even to
the throne of grace, to the Jerusalem above, the
heavenly city, free and holy.
3. We have come to myriads of angels. This
* Rev. xxi.
XII.] The Epistle to the Hebrews. 409
expression reminds us of what is written : " The
Lord came with ten thousands of His holy ones ;"*
and again, '' Thousand thousands ministered unto
Him, and ten thousand times ten thousand stood
before Him."t It is an innumerable multitude.
The Lord is the Lord of hosts. While this
thought fills us with awe, and helps us to realize
the majesty and grandeur of the kingdom into
which we have been brought, it also strengthens
and gladdens the heart to think of so many bright
and loving angels, who show forth God's glory,
and who minister unto the heirs of salvation.
When the thought of Satan and his legions
brings fear, we ought to comfort ourselves with
the assurance that more in number, and greater
in power, and may we not also say nearer to our
bodies and spirits (for they are in communion with
the Lord), are the loving and watchful angels,
who for Christ's sake regard us with the deepest
interest and affection. :|: The moment we came
to Christ, He brought us unto all the angels, who
rejoice in the salvation of sinners.
4. We have also come to the general assembly
of the Church of the first-born ones, whose names
are written in the heavens. The term general
assembly (Trav^pts) implies not merely a great,
* Deut. xxxiii. 2. t Dan. vii. 10. Compare Rev, v. 11.
X The Bible teaching on angels has not been sufficiently woven
into our daily thought. According to the teaching of the Lord's
Prayer, we should always remember " as it is in heaven."
4IO The Epistle to the Hebrews. [chap.
but Xh^full number. And this circumstance, that
all the members are collected, gives the assembly
a character of solemn and joyous festivity.* The
Church of the first-born ones, whose names are
written in heaven, means evidently the New
Testament believers who first trusted in Christ,
who are the first-fruits unto God. As the priests
in Israel represented the first-born, as Israel itself
was called the first-born, and therefore the heir of
the promise, so believers are chosen in Christ to
be the first-born sons and heirs of the eternal in-
heritance.f Their names are enrolled as citizens
of heaven. Christ Himself is the First-born. In
eternity He is the Only-begotten ; with reference
to creation He who is the image of the invisible
God is the First-born of every creature. | Being
thus the true First-born, His priesthood is perfect.
After His death on the cross, as the First-begotten
of the dead,§ He entered (strictly speaking) on
His priesthood. Believers possess, by virtue of
their union with Jesus, the rights and privileges of
primogeniture. Their names are enrolled in the
lists of the heavenly city (TroXtVev/xa) ; they all enjoy
the same privilege of access, and the same hope
of the inheritance. When we come to Jesus, we
are admitted to communion with all the saints.
5. In this blessed city of God there is no con-
* Kurtz, t Compare Eph. i. 12 ; James i. 18 ; Num. iii. 12, 13.
+ Col. i. 15 ; Rev. iii. 14. § Rev. i. 5.
XII.] The Epistle to the Hebrews. 4 1 1
demnatlon, there is no more judgment. But there
is order, rule, government, to which all render
obedience with joy and praise. We are come to
God, the Supreme Ruler and Governor, who will
vindicate His people, falsely accused and unjustly
oppressed, who will give unto each his true posi-
tion and just reward, who at present upholds the
persecuted and tried saints on earth. By "the
spirits of just men made perfect," are meant the
Old Testament saints. They have finished their
course. The discipline of divine grace has accom-
plished in them the purpose of wisdom and love.
Every believer is called from earth at the right,
the appointed moment. The measure of sorrow
and trial, experience and work, is then complete.
Delivered from sin and the body of death, they
enter at once into the more immediate and, need
we say, conscious communion with God. They
are '' perfected," they have reached the end of the
journey and conflict, and are free from sin. They
are called '' spirits," because they are still waiting
for the resurrection. In one sense, they are not
made perfect, " without us," till the second coming
of Christ ; in another sense, as there is no sowing,
and working, and trading with the talent beyond
the grave, they have reached their ultimate condi-
tion. The departed saints of the old dispensation
are now with the Lord, in whom, as the coming
Saviour, they trusted ; and we are brought into
412 The Epistle to the Hebrews. [chap.
union with them because (6) we have come to the
*' Mediator of the new covenant." He, God and
man, is the One Mediator between God and
sinners ; and having removed all our guilt, and
overcome all obstacles which separated us from
God, Jesus brings now to His people that perfect
peace and joy which He Himself possesses.
The apostle calls the great and glorious divine
Mediator by His greatest and sweetest name —
Jesus! In the Pauline epistles especially, the
name of Jesus is frequently brought out as the
name of greatest significance and consolation, as
the name of the exalted Lord. The apostle seems
to have been always hearing the Voice that said
unto him, on that memorable day, " I am Jesus."
This same Jesus, who died for us, is on the
throne ; and the blessings of the new covenant
are in His pierced hands. Blessed are we, if by
faith we always come to the Lord Jesus, and hear
His voice : " Fear not ; I am the first and the
last: I am He that liveth, and was dead; and,
behold, I am alive for evermore ; " when we see
it is Jesus, our brother Joseph, who is now exalted
a Prince and Saviour.
Lastly (the seventh link of this chain), we have
come to the blood of sprinkling.*
* (i) Mount Zion; (2) The heavenly Jerusalem ; (3) The myriads
of angels ; (4) The Church of the First-born (The Judge, the God
of all) ; (5) The spirits of just men ; (6) The Mediator of the new
covenant; (7) The blood.
XII.] The Epistle to the Hebrews. 413
The precious blood of Christ, which was shed
in Golgotha, is sprinkled (using a symbol of the
Old Testament sacrificial ordinances) on the con-
science and heart, and sinners are thus justified
and sanctified.* We have frequently had occasion
to notice in this epistle the special importance
attached to the blood of Christ as distinguished
from His death f When we believe in Jesus, then
the blood of Christ is applied to us. It is a great
and solemn transaction, spiritual and real in its
character. Christ is set forth by God a propitia-
tion, and faith beholds the blood of Christ in the
heavenly sanctuary as a great reality. Abel's
blood cried to heaven, and testified against his
sinful brother ; but the blood of the Lord Jesus,
who was hated and killed by man because He
was righteous, speaks more powerfully and effec-
tively, securing our pardon and acceptance. J
* Compare ix. 13, 14; x. 22; xiii. 12. f Lecture vi.
X Holding fast the spiritual character of the sprinkling of the
blood of Christ by which we are sanctified, we may ask: When
the apostle says we have come to the Mediator of the new
covenant, Jesus, and to the blood of sprinkling, when he teaches us
that Jesus entered with His own blood into the holy of holies, or
that God brought Jesus from the grave (into heaven) through (eV)
the blood of the everlasting covenant, is the language merely
figurative, reminding us that, because Christ shed His blood on
the cross. He is now our High Priest and Mediator? or does he
mean that the blood of Christ is in the heavenly sanctuary?
The latter view seems right for the following reasons : i. According
to the Old Testament t}'pe, the blood of the atonement, as we have
already seen, pertains to the holy of hoHes. Jesus died outside the
gate. Did He not fulfil the other part of the type, in which the
414 The Epistle to the Hebrews. [chap.
In this grand contrast of seven things, as the
first link of the series was the two mounts, Sinai
and Zion, so the last link is the voice of God
uttering the Ten Commandments, and the blood
of Jesus speaking peace. In our actual experience,
the last link comes first. When we behold the
blood, we are delivered out of Egypt, and from
the condemnation of the law. Jesus is the door
and the way. The door comes first, and then the
path. The door is an open door, when we see
Christ crucified. By this open door we must
enter. Then comes the narrow way, the life of
obedience in communion with God. But there is
no walking on the narrow way before we enter
in at the strait gate. Jesus is Alpha. Until we
high priest brought the blood into the most holy place ? (ix. ; xiii.
II, 12.) 2. It is written that God will not suffer His Holy One to
see corruption. The life is in the blood. The blood of our adorable
Lord is called precious, it is contrasted with things that are cor-
ruptible, and compared with the "incorruptible" seed of the Word
of God. 3, Our Lord distinguishes the body which is broken,
and the blood which is shed. After His resurrection, speaking of
His glorified body, He said, " It is I myself: handle me, and see;
for a spirit hath not flesh and bones, as ye see me have." (Luke
xxiv. 39.) He does not say "flesh and blood;" for "flesh and
blood," coexisting as in our present condition, cannot inherit the
kingdom of God. (i Cor. xv. 50.)
This view is very fully defended by Bengel, Otinger, and more
recently by Stier. Some of their mferences do not seem to me
scriptural. Calvin and Goodwin use expressions which tend in the
same realistic direction. It is better to take Scripture literally, even
when we cannot fully understand or picture to ourselves the thing
stated, than to have recourse to weakening the force of the inspired
expressions.
XII.] The Epistle to the Hebrews, 415
believe in the blood of Christ, we are outside the
gate, and do not even see the path. The path
commences when you enter in at the strait gate.
What a discovery it is to one who has known
only mount Sinai and the ten commandments, to
behold the Lamb of God and the blood of atone-
ment! Convinced of sin, condemned as guilty,
trembling before the majesty of the Holy God,
and yet feeling that only in Him are blessedness
and life for the immortal and God-created spirit,
the heart looks up and sees nothing but thick
darkness and clouds ; it can discover no blue of
loving heaven-speaking peace and hope; the mighty
voice, louder than the trumpet-sound, is echoed in
the conscience, and there is none to help. When
to such a heart is brought the message of salva-
tion by grace through a crucified Redeemer ; when
he hears of Jehovah-Tsidkenu (the Lord our right-
eousness) ; of the Son of God, who was wounded
for our transgressions, and bruised for our iniquities;
when there is declared to him complete and imme-
diate forgiveness according to divine justice and
truth, the infinite and never-changing love of God
in Christ Jesus, what peace and what joy enter the
soul ! what astonishment, gratitude, and adoration !
