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THE  AKGUIENT 


OF 


THE  EPISTLE  TO  THE  HEBEEWS. 


PRINTED  BY  MIJURAY  AND  GIBE, 
FOR 

T.  &  T.   CLARK,  EDINBURGH. 

LONDON,      ....      HAMILTON,  ADAMS,  AND  CO. 
DUBLIN,       ....      JOHN  ROBERTSON  AND  CO. 
NEW  YORK,      .      .       .      C.  SCRIBNER  AND  CO. 


THE    ARGUMENT 


OF    THE 


EPISTLE    TO    THE    HEBREWS. 


A      POSTHUMOUS      WORK 


GEORGE    STEWARD, 

AUTHOR  OF  'MEDIATORIAL  SOVEREIGNTY,'  ETC. 


EDINBUKGH: 
T.    &    T.    CLAEK,    38,    GEOKGE    STKEET. 

1872. 


PKEFACE. 


IN  giving  to  the  world  Mr.  Steward's  last  papers, 
intended  by  him  as  in  some  sort  a  sequel  to  the 
Mediatorial  Sovereignty,  the  Editors  (his  wife  and 
daughter)  feel  that  a  few  words  of  explanation  are 
necessary.  When  the  last  sheet  was  dictated,  a 
few  weeks  before  his  death,  he  told  his  wife  that 
he  regarded  the  work  as  virtually  finished ;  that 
nothing  essential  remained  to  be  added,  as  the 
argument  of  the  Epistle  terminates  with  the 
twenty-second  verse  of  the  tenth  chapter.  It  was 
his  intention,  however,  to  append  a  concluding 
Meditation, — an  intention  he  was  not  permitted 
to  fulfil. 

Mr.  Steward's  method  of  working  was  singular : 
he  put  nothing  upon  paper  until  the  whole  scheme 
was  clearly  wrought  out  in  his  own  mind.  He 
then  dictated  deliberately,  but  continuously,  rarely 
recalling  so  much  as  a  word,  the  sentences  drop 
ping  from  his  lips  with  wonderful  completeness  ; 
but  he  gave  to  his  amanuensis  no  hint  of  chapter 
or  paragraph,  and  left  even  the  punctuation  to  her 
own  perception  of  the  meaning.  When  the  dicta 
tion  was  finished,  the  whole  was  subjected  to  an 
unsparing  revision.  In  the  case  of  the  present 


vi  PREFACE. 

volume,  this  revision  was  never  made ;  and  the 
responsibility  of  it  devolved  upon  the  Editors. 
They  have  deemed  that  they  should  best  fulfil 
their  trust  by  leaving  the  MS.  intact,  even  at  the 
risk  of  retaining  a  few  apparent  repetitions,  rather 
than  by  venturing  on  any  changes, — changes  which 
Mr.  Steward  would  have  made  with  great  freedom, 
but  which,  they  feel  warranted  in  saying,  would 
have  affected  the  form,  but  not  the  substance,  of  the 
thought. 

For  the  divisions  into  chapters,  for  the  titles  of 
the  chapters,  for  the  marginal  notes,  and  for  the 
Addenda,  the  Editors  alone  are  responsible. 

Of  their  insufficiency  for  the  work,  no  one  can 
be  so  conscious  as  they  are  themselves ;  but  they 
have  only  undertaken  what  must  otherwise  have 
been  left  undone.  Most  gladly  would  they  have 
given  it  into  abler  hands,  but  the  burdens  which 
the  nineteenth  century  lays  upon  her  more  gifted 
sons,  leave  them  no  leisure  to  pore  over  the 
manuscript  of  a  brother,  in  order  to  gain  the 
minute  familiarity  with  it  necessary  to  a  careful 
revision  for  the  press. 

The  Addenda  are  compiled  from  sermons,  some 
of  them  dating  as  far  back  as  1833,  and  from  notes 
of  Scripture  readings  preserved  by  his  wife.  They 
carry  on  the  exposition  to  the  end  of  the  Epistle, 
and  are  added  in  the  hope  that,  though  here  and 
there  but  slight  and  fragmentary,  they  will  yet  be 
found  on  the  whole  suggestive  and  interesting. 


PREFACE.  vii 

If  this  posthumous  work  should  be  the  means  of 
extending  in  any  degree  the  influence  of  its  be 
loved  author;  if  it  should  impart  to  but  one  soul 
the  ardent,  personal,  all-absorbing  interest  in  the 
Divine  Records  for  which  he  was  so  remarkable ; 
or  if,  in  this  age  of  minute  criticism  and  petty 
cavil,  it  should  teach  one  faltering  student  the 
true  method  of  studying  the  great  Catholic  Veri 
ties,  the  Editors  will  not  have  laboured  in  vain. 
For  them,  indeed,  their  work  has  a  mournful 
significance:  it  is  the  last  token  of  affection 
which  guards  a  grave. 

CHIPPING  ONGAR, 
April  13,  1872. 


CONTENTS. 


PACK 

INTBODUCTION 1 

CHAPTER  I. 
The  Son.— Heb.  i.  1-3, 5 

CHAPTER  II. 
The  Sonship  of  the  Humanity. — Heb.  i.  1-3,          .        .        .        .        18 

CHAPTER  III. 

Historical  Developments  of  the  Human  Sonship  in  the  New  Testa 
ment.— Heb.  i.  1-3, 23 

CHAPTER  IV. 

Doctrine  of  the  Sonships  tested  by  an  Examination  of  the  Old 

Testament  Scriptures  quoted  in  the  Epistle. — Heb.  i.  4-14,     .        34 

NOTE.— On  the  Agency  of  the  Angels  under  the  Law. — Heb.  ii. 

1-4, 47 

NOTE. — On  the  Pauline  Authorship,  .        .        .        .        .        .        51 

CHAPTER  V. 
Doctrine  of  the  Sonships  continued. — Heb.  ii.  5-9,         ...        53 

CHAPTER  VI. 
Atonement  in  its  relation  to  God.— Heb.  i.  3,        .        .        ..       .        61 

CHAPTER  VII. 
Atonement  in  its  relation  to  Man.— Heb.  ii.  9,  10,  14,  15,      .  74 


x  CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER  VIII. 

PAGE 

The  Human  Sonship  the  Ground  of  the  Sonship  of  Believers. — Heb. 

ii.  11-13,  and  16,    . 87 

CHAPTER  IX. 
The  Divine  and  Human  Sonships  the  Ground  of  Christ's  Rule  over 

the  Church.— Heb.  iii.  1-6, 95 

CHAPTER  X. 

'The  Rest.'— Heb.  iii  6-19,  and  iv.  1-13, 102 

NOTE.— On  the  Sabbath.— Heb.  iv.  4,        .       ' .        .        .        .121 

CHAPTER  XI. 
Practical  Discussion—  'Elements.'— Heb.  v.  11,  12,  and  vi.  1-3,     .       127 

CHAPTER  XII. 
Practical  Discussion — Growth  and  Perfection. — Heb.  v.  12-14,  and 

vi.  1,       .        .  •      .        .        ....       .        ...        .       133 

CHAPTER  XIII. 
Practical  Discussion — Of  Irremissible  Sins. — Heb.  vi.  3-9,     .         .       140 

CHAPTER  XIV. 
Practical  Discussion — Social  Developments  of  the  Primitive  Church. 

—Heb.  vi.  9,  10,    .         .         .        ...        .         .         .'      152 

CHAPTER  XV. 

Practical  Discussion— Distinction  between  the  Christian  Status  and 

Christian  Works.— Heb.  vi.  10-12, 153 

CHAPTER  XVI. 
The  Abrahamic  Covenant.— Heb.  vi.  13-20, 167 

CHAPTER  XVII. 
Priesthood :  its  Relations  to  the  Doctrine  of  the  Sonship. — Heb.  ii. 

17,  18,  and  iv.  14,  15, 175 

CHAPTER  XVIII. 
Priesthood :  Qualifications  and  Office  of  the  Aaronic  High  Priest. 

—Heb.  T.  1-6,        ...  186 


CONTENTS.  xi 

CHAPTER  XIX. 

PAGE 

Priestly  Character  of  Christ's  Obedience  and  Suffering.— Heb.  v.  7-9,     193 

CHAPTER  XX. 
Melchisedec.— Heb.  vii.  1-21,        .        ,'.      .  -    .-".-,    ..        .        .      203 

CHAPTER  XXI. 
Unity  and  Finality  of  Christ's  Priesthood.— Heb.  vii.  22-28,  .       227 

CHAPTER  XXII. 

Christ's  Unseen  Ministry.  —Heb.  viii.  1-6,     ;        '.         .         .  '      .       238 

CHAPTER  XXIII. 
The  Covenants.— Heb.  viii.  7-13, 252 

CHAPTER  XXIV. 
The  Hebrew  Tabernacle.— Heb.  ix.  1-6, 266 

CHAPTER  XXV. 
The  Day  of  Atonement. — Leviticus  xvi.          .         .        .  >  .281 

CHAPTER  XXVI. 

The  Day  of  Atonement :  its  New  Testament  hoptuens. — Heb.  ix.  7-12,     290 

CHAPTER  XXVII. 

The  Great  Sacrifice  on  Earth  and  its  Presentation  in  the  Heavens. — 

Heb.  ix.  12,    .        .        .        .       Y        .        .        .        .     ,  -.       307 

CHAPTER  XXVIII. 
Legal  Atonement  and  Evangelical  Atonement. — Heb.  ix.  13-15,     .       318 

CHAPTER  XXIX. 
AiaMxq,  Testament  or  Covenant  ? — Heb.  ix.  16,  17,        ...      328 

CHAPTER  XXX. 
Atonement  the  Ground  of  Remission.— Heb.  ix.  18-22,  .        .       334 

CHAPTER  XXXI. 
Finality  of  Atonement,  Death,  and  Judgment.— Heb.  ix.  23-28,     .       342 


xu  CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER  XXXII. 

PACK 

'  Shadow  'and  'Image.'— Heb.  x.  1-4,    .        .        .        .        .        .354 

CHAPTER  XXXIII. 
Quotation  from  the  Fortieth  Psalm  :  its  Teachings.— Heb.  x.  5-9,  .      363 

CHAPTER  XXXIV. 

Of  the  Nature  and  Doctrine  of  Evangelical  Sanctification. — Heb.  x. 

10-14,    .        ....        .        .        .        .  •     .  .371 

CHAPTER  XXXV. 

The  Office  of  the  Holy  Ghost  in  reference  to  Divine  Truth. — Heb. 

x.  15-18,        .        .-.        v 383 

CHAPTER  XXXVI. 
The  <Holiest,'the  'Way,' the  'Veil.'— Heb.  x.  19-21,  .        .      388 

CHAPTER  XXXVII. 
Evangelical  Worship  :  its  Qualifications  and  Privileges. — Heb.  x.  22,     395 

ADDENDA.— Heb.  xi.  xii.  xiii.  ....      407 


INTRODUCTION. 


(FKA  GHENT.) 

REVELATION  is  always  put  before  us  as  &  fact,  the 
criteria  of  which  are  given,  but  the  rationale  of 
which  is  withheld.  The  Bible  opens  with  this 
doctrine,  it  is  ever  and  anon  repeated  through 
out  all  the  books  of  which  it  is  composed,  and  is 
assumed  in  every  statement  from  one  end  to  the 
other.  In  adopting  this  form  of  communication, 
the  Bible  does  not  merely  consult  its  own  dignity, 
as  being  professedly  a  revelation  from  God,  but 
is  also  in  keeping  with  the  essential  data  of  all 
knowledge  whatever.  It  is  impossible  that  reasons 
should  be  the  antecedents  of  existence,  either  with 
respect  to  the  Divine  Nature  or  to  any  natures  de 
rived  from  it.  For  instance,  the  existence  of  God 
itself  must  come  to  us  as  something  given,  and  not 
as  the  thesis  of  mere  reason ;  and  this  is  equally 
true  of  our  own  existence,  which  is  a  thing  given, 
not  proven;  the  reasons  must  lie  in  the  Infinite 
alone,  and  are  only  traceable  in  their  outgoings 
from  Him  in  the  form  of  facts  or  declarations  to 
His  creatures.  It  is  in  respect  to  these  that  reason 
has  its  operation,  and  truth  its  limits.  All  know 
ledge  must  begin  with  the  preamble  of  EXISTENCE 

A 


INTRODUCTION. 

AS  A  FACT,  and  be  propagated  from  this  great 
parent  truth.  The  fact  or  facts  lying  at  the  basis 
of  knowledge,  may  lie  more  or  less  near  to  or 
remote  from  the  starting-point  of  inquiry,  but  in 
every  case  the  beginning  truth  must  always  be 
found  in  something  GIVEN,  never  in  a  postulate 
created.  Hence  Revelation,  starting  from  certain 
assumptions,  is  but  an  example  of  the  one  law  of 
knowledge. 

Whether  Revelation  be  supposed  to  preclude  the 
search  of  the  human  mind  after  elementary  truths 
concerning  God  and  the  creature,  which  by  possi 
bility  might  be  arrived  at  (thus,  as  it  were,  sparing 
us  the  labour  of  a  long  and  doubtful  road),  or 
whether  it  be  understood  to  declare,  by  the  very 
fact  of  its  own  existence,  such  road  to  be  impracti 
cable, — authority  and  directness  must  in  any  case 
be  deemed  immense  advantages  which  Revelation 
possesses  over  the  exertions  of  the  best  trained 
intellect,  or  the  best  teachings  of  human  experience. 
It  is  historically  true  that  uncertainty  and  be 
wilderment  seem  more  than  incident  to  the  history 
of  the  human  mind  in  this  direction,  and  seem  to 
negative  the  presumption  that  in  any  case  it  is 
able  to  master  these  elementary  truths 

The  problem  of  the  Divine  Existence  can  only 
be  approached  by  means  of  the  finite,  i.e.  the  in 
dividual  mind.  It  may  be  put  thus  :  Given  the 
finite  to  discover  the  infinite,  or  the  known  to 
reach  the  unknown.  This,  however,  must  imply 
the  existence  and  apprehension  of  some  relation 
between  them,  and  that  such  relation  is  demon 
strable.  If  this  be  in  its  own  nature  impossible, 
the  inquiry  must  end  where  it  began 


INTRODUCTION. 

All  arguments  drawn  from  the  phenomena  of 
humanity  must  be  conflicting,  since  there  is  plainly 
little  within  this  sphere  which  reflects  the  moral 
glories  of  a  supposed  infinitely  Perfect  Nature. 
Those  who  are  bent  upon  maintaining  the  moral 
ioctrine  of  Theism,  at  variance  as  it  is  with  the 
facts  of  human  nature  as  they  everywhere  show 
themselves,  must  need  a  much  stronger  faith  than 
any  which  Eevelation  demands,  or  else  must  fall 
back  on  the  old  Gnostic  doctrines  of  dualism.  The 
religious  history  of  the  human  mind  seems  to  be 
unfolded  in  such  doctrines  as  the  following : — 

1.  A  mere  philosophical  transcendentalism,  which 
ascribes  to  Deity  (if  such  it  may  be  called)  neither 
personality  nor  attributes  cognizable  by  men  or 
appropriate  to  the  conception  of  an  actual  Being, 
:ut   an   abstraction  merely,   or  an   apotheosis  of 
dealism.      This  was  characteristic  of  the  loftier 

flights  of  the  Oriental  and  Greek  philosophy,  the 
tenets  of  Gnosticism,  and  the  mystical  reveries  of 
Buddhism. 

2.  Dualism,  which  ascribes  creation  to  another 
than  the  Supreme  Deity,  and  accounts  for  the  in 
congruities  of  the  mundane  system,  either  on  the 
supposition  that  the  agent  employed  in  forming  it 
was  himself  a  being  of  ungodlike  attributes,   or 
that  the  material  to  be  disposed  and  actuated  was, 
to  a  certain  extent,  intractable  to  his  hand. 

3.  Pantheism,  which  regards  no  Deity  as  prior 
to  and  independent  of  nature,  nature  being  viewed 
as  a  self-developed  system  under  various  and  in 
scrutable  phases. 

4.  Polytheism,  the  antithesis  of  Pantheism,  ex 
hibiting,  with  limited  and  often  incongruous  attri- 


INTRODUCTION. 

butes,  a  wild  exaggeration  of  the  personality  of 
Deity;  for,  while  Pantheism  extinguishes  person 
ality,  Polytheism  indefinitely  multiplies  it. 

The  whole  showing  of  these  remarks  is,  that 
the  general  doctrines  of  Theism  are  and  must  be 
teachings  ab  extra,  and  not  ab  intra ;  that  turning 
in  any  direction  which  the  mind  may,  to  find  out 
God,  its  search  is  abortive,  both  from  its  constitu 
tion  and  from  its  relations  to  the  universe,  unless 
in  some  form  or  other  this  knowledge  be  GIVEN  to 
it.  It  is  supernatural,  easily  introduced,  as  it 
were  central  in  the  man  and  his  standpoint  toward 
the  universe  ;  it  brings  with  it  a  light  peculiarly 
its  own;  in  a  qualified  sense  it  is  intuitional, 
though  distinct  from  our  mental  constitution,  and 
prepares  us  to  desiderate  and  to  apply  illustra 
tions  and  proofs  from  all  quarters,  more  especially 
from  direct  and  authenticated  Revelation. 

The  passage  which  opens  the  Epistle  to  the 
Hebrews  is  a  sublime  concentration  of  the  entire 
doctrine  of  Revelation,  strongly  resembling  the 
opening  chapter  of  the  book  of  Genesis,  or  that 
of  St.  John's  Gospel.  It  is  at  once  majestic  and 
full.  Though  simple  in  its  construction,  it  is  re 
markable  for  its  antithesis :  for  example,  the  word 
God  is  evidently  to  be  ruled  in  interpretation  "by 
that  of  Son;  the  antithesis  here  is  clearly  per 
sonal. 


THE  EPISTLE  TO  THE  HEBREWS. 


CHAPTER    I. 

THE  SON. 

:God,  who  at  sundry  times  and  in  divers  manners  spake  in  time  past 
unto  the  fathers  by  the  prophets,  hath  in  these  last  days  spoken  unto 
us  by  his  Son,  whom  he  hath  appointed  heir  of  all  things,  by  whom 
also  he  made  the  worlds ;  who  being  the  brightness  of  his  glory, 
and  the  express  image  of  his  person,  and  upholding  all  things  by  the 
word  of  his  power.' — HEB.  i.  1,  2,  3. 

NEITHER  here  nor  in  the  Scriptures  generally  is  re-  Later  reveia- 
velation  put  before  us  as  a  new  fact,  it  always  goes  earlier  one°s.1 
backward  as  a  history  to  former  times  and  persons. 
It  assumes  that  divine  communications  to  the 
world  have  in  all  ages  been  accepted  as  such  by 
sections  of  men  at  least.  Hence  there  is  no 
attempt  to  argue  in  favour  of  their  certainty  or 
probability.  They  are  assumed  as  matters  of  fact, 
and  new  revelations  are  placed  on  the  foundations 
of  older  ones.  This  seems  to  intimate  the  neces 
sity  of  some  training  in  accordance  with  the  divine 
measures,  and  that,  where  there  is  no  such  pre 
paration  for  the  divine  oracles,  no  such  oracles  are 
given.  A  nation,  a  family,  or  a  series  of  indivi 
duals  (bearing  some  relations,  more  or  less  remote, 
to  one  another),  are  the  chosen  receptacles  of  these 
divine  communications ;  in  order  both  that  the 
truth  may  be  imparted  to  suitable  recipients,  and 


6  THE  SON. 

CHAP.  i.     that  a  line  may  be  formed  to  give  unity  and  con- 
Heb.  i.  i,  2, 3.  sistency  to  an  entire  series,  which  would  otherwise 
become  fragmentary  and  liable  to  mutilations  or 
extinction.     So  here  'the  Fathers'1  are  mentioned 
as  the  depositaries  of  the  earlier  revelations,  and 
the  generation  existing  in  the  time  of  the  writer 
as  the  depositaries  of  the  last  revelations, — which 
last  must  be  regarded  as  declaring  the  rule  of  all 
earlier   ones.     All  revelations   were   cotemporary 
with  some  persons  who  were  eye-witnesses  of  the 
facts  they  relate,  or  the  immediate  recipients  of 
the  oracles  delivered.     Thus  the  oracles  were  fas 
tened  in  their  integrity,  were  available  for  existing 
religious  needs,  and  became  fundamental  to  other 
revelations  as  yet  reserved  for  the  future. 
AH  terminate       The  prophetic  revelations  here  referred  to  are 
accordingly  represented  as  extending  over  '  sundry 
times,'  and  as  given  'in  divers  manners,'  while  the 
whole  series  is,  with  marked  emphasis,  declared  to 
have  terminated  in  the  manifestation  of  the  Son. 
His  mission  and  ministry  stand  at  the  close  of  the 
prophetic  ages, — in  prophetic  phrase  here  called 
Last  days.       4  these  last  days.'     This  phrase,  in  the  Old  Testa 
ment,  never  signifies  the  extreme  age  of  the  world 
as  such,  but  only  the  historical  and  chronological 
termination  of  the  series  of  divine  revelations.    By 

1  Our  translators  probably  took  'Fathers'  exclusively  in  a  Jewish 
sense.  For  this  limitation,  however,  there  is  no  warrant  in  the  text ; 
for,  though  this  is  undoubtedly  the  familiar  sense  of  the  word  in  the 
New  Testament,  it  ought  not  to  be  so  restricted  here.  To  do  so  would 
be  to  limit  the  retrospect  of  revelation  to  the  Jewish  race,  whereas 
the  passage  offers  a  synopsis  of  its  whole  course.  '  Not  that  it  is  of 
Moses,  but  the  Fathers.'  The  vptffjZvrepot  of  the  llth  chapter  cannot 
be  thus  limited,  and  may  be  taken  as  the  synonym  of  patres.  The 
Fathers  are  the  great  historical  personages — Jewish,  Noachian,  and 
pre-diluvial,  including  the  Father  of  the  race  himself. 


THE  SON.  < 

writers  the  phrase  has  generally  been  held    CHAP^I. 
to  signify  the  Messianic  age,  i.e.  the  age  of  Messiah's  Heb.  i.  i,  2, 3. 
manifestation  and  ruling  glory. 

The  relation  of  the  Son's  mission  both  to  the  ^nse°cnloasses 
past  and  future  of  the  world,  as  well  as  the  ground  the  series  of 

.  ,  prophets. 

cf  that  relation,  is  declared  by  the  very  title  l  Son, 
— since,  had  Jesus  Christ  been  a  merely  human  The  apostles 
person,  though  dignified  with  this  appellation,  it  organs. 
could  not  be  made  apparent  why  He  must  needs 
le  the  last  of  the  prophets,  or  why  He  might  not 
have  stood  at  the  head  of  a  new  series.    He  is  here 
manifestly  put  into  the  class  of  prophets ;  and  had 
He  not  been  as  &  person  immeasurably  superior,  with 
this  parity  of  office,  there   could   have  been  no 
raason  why  He  might  not  have  had  a  series  of  suc 
cessors.     Eevelation  might  have  been  made  con 
tinuous  to  this  day,  instead  of  being  broken  off 
with  the  Son, — the  apostles  being  its  continuators 
instead  of  being  regarded   as   included   in   Him. 
Here,  however,  they  are  not  so  much  as  named ; 
for,   as   the   history  shows,   they  were   the   mere 
organs  of  His  doctrine,   and  received  their   pro 
phetic  powers  entirely  from  Him.     The  position  The  Son  the 
in  which  the  Son  is  placed  in  the  rear  of  all  the  tiongiven to 
prophets,  and  as  having  no  successor,   implies  a  tlieworld- 
truth  of  the   first  importance,  viz.,  that,  strictly 
speaking,  His  is  the  sole  revelation  of  God  given 
to  the  world,  at  once  the  light  of  the  past  and  of 
the  future.      Properly  considered,  all  antecedent 
systems   were   but    anticipated   Christianity.      It 
borrowed   nothing   from   them  —  they   rather   re 
flected  it,  and  were  therefore,  as  it  were,  recalled 
and  absorbed  in  the  one  glory  of  the  Only-Be 
gotten. 


8  THE  SON. 

CHAP.  i.  It  is  obvious,  then,  that  a  supreme  importance 
HeiD.r^2,3.  here  belongs  to  the  term  'SoN.'  The  whole  doc 
trine  of  this  epistle  may  be  said  to  take  its  rise 
from  it,  and  to  be  only  a  great  development  of 
this  its  first  principle.  Nor  must  it  be  over 
looked  that  this  view  is  but  a  synopsis  of  New 
Testament  teaching,  and  its  cardinal  distinction 
The  Son  the  from  the  teachings  of  the  Old.  In  the  New  Testa- 
ofrtheVewnce  ment,  we  have  the  development  of  a  PEESON  vari- 
Testament.  ous[y  represented  and  carried  through  the  whole, 
so  that  the  entire  system  of  facts  and  doctrines  can 
exist  only  in  this  peculiar  combination.  The  Son 
is,  personally  and  directly,  only  partially  the  author 
of  the  New  Testament.  As  the  organ  of  this  reve 
lation  He  has  associates  in  the  apostles ;  but  as  the 
SUBSTANCE  of  the  revelation  He  stands  alone:  so 
that,  were  it  possible  to  conceive  of  His  organic 
relations  to  the  gospel  being  other  than  they  are, 
His  essential  relations  to  it  could  never  be  altered — 
He  is  less  the  Revealer  than  He  is  the  Revelation 
itself. 

The  prophets        In  this  lies  the  capital  distinction  between  the 

revelation.7  °    Old  Testament  and  the  New.     In  the  former  there 

are  not  only  *  sundry  times  and  divers  manners/ 

but  divers  persons  also,  concerned  in  the  formation 

of  the  whole;    but  all  are,  nevertheless,  entirely 

severable   from    the    truth   delivered;    personally 

they  make  no  part  of  it, — they  are  mere  organs 

between  God  and  the  world,  nothing  more.     The 

order  of  their  ministries,  the  times,  circumstances, 

and  even  names,  might  be  conceived  of  as  entirely 

different  from  what   they  are,   and  yet   the   Old 

The  Son  the     Testament  might  have  been  produced.     But  this 

itself? 1(          cannot  be  affirmed  of  the  New,  which  sets  forth 


THE  SON. 


the  person,  attributes,  and  office  of  the  Son,  simply    CHAP.  i. 
us  facts  which  no  more  admit  of  substitution  or  Heb.  i.  i,  2, 
change,  than  the  system  of  nature  could  be  altered, 
id  the  phenomena  of  existence  remain  what  they 


The  germ  of  this  great  distinction  is  easily  dis 
coverable  in  the  bosom  of  the  Old  Testament,  and 
in  the  history  of  the  Hebrew  polity,  but  it  appears 
expressly  in  the  prophets.  There  the  very  same 
title  —  the  Son  —  occurs  :  4  Unto  us  a  child  is  born, 
r.nto  us  a  Son  is  given'  (Isa.  ix.  6).  And  again 
i:i  Psalm  ii.  7:  'I  will  declare  the  decree:  the  Lord 
hath  said  unto  me,  "Thou  art  my  Son,  this  day 
have  I  begotten  thee.":  The  Son  was  the  first 
oracle  of  the  Incarnation,  given  by  the  angel  to 
tie  Virgin  Mother,  and  the  sublime  theme  of  the 
Baptist's  ministry.  These  testimonies  were  fol 
lowed  by  our  Lord's  own  concerning  Himself,  more 
fully  recorded  in  John's  Gospel  than  in  the 
others;  it  seems,  indeed,  as  if  written  on  purpose 
to  put  on  record  the  earnestness  and  persistency 
with  which  Jesus  maintained  this  truth,  even  to 
the  death.  It  is  the  doctrine  of  the  Acts  ;  it  is 
the  Pauline  gospel  ;  the  gospel  of  the  Epistles  ;  it 
is  given  even  in  the  Apocalypse,  and  is  mani 
festly  the  foundation  truth  of  the  Epistle  to  the 
Hebrews.  The  statement  here,  then,  is  an  evan 
gelical  summary;  and  is,  with  great  propriety 
and  majesty  of  diction,  made  the  exordium  of  this 
epistle.  '  Whom  He  hath  appointed  heir  of  all 
things,  by  whom  also  He  made  the  worlds;  who 
being  the  brightness  of  His  glory,  and  the  express 
image  of  His  person,  and  upholding  all  things  by 
the  word  of  His  power.' 


10 


THE  SON. 


Verbal  criti- 


CHAP.  i.  The  first  expression,  '  heir  of  all  things,'  is 
eb.r^2,3.  manifestly  the  proper  correlative  of  His  Sonship, 
and  also  of  the  work  ascribed  to  Him,  viz.  '  that 
He  made  the  worlds.'  As  correlative  to  the  Son- 
ship,  and  as  standing  with  the  declaration  of  His 
office  as  Creator,  it  effectually  bars  out  the  notion 
that  He  was  a  mere  delegate  or  instrument  in 
the  production  of  the  universe;  since,  besides  the 
impossibility  of  conceiving  that  this  was  done 
by  a  Being  less  than  God,  it  ascribes  to  the  Son 
a  right  or  heirship  in  all  things  which  entitles 
Him  to  rank  as  their  Final  Cause.  If  we  render 
K\r)pov6/j,ov  by  'Lord,'  as  some  critics  have  done, 
this  must  still  be  construed  strictly  as  an  in 
herent  dignity,  and  must  not  be  confounded 
with  His  acquired  and  historic  sovereignty  as 
the  Mediator.  The  expressions  airav^acrpa  T^ 

£of?79  Kal  ^apa/crrjp  TT)?  UTrooTacreft)?  avrov^  rendered 
i  the  brightness  of  His  glory,  and  the  express 
image  of  His  person,'  are,  though  figurative, 
wonderfully  chosen  to  illustrate  and  confirm  the 
august  appellation  of  the  Son.  The  a-jravyaa^a 
signifies  an  outflowing  radiance,  as  that  of  the  sun. 
This  figure  gives  us  the  manifestative  idea,  as  essen 
tially  belonging  to  the  Son,  i.e.  the  power  of  making 
present  and  conscious  to  creatures  a  nature  not 
otherwise  accessible,  just  as  the  sun,  though  vastly 
distant  from  the  eye,  is  made  present  to  it  by  the 
efflux  of  his  rays. 

This  is  a  general  argument,  illustrative  of  our 
Lord's  filial  divinity.     What  follows  is  still  more 
image  of  His    explicit,  seeing  that  the  words,  '  express  image  of 
His  person,'  were  intended  as  something  more  than 
an  exegetic  equivalent  to  '  the  brightness  of  His 


person. 


THE  SON.  11 

glory.'  Express  image,  or  literally  '  character/  is  CHAP.  i. 
far  more  definite  than  airavyao-/^^  or  '  brightness ;'  Heb.  1.1,2,3. 
as  is  also  vTroo-rdaeco^  or  c  substance,'  than  Sof???,  or 
4  glory.'  These  are  put  in  apposition,  it  is  true, 
but  the  later  forms  the  climax  of  the  description. 
'  Character '  is  simply  an  exact  duplicate  of  an  ori 
ginal,  and  in  this  connection  is  undoubtedly  meant 
to  stand  as  the  representative  of  that  original,  which 
cannot  by  itself  be  seen,  but  only  as  the  die  or 
seal  is  seen  in  the  wax,  the  type  in  the  letterpress, 
]1  the  plate  in  the  engraving.  This  i  character '  Literally, 

,  .  ,  .  ,         f     ,  , .    .          character  of 

is  here  said  to  pertain  to  the  woa-rao-is  or  divine  His  essence. 


essence,  which  is  a  stronger  expression  in  favour 
of  our  Lord's  divinity  than  if  rendered  '  person,' 
as  has  been  done  by  our  translators,  after  the  con 
sent  of  early  theological  writers,  though  the  New 
Testament  does  not  afford  a  second  instance  of 
so  rendered.  The  image  or  transcript 
of  a  nature,  while  it  does  necessarily  include  the 
idea  of  the  representation  by  another  of  the 
)erson  whose  nature  or  substance  is  characterized, 
altogether  shuts  out  the  feasibility  of  our  under 
standing  this  as  of  a  merely  reflected  likeness  or 
)ersonality ;  it  is  of  a  nature  or  essence  that  the  strongly  ex- 
Son  presents  the  '  character,'  which  cannot,  there 
fore,  be  separated  from  the  notion  signified  by  the 
incient  ^apa/cr^p. 

This  expression,  therefore,  while  it  absolutely 
precludes  Arianism  on  the  one  hand,  renders  the 
mmanitarian  hypothesis  absurd.  To  complete  the 
?orce  of  this  remarkable  testimony  to  our  Lord's 
livinity,  the  words  05  wi>,  i  who  being,'  with  which 
.t  opens,  should  not  be  overlooked,  since  these  are 
emphatic  as  declaratory  of  personal  subsistence  in 


12  THE  SON. 

CHAP.  i.  respect  to  the  ascriptions  which  follow,  and  are  not 
Heb.r^"2, 3.  to  be  understood  of  any  official  or  acquired  rela 
tions  which  He  may  have  assumed  in  the  history 
of  His  manifestations.  He  is  all  this  independently 
of  these  historical  relations,  and  this  is  the  glory 
which  He  had  with  the  Father  before  the  world 
was. 

The  '  more  excellent  name'  which  He  has  obtained 
by  inheritance  (ver.  4),  the  address  to  'the  Son/ 
as  God,  by  the  Father  (ver.  8),  and  His  recognition 
as  Lord  (ver.  10),  are  all  so  many  titles  appropriate 
to  Him  simply  as  the  Son,  and  are  intended  to 
enforce  the  doctrine  of  the  third  verse.1  So  is 
also  the  remarkable  interjection  of  the  doctrine  of 
providence,  '  upholding  all  things  by  the  word  of 
His  power,'  which  is  immediately  collated  with 
the  great  preliminary  ascriptions  to  the  Son.  The 
true  interpretation  of  these  must  be  held  to  lie  in 
their  being  taken  entirely  apart  from  the  Incarna 
tion,  or  human  condition  of  this  divine  Person. 
The  New  Testament  writers  are  wont,  with  very 
marked  emphasis,  to  distinguish  between  Who  the 
Son  ivas,  what  He  became,  and  what  He  did. 
Hence,  though  He  is  familiarly  represented  as  a 
Person  subsisting  in  two  natures,  the  higher  is  still 
distinctively  maintained ;  and,  even  in  their  current 
phraseology,  His  divinity  is  far  more  commonly 
used  than  His  official  character,  much  less  His 
human  nature,  to  denominate  His  Person;  and, 
accordingly,  in  the  exordium  of  this  epistle  He  is 
introduced  as  '  the  Son,'  not  as  Jesus  Christ. 

This  remark  is  singularly  borne  out  by  a  glance 

1  The  examination  of  this  verse  is  resumed  in  the  section  on  Atone 
ment,  Chapter  vi. 


THE  SON.  13 

at  the  writings  of  John.  The  reasons  for  this  are  CHAP.  i. 
obvious  :  the  humanity  of  the  Saviour  is  a  thing  Heb.  i.  i,  2, 3. 
patent  from  His  entire  history,  His  stock  and 
pedigree,  His  condition,  His  life  and  death,  as  well 
as  from  the  national  anticipations  which  heralded 
I  [is  coming.  To  insist  on  this,  therefore,  had  been 
a  superfluous  labour ;  but  the  more  wonderful  truth 
— His  DIVINITY,  and  that  particular  form  of  it  so 
characteristic  of  the  New  Testament — His  SONSHIF, 
did  indeed  require  an  emphasis  and  accumulation 
o?  testimony  from  inspiration  itself,  as  the  great 
"oundation  truth  of  Christianity.  But  it  is  not 
jom  a  series  of  explicit  testimonies  of  this  kind, 
merely,  that  we  deduce  the  importance  of  this 
doctrine  of  'the  Son,'  but  from  tracing  its  bearings, 
and,  so  to  speak,  its  ruling  force,  throughout  the 
entire  system  of  evangelical  truth. 

(1.)  The  doctrine  of  the  personal  divinity  of  the  Distinction 
Son  imparts  the  peculiar  characteristics  of  the  New  uttSce^of 
Testament  oracle  as  distinguished  from  the  Old.  Crh0ri^snd  tlie 
The    c  sundry  times   and   divers   manners'   which 
mark  the  inspiration  of  the  prophets  here  entirely  ' 
give  place  to  the  one  oracle  of  the  indwelling  Son 
m  human  nature.      This  gives  its  significance  to 
;he  closing  phrase  of  the  sentence,  '  hath  in  these 
ast  days  spoken  unto  us  by  His  SON,' — the  mean- 
ng  being,  that  the  Son  incarnate,  clothed  with  the 
veritable  and  identical  supremacy  of  God,  utters 
<he  speech  of  God,  yet  as  if  personally  spoken  by 
mman  lips.      An  examination  of  the  records  of 
our  Lord's  ministry  entirely  bears  out  this  remark, 
which  may  be  put  in  John  the  Baptist's  own  words  : 
He  whom  God  hath  sent  speaketh  the  words  of 
God ; '  i.e.  the  indwelling  divinity  of  the  Son  in 


14  THE  SON. 

CHAP.  i.     human  nature  was  the  very  oracle  of  God  Himself 
Heb.  i.  i,  2, 3.  to  the  world. 

Method  of  old  An  illustration  of  the  mighty  difference  between 
commimica-  the  prophets  and  the  Son  may  be  fetched  from  the 
Old  Testament ;  for  it  would  seem  that  the  ordi 
nary  mode  of  communicating  with  a  prophet, 
according  to  God's  own  words,  was  by  vision  or 
dream.  To  a  few  privileged  persons  only  was  the 
divine  similitude  or  form  and  the  'face  to  face' 
intercourse  permitted.  Among  this  number  we 
may  rank  the  three  great  Hebrew  Patriarchs,  espe 
cially  Abraham,  the  friend  of  God,  —  Isaac  and 
Jacob  receiving  this  honour  through  him  as  per 
sons  of  co-ordinate  rank  merely,  i.e.  as  covenant 
persons.  After  them  only  Moses  was  exalted  to 
this  favour.  In  the  Tabernacle  he  heard  God 
speaking  to  him  with  the  voice  and  language  of  a 
man.  In  the  cloud  which  descended  to  the  door 
of  the  Tabernacle  the  human  similitude  of  God  was 
concealed,  but  was  made  apparent  to  him,  and  lip 
converse  followed  this  apparition,  'even  as  a  man 
speaketh  with  his  friend.'  But  this  is  the  last 
example  of  this  honour  recorded  in  the  Old  Testa 
ment.  It  was  rare  and  special,  and  only  recurs  in 
a  more  exalted  form  in  the  appearance  of  the  In 
carnate  Son.  Henceforth  the  oracle  is  resident  in 
HUMANITY,  not  in  its  similitude ;  and  the  wonder 
of  Jesus  of  Nazareth  is  that  in  His  person  was 
exemplified,  in  a  far  more  exalted  manner  than  in 
these  Old  Testament  saints,  the  speaking  of  God 
to  man  by  man. 

There  is  this  remarkable  resemblance,  however, 
between  the  rare  and  higher  forms  of  manifesta 
tion  we  have  noticed  from  the  Old  Testament  and 


THE  SON.  15 

the  manifestation  of  the  Incarnate  Son,  viz.  that  CHAP.  i. 
the  conditions  of  intercourse,  on  man's  part  at  Heb.  i.  i,  2,  3. 
least,  are  those  of  humanity  in  its  ordinary  state. 
There  was  no  trance  or  ecstasy,  dream  or  vision — 
no  disturbance  or  suspension  of  the  senses,  or  of 
intercourse  with  the  surrounding  world.  To  await 
the  utterances  of  Jesus,  or  to  draw  them  forth  by 
questioning,  seems  much  the  same  thing  as  to  hear 
the  ancient  utterances  in  the  Tabernacle,  the  '  face 
to  face'  converse  in  the  Cloud,  or  the  talkings  men 
tioned  in  Genesis  of  God  with  Abraham,  Isaac,  or 
Jacob.  Whatever  the  degree  of  inspiration  vouch 
safed  to  the  apostles  by  the  Spirit,  it  is  obvious 
f  :om  the  history  that  it  was  not  such  as  to  make 
t'.iem  individually  and  independently  oracular  per 
sons.  Even  their  gifts  were  divided,  as  they  were 
derived,  not  original,  —  making  up  a  grand  total 
of  doctrine  resident  in  the  apostolic  college.  But 
our  Lord's  doctrine  and  manner  of  delivery  are 
widely  different:  they  are  oracular  in  the  most 
absolute  sense,  teeming,  resident,  original;  in  a 
word,  the  style  is  absolutely  peculiar  and  exclu 
sively  appropriate  to  the  SON.  Thus  far  of  our 
Lord's  ministry. 

(2.)  This  doctrine  of  'the   Son'  is  essentially  Redemption 

^  *     exclusively 

related  to  the  whole  scheme  of  the  gospel,  consi-  the  work  of 
Idered  as  a  dispensation  of  grace.  The  work  as 
cribed  to  Him  included  in  the  word  Redemption, 
cannot  be  ascribed  to,  or  in  the  least  participated 
in,  by  any  order  of  prophets,  or  any  names,  how 
ever  illustrious,  met  with  in  either  Testament. 
The  work  of  propitiation  and  atonement,  the  offices 
of  mediation,  the  prerogatives  of  forgiveness,  the 
mission  of  the  Spirit,  are  things  beyond  the  range 


16  THE  SON. 

CHAP.  i.  of  all  creature  ministry.  They  lie  without  the 
Heb.  L  i,  2, 3.  entire  sphere  of  the  mere  administration  of  truth, 
prophetically  considered,  or  the  external  economies 
of  religion.  Throughout  the  New  Testament  the 
Son  is  put  before  us,  like  the  Angel  of  the  Old 
Testament,  as  the  representative  and  acting  Deity. 
He  is  made  to  fill  our  vision,  to  engross  our  inte 
rest,  and  is  immediately  the  one  great  object  of 
personal  trust.  The  whole  evangelical  commission 
centres  in  setting  Him  forth  as  a  real,  ever-present 
Power,  whose  offices  are  indispensable  to  individual 
salvation,  and  to  access  to  God.  What  on  any 
other  hypothesis  could  be  made  of  this  Epistle  to 
the  Hebrews,  in  which  the  offices  of  the  Son  are 
everywhere  exclusive  and  paramount  ? 
The  doctrine  This  is  so  obvious  as  to  be  here  glanced  at,  only 

of  the  divine  »     , 

Son  alone  to  show  how  entirely  the  doctrinal  system  of  the 
tianity  from  New  Testament  hinges  on  the  doctrine  of  the  Son, 
blasphemy. °f  and  how  all  its  aspects  would  be  changed,  and 
certainly  made  false,  were  this  one  truth  with 
drawn.  To  a  Jewish  mind,  at  least,  all  that  part 
of  Christian  doctrine  which  rose  above  the  level 
of  the  mere  republication  of  the  primary  tenets  of 
their  Law,  and  the  familiar  illustrations  of  religion 
as  then  accepted,  became  extravagance,  and  even 
blasphemy  (and  indeed  was  so  reported),  by  the 
non-recognition  of  the  doctrine  of  the  Son.  To 
them  it  seemed  as  if  trust  and  recognition  were 
demanded  for  a  second  God ;  and  that  the  Jehovah 
of  the  Old  Testament  was,  by  the  doctrinal  struc 
ture  of  the  new  religion,  superseded.  This  ob 
jection  would  have  remained  in  force,  had  not 
their  own  prophetic  doctrine  of  the  Son  been  the 
very  foundation  of  the  oracles  of  the  'last  days/ 


THE  SOX. 


17 


This,  and  this  alone,  rescued  Christianity — de 
monstrated,  as  it  was,  by  a  series  of  unmistak cable  Heb-  *•  a>  2> 3- 
miracles — from  such  an  imputation,  and  vindicated 
jthe  mission  of  the  Apostles  to  the  world,  as  the 
authorized  teachers  of  this  religion,  since  they  drew 
|their  inspiration  as  directly  from  the  Son,  as  the 
(Old  Testament  prophets  drew  theirs  from  the  in 
spiration  of  the  Father.      Had  their  ministry  been 
ininspired  and  unattested  by  miracles — indepen- 
.ent,  and  not  derived  from  the  Son — it  would  have 
>een   a  step  backward   in  the   history  of  divine 
/nth.     They  would  have  been  a  class  of  persons 
'f-interpreting  the  genius  and  design  of  Christi 
anity  ;  they  would  have  marred  instead  of  perfect- 
.ng  it ;  while,  it  is  needless  to  say,  they  would  have 
iven  no  corroborative  evidence  of  the  peculiar  and 
istinctive  divinity  of  the  gospel,  nor  could  have 
ilaimed  for  it  to  supersede  the  law.     The  apostolic 
>a':ent,  from  first  to  last,  rested  exclusively  upon 
jie  divinity  of  the  Son. 


CHAPTER  II. 

THE    SONSHIP   OF   THE    HUMANITY. 
HEB.  i.  1,  2,  3 — continued. 

Humanity  of    THE   divinity  of  the   Son  is  intimately  connected 
niiaiSasaHislly  with  tlie  character  of  His  humanity;  a  point  of 
divinity.          vast  moment,  but  too  commonly  passed  over  in 
discussions  on  His  complex  nature.      The  aspect 
of  the  divine  Sonship  on  the  human  nature,  does, 
in  fact,  determine  the  specific  cast  of  that  huma 
nity  as  being  personally  filial  also,  and  as  forming 
the  true  human  antithesis  to  the  filial  Godhead. 
Without  taking  this  into  account,  the  combination 
of  the  manhood  with  the  divinity   (from  which 
arises  the   mystery  of  the  Emmanuel)  seems  to 
lose  much  of  its  appropriate  speciality,  and  wears* 
a  certain  air  of  vagueness  and  generality  not  really 
belonging  to  it.     This,  no  doubt,  has  partly  arisen; 
from  the  jealousy  of  orthodox  divines  in  multiplj 
ing  safeguards  for  the  doctrine  of  the  true  an 
proper  divinity  of  the  Son,  and  it  has  too  oftei 
led  them,  if  not  to  disparage  the  humanity  of  th 
Saviour,   yet  to  be   shy  of  according    to    it   th 
filial  title.     But  to  us  the  beauty  and  fulness  o 
the  doctrine  of  the  person  of  Christ  very  main? 
lie  in  the  perceived  harmony  of  the  divine  an( 
human  natures  in  this  very  specific  peculiarity 


THE  SOXSHIP  OF  THE  HUMANITY. 


Indeed  it  is  difficult  to  perceive  on  what  other 
hypothesis    the   one    personality   of   the    Son    is 
throughout  the  New  Testament  familiarly  recog 
nised,   or   how  otherwise    a  number   of  its  most 
forcible  passages  can  be  fully  interpreted ;  for,  un- 
cuestionably  throughout   the  evangelistic  records 
(more    particularly    those    of   John),    the    Son    is 
constantly  put  before   us   as   the   visible,   acting, 
is  peaking  Jesus  Christ.     In  no  one  instance  is  it 
otherwise,  much  less  have  we  recurring  distinctions 
between  the    divine   and   the  human   natures    as 
they  existed  in  Him,   or  definite  boundary  lines 
given  on  which  the  disciple's  eye  is  bidden  to  rest. 
This  of  itself  is  enough  to  establish  the  doctrine  of 
|two  correlative  Sonships  meeting  in  one  Person — 
:he  one  the  image  of  God,  the  other  the  image  of 
i an.     'He  that  hath  seen  Me,'  saith  Jesus,  'hath 
;een  the  Father.     How  sayest  thou  then,  Show  us 
±.e  Father  ?  '     <  He  that  seeth  Me  seeth  Him  that 
jnt  Me.'     '  He  that  belie veth  on  Me,  believe th  not 
>n  Me,  but  on  Him  that  sent  Me.' 

These  and  the  like  expressions  do  not  admit 
>f  satisfactory  interpretation,  if  the  Sonship  of 
:he  visible  humanity  be  excluded  from  our  re- 
;ard,  and  they  are  explained  only  of  the  indwel- 
[ing  divinity  of  the  Son;  seeing  that  in  this 
jase  the  deity  of  the  Son  is  just  as  invisible 
the  deity  of  the  Father,  which  is  opposed  to 
;he  very  words  of  Jesus.  On  the  contrary,  the 
Cession  of  the  divinity,  both  of  the  Father  and 
j;he  Son  (in  the  one  mediately,  in  the  other  im- 
Lediately),  is  by  the  human  nature  of  Christ,  which 
tatiire  therefore  must  be  correlatively  filial,  or  the 
caching  is  not  true. 


CHAP.  11. 

Heb.  i.  1,  2,  3. 

New  Testa 
ment  mystery 
of  two  natures 
forming  but 
one   person 
ality. 


John  xiv.  8,  0. 


Divinity  of  1  lie 
Son  as  invisi 
ble  as  that  of 
the  Father  ; 
humanity  of 
the  Son  the 
medium  by 
which  both 
are  revealed  ; 
consequently 
the  humanity 
shares  the 
filial  relation, 
or  it  could  not 
represent  '  the 
Father.' 


20  THE  SONSHIP  OF  THE  HUMANITY. 

CHAP.  ii.  The  histories  of  the  nativity,  and  of  the  genea- 
i.  1,2,  3.  logies  also,  shed  much  light  on  this  same  question; 
for  why  does  Matthew  begin  with  a  pedigree 
of  Jesus  Christ,  tracing  it  downward  from  Abra 
ham  to  David,  and  from  David  to  Joseph,  when 
his  avowed  object  was  to  show  that  our  Lord  had 
no  human  father?  The  answer  is  anticipated. 
Then,  again,  the  genealogy  of  Luke  is  (ch.  iii.) 
significant  of  the  same  truth,  by  the  opposite 
process  of  tracing  the  pedigree  upward  from 
Joseph  to  Adam.  Why  trace  it  to  Adam,  and 
not  end  it  with  Abraham,  but  that  the  same  truth 
is  reached  by  a  counter  process  with  that  of 
Matthew,  viz.  the  Sonship  of  our  Lord's  humanity? 
memorable  communications  of  the  Anel 


dared  by  the    to    our    Lord's    Mother,    with    this    idea    in   our 

Angel  to  the 

Virgin.  minds,    need    no    further    interpretation,    except 

verse    35:     'And   the  Angel   answered  and  said 
unto  her,  The  Holy  Ghost  shall  come  upon  thee, 
and  the  power  of  the  Highest  shall  overshadow 
thee:    therefore   also  that   holy  thing   that   shall 
be    born   of    thee    shall    be    called    the    Son    of 
God.'     Whatever   explanations   may  be   given  of 
the  former  clauses  of  the  verse,  '  the  Holy  Ghost/- 
'the  power  of  the  Highest,'  etc.,  this  at  least  is 
indisputable  —  that  the  birth  of  the  Virgin,  which] 
must  be  the  human  nature   (unless  we  fall  int 
the   extravagance  of  the  Papists),   is  designatec 
the  Son  of  God;  i.e.,  while  the  filial  divinity  of  the 
Person  becoming  incarnate  must  be  fully  allowed 
to  contain  the  primary  and  surpassing  ground  o 
the  appellation,  yet  the  same  is  accorded  to  the 
Holy  thing  'born,'  and  manifestly  on  the  ground  o 
its  relation  to   the   Supreme  Nature.      Hence  t( 


THE  SOXSIIIP  OF  THE  HUMANITY.  21 

interpret  the  phrase,  'the  power  of  the  Highest/     CHAP,  n. 
of  the  Son's  divinity,  while  it  is  plainly  gratuitous  Hei>.  i.  i,  2,  s. 
and   far- fetched,    gives    no    help   whatever   to    a 
counter  hypothesis;  it  is  probably  only  an  exegesis 
of  the  previous  phrase  respecting  the  Holy  Ghost; 
but  if  interpreted  of  a  distinct   person  from  the 
Etoly  Ghost,  verse  32   would  settle  it  as  a  refer- 

ice  to  the  Father,  not  the  Son.  But,  in  truth, 
while  these  expressions  are  left  somewhat  in  in 
tentional  obscurity  where  so  great  a  mystery  is 
3oncerned,  the  f therefore'  of  the  Angel  which 
iollows  is  sufficiently  decisive  that  the  humanity 

*  the  Saviour  is  the  point  kept  in  view  in  the 
leclaration,  as  indeed  the  whole  gist  of  the  pre 
ceding  communication  demonstrates. 
The  bearing  of  this  doctrine  on  the  moral  and  Fauitiessness 

,    ,        ,  p  ,  of  Christ's  hu- 

ederal   aspects   or   our   Lords   humanity,   is   too  inanity  the  r<  - 
mportant  to  be  passed  over.     The  '  Holy  thing/  as  |onship.ts 
he  Angel  calls  it,  speaking  of  its  humanity, — i.e.,  in 
>ther  words,  of  its  faultless  rectitude, — is  obviously 
he  result  rather  than  the  cause  of  the  human  Son- 
hip  of  the  Son.     The  creation  of  a  human  being  of 
>erfection  suitable  to  a  personal  alliance  with  the 
iivine  'Son  was  necessary,    and    a   filial    type  of 
Lumanity  was  specifically  created  for  this  purpose, 
t  possessed,  therefore,  as  a  nature,  transcendent 
noral   qualities,    truly   human    indeed,    but    not 
ineally  descended  through  the  ordinary  stock  of 
mmanity, — though  to  be  truly  human  it  was  liter- 
illy  conceived  and  born.     So  far  as  the  type  went, 
he  nature  was  unique  and  transcendent :  though 
f  man,  rising  above  man,  and  a  higher  type  of 
lis  nature  than   the  very  first   moulded  by  the 
land  of  God.      The  first  was  merely  man;   the 


22  THE  SONSHIP  OF  THE  HUMANITY. 

CHAP.  ii.     second  was  God-man.      A  wondrous  birth  truly, 
Heb.  i.  i,  2, 3.  and  the  type  and  parent  of  the  last  rather  than 

the  first  condition  of  man. 

cimst's  fede-  The  importance  of  this  view  of  the  filial  humanity 
iis  rests  on1  the  appears  also  in  the  antitypal  character  ascribed 
todrfHsT  to  Christ  in  the  New  Testament.  Romans  v. 
humanity.  an^  ]_  Qor>  xv<  are  destitute  of  foundation  with 
out  it.  Adam  was  the  first  of  a  race,  and  a  type 
of  sonship,  and  as  such  he  is  repeated  in  every 
one  of  his  descendants.  But  how  can  Jesus  of 
Nazareth  be  invested  with  such  parity  to  Adam, 
seeing  that,  by  His  maternal  side,  He  is  made  one 
of  Adam's  descendants,  and  therefore  precluded, 
merely  considered  as  a  human  being,  from  stand 
ing  in  the  same  rank  with  the  first  father  of 
humanity  ?  Obviously  the  truth  wanted  to  bring 
out  this  parallel  is  the  immediate  divine  father 
hood  of  our  Lord's  humanity:  this  raises  Him  to 
the  same  rank  as  Adam,  and  gives  with  the 
relation  a  perfect  moral  nature.  He  is  thus  con 
stituted  a  Second  Race  Head,  though  born  thou 
sands  of  years  later  than  the  first,  and  after 
countless  millions  of  his  posterity.  Time  is  of  no 
moment  here;  it  is  absolutely  reversed  in  the  divine 
order  of  events,  and  the  Son  of  the  Incarnation 
assumes  not  merely  parity  but  actual  precedence- 
of  the  first  father  of  the  race.  He  is  in  this  sense 

Or  OLpxh   T>}?   KTl(7eCOS    TOV    ©60V. 


CHAPTER  III. 

EIISTORICAL  DEVELOPMENTS  OF  THE  HUMAN  SONSHIP 
IN  THE  NEW  TESTAMENT. 

HEB.  i.  1,  2,  3— continued. 

IT  is  remarkable  that,  contrary  to  the  order  sug-  The  higher 

"J,  _  nature  of 

gested  by  analogy,  viz.  that  ot  development  irom  Christ  taught 
a   lower   to    a   higher    truth,    the    order   of    our  fi 
Lord's    personal    development    seems  to    proceed 
from  the  higher  to  the  lower.     On  the  one  hand, 
we  have  no  information  in  the  Gospels  of  any  early 
indoctrination  of  His  disciples  into  the  mystery  of 
His  human  Sonship ;  while,  on  the  other,  the  same 
Gospels  afford  abundant  evidence  to  the  outset  of 
His  mission  from  the  higher  point  of  His  divine 
Sonship.     Even  His  Forerunner,  the  Baptist,  ad 
vanced  to  this  lofty  doctrine  in  his  preparatory 
testimony;  and,  in  the  later  stages  of  his  ministry 
at  least,  seems  to  have  concentrated  it  mainly  on 
this  one  article  :  c  I  saw,  and  bare  record,'  said  he,  John  i.  34. 
f  that  this  is  the  Son  of  God.' 

The  Gospel  of  John,  which  opens  with  this  testi 
mony  of  the  Baptist,  gives  continuity  to  it  through 
out,  as  the  very  testimony  of  Christ  Himself. 
Indeed,  John  states  that  the  design  of  his  Gospel 
is  to  invest  this  grand  truth  with  a  suitable  pro 
minency  :  i  These  things  are  written  that  ye  John  xx.  si. 
might  believe  that  Jesus  is  the  Son  of  God.' 


24  HISTORICAL  DEVELOPMENTS  OF  THE 

CHAP.  in.        In  the  other  Gospels  this  doctrine  is  far  less 

Heb.^2, 3.  prominent;  still,  wherever  it  occurs,  it  is  in  terms 

equally  decisive  of  the  true  and  proper  divinity  of 

The  secret  of    the  Son.  while  there  is  not  a  single  passage  in  any 

His  birth  held  .  .  .  ,  , 

in  reserve.  of  them  which  so  much  as  hints  at  the  promulga 
tion  of  the  mystery  of  His  humanity.  Probably  it 
remained,  during  His  lifetime,  a  family  secret,  and 
necessarily  so,  in  deference  to  obvious  circum 
stances.  In  fact,  it  could  not  be  divulged  at  an 
early  period  without  damage  to  His  claims,  which 
were  to  be  enforced  by  a  species  of  public  evidence 
amply  sufficient  to  prepare  the  way  for  final  state 
ments  with  respect  to  the  true  origin  of  His 
humanity.  The  several  notices  contained  in  the 
Gospels,  particularly  Luke's,  respecting  the  reti 
cence  of  the  mother,  are  very  suggestive  on  this 
head;  and  there  is  no  doubt  that  among  the  things 
she  is  said  to  have  l  pondered  in  her  heart,'  must 
be  numbered  the  wonders  of  the  Incarnation. 
These  were  deposited  with  her  in  the  nature  of 
reserves  properly  belonging  to  herself,  tut  which 
also,  as  belonging  to  her  Son,  awaited  the  order 
of  events,  and  were  not  to  be  forestalled  in  their 
publication  by  impatience,  or  the  mere  dictates  of 
maternal  sentiment.  It  is  highly  probable  that  the 
particulars  of  this  great  mystery  recorded  in  the 
Gospels  were  given  by  our  Lord's  mother  directly 
to  the  Apostles  and  others,  after  the  Ascension, 
when  they  were  obviously  needed  to  complete 
the  testimony  as  to  Christ's  person,  and  when  the 
season  had  gone  by  which  would  have  rendered 
such  disclosures  premature.  He,  who  did  not 
permit  His  disciples  to  tell  men  that  He  was  the 
Christ,  bidding  them  hold  their  knowledge  for  a 


HUMAN  SONSHIP  IN  THE  NEW  TESTAMENT.  2-3 

reason  in  reserve,  was  hardly  likely  to  permit  them    CHAP.  in. 
to  bruit  the  matter  of  His  own  miraculous  con-  Heb.  i.  i,  2, 3. 
[option,  if  indeed,  at  that  time,  they  knew  any 
thing  about  it. 

It  is  an  equally  interesting,  and  perhaps  more  inquiry  \viu-n 
difficult,  inquiry,  suggested  by  this  subject,  at  what 


came  cnscous 


[•articular  stages  of  our  Lord's  human  history,  and 
La  what  manner,  the  knowledge  came  to  Him,  both  nature- 
as  to  His  lower  and  higher  Sonships.  This  is  a 
ubject  to  be  approached  with  great  reverence  and 
delicacy,  lest  we  fall,  if  not  into  error,  yet  into  a 
C3urse  of  curious  and  vain  speculation.  It  is, 
nevertheless,  certain  that  both  these  mysteries  must 
have  had  their  dates  of  discovery  to  His  conscious 
ness.  It  is  also  probable  the  one  would  follow  the 
o  bher,  and,  in  certain  respects,  progress  in  brightness 
down  to  the  date  of  His  Messianic  manifestation. 
As  we  cannot  suppose  our  Lord,  in  His  human 
nature,  to  have  been  an  exception  to  every  law 
of  humanity,  and  to  have  attained  in  mere  child 
hood  the  knowledge  appropriate  to  manhood,  so 
kve  cannot  judge  that  His  acquaintance  with  these 
profound  facts  of  His  own  existence  was  strictly 
coincident  with  that  existence,  and  was  indepen- 
|dent  of  the  stages  of  His  human  development.  On 
this  point  we  think  there  can  be  no  mistake.  That 
His  development  was  wonderfully  precocious,  is 
indeed  matter  of  positive  testimony,  and  that  this 
recocity  took  the  direction  of  extraordinary  ac 
quaintance  with  divine  things  is  certain;  but  it 
s  also  added,  that  'He  grew  in  wisdom,  and  in 
tature,  and  in  favour  both  with  God  and  man.' 
't  was,  therefore,  not  in  the  law  of  development, 
in  the  power  of  it,  that  Jesus  was  a  prodigy. 


26  HISTORICAL  DEVELOPMENTS  OF  THE 

CHAP.  in.  But  with  all  this,  not  a  word  is  said  by  the  in- 
Heb.Ti^, 3.  spired  writers  on  the  great  questions  now  referred 
to ;  indeed  it  seems  as  if  the  thirty  years  of  our 
Lord's  life  were,  with  the  exception  mentioned 
by  Luke,  absolutely  consigned  to  obscurity,  per 
haps  on  purpose  to  check  the  invincible  tendency 
to  pry  into  things  which  God,  for  wise  reasons, 
makes  secret.  Yet  we  cannot  think  that  during 
those  thirty  years,  our  Lord's  wonderful  attributes 
were  more  than  in  a  condition  of  progress  toward 
maturity,  or  that  the  hour  of  His  public  mani 
festation  could  have  been  unduly  delayed.  Nor 
can  we  think  that  the  circumstances  of  home  life, 
and  of  subjection  to  His  parents,  together  with 
surroundings  of  neighbourhood  and  intercourse  with 
His  countrymen,  admitted  of  the  full  consciousness 
of  the  transcendent  powers  which  centred  in  Him 
self.  Self-revelation  must  have  borne  some  propor 
tion  to  His  position  as  a  man,  and  must  have  ac 
corded  with  that  temporary  abeyance  which  was  a 
'  sign '  to  them  during  that  long  term  of  mysterious 
sojourning  in  Nazareth ;  for  there  is  not  the  least 
hint  in  the  Gospels  that  our  Lord's  Messianic  powers 
were  in  any  instance  brought  to  light  during  this 
period :  indeed  what  scope  was  there  in  these 
secluded  circumstances  for  their  exercise  ?  To  the 
men  of  Nazareth  themselves  it  would  seem  that  His 
after  fame  created  both  surprise  and  incredulity. 

At  the  visit  to       \ye  turn,  however,  with  great  interest  to  the  one 

the  Temple         .  7  ' 

aware  of  His     incident  given  us  by  Luke,  of  the  child  Jesus  being 

divine  Father-        ., ,      TT.  T  . 

hood.  with   His  parents  at  Jerusalem  at  the  Passover, 

Luke  ii.  41.      when  He  was  twelve  years  of  age;  since  we  gather 

from  it  that  at  so  early  a  stage  as  this,  He  was  hi 

the  possession  of  the  truth  of  His  Fatherhood,— 


HUMAN  SONSHIP  IN  THE  NEW  TESTAMENT.  27 

perhaps  in  the  higher  and  lower  sense,  but  at  least  in    CHAP.  in. 
the  latter.     As  there  is  no  reason  to  believe  that  in  Heb.77^2, 3. 
this  latter  sense  He  received  the  fact  from  outward 
instruction,  but  rather  from  immediate  revelation, 
there  seems  equal  reason  to  suppose  that  the  higher 
truth  was  at  least  dawning  on  His  mind.     This  is 
apparent  from  His  rejoinder  to  the  complaint  of 
His  mother,  l  Son,  why  hast  thou  thus  dealt  with 
us?  thy  father  and  I  have  sought  thee  sorrowing.' 
1  How  is  it  that  ye  sought  me  ?  wist  ye  not  that  I 
must  be  about  my  Father's  business?'      The  force 
of  the  reply  lies  in  its  obvious  antithesis  to  cthy 
father  and  I ' — thus  somewhat  covertly  disowning 
a  a  earthly  fatherhood,  accompanied  by  the  recog 
nition  of  a  heavenly  one.       Thus  is  brought  into 
view  the  existence  at  that  early  time  of  a  supreme 
Father,  to  whom  He  stood  very  intimately  related, 
a:id  to  whom  His  duty  was  recognised  as  taking 
precedence  of  all  earthly  relations  and  obligations. 
The  saying  itself  is  undoubtedly  the  thesis  of 
our  Lord's  entire  future  ministry,  and  the  summary 
of  His  human  history;  but  that  He  should  so  early 
lave    comprehended    His   relation   to    an   unseen 
Father,  and  the  issue  of  this  in  a  specific  form  of 
duty,  might  well  confound  His  parents,  and  invest 
:he  episode  of  the  Temple  with  an  air  of  mystery. 
That  the  conversation  referred  to  turned  upon  the 
signs  and  characteristics  of  the  Messiah's  manifesta 
tion,  can  hardly  be  doubted.     This  seems  to  have 
)een   listened  to   with   peculiar   interest   by   the 
mother,  who  is  not  to  be  supposed  to  have  inter 
rupted  Him ;  and  probably  we  have  here  the  true 
explanation  of  Luke's  general  remark,  'that  His 
mother  kept  all  these  sayings,'  i.e.  these  Temple 


28  HISTORICAL  DEVELOPMENTS  OF  THE 

(•HAP.  in.  sayings,  *  in  her  heart.'  'The  Father's  business' 
Hob. ~2, 3.  thus  early  opened,  was  clearly  that  of  awakening, 
by  this  wonderful  child,  a  new  and  more  intelligent 
interest  than  the  doctors  possessed  on  this  great 
national  subject,  and  of  drawing  attention  to  Him 
self,  as  the  object  of  national  expectation,  many 
years  ere  He  was  actually  put  before  the  nation  in 
His  full  divine  auspices. 
TheTcmpta-  The  Temptation,  as  given  us  by  both  Matthew 
to°the  huma-  and  Luke,  is  evidently  framed  on  the  hypothesis 
nity  of  cimst.  of  a  double  Sonship,  i.e.  on  the  Messianic  character 
Matt.  iv.  of  the  divine  Son.  The  subtilty  of  the  Tempter 
is  apparently  directed  to  experimenting  on  the 
higher  truth  of  His  person,  from  which  alone  the 
miracle-working  power  could  be  supposed  to  issue, 
— 'Command  these  stones  to  be  made  bread,' — while 
the  strength  of  his  appeals  lay  in  the  direction  of 
Christ's  humanity  or  His  Messiahship;  i.e.  the  Son 
of  God  cannot  be  supposed  liable  to  suffer  hunger 
without  the  power  of  self-supply,  or  dash  Himself 
down  from  a  pinnacle  of  the  Temple,  and  be  subject 
to  the  ordinary  laws  of  bodily  existence.  His  divine 
humanity  or  Sonship  is  the  plea  of  patent  against 
calamity,  artfully  urged :  angels  must  minister  to 
Him  as  the  Son.  The  same  truth  is  insinuated 
as  the  basis  of  His  claim  to  universal  empire,  which 
should  belong  to  Him  as  the  Son,  i.e.  in  the  broad 
prophetic  sense,  as  the  Son  of  David  —  only  He 
is  to  hold  it,  intermediately  at  least,  as  a  sort 
of  fief  from  the  Tempter  himself.  To  have  pro 
posed  these  temptations  to  the  Godhead  is  an 
inadmissible  absurdity;  they  were  based  on  the 
Messianic  relations  of  the  Son,  i.e.  on  the  proper 
Sonship  and  prerogatives  of  His  humanity. 


HUMAN  SONSHIP  IN  THE  NEW  TESTAMENT.  29 

It  may  be  a  question  not  to  be  satisfactorily  CHAP.  TIL 
ettled,  what  the  full  import  of  the  baptismal  Heb.  i.  i,  2, 3. 
cene  on  the  Jordan  was.  Broadly,  it  may  be  The  Baptism 

.  a  culminating 

egarded  as  our  Lords  official  inauguration,  and  revelation  to 

,T  -,-,.  ...  pi'iv/r         •    i     i  •       i         the  Son  of  His 

the   public  recognition  or  his  Messiahship  by  personal  glory. 
he  Father.      It  may,  however,  mean  more  than  Matt.  iii.  17. 

Mark  i    11 

his ;  it  may  be  rather  a  full  recognition  by  the  Luke  iii.  22. 
Bather  of  His  personal  glory,  and  the  climax  of 
11  antecedent  revelations  to  Him  on  this  head, 
x>m  His  youth  upwards.  This  is  rendered  more 
irobable  by  the  voice  from  heaven,  related  both 
iy  Mark  and  Luke  as  a  personal  address  to  Jesus 
limself,  instead  of  to  John  the  Baptist,  as  given 
>y  Matthew.  Matthew  may  have  only  intended  to 
onder  what  was  in  fact  a  personal  address  to 
Christ,  as  given  to  John  because  of  his  proximity 
o  and  interest  in  the  scene.  On  this  supposition 
he  Evangelists  may  be  harmonized,  for  unquestion 
ably  the  scope  of  the  threefold  narrative  centres 
E.  Jesus  Himself,  not  in  John  the  Baptist.  To  Him 
he  heavens  were  opened.  He  saw  the  Spirit 
lescending  on  Himself.  It  is  highly  probable,  there- 
ore,  that  the  voice  also  was  actually  addressed  to 
limself.  If  so,  it  is  retrospective  and  culminating; 
o  that,  from  that  hour,  the  great  truth  of  His  own 
>ersonal  glory  reached  its  zenith,  and  nothing  was 
>ver  added  to  it  afterwards,  nor  indeed  could  be. 
[*he  same  voice,  on  the  Mount  of  Transfiguration, 
•eiterating  the  same  great  oracle,  obviously  in- 
>ended  it  for  His  disciples,  for  it  added,  'Hear  Him.' 

In  general  it  may  be  safely  affirmed  that  the  Divine  nature 
livine  Sonship  of  Jesus  is  the  leading  truth  through-  J 

t  the  New  Testament,  particularly  throughout  T 
John's  Gospel;   and  that  in  our  Lord's  language, 


30  HISTORICAL  DEVELOPMENTS  OF  THE 

CHAP.  in.  as  rendered  by  John,  the  article  prefixed  to  the 
Heb.r^2, 3.  terms  Father  and  Son  is  especially  discriminative 
Exceptions,  in  this  respect  i  the  Father,  the  Son.  But  even  in 
John's  Gospel  at  least  a  passage  or  two  may  be 
pointed  out  in  which  the  lower  truth  can  be 
identified,  such  as  chapter  xvii.  21,  22,  and  26. 
The  love  in  which  believers  have  a  common 
fellowship  with  Himself  and  the  Father,  must 
necessarily  be  understood  as  arising  from  the 
human  Sonship,  since  the  divine  must  be  ineffable 
and  incommunicable.  Another  passage  occurs, 
chap.  xx.  17:  '  Go  to  my  brethren,  and  say 
unto  them,  I  ascend  unto  my  Father,  and  your 
Father;  and  to  my  God,  and  your  God.'  In 
this  passage  the  term  i brethren'  at  once  deter 
mines  the  common  ground  of  Fatherhood  between 
Christ  and  His  disciples  as  being  that  of  humanity; 
to  which  may  be  added  the  great  argument  of  the 
latter  clause,  'My  God,  and  your  God,'  which  is  but 
an  emphatic  exegesis  of  the  sense  of  the  preceding 
Fatherhood. 

It  may  be  in  place  here  further  to  affirm,  that  all 
those  passages  in  our  Lord's  history  in  which  His 
mere  humanity  is  made  prominent,  should  be  inter 
preted  on  the  same  principle.  For  instance,  those 
which  notice  His  seasons  of  private  devotion ;  His 
going  up  'into  a  mountain  to  pray, '.and  'continuing 
all  night  in  prayer  to  God;'  His  hymn  of  praise, 
in  company  with  His  disciples,  at  the  Paschal 
Supper  ;  His  communion  in  the  national  services  ; 
and  even  His  exercises  of  authority  on  two  distinct 
occasions,  within  the  precincts  of  the  Temple. 
Perhaps  also  may  be  included  the  opening  formula 
of  tlie  Lord's  Prayer,  '  Our  Father  which  art  in 


HUMAN  SONSHIP  IN  THE  NEW  TESTAMENT.  31 

leaven,'  or  those  more  familiar  uses  of  the  term    CHAP.  in. 
Father  in  our  Lord's  ministry,  e.g.  '  My  heavenly  Heb.  i.  i,  2, 3. 
father/  or  'your  heavenly  Father/  addressed  to 
he   disciples.      Most  of  these  passages  certainly 
K;uggest  to  us  the  sense  of  Father  as  common  to 
:>ur  Lord  and  His  disciples. 

One  of  the  strongest  examples  of  the  lower  use 
»f  the  term  is  found  in  the  utterance  of  the  agony: 
'  Abba,  Father,  if  it  be  possible,  let  this  cup  pass  The  utterance 

1  1  *    t  of  the  agony. 

rom  Me :  nevertheless  not  my  will,  but  Thine,  be 
c  one.'  Such  language  is  clearly  applicable  alone  to 
the  filial  humanity,  as  it  expresses  that  profound 
submission  to  the  will  of  God  which  is  the  very 
sublimity  of  human  virtue,  but  which  is  totally 
inapplicable  to  Him  who  in  His  higher  nature  was 
»qual  with  God,  and  one  with  the  Father.  The 
same  remark  is  obviously  applicable  to  our  Lord's 
exclamation  on  the  Cross:  'My  God,  why  hast  Thou  Matt.xxvii.47. 
forsaken  Me  ?  '  The  Psalm  from  which  it  is  taken 
is,  like  several  others,  descriptive  of  the  humanity 
and  its  exercises,  the  Godhead  being  almost  entirely 
withdrawn  from  view;  a  circumstance  of  great  im 
portance  in  the  interpretation  of  these  facts  of 
the  New  Testament,  showing  us  how  strongly  the 
doctrine  of  the  filial  humanity  was  put  forth  by  the 
spirit  of  prophecy  in  anticipation  of  the  evangelical 
history. 
The  doctrine  of  the  double  Sonship  is  the  key  The  double 

J  '    Sonship,  the 

indeed,  to  all  the  personal  statements  respecting  key  to  the  per  - 
Christ  in  the  New  Testament;  some  being  under-  ments  respect- 
stood  in  the  higher,  others  in  the  lower  acceptation,  ing  Chnst> 
yet  without  any  distinction  of  language  or  palpable 
note  of  difference.    The  very  basis  of  this  language 
and  mode  of  thought  is  the  double  Sonship,  which 


32  HISTORICAL  DEVELOPMENTS  OF  THE 

CHAP.  in.  is  not  only  common  to  the  four  Gospels,  but  is 
Heb.  i.  i,  2, 3.  carried  on  through  the  Acts  and  the  Epistles.  It 
is  sufficient  to  notice  the  very  frequent  formulas 
occurring  in  St.  Paul's  Epistles  ;  e.g.  '  the  God  of 
our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,'  and  <  the  God  and  Father  of 
our  Lord  Jesus  Christ;'  which  cannot  be  referred 
immediately  to  His  divinity,  but  must  be  inter 
preted  by  a  backward  reference  to  the  Gospels 
themselves,  such  as  the  passage  in  John  before 
noticed :  '  My  Father,  and  your  Father ;  my  God, 
and  your  God.' 

Tote fnter32'  There  is  yet  one  passage  in  the  Gospels  (Mark 
preted  exdu-  xiii.  32)  so  decisive  in  this  direction,  and  otherwise 
humanSon-  so  encumbered  with  difficulties,  that  it  may  be  fitly 
adduced  as  a  final  selection,  illustrating  the  open 
ing  verses  of  the  Epistle.  i  But  of  that  day  and 
hour  knoweth  no  man,  no,  not  the  angels  which 
are  in  heaven,  neither  the  Son,  but  the  Father.' 
To  attempt  to  expound  this  passage  by  a  reference 
to  the  force  of  the  Hebrew  verb,  rendering  it  f  to 
make  known'  instead  of  '  to  know,'  is  to  strain  its 
meaning  beyond  any  safe  warrant  or  licence  of 
criticism ;  for  in  what  sense  is  this  applicable  to 
angels?  to  disembodied  men,  or  men  living  upon 
the  earth  at  that  time?  or  even  to  our  Lord's 
own  ministry,  which  either  did  or  did  not  make 
it  known  as  matter  of  fact  ?  Least  of  all  can  this 
rendering  suit  the  reference  to  the  Father.  The 
natural  and  proper  sense  of  the  words  is  obviously 
that  which  stands  in  the  translation,  supported  as 
it  is  by  our  Lord's  declaration  (Acts  i.  7),  '  The 
times  and  the  seasons  which  the  Father  hath  put 
in  His  own  power ; '  and  also  confirmed  by  the  style 
and  title  of  the  Apocalypse  —  '  the  Revelation 


HUMAN  SONSHIP  IN  THE  NEW  TESTAMENT. 


33 


of  Jesus  Christ,  which  God  gave  unto  Him.'     The    CHAP.  in. 

|p  ass  age  in  Mark  should  therefore  be  expounded  of  Heb.  i.  i,  2, 3. 
lie  lower  Sonship  (commonly  included  in  the  de- 
ignation  of  the  higher),  but  the  higher  is  in  this 
nstance  excluded  precisely  as  in  the  first  clause  of 
he  second  verse  of  this  Epistle:   the  Son  who  is 
anked  with  the  prophets  is  not  the  same  Son  by 
horn  i  God  made  the  worlds.'    In  the  one  instance, 
he  human  Son  is  the  immediate  organ  of  utter- 
nce  to  the  world  in  common  with  the  prophets  ;  in 
te  other,  the  divine  Son  is  put  before  us  as  the 
reator  of  the  worlds ;  yet  they  remain  undistin- 
lished.     This,  we  apprehend,  is  the  true  interpre- 
atioii  of  this  passage,  on  which  so  much  criticism 
as  been  unsatisfactorily  expended.      The  human 
onship  of  Christ  cannot  be  omniscient,  and  might 
herefore  not  be  acquainted  with  the  great  secret  of 
ha  Father.     But  it  is  a  sufficient  bulwark  against 
nitarianism,  if  we  maintain  the  doctrine  of  the 
igher  Sonship,  to  which  all  the  divine  attributes 
p  pertain  in  connection  with  the  lower,  to  which 
e  attributes  of  humanity  only  belong.     We  thus 
void  doing  violence  to  a  plain  testimony  of  our 
ord's  ;  in  fact,  perverting  His  own  words,  from  an 
xtreme  jealousy  to  maintain  the  honour  of  His 
odhead. 


CHAPTER   IV. 

DOCTRINE  OF  THE  SONSHIPS  TESTED  BY  AN  EXAMINA 
TION  OF  THE  OLD  TESTAMENT  SCRIPTURES  QUOTED 
IN  THE  EPISTLE. 

HEB.  i.  4-14. 

THE  doctrine  of  the  double  Sonship  already  pro 
pounded  may  now  be  properly  tested  by  an  ex 
amination  of  the  several  Old  Testament  Scriptures 
quoted  in  the  first  and  second  chapters  of  the 
Epistle.  Before  entering  upon  them,  we  shall, 
however,  examine  the  fourth  verse  of  the  first 
chapter,  by  which  they  are  prefaced. 

c  Being  made  so  much  better  than  the  angels, 

as  He  hath  by  inheritance  obtained  a  more  excel 

lent  name  than  they.' 

ch.  i.  4  refers        The  phrase,  '  being  made  so  much  better  than  th< 

uatra  of  man    angels/  is  obviously  exegetic  of  the  previous  verse, 

Christ,  since     <  sa^  down  on  the  right  hand  of  the  Maiesty  on 

the  divine  ad-  t  »        J 

of  no       high,'  and  it  would  have  been  more  intelligible  had 


it  not  been  improperly  separated  from  it.  Assum 
ing  this,  it  is  evident,  (1.)  That  the  supremacy 
here  ascribed  to  the  Son  is  not  the  same  as  that 
inherent  in  Him  in  His  proper  divinity:  that 
dominion  is  expressed  in  the  third  verse,  '  uphold 
ing  all  things  by  the  word  of  His  power,'  and  in 
the  eighth  by  the  declaration,  '  Thy  throne,  0  God, 


SONSHIPS  DOCTRINE  IN  THE  OLD  TESTAMENT.  35 

is  for  ever  and  ever ! '  This  sovereignty,  being  CHAP.  iv. 
original  and  absolute,  cannot  be  brought  into  com-  HeK  L  4-14. 
parison  with  any  forms  of  creature  sovereignty,  but 
must  clearly  stand  alone  ;  so  that  to  collate  it  with 
that  of  angels,  as  being  so  much  better  or  more 
excellent  than  theirs,  would  have  been  to  depre 
ciate,  not  to  exalt  it.  (2.)  Further,  the  phrase,  Mediatorial, 
1  the  right  hand  of  the  Majesty  on  high/  is  clearly  sovereignty  ' 
( xpressive  of  Mediatorial  rather  than  inherent  sove-  expre 
reignty,  allusive  as  it  is  to  the  status  of  a  prime 
minister,  who  derives  his  power  entirely  from  the 
prince.  It  strictly  describes  an  administrative 
position,  in  which  the  person  possessing  it  has  '  no 
follows,'  but  in  which  he  is  not  removed  absolutely 
beyond  the  range  of  comparison  with  other  princi 
palities  and  powers  within  the  same  empire.  He 
is  immeasurably  the  chief,  but  still  only  an  inter 
vening  power  between  the  throne  and  its  subjects. 
(,3.)  It  hence  follows  that  'the  more  excellent  name,' 
above  that  of  angels,  which  He  obtains  'by  in 
heritance,'  cannot  be  the  name  intrinsically  divine. 
Besides,  the  question  which  follows,  '  To  which  of 
the  angels  said  He  at  any  time,  Thou  art  my  son  ? ' 
would  be  devoid  of  meaning  if  it  were  understood 
as  equivalent  to  the  recognition  of  any  angel  as 
possessing  divine  attributes. 

The  conclusion,  then,  is,  that  THE  NAME  obtained  Cliris5  ™~ 

7  f  sumed  the 

by  inheritance  is  a  creaturely  dignity,  drawn  not  human  nature, 
from  the  angelic  hosts,  but  from  the  human  race. 
The  human  nature  is  henceforth  personally  consti 
tuent  of  Himself,  and  accordingly  we  understand 
the  inheritance  of  the  name,  Son,  as  ascribed  to 
our  Lord's  ENTIRE  PERSON,  human  and  divine.  It 
is  an  inheritance  derived  to  His  human  nature 


30  DOCTRINE  OF  THE  SONSHIPS  TESTED 

• 
CHAP.  iv.    from  its  conjunction  with  the  divine.      This  inter- 

Heb.  i.  4-14.  pretation  is  enforced  by  a  reference  to  the  sixteenth 
verse  (ch.  ii.):  4  For  verily  He  took  not  on  Him  the 
nature  of  angels ;  but  He  took  on  Him  the  seed 
of  Abraham.' 

'  For  unto  which  of  the  angels  said  He  at  any 
time,  Thou  art  my  son,  this  day  have  I  begotten 
thee  ?  And  again,  I  will  be  to  him  a  father,  and 
he  shall  be  to  me  a  son  ?  ' 

We  now  proceed  to  the  examination  of  the  quota 
tions  of  Old  Testament  Scriptures  bearing  on  the 
doctrine  of  the  double  Sonship ;  but  as  these  quota 
tions  are  intimately  related  to  each  other,  they  will 
be  best  illustrated  by  a  mode  of  interpretation  which 
keeps  their  relation  steadily  in  view.  They  are  given 
after  the  Jewish  manner,  and  are  intended  to  direct 
attention  to  the  subject-matter  of  each  Psalm,  not 
to  a  particular  verse  only.  Thus,  in  the  quotation 
contained  in  the  fifth  verse,  we  see  that  a  reference 
is  understood  to  the  great  theme  of  the  second 
Psalm.  The  words,  'Thou  art  my  Son,  this  day 
have  I  begotten  Thee,'  are  so  evidently  Messianic 
in  their  application,  that  to  restrict  the  term  Son 
to  the  higher  sense,  as  is  usually  done,  is  certainly 
to  misinterpret  the  passage.  This  is  obvious  from 
the  broader  sense  of  the  word  with  which  the 
Epistle  opens,  the  argument  of  the  chapter,  and 
the  structure  of  the  Psalm  from  whence  it  is  taken. 
But  beyond  this,  the  words  '  this  day  have  I  be 
gotten  Thee '  are  decisive  against  the  higher  view ; 
for  they  destroy  the  Son's  eternity,  notwithstanding 
all  attempts  to  show  that  'this  day'  is  a  paraphrase 
for  eternity.  '  This  day '  is  never  used  to  signify 
eternity  ;  but  in  Scripture,  particularly  in  the  Pro- 


BY  THE  OLD  TESTAMENT  SCRIPTURES.  37 

phets,  it  is  uniformly  used  to  signify  an  unknown    CHAP.  iv. 
but  definite  period  of  duration.      It  is  commonly   Heb.  i.  4-H. 
used  to  signify  the  Messianic  age,  or  some  section 
of  it  ;  by  St.  Paul,  to  signify  the  date  of  the  Resur 
rection,  and  here,  the  date  of  the  Incarnation. 

i  I  will  be  to  Him  a  Father,  and  He  shall  be  to  i  chron.  xxii. 

^        ,    .        .  ,  .     ,  .  -,     r>      ,  i          10  refers  to  the 

me  a  Son,    is   the   next   quotation,    and   further  iluman  nature 


sanctions  this  interpretation  of  the  Sonship  of  the 
human  nature.  A  brief  reference  to  the  history 
remonstrates  that  the  human  Sonship  of  the  Messiah 
is  the  direct  subject  of  promise  by  Nathan  to  David, 
and  the  divine  only  by  implication. 

The  declaration  stands  as  a  promise  to  David 
and  his  house,  and  could  not  therefore  bear  upon 
the  eternal  and  ineffable  relation  existing  between 
the  Father  and  the  Son,  but  upon  the  Incarnation 
only.  God  was  to  stand  to  the  seed  or  Son  of 
David  in  the  privileged  relation  of  a  Father.  This 
promise,  in  its  immediate  fulfilment,  appertained 
to  Solomon,  who  was  thus  made  a  type  of  the 
Messiah,  i.e.  of  His  humanity.  Besides,  the  promise 
itself  was  a  futurity;  and  the  relation  here  signified 
not  then  an  accomplished  fact,  a  consideration  which 
must  preclude  all  reference  to  a  divine  nature.  In 
a  word,  the  promise,  taken  in  all  its  circumstances, 
must  be  held  to  be  confined  to  the  human  descent 
of  the  Messiah,  which  alone  could  be  matter  of 
dynastic  significance  to  David,  though  in  his  pro 
phetic  character  he  doubtless  well  understood  that 
the  higher  truth  of  the  Messiah's  divinity  was 
included.  ^  Sonship 

and  the  roy- 

The  second  and  seventy-second  Psalms  (both  of  aityofthe 
them  David's  own)  corroborate  and  illustrate  this  subject  of  the 
view,  since  they  were  in  all  probability  written  after, 


38 


DOCTRINE  OF  THE  SONSHIPS  TESTED 


CHAP.  iv.  and  in  consequence  of,  this  promise  of  Nathan  to 
Heb.  i.  4-14.  David.  In  both,  the  royalty  of  the  Messiah  is  the 
great  theme  of  prophetic  description ;  and  in  both, 
also,  the  Sonship  is  made  prominent.  Hence 
these  Psalms  are  to  be  viewed  as  exponents  of 
the  promise  in  these  two  great  leading  features, 
and  derive  an  additional  interest  when  placed 
together  in  this  light.  The  Son,  in  the  quotation 
(from  the  second  Psalm),  is  the  Son  of  David  and 
the  Son  of  God.  He  is  the  Lord's  Anointed, 
agreeably  to  the  theocratic  type,  and  is  therefore 
said  to  be  seated  '  on  the  Holy  Hill  of  Zion.'  He 
is  represented  as  the  oracle  of  the  divine  '  decree,' 
which  respects  the  nature  and  extent  of  His  rule. 
The  terms  of  it  correspond  with  the  theocratic 
type  :  He  has  the  heathen  for  His  inheritance.  He 
rules  with  a  rod  of  iron,  i.e.  over  rebel  subjects, 
and  maintains  His  dominion  with  full  integrity 
against  every  opposing  confederation.  The  inter 
pretation  of  this  'decree,'  by  the  Son  Himself, 
seems  obviously  to  refer  to  the  fulfilment  of  the 
promise,  '  I  will  be  to  Him  a  Father,  and  He  shall 
be  to  me  a  Son.'  This  promise  was  ratified  to 
Christ  personally,  as  is  proved  by  the  evangelical 
history,  by  the  genealogies,  by  the  angelic  message, 
and  by  a  voice  from  heaven.  On  this  ground, 
therefore,  He  prefers  His  claim  to  dominion  under 
the  beautiful  form  of  a  request  made  by  a  son  to  a 
father,  at  that  father's  own  instance :  c  Ask  of  me, 
and  I  shall  give  Thee  the  heathen  for  Thine  inheri 
tance.'1  The  allusion  found  in  Acts  iv.  25  to 

1  The  72d  Psalm  runs   in  the  same  strain.      The  King  is  there 
described  as  the  King's  Son,  i.e.  the  Son  of  David,  to  denote  that> 
He  is  the  personage  to  be  identified  in  the  fulfilment  of  the  prophecy. 
Here,  too,  the  human  side  of  the  Messiah's  person  is  the  one  ex- 


The  Gospels 
illustrate  the 
filial  relation 
of  Christ's 
humanity. 


BY  THE  OLD  TESTAMENT  SCRIPTURES.  39 

the  second  Psalm,  is  of  importance  to  our  purpose    CHAP.  iv. 
chiefly  for  the  prominence  given  to  its  Messianic   Heb.  i.  4-14. 
structure  by  the  Apostles.      The  doctrine  of  the 
divine  Sonship  seems  entirely  passed  over,   as  if 
taken  for  granted ;  while  the  Christship  of  Jesus  is 
dwelt  upon  with  intense  emphasis.      Throughout 
He  is  paralleled  with  David  in  his  royalty,  and  in 
his  servant-like  attributes.1 

4  And  again,  when  He  bringeth  in  the  first- 
begotten  into  the  world,  He  saith,  And  let  all  the 
angels  of  God  worship  Him.' 

The   quotation  taken  from  the  ninety-seventh  First-begotten 

^  .  spoken  of  the 

Psalm  is  prefaced  by  the  sentence  in  which  the  human  s<m- 

ship. 

slusively  presented,  while  His  empire  is  put  before  us  as  a  scene 
D£  world-wide  peacefulness,  holiness,  and  love.  *  The  whole  earth 
is  filled  with  His  glory,'  i.e.  with  the  glory  of  the  God  of  Israel, 
when  these  wonderful  things  are  brought  to  pass  in  the  perfected 
empire  of  the  Messiah. 

Isaiah  the  9th  chapter,  6th  and  7th  verses,  may  be  collated  with 
these  testimonies,  and  in  confirmation  of  this  doctrine  of  the  Sonship. 
Verse  6  is  very  striking  in  this  direction :  '  Unto  us  a  child  is  born,' 
etc.  The  words  obviously  refer  to  the  great  promise  to  David,  and  to 
the  humanity  of  the  Son  as  a  descendant  of  his  royal  house ;  while 
the  titles  and  prerogatives  ascribed  to  Him  in  the  same  breath  are 
descriptive  of  the  Sonship  in  the  higher  sense :  '  Wonderful,'  '  Coun 
sellor,'  '  The  mighty  God,'  '  The  everlasting  Father,'  '  The  Prince  of 
Peace.'  The  word  Father  is  not  here  expressive  of  personality,  any 
more  than  '  Prince  of  Peace ; '  it  is  an  official  title,  probably  referring 
to  that  diviner  geniture  of  human  nature  beyond  that  of  Adam,  of 
which  He  is  the  author  in  His  incarnate  character. 

Verse  7  :  '  Of  the  increase  of  His  government  and  peace  there  shall 
be  no  end,  upon  the  throne  of  David,'  is  a  compendium  of  the  two 
Psalms  before  quoted,  and  is  chiefly  remarkable  for  the  introduction 
of  the  clause  '  the  throne  of  David,'  and  its  application  by  the  Angel 
to  Jesus  (Luke  i.  32),  in  anticipation  of  His  birth,  as  the  Son  of 
God.  It  further  shows  how  the  sceptre  of  the  Messiah  over  all  nations 
is  continually  coupled  with  His  Sonship  from  David,  and  the  theocratic 
type  exhibited  by  David  as  His  sire.  The  whole  doctrine  is  in  truth 
given  us  by  the  Lord  Himself ,  at  the  close  of  the  Apocalypse  :  '  I  am 
the  root  and  the  offspring  of  David,  the  bright  and  morning  star.' 

1  (Acts  ch.  iv.)  Hals  is  the  term  applied  to  Christ  and  to  David 
in  the  same  paragraph — verses  25,  27,  and  30.  As  noils  cannot 


40 


DOCTRINE  OF  THE  SONSHIPS  TESTED 


CHAP.  iv.  term  *  first-begotten '  occurs ;  it  is  also  entirely 
Heb.  i.  4-14.  Messianic,  as  its  structure  shows.  Hence  ( first- 
begotten  '  or  TTpwroroKo^  though  unquestionably  used 
(Col.  i.  15)  for  the  divine  Sonship  of  Christ,  and  as 
equivalent  to  el^v  or  povoyevrj^  is  elsewhere  used 
to  signify  the  humanity  also,  or  the  Incarnate 
Son.  It  is  so  in  the  very  same  paragraph  :  '  Who  is 
the  beginning,  the  first-born  from  the  dead,' — equi 
valent  to  TTptoToroKos  (ver.  18).  He  is  the  '  first- 
begotten'  as  '  brought  into  the  world,'  and  in  His 
incarnate  and  Messianic  state  entitled  to  universal 
homage.1 

Elohim— mi-        The  expression,  f  Let  all  the  angels  of  God  worship 
angels  or  men.  Him/  put  as  the  interpretation  of  l  worship  Him,  all 
ye  gods,'  is  not  intended  to  exhaust  its  meaning, 
but  as  setting  forth  that  view  of  the  Son's  pre 
rogatives  most  in  harmony  with  the  argument  of 

be  taken  in  its  primary  sense,  'child,'  in  reference  to  David,  neither 
can  it  be  so  taken  in  reference  to  Jesus,  but  in  its  secondary  sense, 
servant — 'Thy  holy  servant  Jesus.'  In  this  rendering  we  see  the 
current  of  apostolic  thought  ran  towards  the  office,  not  the  person 
of  Christ ;  for  wot??,  rendered  servant,  is  equivalent  to  Anointed  or 
Christ,  and  this  again  to  royalty,  or  the  theocratic  headship;  of  which 
David  was  the  type.  Thus,  our  Lord  is  7r#7f,  or  servant,  even  in  His 
glorified  supremacy ;  for  He  is  still  but  a  viceroy,  though  of  ineffable 
prerogatives,  because  His  humanity  is  joined  to  and  one  with  His 
divinity  as  the  Son. 

1  Indeed,  the  term  '  first-born '  or  '  first-begotten '  is  capable  of  yet 
•wider  illustration,  taken  from  earlier  Old  Testament  examples.  It  is 
applied,  for  instance,  to  the  Hebrew  nation,  Exodus  iv.  22  :  '  Thus 
saith  the  Lord,  Israel  is  my  son,  even  my  first-born  ; '  and  probably 
also  accounts  for  the  name  of  Israel,  first  applied  to  the  patriarch 
himself,  and  afterwards  to  the  people,  his  descendants.  '  Israel,  the 
prince  of  God,'  imports  the  mystic  name  of  primogeniture  to  be  un 
folded  in  the  covenant  eminence  of  his  posterity,  and  finally  in  the 
person  of  Jesus  Christ,  and  His  spiritual  seed,  the  Church.  This  view 
accounts  for  the  quotation  by  Matthew  (ch.  ii.  15)  of  the  prophecy  of 
Hosea,  as  fulfilled  by  the  return  of  the  infant  Christ  out  of  Egypt : 
'  Out  of  Egypt  have  I  called  my  Son,'  i.e.  my  first-born,  mine  Israel 
or  divine  prince.  If  the  historical  allusion  to  the  Israelites  and  the 


BY  THE  OLD  TESTAMENT  SCKIPTUEES.  41 

these  chapters.  The  only  difficulty  lies  in  the  CHAP,  iv. 
form  of  the  quotation.  It  is  taken  from  the  Heb.  1 4-14. 
Septuagint,  and  may  have  accorded  with  the  text 
as  it  then  stood — or,  if  not,  in  an  equivalent  render 
ing  of  '  all  ye  gods ' — since  Elohim  is  here  used  as 
in  another  Psalm,  quoted  by  our  Lord,  to  signify 
ruling  powers  or  magistrates.  Or  the  words  may 
be  understood  as  comprising  '  the  powers  of  the 
world  to  come/  and  in  this  wide  sense  gods  or 
Elohim  include  angels ;  indeed,  the  reference  here 
may  be  to  angels  rather  than  to  men,  both  because 
the  argument  requires  it,  and  because  that  homage 
due  from  men  to  Christ  was  long  to  be  deferred, 
while  that  of  angels  was  promptly  tendered. 

1  And  of  the  angels  He  saith,  Who  maketh  His 
angels  spirits,1  and  His  ministers  a  flame  of  fire. 
But  unto  the  Son  He  saith,  Thy  throne,  0  God, 
is  for  ever  and  ever:  a  sceptre  of  righteousness 
is  the  sceptre  of  Thy  kingdom.  Thou  hast  loved 
righteousness,  and  hated  iniquity;  therefore  God, 
even  Thy  God,  hath  anointed  Thee  with  the  oil 
of  gladness  above  Thy  fellows/ 

These  quotations  from  Psalm  xlv.,  whilst  they  Antithesis  be- 
are  remarkable  for  the  explicitness  of  their  state- 
ment  respecting  the  divine  and  human  natures  of 

reignty  as  the 

Exodus  be  anything  more  than  a  fancy  in  respect  to  the  history  of 
Christ,  the  relation  on  which  the  fulfilment  is  made  to  depend  must 
be  in  substance  what  is  now  stated,  i.e.  the  Sonship  or  first-born 
dignity  of  the  Hebrew  nation  was  really  a  type  of  the  first-born 
dignity  of  the  most  illustrious  of  its  sons  in  after  times.  Its  fortunes 
were,  therefore,  in  some  sense  made  to  foreshadow  those  of  the  personal 
Christ,  as  the  true  Israel  or  Prince  of  God,  the  first-born  among 
many  brethren. 

1  Pneumata  should  not  have  been  rendered  'spirits,'  but  winds ;  for 
it  is  not  the  nature  of  angels  which  is  described  as  being  spiritual, 
but  their  agency.  They  are  not  made  spirits  in  the  sense  of  being 


42 


DOCTRINE  OF  THE  SONSHIPS  TESTED 


CHAP.  iv.  the  Messiah,  are  equally  so  for  the  antithesis  which 
eb.  i.  4-14.  they  exhibit  between  the  original  sovereignty  of 
the  Son  as  God,  and  the  Mediatorial  sovereignty 
which  belongs  to  Him  as  the  God-man.  The 
eternity  and  righteousness  ascribed  to  His  govern 
ment  are  declaratory  of  His  essential  prerogatives. 
They  pertain  to  His  dominion  as  it  shall  subsist 
when  His  Mediatorial  empire  shall  have  ceased, 
since  His  Mediatorial  rule  is  but  a  section  of  His 
essential  rule,  and  a  measure  for  carrying  it  out  to 
its  final  consummation.1 

'The  oil  of  gladness'  signifies  the  joy  of  that 
power  to  which  He  is  elevated  as  the  reward  of 
His  humiliation  and  sufferings.  The  phrase,  i  above 
Thy  fellows,'  also  clearly  denotes  His  human  or 
world  sovereignty,  and  that  its  administration  is 
especially  directed  to  the  enforcement  of  the  love 
of  righteousness  and  hatred  of  iniquity,  on  which 
His  dominion  is  founded.  His  i straight  rod'  or 
'  sceptre  of  righteousness '  is  emphatically  brought 
out  in  the  history  of  His  kingdom. 

A  steady  regard  to  the  argument  of  the  chapter, 
and  in  this  quotation  to  the  twofold  view  of  the 

created  spirits,  but  in  their  appointments  or  modes  of  service.  In 
this  they  are  like  the  winds :  these  are  great  powers  in  nature,  and 
angels  are  great  powers  in  the  economy  of  the  universe.  Our  Lord 
even  compares  the  agency  of  the  Holy  Spirit  to  the  wind ;  it  cannot, 
therefore,  be  considered  as  beneath  the  dignity  of  the  Angelic  Ministry 
to  illustrate  it  in  a  similar  way.  The  verse  winds  up  with  a  second 
illustration,  in  exact  keeping  with  it:  'His  ministers  a  flame  of  fire,' 
or  rather  lightning ;  another  wonderful  agent  in  the  kingdom  of  nature, 
and  fitted  to  impress  us  with  the  awful  energy  and  inconceivable 
celerity  of  angelic  action. 

1  Quo;  cannot  be  taken  in  the  lower  sense,  as  some  have  supposed  ; 
nor  does  the  kindred  reading,  'God  is  Thy  throne,'  avoid  the  difficulty, 
because  the  same  attributes  of  dominion  are  ascribed  to  the  Being 
whose  throne  God  is  said  to  be,  as  to  God,  i.e.  He  must  wield  the 
sceptre  of  God,  and  therefore,  in  the  nature  of  things,  must  be  God. 


Key  to  the 
statements  in 
the  45th 
Psalm. 


BY  THE  OLD  TESTAMENT  SCRIPTURES.  43 

Messiah  as  the  Son  and  the  Mediator,  removes  all  CHAP.  iv. 
ambiguity  from  the  doctrine  of  the  Psalm,  and  the  Heb.  i.  4-14. 
difficulty  which  would  otherwise  arise  from  the 
recognition  of  one  Being  as  God  in  the  beginning 
of  the  paragraph  ('  Thy  throne,  0  God,  is  for  ever 
and  ever'),  and  the  recognition  of  another  Being 
as  God  ('Therefore  God,  even  thy  God,'  etc.)  in  the 
latter  part.  From  this  difficulty  the  New  Testament 
doctrine  alone  can  extricate  us,  which  ascribes  an 
essential  divinity  to  the  Son,  with  the  personal 
supremacy  of  the  Father. 

4  And,  Thou,  Lord,  in  the  beginning  hast  laid 
the  foundation  of  the  earth ;  and  the  heavens  are 
the  works  of  Thine  hands  :  they  shall  perish ;  but 
Thou  remainest;  and  they  all  shall  wax  old  as 
doth  a  garment ;  and  as  a  vesture  shalt  Thou  fold 
them  up,  and  they  shall  be  changed:  but  Thou 
art  the  same,  and  Thy  years  shall  not  fail.' 

We  may  preface  this  quotation  from  the  102d  Likewise  to 
Psalm  by  supplying  an  ellipsis,  which  harmonizes  it 
with  preceding  introductory  formulas:  cHe  saith.' 
Moreover,  this  quotation,  like  the  former,  is  a 
Septuagint  rendering  of  the  Hebrew,  which  in 
this,  as  in  many  other  instances,  slightly  differs 
from  the  strict  rendering  of  the  existing  text. 
Kvpie  is  evidently  thrown  into  verse  10  of  the 
Epistle,  from  verse  24  of  the  Psalm,  where  it 
stands,  i  0  my  God.'  The  Being  addressed  in  the 
Psalm  is  the  Lord,  and  also  God,  though  here 
rendered  by  Kvpios.  On  the  authority  of  the 
Epistle,  as  well  as  from  the  structure  of  the  Psalm, 
the  Being  so  designated  is  the  Son.  To  Him 
eternity  is  ascribed — 'Thy  years  are  throughout 
all  generations;'  to  Him  also  creation  is  ascribed 


DOCTRINE  OF  THE  SONSHIPS  TESTED 


CHAP.  iv.  (agreeably  to  the  second  verse  of  the  Epistle),  and 
Heb.  i.  4-14.  sovereignty  over  human  life — 'Take  me  not  away 
in  the  midst  of  my  days.'  These  are  all  ascriptions 
to  the  Son  as  divine ;  but  verse  twelve  follows  the 
usual  order  of  transition  from  the  higher  to  the 
lower  nature  of  the  Son,  and  also  is  explicit  as  to 
His  Mediatorial  supremacy :  '  As  a  vesture  shalt 
Thou  change  them,  and  they  shall  be  changed.' 
The  Son  creates  as  God,  but  He  changes  and 
re-fashions  as  the  God-man.  His  eternity  is  re 
affirmed  in  both  natures  after  the  upshot  of  these 
great  works:  'But  Thou  art  the  same,  and  Thy 
years  shall  have  no  end,'  obviously  rendered  in  the 
closing  chapter  of  the  Epistle,  'Jesus  Christ,  the 
same  yesterday,  and  to-day,  and  for  ever.'1 

4  But  to  which  of  the  angels  said  He  at  any 
time,  Sit  on  my  right  hand,  until  I  make  thine 
enemies  thy  footstool  ?  ' 
David  fully          This  verse  contains  the  quotation  from  Psalm 

alive  to  the  . 

divinity  of  the  ex.,  and  is  remarkable  on  two  accounts:  It  is, 
first,  David's  own  testimony  to  the  Mediatorial 
supremacy  of  the  Messiah,  and  to  the  breadth  of 
David's  prophetic  knowledge  of  this  mystery,  yet 
still  connecting  these  glories  of  the  divine  Son 
with  the  fleshly  descent  from  himself.  It  thus 
stands  remarkably  in  proof  of  the  high  spiritual 
views  concerning  the  Messiah  propagated  by  the 

1  The  statements  in  this  Psalm  relating  to  Jewish  restoration, 
include  far  more  than  the  re-edification  of  Jerusalem  and  its  Temple, 
since  in  these  'the  Lord  is  said  to  appear  in  His  glory,' — a  very 
pregnant  evangelical  intimation.  Besides,  the  author  of  the  Psalm 
declares  his  writing  to  be  for  another  age  than  his  own  (v.  18),  and 
to  foretell  the  creation  of  a  people  for  the  praise  of  the  Lord,  which 
cannot  be  interpreted  but  of  the  Christian  Church.  Neither  can  the 
remarkable  description  of  restorative  agency  in  the  following  verses 
be  ascribed  to  any  but  the  Lord  Christ. 


BY  THE  OLD  TESTAMENT  SCRIPTURES.  45 

prophets   from  the  earliest   times,  and   is   to   be    CHAP.  iv. 
regarded  in  the   light  of  a   protest   against    the   Heb.  i.  4-14. 
secular  and  merely  rational  views  of  Him  subse 
quently  prevalent,  which  formed  the  great  barrier 
to   our   Lord's   acceptance   by   the    Jews   of  His 
own  age. 

Secondly,  this  quotation  is  remarkable  for  the 
use  which  our  Lord  Himself  made  of  it  in  His  last 
discourses  in  the  Temple,  in  which  He  endeavoured 
to  recall  the  Jews  to  the  true  prophetic  faith,  very  ps.  ex.  i. 
especially  David's  own  faith,  respecting  the  Messiah,  Siatt  xSi.  44. 
so  strikingly  opposed  to  the  low  humanitarian  con 
ceptions  of  Him  then  entertained  by  His  enemies, 
who,  it  seems,  only  retained  the  half,  and  that  the 
lesser  half,  of  the  ancient  faith.     They  held  the  The  humanity 
humanity,  but  had  lost  the  divinity  of  the  Messiah;  by  th? Jews' 
and  that  lowered  personal  view  of  Him  was  accom-  ch^st.  &ys 
panied   of  necessity  by  a   lowered   view   of  His 
prerogatives.     His  Mediatorial  supremacy  was  lost 
sight  of,   as  the  Lord  at  God's  right  hand,  and 
He  was  simply  'Messiah  the  Prince,'  or  national 
potentate,  the  glory  of  Israel,  and  the  Lord  of  the 
nations,  but  not  of  the  universe.      In  this  view, 
however,  it  was  impossible  He  should  be  David's 
Lord,  while  only  David's  Son.     If  the  divinity  be 
lost  sight  of,  the  force  of  the  challenge  is  no  longer 
apparent :   '  To  which  of  the  angels  said  He  at  any 
time,'  as  unto  this  Lord,  '  Sit  thou   at  my  right 
hand,  until  I  make  thine  enemies  thy  footstool  ?' 

4  Are  they  not  all  ministering  spirits,  sent  forth  to 
minister  for  them  who  shall  be  heirs  of  salvation  ?  ' 

This  verse,  while  it  registers  the  answer  to  this  Nature  of  the 

,  ,  .  ,  angelic  mini- 

question  by  asking  another,  opens  to  us  a  glorious  stry  since  the 
view  of  the  Angelic  Ministry.     Denying  them  any-     sc< 


46  SONSHIPS  DOCTRINE  IN  THE  OLD  TESTAMENT. 

CHAP.  iv.  thing  like  parity  with  Christ  in  power,  and  even 
Heb.  i.  4-14.  keeping  out  of  sight  their  manifold  orders  and  pre 
rogatives,  as  intimated  in  the  Scriptures  of  both 
Testaments,  yet  the  ministry  here  accorded  to 
them  is  probably  the  most  exalted  which  their 
history  developes,  and  one  which,  in  a  pre-eminent 
degree,  conduces  to  their  own  blessedness.  i  They 
are  all  ministering  (or  liturgical)  spirits.'  As  pre 
viously  explained  (see  ver.  7),  this  character  in 
cludes  them  all ;  but,  in  this  verse,  a  special  direc 
tion  of  their  energies  to  the  welfare  of  the  Church 
and  the  salvation  of  individuals  is  intimated.  In 
the  question,  'Are  they  not  all  ministering  spirits?' 
the  statement  implied,  that  angels  are  promoted  in 
their  ministry  as  related  to  the  heirs  of  salvation, 
so  far  from  showing  that  they  have  any  fellowship 
with  Christ  in  the  prerogatives  of  His  kingdom, 
tends  in  the  other  direction,  viz.  to  show  that 
their  promotion  is  the  effect  of  their  subjection  to 
Him  as  the  Lord  at  God's  right  hand. 


NOTE  ON  THE  AGENCY  OF  ANGELS  UNDER  THE  LAW.        47 

NOTE. 


NOTE  ON  THE  AGENCY  OF  THE  ANGELS 
UNDEK  THE  LAW. 

[For  the  sake  of  preserving  the  order  of  the  Epistle  unimpaired, 
the  Exposition  of  the  first  four  verses  of  the  Second  Chapter  is  in 
serted  here, — though,  as  the  reader  will  not  fail  to  observe,  it  has 
no  connection  with  the  argument  of  the  chapters  between  which  it  is 
placed.— EDS.] 

'  Therefore  we  ought  to  give  the  more  earnest  heed  to 
the  things  which  we  have  heard,  lest  at  any  time  we 
should  let  them  slip.  Eor  if  the  word  spoken  by  angels 
was  stedfast,  and  every  transgression  and  disobedience  re 
ceived  a  just  recompense  of  reward;  how  shall  we  escape, 
if  we  neglect  so  great  salvation;  which  at  the  first  began 
to  be  spoken  by  the  Lord,  and  was  confirmed  unto  us  by 
them  that  heard  Him;  God  also  bearing  them  witness, 
both  with  signs  and  wonders,  and  with  divers  miracles, 
and  gifts  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  according  to  His  own  will  ? ' 

The  great  peculiarity  to  be  marked  in  these  verses  lies 
in  the  relation  assigned  to  the  angels  in  the  delivery  and 
administration  of  the  lawT.  This  is  contrasted  with  the 
sole  administrative  supremacy  of  the  dispensation  of  the 
gospel  ascribed  to  Christ.  On  this  distinction  hinges  the 
weighty  exhortation  of  the  opening  verse :  '  Therefore  we 
ought  to  give  the  more  earnest  heed/  etc.  This  same  verse 
intimates  a  parallel  not  fanciful,  but  real,  between  the  first 
generation  of  Christians,  and  the  generation  of  Israelites 
called  to  witness  the  scenes  of  Sinai  and  the  wilderness. 
Both  are  represented  as  spectators  and  listeners,  with 
respect  to  an  order  of  things,  wonderful  and  peculiar,  as 
distinguished  by  responsibility,  as  it  was  by  privileges. 
In  truth,  we  may  regard  the  concluding  section  of  chapter 
twelve  as  here  distinctly  pre-intimated  :  '  Ye  are  not  come 
unto  the  mount  that  might  be  touched,  but  unto  Mount 
Zion.'  The  things  described  in  this  language  mark  the 
two  great  epochs  of  revelation,  the  law  and  the  gospel — 
the  one  given  from  Mount  Sinai,  the  other  from  Mount 
Zion.  It  is  in  direct  reference  to  these  two  epochs,  and 
the  relations  of  contemporary  people  to  each,  that  the 


48        NOTE  ON  THE  AGENCY  OF  ANGELS  UNDER  THE  LAW. 

NOTE.  phrase  is  most  forcible,  'lest  at  any  time  we  should  let 
"—  _  them  slip/ — i.e.  suffer  the  impression  of  the  great  evan 
gelical  verities  to  fade  away,  thereby  exposing  its  disciples 
to  the  danger  of  an  open  apostasy,  as  was  the  case  with 
the  Israelites  in  the  matter  of  the  golden  calf.  If  this 
criminality  and  peril  were  something  strange  and  terrible, 
theirs  must  needs  be  much  more  aggravated  who  should 
fall  away  from  the  word  spoken  by  the  Lord,  or  by  the 
men  supernaturally  attested  to  be  His  emissaries  to  the 
world.  This  is  the  more  apparent,  when  it  is  remembered 
that  not  law  and  polity,  but  SALVATION,  was  the  glorious 
burden  of  the  Christ  and  His  Apostles.  As  it  was  a  gift  He 
only  could  bestow,  so  was  it  a  doctrine  which  He  only 
could  broach. 

This  is  the  first  note  of  pre-eminence  in  the  gospel 
above  the  law.  A  second  follows :  '  God  also  bearing 
them  witness;' — the  mission  of  the  Son  was  throughout 
attested  by  the  Father,  both  during  His  human  history 
and  by  the  descent  of  the  Holy  Ghost  upon  His  Apostles, 
in  token  of  His  enthronement  and  glory.  A  third  com 
pletes  these  notes  of  pre-eminence,  viz.  the  gifts  of  the 
Holy  Ghost,  including  the  external  and  authenticating 
miracles  of  His  power,  and  the  internal,  spiritual,  and 
saving  operations  of  His  presence.  The  gospel,  in  respect 
therefore  to  the  mode  in  which  it  was  given,  stands  im 
measurably  higher  than  the  law. 

In  contrast  with  this,  we  have  '  the  law  '  introduced  as 
'  the  word  spoken  by  angels,' — '  stedfast,'  as  denoting  that 
it  was  a  rescript  of  divine  authority,  and  that  it  had  the 
force  of  divine  law  to  which  sanctions  were  annexed  of 
adequate  breadth  and  precision.  This  is  descriptive  of 
law  as  woven  into  a  polity,  and  as  a  rule  of  government. 

But  why  is  it  described  as  '  the  word  spoken  by  angels  ? ' 
Does  this  apply  to  the  Decalogue,  or  merely  to  the  sub 
ordinate  parts  of  the  law  ?  It  is  somewhat  remarkable 
that  the  ministry  of  angels  in  the  delivery  of  the  law  is 
altogether  passed  over  in  the  history  of  that  event,  and  that 
we  are  indebted  for  our  information  on  this  point  to  the  pro 
phetic  Scriptures  and  to  the  New  Testament :  see  especially 
Ps.  Ixviii.  17;  Acts  vii.  53;  Gal.  iii.  19. 


NOTE  ON  THE  AGENCY  OF  ANGELS  UNDER  THE  LAW.        49 

It  is  also  remarkable  that  the  same  word  is  employed  in  NOTE, 
both  passages,  8iaraye!$,  to  denote  the  ministry  of  angels  H  ^~1  _4 
on  this  occasion.  From  this,  it  may  at  least  be  gathered 
that  whatever  may  have  been  the  precise  nature  of  that 
ministry,  this  term  may  be  held  to  describe  it  appropriately, 
ind  not  to  denote,  as  has  been  supposed,  the  order  or  dis 
position  of  the  angels  themselves.  To  receive  the  law 
through  ranks  of  angels  conveys  no  intelligible  idea  of 
:heir  office  at  all,  whereas  8iarayei$  is  very  suggestive  of 
i$ome  intermediate  action  of  an  angelic  sort,  as  between 
3k)d  and  Moses,  to  whom  the  law  was  given.  It  seems, 
'therefore,  pertinent  to  assume  that  the  law,  in  the  form 
:.n  which  Moses  delivered  it,  was  really  disposed,  arranged, 
and  given  by  angels.  In  this  sense,  the  law  was  the  work 
of  angels;  in  some  mysterious  manner,  really  and -truly 
indited  by  them,  in  converse  with  the  mind  of  Moses. 

This  is  not  a  singular  doctrine,  however :  we  meet  with 
it  in  the  Prophets,  where  the  angels  are  represented  in  a 
special  sense  as  the  guardians  of  the  Hebrew  nation.  One 
of  them  is  called  Michael  your  Prince;  and  the  opening 
chapters  in  Zechariah  are  particularly  suggestive  on  this 
point.  There  they  are  represented  as  keeping  vigils  over 
the  glorious  land,  as  fraying  away  the  horns  of  the  Gentiles, 
e^nd  as  being  profoundly  concerned  in  the  restoration  of 
Jerusalem.  Likewise,  the  Apocalypse  is  said  to  have  been 
*  sent  and  signified '  by  an  angel  of  Christ  to  '  His  servant 
John.'  This  seems  to  have  been  so  current  a  doctrine 
among  the  Jews,  that  almost  every  supernatural  communi 
cation  was  referred  to  an  angel.  Thus,  when  the  voice 
came  from  heaven,  in  answer  to  our  Lord's  '  Father,  glorify 
Thy  name,'  some  of  the  people  said, '  An  angel  spake  unto 
Him;'  and  again,  when  the  dispute  arose  between  the 
Pharisees  and  Sadducees,  when  Paul  was  arraigned  before 
them,  the  Pharisees  said,  '  If  an  angel  hath  spoken  to  him, 
let  us  not  fight  against  God/ 

But,  whilst  it  is  undoubtedly  a  true  doctrine  that  the 
law  was  '  ordained  by  angels,'  it  may  be  questioned  whether 
this  includes  the  law  proper — i.e.  the  Decalogue.  The 
herald  trumpet  which  preceded  it  was  undoubtedly  angelic, 
but  the  utterances  which  followed  were  as  undoubtedly 

D 


50 


NOTE  ON  THE  AGENCY  OF  ANGELS  UNDER  THE  LAW. 


NOTE.        the  words  of  God  Himself.     Indeed,  the  preface  to  them 
Heb.  ii.  1-4.    attests  as  much :  '  God  spake  these  words ; '  they  are  re 
ferred  to  as  distinguished  by  this  fact  from  every  other 
Hos.  viii.  12.    portion  of  the  law;  and  again,  in  Hosea,  God  identifies  the 
Decalogue  as  the  '  great  things '  of  His  law  which  He  gave 
to  them. 

Moreover,  the  description  given  of  the  '  word  spoken  by 
angels '  tells  in  the  same  direction,  since  it  refers  to  a  mul 
titude  of  ordinances  to  the  transgression  of  which  temporal 
punishments  were  awarded.  This  looks  more  like  a  refer 
ence  to  the  details  of  the  law, — not  to  add  that  the  penalties 
attaching  to  the  moral  law,  the  Decalogue,  were  of  a  far 
more  terrible  order,  so  that  St.  Paul  calls  it l  the  ministra 
tion  of  death/  and,  in  another  place,  '  that  as  many  as  were 
of  the  works  of  the  law  were  under  the  curse,'  both  which 
statements  regard  the  Decalogue,  and  not  the  ceremonial 
law. 


NOTE  ON  THE  PAULINE  AUTHORSHIP.  51 


NOTE  ON  THE  PAULINE  AUTHORSHIP. 

The  comparison  drawn  out  between  Christ  and  the 
angels  in  the  Epistle  to  the  Hebrews,  ch.  ii.  vers.  7,  8,  and 
9,  and  the  conclusions  established  by  it,  are  strong  inci 
dental  confirmations  of  its  Pauline  Authorship,  since  we 
gather  from  passages  in  the  Epistles  to  the  Corinthians, 
Ephesians,  and  Philippians,  that  this  was  a  favourite  topic 
with  St.  Paul.  Eor  instance,  the  phrase  found  in  the  8th 
Psalm,  '  For  He  hath  put  all  things  under  His  feet,'  occurs, 
Eph.  i.  21,  22,  in  connection  with  a  train  of  thought  strik 
ingly  similar:  Tar  above  all  principality,  and  power,  and 
might,  and  dominion,  and  every  name  that  is  named,  not 
only  in  this  world,  but  in  that  which  is  to  come;  and  hath 
put  all  things  under  His  feet,  and  gave  Him  to  be  the  head 
over  all  things  to  the  Church.'  What  is  this  but  another 
rendering  of  the  verses  immediately  before  us  ?  So,  in 
1  Cor.  xv.  27,  the  same  passage  recurs:  <  And  hath  put  all 
things  under  His  feet;'  and  the  same  style  of  comment 
obtains  there,  which  we  observe  here;  for  when  it  is  said, 
'All  things  are  put  under  Him,  it  is  manifest  that  He 
is  excepted  who  did  put  all  things  under  Him/  The 
collation  of  these  passages  goes  far  to  establish  the  common 
authorship  of  these  Epistles.  The  universal  supremacy  of 
the  Mediator  is,  in  them  all,  the  doctrine  asserted  and 
argued  from  this  self-same  Scripture  in  a  manner  thoroughly 
indicative  of  a  plenary  illumination  on  the  sense  of  this 
prophecy.  This  remark  is  especially  true  with  respect  to 
the  rendering  of  the  phrase,  'all  things  under  His  feet/ 
which,  in  the  Hebrews,  is  extended  to  signify  an  universe 
dominion  over  the  creatures,  and,  in  the  Epistle  to  the 
Corinthians,  is  again  so  absolutely  construed  as  to  include 
all  beings  save  God  Himself.  It  is  difficult  to  conceive 
that  this  phrase  could  have  been  so  treated,  but  by  the 
same  mind. 

This  manner  of  dealing  with  prophecy  itself  implies  a 
plenary  inspiration;  for  while  undoubtedly  the  Psalm  is,  on 
its  own  showing,  Messianic,  the  interpretations  thrown  in 
of  particular  passages,  as  in  this  and  the  following  verses, 


NOTE. 