How beautiful is the light of peace which pro-
ceeds from the Lamb ! How glorious is the love
of Him who in Christ is now the Father, the
justifier of the guilty who believe in Jesus ! How
4i6 The Epistle to the Hebrews. [chap,
sweet IS the welcome of the Church, into which
the Spirit baptizes us ! How near are the angels
who rejoice with the Shepherd over His found
sheep ! How radiant with grace is the heavenly
sanctuary ! Do you know the contrast between
mount Sinai and mount Zion ?
But as our privilege, so our responsibility is
much greater under the gospel-dispensation. See
that ye refuse not Him that speaketh. God came
down from heaven to earth, and spoke on mount
Sinai ; Jesus ascended from earth to heaven,
and speaks now to us from mount Zion. (v. 25)
The character of the present dispensation and
of gospel-speaking is heavenly.* The heaven-
descended God gave the law on Sinai. The
heaven-ascended Son declares glad tidings from
His throne of glory. The blood of Abel cried
from earth to heaven for vengeance ; the blood
of the Lord Jesus speaks peace from heaven to
earth. How can we escape if we neglect so great
salvation ?
Mount Sinai passed away, and the dispensation
of the law has vanished ; but Jesus is the Media-
tor of the new and everlasting covenant. Jesus
speaking from heaven is God s most perfect and
loving, as well as His ultimate message. Jesus
is the first and the last ; He shall come again and
reign for evermore. Heaven and earth shall pass
* Compare John iii. 31 ; i Peter i. 12.
XIII The Epistle to the Hebrews. 417
away ; all things that can be shaken shall be
removed ; Jesus shall make all things new, and
the saints who have learned on earth the new
song of eternal redemption shall rejoice in Him
for ever. How can we escape if we neglect the
eternal salvation ?
How solemn is it to hear the message proceed-
ing from Him who is exalted above all heavens :
" Hear, O heavens, and give ear, O earth : for the
Lord hath spoken." To listen to the voice of the
eternal Word, the Only-begotten of the Father,
who declares to us the salvation-will of God, the
counsel of eternal love — is most solemn and awful.
It is the greatest and most sublime message. It
is the sweetest message ; for the salvation it
declares has its source in electing love, its channel
is the sacrifice of Christ, and its end in the glory,
even the marriage supper of the Lamb. It is
the ultimate and everlasting revelation of God.
Heaven and earth shall pass away ; this present
world shall vanish ; but the word of Christ, the
word of the gospel, shall abide for evermore.
The blessed gospel reveals to us God our
Father in Jesus, and therefore perfect peace ;
it reveals also the inheritance of glory, and there-
fore a lively hope for the future. This peace and
hope are full of solemnity, we therefore serve God
acceptably and with godly fear ; for we know that
our God is a consuming fire. (v. 29.)
II. 2 E
41 8 The Epistle to the Hebrews. [chap.
Before we are brought to Christ, we know there
is a spiritual world as well as a world to come.
Conscience testifies, and the heart believes, that
beside the outer world, there is the true and
spiritual world ; in which God is the great Centre,
Lord, and Judge, and that our true and real life
depends on our relation to God Most High,
whether we are with Him and in His favour, or
whether God is against us, and we are far from
Him.
We know also the future world. From earliest
childhood we know that life is short, that all flesh
is grass, that the flower fadeth, that the dearest
and sweetest tie of earth must be broken, that the
world passeth away, that it is appointed unto
man to die. When we have scarcely a past to
remember, when we have only emerged out of
the mysterious morning - land of infancy, we
already look forward to a boundless, never-ending
future ; for God has written eternity in the human
heart. When the child of man stands thus be-
fore God, not daring to lift up his eye unto
the high and holy heaven ; when God is above
and against him ; when he is convinced of sin,
and yet thirsteth after the living God ; and when
he knows he is hastening to eternity on the
wings of inexorable time — then out of the highest
sanctuary, high above the clouds of Sinai, high
above all created heights, comes forth the voice of
XII.] The Epistle to the Hebrews. 419
the gospel, majestic and sweet, full of authority and
grace, bringing light and love, " I am Jesus." In
this gospel we hear that all that separated the
heart from God, all that prevented the heart from
breathing the atmosphere of divine life and love,
is removed, and that according to the perfections
of God. And now that sin, the condemnation of
the law, the wrath of God, the sting of death, and
the power of Satan are taken out of the way, the
heart looks up to the Father and to Jesus — it
looks forward to the Bridegroom's return and the
glory.
What else can we say to such a gift, but thanks!
glory to God ! Now we believe, and trust in God.
Faith towards God [Jidticia) never was in our
hearts till Jesus came revealing the Father's love
and His grace. Faith is the daughter of revela-
tion, the echo of the divine voice, the reflection of
the manifestation of Christ to the soul.
In Christ, whom God hath appointed heir of
all things, we have also the promise of the in-
heritance. The object of God's eternal purpose
was the new, eternal, holy, and perfect world,
which can never be moved ; the new heavens and
the new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness.
They who trust in Jesus have received in Him
the kingdom which cannot be moved. The apostle
speaks now of this eternal and immovable king-
dom as our great and immediate prospect; having
420 The Epistle to the Hebrews, [chap.
such a promise, we are without excuse If we refuse
to listen to the Lord In heaven, (vv. 25-29.)
The prophet Haggal, whom the apostle quotes,
comforted his people, who In troublous times, in
the day of small things, were cast down. The
glory of Solomon s temple was remembered by
the aged, and the present seemed to be a time of
weakness and trial. Then the prophet announces
that the second temple would excel the first in
glory, that David's house would be exalted. But
before this kingdom is established, and this glory
manifested, the whole world of nations will be
shaken, and mighty signs of divine judgment and
power will be seen throughout the realm of crea-
tion. " I will shake the heavens, and the earth,
and the sea, and the dry land : and I will shake
all nations, and the desire of all nations shall
come." This catastrophe, crisis In the world's
history, hope of the godly, reminds the prophets
of the awful signs and wonders and voices at the
exodus and the giving of the law. God shall
again appear with all His saints. All His ene-
mies shall be subdued, and Jehovah be King of
the whole earth.
From this prophecy the apostle infers that the
things that will be shaken will be removed, in
order that there may be established that which
is to be abiding. In other words, that the king-
dom will be established which, according to the
XII.] The Epistle to the Hebrews. 421
prophetic word, is to take the place of the powers
and kingdoms of the world;* that the age will
commence in which the name of the Lord alone
shall be exalted, after all that is proud and lofty
has been abased, f
Let us therefore have and show gratitude for
God's unspeakable gift. If Jesus is ours, need
we, can we, covet anything.^ J If the kingdom
is ours, are we not separated from this present
evil world ? Let us serve God acceptably with
reverence and fear.
For our God, God in Christ, is a consuming
fire. In Jesus we behold the holy, righteous,
jealous God. We trust and rejoice, but it is with
solemn awe, with godly fear. We have been
brought nigh to God ; we live in the presence
* Dan. ii, vii. t Isaiah ii.
t " In the prophetic word the final manifestation of Jehovah is
compared with the redemption out of Egypt, and the descent on
mount Sinai. (Micah vii. 15; Hab. iii.) What the LXX. render
'yet once more' means, that between the prophet's time and the
final catastrophe is only one period ; that is, one uniform period,
. possessing the same character ; and that this period will be short."
(Condensed from Delitzsch.) The dealings of God with Israel in
Egypt and on mount Sinai form the beginning and type of that
final manifestation of Jehovah in judgment on His enemies and
in grace to His people, in the establishment of the theocracy
(Christocracy), of which Haggai prophesies. Hence the apostle's
quotation, " yet once more," gives the true meaning of the passage.
Only 07ie other great crisis, and then the final change of things
that can be shaken and moved into the enduring and abiding
kingdom, which was the purpose of God from the beginning.
X Compare the first word, '' I am the Lord thy God," and the
last commandment, " Thou shalt not covet."
42 2 The Epistle to the Hebrews, [xii.
of the Most High. The Lord is in His holy
temple. Let all that is within us keep silence
before Him. Let us worship and serve as priests,
the first-born sons who are separated by the blood
of the covenant, and by the resurrection of Jesus
Christ from the dead ; as kings who do not suffer
sin to have dominion over them, and even in this
present time of weakness and suffering live in the
spirit of the future glory. " Our God is a con-
suming fire," perfect light, perfect love. In the
everlasting covenant He is the Lord our God,
who hath chosen us to be His, entirely and for
even
LECTURE XXIII.
EXHORTATIONS AND BENEDICTIONS OF THE APOSTLE
PAUL.
Hebrews xiii. 1-16.
" I ^HE argument and exhortation of the apostle
^ seem to have reached their solemn and im-
pressive conclusion in the twelfth chapter, espe-
cially in the heart -searching words of the last
verse : '' For our God is a consuming fire." But,
as we find in other Pauline epistles," that after
the apparent conclusion of the doctrinal and
practical portion, the apostle adds isolated concise
counsels, injunctions and benedictions, so also here.