Heb.  ii.  7-1 


52  NOTE  ON  THE  PAULINE  AUTHORSHIP. 

NOTE.  cannot  be  said  to  arise  from  the  mere  laws  of  exegesis. 
Heb  ii  7-9  ^ne7  are  rather  light  brought  to  the  passages  than  light 
arising  out  of  them,  and  imply  an  authority  in  the  breadth 
and  specialities  of  their  interpretation  legitimate  only  in 
an  inspired  man.  True,  the  elevation  of  man  by  the  sway 
of  the  Messiah  over  the  earth  is  patent  enough  from  the 
structure  of  the  Psalm ;  but  this  would  not  justify  us  in 
rendering  the  phrase,  '  all  things  under  His  feet/  as  de 
claratory  of  an  universe  rather  than  of  a  world  dominion 
merely,  still  less  would  it  justify  us  in  interpreting  this 
elevation  of  manhood  by  the  Messiah  in  His  own  Person, 
rather  than  by  His  rule  over  men,  least  of  all,  in  de 
scribing  this  rule  as  originating  in  the  atonement,  and 
as  consisting  in  its  administration.  These  addenda  are, 
assuredly,  of  apostolic  inspiration,  and  are  among  the  last 
and  brightest  parts  of  the  testimony  of  Christ. 


CHAPTER  Y. 

DOCTKINE  OF  THE  SONSHIPS  TESTED  BY  AN  EXAMINA 
TION  OF  THE  OLD  TESTAMENT  SCRIPTUKES  QUOTED 

IN  THE  EPISTLE. 

HEB.  n.  5-9. 

THE  subject  of  Messiah's  empire  is  continued  in  the 
second  chapter,  beginning  at  the  fifth  verse.  i  For 
unto  the  angels  hath  He  not  put  in  subjection  the 
world  to  come,  whereof  we  speak.' 

It  stands  as  a  preface  to  the  quotation  from  the 
8th  Psalm,  and  discloses  to  us  particularly  the 
world  dominion  of  Christ.  After  all  discussion  as 
to  the  meaning  of  this  phrase,  l  the  world  to  come/ 
nothing  is  really  plainer  than  that  it  is  expressive 
of  the  breadth  and  prospectiveness  of  the  God- 
man's  dominion.  No  other  meaning  can  consist 
ently  be  attached  to  the  words,  ol/cevfj&n)  /^eXXoi/o-a, 
than  the  human  world,  or  the  world  of  the  future.  The  <  world  to 
The  entire  strain  of  previous  quotation,  as  well  as  " 


argument,  settles  this.  the  future. 

Throughout  all  the   prophecies  of  a  Messianic 
order,    the   one    doctrine   of   world    rule    is   sin-  Christ's  world 
gularly  paramount.      The  higher  doctrine  of  uni- 
verse  rule  is  perhaps  scarcely  more  than  vaguely 
intimated,  and  may  be  said  to  rest  almost  entirely  mated. 
on  New  Testament   authority;    but   as   to   world 
rule,   this   testimony  of  Jesus   is  the  very  spirit 


54  DOCTRINE  OF  THE  SONSHIPS  TESTED 

CHAP.  v.  of  prophecy.  The  phrase,  '  world  to  come/  is 
Heb.  u.  5-9.  undoubtedly  meant  to  divide  the  world  into  two 
epochs — the  pre-Messianic  and  the  post-Messianic, 
the  world  of  the  past  from  the  world  of  the  future, 
— and  to  intimate,  as  will  be  noticed  more  fully, 
the  concentration  of  all  world  power,  from  the 
epoch  of  the  Ascension,  in  Christ  alone.  There 
was  no  enthroned  Mediator  through  the  ages  of  the 
past, — Christ's  humanity  was  not  then  set  on  the 
right  hand  of  the  Majesty  on  high.1  The  non- 
subjection  of  this  world  of  the  future  to  the  sway 
of  angels  should  be  taken  in  connection  with  verse  7, 
where  man  is  said  to  be  made,  for l  a  little  while,  lower 
than  the  angels.'  The  testimonies  are  antithetic: 
the  man  is  first  lower,  then  higher,  than  the  angels. 
'  But  one  in  a  certain  place  testified,  saying, 
What  is  man,  that  Thou  art  mindful  of  him?  or 
the  son  of  man,  that  Thou  visitest  him?  Thou 
madest  him  a  little  lower  than  the  angels ;  Thou 
crownedst  him  with  glory  and  honour,  and  didst 
set  him  over  the  works  of  Thy  hands :  Thou  hast 
put  all  things  in  subjection  under  his  feet.  For  in 
that  He  put  all  in  subjection  under  him,  He  left 
nothing  that  is  not  put  under  him.  But  now  we 
see  not  yet  all  things  put  under  him.' 

PS.  viii.  The  This  quotation  from  the  8th  Psalm  is  very  notice- 
cSy  taught'  able  as  bringing  before  us  the  human  and  secondary 
oX^ti^x-  asPect  of  the  Son's  person ;  in  truth,  He  is  here 
ordiumand  described  as  'Man,'  or  f  the  Son  of  Man.' 

conclusion.  f  ? 

Turning  to  the  Psalm  itself,  we  find  that  the 
supreme  Nature  forms  only  the  exordium  and  the 

1  The  world  of  the  past  was  of  necessity  subjected  to  the  sway  of 
the  pre-existing  Mediator  ;  but  His  man-rule,  so  characteristic  of  the 
ages  of  the  future,  necessarily  awaited  the  issue  of  His  human  history. 
(See  Mediatorial  Sovereignty.) 


BY  THE  OLD  TESTAMENT  SCRIPTURES.  55 

conclusion :  '  0  Lord,  how  excellent  is  Thy  name  in  CHAP.  v. 
all  the  earth ! '  These  appellations  undoubtedly  Heb.  a.  5-9. 
express  the  divinity  of  the  Son. 

i  Out  of  the  mouths  of  babes  and  sucklings 
Thou  hast  ordained  strength,'  is  a  clear  pre-inti- 
mation  of  the  issue  of  a  sovereign  ordinance,  for 
the  utter  suppression  of  His  enemies,  strikingly 
characteristic  of  the  Apostles  and  their  ministry; 
i.e.  He  ordains  that  His  all-subduing  power  shall 
work  by  means  of  the  most  insufficient  and  con 
temptible  human  agencies, — the  utterances  of  mere 
babes  are  to  be  used  for  the  accomplishment  of 
the  most  stupendous  work  ever  to  be  accomplished 
in  the  earth,  viz.  the  perfect  establishment  of  His 
own  spiritual  kingdom. 

The  second  verse,  then,  is  in  perfect  accordance 
with  the  first,  as  it  exhibits  the  means  by  which 
His  name  is  made  excellent  in  all  the  earth. 

The  third  verse  of  the  Psalm  carries  us  back 
for  a  moment  to  the  divinity  of  the   Son  as  the 
Creator :    '  When  I  consider  Thy  heavens.'     This 
forms  the  climax  to  the  antithesis  of  the   Incar 
nation.     c  What  is  man,  that  Thou  art  mindful  of 
him?  or  the  son  of  man,  that  Thou  visitest  him?' 
This  stoop  from  the  majesty  of  the    Creator  to  PS-  viii.  5, 
the  humility  of  manhood  is  the  great  evangelical  tithesism' 
mystery,  and  comprises  that  mindfulness  of  man 
and  visitation  of  him  intended  by  the  writer. 

The  fifth  verse  sets  forth  the  condition  of  the 
Redeemer's  humanity :  '  Thou  hast  made  him  a  ' 
little  lower  than  the  angels.'  The  expression 
obviously  suggested  the  antithesis  in  verse  4  of 
the  Epistle,  '  being  made  so  much  better  than  the 
angels,'  both  expressions  referring  exclusively  to 


50  DOCTKINE  OF  THE  SONSHIPS  TESTED 

CHAP.  Y.  rank,  not  to  nature.  The  same  verse  furnishes  a 
Heb.  ii.  5-9.  second  instance  in  which,  the  word  Elohim  is 
translated  angels,  suggesting  to  us  the  prevalent 
current  of  inspired  thought  in  these  same  chapters 
as  being  that  of  a  comparison,  extended  and 
variously  particularized,  between  the  dominion  of 
Christ  and  that  of  angels.  This  humiliation  is, 
however,  followed  in  verse  5  by  the  antithesis  of 
man  glorified  in  Christ :  '  Hast  crowned  him  with 
glory  and  honour/  Before  leaving  the  Psalm  for 
the  exposition  of  it  in  the  Epistle,  two  things 
claim  attention : 

The  humanity  (1.)  That  the  Son's  divinity  is  represented  as  the 
purely  for  the  immediate  cause  of  the  elevation  of  the  manhood ; 
i-e-  the  purposes  of  the  Supreme  Nature  rule  the 
conditions  of  the  creature  nature, — manhood  is 
what  it  is  in  Christ,  purely  for  the  purposes  of  its 
redemption.  Thus,  the  expression,  'a  little  lower 
than  the  angels/  taken  in  its  application  to  the 
history  of  the  God-man,  pre-intimates  the  most 
wonderful  fact  of  that  history,  viz.  the  total 
absence  of  power  or  dominion,  which  marked  the 
earthly  condition  of  Jesus  Christ.  He  possessed 
no  princedom,  either  national  or  local,  much  less 
universal.  He  exercised  no  function  of  govern 
ment  in  any  degree,  but  placed  Himself  aloof  (as 
if  it  were  a  ruling  point  with  Him)  from  every 
species  of  power.  '  He  took  upon  Him  the  form 
of  a  servant,'  not  of  a  king.  Thus,  the  history  is 
literally  a  luminous  fulfilment  of  the  prophecy,  £  a 
little  while  lower  than  the  angels/  Further,  the 
notices  of  dominion  with  which  the  Psalm  closes 
are  all  to  be  construed  in  the  same  way :  they  are 
notices  simply  of  the  dominion  of  the  manhood, 


BY  THE  OLD  TESTAMENT  SCKIPTURES.  57 

brought  up  by  the  Godhead  of  the   Son  to  this     CHAP,  y. 
pitch   of  supremacy.      This  train   of  thought  re-    Heb.  ii.  5-9. 
markably  falls  in  with  that  of  the  Epistle. 

(2.)  A  second  point  to  be  noticed  from  the  Psalm  Dominion  of 

\       •  .,  i    •      ji     ,    xi       i  -  «  the  God-man, 

•nakes  it  yet  more  plain  that  the  human  view  oi  not  the  divine, 

:he  Sonship  is  the  one  intended  in  the  argument  thePaalxn.  y 
of  the  Epistle,   since   the    description   of  human' 
dominion  in  our  Lord's  person  is  obviously  taken 
Tom  that  of  primitive  man,  as  given  in  Genesis. 
There,  Adam  is  invested  with  full  dominion  over 
•;he  creatures  in  the  very  same  terms,  as  being  the 
image  of  God/  or,  according  to  St.  Luke,  as  the  'son  Gen.  i.  26. 
of  God/  and,  according  to  St.  Paul,  as  'the  figure  of  R0m.  v.'u.' 
Him  that  was  to  come.'    In  both  the  first  and  second 
Adam,  the  humanity  is  the  filial  representative  of 
'Deity;  but  in  the  latter  instance,  the  ineffable  mys 
tery  of  a  personal  union  with  Him  is  superadded. 

It  may  not  be  overlooked  that,  when  putting  Double  state- 
together  the  Psalm  and  the  inspired  comment  of 
the  Epistle,  there  is  this  difference  between  them, 
resolvable   into   the   difference    existing  between  andmy  Father 

are  one. 

prophecy  and  the  fulness  of  evangelical  doctrine, 
viz.  that  in  the  Psalm  the  divinity  of  the  Son 
alone  is  presented  to  us  as  the  ruling  cause  of 
the  conditions  of  the  manhood,  while  in  the  New 
Testament  it  is  the  divinity  of  the  Father,  or  God ; 
but  it  is  obvious  that  the  harmony  between  the 
prophecy  and  the  evangelical  doctrine  is  not  in 
the  least  affected.  One  position  is  as  precisely 
true  as  the  other,  and  may  be  briefly  illustrated 
by  the  double  statement  of  the  Gospels,  that  the 
Son  was  the  author  of  His  own  resurrection,  and 
that  He  was  raised  up  by  the  glory  of  the  Father ; 
or  by  another,  1 1  and  my  Father  are  one/ 


58  DOCTRINE  OF  THE  SONSHIPS  TESTED 

CHAP.  y.  Leaving  the  8th  Psalm,  and  turning  to  the  Epistle, 
Heb.  ii.  5-9.  we  find  that  it  supplies  us  with  several  most  import 
ant  testimonies  with  respect  to  our  Lord's  dominion. 
Heb.  ii.  6, 7,  s.  *  But  now  we  see  not  yet  all  things  put  under 
Him;'  i.e.  the  universe,  but  particularly  the  world, 
which  alone  is  open  to  our  observation,  is  not  yet 
answerable  to  the  programme  of  this  dominion. 
The  facts  and  doctrines  of  the  gospel  stand  almost 
alone  and  unsupported  by  the  facts  of  humanity, 
taken  on  the  widest  scale.  For  example,  the 
doctrine  of  the  Messiah's  supremacy  over  nations 
as  such  is  very  partially  illustrated  by  their  moral 
and  religious  condition.  Society  at  large  is  far 
from  being  moulded  after  the  evangelical  model ; 
as  yet,  individuals  only  show  some  approximation 
to  the  requirements  of  His  religion.  The  laws, 
customs,  manners,  tastes,  culture,  and  pursuits  of 
men  in  general,  are  for  the  most  part  alien  from 
His  sceptre  even  now :  how  much  more  when  this 
Epistle  was  written  ?  As  yet,  facts  can  hardly  be 
said  to  carry  us  further  than  the  Testimony  as  the 
Apostles  left  it ;  nor  the  indications  of  finality  to 
be  much  more  distinct,  after  the  lapse  of  eighteen 
centuries,  than  they  were  in  the  apostolic  age. 
i  We  see  not  yet  all  things  put  under  Him/  The 
4  yet '  of  this  declaration  bears  the  weight  of  all 
intervening  historic  fact,  without  giving  us  much 
elevation  of  standpoint ;  experience  and  faith  still 
are  held  together  in  equal  measure,  and  tread  with 
equal  step. 
The  world  ex-  The  ground  of  this  unfinished  state  of  His  king- 

istsforthe  i  -i  1  , 

purposes  of      dom   becomes  apparent  when  we  remember  that 

itonement.   ^  the  Declared  object  of  the  Son's  exaltation  is  the 

administration  of  Atonement.     All  other  measures 


BY  THE  OLD  TESTAMENT  SCRIPTURES.  59 

are  subordinate  to  this  one,  and  are  within  certain  CHAP.  v. 
degrees  kept  in  abeyance  till  the  purposes  of  grace  Heb.  a.  5-9. 
in  alliance  with  the  Atonement,  and  its  offices  for 
the  world,  are  accomplished.  Thus,  Sve  see  not 
yet  all  things  put  under  Him/  is  a  declaration 
strictly  antithetic  to  what  follows,  '  we  see  Jesus/ 
This  double  statement  is  exactly  descriptive  both 
of  the  New  Testament  economy,  and  of  New  Testa 
ment  revelation.  It  is  light  within  a  given  hemi 
sphere,  yet  shading  off  into  darkness  unbounded 
i ,nd  impenetrable.  This  is  particularly  true  of  the 
future  progress  and  final  issues  of  the  kingdom  of 
the  Son.  These  appertain  to  the  domain  of  faith 
merely,  stedfast  and  sublime  it  is  true,  but  entirely 
unaided  by  glimpses  of  the  outlines,  much  less  of 
the  filling  up.  They  are  the  things  perpetually 
witnessed  by  the  Holy  Ghost,  and  are  the  glory  of 
the  Lord  risen  upon  His  Church,  and  its  sun,  which 
shall  no  more  go  clown.  Hence  the  unfinished 
kingdom  is,  in  fact,  the  brightest  augury  of  grace 
to  the  world ;  it  is  thrown  forward  into  the  im 
measurable  future  purely  by  the  sovereignty  of 
grace,  and  in  order  that  the  Son  may  see  His  seed, 
prolong  His  days,  and  the  pleasure  of  the  Lord 
prosper  in  His  hand. 

'  But  we  see  Jesus,  who  was  made  a  little  lower 
than  the  angels  for  the  suffering  of  death,  crowned 
with  glory  and  honour;  that  He,  by  the  grace  of 
God,  should  taste  death  for  every  man.'1  (Yer.  9.) 

The  prominency  given  to  the  suffering  of  death 
as  the  immediate  ground  of  Christ's  exaltation, 

1  The  ninth  verse  will  be  treated  at  length  elsewhere.  It  is  cited 
here  solely  in  its  bearings  on  the  doctrine  of  the  Sonships,  the 
argument  on  which  it  appropriately  closes.  [Eos.] 


60  SONSHIPS  DOCTRINE  IN  THE  OLD  TESTAMENT. 

CHAP,  v.y  fixes  the  human  view  of  His  person  as  the  one 
ii.  5-9.    most  immediately  and  vividly  before  us. 


The  divine  But  the   entire   career   of  the   manhood,    from 

ciated  with      humiliation  and  suffering  to  the  monarchy  of  the 


universe,  implies  also  a  corresponding  movement 
in  ^ne  divine  Sonship  itself,  since  the  Son  (as  a 
This  only  pos-  pre-condition  to  the    assumption  of  humanity)  is 

si  We  by  sell-       r  „  .    .   .      .  . 

niied  subjec-  supposed  capable  of  initiating  creaturely  relations 
not  appertaining  to  his  status  as  the  divine  Son. 
A  creature  He  could  not  become,  consistently  with 
His  sovereignty  as  the  Son,  save  by  self-ruled 
subjection  to  this  state,  which,  according  to  St. 
Paul  (Philippians  ii.^6),  entailed  in  the  way  of  con 
sequence  all  the  after  acts  of  which  His  humanity 
was  the  outward  exponent.  An  impersonation 
with  manhood  could  only  follow  this  voluntary 
relation  of  the  Supreme  Nature  to  the  one  to  be 
assumed,  while  all  the  acts  of  redemption,  as  they 
were  afterwards  developed,  were  the  proper  effects 
of  this  primary  cause  —  the  correlation  of  both  Son- 
ships  in  one  person.  The  two  natures  in  the  one 
person  are  indissolubly  bound  together  throughout 
the  entire  history  of  redemption.  The  Person  of 
the  Son,  as  human  and  divine,  must  be  considered 
as  equally  concerned  in  the  work  of  Atonement, 
and  the  glorification  of  the  Son  in  His  supreme 
nature,  or  in  the  '  form  of  God/  as  St.  Paul  terms 
it,  was  as  much  an  issue  of  it  as  the  glorification  of 
the  manhood  itself. 


CHAPTER   VI. 

ATONEMENT  —  IN  ITS  EELATION  TO  GOD. 
HEB.  i.  3. 

i  WHEN  He  had  by  Himself  purged  our  sins,  sat 
down  on  the  right  hand  of  the  Majesty  on  high.' 

It  has  been  before  stated  that  the  groundwork  of 
the  Epistle  is  manifestly  contained  in  this  third 
verse  ;  it  is  the  text  of  the  entire  discourse,  —  the 
great  doctrinal  fount  whose  streams  thence  diverge 
into  separate  channels,  but  can  be  hardly  said  to 
derive  anything  from  other  sources.  The  Atone-  Atonement 
ment  is  the  grand  correlative  truth  to  the  person  of  tratlTto  that  * 


Christ,  and  it,  as  it  were,  interposes  itself  between 
that  Person  and  His  official  glory  ;  in  consequence, 
that  official  glory,  though  in  the   most  absolute 
sense  regal,   is  essentially  priestly.     But  as  this 
priestly  glory  is   the   reflection  of  the  one   pre 
eminent  fact  of  Atonement,  it  is  in  place  here  to 
examine  the  nature  of  the  latter,  and  to  show  its 
importance  in  the  evangelical  economy. 
.  (1.)  He  is  said  by  Himself  to  have  '  purged  our  Having  made 
sins.'    Perhaps  the  phrase  is  more  correctly  rendered 


thus:  '  After  having  made  a  lustration  of  our  sins 

by  Himself,'  —  the  intention  of  the  writer  being  to  atonement. 

describe  a  provision  for  the  purification  from  sin 

as  made  by  Christ,  not  an  administration  of  that 


62 


ATONEMENT— IN  ITS  RELATION  TO  GOD. 


CHAP.  VI. 
Heb.  i.  3. 


To  the  Heb 
rew,  purifica 
tion  implied 
atonement. 


provision,  since  the  latter  could  only  take  place 
as  the  result  of  His  being  seated  at  the  right  hand 
of  the  Majesty  on  high.  Doubtless,  the  phrase,  as 
it  stands,  '  when  He  had  by  Himself  purged  our 
sins,'  nobly  expresses  both  the  all-perfect  nature 
and  the  issues  of  this  provision ;  but  the  objection 
lies  against  it,  that  it  is  less  conformable  with  the 
original  than  the  rendering  just  given,  less  apposite 
to  the  scope  of  the  writer,  and  certainly  less  in 
harmony  with  the  legal  ordinances,  to  which  there 
is  here  a  very  marked  reference.  The  law  always 
distinguished  between  an  ordinance  and  its  ad 
ministration  :  the  ordinance  was  absolute  and 
immutable,  but  its  application  was  necessarily 
contingent  on  seasons  and  circumstances. 

(2.)  Again,  though  a  word  is  used  here  signifying 
purification,  rather  than  expiation  of  sin,  and  one 
which  therefore  expresses  but  a  secondary  and 
perfecting  office  of  atonement,  yet  it  is  fully 
equivalent  to  i\atm^pu>v  or  KaraX\ay^  because,  in 
the  mind  of  the  Hebrew,  atonement  in  the  strict 
and  proper  sense  was  never  separated  from  the 
work  of  purification.  Atonement  was  an  essential 
preliminary  to  the  removal  of  legal  defilements, 
which  were  supposed,  ceremonially  at  least,  to 
bear  the  nature  and  consequences  of  sins,  and 
figured  the  great  moral  realities  of  sin  and  atone 
ment  in  this,  that  by  no  other  process  than  the 
divine  prescription  could  these  imputed  evils  be 
removed.  The  phrase,  therefore,  whether  rendered 
as  by  the  translators;  or  more  closely  to  the  original, 
is  an  unequivocal  declaration  of  the  doctrine  of 
Atonement,  and  could  not  be  otherwise  understood 
by  the  Hebrew  mind. 


ATONEMENT— IN  ITS  EELATION  TO  GOD. 


63 


(3.)  The  words  '  by  Himself  are  of  vast  import  CHAP.  vi. 
:.n  this  connection,  inasmuch  as  they  pre-intimate,  Heb.  i.  3. 
:.n  passing,  both  the  correspondence  and  the  anti-  'By Himself.' 
thesis  existing  between  the  legal  and  evangelical 
dispensations,  which  are  so  divinely  expanded  in 
';he  body  of  this  Epistle.  It  is  meant  to  declare 
r.hat  Christ,  personally  and  officially  considered, 
took  the  place  of  all  the  personages  and  ritual 
institutes  of  the  ancient  religion.  That,  whereas 
Atonement  and  Lustration  were  systematically 
carried  on  in  past  ages  by  means  of  a  priesthood 
and  sacrifices  divinely  prescribed,  these  were  alto 
gether  precluded  by  the  person  and  office  of  the 
Son.  Here  the  provision  for  the  taking  away  of 
sin,  its  penalties,  and  its  defilements,  is  made 
1  by  Himself,'  excluding  all  participation  in  these 
glories  of  Atonement  and  Salvation  by  other  beings, 
whether  higher  or  lower  than  man.  These  belong 
entirely  to  Christ.  The  meaning  of  the  phrase  c  by 
Himself '  may  be  given  in  a  single  sentence  :  the 
Son  ordained  the  law,  but  is  Himself  the  gospel. 

(4.)  Further,  the  expression  'by  Himself  leads  The  doctrine 
us   to  a  profound  conception  of  the  nature  and  person  the  key 
mystery  of  Atonement;    for  it  is  here  obviously 
meant  to  direct  our  attention  to  the  Atonement  ment 
as  an  exhibition  of  the  infinite  personal  sufficiency 
of  the  Son, — as  an  act  wonderfully  replete  with 
the  virtue  of  His    own  attributes.     In  order  to 
understand  this,  it  is  necessary  to  keep  very  close 
to  the  tenor  of  the  ascriptions  here  given  to  the 
Son,  and  to  endeavour  to  form  a  full  conception  of 
the  Atonement,  as  the  proper  issue  of  these.     Nor 
should  it  be  overlooked  that  the  view  of  the  Atone 
ment  here  afforded  by  our  Lord's  divinity  is  that 


ATONEMENT — IN  ITS  RELATION  TO  GOD. 


CHAP.  VI. 


Heb.  i.  3. 

1  John  i.  7. 
Col.  i.  14,  15. 
Phil.il  6,  7,8. 


The  Son's 
sovereignty 
the  basis  of 
atonement  as 
of  creation. 


which  marks  the  chief  apostolic  statements  of  it 
found  in  the  Epistles  ;  such  as,  i  The  blood  of  Jesus 
Christ,  His  Son,  cleanses  us  from  all  sin;'  'In 
whom  we  have  redemption  through  His  blood,  the 
forgiveness  of  sins  :  who  is  the  image  of  the  invisible 
God,  the  first-born  of  every  creature;'  'Who,  being 
in  the  form  of  God,  thought  it  not  robbery  to  be 
equal  with  God,'  etc.  This  last  scripture  may  be 
regarded  as  the  most  profound  and  comprehensive 
statement  of  the  doctrine  of  Atonement  in  the 
apostolic  writings,  not  excepting  even  the  one 
now  before  us.  It  is  remarkable  that  here  all  the 
glories  of  the  Son  are  accumulated  in  immediate 
connection  with  the  Atonement  and  its  proper 
consequence,  His  sitting  '  at  the  right  hand  of  the 
Majesty  on  high.'  For  instance,  the  Atonement 
is  presented  to  us  as  taking  rank  with  the  works 
of  the  Son  as  the  Creator  and  Upholder  of  all 
things,  as  in  the  passage  in  the  Colossians,  and  in 
the  opening  chapter  of  St.  John's  Gospel.  This 
is  a  very  striking  collocation  : — the  order  is  first 
creation,  then  providence,  then  atonement ;  by 
which  order  is  intimated  the  introduction  of  the 
restorative  element  into  the  universe,  not  merely 
as  a  component  of  its  moral  perfection,  but  as 
included  in  the  plan  of  its  existence.  This  offers 
to  us  a  great  conception,  and  one  in  entire  harmony 
with  apostolic  teaching.  (See  Eph.  iii.  9,  10,  and 
Col.  i.  17.) 

The  SOVEREIGNTY  of  the  Son  should  be  carefully 
noted  as  the  basis  of  Atonement.  It  rests  on  the 
will  of  God  or  the  Father,  to  which  our  Lord  Him 
self  so  often  referred  as  the  origin  of  His  own 
mission  from  heaven  to  earth;  but  the  Son,  as 


ATONEMENT — IN  ITS  RELATION  TO  GOD.  65 

being  Himself  sovereign,  '  in  the  form  of  God,  and  CHAP.  vi. 
equal  with  God/  could  alone  translate  the  Father's  Heb.  i.  3. 
sovereignty  by  the  act  of  Atonement,  as  He  had 
done  by  the  fiats  of  creation,  and  the  course  of  the 
universe.  This  idea  of  correlative  sovereignty  as 
much  lies  at  the  foundation  of  the  doctrine  of 
Atonement,  as  it  does  at  the  foundation  of  the 
universe  itself.  For,  though  the  act  of  Atonement 
be  specifically  different  from  any  other  (as  will 
appear),  its  first  principle  is  the  same,  since  the 
Being  who  accomplishes  it  must  not  be  supposed 
;o  be  subject  to  the  obligations  antecedent  to 
moral  actions  as  appropriate  to  creatures.  On 

be  contrary,  His  antecedent  must  be  sovereignty, 
and  His  subjection  must  be  voluntary.  He  must 
substantiate  in  Himself  the  two  relations  of 
sovereignty  and  subjection,  not  understood  as 

ontemporaneously  exercised,  but  as  successive. 
Obviously  there  are  but  two  conceptions  of  sove 
reignty  admissible,  the  one  normal,  the  other 
exceptional.  The  one  consists  in  the  exercise  of 
:he  prerogatives  appropriate  to  sovereignty,  the 
other  in  the  sovereign  exchange  of  these  for  the 
obligations  of  a  subject-condition.  The  Son,  as 
such,  was  capable  of  this  wonderful  change  in  His 
relation  to  the  Father ;  and  with  a  view  of  trans 
iting  the  sovereignty  of  the  Father,  by  means 
of  a  subject- relation  not  essential  to  Him,  but 
sovereignly  assumed,  into  acts  of  interposition 
for  creatures ;  which,  though  all  manifestations  of 
the  subject -state,  culminated  in  one, — the  act  of 
Atonement. 

According   to    St.  Paul,  in  the  passage  in  the  riui.ii.  6, 7,3. 
Philippians,  this  subject-state  of  the  Son  was  not 

E 


66  ATONEMENT  —  IN  ITS  RELATION  TO  GOD. 

I 

CHAP.  vi.  itself  the  act  of  the  Incarnation,  but  a  pre-condition 

Heb.  i.  3.  to  that  event,  without  which  the  assumption  of  the 

The  Son's  as-  servant-nature  would  have  been  impossible.    The 

sumption  of  .          .  .               ,         ,  .          TT.          ,  „      «                             .  .         ? 

humanity  a  exinanitw,  or  'making  Himself  of  no  reputation, 


was  an  act;>  be  ^  what  it  may,  which  appertained 

to   ^Q  ^°n   aS  being  m  ^ie  ^orm  °^  ^0(^  an^  ma7 
ment.  not  be  interpreted  otherwise  than  as  implying  a 

change  in  His  status  as  divine.     Everything  in  the 
human  and  earthly  history  of  Christ  was  but  the 
moral  as  well  as  historical  sequel   to  this  event. 
The  human  nature  became   its  visible   exponent, 
and  the  offering  of  the  cross  its  consummation. 
The  /merits  of  As  sovereignty  in  the    Son  could   alone   be  the 
nate  lathe      basis  of  His  subjection  as  divine,  so  this  same  sub- 


jection,   with   its   human   counterpart,   originated 
what  we  are  accustomed  to  call  the    'merits'  of 
Christ.     They  were  more  than  acts  of  supereroga 
tion,  or  acts  available  for  the  benefit  of  creatures. 
As  it  regards  Himself,  they  were  the  culminating 
exhibition  of  His  perfections  as  the  Son,  which,  in 
the  nature  of  things,  could  only  be  brought  out  by 
their  relation  to  the  sphere  of  the  creatures. 
Christ's  atone-       Atonement,  as  deduced  from  this  higher  view, 
substitution68  ig   essentially   vicarious   or   substitutional.       This 
nature  belongs  to  it,  both  on  account  of  its  being 
an  expression  of  an  exceptional  state  in  respect  to 
the  Sovereign  Being  who  undertakes  it,  and  the 
moral  condition  of   those  in  whose  behalf  it   is 
and  substitu-    undertaken :  the  one  principle  is  the  precise  coun- 
tation  oVjudT-"  terpart  of  the  other.    Something  is  done  for  parties 
cial  liabilities.  not  faiiing  in  wjth  the  strict  requirements  of  law 
which  they  are  unable  to  meet,  and  this  something1 
is  done  pursuant  to  a  relation  of  the   Lawgiver 
to  His  own  law,  which  is   not  to  be  regarded  as 


ATONEMENT— IN  ITS  RELATION  TO  GOD.  07 

purely  normal.1  Further,  substitution  must  carry  CHAP.  vi. 
with  it  the  imputation  by  the  Father,  as  supremely  Heb.  i.  3. 
sovereign,  of  whatever  judicial  liabilities  may  to 
Him  seem  congruous  with  this  relation,  not  ex 
cluding  the  ideas  of  sin  and  penalty.  On  no  other 
ground  can  it  be  feasible  to  exact  retribution  from 
a  substitute,  than  as  he  is  supposed  to  represent 
and  take  the  place  of  the  offender  himself.  In 
what  this  judicial  exaction  may  have  consisted,  no 
oreature  is  competent  to  affirm :  it  is  so  identified 
with  the  mystery  of  the  infinite,  as  to  make  the 
attempt  to  scan  it  but  an  impious  levity.  Scrip-  Their  nature 
ture  itself  is  either  silent  on  the  subject,  or  inti- 
mates  it  in  very  general  expressions,  such  as,  l  It 
pleased  the  Lord  to  bruise  Him ; '  or  that,  '  He 
humbled  Himself,  and  became  obedient  unto  death, 
even  the  death  of  the  cross.'  The  latter  state 
ment  generalizes  the  entire  process  of  atonement 

1  Query — Whether  the  usual  view  taken  of  our  Lord's  obedience, 
viz.  as  a  fulfilling  of  the  law,  is  valid?  It  rather  consisted  in  ful 
filling  the  will  of  the  Lawgiver  Himself,  as  is  stated  in  the  fortieth 
Psalm, — I  am  come  to  do  Thy  will, — the  law  there  mentioned  not 
being  the  moral  law  in  the  usual  sense,  but  the  ordinance  which  re 
quired  atonement.  Had  our  Lord's  obedience  consisted  in  fulfilling 
the  law,  it  does  not  appear  what  place  would  have  been  left  for  en 
during  its  penalty.  It  was  the  law  given  to  Him,  not  the  law  given 
to  us.  It  was  not  an  affair  of  law  in  the  ordinary  sense,  but  an  office 
of  sovereign  will ;  and  His  obedience  to  law  was  only  to  law  in  this 
very  peculiar  sense, — only  the  obedience  proper  to  One  whose  person 
was  an  absolute  peculiarity,  and  His  office  absolutely  unique.  The 
direct  course  of  law  being  interrupted  by  the  Atonement,  no  sequence 
arising  from  that  Atonement  can  partake  of  the  nature  of  law.  This 
constitutes  the  peculiar  grandeur  of  our  religion.  It  is  the  relation 
of  a  human  being  to  Christ  that  is  the  whole  of  Christianity. 

Notice  the  connection  between  atonement  and  evangelical  religion, 
— not  a  religion  founded  in  law,  i.e.  in  obedience  in  a  moral  sense,  but 
in  faith.  Justification  is  not  an  imputation  of  a  legal  righteousness, 
but  of  one  of  a  sovereign  and  peculiar  character,  and  one  correlative 
to  the  Atonement.  Obedience  is  the  issue  of  this  righteousness,  not, 
as  under  law,  the  righteousness  itself. 


GS  ATONEMENT— IN  ITS  RELATION  TO  GOD. 

CHAP.  vi.  with  great  force.  It  describes  the  whole  as  a 
Heb.  i.  3.  business  of  self-humiliation,  arising  out  of  the  sub 
jective  state  of  the  Son  as  man,  which  found  its 
climax  in  the  endurance  of  a  death  so  infamous 
and  revolting  as  that  of  the  cross.  It  is  most 
appropriately  referable  to  the  scenes  commencing 
with  the  Agony  and  terminating  with  the  Cruci 
fixion,  the  whole  of  these  being  properly  included 
in  the  work  of  Atonement,  as  they  were  undoubtedly 
the  profoundest  depths  of  our  Lord's  humiliation. 
This  subject  is  wonderfully  touched  in  an  after 
chapter  of  this  very  Epistle  :  i  For  though  He  were 
a  Son,  yet  learned  He  obedience  by  the  things 
which  He  suffered.'  Nor  can  we  fail  to  see  in  our 
Lord's  own  words,  *  It  is  finished,'  an  infinite 
emphasis,  when  they  are  understood  as  expressing 
the  completion  of  the  mighty  undertaking  that 
brought  Him  from  His  throne  to  His  cross. 
Atonement  From  this  view  of  the  passage,  '  when  He  had  by 

not  discover-       TT.  ,  „  ..  .        ,  .      .  .  .  ' 

able  by  reason.  Himseli  purged  our  sins,  it  becomes  evident  that 
the  Atonement  is  no  example  of  a  moral  administra 
tion  considered  in  its  normal  form,  and  that  it  must 
never  be  looked  at  as  if  the  righteousness  of  the 
procedure  were  patent  from  either  the  attributes  or 
the  moral  administration  of  God.  In  the  normal 
condition  of  His  government,  we  behold  everywhere 
exhibited  the  immutable  footsteps  of  law,  and  the 
behests  of  a  sovereignty  which  adheres  without 
infraction  to  the  established  order  of  its  purposes. 
This  is  ever  characteristic  of  the  constitution  of 
nature,  which  is  but  a  shadow  of  the  higher  glory 
of  the  moral  kingdom ;  so  that  if  we  require  a 
revelation  to  assure  us  that  in  the  future  the  present 
order  of  things  shall  cease,  much  more  may  we 


ATONEMENT — IN  ITS  KELATION  TO  GOD.  69 

require  the  fullest  testimony  to  the  existence  of  an  CHAP.  vi. 
exceptional  proceeding  in  what  seems  to  us  the  Heb.  i.  3. 
:.mmutable  economy  of  the  moral  world.  This, 
-lowever,  is  precisely  what  revelation  gives  us,  wThen 
:.t  pronounces  so  strongly  the  doctrine  of  atone 
ment,  and  certifies  us  that,  not  only  for  conserving 
V;he  integrity  of  moral  government,  but  also  for  the 
purpose  of  exalting  it,  the  divine  Administrator 
ruled  His  own  sovereignty  into  a  position  of  sub 
jection  to  the  Father,  and  thus  gave  birth  to  a  new 
smd  surpassing  regime,  in  which  the  glories  of 
Grace  were  blended  with  those  of  Law.  A  much 
wider  scope  was  opened  out  for  the  manifestation 
cf  the  divine  nature  than  otherwise  would  seem 
possible. 

The  great  foundation  and  centre  of  this  new  and  Therefore 
ultimate  system  of  moral  administration  is  the 
Atonement.  As  its  very  possibility  could  hardly 
have  been  a  matter  for  finite  conception,  apart  latlon' 
from  a  direct  revelation,  so  when  it  is  revealed  we 
can  only  be  entitled  to  argue  respecting  it  on  the 
premises  divinely  given,  and  with  the  best  light 
we  can  receive  on  all  the  facts  and  conditions  of  it 
as  they  are  laid  before  us.  To  leave  out  or  to 
ignore  any  portion  of  these  through  prejudice  or 
moral  disqualifications  of  any  kind,  is  to  place  our 
selves  in  a  false  position.  We  either  dress  up  an 
illusion  of  our  own  passion  and  misguided  reason 
as  a  ground  for  rejecting  the  doctrine,  or  it  is  so 
partially  rendered,  even  while  admitted  to  be  true, 
that  we  are  embarrassed,  it  may  be,  in  honest  at 
tempts  to  maintain  it.  That  the  principle  of  sub 
stitution,  broadly  taken,  is  inapplicable  to  a  moral 
administration,  and  is  contrary  to  the  most  ordi- 


70  ATONEMENT — IN  ITS  RELATION  TO  GOD. 

CHAP.  vi.  nary  political  maxims  by  which  society  is  regulated, 
Heb.  i.  3.  is  too  patent  to  need  proof,  or  even  discussion. 
Law,  in  no  sense,  and  in  no  field  of  administra 
tion,  can  recognise  vicarious  personages  as  answer 
able  for  the  crimes  or  misdemeanours  of  others. 
Glancing  therefore  at  the  whole  field  of  experience 
and  the  conclusions  of  reason,  we  should  be  bound 
to  aver,  that  there  is  no  finding  of  any  data  by 
which  this  great  doctrine  of  Christianity  can  be 
supported,  or  any  analogies  by  which  it  can  be 
illustrated.  It  stands  absolutely  clear  of  all  prece 
dents  and  verisimilitudes,  and  must,  from  first  to 
last,  rest  upon  its  own  ground  of  divine  testimony, 
alike  independent  of  all  subsidiary  argument  and 
unchallengeable  by  mere  reason.  Profoundly  con 
sistent  with  itself,  this  can  only  be  detected  by  its  ] 
own  light ;  and  though  coming  down  to  us  in  the 
form  of  a  simple  fact,  obviously  meant  to  serve  the 
highest  practical  purposes,  it  still  towers  in  im 
measurable  height,  even  to  the  throne  of  God,  and 
for  ever  shrouds  itself  in  '  the  light  which  no  man 
can  approach  unto.' 

Human  reason  While  conceding  that  reason  can  give  little  sup- 
rate  'within6  port  to  the  testimony  of  revelation  respecting  the 
Atonement,  we,  on  the  contrary,  concede  nothing 
m  respect  to  the  validity  of  its  speculations  in 
opposition  to  it.  Reason  is  competent  to  affirm  or 
deny  the  truth  of  any  question  propounded  to  it, 
only  so  long  as  it  confines  itself  strictly  within 
the  boundaries  of  fact  and  experience.  These,  from 
the  nature  of  things,  must  be  circumscribed,  leav 
ing  intact  fields  of  truth  which  it  can  no  more 
penetrate  and  survey  than  we  can  gain  access  to< 
worlds  beyond  our  own.  Hence,  to  deal  with  qiies- 


ATONEMENT — IN  ITS  EELATION  TO  GOD.  71 

Lions  of  pure  revelation,  as  if  mere  human  reason    CHAP.  vi. 
were  UNIVERSAL  reason,  is  to  assume  an  office  for     Het>.  L  3. 
that  reason  which  it  ought  at  once  to  disclaim  as  Fallacy  of 

,  „     ,.   ,       ,  .         .  claiming  for  it 

:ao  less  foolish  than  impious.  the  office  of 

If  we  take  the  a  priori  or  transcendental  method  ^ersalrea- 
of  rising  to  these  highest  problems  of  truth,  what  is 
•;his,  stripped  of  its  pretensions  and  elaborate  for-  inadequacy  of 

7  rr  .         .  apnortTka- 

:nulas,  but  an  attempt  to  infer  the  objective  from  sonmgwhen 

,  ,  .  .  ,         . ,        i  .     i          applied  to  the 

bhe  subjective,  i.e.  to  make  the  human  mind  a  infinite. 
perfect  mirror  for  the  reflection  of  the  Infinite? 
!3ven  supposing  this  to  a  degree  possible,  yet  the 
truth  thus  reflected  may  be  so  partial  and  inade 
quate,  in  respect  to  its  great  archetype,  as  to  mis 
lead  us  more  fatally,  on  the  very  questions  we  seek 
to  establish,  than  if  we  settled  down  into  a  condi 
tion  of  blank  ignorance.  It  may  be  that  just  the 
very  positions  most  confidently  assumed  as  true 
are  those  which  vitiate  the  entire  process  of  specu 
lation,  and  that  the  whole  endeavour  ends  in  the 
mere  fabrication  of  a  mischievous  illusion.  This 
has  been  notoriously  the  case  in  some  departments 
of  metaphysical  speculation — for  instance,  in  at 
tempts  to  disprove  the  existence  of  matter ;  and  it 
is  at  least  as  likely  to  be  true  in  the  field  of  moral 
and  religious  transcendentalism.  Not  to  insist  on 
the  hazardous  character  of  all  dogmatism  respect 
ing  the  Divine  Nature,— the  relations  and  issues  of 
the  divine  sovereignty,  as  developed  in  the  crea 
tures,  are  so  little  within  our  reach  by  the  aids  of 
analogy  and  experience,  that  to  account  them  as 
all  but  intuitions,  or  responses  of  our  own  nature, 
implies  a  marvellous,  and  one  might  say,  an  in 
fatuated,  presumption.  This  is  to  challenge  for 
reason  the  attributes  and  office  of  the  Son  of  God, 


72  ATONEMENT — IN  ITS  RELATION  TO  GOD. 

CHAP.  vi.  as  if  it  were  '  the  brightness  of  His  glory,  and  the 
Heb.  i.  3.  express  image  of  His  person/  the  revealer  of  the 
hidden  Deity,  and  of  the  prerogatives  of  Omni 
science. 

The  inductive       Nor  does  the  counter  method  of  induction  show 

more  satisfac-  itself  more  competent  to  solve  the  great  problem 
fundamental  to  religion,  when  it  would  displace  the 
doctrine  of  Atonement,  and  build  up  in  its  stead 
a  system  of  naturalism.  If  reason  mean  anything, 
when  applied  to  this  matter,  it  must  mean  the  settle 
ment  of  obligations  and  duties  on  the  basis  of  law. 

For  reason  can  jf  the  administration  of  the  universe  be  that  of 

only  interpret 

law,  not  deal    law,  it  is  impossible  that  reason  can  go  beyond  the 
lies.  office  of  an  interpreter.     It  cannot  deal  with  the 

question  of  anomalies,  or,  in  other  words,  sins 
against  authority  and  order.  It  cannot  guess, 
much  less  show,  how  these  can  be  dealt  with  by  a 
moral  government  without  admitting  the  doctrine 
of  penalty.  With  the  doctrine  of  indulgence,  reason 
can  have  nothing  to  do ;  it  is  altogether  removed 
beyond  its  province,  which  is  simply  to  interpret 
Law  and  its  consequences.  But  what  are  these  con 
sequences  ?  Are  they  limited  to  the  present  life 
of  man  ?  Are  they  future  ?  Are  they  for  good 
or  evil,  terminable  or  eternal?  It  is  plain  that 
penalties  or  evils,  some  of  them  voluntary,  others 
involuntary,  are  the  familiar  attendants  of  human 
life.  How  are  these  to  be  reconciled  with  the 
doctrine  of  goodness?  Faultiness,  vices,  anta 
gonisms  between  conscience  and  passion,  the  way 
wardness  of  the  heart,  the  capriciousness  of  the 
will,  the  vassalage  of  the  mind  to  sense,  the  ne 
glect  of  religion,  the  omission  of  duty  or  its  habitual 
repudiation,  the  faintness  of  desire  after  the  highest 


ATONEMENT — IN  ITS  EELATION  TO  GOD.  73 

2;ood,  the  death  of  devotion,  or  the  struggles  after    CHAP.  vi. 
virtue  never  attained, — such  are  the  familiar  phe-     Heb.  i.  3. 
aomena  of  life ;  and  out  of  elements  such  as  these 
a  human  being  has  to  create  his  theology,  his  faith, 
and  his  prospects ! 

Now,  if  reason  be  the  religion  of  law,  the  reli-  inferiority  of 

7  .  the  religion  of 

2;ion  of  mere  intuition  or  sentiment  must  be  some-  sentiment  to 
bhing,  if  it  be  anything  at  all,  infinitely  in  the  rear  reason.1S101 
of  it.  It  is  without  principle,  vague,  dreamy, 
:?alse.  Such  a  religion  cannot  need  an  atonement, 
ind  can  therefore  well  afford  to  dispense  with  it. 
Reason  halts  at  the  bar  of  law;  but  sentiment,  if  it 
:oaay  be  said  to  worship  at  all,  and  not  rather  to 
•permit  to  itself  a  mere  dalliance  with  Deity,  wor 
ships  the  idol  of  its  fancy,  and  lays  itself  open 
•;o  the  terrible  accusation,  '  Thou  thoughtest  I  was 
altogether  such  an  one  as  thyself.'  Atonement, 
while  the  revealed  counterpart  of  the  religion  of 
law,  is  emphatically  God's  testimony  against  the 
religion  of  sentiment.  The  religion  of  atonement 
is  destined  to  carry  man  infinitely  beyond  the  reli 
gion  of  law,  and  to  combine  in  itself  the  past  and 
future  of  divine  manifestation.  Thus,  truth  in 
religion  must  ever  be  subjected  to  this  test,  and 
must  flee  as  a  shadow  or  abide  as  a  substance. 


CHAPTER   VII. 


The  facts  of 


man  side. 


Moral  and 


matter  of  in-, 

hentance  and 

not  choice. 


ATONEMENT  -  IN  ITS  RELATION  TO  MAN. 
HEB.  n.  9,  10,  14,  15. 

THE  facts  of  humanity,  ascertained  by  experience, 
and  interpreted  by  revelation,  constitute  the  ground- 
work  of  the  Doctrine  of  Atonement,  looked  at  from 
jts  numail  side.  These  facts  are,  briefly  put,  the 
race-unity  of  man,  as  derived  from  a  pair,  divinely 
constituted  its  moral  representative  and  head  ;  and 
the  imputation,  as  a  consequence  on  the  whole 
race,  of  the  tendencies  and  results  of  their  moral 
actions  judicially  considered.  It  is  undeniable  that 
the  race-status  of  man,  morally  and  physically 
regarded,  is  an  inheritance,  and  not  one  of  indi- 
vidual  or  even  of  collective  choice.  As  far  as  this 
status  deviates  from  a  normal  standard,  and  entails 
various  classes  of  evils  upon  universal  man,  irre 
spective  of  individuality,  it  must  be  ascribed  to  a 
race-constitution  acting  in  this  very  peculiar  form, 
and  revealing  the  strange  fact,  that,  somehow  or 
other,  a  first  condition,  either  good  or  bad,  was 
certainly  transmissible,  and  wTas  made  to  extend 
itself  to  every  one  of  the  species,  as  absolutely  as 
physical  conformation  or  mental  endowment.  It 
cannot  therefore  be  controverted  that  human  nature 
is  affected  by  causes  very  remote  from  itself,  except 


ATONEMENT  —  IN  ITS  RELATION  TO  MAN.  75 

in  its  origin;  that  it  has  been  dealt  with  in  mass   CHAP,  vn. 
and  not  individually  ;  and  that  individuality  is  to  Heb.  ii.  9,  10, 
a   large  extent  overruled  by  this   constitution  of 
things.     This  is  what  may  be  called  a  represent  a-  Doctrine  of 

.  .          .  atonement 

tive  or  federal  system  ;   its  evidence  lies  in  jacts  rests  on  a  re- 


as  well  as  in  Scripture.  It  is  to  be  specially  re- 
garded  as  the  great  principle  on  which  the  doctrine 
of  Atonement  rests  ;  so  that  whosoever  will  assault 
this  doctrine  must  approach  it  by  a  clear  refutation. 
of  the  federal  principle  on  which  it  is  based. 

But  if  this  principle  be  established  by  fact,  and 
be  clearly  interpreted  by  Rom.  v.,  then  the  founda 
tion  of  the  doctrine  of  Atonement  cannot  be  dis 
turbed.  This  argument  is  fully  developed  in  the 
Mediatorial  Sovereignty  (Part  i.  chap.  2),  to  which 
the  author  has  nothing  to  add,  but  merely  to  call 
attention  to  it  as  here  fundamental  to  his  view  of 
the  Atonement  ;  for  if  federalism  affect  the  race  in  if  evil  be 

.  transmissible 

one  aspect,   why  may  it  not  do  so  in  another  ?  through  a 
Why  may  not  the  same  principle  be  inwrought  into  why  nof6" 
a  restorative  system,  which  is  fundamental  to  a  restoratlon? 
penal  one,  or  one  rendered  penal  by  original  fault  ? 
The  very  suggestion  of  this  similarity,  that  one  is 
just  the  counterpart  of  the  other,  scarcely  needs 
elaborate  argument  ;    it   is   of  itself  light,   while 
negative  systems,  on  the  contrary,  involve  the  ques 
tion  in  utter  darkness.     Such  a  system  as  inflicts 
punishment  for  involuntary  evil,  or  rather  makes 
evil  itself  involuntary,  plainly  cannot  consist  with 
justice,  and  still  less  with  goodness,  whose  property  This  truth 

AT    ,          i    ,1        11  supplied  by 

it  is  to  bestow  happiness.    Natural  theology  here  Christian 
must  be  utterly  at  fault,  and  Christian  theology  theology  only' 
our  only  resort.    A  counter  system,  therefore,  there 
must  be  turning  upon  the  same  axis,  and  involving 


76  ATONEMENT — IN  ITS  RELATION  TO  MAN. 

CHAP.  vii.   race -representation  and  race -substitution.     Thus, 

Heb.  ii.  9,  io,  federalism  meets  us  on  both  hands  much  in  the 

same  way.     Evil  and  antidote  come  absolutely  in 

the  same  manner,  and  reach  individuals  simply  as 

components  of  a  race. 

Christ  the  The  human  view  of  the  person  of  Christ  before 

federal  Head  TT.  .  .         .  .   . 

of  the  race.  adverted  to,  places  Him  precisely  in  the  position 
like  thaTof lty  which  this  system  requires.  As  the  Son  of  God, 
a^n^TdB-  *n  ^6  l°wer  sense,  He  is  the  parallel  personage  to 
rived.  the  Father  of  the  race,  as  much  created  for  this 

purpose  as  was  Adam  himself  to  be  the  Father  of 
the  race.  Natural  descent,  even  apart  from  moral 
considerations,  could  not  have  conferred  this  re 
lation,  but  only  the  intervention  of  the  all-creative 
prerogative,  which  freely  determined  to  make  the 
x  Second  Man  as  the  first,  and  to  place  Him  in  a 
similar  position.  This,  indeed,  is  implied  in  the 
verses  before  quoted  from  Luke  ii. :  '  The  Holy 
Ghost  shall  come  upon  Thee,'  etc.  Hence,  so  far 
as  mere  manhood  is  concerned,  our  Lord  is  the 
duplicate  Adam,  and  possesses  all  the  qualities 
imputation  of  requisite  to  bring  into  existence  a  countervailing 

race-guilt,  ~        ...  .  „  . 

counter  im-  race-system.  Obedience  is  a  set-off  against  sin, 
See-pardon,  federally  taken;  and  merit  a  set-off  against  penalty. 
In  addition  to  this,  the  endurance  of  penalty  may 
take  off  penalty  from  those  federally  liable  to  it, 
and  procure  its  antithesis,  righteousness,  should 
it  even  do  no  more,  putting  them,  all  things  con 
sidered,  in  the  status  quo  ante,  or  even  much  in 
advance  of  this,  by  extending  itself  to  men  in 
dividually  as  well  as  federally.  In  fact,  this  is 
what  is  taught  us  in  Homans  v.,  which  speaks  of 
an  i  abounding '  gift  of  grace,  which  '  much  more 
reigns  unto  eternal  life,  by  Jesus  Christ  our  Lord.' 


ATONEMENT — IN  ITS  RELATION  TO  MAN.  77 

Plainly,    then,    there    may    be    imputation    and   CHAP.  vii. 
accounting  in  this  way  as  well  as  in  the  former ;  Heb.  n.  9, 10, 
— it  is  but  the  counter  application  of  the  same 
principle,  and,  taken  together,  they  may  produce 
ultimately  the  most   harmonious   and  surpassing 
effects. 

But  though  these  may  be  the  ascertained  con-  Federalism 

,..  n  1  •    i  •  "7  i    furnishes  only 

ditions   under   which   atonement  is  possible,    and  the  presump- 
under   which    its    administration    may   be   made  atonement. 
universal    and    effective,    it   does   by   no    means 
follow  that  these  are  the  only  conditions  necessary 
to  its  existence,  or  that,  taken  by  themselves,  they 
would  amount  to  more  than  a  certain  degree  of 
feasibility.      For  (1.)  Federalism,   as  well    as  in-  Fe4eralis™ 

*  acting  by  law. 

dividuality,  is  alike  subject  to  the  behests  of  law; 
it  can  only  secure  one  class  of  results  beyond  those 
proper  to  an  individual  status,  i.e.  transmit  a 
certain  moral  condition  normal  to  the  exercise  of 
personal  free  agency,  so  that  should  federalism,  in 
its  personal  applications,  originally  swerve  from  its 
coincidence  with  law,  it  would  become  necessarily 
defunct.  (2.)  It  follows,  therefore,  that  federalism  Cannot,  there- 

•  7         7    /.  7        7         •    ,      /,     •  T  fore,  imply  a 

considered  jrom  a  legal  point  of  mew,  does  not  neces-  system  beyond 

sitate  the  existence  of  a  counter  system,  in  which  law< 

law  is  set  aside,  and  that  it  [federalism]  may  be 

adduced,  not  for  evidence  of  such  a  counter  system, 

but  only  as  in  harmony  with  it,  when  it  is  brought 

into  actual  operation,  with  respect  to  the  human 

race.     If  this  be  true,  then  atonement,  as  being  in  Atonement, 

,,  ••*>;!  1  •    p     r>  .    therefore,  the 

no  sense  a  legal  provision  for  the  reliel  ot  men,  but  result  of  pre- 
entirely  an  extra-legal  provision,  cannot  stand  with 
law  in  its  federal,  any  more  than  in  its  individual 
application  :  it  is  either  something  exceptional  and 
the  result  of  prerogative  acting  above  law,  or  its 


78 


ATONEMENT  —  IN  ITS  RELATION  TO  MAN. 


CHAP.  vn.    existence  may  be  plainly  disproven.1     And   (3.) 

Heb.  ii.  9,  10,  That  what  are  termed  merits,  i.e.  the  results  of 
14'  15'       the  obedience  of  a  substitute,  more  especially  those 

Law  can  know  that  come  of  penal  suffering  in  the  sinner's  stead, 
are  ideas  entirely  inadmissible  under  a  legal  system 
which  recognises  nothing  but  personal  reward- 
ableness  or  demerit.  There  can  be  no  such  thing 
as  a  transfer  by  imputation,  from  one  party  to 
another,  of  acts  and  benefits  not  belonging  to  that 
party,  with  a  view  of  giving  to  such  party  a 
standing  with  God  equivalent,  or  superior  to  that 
of  a  true  personal  righteousness.  A  method  so 
indirect  and  circuitous  is  incongruous  to  the  doc 
trines  of  law,  and  the  decisions  of  mere  reason  ; 
yet  this  is  Evangelism,  in  its  fundamental  and 
distinguishing  characteristic. 

From  these  considerations  it  follows  that  other 
conditions  than  those  already  named,  and  these 
much  higher  ones,  must  enter  into  this  complex 
ProvisiorL  °f  atonement.  Indeed,  the  whole  case 

and  His  crea-  may  be  said  to  turn  upon  this,  —  whether  the  moral 
relations  existing  between  God  and  His  creatures  are 
expressed,  and,  as  it  were,  exhausted  by  law  and  its 
offices  alone;  or  whether  the  perfect  programme  of 
government  admits  of  any  reserve  of  anything  above 
and  beyond  this  dominion  of  law.  On  the  affirma- 

1  It  is  much  to  be  regretted  that  these  paragraphs  stand  unrevised 
by  the  author.  Perhaps  the  following  passages  from  the  Mediatorial 
Sovereignty  may  help  to  elucidate  them  :  '  Though  the  first  man  was 
the  representative  and  head  of  all  men,  this  fact  could  never  have 
amounted  to  an  abrogation  of  law  in  its  application  to  his  entire 
progeny,  individually  considered.  .  .  .  The  moral  condition  of  the 
agent  could,  indeed,  be  affected  by  the  action  of  the  first  man,  but 
however  uprightness  of  nature  be  transmissible,  it  is  certain  the  em 
ployment  of  this  virtue  must  be  a  personal  trust,  and  not  a  federal 
consequence.'  —  Vol.  i.  p.  70.  [Eos.] 


Atonement 
question, 


ATONEMENT — IN  ITS  RELATION  TO  MAN.  79 

tive  or  negative  of  this  question  the  doctrine  of  CHAP.  vn. 
Atonement  is   decided.      Should  we  receive   im-  Heb.  a.  9, 10, 
plicitly  the  testimony  of  Scripture  on  the  point,       14' 15' 
it  is  decided  affirmatively,  and  nowhere  more  ex 
plicitly  than  in  the  tenth  verse.     '  For  it  became 
Him,  for  whom  are  all  things,  and  by  whom  are 
all  things,  in  bringing  many  sons  unto  glory,  to 
make  the  Captain  of  their  salvation  perfect  through 
sufferings.' 

This  language  is  express,  since  it  testifies  that 
all  religious  systems,  be  they  what  they  may,  or 
views  of  Christianity  not  founded  in  atonement,  are 
out  of  harmony  with  the  character  of  God ;  they 
are  unbecoming,  at  variance  with  it,  and  conse 
quently  essentially  false.  On  the  contrary,  this 
very  doctrine  of  atonement  is  in  harmony  with  it ; 
and  this  harmony  is  to  be  progressively  developed, 
and  consummated  when  the  purpose  of  4  bringing 
many  sons  unto  glory '  is  accomplished. 

Beyond  the  views  of  God  which  Law  is  adapted  Beyond  the 
to  express,  we  admit  two  of  kindred  glory,  father-  law  K 


hood  and  prerogative: — the  one  the  fountain   of 
life,  as  it  is  of  love ;  the  other  of  rule,  modified  in 
accordance  with  it,   and  with  the  intent  not  of 
superseding,  but  of  augmenting  the  glory  of  law 
itself.     Fatherhood  is  the  fount  of  atonement,  as 
it  is  also  of  prerogative.     The  Atonement  is  there-  The  Atone- 
fore  the  issue  of  sovereign  love,  which,  nevertheless,   pnressioneofX 
cannot  express  itself  but  in  perfect  keeping  with  rest7nggonlovt 
government,   as    determinable  by  law.      Such   is,   grace  and  law. 
briefly,  the  view  of  this  question  on  the  higher  side. 

The  basis  of  atonement  is  therefore  twofold  y  A  divine  per- 
(1.)  Grace  or  prerogative;  (2.)  Law,  as  the  organ- 
of  government.     On  this  showing,  the  divinity  of  tllis* 


80  ATONEMENT  —  IN  ITS  RELATION  TO  MAN. 

CHAP.  vii.    the  Son  as  the  author  of  atonement,  is  an  absolute 

Heb.  ii  9,  10,  pre-condition.    Mere  humanity  can  express  nothing 

beyond   the    range    of  law,    place   it  where   you 

will  ;  another  and  a  higher  power  can  alone  give 

expression  to  that  sovereign  love  on  which  atone 

ment  depends.     The  reach  of  such  a  Being  extends 

to  the  infinite  :    He  can  pass  the  realm  of  mere 

creature  agency,  yet,   in  combination  with  it,    is 

v  able,  by  means  of  an  atonement,  to  develope  these 

reserved  glories  of  the  Godhead  in  a  sublime  and 

all-perfect  system  of  human  redemption. 

The  provision        (1.)  From  the  foregoing  discussion,  it  becomes 

of  vicarious  .     '  .  °  7 

suffering  as      plain  that   atonement,    in  the  evangelical   sense, 
e  implies  the  endurance  of  penalties  by  a  substitute 


person  offering-  for  parties  actually  offending;  that  such  a  sub 
stitute  is  furnished  in  the  person  of  the  Son,  in 
the  double  nature  before  explained  ;  that  this 
substitution,  with  all  its  penal  accessories,  is  a 
matter  altogether  higher  than,  and  exceptional  to, 
any  rule  of  government  considered  by  itself;  and 
that  the  entire  provision  is  just  as  singular  in  its 
character  as  is  the  constitution  of  the  Person  in 
two  natures,  by  whom  it  is  offered. 

Atoning  death         (2.)    Hence    it    follows    that  THE  DEATH  to  which 

implies  a  mys-  .  ,  .,       ,      ,  ^      .     , 

tery  of  suffer-  atonement  is  expressly  ascribed  by  Scripture, 
"reachable  by  while  it  does  unquestionably  include  death  in  the 
physical  sense,  does  in  this  case  comprise  an  in 
effable  mystery  of  suffering  peculiar  to  itself;  that 
is,  whatever  is  implied  in  death  as  a  penalty,  in  its 
very  possibility  extending  to  the  mind  and  moral 
nature,  is  really  to  be  understood  as  included  in 
it,  though  incapable  of  being  approached  by  us, 
much  less  defined.  An  atoning  death  must,  from 
its  very  nature,  be  separated  from  every  other, 


ATONEMENT — IN  ITS  RELATION  TO  MAN.  81 

though,  as  a  phenomenon,  it  might  be  nothing  CHAP.  vn. 
more.  Hence,  in  this  epistle,  it  is  described  as  Heb.~iT9, 10, 
including  '  sufferings,'  leaving  them  unnumbered  14' 15- 
and  unexplained.  i  The  Captain  of  Salvation  was 
made  perfect  by  these,'  i.e.  His  office  as  a  Saviour 
was  completed  by  the  office  of  the  Cross.  The 
very  capacity  of  His  nature  for  suffering  was 
exhausted  by  this  death,  which  was  formally  the 
oxaction  of  the  law-giving  God,  yet  in  this  instance 
acting  as  the  God  of  Grace, — ordaining  that  this 
should  be  the  world's  ransom,  and  that  it  should 
come  within  the  power  of  a  Being  thus  constituted 
to  present  this  satisfaction  to  Him  as  the  ground 
of  His  dealing  with  us.  No  mere  physical  endur 
ance  comprised  in  death,  could  have  effected  this, 
or  given  birth  to  the  single  expression,  '  that  He, 
by  the  grace  of  God,  should  taste  death  for  every 
man.'  The  taste  of  death  for  every  man  as  a 
sinner,  or  for  the  race  as  fallen,  must  have  been 
that  of  a  potion  which  no  words  can  describe,  no, 
nor  yet  the  individual  experience  of  mere  death 
by  every  member  of  the  race :  the  mysteries  of 
penalty  included  in  this  one  death,  infinitely  • 
transcend  them  all. 

(3.)  The  'glory  and  honour'  with  which  Jesus  Glory  and 
is  crowned,  represent  not  merely  the  antithesis  to  antithesis  and 
His  humiliation  and  suffering,  but  the  result  of 
these,   His  personal  glory,  personal  honour,  per 
sonal  worship,  together  with  the  highest  official 
prerogatives.      He  is  Lord  of   the  universe,   but 
especially   Lord   of  the  world,   of  the   dead  and  ' 
of  the  living,  of  the  nations,  and  of  the  Church. 
His  are  the  behests  both  of  grace  and  justice,  and 
His  the  great  judgment  of  doom  in  the  last  day. 


82  ATONEMENT—  IN  ITS  RELATION  TO  MAN. 

CHAP.  vii.  'All  things  are  put  under  Him/  and  all  things 
Heb.  ii.  9,  10,  are  finally  to  attest  His  sovereignty.  Such  is  the 
statement  of  ch.  ii.  ver.  9.  This,  however,  is  but  the 
divine  correlative  of  atonement;  in  fact,  the  previous 
and  after  history  of  the  Incarnate  Son  may  be 
resolved  into  the  history  of  atonement  simply,  fore 
going  and  consequent.  It  is  this  which  harmonizes 
the  extremes  of  that  history  ;  and  its  unparalleled 
importance  may  be  divined,  but  not  comprehended, 
by  this  series  of  overwhelming  facts. 

c  Forasmuch  then  as  the  children  are  partakers 
of  flesh  and  blood,  He  also  Himself  likewise  took 
part  of  the  same;  that  through  death  He  might 
destroy  him  that  had  the  power  of  death,  that  is, 
the  devil  ;  and  deliver  them  who  through  fear  of 
death  were  all  their  lifetime  subject  to  bondage.'1 
Power  of  the  (4.)  These  verses,  in  connection  with  the  ninth, 
thetmseen  01  afford  us  a  glimpse  of  the  wondrous  power  of  the 


lie^  the  Atonement  on  the  destiny  of  man  in  connection 
Satan.  with  the  unseen  world  and  the  empire  of  Satan. 

They  teach  us  that  the  virtue  of  the  Atonement  is 
7  all-sovereign  there  as  well  as  here:  in  a  word,  that 
both  sections  of  Satan's  empire  are  undermined  by 
it.  They  form  the  counterpart  of  our  Lord's  own 
declaration  in  John  xii.  31,  'Now  is  the  judgment 
of  this  world,'  etc.  In  this  passage  the  aspects  of 
the  Atonement  on  the  human  race  are  declared  by 
Christ  Himself;  its  proclamation  and  efficiency 
were  to  break  up  Satan's  earthly  empire  in  the 
long  future  of  the  world's  existence  :  '  Now  shall 
the  prince  of  this  world  be  cast  out.' 

'Power  of  By  'the  power  of  death'  we  understand  some- 

death  '  more 

terrible  than  i  The  vergeg  fpom  th    t     ^  t    th    fourteentn  will  be  found  in  t 

death. 

following  chapters. 


ATONEMENT — IN  ITS  RELATION  TO  MAN.  83 

thing  distinct  from,  and  indescribably  more  terrible    CHAP.  vn. 
than  death  itself:  that  death,  as  the  result  of  sin,  Heb.  n.  9, 10, 
is  but  initial;  that  it  opens  the  gate  to  the  realm  of  ^    14' 1' 
penalty  with  respect  to  the  soul ;  and  that  its  true 
power  lies  in  the  relation  to  what  comes  after  it, 
not  in  the  thing  itself.     This  phrase,  'the  power 
of  death,'  placed  as  it  is  here  in  intimate  relation 
to  the  death  of  Christ,  is  sufficient  to  vindicate  the 
dew  before  given  of  the  ineffable  import  of  our 
jord's  death.     As  atoning,  it  must  have  comprised 
omething  far  greater  than  itself;  and  on  this  its 
drtue  to  destroy  '  the  power  of  death '  depended, 
)therwise   the    effect   would    have   immeasurably 
ranscended  the  cause.    The  '  power  of  death'  here, 
hen,  is  to  be  understood  as  descriptive  of  the  em- 
>ire  of  penalty,  to  which  death,  itself  a  penalty, 
tands  in  close  relation.     We  are  assured  that  the 
Atonement  breaks  this  relation  between  death,  phy-  Atonement  de- 
ically  considered,  and  its  unseen  train  of  penal  this 'power.' 
ivils.     Instead  of  being  the  first,  it  is  now  the  last 
>nemy  to  a  man  redeemed,  and  there  is  nothing 
ield  in  reserve,  no  purgatory  impending  over  those 
who  £  die  in  the  Lord.'     i  To  destroy  him  that  had 
ihe  power  of  death '  means  to  break  in  upon  his 
leath  empire,  so  that  the  stream  of  departed  spirits 
may  take  another  road,  and,  instead  of  replenishing 
hat  fearful  region,  may  be  transferred  to  the  bright 
realms  of  His  sceptre  who  endured  death  for  our 
redemption. 

Yerse  fifteenth  declares  the  effect  of  the  dissolu-  Christian  ex- 
ion  by  the  Atonement  of  the  connection  between  Counterpart6  of 
death  and  future  penalty:   'And  deliver  them  who 
through  fear  of  death  were  all  their  lifetime  subject  pire 
bondage ; '  by  which  is  meant,  that  the  work  of 


em- 


84  ATONEMENT— IN  ITS  RELATION  TO  MAN. 

CHAP.  vii.  grace  in  pardoning  and  renewing  souls  through  the 
Heb.  ii.  9, 10,  Atonement  is  the  true  counterpart  of  this  dissolu 
tion  of  Satan's  power;  i.e.  the  release,  the  future 
release,  is  now  told  to  the  heart  of  the  believer ;  his 
conscience  is  pacified,  his  nature  renewed,  and  his 
confidence  in  a  state  of  rest  after  death  is  perfected. 
In  this  point  of  view  Christian  experience  assumes 
a  most  impressive  character ;  it  is  heaven's  jubilee 
of  the  soul  springing  from  the  power  of  the  Atone 
ment  over  the  future  world,  and  the  absolute  su 
premacy  of  Christ  even  over  the  realms  of  penalty. 
This  mysterious  fact  is  proclaimed  to  men  living  in 

•  the  world,  but  hastening  out  of  it ;  and  the  gospel 
may  be  said  to  consist  in  the  realization  of  this 

-  wonderful  deliverance  to  them  who  were  all  their 
lifetime  previously  subject  to  bondage. 

(5.)  The  completeness  of  the  work  of  redemp 
tion   by  atonement   is  given  in  the  tenth  verse. 

Transcendent    Release  from  penalty  is,  so  to  speak,  the  ground- 
result  of  atone  -j  J  . 

ment,  'bring-  work  or  the  very  essence  of  salvation,  abstractly 
S  considered;  the  'bringing  of  many  sons  unto  glory 
is  a  far  higher  matter,  and  reveals  the  transcend 
ent  nature  of  the  entire  project  of  grace.  It  is 
this  view  which  perhaps  more  strikingly  reflects 
the  grandeur  of  the  Atonement  than  even  its  powei 
of  rescuing  from  penal  doom.  Both  offices  attest 
its  character  as  a  provision  lying  without  and 
above  the  domain  of  mere  law;  but  the  one  app'ears 
far  more  glorious  than  the  other,  inasmuch  as  it 
reveals  '  the  exceeding  riches  of  His  grace  '  in  the- 
dignity  and  the  inheritance  of  the  children,  far  be 
yond  a  mere  provision  for  the  accord  of  justice  ir| 
the  release  from  penalty.  As  referred  to  the  Atone 
ment,  it  signifies  the  infinite  complacency  of  God  ir| 


ATONEMENT — IN  ITS  RELATION  TO  MAN.  85 

this  work  of  His  Son,  which  may  be  best  expressed  CHAP.  vn. 
in  the  words  of  St.  Paul,  i  He  that  spared  not  His  Heb.  a.  9, 10, 
own  Son/  etc. 

The  relation  between  the  divine  nature  and  the  Relation  of  the 
Atonement  as  opened  by  verse  10  has  been  already  t™onement 
noticed;  it  cannot,  however,  be  too  strongly  en-  ^J^'^h 
forced  that  this  is  a  dogma  of  revelation  to  be  re-  °f  revelation 

imdemon- 

ceived  as  an  ultimate  truth  on  which  faith  must  rest  strabie  as  the 

,     .  divine  exist- 

antire,  no  reasoning  being  able  to  carry  us  further  ence. 
in  this  direction,  any  more  than  it  can  carry  us  to  a 
demonstration  of  the  divine  existence.     The  divine 
existence,  the  divine  nature,  and  the  divine  govern 
ment  are,  unquestionably,  those   'deep  things   of 
God,'  which,  if  we  are  not  besotted  by  presumption, 
we  may  be  content  very  thankfully  to  learn  from  • 
His  own  testimony.    The  import  of  the  phrase,  '  for 
whom  and  by  whom  are  all  things,'  most  certainly 
amounts  to  this — that  as  all  things  are  by  the  power 
of  God,  all  things  are  also  swayed  by  Him   for  Divinegovem- 
His  own  honour  and  glory ;  that  His  government  gcript  of  the 
cannot  but  be  a  translation  of  His  nature  ;  that  He  divine  nature" 
is  His  own  interpreter  to  His  own  creatures  of  His 
own  character  and  designs  •  and  that  all  His  bene 
ficent  and  holy  arrangements  with  respect  to  men 
turn  upon  atonement  and  its  offices. 

The  '  Captain  of  Salvation '  is  a  grand  title  ac 
corded  to  Christ  (as  a  kind  of  antitypal  Joshua), 
reminding  us  of  the  peculiarity  of  His  achieve 
ments  as  altogether  obtained  by  endurance  and 
suffering.  He  has  a  most  entire  sympathy  with 
man,  whose  whole  nature  is  reflected  in  Him — not 
merely  in  its  innocent  frailties  and  sources  of  sor 
row,  but  in  the  deeper  mysteries  of  sin-bearing  and 
penalty.  Within  this  wonderful  sphere  of  His 


86  ATONEMENT — IN  ITS  RELATION  TO  MAN. 

CHAP.  vii.    personal  suffering  universal  man  is  included ;  and 
Heb.  ii.  9, 10,  these  experiences  are  actually  called  forth  in  the 
u' 15'       history  of  every  separate  saint  from  his  adoption  to 
his  last  breath,  in  succouring  him  on  the  road  and 
in  the  warfare  of  life,  in  training  him  for  duty, 
and  lastly  in  bringing  him  to  glory,  after  the  ac 
complishment  of  a  course  of  discipline   through 
I  various   suffering,   made   perfecting   by   His   own 
sufferings    as    leading  to,    or   comprised    in,  the 
Atonement. 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

THE    HUMAN    SONSHIP   THE    GROUND    OF  THE    SONSHIP 
OF   BELIEVERS. 

HEB.  ii.  11,  12,  13,  and  16. 

'  FOR  both  He  that  sanctifieth  and  they  who  are 
sanctified  are  all  of  one :  for  which  cause  He  is 
not  ashamed  to  call  them  brethren,  saying,  I 
will  declare  Thy  name  unto  my  brethren,  in  the 
midst  of  the  church  will  I  sing  praise  unto  Thee. 
And  again,  I  will  put  my  trust  in  Him.  And 
again,  Behold  I  and  the  children  which  God  hath 
given  me.  Forasmuch  then  as  the  children  are 
partakers  of  flesh  and  blood,  He  also  Himself  like 
wise  took  part  of  the  same.  .  .  .  For  verily  He 
took  not  on  Him  the  nature  of  angels;  but  He 
took  on  Him  the  seed  of  Abraham.' 

In  these  verses  the  filial  relation  of  disciples  to 
God  is  directly  connected  with  the  doctrine  of  the 
human  Sonship  of  Christ.  It  is  perhaps  of  little 
consequence  to  the  interpretation  of  the  expression 
4  all  of  one,'  whether  we  refer  it  to  a  common 
Fatherhood  of  Christ  and  His  disciples,  or  to  their 
community  of  nature;  either  will  suit  the  argu 
ment,  but  the  latter  is  perhaps  to  be  preferred. 
Brotherhood  may  depend,  it  is  true,  upon  a  com 
mon  fatherhood,  but  it  is  perhaps  more  properly 


88  THE  HUMAN  SONSHIP  THE  GROUND  OF 

CHAP.  viii.  referred  for  its  origin  to  a  common  nature.     It  is, 

Heb.ii.n,i2,  however,  to  be  especially  noticed  that  this  recog- 

13' 16-        nition  of  brotherhood  by  Christ  is  made  matter  of 

great  condescension :   i  He  is  not  ashamed  to  call 

them  brethren.'     This  declaration  is  in  proof  that 

the  incommunicable  Sonship  appertaining  to  Him 

'  would  of  necessity  disallow  of  such   a   relation, 

taken  by  itself,  not  merely  with  men,  but  with  all 

creatures  whatsoever.     It  is  equally  in  proof  that 

The  human      the  human  Sonship,  its  true  personal  correlative, 

Sonship  the  .      i7    ,„  ,  , 

ground  of  the  bridges  over  this  gulf,  and  opens  such  a  com- 
munion  of  nature  between  the  Son  and  human 
beings  as  makes  this  condescending  recognition 
not  inappropriate,  especially  when  it  is  further 
considered  that  this  communion  of  nature  is  made 
conditional  to  a  communion  in  redemption,  and 
in  its  prospects,  so  loftily  opened  in  the  preced 
ing  verse. 

'  I  will  declare  Thy  name  unto  my  brethren,  in 
the  midst  of  the  church  will  I  sing  praise  unto 
Thee.'  Further,  this  verse  not  only  declares  the 
true  doctrine  of  the  Church  as  consisting  of  the 
brethren,  and  the  ineffable  office  of  the  Saviour, 
in  His  headship  of  its  devotions,  but  the  doctrine 
of  adoption,  or  the  declaration  of  the  Father's 
name  to  the  '  brethren.'  The  manner  in  which 
this  statement  is  made  is  declarative  of  the  fact 
that  the  filial  status,  as  implied  in  the  declaration 
of  the  Father's  name  to  the  brethren,  is  a  direct 
issue  of  the  Brotherhood  existing  between  the  Son 
and  His  disciples,  and  consists  in  the  reflection 
of  His  human  dignity  as  the  Son  upon  them,  in 
virtue  of  this  communion,  i.e.  they  are  'all  of  one.' 

This  view  is  sustained  by  other  passages  equally 


THE  SONSHIP'OF  BELIEVERS.  89 

explicit;  for  example,  John  i.  12,  Gal.  iv.  5.1     In  CHAP.JVIIL 
these  passages  the  grace  of  Sonship  bestowed  on  Heb.  11.11,12, 
disciples  flows  directly  from  the  Incarnation,  or  in 
other  words,  the  human  Sonship  is  correlative  to 
the  divine.     The  adoption,  thus  considered  as  an  The  Person, 
act  of  the  Father,  is  directly  based  upon  this  fact,  the  work,  of 
and  is  an  honour  specifically  conceded  to  believers,"  gr0und  of 
as  His  testimony,  and  the  glory  of  His  Son  person-  ad°Ption- 
ally  considered.     This  view  somewhat  modifies  the 
ordinary  one,  which  attaches  this  honour  rather  to 
the  work  of  Christ  than  to  His  person;  whereas, 
while   both   are   included,    we    give   special   pre 
eminence  to  the  latter.     In  truth,  this  seems  self- 
evident,  for  adoption  is  a  determination  of  rank 
rather  than  of  salvation,  abstractedly  taken,  and  is 
therefore  more  properly  a  reflection  of  the  personal 
rank  of  the  Redeemer  than  of  His  office. 

Verse  13  is  an  added  testimony  to  the  same  isa.  viii. 
effect :   '  And  again,  I  will  put  my  trust  in  Him.  i_g,  reiate  to 
And  again,  Behold  I  and  the  children  God  has  £gS£?rf 
;nven  me.'     In  order  to  perceive  the  true  bearing  the  Jewish 

0  m  3    nation. 

of  these  quotations  on  the  argument,  it  is  necessary 
to  turn  back  to  the  8th  chapter  of  Isaiah,  from 
whence  they  are  taken.  The  section  from  the  llth 
to  the  1 8th  verse  inclusive  should  be  studied ;  in 
fact,  the  whole  chapter  concerns  the  Immanuel,  and 
the  fortunes  of  the  nation,  as  bound  up  with  Him, 
and  should  hardly  have  been  separated  from  ch.  ix., 
which,  down  to  verse  8,  is  obviously  a  continuation 
of  the  same  subject.  The  section  in  ch.  viii.  (ver.  11) 
opens  with  great  significance  :  '  For  the  Lord  spake 

1  'But  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.' 
'That  we  might  receive  the  adoption  of  sons.' 


90 


THE  HUMAN  SONSHIP  THE  GROUND  OF 


CHAP.  VIII. 

Heb.ii.11,12, 
13,  16. 

Isa.  viii.  11, 
The  « Lord ' 
the  Son. 


Rejection  of 
the  Jews  con 
sequent  on 
their  rejection 
of  the  Incar 
nate  Son. 


thus/  This  '  Lord '  is,  in  the  light  of  the  quota 
tions  in  this  Epistle,  obviously  the  Son,  who  is  said 
to  have  instructed  the  prophet  not  to  adopt  the 
watchword  of  his  time,  'the  confederacy,'  nor  to 
yield  to  fear,  that  is,  of  national  invasion,  the  very 
plea,  be  it  remembered,  advanced  by  the  Pharisees 
in  the  council  for  putting  our  Lord  to  death.  Yerse 
13th  says,  'Sanctify  the  Lord  of  Hosts  Himself; 
and  let  Him  be  your  fear,  let  Him  be  your  dread;' 
i.e.  embrace  the  mission  of  the  Incarnate  Son, 
irrespective  of  political  consequences,  and  in  devout 
simplicity.  Such  was  plainly  the  national  duty  as 
respects  Jesus  of  Nazareth.  Yerse  14th  contains  a 
solemn  forewarning  of  the  consequences  of  another 
line  of  conduct,  as  well  as  a  promise  truly  character 
istic  of  the  Saviour's  office :  '  He  shall  be  for  a 
sanctuary,'  i.e.  a  refuge  in  the  impending  national 
overthrow,  'but  for  a  stone  of  stumbling'  to  the 
inhabitants  of  Jerusalem. 

Yerse  15th  is  evidently  that  from  which  our 
Lord  took  His  memorable  declaration  in  the 
Temple,  immediately  previous  to  its  abandonment: 
'Whosoever  shall  fall  upon  this  stone  shall  be 
broken;'  i.e.  the  rejecters  of  His  claims  shall 
thereby  be  placed  in  the  condition  of  persons 
stunned  or  mutilated  by  a  fall,  who  are  readily 
made  a  prey  of  by  their  enemies.  This  fastens 
the  national  overthrow  immediately  upon  the  re 
jection,  and  may  be  taken  as  the  germ  of  our 
Lord's  great  prophecy  concerning  the  event  of 
Jerusalem's  destruction. 

Yerse  16th,  '  Bind  up  the  testimony,'  etc.,  does 
not  perhaps  so  much  refer  to  the  preservation  of 
this  prophecy  evangelically  expanded,  as  it  fore- 


THE  SONSHIP  OF  BELIEVERS.  91 

tells  its  limited  reception  by  the  disciples,  as  distin-  CHAP.  VTII. 
guished  from  the  nation.     By  the  nation  it  would  Heb.ii.  11,12, 
be  ignored,  by  the  disciples  it  would  be  cherished,       13' 16' 
and  thus  a  strong  line  would  be  drawn  between  the 
disciples  and  the  mass  of  their  unbelieving  country 
men.     This  was  historically  true. 

Yerse  17th  is  that  from  which  the  first  extract 
is  taken  in  the  Epistle  :  i  and  I  will  wait  upon  the 
Lord,'  etc.  As  verses  llth  and  13th  open  with  a  isa.  vin.  11 
declaration  of  the  Son's  Godhead  under  the  titles  vine  nature, 
of  'the  Lord/  and  'the  Lord  of  Hosts,'  so  verses 
17th  and  18th  conclude  with  the  declaration  of  His 
jilial  humanity.  He  speaks  of  His  disciples,  the 
companions  of  His  human  career,  and  of  His  testi 
mony  and  law  as  imparted  to  these.  He  speaks 
of  His  determination  to  wait  upon  the  Lord  (here 
undoubtedly  to  be  understood  of  the  Father),  '  that 
hideth  His  face  from  the  house  of  Jacob,'  i.e.  who 
is  prepared  to  reject  the  nation  of  Israel  for  un 
belief,  to  cast  them  off  from  being  His  people.  As 
His  human  messenger,  and  as  the  consequence  of 
His  abortive  mission,  He  represents  Himself  as 
waiting  upon  the  Lord,  and  looking  to  Him  at  this 
solemn  crisis,  both  for  the  fulfilment  of  His  judi 
cial  purpose  towards  the  nation  rejecting  Him,  and 
for  the  fulfilment  of  His  purpose  in  respect  of  His 
own  personal  deliverance  and  glorification.  This 
language  is  undoubtedly  expressive  of  Christ's 
human  character  and  condition,  and  is  but  an  ex 
ample  among  a  multitude  of  others  to  the  same 
effect  found  in  several  of  the  Messianic  Psalms,  one 
of  which  was  quoted  against  Him  by  His  enemies 
when  on  the  cross,  '  He  trusted  on  the  Lord  that 
He  would  deliver  Him.'  Throughout  the  Messianic 


92  THE  HUMAN  SONSH1P  THE  GROUND  OF 

CHAP.  viii.  Psalms  the  expressions  of  trust  are  very  remark- 
Heb.ii.n,  12,  able,  as  evincing  the  perfect  humanity  of  Christ, 
and  that  the  condition  of  that  humanity  is  substan 
tially  that  of  our  own,  or,  to  use  the  expression  of 
the  17th  verse  of  the  Epistle,  '  it  behoved  Him, 
in  all  things,  to  be  made  like  unto  His  brethren.' 

Yerse  18th,  i  Behold,  I  and  the  children  whom 
the  Lord  hath  given  me,'  abridged  in  the  Epistle 
[v.  13],  declares  that  Himself  and  the  children 
given  Him  '  are  for  signs  and  wonders  in  Israel;'  i.e. 
His  nativity,  character,  ministry,  death,  resurrec 
tion, — together  with  the  phenomena  of  His  Church, 
on  and  after  the  day  of  Pentecost, — comprised  by 
far  the  most  wonderful  series  of  divine  manifesta 
tions  ever  vouchsafed  to  that  privileged  people. 
The  power  and  office  of  miracle  were  exhausted, 
and  they  were  left  without  excuse  for  their  un 
belief,  or  gainsay  to  impending  judgment.  Here, 
too,  we  trace  in  the  form  of  expression  the  origin 
of  an  evangelical  phrase  often  recurring  in  John's 
Gospel  as  the  very  words  of  Christ :  '  They  whom  j 
Thou  hast  given  me.' 

The  only  peculiarity  worthy  of  special  remark 
here  is  the  epithet  4  children '  bestowed  upon  the 
disciples.  This  is  not  inconsistent  with  the  brother 
hood  previously  recognised,  but  rather  adds  com 
pleteness  to  the  notion  of  human  identity  between 
the  Lord  and  His  disciples,  while  it  perfects  our 
conception  of  the  doctrine  of  adoption.  The  term 
'  brethren '  simply  implies  a  community  of  nature, 
in  which  our  Lord's  only  distinction  is  that  of  being 
the  first-born :  the  term  '  children '  is  an  addition 
to  this,  for  it  signifies  a  derivation  of  their  nature 
from  His ;  they  are  not  only  His  brethren,  but  His 


THE  SONSHIP  OF  BELIEVERS.  93 

family.      If  this  term  'children'  here  amount  to  CHAP.  vin. 
anything  more  than  a  conventional  or  figurative  de-  Heb.ii.n,  12, 

-i  O         -«   /» 

signation  of  disciples  (which  it  must  do  if  we  take 
in  ver.  14,  ch.  ii.  of  the  Epistle1),  their  relation  to 
the  humanity  of  the  Lord  is  made  intelligible  by 
the  federal  doctrine  of  Rom.  v.,  grounded  on  the  cimst  the  fed- 
human  Sonship  of  Jesus,  and  expressed,  1  Cor.  xv. 


47,  by  'the  second  man  is  the  Lord  from  heaven.' 
On  this  showing,  the  whole  of  His  redemption 
consists  in  the  power  to  impart  His  humanity  to 
His  people — first,  in  the  restored  moral  image  of 
God,  and  finally  in  the  glorification  of  the  body 
i.tself.  The  Christian  doctrine  of  the  Resurrection 
is,  in  fact,  only  the  reproduction  in  the  children 
of  the  perfected  human  image  of  the  divine  and 
human  Saviour.  It  has  no  foundation  whatever 
in  the  original  scheme  of  human  nature,  but  in  the 
higher  type  of  it  exhibited  by  the  Lord  incarnate. 
Thus  Isaiah's  expression,  'the  everlasting  Father,' 
has  a  sublime  significance  as  a  title  of  Christ;  since 
His  humanity  stands  in  an  eternal  relation  to,  and 
correspondence  with,  'the  children'  as  His  progeny, 
and  also,  as  His  'brethren,'  His  'bride,'  His  'body.' 
These  terms  all  express  one  thing,  viz.  the  origin  Terms  i»re- 
and  communion  of  one  nature  between  Christ  chiidrentot 
and  His  people.  The  Father  adopts  as  His  children  contradictory- 
the  children  of  His  Son ;  they  are  regarded  as  His 
children  because  of  their  origin  from  and  communion 
with  Him  in  whom  He  is  '  well  pleased.'  The  en 
tire  relation  is  a  mere  grace  throughout,  yet  the 
methods  of  this  grace  have  their  relevancy  to  fact ; 
in  other  words,  grace  and  truth  are  never  separated. 

1  '  Forasmuch  then  as  the  children  are  partakers  of  flesh  and  blood, 
He  also  Himself  likewise  took  part  of  the  same.' 


94  THE  SOXSHIP  OF  BELIEVERS. 

CHAP.  viii.  The  fact  here  is  the  origin  and  relations  of  a  nature 
Heb.ii.n,i2,  common  to  Christ  and  to  His  people:  they  are 
children ;  they  are  therefore  the  sons  of  God,  and 
as  the  sons  of  God,  to  be  brought  to  His  glory.1 
Both  divine  To  the  foregoing  discussion  a  final  remark  may 
nature  stated  be  added,  viz.,  that  as  ver.  11  brings  both  these 
i ITtiie1  and  doctrines  of  the  Sonship  together,  so  this  con- 
Epistie.  junction  is  repeated  in  ver.  14  :  *  Forasmuch  then 
as  the  children  are  partakers  of  flesh  and  blood, 
He  also  Himself  likewise  took  part  of  the  same ; ' 
since,  in  this  place,  the  act  of  assuming  humanity 
is  explicitly  ascribed  to  the  Son.  That  is,  the 
Incarnation  was  the  act  of  the  divine  Son  bringing 
into  personal  oneness  with  Himself  the  creature- 
nature,  and  that  nature  the  perfect  transcript  of 
the  children's.  Of  this  nature,  flesh  and  blood 
are  the  palpable  constituents,  but  not  the  only 
ones.  They  are  here,  however,  specified  to  dis 
tinguish  humanity  from  the  nature  of  angels.  This 
is  made  prominent  in  ver.  16  :  '  He  took  not  on 
Him  the  nature  of  angels ;  but  He  took  on  Him  the 
seed  of  Abraham.'  Here,  therefore,  we  have  another 
instance  of  the  manner  in  which  the  two  natures 
are  distinctly  introduced  and  blended  in  the  person 
of  the  Son.  The  term  '  children,'  here  made  em 
phatic,  has  its  true  correlative  in  the  filial  nature 
of  the  Redeemer's  humanity.  The  nature  to  be 
redeemed  is  thus  specifically  represented  in  the 
Son,  and  His  relation  to  it  thus  perfected. 

1  The  adoption  thus  stated  may  be  illustrated  by  a  human  example. 
It  is  taken  from  Gen.  xlviii.  5,  '  And  now  thy  two  sons,  Ephraim  and 
Manasseh,  which  were  born  to  thee  in  the  land  of  Egypt  before  I 
came  to  thee  into  Egypt,  are  mine  :  as  Reuben  and  Simeon,  they  shall 
be  mine.'  Thus  John  xvii.  10,  '  And  all  thine  are  mine,  and  mine  are 
thine  ;  and  I  am  glorified  in  them.' 


CHAPTER   IX. 

THE  DIVINE  AND  HUMAN  SONSHIPS  THE  GROUND  OF 

CHRIST'S  RULE  OVER  THE  CHURCH. 

HEB.  in.  1-6. 

'  WHEREFORE,  holy  brethren,  partakers  of  the 
heavenly  calling,  consider  the  Apostle  and  High 
Priest  of  our  profession,  Christ  Jesus  ;  who  was 
faithful  to  Him  that  appointed  Him,  as  also  Moses 
was  faithful  in  all  his  house.  For  this  man  was 
counted  worthy  of  more  glory  than  Moses,  inas- 
riuch  as  he  who  hath  builded  the  house  hath  more 
honour  than  the  house.  For  every  house  is  builded 
by  some  man  ;  but  He  that  built  all  things  is  God. 
And  Moses  verily  was  faithful  in  all  his  house,  as 
a  servant,  for  a  testimony  of  those  things  which 
were  to  be  spoken  after  ;  but  Christ  as  a  Son  over 
His  own  house  ;  whose  house  are  we,  if  we  hold 
fast  the  confidence  and  the  rejoicing  of  the  hope 
firm  unto  the  end.' 

These  verses  contain  another  example  of  the  doc-  The  divine 
trine  of  the  correlative  Sonships  here  applied  to  the 


government  of  the  Church.    The  angelic  parallel  affecting  the 

government  of 

is  exchanged  lor  the  human.     1  he  course  of  the  the  church. 
argument    descends    from    angels    to    Moses,    to 
Melchisedec,  and  finally  to  Aaron  the  high  priest. 
The  Hebrew  Church  is  designated  as  the    '  holy 


96 


THE  DIVINE  AND  HUMAN  SONSHIPS  THE 


CHAP.  IX. 

Heb.  iii.  1-6 


Apostle  and 
High  Priest 
official  titles. 


Parallel  be- 
tween  Moses 
and  Christ  as 
Apostle. 


brethren:'  '  brethren,'  not  chiefly  by  descent  from 
Abraham,  but  by  their  relation  to  Christ ;  '  holy,' 
not  by  a  ceremonial  purification,  or  a  national 
separation  from  Gentilism,  but  by  the  evangelical 
sanctification  affirmed  in  the  eleventh  verse l  of  the 
preceding  chapter,  and  divinely  amplified  in  pas 
sages  of  the  chapters  following.  They  are  c  par 
takers,'  or  partners,  i  of  the  heavenly  calling,'  i.e.  of 
a  calling  apart  from  any  nationality,  territorial 
distribution,  or  the  ordinances  of  a  secular  policy. 
The  conversation  or  citizenship  of  the  *  holy 
brethren '  is  in  heaven, — a  noble  description,  truly, 
of  the  New  Testament  Church  !  This  new  spiritual 
commonwealth  is  invited  to  consider,  to  study,  and 
to  comprehend  i  the  Apostle  and  High  Priest '  of 
their  profession,  i  Christ  Jesus.'  Here  the  Son  is 
described  by  His  human  and  official  titles ;  He  is 
also  paralleled,  likened,  to  Moses  in  his  servant-like 
virtues  of  fidelity  and  acceptableness. 

(1.)  Moses  was  the  great  apostle  of  the  ancient 
faith  on  which  the  Hebrew  Church  had  rested 
through  many  centuries.  Visited  and  commis 
sioned  by  the  Angel  of  the  Covenant  in  the  land 
of  Midian,  his  apostolate  was  inscribed  with  the 
glorious  name,  '  I  AM  THAT  I  AM  ; — say  unto  the 
children  of  Israel,  I  AM  hath  sent  me  unto  you.' 
The  seals  of  his  apostleship  were  the  miracles  in 
Egypt,  the  legislation  of  Mount  Sinai,  and  the 
wonders  of  the  Desert.  He  was  the  minister  of 
God  for  the  delivery  of  the  law  in  all  its  parts,  and 
for  the  rearing  up  of  the  ecclesiastico-political 
system  of  the  Hebrews,  every  portion  of  which  bore  • 


1  '  For  both  He  that  sanctifieth  and  they  who  are  sanctified  are  all 
of  one :  for  which  cause  He  is  not  ashamed  to  call  them  brethren.' 


GROUND  OF  CHRIST'S  RULE  OVER  THE  CHURCH.          97 

indubitable  evidences  of  a  divine  original.  Hence,  CHAP.  ix. 
he  is  here  compared  to  the  builder  of  a  house,  and  Heb.  m.  1-6. 
that  house  a  world-wonder.  By  the  term  apostle, 
in  its  double  application  to  Christ  and  to  Moses, 
we  understand  not  a  prophet  merely,  but  a  law 
giver;  not  one  who  delivers  a  body  of  truth, 
which  may  be  successively  added  to  or  superseded, 
but  truth  which  has  the  completeness  and  fixed 
ness  of  a  law,  or  system  of  laws,  incorporated  in  a 
people,  and  exhibited  to  the  world.  An  apostle  is 
u  sovereign  person  immeasurably  elevated  above 
the  ordinary  rank  of  prophets,  or  even  above  that 
of  New  Testament  ministers  ;  he  is  the  fount  of 
authority  and  of  religious  truth.  Others  may 
develope  or  administer,  but  the  '  apostle '  only  can 
originate  law,  and  give  a  standard  of  truth  to  a 
people  or  to  the  world.  This  description  is  appli 
cable  to  Moses,  to  Christ,  and  also  to  His  apostles, 
but  with  that  differing  eminence  which  places  the 
SON  immeasurably  above  either. 

Again,  Moses  was  the  high  priest  of  his  nation  as  AS  High 
well  as  its  apostle ;  in  both  offices  Aaron  ranked  l 
second  to  him.  Aaron  was  not  his  peer,  though 
his  elder  brother.  Moses  discharged  the  functions 
of  the  priesthood  before  Aaron  was  appointed. 
Afterwards,  those  functions,  separated  from  him 
self  by  divine  appointment,  were  by  him  delegated 
to  his  brother  in  that  express  and  formal  manner, 
which  as  much  signified  his  superiority  to  Aaron 
as  Melchisedec's  blessing  on  Abraham  showed  his 
superiority  to  the  great  patriarch.  Thus  Moses 
was  not  merely  a  precursor  but  a  type  of  Jesus 
Christ  in  his  apostolico-regal  and  priestly  glories. 
Both  law  and  grace  in  their  foreshadowings  came 

G 


98 


THE  DIVINE  AND  HUMAN  SONSHIPS  THE 


CHAP.  IX. 
Heb.  iii.  1-6. 


The  parallel 
itself  exhibits 
the  human 
Sonship. 


The  Son's 
divinity  de 
clared  as 
Builder  of  the 
House. 


to  the  Church  in  the  wilderness ;  but  to  the  Church 
at  Jerusalem,  and  to  the  general  assembly  of  the 
faithful  throughout  the  world,  they  came  in  their 
truth  and  fulness  by  Jesus  Christ.  This  is  Christ's 
house  as  distinguished  from  that  of  Moses,  whose 
glory  was  as  much  inferior  to  His  as  the  work  is 
inferior  to  the  workman,  or  the  creation  is  inferior 
to  God.  The  very  fact  that  there  is  a  typical 
parallel  here  run  between  Moses  and  Christ,  shows 
the  prevalence  of  the  human  idea  of  Christ  in  this 
passage,  as  in  former  passages  it  was  shown  by  the 
comparison  with  the  angels.  The  '  faithfulness/ 
too,  ascribed  to  Moses  and  to  Christ  in  common, 
must  alike  be  regarded  as  a  servant  virtue;  since  to 
ascribe  it  to  God,  in  the  sense  of  fulfilling  duties 
or  engagements,  would  imply  the  blasphemy  of  His 
owning  a  superior,  and  responding  to  exactions. 

But  while  the  humanity  is  very  distinctly  asserted 
in  this  noble  passage  of  parallelisms,  the  divinity 
of  the  Son  also  is  declared  with  equal  explicitness ; 
for  what  else  can  be  meant  by  a  comparison  be 
tween  the  builder  and  the  house,  than  that  between 
a  cause  and  an  effect,  a  work  and  a  workman  ? — 
a  comparison  obliging  us,  in  this  instance,  to  make 
Moses  himself,  or  the  people  together  with  him 
and  represented  by  him,  the  house,  while  the 
Builder  of  the  house  is  Christ,  This  can  only 
apply  to  Him  in  His  pre-existent  glory  as  the 
Jehovah  of  the  Hebrew  nation.  This  conclusion 
is  established  by  ver.  4,  4  He  that  built  all  things 
is  God,'  in  which  the  doctrine  of  the  third  verse 
is  presented  in  an  absolute  form ;  but  it  is  utterly  < 
without  relevancy  to  the  argument  that  Christ  ij 
was  counted  l  worthy  of  more  glory  than  Moses,' 


GROUND  OF  CHRIST'S  RULE  OVER  THE  CHURCH.          99 

unless  it  be  true  of  Him  as  the  Son,  that  it  is  He    CHAP.  ix. 
that  built  all  things,  and  that  He  is  therefore  God.    Heb.  m.  1-6. 
Indeed,  the  argument  in  ver.  4  is  the  common  Ver-  4-  T^e 

'  .      argument  from 

one  from  design,  on  which  so  much  dependence  is  design. 
placed  in  the  argument  for  the  existence  of  God. 
It  amounts  to  this,  that  our  reason  and  experience 
assure  us,  that  for  every  effect  in  the  form  of  art, 
intelligence  and  power  are  inferred  as  its  cause, 
and  that  it  would  be  absurd  to  ascribe  any  such 
phenomena  to  chance.  This  same  reason,  there 
fore,  educated  as  it  is  by  experience,  naturally 
applies  itself  to  the  structure  of  the  universe  (par 
ticularly  to  our  own  world,  as  the  one  most  open 
to  us),  in  which  power  and  intelligence  are  obvi 
ously  exhibited  on  the  most  stupendous  scale.  We 
therefore  infer  a  God  in  the  one  case  as  truly  as 
we  infer  a  man  in  the  other ;  and,  to  be  consis 
tent,  Atheism  is  reduced  to  the  inanity  of  deny 
ing  the  latter,  if  it  deny  the  former.  The  divinity  The  union  of 
of  the  Son  as  Creator  is  therefore  in  this  place 
re-affirmed,  and  is  simply  the  doctrinal  reiteration 
of  the  second  verse  of  the  first  chapter :  i  Hath  separate. 
spoken  unto  us  by  His  Son,  by  whom  also  He 
made  the  worlds.'  It  is  rendered  all  the  more  strik 
ing  by  its  position  in  this  parallel  between  Moses 
and  Christ,  since  it  is  less  wonderful  to  dilate  either 
on  the  divine  attributes  of  the  Son  or  the  human 
virtues  of  the  Christ,  apart,  and  as  separate  beings, 
than  to  exhibit  them  as  meeting  in  one  and  the 
same  person.  The  God  and  the  Man,  the  Son  and 
the  Servant,  He  that  built  all  things  and  He  that 
is  builded  as  a  creature,  are  qualities  and  relations 
all  combining  in  Him  whose  name  prophetically 
was  called  WONDERFUL. 


100 


THE  DIVINE  AND  HUMAN  SONSHIPS  THE 


CHAP.  IX. 
Heb.  iii.  1-6. 


Both  con 
cerned  in  the 
government  of 
the  Church. 


The  govern 
ment  of  the 
Son  spiritual 
and  personal. 


The  relations 
of  the  law  to 
the  gospel. 


The  application  of  these  various  perfections  to 
the  government  of  the  Church  forms  the  climax  of 
the  argument  for  the  greater  glory  of  Christ  over 
Moses.  He  is  the  proprietor  of  the  house,  not  the 
servant,  as  Moses  was.  '  He  that  built  all  things' 
as  God,  rules  over  the  Church  as  God-man,  or  as 
4  the  Son,' — a  title  which  here  obviously  includes 
both  natures,  since  the  Church  over  which  He  pre 
sides  is  an  acquired  and  not  an  original  posses 
sion,  elsewhere  called  l  the  purchased  possession.' 
4  House '  here  is  equivalent  to  household  or  family.  - 
The  figure  is  probably  taken  from  the  temple, 
which,  with  its  courts  and  many  mansions,  was  a 
striking  type  of  the  great  spiritual  temple  of  the 
Church,  variously  denominated,  but  essentially 
one. 

The  relations  of  this  house  to  Christ  as  the  Son 
are  in  ver.  6  set  forth  as  entirely  spiritual  and  also 
eternal.  The  'confidence'  and  'the  rejoicing  of 
the  hope '  cannot  be  considered  as  corporate  quali 
ties,  or  as  bearing  any  analogy  to  the  structure  of 
the  ancient  Church.  They  arise  out  of  &  personal 
relation  to  a  personal  Christ ;  and  their  retention 
and  fruit-bearing  are  made  essential  to  the  ultimate 
enjoyment  of  the  relation  itself.  But  while  this 
language  implies  the  possible  forfeiture  of  indivi 
dual  inheritance  in  the  house  or  family,  that  house 
or  family  itself  is  declared  to  be  eternal  —  the 
'  end '  here  merely  signifying  the  close  of  the  i 
earthly,  which  prefaces  the  endless  and  the  per 
fect,  estate  of  the  Church. 

The  aspect  of  the  law  towards  the  gospel  is  also  j 
here  introduced,  and  is  fraught  with  suggestion.  The  | 
faithfulness  of  Moses  as  a  servant  very  mainly  con-  i 


GROUND  OF  CHRIST'S  RULE  OVER  THE  CHURCH.  101 

sisted  in  the  thorough  trustworthiness  of  all  his  CHAP.  ix. 
doctrines  and  institutions  as  divine  command-  Heb.  m.  1-6. 
ments,  delivered  with  the  view  to  a  future  and 
more  perfect  economy  of  religion  than  his.  The 
.law  was  but  a  preamble  to  the  gospel — an  outline, 
a,  shadow,  to  pre-intimate  to  intervening  genera 
tions  of  the  favoured  people  that  other  and  higher 
discoveries  were  in  store,  enabling  them  to  antici 
pate  in  some  degree  the  nature  of  those  discoveries, 
and  to  identify  them,  whenever  they  should  be 
made,  as  developments  of  pre-existing  doctrines. 
This  much  is  undoubtedly  implied  in  the  teachings 
of  the  fifth  verse.  They  demonstrate  to  all  who 
hold  the  authority  of  the  New  Testament,  that  the 
Pentateuch  is  of  unchallengeable  verity  as  a  his 
tory,  and  is  bound  to  the  evangelical  dispensation 
by  a  divine  precognition  and  order  of  revelation. 


CHAPTER   X. 

THE  REST. 
HEB.  in.  6-19  ;  iv.  1-13. 

1  BUT  Christ  as  a  Son  over  His  own  house  ;  whose 
house  are  we,  if  we  hold  fast  the  confidence  and 
the  rejoicing  of  the  hope  firm  unto  the  end. 
Wherefore,  as  the  Holy  Ghost  saith,  To-day  if 
ye  will  hear  His  voice.' 

'How  shall  we  This  description  of  the  Church  supremacy  of  the 
neglect  soWe  Son  is  equivalent  to  the  doctrine  of  ch.  ii.  3,  and 
fio6n*  which  should  be  connected  with  it  as  belonging  to  the 
he  ^n  tote  same  course  of  thought  and  form  of  practical 
spoken  by  the  appeal  i  '  How  shall  we  escape  ?  '  '  The  Lord  '  in 

Lord,  and  was         A  .  . 

confirmedunto  the  one   passage   is    clearly  the     Christ     of  the 


other,  the  '  Son  '  who  is  '  over  His  own  house  ;  ' 
~u<  3>  and  the  exhortation  not  to  neglect  '  so  great  salva 
tion  '  is  enforced  by  the  consideration  that  it  was 
spoken  by  the  Lord,  and  not  by  angels.  To  let 
the  words  'slip/  and  'to  neglect  salvation,'  are 
equivalent  expressions  ;  they  describe  the  same 
condition  of  mind,  and  are  addressed  to  the  same 
class  of  persons,  i.e.  to  the  Hebrew  Church.  The 
7th  verse,  therefore,  is  simply  a  resumption  of  the 
same  appeal  :  *  Wherefore,  as  the  Holy  Ghost  saith, 
To-day  if  ye  will  hear  His  voice.'  The  following 
part  of  this  chapter,  together  with  the  whole  of 
ch.  iv.,  is  to  be  regarded  as  the  same  argumenta- 


THE  REST.  103 


tive  appeal,  founded  on  the  supremacy  of  Christ     CHAP^X. 
over  the  Church,  and  on  the  conditional  prospect  Heb.  iii.  6-19; 
of  final  salvation,  as  ascertained  by  this  relation 
between  Christ  and  His  house. 

Viewed  in  this  simple  and  obvious  aspect,  this 
section  affirms  these  vital  doctrines  : 

(1.)  The  legislative  authority  of  Christ  within 
the  Church,  and  the  form  of  its  administration. 

(2.)  The  required  obedience. 

(3.)  The  contingent  recompense. 

(1.)  Under  the  New  Testament  economy  the  Christ  the 
Christ  is  the  enthroned  Lawgiver  of  the  Church, 
as  Jehovah  was  of  the  congregation  in  the  wilder- 
ness.  What  the  Law  was  to  the  Israelites,  as 
there  delivered  by  the  Lord  through  Moses  and 
3iis  assessors,  that  the  gospel  is  to  the  Christian 
Church,  as  delivered  by  Christ  and  His  apostles. 
Whatever  i  abounding  '  of  grace  may  be  affirmed 
respecting  the  latter  over  the  former,  whereby 
it  l  exceeds  in  glory,'  is  not  to  be  understood  as 
superseding  the  dominion  of  law,  but  rather  as 
making  law  more  comprehensive  and  effective. 
Sin  is,  therefore,  just  as  much  a  possibility  under 
the  one  economy  as  under  the  other,  and  with 
sin,  forfeiture  of  privilege  and  standing  with  God  ; 
while  this  sin  and  forfeiture  may  end  in  the 
aggravated  penalty  due  to  those  who  neglect  'so 
great  salvation.'  These  propositions  are  obviously 
included  in  the  historic  references  here  introduced  Proved  by  Ma 
in  the  quotation  from  Psalm  xcv.,  and  in  the  ences.re 
argument  of  the  Epistle  founded  on  both  ;  for, 
had  there  not  been  an  identity  of  relation  exist 
ing  between  the  Lawgiver  of  the  Old,  and  the 


104  THE  REST. 

CHAP.  x.     Lawgiver  of  the  New,  dispensation,   from  which 
Heb.  in.  6-19;  similar   obligations   and   similar   treatment   could 
ensue,  the  entire  argument  must  be  pronounced 
a  fallacy,  and  the  conclusion  null  and  void. 
Peculiarly  co-       Further,   this  argument  is   rendered   yet  more 
dressed  to"       cogent  by  the  recollection  that   the  persons  ad 
dressed  in  the  Epistle  were  Jews,  presumed  to  be 
familiar  with  the  facts  of  their  own  history,  with 
the  doctrines  of  the  Pentateuch,  of  the  Psalms, 
and  of  the  Prophets,  and  with  their  own  intimate 
relation,  even  lineally  considered,  to  the  kingdom 
of  the  Messiah.     They  were  the  descendants  of 
the  people  of  the  wilderness  so  strongly  charged 
with  apostasy  in  the  language  of  the  Psalm,  and 
on  this  ground,  as  well  as  on  others,  made  to  feel 
the  exceeding  force  of  the  warning,  l  Take  heed, 
wherefore,       brethren,  lest  there  be  in  any  of  you  an  evil  heart 
Ghost  saith,     of  unbelief  '  (ver.  12).     In  verse  7  the  teaching  of 


will  hear  HI?  ^is  Psalm  is  expressly  ascribed  to  the  Holy  Ghost, 
as  in  the  following  chapter  (ver.  7)  it  is  ascribed  to 
David  ;  while  its  insertion  here  as  the  basis  of  an 
argument  for  fidelity  to  Christ,  must  be  admitted 
as  proof  that  this  doctrine  of  the  Old  Testament 
is  really  and  fully  translated  into  the  New,  and  by 

To-day,  inti-    the  same  authority.     '  To-day  '  is  here  equivalent 

mating  the  J  J 

perpetual  force  to  the  entire  duration  of  the  Old  Covenant  and  its 

of  the  law.          •,•,,-  •  ,  i  •  ,*          ,     .     ,  . 

institutions,  conveying  to  us  the  significant  inti 
mation  that  these  primitive  utterances  of  God, 
particularly  those  from  Mount  Sinai  here  directly 
referred  to,  abide  in  perpetual  force,  and  are  ad 
dressed  to  every  successive  generation  of  people, 
as  truly  as  to  the  first,  without  the  least  diminu 
tion  of  authority  or  rightful  power  of  impression. 
Such  was  the  force  of  the  law,  and  such  is  the 


THE  REST.  105 

force  of  the  gospel;  each  has  its  perpetual  Now,     CHAP.  x. 
its  i  TO-DAY.'  Heb.  m.  6-1 9; 

1  Harden  not  your  hearts,  as  in  the  provocation, 
in  the  day  of  temptation  in  the  wilderness  :  when 
your  fathers  tempted  me,  proved  me,  and  saw 
my  works  forty  years.  Wherefore  I  was  grieved 
with  that  generation,  and  said,  They  do  alway 
err  in  their  heart ;  and  they  have  not  known  my 
ways.' 

(2.)  In  verse  8  the  dispositions  to  obedience  The  required 
are  inculcated,  and  the  failure  of  divine  truth  in 
accomplishing  its  ends  is  not  made  to  rest  upon 
its  indistinctness  or  ambiguity,  but  upon  the  re 
fractoriness  and  indifference  of  those  summoned 
to  listen  to  it.  To  harden  the  heart  by  voluntary 
habits  of  indolence,  by  insensibility,  and  bias  to 
evil,  is  to  disqualify  the  most  privileged  people  from 
profiting  by  their  position,  and  to  convert  them 
into  the  most  provoking  and  incorrigible  rebels. 
The  description  to  this  effect  in  these  verses  is  a 
compendium  of  the  history  of  the  Pentateuch,  of 
exact  truth  and  wonderful  intensity.  The  'provo 
cation,'  the  '  day  of  temptation  in  the  wilderness,' 
extending  through  forty  years;  the  probation  of 
the  divine  character  by  varied  operations,  both 
of  grace  and  vengeance;  the  incessant  vexation, 
speaking  after  a  human  manner,  which  their 
£meutes  occasioned ;  and  the  solemn  judgment 
passed  upon  their  character  from  the  evidence  of 
their  behaviour  during  this  long  trial, — are  decla 
rations  which,  considered  as  inspired,  are  deeply 
condemnatory  of  the  people  to  whom  such  favours 
were  vouchsafed,  and  of  that  human  nature  in 
general  which  so  much  needs  the  remembrance 


106  THE  REST. 

CHAP^X.     of  these  fearful  precedents  of  human  turpitude  to 
Heb.  lit.  6-19;  fortify  it  against  similar  or  even  more  aggravated 

iv.  1-13.  -,    ,        , . 

apostasy  in  later  times. 
Exclusion  of         The  penalty  of  exclusion  from  the  promised  rest 

the  Israelites       f  -,-,     -i  n\  j-iji  •  ^i 

from  the  Rest,  (vers.  11-15  )  cannot  be  taken  in  any  other  sense 
ca"ctly  typl~  than  as  an  example  strictly  typical,  and  therefore  of 
New  Testament  force.  It  is  not  mere  deprivation 
of  privilege  or  lowering  of  status  that  is  intended : 
these  penalties  had  been  incurred  before,  but  by 
the  intercession  of  Moses  they  had  been  condoned. 
The  penalty  here  was  to  that  generation  nothing 
less  than  an  absolute  disinheritance,  not  to  be  re 
versed  on  suit  or  amendment,  but  rendered  final  by 
an  oath.  Hence  ver.  14  makes  the  participation 
in  Christ  conditional  on  holding  i  the  beginning  of 
our  confidence  stedfast  unto  the  end,  while  it  is 
Christian  ad-  said  to-day ; '  ie.  the  Christian  rest  is  as  much  made 

mission  to  it  . .  -IT  ,  i  n  ,  i 

conditional,  contingent  on  obedience  to  the  end  as  was  the 
Hebrew  rest  on  the  obedience  of  the  people  in 
the  wilderness.  Thus,  ver.  13,  '  Exhort  one  another 
daily,'  is  language  suitable  to  an  emergency, — 
to  the  decision  of  a  great  stake,  the  casting  of 
the  die  of  destiny.  The  reminders  are  to  be,  not 
once,  or  now  and  then,  but  daily,  and  of  Church 
obligation,  as  if  every  man  were  made  his  brother's 
keeper :  '  lest  any  of  you  be  hardened  through  the 
deceitfulness  of  sin ; '  nothing  being  more  easy  and 
fatal  than  to  accept  the  lessons  of  temptation  when 

1  '  So  I  sware  in  my  wrath,  They  shall  not  enter  into  my  rest. 
Take  heed,  brethren,  lest  there  be  in  any  of  you  an  evil  heart  of  un 
belief,  in  departing  from  the  living  God.  But  exhort  one  another 
daily,  while  it  is  called  To-day  ;  lest  any  of  you  be  hardened  through 
the  deceitfulness  of  sin.  For  we  are  made  partakers  of  Christ,  if  we 
hold  the  beginning  of  our  confidence  stedfast  unto  the  end ;  while  it 
is  said,  To-day  if  ye  will  hear  His  voice,  harden  not  your  hearts,  as  in 
the  provocation.' 


THE  REST.  107 

r,hey  appeal  strongly  to  the  frailties  of  the  heart  or     CHAP.  x. 
to  the  exigencies  of  position.  Heb.  m.  6-19 ; 

Verses  16  to  19 1  seem  intended  to  express  very 
emphatically  the  strict  righteousness  of  the  punish 
ments  inflicted  on  the  people  in  the  wilderness ; 
iiiat  those  punishments  were  far  from  being  hastily 
inflicted,  or  of  condign  severity  in  earlier  instances, 
hut,  on  the  contrary,  that  they  closed  a  long  career 
of  trial  and  a  commensurate  career  of  disobedience, 
which  proved  them  to  be  utterly  incorrigible  rebels, 
und  totally  unfit  to  further  the  purposes  of  their 
deliverance  from  Egypt.  The  language  of  ver.  16, 
For  some,  when  they  had  heard,  did  provoke,' 
seems  intended  to  intimate  that  in  that  case,  as 
well  as  in  many  others,  the  good  and  the  bad  stood 
together,  though  not  in  equal  proportions.  The 
word  '  some '  is  not  meant  to  express  a  few,  as  our 
rendering  seems  to  intimate,  but  rather  an  indefi 
nite  multitude,  for  these  i  some'  are  evidently  put  in  Rendering  of 
opposition  to  the  whole  mass  of  the  people  led  out  of  <  some!1'' 
Egypt  by  Moses.  The  history  clearly  supports  this 
view.  It  could  not  be  that  the  '  all '  in  the  latter 
part  of  the  verse,  who  were  exempt  from  rebellion, 
respected  only  the  two  individuals,  Caleb  and  Joshua, 
mentioned  in  the  history.  The  line  of  division 
seems  rather  to  run  between  the  fully  adult  portion 
of  the  people  and  such  as  were  under  age  at  the 
time  of  this  declaration  :  these  were  not  numbered 
among  the  men  of  war  when  the  census  was  taken, 

1  '  For  some,  when  they  had  heard,  did  provoke :  howbeit  not  all 
that  came  out  of  Egypt  by  Moses.  But  with  whom  was  He  grieved 
forty  years  ?  was  it  not  with  them  that  had  sinned,  whose  carcases 
fell  in  the  wilderness  ?  And  to  whom  sware  He  that  they  should  not 
enter  into  His  rest,  but  to  them  that  believed  not  ?  So  we  see  that 
they  could  not  enter  in  because  of  unbelief.' 


108  THE  REST. 

CHAP.  x.     and  therefore,  as  minors,  if  for  no  other  reasons, 
Heb.  in.  6-19;  were  exempted  from  the  decree  of  exclusion,  as 

13>      they  were  from  the  lists  of  conscription. 
The  mixed  This  mixed  condition  of  the  same  congregation 

theYongrega-  'ls  nere  appositely  introduced  to  show,  that  the  sins 
^lunterTna-6  anc^  provocations  of  those  ultimately  punished  were 
ture  of  its  purely  voluntary,  and  chargeable  only  on  the  human 

transgressions.    L  .  . 

heart  of  unbelief  m  departing  from  the  living 
God; '  and  that  there  were  no  such  hardships  in  their 
probationary  condition,  whatever  these  might  be, 
as  to  render  their  sin  inevitable,  or  in  any  degree 
to  extenuate  it.  The  sin  and  the  punishment  ex 
hibited  the  most  perfect  correspondence ;  for  that 
sin  was  the  disobedience  of  unbelief,  induced  by  a 
cherished  habit  of  complaint — itself  the  fruit  of 
deep  disaffection  to  the  divine  rule,  and  productive 
of  such  a  mental  feebleness  and  dislike  of  effort  as 
disqualified  them  to  cope  with  difficulties,  or  to 
dare  duty,  however  arduous,  in  simple  reliance  on 
the  help  of  God.  Canaan  was  the  only  alterna 
tive  to  the  wilderness,  and  to  refuse  the  one  was  to 
choose  the  other;  hence  ver.  19  :  i  So  we  see. they 
could  not  enter  in  because  of  unbelief.'  This 
closes  the  historical  part  of  the  argument. 
3.  The  contin-  (3.)  Its  application  in  ch.  iv.  is  resumed.1  The 
prospective  '  Rest '  here  is  dilated  upon  as  common 
to  the  Jewish  and  the  Christian  Church.  The  gos 
pel  also  is  common  to  them  both,  i.e.  the  joyful 

1  '  Let  us  therefore  fear,  lest,  a  promise  being  left  us  of  entering  into 
His  rest,  any  of  you  should  seem  to  come  short  of  it.  For  unto  us  was 
the  gospel  preached,  as  well  as  unto  them  :  but  the  word  preached 
did  not  profit  them,  not  being  mixed  with  faith  in  them  that  heard 
it.  For  we  which  have  believed  do  enter  into  rest,  as  He  said,  As  I 
have  sworn  in  my  wrath,  if  they  shall  enter  into  my  rest :  although 
the  works  were  finished  from  the  foundation  of  the  world.' 


THE  REST.  109 

•idings  of  this  rest  of  God.    Faith  is  set  forth  as    CHAP.  x. 
v,he  leading  principle  of  obedience  under  both  dis-  Heb.  m.  6-19; 
pensations,  and  as  the  basis  of  all  revealed  religion, 
as  in  ch.  xi.      Without  faith  it  is  impossible  to 
please  God.     Faith,  not  a  set  of  dogmas  or  intel 
lectual  speculations,  is  the  principle  underlying  all 
religious   education,  the   true   fount   of  religious 
power  and  of  religious  character.     The  religious 
man  is  the  man  of  faith. 