As if the apostle could not separate himself either
from the theme or the people, so dear to his heart,
and as if he felt that he had still much to commu-
nicate out of his abundant treasure of knowledge
and love.
But this concluding chapter possesses a special
interest and value, because we seem to see more
* Compare in Romans, first conclusion, Rom. xv. 33 ; second,
Rom. xvi. 24 ; and third, 27.
424 The Epistle to the Hebrews. [chap.
distinctly the writers individuality, and his per-
sonal relation to the Hebrews. As we read the
chapter, in which many Pauline peculiarities occur,
and in which we meet for the first time in this
epistle the personal pronoun " I," we see more
clearly the beloved countenance of the apostle,
and feel more confirmed that we have been listen-
ing to the well-known voice of the chosen witness
to ''the Gentiles, and the children of Israel."""
Verses 1-3. " Let brotherly love (<^tXa86A<^ia)
continue." The intimate connection between love
to God and love to the brethren, is constantly
pointed out both by the Lord Himself and in the
apostolic writings. In the epistles of John, this
seems almost the central thouQ^ht.
*' Love never ceaseth ;" and as the Hebrews
had just been reminded that the things that are
made shall be shaken and removed, they are now
exhorted to let that abide which is of God, which
is eternal, even love. Even prophecies, tongues,
and knowledge shall vanish; but love never faileth.
"If we love one another, God dwelleth in us."f
Love to the brethren is always represented as the
first indication and fruit of the new life J as well as
the final aim and result of divine grace.
The Hebrews had given striking proof that
they possessed this mark of Christ's disciples,
and the apostle had commended them for their
* Acts ix. 15. t 1 John iv. 12. X i ]o\\\\ v. i ; Acts xvi. 33.
XIII.] The Epistle to the Hebrews. 425
love, their sympathy, and their compassionate and
helpful charity." Like the divine Master, he
connects exhortation with commendation. We
must watch and cherish the gifts of grace which
we have received. Love to the brethren mani-
fests itself specially in sympathy with the afflicted.
'' Whether one member suffer, all the members of
the body suffer with it." f The children of God are
to resemble their heavenly Father, who is a lover
of the stranger.]: In showing hospitality they are
often rewarded by receiving messengers of divine
truth and blessing. The disciples of Jesus are to
remember with sympathy and intercession their
brethren in adversity ; as long as we are in the
body we may all be called to suffer, and the fellow-
heirs of glory ought to abound in kindness and
tenderness towards those who are counted worthy
to endure affliction and persecution. It is one of
our privileges on earth to weep with them that
weep, and to comfort and help the Master Him-
self in succouring His tried and fainting disciples.
Thus also shall we retain the spirit of strangers
and pilgrims, whose home is above.
The next exhortations have reference to earthly
life in two important aspects. First, as to mar-
riage. It was instituted by God in Paradise
before the fall, it was irradiated by the presence
and blessing of Jesus at Cana, it is invested in
* vi. 10 ; X. 33. t I Cor. xii. 26. + Deut. x. 18, 19.
426 The Epistle to the Hebrews. [chap.
Scripture with a sacredness most solemn and
tender, for it is used as a symbol of the relation
between Jehovah and His people, between Jesus
and the Church. Let marriage then be regarded
as honourable by all. Some are not called in pro-
vidence to enter into this state ; some, like the
apostle Paul, voluntarily choose a single life, that
they may serve God more freely ; but let* all regard
this relation, as appointed by God, holy and full
of blessing. And where the sacred character of
marriage and of the family is recognised and felt,
the result will be purity. All sins of impurity are
sins against His holy ordinance of marriage, and
against the divine institution of the family. God
Himself will judge those who violate this funda-
mental law of His goodness.
Secondly, as regards the occupation whereby
we earn our livelihood. Covetousness is idolatry ;
the love of money* is the root of all evil. Jesus
commands us, not to lay up treasure on earth, be-
cause our heart is where our treasure is. He does
not merely forbid us to set our affection on earthly
treasure, but to cut off the possibility of such heart-
estrangement from God by not aiming at the ac-
cumulation of wealth. And as in the sermon on
the mount, so here, covetousness is viewed as con-
nected with a lack of faith in the living God ; for
God Himself (in the Scripture) hath said, " I will
* drpiXdpyvpos. Compare i Tim. iii. 3 ; vi. 10.
XIII.] The Epistle to the Hebrews. 427
never leave thee, nor forsake thee."* The first
expression assures us that God will never with-
draw His guiding hand ; the second, that He will
never withdraw His protecting presence. f Having
God's gracious and considerate promise, may we
not, like David, say with a soothed and quiet heart,
" The Lord is on my side ; I will not fear : what
can man do unto me ? The Lord taketh my part
with them that help me."!
Our earthly life will be full of peace and
contentment, of light and strength, though not
without the needed difficulties and chastenings, if
we obey these apostolic injunctions ; if we cherish
love to the brethren, and a sympathetic, con-
siderate, and helpful spirit towards the suffering
and needy ; if we cultivate family affection and
communion ; and if we keep ourselves free from
the feverish race for riches and worldly distinction,
and learn to be content with such things as we
have, eating our meat with gladness and single-
ness of heart. Have we not " enough" for the
journey ? When we reach home, and Jesus asks
us, *' Did you ever lack anything ?" what will our
answer be ?
Having warned them against the dangers of
selfishness, fleshly lusts, and covetousness, the
apostle proceeds to warn them against the dangers
* Deut. xxxi. 6-8 ; i Chron. xxviii. 20 ; and often in Isaiah.
X Kurtz. + Psalm cxviii. 6.
428 The Epistle to the Hebrews. [chap.
threatening their faith and loyalty to Christ. He
reminds them of the guides, the teachers and
rulers, which God had given to them — men who
laboured in the ministry of the Word, had sealed
their testimony in their death, (v. 7.) Some
have thought the reference is pre-eminently to
martyrs like Stephen. But all their departed
teachers and elders had shown them in life and
death what they had declared by their word : the
just shall live hy faith. They had passed away;
but the great Prophet, the great Apostle and High
Priest, the true Shepherd, remained — Jesus Christ,
the same yesterday, to-day, and for ever. He is
the only foundation, and His the only name. The
heart finds rest in thinking of Him, the Rock of
ages, the eternal, unchanging Son of God, our
Lord, Saviour, and Mediator.
Of this inexhaustible verse, let us only indicate
a few aspects for meditation. We contemplate
here the Son of God as the Christ, set up from all
eternity in the divine counsel. We behold Him
as incarnate, God and man, two natures in one
person. By a bold anticipation, not more bold
than true, we call Him Jesus Christ even before
His advent.''' He is eternal, and yet He has a
yesterday, to-day, and an endless future. His
*' yesterday" has no beginning, but it ends with
His burial in that new tomb. His *' to-day" com-
* Compare Phil. ii. 5.
XIII.] The Epistle to the Hebrews. 429
mences with His resurrection, and Is even now —
this acceptable year of the Lord, the gospel dis-
pensation— the " to-day " while we hear the voice
of grace. His ''for ever" commences with His
second advent. His dominion Is everlasting. And
throughout He Is the same. From all eternity
He Is the Lover of our souls, the Friend of
sinners, the Advocate, Intercessor, and Mediator;
His Incarnation Is only the manifestation of the
mind that was in Him from all eternity. Let us
adore, and adoring, let us love and rejoice. Let
us adore Jesus as our apostle did, when he, In this
very epistle, applied to Jesus the words : " Thou,
Lord, In the beginning hast laid the foundation of
the earth ; " and, with the beloved disciple, let us
hear the voice of Jesus In heaven, '' I am Alpha
and Omega, the beginning and the ending, salth
the Lord, which Is, and was, and is to come, the
Almighty."* And thus beholding the glory, let
us also behold the love, divine and brotherly, of
the Lord Jesus, the Saviour, as Christ, Prophet,
Priest, and King. Time's waves and billows
cannot move our Rock ; we are but as grass, and
as a flower of the field, but the eternal mercy,
without beginning and without end. Is upon us.f
* Rev. i. 8. The same expressions which we read in the prophet
Isaiah of Jehovah, " He is First and Last," A and 0 ; there are
many intermediate letters, and some of them rebeUious ones, that
assert themselves. But He alone abideth. — Bengel.
t Psalm ciii.
430 The Epistle to the Hebrezvs. ' [chap.
This is the sure foundation on which we are to
build. The heart can only be established on this
Rock, and only by grace (v. 9) ; for by grace (not
by works) we were built on the stone which God
laid in Zion ; and only by grace, continually re-
ceived by faith, we continue. The various Jewish
laws (teaching both complicated and foreign from
the gospel TrotKtXat? Kttt ^eVats) Concerning eating and
drinking, whether it refers to daily ordinary life,
or to the sacrificial meals, stand in no connection
with the life and growth of faith. For, as the type
already taught, of that sacrifice which was offered
up as an atonement for sin, only the blood was
brought unto the most holy ; the bodies were burnt
outside the camp.* The meat of other sin-offer-
ings had to be eaten by the priests in the holy
place (" it is most holy") ; but the sin-offering for
atonement was to be carried forth without the
camp. The priests were forbidden to eat of it. f
In the fulfilment Jesus suffered without the gate.
The beloved city, Jerusalem, is viewed as the
camp. Our Lord was crucified and buried out-
side the tent and the camp. In the type the
sacrifice was slain in the outer court, and the
body burnt outside the, camp. In the fulfilment
the idea is carried out even more fully. Jesus was
the sin-offering. God made Him to be "sin" for us.