Yerse  3  lays  down  the  identity  of  prospect  be 
tween  the  Christian  disciple  and  the  disciple  of  the 
older  dispensation  :  l  For  we  which  have  believed  do 
enter  into  rest.'  The  meaning  of  this  phrase  is  not 
that  faith  actually  introduces  the  disciple  into  the 
i  rest,'  but  that  it  opens  up  the  rest  to  him,  puts  him 
in  the  way  of  it.  Further,  it  is  implied  that  this 
Christian  rest  was  foreshown  in  the  Hebrew  rest, 
and  that  there  was  a  community  of  purpose  be 
tween  the  calling  of  the  Hebrew  people  out  of 
Egypt  and  the  calling  of  the  Christian  people  by 
the  gospel,  since  on  no  other  ground  can  we  under 
stand  why  the  quotation  from  Psalm  xcv.  is  intro 
duced  in  this  connection.  It  is  true  the  quotation 
relates  to  the  prospects  of  the  Hebrew  people  in 
David's  day,  not  in  the  day  of  Moses ;  but  this  is  an 
additional  argument  for  the  exactness  of  the  corre 
spondence  between  the  Hebrew  and  the  Christian 
rest,  since  it  is  in  evidence  that  the  Spirit  of  in 
spiration  instructed  David  to  record  this  typical 
correspondence,  and  to  urge  upon  the  people  under 
David's  rule,  and  by  David's  instruction,  the  duty 
of  a  cordial  and  thorough  obedience  to  their  ancient 
law.  This  subject  is  continued  in  the  remainder 
of  the  third  verse  down  to  the  ninth ;  the  course  of 


110 


THE  REST. 


CHAP.  X. 

Heb.  iii.  6-19; 
iv.  1-13. 

The  Sabbath 
the  primitive 
type  of  the 
'Rest.' 


Already  en 
joyed  from  the 
early  ages. 


the  argument  being  in  the  same  direction,  viz.  to 
show  the  still  prospective  nature  of  the  rest  of  God. 

For  this  purpose  (in  ver.  4)  the  Sabbath  is  intro 
duced.1  It  is  uncertain  whether  the  quotation, 
6  God  did  rest  the  seventh  day,'  is  taken  from  the 
Decalogue  or  from  Gen.  ii.  2.  The  point  of  im 
portance  to  notice  here  is  the  manifest  collocation 
of  the  Sabbath  with  the  finished  work  of  creation, 
and  the  argument  thence  arising  in  favour  of  its 
primitive  institution,  since  it  would  have  been 
puerile  to  have  introduced  the  Sabbath  with  this 
preface,  '  although  the  works  were  finished/  had 
it  been  really  first  instituted  in  the  wilderness. 
Neither  would  it  help  the  argument  for  the  finality 
of  God's  t  rest '  to  have  placed  the  rest  of  the  Sab 
bath  lower  down,  and  so  much  nearer  to  the  'rest' 
of  the  promised  land,  thus  destroying  the  primitive 
type  and  substituting  a  double  Hebrew  one  in  its 
stead. 

To  this  it  may  be  added,  that  the  Christian 
doctrine  being  a  world -doctrine,  as  distinguished 
from  a  Jewish  one,  is  better  matched  by  a  primitive, 
and  therefore  world-doctrine  of  the  Sabbath,  than 
it  could  be  by  one  merely  national  and  temporary. 
The  Christian  rest  is  simply  the  world  Gospel, 
not  that  of  a  particular  people,  and  therefore 
seems  to  require  a  world  type  as  its  true  ante 
cedent.  The  purpose  served  by  the  introduction 
of  the  Sabbath  here  is  to  show  that,  as  an  institu 
tion  commemorative  of  the  Creation,  its  rest  had  ; 
been  already  entered  by  the  pious  of  all  preceding  j 
generations.  The  '  rest '  of  the  promised  land  had  ' 


1  '  For  He  spake  in  a  certain  place  of  the  seventh  day  on  this  wise, 
And  God  did  rest  the  seventh  day  from  all  His  works.' 


THE  REST.  Ill 

also  been  enjoyed  for  centuries  before  the  time  of    CHAP.  x. 
David,  yet  still,  in  the  fifth  verse,  the  rest  of  God  Heb.  m.  e-i9; 
is  spoken  of  and  quoted  from  David's  Psalm  [xcv.], 
as  the  boon  of  the  future  :    '  If  they  shall  enter  95th  Psalm 

mi  •  •  •  i  unintelligible 

into  my  rest.  I  his,  too,  is  m  evidence  that  the  on  the  secular 
doctrine  of  a  future  life  was  familiar  to  the  Hebrew  Hebrew°  faith, 
people,  and  that  the  sanctions  of  religion  were  not 
merely  secular,  as  understood  in  David's  time,  but 
that  the  loyal  obedience  to  God,  to  which  he  ex 
horted  them  by  the  authority  of  the  Holy  Ghost, 
rested  on  the  broad  ground  of  immortality  and 
retribution.  This  renders  the  quotation  from 
David  doctrinally  apposite ;  whereas,  had  religion 
rested  on  the  national  basis  alone,  the  Psalm  itself 
would  have  been  unintelligible  to  David's  people 
as  an  exhortation  to  secure  a  promised  rest,  while 
it  could  not  have  been  introduced  to  press  an 
argument  in  favour  of  fidelity  to  the  obligations  of 
Christianity. 

We  omit  for  the  present  all  reference  to  ver.  6, 
which  is  usually  a  difficulty  with  commentators, 
and  proceed  to  examine  vers.  7,  8,  9,  and  10. 

£  Again,  He  limiteth  a  certain  day,  saying  in 
David,  To-day,  after  so  long  a  time  ;  as  it  is  said, 
To-day  if  ye  will  hear  His  voice,  harden  not  your 
hearts.  For  if  Jesus  had  given  them  rest,  then 
would  He  not  afterward  have  spoken  of  another 
day.  There  remaineth  therefore  a  rest  to  the 
people  of  God.  For  he  that  is  entered  into  his 
rest,  he  also  hath  ceased  from  his  own  works,  as 
God  did  from  His.' 

The  formula  'again'  (in  the  Epistle  to  the  Hebrews  ?he  formula 
oft  recurring)  always  denotes  a  fresh  example  in 
proof  of  a  previous  doctrine.     In  this  sense  it  well 


112 


THE  REST. 


CHAP.  X. 

Heb.  iii.  6-19; 
iv.  1-13. 


Verses  5  and 
7  separate 
quotations 
from  95th 
Psalm. 


Doctrine  of  a 
future  life  al 
ways  held  by 
the  Church. 


God  has  had  a 
people  in  all 
ages. 


coheres  with  ver.  5,  l  If  they  shall  enter  into  my 
rest/  which  clearly  refers  to  the  l  rest '  of  the  pro 
mised  land,  while  ver.  7  as  clearly  refers  to  the 
rest  of  God  or  of  a  future  life,  but  still  related  to 
the  t  rest '  of  the  land  of  promise  as  its  antitype. 
This  appears  to  be  the  true  reason  why  emphasis 
is  laid  on  the  word  l  to-day,'  and  on  the  appended 
comment,  c  after  so  long  a  time.'  For  to  what 
purpose  is  this  comment  introduced,  but  in  order 
to  prove  that  there  was  another  and  a  higher  rest 
in  existence  than  that  to  be  entered  from  the 
wilderness,  i.e.  i  the  rest '  proclaimed  by  the  pro 
phets  as  the  great  heritage  of  the  Church  from 
the  foundation  of  the  world,  foreshadowed  by  the 
Sabbath  and  by  the  land  of  promise  ? 

That  this  is  the  gist  of  the  argument  is  manifest 
from  vers.  8  and  9  :  l  For  if  Joshua  had  given 
them  rest,  then  would  he  not  afterward  have  spoken 
of  another  day;'  i.e.  if  the  rest  of  Canaan  given  by 
Joshua  had  fully  met  God's  intentions  with  respect 
to  His  people,  it  is  impossible  that  another  and 
distinct  i  rest '  should  have  been  exhibited  to  them 
as  a  motive  to  piety  in  an  after  time ;  hence  the 
language  of  the  ninth  verse,  '  There  remaineth 
therefore  a  rest  to  the  people  of  God.'  It  is  the 
conclusion  established  by  a  distinct  course  of  argu 
ment  from  the  Old  Testament,  and  contains  two 
things  of  importance  : — 

First,  That  from  the  beginning  of  the  world  a 
future  life  of  glory  had  been  distinctly  held  forth 
to  piety,  in  the  form  of  promise  or  typical  institu 
tions  ;  and, 

Secondly,  That  from  the  beginning  of  the  world 
that  promise  had  always  been  to  some  extent 


THE  REST.  113 

accepted,  and  that  in  all   ages    God   had   had  a    CHAP.  x. 
people.     Hence  the  only  question  of  vital  import  to  Heb.  111. 6- 19 ; 
>e  settled  now,  and  when  this  Epistle  was  written, 
s,  Who  are  the  people  of  God,  and,  consequently,  God  has  had  a 
he  heirs  of  this  promise?     The  ninety-fifth  Psalm  ^le: 
ettled  who  they  were  in  David's  time.     They  were 
he  truly  obedient  to  the  teachings  of  the  law  and 
f  the  prophets  ;  in  later  times  they  are  the  dis- 
iples  of  Christ :   '  We  which  have  believed  do  enter 
nto  rest'  (ver.   3),  i.e.   are   entitled  to  this  rest, 
'he  whole  gist  of  the  Epistle  is  to  settle  this  ques- 
ion  beyond  all  controversy. 

Yer.  10,  l  For  he  that  is  entered  into  his  rest,  Verse  10  states 
e  also  hath  ceased  from  his  own  works,  as  God  afutuferest 
id  from  His,'  is  designed   to  show  in  what  the 
ature  of  the  future  glory  consists.     Tha  phrase,  'His rest' 

,   .  .   ,  . , ,  ^      i,  TT.      may  be  (1) 

his  rest,  may  either  mean  Gods  rest  or  His  man's  rest. 
eople's  rest.  If  taken  in  the  latter  sense,  it  asserts 
Kat  the  future  life  is  an  exact  antithesis  to  the 
resent,  and  that  it  is  built  upon  the  issues  of 
tie  present,  considered  as  a  probationary  epoch. 
Works '  are  here  to  be  taken  in  the  most  exten- 
ive  sense,  not  merely  for  Christian  works  strictly 
nd  properly  so  called,  but  for  the  general  strife 
nd  travail  of  life.  The  4  rest '  excludes  all  these  : 
is  simply  their  fruit.  Life  is  reproduced ;  but  in 
nother  and  higher  form,  as  a  perfect  mirror  of  the 
>ast  and  a  retributary  counterpart  of  that  which 
ras  but  initial,  yet  the  seed  of  the  ripened  har- 
est  of  life  eternal.  If  it  be  true  that  the  man  who 
inters  '  his  rest  has  ceased  from  his  own  works,  as 
jod  did  from  His,'  this  cannot  signify  less  than  a 
Complacent  fruition  arising  from  a  perfect  under- 
tanding  of  the  nature  of  the  past.  It  must  largely 

II 


114 


THE  REST. 


Or  (2)  God's 
rest. 


CHAP.  x.  consist  in  vast  intellectual  comprehension  of  the 
Heb.  in.  6-19;  relation  of  that  past  life  to  an  epoch  of  the  divine 
government,  necessarily  pre  -  conditional  to  that 
never-ending  status  of  perfection,  in  which  all  the 
glories  of  the  divine  character  shine  forth  with 
unclouded  ray. 

But  if  the  phrase  i  his  rest '  means  God's  rest  (as 
is  likely),  this,  taken  with  the  latter  clause  of  the 
verse,  i  as  God  did  from  His,'  gives  us  a  view  still 
loftier;  for  it  intimates  a  certain  correspondence  of 
the  stages  of  humanity  to  the  development  of  the 
divine  nature.  As  far  as  these  are  open  to  us,  they 
show  an  alternation  of  creative  work  with  what,  in 
the  comparative  sense,  may  be  called  cessation : 
there  are  working  periods  and  resting  periods  in 
the  history  of  His  creation.  Physical  productions 
are  made  subservient  to  moral  results.  A  finished 
system,  including  the  universe,  in  which  all  His 
perfections  and  His  nature  may  ultimately  rest  with 
complacent  satisfaction,  is  more  reasonably  ascribed 
to  God  than  one  which  argues  His  perfections  from 
unlimited  operation  implying  unfinished  work,  in 
which  case,  in  the  sense  of  Sabbath-keeping,  His 
nature  bears  no  analogy  with  that  of  creatures. 

We  return  to  verse  6.  i  Seeing  therefore  it  re- 
maineth  that  some  must  enter  therein,  and  they 
to  whom  it  was  first  preached  entered  not  in  be 
cause  of  unbelief 

1.  The  objection  to  it,  as  it  stands  in  the  autho 
rized  version,  lies  in  the  incomplete  form  of  the 
argument  it  professes  to  initiate.  There  are  two 
declarations  :  (1)  '  Seeing  (or  since)  therefore  it  re- 
maineth  that  some  must  enter  therein ;  '  and  (2) 
4  They  to  whom  it  was  first  preached  entered  not 


Ver.   6.  Argu 
ment  as  stated 
in  authorized 
version  in 
complete. 


THE  REST.  115 

in  ;  '  —  both  these  require  some  other,  in  the  form  of    CHAP.  x. 
a  conclusion,  or  the  argument  is  broken  off  in  the  Heb.  m.  6-19; 
middle  —  a  supposition  not  in  harmony  with  in 
spired  teaching. 

2.  The  verse  itself  is  without  any  perceptible 
connection  with  ver.  5.    The  inference  of  the  sixth  Conclusion 

t  T,  ji    n      i  ,1  •      i    stated  in  ver. 

verse,    It  remametn  that  some  must  enter  therein,    6  not  drawn 


is  hardly  a  cogent  one  from  the  statement  of  the  negated  to 
lifth,  '  If  they  shall  enter  into  my  rest,'  or  '  they  ver-  7- 
shall  not  enter  into  my  rest,'  much  less  is  what 
follows,  'They  to  whom  it  was  first  preached  entered 
not  in  because  of  unbelief  (ver.  6);  for  this  last 
I  clause  of  the  verse  is  clearly  identified  with  the 
history,  which  undoubtedly  shows  that  the  Jews 
were  excluded  from  '  the  rest'  because  of  unbelief, 
tut  does  not  establish  the  conclusion  that  'it  re- 
Imaineth  that  some  must  enter  therein.' 

Yerse   6    also  is  clearly  irrelevant   to   ver.    7  : 
\l  Again  he  limiteth  a  certain  day.' 

The   difficulty   has    been    generally   mitigated, 
though  not  removed,  by  enclosing  verses  7  to  10 
[within   a   parenthesis.      It  seems,  however,  both  True  Place  of 

1    .  \  ver.  6  before 

simpler  and  more  satisfactory  to  insert  ver.  6  be-  ver.  11. 
ore  ver.  11.     This  is  really  its  proper  place,  from 
its  manifestly  logical  connection  :  '  Seeing  therefore 
it  remaineth  that  some  must  enter  therein,  and 
hey  to  whom  it  was  first  preached  entered  not  in 
cause  of  unbelief,'  'let  us  labour  therefore  to  enter 
to  that  rest,  lest  any  man  fall  after  the  same  ex- 
mple  of  unbelief     This  connection  is  perfect  ;  it 
moves  all  ambiguity  from  the  course  of  the  argu- 
ent,  and  all  necessity  for  the  use  of  a  parenthesis 
etween  verses  7  and  10.     Indeed,  it  is  so  obvious,  This  probably 

:-,..,  .  .  n  its  original 

that  the  conjecture  must  be  deemed  probable  that  place. 


116  THE  REST. 

CHAP.  x.     this  was  it  original  place,  and  that  the  arrangement 
Heb.  in.  6-1 9 ;  has  been  injured  by  some  early  error  of  transcrip 
tion.     Instances  of  this  sort   not  a  few  may  be 
gathered  from  the  Old  and  New  Testaments. 

How,  then,  reads  the  verse  in  the  connection 
proposed  ?  It  reads  as  an  argument  enforcing  the 
exhortation  of  the  first  verse,  drawn  from  the  whole 
of  the  preceding  discourse  concerning  the  tempta 
tion  and  the  rest.  The  unbelief  mentioned  in  ver. 
6  recurs  in  ver.  11  as  an  example  to  be  shunned  and 
strenuously  resisted:  i  Let  us  labour  therefore  to  enter 
into  that  rest ;'  i.e.  to  be  of  the  number  mentioned 
in  ver.  6,  who  are  said  '  to  enter  in,'  and  not  of  the 
disobedient  mentioned  in  the  same  description,  and 
again  in  ver.  11,  as  those  who  '  fall  after  the  same 
example  of  unbelief.'  Thus  the  correspondence  be 
tween  verses  6  and  11  is  seen  to  be  entire :  the  one 
iiest  provision  is  actually  dovetailed  into  the  other.  The  infer- 

existed  from 

the  beginning,  ence  Irom  the  continued  existence  of  the  rest 
provision  from  age  to  age  undoubtedly  is,  that 
some  enter  therein,  and  that  in  the  divine  foresight 
such  overture  was  not  unavailing ;  but  that,  whilst 
many  neglected  it,  others  would  certainly  accept  it.1 
It  is  apparent  that  this  obvious  mode  of  inter 
preting  the  sixth  verse  coincides  both  with  matter 
of  fact  and  with  the  argument  of  the  discourse. 
As  to  the  fact,  it  simply  exhibits  a  summary  of  the 
history  of  the  Church  under  the  law  and  the  gospel ; 

1  Hence,  though  our  translators  ought  not  to  have  inserted  '  must ' 
in  the  passage  as  a  true  rendering  of  the  original,  they  have  less 
diverged  from  an  implied  doctrine  in  the  phrase  than  they  seem  to  j 
have  done ;  for,  though  necessity,  in  the  sense  of  predetermined  decree,  i 
be  inadmissible,  yet  the  relation  between  the  rest  provision  and  the  j 
requirements  of  human  nature  is  so  broad  and  intimate  as  to  justify  | 
us  in  asserting  that  given  results  will  follow. 


THE  REST.  117 

p  from  the  beginning  there  have  always  been    CHAP.  x. 
:hose  who  have  used  their  privileges  and  those  who  Heb.  m.  6-19; 
lave  abused  them.     As  to  the  argument,  the  fact 
tself  is  most  cogent  in  favour  of  final  perseverance 
n  the  profession  and  works  of  the  Christian  faith. 

For  example,  taking  verse  1  of  the  chapter,  c  Let  Danger  of 

,,  r          ~         ,,,.-,        ,,  ,  coming  short 

is  therefore  fear,  etc.,  while  there  was  no  danger  of  it  a  motive 
whatever  that  the  entire  Hebrew  Church  should 


Apostatize  from  Christianity  to  Judaism,  there  was 
-ery  eminent  hazard  of  a  portion  of  it  giving  way; 
ndeed,  the  Epistle  asserts  that  some  had  already 
fallen,  and  it  was  obviously  written  to  arrest  the 
:iischief.  Such  is  the  construction  of  verse  1:  'Any 
Df  you  should  seem  to  come  short  of  it,'  i.e.  exhibit 
m  example  of  apostasy  after  the  manner  of  your 
fathers.  The  expression  '  seem  to  come  short'  is 
lot  to  be  interpreted  as  an  apparent  instead  of  a 
coming  short,  but  of  such  an  open  and  palpable 
lereliction  from  the  path  of  duty  as  should  make 
m  adverse  judgment  with  respect  to  their  prospects 
indeniably  true  from  the  very  letter  of  the  Chris 
tian  faith.  The  defection  was  overt  and  cognizable 
Deyond  doubt,  just  as  much  so  as  was  the  defection 
)f  the  Israelites  who  murmured  against  Moses, 
md  refused  to  advance  at  God's  command  towards 
ihe  land  of  promise. 
The  relation  of  this  whole  discourse  (commencing  chap.  m.  7  to 

the  7th  verse  of  the  3d,  and  ending  with  the  teJheathe8 
L3th  verse  of  the  4th  chapter)  to  the  Church  Sove-  %£$£%  of 
reignty  of  Christ,  is  as  manifest  as  it  is  impressive.  &«  drarch  }n 
fTo  quote  a  prophetic  phrase,  '  This  is  the  law  of 
the  house.'     As  the  King  of  Israel,  Christ  gave  law 
to  the  people  in  the  wilderness,  by  His  c  servant 
Moses,' — as  the  '  King  set  upon  the  holy  hill  of 


118  THE  REST. 

CHAP.  x.  Zion,'  He  gives  law  to  His  Church  throughout  the 
in.  6-19;  world.  To  His  voice,  as  recognised  by  the  Holy 
Ghost,  the  people  of  David's  time  were  summoned 
to  give  audience.  Between  the  two  dispensations 
of  the  Old  and  New  Covenants,  intervened  that  of 
prophets,  expository  of  the  one,  and  preparatory  to 
the  other.  Under  these  several  epochs  of  rule, 
His  Rest  has  ever  been  set  forth  to  His  people  as 
the  prize  of  their  high  calling;  while,  with  the 
advance  of  revelation,  we  mark  a  corresponding 
advance  in  the  spirituality  and  compass  of  religious 
obligation,  and  even  in  the  terrors  of  penalty. 
Hence  the  all  but  alarm  language  of  verse  11, 
4  Let  us  labour  therefore,'  reminding  us  of  our 
Lord's  own  words,  'strive,'  or  agonize,  'to  enter 
in  at  the  strait  gate,  for  many  shall  seek  to  enter 
in,  and  shall  not  be  able.' 

4  For  the  word  of  God  is  quick,  and  powerful, 
and  sharper  than  any  two-edged  sword,  piercing 
even  to  the  dividing  asunder  of  soul  and  spirit, 
and  of  the  joints  and  marrow,  and  is  a  discerner 
of  the  thoughts  and  intents  of  the  heart.  Neither 
is  there  any  creature  that  is  not  manifest  in  His 
sight  :  but  all  things  are  naked  and  opened  unto 
the  eyes  of  Him  with  whom  we  have  to  do.7 

We  have  here  the  climax  of  this  most  consecu 
tive  and  forcible  appeal :  '  For  the  word  of  God  is 
quick  and  powerful.'  The  author,  after  consider 
able  lapse  of  time,  and  careful  reconsideration  of 
this  passage,  is  unable  to  offer  a  truer  exposition: 
of  its  terms  and  scope  than  he  has  given  else 
where.  He  therefore  introduces,  without  apology, 
an  extract  from  his  work  on  Mediatorial  Sove-\ 
reignty  (vol.  i.  p.  99): — 'Heb.  iv.  12  is  a  New, 


THE  REST.  119 

Testament  reflection  of  Old  Testament  scriptures.  CHAP.  x. 
The  force  of  the  collation  lies  partly  in  the  struc-  Heb.  iii.  6-1 9; 
tural  resemblance  between  the  Old  Testament 
passages  and  this  from  the  New,  and  partly  in  the 
historic  and  doctrinal  unity  existing  between  them. 
For  the  first, — if  it  be  necessary  to  hold  the  doctrine 
of  a  personal  Word  at  all,  as  contained  in  the 
former  class  of  scriptures, — it  seems  we  can  hardly 
deny  that  the  passage  in  Hebrews  is  susceptible  of 
the  same  interpretation.  For  while  it  is  not  to  be 
maintained  that  any  one  of  these  scriptures  may 
not  be  interpreted  otherwise,  it  does  seem  clear 
that  the  admission  of  a  personal  sense  is  equally 
appropriate  to  the  last -mentioned  scripture  with 
":hem  all;  and  it  is  remarkable  that  in  no  other 
'passage  of  the  New  Testament  can  any  description 
of  the  "  word  of  God"  be  pointed  to  at  all  akin  to 
this ;  it  stands  by  itself,  and,  as  it  would  seem,  is 
meant  to  be  a  kind  of  reflection  of,  or  counterpart 
to,  this  class  of  Old  Testament  passages.  Like 
them  it  partakes  of  the  characters  of  indefiniteness 
or  double  meaning ;  while  it  draws  out  those  more 
highly  appropriate  to  a  person  than  to  a  word. 
"  The  word  of  God  is  quick,"  or  living,  powerful, 
in  action  like  the  piercing  of  a  sword,  "  a  discerner 
of  the  thoughts  and  intents  of  the  heart;"  i.e.  life, 
power,  and  moral  judgment  are  ascribed  to  it; 
and,  indeed,  unless  a  transition  from  a  word  to  a 
person  be  admitted  here,  the  same  'word'  is  said 
to  scrutinize  all  creatures,  and  that  it  is  with  this 
'word'  that  all  creatures  have  to  do.  But  this 
notion  of  a  transition  seems  to  spoil  the  climacteric 
nature  of  the  description ;  and  is,  moreover,  im 
probable,  from  the  double  consideration  that  it 


120  THE  REST. 

CHAP.  x.  could  not  be  the  Apostle's  intention  to  enforce  on 
Heb.  m.  6-19;  Hebrews  the  doctrine  of  the  divine  omniscience 
but  as  it  was  an  attribute  of  the  Word ;  and  that 
to  the  Word,  rather  than  to  God,  in  the  peculiar 
New  Testament  sense,  appertains  the  judicial  as 
well  as  the  gracious  administration  of  the  Church. 
4  These  considerations  make  it  difficult  to  believe 
that  personality  is  excluded  from  this  description; 
mere  personification  of  the  literal  "word" — the  al 
ternative  to  this  interpretation — being  inadequate 
to  the  import  of  the  description,  considered  as  a 
whole.  .  .  .  There  is  a  supposed  parallel  between 
these  Hebrew  Christians  and  their  progenitors  under 
the  Law;  and  their  temptations  and  dangers  in 
both  cases  are  supposed  to  arise,  not  only  from  the 
same  general  causes,  but  from  their  having  to  do 
with  the  same  Being.  The  quotation  from  the  95th 
Psalm  is  full  in  proof  of  this,  for  it  immediately 
relates  to  their  conduct  under  probation,  and  re 
cognises  in  the  Being  who  said,  "When  your  fathers 
tempted  Me,  proved  Me,  and  saw  My  works,"  the 
Lord  of  the  New  Testament  Church.'1 

1  See  also  the  two  apocalyptic  descriptions  of  Christ,  Rev.  i.  16, 
xix.  13. 


NOTE  ON  THE  SABBATH.  121 

NOTE. 
Heb.  iv.  4. 

NOTE  ON  THE  SABBATH. 

HEB.  iv.  4. 

'  FOE  He  spake  in  a  certain  place  of  the  seventh  day  on  this 
wise,  And  God  did  rest  the  seventh  day  from  all  His  works.' 

In  addition  to  the  argument  previously  advanced  for  the 
primitive  institution  of  the  Sabbath,  the  following  observa 
tions  are  added : — 

(1.)  The  ground  of  observance  of  a  seventh  day  in  the  The  fourth 
Decalogue  bears  on  it  no  Hebrew  peculiarity  whatever.    It  command- 

.     .  *  J  ment  not 

is  just  as  cogent  a  ground  for  Sabbath  observance  to  the  Hebrew  but 
whole  human  race  as  to  the  Hebrew  people,  resting  as  it  does  Primltlve- 
on  the  assumption  that  Jehovah  the  God  of  Israel  is  the 
only  true  God,  and  the  only  Creator  of  the  world.     This  is 
plainly  catholic  ground,  and  its  denial  would  -involve  the 
blasphemy  of  His  being  but  a  local  and  tutelary  Deity,  to 
whom  the  rest  of  mankind  owe   neither  recognition  nor 
fealty. 

(2.)  The   covenant   character  of  the   Decalogue   by  no  Covenant  cha- 
means  invalidates  this  conclusion ;  it  only  implies  that  to   ™cter  of  tlie 

Uecaloffue 

the  Hebrew  people  the  Sabbath  was  a  national  ordinance,  does  not  in  - 
a  formal  article  of  stipulation,  so  to  speak,  to  which  they  validate  tlns- 
pledged  themselves  by  their  acceptance  of  this  covenant. 
Hence  the  dissolution  of  the  covenant  and  of  its  national 
obligations  cannot  in  the  least  affect  the  validity  of  the 
Sabbath,  as  resting  on  an  older  law ;  it  merely  unlooses 
this  particular  form  of  obligation. 

(3.)  The  assumption  that  the  Sabbath  is  merely  a 
Hebrew  ordinance  is  founded  on  a  wrong  view  of  the 
Decalogue  itself,  which  is  not  merely  a  national  code,  but 
essentially  a  world  code.  Not  one  of  its  articles  can  be 
appealed  to  as  bearing  a  local  or  temporary  character; 
they  are  a  rescript  or  summary  of  religion  itself.  Surely  The  Decalogue 
the  prohibitions  of  polytheism,  idolatry,  of  dishonouring  a  summary  of 

. ,     „.  ,  ,    ,,  ,    TT  ,  primitive  re- 

parents,  swearing,  theft,  murder,  adultery,  are  not  Hebrew  fjgion. 
ordinances,  but  the  common  law  of  humanity  ?     If  so,  they 
are  as  old  as  the  world,  and  the  collocation  of  the  Sabbath 


122  NOTE  ON  THE  SABBATH. 

NOTE.        with  them  is  in  proof  that  it  likewise  is  one  of  the  articles 
Hel~v".  4<     of  primitive  religion,  of  which  the  Decalogue  is   but  an 
abridgment. 

(4.)  This  view  of  the  Decalogue  is  corroborated  by  a 
recollection  of  the  purposes  for  which  the  Hebrew  people 
were  called  out  of  Egypt,  disciplined  in  the  wilderness, 
Mission  of  the  and  settled  in  the  land  of  Canaan.  These  purposes  in- 
restb0rreWprimi-  volve(l  nothing  less  than  the  formal  restoration  of  the 
tive  religion,  primitive  religion  of  the  world.  They  were  to  be  a  divine 
testimony  to  the  divinity  of  Jehovah,  as  the  Creator  of  the 
world,  and  a  protest  against  the  apostasy  and  guilt  of  the 
nations  around,  in  substituting  other  divinities  for  Him, 
and  in  doing  service  to  them  which  '  by  nature  were  no 
gods.'  This  was  God's  testimony,  and  it  was  to  be  held 
forth  to  the  nations  in  a  grand  national  form,  by  a  people 
selected  for  that  very  end.  Hence  they  might  not  im 
properly  be  called  as  a  nation  the  early  Protestants  of  the 
world.  Their  religion  was  most  expressly  Monotheistic, 
and  their  national  integrity  was  guaranteed  on  this  basis 
alone.  The  infraction  of  the  covenant,  fatal  to  its  integrity, 
was  the  sin  of  idolatry,  which,  with  its  accompanying 
deluge  of  crime,  had  ripened  for  destruction  the  nations  in 
The  Sabbath  a  whose  land  they  were  to  dwell.  The  institution  of  the 
Sabbath  appears  peculiarly  forcible  in  this  connection.  It 
was  a  professional  badge  of  their  obligation  to  maintain 
their  loyalty  to  their  faith,  and  a  leading  measure  for 
securing  it. 

The  application  of  this  argument  to  the  Christian 
Sabbath  is  easy  and  obvious.  There  was  no  room  for  the 
formal  re-institution  of  the  Sabbath  in  a  religion  not 
essentially  national.  It  could  only  be  re-edited  as  a  Church 
ordinance,  and  could  only  be  restored  to  its  nationality 
when  the  religion  of  Christ  should  come  to  be  nationally 
recognised.  This  consideration,  while  it  goes  far  to  ac 
count  for  the  absence  in  the  New  Testament  of  a  formal 
republication,  is  made  still  more  convincing  when  referred 
to  the  institution  of  the  Sabbath  as  part  and  parcel  of  the 
Not  formally  primitive  law  of  the  world.  For  why  should  that  be 
re-instituted,  formally  re-instituted  which  has  never  fallen  into  de- 

beeause  never  _  ..  _  ,, 

abrogated         cadence,  or  has  in  no  previous  age  whatever  been  formally 


NOTE  ON  THE  SABBATH.  123 

annulled  ?  Even  by  men,  fresh  legislation  to  suit  new  NOTE, 
wants  of  society  surely  does  not  imply  the  abrogation  of  He1~7  4 
constitutional  principles  previously  settled,  or  even  of  par 
ticular  statutes,  unless  their  abrogation  be  formally  declared. 
Why,  then,  should  it  be  imagined,  that  Christianity  has  can 
celled  the  ordinance  of  the  Sabbath,  because  it  is  in  certain 
capital  respects  a  great  advance  on  the  earlier  religion  of 
the  world  ?  Undoubtedly,  it  may  and  does  comprise  much 
more  than  this,  but  as  certainly  it  cannot  comprise  less. 
Hence,  the  manner  in  which  the  New  Testament  deals 
with  this  question  is  just  what  we  ought  to  have  expected. 
It  does  not  treat  all  previous  revelation  as  a  nullity.  It 
does  not  re-enact  the  statutes  against  polytheism  and 
idolatry ;  against  theft,  murder,  forgery,  and  the  like ;  but 
does  it  therefore  abrogate  them  ?  It  takes  for  granted  that 
the  primitive  religion  of  the  world  is  irrevocable,  whilst 
it  makes  its  notices  of  the  Sabbath  entirely  to  correspond 
with  this  assumption.  For  instance,  when  our  Lord  Our  Lord  as- 
uttered  His  great  declaration,  found  in  Mark  (ch.  ii.  *™  itsai^ 
vers.  27,  28),  it  plainly  assumes  the  perpetuity  and  world-  declares  the 
wide  nature  of  the  Sabbath  :  '  The  Sabbath  was  made  for  JJJ^JJ"  ob" 
man,  and  not  man  for  the  Sabbath.'1  The  language  of  this 
double  aphorism  is  of  itself  sufficiently  explicit ;  but  its 
full  lustre,  as  a  declaration  of  the  pristine  and  universal 
institution  of  the  Sabbath,  is  brought  out  by  adverting  to 
the  obvious  fact,  that  our  Lord  meant  it  to  be  an  authori 
tative  interpretation  of  the  Sabbath  law,  directed  against 
ecclesiastical  and  traditional  interpolations.  This  vindica 
tion  of  its  integrity  is  far  more  forcibly  presented  by  going 
back  to  it  as  a  primitive  and  race  ordinance,  than  by  look 
ing  at  it  merely  in  its  national  aspects,  since,  undoubtedly, 
there  were  specialities  in  the  form  of  the  law  as  delivered 
to  the  Hebrew  people,  which  did  not  belong  to  it  in  its 
primitive  and  race  character.  What  follows  this  authorita 
tive  declaration,  '  Therefore  the  Son  of  man  is  Lord  also  of 
the  Sabbath/  is  most  momentous.  It  corroborates  the  per- 

1  According  to  some  modern  notions,  the  word  Jews  should  have 
taken  the  place  of  man  in  the  passage ;  but  even  on  this  restricted 
basis,  the  latter  aphorism  is  still  inapplicable,  that  the  Jews  were 
made  for  the  Sabbath. 


124 


NOTE  ON  THE  SABBATH. 


NOTE. 
Heb~7v  4 


This  the 


for  Sabbath 
observance. 


Alteration  of 

let 
prerogative. 


petuity  of  the  Sabbath,  and  gives  us  the  law  of  its  future 
observance.  It,  as  we  take  it,  determines  at  once  the  true 
position  of  the  Sabbath  as  a  part  of  Christianity.  The 
institution  as  primitive,  and  as  Hebrew  also,  is  subject  to 
the  legislation  of  Christ  as  Lord,  i.e.  as  Eedeemer.  This 
declaration  is  in  proof  that  His  Lordship  is  exercised  over 
the  Sabbath  only  administratively  ;  indeed,  the  occasion 
itself  is  in  evidence  that  no  controversy  existed  between 
Him  and  the  national  authorities  on  the  validity  of  the 
Sabbath,  but  only  on  the  law  of  its  observance.  In  this 
instance,  we  see  the  first  exercise  of  His  prerogative  in 
tliis  direction,  in  determining  the  innocency  of  His  dis 
ciples  in  plucking  the  ears  of  corn.  Eegarding  the  Sab 
bath  in  the  light  of  this  scripture,  its  future  observance 
seems  a  direct  consequence.  It  is  also  the  authority  for 
its  final  desiSnation  as  the  LORD'S  day  :  '  For  the  Son  of 
Man  is  Lord  also  of  the  Sabbath.'  This  is  an  earlier  and 
broader  ground  than  that  which  assigns  it  merely  to  the 
day  of  the  Eesurrection.  The  alteration  from  the  seventh 
to  the  first  day  of  the  week,  in  memory  of  this  great  event, 
should  be  regarded  as  a  distinct  act  of  legislation  respect 
ing  its  observance,  rather  than  as  the  original  act  of  the 
Lord's  prerogative.  He  was  Lord  of  the  Sabbath  from  the 
very  date  of  His  Messiahship,  as  is  proved  by  the  scrip- 
ture  just  quoted  ;  and  the  appointment  of  the  first  day  as 
His  Sabbath  ensued,  because  the  day  of  His  resurrection 
was  in  fact  the  date  of  His  new  creation,  the  Church. 
There  is  reason  to  believe  that  this  re-institution  of  the 
Sabbath  took  place  on  the  very  day  of  the  Eesurrection 
itself,  since  we  mark  the  singular  recurrence  of  Christ's 
visits  afterwards  as  seventh-day  visits. 

In  all  probability,  the  Sabbath,  like  Baptism  and  the 
Supper,  was  an  ordinance  of  Christ,  entirely  foregoing  and 
separate  from  the  revelations  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  and  should 
be  numbered  among  the  things  '  pertaining  to  the  kingdom 
of  God  '  settled  by  our  Lord  in  His  intercourse  with  the 
apostles  during  the  forty  days  previous  to  the  Ascension. 
He  was  about  to  disband  and  scatter  the  only  nation  which, 
for  untold  centuries,  had  retained  this  great  primitive  insti 
tution  of  the  world;  elsewhere  it  had  perished  utterly,  in 


NOTE  ON  THE  SABBATH.  125 

common  with  every  other  article  of  true  religion,  in  the        NOTE, 
great  deluge  of  polytheism.    Further,  this  nation  was  never         ~~ 
again  to  be  restored  under  that  covenant  which  formally 

guaranteed  the  observance  of  the  Sabbath ;  henceforth,  in  influence  of 

the  disowned  and  scattered  condition  of  the  Hebrew  people,  *J1(;  SJfpBW 

'    Sabbath  per- 

it  was  only  to  linger  with  them  as  one  among  the  many  isiied  with 
traditions  of  the  past,  exerting  no  influence  for  Sabbath 
restoration  on  the  world.  This  singular  fact  is  undeniable, 
that  while  Judaism,  previous  to  the  age  of  Christianity, 
exerted  a  very  considerable  influence  among  Gentile  nations 
in  favour  of  the  Sabbath,  since  Christianity  came,  this  in 
fluence  has  been  altogether  defunct,  proving  that  it  de 
pended  upon  the  national  integrity  of  the  Jews,  and 
therefore  could  have  no  existence  after  that  nationality 
had  ceased.  The  Sabbath  cannot  be  restored  apart  from 
Christianity,  without  restoring  a  rival  Sabbath,  a  national 
in  opposition  to  a  world  Sabbath. 

In  this,  then,  we  perceive  a  wonderful  example  of  the 
prescient  power  of  the  Author  of  Christianity,  and  an  exer 
cise  of  His  prerogatives  in  beautiful  accordance  with  it. 
Before  He  destroyed  the  only  conservative  power  of  primi 
tive  religion  in  the  world,  He  transferred  to  the  custody  of 
His  Church  its  great  primitive  institute.  The  light  was 
put  into  a  new  shrine,  and  the  holy  fire,  as  it  were,  re 
moved  from  a  doomed  altar  to  one  of  indestructible  per 
petuity.  This  was  a  grand  augury  for  the  future  of  the 
world,  and  itself  a  prophecy  of  the  universal  spread  of  the 
Christian  religion.  The  Sabbath  was  to  be  restored  to  its  influence 
the  world  purely  by  means  of  the  Christian  Church,  and  |°  be  ™store(i 

.  .  ,.  i        -n    by  the  Church. 

to  become  its  last  universal  light,  preserved  through  all 
intervening  periods  of  darkness,  until  the  world's  begin 
ning  and  the  world's  end  should  complete  the  circle  of  its 
existence  in  its  first  and  last  Sabbath-day.1 

Doubtless,  it  was  a  temporary  embarrassment,  that  the  Co-existenee 
Christian  Church  besjan  its  course  with  a  double  Sabbath;  of  the  Jewish 

.     f .  ..  -...,...  Sabbath  and 

but  this  was  inevitable,  so  long  as  Jewish  institutions  re-  the  Lord's 
mained  in  force ;  yet,  thus  early,  the  two  Sabbaths  exhibited  day- 
very  great  differences.     There  would  be  seen  the  national 

1  See  last  chapter  of  Mediatorial  Sovereignty, — '  The  Kingdom  of 
the  Father  the  Sabbath  of  the  Universe.' 


126  NOTE  ON  THE  SABBATH. 

NOTE.        Sabbath,  with   its   stiffness,   pomp,   punctiliousness,   and 
Heb~~T-~  4      mechanical  routine;   and   by   the   side   of  it,  the  quiet, 
simple,  unearthly  consecration  of  the  Lord's  day  to  wor- 
Contrast  be-      ship,  to  fraternal  intercourse,  and  to  works  of  charity  and 
tween  them.      reiigion>     ft  would  bear  no  traces  of  external  legislation, 
or  consignment  to  mere  bodily  exercises,  which  profit  little. 
It  was  no  heavy  yoke,  encumbered  by  no  ceremonial,  but 
free,  spiritual,  holy,  and  heavenly,  as  the  religion  which 
authenticated  it ;  in  a  word,  its  observance  was  voluntary 
and  spontaneous,  pleasant  in  association,  and  fruitful  in 
blessing.     Disowned  by  the  world,  it  was  the  more  preci 
ous  to  the  Church,  though  in  primitive  times  its  observ 
ance  must  have  been  attended  by  many  inconveniences 
and  sacrifices.     Indeed,  its  thorough  observance,  in  many 
instances,  must  have  been  impracticable,  as  in  the  case  of 
Difficulties        slaves,  soldiers,  or  civil  employes.     These  early  surround- 
attending  its     inas  of  the  Christian  Sabbath  go  far  to  account  for  the 

first  obser-  .       .     .  *          •  ,•          •  ^ 

vance  account  comparative  indistinctness  of  ancient  testimonies  as  to  the 
for  indistinct-    mode  in  which  it  was  kept.     In  primitive  times,  it  must 

ness  of  ancient    _  ..  ,  J    .    .     ..  ,.  „„   . 

testimonies  on  have  been  very  much  restricted,  or  rather  cut  off  from  its 
the  point.  social  correlatives.  Afterwards,  when  Christianity  was 
widely  spread,  its  corruption  also  had  made  a  correspond 
ing  progress ;  so  that  when  the  Church  came  to  be  acknow 
ledged  throughout  the  Eoman  empire,  its  condition  was 
such  as  almost  totally  to  preclude  any  true  appreciation  of 
or  practical  compliance  with  the  divine  ordinance.  It  is 
likely  that  its  observance  was  of  that  heterogeneous  and 
superficial  sort  which  marks  its  modern  aspects  in  countries 
only  nominally  Christian,  but  especially  in  those  still  sub 
ject  to  the  dark  sway  of  mediae valism.  Indeed,  its  true 
character  was  only  imperfectly  understood  in  the  age  of 
the  Eeformation,  and  is  still  much  perverted  by  the  ex 
tremes  of  a  Judaizing  severity  on  the  one  hand,  and  of  a 
Church-dispensing  laxity  on  the  other.  It  is  obvious  that 
the  glory  of  the  Christian  Sabbath  is  only  developed,  just 
in  proportion  to  the  progress  of  an  intelligent  evangelical 
piety ;  and  that,  until  this  shall  become  far  more  prevalent 
in  the  world  than  it  is,  these  distortions  of  the  Sabbath 
may  be  expected  to  hold  their  ground. 


CHAPTER  XL 

PRACTICAL  DISCUSSION — '  ELEMENTS/ 
HEB.  v.  11,  12;  vi.  1-3. 

IN  order  to  preserve  entire  the  unity  of  the  several 
topics  under  discussion,  and  especially  that  of  the 
PRIESTHOOD  (extending  through  the  first  ten  verses 
of  the  5th  chapter,  and  omitting  chapter  vi.,  con 
tinuing  as  far  as  the  22d  verse  of  the  10th  chapter), 
It  is  appropriate  here  to  break  off  from  the  13th 
verse  of  chapter  iv.,  and  to  recommence  with  the 
Llth  verse  of  chapter  v.  The  verses  following, 
with  the  whole  of  the  6th  chapter,  form  a  separate 
practical  discussion. 

'  Of  whom  we  have  many  things  to  say,  and  Third  horta- 
hard  to  be  uttered,  seeing  ye  are  dull  of  hearing.'     begins  chap. 

It  is  a  remarkable  feature  in  the  structure  of  tinues  through 
this  Epistle  that  the  current  of  doctrinal  statement  chap>  VL 
is  more  than  once  interrupted  for  the  sake  of 
delivering  the  most  forcible  exhortations  arising 
out  of  the  truths  previously  set  forth.  The  first 
example  of  this  kind  occurs  in  the  opening  of 
chapter  ii.,  the  second  in  chapter  iii.,  verse  7,  the 
third  we  are  about  to  consider,  a  fourth  is  found 
in  chapter  x.,  verse  22 ;  and  these  are  multiplied 
as  the  Epistle  progresses  toward  completion.  This 
may  be  taken  as  an  indication  of  some  importance 


128 


PRACTICAL  DISCUSSION — ELEMENTS. 


CHAP.  XI. 

Heb.  v.11,12; 
vi.  1-3. 


These  digres 
sions  charac 
teristics  of 
St.  Paul's 
thought. 


Chap.  v.  11 
accords  with 
chap.  iv.  11, 
which  closes 
second  horta 
tory  section. 


in  the  question  of  its  authorship ;  for,  if  it  cannot 
be  said  that  this  treatise  agrees  precisely  with  the 
structure  of  all  St.  Paul's  Epistles,  yet  it  does  so  in 
a  very  remarkable  manner,  still  more,  perhaps, 
with  the  style  of  St.  Paul's  thought,  which  is 
characteristically  digressive.  The  difference  is  to 
be  accounted  for  chiefly  by  the  more  extended  and 
systematic  form  which  this  Epistle  presents.  In 
deed,  one  is  inclined  to  think  that  the  staple  of  the 
Epistle  (or  treatise,  as  it  may  rather  be  called)  may 
be  more  correctly,  perhaps,  ascribed  to  St.  Paul  than 
its  form.  The  doctrines  are  his,  but  the  form  may 
be  the  work  of  another,  subject  to  his  immediate 
supervision. 

But  to  return.  The  exhortation  in  the  llth 
verse  of  chapter  iv.,  '  Let  us  labour  therefore,'  is  in 
full  accord  with  the  exhortation  in  the  llth  verse 
before  quoted ;  both  are  expressive  of  a  degree  of 
disquiet  and  dissatisfaction  with  respect  to  the 
state  of  the  Hebrew  Church.  '  To  fall  after  the 
same  example  of  unbelief,'  is  a  liability  associated 
with  this  language  of  rebuke,  '  seeing  ye  are  dull 
of  hearing,'  and  are  become  such  as  'have  need 
of  milk,  and  not  of  strong  meat.'  The  non- pro 
gressive  state  of  the  Hebrew  Church,  in  respect 
to  spiritual  and  doctrinal  acquisition,  if  nothing 
worse,  is  in  these  verses  strongly  affirmed,  and 
made  the  ground  of  serious,  though  not  of  ex 
aggerated  apprehension.  Supposing  this  Epistle 
to  be  one  of  the  latest  of  the  inspired  canon,  it 
may  be  adduced  in  evidence  that  this  primitive 
and  apostolic  Church  was  not,  on  the  whole,  in  a 
flourishing  condition  thirty  years  after  the  day  of 
Pentecost.  The  bulk  of  its  earliest  members  were 


PKACTICAL  DISCUSSION — ELEMENTS.  129 

•;hen  doubtless  gathered  into  the  Rest  spoken  of  in  CHAP.  XL 

4th  chapter, — perhaps  the  greater  part  of  the  Heb.v.  11,12; 
apostles  were  to  be  numbered  with  them, — and  in 

i;he  main  a  new  generation  had  risen  up.  not  in  all  Epistle  ad- 

dressed  to 

respects  worthy  01  the  past.  church  at 

That  verses  11  and  12  could  have  been  addressed 
to  the  primitive  Church  in  its  glory,  is  a  supposition 
clisproven  by  the  '  Acts  of  the  Apostles ; '  while  the 
phrase,  'When  for  the  time  ye  ought  to  be  teachers,' 
is  in  proof  that  instead  of  the  Church  at  Jerusalem 
being  the  focus  of  evangelical  wisdom,  and  a  sort 
cf  normal  institution  for  the  instruction  of  pro- 
[•vincial  or  Gentile  Churches,  as  it  ought  to  have 
been,  it  rather  itself  stood  in  need  of  a  reinforcement 
|from  without;  and  that  already  a  bringing  back  of 
torch  from  a  distance  to  the  primitive  seat  of 
.ight,  was  the  necessity  of  the  time,  and  the  object 
[of  this  Epistle.  4  The  first  principles  of  the  oracles 
if  God'  are  spoken  of  as  things  to  be  reconsidered 
,nd  pondered  anew,  as  if  there  was  a  danger  of 
heir  being  sapped  by  the  condition  of  the  living 
Ihurch,  or,  to  use  the  language  of  chapter  ii.,  i  We 
>ught  to  give  the  more  earnest  heed,'  instead  of 
laxer  adhesion,  'lest  at  any  time,'  whether  of 
>ersecution  or  of  indolent  rest,  '  we  should  let 
tern  slip,'  as  running  water  from  a  leaky  vessel. 
4  The  first  principles  of  the  oracles  of  God '  com-  '  Principles ' 
se  the  elements  of  Christianity,  samples  of  which  Christianity 
given  us  in  verses  1  and  2  of  chapter  vi.1  They  verses*!  and  2. 
|are  called  '  the  foundation  of  repentance  from  dead 

1  '  Therefore  leaving  the  principles  of  the  doctrine  of  Christ,  let  us 
;o  on  unto  perfection  ;  not  laying  again  the  foundation  of  repentance 
rom  dead  works,  and  of  faith  toward  God,  of  the  doctrine  of  bap- 
t   |tisms,  and  of  laying  on  of  hands,  and  of  resurrection  of  the  dead,  and 
of  eternal  judgment.' 

I 


130  PRACTICAL  DISCUSSION — ELEMENTS. 

CHAP.  XL    works/  i.e.  the  abjuration  of  mere  ritualism  and 
Heb.  v.  11, 12 ;  the  formalities  of  law,  once  in  force  but  now  de 
funct,  and  hence  called  '  dead  works.'    By  implica 
tion,  therefore,  the  profession  of  Christianity  meant 
the  repudiation  of  these  as  the  essentials  of  religion. 
The  intermixture    of  Judaism  with    Christianity, 
which  was  the  bias  of  the  age,  was  fatal  to  the 
integrity  of  the  latter,  save  as  a  temporary  com 
pliance  for  national  reasons,  not  for  religious  ones. 
To  this   '  repentance  from  dead  works '  is   added 
'  faith   toward    God/   which,    in   this    connection, 
'Faith' not  in  certainly  cannot  mean  the  doctrines  of  Theism  (for 
in  thTmission  that  foundation  had  been  laid  ages  before  in  this 
of  Christ.        people),  but  faith  in  God,  as  the  author  of  the 
mission  of  Christ. 

To  these  fundamentals  are  added  the  '  doctrine 
of  baptisms,  and  of  laying  on  of  hands,  and  of  re 
surrection  of  the  dead,  and  of  eternal  judgment. v 
The  article  here  of  a  double  baptism  should  be 
taken  to  include  the  baptism  of  water  and  of  the 
Holy  Ghost,  since  these  two  are  the  only  baptisms 
recognised  by  the  New  Testament.      The  earlier 
baptism  of  John  and  of  our  Lord  Himself  were  but 
initial  ordinances,  entirely  superseded  by  the  post- 
resurrectional  ordinance  of  water  and  of  the  Holy 
'  Baptisms '  of  Ghost.     It  is  befitting  the  evangelical  history  to'; 
Holy  Ghost,     rank  the  baptism  of  the  Holy  Ghost  among  the 
'elements'  of  Christianity,  because  this  baptism 
was  announced  from  the  beginning  both  by  John 
and  by  the  Saviour,  and  because,  historically  con-i 
sidered,  this  baptism  inaugurated  apostolic  Chris-j 
tianity.     From  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles  also  (ch.i 
xix.  3)  we  gather  that  the  baptism  of  the  Holy 
Ghost  was  so  fundamental  a  doctrine  of  Christianity,,! 


PRACTICAL  DISCUSSION— ELEMENTS.  131 

that  no  person  could  be  said  to  have  been  really    CHAP.  XL 
baptized  into  its  profession  who  was  ignorant  of  it.  Heb.v.n,i2; 
It  was  the  capital  distinction  between  the  teaching 
of  the  Forerunner  and  that  of  the  apostles.     This  Baptism  of 
interpretation  of  the  doctrine  of  baptisms  is  con-  Ghost °among 
firmed  by  the  article  following,  'And  of  laying  on  ^^f^te 
of  hands/  since  we  learn  from  the  Acts  that  this  what  follows, 
baptism   of  the  Holy  Ghost   was   commonly  con 
ferred  by  the  laying  on  of  the  apostles'  hands.1 
The  article  of  i  the  resurrection  of  the  dead'  is  put  Doctrine  of 

.,  P   /•    i  >  •    i          Kesurrection 

n  the  same  category  ot  4  elements  or  principles,  among  the 
It  was  the  master-fact  on  which  Christianity  rested,  e 
Jirst,  and  chiefly,  in  respect  to  Christ  Himself; 
Ksecond,  and  in  consequence,  in  respect  to  the  re 
surrection  of  the  human  race.  This  is  patent  from 
numerous  passages  in  the  Acts  and  the  Epistles, 
particularly  1  Cor.  i.  15,  where  the  whole  subject  is 
argued  and  illustrated  in  St.  Paul's  noblest  manner. 
No  person  could  therefore  be  a  candidate  for  Chris 
tian  baptism  and  its  profession  of  faith  who  was 
not  absolutely  grounded  in  this  truth. 

The  article  of  the  general  judgment  completes  Also,  doctrine 

xi.  •  -U-    -U          i      •  -XV  l          UV      -x       of  the  general 

the  series,  which  culminates  with  equal  sublimity  judgment. 
and   force ;    it  is  almost  uniformly  set  before  us, 
[throughout  the  New  Testament,  in  a  similar  con 
nection,  and  demonstrated  by  similar  arguments. 
Our  Lord  thus  associated  the  Resurrection  with  the 

1  This  was  a  speciality,  indeed,  in  the  manner  of  bestowment,  and 
I  related  only  to  the  impartation  of  the  miraculous  gifts  of  the  Holy 
Ghost  by  the  apostolic  ministry  ;  while  even  in  this  sense  the  ordi 
nance  was  not  absolutely  requisite,  the  first  Gentile  converts,  accord 
ing  to  Acts  (ch.  x.),  receiving  even  these  miraculous  endowments  by 
Peter's  preaching,  not  by  the  imposition  of  his  hands.  For  the  essen 
tial  purposes  of  the  Christian  life,  and  in  perpetuity,  this  ordinance 
of  imposition  of  hands  was  entirely  ignored ;  and  the  modern  use  of  it, 
except  as  a  symbol  of  conveying  office,  is  therefore  only  superstition. 


132 


PRACTICAL  DISCUSSION — ELEMENTS. 


CHAP.  XL 

Heb.v.11,12; 
vi.  1-3. 


'  Elements ' 
specimen 
truths,  not  a 
complete  list. 


These  to  be 
distinguished 
from  recon 
dite  doctrines. 


Judgment ;  nor  did  St.  Paul  in  the  presence  of  the 
veriest  Pagans  deem  that  he  had  delivered  to  them 
even  a  bare  rudiment  of  Christianity  without  laying 
emphasis  on  the  fact  that  God  had  appointed  a  day 
in  which  'He  will  judge  the  world  in  righteous 
ness/  This  enumeration  of  articles  is  not  to  be 
taken,  however,  as  absolutely  complete :  not  a 
single  Church  doctrine  is  introduced,  and  the 
articles  are  fewer  than  those  contained  even  in 
what  is  called  the  Apostles'  Creed.  Hence  the  in 
ference  is,  that  they  are  meant  merely  as  speci 
men  truths  of  this  order,  given  with  a  view  to 
distinguish  them  from  the  more  recondite  doctrines 
of  Christianity  or  its  higher  mysteries,  particularly 
those  which  form  the  staple  of  this  Epistle. 


CHAPTER  XII. 

PRACTICAL  DISCUSSION — GROWTH  AND  PERFECTION, 
HEB.  v.  12-14 ;  vi.  1. 

{  WHEN  for  the  time  ye  ought  to  be  teachers,  ye 
have  need  that  one  teach  you  again  which  be  the 
:3rst  principles  of  the  oracles  of  God ;  and  are  be 
come  such  as  have  need  of  milk,  and  not  of  strong 
meat.  For  every  one  that  useth  milk  is  unskilful 
in  the  word  of  righteousness ;  for  he  is  a  babe. 
But  strong  meat  belongeth  to  them  that  are  of 
full  age,  even  those  who  by  reason  of  use  have 
their  senses  exercised  to  discern  both  good  and 
evil.' 

Both  the  elementary  and  the  higher  truths  are 
put  before  us  as  '  the  oracles  of  God,'  an  appellation 
which  determines  alike  their  plenary  inspiration, 
their  finality,  and  their  perfection.     The  term  is  'Unto them 
applied  by  St.  Paul  to  the  Old  Testament  revela-  mitted  the 

,.  mi  P  ^        i        •       •  -i    oraclesofGod.' 

tions.     Inese  trom  the  beginning  were  recognised  —Rom.  m.  2. 
among  the  Hebrews  as  communications  from  God : 
their  scriptures  were  '  oracles '  even  among  a  people 
originally  favoured  with  oral  communications,  with 
continuous  prophetic  utterances,  and  the  Urim  and  The  same 
Thummim  of  the  High  Priest's  breastplate.      No  ckimedfor 
less  authority  and  directness  are  claimed  for  the  ^ent  trades 
New  Testament  oracles  by  their  authors,  and  by  as  for  Old- 


134 


PRACTICAL  DISCUSSION  : 


vi.  1. 


CHAP.  xii.  the  primitive  Church.  This  is  generally  assumed, 
Heb.v.  12-14;  but  often  explicitly  taught;  in  fact  it  was  an 
obvious  inference  from  the  relation  the  New  Testa 
ment  bore  to  the  Old,  to  say  nothing  of  the  absurdity 
of  supposing  that  the  last  and  perfect  teachings  of 
Heaven  could  in  any  sense  be  bereft  of  the  distin 
guishing  characteristics  of  the  earlier  revelations. 
The  form  of  instruction  in  these  verses  almost 
instinctively  reminds  us  of  1  Cor.  iii.  2 :  'I  have 
fed  you  with  milk,  and  not  with  meat,'  etc.  In 
both  instances  the  figure  and  the  terms  employed 
are  the  same,  and  also  the  instruction  mingled  with 
reproof.  It  therefore  affords  another  example,  very 
incidental  it  is  true,  but  not  the  less  convincing, 
that  St.  Paul  was,  as  to  its  substance  at  least,  the 
author  of  this  Epistle,  and  that  his  thoughts  and 
phrases  were  perfectly  familiar  to  the  writer. 

Evidence  in  the  same  direction  is  also  to  be 
taken  from  the  doctrine  of  'perfection,'  chapter  vi. 
verse  I.1  This  is  most  patently  a  Pauline  doctrine. 
See  1  Cor.  ii.  6  ;  2  Cor.  xiii.  9,  10  ;  Phil.  iii.  12,  15  ; 
Eph.  iv.  13.  In  these  passages  the  word  'perfect' 
is  used  in  two  senses  :  (1.)  For  the  maturity  of  the 
Christian  nature ;  (2.)  For  the  consummation  of 
the  Christian  warfare.  It  is  in  the  first  of  these 
senses  that  the  word  occurs  here,  and  in  all  the 
other  instances  save  one.  It  is  obviously  equi 
valent  to  the  phrase  'of  full  age;'  i.e.  perfection 
signifies  Christian  manhood,  as  distinguished  from 
Christian  childhood.  As  stature,  mental  develop 
ment,  culture,  and  fitness  for  all  the  offices  of  life, 

1  '  Therefore  leaving  the  principles  of  the  doctrine  of  Christ,  let  us 
go  on  unto  perfection  ;  not  laying  again  the  foundation  of  repentance 
from  dead  works,  and  of  faith  toward  God.' 


Doctrine  of 
'  perfection 
peculiarly 
Pauline. 


GROWTH  AND  PERFECTION.  135 

distinguish  the  man  from  the  child,   so  qualities   CHAP.  xn. 

analogous  to  these  distinguish  Christian  manhood  Heb.v.  12-14; 

from  its  mere  childhood  :    the  one  is  robust,  the 

other  tender ;  the  one  may  not  even  be  a  sciolist, 

while  the  other  may  be  accomplished  in  the  science 

und  the  arts  of  life ;  the  diet  of  the  one  is  milk,  of 

the  other  meat — strong  meat ;  the  one  is  a  nursling 

requiring  diligent  foster  care,  but  the  other  '  by 

reason  of  use '  has  his  i  senses  exercised  to  discern 

both  good  and  evil.'     Hence  Christian  perfection,  Christian 

,  ,          p  .  perfection  the 

us  here  laid  down,  is  the  result  ol  progressive,  result  of 
steady  advancement  in  the  grace  and  doctrine  of  ^ 
Christ.  As  it  is  analogous  to  growth  and  manli 
ness  in  nature,  it  cannot  be  understood  of  any 
merely  spiritual  state  at  an  early  stage,  suddenly 
superinduced  upon  the  regenerate  nature.  It 
rather  includes  the  perfection  in  '  love '  of  which 
St.  John  speaks,  than  is  included  in  it.  The  apos 
tolic  use  of  the  word  here  certainly  comprises  much 
more,  viz.  a  condition  of  the  Christian  nature  and 
character  which  results  from  extended  knowledge, 
as  well  as  from  sanctified  feeling.  In  a  word,  it 
signifies  the  due  proportion  of  all  the  graces  and  includes  ail 
virtues  of  the  Christian  nature,  brought  out  and  virtues. 
tested  on  the  field  of  experience.  It  is  important 
to  hold  this  broad  doctrine  of  Christian  perfection 
in  distinction  from  partial  views  of  it,  which,  like 
all  other  mere  ex  parte  statements,  has  its  dangers 
arising  from  its  contiguity  to  error.  Perfection 
is  here  characterized  as  a  practical  thing,  and  as 
essentially  progressive.  It  is  the  normal  increase 
of  the  living  power  of  the  Holy  Ghost  in  the  human 
soul  by  the  nutriment  of  evangelical  truth, — the 
antidote  against  apostasy  and  unfruitfulness. 


136 


PRACTICAL  DISCUSSION : 


CHAP.  XII. 

Heb.v.  12-14; 
vi.  1. 


The  '  word  of 
righteousness  ' 
the  sole  means 
of  its  attain 
ment. 


*  Perfection ' 
the  embodi 
ment  of  God's 
ideal. 


Growth  a 
fundamental 
law  of  Chris 
tianity. 


The  office  of  evangelical  truth,  in  leading  disciples 
unto  perfection,  is  here  made  supreme,  one  might 
almost  say  exclusive.  The  'word  of  righteousness,' 
in  verse  13  (a  noble  paraphrase  for  the  gospel),  is 
both  the  nourishment  of  the  child  and  of  the  man, 
the  milk  and  the  meat  of  the  Christian  life  ;  or,  to 
change  the  figure,  the  principles  or  elements  of  the 
doctrine  of  Christ  comprise  the  foundation — its 
higher  truths,  the  perfect  edifice  of  the  Christian 
scheme.  The  temple  of  salvation  includes  both. 
Perfection  is  but  the  embodiment  of  the  ideal  or 
pattern  of  God,  symbolized  by  that  given  to  Moses, 
and  to  be  wrought  out  in  the  spiritual  temple  of 
sanctified  manhood.  This  is  the  representation  of 
the  first  verse  of  chap.  vi. ;  and  to  this  we  must 
look  as  the  true  evangelical  doctrine  of  perfection, 
on  which  so  much  has  been  written. 

It  is  of  equal  importance,  not  only  to  under 
stand,  but  to  apply  it  to  churches  and  ministers  as 
well  as  to  individual  Christians.  The  doctrine  is 
too  generally  lost  sight  of,  though  emphatically 
apostolic,  and  the  very  gist  of  the  inspired  Epistles. 
Nothing  can  be  plainer  than  that  this  law  of  pro 
gress  from  childhood  to  maturity  is  '  the  law  of  the 
Spirit  of  life  in  Christ  Jesus.'  In  this  respect  it  is 
entirely  peculiar,  inasmuch  as  it  is  the  dispensa 
tion  of  an  eternal  plenitude  of  God  to  the  human 
soul,  and,  as  such,  essentially  expansive  and  inde 
finite.  Hence,  to  ignore  or  neglect  this  great  law 
of  progressive  and  mature  life,  is  to  abstract  from 
Christianity  its  distinguishing  glory,  to  reduce 
and  to  attenuate  it  to  comparative  decrepitude,  to 
rob  it  of  its  power  over  individuals  and  churches, 
and,  consequently,  of  its  aggressive  might  upon 


GROWTH  AND  PERFECTION.  137 

the  world  at  large.     Like  a  law  in  nature,  if  re-   CHAP.  xn. 
sisted,  its  reaction  is  deteriorative  and  penal,  sick-  Heb.v.i2-i4; 
liness  and  disease  ensue  in  some  form  or  other, 
and  decay  and  dissolution  are  in  the  train  of  its  Like  a  law  of 
consequences.     Evangelical  truth,  to  exert  its  full  Ssted!'itf re" 
power  over  individuals  and  communities,  must  be  actlon  penal> 
profoundly  studied,  and  become  an  all-plastic  force 
within  them:  it  must  be  their  world  by  way  of 
eminence;  they  must  live,  move,  and  have  their 
being  in  it.     It  must  be  their  standpoint  for  look 
ing  at  all  exterior  questions  and  objects,  it  must 
rule  absolutely  their  judgments  and  sympathies, 
and  be  the  palladium  they  are  prepared  to  defend 
unto   the   death.     There  is  a   dogmatism  which, 
however  sneered  at  by  worldly  or  sceptical  minds, 
is  no  empiricism  of  a  sect  nor  watchword  of  fana 
ticism,   but   rather  a  reciprocation  of  the  divine 
intent  in  bestowing  a  revelation,  and  a  transcrip 
tion  of  that  nature  which  made  God  man,  and  the 
Lord  Himself  a  martyr  to  His  own  truth. 

Evangelical  truth  is  a  treasure  for  the  world, 
containing  the  measures  and  means  of  its  restora 
tion, — facts  more  marvellous  than  the  most  fer 
tile  legends  of  superstition,  and  of  immeasurably 
greater  import  than  all  the  oracles  of  science.    The 
degree  and  manner  which  characterize  the  treat-  Treatment  of 
ment  of  divine  truth  in  the  Church  and  in  the  anlSdex'ot 
world  from  age  to  age,  is  the  true  test  of  the  theChurc°h 
prevailing   animus   which   exists   toward   religion  and  the  world, 
itself.    It  is  the  index  of  the  moral  barometer  of 
society,   telling  the  state  of  its  atmosphere,  the 
courses  of  its  currents,  and  the  prognostics  of  its 
changes.      These   cannot  be   collected   from   any 
general  facts  so  well  as  they  may  be  by  observing 


138 


PRACTICAL  DISCUSSION  : 


CHAP.  XII. 

Heb.v.12-14; 
vi.  1. 


Historical 
proof. 


Modern  scep 
ticism  not  to 
be  combated 
by  elementary 
teaching. 


how  the  mind  of  an  age  stands  affected  to  the 
word  of  God.  The  neglect,  or  the  superficial  re 
gard,  which  even  in  primitive  times  opened  the 
way  to  its  corruption,  by  Gnosticism,  by  Jewish 
interpolation,  or  Pagan  assimilation,  slowly,  but 
certainly,  issued  in  the  long  and  dreary  reign  of 
mere  ecclesiasticism,  and  afterwards  in  the  dark 
ness  and  tyranny  of  the  Papacy.  In  more  recent 
times,  the  word  of  God,  variously  assailed,  chiefly 
by  free-thinkers,  philosophers,  and  lukewarm  be 
lievers,  has  been  feebly  defended  by  a  Church  but 
half  awake  to  the  nature  of  the  contest  and  the 
momentousness  of  the  interests  it  stands  pledged 
to  maintain.  The  war  has  commenced  and  raged 
oftentimes  amidst  much  seeming  disparagement, 
and  been  pressed  with  a  boldness,  pertinacity, 
and  various  erudition,  seemingly  ominous  as  to 
the  issue.  But  whatever  other  lessons  may  be 
suggested  by  past  events,  or  by  those  of  the  present 
time  which  concern  this  struggle,  one  at  least 
is  very  patent,  viz.  that  '  babe  '  -  churches  and 
4  babe  '-ministers  are  in  no  condition  to  cope  with 
the  adversary ;  that  nursery  diet  and  nursery  lead 
ing-strings  are  inopportune  as  preconditions  for 
encountering  the  giant  onslaughts  of  what  is  called 
1  modern  thought.'  Too  long  has  the  Church  re 
posed  on  the  mere  antecedents  of  revival  and  public 
recognition,  on  the  mere  assumption  of  its  having 
the  truth  on  its  side,  and  on  the  commonplaces 
of  a  threadbare  evangelism,  or  on  a  statement  of 
the  c  elements,'  not  '  left,'  in  the  apostolic  sense,  for 
the  doctrines  of l perfection,'  but  for  the  mere  discur 
siveness  of  sentiment  and  reflection,  or  for  practical 
themes  without  any  evangelical  correspondences. 


GROWTH  AND  PERFECTION.  139 

These  remarks,  though  somewhat  general,  are,    CHAP.  xn. 
nevertheless,  the  practical  gist  of  this  most  impor-  Heb.  v.  12-14; 
tant  scripture,  which,  with  many  others,  is  meant 
to  be  an  antidote  to  certain  states  of  the  Church, 
or  phases  of  Christian  life,  bearing  in  themselves 
the  auguries  of  what  are  apostolically  called  '  peril 
ous  times.' 

It  is  certain  that  the  mere  superficial  extent  of 


Christian  profession,  or  Christian  exertion,  or  the  Christianity 
correlatives  of  these,  which  are  reflected  in  the  a  sign  of  pro- 
civilisation  and  sentiments  of  times  and  peoples,  sres 
are  not  necessarily  vouchers  for  the  soundness  and 
progress  of  the  Christian  cause.     On  the  contrary, 
they  may  be  associated  with  unmistakeable  omens 
of  declension  and  relapse  into  the  apathy  of  former 
times.      Evangelical  truth,  in  whatever  degree  it 
becomes  inoperative,  failing  to  expand,  and  assimi 
late  its  disciples,  is  practically  lost.     Its  absence 
creates  a  vacuum  but  too  speedily  replenished  by 
forms  of  antagonism,  themselves  the  penalties  of 
unfaithfulness  to  so  high  a  trust,  and,  in  many 
cases,    the   harbingers   of    at    least   a  temporary 
reprobation. 


CHAPTER    XIII. 

PRACTICAL  DISCUSSION OF  IRREMISSIBLE  SINS. 

HEB.  vi.  3-9. 

c  FOR  it  is  impossible  for  those  who  were  once 
enlightened,  and  have  tasted  of  the  heavenly  gift, 
and  were  made  partakers  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  and 
have  tasted  the  good  word  of  God,  and  the  powers 
of  the  world  to  come,  if  they  shall  fall  away,  to 
renew  them  again  unto  repentance;  seeing  they 
crucify  to  themselves  the  Son  of  God  afresh,  and 
put  Him  to  an  open  shame.' 

TWO  classes  of  Two  classes  of  apostates  are  recorded  in  Scrip- 
St^iot'irre-  ture,  one  consisting  of  those  who  had  indolently, 
or  by  means  of  the  ordinary  temptations  incident 
to  humanity,  slidden  off  the  foundation  into  a 
condition  comparatively  negative,  yet  still  highly 
sinful.  These  are  not  regarded  as  irrecoverable : 
the  '  foundation,'  mentioned  in  the  first  verse,  it 
was  possible  to  lay  again,  though  under  great  dis 
advantages.  There  was  no  bar  or  ban  interposed 
to  this  work  by  divine  authority,  or  by  the  con 
stitution  or  letter  of  the  gospel  itself:  the  sin  of 
lapse  was  not  unpardonable,  should  they  be  '  re 
newed  again  unto  repentance.'  This  class  includes 
backsliders  from  the  Christian  profession  through 
all  ages  and  conditions  of  the  Church. 


PRACTICAL  DISCUSSION — OF  IRREMISSIBLE  SINS.  141 

But  the  second  class  here  mentioned  was  made  CHAP.  xm. 
up  of  persons  utterly  reprobate,  since  God's  allow-  Heb.  vi.  3-9. 
ance  of  their  restoration  is  denied,  and  it  is  put  Second  utterly 
down  among  the  impossibles  of  the  gospel.  The 
description  given  of  them  is  most  forcible,  both  as 
to  their  religious  state,  and  their  after  fall  from 
it.  They  are  said  to  have  been  '  once  enlightened,' 
i.e.  largely  instructed  in  the  Christian  doctrine,  not 
persons  to  be  ranked  as  novices,  or  such  as  were 
groping  their  way  into  light,  but  without  success. 
To  be  '  enlightened  '  implies  much  more  than  this, 
since  it  is  the  word  commonly  used  in  the  Epistles 
to  signify  persons  <  taught  of  God.'  Further,  '  they 
have  tasted  of  the  heavenly  gift.'  This  is  a  clear 
description  of  the  evangelical  life,  and  shows  that 
the  previous  illumination  was  not  merely  doctrinal, 
or  something  which  might  exist  apart  from  a  work 
of  grace  in  the  affections.  To  4  taste  the  heavenly 
gift '  is  to  be  divinely  percipient  of  the  spirituality 
of  religion,  in  opposition  to  the  purely  natural  man 
who  is  without  this  spirit  of  discernment,  and  to 
whom  the  things  of  God  are  '  foolishness.'  l  To  have 
been  made  partakers  of  the  Holy  G  host '  is  a  fur 
ther  note  of  the  evangelical  state.  In  the  earliest 
preaching  of  the  apostles  it  is  characterized  as  the 
great  distinction  of  Christian  disciples,  and  it  may 
be  understood  here  as  including  both  the  ordinary 
and  the  miraculous  endowments  of  the  Divine 
Spirit.  Thus  the  description,  so  far,  is  entirely  of 
those  who  are  Christians  in  the  full  s.ense  in  which 
the  apostles  describe  the  primitive  Church. 

What  follows  (verse  5)  is,  if  possible,  stronger  in 
the  same  direction;  for  it  implies  that  these  persons 
were  not  perfunctory  and  transient  converts  to 


142  PRACTICAL  DISCUSSION — OF  IRREMISSIBLE  SINS. 

CHAP.  xiii.  Christianity,  since  if  the  phrases,  '  have  tasted  the 
Heb.  vi.  3-9.  good  word  of  God,'  and  the  '  powers  of  the  world 
to  come,'  do  not  mean  continuous,  and,  up  to  a 
certain  time,  progressive  experience  of  the  Chris 
tian  life,  they  amount  to  little  more  than  a  solemn 
tautology;  but,  viewed  in  this  light,  they  are 
eminently  descriptive  of  the  main  characteristics 
of  a  true  profession.  To  i  taste  the  good  word  of 
God '  means  to  relish  and  enjoy  evangelical  truth 
—to  feast  on  it,  as  from  the  dainties  of  a  daily 
board.  To  4  taste  the  powers  of  the  world  to  come  ' 
is  to  be  introduced  into  the  realities  of  the  kingdom 
of  Christ,  and  the  very  joys  of  heaven,  i.e.  to  be 
come  conscious  of  a  new  and  sublime  order  of 
things  springing  out  of  mediation  and  the  dispensa 
tion  of  the  Spirit,  comprising,  as  it  were,  glimpses 
and  fruitions  of  the  new  heavens  and  the  new  earth 
as  antagonistic  to  the  mere  realms  of  sense  and  its 
surroundings ;  the  world  that  is,  and  was,  but 
which,  strictly  speaking,  has  no  future,  fades  and 
melts  away,  when  evangelical  vision  fills  the  soul, 
as  a  mere  shadow  before  the  zenith  sun.  Thus 
interpreted,  this  world  is  but  a  prophecy  of  the 
world  of  the  future,  while,  otherwise,  it  is  but  an 
enigma  which  defies  solution. 

Nature  of  To  the  attainments  of  these  characters  is  added 

x.e29.sm  a  description  of  their  sin :  '  They  crucified  to  them 
selves  the  Son  of  God  afresh,  and  put  Him  to  an 
open  shame.'  This  is  sufficiently  expressive  of  its 
enormity:  the  description  is,  however,  further  ex 
tended  in  chap.  x.  29,  in  which  these  same  persons 
are  said  to  have  i  trodden  under  foot  the  Son  of 
God,  to  have  counted  the  blood  of  the  covenant  an 
unholy  thing,  and  to  have  done  despite  unto  the 


PRACTICAL  DISCUSSION — OF  IRREMISSIBLE  SINS.  143 

Spirit  of  grace.'  Putting  both  descriptions  together,  CHAP.  xm. 
they  set  forth  the  ne  plus  ultra  of  apostasy.  '  To  Heb.  vi.  3-9. 
crucify  Christ  afresh '  can  hardly  mean  less  than 
to  consent  to  the  judgment  of  His  adversaries,  to 
their  blasphemies  and  cruelties  in  putting  Him  to 
death ;  and  i  to  put  Him  to  an  open  shame  '  is  an 
obvious  reference  to  the  peculiar  indignities  of  a 
death  by  crucifixion.  They  are  regarded  as  parties 
to  the  event,  and  made  to  rank  among  the  personal 
enemies  of  the  Redeemer.  To  tread  Him  under  foot 
seems  to  express  further  indignities,  i.e.  those  to 
which  a  corpse  may  be  subjected — so  hateful  as  to 
be  denied  the  decencies  of  sepulture,  and  to  be  left 
unburied  for  the  purpose  of  indulging  in  the  brutal 
gratification  of  mutilating  the  remains,  as  the  two 
witnesses  are  said  to  lie  in  the  streets  of  the  spirit 
ual  Sodom.  Thus  our  Lord  is  not  deemed  worthy, 
by  these  diabolical  apostates,  of  even  the  honours 
of  a  martyr,  or  of  those  due  to  suffering  innocency. 
His  very  blood  is  accounted  unholy,  that  is,  as 
the  blood  of  a  criminal;  while  the  Spirit  of  grace 
is,  as  it  were,  personally  insulted  as  having  borne 
witness  to  an  impious  imposture. 

No  language  can  exceed  these  representations 
in  depicting  an  open  and  wanton  apostasy.  It 
probably  alludes  to  some  set  form,  or  forms,  of 
abjuration  which  finished  the  apostasy  of  these 
backsliders,  and  which  bound  them  to  a  public 
side-taking  with  the  known  adversaries  of  Christ. 
This  makes  the  offence  peculiarly  a  Jewish  one,  This  sin  pecu- 
and  one  belonging  to  the  time  and  circumstances  °  * 
of  the  primitive  Church,  though  not  excluding  the 
possibility  of  its  reiteration  in  the  history  of  Jewish 
families  through  any  subsequent  age  down  to  the 


144 


PRACTICAL  DISCUSSION— OF  IRREMISSIBLE  SINS. 


CHAP.  XIII. 
Heb.  vi.  3-9. 


Twin  sin  to 
that  against 
the  Holy 
Ghost. 


Matt.  xii.  31, 
32. 


Apostasy  the 
ground  of  its 
turpitude. 


present.  Hence  it  is  not  a  sin  to  which  Gentile 
converts  would  be  liable;  they,  having  no  national 
or  family  affinity  with  the  Jewish  people,  could 
not  be  historically  guilty  of,  or  implicated  in,  the 
death  of  Christ.  Thus  viewed,  this  sin  seems  to 
be  the  twin  sin  to  that  against  the  Holy  Ghost  de 
scribed  by  Matthew,  but  there  are  certain  differ 
ences  between  them.  The  sin  against  the  Holy 
Ghost  is  plainly  interpreted  as  the  blasphemous 
imputation  of  miracles  by  the  hand  of  Christ  to 
Satanic  collusion  with  Christ  Himself.  It  was  a 
malignant  and  impious  construction,  in  respect  to 
their  origin,  put  upon  these  '  mighty  works,'  when 
their  character  demonstrated  them  to  be  divine. 
This  was  blasphemy  and  despite  to  the  Spirit  of 
grace.  It  is,  however,  remarkable  that  the  clear 
definition  of  the  sin  against  the  Holy  Ghost  is  dis 
tinguished  from  sin  against  the  Son  of  Man ;  that 
no  sins  committed  against  His  person  and  claims 
as  the  Messiah  bore  the  irrevocable  sentence  of 
judgment  upon  them.  Even  the  crucifixion  was 
not  an  unpardonable  crime,  much  less  were  any  of 
those  under-currents  of  discussion  which  preceded 
it,  and  which,  as  leading  to  this  consummation, 
were  deeply  charged  with  guilt.  Nor  does  it 
follow  that  the  blasphemy  afterwards  cherished 
and  exhibited  by  our  Lord's  enemies,  placed  them 
beyond  the  reach  of  forgiveness. 

The  damning  power  of  the  sin  described  in  this 
Epistle  plainly  consisted  in  the  added  turpitude  of 
apostasy.  It  could  not  be  committed,  in  this  pecu 
liarly  malignant  form,  by  any  but  disciples — not  by 
outstanders;  so  that,  were  it  to  be  denied  that  the 
descriptions  in  verses  4  and  o  appertain  to  true 


PRACTICAL  DISCUSSION — OF  IRREMISSIBLE  SINS.  145 

Christians,  and  are  to  be  applied  to  professors  CHAP,  xm. 
merely,  the  whole  gist  of  the  offence  is  taken  Heb.  vi  3-9. 
away,  and,  consequently,  the  ground  of  the  irre- 
rnissibility  of  the  sin.  As  far  as  it  appears,  there 
are  but  two  sins  by  the  New  Testament  pronounced 
:.rremissible, — both  of  them  peculiar  to  times  and 
circumstances  at  the  outset  of  the  gospel, — both 
absolutely  damning,  but  differing  in  one  important 
particular,  viz.  the  condition  of  the  offenders.  The 
an  against  the  Holy  Ghost  was  the  sin  of  out 
standing  people;  the  sin  described  in  this  chapter, 
on  the  contrary,  is  the  sin  of  disciples.  This  last 
is  probably  what  is  called  by  John  i  the  sin  unto  i  John  v.  ie. 
death,'  for  he  expressly  excludes  it  from  the  offices 
of  intercession,  which  might  redound  to  forgiveness. 
All  other  sin,  though  characterized  by  him  as 
nrighteousness,  is,  nevertheless,  not  '  sin  unto 
eath,'  i.e.  sin  which  absolutely  consigned  to  retri- 
ution — the  i  death  '  retribution  of  a  future  state. 
But  if  other  sins  beside  these  were  sins  unto 
eath, — that  of  Judas,  for  instance,  who  betrayed 
is  Lord ;  of  Ananias  and  Sapphira,  who  lied  unto 
e  Holy  Ghost ;  or  that  of  Hymenaeus  and  Alex- 
der,  whom  Paul  said  he  '  delivered  unto  Satan 
hat  they  might  learn  not  to  blaspheme,' — yet  all 
ese  partook  of  the  same  characters  of  speciality, 
ey  were  committed  by  persons  in  such  privileged 
sitions  as  could  be  shared  by  none  after  the 
5 [Apostolic  age,  and  they  were  visited,  as  one  might 
ay,  by  penalty  of  prerogative,  whether  exercised 
Q-lpy  our  Lord  Himself,  or  by  His  apostles,  but 

rhich  devolved  on  no  successors.  Examples  of 

{.-.-  .  '  sin  unto 

But  the  most  comprehensive  view  of  this  im-  death 'under 

,.,  ,,  n      .        n    „  the  Mosaic 

>rtant  question  is,  like  many  others,  derived  from  iaw. 

K 


146 


PRACTICAL  DISCUSSION — OF  IRREMISSIBLE  SINS. 


CHAP.  xiii.  an  examination  of  the  Mosaic  law.  In  the  Penta- 
Heb.  vi.  3-9.  teuchal  history,  repeated  examples  occur  of  the 
'  sin  unto  death '  committed  by  the  Israelites,  as 
in  the  instance  of  Korah,  Dathan,  and  the  two 
hundred  and  fifty  men  who  offered  incense,  and  of 
Aaron's  sons  smitten  in  the  Tabernacle  itself. 
Counter  instances  are  also  numerous,  i.e.  of  the 
sin  not  unto  death,  as  in  the  matter  of  the  golden 
calf,  where  the  penalty  was  reversed  by  the  inter 
cession  of  Moses;  of  the  plague  stayed  by  the 
censer  of  Aaron ;  and  the  bite  of  the  serpents 
healed  by  the  uplifting  of  the  brazen  serpent. 
These  are  examples  in  point  agreeing  with  the 
doctrine  of  this  chapter.1 

Further,  offences  against  the  Decalogue  are  also 
4  sins  unto  death,'  and  hence  the  Law  is  called  by 
St.  Paul  the  ;  ministration  of  death ; '  while  the 
cases  scattered  up  and  down  the  pages  of  the 
Pentateuch,  in  which  death  is  threatened  to  the 
offender,  are  almost  innumerable  :  4  That  soul  shall 
be  cut  off  from  his  people.'  In  truth,  this  broad 
distinction  between  venial  and  mortal  sins  runs 
through  the  entire  law,  which  made  no  provision 
by  sacrifice  and  rites  of  absolution  for  the  relief  of 
presumptuous  offenders:  its  provisions  extended  only 
to  the  condonation  of  the  sins  of  ignorance  and  in 
firmity.  Presumptuous  sins  are  denominated  by 
the  Psalmist,  '  the  great  transgression,'  from  which 
he  prays  that  he  might  be  delivered.  This  twofold 
aspect  of  the  law  toward  crime  is  introduced  in 


The  law  con 
tained  no  pro 
vision  for 
'  presump 
tuous  sins.' 


1  It  must  be  borne  in  mind,  in  these  three  instances,  that  the  sin  in 
its  nature  was  a  sin  unto  death :  they  are  cited  here  in  proof  that  such 
sins  were  never  remissible  by  any  legal  ordinances,  but  solely  by  th 
offices  of  atonement  and  intercession  apart  from  these.  [Eos.] 


PRACTICAL  DISCUSSION — OF  IRREMISSIBLE  SINS.  147 

the  26th,  27th,  and  28th  verses  of  the  10th  chapter  CHAP.  xm. 
of  this  Epistle,  and  for  the  purpose  of  showing  Heb.  vi.  3-9. 
that  the  gospel  itself  presents,  to  a  certain  extent, 
in  analogy  with  it.  This  was  evidently  in  the  Analogy,  in 
writer's  mind  when  penning  verse  26:  i  For  if  we 
{dn  wilfully,'  i.e.  presumptuously,  like  these  apos- 
tates,  '  after  we  have  received  the  knowledge  of  the 
truth,'  agreeably  to  vers.  4  and  5,  chap,  vi.,  '  there 
remaineth  no  more  sacrifice  for  sins ; '  i.e.  these 
apostates  were  precisely  in  the  position  of  a  similar 
class  under  the  law  for  whom  no  provision  by 
sacrifice  remained.  l  They  died  without  mercy 
under  two  or  three  witnesses ; '  so  here,  there  re 
mained  no  more  sacrifice  for  sin,  i.e.  they  were 
utterly  precluded  from  any  further  interest  in  the 
sacrifice  of  Christ ;  their  sin  passed  beyond  the 
range  of  atonement,  and  they  were  bound  over  i  to 
e|judgment  and  fiery  indignation,'  which  should  de- 
iftlvour  them  as  adversaries. 

It  would  seem  that  the  reservation  of  certain  The  riches  of 
ffences  for  punishment,  under  the  gospel,  few  and  §«ed  by  W. 

culiar  though  they  be,  was  at  once  designed  to 
ttest  the  exceeding  riches  of  its  grace,  and  yet  to 
ihow  that  prerogative  was  not  utterly  given  up. 
or  can  this  be  construed  as  in  any  degree  lessen- 
ng  the  extent  and  all-sufficiency  of  the  Atonement; 
ce  the  design  of  it  was  not  to  supersede  the 
pplication  of  law,  or  to  invest  sin  with  impunity, 
ut   to   render  its  remission  consistent  with  the 
ivine  holiness,  and  with  the  stable  order  of  a  moral 
vernment.      In  this  view,    the   proscription  of 
articular  sins  is  only  an  extension  of  the  law  of 
Conditions  in  general,  which  is  but  another  word 
r  limitations ;  and,  in  this  instance,  the  proscrip- 


148  PRACTICAL  DISCUSSION — OF  IRREMISSIBLE  SINS. 

CHAP.  xiii.  tion  lies  not  against  outstanders,  or  the  world,  but 
Heb~dT3-9.  against  fallen  members  of  the  Church.  To  main 
tain  the  contrary,  would  be  to  prostitute  the  doc 
trines  of  grace  and  atonement  to  unholy  purposes, 
to  absolve  men  from  all  conditions  of  obedience, 
and  to  make  the  final  non-punitiveness  of  sin  a 
presumption,  if  not  a  certainty. 

Nature  of  It  remains  only  to  notice  the  distinction  between 

ties  account     the  penalties  of  the  law  and  of  the  gospel,  which  goes 

b°er.  £         "  very  far  to  account  for  the  multitude  of  examples 

of  mortal  sin  found  in  the  former,  and  the  few 

exceptional  cases  found  in  the  latter.     Law  penal- 

Penaitiesof     ties  were  temporal  penalties,  at  least  proximately, 

the  law  tern-  '  i  T  •     \ 

porai,  those  of  and  lor  the  most  part  they  belong  to  the  political 
spiritual  constitution  of  the  Hebrew  commonwealth  as  a 
Theocracy.  They  imply  an  exceptional  order  of  j 
things  never  extended  beyond  that  people,  and 
altogether  inapplicable  to  Christianity,  which  is  a 
purely  spiritual  system,  not  complicated  with  any 
nationalities,  or  limited  to  any  section  of  the  human 
race.  Hence  it  is  impossible  that  its  sanctions 
should  be  temporal,  or  that  a  death-penalty,  in  the; 
ordinary  sense,  should  form  a  part  of  its  admini 
stration  :  its  sanctions  belong  only  to  the  spiritual 
world;  and  the  death  which  it  threatens,  as  the 
penalty  of  sin,  is,  in  fact,  a  re-affirmation  of  the 
original  penalty  of  the  Adamic  law,  with  the  super- 
added  terribleness  of  the  damnation  awarded  toj 
the  neglect  or  rejection  of  the  provisions  of  th< 
gospel. 

The  death-penalties  of  the  law  did  not  of  them 
selves  exact  more  than  the  forfeiture  of  bodil; 
life,  or  the  infliction  of  grievous  national  judg 
ments:  hence  Jerusalem  is  said  to  have  received 


PRACTICAL  DISCUSSION — OF  IRREMISSIBLE  SINS.  149 

the  Lord's  hands  i  double  for  all  her  sins  ; '  i.e.  the  CHAP.  xin. 
penalties  threatened  in  the  Pentateuch  had  been   Heb.Ti.  3-9. 
exacted  in  full  measure,  and  nothing  but  persistent 
national  impiety  could  induce  God  to  carry  them 
further.     In  this  instance,  punishment  was  atone 
ment  in  the  same  sense  as  chastisements  may  be 
so  regarded.     But  this  view  of  penalty  is  entirely 
precluded  by  the  gospel ;  and  because  it  is  so,  the 
prerogatives  of  mercy  are   carried  to  their  very 
utmost  limit,  guarded  only  against  abuse  by  the 
threatening  of  the  one   extreme   penalty,   death. 
Thus  viewed,  our  Lord's  words,  '  All  manner  of  sin  Gospel  law  of 
and  blasphemy  shall  be  forgiven  unto  men,'  are  mcwe extended 
invested  with  a  profound  interest,  for  they  amount  SoL^6 
to  the  publication  of  a  new  law  of  absolution  in 
finitely  more  free  and  extended  than  that  of  Moses. 
The  words  of  St.  Paul  also  look  in  the  same  direc-  Acts  xiii.  39. 
tion :    'And  by  Him  all  that  believe  are  justified 
from  all  things,  from  which  ye  could  not  be  justi 
fied  by  the  law  of  Moses.' 

Verses    7   and   8    contain    an   appropriate   and 
[powerful  illustration,   drawn  from  agriculture,  of 
the  doctrines  previously  laid  down  :   '  For  the  earth 
which  drinketh  in  the  rain  that  cometh  oft  upon 
it,   and  bringeth  forth  herbs  meet   for   them   by 
|whom  it  is  dressed,  receiveth  blessing  from  God : 
>ut  that  which  beareth  thorns  and  briers  is  re- 
[jected,  and  is  nigh  unto  cursing ;  whose  end  is  to 
>e   burned.'    This   language  beautifully  describes 
rhat  may  be  termed  the  cycle  of  nature,  by  means 
)f  which  God  works  for  the  production  both  of 
food   and   ornament  on  the  earth.     On  the  one 
land,  we  have  the  smiling  field,  or  the  bounteous 

irden,  the  soil,  the  tillage,  the  rain,  the  plants; 


150  PRACTICAL  DISCUSSION — OF  IRREMISSIBLE  SINS. 

CHAP.  xiii.  this  order  of  things  which  originates  with  God, 

Hei>.~vT"3-9.  and  bears  the  richest  traces  of  His  wisdom  and 
benevolence,  is  also  represented  as  reflecting  His 
blessing ;  as  the  Psalmist  says,  '  the  Lord  shall 
rejoice  in  His  works.'  He  is  by  no  means  indiffe 
rent  to  the  result  of  this  cycle  of  action  :  as  it 
reflects  His  blessing,  so  does  it  receive  His  smile ; 
it  is  His  Sabbath  in  nature,  His  rest.  '  But 
that  which  beareth  thorns  is  rejected;'  we  have 
the  sterility,  anomalousness,  unsightliness  of  a 
field  remaining  desert  under  culture,  the  rain,  the 
seed,  the  tillage,  the  seasons, —  all  are  abortive; 
labour  is  mis-spent,  and  the  husbandman  cruelly 

Teaching  that  disappointed.  Instead  of  c  blessing,'  he  is  ready 
to  '  curse  '  his  field,  to  gather  into  heaps  the 
accumulated  rubbish  of  the  season,  and  to  con 
sign  the  whole  to  the  flames.  The  gist  of  this 
double  description  lies  in  the  course  of  Providence, 
and  in  the  application  of  labour  by  man,  common 
to  the  barren  and  the  fruitful  field :  its  force  would 
be  destroyed  were  it  a  mere  comparison  between  a 
field  under  culture  and  a  field  in  a  state  of  nature. 
It  is  intended  to  show  that  the  difference  in  the 
results  between  one  field  and  another  is  due  to  the 
difference  of  soils  only,  and  that  they  have  all 
other  advantages  in  common.1 

It  is  national  imagery ;  the  Pentateuch  and  the 

similar  teach-  Prophets  abound  in  it ;  see  particularly  Isaiah  v. 

ing  in  the  n  •  •        i  n      i  o         mu        /»  •  i 

Prophets.  1-7,  xxxii.  Iz,  13.  The  former  is  an  example 
strikingly  in  point  here.  The  vineyard  is  planted 

1  It  may,  perhaps,  be  allowed  that  the  figure  thus  viewed  is  meant 
to  shadow  forth  the  history  of  the  primitive  blessing  and  the  curse,— 
Paradise  as  it  was  before  the  Fall,  and  Paradise  as  it  was  after  the 
Fall, — and  that  the  great  moral  of  the  story  in  Genesis  is  perpetuated 
and  enforced  in  the  very  physical  varieties  of  the  earth's  surface. 


PRACTICAL  DISCUSSION — OF  IRREMISSIBLE  SINS.  151 

and  prepared  for  fruit-bearing,  at  every  expense,  CHAP.  xm. 

yet  it  brought  forth  wild  grapes.     Then  follows  Heb~dT3-9. 

bhe  complaint  of  the  owner,  and  his  sentence  upon 

:.t :  i  Wherefore,  when  I  looked  that  it  should  bring 

:brth  grapes,  brought  it  forth  wild  grapes  ?    And 

now  go  to ;  I  will  tell  you  what  I  will  do  to  my 

vineyard  ...  I  will  lay  it  waste  .  .  .  there  shall 

come  up  briers  and  thorns :  I  will  also  command 

the  clouds  that  they  rain  no  rain  upon  it.'     This  Here  applied 

is,  moreover,  the  lesson  from  the  barren  fig-tree,  t 

cursed  by  the  Saviour  with  perpetual  barrenness, 

and  suddenly  withered  from  the  roots.  This  national 

imagery  is  here  applied  to  the  Christian  Church, 

not  to  the  Jewish  nation.     At  the  time  when  this 

Epistle  was  written,  the  blessing  and  the  curse  held 

portions  of  the  same  territory:  there  might  be  seen 

in  it  the  beauty  of  holiness,  and  the  fruitfulness  of 

charity,  stedfastness   in   doctrine,  and  endurance 

of  suffering,  but  with  this  also  the  barrenness  of 

backsliding,  and  even  the  blasphemy  of  matured 

apostasy, — on   the   one  hand,  the  blessing  which 

foretells  salvation,  and,  on  the  other,  the  curse  to 

be  consummated  in  perdition. 


CHAPTER  XIV. 

PRACTICAL  DISCUSSION — SOCIAL  DEVELOPMENTS  OF 
THE  PRIMITIVE  CHURCH. 

HEB.  vi.  9,  10. 

Beloved, 'ex-  '  BUT,  beloved,  we  are  persuaded  better  things  of 
you,  and  things  that  accompany  salvation,  though 

We  thllS  SPeak'' 

tianity.  The  frequent  interjection  of  this  epithet i beloved' 

is  a  peculiarity  in  the  New  Testament  writings ; 
and  it  is  the  more  remarkable,  because  it  cannot  be 
traced  in  the  Old  Testament,  and  could  not,  there 
fore,  be  an  old  nationalized  appellation  turned  to 
a  new  use.  Mere  national  consanguinity,  result 
ing  from  derivation  from  a  pair,  failed  to  mould 
the  Hebrew  mind  to  that  loving  sense  of  fraternity 
which  would  free  such  an  appellation  from  the 
charge  of  cant.  Accordingly,  it  never  obtained 
national  currency ;  it  is,  therefore,  in  proof  that 
Christianity  actually  created  a  new  social  affection 
in  harmony  with  its  doctrine  of  brotherhood,  and 
as  the  result  of  its  adopting  and  regenerating  grace. 
In  truth,  the  whole  mystery  of  its  healing  and 
harmonizing  power  on  the  field  of  humanity,  so 
wonderful  in  itself,  and  so  remote  from  all  the 
influences  of  civilisation  and  culture,  lies  in  the 
force  of  this  one  principle,  to  which  expression  is 


OF  THE  PKIMITIVE  CHURCH.  153 

given  in  this  one  word  '  beloved.'     It  lent  a  charm  CHAP.  xiv. 
to  the  entire  social  economy  of  Christianity,  set  Heb.  vi.  9,  10. 
it  forth  as   the   most  wonderful  phenomenon   of 
humanity,  and  gave  it  such  a  breadth  and  inten 
sity  of  genuine  philanthropy  as  leaves  far  behind 
the  very  ideal  of  Communism  itself. 

It  is  to  be  remarked  here,  also,  how  thoroughly,  Motives  of 
in  this  form  of  address,  the  force  of  the  motives  ^ 


both  of  hope  and  fear  is  recognised.  'We  are 
persuaded  better  things  of  you,  and  things  that  Testaments- 
accompany  salvation,  though  we  thus  speak.'  This, 
also,  is  an  example  of  the  general  style  of  scripture 
thought  and  expression;  it  recurs  in  the  Pentateuch, 
where  the  blessing  and  the  curse  were  constantly 
associated.  They  were  to  be  spoken  from  opposite 
hills  by  the  tribes  when  they  entered  Palestine, 
and  to  be  engraven  on  separate  monuments  look 
ing  each  other  in  the  face.  The  same  order  of 
thought  and  expression  runs  through  the  Psalms, 
in  which  the  curse  and  the  blessing  often  alternate 
in  separate  Psalms,  and  even  in  the  same.  A  fine 
example  of  this  occurs  in  the  37th.  It  is  the  very 
essence  of  the  Book  of  Proverbs,  in  which  pairs  or 
duplicates  of  character  and  destiny  perpetually 
recur.  This  verse  exhibits  a  gush  of  affection 
common  to  the  apostolic  writings,  toning  the  mere 
language  of  authority,  even  when  that  authority 
was  inspired. 

4  Things  that  accompany  salvation  '  are  spoken 
of  —  literally,  the  things  '  having,'  or  'holding,'  sal 
vation,  i.e.  its  infallible  criteria,  evidences  of  its 
reality  personally  considered.  It  suggests  to  us 
that  there  are  things  appertaining  to  the  Christian 
profession  inseparable  from  it,  and  also  things  of 


154  PRACTICAL  DISCUSSION — SOCIAL  DEVELOPMENTS 

CHAP.  xiv.  sinister  import,  or  of  no  import  at  all,  and  that  to 
Heb.  vi.  9,  io.  distinguish  between  these  is  a  vital  part  of  Chris 
tian  wisdom. 

1  For  God  is  not  unrighteous  to  forget  your  work 

and  labour  of  love,  which  ye  have  showed  toward 

His  name,  in  that  ye  have  ministered  to  the  saints, 

and  do  minister.' 

Ver.  10  gives        This  verse  specifies  what  these  evidences  are  ; 

criteria  of  a  .  A  .  .  p 

genuine  pro-  they  are  seen  in  the  working  power  of  a  genuine 
profession,  as  distinguished  from  a  formal  or  doc 
trinal  adhesion  to  the  faith.  Further,  it  is  a 
practical  test,  only  indirectly  including  doctrinal 
elements.  The  work-test  of  Christianity  is  here 
made  prominent,  even  rather  than  its  experiences. 
These  are  implied,  but  work  is  defined.  It  is  hard 
work,  for  it  is  called  '  work  and  labour,'  toil,  busi 
ness-like  action — the  real  staple  of  life-occupation. 
It  is  also  love-labour,  not  legal  exaction,  not  the 
product  of  fear,  nor  a  mere  tale  of  duty,  a  something 
which  must  be  done  for  fear  of  consequences,  dis 
grace,  and  ruin.  Christianity  sets  forth  the  noble 
principle  of  love-labour,  and,  consequently,  of  free 
labour — labour  largely  spontaneous,  untiring,  and 
over-abundant.  Love-labour  is  obedience  to  the 
law  of  impulse  and  delight ;  it  is  the  opposite  of 
task-work,  and  undertakes,  therefore,  things  which 
otherwise  would  have  been  deemed  impossible, 
perhaps  not  so  much  as  thought  of.  Love  setting 
in  upon  the  soul  from  God,  through  Christ  by  the 
Holy  Ghost,  is  nothing  less  than  omnipotence 
transferred  to  creatures,  a  real  fellowship  in  that 
power  by  which  God  renews  the  world  and  illu 
minates  all  the  terrible  lines  of  the  curse.  Love 
triumphs  where  law  is  powerless,  and  creates  a 


OF  THE  PRIMITIVE  CHURCH.  155 

paradise  where  law  with  its  penalties  can   only  CHAP.  xiv. 

perpetuate  destruction.  Heb.  vi.  9, 10. 

The    particular    form   of   ministry   commended  Ministry  to 

i  .  „          ,    .  1*  T.--L-X-          the  saints. 

here  is  one  of  vast  importance  to  the  exhibition 
of  the  genius  of  Christianity  to  the  world,  as  we 
gather  from  both  the  Gospels  and  the  Epistles. 
It  is  the  '  new  commandment '  in  its  noblest  opera 
tion,  and  is  selected  by  our  Lord,  in  His  own 
prediction  of  the  Judgment,  as  the  one  test  of  a 
true  disciple  distinguished  from  a  false  one,  and  as 
the  explicit  ground  of  final  reward :  '  Inasmuch  as 
ye  have  done  it  unto  one  of  the  least  of  these  my 
brethren,  ye  have  done  it  unto  me/  The  effusion  Spirit  of  the 
at  Pentecost  of  this  benevolent,  self-sacrificing  churchV 
spirit  on  the  Church,  was  a  far  more  marvellous 
proof  of  the  power  of  the  Holy  Ghost  than  the  gift 
of  tongues,  or  all  miraculous  gifts  put  together. 
'  Neither  said  any  that  ought  of  the  things  he 
possessed  was  his  own,  but  they  had  all  things 
common.'  All  private  property  became  Church  pro 
perty.  Hence  originated  the  Diaconate,  male  and 
female ;  hence  the  collections  among  the  churches 
even  in  distant  Gentile  countries  for  the  relief  of 
the  poor  saints  at  Jerusalem ;  and  hence  was  de 
rived  the  perpetuation  by  St.  Paul  of  that  gem  of 
our  Lord's  teaching,  which,  like  many  others,  would 
have  perished,  '  It  is  more  blessed  to  give  than  to 
receive.'  In  this  light,  our  Lord's  own  words  are 
to  be  regarded  as  a  prophecy  soon  wonderfully 
fulfilled  (Mark  x.  29,  30) :  '  There  is  no  man  that 
hath  left  house,  or  brethren,  or  sisters,  or  father, 
or  mother,  or  wife,  or  children,  or  lands,  for  my 
sake,  and  the  gospel's,  but  he  shall  receive  an 
hundred-fold  now  in  this  present  time,  houses,  and 


156 

CHAP.  XIV. 
Heb.  vi.  9,  10. 


Western 
habits  and 
society  un 
favourable  to 
this  spirit. 


Christianity 
includes  much 
more  than 
Christian 
morals. 


PRACTICAL  DISCUSSION— SOCIAL  DEVELOPMENTS 


I- 


brethren,  and  sisters,  and  mothers,  and  children, 
and  lands,  with  persecutions  ;  and  in  the  world  to 
come  eternal  life.'  Thus  l  the  things  which  accom 
pany  salvation  '  are  set  forth  here  as  '  ministering 
to  the  saints' — the  giving  and  receiving  being 
mutual  in  the  Christian  community.  They  are 
identified  with  our  Lord's  own  testimony  just 
quoted,  and  the  reward  is,  '  in  the  world  to  come 
eternal  life.' 

Modern  society  and  Western  habits,  in  many 
respects  so  different  from  those  of  Oriental  and 
ancient  countries,  whilst  they  undoubtedly  modify, 
are  in  no  little  danger  of  extinguishing  this  capital 
branch  of  Christian  ethics — this  very  soul  and 
crown  of  the  Christian  profession.  But  as  Chris 
tianity  is  not  an  affair  of  an  age  or  country,  but 
of  time  and  the  world,  this  fraternal  spirit  cannot 
be  suffered  to  languish,  not  to  say  die  out,  save 
by  withdrawing  from  the  world  the  most  powerful 
practical  element  for  its  conversion.  It  must  be 
perpetuated  in  every  Christian  community  in  some 
spontaneous  and  yet  very  palpable  forms,  apart 
from  express  institutions  such  as  the  Papacy  main 
tains,  or  the  evangelical  profession  must  suffer  by 
comparison,  and  its  glory  be  dimmed ;  while  even 
the  things  '  that  accompany  salvation,'  person 
ally  considered,  are,  according  to  this  scripture, 
not  very  distinctly  exhibited.  To  this  only  it 
may  be  added,  that  the  good  works  so  frequently 
mentioned  in  the  New  Testament,  as  peculiarly 
appropriate  to  the  Christian  profession,  do  not 
expressly  mean  the  consistent  exhibition  of  Chris 
tian  morals  generally,  but  works  of  charity,  the 
acknowledgment  of  a  far  higher  standard  of 


OF  THE  PRIMITIVE  CHURCH.  157 

humanity  than  the  world  can  show,  and  beyond  CHAP.  xiv. 
this  the  appliances  of  affection  within  the  Church  Heb."vT9, 10. 
which  at  once  reveal  the  divinity  of  its  life,  and 
make  it  a  real  home  and  family.     This  is  Chris 
tianity. 


Christian  re- 


done  for  God. 


CHAPTER   XY. 

PRACTICAL  DISCUSSION—  DISTINCTION  BETWEEN  THE 
CHRISTIAN  STATUS  AND  CHRISTIAN  WORKS. 

HEB.  vi.  10-12. 

'  FOR  God  is  not  unrighteous  to  forget  your  work 
and  labour  of  love,  which  ye  have  showed  toward 
His  name,  in  that  ye  have  ministered  to  the  saints, 
and  do  minister/ 

Before  dismissing  the  tenth  verse,  it  is  requisite 
^°  P°m^  out  the  ground  of  Christian  recompense 
for  works  Of  iove  showed  to  the  saints.  These  are 
represented  as  being  done  in  honour  of  the  name 
of  God,  —  '  showed  toward  His  name,'  and  therefore 
entitled  to  His  rewarding  cognizance.  This  sug 
gests  to  us  at  once  the  ruling  motive  in  all  really 
evangelical  acts  of  charity,  distinguishing  them 
from  mere  acts  of  humanity,  sentiment,  or  culture, 
much  more  from  mere  systematic  administration 
of  relief.  The  godliness  of  the  motive  is  the  prime 
characteristic  of  these  works,  their  fraternal  ten 
derness  comes  next.  Were  it  not  so,  according  to 
the  doctrine  of  this  verse,  no  place  for  their  direct 
rewardableness  would  exist.  They  are  acts  done 
for  the  name  of  God,  prompted,  it  is  true,  by 
fraternal  yearnings,  but  primarily  offerings  unto 
God.  This  entitles  them  to  His  reward;  so  that 


THE  CHRISTIAN  STATUS  AND  CHRISTIAN  WORKS.  159 

to   suppose  Him  to  pass  them  by  as  unreward-    CHAP.  xv. 

able  is  just  as  impossible  as  to  suppose  Him  un-  Heb.vi.  10-12. 

righteous.     This  is  placing  the  doctrine  of  reward 

on  a  strong,  and,  as  it  would  seem  to  some,  on  a 

rather  unevangelical,  foundation,  unless  we  were 

to  interpret  the  word  '  unrighteous  '  in  the  sense 

of  ungracious,  which  in  this  instance  may  not  be 

done.     Neither  is  it  necessary,   since   the   broad  Men  judged 

doctrine  of  Scripture,  both  in  the  Old  and  New  their  worL% 


Testaments,  is,  that  God  deals  with  men  according 
to  their  works,  i.e.  according  to  their  deserts;  and 
that  acts  of  grace  on  His  part,  however  free  and 
transcendent,  do  not  interfere  with,  much  less 
obliterate,  the  application  of  the  principle  of  justice 
in  His  dealing  both  with  the  righteous  and  the 
wicked. 

This  truth,  here  assumed  as  indisputable,  ac 
counts  for  the  passing  way  of  putting  forth  this 
most  momentous  doctrine. 

It  seems  that,  in  order  to  clear  this  somewhat  Distinction 
complicated  subject  from  difficulty,  we  are  required 
to   distinguish  between  the  state  and  condition  of 
men,  and  the  acts,  or  classes  of  acts,  which  are  the 
products  of  these.  '  The  former,  with  respect  to 
the   disciple,    should  be  regarded   as    purely   the 
creation  of  grace,  entirely  shutting  out  the  appli-  status,  i.e. 
cation   of  justice,    and   the   idea   of  recompense,  creltionof  " 
It  is  probable,  perhaps  demonstrable,  that  salva-  grace' 
tion,  as  set  forth  in  the  New  Testament,  is  directly 
limited  to  this,  since  we  are  forbidden  to  doubt 
that  dying  persons,  or  persons  in  any  way  dis 
abled  from  the  performance  of  works,  have  as  cer 
tainly  their  salvation  made  good  as  those  who  have 
abounded  in  them.     Mere  salvation,  therefore,  it 


160 


PRACTICAL  DISCUSSION — DISTINCTION  BETWEEN 


CHAP.  XY. 
Heb.  vi.  10-12. 


Christian 
works  the 
result  of  this 
status. 


Distinction 
between  status 
and  works 
illustrated  by 
the  last  judg 
ment. 


is  plain,  does  not  include  the  idea  of  reward,  or  of 
an  administration  of  justice.  Faith,  prayer,  watch 
fulness,  Christian  morals,  consistency,  are  the  in 
separable  concomitants  of  the  bare  Christian  status. 
These  seem  all  appropriately  included  within  the 
sphere  of  salvation,  evangelically  understood.  But 
beyond  all  this,  there  is  a  sphere  of  works,  of 
appointed  duties,  of  manifold  services  for  religion 
and  the  truth,  of  vast  extent  and  profound  interest. 
It  should  not  be  forgotten  that  our  Lord  bears  rule 
over  a  kingdom;  that  this  kingdom  includes  various 
offices,  grades  of  men,  and  forms  of  service;  that  it 
is  a  high  field  of  holy  competition,  and  that  en 
dowments  and  opportunities  are  scattered  through  it 
with  proportionate  responsibilities.  It  is  on  this 
ground  that  the  doctrine  of  the  parable  of  the 
talents  rests,  and  also  the  doctrine  of  the  final 
judgment  as  administered  by  Christ.  The  child, 
by  the  grace  of  adoption  and  sanctification,  implies 
the  Christian  status ;  the  servant  endowed  with 
gifts,  and  a  sphere  of  action  more  or  less  impor 
tant,  the  Christian  character:  the  one  shows  us 
mere  grace  in  operation  to  create  the  agent,  the 
other  the  works  of  that  agent  carried  on  and 
perfected.  There  are,  therefore,  but  two  sides  of 
the  evangelical  constitution — the  one  cannot  exist 
without  the  other,  but  they  do  not  always  coincide 
in  the  extent  of  their  manifestations  and  of  their 
practical  breadth.  This  distinction  is  illustrated 
by  our  Lord's  representation  of  the  last  judgment, 
for  He  there  recognises  the  difference  of  status 
between  the  righteous  and  the  wicked,  as  a  pre 
liminary  to  a  judgment  upon  their  works.  He 
then  deals  with  them  respectively  on  the  ground 


THE  CHRISTIAN  STATUS  AND  CHRISTIAN  WORKS.  161 

of  their  works  as  the  issue  of  that  status  truly,    CHAP.  xv. 
but  as  a  matter  entirely  distinct  from  it, — 'every  Heb.vi.  10-12. 
man  according  to  his  works.'     Thus  the  status  is 
but  the  basis  or  condition  of  the  judgment  itself;  the 
works  are  respectively  treated  as  the  immediate 
ground  of  individual  adjudication,  not  the  status. 

1.  This  distinction  throws  light  upon  what  would 
otherwise  be  obscure,  viz.  the  immediate  perdition 
or   salvation    of    individuals    after   death,    which 
looked  at  by  itself,  would  seem  to  render  a  future 
judgment  unnecessary :  the  judgment  seems  passed 
already.    The  difficulty,  however,  disappears,  if  we  At  death 
understand  that  perdition  and   salvation  include  deferLined, 
only  the  status,  not  the  works  of  individuals— the  ™errks  stan(* 
works  stand  over,  but  the  status  is  a  fact.     This 

shows  that  the  status  itself  is  incomplete,  and 
foretells  the  final  judgment  as  its  proper  counter 
part,  and  that  in  no  case,  as  yet,  whether  with 
respect  to  the  righteous  or  the  wicked,  can  re 
wards  and  punishments  have  been  administered 
— they  necessarily  await  the  judgment  of  the  great 
day.  Against  this  distinction  it  avails  nothing  to 
cite  the  mere  letter  of  Scripture  where  it  lays  down 
the  terms  of  the  general  judgment,  because  these 
must  be  necessarily  interpreted  according  to  the 
principles  of  the  judgment  itself.  A  large  portion 
of  the  human  race — children,  insane  persons,  or 
those  saved  on  death-beds— cannot  be  directly  the 
subjects  of  judgment  at  all;  it  is  the  status,  here 
represented  as  the  preliminary  judgment,  which 
alone  concerns  them. 

2.  Further,  this   distinction  enables  us  to  see 
clearly  what  the  province  of  justice  is  within  the 
economy  of  grace.     As  far  as  men  are  individually 

L 


162 


PRACTICAL  DISCUSSION — DISTINCTION  BETWEEN 


CHAP.  XV. 

Heb.vi.  10-12. 


Under  an 
economy  of 
grace,  justice 
deals  with 
works  as  the 
criterion  of 
status. 


Rewards  and 
punishments 
both  essential 
and  arbitrary. 


concerned,  or  even  the  race,  the  economy  itself 
rests  upon  a  vicarious  or  representative  righteous 
ness.  Still,  there  must  be  a  sphere  left  open  for 
the  declaration  of  a  personal  righteousness,  origi 
nating  in  the  former,  but  yet  the  award  of  law; 
otherwise,  justice  can  have  no  place  in  this  form  of 
government.  Justice  has  to  do  with  works  simply 
as  a  test  or  criterion  of  a  status,  good  or  bad, 
and  therefore  with  works  in  all  their  variety  of 
character  as  well  as  of  detail.  No  solid  argu 
ment  could  be  advanced  in  favour  of  penal  retribu 
tion  which  denies  the  application  of  justice  to 
rewards  also.  As  penalty  is  meted  out  to  par 
ticular  crimes  as  the  issue  of  a  corrupt  status, 
corrupt  by  abuse  and  not  by  misfortune,  so  rewards 
are,  in  like  manner,  meted  out  by  justice  to  works 
of  piety  and  virtue  as  the  issues  of  a  status  origi 
nated  and  perfected  by  the  grace  of  redemption. 
Justice,  as  the  presiding  principle  of  law,  fills  this 
entire  sphere  of  the  Mediator's  kingdom,  and  is 
just  as  definite  in  its  office  as  is  the  domain  of 
grace  itself. 

3.  The  distinction  here  set  up  furnishes  us  with 
more  definite  notions  of  the  nature  both  of  rewards 
and  punishments.  These  have  in  common  a  double 
characteristic,  i.e.  they  are  both  essential  and  arbi 
trary — essential  as  regards  the  status,  arbitrary  as 
it  regards  the  administration  of  rewards  and  punish 
ments.  They  are  something  superadded  to  the 
status,  and  determine  the  condition  of  the  agent, 
abstractedly  taken,  as  something  separable  from 
it.  The  status  in  each  case  bears  in  it  the  nature 
of  penalty  or  of  recompense,  it  is  true,  inasmuch 
as  virtue  and  wickedness  imply  conditions  of  exist- 


THE  CHRISTIAN  STATUS  AND  CHRISTIAN  WORKS.  1G3 

ence  in  themselves  adverse  to,  or  in  harmony  with,    CHAP.  xv. 
the  divine  nature.     But  these  would  exist  were  Heb.vi.  10-12. 
there    no    government,    formally   considered,    nor  The  status  of 
any  system  of  rewards  and  punishments  appended  wickedness 
to  such  a    government.     The    appointment   of  a  essential 
general  judgment  is  decisive  as  to  the  fact  of  such 
government,  and  that  it  is  to  be  upholden  by  so 
direct  a  personal  administration  as  will  place  every  Reward  or 
individual  for  ever  in  punitive  or  rewardable  rela 
tions  with  God,  in  exact  proportion  to  his  ascer 
tained  character  under  it.    From  this  view  it  follows 
that  both  rewards    and   punishments    are   things  Rewards  differ 
superadded  to  mere  status,  and  that,  with  respect  Sownbythe 
:o  the  former,  they  must  be  held  to  consist  in  dis-  Parable- 
rinctions  of  honour  and  degrees  of  glory,  as  between 
one  redeemed  human  being  and  another,  placing 
s;ome  immeasurably  in  advance  of  others,  very  much 
after  the  manner  in  which  human  society  is  now 
constituted.    This  seems  to  be  the  doctrine  of  the 
parables  before  referred  to,  the  doctrine  also  of  the 
passage,   c  Ye  shall  also  sit  upon  twelve  thrones,  Matt.  xix.  28. 
judging  the  twelve  tribes  of  Israel.'    Again,  it  is  Lllke  xxii>  30' 
included  in   our   Lord's   reply  to   the   mother  of 
Zebedee's  children,  (  To  sit  on  my  right  hand  and 
on  my  left  is  not  mine  to  give,  but  it  shall  be  given 
to  them  for  whom  it  is  prepared  of  my  Father.' 
Hence  it  may  be  concluded  that  the  blessedness  of 
the  future  life  is  drawn  from  two  sources,  i.e.  from 
the  status  and  from  the  works,  and  that  it  is  in 
definitely  modified  by  these  two  elements,  as  the 
one  or  the  other  may  in  individual  cases  have  pre 
ponderated.     By  way  of  distinction,  though  not  of 
separation,  it  may  be  said  there  is  the  heaven  of 
I  the  child,  and  there  is  the  heaven  of  the  servant. 


164  PEACTICAL  DISCUSSION — DISTINCTION  BETWEEN 

CHAP.  xv.        <  And  we  desire  that  every  one  of  you  do  show 
Heb.^To-12.  the  same  diligence  to  the  full  assurance  of  hope 

unto  the  end :  that  ye  be  not  slothful,  but  followers 

of  them  who  through  faith  and  patience  inherit  the 

promises.' 

These  verses  are  remarkable  as  setting  forth  the 

true  principles  of  evangelical  perseverance. 
Nature  of  It  should  be  universal  instead  of  partial,  com- 

1*1 

'djSgenee.'      prising  every  one  of  the  disciples  of  a  particular 
community. 

It  implies  an  equal  momentum  in  the  direction 
of  duty ;  no  abatement,  much  less  intermission,  is 
to  be  thought  of.  Diligence,  literally  rendered,  is 
delight ;  agreeably  to  the  language  of  the  original, 
it  is  study :  both  the  Greek  and  Latin  words 
rendered  diligence,  therefore,  may  signify  together 
pleasant  study,  healthful  yet  absorbing  occupation, 
the  maintenance  of  a  rule  of  life  once  for  all  settled 
and  plied  to  the  very  end,  as  congenial  with  ex 
istence,  and  no  more  to  be  parted  from  it  by  alien 
intrusions,  than  wisdom  is  to  be  banished  by  folly, 
or  the  dignity  of  manhood  to  be  exchanged  for  the 
Same  doctrine  inanities  of  brute  life.  St.  Paul  puts  this  great 
and  Phhxiii. '  doctrine  before  us  under  the  figure  of  a  race  :  i  Not 
as  though  I  had  already  attained,  or  were  already 
perfect,  but  I  follow  after,'  etc.  The  same  figure 
recurs  in  the  12th  chapter  of  this  Epistle  :  '  Let  us 
lay  aside  every  weight  .  .  .  and  let  us  run  with 
patience  the  race  that  is  set  before  us.' 

It  includes  the  full  assurance  of  hope.  Perhaps 
7r\7]po<j)opla  may  be  here  referred  to  the  condition 
of  a  ship  on  its  voyage,  having  all  its  sails  bent  and 
filled  with  a  favourable  wind,  rapidly  but  steadily 
wafting  it  on  its  possibly  lengthened  voyage  in  the 


THE  CHRISTIAN  STATUS  AND  CHRISTIAN  WORKS.  165 

direction  of  the  desired  haven ;  at  least  the  figure    CHAP.  xv. 
is   countenanced  by   verse    19.     Thus,    'the    full  Heb.vi.  10-12. 
assurance   of  hope '   is   the   heavenly   inspiration 
which  fills  the  soul  in  its  course  of  evangelical  Power  of  evan- 
action ;  it  is  its  charter  and  its  guidance,  its  impel-  se 
lant  force  of  heaven-born  desire,  and  the  secret  of 
its  buoyancy  on  the  sea  of  life.     Its  counsels  and 
its  resources  are  both  human  and  divine.    It  is  not 
superseded  but  helped,  not  taken  out  of  the  world 
but  kept  in  it,  harmonized  with  all  seeming  contra 
rieties,  and  superior  to  all  creature  forces  antago 
nistic  to  it.     Its  day-star  is  hope,  bringing  with  it 
flashes  of  transport,  and  a  heaven  by  the  way. 

'  That  ye  be  not  slothful  '  is  an  admonition  Fatal  results 
suggested  by  diligence.  It  tells  us  of  besetment  n^ 
incident  to  all,  the  symptom  of  decay,  and  the  con 
dition  of  corruption,  which,  like  an  insidious  dis 
ease,  steal  away  the  strength  of  Christian  manhood. 
Slothfulness  makes  every  duty  irksome,  indisposes 
to  cross-bearing  and  inconveniences  of  every  kind, 
seeks  the  smoothest  path,  the  lightest  burden,  the 
mere  play  and  holiday  of  profession.  Every  virtue 
is  a  starveling,  every  act  a  minimum  or  a  sem 
blance  rather  than  a  reality.  Decrepitude  and 
death  are  not  far  in  the  rear,  and  a  crown  once 
bright  and  enticing  has  slid  like  a  meteor  from  the 
sky,  and  becomes  hidden  in  the  mist  of  feeble  vision 
or  worldly  passions.  On  the  contrary,  i  faith  and 
patience'  are  the  guides  to  the  land  of  promise, 
and  the  qualities  that  ensure  possession.  'Faith,' 
as  well  as  '  patience,'  is  here  taken  as  a  practical 
power,  not  a  profession  or  a  mere  belief.  The 
semblance  of  both  is  often  found  in  other  spheres 
of  operation,  ensuring  eminency  and  success  wher- 


166  PRACTICAL  DISCUSSION. 

CHAP.  xv.  ever  they  are  conspicuously  embodied.  In  their 
Heb.vi.  10-12.  highest  forms,  however,  they  are  Christian  prin 
ciples;  they  mould  the  Christian  temper,  while 
that  temper  reacts  for  their  perpetual  invigoration, 
thus  constituting  that  all-conquering  soul  which 
finally  overcomes,  and  rests  in  the  eternal  fruition 
of  the  promises. 

Summary  of         Thus,  the  doctrine  of  Perseverance,  as  gathered 
evangelical60   from  this  Epistle,  may  be  expressed  in  this  sum- 
perseverance.    mary .  Founded  on  the  provisions  of  grace,  it  is  the 
4 building  up'  to  perfection,  by  an  unintermittent 
course  of  duty,  both  the  Christian  state  and  cha 
racter,  yet  a  4 perfection'  including  constant  pro 
gression  c  unto  the  end.' 

This  doctrine  does  not  preclude  the  possibility  of 
final  failure,  but  its  probability  is  diminished  in 
proportion  to  the  acquired  stability  and  advance 
of  the  disciple,  in  some  instances  reducing  the 
chance  of  failure  perhaps  to  the  minimum  of  a 
mere  hypothesis,  though  in  others,  where  natural 
temper,  circumstantial  difficulties,  or  superficial  or 
immature  religion  meet,  hypothesis  widens  seriously 
into  the  perils  of  at  least  a  temporary,  if  not  a 
final,  apostasy.  Irrecoverable  apostates  there  were, 
according  to  the  testimony  of  this  chapter,  in  the 
apostolic  age,  and  moreover,  recoverable  ones ; 
whilst  those  who  were  neither  one  nor  the  other 
are  addressed  as  persons  still  in  a  condition  of  trial, 
subject  to  hazard,  and  therefore  to  be  plied  with 
those  motives  to  perseverance  peculiarly  evan 
gelical. 


CHAPTER  XVI. 

THE  ABRAHAMIC  COVENANT. 
HEB.  vi.  13-20. 

'  FOR  when  God  made  promise  to  Abraham,  be 
cause  He  could  swear  by  no  greater,  He  sware  by 
Himself,  saying,  Surely  blessing  I  will  bless  thee, 
and  multiplying  I  will  multiply  thee.  And  so,  after 
he  had  patiently  endured,  he  obtained  the  promise.' 

The  collation  of  these  verses,  and  those  which  The 
follow,  in  support  of  the  argument  for  perseverance, 
proves  that  the  writer  of  the  Epistle  understood  sellcal- 
the  Covenant  with  Abraham  as  substantially  evan 
gelical.  If  this  were  denied,  it  would  follow  that 
the  introduction  here  of  the  narrative,  from  Genesis 
xxii.,  verses  16  and  17,  would  amount  to  nothing 
more  than  an  appropriate  quotation  to  show  how 
faith  in  that  particular  instance,  rewarded  by  a 
promise,  should  stand  as  an  example  of  the  faithful 
ness  of  God  in  fulfilling  whatever  promises  He  has 
made  to  His  people.  But  there  are  three  objections  Argument 

*       *  u  snowing  that 

to  this  :  the  first  is,  That  any  other  recorded  Old  on  this 
Testament  example  would  have  answered  equally  SstteqSotL 
well ;  secondly,  That  in  certain  aspects  the  quota-  £ere.° 
tion  would  not  have  been  apposite ;    and  thirdly, 
That  the  following  argument,  turning  on  the  two 
immutable  things,  would  have  been  entirely  out  of 


168  THE  ABEAHAMIC  COVENANT. 

CHAP.  xvi.  place.  The  force  of  the  second  objection  is  proved 
Heb.vi.  13-20.  by  the  language  of  verse  15:  'So,  after  he  had 
patiently  endured,  he  obtained  the  promise ; '  for 
this  certainly  cannot  mean  that  the  promise  quoted 
in  the  previous  verses  was  the  reward  of  Abraham's 
faith  and  patience,  exercised  up  to  the  time  of  the 
promise.  To  '  obtain  the  promise '  is  not  to  be 
interpreted  of  receiving  the  word  of  the  promise, 
but  the  thing  contained  in  the  promise,  or,  to  use 
the  language  of  verse  12,  'to  inherit  the  promise.' 
Since  this  is  indubitably  the  meaning  of  verse  15, 
we  are  not  referred  backward  to  Abraham's  life  for 
its  fulfilment,  but  forward.  Moreover,  the  chapter 
(Gen.  xxii.)  contains  the  last  record  of  Abraham's 
life,  religiously  considered,  and  there  is,  therefore, 
no  account  extant  of  the  patriarch's  living  to  enjoy 
this  promise  as  the  reward  of  his  faith  and  patience ; 
nor,  in  the  nature  of  things,  was  it  possible,  if  we 
look  to  the  terms  of  the  promise  itself.  It  must, 
therefore,  necessarily  be  referred  for  its  fulfilment 
to  the  future  life, — in  other  words,  the  promise  is 
essentially  evangelical. 

The  proper  light  in  which  this  promise  is  to  be 
viewed,  is  to  regard  it  as  the  summary  of  all  preced 
ing  promises  made  to  Abraham,  and  that,  as  standing 
last  in  the  order  of  time,  it  is  appropriately  confirmed 
by  '  the  oath,'  the  final  seal  of  God's  faithfulness. 
The  great  pro-  For,  not  to  draw  attention  at  length  to  the  fact 
hanTevan^ "  that  the  promise  was  the  sequel  to  the  great  typi- 
geiicai.  cai  transaction  on  Mount  Moriah,  it  will  be  evident 

from  a  glance  at  the  previous  issues  of  promise 
given  at  different  periods  of  Abraham's  life,  that 
they  were  essentially  evangelical.  We  have  St. 
Paul's  authority  for  this  interpretation,  as  well  as 


THE  ABRAHAMIC  COVENANT.  169 

the  letter  of  the  text.      All  nations  were  to  be   CHAP.  xvi. 
blessed  in  Abraham  and  his  seed,  and  he  was  to  Heb.vi.  13-20. 
become,  by  this  covenant,    '  the  father  of  many 
nations,'  i.e.  of  i  all  nations,'  or,  as  St.  Paul  renders    Eom.  iv.  is. 
it,  the  '  heir  of  the  world/     In  truth,  the  covenant 
which  included  the  natural  seed  of  the  patriarch, 
together  with  the  gift  of  territory  and  of  future  National  PTO- 

c  .  .  ,         n  misessubor- 

nationality,   was  but  an   appanage  to  the   Great  dinateto 
Covenant,  and  was  to  be  considered  as  only  stand-  t 
ing  to  it  in  the  relation  of  a  providential  appoint 
ment  of   means  to   an  end.     The    blessing   here 
spoken  of,  which,  like  the  first  blessing  bestowed 
on  Adam,  was  that  of  an  innumerable  progeny, 
relates    directly   to   the   spiritual   seed,   and   still 
awaits  its  largest  fulfilment  in  the  conversion  of  all 
nations  to  the  Christian  faith. 

But  the  question  obviously  here  occurs,  How 
does  such  an  interpretation  of  the  promise  apply 
to  the  future  life  of  the  patriarch  himself?  How 
may  it  be  supposed  that  the  vast  multiplication  of 
his  spiritual  progeny,  implied  in  this  blessing,  could 
affect  Abraham  himself?  The  answer  seems  to 
be  returned  by  the  light  of  the  previous  doctrine 
of  reward.  This  doctrine  allows  of  a  vast  advance 
on  the  qualifications  of  mere  personal  holiness  and 
fitness  for  communion  with  God.  In  the  case  of 
this  patriarch,  it  would  seem  that  4  his  exceeding 
great  reward '  consists  in  his  relation,  through  his  Abraham's 
human  fatherhood  of  the  Christ,  to  an  innumerable  gSt  reward1 
multitude  of  redeemed  men,  partly  his  natural, 
partly  his  spiritual  seed ;  that  this  relation  really  ex- 
tends  itself  to  the  future  life ;  that  it  is  continually  humanity. 
on  the  increase ;  and  that  it  is  a  grand  source  of 
honour  and  felicity  to  Abraham  in  the  kingdom  of 


170 


THE  ABRAHAMIC  COVENANT. 


CHAP.  xvi. 
Heb.vi.  13-20. 


Application  of 

this  doctrine 

to  those  ren- 

dering  emi- 

nent  service 


swear  by  the 

greater:  and 

an  oath  for 
confirmation 

en^of  aUa] 
strife.  ' 


heaven.  Perhaps  the  recognition  of  this  truth, 
obviously  contained  in  the  promise,  gave  birth  to 
the  exalted  conceptions  of  the  Hebrew  people  re 
specting  the  honour  of  their  descent;  and  to  those 
fine  expressions  of  our  Lord  in  the  Gospels  :  4  He 
saw  Abraham  afar  off,  and  Lazarus  in  his  bosom  ;  ' 
'  And  they  shall  come  from  the  east  and  the  west 
and  the  north  and  the  south,  and  shall  sit  down 
with  Abraham  and  Isaac  and  Jacob  in  the  king 
dom  of  heaven.' 

^OY  is   this   doctrine   singular;    it  lies  at   the 
foundation  of  the  reward  of  great  public  services 

.  r*t    •     • 

and  the  promotion  of  great  Christian  interests. 
We  trace  it  in  the  apostolic  writings,  particularly 
in  those  of  St.  Paul,  in  which  he  obviously  dwelt 
much  on  these  perpetuated  relations  between  him 
self  and  his  converts  :  they  were  his  joy  and  his 
crown  in  the  day  of  the  Lord.  The  same  truth 
is  also  the  noblest  incentive  to  ministerial  zeal  and 
fruitfulness,  and  one  of  which  no  true  minister  can 
be  utterly  devoid.  In  the  examples  of  pre-eminent 
men,  signally  gifted,  and  successful  in  retrieving 
religion  after  decay,  and  spreading  its  influence 
through  nations,  whether  in  ancient  or  modern 
days,  we  see  the  Abrahamic  blessing  reproduced 
in  wonderful  vividness,  deepening  the  conviction 
that  the  covenant  '  confirmed  by  an  oath  '  still 
contains  the  two  immutable  things.1 

The  addition  of  the  oath  to  the  covenant,  in  this 
instance,  is  the  crowning  proof  of  its  evangelical 

1  This  beautiful  application  of  the  doctrine  of  reward  admits  of  still 
wider  detail  in  the  fellowship  of  families,  or  natural  fatherhood  per- 
petuated  on  spiritual  principles.  It  extends  to  sanctified  friendship, 
and  to  spiritual  services  rendered  to  others,  greatly  heightening  the 
joy  of  the  final  lot. 


THE  ABRAHAMIC  COVENANT.  171 

character,  since  this  form  of  confirmation  stamped  CHAP.  xvi. 
it  with  absolute  perpetuity,  and  made  it,  to  use  Heb.vi.  13-20. 
Scripture  language,  'the  everlasting  covenant.  The  gospel 

i          T    •         -n    .1  •  i  >      T-»      ,1  confirmed  by 

ordered  in  all  things  and  sure.     By  the  covenant  oath,  because 


thus  confirmed,  Christianity  is  registered  as  abso- 
lutely  uncancellable  by  divine  decree  ;  it  is  '  the 
kingdom  which  cannot  be  moved,'  though  all  other  p°rary 
things  may  be  shaken.  This  is  a  capital  distinc 
tion  between  the  gospel  and  the  law;  the  latter 
was  not  confirmed  by  an  oath,  neither  positively 
]ior  by  implication.  A  reference  to  the  text  of  the 
covenant  shows  this  :  The  law  ranked  in  the  mere 
providential  order  of  means,  the  gospel  was  the 
end  ;  the  law  therefore  perished  when  its  days  of 
service  had  expired.  This,  it  is  the  great  scope  of 
the  Epistle  to  prove  ;  but  if  it  had  been  confirmed 
by  '  the  oath,'  it  must  have  run  on  with  Christianity 
itself,  and  the  early  Judaizers  would  have  been 
justified  in  their  views,  and  in  their  opposition  to 
St.  Paul.  Even  the  vexed  question  of  circumci 
sion  could  hardly  have  been  settled  as  it  was  in 
favour  of  Gentile  exception,  could  it  have  been 
shown  to  appertain  to  the  evangelical  covenant  as 
a  sign  or  seal.  But  St.  Paul  proves  that  this  cove 
nant  existed  before  the  rite  of  circumcision  was 
instituted  in  the  person  of  Abraham,  and  that 
therefore  it  could  not  be  a  sine  qua  non  for  entering 
upon  possession  of  that  covenant.  Historically,  the 
Abrahamic  covenant  was  a  Gentile  covenant,  and 
made  national  only  in  respect  to  its  temporal 
appendages,  which  in  due  time  were  to  be  sepa- 
rated  from  it.  It  was  in  its  range  within  Abra- 
ham's  natural  progeny,  that  circumcision  became 
the  covenant  sign.  Eoom  was  thus  left  for  the  Abraham. 


172  THE  ABRAHAMIC  COVENANT. 

CHAP.  xvi.  future  unfettered  expansion  of  this  primitive  cove- 
Heb.vi.  13-20.  nant ;    the  natural  seed  had  in   their  nationality 
ceased  to  belong  to  it. 

'  Wherein  God,  willing  more  abundantly  to 
show  unto  the  heirs  of  promise  the  immutability 
of  His  counsel,  confirmed  it  by  an  oath.' 

We  have  here  opened  to  us  the  wonderful  con 
descension  of  God,  in  tendering  His  f  oath '  as  an 
addition  to  His  i  promise,'  as  if,  as  we  should  say,  to 
offer  further  security  for  its  fulfilment,  though  His 
promise  itself  was  entirely  sufficient.  '  The  heirs 
of  promise  '  are  here  declared  to  be  Christian 
disciples,  in  opposition  to  the  natural  descendants 
of  Abraham,  who,  on  that  ground  merely,  could 
not  '  inherit  the  promise '  of  their  great  father, 
but  only  by  faith  in  Christ,  the  one  condition 
common  to  them  and  to  the  Gentiles.  The  pro- 
The  promise  mise  of  which  they  are  heirs  is  plainly  that  of 

to  be  inherited  ...  -,  .    ,       .       ,     .  '     ,  -, 

contained  in  ver.  14,  and  consists  in  being  numbered  among 
the  multitude  of  the  patriarch's  spiritual  progeny, 
and  in  being  made  partakers  with  him  of  the  king 
dom  of  heaven.  The  expression,  '  blessing  I  will 
bless  thee,'  means,  exceedingly  or  superlatively  I 
will  bless  thee,  just  as  'multiplying  I  will  multi 
ply  thee'  means  indefinite  multiplication,  or  as 
the  expression  '  a  multitude  which  no  man  can 
number.'  As  the  number  is  beyond  count,  so  is 
the  blessing  beyond  measure.  The  promise  is 
boundlessly  affluent  in  good,  denominated,  though 
not  explained,  as  '  life  eternal.' 

4  That  by  two  immutable  things,  in  which  it  was 
impossible  for  God  to  lie,  we  might  have  a  strong 
consolation,  who  have  fled  for  refuge  to  lay  hold 
upon  the  hope  set  before  us.' 


THE  ABRAHAMIC  COVENANT.  173 

This  verse  connects  these  'two  immutable  things  '  CHAP.  xvi. 

with   the   'strong    consolation'   of  disciples,    cer-  Heb.vU3-2o. 

tainty  being  the  obvious  correlative  of  greatness.  The  'two 

Thus  the  reality  and  the  grandeur  of  religion  are  things  'the 


equally   exhibited   in   the    gospel   covenant.      Its 

foundations  are  as  deep  and   strong   as  the  very 

nature  of  God,  while  its  superstructure  is  propor 

tionately  glorious.     This  matches  human  aspiration 

and  human  exigencies  with  wonderful  completeness, 

being  just  as   powerful  a   cordial  for   the  human 

heart,  amidst  all  its  diverse  and  often  terrible  exer- 

3ises,  as  God  Himself  could  prepare  for  it.     '  Im 

mutable  things  '  are  brought  into  immediate  contact 

with  a  nature  frail  and  fluctuating,  and  set  in  con 

trast  with  the  conditions  of  human  life  so  mourn 

fully  vain  and  shadowy.    These  '  immutable  things  '  The  refuge 

;.ire  here  likened  to  the  fortress  which  environed  ^choi6  images 

the  refugee  from  the  eager  pursuit  of  the  man-  ofsecurity- 

slayer,  or  the  good  holding-ground  for  the  ship's 

anchor,  to  prevent  it  drifting  upon  the  rocks  when 

'cempest-tossed.     The  fortress  is  unassailable  ;  the 

ground  in  which  the  anchor  is   cast,    '  sure   and 

stedfast.'     This  ground,  however,  lies  beyond  the 

range  of  the  world  ;  the  anchor  enters  the  ground 

'  within  the  veil,'  i.e.  the  '  immutable  things  '  are 

at  present  veiled   things,   yet   soul   anchorage   is 

cast  within  them,  —  a  noble  image  of  the  soul  at 

rest  in  assurance  while  tossed  and  strained  by  the 

force  of  all  immediate  surroundings.      Thus  the 

position  is  a   safe  one,   and  one  of  'strong  con 

solation,'  though  the  veil  itself  is  not  yet  passed, 

nor  the  shore  of  life  actually  touched,  nor  the  scenes 

of  the   invisible   and   the    eternal   entered    upon. 

This  anchorage  of  the  soul  is  made  good  by  the 


174  THE  ABRAHAMIC  COVENANT. 

CHAP.  xvi.  <  Forerunner.'1     He  alone  brings  it  into  immediate 

Heb.  viT3-20.  contact  with  i  immutable  things,'  and  holds  abso- 

The  Fore-        lute  mastery  over  all  relations  between  the  visible 

these  to  the      and  the  invisible,  between  discipline  and  perfection, 

between  life  and  death,  and  between  the  lowliness 

of  man  and  the  grandeur  of  his  destiny. 

1  '  Which  hope  we  have  as  an  anchor  of  the  soul,  both  sure  and  sted- 
fast,  and  which  entereth  into  that  within  the  veil :  whither  the  Fore 
runner  is  for  us  entered.' 


CHAPTER   XVII. 

PRIESTHOOD  —  ITS  RELATIONS  TO  THE  DOCTRINE 
OF  THE  SONSHIP. 

HEB.  ii.  17,  18;  iv.  14,  15. 

THE  final  application  of  the  doctrine  of  the  Son-  Doctrine  of 

ship  respects  the   doctrine  of  the   Priesthood  of  p^cuPiiarSto°0< 

Christ,  a  subject  which,  having  being  touched  upon  thls  EPlstle- 

in  chap.  ii.  17  and  iv.  14,  15,  is  formally  opened 

in  chap.  v.    This  is  to  be  accounted  the  great,  and 

we  may  say  original,  theme  of  the  Epistle,  since 

both   the   doctrines   of  the    Sonship    and   of  the 

sovereignty  of  Christ  are  found  diffused  through 

most  parts  of  the  New  Testament,  while  the  doc 

trine  of  the  priesthood  is  peculiar  to  this  portion 

of  it.1     This  is  a  fact  in  itself  strongly  suggestive, 

and  is  of  great  force  in  proof  of  the  inspiration  of 

the  Epistle  (if  not  of  its  authorship),  inasmuch  as 

it  obviously  gives  completeness  to  the  revelations 

of  the  New  Testament,  supplying   precisely  that 

branch  of  truth  otherwise  unaccountably  lacking. 

It  is  the  doctrine  of  the  priesthood  of  Christ  which  Doctrine  of 

establishes  fully  the  antitypal  relation  of  the  gospel  necessary  t°° 


to  the  law  ;  it  throws  back  its  light  with  wonder- 

law  to  the 
gospel. 

1  Properly  speaking,  sovereignty  and  priesthood  are  two  distinct, 
but  not  separate,  phases  of  mediation.  Hence  the  transition  from  the 
sovereignty  (vers.  12  and  13)  to  the  priesthood  of  Christ  (ver.  14)  is 
really  not  an  irrelevant  one. 


170 


PEIESTHOOD — ITS  RELATIONS  TO 


CHAP.  xvii.  M  power  on  the  scheme,  and  even  the  details  of 
Heb.iTi7,i8;  that  great  institute.     But  for  the  Epistle  to  the 
iv.  14, 15.     Hebrews,  the  light  thrown  upon  the  Law  by  Chris 
tianity  would  be  partial  and  unsatisfactory.    Many 
of  its  most  precise  and  significant  ceremonies,  de 
posed  from  their  rank  as    types,   would  dwindle 
into   national  customs,  —  venerable,   indeed,  from 
their   origin,    and   most   important   as   badges  of 
Hebrew   nationality,   yet,    nevertheless,    as   much 
done  with  after  that  nationality  had  ceased  to  exist, 
and  as  thoroughly  isolated  from  the  future  of  the 
world  as  other  ancient  things,  which  all  in  turn 
have  given  place  to  new  and  more  appropriate  de 
velopments  in  the  history  of  man.     But  for  this 
light  of  the  priesthood  on  the  law,  one  great  liga 
ture,  binding  together  the  Old  and  New  Testaments, 
would  be  wanting.     The  relation  thus  established 
by  this  Epistle  between  the  law  and  the  gospel 
would  render  it  one  of  vast  interest  to  the  Hebrew 
converts,  wonderfully  adding  to  the  dignity  of  the 
law,  and  rendering  it  imperishable,  while  it  placed 
Christianity  also  in  a  more  striking  light,  as  but  a 
spiritual  development  and  application  of  their  great 
national  institute.     In  this  point  of  view,  while  the 
old  economy,  prospective  as  it  was  of  something  to 
succeed  it,  could  not  fail  to  be  terminable  by  its 
very  constitution,  it  yet  became  rich  in  materials 
for  truthful  illustration  of  the  Christian  system  in 
its  most  vital  parts.     For  instance,   this  system 
must  have  its  priesthood,  or  it  could  not  cohere 
with  the  law  in  which  this  idea  was  radical;  at 
the  same  time,  it  carried  out  the  great  doctrine  of 
atonement  taught  in  the  law  to  its  proper  official 
and  spiritual  results.     It  thus  gave  a  much  broader 


Illustrations 
of  the  Chris 
tian  system 
in  the  law 
very  striking 
to  Hebrew 
converts. 


THE  DOCTRINE  OF  THE  SONSHIP.  177 

view  of  Christianity  than  could  be  taken  in  its  CHAP.XVII. 
absence,  and  revealed   its  entire  self-consistency,  Heb.  1117,18; 
its  perfection,  its  independence  of  Judaizers,  and 
the  entire  spirituality  and  catholicity  of  its  church 
system. 

Apart  from  the  Epistle  to  the  Hebrews,  we  fail  Apart  from 
to  observe  either  the  typical  antecedents  contained  theSfumiment 
in  the  law,  or  the  fulfilment  of  some  striking  pro-  ^eciUof" 
•Dhetic  testimonies  concerning  the  Messiah's  priest-  Messiah's 

.        „  .  priesthood 

nood;   for  instance,  Isa.  Ixi.,  Zech.  in.  8,  vi.  12,  would  have 
13,  not  to  quote  again  Ps.  ex.  4.     Undoubtedly,  obscure. 
there  are  certain  pregnant  testimonies  of  prophecy 
in  favour  of  Messiah's  priesthood,  though  they  are, 
beyond  comparison,  fewer  than  the  testimonies  in 
favour  of  His  royalty.     But  they  cannot,  on  this 
account,  be  ignored  without  doing  violence  to  the 
harmony  of  prophecy,  and  without  dropping  an 
important  testimony  in  favour  of  the  New  Testa 
ment  itself.     The  Epistle  to  the  Hebrews  should 
therefore  be  regarded  as  the  portion  of  the  New 
Testament  which  directly  recognises  this  prophetic 
branch  of  truth,  and  which  gives  it  its  final  and 
authorized  expansion.    All  the  other  writers  of  the  The  theo- 
New  Testament  unfold  the  theocratic  office  of  the  ofthe  Messiah 
Messiah  :  they  can  scarcely  be  looked  at  truly  in 
any  other  light.     Our  Lord's  Forerunner  dwells  on 
this  :  c  The  kingdom  of  heaven  is  at  hand,'  i.e.  the 
theocracy  ushered  in  and  established  by  the  mis 
sion  of  Jesus  of  Nazareth. 

Our  Lord  Himself  walks  on  the  same  road.  His 
titles,  i  Son  of  Man/  i  Son  of  David,'  His  parables, 
His  general  ministry,  and  His  miracles  carry  us 
no  further;  they  all  concern  the  kingdom,  none 
the  priesthood.  Twice  did  our  Lord  exercise 

M 


178 


PRIESTHOOD — ITS  RELATIONS  TO 


CHAP.  XVII. 

Heb.ii.  17, 18: 
iv.  14,  15. 


Christ's 
silence  re 
specting  His 
priestly  office 
suggests  that 
His  royalty 
stood  first  in 
the  divine 
order. 


authority  in  the  temple  itself;  but  He  never  de 
manded  the  priestly  stole  or  ephod ;  never  offered 
a  single  sacrifice,  or  filled  and  waved  the  golden 
censer  before  the  veil ;  nor  did  He  once,  as  a 
priest,  bless  the  people.  He  frequently  taught  in 
the  temple,  but  never  ministered ;  He  allowed  the 
children  to  cry  '  Hosanna  to  the  Son  of  David '  in 
the  temple,  but  He  never  appears  so  much  as  to 
have  mingled  with  the  priests,  or  in  any  way  to 
have  hinted  that  they  were  the  representatives  of 
Himself.  He  said  of  the  temple  only,  not  of  the 
priesthood,  '  Destroy  this  temple,  and  in  three  days 
I  will  build  it  up  again.' 

These  facts  are  full  of  significance :  they  amount 
to  a  divine  programme  as  to  the  development  of 
Christianity ;  that  its  regal  character,  in  the  person 
of  its  Founder,  and  in  its  relations  to  the  Jewish 
people,  stood  first  in  the  divine  order ;  and  that  in 
the  after  ministry  of  His  apostles  this  same  regal 
character  was  to  obtain  priority,  and  to  establish 
itself  in  the  convictions  of  His  disciples  ere  the 
relations  of  the  Messiah  to  the  priesthood  and  to 
the  temple  system  could  be  brought  out.  This 
fact,  corroborated  by  the  whole  New  Testament, 
historical  and  doctrinal,  establishes  the  Epistle  as 
a  late  and  a  completing  revelation.  It  is  a  subject 
of  great  importance,  evincing  that  the  date  of 
New  Testament  revelations  was  determined  by  a 
principle  of  order  in  the  Divine  Mind,  and  not  by 
anything  like  casuality;  they  had  a  fitness  to  times 
and  seasons,  to  the  capacities  of  people  to  under 
stand  them,  and  to  their  relations  to  the  present 
as  well  as  future  conditions  of  the  Church.  It  is 
obvious  that  the  doctrine  of  type  and  antitype,  in 


THE  DOCTRINE  OF  THE  SONSHIP.  179 

its  application  to  the  Old  and  New  Testaments,  was,  CHAP.  xvn. 
in  the  nature  of  things,  a  final,  not  a  primary  teach-  Heb.  ii.  17, 18; 
ing.     At  first  these  truths  were  unnecessary,  and 
even   impracticable.     Rudiments  must  be   begun 
with,  because  the  disciples  were   'babes,'  not  of 
i  full  age,'  as  it  is  stated  in  chapter  vi.     c  We  speak 
wisdom,'  says  the  Apostle,  4  amongst  them  that  are 
perfect.'     1 1  have  many  things  to  say  unto  you,' 
says  Christ,  '  but  ye  cannot  bear  them  now.' 

The  doctrines  of  this  Epistle  could  not  be  popular  Peculiar  doc- 
doctrines,  nor  could  they  have  been  promulgated  Epistle  could 
at  an  early  period  in  Jerusalem  and  in  Palestine  t aughTat  fir st. 
without  producing  a  violent  reaction  against  Chris 
tianity,  and  perhaps  endangering  its  very  existence. 
It  would  have  been  charged  with,  and  hunted  down 
as,  anti-nationalism ;  its  apostles  would  have  been 
proscribed  ;  and  its  infant  churches  completely  dis 
banded.      In  addition  to  their  own   meetings  for 
worship  and  edification,  attendance  on  the  national 
forms  seems  to  have  been  a  general  custom  with 
the  apostles  and  first  Christians.    They  thus  avoided 
giving  offence :  they  stood  to  the  great  rudiments 
of  their  religion,  and   were   willing   to    brave    all 
consequences  for  their  testimony  to  the  Messiah- 
ship  of  Jesus ;  whilst  they  left  the  full  development 
of  His  claims  to  the  working  of  time,  the  leaven 
ing  of  truth,  and  the  course  of  providence.     These 
considerations  show  why  the   early   and   general 
preaching  of  the  apostles  went  in  another  direc 
tion   than   the   priesthood,  taking  the  theocracy, 
and  keeping  the  priesthood  for  a  time  mostly  in 
abeyance.     There  are,  however,  some   notices   in  Nevertheless, 
the  Acts  of  the  Apostles  of  another  sort,  such  as  tions  of  them 
the   charge   against   Stephen    (Acts   vi.    13,    14),  intheActs- 


180  PRIESTHOOD  —  ITS  RELATIONS  TO 

CHAP.  xvii.  and   that    against   Paul    (Acts   xxi.   28).      These 

Heb.iii7,is;  contain  intimations  that,  in  some  instances,  the 

iv.  14,  15.     Doctrine    of    this    Epistle  was   touched   upon  by 

apostolic  ministers,  arid  that  the  first  martyr  was 

brought  to  his  end  mainly  on  this  account  ;  and 

that,  for  the  same  reason,  Paul  would  have  been 

sacrificed  to  popular  frenzy  in  Jerusalem  had  not 

the  chief  captain  interposed  to  protect  him. 

Christ's  These  considerations  may  serve  to  show  how  it 

taught  from     is  that  the  great  doctrine  of  Atonement  is  commonly 


presented  to  us  in  the  ministry  and  writings  of  the 
apostles   so   much   apart  from  all  priestly  corre- 
toit.  spondences,  and  so  little  under  merely  doctrinal 

definitions,  terms,  and  aspects.  The  death  of  Christ 
is  perpetually  referred  to  as  an  event  altogether  by 
itself  in  the  history  of  the  world;  as  a  death  for 
men,  for,  or  on  account  of,  their  sins  ;  now  and 
then  as  a  propitiation,  which  is  unquestionably  a 
legal  term  for  a  sin-offering.  We  also  find  the 
word  '  sin  '  in  St.  Paul's  writings,  the  rendering 
of  the  Septuagint  for  nrojri;  the  word  'offering' 
is  likewise  applied  to  it,  and  for  the  same  reason, 
the  term  'Lamb'  to  the  Saviour,  by  John  the  Bap 
tist  and  by  St.  Peter.  Then,  too,  we  have  the  word 
\vrpov,  or  ransom,  employed  in  a  similar  sense  to 
denote  an  equivalent  tendered  for  something  to  be 
released.  These  are  all,  undoubtedly,  testimonies 
to  the  doctrine  of  atonement,  and  to  its  cardinal 
position  in  the  apostolic  teaching.  Thus  '  sacri 
fice  '  also  occurs,  though  but  rarely.  But,  putting 
all  these  things  together,  they  amount  to  a  full 
recognition  of,  and  even  prominence  given  to,  the 
doctrine  of  atonement,  but  in  no  very  systematic 
form  ;  far  less  so  than  we  should  have  reason  to 


THE  DOCTRINE  OF  THE  SONSHIP.  181 

expect,  had  not  the  apostolic  ministry  been  envi-  CHAP.  xvn. 
roned   with   the   sacrificial   and    priestly   system,  Heb.iTi7,i8; 
while  its  own  relations  to  it  for  the  time  being     lv*  14>  16> 
were  therefore  to  be  hidden,  or,  at  most,  barely 
intimated.      This    did   not   affect   the   substantial  Atonement 
integrity  of  Christianity  to   its  earnest   disciples,  rather  under 
who  were,  from  the   beginning,   throughout,  and  Itspi&y 
individually,  led  to  regard  the  death  of  the  Cross  aspectg 
as   a   propitiation  for  sin,   and  as  the  one  great 
source  of  human  restoration.     They  were  taught 
that  the  dignity  of  the  Redeemer  Himself  not  only 
followed,  but  resulted  from  it  ;  and  that  His  suffer 
ing  and  His  glory  were  blended  eternally  as  cause 
and  effect. 

It  will  appear,  however,  that  the  Atonement  was 
presented  under  its  regal  rather  than  its  priestly 
aspect  ;  in  proof  of  which  we  quote  St.  Peter  as 
an  example  of  the  apostolic  testimony  (Acts  ii. 
36),  4  Therefore  let  all  the  house  of  Israel  know 
assuredly,  that  God  hath  made  that  same  Jesus, 
whom  ye  have  crucified,  both  Lord  and  Christ.' 
Sovereignty,  nevertheless,  is  a  more  remote,  though  Christ's  sove- 

J'  °      reigntyamore 

a  more  comprehensive,  result  ol  atonement  than  remote  result 


priesthood.    The  relation  of  atonement  is  to  priest- 

hood  direct,  to  sovereignty  only  indirect.     A  sacri-  Pnesthood- 

fice  by  which  atonement  is  effected,  as  it  cannot 

be  taken  apart  from  ulterior  purposes,  so  it  must 

have  respect  to  a  class  of  functions  ensuing.     As 

an  act  performed  on  behalf  of  a  class  of  beings 

astray  from  God,  it  must  have  a  presence,  a  language, 

and  a  claim  to  be  formally  accepted  for  them  with 

God.     It  cannot  remain  isolated,  or  as  a  thing  of 

the  past  merely  ;  it  must  exist  representatively,  and 

in  proportionate  power  to  itself,  and  so  become  a 


182 


PRIESTHOOD — ITS  RELATIONS  TO 


CHAP.  XVII. 

Heb.ii.17,18; 
iv.  14,  15. 

Atonement 
being  by  a 
Person,  the 
relations 
established  by 
it  must  be 
perpetuated 
by  that 
Person. 


The  human 
Sonship  pro 
minent  in 
Christ's 
priesthood. 


consideration  and  a  cause  why  the  government  of 
the  world  is  thus,  and  not  otherwise.  As  the 
sacrifice  is  that  of  a  PERSON,  its  living  perpetuation 
must  be  that  of  a  person  also,  in  such  relations  to 
God  on  the  one  hand,  and  to  man  on  the  other,  as 
shall  suffice  for  reconciliation  and  restoration,  to 
gether  with  the  advancement  of  honour  and  glory. 
Thus  priesthood  is  intermediate  between  atonement 
and  sovereignty,  disposing  and  qualifying  the  latter 
so  as  to  render  it  expressive  of  the  attributes  of 
the  former,  while  it  also  maintains  and  expounds 
the  prerogatives  of  law. 

In  looking  at  the  priesthood  of  Christ  from  the 
one  standpoint  of  His  Sonship,  we  see  how  (in 
accordance  with  previous  discussions)  the  human 
side  of  the  Sonship  is  made  immediately  prominent : 
so  to  speak,  this  side  takes  the  place  of  the  phe 
nomenal  in  the  doctrinal  system,  as  it  is  next  to 
ourselves,  and,  in  fact,  forms  our  only  medium  for 
observing  the  higher  side  of  His  person.  It  is 
not  the  God  but  the  Man  who  passes  before  us. 
The  very  vestments  in  which  this  l  great  High 
Priest '  is  clad,  are  simply  those  of  our  humanity 
glorified ;  and  if  we  look  upon  Him  in  the  earlier 
stages  of  His  ministry,  while  only  preparing  to  offer 
up  Himself,  He  appears  as  a  man  amongst  His 
fellows.  The  superadded  majesty  of  Godhead, 
veiled  by  this,  retires  from  our  immediate  gaze, 
as  God  Himself  does,  by  the  interposed  veil  of 
nature. 

Thus,  while  no  act  or  suffering  of  Christ  can  be 
taken  apart  from  His  entire  person  comprised  in 
the  ineffable  name  of  the  Son,  or  Son  of  God,  yet 
the  nature  of  the  connection  between  both  Sonships 


THE  DOCTKINE  OF  THE  SONSH1P.  183 

is  for  ever  shrouded  in  mystery  —  the  fact  of  their  CHAP.  xvn. 
union  is  none  the  less  patent,  nor  the  sphere  appro-  Heb.ii.i7,i8; 
priate  to  each  the  less  distinct  and  perfect.     The     1V'  14'  1{ 
personal   imputation  at  least,  if  not   always  the 
immediate  agency,  of  the  Godhead,  appertains  to 
all  the  attributes  and  offices  of  this  great  High 
Priest.     The  sphere  and  charge  of  His  priesthood,  NO  act  of 

i  i  •    i     -x  i    ^i         \.-  -j..-      Christ  to  be 

me  grounds  on  which  it  rests,  and  the  objects  it  is  taken  apart 
designed  to  accomplish,  are  absolutely  beyond  the   ™™ 


nature  and  position  of  a  mere  creature.     Yet  the  JJ 
humanity  is,  for  obvious  reasons,  placed  full  in  our  in  *>*  Per?011 

.  an  maccessi- 

view,  and  may  be  said  to  charge  the  office  of  the  bie  mystery'. 
priesthood  with  powers  so  intimately  in  accordance 
with  humanity  and  its  conditions,  that  we  are 
allowed  to  contemplate  the  Son  more  as  if  He 
were  one  of  ourselves  than  the  'image  of  the 
invisible  God.'  Two  things  are  especially  to  be 
noted  in  this  view  : 

1st  That   the   typical  relation  to  the   Son,    of  Typical  reia- 

JJr  .  tionsof 

human  beings  in  the  priestly  office,  entirely  arises  human  priests 
from  His  manhood.    On  no  other  ground  could  He  possible  on  ' 
be  ranked  either  with  Melchisedec  or  with  Aaron,  nTs  humanity. 
or,  indeed,  with  historical  personages  of  any  sort. 
These  could  not  be  types  of  God,  as  such,  in  any 
of  His  prerogatives  or  works  ;  but  they  could  become 
appropriately  types  of  the  Being  who,  though  truly 
God,  was  also  as  truly  man.     Hence  it  is  clear 
from  the  nature  of  this  discussion  respecting  the 
priesthood,  the  personages  introduced,  and  the  con 
clusions  established,  that  the  human  side  of  the 
Sonship  is,  throughout,  made  the  direct  view  of  Attributes 
the  Saviour's  person.  Sffis 

2J,  The  affections  and  sympathies  also  ascribed  priestly  cha- 

J       *-  ••«"'•          racter  those  of 

to  this  great  High  Priest,  and  their  assimilation  humanity. 


184  PRIESTHOOD — ITS  RELATIONS  TO 

CHAP.  xvii.  to  a  human  parallel,  concur  in   establishing  the 

Heb.ii.i7,i8;  same  truth.     The  prominency  given  to  these  is 

iv.  14,  io.     remarkabie  k0th  for  its  frequency  and  for  the  terms 

employed  to  set  them  forth.  Quotations  are  here 
apposite  :  *  Wherefore  in  all  things  it  behoved  Him 
to  be  made  like  unto  His  brethren,  that  He  might 
be  a  merciful  and  faithful  High  Priest  in  things  per 
taining  to  God,  to  make  reconciliation  for  the  sins 
of  the  people.  For  in  that  He  Himself  hath  suffered 
being  tempted,  He  is  able  to  succour  them  that  are 
Heb.  ii.  17,  tempted.'  In  this  scripture  the  humanity  and  its 
conditions,  its  exercises  and  its  perils,  its  frailties 
and  burdens,  are  represented  as  assumed  by  Christ 
— freely  and  fully  assumed  with  direct  reference  to 
His  priesthood, — not  in  reference  to  the  duties  of 
His  human  history,  but,  wonderful  to  relate,  to  the 
functions  of  His  office  in  a  far  more  exalted  sphere, 
His  priesthood  in  the  heavens  !  According  to  this 
doctrine,  the  human  history  of  the  Saviour,  includ 
ing  the  whole  of  His  experiences  and  acts,  has 
its  perfect  antithesis  in  His  glorified  condition — 
they  are  translated  into  it  by  the  translation  of  His 
Person,  and  are  made  necessary  pre-conditions  to 
His  administrative  relations  with  His  people.  Thus 
the  Priesthood,  in  its  highest  form,  is  made  depen 
dent  on  something  foregoing,  and  is  entirely  a 
thing  of  earthly  growth,  though  in  heaven  beheld 
as  the  '  branch  of  the  Lord,  beautiful  and  glorious.' 
Same  teach-  A  second  example  of  the  same  kind  occurs 
Isf  chapter  iv.  verse  15:  4  For  we  have  not  an  High 

Priest  which  cannot  be  touched  with  a  feeling  of 
our  infirmities,'  i.e.  our  liabilities  to  temptation — 
to  be  overcome  as  well  as  distressed  by  it ;  '  but 
was  in  all  points  tempted  like  as  we  are,'  or  simi- 


THE  DOCTRINE  OF  THE  SONSHIP.  185 

larly,  c  yet  without  sin.'     The  doctrine  here  is  full  CHAP.  xvn. 
of  interest,  for  it  affirms  a  perfect  sympathy  be-  Heb.ii.i7,  is ; 
tween  Christ  as  man,    and   men   in   their   trials,     1V' 14>  15' 
through  the  bond  of  a  common  nature  and  condi 
tion.     This   is  grounded  on  the   impossibility  of 
man   being  represented   except    by  man;    in  no 
other  way  can  succouring  sympathies  be  acquired, 
and  power  to  exercise  them,  but  as  the  result  of  a 
fellowship  in  his  nature  and  experiences.     These 
must  belong  in  their  utmost  range,  sin  excepted, 
to  the  High  Priest,  '  in  all  points  tempted  like/  or 
after  a  human  fashion.1 

Such  is  the  language  employed  to  set  this  forth, 
and  thus  to  open  to  us  a  vast  view  of  the  mysteries 
of  our  Lord's  human  state  on  earth.  He  remained 
immaculate  and  perfect  after  an  unparalleled  series 
of  temptations,  though  a  veil  is  thrown  over  the 
detail  of  those  temptations,  forbidding  impertinent 
curiosity,  while  the  fact  itself  is  reverently  to  be 
accepted,  to  the  furtherance  of  our  gratitude  and 
trust. 

1  It  should  be  remembered  that  the  historical  parallel  is  doctrinally 
interwoven  with  these  last  verses  of  the  chapter,  as  well  as  with  the 
former  part  of  it ;  since  in  no  portion  of  the  Old  Testament  do  the 
tender,  unselfish,  man-loving  qualities  show  themselves  in  connection 
with  official  greatness  so  strikingly  as  in  the  character  of  Moses.  He 
was  touched  with  the  feeling  of  the  infirmities  of  those  he  represented ; 
but  it  was  probably  the  recollection  of  his  failing  signally  in  one 
instance  which  suggested  in  this  place  the  perfection  of  Christ. 


CHAPTER  XVIII. 

PRIESTHOOD  —  QUALIFICATIONS  AND    OFFICE    OF   THE 
AARONIC   HIGH   PRIEST. 

HEB.  v.  1-6. 

THE  subject  of  the  priesthood  is  extended  through 
the  greater  part  of  the  fifth  chapter.     *  For  every 
High  Priest  taken  from  among  men  is  ordained  for 
men  in  things  pertaining  to  God,  that  he  may  offer 
both  gifts  and  sacrifices  for  sins:  who  can  have  com 
passion  on  the  ignorant,  and  on  them  that  are  out 
of  the  way.'    Here  the  argument  is  from  the  less 
to  the  greater,  from  the  merely  human  type  to  the 
divine  and  human  antitype.    First,  the  High  Priest 
is  taken  from  '  among  men,'  not  from  another  order 
of  beings,  and,  in  the  instance  here  given,  from 
among   his   brethren,   nationally   considered.     He 
represented  the  family  ;  his  office  was  instinct  with 
consanguinities ;  and  his  charity,  therefore,  was  to 
be   the   prime   prompting   principle  of  his  office. 
His  office 'for  Second,  'He  was  ordained  for  men,'  i.e.  to  repre 
sent  them  officially,  inasmuch  as  every  single  man 
was  not  to  be  his  own  priest,  much  less  the  priest 
of  the  nation.    The  High  Priest  was  their  deputy, 
though  not  by  a  human  ordinance.     Representa 
tion  is  the  principle  of  priesthood.      Things  are 
to  be  done  for  us  which  cannot  be  done  by  us, 


men. 


THE  AARONIC  HIGH  PRIEST.  187 

except  in  a  federal  or  imputative  sense.     These    CH.  XVIIL 
things  pertain  to  God,  i.e.  to  Him  primarily  and    Heb.  v.  1-6. 
especially :  they  are  the  things  of  worship  and  of 
the  soul,  things  pertaining  to  the  immutable  rela 
tions  of  God  with  His  creatures,  His  claims  upon 
them,  His  justice,  His  grace,  His  covenant — their 
duties,  their  sins,  their  guilt,  and  need  of  recon 
ciliation.     This  places  the  office  of  the  priest  in  Distinction 
direct   antithesis  to  the  office  of  the  magistrate,  offices  of 
The  latter  concerns  himself  with  things  pertaining  ruler! a' 
to  men.     His  charge  is  over  society,  the  relations 
and  obligations  of  men  one  to  another.     This  is 
his  service  as  appointed  by  God ;  but  if  he  take 
upon  him  more  than  this,  he  enters  on  the  province 
of  the  priest,  in  addition  to  that  of  the  ruler,  and 
intrudes  himself  into  an  office  not,  even  under  the 
law,  given  to  the  chief  magistrate,  but  especially 
reserved  for  a  distinct  order  of  men. 

There  were  some  exceptions  to  this,  but  these 
exceptions  were  no  precedents.  There  is  only  One 
who  combines  both  offices  in  Himself,  who  is  Christ  alone 
saluted  King  and  also  Priest,  as  in  the  5th  and  offices. 
6th  verses  of  this  chapter  :  '  Thou  art  my  Son,' — 
this  is  the  royalty  ;  'Thou  art  a  priest  for  ever,' — 
this  is  the  pontificate.  His  duties  and  dispositions 
are  specified  :  c  in  things  pertaining  to  God;'  'that 
he  may  offer  both  gifts  and  sacrifices  for  sins; 
who  can  have  compassion  on  the  ignorant,  and  on 
them  that  are  out  of  the  way.'  Reference  is  made 
here  to  the  sacrifices  prescribed  by  the  law.  Of 
these  sacrifices,  viz.  the  sacrifices  for  purification, 
for  ceremonial  defilements,  leprosy,  release  from 
vows,  thank-offerings,  peace-offerings,  etc.,  it  may 
be  sufficient  to  say,  that  while  they  all  partook  of 


188 


PRIESTHOOD — QUALIFICATIONS  AND  OFFICE 


OH.  XVIII. 
Heb.  v.  1-6. 


'  Gifts'  under 
the  law. 


the  nature  of  atonement  or  offerings  for  sin,  a  class 
of  them  had  more  expressly  and  emphatically  this 
character.    Such  were  the  two  kinds  of  sin-offering, 
one  of  which  only  had  the  blood  sprinkled  before 
the  veil,  and  its  flesh  carried  without  the  camp ; 
the  other,  the  burnt-offerings  ordained  specifically 
for  various  classes  of  offences.     These  distinctions, 
however  important  in  the  Levitical  ritual,  all  con 
sisted  with  a  perfect  unity  of  nature.     From  first 
to  last  every  ordinance  of  the  altar  told  of  sin  and 
guilt,  of  reconciliation  and  peace  by  the  vicarious 
victim ;  so  that,  while  other  offerings  not  peculiar 
might  be,  and  were,  added  to  them, — such  as  those 
of  the  first  fruits,  the  meat-offering,  and  the  drink- 
offering,  including  the  presentation  of  the  general 
products  of  nature, — these  are  to  be  understood  as 
accompaniments  merely  to   the  principal   offering, 
made  acceptable  only  by  their  connection  with  it, 
and  on  the  ground  of  atonement  by  animal  sacrifice. 
f  Gifts '  are  here  also  mentioned,  probably  meant 
to  include  the  presentation  both  of  persons  and 
property  to  God,  such  as  the  devotement  of  a  field 
or  an  estate,  its  fruit-trees,  its  products,  the  cattle, 
or  even  of  some  members  of  the  family.     Great 
scope  was  left  by  the  law  for  these  spontaneous 
offerings  of  piety,  over  and  above  what  was  strictly 
required.    These  '  gifts '  would  depend  much  upon 
the  general  state  of  religion  in  the  nation,  and 
upon  its  deeper  influence  on   individuals.     They 
would   doubtless   include   also   large   bequests   of 
property  from  the  wealthy,   spoils  taken  in  war, 
and   occasional  presentations   of   costly   offerings 
from   strangers  or   proselytes.     The   tendency  of 
a  great  central   system,  or  national   institute   of 


OF  THE  AARONIC  HIGH  PRIEST.  189 

worship,  manifestly  was  to  augment  the  wealth  of  CH.  xvm. 
the  priesthood,  and  of  the  temple,  in  which  apart-  HebTvTi-e. 
ments  were  devoted  to  the  dedicated  things,  and 
which  had  also  its  treasury,  so  that  at  particular 
periods  this  wealth  must  have  been  enormous. 
The  appropriations  by  David  and  the  princes  as 
preparatory  only  to  the  building  of  the  Temple,  as 
well  as  the  immense  sum  expended  by  Solomon  on 
its  erection  and  furnishing,  are  examples.  All  these 
endowments  were  supposed  to  pass  into  the  hands 
of  the  High  Priest,  and  by  him  to  be  formally  pre 
sented  to  God  as  the  offerings  of  His  people  for  His 
service  and  glory.  A  trace  of  this  is  found  in  the 
Gospels,  in  the  offerings  which  the  rich  men  cast 
into  the  treasury,  and  the  touching  note  by  our 
Lord  of  the  poor  widow  who  cast  in  two  mites, 
which  made  a  farthing.  Thus  '  the  gifts '  seemed 
an  appropriate  sequel  to  the  '  sacrifices  for  sins ; ' 
they  were  the  returns  of  thankfulness  for  the  grace 
of  atonement  which  alone,  as  producing  them,  could 
make  them  well-pleasing  unto  God. 

'The  ignorant,  and  them  that  are  out  of  the  objects  of  the 
way.'1  This  direction  of  the  compassions  of  the  special  com-8 
High  Priest  was  probably  toward  that  section  of 
the  nation  which,  in  every  state,  lies  without  the 
pale  of  the  well-ordered  portion  of  society, — who 
are  a  law  unto  themselves,  and  neither  fear  God 
nor  regard  men, — vagrants,  beggars,  marauders, 
the  vicious  of  all  sorts,  the  neglected,  the  destitute, 
or  persons  in  the  grain  atheistic  or  immoral,  all 
these  are  spoken  of  as  '  the  ignorant,'  or  '  them  that 
are  out  of  the  way,' — besotted  and  estranged  both 

1  'Who  can  have  compassion  on  the  ignorant,  and  on  them  that  are 
out  of  the  way  ;  for  that  he  himself  also  is  compassed  with  infirmity.' 


190 


PRIESTHOOD — QUALIFICATIONS  AND  OFFICE 


Heb.  v.  l-( 


CH.  xviii.  from  their  stock  and  their  privileges.  Yet  even 
these  are  supposed  to  have  a  suitor  with  God,  in 
the  High  Priest  of  the  nation.  He  regards  them 
as  his  brethren,  or  as  his  wayward  and  lost  children. 
He  puts  himself  intentionally,  and  with  emphasis, 
between  God  and  these  reprobates ;  even  though 
they  would  seem  to  be  irreclaimable,  and  doomed 
to  destruction,  he  sues  for  mercy  and  the  grace  of 
recovery  for  them,  after  the  example  of  Moses  and 
Aaron,  who  interceded  and  saved  the  rebel  congre 
gation  in  the  wilderness,  when  sentence  had  gone 
out  against  it.  From  this  verse  we  learn  that  the 
power  of  cherishing  and  giving  vent  to  these  com 
passions  toward  'the  ignorant,  and  them  that  are 
out  of  the  way/  was  a  qualification  as  exalted  as  it 
was  indispensable — a  state  of  feeling  very  rare  in 
the  days  of  our  Lord  among  the  ecclesiastics,  as  we 
learn  from  the  Gospels,  for  they  murmured,  saying, 
'  This  man  receiveth  sinners,  and  eateth  with  them.' 
Our  Lord  exhibited  the  true  type  of  the  High 
Priest  in  His  compassions  for  'the  ignorant,  and 
them  that  are  out  of  the  way,'  and  with  telling 
force  vindicated  Himself  against  those  'who  trusted 
in  themselves  that  they  were  righteous  and  de 
spised  others.'  This  was  the  more  remarkable  as 
our  Lord  could  have  no  fellow-feeling  with  them 
as  sinners ;  whereas  it  is  advanced  as  the  very 
ground  of  the  sympathy  of  the  Jewish  High  Priest 
with  his  people  :  '  For  that  he  himself  is  compassed 
about  with  infirmity.'  This  is  made  still  stronger 
by  the  teaching  of  verse  3,  '  And  by  reason  hereof 
he  ought,  as  for  the  people,  so  also  for  himself,  to 
offer  for  sins.'  Hence  it  appears  that  the  High 
Priest  of  self-righteous  temperament  was  virtually 


This  com 
passion  an 
essential 
qualification 
for  the  High 
Priest's  offic 


OF  THE  AARONIC  HIGH  PRIEST.  191 

disqualified  for  the  performance  of  his  office;  since  CH.  xvni. 
he  neither  felt  his  own  sins  nor  the  sins  of  his  Heb.  v.  i-e. 
people,  in  which  case  the  offering  of  sacrifice  was 
but  a  solemn  lie  unto  God,  adding  through  the  essen 
tial  falsity  of  the  act  to  his  own  sin,  and  depriving 
the  people  of  all  benefit.  There  could  be  no  true 
offering  for  sin  unaccompanied  by  confession  broad 
enough  to  include  both  the  High  Priest  and  the 
people.  The  true  language  of  the  sin-offering  and 
the  sin-offerer  is  best  put  in  that  of  the  English 
Litany,  '  Have  mercy  upon  us  miserable  sinners.' 

Yerse  4.  4  And  no  man  taketh  this  honour  unto  ^y1.116  "S11* 

of  kings  or  of 

himself,  but  he  that  is  called  of  God,  as  was  Aaron.'  priests  no 
This  verse  is  remarkable  as  collating  the  vocation  side  the 
with  the  honour  of  the  priesthood.     Its  peculiar  monwodS" 
sacredness  as   an  office  of  i  things  pertaining  to 
God,'  is  its   fence  against  self -intrusion,  or  even 
popular  intrusion.     This  constitutes  the  difference 
between    priesthood    and    kingship,    since    these 
reasons  do  not   apply  to   the   latter  office.      The 
divine  right  of  kings  is  an  indefensible  tenet  dis 
proved  by  all  history  except  that  of  the  Hebrew 
commonwealth,  in  which  'the    Lord's    Anointed' 
was  the  divine  antithesis  to  the  High  Priest,1    The  Vocation  the 

only  ground 

argument  respecting  vocation  is  confined  here  ex-  of  a  true 
clusively  to  the  office  of  the  high-priesthood,  which  B 
being  once   settled  in  a  particular  family  was  of 
necessity    hereditary,    and    its    authenticity   was 

1  Neither,  however,  had  any  force  from  divine  patent  beyond  the 
Hebrew  commonwealth  ;  and  this  text,  therefore,  is  cited  to  little  pur 
pose  in  favour  of  the  dogma  of  *  succession,'  and  against  a  free  and 
independent  call  to  the  Christian  ministry ;  since  Christian  ministers 
are  not  priests,  much  less  high  priests.  They  rather  take  rank  with 
prophets  than  priests,  and  their  vocation  therefore  is  far  less  dependent 
on  any  ordinance  than  on  the  impulse  and  gifts  of  the  Holy  Ghost. 


192  THE  AARONIC  HIGH  PRIEST. 

CH.  xviii.  identified  with  that  of  the  Pentateuch.    Economical 

Heb.  v.  1-6.  and  national  reasons  both  required  that  the  high- 

priesthood  should  be  settled  by  pedigree,  and  that 

Fundamental  ,., 

principle  of  this  honour  at  least  should  remain  unchallengeable. 

priesthood,  The  principle  upon  which  it  rested,  however,  seems 


to  have  been  more  profound,  viz.  that  God  must 
own  minister.    Cn0ose  His  own  minister,  and  that  men  can  only 
indorse  him.     The  application  of  the  doctrine  to 
Christ  Himself  gives  us  the  origin  of  the  Jewish 
high  -  priesthood   as  a  typical   institution.      It  is 
illustrated  by  the  prophetic  appellations  given  to 
Him,  such  as,  '  Mine  Elect,'  *  My  Servant,'  l  Mine 
Union  of  regal  Anointed.'     These,  it  is  true,  express  equally  the 

and  priestly  r  __.  J 

offices  in  "      sovereignty  of  Christ;  and  accordingly  His  vocation 

His  divine  °    as  a  High  Priest  is  here  coupled  with  His  vocation 

natdure!man      as  a  Sovereign,  while  both  are  founded   on  the 

doctrine  of  His    Sonship  as  human   and   divine. 

4  Thou  art  my  Son,  this  day  have  I  begotten  Thee. 

As  He  saith  also  in  another  place,  Thou  art  a 

priest  for  ever  after  the  order  of  Melchisedec.' 

It  is  remarkable  also  that  these  Psalms  (ii.  and 
ex.)  point  to  the  period  of  our  Lord's  exaltation 
as  that  in  which  He  received  alike  His  royalty  and 
His  priesthood.  The  Son  as  raised  from  the  dead 
and  exalted  to  heaven,  is  the  Son  enthroned  as 
King  and  Priest  in  one  person  and  at  one  time. 
Both  offices  bear  the  same  date,  both  are  concur 
rent  and  inseparable  in  His  administration,  and 
both  are  to  be  recognised  in  the  worship  and  doc 
trine  of  His  Church. 


CHAPTER  XIX. 

PRIESTHOOD — PRIESTLY  CHARACTER  OF  CHRIST'S 
OBEDIENCE  AND  SUFFERING. 

HEB.  v.  7-9. 

'  WHO  in  the  days  of  His  flesh,  when  He  had  offered 
up  prayers  and  supplications  with  strong  crying 
and  tears  unto  Him  that  was  able  to  save  Him 
from  death,  and  was  heard  in  that  He  feared.' 

This  verse  contains  a  striking  epitome  of  our  Ver.  7  a 
Lord's  humiliation  and  troubles,  and  is  undoubtedly  ence  to  the 
a,  direct  reference  to  the  Agony.  '  Who  in  the  days  ' Agony> 
of  His  flesh,'  is  an  expression  which  plainly  sepa 
rates  what  follows  from  the  more  general  experi 
ence  of  His  humanity,  and  directs  us  to  some  time 
or  times  of  peculiar  pressure.  Various  notices  are 
dropped  by  the  evangelists  of  our  Lord's  prayer- 
fulness,  and  its  outgoings  in  the  night,  on  the 
mountain  or  in  the  wilderness;  but  they  give  us 
no  information  as  to  the  nature  of  His  suits,  nor 
of  the  wrestling  importunity  of  His  exercises  at 
these  times.  This  passage  therefore  must  refer  to 
the  Agony  alone.  It  entirely  accords  with  the 
several  narratives  of  this  touching  and  awful  scene, 
and  is  the  only  comment  on  it  supplied  by  the 
entire  apostolic  writings. 

It  is  here  remarkably  placed,  in  the  argument 

N 


194  PRIESTHOOD — PRIESTLY  CHARACTER  OF 

CHAP.  xix.  respecting  the  priesthood,  as  being  one  of  its  chief 
Heb.  v.  7-9.  preliminary  exercises,  and  as  being  very  mainly 
Remarkably  concerned  in  the  accomplishment  of  all  its  pre- 
argument fir  conditions, —  'being  made  perfect' — 'He  offered 
iiood.n<  UP  prayers  and  supplications,'  such  were  the  pre 

liminaries  with  which  He  approached  the  great 
altar  of  sacrifice;  these  heralded  His  progress, 
and  as  it  were  made  way  for  the  great  self-oblation 
of  the  High  Priest.  The  details  are  passed  over 
in  silence  by  the  evangelists,  save  the  reiterated 
ejaculation  '  Father,  if  it  be  possible,'  yet  they  are 
to  be  supposed;  they  are  even  intimated  by  St. 
Luke  xxii.  44.  Luke  in  that  terrible  expression,  '  And  being  in  an 
agony,  He  prayed  more  earnestly/  The  same 
evangelist  also  gives  us  the  clue  in  the  yet  more 
terrible  expression,  '  His  sweat  was  as  it  were 
great  drops  of  blood  falling  down  to  the  ground.' 
These  words  collated  with  this  comment,  'with 
strong  crying  and  tears  unto  Him  that  was  able  to 
save  Him  from  death,'  let  us  into  the  mystery  of  that 
awful  hour,  when  an  angel  from  heaven  appeared 
to  strengthen  Him  as  He  was  about  to  swoon  into 
death.  The  hour  was  ended  when  the  agony  was 
no  longer  tolerable,  '  He  was  heard  in  that  He 
feared,' — words  which  may  be  understood  of  the 
averting  by  His  prayer  of  the  death  imminent 
through  the  pressure  of  this  mental  suffering.1 
Ver.  8  should  '  Yer.  8.  '  Though  He  were  a  Son,  yet  learned 
'the Son.'  He  obedience  by  the  things  which  He  suffered.' 
It  should  be  though  He  were  '  the  Son ; '  for  the  • 
indefinite  article,  instead  of  the  definite  here,  is 

1  Or  they  may  be  understood  as  the  ground  of  its  prevalency, — '  in 
that  He  feared,' — sometimes  rendered  '  for  His  piety,'  i.e.  His  perfect 
resignation  to  His  Father's  will. 


CHRIST'S  OBEDIENCE  AND  SUFFERING.  195 

out  of  keeping  with  the  majesty  of  the  Son  as  opened  CHAP.  xix. 
in  this  Epistle,  and  also  destroys  the  point  of  the    Heb.  v.  7-9. 
argument  which  lies  in  the  supposed  immunity  of  intimates  that 
the  Son,  as  the  Son,  from  suffering  of  any  kind,  should  ex- 
His  very  rank  entitled  Him  to  exemption  from  the  f^m  <SeS- 
accidents  to  which  creatures  are  liable,  and  also  ence  to  sufler- 
from  the  necessity  of  learning  obedience  in  any 
way,  least  of  all  by  a  course  of  suffering.     Yer.  8 
therefore  is  intended  to  suggest  that  the  learning 
of  obedience  by  the  Son,  and  His  learning  it  by  a 
course  of  suffering,  were  a  phenomenon  resolvable 
by  no  law,  and  standing  equally  without  precedent 
or  the  possibility  of  repetition. 

The  position  of  the  Son  here  as  the  subject  of  Another  ex- 
His  Father,  exercised  with  temptations  and  per-  hSLmSon- 
fected  by  sufferings,  is  another  example  in  proof  shlp' 
of  the  observation  before  made,  that  the  human 
side  of  the  Sonship  is  immediately  turned  toward 
us  in  these  chapters,  since  obedience  is  proper  to 
a  creature-relation  to  God,  and  very  emphatically 
the  obedience  of  suffering. 

Still  the  Son  is  here  put  before  us  indirectly  in  indirectly  of 
His  divine  majesty  also,  but  with  such  an  added  bit  with  such 
creature-nature  and  relation  to  God  as  constituted  t^ns  to  God 
the  basis  of  an  imputation  of  the  acts  proper  to 


His  humanity,  as  made  proper  also  to  His  divinity.  on  winch  the 

-1  .  .  Incarnation 

The  mystery  of  a  changed  hypostatic  relation  to  rests. 
the    Father  lies  at  the  basis  of  the   Incarnation 
itself,  and  this,  rather  than  the  fact  abstractedly 
taken  of  a  human  impersonation  of  Godhead,  is 
the  wonder  to  which  expression  is  given  by  the 
Incarnation.      This  mystery  (as  before  stated  in  The  self-ruled 
chap,  iv.)  is  the  self-ruled  relation  of  the  Son,  who,  the  Son  the 
though  sovereign,  becomes  subject  to  the  Father  ; 


196 


PRIESTHOOD — PRIESTLY  CHARACTER  OF 


CHAP.  XIX. 
Heb.  v.  7-9. 


Suffering  only 
possible  to 
Him  as  the 
representative 
of  sinners. 


Suffering  can 
only  be  in 
flicted  for 
moral  faulti- 


Suffering  not 
in  its  nature 
corrective. 


for,  without  this,  the  relations  of  the  two  natures 
implied  in  the  person  of  the  Son  as  Christ  would 
have  been  absolutely  incompatible,  and,  it  may  be 
added,  not  in  accordance  with  the  language  of 
Scripture.  Thus,  obedience  in  the  Son  becomes 
from  first  to  last  the  just  development  of  this  first 
truth  of  the  Sonship. 

The  obedience  of  suffering  is  appropriate  to 
Christ  only,  as  the  Representative  and  Redeemer 
of  sinners.  On  no  other  ground  could  it  be 
affirmed  that  the  obedience  of  suffering  ascribed 
to  the  Son  had  been  possible.  Obedience  is  the 
conformity  of  conduct  or  actions  to  the  will  of  a 
superior,  and  must  therefore  reflect  the  charac 
ter  of  that  superior.  As  the  obedience  is  here 
offered  to  God,  His  character  precludes  the  pos 
sibility  of  suffering  making  any  part  of  a  creature's 
duty,  except  for  a  moral  faultiness.  If,  therefore, 
our  Lord's  obedience  of  suffering  were  not  repre 
sentative  and  vicarious,  rather  than  personal  in  its 
nature,  His  humanity  could  not  have  been  fault 
less,  and  His  suffering  would  have  been,  as  in  ordi 
nary  cases,  a  corrective  discipline,  tending  to  amend 
and  expurgate  it.  This,  however,  is  an  assump 
tion  absolutely  contrary  to  the  whole  tenor  of  the 
Epistle,  and  abhorrent  to  the  entire  teaching  of 
the  New  Testament. 

Besides,  obedience  wrought  out  by  suffering  is 
no  doctrine  established  by  the  common  experiences 
of  humanity.  The  few  cases  we  have  are  very 
mainly  of  a  political  or  social,  rather  than  of  a 
moral  sort.  Further,  the  doctrine  would  strongly 
tend  in  a  direction  adverse  to  revelation  itself,  viz. 
to  show  that  penalty,  which  is  the  idea  of  suffering 


CHRIST'S  OBEDIENCE  AND  SUFFERING.  197 

in  this  connection,  bears  a  reactionary  character,  CHAP.  xix. 

and  instead  of  being  a  mere  award  of  justice  on   Heb.  v.  7-9. 

delinquency,  is  but  in  fact  a  correctional  process, 

ending  in  ultimate  recovery.    The  only  two  cases 

in  which  obedience  is  the  effect  of  suffering  are, 

(1)  when  suffering  is  made  a  subsidiary  appoint-  Save  (i)  where 

ment  to  some   higher   principle  than   itself,   and 

where  a  nature  as  such  is  not  absolutely  depraved;  ^ 

or  (2)  when  suffering  is  endured  for  the  sake  of  (2)  where 

others,  and  as  a  means  and  condition  for  securing 


advantages  apparently  only  obtainable  by  this 
self-sacrifice.  Our  Lord's  obedience  of  suffering 
was  plainly  of  this  latter  description.  His  obedi 
ence  was  representative.  His  sufferings  were 
vicarious.  He  was  in  the  room  and  stead  of  others 
before  God  as  4  the  Son,'  and  thus  capable,  by  such 
a  course  of  endurance  and  self-sacrifice,  of  work 
ing  out  for  men  a  redemption  and  deliverance 
otherwise  inconceivable. 

The  things  which  He  suffered  as  '  the  Son  '  must  Christ's  suffer- 
be  taken  to  include  both  the  Agony,  as  described  Sluice  to 
in  the  preceding  verse,  and  the  subsequent  suffer- 
ings,  all  wound  up  in  the  death  of  the  cross.  The 
obedience  here  ascribed  to  Him  intimates  with 
what  directness  and  simplicity  this  terrible  onus  of 
suffering  was  accepted  and  borne  as  the  will  of  His 
Father  ;  even  those  sufferings  which  were  immedi 
ately  inflicted  by  the  malice  of  men,  much  more 
those  ineffable  ones  immediately  inflicted  by  the 
hand  of  His  Father  :  '  For  it  pleased  the  Lord  to 
bruise  Him,  and  to  make  His  soul,'  not  His  flesh 
merely,  4  an  offering  for  sin.'  Thus  '  He  learned 
obedience  by  the  things  which  He  suffered.'  His 
humanity  became  the  subject  of  new  and  all  but 


198  PKIESTHOOD — PRIESTLY  CHARACTER  OF 

CHAP.  xix.  overwhelming  experiences  of  what  substitutional 
Heb.  v.  7-9.  obedience  meant.  Even  His  mind,  previously  to 
the  season  of  suffering  and  the  facts  of  endurance, 
was  unacquainted  with  the  tremendous  import  of 
this  all-redeeming  hour.  It  seemed,  if  not  to  take 
Him  by  surprise,  yet  to  awaken  in  Him  emotions 
which  sounded  the  very  depths  of  His  soul,  to 
which  utterance  could  only  be  imperfectly  given, 
and  which,  in  their  intensity,  as  well  as  their  fruit- 
fulness,  must  subsist  in  Him  only  as  the  £  Lamb 
slain.'  It  was  the  great  hour  of  His  soul -travail 
and  the  new  birth  of  a  dead  world.1 
'Perfect,'  Yerse  9.  4  And  being  made  perfect.'  The  word 

accomplished,  \ 

completed.  periect  here  may  signify,  (1)  the  close  or  accom 
plishment  of  the  work  of  obedience  by  suffering, 
i.e.  the  goal  of  obedience,  the  TeXetWi?,  as  it  were, 
of  His  course;  answerably  to  His  own  words,  '  It 
is  finished,'  uttered  from  the  cross,  and  there  obvi 
ously  connected  with  all  the  particulars  comprised 
in  fulfilled  prophecy,  of  which  taking  the  vinegar 
from  the  sponge  was  the  last.  It  was  done,  com 
pleted,  as  a  travail  gone  through  and  ended,  never 
to  return. 

(2)  it  includes  (2)  But ''  being  made  perfect '  here  also  signifies  or 
consequences,  takes  in  all  causes  and  consequences  of  this  obedi 
ence  wrought  out  by  the  things  '  which  He  suffered.' 
As  representative  and  substitutional,  this  obedience 
by  suffering  must  needs  comprise  the  fulfilment 
of  all  His  duty  to  the  Father  as  His  Son  'made 
flesh,'  and  standing  between  Him  and  an  offending 
world,  to  reconcile  it  to  Him,  and  to  make  its  re 
covery  broadly  practicable.  In  this  sense  it  could 

*  And  being  made  perfect,  He  became  the  author  of  eternal  salva 
tion  unto  all  them  that  obey  Him.' 


CHRIST'S  OBEDIENCE  AND  SUFFERING.  199 

be  nothing  less  than  atonement  consummated  by  CHAP.  xix. 
vicarious  suffering,  as  appointed,  tendered,  and  ac-   Heb.  v.  7-9. 
cepted.    This  greatest  of  all  acts  which  the  universe 
admits,  was  really  perfected  when  this  obedience 
was  finished.    It  was  simply  impossible  that  more 
than  this  could  be  required,  and  probably  as  im 
possible  that  less  than  this  could  have  sufficed. 

(3)  But  there  is  a  third  view  of  the  phrase  '  being  it  includes 
made  perfect,'  in  itself  of  great  moment,  and  also  sy 
very  prominent  in  passages  of  this  Epistle.  It  is  the  Son> 
the  doctrine  of  the  perfected  human  sympathy  of 
the  Son  with  universal  man,  but  especially  with 
His  people,  as  the  effect  of  '  the  things  which  He 
suffered.'  His  humanity,  relatively  to  His  office 
and  to  the  conditions  under  which  it  must  be  ex 
ercised  for  the  behoof  of  men,  required  such  a  pro 
cess  as  this,  since  it  seems  impossible  that  this 
perfection  of  human  nature  as  related  to  a  given 
sphere  of  offices,  can  come  in  any  other  way. 
Fellow-feeling  is  a  much  more  powerful  succourer 
than  the  loftiest  reason,  and  a  much  closer  bond 
between  one  man  and  another  than  mere  accom 
plishments,  caste,  combinations,  tastes,  friendships ; 
in  a  word,  the  closest  interlacings  of  humanity 
throughout  the  world  are  made  out  of  its  heart 
strings,  not  out  of  its  logic.  Suffering,  in  its 
almost  infinitely  varied  forms  and  degrees,  is  the 
most  powerful  baptism  into  humanity  all  the  world 
over ;  indeed,  it  is  the  only  one  which  thoroughly 
filters  into  the  soul,  and  reveals  the  depths  of  our 
nature  to  one  another.  No  wonder,  then,  that  the 
Prince  of  humanity  and  its  Author  has  concentrated 
in  Himself  all  the  humanity  of  man,  and  that  His 
one  bosom  responds  to  its  voices,  as  the  deep  calls 


200 


PEIESTHOOD — PRIESTLY  CHARACTER  OF 


CHAP.  XIX. 
Heb.  v.  7-9. 


*  Salvation  ' 
the  result  of 
the  Son's 
being  'made 
perfect '  (ver. 
9). 


'  Salvation  ' 
the  perfecting 
of  human 
nature  subjec 
tively  and 
objectively, 
i.e.  with  re 
spect  to  itself, 
and  with 
respect  to 
God. 


« Author ' 
equivalent  to 
Saviour. 


to  the  deep ;  that  by  Him  the  world  of  humanity 
is  responded  to  in  the  heavens,  and  bespoken  in  all 
the  intercessions  and  tendernesses  of  His  eternal 
priesthood. 

'He  became  the  author  of  eternal  salvation  to 
them  that  obey  Him.'  The  adjunction  of  '  eternal 
salvation '  as  the  direct  effect  of  His  being  i  made 
perfect,'  shows  that  this  threefold  view  of  the  phrase 
does  not  unduly  extend  its  meaning.  4  Eternal  sal 
vation,'  as  ascribed  to  the  Son,  and  to  Him  as  being 
'  made  perfect/  reveals  the  transcendent  character 
of  His  atoning  work.  The  very  attribute  of  eternity 
gives  it  an  overwhelming  importance  in  the  case  of 
a  single  individual,  seeing  that  every  such  individual 
is  no  mean  accession  to  the  happiness  of  God's  uni 
verse,  and  must  represent  a  confluence  of  all  the 
richest  elements  of  beatitude  which  the  divine  and 
human  natures  meeting  in  Christ  can  furnish.  It 
is  the  nature  of  man  which  is  saved,  not  his  fortunes; 
it  is  his  relations  to,  and  intercourse  with,  the  God 
head  which  are  secured,  not  his  creature  associa 
tions  merely,  much  less  any  artificial  and  contingent 
advantages.  Salvation  is  an  everlasting  correlative 
to  our  self-consciousness,  and  more  than  this  to  our 
divine  consciousness, — in  which  assuredly  combine 
a  perfect  self-repose,  a  perfect  immunity  from  evil, 
and  a  perfect  possession  of  the  Infinite  as  the  first 
and  last  of  being.  Such  a  creature  may  himself  be 
more  than  a  world,  and  a  more  resplendent  witness 
'to  the  perfections  and  government  of  God,  than  all 
the  planets  in  the  sky,  or  a  whole  order  of  less 
privileged  intelligences. 

'Author,'  while  it  signifies  an  equivalent  to  Crea 
tor,  signifies  also  something  more  especially  appro- 


CHRIST'S  OBEDIENCE  AND  SUFFERING.  201 

priate  to  man,  viz.  Saviour.  It  is  a  specific  title  CHAP.  xix. 
which  has  its  bearing  directly  on  humanity,  and  is  Heb.  v.  7-9. 
the  complement  of  all  others.  This  close  connection  Salvation. 
between  the  perfection  ascribed  to  Christ  and  the 
salvation  which  issued  from  it,  fully  accounts  for 
the  prominency  given  to  salvation,  in  the  New 
Testament,  as  a  thing  actually  provided  and  freely 
offered  to  the  world.  The  grandeur  and  distinct 
ness  of  this  revelation  are  made  more  impressive 
by  the  one  word  employed  to  declare  them,  SALVA 
TION,  than  they  could  be  by  any  conceivable  variety 
of  expression,  or  the  most  profuse  forms  of  illustra 
tion.  As  the  distant  sound  of  music  swells  upon 
the  ear,  begetting  interest,  and  even  transport  as 
it  becomes  louder  and  more  distinct, — so  salvation, 
while  it  unfolds  the  great  cardinal  idea  of  redemp 
tion,  invests  it  also  with  a  mysterious  indefiniteness 
fitted  to  raise  the  mind  by  the  help  of  the  imagina 
tion,  as  well  as  by  the  intuitions  of  reason  and 
conscience.  This  is  not  merely  the  peace  of  earth, 
but  the  very  joy  of  heaven.  l  Salvation '  constitutes 
the  cardinal  difference  between  the  revelations  of 
the  Old  and  New  Testaments ;  for,  while  the  former 
again  and  again  refers  to  it  in  expressions  which 
show  that  in  earlier  times  it  was  not  altogether  a 
secret,  but  the  sun  and  soul  of  ancient  piety,  yet 
salvation  is  nowhere  put  forward  in  an  unshrouded 
form,  as  the  very  orb  of  the  heavens  dispelling  the 
gloom  of  death's  shadow,  and  opening  eternity  to 
man.  It  is  rather  like  prophecy,  '  a  light  shining 
in  a  dark  place '  until  the  clay  dawn,  an  anticipa 
tion  of  a  brighter  future,  and  a  prelude  only  to  the 
song  of  the  Lamb. 

4  To  them  that  obey  Him.'     The  connection  of 


202  PPJESTHOOD. 

CHAP.  xix.  obedience  to  Christ  with  His  own  obedience  to  the 
Heb.  v.  7-9.  Father,  is  the  antithesis  suggested  by  this  phrase. 
The  Son's  The  obedience  wrought  out  by  suffering  becomes 

obedience  the 

source  of  His    the  source  of  supreme  authority  to  the  Son,  since 
authority  over  His  subjection  was  only  transient,  and  His  sove- 
3is  cimrch.     reignty  Was  made  its  direct  award.    This  is  a  great 
New  Testament  theme,  and  is  here  put  before  us  in 
He  becomes      a  practical  form.    The  idea  is,  that  He  takes  charge 
of\he1CFatLr.  of  all  creatures  henceforth,  but  especially  of  re 
deemed  men ;  that  they  are  all  given  into  His  hand, 
and  that  whatever  duties  they  owe  to  God  they 
must  pay  to  Christ  as  His  viceroy  and  their  king. 
Thus  obedience  is  their  tribute  to  His  sovereignty, 
while  all  punitive  and  rewarding  rights  are  also 
vested  in  Him,  and  sanctioned  by  the  Father. 
Summary.  The  great  moral  deduced  seems  to  be,  that  as 

the  supreme  power  of  the  universe  is  in  the  hands 
of  a  sufferer,  '  the  Lamb  slain ; '  so  the  obedience  of 
suffering  qualified  by  the  merits  of  His  atonement, 
especially  when  endured  in  the  service  of  His  reli 
gion  (though  not  excluding  private  suffering), 
elevates  to  the  supreme  places  of  dignity  and  joy 
in  the  kingdom  of  God.  There  is  a  sense  in  which 
the  sufferings  of  Christ  are  participated  by  His 
members,  and  also,  as  St.  Peter  says,  i  the  glory 
that  shall  be  revealed.' 


CHAPTER    XX. 

MELCHISEDEC. 
HEB.  vii.  1-21. 

MELCHISEDEC  is  here  introduced  as  the  great  proto-  Meicinsedec, 
type   of  Christ,  —  in   certain   respects    absolutely  typeofPcUist, 


peculiar.  In  rank,  as  well  as  in  the  order  of  time,  to 
he  is  Aaron's  superior,  and  even  the  superior  of  to  Aaron 
Moses  himself.  Had  we  possessed  the  inspired 
narrative  only  (Genesis  xiv.  18),  we  should  pro 
bably  have  been  little  aware  of  the  singular  im 
portance  of  this  personage.  The  history  is  as  brief 
as  a  notice  well  could  be  of  one  deemed  worthy  of  a 
place  at  all  in  the  scripture  record.  It  is  altogether 
contained  in  a  few  lines  ;  but  yet  this  passing  nar 
rative,  put  before  us  in  the  form  of  a  mere  incident 
in  the  life  of  Abraham,  becomes  at  once  a  theme  of 
prophecy  and  of  amplified  evangelical  teaching. 
It  is  remarkable,  too,  as  affording  an  instance  of 
the  manner  in  which  Bible  narratives  are  made 
to  form  the  basis  of  the  most  momentous  doc 
trines.  By  the  divine  order  they  are  inseparably 
entwined;  the  Old  Testament  forms  an  integral 
part  of  the  New,  —  they  stand  or  fall  together. 
Psalm  ex.  4  (undeniably  Messianic  prophecy) 
contains  the  scripture  which  forms  the  inter 
mediate  link  between  the  narrative  and  the 


204 


MELCHISEDEC. 


CHAP.  XX. 

Heb.vii.1-21. 

The  priest 
hood  of  Christ 
more  closely 
represented 
by  Melchi- 
sedec  than 
"by  Aaron. 


Was  Melchi- 
sedec  a  tem 
poral  or 
spiritual 
ruler  ? 


teachings  of  this  Epistle.  It  recognises  the  priest 
hood  of  Melchisedec,  and  its  close  association  with 
that  of  the  Messiah ;  indeed  in  some  respects  the 
Messiah's  priesthood  more  thoroughly  assimilates 
with  that  of  Melchisedec  than  with  that  of  Aaron. 
The  order  or  rank  of  this  patriarchal  priest  fore 
shadowed  that  of  the  Messiah,  in  certain  mys 
terious  aspects  of  it  not  predicable  of  that  of 
Aaron.  It  is  probable  that  even  the  concise  and 
unconnected  form  of  the  narrative  itself  was  de 
signed  by  the  inspiring  Spirit  to  intimate  this  fact, 
since  he  is  made  to  appear  and  disappear  as  it 
were  in  a  moment,  not  to  return,  as  an  historical 
personage,  for  ever.  This  mixture  of  mystery  with 
fact  is,  of  itself,  a  presumption  of  the  typical  cha 
racter  of  the  narrative,  and  that  more  was  meant 
to  be  drawn  out  of  it  than  its  bare  letter  would 
suggest.  More  is  said  of  him  than  of  any  other 
personage,  after  so  long  an  interval  of  time  between 
his  personal  existence  and  his  finally  ascertained 
position  in  the  system  of  revealed  truth. 

On  looking  over  his  character  under  the  light 
of  this  chapter,  one  of  two  suggestions  may  be 
accepted,  the  literal  or  the  spiritual.  In  what 
sense  was  Melchisedec  a  king  at  all  ?  Was  he 
such  territorially  and  secularly,  or  was  he  simply 
a  sovereign-pontiff,  a  great  spiritual  ruler,  whose 
functions  were  entirely  apart  from  those  of  the 
civil  magistrate?  Or  was  he  a  temporal  prince 
with  the  functions  of  a  religious  order  superaddecl, 
i.e.  the  two  estates  blended  in  one?  Much,  per 
haps,  might  be  said  in  favour  of  the  former  view ; 
yet  the  title  '  King  of  Righteousness,'  though  not 
necessarily  excluding  the  idea  of  a  monarch  dis- 


MELCHISEDEC.  205 

tinguished  for  the  integrity  of  his  administration,  CHAP.  xx. 
iseems  to  imply  much  more  than  this;  while  un-  Heb.vii.i-2i. 
derstood  as  containing  the  Hebrew  equivalent  for 
'aisname,  in  some  different,  though  perhaps  cognate, 
language,  it  still  implies  that  it  was  a  name,  like 
others  in  Scripture,  given  him  by  divine  direction 
and  with  peculiar  reference  to  his  typical  character 
with  respect  to  the  Messiah.  Taken  in  connection 
with  the  second  appellation,  'King  of  Peace,'  this 
thought  seems  invested  with  high  probability, 
.since  even  the  history  forbids  us  to  regard  Mel- 
chisedec  as  a  secular  prince  averse  from  war  when 
righteously  waged,  as  was  the  case  in  Abraham's 
conflict  with  the  kings.  He  would  assuredly  not 
approve  as  righteous  in  others  that  which  in  his 
own  personal  administration  he  condemned.  On 
the  contrary,  we  see  that  he  went  out  to  meet  the 
successful,  warrior,  received  a  portion  of  the  spoils 
at  his  hands,  and  blessed  him  in  the  name  of  the 
Most  High  God.  The  inference  from  this  seems  to 
be,  that  it  was  in  a  religious  or  evangelical  sense 
that  he  was  '  King  of  Righteousness '  or  '  King  of 
Peace.'  This  fact  does  not  exclude  the  possibility  Probably  he  . 
that  he  was  a  territorial  prince  with  superadded 
spiritual  functions,  more  widely  recognised  than 
his  civil  ones ;  yet  these  marked  characteristics, 
'  King  of  Righteousness  '  and  '  King  of  Peace,'  are 
in  their  highest  sense  answerable  to  his  typical  cha 
racter,  and  are  chiefly  to  be  borne  in  mind  when 
studying  this  account  of  him.  If  l  Salem '  be 
taken  as  the  name  of  a  place,  it  probably  means 
Jerusalem,  which  thus  acquires  an  earlier  interest 
historically  than  when,  after  its  possession  by  the 
Jebusites,  it  fell  into  the  hands  of  David  and  be- 


< ] 

206  MELCHISEDEC. 

CHAP,  xx.    came  the  seat  and  centre  of  the  Hebrew  Theocracy. 

Heb.vii.i-2i.  It  might  be  that  Melchisedec,  as  King  of  Salem, 
was  the  last  and  most  distinguished  representative 
of  the  Noachian  Theocracy,  and  of  that  form  of 
sacred  government  which,  through  many  ages 
afterwards,  was  to  be  continued  by  the  descendants 
of  Abraham,  and  for  ever  perfected  in  the  reign  of 
the  Son  of  God. 

veTTa?3PUed  The  language  of  verse  3,  c  Without  father,  with- 
to  his  priestly  out  mother,  without  descent,'  should  not  be  under 
stood  of  his  kingly,  but  of  his  priestly  pedigree, 
since,  if  it  were  referred  to  the  former,  it  might  be 
suspected  that  he  was  an  usurper,  or  at  least  a 
man  raised  to  kingly  eminency  by  some  popular 
movement.  It  is,  indeed,  quite  possible  that  his 
royalty  was  not  hereditary,  but  became  the  crown 
of  his  personal  and  priestly  eminency ;  that  his 
priesthood  was  first  in  order  of  time,  and  that  the 
great  spiritual  power  gave  birth  to  the  temporal. 
But  be  this  as  it  may,  the  language  of  verse  3 
should  be  taken  exclusively  in  the  priestly  sense. 
This  is  obvious  when  we  consider  how  strict  the 
law  of  pedigree  was  with  respect  to  the  priesthood 
within  the  Hebrew  commonwealth,  and  that  this 
principle  (fought  against  in  the  wilderness  by  the 
people  and  the  princes)  was  the  very  one  estab-' 
lished  by  God  when  the  priesthood  was  vested  in 
the  tribe  of  Levi  and  in  the  family  of  Aaron  with 
out  the  least  modification  for  ever.  Whatever  flaws 
therefore  might  creep  into  the  ordinary  genealogies 
of  families,  the  rolls  of  priestly  descent  were 
guarded  with  all  the  jealousy  of  the  priestly  caste,  j 
and  held  as  their  heavenly  patent  both  of  main 
tenance  and  honour.  Now  it  is  in  contrast  to  this 


MELCHISEDEC.  209 

law  of  genealogy  that  the  history  of  Melchisedec   CH.AP.  xx. 
stands.     He  is  neither  the  descendant  of  a  race  of  Heb.riTi-.2i. 
priests,  nor  is  he  the  head  of  a  particular  order  —  Contr 
he  stands  alone  without  successor  or  predecessor, 


We  have  no  account  of  his  installation  nor  of  his 
decease,  and  therefore  no  authoritative  record  of 
the  extinction  or  tradition  of  his  priesthood,  '  He 
abideth  a  priest  continually.'  This  is  evidently 
the  point  chiefly  regarded  in  the  Psalm  (so 
frequently  quoted  in  the  Epistle)  as  that  in  which 
he  most  closely  resembles  the  Messiah,  i.e.  in  the 
perpetuity  of  office,  as  contrasted  with  office  main 
tained  by  succession.  In  this  capital  point,  how-  in  ver.  3  the 
ever,  it  must  be  allowed  that  the  glory  of  the  anti-  idealized  to 


type  is  cast  upon  the  type,  and  that  the  narrative 
is,  so  to  speak,  idealized  to  suit  it.  He  is  thus 
made  'like  unto  the  Son  of  God,'  not  by  being  ex 
alted  to  personal  immortality,  with  its  concomitant, 
perpetual  priesthood  (for  this  would  be  more  than 
likeness  in  the  typical  sense),  but  by  the  abstrac 
tion  from  the  record  of  all  the  ordinary  predicates 
of  humanity,  such  as  birth,  death,  official  installa 
tion,  or  priestly  decadence,  as  in  the  case  of  Aaron 
on  Mount  Hor,  or  of  Moses  on  Mount  Pisgah.  We 
have  simply  a  glimpse  of  the  man  in  his  regal 
pontificate,  who  is  then  withdrawn  as  if,  like 
Elijah,  carried  up  by  a  whirlwind  into  heaven. 
This  same  sense  of  typical  and  official,  as  distin-  Distinction 
guished  from  personal  life,  is  traced  in  the  latter 
part  of  verse  8,  '  of  whom  it  is  witnessed  that  he 


liveth.'    The  phrase  i  it  is  witnessed  '  is  an  obvious  taught  here, 

.  _.  also  in  ver.  8, 

allusion  to  the  language  or  Psalm  ex.,    Thou  art  and  Psalm  ex. 
a  priest  for  ever  after  the  order  of  Melchisedec,' 
and  its  introduction  here  shows  that  the  teaching 


206 


MELCHISEDEC. 


CHAPJKX.  of  the  Psalm  is  to  be  understood  of  the  official,  not 
Heb.vii.i-.-2i.  of  the  personal,  life  of  Melchisedec.  Melchisedec, 
like  every  other  typical  person  or  typical  thing, 
might  be  said  to  live  on  till  the  antitype  was  re 
vealed,  in  whom  both  the  person  and  the  office 
should  truly  live  for  ever.  More  than  this  cannot 
be  made  of  the  language  by  any  rule  of  fair  con 
struction,  nor  by  any  perceptible  bearing  of  the 
history  of  Melchisedec  on  the  argument  before  us. 

1  Now  consider  how  great  this  man  was,  unto 
whom  even  the  patriarch  Abraham  gave  the  tenth 
of  the  spoils.  And  verily  they  that  are  of  the  sons  of 
Levi,  who  receive  the  office  of  the  priesthood,  have 
a  commandment  to  take  tithes  of  the  people  ac 
cording  to  the  law,  that  is,  of  their  brethren, 
though  they  come  out  of  the  loins  of  Abraham : 
but  he  whose  descent  is  not  counted  from  them 
received  tithes  of  Abraham,  and  blessed  him  that 
had  the  promises.  And  without  all  contradiction 
the  less  is  blessed  of  the  better.  And  here  men  that 
die  receive  tithes ;  but  there  he  receiveth  them,  of 
whom  it  is  witnessed  that  he  liveth.  And  as  I 
may  so  say,  Levi  also,  who  receiveth  tithes,  payed 
tithes  in  Abraham.  For  he  was  yet  in  the  loins  of 
his  father,  when  Melchisedec  met  him.' 

The  4th  verse  invites  to  the  consideration  of  the 
glory  of  Melchisedec,  and  the  subject  is  continued 
to  the  10th  verse.  Taking  here  the  inspired  com 
ment,  together  with  the  narrative  on  which  it  is 
founded,  this  glory  is  exceedingly  eminent. 

The  patriarch  Abraham  gave  him  the  tenth  of 
the  spoils  taken  in  war.  This  act  was  the  more 
remarkable  as  he  refused  to  touch  any  portion 
of  them  himself.  It  looked  as  if  the  patriarch 


Abraham 
acknowledged 
the  spiritual 
^minion  of 
'  -ledec 


MELCHISEDEC.  209 

regarded  these,  not  in  the  light  of  honourable  CHAP.  xx. 
gratuities,  much  less  as  the  returns  of  hospitality,  Heb.vii.i-2i. 
but  as  the  payment  of  dues  to  this  sovereign  pontiff 
which  piety  forbade  him  to  withhold.  This  inci 
dent  is  of  great  importance  as  showing  that  the 
spiritual  dominion  of  Melchisedec  extended  to 
countries  and  peoples  far  beyond  the  limits  of  his 
own,  and  that  he  represented,  what  in  modern 
language  would  be  called,  the  claims  of  the  Church 
on  the  State,  even  where  the  State  as  such  was 
perfectly  independent  of  him.  This  argument,  from 
the  payment  of  tithes  by  Abraham  to  Melchisedec, 
is  pressed  in  verses  5  and  6  to  show  his  surpassing 
dignity  in  comparison  with  that  of  Aaron  and  his 
descendants.  These  took  tithes  of  their  brethren, 
but  not  of  strangers.  As  they  had  no  jurisdic 
tion,  so  they  had  no  revenues,  beyond  the  Hebrew 
commonwealth ;  but  the  patriarch  Abraham  here 
acknowledges  the  jurisdiction  of  Melchisedec  over 
himself  and  over  the  nations  whose  goods  he 
tithes  to  meet  these  claims,  and  thus,  in  a  spiritual 
sense,  he  acknowledged  himself  and  them  as  the 
subjects  of  this  sovereign  pontiff. 

So  again,  verse  8  :  '  And  here  men  that  die  re 
ceive  tithes  ;  but  there  he  of  whom  it  is  witnessed 
that  he  liveth.'  There  is  some  obscurity  with  re 
spect  to  the  position  and  force  of  this  verse  in  the 
conduct  of  the  argument.  One  thing,  however,  is  Argument 

,  ,  «  .  i        -.  ,       .  i        from  the  less 

clear,  that  it  is  an  argument  irom  the  less  to  tne  to  the  greater 
greater,  and  may  be  put  thus :  If  men  that  die  re- 
ceive  tithes— i.e.  if  the  Aaronic  priesthood  in  succes- 
sion,  notwithstanding  the  mortality  of  its  individual 
members,  receives  tithes — the  claim  inheres  in  the 
priesthood  as  an  order,  not  in  the  several  individuals 

0 


210  MELCHISEDEC. 

CHAP.  xx.  composing  it;  how  much  more,  then,  does  the  tithe- 
Heb.viLi-21.  claim  remain  substantiated  in  the  priesthood  of 
Melchisedec,  which,  in  the  typical  sense  at  least, 
is  an  irrevocable  ordinance  ?  Thus  from  the  less  is 
inferred  the  greater ;  and  it  is  shown  that  the  ground 
of  the  Aaronic  tithe-taking  was  much  older  than  the 
ordinance  itself,  and  was,  in  fact,  included  in  the 
tithe-paying  to  Melchisedec,  returned  by  the  bless 
ing  of  Melchisedec,  through  Abraham,  to  his  de 
scendants.  It  terminated  with  the  termination  of 
that  priesthood,  when  fulfilled  by  its  antitype  Christ. 
That  this  is  the  thought  of  the  writer  is  obvious 
from  verses  9  and  10 :  'As  I  may  so  say,  Levi  also, 
who  received  tithes,  paid  tithes  in  Abraham,  while 
he  was  yet  in  the  loins  of  his  father ; '  i.e.  Levi  was 
represented  by  Abraham,  and  in  this  representa 
tive  sense  paid  the  dues  of  Levi  to  Melchisedec, 
receiving  in  turn,  originally  at  least,  his  right  to 
tithes  from  his  brethren,  with  the  priesthood  which 
he  inherited. 

Tithe  super-  In  this  view  of  the  matter,  the  eighth  verse  does 
analogous*"1  not  contain  an  argument  for  the  perpetuity  of 
Chris?6 10  tithes  under  the  evangelical  dispensation,  any  more 
than  it  sets  forth  the  actual  priesthood  of  Melchi 
sedec  as  continued  by  Christ.  The  most  that  can 
be  made  of  it  in  this  direction  is,  that  it  does  not 
render  tithing  under  Christianity  unlawful,  while  it 
rather  teaches  that  the  tender  of  homage  to  Christ 
by  His  Church  in  forms  analogous  to  this  is  an 
obligation  paramount  and  universal.  It  may  be 
that  there  is  some  reference  to  this  doctrine  (Rev. 
v.  12),  '  Worthy  is  the  Lamb  that  was  slain  to  re 
ceive  power,  and  riches,  and  wisdom,  and  strength, 
and  honour,  and  glory,  and  blessing.' 


MELCHISEDEC.  211 

Verse    7  :    '  And  without  all  contradiction  the   CHAP.  xx. 
less  is  blessed  of  the  better,'  i.e.  of  the  greater.  Heb.vii.i-2i. 
In  all  ancient  examples  of  benediction,  whether  in  ancient 
priestly  or  patriarchal,  the  superiority  of  the  person  biesSngftL 
blessing  over  those  who  receive  the  blessing  is  as-  thereon  ° 
sumed,  since  the  blessing  did  not  consist  in  a  mere  aiw^hf  ** 
form  of  kindly  expression  or  pious  desire,  nor  even  Plied- 
in  the  supposed  availableness  of  prayer,  but  in  the 
power  and  authority  of  the  person  who  placed  him 
self  in  this  mid  position  between  God  and  the  in 
dividuals  to  be  benefited.      The  position  was,  in 
fact,  essentially  a  mediatorial  one.     It  was  inse 
parable    from   paternity   or   office   in    some   very 
privileged  forms,  but  it  was  especially  vested  in 
priesthood  as  the  great  type  and  ministry  of  re 
demption.     It  is  needless  to  quote  examples  with 
which  every  one  is  familiar,  or  even  the  form  of 
blessing  contained  in  Num.  vi.  22.     In  the  example 
before  us,  as  the  office  was  transcendent  and  the 
person   typical,    so   the    blessing    bestowed   upon 
Abraham  would  be  of  corresponding  import.     No 
doubt  Melchisedec  was  directed   to  perform  this 
act  of  his  ministry  immediately  by  God,  and  to 
open   relations   with   the    favoured    patriarch,    to 
whom  hitherto  he  seems  to  have  been  a  stranger 
of  mysterious  significance.     But  what  becomes  us  Worid-cha- 
here  to  notice  is  the  obviously  world-character  of  Mdchfcedec's 


Melchisedec's    office.      It   embraced  not  only  his  • 
own  subjects,  or  the  peoples  surrounding  him,  but  tnes°sPel- 
Abraham,  a  wanderer  from  Ur  of  the   Chaldees, 
with  whom  he  held  no  civil  relations  whatever. 
This  fact,  representatively  considered,  is  an  image 
of  the  gospel  and  of  its  equal  aspect  to  Jew  and 
Gentile,    all-including,    all-blessing.      Abraham    is 


212 


MELCHISEDEC. 


CHAP.  XX. 

Heb.vii.1-21. 

Abraham 
blessed  in  his 
Gentile  cha 
racter. 


Heb.  vii.  11. 


Levitical 
priesthood 
intermediate, 
therefore  ter 
minable. 


here  taken  in  his  broad  Gentile  character  as  but 
one  among  the  many,  and  his  blessing  as  but  an 
example  of  the  world-blessing  of  redemption.  But 
this  blessing  also  was  one  of  super-eminent  distinc 
tion  conferred  on  the  patriarch.  It  was  a  visible 
and  direct  confirmation  of  his  privileged  relations 
to  God,  and  of  the  promises  already  made  to  him. 
Moreover,  it  was  an  augury  of  favours  yet  in  store, 
of  the  covenant  yet  to  be  ratified,  and  of  the 
mingled  stream  of  blessing,  spiritual  and  temporal, 
to  flow  through  him  to  his  posterity, — expanding 
into  nationality,  into  the  wonders  of  the  politico- 
theocracy,  and  finally  into  the  Christian  theocracy 
throughout  all  nations. 

1  If  therefore  perfection  were  by  the  Levitical 
priesthood  (for  under  it  the  people  received  the 
law),  what  further  need  was  there  that  another 
priest  should  rise  after  the  order  of  Melchisedec, 
and  not  be  called  after  the  order  of  Aaron  ? ' 

4  If  therefore  perfection  were  by  the  Levitical 
priesthood,'  etc.  (1)  The  advantage  of  carrying  back 
the  type  of  priesthood  beyond  the  date  of  the  Law 
lies  in  this,  that  it  proves  that,  as  the  Levitical  priest 
hood  was  not  a  primary  but  an  intermediate  insti 
tution,  so  there  was  no  ground  in  the  institution  itself 
for  establishing  its  finality.  It  was  plainly  termin 
able,  as  laid  down  by  St.  Paul  (Gal.  iii.  17),  on  the 
same  ground  as  the  Law  of  which  it  forms  a  part. 
Perfection  could  not  be  by  the  Levitical  priesthood. 
The  true  type  of  the  Messianic  priesthood  is  here 
shown  to  be  much  older  than  the  Law.  Had  it 
been  otherwise,  the  order  of  Aaron  must  have  been 
perpetuated  in  the  conformity  of  the  Messiah  to  it, 
rather  than  to  the  older  type  of  Melchisedec. 


MELCHISEDEC.  213 

(2)  The  advantage  of  connecting  the  Messianic    CHAP.  xx. 
priesthood  with  Melchisedec  rather  than  with  Aaron,  Heb.  vii.  1-21. 
consists  in  the  separation  of  the  Messianic  priest-  importance  of 
hood  from  the  tribeship  and  pedigree  of  the  Levi- 
tical  priesthood,  a  point  of  the  greatest  importance 
when  this  Epistle  was  written.    It  was  well  known 
that  '  He  of  whom  these  things  are  spoken  per-  Aaron. 
taineth  to  another  tribe,  of  which  no  man  gave 
attendance  at  the  altar  ;  '  for  i  it  is  evident  that  our 
Lord  sprang  out  of  Judah  ;   of  which  tribe  Moses 
spake  nothing  concerning  priesthood.'     This  was  a 
fact  of  vast  significance  ;  for,  as  it  is  said  in  verse 
12,  'the  priesthood  being  changed,  there  is  made  Christ's 
of  necessity  a  change  also  of  the  Law.'     That  the  and  its  Mel- 


priesthood  was   absolutely  changed,  in  opposition 

to  all  Jewish  notions  of  that  period,  was  demon-  declared  by 

'  prophecy  in- 

strated  by  two  facts  :  (1)  That,  on  the  authority  of  separable 
prophecy,  the  Messiah  was  the  great  High  Priest  Messiahship. 
of  the  nations  ;  and  (2)  That  His  order  of  priest 
hood  was  conformable  to  a  type  anterior  to  the 
Law.  Hence  it  follows,  that  whoever  received 
Jesus  Christ  as  the  Messiah,  must  necessarily  re 
ceive  also  with  Him  the  truth  of  His  priesthood, 
together  with  its  Melchisedecian  character.  Both 
rest  on  the  authority  of  the  Hebrew  prophecy, 
which,  in  this  instance,  clearly  ruled  this  great 
question  against  the  Law  and  its  priesthood. 

(3)  An  advantage  is  derived  also  by  this  mode  Primitive 
of  treating  the  question  of  the  priesthood  in  favour  Sd  Gentile," 
of  the  world-aspect  of  Christianity.      The   great  ™t  Hebrew. 
primitive  type  of  priesthood  was,  on  this  showing, 
Gentile,  not  Hebrew.     World-religion  came  first; 
national   religion   came   afterwards.      Christianity 
displaces  Judaism,   and   unites  itself  with  Patri- 


214  MELCHISEDEC. 

CHAP.  xx.    archalism,  or  brings  downward  Patriarchalism  to 

Heb.vii.i-2i.  its  own  era  as  the  thing  which,  for  breadth,  sim 
plicity,  and  evangelical  distinctness,  was  the  bright 
est  image  of  itself,  —  its  bow,  so  to  speak,  of  varied 
colours,  vast  span,  and  pristine  perfectness,  which 
should  only  be  dispelled  in  after  times  by  the 
zenith  power  of  its  own  sun,  dissolving  the  clouds 
on  which,  for  a  while,  its  great  final  glory  was 
pictured. 

Vers.  12-16.  <  For  He  of  whom  these  things  are  spoken  per- 
taineth  to  another  tribe,  of  which  no  man  gave 
attendance  at  the  altar.  For  it  is  evident  that  our 
Lord  sprang  out  of  Judah  ;  of  which  tribe  Moses 
spake  nothing  concerning  priesthood.  And  it  is 
yet  far  more  evident  :  for  that  after  the  similitude 
of  Melchisedec  there  ariseth  another  priest,  who  is 
made,  not  after  the  law  of  a  carnal  commandment, 
but  after  the  power  of  an  endless  life.' 

Vers.  14  and         '  And  it  is  yet  far  more  evident.'     This  formula 

15  discuss  not    .  _    .  .  . 

relative  cer-  is  a  plain  correlative  with  that  ot  the  14th  verse  : 
l  For  it  is  evident  that  our  Lord  sprang  out  of 


m- 


ti°f  subject  Judah.'  It  .  is  perhaps  not  easy  to  see  how  it  can 
be  £  far  more  evident  '  that  the  Messianic  priesthood 
contains  the  powers  here  imputed  to  it  than  that 
4  our  Lord  sprang  out  of  Judah,'  and  therefore  could 
be  no  priest  according  to  the  Levitical  institute  ; 
since  the  fact  surely  must  be  as  patent  as  the  doc- 
"  trine,  together  with  the  argument  founded  on  it. 
Hence  it  seems  probable  that  the  c  far  more  evident  ' 
does  not  relate  to  the  degrees  of  certainty  as  be 
tween  the  fact  and  the  doctrine,  but  to  the  differing 
importance  between  the  genealogical  question  and 
the  question  of  the  priesthood  itself,  its  nature,  and 
its  transcendent  glories.  This  seems  clear  from 


MELCHISEDEC.  215 

what  follows:    Tor  that  after  the  similitude  of  CHAP,  xx. 
Melchisedec  there   ariseth  another  priest,  who  is  Heb.  vii.  1-21. 
made,  not  after  the  law  of  a  carnal  commandment, 
but  after  the  power  of  an  endless  life  ;  for  he  testi- 
fieth,  Thou  art  a  priest  for  ever  after  the  order 
of  Melchisedec'  (verse  17).     On  this  showing,  the 
question  certainly  is  of  far  greater  importance  as  to 
who  and  what  this  priest  may  be,  than  as  to  what 
tribe  He  sprang  from.      The  question  of  priestly  Christ's 


pedigree  was  not  determined  by  the  letter  of  pro- 


phecy,  but  rather  by  the  pedigree  of  the  Messiah. 

He  sprang  out  of  Judah,  as  being  the  sovereign 

tribe  ;  and  hence  the  priesthood  passed  over  to  that 

tribe  in  Him,  and  not  the  royalty  over  to  the  priestly 

tribe.    Historically,  these  were  matters  of  import 

ance  to  the  nation  out  of  which  He  sprang  and  to 

the  world,  as  showing  the  conformity  of  the  Christ 

with  the  conditions  prescribed  for  His  identifica 

tion;   but  as  regards  the  permanent  influence  of 

the  Messiah,   it  depends  on  other  and  far  more 

lofty  doctrines  than  these.     The  prophecy  of  Psalm 

ex.  4  has,  according  to  this  Epistle,  by  its  very 

letter,  shown  that  the  priesthood  of  the  Messiah  is 

a  thing  absolute  and  by  itself,  grounded  on  His 

personal  immortality,  and  comprising  all  the  riches 

of  His  personal  nature,  His  human  history,  and  His 

mediatorial   exaltation.      The    '  carnal   command-  Contrast  be- 

ment  '  here  mentioned  means  an  ordinance  founded 

on  the  patent  condition  of  humanity  as  fleshly  and 

corruptible  ;   this  ordinance  therefore  implies  suc 

cession  as  its  principle  of  continuity,  involving  the 

transmission  of  the  priesthood  as  an  heirloom  from 

father  to  son,  and  from  one  generation  to  another; 

just  as  the  pontifical  robes  were  a  heritage,  worn  by 


216  MELCHISEDEC. 

CHAP.  xx.  one  and  another, — each  in  turn  reminded  of  his 
Heb.vii.i-2i.  own  mortality  by  the  fact  that  he  wore  dead  men's 
clothes,  and  that  these  clothes,  together  with  his 
registered  name,  would  be  the  only  remnant  of  his 
existence  with  posterity.  Such  was  the  c  carnal 
commandment '  on  which  the  mighty  edifice  of  the 
Hebrew  temple  and  worship  rested, — gorgeous,  but 
shadowy, — ever  vanishing,  but  constantly  renewed, 
just  as  children  ripen  into  manhood,  and  the  de 
parting  age  is  the  birth-time  and  parent  of  that 
which  follows. 
Difference  of  Thus  the  very  conditions  of  humanity  necessitated 

nature  in  the  . 

priests,  reason  the  ordinance  lor  a  successional  priesthood.      It 
trast.  was  an  ordinance  founded  simply  on  man  as  he 

is,  and  therefore  an  ordinance  for  a  priesthood  of 
corresponding  limitations  ;  the  office  could  not  rise 
above  the  nature ;  but  the  Messiah,  as  foreshadowed 
by  Melchisedec,  is  an  independent  and  perfect 
Priest,  because  His  personal  nature  is  immortal 
and  all-plenary.  '  The  power  of  an  endless  life  '  is 
antithetic  to  '  the  law  of  a  carnal  commandment.' 
If  Sw/ajtus  be  set  against  z^o?,  it  suggests  that 
the  former  is  an  indefinite  and  all-sufficient  basis 
of  official  agency,  while  the  latter  is  simply  one 
of  prescriptive  attributes.  The  law  of  the  earthly 
priesthood  is  something  defined  by  a  letter,  and  of 
only  prescriptive  efficacy,  because  the  ordinance 
on  which  it  is  founded  is  carnal  or  fleshly,  i.e.  of 
human  nature,  and  limited  by  conditions  of  pedi 
gree  ;  whereas  '  the  power  of  an  endless  life '  is  one 
of  indefinite  range,— actual,  spiritual,  all-pervading, 
immutable, — the  same  person,  the  same  office,  the 
same  attributes  and  outgoings.  The  Humanity 
and  the  Godhead  are  one  in  this  Person  and  in  this 


MELCHISEDEC.  217 

Office,  alike  embracing  the  world  of  men  and  the  CHAP.  xx. 
infinity  of  God.  It  is  this  difference  of  nature  and  Heb.vii.  1-21. 
personality  which  sets  the  priesthood  of  the  Messiah, 
not  only  immeasurably  above  that  of  Aaron,  but 
above  that  of  Melchisedec  also.  Both  were  types 
of  the  same  High  Priest,  but  in  differing  degrees  of 
glory, — shadows  of  an  infinite  reality,  since  they 
forecasted  Him  who  was  to  come, — but  of  no  per 
sonal  significance  whatsoever,  save  as  they  stood  in 
this  privileged  relation  to  the  sole  Priest  of  the 
world. 

The  course  of  the  argument  may  be  comprised  Summary. 
in  this  summary. 

The  great  type  of  the  Messianic  Priesthood,  as  Great  Mes- 

-I-TP  ,1  i     •  T        •  j  •      i  !••.,       sianic  type 

derived  from  the  record,  is  pre-Levitical,  and  in  its  pre-Levitical. 
attributes  immensely  superior.  Abraham  himself 
confessed  this  by  a  tithe-tribute,  and  by  the  recep 
tion  of  blessing  from  Melchisedec.  Abraham,  in 
his  relations  with  Melchisedec,  was  a  representa 
tive  both  of  the  Gentile  and  of  the  Hebrew  peoples, 
i.e.  of  the  world,  and  of  the  nation  descended  from 
him,  which  in  future  times  constituted  the  Visible 
Church.  '  The  less  was  blessed  of  the  better.'  This 
transaction  placed  the  Hebrew  nation  in  subordi 
nation  to  Melchisedec,  the  official  personage  who 
typically  represented  the  Messiah :  the  payment 
of  tithes  in  the  person  of  Abraham  was  their 
charter  to  receive  them  of  their  brethren.  The 
priesthood  itself  first  paid  through  its  representa 
tive  its  tribute  to  a  greater  power,  and  in  its  turn 
received  its  right  to  exact  it. 

Again,  they  were  mortal  priests  who  had  right  Jewish  Priests 

Al  .       p  p  ,   .-,  T      ,    1  v    •          mortal,  Christ 

to  this  form  of  tribute ;  but  he  was  an  ever-living  ever-living. 
Priest  to  whom  tithe  was  first  presented :  thus  de- 


218 


MELCHISEDEC. 


CHAP.  XX. 

Heb.  vii.  1-21. 

Respects  in 
which  Mel- 
chisedec  was 
superior  to 
the  Jewish 
Priests. 


Conclusion — 

Levitical 

Priesthood 

imperfect, 

therefore  not 

final. 


Otherwise, 
Christ  but 
the  last  of  a 
series. 


noting  the  world -range  of  tribute  to  a  supreme 
Priesthood,  while  the  Levite  could  only  take  it 
from  his  brethren.  These  marks  of  superior  dig 
nity  in  the  priesthood  of  Melchisedec  were  plainly 
not  embodied  in  the  Levitical  ordinance,  much 
less  could  the  Levitical  rise  to  the  dignity  of  the 
Messiah's  Priesthood.  For  this  purpose,  a  single 
person,  and  not  a  succession  of  persons,  an  earlier 
position  in  the  world's  history,  and  a  world-relation, 
which  they  had  not,  were  requisite. 

The  conclusion  from  these  considerations  is  the 
imperfection  of  the  Levitical  Institute,  and  con 
sequently  its  evanescent  character.  So  far  from 
its  being  the  institute  after  which  Christianity  was 
to  be  modelled,  it  could  not  even  consist  with  it, 
but  must  give  place  to  another  and  a  higher  priest 
hood.  Had  our  Lord's  priesthood  been  conformed 
to  that  of  Aaron  instead  of  to  that  of  Melchisedec, 
He  must  have  been  the  last  of  the  series  of  High 
Priests,  and  not  '  the  first  and  the  last.'  He  must 
have  remained  on  earth  as  the  source  and  centre 
of  a  visible  priesthood,  not  have  been  received  into 
the  heaven ;  and  His  kingdom  must,  in  like  manner, 
have  partaken  of  the  visible — or,  in  other  words,  it 
must  have  been  a  new  edition  of  the  old  Law,  and 
Christ's  religion  a  modification  of  Judaism  diffused 
throughout  the  world.  But  the  change  in  the  type 
of  the  priesthood  necessarily  effected  a  change  in 
the  type  of  the  religion.  The  new  priesthood  is 
not  sustained  by  a  number  of  individuals  in  suc 
cession,  nor  by  the  law  of  pedigree,  nor  are  its 
functions  exercised  in  accordance  with  the  previous 
institute,— all  is  changed  by  the  great  fundamental 
change  of  the  priesthood,  from  succession  to  unity, 


MELCHISEDEC.  219 

from  mortality  to  immortality,  from  the  human  to    CHAP.  xx. 
the  divine,  from  the  earthly  to  the  heavenly.    The  Heb.vii.i-2i. 
law  was  but  the  administration  of  a  priesthood,  the  Change  in  the 
gospel  itself  is  nothing  more  ;  they  differ,  not  in  chief  diffe- 
their  general  nature,  as  dispensations,  so  much  as  iawCaiuitween 
in  the  character,  attributes,  and  influences  of  the  s°sPel- 
priesthood   belonging  to  each.      They  cannot  be 
blended,  for  the  one  contains  the  other,  and  ren 
ders  it  therefore  entirely  superfluous;  the  one  is  but 
the  shadow  of  a  substance,  of  itself  it  is  nothing; 
the  other,  as  that  substance,  is  entire  without  the 
•shadow. 

The  doctrine  of  .verses  18  and  19  should  be  re 
garded  as  the  obvious  inference  from  this  position 
of  the  priesthoods :  '  For  there  is  verily  a  disan 
nulling  of  the  commandment  going  before  for  the 
weakness  and  unprofitableness  thereof.  For  the 
law  made  nothing  perfect,  but  the  bringing  in  of  a 
better  hope  did;  by  the  which  we  draw  -nigh  unto 

God; 

The  language  of  the  18th  verse  may  be  under 
stood  as  laying  down  the  true  reason  for  the  abro 
gation  of  the  law  in  general,  though  here  to  be 
understood  particularly  of  the  priesthood.  This 
restricted  sense  of  the  word  '  commandment '  seems 
equally  justified  by  the  argument  and  by  the 
language  of  verse  19,  '  For  the  law  made  nothing 
perfect.'  The  abrogation  of  the  priesthood,  there-  Poweriessness 

•  •  of  ordinances 

lore,  results  from  the  weakness  and  unprofitableness  to  effect  re- 
thereof,  because  it  was  a  4  carnal  commandment ; ' 
i.e.  offices  merely  human  (though  ecclesiastical  and 
even  resting  on  divine  authority)  are  insufficient  of 
themselves  to  accomplish  the  great  work  of  the 
spiritual  redemption  of  human  nature.  They  can- 


220 


MELCHISEDEC. 


CHAP.  XX. 
Heb.vii.1-21. 


The  law 
annulled,  not 
incorporated. 


Law  imper 
fect,  because 
introductory. 


Legalism  im 
perfection;  its 
standard 
human,  not 
divine. 


not  penetrate  the  mind  sphere  of  humanity;  they 
may  be  means  and  accessories,  but  they  can  never 
take  the  rank  of  agencies,  or  be  in  the  place  of 
God  to  the  soul.  This  is  as  true  of  Christian  as  of 
Hebrew  ordinances,  though  the  tendency  of  man 
always  has  been  to  exalt  them  into  religion  itself, 
and  to  trust  in  them  instead  of  in  the  spiritual 
status  essential  to  restored  humanity.  For  this 
purpose  they  are  weak  and  unprofitable.  The 
administration  is  i  weak/  The  routine,  however 
elaborate  or  punctiliously  observed,  still  fails  to 
raise  human  nature  to  God;  it  rather  operates  as  a 
barrier,  and  makes  religion  to  consist,  not  in  the 
outgoings  of  a  renewed  mind,  but  in  the  habits 
chiefly  of  the  outward  life.  For  this  reason  the 
i  commandment '  going  before  is  suppressed,  not 
incorporated  into  the  Christian  system;  it  does  not 
consist  with  it  as  an  advanced  spiritual  life,  and 
rather  tends  to  impair  and  destroy  it  than  to  foster 
and  perfect  it.  The  doctrine  of  verse  18  is  there 
fore  by  construction  a  prohibition  of  all  Judaizing 
practices  under  Christian  names,  i.e.  it  is  against 
all  ritualism  or  cumbrous  ecclesiasticism,  which  is 
a  dead  weight  to  the  Church,  and  too  often  merely 
the  religion  of  the  Pharisee. 

i  For  the  law  made  nothing  perfect '  assigns  the] 
reason  for  its  elementary  and  imperfect  constitution: 
it  was  introductory  merely,  not  final.  According 
to  this  doctrine,  legalism,  in  whatever  form,  is  im 
perfection.  The  routine  and  drill  which  men  take 
so  much  delight  in  enforcing  as  religion,  is  at  best 
but  a  '  weak  and  unprofitable '  thing ;  for  it  either 
supposes  the  perfectibility  of  human  nature  by  a 
discipline  which  is  fundamentally  false,  or  it  adopts 


MELCHISEDEC.  221 

a  standard  of  perfection  human  rather  than  divine;  CHAP.  xx. 
or,  differing  from  both  these,  it  advances  an  im-  Heb.vii.i-2i. 
practicable  standard,  and  therefore  converts  human 
virtue  into  a  penalty.  Hence  all  communities, 
whether  under  the  law,  or  since  the  law,  ignorant 
of  the  true  doctrines  of  religion,  have  had  their 
ascetic  discipline  or  anti-human  peculiarities,  called 
by  different  names,  but  in  effect  the  same  thing ; 
whereas,  according  to  the  nineteenth  verse,  the  Law 
has  done  its  work  when  it  has  brought  in  i  the 
better  hope.'  Its  whole  constitution  and  drift  were 
to  prepare  for  the  evangelical  future,  but  not  to  inter 
mingle  with  it.  It  became  defunct  in  reality  when 
Christianity  was  brought  in ;  a  transition  from  one 
•;o  the  other  was  in  God's  order,  and  was  very 
mighty,  though  the  systems  were  in  juxtaposition. 
In  like  manner  the  Law  religion,  existing  even  under  Differences 
Christian  forms,  may  seem  so  close  upon  Christianity 
itself  as  in  many  instances  to  be  mistaken  for  it ; 
but  it  is  really  something  divided  from  it  by  an  Piety- 
infinite  interval,  and  may  serve  above  all  things  as 
a  fatal  barrier.  It  is  only  when  law,  under  all 
forms  and  designations,  becomes  the  introduction 
of  the  *  better  hope '  that  it  may  be  said  to  perform 
its  true  office.  Simple  unmixed  evangelism  is  the 
last  stage  of  the  religious  life, — the  '  better  hope,' 
as  it  is  here  expressed,  not  only  because  its  objects 
are  more  gloriously  expanded  and  distinct,  but  the 
relations  of  the  individual  believer  to  them  are 
those  of  assured  interest.  No  legal  religion,  how 
ever  conscientious  and  painstaking,  can  give  this 
assurance.  It  alternates  between  hope  and  fear. 
It  seems  to  take  hold  tremblingly  of  '  the  hope  set 
before  us,'  ever  and  anon  drawing  back  with  un- 


222  MELCHISEDEC. 

CHAP.  xx.  loosened  grasp.  It  is  a  religion  of  shadow  and 
Heb.Tii-i-21.  gloom,  rather  than  of  joy  and  sunniness,  and  is 
more  the  reflection  of  guilty  and  disordered  self 
than  the  reciprocation  of  the  love  of  God  and  of  the 
riches  of  the  Atonement.  Hence  the  last  clause  of 
this  verse  is  meant  to  suggest  the  characteristics  of 
Christian  as  distinguished  from  Jewish,  or,  as  we 
may  say,  legal  piety.  Jewish  worship  was  a  much 
more  prescriptional  thing  than  Christian — more 
charged  with  associations  of  duty  or  obedience, 
encumbered  with  recollections  of  failure,  of  sin,  of 
repentance,  or  of  good  works.  To  the  mind  of 
the  worshipper  of  God,  majesty  was  predominant, 
though  not  to  the  exclusion  of  covenant  relations. 
Hence  the  piety  issuing  from  these  impressions 
would  be  a  very  complex  mental  state,  and  much 
tinctured  with  the  specialities  of  individual  cha 
racter  and  history. 