■* Lev. vi. 36.
t Lev. xvi. 27. Contr. Lev. vi. 25, 26.
XIII.] The Epistle to the Hebrews. 431
*He was numbered with the transgressors. To the
eye of the world and of the unbeHevIng Jews, He
was a transgressor dying on the accursed tree.
By His precious blood, with which He entered
the most holy, He has sanctified us. Here also
the fulfilment is beyond the type. The blood is
brought into the heavenly sanctuary, and we are
separated unto God, and perfected for ever.
We who believe possess therefore the true
altar.* Of the type of this altar they who serve
the tabernacle were not allowed to eat. But the
* Verse 10 has had a great variety of interpretations, and offers
many difficulties, '^x^fj^ev can, I think, refer only to believers. The
expression have is emphatic in this epistle. dvataaT-qpLov, altar, does
not refer to the actual cross, of which it cannot be said that we have
it, but to Christ Himself, as the sin-offering. As Owen remarks, that
which the apostle throughout opposes unto all the utensils, services,
and sacrifices of the tabernacle, is Christ alone. So here Christ is
both sacrifice and altar, and by Him we offer the sacrifice of praise
and good works. " They that serve the tabernacle." The Levitical
priests (tabernacle is always used for temple) had no right to eat of
the typical sin-offering of atonement, and in their ignorance of
Christ and unbelief they did not know the true altar.
The connection of thought seems to be : Do not think of the
meat of the temple altar ; look to Christ in heaven, in order that
your heart may be established. He is our altar and sacrifice. Even
in the type there was no eating connected with the sin-offering for
atonement. Now Christ has sanctified you, and brought you nigh
unto God. And this very position calls on you to go outside the
camp and bear the reproach of Christ, to separate yourself from
that which is waxing old.
The thought lies very near, that in the fulfilment Christ gives us
His body, which is meat indeed ; and His blood, which is drink
indeed. This however is connected with the Passover, which is
the most comprehensive sacrificial type, and does not fall, we think,
within the scope of the apostle's present argument.
432 The Epistle to the Hebrews, [chap.
reality Is hid from them. By faith we behold it,
and our hearts are established.
But our position, while It Is heavenly with Christ,
is here upon earth outside the camp. If with
Jesus we have entered Into the holy of holies, let
us also go unto Him outside the camp, bearing
His reproach. We must be separate from all
that Is against Christ, from all that beguiles men
from the simplicity that is In Christ Jesus, and
substitutes forms and outward legal observances
for the body, the substance. In proportion as our
worship, our affections, our aims are heavenly, as
we seek the future and continuing city, we must
expect to bear the reproach of Christ. For the
''cross' of Chdst will always be '' outside the camp."
True faith In Jesus will never, In this dispensation,
be according to the spirit and taste of the world.
Spiritual worship will always be an enigma to the
world, and its aversion.
But we have Jesus ; and by Him we draw
near as priests, and with sacrifices well-pleasing
to the Father, {v. 15.) We now worship the
Father offering unto God praise, and bringing
unto Him gifts with cheerful and thankful hearts.
Praise and eifts are the sacrifices of the Christian.
Nor must we forget that while there Is nothing
meritorious in our offerings, yet the praise of
our lips, if it proceeds from the heart, and Is
confirmed by our lives, and the offering of our
XIII.] The Epistle to the Hebrews. 433
gifts, be it out of our affluence or poverty, be
it the word of sympathy or the sacrifice of time
and talent, are pleasing to God. So the apostle
says here, " With such sacrifices God is well
pleased ; " and the apostle Peter, speaking of the
same spiritual sacrifices, calls them *' acceptable to
God by Jesus Christ." Again, when alluding to
the gift of money sent by the Philippians, Paul
says, " The things which were sent from you, an
odour of a sweet smell, a sacrifice acceptable, well-
pleasing to God." Let not a one-sided view of justi-
fication by faith, or our latent sloth and selfishness
deprive us of this most comforting and stimulating
teaching of Scripture, that both our words and
works, our praise-worship and our offerings and
ministry to the poor and the house of God, are
regarded by God with delight, and accepted by
Him ; that thus praise and works have a sitbstan-
tive importance, not merely as evidencing our faith,
but as actual sacrifices offered through Jesus, and
accepted sacrifices with which the Lord is pleased.
When God has taken away all our iniquity, and
has received us graciously, then, to use the signifi-
cant expression of the prophet Hosea, " we render
the calves of our lips." Song is but the outward
expression of the inner praise, and of the general
confession of Christ in word and life.
The first song of praise is recorded in Exodus ;
for it is redemption, which brings praise. In
II. 2 F
434 The Epistle to the Hebrews. [chap.
Paradise man was able to sing unto God, the
Creator, and with the angels ascribe glory and
thanksgiving unto the Lord. But after the fall,
sinners could only praise through redeeming grace.
In Egypt, the house of bondage, were heard tear-
ful sighs and earnest supplications ; on the great
night of the Paschal lamb Israel waited in solemn
and awe-filled silence ; at the Red Sea the cry
of anguish unuttered rose up from the heart of
Moses ; but at last came completed redemption.
The Red Sea separated Israel from Egypt ; old
things had passed away ; and '^then sang Moses
and the children of Israel this song unto the
Lord, and spake, saying, I will sing unto the
Lord, for He hath triumphed gloriously."
This is our song : " Christ our passover was
slain, Christ our Lord is risen again." On this
God-made day may we indeed rejoice and be glad.'''
For He who died for us, liveth now for evermore.
It is good to give thanks unto God ; to behold
the beauty of the Lord ; to rejoice in Him, our
unchanging, faithful, and ever-blessed God. This
thankfulness is an offering unto the Lord. He is
pleased with it. Jesus still asks : Were there not
ten cleansed ? Where are the nine ? Jesus loves
to hear the voice of melody. Seven times a day,
constantly, let us praise God.
The heart that praises God is delivered from
■^ Psalm cxviii.
XIII.] The Epistle to the Hebrews. 435
anxious care and self-centred gloom. The heart
that praises God is like the temple filled with
God's glory. * Praise is heaven anticipated ; in
praise we even now join angels and perfected
saints.
How much did the apostle Paul abound in
praise ! His epistles are full of thanksgiving^of
doxologies. His heart was always giving thanks,
and ascribing glory. Think only of this man, who,
like his divine Master, was a man of sorrows, and
acquainted with grief. From the hour that Jesus
appeared to him, from those three days of awful,
intense soul-dealings with God, in which his whole
past life, righteousness, strength, were taken from
him, and through dying to the law he became
alive unto God, what was his whole earthly
career but taking up the cross, and following
Jesus ? Hated by Israel, whom he loved so
profoundly ; persecuted, derided, imprisoned, and
scourged ; in poverty, in toil, in danger by land
and sea ; with the burden of all the churches upon
his priestly heart ; suspected by Jewish Christians,
grieved and hindered by schismatic and self-
willed disciples ; without the solace of wife or
child ; going from city to city with this only cer-
tainty, that bonds and afflictions awaited him
everywhere — can you picture to yourself this man
of prayer, of vigil, of tears, of heart-breathed in-
* I Chron. xxii. 5.
43^ The Epistle to the Hebrews. [chap.
tercesslons for unbelieving Israel, and for unfaith-
ful Christians ; this lonely, suffering man, with his
burning soul, with his toil-worn frame, with his
body bearing the marks of the Lord Jesus, with
all the world against him, and with the martyr's
death before him ? Oh, then, see that in all this
he was constantly offering the sacrifice of praise !*
In his heart is melody ; he finishes his course with
joy ; and out of the overflowing thankfulness of
his soul he writes to all the Christian churches,
"• Rejoice in the Lord : and again I say. Rejoice !"
Learn from him to offer up the sacrifice of
praise to God continually ; that is, the fruit of our
lips giving thanks to His name.
We praise God in declaring His name. The
preacher's petition is : " Open Thou my lips ;
and my mouth shall show forth Thy praise." I
praise God when I preach Jesus, the Saviour of
the sinner, the High Priest, example and joy of
the saint, f To confess and to praise is the
privilege of God's people, to show to the world
that we are at peace, that we rejoice, that heaven
is our home even now, that in sorrow and pros-
perity God is our song. We are to praise God
always. When Christians are in deep sorrow,
and when they are called to endure great trials,
* Phil. ii. 17 ; iv. 4.
t Some churches are reproached for being preaching, and not
praying churches. Let us remember that true spiritual preaching
is also praising God, and declaring His name.
XIII.] The Epistle to the Hebrews, 437
it is often given unto them to rejoice in God, and
to praise Him who is good, and whose mercy
endureth for ever. Many of David's most jubilant
songs were written in hours of persecution and
distress. The Christians who are most deficient
in praise are not the suffering, poor, bed-ridden,
and afflicted; but those whose earthly path is
smooth and easy, who fall into a languid and
dull routine, whose hearts become forgetful of
the Lord and His marvellous love.
A joyous heart is also a generous heart. When
we praise the Lord, the bountiful giver, and thank
Him for the gifts of His grace — gifts so unde-
served, precious, and abundant — our hearts will be
liberal. We shall not forget to do good and to
communicate ; rather shall we be anxious to dis-
cover the good works ordained for us, that we
may walk in them, to find out the poor and needy,
the lowly and afflicted members of Christ, that we
may help and cheer them.
With such sacrifices God Is well pleased. He
beholds in them our gratitude and love, a mani-
festation of the Spirit of His own Son, who for
our sakes became poor. When we "abound" in
this grace also," the blessing of God on our souls
will descend plentifully, and we shall reap an
abundant harvest of spiritual fruit.
Let us study and imitate the example of the
* 2 Cor. viii. 7.
43^ The Epistle to the Hebrews. [xiii.
first congregation at Jerusalem. They were filled
with the Spirit, they rejoiced and praised, they
did not suffer any member to lack. And thus
they found favour with the people, and the beauty
of the Lord was upon them ; and the Lord added
to the Church daily.* Study the exhortation to the
grace of liberality given by the apostle Paul to
the Corinthians ; so urgent, so loving, so full of
the gospel. "Thanks be unto God for His unspeak-
able gift"f is the conclusion as well as the foun-
dation and the centre of his admonition.
The sacrifice of praise and of good works | can
only be offered " by Christ." As all the offerings
of the old dispensation rested on the atonement,
through the sacrifice for sin, as the necessary
foundation, so it is only the forgiven children of
God who offer now the sacrifice of praise, confess-
ing the name of Christ, and declaring His truth ;
who by ministering unto the saints, by doing good
to all men, by helping the mission-work of the
Church, bring thank-offerings to God. And as both
these sacrifices rest on the one and only sacrifice
of Christ, and proceed out of a renewed heart ; as
both the praise and the works are frtcits of the
Spirit, brought forth by the living branches, so it
is by Christ's intercession they ascend unto the
Father, and are well-pleasing unto Him.
* Acts ii. 44-47.
t 2 Cor. viii and ix. Two beautiful and important chapters.
X " Ohne Loben und Lieben vergeh keine Stunde." Let no hour
pass without praise and love.
LECTURE XXIV.
EXHORTATIONS AND BENEDICTIONS OF THE APOSTLE
PAUL — CONTINUED.
Hebrews xiii. 17-25.
nPEACHERS and rulers* are again recog-
-^ nized, and the Hebrews are exhorted to
obey them, and to yield themselves to their
teaching and rule, to adapt themselves to their
peculiarities, and to carry out their wishes and
arrangements with a willing mind ; for therein God
is honoured, and the welfare of the congregation
promoted. Ministers watch for your souls as
they that must give account of their stewardship.
Their responsibility towards God is great ; their
labour towards you is incessant and anxious. You
may well meet them with confidence and a plastic
mind, trusting that their counsels are the result
of thought, prayer, and experience. Nothing
discourages a minister more than the want of
response on the part of Christians to his advice,
entreaty, and plans. He returns from his work
* Verses 7 and 17 show that there was a stated ministry, that
there were recognised and regular teachers and pastors in the con-
gregation, whose gifts not only, but whose office was acknowledged.
440 The Epistle to the Hebrews. [chap.
to God, not with joy, but with sighs and tears,
with complaints and grief. " This is unprofitable
for the people." They only hinder and retard the
blessing which would otherwise come to their
hearts, homes, and neighbourhood.
" Pray for us." This is eminently Pauline. No
other apostle writes thus, requesting the interces-
sion of the Church. * It is very instructive and
touching to notice how constantly and earnestly
the apostle asks the Churches to pray for him,
that utterance may be given him ; that the word
of the Lord may have free course and be glorified ;
that he may be preserved amidst the persecution
of unbelievers ; that he may be restored to the
brethren. He who laboured more than the other
apostles, and who was endowed with so many
gifts, seems to have had the greatest craving for
sympathy, for affection, for communion, and the
most vivid conviction that God only giveth the
increase ; that it is not by might nor by power,
but by the Spirit of the Lord. Of all the apostles,
Paul was the most affectionate, the most tender-
hearted, the most brotherly, fatherly, motherly.
"We were gentle among you, even as a nurse
cherisheth her children : so being affectionately
desirous of you, we were willing to have imparted
unto you, not the gospel of God only, but also
"*" Rom. XV. 30 ; Eph. vi. 19 ; Col. iv. 3 ; Phil. 22 ; i Thess v. 25 ;
2 Thess. iii. i.
XIII.] The Epistle to the Hebrews, 441
our own souls, because ye were dear unto us."
And none was more willing to be nothing, nay,
to be accounted as the offscouring of the earth,
that Christ alone may be exalted. The reference
to "a good conscience" is very touching. His
whole apostolic life is the comment. His farewell
address to the elders of Ephesus, while it reveals
his *' tears" as the characteristic feature of his
ministry, also discloses the high standard of
integrity, unselfishness, and blamelessness, at
which, in common with Joshua and Samuel, he
constantly aimed.
He asks specially prayer for himself, that he
may be ''restored to them the sooner." From
this expression it is evident that he had been
with them at some former period, that he wishes
and intends to go to them again, but that this
depends on circumstances, which may either re-
tard or expedite his return. He requests their
prayers that he may be set free.
Verses 20, 21. The apostle concludes with a
benediction, very comprehensive, and in a manner
a summary of the whole epistle.
" The God of peace" is likewise a Pauline ex-
pression. It does not occur in any other book of
the New Testament. In the Pauline epistles we
meet with it frequently.'''
* I Thess. V. 23 ; 2 Thess. iii. i6 ; 2 Cor. xiii. 11 ; Rom. xv. 33 ;
xvi. 20 ; Phil. iv. 9.
442 The Epistle to the Hebrews. [chap.
I. The Author of peace.
From all eternity God purposed In Himself the
counsel of peace ; and when by reason of sin, dis-
cord and misery came into the world, the Lord
always comforted His people by the promise of
redemption, " For I know the thoughts that I
think toward you, saith the Lord, thoughts of
peace, and not of evil." In the fulness of time
came Jesus, the Peace-maker, and He declared the
love of God, and preached the acceptable year of
the Lord ; and when the chastisement of our peace
was upon Him, the Father made peace through
the blood of His cross. Jesus Himself is our
peace ; but it Is the God of peace who gave Jesus,
and who by His atonement made peace, and re-
conciled all things to Himself. For all things are
of God ; of Him are we In Christ Jesus, and of
Him Jesus Is made unto us all in all. The Spirit
leads us to see In and through a crucified and
exalted Redeemer the God of peace.
Peace means not merely calmness and rest of
conscience and heart, based on the righteousness
of God, but it means also restoration to health
and well-being ; or rather, since In Christ God
makes all things new, not a restoration to Adam s
state of Innocence, but the creating us anew after
His image. This seems to be the reason, why
the title God of peace Is connected by the apostle
with our sanctificatlon, our being made like unto
XIII.] The Epistle to the Hebrews. 443
Jesus : ''And the very God of peace sanctify you
wholly ; and I pray God your whole spirit and
soul and body be preserved blameless unto the
coming of our Lord Jesus Christ;" and likewise
in our passage, " The God of peace make you
perfect in every good work to do His will." The
God of peace can have no other purpose than
our perfect blessedness and glory, that we should
be conformed to the image of His Son. This
purpose is fulfilled in Jesus, and through His
precious blood. Our peace is complete the moment
we believe in Jesus ; our peace is consummated
when we are presented unto the Father at the
coming of our Lord. In like manner we are still
looking forward to our salvation and our adoption.*
2. y esics the channel of peace.
Our Lord Jesus was the Paschal Lamb on
Calvary. From that moment our peace was pur-
chased, and we were identified with the substitute.
Now the Lamb that was slain is also the good
Shepherd, that laid down His life for the sheep ;
He is not merely the good, true, genuine Shepherd;
He is also the great Shepherd, the mighty, sublime,
the only one, who leads the flock out of the grave
to the heavenly glory. He is here contrasted with
Moses. "Then He remembered the days of old,
Moses, and his people, saying. Where is he that
brought them up out of the sea with the Shepherd
* I Peter i. 5, 9 ; Rom. viii. 23.
444 1^^^ Epistle to the Hebrews, [chap.
of the flock ?" We read also, '' By the blood of
thy covenant have I sent forth thy prisoners out of
the pit wherein is no water." f God brought Him
not merely again, but up even into heaven. For
Jesus returned not to the days of His humiliation
and flesh ; He was glorified, and He ascended
high above all heavens, that He might fill all
things. It is God who raised and exalted Him,
and us with Him ; God has thereby made peace
and perfection.
3. God works in us.
Have we thus risen to the thought of the
God of peace, the Redeemer, the Restorer, who
through the suflerings of Jesus, and by His blood,
delivered us from all evil, and has raised us
together with Christ, unto a new, spiritual, and
endless life, then we can understand the benedic-
tion, that God should work in ns both to will and
to do of His good pleasure. We are humbled
by the sense of our trangessions, of our sins of
ignorance and omission, and above all of the
sinfulness of our old nature. Let us be exalted
by the grace of God. True we groan in this
tabernacle, being burdened, but we rejoice in
God. The Lord works in us. He gives good
desires, true petitions, living words and works.
He prepares us for the work in time, as He pre-
pared the work for us in eternity. He works in
* Isa. Ixiii. 11. f Zech. ix. 11.
XIII.] The Epistle to the Hebrews. 445
us that which is well-pleasing in His sight, for
what is born of the Spirit is Spirit. The cup of
cold water given to a disciple, the gift of grati-
tude and kindness sent to Paul, the visit of Onesi-
phorus to the prisoner, the word spoken in season
to the thoughtless or the afflicted, the affection and
training given to our children, the disciplined walk
at home and in the world, the faithful and diligent
discharge of duty in our earthly calling — all is
begun in us, carried out and finished by the grace
of God, by His holy Spirit, and it is well-pleasing
in His sight. Conscious as we must be of our
failures and sins, let us rejoice in the mercy of our
heavenly Father. He regards all Spirit-wrought
words, feelings, and works with delight.