But  it  is  obvious  how  different  in  kind  from  all 
this  must  be  the  spirit  and  exercises  of  Christian 
piety.  Faith  in  the  Atonement,  followed  by  con 
scious  reconciliation,  the  gift  of  adoption,  the  grace 
of  Fatherhood,  and  the  communion  of  the  Holy 
Ghost, — these  great  things  must  necessarily  revolu 
tionize  the  entire  spirit  of  devotion,  and  create  '  a 
new  thing  in  the  earth;'  i.e.  individuals  and  assem 
blies  of  believers  by  a  soul-bent  drawing  near  to 
God,  and  not  from  a  mere  sense  of  duty,  lured  by 
affection  rather  than  by  precept,  and  by  the  delights 
of  service  even  more  than  by  its  reasonableness. 
The  contemplations  of  God  are  unmixed  with 
terror,  and  His  perfections  are  regarded  as  but 
the  reflections  of  His  Fatherhood.  His  very  voice 
invites,  and  the  presence  of  His  own  chosen  High 


MELCHISEDEC.  223 

Priest  within  the  mystic  sanctuary,  not  merely  of  CHAP.  xx. 
the  heavens  but  of  the  soul,  is  answered  by  the  Heb.  vii.  1-21. 
Spirit  of  Grace,  carrying  back  the  echoes  of  the 
eternal  bosom.    The  gospel  state  is  as  much  distin 
guished  from  the  legal  as  was  the  chaotic  from  the 
finished  world  on  which  paradise  was  seated,  re 
plenished  by  the  works,  and  glorified  by  the  visita 
tions  of  God  Himself. 

4  To  draw  near  to  God  '  was  the  ancient  formula, 
derived  from  the  worship  of  the  tabernacle,  for  ex 
pressing  either  social  or  private  worship,  or  the 
habitual  communion  of  the  mind  with  God. 

The  phrase  '  we  draw  nigh  unto  God '  is  meant  Privilege  of 

•u  *  m     •   j.°  .   ..,  .  ,     approach  to 

to  be  an  assertion  of  Christian  privilege  in  respect  God  trans- 
to  worship,  and  a  covert  implication  of  its  trans-  Hebrewto 
ference  from  the  Hebrew  nation.  The  right  of 
''  drawing  near  unto  God '  was  already  personally 
cancelled  to  the  disciples  of  Moses,  since  the  priest 
hood  itself  was  exclusively  resident,  henceforth,  in 
the  Christ  as  the  true  Melchisedec.  Those  ancient 
and  impressive  forms  of  divine  prescription  were 
now  inanities ;  for  the  temple  was  closed,  the  veil 
rent,  and  the  priesthood  dissolved.  They  subsisted 
only  as  national  customs  not  yet  destroyed  by  the 
dismemberment  of  the  nation,  but  awaiting  that 
event.  God  no  longer  held  covenant  relations 
with  the  Law,  but  with  Christianity  alone;  and 
the  congregational  privileges  of  the  ancient  faith 
now  appertained  only  to  the  subjects  of  the  new 
priesthood. 

4  And  inasmuch  as  not  without  an  oath  He  was 
made  Priest,'  is  the  conclusion  of  the  inspired  ex 
position  of  Psalm  ex.  concerning  the  Messiah's 
priesthood.  It  is  a  singular  example  of  an  extended, 


224  MELCHISEDEC. 

CHAP.  xx.    and  one  might  say,  an  exhaustive  discussion  on  a 
Heb.vii.i-2i.  particular  doctrine.      A  fellow-example  occurs  in 
chapters  iii.  and  iv.  on  the  doctrine  of  the  Rest. 
Both  are  instances   of  a  treatment   of  scripture 
peculiar  to  this  Epistle,  and  both  have  in  them 
something  of  the  nature  of  a  preaching  style,  i.e. 
of  the  orderly  treatment  of  a  subject  rather  than 
of  a  passing  allusion  to  some  general  doctrine  con 
tained  in  a  scripture. 
Fiveimpor-          For  instance,  we  have  (1)  an  introduction  of  this 

tant  state-  •      .  *  ->  -n 

ments  respect-  scripture,    Thou  art  a  priest  For  ever,    as  a  specific 
Pnesthood!1  s    authentication  of  the  Messiah's  priesthood  by  the 
Old  Testament, 

(2)  The  typical  illustration  of  this  priesthood 
drawn  from  the  history  of  Melchisedec. 

(3)  The  inferiority  of  the  Levitical  priesthood, 
and  its  consequent  terminableness,  drawn  from  its 
want  of  correspondence  with  the  great  patriarchal 
type  before  mentioned. 

(4)  The  unapproachable  eminency  of  the  Mes 
siah's  priesthood,  not  only  beyond  the  Levitical  but 
beyond  the  Patriarchal  type. 

(5)  The   installation   of  the   Messiah   as   High 
Priest  of  the  Church  and  of  the  world  by  the  oath 
of  God,  in  virtue  of  which  this  office  is  ratified  as 
unchangeable.     In  fact,  the  quotation  from  Psalm 
ex.  is  without  precedent  with  respect  to  its  fre- 

See  chap.  v.  quency.  It  is  introduced  no  fewer  than  five  times 
vii.  17, 21.  '  iii  confirmation  of  the  doctrine  advocated.  It  is 
probable  that  this  important  passage  was  moulded 
by  the  incidents  of  Old  Testament  history :  '  The 
Lord  hath  sworn,  and  will  not  repent,'  etc.  The 
most  stubborn  example  of  rebellion  recorded  in  the 
Pentateuch  arose  out  of  the  jealousies  of  the  people 


MELCHISEDEC.  225 

respecting  the  order  of  the  priesthood :  they  resisted  CHAP.  xx. 
the  ordinance  which  confined  it  to  a  particular  Heb.vii.i-2i. 
tribe,  and  more  especially  to  a  particular  family. 
Korah  and  his  company  (backed,  it  would  seem,  by 
almost  universal  suffrage)  contended  for  a  tribal 
basis  of  priesthood,  if  not  for  a  priesthood,  elective 
rather  than  hereditary.  But  this  formidable  re 
bellion  was  quashed  by  divine  interposition,  and 
the  priesthood  absolutely  given  to  the  family  of 
Aaron,  so  as  to  exclude  all  change  whatever 
uhroughout  the  entire  history  of  the  nation.  In 
this  respect,  the  i  calling  of  God,'  to  use  St.  Paul's 
language,  '  was  without  repentance.'  But  this 
ordinance  did  not  exclude  the  change  of  the 
pontificate  from  one  branch  of  the  same  family  to 
another.  An  example  of  this  kind  occurs  in  re-  Priesthood 

ect  to  the  house  of  Eli,  1  Sam.  ii.  30 :  i  I  said  divine  decree. 
indeed  that  thy  house,  and  the  house  of  thy 
father,  should  walk  before  me  for  ever :  but  now 
the  Lord  says,  Be  it  far  from  me ; '  and  again, 
chapter  iii.  14 :  '  Therefore  I  have  sworn  unto  the 
house  of  Eli,  that  the  iniquity  of  Eli's  house  shall 
not  be  purged  by  sacrifice  nor  offering  for  ever.' 
Here  we  have  an  example  of  God's  oath  to  deprive 
the  house  of  Eli  of  the  high-priesthood ;  thus  shut 
ting  out  all  repentance  or  change  of  purpose.  The 
sin  as  it  respected  office  was  '  unto  death.'  In  the 
instance  of  the  Messiah,  again,  the  oath  is  interposed 
which  bars  all  possibility  of  change,  installing  Him 
iii  His  office  of  High  Priest  '  for  ever.' 

Thus  we  are  instructed  by  the  historical  pre 
cedents  of  the  Hebrew  people  in  the  paramount 
glory  of  the  Messiah's  priesthood, — standing  abso 
lutely  alone  in  its  self-sufficiency, — and  in  the 

P 


226  MELCHISEDEC. 

CHAP.  xx.  divine  complacency  in  Him  as  the  Son  and  the 
Heb.vii.i-2i.  Redeemer  of  the  world.  l  For  those  priests  were 
made  without  an  oath ;  but  this  with  an  oath  by 
Him  that  said  unto  Him,  The  Lord  sware,  and  will 
not  repent,  Thou  art  a  priest  for  ever  after  the 
order  of  Melchisedec.' 


CHAPTER  XXI. 

UNITY  AND  FINALITY  OF  CHRIST'S  PRIESTHOOD. 
HEB.  vii.  22-28. 

VERSE  22 :  c  By  so  much  was  Jesus  made  a  surety  Comparison  in 
of  a  better  testament/     The  phrase  <  by  so  much  '  Sanie^ 
seems  correlative  with  ver.  20,  '  and  inasmuch  as ; '  pnesth°0(L 
if  it  does  not  rather  include  the  entire  enumeration 
of  foregoing  particulars  touching  the  superiority 
of  the  Messiah's  priesthood.     Should  it,  however, 
be  limited  to  the  '  oath '  of  ver.  20,  then  it  con 
tains  an  implied  argument  in  favour  of  the  excel 
lency  of  the  New  Testament  in  comparison  of  the 
Old,  grounded  on  the  excellency  of  its  priesthood. 
The  priesthood  in  both  cases  is  to  be  regarded  as 
the  administrative  faculty  of  the  covenants,  which 
are  therefore  to  be  estimated  according  to  their  re 
spective  priesthoods :  these  stand  to  the  covenants 
in  the  relation  of  means  to  an  end. 

The  word  rendered  here  '  testament '  should  be  Covenant  the 

true  render- 
COVenant,  the  rendering  of  ctaOrj/cij  by  testament  ing,  save  in 

being   entirely  unauthorized,    except   in  the   one  i7.ap' 
instance  of  chapter  ix.  16,  17.1     A  covenant  is  a 
contract  to  which  two  or  more  parties  are  necessary; 
it  contains  stipulations,  proposes  advantages,  and 
is  presumed  to  be  legally  ratified.     This  general 

1  See  Chap.  xxix. 


228 


UNITY  AND  FINALITY  OP  CHRIST'S  PRIESTHOOD. 


CHAP.  XXI. 

Heb.vii.22-28. 


The  double 
nature  of 
Christ  quali 
fies  Him  to 
be  the  surety 
of  this  Cove 
nant. 


Offices  of  the 
Priesthood 
one;  persons 
filling  it 
many. 


definition  suits  both  the  word  and  the  thing  as 
found  in  the  Scriptures  ;  but  it  does  not  agree  with 
testament,  which  is  merely  a  legal  form  of  bequest, 
as  will  appear  from  the  reference  just  quoted.  The 
surety  or  sponsor  of  the  covenant  is  the  person 
supposed  to  represent  the  contracting  parties,  and 
to  administer  its  provisions  and  secure  its  objects. 
Surety  or  sponsor,  therefore,  may  well  be  rendered 
by  the  word  trustee,  i.e.  the  person  who  guarantees 
the  execution  of  a  covenant  or  contract,  and  who 
is  supposed  to  have  adequate  motives  for  thus  in 
teresting  himself  in  the  performance  of  it.  And  to 
whom  may  such  a  sponsorship  appertain  but  to 
Jesus  the  Redeemer  of  men,  who,  as  conditional 
to  this  great  undertaking,  represents  both  the 
divine  and  human  natures  in  His  own  Person? 
Hence  His  trusteeship  is  referred  back  to  the  very 
constitution  of  His  own  Person,  and  to  the  great 
redemptional  acts  presupposed  by  the  existence  of 
this  covenant.  He  in  whom  the  covenant  originates 
must  needs  be  invested  with  its  entire  administra 
tion,  and  as  being  the  Alpha  must  also  be  the 
Omega,  the  beginning  and  the  end. 

Yerse  23:  'And  they  truly  were  many  priests, 
because  they  were  not  suffered  to  continue  by 
reason  of  death;'  i.e.  unity  was  contained  in  multi 
plicity  ;  time  was,  as  it  were,  bridged  over  by  the 
almost  countless  arches  of  a  personal  priesthood — 
all  crumbled  in  the  rear,  one  only  momentarily 
entire,  as  the  office  passed  onward  to  another; 
it  was  bound  down  to  the  nature,  and  was  pro 
portionately  feeble  and  imperfect ;  the  pontiff,  not 
privileged  as  to  life  beyond  the  meanest  of  his 
congregation,  seemed  to  derive  but  little  glory  from 


UNITY  AND  FINALITY  OP  CHRIST'S  PRIESTHOOD.  229 

his  office.  Robed  for  the  last  time,  he  presented  CHAP.  xxi. 
his  death-sacrifice,  and  passing  no  more  within  Heb.vii.  22-28. 
the  veil  with  his  fragrant  censer,  but,  as  a  spirit 
unclothed,  beyond  the  veil  of  the  visible,  he  was 
gathered  to  his  people.  Such  is  the  law  of  all 
merely  human  office,  embracing  kings  and  priests 
alike,  princes,  officers  of  state,  and  pillars  of  the 
Church, — all  bow  down  in  turn  to  the  dust ;  and 
by  the  law  of  death  and  re-investiture  the  world  at 
once  recedes  and  opens,  and  the  shadows  of  the 
past  are  ever  projected  by  the  .day-spring  of  the 
future. 

Verse  24  :  '  But  this  man,  because  He  continueth  Ever-living 
ever,  hath  an  unchangeable  priesthood.'  'But  this 
man,'  or  rather  this  High  Priest,  .  .  .  <  hath  an 
unchangeable  priesthood.'  Unchangeable  appears  office- 
not  to  be  the  true  rendering,  but  untraditive  or  self- 
contained  ;  for,  as  the  priesthood  here  is  made  com 
mensurate  with  the  life  of  the  priest,  it  is  plainly 
not  the  character  of  the  office  as  changeable  or  un 
changeable  in  itself  which  is  intended  by  aTrapafBarov, 
but  the  relation  of  the  office  to  the  person  hold 
ing  it,  excluding  from  it  a  successor  or  a  series  of 
successors.  The  office  belongs  to  One  Person  only, 
on  the  ground  of  His  ever-living  nature.  There  is 
but  one  living,  changeless,  High  Priest  of  man,  who, 
together  with  all  personal  perfections  and  as  their 
true  correlatives,  holds  all  prerogatives  which  can 
by  possibility  fall  within  the  sphere  of  priesthood; 
and  is  thus,  in  Himself,  such  an  infinite  positive 
of  personal  and  official  life,  as  to  render  priesthood 
in  every  other  form  or  direction,  the  negative  anti- 
strophe  of  HIMSELF. 

Yerse  25 :  '  Wherefore  He  is  able  also  to  save 


230  UNITY  AND  FINALITY  OF  CHRIST'S  PRIESTHOOD. 

CHAP.  xxi.  them  to  the  uttermost  that  come  unto  God  by 
Heb.vii.  22-28.  Him,  seeing  He  ever  liveth  to  make  intercession 
Evangelical  for  them.'  This  verse  is  of  vast  importance  as  re- 
SbSed  by  vealing  great  evangelical  positions.  (1.)  The  in 
timate  relation  between  the  priesthood  of  Christ,  as 
an  administrative  ordinance,  and  access  to  God; 
that,  in  fact,  this  relation  is  absolute  and  insepar 
able.  (2.)  That  this  relation  must  be  recognised, 
or  there  is  no  approach  to  God  possible  to  man,  i.e. 
in  the  sense  of  acceptableness,  grace,  and  fellow 
ship.  In  order  to  this,  the  evangelical  doctrine 
must  be  fully  held,  and  faith,  in  the  sense  of  per 
sonal  trust  in  the  ever-living  High  Priest,  be  an 
explicit  and  unreserved  exercise  of  the  worshipper. 
(3.)  The  connection  between  intercession  on  the 
part  of  Christ  and  His  power  to  bestow  Salvation 
is  made  direct,  as  that  of  cause  and  effect. 

c  Salvation,'  here  ascribed  to  the  priestly  inter 
position  of  Christ,  is  declared  to  be  t  to  the  utter 
most,'  which  may  be  either  understood  as  the  result 
of  a  comparison  between  the  law  and  the  gospel, 
or  of  a  comparison  between  the  degrees  of  salva 
tion  appertaining  to  the  gospel  itself.  In  one  or 
both  of  these  senses  it  may  be  understood;  i.e. 
this  salvation  is  either  an  ultimate  thing,  merely 
prefaced  and  prefigured  by  the  Law,  or  it  is  ulti 
mate  in  the  sense  of  completeness,  something  to 
which  there  can  be  no  addition  made  nor  sequel 
possible  ;  it  is  absolute  ;  it  is  eternal.  The  con- 
christ's  inter-  nection  between  the  perpetuity  of  intercession  and 

cession  not  A       A 

carried  be-       the  fulness  of  this  salvation  shows  that  the  latter 
therefore  sal-  '  is  not  to  be  understood  of  a  future,  but  of  a  present 


>  tlie  direct  fruit  °f  C0ming  '  Unt°  G°d  bJ  Him«' 

As  the  office  of  intercession  is  not  carried  beyond 


UNITY  AND  FINALITY  OF  CHRIST'S  PKIESTHOOD.  231 

the  present  life,  so  the  effect  of  that  intercession  is  CHAP.  XXL 
supposed  to  be  contemporary  as  well  as  commen-  Heb.vii. 22-28. 
surate  with  it.  In  fact,  the  completeness  of  future 
salvation  is  made  the  issue  of  a  present  salvation — a 
truth  of  the  highest  importance  to  Christian  disciples, 
revealing  the  i  length  and  depth  and  breadth  and 
height '  of  the  evangelical  grace,  and  its  immeasur 
able  superiority  over  antecedent  dispensations,  or, 
indeed,  over  any  other,  in  the  nature  of  things 
possible.  Intercession  is  here  to  be  understood  of 
that  act  of  the  priesthood  which,  as  grounded  on 
an  Atonement  previously  offered,  is  supposed  to 
present  formally  the  claims  of  that  Atonement  to 
God  on  behalf  of  those  that  come  to  Him,  and  to 
ensure  to  them  those  peculiar  forms  of  blessing 
included  in  the  term  Salvation.  These  are  not 
placed  on  the  ground  of  man's  need,  but  of  Christ's 
merits  preferred  by  Himself  to  God,  and  by  a 
covenanted  sovereignty  made  sure  through  this 
medium  to  every  true  seeker. 

4  For  such  an  High  Priest  became  us,  who  is  Ver.  26  the 

&  .  relation  of  the 

holy,  harmless,  undenled,   separate  Irom  sinners,  prerogatives 
and  made  higher  than  the  heavens.'  priest  to*g 

A  necessary  relation  is  here  affirmed  between  humanity, 
the  prerogatives  of  this  High  Priest  and  the  range 
of  human  nature  and  necessity;  i.e.  the  results 
comprised  in  the  word  '  salvation '  are  impossi 
bilities,  except  on  these  conditions.  No  such  pro 
vision  is  conceivable  as  falling  within  the  sphere 
of  moral  law,  or  the  current  ordinances  of  divine 
government.  Restoration  is  not  included  in  crea 
tion  as  its  counterpart ;  it  is  exceptional,  and,  as  it 
would  seem,  unique.  Nor  yet  under  a  dispensation 
of  grace,  founded  on  mediation  (as  was  the  law), 


232 


UNITY  AND  FINALITY  OF  CHRIST'S  PRIESTHOOD. 


CHAP.  XXI. 
Heb.vii.  22-28. 


Christ's 
Priesthood  the 
means  by 
which  the 
ends  of  grace 
are  attained. 


All  earthly 

conditions 

unbefitting 

the  glory  of 

Christ's 

Priesthood. 


are  the  blessings  of  Christianity  possible,  at  least 
in  any  approximate  measure.  The  Law  gave  only 
anticipations,  prefigurations,  and  ordinances,  which 
can  never  take  the  place  of  the  Redeemer's  priestly 
administration.  Hence  the  force  of  the  expression, 
4  Such  an  High  Priest  became  us; '  the  becomingness 
or  fitness  here  mentioned  referring  to  this  very 
point,  viz.  the  administrative  suitableness  of  Christ's 
priesthood  to  the  purposes  of  redeeming  grace. 

He  is  '  holy,'  not  in  an  official,  but  in  a  personal 
sense;  not  by  imputation,  but  by  absolute  perfec 
tion.  He  is  '  harmless,'  to  be  understood  probably 
in  the  sense  of  faultless — a  tacit  reference  to  the 
absence  of  all  personal  blemishes  in  the  high  priest 
so  peremptorily  demanded  by  the  law.  '  Undefiled ' 
may  signify  that  in  Him  there  were  no  corruptions 
to  be  removed  by  the  prescribed  offices  of  the  law, 
as  in  the  case  of  high  priests  generally ;  but  that 
purity  belonged  to  His  very  nature,  and  that 
throughout  the  course  of  His  earthly  history  this 
original  purity  was  never  sullied,  but,  on  the  con 
trary,  was  tested  and  perfected.  4  Separate  from 
sinners '  means  that  Christ  was,  in  a  moral  sense, 
a  singular  phenomenon,  the  only  human  being 
who  bore  to  surrounding  men  no  affinity  what 
ever,  save  the  ties  of  nature;  as  appearing  to 
represent  and  redeem  a  world  of  transgressors,  He 
was  an  absolute  antithesis,  and  must  needs  be  so 
for  this  very  end. 

'  And  made  higher  than  the  heavens.'  This  last 
phrase  contains  the  climax  of  His  dignity.  We 
may  understand  it  as  meaning  the  powers  of  the 
heavens  (i.e.  all  the  hosts  of  angels  and  glorified 
men),  or,  we  may  take  it  literally,  that  He  is 


UNITY  AND  FINALITY  OF  CHRIST'S  PRIESTHOOD.  233 

'  made  higher  than  the  heavens  '  (in  the  same  sense  CHAP.  XXL 
as  these  are  God's  throne),  and  that  'all  things  are  Heb.vii.  22-28. 
put  under  His  feet.'  The  heavens  are  but  the 
sphere  of  His  ministry,  '  the  true  tabernacle  which 
the  Lord  pitched  and  not  man;'  or,  according  to 
the  expression  in  the  Ephesians,  '  He  ascended  far 
above  all  heavens,  that  He  might  fill  all  things.' 
Understood  in  this  latter  sense,  it  is  an  intimation 
•;hat  all  earthly  conditions  are  unbefitting  the 
essential  glory  of  such  a  priesthood,  and  that  the 
»eat  of  the  Divine  Majesty  alone  is  worthy  of  His 
personal  and  official  presence  as  the  God-man  and 
'  the  Author  of  eternal  salvation.' 

Ver.  27.  l  Who  needeth  not  daily,  as  those  high 
priests,  to  offer  up  sacrifice,  first  for  His  own  sins, 
and  then  for  the  people's  :  for  this  He  did  once, 
when  He  offered  up  Himself.' 

This   verse   very  specially  places  Christ's  emi-  Typical  atone- 
nency  in  the  fact  that  His  sacrifice  once  offered  ^petition0;  V° 


on  earth  was  in  its  very  nature  infinite,  and  pre- 
eluded  all  possibility  of  repetition.  Earthly  high 
priests  were  bound  to  this  lower  sphere  of  ministry, 
because,  as  matter  of  fact,  they  were  incapable  of 
offering  any  real  atonement  for  sin,  and  because 
typical  atonement  demanded  a  'system  of  repetition. 
These  repetitions  were  in  place  in  a  typical  system  ; 
but  a  true  atonement  is  of  necessity  singular,  and  would 
be  disproven  were  it  ever  to  be  repeated.  The  sacrifices 
of  the  earthly  priesthood  included  both  the  offerer 
himself,  as  being  a  sinner,  and  those  whom  he 
represented,  as  being  sinners  also.  But  the  anti-  Last  clause  of 
thesis  here  expressed  in  the  words,  '  for  this  He 
did  once,  when  He  offered  up  Himself,'  is  neces- 
sarily  limited  to  the  latter  clause  of  this  twofold  Christ 


234  UNITY  AND  FINALITY  OF  CHRIST'S  PRIESTHOOD. 

CHARJUCI.  antecedent:  i.e.  He  offered  up  Himself  for  the 
Heb.vii. 22-28.  people's  sins,  not  for  His  own.  Had  it  been  other 
wise,  He  could  not  have  atoned  by  the  offering  up 
of  Himself,  since  He  would  have  been  disqualified 
had  He  not  been  holy,  harmless,  and  undefiled. 
Further,  the  law  of  the  type  did  not  require  the 
high  priest  to  immolate  himself  for  his  own  sins 
and  the  sins  of  the  people,  but  to  offer  a  substitute 
for  both  in  animals  to  whom  no  sin  could  be  im 
puted,  and  which,  besides  this,  were  required  to  be 
4  without  blemish,'  as  representatives  of  the  essen 
tial  holiness  of  the  Atonement. 

Yer.  28.   '  For  the  law  maketh  men  high  priests 

which  have  infirmity ;  but  the  word  of  the  oath, 

which  was  since  the  law,  maketh  the  Son,  who  is 

consecrated  for  evermore.' 

imperfections        The  imperfection  ascribed  to  the  Levitical  Priest- 

of  the  Leviti-  .        * 

cai  Priests  hood  is  the  reason,  made  emphatic  by  frequent 
repeated  sacri-  assertions,  for  its  abolition.  More  specifically,  how 
ever,  it  is  here  introduced  as  the  reason  why  the 
high  priests  under  the  law  were  required  to  offer 
up  daily  sacrifices  on  their  own  account  as  well  as 
on  account  of  the  people.  The  acknowledgment 
of  sin  was  thus  made  to  begin  with  the  priesthood 
itself;  because  the  priesthood  was  included  in  the 
general  humanity  of  the  nation  (perhaps  neither 
better  nor  worse  on  account  of  office),  and  also 
because,  without  such  acknowledgment,  the  priest 
hood,  officially  considered,  would  have  been  dis 
qualified  for  the  performance  of  acts  on  behalf  of 
others.  Atonement  must  begin  with  the  priest, 
and  from  the  priest  extend  itself  to  the  people. 
Holiness  Official,  as  distinguished  from  personal  holiness, 

never  inherent  .,  .  .       ,       . ,     .  „    . .  1P 

in  office.          was  a  thing  unrecognised ;   it  is  a  fiction  in  itself, 


UNITY  AND  FINALITY  OF  CHRIST'S  PRIESTHOOD.  235 

and   was    entirely   disallowed   by   the    ordinance   CHAP.  xxi. 
which  compelled  the  priest  first  to  acknowledge  Heb.vii. 22-28. 
"iis  own  sins  and  the  sins  of  his  house,  as  to  be  re 
moved  only  by  an  atonement  strictly  personal  in  its 
application.     Thence  issued  the  official  fitness,  on 
which  so  much  depended,  both  as  respected  indi 
vidual  worshippers  and  the  nation  at  large. 

By  '  infirmity '  we  are  to  understand  moral 
faults,  anomalies,  as  much  incident  to  a  priest  as 
to  any  of  the  people  whom  he  represented.  It  is 
probable,  nay  historically  certain,  that  the  High 
Priests  were  not  always  in  personal  character  what 
their  office  required.  But  while  bad  men  were  as 
.such  unacceptable  to  God,  they  were  not  officially 
disqualified,  so  long  as  they  observed  the  ordinance 
of  the  law  respecting  atonement,  though  this  was 
altogether  a  distinct  matter  from  the  question  of 
their  own  personal  salvation ;  office  did  not  carry 
it,  but  rather  enhanced  the  responsibility  of  the 
man  before  Him  who  is  no  respecter  of  persons. 
These  contingencies  as  to  character  were  insepar 
able  from  the  legal  constitution  of  the  priesthood, 
showing  how  imperfect  the  law  itself  was,  and  that 
it  could  never  rise  above  its  administration,  which, 
as  a  merely  human  thing,  was  infinitely  distant 
from  the  administration  of  a  Divine  Priesthood. 

This  is  one  of  the  two  capital  distinctions  be-  The  law  ad- 
tween  the  law  and  the  gospel:   'The  word  of  the 
oath,  which  was  since  the  law,  maketh  the  Son, 
who  is  consecrated  for  evermore.'     The  emphasis  divine  priest. 
of  the  contrast  between  the  priests  who  '  have  in 
firmity  '  and  the  Son,  lies  in  the  infinite  dignity  of 
His  person  as  human  and  divine.     As  such  He 
answers  to  the  lofty  description  of  the  previous 


236  UNITY  AND  FINALITY  OF  CHRIST'S  PRIESTHOOD. 

CHAP.  XXL  verses  :  '  holy,  harmless,  separate  from  sinners, 
Heb,viL22-28.  and  made  higher  than  the  heavens.'  He  perfectly 
represents  the  world  of  man,  and  brings  with  Him 
to  the  sphere  of  His  ministry  in  the  heavens  the 
entire  summary  of  His  earthly  history,  and  espe 
cially  the.  virtue  of  an  all-perfect  sacrifice.  Thus 
this  chapter  ends  where  the  first  chapter  begins, 
in  the  emphatic  assertion  of  the  supremacy  of  the 
Son  over  every  minister  and  ministry  of  God, 
whether  human  or  angelic,  and  with  this  the 
absolute  unchangeableness  of  the  priestly  office  : 
4  He  is  consecrated  for  evermore.' 

The  two  im-         To  sum  up  :  the  sixth  chapter  sets  down  two 
things  of  the    immutable  things  as  appertaining  to  the  gospel  in 


contradistinction  to  the  law,  viz.  (1)  '  the  promise,' 
Gen'xxii  16  an(^  00  '^6  oa^h'  to  Abraham.  This  seventh  chap- 
Chap.  yii.  adds  ter  adds  a  third,  for  we  have  here  '  the  word  of 

a  third,  the 

word  of  the      the  oath  which  was  since  the  law.     If  the  two 

4.  former  may  be  construed  of  the  Evangelical  Cove 

nant  and  its  provisions,  the  latter  may  be  construed 

*  Thou  art  a     as  its  administrative  guarantee.      The   '  word  of 

priest  for  ever 

after  the  order  the   oath     is   the  passage   so    frequently   quoted 

of  Melchi-  /T^  A\         rm  L  ,  i        i          i  i 

sedec.'  ("&•  ex.  4).     ihe  phrase     since  the  law    may  be 

understood,  chronologically,  as  bearing  date  from 
David's  day,  more  than  400  years  after  the  age  of 
Moses.  Or  it  may  be  understood  of  the  prophetic 
testimony  to  be  fulfilled  in  the  gospel  age,  when 
the  law  had  become  virtually  defunct,  and  was 
historically  to  be  recorded  as  among  the  things  of 
the  past. 

To  these  three  immutable  things  of  the  gospel  a 
fourth  may  be  added  from  Psalm  Ixxxix.  3,  4  :  '  I  have 
made  a  covenant  with  my  chosen,  I  have  sworn 
unto  David  my  servant,  thy  seed  will  I  establish 


UNITY  AND  FINALITY  OF  CHRIST'S  PRIESTHOOD.  237 

for  ever,  and  build  up  thy  throne  to  all  generations.'  CHAP.  xxi. 
This  is  the  i  oath  unto  David '  by  which  the  throne  Heb.^2-28. 
of  Christ  is  built  up  for  evermore,  and  God's  faith-  The  two  first 

.  constitute  the 

j  ulness  established  in  the  very  heavens.     Taking  Covenant,  the 
these  together,  the  two  former  ensure  the  immuta-  guarantee  of 
bility  of  the  covenant,  the  two  latter  the  mode 
of  its  administration.     Both  the  covenant  and  its 
administration  are   taken   out   of  the    sphere   of 
temporal  things,  placed  beyond  the  range  of  vicis 
situde,   and  in   fact  embodied   in   the  order  and 
stability  of  the  spiritual  world.     This  is  '  the  king 
dom  which  cannot  be  moved.' 


CHAPTER   XXII. 


*  Sum,'  doc 
trines  already 
established 
from  which 
deductions 
are  to  be 
drawn. 


CHRIST  S  UNSEEN  MINISTRY. 
HEB.  viii.- 1-6. 

c  Now  of  the  things  which  we  have  spoken  this  is 
the  sum :  We  have  such  an  High  Priest,  who  is  set 
on  the  right  hand  of  the  throne  of  the  Majesty  in 
the  heavens.' 

The  word  Ke$d\aiov,  rendered  'sum,'  may  signify 
the  total  of  an  account,  here  figuratively  applied 
to  the  main  doctrine  established  by  an  argument 
or  discourse.  If  it  be  used  in  the  sense  of  '  head 
or  chief,'  the  meaning  is  well-nigh  the  same,  but  it 
seems  less  pertinent  and  forcible,  relatively  to  the 
previous  tenor  of  the  Epistle.  The  word  thus 
rendered  refers  to  something  already  fully  estab 
lished,  and  of  the  first  importance;  it  also  pre- 
intimates  further  discussions  to  be  drawn  out  of 
it.  The  doctrines  dignified  as  '  the  sum '  of  the 
Epistle  are  thus  set  down :  i  We  have  such  an  High 
Priest,  who  is  set  on  the  right  hand  of  the  throne 
of  the  Majesty  in  the  heavens/  The  expression 
4  such  an  High  Priest '  is  meant  to  be  superlative ; 
that  He  is  beyond  comparison,  wonderful,  a  solitary 
example  of  personal  and  official  glory;  in  Him 
supreme  sovereignty  and  priesthood  combine,  for 
'  He  is  set  on  the  right  hand  of  the  throne  of  the 
Majesty  in  the  heavens.' 


CHRIST'S  UNSEEN  MINISTRY.  239 

According  to  this  statement,  the  Author  of  the  CHAP.  xxn. 
New  Testament  is  a  veritable  person,  of  ineffable  Heb.  viii.  1-6. 
attributes,  intermediate  between  the  Majesty  in  Christ  a  veri- 
the  heavens  and  the  dwellers  upon  earth.    His  rule  standing80 
is   the   complement   of  His   history,   human  and  JjJSIjB?0^ 
divine.     His   offices  for   man   qualify   the   entire 
estate  of  the  world.  According  to  this  doctrine,  man 
has  no  direct  relations  with  God  at  all ;  these  are 
entirely  between  God  and  man's  Representative. 
Mere  Theistic  doctrines  are,  therefore,  ideas  which  Theism  appro- 
do  not  represent  realities;  they  are  a  programme  of  Fnnocencef t 
nature  in  its  normal  state,  in  which  the  govern 
ment  is  not  priestly,  because  the  nature  of  man 
is   not   sinful;    the  Lawgiver  is  purely  righteous 
without  indulgence,  because  the  subject  is  simply 
bounclen  to  duty.    This  great  vision  of  an  enthroned 
High   Priest  of  universal  man  is  pregnant  with 
intimations  of  the  greatness  of  humanity,  since  it 
alone  is  represented  by  the  Son,  and  that  alone  on 
the  ground  of  an  atonement,  and  for  the  purpose 
of  salvation. 

Yerse  2.  '  A  minister  of  the  sanctuary '  should  Holy  things. 
rather  be  rendered,  as  in  the  margin,  a  minister  i  of 
holy  things,' or  4  things  pertaining  unto  God,'  i.e. 
things  which  directly  ground  themselves  on  the 
holiness  of  the  divine  nature,  the  inviolability  of 
law.  These  '  holy  things '  include  the  imputation 
by  the  High  Priest  of  the  virtue  of  His  own  sacrifice, 
His  intercession  for  persons  and  congregations,  the 
behests  of  forgiveness,  the  inward  sanctification  of 
human  nature,  and  the  consequent  acceptance  of 
persons  as  saints,  together  with  their  acts  and 
offices  as  the  outcome  of  a  living  piety ;  in  short, 
the  principles  of  all  true  Christianity  are  i  holy 


240 


CHRIST'S  UNSEEN  MINISTRY. 


CHAP.  XXII. 
Heb.  viii.  1-6. 


Christianity 
concerned 
with  every 
sphere  of  the 
spiritual 
world. 


Minister  a 
term  of 
office. 


Ministry  in 
Scripture  not 
necessarily 
visible. 


Minister 
marks  the 
human  side  of 
the  Son's 
office. 


things/  mysteries  of  God  arising  out  of  the  highest 
sanctuary  of  the  heavens,  and  thence  flowing  into 
human  bosoms  as  a  fountain  of  living  waters. 

The  ideas  of  gift  and  recipiency,  of  the  hidden 
and  the  manifested,  of  the  heavenly  and  the 
earthly,  of  the  divine  and  the  human,  are  insepar 
able  New  Testament  correlatives.  Christianity 
does  in  fact  represent  the  profoundest  mysteries  of 
being;  it  ranges  by  its  own  laws  throughout  the 
spiritual  world,  much  as  the  flower,  the  plant,  and 
the  animal,  however  localized,  range  by  the  laws 
which  they  presuppose,  throughout  the  entire 
material  system  to  which  they  belong. 

The  word  i  minister '  here  employed  to  signify 
the  office  of  the  High  Priest,  or  rather  the  High 
Priest  on  duty,  means  much  the  same  as  l  a  ser 
vant,'  or  '  a  functionary  in  charge.'  It  therefore 
must  not  be  pressed  too  far,  and  made  to  signify 
a  mere  public  functionary,  since  the  High  Priest 
under  the  law  was  something  far  grander  than  this; 
while  applied  to  our  Lord,  as  removed  from  earth 
to  the  l  tabernacle  of  the  heavens,'  it  is  obviously 
irrelevant.  His  appointment  is  neither  of  man  nor 
among  men,  but  of  God,  and  in  the  heavens.  The 
same  term  is  applied  to  the  ministry  of  angels, 
which  shows  that  the  idea  of  publicity  is  irrele 
vant  to  the  scriptural  use  of  the  word;  since  angelic 
ministry  is  entirely  secret,  and  in  no  sense-  public, 
save  in  so  far  as  all  service  radiates  beyond  the 
person  of  the  servant.  Here,  again,  we  mark  the 
human  side  of  the  Son's  office,  as  we  have  before 
the  human  side  of  the  Son's  Person;  for  \eirovpy6s 
is  a  term  applicable  to  the  office  of  a  creature, 
though  in  the  most  exalted  form,  and  divine  only 


CHRIST'S  UNSEEN  MINISTRY.  241 

by  the  imputation  of  the  attributes  of  the  supreme  CHAP.  xxn. 
nature  to  the  requirements  of  this  service.     Still  Heb.TiiTi-6. 
it  is  a  service,  or  it  could  not  be  humanly  typified 
or   represented   in   any   language   not    absolutely 
appropriate  to  Godhead. 

4  The  true  tabernacle,  which  the  Lord  pitched,  Primitive  in- 

.  IP  i  stitutions  of 

£nd  not  man.  It  is  worthy  ol  remark  that  the  the  law  alone 
primitive  institutions  of  the  Law  are  here  alone  thSpistie1." 
recognised,  and  that  the  author  had  deeply  studied, 
and  was  thoroughly  imbued  with,  the  Books  of 
Exodus  and  Leviticus.  Indeed,  this  Epistle  could 
not  have  been  written  but  by  a  master  of  sacred 
lore,  as  well  as  one  inspired  by  the  Holy  Ghost  to 
bring  out  its  great  New  Testament  counterpart. 
He  evidently  placed  himself  sub  initio  rerum,  so  as 
to  take  in  an  exact  and  vivid  representation  of  the 
great  framework  of  the  Jewish  polity  in  the  wilder 
ness. 

After  the  law  given  from  the  mount,  the  taber-  The  Taber 
nacle,  called  c  the  tabernacle  of  witness,'  or  '  the 
tabernacle  of  the  congregation,'  was  the  most  strik 
ing  phenomenon  of  that  transition  period,  whether 
we  consider  the  purposes  it  was  meant  to  serve, 
the  costliness  of  its  materials,  the  exquisiteness  of 
its  workmanship,  or,  above  all,  the  presence  of 
God's  glory  dwelling  in  and  sanctifying  it.  Its 
three  compartments,  perfectly  distinct  and  diffe 
rently  designated,  made  up  a  oneness  of  typical 
ideal  and  of  adaptation  to  the  divine  service — a 
service  entirely  prescriptional  and  augustly  cere 
monial,  yet  full  of  suggestion  to  the  spiritual  mind. 
Further,  there  was  added  the  awful  sacredness 
of  the  presence-chamber  of  the  King  Eternal, 
entrance  into  which,  according  to  an  invariable 

Q 


242 


CHRIST'S  UNSEEN  MINISTRY. 


CHAP.  XXII. 
Heb.  viii.  1-6. 


The  « true 
tabernacle ' 
(1)  an  original 
as  dis 
tinguished 
from  a  copy. 


(2)  A  reality 
as  dis 
tinguished 
from  a  repre 
sentation. 


(3)  A  some 
thing  that 
cannot  be 
adequately 
represented. 


ordinance,  was  the  annual  privilege  of  the  High 
Priest  alone.  The  first  and  second  courts  only 
were  always  accessible,  yet  it  was  not  exclusively 
priestly,  for  it  was  called  '  the  Tabernacle  of  the 
Congregation.' 

'The  true  tabernacle/  however,  represented  by 
this  miniature  andmoveable  fabric,  and  subsequently 
by  the  temple,  is  one  of  inconceivable  grandeur, 
for  its  site  is  in  the  heavens,  and  its  workmanship 
is  God's.  It  is  called  the  'true  tabernacle,'  i.e. 
in  the  sense  of  an  original,  represented  by  a  copy 
indescribably  mean  as  compared  with  itself,  and  yet 
in  certain  respects  a  truthful  rudiment.  This  is 
the  first  sense  of  the  word  '  true  '  in  this  connec 
tion  :  the  second  is  closely  kindred  to  it;  it  signifies 
something  real  as  distinguished  from  a  mere  picture 
or  representation  which  cannot  embody  the  pro 
perties  of  the  thing  represented.  The  last  is,  per 
haps,  the  radical  signification  of  the  word  '  true  ' 
in  this  place.  Or  it  signifies  what  is  consequent 
upon  both  these — transcendent  excellency;  some 
thing  which  fails  to  be  adequately  represented  by 
any  earthly  symbol,  because  shrouded  in  the  mys 
tery  of  a  higher  world.  This  is  implied  in  the 
closing  antithesis  of  the  verse,  '  which  the  Lord 
pitched,  and  not  man;'  an  intimation  that  as  all 
God's  works  immeasurably  transcend  those  of  His 
creatures,  so  this  '  Tabernacle,'  appropriated  to  the 
ministry  of  Christ,  exhibits  this  distinction  in  its) 
fulness,  making  it  the  wonder  of  the  very  heavens.] 

Probably  our  Lord  intends  the  same  thing  under 
that  noble  phrase,  '  In  my  Father's  house  are 
many  mansions.'  Undoubtedly  this  tabernacle 
which  'the  Lord  pitched'  supplies  the  imagery  of 


CHRIST'S  UNSEEN  MINISTRY.  243 

the  Apocalypse  :  c  A  door  was  opened  to  John  in  CHAP.  xxn. 
heaven,'  and,  as  the  New  Testament  seer,  he  became  Heb.  vm.  1-6. 
enwrapped  in  the  visions  of  the  true  tabernacle.  The '  true  ^ 
The  presiding  idea  of  the  Apocalypse  throughout  is  represented 
that  of  a  sanctuary  or  tabernacle  opened,  and  its  ^^  Apoc 
wonders  made  to  pass  in  succession  before  the  eye 
of  the  beloved  disciple, — perhaps  the  only  human 
being  who,  without  tasting  death,  was  ever  pri 
vileged  with  such  an  insight.  The  very  figure  of 
the  Tabernacle,  taken  in  connection  with  the  scenes 
of  the  Apocalypse,  strikingly  intimates  what  maybe 
called  an  evangelical  heaven.  Other  heavens  may  The  evangeii- 
stand  related  to  it,  and  form  a  part  of  its  '  many 
mansions,'  but  there  is,  nevertheless,  a  Christian 
heaven,  literally  and  properly  such,  i.e.  some  sphere 
of  the  unseen  which  answers  to  the  tabernacle  type; 
If  it  be  not  so,  the  teaching  here  is  vague  and  un 
satisfactory.  Place  there  is;  revelations  there  are 
of  the  divine  majesty  and  glory,  ministering  spirits, 
disembodied  saints,  and,  above  all,  the  Human  Per 
son  of  the  Son.  There  is  a  throne  or  seat  of  sove 
reignty;  there  is  collective  worship — the  deathless 
breathing  of  song  and  adoration,  perhaps  refined 
forms  and  arrangements  of  materialism — the  very 
gems  of  things ;  but  pre-eminently  there  stands  the 
great  High  Priest  of  the  world,  and  His  throne  is  a 
supreme  reality.  There  the  world  is  represented 
in  Him  alone,  and  His  offices,  whether  of  interces 
sion  and  salvation,  or  of  justice  and  retribution,  are 
all -pervading  things,  absorbing  every  order  and 
capacity  of  mind,  and  for  ever  revealing  the  last 
light  and  issues  of  creature  existence. 

Yerse  3  :   '  For  every  high  priest  is  ordained  to  ^sfi^ 
offer  gifts  and  sacrifices.'     This  is  put  as  a  reason  'holy  things.' 


244 


CHRIST'S  UNSEEN  MINISTRY. 


CHAP.  XXII. 
Heb.  viii.  1-6. 


Cannot  be 

directly 

offered. 


Atonement 
fundamental. 


Its  representa 
tive  principle 
embodied  in 
atonement. 


Typical 
priesthood 
representative 
of  essential 
priesthood. 


Sacrifices,  em 
blems  of 
atonement ; 
gifts,  of  man's 
gratitude  for 
it. 


for  the  statement  of  the  second  verse,  and  therefore 
shows  that  i  minister  of  the  sanctuary '  is  rightly 
rendered  i  minister  of  holy  things/  i.e.  of  gifts  and 
sacrifices,  the  offering  of  which  is  here  made  essen 
tial  to  the  ordinance  of  priesthood.  'Gifts  and 
sacrifices  '  are  the  i  holy  things '  of  the  priesthood, 
things  expressly  separated  from  secular  uses  and 
appropriated  to  the  service  of  God.  The  doctrine 
is,  that  whatever  offerings  men  consecrate  to  God, 
whether  of  their  property,  services,  or  persons,  must 
be  qualified  for  acceptance  by  the  ministry  of 
priesthood ;  they  cannot  be  offered  directly,  because 
sin  must  be  recognised.  Atonement  and  its  offices 
are  fundamental  to  all  the  exercises'and  expressions 
of  individual  or  collective  piety;  and  the  repre 
sentative  principle  upon  which  it  is  founded  is 
embodied  in  the  institution  of  priesthood.  God's 
gifts  and  blessings  travel  downward  to  the  world 
and  to  the  Church  through  the  channel  of  media 
tion,  and  they  return  to  Himself  through  the  same 
medium  —  they  have  accomplished  their  entire 
circuit  of  agency  and  influence  when  this  result  is 
perfected. 

It  is  not  meant  that  we  should  be  taught  here 
that  the  typical  priesthood  rules  the  true  priest 
hood  so  as  to  bring  it  into  literal  conformity  with 
itself,  but  rather,  that  the  typical  priesthood  being 
a  draft  from  the  divine  original,  must  be  a  true  re 
presentation  of  its  essential  verities.  Of  these 
verities,  the  presentation  to  God  of  gifts  and 
sacrifices  was  a  true  emblem.  A  great  world- 
doctrine  was  sketched  out  by  these  local  admini 
strations,  and  one  which  may  be  fitly  described,  in 
the  Psalmist's  language,  as  like  the  circuit  of  the 


CHRIST'S  UNSEEN  MINISTRY.  245 

sun,  rounding  the  very  extremities  of  the  world,  so  CHAP.  xxn. 

jtbat  c  nothing  is  hid  from  the  heat  thereof.'    The  Heb.  vm.  i-e. 

I  necessity,  therefore,  here  affirmed  for  the  offerings  ;  Wherefore  it 

of  Christ,  goes  much  deeper  than  its  conformity  to  that  thfe  man 


tie  law  of  the  typical  priesthood  ;  it'  arises  from  the 
nature  of  priesthood  itself,  and  from  the  will  of  offer-' 
God,  upon  which  priesthood  was  founded.  Sacri 
fices  are  the  representatives  of  man  as  sinful,  but 
atoned  for  and  forgiven  ;  gifts  are  the  spontaneous 
embodiments  of  the  piety  springing  out  of  atone 
ment,  ever  prompt  and  studious  to  find  vents  for 
its  sense  of  obligation. 

In  this  view  our  Lord  may  be  said  to  present  as  Botl1  must 
from  men  '  both  gifts  and  sacrifices  ;  '  the  offerings  holiness  from 
of  contrition  and  the  sacrifices  of  praise,  the  gifts 
of  personal  consecration,  the  best  affections  of  the 
renewed  mind,  the  vows  of  service,  and  the  contri 
butions  of  fortune  —  in  a  word,  whatever  may  testify 
to  the  gratitude  of  man  for  His  redemption,  or  may 
serve  to  express  the  riches  of  divine  grace  in  the 
recovery  of  a  rebel  nature  to  loyalty  and  delight  in 
God.  It  cannot  be  too  much  remembered,  and 
acted  upon,  that  all  individual  and  Church  expres 
sions  of  piety  pass  into  and  through  the  hands  of 
the  great  High  Priest  before  they  can  be  presented 
unto  God.  Of  themselves  they  must  lack  those 
qualities  of  holiness  and  perfection  which  could 
entitle  them  to  any  such  recognition  ;  not  to  add, 
that  as  all  must  originate  in  the  grace  of  redemp 
tion,  so  all  must  be  made  expressly  to  contribute 
to  the  glory  of  the  Redeemer  as  the  High  Priest 
over  the  house  of  God. 

Yerse  4  :  '  For  if  He  were  on  earth,  He  should 
not  be  a  priest,  seeing  that  there  are  priests  that 


246 


CHRIST'S  UNSEEN  MINISTRY. 


Heaven 
necessarily 
the  scene  of 
onr  Lord's 
priesthood. 


CHAP.  xxii.  offer  gifts  according  to  the  law.'  This  verse  does 
Heb.  viii.  i-6.  undoubtedly  recognise  the  existence  of  the  Jewish 
worship  at  the  time  this  Epistle  was  written,  since 
it  is  made,  as  a  fact,  the  basis  of  an  argument  against 
a  contemporary  priesthood  on  earth  in  the  person 
of  Christ.  In  this  point  of  view,  it  is  intended  to 
show  that  the  doctrine  of  our  Lord's  heavenly  priest 
hood  must  be  true,  if  it  were  true  that  He  was  a 
priest  at  all,  which,  it  is  presumed,  had  been  already 
amply  established.  But  this  is  not  the  only  ground 
on  which  the  doctrine  of  priesthood  in  the  heavens 
is  maintained ;  since,  if  it  were,  the  removal  of  the 
typical  system  should  have  made  way  for  the  world- 
priesthood  of  Christ  in  some  visible  form.  The 
truth  is,  that  our  Lord's  priesthood  is  altogether 
incompatible  with  an  earthly  sphere  or  with  visible 
functions.  It  certainly  is  impossible  that  He  should 
repeat  Himself  under  the  old  forms  of  the  Mosaic 
law, — should  symbolize  His  own  sacrifice,  or  within 
any  particular  shrine  lift  up  before  God  the  censer 
of  intercession.  All  this  is  obviously  absurd,  in 
finitely  demeaning  to  His  person  and  office,  cen 
tralizing  His  administration,  and  rendering  neces 
sary  a  chain  of  dependent  functionaries  of  a  priestly 
order,  co-extended  throughout  His  Church,  and 
ramified  through  the  most  distant  nations  of  the 
world.  His  priesthood,  therefore,  must  necessarily 
be  heavenly  to  become  ubiquitous,  and  invisible,  to 
perform  its  profoundest  functions  in  universal 
human  nature.  An  earthly  and  visible  priesthood 
was  competent  only  to  the  duties  of  a  restricted 
sphere,  and  to  the  purposes  of  typical  foreshowing, 
i.e.  to  national  and  preliminary  objects,  not  to 
ultimate  and  world  religion. 


CHRIST'S  UNSEEN  MINISTRY.  247 

Yer.  5.  '  Who  serve  unto  the  example  and  shadow  CHAP.  xxn. 
of  heavenly  things,  as  Moses  was  admonished  of  God  Heb.  vm.  i-e. 
when  he  was  about  to  make  the  tabernacle :  for,  The  priestly 

law  an  earthly 

bee,  saith  He,  that  thou  make  all  things  according  parable  to  be 

.        ,  i  i  ^     ,        ,-t          •       ,1  ?     •         fulfilled  in  the 

io  the  pattern  showed  to  thee  in  the  mount;  i.e.  heavens. 
whose  office  is  in  harmony  with  the  idea  of  a 
typical  institute ;  vTroSely^a,  cr/cla,  both  signifying  a 
representation,  outline,  or  intimation  of  something 
*is  yet  withheld  from  view,  and  to  be  known  only 
by  symbols.  The  priestly  law,  therefore,  was  a 
sort  of  parable,  in  which  one  thing  is  taught  by 
another,  and  the  unknown  is  manifested  by  sensible 
images.  The  reference  here  to  the  pattern  seen  by 
Moses  in  the  mount,  to  which  the  workmanship  of 
the  tabernacle  exactly  answered,  is  a  noble  illus 
tration  of  the  entire  character  of  the  Levitical  in 
stitute.  It  was  a  divine  programme,  set  forth  on 
earth,  of  the  mysteries  of  redemption,  at  that  time 
existing  only  in  the  divine  purpose.  These  mys 
teries  were  finally  to  be  expanded  into  facts  dis 
played  in  the  very  heavens, — henceforth  to  be  no 
more  represented  on  earth  by  the  ancient  types. 

This  doctrine  of  example  and  shadow,  illustrated 
by  reference  to  '  the  pattern '  and  '  the  tabernacle,' 
is  one  of  wide  application.  In  every  procedure  of  The  order  of 
God,  His  thought  ranks  first,  His  work  next,  His 
glory  last.  i  Let  us  make  man  '—this  is  His  thought 
or  pattern ;  i  so  God  made  man  of  the  dust  of  the  sloiT- 
ground' — this  is  His  work;  cso  God  made  man 
after  His  own  image ' — this  is  the  display  of  His 
glory.  So,  in  respect  to  the  tabernacle,  the  thought 
or  pattern  is  first  exhibited ;  then  follows  the  work 
delegated  to  human  genius  and  labour  to  accom 
plish  ;  then  the  consecration,  with  the  resident 


248 


CHRIST'S  UNSEEN  MINISTRY. 


The  same 
order  to  be 
observed  in 
His  admini 
stration  of 
redemption. 


CHAP.  xxii.  display  of  His  glory.  The  same  order  is  traceable 
Heb.  viii.  1-6.  in  the  Incarnation  and  its  results.  The  thought  is 
made  the  one  theme  of  prophecy  from  the  begin 
ning,  exhibiting  the  specialities  of  our  Lord's 
human  character;  then  follows  the  Incarnation 
itself,  the  one  work  of  God  standing,  as  a  divine 
phenomenon,  apart  from  all  others  in  its  moral 
riches  and  in  its  universe  relations.  The  issue  is 
beheld  in  the  official  wonders  of  the  Messiah, — 
His  beneficence,  power,  holiness,  —  His  atoning 
fulness,  and  His  mediatorial  glory. 

We  have  the  same  order  manifest  in  the  admin 
istered  redemption  of  humanity. 

(1.)  We  have  the  thought  or  pattern  of  human 
recovery  :  '  Conformity  to  the  image  of  His  Son.' 

(2.)  We  have  the  work  of  human  transformation,  Or 
its  tabernacle  building  according  to  this  i  pattern,' 
by  the  descent  of  Christ  into  the  believing  spirit, 
and  His  union  of  the  human  nature  in  its  entirety 
with  Himself.  An  evangelical  conversion,  there 
fore,  is  a  heavenly  wonder ;  for  it  is  the  bringing 
of  a  human  being  to  a  oneness  with  the  pattern 
tabernacle  of  the  Lord  Himself,  to  which  the 
human  nature  is  made  to  answer  finally  with  the 
exactness  of  a  pattern  to  an  original.  This  is  what 
St.  Paul  means  by  '  the  riches  of  the  glory  of  the 
mystery  among  the  Gentiles,'  and  is  the  key  to 
those  expressions  in  John's  Gospel :  4  Them  whom 
thou  hast  given  me,'  i.e.  i  given '  as  material  to  be 
moulded  by  Christ  according  to  His  own  living 
pattern. 

(3.)  The  glory  of  Triune  indwelling,  of  which  so 
much  is  made  in  the  New  Testament,  is  the  inef 
fable  result  of  this  building  of  God  in  human  nature 


CHRIST'S  UNSEEN  MINISTRY.  249 

by  the  hand  of  Christ:  <  That  ye  might  be  filled  with  CHAP,  xxn. 
all  the  fulness  of  God.'  Heb.^iiTi-6. 

Yer.  6.  t  But  now  hath  He  obtained  a  more  excel-  The  antithesis 
lent  ministry,  by  how  much  also  He  is  the  mediator  ministry  of 
of  a  better  covenant,  which  was  established  upon  Leviticai. 
oetter  promises.'  This  verse  points  out  the  pro 
found  correlation  existing  between  the  ministry  of 
Christ  and  the  provisions  of  the  New  Covenant, 
and  may  be  adduced  as  an  example  of  the  poverty 
of  human  language  when  it  is  forced  to  make  use 
of  an  earthly  and  visible  thing  to  represent  one 
heavenly  and  invisible.  The  expression,  '  a  more 
excellent  ministry,'  is  the  whole  phrase  used  to  set 
in  antithesis  things  which,  though  having  some 
resemblance  to  one  another,  are,  in  certain  respects, 
infinitely  dissimilar.  A  picture  is  a  representation 
of  nature, — yet  it  is  only  a  representation,  not 
nature  itself.  The  outlying  objects  copied  on  the  is  as  that 
canvas  by  colour  and  manipulation,  yet  lack  all  picture  and 
the  real  properties  belonging  to  the  objects  as 
part  of  the  system  of  nature.  No  one  would 
pretend  to  compare  the  work  of  God  and  the  work 
of  man — the  work  of  God  as  seen  in  nature,  and 
the  work  of  man  as  seen  in  the  picture ;  the  one 
is  represented  by  the  other,  but  not  identified  in 
the  least  with  it.  The  relation  between  our  Lord's 
ministry  and  the  Leviticai  may  be  thus  set  forth. 
To  use  an  old  phrase,  it  is  to  compare  great  things 
with  small ;  yet  this  difference  perhaps  could  not 
be  more  forcibly  expressed  than  by  the  words  here 
employed,  'A  more  excellent  ministry.' 

But  if  nature  and  the  picture  be  the  illustration 
chosen,  it  fails  to  convey  a  perfect  idea  of  the  trans 
cendent  ministry  of  the  Son  even  when  compared 


250 


CHRIST'S  UNSEEN  MINISTRY. 


CHAP.  XXII. 


Heb.  viii.  1-6. 


Supernatural 
things  only 
to  be  ex 
pressed  by 
allegory. 


Christ's 
ministry  the 
exponent  of 
His  covenant. 


with  the  superb  ritual  of  the  Hebrew  ministry. 
There  are  some  things  absolutely  incapable  of  re 
presentation,  strictly  speaking :  such,  for  instance, 
as  space  in  its  infinity ;  power  in  its  origin ;  spiritu 
ality,  personality,  and  vitality  in  the  divine  nature. 
We  lose  ourselves  on  the  very  edge  of  these  great 
questions :  their  sphere  is  not  open  to  us,  nor  will 
it  ever  become  so,  except  in  some  sense  relative  to 
our  present  knowledge.  Yet  our  Lord's  ministry 
actually  partakes  of  attributes  like  these :  He  fills 
all  things  with  His  presence,  sustains  all  things  by 
His  power,  governs  the  relations  of  God  to  the 
whole  world,  and  vitalizes  and  transforms  the 
human  heart.  In  fact,  the  history  of  a  single  re 
deemed  spirit  is,  as  it  were,  a  microcosm  of  these 
infinite  perfections ;  they  are  translated  thither  as 
into  their  own  proper  kingdom,  depository,  ark, 
tabernacle.  Still,  all  this  can  only  be  expressed 
by  such  words  as  these  :  'Yet  now  hath  He  obtained 
a  more  excellent  ministry.'  Thus  reflecting,  we  are 
not  surprised  that  Scripture  deals  so  much  in  par 
able,  allegory,  and  trope ;  for  this  language  has  the 
advantage  of  giving  a  vivid  and  truthful  represen 
tation  of  the  highest  things,  bringing  them  down 
to  our  level;  while  the  loftiest  philosophy,  when 
attempting  to  become  their  substitute,  fails  to  rear 
its  ladder  above  the  sensible,  or  lands  us  only  in  a 
region  of  subtle  and  dreary  speculation. 

4  By  how  much  also  He  is  the  mediator  of  a 
better  covenant.'  This  relation  of  the  covenant  to 
the  ministry  of  Christ  gives  us  the  truest  idea  of 
the  excellency  of  that  ministry,  since  it  at  least 
lies  within  the  sphere  of  humanity,  and  enables  us, 
if  not  to  judge  of  the  cause,  yet  to  judge  of  the 


CHRIST'S  UNSEEN  MINISTRY.  251 

effect.  In  truth,  it  is  by  this  same  principle  and  CHAP.  xxn. 
i:i  this  same  way  that  we  judge  of  the  Creator  by  Heb.  vin.  1-6. 
His  works.  The  unseen,  whether  as  Creator  or 
I  Redeemer,  is  brought  before  us  by  phenomena 
either  external  or  mental,  but  as  Redeemer  with 
greatly  superior  force  of  demonstration,  because  of 
tie  directness  and  individuality  of  the  dealing  with 
us.  The  ministry  of  Christ  supplies,  in  truth,  the 
only  knowledge  of  God  entitled  to  be  ranked  as 
sach;  it  is  entirely  distinct  from,  and  superior  to, 
t.aat  which  springs  from  the  moral  and  intellectual 
nature  of  man  under  culture.  This  ministry,  based 
on  the  authority  of  inspiration,  and  on  historical 
evidence,  with  a  long  train  of  preliminary  notices, 
is  yet  as  much  a  personal  fact  to  faith  as  the  opened 
inner  sanctuary  itself,  the  sphere  of  that  ministry. 
The  verification  of  the  unseen  in  the  spiritual 
nature  of  man  is  the  grand  peculiarity  of  the 
gospel.  This  does  not  lie  in  the  weight  of  its 
historical  testimony,  much  less  in  any  system  of 
external  attestation  or  doctrine  of  Church  infalli 
bility,  but  in  individual  experiences  of  the  inner 
life. 


CHAPTER    XXIII. 

THE  COVENANTS. 
HEB.  vin.  7-13. 

The  two          <  FOR  if  that  first  covenant  had  been  faultless,  then 

Covenants. 

should  no  place  have  been  sought  for  the  second. 
For  finding  fault  with  them,  he  saith,  Behold,  the 
days  come,  saith  the  Lord,  when  I  will  make  a  new 
covenant  with  the  house  of  Israel  and  with  the 
house  of  Judah :  not  according  to  the  covenant 
that  I  made  with  their  fathers  in  the  day  when  I 
took  them  by  the  hand  to  lead  them  out  of  the 
land  of  Egypt ;  because  they  continued  not  in  my 
covenant,  and  I  regarded  them  not,  saith  the  Lord. 
'  For  this  is  the  covenant  that  I  will  make  with 
the  house  of  Israel  after  those  days,  saith  the  Lord: 
I  will  put  my  laws  into  their  mind,  and  write  them 
in  their  hearts :  and  I  will  be  to  them  a  God,  and 
they  shall  be  to  me  a  people :  and  they  shall  not 
teach  every  man  his  neighbour,  and  every  man  his 
brother,  saying,  Know  the  Lord:  for  all  shall  know 
me,  from  the  least  to  the  greatest.  For  I  will  be 
merciful  to  their  unrighteousness,  and  their  sins 
and  their  iniquities  will  I  remember  no  more.  In 
that  He  saith,  A  new  covenant,  He  hath  made  the 
first  old.  Now  that  which  decayeth  and  waxeth 
old  is  ready  to  vanish  away.' 


THE  COVENANTS.  253 

The   remaining  portion  of  the  eighth  chapter,    CH.  xxm. 
contained  in  these  verses,  is  given  to  a  comparison  Heb.viii.7-i 3. 
of  the  covenants  as  appropriate  to  the  demonstra- 
1  ion  of  the  '  better  covenant '  resulting  from  our 
Lord's  ministry.    Hence,  instead  of  examining  the 
verses  seriatim,  we  shall  get  a  broader  view  of  the 
truths  they  contain  by  surveying  briefly  the  two 
covenants  separately,  and  also  relatively. 

"The   better  covenant  established  upon  better  The  better 
promises'  may  be  taken  first.     The  covenants  are  thJStew. 
here  distinguished  as  Old  and  New,  which  distinc 
tion  was  recognised  by  our  Lord  at  the  institution 
of  the  Supper,  and  is  therefore  a  tacit  acknowledg-  Lukexxii.  -20. 
inent  of  Jeremiah's  authority,  since  this  distinction  jer.  xxxi. 
is  plainly  referable  to  him,  and  is  transcribed  into  * 
this  chapter  for  the  purposes  of  the  argument,  viz. 
that  our   Lord   had   i  obtained  a  more   excellent 
ministry'  than  the  Levitical,  and  that  even  then 
the  old  ministry  was  defunct.     But  we  may  trace 
the  New  Covenant  further  back  than  Jeremiah,  viz. 
to  Genesis  (xii.  3,  xv.  6,  and  the  17th  ch.).     It  is  Maybe 

v  '  '  traced  to 

observable  here,  that  in  the  intercourse  between  Gen.  xii.  3. 
God  and  Abraham,  concerning  God's  future  rela 
tions  with  him  and  his  seed,  only  one  covenant 
is  traceable,  and  that  this  is  the  New.     It  is  true 
that  this  covenant  could  only  be  fulfilled  by  means 
of  his  seed ;  but  it  is  also  true  that  Abraham  per-  Abraham  m- 
sonally  and  specially  was  introduced  to  it,  through  i 
his  justification  by  faith,  mentioned  Gen.  xv.  6. 
Hence  circumcision  was  undoubtedly  an  evangeli-  circumcision 
cal  sign,  not  a  legal  one ;  nor  was  the  dotation  of  ™Sn™ 
the  land  to  Abraham's  posterity  a  thing  separable 
from  the  covenant  itself,  which  of  necessity  im 
plied   the   gift   of  nationality  to    the    patriarch's 


254 


THE  COVENANTS. 


CH.  XXIII. 

Heb.viii.7-13. 

Second,  i.e. 
legal,  Cove 
nant  grafted 
on  to  the 
first. 


The  spiritual 
takes  preced 
ence  of  the 
temporal. 


In  providence. 


And  in  the 
Covenants. 


descendants.  A  separate  covenant  might  be,  how 
ever,  and  actually  was,  four  hundred  years  after, 
grafted  upon  this,  entirely  different  in  its  nature  and 
provisions,  but  instituted  with  strict  reference  to  the 
first.  This  first  and  great  covenant  made  Abraham 
not  the  father  of  one  people,  but,  as  St.  Paul  says, 
the  *  heir  of  the  world,'  through  'the  seed/  or 
Christ,  by  whom  alone,  as  the  Redeemer  of  the 
world,  all  nations  could  be  blessed,  i.e.  accepted 
into  this  covenant  of  spiritual  blessings  as  distin 
guished  from  the  covenant  of  temporal  ones. 

As,  however,  the  'fulness  of  the  time'  was  not 
come  in  Abraham's  day,  but  was  then  a  distant 
future,  it  became  necessary  to  institute  a  second 
and  supplementary  covenant  in  accordance  with 
the  promise  of  nationality  to  Abraham's  seed,  and 
to  found  this  upon  a  series  of  historical  events,  all 
brought  about  by  immediate  interposition.  This 
relation  and  order  of  the  two  covenants  is  but  an 
example  of  those  existing  between  spiritual  and 
temporal  things  in  the  economies  of  nature  and  of 
grace,  in  both  of  which  the  spiritual  takes  prece 
dence,  making  the  providential  rule  of  the  world 
an  entirely  subordinate  affair ;  i.e.,  according  to  our 
Lord's  teaching,  the  latter  is  something  added  to, 
not  identical  with,  the  kingdom  of  God.  Thus  the 
temporal  or  second  covenant  subsequently  instituted 
became  ancillary  to  the  first  or  evangelical,  which 
is  properly  the  '  everlasting  covenant,'  generally 
recognised  by  the  prophets,  and  remaining  intact 
when  the  other  was  annulled.  This  view  is  con 
firmed  by  Galatians  iii.  17,  where  the  completeness 
and  independence  of  the  evangelical  or  first  cove 
nant  is  argued  from  its  priority  of  time,  as  well  as 


THE  COVENANTS.  255 

from  its  difference  of  nature  from  the  second  cove-  CH.  XXIIL 

nant.     The  first  covenant  remained  in  abeyance,  Het>.  vffi.  7-13. 

after  it  was  ratified,  from  the  days  of  Abraham  The  first  cove- 


until  the  coming  of  Christ  ;  and  all  that  intervened  afrom 
in  nowise   affected   or   drew  upon  its  provisions,  Christ"1  to 
{since  these  could  have  no  substantiation  until  the 
advent  of  the  Messiah. 

The  question  now  suggests  itself,  put  by  St.  The  second 
Paul  (Gal.  iii.  19),  'Wherefore  then  serveth  the  of  moral  mi- 
law?  '  And  we  may  gratefully  take  his  answer  as  first. 
a  full  though  brief  exposition  of  its  purpose  :  '  It 
was  added  because  of  transgressions.'  This  admits 
of  a  twofold  meaning  :  either  that  the  world  at  that 
period  was  in  too  crude  and  corrupt  a  state  to  per 
mit  of  the  immediate  introduction  of  Christianity  ; 
or  that  a  course  of  discipline  of  a  national  sort, 
protracted  through  centuries,  was  necessary  for 
the  favoured  people  to  prepare  them  for  what 
emphatically  is  'the  kingdom  of  God.'  Under  the 
law,  their  history  was,  on  the  whole,  a  humiliating 
testimony  to  the  moral  state  of  humanity  under 
the  most  favourable  conditions,  and  demonstrated 
the  insufficiency  of  mere  law,  however  enforced,  to 
reform  and  elevate  the  most  privileged  people. 
Their  rebellion  was  all  but  chronic,  and  the  law  at 
many  periods  reduced  to  a  dead  letter. 

But  there  is  another  and  more  spiritual  view  of  Spiritual 
the  office  of  the  law  not  to  be  passed  over.     This  Lv?e  ° 
was,  to  teach  the  more  enlightened  and  conscien 
tious  of  the  Hebrew  people  in  their  several  genera 
tions  the  doctrine  so  finely  opened  by  St.  Paul 
(Rom.  vi.)  :   of  the  law  of  sin   in   the  members 
bringing   forth    fruit   unto   death.      The   spiritual  TO  teach  the 
nature  of  man  was  out  of  harmony  with  the  law, 


256 


THE  COVENANTS. 


CH.  XXIII. 

Heb.  viii.  7-13. 


The  original 

evangelical 

Covenant 

included 

national 

blessings  for 

the  Hebrews. 


This  the  key 
to  several 
Old  Testa- 
ment  scrip 
tures. 


Twenty-sixth 
chapter  of 
Leviticus 
evangelical. 


spiritually  construed,  though  not  with  its  letter. 
1  The  law  was  weak  through  the  flesh '  to  rectify 
this  disorder ;  and  the  remedy  was  provided  only 
by  the  first  great  evangelical,  or  Abrahamic  Cove 
nant.  The  law  did  not  teach  justification  by  faith, 
nor  did  it  bestow  the  gift  of  the  Holy  Ghost  upon 
its  people.  They  were  held  in  bondage,  or,  as  St. 
Paul  says,  'under  a  schoolmaster.'  Thus  the  de 
sign  of  the  second  covenant  was  to  make  way  for 
the  first,  and  was  wonderfully  adapted  for  its  end. 

Nor  can  it  be  doubted  that  the  first  covenant 
was  meant  to  be  as  broadly  national  as  the  second. 
Looked  at  from  the  Abrahamic  point  of  view,  the 
first  or  evangelical  covenant  comprised  the  weal 
of  the  entire  Hebrew  people,  and  not  merely  the 
individual  aspect  of  its  provisions  as  interpreted  by 
the  New  Testament.  With  respect  to  the  Jewish 
people,  the  New  Testament  recognises  not  divine 
intentions,  but  existing  facts,  and  that  individual 
completeness  of  divine  relations  which  the  New 
Covenant  bestows  upon  men  as  such  throughout 
the  world.  This  view,  however,  of  the  Abrahamic 
Covenant,  in  its  peculiar  relation  to  the  Hebrew 
people,  is  one  of  great  importance,  as  supplying  us 
with  the  key  to  the  general  language  of  prophecy 
in  its  evangelical  aspects,  and  also  to  some  passages 
of  the  Pentateuch,  which  plainly  out-look  on  the 
destinies  of  this  people  far  beyond  the  range  of 
the  second  covenant. 

(1.)  For  example,  Leviticus  xxvi.  42  contains  a 
direct  reference  to  the  first  or  evangelical  covenant, 
not  to  the  second  made  in  the  wilderness.  Again, 
verse  44  is  too  general  in  its  language  to  have  been 
exhausted  by  past  historical  deliverances,  but  runs 


THE  COVENANTS.  257 

on  to  our  own  times :  l  Neither  will  I  abhor  them,    CH.  xxm. 

to  destroy  them  utterly,  and  to  break  my  covenant  Heb.viii.7-i3. 

with  them.'     Yerse  45  contains  a  distinct  notice 

of  the  second  covenant,  but  collated  with  the  first, 

thus  adding  the  facts  of  history  as  corroborative  of 

:he  then  unaccomplished  design  of  the  evangelical 

covenant. 

(2.)  The  general  tenor  of  prophecy  on  the  subject  Prophecy  of 

Tx-  V.  I.  Al  •      •    ,  x        Hebrew 

)t  Israelitish  restoration  bears  out  this  interpreta-  restoration, 
ion  of  the  Pentateuch ;  since,  if  we  regard  these  anTnaUonL]. 
)rophecies  as  having  been  fulfilled  by  the  return 
rom  Babylon,  their  very  letter  in  many  instances 
cannot  be  verified,  nor  their  glowing  descriptions 
of  national   felicity  be  made  to   accord  with  the 
^ater  section  of  Jewish  history.      Something   far 
more  durable,  glorious,  and  fitting  to  inspire  the 
rapture  of  the  ancient  seer,  must  be  intended  than 
those  lees  of  national  existence,  those  last  sparks 
which  portended   extinction   in   a  long  night  of 
gloom. 

(3.)  It  is  remarkable  that  the  leading  prophets.  The  leading 

_  .  ill        prophets  speak 

Isaiah,  J  eremiah,  and  Lzekiel,  entirely  overlook  the  only  of  the 
individual  applications  of  the  New  Covenant;  Daniel  aspect  of  the 
only  mentions  the  confirming  of  the  covenant  '  with  ^1°°^" 
many  for  one  week.'      In  all  other  instances  the 
national  aspect  of  the  New  Covenant  is  alone  re 
garded.     Thus  the  great  Messianic  prophecy,  Isa. 
ix.   1-7,   closes   with  a  distinct   reference  to   the  Examples: 
throne  of  David  and  his  kingdom,  '  to  order  and  to 
establish  it  with  judgment  and  with  justice  from 
henceforth   even  for  ever.'      This  undeniably  de 
scribes  a  national  issue  of  the  Messiah's  sovereignty, 
and  a  national  establishment  of  the  first  covenant. 
A  second  example,  equally  decisive,  is  taken  from 

R 


258 


THE  COVENANTS. 


Isa.  xii. 


Jer.  xxxi. 
and  xxxiii. 


CH.  xxiii.  the  same  prophet,  chap.  xi.  11,  12,  where  it  is  de- 
eb.  viii.7-i3.  scribed  as  the  second  recovery  of  the  favoured  people 
from  a  wide  dispersion :  '  From  the  islands  of  the 
sea,'  and  'from  the  four  corners  of  the  earth;'  hence 
chap.  xii.  is  an  evangelical  ode,  anticipative  of  this 
event,  and  a  wonderfully  appropriate  celebration  of 
the  opened  i  wells  of  salvation.'  Chapters  xxxi.  and 
xxxiii.  of  Jeremiah,  from  which  the  quotations  are 
selected  in  this  Epistle,  are  equally  express  examples 
of  the  same  kind.  The  New,  or  first,  Covenant  is 
placed  in  apposition  to  the  second  as  equally  a 
national  event ;  otherwise,  it  could  not  have  been 
pertinently  introduced  with  a  notice  of  the  deliver 
ance  of  the  Israelites  from  the  land  of  Egypt :  the 
second  covenanting  of  God  with  them  is  paralleled 
with  the  first  covenanting,  which  of  itself  deter 
mines  the  national  character  of  the  first.  It  is  also 
expressly  prefaced  by  a  declaration  to  the  same 
effect :  '  I  will  make  a  new  covenant  with  the  house 
of  Israel  and  with  the  house  of  Judah.'  The  fol 
lowing  declarations  corroborate  this  view  even  as 
they  stand  in  the  Epistle:  '  I  will  be  their  God,  and 
they  shall  be  my  people.'  This  language  is  un 
deniably  national,  as  is  also  the  following :  '  They 
shall  all  know  me,  from  the  least  of  them  unto  the 
greatest,  saith  the  Lord;'  i.e.  the  different  estates  of 
the  nation  shall  be  included  within  the  bonds  of  the 
New  Covenant, — not  a  portion  of  it,  not  a  majority, 
but  the  nation.  To  the  same  effect  is  the  testi 
mony  of  Ezekiel,  chap,  xxxiv.  24-31.  To  these 
quotations  may  be  added  Ezek.  xxxvii.,  containing 
the  wonderful  vision  of  the  valley  of  dry  bones. 
These  are  only  specimens  of  the  general  tenor  of 
prophecy  in  confirmation  of  this  point. 


Ezek.  xxxiv. 
24-31. 


THE  COVENANTS.  259 

(4.)  This  aspect  of  the  New,  or  first,  Covenant  CH.  xxm. 

xnvards  the  Jewish  nation  appears  to  be  the  true  Heb.viii.7-i3. 

ground  of  the  leading  descriptions  of  Jerusalem,  re-  The 


stored  in  the  latter  day  and  immeasurably  exalted  gr^uTof  the 
n  glory  above  all  former  precedent.    These  descrip-  f^of  the*" 


ions — those  of  Isaiah  particularly — are  not  meant  , 

J  Church  and 

o  apply  to  the  Church  Catholic,  or  the  Gentile  nation. 
Ohurch,  but  to  the  Jewish  Church  under  the  New 
Covenant,  to  Jerusalem  as  the  centre  of  Jewish 
Lationality  when  rendered  purely  Christian  by  so 
:>road  an  example  of  conversion  as  the  world  has 
never  yet  witnessed,  and  of  which  the  day  of  Pente 
cost  itself  was  a  mere  earnest.  National  conver 
sion  and  national  restoration  are,  by  the  uniform 
testimony  of  prophecy,  made  correlative  with  each 
ither.  Nor,  in  fact,  could  a  New  Covenant  restora 
tion  be  possible  on  any  other  condition  than  the 
one  given  us  in  Jeremiah  :  '  After  those  days,  I  will 
put  my  law  in  their  inward  parts,  and  write  it  in 
their  hearts.  .  .  .  They  shall  teach  no  more  every 
man  his  neighbour,  and  every  man  his  brother,  say 
ing,  Know  the  Lord;'  i.e.  the  office  of  a  converting 
ministry  is  rendered  superfluous  by  a  national 
turning  to  God ;  one  as  profound  as  it  is  simultane 
ous,  at  once  so  signal  as  to  cancel  and  oblivionize 
the  sins  of  the  past,  and  to  give  to  them  nationally, 
through  a  long  future,  the  New  Covenant  in  an 
unbroken  range  of  application. 

In  this  respect  the  prophetic  anticipations  of  the  Duration  of 
reign  of  the  New  Covenant  over  this  people  give  it  covenant 
an  explicit  contrariety  to  the  history  of  the  Old. 
The  one  was  broken  and  for  ever  dissolved,  while  01(L 
the  other  remains  in  force,  without  suspension  or 
decline,  so  far  as  the  light  of  prophecy  enables  us  to 


260 


THE  COVENANTS. 


CH.  XXIII. 


Heb.viii.7-13. 

Jer.  xxxi. 
35,  36. 


Rom.  xi. 

26,  27. 


The  Second 
Covenant 
founded  on 
older  revela 
tions. 


No  advance 
made  in  its 
teachings. 


divine  a  future  ;  for  it  is  in  this  sense  that  Jeremiah 
is  to  be  understood:  'If  those  ordinances  depart  from 
before  me,  saith  the  Lord,  then  the  seed  of  Israel 
also  shall  cease  from  being  a  nation  before  me  for 
ever.'     The  llth  chapter  of  Romans  seems  to  have 
been  indited  in  the  very  spirit  of  these  predictions  : 
'  So  all  Israel  shall  be  saved :  as  it  is  written,  There 
shall  come  out  of  Zion  the  Deliverer,  and  shall  turn 
away  ungodliness  from  Jacob :  for  this  is  my  cove 
nant  unto  them,  when  I  shall  take  away  their  sins.' 
(5.)  The  nature  of  the  Second  Covenant  may  be 
thus  expounded.     It  was  founded  on  a  compact  be 
tween  God  and  the  Hebrew  people,  of  which  Moses 
was  the  medium;  it  was  administered  by  sacrifice;  it 
included  all  the  great  primitive  doctrines  of  religion, 
formally  epitomized  in  the  Decalogue,  expanded  in 
typical  institutes,  and  amplified  in  a  variety  of  moral 
and  political  details.     It  may  be  said  that  an  ab 
stract  only  of  the  covenant  was  first  given,  extend 
ing  from  Exodus  xx,  to  xxiii.    Its  entire  provisions 
were  given  much  more  in  detail,  and  in  fact  com 
prise  portions  of  the  book  of  Deuteronomy  itself. 
This  covenant  does  not  appear  to  have  materially 
advanced  the  range  of  religious  truth  beyond  former 
revelations,  or,  in  the  broader  sense,  to  have  origi 
nated  a  new  dispensation  of  religion.      Properly 
speaking,  there  are  but  two  dispensations — the  one 
of  promise,   the    other   of  fulfilment ;   the  one  is 
Patriarchalism,  the  other  Evangelism.    The  second  , 
covenant  is  purely  national    and  transitive ;  it  is 
built  on  all  that  went  before,  but  only  out  of  pre 
existing  material ;  there  is  no  perceptible  advance 
of  divine  truth,  it  is  rather  a  provision  for  perpe 
tuating  and  transmitting  it,  by  giving  it  a  national 


THE  COVENANTS.  261 

expression,  and  placing  it  in  the  hands  of  a  people    CH.  xxm. 
laid  under  special  obligations  to  maintain  it  and  Heb.viii.7-i  3. 
hand  it  forward.     It  was,  however,  both  a  national  Made  na- 
and  a  personal  law:  in  the  former  sense,  it  gua-  order  to  its 
ranteed  national  integrity  and  weal;  in  the  latter,  it  ands^ad!1 
guaranteed  salvation  as  an  explicit  rule  of  life  based 
on  the  doctrine  of  atonement  typically  administered, 
ind  on  promises  of  grace  drawn  from  more  ancient 
:imes  and  from  sources  higher  than  itself. 

(6.)  The  New  Covenant  (the  phrase  in  Jeremiah)  The  Person 
:.s  the  Abrahamic  expanded  into  its  final  evangelical  christ°tiie° 


completeness.  Of  this  covenant  Christ  is  at  once 
the  Mediator  and  the  Author;  He  not  only  admini-  nant 
inters  its  provisions,  and  is  the  guardian  of  its  enact 
ments,  but  the  covenant  itself  entirely  originates 
in  His  Person  and  work  as  the  Redeemer  of  the 
world.  It  is,  strictly  speaking,  the  New  Covenant, 
as  He  says,  i  in  my  blood;'  i.e.  it  arises  directly  out 
of  His  Atonement,  and  its  administration  by  His 
own  priesthood,  and  its  prerogatives  as  unfolded  in  its 
this  Epistle.  All  notices  of  this  covenant  found 
particularly  in  the  Epistles  to  the  Romans,  Gala- 
tians,  and  Ephesians  concur  in  this  view.  To 
all  believers  in  Christ  it  is  a  fully  administered 
personal  redemption:  its  righteousness  is  that  of 
faith  ;  its  law  is  that  of  the  heart  ;  its  indwelling 
of  the  Holy  Ghost,  the  true  glory  foreshadowed  by 
that  of  the  Tabernacle.  Its  sanctification  is  spiritual 
and  entire;  its  gifts  of  knowledge,  power,  and 
heavenliness,  free  and  indefinitely  great.  A  single 
human  subject  is  as  capable  of  its  inward  draught 
a,nd  fulness,  as  if  its  intentions  were  restricted  to 
one  only,  while  its  outgoings  are  absolutely  un 
limited  as  to  the  number  of  its  i  vessels  afore  pre- 


262 


THE  COVENANTS. 


CH.  XXIII. 
Heb.viii.7-13. 

The  kingdom 
of  heaven 
as  distin 
guished  from 
the  Jewish 
kingdom. 


The  New 
Covenant 
the  basis  of 
the  Christian 
Church. 


The  Old 
Covenant 
being  dis 
solved,  the 
Jews  no 
longer  claim 
under  it. 


pared  unto  glory/  and  as  perfect  as  the  present 
conditions  of  humanity  admit  of.  This  Covenant 
may,  therefore,  well  be  called  'the  kingdom  of 
heaven/  as  distinguished  from  the  territorial  theo 
cracy  which  preceded  it.  It  is  something  far 
greater  than  the  mere  revelation  of  immortality  and 
the  resurrection,  or  the  implantation  of  a  hope  and 
a  preparation  in  this  direction.  It  is  itself  the 
eternal  life  translated  from  the  higher  into  the 
lower  sphere  of  humanity ;  and  the  substantiation, 
by  the  oneness  of  a  redeemed  nature  with  the  all- 
redeeming  God,  of  whatever  remains  future  and 
hidden  in  the  kingdom  of  His  Son;  and  this  by  an 
earnest  of  the  Spirit  till  'the  redemption  of  the 
purchased  possession.' 

(7.)  It  should  not  be  overlooked  that  the  relation 
of  God  to  His  people  by  the  New  Covenant  contains, 
in  addition  to  its  peculiar  national  relation  to  the 
Jews,  the  true  basis  of  the  evangelical  common 
wealth,  i.e.  the  Christian  Church.  This  is  made 
apparent  from  the  terms  employed  in  these  quota 
tions  from  Jeremiah,  such  as,  '  I  will  be  to  them  a 
God,  and  they  shall  be  to  me  a  people,'  since  it  is 
impossible  to  restrict  this  relation  to  the  natural 
descendants  of  Abraham ;  on  the  contrary,  the 
whole  tenor  of  the  Epistles  of  the  New  Testament 
is  demonstrative  of  the  extension  of  this  privilege 
to  the  disciples  of  Christ  of  all  lands  and  languages. 
The  New  Covenant  creates  a  people  of  God  in  a  far 
more  exalted  sense  than  the  Old  or  second  could 
do ;  for,  the  Old  Covenant  being  dissolved,  its  rela 
tions  necessarily  ceased.  Rejecting  the  New  Cove 
nant,  the  Jew  himself  could  no  longer  plead  the 
estate  of  the  Old,  and  his  hereditary  relations  to 


THE  COVENANTS.  263 

God  under  it.     This  was  annulled,  and  its  re-insti-   CH-  xxm. 
:ution  was  impossible.    He  was,  therefore,  reduced  Heb.vm.7-i3. 
•;o  the  alternative  of  accepting  a  better  status  under 
•;he  New  Covenant,  or  of  becoming  disinherited  al 
together. 

This  is  the  doctrine  of  election  (found  in  Rom.  This  the 
:x.  and  in  other  parts  of  St.  Paul's  writings),  of  R0m.  ix. 
»uch  immense  importance  at  that  particular  junc 
ture,  when  the  New  Covenant  first  came  into  opera 
tion,  and  the  Church  itself  was  altogether  remodelled 
agreeably  with  its  provisions.  Collating  the  general 
teaching  of  the  apostles  with  the  prophetic  quota 
tions  of  this  chapter,  it  becomes  apparent  that  a 
most  momentous  crisis  had  arrived  in  the  history 
of  the  Church,  that  the  restrictions  of  the  Old 
Covenant  had  been  annulled,  and  that  henceforth 
the  Abrahamic  Covenant  was  alone  in  force,  both 
as  a  doctrine  of  salvation  and  as  the  basis  of  the 
Church.  In  future,  no  hereditary  principle  could  Theheredi- 
be  admissible  in  this  status.  It  was  altogether  an 
Old  Covenant  thing  done  away.  There  could  be  no 
such  thing  as  historical,  traditional,  or  incorporate 
Christianity  ;  for  all  this  would  be  Old  Testament 
religion  in  New  Testament  attire.  The  nature  of 
the  Covenant  as  spiritual,  precludes  everything 
from  being  a  part  of  itself  and  entitling  to  its 
privileges,  but  the  individual  possession  of  its  dis 
tinguishing  blessings.  The  Christian  Church  has 
no  broader  basis  than  this,  which  is  just  as  catholic 
as  individual  faith,  and  just  as  determinate  as  the 
law  written  in  the  heart. 

(8.)  There  is,  however,  no  real  contrariety  be- 


tween  this  view  of  the  covenant   as  exclusively  Covenant, 

though  not 

spiritual  and  the  former  view,  which  makes  it,  as  of  its  nature. 


264 


THE  COVENANTS. 


Peculiar  rela 
tion  of  the 
Jews  to  the 
Abrahamic 
Covenant. 


CH.  xxiii.  to  the  Jews  only,  also  national.  It  is  the  same 
Heb.viii.7-i3.  principle,  which  in  the  one  case  creates  a  catholic 
commonwealth,  and  in  the  other  a  territorial  one. 
It  can  expand  itself  wide  as  the  world,  and  yet 
have  combined  with  it,  special  facts  of  nationality 
in  some  one  instance.  As  to  nations  at  large,  or 
human  beings  individually,  Christianity  can  give 
no  other  blessings  than  those  comprised  in  its 
Covenant,  or  those  reflected  from  it. 

But  it  must  be  remembered  that  the  Abrahamic 
Covenant  was  in  both  testaments  a  predicted  des 
tiny  for  the  Jewish  people.  It  was  evolved  out 
of  that  people  and  their  ancestry  by  a  long  series 
of  divine  communications.  The  Christ  was  of 
their  stock,  as  well  as  '  the  fathers,'  the  apostles, 
and  the  primitive  Church.  They  alone  of  all 
people  had  a  long  pre-existing  estate  of  national 
covenant  and  recognition  by  God.  They  are 
mainly  the  subjects  of  the  great  prophetic  future 
of  the  Old  Testament :  their  territory  is  an 
everlasting  possession,  while  they  themselves  are 
a  people  preserved,  through  ages  of  wonderful 
vicissitude,  entire  in  blood,  customs,  and  combina 
tion,  as  if  on  purpose  to  answer  some  day  to  the 
grand  prophetic  programme,  and  to  create  a  greater 
wonder  and  sensation  in  the  earth  by  their  restored 
nationality  and  conversion  than  did  the  Exodus  it 
self,  which  filled  all  nations  far  and  near  with  the 
sound  of  Jehovah's  name.  But  all  this  may  come 
to  pass  within  the  bonds  of  the  New  Covenant,  and 
by  its  power  alone,  without  in  the  least  infringing 
on  the  established  order  of  things,  or  necessitating 
a  dispensation  of  miracle.  More  than  all  this  is 
expressed  in  the  words  of  Jeremiah:  'I  will  put 


THE  COVENANTS.  265 

lay  laws  into  their  minds,  and  write  them  in  their   CH.  xxm. 
hearts;  and  I  will  be  to  them  a  God,  and  they  Heb.viii.7-i3. 
{•;hall  be  to  me  a  people.' 

The  whole  of  the  ninth  chapter,  together  with  Administra- 
the  tenth  as  far  as  the  twenty-second  verse,  may  be  two  Cove- 
regarded  as  the  theme  of  the  two  Covenants  con-  E 
1  inued,  powerfully  argued,  and  variously  illustrated. 
r_?he  whole  discussion  appertains  to  the  administra 
tive   questions   especially   characteristic    of    each 
Covenant,  bringing  out  with  wonderful  force  the 
surpassing  glory  of  the  first  over  the  second,  of 
the  New  over  the  Old.     This  view  of  the  unity  of 
topic  embraced  within  these  limits  greatly  helps  to 
a  true  understanding  of  the  course  of  the  argument, 
and  to  the  right  interpretation  of  particular  sections. 


CHAPTER  XXIY. 

THE    HEBREW    TABERNACLE. 
HEB.  ix.  1-6. 

The  Taber-  THE  ninth  chapter  opens  with  a  brief  description 
of  the  Tabernacle,  its  furniture,  ministry,  and  ser 
vices.  This  is  obviously  taken  from  the  fortieth 
chapter  of  Exodus,  made  as  succinct  as  possible, 
because  a  more  extended  transcription  would  have 
been  both  unnecessary,  as  addressed  to  Hebrews, 
and  inconvenient  to  the  argument  itself.  It  is, 
however,  important  as  showing  how  familiar  the 
great  facts  of  Hebrew  history  and  Hebrew  institute 
were  to  the  minds  of  that  age :  to  them  a  passing 
reference  only  was  needful  as  the  ground  of  some 
new  doctrine  to  be  advanced.  The  Epistle  was  not 
written  for  the  purpose  of  confirming  them  in  the 
belief  that  they  really  had  a  history  such  as  the 
Pentateuch  gives,  or  to  prove  to  them  that  their 
national  origin  had  in  it  something  more  sub 
stantial  than  mere  pagan  legends.  Save  on  this 
assumption,  this  Epistle  ought  not  to  have  existed 
as  a  portion  of  the  New  Testament ;  it  is  entirely 
baseless  without  it,  and  is  degraded  into  a  mere 
counterpart  of  what,  if  in  fact  it  was  a  myth, 
might  well  defy  all  useful  exposition. 

The  notices  taken  from  the  Pentateuch  are  pre 
faced  by  the  statement  of  the  first  verse :   '  Then 


THE  HEBREW  TABERNACLE.  267 

verily  the  first  covenant  had  also  ordinances  of  CH.  xxiv. 
divine  service,  and  a  worldly  sanctuary.'  The  Heb.lxTi-6. 
1  ordinances  of  divine  service  '  performed  within  Ordinances  of 

i        L  -,  m  j  ,  i  T      .    .     divine  service. 

":he  worldly  sanctuary  comprise  the  great  admini 
strative  provisions  of  the  second  covenant.  These 
were  essentially  mediatorial  and  typical.  They  are  The  Levitical 
oxpressly  called  (verse  9),  'A  figure  for  the  time 
:hen  present.'  By  ' ordinances  of  divine  service' 
we  understand,  of  course,  the  Levitical  ministry 
ordained  and  conducted  according  to  divine  law, 
having  not  merely  law  as  its  general  foundation, 
but  particular  enactments  which  exactly  ruled  its 
specific  forms,  and  gave  to  every  part  of  it  a  cha 
racter  of  unvarying  routine.  No  scope  was  left 
for  will- worship,  or  the  play  of  fancy,  or  the  filling 
up  of  the  divine  programme  by  human  additions 
of  any  kind.  The  whole  service  was  absolutely  Unchange- 
immutable ;  all  that  was  left  to  the  priests  was 
simply  to  carry  it  out.  The  prohibition  of  the 
slightest  degree  of  innovation  was,  in  fact,  the 
only  safeguard  against  corruption ;  and  in  order  to 
this,  the  law  itself  was  written  down  immediately, 
and  was  in  its  form  singularly  direct  and  explicit. 

By  the  '  worldly  sanctuary,'  of  course,  is  meant  Worldly 
the  Tabernacle  made  out  of  various  and  costly  pro- 
ductions  of  nature  and  art ;  many  of  its  materials 
were  probably  furnished  by  the  spoils  of  the  Egyp 
tians,  or  by  mercantile  traffic  carried  on  with  neigh 
bouring  peoples,  or  with  the  traders  about  those 
regions.  It  is  here  obviously  called  a  'worldly 
sanctuary,'  not  merely  in  reference  to  its  materials 
and  workmanship,  but  in  opposition  to  the  'true 
tabernacle '  before  mentioned,  '  which  the  Lord 
pitched,  and  not  man.' 


268  THE  HEBREW  TABERNACLE. 

CH.  XXIY.  Yerse  2:  'For  there  was  a  tabernacle  made.7 
Heb.  ix.  1-6.  This  is  synonymous  with  the  l  worldly  sanctuary.' 
The  Taber-  The  word  Tabernacle  here  is  used  comprehensively 
for  the  entire  building,  which  consisted  of  two 
compartments,  and,  in  addition,  of  a  large  outer 
court.  That  the  Israelites  were  able  to  construct 
it  so  exactly  according  to  pattern,  and  of  materials 
so  costly,  is  in  proof  that  they  were  rich  and  highly 
civilised.  Though  they  had  been  in  servitude,  they 
were  not  barbarians.  They  were  acquainted  with 
the  Egyptian  civilisation,  while  some  among  them 
were  men  of  pre-eminent  genius  in  the  higher  de 
partments  of  art.  The  Tabernacle,  therefore,  is  to 
be  looked  upon  as  a  monument  of  Hebrew  culture 
as  well  as  of  Hebrew  piety  and  munificence.  It 
was,  though  on  a  miniature  scale,  a  shrine  of  in 
comparable  beauty,  preciousness,  and  durability,  in 
some  respects  more  remarkable  than  the  Temple, 
in  which  finally  its  most  holy  thing,  'the  ark  of 
the  covenant,'  was  deposited. 

Vers.  2-5.  'The  first,  wherein  was  the  candlestick, 
and  the  table,  and  the  shew-bread ;  which  is  called 
the  sanctuary.  And  after  the  second  veil,  the  taber 
nacle  which  is  called  the  Holiest  of  all ;  which  had 
the  golden  censer,  and  the  ark  of  the  covenant 
overlaid  round  about  with  gold,  wherein  was  the. 
golden  pot  that  had  manna,  and  Aaron's  rod  that 
budded,  and  the  tables  of  the  covenant ;  and  over 
it  the  cherubims  of  glory  shadowing  the  mercy- 
seat  ;  of  which  we  cannot  now  speak  particularly.' 

In  this  description,  the  inspection  is  supposed  to 
begin  from  the  inner  door  of  the  court.  This  led 
into  an  oblong  apartment,  the  farther  end  of  which 
was  the  veil  which  separated  it  from  the  inner 


THE  HEBREW  TABERNACLE.  269 

sanctuary.  Both  these  apartments  seem  to  have  CH.  xxiv. 
been  made  from  similar  materials,  lined  with  ex-  Heb.~ixTi-6. 
quisitely  wrought  curtains,  not  unlike  tapestry. 
Externally  they  were  fenced  by  boards  and  bars  of 
the  finest  wood,  socketed  with  silver  and  gold,  while 
the  roof  appears  to  have  been  of  rare  dyed  skins, 
placed  in  a  double  series,  the  uppermost  of  stronger 
material,  to  serve  as  a  protection  against  weather, 
^he  curtains  of  fine  linen,  of  blue,  purple,  and 
scarlet,  inwrought  with  figures  of  cherubim,  must 
have  contrasted  strikingly  with  the  furniture  of 
the  apartment,  all  of  the  brightest  and  purest  gold; 
so  that  it  is  difficult  to  conceive  of  so  magnificent 
sin  interior  as  this  when  lighted  up  in  the  evening 
by  its  sevenfold  lamp.  This  lamp,  carefully  and 
elaborately  constructed,  must,  according  to  the 
divine  plan  and  the  surviving  figure  of  it  upon  the 
Arch  of  Titus,  have  been  flat,  almost  fan-like.  Its 
branches,  six  in  number,  formed  its  two  sides,  the 
centre  making  the  seventh.  This  figure  was  ad 
mirably  suited  to  the  position  and  office  of  the 
lamp.  Its  design  was  to  throw  as  much  light  as  The  lamp. 
possible  against  the  veil  which  separated  from  the 
divine  presence-chamber,  and  also  upon  the  golden 
altar  of  incense,  where  the  high  priest,  morning 
and  evening,  performed  the  most  solemn  act  of  his 
ministry  by  burning  incense  before  the  veil. 

This  light  was  indispensable  for  the  evening  ser 
vice,  and  added  very  much  to  its  impressiveness. 
Doubtless  it  was  also  symbolic,  intimating  that  the 
Father  of  lights  was  within  that  Tabernacle,  and 
that  He  ordains  the  light  which  His  service  re 
quires.  Standing  without  the  veil  which  marks  off  A  symbol  of 
from  mortal  ken  the  invisible  and  the  infinite,  it 


270  THE  HEBREW  TABERNACLE. 

CH.  XXIY.    might  be  taken  as  a  symbol  of  Revelation  itself; 

Heb.  ix.  1-6.  which,  while  it  casts  a  broad,  strong  light  upon  the 
great  objects  of  religion,  speculatively  considered, 
is  especially  directed  on  the  sphere  of  human  duty. 
Generally,  it  teaches  that  true  religion  is  not  super 
stition,  which  is  always  bred  of  darkness,  —  the 
darkness  from  within  and  the  darkness  from  with 
out, —  but  on  the  contrary  it  is  a  bright,  well- 
trimmed  lamp,  at  once  revealing  the  true  office  of 
the  churches  and  the  glory  of  the  saints.  They 
are  children  of  the  light. 

The  table.  l  The  table '  means  the  table  of  the  shew-bread. 

This  account  of  the  furniture  of  the  first  Tabernacle 
seems  taken  from  the  twenty-fifth  chapter  of 
Exodus,  and  the  notice  of  the  table  from  the 
twenty-third  verse.  It  is  singular,  however,  that 
the  golden  altar  of  incense  is  omitted,  though  one 
of  the  three  prime  objects  of  interest.  Perhaps 
the  most  probable  explanation  is,  that  the  account 
given  here  is  quoted  from  the  twenty-fifth  chapter, 
whereas  the  description  of  the  golden  altar  is 
found  only  in  the  thirtieth.  Moreover,  the  whole 
notice  is  exceedingly  cursory ;  for  instance,  all  the 
vessels  and  implements  used  by  the  priesthood  are 
unmentioned,  while  the  fifth  verse — '  of  which  we 
cannot  now  speak  particularly,'  i.e.  either  dilate  on 
each  article,  or  enumerate  them  more  largely — 
gives  evidence  that  the  writer  was  quite  aware  of 
these  omissions. 

The  shew-  The  law  of  the  shew-bread  occurs  Lev.  xxiv.  5. 

There  the  size  and  the  number  of  the  cakes  are 
prescribed,  how  they  were  to  be  ordered  on  the 
table,  to  be  covered  with  frankincense,  and  when 
they  were  to  be  exchanged.  It  was  a  weekly 


THE  HEBREW  TABERNACLE.  271 

offering  unto  the  Lord,  made  additionally  sacred    CH.  xxiv. 
by  its  presentation  every  Sabbath,  and  enforced  as   Heb.  ix.  1-6. 
i\,  part  of  the  Covenant  denominated  '  everlasting.' 
WQ   learn  from   Leviticus,   as  well   as   from   our 
Lord's  authority,  that  it  was  food  lawful  only  for 
the  priests  to  eat,  and  that  to  them  it  was  most 
holy,  as  having  been  in  this  very  formal  manner 
offered  to  God  during  an  entire  week.     As  it  is 
called  l  bread  for  a  memorial,'  the  intent  of  it  may 
be  gathered  as  being  a   symbolic    expression,  by  it  symbolizes 
divine  command,  of  God's  engagement  to  feed  His  ment^TfeTd" 
people,  and  of  the  fact  that  this  engagement  was  Hls  Pe°Ple- 
from  time  to  time  made  good;  that  He  was  the 
Feeder,  they  were  the  fed;  and  that  this  provision, 
like  every  other   for   that   people,  rested   not  on 
the  mere  order  of  nature,  nor  on  the    course  of 
providence,  but  was  made  special  to  them  by  the 
Covenant.     Hence  the  bread  is  called  *  the  bread 
of  memorial,'  in  the  same  sense  as  the   rainbow 
was  termed  the  token  of  the  covenant.     God  was 
supposed  to  look  upon  this  bread  as  an   offering 
made  to  Him,  and  by  its  presence  in  His  house, 
to  be   reminded    (speaking   after   the  mariner   of 
men)  of  the  needs  of  His  people,  and  of  His  engage 
ment  to  supply  them.     Mystically  it  signifies  the  its  mystic 
bread  of  God  which  came  down  from  heaven,—  sisnification- 
the  secret  resource  of  the  spiritual  life  unrecognised 
by  the  world,  unfurnished  by  the  creatures,  and 
the  true  food  of  the  true  priesthood  or  Church  in 
the  last  times.     John  vi.  51  is  a  fine  illustration 
of  the  mystery  of  the  shew-bread :    '  The   bread 
which  I  will  give  is  my  flesh,  which  I  will  give  for 
the  life  of  the  world.' 

'  And  after  the  second  veil,  the  tabernacle  which 


272 


THE  HEBREW  TABERNACLE. 


The  Holiest 
of  all. 


CH.  xxiv.  is  called  the  Holiest  of  all.'  The  distinction  be- 
Heb.  ix.  1-6.  tween  4  holy '  and  *  most  holy '  is  found  in  the 
Pentateuch  again  and  again ;  and  it  is  evident  that 
this  distinction  is  fully  borne  out  by  the  differences 
between  the  places  so  designated,  for  the  one  was 
the  house  of  the  priests,  the  other  was  God's 
house.  No  one  might  set  foot  within  that 
threshold  on  pain  of  instant  death,  slight  as  was 
the  partition,  and  narrow  the  line  of  demarcation 
between  i  the  place  of  His  feet  made  glorious,'  and 
the  floor  trodden  by  the  feet  of  busily-serving 
priests.  No  spot  on  the  face  of  the  earth,  either 
mountain  or  plain,  was  like  that,  which  was  yet 
but  a  small  area  of  the  sandy  desert,  curtained  off 
from  outward  gaze  as  the  pavilion  of  the  en 
throned  Majesty  of  the  heavens. 

Two  things  strike  us  as  singular  in  this  descrip 
tion  of  the  Holiest,  one  of  addition,  and  the  other 
of  omission.  The  one  is  the  golden  censer  men 
tioned  in  the  fourth  verse,  the  other  the  i  glory,' 
only  indirectly  noticed  in  ver.  5.  It  is  but  mere 
conjecture  to  what  golden  censer  allusion  is  here 
made,  as  there  is  no  mention  in  the  Pentateuch  of 
any  memorial  censer  answering  to  it,  laid  up 
within  the  veil.  Broad  plates  (but  these  were  of 
brass)  for  the  covering  of  the  altar  were  indeed  to 
be  made  out  of  the  censers  of  Korah  and  his  com 
pany,  but  no  golden  censer  is  spoken  of  as  a  memo 
rial  laid  up  before  God  in  the  tabernacle  on  that 
occasion.  The  only  plausible  conjecture,  therefore, 
is,  that  this  was  a  censer  separated  from  the  ordinary 
service  of  the  priesthood,  and  laid  up  in  the  Taber 
nacle  for  the  use  of  the  high  priest  when  he  entered 
within  the  veil  on  the  great  Day  of  Atonement, 


The  golden 
censer. 


THE  HEBREW  TABERNACLE.  273 

and  was  left  there  for  the  same  purpose  from  year    CH.  xxiv. 

year.  Whether  this  notice  of  the  golden  censer  Heb.  ix.  1-6. 
was  derived  merely  from  tradition,  or  whether 
any  accident  may  have  curtailed  the  text  in 
Exodus,  in  which  the  specific  directions  are  given 
respecting  the  furniture  of  the  tabernacle,  may 
be  dismissed  as  uncertain.  However  decided,  it  is 
unimportant  to  the  purpose  for  which  the  account 

here  introduced,  which,  as  the  author  says,  is 
not  meant  to  be  given  '  particularly,'  but  only  as  a 
general  draft  or  outline. 

i  The  ark  of  the  covenant  overlaid  round  about  The  ark  of 

. .  i          ..  _  ,      _  1 1  •     •  j  i  i  the  Covenant. 

with  gold.  X  rom  this  it  appears  that  the  ark  was  EX.  xxv.  10. 
a  solidly-constructed  box,  inwardly  and  outwardly 
overlaid  with  gold  plates,  and  the  borders  richly 
o  rnamented.  As  it  contained  the  two  tables  of 
the  law,  it  was  called  the  i  ark  of  the  covenant/ 
It  was  the  very  foundation  and  centre  of  the  whole 
Hebrew  commonwealth, — unseen  and  sacred  beyond 
every  other  object  belonging  to  the  tabernacle  ;  as 
it  were,  the  very  throne  of  God  Himself  who  dwelt 
over  it.  It  could  be  approached  only  by  selected 
persons,  and  was  guarded  and  kept  with  the  most 
scrupulous  and  awful  jealousy;  yet  it  does  not 
appear  that  it  was  so  closed  from  the  time  when 
the  tables  were  deposited,  that  no  other  objects 
might  be  introduced  save  the  tables;  for  this 
verse  favours  the  notion  that  '  the  golden  pot  that 
had  manna,'  and  '  Aaron's  rod  that  budded,'  were  its  contents, 
lodged  within  the  very  ark,  and  riot  merely  within 
the  inner  sanctuary.  The  expressions  in  the 
Pentateuch,  such  as  '  laying  up  before  the  Lord,' 
and  '  before  the  testimony,'  are  indefinite ;  but  the 
passage  (Deut.  xxxi.  26),  '  Take  this  book  of  the 

s 


274  THE  HEBREW  TABERNACLE. 

CH.  XXIY.    law,  and  put  it  in  the  side  of  the  ark  of  the  cove- 

Heb.  ix.  1-6.  nant,'  must  mean  either  that  the  side  of  the  ark 
could  be  opened  for  some  such  purpose  as  deposit 
ing  a  copy  of  the  law,  or  that  there  was  a  re 
ceptacle  close  to  it  adapted  to  this  and  similar 
memorials,  such  as  the  l  golden  pot  that  had 
manna,'  and  i  Aaron's  rod  that  budded.'  But  it 
is  far  more  probable  that  the  lid  of  the  ark  (deno 
minated  the  mercy-seat)  was  moveable,  and  that, 
if  a  separate  stand  was  not  made  on  which  to  place 
the  cherubim,  the  lid  of  the  ark  was  actually  moved, 
together  with  the  cherubim,  whenever  the  taber 
nacle  was  taken  down. 

There  is  nothing  improbable  or  irreverent  in  this 
supposition,  since  the  priests  had  undoubtedly  a 
licence  to  deal  thus  with  these  holy  things,  and, 
indeed,  must  have  done,  whenever  the  tabernacle 

The  law  of  its  was  to  be  removed,  that  which,  while  it  was  stand 
ing,  was  absolutely  unlawful.  They  must  have 
entered  into  the  Holiest  to  cover  the  sacred  objects 
with  the  magnificent  purple  cloths  prescribed  for 
the  purpose,  before  they  were  laid  on  the  shoulders 

its  dimen-  of  the  Levites.  Again,  if  the  dimensions  of  the  ark, 
reasonably  interpreted,  might  be  something  like 
three  feet  wide  by  six  in  length,  with  a  corre 
sponding  depth  of  three  feet,  it  would  be  more 
than  sufficient  to  hold  the  two  tables  of  the  cove 
nant,  so  that  there  was  no  difficulty  in  depositing, 
together  with  these,  the  original  of  the  Law  (which 
must  have  been  rather  bulky,  probably  written  on 
papyrus  leaf  in  the  form  of  rolls),  the  small  golden 
vase  containing  the  manna,  and  also  Aaron's  rod 
that  budded.  If  we  suppose  the  tables  of  the 
covenant  to  have  been  thin  slabs  of  polished 


sions. 


THE  HEBREW  TABERNACLE.  275 

granite,  divinely  engraved  with  the  ten  command-    CH.  xxiv. 
ments,  both  these  might  certainly  be  laid  on  the   Heb.lxTi-6. 
bottom  of  the  ark,  and  probably  exactly  fitted  it, 
30  as  to  exhibit  the  whole  law  upon  the  upper  sur 
face.     The  other  articles  might  be  laid  upon  them, 
and  remain  there  for  ages,  as  in  a  place  too  sacred 
:o  be  in  danger  of  violation. 

That  the  lid  of  the  ark  was  moveable  seems 
clear  from  the  circumstance  that  the  Bethshemites 
were  punished  for  uplifting  it  and  looking  into  it, 
and  also  from  the  fact  that,  when  it  was  removed 
into  the  sanctuary  which  Solomon  had  prepared 
for  it,  nothing  was  found  in  it  but  the  tables  of  the 
covenant,  showing  that,  at  some  time  or  other  in 
1he  vicissitudes  of  national  fortune,  the  pot  of 
manna  and  Aaron's  rod  had  been  abstracted. 
That  the  papyrus  roll  of  the  Law  should  be  there 
deposited,  was  befitting;  being  itself  the  divine 
edition  of  the  covenant  in  full,  whereas  the  tables 
were  only  an  abstract.  Aaron's  rod  was  hardly 
less  sacred,  inasmuch  as  his  office  was  essentially 
bound  up  with  the  administration  of  the  law.  The 
golden  pot  of  manna  seems  entitled  to  a  similar 
reverence,  because  it  was  the  voucher  for  the 
broadest  and  most  extended  miracle  ever  wrought 
by  God,  viz.  the  sustentation  of  a  whole  nation  for 
forty  years  by  bread  from  heaven.  These  memo 
rials,  it  would  seem,  were  periodically  exhibited 
by  the  high  priest,  and  replaced  by  the  same 
hand, — the  only  authentic  relics  these  of  which  a 
nation  could  ever  boast,  in  distinction  from  the 
overwhelming  mass  which  a  pious  or  fraudulent 
superstition  has  fabricated  for  Christians  in  times 
much  nearer  our  own. 


276 


THE  HEBREW  TABERNACLE. 


CH.  XXIV. 
Heb.  ix.  1-6. 
The  cherubim. 


The  tables  of 
the  Covenant 
symbolized 
government 
by  law. 


The  mercy- 
seat  symbol 
ized  the  in 
tervention  of 
atonement. 


Ver.  5.  'And  over  it  the  cherubims  of  glory 
shadowing  the  mercy-seat.'  This  finishes  the  de 
scription  of  the  two  departments  of  the  tabernacle, 
for  the  spacious  court  containing  the  brazen  altar 
and  the  laver  is  omitted,  —  another  example  in 
proof  that  the  description  is  merely  meant  as  a 
sketch  for  a  purpose.  The  three  things  here 
grouped  together  comprise  the  great  mysteries  of 
the  tabernacle,  viz.  the  Ark  of  the  Covenant,  the 
Mercy-seat,  and  the  Cherubim. 

Of  these  the  tables  of  the  covenant  may  be 
said  to  be  fundamental,  symbolizing  the  great 
truth,  that  all  government  is  an  administration  of 
law,  not  a  vague  and  desultory  assertion  of  autho 
rity  on  the  one  hand,  and  of  subjection  on  the  other. 
In  this  case  Law  was  made  specific  ;  it  was  written, 
— written  by  the  finger  of  God,  engraven  in  stone, 
probably  the  imperishable  granite  of  the  mountain 
whence  the  law  was  delivered.  The  voice  which 
had  so  solemnly  uttered  it  had  died  away,  but 
the  record  was  indelible ;  and  the  very  writing 
of  God  Himself  was  not  only  visible  to  Moses 
when  he  deposited  the  tables,  but  to  the  high 
priest  until  comparatively  late  times.  These,  and 
the  '  breastplate  of  judgment,' whence  issued  the 
oracles,  were  the  awful  and  incommunicable  mys 
teries  reserved  to  the  high  priest,  rendering  him 
an  inconceivably  august  personage  to  the  nation. 

The  '  Mercy-seat,'  or  propitiatory  (properly  i  the 
throne  of  God  in  the  sanctuary'),  by  its  position 
surmounting  Law,  formally  registered  in  the  tables 
beneath,  showed  the  gracious  sovereignty  which 
ruled  its  administration,  and,  above  all,  that 
atonement  intervened,  since  the  mercy-seat  was 


THE  HEBREW  TABERNACLE.  277 

isprinkled  with  blood  year  by  year.  By  this  act  CH.  xxiv. 
idn  was  confessed  in  the  person  of  the  high  priest,  Heb.  ix.  1-6. 
and  national  infractions  of  the  covenant,  when 
accompanied  by  the  penitence  of  the  people  on  the 
lay  of  atonement,  were  condoned.  This  mercy- 
iseat,  however,  was  still  that  of  sovereignty  keeping 
-:he  boundaries  of  indulgence  within  itself,  and 
giving  warning  against  '  presumptuous  sin '  as  '  the 
(2jreat  transgression.'  This  was  proved  by  the 
tudicial  occurrences  in  the  wilderness,  and  very 
impressively  by  the  terrible  signs  which  accom 
panied  the  giving  of  the  law,  though  these  sub 
sided  into  the  calm,  enthronement  of  Jehovah  upon 
the  mercy-seat. 

There  were  the  two  Cherubim  at  either  end,  as  The 
it  were  the  extension  of  the  mercy-seat  itself,  thus 
giving  the  idea  that  they  sprang  out  of  it,  and 
were  its  most  wonderful  creation.  They  were 
Images  of  life  by  sacrifice,  of  the  vitality  of 
atonement, — the  greatest  moral  miracle,  since  it 
harmonized  seeming  contrarieties,  and  brought 
about  the  impossible,  viz.  that  death  should  be  the 
cause  of  life.  The  doctrine  of  the  Cherubim  seems 
to  have  been,  that  winged  and  lofty  life,  indefinitely 
expansive  and  bathed '  in  the  light  of  heaven, 
emerged  from  the  very  bosom  of  death  by  the 
prerogatives  of  mercy,  through  the  atonement, 
harmonized  with  the  tables  of  the  law.  Hence  the 
Cherubim  could  be  no  other  than  emblems  of 
redeemed  and  glorified  humanity;  their  position 
and  relations  to  the  ark  and  inner  tabernacle 
evince  this.  They  are  said  to  overshadow,  with 
their  faces  downcast  and  mutually  confronted,  the 
mercy-seat  and  the  underlying  ark  of  the  cove- 


278  THE  HEBREW  TABERNACLE. 

CH.  xxiv.  nant.  All  this  is  nobly  significant  of  enwrapt 
Heb.  ix.  1-6.  thought  and  soul  within  the  sphere  of  the  mys 
teries  of  the  tabernacle;  and  that  the  gleaming 
glory  on  their  faces  from  above  was  the  light  which 
enabled  them  to  penetrate  these  profound  arcana 
of  the  divine  counsels.  They  are  called  here  i  cheru- 
bims  of  glory,'  or  glorious  cherubim,  because  sunned 
by  the  divine  presence  which  filled  the  inner  sanc 
tuary,  but  which  radiated  immediately  from  between 
themselves.  They  are  also  called  cherubim  of  glory 
in  respect  to  their  destiny,  for  they  are  seen  in  the 
visions  of  heaven  as  well  as  in  the  lower  sanctuary ; 
and,  in  conformity  with  this  typical  presentation, 
they  are  upon  the  throne  of  God  and  the  Lamb. 

It  is  probably  as  pointing  to  this  that  the  '  glory 
of  God,'  so  often  mentioned  in  the  New  Testament, 
is  to  be  understood.  It  does  not  mean  heaven  in 
the  general  (which  rather  gives  us  the  notion  of 
space  or  place),  but  a  divine  manifestation  appro 
priate  to  it,  and  in  a  very  special  sense  the  inherit 
ance  of  the  saints.  This  glory  is  probably  identical 
with  our  Lord's  expressions,  '  seeing  God '  or  i  the 
face  of  my  Father  which  is  in  heaven,'  the  privilege 
which  Moses  desired  in  vain  :  '  Thou  canst  not  see 
my  face  and  live.'  Such,  then,  are  the  Cherubim  of 
glory,  beings  destined  to  live  in  this  highest  sphere 
of  creature  privilege, — that  kingdom  of  God  which 
flesh  and  blood  cannot  inherit,  finally  to  be  opened 
by  the  mediation  of  Christ,  who  gives  entrance  to 
this  Holiest  of  all. 

Yerse  6  :  ( Now  when  these  things  were  thus 
ordained.'1  This  expression  refers  to  the  fore- 

'  Now  when  these  things  were  thus  ordained,  the  priests  went 
always  into  the  first  tabernacle,  accomplishing  the  service  of  God.' 


THE  HEBREW  TABERNACLE.  279 

going  description  of  the  first  and  second  sanctu-  CH.  xxiv. 
nries ;  it  implies  that  everything  belonging  to  Heb.  ix.  1-6. 
them,  as  the  history  shows,  was  directly  by  divine 
prescription,  and  that  the  date  of  the  priestly 
ministry  was  immediately  subsequent  to  the  forma 
tion  of  the  tabernacle.  The  house  was  first,  the 
service  and  the  servants  were  ensuing  arrange 
ments,  in  conformity  with  the  divine  pattern  showed 
to  Moses  in  the  mount.  The  daily  service  is  men 
tioned  first,  which  consisted  chiefly  in  the  offices  of 
the  golden  altar  of  incense,  the  lighting  of  the  lamp, 
Lnd  the  sprinkling  of  the  blood  of  the  sin-offerings 
before  the  veil,  or,  at  least,  of  one  particular  kind. 
But  the  chief  service  was  undoubtedly  performed 
in  the  court,  and  consisted  in  the  offering  of  a  lamb, 
morning  and  evening  throughout  the  year,  as  a  burnt- 
offering  ;  of  double  this  number  on  each  Sabbath ; 
and  of  a  further  increase  of  victims  at  the  beginning 
of  every  month,  exclusive  of  a  large  addition  at 
each  of  the  great  national  festivals.  Besides  these, 
the  individual  offerings,  free-will-offerings,  peace- 
offerings,  etc.,  must  have  been  very  numerous,  so 
that  the  duties  of  the  priesthood  would  be  not  a  priestly 
little  onerous,  though  the  service  directly  referred 
to  in  this  verse,  accomplished  within  the  first 
tabernacle,  was  an  almost  unvarying  routine.  The 
priests  appear  to  have  been  selected  for  this  service 
after  a  given  order,  or,  as  it  is  termed,  after  their 
'  courses,'  both  for  the  purpose  of  distributing  the 
duties  regularly,  and  also  because  the  apartment 
was  too  small  to  allow  of  more  than  one  or  two 
conveniently  entering  it  at  once.  Priests  are, 
indeed,  here  mentioned  as  on  duty;  but  this  is 
general,  and  does  not  imply  that  more  than  one 


280 


THE  HEBREW  TABERNACLE. 


CH.  XXIV. 
Heb.  ix.  1-6. 


Symbolic 
teaching. 


officiated  at  the  same  time.  According  to  the 
letter  of  the  ordinance,  the  offices  of  this  sanctuary 
appertained  to  the  high  priest,  though  undoubtedly 
it  was  construed  so  as  to  include  his  subordinates, 
probably  for  the  sake  of  securing  unbroken  regu 
larity. 