And all is wrought through Jesus Ch7^ist. For
He is our life and strength. Only abiding in Him
can the branches live and bear fruit. The spirit
in us is not a substitute for Christ, but the con-
necting-link between the Lord and us. Thus
the divine energy within us acts simply through
our faith in Jesus. Lean then on Jesus, and you
will conquer sin. Trust in Him, and your strength
will be renewed. Look with the eye of faith to
the Lord, and you will receive not merely the
commandment, but the spirit and the power to
obey it ; you will not merely see the example,
but be conformed to His image.
The apostle describes his epistle as the word of
44^ The Epistle to the Hebrews. [chap.
exhortation. (2^.22.) For his object throughout was
to exhort the Hebrews to continue stedfast ; to
consider the great Apostle and High Priest of their
profession ; to Hve by faith ; to rejoice in hope of
the glory of God. Scripture exhortation is based
on doctrine, or rather on the revelation of God in
Christ Jesus. All Scripture teaching is practical,
and only Scripture teaching is practical, because
godliness can result only from beholding, believing,
and loving God In Christ. The whole Scrip-
ture Is given us that we may be furnished unto
every good work, strengthened for every duty, and
fortified against all temptation. No doctrine is
rightly understood unless it appeals to conscience
and heart ; unless It affects our walk and conversa-
tion. To separate life from doctrine Is to separate
life from the revelation of God, from Christ ; and
is not He our life ?
But this word of exhortation, as it comes out of
the bright atmosphere of truth, so It comes out of
the genial atmosphere of affection. As In the
epistle to the Romans, the messenger of God does
not command, but beseech ; the very mercies of
God are the heart- constraining motive and the
sustaining strength of obedience.
The apostle asks a favourable and loving recep-
tion of His word. In the epistle to the Romans
the great apostle, In that spirit of humility and
meekness which characterized him, writes In like
XIII.] The Epistle to the Hebi^ews, 447
manner : " Nevertheless, I have written the more
boldly unto you in some sort, as putting you in
mind, because of the grace that is given to me of
God." He calls the exhortation short, ''in few
words ;" not with reference to the length of the
letter, but to the proportion between the length
of the epistle and the comprehensive and sublime
subject of which it treats. It was necessary to
bring the whole subject of the heavenly high-
priesthood before them ; and this vast and grand
subject he endeavoured to put before them briefly,
so as not to tax their patience too severely.
Verses 22-25. With the benediction the epistle
is concluded, just as in i Thess. v. 23. The epis-
tolary form has been gradually adopted. The
concluding verses are quite in the form of a letter.
The apostle uses the first person singular, and
addresses his readers quite personally.
Verse 23. He cheers them with the news that
Timothy (whom he loved so dearly, and to whom
he likes to refer in his epistles) had obtained
again liberty. With him, if he comes shordy,
he hopes to see them. The apostle, it seems,
had already left Rome, and was anxious to start
on his journey from Italy to the readers of this
epistle. He sends them salutations from the
brethren in Italy.
Verse 24. The apostles, and especially Paul,
address their epistles rather to the people than the
44 S The Epistle to the Hebrews. [chap.
teachers and elders," Including women, children,
servants, young people, they write to all.f Paul
sends a message to Archlppus by the Colosslans. \
So here. '' This epistle, containing strong meat for
the perfect, Is addressed to the whole congregation.
If any part of Scripture was to be kept from
the common people, we might fancy It would be
this epistle. The writings of the apostles, as well
as the prophets, were read in the public assembly,
how much more ought it now to be left to every
one to read them according to his need ?"§
The concluding benediction, " Grace be with
you all," Is common to all the (thirteen) epistles of
the apostle Paul. " The salutation of Paul with
mine own hand, which Is the token In every epistle :
so I write. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ
be with you all. Amen."|| The expressions are
sometimes slightly varied ; but the substance of
all his subscription Is the same : " Grace be with
you all." Now when the apostle mentions, as
a token whereby an epistle might be known as
his, this concluding benediction, and not the fact
that his name Is prefixed at the commencement ;
and when we observe that the epistles of Peter,
of John, of James, and of Jude conclude with
^ Phil. i. I.
t Eph. V. 22; I John ii. i8 ; 2 John i. ; i Peter iii. 8; v. 5.
+ Col. iv. 17.
§ Bengel. Very seasonable words at this present time of
sacerdotalism. || 2 Thess. iii. 17, 18.
XIII.] The Epistle to the Hebrews. 449
words entirely different,* may we not regard
this as an additional confirmation of the Pauline
authorship of our book ?
'' Grace be with you all. Amen."
This is the most comprehensive, the best, the
sweetest wish. Grace bringeth salvation. Grace
contains all things pertaining to life and godliness.
By grace we have been saved ; by grace we stand ;
in grace we rejoice, and grace will end in glory.
May the free, unmerited, boundless, all-sufficient
love of the Father in the blood of the Lord Jesus
Christ, the blood of the everlasting covenant, shed
for the redemption of guilty and helpless sinners,
be with us through the power of the Holy Ghost.
By Jesus, and in Jesus, we say Amen. For He
is the Amen, in whom all the promises of God are
sealed.
* Entirely different. Take the trouble to compare James v. 20 ;
I Peter v. 14 ; 2 Peter iii. 18 ; i John v. 21 ; 2 John 13 ; 3 John
14 ; Jude 25. Is this accidental ?
II. 2 G
" The atoning work is done,
The Victim's blood is shed,
And Jesus now is gone
His people's cause to plead ;
He stands in heaven their great High Priest,
And bears their names upon His breast.
" No temple made with hands
His place of service is ;
In heaven itself He stands,
A heavenly priesthood His :
In Him the shadows of the law
Are all fulfilled, and now withdraw.
" And though awhile He be
Hid from the eyes of men.
His people look to see
Their great High Priest again :
In brightest glory He will come,
And take His waiting people home."
THOUGHTS ON THE QUESTION
'♦SMfio torote tfie epistle to th t)eiiretofii?"
THOUGHTS ON THE QUESTION :
"WHO WROTE THE EPISTLE TO THE
HEBREWS?"*
i.npHIS question is very interesting, but we
-■- must not overrate its importance. It is
the Spirit of God who gives authority to every
portion of Scripture, and not the character and
dignity of the human instrument or penman.
This epistle, about whose canonicity there is
no doubt,f has evidenced itself to the Church of
Clirist as given by inspiration, as containing
teaching of marvellous depth and sublimity, and
as possessing all the characteristics of the divine
Word. Whoever wrote this portion of Scripture,
its authority and value remain the same. J
2. The epistle commences without the usual
* The expression " Hebrews " is applied to Jews, to Israelites,
without reference to their locality ; as for example Phil. iii. 5 ;
2 Cor. xi. 22. In Acts vi. i and ix. 29 they are contrasted with
the Hellenistic Jews. According to Lightfoot, Jews that dwelt in
Judaea were called Hebrews, and Jews that dwelt among the Greeks
Hellenists. It is generally supposed that the epistle was sent to
Jews in Palestine.
t Owen, vol. i. ; Delitzsch, Hofmann, &c., in their Introductions.
X Compare my remarks in vol. i. pp. 14-16.
454 Thoughts on the Qtcestion :
salutation from the writer, and more in the style
of a treatise (reminding us of the beginning of
the first epistle of John) ; but in the concluding
chapter, which merges into the epistolary form,
the writer speaks of himself as known to ^ the
readers, and brings before them personal needs
and requests. It is evident that he did not wish
to remain anonymous to them,'"' though he seems
to have had reasons for keeping himself in the
background, and gaining the favourable attention
of his readers to his argument, as coming simply
from a Christian brother and friend, and not from
one who held an official position of authority in
the Church. t It would be difficult to account for
this, except on the supposition that the apostle
Paul is the writer. It is a mistake tp call the
epistle anonymous, when we read such plain indi-
cations in chap, xiii., that the writer considers
himself known to his readers.
3. The only tradition of antiquity concerning
this epistle is, that it was written by the apostle-
Paul. The teachers of the Alexandrine school
knew no other tradition ; and Origen distinctly
states that the ancients handed down the epistle
as Pauline. While he admits that the thoughts
* Against Calvin's remark in his introduction to Hebrews.
t "The apostle of the Gentiles did not desire to address the
Jews anonymously, but he wished to sink his apostolic authority,
and to argue with the Jews upon their acknowledged principles." —
Mandeville, Hor. Heb, p. 6.
Who wrote the Epistle to the Hebrews? 455
are Pauline and marvellous, and equal to the
acknowledged apostolic writings, he thinks the
style not possessing that "rudeness in speech,"
which the apostle Paul himself acknowledges/'
This difference in style was noticed already by
Clement, who accounts for it by the supposition
that it was carefully translated by Luke from the
original Hebrew. Origen, attributing the thoughts
to the apostle Paul, says that the truth as to who
actually wrote the epistle could not be ascertained ;
and by this very confession proves that tradition
mentioned only one name with clearness and deci-
sion in connection with the epistle — that of the
apostle Paul.t
4. The difficulties which the Western Church
felt with regard to the epistle arose partly from
the mistaken interpretation of some passages
by Novatianism and Arianism ; but after more
intercourse with the Eastern Church, and through
the writings of Jerome, it was received as apostolic
— by most as Pauline — though not with the same
full conviction as in the East.