By  this  order  we  have  suggested  to  us  the  com 
bination  of  the  seen  and  the  unseen  in  religion ; 
that,  while  there  is  a  court  or  sphere  of  external 
service  appointed  for  the  Church  and  open  to  the 
world,  which  is  to  see  its  good  works,  yet  the  duties 
are  but  the  development  of  doctrines,  principles, 
and  virtues  unseen  and  divine.  To  employ  a 
metaphor  derived  from  Scripture  itself,  '  the  tree 
planted  in  the  house  of  the  Lord  flourishes  and 
brings  forth  fruit  in  His  courts;'  the  root  strikes 
into  the  invisible  and  is  secretly  nourished,  but  the 
form,  the  foliage,  and  the  fruit,  are  things  open  to 
the  common  gaze.  There  is  a  service  within  the 
veil  which  no  eye  but  that  of  God  can  mark :  the 
bright  lights  of  the  soul  -  tabernacle ;  the  golden 
candlestick,  with  its  radiant  branches,  its  stems  of 
truth,  its  lights  of  graces  all  intermingled  and 
heavenly  in  lustre  ;  the  golden  altar  of  incense 
expressing  soul  aspiration  Godward — the  reverence, 
the  affection,  the  faith,  and  the  sanctified  reason, 
all  wafted  upwards  in  prayer,  thanksgiving,  praise, 
a  perpetual  offering  by  fire  of  sweet  incense  to  the 
Lord,— this  is  the  moral  of  the  unseen  sanctuary, 
these  the  things  that  He  approves  who  sees  in 
secret. 


CHAPTER  XXY. 

THE    DAY    OF    ATONEMENT. 
LEV.  xvi. 

THIS  great  festival  of  the  Hebrew  people  requires  Day  of  atone- 
a  brief  notice  before  entering  on  the  exposition  of 
it  in  the  Epistle.  It  is  the  key  to  the  main  sub 
ject  of  these  chapters,  and  the  most  forcible  illus 
tration  of  the  priesthood  of  Christ  and  of  its  offices. 
Appointed  to  be  holden  on  the  tenth  day  of  the 
seventh  month,  it  was  solemnly  prefaced  by  the 
blowing  of  trumpets  on  the  first  day  of  that  month ; 
a  most  appropriate  ordinance  for  arousing  the  mind 
of  the  nation  to  the  approaching  solemnities,  inau 
gurated  by  the  great  Day  of  Atonement,  and  con 
summated  by  the  Feast  of  Tabernacles. 

This  Day  of  Atonement  seems  to  have  been  the  Comtnwtea 

*  with  the 

counterpart  to  that  of  the  Passover,  held  on  the  Passover. 
fourteenth  of  the  first  month.  In  certain  great 
respects  the  one  resembled  the  other,  but  with 
certain  points  of  difference  also.  Both  very 
specially  recognised  the  doctrine  of  atonement, 
both  were  national,  both  were  annual.  But  they 
exhibit  also  these  differences :  the  one  commemo 
rated  deliverance,  the  other  sin;  the  one  recog 
nised  atonement  as  the  ground  of  national  deliver 
ance,  the  other  recognised  it  as  the  ground  of 


282  THE  DAY  OF  ATONEMENT. 

CHAP.  XXY.  continued  national  integrity  and  the  favour  of  God. 
Lev.  xvi.  The  one  was  rather  a  family  ordinance ;  the  other, 
by  its  forms,  a  national  one.  The  Passover  was 
remarkable  for  the  absence  of  priestly  interference, 
and  for  the  supremacy  it  gave  to  the  head  of  the 
household ;  the  Day  of  Atonement,  for  the  supre 
macy  which  it  gave  to  the  priesthood,  and  especially 
to  the  office  of  the  pontifex.  The  one  preceded 
the  covenant  and  the  law,  heralding  national  exist 
ence;  the  other  was  a  recognition  of  the  obligations 
of  the  covenant,  and  a  provision  for  renewing  and 
maintaining  it.  Both  were  typical  of  redemption 
by  atonement :  in  the  one  instance,  of  the  family ; 
in  the  other,  of  the  nation  :  the  one  was  typical  of 
deliverance  from  destruction  by  the  blood  sprinkled 
upon  the  lintels;  the  other,  of  perpetuated  com 
munion  with  God  and  of  accepted  worship  through 
the  offices  of  priesthood.  The  one  typified  the  food 
which  gives  strength  for  the  spiritual  journey ;  the 
other,  the  living  Mediator,  who,  having  first  offered 
Himself  for  sin,  for  ever  bears  it  away  into  the 
wilds  of  oblivion. 

Begins  with  Leviticus  xvi.  contains  the  law  of  this  great  solem- 
penitentiai  nity  in  extenso.  Its  general  character  may  be  divined 
from  one  of  its  statutes,  viz.  that  on  that  day  the 
people  were  c  to  afflict  their  souls/  by  which  is 
meant,  rigidly  to  fast,  to  abstain  from  the  works 
and  the  pleasures  of  life,  to  hold  solemn  convoca 
tion  on  a  national  scale,  and  to  give  themselves 
to  serious  and  penitential  exercises.  This  alone  is 
significant  of  the  nature  of  a  day  of  atonement,  that, 
as  the  Epistle  says,  it  is  '  a  remembrance  again 
made  of  sins  every  year/  a  confession  that  the 
Covenant,  even  in  a  national  sense,  had  not  always 


THE  DAY  OF  ATONEMENT.  283 

teen  kept  in  its  integrity,  so  as  to  exempt  them  CHAP.  XXY. 
from  the  divine  displeasure.  But  undoubtedly  Lev.  xvi. 
the  aspects  of  the  day  were  more  strongly  personal  its  personal 
than  national,  since  the  argument  of  this  chapter 
requires  us  thus  to  regard  it,  especially  when  taken 
i  i  connection  with  such  passages  as  these :  4  Be 
cause  that  the  worshippers,  once  purged,  should 
have  no  more  conscience  of  sins.'  This,  with 
ether  and  similar  statements,  is  demonstrative 
that  the  day  of  atonement  was  really  a  season  in 
\vhich  God  dealt  with  His  people  individually;  that 
penitence  and  absolution  were  the  things  upper 
most  on  the  occasion.  The  relevancy  of  the  day  of 
atonement  as  a  type  requires  this  view,  since  an 
ordinance  merely  national  could  not  prefigure 
offices  personal  and  spiritual. 

Turning  now   to   the    ceremonies    of   the   day,  its  offerings, 
besides  the  customary  offerings  of  the  tabernacle 
(for  these  were  not  superseded),  a  young  bullock 
was  to  be  provided  for  a  sin-offering,  and  a  ram  for  sin-offering. 
a  burnt-offering.     With  these  atonement  was  to  be 
made   for  the   priesthood;    in  addition  to  which 
there  was    a   burnt-offering   for   the   people  also,  Burnt-offer- 
jointly  with  the  priests.     Then  comes  the  most 
remarkable  offering  of  the  day,  viz.  the  two  goats  The  scape- 
presented  before  the  Lord  at  the  door  of  the  taber-  s 
nacle  of  the  congregation.     There,  in  the  presence 
of  the  congregation,  and  surrounded  by  his  sons 
or  assistants,  the  high  priest  solemnly  takes  the 
lot  as  to  which  of  the  goats  is  to  be  sacrificed,  and 
which  is  to  be  reserved  for  the  scape-goat.     This 
incident  of  the  use  of  the  lot  to  obtain  a  divine  The  lot  and 
decision   on   a   matter  seemingly  indifferent,   and  signification, 
entirely  peculiar  to  this  offering,  points  us  to  a 


284 


THE  DAY  OF  ATONEMENT. 


CHAP.  XXY. 

Lev.  xvi. 


The  pair  of 
victims  sym 
bolized  death 
and  life  as 
essential  to 
atonement. 


The  High 
Priest  alone 
officiates. 


mystery ;  and  that  mystery  cannot  be  other  thai 
God's  own  election  of  the  great  world- victim  in  th< 
person  of  His  Son ;  that  His  lot  lies  at  the  foun-| 
tain-head  of  atoning  efficacy;  and  that  on  no  othei 
principle  than  His  election  can  the  imputation  oJ 
guilt  and  penalty  be  transmissible  from  the  hea( 
of  an  offender  to  that  of  a  substitute.    Here  th< 
Lord's  lot  decides  everything;  man's  intervention! 
nothing.     The  presentation  of  a  pair  of  victims, 
obviously  meant  on  this  occasion  to  be  as  one  in 
their  office,  could  have  no  other  significance  than 
to  show  that  the  principle  and  power  of  atonement 
lie,  not  in  a  defunct  victim  merely,  but  in  a  living 
one ;  that  death  and  life  are  essential  to  the  per 
petuity  and  the  purposes  of  atonement.     These  are 
not  representable  by  one  victim,  but  by  two,  re 
minding  us  of  St.  Paul's  words :    *  who  was  de 
livered  for  our  offences,  and  raised  again  for  our 
justification.' 

In  no  other  act  recorded  in  the  Old  Testament, 
except  that  of  the  offering  up  of  Isaac  by  his  father, 
do  we  discern  the  double  aspect  of  the  great  mystery 
of  Atonement.  The  day  of  Christ  was  shown  to  the 
people,  assembled  at  the  door  of  the  tabernacle, 
year  by  year,  as  it  had  been  to  the  patriarch  ages 
before  on  Mount  Moriah.  This  consideration  in 
vests  the  day  of  atonement  with  a  glory  peculiarly 
its  own. 

The  vestments  and  action  of  the  high  priest 
next  require  attention.  Attired  in  his  ordinary  or 
undress  garments,  called  the  holy  linen  coat,  and 
the  linen  breeches,  and  the  linen  girdle,  with  the 
linen  mitre,  after  having  first  thoroughly  washed, 
he  appears  most  prominently  in  the  ceremony  of  the 


THE  DAY  OF  ATONEMENT.  285 

presentation  of  the  two  goats  at  the  door  of  the  CHAP.  xxv. 
tabernacle.  The  bullock  first  slain  and  offered  in  Lev.  xvi. 
a:onement  for  himself  and  his  family,  his  next 
office  is  to  slay  the  goat  in  sacrifice  on  which  the 
Lord's  lot  fell ;  and  then,  by  a  solemn  act  of  public 
confession  before  the  congregation,  to  transfer  the 
giilt  and  uncleanness  of  the  nation  to  the  head  of 
the  living  animal,  to  be  despatched  into  the  wilder 
ness.  Here,  again,  a  difference  is  to  be  marked 
between  this  ceremony  and  that  of  sacrifice  in 
general.  Ordinarily  inferior  priests  slew  and 
offered  the  victims  on  the  altar;  or,  in  the  in 
stance  of  a  private  offering,  the  individual  himself 
slew  his  own  victim,  the  priest  taking  charge  of  it 
afterwards;  but  in  this  instance  the  high  priest 
appears  alone  as  the  offerer  of  the  victim;  all 
others  stand  aside,  and  something  incommunicable 
is  then  and  there  done  by  him  in  virtue  of  his 
office.  This  also  is  typical. 

We  then  follow  the  high  priest  as  he  enters  upon  He  alone 
the  most  solemn  of  all  his  functions,  described  in 
the  12th,  13th,  and  14th  verses  of  the  sixteenth 
chapter  of  Leviticus.  With  his  golden  censer  full 
of  coals  taken  from  the  altar,  and  his  hands  full  of 
4  sweet  incense  beaten  small,'  he  approaches  the 
mysterious  inner  sanctuary,  lifts  or  draws  aside 
the  veil,  and,  as  it  would  seem,  first  on  entry  deposit 
ing  the  incense  on  the  coals,  a  cloud  of  perfume 
thence  arises,  which  fills  the  place,  and  so  conceals 
the  brightness  of  the  Divine  Presence,  on  which  he 
was  forbidden  to  gaze.  The  place  being  thus  filled 
with  a  cloud  of  fragrance,  and  the  censer  laid  on 
the  floor,  he  takes  into  his  hands  the  golden  basin 
containing  the  blood  of  the  bullock,  and  with  his 


28G 


THE  DAY  OF  ATONEMENT. 


CHAP.  XXV. 

Lev.  xvi. 


He  re-enters 
tke  Holiest. 


Lev.  xvi.  16. 


Makes  atone 
ment  for  the 
Holy  Place 
itself. 


Reconciliation 
of  the  first 
Tabernacle. 


finger  sprinkles  it  seven  times  on  and  before  the 
mercy-seat,  eastward.  Thence  retiring  and  return 
ing  to  the  outer  court,  the  goat  of  the  sin-offering 
is  killed.  With  its  blood,  and  with  the  golden 
censer  again  charged  with  coals,  and  his  hands 
with  incense,  the  high  priest  a  second  time  enters 
the  inner  sanctuary,  performs  the  same  acts  as  in 
the  first  instance,  and  then  withdraws. 

This  office  of  the  high  priest  is  interpreted  in  the 
16th  verse  of  the  same  chapter.     He  had  effected 
a  double  atonement  within  the  veil,  most  remark 
ably  here  stated  to  be  on  behalf  of  the  holy  place 
itself,  on  the  ground  that  it  had  been  defiled  by  the 
sinfulness  both  of  the  priesthood  and  of  the  people 
during  the  past  year.     In  consequence,  it  was  not 
fit  to  be  continued  as  a  residence  for  the  thrice 
holy  Lord  God;  and  this  privilege  was  only  con 
ceded   for   the   year   ensuing   on   the   fact    being 
solemnly  recognised  by  the  presentation  of  atone 
ment  on  the  very  mercy-seat  itself.     The  defile 
ment  of  the  sanctuary,  and  the  consequent  with 
drawal  of  God  from  it,  were  the  doctrines  assumed 
by  the  offerings  of  that  hour.     The  prerogatives  of 
mercy  henceforth  were  concessions  to  the  atone 
ment,  and  not  things  necessarily  inherent  in  the 
relation  of  God  to  His  people.     In  the  20th  verse 
of  the  same  chapter  this  act  of  atonement  is  ex 
pressly   called    t  reconciling    the   holy   place,'   i.e. 
making  it   consonant  with  the  divine  holiness  to 
hold  communications  of  favour  with  it, — a  sense 
of  the  word  '  reconcile '  strongly  evangelical,  and 
of  not  unfrequent  occurrence  in  the  apostolic  writ 
ings.     This  act  of  sprinkling  with  blood  appears  to 
have  been  repeated  in  the  first  tabernacle,  called 


THE  DAY  OF  ATONEMENT.  287 

the  Tabernacle  of  the  Congregation,  not  because  CHAP.  xxv. 
the  people  themselves  assembled  therein,  but  be-     LevTxvi. 
cause  they  were  there  represented  by  the  priest 
hood.     There  the  golden  altar,  the  table  of  shew- 
"bread,    and    the    vessels    of    the    ministry    were 
sanctified  by  the  same  process  :  thus  they  too  were 
reconciled  and  made  fit  for  future  service.     Then 
returning  outward  into  the  court  of  the  congrega-  Of  the  Court. 
t:on,  the  high  priest  sanctifies  the  brazen  altar  of 
sacrifice  by  sprinkling  it  with  blood  seven  times. 

It  is  remarkable  that  in  the  whole  of  this  solemn  The  High 
business  the  high  priest  acts  alone.    The  tabernacle  fione— typical 
is.  formally  closed  until  this  reconciling;  ministry  of  of  Christ's 

»  ...  supremacy. 

his  is  finished.  No  man  is  with  him  throughout ; 
no  man  either  assists  him  in  the  ceremonia],  or  is 
a  witness  of  it ;  it  is  entirely  occult,  and  absolutely 
solitary.  This,  too,  is  strikingly  typical  of  the  sole 
and  supreme  ministry  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ 
within  the  veil  of  the  spiritual  world,  and  in  the 
realms  of  God's  distinguishing  and  beatifying  pre 
sence.  He  is  the  sole  representative  of  the  Church 
in  that  high  and  holy  sphere ;  and  His  office  alone 
suffices  to  open  that  hidden  sanctuary,  otherwise 
inaccessible  to  His  people. 

It  is  further  remarkable  that  this  sanctification  by  This  atone- 
sacrifice,  as  conducted  by  the  high  priest,  is  applied 
to  places  and  things  rather  than  to  persons.  It 
figures  the  effects  of  sinfulness  on  the  relations  and 
acts  of  humanity ;  on  its  worship,  its  services,  and 
its  intercourse  with  God, — an  observation  to  be 
borne  in  mind  when  certain  passages  in  the  Epistle 
are  examined.  Yet  further,  and  more  important 
still,  is  the  remark  that  the  offices  of  the  Day  of 
Atonement  were  clearly  fundamental  to  the  whole 


288 


THE  DAY  OF  ATONEMENT. 


CHAP.  xxv.  administration  of  the  law  itself.  The  day  of  atone- 
Lev.  xvi.  ment  lay  at  the  root  of  the  entire  religion  of  the 
nation.  Its  ceremonial,  its  daily  offering,  and  its 
sacrifices,  whether  personal  or  public,  all  sprang 
out  of  atonement,  and  were  qualified  by  it.  The 
priesthood  appointed  to  offer  atonement  must  first 
itself  be  atoned  for.  The  brazen  altar,  by  which 
all  atonements  for  the  year  were  effected,  must 
itself  be  first  the  subject  of  atonement;  and  so  of 
the  sanctuaries  and  the  furniture.  They  cannot  be 
ppened  without  this  annual  re-consecration ;  they 
cannot  hallow  except  they  first  are  hallowed  by 
this  blood  of  sprinkling,  brought  within  the  veil, 
and  applied  to  the  mercy-seat  itself.  This  is  really 
the  capital  doctrine  or  mystery  set  before  us  in 
this  great  Hebrew  festival;  and  its  evangelical 
significance  is  very  striking. 

After  the  '  reconciliation  '  follows  the  impressive 
ceremony  of  imposing  on  the  head  of  the  scape 
goat,  by  the  hands  of  the  high  priest,  the  sins 
which  were  supposed  to  have  been  atoned  for 
and  removed  from  the  holy  places.  In  beautiful 
sequence  to  the  foregoing  acts,  these  are  repre 
sented  as  gathered  up  in  the  person  of  the  high 
priest,  and  imposed  in  mass  on  the  head  of  the 
scape-goat,  and  so  borne  away  beyond  the  pre 
cincts  of  the  holy  territory,  or  the  boundaries  of  the 
Hebrew  encampment,  into  the  wilderness. 

That  day,  when  the  goat  was  out  of  sight,  and 
his  whereabouts  became  incognisable,  as  it  were,  a 
clearance  was  effected  of  the  plague  of  leprosy,  of 
the  virus  of  a  pestilence.  Then  room  was  made 
for  blessing.  The  high  priest  put  off  the  garments  \ 
of  humiliation  and  atonement ;  and,  as  if  himself 


Confession  on 
the  head  of 
the  goat. 


THE  DAY  OF  ATONEMENT.  289 

lefiled   by   this   business    of  purification,  he  had  CHAP.  xxv. 
.gain  to  wash  within  the  holy  place,  to  robe  him-      Lev.  xvi. 
self  in   his   grand   pontificals,   to   offer  the  joint 
urnt-offering    of    the    day   for    himself    and   his 
eople,  and  to  close  all  with  the  solemn  benedic- 
;ion:   "The  Lord  bless  thee,  and  keep  thee:  the  Num.  vi.  24, 

25    26 

Lord  make  His  face  shine  upon  thee,  and  be  gra 
cious  unto  thee  :  the  Lord  lift  up  His  countenance 
ipon  thee,  and  give  thee  peace.' 


T 


Sins  of  ignor 
ance  alone 
cleansed  by 
the  Day  of 
Atonement. 


CHAPTER   XXYI. 

THE    DAY   OF   ATONEMENT  :    ITS   NEW   TESTAMENT 


HEB.  ix.  7-12. 

THE  preliminary  observations  on  the  facts  of  the 
day  of  atonement  in  the  preceding  chapter  bring 
us  to  the  consideration  of  their  full  inspired  exposi 
tion.  This  is  contained  in  the  ninth  chapter,  from 
the  7th  to  the  12th  and  from  the  23d  to  the  26th 
verses.  The  subject  is  resumed  in  the  first  four 
verses  of  the  tenth  chapter,  and  concluded  in  the 
19th,  20th,  21st,  and  22d  of  the  same.1 

Ver.  7.  '  But  into  the  second  went  the  higlj 
priest  alone  once  every  year,  not  without  blood, 
which  he  offered  for  himself,  and  for  the  errors  of 
the  people.' 

The  '  errors  of  the  people '  intimate  the  proper 
sphere  of  atonement  on  that  day.  The  word 
ayvorjfjLdra  means  sins  of  ignorance,  and  is  a  mani 
fest  reference  to  the  early  chapters  of  Leviticus,  in 
which  these  sins  are  variously  described  as  indi 
vidual  or  as  national.  They  are  distinguished 
from  sins  of  presumption,  for  which  no  atonement 

1  The  verses  from  the  7th  to  the  12th  are  the  theme  of  this  chapter, 
save  a  few  remarks  at  its  close  on  the  23d  and  24th  verses.  The  order 
here  given  is  not  followed,  but  that  of  the  Epistle  is  adhered  to.— • 

[EDS.] 


THE  DAY  OF  ATONEMENT.  291 

vas  provided.     By  f  sins  of  ignorance '  were  meant    CH.  xxvi. 
;ins  against  the  ceremonial   law,  of  which  indi-  Heb.  ix.  7-12. 
dduals,  or  even  the  nation,  might  be  unconscious 
it  the  time  they  were  committed,  but  which  were 
lot  inconsistent  with  a  general  reverence  for  the 
aw  and  its  Author.    By  'sins  of  presumption'  were 
neant  sins  committed,  not  merely  with  privity  that 
:hey  were  such,  but  in  the  spirit  of  blasphemous 
tnpiety  and  contempt  of  God :  for  these,  punish 
ment  was  inevitable.     To  the  former  class  apper 
tained  the  offices  of  the  day  of  atonement.     It 
removed  the  guilt  and  disability  imputed  to  those 
trespasses,  which,  however,  do  not  appear  to  have 
ncluded  merely  ceremonial  offences,  but  likewise, 
n  some  sense,  moral  ones.     This  is  determined  by 
t"ie  letter  of  the  law  itself,  and  by  the  argument 
of  the  Epistle  also,  which  goes  to  show  that  the 
sacrifice  of  Christ  alone  can  properly  avail  to  take 
away  moral  offences,  while  the  offices  of  the  law 
availed  only  for  the  sins  of  ignorance. 

Yer.  8.  '  The  Holy  Ghost  this  signifying,  that  the 
way  into  the  holiest  of  all  was  not  yet  made  mani 
fest,  while  as  the  first  tabernacle  was  yet  standing.' 

'  The  Holy  Ghost  this  signifying.'  This  expres-  Agency  of  the 
sion  at  once  opens  to  us  both  the  Author  and  the  in°tL  institu- 
lesson  of  the  law  in  the  arrangement  of  the  taber- 
nacle.  The  doctrine  of  the  Holy  Ghost's  agency 
in  accomplishing  the  institutions  of  the  law  is  here 
especially  affirmed, — a  doctrine  not  obviously  con 
tained  in  the  narratives  of  the  Pentateuch,  but 
authoritatively  declared  by  these  inspired  comments 
on  it.1  This  is  a  most  important  doctrine,  since  it 

1  2  Cor.  iii.  17  exhibits  another  signal  instance  of  the  same  truth  in 
the  same  connection. 


292  THE  DAY  OF  ATONEMENT  : 

en.  xxvi.  avers  the  inspiration  of  the  Spirit  as  authenticat- 
Hcb.  ix.  7-12.  ing  the  Pentateuch  itself,  and  particularly  as  ruling 
over  these  arrangements  with  distinct  regard  to  the 
foreshadowing  of  evangelical  mysteries.  His  work 
did  not  merely  lie  in  inspiring  Moses,  or  Aholiab, 
or  Bezaleel,  to  design  and  fabricate  these  things  for 
existing  uses,  but  in  making  them  typical  of  great 
evangelical  futurities,  to  be  in  the  process  of  time 
made  manifest,  though  for  a  while  hidden.  Thus 
the  apartment  veiled  off  from  priests  and  people 
alike,  and  only  annually  trodden  by  the  high 
priest,  inculcated  the  doctrine  of  reserve,  and  with 
this  the  doctrine  of  separation  and  of  inhibited 
approach  to  God  Himself,  even  by  His  ministers, 
much  less  by  His  people  in  general.  He  showed 
by  the  existence  of  the  first  tabernacle,  consecrated 
to  ordinary  ministerial  service,  that  the  ultimate 
in  religion  could  not  then  be  reached,  and  that 
mystery  and  imperfection  are  necessary  correla 
tives.  He  taught  that  no  ceremonial  atonements 
really  opened  the  way  to  God,  but  were  limited  to  an 
inferior  department  of  service,  viz.  to  a  ceremonial 
religion,  the  existence  of  which  was  only  compatible 
with  something  as  yet  undisclosed ;  that  outward 
nighness  to  God  might  and  did  consist  with  inward 
separation  from  Him ;  and  that  local  contiguity  by 
no  means  implied  spiritual  intercourse. 
Figure  alone  All  this  is  pointed  out  in  the  9th  verse  :  l  Which 

befitted  the  x 

time  present,  was  a  figure  for  the  time  then  present,  in  which 
dispensation,  were  offered  both  gifts  and  sacrifices,  that  could 
not  make  him  that  did  the  service  perfect,  as 
pertaining  to  the  conscience.'  i  Figure  '  here  is  the] 
rendering  of  7rapaj3o\r)  [parable],  i.e.  a  lesson  taught 
by  sensible  imagery  or  by  human  analogue,  at  best 


ITS  NEW  TESTAMENT  $iop0a)(Ti<:.  293 

but  imperfectly  deciphered,  often  not  at  all,  though  CH.  xxvi. 
it  might  be  the  most  befitting  the  capacities  of  the  Heb.  ix.  7-12. 
people  of  that  time,  as  well  as  the  particular  stage 
at  which  the  divine  purpose  had  arrived.  By  the 
'  time  present '  is  to  be  understood  the  entire  range 
of  the  Mosaic  dispensation,  probably  not  less  than 
twelve  or  thirteen  centuries.  By  'him  that  did 
the  service '  is  to  be  understood  the  priest  who 
offered  the  '  gifts  and  sacrifices,'  whether  for  him- 
6  elf  or  the  people.  By  '  perfect  as  pertaining  to  the 
conscience '  is  to  be  understood  an  inward  sense  of 
1he  entire  spirituality  of  his  service,  and  of  the 
divine  acceptance  of  it ;  so  as  to  render  that  ser 
vice  consciously  holy,  and  as  consciously  recipro 
cated  by  the  divine  good  pleasure.  This  perfection 
is  contrasted  with  a  merely  official  perfection,  which 
arises  from  an  exact  fulfilment  of  the  prescribed 
duty  called  in  the  law  itself  4  after  the  manner/  i.e. 
the  ordinance ;  but  which  was  unaccompanied  by 
distinct  spiritual  fruitions,  or  perhaps  emotions  of 
any  kind.  The  reason  of  this  spiritual  imperfection 
conjoined  with  the  ceremonial  perfection  is  further 
described  as  arising  from  the  nature  of  the  acts 
which  comprise  the  service.1  These  were  the  offer 
ings  of  '  meats  and  drinks/  i.e.  sacrifices  so  named 
because  consisting  of  cereals  as  wrell  as  of  flesh, 
mingled  with  wine,  and  for  the  latter  reason  called 
drink-offerings  in  the  law.  These  were  so  minutely 
described  and  specifically  enforced,  that  the  '  man 
ner/  as  it  was  termed,  became  a  familiar  routine 
to  every  priest  on  duty. 

1  '  Which  stood  only  in  meats  and  drinks,  and  divers  washings,  and 
carnal  ordinances,  imposed  on  them  until  the  time  of  reformation.' — 
Ver.  10. 


294 


THE  DAY  OF  ATONEMENT  : 


Divers  wash- 


The  time  of 

leforraation. 


CH.  xxvi.  The  *  divers  washings  '  refer  to  the  injunctions, 
Heb.  ix.  7-12.  so  imperatively  laid  down,  that  all  priestly  offices 
should  be  accompanied  or  preceded  by  the  most 
careful  ablutions  both  of  the  person  and  vestments. 
4  Carnal  ordinances  '  seem  to  refer  to  the  stringent 
commands  respecting  bodily  qualifications  for  the 
priesthood,  to  the  absence  of  all  blemishes,  and  to 
the  removal  of  all  accidental  defilement,  or  even 
to  mourning  for  the  dead,  if,  indeed,  these  notices 
are  intended  to  apply  exclusively  to  the  priest 
hood. 

<  Imposed  on  them  until  the  time  of  reformation/ 

. 

1  The  time  of  reformation  is  here  obviously  anti 
thetic  to  the  (  time  then  present  '  (verse  9),  and  is 
to  be  construed  in  the  same  large  sense,  viz.  of  the 
inauguration  of  the  gospel  age,  together  with  its 
unknown  range  in  the  future.  If  so,  then  there  is 
presumably  a  second  antithesis  to  be  noted  between 
the  word  '  figure,'  or  '  parable,'  as  it  stands  in  the 
original,  and  SiopOcoo-is,  here  rendered  reformation. 
The  word  reformation  is  infelicitous,  because  it 
suggests  recovery  from  a  foregoing  state  of  lapse  or 
corruption,  and  that  Christianity  is  to  be  viewed  in 
the  light  of  the  primitive  Judaizers,  i.e.  as  a  revision 
of,  or  an  addition  to,  the  law.  This  would  be  a 
grave  error.  It  is  obvious  that  i  the  time  of  re 
formation  '  here  signifies  alone  the  evangelical  dis 
pensation,  and  that  the  true  sense  of  the  phrase, 
bearing  this  in  mind,  is  to  be  gathered  by  viewing 
it  in  strict  relation  to  the  time  of  the  parable  or 
typical  institute.  Thus  diorthosis  is  probably  not 
to  be  too  literally  translated  as  a  rectification  or 
straightening  of  something  crooked  or  out  of  course, 
which  seems  to  have  misled  our  translators  when 


ITS  NEW  TESTAMENT  SiopQwrn.  295 

they  rendered  it  reformation;   it  is  rather  to  be    CH.  xxvi. 
understood  of  the  institution  of  a  worship  strictly  Heb.  ix.  7-12. 
i  i    conformity   with    facts    and    doctrines    newly  TO  be  under. 
I  rought  to  light,  or  of  the  c  parable  '  expounded  as  opposed  to 


ly  the  history  of  the  New  Testament.     Our  Lord 

i.ses  parable  for  dark  and  unexplained  doctrines, 

riuch  in  the  same  sense  as  it  is  here  applied  to  the 

institutions  of  the  law,  £  a  figure  for  the  time  then 

present.'    These  were  to  give  place  to  the  apostolic 

teachings  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  which  had  in  them  all 

the  force  of  a  divine  intuition  and  vision.     '  The  John  xvi.  25. 

time  cometh,  when  I  will  no  more  speak  unto  you 

i:i  proverbs  (or  parables),  but  will  show  you  plainly 

cf  the  Father.' 

Figure,  i.e.  parable,  is  always  an  indirect  mode  of 
teaching,  consequently  obscure.  It  is  not  self-inter 
pretative  ;  some  knowledge  of  its  main  truths  is 
presupposed,  or  it  is  unintelligible  ;  where  it  does 
not  exist,  it  must  be  supplied  afterwards.  This 
suggests  the  true  idea  of  the  diorthosis  (SiopOacns). 
Thus  our  Lord's  explanations  of  His  own  parables 
(Matt,  xiii.)  answer  to  the  diorthosis;  and  in  a  broader 
sense,  the  teachings  of  the  Holy  Spirit  to  the 
apostles  on  and  after  the  day  of  Pentecost  were 
the  diorthosis  of  the  evangelical  history.  In  the 
same  sense  New  Testament  principles  are  the 
diorthosis  of  prophecy,  according  to  St.  Peter 
(2d  Epistle  i.  19,  20).  The  term  is  also  applicable 
to  moral  truth,  as  well  as  to  doctrines  brought  out 
of  type  or  prophecy.  For  example,  the  Sermon  on 
the  Mount  contains  the  diortliosis  of  the  Moral  Law 
(Matt.  v.  17).  Our  Lord's  declaration  on  the  subject 
of  marriage  exhibits  the  diorthosis  of  that  ordi 
nance  as  both  primitive  and  final  ;  and  His  deliver- 


296  THE  DAY  OF  ATONEMENT : 

CH.  xxvi.  ance  on  the  Sabbath  (Mark  ii.  27)  exhibits  the 
Jfeb.  ix.  7-12.  diorthosis  of  that  institute  as  a  primitive  and  final 
one  when  stripped  of  its  merely  Hebrew  specialities. 
The  Epistle  to  the  Hebrews  is  itself  the  diorthosis 
of  the  law ;  our  Lord's  humanity  is  the  diorthosis  of 
the  inner  tabernacle ;  while  the  tabernacle,  collec 
tively  taken,  may  be  regarded  as  having  its  dior 
thosis  in  the  unseen  sphere  of  our  Lord's  priesthood. 
We  learn  also  from  chapter  x.  20  that  His  flesh  is 
the  diorthosis  of  the  veil ;  and  from  many  passages 
that  His  Atonement  is  the  diorthosis  of  the  entire 
system  of  sacrifice.  Thus,  too,  the  diorthosis  of 
4 meats  and  drinks'  (ver.  10)  is  the  acceptableness 
of  all  offerings  through  the  atonement — of  '  divers 
washings '  or  baptisms,  the  washing  of  regeneration 
or  renewing  of  the  Holy  Ghost — of  '  carnal  ordi 
nances,'  Christian  perfection ; — the  diorthosis  of  all 
this,  or,  in  other  words,  the  interpretation,  the 
canon  or  rule  of  judging  and  settling  all  doctrinal 
and  moral  questions  regarding  religion,  is  the  Gos 
pel,  and  the  Gospel  alone. 

The  Gospel  differs  from  the  Law  and  all  teachings 
antecedent  to  itself  in  this  remarkable  particular, 
arising  out  of  its  finality,  that  all  is  to  be  viewed 
and  determined  by  its  light,  while  it,  as  referring 
to  nothing  ulterior,  is  self-revealing,  or  rather,  is 
revealed  by  the  Holy  Ghost.  Thus  we  are  relieved 
from  a  system  of  successive  figure,  or  parable,  in 
which  one  is  required  to  interpret  another,  but 
there  is  no  last  to  interpret  them  all.  To  revive 
symbolic  or  parabolic  religion,  is  to  condemn  its 
adherents  to  pace  in  a  perpetual  circle  without  ever 
being  able  to  come  to  a  knowledge  of  the  truth. 

The  diorthosis  then  signifies  a  service  which  sets 


ITS  NEW  TESTAMENT  SiopOdxw.  297 

out  from  evangelical  doctrines,  and  is  their  true  CH.  xxvi. 
and  direct  application.  This  is  a  most  important  Heb.  ix.  7-12. 
directory  as  to  the  nature  of  Christian  worship. 
'It  includes,  as  afterwards  explained,  ' access  by 
faith  into  the  Holiest.'  conscious  communion  with 
God,  both  congregational  and  private,  a  true 
priestly  character,  offices  of  spiritual  devotion,  and 
tokens  of  divine  acceptance — in  a  word,  it  is  entirely 
spiritual  worship.  Such  is  the  diortlwsis  which 
necessarily  excludes,  as  belonging  to  the  time  of 
the  parable — (1)  the  idea  of  a  located  divine  pre 
sence  or  consecrated  place,  and  of  conferring  on  it, 
by  names  and  ceremonies,  a  sacredness  not  imput- 
able  to  any  other ;  (2)  the  institution  of  a  succes 
sion  al  priesthood  analogous  to  the  Jewish,  without 
whose  offices  sacraments  are  invalid,  worship  is 
unwarranted,  and  blessing  uncovenanted;  (3)  pre 
scriptive  forms  of  worship  held  to  be  as  essential  to 
Christianity  as  the  Levitical  rites  were  to  the  law 
of  Moses,  a  routine  necessarily  inviolable,  symbol 
largely  employed,  mysteries  variously  intimated, 
scenic  and  sensible  appliances  such  as  art  and  taste 
may  furnish,  statuary,  painting,  incense,  crucifixes, 
altars,  vestments,  and  holy  water.  In  a  word,  all 
the  characteristics  of  ritualism  are  demonstrably 
abnormal  from  the  diorthosis ;  and  the  connection 
of  these  things  with  events  close  upon  their  own 
age  probably  suggested  to  the  translators  the 
somewhat  exceptionable  rendering,  'the  time  of 
reformation.' 

Yers.  11,  12.  'But  Christ  being  come  an  High 
Priest  of  good  things  to  come,  by  a  greater  and 
more  perfect  tabernacle,  not  made  with  hands,  that 
is  to  say,  not  of  this  building ;  neither  by  the  blood 


298 


THE  DAY  OF  ATONEMENT : 


CH.  XXVI. 

Heb.  ix.  7-12. 


Christ  the 
priest  as  well 
as  the  sacri 
fice. 


His  High- 

Priesthood 
prior  to  His 
offering. 


of  goats  and  calves,  but  by  His  own  blood  He 
entered  in  once  into  the  holy  place,  having  ob 
tained  eternal  redemption  for  us.' 

These  verses  must  be  taken  together.  Our  Lord 
is  set  forth  as  the  one  great  antithesis  to  the  high 
priest  mentioned  in  the  seventh  verse;  and  this 
collocation  requires  us  to  understand  that  our  Lord, 
in  His  passion  and  sacrifice,  was  not  merely  a  victim, 
but  a  High  Priest ;  that  He  was  both  the  Offering 
and  the  Offerer ;  that  He  was  both  active  and  pas 
sive  ;  and  that,  in  the  whole  transaction  of  atone 
ment,  there  was  in  Him  a  preceding  intention, 
continual  volition,  and  a  judgment  of  perfection. 
According  to  this  view,  His  sacrifice  did  not  inaugu 
rate  His  priesthood ;  His  priesthood  is  presupposed 
by  it,  and  qualified  it.  Atonement  did  not  make 
the  priest,  but  the  priest  atonement.  Both  views, 
indeed,  are  compatible  with  the  human  priesthood 
merely,  as  the  Pentateuch  shows.  The  priest  was 
first  made  by  atonement,  and  then  offers  it;  but 
this  view  is  inapplicable  to  Christ,  and  for  obvious 
reasons :  His  nature  is  without  sin,  and  He  must 
needs  represent  innocency,  or  He  cannot  represent 
guilt.  Such  is  the  grand  exception  of  His  nature 
on  which  the  entire  efficacy  of  His  priesthood  de 
pends. 

Christ  is  here  entitled  an  '  High  Priest  of  good 
things  to  come.'  This  expression  should  hardly 
be  regarded  as  contemporaneous  language ;  it  is 
moulded  by  the  date  of  the  tabernacle  and  institu 
tions  before  described ;  the  day  of  atonement  being 
still  unmistakeably  before  the  mind  of  the  writer. 
But  if  the  meaning  of  the  phrase  be  extended  to 
the  evangelical  future  rather  than  to  the  legal  one, 


ITS  NEW  TESTAMENT  $iop6(b(ri<s.  299 

it  intimates  the  unrestricted   application   of  the    CH.  xxvi. 
gospel  to  the  future,  and  even  the  eternity  of  that  Heb."ix~7-i2. 
future.     The  'good  things'  of  this  future  are  obvi-  Good  things 
ously  the  blessings  of  our  Lord's  ministry  as  High  experiences. 
driest,   and  are  afterwards  variously  described  as 
consisting  in  personal  redemption,  or  the  profound 
mysteries  of  experimental  religion.     The  sphere  of 
our  Lord's  priesthood  is  again  introduced,  as  if  to 
enforce   the   thought    previously   given,  that   the 
.sphere    of   His    priesthood    corresponds  with  the 
excellency  of  its  benefits,  and  that  heavenly  things 
and  heavenly  places  are,  in  the  evangelical  economy, 
Inseparably  related.   It  is,  in  fact,  but  another  caveat 
entered  by  inspiration  against  the  fascinating  no 
tions  of  externalism. 

4  A  greater    and   more  perfect  tabernacle,   not  Ver.  11  refers 
made  with  hands/  cannot  be  understood  of  our  to  th^p'er&ou 
Lord's  humanity,  as  some  suppose,  since -in  the  next  c 
verse  it  is  termed  the  4holy  place,'  into  which  He 
once  entered.     Place,  therefore,  not  person,  should 
be  adhered  to  in  the  interpretation,  which  seems  to 
furnish  a  second  instance   (see  ch.  viii.  6)  of  the 
inadequacy  of  language  to  carry  us  into  any  super 
mundane  realm ;  so  that  a  generality  of  epithet, 
akin  to  that  used  by  children  before  their  ideas 
are  enriched  and  expanded,  is  all  that  is  available 
to  intimate   these    transcendental   subjects.      All  Language in- 
that  can  be  said  of  it  is,  that  it  is  'a  greater  and  Scnbe the 
more  perfect  tabernacle,'  that  it  is  anti-technic,  un-  miseen  v*orl(i- 
wrought  by  hands,  and  finally  '  not  of  this  building/ 
not  like  nor  akin  to  any  technical  fabric,  no,  not  to 
that  reared  in  the  wilderness,  nor  to  the  temple 
which  then  flourished  in  Jerusalem.    The  invisible  is 
not  representable  either  by  the  facts  of  the  world  or 


300 


THE  DAY  OF  ATONEMENT : 


CH.  XXVI. 

Heb.  ix.  7-12. 


Christ's  rela 
tion  to  it 
alone  made 
plain. 


The  Day  of 
Atonement. 
The  type 
closely  follows 
the  antitype. 


Number  used 
to  aggrandize 
the  idea  of 
atonement. 


the  stretch  of  human  fancy ;   and  it  is  not  a  little 
remarkable,  that  whenever   heaven  is  representec 
as  i  opened,'  by  the  prophets  of  the  Old  or  New 
Testaments,   its  place,  relations,   and   phenomena 
are  entirely  passed  over,  and  only  certain  objects 
of  profound  interest,  which  represent  life  and  action 
are  put  before  us ;  all  the  rest  may  be  summed  up  in 
the  language  of  this  verse  :  4  not  made  with  hands 
i.e.  not  of  this  building.'      The  one  all-importan1 
truth  is  our  Lord's  supreme  relation  to  this  taber 
nacle.     It  appertains  to  Him  in  His  character  o 
i  High  Priest  of  good  things  to  come;'  it  is  the  ap 
propriate  counterpart  of  His  great  office  for  th< 
world ;  it  testifies  to  the  surpassing  glory  of  thai 
office  in  higher  worlds   than  ours,   and  that  His 
priesthood   there   has  a  definite  sphere  in  all  re 
spects  suited  to  its  functions  and  purposes. 

Verse  12  :  i  Neither  by  the  blood  of  goats  anc 
calves,  but  by  His  own  blood/  As  the  diortliosis 
here  keeps  so  closely  to  the  i  figure,'  i.e.  the  day  o 
atonement,  it  is  best  to  follow  its  order  in  the 
exposition.  This  order  instructs  us  to  begin  with 
the  offering  of  the  atonement,  and  to  follow  with 
its  administration.  Our  Lord's  offering  of  Himself 
is  clearly  represented  by  that  of  the  bullock  and 
the  goat  before  mentioned ;  these  animals  (though 
the  ram  is  also  included  in  Leviticus,  and  may  be, 
therefore,  put  with  them)  together  constituted  one 
atonement,  this  conj  unction  itself  being  significant 
of  weakness  and  insufficiency.  Number  is  evidently 
had  recourse  to  for  the  purpose  of  aggrandizing  the 
idea  of  atonement ;  for,  since  human  sacrifices  were 
precluded,  no  other  resource  remained  but  to  aggre 
gate  animal  sacrifices,  and  to  weld  them  all  into 


ITS  NEW  TESTAMENT  &iop0(b<ri<i.  301 

cue  type  of  the  one  true  and  world-sufficing  Victim.  CH.  xxvi. 
They  represented  feebly,  yet  truly,  the  main  idea  Heb.  ix.  7-12. 
cf  atonement — that  of  substitution,  the  offering  of  Substitution 
cue  life  for  another,  and  the  redemption  of  life  by  represented  by 
this  offering.  Thus  death  was  really  a  ransom  for  a™ualsacri- 
l.fe  supposed  to  be  under  doom  of  death,  and  in 
r.o  other  way  to  be  rescued  save  by  an  equivalent. 
Atonement  was  not  effected  by  offering  a  money- 
value,  or  by  gifts  of  property,  by  rendering  of  ser 
vices,  or  by  the  endurance  of  penalties  by  the 
person  needing  redemption.  Even  the  law  taught 
that  he  must  be  represented  by  a  substitute ;  that 
lie  must  find  the  victim,  but  could  not  be  the 
Victim;  and  that  blood,  as  representative  of  the 
life-principle  in  creatures,  must  be  the  offering  to 
the  justice  of  Heaven,  and  the  price  of  remission 
und  release  from  death-doom.  The  law  taught  that 
one  might  take  the  place  of  another,  and  that  sin 
might  be  remitted  by  substitutional  arrangement ; 
but  this  was  set  forth  only  in  figure,  as  a  doctrine 
to  be  opened  in  the  future.  It  was  made  as  im 
pressive  as  possible  by  systematic  repetition  and 
wide  application, — so  much  so,  that  it  became  the 
cardinal  idea  of  religion  itself,  and,  as  a  mode  of 
worship,  was  stringent  as  the  first  commandment 
of  the  Decalogue  :  '  Thou  shalt  have  no  other  gods 
before  me.'  In  accordance  with  the  type  and  its 
doctrines,  our  Lord,  as  High  Priest,  offered  up 
Himself  as  the  one  world-sacrifice,  '  without  the 
gate,'  as  it  is  said  in  the  last  chapter  of  the  Epistle, 
as  if  to  conform  as  literally  as  possible  to  the  ordi 
nance  of  the  sin-offering. 

The  clause  in  verse  fourteenth,  '  Who  through 
the  eternal  Spirit  offered  Himself  without  spot  to 


302 


THE  DAY  OF  ATONEMENT  : 


CH.  xxvi. 

Het>.  ix.  7-12. 
Ver.  14  con- 

strict  con- 


The  office  of 
Spirit  in  the 


God,'  is  properly  to  be  adjoined  to  this  notice  of 
the  great  sin-offering  presented  to  God  '  without 
the  gate.'  It  shows  in  what  our  Lord's  offering 
properly  consisted,  i.e.  in  His  blood,  making  it 
strictly  conformable  to  the  type  before  mentioned, 

i-e-  tne  blood  of  bulls  and  g°ats  brought  within  the 
vey_  an(j  sprinkled  on  the  mercy-seat.  It  reveals 
to  us,  also,  the  great  office  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  in 
so  succouring  and  illuminating  the  humanity  of 
Christ,  that,  while  passing  through  the  inconceiv 
able  sufferings  which  extended  from  the  Agony 
to  the  Crucifixion  and  the  act  of  dying,  the  offer 
ing  was  absolutely  faultless,  judged  even  by  God 
Himself,  '  perfect  '  as  it  was  infinite,  and  c  once,' 
as  it  was  for  the  world.  Thus  the  introduction  of 
the  Holy  Spirit's  office  in  connection  with  the 
Atonement,  though  expressed  in  this  single  pas 
sage,  is  vast  in  suggestion.  It  accords  with  all  the 
facts  of  our  Lord's  preceding  history,  —  His  birth, 
temptation,  miracles,  and  ministry.  His  humanity 
was  the  creature  of  the  Spirit,  He  was  the  anointed 
of  the  Spirit,  the  preacher  and  miracle-worker  of 
the  Spirit,  and,  finally,  He  is  the  victim  of  the 
Spirit.  For,  if  the  Spirit's  offices  were  needful  to 
the  human,  the  living,  the  acting  Christ,  how  can 
we  exclude  them  from  the  suffering,  dying,  atoning, 
and  redeeming  Christ  ?  To  forget  the  Spirit  in  the 
crisis  of  our  Lord's  work  for  the  world,  and  in  the 
hour  of  its  consummated  redemption,  were  a 
strange  oversight  indeed,  a  chasm  in  our  theology, 
and  a  sin,  it  may  be  of  ignorance,  against  His  all- 
presiding  glory  in  His  greatest  work,  the  redemp 
tion  of  man  by  the  Christ,  the  Son  of  Man  and  the 
Son  of  God. 


ITS  NEW  TESTAMENT  %u>pO<b<w.  303 

The  phrase,  '  having  obtained  eternal  redemp-    CH.  xxvi. 
iion  for  us,'  is  decisive  of  the  direct  effect  of  the  HeblT"?-]^ 
Atonement.     The  doctrine  of  redemption  is  every-  Redemption, 
where   put  in  relation  to  the  Atonement  as  the  thettsoit'or 
effect  to  the  cause.     Redemption  is  properly  that  atonement? 
view  of  the  effect  of  the  death  of  Christ  which 
presents  that  effect  in  the  way  of  analogy  to,  or  as 
illustrated  by,   human  examples  or  customs.     It 
must  not  be  taken  in  an  absolutely  literal  sense, 
but  as  presented  to  us  in  this  form  as  most  con 
venient  to  our  apprehension.     When  our   Lord's  Ransom  not 

.  to  be  taken 

blood,  or  life,  is  called  a  ransom,  it  is  not  to  be  literally  as 
understood   literally   in  the  sense  of  a   price  for  1 
human  deliverance  tendered  to  God  and  accepted 
for  this  end;  since  this  view  would -militate  against 
the  grace  of  the  deliverance,  and  would  hardly  be 
condign  with  true  views  of  the  Divine  Majesty. 
Nor  could  we  clear  the  doctrine  from  antinomian 
perversions,  and  from  the  statements  of  an  injuri 
ous  ex  parte  theology.    Ransom  or  price,  paid  down 
for  deliverance,  is   obviously  in  this  instance  to 
be  reverently  construed,  and  needs  the  diorthosis 
before  mentioned  to  make  it  consonant  with  the 
attributes  and  government  of  God.     In  fact,  ran 
som,  in  this  case,  by  a  life-offering,  is  to  be  inter 
preted   by   other   human    analogies,    or   forms   of 
procedure,  in  which  price  is  not  taken  literally  in 
the  sense  of  a  bargain,  or  a  contract  implying  a 
money-payment,  but  for  the  sequence  of  one  act  in 
the  way  of  dependence  on  another,  or,  as  we  say, 
sine  qua  non.    Thus  exertion  is  the  price  of  promo-  but  as  a  sine 
tion;  suffering  is  the  price  of  unlawful  pleasures;  qu 
risk  of  fortune  or  life,  the  price,  it  may  be,  to  be  Examples. 
paid  for  pre-eminent  distinctions;  war  may  be  the 


304 


THE  DAY  OF  ATONEMENT  : 


OH.  XXVI. 
Heb.  ix.  7-12. 


The  relations 
of  man  to  God 
are  rectified 
on  the  repre 
sentative  prin 
ciple. 


Christ  the 
adequate 
".Represen 
tative. 


price  of  peace,  or  of  the  recovery  of  lost  rights  and 
interests  by  a  people.  In  a  word,  numberless  cases 
turn  up  in  human  affairs  in  which  this  connection 
of  things  is  indissoluble,  so  that  if  the  object  is  to 
be  gained,  such  is  the  price  to  be  paid. 

This  reasoning  is  perfectly  applicable  to  the 
solemn  business  of  human  redemption.  The  relations 
of  man  being  athwart  his  own  happiness,  and  the 
nature  and  government  of  God,  how  are  they  to 
be  rectified  ?  Only  by  such  a  procedure  as  exalts 
the  Fatherhood  and  the  Sovereignty  of  God  to 
gether.  It  must  be  remembered  that  the  sin  of 
man  is  not  to  be  regarded  primarily  as  a  personal, 
but  as  a  race-sin,  and  that  its  reign  has  become 
universal  by  this  one  open  door.  As  an  act  of 
grace,  therefore,  it  can  be  met  by  a  representative 
principle  applied  in  a  counter-form  by  a  Being  of 
answerable  dignity.  The  offering  up  of  humanity, 
by  that  One  Person  in  homage  to  the  divine  justice, 
is  that  act  answerable  to  the  facts  of  the  case 
which  may  be  termed  the  lutron  or  ransom-price 
of  humanity.  Pre-ordained,  prefigured,  consum 
mated,  and  accepted,  this  is  the  ONE  thing  attested  to 
be  needful  and  sufficient  for  world-deliverance  and 
redemption ;  it  is  the  ONE  consideration  deemed 
adequate  and  acted  upon  by  the  Lord  Himself,  a 
sine  qua  non,  a  preliminary  necessity;  so  that,  with 
out  saying  world-deliverance  could  not  by  possibility 
come  any  other  way  (a  position  we  are  as  little  in 
need  of  taking  as  we  are  warranted  in  taking),  we 
are  justified  in  saying  that  it  would  not. 

This,  as  it  seems  to  us,  is  the  true  view  to  be 
held  of  this  all-important  matter.  It  maintains 
the  doctrine  of  atonement  in  its  integrity,  and  that 


ITS  NEW  TESTAMENT    iopcow.  305 


of  ransom  in  its  proper  correlative  form,  while  it    CH.  xxvi. 
neither  encumbers  nor  lowers  the  doctrine  of  re-  Heb.!x~7-i2. 
demption  by  forcing  it  into  an  entire  identity  with 
human  examples. 

The  expression  found  in  Peter,  '  denying  the  Christ's  abso- 
Lord  that  bought  them,'  is  undoubtedly  to  be  immamty^11' 
understood  in  the  same  way.  It  is  clearly  a  refer 
ence  to  a  prevalent  custom  of  buying  slaves  in  the 
open  market,  and  points  to  the  Atonement  offered 
for  men  as  a  price  paid  for  them ;  but  this  literally 
rendered  would  assuredly  be  an  indignity  offered 
to  such  a  subject.  Properly  understood,  it  amounts 
to  this,  that,  in  consideration  of  our  Lord's  sin- 
offering  for  the  world,  certain  rights  belong  to 
Him,  in  and  over  humanity  itself,  of  so  absolute  a 
kind  that  the  fittest  figure  to  represent  them  is  the 
property  acquired  in  men  by  purchase,  or  price 
paid  down  for  them.  There  is  no  difficulty  in 
understanding  this,  nor  any  objection  of  weight  to 
be  advanced  against  it. 

When   '  eternal  redemption '  is  ascribed  to  the  Redemption 
offering  of  Christ,  it  may  be  understood  as  con-  contrasts 
trasted  with  the  duration  of  the  ancient  law,  and  tlie  law- 
the  efficacy  of  the  sacrificial  system  bound  up  and 
abolished  with  it, — there  was  no  eternity  in  that 
redemption,  but  only  a  limited  permanency.     Or  it 
may  relate  more  particularly  to  the  efficacy  of  the 
sacrifices  offered  on  the  day  of  atonement,  expressly 
limited  to  one  year  only.     Contrasted  with  these, 
our  Lord's  redemption  is  eternal,  i.e.  never  to  be 
superseded,  not  terminable  so  long  as  the  world  lasts. 
But  it  is  eternal  also  in  the   absolute  sense,   as 
eternal  life  and  as  eternal  salvation  are  properly 
endless  things.     His  redemption  bears  a  co-dura- 

u 


306  THE  DAY  OF  ATONEMENT. 

CH.  xxvi.   tion  with  the  soul  itself,  it  takes  up  the  body  in  its 
Heb.  ix.  7-12.  range  of  the  future,  and  it  identifies  itself  in  all  its 
wealth  and  perfection  with  this  eternity  of  exist 
ence,  flowing  on  for  ever  from  one  fountain  opened 
in  time — the  CROSS. 


CHAPTER  XXVII. 

THE  GREAT  SACRIFICE  ON  EARTH,  AND  ITS 
PRESENTATION  IN  THE  HEAVENS. 

HEB.  ix.  12. 

(1.)  IT  is  important  to  notice  how  the  one  great  Sacrifice  ex- 
offering  of  Christ  stands  before  us,  as  representing  S^esVneU 
the  deepest  sentiments  and  aspirations  of  humanity,  of  humanity 
while,  in  its  great  characteristics,  it  remains  for 
ever  apart  in  the  history  of  the  world.     The  doc 
trine  of  expiatory  human  sacrifice  obtained  strong 
hold  both  of  the  ancient  and  modern  world,  and 
has  linked  in  strange  concord  tribes  and  nations 
the  most  alien  and  diverse  in  customs  and  civilisa 
tion.      Human  sacrifices  prevailed  among  almost 
all  peoples  known  within  the  historic  period,  and 
notices  of  them  are  plentiful  in  the  Bible  itself. 
With  these  facts  before  us,  it  is  not  a  little  singular,  Absence  of 
that  a  religion  pre-eminently  sacrificial,  as  was  that 
of  the  Hebrews,  expressly  excludes  them.      The  law 
offering  up  of  Isaac  by  his  father  was  in  figure  only 
and  not  in  act,  and,  therefore,  tells  precisely  in  the 
opposite  direction  to  that  for  which  a  certain  class 
of  writers  adduce  it.      The  death  of  Jephthah's 
daughter — if  death  was  the  final  issue  of  his  rash 
vow — was  a  calamity  arising  out  of  a  sinister  appli 
cation  of  the  law  of  devotement,  which  expressly 
excluded  human  beings  from  its  operation.     The 


308 


THE  GREAT  SACRIFICE  ON  EARTH, 


CH.  XXYIL 
Heb.  ix.  12. 


Yet  human 
life  is  the 
only  equiva 
lent  for 
human  guilt. 


Its  prohibi 
tion  points 
to  the  one 
real  sacrifice. 


Christ's 
person  as 
unique  as  His 
sacrifice. 


death  of  Saul's  sons,  permitted  by  David,  was  an 
execution,  not  a  sacrifice ;  they  were  hanged,  not 
immolated;  nor  was  it  God,  but  the  Gibeonites, 
who  ordained  these  deaths.  They  were  a  satisfac 
tion  demanded  by  the  Gibeonites  from  the  descend 
ants  of  a  king  who  had  wantonly  destroyed  them, 
and  impiously  violated  a  national  oath ;  it  was  a 
national  sin,  entailing  national  penalties,  which 
could  only  be  removed  by  a  satisfaction  tendered 
to  the  Gibeonites,  leaving  it  to  them  to  say  what 
this  satisfaction  must  be. 

These  instances,  however,  have  no  real  bearing 
on  the  point  here  stated,  which  is  to  show  how 
wonderful  it  is  that  a  religion,  so  profuse  in  the 
offering  of  animal  sacrifices,  never  stained  its  altars 
by  the  blood  of  man ;  especially  when  we  consider 
that  human  life  seems  to  be  the  only  equivalent  to 
be  tendered  on  behalf  of  human  life,  and  that  this 
has  always  been  the  common  sentiment  of  the 
world.  The  fact  cannot  be  accounted  for  but  by 
allowing  the  divine  origin  of  the  Hebrew  religion, 
since  it  was  a  departure  from  this  strong  instinct 
of  humanity.  It  not  only  illustrates  what  an  apostle 
calls  'the  kindness  and  philanthropy  of  God  our 
Saviour,'  but  also  points  to  the  great  leading  design 
of  God,  viz.  that  of  giving  a  solitary  and  all-suf 
ficing  example  of  expiatory  human  sacrifice  in  the 
person  of  His  Son.  This  was  to  be  offered  '  once 
for  all,'  henceforth  excluding  repetition  by  Himself, 
and  for  ever  abolishing  all  expiatory  sacrifices, 
whether  animal  or  human. 

(2.)  It  is  further  to  be  noticed,  that  the  facts  of 
Christ's  person,  including  what  has  been  before 
called  the  double  Sonship  meeting  in  Him,  con- 


AND  ITS  PRESENTATION  IN  THE  HEAVENS.  309 

istitute  such  a  Person  for  this  office  as  admits  of  no    CH.  xxvn. 
duplicate.     His  Person  stands  alone  in  the  history    Heb.  ix.  12. 
of  the  universe,  and  therefore  the  work,  to  effect 
which   this  wonder   originated,    must   also   stand 
ilone,  and  must  shut  out  from  the   province  of 
Atonement     every     mere     creature    whatsoever, 
whether  in  earth  or  heaven. 

(3.)  The  Great  Offering  of  the  Cross  is  histori-  Our  Lord's 
3ally,  and  as  it  would  seem  intentionally,  divested  toricaily  a!S" 
of  all  sacrificial  characters.  This  is  a  most  sug-  murder- 
gestive  fact,  and  appears  designed  to  mark  off  the 
one  example  of  a  sin-offering  in  human  nature 
from  every  preceding,  and  from  every  possible  con 
sequent,  example  to  itself.  As  a  fact  accomplished 
and  a  fact  recorded,  it  is  simply  the  history  of  an 
unparalleled  murder,  nothing  more.  It  has  no 
one  sacred  or  sacrificial  aspect  whatever ;  the  whole 
is  but  a  tissue  of  the  vilest  human  intrigues,  and 
the  work  of  the  most  diabolical  passions.  Doubt 
less  it  was  a  convenient  plea,  when  malice  watched 
to  clutch  its  victim,  that  the  vaticination  of  the 
high  priest  imparted  a  sacredness  to  this  foulest 
deed ;  but  as  the  plot  works  itself  out,  all  trace  of 
pretended  duty  or  national  salvation  to  be  accom 
plished  by  it  entirely  vanishes,  and  we  see  nothing 
but,  on  the  one  hand,  the  determination  of  the 
hierarchy,  and,  on  the  other,  the  array  of  secular 
power  pandering  to  the  clamours  of  the  mob.  We  Its  sacrificial 

.      .  -r-r.          -~   .  nature  en- 

See,  it  is  true,  the  great  victim  and  High  Priest  tireiy  hidden. 

wending  to  the  place  of  His  sacrifice,  but  not  amidst 
the  solemn  awe  inspired  by  a  conscious  world-crisis, 
by  the  impending  accomplishment  of  prophecies, 
or  by  the  near  extinction  of  the  typical  system, — 
not  accompanied  by  multitudes  who  felt  that  the 


310 


THE  GREAT  SACRIFICE  ON  EARTH, 


Its  hidden 
nature. 


CH.  xxvii.  whole  business  was  for  them, — prayerful,  sin-stricken 
Heb.  ix.  12.  masses,  prostrate  in  the  presence  of  Him  whose  self- 
immolation  as  a  world-victim,  drew  upon  that  spot 
every  face  in  the  heavens,  as  to  it  appertained  the 
fate  of  the  world.  But  what  a  scene  is  before  us ! 
Every  personal  indignity  is  heaped  upon  the  Re 
deemer,  so  that  nothing  can  be  conceived  lacking 
to  consummated  shame  and  mental  agony.  To 
close  all,  those  to  be  benefited  are  the  beings  who 
revel  in  this  iniquity;  and  the  very  'sin  of  the 
world'  to  be  i  taken  away'  is  profoundly  represented 
in  that  concentrated  crime,  over  which  the  heavens 
might  well  draw  a  veil,  and  the  earth  utter  her 
groans. 

It  is  passing  wonderful  that  the  true  character 
of  this  deed  of  the  Redeemer  should  have  been 
thoroughly  undisclosed  by  its  attendant  circum 
stances,  and  even  shrouded  from  all  exterior  gaze 
by  such  an  investiture  of  appalling  tragedy,  as 
defied,  alike  to  friends  and  foes,  all  divination  as 
to  the  real  nature  of  the  phenomenon.  This  could 
not  be  accident,  nor  reducible  to  an  ordinary  law 
Qf  provicience  working  through  human  passion  or 
policy  to  bring  about  this  or  that  event.  On  the 
contrary,  it  looks  like  profound  arrangement  and 
exact  predestination;  in  order,  apparently,  so  to 
veil  from  men  the  drift  of  their  own  agency,  that 
they  should  become  perfectly  unconscious  instru 
ments  in  fulfilling  God's  supreme  world-purpose. 
This  was  absolutely  'the  mystery  of  God  and  of 
Christ,'  not  to  be  profaned  by  human  intuition 
any  more  than  by  human  voluntary  co-operation; 
demanding,  even  after  its  fulfilment,  the  revelation 
of  the  Holy  Ghost  to  advance  it  to  a  doctrine,  and 


This  the 
result  of  pro 
found  pre- 
arrangement. 


AND  ITS  PKESENTATION  IN  THE  HEAVENS.  311 

that  doctrine  the  centre  and  soul  of  the  Christian  en.  xxvu. 

system.  Heb.  ix.  12. 

The  offering  of  atonement,  and  the  accomplish-  Christ  be- 

i        r>         -i  i  •  /  -i  c\\      IT  n     •  comes  the 

ment  or  redemption  (verse  Iz),  lead  us  to  their  priestof 


effect  upon  our  Lord's  subsequent  position  as  the 
High  Priest  of  humanity.  Great  stress  is  here  laid  ment< 
upon  the  efficacy  of  the  Atonement  in  securing  our 
Lord's  introduction  to  the  sphere  of  His  ministry : 
'  By  His  own  blood  He  entered  once  into  the  holy 
place/  The  offices  of  the  day  of  atonement  are  The  Hebrew 
gitill  closely  adhered  to ;  the  blood  of  Christ  is 
contrasted  with  the  blood  of  goats  and  calves,  by 
which  the  high  priest  obtained  access  to  God 
within  the  veil.  The  emphasis  with  which  the 
blood  of  sacrifice  is  everywhere  mentioned  in  Scrip 
ture,  is  always  referable  to  the  ordinance  concerning 
it :  i  For  the  life  of  the  flesh  is  in  the  blood:  and  I  Blood 

,,  ,,  ,  lent  to  life. 

nave  given  it  to  you  upon  the  altar  to  make  an 
atonement  for  your  souls :  for  it  is  the  blood  that 
maketh  an  atonement  for  the  soul.'  Hence  blood  is  Lev.  xvii.  11. 
equivalent  to  life  offered  in  sacrifice,  and,  understood 
in  this  connection,  gives  a  strong  incidental  cor- 
roboration  to  the  doctrine  of  the  true  and  proper 
atonement  of  Christ  by  His  death ;  since  it  would 
be  manifestly  misleading  and  absurd  again  and 
again  to  mention  the  blood  of  Christ  in  connec 
tion  with  the  blood  of  animal  sacrifices,  to  which 
power  of  atonement  was  imputed  by  express  ordi 
nance,  had  not  atonement  in  the  true,  though  far 
higher  sense,  belonged  to.  the  one  as  well  as  the 
other.  If  the  essential  doctrine  of  the  type  be  dis 
carded,  we  are  bewildered,  not  enlightened!  On 
what  admissible  supposition  besides  this  could  our 
Lord  '  by  His  own  blood'  enter  into  the  holy  place  ? 


312 


THE  GREAT  SACRIFICE  ON  EARTH, 


CH.  XXVII. 

Heb.  ix.  12. 


Christ's  entry 
into  heaven. 


By  His 

glorified 
humanity. 


The  counter 
part  of  His 
work  on  earth. 


Unless  there  be  similarity,  though  not  parity,  in 
the  two  offerings,  what  is  the  power  of  entry  here 
ascribed  to  each  ? 

The  doctrine  before  advanced,  of  an  interpreta 
tion  of  the  word  ransom  wider  than  that  which 
makes  it  consist  in  a  payment  or  price,  must  be 
here  carefully  remembered  if  we  wrould  not  demean 
our  Lord's  ineffable  entry  into  heaven,  by  literally 
parallelling  it  with  that  of  the  high  priest  within 
the  veil.  Our  Lord  did  not  literally  enter  into 
heaven  'by  His  own  blood,'  but  by  His  living  and 
glorified  humanity,  previously  offered  in  sacrifice, 
and  accepted  as  the  redemption-price  of  the  world. 
We  must  take  the  expression,  'His  own  blood,' 
paraphrastically,  or,  as  it  were,  4  by  His  own  blood/ 
i.e.  by  the  virtue  and  merit  of  the  sacrifice  of  the 
Cross.  It  is  not  a  material  but  a  moral  cause 
which  is  here  ascribed  to  Christ.  His  entry  into 
heaven  was  on  His  part  a  solemn  memorial  pre 
sented  to  God  of  His  consummated  sacrifice  on  the 
earth,  and  as  solemn  an  assertion  of  His  rights  as  the 
Redeemer.  His  entry  into  heaven  is  thus  strongly 
marked  as  official  rather  than  personal,  and  that  it 
formed  a  necessary  counterpart  to  His  work  on 
earth.  He  claims  an  entrance  as  the  representative 
of  man,  not  in  His  divine  dignity  as  the  Son,  since 
this  latter  right  belonged  to  Him  from  eternity, 
whilst  the  former  was  acquired.  Pre-eminently  it  is 
HUMANITY  which  He  carries  up  into  heaven.  The 
whole  of  the  imagery  before  us  is  an  evidence  of 
this,  and  is  strongly  calculated  to  enhance  the 
greatness  of  the  humanity  as  concerned  in  sacrifice 
and  redemption.  The  entry  of  Christ  into  heaven 
is  that  of  the  High  Priest,  solemnly  presenting  His 


AND  ITS  PKESENTATION  IN  THE  HEAVENS.  313 

World- Atonement  to  the  Father,  exhibiting  in  Him-  CH.  xxvn. 
self  alone  the  boundless  profusion  of  its  wealth,  and  Heb.  ix.  12. 
its  infinite  claim  to  be  received  and  enshrined  by 
the  Father:  thus  made  '  a  just  God  and  a  Saviour,' 
amidst  His  awful  glories.  In  that  presentation  of 
Himself,  there  must  needs  be  included  all  the  virtue 
and  devotion,  all  the  sympathies  and  all  the  holi 
ness  of  His  humanity; — all  which  prompted  His 
offering  and  sanctified  it,  is  transfused  into  the 
offering  itself,  and  for  ever  issues  from  it  as  the 
odour  of  '  a  sweet  smelling  savour  unto  the  Father.' 

As  we  are  to  avoid  literal  construction  of  passages 
framed  on  the  typical  principle,  so  we  are  not  to 
suppose  that  our  Lord's  entry  into  the  unseen  was  Christ  appears 
accompanied  by  any  acts  of  a  priestly  sort,  analo- 
gous  to  those  performed  by  the  high  priest  within 
the  veil.  The  24th  verse  may  be  cited  as  a  guiding 
example  of  interpretation  in  this  respect :  '  Now  to 
appear  in  the  presence  of  God  for  us.'  The  general 
but  most  impressive  fact  of  an  appearance  4  for  us ' 
is  all  that  is  testified.  An  appearance  is,  in  common 
language,  a  representation  of  one  by  another,  by 
certain  acts  and  for  certain  purposes.  The  ex 
pression  denotes  a  public  person  pledged  to,  and 
engaged  in,  high  public  concerns:  thus  there  are 
people's  representatives  appearing  for  them  in  the 
constituted  assemblies  of  nations ;  advocates  who 
appear  for  clients  in  the  courts  of  law ;  ambassadors 
who  appear  in  foreign  courts  representing  their 
various  nations  and  sovereigns. 

But  the  type  before  us  is  more  sublime  than  all 
these.  The  high  priest  within  the  veil  appeared 
for  the  nation  before  God ;  but  our  Lord  within 
the  heavens  appears  for  the  world;  and  His  recep- 


314 

CH.  XXVII. 
Heb.  ix.  12. 


Ver.  23  ex 
presses  in 
typical  lan 
guage  mys 
teries  not 
otherwise  to 
be  expressed. 


THE  GREAT  SACRIFICE  ON  EARTH, 

tion  there,  His  glory  personally  considered,  and 
His  continuance  there  from  age  to  age  showing 
that  His  ministry  is  at  once  incessant  and  prevalent 
as  the  representative  of  humanity,  exalt  His  ex 
ample  far  above  all  peers,  one  might  say  above  all 
similitudes.  He  is  the  One  Being  who  links  the 
world  with  God  by  the  offices  of  His  mediation, 
and  ratines  perpetually  the  great  world-covenant 
sealed  in  His  blood.  The  unclouded  beaming  of 
God's  face  upon  His  breastplate  and  diadem,  re 
flects  itself  in  rainbow  hues  upon  the  clouds  and 
darkness  so  often  prevalent  below  the  firmament, 
attesting  'that  mercy  and  judgment  are  the  habi 
tation  of  His  throne.' 

Verse  23  furnishes  another  example  of  a  larger 
interpretation  of  expressions  derived  from  type 
than  they  are  literally  capable  of.  '  It  was  there 
fore  necessary  that  the  patterns  of  things  in  the 
heavens  should  be  purified  with  these ;  but  the 
heavenly  things  themselves  with  better  sacrifices 
than  these.'  The  whole  of  this  is  typical  language 
used  to  express  antitypal  mysteries,  and  must  be 
construed  accordingly.  What  are  the  things  in 

the  heavens,  of  which  those  in  the  tabernacle  are 
the  patterns  ?  Undoubtedly  the  reference  here  is 
to  the  tabernacle  and  its  furniture  purified  by  the 
high  priest  on  the  day  of  atonement ;  but,  strictly 
speaking,  there  can  be  no  '  things  in  the  heavens ' 
at  all  answerable  to  these, — doctrines  and  facts 
only,  of  indefinite  and  indescribable  import  supply 
their  place;  the  analogy,  though  just,  is  yet  unin- 
terpretable.  Again,  what  can  be  meant  by  purify 
ing  these  with  the  blood  of  sacrifice,  since  it  is  as 
impossible  that  the  heavens  should  need  purifica- 


AND  ITS  PRESENTATION  IN  THE  HEAVENS.  315 

tion,  as  it  is  that  the  dwelling-place  of  God  should    CH.  xxvn. 
ever  have  been  defiled?     Here  again  the  language    Heb.  ix.  12. 

typical,    and   the    ceremony   of  lustrating   the 
sanctuaries  on  the  day  of  atonement  is  the  key  to 

.    The  doctrine  is,  not  that  heaven  needs  lustra-  The  doctrine 
tion  by  atonement,  but  that  it  is  only  accessible  to  acc^ISeto5 
i.  lan  by  atonement ;  that  no  human  being  ever  is  or  atonement. 
ever  was  received  there  but  by  virtue  of  it ;  and  that 
cur  Lord,  as  the  High  Priest  of  redemption,  opens 
these  realms  of  glory  to  man  by  His  presented 
I  tenement,   and  maintains  this  relation   between 
Leaven  and  earth  from  age  to  age  by  His  all-merit 
ing  mediation.     4He  reconciles  the  holy  place.' 

A  third  example,  requiring;  us  to  interpret  typi-  The  one 

,     ,  . .      _     .  _  Jl        sacrifice  repre- 

cal  language  by  purely  evangelical  ideas,  occurs  sentedby 
in  the  same  verse :  i  better  sacrifices  than  these.' 
What  can  be  the  meaning  of  this  phrase  ?  Did 
cur  Lord  offer  more  than  one  sacrifice?  since  the 
1  better  sacrifices '  are  distinguished  from  typical 
sacrifices,  which  have  no  efficacy  there.  The 
language  is  clearly  framed  on  the  various  sacrifices 
of  the  day  of  atonement.  These,  though  of  several 
kinds,  together  made  up  but  one  atonement.  The 
assumption  is,  that  the  unity  of  our  Lord's  sacrifice 
being  established,  no  mistake  could  arise  in  the 
use  of  typical  language  representing  it  as  more 
than  one ;  and,  indeed,  as  the  many  were  employed 
to  represent  one,  there  could  be  no  impropriety  in 
representing  the  one  as  many.1 

1  Elsewhere  typical  language  (which  can  hardly  be  distinguished 
from  symbolic)  occurs  where  we  should  least  expect  it,  viz.  in  its 
application  to  Deity.  For  example,  in  Rev.  iv.  the  Being  who  sits 
upon  the  throne  is  represented,  not  in  His  personality,  but  in  His 
sovereignty.  He  is  not  put  before  us  as  the  father,  but  as  the 
monarch.  The  Son  (Rev.  v.)  is  not  personally  represented,  but 


316 


THE  GREAT  SACRIFICE  ON  EARTH, 


CH.  XXVII. 

Heb.  ix.  12. 

Imagery  of 
chap.  ix. 
mainly 
priestly. 


Yet  the 
mercy-seat 
combines  also 
the  idea  of 
sovereignty. 


Grace,  not 
justice,  admits 
of  modifica 
tion. 


It  may  not  be  overlooked  that  this  ninth  chapter 
places  the  reader  within  the  sanctuary,  or  about  it, 
on  the  great  day  of  atonement.  The  imagery  is 
therefore  exclusively  priestly,  and  entirely  marked 
off  from  the  sphere  of  sovereignty  with  which  the 
Epistle  opens.  Yet  these  are  found  united  in  the 
arrangements  of  the  ancient  tabernacle,  as  they 
undoubtedly  co-exist  in  the  facts  of  the  New  Testa 
ment.  The  God  and  King  of  Israel,  enthroned  on 
the  mercy-seat,  was  the  Son,  while  the  connection 
of  His  throne  as  a  mercy-seat  with  the  propitiation 
of  the  priesthood  was  eminently  symbolic  of  the 
union  of  both  offices  in  Him  under  the  evangelical 
economy.  The  type  clearly  showed  that  sovereignty 
and  its  administration  sprang  out  of  priesthood  and 
its  propitiation,  and  that  the  former  were  but  the 
normal  and  diversified  expressions  of  the  latter.  It 
is  the  reign  of  grace,  not  of  justice,  which  admits 
of  infinite  modifications  in  its  action  and  results. 
Through  this  wonderful  combination  of  grace  and 
righteousness,  intercession  becomes  an  office  from 
which  none  can  be  excluded.  For,  what  can  inter 
cession  mean  more  than  the  plea  of  sacrifice ;  the 
rendering  of  atonement  into  requirements  answer 
able  to  human  sinfulness  and  misery ;  the  succour 
of  saints ;  the  repression  of  adversaries ;  the  main 
tenance  of  truth  amidst  all  forms  and  forces  of 
error;  the  voice  of  the  Covenant  of  the  Father 
with  the  Son,  insuring  the  redemption  of  all 

officially.  He  is  the  Lamb,  '  having  seven  horns  and  seven  eyes.' 
Nor  is  the  Holy  Spirit  Himself  put  before  us  personally  in  the  open 
ing  of  the  Apocalypse,  but  administratively.  He  is  the  '  seven  Spirits,' 
where,  in  fact,  one  only  can  be  personally  intended.  These  examples 
illustrate  the  language  of  verse  23,  '  better  sacrifices  than  these,'  when 
one  sacrifice  only  can  be  intended. 


AND  ITS  PRESENTATION  IN  THE  HEAVENS.  317 

pledges,  and  the  consummation,  in  which  all  things    CH.  xxvu. 
shall  be  delivered  up  to  God?  Heb.  ix.  12. 

Again,  what  does  the  doctrine  of  presentation, 
here  so  emphatically  insisted  on,  mean  ?  Was  the 
presence  of  God  less  a  reality  to  the  offerer  upon 
the  cross  than  to  the  offerer  in  heaven?  Is  not 
the  whole  virtue  of  atonement  as  an  offering  con 
tained  in  itself?  Yet,  allowing  this,  it  cannot  be  The  Atone- 
tifirmed  that  these  facts  have  no  bearings  beyond 


themselves,  or  that  their  full  predestinated  influ- 

ence  could  follow  without  the  ulterior  arrangements 

which  they  originate  and  demand.     It  is  evident 

that  the  relation  of  our  Lord's  person  as  the  Son 

to  the  Father  required   an   adequate  recognition 

after  His  strange  humiliation  ;  His  return  to  His 

glory  was  a  personal  necessity,  and  that  this  re 

turn  should  be  so  signalized  by  the  results  of  His 

human   history   as   to    inaugurate    a   new   era   of  its  presenta- 

government,  and  to  gather  about  it  indications  and 

pledges  of  an  enriched  future,  and  of  a  consumma- 

tion  of  indescribable  grandeur.      Hence  presenta 

tion   might    be,    and   probably   was,    a   necessary 

correlative   to   the   offering   of  propitiation.      To 

gether,  they  contain  every  fact  on  which  media 

tion  is  founded,  every  provision  for  its  broadest 

administration,   and  every  guarantee  for  its  sub- 

limest  results. 


CHAPTER  XXVIII. 

LEGAL  ATONEMENT  AND  EVANGELICAL  ATONEMENT. 
HEB.  ix.  13-15. 

FROM  Presentation,  Administration  issues.  They 
may  be  said  to  comprise  whatever  had  been  done 
on  earth  and  whatever  had  been  acquired  in 
heaven.  Both  are  returned  to  the  world  in  a  con 
fluence  of  blessing  and  glory  absolutely  boundless. 
The  13th,  14th,  and  15th  verses  are  the  proximate 
registrations  of  this  great  truth. 

4  For  if  the  blood  of  bulls  and  of  goats,  and  the 
ashes  of  an  heifer  sprinkling  the  unclean,  sancti- 
fieth  to  the  purifying  of  the  flesh,  how  much  more 
shall  the  blood  of  Christ,  who  through  the  eternal 
Spirit  offered  Himself  without  spot  to  God,  purge 
your  conscience  from  dead  -works  to  serve  the  liv 
ing  God  ?  And  for  this  cause  He  is  the  mediator 
of  the  new  testament,  that  by  means  of  death,  for 
the  redemption  of  the  transgressions  that  were 
under  the  first  testament,  they  which  are  called 
might  receive  the  promise  of  eternal  inheritance.' 
The  red  Here,  while  the  sacrifices  of  the  day  of  atone- 

.'  xix.  ment  are  still  kept  before  us,  '  the  ordinance  of  the 
red  heifer'  is  somewhat  singularly  inserted  with 
them.  This  insertion  here,  however,  raises  no 
surprise  when  the  very  special  characters  of  the 


ATONEMENT,  LEGAL  AND  EVANGELICAL.  319 

red  heifer  as  a  sin -offering   are  marked.     These  CH.  xxvm. 

£,re  so  emphatic  in  the  ordinance  as  to  entitle  this 

one  sacrifice  to  be  selected,  together  with  those  for 

the  day  of  atonement.     It  was  slain  without  the 

c  amp  by  the  high  priest,  an  entirely  exceptional 

thing;  its  blood  was  sprinkled  before  the  veil ;  its 

carcase  was  entirely  consumed   by  fire;    and  the 

high  priest  himself  was  pronounced  i  unclean '  until 

the  evening.      Add  to  this  that  the  cedar  wood 

rnd   hyssop    and   scarlet,    employed    only   in   the 

sprinkling  of  the   blood  of  the  sin-offering,  were 

after  this   use  cast   into  the  fire,  and   consumed 

with  the  heifer.1    The  same  ordinance  specifies  the 

uses  of  this  sin-offering.     The  ashes  of  the  heifer, 

mixed   with   spring-water   as   they   were   needed, 

formed  a  purification  for  sin  in  the  case  of  one 

who  had  touched  a  dead  body,  or  who  had  been 

concerned  in  funeral  rites.    To  him  this  holy  water 

must   be   applied,    or  he  was  debarred  from  the 

tabernacle  and  from  the  public  services  of  God,  on 

pain  of  death.     It  must  be  sprinkled,  too,  on  his 

tent,  his  furniture,  utensils,  vessels,  on  every  thing 

pertaining  to  the  man  or  family  as  wrell  as  to  their 

persons. 

The  law  of  the  immolated  heifer  was  express, 
and  most  important,  both  as  a  ceremonial  appoint 
ment  and  as  a  typical  one ;  and  this  accounts  for 
its  introduction  with  the  sin-offering  on  the  day  of 
atonement,  and  even  for  the  apparent  merging  of 
these  sacrifices  in  the  purifying  properties  ascribed 

1  To  this  office  of  the  cedar  wood,  hyssop,  and  scarlet,  peculiar  to 
the  sin-offering,  David  alludes  in  his  penitential  psalm,  when  burdened 
with  the  sense  of  a  guilt  and  impurity  which  needed  a  higher  offering 
than  that  of  the  heifer :  '  Purge  me  with  hyssop,  and  I  shall  be 
clean ;  wash  me,  and  I  shall  be  whiter  than  snow.' 


320 


LEGAL  ATONEMENT  AND 


CH.  XXVIII. 

Heb.ix.  13-15. 

Argument 
founded  on 
the  compari 
son  of  legal 
and  evangeli 
cal  sacrifice. 


The  one 
applies  to  the 
Hash,  the 
other  to  the 
conscience. 


Dead  works. 


to  the  ashes  of  the  heifer,  which  '  sanctify  to  the 
purifying  of  the  flesh.'  The  form  of  argument  here 
used,  which  is  founded  on  a  comparison  between  the 
efficacy  of  the  legal  sacrifices  and  that  of  Christ,  is 
in  evidence  that  both  were  offerings  of  atonement ; 
otherwise  the  higher  doctrine  could  not  be  taught 
by  the  lower,  nor  could  the  effects  ascribed  to  the 
one  be  imputed  to  the  other.  Hence  the  force  of 
the  expression  (verse  14),  '  How  much  more  shall 
the  blood  of  Christ  .  .  .  purge  your  conscience 
from  dead  works  to  serve  the  living  God ! '  The 
argument  is  from  the  less  to  the  greater,  based  on 
things  which,  though  disproportionate  to  one  an 
other,  bear  certain  points  of  affinity.  In  the  one 
case,  it  is  the  lustration  of  the  flesh ;  in  the  other, 
that  of  the  conscience ; — in  the  one,  from  the  defile 
ments  of  the  dead  body;  in  the  other,  from  the 
dead  works  which  defile  the  soul. 

The  expression  '  dead  works '  is  manifestly  anti 
thetic  to  the  defilements  of  the  dead  body,  which 
were  to  be  removed  by  the  sprinkling  of  the  ashes 
of  the  heifer,  and  which  are  here  introduced  with 
singular  force  to  distinguish  between  the  nature  of 
legal  and  of  evangelical  lustrations.  The  reference 
before  made  to  David's  penitential  psalm  offers  a 
powerful  illustration.  '  Thou  desirest  not  sacrifices, 
else  would  I  give  it ;  Thou  delightest  not  in  burnt- 
offering;'^,  these  availed  not  to  purge  his  conscience 
from  '  dead  works,'  especially  from  his  sin  in  the 
matter  of  Uriah.  The  Levitical  institutes  were  en 
tirely  powerless  in  this  case  to  remove  the  divine 
displeasure,  and  to  take  off  the  threatened  penalty 
of  death.  Hence  the  importunate  appeal  to  God 
Himself:  i  Deliver  me  from  blood-guiltiness,  0 


EVANGELICAL  ATONEMENT.  321 

God  .  .  .  Create  in  me  a  clean  heart,  0  God,  and  CH.  xxvin. 
renew  a  right  spirit  within  me.'    He  besought  that  Heb.ix.  13-15. 
his  conscience  might  be  purged  from  dead  works 
that  he  might  serve  the  living  God. 

This  doctrine  of  '  dead  works '  is  largely  opened  Explained  in 
in  the  Epistle  to  the  Romans,  in  which  the  domi-  vm. ' 
nation  of  the  carnal  mind,  its  tyranny  and  soul- 
c.estroying  agency,  are  insisted  on  as  the  broad 
e  xperience  of  humanity,  and  especially  of  humanity 
when,  subject  to  law.  The  'carnal  mind 'is  said 
to  be  i  enmity  against  God,'  to  bring  the  man  into 
captivity  to  the  law  of  sin,  and  to  .be  the  very  body 
of  death  in  the  soul  itself.  This  evil  the  law  was 
impotent  to  remove.  It  had  no  power  to  release 
and  hallow  the  spirit,  but  only  to  detect  and 
aggravate  the  'law  of  sin.'  In  this  respect  the 
gospel  is  the  strongest  antithesis  to  the  ancient 
law.  The  Levitical  ordinances,  as  purely  cere-  Eeleasefrom 
monial,  fulfilled  their  intent  when  they  pointed 
out  and  removed  certain  arbitrary  and,  as  we  may 
say,  artificial  disabilities  which  debarred  the  sub-  national 

services. 

jects  of  the  sacred  commonwealth  from  a  partici 
pation  in  the  privileges  which  appertained  to  their 
peculiar  position  as  God's  people.  Yet  further,  by 
figure,  they  interwove  with  the  customs  of  life 
higher  truths,  which  related  to  humanity  in  general 
as  well  as  to  themselves,  and  which  could  only  be 
brought  out  by  the  revelations  of  the  gospel.  To 
use  an  expression  in  the  following  chapter,  '  It  was 
not  possible  that  the  blood  of  bulls  or  of  goats 
should  take  away  sins,'  and  as  little  possible  that 
the  moral  law  could  be  so  perfectly  fulfilled,  in  its 
heart-requirements  and  in  its  life-obedience,  as  to 
preclude  'dead  works'  from  burdening  the  con- 

X 


322  LEGAL  ATONEMENT  AND 

CH.  xxviii.  sciences  of  the  more  scrupulous  and  earnest  wor- 

Heb.ix.  13-15.  shippers.     The  law  was  detective,  the  gospel  only 

is  remedial.1 


Release  frorn^  The  release  from  'dead  works'  (verse  14),  as  a 
prepares  the  pre-condition  to  the  service  of  the  living  God,  is  a 
"  G°d's  manifest  allusion  to  the  pollutions  removed  by  the 
ashes  of  the  heifer,  which  restored  the  Israelite  to 
the  rights  and  privileges  of  sanctuary  worship. 
But  how  momentous  is  the  range  of  spiritual 
truth  which  this  opens  to  us  !  The  unpurged" 
conscience,  the  unrenewed  mind,  are  absolute  dis 
qualifications  for  the  spiritual  service  of  God. 
They  amount  to  death  -  defilements  which  entail 
absolute  interdict  from  entry  on  this  sublimest 
sphere  of  life  ;  they  bind  fast  to  the  body  of 
death  ;  they  detain  within  the  realm  of  the  dead. 
The  religious  offices  and  acts  performed  in  this 
state  are  devoid  of  life,  i.e.  of  spirituality,  of  sym 
pathy,  of  faith,  of  communion  with  and  conformity 
to  God.  The  whole  is  but  an  orderly,  or,  it  may 
be,  pompous  routine,  or  a  discipline  of  asceticism, 
—  a  life  of  vows  and  penances,  at  best  of  conscien 
tiousness  and  duty.  The  i  dead  works  '  vitiate  the 
whole  as  a  service  ;  and  these  require  to  be  removed 
before  the  true  priesthood  of  man  can  be  entered 
upon,  and  the  joys  of  devotion,  whether  on  earth 
or  in  heaven,  be  in  any  degree  tasted.  The  sacri 
fice  of  Christ  not  only  consecrates  the  tabernacle 
of  the  skies,  but  the  tabernacle  of  the  conscience  ; 
and  His  priesthood  not  only  opens  heaven  to  faith 

1  The  connection  between  the  removal  of  *  dead  works  '  from  the 
conscience  and  the  service  of  the  living  God  is  almost  identical  with 
that  stated  in  the  Epistle  to  the  Romans,  and  strikingly  indicates  the 
Pauline  authorship  of  this  Epistle.  It  may  be  said  that  they  illustrate 
each  other. 


EVANGELICAL  ATONEMENT.  323 

nid  hope,  but  confers  even  on  earth  the  qualities  CH.  XXVIIL 
)f  a  true  priesthood  to  the  living  God.     The  glory  Heb.  ix.  13-15. 
>f  His  priesthood  fills  the  heavens,  but  its  trans- 
"o  raring  power  fills  the  soul. 

Yer.  15.  i  And  for  this  cause,'  i.e.  by  virtue  of  this  The  New 
ill-purifying  power  of  His  sacrifice,  Christ  is  the  exhibits  the 
Mediator  of  the  New  Covenant,  which,  as  promis-  chrSftpre- 
ng  and  making  sure  these  transcendent  blessings  rosatlves- 
)f  redemption,  exhibits,  in  fact,  but  the  fulness  of 
I  is  prerogatives.    No  lower  priesthood  than  His, 
nor  any  mediator  on  earth,  as  was  Moses,  could 
ulfil,  any  more  than  originate,  such  a  covenant  as 
./his.    It  is  simply  an  engagement  of  God,  propheti 
cally  announced,  and  in  due  time  brought  forward 
or  man's  acceptance. 

What  follows  seems  to  be  entirely  exegetic  of  By  it  His 
what  has  gone  before,  i.e.  of  the  '  eternal  redemp- 
tion '  which  Christ  has  obtained  for  man,  and  the 
consequently  advanced  status  of  His  people  under 
the  New  Covenant  as  contrasted  with  the  Old. 
This  seems  to  be  the  meaning  of  the  phrase,  '  The 
redemption  of  the  transgressions  which  were  under 
the  first  covenant ; '  it  is  equivalent  to  the  purging 
of  the  conscience  from  l  dead  works/  which  the 
*  first'  or  Levitical  covenant  did  not  provide  for. 
Its  typical  redemptions  were  from  transgressions 
of  another  order,  as  before  explained.  The  types 
indicated  redemption  from  '  dead  works,'  but  they 
could  do  no  more ;  i  the  transgressions'  under  the 
first  covenant  remained  imcancelled  and  unpurged, 
simply  because  it  was  based  on  a  figurative  and 
not  on  a  real  atonement  for  sin.  This  doctrine  is 
decisive  as  to  the  cardinal  difference  between  the 
gospel  and  the  law.  The  administration  of  the 


324  LEGAL  ATONEMENT  AND 

CH.  xxvin.  latter  was  purely  external  and  figurative,  that  of 
Heb.ix.  13-15.  the  former  internal  and  real.  Whatever  light  or 
old  Testa-  solace  was  enjoyed  by  devout  minds,  under  the 

inent  saints  ...  ,  , . 

lived  under  law,  came  iron!  the  primitive  and  evangelical  pro- 
hamic,  father  mises  made  to  the  world,  and  transmitted  through 
commntlega1'  Abraham  and  his  covenant.  They  were  not  de 
rived  from  the  law,  nor  can  the  devotional  elevation 
and  the  very  similitudes  of  Christian  experience, 
gathered  from  many  of  their  inspired  songs,  be 
regarded  in  any  other  light  than  as  evangelical 
presentiments  and  foretastes,  with  which  the  law 
had  nothing  whatever  to  do,  save  as  its  institutions 
were  made  to  reflect,  though  dimly,  the  day  of 
Christ. 

This  interpretation  of  the  expression.  '  the  re 
demption  of  the  transgressions  which  were  under 
the  first  covenant/  opens  the  true  interpretation 
of  those  which  follow,  that  '  they  which  are  called 
might  receive  the  promise  of  eternal  inheritance.' 
'Called,' its  'The  called'  is  a  familiar  Pauline  phrase,  here  em 
ployed  in  a  somewhat  Old  Testament  aspect.  In 
Isaiah,  for  example,  '  to  call '  means  to  summon,  to 
invest  with  privileges,  or  to  designate  to  a  service; 
it  is  applied  to  Cyrus,  to  the  Hebrew  nation,  and 
to  the  Messiah.  In  this  aspect  '  to  call '  is  much 
the  same  as  to  choose  or  elect.  Passing  by  New 
Testament  examples,  in  which  the  sense  is  modi 
fied  by  the  differences  in  the  cases,  it  may  be 
assumed  here  that  'the  called'  mean  'the  elect,'  or 
the  subjects  of  redemption;  they  are  here  termed 
'the  called'  with  an  implied  reference  to  the 
nation  to  which  they  belonged,  but  also,  with  an 
implied  distinction  from  that  nation  which  was 
not  now  '  called,'  or  elected,  en  masse.  The  '  called' 


EVANGELICAL  ATONEMENT.  325 

were  now  the  Christian  part  of  it;  and  by  this  very  CH.  xxvin. 
designation  the  writer  covertly  intimates  that  the  Heb.  ix.  13-15. 
nition  as  such  had  lost  this  honour.  The  same 
subject  is  fully  entered  into  by  St.  Paul  in  his 
Epistle  to  the  Romans,  but  to  the  Hebrews  it  is 
barely  suggested  by  the  use  of  a  phrase  which  did 
not  necessarily  amount  to  more  than  a  general 
Christian  designation.  It  is  hardly  necessary  to 
maintain  that  the  phrase,  i  the  called,'  is  not  here 
used  in  any  theologically  restrictive  sense,  since 
neither  its  ordinary  meaning  in  the  Gospels  and  the 
Eipistles,  much  less  its  Old  Testament  use,  supports 
:his. 

'  Might  receive  the  promise  of  eternal  inherit-  '  Eternal  in- 
ance.'     The  Old  Testament  rendering  of  'the  called*  allusion  to 

sustained  by  a  manifest  allusion  to  the  call  of  hamic  Cove- 
iie  Hebrews  from  Egypt  to  inherit  the  land  of  nantt 
promise  ;  nor  would  the  language  have  been  so  well 
understood  by  any,  as  by  those  whose  history  was  so 
peculiar,  and  in  fact  evangelically  typical  through 
out,  as  was  theirs.     l  The  eternal  inheritance '  is  a 
phrase  doubtless  derived  from  the  promise  made  to 
Abraham :   c  For  all  the  land  which  thou  seest,  to  Gen.  xiii.  15. 
thee  will  I  give  it,  and  to  thy  seed  for  ever,'  and 
elsewhere  described  as  i  an  everlasting  possession.'  Gen.  xvii.  s. 
The  '  called'  are  said  to  receive  this  promise  in  a  The  promise 
similar  sense  to  that  in  which  Abraham  received  it,  by 
i.e.  to  enjoy  the  pledges  and  assurances  of  it,  not  Ly  us< 
the  inheritance  itself.     i  The  called '  are  the  chil 
dren  of  the  promise,  and  are  trained  for  the  ever 
lasting  possession  by  the  precursory  power  of  the 
promise  itself.     It  is  a  momentous  truth  that  this 
promise  of  '  inheritance,'  said  to  be  received  by  the 
'  called,'. is  the  true  and  inseparable  correlative  to 


326 


LEGAL  ATONEMENT  AND 


CH.  XXVIII. 
Heb.ix.  13-15. 


This  promise 
the  plenary 
indwelling  of 
the  Holy 
Spirit. 


Examples : 
Kom.  viii.  23; 
2  Cor.  v.  5. 


This  pledge  of 
the  eternal 
inheritance 
the  distinc 
tion  between 
the  Christian 
and  the  legal 
state. 


their  redemption,  as  described  by  these  expressions: 
'the  conscience  purged  from  dead  works;'  and  'the 
redemption  of  the  transgressions  which  were  under 
the  first  covenant.5  '  The  promise/  therefore,  in 
this  connection,  must  be  understood  of  the  gift  of 
the  Holy  Ghost,  of  His  plenary  indwelling  in  '  the 
called,'  as  the  divine  witness  to  their  adoption,  and 
as  the  earnest  of  the  inheritance  until  the  day  of 
redemption. 

This  great  doctrine  abounds  in  the  New  Testa 
ment,  particularly  in  the  Gospel  of  John,  and  in 
the  Pauline  Epistles.  Two  leading  examples  may 
be  quoted  from  the  latter :  '  Not  only  they,  but  our 
selves  also,  which  have  the  first-fruits  of  the  Spirit, 
even  we  ourselves  groan  within  ourselves,  waiting 
for  the  adoption,  the  redemption  of  our  body.' 
i  Now  He  that  hath  wrought  us  for  the  selfsame 
thing  (i.e.  for  the  eternal  inheritance)  is  God,  who 
also  hath  given  unto  us  the  earnest  of  the  Spirit.' 
Thus  He  is  the  Spirit  of  promise  for  two  reasons  : 
first,  because  He  was  promised  by  the  prophets  and 
by  the  Saviour;  and  second,  because  He  is  the 
Divine  Interpreter  and  substance  of  all  promise  in 
relation  to  the  eternal  inheritance.  This  is  a  sug 
gestive  doctrine  in  its  bearings  on  the  Christian 
state,  as  distinguishing  that  state  from  that  of  the 
subjects  of  the  Mosaic  law.  The  law  could  not 
bestow  these  spiritual  pledges  of  future  blessedness, 
plainly  because  it  could  not  redeem  from  the  guilt 
and  power  of  sin ;  its  disciples  were,  '  through  fear 
of  death,  all  their  lifetime  subject  to  bondage  ; ' 
they  were  overshadowed  with  its  gloom,  and  all 
the  relief  obtained  by  the  most  favoured  souls  was 
fetched  from  the  earlier  dispensation,  and  was  at 


EVANGELICAL  ATONEMENT.  327 

best  very  imperfect.  Such  was  the  fact  until  the  CH.  xxviu. 
day  of  Pentecost,  and  such  it  remains  wherever  Heb.  ix.  13-15. 
human  nature  (whatever  be  its  religious  surround 
ings  and  impressions)  retains  its  consciousness  of 
guilt  and  impurity; — in  other  words,  when  not  justi- 
f  ed  by  faith,  nor  sanctified  by  the  Holy  Ghost, 
i:  remains  entirely  isolated  from  this  realm  of' 
promise,  and  these  visions  of  the  eternal  inherit 
ance.  However  yearned  after,  they  cannot  be 
realized.  Dread,  if  not  despondency,  is  the  pre 
vailing  consciousness  of  the  unregenerate,  and  a 
darkness  settles  upon  the  soul,  heavily  distressing 
antagonistic  to  the  law  of  its  immortality,  and  to 
its  aspirations  after  an  assurance  of  a  future  life  of 
blessedness.  Sin  wars  equally  with  our  nature  and 
[)ur  destiny ;  redemption  restores  both. 


CHAPTER   XXIX. 


Diatlieke  to 
be  rendered 
'  testament ' 
in  vers.  16 
and  17  only. 


Elsewhere 
covenant. 


,  TESTAMENT  OR  COVENANT? 
HEB.  ix.  16,  17. 


6  FOR  where  a  testament  is,  there  must  also  of 
necessity  be  the  death  of  the  testator.  For  a  testa 
ment  is  of  force  after  men  are  dead  :  otherwise  it 
is  of  no  strength  at  all  while  the  testator  liveth.' 
These  verses  present  a  difficulty,  as  is  evidenced 
by  the  contrarieties  of  comment  on  them,  and  by 
the  fault  which  the  translators  covertly  confess. 
It  arises  from  the  figure  of  a  will  or  testament 
being  here  introduced,  which  seems  inconsonant 
with  the  general  doctrine  of  the  Epistle,  and  par 
ticularly  with  the  notion  of  a  covenant.  The 
translators  have  endeavoured  to  meet  this  difficulty 
by  rendering  BtaOrfKij  (diatheke)  testament,  which 
is  necessary  to  the  translation  of  these  two  verses, 
and  which,  after  covenant,  is  (in  the  New  Testa 
ment)  its  acknowledged  secondary  sense.  For  if 
BiaOij/crj  had  been  here  rendered  f  covenant,'  the 
statement  had  been  untrue  'that  it  is  of  force 
after  men  are  dead,'  or  that  c  there  must  be  also 
of  necessity  the  death  of  the  covenant-maker.'  On 
the  contrary,  death  dissolves  covenants  instead  of 
ratifying  them,  while  it  is  universally  true,  that 
wills  or  testaments  follow  the  opposite  rule,  and 


,  TESTAMENT  OR  COVENANT  ?  329 

ure  of  force  after  men  are  dead.     These  considera-    CH.  xxix. 
tions  amply  justify  our  translators  in  departing,  in  Heb.ix.  16,17. 
this  instance,  from  the  primary  rendering  of  SiaQy/cij, 
and  adopting  the  secondary  one,  'testament'  instead 
of  '  covenant.'     Still  this  is  but  removing  one  diffi 
culty  to  create  another,  for  'testament'  cannot  be 
the  sense  of  SiaOfar}  in  vers.  15,  18,  and  20. 

(1.)  For,  first,  Sia&far)  is  used  in  the  sense  of  Because  in 


covenant  previously  throughout  the  Epistle,  and,  covenant  is 
as  taken  from  Jeremiah  and  the  Old  Testament  sense?™17 
generally,  can  bear  no  other  meaning.     Covenants, 
not  testaments,  were  the  things  recognised  in  the 
Hebrew  scriptures,  and  these  are  introduced  and 
reasoned  upon  in  the  Epistle  in  this  palpable  sense. 

(2.)  Yers.  18  and  19,  containing  a  reference  to  Because  in 
Ex.  xxiv.  6,   7,  8,  equally  bind  us  to  the  same  19  the  Cove- 
interpretation.    The  record  of  the  transaction  re-  Exodus  re- 
ferred  to  proves  it  to  have  been  strictly  a  covenant.  fened  to' 
Testament,  in  the  sense  of  a  disposition  of  property 
by  will,  is  in  this  connection  an  absurdity,  especi 
ally  when  the  testators  must  have  been  the  calves 
and  goats  put  to  death  to  give  it  validity. 

(3.)  The  argument  of  the  chapter  is  enfeebled  Because  the 
and  obscured  by  changing  in  vers.  15,  18,  and  20  requires 

,-,  r»    <>     /i  /         r>  'covenant.' 

the  sense  of  Qtafffjicq  from  covenant  to  testament, 
for  the  design  of  it  is  to  show  the  close  correspond 
ence  of  the  old  and  new  dispensations  as  covenants 
similarly  ratified,  though  of  immense  disparity. 
But  this  argument  is  destroyed  if  both  are  suddenly 
turned  into  testaments,  for  testaments  could  not 
require  sacrifices  of  atonement  for  their  ratification, — . 
such  an  interpretation  would  be  an  outrage  on  all 
customs  and  common  sense, — but  covenants  might 
require  such  sacrifices,  and,  on  divine  authority, 


330 


TESTAMENT  OR  COVENANT? 


Everywhere 
save  in  vers. 
16  and  17. 


CH.JCXIX.  they  did,  not  to  refer  to  similar  usages  among 
Heb.ix.  16,17.  Pagans,  probably  originating  in  this  divine  source. 
If  '  testament '  be  used,  it  alters  the  aspect  of  these 
transactions,  and,  as  far  as  the  argument  goes  from 
this  point,  strongly  militates  against  the  doctrine 
of  atonement  itself.1 

(4.)  To  have  been  consistent,  the  translation 
'  testament '  should  have  been  carried  forward  and 
backward  wherever  SiaOiJKr)  occurs  in  these  chapters, 
whereas  it  is  only  carried  forward  for  a  single 
verse,  and  backward  in  vers.  1 8  and  20 ;  whilst  in 
chap.  x.  ver.  16,  the  rendering  of  &ia0iJKr]  by  cove 
nant  is  resumed  (as  if  the  intervening  inconsistency 
might  by  this  time  have  been  forgotten).  These 
observations  suffice  to  show  that  the  translators 
were  in  a  dilemma. 

From  this  dilemma,  others  have  sought  escape 

1  The  assumption  that  covenants  were  always  ratified  by  sacrifice 
is  inaccurate.  Confessedly,  this  was  a  solemn  form  of  ratification, 
but  it  was  limited  to  covenants  of  the  utmost  public  importance,  and 
could  not  be  supposed  to  be  a  necessary  form  in  ordinary  contracts. 
But  more  than  this,  examples  are  even  found  in  Scripture  of  covenants 
not  so  ratified,  e.g.  that  made  with  Phinehas  (Num.  xxv.  12),  for  his 
zeal  in  the  matter  of  Zimri  and  Cozbi,  whom  he  slew  during  the 
pestilence.  If  any  sacrifice  was  offered  here,  assuredly  it  was  not 
that  of  animal,  but  of  human  life,  a  notion  abhorrent  to  all  divine 
covenants  save  one.  A  further  example  may  be  noted  in  the  covenant 
of  God  with  David,  to  establish  his  house,  and  to  build  up  his  throne 
for  ever  in  the  Messiah  (2  Sam.  vii.  13).  In  this  case,  too,  sacrifice 
was  excluded ;  the  covenant  was  established  by  oath  instead  of  sacri 
fice  :  *  The  Lord  has  sworn  unto  David.'  This  class  of  covenants  seems 
to  be  designated  covenants  of  promise,  either  standing  on  God's  faith 
fulness  or  on  His  added  oath,  the  two  immutable  things  mentioned 
chap.  vi.  18.  This  difference  is,  perhaps,  intimated  in  Ps.  1.  5: 
*  Gather  my  saints  together  unto  me ;  those  that  have  made  a  covenant 
with  me  by  sacrifice ; '  since  this  declaration  would  be  deprived  of  much 
of  its  force  if  covenants  could  be  ratified  in  no  other  way  but  by 
sacrifice ;  at  any  rate,  of  itself  it  strongly  intimates  that  no  necessity 
existed  for  this  particular  form  of  ratification,  but  that  it  simply 
rested  on  a  great  historical  fact. 


,  TESTAMENT  OR  COVENANT?  331 

by  adhering  stringently  to  the  primary  interprets-  CH.  xxix. 
tion  of  &La0rj/c7]  as  covenant  throughout.  But,  as  Heb.ix.i6,i7. 
has  been  stated  at  the  beginning  of  this  chapter,  Verbal 
the  contents  of  vers.  16  and  17  make  this  rendering 
inadmissible ;  and  besides,  there  are  invincible 
grammatical  objections  to  it.  For  instance,  is  it 
possible  to  render  Odva-rov  rov  ^LaOe^evov  by  a  para 
phrase  like  this  :  '  For  where  there  is  a  covenant, 
it  is  necessary  that  the  death  of  the  appointed 
victim  should  be  exhibited?'  Again,  it  may  be 
less  straining  to  the  construction  of  the  passage  to 
render  SiaOij/cr)  yap  eVl  ve/cpols  /Beflala,  a  covenant  is 
confirmed  over  dead  victims,  though  against  even 
this  it  may  be  excepted,  that  the  words  eVt  ve/cpois 
are  against  the  usus  loquendi  of  this  Epistle,  which 
would  rather  lead  us  to  expect,  that  if  dead  victims, 
and  not  dead  men,  had  been  intended  here,  the 
word  commonly  used  for  sacrifice  (Ovaiais)  would 
have  been  employed,  not  ve/cpoLs.  But,  were  even 
this  allowed  to  pass,  what,  on  this  principle  of  in 
terpretation,  can  be  made  of  ore  gg  6  SiaQefjwos? 
The  latter  clause  is  plainly  answerable  to  the 
former  in  the  way  of  antithesis,  and  must  be 
rendered  accordingly ;  i.e.  if  veKpok  signifies  dead 
victims,  not  dead  men,  then  ?$  o  Siadepevo?  must 
signify  a  living  victim.  But  this  is  no  rendering 
of  £5  o  SiaQefjievos,  and  obliges  to  the  absurdity  that 
it  substitutes  an  animal  in  the  place  of  a  person, 
as  the  author  of  a  covenant,  instead  of  being 
simply  the  organ  or  means  by  which  he  ratifies  it. 
This  is  sufficient  to  show  the  futility  of  all  attempts 
to  disturb  the  grammatical  order  of  these  verses, 
and  to  affix  to  their  several  expressions  a  meaning 
at  entire  variance  with  our  translation. 


332  AiaQjicTi,  TESTAMENT  OR  COVENANT? 

CH.JCXIX.        The  validity,  then,  of  the  rendering  of  BiaOjicq  by 
Heb.ix.  16,17.  testament  in  vers.  16  and  17  being  established,  it 
remains  only  to  harmonize  them  with  the  context, 
and  to  point  out  how  the  difficulty  may  be  con 
ceived  to  have  originated. 
Solution  on          It  has  been  remarked,  that  one  of  the  peculiari- 

the  hypo-  .  .  . 

thesis  that  ties  of  St.  Paul  s  style  is,  that  he  often  diverges 

irth  verses  from  the  logical  strictness  of  a  discourse  by  taking 

tratSm^ug-"  UP  a  thought  suggested  by  it,  and  amplifying  this 

writer  by  the  ratner  than  commanding  it  to  stand  aside.     There 

facts  of  seems  to  be  an   example  of  the  kind  here,   not 

Hebrew  his-  .  ... 

tory.  without  its  value  in  determining  the  authorship  of 

the  Epistle,  but  to  be  noted  chiefly  as  accounting 
for  the  divergence  from  the  argument  of  the 
The  Jews  as  chapter.  It  would  seem  that  this  divergence  is 
the  patriarchs  due  to  tne  phrase  preceding  these  verses,  'the 
"romped the  promise  of  the  eternal  inheritance,'  which  suggests 
land.  the  doctrine  of  heirship  drawn  from  the  history  of 

the  Hebrew  people.  They  received  the  inheritance 
in  the  land  of  Palestine,  first  promised  to  their 
fathers;  they  were  the  heirs  of  the  patriarchs,  though 
they  did  not  come  to  the  inheritance  till  long  after 
these  worthies  had  died.  Here,  then,  we  have  the 
rudiment  of  the  sixteenth  and  seventeenth  verses ; 
nothing  being  more  natural  than  to  represent  the 
Hebrew  people  as  inheriting  the  covenant  made  to 
their  fathers  in  the  form  of  a  will  or  bequest  of 
territory  and  nationality  to  themselves.  Accord 
ing  to  this  figure,  the  covenant  is  the  title,  the 
will  is  the  historic  document  transmitting  this  title, 
and  giving  the  right  of  inheritance  under  it.  This 
thought  at  once  opens  to  us  the  true  origin  of  these 
passages.  The  '  called,'  or  spiritual  Hebrews,  now 
4  receive  the  promise  of  eternal  inheritance,'  the 


,  TESTAMENT  OR  COVENANT?  333 

great  thing  included  in  the  Abrahamic  Covenant,    CH.  xxix. 
and,  in   like   manner,  represented   as   coming   to  Heb.iZTe,!?. 
them  in  the  form  of  will  or  bequest,  confirmed  to 
them  by  the  death  of  Christ,  i  the  Seed '  in  whom 
the  covenant  stood.1     Thus,  the  notion  of  a  testa 
ment,    of  a  testator  in  the   person  of   our  Lord, 
and  of  the  new  covenant  in  its  finished  provisions, 
almost  inevitably  suggested  themselves  in  this  con 
nection  to  the  mind  of  the  writer. 

But  this  account  of  it  shows  that  the  represen-  This  use  of 
tation  of  covenant  by  testament  is  purely  illustra-  peuSre 
tive,  and  is  by  no  means  to  be  confounded  with  the  tratlve- 
strict  use  of  the  word  covenant  in  the  preceding 
and  following  verses.  The  transactions  are  entirely 
different,  but  the  one  might  be  brought  in  to  illus 
trate  the  other  with  great  force  and  beauty,  by  a 
writer  possessed  with  these  associations.  The 
object  of  the  illustrative  clauses  here  inserted,  is 
to  show  that  heirship  to  all  the  ancient  promises  of 
human  restoration  and  blessedness,  was  a  thing  in 
abeyance,  like  a  will  during  the  life  of  a  testator, 
until  the  death  of  Christ;  that  this  death  gave  it 
full  and  permanent  validity,  and  brought  upon  '  the 
called,'  in  the  widest  sense  of  that  word,  the  heritage 
of  the  ages  past,  and  the  glory  of  the  ages  to  come. 

On  this  view  the  two  verses  must  be  read  as  a 
parenthesis,  and  the  argument  be  continued  by 
linking  the  18th  verse  to  the  15th.  This  is 
obviously  the  true  connection,  and  continues  on 
ward  the  subject  of  the  day  of  atonement  and  its 
great  evangelical  counterpart. 

1  In  this  view,  our  Lord  is  the  testator,  inasmuch  as  the  covenant, 
and  promises  contained  in  it,  descended  to  Him  as  the  true  heir  or 
seed,  and  consequently,  the  right  of  will  or  disposition :  this  came 
into  force  at  His  death. 


CHAPTER  XXX. 

ATONEMENT  THE  GROUND  OF  REMISSION,  ALIKE  UNDER 
THE  LEGAL  AND  THE  EVANGELICAL  COVENANT. 

HEB.  ix.  18-22. 

'  WHEREUPON  neither  the  first  covenant  was  dedi 
cated  without  blood.' 

Criticism.  The  marginal  reading  is  t  purified'  for  ' dedicated.' 

The  true  sense  of  eyrce/caimo-Tai  seems  to  be  'instituted' 
or  i  inaugurated;'  the  word  clearly  referring  to  some 
thing  done  or  set  up  for  the  first  time,  though  fre 
quently  used  in  the  sense  of  renewal  or  restitution. 
4  Whereupon,'  in  this  connection  (though  it  may  be 
understood  to  include  the  three  foregoing  verses  as 
its  antecedent),  yet  more  directly  looks  to  verse 
15th,  in  which  the  two  covenants  are  conjointly 
introduced  and  compared.  '  Whereupon,'  or  whence, 
therefore  relates  to  covenant  ratified  by  atonement, 
or  by  the  death  of  the  Mediator,  and  strongly 
intimates  the  truth  that,  while  both  covenants 
agreed  in  the  offering  of  atonement,  it  was  the 
Levitical  Covenant  which  was  conformed  to  the 
Evangelical,  not  the  Evangelical  to  the  Levitical, 
1  Whereupon  '  signifies,  for  this  reason,  on  this 
ground  or  principle,  the  first  covenant  was  inaugu 
rated  by  blood.  This  is  the  compendium  of  the 
doctrine  of  the  Epistle,  as  well  as  the  true  ground  of 


ATONEMENT  THE  GROUND  OF  REMISSION.  335 

the  entire  Mosaic  institute.     It  was  not  merely  a  CHAP.  xxx. 
national  ceremonial  or  a  badge  of  distinction  from  Heb.ix.  13-22. 
the  religions  of  all  other  nations,  it  was  pre-emi 
nently  the  precursory  notice,  the  type  and  pledge,  of 
the  gospel  mysteries,  of  the  c  good  things  to  come.' 

Yerses  19  and  20  :  4  For  when  Moses  had  spoken 
every  precept  to  all  the  people  according  to  the  law, 
he  took  the  blood  of  calves  and  of  goats,  with  water, 
and  scarlet  wool,  and  hyssop,  and  sprinkled  both  the 
book,  and  all  the  people,  saying,  This  is  the  blood 
of  the  testament  which  God  hath  enjoined  unto  you.' 

This  is  the  historical  verification  of  verse   18,  Historical 

.  PI  «  verification. 

and  a  succinct  recapitulation  ol  the  great  insti 
tution  recorded  in  Exodus  xxiv.  6.  The  Law  is 
here  mentioned  as  a  thing  already  written,  which 
accords  with  the  narrative  :  Moses  wrote  all  the 
words  of  the  Lord,  and  these  words  are  called  the 
covenant,  which  begins  with  the  Decalogue  in  the 
twentieth  of  Exodus  and  ends  with  the  twenty- 
third.  These  instructions,  it  would  appear,  were 
first  recited  by  Moses  to  the  people,  the  people 
responding  '  All  the  words  that  the  Lord  hath 
said  will  we  do.'  This  was  the  essence  of  the 
covenant  —  proposal  on  the  one  part,  and  accept 
ance  on  the  other.  It  was  reduced  to  writing  by 
Moses,  and  finally  ratified  by  the  offering  of  sacri 
fices.  The  account,  or  rather  the  compendium, 
here  given  looks  entirely  to  the  public  ratification 
of  the  covenant,  and  to  the  ceremony  of  sprinkling 
the  roll  or  book  and  the  assembled  people.  It 
contains,  too,  what  is  not  found  in  the  narrative  The  scarlet 
in  Exodus,  that  he  took  '  water,  and  scarlet  wool, 


and  hyssop.'     This  incident  probably  was  tradi-  l 
tional  and  perpetuated  in  the  action  of  the  high 


336 


ATONEMENT  THE  GROUND  OF  REMISSION  ALIKE 


CHAP.  XXX. 

Heb.ix.  18-22. 


The  sprink 
ling  intimated 
the  evangeli 
cal  founda 
tions  of  the 


nant. 


The  giving 
of  the  law 
coupled  with 
atonement 
historically. 


priest.  The  cedar  wood,  the  scarlet  wool,  and 
hyssop  would  make  a  sort  of  brush  with  which 
expurgation  could  be  performed  at  considerable 
distances  with  more  effect  than  by  the  fingers. 
The  sprinkling  of  the  book  denoted  that  it  was  a 
covenant  founded  on  atonement,  not  an  edition  of 
moral  law  merely,  nor  of  positive  institutes  from 
which  grace  and  remission  were  excluded.  The 
administration  of  the  covenant,  founded  on  atone 
ment,  was  in  keeping  with  it;  it  was  indeed  a 
form  of  national  law,  but  blended  with  a  doctrine 
of  grace.  The  people  were  also  sprinkled,  to  denote 
that  there  was  something  evangelical  in  their  rela 
tion  to  this  covenant,  and  that  in  some  sense  and 
degree  they  were  accepted  and  sanctified  by  it. 
There  was  a  l  spirit '  in  the  law  as  well  as  a 
'  letter ' — auguries  of  redemption  interspersed  with 
its  statutes ;  the  spiritual  administration  which 
should  mark  the  Evangelical  Covenant  was  fore 
shadowed  in  the  Levitical. 

Two  things  are  remarkable  in  this  matter :  (1.) 
The  carefulness  and  exactness  with  which  the  pre 
cepts  of  the  Law  were  announced.  They  were  first 
spoken,  then  written,  and  finally  read  out  from  the 
writing  itself,  with  all  solemnity  and  emphasis, 
to  a  respondent  people,  thus  formally  pledged  to 
obedience.  (2.)  Then  the  application  of  the  blood  of 
the  covenant,  accompanied  by  the  solemn  formula 
ever  and  anon  repeated,  with  the  motion  of  the 
wand  which  sprinkled  the  blood  :  '  Behold  the  blood 
of  the  covenant  which  God  hath  enjoined  unto 
you.'  They  were  to  observe  Law,  but  to  look  to 
Atonement.  This  reference  to  the  institution  of 
the  first  covenant,  carries  backward  the  doctrine  of 


UNDER  LEGAL  AND  EVANGELICAL  COVENANT.  337 

atonement  to  the  very  foundation  of  the  Hebrew  CHAP.  xxx. 
polity  in  the  wilderness,  and  points  to  an  inaugural  Heb.ixj~8-22. 
ceremony    containing   in   it    the  whole    Levitical  Neither  sam- 
system.     From  the  way  in  which  it  is  mentioned 
in  Exodus,  it  no  more   appears  that  sacrifices  of 
atonement  were  then  for  the  first  time  instituted,  ness< 
than  that  the  Sabbath-day  was  first  observed  by 
the  Hebrews  in  the  wilderness.    Both  were  rescripts 
of  primitive  law  which  survived,  in  some  degree, 
down  to  that  age,  but  which,  from  the  growing 
corruption  of  the  world,   were  liable  to  become 
extinct,  if  not  revived  in  some  especial  manner, 
and  incorporated  with   the  institutions  of  a  par 
ticular  people. 

But  the  point  of  the  chapter  is,  the  great  typical  Moses  the 
representation  of  the  Mediatorial  office  of  the  Son  christ.yp( 
in  the  person  of  Moses,  the  deliverer  and  law 
giver  of  the  Hebrew  people.  The  institution  of 
Sacrifice,  the  revelation  of  Law,  the  origination  of 
a  Covenant,  and  the  ratification  of  this  by  sacrifices 
of  Atonement,  were  things  strikingly  prefigurative 
of  the  Mediator  of  the  New  Covenant; — of  His 
authority,  of  His  redemptional  offices,  .of  His  im 
measurably  transcendent  manifestations  of  grace 
and  truth,  of  His  power  to  found  a  Covenant,  to 
gather  His  Church,  and  to  sanctify  it  by  the  offering 
of  atonement  once  for  all  in  His  own  person.  Thus 
verses  15  and  19  read  in  conjunction,  and,  thought 
fully  considered,  are  mirrors  of  the  two  dispensa 
tions,  the  one  showing  the  images  of  the  other; 
but  that  other  alone  looks  out  on  the  broad  realities 
of  the  higher  world,  and  makes  it  possible  for  an 
earthly  thing  to  concentrate  and  copy  things  in 
themselves  invisible  and  infinite. 

Y 


338  ATONEMENT  THE  GROUND  OF  REMISSION  ALIKE 

CHAP.  xxx.      Ver.  21.  '  Moreover  he  sprinkled  likewise  with 
Heb.ix.  18-22.  blood  hoth  the  tabernacle,  and  all  the  vessels  of 

the  ministry.' 
Sanctification       This  is  a  continuation  of  the  inaugural  ceremonies 

of  the  Taber-  .  -11 

nacie,  etc.  of  the  Hebrew  institute,  more  particularly  recorded 
in  the  eighth  chapter  of  Leviticus,  which  contains 
the  account  of  the  consecration  of  the  priesthood 
by  oil  and  blood,  and  the  sanctification  of  the  altar 
and  the  vessels  of  the  ministry  by  the  same  pro 
cedure.  Exodus  xl.  9,  10  may  be  also  quoted ;  for, 
although  there  the  anointing  of  the  tabernacle  and 
the  vessels  of  the  ministry  with  the  holy  chrism  is 
alone  mentioned,  yet,  as  we  learn  from  Leviticus 
viii.,  the  sprinkling  with  blood  was  a  concomitant 
process  in  the  consecration  of  the  priesthood. 
Indeed,  that  the  reference  is  to  Exodus  in  this 
twenty-first  verse  is  indubitable,  though  the  text 
is  silent  as  to  the  sprinkling  of  the  blood. 

'Almost5  Ver.  22.  4  And  almost  all  things  are  by  the  law 

refers  to  cases  _  .  ,        n  ,       mi  .  .  .. 

of  ceremonial  purged  with  blood.  Ihis  expression  conducts  us 
to%e  removed  further  than  the  tabernacle  and  the  vessels  of  the 
by  bathmg.  mmistry,  since  it  can  hardly  be  considered  either  as 
reiterative  or  exegetical.  No  exceptions  to  this 
mode  of  sanctification,  agreeing  with  the  expression 
4  almost  all,'  are  recorded  in  the  law  itself,  nor  is 
there  any  reason  to  suppose  there  were  such  ex 
ceptions  ;  the  context  also  forbids  this  construc 
tion,  for  it  speaks  of  all  the  vessels  of  the  ministry. 
The  ordinance,  therefore,  which  excepted  some 
things  from  this  purification  by  blood,  plainly 
carries  us  for  its  interpretation  to  certain  cases 
mentioned  in  Leviticus  xv.  of  ceremonial  un- 
cleanness  to  be  removed  by  bathing  and  not  by 
sacrifice.  This  probably  gave  rise  to  that  intensi- 


UNDER  LEGAL  AND  EVANGELICAL  COVENANT.  339 

fied   superstition,  always  more   or  less   prevalent  CHAP.  xxx. 
among  the   Hebrews,   of  various    lustrations    by  Heb.iI78-22. 
water,   an   instance    of   which  is  noticed   in   the 
Gospel  of  John  :  '  There  were  set  seven  water  pots, 
after  the  manner  of  the  purifying  of  the  Jews.' 
The  ordinance  of  the  red  heifer,  which  removed 
defilement  arising  from  contact  with  a  dead  body 
by  sprinkling  with  water,  may  also  be  included  in 
the  exceptions. 

6  And  without  shedding  of  blood  there  is  no  re-  Remission 

,       mi         „  ,  ,    .      ,  includes  re- 

rmssion.  Ihe  afao-i^  or  'remission,  is  here  pro-  lease  from 
bably  to  be  understood  in  its  primary  sense  of  for-  1>er 
giveness,  carrying  with  it  release  from  penalty.  It 
may  include  a  provision  by  atonement  for  absolu 
tion,  either  from  ceremonial  or  from  strictly  legal 
offences,  and  in  addition  to  these,  from  moral 
offences,  though  not  in  the  full  evangelical  sense 
of  the  word.  The  fourth,  fifth,  and  sixth  chapters 
of  Leviticus  contain  a  long  enumeration  of  such 
offences,  appended  to  which  we  have  the  specific 
forms  prescribed  for  their  remission ;  they  supply  a 
striking  comment  upon  the  words,  i  Without  shed 
ding  of  blood  there  is  no  remission.' 

As  far  as  transgressions  were  at  all  remissible,  Kepentance 
under  the  Mosaic  institute,  they  were  remissible 
by  atonement  alone ;  nor  are  those  passages  in  the 
Prophets  (for  example,  Ezekiel  xviii.  and  xxxiii.), 
which  affirm  forgiveness  on  repentance  and  re 
formation,  to  be  interpreted  independently  of  the 
great  national  doctrine  of  atonement  by  sacrifice. 
This  doctrine  is  always  assumed  as  necessary  to  the 
completeness  of  the  work  of  repentance  and  reconcilia 
tion;  in  fact,  the  doctrine  of  atonement  presupposed 
these  dispositions  and  acts  of  the  offerer,  and  the 


340 


ATONEMENT  THE  GROUND  OF  REMISSION  ALIKE 


CHAP.  XXX. 

Heb.ix.  18-22. 


Remission  the 
result  of 
atonement. 


Because  the 
Lawgiver 
cannot  abro 
gate  His  own 
laws. 


If  indulgence 
can  put  aside 
law,  there  is 
no  room  for 
grace. 


sacrifice  was  null  and  void  without  them.  Thus 
this  momentous  axiom,  i  without  the  shedding  of 
blood  there  is  no  remission/  may  be  sufficiently 
explained  by  these  legal  references,  since  the  doc 
trine  of  atonement  stood  paramount  in  the  entire 
constitution  of  the  Mosaic  Law. 

But  it  will  bear  a  more  profound  and  absolute 
reference  to  the  provisions  of  the  gospel,  and,  in 
deed,  its  place  in  the  argument  requires  this  appli 
cation,  as  appears  from  its  connection  with  the 
following  verse.  The  a$e<rt?,  whether  understood 
simply  of  the  forgiveness  of  sin,  or  in  addition  to 
this,  of  the  entire  removal  of  its  principle,  its 
nature,  and  its  consequences,  is,  in  the  most  abso 
lute  sense,  the  result  of  atonement.  In  any  other 
way  the  a$e<n$  of  the  crime  or  the  criminal  is  the 
abrogation  of  the  law  to  which  he  is  amenable.  It 
is  impossible  that  an  act  of  simple  prerogative  can 
rectify  the  relation  of  a  criminal  to  law ;  since  its 
direct  consequence  is  to  set  law  against  the  law 
giver  himself.  If  the  law  cannot  be  abrogated, 
because  it  is  founded  in  the  truth  and  righteous 
ness  of  a  relation  between  the  Creator  and  His 
creatures,  then  the  result  of  such  abrogation  is  to  set 
law,  as  a  witness,  against  the  very  Being  who  gave 
it,  and  it  becomes  more  an  implied  arraignment  of 
His  rectoral  equity  in  giving  law  than  an  impeach 
ment  of  the  creature  for  transgressing  law.  There 
can  be  little  harm  in  breaking  a  law,  if  the  lawgiver 
himself  cares  not  to  enforce  it.  Besides  this,  there 
can  be  no  grace  in  the  exercise  of  a  sovereignty 
which  abrogates  law,  since  this  implies  that  justice 
is  not  the  ground  of  legislation  to  which  all  acts  of 
government  must  be  conformed ;  it  is  hardly  even 


UNDER  LEGAL  AND  EVANGELICAL  COVENANT.  341 

so  much  as  a  rule  of  expediency,  because  whenever  CHAP.  xxx. 
:.t  is  required  to  be  put  in  force,  it  is  made  to  give  Heb.ixT8-22. 
place  to  the  dictates  of  indulgence.     Further,  on 
this  showing,  even  indulgence  must  be  without  a 
moral  character  to  him  who  exercises  it,  and  with- 
3ut  any  power  of  conferring  happiness  on  its  re 
cipient.     Principle  underlies  all  virtue ;  and  virtue,  indulgence 
in  the  broad  sense  of  moral  excellence,  is  the  sine  happiness  on 


qua  non  to  the  happiness  of  the  creature.     So  far, 
therefore,  from   the   gospel  revealing  a   paradox,  j^110  excel" 
when  it  sets  forth  the  doctrine  of  atonement,  it 
appeals  to  our  reason  and  moral  convictions,  in  Atonement, 

.  -,      .  P  n       .    .  .1        therefore,  the 

their  very  purest  torm,  as  a  doctrine  most  worthy  Oniy  reason- 
of,  and  honourable  to,  God,  and  most  beneficent  in 
its  effects  upon  man.  While  it  reveals  a  constitu 
tion  for  man  far  higher  than  that  of  mere  law,  law 
nevertheless,  in  conjunction  with  grace,  is  the  basis 
upon  which  it  is  reared.  God  is  put  before  us  as 
just,  and  yet  a  Saviour ;  the  Justifier  of  the  un 
godly,  and  yet  exalted  in  righteousness ;  a  Father, 
but  also  a  Ruler— the  object  of  an  absolute  venera 
tion  and  trust,  and  yet  of  filial  delight. 


CHAPTER   XXXI. 


Blood-purifi 
cation  neces 
sary  to  '  the 
patterns  of 
things  in  the 
heavens.' 


Because 
mediation 
always  under 
lay  revealed 
religion. 


FINALITY  OF  ATONEMENT,  DEATH,  AND  JUDGMENT. 
HEB.  ix.  23-28. 

'!T  was  therefore  necessary  that  the  patterns  of 
things  in  the  heavens  should  be  purified  with 
these ;  but  the  heavenly  things  themselves  with 
better  sacrifices  than  these.' 

The  occurrence  of  this  word  c  necessary,'  as  re 
lating  equally  to  the  type  and  antitype  of  sacrifice 
and  its  administration,  shows  that  the  foregoing 
notice  of  the  afaaw  is  justified  by  the  mind  of  the 
writer.  First,  the  ordinance  of  blood -purification 
for  the  tabernacle  and  the  vessels  of  the  ministry, 
is  affirmed  to  be  '  necessary'  on  the  ground  that 
these  were  '  patterns  of  things  in  the  heavens,'  i.e. 
of  things  in  the  heavens  when  this  Epistle  was 
written,  though  not  when  the  legal  institutes 
were  framed,  except  inasmuch  as  the  principle  of 
Mediation  underlay  all  revealed  institutions  from 
the  world's  beginning.  Atonement  and  mediation 
were  things  in  the  heavens  in  counsel  and  prepara 
tion  from  the  first,  and  things  actually  in  the 
heavens  when  our  Lord  had  entered  upon  His 
kingly  priesthood.  Hence  the  draft,  the  semblance, 
the  shadow,  of  these  exhibited  on  earth  must  all 
be  characteristic.  These  heavenly  mysteries  could 


FINALITY  OP  ATONEMENT,  ETC.  343 

be  foreshadowed  by  the  doctrines  and  institutions   CH.  xxxi. 
of  the  law  alone,  and  these  were  true  to  them  as  Heb.iZ23-28. 
patterns  which  transcribe  originals ;  simply  because 
sin,  atonement,  priesthood,  remission,  and  purifica 
tion  were  made  the  grand  cardinals  of  that  vener 
able  system.    The  relation  of  the  law  to  something  The  law  a 
at  once  prior  and  ultimate  to  itself  determined  its 
whole  character,   and  gave  it  a  fixedness  and  a 
•peculiarity   which   admitted   of  no  interpolation,  the  future. 
much  less  of  any  radical  change.      The  sun  and 
':he  shadow  are  as  essentially  related  as  the  sun 
and  the  light. 

The  second  sense  of  '  necessary '  in  this  verse  Relation  be- 
Tefers,  not  to  the  relation  between  the  pattern  and  hlaveniy6 
the  purifications  of  legal  atonement,  but  to  the  re- 


lation  between  the  c  heavenly  things  themselves '  meljt, ' neces- 
and  the  atonement  of  Christ.  It  has  been  before 
noticed  that  this  language  has  been  framed  on  the 
typical  principle,  and  that  the  exposition  hinges  on 
it  accordingly.  To  this  nothing  requires  to  be  added 
but  the  remark,  that,  as  typical  things  require 
typical  sacrifices,  so  heavenly  things  require  the 
true  sacrifice  for  the  same  reason,  that  they  are 
verities,  archetypes,  not  drafts  nor  copies.  Con-  Consonancy 

7  J  r      7  .  in  lower 

sonancy  in  lower  things  between  one  portion  and  things  a  note 
another  is  characteristic  of  the  nature,  and  neces-  °  pei 
sary  to  the  perfection,  of  a  work  ;  consonancy  in 
the  highest  things  is  the  result  of  their  natures  and 
relations.     THEY  CANNOT  BE  OTHERWISE,  any  more 
than  the  attributes  of  Deity,  or  the  purposes  and 
operations  which  issue  from  eternal  sovereignty; 
they   rest    on   their    respective   natures,    brought 
into  combination  by  the  sovereign  will  of  Deity, 
and  thev  so  remain  even  till  heaven  and  earth  de- 


344 


FINALITY  OF  ATONEMENT, 


CH.  XXXI. 

Heb.ix.  23-28. 

In  things 
relating  to 
the  divine 
government  a 
necessity. 


The  Day  of 
Atonement 
closely  ad 
hered  to  in 
the  antitype. 


Our  Lord's 
exaltation 
official,  not 
personal. 


part.  Thus  there  is  a  consonancy  between  the 
person  and  office  of  Christ  as  Mediator  and  the 
perfections  and  sovereignty  of  God  in  relation  to 
the  world. 

Yer.  24.  '  For  Christ  is  not  entered  into  the  holy 
places  made  with  hands,  which  are  the  figures  of 
the  true;  but  into  heaven  itself,  now  to  appear  in 
the  presence  of  God  for  us.' 

This  verse,  equally  with  the  former,  shows  that 
the  great  annual  festival  is  still  dwelt  upon,  parti 
cularly  the  solemn  entry  of  the  high  priest  within 
the  holiest  of  all.  The  teaching  seems  to  be  emphati 
cally  intended  to  contrast  these  entries,  and  to  exalt 
the  one  without  disparaging  the  other.  In  fact,  the 
type  only  rises  to  its  true  grandeur  when  seen,  in  this 
connection,  as  a  veritable  miniature  of  the  infinite. 
The  '  holy  places '  are  mentioned  because  the  high 
priest  must  needs  pass  through  the  one  in  order  to 
enter  the  other ;  but  heaven  is  rather  the  antitype 
of  the  second,  the  holy  of  holies,  .than  of  the  first,  un 
less  we  suppose  that  the  Hebrew  doctrine  of  several 
heavens,  or  the  third  heaven,  is  here  glanced  at. 

The  last  clause  of  the  verse  has  been  previously 
noticed,  so  that  it  remains  only  to  mark  the  order 
of  thought  developed  from  verse  23  in  verse  24. 
The  gist  of  this  appears  to  be  simply  the  exaltation 
of  the  Atonement  as  entitling  our  Lord  to  claim,  as 
the  representative  of  man,  this  transcendent  posi 
tion.  It  may  be  repeated  here,  because  of  the  very 
emphasis  of  the  inspired  writer  on  this  point,  that 
our  Lord's  official  elevation  is  demonstrably  the 
true  correlative  of  His  atonement.  He  claims  His 
entry  into  heaven  as  the  God-man ;  His  presence 
and  glory  there  are  entirely  answerable  to  the  pur- 


DEATH,  AND  JUDGMENT.  345 

poses  of  His  previous  sacrifice,  i.e.  to  the  office  of  a    CH.  xxxi. 
mediator.  Heb.  ix.  23-28. 

Yerse  25  :  '  Nor  yet  that  He  should  offer  Him-  The  annual 
self  often,  as  the  high  priest  entereth  into  the  holy  contrast^? 
place  every  year  with  blood  of  others.'  one 

This  formula,  '  nor  yet,'  marks  the  introduction 
of  a  new  thought  or  fact  in  the  same  subject,  ex 
hibiting  a  further  point  of  comparison  between  the 
offices  of  the  high  priest  on  the  day  of  atonement 
and  our  Lord's  on  behalf  of  the  world.  The  former 
was  an  annual  ceremony,  the  latter  only  once  for  all. 
The  one  was  repetitive,  because  finite ;  the  other 
was  singular,  because  it  was  infinite.  Waning  and 
terminableness  belong  to  all  human  acts,  whether 
national  or  individual,  and  even  to  the  course  of 
nature,  which  continually  rounds  and  repeats  its 
cycles,  themselves  but  the  hours  of  the  world's  day. 
Our  Lord's  atonement  and  ministry  are  inclusive  of 
the  whole  history  of  humanity  in  its  forward  direc 
tion  ;  they  as  little  admit  of  interruption  as  of  repe 
tition.  Christ  is  not  offered  '  often,'  simply  because 
infinite  redundancy  may  be  predicated  of  this  ONE 
act.  Nothing  could  be  added  to  it  by  repetition, 
nothing  can  be  taken  away  from  it  by  the  flight  of 
time,  the  multiplication  of  the  race,  or  the  vastness 
and  diversity  of  its  needs.  As  it  concentrated  in 
itself,  in  the  hour  of  its  offering,  the  whole  past  of 
man,  so  it  forestalled  his  entire  future. 

Yer.  26.  'For  then  must  He  often  have  suffered 
since  the  foundation  of  the  world :  but  now  once 
in  the  end  of  the  world  hath  He  appeared  to  put 
away  sin  by  the  sacrifice  of  Himself/ 

This  is  a  divine  pause,  so  to  speak,  as  of  one  wrho 
has  scaled  the  summit  of  a  mountain.  The  retro- 


346 


FINALITY  OF  ATONEMENT, 


CH.  xxxi.  spect  of  the  world  shows  to  him  a  long  line  of  priests 
Heb.ix.  23-28.  and  altars,  of  offered  victims  and  elaborate  cere 
monies  ;  but  all  melt  away  and  disappear  under  the 
last  effulgence  of  the  Atonement  and  Priesthood  of 
the  ONE.  While  the  forward  gaze  of  the  evangeli 
cal  Seer  penetrates  to  the  very  horizon  of  humanity, 
and  overlooks  the  scenes  and  ages  of  the  world's 
great  drama,  amidst  all  its  complications,  its  infinite 
diversities,  nationalities,  moral  phases,  social  pro 
gress,  and  religious  changes,  one  Light  is  all-per 
vading,  one  Being  all-controlling,  one  Cause  ever 
supreme, — the  ONE  Sacrifice  of  the  ONE  Mediator. 
So  absolutely  does  this  vision  detain  and  fill  the 
inspired  man,  that  he  beholds  in  the  event  of  our 
Lord's  sacrifice  the  end  of  the  world,  not  in  point 
of  time  indeed,  but  in  the  sense  of  confluent  times 
and  seasons,  and  of  providential  arrangements  con 
summated  in  their  relation  to  the  ONE  SIN-OFFEKING. 
4  To  put  away  sin '  is  an  expression  equivalent  to 
Daniel's  i finishing  the  transgression,'  and  'bringing 
in  everlasting  righteousness.'  Of  itself,  it  expresses 
a  seeming  paradox ;  for  how  can  the  same  thing  be 
and  not  be  ?  or  an  end  be  put  to  that  which  in  its 
own  nature  seems  eternal?  Can  this  happen  by 
casting  into  oblivion  the  acts  or  even  the  existence 
of  fallen  creatures  ?  or,  by  means  of  a  fanciful 
metempsychosis,  an  endless  roundabout,  which  at 
last  restores  to  and  absorbs  all  finite  nature  in  the 
infinite?  Law  cannot  put  away  sin;  for  it  per 
petuates  it  by  penalties,  and  expands  it  into  infinity 
by  identifying  it  with  the  very  existence  of  the 
creature.  Purgatory  cannot  put  away  sin ;  for  the 
lustrations  of  fire  cannot  touch  a  moral  subject,  nor 
bid  him,  like  the  Phoenix,  rise  anew  from  his  own 


How  can  sin 

be  put  away  ? 


DEATH,  AND  JUDGMENT.  347 

ashes.     The  one  grand  secret  is  here  told  us,  in    CH.  xxxi. 

brief  but  wondrous  words,  not  of  the  mere  possi-  Hebix.  28-28. 

bility  of  putting  away  sin,  but  that  it  is  really  done 

by  'the  sacrifice  of  Himself.'     Language  was  not 

made  to  expound  so  pregnant  a  thought  as  this, — 

it  is  a  theme  for  eternity,  and  a  master-study  for 

angels. 

Vers.  27,  28.  l  And  as  it  is  appointed  unto  men 
once  to  die,  but  after  this  the  judgment :  so  Christ 
was  once  offered  to  bear  the  sins  of  many;  and 
unto  them  that  look  for  Him  shall  He  appear  the 
second  time  without  sin  unto  salvation.' 

The  collation  of  the  Atonement  in  these  verses  Atonement 

.,,      -.       .,  T   .,       .      ,  ,   .  ...  ,    .,   .       ,       collated  with 

with  death  and  the  judgment  is  a  position  strikingly  death  and 
adapted  to  invest  it  with  characters  of  ineffable  Judsment- 
greatness.      (1.)   It   is   made   to  take   rank  with  Death  an 
them  as  a  matter  of  immediate  divine  appointment; 
for,  while  death  is  an  universal  matter  of  fact  to 
humanity,  its  'appointment'  is  a  mystery  to  be 
searched  for  in  a  higher  realm  than  that  of  nature. 
The  c appointment'  is  carried  out,  indeed,  by  the  laws 
of  nature ;  but  the  why  of  these  laws  is  the  secret, 
only  to  be  told  by  revelation,  which  tells  it  thus : 
1  By  one  man  sin  entered  into  the  world,  and  death 
by  sin,  and  so  death  passed  upon  all  men,  for  that 
all  have  sinned.'    This  is  c  appointment,'  not  nature. 

The  same  may  be  said  of  the  doctrine  of  a  general  Judgment  not 

T  -.•     .  ,  .  ,  a  necessity, 

judgment.    It  is  an    appointment,  not  a  necessary  but  an  ap- 
issue  of  a  moral  government,  much  less  is  it  indi-  1>01 
cated  by  the  moral  nature  of  humanity,  or  the 
course  of  providence.     It  is  an  appointment,  and 
therefore  a  revelation.    It  is  also  a  New  Testament 
doctrine    as    distinguished   from   the    Old,   which, 
though  it  records  many  and  signal  judgments  of 


348  FINALITY  OF  ATONEMENT 


CH.  XXXL    God  upon   men  for   their   sins,   is  silent  on   the 

Heb. ix. 23-28.  subject  of  a  final  race-judgment.     This  judgment 

appertains  to  the  Mediator,   and  is    entirely  the 

result  of  the  Atonement,  which  has  brought  upon 

Probation  the   the   world   a   long  day  of  probation   under  very 

correlative  to  .  .    .  •>  *•  J 

judgment.  peculiar  conditions,  and  as  the  counterpart  to  this, 
the  great  World-judgment.  In  like  manner  the 
Atonement  also  is  an  appointment,  and  therefore 
also  a  revelation;  it  cannot  be  inferred  from  the 
constitution  of  a.  moral  government,  and  to  us  at 
least,  it  is  as  destitute  of  precedents  as  it  is  of 
analogies.  It  stands  alone,  both  as  a  fact  and  a 
doctrine,  on  the  mere  authority  of  Revelation. 
Atonement  as  (2.)  The  Atonement  is  collated  with  death  and 
Adjudgment,  judgment  by  the  idea  of  commensurateness.  There 
is  put  before  us  here,  a  race -death,  a  race -judg 
ment,  a  race -sacrifice.  The  'many,'  whose  sins 
Christ  is  said  to  have  borne,  answers  precisely  to 
the  'men'  appointed  'once  to  die/  and  after  this 
to  appear  for  judgment.  No  restriction  can  be 
placed  upon  the  meaning  of  the  '  many,'  which  does 
not  apply  with  equal  stringency  to  the  mortality  of 
the  race,  or  to  their  amenableness  to  judgment ;  the 
expressions  are  severally  race-comprising,  and  to 
alter  their  proportion  to  each  other  is  obviously  to 
destroy  the  truth  of  the  comparison  and  the  force 
of  the  teaching.  The  eclectic  or  partial  view  is 
presented  in  the  following  clause,  obviously  meant 
to  distinguish  the  subjects  of  final  salvation  from 
those  for  whom  a  provision  was  made,  not  issuing 
in  salvation :  '  To  them  that  look  for  Him  shall  He 
appear  the  second  time  without  sin  unto  salva 
tion.' 

(3.)  There  is  the  comparison  of  unity  or  single- 


DEATH,  AND  JUDGMENT.  349 

ness;  men  die  once,  they  are  judged  once,  they    CH.  xxxi. 

are  atoned  for  once.     Death,  the  one  sentence  on  Heb."i^23-28. 

sin,  was  not  re-enacted ;  it  was  a  race-sentence,  a  Death,  judg- 

race-doom;  it  was  never  retracted,  modified,  or  re-  SoSemrat 

inforced.    It  passed  over  no  sections  or  generations  mirePetitive- 

of  the  race,  as  if  due  to  accident  or  contingency, 

or  as  if  it  were  a  strange  or  recurring  phenomenon. 

All  were  doomed  in  one,  and  once.     Judgment, 

however  protracted  and  however  incomprehensible 

in  its  modes  of  administration,  is  also  a  thing  of 

once,  equally  searching  to  a  race  as  to  a  man.     It 

is  just  as  incapable  of  repetition  as  death  is  of 

return : — it  may  be  heralded  by  many  judgments, 

as  is  intimated  by  its  nearest  parallel,  the  flood; 

but  the  race-judgment  itself  is,  one  and  once.    The 

Atonement  is,  in  like  manner,  one  and  once ;  it  is 

sufficiently  comprising  for  all  purposes  of  relief  and 

restoration,  of  grace  and  judgment.    Historically  it 

is  clear,  that  if  we  have  not  this  '  one,'  we  have 

none.      This  oneness  of  an  event  must  indicate 

in  each  instance  its  immeasurable  importance,  and 

its  completeness  in  the  eye  of  God.     It  contains, 

as  it  were,  a  summary  of  His  counsels,  agency,  and 

will,  from  which  incalculable  consequences  issue; 

just  as  the  single  work  of  creating  the  world  and 

establishing  the  present  order  of  providence,  was 

also  '  once,'  though  it  comprises  almost  an  infinity 

of  things. 

(4.)  Death,  judgment,  and  the  atonement,  are  Finality,  in 
here  compared  in  their  finality.     The  appointment  fJt 
of  death,    though  to   us   seeming   everlasting   as  rereated- 
humanity,  is  really  not  so.    It  is  an  episode,  though 
a  dark  and  dreadful  one,  not  a  completion  of  the 
history  of  man ;  a  suspension,  not  an  extinction ;  an 


350  FINALITY  OF  ATONEMENT, 

CH.  xxxi.  eclipse,  and  that  only  for  an  hour,  after  which  he 
Heb.ix.  23-28.  passes  into  the  full  radiance  of  immortality.  In 
truth  the  next  stage  of  race-existence  cannot  be 
reached  till  this  is  ended.  The  judgment  pre 
supposes  the  resurrection,  and  demands  a  recon- 
stitution  of  humanity,  on  a  scale  proportionate  to 
the  nature  and  consequences  of  its  administration. 
The  judgment  Judgment  also  is  final,  by  reason  of  its  position  at 
the  end  of  the  world,  of  the  completion  of  the  pro 
bationary  state  of  the  race,  and  of  the  consummated 
work  of  the  Mediator.  There  can  no  more  be 
eternal  judgment  than  eternal  death;  both  are  tran 
sitive,  and  numbered  among  the  former  things  that 
have  passed  away. 

Atonement  So  also  the  Atonement  is   a  finality.     This  is 

strongly  marked  by  the  expression  which  follows, 
i  without  sin  unto  salvation,'  i.e.  without  a  sin-offer 
ing  ;  not  as  one  any  longer  bearing  sin,  or  exercis 
ing  a  priesthood  founded  on  its  existence.  Thus 
the  entry  into,  and  the  appearance  of  Christ  from 
heaven,  are  in  opposite  characters.  He  enters  as 
a  Priest,  but  He  reappears  as  a  King.  The  epoch 
of  priesthood  and  mediation,  however  long  extended 
and  complicated  in  its  issues,  really  comes  to  an 
end,  as  truly  as  it  had  a  beginning. 

Thus,  these  three  cycles  may  be  said  to  be  con 
centric,  like  the  wheels  in  the  prophet's  vision,  all 
belonging  to  the  great  chariot  of  the  cherubim, 
the  throne  of  the  Mediator.  For  though  the  chariot 
has  wheels,  its  course  is  not  a  circle,  and  it  does 
not  return  by  the  way  it  went,  for  it  is  reined  and 
ruled  by  the  Lord  of  Eternity.  It  keeps  therefore 
the  line  of  endlessness,  not  the  circle  of  limitation. 
Deeper  and  deeper  does  it  penetrate  into  the 


DEATH,  AND  JUDGMENT.  351 

still  opening  firmament  of  the  future,  without  the  CH.  xxxi. 
least  deflection  from  His  eye  who  launched  it  into  Heb.  1^23-28. 
existence,  and  surmounts  it  with  His  glory. 

'Without  sin  unto  salvation,'  i.e.  in  order  to 
perfect  salvation,  the  salvation  of  those  who  look 
for  Him.  The  position  in  which  salvation  is  placed  Salvation  not 
here,  with  respect  to  its  three  great  antecedents,  is  tedL***** 
mightily  pregnant.  It  is  not  placed  in  the  '  once  ' 
category,  even  of  the  greatest  things,  but  as  an 
eternal  consummation.  It  is  not  transitive,  not 
one  of  a  series  of  unfinished  measures  awaiting 
time  and  further  developments  or  accessions  from 
collateral  sources;  but  salvation  is  the  goal,  and 
there  is  nothing  beyond  it ;  it  is  at  once  the  prize 
of  existence  and  the  crown  of  mediation.  Salvation 
is  the  last  fulness  of  all  accessory  and  combined 
causes,  the  boundlessness  of  perfected  life,  not 
merely  environed  by,  but  charged  with,  the  very 
1  fulness  of  God.' 

4  The  second  time '  is  the  antithesis  of  the  first,  The  second 
and  seems  directly  to  relate  to  the  first  as  the 
period  of  sin-offering  and  priesthood.  It  intimates 
an  entire  contrast  in  the  purposes  and  modes  of 
the  manifestations  of  Christ.  The  first  was  in 
order  to  atone ;  the  last  is  in  order  to  glorify.  The 
first  was  marked  by  extreme  lowliness  and  un 
paralleled  suffering,  even  to  agony  and  death ;  the 
second  is  the  epiphany  of  majesty,  of  judicial 
grandeur,  and  more,  of  bridegroom  royalty.1 

1  It  is  worthy  of  notice  also,  that  only  two  appearances  of  Christ 
are  mentioned,  as  if,  at  least  in  the  apostolic  age,  there  was  no  doctrine 
of  an  intermediate  coming,  any  more  than  of  an  intermediate  office  of 
Christ  between  His  priesthood  and  His  royalty.  As  the  one  was 
joined  with  the  other,  in  the  facts  of  His  history  and  the  doctrine  of 
the  apostles,  so  the  two  comings  were  coincident  on  this  principle, 


352  FINALITY  OF  ATONEMENT, 

CH.  xxxi.        <  Looking  for '  is  here  put  as  the  true  posture  of 
Heb. ix. 23-28.  the  faithful,  during  the  epoch  of  the  priesthood, 
'Looking for.'  throughout  which  He  is    enshrouded  within  the 
veil  of  the  heavens,  high  and  deep  in  the  sanctuary  j 
of  these  inaccessible  realms.    But  the  same  heavens 
which  veil  Him  are  finally  the  heavens  which  dis 
close  Him.     '  Looking  for '  is  answered  to  only  by 
vision  of  the  object  looked  for,  and  persistently 
waited  for  through  the  long  periods  of  delay,  till 
at  length,  as  if  the  clock  had  struck  the  hour, 
the  vision  bursts  upon  the  sight,  and  the  heavens 
Covert  refer-     embrace  the  earth.     It  is  not  unlikely  that  there 
Day  of  Atone-  is  still  a  covert  reference  in  the  mind  of  the  writer 
to  the  day  of  atonement,  and  to  the  reappearing 
of  the  High  Priest  to  the  congregation  of  Israel, 
after  the  consummated  offices  of  the  holy  place. 
While  concerned  in  the  sacrifices  and  the  lustration 
of  the  holy  places  he  had  appeared  in  his  undress ; 
but  now,  on  his  reappearing,  he  is  arrayed  in  his 
pontificals, — his    golden    mitre,    his    embroidered 
ephod,  his  spangled  breastplate  lit  up  with  gems,  his 
superb  outer  robe,  his  bells  and  his  pomegranates, — 
in  short,  a  gorgeous  presence  hardly  assimilating 
with  men,  though  in  the  midst  of  them, — more  a 
minister  of  God  than  a  child  of  mortality.     While 
amidst  breathless  silence,  or  meek  prostration,  of 
the  concourse  which  awaited  with  fixed  eyes  the 
moment  of  his  appearance,  he  lifts  his  hands  and 

and  were  to  be  developed  accordingly.  Here  this  second  coming  is 
directly  related  to  an  object  to  be  consummate  1,  salvation.  But  can 
this  be  supposed  to  forestall  either  the  resurrection  or  the  final  judg 
ment  ?  If  so,  something  would  still  remain  to  be  done  in  order  to 
perfect  salvation,  which  is  contrary  to  the  text ;  if  not,  the  second 
coming  must  be  the  final  coming,  and  beyond  this  nothing  is  to  be 
anticipated  but  the  eternal  fruition  of  His  fellowship,  as  of  the  Head 
with  the  body,  and  as  of  the  Bridegroom  with  the  bride. 


DEATH,  AND  JUDGMENT.  353 

utters  words  of  blessing  in  tones  as  awful  as  they  CH.  xxxi. 
are  melting:  'The  Lord  lift  His  countenance  on  Heb.  ix.  23-28. 
thee.' 

Such  was  the  faint  image,  gathered  from  the 
great  day  of  Atonement,  of  the  day  of  the  second 
coming  of  the  High  Priest  and  King  of  the  Church. 
His  departure  from  the  Mount  of  Olives  was  with 
blessing,  His  reappearing  must  be  in  the  same 
attitude.  What  those  hands  can  give,  or  those  lips 
pronounce, — the  fruit  of  victory,  the  wealth  of 
sacrifice,  the  returns  of  prerogative,  and  the  com 
placency  of  love, — in  a  word,  whatever  His  past 
history  had  accumulated  of  good  for  His  people,  or 
His  finished  work  can  yet  bestow, — -the  tree  of  life, 
the  living  fountain  ever  flowing  from  the  throne  of 
God  and  the  Lamb,  perfected  fellowship  amidst 
the  citizens  of  the  New  Jerusalem,  and  the  opened 
vision  of  His  Father's  countenance, — these  are  all 
the  behests  of  that  hour  of  His  reappearing  :  l  Be 
hold  I  make  all  things  new.' 


CHAPTER   XXXII. 

SHADOW  AND  IMAGE. 
HEB.  x.  1-4. 

1  FOR  the  law  having  a  shadow  of  good  things  to 
come,  and  not  the  very  image  of  the  things,  can 
never  with  those  sacrifices,  which  they  offered 
year  by  year  continually,  make  the  comers  there 
unto  perfect.' 

Reason  of  the        This  chapter  opens  by  assigning  the  reason  why 
the  law!7  °      the  administration  of  the  law  was,  in  respect  to 
its  individual  application,  inefficacious.    The  Day  of 
Atonement  is  still  before  us,  and  the  national  and 
collective  offices  of  atonement  are  thus  emphati 
cally  exhibited;   since  whatever  may  be  affirmed 
or  denied  of  the  efficacy  of  the  sacrifices  of  this 
'Shadow 'and  day,  must  be  equally  true  of  all  the  rest.     Great 
'™ase>          attention  is  therefore  to  be  paid  to  the  contrasted 

different  %  L 

representa-  signification  of  the  terms  '  shadow '  and  '  image,' 
same  object,  the  former  as  applied  to  the  law,  the  latter  to  the 
gospel.  Shadow  is  to  be  taken  in  the  sense  of  out 
line  more  or  less  defined,  as  the  representation  of 
a  body,  but  giving  no  internal  and  exact  resem 
blances, — it  is  no  more  than  an  opaque  surface.  On 
the  contrary,  '  image '  is  not  an  outline  merely,  but 
a  perfect  representation  of  a  body,  as  by  statuary 
or  painting,  i.e.  it  is  as  finished  a  likeness  as  can 


SHADOW  AND  IMAGE.  355 

possibly  be  made,  of  an  object  not  actually  present   CH.  xxxn. 
to  the  eye.     '  Image '  is  therefore  here  not  to  be  con-    Heb~i-4. 
founded  with  the  essence  or  reality  of  a  thing,  but 
as  representative  merely.     This  points  us  to  the 
fact,  that  the  writer  did  not   intend  to  contrast 
shadow  with  substance,  i.e.  a  representation  with 
reality,  but  rather  two  representations  of  the  same 
object,  only  immensely  differing  in  the  degrees  of 
truth  and  finish  appertaining  to  each. 

This  further  appears  to  be  the  case  when  it  is 
considered,  that  the  writer  had  been  speaking  be 
fore  both  of  the  law  and  the  gospel  as  administra 
tions  of  redemption.  They  had  not  been  viewed 
at  all  apart  from  this  relation,  but  were  compared 
with  each  other  throughout  with  respect  to  certain 
capital  points  of  resemblance,  with  difference.  As 
revelations,  both  refer  to  the  same  objects,— those 
objects  being,  at  least  in  their  ultimate  form, 
heavenly  and  invisible.  Hence  the  Law,  as  the 
earlier  revelation,  projects  the  outline  or  the 
shadow  of  these  merely.  The  Gospel,  as  the  later 
revelation,  gives  the  entire  image,  to  which  nothing 
can  be  added ;  it  is  absolutely  perfect,  since  it  con 
tains  the  history  of  the  personal  Son  made  flesh, 
—the  model  Humanity  with  the  ineffable  Divinity, 
— the  record  of  the  Passion  and  the  Resurrection 
of  the  Christ,  the  doctrine  of  the  Atonement,  of  the 
priesthood,  of  the  exaltation,  of  the  given  Spirit, 
and  finally  of  the  Sovereignty  of  the  Mediator,  and 
of  a  present  and  eternal  salvation  as  the  fruit  of 
His  prerogatives.  These  comprise  the  '  very  image 
of  the  things,'  here  emphatically  termed  'good 
things  to  come.' 

These  '  things,'  as  to  their  essence,  are  spiritual 


356 

CH.  XXXII. 

Heb.  x.  1-4. 

The  reality 
inaccessible 
to  us  in  this 
life. 


'  Perfect,'  i.e. 
freedom  from 
power  and 
condemnation 
of  sin. 


SHADOW  AND  IMAGE. 

and  heavenly,  appertaining  to  the  nature  of  the 
Godhead  and  the  human  soul,  and  therefore,  like 
these,  are  only  cognizable  to  men  by  representation 
or  image,  through  the  medium  of  speech  or  written 
language,  by  presentation  as  facts  or  doctrines,  or. 
best  of  all,  by  such  visions,  intuitions,  or  experi 
ences  of  them  as  the  divine  Spirit  may  vouchsafe 
to  individuals.  As  naked  realities  they  cannot 
come  before  us  any  more  than  the  glorified  Saviour 
Himself,  or  the  mysteries  of  His  mediation  on  man's 
behalf  in  heaven.  Still,  enough  is  suggested  by  the 
comparison  of  '  shadow '  with  i  image  '  to  certify 
that  the  latter  is  beyond  comparison  superior  to 
the  former,  and  may  do  for  men,  in  their  spiritual 
concerns,  what  to  the  other  was  impossible.  This, 
indeed,  is  the  very  gist  of  the  passage  to  which 
exclusive  attention  should  here  be  directed.  With 
respect  to  the  law,  it  is  denied  that  it  could  '  make 
the  comers  thereunto  perfect,'  on  the  ground  that 
it  was  but  a  'shadow'  or  rudiment.  What  this 
perfection  means  might  be  left  ambiguous,  but  for 
several  definite  expressions  found  in  the  following 
verses ;  as,  for  example,  the  latter  clause  of  the 
second  verse :  '  The  worshippers,  once  purged, 
should  have  had  no  more  conscience  of  sins.'  Thus 
again  (verse  10)  :  'By  the  which  will  we  are  sanc 
tified  ; '  and  again  (verse  14)  :  '  He  hath  perfected 
for  ever  them  that  are  sanctified;'  not  to  cite  the 
terms  of  the  New  Covenant,  with  the  added  com 
ment  of  the  writer  in  verses  16,  17,  and  18.1 

1  *  This  is  the  covenant  that  I  will  make  with  them  after  those  days, 
saith  the  Lord,  I  will  put  my  laws  into  their  hearts,  and  in  their 
minds  will  I  write  them ;  and  their  sins  and  iniquities  will  I  remember 
no  more.  Now  where  remission  of  these  is,  there  is  no  more  offering 


tor  sm.' 


SHADOW  AND  IMAGE.  357 

From  these  collated  quotations  it  is  evident  that   CH.  xxxn. 
the  word  i  perfect '  is  used,  not  in  its  broadest  sense,    HebTxTi-^ 
but  as  in  the  ninth  verse  of  the  ninth  chapter: 
'  Perfect  as  pertaining  to  the  conscience  ; '  i.e.  free 
dom  from  condemnation  by  the  remission  of  sins, 
freedom  from  the  power  and  in-being  of  sin  as  a 
subject  of  direct  spiritual  consciousness,  is  given, 
and  a  consequent  access  to,  intercourse  with,  and 
fruition  of  God.     This,  in  brief,  is  the  c  perfection '  This  perfec- 
which  the  law  could  not  give,  simply  because  it  conferredV 
was  a   '  shadow,'  and  therefore    administratively,  thelaw- 
itself  imperfect. 

The  second  verse  emphasizes  this  statement  by 
an  argument  appended  in  the  form  of  a  question : 
'  For  then  would  they  not  have  ceased  to  be 
offered?  because  that  the  worshippers,  once 
purged,  should  have  had  no  more  conscience  of 
sins.  But  in  those  sacrifices  there  is  a  remem 
brance  made  of  sins  every  year.'  It  may  be  con 
ceived  that  the  sacrifices  of  the  Day  of  Atonement 
might  need  annual  repetition  on  other  grounds 
than  this,  —  that  fresh  worshippers  in  succession 
might  come  in,  one  year  after  another,  as  youth 
ripened  into  manhood,  and  sought  congregational 
recognition  and  privilege.;  or  persons  who  had 
received  the  benefits  of  the  Day  of  Atonement, 
and  subsequently  lapsed  into  sin,  might  need  the 
same  benefits  to  be  renewed  at  the  end  of  the  year; 
much  as  days  and  seasons  of  confession  are  ap 
pointed  for  shriving  penitents  in  professed  Christian 
communities. 

But  these  are  not  the  cases  contemplated  by  the 
author  of  this  Epistle ;  for  he  does  not  here  impute 
such  faultiness  to  the  recipients  of  the  legal  ordi- 


358 


SHADOW  AND  IMAGE, 


CH.  xxxii.  nance,  or  say  that  they  were  burdened  in  their 
Heb.  x.  1-4.  conscience  because  they  had  again  fallen  into  sin, 
but  rather  that  they  had  never  been  pardoned  at 
all,  or,  as  he  says,  'purged,'  or  perfected  in  their 
conscience.  The  ground  of  this,  therefore,  did  not 
lie  in  themselves,  but  in  the  office,  which  con 
ferred  no  such  benefits.  The  worshippers  came, 
returned,  and  came  again,  year  by  year,  with 
precisely  the  same  results ;  the  whole  was  cere 
mony,  show  and  shadow,  nothing  more.  Such  was 
the  Law ;  when  brought  to  the  test  of  individual 
requirement,  it  failed  to  bestow  the  thing  most 
needed,  and  left  the  worshipper  yearning  and  dis 
satisfied.  It  is  on  this  ground  only  that  the  ques 
tion  becomes  pointed :  '  then  would  they  not  have 
ceased  to  be  offered?'  for  if  one  sacrifice  had 
effected  this  purpose,  why  repeat  it?  If  it  could 
4  purge  the  conscience '  of  the  worshipper,  he  re 
quired  nothing  more,  as  he  needed  nothing  less. 
Hence  the  annual  repetition  of  the  sacrifices  proved 
that  they  were  unavailing  for  this  purpose,  what 
ever  other  they  might  be  intended  to  accomplish, 
since  a  repetition  of  the  same  sacrifices  could  not 
possibly  add  to  the  virtue  of  the  first.  This  is  a 
very  striking  statement,  both  as  ascertaining  the 
spiritual  condition  of  the  Church  under  the  law, 
and  the  reason  of  this  condition ;  it  could  not  be 
otherwise. 

In  order  to  understand  this  more  perfectly,  it 
will  be  requisite  to  reflect  that  even  in  respect 
to  God,  the  possible  is  always  to  be  distinguished 
from  the  actual,  and  the  intention  from  the  per 
formance  ;  because  there  may  be  sufficient  reasons 
for  separating  the  one  by  a  vast  interval  of  time 


The  law 
founded  on 
the  divine 
purpose. 


SHADOW  AND  IMAGE.  359 

from  the  other,  and,  consequently,  we  are  required  CH.  xxxn. 
to  distinguish  between  His  purpose  to  give  His  Son  Heb.Ti-4. 
and  the  gift  itself. 

The  Incarnation  and  Atonement  must,  therefore,  The  gospel 
become  facts,  and  not  remain  intentions  only.     As  accomplished 
facts,  they  develope  and  carry  out  those  divine  in-  fact 
tentions,  and  are  to  be  regarded  as  the  means  to 
the  end. 

These  principles  are  fundamental  to  the  dispen 
sations  of  the  law  and  of  the  gospel.  The  latter  is 
founded  on  actual  atonement  and  reconciliation 
offered  by  Christ;  the  former  intimates  and  em 
bodies  intention  only.  Between  these  there  must 
be  an  infinite  difference.  All  that  could  come  of 
intention  merely  seems  to  be  this,  that  God  should 
act  conformably  to  it,  in  the  way  of  manifesting 
benign  and  gracious  dispositions  toward  men 
generally;  and  also  that  intimations  of  such  dis 
positions  should  be  given  out.  in  the  way  of  pro 
mise  and  institution.  Had  not  these  existed  be 
fore  the  Incarnation  and  Atonement  were  actually 
accomplished,  the  race  would  have  been  inevitably 
severed  into  two  parts,  the  ante  and  the  post,  and 
placed  under  dispensations  entirely  opposite  to  each 
other.  But  as  this  is  absolutely  impossible,  the 
only  alternative  was,  to  place  the  Incarnation  and 
Atonement  coeval  with  the  Fall,  that  Christ  might 
be,  in  another  sense  than  inspiration  intends,  '  the 
Lamb  slain  from  the  foundation  of  the  world.' 
These  doctrines  suffice  to  show  the  bearing  of  the 
Mosaic  law  upon  the  worshippers. 

(1.)  The  gracious  intentions  of  God  by  His  Son  The  condition 

. v     '  m  /  of  worshippers 

with  respect  to  the  world  maintained  to  individuals  under  the  law. 
the  conjunction  of  indulgence  with  the  moral  law ; 


360  SHADOW  AND  IMAGE. 

CH.  xxxii.  so  that,  though  the  guilt  and  defilements  of  sin 
Heb.  x.  1-4.  were  not  thereby  removed  from  the  conscience  and 
heart,  they  were  not  rendered  damnatory,  but  were 
cancelled  by  a  reserved  and  heavenly  dispensation, 
precisely  similar  to  that  accorded  to  infants  and 
non-responsible  persons.  For,  if  the  fault  that  he 
was  not  purged  from  sins,  however  he  sought  it, 
lay  not  with  the  worshipper,  but  with  the  existing 
provision  (which  undoubtedly  presupposed  grace), 
this  conclusion  is  infallible. 

(2.)  The  law  was  a  '  shadow '  or  a  programme  of 
Christ  and  of  Redemption,  and  therefore,  though  it 
did  not  confer  the  benefits  of  the  gospel,  it  un 
doubtedly  gave  what  we  may  term  the  sign  and 
the  seal  of  these  blessings  as  '  good  things  to  come.' 
It  had  in  it,  thus  viewed,  the  nature  of  a  sacrament, 
or  form  of  external  attestation,  compact,  or  cove 
nant,  given  in  lieu  of  the  internal  or  direct  attesta 
tion  of  the  Holy  Ghost.  They  were  '  sealed  unto 
the  day  of  redemption,'  but  in  another  manner 
than  the  disciples  of  the  New  Covenant,  viz.  by 
sacrifices  and  priestly  ceremonies.  In  a  word,  it 
was  Churchism  as  a  temporary  substitute  for 
Christianity. 

(3.)  Select  persons  occasionally  rose  to  a  glimpse 
even  of  the  'image'  'of  good  things  to  come,'  but 
this  was  not  the  status  of  law- worshippers  generally; 
it  was  mostly  associated  with  inspiration  and  the 
prophetic  gift ;  prophecy  itself  is  indeed  far  more 
than  the  law,  and,  as  we  may  say,  a  mirror  reflecting 
the  l  very  image '  afterwards  exposed  to  open  vision. 
These  considerations  show  why  the  spiritual  status 
of  law- worshippers  was  what  is  here  represented ; 
the  effect  could  not  rise  above  the  cause ;  figurative 


SHADOW  AND  IMAGE.  361 

atonement  could  not  as  a  mode  of  administration   CH.  xxxii. 

take  the  place  of  the  true  one.     The  mind  of  God,    Heb~i-4. 

reciprocated  in  individual  consciousness  of  redemp 

tion,  is  simply  the  counterpart  of  the  Atonement 

regarded  as  a  fact  in  His  presence,  and  regarded 

in  a  Person  in  whom  He  has  infinite  complacenc}7. 

The  Christian  life  and  inward  kingdom  reflect  this 

complacency;  it  travels  from  heaven  to  earth,  and 

enshrines  itself  in  those  hearts  which,  by  receiving 

the  atonement,  receive  God  Himself.    It  would  have 

been  an  anachronism,  therefore,  if  not  a  dishonour 

put  upon  the  Atonement,  to  have  linked  its  special 

benefits  with  any  other  sacrifices  whatever;    all 

they  could  do  was  to  bear  witness  to  this,  not  in 

the  least  to  interfere  with,  much  less  to  supplant 

it.      The  ministry  of  redemption  could  not  be  a 

possible  fact    apart   from   redemption   itself,  and 

apart  from  the  position  of  its  Author  toward  both 

worlds,  heaven  and  earth. 

Yer.  4.  '  For  it  is  not  possible  that  the  blood  of 
bulls  and  of  goats  should  take  away  sins.' 


To  amplify  the  statement  of  this  verse  would  be  Ver.  4 

1       *  >  the  necessity 

merely  to  recapitulate  the  doctrines  of  verses  1-3.  of  true  atone- 

_  .  ,     T    ,       ,  ,        ment  from  the 

The  value  of  a  negative  statement  appended  to  the  mefficacy  of 
foregoing  is,  however,  not  trivial,  for  it  is  one  of  the  c 

strongest  modes  of  putting  an  affirmative.  For  why 
declare  solemnly  the  utter  impotency  of  animal 
sacrifices  to  take  away  sins,  if  sin  could  not  be  taken 
away  by  any  sacrifice  at  all  ?  Or  why  elaborately 
and  recurringly  expatiate  on  the  atonements  of  the 
law,  if  the  gospel,  had  not  an  atonement  of  its  own  ? 
Inquiry  obviously  would  have  been  foreclosed  had 
the  latter  been  an  impossibility  or  an  unproven 
fact;  not  to  urge  the  utter  impertinence  of  the 


362  SHADOW  AND  IMAGE. 

CH.  xxxii.  whole  comparative  argument  of  these  chapters, 
Heb.  x.  1-4.  had  not  this  great  doctrine  of  atonement  been  first 
assumed.  And  further,  it  is  instructive  to  mark, 
that  the  mind  of  the  writer  never,  for  a  moment, 
seems  to  diverge  into  any  other  path  of  inquiry  as 
to  how  sin  could  be  dealt  with  either  as  a  fact  in 
human  consciousness,  or  in  the  government  of  the 
world.  He  entirely  confines  himself  to  these  two 
lines  of  thought,  opened  by  the  law  and  the  gospel 
respectively,  ignoring  a  third  as  impossible.  Is  not 
this  powerfully  suggestive  ? 


CHAPTER    XXXIII. 

QUOTATION  FROM  THE  FORTIETH  PSALM  :    ITS 
TEACHINGS. 

HEB.  x.  5-9. 

4  WHEREFORE  when  He  cometh  into  the  world,  He 
saith,  Sacrifice  and  offering  Thou  wouldest  not,  but 
a  body  hast  Thou  prepared  me  :  in  burnt-offerings 
and  sacrifices  for  sin  Thou  hast  had  no  pleasure. 
Then  said  I,  Lo,  I  come  (in  the  volume  of  the  book 
it  is  written  of  me)  to  do  Thy  will,  0  God.' 

The  quotation  here  is  from  the  fortieth  Psalm.  Quotation 
The  first  thing  which  strikes  us,  is  the  ascription  to  6, 7. 
the  Messiah  personally,  of  this  language,  '  Sacrifice 
and  offering  Thou  wouldest  not ; '  for  it  is  prefaced 
in  the  Epistle  by  the  expression,  'When  He  cometh 
into  the  world,  He  saith.'      This  makes  indubit 
able  what  the  writer's  judgment  was  as  to  the 
person  speaking.     But  the  truth  of  this  judgment 
is  manifest  from  the  Psalm  itself,  which  is  wholly 
Messianic,  and  may  be  regarded  as  a  fellow  Psalm 
with  the  twenty-second.    Both  describe  the  Messiah 
in  His  manhood  and  humiliation  exclusively,  and 
are  almost  equally  pointed  in  their  references  to 
His  Passion.     There  is  something  strange  and  pro-  This  language 
found  in  these  utterances  of  His  suffering  manhood,  human  Son. 
which  arises  from  the  exclusively  human  view  of  Him 


364 

CH.  XXXIII. 
Heb.  x.  5-9. 


Both  in  Pro 
phecy  and  in 
the  Gospels 
Christ's  God 
head  allied 
with  His 
glorification, 
and  His 
humanity 
with  His 
passion. 


QUOTATION  FKOM  THE  FORTIETH  PSALM  : 

given  us  in  these  Psalms,  altogether  away  from  our 
preconceptions,  and  even  from  our  evangelical  pro- 
pensions  respecting  the  Christ.  He  speaks  of  Him 
self  as  'a  worm,  and  no  man,'  as  'poor  and  needy/ 
as  standing  upon  the  very  brink  of  an  overwhelm 
ing  calamity,  pursued  by  infuriate  foes,  and  even 
brought  into  the  dust  of  death.  His  deep  wailings 
and  passionate  entreaties  to  God  for  help,  His 
evidently  overcharged  mental  distress  and  feeling 
of  abjectness  and  desolation,  seem  more  suitable  to 
the  experiences  of  sinful  suffering  humanity  than 
to  the  all-perfect  and  glorious  Son  of  God.  But 
this  unbefittingness,  as  it  seems  to  us,  is,  neverthe 
less,  profoundly  accordant  with  His  nature  and 
position  as  the  representative  and  sin-atoning 
Man,  since  in  these  Psalms  He  is  deeply  charged 
with  the  sympathies  and  the  lot  of  man ;  He  feels 
and  speaks  as  one  of  the  race,  as  a  brother  and  as 
a  sufferer  for  righteousness'  sake ;  He  even  speaks 
of  His  'iniquities  taking  hold  of  Him,'  as  being 
*  more  in  number  than  the  hairs  of  His  head,'  so 
that  He  was  unable  to  look  up,  and  His  heart 
failed  Him.  Here  we  see  the  sin-bearing  '  man  of 
sorrows  and  acquainted  with  grief,'  and  have  the 
scenes  of  the  Agony  and  the  Crucifixion  anticipated 
in  language  almost  historical. 

It  is  remarkable  how  closely  these  Psalms  and 
the  Gospels  agree  in  the  purely  human  descriptions 
of  the  Saviour  as  exhibited  in  His  passion  and  its 
circumstances.  Throughout.it  can  hardly  be  said 
that  we  have  a  glimpse  of  His  Godhead,  but  the 
demonstrations  of  His  supreme  nature  are,  both  in 
prophecy  and  in  the  gospel  (His  miracles  excepted), 
allied  with  His  glorification  as  the  Mediator,  and 


ITS  TEACHINGS.  365 

with  His  prerogatives  on  behalf  both  of  the  world  CH.  xxxin. 
and  of  the  Church.  Heb~5-9. 

4  Sacrifice  and  offering  Thou  wouldest  not,  but  a  The  'body' 
body  hast  Thou  prepared  me  :   in  burnt -offerings  ttfpi^e^68 
and  sacrifices  for  sin  Thou  hast  had  no  pleasure.'      the  typical 

A  system. 

This  comprehensive  reference  to  the  sacrifices  of 
the  law  seems  obviously  intended  to  array  the 
great  sacrificial  system,  as  such,  in  antithesis  to  the 
body  of  Christ.  The  one  i  body '  or  person  of  the 
Messiah  stands  alone,  opposite  to  this  array,  as  an 
all-sufficient  substitute  for  the  entire  system;  the 
one  represents  the  many ;  the  human,  the  animal ; 
the  real,  the  typical ;  all  are  represented  in  Him 
alone,  in  Him  absorbed,  in  Him  abolished.  And 
again,  the  sacrifices  of  the  law  are  drawn  out  as 
antithetic  to  the  i  pleasure '  or  will  of  God  ;  they 
did  not  spring  from  this  i  pleasure '  or  c  will/  but 
from  the  ante-dated  true  sacrifice ;  nor  do  they 
fulfil  that  'will,' — this  is  done  only  by  the  body  of 
Christ  which  God  has  prepared.  Thus,  in  a  sense, 
prophecy  itself  disparages  and  condemns  the  Law. 
Overtly  the  fact  would  seem  far  otherwise ;  else, 
why  have  inaugurated  such  a  system  by  prodigies 
of  unprecedented  grandeur  ;  or,  why  have  separated 
a  people  and  a  priesthood  for  the  maintenance  of 
such  a  service,  if  God  had  no  pleasure  in  it  ?  The 
whole  history  of  sacrifice  looked  the  other  way; 
it  was  a  religion  of  blood  and  propitiation,  not  of 
sentiment,  of  reason,  or  of  nature ;  its  whole  aspect 
was  strange  and  artificial;  why  then  did  God  ordain 
this,  if  He  had  '  no  pleasure '  in  it?  The  answer  can 
only  be  taken  from  this  very  oracle  of  the  Messiah, 
1 A  body  hast  Thou  prepared  me ; '  and  again, 
'Then  said  I,  Lo,  I  come  to  do  Thy  will,  0  God.' 


366 


QUOTATION  FROM  THE  FORTIETH  PSALM : 


CH.  XXXIII. 
Heb.  x.  5-9. 


This  the  doc 
trine  of  the 
({notation, 
however  ren 
dered. 


It  has  been  familiarly  noted,  that  between  the 
Septuagint,  of  which  this  expression  is  a  truthful 
rendering,  and  the  present  Hebrew  text,  there  is 
some  discrepancy.  As  rendered  from  the  latter 
in  Psalm  xl.,  it  is  written,  '  Mine  ears  hast  Thou 
opened,'  instead  of  '  a  body  hast  Thou  prepared  me.' 
But  however  this  discrepancy  may  be  disposed  of 
by  ingenious  conjecture,  the  doctrine  of  the  passage 
is  not  in  the  least  compromised  or  obscured.  The 
Psalm,  as  well  as  the  context,  settles  that  it  is 
the  Messiah  who  utters  this  language ;  and  as  He 
was  therefore  already  possessed  of  humanity,  or  a 
body,  it  is  of  small  consequence  whether  we  trans 
late  from  the  Septuagint  or  from  the  Hebrew  text. 
If  from  the  Hebrew,  '  Mine  ears  hast  Thou  opened,' 
it  is  certainly  to  be  understood  of  the  disclosed 
mystery  of  His  passion ;  that  it  was  to  be  by  the 
offering  up  of  Himself  for  the  sin  of  the  world,  that 
He  could  fulfil  the  Father's  purpose,  by  taking 
away  the  sacrifices  in  which  He  had  no  pleasure. 
It  implies  that  the  doctrine  of  Atonement  was 
hardly,  in  relation  to  the  Messiah,  the  earliest 
divine  communication,  but  a  profounder  thought 
of  the  Father's  mind,  brought  to  His  willing  ear, 
when  He  was  in  the  body  prepared  for  Him.1 

The  reason  in  favour  of  the  reading  here  adopted 
is  almost  decisive,  since  *  body'  is  put  in  antithesis 
to  c  sacrifices  and  offerings ; '  the  victims  were  all 
bodies,  nor  is  it  possible  to  conceive  of  sacrifice, 
i.e.  of  the  offering  up  of  life,  without  them.  Indeed, 

1  Should  it  be  rendered  bored,  instead  of  opened,  as  some  contend, 
in  allusion  to  the  Hebrew  custom  of  piercing  the  ear  as  a  badge  of 
perpetual  subjection,  the  meaning  certainly  is  not  advanced ;  the 
interpretation  may  therefore  be  dismissed. 


ITS  TEACHINGS.  367 

the  repetition  of  the  word  *  body '  in  the  10th  verse  CH.  xxxni. 
makes  it  certain  that,  in  the  mind  of  the  writer,    HebTxTs-e. 
this  was  the  main  idea  in  the  Messiah's  oracle,  viz.  Ver.  10  proves 
that  He  put  His  own  body  as  a  sacrifice  in  the  ideaofthe* 
place  of  all  legal  victims  whatsoever,  and  that  He  wnter' 
viewed  this  sacrifice  as  that  which  He  came  into 
the  world  to  offer,  and  as  being  that  one  thing 
which   to   the   very  uttermost   fulfilled  the  good 
pleasure  of  God :   '  Then  said  I,  Lo,  I  come  (in  the  Heb.  x.  7. 
volume  of  the  book  it  is  written  of  me)  to  do  Thy 
will,  0  God.'1 

The  language  of  the  Psalm  is  even  more  full  Reading  of 
and  emphatic ;  the  form  of  expression,  £  Lo,  I 
come/  is  sublimity  itself.  It  seems  to  concentrate 
the  entire  human  intelligence  of  Christ,  His  pro 
found  adoration  of  the  Father,  His  most  complacent 
acceptance  of  His  will,  His  immutable  resolve,  and 
His  perfect  self-consciousness  of  His  resources,  His 
willingness  and  His  ability  to  undertake  and  per 
fect  the  whole  counsel  of  God  in  the  redemption  of 
the  world.  The  Gospels  supply  the  comment  on 
this  sublime  saying,  4  Lo,  I  come.' 

4  In  the  volume  of  the  book  it  is  written/  or 
rather  the  roll  of  the  book,  because  it  was  wound 
and  unwound  by  means  of  rollers  during  the  read 
ing.  It  seems  unlikely  that  the  entire  Old  Testa 
ment  is  here  referred  to,  because  its  books  were 
not  contained  in  one  roll  or  volume ;  only  the  book 
of  the  prophet  Isaiah  was  found  on  the  roll  given 
to  our  Lord  in  the  synagogue  of  Nazareth.  These 
facts  point  to  the  true  interpretation  of  '  the  volume 
of  the  book '  as  being  some  one  particular  example 
of  sacred  authorship.  It  has  been  supposed  that 

1  Query,  is  this  an  abridgment  also  from  the  Septuagint? 


368  QUOTATION  FROM  THE  FORTIETH  PSALM: 

OH.  xxxiii.  the  Pentateuch  alone  must  here  be  referred  to, 
Heb.  x.  5-9.    because  in  David's  time,  to  whom  this  Psalm  is 

The  ro  hec     ascr^e(^?  none  °f  tne  prophetic  writings  existed. 

realized  after    This  objection,  however,  is  of  no  weight,  since  our 

tion;butits  Lord  is  not  here  represented  as  speaking  before 
p°ro.  He  came  into  the  world,  but  out  of  the  'body' 
wn^  was  'prepared' Him.  The  prophetic  utterance 
was  many  centuries  earlier,  but  the  realization  of 
it  took  place  when  He  was  on  the  earth,  and  con 
sequently  He  may  be  supposed  to  look  back  upon 
the  entire  Old  Testament  records  respecting  Him- 

Lukexxiv.27.  self.  Indeed  Luke  gives  us  direct  proof  that  such 
was  the  case  :  '  Beginning  at  Moses  and  all  the 
prophets,  He  expounded  to  them  in  all  the  Scrip 
tures  the  things  concerning  Himself.'  Yet,  even 
this  broad  retrospection  on  the  Old  Testament 
does  not  oblige  us  to  interpret  the  phrase,  'the 
volume  of  the  book,'  so  largely. 

The  restricted  view  is  supported  not  only  by  the 
phrase,    '  volume  of  the  book,'  but  by  two  facts : 

isa.  liii.  10.  (1.)  That  only  one  prophet  has  expressly  designated 
the  death  of  Christ  as  an  offering  for  sin ;  and  (2.) 
That  only  one  prophet  is  actually  quoted  by  our 
Lord  Himself  as  putting  down  an  incident  in  His 

Luke  xxii.  37.  death :  '  For  I  say  unto  you,  that  this  that  is  written 
must  yet  be  accomplished  in  me,  And  He  was 
reckoned  among  the  transgressors.'  Putting  these 
two  facts  together,  it  is,  to  say  the  least,  highly 
probable  that  'the  volume  of  the  book'  here  referred 
to,  is  that  of  Isaiah  the  prophet ;  and  the  very 
writing  in  our  Lord's  mind  when  He  said,  '  Lo,  I 
come,'  was  none  other  than  the  great  fifty-third 
chapter,  at  once  a  summary  of  all  prophecy  re 
specting  the  atonement,  and  the  one  irrefragable 


ITS  TEACHINGS.  3G9 

voucher  (if  we  may  so  distinguish  prophecy)  for  CH.  xxxin. 
the  Messiahship  of  Jesus,  and  for  the  doctrine  of  Heb.T~5-9. 
Atonement. 

Verses  8  and  9  :  c  Above,  when  He  said,  Sacrifice, 
and  offering,  and  burnt-offerings,  and  offering  for 
sin,  Thou  wouldest  not,  neither  hadsfc  pleasure 
therein ;  which  are  offered  by  the  law ;  then  said 
He,  Lo,  I  come  to  do  Thy  will,.  0  God.  He  taketh 
away  the  first,  that  He  may  establish  the  second.' 

This  expresses  the  conclusion  of  the  writer,  drawn  Absolute  in- 
from  the  relation  of  our  Lord's  Atonement  to  the 
sacrificial  system  of  the  law :  '  He  taketh  away  the 
first,'  i.e.  the  first  covenant,  that  He  may  establish 
the  second  covenant ;  for,  since  we  have  no  ante 
cedents  in  this  discourse,  but  the  two  Covenants,  to 
which  these  terms  can  apply,  it  is  proper  to  repro 
duce  them  and  not  to  invent  new  ones.  The  state 
ment  amounts  to  this :  Our  Lord  expressly  came 
to  fulfil  the  will  of  God  by  offering  His  body  as  a 
world-atonement  for  sin.  He  did  not  therefore 
come  to  perpetuate  the  ancient  ritual,  or  to  give  it 
new  significance ;  He  did  not  come  to  bind  this 
system  to  His  own,  i.e.  to  continue  and  sanction 
priestly  offices  for  men ;  He  came  '  to  take '  them 
4  away,'  as  things  not  merely  superfluous,  but  incon 
gruous,  prejudicial,  and  neutralizing.  He  said  and 
did  all  this,  on  the  double  testimony  of  prophecy  and 
of  the  gospel :  '  He  taketh  away  the  first,  that  He 
may  establish  the  second.'  The  old  system  could 
not  be  built  into  the  new;  to  use  our  Lord's  own 
figure,  the  new  wine  could  not  be  put  into  the 
old  bottles  lest  it  should  be  spilt,  or  the  new  piece 
put  upon  the  old  garment :  the  new  wine  required 
new  bottles,  the  new  cloth  must  form  a  new  gar- 

2  A 


370  QUOTATION  FROM  THE  FORTIETH  PSALM. 

CH.  xxxiii.  ment.  This  declaration  is  remarkable,  as  opening 
Heb.  x.  5-9.  the  true  doctrine  of  providence  in  the  dissolution 
of  the  Jewish  polity.  Its  continuance  was  incom 
patible  with  the  establishment  of  pure  Christianity 
in  the  world,  and  its  removal  is  here  expressly 
referred  to  the  hand  of  Christ  Himself,  as  it  were, 
in  vindication  of  the  truth  of  His  atonement  and 
of  its  regal  honours ;  '  He  taketh  away  the  first, 
that  He  may  establish  the  second.' 


CHAPTER  XXXIV. 

OF  THE  NATURE  AND  DOCTRINE  OF  EVANGELICAL 
SANCTIFICATION. 

HEB.  x.  10-14. 

'  BY  the  which  will  we  are  sanctified  through  the 
offering  of  the  body  of  Jesus  Christ  once  for  all' 

Here  the  will  of  God  is  declared  to  be  the  primary  Evangelical 
cause  of  Christian  holiness,  and  the  offering  of  results  rest  on 
Christ  the  grand  means  of  producing  it.  In  New 
Testament  theology,  every  truth  and  every  effect  is 
traced  up  to  the  personal  relations  and  manifesta 
tions  of  the  Godhead.  God,  or  the  Father,  is  ever 
•presented  as  absolutely  supreme ;  the  Son  and  the 
Holy  Ghost  are  presented  to  us  as  powers  emanating 
from  Him, — the  one  mediative,  the  other  executive. 
Accordingly,  every  truth  and  every  effect  must 
bear  a  triune  character,  and  express  the  great 
baptismal  formula.  '  Will '  is  a  designation  of 
absolute  sovereignty;  it  is  a  synonym  for  power 
in  its  very  highest  form,  at  once  originating  and 
directing  all  creatures  as  instruments  to  its  own 
ends.  The  '  will '  of  God  is  the  ultimate  doctrine 
of  the  universe ;  its  rationale,  its  philosophy ;  the 
principle  of  all  existence,  the  goal  of  all  events,  sanctitication 

r  its  highest 

This  'will'  is  most  impressively  set  forth  as  the  exercise. 


372  OF  THE  NATURE  AND  DOCTRINE  OF 

OH.  XXXIY.  cause  of  sanctification,  and  not  unfitly,  since,  if  it 
Hek  x.  10-14.  be  worthy  of  God  to  produce  creatures,  it  must  be 
more  worthy  still  to  impart  to  them  His  nature. 
This  is  the  highest  exercise  of  His  will,  and  its  most 
perfect  effect  in  the  creature.  Absolutely  He  can 
not  will  otherwise,  since  we  cannot  imagine  the 
all-perfect  Being  to  will  that  His  offspring  be  other 
than  His  image.  It  is  impossible  that  He  should 
will  either  sin  or  sinfulness  in  the  creature,  with 
out  supposing  that  His  own  nature  is  different  in 
that  degree  from  perfect  rectitude.  The  '  will ' 
which  is  here  exercised  is,  from  the  nature  of  the 
case  and  the  argument  of  the  chapter,  a  restorative 
will,  not  a  creative  one ;  while  it  is  an  impressive 
truth  suggested  by  it,  that  no  cause  short  of  an 
infinite  will  can  reproduce  lost  holiness  in  a  human 
soul. 

Again,  '  sanctified/  as  applied  to  the  subjects  of 
this  '  will,'  is  a  relative  term.  As  light  would  not 
have  been  equally  intelligible  without  darkness  as 
its  opposite,  or  enjoyment  without  misery;  so  sancti- 
fication  could  hardly  have  been  fully  understood  had 
not  crime  and  defilement  been  incident  to  humanity. 
Probably  even  unfallen  natures  understood  this  far 
better  than  if  no  sin  had  ever  been  committed ; 
just  as  we  appreciate  beauty  more  fully  by  its  con-  ! 
trast  with  examples  of  ugliness.  Sanctification  I 
thus  must  mean  separation  from  sin  and  sinfulness; 
and  it  must  mean  also,  as  a  consequence,  fitness 
for  divine  service  and  euphony  with  the  Divine 

Sanctification,    Nature. 

not  discipline,       Again,  sanctification  was  always  through  sacri- 

but  a  divine  °  J 

gift,  the          fice ;  it  was  something  brought  to  human  nature, 

result  of  .    .  .  . «  n 

Atonement.      not  arising  out  of  it ;  it  was  a  gilt,  not  an  endow- 


EVANGELICAL  SANCTIFICATION.  373 

ment,  and  the  order  of  means  was  appointed.  CH.  xxxiv. 
It  was  not  a  culture  or  discipline,  —  these  were  Heb."xT7o-i4. 
its  human  parody,  more  or  less  prevalent  in  all 
ages,  and  among  people  existing  without  as  well 
as  within  the  pale  of  the  Church.  They  were  very 
especially  an  element  in  oriental  forms  of  religion, 
and  are  as  rife  as  ever  among  them  to  this  day. 
In  contrast  to  this,  sanctification  by  sacrifice  was 
the  great  practical  doctrine  of  the  law ;  few  forms 
of  pollution  were  removable  without  it.  To  the 
congregation  as  sprinkled  with  the  blood  of  sacri 
fice,  the  covenant  was  opened  and  assured ;  to  the 
congregation  as  sanctified,  th6  law  was  delivered 
from  Mount  Sinai ;  to  the  priesthood  as  sanctified, 
the  altar  was  accessible,  and  even  the  way  to  the 
holiest  was  licensed.  In  a  word,  all  great  occasions 
of  God's  showing  to  His  people,  whether  by  vic 
tories  in  war,  by  manifestations  of  His  glory  in  the 
sanctuary,  or  deliverances  from  national  perils  and 
miseries, — these  were  always  preceded  and  accom 
panied  by  their  sanctification.  The  entire  scheme 
of  the  law  was  one  of  sanctification ;  its  lessons 
were  brought  into  every-day  life,  and  its  violations 
were  matters  of  disqualification  and  peril ;  its  Differences 

.  n         .  T    ,  •       ,  i  j  •      i  between  Heb- 

sanctmcation  was  very  distinctly  practical  as  com-  rew  and  evan- 

pared  with  the  evangelical;  not  so  much  pertaining 

to  the  conscience  as  to  the  actions ;  not  essentially 

spiritual,   but   personal,    social,    and   national ;    a 

sanctification  ruled  by  institute  and  prescription, 

by  a  code  of  negatives  and  positives,  by  tradition, 

race,  and  religion  broadly  considered ;  not  by  the 

law  of  the  heart,  the  work  of  the  Spirit,  and  the 

power  of  the  one  true  Atonement.     The  people 

of  the  law,   as  well  as  the  law  itself,  exhibited, 


374  OF  THE  NATURE  AND  DOCTRINE  OF 

CH.  XXXIY.  even  in  their  sanctification,  the  shadow  of  'good 

Heb.  x.  10-14.  things  to  come/  not  the  '  very  image '  of  the  things. 

The  gospel  takes  up  the  terms  of  the  law,  but 

gives  them  a  new  and  profounder   signification : 

'Sacrifice/ 'saints/  ' sanctified/ 'sanctification/  these 

are  assumed  as  familiar  by  old  usage,  and  therefore 

all  the  better   adapted  for  evangelical  purposes. 

This  is  the  case  throughout  the  New  Testament, 

particularly  in  the  Epistles ;  and  here  '  sanctified ' 

is  used  in  evident  contrast  to  the  use  of  the  term 

under  the  law.     We  are  sanctified  really,  and  not 

typically;   spiritually,  not  externally;  that  is,  we 

are  endued  with  a  true  personal  holiness. 

Nature  and          The  great  indices  of  sanctification  in  the  New 

characteristics  .  .    . 

Df  sanctifica-  Testament  are  exhibited  in  the  very  origin  of  the 
humanity  of  Christ  Himself,  for  it  is  called  '  that 
holy  thing/  and  in  the  absolute  faultlessness  of  His 
character  from  childhood  to  the  grave.  There  are 
also  special  notices  of  sanctification  in  our  Lord's 
teaching,  drawn  from  John's  record  particularly. 

AS  taught  by  The  sixth  chapter  of  his  Gospel  is  a  declaration  in 
extenso  of  this  mystery.  There  it  is  represented, 
not  as  a  quality,  but  as  a  life  issuing  from  com 
munion  with  the  Son  as  sacrificed,  and  as  the 
effect  of  His  indwelling  in  the  spirit  of  His  people. 
This  discourse  is  particularly  noticeable  as  giving 
prominence  to  the  Atonement,  there  forestalled, 
and  to  His  personal  attributes,  through  its  virtue 
transmissible  to  His  disciples.  The  New  Testa 
ment  does  not  contain  a  more  perfect  view  of  the 
doctrine  of  sanctification  than  is  found  in  this  dis 
course  in  the  synagogue  of  Capernaum. 

A  second  example  occurs   (chap,  xiii.)   in  the 
narrative  of  the  feet-washing  of  the  disciples  during 


EVANGELICAL  SANCTIFICATION.  375 

the  Last  Supper.  Nothing  can  be  imagined  sym-  CH.  xxxiv. 
bolically  more  impressive  than  the  action  of  Christ  Heb.T7o-i4. 
when  He  girded  Himself  with  a  towel,  and  pro 
ceeded  to  wash  His  disciples'  feet,  one  by  one. 
This  action  was  undoubtedly  anticipative  of  the 
virtue  of  His  Atonement,  and  of  His  priestly  mini 
stry  in  heaven  on  behalf  of  His  disciples.  It  could 
not,  therefore,  be  understood  presently,  but  awaited 
the  revelations  of  the  Holy  Spirit.  True,  its  im 
mediate  design  was  to  teach  humility  and  mutual 
self-sacrifice;  but  whence  was  this  lesson  to  be 
enforced?  Not  by  the  example  merely,  but  by 
the  mystical  washing  of  the  Holy  Ghost  hereafter 
to  come  upon  them  as  the  effect  of  His  Atonement 
and  Mediation;  or,  in  other  words,  by  their  perfect 
sanctification  from  the  domination  of  petty  jea 
lousies,  ambition,  and  self-seeking,  by  that  repro 
duction  of  His  own  lowliness,  which  could  never 
be  approximated,  except  by  the  washing  pre-signi- 
fied  on  the  occasion  of  the  Supper.  It  was,  there 
fore,  both  a  type  and  a  prophecy  soon  to  be  fulfilled, 
— a  divine  augury  of  good  things  then  to  come,  but 
which  this  Epistle  witnesses  had  now  really  come. 
All  this  is  demonstrated  by  Christ's  reply  to  Peter : 
'  If  I  wash  thee  not,  thou  hast  no  part  with  Me.' 

The  next  example  is  the  profound  teaching  of 
John  xvii.  17,  19 :  '  Sanctify  them  through  Thy 
truth  .  .  .  and  for  their  sakes  I  sanctify  myself.' 
Here  we  have  the  recognition  of  the  Father's  'will' 
as  the  originating  cause  of  sanctification ;  and  He 
is  besought  to  exercise  it.  Further,  our  Lord  says 
that  He  '  sanctifies  Himself,  that  they  also  might  be 
sanctified  through  the  truth ' — the  very  doctrine  of 
this  tenth  verse;  for  our  Lord  cannot  be  under- 


376  OF  THE  NATURE  AND  DOCTRINE  OF 

CH.  XXXIY.  stood  as  speaking  of  personal,  but  of  official,  sancti- 
Heb.  x.  10-14.  fication,  i.e.  of  such  sanctification  as  the  priestly 
office  required,  which  consisted  in  the  offering  of 
sacrifice.  Here  again  there  is  coincidence  with  the 
verse  of  the  Epistle :  '  Through  the  offering  of  the 
body  of  Jesus  Christ  once  for  all/  The  doctrine  of 
the  Gospel  is  the  same  as  that  of  the  Epistle.  By 
'sanctifying  Himself  our  Lord  means  the  offering 
of  His  body  as  an  act  of  His  own  priesthood ;  and 
He  states  the  result  of  this  offering  in  almost  the 
same  words :  '  That  they  also  might  be  sanctified 
through  the  truth.' 
Lastly,  in  the  The  institution  of  the  Supper  tells  in  the  same 

institution  of. 

the  Supper.  direction,  for  it  commemorates  and  represents  the 
Atonement  and  its  offices.  '  His  body '  and  '  His 
blood '  are  participated  in  by  the  faithful,  and  their 
sanctification  is  the  direct  issue.  The  doctrine  of 
sanctification,  in  its  evangelical  aspect,  may  be 
thus  stated:  Our  Lord's  humanity  is  an  all -per 
fect  type  of  humanity  in  general ;  but  its  personal 
perfection  is  not  transmissible,  even  by  Him,  as  a 
federal  representative  of  humanity,  save  .by  its  offer 
ing  as  an  atonement.  In  this  character  only  is  His 
perfection  communicable  to  us ;  while,  by  virtue  of 
His  Atonement,  His  entire  humanity,  as  a  redeem 
ing  power,  is  conveyed  to  us,  and  the  glorified  man 
is  but  its  correlative.  'He  that  sanctifieth  and 
they  that  are  sanctified  are  one,  and  for  this  cause 
He  is  not  ashamed  to  call  them  brethren.' 

Yers.  11-13.  'And  every  priest  standeth  daily 
ministering  and  offering  oftentimes  the  same  sacri 
fices,  which  can  never  take  away  sins :  but  this 
Man,  after  He  had  offered  one  sacrifice  for  sins  for 
ever,  sat  down  on  the  right  hand  of  God;  from 


EVANGELICAL  SANCTIFICATION.  377 

henceforth  expecting  till  His  enemies  be  made  His  CH.  xxxiv. 

footstool.'  Heb.TTo.14. 

The  eleventh  verse  is  simply  a  resume  of  previous  Contrast  be- 
statements,  and  occurs  here,  not  for  the  purpose  of 
giving  additional  distinctness  or  emphasis  to  these, 
but  merely  to  give  effect  to  the  contrast  exhibited  Clirist 
in  verse  12  between  the  priesthood  of  the  Law  and 
the  priesthood  of  Christ,  for  which  purpose  the 
whole  discussion  of  these  chapters  is  recorded. 
The  very  posture  of  the  high  priest  or  his  repre 
sentative,  and  the  repetitive  nature  of  his  func 
tions,  standing  'daily  ministeriDg  and  offering 
oftentimes  the  same  sacrifices,'  are  strong  points  of 
contrast  between  his  office  and  that  of  the  Christ. 
The  one  '  stands,'  the  other  '  sits  down ; '  the  one 
i  offers  daily,'  the  other  '  in  the  end  of  the  world ; ' 
the  one  offers  '  many '  and  the  same  sacrifices,  the 
other  but  i  one,'  and  that  one  Himself.  To  stand, 
implies  an  unfinished  ministry;  to  sit  down,  a 
consummated  one.  The  one  is  doing,  but  never 
done ;  no  progress  is  made,  no  efficacy  can  be 
noted,  no  results  come  forth.  It  is  the  bodily 
exercise  which  profiteth  little.  It  is  as  the  inanity 
of  a  dream  to  waking  thoughts,  or  as  theatrical 
representations  to  real  life.  It  is  a  shadow, 
nothing  more.  Countless  centuries  fail  to  advance 
the  system  one  iota.  It  is  where  it  was  and  ever 
will  be,  until  it  is  'taken  away.' 

On  the  contrary,  our  Lord's  priesthood  is  founded 
on  a  perfect  sacrifice,  and  draws  all  its  virtue  and 
prerogatives  out  of  it.  It  is  so  perfect  and  self- 
satisfying,  that,  as  it  were,  He  does  not  refer  to  it, 
but  assumes  a  new  posture  in  consequence  of  it, 
and  that  posture  a  permanent  one.  He  seeks  not 


378  OF  THE  NATURE  AND  DOCTRINE  OF 

CH.  xxxiv.  to  atone  or  to  inaugurate  anything  new,  but  only 
Hob.  x.  10-14.  to  carry  out  His  purposes,  and  patiently  to  wait 
until  His  enemies  are  made  His  footstool.  This  is 
a  very  noble  view  of  the  perfection  of  our  Lord's 
sacrifice,  and  of  its  prospective  results ;  it  includes 
all  the  principles  and  resources  of  the  world's 
government.  Instead  of  being  retrospective  on 
sacrifice,  He,  as  it  were,  turns  His  face  from  it, 
to  contemplate  its  issues ;  looks  under  the  whole 
heavens  as  when  He  made  'the  weights  for  the 
winds,  or  a  way  for  the  lightning ; '  regarding 
future  things  as  present,  and  all  the  elements  of 
the  future  world  as  being  as  perfectly  comprised 
in  His  Atonement,  as  were  the  quantum,  .proper 
ties,  and  forces  of  matter  necessary  to  perfect  the 
material  world. 

Ver.  is.  Roy-  This  13th  verse,  taken  with  its  antecedents,  sup- 
Priesthood  of  plies  a  New  Testament  comment  on  the  doctrines 
Christ.  of  the  110th  psaim<  The  priesthood  and  the 

royalty  of  Christ  are  here  presented  in  combina 
tion  ;  mutually  co-operative,  and  triumphantly 
portending  their  last  issues  'till  His  enemies  be 
made  His  footstool.' 

Ver.  14.  '  For  by  one  offering  He  hath  perfected 
for  ever  them  that  are  sanctified.' 

Peculiar  diffi-  The  one  offering  is  still  contrasted  with  the 
Hebrew°eon-  many,  perhaps  with  somewhat  special  reference  to 
the  Hebrew  disciples,  who  had  been  accustomed  to 
witness  these  great  traditionary  ceremonies,  and  to 
associate  with  them  the  perfection,  nay,  the  very 
existence,  of  religion.  To  them,  as  ritualists  by 
birth,  education,  and  habit,  the  annihilation  of  the 
national  system  was  a  thing  with  which  they  could 
hardly  familiarize  themselves,  even  in  thought ;  and 


EVANGELICAL  SANCTIFICATION.  379 

its  reality  must  have  produced  a  chasm  in  their  CH.  xxxiv. 

daily  life,  as  it  has  in  their  history  as  a  people.  Heb.TTo-u. 

Nor  is  it  possible  for  us  thoroughly  to  realize  the 

position  of  these  converts,  who  were  called  upon  to 

accept  unseen  verities  as  a  substitute  for  visible 

pageant,    and    to    adhere    to    a    religion    purely 

doctrinal  and  unclothed  of  images  of  every  kind, 

in  place  of  one  infinitely  fruitful  in  its  appliances 

for  the  imagination.     To  them  it  must  have  been 

hard  indeed  to  sever  themselves  from  all  hereditary, 

cherished,  and  sacred  associations,  from  ancestral 

example,  from  historical  precedent,  and,  in  fact, 

from  the  whole  fibre  and  soul  of  the  Hebrew  nature. 

To  initiate  a  new  faith,   to  break  off   from   the 

principle  of  nationality  as  inseparable  from  religion; 

to  enter  for  themselves  and  their  descendants  on 

an  untried  path,  oppressed  with  the  conviction  that 

they  were  regarded  as  apostates  by  their  brethren ; 

to  be  disinherited  of  blessing,  if  blessing  were  not 

in  the  road  they  took ;— such  considerations  must 

have  made  it  particularly  difficult  for  Hebrews  to 

become  Christians. 

It  is  not  easy  for  ordinary  minds  at  any  time  to 
pass  through  such  a  revolutionary  crisis  as  this ; 
nor  is  it  less  difficult  to  identify  simplicity,  rather 
than  multiplicity,  with  perfection.  The  history  of 
the  human  mind,  religiously  considered,  reveals  its 
bent  in  another  direction.  It  loves  to  idealize  and 
embody,  to  weave  systems  for  itself,  and  to  rejoice 
in  the  elaborateness  and  subtilty  of  its  own  crea 
tions.  It  delights  in  symbols  and  sensible  repre 
sentation  of  every  kind,  in  priesthood  and  ceremony, 
in  enlarged  positivism  and  in  recondite  sugges 
tions  ;  but  it  abhors  simplicity  as  nakedness,  and 


380 


OF  THE  NATURE  AND  DOCTRINE  OF 


Explain  the 
rathe  «one' 


n« 


CH.  XXXTY.  the  absence  of  the  visible  as  akin  to  atheism.  It 
Heb.  x.  10-14.  is  no  mean  proof  of  the  purity  of  primitive  Chris 
tian  worship,  that  sensuous  polytheists  and  jealous 
magistrates  brought  against  it  the  accusation  of 
atheism.  Even  the  divine  unity  has  been  debased 
into  multiplicity,  and  the  great  foundation  truth  of 
the  universe  has  been  distorted  and  falsified  by 
pantheism  on  the  one  hand,  and  polytheism  on  the 
other. 

These  observations  may  assist  us  to  understand 
the  accumulated  emphasis  laid,  in  these  chapters, 
on  tne  ONE  and  tne  ONCE  of  Christ's  offering.  It 
was  as  necessary  to  receive  this  truth,  as  it  was  the 
truth  of  the  divine  unity  ;  for,  if  the  latter  stood  out 
in  grand  relief  against  the  pagan  systems  then  rife 
in  the  world  and  doomed  to  be  overthrown,  the 
former  was  not  less  placed  in  relief  against 
Judaism,  which  it  was  destined  to  destroy.  In 
both  instances,  the  doctrine  of  unity  was  opposed 
to  that  of  multiplicity,  and  both  are  equally  asser 
tions  of  the  doctrine  of  the  infinite  —  the  infinite 
God,  the  infinite  Christ. 

'  He  hath  perfected  for  ever  them  that  are 
sanctified.'  Perfection  here,  in  whatever  sense 
understood  as  belonging  to  the  'sanctified,'  is 
emphatically  marked  as  eternal,  since  the  words 
4  for  ever,'  in  the  New  Testament,  are  nowhere 
capable  of  a  lower  interpretation.  Generally,  this 
verse  asserts  that  the  endowments  conferred  by 
redemption  are  inexhaustible,  and  absolutely  per 
fective  of  the  human  nature  in  all  its  powers,  both 
of  body  and  soul,  rendering  it  entirely  answerable 
to  the  divine  idea  in  its  creation.  Humanity  has 
no  capacity  and  no  destiny  beyond  those  secured 


Sanctification 
tion™ 


EVANGELICAL  SANCTIFICATION.  381 

by  redemption ;  it  has  no  relations  to  the  universe  CH.  xxxiv. 
for  which  this  does  not  provide,  no  minor  develop-  Heb.HTo-H. 
ments  for  which  it  does  not  find  space ;  and,  above 
all,  there  are  no  perfections  of  the  divine  nature, 
no  heights,  no  depths  in  the  Being  who  is  'first 
and  last,'  inaccessible  to  the  creature  recovered  by 
the  Atonement,  and  admitted  to  the  fellowship  of 
the  eternal  Son  by  His  humanity,  and  through  it 
to  the  bosom  of  the  eternal  Father.     Doubtless  it 
is  intended  here  to  teach  that  the  perfection  of  the 
'  sanctified '   is  correlative  with   the   one  offering 
which    sanctifies.      To    suppose    imperfection    in  Because  the 
4  them  who  are  sanctified  '  by  this  one  offering,  is  to  the  SOD'S  ° 
limit  the  offering  itself;  for,  assuredly,  that  perfec-  offenns- 
tion  cannot  be  less  than  eternal  which  is  simply 
the  reflection  and  return  of  the  one  offering,  and, 
consequently,  can  as  little  need  supplement  to  its 
resources  as  extension  to  its  duration.    If  this  were 
not  true,  a  second  offering  or  a  succession  of  offer 
ings  might  be  possible,  and  even  needful,  to  carry 
onward  '  perfection '  in  the  '  sanctified.' 

But  it  has  been  shown  before  that  the  perfection 
conferred  by  the  Atonement  pertains  to  the  con 
science  (where  the  law  was  powerless),  and  that  it 
destroys  sin  in  the  human  nature  by  the  double 
power  of  pardon  and  renewal.  This  renewal  is  the 
only  germ  of  perfection  in  itself  essentially  eternal, 
because  it  is  spiritual,  and  must  assert  its  power 
under  all  possible  conditions  of  existence.  Hence 
evangelical  perfection  is  an  inward  rather  than  an 
outward  thing,  a  thing  directly  subject  to  the  judg 
ment  of  God,  even  as  it  is  the  creation  of  God.  It 
is  not  to  be  confounded  with  high  gifts  or  extensive 
knowledge,  nor  does  it  exist  apart  from  idiosyncra- 


382  EVANGELICAL  SANCTIFICATION. 


CH.  xxxiv.  gies  of  nature  and  from  human  imperfections.  It 
Heb.  x.  10-14.  is  not  amenable  to  human  judgments,  except  so 
far  as  there  are  palpable  indications  of  insincerity 
and  contradiction  ;  nor  does  it  imply  the  highest 
exhibitions  of  human  character,  any  more  than  it 
implies  the  bestowment  of  new  capacities.  On  the 
contrary,  it  is  the  old  nature  refashioned,  but  not 
obliterated;  stamped  with  spirituality  and  divine 
characters,  but  not  taken  out  of  its  antecedent 
stamina,  nor  so  far  made  different  from  itself. 
Distinction  Hence  it  appears,  that  as  morals  do  not  imply 

between  sane- 

tification  and  sanctmcation,  so  sanctmcation  is  not  lully  inter 
preted  by  morals.  There  is  infinitely  more  in  it 
than  can  be  expressed  by  the  secondary  aspects  of 
our  nature  ;  while  in  not  a  few  cases  those  secondary 
aspects  may,  through  training  or  a  superior  cha 
racter,  be  strongly  expressed  without  any  spiritual 
counterpart  whatever.  The  difference  seems  to  be 
this  :  the  one  is  human,  the  other  divine,  virtue  ; 
the  one  has  the  world  for  its  theatre,  the  other  the 
heavens  ;  the  one  is  the  sacred  and  temple-aspect 
of  humanity,  the  other  the  secular  and  the  social. 


CHAPTER    XXXY. 

THE  OFFICE  OF  THE  HOLY  GHOST  IN  REFERENCE  TO 
DIVINE  TRUTH. 

HEB.  x.  15-18. 

'  WHEREOF  the  Holy  Ghost  also  is  a  witness  to  us  : 
for  after  that  He  had  said  before,  This  is  the  cove 
nant  that  I  will  make  with  them  after  those  days, 
saith  the  Lord,  I  will  put  my  laws  into  their  hearts, 
and  in  their  minds  will  I  write  them  ;  and  their  sins 
and  iniquities  will  I  remember  no  more.' 

'  Whereof  the  Holy  Ghost  also  is  a  witness  to  jnspiration  of 
us,'  i.e.  to  this  effect,  or,  moreover,  the  Holy  Ghost 


also  is  a  witness  to  us.     Here  the  plenary  inspira-  always 

/  *  affirmed  by 

tion  of  J  eremiah,  and,  by  implication,  that  of  the  those  of  the 
other  prophets,  is  directly  asserted  and  enforced  by 
the  inspired  authority  of  this  Epistle.  Indeed, 
there  is  no  point  on  which  the  New  Testament 
writers  are  more  at  one  than  the  plenary  inspiration 
of  the  Old  Testament  prophets,  whether  of  Moses 
in  the  Pentateuch,  of  David  in  the  Psalms,  or  of 
the  prophets  generally.  From  this  we  collect  the 
will  of  God  to  be,  that  all  believers  in  the  New 
Testament  should  be  believers  in  the  Old,  since  the 
authority  of  the  New  Testament  writers  cannot  be 
respected  if  their  testimony  in  this  matter  be  im 
pugned  :  the  Testaments  stand  or  fall  together.  It 


384  THE  OFFICE  OF  THE  HOLY  GHOST 

OH.  xxxv.  is  not  a  little  remarkable,  too,  that  Old  Testament 
Heb.  x.  15-18.  writers  are  always  quoted  as  authorities  and  wit 
nesses  to  the  truth  of  New  Testament  doctrines: 
nothing  but  their  plenary  inspiration  could  for  a 
moment  entitle  them  to  rank  as  witnesses  and 
vouchers  for  after  -  teachings.  Thus  '  the  Holy 
Ghost  also  is  a  witness  to  us/  not  Jeremiah  ;  this  is 
confirmed  by  the  language  of  the  prophet :  '  Behold 
a  day  is  come,  saith  the  Lord,  that  I  will  make  a 
'  The  Lord '  new  covenant  with  the  house  of  Israel.'  This  'Lord' 
GhoSdy  is  here  affirmed  to  be  the  'Holy  Ghost,'  the  great 
Revealer  under  both  Testaments.  He  is  put  forth 
as  a  distinct  witness  to  the  truth  of  the  foregoing 
doctrine  of  this  chapter,  which  must  imply  that  the 
writer  knew  himself  to  be  inspired  to  interpret  the 
words  of  the  Holy  Ghost  rightly,  and  to  perceive 
that  his  own  doctrine  was  in  perfect  accordance 
with  it.  This  cannot  be  said  of  the  interpretations 
of  any  uninspired  men  ;  they  can  hardly  plead  that 
the  Holy  Gliost  absolutely  puts  their  interpretation 
upon  His  own  words.  If  this  be  the  case  where 
interpretation  only  is  concerned,  and  no  new 
doctrines  are  professedly  advanced,  how  necessary 
must  it  be  where  new  truth  is  propounded,  and 
made  to  seek  attestation  from  an  older  record  ? 

There  is  some  obscurity  in  the  last  clause  of 
verse  15.  'He  had  said  before'  is  equivalent  to 
predicted,  i.e.  predicted  in  the  words  of  Jeremiah 
immediately  following ;  but  what  is  the  meaning 
of  the  expression  '  for  after  that  ?  '  It  cannot 
refer  to  any  later  prophetic  communications,  since 
none  are  here  mentioned,  but  this  one  of  Jeremiah; 
it  must  therefore  relate  to  the  pre-eminency  of  this 
testimony,  and  its  intentional  effect  in  corroborating 


IN  REFERENCE  TO  DIVINE  TRUTH.  385 

future  revelations.  The  Holy  Ghost  becomes  a  wit-  CH.  xxxv. 
ness  to  us  '  after  that/  i.e.  in  accordance  with,  or  in 
consequence  of,  this  prophecy.  This  is  His  relation  The  Holy 
to  evangelical  doctrine  :  in  virtue  of  this  prediction 
as  well  as  many  others,  He  may  be  confidently 
appealed  to  as  a  witness  to  New  Testament  theo 
logy,  and  particularly  here  to  the  subject  of  this 
and  the  foregoing  chapters.  He  has,  as  it  were, 
pledged  Himself  to  this  service  with  conclusive 
effect;  for,  the  quotation  from  Jeremiah,  introduced 
for  the  second  time  in  this  Epistle,  forms  the  climax 
to  the  discussion  respecting  the  priesthood  and  its 
offices  of  sanctification.  Looked  at  in  this  position, 
it  completely  authenticates  the  evangelical  doctrine 
preceding  it,  in  respect  to  the  nature  of  Christian 
sanctification,  i.e.  it  makes  perfect  as  '  pertaining 
to  the  conscience.'  Sin  is  so  absolutely  forgiven  as 
to  be  no  more  remembered,  and  so  entirely  purged 
away,  that  the  divine  laws  are  said  to  be  written 
in  the  heart  and  in  the  mind,  in  distinction  from 
the  tables  of  stone  given  from  the  Mount. 

There  is  also  a  special  relevancy  to  be  noted  in  Appositeness 
this  testimony  of  the  Holy  Ghost  to  the  evangelical  tion  from° a 
doctrine  of  these  chapters ;  for  what  is  the  fact  to  Jeremial1- 
which  He  bears  testimony  ?  and  what  is  His  work  as 
declared  by  the  New  Testament  ?     It  is  simply  to 
fulfil  this  prediction  in  its  length  and  breadth,  and 
depth  and  height.    The  religion  of  the  Atonement 
is  the  religion  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  and  the  antici 
pations  of  prophecy  therefore  are  in  this,   as  in 
many  other  examples,  but  the  programme  of  His 
own  operations  and  the  earnest  of  His  work. 

Ver.  18.  '  Now  where  remission  of  these  is,  there 
is  no  more  offering  for  sin.'     This  concludes  the 

2B 


386 


THE  OFFICE  OF  THE  HOLY  GHOST 


OH.  XXXV. 

Heb.  x.  15-18. 

Ver.  18  con 
cludes  the 
argument  for 
the  oneness 
of  Christ's 
sacrifice. 


Redemption 
an  ultimate 
measure. 


argument  for  the  unity  of  our  Lord's  sacrifice,  on 
which  so  much  stress  is  justly  laid  in  these  chap 
ters.  As  before  noticed,  the  greatness  of  this  truth 
was  not  the  only  barrier  to  its  entrance  into  a 
Hebrew  mind;  it  was  met  by  the  whole  gist  of  the 
legal  institution.  It  is  doubtless  here  intended 
indirectly  to  assert  the  coming  extinction  of  the 
legal  offerings ;  seeing  that,  if  our  Lord's  offering 
was  incapable  of  repetition,  all  other  offerings  must 
needs  be  annihilated. 

The  afao-is  here  appears  to  stand  comprehen 
sively  for  the  great  promises  of  the  New  Covenant, 
evangelically  fulfilled  and  expounded  in  this  dis 
course.  Nothing  more  than  these  was  possible, 
nothing  less  than  these  was  given;  all  were  bestowed 
by  the  evangelical  dispensation,  and  all  were  the 
direct  issues  of  the  Atonement.  Hence  there  could 
be  no  future  offering  for  sin;  there  is  no  place  for  it 
in  the  records  of  prophecy,  in  the  structure  of  the 
New  Testament,  in  the  range  of  human  conscious 
ness  when  renewed,  or  in  the  purposes  of  God  with 
respect  to  man  yet  remaining  to  be  accomplished. 
These  purposes  are,  indeed,  of  illimitable  sweep, 
both  with  regard  to  duration  and  grandeur;  but 
they  include  no  provisions  of  moral  restoration 
beyond  those  which  are  absolutely  the  subjects  of 
human  history.  From  these,  as  facts  of  the  past, 
the  divine  purpose  moves  onward  to  the  interpre 
tation  of  all  which  they  include  and  portend ;  the 
resurrection  of  the  body,  the  gathering  of  the 
Church,  and  the  eternal  glorification  of  redeemed 
manhood;  but  in  all  this,  God  only  l requires 
that  which  is  past,'  without  originating  anything 
new.  Nothing  is  lost  or  wasted,  nothing  eschewed 


IN  REFERENCE  TO  DIVINE  TRUTH.  387 

or  put  aside  in  the  march  of  His  purposes  towards   CH.  xxxv. 
consummation.     His  thoughts  stand  for  ever,  they  Heb.  x.  is-is. 
are  embodied  in  acts,  are  ramified  in  His  govern 
ment,  and  all  made  one  in  the  final  account  of  His 
matters  and  the  display  of  His  glory. 


CHAPTER    XXXVI. 


Summary  of 
Christ's 
Priesthood — 
contrast  to 
the  Levitical. 


THE  i  HOLIEST,'  THE  *WAY,'  THE  i  VEIL.' 
HEB.  x.  19-21. 

'HAVING  therefore,  brethren,  boldness  to  enter 
into  the  holiest  by  the  blood  of  Jesus,  by  a  new 
and  living  way,  which  He  hath  consecrated  for  us, 
through  the  veil,  that  is  to  say,  His  flesh;  and 
having  an  high  priest  over  the  house  of  God.' 

These  verses,  together  with  the  twenty-fourth  of 
chap,  ix.,1  contain  a  perfect  summary  of  the  previous 
discourse  respecting  the  priesthood  of  Christ,  and 
its  spiritual  efficacy  in  its  practical  aspect.  This 
summary  is  put  before  us  in  a  representative 
fashion,  as  akin  to  the  whole  foregoing  discourse, 
to  which  it  is  a  practical  sequel.  The  scene  is  yet 
the  day  of  atonement,  the  supposed  entrance  of 
the  high  priest  into  the  most  holy  place,  and  the 
effect  of  this  entrance  upon  the  outworshipping 
congregation.  Here  the  contrast  is  most  striking, 
since,  on  the  day  of  the  great  Jewish  festival,  the 
offices  of  the  high  priest  were  entirely  personal 
and  solitary;  he  could  admit  no  priests  within  the 
sanctuary,  much  less  the  congregation  standing 

1  '  For  Christ  is  not  entered  into  the  holy  places  made  with  hands, 
which  are  the  figures  of  the  true  ;  but  into  heaven  itself,  now  to  appear 
in  the  presence  of  God  for  us.' 


THE  HOLIEST,  THE  WAY,  THE  VEIL.  389 

without  the  court,  until  he  had  made  reconcilia-  CH.  xxxvi. 
tion  for  the  holy  places,  and  offered  the  sacrifices  Heb.~9-2i. 
for  himself,  his  house,  and  the  congregation.  The 
entire  edifice  was  closed,  and  every  individual 
barred  out  until  this  was  done.  It  is  necessary 
to  bear  in  mind  the  historical  part  of  the  subject, 
and  to  keep  it  vividly  before  us,  in  order  to  com 
prehend  the  statement  of  these  verses.  The  figure 
exhibits  a  wonderful  contrast,  since  the  whole  con 
gregation  is  here  represented  as  actually  following 
the  high  priest  into  the  very  holiest  of  all,  and  into 
the  immediate  presence  of  God.  This  is  no  partial 
privilege,  no  right  of  the  apostolate,  or  patent  of 
the  ministry;  it  belongs  equally  to  the  brotherhood, 
taken  either  singly  or  collectively.  In  fact,  this 
very  verse  is  a  death-blow  to  the  doctrine  of  priest 
hood  or  caste -distinction  in  the  economy  of  the 
New  Testament,  which  here  recognises  only  the 
'  BRETHREN  '  as  partaking  of  this  privilege  in  com 
mon.  The  fact  of  the  old  distinction  of  departments 
being  annihilated  and  one  sanctuary  only  remaining, 
is  the  figure  here  given  us,  all  and  every  one  having 
common  right  of  entry.  If  there  be  yet  a  priest 
hood,  it  is  that  of  the  mass,  not  of  the  officers  of 
the  community.  Priesthood,  as  determined  by  this 
passage,  is  the  common  basis  of  the  relation  to 
God;  so  that  it  is  plain  that,  whatever  distinction 
obtains  between  the  cleri  and  the  populus,  it  has 
nothing  to  do  with  priesthood;  in  this  respect  every 
one  stands  on  the  same  level,  all  have  access  to  the 
innermost  sanctuary,  and  all  alike  worship  in  the 
immediate  presence  of  God.  This  is  a  very  wonder 
ful  doctrine,  as  determining  the  common  relation 
of  believers  to  God  by  Christ  Jesus,  as  indicating 


390 


THE  HOLIEST,  THE  WAY,  THE  VEIL. 


CH.  XXXVI. 
Heb.  x.  19-21. 


Change  in  the 
use  of  the 
word  'taber 
nacle.  ' 


Applied  here 
to  Christ's 
'  glorified 
humanity. ' 


Atonement 
represented 
before  God 
by  Christ's 
glorified 
humanity. 


the  platform  of  the  Church,  and,  in  this  particular, 
the  vast  disparity  between  the  Old  and  New  Cove 
nants. 

Turning  now  to  the  imagery  of  the  verses,  as 
derived  from  the  Day  of  Atonement,  we  obtain  a 
consistent  view  of  the  doctrines  to  be  inculcated. 
It  would  appear  that  the  image  of  the  ancient 
tabernacle,  as  a  whole,  is  generally  in  these  chap 
ters  made  to  set  forth  the  heavenly  sphere  of  our 
Lord's  ministry  (see  ix.  24) ;  but  here  '  the  most 
holy  place '  seems  separated  to  signify  our  Lord's 
glorified  humanity.  So  far  a  change  seems  to  be 
adopted  in  the  use  of  the  imagery.  The  tabernacle 
no  longer  signifies  a  place,  but  a  person,  or  rather 
a  person  enshrined  within  a  place,  and  that  place 
the  heavens. 

It  is  necessary,  in  order  to  preserve  our  ideas 
from  confusion,  to  note  (1)  That  the  holiest  (men 
tioned  in  the  19th  verse)  really  stands  for  the 
glorified  humanity  of  Christ,  not  His  humanity  in 
its  earthly  and  historical  phase ;  and  yet  that  this 
humanity,  as  it  is  in  His  Godhead,  and  His  God 
head  in  it  (but  One  Person  in  a  double  aspect),  is 
to  be  conceived  of  as  having  a  real  ubiquity, — so 
that,  though  it  be  a  heavenly  thing  in  respect  to 
its  condition  and  enshrinement,  it  is  also  an  earthly 
thing  with  regard  to  its  all-embracing  presence,  and 
its  accessibility  to  the  people  of  the  New  Covenant. 
(2)  This  also  is  to  be  particularly  noted,  that 
within  the  shrine  the  Atonement  itself  is  con 
tained, — set  forth  not  as  offered  merely,  but  as 
presented,  according  to  the  legal  ordinance,  by 
sprinkling  immediately  before  God:  i.e.  the  Atone 
ment  subsists,  and  is  actually  presented  to  God  in 


THE  HOLIEST,  THE  WAY,  THE  VEIL.  391 

heaven  by  the  glorified  humanity  of  His  Son.     In  CH.  xxxvi. 
Him  it  is  the  memorial  offering  of  the  Cross  itself;  Heb.  x7T9-2i. 
and  the  recognition  of  the  acceptance  of  that  offer 
ing  by  God,  is  the  glorification  in  the  very  heavens 
of  the  Person  offering  it. 

(3)  God  Himself  is  supposed  to  dwell  in  this  God  dwelling 
tabernacle   or    'holiest/   according   to   our  Lord's 

words:   'Believe  me  that  I  am  in  the  Father,  and 

the  Father  in  me.  .  .      At  that  day  ye  shall  know  Son? of  tlie 

J    J  Godhead. 

that  I  am  in  the  Father.'    The  relation  of  Christ  John  xiv.  11, 

20 

to  the  Father,  as  human,  and  not  divine  merely, 
and  consequently  the  relations  of  the  Atonement 
to  both  .as  subsisting  in  the  heavenly  world,  is  the 
mystery  of  the  personal  relations  of  the  Godhead 
presented  to  us  in  the  gospel.  It  is  this  fact  which 
rules  the  outgoings  of  these  relations,  i.e.  the  re 
conciling  grace  of  the  Father  and  the  mediatorial 
offices  of  the  Son.  The  Atonement  is  really,  as  it 
were,  brought  into  the  very  fountainhead  of  all 
being,  and  thus  holds  mastery  over  all  dispensa 
tions. 

(4)  The  way  to   this    'holiest'   is   said  to   be  'The way' 
'through  the  veil,'  in  conformity  with  the  legal  connection16 
image.     Observe,  the  Atonement  is  represented  as 
already  exhibited  within  this  '  holiest ; '  the  High 

Priest  is  supposed  to  be  already  there.  It  is  in 
correct,  therefore,  to  construe  this  '  way '  '  through 
the  veil,'  as  if  His  was  a  transitive  or  unaccom 
plished  ministry ;  much  less  does  the  figure  admit 
of  such  concurrence  as  is  often  inconsiderately  ex 
pressed  by  the  phrase,  '  bringing  the  blood '  (in 
idea  much  the  same  thing  as  the  sacrifice  of  the 
Host).  By  'the  blood  of  Jesus'  is  meant,  not  the 
offering  in  any  sense  accompanying  the  worshipper, 


392 


THE  HOLIEST,  THE  WAY,  THE  VEIL. 


CH.  xxxvi.  but,  that  entering  into  the  '  holiest '  is  by  virtue  of 
Heb.  x.  19-21.  the  blood  of  Atonement  already  within  the  veil  in 
the  person  of  the  glorified  Christ. 

The  'new  and  living  way'  only  denotes  the 
connection  subsisting  between  the  Atonement  as 
offered  on  the  Cross  and  the  Atonement  as  pre 
sented  in  heaven.  'The  new  and  living  way'  is 
traced  between  these  two ;  but  it  is  rather  to  the 
latter  that  faith  turns  itself,  as  from  an  historical 
fact  to  one  perpetually  living  and  all-efficacious  in 
the  presence  of  God.  Believers  are  represented 
rather  as  facing  towards  the  heavenly  sanctuary, 
the  presented  sacrifice,  and  the  mediating  priest 
hood;  and  as  moving  toward  these  objects  by  this 
consecrated  '  way '  from  beyond  the  outer  court,  or 
the  spot  where  the  sacrifice  was  offered.  '  The  veil/ 
therefore,  through  which  entrance  is  made,  does 
not  set  before  us  the  humanity  merely  as  crucified, 
and  the  veil  as  a  rent  veil  (which  is  the  usual  gloss 
on  the  passage),  but  rather  the  veil  uplifted  by  the 
hand  of  faith, — and  more  than  this,  by  the  hand 
of  the  great  High  Priest  Himself,  who  stands 
within.1 

The  epithets   '  new  and  living '  applied  to  the 

1  This  gloss  of  the  rent  veil  probably  originated  in  the  supposed  apt 

illustration  of  the  text  found  in  the  narrative  of  the  crucifixion  (Matt. 

xxvii.  51).     This,  however,  signified  the  virtual  abolition  of  the  law, 

that  it  had  no  holy  place  henceforth,  no  mysteries  to  divulge,  and  no 

service  to  be  offered  by  its  high  priest  beyond  that  time.     But  it  is 

inapplicable  to  the  passage  before  us,  because  it  happened  at  the  very 

hour  of  His  death,  and  not  when  our  Lord,  as  High  Priest,  entered 

into  heaven.     It  could  therefore  only  illustrate  the  relation  of  the 

But  here  the      g°sPel  to  the  law,  not'  the  parts  of  the  gospel  to  itself.     It  was  not 

entrance  of        designed  to  anticipate  what  was  not  already  a  fact,  nor  could  it  illus- 

believers  into     trate  the  doctrine  before  us,  viz.  that  of  the  entrance  of  believers 

the  Holiest.       jnto  t^e  h0iiest?  conjointly  with  the  blood  of  Jesus,  supposed  to  be 

already  presented  there. 


The  rent  veil 
at  the  cruci 
fixion  signi 
fied  abolition 
of  the  law. 


THE  HOLIEST,  THE  WAY,  THE  VEIL.  393 

1  way '  do  not  seem  to  refer  (as  some  suppose)  to  the  CH.  xxxvi. 
typical  resemblance  between  the  blood  of  newly  Het)."xTT9-2i. 
slain  victims  used  by  the  high  priest  on  the  Day  of  Fertility 
Atonement  and  the  sacrifice  of  Christ,  but  rather  to  of  HhTwa 
express  the  perpetuity  and  perfection  of  this  '  way ' 
into  the  '  holiest '  as  contrasted  with  the  temporary 
and  expiring  character  of  the  old  Hebrew  economy. 
In  this  view,  'new'  or  fresh  simply  means  that 
which  takes  the  place  of  something  going  before, 
intended  to  be  a  vast  advance  upon  it,  but  not 
differing  in  principle.  '  Living '  is  exegetic  of 
4  new; '  for,  if  it  be  '  living,'  it  cannot  be  temporary ; 
it  cannot  wax  obsolete ;  it  cannot  give  place  to 
any  other ;  it  is  lasting,  everlasting.  Such  is  the 
distinguishing  glory  of  the  evangelical  '  way.' 

4  Consecrated  for  us,'  or  rather  re-made  or  re 
newed,  is  exactly  in  harmony  with  the  epithet  new 
or  fresh,  while  the  appropriation  '  for  us '  is  impli 
citly  an  abnegation  of  national  Jewish  right,  such 
as  belonged  to  the  old  way,  about  to  be  abolished. 
It  is  the  bestowment  of  right  to  this  privilege  in 
perpetuity  on  the  elect  race,  whether  Jew  or 
Gentile,  believing  on  Himself;  the  High  Priest 
is  shown  as  thus  completing  the  correspondence 
between  the  evangelical  and  the  legal  day  of 
atonement.  According  to  this,  our  Lord's  glorified  Summary. 
humanity  exhibits :  (1)  the  holiest  of  all ;  (2)  the 
presented  Atonement ;  (3)  the  '  way '  between  the 
Atonement  as  offered  and  presented ;  (4)  the  veil 
as  a  constituent  part  of  the  tabernacle  itself;  and 
(5)  the  priesthood.  He  is  Himself  all  these  in  one. 
The  whole  are  included  in  our  Lord's  words  :  '  I  am 
the  way,  the  truth,  and  the  life ;  no  man  cometh 
unto  the  Father  but  my  me.'  He  is  here  the  High 


394  THE  HOLIEST,  THE  WAY,  THE  VEIL. 

CH.  jcxxvi.  Priest,  or  ruler  'over  the  house  of  God,'  by  which 
Heb.  x.  19-21.  is  meant  His  congregation,  His  Church.  He  is  a 
sovereign  power,  as  He  is  a  priestly  one ;  He 
undertakes  for  the  full  administration  of  all  gifts 
and  blessings  for  His  Church  as  from  God ;  He  is 
the  one  mid  power  between  God  and  His  people ; 
and  He  also  undertakes  for  the  maintenance  of  all 
laws  and  ordinances  binding  on  them  by  this  New 
Covenant. 


CHAPTER    XXXVII. 

EVANGELICAL  WORSHIP  :    ITS  QUALIFICATIONS  AND, 
PRIVILEGES. 

HEB.  x.  22. 

i  LET  us  draw  near  with  a  true  heart  in  full  assur 
ance  of  faith,  having  our  hearts  sprinkled  from  an 
evil  conscience,  and  our  bodies  washed  with  pure 
water.' 

This  verse  sets  forth  the  grand  practical  correla-  Hebrew  and 
tive  to  those  preceding  it.     The  innermost  taber- 


nacle  is  supposed  to  be  opened,  and  the  High  Priest  0  ' 
to  be  engaged  in  His  ministry,  though  unseen,  in 
behalf  of  the  Church.  Yeiled  though  He  be  in  the 
neavens  by  His  glorified  humanity,  yet  the  'new 
and  living  way,'  made  accessible  by  His  presented 
sacrifice,  passes  through  this  veil,  and  brings  the 
worshippers  at  once  into  the  fellowship  and  glory 
of  the  manifested  God.  Yeiled  as  He  is  from  the 
world  of  human  creatures  by  the  surrounding  and 
elaborate  system  of  the  visible,  which  neither  sense 
nor  reason  can  penetrate,  God  is  nevertheless  ac 
cessible  within  that  veil,  which  opens  to  faith  in 
the  Atonement,  mysteriously  enshrined  there. 
Here  He  is  seen,  but  nowhere  else,  —  no,  not  in 
Christ  Himself  in  His  merely  human  aspect  ; 
Christ  is  veiled,  and  God  too,  to  them  who  dis- 


396  EVANGELICAL  WOKSHIP : 

CH.  xxxvu.  allow  His  Atonement.     Such  is  the  mystery  and 
Heb.  x.  22.    wonder  of  this  Tabernacle. 

'  To  draw  near '  is  an  Old  Testament  phrase  of 
frequent  occurrence,  particularly  in  the  Pentateuch 
and  Psalms,  for  a  deliberate  and  solemn  self-pre 
sentation  of  the  man  or  the  congregation  before 
God,  for  the  reception  of  commands,  for  pur 
poses  of  worship,  adoration,  thanksgiving,  praise, 
and  prayer.  'To  draw  near'  is  to  be  moved 
strongly  by  desire,  by  the  sense  of  duty  and  of 
need,  and  by  an  inexpressible  complacency  in  the 
privilege  and  its  fruition.  Anciently,  Ho  draw 
near  to  God '  was  to  approach  the  altar  of  sacrifice, 
to  offer  prayer  and  intercession,  and  to  await 
divine  appearances  or  communications.  It  was 
exemplified  at  the  giving  of  the  law,  when  the 
people  were  arranged  about  the  foot  of  the  moun 
tain,  and  ordinarily  in  the  ancient  tabernacle  and 
temple  services.  The  God  of  Israel  was  supposed 
to  dwell  within  the  veil,  and,  through  that  veil,  but 
only  by  means  of  the  intervening  priesthood,  to 
look  upon  His  worshipping  people.  Here  the 
phrase  Ho  draw  near,'  transferred  to  the  evan 
gelical  dispensation,  primarily  imports  congrega 
tional  communion  with  God,  by  whatever  forms 
and  at  whatever  seasons  congregational  exercises 
are  carried  on.  It  is  designed  to  teach  us  that 
routine,  bodily  service,  and  mere  conventional 
exercises,  do  not  embrace  the  nature  of  divine 
service  under  the  gospel;  that  the  status  of  a 
congregation,  evangelically  constituted,  differs  from 
the  status  of  one  under  the  law  in  this  great 
particular,  that  the  former  '  draws  near  to  God 
through  the  veil/  i.e.  it  has  actual  communion 


ITS  QUALIFICATIONS  AND  PRIVILEGES.  397 

with   Him   by   the   Mediator.      Thus   there   is   a  CH.XXXVII. 
mystery  in  evangelical  worship  unknown  to  legal    Heb~22. 
worship,   arising  out  of  this  very  fact,   that  the 
actual  presence  of  God  is  a  matter  of  divine  con 
sciousness  to   the  worshippers,   and  His   glory  a 
revelation,   an  experience,   in  a  sense    altogether 
ineffable  and  sublime.     As  the  interposition  of  the  Relation  of 
'  veil  '  signified  both  separation  and  concealment  to 
fchem  of  old  time,  so,  to  those  who  pass  within  it, 
manifestation  and   fellowship    are   the   surpassing  worshiP- 
characteristics.      It    is    an   all  -realizing   worship, 
pervading  every  act  of  any  particular  service  or 
season,  imparting  to  them  a  higher  significance, 
and  converting  them  into  means  of  yet  profounder 
and  more  transforming  fellowship. 

Such  is  the  congregational  aspect  of  this  passage, 
but  its  full  interpretation  admits  of  a  second  and 
a  still  more  impressive  one.  The  tabernacle,  to 
gether  with  its  related  doctrines  (as  before  inter 
preted),  has  a  rendering  personally  subjective,  and 
comprises  the  whole  mystery  of  the  inner  life.  The 
objective,  as  before  explained,  and  the  subjective, 
as  now  appended,  comprise  the  two  great  corre 
latives  of  the  evangelical  system,  which  answer 
to  one  another  as  the  die  and  its  impression  on 
the  wax.  The  doctrine  of  the  temple  -nature  of  Temple- 
redeemed  humanity,  and  the  divine  indwelling  redeemed 


within  it,  are  great  New  Testament  truths,  only 

foreshadowed    by   the    Old;    still   they   are   fore-  £e°tldTesta' 

shadowed  ;  as,  for  instance,  in  Ps.  xv.  1,  xxvii.  5, 

xxxvi.  7,  xci.  1.     'The  pavilion,'  'the  secret  place,' 

1  the  wings,'  the   'shadow  of  the  Almighty,'  are 

strong  prefigurations  of  the  higher  evangelical  doc 

trine  expressed  by  our  Lord  :  '  We  will  come  unto  Joim  xiv.  23. 


398 


EVANGELICAL  WORSHIP: 


x.  22. 


Col.  i.  27, 


CH.  xxxvii.  him,  and  make  our  abode  with  him.'  This  is  what 
St.  Paul  teaches  as  i  the  riches  of  the  glory  of  this 
mystery  among  the  Gentiles ; '  and  again,  '  your 
life  is  hid  with  Christ  in  God.'  This  c  mystery 
of  Christ'  is,  in  fact,  the  translation  of  Himself 
into  His  people;  the  production  in  them  by  His 
fellowship  of  a  resemblance  or  answerableness  to 
His  own  official  fulness  as  the  God-man. 

Thus  the  *  entering  into  the  holiest '  is  a  mystery 
as  little  opened  by  the  notion  of  a  future  admit 
tance  into  heaven  as  it  is  by  a  collective  or  con 
gregational  access  to  God  in  worship.  Both  these 
are  glorious  truths,  but  they  depend  upon  a  third, 
i.e.  on  the  status  of  individual  believers  resulting 
from  an  actual  present  in-being  in  Christ,  and  thus 
in  God.  This  brings  the  shrine  of  the  glorified 
humanity  into  the  very  innermost  nature  of  man, 
gives  presence  to  the  Atonement  in  the  heart,  and 
gives  the  sublime  offices  of  the  priesthood  to  the 
individual  conscience.  Thus  'the  mystery'  is  no 
longer  that  of  public  service,  or  of  a  future  heaven, 
or  of  any  special  conditions  of  life,  or  of  any  order 
of  privileged  persons ;  the  evangelical  status  is 
man  in  Christ,  man  in  God,  man  in  the  Holy 
Ghost.  His  nature  made  sacred, — a  tabernacle 
consecrated  and  replenished, — He  becomes  a  priest 
related  to  the  entire  aggregate  of  redeemed  huma 
nity,  and  to  the  unrevealed  scenes  of  futurity. 
But,  in  this  view,  how,  it  may  asked,  may  we 

always  a  com-  be  invited  to  draw  near  unto  God,  since  He  is  sup- 
nn>  posed  to  dwell  in  us  ?     The  answer  is,  that  <  draw 
ing  nigh'  is  a  phrase  which  admits  of  boundless 
meaning ;  that  nighness  to  the  Infinite  must  always 
be  a  comparative  term,  and  even  oneness  with  Him 


Approach  to 

the  Infinite 


ITS  QUALIFICATIONS  AND  PRIVILEGES.  399 

an  idea  which  admits  of  endless  expansion.     The  CH.  xxxvn. 
'  way '  may  be  well  called  c  everlasting,'  since  the    Heb.  x.  22. 
mystery  of  the  Infinite  in  relation  to  the  Finite 
must  imply  eternal  progress  in  the  latter ;  and  the 
last  advance  of  the  series  must  leave  all  the  former 
ones  at  differing  distances  in  the  rear. 