The objections raised against the Pauline au-
thorship refer (a) to the character of the teaching,
* I Cor. xi. 6.
t Clement of Alexandria refers it expressly to the apostle Paul,
quoting the authority of Pantaenus, chief of the catechetical school,
in the middle of the second century, who explains ii. 3 by viewing
Christ Himself as the Apostle sent to the Jews.
45 6 Thoughts on the Question:
or the subject-matter, and (b) to the style and
diction of the epistle.
(A.)
1. Before considering the alleged doctrinal
differences between our epistle and the (other)
Pauline epistles, it must be noticed that it is
generally admitted by the opponents of the
Pauline authorship that the teaching of our epistle
approaches most closely that of Paul, and must
have been written by a man belonging to the
Pauline type of doctrine. Hence some have
attributed it to Luke. This admission is im-
portant, as it reduces the question to this : Are
these reasons to account for some (minor) differ-
ence of viewing and presenting truth which we
meet in this epistle ?
2. In other epistles great prominence is given
to the doctrine of justification by faith. Here the
reader is directed, not to the contrast between law
and gospel, works and grace, but between type
and fulfilment, the worldly tabernacle and the
heavenly sanctuary, the temporary dispensation
and the eternal covenant. The fact is evident, but
the reason also is obvious. The object of the
whole epistle was to point out that the substance
and the fulfilment had come in Christ, in order
that, in their peculiar and trying circumstances,
they might persevere in their allegiance to the
Saviour. The question of the law, as it was dis-
Who wrote the Epistle to the Hebrews? 457
cussed in the Gentile Christian church of the
Galatians, is not before the writer.
That the doctrine of justification by faith was
a central and favourite point of Pauline teaching
is true ; but as long as there is nothing at variance
with this truth, we cannot wonder that he does not
always bring it forward. Thus for instance in the
twenty-nine chapters of the Epistles to the Corin-
thians, and in the Epistles to the Thessalonians, he
scarcely refers to it.
But that a similar view of the relation of the
old to the new dispensation as is brought out in
Hebrews is PauHne, is evident from Col. ii. 17,
and 2 Cor. iii.
The other epistles do not call forth a develop-
ment of this important aspect of truth with which
the apostle Paul must have been familiar. It
offered no special difficulties to Gentile- Christians,
to whom the explanation of the character and
meaning of the Levitical dispensation would have
been of less interest and of greater difficulty.
3. This accounts for the fact that the ascension
is so frequently and emphatically mentioned, and
not the resurrection. *' Christ in heaven " is the
great theme of the epistle. The full harmony
between our epistle and the other Pauline epistles
on this point is treated in Lecture i. of this vol.
4. It is in harmony with the aim and scope of
the epistle, that " Faith " is taken in its most com-
45 S Thoughts on the Question:
prehensive and radical sense. The difficulty and
danger of the Hebrews did not He in the question
of works or the observance of the law of Moses.
The exhortation of the apostle Is, that they should
not be disturbed because theirs was an U7iseen,
heavenly tabernacle and a ftiture Inheritance ; the
unseen Christ In heaven, and His second advent,
are the great objects of faith held before them.
Hence faith Is opposed here not to the righteous-
ness of works, but to unbelief ; and the description
(If we may so call it) In Hebrews xi. i Is exactly
suited to the position of his readers.'"
But when the epistle to the Hebrews explains
so fully the one offering of Christ, the perfect
remission of sins, the right of access into the holy
of holies, and constantly exhorts the reader to
consider Jesus, to draw near, what Is this but
the same truth of salvation by grace through
faith, apart from works ? what is it else but that
doctrine of faith, as the trustful reception of God's
perfect gift, the beholding of God's eternal and
unchangeable love in Christ Jesus ? Salvation as
boldness of access to God by Christ Is a prominent
idea of Paul. (Eph. ii. i8 ; HI. 12 ; Rom. v. 2.)
The absence of some Pauline doctrines, such
as the character of the Church-dispensation, the
relation of the Gentiles to Israel, the union of
believers with Jesus, Is easily accounted for by
* And Pauline, compare Rom. iv. 20, and 2 Cor. iv. 18.
Who wrote the Epistle to the Hebrews? 459
the object and scope of the epistle. And with
this is connected an argument for the PauHne
authorship. The apostle says of himself, that to
the Jews he became as a Jew. He adapted him-
self to the stand-point of Jewish believers. We
have specimens of his preaching the gospel to the
unconverted Jews, but only this epistle (if Pauline)
shows how he adapted himself to his converted
brethren. We do not wonder therefore that the
whole epistle moves, as it were, in a lower sphere
than that to the Ephesians, or the gospel and
epistles of John. But while it does so, it is evi-
dent to every careful reader, that it could only
have been written by one who himself had reached
the highest sphere of Christian thought and doc-
trine. It is not merely that there is nothing in
the epistle at variance with the highest Pauline
teaching, but it is evidently the effort of one who,
knowing the *' mystery" of the Church, and the
full New Testament doctrine of adoption, endea-
vours to show to the Hebrews from their stand-
point the exalted Lord in heaven. His person and
work, in order to keep them faithful, while the
earthly bonds appointed of God for a season were
vanishing. This point seems to me a very strong
Pauline feature. We are listening evidently to
one who has the full Pauline knowledge of *' the
whole counsel of God," and who adapts himself
to the Hebrews in that wisdom and motherly
460 TJioughts on the Question:
love, so peculiar to him. We do not know of any-
other who could have done this, nor do we possess
any other epistle addressed to Jewish Christians,
which answers the description given by Peter, of
an exhortation written by "our beloved brother
Paul according to the wisdom given unto him."*
(B.)
Turning now to the peculiar style and diction of
the epistle, and to expressions which apparently
could not have been used by the apostle, we
notice :
I. Heb. ii. 3: "Salvation, which at the first
began to be spoken by the Lord, and was con-
firmed unto us by them that heard Him." It is
afiftrmed that the apostle Paul could not have
written thus ; but (a) the statement, if written by
him, is quite true and correct. Though the apostle
Paul was converted by the Lord Jesus Himself,
and did not receive the gospel of man,t yet it was
the testimony of the eye-witnesses that he had
before heard, rejected, and opposed, to the accept-
ance of which the appearance of the Lord turned
his mind and heart. ]: And was it not "confirmed"
to him afterwards by the apostles ? There is no
expression in this verse that the apostle Paul
could not have used ; and while there is nothing
* 2 Peter iii. 15, 16. t Gal. i. 12.
X Hofmann, Aebraerbrief, I. c.
Who wrote the Epistle to the Hebrews? 461
in It inconsistent with his apostleship, there is (^)
sufficient reason why he does not wish (at the
beginning of this epistle especially) to speak with
the authority of an apostle, but rather as a brother
and friend. Here was a case such as he refers to,
in I Cor. ix. 12: "If I be not an apostle unto
others." Besides, he speaks in this epistle of the
Lord Jesus Himself as the apostle sent unto
Israel. '"'
2. The quotations from the Old Testament.
I. In this epistle the human author is always
either omitted, or entirely subordinated to the
great Author and Source of Scripture. The
writer introduces the quotations by the formula.
He saith, or the Holy Ghost saith, or the Holy
Ghost is a witness ; or he connects the quotation
directly with Christ, as in ch. ii. 12, 13 ; x. 7, &c.
The question is. Does this manner of quotation
differ from the (other) Pauline epistles ? The
apostle often introduces quotations — the Scripture
saith, as it is written, or Isaiah saith, David
describeth. f But in many passages he quotes
exactly as in our epistle : Eph. iv. 8, " Wherefore
He saith;" v. 14, "Therefore He saith." The
same way Gal. iii. 16; i Cor. vi. 16; 2 Cor. vi.
16-18; Rom. XV. 10-12. There is certainly
nothing un-Pauline in thus quoting the Scripture ;
* Pantaenus, also Darby, Synopsis, v. loc. cit.
t Especially in Romans and Galatians.
462 Thoughts on the Question:
nor Is there in the epistle to the Hebrews a
stricter view of the Inspiration of the Old Testa-
ment Scripture than In the other epistles of Paul,
for, like his divine Master, his testimony on this
point was always most distinct.
It Is, however, quite In keeping with the open-
ing words of the epistle, *' God who spake In the
prophets ;" It is peculiarly natural, in addressing
Hebrews, that the divine origin and character of
Scripture should be thus emphatically recognized.*
2. The quotations themselves.
They are, as we should expect, more numerous f
than In any other epistle. It was his manner to
reason with the Jews out of the Scriptures,]; and
in this epistle constant quotations are necessary.
Although he quotes generally the LXX. as the
translation with which his readers are familiar,
yet he does not feel bound by it, sometimes
correcting It, sometimes adapting It in such a
manner as to be in harmony with the spirit and
scope of the passage. §
■^ Notice " saying in David," iv. 7, like Rom. ix. 25, " He saith
in Osee."
t Richter says : "There are about 88 passages of the Old Testa-
ment quoted and referred to. Here is the true ' Typology.' Here
alone (in the New Testament) is the doctrine of the eternal High
Priesthood." % Acts xvii. 2.
§ To some of these cases I have referred in the " Lectures."
The quotations are fully discussed in Delitzsch's work. Stier also
points out several instances of corrections of the LXX. by the
writer of Hebrews. The fullest treatment is, perhaps, in Hofmann's
work where a summary will be found, (pp. 522, 523.)
Who wrote the Epistle to the Hebrews? 463
3. Many peculiarities In the choice of expres-
sions, and In the structure of sentences, have been
adduced as differing from the Pauline style.