But,  further,  '  to  draw  near '  in  this  sense  is  to 
concern  ourselves  with  personal  and  private  wor 
ship,  with  divine  meditations,  with  prayers  and 
spiritual  exercises,  as  our  necessities  arise  and  our 
duties  demand.  No  status,  as  such,  excludes  speci 
alities  any  more  than  it  does  duties  and  obligations, 
temptations  and  sufferings.  The  status  may  con 
fer  sufficient  for  all  these,  and  may  rise  to  an 
entire  compliance  with  the  Divine  Will,  but  it  is 
no  apotheosis ;  it  is  consistent  with  human  infir 
mities  and  with  influences  resident  in  life  as  it  is, 
and  in  the  probationary  characters  of  that  life. 
The  human  nature  itself  has  two  phases :  the  one  <  TO  draw 
turned  outward,  by  means  of  the  senses  and  social  religions' 
powers,  on  the  outlying  world  and  its  affairs ;  the 
other,  spiritual,  looks  in  the  opposite  direction, 
upon  itself,  upon  invisible  realities  in  affinity  with 
it,  and  possesses  power  of  self- abstraction,  and  up 
ward  reach  to  the  infinite.  Hence  one  or  other  of 
these  realms  alternates  with  the  seasons  and  moods 
of  life.  The  same  man  may  live  within  or  without 
the  veil,  by  turns,  yet  without  quitting  his  status 
with  respect  to  the  higher  life  or  the  lower.  i  To 
draw  near,'  therefore,  expresses  the  purely  religious 
action  of  the  soul,  its  withdrawal  within  the  veil 
from  outward  things,  and  its  fuller  realization  of 
its  own  powers  in  these  exercises  by  which  it  is 
thoroughly  hidden  from  the  world. 


ations. 


400  EVANGELICAL  WORSHIP: 

CH.  xxxvii.  <  To  draw  near '  is  here  to  be  understood  as  cor- 
Heb.  x.  22.  relative  with  '  boldness  to  enter  into  the  holiest ' 
i^ffrSm  (verse  19)-  '  Boldness  '  is  hardly  the  proper  render- 
right  of  access,  ing  of  Trap prjcr  lav ;  in  this  connection,  it  rather  means 
freedom  or  right  of  access.  Boldness  is  a  mere 
inferential  rendering  from  the  divine  prohibition, 
which  barred  out  the  high  priest  from  the  inner 
sanctuary  except  on  the  day  of  atonement,  which 
may  be  supposed  to  have  caused  that  annual  privi 
lege  to  be  strongly  beset  with  fear.  On  the  contrary, 
'  boldness '  is  the  result  of  a  chartered  right,  re 
moving  altogether  from  the  individual  the  sense  of 
trespass  or  peril,  and  may  be  understood  here  to 
reflect  the  opposite  characters  of  the  Law  and  the 
Gospel ;  one  being  '  the  spirit  of  bondage  unto  fear,' 
the  other  that  of  '  adoption,'  which  creates  freedom 
and  assurance.  On  this  doctrine  the  exhortation 
'  to  draw  near '  is  obviously  founded;  the  duty  rests 
upon  the  privilege,  and  is  the  appointed  means  of 
realizing  its  infinite  blessings.  If  irapp^aia  could  be 
here  more  literally  rendered  by  freedom  of  speech, 
it  would  add  somewhat  to  the  force  of  the  inter 
pretation,  4  Let  us  draw  near,'  as  if  it  were  meant  to 
intimate  a  face-to-face  converse,  like  that  of  Moses 
with  God  at  the  door  of  the  Tabernacle,  or  his 
position  within  the  Tabernacle  while  solemnly  await 
ing  the  utterances  of  the  voice  from  the  Mercy-seat ; 
in  a  word,  a  position  is  indicated  by  this  interpre 
tation  proper  for  hearing  God's  words  or  for  God 
hearing  ours. 
A  'true  heart'  The  expression  ' with  a  true  heart,'  here  standing 

the  first  quali-  r  .  . 

tication  for       first  as  the  qualification  for  evangelical  worship, 
worship!°a       seems  appropriately  referred  to  the  foregoing  repre 
sentation  of  privilege  of  access.    i  A  true  heart '  is 


ITS  QUALIFICATIONS  AND  PRIVILEGES.  401 

a  heart  answerable  to  our  relations  to  the  evan-  CH.XXXVII. 
gelical  mysteries,  a  heart  in  unison  with  them  in  Heb~22. 
its  dispositions  and  convictions,  its  yearnings  and 
cleavings.  It  seems  to  glance  at  the  historic  faulti- 
ness  of  the  Hebrew  people,  against  whom  heavy 
accusations  are  registered  throughout  the  Old 
Testament  of  the  want  of  this  '  true  heart '  in  their 
professions  of  service,  and  pledges  to  observe  the 
Covenant.  Hence  the  brief  characteristics  of  their 
kings,  that  their  hearts  were  i  perfect '  or  £  not  per 
fect  '  before  the  Lord  their  God ;  that  they  '  set 
not  their  heart  aright,  and  their  spirit  was  not 
stedfast  with  God ; '  that  they  4  flattered  Him 
with  their  lips  when  they  drew  near  unto  Him, 
but  their  heart  was  far  from  Him;'  that  i their 
heart  was  not  right  with  Him,  neither  were  they 
stedfast  in  His  covenant.'  This  expression,  '  a 
true  heart,'  is  the  entire  reverse  of  all  Hebrew 
proclivities,  as  attested  both  by  the  Law  and  the 
Prophets.  The  i  true  heart '  is  a  sincere,  honest, 
upright,  stedfast,  changeless  heart;  the  fruit-bear 
ing  heart  which,  according  to  the  doctrine  of  our 
Lord's  parable,  brings  forth  a  hundred-fold.  The 
prime  qualification  of  a  Christian  worshipper,  is, 
therefore,  not  a  highly  cultured  intelligence,  but 
a  { true  heart.7 

'In  full  assurance  of  faith/  This  expression 
denotes  not  an  initial  but  a  strong  and  well -exer 
cised  faith, — not  one  that  'feels  after  God,  if  haply 
it  may  find  Him,'  but  a  faith  corroborated  by 
exercise  which  brings  with  it  all  the  results  of 
previous  experience,  visitations  of  God,  and  the 
powers  of  the  Holy  Ghost.  It  is  faith  opposed  to 
all  doubtingness  and  to  the  alternations  of  weak- 

2  C 


402 


EVANGELICAL  WORSHIP: 


CH.  XXXVII. 
Heb.  x.  22. 


Evangelical 
worship  the 
result  of  the 
application  of 
the  Atone 
ment  to  the 
conscience. 


'Heart,' 
'conscience,' 
and  'body,' 
collated  to 
denote  entire 
personal  holi 
ness. 


ness ;  faith  more  as  a  power  than  as  a  principle, 
an  effect  of -all  the  spiritual  forces  to  which  at  first 
it  gave  birth ;  the  eye  which  opens  on  every  object 
within  the  field  of  evangelical  vision,  the  very 
instinct  and  heart  which  draws  toward  the  Infinite, 
and  rests  only  in  His  fruition. 

4  Let  us  draw  near  with  a  true  heart  in  full 
assurance  of  faith,  having  our  hearts  sprinkled 
from  an  evil  conscience.' 

This  last  clause  is  not  an  exegesis  of  the  two 
former,  but  is  intended  to  suggest  one  of  the  two 
great  fundamental  qualifications  for  their  main 
tenance  and  exercise.  It  strongly  lays  down  this 
truth,  that  the  qualifications  for  evangelical  worship 
and  communion  with  God,  arise  directly  from  an 
application  of  the  Atonement  to  the  conscience. 
'  Having  our  hearts  sprinkled,'  i.e.  delivered  from  a 
sense  of  guilt  and  condemnation ;  in  other  words, 
' justified  by  faith.'  An  'evil  conscience'  is  a  sin- 
burdened  conscience,  which  the  Atonement  alone 
can  remedy,  and  without  which  '  the  true  heart  and 
the  full  assurance  of  faith '  can  have  no  existence  ; 
consequently  the  worship  itself  is  a  nullity,  a  form 
without  the  power,  a  ceremony,  not  a  living  act. 

'And  our  bodies  washed  with  pure  water.'  It 
is  evident  from  this  antithetic  collation  of  the 
'heart'  and  'conscience'  with  'the  body,'  that  the 
two  great  constituents  of  redemption,  righteous 
ness  and  sanctification,  are  emphatically  repre 
sented.  Taken  together,  they  make  up  a  full 
personal  holiness,  and  a  full  qualification  for  all 
evangelical  exercises  and  fruitions.  They  obviously 
refer  to  the  forms  of  absolution  and  lustration 
under  the  law,  as  may  be  seen  by  a  reference  to 


ITS  QUALIFICATIONS  AND  PRIVILEGES.  403 

the  book  of  Leviticus;  they  may  have  particular  CH.XXXVIL 

reference  to  the  lustration  of  the  priesthood,  either    Heb~T22. 

on  the  day  of  consecration,  or  as   a  preliminary 

to  ordinary  duties.     «  Blood  '  and  <  water '  were  the  'Water  and 

elements  of  lustration  under  the  law,  and  they  are 

represented  as  the  elements  of  lustration  under  the 

gospel.     John  notes  these  as  an  extraordinary  phe-  law>  fisure 

.  sanctmcation 

nomenon  m  the  crucifixion^  while  he  adds  this  under  the 
mystical  signification  in  his  first  Epistle  :  '  This  is  fjohn  v.  6. 
He  that  came  by  water  and  blood,  Jesus  Christ ; 
not  by  water  only,  but  by  water  and  blood.  And 
it  is  the  Spirit  that  beareth  witness,  because  the 
Spirit  is  truth;'  i.e.  this  double  fact  enters  into 
the  perpetual  ministry  of  the  Holy  Ghost  in  the 
human  conscience  :  He  interprets  it  individually 
and  experimentally,  He  gives  '  perfection  as  per 
taining  to  the  conscience,'  and  that  '  sanctification ' 
which  perfects  for  ever.  This  is  substantially 
the  exposition  of  the  double  clause,  i  having  our 
hearts  sprinkled  from  an  evil  conscience,  and  our 
bodies  washed  with  pure  water.' 

That   the   latter   clause   cannot   be  understood  Baptism  not 
otherwise,  is  evident  from  the  fact  that  Christianity  ban  act,' not 
abolished  all  legal  ordinances,  '  divers  washings  and  a  sti 
carnal  ordinances.'    That  it  cannot  refer  to  baptism 
(the  only  open  question  respecting  this  phrase),  is 
also  clear  from  the  consideration  that  the  writer 
does  not  go  back  indefinitely  to  a  period  of  baptism, 
but  speaks  of  the  washing  as  a  present  fact  or  state 
of  a  man ;  whereas,  had  baptism  been  intended,  it 
must  have  been  reiterated  again  and  again  to  meet 
all  the  occasions  of  the  Christian  life ;  not  to  add 
that  baptism  cannot  be  a  synonym   for  washing, 
which  is  a  process   for  removing  defilement,  the 


404 


EVANGELICAL  WORSHIP  : 


CH.  XXXVII. 

Heb.  x.  22. 

No  mystical 
efficacy  as 
cribed  to  the 
tvaters  of 
baptism  in 
New  Testa 
ment. 


End  (ver.  22) 
of  section  on 
the  priest 
hood. 

Priesthood  the 
perfecting 
doctrine  of 
the  evangeli 
cal  system. 


thing  intended  here  by  the  phrase,  '  washed  with 
pure  water.'  Besides,  there  is  no  warrant  in  the 
New  Testament  for  ascribing  a  mystical  efficacy  to 
the  water  of  baptism,  merely  for  the  '  sanctifying 
of  the  flesh' :  this  was  an  efficacy  belonging  to  Jewish 
rites  which  the  gospel  altogether  discards.  Nor 
would  the  most  strenuous  advocates  for  the  efficacy 
of  baptism  consent  to  restrict  it  to  a  mere  office  for 
the  body,  they  make  it  regenerative  and  synonymous 
with  the  birth  from  above.  It  is  clear,  therefore, 
that  this  phrase  is  to  be  understood  as  descrip 
tive  of  evangelical  sanctification  in  Old  Testament 
language,  and  that  it  has  as  little  reference  to 
baptism,  literally  taken,  as  to  Jewish  ceremonies. 
What  is  meant  is  simply  the  redemption  of  entire 
humanity,  agreeably  with  St.  Paul's  expression 
(1  Thess.  v.  23),  '  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 ;'  or  (Eom.  xii.  1), 
'That  ye  present  your  bodies  a  living  sacrifice, 
holy,  and  acceptable  to  God,  which  is  your  reason 
able  service.'  Here  the  body  cannot  be  taken 
without  the  soul,  nor  is  it,  in  the  text,  with  its 
washing  with  'pure  water,'  to  be  separated  from 
the  same  administration  which  sprinkles  the  heart 
from  an  'evil  conscience.' 

Thus  ends  the  great  section  of  this  Epistle  de 
voted  to  the  revelation  of  our  Lord's  priesthood 
with  the  correlative  priesthood  of  His  people — the 
grand  perfecting  doctrines  of  the  evangelical  system. 
Taken  as  a  whole,  the  exhibition  is  one  of  won 
derful  distinctness,  comprehensiveness,  and  power, 
greatly  heightened  by  the  comparison  being  drawn 


ITS  QUALIFICATIONS  AND  PKIVILEGES.  405 

out  of  the  leading  institute  of  the  law,  without  CH.XXXVII. 
strain  or  fancy,  without  any  undue  minuteness  of    HebTT  22. 
particulars,   but   causing   the    older    dispensation 
simply  to  forecast  the  later,  as  the  sun  revealed  in 
its  zenith  power  drinks  up  its  own  shadows. 

It  may  not  be  out  of  place  here  to  mark  the  A  church 
relation  of  these  great  doctrines  to  the  Church, 
which  is  their  proper  sphere,  not  the  world  at  large. 
World-truths  are  here  and  there  interspersed  with 
the  earlier  portion  of  the  Epistle,  but  the  PRIESTHOOD 
is  a  Church  doctrine  to  be  numbered  among  the 
mysteries  of  its  faith,  and  appropriate  to  the  study 
and  consolation  of  its  members.  We  see  no  world- 
vision  here,  but  simply  a  replacement  of  the  old 
favoured  people,  of  their  institutes  and  solemnities. 
In  the  Christian  Church  their  faith  bears  its  last 
and  ripest  fruit,  and  their  hope  embodied  in  cardinal 
facts  is  to  be  expanded  to  a  world-compass  indeed, 
but  is  first  to  encircle  themselves.  An  Epistle  to 
the  Hebrews  could  be  none  other  than  this  in  struc 
ture,  but  it  is  not  the  less  precious  to  the  Gentile 
Church,  as  adding  to  the  New  Testament  a  perfect 
ing  revelation  of  the  common  salvation. 

The  difference  is  striking  which  is  suggested  by  ^^JJ*5" 
a  review  of  the  two  days  of  atonement  presented  to  legal  and 

n  ,,  evangelical 

us  in  this  discussion.    The  one  was  a  fast  as  well  as  Day  of  Atone- 
a  festival;  the  other  the  joy  of  the  opened  'wells  D 
of  salvation.'    The  one  was  a  call  to  repentance, 
humiliation,  sackcloth,  and  wailing,  scarcely  relieved 
to  the  more  thoughtful  spirits  by  the  most  impres 
sive  offices  of  the  priesthood,  since  '  remembrance 
was  again  made  in  those  sacrifices  of  sins  every 
year.'     But  if  the  evangelical  day  of  atonement  be 
accompanied  by  proclamations  of  penitence   and 


406  EVANGELICAL  WORSHIP. 

CH.  xxxvii.  confession,  it  is  because  'the  kingdom  of  heaven  is 

Het>.  x.  22.    at  hand; '  and  the  day  of  Pentecost  showed  how 

speedily  <  beauty  might  be  given  for  ashes,  the  oil 

of  joy  for  mourning,  and  the  garment  of  praise  for 

the  spirit  of  heaviness.' 


ADDENDA. 

COMPILED  BY  THE  EDITORS  FROM  NOTES,  MSS.,  &c. 


HEB.  XL  1  :  '  Now  faith  is  the  substance  of  things  hoped 
for,  the  evidence  of  things  not  seen.' 

From  the  beginning  there  has  been  a  succession  of  men, 
believers  in  the  Unseen.  Their  faith  necessarily  pointed 
to  an  after-life,  and  it  gave  them  an  objective  realization 
of  the  idea  it  had  itself  created.  This  faith  had  all  the 
assurance  of  fact,  but  without  its  reasons  or  its  philosophy — 
a  settled  presentiment  of  destiny,  without  so  much  as  guess 
ing  at  what  it  shall  be,  because  that  destiny  as  yet  subsists 
in  the  Divine  Mind  only.  Faith  is  a  grand  fact  in  experi 
ence,  at  present  solitary,  and  subsisting  amidst  nothing 
but  anomalies  and  contradictions  to  itself;  nevertheless  it 
has  its  reason  in  something  real,  however  remote,  as  the 
magnet  has  in  the  pole,  however  distant,  and  to  this  faith 
is  set,  and  by  it  its  course  is  ruled.  * 

The  doctrine  of  the  chapter  is  the  sovereignty  of  faith  in 
the  guidance  of  a  religious  life ;  it  is  set  forth  as  the  main 
spring  of  piety.  It  is  stated  to  be  '  the  evidence  of  things 
not  seen ; '  a  definition  which  makes  it  a  something  quite 
different  from  an  opinion  or  an  intellectual  conviction,  for 
'  the  evidence  of  things  not  seen '  is  not  drawn  from  reason, 
it  is  the  faculty  by  which  the  soul  corresponds  with  God. 
It  is  called  faith  to  separate  it  from  all  philosophy  or 
mystical  intuitions.  Faith,  intellectually,  is  a  belief  in 
divine  testimony,  which  testimony  constitutes  the  data  of 
divine  science  to  man :  it  rests  on  facts ;  it  begins  with 


408  ADDENDA. 

ADDENDA,  history;  it  takes  Scripture  as  a  sure  witness  and  exponent 
Heb~xi.  °f  what  has  been,  is,  and  shall  be.  But,  though  faith 
differs  from  reason  as  exercised  on  the  facts  of  science, 
being  a  something  brought  to  man  from  an  extraneous 
source,  yet  it  may  be  defined  as  divine  reason  exercised 
on  the  facts  of  Eevelation.  Faith,  as  a  source  of  know 
ledge,  is  to  us  instead  of  reason,  because  it  leads  us  where 
our  reason  cannot  reach,  tracing  for  us  the  line  between 
things  knowable  or  not,  which  we  could  not  do  for  our 
selves.  The  faith  that  is  commended  as  the  root  of  all 
true  religion  is  never  supposed  to  originate  in  anything  but 
divine  revelation,  either  particular  or  general,  and  consists 
in  a  constant  and  unfaltering  adhesion  to  it  as  infallible 
truth.  Still,  to  believe  by  computing  the  force  of  evidence, 
and  to  believe  morally  with  pious  dispositions,  are  things 
widely  different.  Many  of  the  witnesses  of  our  Saviour's 
miracles,  and  probably  some  of  those  who  wrought  them  in 
His  name,  were  among  believers  of  the  former  class,  while 
the  latter  only  could  be  said  to  have  faith  in  its  proper 
essence  as  a  spiritual  principle. 

Kevelations  are  supposed  in  every  instance  as  the  ground 
of  faith;  nor  is  it  difficult  to  perceive  that  in  no  other 
way  is  the  knowledge  of  God  accessible  to  man.  God,  as 
a  Spirit  divine  and  infinite,  is  as  inscrutable  to  angels  as  to 
men ;  His  essence  is  infinitely  removed  from  all  creature 
inspection ;  we  know  no  more  of  Him  than  He  is  pleased 
to  reveal,  and  the  measure  of  our  knowledge  is  defined  by 
the  measure  of  His  own  revelation,  which  faith  alone  can 
receive.  Doubtless  the  knowledge  of  God  came  to  man 
originally  in  the  way  of  direct  spiritual  endowment,  and 
was  essential  to  his  perfection  as  created  in  the  '  image  of 
God ; '  but  it  does  not  follow  that  it  does  so  noiv, — indeed 
facts  prove  the  contrary.  It  no  longer  belongs  to  the 
mental  powers  as  such,  but  it  is  restored  to  us  by  Kevela- 
tion  and  by  the  light  of  the  Eedeeming  Spirit.  In  what 
ever  degree  the  divine  knowledge  exists  now,  it  is  derived 
from  sources  distinct  from  man,  for  there  is  no  instance  of 
any  people  who  have  lost  the  knowledge  of  God  ever 
having  recovered  it  of  themselves;  the  testimony  of  Nature 
may  confirm  the  discoveries  of  Kevelation,  but  can  never 


ADDENDA.  409 

be  a  substitute  for  them.    The  evidence  of  the  Being  of  ADDENDA. 
God  gathered  from  nature  is  doubtful  and  tedious,  while       HetTxi 
an  appeal  to  Eevelatioii  must  be  made  at  last  if  we  are  to 
turn  the  discovery  to  any  practical  account. 

The  supposition  that  the  Patriarchs  gained  the  elements 
of  their  faith  from  the  light  of  nature,  is  entirely  false  to 
the  facts  given  us  in  the  book  of  Genesis,  which  states 
that  Revelation  had  its  source  in  Paradise,  and  was  after 
wards  dispersed  and  diffused  among  the  nations  of  man 
kind.  That  the  first  man  was  profoundly  skilled  in  the 
knowledge  of  God,  is  a  necessary  inference  from  his  his 
tory,  both  before  and  after  the  Fall.  That  terrible  event, 
whatever  were  its  moral  and  physical  effects  upon  him, 
would  certainly  not  obliterate  the  knowledge  of  God  in 
which  he  was  created,  and  which  he  had  acquired  pre 
viously.  It  is  evident  also  he  received  the  outline  of 
the  plan  of  his  own  recovery  and  that  of  his  entire 
progeny,  together  with  the  principles  and  ordinances  of 
that  worship  which  was  suited  to  express  and  perpetuate 
it.  The  knowledge  of  the  first  man  became  the  great 
fountainhead  of  tradition  to  his  descendants,  and  was 
copious  and  profound  beyond  what  we  generally  imagine. 
Indeed,  the  probability  is,  that  the  theology  of  the  ante 
diluvian  patriarchs  was  far  superior  to  that  of  their 
post-diluvian  descendants,  and  that,  for  many  ages  after, 
religious  knowledge  declined  rather  than  increased  in  the 
world.  The  evidence  of  Scripture,  whether  taken  from  its 
history  or  from  its  doctrinal  comments,  is,  that  a  compre 
hensive  theology  existed  from  the  beginning;  nor  could 
there,  with  respect  to  the  antediluvians,  be  any  error  or 
uncertainty  about  it  as  in  after- times.  Adam  was  con 
temporary  with  Enoch,  with  his  son  Methuselah,  and  with 
Lamech  the  father  of  Noah,  dying  only  a  few  years  before 
Noah  was  born.  Thus  Enoch  might  have  received  his 
knowledge  from  the  lips  of  the  first  man ;  he  communi 
cated  it  to  his  son  Methuselah,  he  again  to  Lamech,  and 
Lamech  to  Noah :  or,  more  briefly  still,  Methuselah  and 
Lamech  were  contemporary  with  Adam,  and  Noah  with 
both  of  them,  so  that  between  Adam  and  Noah  there  was 
only  one  hereditary  link  to  be  supplied,  and  none  between 


410  ADDENDA. 

ADDENDA.  Noah  and  Abraham;1  Noah  living  nearly  sixty  years  after 
HebTxi.  Abraham  was  born.  Looking  at  these  Scripture  facts,  we 
are  at  no  loss  to  discern  the  source  of  patriarchal  faith,  or 
in  what  that  faith  consisted.  It  must  have  included  a  very 
comprehensive  knowledge  of  the  perfections  and  works  of 
God,  both  in  nature  and  providence, — of  His  moral  govern 
ment,  of  His  law,  and  of  the  certainty  of  rewards  and 
punishments.  It  must  also  have  included  all  the  duties 
pertaining  to  religion, — that  God  was  to  be  worshipped  both 
in  public  and  in  private, — that  the  Sabbath  was  a  standing 
testimony  to  man  that  religion  was  his  end,  as  it  was  God's 
in  the  perfection  of  creation.  It  must  have  included  the 
knowledge  of  the  Fall  in  its  general  consequences,  and  the 
knowledge  of  the  Redeemer;  the  original  promise  delivered 
in  the  anathema  pronounced  on  Satan  is  sufficiently  in 
proof  of  this.  The  rite  of  sacrifice,  too,  was  doubtless 
delivered  to  the  first  man ;  for  there  is  no  intimation  that 
Abel  was  the  first  who  practised  it. 

Faith,  then,  has  always  been  based  on  divine  testimony. 
It  is  a  spiritual  intuition,  the  sole  conveyancer  of  divine 
influence,  the  one  principle  connecting  God  with  human 
creatures,  though  this  can  only  be  affirmed  of  it  when  its 
objects  are  rendered  entire  and  substantial  by  the  indwell 
ing  of  the  Holy  Ghost  in  the  mind.  God  cannot  influ 
ence  us  morally  in  any  other  way.  Faith  is  everything 
now;  it  will  be  nothing  by  and  by. 

Verse  2  :  '  For  by  it  the  elders  obtained  a  good  report/ 
Submission  to  believing  is  a  great  moral  test  which  God 
has  set  for  us,  and  which  has  been  successfully  passed  by 
His  faithful  people  in  all  ages.  We  see  the  identity  of 
the  faith  of  Old  Testament  saints  with  that  of  Christian 
disciples.  To  the  former  promises  were  given,  holding  forth 
to  faith  the  same  blessings  more  or  less  amplified,  urging 
to  the  same  general  course  of  duty,  and  calling  into  exer 
cise  the  same  general  class  of  graces. 

Verse  3  :  '  Through  faith  we  understand  that  the  worlds 

1  This  extraordinary  length  of  life  seems  to  have  been  conferred  only  on 
one  line.  We  have  no  hint  in  the  narrative  what  the  ordinary  term  was, 
probably  not  greatly  in  excess  of  our  own.  Pharaoh's  question  to  Jacob 
suggests  that  the  Patriarch's  age  was  remarkable. 


ADDENDA.  411 

were  framed  by  the  Word  of  God,  so  that  things  which  are    ADDENDA, 
seen  were  not  made  of  things  which  do  appear.'  HdTxi 

This  is  an  inspired  comment  on  the  first  verse  in  Genesis, 
which,  whether  written  by  Moses  or  not,  is  here  indorsed  as 
a  divine  revelation.  That  God  is  the  Creator  is  the  primary 
truth  on  which  all  religion  rests ;  it  is  therefore  placed  first 
in  order ;  further  revelations  were  built  upon  it.  Eeason 
is  unable  to  demonstrate  the  fact  of  Creation  in  the  proper 
sense  of  the  term.  It  is  asserted  to  be  a  miracle,  a  making 
of  something  out  of  nothing,  in  opposition  to  the  develop 
ment  of  one  thing  out  of  another,  the  germs  being  eternal ; 
a  theory  understood  by  the  Greeks  quite  as  well  as  by  any 
moderns.  A  Christian  faith  rejects  this;  it  believes  in 
Creation ;  and  if  it  did  not  believe  in  Creation,  it  could  not 
believe  in  Eesurrection  :  they  rest  on  the  same  foundation, 
the  foundation  of  express  testimony.  This  by  no  means  con 
tradicts  the  great  law  of  progression ;  for  in  the  action  of 
Deity  one  thing  is  made  the  foundation  of  another :  every 
thing  we  know,  begin  where  we  may,  indicates  laws  of 
relation  and  sequence.  When  God  made  man,  He  gave 
him  a  revelation  of  Himself;  but  He  also  surrounded 
him  with  facts  which  confirmed  this  revelation,  and  were 
meant  to  unfold  it.  There  is  progression  also  in  the  doc 
trine  of  Eedemption;  we  still  find  one  thing  made  sub 
servient  to  another.  We  are  not  called  upon  to  stake  our 
faith  on  mere  declarations ;  even  from  the  infinite  God  we 
want  something  done  as  well  as  something  said.  Revela 
tion  never  takes  us  by  surprise ;  it  appeals  to  something 
that  answers  to  itself  in  fact  or  in  consciousness;  it  re 
quires  no  violent  effort  of  mind  to  comprehend  it. 

The  'Word  of  God'  here  has  a  personal  as  well  as  a 
literal  meaning,  and  the  Hebrews,  to  whom  the  Epistle 
was  addressed,  were  quite  familiar  with  this  use  of  the  term. 

Verse  4  :  '  By  faith  Abel  offered  unto  God  a  more  excel 
lent  sacrifice  than  Cain,  by  which  he  obtained  witness  that 
he  was  righteous,  God  testifying  of  his  gifts :  and  by  it  he 
being  dead  yet  speaketh.' 

We  are  told  in  Genesis  (chap.  iv.  3)  that  this  occurred 
'  at  the  end  of  the  days/  which  appears  to  mean  the  Sab 
bath  or  some  great  occasion,  when  both  brothers  brought 


412  ADDENDA. 

ADDENDA,  their  offerings  to  the  Lord.  It  seems  probable  that  a  great 
Heb~~xi  public  trial  took  place  before  the  primeval  families  of  the 
earth,  on  the  question  of  the  true  meaning  of  the  oracles 
of  God ;  the  rather  as  a  careful  examination  of  the  narra 
tive  gives  one  the  idea  that  there  was  a  much  more  con 
siderable  population  than  is  generally  supposed.  Cain's' 
complaint  that  he  should  'be  hid'  from  the  'face'  of  God 
suggests  that  the  primitive  worship  was  performed  before 
some  visible  manifestation  of  the  divine  glory,  consecrating 
a  particular  place  for  their  services ;  for,  according  to  the 
narrative,  in  primitive  times  God  held  frequent  communica 
tions  with  man.  Had  not  Abel's  faith  rested  on  some  special 
revelation  that  such  acts  of  worship  would  be  acceptable  to 
God,  it  would  have  been  groundless,  and  would  have  been 
fancy  and  not  faith ;  nor,  in  the  absence  of  such  revelations, 
could  we  satisfactorily  account  for  the  acceptance  of  his 
offering  and  the  rejection  of  Cain's,  who  as  truly  believed 
in  the  general  truth,  that '  God  is,  and  that  He  is  the  re- 
warder  of  them  that  diligently  seek  Him,'  as  Abel  himself. 
Moreover,  we  cannot  conceive  that  animal  offerings,  which 
involved  the  destruction  of  His  creatures,  would  be  accept 
able  to  God,  but  by  His  own  appointment.  Cain,  probably 
a  very  able  man,  interpreted  the  revelation  deistically :  it 
was  all  symbolic,  and  the  fruits  of  the  earth  were  as  true 
an  offering  as  the  bloody  sacrifice.  He  fatally  erred  in 
refusing  to  approach  God  in  a  way  expressive  of  guilt  and 
wretchedness ;  he  homaged  God  as  the  Creator,  not  as  the 
Redeemer  of  the  world.  That  this  was  the  cause  of  his 
rejection,  is  plain  from  the  narrative  :  sin,  i.e.  the  sin-offer 
ing,  lieth  at  the  door ;  his  breach  of  duty  was  well  known 
to  himself,  and  the  means  of  retrieving  it  were  within  his 
reach.  The  controversy  is  brought  to  a  formal  trial,  and 
God  testifies  to  Abel's  gifts,  and  witnesses  to  his  righteous 
ness.  We  must  conclude  that  some  sensible  demonstration 
was  given  by  God  of  His  approval,  otherwise  it  would  be 
difficult  to  see  how  Cain  would  know  that  Abel's  offering 
was  received  while  his  own  was  not.  Probably  Abel's  was 
consumed  by  fire,  while  Cain's  was  left  untouched  (see  the 
priests  of  Baal,  1  Kings  chap,  xviii.).  Mortified  by  the 
public  rejection  of  his  offering  and  the  preference  by  which 


ADDENDA.  413 

Abel  was  honoured,  though  exhorted  and  warned  by  ADDENDA. 
God  Himself,  his  anger  continued  to  burn  against  his  H~J7~xi 
brother,  and  could  only  be  quenched  in  his  blood.  The 
awful  catastrophe  followed:  it  was  not  that  Cain  was 
without  natural  affection;  it  was  religious  hatred  that 
prompted  the  murder.  Abel  was  the  first  martyr,  a  mar 
tyr  to  the  doctrine  contained  in  the  rite  of  sacrifice.  He 
enjoyed  the  distinguished  honour  of  being  pronounced 
'righteous'  by  God.  His  was  probably  the  first  human 
spirit  that,  in  the  very  morning  of  the  world,  winged  its 
way  to  glory. 

The  history  of  Abel  shows  that  no  man  is  or  can  be 
accepted,  who  rejects,  as  Cain  did,  the  revelation  of  God, 
and,  for  the  system  of  truth  and  worship  which  He  has 
prescribed,  substitutes  his  own.  The  victims  of  reason, 
preferring  to  spell  out  with  difficulty,  and  even  to  mistake, 
the  character  and  purposes  of  that  Being  who  has  dis 
covered  Himself  in  His  word,  choose  the  cobwebs  of  their 
own  imagination  instead  of  the  imperishable  temple  which 
God  has  erected  to  be  the  place  of  our  refuge. 

Verse  5 :  '  By  faith  Enoch  was  translated  that  he  should 
not  see  death ;  and  was  not  found  because  God  had  trans 
lated  him  :  for  before  his  translation  he  had  this  testimony, 
that  he  pleased  God.' 

Of  Enoch  little  is  said  in  the  canonical  Scriptures :  the 
only  mention  of  him  in  the  Old  Testament  is  in  the  fifth 
of  Genesis ;  and  in  the  New,  here,  and  in  the  Epistle  of 
Jude.  This  verse  is  a  plain  reference  to  the  history  in 
Genesis,  confirming  the  relation  of  his  extraordinary  re 
moval  from  the  earth,  and  the  exalted  piety  by  which  he 
was  distinguished.  The  genealogy  in  the  fifth  of  Genesis 
consists  of  a  record  of  the  Patriarchs  pertaining  to  the  races 
of  Cain  and  Seth  only;  the  surrounding  families  and 
colonies  of  each  race  are  passed  over  in  silence,  as  is  the 
entire  family  of  Adam,  except  Cain,  Abel,  and  Seth.  It 
relates  in  what  portion  of  the  human  race  the  true  religion 
was  maintained,  together  with  the  cause  of  its  corruption. 
It  also  enables  us  to  trace  the  line  of  the  great  Eedeeming 
Covenant  through  the  ante  and  poste - diluvian  worlds: 
from  Seth  to  Noah,  from  Noah  to  Abraham,  and  from 


414  ADDENDA. 

ADDENDA.    Abraham  to  his  descendants,  through  whom,  according  to 
HetTxi        ^he  nesn>  Christ  came. 

Enoch  was  of  the  posterity  of  Seth,  which  composed  the 
Church  then  existing  in  the  world,  called  the  'Sons  of 
God,'  and  distinguished  from  the  progeny  of  Cain,  who, 
as  wearing  the  badge  of  apostasy,  are  called  the  '  Sons  of 
men.'  That  he  was  a  man  of  extraordinary  piety  is  at 
tested  by  his  history.  Of  all  the  antediluvian  race  he  was 
singled  out  for  the  glory  of  a  bodily  translation  to  heaven. 
His  life  on  earth  was  scarcely  more  than  a  third  of  the 
length  of  the  patriarchs  of  his  race,  but  it  was  entirely  de 
voted  to  God.  He  walked  '  by  faith,  not  by  sight,'  though 
there  can  be  no  doubt  that  he  was  favoured  with  extra 
ordinary  manifestations;  this  is  implied  in  the  fact  that 
he  was  a  prophet.  His  faith  was  founded  on  divine  re 
velations  ;  not  merely  upon  a  particular  promise,  but  upon 
other  and  more  general  truths,  faith  in  which  qualified  him 
to  receive  the  particular  promise  of  the  translation,  as  the 
testimony  that  he  had  pleased  God, 

Our  ignorance  of  the  extent  and  arrangements  of  society 
before  the  Deluge  excludes  the  possibility  of  forming  an 
accurate  opinion  of  the  influence  and  dignity  of  Enoch; 
but,  as  he  was  the  seventh  from  Adam  in  the  direct  line, 
he  must  be  presumed  to  have  been  a  man  of  exalted  rank, 
a  prince  among  the  tribes  of  his  people.  What  Noah, 
Abraham,  and  Moses  were  in  their  several  generations, 
that  Enoch  was  in  his — a  great  character  especially  raised 
up  by  God  for  the  service  of  his  age,  a  chief  pillar  of  the 
Church  when  the  apostasy  was  fast  spreading  which  had 
well-nigh  terminated  in  the  extinction  of  religion.  It  is 
evident  from  the  passage  in  St.  Jude  that  Enoch  had  a 
supernatural  foresight  of  the  judgment  by  which  it  was 
overtaken ;  it  is  therefore  probable  that,  like  his  illustrious 
descendant  Noah,  he  taught  and  admonished  the  world  with 
all  the  urgency  and  industry  which  this  revelation  inspired. 
'Enoch  was  translated  that  he  should  not  see  death/ 
This  is  the  comment  of  the  Epistle  on  the  words  in 
Genesis,  '  He  was  not,  for  God  took  him ; '  i.e.  he  dis 
appeared  from  the  earth,  he  was  removed  from  the  society 
of  men.  God  took  him,  not  death, — his  entire  nature 


ADDENDA.  415 

being  transformed,  and  his  entire  person  removed  to  the    ADDENDA, 
celestial  world  by  a  special  ordination  of  Almighty  God.       H~b~~' 
In  the  translation  itself  the  faith  of  Enoch  was  personally 
honoured  by  the  removal,  in  his  case,  of  the  appointment 
for  'men  once  to  die.'     This  exemption  was  the  noblest 
favour  God  could  confer ;  it  was  the  original  boon  awarded 
to  innocency,  forfeited   by  the  Fall,  but  given  back  to 
an  individual  belonging  to  the  fallen  race,  and  probably 
bestowed  under  the  very  eye  of  Adam,  who  himself  had 
once  exulted  in  the  prospect  of  it.     Enoch  was  not  dealt 
with  even  physically  and  temporally  as  if  he  were  a  sinner, 
but  in  conformity  with  the  law  of  innocency.     The  stand 
ing,  visible,  soul-appalling  penalty  of  sin,  is,  in  his  behalf, 
reversed :  for  him  death  had  no  sting ;  over  him  the  grave 
had  no  victory,  the  law  had  no  sentence,  for  the  Law 
giver  had  suspended  it.     The  curse  of  sin  was  never  to 
blight  the  goodliness  of  the  flesh,  nor  to  turn  its  beauty 
into  corruption,  nor  lay  his  honour  in  the  dust,  nor  leave 
so  much  as  a  momentary  trace  on  that  frame,  the  shrine 
of  the  Spirit  and  the  temple  of  God.   In  him  the  outer  man 
never  suffered  divorce  from  the  inner;  the  two  natures  were 
never   severed  from  their  intimate  embrace;   his   entire 
being  was   continued   without   parenthesis ;   not   an   iota 
of  his  person  was  left   behind  ;   there  was  no  grave,  no 
funeral  rite,  no  corpse,  no  remains, — nothing  left  as  when 
the  presence  of  death  is  beheld, — nothing  to  embalm,  to 
weep    over,  or   to   bury.      He   was  not   '  unclothed,  but 
clothed  upon/  and  '  mortality  was  thus  swallowed  up  of 
life;'  the  earthly  house  of  his  tabernacle  was  not  dissolved, 
but  refashioned  in  a  moment  by  an  afflatus  of  divine  glory, 
so  as  to  become,  what  Christians  wait  for  in  the  resurrec 
tion,  'a  building  of  God,  a  house  not  made  with  hands, 
eternal  in  the  heavens.'     ''He  was  not  found,  because  God 
had  translated  him.'     A  grand  phenomenon  was  exhibited 
in  the  sight  of  the  intelligent  universe — a  human  being  of 
a  fallen  race  taken  out  of  the  midst  of  his  fellows,  carried 
up  to  the  throne  at  once,  and  crowned  with  the  glory  and 
honour  which  await  the  body  of  the  faithful  at  tha  last  day. 
Probably  this  example,  as  well  as  that  of  Elijah,  was 
intended  to  show  to  the  heavenly  powers,  and  especially  to 


416  ADDENDA. 

ADDENDA,  the  spirits  of  the  just  made  perfect,  the  glory  of  the  con- 
Heb~xi  summation,  as  it  should  be  brought  to  pass  by  the  Mediator, 
and  to  give  a  kind  of  visible  pledge  and  demonstration  of 
it  to  the  Church  in  heaven.  Both  Enoch  and  Elijah  seem 
to  have  been  in  some  sort  types  and  shadows  preceding 
the  glorification  of  Christ's  humanity  in  the  heavens.  If 
this  be  true,  the  reason  is  at  once  apparent  why  no  transla 
tions  have  followed  the  entry  of  Christ  into  heaven.  They 
are  now  utterly  superfluous;  for  the  federal  character  of 
the  Messiah,  and  His  intrinsic  connection  with  the  whole 
plan  of  man's  recovery,  rendered  His  demonstration  abso 
lutely  transcendent,  'they  having  no  glory  in  this  respect/ 
Enoch's  faith  was  rewarded  by  his  early  transference 
from  a  scene  of  care  and  grief  to  one  perfectly  congenial 
to  his  extraordinary  spiritual  attainments.  Thus  the  most 
holy  man  then  living  was  a  second  instance  of  an  appa 
rently  premature  removal,  as  Abel  by  martyrdom,  so  Enoch 
by  translation.  He  was  taken  from  the  infelicity  of  living 
to  witness  the  progress  of  the  Church's  apostasy  and  the 
growth  of  wickedness  to  such  an  extent  as  gave  the  visible 
prognostic  of  that  awful  judgment  which  he  saw  would 
close  the  scene.  Even  to  have  foreseen  both  the  one  and 
the  other  must  have  had  a  saddening  and  dreary  effect ; 
but  to  have  lived  to  witness,  in  its  multiform  details  and 
manifestations,  the  declension  of  religion,  through  the  inter 
marriages  mentioned  in  Genesis  of  the  sons  of  God  with 
the  daughters  of  men ;  the  marked  degeneracy  of  each  new 
generation  above  that  which  preceded  it ;  the  prostration 
of  faith ;  the  triumph  of  error ;  the  wreck  of  morality ;  the 
domination  of  cruelty,  oppression,  rapine,  and  bloodshed, 
without  any  prospect  of  mitigation  or  recovery ; — this,  to 
a  holy  soul  like  Enoch's,  must  have  been  a  perpetual  mar 
tyrdom, — a  burden  of  woe  and  lamentation;  hence  his 
removal  was  a  dispensation  of  peculiar  favour. 

Enoch's  translation  was  a  public  seal  to  those  great  doc 
trines  of  primitive  theology  which  he  had  embraced  and 
endeavoured  to  maintain  in  the  world.  In  the  instance  of 
Elijah  this  was  remarkably  the  case;  he  was  the  chief 
witness  to  the  truth  in  that  generation  so  awfully  sunk  in 
idolatry  and  wickedness.  The  translation  of  Enoch  was 


ADDENDA.  417 

God's  testimony  to  His  own  truth  in  the  person  of  His  ADDENDA, 
most  illustrious  witness.  The  doctrine  of  immortality  H~b~~" 
was  especially  demonstrated  by  it;  the  doctrine  of  the 
immortality  of  the  body,  as  well  as  that  of  the  soul,  both 
of  which,  there  is  every  reason  to  believe,  had  been  greatly 
obscured,  if  indeed  they  had  not  entirely  vanished  from 
the  minds  of  men.  By  this  translation,  life  and  immor 
tality  were  again  brought  to  light,  surrounded  by  their 
primitive  splendour  even  as  they  were  before  the  Fall. 
By  it  that  tremendous  catastrophe  was  beheld  in  its  full 
light, — that  to  die  was  contrary  to  nature,  to  live  for  ever 
the  primitive  law.  The  grand  prologue  of  recovered  man, 
thus  presented  to  the  contemplation  of  the  world,  was 
intended  to  elevate  this  great  doctrine  to  a  perpetual  and 
practical  ascendency. 

The  objects  and  results  of  Enoch's  faith  are  substantially 
the  same  in  God's  elect ;  for  it  respects  the  life  to  come, 
and  the  glorification  of  redeemed  man  in  heaven.  In  this 
faith  the  patriarchs  lived  and  died,  as  well  as  the  followers 
of  our  Lord;  their  views  of  life  and  of  death  were  the 
same,  they  confessed  themselves  '  strangers  and  pilgrims.' 
Enoch  and  Elijah  were  translated,  but  the  whole  body  of 
the  faithful  have  the  same  glory  secured  to  them  by  cove 
nant  ;  while  the  spiritual  enjoyments  of  the  new  dispensa 
tion  are  so  abundant  that  our  Lord  declared  that  His 
people  do  not '  see  death.'  The  spirit  is  translated  directly, 
but  the  body  sleeps;  they  are  conformed  to  Christ, — He 
died  and  rose  again,  and  became  the  first -begotten  from 
the  dead.  Translations  are  reserved  in  multitudes  for  the 
final  scenes  of  the  Eedeemer's  Advent :  '  We  that  are  alive 
and  remain  shall  be  caught  up  together.' 

It  is  the  purpose  of  God  to  glorify  His  Church  in  a  body. 
The  saints  fall  asleep  in  succession  till  the  number  of  the 
elect  be  fulfilled  in  the  end  of  the  days;  until  the  saving 
plan  is  fully  wrought  out,  the  resurrection  must  be  delayed. 

Verse  6 :  '  But  without  faith  it  is  impossible  to  please 
Him :  for  he  that  cometh  to  God  must  believe  that  He  is, 
and  that  He  is  a  rewarder  of  them  that  diligently  seek  Him.' 

The  declaration  of  the  second  clause,  'for  he  that 
cometh  to  God,'  etc.,  is  introduced  simply  to  demonstrate 

2D 


418  ADDENDA. 

ADDENDA,  the  principle,  that  without  faith  it  is  impossible  to  please 
HebTxi.  ^°d-  -ft  does  n°t>  in  the  slightest  degree,  imply  that  men 
ever  did,  or  could  know,  that  God  is,  and  that  He  is  the 
'rewarder  of  them  that  diligently  seek  Him/  without  a 
divine  revelation  as  the  basis  of  the  knowledge.  On  the 
contrary,  it  asserts  the  impossibility  of  any  man  ever 
coming  to  God  acceptably,  or  indeed  at  all,  without  it ;  at 
the  same  time,  the  very  reason  assigned  why  men  cannot 
come  to  God  without  it,  viz.  that  they  must  have  some 
thing  definite  to  believe  concerning  God,  supposes  adequate 
instruction  as  to  what  they  were  to  believe.  How  this 
could  exist  without  revelation  it  is  difficult  to  conceive. 
The  religion  of  revelation  is  the  only  one  that  promises 
reward  in  this  life,  the  enjoyment  of  God  in  the  soul : 
'Thou  art  my  exceeding  great  reward.'  Faith  alone  is 
thus  rewarded ;  no  other  principle  ever  professes  to  seek 
or  to  find  this  recompense.  The  doctrine  of  reward  is 
always  associated  in  Scripture  with  great  moral  elevation. 
A  loyal  subject  finds  his  reward  in  his  sovereign's  approval ; 
and  this  is  the  sort  of  reward  the  Christian  seeks :  it 
effectually  rebuts  the  charge  of  meanness  and  self-interest. 
Verse  7  :  '  By  faith  Noah,  being  warned  of  God  of  things 
not  seen  as  yet,  moved  with  fear,  prepared  an  ark  to  the 
saving  of  his  house ;  by  the  which  he  condemned  the  world, 
and  became  heir  of  the  righteousness  which  is  by  faith.' 

All  these  examples  refer  to  faith  in  unseen  facts.  There 
was  nothing  in  nature  to  indicate  the  Deluge ;  it  was 
delayed  a  hundred  and  twenty  years ;  yet  Noah  preached 
and  emphasized  his  preaching  by  building  the  ark.  It 
was  in  vain ;  only  '  eight  persons '  were  saved,  though  it 
by  no  means  follows  that  all  who  perished  in  the  waters 
were  lost  everlastingly.  The  progeny  of  Cain,  numerous, 
beautiful,  gifted,  and  apostate,  were  extirpated,  because 
they  had,  from  the  days  and  after  the  example  of  their 
progenitors,  been  enemies  of  the  true  religion;  they  had 
brought  about  the  corruption  of  the  earth,  and  the  extinc 
tion  of  the  Church,  except  as  it  was  found  in  Noah  and 
his  family.  Therefore  wrath  came  to  the  uttermost :  not  a 
representative  of  Cain  was  left,  his  whole  posterity  was 
annihilated;  their  destruction  being  probably  the  only 


ADDENDA.  419 

mercy  the  case  admitted  of.     The  earth  was  re-peopled  by    ADDENDA. 
Noah  and  his  family,  the  only  remaining  descendants  of       H~~b~ ' 
Seth,  and  the  conservators  of  primitive  religion.     Noah's 
first  act  on  leaving  the  ark  was  to  build  an  altar,  and 
re-institute  the  religion  of  sacrifice. 

Verses  8-10:  'By  faith  Abraham,  when  he  was  called  to  go 
out  into  a  place  which  he  should  after  receive  for  an  inherit 
ance,  obeyed ;  and  he  went  out,  not  knowing  whither  he 
went.  By  faith  he  sojourned  in  the  land  of  promise,  as  in 
a  strange  country,  dwelling  in  tabernacles  with  Isaac  and 
Jacob,  the  heirs  with  him  of  the  same  promise:  for  he 
looked  for  a  city  which  hath  foundations,  whose  builder 
and  maker  is  God.' 

Abraham  enjoyed  the  righteousness  of  faith  before  he 
received  this  call  to  go  out  into  a  '  strange  country,'  which 
he  clearly  understood  was  to  be  the  inheritance  of  his 
posterity,  not  his  own.  Hence  he  never  attempted  any 
settlement  there,  which  under  other  circumstances  would 
have  been  both  natural  and  easy  to  a  man  of  his  rank  and 
prowess.  He  was  always  a  sojourner,  a  mere  settler, 
and  his  example  was  followed  by  Isaac  and  Jacob.  This 
pilgrim  state,  the  result  of  their  '  call/  was  but  the  visible 
embodiment  of  their  faith  before  the  world.  They  thus 
declared  plainly  that  they  sought  a  country,  while  their 
separation  from  the  moral  enormities  of  their  neighbours, 
and  visible  devotedness  to  the  One  God,  were  still  more 
striking  signs  of  the  same  fact.  In  the  midst  of  ages  of 
increasing  darkness,  when  the  primitive  religion  was  all 
but  extinct,  one  holy  family  bore  aloft  the  beacon  light. 
The  covenant  rite,  the  altar,  the  sacrifices,  the  Sabbath, 
marked  them  as  the  true  Church  of  the  Living  God,  while 
their  very  migrations  became  those  of  a  missionary  ministry, 
a  travelling  gospel  among  the  nations.  They  dwelt  in 
'  tabernacles,'  which  are  elsewhere  made  the  symbol  of  our 
earthly  life,  and  the  'city'  the  symbol  of  our  enduring 
life.  Here,  again,  we  have  faith  in  the  unseen.  If  Abra 
ham  had  understood  the  promise  as  referring  only  or 
chiefly  to  the  land,  why  did  he  not  take  possession  of  it  ? 
But  it  was  a  matter  of  indifference  to  him  in  comparison 
with  the  '  city  whose  builder  and  maker  is  God.' 


420  ADDENDA. 

ADDENDA.  Verses  11,  12  :  'Through  faith  also  Sara  herself  received 
Heb~xi  strength  to  conceive  seed,  and  was  delivered  of  a  child  when 
she  was  past  age,  because  she  judged  Him  faithful  who  had 
promised.  Therefore  sprang  there  even  of  one,  and  him  as 
good  as  dead,  so  many  as  the  stars  of  the  sky  in  multitude, 
and  as  the  sand  which  is  by  the  sea-shore  innumerable.' 

The  birth  of  Isaac  was  contrary  to  the  course  of  nature, 
and  so  shadowed  forth  the  Incarnation. 

The  Jews,  to  this  very  day,  answer  to  the  description  of 
the  twelfth  verse ;  they  are  the  most  ancient  race  in  the 
world,  and  the  only  one  of  unquestioned  descent.  They 
sprang  from  one  pair,  and  even  in  their  exceptional  origin 
foreshadowed  the  Christian  Church. 

Verses  1 3-1 6  :  '  These  all  died  in  faith,  not  having  re 
ceived  the  promises,  but  having  seen  them  afar  off,  and 
were  persuaded  of  them,  and  embraced  them,  and  con 
fessed  that  they  were  strangers  and  pilgrims  on  the  earth. 
For  they  that  say  such  things  declare  plainly  that  they 
seek  a  country.  And  truly,  if  they  had  been  mindful  of 
that  country  from  whence  they  came  out,  they  might  have 
had  opportunity  to  have  returned.  But  now  they  desire  a 
better  country,  that  is,  an  heavenly :  wherefore  God  is  not 
ashamed  to  be  called  their  God :  for  He  hath  prepared  for 
them  a  city/ 

It  is  very  probable  John  Bunyan  got  the  idea  of  his 
'Dream 'from  these  verses.  The  things  promised  were 
seen  afar  off,  but  very  distinctly  as  things  are  seen  in  the 
East ;  there  was,  nevertheless,  the  sight  of  them,  the  clear 
perception  of  their  divine  and  glorious  substance;  they 
were  so  persuaded  of  their  reality  that  they  left  every 
thing  else  in  order  to  press  after  them.  There  is  persua 
sion  which  is  opposed  to  doubt  and  uncertainty :  there  is 
recognition,  as  we  recognise  the  persons  of  friends  even 
when  '  afar  off ; '  a  firm  persuasion  that  they  are  what  they 
seem  to  be.  'Embracing  them,'  casting  the  arms  of  our 
affectionate  confidence  about  them,  after  the  manner  of 
Eastern  salutation ;  laying  hold  of  them  and  welcoming 
them  as  the  desire  of  our  eyes,  and  the  rejoicing  of  our 
heart.  They  might  have  returned  to  the  country  from 
whence  they  came  out  (Bunyan's  city  of  Destruction,  for 


ADDENDA.  421 

example),  but  they  followed  on  after  these  unseen  realities.    ADDENDA. 
'  A  city '  is  prepared,  not  the  country,  not  a  solitude ;  giving       rrT — . 
a  grand  idea  of  a  perfect  life  and  perfect  society  after  the 
toil  and  travail  of  the  pilgrimage. 

Verses  17-19:  '  By  faith  Abraham,  when  he  was  tried, 
offered  up  Isaac:  and  he  that  had  received  the  promises 
offered  up  his  only-begotten  son,  of  whom  it  was  said,  That 
in  Isaac  shall  thy  seed  be  called:  accounting  that  God 
was  able  to  raise  him  up,  even  from  the  dead;  from 
whence  also  he  received  him  in  a  figure.' 

The  great  point  of  Abraham's  faith  was  the  offering  of 
Isaac,  in  whom  all  fulfilment  of  the  promise  rested.  It  is 
here  said  he  did  offer  him,  i.e.  in  will  and  faith  he  did.  The 
type — for  the  whole  transaction  was  typical — is  followed 
no  further ;  perhaps,  lest  God  should  seem  to  countenance 
human  sacrifices ;  perhaps,  because  a  type  being  but  a 
figure,  it  was  carried  far  enough.  Abraham  perfectly 
understood  the  figure ;  he  fully  expected  Isaac  would  be 
raised  again.  In  the  sacrifice  of  Christ  it  was  a  transac 
tion  between  the  Father  and  the  Offerer  only;  no  one 
concerned  in  it,  not  even  His  disciples,  had  the  least 
understanding  of  it,  much  less  the  Roman  soldiers  or  the 
Jewish  persecutors;  so  that  no  sanction  was  in  the  re 
motest  way  given  to  human  sacrifice.  (See  p.  309.) 

Verse  20  :  'By  faith  Isaac  blessed  Jacob  and  Esau  con 
cerning  things  to  come.' 

It  is  clear  Isaac  believed  in  his  own  inspiration,  and 
that  the  vision  before  him  would  assuredly  be  fulfilled. 
Jacob  and  Esau  had  personally  little  to  do  with  it ;  but 
the  succession  was  altered;  it  was  transferred  to  Jacob. 
During  their  lives  Esau  seems  to  have  been  the  more  pros 
perous  person;  but  the  Edomites,  his  descendants,  are 
rarely  mentioned,  they  were  comparatively  obscure,  while 
the  descendants  of  Jacob  are  the  most  remarkable  people 
in  the  world  to  this  day. 

Verse  21 :  'By  faith  Jacob,  when  he  was  a  dying,  blessed 
both  the  sons  of  Joseph ;  and  worshipped,  leaning  upon  the 
top  of  his  staff.' 

Not  literally  when  he  was  dying,  but  failing,  as  we  say 
— when  he  felt  death  drawing  near.  He  makes  Joseph's 


422  ADDENDA. 

ADDENDA,  sons  his  representatives  in  the  tribeship,  Joseph's  own 
HebTxi.  name  not  being  mentioned.  This  act  of  worship  is  not 
narrated  in  the  forty-eighth  of  Genesis ;  it  was  probably 
something  special,  answering  to  that  remarkable  expression 
of  Jacob's  faith  recorded  in  the  forty-ninth  chapter,  'I 
have  waited  for  Thy  salvation,  0  Lord,'  and  which  inter 
rupts  so  singularly  the  vision  opened  to  him  by  inspiration 
of  the  glory  of  his  family.  The  faith  of  Jacob  is  here 
ranked  with  that  of  the  most  eminent  of  the  patriarchs. 
He  had  dwelt  with  Abraham  and  Isaac  in  tents,  looking 

'  '        O 

for  'a  city  which  hath  foundations,  whose  builder  and 
maker  is  God ; '  he  had  heard  from  them  the  glorious  re 
velations  of  former  ages,  as  well  as  those  given  to  them 
selves;  his  was  the  birthright  and  the  blessing ;  he  had  seen 
the  mystic  ladder ;  nay,  in  his  many  and  often  sorrowful 
wanderings  he  had  seen  Jehovah  Himself  in  mystic  con 
verse  with  him,  a  stranger,  a  shepherd,  '  the  worm  Jacob  ; ' 
he  had  been  bidden  by  Him  to  go  down  into  Egypt  to  die 
there ;  and  above  all,  he  had  predicted  the  coming  of  the 
Shiloh,  whom  he  had  before  adored  as  the  ANGEL  who 
had  '  fed  him  all  his  life  long  and  redeemed  him  from  all 
evil,'  whose  doctrine  he  had  learned  in  the  course  of  his 
pilgrimage,  and  whose  spirit  had  given  him  a  minstrelsy 
in  his  dying  hours ; — he  at  least,  therefore,  could  be  no 
stranger  to  evangelical  faith  and  consolations  at  such  a 
season.  He  turns  to  the  Angel  who  had  redeemed  him  as 
to  a  Saviour  long  known ;  he  was  not  the  recipient  of  un 
looked-for  succour  in  his  dying  hours, — it  was  but  the  issue 
of  his  long  life  of  faith  soon  to  be  exchanged  for  sight. 

Verse  22:  'By  faith  Joseph,  when  he  died,  made  men 
tion  of  the  departing  of  the  children  of  Israel ;  and  gave 
commandment  concerning  his  bones.' 

Joseph  had  served  the  Egyptians  for  eighty  years,  pro 
bably  the  longest  tenure  of  power  on  record ;  but  his  work 
for  them  is  over  now,  and  his  last  thoughts  are  given  to 
the  future  of  his  own  people.  He  is  quite  cognizant  of 
the  sufferings  they  were  to  undergo,  but  he  expresses  his 
faith  in  their  deliverance,  and  concludes  his  grand  life 
with  a  prophecy,  in  view  of  the  fulfilment  of  which  his 
body  was  not  to  be  interred  in  the  ordinary  way,  but  to  be 


ADDENDA.  423 

carried  to  his  own  estate  given  to  him  by  his  father,  pro-    ADDENDA. 
bably  near  to  the  well  where  our  Lord  met  the  woman  of 
Samaria.     It  is  likely  that  the  value  of  the  place  arose 
from  its  springs. 

Verses  23-27  :  'By  faith  Moses,  when  he  was  born,  was 
hid  three  months  of  his  parents,  because  they  saw  he  was  a 
proper  child ;  and  they  were  not  afraid  of  the  king's  com 
mandment.  By  faith  Moses,  when  he  was  come  to  years,  re 
fused  to  be  called  the  son  of  Pharaoh's  daughter ;  choosing 
rather  to  suffer  affliction  with  the  people  of  God,  than  to 
enjoy  the  pleasures  of  sin  for  a  season;  esteeming  the  re 
proach  of  Christ  greater  riches  than  the  treasures  in  Egypt : 
for  he  had  respect  unto  the  recompense  of  the  reward.  By 
faith  he  forsook  Egypt,  not  fearing  the  wrath  of  the  king : 
for  he  endured,  as  seeing  Him  who  is  invisible.' 

Revelations  of  divine  truth  were  probably,  from  the 
earliest  times,  held  in  some  documentary  form  not  specified, 
as  it  seems  unlikely  that  the  history  of  the  Creation  and 
the  early  events  of  the  world  should  have  descended  to  the 
days  of  Moses  by  tradition  alone.  There  is  a  probability, 
amounting  to  a  moral  certainty,  that  the  knowledge  of 
letters  was  a  leading  element  of  primitive  civilisation,  and 
that  the  great  body  of  theological  truth  was  always  pre 
served  as  a  written  record,  and  kept  in  the  custody  of  the 
faithful.  The  particular  revelations  given  from  time  to 
time  implied  pre-existing  ones ;  for  in  no  one  age,  except 
the  first,  did  truth  originate.  These  particular  revelations 
are  here  referred  to  as  being  the  basis  of  a  special  faith ; 
but  in  no  instance  are  they  the. original  seed  of  it;  they 
perfected  it,  but  they  did  not  create  it. 

These  verses  contain  more  of  the  personal  history  of 
Moses  than  we  have  anywhere  else.  It  would  seem  that 
his  parents  had  some  special  revelation  from  God  as  to  the 
future  calling  of  their  child  to  be  the  Deliverer,  and  that  in 
his  preservation  they  did  not  follow  the  mere  dictates  of 
parental  instinct.  It  was  c  faith '  which  enabled  them  to 
brave  the  penalties  of  concealment,  which  were  doubtless 
terrible  enough.  It  was  probably  by  divine  intimation 
that  they  put  him  on  the  Nile,  in  the  place  where  the 
Court  were  accustomed  to  bathe.  He  seems  to  have  been 


424  ADDENDA. 

ADDENDA,  pious  from  his  early  youth, — no  doubt  diligently  instructed 
Heb~xi  ^7  his  mother,  and  made  aware  of  those  revelations  which 
were  the  ground  of  his  own  confidence  in  his  future 
calling.  It  is  evident  that  he  knew  his  predestined 
course,  and  that  it  was  his  faith  in  this  that  constituted 
the  ground  of  his  refusal  to  be  called  '  the  son  of  Pharaoh's 
daughter.'  Stephen  says,  'He  was  mighty  in  word  and 
deed.'  He  had -probably  given  proof  of  his  courage  and 
statesmanship,  and  in  consequence,  if  he  would  have  re 
nounced  his  people  and  accepted  the  Egyptian  faith  and 
adoption,  even  the  succession  to  the  throne  was  open  to 
him;  for,  from  what  can  be  spelt  out  of  the  Egyptian 
dynasties,  it  is  clear  they  were  not  strictly  hereditary. 
There  is  some  difficulty  in  applying  these  words,  'He 
forsook  Egypt,  not  fearing  the  wrath  of  the  king/  to  his 
triumphant  exit,  leading  out  the  children  of  Israel — the 
rather  that  we  have  the  account  in  the  next  verse  of  the 
Passover  kept  in  Egypt.  Still  less  does  it  apply  to  his 
retreat  after  killing  the  Egyptian,  for  then  he  clearly  ivas 
afraid  of  the  wrath  of  the  king.  I  believe  it  refers  to  a 
first  forsaking  of  Egypt.  After  formally  refusing  court 
honours,  and  declaring  his  intention  of  casting  in  his  lot 
with  his  own  people,  it  is  very  likely  he  would  find  it  ex 
pedient  to  withdraw.  He  was  not  prevented  from  taking 
his  own  course  by  dread  of  the  king's  wrath ;  but,  having 
done  so,  he  quietly  bowed  to  the  storm,  and  took  himself 
away.  He  went  into  obscurity,  and  probably  encountered 
privation :  so  the  word  '  endured '  would  seem  to  imply. 
He  voluntarily  abandoned  all  Egypt's  advantages,  and 
chose  the  condition  of  his  afflicted  kindred.  He  closed 
his  eyes  definitively  and  for  ever  upon  its  brilliant  scenes, 
and  fixed  his  heart  and  bent  his  steps  toward  the  path  of 
ministration,  exigency,  and  peril.  It  was  not  a  blind  en 
thusiasm  that  induced  the  renunciation  of  secular  great 
ness,  but  the  result  of  a  deliberate  choice  between  the 
course  he  knew  God  had  prescribed  for  him,  though  one 
of  unprecedented  difficulty  and  peril,  and  the  honours  and 
pleasures  which  His  hand  had  thrown  around  him,  in 
tended  to  supply  the  test  of  his  faith,  and  the  materials  of 
his  moral  trial.  On  the  one  hand,  there  was  Egypt,  with 


ADDENDA.  425 

all  that  the  world  could  offer ;  on  the  other,  the  service  of  ADDENDA. 
God,  with  its  difficulties  and  sufferings, — the  work  of  a  H~b~~ ' 
Deliverer, — the  conflict  with  Pharaoh, — the  hatred  of  the 
Egyptians, — the  sojourning  in  the  wilderness,  and  the  go 
ing  to  Canaan.  There  was  object  presented  with  object, 
motive  with  motive.  Something  analogous  is  found  in 
every  case  involving  a  decision  for  God,  or  otherwise. 
Each  has  its  own  class  of  obstacles  which  call  for  the 
courage  to  surmount  them,  inspired  only  by  '  seeing  Him 
that  is  invisible.'  He  had  not  sight,  but  what  was,  for 
moral  influence,  equivalent  to  sight,  a  clear,  intellectual 
and  spiritual  apprehension  of  God,  in  His  being,  character, 
and  relations  to  us ;  and  this  so  constant  and  habitual  as 
to  be  expressed  only  by  the  apparent  contradiction  of 
'seeing  Him  who  is  invisible.'  It  is  obvious  that  the 
spiritual  intuition  of  God  must  be  an  adequate  source  of 
courage  to  His  servants,  whether  courage  be  taken  in  an 
active  or  passive  sense;  it  must  needs  inspire  a  vigour 
and  fortitude  infinitely  superior  to  any  other.  The  energy 
of  a  conscience  that  dwells  in  His  sight ;  the  calmness  aris 
ing  from  the  perceived  Tightness  of  duty ;  the  joy  springing 
from  His  favour ;  the  hope  that  builds  upon  the  promised 
recompense  of  faithfulness ;  are  all  wonderfully  adapted  to 
maintain  and  develope  the  character  of  the  servant  of  God 
in  its  strength  and  maturity. 

This  intuition  of  God  could  not  depend  on  sensible 
manifestations.  Such  were,  indeed,  given  to  many  of  the 
persons  mentioned  in  the  chapter  (as  the  burning  bush ; 
the  similitude  of  the  divine  glory  in  the  Tabernacle,  etc.) ; 
but  these  were  not  the  original  grounds  of  faith.  They 
all  presupposed  that  knowledge  of  God  which  faith  con 
fesses,  and  which  qualified  the  early  saints  to  receive  these 
extraordinary  discoveries ;  but  the  Invisible  was  not  seen 
in  them:  He  remained  as  unseen  as  ever. 

The  desire  for  some  sensible  representation  of  the  in 
visible  God,  something  more  palpable  than  revelation 
warranted,  to  worship  Him  through  some  medium  which 
comes  finally  to  be  regarded  as  the  Invisible  Himself, 
originated  idolatry,  with  all  its  abominations  and  miseries. 
Hence  the  warning  of  Moses  to  the  people  to  beware  of 


426  ADDENDA. 

ADDENDA,  images,  because  they  saw  no  '  similitude '  in  all  the  won- 
Heb~xi  c^ers  °f  divine  manifestation. 

Verse  28  :  '  Through  faith  he  kept  the  passover,  and  the 
sprinkling  of  blood,  lest  He  that  destroyed  the  first-born 
should  touch  them.' 

During  his  absence  from  Egypt  Moses  had  been  living 
in  personal  communication  with  God,  in  addition  to  his 
hereditary  and  acquired  knowledge  of  Him.  Faith,  there 
fore,  with  him  was  an  intellectual  and  moral  necessity, 
arising  from  his  extraordinary  position.  He  could  not 
doubt  that  he  had  received  a  true  communication  from 
God ;  there  was  no  intervening  person,  time,  or  country. 
His  intercourse  with  God  was  so  frequent,  that  he  became 
familiarized  with  its  wonders  as  with  the  occurrences  of 
general  life.  Hence  his  faith  had  all  the  certainty  of  ex 
perience.  The  faith  by  which  he  kept  the  Passover  was 
not  merely  a  persuasion  that  he  was  to  celebrate  a  parti 
cular  ordinance,  as  a  means  of  deliverance  from  a  particular 
danger;  this  he  could  not  but  have,  and  there  is  there 
fore  no  virtue  in  it  considered  alone.  It  was  rather  in  the 
dispositions  of  mind  that  his  faith  implied,  in  the  spiritual, 
holy  temper  which  a  previous  faith  had  begotten,  that  the 
virtue  of  it  lies.  It  is  obviously  not  the  scope  of  the  apostle 
to  select  for  commendation  one  particular  act  of  faith  put 
forth  at  a  certain  time,  so  much  as  a  general  habit  of  faith 
previously  implanted  and  fostered,  and  then  emphasized 
in  a  signal  act  of  obedience  to  God. 

'  Through  faith  he  kept  the  passover,  and  the  sprinkling 
of  blood.'  The  latter  circumstance  was  not  essential  to  the 
rite  as  it  existed  in  perpetuity ;  it  was  added  only  for  the 
first  and  memorable  night  of  the  deliverance  from  Egypt. 
Moses  enjoined  the  Passover  on  the  people  for  ever;  so 
that  his  keeping  of  it,  recorded  in  an  imperishable  writing, 
became  the  law  of  keeping  ever  after.  The  fact  and  the 
law  run  on  to  this  day,  and  will  remain  so  long  as  the 
world  shall  last,  a  monument  of  the  Exodus  in  all  pro 
bability  old  as  the  pyramids  themselves.  The  faith 
fulness  of  Moses  exhibited  itself  in  his  care  that  the 
ordinance  should  be  everywhere  duly  celebrated,  that  no 
family  should  neglect  it,  and  that  no  circumstance  should 


ADDENDA.  427 

be  wanting.     On  the  appointed  day  the  lambs  are  killed,    ADDENDA. 

the  hyssop  is  plucked,  the  lintels  are  sprinkled,  and  the       Heb~xi 

door-posts  are  red  with  the  sacrificial  blood.     The  families 

are  gathered,  the  doors  are  shut,  they  feast  together,  the 

night  is  come,  its  watches  pass  relieved  by  the  vigils  of 

holy  prayer,  or  by  the  awful  breathless  expectancy  which 

listens  for  the  herald  of  the  messenger  of  death. 

That  night  the  sun  had  gone  down  shedding  its  last  rays 
upon  the  thoughtless  crowds  of  Egypt's  families.  The 
slave  had  been  released  from  his  toil,  the  master  from  his 
daily  cares,  the  monarch  from  the  pageants  of  his  station, 
and  even  the  beggar  from  the  miseries  of  his  lot.  The 
engrossing  topic  of  the  national  mind  at  that  season  would 
be  the  legation  of  Moses.  The  strange  prodigies  that  had 
been  witnessed  by  the  court,  the  fearful  calamities  that 
had  befallen  the  land,  had  agitated  them  with  the  wildest 
impulses  of  hope  and  fear.  Their  pride  rose  with  their 
misfortunes,  their  hatred  became  more  decided  as  judgment 
was  prolonged,  and  the  forcible  retention  of  the  subject-race 
became  more  and  more  the  point  to  be  gained ;  but  after 
every  visitation  there  was  an  added  hardness,  an  infatuated 
resolve  to  be  dispelled  only  by  a  still  more  terrible  judg 
ment.  The  rod  of  Moses  is  no  longer  to  be  stretched 
forth ;  Jehovah  summons  other  agents  to  His  work.  The 
Destroyer  has  entered  every  dwelling ;  he  has  singled  out 
his  victim,  and  that  victim  the  first-born ;  he  is  smitten, 
but  no  hand  appears ;  he  is  in  mortal  agony,  but  his  foe  is 
unseen,  his  footstep  is  not  heard,  he  has  fled  as  noiselessly 
as  he  came  ;  his  stroke  is  repeated  countlessly,  all  are  made 
mourners  in  the  same  hour;  none  can  pity  his  neighbour, 
or  bless  his  own  lot ;  death  has  gone  up  into  every  home 
and  enwrapt  the  whole  land  in  his  darkest  shadow.  No 
embalming  can  take  place,  for  the  multitude  of  dead, — 
the  funeral  rites  are  utterly  suspended,— they  must  open 
the  graves, — they  must  hurry  to  the  sepulchre,  and  the 
king  and  the  peasant  are  all  found  on  the  same  road. 

'  Lest  He  that  destroyed  the  first-born  should  touch  them.' 
Moses  kept  the  Passover  as  a  prescribed  means  of  salvation, 
a  divinely  appointed  security  against  the  stroke  of  the  com 
missioned  messenger  of  death.  It  was  a  passover,  because 


428  ADDENDA. 

ADDENDA,  the  Destroyer  in  his  rapid  flight  through  the  Egyptian 
Heb~xi  courts  never  paused  to  smite  an  Israelitish  family.  The 
ordinance  therefore  derived  its  name  from  the  very  promise 
of  God,  on  seeing  the  blood  to  pass  over  their  dwellings.  It 
became  the  most  important  institution  of  the  Jews.  It  was 
the  last  thing  in  their  decay  which  fell  into  desuetude,  as 
its  recovery  was  the  first  sign  which  marked  any  successful 
revival  of  religion  among  them,  from  the  days  of  Moses  to 
the  time  of  Christ.  That  it  was  the  most  illustrious  type 
of  Christ  and  of  His  redemption,  is  proved  by  the  refer 
ences  to  it  in  the  apostolic  writings.  The  institution  of 
the  Supper  engrafted  upon  it,  and  the  coincidence  of 
our  Lord's  Passion  with  the  time  of  its  celebration  at 
Jerusalem,  make  it  a  perennial  prefiguration  of  these  grand 
gospel  mysteries.  How  far  the  faith  of  Moses  looked 
beyond  the  immediate  design  of  the  institution  itself,  to  its 
final  and  more  glorious  end,  is  scarcely  open  to  question. 
When  we  consider  who  Moses  was — his  pre-eminent  gifts, 
his  peculiar  office,  his  wonderful  intimacy  with  the  evan 
gelical  character  of  the  Law,  and  his  prophetic  knowledge 
of  future  personages,  times,  and  things — it  seems  altogether 
improbable  that  he  was  ignorant  of  the  evangelical  cha 
racter  of  the  Passover.  He  who  '  esteemed  the  reproach 
of  Christ  greater  riches  than  the  treasures  of  Egypt '  can 
scarcely  be  supposed  to  have  been  a  stranger  to  the 
spiritual  aspects  of  his  own  ordinances,  especially  of  this 
great  one  that  so  clearly  prefigured  the  sacrifice  of  '  Christ 
our  passover.' 

Verse  29 :  '  By  faith  they  passed  through  the  Eed  Sea 
as  by  dry  land :  which  the  Eg}^ptians  assaying  to  do  were 
drowned/ 

The  Israelites  must  have  had  real  faith  to  venture  on 
such  a  march  in  darkness,  and  amidst  circumstances  so 
extraordinary.  The  Egyptians  had  no  faith,  nor  any  call 
in  which  to  put  faith,  and  they  were  drowned.1 

1  Dean  Stanley  supposes  the  Israelites  started  in  the  midst  of  a  hur 
ricane  strong  enough  to  drive  back  the  waters  of  the  Red  Sea  (Jewish 
Church,  p.  127).  If  a  host  encumbered  by  women,  children,  cattle,  and 
household  goods — to  say  nothing  of  the  spoils  of  the  Egyptians — were  able 
to  face  such  a  storm,  the  miracle  involved  would  be  at  least  as  great  as 
that  which  was  required  to  divide  the  waters. 


ADDENDA.  429 

Verse  30  :  'By  faith   the  walls   of  Jericho  fell  down,    ADDENDA, 
after  they  were  compassed  about  seven  days.'  H~b~~  ' 

It  must  have  been  by  faith  in  God's  word  alone,  for 
none  of  the  usual  appliances  were  tried,  probably  because 
they  were  quite  destitute  of  the  necessary  material. 
Jericho  was  the  military  key  to  the  promised  land,  and 
their  leaders  would  fully  understand  the  necessity  of  pos 
sessing  it. 

Verse  31 :  '  By  faith  the  harlot  Eahab  perished  not  with 
them  that  believed  not,  when  she  had  received  the  spies 
with  peace.' 

It  is  not  probable  she  was  a  harlot  at  the  time  of  the 
spies'  visit,  and  it  is  clear  she  did  not  continue  her  bad 
life.  It  was  not  any  want  of  patriotism  that  made  her 
shelter  the  spies,  but  her  belief  that  God  had  given  the 
land  to  the  Israelites.  It  seems  the  people  of  the  city 
believed  it  too,  but  they  were  determined  to  try  it  to  its 
last  issue.  We  are  by  no  means  to  conclude  that  all  the 
worthies  mentioned  in  this  chapter  were  models  of  piety ; 
Samson,  for  instance,  was  very  far  from  it ;  but  they  are  all 
set  before  us  as  examples  of  faith.  They  were  each  dis 
tinguished  by  some  special  act  of  obedience  resting  on 
an  unfaltering  faith  in  the  promise  of  God. 

Verses  33-38.  'Subdued  kingdoms'  applies  only  to 
David.  'Wrought  righteousness'  probably  refers  to  the 
government  of  Samuel,  and  to  the  reforms  brought  about 
by  the  prophets ;  '  Stopped  the  mouths  of  lions/  only  to 
Daniel;  'Quenched  the  violence  of  fire,'  to  the  case  of 
the  three  Hebrew  children,  who  are  here  enrolled  amongst 
the  prophets.  Probably  the  next, '  Out  of  weakness  were 
made  strong,'  belongs  to  Samson ;  '  Women  received  their 
dead  raised  to  life  again,'  to  the  raising  of  the  widow's  son 
by  Elijah.  The  remaining  verses  show  how  the  Jews 
treated  their  prophets  when  they  had  them,  proud  as  they 
were  of  them  afterwards.  Probably  this  record  of  sainted 
suffering,  hardly  to  be  read  without  tears,  refers  chiefly  to 
seasons  of  persecution  under  the  apostate  kings  of  Israel 
and  Judah.  It  seems  to  be  the  purpose  of  the  writer,  in 
this  chapter,  to  magnify  the  characters  introduced  in  the 
early  record,  to  bring  them  forth  out  of  the  shadow  of  a 


430  ADDENDA. 

ADDENDA,  deep  antiquity,  to  retouch  and  beautify  them  like  choice 
HebTxi.  specimens  of  ancient  statuary,  the  master  productions  of  a 
flourishing  age,  but  bedimmed  by  a  long  flow  of  intervening 
generations ;  in  order  to  crown  these  illustrious  specimens 
of  ancient  piety  with  the  supreme  diadem  of  New  Testa 
ment  glory,  '  the  glory  that  excelleth.' 

Verses  39,  40 :  '  And  these  all,  having  obtained  a  good 
report  through  faith,  received  not  the  promise :  God  hav 
ing  provided  some  better  thing  for  us,  that  they  without 
us  should  not  be  made  perfect/ 

'  Eeceived  not  the  promise,'  i.e.  the  thing  promised — the 
resurrection  —  a  promise  not  even  yet  fulfilled  to  them. 
Its  fulfilment  must  precede  their  entrance  on  the  kingdom, 
the  'city'  prepared  for  them;  this  still  lies  over,  and  the 
reason  is  given,  '  that  they  without  us  should  not  be  made 
perfect ' — that  is,  that  the  Church  should  not  be  divided. 
As  yet  death  reigns  over  a  part  of -our  nature;  but  as 
Christ  has  redeemed  our  bodies  as  well  as  our  souls,  its 
penalty  must  be  discharged  before  we  can  be  '  made 
perfect.'  We  must  be  first  declared  to  be  the  sons  of  God 
by  the  resurrection,  and  then  as  such  receive  the  reward 
of  the  inheritance.  For  these  Old  Testament  saints  there 
was  no  '  earnest  of  the  inheritance/  they  lived  too  early ; 
there  was  nothing  intermediate  between  <  the  promise '  and 
the  heavenly  city ;  we  have  the  historical  fulfilment,  we 
enjoy  the  'better  thing'  God  has  provided  for  us,  that  is,  the 
blessings  of  the  gospel,  the  full  light  of  the  last  dispensation. 
We  have  these  things  here,  while  they  must  enter  the  sepa 
rate  state  to  realize  them.  The  faith  of  the  elders  consisted 
in  a  thorough  adhesion  to  the  revelations  of  God  as  they 
existed  in  their  times,  the  faith  of  Christians  to  those 
which  exist  in  ours.  It  is  a  progression  from  faith  to  faith, 
the  same  principle  leading  onward  to  embrace  further 
revelations  as  they  were  given ;  it  was  the  absence  of  this 
which  vitiated  the  faith  of  the  Jews :  '  If  ye  had  believed 
Moses,'  said  our  Lord,  '  ye  would  have  believed  me.' 

It  therefore  appears  there  is  nothing  new  or  peculiar  in 
the  position  of  Christian  disciples  as  distinguished  from 
that  of  former  saints.  The  substance  of  acceptable  piety 
was  the  same  in  all  preceding  generations. 


ADDENDA.  431 

CHAP.  xii.  1 :  '  Wherefore  seeing  we  also  are  compassed    ADDENDA, 
about  with  so  great  a  cloud  of  witnesses,  let  us  lay  aside       HetTxii 
every   weight,  and   the   sin  which  doth   so  easily  beset 
us,  and  let  us  run  with  patience  the  race  that  is  set  before 
us.' 

These  ancient  worthies  are  represented  as  congregated  to 
look  on  the  scene  of  their  own  ordeal,  to  see  how  their 
successors  acquit  themselves  in  the  race.  Surely  with  the 
blessings  of  the  new  dispensation  they  will  not  run  worse 
than  their  predecessors.  Young  soldiers  must  fight  well 
under  the  eyes  of  veterans.  The  figure  is  that  of  a  foot 
race.  Such  races  would  be  quite  familiar  to  Hebrews  living 
in  foreign  towns.  The  runners  must  be  trained,  and  above 
all,  be  free  from  anything  that  could  trip  them  up,  for  such, 
I  think,  is  the  meaning  of  '  beset ;'  they  must  be  patient, 
not  feeling  as  if  the  continual  testing  and  hardships  of  their 
training  were  too  much. 

Verse  2.  Jesus  endured  the  cross  in  full  prospect  of  the 
triumphant  result ;  now  He  has  power,  for  '  He  is  set  down 
at  the  right  hand  of  the  throne  of  God.'  He  could  not  have 
had  this  power  had  He  remained  on  earth.  (See  p.  312, 
etc.) 

Verse  3.  Much  encouragement  as  we  may  draw  from 
the  example  of  saints,  Christ  is  the  great  example.  This 
'  contradiction '  must  refer  to  the  continual  denial  He  met 
with  from  the  Jews,  their  persistent  refusal  to  accept  His 
claims. 

Verse  4.  It  would  seem  that  as  yet  martyrdom  was  not 
common ;  but  in  the  strife  against  sin,  even  it  would  come 
to  them,  as  it  had  come  to  their  great  example. 

Verses  5-8.  The  reference  here  is  to  various  passages  in 
the  Proverbs  and  in  the  Psalms,  especially  Psalrn  Ixxiii. 
It  seems  to  have  been  an  old  temptation,  that  greater 
sorrows  come  to  those  who  are  striving  to  love  and  serve 
God  than  to  the  careless ;  an  incidental  contradiction  to  the 
popular  error,  that  temporal  prosperity  was  ever  -promised 
as  the  reward  of  individual  piety.  God's  promises  to  the 
Jews  were  of  national  prosperity,  as  the  reward  of  obedi 
ence,  reaching  each  man  only  incidentally  as  national 
prosperity  reaches  us  now.  The  Apostle  explains  that  it 


432  ADDENDA. 

ADDENDA,    is  with  '  sons/  with  those  of  whom  something  is  to  be  made, 

Heb~xii       ^ia^  Pa"ls  are  taken ;  the  '  bastards '  are  left  comparatively 

uncared  for.      Chastisement  in  old  times  was  a  family 

ordinance :  it  is  a  modern  notion  that  all  is  to  be  done  by 

indulgence. 

Verse  9.  Our  earthly  fathers  corrected  us  for  our  earthly 
good — they  cared  for  our  earthly  prosperity ;  but  God  is  the 
Father  of  our  spirits — He  cares  for  the  perfection  of  the 
spirit,  looking  forward  thousands  of  years  to  remove  all 
hindrances  in  the  way  of  its  perfection. 

Verse  10.  We  are  not  to  suppose  'pleasure'  to  mean 
tyranny,  but  that  the  correction  was  in  pursuance  of  their 
own  will  and  judgment,  which  might  involve  error ;  God's 
chastisements  are  all  for  our  increase  in  holiness.  The 
severe  discipline  of  these  primitive  times  would  doubtless 
produce  great  sanctity  in  those  who  endured  to  the  end. 

Verses  11-13.  Heavy  trial  sometimes  leads  to  weakness 
and  discouragement ;  we  feel  as  if  we  could  bear  no  more, 
but  the  consideration  of  the  end  is  to  strengthen  us.  We 
are  not  to  sit  down  before  a  tangled  path,  but  to  gird  our 
selves  up,  to  shoulder  our  hatchet  and  make  a  way,  to  look 
after  those  who  are  less  able  than  ourselves,  who  are  not 
only  '  feeble '  but '  lame ;'  if  we  waver  and  yield,  what  is  to 
become  of  them  ? 

Verse  14.  Seeing  the  Lord  Christ  face  to  face,  holding 
intimate  intercourse  with  Him,  is  the  final  reward  of  the 
faithful. 

Verse  15.  We  are  to  be  careful  over  others,  like  a  master 
looking  diligently  after  his  scholars.  If  any  fail,  we  cannot 
guess  the  result ;  they  may  become  sources  of  bitterness, 
spreading  heresies  and  leading  many  away.  Satan  makes 
special  instruments  of  such,  for  they  know  the  ways  and 
habits  of  Christians,  where  the  weak  places  lie. 

Verses  16,  17.  These  people  are  called  'fornicators;' 
figurative  language,  perfectly  familiar  to  readers  of  the 
Prophets.  The  apostle  speaks  of  those  tainted  with  idol 
atry,  like  Esau,  careless  of  spiritual  things,  and  ready  to 
sell  them  in  order  to  keep  their  worldly  goods  from  the 
hands  of  the  persecutors.  A  time  comes  when  they  bitterly 
repent  their  folly,  but  it  is  too  late ;  probably  the  allusion 


ADDENDA.  433 

is  to  blasphemous  apostates,  to  whom  no  repentance  is    ADDENDA, 
granted  (see  Chap.  xm.  p.  140).     Certainly  it  is  not  meant      HetTxu 
that  Esau  necessarily  lost  his  soul,  but  he  lost  his  birth 
right  by  his  own  fault.    He  cared  for  temporary  indulgence, 
and  little  for  the  rest,;  and  when  he  found  out  his  mistake, 
it  was  irrevocable.   He  received  a  blessing,  but  not  the  bless 
ing  ;  i.e.  he  received  what  he  had  desired,  temporal  prosperity. 

Verses  18-21.  Here  we  have  an  account  of  the  giving 
of  the  Law,  the  great  historical  epoch  of  the  Jews.  It  was 
spoken  out  of  the  midst  of  the  fire  with  the  voice  of  thunder, 
the  phenomena  of  the  divine  presence.  The  trumpet  was 
to  call  them  to  audience,  a  preparation  for  the  voice ;  it 
was  the  voice,  the  words,  that  the  people  could  not  sustain. 
Moses  himself  was  but  a  medium  of  correspondence  be 
tween  the  sovereign  Lord  and  His  subjects;  yet,  constitu 
tionally  brave,  calm,  and  accustomed  to  direct  divine 
manifestations  as  he  was,  he  is  overcome.  It  was  full  of 
terror,  type,  preparation — probably  the  only  thing  for  which 
the  Jews  were  at  all  ripe,  deeply  tainted  as  they  were  by 
Egyptian  idolatry,  and  degraded  by  centuries  of  slavery. 
Eationalists  regard  it  as  incredible;  but  from  a  higher 
point  of  view  it  was  most  reasonable  and  necessary.  A 
law  given  in  any  other  way,  by  inspiration  or  prophecy 
for  example,  would  have  been  entirely  unfit  for  their 
condition.  They  were  but  a  huge  rudimental  mass  of 
humanity,  self-willed  and  petulant ;  in  fact,  the  worst  sort 
of  children — men  and  women  with  children's  propensities, 
without  their  virtues.  The  wilderness  was  but  a  vast 
school-area,  the  pupils  a  whole  nation,  and  the  lessons  the 
most  momentous  the  world  ever  witnessed.  They  were 
enforced  by  commands  and  prohibitions,  and  upheld  by  the 
imminency  of  inflictions  upon  the  disobedient;  i.e.  the 
discipline  of  the  school  as  applied  to  childhood  was  liter 
ally  applied  to  Israel.  What  the  parent  or  the  tutor  may  . 
say  to  the  child,  Do  this  or  do  that,  or  refuse  at  your  peril, 
was  precisely  the  language  and  spirit  of  the  Law,  or  of  God, 
to  His  nation-family. 

Verses  22,  23.  Here  we  have  the  contrast,  not  Sinai,  but 
Zion,  Jerusalem,  the  site  and  the  city,  the  type  of  the  true 
Church.  This  city  is  spoken  of  in  ch.  xi.  1 6,  but  the  general 

2E 


434  ADDENDA. 

ADDENDA,  imagery  is  drawn  from  Isaiah.  It  is  the  city  whose  founda- 
Heb~xii  ^on  was  ^a^  ^n  God's  eternal  purpose  before  the  world 
was;  its  building  has  been  going  on  through  all  time; 
and  in  prophetic  magnificence  it  is  finally  unfolded  as  the 
birth  of  all  things,  labouring  and  agonized  since  creation 
was  until  its  end  shall  come.  The  stoop  of  Christ's  man 
hood,  the  price  of  His  blood,  the  victory  of  His  cross,  the 
work  of  His  Spirit,  are  all  stored  together  here ;  its  last 
glories  are  the  sum  of  all  preceding  facts,  influences,  and 
results.  For  this  city  the  last  judgment  can  do  no  more  than 
remove  from  around  her  walls  the  unclean  and  abominable  : 
'  Zion  shall  be  redeemed  by  judgment.' 

The  '  company  of  angels '  are  now  all  devoted  to  the 
service  of  the  Church.  The  Jews  were  quite  familiar  with 
the  doctrine  of  the  ministry  of  angels,  and  sad  nonsense 
they  made  of  it  in  their  writings.  '  General  assembly'  would 
give  to  a  Jew  the  idea  of  a  great  national  gathering ; 
'  written,'  or  enrolled,  as  it  was  customary  for  every  Jew 
to  be ;  '  the  spirits  of  just  men,'  Old  Testament  worthies 
(see  Mediatorial  Sovereignty,  vol.  ii.  pp.  161  and  454). 

Verse  24.  The  blood  of  Jesus  is  contrasted  with  that  of 
Abel.  Both  were  martyrs,  though  Christ  was  much  more ; 
but,  while  the  blood  of  Abel  was  judicial,  Christ's  was 
atoning  as  well.  The  apostle  here  clearly  intimates  that 
the  Jews  were  Cainites  in  their  slaying  of  Christ ;  and  they 
are  suffering  for  it  judicially  still.  There  is  no  reason  in 
the  world  why  they  should  not  be  a  Christian  Church  at 
this  day,  but  their  own  sin. 

Verse  25.  He  that  spake  on  earth  is  Moses ;  he  is  con 
trasted  with  Him  who  speaks  from  heaven ;  but  the  great 
truth  here  is,  that  He  who  spake  the  Law  is  the  same  as 
He  who  now  gives  the  Gospel,  i.e.  Christ.  Probably  the 
reference  is  to  Dathan  and  Abiram ;  they  paid  for  their 
rebellion  with  their  lives.  Under  the  Law  transgressors 
\vere  punished  in  the  body, — it  by  no  means  followed  that 
their  souls  were  lost;  now  the  penalties  are  altogether 
spiritual,  but  not  the  less  sure. 

Verses  26-29.  Disciples  have  received  a  kingdom.  They 
are  obliged  to  service  conformably  to  ancient  usage,  in  which 
homage  was  demanded  by  the  sovereign,  giving  dominion, 


ADDENDA.  435 

from  the  subject  receiving  it ;  service  is  imposed  because  ADDENDA. 
favours  have  been  conferred.  Hence,  to  heighten  the  im-  HetTxii 
pression  of  benefaction  on  the  one  hand  and  of  dependence 
on  the  other,  the  dread  intimations  of  penalty  are  joined 
to  those  of  forfeiture,  should  the  required  returns  be  with 
held  :  '  Our  God  is  a  consuming  fire.'  The  kingdom 
received  is  the  one  great  motive  to  yield  the  service  re 
quired  ;  and  lest  we  should  be  deceived  by  vague  notions 
of  the  grandeur  of  Christian  privilege  awaiting  us  in  the 
future,  but  calling  forth  no  corresponding  effort  in  our 
present  life,  the  royal  gift  is  represented  as  a  fact,  not  as  a 
promise, — a  talent  to  be  improved,  a  grace  to  be  wrought 
out  in  assiduous  deeds  and  in  every  variety  of  Christian 
accomplishment.  'The  kingdom'  can  be  no  other  than 
the  great  subject  of  prophetic  testimony,  the  substance  of 
revelation  viewed  as  a  whole,  the  kingdom  'of  heaven,  of 
Christ,  of  God.  It  means  Christianity,  both  as  a  doctrine 
and  a  fact ;  not  as  a  pattern  shown  in  the  Mount,  but  as 
wrought  into  a  divine  institute  by  as  well  as  for  men. 
It  is  here  introduced  as  a  'kingdom;'  a  figure  probably 
suggested  by  the  Theocracy,  which  was  its  precursor,  and 
in  some  respects  its  type.  Moses  says,  '  Ye  shall  be  unto 
me  a  kingdom  of  priests  and  a  holy  nation,'  i.e.  a  people 
separated  to  God,  regalized  by  religion  and  its  services. 

This  view  is  rendered  more  obvious  when  we  attend  to 
the  contrast,  or  rather  parallel,  set  before  us  in  the  pre 
ceding  verses  between  the  Church  of  the  Law  and  the 
Church  of  the  Gospel,  Sinai  and  Mount  Zion,  the  mount 
that  might  be  touched  and  that  which  is  impalpable ;  the 
Church  which  exhibited  an  earthly  temple  and  a  human 
priesthood,  and  that  which  could  have  none  of  these. 
This,  then,  is  the  kingdom  set  before  us.  Its  gates  were 
opened  by  the  gospel,  its  people  gathered  from  the  four 
winds  of  heaven,  and  its  general  assembly  already  joined 
to  *  an  innumerable  company  of  angels,  and  the  spirits  of 
just  men  made  perfect.'  Its  members,  even  while  on  earth 
and  overshadowed  with  mortality,  are  brought  within  the 
sphere  of  the  glorious  invisible,  and  hold  fellowship  with 
'  God,  the  judge  of  all,'  and  with  '  Jesus,  the  mediator  of 
the  New  Covenant.' 


436  ADDENDA. 

ADDENDA.  This  *  kingdom '  is  affirmed  to  be  immutable,  and  is  con- 
Heb.  xii.  trasted  with  the  things  to  be  '  shaken '  and  to  pass  away. 
The  convulsions  which  ushered  in  the  Law  in  the  wilderness 
are  made  typical  of  the  convulsions  which  should  usher  in 
the  kingdom  of  Christ,  not,  as  in  the  former  case,  of  material 
nature,  but  of  the  social  and  political  economy  of  the  Jews  : 
'  The  sign  of  the  Son  of  Man  in  the  heavens.'  The  shaking 
and  removal  of  the  Jewish  polity,  the  former  kingdom  of 
God,  are  said  to  have  taken  place  in  order  that  space  might 
be  made  for  the  new  kingdom  of  the  gospel ;  it  takes  down 
what  that  shaking  had  set  up.  But,  though  the  Jews  were 
the  first  to  experience  this  influence,  they  were  not  the 
only  nation  affected  by  it;  all  other  dominion  is  either 
shaken  ~by  or  for  Christianity.  This  wras  eminently  the 
case  in  the  aggregate  of  nations  bound  together  by  the 
Eoman  yoke.  Pagan  empire  then  received  its  death-stroke ; 
historically,  Christianity  is  demonstrated  to  be  what  it  was 
prophetically  announced  it  would  be,  the  moving  force  of 
the  world.  Everything  will  be,  and  has  been,  made  to 
work  for  its  good;  still,  it  must  do  its  own  work,  and 
establish,  itself,  rather  than  be  established,  by  seizing  the 
mind  of  the  world,  and  bowing  all  things  to  its  sway. 

This  kingdom  is  declared  to  be  final ;  it  gives  place  to 
no  successor ;  it  is  not  transitive,  because  not  initiative,  but, 
like  its  divine  author,  the  Son  of  God,  it  is  self-subsisting. 
Christianity  has  no  visible  substitute  for  the  warm  and 
inspiring  service  of  the  Law;  it  stripped  itself  of  this  be 
cause  it  was  inappropriate  to  it  to  wear  the  picture  and 
image  of  itself;  it  could  only  be  represented  by  itself  be 
cause  it  is  a  sublime  reality ;  no  temple  is  seen,  because 
'  the  Lord  God  and  the  Lamb  are  the  temple  thereof.' 

The  Church  is  immutable,  because  Christ  is  its  founda 
tion  ;  otherwise  it  would  be  of  all  human  associations  the 
most  frail.  It  has  no  earthly  guarantee  for  its  existence ; 
it  refuses  to  assimilate  all  merely  human  elements  with 
itself;  it  has  no  hold  on  human  nature  as  such;  it  is  so 
repugnant  to  it,  that  the  tide  of  society  has  drifted  over  it 
only  to  corrupt  and  destroy  it.  The  divine  emblem  of 
immutability  is  presented  in  a  'bruised  reed/  prostrate 
beneath  the  blasts  of  heaven,  or  in  the  flickering  lamp-flax, 


ADDENDA.  437 

telling  of  the  speedy  death  of  the  vital  flame.  Fishermen  ADDENDA, 
and  tentmakers  turned  the  world  upside  down.  How  HT — .. 
could  a  religion  administered  by  such  agents  be  maintained 
for  eighteen  centuries,  and  be  proved  immutable,  save  by 
the  power  of  ONE  to  whom  all  things  are  possible  ?  Could 
this  kingdom  be  dissolved,  the  most  solemn  pledges  of 
heaven  would  fail,  and  its  mysteries  of  justice,  wisdom, 
love,  and  power  become  abortions  instead  of  fully  deve 
loped  facts.  All  our  instincts  and  aspirations  turn  us  to 
something  changeless  and  abiding,  to  seek  a  resting-point 
in  existence.  Christianity  is  the  embodied  presentation  of 
this  idea ;  it  is  the  image  of  ourselves  as  well  as  of  God. 
It  teaches  us,  nay,  compels  us,  to  look  for  this  resting-point ; 
it  plants  hope  within  us,  and  throws  such  a  life  and  reality 
into  the  prospect,  as  gives  a  corresponding  character  to  the 
present  state,  making  it  the  mere  pathway  to  the  goal,  the 
discipline  for  happiness,  the  precursor  of  all  that  is  worthy 
of  ourselves  to  desire  and  of  God  to  bestow. 

'  Our  God  is  a  consuming  fire.'  There  is  an  allusion 
here  to  the  fearful  responsibilities  of  the  priesthood  under 
the  Law  (see  the  case  of  Aaron's  sons).  Under  the  new 
dispensation,  grace  is  jealously  guarded  against  all  wanton 
ness  and  profanity.  God  will  avenge  Himself  on  His 
servants  when  they  dishonour  Him,  and  their  priestly 
dignity,  so  far  from  shielding  them,  draws  down  on  them 
a  fiery  rebuke, — they  sin  '  unto  death/  The  sanctuary  and 
the  altar  are  perilous,  because  they  are  high  places,  glorious 
or  fatal,  as  the  case  may  be.  Eeverence  and  godly  fear  are 
to  guard  the  Church. 


CHAP.  XIII.  1.  The  Church  bond  is  to  be  far  closer  than 
the  bond  of  a  common  origin,  or  a  common  polity :  these 
have  never  prevented  feuds  and  destructive  wars;  but 
when  the  '  brotherly  love '  taught  by  Christ  prevails,  they 
must  cease. 

Verses  2,  3.  '  Strangers,'  poor  saints  far  from  home, 
driven  away  by  persecution.  The  allusion  is  to  Abraham, 
and  perhaps  to  Manoah;  but  I  think  there  is  also  an 


438  ADDENDA. 

ADDENDA,    allusion  to  the  great  dignity  of  these  poor  persecuted  ones 
in  the  ees  of  God 


Hebiii. 

Verse  4.  This    is    no    doubt   aimed   at   the   Gnostics. 

Asceticism  is  always  a  sign  of  a  false  religion  :  '  Cease  to 
be  men  and  women,  and  then  you  will  be  saints.'  Other 
Gnostic  sects  permitted  the  greatest  licentiousness,  on  the 
pretext  that  bodily  impurity  could  not  affect  the  mind. 
They  might  well  reject  the  doctrine  of  a  resurrection,  or 
their  sins  must  have  faced  them  then. 

Verses  5,  6.  I  do  not  take  these  as  special  quotations 
from  the  Old  Testament,  but  as  a  general  allusion  to  its 
promises  on  this  head,  and  a  plain  warrant  for  a  personal 
application  of  them;  we  are  to  appropriate  them  boldly 
and  rely  upon  them.  However  lowly  our  lot,  it  is  not  a 
forsaken  one. 

Verses  7,  8.  This  is  an  exhortation  to  remember  the 
teaching  of  their  dead  pastors.  The  '  word  of  God  '  is  the 
Gospels  especially,  though  not  exclusively.  The  subject 
of  the  ministry  must  be  always  one,  'Jesus  Christ,  the 
same  yesterday,  to-day,  and  for  ever/  —  a  most  comprehen 
sive  statement  of  the  divine  majesty  of  the  Saviour,  of  the 
changelessness  of  Deity.  Yesterday,  to-day,  and  to-morrow 
are  our  measures  of  duration  ;  eternity  can  only  be  repre 
sented  to  us  relatively.  Carry  our  yesterday  as  far  back  as 
we  will,  extend  our  to-day  through  countless  centuries 
onward,  eternity  is  still  untouched.  But  here  we  are 
introduced  into  the  presence  of  ONE  who  always  was  just 
what  He  is,  not  modified  in  the  progression  of  existence, 
not  changed  by  the  lapse  of  time,  but  retaining  His  iden 
tity,  the  full  mystery  of  Himself,  '  without  variableness  or 
shadow  of  turning  :'  —  Christ  fills  eternity. 

The  New  Testament  would  have  no  foundation  without 
.the  divinity  of  Christ.  In  the  Old  Testament  the  same 
truth  is  prominent;  the  Messiah  is  never  represented  as 
merely  human. 

This  eighth  verse  is  equally  a  comprehensive  description 
of  Christ's  mediatorial  office.  The  words  are  not  selected 
by  chance  ;  they  are  equivalent  to  '  Emmanuel,  God  with 
us.'  Eevelation  is  but  the  history  of  the  development  of 
His  mediation.  No  record  of  primitive  times  remains,  save 


ADDENDA  439 

the  fragment  in  Genesis;  but  it  is  enough  to  show  us    ADDENDA. 
Christ  '  the  same  yesterday,  to-day,  and  for  ever/ — that      H  ^ — iii 
there  was  no  age  in  which  the  Lord  Christ  was  not  with 
man.      He  appears  as  a  Mediator  immediately  after  He 
expelled  the  sinners  from  Paradise.     He  placed  cherubim 
at  its  gates,  not,  as  is  supposed,  to  indicate  fiery  justice, 
but  a  new  dispensation ;  that,  though  He  could  no  longer 
meet  man  in  the  garden,  He  would  meet  him   on  the 
threshold. 

What  was  the  mighty  hope  of  the  patriarchs,  what  the 
meaning  of  the  ecclesiastical  polity  of  the  Jews,  of  the 
glory  of  the  High  Priests,  of  the  altars  always  wet  with 
blood,  of  the  temple  itself  ?  All  is  Christ  from  beginning 
to  end ;  His  name  is  emblazoned  everywhere.  The  Media 
tor  stands  at  the  head  of  the  whole  system,  just  as  He 
showed  Himself  to  Jacob  standing  above  the  ladder  by 
which  men  were  to  ascend  to  heaven,  giving  to  every 
angel  His  mission,  but  most  of  all  looking  at  the  man  lying 
at  the  bottom,  through  whose  line  the  Christ  was  to  pass ; 
— the  Christ  who  was  to  verify  sacrifice,  to  proclaim  recon 
ciliation,  to  ante-date  the  fact  by  symbols,  picturing  out 
the  way  for  weary  pilgrims,  to  show  them  there  was  only 
ONE  at  work,  and  that  one  Jesus  Christ. 

We  are  taught  here  the  essential  unity  of  all  truth. 
The  essential  unity  of  the  gospel  depends  on  Christ :  take 
Christ  out  of  the  Scriptures,  they  fall  to  pieces.  It  is  like 
taking  God  out  of  the  world ;  there  may  be  men  and  women 
left  upon  it,  but  where  is  the  image  of  God  ?  This  unity 
in  Christ  makes  the  Bible  eternally  one;  His  rays  illumine 
the  beginning  as  well  as  the  end.  Through  many  ages 
there  is  a  portrait  drawn  by  a  thousand  hands.  How 
many  have  taken  up  the  work,  and  yet  the  portrait  is 
ONE  !  We  are  led  here  and  there  to  behold  Him ;  we 
catch  a  glimpse  of  Him  living,  dying,  rising  from  the  dead, 
and  taking  our  nature  with  Him  to  the  heavens.  Had 
not  Christ  been  the  Christ  of  yesterday,  He  could  not  be 
the  Christ  of  to-day,  of  to-morrow,  and  of  all  distant  cen 
turies.  The  Christ  of  Jerusalem  is  the  Christ  of  Eome,  of 
Ephesus,  of  England.  Wherever  the  gospel  is  received  its 
results  are  the  same. 


440  ADDENDA. 

ADDENDA.  It  is  not  a  modicum  of  happiness  that  contents  Him 
ii  w^°  saw  °^  ^e  'travail  °^  His  soul;'  He  makes  each  of 
His  people  a  summary  of  the  facts  of  His  truth;  the 
whole  history  of  the  Mediator  must  be  thrown  into  each 
experience  for  ever  and  ever.  As  nature  always  records 
the  same  thing  in  the  material  world,  so  the  results  of 
divine  truth  are  always  the  same  in  Christian  souls.  As 
there  cannot  be  other  laws  of  light  without  another  sun, 
so  there  cannot  be  another  religion  without  another  Christ. 

Everything  earthly  is  spoiled  by  mutability.  'Is  this 
Naomi  ? '  they  said  when  she  came  back  to  Bethlehem. 
David  says  to  Barzillai,  *  Go  with  me.'  But  Barzillai,  at 
eighty,  replies, '  Can  I  discern  between  good  and  evil  ?  can 
I  any  more  hear  the  voice  of  singing  men  and  singing 
women  ? '  He  is  no  longer  the  same  man.  Age  changes 
us,  affliction  presses  upon  us;  riches  make  a  difference, 
poverty  makes  a  separation;  the  world  is  changing,  we  our 
selves  pass  away ;  but  there  is  One  who  is  unchangeable : 
He  will  never  leave  us,  not  even  in  the  midst  of  the 
valley  of  the  shadow  of  death.  Christ  is  the  Christ  of  the 
present,  and  the  Christ  of  the  future,  the  Christ  of  eternity. 

Verses  10-14.  The  doctrine  here  is  very  luminous.  The 
Jews  did  not  eat  of  their  sin-offering — it  was  not  lawful ; 
but  we  eat  of  this  altar,  or  offering  on  the  altar,  even 
Christ.  The  figure  is  from  the  great  Day  of  Atonement. 
The  sin-offering,  unclean  from  the  imputation  of  sin,  was 
burnt  without  the  camp ;  and  our  Lord  is  conformed  to  the 
type  even  in  this.  When  He  was  taken  from  the  garden 
into  Jerusalem  by  the  Temple  guard,  He  went  as  a  sin- 
offering,  and  was  led  out  to  suffer  with  malefactors.  He 
went  out  bearing  a  load  of  cursing  and  ignominy ;  we  are 
exhorted  to  bear  reproach  with  Him — an  exhortation  which 
would  come  to  the  first  Christians  with  a  force  of  which 
we  know  nothing ;  they  were  not  to  dwell  at  ease  as  the 
Jews  did  in  Jerusalem  in  their  own  city,  but  rather  to 
live  a  pilgrim  life  as  Abraham  did. 

Verses  15,  16.  Even  under  the  Law  these  sacrifices 
were  held  to  be  the  highest ;  now  we  offer  these  only. 

Verses  18,  19.  It  would  seem  that  the  author  was  not 
free  from  slanderous  accusations ;  we  know  that  this  was 


ADDENDA.  441 

St.  Paul's  case  from  hints  in  his  acknowledged  Epistles.    ADDENDA. 
It  is  plainly  stated  that  the  prayers  of  the  brethren  may 
bring  about  his  earlier  release  from  prison. 

Verses  20,  21.  'The  God  of  peace,'  i.e.  God  the  Father 
He  has  made  peace  by  raising  Jesus  from  the  dead,  thus 
completing  the  work  of  reconciliation.  Even  now  the 
writer  can  scarcely  leave  his  great  doctrine  of  Atonement, 
which  is  '  perfect '  towards  God,  and  is  to  make  us  '  perfect ' 
in  Him. 

Verses  22-25.  I  think  these  four  verses  constitute  the 
'  letter '  '  in  few  words/  for  certainly  the  Epistle  is  not  in 
'few  words/  I  take  it,  this  was  an  autograph  letter 
accompanying  the  Epistle,  which  was  in  another  hand 
writing.  Probably  Timothy  had  been  confined  in  some 
neighbouring  town,  and  the  writer — Paul  as  I  believe — tells 
the  disciples  he  is  at  liberty.  He  intimates  that  he,  too, 
expects  soon  to  be  released,  and  that  he  will  come  with 
Timothy,  if  he  join  him  in  time,  otherwise  he  will  not  wait 
for  him. 


INDEXES. 


I.— INDEX  OF  TEXTS  OF  SCRIPTURE. 


OLD  TESTAMENT.                                        PAGE 

GENESIS. 

2  SAMUEL. 

xxxi.  35,  36, 

260 

PAGE 

vii.  13,        .        .        330 

xxxiii.  , 

258 

i.  26,  . 

57 

ii.  2,  ... 

110 

1  CHRONICLES. 

EZEKIEL. 

xii.  3, 

253 

xxii.  10,      .         .          37 

xviii., 

339 

xiv.  18, 

203 

xxxiii., 

339 

xv.  6, 

253 

PSALMS. 

xxxiv.  24-31, 

258 

xvii.,           .         . 
xxii.  16, 

253 
236 

ii.,      •         .         .      36-38 
ii.  7,   ...             9 

xxxvii., 

258 

xxii.  16,  17, 
xlviii.  5,      . 

167 
94 

viii.,  .         .         .      51-57 
xv.  1,          .        .        397 

HOSEA. 
viii.  12, 

50 

EXODUS. 
iii.  14, 
iv.  22, 
xx.,    . 
xxii)., 
xxiv.  6, 
xxiv.  6,  7,  8, 
xxv.  , 
xxv.  10, 
xl.,     . 
xl.  9,  10,    . 

96 
40 
260 
260 
335 
329 
270 
273 
266 
338 

xvii.  5,        .         .         397 
xxxvi.  7,     .        .        397 
xxxvii.,       .         .         153 
xl.  6,  7,      .         .         363 
xl.  8,                              67 
xlv.  6,  7,    .       ,.           41 
1.  5,    .         .   •      .         330 
Ii.  7,  .         .          318,  319 
Ixviii.  17,    .         .           48 
Ixxii.,          .         .           38 
Ixxxix.  3,  4,        .         236 
xci.  1,          .         .         397 

NEW  TESTAMENT. 
MATTHEW. 
i.  1-15,        .         .           20 
ii.  15,          .         .           40 
iii.  17,         .         .           29 
v.  17,          .         .         295 
xii.  31,  32,          .         144 
xiii.,            .         .         295 
xix.  28,       .         .         163 
xxii.  44,      ..           45 
xxvii.  47,    .         .           31 

LEVITICUS. 

xcv.,  .         .          104-112 

xx  vii.  51,    . 

392 

iv.,  v.,  vi., 

339 

xcvii.  7,                          39 

xv., 

000 

cii.  18,         .         .           44 

MARK. 

xvi.,   .         .           281 

ooo 

-289 

cii.  24,  26,  27,     .          43 

i.  11, 

29 

xvii.  11,      .         .     . 

311 

ex.,     .         .           203-236 

ii.  27, 

296 

xxiv.  5, 

270 

ex.  1,           .      ,..           44 

ii.  27,  28,    . 

123 

xx  vi.  42-45,         256, 

257 

ISAIAH. 

x.  29,  30,    . 
xiii.  32, 

155 
32 

NUMBERS. 

v.  1-7,         .         .         150 

vi.  22, 

211 

viii.  11-18,           .    89,  92 

LUKE. 

vi.  24-26,    . 

289 

ix.  1-8,        .         .           89 

i.  32,  35,     . 

20 

xvi.,  . 

146 

ix.  6,                                 9 

ii.  41, 

26 

xix.,  .         .         318, 

319 

ix.  6,  7,       .         .           39 

iii.  22,         .         . 

29 

xxi.  6-9,      . 

146 

ix.  47,         .         .         257 

iii.  23-38,   . 

20 

xxv.  12,      . 

330 

xi.  11,  12,  .         .         258 

iii.  38, 

57 

xii.,    ...         258 

xxii.  20, 

253 

DEUTERONOMY. 

xxxiii.  12,  13,     .         150 

xxii.  30,      . 

163 

xxxi.  26,     . 

273 

liii.  10,        .         .        368 

xxii.  37,     . 

368 

1  SAMUEL. 

JEREMIAH. 

xxiv.  27,     . 

368 

ii.  30, 

225 

xxxi.  31-35,         .         253 

JOHN. 

iii.  14, 

225 

xxxi.  33,  34,        383,  384    i.  12,  .      "  ~~  "  "  . 

89 

INDEX  OF  PRINCIPAL  SUBJECTS. 


443 


PAGE 

PAGE 

PAGE 

i.  34,  . 

23 

iv.  13, 

169 

PHILIPPIANS. 

iii.  34, 

13 

v.,      . 

22,  75,  93 

ii.  6,  . 

60 

vi., 

374 

v.  14, 

57 

ii.  6,  7,  8,  . 

64 

vi.  51, 

271 

vi.,  vii.,  viii., 

321 

ii.  8, 

67 

x.  30, 

57 

viii.  23, 

326 

iii.  12, 

164 

xii.  29, 

49 

ix.  26;  27,  . 

260 

iii.  12,  15,  . 

134 

xii.  31, 

82 

xii.  1, 

404 

xiii.,  .         . 

374 

COLOSSIANS. 

xiv.  2, 
xiv.  8,  9,    . 
xiv.  11,  20, 
xiv.  23,       . 
xvi.  25, 

242 

19 
391 
397 
295 

1  CORINTHIANS. 
i.  15, 
ii.  6,  . 
iii.  2, 

131 
134 
134 

i.  14,  15,  17, 
i.  15,  18,     . 
i.  27,  .        .        . 
iii.  3,           .         . 

64 
40 
398 

398 

xvii.  10,      . 

94 

XV.,      . 

• 

22 

1  THESSALONIANS 

xvii.  17-19, 
xvii.  21,  22,  26,  . 

375 
30 

2  CORINTHIANS. 

v.  23, 

404 

xx.  17, 

30 

iii.  17, 

291 

2  PETER. 

xx.  31, 

23 

v.  5,  . 
xiii.  9,  10, 

* 

326 
134 

i.  19,  20,     . 

295 

ACTS. 

1  JOHN. 

i.  7,    . 

32 

GALATIANS. 

i.  7 

64 

iv.  25,  27,  30,      . 

38,  39 

iii.  17, 

212, 

254 

*•    *  >       •                •                • 

v.  6,  . 

403 

vii.  53, 

48 

iii.  19, 

48, 

255 

v.  16, 

145 

x.  44,          . 

131 

iv.  5, 

89 

xiii.  39, 

149 

REVELATIONS. 

xix.  3,         .  '  •'..." 

130 

EPHESIANS. 

I.  16,  . 

120 

i.  21,  22,     . 

51 

iv.,  v., 

315 

ROMANS. 

iii.  9,  10,     . 

64 

v.  12, 

210 

iii.  2,           .      :  . 

133 

iv.  13, 

134 

xix.  13,       . 

120 

II.— INDEX  OF  PRINCIPAL  SUBJECTS. 


ABEL,  411. 

Abraham,  419,  421. 

Abrahamic  Covenant,  167,  264,  324. 

Agony,  the,  31,  193,  363. 

Altar  incense,  270. 

Angelic  ministry,  45,  434. 

Annunciation,  the,  20. 

Apostates,  140. 

Ark  of  the  Covenant,  273. 

Atonement,  61,  180,  233,  244,  300, 
317,  339,  348,  359,  361,  369,  386, 
390,  402  ;  its  nature,  66,  80  ;  its 
unity,  380-439  ;  not  discoverable  by 
reason,  68  ;  rests  on  representation, 
75  ;  its  results,  81,  381  ;  its  rela 
tions  to  God  undemonstrable,  85  ; 
day  of,  281,  344,  352,  388,  405,  440. 

BAPTISMS,  130,  403. 
'Beloved,'  153. 
Blessing,  211. 
Blood  purification,  338,  342. 


'  Body  '  of  Christ,  the,  365,  376. 
Burnt-offering,  283. 

CAIN,  411. 

Called,  the,  324. 

Cherubim,  277. 

Children,  92. 

Christ,  His  humanity,  363  ;  His  birth, 
24 ;  His  visit  to  the  Temple,  26  ;  His 
temptation,  28 ;  His  baptism,  29  ; 
His  prayer,  30  ;  His  obedience,  67  ; 
His  sufferings,  31,  193,  197,  363  ; 
His  sacrifice,  298,  302,  386  ;  His 
priesthood,  182,  213,  224,  229,  249, 
298,  323,  377  ;  His  unseen  ministry, 
238,  240,  312,  390;  His  second 
coming,  351. 

Christ,  the  lawgiver,  and  His  church, 
95,  102,  117  ;  Moses  a  type  of,  96, 
337. 

Christian  perfection,  134,  356 ;  re 
wards,  158  ;  status,  159  ;  works, 


INDEX   OF  PRINCIPAL  SUBJECTS. 


162;  diligence,   164;  Church,  262, 

435,  437. 

Covenants,  the,  227,  252,  334,  369. 
Covenant,  ark  of  the,  273 ;  tables  of 

the,  276  ;  or  Testament,  328. 
Creation,  411. 

DAVID'S  FAITH,  44. 
Dead  works,  320. 
Death,  347. 
Divine  existence,  2. 

ELOIM,  40. 
Elements,  129. 
Enoch,  413. 
Esau,  432: 

FAITH,  407  ;  examples  of,  428. 
•  Feet-washing,  the,  374. 
Future  Jife,  doctrine  of  the,  112. 

GIFTS,  188,  245. 
Golden  censer,  the,  272. 

HIGH  PHIEST,  the,  189,  231. 

Holiest,  the,  272,  390,  398. 

Holy  Ghost,  testimony  of  the,  383. 

IMAGE,  354. 
Incarnation,  21,  359. 
Inspiration,  383. 
Isaac,  421. 
Isaiah,  368. 

JACOB,  421. 
Judgment,  131,  347. 
Joseph,  422. 

KINGDOM  OF  CHRIST,  435. 

LAMP,  the,  269,  336. 

Last  days,  6. 

Law,  the,  220,  343,  358,  433. 

MELCHISEDEC,  203,  206,  208. 

Mercy-seat,  276,  316. 

Ministry,  208. 

Morals,  382. 

Moses,  423. 

Mosaic  dispensation,  292. 


NOAH,  418. 
OEACLES  OF  GOD,  133. 

PANTHEISM,  3. 

Passover,  281-426. 

Patriarchs,  409. 

Pauline  authorship,  128. 

Polytheism,  3. 

Priesthood,  doctrine  of,  175,  186,  404  ; 

Levitical,  212,  377. 
Primitive  Church,  155. 
Promises,  the,  420-430. 
Prophets,  8. 

RED  HEIFER,  318. 

Rest,  the,  106  ;  the  Sabbath,  its  type, 

Resurrection,  the,  131. 
Revelation,  1,  5,  408. 
Ritualism,  Hebrew,  378. 

SABBATH,  note  on  the,  121,  307. 
Sacrifice,  doctrine  of,  244,  307,   337, 

365  j  Christ's,  309,  364,  378,  439. 
Salvation,  200,  230,  351. 
Sanctification,  371,  380-385-403. 
Scape-goat,  283,  288. 
Scarlet  wool  and  hyssop,  335. 
Shew-bread,  270. 
Shadow,  354,  360. 
Sin-offering,  283. 
Sins  of  ignorance,  290. 
Sins  unto  death,  145. 
Son,  the,  6,   195  ;  His   divinity,  13  ; 

His  work,  15  ;  His  two  natures,  18. 
Sonships,  doctrine  of  the,  34,  53. 
Sonship  of  believers,  87. 
Supper,  the  Last,  376. 

TABERNACLE,  241,  266,  390,  395. 
Table,  270. 
Testament,  328. 
Theism,  4. 

Transcendentalism,  3. 
Trinity,  the,  371. 

VEIL,  the,  391,  397. 

WAY,  the,  392. 
Worship,  evangelical,  395. 


MURRAY  AND   GIBB,    EDINBURGH, 
PRINTERS  TO  HER  MAJESTY'S  STATIONERY   OFFICE. 


DATF