Some expressions peculiar to our epistle are
accounted for by the peculiar subject ; such as
priest, high priest, sanctify, perfect, purge. There
are a few un-PaulIne peculiarities, both In the
choice of words and In the syntactical construction.
Lists of such words and constructions require to
be very carefully sifted, as sometimes Instances of
similar usage In Pauline epistles can be found.
The counter-list of Pauline peculiarities In the
epistle must be also considered. The residuum
against the Pauline authorship appears small. '^
Bengel says : " Pauli methodum ac stilum facile
agnoscass." LIghtfoot : " The very style of It may
argue the scholar of Gamaliel " (quoted in vol. i.
at length).
It is objected that the style is calm, rhythmical,
sustained ; a certain elegance and perfection cha-
racterizes it, which we do not find In the other
epistles. This is really the ojtly objection of any
weight against the Pauline authorship,
Origen notices the style as more Grecian, and
misses in this epistle that "rudeness in speech"
which the apostle acknowledged, t But from this
statement of the apostle too much has been In-
* Compare Hofmann, Neues Testament, vol. v. p. 121.
t 2 Cor. xi. 6.
464 Thoughts on the Question:
ferred. He did not speak with the " enticing
words of human wisdom ;" his weapon was not
rhetoric, artificial argumentation, and oratory,
designed to fascinate and persuade ; he reHed on
the Spirit of God revealing to his hearers the
things of God which he declared. But the style
of the Pauline epistles is eloquent in the highest
sense of the word.*
We notice also, that in the epistles to the
Ephesians and Colossians, the style is calm and
without the impetuosity, dialectic transitions and
elliptical constructions, which are found in Romans
and Galatians. Because, as Hofmann well puts
it, the object was not to discuss a point with his
readers, but to place before them connectedly what
he wished them to know, and to impress on their
hearts what they ought to do. The subject of
this epistle was peculiarly grand and majestic,
its object and purpose exceedingly solemn and
urgent ; it was to prevent final apostasy. The
attitude of the writer was one of the most earnest
solicitude and anxiety. His heart was filled with
most tender love to his brethren according to
the flesh, while he was painfully aware of their
prejudice and enmity. f
* Owen, Hebrews i. p. 40, sec. 12, has interesting remarks on
Chrysostom, Jerome, and Beza on this point.
t It shows how even eminent men exaggerate this point of diver-
sity of style, when we find Alford remarking that the apostle's irony,
which appears in some of his epistles, is not to be traced in Hebrews.
Who wrote the Epistle to the Hebrews? 465
Under such circumstances, may we not expect
an unusual elevation, loftiness, rhythm, and sus-
tained carefulness of style ? We possess no other
epistle with which we can compare it. The object
of the writer was to place before the reader a
connected and comprehensive view of the sublime
contrast between the imperfect and temporary,
yet glorious, type, and the perfect and eternal
and transcendently-glorious heavenly reality. To
place before them the argument in its unity and
completeness was absolutely necessary. Hence
the form of a treatise. Hence the peculiarity of
his style. "^^"
To sum up. The result of these remarks is
this : The only ancient tradition points out the
apostle Paul to be the writer ; the hesitation of
the early Western Church to receive the epistle
can be satisfactorily accounted for ; there is no
expression in the epistle w^hich the apostle could
not have used ; there is complete doctrinal har-
mony between our epistle and the other acknow-
ledged Pauline epistles ; the different points of
view and sphere of thought are not merely ex-
Of course not. The subject, the occasion, the mood of the writer,
everything connected with the epistle, excludes the element of irony
or sarcasm. In the epistles to the Corinthians it is quite different.
* He calls it a letter in "few words," because, as Hofmann points
out, the subject was so full and large, and yet had to be condensed.
In order to fulfil its object, the whole epistle had to be read and
heard, as it were, at one sitting.
II. 2 H
466 Thoughts on the Question:
plained by the object of the writer, but rather
lead to the apostle as possessing the necessary
qualification of a higher knowledge and the power
of adaptation ; the admitted difference in style
can be traced to the nature of the subject and the
special relation of the writer to his readers. Only
on this last point of style and diction can we
admit any difficulty to remain. But the following
considerations, partly already implied, make the
hypothesis of another author very dlf^cult and
unsatisfactory.
1. The presumption is strongly in favour of
the apostle, when we remember his great love to
Israel, his profound knowledge of the Scriptures,
his power of adaptation to be a Jew to the Jews,
as under the law to them that are under the law.
He had taught by epistles Gentile congregations
and mixed congregations, and in the comprehen-
sive scheme of his teaching there seems to be this
one department wanting — the relation of the old
Levltical dispensation to the new ; of type to ful-
filment (It is alluded to In 2 Cor. ill. and Col.
ill.) Such an epistle is ours — just what we would
expect and desire from him.'''
2. Who is the great anonymous ? Apollos was
suggested by Luther. At first sight a very in-
genious hypothesis, as he was eloquent and learned
■* Bengel expects that this epistle will be greatly blessed to
Israel in the future, thus fulfilling Acts ix. 15.
Who wrote the Epistle to the Hebrews? 467
in the Scriptures, and as an Alexandrian a man of
culture. But what about the allusions in chap. xiii. ?
Besides, the views of our epistle have no trace
of the Alexandrian spiritualistic method, but are
"realistic."* Luke,t the companion of Paul, has
been selected by others, and with plausible rea-
sons ; for his Gospel and the Acts harmonize with
the Pauline peculiarities, and some Lucan expres-
sions have been traced in the epistle. But there is
a fervour and force, a sustained energy both of
thought and feeling in the epistle, which we do not
find anywhere but in the writings of the apostle.
The earnest and affectionate exhortations with
which he interrupts his argument, as if he could
not restrain his yearning and anxious love, the tone
of solemn and tender solicitude, reminds us of the
apostle who more than any other was filled with
the Spirit of Jesus, weeping over Jerusalem, who
travailed in birth, that Christ might be formed in
the hearts of men, and who laboured to present
every man perfect in Christ Jesus.
3. Again, there is not merely the general har-
"^ We need Philo as little for the epistle to the Hebrews as for
the Logos-doctrineof the apostle John; although such comparisons,
or rather contrasts, between New Testament and metaphysical
development of Old Testament doctrine are interesting and in-
structive.
t Dr. Brown quotes Chrysostom, comparing Luke and Mark.
Each imitated his teacher ; Luke imitated Paul, flowing with more
than river-fulness ; but Mark imitated Peter, who studied brevity
of style.
468 Thoughts on the Question :
mony with the Pauline view of truth, admitted by-
all, but the points of special resemblance are many. ''"
The very opening verses, on the glory of the Son,
bear a most striking resemblance to Col. i. 15, 16.
That Christ was exalted because He humbled
Himself, that Christ having died once, is now at
rest and in glory, that He is above all heavens,
that He intercedes for us ; these truths are brought
before us in a manner and in expressions which
resemble closely those of Romans and Ephesians.
The view of the law, as a preparatory and inter-
mediate institution, as not able to give life, or the
Spirit or perfection, is peculiarly Pauline, and the
epistle to the Galatians continually suggests itself
as a parallel and illustration. His mode of arguing
in Romans and Galatians about Abraham as living
before the law, and justified by faith before circum-
cision, is like his argument about the relation of
Melchisedec to Christ.
Peculiar to Paul (in our and other epistles) are
the expressions, fx^a-iTrjs, mediator between God and
man ; ''the God of peace ; "t also TrX-qpo^jiopLa (assur-
ance), eVcpyijs and /A6TCXC0, the distinction between
strong meat and milk, babes and that which is
perfect (i Cor. xiii.), and other points.
3. If we look now at the concluding chapter,];
* Tholuck enumerates 44. f xiii. izo.
X Some of the Pauline pecularities of this chapter have already
been pointed out.
Who zvrote the Epistle to the Hebrezvsf 469
the personal messages and requests can only be
attributed to Paul, (i) " Pray for us " is peculiar to
the Pauline epistles. (2) We know from the book of
Acts that the apostle was suspected by the Jewish
Christians on account of his views on the law/''
It is evidently to this that the apostle refers when
he says that he has a good conscience. Stier asks
justly, ''Who but Paul could write thus to Jewish
Christians, without giving his name, and yet pre-
supposing both their acquaintance and brotherly
relation, so as to ask their intercession, and also
some suspicion and hesitation against which he
thinks it necessary to appeal to his conscience ?"t
(3) Only Paul could write thus about "brother
Timothy" as his companion and assistant.]: (4)
The conclusion (as already pointed out), differing
entirely from the conclusion of all other New
Testament epistles which are not Pauline, con-
firms, as a seal, our belief, that this is the epistle
of the great apostle of the Gentiles, and that the
* Acts xxi. 21.
t Compare Acts xxi v. 16 ; 2 Cor. i. 12.
X The time when the epistle was written appears with probabihty
from the following considerations. The writer seems to be, not in
Rome, but in some part of Italy, when he wrote it (xiii. 24), and also
at liberty, intending to go to the East. The liberation which he
anticipated in the epistle to the Philippians had taken place. He
had been at least two years in Rome. (Acts xxviii. 36.) This brings
us to the year 63. Hofmann supposes that Timothy, whom he had
sent to the Philippians, had been imprisoned on his way there, and
liberated afterwards. — HOFMANN, Heb. p. 393.
470 Who wrote the Epistle to the Hebrews?
apostle Peter refers to it when he says to the
J ewish Christians, '' As our beloved brother Paul
according to the wisdom given unto him hath
written unto you. "
»;:<
■^ 2 Peter iii. 15.
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